Beautiful boats and royals in the rain

Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of HRH Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. To honour the reigning monarch's Diamond Jubilee, London has turned into a zone of festivities, smiles, laughter and joy. Free events have been organised for the occasion, some of which took place last week. 

Yesterday was the day of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which saw over a thousand boats from different historical eras, Commonwealth countries and organisations sail through the River Thames. Powerful military boats were followed by cute steamboats and the Queen participated in the fun by sailing on her royal barge. 

Thousands of eager spectators occupied the riversides in an attempt to secure a good view to the river. We managed to get a descent spot close to Waterloo Bridge and enjoyed some munchies and cider while watching the activities of the river. And indeed, we saw the Queen and the royal family! Prince Harry dashed off without asking for my number though. How disappointing!

We stayed for quite a while, but left before the end as it started raining heavily. 

The Jubilee festivities continue today and tomorrow, however, I think I have had my share. I leave you with a not-the-best-quality picture of the pageant.

The royal family aboard the barge.

Looking for Prince Charming!

As a single London chick, the end of the week is always dedicated to romantic optimism. You convince yourself that this weekend, you will meet someone lovely and you will begin a beautiful journey, which will lead to expensive rings and happy honeymoons. Nightclubbing and the weekends are all about living a fairytale, from looking like a princess to attending a ball, finding your prince there and living happily ever after.

Needless to say, when you lie on your bed on Sunday morning; shaking, sweating and sipping bland tap water; you feel like an utter fool. No numbers were exchanged, no one interesting came up to you, or if they did, you cannot really tell, as it was far too loud in the bar and you were a bit too intoxicated to register their interest. Prince Charming was nowhere in sight, and neither was his second-cousin, or third-cousin, for that matter. Instead, you spent way too much money, your feet ache from wearing high stilettos, you feel like shit and the memory of all the ineligible bachelors squeezing your bum while passing you by angers you. So what was the point of it all?

Hey, at least you're going out and not staying in feeling sorry for yourself. Besides, it is fun to maintain the illusion that night clubbing is beneficial to your cause. Dressing up is fun, drinking makes you convinced you'll find that perfect someone, holding a cocktail makes you look rich and fun, dancing (even two-stepping in stilettos) burns off some of the calories acquired from drinking, and hanging out with your friends is always fun-tastic. Fun, fun, fun, right?

Last weekend, I ventured into two nightclubs in my quest of making my fairytale fantasy a reality. First up, on Friday night, was Chinawhite, and on Saturday, Jalouse. Despite their cool reputations, my intoxicated state and my alcohol-infused confidence, I did not enjoy the two places very much. The chart-topping music was hardly exciting, and the men in the club were very, very pushy and just looking to score a chick for the night. You would think that all the money you spend would be able to 'buy' you a good evening without sleazy men who ask you to join them for a 'hanky panky' and girls with fake - well, everything - but no. These places were seedy, and no fun. 

So while the fairytale illusion of meeting the prince at a ball is overtaken by sleaziness and seediness, there is hope for us chickadees yet :-) The cocktail lounge Match Bar had a really good, friendly atmosphere, and the lounge DJ played really good, upbeat tunes. And, no, you did not have to shout when talking to your friends, so it was the perfect bar for catching up, too. And yes, there were cute guys around, but I did not really get to speak to many, as we had a private booth and a private party. No sight of the Prince Charming though, but his third-cousins were there. So maybe he'll turn up at the Match Bar sometime soon... I know I will!

So no, I did not meet Prince Charming yet. As the chances of meeting him in a night club seem relatively slim, I have given in and joined a dating website. So far, it has been alright, and there are far more eligible men there than there are in the two night clubs I visited. There is a certain old-school romantic feel about sending little messages to the guys you come across there, and then, perhaps, going out on a date with them. It is quite exciting. So maybe my Prince Charming is waiting for me online instead? I will keep you posted ;-)

Sunday is the market day!

A few weeks back, a friend of mine took me out for a stroll around the Shoreditch-Spitalfields area. We walked down the Brick Lane and ventured into the narrow streets and alleyways behind the Shoreditch High Street Station, which were full of colourful little market stands offering goods from fabulous mock-jewellery to worn down WWII clothing, and from second-hand Converse boots to colourfully cheeky McHammer sunshades. "Worn down junk and overpriced retro goods" would be the apt phrase to describe these quirky goods. However, I must admit, that I whole-heartedly enjoyed the walk and the general atmosphere.

Old Spitalfields Market ( building on the left).

While I had only heard of the Camden market before, I was completely swept off my feet by the Old Spitalfields Market. After stepping in to the charming Victorian building, I was in vintage heaven. I could so easily spend all of my money there. The airy room was crowded with people, but due to the high ceiling, it did not feel as crowded and crammed as the street market. The goods were far more interesting than those of the street vendors: unique fashion with an adorable vintage touch, antique furnishings with a charming touch of the years, shoemaker's leather boots and cutesy jewellery no one else would ever have.

So today, I returned, with the remains of my previous paycheque burning a hole in my pocket. And indeed, it would have, once again, been easy to spend all my money there. Instead, I tried to be practical and only buy things I needed (read: the best deals I could find). See for yourself:

A pair of (faulty) flat ballerinas, £5 (from Traffic People)

A dress and trousers, £15 (from a market stall)

Afterwards, I ventured into a continental cheese store where a cute guy was selling cheese. And yes, I just had to buy some scrumptious little piece of hard cheese. Just because the guy was a handsome French guy, just because the cheese was fantastic, just because it was sunny out, and just because I was really happy.

Got a job and a room! Things are looking up!

The past week went by incredibly fast and I have basically just been running from one place to another. I attended three job interviews, visited the embassy to vote for a new president, found a room to live in and got my bank account sorted, so things are finally starting to go right.

I accepted a job offer - an office job (from 9.30am til 5.30pm) just a tube ride away from my future room, so not only is the location good, but the job sounds ideal for the moment. I think it will prepare me nicely for my upcoming university studies in January 2013.

And yes, I have also managed to find a nice double room in a tidy flatshare! There is a tube station less than 10 minutes walk away, the rent is low and the location very central (on the edge of Zone 1). I won't be moving there until the 9th of February though, so in the meantime, I am staying here in this little suburb Surrey village :-)