Seeking Brixton - The Duke of Edinburgh

I don't know how it happened but my friends managed to get me South of the River! *gasp* On a very sunny weekend in London I made the glorious trek on the Victoria Line southbound to Brixton to have a bit of a 'girls-day-out'. I suppose it was a day of doing new things because I don't do girls days out!

It actually was quite fun and a nice pub that's a bit like the TARDIS: MUCH bigger on the inside.  While the furniture and bar area were pretty standard, it was the wall decor and garden statues that stood out to me the most.

There was also a generous landlord that dished out free drinks for having the winning horse during the Grand National.  Well, most people got free drinks.  Apparently there was a race to get to the bar as well and time limit on when they gave the drinks. #notcool #flaseadvertising

On the other hand, we didn't need more drinks - there was far too much white wine in our diet that day.

We also ordered some food, but that didn't get photographed due to my camera incident and my iPhone being a POS. It was about £10 per meal which feels a bit pricey, but they had a unique selection of food that you wouldn't expect on a pub menu.  We went for the jerk chicken and grilled halloumi which as far as I can remember was quite nice, but the wine didn't leave much memory of the end of that day! 

Would I go back? For sure, but you'd have to drag me south of the river first. There's a MASSIVE beer garden out back that looks like it's a great space not only for drinking but possibly entertaining as there was a stage!

The Duke of Edinburgh can be found at:

204 Ferndale Road

Brixton

SW9 8AG

Nearest Tube: Brixton

Seeking a new camera

Nearly a year ago I pledged to take a bit more care of this blog and keep my notebook, camera, and iPhone at the ready to document anything that I thought might be interesting. I think I've done a decent job over the past year, with a few real gems of places to go and things to do in London.

On my last adventure, I reached into my bag for my HP Photosmart R742 and switched the camera on, only to see this staring back at me

My heart literally dropped. This was a Christmas present from my Ma about 5 years ago and it's green because it's her favourite colour.  It's seriously been around the world and back with me on some of my greatest trips abroad and at home.  Before getting my iPhone when I moved to England, this bad boy was in my bag all the time (which makes it harder to wrap my head around how it's somehow broken now) - now I only bring it out for certain nights.  The camera still works, but the screen obviously doesn't and there isn't a viewfinder so it's a bit of a guessing game when I take pics. 

I've been stuck using my iPhone 3GS which I'm realising has a crap camera and not having flash just doesn't work for me.

I'm sure this isn't the end of the world but I need your help!

1. Who/where/how do I get an LCD screen replaced
2. Is the camera any better on the iPhone 4 or is it time to make the HTC switch? This review doesn't make it seem like there's a difference but according to this video, their camera works wonders

Seeking Recipes - Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

OK England, let's talk food.  I know you think you've got mac n' cheese sorted out - it's your lunch at a pub or a full on dinner on its own, but you're really missing out. Macaroni and cheese should only be a side dish on a massive plate of other comforting foods i.e. sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, collard greens, holiday roasts etc. But I'll start you off with the basics first.

Here's what you'll need:

250g of macaroni (not the quick cook kind)

2 tablespoons of butter

150ml of single cream

1 tablespoon of soured cream

2 ounces of milk

100g of extra mature cheddar chopped into blocks

2 slices of cheese singles torn

Cooking time 30-45 minutes - Serves 4

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add macaroni. Boil macaroni for 10-12 minutes while stirring or until the pasta becomes large and soft.  Remove pan from heat and drain the macaroni in a colander while rinsing under cold water.  This keeps the pasta firm and stops it from cooking and sticking together while you're making the cheese sauce.

In the same pot (it's ok if some mac is stuck to the pot), melt the butter over low heat and add the single cream while constantly stirring. Raise the heat to a light boil and add the milk, and cheeses to the mixture. Stir until the cheese has melted.

Add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce in the pot and stir until completely coated.  If there is too much liquid raise the heat for a few seconds and continue to stir.  

