Hey guys,
The night before I left for London, I decided I needed to make a late night run to Wal-Mart to grab some last minute supplies for the trip. Clicking on the radio, I heard a snippet of a song that sounded really cool. I really wanted to find out what it was but didn't get the chance to before I left the car.
Sitting down in the Hard Rock Cafe in London, the video for the same song came on the TV shortly after we sat to eat. Again, I wasn't able to catch who it was, but I took this (like I do) as a sign.
After coming back and doing a little research, I discovered that the song was called "Panic Switch" and that it was by a band called Silversun Pickups.
When I heard the song, I latched onto it because, though being a song in the rock vein, it had almost a trancy electronica sound to it. It sounded like it was from the post-post-grunge era if ever such a genre was to exist.
Doing a bit more research on the band, I found they'd been compared to such acts as Smashing Pumpkins and that they listed some grunge era bands as influences.
I got on iTunes and downloaded the album "Swoon" which contains the song "Panic Switch". I've listened to it all now and I've gotta say, it's the first album that's really blown me away on first listen in a long, long time.
Here are the videos for the singles thus far off of "Swoon" in the order they were released, with the titles ABOVE the songs.
Panic Switch
Substitution
The Royal We
And now here's an interview where a couple members of the band talk a bit about the new record and tell some funny stories. The end of this interview cracks me up! ("And Ernie comes in, what a dick..." Hilarious! Watch for it...)
So that's my bit about the band Silversun Pickups and my blog entry for the day, guys. Hope you enjoyed the music and info.
Peace...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
London, Pt. 6 (Return and Apocrypha)
Hey guys,
The London trip's over but I still do have a few more stories/things to say/things that I need to get down so I won't forget about them about it. Make sense? No? Read on, it'll be OK...
Our Guardian Angel
Everyone had talked about how confusing Heathrow airport was going to be. It wasn't. However, at Toronto airport, because we were going to be taking a connecting flight, we got a bit disoriented.
We got into a line that I believe said "Connecting Flights". It was a nightmare. So long that we might have had trouble getting on the flight to London, if not for a gentleman who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Wow. A little more busy than usual," he said.
I could only agree, having never been there before.
"Yeah," I replied.
Erica and I stood in line a few more seconds, when I noticed that everyone in the line, including Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air, had pretty sizeable luggage.
"Do we need to be in this line if we're not checking any bags?" I asked him.
"No, no. Not if you're not checking any bags."
"Okay, man. Thanks."
And we were off to find out where we really needed to be.
We eventually did find out where we were supposed to be and settled down for something to eat. We sat and waited as a flight to Abu Dhabi was announced about fifty odd times. When it became time to board the plane to Heathrow, we showed our passes and got on board. Walking about two or three people in front of us was Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air again. We made it to the back of the plane (where we were sitting) and I shared a smile and some passing conversation about bag storage with that fellow who'd helped us back in the airport. Erica and I gave each other mildly astonished looks as the fellow sat down in the seat directly in front of me.
The week in London came and went.
We went back to Heathrow to come home.
As we got to our gate and were preparing to sit to wait, Erica said, "Oh my God. Look."
"What?"
I thought we'd forgotten something.
"Look who's right over there," she said.
Sure enough, the helpful fellow from the baggage line, Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air, was seated in the waiting area for the same gate.
"Wow," I said. "Pretty weird."
We boarded the plane, a slightly bigger one this time, to come home. Erica was not looking forward to the prospect of having to sit next to a total stranger for almost eight hours as we flew back into Canada to catch another connecting flight home. Her spirits were beginning to rise as it didn't appear the person was going to show. Just then, we heard talk coming up the aisle.
"Well, we could put you here," a flight attendant said.
"Yeah," came a male voice. "They said they just don't know if there's another aisle seat."
Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air opened the overhead compartment, stowed one of his bags and sat down next to Erica.
He got his things in order, pulled out a book by Robert Jordan, sat and looked over at us.
"Hey. How was your week," I said.
"Hey! Not too bad! Yours?"
It escalated from there with us talking small talk but never getting each other's names. I wouldn't have been surprised if his name was Sauriel or something like that.
London Lit
As we travelled the Underground in London, I noticed signs for several books. Also, I noticed that there appeared to be a lot more "readers" in England than here in the States. Reading just seemed to be promoted more. So I won't forget and to give those interested a little taste of what IS being promoted there right now, here are the books that I saw several signs for:
-"We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver
-"Nightshift" (I think that's the title) by Stephen Leather
-"206 Bones" by Kathy Reichs
-"The Strain" by Guillermo del Toro and Paul (Is that his 1st name?) Hogan
Also, after the whole visit, I personally need to read up on:
-William Shakespeare
-Charles Dickens
-Leonardo da Vinci
-Vincent van Gogh
-Jack the Ripper
-King Arthur
-Stonehenge
-The Kings and Queens of England
-Probably some other things that I forget right at the moment
And in closing...
Well, that probably should conclude my writings on the trip to England. It was a great experience and I've come back more knowledgeable about the city and country I visited but still wanting to know more, which is a reward in itself.
Ta for now. And...
Peace...
The London trip's over but I still do have a few more stories/things to say/things that I need to get down so I won't forget about them about it. Make sense? No? Read on, it'll be OK...
Our Guardian Angel
Everyone had talked about how confusing Heathrow airport was going to be. It wasn't. However, at Toronto airport, because we were going to be taking a connecting flight, we got a bit disoriented.
We got into a line that I believe said "Connecting Flights". It was a nightmare. So long that we might have had trouble getting on the flight to London, if not for a gentleman who seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Wow. A little more busy than usual," he said.
I could only agree, having never been there before.
"Yeah," I replied.
Erica and I stood in line a few more seconds, when I noticed that everyone in the line, including Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air, had pretty sizeable luggage.
"Do we need to be in this line if we're not checking any bags?" I asked him.
"No, no. Not if you're not checking any bags."
"Okay, man. Thanks."
And we were off to find out where we really needed to be.
We eventually did find out where we were supposed to be and settled down for something to eat. We sat and waited as a flight to Abu Dhabi was announced about fifty odd times. When it became time to board the plane to Heathrow, we showed our passes and got on board. Walking about two or three people in front of us was Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air again. We made it to the back of the plane (where we were sitting) and I shared a smile and some passing conversation about bag storage with that fellow who'd helped us back in the airport. Erica and I gave each other mildly astonished looks as the fellow sat down in the seat directly in front of me.
The week in London came and went.
We went back to Heathrow to come home.
As we got to our gate and were preparing to sit to wait, Erica said, "Oh my God. Look."
"What?"
I thought we'd forgotten something.
"Look who's right over there," she said.
Sure enough, the helpful fellow from the baggage line, Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air, was seated in the waiting area for the same gate.
"Wow," I said. "Pretty weird."
We boarded the plane, a slightly bigger one this time, to come home. Erica was not looking forward to the prospect of having to sit next to a total stranger for almost eight hours as we flew back into Canada to catch another connecting flight home. Her spirits were beginning to rise as it didn't appear the person was going to show. Just then, we heard talk coming up the aisle.
