Mabuhay from Manila. Hurray.
Leaving London yesterday was quite a difficult thing to do. The airports with all it’s glorious restrictions doesn’t help. Can there BE a shittier place to leave your loved ones. There you are feeling emotional and saying goodbye to your family and then you reach the security check point. They asked me if I had any liquid items, and I did. I packed it in a clear resealable bag like I have seen it done in my past travels. I had only one item, which barely had 100 ml (you have a limit of 100 ml of liquids you can take on board, excluding duty free items) of body butter in it’s container. But because the container said 200 ml, they said I couldn’t take it on board. Huh? I told the lady I would show her the contents and she would see it was barely 100 ml. But she said ‘no, it’s 200 ml”, ‘yes but its not really 200 ml inside anymore…’, ‘no but the limit 200 ml, here is a brochure have a look at the shops where you can buy more if these in the duty free’ — huh? Where is the logic in that!? Bastards! It’s a conspiracy I say, with them and the shops! Anyway I was starting to get peeved I told her to just chuck it then. She then saw my sister and asked if she was my relative, I said yes, and she said give it to your relative. O…kay. Shame, I didn’t get to execute my bomb plotting with my 30 ml of Brasil Nut Body Butter.
On the bright side, I was extremely overweight, luggage wise. But the lady at the check-in counter was rather nice and decided to let it slide and just told me to be aware for the next time. Ha! It pays too look all sweet and innocent. My hand carry was extremely heavy. I had to walk to the gate for my flight and it was ONEHELLUVA walk, carrying about 10kg! I could feel myself get red on the face, panting and ready to pass out. Finally this middle aged man saw me and offered to help me carry one side of it along with me. I was so greatful!
I finally get on the plane and settle down, realise that there is no one seated next to me for the whole journey! Thank goodness! I must first of all say how fantastic an airline Cathay Pacific is. They’re seating is pretty spacious considering it is economy. That plus my extra seat (together with my Campari sodas) made the journey really bareable. They had pretty good movies, but I ended up watching the same movie, “About A Boy”, if I did tuned in to the in flight entertainment. Haha! The food is so good as well, it doesn’t feel like it is airplane food. The last time I took Cathay, they served us Congee for breakfast. When I looked at the menu for this trip and it didn’t say that they were serving it, I was a tad bit disappointed. But when it was time for breakfast and they asked me if which I would prefer, Eggs or Congee… CONGEEE!!
The second leg of the journey was good as well. Didn’t have a long wait in Hong Kong airport. I was so happy when I was served Calamansi juice on the plane. But at the same time reminiscent when they served tuna melt sandwhiches along with it.
Arriving “Bird Flu Free” Manila airport, it wasn’t so bad as normal. However, when I had to get my heavy suitcase from the carousel, and all the men just watching not offering to help, I realised I was back home. I think they were all amused that someone as tiny as me was able to lift the suitcase and put it on my cart because they were all just staring at me as I walked away.
It is really strange to be back home. I can’t seem to get to grips with things, almost like I am dreaming. I feel like I need to pop into Oxford Street and think I should just get the tube — but it ain’t gonna happen now is it! It is going to be a huge adjustment yet again. I had turned on the air-con and as I was getting ready to go to bed I realised I as freezing! I never felt that cold in a room in London. I could never understand when my brother-in-law would feel that way when he would visit. So I did have to turn it off, or consider using some sweaters to sleep. I guess my body needs to thaw in order to enjoy the air-con again.
So that was day one.
Adiós Londres.
Te quiero.
Te echaré de menos.
Tiene mi corazón.
So the countdown begins. I am trying to make the most of my last few days here in LDN. My day was made up by meeting friends, trying my favorite food places for the last time, endulge in art galleries and just capture every moment I can of this city which is beloved to me.
Numero Uno
The Apple Mac Store - on Regent Street. This is one of the many shops I am going to miss in London. Ooh-ing and ahh-ing the newest apple gadgets in store. Watching and learning from the free workshops, has been the best way to pass time on certain days. Lots of purchases made as well as memories. This is my temple, I will miss the visits I made religiously.
Numero Dos
Sacred Cafe - I have gone on endlessly about this cafe. This has got to be my favorite cafe in London. I love the coffee and the music they play, the friendly vibe of the place. Today, I went to have perhaps my last cup of Cortado and my Nata (Portuguese Egg Tart). I was THISCLOSE to buying their t-shirt, but unfortunately they didn’t have my size. Haha! This is how much I love this place.
