A Peaceful Place

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We got up Wednesday to sunshine and decided to spend a day outside. Alex took me to an area of London that she used to love and went in search of her favorite hangout. We found it, unchanged and just as eclectic as always. Troubadour. A dark entrance with an ornately carved wooden door. I would have walked right past it, luckily Alex knew what we were looking for! I, of course, loved the door and was hoping that the inside would catch the eye just the same. I didn’t know what to expect but I didn’t want to walk into anything new with white table cloths. The first look inside and I was not disappointed! You step up onto an old, rickety seeming, wood floor. We chose a little corner table by the window. The room is small and packed with little tables and stools. Each table has a single beautiful blooming rose sitting on it. The bench by the window is worn looking but comfy once I sit down. Behind me in the window sill, which is just below the level of the seat, is filled with a bunch of plants and flowers. It is like walking back in time, the more I look around the more I love this place! Old wooden dolls, farming tools, lanterns, instruments and more line the walls and hang from the ceiling. Part of me feels like I’ve stepped into a Tim Burton movie, slightly dark yet absolutely divine. The atmosphere was great, it is the type of place you could just go sit in all day with a book or a group of friends. After we left we walked across the street to a little corner shop and got a packet of peanuts (which Alex calls Monkey Nuts) and a loaf of bread...
Brampton Cemetery is just a few blocks down the road. It is magnificent. It is an old cemetery overly packed with large ornate headstones and crypts. The crypts are down large sets of stair cases. At the bottom is a locked pair of metal gates, I peered through not expecting to be able to see anything but just on the other side was coffin after coffin. One of them the lid was broken and it gave me the creeps, it was the only spot in the whole cemetery that did. The headstones are all different shapes and size some crumbling, some fallen over, some faded till the writing is no longer visible, some being taken over by vines and plants, and some green with mold. I tried to look at the dates on them as we walked by most of the ones I looked at were from the late 1800's to early 1900's. I soon found out that the bread is for the birds and the peanuts are for the squirrels. Alex starts to throw chunks of bread and we are immediately and completely surrounded by pigeons and crows. They were crawling over our feet and flocking all around us I was in absolute wonder! When we walk away they followed us down the path ways. The squirrels came over too. Not all of them but some of them would come right up to you and take the peanut right out of your hand! They are so cute! We wondered around the cemetery and feed the birds and squirrels till they kicked us out at sun set. It was such a peaceful place to be and walk around. You could not hear the noise of the city though it was just beyond the gates.
Next on our list for the evening was Ice Bar. It is literally a Bar made of Ice. It is owned by the same people who created the Ice Hotel and so we had to go check it out! They only let you go in for 40 min and they give you a special thermal coat and gloves to wear. It cost 14 pounds for entry which includes your first drink. The next available entry time was 8pm so we had an hour and a half to kill. We decided to sit outside and have a few drinks on happy hour. We each had 2 mixed drinks while waiting and then got in line to go inside. It is not very big inside. Basically you are walking into a very large freezer. the walls are Ice blocks some with carvings in them some not. The Bar is made of ice and the cups are made of ice. If you drop and break your cup it is 4 pounds to get a new one! 40 min does not seem like a long time until you are inside. It was a little too crowded, you could not really move around and look at everything. Once you got your drink you found a spot and were kind of stuck there the rest of the time. The thermal cape thing they give you to wear works great I was not cold but my fingers were numb. The gloves did not work so well but we were holding cups made of ice. Overall I’m glad we went and checked it out but I don’t think it’s a place I would frequent if I lived here.
After that we went on the search for a bar that Alex used to love going to called Oxygen. She said that you used to be able to get small cans of oxygen at the bar but they no longer do that. We had a few drinks and then decided to wonder about a bit more. The area it was in had lots of bars and night clubs as well as a bunch of carnival rides set up in the square. There was one we walked past that was flipping in all kinds of different directions and I wanted to do it! Alex was not so keen at first but it didn’t take much to talk her into doing it with me! A short wait and a tightened latch later Alex and I were flipping in a chair that was doing flips on an arm that was flipping! It was great! We got off looking windblown with big smiles and a case of the giggles. In the search for somewhere else to have a drink we walked into China Town. After walking around for a while and being stopped by a drunk man convinced that he was eating at the best place on the block, we walked to the opposite end of the street, and settled on a place called the Crispy Duck. We ordered a half bottle of Sake and looked over the menu for a snack. I suppose we should have recognized the red flag of Sucking Pig being a choice on the menu but we decided to order a small mixed appetizer plate to share.... Bad Idea. haha almost as bad as the mussel experience! I don’t think I’ll be hungry for Chinese food for a while after that but hey we had fun! We got home around 2am and passed out easily!
Thursday we had a chance to sleep in. Alex's cousin Antonia was coming to pick us up for lunch with her 2 sons Alex and Shane. Nana decided to come as well and we went to a place called Ask. It was ok. Not the best food I have had and a bit overpriced but I think everything here is! The rest of the evening we spent at home watching movies on TV.
Friday Antonia dropped the kids off at the house at 8:30am. We took them into Uxbridge to see Despicable Me. It was so funny! I had tears in my eyes at some points I was laughing so hard! Part of the reason was that we saw it in 3D and so you would see the kids reaching out to try and touch the object coming at them and jumping when something flew at them by surprise. After that we took them to lunch and walked around town a bit before heading back to the house. I was so tired by the time Antonia came to pick them up I didn’t think I would be able to stay awake. A half day with 2 young boys only reassures me that I am not ready for kids, they are exhausting! After a while I seemed to get a second wind and so I stayed up and watched Amityville Horror on TV with Nana.
Today Alex is the one who slept in! We had a late start but eventually made our way into town and over to Hyde Park. We walked through it and along the lake this was also a very peaceful place to walk, I really enjoyed it. Then on to find another restaurant that Alex was hoping was still around called Maroush. It is a Lebanese place and has been my favorite meal so far since I began my trip! After that we walked around and did a bit of window shopping and then headed back. The rest of the evening has been a lazy one but it is good because we have lots planned for the rest of the week! Now it’s late and I’m ready for bed, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Love... Me! 😊 haha

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Comments

[Di]

I am Jealous
V-Looks like way too much fun. I love your blogs!!! Keep us posted and stay safe!

[Briana]

Great stories
Vanessa, I am enjoying reading your blog. Sounds like you're having a wonderful time. Great Pics!! Miss you here!