Already Feeling Like a Local

see all photos »

The past few days have been pretty uneventful. The funny thing about traveling with the primary reason being to visit a friend is that more time is spent doing day to day stuff than actual sightseeing. Perhaps it's because I've already been to London as a tourist, or maybe it's because I feel like I have a temporary home here, but I'm starting to get lazy about seeing many more attractions. Because of that, I've felt like there hasn't been much worth writing about. Even so, I'll still let you all in on what this week's like so far.

Cutest mini-burgers ever!
see all photos »

After sleeping in until nearly noon, I spent tuesday wandering around Oxford Circus. I meandered through a few shops, and bought a few long sleeved shirts and a scarf for Kent at H&M. It was getting chillier, and as a born and bred SoCal girl, I was a bit underprepared. I went back to the flat a few hours later, and left around 5:30 that night to meet up with Kent and Aurelie for a movie date. After waiting 23 minutes for a bus that was supposed to pick up every 9-12, I was finally on my way. Met up with my dates near the studio, and we all walked to the Odeon to see "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". It was pretty fantastic! Super cute story, funny writing and great stop motion animation. I stepped out of the theater immediately wanting to watch it again.

see all photos »

Instead, we all agreed it was time for dinner. We headed to a small French restaurant in Soho at the reccommendation of Aurelie. It was a lovely place, packed and warm the vibrant scene was enhanced by an elderly pianist playing both American and French tunes (including one Aurelie had sung karaoke to a few nights before). I ordered a pasta dish with (what else) butternut squash, spinach, goat cheese, tomatos and sweet onions. Kent had a steak with pommes frites (french fries), and Aurelie had ricotta filled pancakes (of which I gladly tasted... yum!). We all split a bottle of Syrah and a slice of key lime cheesecake for dessert. Our bellies were full and satisfied as we left and parted ways. Kent and I took the bus home and were soon fast asleep.

see all photos »

Wednesday was a lovely lazy day. Know those days when you wake up to a window full of rain and gloom, and all you want to do is stay in your pajamas all day and watch TV and listen to the rain but you can't 'cause you have to go to work, or meet a friend for lunch or run errands or whatever? Well, wednesday was one of those days, with one huge exception: I didn't have to go to work. Or meet a friend for lunch. Or run errands. Or whatever. I was on holiday, and I didn't have any plans. So, I stayed in my pajamas, and watched TV and listened to the rain. Until the rain stopped. As soon as that sun came out it was hard to stay inside. Kent had pointed out an art store on our walked a few days earlier, and itching for a craft night, I decided to see if I could find it on my own. I walked through the New River Walk and down Essex Road and soon found the store. Three stories of art supplies! Heaven!! I grabbed a few things for some watercolor experimenting and slowly walked back to the flat. Once I was home, I chatted up Kent online. "Up for a craft night?" I asked. "Whoa" he quickly responded, "I was seriously just thinking the same thing!". Perfect! I was going to play with some paints while he re-edited the latest Arthur Kade video (Arthur Kade is a self-made socialite/celebrity (in the loosest sense of the word) tracking his "journey to stardom" in an online blog commonly mocked for its outrageous pompousness and deadpan douchey writings. Somehow, as long as it's not taken too seriously, it's actually pretty funny and has been Kent's current obsession for nearly 6 months now. Check it out at arthurkade.com). Due to a late recording session, Kent came home late. I put a pizza in the oven and turned on some "Scrubs" and we both went about crafting. Although my attempts at painting the London landscape were largely unsuccessful, Kent's video re-edit debuted online to rave reviews from Kade-lovers to Kade-haters alike. Even Arthur himself enjoyed it! Yay!

see all photos »

Thursday day passed quickly. Hoping to make some 3-D pics of my trip, I had brought along a stereo lens to use with a borrowed SLR camera (thanks Mel!). I ran around the city taking some shots of some major sites throughout the city. I caught the bus home with just enough time to drop off some laundry at the local laundromat, freshen up and grab the bus again, but this time to meet up with Kent.

We had met a couple, Dan and Laura, when they had come from London to Los Angeles to visit Kent's good friend Gareth (who is British). Kent had kept in contact with them and had even hung out with them a few times on his multiple stays in the city. Laura works for a television production company, currently producing a show for the BBC. She invited us to come for a taping of "TV Burp" hosted by the comedian Harry Hill. Though neither of us had heard of the show, it was a popular British hit and we soon figured out it was thier version of Joel McHale's "Talk Soup". Fun! We walked through the pouring rain to the Underground, and took the tube to the BBC studios. We signed in, put on our name tags, and were led to "TV Burp's" packed green room. We poured ourselves some drinks and got comfy on the couch while waiting for the show to begin.

The show turned out to be just like "Talk Soup". We stayed in the green room through the entire show, and although it cleared out just before the taping started, we were soon joined by Dan, Laura and some of the crew a few minutes later. Kent and I were a bit worried that the cultural gap would leave us comically clueless, but thankfully Harry Hill's witty comments paired with timely reality show and tv soaps clips were all we needed. The show kept us laughing, and even had us wanting to see a few of these awful shows for ourselves. After the taping, the green roome filled up again and appetizers were being served. Kent and I were pretty hungry by now, so we got our hands on anything we could get. The best app though was the cutest super mini burgers I`d ever seen. After a few of those, we figured it was time to get some real food. We said bye to Dan and Laura, but made plans to meet them at the private club Electric (of which Dan was a member) in Soho later that night. Dan, the great host he is, arranged a car for us and even called the club ahead of time to make sure we would have no trouble getting in. After looking for the cab for over 20 minutes, we finally found it waiting outside the studio gates, and anxiously hopped in.

We were dropped off at Electric and seated in the restaurant area. Dan and Laura joined us just 15 minutes later and we ordered meals of American comfort food (cheeseburger with fries and macaroni and cheese. Yum!). We spent the rest of the night catching up. I also found out Laura was starting her hiatus a few days after I was to get back to London. She suggested that, weather permitting, we spend a day bike riding along the canals. I can hardly wait! We didn`t get back home until after 1 am, and since we had a big day coming up, went straight to bed. Next stop, Prague!