Tea for two and…Four for Tea! High Tea at Charing Cross Hotel

The view from our table on a gorgeous sunny day in London

So one thing that I’ve been meaning to write about since my parents have left was our delicious Afternoon Tea experience at the Charing Cross Hotel.

I grew up having afternoon Sunday tea at my grandparent’s house in North Vancouver. While I have only just recently become a tea drinker (sorry Tim Horton’s, I’m slowly being converted), I always LOVED the food that went along with afternoon tea! Especially when my Grandma would make these tiny little pancakes with sugar and butter that I would LOVE to get the recipe for but  no one has been able to find it! Boo! Another favourite was when she’d have the pink and white square checkered cakes (not sure what the name is but YUM), or the lemony muffins!  It was a Sunday ritual for us, along with badminton games in their enormous backyard afterwards, and a ritual that I definitely missed after my grandparents passed away.

Anyhow, I’m not exactly sure how the tradition of afternoon tea came about (I must google) but I love the idea of how afternoon tea has become a staple over the years and seems to be making a resurgence today! Even in Vancouver I was noticing the increasing popularity of cute tea shops popping up throughout the city.  It’s a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and family while not feeling too guilty about eating all the delicious cakes and scones and clotted cream because surely there can’t’ be THAT many calories in something that’s bite sized! Can there?

Back to the tea….

I’m not too sure why this gorgeous Afternoon Tea spot in the center of touristy London was not more busy on the Sunday we went and I’m assuming isn’t busy very often as I was able to score a 2 for 1 deal  for the 4 of us.  Meaning our regular £24.95 a person high tea was only £12.50 per person which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me! Considering some afternoon Tea`s can go as high as £75 if you want to add champagne, this was a steal.

The Charing Cross Hotel is kitty corner to Trafalgar Square and opened in 1865. Although it is extremely easy to get to either by bus, or Charing Cross Road Tube Station (it sits literally on top of the station) we still managed to arrive 15 minutes late for our scheduled 3:30 pm seating.  That`s what happens when you spend a sunny Sunday afternoon wandering along the Thames and taking in the sights 🙂 Well worth it! And it turns out it didn’t matter in the slightest that we were late!

Upon entering the hotel, I immediately felt like we were in a ritzy (or swanky as my mom repeated over and over) hotel that I didn’t quite belong in.  But the hospitality of the staff was terrific and they were so friendly and accommodating.  They even printed out my voucher for me as I only had it on my phone to show them (note to anyone using the voucher: they don`t say it on the email but print a copy out beforehand if you are able to).

My eyes lit up as I saw the tables set up with cute and colourful cups and saucers and not overly frou frou as you might expect from an old hotel.  Our table was in a sun room type area and looked out onto The Strand with flower baskets overflowing with red geraniums (I now know the name of those flowers because we just planted some at our flat :)).  It was a beautiful sunny day outside so the light was amazing!

As we ordered our tea (traditional earl grey for my Mom and I, and a ginger pear tea for my more adventurous Dad), I couldn`t help but notice just how empty the place was.  Is it because it`s not known for tea or is it because it`s too pricey and people don`t know about the voucher? I don’t know but the upside was that we weren’t restricted to our 1 hour allotted time slot! We could relax and enjoy our high tea.

Tea time!!! My dad trying his best to look enthusiastic 🙂

When our server brought out the 3 tiered trays of goodies my mouth started to water! There was PLENTY of food on that one tray to feed the 4 of us and we had two trays full! From sandwiches and mini quiches on the bottom, freshly baked raisin scones with jam (2 large scones each!) and clotted cream in the middle, to mocha and strawberry cakes on the top, where to start!!! We stuffed our faces and there still managed to be some leftovers!

I highly recommend Charing Cross Hotel for high tea if you can take advantage of the 2 for 1 deal. I’m not saying it’s not worth the full price; however, if you are on a tight budget like I am then 24.95 is a little extravagant but I would still spend that as a special treat from time to time!

