Canary Wharf & Greenwich, London

CANARY WHARF

Sunday after a tasty brunch with friends we headed out to explore.  We ended up in Canary Wharf and Greenwich.  We had not done a lick of research so we had no clue what to expect.  We show up and at first think hmmm Canary Wharf is a bit well...not worth the trip... It's a financial district (YAWN!) we keep walking and then we see a nice riverbank area and cool buildings, TALL buildings, and then we turned another corner and it was glorious, yet another riverside area with cute restaurants/pubs even a floating church for those who like to take their lord to the water.  Mike actually went from lets get out of here tooooo Now this is my kind of place "corporate and sterile" everything looks brand new.  As for what I thought, it was nice, everything looked brand new, nothing like London, it reminded me of the area near the river in Chicago and well I HEART CHI-TOWN.

Then we were off to check the time in Greenwich... 

The name Greenwich comes from the Saxon for 'green village'. There is evidence of Bronze Age barrows in Greenwich Park as well as a Roman villa or temple.
In the Domesday Book, the manor of Greenwich is recorded as held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, and a royal palace or hunting lodge has existed here since before 1300. From the 15th century, the town became the site of the royal palace of Placentia, the birthplace of many Tudor monarchs including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

Now off to the Royal Observatory

Royal Observatory
Blackheath Avenue
Greenwich, SE10 8XJ
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/places/royal-observatory/

Come and stand on the world-famous Greenwich Meridian Line, which represents the Prime Meridian of the World – Longitude 0º.

Every place on Earth is measured in terms of its distance east or west from the Greenwich Meridan. The line itself divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the Earth, just as the Equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.

The centre of time

 
During the evenings, the position of the Meridian Line is often marked by a green laser in the sky.  Since the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian at Greenwich has served as the reference line for Greenwich Mean Time. It can now claim to be the centre of world time, and was the official starting point for the new Millennium.

Is Greenwich worth a visit? I say Yes! It's a great way to spend a few hours.  As always, there is a market (Greenwich Market) full of your typical market stuff, pubs, cute boutiques, a pier, the Royal Observatory which is wrapped in green space to have a picnic after you check the time and even the University of Greenwich.

Cheers,
WMMc

Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley played TWO sold-out shows at London’s Shepherd Bush Empire on June 23 and 24, 2010 and to over 7,000 at Notodden Norway’s Musikkfestival on June 25, marking his first trip to the UK in over TEN years.  The crowds at all shows were very enthusiastic - singing along to the songs, clapping, swaying and very appreciative of Paisley’s musicianship. 

Here's to country music in the UK!

Cheers,

WMMc

Bill Clinton

While watching the USA lose to Ghana for the second time during the World Cup I spotted my boy Bill Clinton in the crowd. He was hanging with Mick Jagger as he should.  Seeing him made me remember taking this picture of him and Winnie Ford.

It was during Hillary's run for President that former President Bill Clinton came to Nashville to speak at Fisk University, a school that was low on funds at the time and about to shut its doors.  They let approximately 1,000 people in and my friend and I were 2 of the lucky 1,000.  We were even lucky (sneaky) enough to get in the first 20 rows.

After his inspirational speech, we made our way to the circle where he was shaking hands and signing his book, etc... We were eager to try and get a picture. We didn't succeed.

HOWEVER, out of no where someone screams a "99 year old woman in the back would like to meet you and its her birthday" HE ACTUALLY HEARD THIS and sure enough they walked right by me and stopped, I offered to take a picture and mail it to her. He grabbed my hand and told me, "There needs to be more kind people in this world like you, Thank you". 

I snapped the picture and mailed it to Winnie Ford immediately.  About a week later I received a very sweet Thank You card in the mail.

I didn't get a picture of Bill and I, but I still really enjoy telling the story.

I can at least show A picture with Bill to prove I was there.

I wonder if Winnie really did turn 99 that day? hmmm.

Cheers,
WMMc

Listen to a Londoner Interview

I have officially done my first blog interview for a great blogger called Little London Observationist 

http://littlelondonobservationist.wordpress.com

Listen to a Londoner: Wendy McCooey

June 19, 2010 · 2 Comments

Listen to a Londoner is a weekly interview with a Londoner – someone who lives in this city, born here or elsewhere. If you want to be interviewed, email littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new volunteers! 

