brayza in the UK

Charlie and the baguette factory

// April 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Trip information

Fast and Furious

After a relaxing and uneventful couple of days I went and met Fruity on Thursday (24/4/09) in Notting Hill for breakfast. He had a business proposition for developing a corporate ID and Flash website. After an in-depth discussion over a couple of latte’s and a baguette, we had come to agreement of the next steps of the project. That afternoon/night I developed some prototypes and work begun.

That afternoon Mel went to an interview near Liverpool St and Teneale headed off to Gallipoli for Anzac Day.

Now you owe me a 10 second car

Friday was another relaxing day. I was head down bum up in design work so Mel and I just chilled at home.

That night Mel and I went to our first movie in London. If you can tell by the heading, we saw Fast and Furious. It was good to see all the regulars back in the franchise. The movie was good and it was good to see references to the first, however I feel that it could have written better. The death of spoiler removed was all too brief and there was no real emotion. It didn’t really pull on the heart strings.Anyway we left the movie wanting to drive fast, however we left that to the bus driver.

Do you want to see me get hurt?!?!

On Saturday we journeyed down to Covent Gardens. When we first got there, there was a massive crowd around a performer. The guy was really good. He balanced on an 8ft ladder whilst juggling knives. I’ve seen better acts, but the guy did really well in involving the crowd and that’s what it is all about really. Afterwards I gave him £2, and I’m sure he cleaned up as nearly everyone who watched him was giving him money.

After the performance we walked around the markets. I found this little muffin shop and I splashed out on a blueberry muffin that looked unreal. We took photos of it before we devoured it.

Quella è una polpetta piccante!

After we had finished at the markets we went to Soho for a bite to eat. When it was Teneale’s birthday we walked past this Italian restaurant and the smell was phenomenal. Mel and I vowed to return and we did. We had to wait 10 minutes for a table, but the food was really good, worth the wait. I ordered the broccoli penne and Mel got a Hawaiian pizza. The service was a little slow, but it was expected with such a large amount of people dining there. After dinner we went home as Mel and I were both getting headaches.

My grain is hurting

Well Sunday I awoke with a really bad headache. Whether or not it was from the Italian food I will never know. So the day was off to a slow start, however after a few Nurofens and a few hours extra sleep I was as good as gold.

Mel and I were feeling a little energetic, and due to the London marathon being on, we decided to go for a run to Surrey Quays.

There’s an Elephant in the Castle

// April 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Trip information

Hyde Park

Saturday (18/4/09) we made it a trifecta of markets. Teneale was getting jealous of Mel and I visiting all these markets while she was working, so we took her down to the Elephant and Castle markets which are close by. Mel bought some tights for £1 and I picked up a watch for the bargain price of £4. At first he wanted 15 pounds for it, then he said I could have it for 10 because I had brought a pretty lady (Mel). I ended up talking myself out of wanting the watch, when he came back and said £s;8. I really didn’t want it anymore so I begun walking away when he said 4. I thought ‘I have £4 in my pocket’, so I bought it. I’m glad I did. It’s actually quite a nice watch

Jekyll and Hyde

Sunday I decided to take my new watch for a walk. Teneale was meeting Gemma at Tottenham Court so Mel and I decided to join her in her travels. We had to take the bus as the Jubilee line was down for maintenance. It’s the newest line and it’s always down on the weekend. Mel and I left Teneale there and we jumped on the Central line to Lancaster Gate.

