A Little Help?

-4°C, a tube strike and some construction work...

Fine.

So where's the bus stop?

Londres

Geffrye Museum

Cafe/Gallery

Becca and Jonathan (L)

Snow!

Snuggling in Vintage Emporium cafe

Ollie

Borough Market

Yum Cha

The anorexic manikin

Just an Art Tangent

My visit to the Tate Modern yesterday was an interesting experience. Admittedly, I've seen some pretty crazy contemporary art, such as a bare, taped-off corner of a room at the Maxxi (Rome), or even an audio of screaming voices in the foyer of MOMA (NYC). But never have i heard such horror, such disgust as i did at this renowned London gallery. Artworks like an erotic silent film featuring a mother & daughter (ok, maybe a little strange) along with stick figures of a girl seated in a bar, provoked frustrated observers to giggle and mock, questioning, 'why is that in the Tate Modern?', and sigh, 'well... that was f&^%$ing weird.'

That's when i realized really how open-minded you have to be when it comes to post-modernism. To see the un-expected or to be shocked by an artwork, in my opinion, reiterates the artist's creativity. Not to say that it's always any good, but it definitely conforms to this notion of originality and infinite imagination. Art nowadays is really drifting away from the conventional canvas-in-a-room. It's branching out into a world that exceeds the limitations of the interior space of a gallery, questioning the form and function of our everyday lives.

This was pretty much confirmed by the Alternative Free Walking Tour i did yesterday, which had a heavy focus on street art. Walking in the trendy East End neighbourhood of London, we were shown a variety of street art pieces that went beyond the meaning of the word, 'graffiti'. We were taken to 'Alphabet St', with all 26 letters painted on the sheds of a strip of shops, one letter per garage. We also saw an eagle sprayed on the side of a building, five-storeys high, not to mention Banksy's beaten-up care that once had a skeleton at the driver's seat, with Banksy's name sprayed across the steering wheel.

Basically, this tour has led me to believe that London is a fine example of what i like to call 'inclusive art', allowing anyone to participate in it's creativity - free of charge. It eliminates any social boundaries that are introduced through costly museum tickets, with admission fees as high as $20 (Tate Modern, London) or even $28 (La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona). This ultimate accessibility to art can also be accounted for in other cities, such as Buenos Aires (what a great place!), NYC, San Francisco, Berlin and Melbourne.

A spray-painting, would you believe!

British Commentaries

Travelling alone, you tend to naturally eavesdrop into other people's conversations. Everybody does it. And majority of the time discussions about who-kissed-who, or she-wore-that? don't spark much interest. That is, until i arrived in London.

Today i retreated from this nasty 1degree weather (-1 degrees tonight) into Cafe L'Opera for a hot coffee to warm up. Minding my own business, i suddenly found myself listening to two older women, probably in their 60's. For the sake of this story, we'll say one was, 'Sandra', and the other, 'Audrey'. Given their agitated and hushed tones, one could assume that Sandra was consulting Audrey about a major problem she was having. Here's what i got, bearing in mind the posh English accent: (Yes, i was taking notes at the time; no plagiarism involved)

Sandra: It's just, I've had them for years
Audrey: Oh, i know
Sandra: But she was incredibly positive. And so supportive of my decision... i think I'm doing ever so well
Audrey: You really are, darling
Sandra: And it made me realise: I can do it. I really can

.. what were they talking about, you ask?

Making the transition from acrylic nails to gel nails, naturally.
I seriously have to avoid every going to knightsbridge neighbourhood again.

But wait! There's more. This evening i was making my way back from seeing The Social Network (first paid movie this year!) when i overheard a guy ask another girl, presumably one of his friends...

'So after how long did he find out you were a transsexual?'

Talk about free entertainment!

My Love/Hate Affair with Ryanair

Just had my first experience flying the rather infamous Ryanair from an in-the-middle-of-nowhere Santander airport (Spain), to an in-the-middle-of-nowhere Stansted airport next to London.

Here's why i love/hate Ryanair

• $12 flights from London, ENGLAND to:

---> Tours, FRANCE

---> Oslo, NORWAY

---> Dublin, Ireland

---> Frankfurt, Germany

• Maximum of 1 x 20kg check-in luggage ($30 for every kg that exceeds this limit... that's more than the price of the ticket)
• Additional check-in fees
• Additional administration fees
• 1 x 10kg carry-on bag (water bottles included)

--> for every extra bag, it's $65

--> in my case, I bought an additional bag to put all my belongings in:

• 'Frequently Asked Questions' on their website (the answer to all of which are 'yes, by purchasing an additional seat'... many concern safety of the aircraft):

---> Can I Bring an Avalanche Rescue Pack?

---> Can I Carry My Wedding Dress In The Aircraft Cabin?

---> Can I Bring a Parachute?

---> Can I Bring a Self-Inflating Life Jacket

---> Can I Check-In a Musical Instrument?

---> Can I Purchase an Extra Seat for A Large Person?

• Regular 10 min fashion shows, with airline hostesses exhibiting Ryanair's latest products such as perfumes, drinks, food, magazines, the Ryanair calendar and much more.

Braving Europe´s Bitter 5°C Winter... A Snapshot of the Inevitable December Chill

Bilbao

Just When You Thought You´d Seen It All

And here comes the twist...

Fuego Negro, the pinxtos bar (Basque word for tapas) specializes in its creative presentations, each plate costing around €3/€3,50. Here is just a sample of what we had..

The Dead Dove

Cappucino and biscuits? Or soup and shnitzel?