coincidentally, on the day that we decided to visit Chinatown in London,
there was a really big Japanese festival going on
right around the corner.
this all took place on my second visit to London.
it was also my first time getting to meet some of Dan's friends from Duke,
who are also studying abroad in England for the semester as well.
so, the original plan was to watch matilda that same day.
dan's friend found online that if you are one of the first 16 people in line for tickets,
it is possible to get them for a discounted 5 gbp/person.
(very inexpensive for seeing a musical in London)
we all got to the theater around 9 am,
but it was too late,
and they only had one available ticket
by the time it was our turn.
that's when the trajectory of our plans changed and we decided on
a bit of Chinatown exploration & dim sum for lunch.
The Tube is an essential part of travel in London.
an extensive underground metro system makes the commute
from one place to another
quite easy.
when i first visited, it frightened me with all of its complexities,
but i can somewhat find my own way on it by myself now.
i think that's a measurable accomplishment of
a bit of London street smarts.
the closer you get to chinatown,
the more red you see.
the main chinatown gate.
i'm not sure if the decorations are there year-round,
but they were quite festive.
some restaurants that we passed by.
quintessential chinese red lanterns.
egg tarts, moon cake, pork buns, & other yummy goodies!
dan and me with the gate.
dan and his friend andy, who is also studying @ queen mary.
chubby little hello kitty on a cake!
only in chinatown...
waiting for the dim sum restaurant to open for brunch.
eunice lent me this dress to wear.
isn't it lovely?
my first time trying taro dumplings.
& of course we got radish cake~
though, i really miss my dad's...nothing comes close to beating his.
shrimp dumplings with soy sauce.
an assortment of dumplings
(meat & veggie)
our whole group!
(cecilia, sean, andy, dan, & me)
for the most part, cecilia and i picked out the dishes,
since none of the others are as familiar with dim sum.
she can also speak both mandarin and cantonese, so we let her order!
here's a picture taken from dan's iphone.
we had such a great time eating and hanging out.
in the bottom corner, sean is teaching andy how to properly hold his chopsticks ;)
random indian flashmob.
dan & me @ the leicester square fountain.
Japanese festival lanterns.
trafalger square - always a busy place.
huge stage set up across the square
with rotating, scheduled performances by a wide variety of groups.
a young boy singing a traditional japanese folk song.
the square was bordered with vendors
selling everything from hot food and ice cream, to games and trinkets.
tea & miso soup.
a sushi stand.
i considered buying a box because they looked so delicious,
but i was still so full from dim sum earlier that i decided to pass.
i thought this was so cute.
one of the japanese vendors had on an angry birds hat!
i think you can always find one of these types of fishing booths
at an asian festival.
more food vendors on the opposite side of the square.
andy, dan, & me.
freshly fried octopus balls.
andy saw anthony bourdain (from the travel channel) try this,
so he wanted to as well.
this reminded me of a japanese doll we have in our house
that the mother of one of my mom's students once made for her as a wedding gift.
baby embroidered owls.
huge graffiti wall open for anyone's contribution.
adorable little kids dancing and playing their drums.
it's times like these when i really appreciate my 18-270 mm.
i was all the way across the square when i took this picture.
actually, i was right here in front of the national gallery,
which houses works by michelangelo, van gogh, monet, manet, & many others.
we did not get a chance to go in that day,
but this past weekend upon our return from paris,
we just happened to be in the area again.
one of my favorite youtubers, xteeener,
just happened to be visiting london with her boyfriend for the week.
she posted up online that she would be in trafalgar square @ 3 pm.
unfortunately dan and i didn't make it on time,
but he decided to tweet her (since i don't have a twitter account) anyway.
when she found out that we came all the way out to see her,
she tweeted back that they were still in the area
and would come back to the square right away.
christine was just as sweet as she seems on camera,
and one of the coolest things is that
she went to UGA as well and currently lives in Lilburn too.
what a small world!
it's funny that we ended up meeting for the first time
in a different country.
so, in the end,
i finally got to walk through the national gallery
& also meet with a really lovely person.
it's been an adjustment coming back to oxford and settling back into school mode.
i think my heart is still in paris.
i am, however, very excited to sit down and write some postcards today.
it might take some time, but they will be in your mailboxes soon!
