Okay, how glad am I that this didn't happen while we were in the arch?
Seeing that article reminded me to post about something else, though. For whatever reason, lately I seem to have been involved in a lot of conversations as to whether or not Ohio is actually in the Midwest. At the time, though, the only other option for Ohio was to be in the East. Ohio is definitely not in the East. I lived there for 26 years and now live in Maryland and, yeah, definitely not the East. At the same time, there are clearly a lot of states in the Midwest that are way more Midwestern than Ohio
So I have been doing some thinking about this and I think the issue is with trying to take Ohio as a whole state and stick it somewhere. Because really there are two parts to Ohio.
There is the area up around the Great Lakes. Let's call it the Great Lakes Area of Demarcation, or GLAD. It actually extends pretty far south, even into the Akron area, which is where I grew up. I would venture to say that the GLAD extends west at least into Michigan, if not through all of the Great Lakes border states. Chicago is definitely in the GLAD.
There are some easy ways to tell if you live in the GLAD. If you get lake effect snow, can see seagulls, and know at least 25% of the words to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," then you live in the GLAD. You get extra GLAD cred (and possibly cancer many years from now) if you have not only been up to the lake frequently, but have also swam in that nastiness.
The GLAD helps explain things like why everyone in Northeast Ohio thinks the state stops below Canton. Also, why only some people in Ohio will get it if you make a joke about the gales of November coming early.
So that leaves us to work out the rest of the state. That part I would call the Southern Midwestern Unidentified Shit, or the SMUSh. I am taking suggestions for something better that starts with Sh.
If you live in the SMUSh, you definitely not in the GLAD, or the Midwest, or the South. You are in some odd middle ground that has characteristics of each, but no true identity. Cincinnati falls squarely in the SMUSh, but the SMUSh extends south through Northern Kentucky, until you get into the true South.
The only part of this theory I can't really reconcile is Columbus. Columbus is a freak.
7.22.2007
7.15.2007
If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear a jacket
Especially if you are me. Because I am cold all the time. Why am I going on all these vacations to places colder than where I live?
So it's occurred to me that if I don't get to blogging about San Francisco, I may never get around to it, with trip #2 (family cruise) approaching rapidly. So here are the highlights that come to mind.
We kicked off (after a trip to Whole Foods for wine and Smartwater) things with a boat trip that took us under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was nearly open ocean and the boat was rocking pretty good, which was fun. I've only ever seen the bridge in pictures/video, so it was really cool to be so close to it. I love art deco, so San Francisco was just full of eye candy. We also rode past Alcatraz, which was really just enough Alcatraz for me.
We ate a lot of really good food while we were there, but one of my favorite things was sharing a loaf of super-fresh sourdough bread after the boat trip. Combined with espresso, it was yummy. Side note: I have to love a city where you can get an espresso every 10 feet.
We went to a Giants game the next day, had lots of beer and food, and watched the Giants win like 13-0. AT&T Park or whatever corporate sponsor it's named after now is really beautiful, but the giant Coke bottle in left field really bugged. Kind of ruins the classic look...
This was the night we went to Cafe Vesuvio and drank too many shots of Fernet. Eileen had read it described as like drinking Robitussin and getting punched in the nose. I think that was pretty accurate. Cafe Vesuvio was really cool, though, and we managed to write some haikus (previously posted) while drinking.
On Monday, we drove out to Berkeley to visit the Scharffen Berger chocolate factory. I was feeling a little funky from the Fernet, but massive amounts of chocolate samples definitely helped with that. There were hairnets involved, and I spent a whole lot of money on chocolate at the gift shop.
After Scharffen Berger, we had planned to go to 826 Valencia (aka the pirate store), but they were closed for inventory. Arrrrrrrgh! So we went to Lombard Street instead, where Eileen and Josh serenaded us with their rendition of "Mr. Jones" as we drove down the crazy-crooked street. I have video but I can't seem to get it to work with any program on my computer. One of these days hopefully I will post it. Then we ALL proceeded to rock out to "Electric Avenue" as we drove through Nob Hill. That probably sounds totally bizarre if you were not there, but trust me, it was freaking hilarious. Sadly, no video of that.
We then went to Haight-Ashbury for patchouli smelling, record buying, and drinks at yet another awesome hip bar that Eileen had heard about (how does she DO that?). Turns out, a friend of Josh's was working there, and he invited us out to karaoke that night. It was a totally random thing to do, but we are totally random people. There was much singing, including Eileen's first-ever karaoke appearance to ring in her 30th birthday -- with a shot of Fernet in hand.
Tuesday, my last full day in San Francisco, was hangover day for quite a few of us, but not me. I have my mild disagreement with Fernet the day before to thank for that, I think. It made me take it a little slower. Heh. We went on another tour this day -- this time the Anchor Steam Brewery. It was cool to see a brewery on an entirely different scale from Budweiser. And the samples, again, were excellent.
We did make it to the pirate store again, and this time it was open. I like to think that I showed good self restraint in only buying as much as I did. Heh.
We wound down the day with a delicious birthday dinner for Eileen, and yummy drinks up on the top floor of our hotel.
It was an awesome trip, and once again made me grateful to have friends who like to do things like fly to far-off coasts to party it up and rock down to electric avenue.
7.08.2007
Out of the Fernet fog
In today's installment of the San Francisco catch-up, I give you...pictures! I'll explain what's actually in the pictures later. Maybe.
And haikus written in Cafe Vesuvio amidst shots of Fernet by various members of our troop:
You want a haiku?
Here's your fucking haiku, bitch
Sorry, that was mean
Fernet shot hits my nose
Wow that really packs a punch
Let's have one more round
Arnold's in the 'Nati
There's no air conditioning
That's a damn bitch, dude
We're out of haikus
I throw a flag on that play
Get rhyming, bitches
7.07.2007
The Ballad of United 218
I am back from San Francisco, and it was outstanding. There will be photos and haikus and all sorts of other awesomeness shortly, but I decided to begin with the end. It is freshest in my mind. Also, photos are going to be uploading to Flickr for like an hour because there are A LOT. I'm sure that comes as a surprise to you all.
So the first four hours of my flight back were pretty uneventful. Well, except for realizing that the BART doesn't start running until 8 a.m. on holidays, and that was not going to be an option to get to the airport for my 10 a.m. flight. I ran back to the Marriott all, help!, and they directed me to the Super Shuttle, which was only $16, and left shortly thereafter, so that was not too bad. (Dearest blog readers, if any of you are going to SF and want a $5.15 BART card, send me an email and it's yours...first come first served).
So I got to the airport with plenty of time to buy the refrigerator magnet I had not yet managed to buy, and also some post-security wine (I was not about to pack wine in my checked luggage). And all is well until right before we should be landing, when the captain announces that there are storms over Dulles and we can't land yet, so we're going to circle around about 70 miles away.
I am sitting in the aisle, because I have in my United profile that I prefer aisle, and United almost always delivers. It is about at this time that I began to want to smack the woman in the window seat of my row. She asks the guy next to her, whom she's traveling with (brother? husband?), what happens if they circle so much they run out of fuel.
Yes, you know, it really sucks when they just let the planes run out of fuel. It's why you read about them dropping from the sky all the time.
