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2015

January - December 2015
A 365-day adventure by Rachel Read more
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  • Traveler2015
    Day 30

    Night at the Museums

    January 30, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    It's the last Friday of the month, which means that Museum Lates are on!

    On Wednesday night it's the Science museum that opens its doors to the adults only. With a theme each month there are corresponding pop up events throughout the museum in between one night only bars, DJs and food stands.

    On Friday nights it's the natural history museum and the V&A which turns its lights on.

    I started in the natural history museum keen to see the dinosaurs all lit up. The building is just beautiful inside and out. A big dinosaur engulfs the opening to the museum, although apparently this will be changing to a whale soon.

    I explore the Darwin museum and a few other areas. Unfortunately the dinos were closed :(
    There was a meal area and bad here too, but instead of a DJ thru had a string ensemble - I think.

    From here I explored the V&A museum. A DJ welcomed you into this museum with the centre circle being utilised as a bar. You could explore the whole museum and they were opening a new artist tonight - although I can't remember who.

    My favourite exhibition was the .... They were some really ingenuous ideas for getting a message out. My favourite was the robot graffiti artist!    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 34

    Snow in London

    February 3, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    It snowed in London today! The first snow fall of the season!

    I was walking up to the second floor in our house when something on the deck caught my eye. I looked closer to realise it was all covered in snow. I raced back down to the living room and pulled back the blinds to see the whole street covered in snow! Oh how excited I was!!

    I quickly facetimed Mum, who was with Gran and Grandad and promptly held out my phone to the street so they could see the amazing white glory for themselves. After a quick chat with them I rang Dad and showed him and his office up and down my street, before texting all of my Australian friends in London and telling them to get out of bed and see the snow.

    Ah it was such a wonderful morning!

    As luck would have it I was headed south today to Southampton to attend a careers event for work. It had snowed all across the English countryside and I happily sat looking out of the window all the way down, just ignored with the beautiful sites.

    When I left my house this morning I walked all through the snow to the tube station. Our station is above ground and it was such a site to see the big 'Kilburn' sign and the tracks all covered in snow.

    Snow in London is definitely a special moment to see.    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 38

    A walk in the countryside

    February 7, 2015 in England

    Today Britt, her friend Cei Cei and I took a walk in the countryside of Oxted. A half an hour trains ride from Victoria Station in London and we arrived in Oxted and immediately set out on our 19.5km walk. We wandered through little villages, across rolling hills, through woods and fields and muddy terrain and climbed over many a fence. We breathed in beautiful fresh air, saw remanent of snow from earlier in the week and watched as local dogs tore up and down the countryside in sheer delight.

    We stopped at a small village to eat our packed lunch and then were persuaded through the wind and kind locals to stop at a local café for cake and tea. It was lovely and warm and smelt delicious.

    We wandered back through the woods, over the hills and faraway before returning to the town of Oxted with it's beautiful old buildings that look like they’ve come from a Harry Potter time. Back onto the train to London and home to rest one’s weary feet.

    This was my first real hike (that’s what I’m calling it, embrace it). We walked 19.5kms in 4 ¼ hours, which I thought was great! Next I’d save the scones till the end. Eating cream and then walking another 10+ kms was not a good idea haha.

    I had a couple of blisters on my heels, but otherwise I walked away free of soreness and injury – success!

    I can’t wait to explore the English countryside again once more

    Saturday Walkers Club: http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 43

    The Ruling Class

    February 12, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Tonight Marian and I went to see the Ruling Class at Trafalgar Studios with James McAvoy.

    And it was just brilliant! The story, acting, random dance sequences, lighting and everything in between was just unbelievable. Definitely one of the best plays I've seen so far.

    Although I was not a fan of The Trafalgar Studios last time, this time I quite enjoyed it. It is an intimate theatre and being so close to the actors gives the performance another dimension.

    Brilliant!

    The ruling class
    http://trafalgartransformed.com/whats-on/the-ru…    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 47

    Graham Norton Show

    February 16, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    It finally happened! I finally made it to the Graham Norton Show!!! Woohoo!

    After what felt like months and months Marian and I finally got into the studio and got to see a show being recorded. I'll take you back to the start.

    All the way back in November I got an email to say that I'd been selected for a show. So off we headed, fingers crossed that we'd get in, but aware that we might not. Side note: they send out more tickets then required to ensure they get a full house. This Thursday we were not so lucky, about 50 people out I reckon. So on to the priority listing I went and waited for an email to arrive.

    Next, I received an email with a series of dates I was able to chose from. January 22nd was the lucky day I selected and I waited with great anticipation all over Christmas for this day to arrive only for our show to be cancelled the week before :(

    We were then given another series of dates, and this time I chose a Monday slot, Monday the 16th of February.

