Sunday, 26 July 2009
Official Wedding Photos
Sorry we haven't updated in awhile, we have safely arrived in London and are slowly recharging ourselves down in Taunton, Somerset.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
4th of July and Hollywood Bowl
Today we went running around Silver Lake reservoir, which was absolutely massive. At first look we thought we wouldn't be able to make it all the way around but we did. The reservoir was all fenced off so there was no chance of a cool dip to escape the mid afternoon sun. This evening we went to Hollywood Bowl which is an equally as massive out door music arena, there we watched the LA Phil Harmonic Orchestra perform to fire works as well as to the animation of Peter and the wolf. The venue holds over 25,000 people and in amongst them was a guy who saw us get married last week. On our wedding day he was sat on a bench nearby, where he clapped and congratulated us, and tonight he was sat on the back row, where he shouted "hey I saw you two get married last week" I mean how randoms that!!! Now we are deciding what to do tomorrow, maybe universal studios :) ooo and we just found out that you can get into Disney Land for free on your birthday, 27 yrs old and hugging a man in a mouse costume.... I'm definitely considering it :) I tried to upload more pics but yet again after 10mins it says error, I'll try again tomorrow.
Night! x
Night! x
Kim Birches LIVE in LA
dan and i have been invited to play at my friend jaime's t-shirt launch party in her vintage shoppe on the 18th, yay!
we'll also be doing a small set on the 15th at Genghis Cohen - where I played my very first gig in LA back in 2000. :)
love,
rania
we'll also be doing a small set on the 15th at Genghis Cohen - where I played my very first gig in LA back in 2000. :)
love,
rania
Monday, 6 July 2009
Gluttony!
it seems our blog has become more of a food diary. instead of writing a crazy long entry, here's what we ate today:
lunch: togo's (a way better version of subway) special deal of the day - 6" pastrami sandwich + coke
dinner: in-n-out burger & fries + chocolate milk shake + root beer
dessert: ice cream at Scoops - rainbow sorbet (yummy), cinnamon coffee (yummy), salty caramel (too salty for my liking), chocolate pecan (ok)
dessert #2: dark cherries
I've now just bought tickets to take Dan to the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow night featuring Prokofiev, Film & Fireworks with clips of Romeo & Juliet, music from Peter & The Wolf, and Piano Concerto #2. The last time I was there was to watch Jet and Oasis several years ago...or maybe it was Radiohead. The Hollywood Bowl is a 60-acre canyon in Hollywood which forms a natural amphitheare with its beautiful half-dome stage that create the most amazing acoustics; it seats c25 000. An annual summer festival, mainly of art music, was established there in 1922. It is the summer home of the Los Angeles PO. Here's what it looks like:
think i will roll myself into bed now. i'm too full to write anymore. pass it on to dan!
beginning tomorrow morning, we will start jogging again!
gooooood night xxx rania
lunch: togo's (a way better version of subway) special deal of the day - 6" pastrami sandwich + coke
dinner: in-n-out burger & fries + chocolate milk shake + root beer
dessert: ice cream at Scoops - rainbow sorbet (yummy), cinnamon coffee (yummy), salty caramel (too salty for my liking), chocolate pecan (ok)
dessert #2: dark cherries
I've now just bought tickets to take Dan to the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow night featuring Prokofiev, Film & Fireworks with clips of Romeo & Juliet, music from Peter & The Wolf, and Piano Concerto #2. The last time I was there was to watch Jet and Oasis several years ago...or maybe it was Radiohead. The Hollywood Bowl is a 60-acre canyon in Hollywood which forms a natural amphitheare with its beautiful half-dome stage that create the most amazing acoustics; it seats c25 000. An annual summer festival, mainly of art music, was established there in 1922. It is the summer home of the Los Angeles PO. Here's what it looks like:
think i will roll myself into bed now. i'm too full to write anymore. pass it on to dan!
beginning tomorrow morning, we will start jogging again!
gooooood night xxx rania
Sunday, 5 July 2009
San Francisco
From Dan
Alcatraz
Rania eating an apple
Chinese fruit and veg shop
Dried Fish
h
Entering SF via Bay Bridge
San Francisco
Hey all, sorry for the delay but we've been a bit busy celebrating 4th of July. Before we get on to that I'll let you know how San Francisco went. So Anthony 'Rania's Bro' arranged a little trip to SF for the three of us after the wedding. We began the journey at 11pm on Sunday night, as this meant we could miss most of the traffic throughout the 5-6hr drive.
