The extreme lack of blogging going on here lately has been sad. Not surprisingly, I have found in myself little or no desire to blog over the last few weeks because they are exactly that, the last few weeks. I have now checked off all things on lists I had made a few weeks ago. Things to buy for people. Things to see. Things that I haven't taken pictures of yet.
I took my last test this morning in a religion class. I will be forever free from undergraduate course work as of 3:45 today.
I have a lot of material bouncing around in my head from the last couple of weeks, and from being nearly done with this adventure. If I am awake on my flights to come in the next 12 days I will be frantically writing, trying to fill the last section of available paper in my journal.
While packing I am going to leave as much stuff/junk here as possible. I need to make room for the large quantities of souvenirs that I am bringing home for the people that essentially handed me this trip and said, "Hey, I want you to go to England for a semester. Go there and have the time of your life." I will never be able to repay those people with things that were Made in England, but I can always show some love by giving something.
London is inexhaustible. An amazing city it is. I have grown to love it. Upon leaving I find myself sad, even though I am going to a wonderful place, home, and family in Colorado and Wyoming. I will leave and end this blog's short, but important life, with this, my favorite quote about London.
"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."— Samuel Johnson
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
Your BFG
As always when I meet a new group of people they are for a time infatuated with my height. This infatuation leads them to take pictures of me, but more importantly pictures of me when my tall frame is caught in a place that makes it impossible to ignore my giantism. The above photo is one of those times. I often find myself topped with signs, as in this photo, a sign for the "Museum of London", that I am sure was designed to have spacious clearance of its patrons' heads. This strikes people as a funny scenario and I am willing to entertain those people that are shocked by my behemoth size long enough for them to take a picture. The internship is done. I have roughly three papers left in my undergraduate career, and I have a big fat vacation in front of me with really not that much worry about what I am going to do next. Vacation some more? Yes, please. Life is good.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Tour Eiffel
There isn't any time to write about the amazing week I had with Kate right now. I already started documenting it in my own journal, but not on this site because I am just not near a computer enough. I will write more later...maybe. It is hard to justify time spent blogging with only 2.5 weeks left in London before I go to Israel, and before I return home.Friday, March 10, 2006
9 Weeks Are Done
I am in between writing two papers right now and I thought I would take this time to let everyone know that I am definitely not going to blog next week because Kate will be here. She gets in around 10 am on Sunday. I can't believe our big gap apart is nearing its end. We will have a blast in London. She leaves the following Sunday, but that goodbye will be easier to handle because we will only be apart for four more weeks until I get back to beautiful Colorado.
The time here is winding down and I am shocked that I will be done with my undergraduate work in a matter of weeks now, not months. It seems like I arrived at Heathrow only yesterday, and my return to fly out of Heathrow will only come faster now. I hope that between now and then I can savor everything about the next 5 weeks or so.
Okay, one more paper to tap out
and then let the giddiness ensue.
Because someone is coming to London.
Can you guess who? Yeah, I'm a nerd.
The time here is winding down and I am shocked that I will be done with my undergraduate work in a matter of weeks now, not months. It seems like I arrived at Heathrow only yesterday, and my return to fly out of Heathrow will only come faster now. I hope that between now and then I can savor everything about the next 5 weeks or so.
Okay, one more paper to tap out
and then let the giddiness ensue.
Because someone is coming to London.
Can you guess who? Yeah, I'm a nerd.
Monday, March 06, 2006
ScotLAND
It was my rash decision to name this site after one of the crappiest Tube lines in all of London. At the time I titled this blog I was unaware of that fact. I much prefer the Victoria or Jubilee lines.I took a 600 mile long, 3-day journey through Scotland this weekend. Above is one of 70 pictures I took on the weekend. This picture isn't necessarily the best. It would be impossible to pick the best picture, they are all equally pleasing to the eye.
The trip, well, it sounds cliche to say, but it was one of the most fun experiences of my life. Scotland had a lot of surprises in store for me. I really didn't know what I would see or do, but was shocked by my own photos because they are proof of the many things I did get to see and do. How about running up a Scottish hillside and breathing in that clean crisp air, not like the rubbish air they have in London? Very fun, and it took my breath away for a couple of reasons.