I’m super excited to take my friend Naomi there who will be here visiting in exactly one week’s time!! So excited to have here here for a visit and to be spending a week exploring Ireland with her!  Feeling extremely blessed these days to not only have had my family here for 3 weeks, Naomi here in 1 week and then meeting the Frick to my Frack Camila in September in Paris for a week of Macaroon’s, cafes and spending time with one of my favorite families and my adorable goddaughter Lily!!

Life is good! 🙂

Thanks for reading!!

Krismas x

 

pretty in pink 🙂

we couldn’t finsh!

i wanted to steal this tea pot! I am in love!

My mom excited for her “swanky” tea

CJ digging in to the deliciousness!

Where’s all my stuff?? The Art of Living with Less

 

One thing I have learned since moving to London is learning to love living with less.  Less money, less space, less STUFF! After speaking with other ex-pats I’ve come to realize that this is a common complaint. It can be frustrating at times and can almost feel like you’ve taken steps backwards rather than forwards while climbing the career ladder where the the amount of money you make seems to be a direct reflection of the importance of your job or the hard work you’ve done to get to where you are. But looking at my life now compared to my life before following my dream, I think I can officially say I have never been poorer money wise but felt richer life wise at the same time!

Not to say I was ever rich. I’ve never been rich, but I was comfortable in Canada. I had a well paying job, owned my own apartment (which I now rent out) which was full of possessions that I had accumulated over my 33 years on the planet. I had my own car, and could pay my bills without worrying about making payments.  I would go shopping and not worry about whether or not I could pay the rent if I bought a pair of Converse. I definitely took it for granted! But I also spent money on so many useless items that gave me temporary happiness but did nothing to make my life richer or more fulfilling.

Fast forward to London and the British Pound! While I love my job and the company I work for, I don’t make anywhere close to the income I had at home even after converting to Canadian dollars. BUT I am a lot less stressed out, am working at a company that I can learn from and I can leave work at the end of the day without worrying about my never ending to do list for work the next day. I get to go to work and do what I love, and be able to come home and find other hobbies that I’m passionate about pursuing. However; the smaller income has made me more aware of what I choose to spend my money on.  I am much more concious about shopping trips because a pair of shoes could equal a flight to Barcelona, and for me, a weekend in Helsinki or Lisbon with some good friends far outweighs having another item of clothing hanging in my closet.

There is also a sense of freedom in knowing that all of my worldly possessions here could fit in 2 suitcases; meaning I am no longer tied to a property and if in a year or so I want to move to Paris or Dublin or anywhere, I am free to do so.  When moving to London I had to sell all of my furniture, box up all of my mementos and store them in my parent’s storage space, donate any and all clothing that I didn’t want to take with me, and take what couldn’t be sold or pawned off on friends and relatives to the dump.  All of that is time consuming and costs a lot of money! And the first time I considered moving to London,I found out I was unable to rent my apartment which would have meant selling it.  That was not an option!

Shipping my stuff was also not an option as I had no idea where I was going to live, and the cost of sending one box of clothes cost me $200 cdn and another $300 in taxes over here (which I still don’t understand).

In the beginning I was getting tired and bored of wearing the same clothes over and over again but realized I had the wrong attitude! Once I started focusing on WHY i had less clothing and that reason being because I had this opportunity to live in my favourite city, it no longer became a frustration, but more of a game of how I could take the few items I had and turn them into different outfits for different occasions! It also became MUCH easier to get dressed for work in the mornings because I no longer stood in front of a massive closet of clothes to choose from, I now had one pair of work pants, a few skirts, and a couple dresses to choose from. I now get ready for work MUCH quicker which gives me more time to sleep in the mornings 🙂 and more sleep is always a plus!

