After our Lebanese meal during the Christmas vacation, Sheena and I agreed to go for another Lebanese meal on Valentine's. As Valentine's came closer, we started getting more and more excited; mostly because the food is really good and partly because Sheena couldn't stop talking about it (don't get me wrong; I love the fact that Sheena has totally fell in love with Lebanese food :P She also once said: "Once you go Lebanese, you don't go back" lol). Fleur was also excited because she knew that Lebanese food would be great - based on the stuffed zucchini experience :P. I told Bassam and my Korean friend Ji (the other ECSWomen secretary) to come along as well and they were also excited. Bassam later opted out and I didn't ask him why. Also, when I met Noura for coffee I invited her along because I knew she would appreciate it a lot. She told me that she might have to go to London to visit her sister; but if she didn't then she will come along. Sheena invited Becky to come along also :)
Meanwhile, while I was inviting fans of Lebanese food to come along for our Velentine's meal in another city, Sheena was receiving attention from a secret admirer ;) On Sunday Feb 7th, someone blue-tacked a card on our flat door addressed to Sheena asking if she had plans for Valentine's. Sheena thought it was George playing with her. Then, on Thursday Feb 12th, the cleaners came in with a letter from Hardy, the secret admirer, asking Sheena out for Valentine's. They told her that the guy was outside waiting for her answer. She recognized him from break dancing class. She didn't know what to answer so she told the cleaners to tell the guy that she will think about it. Sue, the chargehand, told her jokingly "Do it like the British women, go out with the guy for a free meal. Then when he asks you out another time just tell him that you have a headache" lol. When the cleaners left she told me that she doesn't want to miss our Lebanese meal. She then asked me if it was OK with me to bring Hardy along and I was of course OK with that. He had to be warned though that there will be four girls accompanying them two lol (Fleur, Ji, Becky, and myself duh :P) On Friday night, Noura confirmed that she was coming and she was bringing Reena along. Poor Hardy was now going out with Sheena and SIX other girls LOL. He wasn't scared away though and told Sheena that he was coming along, brave guy!
On Saturday I was planning our trip with Fleur. The reservation was made for 7:00 P.M. We had to walk to the interchange, take a bus to central station, take a train to Bournemouth and then either take a bus or a cab to the restaurant. We left our flat at 4:45 and it all worked out like a charm and we actually walked in the restaurant at 7:00. Reena and Ji, however, didn't come along. I don't remember why Reena changed her mind. Ji had to stay in Southampton because her brother was visiting her. Also, Hardy brought Sheena a very big and pretty red rose.
Noura and I handled the ordering of course. We ordered everything like last time: hommous, tabbouleh, cheese sambousek , spinach fatayer, kebbe. They didn't have vine leaves :( so we ordered batata 7arra. We also ordered grills. And of course we took loads of pictures (there is always time for the silly and the weird :P). Finally we ordered baklawa which were also very nice. The restaurant was very busy though and it took them half an hour to get our check and take their money! We then made our way back home to Southampton very pleased with the evening.
After we got home, Becky, Sheena, Fleur, and I played cards in the kitchen. Darko also came along so we all started chatting (and nagging about ECS :P) till 1 a.m. We then decided to go to sleep because by then we were very tired.
I tidied up a bit, uploaded the pictures on facebook, commented on Sheena's pictures, and finally decided to go to sleep at 2:00 a.m.
I was just about to sleep when ... at 2:45 a.m. ... the FIRE ALARM WENT OFF ... more about that in a later post ;)
Showing posts with label Bournemouth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bournemouth. Show all posts
Monday, 16 February 2009
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
When All Else Fails, Go to Bournemouth!
Sunday Feb 1st, 2009:
We missed the bus!! Oh, No! But hey, we can always hop on the next train going anywhere!
Two days earlier my friends and I held a very important meeting in my room, we were deciding where we wanted to go on Sunday :P lol. No seriously, we considered a few choices and then decided to go to Bath. We checked the attractions online, and we printed the bus and train schedules, and we agreed to meet at 9:00 A.M. outside Glen Eyre to catch the bus to the train station and then on to Bath.
Sunday morning: Sheena, Verena, and I missed the bus LOL. Sheena and I were all ready even before 9, we thought we would wait for a few minutes before going together and suddenly Peter came knocking on our door urging us to run as the bus was due to arrive (apparently we lost track of time and stayed in for a little longer than we had intended to). So, we ran outside but we missed the bus by just one minute. Oh, No!
But, Verena wasn't there. She had overslept. The reason for that was her alarm didn't go off. She had set it on the proper time but it rang one hour earlier. Her alarm is German and though she tries to put it one hour behind; the very-German clock keeps adjusting itself to the proper German time! So, Verena woke up an hour earlier and decided to re-set the alarm to an hour later but the alarm never went off again!
So, we were standing there looking at each others discussing what to do next and someone said let's go to the station and check when the next train leaves to Bath, Sheena and Peter said that it would be two hours before the next one, and so I suggested that we can hop on the next train going anywhere!
