Let's Play!

My friend/housemate Ida presented me a game specialize in blog. It permits you to know me a bit more thanks to anecdots and it also help other blogs to get "advertising". Rules are: write down 7 random facts about yourself, and tag 7 other bloggers you like/follow and then, they have to do the same. Obviously, if they know that you tagged them.

Then, my visitors might visit the blogs I advertise and might get interested in, so the bloggers are happier because they have a bigger audience.

The anecdotes about me:

1) I have three hairs growing on my fronthead since I was born (but I pull them up when they are too long)

2) As a student job I built a road (spreading asphalt on the ground) and demolished a supermarket!

3) I used to collect stamps when I was kid, from age 8 to 12

4) Since I am 5, I wished to do so many jobs. First, President of the French Republic, then spaceman, archeologist, car designer, architect, motorsport engineer and sales engineer, what I am now. But today, I am not sure about what I want to continue as...

5) I have been building a plastic model of a car for more than a year and I have not finished it yet

6) I have not gone to the hospital as a patient since I was born (I touch wood to go there the latest possible)

7) I am French (really) and as a cliché, I should be arrogant and thinking that France is the best country in the world but I prefer the UK (how amazing!)

Tagging:

1) Little Ida's Flowers: the blog of my dear Danish friend/housemate

2) Cora in London: the blog of my dear French friend/housemate

3) Write More Blog: the blog of a growing London music band I love, Eat More Cake

4) A Singaporian in London: a blog I discovered recently, I really advise it to you as that guy goes out a lot and makes reviews of restaurant, musicals and events. He also shares his point of view of the British culture.

I do not follow other blogs in English so I cannot just tag more of them, sorry!

PS: I have updated the Ascot Races article with new pictures of me there: http://twenii.blogspot.com/2010/06/day-i-saw-queen-of-england.html

The day I liked goat cheese for the first time in my life

I like restaurants. I want to use this blog to remember what were my feelings about the restaurants I have discovered. It can be a good guide for some of you as well. So now, if I can, each time I will try a new restaurant, I will write a review about it.

Today, the Real Greek in Covent Garden.

Decoration/Ambiance:

The dining room is very nice. It is an old bar transformed in restaurant. In the day light, a lot of windows make the sunshine going in. The table are high so you sit on bar chairs. The lamps are very cool. The music is chilling out and not too loud. It's perfect.

Food:

The Real Greek offers a Greek food experience, mainly based on mezze or wraps. Selections of 6-8 mezzes to share are a great deal. The quality is OK. Some dishes were great (halloumi, beans, aubergine dip), some were a bit disappointing, too simple (raw vegetables, Greek salad).

Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese made of a mix of goat and sheep milk. It is grilled and served on a skewer with peppers. It tastes very good and not like goat cheese at all. It has a similar texture as gnocchi. Even if, like me, you do not like goat cheese, you have to try it. I was really scared but I did not regret. We also had grilled sardines in our course. Very tasty, but really not convenient to eat in a restaurant. Overall, the food was good, in normal proportion.

Service/Price:

We were served by a lovely waitress! We were lucky as I looked at another one who was much less friendly. Anyway, for us, the service was perfect. The price is good value. We added to our main, a big bottle of sparkling water for two (only £3.50) and the total was less than £30, so £15 each. The restaurant does not charge automatically for the service. It is very good because it is really unusual nowadays. Though we gave £2-3 tip as we were very statisfied.

I really advise the Real Greek depsite it is a small chain and I usually do not like chains. But they are very good to discover and enjoy Greek food.

Salt Beef at Selfridges!

After the posh drunk ladies at the Royal Ascot, let's talk about another British meat tradition: salt beef!

Ok, I admit, this was not from the finest humor. Anyway, I really advise you to try this dish in the simplest but its best garnish: English mustard and bread as a sandwich. It is served like this at the very reputable Selfridges & Co where it is supposed to be the best in London. I tried it and I tell you: yes it is very good. I do not know if it is the best as I only tried two salt beef sandwiches in London. It was, at least, the best of both.

The beef is cooked in salt for few days. It makes it so tender and very tasty. It is rinced several time so you do not feel a very strong taste of salt. Salt and beed, not really the most recommended mix for your heart and blood pressure, but come on, sometimes, give yourself a treat!

Think about bringing enough money as a half sandwich alone is £5.25... A extra gherkin will be 60p, and a drink, minimum £1.25.

Selfridges, you know...