"Well, we could put you here," a flight attendant said.
"Yeah," came a male voice. "They said they just don't know if there's another aisle seat."
Mr. Out-Of-Thin-Air opened the overhead compartment, stowed one of his bags and sat down next to Erica.
He got his things in order, pulled out a book by Robert Jordan, sat and looked over at us.
"Hey. How was your week," I said.
"Hey! Not too bad! Yours?"
It escalated from there with us talking small talk but never getting each other's names. I wouldn't have been surprised if his name was Sauriel or something like that.
London Lit
As we travelled the Underground in London, I noticed signs for several books. Also, I noticed that there appeared to be a lot more "readers" in England than here in the States. Reading just seemed to be promoted more. So I won't forget and to give those interested a little taste of what IS being promoted there right now, here are the books that I saw several signs for:
-"We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver
-"Nightshift" (I think that's the title) by Stephen Leather
-"206 Bones" by Kathy Reichs
-"The Strain" by Guillermo del Toro and Paul (Is that his 1st name?) Hogan
Also, after the whole visit, I personally need to read up on:
-William Shakespeare
-Charles Dickens
-Leonardo da Vinci
-Vincent van Gogh
-Jack the Ripper
-King Arthur
-Stonehenge
-The Kings and Queens of England
-Probably some other things that I forget right at the moment
And in closing...
Well, that probably should conclude my writings on the trip to England. It was a great experience and I've come back more knowledgeable about the city and country I visited but still wanting to know more, which is a reward in itself.
Ta for now. And...
Peace...
Friday, May 14, 2010
London, Pt. 5 (Being the Part That is Not Really London)
Hey all,
So, the last day of the adventures in London/England has come to a close. Sad really... But bittersweet.
The day started off with us taking the Tube to the Knightsbridge station on the Picadilly line. We grabbed more Starbucks and were waiting outside Harrod's when a most unusual thing happened.
I'd been trying to get several pictures of myself in front of Underground signs, historic places in London, and the like. I did this using my phone, which I had out this morning, snapping a pic of me in front of said Underground sign. Just then, a fellow walked up to me.
"Hello," he said.
"Hi, there..." was my reply.
"You're coming with us, then?"
"Um... I'm sorry... You are?"
Now, we'd been waiting for a shuttle to come and get us to take us to Avebury (the first stop today, which I'll get to later) but this fellow was on foot.
"We spoke just a minute ago. You're with George?" the British chap asked.
"Um..."
I was getting a little wary at this point. I clutched my phone tighter and got ready to swing on the fellow, if need be. Now I don't condone violence, but I was taken a little off guard and thought he was trying something shady. (Any of you who've known me any length of time know my penchant for paranoia.)
I stood there looking at him.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I haven't just phoned you?"
"No."
He put his hands up on his head and said, "Sorry, sorry."
He then walked off.
In retrospect, it's funny and a bit odd...
Anyway, the shuttle DID eventually show up and we were greeted by a pleasant fellow named David as we stepped on the small bus. He ushered us in and stopped off to pick up a couple more travellers for the day.
We drove and drove. The first stop was a place called Avebury. Now for those of you who don't know (and I hadn't even heard of the place before we got there this morning), Avebury is located between the towns of Marlborough and Calne. It is a megalithic stone circle both older and more vast (though somehow less famous) than Stonehenge (which I'll get to later).
Also, let's stop here and get to the explanation of what a "henge" is. It's a sort of built up mound with a ditch dug around it, presumably to fortify it.
Avebury has a vast circle of stones around the outer edge and a sort of gateway into it with two large marker stones acting as a probable gate. There are several smaller stone circles within the larger one and some patterns of stones arranged in a "Z" (or "zed", as they call it here) shape.
The whole thing was simply remarkable. I'll get to more on henges later when I discuss the more famous one.
The Glastonbury Tor was the next stop, or rather, the base of the Tor. A tor is a conical shaped hill and this one is believed to be the Avalon of Arthurian legend (if, in fact, Arthur existed). There is a large building on the top of the tor that we did not, regrettably, get to visit for threat of impending rain. The building is a church built in the 1360's and is where the last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Richard Whiting, was drawn and quartered, along with two of his monks. The church is said to be at the intersection of two ley lines, which are paths of extreme energy. One is supposed to be able to feel this energy coursing through them upon standing in the midst of the church, but I guess you'll have to get my confirmation or denial of that on my next visit.
The Chalice Well was up next on today's tour. The well is near Glastonbury and has many legendary stories tied to it. Legends involving Christ, King Arthur, and many pagan tales are associated with the well. It is believed to have been in use for nearly 2000 years.
The exciting part about the well for me? Well, you knew it was coming, but yet another reference to "The Invisbles", which is a comic book series I've commented on often on this blog and the social networking sites I use.
The lid of the well has a shape of interlocking circles on it known as the vesica pisces. Now (and I'll come to a point, I promise), the vesica pisces is, as I've said, two interlocking circles. When displayed as it is on the lid of the Chalice Well, with a sword or spear running through it, it can be a symbol of King Arthur. Now, if you take the "Jesus fish" symbol that most of us are familiar with and extend the lines of both parts of the fish, you get the two interlocking circles. This was used in "The Invisbles" as a diagram for the true nature of the universe. One circle is Universe A, the other Universe B and the part where they overlap each other would be the space that you and I inhabit. Right there, you've got your King Arthur, Christ, and pagan references. Amazing.
I even saw those who I assumed to be doing pagan rituals laying small crystals on chains into the flow of the water and leaving them there for some reason.
There is a place which has a little fountain called "The Lion's Head". The water from this fount and all other fountains streaming out all over the site of the well turns the stones red. Some pagans associate this with the blood of life, some Christians associate this with the blood of Christ, with Christian mythology suggesting that Joseph or Arimathea buried the chalice that caught drops of Christ's blood there. The water is also said to have a healing property and the reason that I mentioned the Lion's Head fountain first is because I drank from it today. We'll see what happens...
After having drunk the water from the Lion's Head, I followed it up with lunch, which was a cheeseburger and chips (again, I know) from Heaphy's Cafe in the heart of Glastonbury. I washed that down with a Lady of the Lake Real Ale, which reminded me of a toned down Victory Hop Devil, if any of you have had that.
The town of Glastonbury is very charged with a spiritual and mystical air. All around there were "new age" book shops, which contained books on King Arthur, Bibles and other Christian studies, and plenty of pagan topics. The people there really revel in the myths and legends surrounding the area, even having speakers come and talk on all sorts of these topics.
After lunch, we took a quick hop through Glastonbury Abbey. The most notable site there was the grave of King Arthur and Guinevere. You see, bones were dug up here in 1191 bearing the inscription Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in insula Avalonia ("Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon"). Pretty cool, if you take it for being the King Arthur of legend. Don't get too excited, though. If Arthur did indeed exist, his exploits and chivalrous deeds have likely been a bit imbellished for literature's sake. Still... Cool...
