Shopping is the Best Medicine

I'm finally starting to feel normal again, after over 2 weeks of being sick. My cough is still lingering, but I'll take that over feeling like I've been run over by a truck and looking like a hot mess. Even though I'm feeling better, I still wanted to take it easy this weekend to prevent a relapse.

On Saturday, I decided to treat myself to a day of pampering and got my hair cut and colored. There is an Aveda salon a short 5 minute walk from my apartment, so it's just like I'm in Ann Arbor! Two doors down from the salon is a nail place so I also treated myself to a manicure/pedicure. As I was getting my toes done, I couldn't help but over hear the woman in the chair next to me speaking to her manicurist with an American accent. We struck up a conversation and found out that she's been here for 6 months working at the University of Leeds. She gave me a lot of great tips and it was wonderful to meet a fellow American.

After my manicure/pedicure I strolled over to Victoria Quarter, what I lovingly call the Somerset Mall of Leeds. Apparently, this is where all the footballer's wives hang out. Trust me, I had no intention of buying anything. I just wanted to window shop, maybe grab a coffee, and people watch. I got sucked into the Mulberry store though. For those of you Stateside, Mulberry is a brand of handbags and accessories from England that is slowly making it's way to the US. I was eying an adorable coin purse that my friend Marilyn has and because I'm carrying around 10 pounds of coins with me I figured that it was a practical purchase.

After that splurge I really had no intention of whipping out that Capital One Venture card again that day. But then, I walked into L.K. Bennett. Big mistake. L.K. Bennett is another one of those quintessential British brands and of course, I walked straight into the shoe section. I fell in love with these black patent leather wedges. Sigh.

Before walking home, I popped into a cute little Italian restaurant for some dinner and gave my friend Angel in Michigan a call in the hospital where she was in labor with her third daughter. Baby Evelyn was born yesterday and am so elated, but am also sad that I won't get to actually hold her or meet her for another few months.

On Sunday I decided that it was about time to experience some of the cultural activities in Leeds but I just couldn't get motivated. The art gallery is a 5-7 minute walk from my apartment, so I wanted to walk over and check it out. Instead, the most energy I could muster up was to go to the grocery store to pick up some groceries for the week. So, my attempt at educating myself on all Leeds has to offer will have to wait for another weekend.

I finally was able to plan some travel now that I've come out of my haze though. My friend Laurel is coming to visit in less than 2 weeks so we had a Google+ Hangout this afternoon to plan her visit. We're planning on spending one night in York, two nights in Edinburgh, and her last weekend here in Dublin. We're also going to be able to meet up with our friends Kristen and Phil in Dublin so needless to say, I'm extremely excited for the next few weekends.

Hope all of you are doing well and stay tuned for some pictures from my travels!

A Slight Bump In The Road

Sorry if it's felt like I've been missing in action this past week. Since I got back from London, I've been extremely sick and found out that it had progressed into a sinus infection! The thing about me is that I rarely get sick. But when I do it almost ALWAYS turns into a bigger deal. One time I thought I had a cold and it turned out I had a double ear infection, respiratory infection and a sinus infection. So, needless to say, when I started to feel icky, I was hoping that it would not progress.

It was a bank holiday on Monday, which is the day I got back from London, but on Tuesday I went to work not feeling 100%. By Thursday I couldn't even get out of bed so I decided to work from home and finally decided to see a doctor. Which doctor though? I have international insurance but didn't have much energy to do the research. Lucky for me, the staff at the apartment building I'm staying in was very helpful and found a few private doctors, but they couldn't get me in that day. I made the decision to go to the National Health Service clinic. The National Health Service is their publicly funded health system and I must say, it was nice to walk in and not have anyone ask me whether or not I have insurance, just what my symptoms are. I did have to wait for an hour, but I guess that isn't that much different than in the States where you could wait for that long even if you have an appointment.

