Tuesday, January 27, 2004
We now have a photo gallery, thanks Tom! Use the link on the right to have a look. Try the slide show, it's way cool. We currently have photos from NZ and our travels to get here. Some of you will have seen these already. We will put some new ones up soon.
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Saturday, January 24, 2004
Hi all, big news .... I have a new job!
Thanks to Tash, my old work mate from Ace, I am the new Web Assistant at Jardine Lloyd Thompson. They have two main areas, employment benefits and insurance. I will be working with Tash on their Intranet and Internet sites. I must say a big Thank You to her for her help in getting me this role. I will finish up at Islington Council next Friday and start at JLT on the Monday (no rest for the traveler needing cash).
Last night we went to dinner with my very nice Islington boss, Joe (he is Joe I am Joseph in the office). It was nice for Lou and him to finally meet. He has a flat in Brighton and has invited us to visit in the summer.
Lou has been a star organising a trip for us to Spain at Easter. We will visit fly to Barcelona then train to Seville to stay for 4 days. Then train back to Barcelona and stay for another 4 days. It will be very busy as a lot of people take time off over this period and they will be holding Easter festivities in both cities. Usually Lou plans the trips and I plan the activities when we get there (yes I am slack).
I am starting a fund for Lou's bail. Next week we are going to get our NI (National Insurance Numbers). Lou has been working under a limited company and so pays less tax. This is perfectly OK if you fit the criteria, however Lou is not necessarily the perfect fit. So send your donations please! She should be fine but I am sure the donations will go to good use.
Tom, my friend in Dunedin doing a Masters in Computer Science, has kindly offered to host our pictures on his web server. So hopefully you will be able to see our travel snaps there soon. Thanks Tom!
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Thanks to Tash, my old work mate from Ace, I am the new Web Assistant at Jardine Lloyd Thompson. They have two main areas, employment benefits and insurance. I will be working with Tash on their Intranet and Internet sites. I must say a big Thank You to her for her help in getting me this role. I will finish up at Islington Council next Friday and start at JLT on the Monday (no rest for the traveler needing cash).
Last night we went to dinner with my very nice Islington boss, Joe (he is Joe I am Joseph in the office). It was nice for Lou and him to finally meet. He has a flat in Brighton and has invited us to visit in the summer.
Lou has been a star organising a trip for us to Spain at Easter. We will visit fly to Barcelona then train to Seville to stay for 4 days. Then train back to Barcelona and stay for another 4 days. It will be very busy as a lot of people take time off over this period and they will be holding Easter festivities in both cities. Usually Lou plans the trips and I plan the activities when we get there (yes I am slack).
I am starting a fund for Lou's bail. Next week we are going to get our NI (National Insurance Numbers). Lou has been working under a limited company and so pays less tax. This is perfectly OK if you fit the criteria, however Lou is not necessarily the perfect fit. So send your donations please! She should be fine but I am sure the donations will go to good use.
Tom, my friend in Dunedin doing a Masters in Computer Science, has kindly offered to host our pictures on his web server. So hopefully you will be able to see our travel snaps there soon. Thanks Tom!
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Sunday, January 18, 2004
Last Saturday I got up early to line up for tickets to a play at the National Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames. They always keep back a few tickets to sell on the on the day for the performances that afternoon and night. The ticket office opened at 10am so I intended to get into the queue by 9am. Unfortunately I slept in a little and got there at 9.30am and there was already a huge queue. So I read my book and chatted my fellow queue mates. One of the ladies in front of me had been to NZ and loved it, particularly the South Island. After around 1 ½ hours I got to the counter and bought 2 standing tickets for Rae and I. The play was “Mourning becomes Electra”. It was very long (around 4 hours including 2 breaks) and set in the deep south of the USA at the end of the Civil War. Dame Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect, The Cook the Thief, his wife and her lover) was in it and very good. But we both started to get shifty because we were standing and it was a tad melodramatic. I’ve booked to see another play on the West End. It’s a theatre version of “When Harry met Sally” starring, of all a people, Luke Perry (90’s teen heart throb) and Alyson Hannigan aka:Willow of “Buffy the Vampire slayer” fame. I decided to fork out more money for this one so we can be abit closer and be within range of the actors’ emotional output.
Hmmm. After the play there was this dude and his fire sculpture performing. He had constructed a sculpture of long pieces of flexible wood about 5 inches wide and thin which were joined together to look like a roller coaster that climbed the walls of the outside of the National Theatre. He set fire to the structure and we watched the flames make their way across it so it looked like a mini burning roller coaster thingee. But it was art darling! Meanwhile a violinist was scratching and screeching out a dramatic tune.
On the Sunday we caught up with Laurence again and his movie making/oracle developer friend Warren for a pub lunch. Laurence is due home in February.
