Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Aberdeen, Scotland

Aberdeen - 

Below I have a picture of the University of Aberdeen. It really is quite a pretty university. Well, some buildings anyway. My friend who goes there just showed me 'the nice ones' apparently. Hahaha. 

Aberdeen University

According to her, the city of Aberdeen is a nice place to live in - but only for the company. I didn't get her at first. Not until I arrived in the city and saw it for myself. 

When I arrived, I hailed a taxi to take me to her student accommodation. And on the way there, I could not help but realise that every (I'm not exaggerating here) building was GREY. It was really rather perplexing. I thought I was imagining it at first. But she clarified with me that perpetually every building in this city is made of granite. 

The only saving grace she says - is that sometimes, when the sun actually does shine, it... sort of sparkles. 

Blows your mind doesn't it? ahahhaa. 

But it is a rather gloomy place. Grey cobblestones, grey buildings, grey sky.... EVERYTHING, is grey. And honestly, I think, during winter, it can be a little bit of a depressing city. The sun hardly ever comes out apparently. 

But I don't think that's all that there is to it. They do have a gem in the city:

Aberdeen beach
The beach. It's a fantastic place to hang out, to walk your dog, and the likes. I imagine having wonderful picnics here too. What's good about it, is that it is a sandy beach. My friend didn't really understand why I was so glad to see sand per se, but I basically told her that for most of England, the beaches are just rock beaches. I.e. that it's just pebbles. I don't know how to explain this exactly, but take a trip down to Brighton, and you'll get what I mean. 

Aberdeen.. I agree with her. Not a place to visit unless you have the company. There's nothing much to see in this place at all. 

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Fleet River Bakery



Quite a number of people who work or study in London would have heard about this little place - Fleet River Bakery. It's situated in Holborn, near the London School of Economics and Lincoln's Inn. A little gem of a place, if I must say so myself. 

I must say that my whole experience studying in London wouldn't have been complete without this place. It's a convenient, and very nice place, to meet with your friends for a chat. You can stay and do a little bit of reading, you can have a good breakfast, and have some nice cakes and scones for tea. 

The scones, as my friends have dubbed it, are the MOTHER of scones. They are huge! And very well worth the price. The cream.. the jam.. the texture. Heh. 

There was once, when pouring the milk into my Flat White, the barista messed up the coffee art. 

There was nothing wrong with the taste, but I was pleasantly surprised when he said that he'd make me a completely new one. I didn't ask him to, and neither did I mind having coffee with sucky coffee art. But I guess, for the sake of trade and perfection, he did offer me a new one. 

And now that is what I call dedication and excellent service. 

Worth a visit, worth the time. 

And I can bet my undergraduate degree on that.