tuesday, mar 9, 2010 | london, england
hello from cardiff, wales! before coming to wales for the 2010 travel media association of canada conference, mm and i spent a week in london. for me, having never spent more than a few hours' time in london, one week still didn't seem like enough! but i'm happy to say that i liked london a lot more than i thought i would - being overly partial and bias to paris and all :)
afternoon tea, day trips to places like oxford and windsor, a bed and breakfast stay in bray for 24 hours of 6 michelin stars, watching wicked on broadway, "minding the gap" on the tube, and even a visit to hillsong london, it was a fun time. here are some of the shots i liked the most and the experiences worth telling you about.
- tower bridge in london - which actually isn't the real 'london bridge' - is the iconical london monument. if you visit, get the lift up to the top - the stairs are real workout!
- our room (bedroom, really) of the terrace suite at the st. james' hotel london, just around the corner from the ritz. lovely, lovely hotel and definitely has my clientele for future visits to london
- the ultimate afternoon tea experience in london (and possibly the world?): tea at the ritz. the scones were perfection, the clotted cream made me feel utterly guilty, and the jams were sweet and tasty. with 17 teas to choose from, you can't go wrong. definitely beat the peninsula, hk
- from regal to obscene, this dish is the worst thing i've ever tasted - and i've tasted a lot of things. tasteless and bland is fine. but when something tastes awful enough to make me gag, it's bad. what is it? wild hare at st. john's - a restaurant known to be a little more fringe when it comes to using different kinds of meat .. needless to say, i wasn't won over. but their fish + chips did look delicious.
- made a couple day trips from london - here's one of Radcliffe Library (also known as the Bodleian Library) at Oxford .. fun little college town
- as if it needed an introduction - stonhenge. apparently, it was built sometime in 3500 BC and took something like 30 million hours ot labour ..
- last but not least, aside from my having a conference in wales, one big reason we wanted to visit london was to dine at the Fat Duck - one of the world's top restaurants - and the home of mm's favourite chef, heston blumenthal. part science, part 'dinner theatre' in the most literal sense of the term (where your meal/food is your form of entertainment) - it was definitely a one-of-a-kind experience. here's an example - for one of the seafood dishes, you're given a conch shell that hides an ipod that you're supposed to listen to while you eat the dish - to help stimulate your senses (and the dish).
- and finally, here's a new addition to the collection at home - say hello to paddington bear :)
tuesday, feb 23, 2010 | banff
the canadian rocky mountains of banff take my breath away.
this is a shot taken from mt norquay. photos can't even come close to capturing the majesty - and thrill - of standing at 8,000-something feet. read the dizzing heights of Banff for more.
'when you stand, the tall trees and mountains bow, when you speak, the fiercest of oceans is still, but i see sinners seek devotion, the lost become chosen, and i fall to my knees' - devotion
wednesday, feb 10, 2010 | st lucia & barbados
happy new year! it's been a busy one so far, but here's to another great year to you and yours:) just got back from a weekend in banff snowboarding with mm - thankfully we're both alive and in one piece! more to come soon on the amazing, amazing canadian rockies.
soon after the new year began, made my way to st lucia + barbados for a week, here are some highlights:
- i have to admit - putting my feet in the warm st lucia sand was a really great feeling
- the view by the pool at almond resorts smuggler's cove in st lucia just before sunset
- another thing i love about the caribbean . . .roti :) took a cooking class in barbados at the almond resort beach club - here's the "how to fold a roti" lesson
- swimming with turtles is way more fun than swimming with dolphins - make sure you try it sometime - just make sure you keep your toes closeby - a couple of these turtles were larger than my torso!
- took this shot on the beach outside of my hotel room in barbados, again at sunset, had a cool mood
- the reason i've fallen in love with barbados - is the town of bathsheba on the island's east coast, an easy-going seaside escape
