May 18, 2007

The girls just want to have fun.

Hanging out with Romy has been great. She has an adventurous heart and is willing to do whatever I suggest (which could be pretty dangerous). On Wednesday night, Romy and I went to my gym and took a Pilates class together. We are no Pilates experts whatsoever, so we giggled during the whole class while attempting different poses. After the class, we had some swimming/jaccuzzi/steamroom action. The whole experience was fun!

On Thursday, we spent almost the entire day at the British Museum. Romy is a tour guide in Quito, Ecuador, so I really enjoyed visiting the museum with her because we were learning together and comparing cultures, history, arts, etc, etc. She knows so much! The BM has lots of things to offer. At the end of the day, my feet were killing me!





More than a month ago, Ted and I got tickets to the Cathcart Spring Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. In spite of the fact that I was extremely tired, I put on my best gala and went to check out the event at such amazing venue. This fantastic choreographed extravaganza presented spine-tingling orchestral and choral songs, traditional Proms classics and symphonic rock arrangements. My favorite part? A 16-year old violinist from Russia, who played the Spanish song "Virtuoso." It was amazing. That girl is a treasure. (I wish I could remember her name)


May 17, 2007

Romy la exploradora


After a 16-hour journey from Ecuador, my friend Romy came to visit us last Tuesday. She is a tour guide in Quito and has already been in several European countries. This time, she gets to see the UK with me!

First stop: Change of guards at Buckingham Palace. Next: an in-depth visit to the Westminster Abby and museum.



May 14, 2007

The Greatest Sister in the World

She is gorgeous, intelligent, responsible, funny, extremely sweet, and the list goes on and on. Yesterday, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston with a major in Accounting. Did I mention she is only 20 years old???

Meet the graduate with my parents:




I love you sisi, we are sooooooo proud of you!



.

May 13, 2007

Flamenco, anyone???





On Saturday night, we checked out a Spanish restaurant with some of Ted’s coworkers: La Rueda. We had delicious paella, good tapas, sangrĂ­a and live flamenco music. It was a wonderful night, especially when a handsome dancer was invited to join the show.




(I hope Ted is not reading this post today)

May 12, 2007

The Blue Man Group Experience



For those who don’t know my husband’s favorite show of all times, here it’s the answer: The Blue Man Group. Actually, he says he wants to be one of these blue guys when he grows up. I don’t think I can make his wish come true, but I can certainly book some tickets to see the show as often as we can. So far, Ted has seen their show in almost every city where they perform. A nice total of 11 times!

We were saving the London show for a special occasion, but since we learned that the BMG show here is ending soon, we had to schedule an “emergency call” to some friends who kindly joined us to check out the show last Friday.
Next stop: Amsterdam and Berlin. We haven’t seen the show in these venues yet, so we hope to go in the near future.


May 10, 2007

BBC Radio 2


Last night we got a last-minute invitation to attend the BBC radio recording of "Out to Lunch". Even though I was not in the best mood to go out, i decided not to turn down this free stuff... one should never do. The show is one hour of comedy entertainment at the Arts Theatre on Leicester square. I am glad we made the effort to go because it was hilarious! We enjoyed it so much and could not stop laughing. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of it, but I encourage you to visit the website of the show and check out those comedians. Funny funny stuff indeed.

Here is the link: Out to Lunch Radio Show

May 9, 2007

Meet the Bloggers!


London, the city of music, fashion, history, culture, finances and high tea. It is also the reason why these three gorgeous bloggers were able to meet and enjoy a lovely afternoon of giggles and English tea at Fortnum & Mason.

May 8, 2007

A familiar sight


For a second I thought we were at home in Texas... but then I realized something was wrong in the picture: the cars were unalike, and the gas prices were way different! Is that the price per gallon, or per liter? can someone shed some light on this please?

May 6, 2007

A visit to Aquae Sulis


Yesterday, we jumped on a train to visit Bath, Britain's most historic spa town, which is located 185 km (115 miles) west of London. Trains leave Paddington Station for Bath once every half-hour during the day, and the trip took us about 1 and half hours.

The day started a little cloudy and cold, but later on it turned out to be sunny and perfect! It was so nice to walk around and enjoy all the stuff that Bath has to offer. According to my super duper book guide of England, much of the city of Bath was made over in the 18th century, most famously by the father and son team of John Woods, Sr. and Jr. They were responsible, among others, for the Royal Crescent.




Bath is a gorgeous little town with lots of attractions: Jane Austen Centre, the museum of costumes, the Bath Abbey, the Theatre Royal Bath, and its main attraction: the Roman baths. Actually, the whole town has a museum look, with gift shops and parks in between. We decided to focus on visiting the Roman Baths (historical site) and then we gave ourselves some spa time "Romal style" at the new Thermae Bath Spa.







Roman Baths:
Dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva, these baths were founded by the Romans in A. D. 75. Among the finest Roman remains in the country, they're still fed by Britain's most famous water spring. The site of the Temple of Sulis Minerva is excavated and open for viewing.

May 5, 2007

Let's go out!


The best part of living in our building (besides its excellent location, private security and gorgeous indoor gardens) is the fact that other expat families live close by. Meet my neighbor Stephanie, who came to London around the same time we did. Stephanie and I go grocery shopping together and we put the bags in her baby's stroller. She told me I could borrow her stroller just to do my grocery shopping. I won't do it, but I thought it's not a bad idea at all! Moreover, every time the sun is up and shining in the London sky, I can send her a text message and off we go to explore the small cafes in our neighborhood.

May 4, 2007

Creative Ideas For Lazy Bloggers Like Me

There is so much going at the London Crib and yet, I’ve stopped writing about it. Why? Why? Why, one would ask. The only answer I can give to my lack of posting consistence is laziness, nasty brutal laziness. Sorry, I know it’s disappointing. So, after a long consideration, I’ve come out with a plan. No, it’s not diligence, better time-management skills, discipline or anything like that. I’ve decided to present you a solution called “the picture plan.” Actually, I must confess I copied this idea from another site, which was found through Beth’s designer blog. The point is to simply post a picture every day and say something about it. I believe this will help me a lot to maintain an updated blog. Besides, I love pictures! Even though I don’t consider myself a good photographer or anything close to it, I enjoy looking at pictures. So, here is the deal: I will post a picture every day… or at least try to post one. Then, I don’t even have to write much if I don’t want to. The picture will consist on something I did that day, something random, or both. It would be my picture and you will promise not to judge the photography skills. It’s just one picture because I’m too lazy to write ☹

Here goes today’s picture: We went to the Pub yesterday with Ted’s co-workers. It was a boat pub. Very cool idea, The Queen Mary over the Thames!

May 2, 2007

Happy three-month anniversary!


Yes, ladies and gentlemen, three months ago we said good-bye to our family and friends in the US. Lots of things have been going on since then. I am sorry for being such a bad blogger. Trust me, there is a lot to tell. I three simple words: we love London. I wish all you could see how gorgeous this city is. Especially in days like this when the weather is just perfect. It's funny how I use exaggerating words, but it’s true. Perfect sunny skies with a little wind, but not too much, enough to cool you off when it gets a little hot. I will post pictures throughout this week so that you experience a little bit of this spring euphoria I’m talking about.