London Part 3

Welcome to the much belated third installation of stories, photos, and recollections from the London trip I went on with my best friend Dawn. Get caught up by reading part 1 here and part 2 here.

Once Dawn and I fueled up with lunch on our first day, we walked the short distance to Tower Bridge, commonly mistaken for London Bridge. At this time it was about 2:45 pm and the attendant advised us to wait until 3 to enter because we could see the bridge rise and lower and then go in. So, being the tourists that we are, we waited, watched the bridge split (not very exciting, nor a good photo opportunity on the bridge) and then went into the exhibition. This attraction did not have a guided tour but rather posted signs and short videos throughout explaining the history and construction of the bridge. We weren't in the mood to make an effort and zipped through the exhibit without learning much. The best part about this stop was that we got to go up to the cross bridge at the top that had excellent-but-limited views of the River Thames and surrounding area.

After the Tower Bridge exhibit, we meandered down the river walkway, west-southwest towards our next destination, the London Bridge Experience. This is when you can call me crazy because this was not your typical tourist attraction. The London Bridge Experience is basically a haunted house in the London Bridge, which by the way did have several disastrous fires and led to its ruin multiple times. We chose to visit it because it was one of the attractions fully covered by our London Pass (a discount card for tourist activities). If we had done this without the pass it would have been something like 21 pounds per person. And, it wasn't that bad. It was scary but they had a really nice 30-minute intro skit that set you up for the rest of the house. We also were instructed to follow the person ahead of you by keeping your hands on their shoulders the entire time, which made it much easier for me to close my eyes and continue walking through the place—ha!

After the London Bridge Experience, we didn't have any other plans, so we walked a bit more to Millennium Bridge (also known as the weebly-wobbly bridge), which crossed the River Thames and delivered you right in front of St. Paul's Cathedral. From there we hopped on the tube and rode it to the London Eye to see if we had enough time to squeeze in one more tourist thing before heading to dinner. Unfortunately, the line was horrendous and we both were hungry so we continued our walk along the Thames further west spying a magnificent view of Big Ben and Parliament.

Prior to going on our trip, we both had been told that the Indian food is phenomenal in London (go figure!). Therefore, when we saw that our London Pass also included some restaurant discounts, we found an Indian place called Mela that not only had good reviews but was a close tube ride to our hotel. I wanted to have Panang Curry, because that is what Justin normally gets and the only brush with Indian food I've ever had, but everything was written in Indian and after hearing this was our first Indian food experience, our waiter said "don't worry, I'll send you some stuff and if you don't like it, you don't pay." This made us extremely nervous because the dinners started at 12 pounds per entre plus extra for rice and bread. Fortunately we used our 20% London Pass discount totaling the bill at 40 pounds. It was still more than we wanted to spend but the food was delicious and a great first Indian food experience to end a great first full-day in London.

London Part 2

Welcome to the second installation of stories, photos, and recollections from the London trip I went on with my best friend Dawn. If you're tuning in for the first time, get caught up by reading part 1 here.

After a night of rest, Dawn and I got up with the sun, excited for our first full day adventuring around the town.

Our first stop, St. Paul's Cathedral.

Upon entering the beautiful structure at 8:30 a.m., we learned we couldn't visit the upper galleries (whispering, grand, etc.) until 9:30 so we walked across the square, picked up some Starbucks (go figure thank God!) toured the exterior a bit and went back in around 9.

We weren't permitted to take pictures of the interior (sorry!), so as soon as 9:30 hit we went to the upper galleries, climbing 500+ stairs. (This reminded me very much of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome except that it wasn't nearly as claustrophobic-feeling.)

As we climbed, we were able to stop at 2 different levels soaking in a 360 degree panorama of the city.

It was beautiful but really windy and cold up that high.

After St. Paul's we hopped on the tube and traveled to the Tower of London, which was really cool.

We got a free tour from one of the Beefeaters, the guardsmen that supervise and live in the tower, and he was a riot. In addition to being hilarious, he was an excellent guide, describing many historic events that happened within the tower grounds thoroughly.

After the tour we visited the Crown Jewels room which houses the royal crowns and the largest diamond in the world (530 carats), scoped out the Prisoner's tower where carvings and scribblings from of some of the most famous prisoners adorn the walls, and walked around the top of the entire gated wall.

After those two big attractions, it was early afternoon and we were starving so we took a break for lunch. I'm sure you're now chomping at the bit to hear how the rest of our first day went, but I think that's enough for one post. Don't want to tire you out only after part 2!

Over the next few weeks I plan on sharing all my stories from this trip—read part 1 here. If you can't wait for the next post (or are bored at work), check out my photos from this trip as well as several past trips on my flickr page.

London Part 1

I can't believe it's already December 13 and I haven't even started sharing photos from my trip to London in—shock—September. Tsk tsk. (I hope no one's living vicariously through me because their life would definitely be a few months delayed!)

