Category Archives: World In My Eyes

Weekend in Pictures: Record Store Day Finds

As I mentioned in last Friday’s post, Saturday was Record Store Day. In celebration of the day, CC (of the blog Pink Candles at Ridgemont High) and I went on our “Record Store Crawl”. We combined indie record store shopping with good eats inbetween and had a fab time doing it! I’ll start off with our finds, and part two will be about our food adventures. Just as a teaser, below is a picture of how we started our morning: coffee and donuts from San Diego’s Donut Bar in Downtown, along with publications and maps of how we would plan out our day of record store hopping. Also pictured are my 45 RPM adapter earrings (original post here) and my wallet from PopKiller. I wore the earrings with my Sub Pop t-shirt. Coincidentally, CC wore her 45 RPM adapter necklace (her post showcasing her necklace here), and we both received compliments throughout the day on our accessory choices. Part of the reason that this trip was fun was because CC and I both discovered that we used to frequent the now defunct Blue Meanie Records back in the 80’s, which was one of the few places one could get imported records, magazines, pins and memorabilia because the owner used to travel to Europe on a regular basis. I’m sure we were in Blue Meanie at the same time at some point in our teen years.

Because we started our day off so early (7:30am to line up for Donut Bar), our first stop was the San Diego Record Show at The Center. The doors opened at 9am and we paid a $5 admission to get in. The San Diego Record Show is a collection of independent vendors (some are store owners) selling or swapping their musical merchandise under one roof. Most of the items are vinyl 45s and LPs, but we found CDs, DVDs, shirts, pins and even video and cassette tapes.

My first purchase was at the Record Show was from Akashic Records. I had a wonderful and interesting discussion with David, the vendor and owner, which led to him recommending some reading material about blogging. I ended up purchasing that Wire Train album pictured for only $4!

My next purchase was five badges (pins to us Yanks) and that fantastic piece of vinyl: Joy Division’s second album, Closer from Gary (who owns Third Eye Record Shop). The label says “1st US press on translucent brown vinyl”. Now I have to find Unknown Pleasures. CC found some pins to give to her daughter, and if I recall, she also bought a New Edition album for her nephew.

We saw an old school cassette tape player, and I think we used to have that when I was in elementary. I then bought those Joy Division DVDs from Steve, who is an independent vendor.

My final purchase was from Mr. Skid Roper. If you remember, he and Mojo Nixon used to make beautiful music together back in the 1980’s. The vendor a couple of tables before Skid’s had a bunch of oldies, and I asked if they had anything by Timi Yuro (for my mum). They said no, but when I came to Skid’s section, I found a 45 within about five minutes, and only for $1!

Our second stop was Groovy Records, which was probably just a few blocks away (I’m directionally challenged, so it may have been more, but it only took us about 5 minutes to get there by car). When we parked, I didn’t even see the building, but CC pointed out that it was in an odd intersection, so we decided to park on a different block and walk there. Once inside, we hit the dollar bins, then I hit up the New Wave/Punk section (I have found that these genres often get lumped together). I loved the juxtaposition of the Public Image Ltd and Cramps posters next to the Country & Western section. My dollar find was Live and Let Dance by The Untouchables. I have the 45 single to “What’s Gone Wrong” which is from the same album. As we were making our purchases, a camera man from KUSI walked in to shoot some footage. I completely forgot to watch the news that day to see what they had filmed. Also, the very first image in this post is from a sticker on Groovy Records’ entrance door.

Next, we attempted to go to M-Theory Music, but saw that the line went around the block. Not willing to wait that long, we decided to head to Pacific Beach to Cow Records, because CC knew where we could grab some lunch and dessert within walking distance. Have I mentioned how fantastically awesome it is to have a food blogger as a friend? I’ll go into more detail about the food in my next post. After lunch, we headed over to Thrift Trader, which I thought was just a thrift clothing store. Inside, I saw they also had records, CDs and DVDs as well. I didn’t look through the music as much as I looked through the clothing. I found a couple of t-shirts and CC found a couple of shirts, so we pulled our finds together to make the $20 for four items. It’s great that she loves a good vintage or thrift store find as much as I do!

