My REM hacked my memory
I've always wondered how my dreams work because I get some weird ones - not just in terms of what happens but also the timing. I've had crazy dreams where I've had part 2 before part 1, and episodic dreams. They're pretty amazing if somewhat trippy.So last night I had this great one where I was at a set of markets, where there were all sorts of stalls, but there were three distinct ones that I interacted with - a stall where I bought a pastry and promptly lost it, which was a reference to the handmade croissant I left behind on my trip back to Adelaide from Sydney; a portuguese tart stall which had custard in a bucket and would put the custard in as you ordered and they had a special that was 3 for $4, and in my dream I knew it was a good deal but didn't get one; and lastly a pastry stall that I bought another pastry from to replace the first.As I was walking I entered a watch shop, where I was acquainted with the watchmaker from a past dream - though I can't actually be certain that it was truly from a past dream. In my dream I remember it being a real past dream, but I'm not so sure. Looking for a watch, I initially tried on a silver one, but I didn't really like it, so I asked for another. I wanted something more elegant, so out came an Omega, a rose gold watch, and at the time it reminded me of the one that Nicole Kidman modelled. Full of rose gold, with diamonds to indicate the hours. However, I didn't like the colour against my skin, even though it was a very pretty watch.At the end I asked for the price, at which point he jokingly said $9. I knew it was in the thousands, so I asked if it was 10, and the answer was yes. That's when I said I couldn't afford it, but that I'd come back for a watch one day - a watch that would capture my heart. He seemed to understand.And with that, I gathered the pastry crumbs that I'd spilt while trying on the watches and walked off.The end!
London, September 2014
Oh wow, London. This is going to be a massive post with a lot of pictures!I've been tempted to go to London for a while now, but New York is still the place I want to visit the most. I took advantage of the fact that I was going to be in Shanghai to travel through the Northern hemisphere, and managed to get a very beautiful stopover at Helsinki too - a place that's a little bit of an in-joke with my friend from a radio play called Cabin Pressure, but also because I think Finland is a cool place - and the view from the plane is certainly pristine and amazing!
I guess I start at Hyde Park - the first place we walked through as it was near where we stayed. I absolutely love the royal gardens here, and it's a bonus when the birds aren't afraid of people, so I could get fairly close them and take all the pretty photos.
Workshop in Clerkenwell is a full fledged cafe, with a very nice food menu. I couldn't resist trying out the smoked salmon, avocado, wasabi mayo, ginger and seaweed dish. I did find it odd that it didn't default with bread, but the waitress did ask, and having just come from China where everything is overcooked and mushy, I decided to go granary, and then executed my pseudo plating skills to place it on the bread. I kept getting asked at regular intervals if I needed butter or jam to go with the bread, but I kept declining, to the point where I was eating plain bread, but I was loving it - not having had good bread in two weeks meant it tasted so good!
SQUIRREL
My brother could spot squirrels from far away, and I could barely find them when he did! I had managed to find a couple of squirrels in a trip to America a few years back, but here there were plenty! And some of them will even approach you if you have nuts for them, but they notice pretty quickly if you don't have anything at all.
Walking around lead me to a place called the Horse Guard's Parade, which is a parade that happens, but I had gotten there too late and there was only a trail of poop. However, there were still two horses stationed at one of the entrances so I took a photo.
Famous landmarks of London city. I really love Picadilly Circus, mainly because Whole Foods Market is there - which I was very happy to discover. I visited there many times for my coconut water hydration! I'd say it's my favourite supermarket in the world, but I'm not sure it's a valid statement. Also, I loved how close Picadilly and Oxford are - though I did accidentally spend too much money when I saw people walking around with Liberty bags, and that's when I decided it was time to pay a visit to a store I knew I'd love - mainly because all the shirts I get are Liberty prints, so I knew their branded products would be both pricey and gorgeous. Came out just under 600 pounds poorer with a really nice bag, wallet, earrings and scarf.
