The Taverna

A lot of money has exchanged hands this weekend and it turns out I owe Reuben about £30 so I offer to treat him to dinner. We decide to go to The Taverna in Waltham Abbey. It has great reviews and is supposed to serve very good Greek food. So we leave home in good time and arrive about 7pm and book a table for 7.30pm. We hang about in the pub opposite watching the Doctor Who series 2 finale in ‘mute’. Finally we head back and wait in the bar to be seated. We see a long table with ‘L’ plate balloons and Reuben says, “Oh look! There must be a hen night here tonight.”

We get seated and order. A large party of girls come in wearing silly hats, over-large sunglasses, and one in a veil. This must be the hen party… although they sat at another table.

And then another group of girls came in wearing cat masks and devil horns. They sat behind us.

And then another group, this time wearing bunny ears and placards saying ‘chicks’ and ‘cocks’ (depending on which side of the family they were on, I guess).

And that was our night. Streams of women just poured into the place, each having their own hen night. And Reuben and I sat there on a little table for two in the middle of all this, trying to have a nice night out and surrounded by very drunk and giggly girls. The group behind me had sparkler fireworks in their cocktails which worried me a little.

And it put us off our food a bit. Reuben said he felt a bit intimidated and I said that I did too! The waiter could have at least warned us when we booked the table that it appeared to be hen night for half the women in Waltham Abbey.

England bite the dust (again!)

Yeah, my bad. I haven't written for ages!!! Last week at work was pretty slow so I started writing up all the missing bits of life story that I would have normally blogged about, and then sent it to my home email so I could post it. No email has arrived. The new system at work must have blocked it.

So all my footy anecdotes are for naught. Just five words: England never won on penalties.

Free lesson (9.30-11am)

I'm taking some time out at uni... or college. Whatever. I'm a CONEL student which is college but I study at Middx Uni so go figure. It's one of them. Any case, I got a free lesson because I did my assignment at home instead of in class. No way was I handing in a piece of handwritten work. Everything is word processed. The lecturer said presentation wasn't part of the assessment criteria and as long as she could read it, she wasn't bothered. But I am. So I get a free lesson. And I spend it playing on the Internet and writing my blog. I would spend it studying but the library has a weird layout and I've gotten lost twice this morning. And then I tried to start typing up my last piece of work but I can't figure out the print system. I think I have to assign my work to a printer, then go to the print release computer next to the printer and release the page so it prints. Oh, and I have to buy credits at 50p a page. Not really worth it. I'm sure it was something like 10p or 20p at UKC. Has inflation gone up that much in nine years?

I should stop rambling and get to my next class...

Descending the slippery slope...

It's my birthday. Yet another year has passed but no wrinkles have appeared as yet, so it's still good! But having reached my late 20's, I think I've had a good life so far. I mean, I've gone through education, moved out, found a gorgeous and wonderful man... My life is good.

I did get some birthday cards today which was nice. I secretly think some people forgot simply because I didn't organise a get-together like I usually do. But then I thought that people won't make the effort to come visit me and expect me to go into Central London to meet them, so I didn't try organise anything. What's the point? Too much time and effort is wasted and I'd rather spend it with people who appreciate me.

So I end up at Dad's. Which was weird really because it's the last place I expected to end up. But I was invited so I accepted. It was nice to chat to everyone and I showed off my holiday snaps while Anna and Rosemary showed us theirs from the Collectormania weekend in Milton Keynes.

It was a nice day. No rushing around. Just taking it easy. And that's all I want from life.

Day 8 - San Jose to Los Angeles (to London)

So we're in San Jose and in a gorgeous hotel conveniently near the airport. Unfortunately, I threw up at 1am this morning. A week of junk food and a day of wine two days previously have not helped matters. I have a good diet at home and my body has rebelled against my not drinking water, OJ, and six portions of fruit aand veg a day. It sucks. I'm sick and this is probably the best place we've stayed in all week and would have been the best brekkie ever! I order Jenny to go and have breakfast while I have a nap, but she traipsed back 5mins later saying it wasn't the same... but she could have made her own waffles.

