Finding Mr. Darcy: Israeli soldier vs. English Scholar; The Rugged vs. The Refined

Dear Ladies and Gentleman,If you are married consider yourself to be lucky, dating is a chore and a job. If you are single consider yourself lucky too, because being married is a job. But,I'd rather be single and a spinster than unhappily married.

Dating in London: Israeli soldier vs.English gentleman. There could not be two races of men, or two species of men more disparate from each other that I couldn’t resist writing about it. I have dated English men in America and English men in England. I have dated Israeli men in America and Israeli men in London. What I haven’t done thus far, is date an Israeli man in his own country,Israel.

Where the English man is quiet, reserved unassumingly polite, The Israeil man is insensitive, rude to the point of being obnoxious. The English are famous, the world over for their impeccable manners, their coyness, their indirect manner, subtlety, tact and gentleness. There over all, certriain composure in public places. And, don’t like a lot of PDA, public display of affection. Where the English man courts you, wines and dines you and takes you to chic restaurants and classy hotels for afternoon tea,and sends long emails to express his affection,the Israeli man’s idea of a date is to have coffee in his flat on his bed. His idea of communication, writing a missive note and sending you 5 texts as to why you should come over to his house, even though you already told him you didn’t want to come to his house for the tenth time.

Where the English man is shy about revealing his feelings and sometimes has to drink 3 pints of Guinness before he does so, the Israeli man will move full speed ahead and make his physical attraction and feelings known quite fast and early on. The Israeli man will take you to visit his family right after the first date. I once dated an Israeli man in Los Angeles, and after the first date, he invited me for the second date for dinner at his sister’s house, followed by a party at the synagogue the same evening. I was quite flattered, and though wow, he must really like me. I did some research online, to find, that this is a common custom of Israeli men. The family is so close knit that they include you in their plans even when they first meet you. I thought it was sweet. Apparently, Israeli are very keen on finding a woman and settling down to make a family. That’s a very nice quality and I think saves a lot of time. English men, on the other hand, would shy away from any kind of family meeting until well after they have established that you were going to be the woman that they were going to marry. It’s pretty much the same anyway. But, come on, it’s very flattering if a man you just started dating wants to introduce you right away to his family. I love that shit! And, women are suckers for that because we start thinking of wedding bells right away and that’s how are brains are programmed. (My American Jewish boyfriend back home, waited at least 1 year to introduce fly me to Boston and introduce me to his family. We aren’t together anymore, but I am still friends with his parents. Why not, they raised a cool son.)

I have to admit that the confident braggadocio of the Israeli man can be very sexy. I once met an Israeli man at a café, he was interested in Buddhism and said that he chanted my same mantra before ( Nam Myoho Renge Kyo).I took him to the Buddhist meeting and told him we would only be friends. After about two weeks of his calling, texting me, and emailing me , and wearing me down, I FINALLY agreed to go on a date with him. During our date, we were on our way to the concert venue, he saw that I was scared to cross the street, he grabbed my hand with such force and walked so confidently across the street, that I thought that he was a general in the army. He did it and I was quite impressed. Women, I think all over the world, like a man, that shows some manliness and bravado. I believe, Israeli men have that kind of brave front from serving in the Israeli army.( It’s compulsory training that all Israeli’s including women serve for two years.) It’s quite sexy, but in small doses. That same kind of bravado can whirl into shades of machoism, which is a big turn off and can send a feminist woman like myself running the other way.

Another clear distinction of these two male animals, is that where the English man is progressive and modern about women’s rights. The Israeli is the opposite and downright macho and sexist. On the second date with the same Israeli man, he started telling me how I should dress to please him. I said wait a minute," I am not your girlfriend, I haven’t even kissed you. What right do you have to try and tell me what to do?" Whoa! The chutzpah of this man.

I think the best man for me,would have the would the manly bravado of the Israeli man, with a balance of the refined, cultured, intellectual English gentleman. Is there such a man?

Tom Poulton: The Secret Art of an English Gentleman







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Is it Fair to Say English Fare is just Fish and Chips?

