Leaving Seattle

For the most part, I wrote these blogs on the road using the wordpress app on my iPhone. I’ve been back for three weeks now, so I should probably start doing something about uploading them… Apologies in advance that they get absurdly detailed on rather boring details. I was passing the time, alone, and wanting to document everything so I’d remember later. I’ll probably be editing to add in various details and hope to add photos to later entries. I’ll also roll them out over time a bit so as not to overwhelm anyone who will actually take the time to read these.

FYI, my flight left Seattle at 6:35AM, was set to arrive in NY at 3:00PM. The second leg departed from NY at 6:00PM to arrive at about 7:00AM in London.

On the flight to New York. Won the first round of trivia on the plane. Now watching Mythbusters on satellite about yawning contagion. Yeah, can’t stop yawning. The 3.5 hours sleep last night probably isn’t helping. Ideally I would stay awake for this flight then sleep on the flight to London arriving at 7AM. In reality, if sleep wants to happen, I should probably let it.

I just paid $6 for a movie on a tiny screen. Milk. Must pay attention.

Movie is still on, but I just wanted to point out I can see Chicago from here, over Lake Michigan right now.

There certainly are a lot of peanuts and peanut products on this plane. Seems so strange now.

Finished the movie just under the wire. Starting descent. Have to turn off phone momentarily.

This is so weird. I’m at JFK. I got an automated phone call telling me the flight is one hour delayed. The internet tells me it’s one hour delayed. Nothing at the airport indicates any kind of delay. Charging phone and the reserve charge thing.

That was a very enjoyable if not productive second flight. The plane departed late because it was going to be a shorter than planned flight. Apparently they can’t land at heathrow before a certain time. They left an hour late and arrived early. The plane was a 2-3-2 configuration. I had a window in the back. An 18 year old guy sat next to me. I assumed he’d be annoyed by anyone not in his age group and assumed I’d be left alone to try to sleep or to play with the games or watch the free on demand movies. He looked oddly familiar to me. I’m not sure how we started up the conversation, but we ended up chatting for hours. And not in the “will you please stop talking to me” way. You see, he’s a shockingly well travelled, educated, and knowledgable teenager. Turns out he’s been to over 60 countries and has grand plans for more. It took a lot of encouragement for him to believe I really wanted to hear his travel stories. It was neat to see someone else able to rattle off names of African nations while pointing to a blank map of the continent. Anyway, it was fun to hear the srories. He did enjoy the conversation too, BTW. He was so pleased by all of his travel so far that day including meeting rapper Ludacris at the airport in Miami and loaning him a dime. Heh. He still had another long flight to Helsinki to go.

But it meant little time for sleep. I played a couple movies/tv shows and curled up in uncomfortable to my neck positions. I wasn’t aware so much of the sleep, but apparently I got some. I woke up to find that they had served breakfast. My seat mate had grabbed one for me, thankfully. Large dinner, breakfast, free games, and movies. I love international flights.

So with still little sleep under my belt for the equivalent of two nights I finally arrived in London at about 7am.

OK, that was kind of an annoying day

I don’t have time to go into it, since I just got back to the hotel at almost 10pm and I have to get up by 5 tomorrow morning. I even gave in and bought some KFC because it was easy, fast, known, and convenient. I haven’t eaten since 6:30 this morning and that was just a muffin.

The good stuff that happened today, and I’ll expand later:

I toured Windsor Castle.
I bought new (but really expensive) shoes at Windsor, so my feet are becoming happy again.
I saw stonehenge.
I toured the Roman Baths in Bath.
I became closer to an interesting group of strangers because uprisings can tend to do that.

The bad stuff, I’ll similarly expand later:

The tour company, Premium Tours.

As to when, I’ve no idea. I’ll be out even longer tomorrow on both ends of the spectrum.

First full London day

OK, for the record, I’m all fed. I went out because I wanted to confirm something for tomorrow anyway. OK, on with the experience.

I woke up early yet again. I got the great breakfast buffet downstairs with a garden view. I then got on the tube and headed in the direction of Westminster. I was going to arrive before Westminster Abbey was to open, but I knew there was plenty to see in the area. I left the tube through one of the 6 (!) exits from the station. The maps inside convinced me to take the exit closest to Big Ben/Parliament. I crossed whichever bridge that is and there were many good pictures to be had. I was in the right place to hear it strike 10 and 11 as well a few interims from 9:15-11. Got pics of the London Eye as well.