From here, off on another approximate 90 minute drive to STONEHENGE. I stood somewhat near it today in a state of awe. After hearing our guide David talk about it for the last half hour of our trip toward it, I couldn't wait to see it, touch the stones, marvel at it... Only one problem. You can't get anywhere near the thing.
Well, I suppose I was near to it, just not nearly as near as I'd hoped. There are ropes all around the thing and people... My God, the people. Stonehenge can, on its best days we were told, pull about 80,000 people to see it. Today, an average day, would bring about 3000 to 4000.
But still... What an awesome sight to behold. My main source of awe at it today, after learning all about it from our very knowlegeable guide, is not the structure itself, but what was done to actually construct it. Remember way back at the beginning of this entry when I talked about Avebury? Well, Avebury's miles away from Stonehenge. So far that we drove and drove from one to the other. Years ago, PEOPLE BROUGHT STONES FROM AVEBURY TO STONEHENGE! Why?! Think about that a moment. All those miles... Those stones weigh tons! Again, why?!
That is just one of the many mysteries of Stonehenge, my friends. It's really open to debate as to what anybody ever used the whole thing for. It IS a center of pagan activity during solstices and equinoxes and such, those folks probably believing in some mystical significance, but this thing was built by a society that left no written word on what it could have been.
Truly, truly mystifying and amazing...
Well friends, I've waxed long-winded on all of this. I will tell you (and make note to myself) that we came swiftly back to the hotel room after the tours today and ordered dinner to the room from a place here near Hounslow (the part of London where we're staying) called Captain Hook's. We were quite exhausted and it was frustrating finding a place to deliver here so I went with my old standby of cheeseburger and chips again.
That will conclude my blogs about being in London and in England. I almost come to tears typing that. (Go ahead, poke your fun.) It's been a great week and I'll have a lot of great memories from it, but it's been such an experience that I don't want it to end. Ah well, I will be relieved to get back across the pond and assure that the house is still standing. Been worrying a bit about leaving it so long this week.
Anyway, if you've enjoyed these blogs, I urge you to keep an eye on this blog and my Facebook and Twitter pages, which I believe link from this site. I might not be talking about something so exciting as London, but there are many things out there I pay homage to on a regular basis that I think deserve our attention.
I'll be Tweeting, blogging, Facebooking soon. I'll look forward to chatting with all of you then. Good night from London and...
Peace...
So, the last day of the adventures in London/England has come to a close. Sad really... But bittersweet.
The day started off with us taking the Tube to the Knightsbridge station on the Picadilly line. We grabbed more Starbucks and were waiting outside Harrod's when a most unusual thing happened.
I'd been trying to get several pictures of myself in front of Underground signs, historic places in London, and the like. I did this using my phone, which I had out this morning, snapping a pic of me in front of said Underground sign. Just then, a fellow walked up to me.
"Hello," he said.
"Hi, there..." was my reply.
"You're coming with us, then?"
"Um... I'm sorry... You are?"
Now, we'd been waiting for a shuttle to come and get us to take us to Avebury (the first stop today, which I'll get to later) but this fellow was on foot.
"We spoke just a minute ago. You're with George?" the British chap asked.
"Um..."
I was getting a little wary at this point. I clutched my phone tighter and got ready to swing on the fellow, if need be. Now I don't condone violence, but I was taken a little off guard and thought he was trying something shady. (Any of you who've known me any length of time know my penchant for paranoia.)
I stood there looking at him.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I haven't just phoned you?"
"No."
He put his hands up on his head and said, "Sorry, sorry."
He then walked off.
In retrospect, it's funny and a bit odd...
Anyway, the shuttle DID eventually show up and we were greeted by a pleasant fellow named David as we stepped on the small bus. He ushered us in and stopped off to pick up a couple more travellers for the day.
We drove and drove. The first stop was a place called Avebury. Now for those of you who don't know (and I hadn't even heard of the place before we got there this morning), Avebury is located between the towns of Marlborough and Calne. It is a megalithic stone circle both older and more vast (though somehow less famous) than Stonehenge (which I'll get to later).
Also, let's stop here and get to the explanation of what a "henge" is. It's a sort of built up mound with a ditch dug around it, presumably to fortify it.
Avebury has a vast circle of stones around the outer edge and a sort of gateway into it with two large marker stones acting as a probable gate. There are several smaller stone circles within the larger one and some patterns of stones arranged in a "Z" (or "zed", as they call it here) shape.
The whole thing was simply remarkable. I'll get to more on henges later when I discuss the more famous one.
The Glastonbury Tor was the next stop, or rather, the base of the Tor. A tor is a conical shaped hill and this one is believed to be the Avalon of Arthurian legend (if, in fact, Arthur existed). There is a large building on the top of the tor that we did not, regrettably, get to visit for threat of impending rain. The building is a church built in the 1360's and is where the last Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Richard Whiting, was drawn and quartered, along with two of his monks. The church is said to be at the intersection of two ley lines, which are paths of extreme energy. One is supposed to be able to feel this energy coursing through them upon standing in the midst of the church, but I guess you'll have to get my confirmation or denial of that on my next visit.
The Chalice Well was up next on today's tour. The well is near Glastonbury and has many legendary stories tied to it. Legends involving Christ, King Arthur, and many pagan tales are associated with the well. It is believed to have been in use for nearly 2000 years.
The exciting part about the well for me? Well, you knew it was coming, but yet another reference to "The Invisbles", which is a comic book series I've commented on often on this blog and the social networking sites I use.
The lid of the well has a shape of interlocking circles on it known as the vesica pisces. Now (and I'll come to a point, I promise), the vesica pisces is, as I've said, two interlocking circles. When displayed as it is on the lid of the Chalice Well, with a sword or spear running through it, it can be a symbol of King Arthur. Now, if you take the "Jesus fish" symbol that most of us are familiar with and extend the lines of both parts of the fish, you get the two interlocking circles. This was used in "The Invisbles" as a diagram for the true nature of the universe. One circle is Universe A, the other Universe B and the part where they overlap each other would be the space that you and I inhabit. Right there, you've got your King Arthur, Christ, and pagan references. Amazing.
I even saw those who I assumed to be doing pagan rituals laying small crystals on chains into the flow of the water and leaving them there for some reason.
There is a place which has a little fountain called "The Lion's Head". The water from this fount and all other fountains streaming out all over the site of the well turns the stones red. Some pagans associate this with the blood of life, some Christians associate this with the blood of Christ, with Christian mythology suggesting that Joseph or Arimathea buried the chalice that caught drops of Christ's blood there. The water is also said to have a healing property and the reason that I mentioned the Lion's Head fountain first is because I drank from it today. We'll see what happens...
After having drunk the water from the Lion's Head, I followed it up with lunch, which was a cheeseburger and chips (again, I know) from Heaphy's Cafe in the heart of Glastonbury. I washed that down with a Lady of the Lake Real Ale, which reminded me of a toned down Victory Hop Devil, if any of you have had that.
