Who knows me and has been following this blog regularly might have guessed by now that I am really into books. I don't only write them, but I also read them fanatically.
So it comes as no surprise that I absolutely love the bookstore Waterstones. I don't know whether I have written about it in here, but ever since I have come to the UK, I have been looking for the perfect café to write, as I sometimes have difficulties to focus in my home surroundings (probably also because JK Rowling wrote in cafés and I am ripping her habits off...who knows...). But it is true that you can find a good focus in cafés with the right establishments, after all, someone brings you food supplies regularly and it is not too loud but also loud enough to not lose the connection with the real world. Anyway, I couldn't find such a café because Starbucks is too trendy, in H+H there are too many children and the owner of the pantry around the corner of Strawberry Hill was kind of rude...(sorry, Peggy). But as it is with life, it can be a bitch and so it happened that in my last week, I found a wonderful café in the top of Richmond Waterstones which had the perfect atmosphere, especially in the morning when there was hardly anyone around. I could eat scones with jam and clotted cream, sip my tea and spread my notebooks over a huge table while typing away like a lunatic. So, the question now is...should I be grateful for having found this gem at all or feel resentful for having discovered it so late? Well, I will go for grateful as my plan is to return to the UK one day and then I can continue writing there. The people in Waterstones are also exceptionally polite and nice and I always feel really great in there. So, if you are in the UK and want some peace and a nice atmosphere, try to find a Waterstones with a café at the top (there is definitely one in Richmond and Oxford, but I am sure there are much more...there is also one in Waterstones Piccadilly Circus but after what happened the last time, I am not sure I will return there --> see my entry about the Nearly Criminal Incident from 6th September 2016) - you will never want to leave again!
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Goodness, my absence was literally tangible, but I have a good reason...as unbusy as this blog was, twice as busy my life has been in the past days, as I moved countries. Yes, you read correctly. Bye, bye, Britain for now and hello again, Austria.
But before I tell you about my exhausting last days and give you a resume of the past year, I would like to tell you about my last weekend in Britain. The weekend before this one, I went to see Wicked, which makes me immensely proud because I genuinely thought I wouldn't be able to do that anymore before I leave. I went up to London on Saturday (the weekend where Strawberry Hill train station was closed and I had to take the freaking bus...thank you Southern Train Lines for NOTHING) and bought a ticket for the evening show. They play it in the Victoria Theatre nearby Victoria Station and I must say it is quite a peculiar theatre. They only have stalls and one circle which is gigantic and reaches very far back. I sat in the last possible row and was so far away from the stage that I literally felt as if I was watching TV, but I had a good, unrestricted sight. Now to the musical...it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Really, if you have time in London and have to choose between one of the shows, either go and see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Wicked, they are both price-worthy and mind-blowing. The singing was incredible (thank you, Rachel Tucker, you were amazing as Elphaba and your voice could bring peace to earth, seriously, when you sang Defying Gravity, I had to cry) and the staging was brilliant, too. The only negative thing I have to say - and I have already ranted about it in a past entry - was that a little boy was sitting behind me and could hardly conceal his excitement - and had no problem informing everyone in the vicinity how excited he was. I mean, it is great that a little boy can get so exhilarated by musicals, but I can do without the audio commentary, thank you very much. Another thing that bugs me up to this day is that I bought a stupid programme. Every time I tell myself I have to stop buying these because they're expensive and boring and don't even inform you about the plot or what the show is actually about. Still, every time I talk myself into the idea that I simply NEED to buy this programme to remember the show. Such bullshit, the stupid Wicked programme cost eight pounds!! And there was hardly any information in it and I felt like a dumbass because I couldn't afford a T-shirt I wouldn't have needed either afterwards. So, children, learn this: never buy programmes. They're a waste of paper and your money and you will end up throwing them away eventually. Don't miss the ABC of the UK in my next entry, coming soon on tasteofbritain.weebly.com The internet still sucks which means the launching of my Youtube channel WhateverFloatsYourBoat is delayed and makes me slightly angry...
