Wednesday, January 23, 2013

#January Joy 23: Create some memories: Snowy London !


We were away the last few days, not caring about the weather and just enjoying one of our favorite cities in the World, which would be no other than London. (That is the reason I am a bit behind answering your lovely comments, but I'll get to that in no time, now that I'm back at home with a cup of tea in my hands). The main idea behind this trip was a class I was supposed to take. We had everything ready: flights, hotel reservations and a detailed plan of where we were going to go. We were supposed to make it to Brighton, where we've both never been to. Imagine my surprise when I received an email on Friday morning (our flight was early on Saturday) letting me know that due to the massive snowfall and subsequent chaos in the roads and railway system my class had been postponed. What ! I panicked for about 10 minutes. The time it took me to figure out that changing our flights (at 42 EUR per change of flight) and considering a possible 1 night penalty for a last minute cancellation in our B&B reservation was going to be more expensive than just going with the plan. And so, I just extended one of our reservations (I have to say working at a hotel-reservation website made me an expert in solving this kind of situation flawlessly in virtually no time) and we decided to stay in London the whole weekend (the original plan was to be there barely 1 day, arriving on Monday afternoon, and leaving the next day at 17h).


It was lovely absolutely beautiful, even with the sloppy mess that the melted snow left in the city, and having to fight with the giant snowflakes and wind all the time. It meant that we spent less time walking, and more in the underground, to get from one place to another. We probably saw more museums expositions than we would have had the weather been different. Which was totally worth it because one of London's perks is that most of the museums (with the exception of some particular exhibitions) are completely free! Anyhow, for this January Joy challenge, make some memories, I am showing you here my scraps, tickets, newspaper cutouts, pamphlets and random papers that will for now go in the box-of-junk (as the boy calls it). At some point I will make a photoalbum-scrapbook. But one thing is for sure, I will never forget the sight of London all covered in white: it made me think of Narnia so much, and of life in Jane Austen's time.

32 comments:

  1. So good that your trip wasn't cancelled :-)

    Looks lovely, we haven't had as much up here. xox

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    1. Yeah we were really looking forward to it and we are both crazy about London. It was our first time together there.

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  2. Oh London, how lovely! And London covered in snow is even better.

    Your post reminds me or a song by an artist I really love. Have you heard of Laura Marling? Here is the song, in any case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt1dmt-Zqyc I don't know if the lyrics really apply, but.. well.. It's a sweet song nonetheless.

    May your memories be plenty and full fo joy!

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    1. I just heard her and I like her , she reminds me of another singer but I can't remember her name now. I am going crazy, will tell you if I remember.
      And it was definitely lovely :) Thanks.

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    2. Oh I know, it is Agnes Obel it made me think of:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NmjJeNFUVU

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  3. I'm officially jealous. My January feels really lame in comparison. Maybe I'll have to do a joy in June challenge ( there's no joy whatsoever in January in buenos aires... It's climatically impossible).

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    1. There's less people, that has to count as something positive? ;)

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    2. Lo pensé pero esta tan pesado y caloroso y feo el clima hoy que no podia decir ninguna cosa positiva. Pero es cierto.... No hay nadie... . Llegue al centro en 30 minutos ayer.... Normalmente tarda una hora y Es increíble .... hay estacionamiento en todos lados.

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    3. Mmm. Comento en español sí? A eso iba, a que es verano !
      Las ciudades cuando están vacías tienen magia, recuerdo un día super lluvioso, temprano, la rambla en Barcelona estaba completamente desierta. Fue raro y epecial.
      But yay for June Joy. I think I will do 2013 Joy, I am loving this.

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    4. Haha. I was just returning the language switching favor from a couple of days ago :) but yeah... Its not exactly magicall. It is so hot. So so so hot. But Maybe the nights are a wee but magical? Also... I'm really like the joy series too. I hope you keep it up. And hopefully I can join in in June !

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  4. Qué lindo! No conozco Londres y cada vez tengo más ganas!

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    1. Te va a encantar, justo ayer discutíamos si preferíamos Londrés o Paris, y yo dije Barcelona. La verdad es que ambas ciudades nos encantan, y son diferentes y únicas. Londres está llena de historia, de vida, de cosas importantes que sucedieron en cada historia.
      "Les ecureuils de central park sont tristes le Lundi" es una novela (estilo chick-lit, sí) que sucede entre Paris, Londres y al final Nueva York. Tal vez te gustará y es una serie de 3 libros.

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  5. I'm glad to hear that the change in plans with your class ended up leading to lots of fun for the two of you!

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    1. Yeah we were really really looking forward to it, so we just went. And we definitely did not want to lose the money of the tickets (already last year we were suppsed to meet Lauren and Kamel in Barcelona, we had the tickets that we got REAL cheap, and then we had to cancel because my old boss would not give me 1 Friday off just because she did not feel like it (those were her words). Ugh. And I had something like 5 days holiday allowance.