Many people when they think of English fare, they think of Fish and Chips,Shephards Pie,Sausage and Mash,mushy peas or overcooked vegetables. It doesn't sound very tantalizing, does it? Most people deem English fare to be lacking in taste and blase.I must say that English food is not bad food. I have to demystify this presumption for the rest of the planet and Americans. Since there are so many different cultures in London,there has been a long standing trend of English chefs to combine the spices and flavors of other cultures in thieir cuisine. There are the likes of famous chefs, like Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver.They have combined traditional English food and made it more global and ethnic.Hence, a burgeoning fusion revolution has emerged.There has been many immigrants from India,China, Jamaica, Caribbean, Italy, Spain in London, and surely their influence has migrated into the food.But apart from that, I find English Food I find quite pleasant,and especially comforting on cold winter nights. Some dishes I enjoy are Chicken Roast, Coronation Chicken,Lancashire Hot Pot, Bubble and Squeak,Prawn Sandwiches with Watercress Soup, and so on and so forth. So, don't you dare think the English don't know how to cook, because they DO !!

I personally love Jamie Oliver. Apparently, he's now doing a food revolution, Campain in the US. I don't really care much of Gordon Ramsey and his F******G Show, where every other word is F***K This, and F***K that! I really don't think all that F*******G language is appropriate in this day and age, and it's a bad influence on society and children.I think it's stupid, and is waste of intelligence. I will talk about this later in another blog, but for now, I would like to say that Fish and Chips are a big staple and has been English fast food, since the times of the Romans. Actuallly, the first FISH and CHIPS restaurant dates about 1853.

FISH and CHIPS are wrapped in newspaper

Everywhere you go in London, what you get for food is CHIPS, CHIPS, CHIPS, and more CHIPS!!!There are around 8,500 fish and chip shops in the UK, with fish and chips probably being Britains most long-standing popular fast food. FISH and CHIPS shops are to be found in just about every part of the UK.The way the English eat their CHIPS, fries, or pomme frites is very hot and with vinegar and salt.

It would be fair to say, what you get in England for food is FISH and CHIPS, and then something else. The way the English do CHIPS is with FISH. But I can't say the same for other cultures.The way they do their CHIPS is quite different. Still, the English love their CHIPS,and apparently so does EVERYBODY else that immigrated there.When you go to a Middle Eastern Lebanese Falafe fast food place, you can order a Falafel and CHIPS. When you go to get Chinese Take out, you can get Egg Rolls, Fried Rice and CHIPS. When you go to an Italian Restaurant, and you maybe just want a pasta or a pizza, you can get Pizza and CHIPS, and then of course, a coke.

Frankly, that's a lot of greasy food, no wonder I gained weight. Oh, don't forget to down the CHIPS with a pint of Guinness. A little oil every now and then is great for your hair, nails and skin and scientist say does wonders for the arteries and has great healing properties.

Not all FISH and CHIPS are this greasy, so if the chef hands you this ask him to cook it again for you. Cheers !

10 Best Fish and Chips Restaurants in the UK
Ten Best Fish and Chip for London
A Recips on How to Make CHIPS


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History of the Pubs in London

The History of the Pubs

The arrival of the Romans and the establishment of a sound road network in the U.K. contributed to an increase in travel, and a demand for the establishment of simple ale houses where a traveler could stop and find shelter whilst quenching their thirst.The pub as we know it has its origins in the abbey breweries and monasteries, which emerged shortly after the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066. The Normans, upon conquering Britain set about building a huge network of places of worship throughout the land. Not long afterwards, many monasteries and abbeys began to brew their own beer, for sale to pilgrims. This led to the later development of ale houses, where travellers and locals could sit in for a drink or two. Temporary living accommodation was often sought by the travellers close to the ale houses, which led to the development of inns. Inns have, in turn, by and large developed again into simple drinking houses (though rarely attached to an abbey or monastery) called 'public houses' or 'Pubs' for short, often themed for novelty value, and central to entertainment and community life.

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Some Interesting Pubs:

The George Inn

The George Inn, just off Borough High Street, survived the Great Fire of London, 1666 (as it was just south of the River Thames), only to be burnt to the ground in a large scale, lesser-known fire, just one year later. It was rebuilt, and continued to serve pilgrims and tradesmen on this bus route from Northern to Southern England. The architecture is still pure 17th Century, and in the courtyard you can almost touch the atmosphere, where travellers used to drink olde-English ale, their horses and carts tied up alongside them.

The Interior of the George Inn


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For more gruesome drinks,The Ten Bellsin Spitalfields, is known to have been frequented by at least one of Jack the Rippers victims, whilst up the road in 'The Blind Beggar' the Krays carried out their most famous murder.

The Ten Bells in Spitafields. In the 1800's, the time of Jack The Ripper.

The Interior of Ten Bells

If you have a passion for the arts try 'The French House' in Soho, London where gangsters, sex workers and artists such as Francis Bacon rubbed shoulders in the 1950's and '60's.

