The Days are Just Packed! Pt I of II
Aug. 30th, 2007 11:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grrgoylI'm back from England, in case anyone was becoming concerned. The truth is I've been frantically trying to get the whole trip down in my handwritten travel journal before my memories slip away permanently into the ether. Today it occurred to me that can be done anywhere (i.e., the hospital), whereas updating my LJ with full photographic illustrations can only be done here.
I had a really great time an awesome time an incredible time Words cannot describe what a good time I had. In the words of Calvin & Hobbes, the days were just packed! Every day we stumbled home exhausted and fell into our beds before getting up the next and starting all over again. This may have been a result of both of us fast approaching 40, but there's not much to be done about that.
I haven't figured out the best way to break this down, so bear with me. Behind the cuts are many, many photos, all resized and humorously captioned. Please have a look and not let my hard work be in vain.
~*~
Day Zero: Flying
First, I have to give a shout-out to British Airways. If you ever have the opportunity to fly with them, I can't recommend it highly enough. They gave us two complete 3-course meals, a dazzling array of free in-flight entertainment with a seat-back screen (choice of several current blockbusters, American or British TV channels, and even video solitaire. Coolest of all, a map screen showing exactly how far along we were on our journey, including time left to destination) in addition to the eye mask, socks and travel toothbrush. I somehow ended up alone in my row despite the plane appearing otherwise full, and when the attendants talked to me they'd bend their knees and murmur gently as if I was an 8-year-old flying alone for the first time.
I made it through Customs and to Jeff in no time at all, even though I was asked a lot more questions than my last trip pre-9/11. We headed home. Jeff lives in Acton, London, a fair-sized bustling suburb that's a bit dodgy, but mostly quiet and easy to get around.
Jeff on his street (okay, so this caption isn't my best work)
I didn't have the time or the energy to do anything else this day, so onto day one.
~*~
Day One: Tate Modern Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral
Unfortunately my trip began with two stops that don't allow photography inside, so this section may be short. We had brunch at the Tate first. Already missing my Iced Java caffeine high, I tried to get by with ordering iced coffee. Big mistake. Jeff laughed and laughed as I dumped in 6 packets of sugar to make it palatable. Bleah.
The Tate Modern fortunately was free to the public (except the Dali exhibit on one floor that we didn't want to pay for). I say fortunately because it was mostly made up of occasionally interesting, but mostly silly work that had Jeff and I speculating how many artists think "I wonder how much I can get those fools at the gallery to pay for THIS piece of wank?" as they painted the finishing stroke. The insultingly pretentious placards posted beside this tripe telling us how we were supposed to feel didn't help matters. I think out of the whole installation we only saw about 10-15 pieces between the two of us that truly captured our attention. As the line goes, "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."
Right beside the Tate is Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
As an English major, I was contractually obligated to take this picture
We'd have gone inside if it didn't cost money and didn't have a show in progress that we weren't allowed to interrupt. Poopie.
We then crossed the Thames on the "Wobbly Bridge" to St. Paul's Cathedral, of Mary Poppins fame. Again, no pictures allowed inside, but we did climb to the Golden Gallery at the top, a total of 434 steps up a winding staircase so narrow that the down staircase is at the opposite end of the building.
Windswept and loving it
The views over the city are magnificent. Unfortunately, it also permanently damaged our stair-climbing muscles so that using any subsequent stairs for the duration of my visit elicited deep groans of protest (and if not for the awesome power of the Bowflex, I might still be stuck halfway up the cathedral. Jeff was so close to being as bad off that he most likely would have left me there).
While I had hoped my trip would include a Harry Potter tour, it ended up inadvertently being a V for Vendetta tour.
One of the things you can see from the top is the Old Bailey from the film
Much later we also drove past Larkhill (which is actually just a small village near Stonehenge) but Jeff was too late pointing it out and I missed the chance to take a picture.
~*~
Day Two: Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey
I couldn't get away with two visits to England without seeing the Palace, so off we went.
Jeff practices his Royal Wave
I practice my Vanna White skillz
Unfortunately we had just missed the last Changing of the Guard, and the next one wasn't until the following day. This crowd kept determinedly milling about anyway.
Jeff thinks they were waiting for the Queen to moon them out a window, which she's been known to do from time to time, he said
Thus began what became an increasingly disturbing phenomenon on my trip: It seemed everywhere we went, we had just missed something exciting (or sometimes not so exciting but still noticeable). Small examples soon added up to a big conspiracy that I didn't like one little bit. Jeff thought I was paranoid. I'll let you be the judge.
Anyway, onward. Nothing more to see here.
Parliament and Big Ben are located very conveniently right in front of the tube station, so this is the view you see immediately upon emerging on the street:
Wish I could take credit for this picture, but it's Jeff's doing. He's pretty proud of it, and rightly so
Look who walked by us just as casual as you please?