I haven't wrapped the Scotland trip up yet in writing. There is a lot to write about and I have barely started. I look forward to sharing with all of you the pictures I took on the trip and the stories because as of right now, I don't have the time or capacity to put them into words in order to convey the meaning of my time spent there, and maybe I never will. Dang it, just go to Scotland.
Kate gets here in 6 days. I am so ready to see her. By the time she gets here it will have been 9 weeks apart, but I think they went fast. When I think of the time that has passed it seems like one really long, busy week up to this point. It is hard to believe, but by the time Kate leaves, next Sunday, I will only have 4 more weeks abroad before I come back to the States. The end of this time is sneaking up fast. Oh, and I want to mention that while Kate is here there will not be any new blogs, although I think I will get in another one before she arrives.
Just wait till I show you the pictures of the Hairy Coo'oos. They are dead sexy.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Adolescence in Amsterdam
The River Thames from the London Eye. I am not going to write much. I want to say it is cold here right now. My roommates are in Amsterdam. I am worried about one of them. He is a very young chap at the tender age of 18. He does think he knows everything about the world and I am here to tell him he doesn't, although most of the time I allow him to live in his own world. Anyway, I fear he may not come back. I really hope he doesn't get mollested over there by a group of women...or most likely men that have an attraction toward little school boys. The other roommate, Adam, has a lot more sense to him and he might end up babysitting Keith for the weekend.
A trip to the National Portrait Gallery is in store for this afternoon, but I don't know what else I will do. I am getting pretty eager to leave the premises of London again, so I am really thankful for the trip to Scotland next week and the latter half of this semester because I will be travelling a lot more. Paris, Prague (hopefully), maybe some other place, and Israel are on the docket.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A Legend Passes On
This blog has nothing to do with London, but since you people know to come to this one while I am here, and not SHoS, I am posting this here.
The Legend that is Emmons Kitty has passed on. Yes, that friendly animal that you all came to love...or torment had a stroke yesterday. She was left crippled and mentally unstable by the stroke and my parents joined her yesterday at the vet to put her down. My family, and many of you, my friends had been blessed by Emmons for thirteen years. Fond memories of my interaction with Emmons came to mind this morning when I got the news from my Mom in an email. I remember putting her in a blanket, hotdog style, with a friend on the other end, and spinning it her around like a jump rope. I won't forget how many times I held her on her back and flipped her through the air to see if she would land on her feet. To my surprise, she landed on all fours every single time. Nor will I forget her fondness for the outdoors, it didn't extend pass the lawn because she would just sit there and graze...literally like a cow. I really do believe she was happiest in her life the few times I let her do that. If you didn't see Emmons take on a plate of food you missed out. She was like a Hoover. Forget trying to munch on the kitty kernels one at a time. She would open wide and sink her face into that bowl of food. For the food to disappear as quickly as it did she had to swallow some of those things whole. There is no other way such a feat could have been achieved. It didn't take me that long to don on her the affectionate nickname, Beefcake. She wore it proudly and always loved a good belly scratch. She did have an alter ego though. When my friends came around, specifically some of those reading this now, she would put those ears back, dilate her eyes and put on a hiss fiesta. Emmons didn't have any front claws, but that never kept her from trying to swat at our hands the many times they attempted to pet her when she was in such a mood. I always did love getting a nose full of that breath. Mmm, fish and other rottenness.
This is my tribute to a memorable feline, Emmons, that left us on this day, the 20th of February, in the year of Our Lord, 2006.
The Legend that is Emmons Kitty has passed on. Yes, that friendly animal that you all came to love...or torment had a stroke yesterday. She was left crippled and mentally unstable by the stroke and my parents joined her yesterday at the vet to put her down. My family, and many of you, my friends had been blessed by Emmons for thirteen years. Fond memories of my interaction with Emmons came to mind this morning when I got the news from my Mom in an email. I remember putting her in a blanket, hotdog style, with a friend on the other end, and spinning it her around like a jump rope. I won't forget how many times I held her on her back and flipped her through the air to see if she would land on her feet. To my surprise, she landed on all fours every single time. Nor will I forget her fondness for the outdoors, it didn't extend pass the lawn because she would just sit there and graze...literally like a cow. I really do believe she was happiest in her life the few times I let her do that. If you didn't see Emmons take on a plate of food you missed out. She was like a Hoover. Forget trying to munch on the kitty kernels one at a time. She would open wide and sink her face into that bowl of food. For the food to disappear as quickly as it did she had to swallow some of those things whole. There is no other way such a feat could have been achieved. It didn't take me that long to don on her the affectionate nickname, Beefcake. She wore it proudly and always loved a good belly scratch. She did have an alter ego though. When my friends came around, specifically some of those reading this now, she would put those ears back, dilate her eyes and put on a hiss fiesta. Emmons didn't have any front claws, but that never kept her from trying to swat at our hands the many times they attempted to pet her when she was in such a mood. I always did love getting a nose full of that breath. Mmm, fish and other rottenness.
