FFOs and New toy! :D

With the coming of Oktoberfest, I started receiving some FFOs (Friends For Oktoberfest)!  Friends of Pooey, Amy and Rachi, were the first to book themselves into our flat and they chipped in together and brought me a new toy as a thanks for letting them crash - a Kindle! :D

Pooey told them my favourite colour is red. This is true :D

Mmmm, sexy 

It's revolutionised my life! I love the tactile experience of holding a book in my hands and flipping the pages but the reality is that English-language books aren't thick on ground here and even then...I can't go around buying lots of books - what will I do if I have to leave the country?!?!

And then Gnoudesavanes decided he would also like to crash because he was going to drive to Poland and needed somewhere to stop in Germany. It was just a happy coincidence that his drive happened to also occur on the first weekend of Oktoby. 

He brought me macarons as a present :D

And then we all had dinner together at my local and practiced holding beer steins.

Prost!

Gnoudesavanes took the full 1L instead of the moderate 0.5L we girls had

This doesn't bother me in the slightest!

And then we went home and tried on our dirndls to rub Pooey's face in it. 

Next post - our actual Oktoberfest experience!

Update!

It appears I forgot to take photos when Big Bear Rob visited Munich! We hit all the usual touristy places - the Chinesicher Turn Biergarten, The Hofbrauhaus (he had schweinhaxn at both places - the HB being the better maker!) and he went on to go to Dachau and Salzburg on his own. I need to be more touristy and visit places.


But on the other hand, Oktoberfest starts this week and I have visitors already. Time to get out the dirndl again! Huzzah!

Animal Handling

I like animals but I do my experiments on mice and the more I work in this field, the more I believe that they are necessary - you can't create models for diseases if you don't know what happens. 


I just wish they wouldn't squirm so much when I clip them for ID numbers and DNA samples. 


I also wish I didn't have to wear laundered underwear to get into the animal house.

By the way...

I'm really enjoying lazing around this Sunday afternoon on my new sofa writing blogs, surfing, listening to music, and contemplating if I should take in my laundry. 


But I'm beginning to think the sofa has too many cushions.

Movie review - Midnight in Paris

Because I'm not enough of a Francophile, it was decided that we should go watch Woody Allen's latest - Midnight in Paris.

Gil (Owen Wilson) is in Paris with his fiancee Inez (Rachael McAdams) and her parents who are in the French capital for business purposes. As a writer who idolises the Lost Generation and 1920s Paris, Gil's pleasure at being surrounded by the art and culture of Paris contrasts greatly with Inez and her family who don't understand it and instead prefer to view it as an opportunity to pick up antiques, and for Inez's pompous friend Paul (Michael Sheen) who appreciates Paris as an opportunity to show off his (incorrect) knowledge of French Art History. Drunk and frustrated with the people around him, Gil wanders off one night and finds himself transported on successive nights to Paris of the 1920s, meeting such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, The Fitzgeralds, Pablo Picasso, and Picasso's lovely mistress Adriana (Marion Cotillard)...


This movie is like...Paris porn. The opening 5 or 10 minutes consist solely of still shots of various Parisian scenes and I sat there with Juliane, Susi, Asia, and Trung alternately giving sighs or squeals of pleasure. Okay, Trung didn't do that but we girls did! It almost made me regret my choice of city! And it was good to see all the different places again and know where it was and go *ugh, Paul is so annoying and wrong*... 


Anyway, on a more critical appraisal, despite the change in setting, this is a pretty standard Woody Allenish film - it features a bickering couple, one of whom is going through an existential crisis and torn between what they want from life and love. The movie of course offers no real solution other than yearning for certain things can often blind you to what's in front of you - in this case, by wanting the glamour of another time, you stop living in the present. While seeming somewhat superficial and predictable initially, the more I think about it, the more clever it seems in using time travel and humour to get the message across. Or maybe I'm just being blinded by my own desires - ooh, clever in getting me to question myself! 