Baker Street was relatively empty, so a visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum was warranted. We also had a pit stop at Monocle Cafe - which was so hipster with a German/Japanese food menu, which was pretty interesting. My brother was quite interested in the layout/design of the cafe too, with its two levels and small rooms where it looked like you could have a business meeting over coffee. Ah how nice it would be to have meetings like that all the time!
Ah, I gravitate towards Death because he is so pretty (pun intended)! There are a whole row of these buskers as all different characters here, but Death was my favourite. I think the way these are done are really cool and wish there were some in Australia too.
And back to talking about food. On a trip to Riding House Cafe, my brother and I got separated at Oxford Circus station - very awkward when he didn't exactly have a working phone service in one of the busiest places in London - plus I was the one leading the way! It turns out I had followed the Way Out sign and reached exits 1, 2, 3, 4, and my brother had used the 5, 6, 7, 8 exit. Luckily, being awesome siblings, I knew my brother would probably find a wireless spot, and we were once again reunited. After a very busy service for breakfast at Riding House, we ducked over to the cafe across the street - Kaffeine! And it turned out to be one of my favourites. They offered a fantastic tasting plate of espresso and flat white, with a very unique palate cleanser - cascara and earl grey blend. Wow, everything about this was just so awesome. That espresso was so good, bright and sweet, and the cleanser was perfect, the cascara complementing the coffee and the tea just gave it that extra layer of flavour. Then that flat white - it was so sweet I almost thought there was sugar added, even though there wasn't! I've actually never had a flat white that sweet before in my memory. I don't know how they did it but it was amazing!And those portuguese tarts. Wow... those were the best I've ever had! That pastry was so good and that custard! Mmmmm. In fact, it wasn't till I came back to Adelaide that my barista asked me if I'd had the tarts - looks like I made a good choice to sample one! I would go back to London for this cafe and the Liberty shop alone.
We spent almost an entire day in Greenwich and explored the area of Cutty Sark, and I'm glad to say I managed to use the Underground, DLR, bus and taxi during my stay! The DLR was pretty cool because it's a fully automated system; driver optional. It kind of felt like a roller coaster at times due to the shakiness, but it was certainly fun to be able to stand at the front of the carriage and just watch the tracks.
Another day, another cafe - this time to Prufrock! I actually got there right on opening and was waiting for my brother, at which point one of the staff asked me if I was there for the espresso class. Alas, I had to say no! I would have loved to do a coffee course while in London, but exploration was my number one priority. A lot of cafes here offer the espresso flight - black and white, and my brother was lucky enough to get a super fancy latte art! I learned that the owner is actually not a big fan of art, so we were lucky to get a super pretty pour.
Workshop, Fitzrovia gets a special mention as it's the newest of the four Workshops, and also because it is so elegant and features Madagascan granite! I didn't realise how pretty granite could be until I saw this. The whole place is just so classy looking that it's amazing; each Workshop has a very different feel. This was one where I felt like royalty because of the way it was designed. I also took the opportunity to sample their almond croissant - which was massive and oh so tasty!
During our stay we made several visits back to Oxford Circus, mainly because it was always near us, and also because public toilets were hard to find and cost money - but they were also better maintained than Australian toilets so I was happy to pay the 20 - 50p required to use them - so the guaranteed toilet access I had was at Liberty! As a result, we ended up visiting, and revisiting a pretty cool burger shop called Carnaby Burger Co. We had the tasting plate, burgers, ribs and steak. My brother took great joy in devouring wet chips.
The last of the Workshops, this time in Holborn. This was larger, but a simpler design than the other small cafes, with a double counter. I also noticed that each branch uses a different colour for their cups, which is pretty cute. Some really tasty espresso and milk coffees here too!
And who doesn't go to at least one Jamie Oliver restaurant while in London. I was forewarned that it was hard to find good food in London, and food that was good was expensive, though the cost of food was never really any reason for me not to eat anywhere. When we needed food, Jamie Oliver restaurants were great in a pinch - and I had no need to visit his Italian restaurant. Instead, we went to his Dino Diner and Union Jacks. Fish and chips are pretty tasty here, and I love that they come with mushy peas! I love pea mush.