We arrived in SF by 7am and were unable to check-in until 3pm. We decided to try to sleep in lobby but it was too busy so we hit the road and found our way to chinatown. Chinatown was massive, 5 times the size of London's chinatown. I saw a yellow school bus for the first time. We ate Chinese shrimp and pork dumplings and bbq pork buns. By the end of our meal, we were too tired to go any further so we went back to the Hotel. Luckily by then, we were able to check-in to Anthony's room. We crashed out until about 2 and watched a bunch of american trash TV. Finally checked into our room at 3pm. After freshening up and getting ready, we went to The Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. This was a grand version of Minehead or Western Supermare. Rania was really keen to have clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl so we went to Boudin's for dinner. Rania and Anthony had the clam chowder and I had the chilli. We then vistited various gift shops and attractions before we headed back to the hotel after many hours of no sleep.
The next morning Anthony decided to stay in, leaving time for me and Rania to go exploring. Our first destination was Haight and Ashbury. We traveled via bus which was cool, they had alot of the bendy style buses we have in London. When we got off we were greeted with a musical instrument shop, wasn't that good, although we did buy a really loud egg shaker for $3.
From Rania:
Haight & Ashbury is a very hippie part of SF which has changed a lot since the last time I visited. We had a hard time differentiating between the homeless and the hippies. A lot of hobos asking for change. We had a massive sandwich at Coral Cafe nearby then continued our walk to Golden Gate Park. The entrance to the park near Haight & Ashbury was crowded with more bums so we felt a bit wary continuing on. We ended up at Conservatory of Flowers and Academy of Science Museum. By then we were exhausted so we took a bus and a cable car back to the hotel for 5pm. Freshened up a bit, got in touch with Jess' cousin Olivia who was really nice to meet up with us and take us out for dinner in the Mission district. We ate at Olivia's favourite local spot called Blue Jay Cafe on Divisadero and Golden Gate street. Dan had a very small portion of crab cakes and their special offer $1 beer, Anthony and Olivia had trout, and I went for the cheeseburger & fries. Afterwards, Olivia decided to show us around the Mission district - a part of SF that's equivalent to Silverlake in LA, Williamsburg in NY, and Brick Lane/Shoreditch in London. Wish we had more time to hang out in that area, Olivia was very informative and gave us all the inside info about the newer yuppy side of town, to the inbetween, and the old. Think we conquered at least 10 miles walking for the day so we called it an early night, in bed by midnight.
Wednesday: Met Annie (friend from NY who just recently moved to SF) at 8:30am for breakfast at The Farm Table right near our Hotel. Went back to the hotel to meet up with Dan and Anthony. Headed out to Chinatown to get some souvenirs, dropped stuff back at the hotel, took a cable car to Lombard street (crookedest street in SF), took photos of Alcatraz from a distance, went back to Fisherman's Wharf to have a feast before heading back to LA. Anthony had half a crab and shrimp cocktail. Dan and I shared shrimp cocktail, Lobster bisque in a sourdough bread bowl, battered shrimp, and curly fries. Went back to the Hotel, picked up our luggage, then shooted back to LA. I started driving at 7pm, and my brother decided we take the longer route via 101 fwy which gave us a total of 7 hours of driving vs. 5-6 hrs of driving. Never again.
Thursday: Took Jess and Spencer to the airport in the morning and got Jess' keys to her comfy 1 bedroom apartment in Mar Vista. Jess kindly let Dan and I stay in her apartment for the weekend while her and Spencer took off to Canada for another wedding.
Friday: Took Jess and Spencer's bikes for a quick bike trail on Ballona Creek Bike Path. Lasted about 5 miles total (including trip home). Our bums were aching the next day. We also stopped by a local music shop on our way home and saw a few beautiful vintage Gretsch and Epiphone hollow body guitars. $200 for an acoustic hollow body (no name brand). And a beautiful red Ibanez electro/acoustic hollow body for $350. Sigh...money money money! The biking knocked us out so off to bed early again...
Saturday: Woke up fairly early, cleaned around the apartment, got picked up by Olivia and Ram, went to Smart & Finals (like a Costco but BIGGER) and picked up some picnic goodies (salami, bread, crackers, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, hummus, cheese, jack & coke, margarita mix, and olives), headed over to the beach for what could've been a perfect picnic if it wasn't so darn windy. After we ate, we attempted to wait for the fireworks but shriveled up like prunes too quickly and decided to opt for plan B. Headed back to Jess' apt to drop off the food, headed off to Venice beach. Saw a few locals shooting off fire crackers on the beach, then went for a few drinks at Danny's Restaurant/Bar (Daniel didn't have his I.D. and most places were carding for entry. Danny's happened to let us through w/out I.D.). Ram got sick after too much J&D, called it a night around 2am.
Sunday: Woke up and cleaned, watched the food network on TV, went to Mitsuwa for lunch - I had thin sliced beef soup with udon noodles and Dan had chicken cutlet curry. Bought a box of red bean ice pops to go. Waited for Jess and Spencer to arrive from their trip. Had some ice pops and watched Spiderman 2 on TV. Got dropped off at home around 4pm, spent the rest of the day dealing with visa related stuff and finances. Total couch potatoes this weekend, felt nice to finally get some pure relaxation.