As usual, the cast are fantastic, particularly Corey Stoll as Hemingway who delivers his lines with such aplomb and of course Cotillard who not only looks 1920s, but gives a great multi-faceted performance as a woman who seems a carefree life only to surprise us with what she really wants later in the film. I'd also like to give a shout-out to the ugly hot Adrien Brody who has a cameo as Salvador Dali - he REALLY looks like Dali and does great at showing the crazy. I'd say the weakest character is probably Rachael McAdams but that might also be because her role as Inez is fairly underwritten, and to me, inexplicable. Why go to Paris if you dislike it so much? And on that note - what kind of crazy girl dislikes Paris? It's PARIS!!! 


Anyway, this is a fun romp through a city full of beauty, history, and love. Only a few months until my return to the lovely city and travel back in time myself! Fantastique!
8/10

Sofa

Good news friends and potential visitors! While I was in Rundon, the last major piece of furniture for my room arrived - a sofa!

The peach colour strangely fits in a clashing way. Also, please ignore the mess on my coffee table. 

I considered different location conformations but I think this is the best for now. It's a bit annoying to have the coffee table at that angle but given how small my room is, it's the best way to maximise rug space. Oh and the sofa folds out into a double bed. WIN!!!

The Wallace Collection

Also on my list of things to see but never seen was The Wallace Collection. No, this was not a collection of Dr. Wallace's painted miniatures, it's the collection of art pieces, furniture, and armour collected by the Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, bastard son of the 4th Marquess. Housed in Hertford House, a stone's throw away from Oxford St. and yet so peaceful and quiet that you could possibly forget how close you are to the strip.

It has an exceptionally strong Rococo collection, of which the particular highlight is Fragonard's The Swing, but the collection is also home to Poussin's A Dance to the Music of Time and Franz Hals' Laughing Cavalier. It also has a large collection of what appeared to be snuff boxes featuring erotic scenes. Eventually, I started to get a bit tired of the blushing nudity and retreated to the very pink courtyard to have an English afternoon tea. 

The VERY pink courtyard

And my tea service. Miam.

I will say though, I was very tempted by the French afternoon tea - it had salmon tartare and pate. Very tempted...guess I'll just have to go back to have it!

The Wellcome Collection

As a powernerd, The Wellcome Collection of Medical History has been on my list of things to visit for a while. Being on my lonesome was the perfect time to go without having to drag an unwilling friend! Unfortunately I missed out on the exhibition they had on the history of hygiene, Dirt. Dammit. It was especially embarrassing given that I tried to open the door to where the exhibition was.  

Otherwise, here are some things I did manage to see!

It's actually the 75th anniversary of the foundation so there was an exhibition commemorating various projects it has funded. These include trying to find a cure for malaria, understanding how memory works, and the Human Genome Project.

There was also an exhibition looking at the link between Science and Art. This is a glass sculpture of the H1N1 virus - Swine Flu!

A full section of a plastinated woman. I probably shouldn't have taken this photo.

Some bottles from Sir Henry's personal collection of medical equipment. Despite the fact he would have collected them before he died in 1936, they look like some that we currently use in the lab!

A highlight of the collection - THE HUMAN GENOME!!!! Zoom see how small the text is with all those base pairs!!!

Christ, I'm such a nerd. 

Cupcake

During my obligation-free wanderings around Rundon, I came across something I hadn't realised I needed to visit until I was walking past - The Hummingbird Bakery. Pooey bought me their cookbook and since then I've made quite a few items to wide-ish acclaim! I went in and tried their cupcake of the day - chocolate lime. 

The packagine - sehr suess!

The cupcake - a combination of dark brown with acid green.

Despite my misgivings (citrus with chocolate? Really?!) it was quite nice! Nice enough that I have threatened Juliane that I will recreate it and make her test them!

Tourism fail

Following the goodness of the previous day, I decided to indulge my loves again but met with decidedly less luck. First on my list of things to do, was to go to the Twinings Museum. As a lover of tea, this sounded somewhat interesting!


