Languorous London

London is one of the most diverse and exhilarating places in the world. Live here and you’ll meet people and ideas from the world over. And as with all great cities, it takes time to get to know the basics.

London is a cosmopolitan type of city, it consists of so many different communities where different nationalities and cultures live side by side.You can find Irish people inhabiting one London area next to Jewish and Muslim people. In certain parts you will meet Greeks, Americans, New Zealanders, Germans, Africans etc. With so many people living here there is a great percent of foreigners .

Travelling across London can at times be difficult, particularly by car/taxi - the average traffic speed in the West End is just 8 miles per hour! The large tube system makes travel through London rapid though at certain times of day it can be overcrowded.

Despite all these good fact there are also some downside of london , which is being the most expensive city in the world, and seems dirty, noisy or overcrowded, with no facilities for the Handicapped or people with kids especially babies in strollers , because there is on Lift/elevator for the underground tubes, its only the escalators. . Whether u like it or not, can or cannot, you have to walk over the stairs .Not a lot of public trash bins are found in the city thus the cause of the dirty scenario. Not a lot of Toilet facilities either. Taxis are highly expensive. Public transports like tubes/trams/buses are much affordable.

One of the problems of the city is , although it is made up of attractive architecture, the city is pretty dull and one often wonders whether much of it is worth the effort. Its either full of bankers or its the weekend and that too in shopping areas like oxford circus and nowhere else u can see a single person. The whole city is haunted during weekends. All the shops are closed within 5.30 pm. And theres no prefference to kids or pregnant woman or handicapped person among the public. On top of which the indisputable VAT tax. Cant really find good Indian/Asian food in central London. The wheather adds feather to the cap! .....windy & rainy most of the time.

It might be a great place just for the purpose of visiting around(tourism) but its not my favourite. No offense. Its just my personal opinion.

London Sight Seeing

Second day of sightseeing london, was quite hectic. Especially with a toddler , bags, stroller, and camera. Yet, tried to click few pictures.

I covered most of the important places. Although couldnt get into each on of them which will be more time consuming.

A brief comment on the places that i went :

• Tower of London : One of my favourite place in the list. An illustrated history and description of this World Heritage Site with the guards. Quite interesting and at times disgusting to hear about the murders that they committed those days. The most interesting and important place for all the tourist is the crown of jewels . What exactly are the Crown Jewels? Basically all the gold and glitter used in coronations: ten crowns are on display, plus scepters, jewelled swords, and the Orb . The most important thing to see here (especially if you are an indian ) is the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond in one of the queen's crown. I am plannign to post a seperate article on the crown of jewels.
• Cruise on River Thames : full range of sights along the Thames, with commentary (sometimes humorous): Houses of Parliament, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Eye... Highly recommended, for London Sightseeing!
• Big ben : is actually the local name for the bell in the Clock Tower.one of london's best-known landmarks, and looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.
• The Houses of Parliament, otherwise known as The Palace of Westminster, stands next to the BigBen. It is a royal palace and former residence of kings. The layout of the Palace is intricate, with its existing buildings containing nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and well over 3 kilometres (2 miles) of passages. Among the original historic buildings is Westminster Hall, used nowadays for major public ceremonial events.
• London Eye : Didnt getinto the capsule. Just clicked few wonderful shots of it.
• The Royal Courts of Justice : was opened by Queen Victoria in 1882 and became the permanent home of the Supreme Court.

To be continued .............

London

So the day of surprise finally arrived. Me, my husband & our son all three landed and took some rest and by the time we could get over the jet lag , our son got sick with high temperature and cold due to the severe wheather conditions prevailing here. It is much cold and windy than NJ.

The pictures above were the places that are located exactly within 5 minutes walk (except one or two)from the hotel where we stayed. For now i guess this is wat it is.

London is made up of very attractive architecture, and each one of them is unique. Looks like many of the main building like St.Pauls cathedral church has even survived bombs from wars. All of them are dated atleast a 2 or more centuries many of them are dated back a thousands of years back, which is a jaw-dropping and interesting fact!

To be Continued ................






Photographs by Abi.

Out of town

I will be out of town on a work retreat of my spouse's , for a while. This time it is to the city of thames. We were actually planning for a trip to this place long since, but couldnt make it. Since it is his business trip im sure it wont be as fun as a vaccation. yet hoping if we can atleast try to buy couple of days(weekends !) to spend ...

Will post pictures as we go forth and some articles whenever i get a chance. See you folks.