We when walked next door to Cow Records, where I found many of the Record Store Day exclusives that were on the list on their official site (a few of them are pictured below). I also found a bootleg Depeche Mode live album called Innocent and Vain (pictured above). That title truly made me laugh. I wasn’t sure if I wanted it, so I browsed through what they had in their Depeche Mode section, and found I had everything there except for the bootleg. I decided against the bootleg album and instead looked around for the Sub Pop RSD compilation, which they didn’t have. I ended up buying two Depeche Mode stickers for my car and I believe CC bought a DVD.

Still wanting the Sub Pop compilation, I checked Lou’s Records Facebook page and they mentioned that they still had quite a few RSD exclusives, so I posted a comment asking if they had the Sub Pop compilation still available. They responded that they did, which then prompted a phone call to their store. I asked them if they could save me a copy and that I would be in the following day to pick it up. By the time this posts, I should have a copy in hand. Ah Lou’s Records, you never let me down! The last couple of pictures are all my finds for the day. Hope you had a great weekend!

Another Weekend in South Park

Yes, it’s true! This past Saturday, Dominic and I ventured into South Park yet again. Can you tell I love that neighborhood? This time, I got some great pictures of The Grove at Juniper & 30th, which we visited during the South Park Wild West Walkabout (posts here and here). I really went back to The Grove to buy an adorable bird print blouse by Everly, similar to a blouse that I bought from ModCloth recently. I didn’t quite understand the concept of the store when I first went during the Walkabout because it was full of people and I couldn’t get around like I would have liked. But because we went during a regular non-event weekend, I got more of a sense of this fantastic space. It’s much bigger than I remember and there is quite a bit going on at The Grove: it’s a book nook, clothing boutique, kitchen shop and creative space all in one. They even have sewing and knitting classes. I picked up the blouse that I wanted, and a couple of things for Dominic as well (a story book and a cute little toy dump truck).

The clothing area. The blouse I bought is just past the mirror (outfit post to come!).

Look how large the space is, perfect for sewing and knitting classes!

Dominic found goodies for himself, too.

The bathroom/fitting room, way cute!

Afterwards, we had a delicious dish of ice cream at The Daily Scoop, then we walked around a bit more, of course heading back over to Bad Madge, Make Good and Junc Life & Style. I want to send a big thank you to Jeffrey, owner of Junc Life & Style for your kind words on your Facebook page about my post (I wore my hat when I went in on Saturday)! We didn’t have dinner planned, so we picked up a pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza at Mazara Trattoria. My husband has fallen for said pizza and we are now in plans to have a sit down meal there soon. We devoured that pizza before I remembered to take picture of it for the blog. All the more reason to go back!

Lemon Custard ice cream in a waffle bowl. So. Yummy.

What a deal: $22 for these beauties at Bad Madge (the Everly blouse from The Grove is underneath)!

Dominic has been an excellent little boy this week (he’s already such a great kid, he’s just been extraordinary this week), so we rewarded him with a superhero outfit from So Childish. He wore the cape and mask for the rest of our walk and posed next to the yarn bombed bike in front of Graffiti Beach. Heads were turning as we walked around South Park and Dominic asked, “Mama, why is everyone looking at me?” I explained, “It’s not everyday they see a superhero walking around!”

Weekend in Pictures: South Park Wild West Walkabout

This past weekend, I met up with CC (I formerly referred to her as Pink Candles) from the blog Pink Candles at Ridgemont High and we took our kids to do the South Park Wild West Walkabout. Because there was so much to cover, I thought I’d break up the post into two parts, and this post will focus mainly on the atmosphere and food.

What’s a Walkabout?

It’s a fun-filled evening festival to introduce you to the shops and cafes of South Park.

From Kalima to Beech Streets, you’ll find shops open late, entertainment, specials, and surprises. Browse, explore, shop, and celebrate the independent spirit of our neighborhood.

– From the Wild West Walkbout flier, www.SouthParkScene.com

Charm in the Heart of the City

Nestled between North Park and Golden Hill, South Park is a historic enclave with a welcoming variety of independently-owned gift and clothing boutiques, markets and cafes, taverns and restaurants, art galleries and salons. Enjoy our special events and unhurried visits to our warm and friendly neighborhood.

– From the Wild West Walkbout flier, www.SouthParkScene.com

South Park reminds me of an area like Shoreditch in London, very artsy and quite eclectic. I would love to go back down there to take more pictures and maybe even do some outfit posts because there’s just so much visual candy out there. I’m glad that we started early because as the night went on, it got more and more crowded. Not only was there a lot to take in visually, music filled the air around every corner. Being bloggers, CC and I were snapping pictures left and right. Had I known that I would be taking as many pictures as I did, I would have charged my camera. Sadly, it died as we got to some very interesting art (which consisted of mutilated dolls and BBQ skewers).

