“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” — Robert A. Heinlein

London (part 1):

Most of my London Part 1 suggestions are of the “if you happen to be in this area and starving” variety.  In my ‘Part 2′ I have more suggestions that are of the “definitely go here” variety.

Earls’ Court Road YHA Hostel
38 Bolton Gardens
London
SW5 0AQ

If you can find a nicer hotel or B&B for the same or similar price, do it.  We payed about £50 per night for a prisonesque “private room” which was two bunk beds in what would be considered the basement.  There is fluorescent lighting, a window, a radiator, a sink, and a mirror.  It is nice to stay in a hostel that doesn’t have curfews, except when you are sleeping under the stairs and main thoroughfare for the hostel.  You also are sharing a bathroom with other folks who are renting private rooms as well, which I don’t mind too much, but some hostels do have rooms with private bathrooms or in-room bathrooms, such as the St. Pancras hostel.  Keep in mind that while a fitted sheet, pillow, pillowcase, and comforter are provided, you are on your own for towels.

Lebanese Mediterranean Sandwich Bar & Take Away (Halal, Deli, Coffee Shop)
170 Earl’s Court Road, Earl’s Court,
London, SW5 9QQ, United Kingdom020 7835 1562

-this is a really good coffee shop and deli. They have lebanese food for take-away but also have pastries, and very good Illi espresso drinks.  The exterior is misleading- the interior is quite posh.

Prince of Teck (Pub)

020 7373 4291

- I had a phenomenal salad here for about £7, and was introduced to grilled halloumi cheese which has since become a favourite (I am totally looking for it here in the states).  Boli had scampi and chips which consisted of wholetail scampi with tartar sauce and french fries.  We were both amply satisfied with our meals, though their beer menu was the first of many disappointing beer menus on our trip.

Tate Modern Cafe and Restaurant
Bankside
London SE1 9TG
020 7887 8888

-if you are feeling a bit peckish when you are at the Tate (or near there), you should definitely stop into their café for some coffee, a pastry or even a real meal.  It’s pretty freaking gourmet for a museum café.  The servers there seem to mostly be French or Italian and are a trifle rude, but the food, coffee, and beer are worth it.  They had more microbrews than most of the pubs that we visited.
NOTE: If you are eating at the cafe not the restaurant you will be expected to carry the tray of coffee, food, etc. from the bar to your table.  I lost the better part of a cappuccino due to my lousy waitressing.

The Anchor (Pub)
34 Park Street, Bank End, Southwark, London SE1 9EF

-we ate here after a very long day of walking and looking at museums.  It’s close to the Borough Market, and if we’d been on our game, we would have had an early dinner there instead, but we missed the market and ended up wandering around looking for a hearty yet reasonably priced meal in a fairly touristic area by the Tate Modern and Globe Theatre.  This was a pretty good choice as Boli was able to get good fish and chips, and I was able to get veggie fish and chips!  What does veggie fish and chips consist of, you ask?  It is grilled, battered and fried halloumi cheese.  It seriously tastes AMAZING with the usual fish and chips dressing of malt vinegar, tartar sauce, and lemon.  I didn’t feel too guilty about it after walking all day with very little in my belly.  This place was pretty raucous since we were there for the post-work crowd.
NOTE: any week night in Europe is a night people go out and drink with coworkers, not just Fridays!

……………

Edinburgh:

It should be noted that if it weren’t for JDP we would probably have never found any of the places below, so we are most grateful to our host and friend for showing us the shining stars of Edinburgh.

Cameo Picturehouse Cafe & Bar
38 Home Street
Edinburgh, EH3 9LZ

-The first bar we went to in Edinburgh.  This is where I was introduced to the lady-like 1/2 pint.  Ha!  Perfect for me as a reluctant beer drinker (at the best of times).  Menu was friendly to non-drinkers as well.  This café has a cosy atmosphere. I can’t vouch for much else, because we didn’t spend a lot of time here, but a friend-of-a-friend works there and he’s got good taste, so this place must be pretty good!

Concorde Fish Bar (take away)
49 Home Street
Edinburgh EH3 9JP

- This is a great place to go if you’re drunk…  They have pizza that is suspicious looking, sitting under a heat lamp, but very delicious even if you aren’t drunk.  They have a weird, weird assortment of things… like fried haggis, pizza, fish and chips, etc.  If they ask you if you want _____ on your fish and chips just say yes to everything.  Brown sauce… vinegar… etc.  There is no seating- take away only.