This is my tribute to a memorable feline, Emmons, that left us on this day, the 20th of February, in the year of Our Lord, 2006.
The Hooter
Cambridge...a lot happened there in the last 1000 years, but there isn't a lot to do there in the few hours of free time one might have when you take a daytrip there. I took the majority of my pictures of the buildings. Some of them King's College Chapel, the State House, and a church that was built in 1025 before the Norman Invasion of this wee island. I did see the punts on the Cam, but I didn't go punting on the Cam. It was too darn cold so I just walked along the river. That was cold too...
You know how Americans call the horn at the end of a sporting event or period the 'horn' or the 'buzzer'? Well the Brits, at least some of them, call it the 'hooter'. I heard one of the commentators on the BBC's coverage of the Olympics say "hooter" last night and I had a hearty chuckle. They also say 'vitamins' with a short 'i' in 'vit', like 'vittamins'. I would spell it phonetically for you but I am not good at that. I hope I am explaining this well enough. One last word before moving on, 'renaissance'. They say "Renee" as in Renee Zellwegger, followed by 'sance' as we would normally pronounce it in America. Now, I really don't care which pronounciation is correct, I am simply noticing the differcences between them, and how I find them goofy.
There are a lot of Kentucky Fried Chickens over here, and naturally you have your rip-offs. However, London has many, many rip-offs of the famous chain. I think you could substitute any word starting with a 'K' for 'Kentucky' and that would be an actual restaurant somewhere in London. Examples include Kansas Fried Chicken, Kabal Fried Chicken, and others that are changed up a bit like Perfect Fried Chicken, or London Fried Chicken. Certainly one of the biggest legacies American consumerism/materialism has left on at least this part of the world is the 'brand name'. It sells a lot over here, even if the chicken is fried in Kansas, and not in Kentucky. I haven't been anywhere else yet, but as I do get to see other parts of the world throughout my life I wouldn't be surprised to encounter other variations of a famous American brand.
I aim to not take any part of the British accent home with me. I don't like the sound of it really. The accent gives a flair of femininity to men, but this is not as disturbing as the solid dose of masculinity it gives to women. There are quite a few good-looking women in England and then I hear them speak, "Good God, what is that sound?" I make camp in the land of the American accent and of better teeth.
You know how Americans call the horn at the end of a sporting event or period the 'horn' or the 'buzzer'? Well the Brits, at least some of them, call it the 'hooter'. I heard one of the commentators on the BBC's coverage of the Olympics say "hooter" last night and I had a hearty chuckle. They also say 'vitamins' with a short 'i' in 'vit', like 'vittamins'. I would spell it phonetically for you but I am not good at that. I hope I am explaining this well enough. One last word before moving on, 'renaissance'. They say "Renee" as in Renee Zellwegger, followed by 'sance' as we would normally pronounce it in America. Now, I really don't care which pronounciation is correct, I am simply noticing the differcences between them, and how I find them goofy.
There are a lot of Kentucky Fried Chickens over here, and naturally you have your rip-offs. However, London has many, many rip-offs of the famous chain. I think you could substitute any word starting with a 'K' for 'Kentucky' and that would be an actual restaurant somewhere in London. Examples include Kansas Fried Chicken, Kabal Fried Chicken, and others that are changed up a bit like Perfect Fried Chicken, or London Fried Chicken. Certainly one of the biggest legacies American consumerism/materialism has left on at least this part of the world is the 'brand name'. It sells a lot over here, even if the chicken is fried in Kansas, and not in Kentucky. I haven't been anywhere else yet, but as I do get to see other parts of the world throughout my life I wouldn't be surprised to encounter other variations of a famous American brand.
