London, Day 3 & 4

Still suffering jetlag. Everytime we go to bed at night, we wake up in three hours because our bodies think that we are just taking a nap. Then we fall back asleep around 5 AM.

Day 3, we forced ourselved to get up at 10:30 AM and after a big English style breakfast with fried tomatoes, we went to Queen's Park and played 9 hole golf at a mini course. It was the closest thing to real golf I ever played and I was tired by the fifth hole. Needless to say that I was bad, but I had a few good shots. Ben was pretty good considering he taught himself to play golf. Then auntie Sinja took me and Erik to Portobello Road market at Knotting Hill filled with antiques, produce, flowers, and people. We saw a Coffee Republic there and I tried their caffe mocha which was very smooth. Then we went by the Travel Bookstore where Hugh Grant's character worked in the movie Knotting Hill and took a picture. We were then driven off to Harrod's department store which was like a giant maze overflowing with greedy hurried people. Erik and Ben bought some magic stuff and we left. Ate dinner at Pizza Express; good crust and good jazz music. This was by far our best food day. We stopped in at Ben's Oratory Church which is related to his Oratory School. It was very ornate. Few people were inside praying and lighting candles. The organist was practicing. We passed by the Oratory Pub on our way to the car. At home, Ben and Erik played miniature pool not snooker. Snooker is a more complicated pool game which is considered a sport in England. Ben was quite good even though he said that he hadn't played in ages.

Day 4, we woke up at 1:30 PM and missed church. Off to the National Gallery. Lunch and coffee at Pret - okay. The most memorable parts of the National Gallery: the self-portraits by Rembrandt at age 34 and 63 - one cocky, the other humble, Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing of the Virgin and Child, VanGogh's Sunflower and A Wheatfielf with Cypresses. Then to Chinatown - small and busy. Dinner at Thai Cuisine - food no good, atmosphere very nice. Bus ride back. Peter was home. Talked to Emily Kim and Li-Li. Watched About A Boy video.

Getting tired of the crowded London city.

London, Day 2

We woke up in the middle of the night and stayed up until my aunt and Ben left for work and school at 7:30 AM. Then I fell asleep again while Erik was taking a shower and didn't wake up until 1:00 PM. We didn't get out of the flat until 2:00 PM. I felt a little afraid because it was our first time out and about and we didn't really know where we were going. We were utterly dependent on the map. We got a week pass for the tube and bus for 20.20 pounds each and headed for Westminster. We got a little lost on the way because we took the wrong tube line. It was windy but not too chilly. We saw the London Eye ferris wheel, Big Ben and the Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and walked all the way to Trafalgar Square. We basically followed the first walking tour from the Rick Steve's London 2004 travel book. It was nice because we didn't have to make any decisions.

On the way home we took the number 6 bus and sat on the top of the double decker bus. Erik was scared by the bus driver's aggressive driving this time because he would stop inches from the cars in front of us and swerve in and out of lanes. We got to see the shopping district and it was very croweded. Again we saw too many Starbuck's and McDonald's.

So far our food experience here has not been very good. This fish and chips were bland. The chinese food tasted different. The italian pasta was bland. The best meal so far has been my aunt's cooking. Erik wanted to eat McDonald's because he said it would be clean and didn't want to eat at a pub because he said pubs were usually dirty. But he promised to let me eat at a pub later on because I really want to try it.

We had dinner at my aunt's flat and then Ben entertained us with his magic tricks. Erik loved them and got Ben to reveal his tricks. We also listened to Ben play the piano. Now it's time for bed. Hopefully tomorrow we will have gotten over our jetlag and have the whole day to play in London.

One interesting thing I noticed about the fifty pence coin is that it has seven sides. It is a heptagon.

London, Day 1

Erik and I made it to London safely. Our travel was made a little easier because we got economic plus seats which had more leg room. Still Erik could not sleep on the plane the entire time, not even with his new foam travel pillow from Brookstone. I, on the other hand, slept three quarters of the time. Not well, but I felt rested when I woke up. I watched The Terminal and read my InStyle magazine. To my surprise, I did not need to use the restroom throughout the entire flight.

When we arrived at Heathrow, we went through the customs quickly and Erik actually saw his college friend who was also traveling. My aunt picked us up and drove us to her flat. She actually scared Erik with her aggressive driving. Hahaha... I told him that he drives the same way. Erik fell dead asleep after eating lunch, fish and chips (they were huge and we could only eat half of our portions), and didn't wake up for almost five hours. Ben had come home from school so we chatted a bit and then ate chinese take away for dinner. Then he went straight back to bed.

Apparently the housing cost in London is getting so high that some people are even taking out one hundred year mortagages! The girl who lives above my aunt is going to be renting her flat out for three hundred pounds a week while she travels for a few months. Crazy!
I did spot several Starbuck's here but I refuse to go to them while I travel. Instead I will go to as many local cafes. Although I love Starbuck's coffee, I'd rather drink coffee I can't get in southern California when I travel even if it's not as good.

Ben is up doing his homework. He is very cute and on the quiet side. He is already taller than my aunt. He seem pretty well rounded: likes soccer or football as they call it here, art, plays piano, part of the chess club and a club that cracks codes.

Well, we're off to London today. I hope we packed everything we need. I'm looking forward to spending time with my aunt and cousin in London and with Susan and Joo in Paris and Nice. I hope we'll have some leisure time as well. Our schedule is getting pretty packed. When I travel, I like to learn about how people in different places live life: what their daily life is like, what they like to do for fun, what their priorities are. When I close my eyes, I envision myself taking the walking Beatles tour, browsing through some British magazines and books at a bookstore, sitting on a bench at Hyde Park, sipping coffee and people watching at cafes in Paris and Nice, taking in beautiful art pieces at various museums, watching little children playing with their toy sailboats at the Octagon Pool at le jardin du Luxembourg, and watching a movie at the cinematique. What a dream...