Photo: Edinburgh
Photo: Edinburgh
Photo: Edinburgh
Saturday, November 25, 2006
London 2006 Pictures
Photo: My umpteenth pic in front of the palace!
Photo: Piccadilly Circus
Photo: Ben, Gabs, Me, Jewels
Photo: The looks on their faces are priceless!
Photo: Great Russell Street
Photo: Channeling Natalie...
Photo: Tower Bridge
Photo: Kensington Palace
Photo: Abbey Road
Photo: Big Ben
Photo: King's Cross
Photo: Best pic. Bedford. I love you.
London and Edinburgh
London was a turning point in my life – and going back for the first time since 2004 only reaffirmed all that I feel about the city; and that no matter how much time goes by, I will always cling steadfastly to that experience. It is a place that I loved and still love.
After jumping on board the Piccadilly line to Russell Square, the first stop on my carefully planned itinerary was 20 Bedford Place. After being reminded of the countless times Norma and I gloved our hands to carry home overstuffed grocery bags, there I stood in limbo, straddling the two worlds of past and present.
I’ve got to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed at first; staring at my door, my window, the boys upstairs’ window. I felt the piercing impact of missing my friends, and reliving moments that shackle me to the past, and cling to my mind with fierce intensity. I felt a bit ambivalent: a part of me felt like I never left and could pick up right where I left off, and a part of me felt like I never lived there to begin with.
This was trailed by a (slightly more than) one week romp through the greatest city ever. Too much happened to be able to recount to the most minute of details, but I did hit every desirable spot in the city: walking with purpose as the perfect hybrid of former habitant and visiting tourist.
Old Stomping Grounds Visited:
Russell Square
Bedford Place 20-14
99 Great Russell Street
Dorothy Perkins
Centerpointe
Covent Garden and Neil Street (Byonic is no more)
Tottenham Court Road (literally all of it)
Boots (I almost forgot it existed!)
Easy Internet Café (famous 6-inch sub incident)
Queensway to Oxford Circus & Oxford Street
Charring Cross
Barclays & Argos
Victoria Station
Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square
Trafalgar Square & the National Gallery
Molly Moggs Theatre Pub
Kings Cross Station
H&M – Covent Garden
H&M – Oxford Circus #1 and #2
H&M – High Street Kensington
H&M – Knightsbridge
High Holborn
The Starbucks on the way to the MOL
Cittie of York, walk to MOL, and Toni & Guy
Postman’s Park
Borough Market (again!)
Globe Pub (hellloooo Bridget Jones!)
Tube to Temple and Somerset
Walk from the Waldorf down Kingsly to Southampton
Chinatown
Knightsbridge
Fortnum and Masons
Tourist Sites Visited:
British Museum and its Grand Court
Millennium Bridge
Dali/Picasso Exhibit
London Aquarium
Embankment
High St. Kensington
Kensington Garden
Kensington Palace and royal apartments
Hyde Park
Buckingham Palace (where I met cute French boy)
Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace
St. James’ Palace
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Globe Theatre
London Bridge
Brigade
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London’s East End
Hard Rock Café
Abbey Road
Abbey Road Studios
Parliament
Notting Hill and Portobello Market
Shows Watched:
We Will Rock You (with Peter Johansson)
Wicked (with Idina Menzel)
Chicago (unfortunately, not with Ashley Simpson)
Old Restaurants Visited:
Thai Garden Café
Hot Dog in front of BM
Bibimbab Café
Pret a Manger
Fish and Chips
Wetherspoons for Curry Night (still freakin great!)
Woo Sang (I love you Norma!)
Wagamama (I thought of you the whole time Mikey!)
Café Nero
Punjab
Random Locations Visited:
New UCL study center at 17 Bedford Square
Japanese Sushi Place & Burger Shack
Chiho Aoshima @ Gloucester Road
Walk through Notting Hill and Woodridge Park Station
Edinburgh, Scotland Sites:
Waverly Station
Edinburgh Castle
Pret a Manger
Waterstone
Princes Mall
City Tour
Just some of the places I visited.
