It's been a while. A long while.
Over a month.
What's happened in that time?
1. Pas de la Casa Snowboard trip.
2. Another week off between Christmas and New Year.
3. 2011.
4. More Boris Bike shenanigans.
5. Vaujany Ski trip.
Let's start with 1.
It was a Christmas trip. As usual, we were due to travel just after the SantaSkate party, meaning not much sleep beforehand. The weather was looking iffy so I subscribed to the BAA text update service so I'd get a text to confirm the flight was scheduled.
It had snowed quite a lot but my text message arrived, saying the flight was scheduled.
So we stayed in Battersea the night before the flight (which was at 7am or so from Heathrow Terminal 5). The Addison Lee cab turned up, and for some reason charged us £100 to get to the airport. From Battersea. WTF?? I will never use them again. A black cab would have been cheaper.
So we get to the airport, all 5 of us, only to discover that all flights have been cancelled due to snow. Great. We were screwed, or so we thought. I stood there for a while wondering what to do. One friend ran around in a bit of a panic, getting annoyed. Another friend was preparing to accept that he'd lost his money, and another friend went to the British Airways desk (or rather the queue for it) to try and find out what was going on. The BA friend also suggested calling the tour operator. This proved to be a genius idea. A quick check of the website got us their number, so I called to see if there was anything they could do.
A nice lady answered the phone at 6am (on a Sunday) and said they'd called the travel agent the night before and left a message asking if we wanted to fly from Gatwick instead, as they had anticipated problems at Heathrow. Unfortunately this message was never relayed to me.
Aaaanyway. She said to me that they had chartered a flight from Birmingham airport, and that if we could get to Birmingham in time for the 1pm flight we'd be on it. I told her I'd call back, ran across the terminal to where everyone was waiting and told them about our new adventure.
We left the terminal the same way we came in, heading for the drop-off point. The queue for taxis was immense so it was out of the question. A nice Polish minicab driver agreed to take us to Euston for £60. A bargain compared to the £100 from Battersea to the airport. We all got on board and in next to no time we were at Euston Station buying train tickets. £40 each later, we were on the train. Things seemed to be going well. Until we got to Rugby. Apparently the train had been delayed not due to snow, but because of overrunning engineering work. We sat there for over an hour, expecting to miss the flight.
We got to the airport with 5 minutes to go before check-in closed, ran to the check-in desk to find that they didn't know about us. They contacted the ticket desk and all seemed to be going well until they noticed a couple of our ski bags. £25 each later and we were checked in, but it wasn't over yet. We didn't have much time before our flight was due to take off, so we ran past most of the queue for security and got to the departure lounge.
But the flight was delayed, for another 2 hours. Eventually we took off, and landed in Toulouse, 10 hours later than we had expected. This was a pretty good job, considering most people were not able to fly at all.
Unfortunately when we got to Pas de la Casa it was apparent that there was more snow in London than there was in the ski resort. There was enough to have a good time though, and we made the most of it. Then the storms came. First a powerful wind blowing most of the snow off the mountain. Then the rain, turning what was left into sheet ice. Then came the blizzards, making the conditions freezing in the air and on the ground. The result of all of this though, was that the last 2 days were 2 of the best powder days I've seen in years. We were snowboarding off-piste, making our own individual tracks in the snow just like you see in the cool snowboard videos in the pub.
All in all it was a great holiday. Yay!
And I've just realised this is a really really long blog post, so I'll write about 2, 3, 4 and 5 in subsequent posts rather than here.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Microsoft Burrito 2010 Professional
2 subjects. Microsoft and burritos. Who knew they could be so intertwined.
Well they aren't really, but they are the 2 main things I have to report on. I'll start with burritos. Burritos are always a good start.
