Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Back home
I just started using a browser called Flock. If this blog posts, I'm sold. It seems to combine everything and makes it easy to use all my resources.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
London
We arrived late Saturday night, so our day really began on Sunday.
We took the tube to St. Paul's hoping to check out the cathedral before meeting with Stephan, Helena, and their spouses, Janette and Chris (Stephan and Helena are friends of mine that I've kept in touch with since we met on a tour that I led in Canada 11 years ago). When we got to St. Paul's, we got to see the inside at no cost, since Eucharist was in session. It was amazing and even brought a tear to Paul's eyes (don't tell I told). We strolled along the Millenium Bridge across the Thames to meet our 4 friends. Paul was especially excited that we were thanked by the blokes who we asked to direct us to the bridge--the Brits do live up to their polite reputation.
We met Stephan, Janette, Chris, and Helena with ease in front of the Tate Modern, thanks to Steve's terrific map, and then proceeded to stroll along the historical riverside enjoying a Sunday Roast at a pub along the way, followed by a Prim at another pub, and an ice cream to top it off. Yum!
After we left our mates, we found there was still time to catch the tour bus, so we walked along the Thames from the Tower to Embankment (a lovely walk on such a gorgeous day) and hopped on the bus. The tour took about 2 hours and the guides were fantastic, so Paul really got to see London from an above ground perspective. After the tour, we took the tube back to our neighborhood in S. Kensington and had a delicious Indian dinner (a must in England).
Monday began and ended with perfection, too. We couldn't set an alarm, so we just relied on our bodies to get us up at a decent hour and enjoy an English breakfast hoping we'd make the 10:30 Change of Guard tour that came with our package. Indeed we had a delicious breakfast and made the tour which was brilliant. They take you around to the monuments near Buckingham, you get to march with the new guard, then a shortcut through St. James Park and you march with the old guard. Finally, you finish the tour with the change of the stable guards for a much more up close look than you could see at the palace--it's really well done.
We then took advantage of the fish and chip meal that comes with the tour and made it to the National Gallery gift shop to kill time before we caught the river cruise. I was able to find my mom a gorgeous beach bag with Stubbs' Whistlefoot (a beautiful 18th century painting of a horse) and I also grabbed 2 Union Jacks for my friend at a street vendor on the way to the dock. Then, we took the river cruise from Westminister to Tower. We grabbed an ice cream near the tower and rested for 20 minutes before our Jack the Ripper tour which also came with the bus tour. That bus tour was a great deal!!
After the Jack the Ripper tour, it was time to head back to Liesester Square (forgive spelling) and pick up our tickets before dinner at Pulcinella's (fabulous Italian food by the way). Then the show--Spamalot it hilarious!! Truly the best musical I've ever seen. We ended our evening by strolling to Picadilly and caught the tube back to S. Ken.
For as little time as we had in London, I can truly say we made the best of it. It was so wonderful to see you and hang out. I hope we are not away from England for very long. Paul loved it as much as I had hoped.
We took the tube to St. Paul's hoping to check out the cathedral before meeting with Stephan, Helena, and their spouses, Janette and Chris (Stephan and Helena are friends of mine that I've kept in touch with since we met on a tour that I led in Canada 11 years ago). When we got to St. Paul's, we got to see the inside at no cost, since Eucharist was in session. It was amazing and even brought a tear to Paul's eyes (don't tell I told). We strolled along the Millenium Bridge across the Thames to meet our 4 friends. Paul was especially excited that we were thanked by the blokes who we asked to direct us to the bridge--the Brits do live up to their polite reputation.
We met Stephan, Janette, Chris, and Helena with ease in front of the Tate Modern, thanks to Steve's terrific map, and then proceeded to stroll along the historical riverside enjoying a Sunday Roast at a pub along the way, followed by a Prim at another pub, and an ice cream to top it off. Yum!After we left our mates, we found there was still time to catch the tour bus, so we walked along the Thames from the Tower to Embankment (a lovely walk on such a gorgeous day) and hopped on the bus. The tour took about 2 hours and the guides were fantastic, so Paul really got to see London from an above ground perspective. After the tour, we took the tube back to our neighborhood in S. Kensington and had a delicious Indian dinner (a must in England).
Monday began and ended with perfection, too. We couldn't set an alarm, so we just relied on our bodies to get us up at a decent hour and enjoy an English breakfast hoping we'd make the 10:30 Change of Guard tour that came with our package. Indeed we had a delicious breakfast and made the tour which was brilliant. They take you around to the monuments near Buckingham, you get to march with the new guard, then a shortcut through St. James Park and you march with the old guard. Finally, you finish the tour with the change of the stable guards for a much more up close look than you could see at the palace--it's really well done.
We then took advantage of the fish and chip meal that comes with the tour and made it to the National Gallery gift shop to kill time before we caught the river cruise. I was able to find my mom a gorgeous beach bag with Stubbs' Whistlefoot (a beautiful 18th century painting of a horse) and I also grabbed 2 Union Jacks for my friend at a street vendor on the way to the dock. Then, we took the river cruise from Westminister to Tower. We grabbed an ice cream near the tower and rested for 20 minutes before our Jack the Ripper tour which also came with the bus tour. That bus tour was a great deal!!
After the Jack the Ripper tour, it was time to head back to Liesester Square (forgive spelling) and pick up our tickets before dinner at Pulcinella's (fabulous Italian food by the way). Then the show--Spamalot it hilarious!! Truly the best musical I've ever seen. We ended our evening by strolling to Picadilly and caught the tube back to S. Ken.