So after we've been flying in circles for awhile, the captain announces that we will indeed be going to Pittsburgh for refueling. We land there and taxi over to a gate, and wait for the refueling truck. It takes awhile for it to get there, but it does eventually, and we get fuel.
We were actually at a gate, and it was my understanding that we could get out of the plane and go shopping in the Pittsburgh terminal, which has a full mall. I opted not to, because with my luck I would have missed the flight. We took on a bunch more passengers whose flight to Dulles had been canceled.
We sit there for a long time. The captain announces that they're having a hard time restarting the right engine. They are going to get a mechanic to come along and do a "stick start", which apparently means they will stick some part into the engine and wiggle it around and start the engine. I am mildly concerned about flying back to DC in this plane, but I figure they know what they're doing. The woman in the window seat is pissed and whines a lot. Dulles is still at a ground stop, so we are not really losing any time that could be made up.
Somebody asks about food, and the United attendants come around with another round of pretzels and water. The mechanic shows up, and doesn't have the right part.
The mechanic comes back, and still doesn't have the right part. I do not fully understand how they do not have the right part for a Boeing 757, but since Pittsburgh isn't a hub for them I don't think United regularly flies anything this big in to that airport. Dulles is still at a ground stop.
The woman in the window seat begins whining in earnest. I really really really want to tell her off but I bite my lip. Seriously. They EVACUATED THE CONTROL TOWER at Dulles due to the tornado threat. Regardless of what is happening with our plane, the amount of chaos that had to cause is not going to be something that airport recovers from quickly. It's going to take time to get planes going again and work out priority for who takes off.
The captain announces that they've borrowed a part from US Air. Ground stop at Dulles is lifted. We make the 35 minute flight to DC, and all in all we lost about 3 hours.
The fight attendants ask the people who are trying to make connecting flights to raise their hands. They ask everyone on the plane to look around at the hands and let these people get off the plane first. I specifically asked the guy next to me if he's trying to make a connecting flight. They're not.
The plane lands and comes to a stop. The connecting flight people start pulling down their carry-ons and rushing out of the plane. Window-seat woman suddenly decides that she has been on the plane too long and cannot wait another 5 minutes to get off. She says she's been sitting there this whole time and she wants off this plane NOW. Sitting there that whole time is her own damn fault, since I've gotten up multiple times, and guy with her has gotten up, and she's never asked to get up, which I do not mention.
Instead I just stand up and open our overhead bin and pull out my wine and other bag of souvenirs very very slowly, primarily to piss her off. Then I sit back down and wait as the connecting flight people continue to file out.
But window seat woman is GETTING OFF THIS PLANE RIGHT NOW. I try to tell her that I'm trying to let the people with connecting flights try to make their flights, but she barges through her traveling companion, and I have to pull my legs up onto the seat so she won't bruise past me, too. She cuts in front of the connecting flight people, yanks down her giant carry-on suitcase, and leaves.
I was kind of totally flabbergasted by that level of assholishness. I took heart in the fact that she has damaged her karma so significantly that at some point in her life she WILL miss a connecting flight and will probably end up sleeping on an airport floor, miserable and no doubt whining the whole time.
I thanked the flight attendants as I left and told them they did an excellent job. They did as well as they possibly could, particularly as people got cranky. A lot of people were mad at United, but it's not United's fault there was a thunderstorm.
I did learn some important things during the whole ordeal. One is that they're not kidding about being prepared to sit on the tarmac for a long time. We were at a gate, but I was still very very glad that I had bought a water before I got on the plane, and that I had a nice supply of Kashi bars and other snacks. I was also very glad that I had thought to pack an extra book, even though I wasn't sure if I'd finish the one I was reading. I did, and I ended up reading a good chunk of the extra book while we were sitting there, which may be one of the reasons why I was much less cranky than some of my fellow passengers.
The other thing that was reinforced for me is that if you cannot easily lift your carry-on over your head and keep it in control, you should not be carrying it on. Aside from window bitch, I've seen a number of people struggling with massive carry-ons. It's bad enough when you're just trying to get off the plane with no huge rush, but if you are in a situation like the connecting flight people, being able to whip your carry-on out in seconds and start walking helps you get off the plane faster, not to mention the people behind you.
So the first four hours of my flight back were pretty uneventful. Well, except for realizing that the BART doesn't start running until 8 a.m. on holidays, and that was not going to be an option to get to the airport for my 10 a.m. flight. I ran back to the Marriott all, help!, and they directed me to the Super Shuttle, which was only $16, and left shortly thereafter, so that was not too bad. (Dearest blog readers, if any of you are going to SF and want a $5.15 BART card, send me an email and it's yours...first come first served).
So I got to the airport with plenty of time to buy the refrigerator magnet I had not yet managed to buy, and also some post-security wine (I was not about to pack wine in my checked luggage). And all is well until right before we should be landing, when the captain announces that there are storms over Dulles and we can't land yet, so we're going to circle around about 70 miles away.
I am sitting in the aisle, because I have in my United profile that I prefer aisle, and United almost always delivers. It is about at this time that I began to want to smack the woman in the window seat of my row. She asks the guy next to her, whom she's traveling with (brother? husband?), what happens if they circle so much they run out of fuel.
Yes, you know, it really sucks when they just let the planes run out of fuel. It's why you read about them dropping from the sky all the time.
So after we've been flying in circles for awhile, the captain announces that we will indeed be going to Pittsburgh for refueling. We land there and taxi over to a gate, and wait for the refueling truck. It takes awhile for it to get there, but it does eventually, and we get fuel.
We were actually at a gate, and it was my understanding that we could get out of the plane and go shopping in the Pittsburgh terminal, which has a full mall. I opted not to, because with my luck I would have missed the flight. We took on a bunch more passengers whose flight to Dulles had been canceled.
We sit there for a long time. The captain announces that they're having a hard time restarting the right engine. They are going to get a mechanic to come along and do a "stick start", which apparently means they will stick some part into the engine and wiggle it around and start the engine. I am mildly concerned about flying back to DC in this plane, but I figure they know what they're doing. The woman in the window seat is pissed and whines a lot. Dulles is still at a ground stop, so we are not really losing any time that could be made up.
Somebody asks about food, and the United attendants come around with another round of pretzels and water. The mechanic shows up, and doesn't have the right part.
The mechanic comes back, and still doesn't have the right part. I do not fully understand how they do not have the right part for a Boeing 757, but since Pittsburgh isn't a hub for them I don't think United regularly flies anything this big in to that airport. Dulles is still at a ground stop.
The woman in the window seat begins whining in earnest. I really really really want to tell her off but I bite my lip. Seriously. They EVACUATED THE CONTROL TOWER at Dulles due to the tornado threat. Regardless of what is happening with our plane, the amount of chaos that had to cause is not going to be something that airport recovers from quickly. It's going to take time to get planes going again and work out priority for who takes off.
The captain announces that they've borrowed a part from US Air. Ground stop at Dulles is lifted. We make the 35 minute flight to DC, and all in all we lost about 3 hours.
The fight attendants ask the people who are trying to make connecting flights to raise their hands. They ask everyone on the plane to look around at the hands and let these people get off the plane first. I specifically asked the guy next to me if he's trying to make a connecting flight. They're not.