As an added touch, put a few more torn cheese slices on top, and bake in the oven on 175ºC for 5 - 10 minutes.  Sometimes I even like to add chopped crispy bacon. 

Enjoy!

Seeking Brighton

I was looking through my passport the other week and couldn't believe that I'll have had it for 10 years in 2014! Even more exciting is that for each year I've had my passport there's been at least one country stamped on my rapidly decreasing blank passport pages.  It's no wonder that I made the choice to visit 30 countries by the time I'm 30 when I've completed over 20 of them in my twenties alone.

Well World, so far it seems like 2012 will not be the year of more countries, but rather exploring more of the country that I now call my home.  This is partially a financial choice as I did a decent amount of travelling in 2011 and partially because I don't want to plan a trip out of the country until I get my new visa sorted (a frustrating tale for another post at a later time). And it seems I'm not the only London blogger that's looking for more adventures outside of London but still on the Island. 

I kicked off the first staycation of sorts with the boyfriend on a weekend trip to Brighton.

Brighton Pier, October 2009

I've actually been to Brighton before, during an International Students day trip my Uni did while I was here doing my Master's.  Somehow my boyfriend never made the trip down there in his nearly three decades of living in England, so we hopped a quick £30 return train down.

Day view from The Atlantic Seafront, Brighton

Night view from The Atlantic Seafront, Brighton

We stayed in a fantastically affordable and quite sweet B&B, The Atlantic Seafront, just across the road from the pier - killer views of Brighton.  It's not that big of a town when it comes to attractions and things to see, and in my opinion, it's not worth it to stay in some big fancy hotel.

We paid about £60/night and had a range of breakfast options available, cooked-to-order, in the dining area each morning.

Brighton Wheel, photo taken with Snapseed

There are pretty much three must-see things in Brighton; the pier, the palace and the lanes.

The pier is a crazy mix of a massive penny arcade, an all-season carnival, and a restaurant/bar that's open year-round and stretches over 1,700 feet long.  

Brighton Beach

A beach made completely of rocks is disappointing - although, my hipster photos make it look cooler.

The Royal Pavilion was built for King George IV and looks like it should be in India.

An entrance to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton October 2009

The Lanes pretty much look like the Camden markets, but on hills and fewer angry teens with purple hair. 

Finally, it's not a must-see, but I like seeing things that are a bit different (and free). If you walk along the shore, you'll find a small, dusty room that has cool stuff from Brighton's heyday as a fishing town.  It was quite interesting, but it left me with an allergy attack.

As an added bonus, I got to meet up with an old friend from Ohio that's just moved to Brighton after marrying her tall, dark-haired Englishman - apparently that's how we like 'em in Ohio. :)

Photo courtesy of Ashley :)

I don't really know where to go next, typically at this point I pick a country I haven't seen and book a flight, but I want to keep it a short train ride away.  

Help me trek the path less taken - Do you have any cities in the UK that you would suggest for a great weekend trip?

South West London - Chelsea - Big Easy

I've finally reached the point of being homesick. As a result, I've started seeking out places to eat American style meals. I've had at least 3 milkshakes in the past 2 weeks, scarfed my face with burgers and most recently joined in at the Big Easy for their All-You-Can-Eat ribs and 1lb Maine Lobster.  Everything on the menu is in massive portions, £14.95 a person and includes a boozy drink. Amazing!

Obviously it's no where near as good as home - the ribs were a lil dry for me, and not that Red Lobster is something to judge seafood on, but that style of smorgasbord is what i was craving...but it did the trick.  Also, the milkshakes were quite tasty and some even come with alcohol!

This will just have to hold me over until my work visa finally comes through and I can make a vist back to the Sates.

The Big Easy can be found at:

332 - 334 Kings Road,

Chelsea

SW3 5UR

Nearest Tube: Sloane Square

Mango Margarita

Chicken tenders with tortilla chips + honey mustard sauce

Lobster + butter, best combo ever