Although there were dozens of places to eat by way of cafes, restaurants and food trucks, we opted for convenience (and a place to sit). We decided on a San Diego staple, Sombrero Mexican Food. If you like Blink 182, this local chain is one in the same in the lyrics from the song Josie: “She brings me mexican food from Sombrero just because” (I’ve read that fans still drop off letters and gifts at the Poway location). CC and her daughter had fish and chicken tacos and a combo plate, while I had my favorite rolled tacos. Dominic had been asking for french fries since we left the house, so we were lucky that they had it on their menu. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to fantastic ice cream at The Daily Scoop. CC explained that their ice cream comes locally from Niederfrank’s, who makes ice cream handmade from their location in National City. The reason I took a picture of the awning is because she also said that it was the former location of M-Theory Music, which can still be seen underneath. In that last collage picture, you can see my delicious waffle cone filled with two scoops: Butterscotch Marble and Blueberry Cheesecake. Yum!

CC’s daughter was so awesome and did her best to keep Dominic occupied during the evening. He was a bit grumpy because we woke him up just at the beginning of his nap right when we arrived. The only way we could really get him to enjoy himself more was to tell him that he could get his face painted at cute children’s store called So Childish, where they had many of the kid’s activities. Dominic got his face done up like his favorite superhero, Spider-Man. As a plus, every child got a free cowboy hat in line with the Wild West theme.

We ended the night with a couple of items for the road: a key lime cheesecake for CC’s hubby and a cafe latte carmelato for moi (made with Illy coffee) from Cafe Madeleine. The quaint corner location and French inspired signs reminded me of the little cafes I saw around Paris last summer. The coffee made for a nice handwarmer for the ride home. Dominic and I had a great time with CC and her daughter at the Wild West Walkabout. Part two of our South Park adventure will be about the shops we ventured into and some of my cool finds. Hope you had a great weekend!

Weekend In Pictures: The Steel City

Since I went on a European adventure with my best friend, Janice this summer, it was only fitting that my husband take his own trip with a buddy of his for a football weekend to The Steel City of Pittsburgh. He watched my San Diego Chargers go against his Pittsburgh Steelers at home. Although my Chargers won 34 to 24, Deon still had a great time. He took some fantastic pictures during game day. Enjoy!

Franco Harris greets you when you first arrive at the airport

Heading towards Heinz Field

Tailgating, Pittsburgh style!

(All photos by Deon Chen)

European Vacation Days 7 & 8: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

August 22 was our last night in London, and part of the morning was spent returning back to London from Paris. After a quick trip back to our hotel room back at Wembley Park, we quickly went back to Knightsbridge because Janice had a couple of returns and VAT items to take care of at Harrods and Topshop. We then headed towards Piccadilly Circus to see the famous illuminated signs and we grabbed some lunch at a pub called Tom Cribb. From the official website: “The pub is named after British champion bare-knuckle boxer Tom Cribb who, in the 1800s, retired from the ring and later became a publican, at the Union Arms. The pub changed its name to honour his career.” I had a sandwich named after him and Janice had bangers & mash for the first time (both were very tasty). I wanted to try a truly British beer, so I had half a pint of Spitfire to wash it all down.

After walking around a bit, we stopped by Cool Britannia, one of the coolest souvenir shops in London. Unfortunately, I was quite bogged down with packages and it was way too busy in the store to take any proper pictures. I wish I had because it really is quite a fantastic souvenir shop.

Elliot making my first drink of the evening: The Westerners’ Erofeitch. Doesn’t he look like a naughty mad scientist? Note the water and food close by…we knew it would be that kind of night.

My next two drinks: The Perfect Lady (very sweet & creamy) and The Mandalay (slightly bitter with Campari).

To celebrate our last hurrah in London, we went back to Callooh Callay (see my first post here). The above drinks were all delicious and very mildly named. Things already became fuzzy for me after two drinks, so I very thankful that we had been eating and drinking water throughout the night. As the evening got later, the names of the drinks got raunchier. I’m sure Elliot has seen crazier patrons than Janice and myself, but I thank him for putting up with me, especially after four drinks (Janice can hold her drink much better and went three drinks deeper than I did). India, another lovely and incredibly understanding waitress, was also very sweet, keeping up with our silliness throughout the evening.