The plane lands and comes to a stop. The connecting flight people start pulling down their carry-ons and rushing out of the plane. Window-seat woman suddenly decides that she has been on the plane too long and cannot wait another 5 minutes to get off. She says she's been sitting there this whole time and she wants off this plane NOW. Sitting there that whole time is her own damn fault, since I've gotten up multiple times, and guy with her has gotten up, and she's never asked to get up, which I do not mention.
Instead I just stand up and open our overhead bin and pull out my wine and other bag of souvenirs very very slowly, primarily to piss her off. Then I sit back down and wait as the connecting flight people continue to file out.
But window seat woman is GETTING OFF THIS PLANE RIGHT NOW. I try to tell her that I'm trying to let the people with connecting flights try to make their flights, but she barges through her traveling companion, and I have to pull my legs up onto the seat so she won't bruise past me, too. She cuts in front of the connecting flight people, yanks down her giant carry-on suitcase, and leaves.
I was kind of totally flabbergasted by that level of assholishness. I took heart in the fact that she has damaged her karma so significantly that at some point in her life she WILL miss a connecting flight and will probably end up sleeping on an airport floor, miserable and no doubt whining the whole time.
I thanked the flight attendants as I left and told them they did an excellent job. They did as well as they possibly could, particularly as people got cranky. A lot of people were mad at United, but it's not United's fault there was a thunderstorm.
I did learn some important things during the whole ordeal. One is that they're not kidding about being prepared to sit on the tarmac for a long time. We were at a gate, but I was still very very glad that I had bought a water before I got on the plane, and that I had a nice supply of Kashi bars and other snacks. I was also very glad that I had thought to pack an extra book, even though I wasn't sure if I'd finish the one I was reading. I did, and I ended up reading a good chunk of the extra book while we were sitting there, which may be one of the reasons why I was much less cranky than some of my fellow passengers.
The other thing that was reinforced for me is that if you cannot easily lift your carry-on over your head and keep it in control, you should not be carrying it on. Aside from window bitch, I've seen a number of people struggling with massive carry-ons. It's bad enough when you're just trying to get off the plane with no huge rush, but if you are in a situation like the connecting flight people, being able to whip your carry-on out in seconds and start walking helps you get off the plane faster, not to mention the people behind you.
6.28.2007
Massive update
So it has been a very long time since have blogged, and that is primarily because June was crazy. I suppose it is time for an update.
1. Eileen and Jeff came out to visit over Memorial Day weekend, and much fun was had. I finally got to meet Melissa in person, which was v. cool, and Melvin joined us for our Baltimore adventure. The Orioles and seafood were involved. That's all of us there in the picture. Photos on Flickr
2. Not long after that, it was time for the second round of visitors. My parents brought my grandfather out to see the World War II memorial and the rest of the city. We did Tourmobile, and my dad and I got off at the Vietnam memorial. I hadn't been there since I moved out here, and had only been there once in 8th grade. It definitely has a different emotional resonance at my age than it did in 8th grade. If you are like me and haven't seen it as an adult, I definitely recommend it, but be prepared to cry. We caught up with my mom and grandfather at the World War II memorial. All in all a good trip, and my grandfather said he really enjoyed himself. Photos on Flickr
3. Pretty much immediately after they left it was time to turn around for another visitor — my friend Tanya, this time. It is amazing, despite having so many visitors in such a short time, I really did almost entirely different things with everyone. Tanya and I hit a ton of museums, including some I hadn't yet been to, so another v. fun visit. Photos on Flickr
4. Now it is time for ME to travel (although my parents are in town again at the end of next week because my dad has a work thing). Up this weekend — San Francisco, for Eileen's transcontinental birthday bash. Then at the end of July it's time for the annual family cruise. This time to Canada/New England, which should be fun. I'll get to go to both San Francisco and Boston for the first time this year, and...
5. I am going to see Underworld!!! They are playing in Central Park on Sept. 14, and Melvin, Katherine, Eric and I all have tickets already. I am crazy excited for this. I have never seen them live and have always wanted to so so much. And, oddly enough, I have never been to New York, either (which is really inexcusable now that I am a 2-hour train ride away), so that'll be another major U.S. city crossed off the to-visit list.
6. Putting a slight damper on San Francisco is a mystery leg problem I seem to have developed. Last week I looked down at my calf and there was a giant bruise that I couldn't remember getting. No, I hadn't been drinking. Much. The bruise kept going down in size but over the last couple days I have been experiencing odd random pains, tingling and numbness in my leg. Sometimes it feels like a shin splint. Sometimes my knee (this is, of course, the leg with my bad knee) hurts. So today I went to the doctor and he wasn't too alarmed, which I took as a good sign. I did have to get x-rays but they won't send them to the doctor until I'm already in SF. So hopefully I will not get a call on Monday telling me that a legkillerapede has burrowed into my calf or something. Fortunately, I can walk on it pretty well. It's actually sitting and standing that it hurts the most.
7. The good news that came out of the visit to the doctor today is that my cholesterol, which had come back as absurdly high for someone my at my age and fitness level, has dropped 90 points. Or they screwed up the test in the first place. Being that I've done little different except eat less meat and more blueberries, and I'm taking a B vitamin, I'm going to go with the screwup. Either that or Trader Joe's B vitamins are miraculous.
8. Is anything from China not contaminated with dangerous things?
5.04.2007
Excellent news
Some little items instead of the usual long-winded blog post from me.
Firstly, my sister, who's also graduating next Saturday, is engaged! So many, many congratulations to Jessica and Mike!
And happy belated birthday to Kelly and Kari!
This weekend is the first weekend in awhile where I'm not totally jam-packed. So I get to think of something fun and DC to do. And maybe also spend time planning my two July vacations — San Francisco and the family cruise to New England/Canada. Yes, not exactly the best spacing that my trips are at the beginning and end of July, but I look at it as I am going to have one rocking July.
Firstly, my sister, who's also graduating next Saturday, is engaged! So many, many congratulations to Jessica and Mike!
And happy belated birthday to Kelly and Kari!
This weekend is the first weekend in awhile where I'm not totally jam-packed. So I get to think of something fun and DC to do. And maybe also spend time planning my two July vacations — San Francisco and the family cruise to New England/Canada. Yes, not exactly the best spacing that my trips are at the beginning and end of July, but I look at it as I am going to have one rocking July.
4.22.2007
Sunny Sunday
So today was the first really nice day that I also didn't have anything scheduled and didn't have to work. Since it was also Earth Day I decided I should bum around DC in the sun and not take my car anywhere. It was a pretty good plan, until I got back exhausted, hit Google Maps Pedometer and realized I'd walked about 7 miles, combined. Needless to say I am skipping the exercise bike today.
First I went to the National Art Gallery to catch "Paris in Transition" before it leaves next week. I love black and white photographs, particularly of urban scenes, so I'm really glad I managed to get down there.
I had myself a little picnic by the tidal basin, which is quite possibly my favorite place around here so far. Even with kids screaming and whatnot, it feels peaceful to me. Guess it must be the water. The only bad part was that my allergies were going berserk, so I couldn't stay long.