I’ve always been someone who loves to decorate (and redecorate) my living space.  I took a lot of pride in how I painted and decorated my apartment back home and was constantly thinking of ways to update my space and make it more cozy and reflect more of my personality in it. From a lime green kitchen with a blackboard wall, to my Tiffany blue painted bedroom, it was all decorated to my tastes and with my own two hands.  It felt like a step back to be renting again in London and have all of the little knick nacks i bought now sitting in boxes. But it also gave me this great opportunity to become more creative with how I decorate my space and to really focus on what makes me happy.  The only decorations in my room are pictures of my loved ones back home and all the encouraging cards and Christmas cards I received since I’ve been here. I did splurge on a super girly flowery duvet cover too which I love! And for me, those items mean much more to me than a flower painting I had bought for my living room back home because I “liked the colours”.

The more I’ve been in London the more I’ve realized that I used to spend so much on creating the “perfect home” because I spent a lot more time in my apartment than I do my flat here.  Sure I’d go out on weekends and occasionally during the week in Vancouver but never to the extent that I’m out here.  While I do like my relaxing nights in, I love the fact that if I want to go out here, there is usually someone up for meeting for drinks or dinner in town or going to see a show or random event happening nearby.

I’ve learned to have a less is more attitude.  I focus on spending money on experiences rather than things.  I’d much rather save money to spend on trips to experience different cultures, than for that Michael Kors or Marc Jacobs purse I had been coveting at Holt Renfrew for months. I think it’s that shift in attitude the past few months that have made me enjoy living in London more and more. And accepting the fact that while I may not have as much money in my bank account as I used to, I am learning how to spend in the best way to enhance my life and get the most out of my time on this planet! Because when i’m 90 years old I’m not going to look back on this life and say “I wish I had bought that Burberry Bag”, but rather “I’m so happy I took that trip that changed my life”.

Thanks for reading!

Krismas x

 

 

I Carried a Watermelon??… Dirty Dancing on a Rooftop in Peckham

After saying a sad farewell to my parents Monday afternoon after a fantastic visit (blog posts still to follow), it was back to the normal routine of work and catching up with the friends I hadn’t seen since my parents arrived in town.

Monday evening brought me to my regular Canadian Vandoos meet up at the Hippodrome for wings and £2.50 Blue Moons.  I think they changed their recipe for the wings as my mouth was burning for a good 20 minutes after inhaling them! I talked to a few new faces and caught up with the regulars 🙂 The crowds haven’t been quite as large as they were during the Olympic hockey games but there still manages to be a decent crowd for each event!  I’ve also somehow volunteered myself to do some kiddie face painting for the Canadian Meet-Up Group’s Canada Day festivities at the end of June.  Sounds like fun but since I am not artistic I’ll have to start practising my Maple Leaf and Canada flags for the next month! 🙂

After talks of possible trips to watch the northern lights in Igloos and Tree Houses in the fall it was time to head home.  One of the best things about becoming friends with other expats is we all have a huge desire to travel and see as many parts of Europe as we can fit in during long weekends and our ever dwindling vacation days left! The best part of working in the UK is that a month of vacation seems to be the norm! However, after already planning a few big trips and a couple extended weekend trips, I am running low on extra vacation time and money! Somehow trips back to Vancouver seem to be taking a backseat however; I am determined to get back home for Christmas this year and a wedding next June!

Now onto my Tuesday night!! If you know me, you know that my absolute FAVORITE movie of all time is Dirty Dancing! I can pretty much recite the movie off by heart now, and play the entire movie in my head at any given time.  I even used a Dirty Dancing quote at my brother’s wedding! That’s how much I love this film 🙂 It is by far THE BEST coming of age girly movie in my opinion and I think every girl who grew up watching the movie has always wanted to find her “Johnny” to do the mambo with.. and possibly a little dirty dancing as well 😉

Anyhow, I wasn’t able to get to the Musical Dirty Dancing which was playing here in London but from meeting people who wanted to see the musical as well, I was able to find a lot of other Dirty Dancing fans!  So when I saw that Dirty Dancing would be playing on a rooftop cinema in London, I thought “MUST GO”!!! No brainer!! And at £13.00 a ticket, it’s a new experience, cheaper than watching a movie in some of the cinema’s here and it’s Dirty Dancing!! I can’t pass up my first opportunity to watch Johnny and Baby do the Meringue on the big screen!! So Facebook invites were sent to see who else would be up for it, tickets were bought, and then a month long wait until the day actually arrived!