Numero Tres
The Sights - Walking along Westminster, I just can’t get eough of the London Eye. It was an amazing experience being up there. The view you get of London is just fantastic. It’s just as beautiful appreciating it from a far.
Numero Quatro
Museums - I went to see the Dali Museum today, as one of my last few art fix. I was rather impressed by his work. I only have seen a few of his paintings, which I found very interesting. Usually, I don’t think sculptures are anything great. However, seeing Dali’s surrealistic works makes me appreciate sculptures. They’re very interesting, because they have so much meaning and metaphors involved. The first image is the Space Venus, where Dali pays homage to the female figure. He says the beauty of the flesh is temporary and will vanish, but the beauty of art is timeless and eternal. This sculpture is devided into two parts to reveal the egg, symbolizing life, renewal, continuation and the future. I adore this concept. The second image is the Novelty of Time. You will notice, a lot of Dali’s art has the melted watch draped over something. In one of his works called the Persistence of Memory, it is said that the Dalinian time is not rigid, it is one with space… fluid. This watch no longer “keeps” time. The speed of our time depends only on us.. Beautifully said. The more I know about him, the more I love his philosophy. And the last image which is the Space Elephant. It is said that it is moving through space towards the heavens, legs stretched out and more delicate in the weightless atmosphere, the space elephant carries an obelisk, symbol of the progress of technology. There is one more sculpture which I thought was fantastic, it was the Homage to Newton, Dalí honours Sir Isaac Newton for his discovery of the Law of Gravity, symbolised by the celebrated falling apple, which is represented here by a sphere of metal attached to a line. In this form, the apple loses both its impermanence and its capacity for regeneration. Dalí implies that the living being, Sir Isaac Newton, has become a mere name in science, completely stripped of his personality and individuality. To represent this transformation, Dalí has pierced the figure with two large holes: one that portrays the absence of Newton’s vital organs, while the other clearly displays the lack of mind. What remains is only symbolic representation. Wow! Seeing other aspects of his exhibit like his illustrations, I had wished that I had read Don Quixote before seeing this exhibit. He had done illustrations of the story. It would have been quite nice to put two and two together.
At the start of the exhibit, Dali’s quotes are found on the walls. At first when I read them, I thought that very clever but didn’t mean as much. That is, until I got to “know” him better. I couldn’t resist to write some of them down. I know Dali wouldn’t have mind me “stealing” some of his words, you will see why by the end of this post. For now, I leave you with some of my favorite Dalianian quotes:
“There is less madness to my methods than there is methods to my madness.”
“An artist is not one who is inspired, but one who can inspire others.”
“Ideas are made to be copied. I have enough ideas to sell them on. I prefer that they are stolen so that I dont have to actually use them myself.”
“For me love must be ugly, looks must be divine, and death must be beautiful.”
“The envy of other artists has always been the barometer of my success.”
There were predictions of snow in London. But after 3 years of living here, promises of snow, promises of sunshine. You start to think, “yeah whatever”. This morning however was a pleasant surprise. I woke to my sister telling me to look out the window. It was like a winter wonderland. I didn’t think I would get to see snow one last time before leaving England. As always, I was like a little girl in the candy store. I love seeing snow and being around it. It feels so crisp and romantic. It can make any place that normally looks like some piss-pot place look beautiful. I walked towards the station, taking a few snaps, hearing the crunch of snow under my shoes. Ahhh, lovely. Until reality kicks in. As always, with a little change in weather, the transport system goes in to a choatic shock during rush hour.
It was nice to know that even residence of this country, still love and enjoy a bit of snow. The people I got to speak to in Canary Wharf were telling me how lovely it was to wake up to snow. I got an email from a friend decribing how beautiful it was to see the trees lined with snow. Ironically enough, I had taken just that particular picture earlier in the morning. I’m crossing my fingers that it snows again tonight.
On another note, I was able to finally see one of Almodovar’s most talked about film — Habla Com Ella (Talk to Her). This is the second Almodovar film I have seen so far, the first one being Volver. Both were good, but both were — as the Spanish say rara, weird. Weird in a good way. His films are interesting with different levels, but it can tend to be rather (what’s the word…) — perverse. Dispite that, I still think it is quite good and a breath of fresh air, compared to the normal hollywood rubbish being produced.
Come on snow!!
Where is the churros to go with it? Still in Barcelona.
During the Christmas season while I was at the market, found this hot chocolate in the Spanish shop. I read the back of the packet and it said it was from Barcelona. Since I knew that I would not be able to go to BCN, I decided BCN had to come to me. In the form of hot chocolate.
It was only last night when we took this baby out of the box and gave it a go. It was really nice, if a bit rich. However, nothing will beat the Spanish hot chocolate in form of tablets. In Manila, I think they are called tablea. Best with churros…
*drool*
The weather in London yesterday had been it’s best in weeks! The sun finally was out and the weather was cool, it felt like spring rather than a miserable winter’s day. As it is my last few days in London, I decided to make the most of it and enjoy the day and see the sights.
I met a friend for lunch at Westminster, then I headed towards the Tate, snapping photos of the city. Wish I had a SLR or even just a better camera! haha! My mobile camera is quite good considering, but photos will never compare actually being there. Feeling the vibe of the city, strangers speaking to you, the sun and cold at the same time. As I was walking, I was aware I was having a wonderful day and enjoying myself, even if I was experiencing it alone. Sometimes having someone with you could make the experience worst, or better.
I started to think about how people feel about this city. I came to the conclusion that perhaps people react to London like how the would react to Marmite. “It’s either you love it, or hate it“. I personally loath the stuff, it tastes like feet! What is wrong with good ol’ Jam? But back to London, I do love it. I see London as how some women have a man they can’t fall out of love with. It’s not perfect, it sometimes if not often will let you down, but it has a charm that you haven’t found anywhere else. You try and get over it, but there is just something that feels so right when you are together. That’s how I feel about London. It lacks the luxury of back home, but it makes up in other ways. It’s not the cleanest, but which big city is? The only difference is that London, will let you meet people from all over the world without having to travel. It will let you go into shops and restaurants and make you feel like you have been teleported to Spain or Italy. I guess one will never really value this city, unless it is taken away from you.
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Prinsess Tårta, a traditional cake in Sweden. Also known as the princess cake. This is my favorite cake because it has everything I love in a cake. Soft sponge cake - good. Thin layer of jam - goood. Cream filling - gooood. Covered in marzipan - goooooood. Yum!
This is one of the many things I will miss in Europe. Even if I am not in Sweden, I am still able to get it from the Swedish temple - 1K£@. Spent the afternoon there yesterday purchasing some home stuff, preparing for my departure. My sister tempted me by saying “one for the road?”. As if I was going to say, no.
EDIT: I feel really proud, and I must share this with you. The photo I took of the Prinsess Tårta above, has been awarded on Flickr a Flickr Gold Group Award. WOO!!! What a compliment!
I was walking along Regent Street this week and I noticed that they had closed down the Itsu in Piccadilly. Itsu is a chain of sushi restaurants in London. Early November 2006, after the controversial incident of Mr. Litvinenko falling ill due under suspicion of trace of a radioactive substance Pollonium, Itsu became internationally known for this political press. Consequently, this branch of this sushi bar was closed down because it was believed to be the reason of former KGB’s death. I would occasionally go to this sushi bar and I can’t begin to imagine what it could have done to their sales.
Speaking of Litvinenko, I read today that Johnny Depp is to produce a film on the life of the former Russian Spy. I think this could rather be interesting, Mr. Depp.
I don’t know what is worst, being at work and wishing you were home to chill in front of the t.v. or, being at home being subjected to crappy day time t.v.? I am having a lazy day today, due to mild insomnia and bad weather. I opted to just stay warm and keep dry and chill in front of the tube, with a blanket and my laptop. Only to find out there is nothing interesting to watch during the day. So I caved in and watched a bit of Celebrity Big Brother. I know, outrageous! And there is a reason why I am admitting to this. I don’t get the point of this show. Okay you watch a bunch of people doing eff all, all day. And when they are having conversations that may merely entertain you… they put on the sound of singing birds! What the heck for is this show for then?
Ahh… the sky has cleared up… weather is better now, I guess it’s time to be more productive.
Oooooh ‘Cant Get A Date’ on TMF *click* 