So I was massively ill over the weekend. Like whoa, this is not right. First the reason for the illness (what does this have to do with burritos, I hear you murmuring). Last Friday we had our company Christmas party. Now our Christmas and Summer parties consist of a day of lectures on how awesome we all are followed by much partying and food and alcohol. It's a winning combination most of the time. Friday though, was not one of those times. I was already uncomfortable finding out that this year our conference was to be held 4 floors underground. Yay. No daylight then. But the real problem was it was so stuffy. Add to that workaholic consultants who MUST get to the conference even if it means infecting half the company with whatever disease they have, and you end up with.... half the company infected with some strange disease. So that knocked me out all weekend. Which meant I had to take Monday off. But by Monday I was able to walk again, so I walked to... The Flying Burrito :D
It was closer to my flat than I thought, and a worthy alternative to Burro Burrito which sucks. Now if only it opened more often.
What did I think? Meh, it's not going to take away Chipotle or Chilango's joint crown any time soon, but it's better than a lot of other places. Just a middle of the road kind of place. Lovely service though, and they have a loyalty card which is a bonus...
On Tuesday I went to Chipotle for my reference to be recalibrated. This is recommended after trying a new burrito, lest you forget how a burrito should taste. This time though, it was particularly tasty, not because it was any better made (actually slightly worse, had a containment failure due to defective tortilla), but because it was FREE! Yes, another FREE burrito courtesy of Chipotle. Now tell me, how can you possibly beat that? I'm going to have to sell out to the corporation and rank Chipotle above Chilango if they keep this up!
Now what does this have to do with Microsoft? Well, very little. The similarity is limited to the immense disappointment I feel when a new burrito place isn't up to scratch. I've felt this way lately about a number of Microsoft products. Here's a list of recent issues I've had.
1. Microsoft never used to support Exchange ActiveSync on hotmail. This prevented me from switching to iPhone or Android. They have since introduced this.
2. Windows Phone 7. What a pile of poo. What's worse is that Windows Phone 7 is also their official solution to the problem of Windows Mobile Device Center not working with 64-bit Outlook, knobbling my Windows Mobile 6.5 too. Apparently I should just get Windows Phone 7 which works through Zune instead. Except it's rubbish.
3. Hotmail has become all weird and difficult to use.
4. MSN changed the messenger smileyes and plastered adverts everywhere.
5. SharePoint 2010 is a pile of poo.
6. Hyper-V. Don't even get me started.
It's almost like Microsoft is trying to make their products look as shiny as Apple stuff but without making any of it work. Guys, you can't polish a turd, so either stop turning out turds in the first place or start selling them as turds so people aren't confused and disappointed.
I bet none of this post makes sense. Oh well...
Snowboarding next week. Wheeee! :D
Well they aren't really, but they are the 2 main things I have to report on. I'll start with burritos. Burritos are always a good start.
So I was massively ill over the weekend. Like whoa, this is not right. First the reason for the illness (what does this have to do with burritos, I hear you murmuring). Last Friday we had our company Christmas party. Now our Christmas and Summer parties consist of a day of lectures on how awesome we all are followed by much partying and food and alcohol. It's a winning combination most of the time. Friday though, was not one of those times. I was already uncomfortable finding out that this year our conference was to be held 4 floors underground. Yay. No daylight then. But the real problem was it was so stuffy. Add to that workaholic consultants who MUST get to the conference even if it means infecting half the company with whatever disease they have, and you end up with.... half the company infected with some strange disease. So that knocked me out all weekend. Which meant I had to take Monday off. But by Monday I was able to walk again, so I walked to... The Flying Burrito :D
It was closer to my flat than I thought, and a worthy alternative to Burro Burrito which sucks. Now if only it opened more often.
What did I think? Meh, it's not going to take away Chipotle or Chilango's joint crown any time soon, but it's better than a lot of other places. Just a middle of the road kind of place. Lovely service though, and they have a loyalty card which is a bonus...
On Tuesday I went to Chipotle for my reference to be recalibrated. This is recommended after trying a new burrito, lest you forget how a burrito should taste. This time though, it was particularly tasty, not because it was any better made (actually slightly worse, had a containment failure due to defective tortilla), but because it was FREE! Yes, another FREE burrito courtesy of Chipotle. Now tell me, how can you possibly beat that? I'm going to have to sell out to the corporation and rank Chipotle above Chilango if they keep this up!
