Having Some Fun, Finally

J has been crazy busy at work lately, so we haven't really had much time to spend together and enjoy all the things that London offers during the holiday season.

We managed to squeeze in a ballet, Sleeping Beauty, with one of his work colleagues.

It was truly the best ballet I've ever seen. The choreographer, Matthew Bourne, is pretty well-reknowned and for good cause. It was a modern take on the traditional fairy tale, and I was more than a bit surprised when fairy-vampires and hoodlums in hoodies made an appearance, but it was a fabulous update. The dancers were amazing, and I definitely want to see the choreographer's other production, Swan Lake.

Things at work finally slowed down for J during the weekend, and he decided to humour me in getting up early on Sunday morning to head to Greenwich Park for a 10k Santa Run. It wasn't that cold, but the the wind was pretty strong. I was already dressed pretty warmly (3 pairs of gloves), but I thought that putting on the Santa outfit would be additional protection from the wind.

Unfortunately, it was a bit too big.

I met up with my cousin for a quick meet and greet before we were off.

I don't know what was up with the course since it was pretty disorganised, but it was either too short or I run much faster when I'm surrounded by twenty thousand Santas.

In any case, J was near frozen while waiting for me so we made a quick getaway so I could shower before we hit up Apollo Theatre to watch Twelfth Night, my all-time favourite Shakespeare play.

It was so well-done and hilarious! J and I both agreed that it was the best play we had ever seen, and we were near about rolling on the floor during the whole thing. I would label it a definite don't-miss. Mark Rylance, the guy who played Olivia, was amazing, and I'm a big, big fan. We're already planning on buying tickets to see Richard III to watch him again.

We had some time to kill before our dinner reservations so we wandered around Regent's Street and Carnaby to check out their Xmas decorations.

We ended the night with a veritable feast of Korean food at Asadal and rehashed the Santa run with  my cousin and her boyfriend. A perfect end to a perfect day!

P.S. Excuse the British spelling - it's spellcheck, not me.
P.P.S. And yes, I did cut my hair again. I'm easing J onto the whole short hair thing. ;)

Sketchy Babies

An American friend of mine recently announced her pregnancy, and I think it's much more exciting than Kate Middleton's baby bump. Unfortunately, she and her husband are moving back to the US at the end of the year, so we had a baby shower afternoon tea at Sketch Parlour this past weekend.

Although the tea was a bit expensive (£34 per person), the setting was interesting and the food was delicious! All of the tea things were an eclectic mix of styles and sizes, and we got both savoury and sweet things to nibble on with our tea. And the toilets are inexplicable - I can't explain, you just have to see it for yourself.



But best of all, we got to buy super cute baby things and watch her open her gifts! There is close to ten million baby clothes shops on my high street, and my favourite is The Little White Company. I swear if they had this in a larger size, J would come home to find me relaxing on the couch in this outfit.



It was a really fun time and three hours flew by as we chatted about all things baby.



And yes, I cut and colored my hair. But it's already different by now. My project at work is on hiatus at the moment, so I decided it's a fun time to "experiment" on a nearly weekly basis. ;)

Ciao, Roma!

We had no particular plan for our last day in Rome. We felt like we had hit most of the "must-sees" of the city, and I had the idea that we could wander around Trastevere, a part of Rome that wasn't quite as touristy as the other bits.

With the encouragement of our concierge, we hopped into a taxi and got out in front of Santa Maria, a basilica focused on the Virgin Mary and built in the 12th century.

It's a bit off the beaten path so we got to enjoy our visit peacefully without the usual crowds we had encountered elsewhere in Rome.

I got a crick in my neck from looking up the entire time - the ceilings were beautiful.

And there is a stunning mosaic showing the coronation of the Virgin Mary.

Once we left the church, we wandered the streets and watched local life unfold.

I couldn't get over how empty the streets were of other tourists! This was the first time I encountered shopkeepers that couldn't speak English, but luckily, I spoke a bit of Spanish, they spoke a bit of Spanish and so we managed to make it work.

It wasn't long before we popped into yet another church, the Santa Maria della Scala. The interior was filled with crystal chandeliers, and we found ourselves completely alone in the church.

I think we were both getting a bit of church fatigue, so J and I and crossed the Tiber on the Ponte Sisto and walked until we hit Campo de' Fiori, a lively market selling all things edible.

I was flummoxed by all the different kinds of pasta that were available!

We had also noticed how common zucchini (courgette) flowers were on Roman menus.

We didn't buy anything, but there were a few things I wished I could take home with me...

Much too quickly, it became time for us to head back to the hotel and pick up our luggage and go to the airport. Our flight was delayed by several hours because of the dense fog in London. Home, sweet home.