Hauntings

Theory has it that pubs attract ghosts of the dead, for much the same reason that they attract many of the living; they go there to find a shoulder to cry on! So next time you are in a pub and feel a ghostly chill, don't fear, just lend an ear!

The Mermaid Inn in Rye, East Sussex is said to be the most haunted pub in England, with a history of duelling ghouls in the main bar, and several other sceptres that haunt the inn bedrooms. The inn serves excellent food, and has a genuine fire in the bar.

Pub hauntings are synonymous with old pubs. Perhaps try a ghost-pub crawl
with the London Walks people around your local area for a change: chase off your beer tasting evening with a different kind of spirit! Ha ha! London Walks has a different pub walk practically every night, I strongly recommend them.

Some Interesting Pub Sites

http://www.fancyapint.com/
http://knowledgeoflondon.com/pubs.html

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Cemeteries in London

One of the many things, of the many things,that I loved about London is the parks. Some of these parks, residential or otherwise have gravestones. I have to admit it's a bit eerie and Goth, and I kind of like it(that's what happens when a mind is raised on Gothic Literature like The Bronte's Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, which I've read 4 times and loved every page of it and plan to read it again in my old age).I wanted to wait until Halloween to post this blog, but a bit of spookiness in the middle of Spring never did anyone any harm. Besides,looking at graves reminds us of our mortality, and a dose of that every now and then,without being moribund and Gothic-like, is in my humble opinion,a sign of good mental health.

To me,the fact there are gravestones in parks is what makes London so charming and of course, so intereseting. Everywhere you go,everywhere you walk,just as soon as you walk out of your flat door,and sometimes, when you least expect it,you have history staring at you in the face: mews, old alleyways, parks, pubs, cemeteries, city streets, canals,underground tunnels, Churches, palaces, museums, secret buildings, the underground, and all sorts of tantalizing and delectable gems of London's ancient past waiting to be discovered.The fact that Londonium is such an old city,(dating back to the Romans)it has an ABUNDANCE of graves, it can't help it. In the twenty first century,most of the cemeteries are so overcrowded that they have to put them alongside the kids play area(which is fine by me, if the kids don't mind,why should I).The interesting juxtaposition of the old gravestones, alongside the newer swing sets, I find most poetic and thought provoking.

These are some photos I took right next to the SGI( Soka Gakkai International)Buddhist Center in Russel Square. This little residential park was located just next door, so after a meeting or a meditation, I would go to the park for a minute to gingerly contemplate the seasons,drink my tea and have a chat with the locals and bribe them into taking their photo for this blog that you are reading.

Cemeteries in London Lyrics by Cold Play








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My Initial Impressions of the Drinking Habits of The English

My Initial Impressions of "The Pubs"
When I first came to London I was appalled by the rampant drinking or what I perceived was gross alcoholism. I was in fact, "grossed out" weekend after weekend. I would find elegant coiffured and chicly dressed women puking in the tube stations or on the street from too much alcohol consumption. Not glamorous AT ALL! You see, where I come from the people that binge drink are the kids that just got their right to drink or College kids. In the USA, you just don't see a lot of binge drinking on the streets from grown up professionals like you do in London. So, it came as a big shock for me. One night, I found a woman wandering around the tube station so drunk, I thought I better help her or at least get her on the right tube. I ended up befriending her just so she would be safe. She looked like she could have tipped over and fallen on the tracks. I took her under the wing for the rest of the night. She was so drunk, she went to the ATM, withdrew 50 pounds and told me to hold on to it. We went to the local club I frequent in my neighborhood and danced salsa. At least she could dance off the liquor and I could get my groove on, especially when she WAS NOT BUMPING INTO ME on the dance floor. Later, we took a taxi from Bayswater to her house in North London just to make sure she got home alright and not at 6 in the morning. She insisted I spend the night. After taking a taxi to North London at 3 in the morning that was not a bad idea. I gave her 50 pounds back, crashed on her couch and in the morning we finally got a chance to get to know each other since she was sober. Well, I guess you could say we ended up becoming fast friends and you can find her own Facebook. She sells real estate in Spain and will probably help me buy my house there.


My next Impression
After about year and a half of living in London, I realize that social drinking and pubs are just part of the culture. In the end, there's a positive side to social drinking. It builds community and it's relaxing just to shoot the breeze and have a pint or two after a hard day’s work. Often at many pubs they have Game Night, Quiz Night or Karaoke night. Some pubs have large screen TV's so, of course, during football season,the pubs are filled with fans. It's practically a national obsession. In addition, there are the gastropubs, which offer traditional English fare and have become quite fashionable.