The day I saw the Queen of England

Horse racing is not more popular in the UK than in France in everyday life but there is a special race that more people follow as a big tradition: the Royal Ascot. The event goes on for a full week every year and is covered all day by the BBC as are major sport events like the World Cup, the Olympics or Wimbledon.

The Royal Ascot is followed by the Queen who comes everyday to watch the races as it is one of her passion. It has been a tradition that a lot of rich people come to show off. It is now all about dressing well: morning dress and top hat for the men and party dress and fabulous hats for ladies. The Thursday is know as Ladies day: photographers and journalists shoot the most attractive pieces of fashion for the readers in the tube on Friday.

I went to the Royal Ascot on Saturday with friends. It was the experimentation of a very British tradition for me. We all dress well: suits for men and dresses and hats for women. Because even in the lower stand, people show off. But, they might look posh and understated, they mainly come to enjoy an afternoon with friends while having a picnic and drinking. Drinking a lot actually... So, all that good looking people end completely pissed at the end of the day: the picture is quite hilarious. I guess this is part of the tradition as well...

It was also my first horse race experience. I have been well impressed by the size, the power and the speed of the animals. Just amazing. And to add some spices to the races, betting were open. I bet for the six races and won three times! Just enough to not lose any money in the end. I was well inspirated and advised by the Guardian.

And, as I say on the title of this article, the high point of the day was seeing the Queen for the first time of my life! As she comes everyday to the races, she is driven in a coach on the pitch where the horses race after. There is no roof so she can greet her people and we can see her. I am not British but I felt particularly touched to see her. She is THE Queen!

Hamilton wins the Canadian GP

The Formula 1 Circus went back to Canada last week but the starting World Cup hid a very interesting GP. The Montreal circuit always provides a spectacular race and the 2010 one was very entertaining indeed.

The war was about the tyre choice. This time, emblematic teams Ferrari and McLaren did the right choices whereas RedBull went completely wrong. Thus its drivers did not shine finishing only 4th and 5th with Vettel ahead of Webber. Alonso (*) did a great job to put Ferrari back in the fight after a disastrous performance two weeks before. But he was overtaken in the race by both McLaren drivers who were just flying in Montreal!

Button (*) eventually finished second after improving all the weekend and the race. He was starting from too far to be able to contest his team-mate the win. But this result is excellent for the reigning champion as he stays in a good position to conserve his title.

The man of the race is definitely Hamilton (***). He was impressive all the weekend with a stunning pole position. I did not see such a great qualifying since a very long time ago! A very big attack everytime, everywhere. His race was brilliant even if strategy was very difficult to predict. But he always gave the maximum and had a very virile fight with Alonso and won it. Hamilton is now leading the championship and, more than ever, my stars ranking. Here is the new top 5:

HAMILTON 14

KUBICA 10

ALONSO 10

VETTEL 9

WEBBER 9

BUTTON 9

Just-in-time Turkish GP Review

This is THE picture everybody will remember about this GP. Perhaps about the whole season, as this crash is so important for the rest of the year. First because both RedBull drivers did not take all the points they could expect with a 1-2 finish. And of course, how will this crash change the relations between Webber and Vettel who might hate each other today, both blaming the other for the responsibility of the accident.

HAMILTON: Eventually, Hamilton ended winner of the race. A very much deserved result for the 2008 World Champion considering his season and his misfortune so far. This time, the misfortune of others served him. He drove amazingly anyway in a very tight and nervous race. ***

BUTTON: As his team-mate, Button gets here a very happy result. He even attacked Lewis for the lead in a superb battle he eventually lost. But this attack was not really fair, resulting from a misunderstanding of team orders. But the McLaren boys did not crash. Them. **

WEBBER: His third pole position in a row was an impressive signal he sent to his team and to Vettel. Webber is back to business! It is probably one of the explanation of the crash as Vettel was frustrated to be outpaced again by Webber who he used to crush easily last year and at the begining of the season. He finally had an opportunity to pass but Webber did not want to lose the psychological advantage and did not move. Vettel thought he would and though turned on him... Crash! Both drivers are responsible and I am well disapointed. Webber keeps the advantage here thanks to his pole. I give him a star for his whole weekend. *

Behind them, nothing really good to say: the Mercedes did their normal job, Schumacher ahead of Rosberg for the second time and by only one second. Nothing impressive yet. The Renault get closer and closer to the top 4. The main problem is for Ferrari. They loose pace, race after race as their development is not enough at all. Alonso is really not in a great shape! He was nowhere in Turkey! Well, he was in Turkey but very slow in qualifying and too quiet in race. I do not give any point to Vettel as he does not deserve any. He missed his qualifying. And he took a big responsibility in the crash with Webber. He clearly is under pressure because nothing go perfectly well this season despite a great car and a lot of efforts. But I trust him to come back in trust and overtake his team-mate to fight for the title. However McLaren achieved a very good step forward in pace and I hope he will not regret lost points.

