Category Archives: United Kingdom

Free Museums in London – Part 1

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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As I write this post, the conversion from pound to US dollar is 1.58!  With that conversion, living in London can be pretty steep.  Mr. Selfish and I have accordingly become very fond of the museums since the vast majority of them are free.

We went to eight museums during our time in London.  This post will review the four larger museums we visited – the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Natural History Museum, and the Tate Modern.  Part 2 will review the four smaller museums that Mr. Selfish and I visited during our stay.

1.  The British Museum – Established in 1753, this museum focuses on human history and culture.  It contains over 8 million items in its permanent collection.  Mr. Selfish and I personally enjoy the Egyptian and Asian permanent exhibits.  We also visited the temporary Picasso exhibit, which contained over 100 etchings by Picasso.

It is always worthwhile to visit the British Museum.  Mr. Selfish and I have been here separately and together on a number of occasions.  The only downside is that it can get pretty swamped by tourists, especially the Egyptian exhibits.  I would recommend not visiting the British Museum on the weekends but going during the weekday.

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London Markets!

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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Mr. Selfish and I discovered another cost-efficient way to spend an afternoon – browsing the markets.  From foodie heaven to antiques to alternative clothing, London has the market for you.

1.  Borough Market – Mr. Selfish and I could eat every day at this market.  Not only was the variety tremendous, but everything was fresh.  By far, the very best food stall at this market is Kappacasein, which sells the most delectable grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had.  Other yummy delights were from Pieminister for Cornwall pasties, Northfield Kitchen for salt beef sandwiches, and the Guildable Manor for their mixed grill sandwich.  Although there is very limited seating, you can always grab your food and head to the area in front of the Southwark Cathedral to nibble down.

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Google’s New London Office

16 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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My little cousin, who works for Google, was in town and wanted to check out the new London office.  Since we were with her, Mr. Selfish and I also toured the office. As usual, Google’s office seemed like a great place to work.

There were nifty submarine style doors, funky decorated areas, lots of places to eat, and tons of video conference rooms.

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The Other University – Oxford

13 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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I took a day trip to Oxford while I was studying at Cambridge.  Because that day was unusually cold, I purchased a long-sleeved Oxford t-shirt to warm up.  One day when I was wearing that Oxford t-shirt back at Cambridge, someone screamed at me, “No, Cambridge is better!”  This was my first introduction to the rivalry between Cambridge and Oxford.

Admittedly, Oxford is older than Cambridge.  In fact, disgruntled faculty from Oxford left and formed Cambridge.  However, Cambridge consistently ranks higher in the list of world universities.  This year, Cambridge was ranked #2 (with MIT as #1) while Oxford was ranked #5.

Biased as I am, I also think that Cambridge is prettier than Oxford.  But you can judge for yourself…

Mr. Selfish and I started at Radcliffe Square.  We admired the Radcliffe Camera and climbed the tower in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin to enjoy the fabulous view.

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Don’t Sit in the Chairs in the Parks

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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Mr. Selfish and I were fortunate to have many beautiful sunny days in London.  We therefore explored the many, many parks around the city.

Regent’s Park – One of the first things we learned was not to sit in the green and white lawn chairs.  Apparently, once your butt touches the seat, you owe the park 1.5 pounds. We learned this the hard way when a man in a bright yellow vest came up to us demanding money.  We should have noticed that the older ladies near us had sprinted out of the chairs as soon as the man approached us.  However, we only had a 20 pound note and the vest guy didn’t have any change.  After he found a group of about ten people to harass for money, he left us alone (aka we ran off).

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Fit for the Olympics

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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The Olympics and the Paralympics are officially over.  Mr. Selfish and I didn’t attend any of the festivities.  However, we (mostly I) did take a lot of silly photos with the Olympic mascots.  Enjoy!

Highgate Village Attractions

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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Mr. Selfish and I are renting a flat in Highgate Village, which is in northern London.  It takes us about 20 minutes to get to central London on the tube.  On the days that we don’t venture into the city proper, we enjoy Highgate Village.

