My Bridget Jones Diary Moment

If my roommate had been walking on the other side of the road last night on her way home she would missed have the sign that read premiere of "Then She Found Me" following a special Q&A with Colin Firth tonight... few tickets left. Lucky for she was in the right place at the right time,k so she snapped up two tickets for her and I and the next thing I know I'm sitting in a theatre with Colin Firth standing in the front row. You would have thought the Beatles had been on stage. What is about this man that just makes girls swoon? Including myself! Before the film began he told us a little about the making of the movie, the fact that he did not get paid for it, it was Helen Hunt's dream project that she had been working on for 10 years. The women wrote the screenplay, directed the film, and starred in it. It was a pretty all star cast; Matthew Broderick, Bette Milder, to a name a few. The movie was really good, I highly recommend it!

After the film was over we all got gift bags full of makeup, hair products, DVD's, basically all girlie things. I guess they knew their target audience :) Colin then re appeared for a Q&A with the audience. Peoples questions were the kind we are all dying to ask but don't dare: Are you married? Do you like playing the gay guy? What did you think of Pierce's singing in Mamma Mia? He was really eloquent and very funny!

Afterwards all the girls made a mad rush to get his autograph and picture. Sima and I stood in the corner both trying to work up the nerve to talk to him. We didn't have to wait long, because he ended up walking right by us and smiled and I knew it was now or never. I reached out my hand and said, "Hi, it's so nice to meet you. I loved the movie and really enjoy all your films." What I really wanted to say was, "Mr. Darcy I presume." I'm pretty sure that would have me sound like an obssessed fan not to mention a retard. I then asked if we could take a photo with him, and he said YES!!! He was so nice and tall!!!

Definitely one of my top three star sightings!

Best Week Ever!

This past week, while exhausting, was also the best week I've spent since living in this city. Most of the time I recognize that London has so much to offer but I'm not so good about taking advantage of it. What made this week so great and so memorable was experiencing the different aspects of the city, which just happens to be right outside my doorstep.

Saturday - The O2

Two Americans and one Brit attending the first qualifying match in basketball for the 2012 Olympics. It was Great Britain vs. the Czesk Republic. Not only did I get to see some great basketball but I got to see the sight of where the 2012 Olympics will be held. The O2 arena is amazing. Quite vast, glitzy, and in a great part of the city called Greenwich. Taking an English person to a US sporting event was quite comical. My friend Jane kept asking where all the big foam fingers were, why the uniforms were so shiny, and in particular why the shorts were so long. She didn't fancy the shorts at all!

Sunday- Viewing of Buckingham Palace

Most people, including myself, have had the opportunity to see the outside of Buckingham Palace. Not everyone however, gets the chance to go inside. My friend Suzanne bought us tickets for the whole dog and pony show and we spent the entire day Sunday touring the castle, the mews, and the galleries. In word it was STUNNING! It's hard to believe that someone actually lives in the palace. The palace was so grand and so elegant. I couldn't get over the grandeur of all the different rooms. The state rooms were so beautifully decorated, the banquet hall where the queen hosts here dinners with all the dignitaries was out of this world, I even got to see her throne. Unfortunately, she didn't swing by to say hi, I was so offended :). You weren't allowed to take any photos inside the palace, so the only pics I got were the backyard and the mews. So the mews, which is basically her servant quarters and where she keeps her ride, or should I say rides was quite the spectacle! The women has a million carriages and limousines. It was unreal.




Monday Evening- Wine Tasting at the London Wall

One of my suppliers invited me to go wine tasting a couple months ago since we both shared a passion for wine. He belongs to a wine society that holds tastings about once a month and had suggested we wait until September to attend an event. I know understand why we waited so long! The night's theme was Chilean wines and we tried 24 different varieties of wine from Chile. The wine was great but what was even better was the setting. We were inside a building called the London Wall. For you non history buffs, the London wall was a defensive wall built by the Romans made entirely of stone. Remnants of the wall still remain and there I was sipping my Chilean red in this historic site.

Tuesday Evening - Blind Date

Ok so every night can't be perfect but it can at least be adventurous. I was set up by a friend of mine who in all fairness did not know much about the guy I had agreed to go on a date with. All she told me was that he was a doctor, was Indian, and was single. Trying to be the open minded person I am (yeah right, just making sure you're all paying attention) I decided to give it a shot, even without seeing a photograph. Big mistake!! This guy was such a tool. Sorry to be so judgemental, but the guy drank his beer like he was holding a sippie cup, stil lived at home where his mom cooked his every meal, and the second sentence out of his mouth was that he fancied infectious diseases thus his decision to become an STD doctor. Can we say conversation killer? Needless to say I will not be going out with this guy again.

Wednesday Evening - Dinner at Christopher's in Covent Garden

Covent Garden is one of the coolest areas in London, at least I think it is... It's mini Italy basically, with a piazza, fabulous restaurants, street performers, cobble stone streets, and great shopping. I had the pleasure of attending a work dinner at an amazing restaurant called Christopher's, where we got to dine in the private dining room underneath the main part of the venue. The food was delicious, the wine even better, and the company was a blast. I have finally gotten to a place where I feel so at ease with my co-workers and really enjoy their company. It was all around a good night in a fantastic area of London.

Now Thursday could have been the culmination of a great week had I decided to go see Madonna in concert. I was offered tickets at the last minute but choose instead to spend a quiet evening at home. I know many of you are reading this cursing me, but turns out I made the right choice. The next day I found out her concert was fraught with issues. The speakers blew out at one point so the sound sucked, she came on an hour late therefore when the show finished all the public transportation had shut down by the time everyone left the stadium, leaving tons of people stranded. My boss (who I gave my ticket too) ended up getting home well after 1 am. Oops. She was still thrilled to have gone though, cause Madonna is her all time favorite artist, so I scored some major brownie points with her.

So as you can see, it was quite the week! A week that made me fall in love with this city and all it has to offer. A week that I won't forget for awhile and will motivate me to have many more just like it.