I did need to get some produce, so I went to check out Eastern Market. It is much smaller than I expected, and I'm not a fan of flea markets, but I did get some good-looking, cheap fruits and veggies, so I can't really complain.
I had to lug my fruits and veggies around my next stop, the National Zoo, so that was not necessarily good planning, but at least some animal didn't attack me and steal them. The National Zoo is big, free, and looks to be very well kept up. I didn't see an enormous amount of it — I just wanted to check it out and get some idea of what was there. And apparently I was not the only person who thought "it's warm, it's a great day for the zoo!" So it was pretty packed.
Here are pictures from the day.
All in all a fun day, and I am going to sleep so well tonight. My only complaint is that I had to buy a day pass for the Metro. I have a SmarTrip card, which you load with cash and then swipe per journey, which is much more convenient to use than the cards, which you have to stick through a slot. London's subway system uses something similar, called an Oyster card, and they guarantee that the max charge per day on the Oyster card will always be less than a day pass. DC Metro makes no such guarantee, and as a result, you get charged per journey all day if you use it for a lot of stops. So I had to buy the day pass, and I'm standing there at the Smithsonian Metro like a touron trying to get my card in the slot because I haven't used one since, like, my first week here. If Metro really wants people to use SmarTrip cards more because they're faster and less wasteful, they need to start putting a cap on the daily maximum on your card.
4.01.2007
The breath-catching weekend
So my double weekends of crazy traveling are done. Cincinnati for a most awesome St. Patty's day weekend and then Las Vegas for the IA Summit, which was excellent.
Vegas would not be my first choice for a trip (or even in the top 10), but I still have fun there. It didn't hurt that I left up about $25 on the slots. High roller me puts in $5 or $10 a night, so there was really a range of leaving up $25 or leaving down $25 that I could have fallen into.
It also helped that I went with my friend and fellow IA Katherine. The last time I was in Vegas was for her wedding, so that was weird but also kind of awesome.
The conference was very good (so. many. ideas.) and I do really enjoy walking the strip and gaping (this time I wore sandals that normally stand up to anything, but my feet haven't had time to toughen up for sandals, and we did a TON of walking, so I had bloody stumps Saturday night), and Vegas people watching is the best. Also the scariest.
Highlight: On Friday night we went to the Vegas Hofbrauhaus. Which means that I did indeed to go two of the three Hofbrauhauses in the world within one week. I feel like that's some kind of accomplishment. Now I just have to get to the Munich one...
I have to say, though, I prefer the Newport Hofbrauhaus. It is cozier and less sterile — it's designed to be a place you go to reasonably frequently, whereas the Vegas one looks like it's set up so you can go in, have your German beer hall experience, and never come back. The lager was still Hofbrau tasty, but the menu was totally different (no pretzels and bier cheese!!!). And the biergarten was not actually outside...it had one of those Vegas cloud-painted blue ceilings. So, uh, go Newport. Man, I miss the Hofbrauhaus already.
But anyway, photos are Flickred.
After all the crazy traveling, it was time to kick back this weekend. I did do way extended happy hour Friday, and went to see Madeleine Albright speak at the Rockville Borders. Still getting used to living in an area where Madeleine Albright can just drop into the local Borders. Heh. Aside from that there has been much cleaning of my disaster area apartment. Yuck.
Vegas would not be my first choice for a trip (or even in the top 10), but I still have fun there. It didn't hurt that I left up about $25 on the slots. High roller me puts in $5 or $10 a night, so there was really a range of leaving up $25 or leaving down $25 that I could have fallen into.
It also helped that I went with my friend and fellow IA Katherine. The last time I was in Vegas was for her wedding, so that was weird but also kind of awesome.
The conference was very good (so. many. ideas.) and I do really enjoy walking the strip and gaping (this time I wore sandals that normally stand up to anything, but my feet haven't had time to toughen up for sandals, and we did a TON of walking, so I had bloody stumps Saturday night), and Vegas people watching is the best. Also the scariest.
Highlight: On Friday night we went to the Vegas Hofbrauhaus. Which means that I did indeed to go two of the three Hofbrauhauses in the world within one week. I feel like that's some kind of accomplishment. Now I just have to get to the Munich one...
I have to say, though, I prefer the Newport Hofbrauhaus. It is cozier and less sterile — it's designed to be a place you go to reasonably frequently, whereas the Vegas one looks like it's set up so you can go in, have your German beer hall experience, and never come back. The lager was still Hofbrau tasty, but the menu was totally different (no pretzels and bier cheese!!!). And the biergarten was not actually outside...it had one of those Vegas cloud-painted blue ceilings. So, uh, go Newport. Man, I miss the Hofbrauhaus already.
But anyway, photos are Flickred.
After all the crazy traveling, it was time to kick back this weekend. I did do way extended happy hour Friday, and went to see Madeleine Albright speak at the Rockville Borders. Still getting used to living in an area where Madeleine Albright can just drop into the local Borders. Heh. Aside from that there has been much cleaning of my disaster area apartment. Yuck.
3.19.2007
(Sham)rockin' weekend
So my St. Patty's day in Cincinnati was super-super fun, as I thought it would be. Not much time for lengthy blogging, but it included some of the things I have really missed since I left:
1. My Cinci friends
2. AOI's spicy tuna roll
3. Hofbrau lager
There was also Irish breakfast, our annual tradition. And many, many hours of drinking Guinness. A total winner of a weekend, if you are Carrie.
There are photos up on my Flickr.
I do have to note two airport fouls at BWI, though:
1. The TWO people behind me who tried to get big liquid items through security in their carry-ons. Have you been living under a rock for the last 6 months? Were you completely oblivious to the 800,000 signs EVERYWHERE?
2. The TSA screener on the machine who told one of them "You're gonna go to jail" in a taunting, sing-song voice. Just because they are dumbasses doesn't mean you need to act as unprofessional as possible. Do us all a favor and watch the freaking x-ray machine.
1. My Cinci friends
2. AOI's spicy tuna roll
3. Hofbrau lager
There was also Irish breakfast, our annual tradition. And many, many hours of drinking Guinness. A total winner of a weekend, if you are Carrie.
There are photos up on my Flickr.
I do have to note two airport fouls at BWI, though:
1. The TWO people behind me who tried to get big liquid items through security in their carry-ons. Have you been living under a rock for the last 6 months? Were you completely oblivious to the 800,000 signs EVERYWHERE?
2. The TSA screener on the machine who told one of them "You're gonna go to jail" in a taunting, sing-song voice. Just because they are dumbasses doesn't mean you need to act as unprofessional as possible. Do us all a favor and watch the freaking x-ray machine.
3.03.2007
2.21.2007
mmmm, roasted red pepper...
Does this mean they'll start carrying the good hummus?
Because if so, merge away, baby.
My President's Day weekend was quite fun. Photos are finally Flickred.
Because if so, merge away, baby.
My President's Day weekend was quite fun. Photos are finally Flickred.
2.11.2007
Poor old 'Lady'
This is a prodigiously long blog post, but it's something I've been meaning to write about for awhile.
So, my family likes to cruise. It's been our family vacation every year for many years now, and as a result I've cruised on four different lines — Norwegian, Celebrity, Carnival (blech) and Royal Caribbean. We've largely gone to different areas of the Caribbean, although last year we went to Bermuda, and this year we're doing a New England/Canada thing.
