Manila Office Worker (in the UK!)

Sunday afternoon, 28May06.

Had a fairly interesting mid-day Annual General Membership meeting last Friday, which our batch all attended in business attire. All of us truly felt like British bankers then, in our full regalia. After the meeting, we had the afternoon pretty much to ourselves so we headed off into the heart of London for a movie.

We went to Camden Town and watched Da Vinci Code in a small theater in the center of the town. It was a dodgy kind of place but we went anyway because some of us wanted to explore the flea market there. After the movie, some of us wanted to immediately head back to The Farm (which we say in fondness) while the rest of us wanted some more time in the city. We split then, some heading off back to the campus, others heading into Covent Garden to meet up with some other friends who were shopping there. I was with the Covent Garden group.

We ended up at this quaint Greek restaurant called The Real Greek which was a truly excellent place with great food and a very relaxing and cozy ambiance. They had a real meal deal promo which basically had an appetizer (meant to be shared) and a souvlaki (a type of wrap, similar to a gyro from Cafe Med, but much tastier) topped off with either a glass of red or white wine or a half-pint of draught Greek beer (called Alfa). The food was simply superb and the beer was cold and crisp. Our other companions, who had already been drinking at another pub, had another carafe of white wine which only served to inebriate them further. At one point, we were laughing for almost 10 full minutes over nothing at all.

Saturday at 6.45am found us poised to leave the campus again, this time for a day trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. The tour was slightly more whirlwind than I liked but I guess to fit all that into one day was a challenge in any case. Anyway, the trip was eye-opening but a little tiring. At the end of the day, we were all aching to get back. The whole group (16 of us in this case) split again, some heading back into London for a night of clubbing at Ministry of Sound, the rest heading back into The Farm. I was part of the group heading back.

Surprised? Don't be.

Remember, I'd had a pretty full day of traveling all over the UK and was pretty tired. Also, I'd neglected to bring any appropriate clothing for any clubbing. And finally, the clubbing group had reserved rooms at a hotel in London. I wasn't particularly looking forward to a cramped hotel room after a night of clubbing in Ministry of Sound. Ah well. An opportunity missed perhaps? Only time will tell.

We're thinking of heading into St Albans for some shopping this afternoon. Hope it happens since I'm getting a little bored.

Cheers!

posted by Manila Office Worker @ 5:59 AM