Happy Valentine's Day After!

Oops.

I meant to send this out to ya'll on Valentine's Day (and look at how uncharacteristically ambitious I was...the intention was there!)

Happy Valentine's Day from England.

I hope yours is just as lovely as these chocolates I am enjoying :)

(um and have now just about finished)

It's Bath time

This weekend the girls and I took a much needed break from the city and journeyed off to Bath! Home to the ancient Roman baths, Bath houses the only hot springs in the country. It's only a 90 min train ride from London so it's a great quick retreat. We all had spa appointments booked at Thermae Bath Spa. We were only taking the trip to do our spa treatments, so we didn't get to do much sightseeing. However, we had a little bit of time to walk around this beautiful city before our first appointments began.

Bath Abbey

There is still so much in this city to see that we didn't get a chance to see (including the ancient Roman baths) so I will definitely be back.

Unfortunately our actual spa experience was not worth the money or hype. We all got massages and facials which were mediocre and over priced. On top of that, we paid for the standard 2 hour spa sessions which hundreds of tourists come to do as well. It cost about £20 for the spa session and it includes a lower ground spring water pool, steam rooms, and an outdoor spring water pool. Honestly though the spring water experience was pretty boring and over crowded. They basically herd people through there like cattle too!

The spa

The outdoor pool was pretty nice though- it has a picturesque view of the gorgeous English countryside.

Now it's back to the hustle and bustle of dirty old London!

Jamie Oliver Food Revolution? We Texans Bring It

Hi lovely Texans. In case you were worried about me finding anything edible in this country, never fear, here is proof that I'm getting by just fine:

Helllooooo Cantina Laredo London! Ironically located just next door to one of Jamie Oliver's restaurants. Texas is bringing a Food Revolution to his country!

I have to admit it's not true TexMex. It's a little too healthy to be perfection, but for being 4,500 miles away from the real thing it will do. The tortillas aren't quite right (definitely taste like they are from a package of Mission tortillas), there isn't enough cheese in the tacos, the rice is bland, and there are no refried beans. But it is still the closest substitute I'm going to get on this side of the world. The chips and salsa there are pretty rocking at least. I love how the waiters always say "these are complimentary for you" when they bring the chips and salsa. Sigh. Little do they know that chips and salsa are a given right in Texas! Oh these Europeans.

Another great thing about Cantina Laredo is that it is so American when you walk in. The restaurant is humongous for London standards and there are oversized booths everywhere. You can also hear American accents all over the place!

There is one thing the Brits have gotten right to complete perfection (why am I not surprised..):

The margarita!! This one is my favourite margarita- it's called the purist margarita. Heavy on the tequilla, splash of lime juice, and a kick of TexMexican soul.

I have been to this haunt several probably 4 times in the last month. I love it after a hard day at work, it reminds me of home! I will say it comes at a steep price (£8.95 per margarita, even a house marg). Then again, everything in this city is expensive and this is definitely worth its weight in quid (another term they use for their currency).

It's 2011 and I'm 27!

Hello world! I want to apologise for my lack of posting...although for those of you who have been devoted readers you know that I am not very good at consistently posting- especially when work gets intense! My intentions are always good though and I have a few future posts lined up and in the making, so hopefully I won't disappoint (again).

Anyway, let me tell you about my birthday, which was last week! I truly had a wonderful birthday thanks to all of the friends near and far who made it special for me. I was definitely thrilled at the cards I got and all of the thoughtful messages! I do have to say though that it was the first time here that I felt homesick- I was surprised to find that my birthday of all things would be the thing that made me miss home. I even listened to country music every day of the week of my birthday!!

For my birthday I had a big bash, Fun Bobby style, at a bar. I picked a bar in an area south of the Thames river called Clapham. In order to find a bar, I googled "best bar in London" and came up with some slim pickings. However, this particular bar had one a "Timeout" award (which is basically a company that rates everything here), so I figured it might be good. It also looked trendy, you know, had to pull out all of the stops for my first birthday in London! The bar was called the Loft. I wanted to make sure I had a nice area for my friends, so I reserved an area of the bar (basically a couple of couches). I was surprised to find that I didn't have to pay any fee or minimum tab to reserve a spot in the bar. I suppose there are so many bars in London for people to chose from that the competition is stiff!

On the night of my party I actually ended up arriving an hour late thanks to infamous London transportation problems....coupled with some of my own poor planning. I didn't know that Clapham was such a large area of London- there are actually 3 or 4 train stations in Clapham. Silly me had ventured to the party without looking up directions because I had been to one of the Clapham stations before and I thought that it was the only one! When I arrived to the wrong part of Clapham and realised I was pretty far from the other, we hopped on a bus....however traffic was horrendous on the bus so the whole thing ended up being an ordeal!

Luckily I had some friends that had arrived earlier to claim my spot at the bar and once I had a birthday drink in hand all was forgotten. I definitely had a great time that night and was flattered to have so many people make the trek to come help me celebrate!

My group of British friends

My group of expat friends