We interrupt our tour to bring you a brief tribute to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost:
Parliamentary Hot Fuzz
Danger: 50,000 Volts!
One of the things that grates Jeff's cheese is this gray, ultra-modern building behind Parliament that was built to house the MP's offices. It was supposed to blend with the older structure, but as you can see it fails pretty spectacularly in that regard.
I long to live in a country where inappropriate architecture is the most upsetting issue of the day
Next was Westminster Abbey, which didn't allow pictures (again) but there was a kid snapping away pretty boldly, so Jeff snuck some as well (he got caught though). The most interesting part of Westminster is Poet's Corner, where famous literary figures are either buried or have monuments. Isaac Newton and Chaucer are buried here, as well as Charles Dickens and Darwin, Rudyard Kipling and Laurence Olivier. The monuments range from Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Dylan Thomas and Oscar Wilde to the guy who discovered how to measure longitude (John "Longitude" Harrison. They had some bizarre nicknames back then).
We barely escaped with our lives for taking these photos
It surprised me that so many scientists are buried and honored in such a religious institution, but if anything I think that underscores the ridiculousness of today's animosity between the church and science. It peeved me that major figures like Dickens and Darwin got such a plain, barely noticeable stone while lords I'd never heard of had grand, elaborate statues and shrines. Guess money talked loudest then too.
We didn't care for the oppressive environment at Westminster, so after resting our feet at Newton's tomb, we decided to catch The Simpsons Movie before heading home. My ticket cost almost £12 (roughly $24!!!) but Jeff pointed out the theater was in the West End. I don't know if the movie was $24 worth of good.
~*~
Day Three: Brighton
Brighton is a lovely seaside town that's very similar to lovely seaside towns in New England. Not much to do but stroll around and shop by the seashore. We did have fabulous fresh fish & chips first, however.
In case there's any doubt, we're at the WORLD FAMOUS BRIGHTON PIER. I love Jeffy's daddy hat
This is the only place in England that sold the far superior Fanta Pineapple soda. But take note of the sign in the window. Who's paranoid now?
Homeless person. I like to capture the seedy underbelly of my vacation spots
Yes. I am juvenile enough that I took this picture simply because the sign reads "Devil's Dyke"
I know the British spell some words differently than us, but I suspect this wasn't intentional
This sign claims that they sell jewelry used in the new Harry Potter film!...
...but I guess I'll never know for sure
This crazy lady showed up in the park, pulled out a bag of seed and attracted a Hitchcockian amount of birds. Then announced she had no more and went on her way, leaving the swarm of fowl to attack young children
~*~
Day Four: Camden Market and Highgate Cemetery
When I visited Camden Market 12 years ago, it was a lively street market where you could buy bootleg VHS tapes and CDs by the hundreds. Now with the advent of the internet, all that's disappeared and it's an even larger street market where you can buy any item of punk clothing you can imagine. And antiques, London souvenirs, rave accessories and food of questionable health standards. Nestled among all those things though, we found a tiny shop with floor-to-ceiling gargoyles. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I agonized over my decision before spotting this ugly fellow:
I HAD to have him. Unfortunately he's a fairly good size (about 16 inches tall) and more unfortunately they didn't ship, so I had to haul him around in my pack the rest of the day (and onto the plane for my return home, so nervous about damage was I). Small price to pay. I luurrrrrve him.
From here we were off to Highgate cemetery. There are some famous people buried here, but even if there weren't it's a beautiful place and well worth a visit. First we visited the west side, which is far older and no longer accepting new residents.
Again, Jeff's fine camera work. This is an ancient tree that had a vault built around it, so it was stunted and actually should have grown much larger than it is
One of the only sleeping angels in London. Jeff and I agreed that if your angel is sleeping, you're probably fucked
Our guide wore a Ghostbusters T-shirt. Talk about gallows humor... I didn't crop this too much so you could see how lush and dense the surrounding woods are
Then the east side. Jeff asked where Douglas Adams' grave was, and Mr. Ghostbusters said there was no stone yet as the family and the fans couldn't agree what to put on it (his widow wanted simply the number 42, which would have been perfect). But the east side proprieters brought us right to it when we asked again.
Jeff really made the guide's day when he showed him the stone. I thought he needed to get out of the west cemetery more often
Also buried here is Karl Marx:
I thought it was funny that this devoted pilgrim was sweeping leaves off the tomb, but in retrospect I'm glad I included her so you could see the massive size of his cranium. It's got its own weather system!
Jeff's flying with Jesus!