Jennifer Daigle was a really nice photographer to work with for our wedding. Can't wait to see the proofs on the 11th! We'll post some photos asap :).
photos have stopped uploading now, must be slow connection. more photos tomorrow!
night,
R&D
Salty Pretzel with cheese dip
Alcatraz
Rania eating an apple
Chinese fruit and veg shop
Dried Fish
h
Entering SF via Bay Bridge
San FranciscoHey all, sorry for the delay but we've been a bit busy celebrating 4th of July. Before we get on to that I'll let you know how San Francisco went. So Anthony 'Rania's Bro' arranged a little trip to SF for the three of us after the wedding. We began the journey at 11pm on Sunday night, as this meant we could miss most of the traffic throughout the 5-6hr drive.
We arrived in SF by 7am and were unable to check-in until 3pm. We decided to try to sleep in lobby but it was too busy so we hit the road and found our way to chinatown. Chinatown was massive, 5 times the size of London's chinatown. I saw a yellow school bus for the first time. We ate Chinese shrimp and pork dumplings and bbq pork buns. By the end of our meal, we were too tired to go any further so we went back to the Hotel. Luckily by then, we were able to check-in to Anthony's room. We crashed out until about 2 and watched a bunch of american trash TV. Finally checked into our room at 3pm. After freshening up and getting ready, we went to The Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. This was a grand version of Minehead or Western Supermare. Rania was really keen to have clam chowder out of a sourdough bread bowl so we went to Boudin's for dinner. Rania and Anthony had the clam chowder and I had the chilli. We then vistited various gift shops and attractions before we headed back to the hotel after many hours of no sleep.
The next morning Anthony decided to stay in, leaving time for me and Rania to go exploring. Our first destination was Haight and Ashbury. We traveled via bus which was cool, they had alot of the bendy style buses we have in London. When we got off we were greeted with a musical instrument shop, wasn't that good, although we did buy a really loud egg shaker for $3.
From Rania:
Haight & Ashbury is a very hippie part of SF which has changed a lot since the last time I visited. We had a hard time differentiating between the homeless and the hippies. A lot of hobos asking for change. We had a massive sandwich at Coral Cafe nearby then continued our walk to Golden Gate Park. The entrance to the park near Haight & Ashbury was crowded with more bums so we felt a bit wary continuing on. We ended up at Conservatory of Flowers and Academy of Science Museum. By then we were exhausted so we took a bus and a cable car back to the hotel for 5pm. Freshened up a bit, got in touch with Jess' cousin Olivia who was really nice to meet up with us and take us out for dinner in the Mission district. We ate at Olivia's favourite local spot called Blue Jay Cafe on Divisadero and Golden Gate street. Dan had a very small portion of crab cakes and their special offer $1 beer, Anthony and Olivia had trout, and I went for the cheeseburger & fries. Afterwards, Olivia decided to show us around the Mission district - a part of SF that's equivalent to Silverlake in LA, Williamsburg in NY, and Brick Lane/Shoreditch in London. Wish we had more time to hang out in that area, Olivia was very informative and gave us all the inside info about the newer yuppy side of town, to the inbetween, and the old. Think we conquered at least 10 miles walking for the day so we called it an early night, in bed by midnight.
Sprained my wrist on June 28th whilst play fighting with Baniel
Pier 39
Sunny Baniel
Cute little kids waving to the people in the cable car
Wednesday: Met Annie (friend from NY who just recently moved to SF) at 8:30am for breakfast at The Farm Table right near our Hotel. Went back to the hotel to meet up with Dan and Anthony. Headed out to Chinatown to get some souvenirs, dropped stuff back at the hotel, took a cable car to Lombard street (crookedest street in SF), took photos of Alcatraz from a distance, went back to Fisherman's Wharf to have a feast before heading back to LA. Anthony had half a crab and shrimp cocktail. Dan and I shared shrimp cocktail, Lobster bisque in a sourdough bread bowl, battered shrimp, and curly fries. Went back to the Hotel, picked up our luggage, then shooted back to LA. I started driving at 7pm, and my brother decided we take the longer route via 101 fwy which gave us a total of 7 hours of driving vs. 5-6 hrs of driving. Never again.
Thursday: Took Jess and Spencer to the airport in the morning and got Jess' keys to her comfy 1 bedroom apartment in Mar Vista. Jess kindly let Dan and I stay in her apartment for the weekend while her and Spencer took off to Canada for another wedding.
Friday: Took Jess and Spencer's bikes for a quick bike trail on Ballona Creek Bike Path. Lasted about 5 miles total (including trip home). Our bums were aching the next day. We also stopped by a local music shop on our way home and saw a few beautiful vintage Gretsch and Epiphone hollow body guitars. $200 for an acoustic hollow body (no name brand). And a beautiful red Ibanez electro/acoustic hollow body for $350. Sigh...money money money! The biking knocked us out so off to bed early again...
