Birthdays, Ballet, Bowling, and a Band

Weeks like the one that just recently passed are what I live for! Friday June 17th was Laura’s twenty fifth birthday and so, naturally, we had a huge party celebration after work. We hadn’t all partied together in a while (and, soon, won’t again for a long time) so it was a super fun, albeit a super sad, night. I have to admit, there were drunken tears later on in the evening at Moons (the club we usually go to); I just couldn’t help it!

The next day we, in our ridiculously hung over states, made our way to London for the Royal Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet at the O2 arena.

We bought these tickets ages ago and it was something I had been looking forward to for months; after all, Shakespeare and ballet are two of my absolute favourite things. The show was simply beautiful, and the way they set up the stage was very cool. Since there is no pit at the O2 they put the orchestra in a narrow glass box above the stage so the audience could see them as they played.
I have to say though, there were times when it was a bit slow. They had these incredibly long intervals between scenes, not to mention some of the more dramatic moments in the ballet when it was just Romeo or Juliet on stage moping around very melancholy-like, but not actually dancing. Even for a lover of dance, it was a bit much (although probably being over-tired didn’t help matters).
Furthermore, I’m not sure everyone in the audience was fully up to speed with the characters or plot. Actually, scratch that. I know everyone in the audience was not up to speed. Sarah, in particular, leaned over to me at one point and said in a most unimpressed voice, “what the hell is going on?” It was even difficult at times for me, who knows the play like the back of my hand, to follow who was who and what was going on. I don’t know if it’s just because the choreographer didn’t want to spoon feed or patronize the audience, but he should have made it more obvious who the characters were; it would have been simple with the use of more symbolic colours, like black for Tybalt and white for Mercutio, for example. 
I am being very negative here though and have failed to mention all the wonder that the show had to offer. The dancing was phenomenal, especially from the leads. There were arching leaps, caressing lifts, graceful spins…all in all it was a brilliant performance. One scene in particular that stands out was near the end of the ballet when Romeo arrives at Juliet’s tomb; it was a beautiful, touching scene where Romeo dances with Juliet’s “dead” body while she hangs completely limp. Not only was this scene extremely moving, but it also started up our newest favourite thing to say to one another: “when I die will you dance with my dead body?” Hah! We crack me up.  After the ballet we had a much-needed greasy dinner at GBK and then headed home for an early night’s sleep.
The next day Jason was celebrating his 31st birthday just like the little boy he is inside – with a children’s party at the Maidstone bowling alley.

Sarah, Simmy, Charlotte and I went together and met Jason, his wife Helen and a bunch of his friends there. It was actually so much fun! It was exactly as I remember children’s birthdays, with hats, streamers, candy and chocolate, and even children’s meals – little burgers or pizzas or chicken nuggets with fries. We bowled (I scored an impressive 68, haha) and partied like we were twelve. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Although going back to work on Monday was a struggle, I had Wednesday to look forward to. I took the first train after work and made my way back to London, Hyde Park, for the Kings of Leon concert.

It had been pouring rain (like, literally cats and dogs) all day and Sarah and I were really worried that we were going to end up drenched to the bone. Luckily for us, though, the rain died down and it was a nice, sunny evening at the show.

Kings of Leon put on a good show, although I have to say it is not the best concert I have ever been to.  I thought that they didn't have the sound up loud enough for whatever reason as I struggled to hear the words all the time.  They did play Notion, though, my favourite song of theirs, so that made me happy.  It was a great night; I basically just want to spend as much time with Sarah as possible before I go home, so it was totally worth it.

This was, needless to say, a very busy week, and I can't believe it's come and gone already.  Before I know it I will be home again...but until then, well, I guess you'll have to stay tuned.

Off To See The Wizard

Last night my friends and I went to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest broadway spectacular, The Wizard of Oz on the West End.  Quite honestly, I didn't really have the highest expectations for two main reasons: first of all the show didn't have the best reviews when it opened only a short time ago in February; secondly, the last few shows I have seen that have been based on a film haven't really been at the top of my list.  I think it's because I have such a high standard for the shows with such specific expectations based on the films that I adore.  Legally Blonde and The Lion King are two perfect examples of this; not that I didn't enjoy the shows (I mean, all musicals are fun and entertaining), but I was just not as in awe as I normally am when I watch a really good musical.