This was the last of the respectfully named drinks: this is the P-p-p-poppy. I think the stuttering comes from having the three drinks prior.

A very nice picture of Elliot and Janice. My eyes always narrow the more drink I consume, so I opted for no pictures of myself for the evening. I’m surprised I was even able to hold the camera steady for this shot.

Janice with a new friend she met whilst I was in the ladies room. The bluriness of the shot indicates why I couldn’t remember her name…sorry dear!

One of these drinks is called the Spagliato and the other is called Ahhh, Sh!t, It Tastes Like Christmas (as you can tell, I can’t remember which is which). The last drink of the night was what did Janice in, which is probably why it’s not pictured. It was a drink we used to have when we were clubbing. Elliot’s version is called “I F@#!ed the Red Headed Slut”. And so ended the night…

I’m not sure how we did it, but we filled out applications and turned them in before we left, with the hopes of obtaining membership to The Jubjub Bar. I’ll let you know if we actually got our memberships approved (*crossing fingers*). As Bridget Jones would say it was a “v. good night and blurry good fun!”

(Please note that as of September 5, our Jubjub Membership requests were approved! Now, does that mean that we should schedule another trip out there to collect our key? Hmm…)

The Metropolitan line. Our hotel was directly in front of the Wembly Park stop (Zone 4).

These last pictures in London are a bit silly. One is of the Tube line that we took regularly, which was the Metropolitan. The second picture I took because I’ve read that Alan Wilder (Recoil/Depeche Mode) grew up in Acton, which is in West London. On our way to Heathrow, the one of the stops was Acton Town. Is it the same area? I don’t know, but I had to take a picture of it (although I know he now lives in Sussex). I also have to say that I’m very sad that I missed the Spirit of Talk Talk launch party, which happened September 6 (Alan Wilder was rumoured to have been there). Even if I had known about it, I’m not sure I could have made it work anyway as it would have been just too long to be away from home and work. Oh well!

I took a couple of final pictures on the plane ride home of our route on British Airways. I love the individual video screens that are available on these long flights because it allows me to watch several movies I would never have otherwise watched. I watched The Five-Year Engagement and The Hunger Games on the way home (I can’t remember what I watched on the way to London because I was fighting a cold that I caught on the way). I also took a picture of our dinner that night because I also love meals on long flights. I particularly liked the dessert, and our nice gentleman flight attendant gave me another one after my meal (it was a cream passion fruit custard, with chocolate shavings on top, SO good).

I had such a great time with Janice and I’m glad we got the chance to get away and spend some time together. I’m also glad I was able to be there for her first European trip, showing her places I had been and discovering new places. I think there may be another European trip in the future (we’re shooting for Germany), but it will be with my husband and son. Cheers and thanks for reading!

Please note that most photos were taken with my iPhone unless otherwise noted. Photos 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 were by Janice Gutana (photo collages are counted as one photo).

Journées Européennes de Vacances 5 et 6: Bonjour Paris!

Bonjour and merci Bing Translator (formerly Babelfish) for the translation of the title of my post! If you haven’t guessed, it should translate to “European Vacation Days 5 & 6: Hello Paris!”

Photo from the train entering France.

August 20th and 21st, we spent in Paris, France. Although I would loved to have spent my entire trip in London, Janice brought up a great point that we should see one other country while in Europe. Although I had already been there because my husband and I went on our honeymoon, we figured the easiest jaunt to another country was to take the two-hour Chunnel through Eurostar to Paris. I tried to sleep, but instead spent the entire ride listening to Spandau Ballet because of the Rewind Festival the night before. We actually arrived at Gare du Nord (North Station), but Janice booked a room at the Mercure Hotel location that was walking distance from Gare de l’est (East Station), which was close by.

The Mercure Hotel on Boulevard Magenta.

I’ll again rely on my pictures to tell the story of where we went in Paris for the two days that we were there. It was quite the fleeting trip, because I tried to make sure that Janice saw all of the most popular of sights during our short stay. The best part about the trip for me was the food, which I enjoyed because we actually got to sit awhile at each little cafe. À la prochaine! Next post: Our last day in London!

Our arrival at Gare du Nord, a street sign close to our hotel, and our first stop on The Metro.

