Our Saturday in London was a bit less adventurous than previous days, though it ended up to be somewhat similar to the day before. Yet again, the day's events involved another market and museum.

For starters, we had to factor in a detour in order to get to Notting Hill due to weekend train construction (which I have to say is even worse than the MTA). But we managed to find the shuttle bus and get off at the right stop, arriving at the less crowded end of Portobello Road.

It was good we began our market walk at the far end since we ended up grabbing breakfast in the area.

Ah, good old Lisboa Patisserie. They have several locations in London but the Notting Hill one is the easiest one to get to. It's my favorite place to get pastéis de nata; Milly was kind enough to bring me back a dozen of them during one of her business trips in London last year. This time, I didn't bring them back (there are a few Portugese places in the city now that finally offer them) but at least enjoyed it as a light breakfast.

It was packed with locals and tourists when we got there. We were fortunate enough to grab one of the tiny tables as an older woman finished her meal and left. We asked for 3 natas, one for each of us as well as a coconut tart for M (who enjoys coconut anything). I enjoyed my little tart of course and it is still my baseline for comparisons from other bakeries (my sister prefers those from a bakery in Newark).

Portobello Market is as busy as ever. Queenie scored a bargain buying two tops for really cheap; those same items cost more the closer we got to the main entrance of the market. One vendor had a trench coat that caught my eye but I couldn't justify buying it (it cost the same as the one I currently own). Along the way, Q and M picked up some churros and chocolate as well, but that was pretty much all we bought. There were way too many people in the area by the time we reached the other end, at Notting Hill Gate.

From Notting Hill, it was to Lambeth so I could finally check out the Imperial War Museum. This was another place on my to-visit list that I didn't get a chance to go to previously.

For a war museum, it was awesome. I like reading up about the past and what all those soldiers and ordinary people did back then to ensure the future that we have today. There were planes, boats, tanks as well seeing old uniforms and espionage equipment on display. Downstairs, there were two walk-through experiences as well, one for each of the world wars. A visitor could walk through the trenches of World War I and peer inside the makeshift areas where soldiers rested or hid. For World War II, we sat briefly in one of the shelters as the Germans bombed overhead before venturing outside with a "warden" to see the destruction on the streets once it was over. It was dark out and we could only see by flashlight. By the time I walked through it all, even my clothes smelled as if I had walked through bombed out London.

One of my favorite exhibits was "The Children's War", which discussed the lives of children who were evacuated at the start of the war. It's not a happy tale and when one sees mannequins of children wearing gas masks, it does make one pause and reflect. This was a temporary exhibit and one of the best parts of it was being able to walk through a full-size replica of a house from the 1940s. It's especially good for research given the fandom where I'm currently playing in. Sadly, I didn't take any of pictures (there were a lot of people and it was hard to pause and snap photos when there's a line behind you) but you can see them over at Missy Vintage instead.

Though we saw pretty much everything at the museum, it was kind of a rush. I wish I had more time to stop and read and learn more but Q and M did not have much interest in war things (neither do most of my friends, for that matter). I'd like to revisit the Museum on a future visit and hopefully add the Churchill War Rooms to the list as well.

After all that, we then grabbed a very late lunch at Covent Garden (burgers this time) before heading over to Borough Market. After trying out the sandwich from Roast's sandwich stall, Q and M were happy with it enough that they wanted to have dinner in the main restaurant upstairs. So we made a reservation for 6:30pm and then wandered around the market and the general vicinity killing time before then. (I would have preferred to have returned to the hotel to give my feet a rest, not to mention it was chilly that night especially since we were right by the Thames.)

I didn't take any pictures of dinner. Oddly, the atmosphere felt too "fancy" to be whipping out the camera so there are no pictures alas. The food wasn't too bad; I ended up with the roast chicken, I can't remember what my sister ordered and M had the special of the night: Beef Wellington. Mind you, it was because of the special that we ended up going to Roast for dinner. M wanted to try it in England after having seen it on one of Gordon Ramsay's shows back home. (I still think he'd have been better off trying it in New York first instead of waiting for the trip, but eh... chacun son goût.) I think I would have enjoyed the meal more if I wasn't tired both from walking around all day and because I was beginning to suffer a headache by then.

Black Friday in London was decided less about shopping for deals and more about seeing unusual things.

We started off the day by going to Hawksmoor for breakfast. They have several locations in London but we went to the newest one in Guildhall. Q and M were rather hesitant about it at first because it's in fancy building (with decor to match) in the middle of the financial section of the city. (I would think it's obvious who came up with the idea of going here. Heh.) Once seated however, they noticed that the waitstaff were dressed very casually (think flannel shirts). So it was an odd juxtaposition, I suppose.