Whatever, video 1 of Oxford is on and two is coming soon amongst some other Youtube videos, just for you...my readers who are too lazy to read. Anyway, last weekend I went up to London to shop at Oxford Street because I only have two weekends left (one now) and wanted to make the best of it. I ended going to Regent Street because I don't have much money and, I know, that doesn't make sense at first, but believe me it does when you think about it... Still not? Right, let me explain. I don't have much money left, so I thought I would go to shops so hilariously expensive that buying something was completely out of reach. Get it? Well, it sounds brilliant, doesn't it, but it didn't really work out. I ended up buying a shirt in Abercrombie and Fitch, but still, it was the only purchase I made that day. Oh dear, it really nearly was. Last Saturday, I almost committed a felony. After my shopping trip I was hungry and decided to eat at the 5th View restaurant in Waterstones Piccadilly. I had a decent burger and coke and when I had eaten up, I stood up and left. Down the five floors, out on the street, to the crossroads, pushing the button for the traffic lights. Something felt odd, something felt unfinished. I checked my bag frantically, thinking I must have forgotten my purse or phone or key, but everything was still there. And just as the traffic lights jumped to green, it dawned on me...I HADN'T PAID MY BILL! Oh lord, what a moment of shock! Back into Waterstones, up the five floors (panting heavily), through the door, back to the waiter, apologising and... realising they hadn't even realised I had left. I apologised to the waiter who only said: "Oh right, you had a burger, haven't you, thanks for coming back." Thanks for coming back? What was the option? Well, I guess some people wouldn't have hesitated a moment to just sneak away and don't pay, but I couldn't do that. In fact, I considered not going back up to pay the bill, but not because I wanted to skip out on the bill but because I was so mortified for having forgotten to pay and didn't want to be mistaken for a criminal. In the end it all worked out...well, until I came to the Selfridges till. It was the children's dad's birthday and I went to Selfridges to get some goodies and a card for him. After some browsing, I found the adequate present and proceeded to the till. There, however, I realised that my purse was not in my bag and had a massive freak-out while the salesman was eyeing me up, annoyed. When I finally found my purse which had slipped into a side-bag, he said: "You know, you should be more careful with your purse. We have women here all the time who freak out because they can't find something, you know..." God, he was annoyed and I was annoyed, too. Annoyed that I had just proved the cliché of women and their bags. My time in Britain is drawing to a close (at least for now) and I have to say I am not necessarily looking forward to going back to Austria. Don't get me wrong, I miss my people sorely, but London has opened completely new opportunities and possibilities for me and it's been a blast of a year and I can only recommend to live in London at some point of your lives because you will definitely not forget it! Speak soon and all my kisses... Lord, technology sucks! The internet has been down for days which meant I couldn't blog and now I am using my phone as hot spot (which means I had to tape it to the ceiling close to the window to get a good signal...really, it is embarrassing how dependent we are) and am writing these lines nearly a week delayed.
What a week, what a weekend! After having had a tough week at work, I decided to take some time out and indulge in a trip to Oxford. I booked a four-star-hotel (it was a bargain, so calm down already) and left London on a sunny Sunday morning to find myself two hours later in wonderful, old Oxford. Oxford ranks among my absolute favourite cities, also including London, Edinburgh and Malaga. If you have never visited, you should definitely do so - especially if you are as bookish as I am. It is old and literary and has many impressive buildings in which innumerable famous people studied and worked, such as C.S. Lewis, Percy Shelley or Lewis Carroll. When I arrived I had some hours before I could check in and so I dashed to Waterstones, occupied a table with my laptop and notebooks in the cafe and wrote for a couple of hours, which was great, as I haven't done nearly enough writing in the past weeks, which makes me cranky. Eventually, however, it was time to check in and I enjoyed the blissfulness of a silent hotel room and my complete freedom to take a shower, sing and talk to myself. I went to Oxford, took a bus tour and dined in the Eagle and Child Pub in which C.S. Lewis liked to hang out. I also went back to Christ Church College (I visited Oxford two years ago already) and saw the Great Hall that inspired the Great Hall in Harry Potter as well as the staircase leading up to it which was actually used for filming in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I stayed at the Galaxie Hotel, which was really nice and I would recommend it, though Air BnB is surely much cheaper. I also had a great experience when I talked to a guy and he mistook me for an Englishwoman and strolling through the old city. If you want to hear about Oxford in more detail and visually underlined (or you are too lazy to read), click here or visit my Youtube channel WhateverFloatsYourBoat to watch clips about various things. Though I have to say I am only launching it only at the moment, but more is to come soon (as soon as I have better access to internet again). Another great thing that happened was today. It is the 1st September 2016, which means it is the day Harry Potter's two sons are going on the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As I had a full day outstretched ahead of me, I decided to go up to King's Cross to actually be there when it was time to leave for Hogwarts. I packed up the children and took the train up to London. We arrived at twenty past eleven (stupid delayed trains), but as we didn't have to catch the Express ourselves, it was fine. We did, however, see that there were big boards with HP pictures on them in the middle of King's Cross and it was a free colouring in for fans and others. We picked pens and helped colour the huge boards before we proceeded to the shop and examined all the interesting things you could buy. It was really an amazing feeling to be there and mingle with other HP fans, although I must say I am sad I didn't get to go on the train myself...that would have been a dream come true... |
AuthorIn September 2015 I started a new chapter of my life by moving (temporarily or permanently, not yet decided) to England where I work and socialise now. Archives
December 2017
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