I can’t believe how many statues there are! I got to Parliament Square and walked up the street toward Trafalgar Square. The statues are even in the middle of this road. I was a little surprised to spot the entrance to Downing street since I wasn’t looking for it. I took a picture of the well guarded entrance. Probably can’t tell what it is though. I learned to appreciate the signs on the street telling me to look left and look right. It’s all backwards and confusing. More pictures all around the square, including having someone take my picture in front of the fountain. I also picked up some souvenirs while I was at it. I walked back toward Parliament square via Horse Guards Way which is the East end of St. James Park. This also means that I circumnavigated the treasury building. Which if I’m to believe what others are telling me, was the the location we see for the Watcher’s Council exterior when something interesting happened in season 7 ep 9. (bitterkat, have you gotten that far yet?)

Then, back at Parliament square, I went around to Westminster Abbey. I went in for the tour. It’s a very organized tour. You must follow in a particular order. I was surprised at all of the people buried there. Particularly the artistic types in poets corner. Laurence Olivier? Very startling to see after all the royalty and people from the 1600’s and such. Hey, here’s a list some of the people, so I don’t have to remember them all. Most notable of the artist plots I saw are Geoffrey Chaucer, Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Lewis Carrol. There’s also a Shakespeare memorial, but he’s not buried there. I actually didn’t see the scientists. I would have liked to see Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin’s plots. Although that latter one amuses me just a bit. Kind of frustrating to not be allowed to take pictures. I was sitting there knowing I’d forget things far too quickly. And I have.

When I finished in the Abbey, I had to rush to Buckingham Palace. It was to be my only opportunity to witness the changing of the guard. I knew it was a big attraction, but in my wildest dreams I didn’t expect it to be quite *that* many people. There were thousands, it was packed. You couldn’t even go to the center part because it was wall to wall people. I could hardly see anything most of the time. There were two band processions in and two out. And during the middle, they played a Beatles medley. It seemed rather odd. They started with Hard Day’s Night. That seemed kind of amusingly appropriate. I can’t remember the middle song, but they ended with Hey Jude. It was kind of funny to watch the recognition on people who didn’t speak English. I was near a group of Japanese twentysomethings. After a few notes they excitedly said something that was clearly how they would pronounce/refer to the song. Many people were singing along, and you could tell many of them didn’t know the words natively. It was actually rather touching. There was applause after Hey Jude. Eventually it was all done, but I felt it went on far too long since I could barely see anything.

I decided I’d had all of Buckingham Palace that I could take. I decided not to do any of the tours. I headed for the Victoria tube station. Along the way though, I stopped for some fish and chips at a tiny little restaurant. They were quite good. And they advertised that they also take Euros and US Dollars. Considering I’m wandering around with *four* different types of currency right now, that’s pretty handy. (FYI, US dollars, Euros, Pounds, Swiss francs.) I bought the F&C with pounds and a coke with euros. It was very good.

I took the Victoria line to the central line to St. Paul’s station. I poked my head into the cathedral and debated on whether it would be worth the admission charge, on top of all the other admissions I had payed/was planning on paying. I wasn’t sure if I’d really get to see more than I’d already seen from entrance. Especially since I knew I was on a bit of a time constraint with the Tower of London still on my plan for the day. I decided to go for it. I’m glad I did. Not only was it beautiful, and it really was, I also got a ridiculously intense workout. You can climb up the dome. (click dome if the link doesn’t take you there) I was shocked when the spiraling wooden stairs kept going and going and going. I thought the whispering gallery was the end. I wanted to walk the complete circle around the dome. Half way around, I discovered you do get to keep going. Another ridiculously long climb, on metal and stone this time, and I was at an outdoor viewing area. This is also the first time you can use your cameras on this tour. At this point, I understood what the signs meant and knew there was another upwards entrance somewhere. I eventually found it and managed to make it all the way to the golden gallery. It was again outside and near the top of the cathedral dome. According to the site, a 280 foot climb and 532 steps. Everyone I was near laughed at the “no smoking” signs posted in the stairway side benches. Yeah, like you’d have enough breath! It was a beautiful view. And the sprinkles were quite welcome. I desperately wanted water at this point. I hurried back down. Went down to the crypt quickly didn’t spend much time anywhere there, except at the cafe to buy some liquid refreshment. It was 3:00 already, and I knew the tower closes at 6.