At any rate, we came because I heard about one particularly interesting item on the breakfast menu and had to see it in person. I didn't order it however, sticking with more lighter fare in the way of Scotch pancakes with roasted plums:

A stack of three simple pancakes that were just the right size for me. And they were excellent. Q and M went ahead and ordered the breakfast item in question:

The Hawksmoor Breakfast for two—which was pretty much an English breakfast with lots and lots of meat. To quote their menu, it consists of:

Smoked Bacon Chop • Sausages (made with Pork, Beef & Mutton) • Black Pudding • Short-Rib Bubble & Squeak • Grilled Bone Marrow • Trotter Baked Beans • Fried Eggs • Grilled Mushrooms • Roast Tomatoes • Unlimited Toast • HP Gravy

And somehow they managed to eat most of it, leaving mainly the baked beans. Other tables also ordered it as well and small side tables were set up next to the main tables in order to accommodate all the dishes that came with the breakfast; when you have teapots, cups and Chemex flasks (the closest to drip coffee Q and M could get), you need the extra room.

It was one of the best meals we had in London. And we managed to leave in time for our next appointment, which involved queuing up for a special tour.

In 2010, as part of the celebrations commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Blitz, the London Transport Museum offered special tours of the old Strand/Aldwych station, which is no longer being used. The Museum dressed up the station as it was back in the 1940s with vintage posters, character actors and an old train parked in the station at the platform level. I've seen pictures of it and it was so awesome. For this trip, we were in London at the same time that the LTM would begin offering Underground tours of the station for the holidays.

Getting tickets to the event required three people and a Mastercard. Queenie and I could not get their booking system to accept our Visa cards, but M managed to do so with his Mastercard so I'm very grateful to him for that. We arrived early, per the instructions and found other people arrived earlier so it was clear where the line was. Staff checked our tickets and inspected our bags before they let us enter the station (which I've passed during prior visits and was always curious about). Our tour group was split into two, and we listened to guides discuss the history of the station at different points.

The best thing of course was to be able to take pictures while we were there. No professional cameras were allowed which was fine and all but I'm annoyed that half my photos still came out blurry. Ah well, but at least I have a few decent shots and I had the chance to visit Aldwych (all the tours were booked pretty fast), given that it was a rare opportunity for us to be there at the right time.

Our tickets for the tour also included same-day admission to the regular Transport Museum, so that's where we went afterward (well, after a short detour at the Twinings shop for tea). On my last trip, I wanted to visit the museum but didn't get the chance so it was a nice bonus for me this time around. Compared to the NYC Transit Museum, there are similarities and differences: I love that the New York one is housed in a genuine old station but the London one seems to be more informational, educational and consisted of more than just the subways. There were trams, and buses in addition to the trains and one could climb onto many of them and look around. Also, the lighting was slightly better here for picture taking.

We had a late lunch in Covent Garden, which is where the Museum's located. As we made our way to the Museum, we scouted the vendors to see what interesting food choices there were. I ended up with this Piri Piri chicken sandwich from the vendor shown above. It was very tasty.

After all that, we finally went to my beloved Fortnum & Mason where I filled my shopping basket with way too much stuff and became very hard to carry. I ended up taking several things out because I was afraid I'd have no room left in my luggage if I bought it all. I don't even know how much I spent there, just handing over the credit card to the cashier without blinking an eye at whatever amount was quoted.

For dinner that night, we wanted to go somewhere closer to the hotel, so headed over to nearby High Street Kensington. It's definitely felt more touristy than one stop over where we stayed. We passed the Whole Foods and headed down the street but weren't really thrilled with the dining options available. In the end, we went to Wagamama which wasn't a bad choice. Q and M had never been to Wagamama before (I had been twice, once in Amsterdam and another at Heathrow) so it was kind of interesting for them.

We ordered one appetizer, the Chilli (their spelling) Squid and I went with a rice bowl while the others had ramen. I wanted something healthy and with vegetables so my dish (the Chicken Tama Rice) fit the bill—grilled chicken breast stir-fried with courgettes, mushroom, red and spring onions in a oyster, ginger, garlic and wine sauce. served on sticky white rice.

M had the Wagamama Ramen which had a lot of stuff (noodles in a vegetable soup topped with grilled chicken, smooth dory, prawn, kamaboko, fried tofu, mushroom, wakame and seasonal greens. garnished with menma and spring onion) while my sister went with the kare lomen prawn (ramen in a spicy red coconut and lemongrass soup topped with grilled chicken or prawns, beansprouts and cucumber. garnished with coriander and lime). I also ordered the "Super Juice" (apple, orange, sharon fruit and cranberry juice) though the others stuck with water.

