Notting Hill Station on a Saturday. Tourist Trap. Bloody tourists still looking for the fictional Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts bookster. Fota, pampasikip lang sila, kaya nga fictional bookstore eh! It doesn't exist like Raul Gonzalez' sanity.
I have a love-hate relationship with London. I hate that it's a metropolis with expensive public transport. I love that it's a very diverse world city. If I wanted to eat Kalash cuisine, it's likely I'll find it here.
I haven't been to London in months so I decided to spend the entire weekend making love to the city.
First stop is the Victoria and Albert Museum.....
I really like this place as it's also a 'design' and 'fashion' museum so if you're sick of classical art or the shameless pretentiousness of modern art you can always look at functional items here. Also, it's got a new Islamic art section and its cast museum is one of the best. Even Chairman Mao would approve....
One totally unnecessary and narcissistic self-portrait of The Nashman.......(don't you hate it that it's always the fugly people who like taking self-portraits? Anyone with a Friendster account knows this.)
The V&A is right next to the Natural History and Science Musuems, but there were no temporary exhibitions that interested me (or that I haven't seen) so I just briefly ogled the pretty people tanning on the lawns.
Off I went to Fortnum and Mason to look for important provisions. It's expensive shite but they stock some items not easily found in the normal groceries. Plus my bank gave me a new spanking black Mastercard so I might as well sink myself deeper into debt....
For this price, I'd rather go to Modena and get it myself. (PAMET Konsyensya: Sus, kunwari pa si Nash, dati Rose Vinegar lang sawsawan nya ng Kropek. Ngayon pa-balsamico balsamico na...)
Pink peppercorns, for a touch of colour to my famous steak dishes...pink like the lips of your cherry...
Fortnum and Mason also sells some delicacies such as....
They were a bit overpriced and I couldn't find smoked crickets. The chocolate covered scorpion was £3.50! I've never paid that much for scorpion! To all those in Thailand at the moment, consider yourselves lucky. A good serving of crispy ants will only set you back 5 baht or something. Libre pa tsupa sa ladyboy.
I then had tea at the Royal Academy which was also heaving with the good and the beautiful because of its traditional summer exhibition. I spent more time people-watching as I had enough arty-farty for the day and just lounged in the courtyard.
I was shocked to discover this Parisian institution at Burlington Arcade. (Talaga naman, dati sa Maharlika at Shopper's lane lang ako rumarampa. Ngayon, pa-Burlington na...)
They invented the double macaron of course. At £1.20 a piece they are not cheap (maybe they need to pay for the over the top gold interiors). I think it's cheaper to go to Paris (considering that I can eat 10,000 of them sinful circular thingies.)
Just looking at the rose macarons made me fat. With my belly worms satiated, my well-defined pandesal abs soon coalesced into an embarrassingly large mound.
As a result of my less than optimum shape, much as I wanted, I couldn't go topless in the park on such a hot day.
Later in the evening, I attended my friends' despedida party. They're moving to Oz after 13 years in London. I'm also considering moving down under next year but it's such a tough decision. I wish I were a little bit younger. When you are old, it's hard to stay impulsive. So far my long list also includes Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, Japan, and Singapore. I could stay in England but I think change is always good...(somewhere out there, a village needs a new idiot like me.)
I'm going to miss Nina. Next time I see here, she'll have lost her posh accent but will have learned how to surf....Nina is a Hollapino. (Frisian-Ilongga)