So, we went to the station and sure enough there were trains going to Bath every two hours. We looked at the train schedules and there were trains going to Reading and to Bournemouth. Peter went to ask the salesperson which choice is better and he was told that there was nothing in Reading and that we would be better off going to Bournemouth. So, we bought tickets to Bournemouth and went there :)
We got there and walked to the tourists information office where we were told that there was an Oceanarium (yeey :D !) there. We took a map and decided to walk there. The street that led from the station to the Oceanarium was named Bath road! There was also a hotel named Bath! (signs :P) LOL
We got to the Oceanarium which was next to the beach. I was very pleased because I miss the sea. Back home I used to see the sea every day. Also, one of the reasons why I chose to come to Southampton was because it was on the sea-side. But, I rarely go to the sea-side and there isn't even a beach here! Anyways, we took some pictures and went in the Oceanarium. It was lovely and I took loads of pictures especially of weird fish like the razor fish and the transparent fish. I was thinking about Yasmin most of the time knowing that she will enjoy the pictures once I post them on Facebook.
We then had lunch and some rest and then decided to walk to the City Center. We passed through a park where there was a bird aviary. Again we acted all touristy and took loads of pictures. We continued our walk to City Center where it started snowing so it was nice. We finished our tourism-round :P and then decided to walk back to the station and back home.
So, that was it for that weekend. It was fun forgetting all about coursework and exams for two whole days :)
We missed the bus!! Oh, No! But hey, we can always hop on the next train going anywhere!
Two days earlier my friends and I held a very important meeting in my room, we were deciding where we wanted to go on Sunday :P lol. No seriously, we considered a few choices and then decided to go to Bath. We checked the attractions online, and we printed the bus and train schedules, and we agreed to meet at 9:00 A.M. outside Glen Eyre to catch the bus to the train station and then on to Bath.
Sunday morning: Sheena, Verena, and I missed the bus LOL. Sheena and I were all ready even before 9, we thought we would wait for a few minutes before going together and suddenly Peter came knocking on our door urging us to run as the bus was due to arrive (apparently we lost track of time and stayed in for a little longer than we had intended to). So, we ran outside but we missed the bus by just one minute. Oh, No!
But, Verena wasn't there. She had overslept. The reason for that was her alarm didn't go off. She had set it on the proper time but it rang one hour earlier. Her alarm is German and though she tries to put it one hour behind; the very-German clock keeps adjusting itself to the proper German time! So, Verena woke up an hour earlier and decided to re-set the alarm to an hour later but the alarm never went off again!
So, we were standing there looking at each others discussing what to do next and someone said let's go to the station and check when the next train leaves to Bath, Sheena and Peter said that it would be two hours before the next one, and so I suggested that we can hop on the next train going anywhere!
So, we went to the station and sure enough there were trains going to Bath every two hours. We looked at the train schedules and there were trains going to Reading and to Bournemouth. Peter went to ask the salesperson which choice is better and he was told that there was nothing in Reading and that we would be better off going to Bournemouth. So, we bought tickets to Bournemouth and went there :)
We got there and walked to the tourists information office where we were told that there was an Oceanarium (yeey :D !) there. We took a map and decided to walk there. The street that led from the station to the Oceanarium was named Bath road! There was also a hotel named Bath! (signs :P) LOL
We got to the Oceanarium which was next to the beach. I was very pleased because I miss the sea. Back home I used to see the sea every day. Also, one of the reasons why I chose to come to Southampton was because it was on the sea-side. But, I rarely go to the sea-side and there isn't even a beach here! Anyways, we took some pictures and went in the Oceanarium. It was lovely and I took loads of pictures especially of weird fish like the razor fish and the transparent fish. I was thinking about Yasmin most of the time knowing that she will enjoy the pictures once I post them on Facebook.
We then had lunch and some rest and then decided to walk to the City Center. We passed through a park where there was a bird aviary. Again we acted all touristy and took loads of pictures. We continued our walk to City Center where it started snowing so it was nice. We finished our tourism-round :P and then decided to walk back to the station and back home.
So, that was it for that weekend. It was fun forgetting all about coursework and exams for two whole days :)
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Lebanese Food :D yeeey
If you've never had Lebanese food then you don't know what you are missing. Our mezza and our variety of grilled meat makes up the staple Lebanese food that everyone adores. Apparently some English people know some of the mezza dishes but have no idea that it is Lebanese.
So, I have been here for three months and the only time I had a mezza dish was when I bought canned hommous (your hearts go out for me - I know :P). It was OK but not as good as the real thing. The reason I didn't have any Lebanese mezza dish - even though I love it so much - is because there are no Lebanese retaurants in Southampton :(. I had been nagging about it a lot lately and I even showed some pictures to my flatmates. They got interested in trying some out so we looked for Lebanese restaurants online. We found that the nearest one was in Bournemouth. We agreed to go during the vacation on the 23rd of December because on that day Lindley - Sheena's boyfriend - would be in Southampton. For the past few days all Sheena and I have been talking about was Lebanese Food. We were SO excited. I couldn't believe I was finally going and Sheena couldn't believe she was gonna be trying new food. I was hoping that the food would be good because it would be such a disappointment and waste if it weren't.