This show, however, was a really pleasant surprise - in fact, it was fantastic!  The sets were incredible; there were amazing special effects (in true Webber fashion, the witch and monkeys flew down from the ceiling to the stage!); the costumes and make-up were fabulous; not to mention the actors and singing which were simply excellent - I must mention that Dorothy is played by eighteen year old Danielle Hope, winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber's reality show Over the Rainbow (so she has no professional experience whatsoever), and she was sensational!  The Wicked Witch and hilariously camp Cowardly Lion were also wonderful and were probably my favourite characters in the show (apart from the uber adorable Toto, of course).
It was a show that generated such a magnificent nostalgia for my childhood and had me smiling all the way through (and admittedly even dabbing at a few tears).  I am very happy I had the chance to experience the land over the rainbow before I leave for home.

A Rockin' Family Holiday

My parents arrived at my house shortly after Mike, Juli and I got back from Belgium.  It was so nice to see them (even though I was super jealous of their gorgeous tans - they had amazing weather on their cruise).  They needed to get some laundry done and were looking very much forward to a home-cooked meal, so we stayed in that evening and had a delicious (if I do say so myself) spaghetti dinner.
The next day we were off bright and early to London to start our little family holiday.  I brought them to Camden Market to start.

I love wandering around there so much and figured they would find it fun as well (which they very much did).  I especially love shopping with my mom as I always seem to end up with more stuff than I would if I had gone by myself!  We spent a couple hours there, had a yummy Chinese lunch from one of the many stalls to choose from (I thought Mike was going to vomit, he ate so much), and made our way to the theatre district.
Next up was We Will Rock You, one of the few shows on my list that I had yet to see. 

I must admit, it wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, although not necessarily in a bad way.  I guess that was my own fault though; I had no clue what the musical was about - the only thing I knew was that the story centered around the music of the band Queen.  I suppose, because of that, I assumed the musical would take place in the seventies.  Um, not exactly.  The show is set in a futuristic dystopian era where originality and individualism are shunned and music is essentially outlawed.  The main character, known as the Dreamer, is destined to fulfill a prophecy that will bring rock and roll back to mankind.  I must say that most of the costumes, characters, and sets are very bizarre (due to the futuristic theme), but the show is very funny, the singing was fantastic, and the music itself most definitely had me singing along (although I have to admit I didn't even realise most of the songs in the show were Queen)!  All in all, I would have to agree that I was rocked.

That evening I took my fam to a restaurant I am truly going to miss when I move back home: Gourmet Burger Kitchen.  GBK specialises in gourmet burgers of pretty much any description you can imagine.  They have beef, chicken and veggie burgers, as you might expect, but the variety of toppings they offer are endless and, some might say, kind of strange.  One of the burgers worth mentioning (although they were all delicious) is the one Juli got: Aubergine and Goat's Cheese (for those of you who don't know, aubergine is eggplant).  When Juli's burger was delivered we all burst out into fits of hysterical laughter.  It was HUGE; the goat's cheese itself was the size of a regular beef patty!  It was definitely a kodak moment:

As Juli disassmbled her burger so she could actually eat it, Mike and dad were wiping the sweat off their foreheads and gulping what must have been gallons of water.  They each had the Habanero burger and apparently it is very, very spicy (Mike even claims it is the spiciest thing he has ever eaten)!  Although tears were pouring out of our eyes (some due to spice seeping out of pours, others due to laughter), dinner was a success.  GBK, two thumbs up as usual; you never fail to impress.

After dinner we went back to our hotel for a relatively early night; we had to wake up at about five in the morning for our day trip and I must say, I wasn't very happy about it.  However, up we got and we were on our way by 7am - thank god there was a Starbucks open right around the corner from our pick up spot (Chai Tea Latte me)!
The first stop on our bus trip was to Oxford. 