Red Fort (Indian)
10 Drummond Street
Edinburgh, EH8 9TU
0131 558 8014‎

-Very good Indian food.  We split appetizers of papadums (with very tasty chutneys) and vegetable pakora; sag paneer; chana massallum; sabzi jalfrezie; rice; garlic and plain naan.  JDP and Boli had beer and I really good chai (spicy) tea with milk and sugar.  It was more than enough food for 3 people and ended up with leftovers to take home.  Totally reasonably priced for the quantity and quality of the food.

Under the Stairs (bar)
3a Merchant St.
Edinburgh, EH1 2QD
0131 466 8550

- Yes, it really is under some stairs.  This is a very cozy, crowded bar.  It is very cute and would be a good place to take a date namely because of the roaring fire in the fireplace, and comfy furniture.  They also make good Whiskey Gingers with Bundaberg’s ginger beer, which is an absolute favourite of mine.  So what I’m saying is you could take ME on a date there.  Apparently they also have food but we didn’t try it because we were stuffed with Indian food.  The bouncers get quite forceful about kicking you out at closing time… ahem.

The Mosque Kitchen (Halal, Middle-Eastern/Indian)
Edinburgh Central Mosque,
50 Potterrow
Edinburgh, EH8 9BT
0131 667 1777

-Delicious curries two days in a row!  The prices here can’t be beat (cash only).  You really are served from the kitchen of the Central Mosque in Edinburgh.  Be prepared to eat outside on a plastic table and folding chairs, under a canopy of multi-coloured fiberglass siding.  Very much cafeteria style, but fresh and tasty.  I got baklava as a self-indulgent treat to follow my meal and was glad I did.  I had saag paneer and rice, and Bolig had lamb schwarma with curry and rice, and of course we shared some naan.

The Room in the Town (restaurant)
18 Howe St.
Edinburgh
0131 225 8204

-This was probably the nicest and best meal we had in Europe, let alone Scotland.  This place was recommended to us by JDP’s friend since we were on a quest to have haggis before we left.   They start you out with good bread and a kalamata olive butter which was super tasty.  I got their veggie haggis with “neeps & tatties” (a bed of mashed turnips and potatoes) which was really delicious.  It mostly tastes different from the meat version because the sauce (which they ever so kindly made for me) is a creamy chive sauce, instead of a traditional meat broth and whiskey sauce. I had Boli compare my veggie version to his meaty version and he said they were actually very close aside from the sauces.  I also had their traditional (?) banoffee (banana toffee) pie which was also SO good.  Arg.  My mouth is watering.  It is the nicest texture of thick, caramel-y custard, banana, whipped cream, and crust.  WANT. NOW.  The waitstaff here was very kind too.  They didn’t kick us out even though they were clearly wanting to close and we were the last people left in the place… I can’t recommend this place enough.

……………

Amsterdam:

A cautionary note about Amsterdam: If you come here on a Sunday, Monday, or even Tuesday many of the smaller, independently owned cafe’s and shops may be closed.  We ended up passing through Amsterdam on a Monday and then a Tuesday and were sort of disappointed both times because we walked through the tangle of little streets and canals to find cute shops only to find most of them closed.  There are many cute shops and cafes, however, and you’re bound to find something open.  Steer clear of the red light area, and any of the larger streets (namely Damrak) immediately across from Centraal Station, as those areas are extremely touristic and full of tour groups and/or 18 year old douchebags stumbling around reeking of pot.  Also, you will find this noted everywhere, but Koffieshops or Koffiehouses are where you buy weed and coffee and can smoke up on the premises.  Cafés are your normal places to get coffee and food.

The Nine Streets area is very charming- areas near Westerstraat.  On a Monday (also the 1st of the month) we somehow stumbled our way to Westerstraat accidentally, just as what appeared to be a very large and promising flea market was packing up. *Crap*.  Missed it.  There are just as many cute little kid’s stores, dog stores, mom stores, and hipster boutiques in Amsterdam as there are in LA, for anyone who is thinking that Amsterdam is just nudity and weed.  I found the city quite lovely.