When I mention this to people, they often ask what my favorite cruise was, or what was my favorite place to go. Favorite cruise, hands down, was our first, on the SS Norway:
Doesn't look like your usual McMegaCruiseShip, does it? That's because the Norway was built as the SS France, one of the last (along with the Queen Elizabeth 2) Transatlantic ocean liners.
The France, which for a long time was the longest ship in the world, didn't have a very long career as an ocean liner. By the time she came out, flights had become a more popular way to cross the Atlantic. By the mid-70s, the ship was mothballed, until it was resurrected by Norwegian Cruise Lines to serve as a Caribbean cruise ship, and rechristened the SS Norway.
While the ship doesn't look like one of those giant floating plastic things that run laps around the Caribbean now, it was HUGE for a cruise ship in the 1980s, and pioneered those mega ships. It was built super long so that it could sit on the crest of three ocean waves at once, and the photo above was taken, I believe by my mom, from a tender, a smaller boat used to get from the ship to shore at many of the Caribbean islands. The ship needs a deep water port to dock — think New York, not St. Thomas — and it was so big it carried two boats that were oceanworthyin themselves.
While the ship had undergone a lot of renovation, and had even had decks added, to make it more suitable for cruising, there were still lots of places where you could still see that ocean liner — in the dining rooms, certain lounges, and its glassed-in promenade (nobody spent much time outdoors crossing the Atlantic). I love old things and ocean liners, so I thought it was super cool.
When we cruised on the Norway, in 2002, despite her age and lack of rock-climbing walls and ice skating arenas and other such things in the newer mega ships, she was still the second most popular ship in NCL's fleet. In 2001, she went on what was supposed to be her farewell voyage, a last Transatlantic trip, including a last stop in New York, in early September. The ship was at sea on September 11, and not long after, NCL decided to keep her in service in the Caribbean.
But in 2003, one of her old steam boilers exploded as the ship came into the port of Miami, killing eight crew members. After the tragedy, NCL had the ship towed to Germany, to assess whether it could be repaired. Repairs were deemed too expensive, and NCL announced that the ship would never sail again.
I think it's really sad that they didn't make an effort to keep one of the last ocean liners going — replacing the old boiler with something more safe, to prevent another tragedy. But what happened to the Norway is even worse.
The ship was built at a time (1960) when asbestos was a commonly used material, and it is full of it, and other toxic materials. The ship should never have left Germany for the purpose of being scrapped, because the toxic materials, under European law, should not have been exported.
The ship was towed out, though — possibly under the auspices of being turned into a floating casino somewhere. Instead, though, she was towed around the world until she ended up at Alang, India, to be scrapped. Prior to that, there was a stop in Bangladesh, which wouldn't let the ship enter its waters to be scrapped due to the toxic materials.
Improperly dismantling a ship full of toxic materials isn't legal in India, either, and the ship, now rechristened the SS Blue Lady, is now part of a battle in the Indian Supreme Court over whether she can be scrapped there. She has been beached, and much of the hull has been out of the water. Even if the Supreme Court rules that it can't be scrapped, it may have to be, if it can't be moved without expensive dredging. And because the ship has been out of the water so long, the hull may be compromised, so that she can't float.
The ship could have been properly scrapped in Germany, which is equipped to handle the materials. But it would have cost far more to do it there, and safely, with no impact to the environment.
This site shows pictures of the ship as the France, and the Norway, and finally as the Blue Lady, beached at Alang. Apparently there are some groups out there looking to buy the ship, saving it and turning it into a floating hotel. NCL could have done right by history and the environment and pushed to find a buyer that wanted to see the ship preserved in the first place. Now, even if someone comes up with financing and the breakers sell the ship, it may not be able to float.
So all in all, a terrible story. The last great CGT ocean liner, the former flagship of the French Line, left rusting away in Alang, on Greenpeace's watch list.
I know she's just a ship, but she's also a piece of history, and I think the poor old "Blue Lady" deserved more than this.
So, my family likes to cruise. It's been our family vacation every year for many years now, and as a result I've cruised on four different lines — Norwegian, Celebrity, Carnival (blech) and Royal Caribbean. We've largely gone to different areas of the Caribbean, although last year we went to Bermuda, and this year we're doing a New England/Canada thing.
When I mention this to people, they often ask what my favorite cruise was, or what was my favorite place to go. Favorite cruise, hands down, was our first, on the SS Norway:
Doesn't look like your usual McMegaCruiseShip, does it? That's because the Norway was built as the SS France, one of the last (along with the Queen Elizabeth 2) Transatlantic ocean liners.
The France, which for a long time was the longest ship in the world, didn't have a very long career as an ocean liner. By the time she came out, flights had become a more popular way to cross the Atlantic. By the mid-70s, the ship was mothballed, until it was resurrected by Norwegian Cruise Lines to serve as a Caribbean cruise ship, and rechristened the SS Norway.
While the ship doesn't look like one of those giant floating plastic things that run laps around the Caribbean now, it was HUGE for a cruise ship in the 1980s, and pioneered those mega ships. It was built super long so that it could sit on the crest of three ocean waves at once, and the photo above was taken, I believe by my mom, from a tender, a smaller boat used to get from the ship to shore at many of the Caribbean islands. The ship needs a deep water port to dock — think New York, not St. Thomas — and it was so big it carried two boats that were oceanworthyin themselves.
While the ship had undergone a lot of renovation, and had even had decks added, to make it more suitable for cruising, there were still lots of places where you could still see that ocean liner — in the dining rooms, certain lounges, and its glassed-in promenade (nobody spent much time outdoors crossing the Atlantic). I love old things and ocean liners, so I thought it was super cool.
When we cruised on the Norway, in 2002, despite her age and lack of rock-climbing walls and ice skating arenas and other such things in the newer mega ships, she was still the second most popular ship in NCL's fleet. In 2001, she went on what was supposed to be her farewell voyage, a last Transatlantic trip, including a last stop in New York, in early September. The ship was at sea on September 11, and not long after, NCL decided to keep her in service in the Caribbean.
But in 2003, one of her old steam boilers exploded as the ship came into the port of Miami, killing eight crew members. After the tragedy, NCL had the ship towed to Germany, to assess whether it could be repaired. Repairs were deemed too expensive, and NCL announced that the ship would never sail again.
I think it's really sad that they didn't make an effort to keep one of the last ocean liners going — replacing the old boiler with something more safe, to prevent another tragedy. But what happened to the Norway is even worse.
The ship was built at a time (1960) when asbestos was a commonly used material, and it is full of it, and other toxic materials. The ship should never have left Germany for the purpose of being scrapped, because the toxic materials, under European law, should not have been exported.
The ship was towed out, though — possibly under the auspices of being turned into a floating casino somewhere. Instead, though, she was towed around the world until she ended up at Alang, India, to be scrapped. Prior to that, there was a stop in Bangladesh, which wouldn't let the ship enter its waters to be scrapped due to the toxic materials.