The town of Glastonbury is very charged with a spiritual and mystical air. All around there were "new age" book shops, which contained books on King Arthur, Bibles and other Christian studies, and plenty of pagan topics. The people there really revel in the myths and legends surrounding the area, even having speakers come and talk on all sorts of these topics.
After lunch, we took a quick hop through Glastonbury Abbey. The most notable site there was the grave of King Arthur and Guinevere. You see, bones were dug up here in 1191 bearing the inscription Hic jacet sepultus inclitus rex Arthurus in insula Avalonia ("Here lies interred the famous King Arthur on the Isle of Avalon"). Pretty cool, if you take it for being the King Arthur of legend. Don't get too excited, though. If Arthur did indeed exist, his exploits and chivalrous deeds have likely been a bit imbellished for literature's sake. Still... Cool...
From here, off on another approximate 90 minute drive to STONEHENGE. I stood somewhat near it today in a state of awe. After hearing our guide David talk about it for the last half hour of our trip toward it, I couldn't wait to see it, touch the stones, marvel at it... Only one problem. You can't get anywhere near the thing.
Well, I suppose I was near to it, just not nearly as near as I'd hoped. There are ropes all around the thing and people... My God, the people. Stonehenge can, on its best days we were told, pull about 80,000 people to see it. Today, an average day, would bring about 3000 to 4000.
But still... What an awesome sight to behold. My main source of awe at it today, after learning all about it from our very knowlegeable guide, is not the structure itself, but what was done to actually construct it. Remember way back at the beginning of this entry when I talked about Avebury? Well, Avebury's miles away from Stonehenge. So far that we drove and drove from one to the other. Years ago, PEOPLE BROUGHT STONES FROM AVEBURY TO STONEHENGE! Why?! Think about that a moment. All those miles... Those stones weigh tons! Again, why?!
That is just one of the many mysteries of Stonehenge, my friends. It's really open to debate as to what anybody ever used the whole thing for. It IS a center of pagan activity during solstices and equinoxes and such, those folks probably believing in some mystical significance, but this thing was built by a society that left no written word on what it could have been.
Truly, truly mystifying and amazing...
Well friends, I've waxed long-winded on all of this. I will tell you (and make note to myself) that we came swiftly back to the hotel room after the tours today and ordered dinner to the room from a place here near Hounslow (the part of London where we're staying) called Captain Hook's. We were quite exhausted and it was frustrating finding a place to deliver here so I went with my old standby of cheeseburger and chips again.
That will conclude my blogs about being in London and in England. I almost come to tears typing that. (Go ahead, poke your fun.) It's been a great week and I'll have a lot of great memories from it, but it's been such an experience that I don't want it to end. Ah well, I will be relieved to get back across the pond and assure that the house is still standing. Been worrying a bit about leaving it so long this week.
Anyway, if you've enjoyed these blogs, I urge you to keep an eye on this blog and my Facebook and Twitter pages, which I believe link from this site. I might not be talking about something so exciting as London, but there are many things out there I pay homage to on a regular basis that I think deserve our attention.
I'll be Tweeting, blogging, Facebooking soon. I'll look forward to chatting with all of you then. Good night from London and...
Peace...
Thursday, May 13, 2010
London, Pt. 4 (Needle to Pizza)
Hey guys,
Back with another blog post about the London trip. I'll probably keep it short and succinct tonight, as I'm pretty exhausted.
Things on the Tube went a little more smoothly today, although once when we tried to get on today, we had to walk instead because of a line closed due to "a person on the tracks". Wow! He must've had a strong drink early this morning! Hope the chap survived...
The first stop (after hitting Starbucks for a latte and a ginormous cookie!) was Cleopatra's Needle. The Needle was a gift to Britain from Egypt at some point. This must be where you hang to do your smoking, as a fellow standing by the Needle had a cloud of smoke around him that made the air redolent of the scent of marijuana. Party at the Needle, chaps!
The next stop was the Temple Church, a church built there in the 12th and 13th centuries for the Knights Templar. The church was nowhere near as vast as St. Paul's Cathedral, but was still beautiful and had some impressive tombs and stained glass.
The Courtauld Gallery at the Somerset House was amazing, containing paintings by Botticelli, Monet, Gauguin, Pissarro, Renoir, and Van Gogh, among others. This trip has revitalized my interest in painting and art and the Courtauld Gallery played a huge part in this.
Lunch was at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. I had the Spicy Chicken Breast (which tasted strangely like a Chinese food chicken dish to me) with chips. I washed it down with a Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Bitter, which was rather tasty and reminded me a bit of Yuengling. Parts of the pub itself date back to 1667 and it was commonplace for 19th century literati to go there and dine. I tried to imagine Mark Twain and Charles Dickens in this miraculous dark old pub, as they were among notables who spent time there.
The Sir John Soanes Museum housed various magnificent, strange and ancient objects collected by (who else?) Sir John Soanes. The man left this house to the nation in 1837, wishing that all could come and view his miraculous collection of books, statues, and other artifacts. Quite stunning.
The British Museum was another of those with various artifacts from all cultures. The Rosetta Stone is housed there and one found it difficult to even so much as snap a picture with all the throngs gathered around it. The museum contained some of the oldest things I'd ever scene, boasting an Easter Island statue, various Egyptian mummies, 1.8 million-year-old Olduvai hand axes and many other things. Also, we paid extra to see a gallery of pencil drawings from the masters, including some of da Vinci's own. Worth the extra 12 pounds apiece.
We capped the day off with dinner from Pizza Express, which sounds like it's a rundown little kiosk, but is really anything but. We even had the feeling that we were ushered to the back of the restaurant because of our less-than-dressy clothes! We had the Garlic Bread with Mozzarella, which was a delicious lump of bread served with a small pizza cutter so you could cut it yourself and the Romana (pizza with a paper-thin crust) American Hot (which had pepperoni and banana peppers). Pretty good, but I've had better pies.
And with that, we ended the last day dwelling in London proper. Tomorrow will be Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor. Gotta see that English countryside.
Anyway, guys... I tried to keep it short and couldn't, but I really must be getting to sleep. Lots of walking on already exhausted legs tomorrow. Hope this all finds you and yours well.
Peace...
Back with another blog post about the London trip. I'll probably keep it short and succinct tonight, as I'm pretty exhausted.
Things on the Tube went a little more smoothly today, although once when we tried to get on today, we had to walk instead because of a line closed due to "a person on the tracks". Wow! He must've had a strong drink early this morning! Hope the chap survived...
The first stop (after hitting Starbucks for a latte and a ginormous cookie!) was Cleopatra's Needle. The Needle was a gift to Britain from Egypt at some point. This must be where you hang to do your smoking, as a fellow standing by the Needle had a cloud of smoke around him that made the air redolent of the scent of marijuana. Party at the Needle, chaps!
The next stop was the Temple Church, a church built there in the 12th and 13th centuries for the Knights Templar. The church was nowhere near as vast as St. Paul's Cathedral, but was still beautiful and had some impressive tombs and stained glass.
The Courtauld Gallery at the Somerset House was amazing, containing paintings by Botticelli, Monet, Gauguin, Pissarro, Renoir, and Van Gogh, among others. This trip has revitalized my interest in painting and art and the Courtauld Gallery played a huge part in this.