I traveled with my best friend, Dawn, who invited me to tag along on her business trip across the pond. Before leaving, we spent some time strategically planning our daily activities because Dawn has been there a few times before and "didn't want to do the museum thing," so I had to get my museum kicks during my solo-mio time. After putting in a full—cough—productive day at the office, I took the L up to O'Hare where Dawn and I joined forces (she flew from Des Moines) and settled in to our—cough again—comfy airline seats for the roughly eight hour flight (me in coach, she in first-class).

A delay landed us at Heathrow an hour or more late, and with an appointment to tour the Houses of Parliament that afternoon, we hustled our butts through customs and onto the Underground railway system for my very first time.

One thing I enjoyed about the tube were the tile mosaics identifying the stop and the easy to navigate signage system. (I sure hope the public transportation Justin and I encounter on our next trip are as clear!)

The one thing that still baffles me about the underground is actually how far into the ground you have to go. I swear the escalators are about 3 or more stories tall. Just looking at the picture below makes me dizzy.

Once we conquered the tube, we made our way on foot, through my first London rain shower, to the hotel, arriving to find our room wasn't ready—blast! Fortunately, we were able to leave our luggage with the bell men so we could make our appointment at Parliament. Although we arrived a tad late, the wonderful security guards escorted us in and let us catch up to our group. The tour was very informative, but being as that we had just got off an overnight flight, I don't remember much more than the basic structure of the British government and that the building was gorgeous. Check out this room where they hold ceremonies and meetings. I could have stared at that wood-beam ceiling for hours.

After the tour, we rushed back to our hotel, checked in, showered, and hustled back through the underground to see Deathtrap, a raved about play that had just opened a few days earlier.

The play was excellent and truly was a hit even though we both were exhausted, especially after splitting a bottle of wine! I think what "talked" me into seeing this show was the killer typography (pun intended).

After finding our way back to the hotel, we crashed into probably the most comfortable European bed I have ever slept on in the largest European hotel room I have ever seen.

Over the next few weeks I plan on sharing all my stories from this trip, but if you can't wait for the next post or are bored at work, check out my photos from this trip as well as several past trips on my flickr page.

London Logomania

I recently returned from a fabulous trip in sunny London, England (joke!). I am still sifting through the 4.3 GB of photos I took so I don't have any to share just yet but hopefully will soon.

Prior to my trip, I had heard London be referred to as a great design city and throughout my trip I couldn't help but notice some excellent logos at many of the places I did and did not visit.

The first one that caught my eye is for the Zoological Society of London. Although I didn't visit the Zoo, I can't help but adore this logo. I love the use of the animal prints filling in the letterforms. Without knowing what ZSL stand for, one immediately knows it must be in one way or another associated with animals because of the patterns. I have also seen this logo in various applications and am pleased to report that the weight and size of the pattern changes depending on the logo size for legibility reasons. When the logo is large, the pattern is smaller and when the logo is small, the pattern is larger.

Next is the logo for the Victoria and Albert Museum. What strikes me about this logo is how the designer used the ampersand to imply and complete the left side of the A, rather than have an awkward gap between the & and A. Ingenious.

Two other museums with awesome logos are the Tate Modern and Tate Britain. Without question, one can immediately understand that these logos are not only related in name but encapsulate the same branding. In fact, the Tate museum in Liverpool and St. Ives also follow the same branding. Although both are art museums, the difference between these two attractions are the type of art displayed. Tate Britain showcases British art from 1500 and Tate Modern displays international modern and contemporary art.

Because I was in England for a while, I got to visit the typical tourist places (e.g. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc.) but I also got to visit some off-the-beaten path castles in the country as well. These castles, as well as various other historical sites (Stonehenge!) around England, are all part of English Heritage that "protects and promotes England's spectacular historic environment and ensures that its past is researched and understood." In addition to enjoying the time spent at these historic sites, I don't mind the logo either. I think most of their locations are castles or other fortresses, so the icon is extremely appropriate.

One of my favorite things I did in London was take flight on the London Eye, a giant 443 feet tall Ferris wheel located along the Thames River. The logo for this extravagant attraction not only incorporates the 360 degree view of the city that the rider experiences but also an interpretation of the glass pod one rides in during her journey. No one can miss the eye in the logo either.

I first saw the logo for The Royal Parks during an early morning stroll through the infamous Hyde Park in central London. However, it was so small on the sign that I didn't realize the crown was made up of leaves. Not until afterwards, when I was looking through my photos, did I realize how great this logo is. Do you agree?

To finish this post off, here is a retro-inspired logo for a crêperie where I got lunch one day, Crème de la Crêpe. At first I thought the drooling typeface was for added funkiness, but only after I started eating my crêpe did I realize that the oozing letters mimic the contents of the crêpe dribbling down your face. Oh and you can bet that the crêpe was delicious!

All in all, I would agree that London is a good city for design but I wasn't knocked out of my socks by what I saw. And speaking of what I saw, stay tuned for photos from my trip, they may knock your socks off (well probably not, but here's hoping!).