I am in no condition to fly but fly I must, and I take my bag to the car looking like death warmed up. We drop off the rental car at the airport and sit in the waiting area for ages doing crossword puzzles as we have arrived mega early. We board a place and an hour 15 mins later, we're in LAX. We trek in the Los Angeles heat from T4 to T2 with our heavy bags and heavy wine carriers. This is not improving my condition...

Liz picked up Jenny and we bade farewell. I check in my bags and wait...

I board the plane, grab an aisle seat, and sleep. And sleep. Dinner arrived and I ate the salad, sesame crackers, and Oreo cheesecake before... yep, sleeping! I wake up for breakfast and skip the egg and cheese roll, just drinking the OJ and picking at the fruit salad. As we land, I feel a little nauseous but remain okay! My bag came out relatively quickly and I skipped customs, rushing out to meet Reuben. Who I missed a lot while I was away!! But I am still tired, drained from being ill, and very jet-lagged. I desperately try to stay awake until 9pm and watch some highlights of the San Marino Grand Prix, which Michael Schumacher won, so it hasn't been the best of days!

TOTAL MILES (to the airport): 1.52

TOTAL MILES OVERALL: 506.08

Day 7 - San Francisco to San Jose

We are up early but not early enough - breakfast finished 5 mins before we reached the reception to ask if breakfast was complimentary!! We check out anyway and walk to Ghiradelli Square.

It was all still opening when we arrived and a man with earphones was blasting the street dirt away with a power hose. Avoiding the water as much as possible, we buy chocolate from the Ghiradelli Chocolate Shop and head to the trolley car so we don't have to climb the very big hills back to the car! We do have to go down a couple of steep hills though, making us think of John Cleese's Ministry of Silly Walks. I decide against risking breaking my neck by goose-stepping down the hill Back in the car, we find the Cliff House easily and wait there for Joe and Jean... and eight other people! We have lunch and a good natter before finally making our way into San Jose to visit the Winchester Mystery House.

Mrs Winchester's husband and daughter both died before she was 40 and, being a spiritual woman, believed they had been taken by the spirits of those killed by the Winchester rifles. To appease (or confuse!) these spirits, she moved into an 8-bedroom house and, over 38 years of 24/7 construction and building work, turned it into a 6-acre 160 roomed house. Work only stopped after 38 years because she popped her clogs. The house includes a door to nowhere (open the door and drop 12 feet to the outside ground), a cupboard that opens into a wall, and a staircase that goes up to the ceiling... She was mad. Evidently. Jenny and I said in every room, "This woman is mad/ bonkers/ weird..." and other variations of 'whacked-out pyscho'. Melissa would have loved it.

TOTAL MILES: 48.66

Day 6 - Napa to San Francisco

San Francisco again! After leaving Napa and sorting a lengthy mix-up with the motel room being upgraded but not being told it would cost more, we finally buy stamps for Melissa's postcards and drive to San Francisco around the San Pablo Bay so we arrive via the Golden Gate Bridge. We head up into the hills just before going over the bridge so we can take lots of photos and we look around the old fort built up there.

Back in the car, we head over the Golden Gate Bridge, find Fisherman's Wharf and park up so we can have a good wander, but not before we have driven down the Crookedest Street in the World - Lombard Street, made famous in films like Herbie and Bullet. I taped some of the descent on my camera and it was so cool!!

Anyway, we walked along Fisherman's Wharf and hopped into the Boudin Sourdough factory where we could watch the bread being made and taste the different varieties. Afterwards, I bought some souvenir T-shirts and we wandered up Pier 39, looking at all the tacky stuff and trying on silly hats in a hat shop! We then did a whistle-stop tour of the city on an open-top tour bus, passing the Civic Centre, Union Square, the financial district, and the Crookedest Street from a distance! We also saw Chinatown but we missed seeingf Ghiradelli Square, so we make it our priority to do that tomorrow!

