teresa+caspian

venice, italy - part 3

2010-04-18T11:34:00.005+01:00

on our final day in venice, we were treated to beautiful weather and bright sun, a very welcome change to the drab, overcast grey cloud of the previous two days.

we decided to leave the main island and check out one of the other, smaller islands around the lagoon. we didn't have a lot of time, since we'd be flying out later that evening, so decided to visit the most popular and well known of them - murano.

murano is known for its skilled artisan glass-blowers, crafting intricate and beautiful jewelry as well as home furnishings such as vases and chandeliers. a signature murano touch is rainbow swirls in the glass, composed of many vibrant colours.

we took the vaporetto to the island and strolled up to the main part of the island (the canals meet in a 'T' junction near the centre of the 'island'). small shops lined the streets, and you could still see some larger buildings which once housed glass factories.

venice isn't that big, as you may have gathered from our previous posts, and murano even less so. pretty soon we were at our sole destination for the day, the murano glass museum. it was a fascinating lesson in the finer points of how glass is made and coloured. we were able to see a showcase of some spectacular works of art, including some enormous chandeliers.

we took the vaporetto back to the main island and, after wandering around for a bit, we found a real gem of a restaurant tucked away on a quiet street. the patrons were locals and the menu was all in italian - generally good signs. the food was excellent, including the octopus carpaccio, calamari and fish soup.

when our meal was done, it was a vaporetto and a bus back to the airport. and, with that, we bid arrivederci to venezia.

on meat

2010-04-13T23:45:00.006+01:00

the british take their meat seriously. and well they should, especially since a pillar of british social tradition is the sunday roast. it's a big affair and important that everything is done in a proper fashion.

the roast in question can be any meat; since we've been here, we've been treated to beef, chicken, lamb and pork. stuffing is optional, but always a welcome treat. the british, perhaps in a cue taken from the italians (possibly originally taken from the chinese), surprisingly appreciate pork 'crackling', the skin of the pig, which becomes crispy/crunchy when roasted.

then there's gravy. sometimes it takes the form of au jus. other times (the less often, the better), it's made (did we say made? we meant reconstituted...) from gravy granules. but it's always present on the table.

and the trimmings. who could forget the trimmings? we're continually surprised at how the british go all out. it's not just meat and potatoes. of course, the potatoes are usually beautifully done, especially when properly roasted in duck or goose fat (sold quite commonly in little tubs for this express purpose).

but that's not all. a roast would not be complete without parsnips and carrots. now we had never really taken a liking to parsnips. but this was likely because our previous experience had been boiled parsnips, which were quite bland. but when roasted, they have a lovely sweet taste that brings a nice contrast to the rest of the savoury dishes. incidentally, we recently discovered parsnips crisps, which are also quite tasty. cream cauliflower with cheese is another possible addition to the roast lineup and very rich in flavour.

that being said, we're still on the hunt for a good roast that hasn't been cooked by friends. when you do it yourself, you can prepare it exactly the way you want. when you go out, you're leaving too much to chance. our first couple of forays did not go well. in hindsight, that was to be expected, since we were trying the roasts at chain pubs. the good thing (or maybe bad thing) is that london has a lot of pubs (a LOT). gastropubs, which place more emphasis on the quality of food, should deliver a good product, albeit at a price. hopefully we'll be able to find a happy medium (rare).

venice, italy - part 2

2010-04-05T16:05:00.009+01:00

the morning of our second day in venice was grey and foggy, but in a way, it added to the mystique of the city. we started our day with another vaporetto ride. this time, we went in the opposite direction, traveling around the back of the main island. we figured it would give us a chance to see more of venice and we'd already been down the grand canal once.

we alighted just a little further down from san marco, at arsenale. arsenale (not to be confused with the north london football club we support) is the site of the historic venetian shipyards. the might of the venetian empire was built on its naval dominance and the arsenale was the engine powering it. we visited the naval history museum and were pleasantly surprised when our rolling venice card scored us a discount - entry only cost 75 cents each.

the museum itself is probably a little off the beaten path, and we were the only ones there until we were about to leave. although it's not very flashy in presentation, its contents are quite impressive. the first room you walk into contains massive cannon barrels from warships of old. you see scale, 3d models of various fortresses. we were pleased to see quite a few models of fortresses from crete, including the one we had visited in rethymnon.

models were the name of the game here and there were lots of model ships. this included ancient ships used by the greeks (basically glorified covered rowboats) to sailing tall ships to modern supertankers, naval destroyers and cruise liners. there were even ships from other cultures, including chinese junks and viking ships. of course, the museum would not be complete without a model of the arsenale shipyards, showing the progression of a ship being built and set to sea. however, the highlights had to be the full-scale venetian wedding barge and the gondola collection, which includes peggy guggenheim's personal gondola.

after we'd seen enough ships (surely for a lifetime), we headed back to the streets of venice. if you wander around enough, you begin to realise that many of the streets (as seen on a map) aren't really streets at all, and are little wider than an alley. some are passages with doors on either end and give you the distinct feeling like you're going down a tunnel. every now and then, a gap appears between the buildings and, voila, you have a throughway. toss in a few dead ends (some end in enclosed squares, others end in a canal), and even with a good map, it's not that hard to get lost. we suppose if you stick to the main streets, then you wouldn't really get lost. but then again, you don't see much traveling that way.

we eventually made our way back to the ponte di rialto, the postcardesque bridge that spans over the grand canal. after a few pictures, we headed across to the western side of the lagoon and the areas of san polo and san croce. running the gauntlet of tourist stalls, we made our way over to the bank with the hope of catching the fish market in action. but it was not to be, as most of the traders had packed up for the day and only a few stragglers were still in the last phases of cleaning their stalls.

to console ourselves, we stopped at a small pub - the ostaria antico polo - for some refreshment. we wanted to try some more cichetti and this ostaria had a fairly good selection from which to choose. we settled on classic venetian choices of baccala mantecato (pureed cod), sarde in saor (marinated sardines), as well as some other tasty snacks whose names we never knew (we simply went up to the bar and pointed "that one"). this time, we washed it down with spritz, which is a typical afternoon aperitif in venice made by mixing soda water, white wine and some form of bitters (sometimes just a lemon peel tossed in).

we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around san polo, passing by the odd open square and more than a few churches. it seemed as if every turn we took, there was a postcard shot waiting for us. venice gets progressively less touristy the further you go from the grand canal, and we noticed that san polo and croce were sleepier parts of towns and many of the people we saw seemed like locals. we tried to find a couple of gelaterias recommended by our guidebook, but unfortunately, they were closed. we were quite disappointed because the guide did quite a good job marketing them. we made up for it by sampling some italian pastries, including canoli and a fornarina di cioccolato e pistacchio.

for dinner, we crossed back over the grand canal and headed up to cannaregio and the jewish quarter in particular. we settled on a little trattoria by one of the main canals in the area and discovered that we were literally the only ones there (it was probably still too early and most italians were still in the ostaria for an evening, pre-dinner drink). we had a delightful meal that included steamed clams, gnocchi with crab sauce, frittura mista, and canneloni, topped off with some panna cotta for dessert.

after dinner we went to see if we could get tickets to see either an ensemble play a tribute to vivaldi (who was born and raised in venice) or la traviata (verdi, on the other hand, was not from venice). we could get neither, so we took another romantic stroll back to our hotel, stopping briefly to pick up yet another round of gelato before retiring for the evening.

to be continued...

venice, italy - part 1

2010-03-29T23:25:00.012+01:00

so many places, so little time. if you've grown up in europe, then you'll have grown up with amazing travel opportunities, with most of the first world a mere stone's throw away. if you're us, then you have to balance a list of where you want to go with where it's not so expensive to go at any given time.

we've had many conversations with friends and colleagues soliciting recommendations. and time after time, the same city kept on popping up near the top of everyone's lists: venice. in hindsight, we realise that we've tended to travel in themes. our first two trips, paris and brussels, were linked by the fact that we traveled by eurostar to both cities. the second theme, then, would be cities built on or around canals, venice following in close succession to our time in amsterdam.

we flew into venice's marco polo airport. upon disembarking, we picked up our rolling venice cards at a kiosk in the arrivals hall. the rolling venice card is available to tourists under 29 and gives you discounts on transit passes and entry into some of the museums and other sights. we used it to get a 72-hour transit pass, which works for the land bus that took us from the airport to the lagoon itself as well as the vaporetto (water bus) system that allows you to get around venice.

venice has a lot of historical and cultural significance, but today, it's basically sustained by the tourism industry and the lagoon itself doesn't really offer much else. most of the industry, apart from some smaller glass-blowing artisans, has moved onto the mainland. despite that, it still is a remarkable city and the second you step off the bus and see the grand canal you get the sense that you're in a place like no other.

after quickly checking into our hotel, we set off on the vaporetto for the san marco area. the vaporetto took us at a leisurely pace down the grand canal itself, taking us past the rialto bridge, ca'rezzonico, the guggenheim collection and finally to san marco itself. we made our way to the piazza di san marco, the famed open square of venice. being late november, we were quite fortunate as there were fewer tourists around and it hadn't yet hit the height of winter, where the square itself sometimes gets partially flooded. the piazza is hemmed in on three sides by continuous buildings accented with columns and even has an astronomical clock.

at the far end of the piazza sits the basilica di san marco. we decided to wander inside for a look and were blown away by the craftsmanship involved. at a glance, the ceilings look painted, albeit a little glittery. upon closer inspection, however, you realise that that the expansive and elaborate murals are actually mosaics made up of tiny tiles gilt in gold and other colours.

we next turned to the adjacent building, the palazzo ducale which is the palace of the doge, the governor of venice. the palazzo contains a seemingly endless array of rooms and the tour path takes you through almost every single one of them. every room was elaborate, as you'd expect a palace to be, with massive, ornate doors and mouldings. highlights included the entrance hall with ancient maps drawn across the wall and two large globes (one of earth, the other of the stars), the meeting hall of the government, the armoury and the dungeons (not recommended for the claustrophobic).

from the palazzo, we basically wandered around the narrow walkways and passages of the san marco district, gradually making our way in the general direction of our hotel. we stopped for some espresso and hot cioccolato. we passed by the theatre and rows of shops, including many that sold elaborate masks. we came to realise that masks - the type that you'd wear to a masquerade ball - were something of a local specialty in venice. they ranged from generic, mass produced versions manufactured for tourists to high end masterpieces, breathtakingly beautiful and intricately crafted. of course, the price tag for the finer ones was also enough to take your breath away.

we stopped again for a little snack of an involtino, basically a rolled up slice of pizza flattened in a panini press. our particular one had artichokes and ham and we washed it down with a glass of prosecco, dry sparkling wine made in the veneto region and a typical afternoon drink for venetians.

the main throughfare took us parallel to the grand canal and we eventually reached the rialto bridge again. by this time, it was already quite dark and some shops were beginning to close for the night. we stopped at a local bar recommended by our guidebook and had a glass of vino bianco and some cichetti, bar snacks that are essentially the venetian version of tapas. at this bar, we were served some polpetti, deep-fried meatballs which were quite tasty. the vibe of the place was great and it was packed with locals catching up with each other. of course, that made it a little difficult to get served, although we finally managed with our broken italian.

we strolled a bit further down the strada nova. although it's probably cliche to some, just knowing you're strolling around venice makes it romantic. and you don't even have to go on a gondola ride to get caught up in the romance. every few blocks or so, you're taken over another tiny bridge and get to glance down a quiet side canal, the sound of the water gently lapping at the edges.

we finally decided to head back to the hotel and found a place to have dinner. although probably a bit of a tourist trap, we were too tired to care, and the daily menu did include some local specialties. we had a fisherman's risotto, spaghetti al nero di seppia - where the sauce is made from the black ink of squid/cuttlefish - and fegato alla veneziana (liver, venetian style). it wasn't the most spectacular meal we've had, but it did the job and allowed us to sample something out of the ordinary. we topped off our evening with a trip to the gelateria and headed back to the hotel to recharge our batteries for our second day in venice.

to be continued...

life in london: 3

2010-01-16T22:30:00.001Z

3. notes on vocab

the british actually do use 'brilliant' as much as portrayed in the movies. and they actually still use 'chap' and 'bloke' in everyday language. or at least some do. some even still say 'cheerio'.

here are some terms/usages we've only ever heard used since coming here (it may only be because we're linguistically and culturally ignorant). for the record, we haven't listed some of the more typical ones (flat vs. apartment, brolly, wellies, etc.):

naff - tacky, unstylish, uncool
camp - fruity; can also be used to mean 'OTT' (over the top)
knackered/shattered - very tired, exhausted
(get) stuck in - get into, engage, dive in
sorted - taken care of (note the absence of 'out' after)
biro - ballpoint pen
stuffed (up) - screwed (up)
take on board - learn, internalize
wind up - tease, irritate
bespoke - tailored, custom made

minging - gross

gutted - very disappointed

blokey - masculine

chav(vy) - derogatory and un-pc, this is the british version of 'white trash'

fit - apparently means more than 'in good shape' and is used to describe something positive or someone very attractive; interchangeable with 'hot' when used to describe a person

this is clearly not an exhaustive list. as with accents, we tend to mingle with people from a lot of different places, both within and outside of the UK. we'll continue to add to this list as we pick up more slang. feel free to send in your additions!

amsterdam, netherlands - part 2

2009-11-29T23:36:00.008Z

our second day in amsterdam started off with blue skies and bright sunshine, a very welcome change to the grey drizzle that formed the backdrop for our first day.

we set off for town early and arrived at our first destination: the heineken experience. now, we're not really all that into drinking, but we know other people who have gone before and enjoyed it. besides, it's an iconic, globally recognised brand and, as marketers, we thought it would be interesting to see how well the 'experience' was executed.

the guidebook was a little off in terms of the opening times, so instead of waiting around, we took a quick stroll down to the rijksmuseum. we've hit our limit as far as museums and art galleries go, so unless there is something very compelling or world-renowned, it's quite unlikely that we're going to actually go in any more. which is all well and good because the rijksmuseum was undergoing renovations and only a small wing comprising less than 1/3 of the building was open to the public. the fact that they weren't charging 1/3 of the entrance fee was also a little unpalatable.

by the time we got back to the heineken experience, they were ready to open. located on the site of the original heineken brewery, the heineken experience essentially takes you through the entire history of the company, as well as the process of creating heineken - from the sourcing of the ingredients all the way to the marketing and distribution around the world. given the depth of information on offer, it was little surprise that we spent four hours there. or, at least that's how we'll justify it. highlights include the spaceship-like pods where you can watch heineken tv ads dating back to the early 20th century, the ceiling made out of heineken bottles, and the stables with clydesdales and the delivery wagons that are still used for special occasions. included in the admission fee are three beers - one in a 'tasting session' where a heineken rep talks you through the flavours, and two more in the bar at the end of the tour controlled by toggles on a rubber 'live strong'-style bracelet. we also got the opportunity to pull our own pints (more like half-pints), which was fun.

from there, we walked back to the rijksmuseum for a couple more pictures. we strolled through the park that sits between the rijks and the van gogh museum, which we also walked by (again, we didn't actually go in).

there was a museum that we were interested in seeing, but alas, the nederlands scheepvaartmuseum (maritime museum) was closed for the winter. so we contented ourselves by casually strolling back towards the city centre. we toyed around briefly with the idea of renting some bicycles for the authentic dutch experience, but the clouds started to look threatening again, so we decided to pass.

instead we visited albert heijn, the local supermarket, to pick up some souvenirs for colleagues and friends. isaac had recommended we pick up some stroopwafels, essentially caramel sandwiched between two thin, almost cookie-like waffles. we were glad we listened to him as they were a big hit with all who were lucky enough to nab one before they disappeared.

for our final meal in the netherlands, we wanted to find some authentic local fare and were rewarded with a very pleasant surprise as it was quite hearty (well suited for the rather bleak weather) and tasty. our meal consisted of a toastje (the dutch version of a croque monsieur or a welsh rarebit), hutspot(boiled and mashed potatoes, carrots and onions served with sausage), and erwtensoep (dutch pea and ham soup).

the little pub that drew our patronage also held another surprise - cats! the pub apparently had a resident mother cat and two absolutely adorable, and very playful kittens. one startled us mid-meal as it took a daring jump and proceeded to climb up our legs in an attempt to get at our food. cute at first, it got a little tiresome having to shield our food. but their persistence eventually wore us down and teresa started slipping our newfound friends some ham and sausage. tired from their little adventure (and quite possibly the hearty food), the little guys finally settled down for a nap.

perhaps we didn't see the amsterdam that most people come for. perhaps we didn't see the amsterdam that people conjure in their heads when they imagine it. we probably didn't even see the amsterdam that most tourists come to see, as we opted to skip most of the museums and the vondelpark. but we saw a version that was perhaps off the beaten path. and in this particular case, off the beaten path was probably a lot more wholesome. it was definitely friendly (which our butchery of the dutch language did not deter), quaint and beautiful.

amsterdam, netherlands - part 1

2009-11-28T20:43:00.011Z

amsterdam's the kind of place that surprises you once you get over its reputation as a liberal city full of druggies and prostitutes and actually see the city. it isn't just all about drugs and sex. at least not the sections we went to.

we took a train in from den haag and checked into our hotel, dropping off our stuff before heading to the city centre. our hotel, the novotel europa, was in the outskirts of the city, far away (a 20 minute tram-ride to be exact) from the sights and sounds of the centre. but the fact that breakfast (and a fabulous buffet one at that!) was included and there was a tram stop just a short 5 min walk away made up for the distance. the hotel and room were very modern in design and well appointed.

we had arranged to meet isaac in front of the anne frank huis, intending to go in for the tour. unfortunately, our detour to the hotel took us longer than anticipated and we were late for our rendezvous. as a result, the queue was ridiculously long, stretching around the house and down a block. we figured it would have been about a 45 min wait to get in. on top of that isaac was nowhere to be seen. in fact, he had gone in without us seeing as we hadn't arrived yet. we finally found him when he came out. we considered going in, but didn't particularly want to wait in line. isaac also told us that, while it was interesting, a lot had been changed to facilitate the museum aspect and we were probably better off just reading the diary to get the experience.

we walked around, soaking in the picturesque canals and bridges and ended up in a magnificent looking building that ended up being a mall called the magna plaza. after a quick look around a department store oddly named 'sissy boy', we set off in search of some lunch. being in the shopping district close to the city centre, it was difficult to find non-touristy places. we ended up in, of all places, a kebab shop. it's only ironic for us, since we live next door to a kebab shop in london.