This fox was as big as a cocker spaniel, limping and ornery-looking. I wouldn't dare get this close, I've got an awesome zoom on my camera
I took a picture of Ralph Richardson's grave but it seems to have mysteriously vanished off my camera. Who'd have thought such a famous actor would be camera-shy?
~*~
Day Five: Harrod's, Speaker's Corner, the Comedy Store
Harrod's is a great place to get classy London souvenirs, like Beefeater teddy bears. It also sells some unique things, none of which you'll see pictured here because I mainly videotaped and Tery now has the camera with her in Connecticut. Jeff plays a game on every trip to the store, find the most expensive item. On this day the winner was a 71" gold plasma TV (£50,000) and accompanying Surround Sound system (£25,000). Since we couldn't afford anything apart from my souvenirs, we instead spent our money at the Chocolate Bar, an in-store cafe that sells only chocolate dishes.
We indulged in some positively sinful white chocolate milkshakes. Mine was also strawberry and had fresh pulp at the bottom of the glass. Oh. My. God.
The Egyptian Escalator. Take note of the poor opera singer at the right who was largely ignored by the tourists
This is the site of a memorial to Princess Di and her lover, whose father apparently owns Harrod's
At my insistence Jeff took me back to Speaker's Corner, which impressed me a great deal on my last visit. Every Sunday, any loony with a crate to stand on can get up and preach to the crowd, no matter how insane or inflammatory their rhetoric may be. Think of that scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian, only less tongue-in-cheek. 12 years ago it was a mixed bag, but Jeff says now the challenge is to spot someone who ISN'T a religious nutjob.
This guy claimed to be an angel. I don't know what his stance was, I only heard him shouting down a heckler with the words, "Sir, are YOU an angel like me? How can you speak on God's behalf then?" I almost wish I'd stuck around a little longer
This guy held Jeff's interest for quite awhile. He argued that Christianity is actually polytheism (the Holy Trinity is three gods in one) and that there could be no getting along with other gods, because compromise indicates weakness. Therefore Allah must be the one true god (note bin Laden Sr. reading next to him)
This guy was a Southern Baptist with an African accent. He's in the process of insulting a group of Muslims, stating that "Jesus loves you but you're going to Hell anyway."
I forget what this guy was on about. I do remember Jeff asked him who were the wives of (i.e. had sex with) Adam and Eve's children (this made Jeff very popular among the Muslims in the audience). The guy answered smugly "The answer is in the Bible." He loses at life
Again I was impressed that the debates could become so heated and infuriating, yet still remain at a relatively civil, nonviolent level. But eventually all the anger and conflict became very wearying and we turned to leave. That's when we saw this group that had just turned up:
After collecting our free hugs, I got this stupid grin on my face that lasted the entire tube ride home. I felt like I was glowing. So simple to spread happiness, why is it so rare?
That night we went to the Comedy Store, where we saw an improv group made up largely of old favorites from Whose Line is it Anyway?
Paul Merton, Neil Mullarkey (Austin Powers), Jim Sweeney, Richard Vranch (!!!!! Tery and I have the biggest crush on him) and Andy Smart. Also, I didn't take this picture if that isn't obvious
Do I need to mention it was hilarious? It was. But then when we got home, we were relaxing in front of the telly when Jeff's wife and I noticed what had happened:
I broke Jeffy
That brings us almost exactly to the middle of my trip. I'll let you nosh on these for awhile. I'll finish later this weekend.
I haven't figured out the best way to break this down, so bear with me. Behind the cuts are many, many photos, all resized and humorously captioned. Please have a look and not let my hard work be in vain.
~*~
Day Zero: Flying
First, I have to give a shout-out to British Airways. If you ever have the opportunity to fly with them, I can't recommend it highly enough. They gave us two complete 3-course meals, a dazzling array of free in-flight entertainment with a seat-back screen (choice of several current blockbusters, American or British TV channels, and even video solitaire. Coolest of all, a map screen showing exactly how far along we were on our journey, including time left to destination) in addition to the eye mask, socks and travel toothbrush. I somehow ended up alone in my row despite the plane appearing otherwise full, and when the attendants talked to me they'd bend their knees and murmur gently as if I was an 8-year-old flying alone for the first time.
I made it through Customs and to Jeff in no time at all, even though I was asked a lot more questions than my last trip pre-9/11. We headed home. Jeff lives in Acton, London, a fair-sized bustling suburb that's a bit dodgy, but mostly quiet and easy to get around.
Jeff on his street (okay, so this caption isn't my best work)
I didn't have the time or the energy to do anything else this day, so onto day one.
~*~
Day One: Tate Modern Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral
Unfortunately my trip began with two stops that don't allow photography inside, so this section may be short. We had brunch at the Tate first. Already missing my Iced Java caffeine high, I tried to get by with ordering iced coffee. Big mistake. Jeff laughed and laughed as I dumped in 6 packets of sugar to make it palatable. Bleah.