Janice’s first introduction to authentic crepes in Paris. This one was filled with Nutella and bananas.

We took pictures outside of The Louvre because we were too late to take a proper tour (and we couldn’t go the next day because it was closed).

Jardin des Tuileries, which is the Tuileries Garden, between The Louvre and Palace de la Concorde.

We saw something being filmed while walking around the streets of Paris, close by The Louvre.

A cool Metro station entrance.

The cafe where we ate breakfast each day we were in Paris. Our waitress was so sweet that she made sure to warn us about pick-pockets, and she loved my Wendy Brandes ring!

Some of the delicious food and wine we ate and drank while in Paris: creme brule, pino grigio, eclairs and Quiche Lorraine.

This is the awesome bakery where I bought the eclairs. Janice bought some kind of Nutella goodness.

Marché Saint-Quentin (St. Quentin Market), which was right outside our hotel. If you watched “Cars 2”, you’ll know why it’s funny that Lightning McQueen was in the market!

Notre Dame de Paris

We stopped at a cafe near the Seine river, while walking to the Eiffel Tower. Janice and I were trying to be artsy with our pictures at the cafe. I liked her’s the best!

I was so excited to find the little Irish pub that my husband and I visited during our honeymoon! I knew it was the right one because it was next to the soccer shop where the nice store owner gave us a free key chain. The gal that was bartending at the time introduced us to the music of the group Phoenix.

Tour de Eiffel

Arc de Triomphe and the Louis Vuitton store on Champs Elysees. The “love me” painted on the wall caught my eye while walking.

Janice’s photo of Cartier at Champs Elysees.

All photos were taken with my iPhone unless otherwise noted.

European Vacation Day 4: Be Kind & Rewind!

Sunday August 19th was the Rewind Festival at Henley-On-Thames, which was the catalyst that spurred this whirlwind trip to London and Paris into action. This was my first ever festival, and I thought my first festival would be Coachella or Lollapalooza, but I’m actually glad to say that my first festival was in a different country. Although we would have loved to have gone to both days of the festival (especially to see Rick Astley and Jimmy Somerville on Saturday August 18th), both Janice and I don’t really camp in America, so camping in another country 5,000 miles away from home was most likely out of the question.

I bought these for the train ride to Henley. Oh. My. SO. Good.

Premium Pear Cider, mmmm!

The line up for both days. The running order for the Sunday show remained true to the list above.

We discovered that Henley-on-Thames is not as close to London as we had perceived it to be. A few weeks prior to our vacation, I decided to finally check out how we would route our trip to Henley. I was glad that I did because I would have never perceived that it would be approximately 35 miles from London, in Oxfordshire. Being that we don’t have licenses to drive in Great Britain, I furiously looked for transportation from London, and I found that we would need to take the National Railway. This would mean that while we could get there with no issues and start our concert festivities early, we knew we would miss the last act because we would need to get back to the station in time to return back to our hotel. In hindsight, we maybe could have just gotten a hotel in Henley and then taken an early train to St. Pancras to just simply connect to our train to Paris. Don’t they say hindsight is always 20/20?

Concert goers on a mission! These were actually the folks who initially helped us navigate our way around Henley. After that, we met quite a few other nice people who helped answer questions as we needed.

The water taxi we took back to the train station after the concert.

Henley is a beautiful, picturesque town. Janice caught some great pictures of our walk along the river to the festival area. The venue itself was on Temple Island Meadows, which has been the home of the Rewind Festival for the past few years. The festival itself was larger than anything I had been to previously. It felt like the San Diego County Fair combined with a food truck event, but with way better music and bands (in my humble opinion, of course). I will say that the acts that I wanted see played everything I wanted to hear: Adam Ant, Midge Ure, Marc Almond and Tony Hadley. My only regret was not being able to catch OMD, but that’s only because of the aforementioned time constraints. In fact, we nearly missed Tony Hadley! But we got to stay through his set because our friendly neighborhood concert goers explained that our train tickets were good for the night because the trains departed every 30 minutes. My favorite concert moments:

Dancing around like a lunatic during Adam Ant’s set.
When Midge Ure played “Vienna” and “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”, I practically cried.
Surprised that Roland Gift actually played “She Drives Me Crazy”, and loved that he played “Good Thing”.
Completely not expecting to hear “Tears Run Rings” by Marc Almond. I had read previous set lists from his shows, and I don’t recall seeing that song on there.
Every. Single. Song. By. Tony Hadley.