TOTAL MILES: 52.33

Day 5 - Wine tasting in Napa

We are in Napa so the only thing we can do is... wine tasting!! We picked up a flyer that has free or complimentary tasting 'flights' and circled all of them on the map. There are literally 100 wineries and vineyards all along Napa, St Helens, Yountville and Calistoga, so we were picking and choosing!

First stop was a chocolate shop, Annette's, where Jenny purchases a box of chocolates and a bottle of port chocolate sauce, which was a little strong for my liking. We then head into the Valley.

We went to five where we got free tastings, one of which we bought bottles of gorgeously-sweet wine and some equally gorgeous-tasting cheese! We then went to the Frank Family winery where I announced I had had enough wine for one day. It was hot, I hadn't eaten properly, and I'm downing all kinds of wine without any water inbetween! Jenny bought bottles here too, before we headed to Sterling, our last stop for the day. We took the cable car up the hillside to the winery at the top. We did the short walking tour of the winery, looking at the presses and barrels, before our last tasting of the day. I purchased wine here too because it was too scrumptious and I want Napa Valley wine in the my cupboard!!

In the afternoon, searching for a light snack in Calistoga, Jenny dropped in on a family friend who offered us use of her house until she had finished work. So we had a Napa Salad to share and went to the house, just a short drive away from Calistoga and the Petrified Forest. The house was cool as were Joe and Jean. They offered us dinner and we shared the chocolates bought this morning. Jenny took advantage of the port on offer while Joe and I had some Jim Beam and Glenfiddich! :) We arranged to meet again in San Francisco for lunch before departing... and I feel a little bit sick from all the alcohol consumption!

Day 4 - San Simeon to Napa

We drove from San Simeon up towards Vallejo, past Berkeley and into Napa Valley... or so we thought. The 80 veered left and suddenly we're on a bridge.

Clare: "I thought we were gonna hit the bridge a bit later."
Jenny: "If you look to the left you should be able to see the Golden Gate Bridge."
Clare: "I can't see anything on your left!"
Jenny: "Oh look! There it is on the right!"
Clare: "But... if it's on the right, that means..."

I look up from my map and see tower blocks coming into view.

Clare: "We're on the Bay Bridge heading into San Francisco!"
Jenny: "...Fancy lunch?"

So we have lunch in San Francisco. Which has nothing to do with my map reading skills. Neither of us saw the 80 offering a right-turn away from San Francisco and into the direction we wanted to go. We reckon its a conspiracy to make people go to San Francisco and pay the Bay Bridge toll.

After lunch we head to Walgreens as my watch battery has ticked its last tock. The shopkeeper validates our parking ticket and we purchase a cheap purple watch (which incidently glows in the dark) and hair dye!!

Back in the car, we successfully navigate our way to Napa Valley and check into the motel. We then search the brochures and find a cool French cafe by the riverside called Angelos. I order a bottle of water which bills as $7. I am horrified when Jenny tells me this. However, there's still a long way to go before I catch up with her $130 mistake. :) The food was gorgeous though, and we had soup and salad, a cheese 'platter' to share (it could hardly be called a platter when there was only four bitesized portions of cheese, some honey and a thin slice of apple) and fruity cocktails.

Our wallets worse for wear, we head back to the motel and dye our hair. I dye Jenny's hair a shocking red, which is actually only a bit shocking where her former highlights have soaked up the dye. I then dye my own hair blonder so it looks sunkissed for a while when I'm back at work. However, there was somoe bad news - Jenny's hair dye turned the white towel pink. And the colour stain refused to come out. We hid it among other white towels and hope we don't get billed for it!

