The Mega Post
Sep. 7th, 2004 01:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vixaliciousHello all! I've been feeling like I've been ignoring you all lately, hope I haven't really. Between work taking me on a tour of America's parks - which are less than technologically equipped - and my vacation and getting sick, well, I've been a bit preoccupied. So now I shall endeavor to tell you all the things I've meant to tell you before, in a list because I am, well, like that.
1. Le vacation:
Some of you may be aware that I have recently celebrated my last birthday. No, I'm not terminal-just 29. One of my former co-workers has a birthday the day after mine, and this year was his 30th, so a few of us decided to go to London to celebrate with him. Plus, hello, London + birthday= pretentiously being able to say "Oh, I spent my birthday in London this year." to complete strangers who will then be impressed by my cosmopolitanness :) However, since I am generally a dork, I went on vacation and left my brain behind, as you will soon learn.
It was kind of a whirlwind trip, just 4 days which went as follows:
Wednesday: J'arrive. Je suis stupide. Ok, so prior to leaving, I emailed my hotel info to everyone involved in this little soiree (sorry I watched a French film tonight and am francophiling like mad) so you'd think I could've managed to write it down somewhere and bring it with me. But no. So I wandered around Bayswater for an hour looking for it, finally finding it thanks to the help of a couple of really nice desk clerks at other hotels. And then I went shopping on Oxford Street. Now prior to this trip, shopping in London has always depressed me, as the clothes never fit right even if I managed to find something in my size. However, I must have finally shed enough fat, cuz I now have London clothes - a pair of courderoy pants, a pair of sparkly jeans, and a really cool military-looking coat, which I bought because despite having a conversation with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_grapevine about the need to take a jacket while I was packing, I forgot to bring one with me. Then I met L (the birthday boy) for a drink before heading off to hang out with the fabulous sparktastic, during which we drank loads of wine and had great conversations and watched pretty boys make out. It was lovely! Then back off to the World's Tiniest Hotel Room, pictured below.
Located on Floor One-and-a-Half, my palatial accomodations.
Thursday: My birthday. Awaited the arrival ofthe_grapevine and our friend R by wandering around Notting Hill and then heading over to Leceister Square where they were showing the Olympics
Once they arrived, we had lunch in a pub, wandered down the Embankment, did some shopping, etc. And then that night we went out for a nice curry to celebrate my birthday.
Friday: Sightseeing day! We started with breakfast at Cafe Diana near Hyde Park, then took a long walk through the park. I have a great pic of me andthe_grapevine, but since I haven't asked her permission, I won't post it. We were searching for the new Diana memorial, and it took a while but we finally found it:
1. A Child Playing by the Fountain 2. Me
3. Lovers Under a Tree
Then we went to the Tate Modern, and to the Globe Theater, where we ran into this cool cat:
Before heading back to our hotels to get ready for L's birthday party, which was in Clapham and was great fun. We took a taxi back at one am, which was quite the adventure what with the driver trying to convincethe_grapevine to marry him and R trying not to throw up in the back seat and me chowing down on my McDonalds because we had forgotten to eat dinner.
And then finally on Saturday, having gotten almost no sleep, I trudged my way back to Heathrow to fly home. Which would have been great, except I was supposed to be flying out of Gatwick. D'oh! So I missed my original flight, butsparktastic kept me entertained by laughing at me texting me as I rode the bus to the correct airport, and I ended up on a direct flight so I made it home an hour earlier than I was meant to. So all's well that ends well.
2. I was sick all last week, with a head cold or sinus infection, I'm not sure which. But I'm mostly better now. And I was in Ohio, so it's not like I missed out on much. Oh, and I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so now I have no reason to ever return to Cleveland. Ever.
