Blogs from Islington, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 6

After a restful night's sleep, we woke up at 9:30am London time, and planned on heading out to explore. Poor Mariel woke up feeling ill and ended up staying at her uncle's house for the day to rest up. It's a good thing she did, because Lauren and I ended up staying out in the city for a while 8 hours--8 hours of straight walking. First, we visited St. Paul's s cathedral which was amazing. We bought a day pass, and wondered up hundreds upon hundreds of stairs, up into "The Whispering Dome" and the stone gallery where we had a fabulous view of London. In the Whispering Dome, it is said that the architecture is so perfected that you can whisper onto a wall and the person on the other side of the entire dome ... read more

So last week was my first week of classes and I think it went quite well. My Spanish for Business class is by far my favorite. There are only 5 of us in the class and I actually get a bit nervous when I have to speak because it's been so long since I've had to speak beyond a conversational level. My vocabulary recollection is horrible right now and I am so excited to have the grammar review and the speaking practice all in the context of the business world. It's an advanced class and I really feel challenged. I'm still not used to the fact that classes are only once a week because I'm used to the reinforcement of talking about one subject twice a week. However, the timing of it all is really nice ... read more

The glitteringly white tables and modern curved chairs are the first things that catch my eye at Ottolenghi in Islington. My friend Mai is a big fan of this Israeli chef and so she booked a table for us at this hugely popular establishment. I have never heard of him but was always keen to try new food. The restaurant, in Upper Street Islington, seats about 50 people and serves small portions of food that are similar in size to tapas however the food is very sophisticated and quite scrumptious. I was happy to let Mai lead the ordering and we started with her choice of grilled peaches, goats cheese, rocket and balsamic vinegar dressing . The goats cheese was creamy and the saltiness cut through the sweetness of the grilled peaches. We next ordered char-grilled ... read more

Happy Easter everyone. Trust you all enjoyed your time off work or study. Well, I’m now unemployed! At the start of April I said farewell (again!) to the Horwich Farrelly gang. We did have one last night of fun, my leaving drinks was a riot with some nice beers and tasty cocktails followed by lots of dancing - wicked times! The next day I made the most of my last day in Manchester by, finally!, visiting the Central Library (very beautiful inside) and then the John Rylands Library which is stunning outside and even more so inside. That night I went to a gig by Denis Jones, a great local musician. The gig just happened to be in a vego café - perfect! I spent the following day with my flatmates at the Ramsbottom Chocolate Festival ... read more

Wishing you a great 2009 - inspired, clear and true. May you be happy, may you be well. With love. Irena... read more