No trip to a new city is complete without visiting tall buildings, so not only was there a visit to City Social, but also the Shard! The gift shop wasn't so flash but the view was pretty cool - especially because we had a full moon that night too.
Right, apart from just pictures of the top of the Shard from inside the Shard itself... here are the pretty shots of the city!
I decided to also pay a trip to Canary Wharf - mainly because all that runs through my head is "the battle of Canary Wharf" from Doctor Who - and I don't even remember the details! While there wasn't too much there to see, I did get this very nice shot of the Shard.
Reflective water is pretty cool too!
Towards the end of my stay, I managed finally duck into Lyle's, a new restaurant that had opened and I was curious to try it. Had some beautifully cooked quail, chanterelles and crab apple jelly; chicken of the woods (a mushroom); and apple sorbet. I liked the fact that the sorbet came with a shard of elderflower vinegar meringue - which tasted delicious and made the dish look pretty.
And here's a nice reflective building!Now for the text dump, for everything that didn't have an accompanying photo. First of all, a trip to London is never complete without a visit to one of Heston's restuarant - in this case, Dinner, at #5 in the San Pellegrino top 50 restaurants of the world.City Social is another one worth visiting - for the views and the food. And some crazy rare wine like a 1996 Chateau d'Yquem that I didn't actually order because I chose a Chardonnay from Burgundy instead.In my wonderful ways of exploration, I also managed to stumble upon Martin Freeman starring in Richard III, and I pretty much payed through the nose to get premium seats to watch the adorable little man in action. What an intense play, but I'm glad I got to see it, as my only prior experience of Richard III was back in high school, at the back of the theatre, all dark and unable to see or hear anything and on the verge of falling asleep. It was a requirement for me to see a play while in London, and I felt very lucky to have had this particular experience!On the topic of live performances, another afternoon was spent watching Book of Mormon - which was the most hilarious and inappropriate musical I've ever seen! It was highly entertaining and so different from the seriousness and intensity of our previous theatre experience. I enjoyed attending these things so much that if I had the funds, I'd make it a regular occurrence.A standout of the Underground was how organised it was - I absolutely loved how efficient and orderly people were when commuting - the whole "stand on the right" works really well, and the fast lane is beautiful on the escalators. On weekends the efficiency dropped a little, but it was still better than every other city I'd visited so far. In addition, each station was very unique and some of the designs are pretty epic. One exited into a massive glass buildings, others into quaint courtyards. Then there was Westminster, an epic station that for some reason reminded me of the Prometheus from Stargate, even though it probably looked nothing alike, but that's the memory it invoked for me. Another was Waterloo station, which reminded me of the Tardis.If I thought China had gaudy, over the top stuff, then London has set a new benchmark via Harrod's. Oh wow, it stocks the most hideously, filthily expensive shinies I've ever seen! The food hall was pretty epic as well, and all that caviar was so tempting to try! My barista was right in telling me to pay a visit.There are definitely a lot of museums that I still need to see, but with the ones I did visit, the Hall of Enlightenment in the British Museum was beautiful - all library like. The way the hall is set up is amazing, and felt like the most epic library that I could live in. Now I know how my friend feels about museums and why she loves them so much!Overall it was a fantastic experience and I'd love to visit again, to go to places like Cardiff, mainly to see if there's anything being filmed there. I'd definitely revisit Kaffeine and a lot of other cafes that I skipped over from my list, and definitely revisiting Lyle's, and any other place that takes my fancy. Funnily enough, I'd also bring fancier clothes because I felt so underdressed amongst all the suits in the city. Then I might summon the courage to enter a shop in Savile Row too.But for now it was off to Japan!
China, August 2014
I keep telling myself I'll never go back to China, but family matters always come up and I inevitably revisit. I'd consider my expectations of the place to be so low that I really shouldn't be disappointed, but alas, but I've actually increased the amount of spoiledness (I know that isn't a word) from polite, Western society that I continue to be surprised.