I saw the doctor and they gave me some antibiotics that I have to take for 7 days. It's Sunday now and I'm feeling better, but not 100%. I have to admit that this week has been difficult for me, not having my family or friends around. I had a couple of minor breakdowns which I'm not proud of. I'm blaming it on the meds.

I'm looking forward to getting back to 100% capacity this week and I'm hoping that I'll also stop being Debbie Downer.

London Calling: Easter Weekend

Because Easter is considered a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, I had Good Friday and Easter Monday off of work. I decided to take advantage of the four day weekend and spend it in London. London is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, city. I think one of the main reasons that I love it so much is because each neighborhood has a different feel, yet the common thread is that everywhere you turn there is something historic to see.

I took the train from Leeds early Saturday morning (at 7 am) but the good thing is that the train station is literally a 5 minute walk from my apartment. That makes it really convenient to get anywhere, but especially London which is a 2 hour train ride. The trains here are actually really good, especially by American standards where you can be stuck on an Amtrak train for 10+ hours when it should have only taken 4 hours (it's unfortunately happened a few too many times to me.)

When I arrived in London I went straight to my friend Marilyn's flat to catch up with her. It's great knowing a few people who live in London because I enjoy seeing parts of a city that I may not normally see. It also allows me to get their recommendations! We walked around Soho for a while, sneaking into a few shops here and there before our brunch reservations at the Dean Street Townhouse. We stopped in two stores that I want to make sure to mention to all of you. If you are ever in London, you must check them out. One is called COS and it's a clothing store with multiple locations around the United Kingdom. It's owned by H&M but the quality at COS is much better and is generally more my style. Sometimes H&M is a little too out there for my conservative yet classic taste.

We also stopped at a store called Liberty and I have to admit, I could get lost in that store for days and not feel bad about it. It's a collection of everything you could ever want - vintage home goods, multiple floors of clothes and shoes, kitchen wares, cosmetics, stationary...the list could go on and on. This is definitely going to be a go-to place whenever I'm in London.

Outside of Liberty London

Check out that chandelier! Amazing!

After that walking tour of Soho shopping, we made our way to the Dean Street Townhouse for brunch. Stellar eggs benedict if I do say so myself! After brunch, we stopped at the Hummingbird Bakery, a well known cupcake bakery in Soho. I can never pass up a red velvet cupcake, so we popped in for a couple to go.

Later that day, I checked into my hotel, The Hempel. It's located in West London, close to pretty much everything (Notting Hill, Kensington, Bayswater, and Hyde Park). The Hempel was designed by Anouska Hempel, a well known designer who is also responsible for the Grosvenor Hotel and Blakes London. Her style for The Hempel is very minimilist, which is not my favorite type of interior design, but I have to give her credit for this hotel. It's done really well and feels very Zen like. One of the things that helps give the hotel that Zen feel is the immaculate garden right in front of the hotel. It's like you are tucked away in a little oasis, but then you remember you are in the middle of London. Movie buffs may remember the garden from the final scene of Notting Hill (check it out on YouTube.)

The lobby of The Hempel. Great place to get in touch with your inner chi. 

The foyer of my room.

Bathtub, with Ren bath products! Yes!

The sitting area.

That night, I met up with a fellow Googler who is in London for three months. We grabbed a drink and some thin-crust pizza at Pizza East Portobello. They know pizza and I wish that I had more room in my stomach because I really wanted to devour the whole thing! We ordered the prosciutto, artichoke, and basil pizza and it was cooked to perfection in a wood burning stove. Is there really any other way?

The next morning was Easter Sunday so my cousin Bashar (who lives in London) and I decided to be the good Catholic children that we are (yeah, I'm still sticking to that story) and go to Easter Sunday mass. I've always wanted to attend a mass at Westminster Abbey, so we planned on heading there a little before the 10:30 mass. Did you know that it was founded in the year 960? That blows my mind! Lucky for us, getting in wasn't that difficult and we were able to sit down for about half of the mass. I managed to sneak in some photos before I was sternly told to stop. 

