Craving to be cultured: National Portrait Gallery

So as you may guess by the title, I've recently (today, a couple of hours ago)  done some more cultured things that I would like to share. Because I am in London, I have access to all these amazing galleries and museums and the best part is that most of them are free (I am not going to lie I am quite a bit (very) stingy when it comes to spending money on stuff.)

Here are some pics, because "pics or it didn't happen," right?

I went to the National Portrait Gallery with some family friends and it was really amazing, especially because it puts into context just how much history England really has. The Gallery has all these portraits of historical figures from early times, to the present and that means basically anyone who is anyone, has a portrait in this gallery. It was an interesting history lesson for me although some of the time I was kind of thinking how many dukes and, knights, and kings, and queens, and count/esses and Earls can one country possibly have.

There was also a very modern section which showed some portraits of famous people, with some sort of influence in british culture, one of them was Nelson Mandela (Go South Africa).

Overall it was an amazing experience, and I can say that my journey to being cultured doesn’t have too far to go…. Well, you can never be too cultured I guess.

That’s all, Bye! :) x

CappuDays #5

Another Cappudays in London (I’m getting back into the swing of this.) I already did a post about my tour around London and I guess this is kind of an extension of that. During my excursion, we went to dinner in china town at a Chinese restaurant (obviously, but you never know hey)

I didn't necessarily have a cappuccino, but it was the closest thing they had and it’s all part of the experience. I had a jasmine tea, which was really yummy, I’m sure I had about 1000 000 cups +/-. The décor was obviously very oriental and there was a lot of gold and red which was beautiful and there were these amazing (not real) dragons on the pillars round the restaurant which was really exquisite, and oddly, quite elegant.

So here it is Cappudays 5: The (something Dragon) - china Town

My Jasmine tea and some strategically placed chopsticks. This photo would be really cool if my shadow didn't just magically appear and ruin the whole thing. 

me taking a picture of my phone taking a picture of China Town.

This is me with China Town as a backdrop just outside the restaurant that we ate at.

This is the dragon-pillar thing that I was speaking about.

An obviously, me drinking my cappu(Jasmine tea)ccino

Rating (/10)

Decor: 8 (there were dragons everywhere so yeah.)

Cappuccino: (Jasmine tea) 10

Bathroom: didn't see one

Service: 8 (well I can only assume because when they spoke Chinese I had no way of knowing whether they were just chatting or speaking about the customers.)

Overall vibe: 7.5

WiFi: I didn't even need to check my phone…

Basically it was an incredible way to end off my tour of London. I will be making a video about my tour and its already edited, it just has to be exported which is a real pain.

That’s all, Bye! :) x

London Tour

I am forcing myself to do this or else I will completely forget everything and then the post will be a lot worse than it usually is so I guess this is best. I am still in London (or as some like to call it: The Black Smoke, which it isn’t really) and I have been up to a lot of cool stuff.

Currently I am at an advertising agency that is right on Oxford street so I am in the hustle and bustle of the city and I am absolutely loving it. Yesterday, after work, I was taken on a little tour of London by two natives (Sandy and Thomasina) and they showed me all the touristy things that London has to offer.

We went on the London eye early in the evening and my word, London is even more beautiful from up there. It is crazy when you realise just how big the city is and how many important buildings there are. I also had a camera with me so I was filming the whole journey which is great, but it also means that I have a whole lot of editing to do :/.

We then drove around for a bit and we went past Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, South Africa House (\ J /) and a whole lot of other amazing places with incredible buildings. If ever I were to become an architect I think that I would draw most of my inspiration from all the old buildings in London, to be an architect I’d actually have to be able to draw so…. (That’s not happening anytime soon) but you get the jist.

To end off the evening we had some dinner in china town which was the perfect way to end of my tour of England. We had a whole lot of food, which tasted amazing, but it was too much to eat. We drove home and it was dark so I got some really cool footage of London at night which will look really cool once I actually decide to edit all of it.

Overall London has been one of the most amazing experience of my life, and I am still here for a few more days- enough to soak it all in and maybe do some shopping.

That’s all, Bye! :) x

Cappudays #4

As you may already know, I am currently in London and because I have been so busy, I have neglected this blog. (Oops!) But what I will do in order to put everything in one post, is that I will sort of mix my Cappudays post with a general post about how it is being in London. Sound good?

This Cappudays isn’t super original because it was Starbucks. What is original though is that this was the very first Starbucks that I have ever had in my entire existence. (Don’t act too surprised there.) The reason behind this is that we do not have Starbucks in South Africa and the last time that I went Came to the UK, I just never thought of trying it. (Probably because I was too busy being a tourist.)

I had a normal Café Latte (Kinda Boring, sorry) but with Columbian coffee beans which was exceptionally good.

So here it is Cappudays 4: Starbucks

Rating (/10)

Decor: 9
Cappuccino:8.5 (it was a latte but still)
Bathroom :things are too fast paced in London for bathrooms)

Service: 6 (The lady kinda sneered a little when she was doing my order)
Overall vibe: 7.5
WiFi: Didn't stay long enough to find out.

A strategic placement of my work gear to show that I am all classy an stuff. Also this is the only picture I have because I don' think people would appreciate me taking photos all over starbucks.