Obligatory lobster shot from one of the first days in Shanghai when we celebrated my grandfather's birthday. I'd forgotten that important events were held in private rooms, with massive tables with massive lazy susans, and way too shiny. I even surprised myself when I realised the first thought I had was, "how come we can't see the kitchen and the chefs" and realised that for the last few years, I've been used to too much fine dining. The next thought I still recall is when the food came out, and I asked, partly to myself and partly to my brother, "oh, we don't get our plates cleared or new cutlery?" Welcome to real life! I felt so out of place and awkward!
There was also a lot of cemetery visiting, so what do I do on the first visit but run off at the sound of a cat meowing - and managed to get this picture! At which point I figured I'd start a small project to take pictures of all the cats in Shanghai - mainly inspired from my brother's time overseas where he also took pictures of cats. He'd unintentionally started a trend!
With the amount of restaurants we were visiting, I found that my happiest food moments were from cheap street food. 1 yuan pork and vegetable buns were tastier than most restaurant food - which remained too oily and poorly prepared. It was stuff like the 6 yuan bowl of beef noodles that I wanted to have every night. This place was cheap and tasty, and they even had a variation using spatzle! Well, that's what I called it because of an episode of Masterchef where Gary cheated by scraping the dough off a board, which is exactly how my mum described the version of noodles here.My mum had actually chided me for wanting to visit expensive restaurants and Western restaurants, and though I kept reinforcing the fact that I simply like tasty food and don't actually have a need for particularly high end places, I don't think she actually believed me until I kept talking about the buns and noodles - which my parent's weren't particularly fond of. That being said, I did get the opportunity to try out Commune Social which was an interesting experience.
Obligatory lost in translation picture :)
Due to our length of stay, we managed to visit Hangzhou and all its natural beauty. It was a nice break from Shanghai and the taxi drivers here were really helpful with telling us of places worth visiting. The fares are also a lot cheaper!
Again, the food from stalls was tasty, though we had some Hangzhou cuisine too, including a water-plant vegetable soup that was too gooey even for me, and some great chicken and fish.
Finally we had some free time, so I started going to a few cafes that I'd spotted in the first week. It was actually a bit of a challenge - while there are plenty of chains, a Starbucks and Costa's around every corner, the specialty ones were still tucked away. Luckily, hipster places give off a specific hipster vibe so it became easier to look for cafes the more we looked. This one was my favourite, a place called Essence Cafe in Xintiandi. They had a great selection of single origins that had great flavour, very clean and refreshing. I'd spotted it for their giant "SCAA" sign and figured that gives me the right to hold some sort of expectation about their coffee, and I wasn't disappointed! For 50 yuan, a single origin was provided both hot and cold. There were other cafes we visited - but their filter coffees came out too dark and one that the almighty Google gave as "the best" was actually one of my least favourite coffee experiences. The language barrier didn't help as I was unable to then ask and clarify any details and find out more about how they roast their coffee.
We also found a cafe called Woody Baker that makes some pretty awesome cronuts! They bake them fresh regularly throughout the day, as we were advised of a 20 minute wait, but when you get them, they are warm and oozing custard and oh so delicious! I've only had cro-pastries from a handful of places in Sydney/Adelaide, and wow these ones are way up there!
Cat spam! Because cats belong on the internet. Plus, Boss Cat is actually Demon Cat, as he revealed to us on our final day.Overall, China is a lot less messy, dirty and noisy than it was before, to the point where I'd possibly consider a return visit, but I have plenty of other places to see in the meantime!
Backlog >>> futurelog
So it turns out that returning from epic adventures has resulted in a backlog, giving me plenty to do till the end of the year.I NEED TO BLOG AND DRAW AND READ AND WATCH THINGS
6AM Caffeine Ravers
Is what I would call a cafe if I went ahead with a brilliant idea that I thought up while in the back of a taxi in China, random english radio playing some weirdo dance music.It would open bright and shiny some time before 6am, trance blaring out from some massive speakers, and the barista would pull shots. Guess the correct region you're drinking from, get a free one! You'd be buzzing from the get go, perfect for a Monday morning.Doof doof