Rather than continue to describe all of the events, I just made selections from both sets of photos by Janice and myself to just illustrate the awesome time we had. Next post: A quick two-day jaunt to Paris!

Adam Ant fans, no?

Some of the booths at the festival, which included vintage clothing! Janice got some totally bitchin’ leg warmers there.

Ohmigod, Janice! That side ponytail and those leg warmers are in full effect. Totally.

Our pile o’stuff. I think we were the least prepared to be there. Next time, we need to at least bring a throw blanket, mat or towel!

Originally, I brought the umbrella in case it rained. It turned out to be useful to keep cool! And yes, that is yet another Joy Division shirt that I’ve added to my collection.

This lighthouse/windmill looking building was actually a giant slide! At first, it was mostly kids coming down the slide with their parents. Later into the night, alcohol fuelled everyone’s inner child to take a ride.

Adam Ant and The Good, The Mad and The Lovely Posse

There was karaoke for the crowd between sets. Duran Duran anyone?

Everybody Wang Chung tonight!

Carol Decker of T’Pau putting in some heart and soul into her hit song of the same name.

Midge Ure looking and sounding wonderful after the mini-fiasco of the first song (his mic was completely shut off for an entire song).

Marc Almond not only sang “Tears Run Rings” but also “Tainted Love” and “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”.

We were excited to know we could stay for Tony Hadley!

Tony Hadley sounded so amazing live. Although I know the favorite was “Gold”, my highlight was “Only When You Leave”.

My iPhone lighter for when Tony sang “True”…

This group of concert-goers sat behind us. They were so awesome and answered many of our questions. They also ave us glow sticks to carry our celebration into the night.

Janice spotted some interesting characters in neon. I don’t think I have seen that much neon collectively in one place, except at a mall back in the actual 80’s.

Teen Wolf attacked me on the way out of the festival (or was it the werewolf from “Thriller”?). Either way, I survived!

European Vacation Day 3: Take Me to the River (Thames)

On our third day in London, we decided to take the advice of one of our cabbies and start off at The Houses of Parliament and just walk all the way down to the Tower Bridge. But first, we grabbed a bit of breakfast, so I thought I’d share what I had. We went to a place that was walking distance from our hotel called the Moulin Grill. I absolutely love bacon in any form, and British bacon is more like ham than what we are used to in America. Either way, it was a tasty and inexpensive way to have my traditional English breakfast (no beans, but with grilled tomatoes).

We hopped on the tube on the Jubilee line and headed towards Westminster. This dropped us off right in front of Houses of Parliament and The Clock Tower, otherwise known as Big Ben. We took a walk along the Westminster Bridge to where the London Eye is located, which is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe. It was quite crowded (I’m sure due to the fact that it was a Saturday), so we choose not to ride it. Instead, we snapped pictures of ourselves with the attraction in the background (only my picture is shown). After we passed the London Eye, we noticed that we were on a trail called The Jubilee Greenway, which is 60 kilometers long and each kilometer marks one year of the Queen’s reign. We then passed through the Soutbank, went into Southwark Cathedral and saw many other fantastic sites on the way to Tower Bridge.

My new studded Topshop shoes with my Rebecca Minkoff schoolboy.

Janice took this great picture of a sign on a bench.

Random shots around Southbank.

There was poetry posted all along the rails of a pier on the Southbank. I loved this poem.

Millennium Bridge and Shakespeare’s Globe

The sign above explains pretty much everything we saw on the approach to Tower Bridge.

Clink Prison Museum, Tate Modern, Southwark Bridge

Southwark Cathedral

I just really liked the lines and the way the angles looked in these pictures.

Sights of the Olympics were alive and well while we were in town, and we realized that we were actually between Olympic events: The Summer Olympics games ended on August 12, but the Paralympics games began on August 29th. Everywhere we went, we could see the Olympics’ mascots Wenlock and Mandeville. At one point, Janice and I gave in and posed with one of them as we approached Tower Bridge.