This past Tuesday we continued on the long journey towards getting a National Insurance number. We went into the Kilburn Job Centre and were told to go to the Harlesdon Job Centre. When we got to Harlesdon we filled out a form and made an appointment to go back in a fortnight for an interview. Apparently after the interview it takes another 6-8 weeks to actually get the number!
This Friday we went to The Last Samurai with Luke and his mum Pamela. I loved it. I think it was because I didn’t go in with high expectations. It was rousing and I love the Oriental mysticism of the Samurai… a bit like the spirituality in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Plus I like it when Oriental’s look cool on the silverscreen (see info on “Infernal Affairs” on one of our entries on Singapore).
Went for a drink in Soho with Jo Granville last night. It was bustling, so many bars and people. I enjoyed people watching. Today we had a lovely walk in Hyde Park. It was a beautiful day and we got a feeling for what it will be like in the Summer. Roll on Summer I say (o: We also went to The Return of the King at the big cinema in Leicester Square. This was my third time! I found myself lingering on small details like the fact that Liv Tyler's nostrils are not the same size.... Hmmm. I did enjoy the great sound system and big screen though.
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Hmmm. After the play there was this dude and his fire sculpture performing. He had constructed a sculpture of long pieces of flexible wood about 5 inches wide and thin which were joined together to look like a roller coaster that climbed the walls of the outside of the National Theatre. He set fire to the structure and we watched the flames make their way across it so it looked like a mini burning roller coaster thingee. But it was art darling! Meanwhile a violinist was scratching and screeching out a dramatic tune.
On the Sunday we caught up with Laurence again and his movie making/oracle developer friend Warren for a pub lunch. Laurence is due home in February.
This past Tuesday we continued on the long journey towards getting a National Insurance number. We went into the Kilburn Job Centre and were told to go to the Harlesdon Job Centre. When we got to Harlesdon we filled out a form and made an appointment to go back in a fortnight for an interview. Apparently after the interview it takes another 6-8 weeks to actually get the number!
This Friday we went to The Last Samurai with Luke and his mum Pamela. I loved it. I think it was because I didn’t go in with high expectations. It was rousing and I love the Oriental mysticism of the Samurai… a bit like the spirituality in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Plus I like it when Oriental’s look cool on the silverscreen (see info on “Infernal Affairs” on one of our entries on Singapore).
Went for a drink in Soho with Jo Granville last night. It was bustling, so many bars and people. I enjoyed people watching. Today we had a lovely walk in Hyde Park. It was a beautiful day and we got a feeling for what it will be like in the Summer. Roll on Summer I say (o: We also went to The Return of the King at the big cinema in Leicester Square. This was my third time! I found myself lingering on small details like the fact that Liv Tyler's nostrils are not the same size.... Hmmm. I did enjoy the great sound system and big screen though.
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Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Bonjour tou le monde! Well we're back to work today after a nice long break. I'm starting to get over my cold now. Luckily it didn't limit us too much in Paris although I did get very tired and grumpy (poor Joseph had to put up with my pitiful antics!).
We travelled on the Eurostar to Paris and back. It was very comfortable and efficient. I think it took about two and a half hours with only 20 minutes spent in the Chunnel.
We arrived around lunchtime on the Friday and successfully negotiated our way on the Metro to La Defense. La Defense is the business district in Paris and where our hotel was. We got a lastminute.com deal to stay at the Hilton which was very flash.
After some lunch we headed off to see the Arc de Triomphe, wander down the Champs Elysees and ended up at the Place de la Concorde. It was very cold or should I say Il fait froid! Once you pass these sights you get to the palace gardens and finally the Louvre Museum which is housed in the old palace. We then went to see the Paris Opera house. Unfortunately it had just closed to visitors so we enjoyed looking at the outside. Luckily I had been inside last time I visited Paris. Some of these places are so opullant and extravagant with gold fittings, huge paintings and luxurious furniture however once you see a few beautifully decked out buildings (inside and out) the novelty wears off and you start to think of the sacrifices the poor people had to make to fund this extravagance.
The famous department store Galleries Lafayette was next on the agenda. Again the building is very beautiful and I enjoyed peeking at the John Galiano and Jean Paul Gautier collections but felt very unglamourous in my rain coat and sensible shoes! I was keen to see the Moulin Rouge but when we got there it looked very tacky. I was disappointed.
We visited the Louvre on the Sunday because it is free on the first Sunday of every month. This meant that it was very crowded! We got to see the famous Venus de Milo sculpture, Rameses III and of course the Mona Lisa.
We saw fine examples of Parisian opullance in some of the rooms that were kept as they were when the building housed the French royalty and Napolean. The ceilings are works of art with gold sculptures of angels etc, beautiful paintings and chandeliers. It's all abit overwhelming. I also loved the two big courtyards which house the big old Greek and French sculptures.