The Tate Modern fortunately was free to the public (except the Dali exhibit on one floor that we didn't want to pay for). I say fortunately because it was mostly made up of occasionally interesting, but mostly silly work that had Jeff and I speculating how many artists think "I wonder how much I can get those fools at the gallery to pay for THIS piece of wank?" as they painted the finishing stroke. The insultingly pretentious placards posted beside this tripe telling us how we were supposed to feel didn't help matters. I think out of the whole installation we only saw about 10-15 pieces between the two of us that truly captured our attention. As the line goes, "I don't know much about art, but I know what I like."
Right beside the Tate is Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
As an English major, I was contractually obligated to take this picture
We'd have gone inside if it didn't cost money and didn't have a show in progress that we weren't allowed to interrupt. Poopie.
We then crossed the Thames on the "Wobbly Bridge" to St. Paul's Cathedral, of Mary Poppins fame. Again, no pictures allowed inside, but we did climb to the Golden Gallery at the top, a total of 434 steps up a winding staircase so narrow that the down staircase is at the opposite end of the building.
Windswept and loving it
The views over the city are magnificent. Unfortunately, it also permanently damaged our stair-climbing muscles so that using any subsequent stairs for the duration of my visit elicited deep groans of protest (and if not for the awesome power of the Bowflex, I might still be stuck halfway up the cathedral. Jeff was so close to being as bad off that he most likely would have left me there).
While I had hoped my trip would include a Harry Potter tour, it ended up inadvertently being a V for Vendetta tour.
One of the things you can see from the top is the Old Bailey from the film
Much later we also drove past Larkhill (which is actually just a small village near Stonehenge) but Jeff was too late pointing it out and I missed the chance to take a picture.
~*~
Day Two: Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey
I couldn't get away with two visits to England without seeing the Palace, so off we went.
Jeff practices his Royal Wave
I practice my Vanna White skillz
Unfortunately we had just missed the last Changing of the Guard, and the next one wasn't until the following day. This crowd kept determinedly milling about anyway.
Jeff thinks they were waiting for the Queen to moon them out a window, which she's been known to do from time to time, he said
Thus began what became an increasingly disturbing phenomenon on my trip: It seemed everywhere we went, we had just missed something exciting (or sometimes not so exciting but still noticeable). Small examples soon added up to a big conspiracy that I didn't like one little bit. Jeff thought I was paranoid. I'll let you be the judge.
Anyway, onward. Nothing more to see here.
Parliament and Big Ben are located very conveniently right in front of the tube station, so this is the view you see immediately upon emerging on the street:
Wish I could take credit for this picture, but it's Jeff's doing. He's pretty proud of it, and rightly so
Look who walked by us just as casual as you please?
We interrupt our tour to bring you a brief tribute to Simon Pegg and Nick Frost:
Parliamentary Hot Fuzz
Danger: 50,000 Volts!
One of the things that grates Jeff's cheese is this gray, ultra-modern building behind Parliament that was built to house the MP's offices. It was supposed to blend with the older structure, but as you can see it fails pretty spectacularly in that regard.
I long to live in a country where inappropriate architecture is the most upsetting issue of the day
Next was Westminster Abbey, which didn't allow pictures (again) but there was a kid snapping away pretty boldly, so Jeff snuck some as well (he got caught though). The most interesting part of Westminster is Poet's Corner, where famous literary figures are either buried or have monuments. Isaac Newton and Chaucer are buried here, as well as Charles Dickens and Darwin, Rudyard Kipling and Laurence Olivier. The monuments range from Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, Dylan Thomas and Oscar Wilde to the guy who discovered how to measure longitude (John "Longitude" Harrison. They had some bizarre nicknames back then).
We barely escaped with our lives for taking these photos
It surprised me that so many scientists are buried and honored in such a religious institution, but if anything I think that underscores the ridiculousness of today's animosity between the church and science. It peeved me that major figures like Dickens and Darwin got such a plain, barely noticeable stone while lords I'd never heard of had grand, elaborate statues and shrines. Guess money talked loudest then too.
We didn't care for the oppressive environment at Westminster, so after resting our feet at Newton's tomb, we decided to catch The Simpsons Movie before heading home. My ticket cost almost £12 (roughly $24!!!) but Jeff pointed out the theater was in the West End. I don't know if the movie was $24 worth of good.
~*~
Day Three: Brighton
Brighton is a lovely seaside town that's very similar to lovely seaside towns in New England. Not much to do but stroll around and shop by the seashore. We did have fabulous fresh fish & chips first, however.