Another important thing to note about Holland if you are coming as an American is that many places only accept pre-paid debit cards that come with a special chip that can be read by special scanners there, and you enter a PIN- it’s different from a standard debit swipecard purchase- we know because we tried our Chase debit card to no avail most of the time.  It is something that I think only American Express Card users in the USA have.  If you don’t have this then come armed with cash.

B&B 1680
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 144
1012 DV Amsterdam
The Netherlands

-This place is very comfy and easy on the eyes.  It is, however in the Red Light District.  We arrived in Amsterdam at night and got lost when trying to find it which was not a pretty sight.  I didn’t know it was on the exact same street as the Red Light District, only that it was near there, and I thought “Hm.. well everything is near the RLD in Amsterdam, right?” Fortunately it was only for one night.  Anyway, we had the White Room.  The bed was comfy, everything was clean and tidy.  A few things to note though- I wish there had been an option to save 10 Euros and not get breakfast because the breakfast was dry bread, fruit, juice, water and weird, brightly coloured pudding.  This building also serves as a fashion studio and perhaps also a living space for the owner who designs corsets and high-end loungewear.  All are combined into one narrow building, several stories high, connected by a harrowing spiral staircase. Great, except for what seemed like an endless stomping up and downstairs right outside our door and over our heads while we were trying to get to sleep.

Café de Barones (cafe, bar)
Spuistraat 122/Torensteeg 2,
Amsterdam

Unfortunately this café does not have a website to link to yet.  We had a very good cappuccino and Americano here with the complimentary biscuit/cookie that is always given with espresso drinks in Europe… something I wish was a commonplace offering here in the States!  Anyway, this was a very sunny and warm little corner cafe that was open on a Monday.  Tulips on every table. Seemed to be mostly locals in there, which is what we look for when traveling, and apparently it’s a bar at night. There was the sweetest little dog in there that seemed to belong to one of the owners.  Holland allows animals in food establishments, even cats!  We saw several “shop cats” or “restaurant cats”.  If you’re hung up on being super hygienic then you should be aware that the views on what is or isn’t hygienic differ there (though that is true whenever you leave the confines of your own country).

Devries Eten & Drinken (cafe)
Haarlemmerdijk 108 A
(tegenover het postkantoor)
1013 JH Amsterdam
020 – 4270575

A very cute little spot that was open on a Tuesday but closed on Monday. We stopped in here for a good cappuccino and Americano (I, the cappuccino and Boli, the Americano- a repeated theme on our trip), as well as some food.  I ordered the goat cheese and sundried tomato quiche with a small salad, and Boli got the Croque Madame (yes, I know they’re french but they’re available at a lot of Dutch cafes).  Both excellent.  Haarlemmerdijk is a cute street with a lot of nice little shops.

……………

Part 2 to follow, because unfortunately WordPress logged me out before saving the rest of this post and I may lose the motivation to finish it in a timely manner...

I have lost the feeling that I know anything about what life should be, what it means to be alive, or what it means to be a Christian- for better or for worse.  I just know that all of those things mean responsibility.  I guess that is what the last 10 years have really placed up on my shoulders… responsibility… and deepened skepticism.  Does that mean I’m finally an adult?  I don’t feel as youthfully optimistic as I once did, even though I have admittedly never been what you might call “carefree” (!)

I continue to learn more about myself every day, even when I don’t want to.  I look back at old blog posts and laugh at my romanticism, yet marvel at the clarity of mind I had even 5 years ago that sometimes seems to be slipping away from me (though I guess thoughts always seem more clear in writing).  I used to feel like I always had these huge red-letter moments every few days, so I wrote perpetually- if not on my old blog, then in a big, fat, crappy, spiral bound journal- which was often torn up after being filled.

Pardon me for waxing nostalgic, and perhaps a little melancholy, but all in all I am looking forward to the next 10 years.  May they renew me/us all with hope, clarity, happiness, and determination.

My cellphone rings:

Me: Hello?

Seth (serious voice): Hi sweetie… I just wanted to let you know that my car was jacked this morning and someone has been using my credit card info.

Me (shocked): whoa what?

Seth: yeah, they called me to report the activity… totally stuff that I hadn’t bought… weird Google ad stuff… anyway, I’ll be without a card for a few days.