Fast forward to Tuesday night and the Dirty Dancing Rooftop Cinema Experience awaited us! We all met at Peckham Rye station and tried to find somewhere to eat a quick dinner before heading to the movie, but the area was seriously lacking of any sort of food establishments! Aside from McDicks and KFC, the streets were littered with fake hair stores, grocery stores and other convenience type shops.  No offence to anyone who lives in Peckham or around Peckham, I only saw that one area and it just didn’t feel Londony to me and had I been there by myself, I would have gotten back on the bus and home to familiarity.  It was a little sketch for me.

So after some pretty terrible McD’s (never again!), we set off to find the Bussey Building to feast our hungry eyes on the Mambo, Pachenga, and the best of them all… the Lift! We didn’t have to go far as the building was RIGHT across the street but we DID have to walk up about 10 flights of stairs to the rooftop of this old, and what seemed to be abandoned, building. I did need a little workout for that day!

After huffing and puffing our way up the who knows how many  stairs, we made it to our rooftop oasis! Set up like an airplane with two aisles of British Airways Blue beach chairs, patio lights and a gigantic screen at the front, the outdoor space looked cozy and just right for a rooftop movie experience! And the views were incredible! You could see the London Eye, The Shard, Gherkin and other famous landmarks from the edge.  As well as a very dark and ominous cloud that looked like it was headed in our direction!! YIKES!

The ominous clouds coming our way!

We quickly chose our seats near the front, took photos and eagerly waited for the movie to start! There was still a good 45 minutes left. We were trying not to let the cold get the better of us and were wishing there were blankets to wrap ourselves up in, when what to our wandering eyes should appear?  Other movie-goers carrying BA blankets and headphones!!! Turns out, we had to show our tickets to the booth at the back to collect our “boarding passes”, headsets and blanket!!  Good thing we figured that out BEFORE the movie started or we’d be quite confused and feeling very ripped off 🙂

Boarding pass, blanket and headphones for our in flight entertainment!

What was also pretty great about the outdoor cinema was you could buy burgers and chips (wish we had known about that before scarfing down Mcd’s) and of course there was a bar as well! I don’t think any events in London take place without giving people the opportunity to purchase alcoholic beverages!

With the dark clouds still looming, the movie started and our headphones kicked with with that famous opening song, “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes.  We were extremely lucky to not have the skies open up and it was pretty cool to watch the movie outdoors while planes flew overhead.  It was cold even with blankets but that didn’t dampen our spirits!!!  A little word of advice for those planning to watch any of the Outdoor Movies: BRING WARM CLOTHES, WEAR A ONESIE, OR BRING YOUR SNUGGIE!  One thing I’m quickly learning in London is no matter how warm it may be during the day,  it gets extremely cold at night!  So the Spring jacket you wore during the day to check out the markets, is definitely not suitable for a night out on the town later!

The one downfall about watching the movie wearing headphones is it took away from the experience of watching this classic with fellow dirty dancing fans who can also recite every line of the movie! The only time I really noticed any audience participation was at the end when a few brave souls started singing “I’ve Had the Time Of My Life”.   Had this have been a silent disco and had I had a few drinks in me, i MAY have started singing.  But I had no liquid courage in me so instead sat there grinning from ear to ear as Baby ran into Johnny’s arms for the perfect lift! ahhhhhhhh how I love this part! 🙂

🙂 The BEST part of the movie 🙂

Although it was cold, and the headphones a little isolating, I think this got me even more pumped up for the Dirty Dancing sing-a-long happening at the Prince Charles theatre next month! And what will be even more awesome about that night will be that my friend Naomi will be in town from Vancouver who also loves the movie 🙂 Shenanigans are on the horizon and I can’t wait!!