Improperly dismantling a ship full of toxic materials isn't legal in India, either, and the ship, now rechristened the SS Blue Lady, is now part of a battle in the Indian Supreme Court over whether she can be scrapped there. She has been beached, and much of the hull has been out of the water. Even if the Supreme Court rules that it can't be scrapped, it may have to be, if it can't be moved without expensive dredging. And because the ship has been out of the water so long, the hull may be compromised, so that she can't float.
The ship could have been properly scrapped in Germany, which is equipped to handle the materials. But it would have cost far more to do it there, and safely, with no impact to the environment.
This site shows pictures of the ship as the France, and the Norway, and finally as the Blue Lady, beached at Alang. Apparently there are some groups out there looking to buy the ship, saving it and turning it into a floating hotel. NCL could have done right by history and the environment and pushed to find a buyer that wanted to see the ship preserved in the first place. Now, even if someone comes up with financing and the breakers sell the ship, it may not be able to float.
So all in all, a terrible story. The last great CGT ocean liner, the former flagship of the French Line, left rusting away in Alang, on Greenpeace's watch list.
I know she's just a ship, but she's also a piece of history, and I think the poor old "Blue Lady" deserved more than this.
2.10.2007
The new camera rules
Now if the memory card would just arrive so that I could take more than six photos at a time, that would be awesome. But I did take six, and I love this thing. The buttons and menus make a ton of sense, it really did very well in fairly low light, and it's ready to shoot within like a second of turning it on.
I went to the Aveda Institute near Gallery Place this morning for my annual drastic shocking haircut (six inches...they asked if I would donate the hair they cut off to the Institute so they could practice dyeing it or whatever...hee!). It looks really good and now I reek of lovely Aveda smell from all the product.
Then since I was only two metro stops from Union Station, I went there to take some pictures. It was a good indoor place to test the camera out. Also, I checked out the Express there and learned that they still had a ton of stuff on clearance. BAD. BAD.
So here are my whopping six Union Station pictures.
I went to the Aveda Institute near Gallery Place this morning for my annual drastic shocking haircut (six inches...they asked if I would donate the hair they cut off to the Institute so they could practice dyeing it or whatever...hee!). It looks really good and now I reek of lovely Aveda smell from all the product.
Then since I was only two metro stops from Union Station, I went there to take some pictures. It was a good indoor place to test the camera out. Also, I checked out the Express there and learned that they still had a ton of stuff on clearance. BAD. BAD.
So here are my whopping six Union Station pictures.
2.03.2007
New camera
So after letting it sit in my Amazon.com shopping cart overnight, this morning I finally pulled the trigger on a Fugifilm FinePix F20.
As Eileen and Jeff would probably attest, I spent entirely too much time in London fiddling with my camera, and taking pictures by placing it on the floors of old churches, Tube stations, and other miscellaneous places around London. It's a wonder the thing didn't get punted, thus forcing me to buy a new one sooner. Things looked like crap if I used my flash, but it took five years for the camera to gather enough light to take a shot sans flash, so I had to put it on something solid to make it stable enough to take a clean picture.
Hence the FinePix, which is supposed to be super good in low-light situations. I only knew about this after doing some research. My initial liking of the camera was based on playing with it at Target (sorry, Target, you know I love ya, but it was almost $50 cheaper on Amazon) and liking the ergonomics and the menus. But it turns out it's a good camera, at least according to all the reviews I read. Its brother, the f30, is more widespread, but aside from the LCD on the back, the only differences between the two are things I don't even understand, and the f20 was much cheaper.
So now all I have to do is wait for it to arrive. That would have been the advantage of buying at Target. Expect a big Flickr update when it lands and I wander the DC metro area with it.
As Eileen and Jeff would probably attest, I spent entirely too much time in London fiddling with my camera, and taking pictures by placing it on the floors of old churches, Tube stations, and other miscellaneous places around London. It's a wonder the thing didn't get punted, thus forcing me to buy a new one sooner. Things looked like crap if I used my flash, but it took five years for the camera to gather enough light to take a shot sans flash, so I had to put it on something solid to make it stable enough to take a clean picture.
Hence the FinePix, which is supposed to be super good in low-light situations. I only knew about this after doing some research. My initial liking of the camera was based on playing with it at Target (sorry, Target, you know I love ya, but it was almost $50 cheaper on Amazon) and liking the ergonomics and the menus. But it turns out it's a good camera, at least according to all the reviews I read. Its brother, the f30, is more widespread, but aside from the LCD on the back, the only differences between the two are things I don't even understand, and the f20 was much cheaper.
So now all I have to do is wait for it to arrive. That would have been the advantage of buying at Target. Expect a big Flickr update when it lands and I wander the DC metro area with it.
12.21.2006
Three things
1. I can't believe this guy was elected to office in the state just below me. By "this guy," I mean the Representative from Virginia, who apparently has never taken the time to read important government documents like, oh, say, the CONSTITUTION.
2. The New York Times says it is okay to be messy. I am so relieved. Also, cognitive ergonomics? How cool is that?
3. I have to say I agree — some times things are funnier with bleeps.
2. The New York Times says it is okay to be messy. I am so relieved. Also, cognitive ergonomics? How cool is that?
3. I have to say I agree — some times things are funnier with bleeps.
12.16.2006
Procrastination...
There are so many things I need to get done this weekend, and yet here I am procrastinating via blog.
Last night I had a dream where I was at Disney World with my family, which is weird enough in itself, since my family hasn't gone there, appropriately, since my sister and I were kids, and isn't likely to ever go back. So anyway, in the dream, we went to get on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (okay, so this may have spawned from watching Dead Man's Chest DVD extras) and they announced that they were going to use the submarines from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea instead of the regular boats. And my immediate response was, "Sweet, a mashup!"
Which is simultaneously amusing and frightening.
Did you know that it is pretty much impossible to find cannoli shells in Rockville? I've tried the regular grocery store, Trader Joe's, World Market, the gourmet grocery store, and no cannoli shells. So there goes my grand plan to make cannolis for the holidays, unless I can talk someone from my family into going to the (close, for them) Italian grocery store in Akron.
Last night I had a dream where I was at Disney World with my family, which is weird enough in itself, since my family hasn't gone there, appropriately, since my sister and I were kids, and isn't likely to ever go back. So anyway, in the dream, we went to get on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (okay, so this may have spawned from watching Dead Man's Chest DVD extras) and they announced that they were going to use the submarines from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea instead of the regular boats. And my immediate response was, "Sweet, a mashup!"
Which is simultaneously amusing and frightening.
Did you know that it is pretty much impossible to find cannoli shells in Rockville? I've tried the regular grocery store, Trader Joe's, World Market, the gourmet grocery store, and no cannoli shells. So there goes my grand plan to make cannolis for the holidays, unless I can talk someone from my family into going to the (close, for them) Italian grocery store in Akron.
12.12.2006
12.07.2006
London (Radio Edit)
And so that, in a very long and rambling fashion, was my trip to London. There may be more as I think about it. I'm sure I have a DC Metro vs. London Tube post in me somewhere.
There are links from individual places to tags in my Flickr account, but if you want to see all the photos, here they are:
• England highlights
• Seriously? You want to see more photos after the first one?
There are links from individual places to tags in my Flickr account, but if you want to see all the photos, here they are:
• England highlights
• Seriously? You want to see more photos after the first one?