Wendy McCooey, 34 

Wendy is a southern Tennessee girl with a sales and marketing background who loves to travel, cook, craft, take pictures, blog, (currently job shopping) and do just about anything if it’s fun. She’s is now seeing what Notting Hill and the rest of London (if not the world) has to offer. 

LLO: Give us the basics first: How long have you lived in London , where are you from originally and what brought you to this brilliant city?
WM: We moved here October 2009 from Nashville, TN (yes, I have a southern accent, but my husband does not) due to a job transfer with my husband’s company. 

LLO: What’s the best part about living in your postcode?
WM: I live in the W11 which is Notting Hill (yes, the inspiration for a lil’ rom-com you may have heard of) and love it here.  The energy and the layout of the area is perfect. It’s city living at its finest, but somehow it still manages to keep some neighborhood “small town” charm to it. Maybe it’s due to all the cool independent movie theatres, the Portobello Market, or maybe the adorable strip of Westbourne Grove/Ledbury area. Whatever it is, it’s home to me now and I smile just thinking about it 

LLO: Favourite place to find a taste of home?
WM: If I’m craving pancakes, I hightail it to Balan’s on Kensington High Street for their American Pancakes. I’m a breakfast girl, so these cravings come more often than they need to.  If it’s not pancakes, it’s buffalo wing sauce and the closest thing to ours at home is the voodoo sauce at Henry J Beans in Chelsea. It’s delicious and I get it with their yummy chicken crunchies. 

LLO: Tell us about a memorable “expat in London ” experience.
WM: Well… although my husband moved around a lot as a kid, I did not. I had always pretty much lived in the Nashville area until we packed up and moved to London. I was ready for a change, and so I said, “Yes, let’s do it”.  So I quit my job of 7+ years, told my family and friends, packed our stuff, shipped it off, got on a plane and never cried really. UNTIL we landed and later arrived at our new home  – “our flat”. Once that door shut, something happened. I cried, hysterically. My husband could not bring up anything related to back home or I would cry.  There were a lot of ups and downs for me for many many months. Not for him though; he adjusted just fine.  It took me three or four months before I could call London home and truly be 100% happy with my decision. However, now I couldn’t imagine moving back to Nashville any time soon. I guess the most important thing that happened to change how I felt was making new friends here. I have a great group of new friends and I would really miss them if I were to leave.  Oh yeah, and the nonstop traveling around Europe doesn’t hurt either. 

LLO: If I had one day in London , where would you tell me to eat and drink?
WM: I would tell you to eat at either Osteria Basilico in Notting Hill for the tastiest tortellini that you will ever eat or The Ebury on Pimlico Road for their gnocchi.  As for drinks, the bar at Just St. James near Green Park/The Ritz. Order anything to drink, you’ll like it. Or if you want more low-key with loads of charm, head on over to Churchill Arms (Kensington) for a tasty pint of their organic Honey Dew. 

LLO: Favourite places for a Saturday night out in the capital?
WM: For a Saturday night, if you are wanting to do something special I would say  dinner and go see WICKED (I’ve seen it 4 times and can’t wait til the 5th) or just walk around Oxford/Regent St and people watch for a while and then crawl into a pub and drink until your heart’s content. 

LLO: What’s the strangest or most amusing thing you’ve seen since moving to this city?
WM: The most amusing thing was a lady on the tube, probably late 40′s. She was fair-skinned, dark hair, bright red dress and nails, sitting in front of me. Just as I noticed that her toenails were so long that they were growing down in front of her toes (like cupping them), she hopped up in this almost empty car and grabbed the “hold on” bar and starting swinging on it. She grabbed hold, lifted her feet up and just started swinging. Then she put her feet down and swung her hips to the left while still holding on, stretching herself and then changed to the right and did the same thing. This rotation went on for a good 15 minutes.  Being a girl from the South, I wasn’t sure if I needed to laugh or be scared. 

LLO: Best London discovery?
WM: Kensington Roof Gardens! It’s amazing and believe it or not, Virgin owns it. (Where this picture of me was actually taken). 

