Ivan and Jen do Europe

On July 27, 2010, Ivan and I packed our backpacks up.  We checked out of the hotel.  We left around noon headed towards Heathrow airport.

We were going to different terminals.  I said bye to Ivan and Lil Dave.  I was going to Terminal 4.  Ivan had to get to Terminal 5.  We had different flights to Las Vegas.

Ivan and Lil Dave boarded the plane at 4 pm with a direct flight to Vegas.  My journey would take a lot longer.  I got on the plane at 5 pm headed to JFK in New York.

Ivan arrived at 7pm in Las Vegas.  I arrived at 8 pm.  I had to retrieve my bag.  Then, I checked in my bag for my flight in the morning.

The airport security wouldn’t let me in to the gates.  So, I had some chips at Dunkin’ Donuts.  I talked to Ivan on Skype.  I watched lots of shows on the laptop.  I didn’t want to go to sleep since I didn’t think I would wake up in time.  I was so tired.  I only slept about 4 hours on the plane.

I headed to the gates at 5 am on July 28th.  I got some breakfast  I went to the gate and slept for an hour.  We left for Las Vegas at 7:30 am.  I slept a few hours on the plane.

I arrived at 9:40 am.  My mom picked me up.  She took us to the house and I picked up my car.  Then, I headed to the condo Ivan and I will be staying at, which is located on the Las Vegas Strip.  It’s crazy that it took me 24 hours to get to Vegas. 

That’s the end of the Europe trip.  Thanks for reading the blog!!

Ivan, Lil Dave and I got a train to the city on July 26, 2010.  We had sandwiches at Pret a Manger.

We really wanted to see Inception, but it wasn’t play until 5 pm.  So, Ivan thought we should just pick a movie. 

We went to see City Island.  It’s about a family that live in City Island who have a lot of secrets.  It was interesting.  We thought it was a good movie.

We walked around.  It was time for dinner so we walked to Masala Zone.  It’s a great Indian restaurant.  Ivan and I each had a grand thali with a chicken curry. 

It was tasty food.

Then, we walked to The Comedy Store.  We met up with Neal and his friends James and Tom.  It was King Gong night.  It’s where regular people go up and try out their comedy.  They have to last 5 minutes.  They can get gonged off if they’re not good.  It was a pretty funny show.

We went back to the hotel and used the internet.

– City Island poster from IMP Awards

On July 25, 2010, Ivan, Lil Dave and I went to lunch with Ivan’s parents at The Harvester.  Ivan had salmon with peri peri sauce.  I had chicken breast with peri peri sauce.  Lil Dave had a banana kebab with a honey sauce.  The food was tasty.

We said goodbye and thanks to Ivan’s mum.  Ivan’s dad gave us a ride to the train station.

We checked in to the Britannia International Hotel.  It’s a nice hotel in Canary Wharf.  

We used the internet for awhile.

We got a train to the city,  We met Ivan’s brother Neal at Hi Sushi Izakaya.  We decided to do the all you can eat sushi.  Lil Dave got special banana sushi made for him. 

We ordered so much food including miso soup and chicken yakitori.  The food was alright, nothing special at all.

Ivan, Lil Dave and I went to The Comedy Store.  We saw the hilarious improv with the Comedy Store Players.  It’s always great to see since it’s never the same.  Paul Merton is definitely the funniest one.  Ivan and I would love if Las Vegas had great comedy clubs like The Comedy Store.

Ivan, Lil Dave and I got a train to London on July 24, 2010.  Ivan’s mom made us sandwiches.  We ate the tuna sandwiches on the train.

We walked to Covent Garden and checked out the shops.

Lil Dave went to see Toy Story 3.  Ivan and I went to see Get Him to the Greek. 

We heard that it was a hilarious movie.  It was funny, but we thought it would be funnier.  Sean Combs was really funny.  It got a bit sappy towards the end of the movie.

We had dinner at Satsuma.  Ivan and I shared tofu steak.  I had yaki soba with chicken and vegetables.  Ivan had udon noodles with chicken and vegetables.  Lil Dave had yaki soba with chicken and he added bananas on top.  It was tasty as usual.