Day 8 (November 18)
This day, our last full day here, became catch-up day.
We decided to make another run at English breakfast, and this time we had more luck. We ate at a pub in Covent Garden. I had the vegetarian breakfast, which was like the regular but with carrot and parsnips sausage instead of meat sausage and ham. The rest? Fried eggs, hash browns, a grilled tomato and baked beans. It was quite good. Carrot and parsnips sausage? Surprisingly tasty.
After breakfast, we hopped on the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral. After seeing so many churches all week I was still really glad we found the time for this one. It was spectacular — so much detail everywhere it was impossible to take it all in: the glittering mosaics on the ceiling, the black-and-white checkered floor, the dark, intricate woodworking, the paintings, the gilding, the enormous dome.
We walked around awhile, and then Eileen and I (Jeff had just seen it last year, so he opted to explore the area around the cathedral) hiked up the long, partly spiral staircase to the whispering gallery in the dome. I enjoyed this as much as the cathedral interior. It felt like a hidden space that you weren't really supposed to be in, even though there were plenty of people walking up with us. We were between the outer walls of the church, with a few small windows providing much of the light. In the straightaways, the space was barely wide enough for one person. In one area, we could see the smaller lower ceiling domes from the straight wings of the church. A sign pointed out damage from the Blitz. It's amazing to me that the church stayed standing throughout World War II.
When we finally got to the top, it was higher up than I had expected, and my fear of heights kicked in. The seats and people below looked so tiny from up there. There wasn't a lot of room in the ledge around the dome, either. There was a metal railing all around, and a wooden row of seats. I felt more comfortable sitting, so I did that for awhile. As I was sitting, I could hear people whispering — some near me and some across the dome. They all said something like "if you can hear me, wave your arms." And then sometimes I'd see someone across the dome waving their hands.
We didn't climb any further up, although the view from the top of the dome is supposed to be spectacular. I could see the balcony rail for it and it was really high up, plus we would have had to climb another 300 or so stairs. Uh, pass on that. We made our way down, walked around the main level a bit more, and then went down into the crypt. Unlike Westminster Abbey and the other churches we visited, most people at St. Paul's a buried in the crypt, including Lord Nelson.
One thing that really struck me at St. Paul's, and I suppose I had started to realize it at the previous churches, was the strong connection between religion, war and art in England. There were a number of war memorials, and some of the tombs featured very elaborate sculptures. One I really remember was a wounded soldier being pulled from his horse by another soldier. Coming from the United States, where though sometimes separation of church and state isn't quite what it should be, it's still pretty commonly recognized as being one of the founding principles of the country, it was kind of hard to wrap my head around.
We walked from St. Paul's to the Millennium Bridge. It was a brisk but sunny day, which made for a great walk. Lots of people out, and a street vendor selling roasted nuts (there were a lot of those throughout the trip). We only walked halfway across since we didn't actually need to go across. I took a lot of pictures.
We left the bridge and walked back past St. Paul's to the Tube. We wanted to catch a 2 p.m. London Walks tour of the British Museum. Like Westminster Abbey, we figured a guide to help us hit the highlights would be much better than wandering aimlessly ourselves.
We got to the Tube station where the walk met early and there was a Sainsburys across the street. We went in and wandered amidst the British food. The saddest thing — the giant spread of instant coffee. I seriously think it was more instant coffee than I have seen in the last 10 years. Maybe more than that. I had some very good espresso while I was in London, so I know there's a crop of people who appreciate good coffee. But then there's all that instant coffee...
The tour took us through Bloomsbury on our way to the museum. This is a big literary area in London (Virginia Woolf and others lived there) and it was absolutely lovely. I wouldn't have minded spending more time there.
The museum itself is in this huge neoclassical building, great big pillars. We went inside to its covered courtyard, which is immense and has this beautiful ceiling. That space used to house the British library, but all that's left of it now is the circular reading room in the center. We got to take a peek inside and it was a totally cool space — all those beautiful old books up on the shelves.
We didn't have much time before it was on to Egypt and the Rosetta Stone. There were a lot of people looking at the stone when we first came in, so we looked at some hieroglyphics and statues. I did get a good full look at it before we moved on, though.
We spent a long time in the Greek area, looking at ruins from the Parthenon, both the carved frieze from the building and statues. The carving was amazing.
Before walking to more Egypt, we saw the ruins from one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. I have to be honest, I don't have them all memorized and I didn't remember this being one of them, but it was pretty impressive. You could tell how massive the thing must have been, from the ruins.
And then it was on to the mummies. They creeped me out a bit — the idea that these people were buried so ceremoniously and now they're on display in front of millions of people.
That's kind of a theme for the whole musuem, the way it was filled. The English show up at some place of antiquity, say, "You lousy slackers, how can you let your priceless ancient ruins fall into such disrepair!?! We will save them for you!!!" And then the ruins get carted off to the British Museum. And then some period of time later the place the ruins came from decides it wants them back, so there's controversy.
The final exhibit we saw had no such controversy — it was a series of artifacts found in a field with a series of burial mounds, much like the ones we'd seen in the fields around Stonehenge. They determined the artifacts belonged to a king during the Dark Ages, and the richness and intricacy of their work meant that historians had to rethink how backwards things were during the Dark Ages.
That exhibit concluded the tour. The museum is definitely expansive and impressive — we probably could have spent a whole week there.
After we left the museum, we made plans to go on another pub walk in Hampstead, after a trip back to the hotel to pack a bit. We never made it there, though, because they suspended Tube service on the line we were on for a person on the tracks. We were in Camden, so we opted to just find a pub there; I enjoyed walking through the area — it was another place I would have liked to spend more time. We ended up at a bar Eileen had read about in her guidebook — Monkey Chews. We had some very tasty drinks and then walked back to the hotel, where we ordered a pizza from the future, which will make me giggle every time I think about it, ever.
We decided to make another run at English breakfast, and this time we had more luck. We ate at a pub in Covent Garden. I had the vegetarian breakfast, which was like the regular but with carrot and parsnips sausage instead of meat sausage and ham. The rest? Fried eggs, hash browns, a grilled tomato and baked beans. It was quite good. Carrot and parsnips sausage? Surprisingly tasty.
After breakfast, we hopped on the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral. After seeing so many churches all week I was still really glad we found the time for this one. It was spectacular — so much detail everywhere it was impossible to take it all in: the glittering mosaics on the ceiling, the black-and-white checkered floor, the dark, intricate woodworking, the paintings, the gilding, the enormous dome.
We walked around awhile, and then Eileen and I (Jeff had just seen it last year, so he opted to explore the area around the cathedral) hiked up the long, partly spiral staircase to the whispering gallery in the dome. I enjoyed this as much as the cathedral interior. It felt like a hidden space that you weren't really supposed to be in, even though there were plenty of people walking up with us. We were between the outer walls of the church, with a few small windows providing much of the light. In the straightaways, the space was barely wide enough for one person. In one area, we could see the smaller lower ceiling domes from the straight wings of the church. A sign pointed out damage from the Blitz. It's amazing to me that the church stayed standing throughout World War II.
