It's a Penguin Life: December 2012

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas 2012

Two years ago, I had wanted to a stop motion video capturing the behind the scenes setup for the family Christmas photo. This year I got my chance.

Stop motion still captured on Nikon D7000.

From our family to yours:

Photo by Jason Angelini Photography

Stay warm and safe this holiday season.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Day 7 was very slow paced, especially after day 6. We slept in and caught up on our journaling while it rained outside. I also snacked on leftovers; one of the perks of having a full apartment while on vacation. Most of the rainy day was spent indoors roaming through the exhibits in the British Museum. And wrapped up our last evening in London with a second show, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.

Oh, here's my disclaimer: please excuse the photo quality you are about to lay your eyes on. They were all taken on my phone (and I'm far too lazy to edit and/or crop them). I needed a break from carrying my camera gear all week. Who needs a gym when you lift a heavy bag over your head constantly throughout the day.

Artists at work. They were in every corner of the museum.

Amenhotep III

Rosetta Stone. It was underwhelming, just like when I saw the Mona Lisa.

Lunch at the museum cafe - quinoa salad with pomegranate seeds and pistachios.

Ah, alcohol sold openly. That 4.5 is the alcohol content.

Mummy pets.

Full Samurai amour.

Hoa Hakananai'a Easter Island statue.

Lion of Knidos.

Ceiling of the British Museum (cropped using Instagram).

Killing time at Starbucks. I tried multiple times to get a photo of a double decker in the background.
The pumpkin loaf did not taste the same as the ones in the US. Also, Costa Coffee is way better.

The Mousetrap at St. Martin's Theatre. Awesome production!

Chinese comfort food for dinner at Cafe de Hong Kong. Took me back to my childhood.

Previously:
Day 6: London
Day 5: London/Greenwich
Day 4: London
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc

*All photos taken by me with HTC Incredible unless noted.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Day 6: London

I have a small obsession with the Tudor dynasty. Well, specifically, Henry VIII and all his wives. I watched all 4 seasons of The Tudors practically without taking a break. (I may be slightly obsessive-compulsive.) I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was about visiting Henry's palace, Hampton Court Palace in East Molesey.

Breakfast on the go - organic porridge (oatmeal) with stewed fruits from Le Pain Quotidien. Holy crap was this good!

Hampton Court Palace, main entrance.

Base Court - imagine it full of people, drinking wine from that fountain. That's right, a wine fountain.

Courtyard outside Master Carpenter's Court.

Doorway in Henry VIII's kitchens.

One of the spits used to roast meat.

Ornate ceiling of the Great Hall.

Great Hall.

Board game.

Lunch from The Privy Kitchen - Traditional Cornish Pasty. It was just a meat pie with gravy on it.

Orange & raspberry juice. Yum!

Fountain Court. Interesting juxtaposition of (old) Tudor chimneys vs (new) Baroque facade. King William III and Queen Mary II had planned to renovate the entire palace in the baroque style, but they ran out of money.

Great Fountain at the far end. How crazy are those trees?

New meets new: Baroque architecture of King William III vs Tudor style of King Henry VIII.

Left or right? Hampton Court Maze.

The Privy Garden.

Iconic red phone booth outside Hampton Court Palace.

While we spent most of the day exploring Hampton Court, it was too early to just call it a day. J and I decided to see what all the hub-bub of Herrods was about. We ended up taking a 3 hour walk. It was completely unintentional. And completely organic. It wasn't until the very end that we were both like "HUNGRY", "TIRED". But after all that walking and searching for food that sounded good, we just ended going skipping dinner and going home.