As Hamilton becomes a new leader, the ranking is now:

HAMILTON 11

KUBICA 10

VETTEL 9

ALONSO 9

WEBBER 8

BUTTON 8

ROSBERG 4

MASSA 4

ALGUERSUARI 3

SUTIL 2

PETROV 2

BARRICHELLO 2

LIUZZI 1

HULKENBERG 1

Traffic jam in Monaco as an excuse to my late GP review

Traffic jam indeed in one of the most terrific race of the season. Watching these high-speed cars yelling in the streets and brushing the walls is always a nice show. Despite the action on track, mostly a bit boring considering how difficult it is to overtake here.

WEBBER: For the second time in a row, the Aussie Grit (his Twitter nickname) did the perfect job as he took pole and drove to win. This time, I reckon he was not very pushed by team-mate Vettel as the latter was more trying to finish instead of pushing. Anyway, nothing to say, brilliant result. ***

VETTEL: Considering his race last year when he pushed too much and eventually ended up crashing in the barrier, I am very happy to see Vettel finishing with big points, despite outpaced by Webber. Nothing great though as he just used the speed avantage of his car to beat the others. He moved perfectly on Kubica at the start to secure this result.

KUBICA: Wow! The Renault is a really good car. Kubica can make some great result in some occasion. His drive in qualifying and in race was amazing, despite he has been surprised by Vettel at the first corner. **

MASSA: After several difficult results, Felipe Massa got back in performance. This 4th place is a very good result for self-confidence. *

HAMILTON: Nothing to say, he was just at his place, doing what he could considering his car.

ALONSO: I would like to understand how can a driver race the whole race with the same tyres without having any problems. Alonso and Ferrari did a great job in driving and strategy, but what a shame that the tyres do not wear more. It would make a much interesting season. Still a great job from the Spanish champion. **

BUTTON (DNF): His engine failure is just a shame and a very important stake for the season. I hope he will not regret it.

No more stars given for this GP. Here is the new ranking. There is change on top as Kubica takes the lead and the gaps reduce between top drivers.

KUBICA 10

VETTEL 9

ALONSO 9

HAMILTON 8

WEBBER 7

BUTTON 6

ROSBERG 4

MASSA 4

ALGUERSUARI 3

SUTIL 2

PETROV 2

BARRICHELLO 2

LIUZZI 1

HULKENBERG 1

What about how late is this Spanish Grand Prix review?

The first GP of the "European" season gave some new clues about who could be Button's successor. Here is what I have to say about some drivers. And my stars!

WEBBER: I must admit that, after a horrible start of the season, Webber was just perfect in Spain. In qualifying and in race. ***

ALONSO: Second place is a fantastic result for Alonso, in front of his public. His car was a bit lower in performance behing the RedBull and McLaren but much enough quicker to stay in front of the slow Mercedes of Schumacher. The problems of both Vettel and Hamilton gave him a unhopped podium. *

VETTEL: He was really not in a great shape in Spain. Outpaced by his team-mate, he has been overtaken by Hamilton in the pits because of his team's mistake. Vettel definitely seems to get all the problems at RedBull as he had a brakes failure then. Very brave, he decided to finish. Third is still a good and important result.

SCHUMACHER: This result sounds good for him as he is back at a good position for the first time of the season. But he was actually very slow, finishing more than a minute behind the winner. Anyway, he drove at the maximum he could and did better than his team-mate Rosberg, completely lost in Spain. Nothing amazing though. But he resisted perfectly to the very fast McLaren of Button. *

BUTTON: Blocked behing Schumacher, he never found an opportunity to pass. He tried hard but despite being slow, Schumacher still knows how to keep a position. His final place is a good result for the championship.

MASSA: The difficulties continue as he is really far from Alonso.

BARRICHELLO (9): A very strong race to score good points after a terrible qualifying session. *

HAMILTON (DNF): It is such a shame! He had done the best work possible to be in second position before one of his tyre exploded. This is a very disappointed point loss for the championship. Especially two laps before the end of the race. I hope it will not be decisive for the title. **

The stars ranking:

VETTEL 9

KUBICA 8

HAMILTON 8

ALONSO 7

BUTTON 6

ROSBERG 4

WEBBER 4

MASSA 3

ALGUERSUARI 3

SUTIL 2

PETROV 2

BARRICHELLO 2

LIUZZI 1

HULKENBERG 1

Way too late Chinese Grand Prix...