No more soda

Soda, pop, cola, soft drink — whatever you call it, it is one of the worst beverages that you could be drinking for your health. As the debate for whether to put a tax on the sale of soft drinks continues, you should know how they affect your body so that you can make an informed choice on your own.Soft drinks are hard on your healthSoft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars — or worse, sugar substitutes — and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives.A lot of research has found that consumption of soft drinks in high quantity, especially by children, is responsible for many health problems that include tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.Why the sugar in soft drinks isn’t so sweetMost soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount! Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let's talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease. Something else to consider is that most of the excess sugar ends up being stored as fat in your body, which results in weight gain and elevates risk for heart disease and cancer. One study found that when subjects were given refined sugar, their white blood cell count decreased significantly for several hours afterwards. Another study discovered that rats fed a high-sugar diet had a substantially elevated rate of breast cancer when compared to rats on a regular diet.The health effects of diet sodaYou may come to the conclusion that diet or sugar-free soda is a better choice. However, one study discovered that drinking one or more soft drinks a day — and it didn’t matter whether it was diet or regular — led to a 30% greater chance of weight gain around the belly. Diet soda is filled with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin. These artificial sweeteners pose a threat to your health. Saccharin, for instance, has been found to be carcinogenic, and studies have found that it produced bladder cancer in rats. Aspartame, commonly known as nutrasweet, is a chemical that stimulates the brain to think the food is sweet. It breaks down into acpartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees. (Remember, your stomach is somewhere around 98 degrees.) An article put out by the University of Texas found that aspartame has been linked to obesity. The process of stimulating the brain causes more cravings for sweets and leads to carbohydrate loading.Carbonation depletes calciumBeverages with bubbles contain phosphoric acid, which can severely deplete the blood calcium levels; calcium is a key component of the bone matrix. With less concentration of calcium over a long time, it can lower deposition rates so that bone mass and density suffer. This means that drinking sodas and carbonated water increases your risk of osteoporosis. Add in the caffeine usually present in soft drinks, and you are in for even more trouble. Caffeine can deplete the body’s calcium, in addition to stimulating your central nervous system and contributing to stress, a racing mind, and insomnia. Skip the soda and go for:• Fresh waterWater is a vital beverage for good health. Each and every cell needs water to perform its essential functions. Since studies show that tap water is filled with contaminants, antibiotics, and a number of other unhealthy substances, consider investing in a quality carbon-based filter for your tap water. To find out more about a high-performance filtration system, click here. On the go? Try using a stainless steel thermos or glass bottle, filled with filtered water. Enhance the flavor of your water with a refreshing infusion of basil, mint leaves, and a drop of honey.• Fruit JuiceIf you are a juice drinker, try watering down your juice to cut back on the sugar content. Buy a jar of organic 100% juice, especially cranberry, acai, pomegranate, and then dilute three parts filtered water to one part juice. You will get a subtle sweet taste and the benefit of antioxidants. After a couple of weeks, you will no longer miss the sweetness of sugary concentrated juices.• TeaTea gently lifts your energy and has numerous health benefits. Black, green, white, and oolong teas all contain antioxidant polyphenols. In fact, tea ranks as high or higher than many fruits and vegetables on the ORAC scale, the score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods. Herbal tea does not have the same antioxidant properties, though it is still a great beverage choice with other health benefits, such as inducing calming and relaxing effects. If tea doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth, try adding cinnamon or a little honey, which has important health benefits that refined sugar lacks. For a selection of healthy teas that promote total body wellness, click here. Drink up!I hope you find the ways and means to avoid soft drinks. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me. May you live long, live strong, and live happy!--Dr. Mao- - - - - - - - - -Transform your health and bring quality to your years with Dr. Mao's natural health products from the Tao of Wellness.Discover a high-quality water filtration system that will provide you with pure, healthy water. Order Dr. Mao's new book Second Spring: Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age.Learn hundreds of ways for living a long and happy life with Dr. Mao's book Secrets of Longevity.

Halloween Party 2009

We had a little get-to-gether Halloween celebration at our home tonight , and i should say it was the best party we had ever experienced.It was a family-friendly fun party, with absolutely no scary things in it. Almost 6 families -thats 17 guests took part in this wonderful evening. Kids were given the first preference so all the kiddos were there with their cutest costumes making this Halloween celebration fun and exciting. The highlight of the party is the games for the kids and grown-ups which was really cool. I was so amazed that everybody co-operated and took part in all the activities with so much excitement. Party included a pot-luck dinner, so there were lots of yummy food options. Finally we cut the cake and ended up the celebration. Thanks to all our friends who made this a great blast.