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

Hi there loyal readers! My safari is over, and now I'm 'home' in London. I've settled in well into my new flat in an area called Limehouse in the east of London. It's been a busy last week of my safari, gallivanting around London on the tube and shank's pony (that means walking). Fortunately, I've had great guides and travel companions in Andrae (who departed yesterday) and Christian (a Norwegian guy we knew from New Zealand). Andrae and I arrived in London last Thursday, and headed for Jo's flat (my new home) to freshen up. Apparently we were supposed to wait for Jo at Liverpool St Station (you may recognise the name from the Monopoly board) where she would show us the way to her place... instead I used the maps she had given me to ... read more

Dear all, The bags are packed (errr nearly), my wordly posessions are moved, my good byes are nearly all said and I am all set to go. There are two parts to the adventure: first a tale of a few weeks travelling around South East Asia, then the adventures around settling in a new life in Hong Kong and travelling around there. Hope I will be able to make those experiences come alive, and please do keep in touch via email/commentaries, I would like to know how you all are also getting along back home! 5 days in the final countdown :-) Elisabeth... read more

Free opera? Well, it is a project by the Royal Opera here, to reach out to the community and educate. We are part of the community, so Brian, John and I hopped on the tube and headed to Canary Wharf to see Tosca on big screen in Canada Square. The tube ride was part of the adventure, as this young guy got on and recognized an old "friend?" Not sure... He spouted on and on about this person and that person, and somehow Jack, Simone, and ShirLee.. I couldn't figure out if they were all sleeping with each other or what! But this guy was oblivious that the train was packed with people, and we just finally had to start laughing. We were all laughing too, every color of person, man, woman, old, young, you name ... read more

What do a banker, hairdresser, chef and me have in common? Sushi! We are now all certified Sushi and Sashimi Masters - what ever that may mean! Friday morning it was a 6 am start at the Billinggate Fish Market down in Canary Wharf (to which I now know was named by all the ships transporting goods from Canary Islands) I was one of two women in a great big icy shed filled with slippery slimy fish wranglers and their latest catch! I was starting to reconsider what it was I was doing there!! Meeting first with the Chief Inspector, who explained that they were practicing on laws passed in the 1700’s, he took us on a tour of ‘his’ market to learn how to choose a quality fish - to which we needed to ... read more

Christmas morning started with a wake'n'bake crumpet champagne breakfast followed by lots of lazing around before Cosi Claus started handing out the presents. Everyone came away with something worthwhile and we started eating the decorations, the festivites had begun. Early afternoon after a few drinks and delicious mini churizos we decided it was time to get our moneys worth out of the overfilled shopping trolley we (and by we I mean Jim and I) had stuffed in preparation at Waitrose the previous day. Roast ham, roast chicken, roast potatoes, peas and carrots, broccili and cauliflower with a cheese sauce, rounded out with some fresh bread and washed down with a nice wine was our feast of the day. After eating as much as humanly possible we kicked back and watched some comedy before hitting round 2, ... read more