Our visit to Oxford primarily consisted of a tour through Oxford University, consistently ranked as one of the world's top ten post-secondary schools.  My mom and I didn't really know how exciting this was going to be but we were very pleasantly surprised.  It was absolutely huge and wonderfully impressive, not to mention our tour guide was a very cheerful, passionate woman who offered an abundance of incredibly interesting information about the history of, and life within, the university.  For instance, Oxford is the second oldest surviving university in the world; there is evidence of teaching that dates as far back as the 11th century!  I could tell the buildings were very old just by looking at them, but I didn't realise just how old some of them were. 
A very cool fact about the first section we explored is that several scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed there - I felt very magical, standing there, taking it all in...

It was very peaceful, wandering from place to place within the university grounds.  I don't know if it's just because it was exam time and therefore all the students were inside studying, but it seemed like a very calming, serene campus.

We walked a short distance from the main entrance, through one of the many gorgeous archways that link each and every section together, to the Bodleian Library - this is the central research library of the university and is only one of one hundred libraries the universtiy has.  This library is famous for several things; first of all it is another popular filming location for the Harry Potter films; secondly, it is what is known as a "legal deposit" library, which means that it is legally entitled to the first published book of every book ever published in the United Kingdom.  This means that if I ever publish a book in England, the Bodleian Library will get the first copy.  Because of this there are over eleven million books in the library, and they have to add approximately three miles of shelving every year - crazy!

After the library we passed under another archway to visit some of the colleges; the university is divided into thirty-eight colleges, each with its own structure and activities.  When a student is accepted to a particular college, this is where they will sleep, eat, and study for their entire degree.  We visited two of those colleges, Trinity College and Jesus College:

By now our time in Oxford was up and we made our way back to the bus (we did, however, walk past J.R.R. Tolkien's old room window on the way!):

We continued our journey to Stratford-Upon-Avon through the Cotswolds.  If you connect the dots between London, Oxford, and Stratford, the Cotswolds is the entire area within the triangle that is created.  Our first stop was Bibury, an unbelievably adorable, charming, precious little village.  We only spent a short time here but, as we wandered around, snapping countless photos, I envisioned myself retiring in one of the delightful cottages; it really would be the perfect place to grow old with someone you love.

Two of the most popular attractions in Bibury include Arlington Row and the Bibury Trout Farm.  Arlington Row is a strip of twelfth century cottages that were originally used as the production site of woolen cloth.  Apparently Arlington Row is one of the most photographed parts of the entire Cotswolds area.

The Bibury Trout Farm, directly across the street from Arlington Row, is one of the oldest trout farms in England (founded in 1902), and is famous for their high quality Rainbow Trout.

I was very sad to leave Bibury; it really is one of the prettiest places I have ever been.  We next drove through another little village called Lower Slaughter and our tour guide let us get out and walk to meet him at the bus about ten minutes away so we could experience more cuteness.

The last stop in the Cotwolds was Stow; we stopped here for about an hour for a very short lunch and wander.  It isn't as cute here, in my opinion, as the other places we stopped, but it is more of a "town centre" area as opposed to cottages and housing, so maybe that's why.  Regardless, it is still a lovely, quaint little area.

I have to admit, I initially wasn't very excited about our trip through the Cotswolds.  When my family and I were planning our trip I voted for Liverpool but Mike and our dad really wanted to do this trip; I am so incredibly happy that I lost the vote!  The Cotswolds is known as the "Heart of England" and has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Beauty.  I have to agree with both of these statements; as I mentioned above, it really is one of the most enchanting, picturesque places I have ever visited.

Last but not least was Stratford-Upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare!

This was unfortunately rather disappointing; because this was the last stop of the day, and because the tour ended at 6:30pm, we only had about an hour in Stratford and were dropped off in the town centre where Shakespeare's birthplace is located.  I would have liked to stay a bit longer to explore the river and park area that we drove by as it looked lovely.  Oh well...can't have everything. 