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  6. SO sorry the snow ruined our plans. Such a shame we didn't get to meet you! This country is USELESS when it snows!
    xx

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    1. Yeah, I definitely wantd to meet you girls. It was full chaos. But next time maybe.... We are close enough. And if you ever come, let me know you have a bed here !

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  7. Oh wow, you got into the Hollywood costume exhibit. I am very envious. I am so glad you had a lovely time in snowy London.

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    1. It was great. I loved the exhibition, some of the dresses were truly beautiful and others (like Neo from the Matrix, Indiana Jones or Darth Vader) were trully impressive.

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  8. Looks like a fun trip! We were in London a couple of years ago, and of course we didn't get to see everything, though I did love the city.

    What was the class that you took, if you don't mind me asking?

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    1. It is too biga city to see everything on one trip. This was my 3rd time there and I always see something different (and repeat some other places that I love). So much to learn in every corner.
      It was a cake decorating masterclass (8 hours in a row), but it was postponed until early March.

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  9. Snowy London must look beautiful, it is nice you guys got to enjoy the awesome museums in the city; one of my favorites is the Natural History Museum (is the one in the first photo, isn't it?), last year we took my niece (2) and nephew (4) and they were both open mouthed looking at the dinosaurs (priceless!).

    I also collect souvenirs from trips like maps, tickets, postcards, etc. with the intention of making a scrap book, but I am not exactly a crafty person so that never happens and the random papers just keep accumulating, I am afraid one day my husband will get rid of them (he is the purger, I'm the keeper).

    (BTW, I changed my blog address ;))

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    1. It was absolutely beautiful. And yes, that is the Natural History Museum in the first photo. It is one of my favorite places on Earth... says the biologist. And as a child it must be even more amazing, everything is huge then.

      I am also the keeper, and Mark really likes to purge. I do really want to organize our pics sometime soon, everything is digital now and phyical memories are somethng special ! Do I get to your new adress by clicking on your name? I will test the links I have and compare.

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  10. Me encanta la foto de ti en la nieve con tu "snowhat." Oh, and from what I can see of your hair, I love the color :)

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    1. Gracias :) Yeah I like the color too. I had blonde highlights (well they were originally caramel)but with time they have become super bleached and they were an almost white kind of blond. So the paint went in really well in those highlighted bits, and it is a orangey-blonde (strawberry blond? The box said amber.) very similar to what I wanted.
      Also, since it is a darker kind of blond-orange the contrast between my natural brown and the highlighted part is not so stark so it looks better. On the light you do see a orangey glow on the brown parts, but not always.

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  11. Wow, pero que cantidad de comentarios por aquí :) Yo quiero ir a Londres justo hemos estado 3 veces a punto de comprar los boletos y nada, nos entra la responsabilidad... Pero me encantó su escapada.

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    1. A Londres tienen que ir antes de irse, miren bien los precios, KLM vuela al "City airport" que es el que queda más cerca del centro (así no gastan en trenes hasta el centro de Londres).
      Es mágica, preciosa, llena de historia, de museos, de vida y de todo. No se la pueden perder. Es más si quieren nos vemos ahí.

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    2. Ja, ja, ja ese si quieren nos vemos ahí le da un punto extra :) Estábamos pensando en mayo... ya platicamos va? Bsos

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    3. Sí, definitivamente nos organizamos!

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  12. HAhaha ik heb ook een junk box :p Wat heerlijk een weekend Londen, jammer dat je je les hebt gemist. Ik ben zelf nog nooit in Londen geweest, mijn vriend wel. Ik heb de regel dat ik er dan niet met hem naar toe ga, dus het kan nog wel even duren voor ik de stad te zien krijg :) De foto's zijn leuk! Op naar nog meer herinneringen :D

    xx

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    1. Junk boxes for the win !
      Ja, nu ik moet nog en keer naar de UK voor mijn les. Ik ben zo triest :p
      Oh je moet naar Londen gaan, het is echt magisch, en bijzonder. Misschien kan je met vriendinnen gaan? Nu is het met Easyjet niet duur (we hebben 35-40 EUR per vlucht betaald).

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  13. Ah, beautiful snowy London! I've not been in aaaaages and would love to, as I have family and lots of friends there. Need to make a plan soon - maybe Easter when we go home to my parents...

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    1. It was definitely magical, something quite special. Also very cold and difficult to walk without falling but it was worth it.
      You should definitely go, KLM had some good deals until the end of the month, and from here Easyjet had some pretty good prices too.
      Or take the train? The Eurostar arrives in St. Pancras and the new station is just so pretty.

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