after lunch we set off for, you guessed it, more walking. we wandered around the narrow alleys, and winding pedestrian walkways, passing by the occasional coffeeshop and catching a whiff of, well, you know, until we ended up at amsterdam's famous floating flower market. it's definitely something cas' mom, or any gardener for that matter, would quite enjoy as the selection was massive. besides, the fact that the stores are floating on the canal is quite novel. of course, getting any seeds or plants back home would pose at least a little challenge. we weren't bothered enough to figure out whether it was more cost effective to buy seeds there and send them back or just buy seeds at home. seeing how we don't have a garden, the point was moo. (as in, it's a cow's opinion. it doesn't matter. although we didn't say that out loud. the way the dutch love their cows, they might have deported us on the spot. yes, we know the correct term is moot.)

we gradually made our way back closer to the city centre (mainly marked by amsterdam centraal train station), coming full circle in our little mini-tour. as it was nearing dusk, we started sizing up dinner options. caspian was a little hungrier, so we stopped by a tiny shop off one of the alleys for a snack of a broodje haring (herring sandwich). the shop was a tiny place consisting of a counter, a fridge and maybe four tables at most that was likely only frequented by locals. the gentleman behind the counter was very cordial and appreciated our modest attempts at speaking dutch.

for dinner, we decided to be completely adventurous and have indonesian food! the guidebook had mentioned that there was a sizable migration of indonesians to the netherlands in the 1940s, so we figured we'd give it a try. we found this great little indonesian restaurant off a side street, much less dodgy than some of the other alleys we passed through. the food was yummy, and satisfied the hunger in our bellies!

however, that being said, after dinner, we still managed to have the desire to seek out a place that sold chips. it's rather hard not to want some when every other person you walk past on the street is holding a cone of chips! the place we ended up getting the chips from was "voted #1 holland's fries", rightfully (or perhaps not) named manneken pis. as you may recall, the manneken pis is a statue that we visited in brussels, belgium...hmmm...makes you wonder what the connection is...

after that, we walked with isaac to the train station so he could head back to den haag. as all the shops had pretty much closed by this point and it was too dark to take any decent photos of the city, we decided to pack it in for the night. after all, a second day in amsterdam awaited us the next day...

to be continued...

den haag, netherlands - part 2

2009-11-27T23:20:00.021Z

sorry. this was a long time coming. will get caught up. promise.

our second day in den haag started with us visiting one of the local markets. (actually, it started with a little adventure of us trying to ride a bike 'dutch style' - one person riding with a second person balanced on the pannier rack above the back wheel. we gave up shortly after and took a tram instead.)

as you may have already determined from reading some of our other posts, we've discovered that we absolutely love markets. and so far, the market in den haag is definitely one of the best ones we've ever been to. it's kept healthily away from anywhere tourists would venture to, a true local hangout. this was a small taste of what life in den haag is really like.

the first thing you notice about the market is how many stalls there are. the market stretches across a few blocks and spans two stops on the tram. the market generally has a food section (both prepared and produce) and everything else, encompassing clothing, household goods and general knick-knacks. that we spent most of our time in the food section goes without saying.

we really enjoyed the opportunity to try some local specialties. for breakfast we had haring, a dutch snack that is basically salted raw herring, doused with onions and pickles. we also had a broodje speciaal (special sandwich), which is fried fish on a bun served with more onions and a spicy mayonnaise. i guess since everyone's got onion breath, it sort of evens out.

we saw a few cheese stalls, which was only natural, seeing how much the dutch love their cows. cheese, particularly of the gouda and edam varieties, is one of their more well-known national exports. we also saw the largest fish stall we had ever seen, with just about every manner of sea creature available to be bought (and eaten).

still a little hungry, we then tried a stick of surimi. in the window, it looks like deep-fried shrimp, which looked quite appealing and appetising. however, our first bite revealed that it was not, in fact, shrimp that we had bought, but essentially the same stuff used to make chinese fish balls made into the shape of a shrimp. still tasty, but a little disappointing given what we were expecting.

finally, we had a snack enjoyed worldwide, with a dutch twist: patates met pindasaus, a cone of french fries with peanut sauce. the sauce was very similar to one that accompanies a popular chinese snack - the combo of peanut butter and hoisin sauce that comes with fried dough fritters wrapped in rice noodle.

from there, we walked (cheapest method) back into the city centre, stopping by the buildings of parliament and the escher museum (although we didn't actually go in). we took a break at a cafe and sampled some poffertjes, mini pancakes, and an apple gebak and a pint of grolsch. the cafe was conveniently located next to a shoe shop called 'cinderella' so naturally, we spent a fair bit of time there. until dinner time, actually.

for dinner we took a tram out to the seaside to a cute little seafood restaurant. we started with kroketten, the dutch version of croquettes made with shrimp-meat. for mains we had baked mussels au gratin and grilled trout in a rich shrimp brandy sauce. after dinner we strolled next door to the pub for a pint and fresh mint tea.

we would have strolled along the pier, but it was chilly and windy so staying inside was definitely the better option. we topped it off with some dessert and headed home, again, thoroughly exhausted. not very exciting, we know, but we figured some rest would do us some good before we traveled to amsterdam the next day.

to be continued...

den haag, netherlands - part 1

2009-11-26T20:43:00.015Z

it had been a while since our last trip and so, after a busy october, we decided to take another weekend break. of course, we had to choose a place to go and, as our list is still quite long, it wasn't a straightforward choice.

well, as it so happens, a good family friend from toronto is doing an internship at the international criminal court in the netherlands. since he's only there for six months, it would be good to take the opportunity to visit.

now, there are a number of routes to den haag (pronounced 'den-ach', as if you're trying to do a

poor imitation of a scottish accent) from london. you can take the eurostar from london to brussels (the same route we took just a couple of months ago) and then transfer to the thalys, another train that takes you to den haag. the eurostar takes about an hour and a half, and the thalys is another hour, which definitely makes this the scenic route.

another option is to take a train up to the eastern coast of england, to a small town called harwich. a ferry will take you across the channel to a port in between den haag and rotterdam. while we were advised this is the cheapest option, it also seemed a little complicated with a lot of transfers. so we decided to forgo it this time around.

the third, most obvious and popular route is to go to fly from london to amsterdam and take a short train ride to den haag. the flight is less than an hour and the train is 30 minutes, which means

traveling time of an hour and a half total (not including all the airport hassle), making this the quickest route. as a bonus, it takes us through amsterdam, so we might as well spend a couple of extra days there too (more on that later). it was also a big thing for us, as this was our first experience with easyjet, one of europe's prominent discount airlines.

so off we went and, just shortly after takeoff, the cockpit informed us that we were preparing for landing. this could be the shortest flight we've ever been on. we were greeted at the airport by a fair bit of rain. unfortunately, schipol (amsterdam's airport) didn't have the telescopic (and, more importantly, covered) walkways that usually connect to the airplane door, so we had to walk down a slippery and rickety set of metal stairs to the tarmac before rushing inside the terminal.

the beauty of a) taking weekend trips, and b) flying easyjet means that you generally don't have that much luggage. this makes it a breeze to embark and disembark. so after clearing customs and adding yet another stamp to our passports, we were out in the main hall of the airport.

unlike toronto, amsterdam's train network runs right to the airport, making connections super easy. the hard part was figuring out how to get tickets for the train. luckily, the little dutch that we had learned came through for us and quite shortly, we were on a train headed for den haag. actually, the timetable said the train would be leaving from platform 4 and the train was actually on platform 3. we were a little confused, as the sign on the train did say 'den haag', so we asked someone who was nice enough to confirm our suspicions for us.

the train ride was quite nice, rain notwithstanding. the route takes you by lots of very flat countryside with large expanses of field and farmland separated by canals. a few sections were dotted with cows (which the dutch love) and sheep.

we arrived at the den haag centraal station and had some time to kill before we had arranged to meet with our friend at the courthouse so we decided to go for a quick walk around the station to see what we could find. we came across a grocery store called albert heijn, and since we love to compare retail experiences in grocery stores, poked around inside to see what it was like. we picked up a bottle of water for 40 cents and carried on until we found a little restaurant for some breakfast. (one of the tradeoffs of flying easyjet is the early flight with no in-flight meal)

we had read about dutch specialties and decided to get an early start on trying them out. we ordered some pannenkoeken (pancakes) and an appletaart met slagroom (apple pie with whipped cream). to drink, we had chocolademelk (hot chocolate) and something called a wiener melange, which is like a cafe au lait.

after breakfast, we took a bus to visit the international criminal court. we actually went in to observe part of one of the trials going on, which was kind of interesting. but trials can only get so interesting, so after we'd had enough, we set off for our friend's flat.

the flat was on the top floor and was very spacious and nice, if a little cold. the stairs start off fairly normal, but by the time you get to the top, where the staircase winds around itself, it's quite steep and you are quite tempted to start using your hands, as if rock climbing. we imagine it can be quite treacherous in the dark, since the steps near the top are very narrow, only about a couple inches deep, and about half a foot tall.

the rest of our day consisted of walking around the city centre to see a couple of landmarks (e.g., the queen's house) and strolling through the shopping district. it soon got dark and we soon got hungry again, so our friend took us to a rustic cafe/pub for some traditional dutch fare (including some roast venison with root vegetables and frites in a skillet), which we thoroughly enjoyed.

satisfied and a little exhausted from a full day of traveling and walking, we retired back to the flat to unwind and prepare for the day ahead.

to be continued...

life in london: 2

2009-11-26T20:15:00.002Z

2. accents

to the average north american, the british accent is very attractive. people are probably wondering whether we'll come back with an accent ourselves. the short answer is no.

what we didn't realise until we got here is that there isn't just one british accent. in fact, there are quite a few. actually, there's a distinct accent for just about every major city in the uk. because of that, the only way we'd be able to pick one up is to surround ourselves with only one accent, say, by moving to the countryside. (the other reason is that a surprising number of people in london don't even have english as their mother tongue).

here's a short list of different accents that you may come across:
london (cockney)
manc (manchester)
yorkie (yorkshire)
geordie (newcastle)
scouse (liverpool)
brummie (birmingham)
brizzle (bristol)
essex
and the public school accent (the 'proper' british accent that most people probably imagine when they think of a british accent)

toss the irish (north and south), welsh and scottish, aussies, kiwis and south africans in the mix too because there are plenty of them about to.

by the time we leave, we probably still won't be able to recognize all the various accents, let alone pick one up.

life in london

2009-11-26T20:12:00.005Z

there may be a few of you who are wondering what life is like in london. beyond what we've already written about (like grocery shopping), we'll try to capture the tidbits we've picked up in the 7-ish months we've been here.

1. standard vacation in canada = 10 days. standard vacation in london = 23 days. london 1, canada 0.

we're still here

2009-11-26T20:08:00.005Z

sorry for the radio silence for the past little bit. rest assured, we're still alive. it's just been a little 'manic', as they say here, lately. but we've got a few updates coming your way shortly. so stay tuned!

brussels, belgium

2009-09-05T12:14:00.010+01:00

the end of august brought about another bank holiday, meaning our first long weekend after starting work and an excellent opportunity to do some more traveling. unfortunately, we didn't plan quite early enough and prices were a little bit higher, most likely due to the higher anticipated demand from the holiday.

in the end, we settled on another eurostar vacation. after all, we figured we might as well take advantage of our wonderful location, a scant 10 min stroll from st. pancras international train station. we also figured we'd continue to get the most out of our french education and decided to head to brussels. after we booked our trip, we found out that our aussie friend, dan, was also going to be there at the same time.

make no mistake about it, this was going to be a culinary-themed holiday. our objectives were simple: 1) chocolate, 2) waffles, 3) fries, 4) mussels, and 5) beer. everything else was optional. belgium has plenty more to offer, and there is lots to do in brussels. but we would be more than satisfied if we covered off our modest list.

our hotel was located in the european quarter, really close to the EU headquarters by schumann metro station. while it was away from the city centre, that also meant it was quieter in the evenings. in actuality, it was beginning to seem like nothing is really that far in europe, as we could walk to our hotel from the city centre in about 15-20 minutes.

the brussels known to tourists is quite small, and revolves around the square known as the grand place (meant to be read/said with french pronunciation). the square itself has a lot of heritage, with guildhouses and the town hall dating back to the 15th century. by comparison, canada (yes, the country) was born yesterday. we read that karl marx wrote the communist manifesto in one of the guildhouses lining the square. the square is dominated by the town hall (hotel de ville). we know very little of architecture (although being in europe, you can't help but learn), but the gothic building was very beautiful and intricately built.

the rest of the city centre is basically in a one mile radius spiraling out from the grand place. other notable sights we visited included the famous, if slightly irreverent, manneken-pis, which is a statue of a peeing boy. yes, really. galeries royale de st-hubert, a very pretty and posh covered shopping arcade. we also stopped by the comic strip museum; belgium has a fascination with comic strips and both tintin and the smurfs (yes, those smurfs) were created by belgian artists. we walked into the museum of chocolate (where else would you find one?), but felt that 4 euros was a little too much to pay to learn about chocolate without actually getting to eat any.

but the real stars of this trip were ennumerated earlier. it is hard to find a block without at least one chocolate shop. godiva, leonidas, and neuhaus are all internationally renowned chocolatiers. you can get strawberries dipped in a chocolate fountain at leonidas and chocolixirs - extremely rich milkshakes - from godiva. that's not to mention the stacks of truffles and pralines. but the clear winner had to be wittamer, located by the grand sablon, whose pralines were absolutely divine. flavour so rich and texture so smooth had to come at a price, but it was worth every penny.

equally ubiquitous were the waffle shops. there are actually two different types of belgian waffles. the type normally found in north america are of the brussels variety. they are light and fluffy, but don't taste like much on their own. that's why they're usually accompanied by toppings such as strawberries and chocolate. the other type is the liege-style waffles. these waffles are more dense and sweeter, usually with a caramelised crust. they also look like they have the corners trimmed off, although we never really learned why. after trying both (many times), we find that we prefer the liege-style waffles. the fact that you can get them on the street from a trolley just makes them that much cooler. our friend also tried one from a van off the street - similar to an ice cream van, except they sell waffles too.

as a bonus, we also found another trolley that sells...wait for it...escargots of all things. it was located on a street corner by manneken-pis. needless to say, we had to sample such a bizarre phenomenon. they were different form escargots we have had previously, the type that's basically baked in garlic butter. these were stewed in a peppery broth, but equally tasty.

the third regular sight in brussels is the chip shops. a wonderful snack that would be very dangerous for our waistlines were we to live here. the chips (i.e., french fries) are really good here, probably better than in paris and definitely better than those found in london. for a little extra, they'll add a dollop of mayonnaise or some other sauce (the concoction of mayonnaise and ketchup is quite good) for you to dip. very convenient, and not overly expensive, a cone of chips is a great way to avoid hunger while walking around. they also make a great complement to the bowl of mussels, which can be found at almost every restaurant.

there was one section of very touristy restaurants. the menus are for the most part less expensive (around €10-16) than the more local restaurants. the trade-off is that the food is pretty standard fare (steaks that aren't really that good, chicken) and the service is what you would expect for tourists. on these menus, you won't find any belgian specialties. walking down the strip, you are regularly harassed by restaurant staff trying to get you to dine at their establishment (much like walking down brick lane in london). but if all you need is some mussels and fries, then they're a good option.

finally, a quick note about the beer. during our three days there, we managed to sample eight different beers. keep in mind that we're not really the drinking type. here are the beers we tried: bockor, hoegaarden, maes, leffe, stella artois, jupiler, kriek, chimay. some we have previously encountered in canada, but others were distinctly local. as a note, stella isn't really a big beer in belgium - most of the locals drink jupiler more than anything else. chimay is a beer made by trappiste monks and has 9% alcohol. and kriek (at least the variety we tried) is a fruit beer and we weren't sure whether it wanted to be a wine or a beer more. teresa notes that it tasted like cough medicine.

all in all, we quite enjoyed belgium. it was a delicious holiday and we would very much like to visit again. we're getting hungry just writing this recap. but, of course, there are other places we still need to see...

sushi in london

2009-08-15T12:13:00.002+01:00

it had been over four months since we had last tasted japanese food, teresa's favourite. in toronto, there are japanese restaurants everywhere, albeit mostly owned and run by either chinese or korean families. but the quality is usually decent and the prices reasonable.

in london, you can get sushi easily enough, as it's quite popular here. but unlike toronto, the quality is suspect and the prices most definitely unreasonable. the big, quick-service takeaway chains (notably wasabi and itsu) do sell pre-packed sushi. and by sushi, we really mean maki and nigiri. one thing we'll give the brits is that, due to the popularity of sushi, most know the difference between nigiri/maki/sashimi and will often reference the more specific term instead of the generic catch-all of 'sushi'. i'm not sure the same capability exists in the average canadian.

you can also find pre-made sushi sets at ubiquitous pret, which is more known for its fresh sandwiches. even the big grocery stores sell sushi sets, designed to capitalise on the office lunch rush.

you can also find sushi at some pan-asian eateries, like hare&tortoise. we suppose the benefit of this is if you go with company that doesn't particularly like the idea of raw fish, they can happily munch on some black bean beef chow mein instead.

then there are the numerous japanese restaurants. but do not be fooled: japanese does not necessarily equal sushi. japanese food in london is much more sophisticated and can be broken down into different cuisine sub-types. some are ramen specialists. others are really izakayas (japanese pubs). there's even a restaurant near leicester square that specialises in okonomiyaki (japanese pancakes). so if it's sushi you're after, make sure the place actually sells sushi.

needless to say, it seemed a daunting task to sort through all of this and find a place that does sushi, does it well and won't charge you a small fiefdom to eat it. for teresa's birthday, we finally decided to test the waters. after some research, we discovered a place that was reputedly run and approved by japanese people, and reasonably priced. it was a little far, being out in ealing common (that's zone 3!), but we decided it was worth the trip to find out if this was the real deal.

sushi hiro definitely lived up to the hype. we're not the most sophisticated of diners and would likely be happy with mediocre quality, but to our simple palates, the fish here was excellent! when you walk through the doors, you are greeted by the wait staff all chiming 'irasshaimase' in unison, which is a good sign. the waitresses are clearly japanese and at one point, caspian thought it might be more fun to try to communicate in broken japanese than in broken english. we ordered a chirashi-don and a nigiri/sashimi platter. and the selection was very impressive, even including toro (fatty tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), and hotategai (scallop). we topped off our meal with extra orders of toro, hamachi and uni. all were fresh and very tasty.

while it wasn't the cheapest place to get sushi, the value was superb. the chirashi-don cost £12. in toronto terms, that's quite pricey. but keep in mind that, in toronto, chirashi rarely (if ever) comes with toro and hamachi). you're more likely to get maguro and that relatively tasteless tai stuff. sushi hiro definitely satisfied the long outstanding craving for sushi, and did so in style. of course, in so doing, it whet our appetites for more.