Aside from that, though, Stratford was great.  I was over the moon to visit Shakespeare's birthplace, an extremely old house that looked like it was even more ancient than the houses in the Cotswolds.

I even learned a little something during the tour: apparently, when families wanted to show off to their neighbours that they had a little extra cash lying around, they would put a bedroom in one of the downstairs rooms of their house.  This was so a bed could be seen from the front, ground-level window; only wealthy families could afford beds, so this was the perfect way to show off.  The Shakespeare family was one of the lucky few who had a bedroom on the ground-level.  Cool eh?

Upstairs in the house is the actual room where William was born - very exciting!

There was a rather nice view of the courtyard from the bedroom too!

As we left the house there was a performance of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet in the courtyard (admittedly I was reciting the lines along with the actors...but really, what else did you expect from me?).

This was the end of our day trip and we made the two and a half hour journey back to London.  We got back to Maidstone at about 8pm and had dinner at a pub before heading home for a very well-deserved night's sleep.  It was a really nice trip, and I enjoyed it even more because my family was there with me.  Awwwww, I know.
The next two days, before my family went back home, were spent lazing around the house, shopping in town, playing cards, eating loads of really healthy food (hah!), and just being together.  It sounds uber cheesy but it is exactly what the doctor ordered.
I said goodbye to my family early Sunday morning, but only for another couple of months - I have finally booked my flight home and move back to Canada on August 1st.  Let the countdown begin...again.

Belgium: A "Winning" Country

The biggest countdown of the year for me was the arrival of my brother and his girlfriend on May 20th.  For weeks and weeks I struggled against a painful yearning for that particular Friday; getting through the work days, especially the Thursday before, was almost unbearable!  It came (and has gone already!) though, and I think that family time was just what I was looking for - it was so nice to talk and joke and laugh and debate with Mike again; it's really been too long.
The day they arrived was Britny's 26th birthday so, exhausted though they were, they came for a nice dinner with us, met all my wonderful friends, and even made it out to the bar for a bit before heading back to mine to get some sleep. 

We went to London the next day and walked around for hours seeing all the major sites, and spent the following day in Maidstone shopping and watching movies (I finally got to see Scream 4!) - we also ordered curry for dinner (I wanted Mike and Juli to experience the glorious, saliva-inducing Indian food), and despite the fact that they were a little tentative at first, they enjoyed it (Mike especially...didn't stop talking about it for days).
While I was at work the next week (the last week of term 5) Mike and Juli went on a five day bus trip to Paris; they had a fantastic time and got back to mine on Friday evening.  We spent Saturday doing laundry and went to see The Hangover II; we didn't want to overexert ourselves since we were leaving for Belgium the next day.
Our taxi picked us up at 8am on Sunday morning and took us to Ebbsfleet International train station where we boarded the Eurostar to Brussels.  Finding our hostel when we arrived was not quite as simple as we thought it was going to be.  We printed off directions and had several maps, but the streets coming out of the train station were not signed and so we went the wrong way and ended up in the middle of a bustling market.  It was hot, our bags were heavy and we couldn't seem to figure out where we were for lack of signage.  We were getting a little bit snippy with each other but luckily soon figured out where we were and made our way in the correct direction. 

Even though it took us an hour to get to our hostel (when in theory it only should have taken us fifteen minutes) we were eager to get exploring.  Before we could delve too deeply into Brussels, however, we first needed to delve into some food - we were starving!  We had a quick lunch at a pizzeria and then we were off!

Walking from our lunch venue through the crowded, cobbled, medieval streets, we stumbled upon Grand' Place; this Flemish Renaissance market square is lined by old administrative houses, the Museum of Brussels (located in the Maison du Roi - the King's house) and the Hotel de Ville.  These gothic style buildings create an incredible atmosphere as one stands in the centre of the square.  We also happened to be there on the weekend of the annual Brussels Jazz Marathon - very lucky indeed!

Very close to Grand' Place is the Chocolate Museum, and for an entrance fee of only €5.00 who in their right mind would pass up such a promising exhibition?  It wasn't very big, but there was this cute old man who explained the process of making chocolate - with a little demonstration and samples to taste and savour too!