After the movie ended, we all quickly handed back our BA gear and headed back towards Peckham Rye station.  And a LONG wait to get back into town!!

Not sure I’ll be headed to another outdoor movie at this location but I’m definitely glad to have checked it out and would definitely check out the outdoor cinemas happening in other locations throughout London! Although I may wait until the weather gets a tad bit warmer 🙂

Thanks as always for reading!

Krismas x

 

 

Cruising Down the Thames and a Day Out in Greenwich

Happy Thursday! The tube strike is over (until next week) and it’s T-1 day until the long weekend! Since it’s a rainy evening and my parents and brother come back into town tomorrow (they are currently making CJ’s Beatlemania dreams come true over in Liverpool) before heading home to Vancouver on Monday, I thought it would be a great time to get back into writing about the many adventures that we have been on since my family have come to visit! I’m feeling a little out of practice writing again, so bear with me 🙂

On the Saturday of the Easter long weekend, we headed out to Greenwich for the day to do some exploring and get away from the massive crowds that were dominating the streets of downtown London.  Our mission:  a cruise down the Thames, lunch in a cute pub, and soaking in some history and some sun! While it wasn’t warm, the sun was shining that day and we accomplished everything we had set out to do!

To anyone wanting to head out to Greenwich or Canary Wharf and aren’t short on time, I highly recommend taking the Thames Clipper down the river for a scenic tour of London instead of cramming onto the tube, and DLR out in that direction.  While it may take longer, the sights are breathtaking, there’s seats to sit on, AND there’s coffee, and beer if you so feel like it!

With an unobstructed view of Westminster from the dock, to passing under Tower Bridge, and a  sea level view of Traitor’s Gate, a cruise down the Thames on the Clipper was a bargain at £6.80, AND you get a 10% discount with your Oyster card!! I’m not too sure what bells and whistles you get on the other river cruises operating in the same area, as when we went to ask one of them about what the difference was, they really couldn’t tell us and didn’t seem like they wanted to sell us tickets, which was a good thing since they were £14 EACH!

My Favourite View

Heading towards Tower Bridge

Just About to Go Under

The Shard

I got my swim trunks, and my flippyfloppies

Traitors Gate

After our 45 minute journey, we disembarked in Greenwich.  First stop, the Cutty Sark!  My outdated London guidebook must have been published right before prices skyrocketed!  The book said tickets were £5.00 but when we got there, £13.50!  As awesome as I’m sure it is, I think I got the gist of it by walking around the outside.  So after a quick trip around the gift shop and peeking through the glass to look at the bottom of the boat, we were on our way to find some lunch!

Cutty Sark – Bottom View 🙂

Cutty Sark – Top View 🙂

Bellies full from tasty pub grub and a pint, it was time to check out the Maritime Museum.   The building itself is a work of art, as well as the lush green space surrounding it!

The reason I wanted to go to the Maritime Museum was because I had read that there were some items from the Titanic.  I searched high and low in that museum and did not find these items.  That’s not to say the museum was disappointing, I’m just not a huge fan of Maritime Museums; however, I was impressed by the sizes of the Figureheads that were taken from the bows of different ships.

I kept trying to imagine what the figureheads would have looked like on a ship and loved seeing the wear and tear caused by the salty ocean water crashing against the ship as it sailed through the seas! Yes, I am a geek 🙂

After the museum, we walked up to the Royal Observatory in the hopes of seeing the Prime Meridian but unfortunately it was just closing as we walked up.   So instead we enjoyed the views from the top of the hill! And what spectacular views they were!

After a busy day, it was back on the DLR and Tube (per CJ’s request :)) into the city for some tea and cakes, and then back to the hotel for the family and home to bed for me 🙂 Definitely looking forward to exploring Greenwich some more, especially after reading that it was popular with the Tudor Family AND Henry VIII was born in Greenwich! Next time I will be taking a visit of the Queen’s House and The Royal Navy College!!