Lunch was at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. I had the Spicy Chicken Breast (which tasted strangely like a Chinese food chicken dish to me) with chips. I washed it down with a Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Bitter, which was rather tasty and reminded me a bit of Yuengling. Parts of the pub itself date back to 1667 and it was commonplace for 19th century literati to go there and dine. I tried to imagine Mark Twain and Charles Dickens in this miraculous dark old pub, as they were among notables who spent time there.
The Sir John Soanes Museum housed various magnificent, strange and ancient objects collected by (who else?) Sir John Soanes. The man left this house to the nation in 1837, wishing that all could come and view his miraculous collection of books, statues, and other artifacts. Quite stunning.
The British Museum was another of those with various artifacts from all cultures. The Rosetta Stone is housed there and one found it difficult to even so much as snap a picture with all the throngs gathered around it. The museum contained some of the oldest things I'd ever scene, boasting an Easter Island statue, various Egyptian mummies, 1.8 million-year-old Olduvai hand axes and many other things. Also, we paid extra to see a gallery of pencil drawings from the masters, including some of da Vinci's own. Worth the extra 12 pounds apiece.
We capped the day off with dinner from Pizza Express, which sounds like it's a rundown little kiosk, but is really anything but. We even had the feeling that we were ushered to the back of the restaurant because of our less-than-dressy clothes! We had the Garlic Bread with Mozzarella, which was a delicious lump of bread served with a small pizza cutter so you could cut it yourself and the Romana (pizza with a paper-thin crust) American Hot (which had pepperoni and banana peppers). Pretty good, but I've had better pies.
And with that, we ended the last day dwelling in London proper. Tomorrow will be Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor. Gotta see that English countryside.
Anyway, guys... I tried to keep it short and couldn't, but I really must be getting to sleep. Lots of walking on already exhausted legs tomorrow. Hope this all finds you and yours well.
Peace...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
London, Pt. 3 (St. Paul's to Jack the Ripper)
Hey guys,
Back again with another installment about my times in London here on vacation. This post will be largely about what I did today (Wednesday). Here goes...
Waking up at about 7:20 and planning to head to the Underground at about 8:30 was not a good idea. The Underground (which I believe the folks here call "The Tube") is a system of subways that we've been using to get just about everywhere. Yes, we've used the double decker buses to get around, but only once. The Tube has proved significantly less confusing and infinitely more efficient.
Anyway... The fact that it was "rush hour" on the Tube coupled with a derailment (don't worry, I wasn't in any danger, just a minor thing really) on the Picadilly line caused chaos when we were riding this morning. We were crammed into the car like sardines. When learning about the derailment (after having already planned to take the Picadilly line to our destination) we filed out of one crammed car and into another. Quite uncomfortable.
But, we got to our first stop, which was St. Paul's Cathedral, without too major of a setback.
St. Paul's Cathedral. There is nothing I can say to describe the sheer awesomness of the place. Such beauty, so vast... It defies words. I think you'd have to be in the place to understand. The high painted ceilings, the masterful architecture... Just stunning. Oh, to top it all off, I stood at the grave of William Blake, whose paintings you'll know if you've ever seen the film (or perhaps read the book) "Red Dragon". The dragon tattoo that the killer had on his back was taken from one of Blake's paintings. Witnessing the whole cathedral, walking amongst the crypts... An experience, to say the least.
The next stop on our Wednesday's journeys was Shakespeare's Globe Theater. This isn't (of course) the actual Globe played in by the companies good William wrote his plays for, but a replica. The fellow who had it rebuilt (I'm at a loss for his name at the moment) visited some years ago and was disappointed to find only a plaque on the side of a bar to commemorate the theater. He had it rebuilt near the old Globe (about 200 yards up the Thames River) and accepted monetary gifts from John Cleese, Laurence Olivier, and a host of others to have it reconstructed. The names of the gift givers are honored on stones placed around walkways of the new Globe.
The new Globe's roof is open, much like the old one, and even has the "groundling" section that the old one had with the most inexpensive tickets. Being in that section, with the play season running from April to October, if it rained, you'd be rained on. Quite authentic to what it was back in the day and impressive, as well.
Next came lunch at an English pub dating back to 1676 called "The Anchor". I was quite excited to have eaten there. I did my duty and had the fish and chips (which despite my not being a person who regularly eats fish, was quite tasty) and washed it down with a J.W. Lees Brewers Dark, which tasted very similar to Guiness.
Next, the Clink Prison Museum is a museum named for a prison which gave all others its name. A short tour, but some really interesting stuff in there.
The Old Operating Theater was exactly that. It had old forms of medicine in one room and then an old operating theater where long ago medical scholars could view patients having various surgical procedures performed on them.
Next came the London Bridge Experience, with some very entertaining actors as guides. The whole attraction was rather like what you'd visit on Halloween in the States, the whole haunted house (like Rich's Farms, Moundsville Penitentiary, etc., if you're from my region of the States) atmosphere. It had a rather informative, spookily presented history of London for the first half and then the more haunted house like attraction at the end (complete with evil jesters and zombies jumping out at you, strobe lights, and yes, even a ghoul wielding a chainsaw). Good fun.
Next stop was The Tower of London, used to imprison and execute criminals centuries ago in London. A lot of interesting history there and the Crown Jewels are kept there, as well. Again, the architecture was amazing (as with most of the structures here in this fascinating city).
Our quick, economy dinner today was Burger King. Unlike the junk food/fast food I've commented on in past entries, a Whopper tastes exactly the same here as it does in the States.
Capping off the day was perhaps the most enjoyable, informative, and most interesting part. The Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. A very pleasant, very intelligent guide led us through Whitechapel, showing us where the prostitutes who fell victim to ol' Jack were killed, giving us insights as to who the killer could have been, and showing us the places both frequented. Being in Whitechapel, passing around photos and listening to an expert comment on those things was eerie, amazing, and made me want to become a "Ripperologist" myself. I may do just that when I return home.
And that, my friends, was Wednesday. Lots of amazing sights, lots of learning (which is NEVER bad), and lots of great experiences.
Hopefully, you've enjoyed these entries thus far. If nothing else, I've now got a chronicle of the things I've done here. If you have questions, want to comment, or just feel like saying "hi", please comment here or on Facebook or Twitter.
Again, as with every night after the blog post, I'm off to wind down. I hope this post finds you all well.
Peace...
Back again with another installment about my times in London here on vacation. This post will be largely about what I did today (Wednesday). Here goes...
Waking up at about 7:20 and planning to head to the Underground at about 8:30 was not a good idea. The Underground (which I believe the folks here call "The Tube") is a system of subways that we've been using to get just about everywhere. Yes, we've used the double decker buses to get around, but only once. The Tube has proved significantly less confusing and infinitely more efficient.