The upper floors of the museum offered loads of information about the history of chocolate; for example, did you know it originated in Spain?  Also, Belgium produces 172,000 tons of chocolate every year!  Crazy!  There were also loads of displays of things built from chocolate and/or sugar, things ranging from typical Disney character heads to (believe it or not) life-size Victorian dresses (yes, these are made from chocolate)!

After the museum we wandered around the charming, picturesque streets, stopping to "window" shop (and gawk in mouth-watering amazement) at the infinite number of chocolate and candy stores, including the oldest cookie shop in Brussels.  This picture pretty much sums up how we felt about this particular feature of Belgian culture:

This utterly enjoyable journey did have a purpose, however, and we soon succeeded in reaching our goal: Manneken Pis!  I was really surprised at how small the bronze statue is - I expected him to be at least two feet tall!  There are several legends behind this small peeing boy, my favourite being that he was turned to stone after being caught urinating on a witch's garden.  Check out how small he is:

Next on our list was Notre-Dame church.  It is not nearly as impressive as the church of the same name in Paris, not to mention there was a crazy lady yelling at a woman inside, so needless to say we didn't stay long.

As we made our way to Manneken's sister (who you may very well not have heard of) we discovered several cartoon murals painted on the sides of ordinary houses and buildings.  I didn't know that Brussels was the "cradle" of 20th century comics - apparently there is no other country in the world that has so many comic book stores; this is thought by many to be the most important aspect of Belgian culture (and I thought chocolate was what they were famous for)!  Below are my favourites:

As we were walking towards the pissing sister I really noticed how similar Brussels is to Venice (in my opinion anyways).  The streets are all so medieval and small and cute, and they are bustling with people and pubs and restaurants; it is impossible not to feel hungry while strolling down these streets, even if you have just eaten.  I swear there is a street for every type of cuisine; we walked down a street lined with probably a dozen Thai restaurants; one full of Chinese and Malaysian cuisine; and many others as well, including a seafood street which made me very upset that Juli isn't really a fan.

Thankfully it didn't take us long to find Janneken; it was literally torture walking down these food streets!  Now, Janneken Piss is much closer to the size I expected Manneken to be.  The pissing sister is hidden down a side street and is poppin' a squat right over top of a rock.  She is a pretty hilarious site, I must say, and is much luckier than her brother - there were barely any tourists watching the little lady piss (most likely due to the fact that she was made after Manneken and is not based on any legends).

Our next stop was Saint Michel's Cathedral.  Although the church I previously visited (and mentioned) is named after the Notre Dame in Paris, this church is actually modelled after it.  It is an incredible 16th century French Gothic church that overlooks the entire town but is sadly surrounded by boring office buildings that most believe spoil the grandeur the cathedral offers. 

After a little rest at the cathedral we made our way to Parc de Bruxelles, a massive park with a rather large fountain in the centre and two exquisite buildings on either side facing each other.  On the north side of the park stands the Palais de la Nation (the official residence of the Belgian Prime Minister)...

...and on the south side is The Royal Palace.

That evening we weren't hungry enough for a real sit-down dinner since we had a late lunch, so we figured it was the perfect opportunity to check one of the three food-must-tries off our list: french fries (or as they are known in Belgium, frites)!  They were so hot and delicious, especially dipped in mayonnaise (Mike had his with just ketchup - lame, if you ask me).

That pretty much concludes our first day in Belgium.  We bought some cards and played Asshole for the rest of the night in our room - the perfect end to a perfect day.
The next morning we woke up early and took the hour-long train to Bruges.  At first we didn't think we were going to get to go since our guide book told us Bruges was essentially closed on Mondays, but after talking to a few locals who didn't seem to have ever heard that, we decided to take a chance and make the trip.  I am very happy we did because not only was Bruges one hundred percent open, but it was also a mixture of adorable and stunning - one of my favourite combinations!
The walk from the train station to the centre of Bruges was lovely.  There were so many cute houses that have been transformed into restaurants and hotels; I felt like I was walking through a fairy tale.