    We arrived and were listed as number 180 in the queue and then had to wait around until they called our number. Of course, it started tor ain.

    Our number rang out and in we went, climbing up the stairs to our studio. We entered from the back row and walked down to our seats. The colours were so impressive, there was the seats, where they had the musicians. I was beyond excited!

    We were seated to the left of Graham, and took in a good view of the guests. Once everyone was in they brought out the comedian who rounds the crowd up and whips them into a frenzy. Unlike most shows we were warned about that they stop and start, this didn't really happen.

    Graham came out spoke to us all then we recorded the intro, his welcome piece and introduced the guests. The interviews happened, we stopped for the band to come one and sing, and then the singers joined the couch. Then it was time for the Red Chair, before the guests left and the band played a couple more times and that was it. We did some final intro pieces for the show and then Mr Norton bid us farewell.

    Our guests tonight were Sean Penn, Celia Imrie, Ross Noble and Kelly Clarkson. It wasn't the best couch I'd ever seen, but still a great time!    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 52

    Monument Tower

    February 21, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Today I came across a great article titled "15 Unique things to do in London (that you won't find on Trip Advisor)". I've read loads of these before, but this one was really good!

    Since I moved to London all I wanted to do was get above the city and have a 'birds eye' view over the city. To feel like I could breathe I guess, get above the craziness for a minute. It's something I've always I've been able to do at home. I think it also gives one a sense of direction when you can see it all laid out.

    Anyway, a part from paying a fortune for the Shard, London Eye and many others I couldn't find a cheap way to get up there, until today. Thanks to my new guide I discovered that there is a statue in monument that is dedicated to the poor souls who died in the London Fire. It's located just down from where the fire originally broke out.

    For Ł5 you can climb the 311 stairs to the top and get a 360-degree view across London. Perfect timing, by sheer accident, meant that I got to watch the sun set over this great city. As Dan once told me, there is nothing more special then being able to watch the sunrise and set, the day starts and ends.


    Monument
    http://www.themonument.info/

    My new guide
    http://whatculture.com/offbeat/15-unique-things…    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 53

    Chinese New Year & other

    February 22, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Chinese New Year
    Today London is celebrating Chinese New Year, which are, apparently, the biggest celebrations outside of China.

    I started in Trafalgar Square where they were finalising the stage for the performances and entertainment from 12pm. This is also where the parade started at 10am. Beginning at Trafalgar, the parade wove amongst the inner streets of London before ending in China Town.

    My favourite bits where the dragon and the musicians, banging on their drums. I followed the parade for a little while before heading to China town to sample the food. I wandered around making sure I could see all options before deciding on dumplings at my favourite place in china town.

    It was considerably less busy then when mum and I visited in December, however I suspect as the parade was still going the majority of the crowds hadn't reached it yet. My delicious dumplings where not the only food you could try. Aside from the many restaurants bursting open today, many had stalls on in the street, there were pork buns, noodles, Chinese waffles (these looked so cool!) and many other drinks and food.

    After my dumplings I sampled these fish shaped sweet cook dough items, that had some kind of custard (I suspected uncooked dough, but this may have been on purpose as it tasted like custard) on the inside. They were very yummy.

    Many of the surrounding streets were closed down for the day, and there is nothing better then wandering the usually very busy streets of London, now empty of cars and at times people. Bringing a global city to a stand still, is very quiet. So it was lovely to take a walk through.

    Sherlock
    From here I made my way to North Gower street, near work. Thanks to my new found guide it listed that here is where they film 'Baker Street' for BBC's Sherlock. Here I found Speedy's Cafe and what is used as the front of 221B Baker Street.

    What I loved the most was the quiet coming and goings of the other Sherlock fans. When I arrived there was girl taking a selfie in the Sherlock hat. As I was leaving two girls were slow walking up laughing and poking each other that they had found Sherlock's house haha. Fans for life!

    Sunday Music
    Clearly being exhausted from my day out I had a nap when I got home. Always a sign of contentment with life I think. I woke to find my Facebook stream filled with a post from Kiwis in London talking about a free gig that a young Kiwi guy, Jesse Will, would be performing at. Earlier this year Jesse had posted a clip on Youtube of him covering Taylor Swift's Shake It, from which Taylor her self posted on Facebook that it was the best cover she had heard yet!

    The gig was held in the Finsbury Pub in Finsbury Park, my old stomping ground for 5 weeks last year. It was free entry and they had free music all night. It was a range of musical styles, so much like a open mic night in a way. It was a perfect ending to a Sunday night and a weekend full of adventure.