We went to Tower Hill.  We joined the Jack the Ripper walking tour.  I used to be obsessed with Jack the Ripper.  I used to read all about the case online years ago.  I found it very fascinating that the murderer was never found.  We had a great guide who was funny.  We saw three of the murder sites.  It was very interesting to hear the theories and the stories about the gruesome murders.

– Get Him to the Greek poster from IMP Awards

Ivan went into London on July 21, 2010 around noon.  I woke up at 2 pm. 

I got ready.  I took the train to London. We went to get a frozen yogurt at Snog.  I’ve been thinking about these tasty treats lately.  It was delicious!

We walked around more.  I was getting hungry.  Ivan wasn’t hungry since he had a big lunch at Busaba Eathai.  I had a spicy noodle dish with chicken at Wetherspoon’s. 

We walked to the Victoria Palace Theatre.  We sat down to see Billy Elliot. 

It’s about a boy who becomes interested in ballet.  The story also shows the hardships of  the people in Durham, a Northeast England town, during a mining strike.  The dancing and the singing was amazing.  What an awesome musical!

Ivan and I woke up at 12 pm on June 6, 2010.  Lil Dave was already up and he was talking to his dad Big Dave on Skype.

We chilled in the hotel.  We ate the sandwiches that we had bought yesterday at Pret a Manger.  They have very tasty sandwiches.  I wish Pret had stores in Las Vegas.

We checked out of the Radisson Edwardian hotel at 2:30 pm.

We put our backpacks on and headed to the train station.  We boarded the train headed to Stratford.

We walked down the street to Caribbean Scene.  Ivan wanted to check out this restaurant.  We almost at there once when we stayed in Stratford before.

It took forever to get our food since it was so busy.  The food arrived 30 minutes later. 

Ivan got a jerk chicken while I got the bbq chicken.  It was tasty food!

We got the shuttle to Stansted Airport.  It took 45 minutes.  From the airport, we got a £12 cab ride to the hotel. It was expensive 5 minute ride to the hotel.

We checked in to the Travelodge.  We had a day of chillin’ in the hotel.  We watched tv and used the internet.  It’s always great to have a day of chillin’ out.  Tomorrow, we’re flying to Poland.  We tried to sleep early, but we ended up falling asleep at 11:30 pm.

I woke up around 11:30 am on June 5, 2010.  Ivan and Lil Dave were already awake.  We got ready to go out.

We took the train into the city.  We went to Trafalgar Square for the Thai Festival. We were thinking about getting food at the festival.  There was a few different food stalls there.  It was busy and the food didn’t look too exciting.  So, we walked to Pret a Manger for a sandwich.

We walked to Oxford Street.  Ivan wanted to find a pair of jeans and dress shoes for tonight.  Ivan and I would be attending the nightclub Ministry of Sound.  We shopped for so long.  We went in numerous stores and we weren’t having any luck.  It was such a hot and humid day.  I wish I had worn shorts.  At one point, it started sprinkling for a few minutes.  We liked the rain since it was so hot, but it didn’t last very long.

Ivan went back to Topman and found some jeans and a good pair of black dress shoes. 

We walked to Snog.  I’ve been craving the frozen yogurt.  Ivan got a classic size with natural yogurt with raspberries and super foods.  Lil Dave got a little size with natural yogurt with bananas and extra bananas.  I got a little size with natural and chocolate swirl with strawberries and super foods.  It tasted awesome and cooled us down.

We stopped at GNC, Superdrug and Holland and Barrett to do more shopping.

It was finally time to head back to hotel.  We chilled and got ready in an hour.  Lil Dave stayed in to study his Math and jump on the bed.

We were all dressed up for the club.  Ivan’s friend Simon would be DJing at Ministry of Sound tonight.  He told us that he’d be at a pub at 8 pm.  We were running late.  Ivan set up a cab to pick us up at 8:30 pm.  Unfortunately, there was bad traffic in South London since there was a tunnel closed.  We decided to jump on the train instead.  The Bank train was closed.  So, we had to get off at Tower Getway.  Then, we got a taxicab to Elephant & Castle. 