Eventually, let's go back three weeks ago, to the Chinese Grand Prix. I am talking (writing?) about Formula One. This story was a long long time ago.. Before the ash cloud, before the hung parliament, the "Con-Dem nation of the nation", etc..

For the third time this season (in four races), rain added spice to the show; this time during the race, while the qualifying session stayed dry. Now, my stars:

BUTTON: I must admit that I would not believe Button able to be so good so far this season alongside Lewis Hamilton. Button has been simply perfect. At the beginning of the race, he took the right tyre choice, as in Australia. Then he achieved what he had to do to win his second race this season: driving on a wet track with dry tyres for few laps, overtaking Rosberg and resisting to Hamilton. Jenson Button is definitely not as quick or spectacular as Hamilton but he has all the other qualities of a champion: race intelligence, tyre preservation. Since his title last year, he also is in another man: he has nothing to prove or to lose anymore. It is a great asset for him in the race for the title. ***

HAMILTON: After a little deception in qualifying, he came back perfectly in the pace during the race. He attacked everytime, despite the strategic mistakes of his team. He overtook an impressive amount of drivers. Perfect. He could just not do anything against Button who took too much advance at the begining of the race. He deserves 3 stars anyway. ***

ROSBERG: Once again, he did a great job considering his car. With the same strategy as Button. He just could not resist to the McLaren boys despite a little mistake. It is a good result enough for him to show his domination against his team-mate. **

ALONSO: He also suffered some strategic problem but showed a great pace and attack to point at a good final position. His season seems perfect at the moment as he always get the maximum of the situation he is in, whatever difficult they are. His move on Massa whilst coming into the pit was very important for the psychological domination inside the team. **

KUBICA: With the same strategy as Button and Rosberg, he secured a very good result considering the performance of his car. He is really showing well for getting a better car next year. Unless Renault improves even better. A good end of the race showed him able to resist the very fast RedBull of Vettel. *

VETTEL: Very fast on a dry track but on the wet, Vettel did seem to be at ease. Maybe because his car's setup was ready for dry. At the end, despite several good overtakings, the result does not look very impressive. His pole was brilliant anyway. *

PETROV: For the first time this season, everything happened well for the Russian and he eventually got a great result he deserved. More impressive, his end of the race was just WOWW as he overtook three very quick cars and drivers: Massa, Schumacher and Webber! Amazing! **

WEBBER: Nowhere, considering his car.

SCHUMACHER: His only satisfaction could be his overtaking of former team-mate Massa at the end of the race.

MASSA: The Brazilian has been heavily dominated by Alonso again in China. Especially in the pits and in qualifying. Ouch!

THE OTHERS: Nothing to say, really. They are out of the points and I did not have anything particularly important nor interesting to tell about them.

The new ranking gives now:

VETTEL 9

KUBICA 8

ALONSO 6

BUTTON 6

HAMILTON 6

ROSBERG 4

MASSA 3

ALGUERSUARI 3

SUTIL 2

PETROV 2

LIUZZI 1

BARRICHELLO 1

WEBBER 1

HULKENBERG 1

My Malaysian Grand Prix

It is never too late to speak about this GP!

Actually yes, it could have been too late because the next GP is happening this weekend, so let's talk about this Malaysian round.

I am very late in this blog as I have been very busy the last two weeks. Business which will make me write some articles in this blog soon.

The third round of the championship was very interesting with a qualifying session during which McLaren and Ferrari showed again their arrogance. Their poor drivers did what they could in this conditions but it allows a great race to be shown 24h later. Now, my stars!

VETTEL: Eventually, Vettel got the best award for his great performances from the begining of the year. In qualifying, he did not risk the bet on tyres his teammate dared; and he was even outpaced by Nico Rosberg with the same tyres. Anyway, his third place and same place on the grid allowed him to do a great start. He was on the clean part of the grid, he took a perfect aspiration on poleman Webber. He tried his chance and overtook him perfectly and with a virile way, very important to confirm his domination on the second RedBull driver. Then he hadalready won the race. He could control and save his machine, especially because of a not impressive competition. 2 stars because he did not really impress me in qualifying on a wet track. **

WEBBER: After two terrible races, the Aussie had to correct himself to hush the rumors up. Indeed everybody see Raikkonen replacing the ageing Australian. If you add poor performances.. But Webber bet a great win on tyres and with a strong driving, got his first pole position of the season. Once again in race, he showed his young German teamate was definitely the number 1 in the team. So much the better! *