Anyway... The fact that it was "rush hour" on the Tube coupled with a derailment (don't worry, I wasn't in any danger, just a minor thing really) on the Picadilly line caused chaos when we were riding this morning. We were crammed into the car like sardines. When learning about the derailment (after having already planned to take the Picadilly line to our destination) we filed out of one crammed car and into another. Quite uncomfortable.
But, we got to our first stop, which was St. Paul's Cathedral, without too major of a setback.
St. Paul's Cathedral. There is nothing I can say to describe the sheer awesomness of the place. Such beauty, so vast... It defies words. I think you'd have to be in the place to understand. The high painted ceilings, the masterful architecture... Just stunning. Oh, to top it all off, I stood at the grave of William Blake, whose paintings you'll know if you've ever seen the film (or perhaps read the book) "Red Dragon". The dragon tattoo that the killer had on his back was taken from one of Blake's paintings. Witnessing the whole cathedral, walking amongst the crypts... An experience, to say the least.
The next stop on our Wednesday's journeys was Shakespeare's Globe Theater. This isn't (of course) the actual Globe played in by the companies good William wrote his plays for, but a replica. The fellow who had it rebuilt (I'm at a loss for his name at the moment) visited some years ago and was disappointed to find only a plaque on the side of a bar to commemorate the theater. He had it rebuilt near the old Globe (about 200 yards up the Thames River) and accepted monetary gifts from John Cleese, Laurence Olivier, and a host of others to have it reconstructed. The names of the gift givers are honored on stones placed around walkways of the new Globe.
The new Globe's roof is open, much like the old one, and even has the "groundling" section that the old one had with the most inexpensive tickets. Being in that section, with the play season running from April to October, if it rained, you'd be rained on. Quite authentic to what it was back in the day and impressive, as well.
Next came lunch at an English pub dating back to 1676 called "The Anchor". I was quite excited to have eaten there. I did my duty and had the fish and chips (which despite my not being a person who regularly eats fish, was quite tasty) and washed it down with a J.W. Lees Brewers Dark, which tasted very similar to Guiness.
Next, the Clink Prison Museum is a museum named for a prison which gave all others its name. A short tour, but some really interesting stuff in there.
The Old Operating Theater was exactly that. It had old forms of medicine in one room and then an old operating theater where long ago medical scholars could view patients having various surgical procedures performed on them.
Next came the London Bridge Experience, with some very entertaining actors as guides. The whole attraction was rather like what you'd visit on Halloween in the States, the whole haunted house (like Rich's Farms, Moundsville Penitentiary, etc., if you're from my region of the States) atmosphere. It had a rather informative, spookily presented history of London for the first half and then the more haunted house like attraction at the end (complete with evil jesters and zombies jumping out at you, strobe lights, and yes, even a ghoul wielding a chainsaw). Good fun.
Next stop was The Tower of London, used to imprison and execute criminals centuries ago in London. A lot of interesting history there and the Crown Jewels are kept there, as well. Again, the architecture was amazing (as with most of the structures here in this fascinating city).
Our quick, economy dinner today was Burger King. Unlike the junk food/fast food I've commented on in past entries, a Whopper tastes exactly the same here as it does in the States.
Capping off the day was perhaps the most enjoyable, informative, and most interesting part. The Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. A very pleasant, very intelligent guide led us through Whitechapel, showing us where the prostitutes who fell victim to ol' Jack were killed, giving us insights as to who the killer could have been, and showing us the places both frequented. Being in Whitechapel, passing around photos and listening to an expert comment on those things was eerie, amazing, and made me want to become a "Ripperologist" myself. I may do just that when I return home.
And that, my friends, was Wednesday. Lots of amazing sights, lots of learning (which is NEVER bad), and lots of great experiences.
Hopefully, you've enjoyed these entries thus far. If nothing else, I've now got a chronicle of the things I've done here. If you have questions, want to comment, or just feel like saying "hi", please comment here or on Facebook or Twitter.
Again, as with every night after the blog post, I'm off to wind down. I hope this post finds you all well.
Peace...
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
London, Pt 2 (Forgotten Things and New Experiences)
Hey guys,
Back again, blogging about my times here in London for those of you who wish to read. There were some things that I left out from the first couple of days here, so the goal tonight is to touch on some of those and also to bring you up to speed on Tuesday's happenings. Without further ado...
Forgotten Things
"Why Have You Come Here?"
So I'd flown all night long upon arriving in London, it was about 1:00 pm here and I'd had no sleep. The screaming children on the plane had made sure of that. Still, being abroad for the first time, I had the desire to speak with my first truly British person.
I know it sounds petty and maybe a little discriminative, but some of those who I look up to the most are from this city and this country. Writers, actors, directors, musicians... All sorts of folks that I admire are from Great Britain.
So I step up to the gate upon arriving in Heathrow and the fellow checking my passport asks with an air of mysteriousness, "Why have you come here?"
Now this wasn't "Why have you come here, chap? Have you heard we're awesome here? Come to see the city, have you?"
It was more like "Why have you come here? Have you lost your marbles? Are you lost? Why would you want to come here?"
Yeah. Like that.
"To visit." I replied.
"To visit. What do you mean? You're on holiday?"
"Yeah," I said, rather cheerily.
After that I went the wrong way in the terminal and prompted the gentleman to say, "This way, sir."
I just thought the whole thing was kind of funny. In retrospect, I laugh every time I think about it, not begrudging the man at all, just finding his air about the whole thing a bit hilarious.
"Why have you come here?"
Pennsylvania
Several kind folks here in London have asked where in the States I was from and I 've received some rather funny replies to my answer. Please note I'm not poking fun at these marvelous folks. Most everyone here has been amazing and I feel great when these folks are willing to take time out of their days to wonder about me.
Upon arrival at Westminster Abbey, perhaps the kindest, sweetest little old lady in all the UK greeted us at the door.
"Oh, here we are. We've a map for you and the free audio guides to the Abbey are right over here."
"Thank you, ma'am," I said.
"Where are you visiting from today?"
"The States."
"Oh, another one! You know we've got half the United States here today."
She was so sweet and witty.
"What part of the States have you come from?" she asked.
"Pennsylvania. Around Pittsburgh."
"Oh, is there really a pawn shop on the corner?"
Huh? I thought to myself. You've lost me, you dear lady.
She picked up again. "There used to be a song, oh you're too young to remember, 'There's a pawn shop on the corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania'. Is there?"
I could only reply, "It's definitely possible, ma'am, definitely possible."
Our waitress at the Hard Rock Cafe asked us the same thing. Where we were from, that is. Apparently, this pawn shop was not so renowned that only I, having lived on the doorstep of Pittsburgh for some time now, was the only one who didn't know about it.
When we told the waitress that we were from around Pittsburgh, she replied "Oh yeah. Had to be Pittsburgh, 'cause everything in Pennsylvania starts with a 'P'. Pittsburgh, Phildelphia... And that's pretty much all I know about Pennsylvania."
Such a great person. She had us laughing the whole time we were there.
And How Could I Forget...
One of the coolest things that I forgot to mention was all the notable people who are buried in Westminster Abbey. I actually stood at the graves of Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, CHARLES DICKENS, and a whole host of others!