Overall, nothing really changed from two years ago. The same hot dog and roasted chestnut vendors stand affront the British Museum. I was served by the same waitresses at Thai Garden Café and Fish & Chips (the place with the black and white awning). The major changes revolve around the program itself – from 130 students to 90. From 8 classes offered to only four mandatory courses (yup, Judith and Alistair are still teaching there). And apparently, the new set of kids at accent are a bunch of punks. What can I say, there will never be a group quite like “London Fall 2004”.
London will always symbolize a shrug off of responsibility – because I can give due credit to happenstance and fate, for everything that London was, and is. It was the natural consequence of indecision – it sort of just “happened” without too much thought or planning – at first. And I will never, ever store those memories in the dusty recesses of things forgotten.
My heart is filled with winding corridors; and at its center, a repository of all the things that London represents: a wealth of authenticity, love, freedom, youth, and friendship. Most importantly, friendship. Friendship is the hallmark of all experiences; in that no matter where you go or how many times you go there, what makes the experience worth living is the people who you experience it with.
After jumping on board the Piccadilly line to Russell Square, the first stop on my carefully planned itinerary was 20 Bedford Place. After being reminded of the countless times Norma and I gloved our hands to carry home overstuffed grocery bags, there I stood in limbo, straddling the two worlds of past and present.
I’ve got to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed at first; staring at my door, my window, the boys upstairs’ window. I felt the piercing impact of missing my friends, and reliving moments that shackle me to the past, and cling to my mind with fierce intensity. I felt a bit ambivalent: a part of me felt like I never left and could pick up right where I left off, and a part of me felt like I never lived there to begin with.
This was trailed by a (slightly more than) one week romp through the greatest city ever. Too much happened to be able to recount to the most minute of details, but I did hit every desirable spot in the city: walking with purpose as the perfect hybrid of former habitant and visiting tourist.
Old Stomping Grounds Visited:
Russell Square
Bedford Place 20-14
99 Great Russell Street
Dorothy Perkins
Centerpointe
Covent Garden and Neil Street (Byonic is no more)
Tottenham Court Road (literally all of it)
Boots (I almost forgot it existed!)
Easy Internet Café (famous 6-inch sub incident)
Queensway to Oxford Circus & Oxford Street
Charring Cross
Barclays & Argos
Victoria Station
Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square
Trafalgar Square & the National Gallery
Molly Moggs Theatre Pub
Kings Cross Station
H&M – Covent Garden
H&M – Oxford Circus #1 and #2
H&M – High Street Kensington
H&M – Knightsbridge
High Holborn
The Starbucks on the way to the MOL
Cittie of York, walk to MOL, and Toni & Guy
Postman’s Park
Borough Market (again!)
Globe Pub (hellloooo Bridget Jones!)
Tube to Temple and Somerset
Walk from the Waldorf down Kingsly to Southampton
Chinatown
Knightsbridge
Fortnum and Masons
Tourist Sites Visited:
British Museum and its Grand Court
Millennium Bridge
Dali/Picasso Exhibit
London Aquarium
Embankment
High St. Kensington
Kensington Garden
Kensington Palace and royal apartments
Hyde Park
Buckingham Palace (where I met cute French boy)
Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace
St. James’ Palace
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Globe Theatre
London Bridge
Brigade
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London’s East End
Hard Rock Café
Abbey Road
Abbey Road Studios
Parliament
Notting Hill and Portobello Market
Shows Watched:
We Will Rock You (with Peter Johansson)
Wicked (with Idina Menzel)
Chicago (unfortunately, not with Ashley Simpson)
Old Restaurants Visited:
Thai Garden Café
Hot Dog in front of BM
Bibimbab Café
Pret a Manger
Fish and Chips
Wetherspoons for Curry Night (still freakin great!)
Woo Sang (I love you Norma!)
Wagamama (I thought of you the whole time Mikey!)