ROSBERG: Once again, Nico said goodbye to his old teammate Schumacher that his return to F1 would not be so easy. Very quick in qualifying, he could not do anything against the RedBulls so he controled a perfect race to take the best result possible: the first podium of the Mercedes team! **

KUBICA: Again a great drive for the Polish driver who confirm that he and Renault are the most surprising outsider of the year! **

SUTIL: For the first time this season, Sutil capitalised his speed in qualifying with a clean race. A great resistance to the very quick British guy behind him. **

HAMILTON: By far, he was the most impressive driver of the big four starting from the back of the grid. It's a shame Sutil did not commit any mistake, I would love to see how far could Hamilton go. **

MASSA: Where Hamilton needed half a lap to overtake Alguersuari, Massa had to wait for the pitstop strategy to pass the Spanish man. His tyres were not the same as Lewis, OK, but the pace of the Ferrari and especially Massa is a bit worrying. If you add the problems of reliability, it could be the big disappointment for Alonso. However, Massa overtook very well Button, to finish only one place behind Hamilton and took the lead of the championship, so one star for this. *

BUTTON: As in Australia a week before, the World Champion tried a different strategy because he was blocked behind the Ferraris. I really thought it would work but this time, keeping a high pace for a long run on hard tyres was difficult. Anyway Button is happy to bring very important points for the championship, especially after such a bad Saturday.

ALGUERSUARI: What a good confirmation for the youngest F1 driver. After an interesting Australian GP, Jaime impressed me in Malaysia. Very agressive, efficient in overtaking, his great race is rewarded by his first points. And new stars from me! **

HULKENBERG: The rookie had a great opportunity to show his talent as he was in the last 10 in the qualifying session. He did it! With a great drive, he took the fifth place on the grid, outpacing his old teammate Barrichello, who is not the slowest on wet track. Then bad and good luck for the young German. His Williams did not have a great pace in race and struggled a lot to maintain a good position. Fortunately, Alonso's retirement at the end offered him his first point. *

BUEMI: The second time in a row he is outpaced by his teammate Alguersuari. Buemi has to be careful and push a bit more if he wants to go higher in the RedBull organization. Especially if one interesting seat got free in 2011..

BARRICHELLO: Outpaced in qualifying, he could not show anything after his problem at the start. Anyway, the Williams had no pace in race.

ALONSO: He did a quite impressive race considering his gearbox problem. Hearing the noise it was doing on each braking, Alonso had to be quite brave to risk as much as he risked. Unfortunately his team showed again fragility and he lost two points. I hope they will not be important at the end of the championship. *

DI GRASSI: He is the first driver to finish a race with a Virgin. A great relief for the young British team and his driver. And quite comfortably in front of the other new teams. Well done!

CHANDHOK: Impressively, he beat Bruno Senna and brought the HRT car for the second time under the checked flag.

SENNA: He finished his first race of the season, despite being outpaced by his teammate.

TRULLI: The Lotus finish a lot of races but mostly very slowly and far from the head of the race and of the other new teams. A bit disappointing.

KOVALAINEN: This Lotus did not finish this time.

PETROV: Once again, the Russian is stricken by mechanical failure where his teammate's car finishes the race without problem. Still agressive and interesting to see at the begining of the race (with a great resistance to Lewis Hamilton); then Petrov started to show his limits to me. He was not able to conserve his tyres because of a very agressive driving I guess. He has been overtaken by several drivers and actually his retirement hides a bit this bad part of the race.

LIUZZI: Again a bit slower the Sutil, his teammate, this time he could not do a strong race because his machine decided differently. Too bad!

SCHUMACHER: Nowhere in qualifying, nowhere in race before his mechanical failure, once again the "Kaiser" is really not impressive..

KOBAYASHI: Another Ferrari engin broke in this race, really not a good sign for "la rossa"

GLOCK: He did the show with Kovalainen at the begining of the race but spun and could not start again.

DE LA ROSA: He did not start from the pits.. The third Ferrari engine failure this weekend.. Very frightening!

I did not give any "3 *" for this GP, but a lot of stars overall. Let's check the new ranking:

VETTEL 8

KUBICA 7

ALONSO 4

BUTTON 3

MASSA 3

HAMILTON 3

ALGUERSUARI 3

ROSBERG 2

SUTIL 2

LIUZZI 1

BARRICHELLO 1

WEBBER 1

HULKENBERG 1