Now what does this have to do with Microsoft? Well, very little. The similarity is limited to the immense disappointment I feel when a new burrito place isn't up to scratch. I've felt this way lately about a number of Microsoft products. Here's a list of recent issues I've had.
1. Microsoft never used to support Exchange ActiveSync on hotmail. This prevented me from switching to iPhone or Android. They have since introduced this.
2. Windows Phone 7. What a pile of poo. What's worse is that Windows Phone 7 is also their official solution to the problem of Windows Mobile Device Center not working with 64-bit Outlook, knobbling my Windows Mobile 6.5 too. Apparently I should just get Windows Phone 7 which works through Zune instead. Except it's rubbish.
3. Hotmail has become all weird and difficult to use.
4. MSN changed the messenger smileyes and plastered adverts everywhere.
5. SharePoint 2010 is a pile of poo.
6. Hyper-V. Don't even get me started.
It's almost like Microsoft is trying to make their products look as shiny as Apple stuff but without making any of it work. Guys, you can't polish a turd, so either stop turning out turds in the first place or start selling them as turds so people aren't confused and disappointed.
I bet none of this post makes sense. Oh well...
Snowboarding next week. Wheeee! :D
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Burrito Win!
Finally... after much failing of burrito, a burrito win!
Cha-ching!
I've been waiting for some time to try Burrito Bros. The place is in a really inconvenient location for me personally, being neither here (work) nor there (home). So yesterday I went there especially, having already satisfied myself with a Chipotle for lunch.
At first I was rather worried by the place. It had steamed up windows and no atmosphere at all. There were 2 staff there, neither of whom were smiling, and my attempts at making conversation felt wasted. I ordered the burrito and every time I asked for something (I kind of know my burritos and know what I want, plus for the purpose of reviews I always have the same type to keep it fair), but I guess the guy at the counter was new as he kept asking me again to make sure.
It took him a while to construct my burrito, but never before have I seen such care taken in burrito construction. The result was a perfectly wrapped specimen, but this brought me to my 2nd worry; he'd taken so long wrapping it that I was worried it would be cold.
As I was eating in, they suggested I go downstairs to the seating area rather than sit at the counter upstairs. This was my first surprise. There were actually people down there, enjoying conversation. The barren upstairs counter area was actually hiding a nice little seating area below.
I then unwrapped the burrito and took my first bite. And it was good. Not only was it good, but each subsequent bite was somehow better, which isn't always the case with a burrito. This one was very flavoursome, and although it had a flavour different to any other burrito I've had. As I finished my burrito, I was in no doubt that Burrito Bros has made it into my top 3 burrito places in London (though not quite as good as Chilango or Chipotle).
So I am not sure what the 1-star and 2-star reviews are on about really. Perhaps they were written when it was new and still experiencing teething troubles. Who knows. This little place is great in my opinion :)
Burrito Bros, I salute you!
Cha-ching!
I've been waiting for some time to try Burrito Bros. The place is in a really inconvenient location for me personally, being neither here (work) nor there (home). So yesterday I went there especially, having already satisfied myself with a Chipotle for lunch.
At first I was rather worried by the place. It had steamed up windows and no atmosphere at all. There were 2 staff there, neither of whom were smiling, and my attempts at making conversation felt wasted. I ordered the burrito and every time I asked for something (I kind of know my burritos and know what I want, plus for the purpose of reviews I always have the same type to keep it fair), but I guess the guy at the counter was new as he kept asking me again to make sure.
It took him a while to construct my burrito, but never before have I seen such care taken in burrito construction. The result was a perfectly wrapped specimen, but this brought me to my 2nd worry; he'd taken so long wrapping it that I was worried it would be cold.
As I was eating in, they suggested I go downstairs to the seating area rather than sit at the counter upstairs. This was my first surprise. There were actually people down there, enjoying conversation. The barren upstairs counter area was actually hiding a nice little seating area below.
I then unwrapped the burrito and took my first bite. And it was good. Not only was it good, but each subsequent bite was somehow better, which isn't always the case with a burrito. This one was very flavoursome, and although it had a flavour different to any other burrito I've had. As I finished my burrito, I was in no doubt that Burrito Bros has made it into my top 3 burrito places in London (though not quite as good as Chilango or Chipotle).
So I am not sure what the 1-star and 2-star reviews are on about really. Perhaps they were written when it was new and still experiencing teething troubles. Who knows. This little place is great in my opinion :)
Burrito Bros, I salute you!
Monday, 6 December 2010
Burritos and the Grid.
I haven't posted for a while (again). This is mainly because I've been writing reviews on Qype.co.uk instead of on my blog (where nobody reads it anyway).
But I recently found another burrito blogger at londonburrito.com who largely comes to the same conclusions as me. Awesome :D
I think I should try and organise a burrito festival of some kind. Battle of the burritos, if you will...
Last week I had a Benito's Hat that was an epic fail. It was almost as bad as my recent Mexicali burrito, which was awful. I am not sure what went wrong, but it's put me off going there for a while. Damn shame :(
But not too much of a shame, for recently a new burrito place has opened near work (yes, another one). It's called Adobo, and I tried it this afternoon. Mark, one of the owners, seems very keen to hear what people think. He's had some good feedback, and he's had some constructive criticism from me too. Here's pretty much what Jason and I told him:
0. The guacamole is excellent and deserves praise. At 70p I think they have the price right too (even if I still think it should be free on principle).
1. My meat (chicken) was a bit dry. I suspect that this is because they don't have the same level of customer throughput as other places, due to having just opened. Jason's (beef) was better.
2. The staff could do with some training on how to wrap a burrito. It was a bit too wide and could be packed tighter. It would be fantastic if they were genuine burrito lovers, which the staff at Chipotle appear to be.
3. The rice was slightly undercooked. Note here that although I thought this was a negative, Jason really liked it.
4. They could do with having some sauces available to sprinkle over the burritos. Mark informed me that they would be getting bottles of cholula, and that Tabasco sauces are insanely expensive.
5. There should be a 'queue here' sign next to the counter. The reason for this is that the counter takes up too much space, and the queue starts from the wrong end. This will be problematic for them in the summer when the queue stretches outside the shop, which it will, even if they don't improve. Appreciate that there's not a lot they can do about this due to the layout of the restaurant...
6. The lettuce didn't appear to be as fresh as the likes of Chilango, Chipotle and Benito's.
Overall I liked the place, but the burrito itself could do with improvement. More succulent meat, slightly more potent chili sauce (I had medium but it tasted bland to me) and better rice would make Adobo fantastic. Actually the availability of adobo sauce to sprinkle would be nice too.
The fact that they intend to start serving gourmet coffee using the same beans as those used by Taylor Street Baristas is also very good news. I wish them every success in their venture.
Here is my current ranking:
1. Chilango - Chill and go :)
2. Chipotle - If BMW made Burritos, they would be Chipotles.
3. Adobo - See review above
3. Benito's Hat - Down from rank 1 after my recent Burrito catastrophe at the Covent Garden branch.
5. Tortilla - They are rapidly expanding so they must be doing something right!
6. Daddy Donkey - Sadly no longer the daddy of donkeys.
6. El Burrito - Given that this place is run by Mestizo, it should be much higher in the list!
8. Mas Burritos - The problem with these is that they aren't mas. They are really stingy on fillings :(
9. 1910 Mexican Kitchen
10. Burro Burrito - Tastes like a Staedtler eraser.
11. Mexicali - I didn't think it was possible to make a burrito worse than 1910, but Mexicali and Burro Burrito both manage it, and then some.
Oh and I saw TRON Legacy on Saturday at the Empire Leicester Square. OMG! It was fantastic! Can't wait for the official release so I can go and see it again! The Empire 3D system (Dolby Digital 3D) is leagues ahead of the regular RealD 3D System most cinemas have. Great stuff :)
But I recently found another burrito blogger at londonburrito.com who largely comes to the same conclusions as me. Awesome :D
I think I should try and organise a burrito festival of some kind. Battle of the burritos, if you will...
Last week I had a Benito's Hat that was an epic fail. It was almost as bad as my recent Mexicali burrito, which was awful. I am not sure what went wrong, but it's put me off going there for a while. Damn shame :(
But not too much of a shame, for recently a new burrito place has opened near work (yes, another one). It's called Adobo, and I tried it this afternoon. Mark, one of the owners, seems very keen to hear what people think. He's had some good feedback, and he's had some constructive criticism from me too. Here's pretty much what Jason and I told him:
0. The guacamole is excellent and deserves praise. At 70p I think they have the price right too (even if I still think it should be free on principle).
1. My meat (chicken) was a bit dry. I suspect that this is because they don't have the same level of customer throughput as other places, due to having just opened. Jason's (beef) was better.
2. The staff could do with some training on how to wrap a burrito. It was a bit too wide and could be packed tighter. It would be fantastic if they were genuine burrito lovers, which the staff at Chipotle appear to be.
3. The rice was slightly undercooked. Note here that although I thought this was a negative, Jason really liked it.
4. They could do with having some sauces available to sprinkle over the burritos. Mark informed me that they would be getting bottles of cholula, and that Tabasco sauces are insanely expensive.
5. There should be a 'queue here' sign next to the counter. The reason for this is that the counter takes up too much space, and the queue starts from the wrong end. This will be problematic for them in the summer when the queue stretches outside the shop, which it will, even if they don't improve. Appreciate that there's not a lot they can do about this due to the layout of the restaurant...
6. The lettuce didn't appear to be as fresh as the likes of Chilango, Chipotle and Benito's.
Overall I liked the place, but the burrito itself could do with improvement. More succulent meat, slightly more potent chili sauce (I had medium but it tasted bland to me) and better rice would make Adobo fantastic. Actually the availability of adobo sauce to sprinkle would be nice too.
The fact that they intend to start serving gourmet coffee using the same beans as those used by Taylor Street Baristas is also very good news. I wish them every success in their venture.
Here is my current ranking:
1. Chilango - Chill and go :)
2. Chipotle - If BMW made Burritos, they would be Chipotles.
3. Adobo - See review above
3. Benito's Hat - Down from rank 1 after my recent Burrito catastrophe at the Covent Garden branch.
5. Tortilla - They are rapidly expanding so they must be doing something right!
6. Daddy Donkey - Sadly no longer the daddy of donkeys.
6. El Burrito - Given that this place is run by Mestizo, it should be much higher in the list!
8. Mas Burritos - The problem with these is that they aren't mas. They are really stingy on fillings :(
9. 1910 Mexican Kitchen
10. Burro Burrito - Tastes like a Staedtler eraser.
11. Mexicali - I didn't think it was possible to make a burrito worse than 1910, but Mexicali and Burro Burrito both manage it, and then some.
Oh and I saw TRON Legacy on Saturday at the Empire Leicester Square. OMG! It was fantastic! Can't wait for the official release so I can go and see it again! The Empire 3D system (Dolby Digital 3D) is leagues ahead of the regular RealD 3D System most cinemas have. Great stuff :)
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Indiana Backpain and the Skate of Power
OMG skating last night was so fast, I couldn't keep up with the people I was supposed to lead, and this morning I could barely move... d'oh! :)
And while I'm on the subject, one of the skaters following me skated in front of me, then braked, then asked me which way to go. He got upset when I told him it was a dumb idea to skate in front of me and brake. He failed to see that this is the same as a lorry cutting you up while driving, slamming on the brakes and the driver asking you for directions.
Oh well :)
It rained this morning but I beat it by riding the Boris Bike to work and not being very wet. I risked not taking my umbrella because I'd left it in the car and couldn't be bothered to go and get it. Then at lunchtime it started pouring with rain. £16.95 and a very wet head later I now own 2 very similar Fulton umbrellas, one of which is still in the car.