Setting out from Smee's place, I was running a bit late (hooray for holiday sleep ins!) so I decided to be lazy and catch a 5 minute bus ride down Fleet St to Strand rather than spend, oh I don't know 15 minutes walking? But somehow despite getting off at the right stop, knowing the address, and WHAT THE BUILDING LOOKS LIKE, I somehow headed in the opposite direction and ended up at Aldwych. 

 But it's okay because I got to see this novelty - the abandoned Aldwych/Strand Tube station.  It was taken out of commission in 1994 and now used as a filming location for TV/Movies that need a Tube platform. When I showed it to people later in the day, they said they never noticed it! It makes me wonder how many other people walk past without realising it's right there... 

Now the Twinings Museum itself would probably be best described as...hmmm...a disappointment. I walked into the shop (216 Strand directly opposite the Royal Courts of Justice for anyone who wants to go) and met the wonders that was a shop full of tea. It smelled like glory. Having read that the museum is at the rear of the store, I continued in until I reached a well-lit room with cabinets lining the walls and a table in the centre around which a number of people were sitting around drinking tea. There was a door at the rear with the label *Emergency exit* and I was about to head there and open it with I heard another sucker ask a shopgirl, "Where is the Museum?" and she replied, "This is it." WHUT?!?!?! I'm glad it was free! Being a tourist, I decided to take some photos anyway.  

 A plaque tribute to the founder of Twinings, Thomas Twining

The Twining Family Tree

Old tea chests

Old tea cans. Okay, I felt a bit stupid photographing these.

It turns out you can have some tea FOR FREE!!! and the entire collection was pretty much at the rear of the store. I had some spicy mulled tea - recommended for the colder months. I couldn't taste that much spice. Maybe I didn't let it brew for long enough. Also, I wasted some money by buying a packet of the Royal Wedding Blend Tea - I actually wanted the commemorative tin but I was told they had sold out but if I wanted to go to Westfield at Shepherd's Bush, they had some. Ummm....no. 

Knowing that I was supposed to be meeting Leesh and SEM at 12:15, I decided to leave the store at midday and walk to our meeting place, Ribon Japanese restaurant near the Old Bailey. Having been there before, I knew vaguely how to get there but somehow...I got lost! The stairs at Farringdon St. up to the Holborn Viaduct were closed and I figured I could work it out when I ended up in some streets I had no idea what they were and then to add insult my GPS wasn't working because, since I was roaming, the maps wouldn't load! I eventually got there, albeit 5min late.

But here's to being Asian - my lunch! The Unagi lunch box special, all for only £10!

The rest of the day passed moderately uneventfully. I spent the afternoon walking around Covent Garden/Oxford St. for shopping purposes and then met Cam, Lydia and Dan for a mini-Melb catch up.

Cam took us to Queen of Hoxton - a bar near Liverpool St Station/Old St. that had a Melbourne-esque rooftop bar. Kinda like Rooftop Bar on Curtain House or Madame Brussels. We reckon there's only about 10 days/year where it can be used and once the sun was down, it was pretty cold up there! Also, the bartenders were Aussies! Coincidence? I think not. 

Back in London!

Following the ye olde fun times in Warwickshire, I made my way down to London for catching up with friends, shopping, and because everyone I know in London is basically there to work, I had some general down time to indulge in my joint pleasures of art and food. 


One these fronts, I caught up with Miss Amandine for some shopping and I was able to eat a chicken pot pie for dinner (mmmmm, I should make these). The next day I started off by going to Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields. 

 Sir John Soane was an architect (best known piece is probably the Bank of England) but during his lifetime he was a collector of art and sculptures which he kept in his house which he used as a private museum. 

The building is undergoing extensive renovations. The collection is quite interesting and the particular highlights are the Egyptian sarcophagus of Seti I in the basement and the Hogarth and Canaletto paintings. 