Gastropub, The Hillgate in Notting Hill

Pubs are quite popular on Sunday. Sunday is a big day in English culture. It's a great place to visit with family and friends. Often, you see a lot of children and Mothers with babies and their whole brood. Sunday Dinner is usually English Roast of Chicken or Beef served with potatoes and pudding. Many pubs serve this food regularly and especially on holidays like Christmas.

The Duke of Wellington near Portobello Road, Notting Hill

Two Cute Asian blokes at Sun in Splendor pub. There were supposed to help me with my myspace page. If you guys see this, you've been very naughty and need to contact me straight away.

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Pubs aren't my thing

There are more pubs in London per square inch than there are McDonalds in the USA.
According to wikepedia, there are 7,000 pubs in London alone. This is not taking into consideration The City of London or Greater London. In my old neighborhood in London, there was about 5 pubs within about 4 blocks from each other. There was virtually one on every corner. There was a pub just 1 block from where I lived. In the whole year and half that I was there I only went there once to meet a photographer for a business meeting. It is said that many English down pints and pints of Guinness in one sitting on an empty stomach. Their purpose is to "get pissed" not pissed off, but bloody drunk. Pubs aren't my thing. I could never get behind the pub mentality. I know I'll never be English, because all that power drinking and shooting the shit for no reason in mind,seems so boring and mindless. Do I sound like a snob? Well, that's just too bad. Oh, but give me a purpose and a purpose for drinking and now that's another story all together. Now, that's where the cock comes in. The Cock is a pub on Great Portland Street.

The Cock

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I grew to love "the pubs": Spanish night at The Cock
My last month in London I ended up going to a pub called The Cock (it's short for cockerel)on Tuesday nights for a Spanish Exchange. Every Tuesday night from about 8 pm onwards Londoners longing to be fluent in Spanish or improve their English stroll in. This gives everyone a chance to speak Spanish, or if you are from Spain, you can practice your English. Everyone gets to speak Spanish (Spanish from Spain is different from Latin American Spanish) or English. The beer is pretty cheap too, just £2.50 for a pint, not bad. It's a fun night, you get to meet new friends with a common interests and improve yourself too. We all go home feeling a bit more fluent in Spanish and beer. A bunch of wellversed tipsy English,European and me the American holding hands down Oxford Street and trying to find our way home.I am really going to miss this pub.

The Cock is located on Great Portland Street

In the end, I suppose pubs and a bit of social drinking are not so bad after all, and in every respect could be positively good for your health and well being!!

Me, Sabrina The Blogger at The Sun in Splendor pub near Portobello Road-Fancy a pint?

More on Pubs in the History of the Pubs in upcoming Sabrina's London Diaries

More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries

Shakespeaere's Contribution to the English Language

While William Shakespeare died 388 years ago this week, the English playwright and poet lives on not only through his writings, but through the words and sayings attributed to him that still color the English language today. So if the "world is your oyster", your super "fashionable" and to boot " green with jealousy," you can thank Shakespeare, who likely coined the terms.

Here's an example of how many phrases in the English language that are now common place take their origin from Shakespeare's plays.

From Hamlet:
Polonius:(aside) Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.

The colloquial version is 'there's method in his madness'.

Meaning
Reason behind apparent folly or disorder.

Origin

This line derives from Shakespeare's Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 193–206:

Polonius:
What is the matter, my lord?

Hamlet:
Between who?

Polonius:
I mean, the matter that you read, my lord.

Hamlet:
Slanders,sir;for the satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams; all which, sir, though I most powerfully and potently believe, yet I hold it not honesty to have it thus set down, for yourself, sir, shall grow old as I am,if like a crab you could go backward.

Polonius:
[Aside] Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.


Conclusion:

Polonius sees that Hamlet indeed has gone "mad" over Ophelia and has recognizable Elizebethan disease of love-melancholy. He also recognizes his speech has some order and fluidity,some "method" to his madness.

More Interesting Shakespeare Sites:
Short History of the English Language

Shakespeare Lexicon and Dictionary
Words Coined by Shakespeare are now Common Currency

Do you really think you know Shakespeare?
Take this Quiz and find out!