Café Nero
Punjab
Random Locations Visited:
New UCL study center at 17 Bedford Square
Japanese Sushi Place & Burger Shack
Chiho Aoshima @ Gloucester Road
Walk through Notting Hill and Woodridge Park Station
Edinburgh, Scotland Sites:
Waverly Station
Edinburgh Castle
Pret a Manger
Waterstone
Princes Mall
City Tour
Just some of the places I visited.
Overall, nothing really changed from two years ago. The same hot dog and roasted chestnut vendors stand affront the British Museum. I was served by the same waitresses at Thai Garden Café and Fish & Chips (the place with the black and white awning). The major changes revolve around the program itself – from 130 students to 90. From 8 classes offered to only four mandatory courses (yup, Judith and Alistair are still teaching there). And apparently, the new set of kids at accent are a bunch of punks. What can I say, there will never be a group quite like “London Fall 2004”.
London will always symbolize a shrug off of responsibility – because I can give due credit to happenstance and fate, for everything that London was, and is. It was the natural consequence of indecision – it sort of just “happened” without too much thought or planning – at first. And I will never, ever store those memories in the dusty recesses of things forgotten.
My heart is filled with winding corridors; and at its center, a repository of all the things that London represents: a wealth of authenticity, love, freedom, youth, and friendship. Most importantly, friendship. Friendship is the hallmark of all experiences; in that no matter where you go or how many times you go there, what makes the experience worth living is the people who you experience it with.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Engagement Photos
I've done freelance photography for a while now, so when Josh and Christy requested I take their engagement photos, I jumped at the chance! He's my best friend, so the shoot was free - of course! The set came out amazing!
Monday, November 13, 2006
We Will Rock You & Wicked
We Will Rock You
So whilst in London, I finally got to see the musical We Will Rock You at the Old Dominion Theatre by my former flat. I spent a pretty pence for the best seats that money could buy - and I don't regret it one bit. Why? Because I spent an entire evening oogling Galileo, or Peter Johansson. The second he opened his mouth to start singin "I Want To Break Free," I just knew that every girl in that audience was going to walk away with a boy-band-crush on the good lookin chap. The musical was heart-pounding and body rocking, and I would recommend it to all my mates heading over to the isle.
Wicked
I also got an opportunity to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London's West End. I lucked out because Idina Menzel (Elphaba) took a break from the Broadway limelight to perform in a handful of shows out in London. It's probably tied for best musical of all time (in my book), alongside The Lion King. It's coming to LA in 2007, and I encourage anyone with a taste for theatre to snag some tickets before they sell out!
I also went to Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre, but it was wack. I went in hopes that Ashley Simpson would be playing Roxy Hart, but I'm guessing that God wanted to spare me, because her contract with the musical ended just a few days before. I must say, after Chicago 'the movie', Chicago 'live theatre' is lookin like crap.
So whilst in London, I finally got to see the musical We Will Rock You at the Old Dominion Theatre by my former flat. I spent a pretty pence for the best seats that money could buy - and I don't regret it one bit. Why? Because I spent an entire evening oogling Galileo, or Peter Johansson. The second he opened his mouth to start singin "I Want To Break Free," I just knew that every girl in that audience was going to walk away with a boy-band-crush on the good lookin chap. The musical was heart-pounding and body rocking, and I would recommend it to all my mates heading over to the isle.Wicked
I also got an opportunity to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London's West End. I lucked out because Idina Menzel (Elphaba) took a break from the Broadway limelight to perform in a handful of shows out in London. It's probably tied for best musical of all time (in my book), alongside The Lion King. It's coming to LA in 2007, and I encourage anyone with a taste for theatre to snag some tickets before they sell out!I also went to Chicago at the Cambridge Theatre, but it was wack. I went in hopes that Ashley Simpson would be playing Roxy Hart, but I'm guessing that God wanted to spare me, because her contract with the musical ended just a few days before. I must say, after Chicago 'the movie', Chicago 'live theatre' is lookin like crap.
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