In case there's any doubt, we're at the WORLD FAMOUS BRIGHTON PIER. I love Jeffy's daddy hat
This is the only place in England that sold the far superior Fanta Pineapple soda. But take note of the sign in the window. Who's paranoid now?
Homeless person. I like to capture the seedy underbelly of my vacation spots
Yes. I am juvenile enough that I took this picture simply because the sign reads "Devil's Dyke"
I know the British spell some words differently than us, but I suspect this wasn't intentional
This sign claims that they sell jewelry used in the new Harry Potter film!...
...but I guess I'll never know for sure
This crazy lady showed up in the park, pulled out a bag of seed and attracted a Hitchcockian amount of birds. Then announced she had no more and went on her way, leaving the swarm of fowl to attack young children
~*~
Day Four: Camden Market and Highgate Cemetery
When I visited Camden Market 12 years ago, it was a lively street market where you could buy bootleg VHS tapes and CDs by the hundreds. Now with the advent of the internet, all that's disappeared and it's an even larger street market where you can buy any item of punk clothing you can imagine. And antiques, London souvenirs, rave accessories and food of questionable health standards. Nestled among all those things though, we found a tiny shop with floor-to-ceiling gargoyles. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I agonized over my decision before spotting this ugly fellow:
I HAD to have him. Unfortunately he's a fairly good size (about 16 inches tall) and more unfortunately they didn't ship, so I had to haul him around in my pack the rest of the day (and onto the plane for my return home, so nervous about damage was I). Small price to pay. I luurrrrrve him.
From here we were off to Highgate cemetery. There are some famous people buried here, but even if there weren't it's a beautiful place and well worth a visit. First we visited the west side, which is far older and no longer accepting new residents.
Again, Jeff's fine camera work. This is an ancient tree that had a vault built around it, so it was stunted and actually should have grown much larger than it is
One of the only sleeping angels in London. Jeff and I agreed that if your angel is sleeping, you're probably fucked
Our guide wore a Ghostbusters T-shirt. Talk about gallows humor... I didn't crop this too much so you could see how lush and dense the surrounding woods are
Then the east side. Jeff asked where Douglas Adams' grave was, and Mr. Ghostbusters said there was no stone yet as the family and the fans couldn't agree what to put on it (his widow wanted simply the number 42, which would have been perfect). But the east side proprieters brought us right to it when we asked again.
Jeff really made the guide's day when he showed him the stone. I thought he needed to get out of the west cemetery more often
Also buried here is Karl Marx:
I thought it was funny that this devoted pilgrim was sweeping leaves off the tomb, but in retrospect I'm glad I included her so you could see the massive size of his cranium. It's got its own weather system!
Jeff's flying with Jesus!
This fox was as big as a cocker spaniel, limping and ornery-looking. I wouldn't dare get this close, I've got an awesome zoom on my camera
I took a picture of Ralph Richardson's grave but it seems to have mysteriously vanished off my camera. Who'd have thought such a famous actor would be camera-shy?
~*~
Day Five: Harrod's, Speaker's Corner, the Comedy Store
Harrod's is a great place to get classy London souvenirs, like Beefeater teddy bears. It also sells some unique things, none of which you'll see pictured here because I mainly videotaped and Tery now has the camera with her in Connecticut. Jeff plays a game on every trip to the store, find the most expensive item. On this day the winner was a 71" gold plasma TV (£50,000) and accompanying Surround Sound system (£25,000). Since we couldn't afford anything apart from my souvenirs, we instead spent our money at the Chocolate Bar, an in-store cafe that sells only chocolate dishes.
We indulged in some positively sinful white chocolate milkshakes. Mine was also strawberry and had fresh pulp at the bottom of the glass. Oh. My. God.
The Egyptian Escalator. Take note of the poor opera singer at the right who was largely ignored by the tourists
This is the site of a memorial to Princess Di and her lover, whose father apparently owns Harrod's
At my insistence Jeff took me back to Speaker's Corner, which impressed me a great deal on my last visit. Every Sunday, any loony with a crate to stand on can get up and preach to the crowd, no matter how insane or inflammatory their rhetoric may be. Think of that scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian, only less tongue-in-cheek. 12 years ago it was a mixed bag, but Jeff says now the challenge is to spot someone who ISN'T a religious nutjob.
This guy claimed to be an angel. I don't know what his stance was, I only heard him shouting down a heckler with the words, "Sir, are YOU an angel like me? How can you speak on God's behalf then?" I almost wish I'd stuck around a little longer
This guy held Jeff's interest for quite awhile. He argued that Christianity is actually polytheism (the Holy Trinity is three gods in one) and that there could be no getting along with other gods, because compromise indicates weakness. Therefore Allah must be the one true god (note bin Laden Sr. reading next to him)
This guy was a Southern Baptist with an African accent. He's in the process of insulting a group of Muslims, stating that "Jesus loves you but you're going to Hell anyway."