    15 Unique things to do in London
    http://whatculture.com/offbeat/15-unique-things…

    Kiwi's in London
    https://www.facebook.com/LondonKiwis?fref=ts

    Finsbury Pub
    http://www.thefinsbury.co.uk/

    Jesse Will's Shake It Off
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrWQ5x2VHQ    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 56

    Work Advetures

    February 25, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    It's spring campaign time at work this month, which means I get to travel across the country delivering our clients' messages.

    Apparently spring is the time for lavish ideas and concepts that excites the students' minds. Some of the cool things I saw on campus / read about included:
    - a bungee jump
    - dj
    - free coffee
    - virtual day at the office
    - pop corn
    - free waffles
    - a promise tree

    We took a personality quiz on campus, that once completed the students received a free goody bag and the most delicious brownies.

    The campuses I got to visit were:
    - Imperial (london)
    - ucl (london)
    - southampton
    - Warwick
    - Loughborough

    I like travelling to these campuses. It's always a lot of fun to see the students, engage from a brand perspective and see a campus / another town.

    It snowed the day I went to Southampton, so I enjoyed a lovely trip to the south of England with a snow covered countryside - just perfect!    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 61

    A view from the bridge

    March 2, 2015 in England ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Tonight I saw an Arthur Miller play titled, A view from the bridge.

    This play has had so much interest around it. It originally ran at the Young Vic last year, and was so successful that it was transferred to the West End (this is a big deal!) for an 8 week run this year. Mark Strong took the lead character of a wonderful full cast.

    I was very excited to see this play (as per usual). "My cheapest seat in the house" ticket took me straight on stage! Third row back from the actors. Winning!

    There were four rows of seats either side of a rectangle figure in the middle of the stage. Being a circular style performance, the actors walked around this rectangle area, never posing for too long, and ensuring that whoever you sat in the theatre you had a great view.

    It ran for 2 hours with no break, and no break was necessary. It was just fantastic! The more plays I see the more I know it triumphs over TV & movies. Maybe it's the fact that you're there, meters from the actors and making their performance almost tangible to you. You seem to see every range of skill in the tool kit on stage.

    *Spoiler Alert*
    The final scene was great. The 'heavens' opened and the stage rained down blood all over the actors. It was a vibrant, vicious colour red that had emitted a very strong smell. Once it stopped raining, the actors got up to bow and that was it. A very poignant moment.

    This is the second Arthur Miller play I've seen since I've been here. I saw the Crucible last September, which just blew my away. He's certainly someone I will be keeping an eye out for in future.

    A view from the bridge
    http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/a-view-from-th…    Read more

  • Traveler2015
    Day 62

    Gin tasting at the Oliver Conquest

    March 3, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    This evening I attended my first ever Gin tasting / gin drinking experience. After perusing the Skint London twitter page at lunch today, I came across a free gin tasting evening at the Oliver Conquest, supported by Scared Gin.

    Located in White Chapel, the Oliver Conquest is like a gin pub with over, I think, 200 gins on hand. It was like one of those old glorious gin bars, from back in the day. Our evening was held up stairs, where there was a second bar and seating area.

    Being a solo attendee I joined a group of girls, who's team name was "A Gin Club. With a book, book, gin problem". They were experienced gin drinkers and after they rattled off the names of the many and varied gin brands they either owned, loved, or wanted to try I had a sudden panic about what I was doing. Not being a gin drinker myself, and after receiving a welcome shot of gin - or taster as they liked to call it, I wondered what I was getting myself into!

    The evening was prepared much like that of a tupperware evening, you learn about the products, you try the products and you eat nibbles. Although we couldn't buy from the owners on the night, the bar had plenty of their product stocked behind the bar.

    There was so much to learn about gin making!! Who would've though?!

    This evening we tried 4 types of gin plus three of them in mini cocktails, plus a regular sized cocktail at the end.

    Brand: Sacred Gin

    Gins:
    Pink grapefruit
    Cardamom
    Coriander
    Juniper

    Mini Cocktail MIxers:
    Gimlet
    Gin and tonic
    And one other with the grapefruit.

    I believe that they use citrus as the base for the gins, giving the drink a nice light feel to it. My favourite was the cardamom one to drink straight. However, it was the final taster, so I my have been influenced by this point.

    My ride home was rather interesting. The jubilee line had issues and at 2 stops before home, we came to a stand still. After 40mins of being told we'll move shortly, the driver admitted defeat recommending anyone who could get a different life hoem should. Tonight I discovered and new bus journey!

     All in all, a Tuesday well spent

    The Oliver Conquest
    https://twitter.com/OliverConquest?lang=en-gb

    Scared Gin
    http://www.ginfoundry.com/gin/sacred-gin/

    Skint London (my favourite social site)
    https://twitter.com/SkintLondon?lang=en-gb    Read more

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