New Experiences
Which brings us to Tuesday...
The Museum of London was our first stop today. The name really does serve here, folks. It's bascially an archaeological and cultural history of London, even before it was London!
Lots of great and interesting stuff there dating back to hundreds of thousands of years BC. Things from archaeological digs to the fire in 1666 to Medieval London. It's all there, guys, and it's all amazing.
Next up was Madame Tussauds's Wax Museum featuring lifelike sculpts of many celebrities, sports icons, musicians, world leaders, etc. That was truly an experience. Of all the "celebs" I would have liked to have had my picture taken with, the place was so crowded that I only managed Julia Roberts and (I INSISTED UPON) the Beatles.
There really were a lot of icons there, though, and they were truly a sight to behold. Brad and Angelina, Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, David Beckham, Tiger Woods, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan... Oh my... So many. I'll have to post some pics when I get back home.
And while I'm on the subject of posting pics: If you're wondering why I haven't as of yet, I can't get my phone to upload into the netbook. So those of you you asked for lots of pics will get them, but I've gotta get back across the pond first.
Anyway... The next stop was the Natural History Museum, which reminded me a lot of Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, if you've ever been there, just on a much grander scale. We had dinosaur bones (and actually a KICK ASS animatronic life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex THAT MOVED! SCARY GOOD!), a study of the Earth, the details of the human body and how it works and a whole exhibit on human evolution.
Capping off the day was something that Erica wanted to experience: The department store Harrod's, which was breathtaking in its scope. Lots of high end fashion and a mammoth building to boot. We swung in quickly for an item so we could say that we've shopped there.
Other experiences today have to do with something we are probably all familiar with: FOOD! We kept it low-key today and went to McDonald's, where I ordered something that I think was called a Chicken Legend. I ordered it anticipating the equivalent of the Crispy Chicken in the States. What I got was a delicious chicken sandwich like I've never experienced in the States. Totally different. I thought that was interesting.
We went to Subway for dinner. It wasn't until after I had instructed the sandwich artist in building my Italian BMT that I discovered that THEY DON'T HAVE ITALIAN DRESSING HERE! GAAAAAH! Anyway, I got by. And I also couldn't help noticing that corn was one of the veggies you could have scooped onto your sandwich.
The fast food stuff is pretty goofy to comment on, I realize, but I just thought I'd share.
SO...
That's about it for today. I've got to end this one and get some rest. Another day of vigorous walking has done me in and I've got an early day tomorrow including a Jack the Ripper walking tour! Should be cool...
I'll try and post again soon.
Peace...
Back again, blogging about my times here in London for those of you who wish to read. There were some things that I left out from the first couple of days here, so the goal tonight is to touch on some of those and also to bring you up to speed on Tuesday's happenings. Without further ado...
Forgotten Things
"Why Have You Come Here?"
So I'd flown all night long upon arriving in London, it was about 1:00 pm here and I'd had no sleep. The screaming children on the plane had made sure of that. Still, being abroad for the first time, I had the desire to speak with my first truly British person.
I know it sounds petty and maybe a little discriminative, but some of those who I look up to the most are from this city and this country. Writers, actors, directors, musicians... All sorts of folks that I admire are from Great Britain.
So I step up to the gate upon arriving in Heathrow and the fellow checking my passport asks with an air of mysteriousness, "Why have you come here?"
Now this wasn't "Why have you come here, chap? Have you heard we're awesome here? Come to see the city, have you?"
It was more like "Why have you come here? Have you lost your marbles? Are you lost? Why would you want to come here?"
Yeah. Like that.
"To visit." I replied.
"To visit. What do you mean? You're on holiday?"
"Yeah," I said, rather cheerily.
After that I went the wrong way in the terminal and prompted the gentleman to say, "This way, sir."
I just thought the whole thing was kind of funny. In retrospect, I laugh every time I think about it, not begrudging the man at all, just finding his air about the whole thing a bit hilarious.
"Why have you come here?"
Pennsylvania
Several kind folks here in London have asked where in the States I was from and I 've received some rather funny replies to my answer. Please note I'm not poking fun at these marvelous folks. Most everyone here has been amazing and I feel great when these folks are willing to take time out of their days to wonder about me.
Upon arrival at Westminster Abbey, perhaps the kindest, sweetest little old lady in all the UK greeted us at the door.
"Oh, here we are. We've a map for you and the free audio guides to the Abbey are right over here."
"Thank you, ma'am," I said.
"Where are you visiting from today?"
"The States."
"Oh, another one! You know we've got half the United States here today."
She was so sweet and witty.
"What part of the States have you come from?" she asked.
"Pennsylvania. Around Pittsburgh."
"Oh, is there really a pawn shop on the corner?"
Huh? I thought to myself. You've lost me, you dear lady.
She picked up again. "There used to be a song, oh you're too young to remember, 'There's a pawn shop on the corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania'. Is there?"
I could only reply, "It's definitely possible, ma'am, definitely possible."
Our waitress at the Hard Rock Cafe asked us the same thing. Where we were from, that is. Apparently, this pawn shop was not so renowned that only I, having lived on the doorstep of Pittsburgh for some time now, was the only one who didn't know about it.
When we told the waitress that we were from around Pittsburgh, she replied "Oh yeah. Had to be Pittsburgh, 'cause everything in Pennsylvania starts with a 'P'. Pittsburgh, Phildelphia... And that's pretty much all I know about Pennsylvania."
Such a great person. She had us laughing the whole time we were there.
And How Could I Forget...
One of the coolest things that I forgot to mention was all the notable people who are buried in Westminster Abbey. I actually stood at the graves of Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, CHARLES DICKENS, and a whole host of others!
New Experiences
Which brings us to Tuesday...
The Museum of London was our first stop today. The name really does serve here, folks. It's bascially an archaeological and cultural history of London, even before it was London!
Lots of great and interesting stuff there dating back to hundreds of thousands of years BC. Things from archaeological digs to the fire in 1666 to Medieval London. It's all there, guys, and it's all amazing.
Next up was Madame Tussauds's Wax Museum featuring lifelike sculpts of many celebrities, sports icons, musicians, world leaders, etc. That was truly an experience. Of all the "celebs" I would have liked to have had my picture taken with, the place was so crowded that I only managed Julia Roberts and (I INSISTED UPON) the Beatles.
There really were a lot of icons there, though, and they were truly a sight to behold. Brad and Angelina, Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, David Beckham, Tiger Woods, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan... Oh my... So many. I'll have to post some pics when I get back home.
And while I'm on the subject of posting pics: If you're wondering why I haven't as of yet, I can't get my phone to upload into the netbook. So those of you you asked for lots of pics will get them, but I've gotta get back across the pond first.
Anyway... The next stop was the Natural History Museum, which reminded me a lot of Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, if you've ever been there, just on a much grander scale. We had dinosaur bones (and actually a KICK ASS animatronic life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex THAT MOVED! SCARY GOOD!), a study of the Earth, the details of the human body and how it works and a whole exhibit on human evolution.
