Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
My first full day of London
Today was my first full day of my first London experience. Dad and I called it quits somewhat early last night so we could wake up early and do a lot of touring today and that we did. Originally we were going to go to a football match today ( Tottenham vs. Bolton ), but it ended up getting rescheduled for tomorrow, which is a problem because I have plans to go to another game tomorrow with my friend Marissa ( a friend I made two years ago during the World Cup in Germany ). So instead, we made the best of the situation and did a lot of touring and walked a ton.
8:36am
Woke up a little while ago and just got ready. Dad and I are heading out to go get a cup of coffee in some old crypts beneath the Church of St. Martin In The Field which is located at Trafalgar Square.
11:50am
Now at the London Eye. After eating a breakfast that consisted of ham and cheese and unflavored yogurt ( which I did not eat ) in the crypts there, we continued on to Westminster Abbey which is a monstrous cathedral that has seen some of the most important gatherings in Great Britain's history and is the burial place of kings and queens. There are many other notable English men and women buried there. Dads favorite is Charles Darwin, owner of the Darwin theory. There are many rooms with ridiculously ornate metal and stone work. Quite breathtaking.
12:00pm
Just got on the London eye. Great views of London in every direction.
12:24
Just got off the eye. We will now go to the antique market that dad is so excited about in an area that is apparently rich with pick pocketers so we have our wallets in our front pockets.
1:16pm
Just got off the tube and about to go to Portabello market.
2:00pm
Immersed in Portobello Market which is a very long street of outdoor stands with little trinkets and food. There are tons of people and tons of little treasures that would take days to go through entirely. I split up from dad and we are meeting back up where we started at 2:30. I understand now why Dad likes this place so much. It's literally almost a mile of little stands of old antiques and little trinkets and jewelry.
2:48pm
Just had to stop at a McDonalds to pee and the urinals were filled to the brim with ice cubes. Never had to pee on ice cubes before.
3:24pm
At the British Museum. A glorified building of theft. The Rosetta Stone is here and I saw it but I don't understand how you can learn any language you want in under three months by looking at that thing. Michael phelps is a bullshitting liar. There are some axes or cutting stones here that date back to over a million years ago. Carbon dating is cool. I wish I invented that.
4:45pm
Back at Trafalgar Square and going to the National Gallery to look at some artsy paintings from world famous artists. It looks like it's going to rain.
6:22pm
Back at the hotel. Resting up for dinner at the Tate Modern at 9. My feet hurt a little from non stop walking all day. Right now I am laying down sipping a REAL budweiser. ( from Czech ) and watching Sky Sports News. Tomorrow I am going to the Arsenal game with Marissa. Should be a blast. Dad is looking at his chachkas he bought at portobello today. He bought me an antique police whistle. Pretty sweet. Anyways. Resting time. More later.
8:04pm
Dad and I just sat down at an outdoor Cafe called Cafe Birra in Covent Garden. Dad decided he was too tired to go to the Tate Modern for dinner so we just walked to Covent Garden which is a block away. Our table is situated right next to a flame tower that is supposedly there to keep us warm, but it's not doing much. The fact that we are able to sit outdoors and that it's almost November is really cool though. Better yet, there is a huge crowd watching a guy in a pink thong juggle on a unicycle in the plaza. How fun. More in a bit.
8:10pm
Now the guy in the plaza has a chainsaw. A guy in a pink thong revving a chainsaw.
8:42pm
Dad is having a in depth conversation with a lady from Finland named Anu about the effect that the US has on the rest of the world. She is not being quite understanding.
8:46pm
Ok now she is being understanding. All you have to say is that Bush is the problem and people like you. I've got this figured out.
9:17pm
For the first time in my life I have heard someone say. I'm going to have a fag ( cigarette ). People really say this. Amazing.
9:27pm
The Finnish woman is hitting on me. She is telling me I have nice thighs. It has come to Dad and my realization that this girl is somewhat drunk because she says how lovely my Dad and I are after every other sentence. I have deduced that she is a 37 year old Finnish nurse who lives with her Chinese partner just outside of London.
9:38pm
The three Fins have left us and a new couple from just outside of London just sat down. I started up a conversation explaining to them what my Dad and I just went through with the Fins and they told me that Fins usually come here / western Europe to get alcohol because alcohol is so expensive in Finland. This explains a lot.
2:39am
On my way home, a guy just asked me which way the river was. Drunkenly. I told him I think it is this way I don't know. He says alright I don't want to see you anymore. This is funny to me.