3. Labor Day Weekend. I actually got Monday off so it was a real holiday weekend for me! Saturdayeeeevil_genius and I met up with some friends and crashed DragonCon for a bit - just the hotel bar so we could check out some of the costumes, people really go all out! Then we went to another bar. And another bar after that. And then to Jungle to dance the night away! It was great fun, and so bizarre that they are now playing 80s music instead of 70s. I actually danced to "Come on Eileen," so strange! It was a great night, but I had such a hangover on Sunday that I spent the day trying to recuperate. I treated myself to Chinese food and Harry Potter on the IMAX screen (sorry, quailquill, I couldn't wait - but you should still come to Atlanta, I'll go again :) ). And then today, eeeevil_genius and I stayed in and watched all of season 3 of Queer as Folk, and the movie L'Auberge Espagnole which was quite good, while the effects of Hurricane Frances rolled in.
And that's pretty much what I've been up to lately.
Oh, oh, oh! And we bought tickets for a music festival next weekend - Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, and Scissor Sisters - I can't wait!!!!
1. Le vacation:
Some of you may be aware that I have recently celebrated my last birthday. No, I'm not terminal-just 29. One of my former co-workers has a birthday the day after mine, and this year was his 30th, so a few of us decided to go to London to celebrate with him. Plus, hello, London + birthday= pretentiously being able to say "Oh, I spent my birthday in London this year." to complete strangers who will then be impressed by my cosmopolitanness :) However, since I am generally a dork, I went on vacation and left my brain behind, as you will soon learn.
It was kind of a whirlwind trip, just 4 days which went as follows:
Wednesday: J'arrive. Je suis stupide. Ok, so prior to leaving, I emailed my hotel info to everyone involved in this little soiree (sorry I watched a French film tonight and am francophiling like mad) so you'd think I could've managed to write it down somewhere and bring it with me. But no. So I wandered around Bayswater for an hour looking for it, finally finding it thanks to the help of a couple of really nice desk clerks at other hotels. And then I went shopping on Oxford Street. Now prior to this trip, shopping in London has always depressed me, as the clothes never fit right even if I managed to find something in my size. However, I must have finally shed enough fat, cuz I now have London clothes - a pair of courderoy pants, a pair of sparkly jeans, and a really cool military-looking coat, which I bought because despite having a conversation with
the_grapevine about the need to take a jacket while I was packing, I forgot to bring one with me. Then I met L (the birthday boy) for a drink before heading off to hang out with the fabulous sparktastic, during which we drank loads of wine and had great conversations and watched pretty boys make out. It was lovely! Then back off to the World's Tiniest Hotel Room, pictured below. Located on Floor One-and-a-Half, my palatial accomodations.
Thursday: My birthday. Awaited the arrival of
the_grapevine and our friend R by wandering around Notting Hill and then heading over to Leceister Square where they were showing the Olympics Once they arrived, we had lunch in a pub, wandered down the Embankment, did some shopping, etc. And then that night we went out for a nice curry to celebrate my birthday.
Friday: Sightseeing day! We started with breakfast at Cafe Diana near Hyde Park, then took a long walk through the park. I have a great pic of me and
the_grapevine, but since I haven't asked her permission, I won't post it. We were searching for the new Diana memorial, and it took a while but we finally found it: 1. A Child Playing by the Fountain 2. Me
3. Lovers Under a Tree
Then we went to the Tate Modern, and to the Globe Theater, where we ran into this cool cat:
Before heading back to our hotels to get ready for L's birthday party, which was in Clapham and was great fun. We took a taxi back at one am, which was quite the adventure what with the driver trying to convince
the_grapevine to marry him and R trying not to throw up in the back seat and me chowing down on my McDonalds because we had forgotten to eat dinner.And then finally on Saturday, having gotten almost no sleep, I trudged my way back to Heathrow to fly home. Which would have been great, except I was supposed to be flying out of Gatwick. D'oh! So I missed my original flight, but
sparktastic kept me entertained by 2. I was sick all last week, with a head cold or sinus infection, I'm not sure which. But I'm mostly better now. And I was in Ohio, so it's not like I missed out on much. Oh, and I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so now I have no reason to ever return to Cleveland. Ever.
