Chocolatiers, Biscuitiers, Beer & Diamonds- ahhh Belgium

I went to Belgium and had the opportunity to visit Brussels, Antwerp, and yes the beautiful city of Brugge. Belgium was extremely interesting - in Brussels there is a large mixture of people however the most predominant language is French, this of course changes as I traveled from place to place. Antwerp- which means throwing hands is known as the diamond capital of Belgium. The city has a diamond district, street, lane , and do much more. From a tourist standpoint there was not much to do in that town other than admire the bright shining gems from countries in which the people who mined them hardly see close to any of the real profit. The final city was Brugge- a wonderland in its own right. A city stuck in time, filled with Choclatiers, cobble stone roads, beautiful churches and so much more. I highly recommend staying in Brugge when visiting Belgium- it would be a shame not to as pictures do it no justice...

Fancy a Magners?

Her name is Terina Alladin and somehow ended up in London. Either way I believe she may one the most common Renaissance indivduals I have met in my life journey, a common Thespian of sort- look out for her in the future as hers is definitely bright. Well either way the other point of this picture/post is that she is sipping on one of London's most acclaimed beverages- yes Magners and for those of you who do not know that is a Cider. Yes I said it cider, interesting in taste- essentially it is an apple tasting beer. However have no fear for those because it comes in more flavors than that for those who do not prefer apple. Lol the past few lines have seemed like an Ad, either way cheers.....

Stonehenge...

So apparently no one and I mean no one knows why thes massive rocks were placed in this formation. They are tales that the male inhabitants many years before many of our times, transported these rocks down mountains and placed them in the formation we know as stonehenge. Why? Why did they do it; no one knows!!

I like to think they did it as a huge hoax, so that hundreds of years later people would be bewildered about some rocks in a circle.

So Rave Anyone???

So this happened a while back, however seeing how this blog is going from back to front, I think it is appropriate to mention it now. I was walking to the tube from work- when this massive crowd gathered and basically brought London's Liverpool street station to a halt. Apparently it was arranged by some 22 year old via Facebook ( ahhh the power of the book of faces) either way one of the wildest things I have seen by a large group of people in my life for sure. Body surfing, battle dancing, climbing on ticket booths to dance- you name it and it was happening at this silent rave. Also for some reason I couldn't load it from my phone, damnnn 3 phones, but fortunately I found it on our generations TV the YOUTUBE....

Take advantage...

These museums out here are pretty damn wild and I take advantage of how free they are and some of the sick exhibits they have within them. I know I have wrote about this before but I still like the pictures below from the British Museum- especially the life size face, cant lie kinda weird but cool still...oh yeah and its my blog!

Camden Town

When it was still Sunny - I went to this place known as Camden. London in the Sun is beautiful and this place was definitely a good choice. Colorful buildings, small "intimate" canals, also great people. I highly recommend this place during London's warm months. The scene is quite trendy, not as trendy as Brick Lane- but a different Punk Rockerish trendy- new experience but hey that is what traveling is all about!

Sick..

Havent been blogging in some time, trying to live it up in London without getting knocked down by Mother Nature. However, even if this great city it happens, actually according to certain studies it happens more often than not to new inhabitants of the curiously cold island. Either way in order to beat this cold and not let it beat you down Lemsip is a must have in London main reasons. Its difficult to find the Nyquils, and Robitussins of the good old USA, well it is at least for me- and this Lemsip stuff really does the trick. So today we honor Lemsip:

Very Random...oh and yes Piccadilly Circus

So one day I was walking in the Angel area of London, North London to be exact and I saw the most peculiar thing, well at least to me. It was two mannequins but these arent your everyday mannequins these had a little twist as you will see below. Also another day- actually a the day London had a Food Festival during the fall, I was down my the Tate Musuem and happened to see this boat race(crew racing)- it was different countries racing each other on the river- absolutely random. It was fun to watch and see people from different countries showing their national pride. It was then I learned the Brits and Frenchies do not exactly get along too well. Finally, when visiting London there are a few must see's and places to go, one of the such is Piccadilly Circus. Defintely a intense place in its own right- as you leave the Tube(subway) you will be greeted by a Gold plated elvis, all you have to do to see him is look up- Check it out....

London Fireworks

So around the end of September, the London Skyline was lit up with most vibrant colors and no the London Bridge was not falling down - I actually happened to be standing on it. I was well advised the best place to witness this gloriousness was at London Bridge, and of course I attended. It was a great night even though it was rather cold outside, but ah yes that is London cold air follows you everywhere. The other great thing about that night was the art building lit up with lights- rather artistic, check out the pictures, starting with the art building...

Oh How Happy Hour is so Loved...

There is one thing the Brits definitely love just as much as football and it is liquor. Happy hours are almost sacred, or at least that is how it seems to me. There is no hesitation in attending Bars any day of the week, yes even a Sunday. Ironically, on Sundays there is a place called church however this one is the name of Pint, I have yet to go for fear of being struck down lol, but seriously liquor reigns supreme in the UK. The happy hours are good times however- good time to network, chat with co-workers outside the office environment, and just as well have fun.
Check out the pics below- It is a happy hour bar outside my job, and yes that was taken on a Sunny Tuesday!

Musuems

While out in London I take advantage of the many free musuems they have. Always good in my opinion to view some artistic or historic works or in some cases both. Many times the museums are also showing special exhibits which are also free to get into . The Tate as well as the Science and Technology Museum are a couple of my favorites. Check the pics below, art on the outside walls of the Tate Modern also someone apparently took a big bite out of that NY apple

Oh Brick Lane...

Where all the trendy rebellious against normalcy hipsters of our generation in London kick it. Well at least the artsy ones. This place amazes me every time I walk through it, the curry shops selling delicious and inexpensive food, the indoor markets which also sell food but also work from up& coming artists in all genres: music & visual. The endless cafes, boutiques, shady bike store lol, and of course the bagel shops- whose salt beef bagel with spicy mustard is a must have. Constantly moving and changing, there is a lot to do in Brick lane- especially in the fall as the music festivals were nonstop, I cant wait to see what the spring has to offer!

Check out this guy out yea sorry the video is lopsided lol

Notting Hill Carnival

First weekend here and walked into Europe's largest street festival and the worlds second largest at that with Brazil's Carnival being the first. More than 600,000 people in one area, beautiful food, dancing, and great examples of the cultural fusion evident within London town. Either way I ate almost all the food I could find in sight. Peaceful event. Check out the pics above the very first one was the Sea of People I had to walk through to get back home!