I aim to not take any part of the British accent home with me. I don't like the sound of it really. The accent gives a flair of femininity to men, but this is not as disturbing as the solid dose of masculinity it gives to women. There are quite a few good-looking women in England and then I hear them speak, "Good God, what is that sound?" I make camp in the land of the American accent and of better teeth.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Ugly White Van
Apologies for the shortness of this blog, but I have class in less than ten minutes. I wanted to post this picture though. There are a lot of these cars in London. I tend to see a different model more than this one, but they are both small and I could pick them up if I wanted to. I shall return for a longer blog later in the week about Cambridge, the weekend, KFC (Kansas Fried Chicken), and other tomfoolery.
Monday, February 13, 2006
The Lone Guard
Welcome to my blog. It isn't very popular, but a few people visit regularly. Thanks Mom and Dad. Well, about the picture. This is the lone guard at St. James' Palace that basically gets picked on all day long. I have two pictures with him. In this one I am smiling, and in the other I am trying to be serious. These guys are on guard for two hours, then off for four, the same as the guards at Buckingham...I believe. An hour after this picture was taken I returned with my roommates and there was a different guard on duty. Keith wanted us to take a picture of him standing next to the guard smoking a cigar. Keith tried, but the guard actually spoke to him. He did so without moving much and simply uttered, "You can't do that here." And since he was quite taller than the one pictured, holding a gun with a bayonet on it, we kindly trotted away.On Friday I saw Stonehenge and the town of Salisbury. Stonehenge was chill, but the highlight for me was Salisbury Cathedral. The church has the tallest spire in all of England. It is the second tallest spire in Europe as well. Something like over 400 feet tall. Freaking massive. It was beautiful inside and I took many pictures. They also have a copy of the Magna Carta there. That was sort of cool to see, but damn those people have small handwriting. I don't care if they were trying to not waste any space, didn't they think about those people 700 years down the road that were going to try to read it. C'mon?
It rained all day on Sunday and I walked about in my Mountain Hardwear waterproof jacket. That was fun. The water just beaded off of the hood and down my sleeves.
I hear NYC got dumped with snow. I also know that Cheney shot a man while hunting...oops. I haven't read the story on that, but don't really have any interest.
Cambridge is my destination for this Friday. The temperature is supposed to be around 9 C, or maybe double digits, that will be nice. The computer lab is closing down. I must venture off now. Really, thanks again for coming here. I hope I did not bore.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
The TIX
Hey, I don't have much time to write at this moment, but I just wanted to share that I booked the flight to Israel on El Al Airlines. I leave April 7th and get back to London on the 16th, in time for my flight back home from Heathrow on the 17th. The flight is direct, thus it cost me a little more than some of the other options with layovers, but it will be more than worth it. I have never been so happy about spending so much money. This is great. It will be amazing to be in Israel for Holy Week. Word.
That is all I have to say for now. Shalom!
That is all I have to say for now. Shalom!
Monday, February 06, 2006
Page Three Girl
I am happy to say that although I haven't been putting up that many blogs I have been writing nearly everyday in a journal I keep at the homestay. Occasionally I take the journal out with me and write while at a park. However, I am fearful of losing it so that doesn't happen that much.
It is 46 degrees today. That is the warmest it has been in London in a few weeks. My search for a coat has proved unsuccessful so far, but I have not given up. There are a lot of coats to be had in London, but not for people who are over two meters tall. I did find an official English soccer jersey for £11.99. That is quite the deal. I will probably buy a couple more jerseys of different teams while I am here. The Germany jersey is sweet, as well as the Chelsea, Man. U., and the Arsenal jerseys. They all cost money though...bummer. Anyway, I just wanted to announce my obsession with the material that these jerseys are made out of.
Another trip will be taken to Parliament today for a lecture on British Politics. Many might find this boring, but I believe I could be intrigued by it...not enough to become a politician, but enough to keep me from falling asleep.