our next foray took place the night immediately following. we had tasted quality and now we were simply gunning for quantity. enter hi sushi, which is all-you-can-eat (AYCE) japanese. there are a few located around town, but the closest one is on frith street in soho, near the shaftesbury theatre. £14.80 gets you the AYCE deal, which is a little deceptive. first of all, there's a one-hour time limit. so it really should be all-you-can-eat-in-one-hour. second, the AYCE menu is divided into two sections, hot and cold. of the hot menu items, you can only order up to 8, and only once per sitting. it's only the cold items that are AYCE. and by cold items, we really mean salmon in a few variations (sashimi, nigiri, maki, spicy salmon maki, salmon and avocado maki). which was fine by us, because we quite like salmon.

we now know where to go to satiate our sushi cravings when they do come up. there are probably better places out there, in terms of quality. of course, we're also quite sure that those establishments are much much more expensive. for our money, sushi hiro and hi sushi will do just fine.

wicked

2009-08-14T12:13:00.002+01:00

for teresa's birthday, we decided to do another one of those london things - the west end show. the west end is essentially london's version of broadway, and it's where all the musicals are running. there are a bazillion to choose from, from small to major production, old and new. the funny thing is, the west end really isn't all that west. it's more like in the middle. and not all the theatres are in the same area; there are a few scattered further out.

based on the recommendation of a couple friends, we decided to go see 'wicked,' the untold story of the witches of oz. historically, we've never really been musical (as in show) type people. teresa's seen the lion king in toronto. caspian saw stomp ages ago (does that even count as a musical?). and the extent of all our recent activity involving musicals has occurred largely/solely on cruise ships in the caribbean.

trade secret: there are many ways to get tickets to wicked. you can buy them online from a number of ticket resellers. you can go to a physical ticket booth that specialises in selling tickets to shows(there are many around london, most of them in leicester square). while these routes will allow you to get tickets for cheap (as low as £17), you get what you pay for. we were going to go this route until we discovered the best option. every day, the box office at the theatre itself will release about 24 tickets for the front row for only £20 apiece. and by front row, we mean front row: you-a little space to walk in front of you-orchestra pit-stage. the tickets are released at 10am every day.

alas, by the time we started queuing, there were already a number of people in line. apparently 5 min before 10am isn't early enough, but we're sure quarter to 10 would suffice to get you tickets. by the time we got there, there was only 1 day ticket left (what are we going to do with one ticket?). so we had to get other tickets since we were pretty much set on going that day. but the benefit of being at the box office is that they can tell you exactly what the seats are like, and even get you some deals. we scored tickets that were valued at £60 for only £30 - half off ain't bad.

the show itself was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the experience immensely. our seats were great, located second row in from the balcony. the box office lady told us that we'd be close enough 'to see the actors' faces' (we guess this is important to theatre-goers?) and, sure enough, see their faces we could. the songs were energetic and fun. the vocals were excellent (at no point were we scared that the big bold notes would not be hit - not so when watching x-factor). the story was clever. and the ending was satisfying (we wouldn't want to spoil it for those of you who have yet to see it).

if you have the time when you stop in london, we highly recommend catching a show, any show really. if you're a big fan of musicals, and are highly critical, then maybe you won't be quite as awed by wicked as we were. but sometimes ignorance actually can be bliss.

paris – epilogue

2009-08-05T12:09:00.001+01:00

Something that struck us while we were in Paris was the poor. It’s something that we hadn’t noticed as much in London, although since returning we have been more aware.

In Paris, it seemed people weren’t afraid to ask you for money. In particular, there seemed to be more gypsies (technically, the Romani people), who are quite pushy in their attempts. We also saw people rummaging through public rubbish bins looking for food to eat. All while we're indulging in French cuisine.

It was an important reminder for us. In a lot of ways, our little adventure can be self-indulgent. Yes, we want to challenge our faith and grow in our knowledge of God. But there is also the aspect of traveling and seeing different places. Perhaps it was God’s clever way of putting our trip in perspective and reminding us of how much He has blessed us in terms of worldly wealth. But worldly wealth, namely holding onto it for ourselves, has very little bearing on eternity.

A heart for the poor is something that we felt when we were still in Toronto. In retrospect, it is something that we had lost since arriving in London. After a humble reminder in Paris, it’s something we’re keen to regain.

paris – part iv

2009-08-05T11:51:00.001+01:00

Monday marked our last day in Paris. While we had enjoyed our time, all the walking and standing (waiting for the Tour de France) had also thoroughly tired us out. We’re reminded of why we avoided a European honeymoon and are quite pleased that we did. We had already covered a lot of ground (literally), and had at least stopped by almost everything on our ‘Paris for tourists’ list. In retrospect, it really isn’t that much – Paris is a wonderful city and there is so much more to it than just the Eiffel tower. It’s a city that would be really fun to live in. Don’t worry, though – we’ll be sticking with London. The French would never give us visas anyway.

But back to Monday. We decided to keep the schedule light and not get too ambitious. Our first stop was up in the Pigalle area. Pigalle is a fascinating area in that it is quite seedy. Sex shops and clubs brazenly flaunt their wares with their bright, flashy neon signs – even at 10:30 in the morning. But just to the north lies the charming neighbourhood of Montmartre, with its somewhat windy, cobbled streets. You may be wondering why we ventured to Pigalle, then, if it is so unsavoury. We went because our inner romantics wanted to visit the fabled Moulin Rouge.

As is our custom when ‘visiting’ landmarks, we didn’t exactly go in to watch a show. With the entry fare at a cool €100 per person for dinner and a show, we decided we weren’t that interested in what was beyond the doors. A cabaret is not something we’re quite sure we’d enjoy either. The entrance had displays that told of the origin and history of the club. We found out that the likes of Sinatra and Piaf had graced its stage, and royalty from several countries its audience. Yes, there is actually a windmill over the entrance.

From there we (slowly) strolled through the streets of Montmartre to reach the funiculaire that would take us to the top of the hill. We considered, albeit briefly, taking the stairs, but decided to experience riding up in (lazy) style. Our t+ tickets for the metro worked for the funiculaire too, making it quite convenient. At the top of the hill of Montmartre, the highest point in the city of Paris, sits the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. Sacré-Coeur is a cathedral built in the late 19th century. Its construction was funded by donations from French Catholics in penitence for the Franco-Prussian war. We thought that was quite interesting. In the Bible, people built altars out of praise and temples out of a desire to worship God. Here was a church that was built out of contrition. Would we do that today? Would we feel so moved by our past actions to build a church? Would we even acknowledge wrongdoing in today’s laissez-faire, post-modern society where anything goes?

The view from Montmartre was spectacular. You can see the endless sprawl of Paris and be reminded of the incredible density of the city. We took our time walking down from the hill, savouring the view (and the sunny weather). The rest of our day was spent wandering about different patisseries in search of more goodies before we left. If you go to Paris for nothing more than eating pastries, it’s still well more than worth it in our estimation.

The beauty of Paris is how convenient it was to get there from London. We’ll hopefully be able to return one day. But until then, there are many more places to visit.

À bientôt!

paris - part III

2009-08-04T12:02:00.005+01:00

our third day in paris took us to the fabled champs-elysées. we hopped on a metro and were off to our destination. coming out of the metro station, we were greeted by the arc de triomphe, which sits at one end of the long, wide avenue (place de la concorde is at the other end).

on this day, there were no cars (not even fancy ones) allowed on the road. the road was thoroughly barricaded off on both the sides and the end. you see, this day we were to witness the finale of the tour de france.

we were there sufficiently early to be right at the barricades (the equivalent of front row seats), but it was still 10:30 in the morning and the riders weren't scheduled to arrive until 4:30 or so. as keen as we were, we weren't too keen on waiting 6 hours. instead, we took the opportunity to stroll down the street and explore the shops that lined it.

the champs-elysées is paris' most famous avenue, known for its shopping. it wasn't quite as we expected it, but it was still very nice. on this day, we had to contend with the many stands that were set up to sell tour de france merchandise, which maybe took a little away from the mystique. because of the barricades, we ended up strolling down one side and back before proceeding down the other side.

we went inside the peugeot store, which featured some concept cars for tourists to gawk at. we were more interested in the other branded stuff. at the william ashley sale in toronto, we had noticed some kitchenware designed by peugeot but never realised they had enough to fill a store! they even had pens, notebooks, ties and cufflinks. we also wandered into a massive sephora, the french beauty retailer. did you know that sephora is owned by LV? we didn't either!

we into more stores on the other (south) side of the street. for one, the LV flagship store is on this commercial stretch, although we weren't bold enough to go in. the toyota store featured a car mounted on the wall. the renault store had a massive tv that was showing the hungarian grand prix. a mass of middle aged men crammed into the store to watch all the action and cheered for...whatever there is to cheer about when watching f1 (it's a mystery to us). they also had an f1 simulation, but the queue was long enough to deter us from waiting.

our favourite store had to be ladurée, another of the top french patisseries. another friend had advised us that ladurée had the best macarons in paris. we bought the mini macarons this time and they were so colourful and cute! we also loved the packaging, which was very classic, but elegant. so the verdict? pierre hermé or ladurée? well, we're sure a case could be made for either and it probably comes down to personal preference. our vote is for ladurée. pierre hermé was good, but the ganache-quality filling was so rich it made our heads hurt a little. the filling at ladurée was quality as well, but the fruit filling in particular was quite tasty.

now on to the main event: the tour de france. after lunch, we assumed our position along the barricades. by this point, people had filled up every free spot right against the barricades so we picked a spot that gave us essentially 'second-row' seats. and then we waited. and waited. and waited some more. lucky for us, the weather was very nice and we even got a bit of a tan (to top up the tans we picked up in greece and wimbledon).

at about 3pm, there was some sign of life, and everyone bolted up in eager anticipation. it ended up being the sponsors' parade. while a fringe activity at best in north america, cycling is massively popular in europe. of course, that means it's also big money for corporate sponsors who want a piece of the media exposure. the parade gave each sponsor a share of the spotlight. some were quite demure, with only a convoy of a few branded cars honking their horns (lame). others were a bit more inventive, like vittel, the official water sponsor of the tour, who had people spraying crowds with water hoses. (they lucked out with the weather too; we doubt it would have had the same effect if it was raining)

the parade finished and, finally, after all that waiting, the real action was about to begin. we were tipped off by the helicopters flying overhead, filming the riders as they approached us. excitement rippled through the crowd that had been waiting for hours.

if you're ever going to watch the tour de france, either plan to watch multiple stages on your journey or watch in paris. only watch a single, non-paris stage if you're going to be content with waiting hours for a (super) quick glance at the riders. it may be a little better on a mountain stage where they'll slow down for the climb, but otherwise, they blow by you and are gone. we'd always known they ride fast, but we were still stunned by how fast they actually were, a literal blur of multi-colour clad riders.

the benefit of watching in paris is that the course actually takes the peloton on eight laps of the champs-elysées, meaning you get to see the riders sixteen times (one on each side). it's also kind of an interesting study on european sporting culture. i'm not sure you'd find that many sports fans in north america that would be willing to wait a whole day for but a moment's viewing. still, it was worth it, to be able to witness one of the world's great sporting events live. it was too bad lance didn't win yet another title, but he put finished in a respectable place (3rd overall).

once the race was over, the crowd disbanded, leaving the street in droves. we were thoroughly tired from standing most of the day and just wanted to find a place to sit and eat. unfortunately, a lot of shops and restaurants seemed to be closed on sundays. we finally settled on a restaurant for dinner, where we checked off a couple of more items on our list of classic French foods: escargots and crème brûlée. delightful!

after dinner, we were full and tired so we just headed back to the hotel for some rest.

paris, france - part deux

2009-08-02T19:28:00.000+01:00

cue music (the french accordian stuff).

the next day we set our sights high. real high. as you can no doubt guess, our next destination was the fabled and iconic tour eiffel. so we hopped onto the métro and off we went.

tangent: we wanted to comment on the paris métro. more than an extensive network that takes you just about anywhere you'd want to go, the métro system oozes character. the trains themselves vary from rickety cars reminescent of the older ttc models (you know, the yellowy orange ones) to newer slicker versions with electronically lit route maps. it all depends on which line you're traveling on. without any hyperbole, most of the tunnels that made up our main line, the M4, were covered in graffiti. it made for an interesting ride because now you had more than just transit ads to look at. the stations themselves were very nice for the most part (except for saint sulpice for some reason). some were trimmed with riveted metal, while saint germain had a distinct art gallery feel (complete with display cases). upon reflection, we suppose toronto subway stations can be quite interesting too. it's just that we never really appreciated them much until we learned to appreciate the transit systems of other cities.

we arrived at bir-hakeim station and, along with the rest of the people on the métro, we got off to be greeted by not the eiffel tower. we had to walk about 10 minutes, cleared some really tall trees and buildings to even see it. kinda anti-climatic. when we saw it the night before, teresa had commented on how small the eiffel tower seemed. it was decidedly bigger up close and personal.

on the way there, we were passed by a trio of soldiers, stern-looking young men wielding automatic rifles. our sentiments were a blend of reassurance that someone was on the lookout and mild alarm over what (or who) they might be on the lookout for. it was pretty awesome (or at least cas thought so).

when we finally reached the base, we were disappointed by the insanely long queue. but we suppose it was to be expected. it is the tour eiffel after all. on a saturday. luckily for us, we learned of two ways to bypass the lines, thanks to our handy guidebook (thank you again, london public library system).

the first way is to dine at the jules verne restaurant on the second level. we don't really recommend this unless you have lots of excess money burning holes in your pockets (if you do, give us a call. j/k). that's what it'll take at the posh eatery, if the €85 menu is any indication - and that's just for lunch! the dinner menu will set you back a cool €200. of course, you could also order à la carte, with dishes like lobster (€95 alone) and frogs legs on offer.

on the opposite end of the financial spectrum, the cheaper way to circumvent the line is to simply take the stairs. it'll still cost €4.50 and you can only get to the second level (it costs €10.50 - and at least an hour wait - for tickets to the top tier), but it sure beats waiting. our feet were hurting a little from all the walking we had done the previous day, but the prospect of ascending paris' landmark spurred us on. and you never know when the next opportunity might come again. besides, we had already climbed up the cn tower by stairs, so might as well keep the theme going.

when you climb the cn tower, you're encased by the concrete prison of the stairwell shaft. the tour eiffel, by contrast, is completely open, with only the heavy metal lattice and some thin metal mesh separating you from a pretty nasty fall. the air is much fresher, but you're also exposed to the wind. and there are these little holes in the metal steps. if you're even remotely scared of heights, the €200 menu might not seem so bad halfway between the first and second levels. but tough it out because the view from the top is amazing! because the tower is almost at the centre of the city, there's lots to see at each of the 360 degrees.

after we'd soaked in enough of the bird's eye view of paris, we had to get down. the pain in our feet had only increased from all the stair climbing so we tried to find an alternative means of returning to the ground. salvation came in the form of a scammed ride on a descending elevator and soon we were back on terra firma.

we slowly strolled through the parc du champs de mars, stopped to take some pictures, and found a little café for some dejeuner and rest. after lunch, we took a walk down la rive gauche, passed the hotel des invalides and crossed the pont alexandre III (which has massive statues of stone angels wielding golden swords). we walked between the grand palais and the petit palais to reach the fabled champs-elysées and the place de la concorde, with its 3,300 year old egyptian obelisk.

along the way, we stopped at a bakery. the bakeries alone are reason enough to love paris. they're everywhere and oh so good. it's amazing french people aren't either comatose from eating everything in sight, bankrupt from buying everything on display, or both. baguettes are so fresh that they're still warm when they're handed over the counter and they make the most sumptuous crackling sound when you tear a piece off. they were so good, we ended up eating 3 during our four-day trip. the pastry is peerless (in our journeys so far, at any rate), so whether you're munching on a pain au chocolat or a butter or almond croissant, the texture and flavour is to die for!

this topic will inevitably bring us to macarons. not to be confused with macaroons as we know them in north america, macarons are delectable little treats that resemble fancy oreos. of course, the biscuits are of almond meringue, the filling is a rich ganache, and they come in myriad flavours and colours. among the travel tips we were given was to visit a store called pierre hermé that reputedly had the best macarons in paris. the queue out the door to the end of the street was a good sign that this reputation was going to be backed up. and it was indeed. the macarons were very rich - both in cost and in flavour. as a note, never try to eat more than a couple in one sitting.

from there we meandered over to the musee d'orsay, but it was too late to be worth paying the entrance fee. we crossed back over to the right bank in search of a suitable venue for dinner. our quest took us through the royal palace gardens, with its whimsical square trees, and les halles, the site where the paris central market used to be held. not too far from there, we finally ended up at our destination: au pied du cochon.

those of you who have heard our foie gras poutine story will recognise the name as being the same as the restaurant in montreal where we ate during our weekend getaway a scant four (or five) years ago. although there is no affiliation that we know of, it's somewhat of an institution in paris as well, the restaurant being open 24/7. its claim of having never closed its doors in 60 years is quite impressive when you consider that the restaurant has been open longer than both our cumulative lifetimes.

we started off with a platter of raw oysters (we had oysters in montreal too) and a bowl of onion soup. for mains, teresa had a duck confit and caspian decided to give steak tartare another go (this time it came prepared). we've never really looked for it in earnest in toronto, but it can't be anywhere near as common as it is in paris. we're sure not that many places in london serve it either and those that do will charge a handsome sum for the privilege. the meal was capped off by a moelleux au chocolat, which is just a fancy french name for a molten lava chocolate cake. as a nice little surprise, they also gave us some pig-shaped meringues. again, we discovered we had a tendency to eat much earlier than the locals and found ourselves leaving as the restaurant started to fill up (always a good sign).

our evening walk this time took us to the home of the paris opera, an impressive looking building that we're sure is every bit as grandiose as the opera itself. thoroughly satisfied after enjoying a delicious meal and watching the sun cast its setting rays over the gold-gilt statuettes, we hopped back on the métro and headed back to our hotel for some more well-deserved rest. it was going to be another big day tomorrow...

to be continued...

paris, france - part deux (preview)

2009-08-01T23:30:00.002+01:00

paris, france - part I

2009-07-31T21:00:00.004+01:00

paris is the most obvious place we would visit after moving to london and, despite the built up anticipation, it did not disappoint one bit.

yes, there are lots of tourists (we discovered that we don't like tourists much even when we're tourists ourselves). yes, the french smoke a lot. and yes, parisians can be...well, parisians. but the city still has a magical quality.

this trip also marked the first time we have both traveled (across borders) by train, which was very exciting. and there's no better train for a first trip than the eurostar, the quintessential TGV.

before we left toronto we explained that part of our decision to move to london was the travel opportunities. the example we gave people was that a weekend in paris sure sounds much more exciting than a weekend in montreal. not to knock montreal or anything (we still like the place), but when you're compared to paris, you don't really stand much of a chance. on top of that, our train ride to paris was actually less expensive than a train from toronto to montreal, and two hours shorter. score.

