the_lisbon_connection blog

After watching Gone Girl , which I thought was one of the best movies of 2014, I was eager to investigate a bit on the author of the book,  Gillian Flynn ’s other work. So after being done with Paula Hawkins Girl on the Train , I dove into Sharp Objects and Dark Places . They are both very well written. Flynn's greatest gift seems to be creating deep and well developed characters. You can almost picture her scribbling on some paper an enormous amount of background story on each character she invents. In Dark Places she carefully takes us through the minds of several members of the Day family, focusing on the current life of disturbed Libby (the youngest daughter of the family who survived the massacre), and happenings on the fatidic day for Patty (the mother and head of the household) and Ben (the oldest brother and presumed killer).  For Patty and Ben the book evolves in a good pace, as in each chapter you find out yet another detail of their lives that helps put to...

Finally completed one of my wish list things to do! Visit the HP studios! As a true HP fan, from the very beginning I recommend it! Truly do! So here are some tips and suggestions if you are also planning to visit! Buying tickets and getting there You can get the tickets from the HP Studios official website. I recommend doing this as soon as you book your trip, because the only way into the studios is with a reservation and they do sell out. The visit is very well organized. Every 20 minutes or so they allow a group of about 50 people to go in. There is a first part with a film and then you are on your own to explore all of the set. This is good because it means there are no lines and waiting around. Bathrooms are all clean and food court was not packed (and we went on a Saturday).   To get there I recommend buying a package deal with entrance and returning bus ride to central London (from and to Victoria). I mean this because if you miss y...

Being a real fan of Jamie’s Italian style cuisine, and since it tends to be a tradition of mine going to his places wherever I go, I booked lunch at Jamie’s Italian in Covent Garden. However I messed up the places and we ended up at Union Jack. See two of his places are in Covent Garden but Union Jack is the one inside the actual market. When we got there the host said we had the wrong place because they didn’t take reservations. We however manage to get a table anyway and had a very pleasant lunch. I had a marguerita and my friends some sort of chicken curry specialty of Union Jack. Staff is nice and the buzz and location are simply fantastic. We ended up also being able to try Jamie’s Italian because we randomly found it a couple of days later. Also it will not let you down. Same style decoration and menu as any of the other Jamie Italians which however alike always have a personal touch of originality. Prices are as always average and the Chocolate Praline Pudding was do dye ...