That evening we went to the Centre de Pompidou. It was a good contrast to the Louvre as it is a very modern building and houses an impressive modern art gallery. We saw many Miro, Picasso, and Dali paintings and sculptures. I enjoyed these but sometimes I wander what some of the current modern artists are thinking. It's crazy stuff.
Rewind...on Saturday we spent two hours waiting in queues to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was worth it in the end. As Joseph says, it's just one of those things you have to do in Paris (o: We got tickets to the third level and enjoyed seeing the layout of the city from on high.
That evening we walked along the Seine towards the Il de la Cite and Notre Dame. It was a very special visit as there was a soprano singing live in the church for a ceremony. It is a beautiful Gothic church a feature of which are the huge Rose windows.
One downer is that the locals are not very forgiving if you don't speak fluent French. We tried to learn a few phrases (plus I learnt a little at secondary school) and got by but they don't make it easy for you. A friend at work recently went to Rome and she said that they are very friendly and patient with you if you can't speak Italian. It might have felt a little worse because I was under the weather. Well, we are strong believers that feeling out of our comfort zone is very good for us.
I don't want to end this note negatively! It was a very good trip. It's just great to see all those famous sites and enjoy the city's beauty. The architecture in Paris is very beautiful. If it was warmer and if we had more time it would have been nice to wander around the streets more and soak up the atmosphere. We are keen to visit again as there are many more museums and sites to see. We'll just make sure we learn more French before hand!
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We travelled on the Eurostar to Paris and back. It was very comfortable and efficient. I think it took about two and a half hours with only 20 minutes spent in the Chunnel.
We arrived around lunchtime on the Friday and successfully negotiated our way on the Metro to La Defense. La Defense is the business district in Paris and where our hotel was. We got a lastminute.com deal to stay at the Hilton which was very flash.
After some lunch we headed off to see the Arc de Triomphe, wander down the Champs Elysees and ended up at the Place de la Concorde. It was very cold or should I say Il fait froid! Once you pass these sights you get to the palace gardens and finally the Louvre Museum which is housed in the old palace. We then went to see the Paris Opera house. Unfortunately it had just closed to visitors so we enjoyed looking at the outside. Luckily I had been inside last time I visited Paris. Some of these places are so opullant and extravagant with gold fittings, huge paintings and luxurious furniture however once you see a few beautifully decked out buildings (inside and out) the novelty wears off and you start to think of the sacrifices the poor people had to make to fund this extravagance.
The famous department store Galleries Lafayette was next on the agenda. Again the building is very beautiful and I enjoyed peeking at the John Galiano and Jean Paul Gautier collections but felt very unglamourous in my rain coat and sensible shoes! I was keen to see the Moulin Rouge but when we got there it looked very tacky. I was disappointed.
We visited the Louvre on the Sunday because it is free on the first Sunday of every month. This meant that it was very crowded! We got to see the famous Venus de Milo sculpture, Rameses III and of course the Mona Lisa.
We saw fine examples of Parisian opullance in some of the rooms that were kept as they were when the building housed the French royalty and Napolean. The ceilings are works of art with gold sculptures of angels etc, beautiful paintings and chandeliers. It's all abit overwhelming. I also loved the two big courtyards which house the big old Greek and French sculptures.
That evening we went to the Centre de Pompidou. It was a good contrast to the Louvre as it is a very modern building and houses an impressive modern art gallery. We saw many Miro, Picasso, and Dali paintings and sculptures. I enjoyed these but sometimes I wander what some of the current modern artists are thinking. It's crazy stuff.
Rewind...on Saturday we spent two hours waiting in queues to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was worth it in the end. As Joseph says, it's just one of those things you have to do in Paris (o: We got tickets to the third level and enjoyed seeing the layout of the city from on high.
That evening we walked along the Seine towards the Il de la Cite and Notre Dame. It was a very special visit as there was a soprano singing live in the church for a ceremony. It is a beautiful Gothic church a feature of which are the huge Rose windows.
One downer is that the locals are not very forgiving if you don't speak fluent French. We tried to learn a few phrases (plus I learnt a little at secondary school) and got by but they don't make it easy for you. A friend at work recently went to Rome and she said that they are very friendly and patient with you if you can't speak Italian. It might have felt a little worse because I was under the weather. Well, we are strong believers that feeling out of our comfort zone is very good for us.
I don't want to end this note negatively! It was a very good trip. It's just great to see all those famous sites and enjoy the city's beauty. The architecture in Paris is very beautiful. If it was warmer and if we had more time it would have been nice to wander around the streets more and soak up the atmosphere. We are keen to visit again as there are many more museums and sites to see. We'll just make sure we learn more French before hand!
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