Now about London. Holy cow, WhereHaveIBeenAllMyLifeThisPlaceIsAmazingH. *takes deep breath*. Let’s try that again. Literally, it is such an incredible city and despite all the bad stuff about Londoners being such and such, I am honestly having such a great time. I have a ritual already which consists of taking the tube, getting to work, getting a coffee and lunch, and heading back home again. (For the purpose of my stay in London, home is with some family friends in Clapham South.)

I have always been a city girl, although I really do appreciate the country side. It is great just to be in a place where everything is so fast moving and you’re kind of like on a mission to do whatever you are doing. You can’t imagine my joy when a few days ago a lady asked me for directions to the tube and I was able to tell her. Which means that I am no longer a tourist. J

I’m sure there will be more to come on my stay in London. I am currently doing my internship at a very big Advertising agency here which is cool. People are really nice which is always great. The best part is that our office is on Oxford Street which means that we are basically in the middle of everything and if I really wanted I could go shopping whenever.

That’s all, Bye! :) x

SANDS memorial garden in Totnes

As you may know I have been up to a lot of cool stuff and one of those things is helping out with the building of a memorial garden (although I can't say I did a lot of building.) The memorial garden is being built and planned by an organisation called Participate arts (http://participatearts.org.uk/) and they are working in conjunction with an organisation called SANDS (Stillbirth and neonatal death society) and this garden will be a space for bereaved families to remember the children that they may have lost.

My job was mainly to help them get sponsors so that they could build the garden and to make sure that it would be an amazing place for people to visit. I also helped them with some of their social media and the website (like not that much but it counts right?)

It was an amazing experience to be a part (no matter how small) of such an amazing thing. I learnt a lot about how tough it actually is getting sponsors and I have a new respect for all Non-profit organisations. I also assisted in creating moulds for some of the tiles that will be going into the garden. These tiles were made by some of the bereaved families and it was amazing to see how the messages and designs on the tiles were so personal to each family.

This is my work space while I was busy helping with looking for sponsors.

The clay moulds that would be turned into stone for the garden.

Me preparing the tiles so that the moulding stuff could be poured in. 

my hands.

me doing stuff, well, my hands again really.

The clay ready to have the moulding stuff poured in.

sneakily got my feet in there.

peeling off the mould.

Mixing up the stone for the tiles. 

 A look at how the tiles are made and how they will end up. 

I know this post is way overdue but better late than never right?

That's all, Bye! :) x

Film Fridays: Frozen

Seeing as I want to go into the film industry, like with all my existence. I thought it would be good for me to start reviewing movies for fun because, that's what people do nowadays: they do/see/listen to/eat something, and then they immediately have to have an opinion about it, and no surprise, I am one of those.

I know it is a bit late but I recently watched Frozen and can I just say: so many feels! Literally my emotions were not under my control during that movie and I felt like my spirit was in the characters and I could feel all that they felt. I died so many times, and was reincarnated so many times only to die again and at the end I was resurrected.

I have always loved animated films and frozen was like everything that I have ever wanted in a movie and can I just say that the music pieces......  who? What? And how? I always have the soundtrack stuck in my head and it is kind of like the sound track of my life, well my life isn't that eventful and fairy tale like but a girl can dream right. Like they say if you want to be it dream it (this has nothing to do with anything but, okay??)

I give frozen 4/5 because it is possibly one of the most amazing animated films I have seen, but it is not quite The Lion King(nothing can ever compare to The Lion King). Also, Olaf is everything I have been looking for in a snowman friend. Like he is just the coolest dude there ever was and I strive to one day be as cool (please laugh) as he is.

If you haven't yet watched it, you best be watching it at this current instant because you need to and it will enrich your life And yeah. And you should also know that "the cold never bothered me anyway" (a part of me knew that quoting the movie would not in anyway enhance this post but I had to because that is just how I do things)

That's all, Bye! :)

CappuDays #3

On Friday morning, I went for a little swim at the local gym and it was really nice. Although we spent most of the time in the Sauna and in the steam room, I can say that I felt quite accomplished afterwards. After our swim we went into Totnes (a town in Devon, in England, in the UK, in Europe, in the world, in the.... you get the point.)

We went to a place called The Tangerine Tree (English people seem to think that it is called a tangerine when in actual fact its a naartjie.) It is a small restaurant on the high street of Totnes and has the coolest wallpaper imaginable (Spoiler alert, it is a map of the town.)  

So here it is CappuDays 3: The Tangerine Tree.

My extremely horrific picture of the interior.

There was a really cool couch area just below the tangerine tree sign.

I need this wallpaper in my life, except it must be a map of all the places that I have been to.

And obviously, me drinking my cappuccino. 

Rating (/10)

Decor: 7
Cappuccino:7
Bathroom (contrary to popular belief, they're very important):I din't see the bathroom so I'm gonna say 10
Service: 8 (I have come to notice that a lot of places in the UK are self service places, so I'll judge based on how polite the waiters were.)
Overall vibe: 7.5
WiFi: 0 (how depressing?)

I also had some yummy breakfast and I must say I am really impressed with the quality of bread here in England. And I love bread so, yeah it has made quite a great impression on me. 

That's all, Bye! :)