When we finally got to the top, it was higher up than I had expected, and my fear of heights kicked in. The seats and people below looked so tiny from up there. There wasn't a lot of room in the ledge around the dome, either. There was a metal railing all around, and a wooden row of seats. I felt more comfortable sitting, so I did that for awhile. As I was sitting, I could hear people whispering — some near me and some across the dome. They all said something like "if you can hear me, wave your arms." And then sometimes I'd see someone across the dome waving their hands.
We didn't climb any further up, although the view from the top of the dome is supposed to be spectacular. I could see the balcony rail for it and it was really high up, plus we would have had to climb another 300 or so stairs. Uh, pass on that. We made our way down, walked around the main level a bit more, and then went down into the crypt. Unlike Westminster Abbey and the other churches we visited, most people at St. Paul's a buried in the crypt, including Lord Nelson.
One thing that really struck me at St. Paul's, and I suppose I had started to realize it at the previous churches, was the strong connection between religion, war and art in England. There were a number of war memorials, and some of the tombs featured very elaborate sculptures. One I really remember was a wounded soldier being pulled from his horse by another soldier. Coming from the United States, where though sometimes separation of church and state isn't quite what it should be, it's still pretty commonly recognized as being one of the founding principles of the country, it was kind of hard to wrap my head around.
We walked from St. Paul's to the Millennium Bridge. It was a brisk but sunny day, which made for a great walk. Lots of people out, and a street vendor selling roasted nuts (there were a lot of those throughout the trip). We only walked halfway across since we didn't actually need to go across. I took a lot of pictures.
We left the bridge and walked back past St. Paul's to the Tube. We wanted to catch a 2 p.m. London Walks tour of the British Museum. Like Westminster Abbey, we figured a guide to help us hit the highlights would be much better than wandering aimlessly ourselves.
We got to the Tube station where the walk met early and there was a Sainsburys across the street. We went in and wandered amidst the British food. The saddest thing — the giant spread of instant coffee. I seriously think it was more instant coffee than I have seen in the last 10 years. Maybe more than that. I had some very good espresso while I was in London, so I know there's a crop of people who appreciate good coffee. But then there's all that instant coffee...
The tour took us through Bloomsbury on our way to the museum. This is a big literary area in London (Virginia Woolf and others lived there) and it was absolutely lovely. I wouldn't have minded spending more time there.
The museum itself is in this huge neoclassical building, great big pillars. We went inside to its covered courtyard, which is immense and has this beautiful ceiling. That space used to house the British library, but all that's left of it now is the circular reading room in the center. We got to take a peek inside and it was a totally cool space — all those beautiful old books up on the shelves.
We didn't have much time before it was on to Egypt and the Rosetta Stone. There were a lot of people looking at the stone when we first came in, so we looked at some hieroglyphics and statues. I did get a good full look at it before we moved on, though.
We spent a long time in the Greek area, looking at ruins from the Parthenon, both the carved frieze from the building and statues. The carving was amazing.
Before walking to more Egypt, we saw the ruins from one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. I have to be honest, I don't have them all memorized and I didn't remember this being one of them, but it was pretty impressive. You could tell how massive the thing must have been, from the ruins.
And then it was on to the mummies. They creeped me out a bit — the idea that these people were buried so ceremoniously and now they're on display in front of millions of people.
That's kind of a theme for the whole musuem, the way it was filled. The English show up at some place of antiquity, say, "You lousy slackers, how can you let your priceless ancient ruins fall into such disrepair!?! We will save them for you!!!" And then the ruins get carted off to the British Museum. And then some period of time later the place the ruins came from decides it wants them back, so there's controversy.
The final exhibit we saw had no such controversy — it was a series of artifacts found in a field with a series of burial mounds, much like the ones we'd seen in the fields around Stonehenge. They determined the artifacts belonged to a king during the Dark Ages, and the richness and intricacy of their work meant that historians had to rethink how backwards things were during the Dark Ages.
That exhibit concluded the tour. The museum is definitely expansive and impressive — we probably could have spent a whole week there.
After we left the museum, we made plans to go on another pub walk in Hampstead, after a trip back to the hotel to pack a bit. We never made it there, though, because they suspended Tube service on the line we were on for a person on the tracks. We were in Camden, so we opted to just find a pub there; I enjoyed walking through the area — it was another place I would have liked to spend more time. We ended up at a bar Eileen had read about in her guidebook — Monkey Chews. We had some very tasty drinks and then walked back to the hotel, where we ordered a pizza from the future, which will make me giggle every time I think about it, ever.
12.03.2006
Day 7 (November 17)
We woke late in the morning and walked over to Abbey Road, whcih was reasonably near the hotel. We took pictures of the Beatles' studio and held up traffic walking back and forth across the zebra crossing to attempt to take each others' pictures.
We took the Tube over to the London Eye, where it was fairly clear, so we got tickets. I was a little nervous, as I'm so afraid of heights, but it actually wasn't that bad (okay, I stayed away from the edge). It moved so slowly that there was plenty of time to adjust. The view was outstanding — I took lots of pictures.
After the Eye, we walked across Westminster Brige to a phone booth with Big Ben in the backrground (Eileen's mom had requested she take a picture there to match one she had of her brother). We ended up all taking each others' pictures there. Here's me.
We walked over to Eileen's favorite sandwich shop for a quick bite, then boarded the #3 bus to Oxford Circus — my first double-decker bus ride. The view was great (of course, we went to the top). The driver was pretty wild — I'm sure that was amplified by being so high up. It started raining when we got to Oxford Circus, which put a bit of a damper on walking around and shopping. I could see it was a lovely area, with great (largely high-end) shopping.
We walked from there to Picadilly Circus to get our tickets for Avenue Q. That show was great — really sharp, witty and hilarious. The description we'd heard was "Sesame Street for 20-somethings" and it totally lived up to it.
After the show, we walked over to Chinatown and picked a restaurant (out of like 5 billion) to eat at. We ate down in the basement again. They were playing karaoke on the television there, but no one was singing. Weird.
We took the Tube over to the London Eye, where it was fairly clear, so we got tickets. I was a little nervous, as I'm so afraid of heights, but it actually wasn't that bad (okay, I stayed away from the edge). It moved so slowly that there was plenty of time to adjust. The view was outstanding — I took lots of pictures.
After the Eye, we walked across Westminster Brige to a phone booth with Big Ben in the backrground (Eileen's mom had requested she take a picture there to match one she had of her brother). We ended up all taking each others' pictures there. Here's me.
We walked over to Eileen's favorite sandwich shop for a quick bite, then boarded the #3 bus to Oxford Circus — my first double-decker bus ride. The view was great (of course, we went to the top). The driver was pretty wild — I'm sure that was amplified by being so high up. It started raining when we got to Oxford Circus, which put a bit of a damper on walking around and shopping. I could see it was a lovely area, with great (largely high-end) shopping.
We walked from there to Picadilly Circus to get our tickets for Avenue Q. That show was great — really sharp, witty and hilarious. The description we'd heard was "Sesame Street for 20-somethings" and it totally lived up to it.
After the show, we walked over to Chinatown and picked a restaurant (out of like 5 billion) to eat at. We ate down in the basement again. They were playing karaoke on the television there, but no one was singing. Weird.
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