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Canaletto- Invented by An English Man

One day,I had some free time and went to the National Gallery,to get a deeper and broader understanding of artwork and discovered a fine painter,Giovanni Antonio Canal or better known as Canaletto.By this time, I had been to The National Gallery at least five times, but I felt a bit empty, because I never really got to learn in depth about any of the artists and my knowledge felt very superficial.

That day,as I left my house,I made a determination to go to The National Gallery and hear the Artist Lecture that takes place everyday at 1pm.That particular day, they were lecturing on Caneletto Canaletto an 18th Italian Rococo Era Painter, 1697-1768.What I discovered is that although at first glance, Canaletto is not really my style of painter, usually I like painters that use vibrant colors and have a whimsical flare.Amongst the Impressionist painters, I enjoy Renoir and a bit of Monet and Pissaro.I also adore Chagall and love Toulouse Lautrec just as much that he was an eccentric artist as for his art.I deplore Picasso and think he's over rated.He was also a first class wanker and woman abuser, but that's neither here nor there. But, to me, the Impressionist have always been a bit over rated.I enjoy looking at artwork from different centuries, besides the Nineteenth or Twentieth. I am not big on Modern Art. OK, well, I guess I have my opinions about Art.) I enjoy the artist from the eighteenth century and especially from the Baroque Rococo period, like Fragonard or Boucher( See: French in London blog).Upon seeing Canaletto, for the first time,I didn't fancy him initially at first glance. However, upon studying him in depth, I found his style of painting and legacy to be quite intriguing. And, thanks to the lecture which helped me get a deeper look at the artist and man, instead of being a shallow purveyor of art, I got to learn a few things and here would like to share them with you.

In the 18th Century,the love affair between Venice and the English really got going with the popularization of The Grand Tour. The Grand Tour, would consist of a classical education, which primary value lay in the exposure both to the cultural artefacts of antiquity and the Renaissance and to the aristocratic and fashionable society of the European continent. A Grand Tour could last from several months to several years. French and German gentry were also inclined to go on the Grand Tour, as it was called, south to Italy. But the British were especially enthusiastic, and Venice was a mandatory destination. Venice, being a city of pleasure, of carnivals, masked balls, and music. That was perhaps one reason why it became fashionable to buy a view or set of views to recall this delightful place. paintings portraying the grandeur of Venice became popular at the dawn of modern tourism. British visitors on The Grand Tour created a demand for view paintings of celebrated sights and Venetian festivals to take home with them as souvenirs. Many gentlemen – so-called milordi – sought the works of Canaletto.

An agent -an Italianised Englishman named Joseph Smith, who was ready to negotiate a price with the artist, pack up the pictures and dispatch them to Britain.He sold much of his collection to George III( the Mad King George who was said to have gone mad because he had porphyry,King from June 1738 - January 1820), creating the bulk of the large collection of Canaletto's owned now by the Royal Collection.Smith also bought Canaletto's work himself, so prolifically that when he finally sold his collection to George III, it contained 53 paintings and 140 drawings by that artist - the greatest array of Canaletto's work in the world.


Canelleto was such a skilled painter and painted the minutia of daily life in Venice in such great detail that art historians agree he used what is called a (the Mad King George who was said to have gone mad because he had porphyry,4 June 1738- 29 January 1820) camera obscura.A Camera obscura is a box fitted with a lens at one end and a mirror on the other that reflects an image onto a canvas.




His finest work is perhaps The Stonemason's Yard (1729)and the topic of the lecture that lovely afternoon at The National Gallery.



His views went beyond topographical accuracy to capture the poetic play of light, water and architecture, unique to the experience of Venice. Prompted by declining tourism, in 1746 Canaletto moved to England, where he painted views of London, Oxford and other cities as well as the country seats of his patrons.

Eton College (1754)

Venice: The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day from Two Venetian Ceremonial Scenes

A Regatta on the Grand Canal from Two Venetian Ceremonial Scenes

Canaletto's views always fetched high prices, and even as early as the 18th century Catherine the Great and other European monarchs vied for his grandest paintings. The record price paid at auction for a Canaletto is £18.6 million for View of the Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto, set at Sotheby's in London in July 2005.

The Los Angeles County Museum houses Canaletto. Believe it or not.