For as little time as we had in London, I can truly say we made the best of it. It was so wonderful to see you and hang out. I hope we are not away from England for very long. Paul loved it as much as I had hoped.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Valencia
A 4 hour luxury bus ride landed us in Valencia. The ride was wonderful, but our traveling buddy on this route was a bit disheartening. This New York youngster brought a negative attitude and an American ego that made us want to disassociate with him quickly. When we landed in Valencia we were a bit challenged to find our place but managed and ditched the New Yorker.
Once we got acquainted with our host and the town, we set out on the metro to explore. We got to the main section of downtown with an incredible plaza
Once we got acquainted with our host and the town, we set out on the metro to explore. We got to the main section of downtown with an incredible plaza
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Barcelona
So we landed in Barcelona, and expecting to exchanged some dollars for Euros were a bit surprised that the airport here had no currency exchange, just an ATM. FYI, for anyone who has said you don´t need cash, only credit, they are mistaken. You never know when you need a bus or a cab or want to stop in a cafe and no credit cards are taken. You do need cash in Europe-both UK and Spain.
So, we found our hostel with relative ease, although the street off Las Ramblas seemed a bit dodgy. We soon found out that it was because our 11:30 pm arrival found everything closed. Once we got settled and heading to the main drag for a bite, we met an English and Irish duo who showed us around. Turned out, the alley our our hostel was in was not dodgy at all, but rather, part of the barrio Gothic which is a maze of super high medieval buildings that create an amazing cluster of little discoveries. This is such a cool part of town. You get lost, wander around, have no idea where you are, then all of a sudden--BAm--you´re staring at a magnificent cathedral. It´s really cool. Next day we headed to tour the city on foot locally, then by a tour bus. Really incredible sights.
When we sat down for lunch, Kendra´s blond hair turned 1 glass of wine into an entire bottle as the Spanish men just ate us up. We got free wine and had to stumble our way to the tour bus after drinking a bottle. So much for an afternoon glass.
Anyway, after a dinner filled with fabulous tapas, we wandered around and somehow wound up staying up until 4 am again. Jeez!
So, we found our hostel with relative ease, although the street off Las Ramblas seemed a bit dodgy. We soon found out that it was because our 11:30 pm arrival found everything closed. Once we got settled and heading to the main drag for a bite, we met an English and Irish duo who showed us around. Turned out, the alley our our hostel was in was not dodgy at all, but rather, part of the barrio Gothic which is a maze of super high medieval buildings that create an amazing cluster of little discoveries. This is such a cool part of town. You get lost, wander around, have no idea where you are, then all of a sudden--BAm--you´re staring at a magnificent cathedral. It´s really cool. Next day we headed to tour the city on foot locally, then by a tour bus. Really incredible sights.
When we sat down for lunch, Kendra´s blond hair turned 1 glass of wine into an entire bottle as the Spanish men just ate us up. We got free wine and had to stumble our way to the tour bus after drinking a bottle. So much for an afternoon glass.
Anyway, after a dinner filled with fabulous tapas, we wandered around and somehow wound up staying up until 4 am again. Jeez!
London
As I embarked upon my journey, it felt great to fly British Airways and reconnect with my second culture--the English. Flight was great and yes, I actually studied a bit on the plane--of course I also watched 2 films, 1 great, 1 terrible. I saw a British film with Jude Law called Breaking and Entering and highly recommend this terrific film.
Anyway, landed in London and, after a journey through the terminal that seemed like miles, was greeted with the politeness that I always associate with the UK. I was a nice change after being yelled at by jerks in the security lines back in LA. Already, so glad to get out of there.
So, Heathrow is huge and it took me almost the full 2 hours that separated our flights to get to Kendra´s terminal. When Kendra and I found each other, we exchanged some dollars for pounds (a painful procedure) and got on the tube to our hotel, very small (check out but very clean and smart. We had our first pub meal, fish and chips of course, accompanied by 2 large pints, then we went sight-seeing. Weather was great, just a slight chill, and we hopped on a double decker then toured london from high up. We ended the evening with a cool pub near Camden and ironically didn´t get into our bed until 2 am. If you´re not clubbing, however, London shuts down by midnight. We nearly stranded ourselves on the opposite side of town from Victoria where we stayed.
Next day we had an English breakfast at a nearby pub before heading off to Kew Gardens. Our time there was short but it was lovely. We got back to our hotel, grabbed our things, and headed to the new Stansted airport for our flight to Barcelona.
Anyway, landed in London and, after a journey through the terminal that seemed like miles, was greeted with the politeness that I always associate with the UK. I was a nice change after being yelled at by jerks in the security lines back in LA. Already, so glad to get out of there.
So, Heathrow is huge and it took me almost the full 2 hours that separated our flights to get to Kendra´s terminal. When Kendra and I found each other, we exchanged some dollars for pounds (a painful procedure) and got on the tube to our hotel, very small (check out but very clean and smart. We had our first pub meal, fish and chips of course, accompanied by 2 large pints, then we went sight-seeing. Weather was great, just a slight chill, and we hopped on a double decker then toured london from high up. We ended the evening with a cool pub near Camden and ironically didn´t get into our bed until 2 am. If you´re not clubbing, however, London shuts down by midnight. We nearly stranded ourselves on the opposite side of town from Victoria where we stayed.
Next day we had an English breakfast at a nearby pub before heading off to Kew Gardens. Our time there was short but it was lovely. We got back to our hotel, grabbed our things, and headed to the new Stansted airport for our flight to Barcelona.
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