i_am_invading_london falling_alone you heard me, beware. but this invader will be a bit lost and confused, any one care to be second in command to my lengthy stay? seems like i'll have reason for a blather-reawakening now. 071227 ... falling_alone i don't think having the clam chowder was a good idea before lift off. 080104 ... falling_alone i woke up to a glorious sunise. i wake everyday to bustling all around me. i have my tea, and go out to the streets. we have a drink after dinner, even if its not really in my budget. but i want to know london, really know her! i need comments and suggestions, tell me where to go, who to see. i'm even tempted to post my mobile, but i'd rather have some of you show some interest before i do that. 080108 ... neesh when i'm showing someone around london, i make sure they spend some time in trafalgar square, camden, south bank, and if that doesn't take all day, covent garden or chinatown. there's a great sushi restaurant called ikkyusan that i've been going to a bit recently. last thing at night, a hot chocolate at fuel in covent garden is always nice. there are sometimes some really chilled out musicians around the tate modern, and if you cross the river from there to st paul's, there's a small, quiet cafe rouge on your way. the upstairs of the brewmaster in leicester square is always surprisingly not packed, and has leather sofas. i don't recommend the walk to alexandra palace at this time of year, but if you do fancy it, the view from the top of the hill is simply incredible. and the palace itself is pretty awesome. what's more fun is just getting lost, wandering around at random, if you have the time. you can always find yourself again by getting to a tube station. or get several people who know london well to take you to their favourite bits. i'd probably have contacted you, but i'm at uni until march. 080108 ... no reason if you like musicals, there are a million of them showing at all times probably every one you can think of 080108 ... falling_alone i got lost and somehow past the warner bro.s offices, i couldn't resist and took a picture of the four huge house crests they have hanging in the front lobby. then a man waiting for the bus came over and yelled at me. -wot you think you doin, you con't take pictures of warner brothers... whoops. tomorrow, pub crawl! 080108 ... DannyH Go for a curry in Brick Lane then hit the bars and clubs of Old St. I also recommend hunting down the small obscure museaums which are dotted all over town, as well as the truly excellent large ones. The British Museum, Natural History, Victoria and Albert, Science Museum and National Gallery are all full of the most beautiful and interesting things. DO NOT have a cheap chinese meal in Chinatown without a damn solid recommendation. It will be bad. Alexandra Palace is a good idea on a sunny day - walk there along the abandoned railway line from Finsbury Park stopping for a pint at the Flag in Highgate. There's still a few good pubs on Church St in Stoke Newington and Clissold Park nearby is a little jewel. Ideal for a slow lazy Sunday with the papers and a good friend. How long are you over? 080109 ... u24 tate modern, kew gardens, hyde park, the embankment (which is a magical place for me). Get on a london bus and go across the river at night. Me and my partner sometimes just go back and forth over and over in the evening if we're in London. 080109 ... falling_alone i am here for 3 glorious months in Camden thank you for the suggestions so far 080109 ... u24 I second the St Pauls Café Rouge suggestion. Lovely. And an overpriced hot chocolate at the top of the tate modern is worth it for the view, though it is always *damn* packed. Get a copy of time out. 080109 ... no reason oh, i second time out. i loved that magazine. people made fun of me for reading it so much. 080109 ... falling_alone i need sewing supplies... somehow the thought never occurred to me before i left. 080121 ... charring i brought sewing supplies. just darned my new tights. my new london look is the classic boots, tights and short skirts. 080122 ... DannyH If you're ever in Islington, you could take a walk up Upper St, browsing in the many fine independent shops, stopping at the excellent Otto Lenghi cafe for some of their peerless cake. Just past there, if you're heading North towards Highbury and Islington, on the same side of the road is a furniture shop called Chest of Drawers. I'm typing this from the office upstairs... Say you're a friend of Danny's you might even get a discount. 080123 ... falling_alone oh wow, i love islington (went for the Cass Arts) especially browsing through the antiques there, ended up spending a fiver on a small scrap of fabric from the 20's... found out about MacCulloch & Wallis near school for sewing needs, will check there soon... and i am quite tempted to buy the leather boots only that means my cheap furry ones will have to be thrown out, and i am not sure i can say good bye just yet. my flat mates have all made plans for the weekend including scotland and paris, meaning i'm alone tomorrow night. my plans for the weekend are starting to be formed: friday off to portobello market in the AM, and sunday Brick lane and possibly mass at Westminster Abbey to hear the choir... saturday, hmm well I was thinking of trying to snag cheap tickets see Billy Elliot or head out to a club, or hear some music but thats no fun alone... 