we arrived early in the morning, discovered that our french was at least adequate in getting t+ tickets for the métro, and set off for our hotel. travel tip: if you visit paris, you may be tempted to just buy a paris visite pass. but if you're only visiting for a few days and know exactly how many trips you need, it may be more cost effective to purchase a carnet of t+ tickets (a discounted pack of 10). they work on buses, the métro and even on the funiculaire at montmartre. keep in mind that paris is quite a dense and quite walkable city (and there are bikes that are free for 1/2 an hour).

after quickly checking in, we got right down to business - the business of eating that is (why else would you visit france?). we reconned the area around our hotel (by porte d'orléans métro) and settled on a cute little brasserie. we selected a breakfast menu and got a lot of food (a menu in france is essentially a set course meal; a 'menu' as we typically understand it is a 'carte', hence the term 'à la carte'), including two drinks each. teresa had a galette, which was ham and egg wrapped in a crêpe-ish thing. she washed it down with a pineapple juice and hot chocolate. caspian had a plat de charcuterie with ham, cheese, an egg and a basket of fresh baguette. it was accompanied by a cup of coffee and another cup of cidre - europeans really do start drinking early!

energized, we set off for our first round of sightseeing and doing all the typical touristy things. our first stop was notre dame. for the record, it is much more impressive in real life than in any cartoon disney can muster. it can also be kind of creepy, what with hundreds of stone faces watching you and the gargoyles lurking above. but still, it is majestic and definitely worth checking out, especially considering it took 300 years to build. like most of the places we 'saw', we didn't go in on account of the long queues, but maybe next time. on a side note, in the square outside the west face, there is a peculiar statue of charlemagne that bears a lot of resemblence to davy jones from disney's pirates franchise.

from there we walked along the north bank of l'île de la cité over to île saint-louis across a bridge that is reputed to be one of the most romantic spots in paris (one of the most romantic cities in the world). that's a lot of romance! we strolled down the main street of the island in search of berthillon. we received a tip that this was some of the best ice cream in paris. unfortunately, the main restaurant was closed, but there were plenty of windows that were more than happy to help us sate our craving. it's no scoop, but the ice cream was excellent and full of rich flavour.

we then journeyed onto la rive droite and sought out the place des vosges for a bit of respite from the tourist hordes. paris is dotted with quaint and picturesque squares and parks that offer quiet and peace in the middle of a busy, bustling city. place des vosges is beautiful and peaceful, with a fountain at each corner and plenty of benches for a rest after all the walking we had done getting around.

our next mission was securing some dinner, but on the way we passed by the bastille, a monument commemorating the french revolution. the thing with paris is you rarely (if ever) lack a good selection in terms of places to eat or drink. the marais is no exception and we were a little overwhemed with the choice! it was hard for us to decide because we didn't really know how good a place would be and were trying to be mindful of the cost. normally, we would try to find a place filled with lots of locals, but we discovered that we eat much earlier than continental europeans, who were still busy with happy hour.

dinner was caspian's first adventure with steak tartare. for those who don't know what it is (the waiter asked us just to make sure we knew what we were ordering), steak tartare is raw steak that has been minced. to add to the effect, it is served with a raw egg. this particular place allowed the diner to season the dish to taste, although other eateries may bring it to the table already prepared.

after dinner, we were both full and decided it would be a good idea to go for a stroll to walk it off. we made our way back to la rive droite and spent the evening strolling along the riverbank arm in arm. there's surprisingly a lot of entertainment along the embankment, from exercise machines to lawn bowling, and even a man-made beach.

we eventually ended up by the louvre and decided to stop by for a look. although, again, we didn't go in, the pyramids look really cool and there are a couple of infinity pools in the square, which was impressive. french renaissance architecture quite lovely to look at and the square where the louvre is located, being a former palace was overflowing with its influence.

by this time, we were thoroughly tired. we knew that we had a lot more sightseeing to do yet and headed back to our hotel to get some much-needed rest and recharge for the day to come.

to be continued...

the gears of war

2009-07-22T00:10:00.007+01:00

Cycling in London is quite an adventure. While helmets seem to be optional, a certain level of aggression is mandatory for survival. In Toronto, the cars dominate the road and bikers ride with a lot of caution. Or, in most cases, in mortal fear. In London, the distribution of power is a little more balanced and, while cyclists don’t necessarily have any official right of way, they do have more respect on the road.

There are two exceptions to the general statements made above about cyclists riding in fear in Toronto. Probably more, but we like to keep things simple and only have so much space. First, there are bike couriers, who are a different breed altogether and don’t understand what fear is. The second group consists of people who have grown up in a non-North American society where cycling is a more widespread means of transportation. They’re used to it and aren’t bothered by crazy Toronto drivers.

But back to London. One reason why cyclists have more road-clout is because there are so many of us. Perhaps it’s the inner tree-huggers manifesting themselves, or the cycle to work schemes where the government and some companies subsidise the purchase of a bicycle. Or the increasing ubiquity of cycle lanes and cycle-specific routes. Whatever the reason, cyclists come out in force, and they seem to be everywhere. It’s sometimes unnerving to be sitting on a bus and see a head float past you outside the window, but you get used to it.

Although we have yet to find ourselves in the middle of a peloton, we certainly don’t lack for company while riding. There’s a lot of diversity on the roads too. We’ve seen young and old, male and female, of all nationalities. Because it’s so widespread, cycling is big business. From courier bags and panniers to leg/knee/arm warmers, you can get just about any accessory to accompany you while cycling. Beyond the bike itself, there’s still an endless array of gear you can get and a good number of people willing to sell it all to you. We’re just going to comment on a few.

Obviously there’s the bike itself. We’ve noticed that fixed gear bikes (fixies) and folding bikes are immensely popular here. Quite surprising when you consider that a Brompton, one of the most popular brands of folding bikes, goes for about £600. But people ride all sorts of bikes here, from mountains to hybrids to racers. And it doesn’t matter whether your bike is new or old – we’ve seen some vintage ‘town bikes’ that look like they’re from the 60’s and 70’s still giving faithful service. Caspian is quite happy with the bicycle he picked up here. He found it on gumtree, which is London’s answer to craig’s list, and while it wasn’t super cheap, it was considerably less than going to a bike store and purchasing off the rack. It’s not as sleek and impressive as the bike we left back home, but the vintage Peugeot racer has loads of character (including yellow and green camouflage pattern handlebar tape that’s so bright, it ain’t hidin’ nothin’) and oozes street cred.

While helmets are optional for some, Teresa made sure it wasn't for Caspian. You can’t put a price on safety, after all. He got his online for half price during a sale and he’s quite enamoured with it. He was originally going to bring the one he has at home over, but we didn’t have room. At one point, he had considered wearing it on the plane, but then we weren’t sure whether we’d even need it, depending on how the job search went. But the one he got here is much nicer – top of the line, in fact (Specialized S-Works 2D). It’s so light sometimes he forgets he’s even wearing a helmet. And besides, it doesn’t make him look like a multi-coloured mushroom.

While many don't feel it necessary to get a helmet, it’s absolutely necessary to get a lock. Bicycles get stolen left, right and centre. We have often walked by bikes that have been stripped of most of its parts, from wheels and seats to even components, pedals and cranks. There are apparently tricks to decrease the likelihood of having your bike stolen. Top on the list is to outfit it with streamers and a basket. They reason like this: a bike thief has street cred to worry about and riding a bike with streamers and a basket (with flowers) means that all goes out the window. Having a good lock definitely helps, though. The general rule people go by is to spend at least 10% of the value of the bike on a locking system. Considering Cas’ bike wasn’t that expensive to begin with, that wasn’t going to be hard. There are a gazillion locks from which to choose, and each manufacturer has its own rating system as to how secure the locks are, which can make it quite confusing. To help simplify things, an independent company has undertaken the task of testing and rating locks on a common scale. So you’ll often see graphics on locks that certify it as ‘Sold Secure Gold/Silver/Bronze’. For the most part, the locks are similar in materials and design. The real difference lies in the locking mechanism itself and how sophisticated it is. After much research and agonizing over the decision, Cas settled on a Kryptolok D-lock and cable combo, also bought online. The D-lock is the main element and the cable is an extension that protects the front wheel. It’s got a Sold Secure Silver rating and we got it for 25% off with free delivery, which seems like a reasonable buy. It’s funny to observe the lengths to which people will go to secure their bicycles. We’ve seen people use heavy duty locks normally used for motorcycles and even one guy who wrapped his entire bike in electrical tape so it wouldn’t catch the eye of any thieves.

Lights are the next important and these are also pretty non-negotiable. London is further north in latitude than Toronto. While this is excellent in the summer, with the sun rising at 4:30am and not setting until almost 10:00pm, in the winter, this means a lot more darkness. In addition to lights, cyclists often adorn themselves with jackets and vests of a very pronounced fluorescent colour. London is often known for its sartorial savoir-faire, but this was probably assessed after people had changed out of their cycling gear.

Some cyclists wear facemasks (to filter out the smog). Caspian thinks they make you look like Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat. The facemask gets mixed reviews; sometimes it makes you look hardcore while other times, it makes you look like a wuss. After going a couple of days without it and sucking fumes from the backsides of buses, Caspian decided it doesn’t matter how it makes you look, it certainly beats having blackened lungs. And in the winter, albeit the milder London edition, it may help your face stay warmer.

Then there are mudguards or fenders. In Canada, this isn’t really high on anyone’s priority list because most people normally ride when the weather’s agreeable. Those who don’t probably find inclement weather part of the attraction. In London, a city famous for being rainy, mudguards become a bit more relevant. Some offices are good enough to have shower facilities where people can clean off and change. But some people still opt to ride to work in their suits (and Teresa’s still trying to figure out how girls manage to ride in skirts; Caspian hasn’t figured it out, but he hasn’t been bothered enough to think about it at all either). While it won’t make a difference when it’s actually raining, mudguards can keep you clean(er) and drier when it’s not raining but has recently (meaning the ground is still wet).

Finally, to hammer home the point that cycling is quite pervasive, we thought we’d touch on a more ridiculous side. There are companies that sell clothes – and we’re talking high-end fashion type clothes, here – that have been specifically designed for cycling. Think crisp three-piece suits tailored to stretch as you cycle and formal dress shoes that allow for cleats to be attached. And then there are the helmets for which you can buy covers that look like hats. So if you’re extremely wealthy and, for some odd reason, happen to be cycling through town (maybe your driver has the day off and you couldn’t book a backup in time), you can cruise about looking dapper in a nice suit with a matching fedora. Of course, it goes without saying that you’ll leave the fluorescent vest at home.

wimbledon

2009-07-14T23:38:00.004+01:00

We woke up at 5am. That’s right, 5am. We didn’t leave our flat until 6am, but it was still insanely early. We arrived at the queue for Wimbledon at 7am, thanks in part to our newly developed power walking skills (you pick it up quick in London). Once we got there, we received queue cards. Our standing numbers were 7074 and 7107. That means there were over 7,000 people queuing ahead of us already. At 7am in the morning! Total craziness!

It was a good thing we each brought a book to read, some food and water, because the queue didn’t start moving until 11am. Yes, your math is correct – that’s four hours of waiting. By this time, thousands of more people had shown up after us. Suckers. Everyone knows that any number over 7,500 is so last season. J/k Also, we overheard some people asking where the queue was for Monday’s matches. As in, people were showing up early on a Saturday morning to start lining up for a full two days in order to have a chance at scoring tickets on Monday. Now that’s commitment.

To get to the ticket booths, we had to walk on the sidewalk of a major road, through a golf course, over a bridge, and then finally arriving at the gates. You’d think we were going to a castle or something after that trek. But we were greeted, not by adoring masses, but by...security. After the people manning the checkpoint had determined to their satisfaction that we weren’t crazies hell-bent on assassinating Roger Federer, we were allowed to purchase our tickets. We bought grounds passes only (for a mere £20 each), which meant we could watch any matches that were not on Centre Court, Courts 1 or 2 (i.e. the important matches). I guess Venus Williams will have to catch us another time. She was one of the bigger names that were playing that day. Besides, we weren’t bothered enough to fork out the £60 (each!) for show court tickets, even if there were any remaining. There is an interesting system where court ticket holders can return their tickets upon departure so that they can be resold to people who want to catch matches later that day (if any). Tickets are quite reasonably priced at £5, but again, we weren’t willing to wait in any more lines. In addition, with Andy Murray playing, no one was about to give up their tickets.

Of course, the place was packed; the All England Lawn Tennis Club has capacity for about 56,000 people or so on a given day and it seems they were intent on trying to test how true that was. The reason it was packed was because a) it was a Saturday and weekends are always busy in London, b) Andy Murray, Britain’s hometown hope was playing, and c) Wimbledon is always packed. But hey, that’s part of the fun.

The day we attended saw some of the bigger upsets of the tournament, with Kuznetsova and Jankovic bowing out slightly less than gracefully to non-seeds. On the men’s draw, Davydenko was bumped in similar fashion, although some guy named Roddick made it through. Of course, we didn’t watch any of those matches, although we did hear the cheering from outside the stadium. We could have seen some higher profile outside court (#’s 3 & 4) matches, but there were more queues for seats/standing room and after our four hours in the park, we had had enough of waiting for one day. As a result, we attended matches for what we like to think are the Centre Court stars of tomorrow, i.e. the youth tournament. Youth tennis, for those of you who are into such things, is really more about who makes fewer unforced errors than any strategy or who can hit the winners. We watched one match where two poor girls traded breaks all the way up to a tiebreak. That’s 12 straight games where neither girl could hold a serve.

Still, it was a great experience. And that’s what we were really going for in the first place, to soak in the atmosphere and tradition. We strolled through the hallowed grounds (Caspian even wore his Rod Lavers!), sipped on some Pimm’s and munched on some strawberries and cream. Yes, that’s fresh strawberries, lightly dusted with some sugar and drenched with good, old-fashioned double cream. Rich, but tasty. It might sound weird to you, but we thought it should be known that 26,500 kilos of strawberries were consumed at Wimbledon this year. That many people can’t be wrong. We considered getting a glass of champagne to complete the tradition trifecta (the two staple drinks of Wimbledon are champagne and Pimm’s), but the asking price of £12 a glass was just a little too rich for our Canadian dollar-raised blood.

Instead we decided to allocate funds towards some souvenirs instead. One of the matches we attended happened to be next to a booth where they were selling tennis balls that had been used in the tournament. With balls being replaced every 7 games, over 54,200 balls were used during the two weeks of match play. Well, 6 of those balls are now in our possession. One day, we’ll give them to our kids and tell them that they were smacked around by Roger Federer en route to his record 15th Grand Slam title (the balls, not the kids).

Finally, on a bit of a sentimental note, we thought of Caspian’s late grandfather, who was a big fan of tennis. In addition to trying to coach Caspian (whose shoes were apparently always too heavy for proper tennis form) at tennis when he was younger, Caspian’s grandfather was a faithful viewer of the Grand Slam tournaments. We like to think that Wimbledon was his favourite – Caspian even remembers receiving sweatbands in the Wimbledon colours, purple and green – and trust that he would have been pleased with our little tribute.

the holiday is over

2009-07-12T23:57:00.005+01:00

It is with mixed feelings that we must announce that Caspian has found a job. First of all, we need to give all praise and thanks to God, because this is clearly a blessing from Him! In this environment, with so many redundancies (translation: layoffs), and with no previous UK experience, the chances seemed bleak. But God has shown us again and again on this adventure that what is impossible with man is possible with Him. He truly has taken care of us every step of the way and this is a great encouragement that our decision to put our trust in Him was a good one; it seems that God will allow us to stay here for a little while longer.

The job is a contract position with American Express and the initial term is for three months, with the possibility of an extension. Caspian is working in the Victoria area, which is in the southwest part of central London. It’s quite close to Westminster and all its iconic landmarks (Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, British Parliament, No. 10 Downing). It’s quite surreal, actually. He has been cycling to work (more on that later) and his commute takes him right by Buckingham Palace! In theory (and this is a big stretch), if the Queen should so deign, she could see him ride by every morning and then again in the afternoon after work! The work has been good so far and Caspian is enjoying the opportunity to learn new things and meet new people. (On top of that, his new boss has been on holiday for two and a half weeks) We’d be lying if we said we weren’t even a bit relieved at having found full-time work, notwithstanding our previous posts about working hard not to lose sight of why we’re here and trusting in God instead of jobs and money.

That’s where the mixed feelings come in. Firstly, there will be a lot less 'free' time, as work will now take over a good 8 hours of the day. Even though he had put a lot of his time towards the job search (looking through postings, writing and rewriting his CV and cover letters, and then rewriting them again, applying), it was nice to be able to control the pace and have time to read, write and enjoy the day. Secondly, travel will become a little more difficult. People had told (or warned?) us to travel as much as possible before we went back to work, as the opportunities to take time off would be few and far between.

And lastly, with the return to full-time work, it will be very easy to get back in the 9-5 groove, and let our focus on God slip to the side. To start taking things for granted again. A timely object lesson for Caspian occurred last week while he was cycling to work. He managed to get himself in a little accident, crashing his bike and taking a little spill. Very luckily, there were no cars around and he managed to escape with no more than a few scrapes and a bruised ego although he did hurt his wrist too, allowing him to test out the NHS – national health service – by getting an x-ray at a local hospital. A cool thing about the system here is that they have a ‘minor injuries unit’ which is basically a non-critical ER (called A&E here). This allows the A&E to focus on severe cases that are of a life-or-death nature and not get bogged down with minor injuries. It’s a pretty good system, but we digress.

The accident happened because he was trying to adjust his bag while still riding, as it had swung over to the wrong side. He took his eye off the road and didn’t notice a pothole in the road. The lesson was that it’s really important to stay focused on what you’re supposed to be doing. As much as we tend to get sidetracked with less important things and even try to do a few things at the same time, we have to stay focused on the most important things. In Caspian’s case, it was simply riding the bike. And it’s not like Caspian’s an inexperienced rider, either. Riding a bike is something that he’s quite comfortable at doing. But it goes to show that if you’re not careful or focused, even the things that come easily to you can go wrong.

We’ve grown a lot these past few months and have definitely gotten better at putting God’s perspective at the centre of everything we do. But, as comfortable as we’re getting with this, we can still fall if we don’t stay focused. And we mustn’t forget the lessons we’ve learned along this journey, of faith and contentment, nor the things we’ve felt God leading us to do, such as spend more time with the Bible and writing down/sharing the thoughts He reveals to us.

We hope and pray that we’ll stay focused. And we’ll start by again giving praise and thanks to God. As one of our previous posts was titled, there’s much to celebrate!

(The images above are of a pen that Caspian found at his new desk. Quite fittingly, on one side is the HSBC logo and on the other is the American Express logo.)

happy birthday scoop!