Following this, I walked over to Chinatown to Rasa Sayang for a bowl of Curry Laksa.

Laska is one of my favourite of noodle soups and I miss it. I actually had it here last time I was in London and it's more on the spicy than coconutty side. It was washed down with another craving, bubble tea.  

After lunch, I took a leisurely stroll to Trafalgar Square and went to one of the few galleries I consider the equal, nay, BETTER than the Louvre, The National Gallery. 

Outside the gallery was a live version of a piece from the collection, Van Gogh's Wheat Field with Cypresses. Supercool! 

And all was good in the world. 

Warwick Castle

Drs. Wallace and Cane flew in on Saturday arvo and the Brits were so happy to see them again that they were lovingly held up at immigration for over and hour. This resulted in a familiar rant from Dr. Wallace about why he left Ol' Blighty in the first place. Ah, it was good to see them again! 


After attempting to recover from jet lag, we three went to another local tourist favourite, Warwick Castle. Formerly the seats of the Earls of Warwick, it is perhaps most famously used during the War of the Roses as where Richard Neville, "The Kingmaker" imprisoned Edward IV. More recently, it was voted the Best Castle in the UK! 

 Yep, looks like a castle!

Uh-oh! Already in the pillory!

Heading towards the main gate...

They weren't very good at stopping invaders - the porticullis was wide open!

 A view from one of the towers

Ye olde town of Warwick

Over the town towards Warwick Cathedral

 More of the town (Warwick)

 It looks so much like a stereotype of a castle. 

 Drs. Wallace and Cane being tourists

I'm not very good at camouflage. 

A very small room? 

 The English (note - not the Union Jack) made Dr. Wallace feel patriotic.

Mediaeval drainage system.

 Awww, so schoen

The castle is currently owned by the Tussaud's Group and so there are lots of wax mannequins around doing random mediaeval things.

I can't remember what these guys were meant to be.

 Or these guys.

He looked a bit lonely

Taking a closer look at what this guy was up to 

 This guy was kinda creepy

Actually, I think this is a real person.

 The delicious wax feast laid out for me!



Ye olde toilet

Dr. Wallace demonstrates the use of ye olde toilet...

 and then selected a sword.

The day was quite good - it was mostly sunny although there was a large cloudburst later.

Also, the Warwickshire countryside is super-green and totally like what you imagine England would look like. 

 Oh look, a stall for authentic courtyard hotdogs!

Heh.

We didn't go into this exhibition because we're tightasses, not because we're snivelling wimps!

 There was also a large collection of various birds of prey.

Oooh, big one. 

Later, we watched Ursa the trebuchet (a kind of catapult) being fired! 

Ursa being prepared for chucking

The guy giving the presentation in his period getup

More getting ready...

While we were listening and waiting for the trebuchet to be fired, the ducks came very close because a lot of people were eating sandwiches. Mine had ham, blue cheese, and piccalilli. 

 FIRE!!!!

There is a large number of things to do at Warwick during the Summer months. I hear there is less to do during the Winter months. 

Looking at the river Avon from the Castle Mill. 

Heh.

Looking into the Great Hall.

*gasp!* I don't remember seeing those people!

 Later there was also a jousting show and various trick riding based around the story of Richard de Beauchamp. I think, I don't remember much.

 Here come the villains (some Germans heh) on their dragon-headed boat!!!

Walking through the grounds looking towards the greenhouse. 

 Topiary peacock

A REAL peacock!

Afterwards, we decided to walk through the town of Warwick and admire it's Tudor-yness. 

 Mmm, contrast...

The castle looming imposingly over the town.


The mill house and gardens which had featured in some English shows I'd not heard of.

 Purdy dahlias.

Noice

The romantic but also somewhat dangerous ruined bridge that I guess used to lead over the Avon to the Castle.
 

 This plant was huge. I should have stood next to it.

 Dr. Wallace was punished with some time in the stocks just because.

And we finished our day with some tea and a scone with Cornish cream for me.