Tower of London

After having lunch at a cute little place called Noodle Noodle, our last stop was Buckingham Palace. There wasn’t a guard ceremony that day, so we just walked around, taking in the enormity of the grounds. In the picture below, we are standing on The Victoria Memorial with Buckingham Palace in the background (Janice is pictured on the right). Below that is a great picture of The Mall, which is a ceremonial route to Buckingham Palace. The last pictures are of the gateway to the Queen’s Gardens, the Queen’s Gallery (we only went to the gift shop), and a marker for Princess Diana’s memorial walkway.

Gateway to the Gardens at Buckingham Palace

The Queen’s Gallery and a marker for Princess Diana’s Memorial Walkway.

It was amazing how long of a walk we actually took from Westminster Bridge all the way over to Buckingham Palace! But is was a fantastic walk, and I want to thank our cabbie for suggesting it to us. It was quite a lovely day for a long stroll, and it did take us the bulk of the day to do it. Next post: The Rewind Fesitval at Henley-on-Thames on Temple Island.

Please note that most photos were taken with my iPhone unless otherwise noted. Photos 4, 6, 7, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23 were by Janice Gutana (photo collages are counted as one photo).

European Vacation Day 2: A Spot of Tea & A Bit of Shopping at Harrods

In the previous two times I had been to London, it had not occurred to me to have formal tea while out there. The first time I had travelled to London was on my honeymoon, and since that was my first time there, I wanted to take in all of the sights with my new husband. Our second time out in London was to watch the San Diego Chargers vs the New Orleans Saints in the NFL International Series at Wembley Stadium, and afternoon tea just didn’t fall in line with that kind of trip (plus, I was five months pregnant at the time). So this trip to London seemed like the perfect time to fit in an afternoon tea with my best friend. I booked our tea at Harrods, which actually allowed us time to spend the early afternoon shopping beforehand.

Prim and proper on the Tube ride to Knightsbridge (the stop at Harrods).

There are 32 restaurants/cafes in Harrods. Because there was no way that we could visit all of these eateries during our visit, we played it by ear for where we would go, other than our scheduled visit to The Georgian. We first visited the famous Harrods’ Food Hall to grab lunch. I have been to Harrods before and have visited the Food Hall, but my husband and I never actually ate there. Janice and I each had a hand-carved roast beef sandwich, but I added English mustard to mine. We also had fresh juices and a dessert. Janice had the Creme Brule, and I had an oh-so-sweet caramel popcorn cupcake (it has a dollop of caramel in the middle). It was quite the treat!

A close up of our desserts, yum!

After a bit of shopping down the street at Topshop (where I bought the pants from the previous post) and a couple of souvenir shops, we headed back to Harrods to have our tea at The Georgian Restaurant at 4pm. The restaurant is on the fourth floor and is such a beautiful space that I could imagine someone having a wedding there. We were decked out in pretty dresses for the occasion, although we did not don any hats. Our menu consisted of freshly made sandwiches, home-baked English scones, a selection of tea pastries, and of course, our teas (the full menu can be viewed here). I can’t recall what Janice had, but I had my standard Earl Grey. It was quite the elegant affair, and I’m glad to have finally had the chance to experience afternoon tea in this way. This is definitely something I would like to repeat again when next in London!

After our wonderful afternoon tea experience, we shopped a bit more (are you surprised?). One of the floors was labeled “Christmas”, so we thought it would be just a few bobbles and ornaments as an introduction to the holiday season. To our surprise, it was Christmas in August at Harrods and nearly an entire floor was dedicated to the occasion. After that, we did our obligatory souvenir shopping, buying up lots of little trinkets with the Harrods name. We then decided to have a little bit of silly fun in the toy section.

We ended our fantastic Harrods experience at the Cafe Godiva, on the second floor. Yes, you read it right, there is a whole cafe dedicated to Godiva chocolate. Janice and I had what’s called a Chilled Chocolixir, which is described as “an icy blend of chocolate ganache, topped with layers of whipped cream.” I ordered the white chocolate one and Janice got the milk chocolate version (full menu can be viewed here). It was a delicious way to end our wonderful, yet busy day at Harrods. Next post: a stroll along the Thames river that included trips to Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace.

All photos were by Janice Gutana except for photos 3, 4 and 14, which were taken by me, using an iPhone (photo collages are counted as one photo).

European Vacation Day 1: O Frabjous Day at Callooh Callay!

Our fabulous European vacation began on August 15th, 2012, but really started on August 16th when we landed in London. We lost a day travelling and I felt that I actually lost a little more with the lack of sleep and sadly due to a cold that I caught while on the plane. Despite my slightly weakened system and need of sleep, I made sure that I was there and present for Janice’s first official day in Europe.