2009-07-12T23:07:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago was Scoop’s second birthday! For those of you who don’t remember reading from our blog before, Scoop sells the best gelato in the world (albeit our little world =P)! To commemorate this special occasion, the owner hosted a demonstration and tasting of molecular gelato frozen with liquid nitrogen at -192 degrees Celsius. Sounds amazing? It was!!

We arrived at Scoop at about 3pm (we had to leave the pub in the middle of the British Lions vs. South Africa rugby match – Cas was quite torn by the decision), and were just in time to witness the owner make chocolate gelato with liquid nitrogen. Just when we thought the taste of the regular Scoop gelato was beyond any words, the gelato made with liquid nitrogen totally kicks the butt of the regular gelato!

The owner explained why using liquid nitrogen is so different from using conventional methods of making gelato. Making gelato with the regular ice cream maker takes about 10-12 minutes per batch. However, using liquid nitrogen, the process takes only two minutes! Due to the rapid freezing, the crystal grains are smaller, giving the gelato a creamier texture, and allowing one to get the same texture by using less milkfat (or even better texture by using the same amount!). However, such ice crystals will grow very quickly via the processes of recrystallization thus eliminating the original benefits unless steps are taken to inhibit ice crystal growth. Translation? Enjoy right away!

We even had the pleasure of going back to Scoop a second time. It wasn’t our fault! We went back to the rugby match at the pub, and told a friend of ours just how crazy good the liquid nitrogen gelato was, and she wanted us to take her there to try it for herself! So we took her to Scoop, and upon trying her first spoonful, she said, and we quote, “I could die happy right now!”

When we went back to Scoop the second time, the owner was making pistachio gelato with liquid nitrogen! It was SO SO YUMMY! Cas described it as like eating a handful of pistachios and then drinking a gallon of cream...but way better! Mmm...SO GOOD!!

This was truly an unforgettable experience! We can't wait until next year!

celebrity

2009-07-10T00:31:00.004+01:00

No one is immune from celebrity culture these days. Sadly, not even us. It’s not necessarily the A-listers, although there are many that pass through (or reside in) London. London certainly loves its celebs – there are usually double page spreads in all the free dailies. Jude Law and Kevin Spacey are permanent residents. They’re always filming some latest iteration of Harry Potter around the city. The Beckhams are always popular fare. They even care about pseudo-celebs of the Paris Hilton variety, socialites with no claim to fame other than the fact that they’re socialites. For those of you who want an example, those aforementioned dailies often contain updates on the goings on in the life of Peaches & Pixie Geldof (that’s right, our reaction was ‘Who??’ as well) or Alexa Chung (again, who?!).

All of this may seem distasteful to you, but the truth of the matter is, there’s probably someone out there that you revere on a celebrity level. Whether they’re actually famous is irrelevant. No one else may have heard of them or care, but you’d be thrilled to be in any kind of proximity to them. It could be a professor, a scientist, a philanthropist, an author, a poet, an artist, an athlete, or even a cartoon character (oh the days when meeting Mickey was a dream come true). Deep inside, you know this to be true.

So why the discourse on celebrities? Well, one of these past weeks, we restarted our visits to various London churches by attending a service at HTB. HTB stands for Holy Trinity Brompton, and is a church that is located just down the street from Harrod’s. Like many churches in England, the service is held in a wonderfully historic building. Some among you may know that HTB is the church where the Alpha course was started. If you didn’t, but had happened to see some of the video clips, you would have figured it out when a familiar character (i.e. Nicky Gumbel) came out to lead the prayers.

Before this, though, we were treated to a wonderful time of worship in song. And wouldn’t you know that the worship leader happened to be Tim Hughes, who is the worship pastor at HTB. Tim Hughes is a worship leader and songwriter. We happen to sing a few of his songs (Unchanging, Everything, Here I am to Worship) at church in Toronto, although we didn’t include any at our wedding (sorry Tim). Now, being involved in worship ministry ourselves, we know you’re not supposed to be distracted with anything the worship team does or, in this case, who is actually on the team; the focus is supposed to be on God and Jesus. Of course, that sort of goes out the window when you’re worshipping on a regular Sunday with Tim Hughes.

Remarkably, though, it wasn’t really all that much of a distraction. In fact, Teresa wasn’t even sure it was him, other than to notice that the leader had a really great voice. We were both able to worship very freely and focus on God. Perhaps it was because most of the songs were familiar to us. Perhaps it was because the worship in song was in a musical style to which we were accustomed. But we felt completely free from worrying about our surroundings and were able to let go in a way that we haven’t been able to since arriving in London, and that includes our visits to Hillsong London.

So now we’re going to go into a little more detail including maybe some technical stuff for those of you who are involved in worship ministry. We sang songs we were familiar with. Some were written by Tim but there were others that weren’t too, including Mighty to Save (which we did sing at our wedding). They weren’t all medleys, but there were a couple of completely seamless transitions; the ones that weren’t complete medleys were still very smooth. The team consisted of Tim who led while playing an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar, a keyboardist, a drummer, two backup vocalists and a trio of strings (2 violins and 1 viola by our reckoning). While this may seem like a fairly full team, it’s not something that is unimaginable for our church to pull together (particularly given the popularity of string instruments among Chinese Canadian parents).

The cool thing that we noticed was that, even though they had a well-known worship leader, the set wasn’t perfect. Don’t get us wrong; it was still very well executed. But the drummer sped up every now and then. The string trio had its own leader (first violin, we suppose) and they sort of did their own thing; they faced each other in a closed circle and didn’t seem to pay too much attention to what everyone else was doing. And the two backup vocalists seemed nervous and were unsure of what to do at times in terms of body language.

But that’s great, you see. While we all want our worship sets to be perfect because our God is perfect and worthy of it, we never really get it right. Sometimes we’re not even close. And then you watch a Hillsong DVD maybe, or listen to some Chris Tomlin or Tim Hughes tracks, and (as the discouragement settles in) wonder how they do it. The truth is they don’t. Not all the time anyway. And God’s grace covers that; sometimes we think that’s just how He’d have it. We’ve just aptly finished reading 2 Corinthians 4:7 in Bible study. The core of worship is about showering our praises on God. Not Tim Hughes, not us, not any worship leader. And sometimes, when we miss an intro or play a wrong chord or sing a wrong note, it’s a gentle reminder that it’s not about us at all. And when we realise that, then we’ve come closer to what true worship really is, and God is pleased with that more than any number of 'perfect' worship sets.

Joel Houston: check. Tim Hughes: check. I wonder what Martin Smith and Matt Redman are up to...j/k.

As a note, we have noticed that the English tend to sing songs in ridiculously high keys. For the musically inclined among you, our worship team typically plays sets in the keys of D and E (our two favourite keys); most songs here are sung in A or B. Eek indeed. We’re either going to come back with Mariah-esque vocal ranges or no voice at all. =/

camden market

2009-07-04T22:30:00.004+01:00

Our study of London’s market continues. The feature this week: Camden Market. Camden Market is actually four (or five or six) markets in one. It’s in north London, by the canal system. There are two satellite markets away from the main action, one on Buck Street and the other on Inverness Street. You’ll know you’re in the area when you feel this sudden sensation of not being able to control where you go, since you’ve been absorbed by the massive mob of people walking on the street. Ride the tide that will carry you across a bridge over the canal and into Camden Lock Market. You won’t miss it – the location is marked very prominently by a massive sign painted across a bridge. This market is, as the name suggests, a market that is set up right next to the lock system that allows boats to traverse the canal system. On the weekend, you’ll likely see a few narrowboats going through the locks.

When you first walk into Camden Lock Market, you think ‘Is this it??’ because it really doesn’t look like much. We seriously thought that we’d be done in 15 minutes and were wondering what all the fuss was about. But then we made a turn and then a few more stalls popped up. Then we made another turn and went into a building that housed even more stalls. This in turn passed into another section in an adjacent building with still more stalls, including one that sold this really cool sand that ripples when you burn a candle in it – the shopkeeper had filled peppers and pineapples with it – and another one that sold cufflinks and other jewellery made out of computer parts. Then we were met with a sign saying there were more shops downstairs. Downstairs? This place has a downstairs? Camden Lock Market definitely has more than meets the eye.

When we got downstairs, we were greeted with the delicious aromas wafting up and realised we had reached the ‘food court’ of the market. As with the other markets, there is a diversity of different cultures represented. This food market eventually gives way to other sections of the market, aptly called the Catacombs, as you feel like you are walking into a tunnel. The stalls in this section are mainly peddling clothing, of the Goth, punk, and vintage genres. Among the other oddities, we noticed two giant robot statues and a store run by an elderly and very british lady that sold sweets and, oddly, dvds of anime series (including Samurai Champloo!). There were a series of food stalls that started off as Mexican, then Chinese, then Indian, Moroccan, Thai and Indonesian, all apparently run by the same Chinese family – there were no breaks behind the counters and every stall seemed to sell some version of chow mein!

The market then turns into the section known as the Stables – aptly named since the stalls are set up in...um...stalls that used to house horses. The whole area used to be a horse hospital and the stables housed horses undergoing rehabilitation and other treatments. The whole area was very cool and lots of antiques and exotic imports like furniture and home furnishings were on display. Not to mention the many and sometimes giant bronze statues of horses.

Camden Market is not very easy to navigate through, and you’ll often find yourself backtracking or realising that you’ve just (unintentionally) walked in a complete circle. At one point, we felt like we were in one of those visual illusion drawings because we went down a ramp only to end up on the same level we had started at. I suppose we just didn’t realise that we were steadily walking up a ramp. Despite all that, Camden Market is quite good fun, as getting lost can sometimes be.

Unfortunately, the brownie entry from Camden Market was not up to the high standard set by the other markets. Now if we can only convince Flour Power to trade at Camden then we’d have an untouchable winner for our favourite place in London!

the national gallery

2009-06-29T23:10:00.006+01:00

When we first arrived in London, we stumbled into an art gallery called Tate Modern. Housed in what used to be a coal factory, it sits on the south bank of the Thames, not too far from London Bridge. In its own right, it is quite a popular gallery and is often on lists of London’s prominent tourist attractions. The free general admission is quite a good attraction. It has a number of different levels and we happened to end up on the floor with the exhibit on surrealism. This visit led us to the conclusion that we don’t really get art.

More recently, we decided to give art another chance and paid a visit to the National Gallery, which is the dominant building at the north end of Trafalgar Square. Admission to the National Gallery is also free, although they kindly request voluntary donations to help with funding. Depending on which box you happen to walk past, they recommend either £1 or £2.

We must say, the gallery is very impressive. Of course, we haven`t been to the AGO that many times and aren’t too well-versed on the collection there. And, we have yet to visit the Louvre. But nevertheless, there are some fine paintings in the National Gallery; this is art we can appreciate. There are works by Degas, Cezanne, Manet, Monet. There are a few by Van Gogh*, Renoir and Rembrandt. We’re pretty ignorant as far as art is concerned, but even we’ve heard of these guys. There were lots of other paintings that we really liked, but by painters whose names elude us now (good thing admission is free so we can always go back to jot them down). Caspian found he likes paintings by Joseph Mallaire William Turner, whose works have a nautical theme. That the artist’s name contains the name for a prominent character in a certain Disney pirate franchise is purely coincidental.

*If you're a fan of Samurai Champloo, you may be interested in the fact that one of the Van Gogh works featured is one of his studies on sunflowers.

The interior of the gallery is beautiful as well. There are large walls decorated with a subtle and elegant tone-on-tone damask pattern. If you get tired walking through the endless rooms, there are very nice brown leather chairs, sofas and divans for you to rest your weary feet. One of the rooms in the centre of the gallery features marble tile and a wonderful dome that is naturally lit. Teresa mentioned that, if we were to get married again (or renew our vows or whatever), she’d like to do it at the National Gallery since it’s so breathtaking. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside so you’ll have to take our word for it.

What struck us as we went through, though, was how many paintings were based on religious themes. In fact, if you go to the visitor’s centre and hop onto one of the computer guides, there is a tour dedicated to paintings of Christ. We thought it was incredible that people dedicated so much time to painting stories from the Bible. Some were the size of one of our walls. And it wasn’t even necessarily crucifixion or nativity scenes (although there were quite a few of those). Some were of lesser-known biblical narratives, like when the Israelites were plagued by snakes or when Elijah was fed by ravens. It made us think about how in those times, many people weren’t able to read and these paintings helped them to learn about Scripture. It also led us to reflect on how lucky we are to be able to read and experience God’s Word in our own homes.

We guess art’s not that bad after all. // www.nationalgallery.org.uk

st.-martin-in-the-fields

2009-06-29T22:29:00.003+01:00

Caspian’s parents are big fans of classical music. As a result, growing up, he was only allowed to listen to classical music until he reached junior high school. His parents have quite an extensive collection of classical music recordings, a combination of LPs, tapes (what are those? haha) and CDs. When we originally visited Trafalgar Square and noticed this really beautiful building so we decided to take a closer look. The building is a church called St.-Martin-In-The-Fields. Why did this name sound so familiar?

Classical music buffs will recognize the name because of the Academy at St.-Martin-In-The-Fields, one of the most recorded classical ensembles on the planet. Caspian’s parents’ collection contains many recordings from this very ensemble. In fact, the church was and still is used for many recordings. We picked up a programme schedule and saw that they run a fairly robust concert schedule, and at fairly reasonable prices. In fact, they have a free lunchtime concert series.

Well, we finally got around to attending a concert at St.-Martin-In-The-Fields and are very glad we did! The church is absolutely stunning inside and the pictures we took do not do it one ounce of justice. We opted for the cheapest block of tickets at £6. The ticket lady told us that these seats offer no view whatsoever of the performers. We weren’t sure how correct that was, but decided that we really didn’t need to see the performers to be able to enjoy the experience. So we tried it out. And found that (much to our chagrin) the lady was 100% correct – we couldn’t see anything as the seats were on the balcony and too far back to get any view. As a small bonus, though, because the balcony booths were not sold in our section, we were allowed to move up for the second half.

The performance we attended was the Baroque Festival by the Belmont Ensemble and included concertos by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, and Marcello. We were very impressed because the violin soloist was pregnant (which pleased Teresa very much) and still performed wonderfully. The oboist was very young but talented and performed Bach’s oboe concerto in D minor without any music. The ensemble included a harpsichord which was also very nice because it’s not often that you get to hear a harpsichord live.

The rest of the summer concert line-up looks impressive as well, with features on Gershwin, Mozart and Purcell. In fact, one of the concerts in August will be by the Academy at St.-Martin-In-The-Fields themselves and we’ll be sure not to miss that!

the undomestic goddess

2009-06-25T22:50:00.002+01:00

Since we found ourselves with a lot of time and limited internet access at one point, we have both done a little bit of reading. A book we have now both read, courtesy of the London public library system, is The Undomestic Goddess, by Sophie Kinsella (of Shopaholic fame).

The Coles Notes synopsis is that an ambitious, driven, and career-minded City (that’s City of London) lawyer, who is consumed by her work, finds herself suddenly sacked and out in the English countryside where she learns how to clean, cook and – most importantly – slow down. She rediscovers the joy of simple living, free of worries and the cares that so often burden us. She realizes that career success isn’t the be all and end all of life, and that you can be quite happy – perhaps even more so – doing a simple job with no bonuses, no share options, and no possibility of career advancement. Quite a timely message for us from an unexpected source.

The literary merit of 'chick-lit' is shaky at best, but that’s not to say that some valuable lessons can’t be learned. Here are a couple of other quick ones:
1) Kneading bread is excellent for relieving stress (haven’t tried this one ourselves, but it sounds reasonable)
2) Don’t be people who don’t take time to look out the window

random facts about london

2009-06-25T22:37:00.003+01:00

1. Mugs are for hot beverages only
Caspian’s colleagues may remember him telling them about one of his (many) quirks, that being an inexplicable aversion towards drinking cold beverages out of a mug. It’s not that he can’t do it (since we only have mugs in our flat at the moment, he has no choice), it’s just that it feels weird and unnatural to him. He can’t explain why this is so, he only knows that it is. Well, now we have the beginnings of an answer, since apparently this sentiment of using mugs for hot beverages only is quite widespread in England. Our friend from Canada told us a story of how his colleagues snickered when he brought cold drinking water to a meeting in a mug, something clearly frowned upon.

2. Brake levers on bikes are reversed
The other random fact, for all the bicycle-lovers out there, is that it’s not just the side of the road thing that the English do backwards. You see, we recently got a bike second-hand. It’s a decent bike, a vintage Peugeot racer. Nothing to write home about (although I suppose we are writing home in a sense), but solid enough to get us from A to B. In North America, the left-hand brake lever typically controls the brake on the front wheel, while the brake lever on the right side of the bike controls the rear brake. Upon riding the bike we got, Caspian noticed that the cables were reversed – the left brake lever was linked to the rear brake and vice versa. He thought this was a mistake the mechanic had made when setting up the bike. But recently, he looked closer at our flatmates’ bikes and they’re set up the same way. This will likely take some getting used to, but luckily there haven’t been any endos* yet!