I will be going to Stonehenge and Salisbury on Friday. A lot of the students here didn't go for that trip because they didn't want to see some rocks, but I do, and I am excited about it so there! That is my trip out of London this week. I have a longer weekend coming up and I need to figure out what I should do. If you read this and have any suggestions let me know. You should be able to leave a comment even if you are not registered with blogger.com
I did not watch the Super Bowl last night. I really had no interest in the winner, and they had silly British commercials and not the dumb, but sometimes funny American ones. I watched the kick-off and then sat up in bed and turned the TV off. One thing I do enjoy about British TV is the extreme lack of commercials. Some programs don't have commercials, and then the ones that do have them only last for a few minutes per half hour. One more thing about TV here, it isn't censored. You can hear plenty of foul language and see naked people from time to time. The lack of censorship is a great idea I believe, but I probably wouldn't be too happy about my kids seeing some of the stuff at such an early age. Oh, and every time I see someone with The Sun I look at them looking at the paper and see how long they stop on page 3. Everyday in the The Sun there is a topless girl on page three. I can't take anything in that paper seriously just because of the Page Three Girl.
It is 46 degrees today. That is the warmest it has been in London in a few weeks. My search for a coat has proved unsuccessful so far, but I have not given up. There are a lot of coats to be had in London, but not for people who are over two meters tall. I did find an official English soccer jersey for £11.99. That is quite the deal. I will probably buy a couple more jerseys of different teams while I am here. The Germany jersey is sweet, as well as the Chelsea, Man. U., and the Arsenal jerseys. They all cost money though...bummer. Anyway, I just wanted to announce my obsession with the material that these jerseys are made out of.
Another trip will be taken to Parliament today for a lecture on British Politics. Many might find this boring, but I believe I could be intrigued by it...not enough to become a politician, but enough to keep me from falling asleep.
I will be going to Stonehenge and Salisbury on Friday. A lot of the students here didn't go for that trip because they didn't want to see some rocks, but I do, and I am excited about it so there! That is my trip out of London this week. I have a longer weekend coming up and I need to figure out what I should do. If you read this and have any suggestions let me know. You should be able to leave a comment even if you are not registered with blogger.com
I did not watch the Super Bowl last night. I really had no interest in the winner, and they had silly British commercials and not the dumb, but sometimes funny American ones. I watched the kick-off and then sat up in bed and turned the TV off. One thing I do enjoy about British TV is the extreme lack of commercials. Some programs don't have commercials, and then the ones that do have them only last for a few minutes per half hour. One more thing about TV here, it isn't censored. You can hear plenty of foul language and see naked people from time to time. The lack of censorship is a great idea I believe, but I probably wouldn't be too happy about my kids seeing some of the stuff at such an early age. Oh, and every time I see someone with The Sun I look at them looking at the paper and see how long they stop on page 3. Everyday in the The Sun there is a topless girl on page three. I can't take anything in that paper seriously just because of the Page Three Girl.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
There Is No Warm Beer Here
Okay, realistically it might be closer to one blog a week, rather than two or three. The weeks are getting busier here, but I am still having a blast. I am busy on Thursdays all day with my internship even though I don't have any classes beyond Wednesday. I am not going out to a different country every weekend. I have some trips planned, but it is expensive enough just to live here so I don't have mounds of money around to fly to a different country every weekend. To do that is not hard and it is very cheap, but things add up.
I do have a 3-4 day trip to Scotland the first weekend of March. I am also going to make it to Paris...probably twice. I am also communicating with Guy about my trip to Israel. Although flying to Israel from here is a lot cheaper than doing it from the United States, it's not cheap. The trip will still run me close to $700 if I don't want to have a two-stopper to Tel Aviv with long lay-overs.
Kate is due here the 12th and as I do more things in and around London I am making an informal list of things we could do while I am here. I can't believe we will have the opportunity to have a vacation in London! I am sure we won't get to all of them, but we will get to most I bet.
Tonight I am going to see The Producers. I don't know anything about The Producers, except that the movie version looked like it could be funny. I can't remember all that I have done since the last blog. I got thorough tours of Westminster Abbey and Parliament. On Sunday I went to the free organ recital at St. Paul's Cathedral and felt really old when I discovered that the organist was younger than I, and already a sub-organist at St. Paul's. I just thought...jeez, I need to get on with my life and do something with it. St. Paul's could eat Central Presbyterian for a midday snack and have plenty of room for more. Central's sanctuary could definitely fit under the dome without touching any surface of St. Paul's except for the floor.