One of the main attractions in the area is the Highgate Cemetery, which is a Victorian cemetery opened in 1839.  With over 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves in varying states of repair, the cemetery has an eerie quality about it.  Notably, Karl Marx was buried in Highgate Cemetery.

Highgate Cemetery is divided into the eastern and western parts.  You can do a self-guided tour of the east cemetery for 3 pounds per adult, so Mr. Selfish and I chose this option.

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Carded for Caffrey’s

08 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, Food & Drinks, London, United Kingdom

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As I’ve mentioned previously, I spent the summer of 2000 in the UK.  During that time, I enjoyed many a pints of an Irish ale called Caffrey’s.  I came back to the States and started looking for it immediately.  I enjoyed a couple of pints of Caffrey’s at the Green Leafe, which is a bar on William & Mary’s campus.

Unfortunately, in 2001, Coors acquired the rights to distribute Caffrey’s in the States and decided to cease its distribution.  Apparently, Coors thought Caffrey’s would interfere with its marketing of Killian’s, its other Irish ale.

After finding out that Caffrey’s was still sold in the UK, Mr. Selfish and I knew we had to track down pints of what had become mythical Irish ale to me.  We discovered that Caffrey’s was sold at O’Neill’s, which is an Irish themed pub and restaurant chain.  The atmosphere is a little too polished for my tastes, but I didn’t care much since I wanted my Caffrey’s.

Outside of O’Neill’s, a bouncer was checking people for identification.  Mr. Selfish managed to walked in, but the bouncer stopped me and asked for identification. Apparently, I look like I’m 17 years-old, since the drinking age in England is 18.

In any case, I got to enjoy my Caffrey’s and it was as caramel-y and delicious as I remembered.  We only have a week left in London so I need to enjoy a few more pints before we leave!

Don’ You Go Rounin’ Round to Re Ro

06 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, Living Abroad, London, United Kingdom

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While Mrs. Selfish and I have certainly enjoyed our time in England, we’ve noticed a  common problem – we can’t understand the English.  And to make things even more confusing, some times they can’t understand us!

Oftentimes it comes down to an issue of terminology. Shopping for groceries we had a devil of a time tracking down crushed tomatoes (“passata”). Or when we asked for cotton swabs in a local pharmacy the confused store clerk brought us to the cotton ball section.

But more often that not it comes down to the fact that we just can’t understand people’s accents – and there certainly are a range of them here in England.  The other day I stepped aside for some lady in a museum, and she responded with “S’cuse me guv’nor!”  To make matters even more confusing, London also seems to have a pretty large population of immigrants, whose British is even harder to understand!

One thing Mrs. Selfish and I have enjoyed, however, is British movie marketing.  We don’t have a TV, nor have we watched any movies in the theatre (not at 15 pounds a pop!), but we have seen a ton of billboards.

In American you’re on your own – I feel more rugged already!

You’d be a mug to miss it. – What’s a mug?!

The New Guv’Nor – When did Ford get so British?

Oosh! Bang Tidy! – This one makes me laugh every time.  We briefly considered watching Keith Lemon: The Film, but it had a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and neither Mrs. Selfish nor I speak British that well.

With less than 3 weeks left in England, I can’t help but wonder whether things will be more or less confusing when we leave.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they speak English better in France!

Downton Abbey

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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Mr. Selfish and I adore Downton Abbey so when we learned that the exterior and interior shots were filmed at Highclere Castle, we knew we had to take a day trip there.  Unfortunately, we used up all of good weather karma in Ireland and London. It was raining the entire time and extremely chilly.

Highclere Castle was still magnificent.  It was built in the 1830’s in the same style as the Houses of Parliament in London.  The Earl of Carnarvon and his wife currently reside in Highclere Castle.

We weren’t allowed to take photographs inside but I snuck a couple of Lady Edith’s room and the servant’s board.  As we toured the other many rooms, such as the saloon and the dining room, we could imagine the Dowager Countess of Grantham, as played by Maggie Smith, making snippy and disparaging remarks.