*endo, n. 1. a bicycling accident in which the rider is thrown forward over the handlebars (usually as a result of braking too hard on the front wheel)

crete, greece - part III

2009-06-20T19:00:00.006+01:00

if you're not into beaches or history, then perhaps nature may be of more interest to you. crete definitely has a variety of different terrain, ranging from the aforementioned sandy beaches to respectable mountain ranges. there are numerous caves and gorges dotting the island, the most popular being samaria gorge. unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to visit the gorge, or drive along the mountain pass that runs through the lefka ori (white mountains), but that just means we'll have to return for another visit!

but if you are a hiking enthusiast, then you won't be disappointed by the myriad trails that are available for exploration. in fact, just behind our resort is a short trail that leads down to a venetian-era church. it was a nice little surprise tucked right in our backyard!

driving towards the western part of the island, we were greeted by the scenic hills leading up to the lefka ori. when we drove east, the terrain was more rocky and reminded us a little of malawi. but the vistas towards the west reminded us more of the sound of music.

the cities were all very nice, with picturesque harbours and streets. although we have no pictures for evidence (unfortunately), we were surprised at the number of fur shops in crete! the whole time we were there, the weather was absolutely gorgeous and sunny every day. temperatures were in the 30's and we couldn't ever imagine it ever getting cold enough to warrant fur.

finally, we couldn't complete our recap of greece without commenting on the large population of cats! everywhere we went, there were cats to greet us! in fact, we even found a postcard called "the cats of greece." our resort had a resident cat who was pregnant. she loved to sit underneath the tables on the terrace waiting for some kind guests to leave a morsel or two for her. or, as in our case, an entire helping of fish!

in the end, we were sad to leave, but glad to have been able to experience all that crete had to offer. we'd like to go back one day and see the rest of the isand, but that will have to wait for the time being as there are many more places left for us to explore!

crete, greece - part II

2009-06-16T00:08:00.006+01:00

if history is more your cup of tea, then you'll enjoy yourself immensely. the island is steeped in mythology, legends, and actual history. crete is the mythical birthplace of the greek god zeus and is the setting for the legend of theseus and the minotaur. we were fortunate enough to get a chance to visit a place called knossos. we were told by the staff at our resort that you cannot visit crete without going to see knossos, so central is it to their history and culture. knossos is the site of an ancient minoan palace. the minoans were an ancient civilisation on crete that were very advanced, both technologically and culturally. the minoan kingdom is also linked with the fabled lost city of atlantis, and the cultures bear many similar characteristics.

we lucked out since the day we visited, admission was free of charge (it is usually about 6 euros per person). we spent almost two hours there, since there are so many nooks and crannies to explore. the site is known for its archaeological controversy, since the archaeologist who led the excavation chose to recreate many of the features of the palace (as opposed to preserving it in its discovered form, we assume). we won't jump into the debate, but we will say that, for the average tourist, his recreations helped to get a better sense of the characteristics of the palace. there's a lot to see, including giant stone pots, interesting frescoes, and a massive central stairwell.

the cynics among you may feel that once you've seen one set of ruins, you've seen them all. knossos may not be as spectacular as machu picchu, perhaps, but it is impressive nonetheless. taken together, you get the sense that the ancient civilisations were probably a lot more advanced than we give them credit for. and that's just the stuff they built. who knows, if they were still around today, maybe they'd be able to teach us a few things about proper societal living too.

aside from minoan palaces, crete also boasts remnants from byzantine, venetian and turkish rule. in rethymnon we walked around a venetian fortress that looms imposingly over the harbour it was built to protect (against pirates, most notably barbarossa). the scale of it was impressive, to say the least. it's difficult to convey a sense of how big the structure is, but it's pretty big!

we also visited a monastery that figured prominently in cretan history. it's called moni arkadi and it's tucked away atop a cliff deep into a gorge. again, the road to get there was quite narrow and took us fairly close to cliff edges. luckily for us, it's not a very busy road, since passing any cars along certain stretches would have been quite nervewracking. we did happen to pass a coach bus and can't imagine the stress of the driver in navigating that beast up the roads.

the monastery is very secluded and as soon as we stepped out of our car, we were struck by the absolute serenity and tranquility we found there. there was nary a sound, save for a couple of birds chirping. it was nearing dusk and there were only a handful of visitors left. everyone was respectfully quiet, as only felt proper in such a place. women may enter if they cover their shoulders and legs; wraps are provided for those who have nothing available with which to do so.

the layout, like the buildings themselves were very simple. the monastery is essentially a collection of rooms built into an outer wall, which has a couple of gates for entry. the wall surrounds a church, which is at the centre of the layout. it was very nice, since it was away from the crowds of tourists that haunt many of the other historial features of crete.

the place was beautiful, had so much history, and was definitely peaceful. it's probably a place where you could spend a bit of time, just resting and reflecting. beautiful no?

crete, greece - part I

2009-06-14T00:34:00.015+01:00

it's not a location you often hear about in canada. over in europe, more people have been there. even so, we would rank it as a second-tier destination for vacation-seekers. when people talk about going to greece, they still usually mean athens, santorini, or corfu perhaps. this is perfect for us since we tend to like places that are on the low-key side.

we've actually met a few other people who have been to crete, including our polish flatmate. all of them have absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back. after being there, we definitely share the same sentiment. we really can't compare it to the rest of greece, but it really is a truly wonderful place.

we'll give you some basics, enough to give you a sense of what the island is like, but hopefully without robbing you of the mystique. crete is the largest of the greek islands and is longer (east-west) than it is wide (north-south). it is divided into four provinces, essentially as if the island was sliced vertically (north-south) in even segments along its length. the capital is iraklion (also spelt heraklion), which is located in the east-central part of the island. there are three other larger cities, chania (alt: hania), rethymnon and sitia, one for each of the other provinces.

we stayed in an area called prinos, which is located near rethymnon, on the west-central part of the island. our resort was located up on a hillside and away from the hustle and bustle of the city and all the other tourists, which was very nice. it was secluded, relaxed and very tranquil. the location gave an amazing vantage point to view the beautiful scenery.

as marketers, we're loathe to use the dreaded phrase, but crete really does have something for almost everyone, as far as vacations go.

if you're looking for sun and a chance to work on your tan and maybe a good book, then you'll find it on crete. the entire island is dotted with beaches of all sorts, from ones secluded in rock coves to others that extend in long stretches of soft sand. there are definitely more than is possible to cover in a one week stay. the three most famous are elafonisi, falasarna and the bay of balos, the latter since prince charles and princess diana spent a part of their honeymoon there. we were lucky enough to get a chance to visit falasarna, which is one of the nicest beaches in crete.

there are two beaches at falasarna, the 'big beach' and the other one which doesn't really have a name. to get there, you have to descend a cliff via a small road that takes you on a number of hairpin turns but also gives you a great view of the sea, the beaches, and the countryside below. on the advice from our guidebook, we avoided the big beach and went to the further one, which was much nicer.

to say it was beautiful feels like an understatement. falasarna is on the western coast of the island and you can look out into the sea knowing there's no more land until you hit sicily. the beach is enclosed in a crescent-shaped cove, with outcroppings of rock to the north and south. soft sand forms a beach that runs right into the sea, and continues out in the form of several sand bars that allow you to walk quite far from shore without the water going much higher than your waist. the water is super super clear. it's definitely the nicest beach we have been to in quite some time.

to be continued...

spitalfields

2009-06-01T15:42:00.008+01:00

as you may have gathered from a previous post, we are quite enamoured with the markets here. there are so many and they usually have a great selection of foods from around the world. we've also noticed that, in london, food stands are typically run by people from the country whose food is featured. for example, thai food is sold by thai vendors. the people at the japanese stalls actually speak japanese. (this is in contrast to toronto, where there is at least a reasonable probability that the proprietor of any given establishment is chinese)

last week, we ventured over to the spitalfields market area, which also includes the ever-popular brick lane. although its name doesn't sound very appealing, spitalfields is really a very nice market. we're told from more seasoned londoners that the market was overhauled a few years back. in the old days, it was a proper market and the aisles were very narrow, which didn't help with the large crowds that packed in to visit. it has more recently been renovated and is now very upscale in feel, with a nice granite-tiled floor and posh shoppers and diners in the adjacent restaurants.

we approached via brick lane. our friend and remote tour guide jon (he's currently in toronto) alerted us to a couple of bagel shops that sell authentic jewish-style bagels. 90p buys you a fresh bagel with cream cheese. we were also told that there is sometimes a spirited match of bicycle polo in the area. unfortunately, they weren't playing when we checked it out, but hopefully we'll be able to catch it another time.

brick lane is a strip of shops and market stalls on the side. the main thing we were told about brick lane is that there are some excellent indian restaurants there. we walked by a few and made the mistake of perusing one of their menus. the owner came out and tried to sell us on a deal and convince us to go in. we politely declined, but his neighbours must have smelled blood, since we were subsequently accosted by the owners of the next few restaurants we walked by as well.

after brick lane and en route to spitalfields, we inadvertently stumbled upon yet another couple of markets. the market, called the sunday upmarket is only open on, as you may have guessed, sundays. upmarket is essentially a collection of food stands that congregate in what we can only imagine is a parking lot. it's just across the street from spitalfields and features a vintage london double-decker bus that has now been converted into a seating area for one of the vendors.

we decided to eat here since the selection was good and the prices were reasonable. caspian opted for the novelty of a hog roast sandwich, which is very popular among the markets here. essentially, the vendor very proudly displays a whole hog that has been (and in most cases, still is) roasting on a spit. the meat is then shaved and packed into a bun with some applesauce and 'rocket' (essentially some lettuce-ish greens). the sandwich is topped off with some crispy skin bits. it's kind of like eating chinese roast pork in a sandwich form. teresa chose some thai massaman beef curry, which was also quite tasty! we then washed it down with some guarana (the authentic antartica stuff) that we discovered at a brazilian stall.

after lunch, we wandered around a bit more and stumbled upon (you may begin to recognize this as a common theme) a paul smith warehouse sale. unfortunately, this was the last day of a 3-day sale and, unless you're an XXL, a deal was not to be had. not that we would have splurged on anything anyway, but it was a nice find - if not a bit random.

we took a slight detour to check out the offices for wieden+kennedy, which is the advertising agency for nike and honda (of 'cog' fame). we finally ended up at spitalfields. our ulterior motive to coming, other than just seeing another part of london, was to do a brownie comparison. steve, who was batting 1.000 after his 'best ice cream ever' recommendation, had also mentioned that the best brownies were sold in spitalfields. since we had established a good base for comparison at borough market, we were eager to validate his claim. as it turns out, the same vendor (flour power city bakery) trades at both borough and spitalfields, so our brownie challenge was a bit of a wash. (steve's record remains intact, though)

other than brownies, spitalfields sells all sorts of crafts and vintage clothes. there are stalls that sell jewellry, antiques, handbags, sleeves for your oyster card (transit pass), and even one that sold glasses made out of coke and corona bottles. all in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip made even better by the lovely sunny summer weather we've been getting!

adventures in gastronomy

2009-06-01T15:22:00.010+01:00

previously, we had documented our (very) frequent visits to the supermarket. initially, we went mainly to get a better bearing on the prices of groceries in london. afterwards, it became a little bit of a habit - at one point, we were visiting a supermarket at least once a day.

we have commented to each other that we have never felt more inspired to cook than we have since arriving here. british food is much maligned and people generally don't think too highly of it. this can be quite true since the most typical british dishes include fish & chips, sausage & mash, and baked beans with your breakfast. however, the ingenious marketers behind the larger supermarket chains have done quite a good job trying to feed you with ideas for dishes, if not 'literally' (apparently the british are quite liberal with their use of the term 'literally' and use it in all sorts of occasions, not just its...er...literal sense).

initially, we tried to eat on a budget. this has since expanded to eating on a budget and trying different things. here's a quick sample of some of our concoctions - not very imaginative, we know, but we're working on it!

philly cheese steak

thai green curry chicken

even dessert! (okay, these were store-bought and pre-made, but they still look impressive!)

teresa keeps mentioning that it would be so good if cameras were able to capture smell as well, but for now, you'll have to use your imaginations. let's see what we cook up next!

arsenal v. liverpool

2009-05-31T19:48:00.005+01:00

we were fortunate enough to have been able to attend a football (i.e. soccer) match already in the little time that we've been here. people had said that watching a football match is something we should try to do if we get a chance, since it's such a different experience to anything in north america. europeans are pretty enthusiastic (if not fanatical) about their football, and the english are no different.

we were very lucky to be able to catch a match so early on. in fact, we got to watch two fairly prominent clubs do battle at the emirates stadium. it's a fairly new, modern stadium and was very nice. we should also mention that it was the first leg of the FA cup final. all this may sound very impressive, but for those of you who follow football will know very well that arsenal and liverpool were not the two finalists in the FA cup this year. the match we attended was, in fact, the youth FA cup final.

of course, this wasn't necessarily the same as watching the big club play, but it was still an awesome experience (especially since we managed to get tickets through our season-ticketholder friend for only 5 pounds each). despite it being only the youth team, the announced attendance was still about 34,000. can you imagine that? the capacity at the ACC is only 20,000 or so. and even at 34,000 fans, the stadium was only a little over half full. we learned from our friend that the capacity for the stadium is 65,000, which makes it the fourth largest stadium in england (wembley, twickenham and old trafford are the other three).

the match itself seemingly started off on the wrong..er..foot, with both teams misfiring on a number of basic passes. however, once they settled their nerves, the level of play picked up and the game flowed quite well after that. the level of skill, even at the youth level, was quite impressive. on a couple occasions, a defender would take a pass off his chest and play the ball to the other side of the field without it ever touching the ground. other times, the strikers would pull off impossible changes of direction while still carrying the ball at a full sprint.

even the substitutes were incredibly talented. during the halftime break, the reserves came onto the field to practice and stay warm. they were just messing around, but demonstrating some impressive tricks that were probably showcased on some previous nike or adidas commercial. one of the guys who was in our group is from yorkshire has a brother who played at a similar level, and even he noted that the reserves were quite 'handy' (as he called it, even though you never use your hands in football).

then there was the singing. we happened to be on the side with the majority of arsenal supporters. the liverpool fans were concentrated in the corner opposite us. as such, we were treated to several chants intended to rouse the arsenal side to acts of footballing glory. it was extremely difficult to make out exactly what it was they were chanting, but it was good fun nonetheless. one day, we'll ask our friend to teach us some so we can sing along. (she told us a funny story of a group of arsenal fans at the local pub - aptly named "the gunners" - who sang this song called "let's pretend arsenal have scored a goal" which is essentially an invitation to celebrate as if a goal had been scored, i.e. go crazy)

at one point, the crowd even got a wave going. it kept going round and round until one section stopped it. this was met with a chorus of booing from the rest of the stadium. the wave was restarted and when it successfully passed through the offending section this time around, everyone cheered.

in the end, arsenal were victorious by a score of 4-1. we were treated to goals of all different sorts, including one off a long, hail-mary type pass, one from a quick counter-attack, one from a corner and another that involved almost the entire team. watching a football match is something that you should try to experience if you're ever in the UK. we can only imagine what a proper match would be like, let alone a euro or world cup event.

since we live in the area, we likely will be adopting arsenal as our club. unfortunately, they won't be winning anything this year (much like the leafs), but there's always next season!

The cart before the horse

2009-05-27T15:14:00.004+01:00

The challenge with being here is figuring out what it is exactly that God wants to show us and how He wants to use us. The natural question everyone asks us, Christian and non alike, is how the job search is going. It’s...well...going. I mean, we’re still working at it. And we want to work at it professionally, putting a good effort in, because it’s a reflection of the gifts God has given us.

But we also don’t want to get caught up in it either. It’s very easy for our jobs to become idols in our lives. It’s not that we worship them overtly, but we do place a lot of importance on them. When we meet new people, we almost always ask them what they do at some point, as a basis for forming their identity. And our jobs take up a lot of our time. Even though it’s not exactly intentional devotion, we are fairly devoted nonetheless.

We often mention that beloved Scripture from Colossians, to work as if for the Lord, not for men. And so we pour ourselves into our work, because it’s for God, right? But it can get very tricky to differentiate sometimes. Sometimes, we just...work. And that’s it. We work for nobody in mind. Not for ourselves, not for our families, not for God. We just work. Because that’s what’s been grilled into our heads. If you're human, then you work. It even says so in Genesis and Ecclesiastes, right?

People mean well enough when they ask how our job search is going. They’re genuinely concerned for our well being. And we’d be lying if we said we weren’t concerned as well. There’s a sense of anxiety and urgency that creeps into our thoughts every now and then.

“It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything else that worries us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the word He puts in? The devil? No, the cares of this world. It is the little worries always.” + Oswald Chambers

The big challenge for us is to stay the course while we’re here and keep our priorities straight. As much as we want to find a job soon, and as anxious as we get, it's important for us to remember that we're measuring the success of our adventure on a different stick. Our experience may very well involve working here, particularly with the gifts and abilities with which we've been blessed. But ultimately, success will be defined by the deepening of our relationships with God more than any job we get to do here. Did we get to know God better? Did we get to see Him work around us and through us?

“God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the right and proper thing to consider if you were not living a life of faith; but if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and leave God to choose for you. This is the discipline by means of which the natural is transformed into the spiritual by obedience to the voice of God.” + Oswald Chambers

dreams

2009-05-27T15:01:00.005+01:00

It’ll cost nothing to dream and everything not to.

Those words are found on a painting we recently inherited from a friend. The painting is lovely and fits our new flat perfectly. And, considering the journey we are undertaking, the words are quite fitting. We had dreamt of living overseas for a long time. And now we’re living that dream. Wondering what would have happened if we had never had this dream is definitely a better spot to be in than wondering what would have happened if we had dreamt bigger. The former is really just introspective, an exercise in idle thought. But the latter is simply regret. Dare to dream.

much to celebrate!

2009-05-23T14:06:00.010+01:00

our first wedding anniversary is in 2 weeks (tomorrow)! YAY!! we've finally made it to our first year, and look at that, we're still married! =P praise God!

so to celebrate, we've booked a one week holiday to an all inclusive resort in the city of rethymnon, crete (the largest of the greek islands)!!

as you can imagine, we're both super-duper excited about this trip! first of all, we're celebrating our first year anniversary, and we get to go to greece!!

so many markets, so little time!

2009-05-23T12:32:00.008+01:00

we visited two markets last saturday. one is called borough market, located by london bridge. the other is called portobello market, located in notting hill.

borough market
it is london's oldest food market, and has a long and distinguished history as a wholesale fruit and vegetable market. but believe us, this market provides much more than just fruits and vegetables.

once we entered the market, we were greeted with the delicious smells of baked goods and coffee! although we grew quite hungry at the site of so many food options, we wandered through the market, carefully examining the variety of product offerings before we made up our minds on what to try.

the market was also filled with many food samples - chocolate, cheese, wine, sauces, dips and even pâté! it was all so savoury and we wanted to buy it all! of course we didn't. but we are very glad we had the sampling to tide us over until we finally decided what to buy for lunch.

finally, we decided to share a venison burger. for those of you who don't know what venison meat is, it's deer meat. of course, teresa didn't know it was deer meat. she thought venison was something of the buffalo meat variety. once she found out it was deer meat, all she could think of was poor bambi. needless to say, she didn't take another bite of that burger after that image was placed in her head.

for dessert, we bought two pieces of brownies (£2 for one piece, £3 for two pieces. so of course, we had to buy the two pieces - it just made economic sense!) from flour power city bakery. and oh my goodness, they were good brownies!

look at the slabs of brownies! we would SO eat it all =P

SO GOOD!!

portobello market

located on the famous portobello road (location of the famous blue door, travel book store, the garden fence, etc from the film notting hill, staring hugh grant and julia roberts - by the way, we didn't find any of these famous locations from the film and we didn't want to be all touristy and ask =P), the market stretches for about 3.22km. it was uber crowded, of course, it being a saturday afternoon with yet another day of great weather and all.

in the first section of the market, most of the shops were selling antiques. there were antique cutlery, service ware, restroom accessories, frames, display units, etc. antiques are nice to look at (for a little while), but since we don't collect antiques, or have a desire to collect them, we quickly moved past them.

the next section of the market is the food section. everything looked so good! (to all our fellow gourmands, you would love it here!) there were loads of fruit and vegetable stands, baked goods, meat vendors, and many many other food stands!

we saw a few spanish stalls, and they cooked mixed and seafood paella with their very large paella pans right in front of you! it was such a treat to just watch how they cooked it, and what ingredients went into each pan! we'll be sure to try it out next time and report.

the great thing about london is that there are markets everywhere! these are just two of the more famous and popular ones. each market has its own flavour and character, which makes it so much fun to try to explore all of them. keep posted for our head-to-head best brownie ever challenge!

and...we're back!