I forget what this guy was on about. I do remember Jeff asked him who were the wives of (i.e. had sex with) Adam and Eve's children (this made Jeff very popular among the Muslims in the audience). The guy answered smugly "The answer is in the Bible." He loses at life
Again I was impressed that the debates could become so heated and infuriating, yet still remain at a relatively civil, nonviolent level. But eventually all the anger and conflict became very wearying and we turned to leave. That's when we saw this group that had just turned up:
After collecting our free hugs, I got this stupid grin on my face that lasted the entire tube ride home. I felt like I was glowing. So simple to spread happiness, why is it so rare?
That night we went to the Comedy Store, where we saw an improv group made up largely of old favorites from Whose Line is it Anyway?
Paul Merton, Neil Mullarkey (Austin Powers), Jim Sweeney, Richard Vranch (!!!!! Tery and I have the biggest crush on him) and Andy Smart. Also, I didn't take this picture if that isn't obvious
Do I need to mention it was hilarious? It was. But then when we got home, we were relaxing in front of the telly when Jeff's wife and I noticed what had happened:
I broke Jeffy
That brings us almost exactly to the middle of my trip. I'll let you nosh on these for awhile. I'll finish later this weekend.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 03:21 pm (UTC)Alas, pity, they don't fly to Bristol, because the sleep-addled simplicity of that airport plus Virgin airlines would be wonderful.
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Date: 2007-08-31 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-31 05:12 pm (UTC)The Free Hugs people are so adorable. I want to carry them around in my pocket!! Or stand in Central Park with a similar sign.
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Date: 2007-08-31 06:27 pm (UTC)They really were adorable! I think my hug high lasted well into the following day. You should start the trend on this side of the Atlantic.
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Date: 2007-08-31 05:26 pm (UTC)Secondly. OMG Elaine was in England! I mean, I knew you were coming but still, seeing the pictures and the thought that you were here.. awe.
(P.S. I know what it feels like when you go to the effort of uploading things and no one comments, so I looked, I'm interested, and here be a comment ;-)
My mom's friend Sylvie came over the other night and was telling us that she'd recently been to Buckingham Palace.. Now I'm begining to wonder if by some fluke she was there the same day as you. Not that you know each other but it's kind of fun for me to think of.
And, did Jeff tell you that apparently Brighton is a very big Lesbian place. I'm pretty sure it's Brighton. There's some seaside town begining with a B.. yeah.. I'm sure it is. That is a great place for gays but it seems that it's better for the female side of gay life, which is nice to hear. It featured as the setting for a well-loved, MAINSTREAM lesbian tv show. Some of the lesbian's in Winchester are actually taking a weeken 'ladies night' trip there the day before I go back to uni.
So, you taking that picture of the 'Devil's Dyke' sign is even funnier. lol
And.. Pineapple Fanta? I didn't even know that existed.. And I want some. Love Pineapple flavoured things.
(And Old School Xena is on tv. Hee! Callisto's just killed Gabrielle's new husband. I love the crazy blonde one.)
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Date: 2007-08-31 06:42 pm (UTC)I was there! I'm sorry we didn't get to hook up. I think it'd be very surreal to see you in person (like a celebrity).
That would have been quite funny if we'd been there the same time!
I think he did mention something about that. I compared it to Provincetown, Massachusetts, which is a HUGE gay seaside vacation spot. I don't remember seeing anyone too obvious there though.
You must try the Fanta. Unfortunately, according to my research, you have to go all the way to Brighton to get it.
(LOL Old School Xena? Is there any New School, or are you just referring to Series One?)
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Date: 2007-08-31 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-04 03:03 am (UTC)That's one of the coolest looking cemeteries ever. I'm dying to go there. *nyuk nyuk*
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Date: 2007-09-04 03:45 pm (UTC)You funny! It was a gray, sort of drizzly day. Perfect cemetery weather. : )
no subject
Date: 2007-09-04 04:24 am (UTC)First and pretty importantly: Gabrielle was married at one point? That's it. I believed the show when it introduced Gods, I believed it when a woman voluntarily walked all 'round the land in a leather miniskirt, but this is just beyond the realm of what my brain can accept.
British Airways sounds absolutely perfect (I had thought the line "tellys on the back of the seats in front" was completely made up, but I guess they believe in this century's technology in England). Why, do you suppose, are they not available for flights from Michigan to Florida and such? I might complain about that.
The Globe theater is much smaller than I imagined it, which is weird because I've only seen it in 2-foot models. Do they actually have plays showing in there? Or just tours? I would pay a gazillion dollars to be dropped from the ceiling like an angry God at a critical moment in the play.
Did you see any Harry Potter sites? Like, for instance, did you cross over the mystical barrier between platforms 9 and 10? That Old Bailey picture came out really nice. As did Jeff's picture of a big clock, which really there shouldn't be so many pictures of in the world.
"Look who walked by us just as casual as you please?"
I don't get it.
I actually really like the building behind Parliament. I get a feeling Jeff would be quite annoyed if he met me.
Are those stones on the walls or on the floors? I've never seen any pictures of Westminster Abbey, which seems odd since so many people say they take pictures even when they're told not to.
1) How do you know that person is homeless and not just drunk and 2) are all British beaches made of floam?
That's a proper crazy bird lady, there! She's got the hat and the baby carriage full of dirty clothes and everything. You're so lucky to have seen her.
Please tell me you tried to convince Tery to hang that ugly, ugly beast up in your bedroom and taped it so that everyone could see her reaction.
Okay, if I keep making dumb comments I'll never get to the next post. So I'll stop, except to say that the place around the Egyptian Escalator is gorgeous! And that I wonder why they don't film Speaker's Corner and make it into a weekly reality show. And I wonder if the Free Hugs club has a screening process in case pervy people want to sign up to grope unsuspecting people in the park.
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Date: 2007-09-04 04:14 pm (UTC)Hmmmm, it's been awhile. Don't remember an actual ceremony, so either it happened just before, or she was only officially married about 3 hours. Then Callisto came along and thought it would be a hoot to kill her fiance/husband, thus forcing Gabrielle into a life of lesbianism with the hottest warrior princess in all the land.
They were fantastic. The way you expect to be treated when you shell out lots and lots of money to a company.
Well, it's actually bigger, but my camera lens can only cover so much square footage. I thought it was more amusing to include the anachronistic ice cream truck in the foreground. They still show plays in it, yes. I'll talk to my friend about getting your wish fulfilled; he knows everyone in England.
Nope, no Harry Potter sites at all. Would've liked to get to King's Cross, where I hear there actually is a Platform 9-3/4 sign up for tourists, but twas not to be.
I'm trying to figure out if you're being funny or you really don't recognize Big Ben, the most famous clock in Europe.
I thought that passerby from behind looked like Osama bin Laden. No?
I liked it too. Don't tell Jeffy.
Those stones were on the floor. The walls were full of grandiose statues and shrines to the unknown lords that peeved me off so. I'm glad Jeff could give you your first peek inside the Abbey in that case.
1) I suppose they could be drunk. Doesn't make it less seedy though, 2) actually the beach was made of gravel. Jeff and Caroline have to vacation elsewhere in Europe to find beaches with sand. What the hell is floam?
Yes, she was a treat. It's those crazy people I love getting shots of. They're the spice of life!
Gargoyles are one of the few things we like equally. She insisted he be hung center stage above our DVD shelves, was even upset when we tried a different spot and he wasn't facing her properly. Sorry to disappoint (she's also loving the Firefly, to my complete surprise! Listened to episode commentary while I was gone, went back and rewatched the "Done the Impossible" doc and everything. We still have the last disc of the show plus the movie to watch (she already knows Wash dies). She EVEN watched a bit of "Slither" when it was on TV to get more Nathan Fillion goodness).
I would watch a Speaker's Corner reality show! It just impresses me how seriously they take their rights over there. In addition to SC, there was something we didn't get to see called the Lone Mass Protest: the second Sunday of every month people turn up in Parliament Square and can petition Parliament for any wacky thing they can think of, just to take advantage of a legal loophole that gives them the right. The crowd usually numbers in the hundreds every month. Americans are far too apathetic and lazy to do anything like that.
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Date: 2007-09-06 03:46 am (UTC)It seems all any of the women on that show need to turn to women is one short failed relationship with an egotistic man. I don't know why any of them even bother. Just rename the show Xena: the Lesbian Princess in the Land Of Many Other Lesbians and get it over with. Or am I the only one that's imagining all of the village women getting together for communal baths in-between scenes? That's definitely what happened, right?
Ah, you mean the kind of thing you expect from American airlines when you pay hundreds of dollars more than you ought, but the kind of thing that you never get from that? Novel.
I meant that I for some reason (likely I forgot what the buildings were like around the time The Globe was built) I was imagining it much, much taller. Like something Greek or Roman that would double as a place to execute people via fights with large hungry animals.
I was being funny (not terribly funny, obviously) in the sense that I knew it was Big Ben. I was being serious in the sense that I don't see why there ought to be so many pictures of it in the world. It's a Big Clock. All of my friends would be jealous; they don't have a Clock this big.