We walked off our meal at Whole Foods yet again and took advantage of the WiFi and did a little shopping for more wine to go with the dessert we bought at Covent Garden Real Food Market. From the Dessert Deli stand, we bought dessert shots of Coffee & Amaretto Tiramisu, Chocolate Mousse with Honeycomb, and one Orange, Passion Fruit & Cointreau Trifle . My sister ate the latter before I could snap a picture of it.

Today's lunch:

Kalbi and Bibimbap combo box from Bapcha, one of the many street cart vendors freezing in Midtown today. I was definitely craving hot food but wanted something spicy (love that Gochujang) and had lots of vegetables as well.

Even the one block I walked to get there was bad enough, so I feel for all those people who make a living outdoors on a daily basis. And tomorrow is going to be just as cold, possibly with some flurries.

On a day like this, Springtime can never seem to come fast enough.

So I have spent the weekend watching this most talked about (and generally considered the best) adaptation of Jane Austen's most famous novel. I had seen the Keira Knightley version some time last year and did not think too much of it, and the Austen fans I've talked to all recommend the 1995 BBC adaptation with Colin Firth instead.

And now that I've seen it, I willingly admit it's a far more pleasing version though with a total run time of five hours, it's a bit too long for my tastes. Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy wasn't bad though really, I do not understand why the scene of him diving into the lake is (from what I've read in some reviews of the mini-series) so swoon-worthy. It was fine and all but I did not think it warranted those few sighs. To be honest, I think I enjoyed Jennifer Ehle's performance as Elizabeth Bennett the most. Her acting was very well done and in my eyes, she made Lizzie a very likeable character as well as showing her to be a strong heroine.

Though it's been decades since I've actually read Pride and Prejudice, I did at least read the zombified version and enjoyed it very much. I think it was thanks to the latter that made me so much more interested in this particular work of Austen. Before, I had a very vague impression of the Bennett sisters and didn't think too much of them but now my regard for Jane and Lizzie have grown a few notches. Perhaps it's time I turned my attention back to the original novel and read it in full.

Well, maybe after I get through The Secret Garden, which I've started on earlier today (it's been even longer since I've last read this book... not since the fifth grade).

One Christmas, many, many years ago (I wish I could just give a general approximation but I know for a fact it's been two decades), one of my aunts sent Queenie and I pens as gifts. They weren't really anything special but they were so much fancier than the regular cheap blue pens we used for school and homework. And she had them engraved with our names and the year they were given (which is how I know it's been 20 years).

For a very long time, they just remained in their boxes, out of sight unless I was cleaning out my junk. It was only when I got older and started investing in organizers and the like that I finally took the pen out from its case and put it to use. That was... oh... probably a few years ago, though I'm not sure of the exact date or year, but I think it was well after I started keeping a decent organizer. Probably around the time of when I last used the Kate Spade one (because the pen was too small for the pen loop) and ended up shopping for a Filofax instead.

At any rate, the pen's been in my bag since then until the unthinkable happened. Right after I returned from London, I was rummaging through my handbag and found the pen sitting at the bottom in two pieces. So, I pulled it out and tried to screw it back together only it was un-screwable. I couldn't figure out what exactly happened and when it happened (possibly while I was abroad, even — I had brought a regular pen to use on the trip and did end up using it almost exclusively). Either way, the inevitable conclusion was that it was broken and I needed a new one.

So I was shopping online and did not realize until then how much the pen actually cost. I had figured no more than $20 or so, but it was three times that amount. Well. What should I have done? My father actually has extra Cross pens at home (given to him as gifts from old family friends) but it really wasn't quite the same. I even went and unscrewed them and compared to my poor broken pen to try and figure out how to fix it but it was futile. And if I had to get a new one, I wasn't sure if I wanted to just something slightly different or not. In the end, I found out there's a lifetime warranty and in theory, I could send the pen in for repair. After reading about someone else's positive story about repairs and returns, that's what I ended up doing (the repair is free but you need to pay $10 to cover the cost of shipping and handling, which is a fraction of the price of buying a new pen). Sent it back to Cross before Christmas and on Saturday, it arrived in my mailbox and in working order once again.

I think they changed the refill inside as well, since it's writing with thicker lines than I'm used to seeing, probably a medium ballpoint instead of the fine point that was in there when I sent it in. I'm really not in a hurry to twist it open and accidentally break it again so soon, so I'll live with it for now until it's all used up. And it goes rather nicely with my new organizer too. Heh. My old blue Domino had gotten pretty beat up with use and the pen loop was literally in tatters. So while I was in London, I stopped into a Filofax store and picked up a new one (because there's a much bigger selection over there than in the States). The one I had in mind was no longer being sold so I ended up with this simple black number instead.