By this point, I was feeling pretty British so my cousin and I decided to partake in a typical Sunday tradition for our post-church meal; Sunday Roast! We took a brief walk to Brown's, which is a chain of restaurants around England that is known for their classic take on food, especially roasts. I learned that I'm obsessed with Yorkshire pudding.

After our lunch, my cousin and I parted ways to get some rest before meeting up later, but of course I couldn't go back to my hotel without doing some more sightseeing (aka shopping). Most stores were closed for the holiday, but I managed to find a couple that were open and finally make my first purchase in England (a beautiful black blazer perfect for upcoming work presentations I have to make.)

A few hours later, we were getting hungry which is hard to believe after the amount of Yorkshire pudding  and cheesy cauliflower I ate. We decided to stick around his neighborhood and went to an Asian restaurant that Bashar likes called the Four Seasons where they are known for their roasted duck. They prominently show a newspaper clipping that declares their duck 'the best duck in the world.' With a superlative claim like that, I didn't have much choice, so I ordered the roasted duck. It was great, but the best? I can't say. What I will say is that the service leaves something to be desired. One of the waiters literally walked away when we were talking to him!

I headed back to Leeds this afternoon, but am already looking forward to going to London soon. Luckily for me, I have to be here at least once a month for work. What a great Easter weekend! Hope you had one too!

Week 1: Check!

It's hard to believe that only one week ago I was still in Ann Arbor, finishing up some last minute packing and saying bye to friends. I feel like I've lived a lifetime in a week!

Dublin was so much fun and it was a great opportunity to spend some time with my new team and learn more specifics of my new job. I didn't get to do much site seeing this time around, but I'll be going back next month for a mini-vacation, so I'll get to see a bit more than I did this time. I did manage to get a good picture though from the patio of one of the Google buildings in Dublin.

On Friday, I flew from Dublin to Leeds so that I'd have the weekend to get settled before starting work on Monday. My apartment is in the City Centre and only a 15 minute walk from work. Check out some pictures of my apartment!

I did a "dry run" to work this morning to make sure I know how to get there tomorrow. I also wanted to spend some time getting to know the city, so I just walked. And walked. And walked. It was a beautiful sunny day in Leeds so it was nice to take everything in by foot. My first impression is that Leeds is a lot more cosmopolitan than I initially thought. I learned today that the city has the most green space and parks in its city limits of any European city other than Vienna. 

Leeds has also positioned itself as a shopper's paradise in the North, so I'll feel right at home! There are multiple arcades set within buildings that have beautiful Victorian architecture. For those of you from Ann Arbor, the arcades are like Nickel's Arcade, except they are all over the City Centre area. Here are some pictures from my walk around Leeds today.

 A square near my apartment.

 One of the many streets in Leeds that is closed off to traffic. 

Inside the Leeds Corn Exchange, one of only three in the country that operates as a retail space. There are a lot of independent boutiques and restaurants. 

I picked up a magazine called the Style Guide to Leeds which covers some of the major sites, restaurants, shops, and activities happening in Leeds. I spent a lot of time reading it and decided to make a list of the places to check out.

1. Leeds Art Gallery
2. The Millennium Fountain
3. Brasserie Blanc - owned by Raymond Blanc, a Michelin rated chef
4. Kirkgate Market - largest covered market in Europe
5. Jamie's Italian - Jamie Olivier's first restaurant in the Northern England
6. Call Lane - top 5 contender on Google Maps 'Most Hip Street' list
7. Anthony's - family run restaurant with a few locations around the city
8. Victoria Quarter - I spent some time here this past weekend, but it is the Somerset of Leeds, so I will be back
9. Carluccio's - Italian restaurant and market
10. Elland Road Stadium - home of Leeds United, the football team. I'd love to see a game, but the season is winding down
11. Kirkstall Abbey - medieval abbey just outside of the city
12. The Reliance - bar and restaurant

These are places I just learned about today so I'm sure I'll be adding more to the list soon! Wish me luck on my first day of my new role tomorrow!