Um, I guess he looks like bin Laden. I'm just so used to seeing Muslims in full how-do-they-not-suffer-from-heat-stroke-in-the-summer garb that I didn't make the connection.
I won't tell him if you don't. I want him to like me in the sense that he doesn't know me and therefore doesn't actively dislike me.
So the people that are buried there, are they buried under the stones in the floor? I would pay to walk on that floor. This seems like a dumb question because why would they bury people in the floor?, but then why would the French bury people in walls and let people walk around and "not take pictures"? Let's face it, Europeans have to be running out of places to bury people by now.
Remember these infomercials?:
You and Tery are incredibly lucky to have found each other. That's all I'll say. Yay! about her liking Firefly, though. She's terribly brave to watch that movie even knowing she's going to end up crying over it in the end.
We should send that idea in to some British production company. I'm impressed by that as well. However, I don't think the idea could ever be marketed to an American company unless one of the speakers was a terrorist and one was a government agent.
I adore your long, well-thought-out comments, did you know that?
Date: 2007-09-06 11:42 pm (UTC)Yeah, I wish BA was a viable competitor with crappy American companies who treat you like shit after you pay them all that money.
The Globe might be very tall inside. We'll never know (unless one of us gets in).
I don't have a special affinity for Big Ben, but I did like how he got the sun spearing right over the edge of it. Posted for aesthetic purposes only, you might say.
I'm sure Jeffy would like you just fine. He's a pretty affable bloke.
I don't know if they are actually under their stones. We had to run away before we learned anything useful.
Floam. No, I don't remember those infomercials. Now I don't feel so out of the loop.
We are lucky. But I'm quite sure she's not afraid of crying because, Firefly fan or not, she's still kind of heartless when it comes to anything but sports.
Maybe someday the Brits will think of it all on their own. And then we'll steal it and "adapt" it almost immediately.
Lucky, because I can't seem to stop myself.
Date: 2007-09-14 03:31 am (UTC)In my e-mail, I might have told you I have a migraine sent to me (in a personalized box) from hell itself, where it was lovingly forged by an imp whose children I must have killed in a previous life. It turns out it's not a real migraine. It's caffeine withdrawal. I will try to destroy it with tea and, failing that, one of those new crispy Reeses bars. Pray for my success, and don't kill any imp children if you can help it. Just to be safe.
Haha. How did imagining half-naked warrior women bathing together turn into imagining male characters fisting, rimming, and etc.?
You make it sound like a secret spy mission. Quick, you buy ye olde tickets, then we'll distract the guy at the entrance by waving around our tickets. That's a sure-fire plan to get us in.
Well, I did like the picture despite the subject matter. You know, earlier today I was complaining about how elementary schools only have digital clocks now and how children don't know how to tell time and how there should be more analog clocks in the world. Just, you know, not giant ones designed specifically to later feature in spy novels and action films.
Did she at least cry when Buffy died?
By "adapt" do you mean "make better and sell to a wider audience"? I like British TV, and I'm the first to complain about Hollywood cliches, but you've got to admit we make better t.v. than they do. Take, for example, The Office and The Office. Which one is better? The American Office, of course, and we didn't even have to resort to our old trick of picking more attractive actors than they did.
Re: Lucky, because I can't seem to stop myself.
Date: 2007-09-14 04:01 pm (UTC)Well, see, I'm bisexual and I've noticed my interest swings radically either one way or the other. After Xena finished, the pendulum swung back in the other direction and has stayed firmly there ever since (which doesn't thrill Tery much, but hey, I yam what I yam).
Again with the cracking me up. If I ever do get inside the Globe, I sincerely hope you are accompanying me.
I'm going to skip your unhealthy obsession with timepieces comment since I've already addressed it elsewhere.
As good as Tery has been about watching Firefly, I don't see her ever being equally gracious about Buffy. All the demons and supernaturalness in that show go waaaaaaay over her line of tolerance (remember, she's mostly reality-based. I think Firefly is an exception because the characters are just so damn lovable).
Naturally I prefer the American Office, but if you looked at all the American shows over the past 5 years (more than that if you include Queer as Folk) that were stolen from British ideas, you'd agree it's kind of pathetic that no one on this continent seems capable of having an original thought.
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Date: 2007-09-05 08:20 pm (UTC)Glad you enjoyed your visit. My name is Alan btw. Not mr Ghostbusters. Although Venkman might be a cool name.
Come visit me over at MySpace:-
http://www.myspace.com/phillipjfry6
no subject
Date: 2007-09-05 09:08 pm (UTC)Nice to meet you (again) Alan. Though I'm afraid first impressions last the longest and in my head you'll always be Mr. Ghostbusters.
Cool MySpace page. I'm not on it unfortunately. Keeping up this page takes up most of my time!