We begun at the Italian Gardens and walked to the Princess Diana memorial fountain, via the Peter Pan statue. The fountain was really nice and not what I had expected. The water was absolutely freezing but it did not hamper the children from running around in there. After a few photos and a quick splash, we then walked around to the other side and grabbed a hot dog and an ice cream from where you hire the paddle boats. The line to hire a boat was massive. At first I thought it might have been the food line., but lucky it wasn’t. Whilst stopping to eat I noticed the large amount of people rollerblading in the park. I remember rollerblading back in the day, however the rollerbladers on display in the park did nothing for the sports reputation. The rollerbladers made synchronised swimming look like bull fighting. I will never look at rollerblading in the same light anymore. After our little bite to eat we walked to Hyde Park Corner to see the speakers in action. Very, very animated. I caught bits and pieces of what people were talking about and it seemed to revolve around one central theme, religion. I heard one man say “If Catholics were offended by women’s breast then it would be a different story”. We hung around for a bit, I was more interested in watching the speakers and the listener’s reactions. We stopped into our favourite restaurant next to the park then headed home.

A night at the museum

Monday morning I had an interview with a recruitment agency near Holburn. After the interview Mel met me outside the tube station and we walked to the British Museum.

We arrived at the museum in awe of its size and architecture. It took us 6 hours to view all the rooms in the museum. The place is massive and in looking for the exit we stumbled upon the Asia section and the Americas section. Unfortunately by then we were worn out.

The best section at the British Museum would have to be the Greek history section. They had sections of the Acropolis on display including a large section that they have preserved.

We left the museum and made our way to the bus stop for home.

The Park, the Markets and a Giant Gherkin

// April 26th, 2009 // No Comments » // Trip information

Sherlock Holmes

On Wednesday (15/4/09) Mel and I decided to go to Regents Park as it was another lovely London day. We caught the train to Baker St (Yes Baker St! Forget Sherlock Holmes, Danger Mouse is what Baker St is all about!!), and made our way into the Royal Park. It was another really nice park. Mel and I were tempted to hire a pedal boat but decided against it. We walked around the park for a couple of hours but we never saw one Dalmatian, let alone 101 of them. Confused?

After our walk we headed back down Baker St and popped our heads into the Sherlock Holmes museum. It was a nice little shop at the front, but you had to pay to see the museum. We walked around the shop, the went outside and got our photo taken next to 221B Baker St door.

UK Venice

The next day Mel and I journeyed down to Camden Markets. The weather turned against us but it wasn’t that bad to walk around in. I tried to use an umbrella, but I would have ended up stabbing the other marketeers in the eyes. The umbrella I happened to grab on the way out had to be a golf umbrella.

Camden is a very picturesque market with the Camden lock and the Canals around the streets. We walked around for good half a day, and whilst we were there Mel and I both bought a souvenir to take home with us. We both picked up a beach towel with the Underground map printed on it. I first saw one for £12, but as we walked further on I managed to haggle the price down for £10 for 2.

A memorable mention goes to CyberDog clothing store. Strange, weird and unique. Check it out for yourself.

Attack of the giant Gherkins

On Friday, Teneale had an interview near Liverpool Street so Mel and I went and met her there. Teneale had about 45 minutes until the interview, so we took a walk to the giant Gherkin (30 St Mary’s Axe). It’s a cool building; however it has been dubbed one of the ugliest buildings in London. Personally, I think not.

After we were “Gherkin’d-out”, we left Teneale to go to her interview and Mel and I went to the Brick Lane markets. It’s a very artsy market, and Mel picked a really cool pink and black handbag, (Pink? Mel doesn’t like the colour pink!). We got to the markets pretty late so most of the stores were closed or in the process of closing.
Afterwards we met back up with Teneale, and walked back around to the Gherkin where we had seen a sign for “£3 cocktails after 5pm”. We consumed a few cocktails each (yes, I had some too. They were tasty!) then proceeded home to find a pub for a cheap meal.

No Pub Meals Allowed

To our astonishment, none of the pubs in the Bermondsey area serve food. We tried 3 pubs and none of them served food. In the end we settled for take-away Chinese. It was nice, but Ginger and Spice and Monkey Magic beat them hands down.