I took the central line to the district for tower hill station. I was in line to buy my almost 15 pound ticket when a woman came by and asked if I was waiting to go to the tower. I said I was in line to buy my ticket, yes. She then handed me a voucher for a free admission. She had an extra given to her that she didn’t need and it expired the next day. I thanked her and didn’t almost believe it. I got out of line and went to the group ticket stand like the voucher said and was given my free ticket. The last Yeoman tour started about 10 minutes after my arrival. He was quite amusing. About 30 minutes in, however, a rain storm broke out and he cut the tour short by taking us to the chapel where he told us more stories. Then I wandered about on my own. Saw the ravens, went into several towers, saw stuff. Overall really cool. My castle love had me drooling. I really wanted to buy a bottle of mead at the gift shop in the white tower. It was so hard not to. I really don’t have room for it, and I don’t know if there are laws against bringing it back either. I did buy a couple packets of spiced mead mix though. That made me feel a little better.

Then I came back to the hotel and pealed off my shoes. What an exhausting full day! I meant for this one to be a little bit of everything. Paris will likely be similar. The other two days should hopefully be a little slower.

Logistics first

Today was the big whirlwind day. I’m going to do two blog entries about it. I’d rather have the one that’s actually about the activities on top, so I’ll start with some behind the scenes discussion.

First of all, and this may seem entirely obvious, it’s a bad idea to ever *ever* buy a new pair of shoes the day before you go on an extended trip because you think they’ll be more comfortable. This is mostly a problem when they’re the only shoes you have with you. Sure, it’d be great if they are in fact more comfortable, but the problems if you’re wrong far outweigh the benefits. And it doesn’t help to walk on cobblestone.

OK, one more logistical issue, I’m hungry. If I leave the hotel, I have to put shoes on again. Gah! Think I’ll check the hotel food options before committing to that.

Second, I love subways. I wish we had one. In New York I was very impressed. In London I’m quite enjoying the tube. New York’s subways were in better shape, but the London Underground is even more useful, at least for me as a tourist. London’s roads are completely insane. You can tell it’s an old city. And street signs are extremely scarce. I don’t know how anyone can figure anything out. So using the tube, it’s nice that you can get to the vicinity and only have to keep track of a few roads. At some of stops I’ve even seen maps up showing where the various attractions are. It’s helped me a lot. I’ve even taken it on some fairly short trips. That’s partly because of that last paragraph. Also, because I have unlimited use with my visitor card, it’s to my benefit to get my money’s worth with by taking many trips. Even though the city buses are also free for me, I’m easily opting for the tube.

The status of the Tube: It’s definitely good enough now. You can get to pretty much every stop in central London, but you just may not be able to take what would have been the fasted way. At present, the circle line is completely closed and the Piccadilly line is mostly closed. The Piccadilly line is open to Heathrow at least, so that’s good. I’ve been able to use the district line when I would have been using the circle. And I’ve been using the district line a lot. The Piccadilly closure can be dealt with by using any of the other N/S lines and cutting across on the Central if necessary. The Hammersmith & City line is also closed in places, but I haven’t seen any need for it personally. That is the only one that has completely closed off stations.

Add’l tube comments: Most tube drivers are very diligently reminding everyone to take their belongings and report anything left unattended. One of my drivers today even reminded everyone twice while I was riding that we shouldn’t become complacent now as a result of the arrests yesterday. People seem to be fine though. On my way in last night I might have scared some people though. I had my rolling suitcase behind me going up a ramp. I tried to spin to change hands. I lost hold of it and it crashed to the ground with a loud pop. I think I heard some nervous reactions. I tried to look around apologetically.

There’s a lot of minding going on here. Of course, I’ve heard all about the “mind the gap” announcements on the tube, but I didn’t realize how mindful Londoners were. We’re minding our heads, the steps, and I think at least a couple others that I can’t remember any more.