LLO: If someone came to you saying they wanted to explore London for a day, but wanted to go off the beaten path, where would you send them?
WM: I would send them to Postman’s Park to start, then off to Camden or Brick Lane and just tell them to walk around. Those areas have so much charm and energy, not to mention all the food you could want at your fingertips. Every few feet you see something new and cool to check out. At night, take a Jack the Ripper walking tour and to finish the evening a pint at Churchill Arms on Kensington Church Street. 

LLO: Favourite place around here for a culture fix?
WM: If we’re talking museum, it’s gotta be the British Museum. I feel like I’m the luckiest girl in the world when I walk in their gorgeous lobby, take a left and cruise on by the Rosetta stone on my way to the Parthenon area. I’ve visited numerous times and it never gets old. The Lindow man in there is also pretty badass. 

If we are talking Theatre, Jersey Boys is amazing, but WICKED is out of this world terrific in every way possible. I can honestly say that I will probably go see it as many times as I can, it’s just amazing. Although I’m a big Dirty Dancing fan, the Dirty Dancing that I saw here was Horrible, to the point that at intermission I wanted to ask for my money back and leave.  I have tickets to see Les Mis in September, so I’m really excited about that!
You can also never go wrong with the exhibits at V&A. I’m currently dying to go see the Grace Kelly exhibit there.
Thanks Wendy!

Good Ole' Nashville

Well a little over 2 weeks ago I arrived home to a backyard full of downed trees that in return ripped down our fence... I finally got the trees up and out and now I'm biting my nails hoping that the fence gets ripped out and rebuilt by Thursday... We shall see... Fingers Crossed...

What else have we been up to?

Visiting our friends and trying to catch up with all that we have missed lately.  The flood stories have been tough to hear, but it's nice to see that all are recovering and getting back to pre-flood days.

(My great niece, Madison)

I saw Sex and the City 2 with a college buddy within days of arriving...

Went to see Daughtry and Lifehouse at the Arena within days of arriving and omg what a show! LOVED it! Kelly Clarkson came out and sang Fast Cars with him and it was perfect!

Eating at our favorites: Sam's in Hillsboro Village (21st Ave) they have the best ribs and fries in the world, we even went to have a drink at the Villager, brunch at Marche in East Nashville (between Gallatin and Woodland), Cheesecake Factory for their Pot Stickers, Allium  (5th & Main) for brunch for their Croque Monsieur, Germantown Cafe (5th North & Madison) for the great staff and the plum pork, and of course all the mexican food we can eat, and most of all WAFFLE HOUSE.

We also tried a new place on 12th South called Burger Up, I give it a thumbs up, good burgers, a variety of different fries, mushrooms, hot chicken wings, fried pickles, but they need to work on their smores tiramisu (spelling?) because there was nothing smores or exciting about it, I mean it was good, but normal just like all the rest. Should of went with the krispy cream pudding instead.

One of the most exciting things we've done is go to the CMA Music Fest concerts at LP Field every night, it was awesome! Friday was by far my favorite night with Julianne Hough, Josh Turner, Reba, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, and Kid Rock! What a show! Our friend Chris even upgraded our tickets for us that night! Thank you Chris!  Thursday would be my runner-up with Danny Gokey, Jason Aldean, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw Lady Antebellum, and Carrie Underwood but we left before she came on unfortunately.

(Richard Petty)

Thursday morning to kick off my CMA Music Fest week a very nice friend invited me to the CMA Radio Remotes, I call her my Music Santa, I LOVE going to these Radio Remotes. This year I was lucky enough to get a picture with the following: Mayor Karl Dean, Josh Turner, Julianne Hough, Clay Walker, Richard Petty, and Darius Rucker.

  (Darius Rucker)

When things slow down a bit I will post pictures, but right now I have a garage begging to be cleaned so until next time take care and donate to the Nashville Flood Relief.

(Josh Turner)

Cheers,
WMMc

Sorry for the delay

Sorry for the delay in blogging, I'm in the middle of cleaning up our back yard damage, visiting friends, family, and counting down the days until CMA Music Fest!