Me (distractedly): well, you have your credit card so you can just use that… but I mean…  wait, this is crazy… so were you IN the car when it was jacked?

Seth (laughing): no, no, no… my WaMu card number was jacked, not my CAR.

Me: Oh shit.  It’s my stupid f***ing cell phone breaking up every f***ing 3 seconds.  Well I’m glad you weren’t carjacked.

Seth: Me too… sorry that you heard me wrong.  I hope you weren’t super freaked out.

Me (internally): (Yes I sure was super freaked out… carjacking?  I was just thinking how could this happen, I haven’t heard about carjacking’s in LA for ages.  Then I’m thinking you might have to go to counseling to deal with the trauma and you’ll never want to drive or be in a car again.)

_______________________

So what’s a little credit card fraud?  You could have been carjacked instead.

Boli just started a new job… bailing on his Canadian-Forever 21-equivalent job, who most recently had decided to hire a porn star as their spokesmodel, decided to do a networking site ala Facebook, and hired people to do the fun stuff that Boli was told he would do when he started… yeah.. wtf indeed.    As of 2 weeks ago, he’s taken up a new position as a graphic designer for none other than K.West’s new clothing line.   Yes. That K. West.  Seems much more promising than the last position because there’s thought, research, and time involved, not to mention a higher calibre of product being made, which means a higher calibre of work, and there’s the financial backing to see ideas come to fruition.

I have been working for a company in Bangalore, India as a sales rep here in LA.  They’re manufacturer of fabrics, who also specializes in dyeing, hand embroidery, printing, sewing, etc.  Pretty much everything.  I’ve been at this for the past 2.5 months.  Not very cool.  To give you an example of the attitude of my employers, they came out for a Textiles show last month, which was their first trip to the US, and as we eating lunch one day my boss says “So you have too many Mexicans here, right?” then later says “Wow there are a lot of mixed couples here!”  I really had no idea how to respond.  They are pushy for sales, and generally have a bad attitude in my opinion (classist, impatient, unrealistic) and the Skype calls at 8:30 at night are really not my thing. So I’m still looking for something else.

I’m almost done with my last class, which is exciting.  I will finally have my 2 year degree (like 8 years late).   It’s not much, but it’s nice to have something completed… my family is not one for completing things, so I wanted to prove to myself that I could, even though I’m turning 30 this year and other friends my age are working on their doctorates!

Things have been pretty busy between birthdays, going-aways, showers, people visiting… which is how we like it, honestly.  It makes us happy to be busy and then have a day or two to ourselves to catch up, talk, mellow out, watch a bunch of old Futurama episodes, drink some whiskey gingers and enjoy our time alone.  We are very sad to be losing friends like E&W and D&J, but we will be ok… now we’ll have to get out of town more to visit!

]]> http://www.beaulacferris.com/2009/05/18/whats-up-w-the-ferriss/feed/ http://www.beaulacferris.com/2009/04/01/best-town-names-between-boulder-and-ridgway/ http://www.beaulacferris.com/2009/04/01/best-town-names-between-boulder-and-ridgway/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:38:50 +0000 xie http://www.beaulacferris.com/?p=310 This is a super old list I made last summer when Seth and I drove from Boulder Colorado to Ridgway where his parents live.  These are all actual town names that we saw:

*No Name

Rifle

Parachute

Silt

Gypsum

Eagle

Steamboat

Leadville

Silver Plume

*personal favourite

Anyway, anniversaries aside, things have been pretty busy.  I am taking my last math class before I get my A.S. degree from PCC.  Also I took a part time freelance job as the LA representative for a manufacturer in Bangalore, India.  Now I spend my time getting math tutoring, talking on Skype at odd hours, and emailing/calling people asking them to meet with me (even though I still don’t have any samples from them or have any good photos of things they’ve done).  The company has fair-trade factories and they focus on organic vegetable dyes and fabrics.  They can do fabric production (weaving, knitting), as well as dyeing and embellishments.  Pretty much anything actually.  Oh and a dollar is worth 51 rupees.  Seems like it’d be a good time for people to outsource, right?

J&D and W&E are leaving town soon, and we are really [selfishly] sad about this.  Two pairs of our closer friends are leaving town, and we don’t know why the hell we are still here…  Too bad Portland has so few design jobs, or we’d have been there yesterday.