080123 ... falling_alone celebrated a bit of a belated burns night tonight. talked with a large black man in a kilt. and danced the rest of the night with a middle eastern man who didn't speak English very well. this is a fun town 080127 ... falling_alone too. much. tequila. 080208 ... falling_alone my heart is still pounding. london's burning and i see daniel radcliffe on the red carpet. my life is complete, while i must survey the damage tomorrow morning. 080210 ... u24 i thought of you when I saw this. glad you're ok. 080211 ... falling_alone housekeeping stole my faber-castell pens, and yes, i did say housekeeping. for infact where i live it is predominately study-abroad students who are believed incapable of cleaning up their own shit. housekeeping on the other hand is meant to rectify this by shuffling through what ever we have lying about in the living area and rearranging what has settled as our way of living, meanwhile making a sad attempt at wiping down the counters and vacuuming. yes, that is it. oh wait, they do a great deal of throwing papers out that we would like to keep and putting all the recyclables in with the normal trash bags for us to take out later. here and there they also like to help themselves to a few personal belongings, like the hair straightener that went missing 2 weeks ago. 080218 ... falling_alone i don't want to leave, i really don't even if there are others waiting for me back home. they should make the journey over here. and we'll disappear into the countryside and fuck around. 3 weeks suddenly seems too close, and i'm panicking. it means i'll have to get on with my life and... 080221 ... u24 if you haven't been to kew yet you really must. if you like nature that is. 080222 ... falling_alone is london prone to earthquakes...or am i scared shitless because of faulty architecture. i almost thought it was my imagination until i realized the curtain swayed a bit as well. a few seconds is enough to drive me mad... on the bright side, madame butterfly was an extremely beautiful performance tonight and yesterday seeing the 39 steps was hilarious. 080226 ... falling_alone perhaps i'll attract a plague of locusts next, after the fires and the earthquakes that have seemed to follow me. 080227 ... u24 lol. I felt it too. 5.2 on the richter scale apparently. 080227 ... falling_alone trying to buy train tickets from prague to berlin, and the site only takes EU or UK credit cards... Houston, we have a problem. 080304 ... µ you're in Prague now? 080305 ... falling_alone no, will be on the 20th...but umm i think i bought tickets, its a little confusing but i know i paid 45 quid... the trainline.com seemed to find what i wanted 080305 ... DannyH Ah...Prague. Beer, prostitution and statues. Remeber to walk over Charles Bridge drunk in the middle of the night. 080305 ... DannyH And remember to but a second m in remember 080305 ... µ lucky you. tis a lovely city. 080306 ... falling_alone today was my last day of the semester and i ate out with the dean of interior design from our home university, finally the school paid me to do something. A free meal! i was very lucky considering i had only eaten a yogurt the entire day, was running on 7 hours of sleep in the span of 3...no no 4 days after i won't sleep tonight to pack the entire contents of my stay into 2 luggage bags, laundry to wash tonight without any cash, a shower and then kicked out of my flat at 10am tomorrow to wander with my duffel until the 10pm bus into Paris. maybe i can catch up on sleep then. i've also been sick. on the bright side, i kicked ass in my design classes. I'm sorry AIU, but you are in fact a joke. I don't care if christian syriano graduated from there, he went to new york first. oh, and how odd is it that 2 of the 4 winners of project runway have graduated from schools i have attended. jay mccarroll and now christian. jay is intimidating he is very big and tall, he now teaches a class at home. gah what to do what to do. london ended too quickly. 080313 ... falling_alone must not cry, must not cry, must not cry... i mean it's paris after all, but realizing what i've left behind is even harder than realizing i'm going to have to go home. it means realizing the weight of the bills, and car payments, and working hours, and class days, essays, suburban life, quiet, dull and stressed. 080314 ... µ are you not in london now? 080318 ... falling_alone i've decided london is my real home. europe kicked my ass. paris is expensive but beautiful. prague ate ma petite lapin. berlin pissed on then proceeded to rape me. amsterdam, was um...interesting, but gave me food poisoning. and coming back to london for one final week, believe it or not, the weather feels wonderful and the people accepting. home. always in my heart. you have not seen the last of me yet. 080331 ... u24 have you been to the embankment? and the tate modern? and covent garden? and harrods? and..and..and..? 080401 ... falling_alone hahahaha, yes i was...but today i am going round to the tate britain then perhaps the tate modern once again. 080401 ... no reason sunset_rubdown is playing there in may 080401 ... u24 I was in london on the 22nd. We might have seen each other (though that is astronomically unlikely...) 080401 what's it to you? who go blather from