3. Labor Day Weekend. I actually got Monday off so it was a real holiday weekend for me! Saturday
eeeevil_genius and I met up with some friends and crashed DragonCon for a bit - just the hotel bar so we could check out some of the costumes, people really go all out! Then we went to another bar. And another bar after that. And then to Jungle to dance the night away! It was great fun, and so bizarre that they are now playing 80s music instead of 70s. I actually danced to "Come on Eileen," so strange! It was a great night, but I had such a hangover on Sunday that I spent the day trying to recuperate. I treated myself to Chinese food and Harry Potter on the IMAX screen (sorry, quailquill, I couldn't wait - but you should still come to Atlanta, I'll go again :) ). And then today, eeeevil_genius and I stayed in and watched all of season 3 of Queer as Folk, and the movie L'Auberge Espagnole which was quite good, while the effects of Hurricane Frances rolled in.And that's pretty much what I've been up to lately.
Oh, oh, oh! And we bought tickets for a music festival next weekend - Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, and Scissor Sisters - I can't wait!!!!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 01:32 am (UTC)I'm so very pleased I got to see you when you came. Loads and loads of fun, girl.
And music festival! OMG!! *is jealous liek wo*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 03:02 am (UTC)What a wonderful thing! I would love to celebrate my birthday in london......................................
*book tickets*
:)
Where was your hotel? When I was there we were close to Saint Mary's hospital. If my mind doesn't betray me, that was really close to Notting Hill! (I say it because the door you posted it's quite similar to ours).
I hope you're absolutely recovered from your sickness.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 08:18 pm (UTC)Isn't your wedding soon?
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 11:54 pm (UTC)And yeah. My wedding is soon. In 9 days, to be exact :)
I'm nervious like hell!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-08 05:50 pm (UTC)And 9 days, wow! Congrats!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 05:15 am (UTC)Music festival sounds lovely (but of the three I've only heard Franz Ferdinand)
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 08:23 pm (UTC)Looooove Franz Ferdinand!!!!
Date: 2004-09-07 09:02 am (UTC)I spent my 27th birthday in London, in fact the first time I went. And go you, losing so much weight! Are you doing WW? That new Core thing they have sounds interesting. I have photos of my trip to L.A. and Ojai if you wanna check em out ;-)
Re: Looooove Franz Ferdinand!!!!
Date: 2004-09-07 09:01 pm (UTC)I'm still doing WW, haven't seen the new Core thing. I have been thinking about taking a break for a bit, but I'm not sure.
*goes off to check out your LA pics*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 09:05 am (UTC)geez that IS a tiny hotel room! Did you scrape your kneecaps sidestepping along to the bed?! Is that for real? It kind of looks like the bottom of a wallpapered well!
Congrats on the clothes; I could never find anything in the UK either.
Harry Potter!!
eeeeeeeeeeeeeee
How was it? Worth it?
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 10:07 pm (UTC)And the hotel room really was that small - the foyer was the funniest part, just enough room for one person to stand and then the two doors leading to other tiny rooms.
And Harry Potter? Eh. I mean the movie was quite good, of course, but the size didn't matter (omg, can't believe I just said that!). And the scene at the end, on the broom, actually made me laugh out loud - looked really absurd that large. But the scene where the Dementors freeze the flowers looked really lovely.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 11:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-08 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 02:26 pm (UTC)Aaahhh..."dancing the night away"... I bought one of those compilation cds because "Come on Eileen" was one of the songs on it, hee, lots of the music that I like, like those '80's dancey,pop-ish songs, drives the Hubs to lots of rolling eyes and "ugh" sounds, lol.
Lots of Hugs & Love! *sings "Safety Dance" - in head*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-07 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-08 04:44 am (UTC)Hugs!