Anne Boleyn's Childhood Residence: Hever Castle

Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII.

Apparently fiercely pursued by the King to the extent he went against the Pope's wishes and annulled his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The story didn't end well though.

She was beheaded by him in the end, three years after their marriage.

On a brighter note, her childhood home, Hever Castle, is a beauty.

Brighton Part 2: Exploring the City

Once I got off the train, the city centre is just a 5-minute walk.

Brighton is a small town.

All the attractions, such as the Clock Tower, The Lanes, Brighton Dome, Royal Pavilion, are pretty much all within 20-minute walk.

Brighton Part 1: A Seaside City

About 86km away from London (SE England), I travelled to the seaside city of Brighton one Sunday.

The Brighton Pavilion was the main reason I decided to visit. 

One of the Pavilion's most famous residence was George, Prince of Wales.
(No, not the little Prince George - he is the Prince of Cambridge.)

Now that I've done this extremely brief Royal introduction, I feel a lack of knowledge on the topic of the British Royals.

A Pleasant Evening with the Montrealers

I've always heard of the Spitalfield Market, but never had a chance to visit yet.

I did, however, visited a restaurant near the area and it has such delicious Thai food there: Rosa's Thai Cafe.

Rotterdam Part 3: The City

 I finally get to show you the actual city of Rotterdam!

 

When I got off the plane, I already felt that it was much colder than London.

The temperatrures are about the same, but definitely not the wind chill.

 

Neverthless, the cold was all forgotten (kind of) when I saw this amazing view! 

(A view from the Euromast, which I'll talk more about in a bit.)

Rotterdam Part 2: Cube Houses

Cube Houses, or Kubuswoningen in Dutch, are built based on "living as an urban roof."

Basically, the house represents a tree and all the houses together, a forest/a village. 

Pretty cool huh?  Now let me take you for a tour inside one of the houses!

Rotterdam Part 1: Markthal

My first trip since moving to Europe is to Rotterdam!

A little about this city before I go on...

1. Rotterdam is a city of the Netherlands.

2. It has the largest port in Europe.

3. It has one of the best universities in the world: Erasmus University.

4. It is about 75km south of Amsterdam.

 

It is difficult to fit all that I have seen in Rotterdam into one blog entry, so I will split them up.

 

First on: Markthal (Market Hall)

My Happiness Begins Again (Everyday)

I don't know how buying a loaf of bread ended up being sightseeing in Greenwich.

It's just a London thing - you might not know where you end up!

The beautiful Greenwich University, right by the Thames.

My First Turkish Delight

My friend asked to meet at Chinatown/Soho area, so I was very prepared for a comforting Chinese meal.

Then she told me she did not want Chinese food because she was going back to Asia soon...

It was a cold and windy evening. 

Right before us was the new Babaji Pide (website coming soon) right by the exit of Chinatown.

We ran inside (literally) and got the last table immediately available!
 

Chicken Beyti £8.50

Minced chicken, bell pepper, parsley, Turkish red chilli flake 
The chicken was SOOO flavourful of all kinds of spcies (I'm confused by the good taste).
I love those beans and a mixed of vege on the side too.

Blueprint Cafe By the Thames

Right at the London Design Museum, there is the Blueprint Cafe. 

 

My friend googled with key words "best view" and this popped up.

 

I have to admit the view was pretty good.  I could see Tower Bridge while sipping my hot water...

 

Seriously, half of London's population is probably sick from the cold/flu going around..