TOTAL MILES (including the San Francisco detour): 259.83

Day 3 - Hearst Castle

The reason we are staying in San Simeon - Hearst Castle! Though its strictly not a castle, but a large mansion on the hilltop of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Its name is Casa Grande and is full of Spanish and Italian antiques and art. Its a 5-mile bus ride up to the top and has some really great views over the Pacific Ocean. Though we booked for 10am, we got an earlier tour at 8:45am and even that group was only half the usual amount! We got a tour that showed some of the rooms and the main gardens, but apparently there are also night tours which show a bit more of the house. It was freezing nonetheless. I think its warmer in England right now...!

After the castle we still had most of the day to kill so we headed into Cambria, a small town down the road from San Simeon. We decide on the spur of the moment to get pedicures, but the one place in town was closed due to a family emergency. Slightly put down, we then decide to purchase nail stuff and colour our hair. In both drug stores, we find only four hair colourants and its a permanent dye. But we do find funky nail polish!

We stop for lunch and I have the largest Caesar salad known to mankind. It came in a mixing bowl! And Jenny had equally large onion rings with her lunch, so big they looked as if they had been made around a drinking mug!

We head back to the motel to do our nails. Half a bottle of cheap wine and an episode of Prison Break later, I have a full set of green toenails out of a bottle called Kermit. Yep, Kermit green toes. Nice! It was very thin polish though and took three coats before it was noticeable. I couldn't be bothered with any more coats of polish and just lay there, chilled out.

Late evening we felt peckish and stopped at a seafood restuarant, the Mantra Ray, where I had the nicest piece of salmon ever! We tried to watch the sunset but it was way too cold and we killed the rest of the evening by starting a comic strip of our 'adventures' for Melissa. Jenny has the job of inking them and scanning them to the travel blog!

Day 2 - Santa Barbara to San Simeon

I woke up at a decent time of 8.30am and had a breakfast of cereal and pastries... Apparently, iced pastries and sweetments are normal breakfast fare in motels and hotels!

Thanks to our error of initially driving in the wrong direction for dinner last night, we found a quicker route to the 101 and started our journey to San Simeon along the coastline and through the hills. The scenery was very green and quite breathtaking sometimes. It was a little bit like Scotland.

On the way, we stopped at Solvang, an American Danish village. Not a bit of Lederhosen or Buckwurst to be seen, though we did take pictures of the Viking Motel and its decorative roof! And of course we sampled some Danish pastries!!

We arrived at San Simeon late afternoon and check into the Quality Inn, across the road from the sea front. It is freezing. I wish I'd brought my jacket now! We drink cheap wine and eat 'bunny' cake, and decide on a plan for the rest of the week. Jenny hasn't booked anything else for the week, so we come up with a plan and spend about an hour looking for motels and booking them at the cheapest price we can find in the AAA book. Not too cheap though, or we'll be staying in unsecure dumps!

We take an evening stroll along the beach and our toes turn purple with cold before we decide to eat, stopping at a Mexican place and having a whole spread of food!!

TOTAL MILES: 141.19

Day 1 - Los Angeles to Santa Barbara

I arrive in Los Angeles, slightly bedraggled but okay. I have just survived a 10-hour flight with zero knee crushing from the seat in front, so it was a good flight! Jenny greets me (after observing lots of people arriving with surfboards in very large cases) and we head out to the rental car we will be living in for the next week. In a word, it is ginormous! Its a brand new Dodge Charger with the widest dashboard you ever did see. "I was thinking about your leg room" Jenny offered, but it also means I will not attempt on any account to drive the car. Even though I can legally. So we immediately hit the road to Sata Barbara. I don't feel jetlagged. It's weird.

We arrive at the Sandpiper Motel and check in. Well... What happens is that Jenny hands over the confirmation email and the desk clerk looks a little perplexed and then says, "This is for last night. Do you have a booking for today?"

Jenny's face is one of complete horror. She's accidently booked Friday night instead of Saturday night! She explains her mistake and manages to get another room but she has to pay the full price again - another whole $130. The desk clerk says she might be able to get $50 back if she calls the manager on Monday and explains the situation.