2009-05-20T11:37:00.005+01:00

it's an amazing experience these days to live without internet. our drought started when we moved to our new flat last tuesday. that's right. for a total of 8 entire days, we have not had regular access to the internet. and we're alive. amazing!

of course, we managed to be resourceful and get some access (free, no less) at the local library. you have to reserve time and are limited to an hour per session and two hours max per day. but still, it's better than nothing.

so what have we been up to? well, this past week was mostly "tourist week," as we like to call it. we got around the city to see some of the more typical london sights. an afternoon in the westminster area allowed us to rack up quite a list of attractions, including: westminster abbey (we didn't pay the £15 to go in, though), big ben, british parliament (for you v for vendetta fans), the london eye, and buckingham palace. teresa even had fish & chips for the first time! sadly, we didn't get to meet the queen on this occasion.

now that we've rejoined modern society, we'll write more on what we've been up to in the next few days.

hillsong london

2009-05-04T01:48:00.014+01:00

ever since we decided to come to london, we had been looking forward to worshiping at hillsong london. right or wrong, there's a certain mystique to that name. this afternoon, we finally got around to it, our first time there since arriving in london. we thought about going sooner but wanted to wait for bea & tim, who go there regularly, so we wouldn't be lost. we left with a sense that God had ordained that we should go when we did and to that specific service.

we didn't know what to expect really. we'd heard lots of things about hillsong church, whether in sydney or london. there were good reviews and other reviews that were not as enthusiastic. still, part of our little adventure is to see how other churches worship and see how God wants to teach us through the experience.

i'm always a little hesitant when it comes to hype. i know it's quite ironic, being a marketer myself. but maybe that's why i'm a bit if a skeptic at times. it's because i know how hype works and how hype tends to overshadow substance. we can get so focused on the sizzle that we forget we came for steak.

and so it was that i we found ourselves holding back when the service started. it's quite hypocritical of us, seeing how we often lament how the congregation at scbc seems reluctant to engage in worship freely. we didn't want to lose ourselves in a spectacle and become consumers rather than worshippers. and it's hard when you have a church that works very hard to ensure that its production is worthy of the glory of our God. we plan on visiting again and hopefully, next time, we'll be able to let go without losing the true spirit of worship and find that amazing, freeing balance.

christine caine was the speaker for the service we went to. i'm sure you can find her bio somewhere on the internet, so i won't repeat it here. it's really hard to ignore what you hear in terms of other people's opinions! we had heard comments that the preaching at hillsong can be a little loosy goosey and light on Biblical grounding and so, again, we were cautious. But God definitely had other designs in mind and anointed her with a healthy dose of the Holy Spirit because, boy, did she preach with power and conviction! and what she preached on was just another example of how God has been affirming us in our decision to come here.

she spoke on how life is inherently risky and how the point of life, particularly for Christians, is not to arrive at death safely or comfortably. here are some key points that we took from the message:

"Jesus came so that we might be saved, not so that we might be safe."

"the purpose of light is to find darkness."

"when he came, there was no light. when he left, there was no darkness."

- epitaph for a.w. mill, a one-way missionary

"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."
- david livingstone

"don't sell out to lesser priorities."

but it wasn't all stories, and she wasn't just saying this stuff from the pulpit. she was living this out herself. as a 40-something mother of two, she responded to God's call for her to start fighting human trafficking, starting in greece. some would say that it was a job for someone else, someone without responsibilities like a raising a family. but God called her. and she stepped out in faith, took a risk, and obeyed. we wish there was a recording of the message we could share with you because it was that good. we'll try to find it if we can and post a link.

maybe not every week at hillsong is like this. and maybe our reaction was because we walked in as skeptical as we did. but for this one week, at this one service - the one we attended - there was a tangible sense of God's spirit moving mightily among his people.

as a side note, joel houston is REALLY tall. and the drummer was insanely talented.

best ice cream ever

2009-05-03T23:23:00.011+01:00

today we met up with one of cas' old friends from high school. he's been in europe for eight years or so and is finally headed back to toronto, which is unfortunate since we just got here. but we got to spend most of the day catching up and meeting some new friends.

we asked for all of his recommendations on places to go and his favourites in the city. he gave us lots of great tips, including a shop that sells 'the best gelato ever.' we were a little skeptical. we asked him if he'd ever been to italy, and he had. still, he insisted, this was better - way better. amidst his praise, he even went so far to say that there were not enough superlatives in the english language to describe just how good the gelato was. we received his personal guarantee that this would be the best ice cream that we had ever tasted.

"this guy probably graduated from the top of his class at the school where they teach you how to make gelato and came to london because he figured he could make way more money here."

of course, all this ice cream talk sparked a craving and since it was yet another gorgeous warm, sunny day in london, we decided to go together. the store is called scoop, and it's located in the covent garden area, an area we had walked around previously. it might be a prerequisite to be italian in order to work there, or at least part of the family, but i suppose that adds to the credibility/authenticity/appeal of the place.

the place was busy, which was a good sign, and a queue streamed out the door into the street. they have a number of different flavours from which to choose, including two kinds of chocolate (milk and dark), lemon, pineapple, strawberry, cinnamon, just to name a few. we opted for a medium cup, which gives you two flavours. teresa chose chocolate (naturally) and caspian chose pistachio (the flavour on which he benchmarks all gelato).

the verdict? well, suffice it to say that the guarantee was fulfilled because it was, in fact, the best gelato we have ever had. you can take that as you like, since we may not have tried that many places, but it was really really good. don't take our word for it, though. come here and try it for yourselves!

as a bonus, they also deliver and we happen to be in the delivery zone!

http://www.scoopgelato.com/

it's a small world

2009-04-27T23:01:00.000+01:00

it's funny how God can surprise you time and again. we happened to be cooking dinner and struck up a conversation with another gentleman who was also preparing his meal in the common kitchen. his name is james and he's studying medical and hygiene studies in london until this september.

the cool thing is he comes from malawi. not only that, but his hometown is zomba, the town we were based in while we were there. in fact, he even knows the joneses and emmanuel international and lives close by. we talked about nsima and chambo and all the great stuff about malawi. it was a great time, just cooking and sharing. and it was a surprise blessing from God on an otherwise rainy day (only the second one since we've been here!).

we're in the college for another two weeks or so and will hopefully see james around again before we leave. we're not sure where God wants this to go, or what our role in it will be, but we're sure it'll be good.

we're still wide-eyed at the new sights and sounds of a different place, seemingly a great distance away from home. but the lesson for today is that when you're walking with a big God, this world of ours gets smaller and smaller.

impossible is nothing

2009-04-24T22:50:00.000+01:00

our criteria for an ideal flat:
1) safe (enough so that teresa can walk home in the evening without being afraid)
2) inexpensive (or at least within the budget we had set)
3) central
4) close to transport links (tube mainly, but buses and trains too)
5) nice (aesthetically)
6) close to grocery store

ask any londoner whether such a place exists and they will tell you surely not. they will tell you that it simply isn't possible. well today, we may have found such a place.

it was a very short walk ('a stone's throw away') from where we are currently staying. it's not 100% safe, but then again, no place in london really is. but we'd give it a solid 90% rating. there's also a police station not too far down the street. it is a 5 minute walk to king's cross tube station, which is the hub for almost every line on the underground, the overland trains, and numerous bus routes. there's a tesco metro (one of the less expensive grocery stores) within a 5 minute walk as well.

there are two rooms available in the flat. one is a double bedroom and is quite large and spacious. the other is a single bedroom, but it's still large enough to fit a double bed, some dressers and a wardrobe. the larger room was very nice, but it ended up being more expensive than the budget we had set. but the individual showing us the flat was open to us taking the smaller room too, which was within budget.

now, it wasn't super nice. in fact, it wasn't even finished. the space used to be an office, which was then converted to a living space and inhabited by several students. the current tenant is in the process of overhauling the entire place. there is a fresh coat of paint on the walls and there are plans to re-carpet certain areas. it doesn't have a sofa in the lounge yet, but it's also in the plans (a sofa-bed, actually).

it's interesting the many ways God is helping us grow through this adventure. the place we saw today is yet another lesson. all of the other places we have visited have been finished and furnished. we could move in tomorrow and not have to change a thing. the place today wasn't finished yet. but even though there were buckets of paint and plaster lying around, dirty carpet that was going to be torn out and other half-finished parts of the flat, we could see the potential of the place to become a home.

it led us to an interesting analogy. we've been learning through a sermon series on marriage that marriage is all about the finishing process. no one's perfect, but the idea is that we can see the potential in each other and will work with God to create a finished person. in the same way, God sees the potential in us and works patiently to finish us, patching up certain areas and cleaning others.

the current tenant said that it was a miracle - literally - that he had found it in the first place. his church had asked him where he was going to stay and he had told them the king's cross area. and so that was the only place he had looked and he happened upon this flat. he knew it was a provision from God.

our initial thoughts are the same. it seems too good to be true. so good, in fact, that it could only possibly have come from God. our test now is to wait on Him so that we know this is what He wants and not our own selfish desires.

but one thing is for sure: although things may seem impossible for man - and our criteria was
pretty impossible - all things are possible with God.

stoke newington

2009-04-24T06:47:00.000+01:00

today, we went to see another flat up in an area called stoke newington. it's one tube stop further than finsbury park, but seemed less rough. the area has two reservoirs, which make it quite scenic, as if you were in the countryside.

it was still a mini-trek to the flat, approximately twenty minutes walking at a mildly brisk pace. the flat itself is in the basement of a house. the house has a garden in the front, enclosed by a short iron fence with a gate to enter. it has a rustic quality to it that makes it seem quite cozy, kind of like being in a small cottage. the kitchen was small, but cutely decorated with Christmas lights. the bathroom was even smaller, with only a shower stall, some room to turn and the toilet.

the place was attractive mainly due to the insanely low price - normally it'd be difficult to find a room for one person for that cost, let alone a couple. however, the distance from the tube station is a fairly big downside (we can only imagine the difficulty in getting all of our stuff there). there also was no grocery store close by. lastly, there was no common lounge area, so it'd be difficult to have visitors over.

it was nice to see so many different areas, though. over the past couple of days, we've been all over the greater london area. we've met with a bunch of different people, and gotten a little glimpse of how they live. each experience has been unique and has given us a better appreciation of life in london. we've been blessed to have found so many different places that are willing to accept a couple (it's harder than you would think), and to have choices is a wonderful thing. we now have some decisions to make, whether we want to choose one of the places we've visited or to keep looking for more options. we're continuing to look to God to lead the way and trust that He'll give us a place to stay.

good flat hunting

2009-04-23T04:12:00.000+01:00

we started the day off bright (literally because we had another beautiful day of sunshine and warmth!) and early. we headed down to south wimbledon tube station (in zone 3) to view a flat share. the tube ride was about 40 minutes, which wasn't bad at all. this flat share is in zone 3, which means it costs more to take the tube into the city centre. the first thing we noticed as we walked out of the tube station was there were escalators, which means we wouldn't have to do shuttle runs with our luggage if we were to move here.

the flat share was about a 2 minute walk from the station. bonus! it was in a townhouse complex, and had its own garage (which, apparently, we could use as storage space). another bonus!

the person we met with seemed very nice. he's not the landlord, but had lived in this place for the last couple of years. he showed us around the flat. the flat had a spacious kitchen and lounge area (living room), which was nice. the room we would be renting is big enough for us to live in. at least there's a double bed (instead of the single bed we've been sleeping on), and there's plenty of storage space. the only thing is, there is no closet in the actual bedroom we'd be renting.

we enquired about the nearest grocery store, and he pointed out that it's only a 5 minute walk to both sainsbury and m&s. so after we finished viewing the flat, we decided to head over to the stores and see just how long it would take us. and whadaya know? it did only take us 5 minutes to walk there, and the sainsbury and m&s were both huge!

our next destination was to visit a house share by canada water tube station (zone 2). we got out of the tube station, and we were immediately greeted with a "welcome to the suburbs!" sign. well, not really an actual sign per se. we were greeted with a fairly big shopping centre (mall), a lot of condo construction sites, and rows and rows and rows of homes.

we walked through a very nice and posh neighbourhood to get to the house we were to view. that neighbourhood had the vibe of forest hill, and everyone either drove an audi, bmw, vw or some other german or french brand vehicle. if we had our 95 vw golf with us, then we'd fit right in, right? yeah, not quite.

after walking for about 20 mintues, we still arrive early at the house. so we hang out by the pond that's right beside the house. what do we see? of course, another cat! this one is all white, and oh so cute! we wanted to cuddle it, but we didn't see a collar, so we decided to take some pictures instead!

just as we were about to get closer to the cat, the door of the house we were to view opens. out comes a chinese lady about the age of our aunts. that was our instant relational reaction.

she gave us a quick tour of the house. we must admit, the bedroom (which had a huge closet!) and washroom were a bit nicer than the flat in south wimbledon. there was a backyard out back where there was a nice garden. the house only had one bathroom, and the lounge area is a bit stuffy, in the sense that it had a really stereotypical chinese décor. we sat in the lounge and chatted for about an hour. through our conversation, we were able to see that she genuinely had a heart for God and His people. it was quite refreshing!

we had to excuse ourselves from this visit (we felt we could have chatted on forever), as we had one more viewing to go to before we could call it a day. it was, unfortunately, on the other side of the city. by this time, we were both so tired from walking so much, we were really dreading this last visit, or at least t was.

we got off at the putney bridge tube station (also zone 2), and we had another 20 minute walk from the station to the flat share ahead of us. yay. granted, we did finally get to see the river thames, as the walk took us across putney bridget to the southwest side of london.

we finally arrive, and we are greeted by a south african lady. she's tall and beautiful, to say the least. she showed us 2 bedrooms, both lovely. we were a bit confused, but she clarified that both bedrooms come with the rent. we were quite surprised at that, and wondered why. we quickly realized that the published rent cost was per person. thus, instantly doubling what we thought was the rent cost. ouch.

as great as the flat was (having 2 bedroom means 2 closets! not that we have that much clothes here with us, but you know, it's nice to have options), and as wonderful as the engaged couple we would live with were (the lady is running a jewelry business based out of south africa, where the local ladies hand make the jewelry, and the profits are shared), we couldn't afford the place. and truth be told, even if we could, we wouldn't necessarily take it because of its inconvenient location, and lack of a grocery store that's within walking distance.

we left feeling rather exhausted knowing that we had a 20 minute walk back to the tube station. in retrospect, maybe the 20 minute walk to this place from the tube station wouldn't have been that bad if we had did it first thing in the morning, rather than at the end of the day. who knows, but this was how the events turned out, so we trust it was meant to happen this way.

ignorance is bliss

2009-04-22T03:00:00.000+01:00

it's funny how little we knew about london before moving here. it would be reasonable to assume that we would do all the touristy things when we first got here. of course, in order to do that, we'd have to know what the tourist attractions are in the first place.

today, we briefly walked around oxford circus area. this would seem a perfectly normal thing to do, but the only reason we decided to do this was because we were asked: "you've been to oxford circus, right?" it was almost assumed that we had.

it was a very nice area, with lots of shops. and lots of people. we went on a tuesday afternoon, but it was still very busy with lots of pedestrian traffic. we finally saw an h&m and a topshop. the uk h&m prices are numerically less than those of canada, but when you convert it back to canadian dollars, it's actually more expensive. take, for example, a sundress - we've seen them in canada h&m for about $16, whereas in uk h&m, it costs £12.50. numerically, it's less, but in actuality, when you convert the uk h&m price back to canadian dollars, the sundress would cost about $23. this converting back to canadian dollars is inevitable until we start making the £ (that is, if we'll ever actually stop converting it back to the canadian dollar).

we went into marks & spencer, since we hadn't been to one yet. we were curious to see what it was like, since our only impressions were formed by the super old ones at fairview mall and scarborough town centre in the days of our childhood. it's definitely nicer now.

galen weston is apparently trying to model loblaws after the grocery stores in the uk. m+s is particularly scary. everything they sell - and we mean EVERYTHING - is store branded. and they sell an insane amount of things. they have store-branded sauces that would put pc's memories line to shame. we found about four or five different types of indian-inspired curry sauces alone. they even sell m+s branded beer, wine and liquor. and we're not talking a few bottles here and there, but an entire section. this doesn't even consider their many clothing lines, greeting cards and cakes, not to mention their finance division (m+s money). the other amazing thing is the ridiculously consistent design that's used throughout. despite everything being store brand, we've been told that m+s ranks among the more upscale grocery stores. we resisted the urge to buy everything (it all looked very good) and settled on a pack of tea biscuits (reduced fat!).

so we ended up strolling around oxford circus munching on tea biscuits from m+s. does it get any more british than that? save and except, we didn't have a spot of tea in our hands, with our pinkies up.

necessary roughness

2009-04-21T07:43:00.000+01:00

today, we went to see the first of a number of leads on flats. it was definitely an enlightening experience.

prior to coming here, we had received excellent, detailed descriptions of the different areas of london. it included commentary on relative costs, the types of residents that live there, activities, and recommendations on where to go, if possible, and which areas to stay away from. we were advised to stay away because certain areas of london can be quite 'rough.' we put it in quotation marks not because it's not true, but because, before coming here, it was difficult for us to assess what is meant by 'rough.'

as an added complication, we have been amazingly blessed with our current accomodations. the location is great because it's central and we can walk to a lot of places and thus save on the cost of taking transit everywhere. (as a side note, we've been walking around for six straight days now, and our legs are starting to feel it. it's one thing to know that people elsewhere in the world walk a lot more than north americans and quite another to actually experience it first-hand.) the downside to where we live right now - if there can even be a downside - is that it gives us a very skewed picture of what london is like. like we said, it's very central, and so there's always a lot going on and it's fairly safe. (we're quite glad it's safe because, otherwise, our first night would have been quite scary indeed, trudging along at a slow pace with all our luggage)

that's not necessarily reflective of how all of london is. another friend mentioned that rough areas can't be avoided in london, and it's quite hit or miss. you can go out on a street and look in one direction and it'll look very pleasant. but you turn your head the other way and it looks 'dodgy,' as they say here.

but again, that begs the question: how rough is 'rough'? are we going to be walking in mortal fear for our lives? or is it just a little more rustic than a typical upper middle class neighbourhood in a toronto suburb? i mean, some might say the area around downsview park is a little 'rough', but it's not really on the same level as, say, flemingdon park, or regent park (in the old days).

but back to london. we went to a place in the north part of the greater london area, by finsbury park tube station. we managed to walk out of the wrong exit at the station and in the wrong direction. we were actually half-looking for the lidl - a discount grocery store in the area, but realized after a while that we had taken a wrong turn somewhere and corrected our course.