I also went to Stratford last Friday and saw everything Shakespeare. You know how it is. Hey! Friday is my birthday and I will no doubt eventually wind up in a pub, either with some American students, but preferably with my British co-workers from my internship. They are a lot more fun to talk to and hang out with, plus they buy me pints. Ah...pints.
Contrary to the trash everyone told me before I left about the British drinking "warm beer", they in fact do not. You have to ask if you want a "warm" beer, and they might have a few kinds that they serve at room temperature, which is not warm. I had a Broadside at room temperature and it wasn't that bad. Most of the beer the British drink is no warmer than a beer you would order at a bar in the U.S. I am glad I brought that little lie out from the dark.
Oh, and I found that theatre, Aaron, that Earthy theatre or something. Apparently the playwright that is sononymous with the Earthy theatre was pretty popular. And, get this, to this day his plays are still performed in London. Crazy.
I do have a 3-4 day trip to Scotland the first weekend of March. I am also going to make it to Paris...probably twice. I am also communicating with Guy about my trip to Israel. Although flying to Israel from here is a lot cheaper than doing it from the United States, it's not cheap. The trip will still run me close to $700 if I don't want to have a two-stopper to Tel Aviv with long lay-overs.
Kate is due here the 12th and as I do more things in and around London I am making an informal list of things we could do while I am here. I can't believe we will have the opportunity to have a vacation in London! I am sure we won't get to all of them, but we will get to most I bet.
Tonight I am going to see The Producers. I don't know anything about The Producers, except that the movie version looked like it could be funny. I can't remember all that I have done since the last blog. I got thorough tours of Westminster Abbey and Parliament. On Sunday I went to the free organ recital at St. Paul's Cathedral and felt really old when I discovered that the organist was younger than I, and already a sub-organist at St. Paul's. I just thought...jeez, I need to get on with my life and do something with it. St. Paul's could eat Central Presbyterian for a midday snack and have plenty of room for more. Central's sanctuary could definitely fit under the dome without touching any surface of St. Paul's except for the floor.
I also went to Stratford last Friday and saw everything Shakespeare. You know how it is. Hey! Friday is my birthday and I will no doubt eventually wind up in a pub, either with some American students, but preferably with my British co-workers from my internship. They are a lot more fun to talk to and hang out with, plus they buy me pints. Ah...pints.
Contrary to the trash everyone told me before I left about the British drinking "warm beer", they in fact do not. You have to ask if you want a "warm" beer, and they might have a few kinds that they serve at room temperature, which is not warm. I had a Broadside at room temperature and it wasn't that bad. Most of the beer the British drink is no warmer than a beer you would order at a bar in the U.S. I am glad I brought that little lie out from the dark.
Oh, and I found that theatre, Aaron, that Earthy theatre or something. Apparently the playwright that is sononymous with the Earthy theatre was pretty popular. And, get this, to this day his plays are still performed in London. Crazy.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Another Celebrity Sighting
I don't know what it is with London, but there seem to be a lot of celebrities around. Prior to coming here I had never seen a celebrity, but I have now seen two. Last week I stumbled upon 50 Cent's movie premiere in Leicester Square. I hung around for a few minutes to get a picture of him. It was loud with many people screaming frantically. "Phiddy!" "Fiddy!" "Fifty!"
On Tuesday I was venturing out of one of those crappy grocery stores and I stepped aside for a man coming into the store. He looked up at me, and naturally, I looked down at him, and the man just happened to be Patrick Stewart...a.k.a....Professor X, Captain Picard...and some other famous roles. Anyway, he looked like he just got spotted because he caught sight of my double take, but he was safe. I didn't say anything. I know if I had to sport a hat everywhere with the collar popped on a coat to hide myself I would really appreciate my privacy. However, that did not stop me from looking back a couple times to see if it was really him...and it was.
Tomorrow I am taking a trip to Stratford -On-Avon. It should be Shakespeare and all that, but I just have to get up early again...dang it. I got a tour of Westminster Abbey yesterday and in one corner of the Abbey I walked over the burial places of Dickens, Kipling, and Handel. I don't really get a kick out of walking over dead people, but it was interesting to find out who is buried in the Abbey. Oh, interestingly enough, King Edward I, from Braveheart, is buried within one of the most sacred parts of the Abbey. Apparently, Edward I had a soft side (I don't believe that really) that is most definitely not shown in the depiction of him in Braveheart. This was all new to me because I don't know much about the royal history of Great Britain.