Capping off the day was something that Erica wanted to experience: The department store Harrod's, which was breathtaking in its scope. Lots of high end fashion and a mammoth building to boot. We swung in quickly for an item so we could say that we've shopped there.
Other experiences today have to do with something we are probably all familiar with: FOOD! We kept it low-key today and went to McDonald's, where I ordered something that I think was called a Chicken Legend. I ordered it anticipating the equivalent of the Crispy Chicken in the States. What I got was a delicious chicken sandwich like I've never experienced in the States. Totally different. I thought that was interesting.
We went to Subway for dinner. It wasn't until after I had instructed the sandwich artist in building my Italian BMT that I discovered that THEY DON'T HAVE ITALIAN DRESSING HERE! GAAAAAH! Anyway, I got by. And I also couldn't help noticing that corn was one of the veggies you could have scooped onto your sandwich.
The fast food stuff is pretty goofy to comment on, I realize, but I just thought I'd share.
SO...
That's about it for today. I've got to end this one and get some rest. Another day of vigorous walking has done me in and I've got an early day tomorrow including a Jack the Ripper walking tour! Should be cool...
I'll try and post again soon.
Peace...
Monday, May 10, 2010
London
Hey guys,
If you didn't already know, I'm on vacation in London through this coming Saturday. I thought that rather than sticking to Twitter and Facebook to let you guys know what's going on, I'd do a blog post so that those who are interested can follow the events of my travels.
Here goes...
First off, getting in here was a bit unusual in terms of flying. With the dust cloud from the volcano in Iceland (I'm not even attempting to spell the name of that thing), we actually flew farther north out of Canada than usual, passed over Greenland, a bit of Iceland, the edge of Norway, and then came into London from the east. Pretty cool, though, with being able to watch the plane's route on a small screen installed in back of the seat in front of me.
After getting through Heathrow (the airport here in London) on Sunday, we went to Hampton Court Palace (home of the Tudors long ago) and Canary Wharf which is home to the Canada Tower. We went at my request simply to see the tower. It was the tower that Dane and Tom O'Bedlam jump from in "The Invisibles", a comic book series I'm obsessed with. It therefore was the basis for the building that Neo jumps from in the film "The Matrix" which is largely derived from "The Invisibles". Pretty Cool.
Dinner Sunday night was at The Slug and Lettuce in Canary Wharf, at which I had a bacon cheeseburger and my first ever Strongbow, an English cider drink that tasted like Miller Light with a bunch of sugar stirred in.
Monday was a lot of tourist-y stuff. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, The National Gallery (which held original paintings by Michaelangelo, Raphael, Picasso, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, and a host of others). Also Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square (which I'm told is the Times Square equivalent in London).
We also visited the Hard Rock Cafe here in London which was the first Hard Rock Cafe ever opened. I saw memorabilia from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, Steve Vai, The Who, and the Sex Pistols, among many others. I was most impressed by a harpsichord that the Beatles actually used to record, the original piece of paper that John Lennon used to write the lyrics to "Instant Karma" on, and a guitar and trademark white-rimmed sunglasses of Kurt Cobain.
I went to a mammoth comic shop on the edge of Soho called Forbidden Planet. It was huge. My purchases were a couple of Flash trade paperbacks which I'd had trouble finding in the States that were written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. I also picked up "Batman: Gothic", another Morrsion penned tale.
Dinner tonight was another cheeseburger (can you tell I'm American?) from a Polish food joint down the road from the hotel.
I may have missed something in the events of these two pleasantly overwhelming days, as I'm typing this at the end of my day here tonight. I'm just wanting to chronicle the most memorable things (although I could never do this city justice with just a blog post) for myself and any others that might be interested. I'll try and continue to do so through the week.
Alright friends, time to jump off of here and grab some much needed rest. I'll post a link to this on Twitter/Facebook. Feel free to comment on this or anything else that I've posted on those sites or here on the Llog anytime. If I take a while to reply, I've only got internet access when I get back to the room here at night. The cell is not (easily) functional here in the UK. So anyway, if you hit me up here or on Twitter or Facebook, I'll get back to you ASAP.
Hope all is going well for all of you.
As always...
Peace...
If you didn't already know, I'm on vacation in London through this coming Saturday. I thought that rather than sticking to Twitter and Facebook to let you guys know what's going on, I'd do a blog post so that those who are interested can follow the events of my travels.
Here goes...
First off, getting in here was a bit unusual in terms of flying. With the dust cloud from the volcano in Iceland (I'm not even attempting to spell the name of that thing), we actually flew farther north out of Canada than usual, passed over Greenland, a bit of Iceland, the edge of Norway, and then came into London from the east. Pretty cool, though, with being able to watch the plane's route on a small screen installed in back of the seat in front of me.
After getting through Heathrow (the airport here in London) on Sunday, we went to Hampton Court Palace (home of the Tudors long ago) and Canary Wharf which is home to the Canada Tower. We went at my request simply to see the tower. It was the tower that Dane and Tom O'Bedlam jump from in "The Invisibles", a comic book series I'm obsessed with. It therefore was the basis for the building that Neo jumps from in the film "The Matrix" which is largely derived from "The Invisibles". Pretty Cool.
Dinner Sunday night was at The Slug and Lettuce in Canary Wharf, at which I had a bacon cheeseburger and my first ever Strongbow, an English cider drink that tasted like Miller Light with a bunch of sugar stirred in.
Monday was a lot of tourist-y stuff. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, The National Gallery (which held original paintings by Michaelangelo, Raphael, Picasso, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, and a host of others). Also Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square (which I'm told is the Times Square equivalent in London).
We also visited the Hard Rock Cafe here in London which was the first Hard Rock Cafe ever opened. I saw memorabilia from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, Bo Diddley, Steve Vai, The Who, and the Sex Pistols, among many others. I was most impressed by a harpsichord that the Beatles actually used to record, the original piece of paper that John Lennon used to write the lyrics to "Instant Karma" on, and a guitar and trademark white-rimmed sunglasses of Kurt Cobain.
I went to a mammoth comic shop on the edge of Soho called Forbidden Planet. It was huge. My purchases were a couple of Flash trade paperbacks which I'd had trouble finding in the States that were written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. I also picked up "Batman: Gothic", another Morrsion penned tale.
Dinner tonight was another cheeseburger (can you tell I'm American?) from a Polish food joint down the road from the hotel.
I may have missed something in the events of these two pleasantly overwhelming days, as I'm typing this at the end of my day here tonight. I'm just wanting to chronicle the most memorable things (although I could never do this city justice with just a blog post) for myself and any others that might be interested. I'll try and continue to do so through the week.
Alright friends, time to jump off of here and grab some much needed rest. I'll post a link to this on Twitter/Facebook. Feel free to comment on this or anything else that I've posted on those sites or here on the Llog anytime. If I take a while to reply, I've only got internet access when I get back to the room here at night. The cell is not (easily) functional here in the UK. So anyway, if you hit me up here or on Twitter or Facebook, I'll get back to you ASAP.
Hope all is going well for all of you.
As always...
Peace...
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