we finally ended up at the flat we were going to view, which was located in a council flat - the british term for government-subsidized housing blocks. the flat was on the top floor of one of the blocks, and the stairwell smelled strongly of burning incense. the current resident was a very nice girl, albeit a bit different from what we're used to. (she was a self-professed 'lady of leisure' and if you're not familiar with the term, it can be quite alarming at first, especially if you saw how she was dressed)

and i guess that's the point. from the second we stepped out of the station until we got back on the train, both of us were a little on edge. it was different from what we were used to, which is a good thing. God loves to challenge us to get uncomfortable. if we feel safe all the time, we have no need for Him. of course we want to find a flat in a place that's a) safe, b) central, c) nice (as in clean, modern, etc.), and d) inexpensive. tell any londoner that list of criteria and they'll tell you instantly that it's not possible. our challenge is to stay open to where God wants us to be.

in all fairness, when people say areas in london are 'rough', they actually are quite rough. the council flat we were in had the same vibe as regent, alexandra park or warden woods in toronto. but who knows, God may challenge us to live in one of the 'rougher' areas of london. maybe He doesn't want us to avoid these areas, but embrace them. it's definitely not the london tourists want to see, but it's london all the same. and we've grown from the experience of just walking around the area today.

happy days

2009-04-20T00:01:00.000+01:00

we'd like to proudly point out that out of the three days we have been here, two of them have been bright and sunny. that's 67%! of course, we were told today not to get used to it. but it's just another way God has been blessing us through this experience.

here are a couple of pictures of the view from our room:
we also went to church today. it was fairly close, so we walked there. the people were very friendly and there were lots of cute kids! apparently, they're looking for a drummer to help out on a worship team, but we're not in a hurry to jump in just yet.

the message today was on hebrews 11, a familiar passage that seems to keep popping up recently.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Hebrews 11:1

we were encouraged to not focus on today, but to let our thoughts be dominated by the future promise, which is to be reunited with God and see Him face to face.

it was also a good reminder to think about what it is that we are hoping for. we've been concerned about our job situation and realized that part of our hopes are to find a job as quickly as possible. this isn't a bad hope to have, but someone pointed out today that we seem to have become inextricably linked to our jobs, that it dominates who we are and is almost an idol of sorts. the observation was in relation to the economic state of london and the how people are handling being laid off. to some, it can be devastating, not just economically speaking, but as a blow to their very identities.

this realization of how much value we place in our jobs made us want to keep ourselves centred on God and set our hopes on Him. we don't want to hope so much for a job, but that we would be more aware of how He is working around and through us and to know Him more - like really know Him.

on a slow boat to china...town

2009-04-19T07:07:00.000+01:00

today we wandered around the area where we're staying. our main objective was to get ourselves some SIM cards so we could rejoin modern society after being "cellular"-less for a whopping 2 days.

go figure. as fate would have it, we accidentally stumbled into london's chinatown district. we actually had no idea where it was, since we didn't really care to look it up before we left canada. but apparently, destiny had other designs. so at least now we know where it is and where to go if we start jonesing some bbq pork or roast duck or chinese buns or chinese broccoli (which, btw, is super expensive).

below are some interesting observations (oddities, really) from our experience:

1. in the chinese supermarket we went into, all the butchers were women

2. all the tours were led by flag-waving...caucasians

3. hk diners had no real hk café style food (no egg sandwiches to be found)

4. chinese people in london aren't really that loud, or at least none that we've encountered so far

however, some things are apparently common to chinatowns the world over. we're referring, of course, to the signature (sewage-esque) smell. ("what's that smell? we must be near...chinatown?")

we also found a 'new world' restaurant:

we suppose that if we had our wedding banquet in london, we might have had it at this new world...we wonder if the food is any good...

along the way, we also found an inexpensive place (again, relatively speaking) to eat some korean food! mmmm...bibimbab (for £3.45, which is about $6.50)...yum! maybe we'll try that place out one of these days!

london on a 1-star budget

2009-04-18T17:05:00.000+01:00

before we came here, we were warned numerous times that london is one of the most expensive places in the world to live. essentially, the guideline we were given is that everything costs the same as it does in toronto, except it's in pounds, not dollars. for example, if milk costs $5 in toronto (for 4L), it'll cost £5 for the same in london. so we just prepared ourselves and tried to convince ourselves not to do the instinctive conversion calculations when buying stuff.

we were somewhat surprised to find that stuff is actually not as expensive as we would have thought. it's defo not cheap. but it is possible to get some decent stuff on a reasonable budget.

we visited a grocery store called waitrose in a plaza near where we're staying yesterday, just to check things out. we found a lot of things comparable in price to toronto - yes, even after we converted back to CAD. for example, shampoo (herbal essences for those who are keeping track) was £1.64, which works out to about $3. this was odd since waitrose seemed to be a more upscale type of supermarket. now, this wasn't true for everything. toothpaste was about £1.13, which works out to $2 and is on the pricey side for toothpaste.

(this was also somewhat to our dismay because we realized that we didn't necessarily have to bring some stuff with us in an attempt to save money. this would have saved us some extra weight - see previous post)

groceries (such as vegetables) were a mixed bag, with some items more expensive and other items about the same. same goes for meat. we found chicken drumsticks to be the cheapest kind of meat, followed closely by ground beef (20% fat).

we moved onto a tesco express for more price research. for the most part, tesco was cheaper than waitrose for a number things. we bought a 2L bottle of coke for £1. granted, it was on sale, but that's still not that bad. they also have this sandwich meal deal where you get a pre-made sandwich from a selection of different varieties (e.g. ploughman's, tuna and corn, chicken and bacon, egg and cress), a bag of chips (crisps here), and a bottle of water for £2. that's a full lunch for under $4 - we don't remember seeing that anywhere in canada.

today we visited a sainsbury's in the area. here's a rundown of our shopping list (conversion to CAD is using an exchange rate of approximately $1.83:£1) :

+ loaf of bread =45p ($0.85)
+ a jar of jam = 38p ($0.70)
+ two 1L boxes of juice = £1.50 (~$2.75)
+ a pint of milk = 45p (mainly for tea for caspian, as there is no lactose-free milk for teresa)
+ 1kg of sugar = £1.05 ($1.92)
+ jar of pasta sauce = 99p ($1.85)
+ 720g chicken thighs & drumsticks (bone in, skin on) = £2 ($3.66)
+ mushrooms = 59p ($1.08)
+ 3 peppers (1 of each colour) = £1.58 ($2.89 - this was our splurge item)

our total bill was £8.99 (approx. $16.45). we later picked up some bananas and a pack of spaghetti at tesco. we're going to explore the kitchen facilities here tonight!

london, england

2009-04-18T00:29:00.000+01:00

when we thought we were going on an adventure, we had no idea what kind of hijinks we would get into.

the plan seemed sound enough on paper: save money by taking the tube and walking to our destination, which wasn't too far from the station. but it's difficult to convey on paper what it's like to haul 250+ pounds of luggage through the streets of london, on foot, well past midnight.

we also had no idea that kings cross station is devoid of elevators. we ended up moving each piece of luggage up the stairs one at a time. it's like doing suicide drills, on stairs, with 50lbs of extra weight each time. it was hell at the time, but i suppose the consolation is that we saved money. and now we have a fun story to tell.

the good thing is we made it. alive (albeit a bit sore).

reykjavik, iceland

2009-04-17T23:56:00.000+01:00

maybe it's because it's spring, but iceland isn't really all that much ice. lots of rocks, though. and really nice people.

reykjavik was one of the places i memorized as a kid when trying to learn the world capitals so i could beat my mom at jeapordy. so actually being in the city is really cool. a lot more geophysical intrigue than toronto, which is relatively quite flat. there are glacier-like peaks and plateaus in the near horizon and the sea in between. the terrain is fairly hilly - kind of like a much smaller, more rugged version of san francisco. reykjavik has a very quaint feel, with brightly-coloured houses and roofs. weirdly, though, it has public bathrooms that look like something out of doctor who.

we got dropped off at the bus terminal and walked into the city centre. wandered around a bit and ended up venturing into this cute little café with an organic, 'free tibet' kind of feel. (the place is called Hljómalind and there is, in fact, a 'free tibet' poster up on the wall here) we had a coffee and an interesting (in a good way) hot chocolate that was flavoured with a touch of cinnamon. i ate some (most) of the whipped cream to save teresa from a stomach ache later.

after, we left in search of a place for lunch. we ended up walkting through most of the downtown area and realized two things: 1) the food here is quite pricey, and 2) we weren't quite sure what counts as authentic icelandic dishes. we asked the lady at the tourist info centre who confirmed (1) by point us to restaurants even more expensive than the ones we had already come across and clarified (2), apparently fish and lamb. we left the tourist centre no better than we had entered.

we finally just got tired of walking around and were also running out of time, since we had to catch the bus back to the airport. so we settled on this place called prikiđ (the 'đ' is pronounced like 'th' in english). it turned out to be a highlight of our trip as it was just the kind of place we both love - low key, packed with locals, great décor (textured wallpaper; indy, home-made art hanging on the walls - actually b&w photo portraits of staff and patrons that were really well shot) and, to top it off, they were playing jazz on the sound system. it's one of those hidden gem type places that's not pretentious and oozes character. it wasn't expensive (relatively speaking) and had some clever menu items. cas had a lambsteik and teresa had a 'party burger,' a wonderful creation that included blue, camembert and parmesan cheese and also some strawberry jam. "it was delish," says teresa.

on our walk back to the bus terminal, we ran into two cats! they were both black and one had white paws, prompting teresa to name it boots. we were actually able to pet it and snap some pics. it was really cute. unfortunately, our feline encounters caused us to miss our bus. but we got a chance to take a nap and still made it to the airport with time to spare. onward to london!

icelandair

2009-04-17T23:38:00.000+01:00

our plane was very nice. we suppose that's an indirect recommendation for icelandair, especially since our tickets were relatively inexpensive. caspian quite enjoyed the sanitized, scandinavian design style that was used throughout the experience. for example, the emergency procedures video was very well done, illustrated using faceless silhouettes and a very clean blue/grey palette. beside is a neat bit of copy we found on the seat.

the in-flight entertainment included a language-learning section where you could learn the basics for about twenty different languages. caspian availed himself of this to learn some rudimentary icelandic. unfortunately, it wasn't enough to help him when one of the security people at keflavik airport started to speak to him in full out icelandic. (for the record, "do you have anything in your pockets?" wasn't part of the tutorial.) but it does show how quickly he picks up languages sometimes, if he can fool a native (he got himself into the trouble by saying "good morning" to the guard in icelandic; one would naturally assume a chinese guy wouldn't know how to speak icelandic).

it was a nice touch, though, and infinitely more useful when traveling than watching quantum of solace. all in all a good flight (if our expressions below are any indication). however, the lady at the check-in counter was right. it did seem a lot longer than 4.5 hours.

the adventure begins

2009-04-16T05:25:00.000+01:00

today we left toronto. not so much a 'goodbye' as an extended 'see ya later,' but a weird feeling all the same, knowing we're not going to see the same sights for a while. but, looking forward to getting familiar with some new places, it seems like it's a decent trade. only time will tell now.

here's a blurry pic us on the ramp to our plane (note the hsbc ad in the background). the next time we post, it'll be from london!

contentment

2009-04-14T20:33:00.000+01:00

it's a sobering experience to pack for a substantial move, such as the one we're undertaking. it's interesting, because we get to go over everything we own or of which we are in possession. and as we do it, we realize how much stuff we have.

the other interesting thing is the constraint of luggage. we're only allowed two pieces of luggage each (excluding carry-on), and each piece can weigh a maximum of 50 lbs. it's an interesting exercise for us, since we both have tendencies to try to plan for every possible scenario. we're expecting london to be quite expensive (or so we've heard) and hope to be able to save on extra costs by bringing over as much as we can and avoid buying things there. this includes basic (and often heavy) things, such as soap/body wash, shampoo/conditioner, etc.

it's a tiring, troublesome process of packing, then re-packing, then re-packing yet again (only to find out we're still over the max luggage weight). but it's also a blessing in disguise, as we get to go through an inventory process and review what's really important, and what's not so important. it gives you an interesting perspective on necessities vs. luxuries. asking yourself "do i really need this?" is a very enlightening question indeed.

the other benefit is, as the title suggests, learning contentment. there's no possible way we'll have access everything in london the way we do in toronto. it forces us to come to terms with the fact that we'll have to get by with a lot less. but the flipside of that is that we're going to realize that it's possible, and that we don't need probably even half of the stuff we have in toronto to survive. or at least let's hope so...

why london?

2009-03-22T06:00:00.000Z

contrary to what you may initially think, it's not because our objective is to pick up the uber-cool british accent. (we're actually secretly hoping we won't pick it up, because we don't want to be posers)

there are a few reasons why we chose london. first of all, there is the logistic ease. they speak english and so we don't have to overcome the added barrier of learning a new language, not just for day-to-day activities, but also to conduct business. although neither of us have actually spent any time in london, we imagine the culture is similar, but not too similar, and different, but not too different. also, we could get a working visa fairly easily through the youth mobility scheme. this is the current iteration of the working holidaymaker visa, and canada is one of the participating countries. this reduces the investment required from potential employers, since they will not have to process a visa for us. this way, potential employers can hire us and at least try us out without feeling like they have invested a considerable amount of resources, lowering their level of risk.

secondly, there is the culture itself. from an idea generation perspective, there seems to be something in the proverbial water in london that allows them to be thought leaders on a consistent basis. from music to entertainment concepts to advertising, great ideas seem to abound in the UK. caspian is particularly interested in advertising and UK agencies perennially rank among the world's elite when it comes to advertising awards and just brilliant ideas in general. many north american tv shows (usually the more successful ones) had their root in a british property. for example, trading spaces was based on a british show called changing rooms. american idol is a franchies of pop idol in the UK. and whose line is it anyway? was directly ported over from british television.

it's not just commercial ventures either. the alpha course is a simple enough concept: invite interested people over for dinner and, afterwards, watch a short video that gives a basic explanation of who Jesus Christ is and what He's all about. it's such a simple, obvious idea that seemingly anyone could have come up with it. but it was started by the church of england in london. today, it's a model that's used in 163 countries across the world.

we're immensely curious what it is about the environment in london that leads to the generation of such wide-reaching, powerful ideas. and obviously, it would be great if we can absorb some of that creative energy.

finally, there's the proximity to europe and the ease of travel (thank you, ryanair). north america is wonderful, and toronto in particular is an amazingly diverse city with many different cultures converging in one geographic space. but it's not the same as visiting a different country altogether, with a vastly different culture. and visiting niagara falls or wasaga beach just doesn't sound as exciting as visiting bulgaria, prague, or mallorca. a weekend in montreal or a weekend in paris? it just doesn't compare. we both love traveling, and being based in london makes it (somewhat) more cost-effective (hopefully). at least we don't have to incur the transatlantic price. and a friend once told me that as long as you're not picky, you can almost always go somewhere interesting on the cheap side. let's hope that still holds true. we love exploring different places and observing how other people live their daily lives. being in london gives us fairly good access to be able to do just that.

we're sure there are many other reasons to go to london. and God probably has a few more reasons that He'll show us once we're there. we're excited to see where this takes us and will let you know as it's revealed to us.

why? (part 2)

2009-03-21T01:45:00.000Z

reasons not to go to london:

1. the economy is terrible
2. we have good jobs here (and no jobs there)
3. everything/everyone we know is here (almost)
4. 2 million+ unemployed brits for competition
5. did we mention the economy is terrible? (esp. in the UK)
6. one of the most expensive cities in the world
7. $1.80 CAD = £1 GBP
8. limited access to real chinese food
9. no ice hockey
10. still lots to do in canada (ministry-wise)
11. parents are apprehensive ("very concerned")

we're sure there are more, but that's a fairly good list for now.

a question that often comes up is the difference between trusting God and testing God. it's definitely a fine line. the reality is, no one can tell you it's one or the other - only God. if God's really telling you to do something - even if it's to go against an army of tens of thousands with only 300 men (the original 300 - judges 7) - then it's no longer testing God. it's simply following directions.

so how do you know this is what God wants, you ask? that's where the aforementioned prayer comes in. and a ton of discipline. chambers writes about this, referencing 2 corinthians 10:5. he writes how we need to have to wait on God instead of acting in undisciplined human nature - even if the intent is in pursuit of God.

"True earnestness is found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that is born of undisciplined human nature."

+ oswald chambers

we often tell people that there is still a possibility that we may not go. our tickets are booked, but we may very well end up at the airport, about to walk through the gate when we hear God speaking to us again. if He says "don't go", then we stop. we're fully committed to listening to God and following His leading every step of the way.

to be continued...

why? (part 1)

2009-03-20T05:03:00.000Z

it's a question we're often asked, and most commonly in rapid-fire form: why are you going? why london? why now?

why are we going? the main reason we tell people is faith. we've talked about going for years, ever since we started dating, actually. but it was only recently that we seriously gave it more thought. and we wanted to make sure that this is what God wanted for us and not just something we selfishly wanted to do. so we prayed and prayed and prayed some more (and asked many others to pray for us). we then realized, both individually and together, that we were getting fairly comfortable with our lives. don't get us wrong - there's nothing wrong with comfort. we like comfort (esp. comfort food... mmmmm... ) as much as everyone else. it's just that it can also get dangerous for your faith. we were starting to take things for granted. our good-paying jobs, in particular. everything around us in toronto is familiar. we know where things are. we're starting to develop routines. we have lots of friends to support us. we take few risks. everything is fairly... predictable.

but predictability can give you a false sense of security, of control. you begin to believe that all the good things that happen (and bad things that are avoided) are somehow your doing, not divine providence. God is given a really small box in which to play. He has little room to surprise you and has, in essence, been asked to sit on the sidelines while you run your life the way you see fit. this, ladies and gentlemen, is what biblical folk referred to as sin. ("In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." + judges 21:25) now, we hope you don't get offended by this - this is just something we've observed in our own lives and we're not passing judgement on anyone. if you're bothered by it, maybe God is prompting you to use this as an opportunity to reflect on your own life. maybe not. either way, it's not for us to say.

for us, we realized the narrower path was to let go of everything we trusted in. it's scary. and not like a roller coaster is scary. more like how running into a strange forest in the middle of the night is scary. you just have no idea what's waiting for you. but that's where faith comes in.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. "
+ hebrews 11:1

we have no idea what's waiting for us, and all human logic says it's a bad idea, but we're putting our trust in God.

to be continued...

the start

2009-03-01T21:45:00.000Z

a number of you have been asking whether we will be blogging about our little adventure. after some thought, we've decided to bow to the pressure. so here you have it. this blog will serve as a collection of our stories and thoughts along the way. we will try to be good about updating it (but no guarantees!). hope you enjoy it!

p.s. for those of you wondering when we're going to finally get facebook accounts...not yet.