We went to the Wetherspoons Pub to meet up with Simon and his friends.  It was 9:30 pm.  We couldn’t find Simon anywhere.  Ivan didn’t have Simon’s cellular number.  So, we decided we should get some food and wait.  Ivan ordered pita with three dips, a cous cous salad and a Mexican wrap.  I had some of the dips and the tasty Mexican wrap.  Ivan called Simon’s house number to see if he was still at home.

Simon showed up at 10 pm.  It was a good thing we didn’t get there at 8 pm.  We chilled with Simon and his friends.  We met two other DJs David and Mark that would be spinning tunes later too.  Everybody had some drinks.

It started raining really hard outside.  We left the pub at midnight.  We were trying to run to the club since it was pouring outside.  We were really wet when we arrived.  Ivan bought discounted tickets from Simon earlier for the club. 

We checked out the rooms.  Baby Box is where Simon, David and Mark would be DJing. 

There was also the Box room which has springs under the floorboards to make it easier on your feet.  There’s a big room right when you walk in, not sure of the name of it though.  It was great to have house, techno and trance in all the rooms.  Ivan and I don’t like dancing to hip hop since it’s boring to us.

It was great fun dancing especially since we haven’t done it in awhile.  The Baby Box room has colored lights that blink in a checkered pattern on the ceiling.  It should be a lot darker in the room.  We stayed in that room mostly.  David was on first and then Mark later.  We enjoyed dancing to the tunes.  We also danced  in the other rooms. 

Simon didn’t go on until 3:15 am.  It was pretty quiet in the room. 

We danced to Simon’s set.  It was great dancing to good trance music.  The music stopped at 4 pm.  Simon was mad because not many people were there and he thought he’d be playing longer.

We went to the middle room to dance.  Ivan headed to the bathroom.  A girl grabbed my hand and started dancing with me.  She put her sunglasses on me.  It was pretty dark.  A guy was playing drums along with the music the DJ was playing.   The girl who danced with me wanted me to take pictures of me, her and her friend.

I love taking pictures with random strangers.  It usually happens at nightclubs for some reason. 

We danced for 4 hours straight.  We thought we should head back.  Ivan grabbed some oven baked potato wedges outside the club.  We got a taxi back to the Radisson hotel.  We left about 4:30 am and arrived at the hotel at 5 am.  We had an awesome night dancing.

Ivan, Lil Dave and I woke up at 8:30 am on June 4, 2010.  We checked out of the Best Western Hotel.

We jumped on the shuttle bus going to the airport at 9:30 am.  We would be flying from Dublin, Ireland to London, England today.  We arrived at the airport at 9:55 am.

We checked our luggage in and then went through Security.  We got some breakfast. 

We boarded the plane.  There was a problem with one of the bags not being accounted for, so there was a delay.  We were supposed to leave at 11:25 am, but actually left at 12:50 pm.  The time went by pretty fast.  We watched Little Britain on the laptop.

We arrived at 1:55 pm in London.  We got the train.  We missed the train by a few minutes, so we took one at 2:53 pm to London Bridge.  It was a slow train that took 50 minutes.  It was fine though.  Ivan used the internet while I finished a blog post.

We were now in New Providence Wharf.  We checked in to the Radisson Edwardian Hotel.  The room is well decorated and big.

We took the Thames Clipper boat to the city.  It was a nice warm day – perfect for the boat ride on the River Thames.  We saw the HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge. 

Tower Bridge is definitely the best bridge I’ve ever seen. 

We had dinner at Masala Zone.  Ivan and I each got a glass of rosé called Pink Elephant.  It tasted really good.  Ivan got the chicken grand thali while I got the prawn grand thali.  Lil Dave got a chicken & banana curry with a banana naan bread.  The food was fantastic as usual.

We walked to the movie theatre.  Lil Dave went to see Space Chimps 2. 

Ivan and I went to see Sex and the City 2.  The movie was funny during the first part then it got more serious.  It’s different now since most of the girls are married and they don’t dish about sex and men as much.  It was a good movie though.

– Sex and City 2 movie poster image from IMP Awards

Ivan, Lil Dave and I went to Wetherspoons Pub for lunch on May 24, 2010.  Ivan had a 5 bean chili wrap while I had a Mexican wrap.  Lil Dave got a wrap with bananas, chicken and avocado.  The food was good.

We got a train from Croydon to the West End.  I bought a Moleskine notebook at Foyles.

Ivan got us some Magners Pear Cider at the Montagu Pyke.  He bought Lil Dave a banana juice.  Ivan’s brother, Neal showed up a few minutes later.  We chatted with Neal about his recent trip to Cuba.  He bought Ivan a keychain with two bongo drums and he gave me a keychain that was shaped like a cigar.  Very cool!

We walked to Yo! Sushi for dinner.  On Mondays, it’s called !Blue Mondays where the blue dishes are £2.20 per dish.  The dishes are placed on a conveyor belt and you can grab what you what.

If you don’t see anything you like, you can order off the £2.20 menu with the cooks.  Unlimited still or sparkling water is available for £1 per person.  The sushi was really good.  It was great that they had appetizers, noodles, rice and sushi plates available on the special blue menu.  Ivan and I didn’t eat as much since we had a late lunch.  Lil Dave was happy that he got custom banana sushi since he provided the chefs with the bananas.

We said bye to Neal.  Ivan, Lil Dave and I walked to see the musical We Will Rock You.

The musical is set in futuristic London where making your own music or playing musical instruments is illegal.  The music played are songs of Queen.  It’s a spectacular musical.  The costumes, sets, hairstyles, make-up and music are simply amazing.  There were 4 stand-ins since the regular people weren’t there.  The best two were the guy who played Galileo Figaro and the woman who played Killer Queen.  It’s a must-see show if you’re ever in London.

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Ivan, Lil Dave and I left Neal’s flat in Stratford on May 23, 2010.  We took our backpacks and jumped on the train.

It was another lovely warm day in London.  Arriving in South Bank, we walked to the restaurant Eat. Ivan got a falafel wrap and a tomato and basil soup.  I had a chicken and basil sandwich.  Lil Dave had a banana soup with a banana and peanut butter sandwich.

We walked to the National Theatre.  We stored our backpacks in the free cloak room. 

We went to sit down for the play London Assurance.  National Theater is a unique theater.  The stage is big and very open.  The stage revolves around.  Ivan said the stage can actually sink down as well.  

The play was written in 1841.  The actors talked in Olde English, so we had to pay close attention.  It was a really funny play. 

We grabbed our backpacks and then took the train to Croydon.  Croydon is located in Surrey, not London.

We checked in to the Holiday Inn Express.  Ivan took a shower and I got ready.

Lil Dave stayed at the hotel so he could watch monkey movies and jump on the bed.  Jimmy Carr isn’t appropriate for young monkeys or children.

We walked to Wetherspoons Pub to get something to eat.  Ivan started off with a tomato soup.  It was too tomato-y for me.  Ivan had a cous cous salad with chickpeas.  I had a nice BBQ chicken melt. 

We walked towards the theater.  We took our seats at the Fairfield Halls.  Our seats were front row a little off center.  Comedian Jimmy Carr came on.  He’s a posh guy from London who tells rude jokes.  It was hard to hear him since the sound wasn’t good.  It sounded echo-y.  Sometimes we couldn’t hear the jokes.

Jimmy Carr always asks his audience if they have any questions.  One odd one was What’s your favorite Pokemon?  He totally made fun of that guy.  He thought he came on a special bus. 

A guy wanted to ask a question.  He said the question wasn’t for Jimmy Carr though.  The guy named Adam asked his girlfriend to marry him.  Jimmy Carr said that the girl could do better.  The girl Selina said yes.  Jimmy Carr was confused since she didn’t look pregnant.  Jimmy Carr thought it was awesome that he was sharing his love with the public.  He asked the staff to bring a bottle of champagne to the newly engaged couple.  I didn’t think it was very romantic proposing at a comedy show. 

The show was awesome.  Jimmy Carr is hilarious.  His style is mostly one-liner jokes.  Ivan thought that he might have toned down his jokes.