Easter cont’d and Teneale’s Birthday

// April 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Trip information

The London Eye

The Monday (13/4/09) was Teneale’s birthday. YAY! The day started with a Skype call from the Parentals. After a couple hours on the phone, we journeyed down the South Bank of London for a day of walking around the big London attractions. We got up close to the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and Trafalgar Square. It was a really nice day out.

We got off the bus at South Bank and it felt like we had stepped out into a carnival. South Bank had all the buskers out performing for money. There must be something about painting yourself a solid colour, standing still for a couple of hours and getting money. I Might have try it out at some point.

After a good day of walking around, we decided to hang around to see London at night. We stopped into a pub for about 30 minutes while we waited for it to get dark. But instead of being in the pub for 30 minutes, we were in there for about 2 hours. We met a really nice couple from the States and we got talking.

London @ night

We’ll after our 2 hour chat we left the pub and we were met by the London Eye lit up with all the colours of the rainbow. It was brilliant (as they all say here). I’m glad we hung around for it. I took a ton of photos, and got to play around with the manual settings on my camera. I will upload the photos shortly.

The Easter long weekend

// April 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // Trip information

Me and the Easter Bunny

Well Friday (10/4/09) was the start of the Easter long weekend. But it didn’t make any difference to those unemployed. The long weekend started with a visit to the Imperial War Museum. The Museum was fantastic, really well laid out and excellent parts of war history all over the place for visitors to interact with up close and personal. The “Pièce de résistance” would have to be the Holocaust exhibit. It details the entire WWII from the Nazi perspective. It was fascinating; the museum staff have done a brilliant job. It took about an hour just in that section alone to get through all the information. After a while your brain is too overloaded and you have to take a break. Definitely check out the Museum if you’re in London.

A lighter subject

The next day we decided to take in a subject a little less serious, shopping!

Teneale, Mel and I went down to Shepards Bush to the largest Westfield in the Northern Hemisphere. The mall was massive. We were lucky enough to catch the Lindt Easter Bunny in the Easter maze. Teneale did the most of the shopping that day. She picked up a few bargains in Sports Direct. In fact she was able to buy a Jumper, skirt, singlet and 5 pairs of socks for the price I paid for one t-shirt from Henleys.

Let’s go Walkabout

After we finished at the Mall (about 6 hours later) we went to where every Australian goes on a Saturday night; The Walkabout. Actually, I think we were the only Aussies there. We had a good feed there and hung around for the band. They were awesome, really good band. They played a variety of all music styles from Nelly to Killers to Cold Chisel, and the best part was that they remixed the songs so there was no silent gap in between songs, they were really really good.

Snake Bite

After a few ciders and a lot of vodka Red Bulls’, Teneale and I decided to risk our health and we ordered a pint of Liquid crap Snake Bite each. OMFG! How can anyone drink that crap? It was disgusting! Nuff said!

Oh another thing to mention is that there was a guy in the toilet who gives you soap, paper towels and gum. How nice…however I did give him money, and it can get annoying when you drink a lot..

Recovering

Well Sunday was the recovery day from our near death experience with the Snake Bite. And from one near death experience to another one we move onto dinner and drinks at Soho for Teneale’s birthday.

The dinner was fantastic. Teneale chose a really nice place to eat at Emm’s Cafe. Teneale, Gemma, Mel and I really enjoyed our meals. It was good service and great food.

After dinner we decided to involuntary give our organs away go out for a few drinks. We were met outside by a lovely Russian man who gave us a voucher for 2-1 drinks at a club in Soho. We took the voucher and he led us down this shady street which resembled King Cross back in Oz. I feared for my precious kidneys; imagining myself waking up in a bath full of bloody ice.
The guy was very pushy to get us into the club, but once we were inside and it looked like the other people in the club had all there major organs intact, we stayed. Gemma, feeling like a few cocktails, got the orders underway, and 10 minutes later we had a table full of cocktails that nobody wanted to drink, except Teneale, but she’s an alcoholic. After drinks we parted ways with Gemma and left for home.