May Bank Holiday Weekend

This past weekend was long bank holiday weekend. It was the perfect time for some R&R after a long weekend in Miami last week, a weekend in Paris coming up, and 2 whole weeks in Japan the weeks following. The cherry on top of the cake is that 2 of the 3 days were sunny and absolutely glorious.

Saturday – Boozing and Snoozing
On Saturday we spent the day boozing and snoozing in the sun. The picture below says it all.



Sunday – Chill, Gym, Pub
Sunday was the overcast day of the weekend. We spent it quietly at home in the morning, then hit the gym in the afternoon. We then drowned our sorrows for the gym sauna being out of order at the pub where we downed a couple of pints of pretty strong beer before meandering back to the apartment for some patio BBQ and more booze.

Monday – Spurt of energy
All the booze we had on Saturday and Sunday must have had an energizing effect for we were on the go go go on Monday. We brushed the cobwebs off the bicycles and went for a leisurely ride around South West London. Our route was as follows:

• Navigate through stroller filled Wandsworth park
• Cycle along Wandle River (little pocket of nature sandwiched between ugly industrial sites)
• Pitt stop and refuel at Wimbledon town centre
• Find way to Wimbledon common and climb killer hill to get there
• Meander through trees and trails of refreshingly overgrown/non-manicured Wimbledon Common
• Resist urge to “quench” thirst in outdoor seating of several pubs along the way
• Make way back home

Some pics from the bike ride:

Wandle Riverside
Nature juxtaposed against industry
Wimbledon cottage
Wimbledon Common
Changing topography - cycling on main road

After a brief stop at home to get directions, we picked up our Streetcar VW, loaded it up with golf clubs and gym gear and headed to the driving range where we hit a couple hundred balls. It had been 2 years since we’d done anything golf related and we were surprisingly not as horribly bad as we thought we would be. Definitely something we’ll be wanting to do more frequently, and maybe sometime in the next month or so even venture onto a course.

From the driving range we dropped the Streetcar car off, then headed to our beloved gym which we love at the moment but is in grave danger of falling out of favour if the sauna continues to remain out of order :-(.

Exhausted and with weary bodies, we headed back home stopping off at our local pizzeria for big helpings of pasta and an antioxidant-rich sleep-inducing bottle of red wine.

Last stop was home. Sleep. Zzzzzzzzzz. Good bank holiday weekend over and out.

Bahama Mamas!

Last weekend I got to spend 4 days in glorious sunshine with 4 of my closest friends as we embarked on our much anticipated Bahama-Mama (plus Miami) vacation! It was great to see the girls. I met them all as a freshman in high-school, and since then we’ve each come a long way, had our fare share of ups and downs, and remain to this day fast friends.

Thursday – Convergence
On day 1 we all fly into Miami from our respective home cities. Me from London, Candy from San Diego, Joffin from New Jersey, and Lubs and PJ from Maryland. We spent the afternoon catching up over tropical mixed drinks, and soaking up the South Beach atmosphere.

In the evening we have a wonderful dinner at Wish Restaurant, then checked the Sobe party scene out till the early hours of the morning.

Some pics from the day - 1) Dinner at Wish, 2) Sobe club


Friday – Nurse hangovers, Intro to Fascination
Friday morning we head down to the Big Pink diner for some hangover therapy (big plate of steak and eggs for me!!) before heading to the beach for a good dose of rays. The grown up girls stripped down to their grown up bikinis :-). How far we’ve come!

In the afternoon we head over to Miami port and board our home for the next 3 days – the Carnival Fascination. Fascinatingly cheesy is what it was, with flashy panels, disco lighting, and Pepto-Bismol pink upholstery – fascinating indeed. Oh, and there’s a sorry and severe shortage of eye candy :-(. But I’m in good company and the weathers great. Before long we trundling down south, boat lurching and stomachs turning but we manage to do the boat justice with visits to the karaoke bar (Go Joffin!), the “Passage to India” (bar with a 4-Filipino-dude band), the casino (Go Lubs! – a serious rouletter) and of course “Diamonds are Forever”, the supremely classy (not!) dance club for some entertaining exhibitions of grinding on the dance floor.

Some pics from the day - 1)Miami Beach, 2) Carnival Fascination, 3) Quality decor


Saturday – Bahama Mamas
We get up early Saturday morning and find we’ve docked in Nassau. Woohoo! Time off the boat. We’d signed up for a beach island excursion, so we’re up and out by 9, and on a ferry over to an island near Nassau for some beach bumming. We get a good dose of sunshine (more bikinis!), and do some snorkelling with the resident sting rays.

In the afternoon we eat our way through Nassau. After a short stroll around the downtown, we stop at a restaurant to try some conch fritters washed down with cold Kalik beer (local beer). We then hop onto the local 10 bus to a fort for some quick tourist pics before heading across to street to the “Fish Fry” i.e. a street of fish shacks. We duck into Antonios and proceed to consume a fish snack, fried conch snack, and a conch salad, washed down with more Kalik. Note, the Bahamian meaning for snack is by no means the common understanding of the word. A Bahamian snack is a plate fully loaded with a small helping of salad, a big helping of fried fish or conch, and an even bigger helping of chips (fries). We were no match for the Bahamian appetite!

In the evening we get all decked out for a night out at the Atlantis, and dance the night away at the dance club, before heading back to the boat, confirming the latest time we can get back, spend our remaining time at a club nearby, and stumble back onto the boat when the club closed/kicked us out, or at 5 a.m. (whichever came first).

Some pics from the day - 1) Disembarking, 2) Snorkelling with sting rays, 3) Clubbing in Atlantis


Sunday – Cabin Fever
With hangovers and achy feet we awake to another sunny day. The boat’s back out at sea but is craaaaaawling. We’d wondered about what Sunday held in store and were somewhat disbelieving of the itinerary i.e. day on boat. Itinerary was correct. The boat continues to craaaaaaawl. And we’re stuck on it! Cabin fever ensues. Somehow we manage to kill the time. Barely. We end the day with watching the a-la-Vegas show (scantily glad woman with bad wigs dancing), a pretty entertaining midnight comedy show, a short stint at the Piano bar, and one final try at “Diamonds are Forever”- still barely palatable.

Monday – One more dose of Miami Beach, Goodbyes
We awake to find ourselves docked back in Miami port. With all our flights leaving later in the afternoon, we decide to book a hotel in Miami for the day, and head back out to the beach for one final dose of rays, and then some window shopping along Lincoln Road. After quick showers and packing, we begin the sad process of saying goodbye :-(. It was great seeing the girls. We’ve tossing around the idea of all heading to the Philippines sometime next year for a mini-reunion with the rest of the gang. Can’t wait.

N.B. For more pictures from the trip, visit the photo album accessed via the Smallzone Travel Photo page for 2008