Platform 9 3/4

I just got back from an evening trip to King’s Cross station. It seemed
a good thing to do on my first evening when I had no other plans. And
since I had nothing else to do up there, I was able to bring my Harry
Potter book with me. I had to take 2 tube lines, but it was really
easy. I got to King’s Cross and followed the signs to the rail station.
I followed the signs to the platforms….

They have created a platform 9 3/4 on the wall with an official looking
sign and everything. I took a picture of it. I looked around for good
candidates to take my picture, but everyone seemed rushed. No apparent
tourists or anything. I then took out my book and sat down at platform
9 3/4 and started reading. After a page or so, a guy walked by and
asked if I was ready “‘arry Pottuh”. I said I was. He smiled and said
it was a good place for that. I asked him to take my picture and he
obliged. So now I have a picture of me reading Harry Potter at Platform
9 3/4 at King’s Cross station. Hee.

I sat down to read a bit more and after a couple more pages, I saw a
flash. I laughed and tried to get out of their way. But they loved that
I was in the picture. They even had me hold the book up for another
one. Despite their having American-like accents, they commented on my book
looking different. Maybe they’re Canadian? I don’t know. I think Canada
gets the UK version.

Anyway, it was a fun, silly, quick excursion. So now I can check that
off my list.

I also was able to get a universal -> UK style adapter in the Zurich
airport. It’s not a coverter, but luckily my laptop is rated to 240 V.
So now I have free high speed internet access and endless power to the
computer. Phew!

The hotel is also really nice. I have a lovely garden view out my
window. Can’t wait for the breakfast tomorrow! Yum!

next

I go to London tomorrow following a successful business trip. (Did I mention I’m drunk”"?) I tried to switch to earlier, but it would cost 200 dollars. not worth it. it’s so very pleasant here. all the old villages. castles, lake, farmland. not what i pictured. I’m sure it’s a southern Germany thing. we drove through switzerland again today on the way to konstanz.

I’ll spend a lot of time in zurich tomorrow. I need to buy converter/adapter that works with 3 prongs. mine only 2. we finally found one in the company that we modified to work, but noow i don’t have it. They claim they sell them in the airport. They say they’re not allowed to sell what I need in Germany. That makes a lot of sense.

FYI

I’m quite drunk in germany right now. I went to the konstanz weinfest. I don’t handle it nearly as well as the locals.

Unfortunately I got a cold today. and the room is spinning. I think I’m eventually even typing the right letters though, with enough corrections, so that’s a plus.

Have I mentioned how beautiful it is here? I even think that a lot when I’m not drunk. It’s much better than expected.

Wow, this is so screwy

I’m preparing to go to dinner and my computer clock is pointing out that it’s only 8:54 am in Seattle. Just so weird.

I’ll definitely have more to blog beyond the Autobahn comment and this after dinner.

At 5:08 PM local time today…

I was riding at 182 kph on the autobahn in a convertible. I’m not really one for being excited by driving too fast. It usually just makes me nervous. However, that was a fun little short trip to be legally going that fast. And now I can say I’ve been there. I’d never want to drive it myself, but I’ve been there.

Actually, I’d have serious issues driving here. There would have to be much studying as the road markers are very different. For example no yellow on the roads.

Getting pretty excited

I think I finally believe I’m going. It’s a good thing since I leave tomorrow.

Today I picked up German and French phrase books as well as a guide/map to Paris. I’ve decided to take a day trip to Paris while I’m staying in London. Mostly because then I can say I took a day trip to Paris. I should have around 10 hours to hit the major landmarks. Hopefully I can get to everything at least briefly. 4 new countries. I’ve only been in 3 until now. And that only counts little excursions barely into Mexico and Canada. So far I’ve only spent one night out of the country. (Well, two if you count that one random trip to Vancouver after work, but there was no sleeping or hotels involved.)

I haven’t figured out a game plan for doing the time adjustment yet. It’s unfortonate that I’ll be just getting tired right around mid-day when I arrive. I think I’ll try to sleep on the latter part of the last plane trip. Should be a very tiring day, but I’ll probably be pretty wired by then anyway. I suspect it’ll be easier coming back. At least I hope so for the sake of my going to work the next morning.