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Back to Cambridge

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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I spent the summer of 2000 at Christ College in Cambridge University.  It was the summer between my junior and senior year, and I had won a scholarship to study British literature.  The trip to Cambridge was the first time I had ever traveled on my own.  Somehow, I managed the flight, the train, and the bus required to get to Cambridge.  It was a magical summer – I discovered cider for the first time, studied Jane Austen in Bath, and made wonderful friends.

Mr. Selfish and I went to Cambridge as our first day trip from London.  Of course, we started at my old stomping grounds – Christ College.

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Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 2

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in Dublin, Europe, Food & Drinks, Ireland, United Kingdom

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This post is a continuation of my review of Ireland’s Fine Eats.  I previously reviewed three restaurants from Galway, Dingle, and Waterford.

Ireland Trip Report

  1. Ireland Overview
  2. Driving in Ireland
  3. Castles, Castles, and more Castles
  4. Kylemore and Connemara
  5. The Cliffs of Insanity!
  6. The Loop Around the Dingle Peninsula
  7. Searching for the Best Guinness in Dublin
  8. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 1
  9. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 2
  10. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 1
  11. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 2

Now, we will focus on three restaurants from Dublin.  I must say that the restaurants in Dublin are far superior to the other restaurants we visited in Ireland.

4. Pearl Brasserie in Dublin – Our friend recommended this restaurant to us, and so when we happened upon it during our first night in Dublin, we decided to give it a go.

The Summer Madness menu, which included 2 courses for 22 euros, was a great deal, so I ordered the Crispy Egg (with Asparagus, Truffle Mayonnaise, Black Pudding Fritter) and the Pork Belly (cooked with Teriyaki, Pak-Choi, Carrot Pickle, Onion Rings).  Both courses were delicious.  I particularly enjoyed the Crispy Egg, which was still a little runny once you broke through the deep-fried deliciousness.  Nom nom.

Mr. Selfish ordered the Squab Pigeon Rossini – Cooked Two Ways, which included Black Truffle Mousseline and Pan Fried Duck Foie Gras for 30 euros.  Having only eaten pigeon once before and being disappointed, Mr. Selfish found this pigeon to be well-cooked and quite delicious.

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Notting Hill Carnival 2012

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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While exploring London, I discovered signs for Notting Hill Carnival, which was to take place August 26-27.  I googled it and discovered that it is “Europe’s largest street festival.”  Mr. Selfish and I decided to check it out and were expecting:

However, the first thing we encountered was crazy traffic on the Underground.  We were crammed in like a pack of sardines and then, twenty more kids pushed in through the doors.

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Wandering About London

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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After repeated requests for photos of London (I’m looking at you Dad!), here are some of the places we’ve come across in our explorations.

I hope that satiates your want for London photos.  I’ll post some of the day trips we’ve taken recently to Cambridge, Oxford, and Highclere Castle next week…

Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 1

30 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in Europe, Food & Drinks, Ireland, United Kingdom

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During our first night in Ireland, Mr. Selfish and I inquired at a local pub for traditional “Irish” food.  The bar man informed us that there was no such thing.  Nevertheless, we did manage to find Irish food but we also ate plenty of other types of food, including Indian, and Nepalese. 

Ireland Trip Report

  1. Ireland Overview
  2. Driving in Ireland
  3. Castles, Castles, and more Castles
  4. Kylemore and Connemara
  5. The Cliffs of Insanity!
  6. The Loop Around the Dingle Peninsula
  7. Searching for the Best Guinness in Dublin
  8. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 1
  9. 6 Hotels in 7 Nights! Part 2
  10. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 1
  11. Ireland’s Fine Eats – Part 2

This post will explore the foods we ate while exploring the Irish countryside – particularly in Galway, Dingle, and Waterford.  The second post will focus on the food in Dublin.

1. The Galleon in Galway – This quaint little restaurant was located in the beachy Salthill area.  We arrived as the sun was setting, and it was lovely.

While in line to be seated, the gentleman in front of us told us that the chowder and the fish and chips were the best.  We took his advice and ordered both, which were delicious as he led us to believe.  We also ordered the Irish lamb stew, but unfortunately, it was disappointing.  The ambiance was nice, and two out of three dishes were good.

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