We dump our stuff in the motel room, Jenny muttering about the cock-up and the money. All I can offer in my partially jetlagged state is that if this is the worst thing that can happen to us, it can't all be bad. We flip through brochures, leaflets, and the motel's advertisements and find a restuarant on the seafront called Eladio's. I really want to eat there, just for the name. You know? "Eladio! You are El Chupacabra!!"

We head for the coast (initially in the wrong direction) and find the restuarant. Except we expected Spanish or Mexican food and it was Italian. The food was good but the serving was way too big. And very garlicky. I think the burger was more garlic than meat!

All I have left to say about the day was that it was cold. I mean the temperature was good, around 15, but the wind was cold. I'm glad I brought my zip-up hoodie.

TOTAL MILES: 102.55

A Series of (Un)Fortunate(?) Events

So, today was pretty eventful.

1. First up, it's Pete's birthday today. I'm disappointed to hear he's not throwing some wild and lavish bash but that's not the reason I'm not going to see him. We have already made plans to pick up rellies from Purley and take them to Tottenham. A long trip and one we cannot cancel. So, maybe another time Pete...?

2. An email came around saying that Bisi, the long-suffering temp receptionist who faces the sack at the end of the month, has found another job in Homes for Islington (with some colleagues from my college course, funnily enough!) so she will be leaving us shortly.

3. Another email then came around confirming once and for all that my senior is indeed leaving us for Lordship Lane. She said that she knew some of us were glad she was leaving and so was she. I was very very tempted to reply-all on the email and tell her that we were ALL glad she was leaving, not just some!! But I didn't.

4. Dad called me at work and asked if I was coming over today. I said no, I was meaning to come over next Friday, Good Friday, as I'm not here for Easter. He said okay and hung up. Weird...

5. Then, early in the evening, my Dad came over with Pam. It would appear that they're 'thinking' about getting married. But since Pam has a ring and they're telling everyone about it, I'm guessing that 'thinking' is now replaced with 'doing'. They then wanted to know if I was happy for them...

So yeah, eventful day...

Bienvenue d'Angleterre

Reuben's uncle and aunt came over from Mauritius this evening - that is, his real uncle and aunt, not his uncle and aunt twice removed or the cousin of his parents...

Anyway, its the first time they've ever been abroad and Reuben hadn't seen them for eight years since he was last in Mauritius, so we picked up his parents and headed off to the airport. Hugs and air-kissing ensued and everyone spoke French. All evening. I felt like a lemon, catching only the odd word here and there, and by the time I had processed what the words meant, the conversation had already moved on. Wish I'd spent more time listening to Madame Gill now!

And then there were eight

I can't believe Sir Alan voted Jo off in The Apprentice. He loves that woman, only because she's an absolute nutter! The other women can sense her popularity I think, so they bring her into the room at every opportunity in an attempt to get rid of her. From a business point of view, though, she wasn't that much of a threat. She was too hyperactive and unpredictable, not to mention completely unable to sell or haggle for anything. And apparently she trained salespeople for MG Rover (no wonder they collapsed!)...

But I'm sad she went. She was good fun to watch. I was semi-routing for her to win, but now I definitely want a win for Ruth or Paul. Both know about good business practice, get on with everyone, and are straight and direct when it comes to doing their job properly. Next to be voted off? Please be Syed, Samuel or Sharon. Oh, and I promise it's nothing to do with their names beginning with 'S'.

Four things (as requested by Omouse)

Four...

Siblings
1. Anna
2. Heather
3. Christopher
4. Rosemary

Places I've lived
1. Bush Hill Park
2. Enfield
3. Canterbury
4. Cheshunt

US states I've stayed
1. New York
2. California
3. Kansas
4. Pennslyvania

Alcoholic drinks
1. Jack Daniels and Coke
2. Cosmopolitan
3. Strawberry daquiri
4. Sambuca shots

Things I can't live without
1. Coffee
2. Purse
3. Nokia 3330
4. Ka

Games I can play reasonably well
1. Scrabble
2. Monopoly
3. Black Jack
4. Bowling