After checking into our hotel, the Premier Inn at their London-Wembley location (where I have stayed all three times I’ve been to London), we looked around locally for a place to eat lunch. I like the Wembley Park location because it is literally a 10 minute walk to Wembley Stadium, and it’s just a quick hop on the Metropolitan or Jubilee Line into the city. After a swift walk around, we settled on a pub called The Crock of Gold. Janice was determined to experience fish and chips while officially in London, so we each had that with a couple of pints of beer. Although our lunch was quite delicious and the beers were refreshing, we were still lacking sleep so we headed back to our hotel to take a quick nap.

After our nap, we got ready because we needed to head over to an establishment called Callooh Callay in the Shoreditch area of London’s East End. I found out about it from the Travel Channel on a show called London Revealed. Intrigued by the exclusivity of the Jubjub Members Bar, I made a reservation in hopes of trying to get a key (as the website states, they only give this special privilege to “discerning drinkers only”). We relied heavily on my sense of direction because I was the more experienced London traveller. But because I am unfamiliar with East London, we arrived famously late for our reservations. Despite our late arrival, we were eagerly and pleasantly greeted because I had mentioned when previously making our reservations that we were travelling all the way from San Diego.

Callooh Callay is a gem of a place, hidden in the streets of Shoreditch on Rivington. From the responsiveness of the reservations team to the awesome bartender, everything was fun, casual, cool and exclusive feeling. First , we were led through the front called The Bar, which was a very laid back space. I loved the use of cassette tapes for part of the decor and drink menu. With all of the whimsy of Through The Looking Glass, we were then brought to a mirrored door that resembled a wardrobe. Behind the door was The Lounge, and then passed some velvet curtains was the stairs leading to The Jubjub Bar where the elusive key would be used if we were members.

The Jubjub Bar is a fantastic little cocktail lounge with stuffed flamingos popping out of picture frames, animal pattered walls, fluffy pillows and chairs in various sizes. I felt it was very comfy, like a dimly lit boudoir. Janice immediately noticed the handsome gentleman behind the bar, and it was only later that we realized he was the creator of their August drink menu. The bar itself was chock full of libations, interesting bottles and fresh herbs, which made me feel like we were peaking into an antique apothecary cabinet.

The drink menu was just as eclectic as the bar itself with names like The Westerners Erofeitch and the Paracelsus’ American Laudanum (both pictured above). The Westerners was very refreshing because of its citrus base (fresh lemon juice, lemongrass and vodka), which was Janice’s first drink. When I ordered the Paracelsus’ as my first drink, our waitress asked, “Are you sure? It’s quite strong…” That only piqued my curiosity, and she was quite right. Even though I could probably have drank it quite quickly because it was so good, I nursed that drink the entire night with a glass of water because I could tell it was very strong. Since I’ve become a mum, I’m no longer used to nights out drinking, and I think it was the bourbon and vermouth combination that did me in. We dined on mini hot dogs and mini burgers, all of which were tasty.

The most unconventional moment of the night was when Janice decided to try The Hyper-Ventilator. Our lovely waitress said that she loved this drink because it felt like you were doing something a bit naughty (I think it’s all the sniffing). Elliot Davies, the esteemed bartender of the month of August, came over and explained the secrets behind this cocktail experience. He said that he was at a herbalist and the person in the store was purposely wafting licorice dust at him and he really enjoyed the feeling it gave in the back of his throat, so he wanted to try out different drinks after inhaling the licorice dust. Eventually, he came up with The Hyper-Ventilator, which is a bitter cocktail that is offset by inhaling the licorice dust. Janice said that the bitterness softened more and more as she inhaled more licorice dust.

That was probably one of the most unusual and unique drink experiences I have ever had, and both Janice and I had an amazing time at Callooh Callay. We had such a good time that we made reservations again for our last night in London because Elliot said that he would make us drinks that were “off the menu”. I thought about including that night here in this post, but I think that night deserves its own post because each of our drinks were distinct and delicious, with a great story behind each one. My next vacation post will be about our first experience at afternoon tea. Cheers!

Please note that most photos were taken with my iPhone unless otherwise noted. Photos 4, 8, 9 and 10 were by Janice Gutana (photo collages are counted as one photo).

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this:

Remix this: