Larson's In London: July 2015

Quirky London things

1:38 PM

I realize that not all of these things are UK exclusive. But I thought it would be fun to share with those who may not have seen these things before, even if you never wondered about them! haha

It is not uncommon to have these fobs for doors. You press this to a panel near the door to unlock it. A magnetic lock releases and you can pull or push open the door. If you're coming out this magnetic lock door, there will be a button or switch inside that says 'press to release'. I have one for work and home.

And I love this London key chain.

There are quite a few American products available here. However, they take time to cover facts that are questionable/unfounded/they have not tested in the UK.

STAND ON THE RIGHT. People who are in a hurry will plow you down on the left unless you are hugging the right side. Most people say 'excuse me'. Or he/she will glare at you or clear his/her throat loudly to get you to move over.

In order to get a cart (select stores only), you have to put in a pound to release the chain. At the end of your visit, you put the cart back to its cozy home and put the chain back on to retrieve your coin. Ingenious way of not having to chase carts around the whole car park. I experienced this in Argentina, too.

This is not uncommon. Two separate faucets for the hot and cold water. It makes life really interesting. Too hot or too cold? Burn your hands for a second while washing and quickly move over to the cold water to ease the hurt... don't make no sense.

THE TINIEST THEATRES. Seriously. We have seen a total of 2 films in theater since living in London. The first one we were in a small city (Oxford, not that small but its no London

adventure

144th British Open - St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

5:31 PM

Once upon a time, I married a man who loves golf. I cared very little for it before I met him and have slowly acquired minimal knowledge (still close to none really) about the sport. But I love this man so much that I would try my best to make his dreams come true if I can.

He wanted to see the 144th British Open.

SOOooo we rented a car and drove across the country (8 hours) to get to St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.

I told Taylor that sheer love and devotion motivated me to drive all night so that we could watch the British Open on Saturday. I know that we were blessed because we didn't die.

Heavy rain had delayed play on Friday during the Second Round. 3 inches in 48 hours made little lakes on the fairways so we were just praying the weather cleared so that our day at the Open wouldn't be affected.

We made it!

A beautiful and historic course. This course is nearly 600 years old. St Andrews is the Home of Golf. Amazing to be here.

Unfortunately, the high winds caused a delay in game. Not a single professional golfer on the course. Some were walking around here and there but I didn't see any.

Hazards!

HOME OF GOLF
We took to exploring the town while there was nothing to watch at the Old Course.

I did as much research as I could for the short time we had to prepare and I found this bakery on Trip Adviser. The most recommended thing was gone by the time we wandered over there, of course. So no fudge doughnuts for us and it makes me sad :(

We did get a couple of treats in lieu of the fudge doughnut and if this shortbread and jam Open biscuit is any indication of the overall product, I'm sure it was INCREDIBLE! Worth a trip back for the doughnut... ;) We got this and a chocolate caramel shortbread bar. Those bars are very common sweets so they are usually just OK but the one from here was outstanding! Caramel was perfectly salty to offset the chocolate.

Market Street and the fountain

Wandering at the right place at the right time caused us to cross paths with John Anderson! He was in town on the job and if anyone would recognise a Sports Center celeb, it would be Taylor. I was bold enough to stop him for a picture and everyone was pretty excited about it.

I don't even know but it's so pretty!

St Andrews Cathedral (allllll the heart eyes)
Right by the water on a perfect day. (minus the wind)

St Andrews Castle

Opposite the Castle. I want to live here.

St Andrews University
I would not even be mad if our children want to study here. I'll go with them!

The department of Logic and Metaphysics building
Couldn't be more beautiful.

The University Cathedral and Square.
Taylor is in there for some perspective :)

Back at the course at 5:30pm at the winds have finally calmed down and the players are ready to finish Round 2 from the day before!

Because of the delay and the fact that very few groups were actually playing, the crowds were massive in very concentrated areas. This is 17th hole where very kind people let the short girl up to the front :) Dustin Johnson can drive the ball a mile. This twist makes me believe it!

Tiger Woods crossing the famous Swilken Bridge. Tiger in real life.
Too bad he was the 8th from the bottom out of 150 players...including amateurs...

We took a nice long drive along the coast on the way to our airbnb in Edinburgh. Favourite spot was this little harbour. The tide was so low that these boats were tipped on their side in the sand. Gorgeous sunset. Well done, Scotland.

Ladbroke Grove/Portobello Road/Notting Hill

12:57 PM

I have all those names in the title because all of this area was called Notting Hill. Over the years, it has been broken up into what is now Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, and North Kensington

I work in the North Kensington neighbourhood. This area was once known for its slum housing but housing prices have now risen and it is considered exclusive and upscale now. It flows right into Notting Hill. I got a biography This Boy by Alan Johnson (link to Telegraph article when he won a prize for this book) for Christmas that I have just finished. Alan Johnson, former Labour Cabinet Minister, writes about West London as it was when he was growing up in the 50's. So different from what it looks like now. I would recommend it IF you like biographies.

Portobello Road Market (blue and white striped awning: that's the PIZZAEAST where Taylor and I had some delicious Pork Belly Pizza)

I haven't visited Portobello road while it was in full swing for quite some time. Best days to be here are Friday and Saturday. Sundays are more antique-y focused.

A beautiful day for stretching my legs during lunch!

I mean....the colours. This is 'happy heart' material.

I feel like I have this love affair with London that I never want to end.

This is a road I frequent because on corner is a store called Garcia's. It's a Spanish/Argentine import place! There is also a cafe attached which I will DEFINITELY try. This is the place I get LEGIT Argentine empanada tapas. They have Truco cards (argentine game that Taylor will have to teach me to play), dulce de leche, and aflajores. I wish I could get excited about alfajores but I just never liked them...

The North Kensington Fire Station. I think it's cute!

West London. Totally different from the East bit. I'll put together my pictures from East London (there aren't too many) and you'll see what I mean. Look for that post!

My sister's feature! Sugar and Spice

11:57 PM

I must say, Saltartists.com really had a genius moment to feature my sweet sis.

My sister is seriously cool. She was interviewed for this great blog. She does her own thing absolutely apologetically and has found an outlet for her creativity. She does hair ART and does a wonderful job of listening to what you want! We need more people in the world like this woman. She is strong, faithful, creative, passionate, stylish and man, look at those lips! (We discovered that she can fit MY fist in HER mouth. It was cool.)

Oh the hair envy. And I don't even like pink!

But now I dream of having pink hair...

Check out her feature by clicking HERE. Learn about my sis. She's not only a beauty but talent explodes from her. Hair, music, voice. Ruth dominates it all.