Fave music at the moment
1. Green Day
2. James Blunt
3. Hard-Fi
4. Kaiser Chiefs

Films I've never seen (oh, the shame!)
1. Goodfellas
2. Alien
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Lawrence of Arabia

Films I should never have paid to see at the cinema
1. Batman and Robin
2. Message in a Bottle
3. Armageddon
4. The Avengers

Cars I love
1. Ford StreetKa
2. Lotus Elan
3. Madza RX8
4. Hyundai Coupé

CDs in my car
1. Green Day - International Superhits
2. Savage Garden - Truly Madly Completely
3. Britney Spears - My Prerogative
4. The Beatles - 1

Dinner Party III

We invited my Dad & co. over for a buffet-style get-together, in hopes of endearing my father a little more to Reuben, and so we have have my other relatives around for dinner or whatever without offending my immediate family.

So there we were: Reuben and myself, plus Dad, Pam, my Nan, Anna and Rosemary, Chris and Cem, and Pam's kids, Lynne and Ian. Somehow we all managed to squeeze into the lounge and have a bit of a laugh. The chocolate fountain was another success, although a lot more was left over this time - about half. It was okay, though it started off a bit awkwardly, not to mention that my Dad said he hadn't received my text so hadn't picked up my grandmother and he had go to back!

But I think it was a success. Reuben wasn't ignored... so that's good. And when my brother left early to go to the pub to meet some mates, Reuben went forward to do the continental 'cheek kissing' as a laugh, and my brother just grabbed him and gave him a full cheek smacker!! Rosemary was horrified and said that I should start to look for a place of my own!! She's all so innocent, the cutie!! So yeah, success I think.

Needed vay-kay

Due to work transfers it's common sense that all my holiday time this year may not get carried over into the next financial year (end of April) so it's best I take it all. However, I have 11 days left, and with day release to college every Wednesday, I haven't been using all my holiday time due to the endless game of catch-up I'm doing at work. So I decided that since I don't have college during the two weeks of the Easter break, I might as well take one of those weeks and have a holiday, unfortunately sans Reuben since he only has about 5 days. Being at home all day (or all week, rather) would bore me so I might as well go away.

Then I had another thought. Instead of taking the holiday alone (which doesn't really appeal to me anyway) I could hook up with a friend or two. And then another thought: Jenny works in a school. Schools have Easter breaks. I should hook up with Jenny 'Stateside' and make use of the brilliant flight deals.

So, whaddya think?! Ooh, and if Mel has the holiday too, that'd be even better!!!

BTW, a very happy birthday to Tara, Heather and Lynne. What on earth happens in June?!

My first ever!

Yep, first ever St V's day when I'm not single. Hoo-yeah! It must be noted that Reuben and I don't 'do' the mushy thing and tend to send people funny cards on their birthdays/anniversaries/etc rather than sentimental ones that make us heave. However, this is a one-off. We did give each other cards but they were funny and cutesy rather than flowery and mush. He got me chocs, while I got him Million Dollar Baby, not romantic but I knew he wanted it and I didn't want to get anything predictable. I did unexpectedly get flowers in the evening though. He's pretty soppy at heart I think... (and he'll probably kill me when/if he reads this!)

BTW, thanx Jenny for the card. Don't feel bad about being single at the mo. In my 25 years of being single I think I'm experienced in these situations, and there's nothing better than a grande white chocolate cappucino with sprinkled vanilla and chocolate dust to make it go away. :) Calorific heaven. :)

Restructuring

My workplace are carrying out yet another restructure but this time it is for an actual purpose! As a service, we are transferring out of the local government and into our own company at arms-length from the Council, known as an Arms Length Management Organisation, or ALMO (or Alamo as Reuben calls it!).

As a result of the restructure, I get a pay rise (not much, but enough!!) and I don't get to be managed by my current senior, but by the surveyors I support. So two good things came out of today. Restructures are usually pesky things involving office moves and title changes. But this one just involves a new ID and being managed by the people I should of been managed by in the first place. Yay!