Shop Flight 001

In preparation for a quickly approaching trip abroad, I visited a little shop called Flight 001 last week in search of some items that might make my trip more comfortable and efficient.

I was looking for disposable pillow cases and collapsible, flexible water bottles, which they were sold out of (go figure!), but as I was perusing, saw some other nicely designed items that would be helpful traveling and could be cool gifts.

The first product that caught my eye was this Pantone swatch wallet. My photo makes it look huge, but in actuality it is a normal size for a men's wallet.

Then I saw these nylon bags that supposedly you buy many of and use them to organize the items in your suitcase. Although I love the colors and the design, I don't see how these would be any better than reusing plastic shopping bags.

These navy and cream striped cases, most likely for makeup or other small toiletries, had a sailor-ish feel but also reminded me of something Kate Spade might have in store.

Of course this shop had plenty of makeup and suitcases of which I also liked these that had vintage international graphics.

The one item that had me reconsider leaving the store empty-handed was this Grid-it Organizer, which I call a gadget and cord wrangler. This thing might actually be a functioning product, but for $22 I decided to pass it up.

I was surprised to see the shop selling flasks, but I guess it is a travel shop and you can put more than just liquor in a flask...right? Anyways, I couldn't help but like this flask in particular.

So, although Flight 001 did not have the items which drove me to visit the store, I still got to look at some good eye candy and will probably check out more of their inventory in their online shop. Cheers! (Yes, that is a hint at where I'm traveling to!)

Eat Local Art

No no no, I'm not promoting the digestive consumption of art, I'm actually talking about this new piece in our home titled Eat Local. The cool thing is that it is a kitchen dishtowel that has been screen printed with this adorable illustration by Helen Dardik for BlueQ (a great design shop that sells all sorts of knick-knacks and other funky items).

I picked it up during my week at the HOW Design Conference in Denver and I am absolutely enthralled. I saw it in a shop, checked out the price ($12.99!), and snatched up the last one. After returning home, I scoured all of my go-to stores for a frame it would fit in and settled for a black Ikea Ribba frame ($24.99).

Although I'm not pleased the frame's "glass" is plexi (they fooled me!), I am very excited this baby is now on the wall. Justin even likes it!

So for $38 smack-o-las, we got a piece that is not mass produced, semi-inexpensive, and something we think is awesome!

Boats, Trains, and Automobiles

Today I'm letting you in on some interesting facts about my commuting life.
1) Our house is 50 miles from my office in downtown Chicago.
2) I commute at least 2 hours each way before and after work, pending all of my public transportation is running on time.
3) I use four modes of transportation during the day: car, bus, train, and boat

Most of you may jump to the assumption that I must hate my life because of my commute, but I actually don't, rather I enjoy the commute. I get time to myself and don't have to worry about traffic or other road-rage inducing factors.

Last week, the weather was so beautiful that I brought my camera to work with me so I could snap some photos of the great architecture along the banks of the Chicago River. Here are four of my favorites from my 15 minute boat ride that day. (You can see more if you click to read the whole post.)

These would be great printed and framed, similar to what I did with photos I took on our honeymoon in Italy.

Biggest and Best in the Upper Midwest

Over Memorial Day weekend, Justin and I ventured North to visit some family and friends in Minnesota. My best friend Heidi, who is a Minneapolitan and whom we visited last fall, is always gushing about the goods she gets at too-good-to-be-true prices from the Minneapolis farmer's market, so when the rooster crowed Sunday morning, Justin and I met up with her and her boyfriend to wander around the self proclaimed largest open air market in the upper midwest (see photo).

After touring around the place, I must agree with the sign.

There were rows and rows of vendors selling all sorts of yumminess at buy-like-there's-no-tomorrow-prices. From local vegetables, freshly plucked from gardens...

to herbs that smelled so good they could almost induce an aroma coma...

to plump fruit and berries, just begging to be eaten.

You can even find interesting oddities such as this purple basil. (Well, at least I've never seen purple basil, have you?)

The insane part is that the majority of the items for sale are grown by local folks, which turns yummy-food-smiles into pat-myself-on-the-back-for-supporting-my-neighbors-smile. Not to mention, the beautiful way some vendors spruce up their packaging. Nothing says "hello sunshine" like some pansy faces, am I right?

But of course, flanking the end of the good-for-you fruits and veggies is another row of cooked food such as hot caramel corn, pulled pork, and mini donuts (yum-o!). Heidi is particularly fond of the fresh squeezed orange juice, which I must say is probably the best darn orange juice I have ever had.

The last, but certainly not least, row capping the end of the market is what I call gourmet alley. There you can sample olives, olive oil, nuts, spreads, bread, and even homemade soap.

Unfortunately, after perusing through all the goodies, all four of us left with empty hands. Surprising, no? Well, in our defense, we had a full day ahead of us and didn't think the produce would last in a hot and humid car all afternoon. But, now that I've experienced it, when I talk to Heidi and she is slurping down an orange juice, I'll be even more jealous. In fact, it sounds delicious right now.