Anyway...I am spending most of today at my internship at a publishing company. It's pretty fun so far, but it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get here this morning. I wish it was a bit closer by Tube, but I don't mind it. Actually, I am there right now, but the guy that I am working with today is still on his lunch break. I hope that I can write maybe 2 or 3 of these a week instead of writing the same email 20 times, or writing out mass emails. I definitely prefer this method.
On Tuesday I was venturing out of one of those crappy grocery stores and I stepped aside for a man coming into the store. He looked up at me, and naturally, I looked down at him, and the man just happened to be Patrick Stewart...a.k.a....Professor X, Captain Picard...and some other famous roles. Anyway, he looked like he just got spotted because he caught sight of my double take, but he was safe. I didn't say anything. I know if I had to sport a hat everywhere with the collar popped on a coat to hide myself I would really appreciate my privacy. However, that did not stop me from looking back a couple times to see if it was really him...and it was.
Tomorrow I am taking a trip to Stratford -On-Avon. It should be Shakespeare and all that, but I just have to get up early again...dang it. I got a tour of Westminster Abbey yesterday and in one corner of the Abbey I walked over the burial places of Dickens, Kipling, and Handel. I don't really get a kick out of walking over dead people, but it was interesting to find out who is buried in the Abbey. Oh, interestingly enough, King Edward I, from Braveheart, is buried within one of the most sacred parts of the Abbey. Apparently, Edward I had a soft side (I don't believe that really) that is most definitely not shown in the depiction of him in Braveheart. This was all new to me because I don't know much about the royal history of Great Britain.
Anyway...I am spending most of today at my internship at a publishing company. It's pretty fun so far, but it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get here this morning. I wish it was a bit closer by Tube, but I don't mind it. Actually, I am there right now, but the guy that I am working with today is still on his lunch break. I hope that I can write maybe 2 or 3 of these a week instead of writing the same email 20 times, or writing out mass emails. I definitely prefer this method.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Soloist
Okay, now that I have the blog specifics worked out I can write a little something. I spent the majority of my time this weekend seeing different sites throughout London by myself. I tend to enjoy my own company, but even more so when I am somewhere completely new. This may sound mean, but when I am alone I don't have to deal with other people slowing me down. I essentially don't trust those with me that they will want to do the same thing I want to do. When they aren't there the problem is gone. Excellent. Now...where were we? I took a long stroll through Hyde Park on Saturday. It was a sunny day, but still a cold one. I sat on a bench and wrote some. After a while I walked toward Kensington Palace...took a look around...and then I made the horrible decision of walking over to Harrod's. That place sucks. I walked about 100 yards of the store and it was, up to this point in my life, the culmination of all that I hate about shopping: hundreds of people, many displays, a very large concentration of short people who walk slowly to begin with; and even more slowly when shopping, expensive things, ridiculous advertisements, and a lot of "oh my God that guy is tall" stares.
A thing to mention about cars in some areas of London. Because I see so many Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and other incredibly expensive cars they no longer have the same impact on me as if I were seeing them in the streets. On my trip to Harrod's I saw at least 5 of each of those brands of cars among many others. A 360 Modena was parked in a line of cars on Hyde Park like it was just another automobile. I truly turned around five times after I passed it to make sure it was still there. Incredible.
Sunday...went to Trafalgar Square and I whisked through the National Gallery taking in all the paintings that were marked on the map as "Highlight Paintings". One of which was Van Gogh's Sunflowers. I then walked to Westminster Abbey for a free organ recital. Wow, that was loud. On the way over I snapped this shot of Parliament and the Clock Tower. Many people refer to it as Big Ben, but that is only the name of the bell inside, but it's the name that stuck for many tourists and I believe for most of the British.
Oh, I know why people can't cook very well over here...the grocery stores suck. In central London you have two really crappy grocery chains...Tesco and Sainsburys, neither of which have any sort of variety. Wonderful. That is all for now.
Welcome!
Welcome to the new PICCADILLY LINE. I left out a C on the old one and I couldn't live with myself without changing it. So, here it's. The new shady record of some of my time in London.
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