Piazza San Marco, Looking South and West (1763)

Some Other Interesting Articles on Canaletto:
-A Gallery of Canaletto Work
- See More Canaletto at The Royal Collection
-How Canaletto was Invented by an Englishman
-Canaletto and The Grand Tour

More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries

Muslim Women in London

When, I first came to London I was astonished and surprised by the enormous Muslim population. It is a delicate subject for Americans because so many Iraqi's and Muslims hate Americans. Well, many people all over the world hate Americans,thanks to Bush. And, I am so relieved we have Obama in office.But, living in a Bayswater(5 Minutes to Notting Hill),a big Arabic community, I want to be the first to bridge the gap of peace. Where I frequent, the internet cafes,hoteliers, restaurants, cleaners,store owners all are owned by Iraqis. I have never been in contact with so many Iraqis and Arabs in my life.I just smile and tell them I am American, and little by little, they know who I am, and I have become friends with many of them. They are very kind and warm hearted people, and they always are very nice to me. Once in a while,the Iraqi owner of the Internet Cafe I frequent says some subtle snide comment about Americans, just enough to sting slightly.I take it with a grain of salt and just think whatever. Bush made a mess out of Iraq and maybe he doesn't like Americans because of that.I am not sure. But, I can't blame him. But,what I am sure of is that I want to debunk any kind of ideas people have about Americans.That we are all arrogant, ignorant, pushy,loud,and stupid.So, everywhere I go I try to act as an Ambassador and try to be on my best behavior.Well, I am not a saint, but I do try to remember how I behave is a Cause and it will have it's effects.

I have been fascinated by Arabic culture for a long time. I think it started with my Belly Dance Classes that I took at Berkely and the beautiful exotic Arabic music my Teacher Nana used to bring to class. I want to know much about the Arabic culture as possible.I am learning a bit of Arabic everywhere I go. After all, Spanish is about 60% Arabic. All the words beginning with al in Spanish are Arabic derived. After all,The Moors were in Spain for 700 years and with them left their legacy of culture,architecture and language. If your Spanish, chances are you probably have Arabic blood and likely to be Jewish as well, since many Jews stayed during the Inquisition.

I often find the women dressed in full hijab amazing, how do that do it. It's written in the Koran, that women are supposed to cover their head, because they don't want to tempt men. I don't understand how women do it, in full hijab, in the hottest of summers in Saudi Arabia. Speaking of Saudi Arabia, I was befriended a woman from Saudi. She was the most interesting and intelligent woman I met. She was a French translater in Saudi Arabia and originally of Lebanese descent. She told me,"Sabrina, go to Lebanon, go to Palestine, go to Egypt, go to Hell, but dont' go to Saudi Arabia." Apparently,she told me that the women are still treated very badly.It doesn't come to much surprise to me.I have always heard that,but hearing it firsthand from the horses mouth had more resonance to me. According to her,if you want to get a divorce from your husband Saudi Laws make it very difficult. She said,"Your husband could be a firstrate abusive jerk, and STILL may have a very hard time divorcing him.

Will the Laws in the 21 century in Islam ever favor women?
Are Islamic Women content with these laws? Some, I spoke to said they were.
Some said they get better treatment and more respect in Saudi Arabia than they would in London. I spoke to a few Islamic women and they ALL concurred that the Koran considers women very precious, which is why they need to cover themselves with the full hijab.In Saudi Arabia, they are not allowed to drive. The men have to drive them everywhere. I heard from one man that in Saudi Arabia the population of women is much higher than of the men, and that if the women were given power that eventually they would end up taking over the country.Anyway, I am not an authority, and I am just going by hearsay. I would not be able to tell you my real thoughts on Saudi culture,until I visited Saudi Arabia myself and learnt about the culture firsthand.

A Market on Edware Road

A Family Man shopping for food on Edware Road

A Muslim woman walking through a thick crowd by medieval London Bridge Horror museum

For some reason, I am not supposed to be taking any photos of Muslim women. So, all of these had to be taken very quickly. If your Muslim, and reading this, please don't be offended, this blog is meant to act as a breach of peace and to build understanding between cultures. And, hopefully trust and friendship.

This is my Gorgeous Goddess Dance Teacher Nana Candelaria

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Sabrina's London Diaries Update

Dear Beloved Subscribers !

I wanted to inform you that I have been extremely busy and
travelling around a bit. However, I will be continuing this blog, until infinitum.
I have so many blogs in my drafts and my head that can last until eternity.


Some articles you can expect in Sabrina's London Diaries in the future are:
1) Dating in London- Where's My Mark Darcy
2) More Fashion Blogs
3) What I love about The English
4) The Painter Canaletto
5) Arabic London
6) The Bloody French in London

Stay Tuned and Keep Enjoying London !

love, Sabrina Grace-


More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries