My first Christmas Eve in the UK (I spent my Christmas Eve on an overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an hehe!...) As usual, I woke up quite late...and wanted to go to St Paul's Cathedral for the Christmas carol at 4 pm...but due to the long ride on public transport...we didn't make it for the service when we arrived at 4 pm sharp...there's a huge disappointed crowd outside the cathedral...too bad we didn't manage to get in for a look either...should go there again next time! Jen took me to a stroll along River Thames with Tate Modern, London Eye, Big Ben and the Parliament...
Before our BIG Christmas Eve dinner, we went to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park...to my surprise, the London's Winter Wonderland is at least 10 times bigger than the Edinburgh one (our wonderland has the ferris wheel aka the Edinburgh Eye RIGHT next to the Scott Monument...a bit dangerous I think!), although they have more or less the same things e.g. ferris wheel, amusement rides, outdoor ice-skating rink (of course less windy in London!)...it has wonderfully festive atmosphere and is a great place to celebrate Christmas!!!
St Paul's Cathedral
Jen & I in front of a Christmas tree at St Paul's churchyard
Ferris Wheel in London's Winter Wonderland (not London Eye!)
Woohoo!Jen invited me to her friends' place at Imperial College for a BIG Asian dinner...no turkey or ham or Christmas pudding...but instead we had CRAB in Asian style...spicy squids....fried tofu with veggies and fried rice noodles cooked by two of her GUY friends!!! Haha!
Jen: Thanks so much for your warm hospitality...as well as the hospitality of your friends! :)
A non-traditional Christmas Eve dinner! :P
The two cooks from Malaysia and Singapore 
Wicked (on my list...I saw the short JAPANESE version in Tokyo's Disneyland...haha!)
MAMMA MIA...a musical I had been looking forward to seeing for SO long...but...a long story...*sigh*25 December 2008 (Thursday)
CHRISMTAS DAY! :) Almost all London's public transport was suspended...meaning a super HEA day at Jen's comfy flat...got up after midday (haha!), reading books and watching DVDs, enjoying a home-cooked healthy and yummy dinner prepared by Jen...a relaxing day!
26 December 2008 (Friday)
Boxing day! The day for Mammia Mia...We double-checked if we had got the tickets with us before setting off. Some public transport resumed - we went to Covent Garden...hoping to do some "window"/booth shopping but found the garden almost empty...no booths...only a few shops opened...and a street performance...When Jen wanted to treat me some yummy cookies and got into her tote bag......there's NO wallet...at first...we thought perhaps she could have left the wallet home *VERY naive* when we left home in a bit of a hurry...so she went home to pick it up and I waited for her in the city......but after I did some real shopping at HMV...I got her call...BAD news...she got her wallet stolen....probably on the crowded tube in a dirty and "dangerous" tube station STRATFORD (so angry with the Jubliee line...) at the same moment, I thought why HADN'T I thought about the wallet being stolen when her small handbag's got unzipped???!!! So my poor Jen lost her cash (10 pounds I gave her back!), bank cards, ID documents, some precious family photos, some important notes and our two Mamma Mia tickets (worthing 30 pounds each!!!!!!!!) :(((
To describe our feelings in Cantonese: TEN GREY (one is not enough!) 十个灰
The following days...when we walked past the tube station, the city, and even in bookshops, we saw posters promoting the musical, the soundtrack or the DVD...I tried to cover Jen's eyes so as not to revoke her bad memories...:P So depressing!
Luckily we didn't lose the train tickets to Edinburgh and the young person railcard! EDINBURGH here we came! :)
The complicated and confusing London tube map 
Stratford station...where the 2012 Olympics will be held! 
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