Saturday: Woke up fairly early, cleaned around the apartment, got picked up by Olivia and Ram, went to Smart & Finals (like a Costco but BIGGER) and picked up some picnic goodies (salami, bread, crackers, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, hummus, cheese, jack & coke, margarita mix, and olives), headed over to the beach for what could've been a perfect picnic if it wasn't so darn windy. After we ate, we attempted to wait for the fireworks but shriveled up like prunes too quickly and decided to opt for plan B. Headed back to Jess' apt to drop off the food, headed off to Venice beach. Saw a few locals shooting off fire crackers on the beach, then went for a few drinks at Danny's Restaurant/Bar (Daniel didn't have his I.D. and most places were carding for entry. Danny's happened to let us through w/out I.D.). Ram got sick after too much J&D, called it a night around 2am.
Sunday: Woke up and cleaned, watched the food network on TV, went to Mitsuwa for lunch - I had thin sliced beef soup with udon noodles and Dan had chicken cutlet curry. Bought a box of red bean ice pops to go. Waited for Jess and Spencer to arrive from their trip. Had some ice pops and watched Spiderman 2 on TV. Got dropped off at home around 4pm, spent the rest of the day dealing with visa related stuff and finances. Total couch potatoes this weekend, felt nice to finally get some pure relaxation.
Jennifer Daigle was a really nice photographer to work with for our wedding. Can't wait to see the proofs on the 11th! We'll post some photos asap :).
photos have stopped uploading now, must be slow connection. more photos tomorrow!
night,
R&D
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Jamies House & Traditional Korean wedding outfit
From Dan:
These are traditional Korean style wedding outfits
This is me scaring Jamie's tiny turtle
From Rania:
Ahh, officially a Mrs. Kim Birch! We are just about to start packing for our SF trip with my brother. Had an amazing day yesterday, my girls really pulled through amazingly and made the entire day just that much more special. THANK YOU! And thanks to everyone who came out and shared the amazing day with us, you guys are awesome!
A few highlights:
We promise to have photos next time we post! We will be back on Tuesday night.
Lots of love,
R
These are traditional Korean style wedding outfits
This is me scaring Jamie's tiny turtle
From Rania:
Ahh, officially a Mrs. Kim Birch! We are just about to start packing for our SF trip with my brother. Had an amazing day yesterday, my girls really pulled through amazingly and made the entire day just that much more special. THANK YOU! And thanks to everyone who came out and shared the amazing day with us, you guys are awesome!
A few highlights:
- randomers on the sreets congratulating us around the beach
- delicious chocolate cake from Porto's
- the tough time I had putting Daniel's ring on his finger (he must've been a little swollen from the heat haha) eventually got it on after a few shoves
- Olivia's slip up during her ceremony speech "who will take this MAN..." haha
- Jess' amazingness at EVERYTHING
- Jaime's beautiful decorations for the reception
- Getting my hair and makeup done in the hotel
- portable shout wipes (quick stain removers)
- aunt singing and mom playing piano before dinner
- grandpa asking how many kids we're going to have "1? 2? ..... 1? 2? .....1? 2???"
- reuniting with Uncle #2 and his family
- Dirty martinis
- champagne
- old faces
- Kyoto Grand - our wedding suite :)
- greeting dan's parents on the phone at 4am UK time, 8pm US time.
- Photoshoot at Union Square
- Adrienne playing "All You Need Is Love" on cello during the ceremony
- the beautiful weather
- passing vodka and whisky shots under the table at family dinner (great job Josh! lol)
- seong being very drunk
- jess and spencer dancing
- meatballs from edendale (reception venue)
- cake fight between me and dan
- dan's suit covered in chocolate
- dan pulling my eyelashes off "hey you've got some cake.."
We promise to have photos next time we post! We will be back on Tuesday night.
Lots of love,
R
Friday, 26 June 2009
Skid Row and knock offs
Skid Row!!! some sort of outdoor music event
Rania and Olivia
View outside the apartment
Lucky number 7Today we went to see Olivia's loft apartment in down town LA, Olivia is the facility manager of the building, so she was able to show us all the fancy pent house apartments with the out door jacuzzi s. Next we explored down town's dress district to find a dress for Olivia and a second dress for Rania to wear at the reception. Next we went for coffees at Starbucks and then took a walk through the knock off part of town to try and find me some new shades. On our way back to the car Olivia told us we had parked in a really dodgy area called 'Skid Row' this is where all the bums live and is also not a good place to hang about, so we headed back home to cook more Korean BBQ. Olivia and her boyfriend Ram joined us and we went and got Mexican beers and spent the evening talking trough all our plans for the next couple of days.
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