Well, just wanted to do a little update.  Yes, we’re still thinking about Portland… no, we won’t think about Austin.  Sorry J&D + C&K.  But we sure as hell will visit now!

1. The name on my original birth certificate was Christina Marie but my parents had it changed to Christina Dawn a few weeks after I was born because they were tired  of people saying “What a nice Italian name!” “What a nice Catholic name!”

2.  I first got drunk when I was 23, alone, on a bottle of peach sparkling wine

3.  I have a tattoo on my lower back.  I got it when I was 20, at the same time that my BFF Kim got her nose pierced.  And of course she let that close up after a few months, but I still have a tattoo on my lower back.  It’s in Kanjii (so 90’s) and is the characters for redemption, specifically redemption of sin.  I copied it out of an English to Kanjii dictionary.  I have also pierced the cartilage in top of my left ear, but let it close up.  I still think about getting other tattoos even though I’m not stoked on the one I have any more.

4.  I have been a model for a hairstylist’s portfolio.  In fact, I will scan the photos for you.  They’re hilarious.

5.  I have 2 younger brothers, and 5 step-siblings

6.  I have a very vivid memory from when I was a toddler of playing in the back yard with a bunch of black-widow spiders which I still think is real.

7.  When I was in high school I was part of the Latin club even though I didn’t take Latin.

8.  The longest road trip I’ve ever been on is from San Jose to LA via the 101.  We used to fly everywhere because my dad was a pilot and we had a little plane.  Then when I was older he also worked for United so we’d fly stand by.  So I had/have little patience for a long-ass car ride.

9. I remember the first time I intentionally hurt my mother.  I had sharpened the end of a candy-cane to an extreme point and asked her to hold out her hand and close her eyes and I poked her with it.  I mostly did it to see what happened.

10. I have never had a dog but I have had a rabbit and over 10 cats (Freckles, Marmalade, Puff, Midnight, Oreo, Kipling, Pumpkin, Sister, Milo, Olaf… and some strays)

11.  I never crawled as a toddler and had to go to a special summer school as a Kindergartner to learn to crawl and handle insects, dirt, water, etc. to improve my hand-eye coordination and reduce my phobias.

12. I didn’t used to always wash clothes from thrift stores before wearing them… and then some friends got scabies from Aardvarks on Melrose and I changed my ways.

13.  Most of my music knowlege as a child came from visits to neighbouring grocery stores, drugstores, and Emporium Capwell.  I used to refer to songs as “Payless songs” or “Emporium songs”.  “Payless songs” were the actual easy-listening rock songs..  “Emporium songs” were easy-listening songs turned into Muzak.

14. re: #13 I used to live behind a shopping center which is why all my secular music memories are from there.  Otherwise it was just classical, oldies, soundtracks to musicals,  and Christian stuff.

15.  I’ve been a lacto-octo ovo vegetarian since I was 15

16.  My first car was a chocolate brown 1979 Volvo 240 sedan.  It was the same age as me, and I still miss that car.  Too bad the engine self-destructed less than a year after I bought it.

17.  I used to have hair down to my waist.  Ug.  Never again.  Having all that dead matter around you is not sexy.

18.  In high school I exposed myself to a lot of music by checking cd’s out from the library.  I think the best discovery I made back then was Portishead.

19. I’ve hit a squirrel, a pigeon, and worst of all, a cat with my car.  The cat was the most terrible of all.  It was a huge 8 lane road, late at night and I thought it was a paper bag.  My friend Jimmy got out for me to confirm it was dead.

20. Seth told me I should have no trouble doing this because I’m “secretive”, but I’m having trouble getting past the 20 mark.

21. When I was in 1st and 2nd grade I called people “honey” & “honey-child” because my friend Willette did.

22. I have a strawberry port wine stain on the bottom of my right foot.

23. I used to do cat rescue in high school.  It was the sort of thing where you keep the cats at your house and bring them to a fair every weekend until they get adopted.  I can’t believe my mom agreed to that.

24. When I was a freshman in high school I wanted to be a tiger/lion trainer.  I even wrote a paper about it.

25. When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade I pulled out all my eyelashes and eyebrows.  I did it because I didn’t like the fact that I felt like I could see them all the time and I became obsessed with removing all of them.  My first encounter with OCD.   It really freaked my mom out.