On the 22nd, I called the restaurant and made reservations - not that any was needed because it was a weekday but I wanted them to know that a real Lebanese was coming :P. I told some of my friends and Sarah we would have to drive to Bournemouth to have a meal, she answered 'Bournemouth, that's in the middle of nowhere England!" hehehe
The 23rd finally came. George asked me to check Google maps and see how long it will take us to get there. I did and it turned out that Bournemouth was 45 minutes away! "That food better be good", Sheena and I commented. We agreed to leave the dorms at 7:20. As always, we left 15 minutes AFTER the agreed on time - my Lebanese lack of respect to appointments was not the reason behind it :P. My flatmates and I never leave on the agreed on time :D
The car ride was quite. Everyone was quite and secretly hoping the food wouldn't turn out to be a disappointment. We got there and were seated. The manager was Lebanese but our waiter was Syrian. I handled the ordering because my flatmates wouldn't know anything. I ordered hummus, mtabbal, tabbouleh, vine leaves, fatayer sambousek cheese, and kebbi. I also ordered a mixed plate of grilled kafta, chicken tawouk, and beef meat. As Lebanese we always refer to these as: chicken, kafta, and meat. So when they asked me what I ordered and I replied meat I unconsciously thought that was clear enough. They had to ask me two time what I ordered before I realized that answering meat was not sufficient hehehe
The food came and it was amazing :D they loved all of it. George and Lindley didn't like the vine leaves but Sheena and I thought it was well nice. Then the grills were served and everyone was impressed as well :D By the time we finished we were very stuffed. To end it nicely we also had baklawa, it was amazing AND on the house - how cool was that? We decided we should go back there once again and Sheena and I agreed we have Valentine's meal there :P hehehehe
One last note, after the meal was over Sheena commented that Lebanese food is so good and that she couldn't believe I made it through three months without having any "I can now imagine how you were feeling. It must have been torture" she rightfully stated
So, I have been here for three months and the only time I had a mezza dish was when I bought canned hommous (your hearts go out for me - I know :P). It was OK but not as good as the real thing. The reason I didn't have any Lebanese mezza dish - even though I love it so much - is because there are no Lebanese retaurants in Southampton :(. I had been nagging about it a lot lately and I even showed some pictures to my flatmates. They got interested in trying some out so we looked for Lebanese restaurants online. We found that the nearest one was in Bournemouth. We agreed to go during the vacation on the 23rd of December because on that day Lindley - Sheena's boyfriend - would be in Southampton. For the past few days all Sheena and I have been talking about was Lebanese Food. We were SO excited. I couldn't believe I was finally going and Sheena couldn't believe she was gonna be trying new food. I was hoping that the food would be good because it would be such a disappointment and waste if it weren't.
On the 22nd, I called the restaurant and made reservations - not that any was needed because it was a weekday but I wanted them to know that a real Lebanese was coming :P. I told some of my friends and Sarah we would have to drive to Bournemouth to have a meal, she answered 'Bournemouth, that's in the middle of nowhere England!" hehehe
The 23rd finally came. George asked me to check Google maps and see how long it will take us to get there. I did and it turned out that Bournemouth was 45 minutes away! "That food better be good", Sheena and I commented. We agreed to leave the dorms at 7:20. As always, we left 15 minutes AFTER the agreed on time - my Lebanese lack of respect to appointments was not the reason behind it :P. My flatmates and I never leave on the agreed on time :D
The car ride was quite. Everyone was quite and secretly hoping the food wouldn't turn out to be a disappointment. We got there and were seated. The manager was Lebanese but our waiter was Syrian. I handled the ordering because my flatmates wouldn't know anything. I ordered hummus, mtabbal, tabbouleh, vine leaves, fatayer sambousek cheese, and kebbi. I also ordered a mixed plate of grilled kafta, chicken tawouk, and beef meat. As Lebanese we always refer to these as: chicken, kafta, and meat. So when they asked me what I ordered and I replied meat I unconsciously thought that was clear enough. They had to ask me two time what I ordered before I realized that answering meat was not sufficient hehehe
The food came and it was amazing :D they loved all of it. George and Lindley didn't like the vine leaves but Sheena and I thought it was well nice. Then the grills were served and everyone was impressed as well :D By the time we finished we were very stuffed. To end it nicely we also had baklawa, it was amazing AND on the house - how cool was that? We decided we should go back there once again and Sheena and I agreed we have Valentine's meal there :P hehehehe
One last note, after the meal was over Sheena commented that Lebanese food is so good and that she couldn't believe I made it through three months without having any "I can now imagine how you were feeling. It must have been torture" she rightfully stated
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