Our first stop, before we made it to the central market, was Saint Janshospital, a 12th century, medieval hospital which is famous throughout Europe for founding cutting-edge medicine. There are several red-brick buildings with an outdoor square haven in the centre of them, offering a very peaceful atmosphere.  The view of the church-with-the-crazy-name (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-kerk) from the hospital grounds is very pretty as well.

We journeyed into the centre of Bruges to the Markt, home of Stadhuis (the most-used government building) and Saint Salvator's Cathedral/Belfry Tower. 

Mike decided he wanted to be athletic and climb the three hundred and sixity six steps up to the top of the tower which, will not be surprising for those of you who know me, I wasn't very excited about.  After we got to the top though, which wasn't as dreadful as I anticipated, I was thankful to my brother for the views were fantastic.

We continued on our way around Bruges and stumbled across a very yellow candy store that had so much bright, colourful candy that Mike and Juli had a bit of a freak-out trying to decided what to get.  We decided on lolli-pops and Mike very generously purchased one for each of us.

We walked over a bridge and along the waterside (can't recall the names of either of these things) towards the only four remaining windmills left in the city. There were once twenty windmills surrounding the city - don't know what happened to the other sixteen.

On our way back to the train station we decided we needed a boost of energy, and what better way to achieve that boost than by checking off the second food-must-try: waffles!  We decided to share one and at this moment, as I write these words, I kind of regret that decision to share.  However, it was half dipped in chocolate and covered in whipped cream, strawberries and bananas.  We basically salivated over one another as we sat eating this divine piece of artwork-food. 

Feeling rejuvinated, we boarded the train back to Brussels.  When we got back we decided to walk up to the Arc de Triomphe which was about a half an hour away in the middle of nowhere.  The arc was pretty cool - definitely the biggest one I've ever seen.  The crappy thing about it, though, was that it started to rain just as we got there and we didn't have our umbrellas.  Uh oh.  Needless to say our stay at the arc was short-lived and we very quickly motored our way back to the centre of Brussels for dinner.

We decided to have a nice Belgian dinner that evening.  We hadn't really had a proper, semi-expensive meal on our trip, and we read in our guide book about a place that we talked about going to the first day, but it was inside and, since it was so sunny, we opted for an outdoor restaurant instead.  Since it was a bit rainy though, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out the Vaudeville Cafe inside Galerie St-Hubert, the oldest mall in Belgium. 

Although our food was a bit expensive it was totally worth it.  The traditional Belgian meals we each had were to die for - Mike had a beef and beer stew with chips, Juli a mushroom ravioli and myself a plate of chicken sausage and mashed potatoes.  Mmmm Mmmm good.

It was pretty late after dinner so we went back to the hostel and played cards again until we went to sleep.
The next morning was windy and a bit rainy; luckily we were leaving at noon so we didn't have to spend a whole lot of time enduring the wank weather. 
Mike and Juli wanted to pick up some chocolates for family and friends so we went into some shops.  This turned out to be a very good decision; at ten o'clock in the morning there are very few people in the chocolate shops (as you can imagine) so we ended up getting loads of free samples (subsequently checking off the third and final food-must-try on our list).  My favourite chocolate shop was this one in the Galerie with a chocolate Manneken Pis 'pissing' chocolate out of his...you know. 

By about ten thirty, though, we each felt a little nauseous so we quickly purchased our delectable truffles and high-tailed it out of the final chocolate shop.  Since it was not the nicest outside we wandered around the Galerie; there were lots of very cool (and expensive) shops selling a wide range of products including, but not limited to, lace (another of Belgium's very popular and well known commodities), candy, clothing, shoes, gloves and toys. 
When we were finished in the Galerie it was time to get the underground to the main train station in order to catch our Eurostar back to Ebbsfleet.  It was a really wonderful trip; I was really happy to get to travel somewhere with one of my favourite people and his fantastic girlfriend.  And I was about to get even happier too since, mere hours after getting back home, my parents would be arriving, making the Sprague Family Holiday complete!