And while I'm on the subject, one of the skaters following me skated in front of me, then braked, then asked me which way to go. He got upset when I told him it was a dumb idea to skate in front of me and brake. He failed to see that this is the same as a lorry cutting you up while driving, slamming on the brakes and the driver asking you for directions.
Oh well :)
It rained this morning but I beat it by riding the Boris Bike to work and not being very wet. I risked not taking my umbrella because I'd left it in the car and couldn't be bothered to go and get it. Then at lunchtime it started pouring with rain. £16.95 and a very wet head later I now own 2 very similar Fulton umbrellas, one of which is still in the car.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Indiana Backpain and the Coffee of Hope
Following on from my epic Friday tale... on Saturday morning I was supposed to go for a cycle ride to Epping Forest. It was going to be lovely and the weather was pretty good, however due to my back pain I decided it wouldn't be a very good idea to risk further pain. I did however, feel the need to move. So my friend and I went for our usual bike ride around an 18 mile canal route. This time I did it with a twist though. Convinced that my back pain was caused by riding my own bicycle last Wednesday, I opted to do it on a Boris Bike. This consisted of taking a bike, and swapping it every 25 minutes or so. I did this by using my friend's key and alternating it with my own, negating the need to wait for 5 minutes in between bikes. It also meant I could keep the same bike every time. Fantastic :)
Usually we stop somewhere for a drink or coffee, and Saturday was no different. We'd been meaning to stop at a place that looked rather delightful and it turns out it was. It was called the Towpath Cafe and they served the best coffee I've had in a long time. My review on Qype says it all really. I can't wait to go back there, but alas I fear it's getting too cold, as they don't have any indoor seating. D'oh!
Later that evening, I met up with my friend again, as he was having a birthday gathering and it was our intention to visit Pizza East in Shoreditch. The place is rather lovely. Nicely decorated and has a fantastic atmosphere. In fact it was heaving, so busy that we had to wait 45 minutes for our table. I was full of anticipation, but slightly suspicious of the people in there. Turns out I was right to be suspicious.
I'm not saying Pizza East is bad. In fact it's very good. It's just not my kind of place. It was trying too hard to be Shoreditch-cool. The pizza was made from fresh ingredients and you could taste the quality. The wine list was twice as long as the pizza list, but I would have preferred it to be the other way around. My biggest problem was that the standard pizza offerings all had weird toppings, like it was trying to be some modern pizza fusion restaurant. This didn't really work and the Italian waitress agreed with me that the pizza wasn't really like a real Italian pizza should be. It was also pretty expensive compared to the likes of Da Mario and Piccolino, who do rather good Italian style pizza.
Wheeeee :D
To be continued...
Usually we stop somewhere for a drink or coffee, and Saturday was no different. We'd been meaning to stop at a place that looked rather delightful and it turns out it was. It was called the Towpath Cafe and they served the best coffee I've had in a long time. My review on Qype says it all really. I can't wait to go back there, but alas I fear it's getting too cold, as they don't have any indoor seating. D'oh!
Later that evening, I met up with my friend again, as he was having a birthday gathering and it was our intention to visit Pizza East in Shoreditch. The place is rather lovely. Nicely decorated and has a fantastic atmosphere. In fact it was heaving, so busy that we had to wait 45 minutes for our table. I was full of anticipation, but slightly suspicious of the people in there. Turns out I was right to be suspicious.
I'm not saying Pizza East is bad. In fact it's very good. It's just not my kind of place. It was trying too hard to be Shoreditch-cool. The pizza was made from fresh ingredients and you could taste the quality. The wine list was twice as long as the pizza list, but I would have preferred it to be the other way around. My biggest problem was that the standard pizza offerings all had weird toppings, like it was trying to be some modern pizza fusion restaurant. This didn't really work and the Italian waitress agreed with me that the pizza wasn't really like a real Italian pizza should be. It was also pretty expensive compared to the likes of Da Mario and Piccolino, who do rather good Italian style pizza.
Wheeeee :D
To be continued...
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