8:36am
Woke up a little while ago and just got ready. Dad and I are heading out to go get a cup of coffee in some old crypts beneath the Church of St. Martin In The Field which is located at Trafalgar Square.
11:50am
Now at the London Eye. After eating a breakfast that consisted of ham and cheese and unflavored yogurt ( which I did not eat ) in the crypts there, we continued on to Westminster Abbey which is a monstrous cathedral that has seen some of the most important gatherings in Great Britain's history and is the burial place of kings and queens. There are many other notable English men and women buried there. Dads favorite is Charles Darwin, owner of the Darwin theory. There are many rooms with ridiculously ornate metal and stone work. Quite breathtaking.
12:00pm
Just got on the London eye. Great views of London in every direction.
12:24
Just got off the eye. We will now go to the antique market that dad is so excited about in an area that is apparently rich with pick pocketers so we have our wallets in our front pockets.
1:16pm
Just got off the tube and about to go to Portabello market.
2:00pm
Immersed in Portobello Market which is a very long street of outdoor stands with little trinkets and food. There are tons of people and tons of little treasures that would take days to go through entirely. I split up from dad and we are meeting back up where we started at 2:30. I understand now why Dad likes this place so much. It's literally almost a mile of little stands of old antiques and little trinkets and jewelry.
2:48pm
Just had to stop at a McDonalds to pee and the urinals were filled to the brim with ice cubes. Never had to pee on ice cubes before.
3:24pm
At the British Museum. A glorified building of theft. The Rosetta Stone is here and I saw it but I don't understand how you can learn any language you want in under three months by looking at that thing. Michael phelps is a bullshitting liar. There are some axes or cutting stones here that date back to over a million years ago. Carbon dating is cool. I wish I invented that.
4:45pm
Back at Trafalgar Square and going to the National Gallery to look at some artsy paintings from world famous artists. It looks like it's going to rain.
6:22pm
Back at the hotel. Resting up for dinner at the Tate Modern at 9. My feet hurt a little from non stop walking all day. Right now I am laying down sipping a REAL budweiser. ( from Czech ) and watching Sky Sports News. Tomorrow I am going to the Arsenal game with Marissa. Should be a blast. Dad is looking at his chachkas he bought at portobello today. He bought me an antique police whistle. Pretty sweet. Anyways. Resting time. More later.
8:04pm
Dad and I just sat down at an outdoor Cafe called Cafe Birra in Covent Garden. Dad decided he was too tired to go to the Tate Modern for dinner so we just walked to Covent Garden which is a block away. Our table is situated right next to a flame tower that is supposedly there to keep us warm, but it's not doing much. The fact that we are able to sit outdoors and that it's almost November is really cool though. Better yet, there is a huge crowd watching a guy in a pink thong juggle on a unicycle in the plaza. How fun. More in a bit.
8:10pm
Now the guy in the plaza has a chainsaw. A guy in a pink thong revving a chainsaw.
8:42pm
Dad is having a in depth conversation with a lady from Finland named Anu about the effect that the US has on the rest of the world. She is not being quite understanding.
8:46pm
Ok now she is being understanding. All you have to say is that Bush is the problem and people like you. I've got this figured out.
9:17pm
For the first time in my life I have heard someone say. I'm going to have a fag ( cigarette ). People really say this. Amazing.
9:27pm
The Finnish woman is hitting on me. She is telling me I have nice thighs. It has come to Dad and my realization that this girl is somewhat drunk because she says how lovely my Dad and I are after every other sentence. I have deduced that she is a 37 year old Finnish nurse who lives with her Chinese partner just outside of London.
9:38pm
The three Fins have left us and a new couple from just outside of London just sat down. I started up a conversation explaining to them what my Dad and I just went through with the Fins and they told me that Fins usually come here / western Europe to get alcohol because alcohol is so expensive in Finland. This explains a lot.
2:39am
On my way home, a guy just asked me which way the river was. Drunkenly. I told him I think it is this way I don't know. He says alright I don't want to see you anymore. This is funny to me.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Hello London
This is my first time coming to London and staying in the city itself so I am pretty excited. Every other time I've been, it's only been for an hour or two as a stop over in Heathrow Airport. This time, however, I am staying with my Dad on the Strand at the Stand Palace Hotel. During this trip I will be keeping notes in my iPhone as a form of documenting this trip and instead of creating a post for each note I write, I will just include them on a post per day basis.
6:00am
Cab just picked us up from 50. Man it's early, but knowing that I'll be in London in several hours is enough motivation to get me going. I need a coffee and a bagel.
8:20am
Buckled up in my seat on the airplane and in line for take off.
1:39pm (Boston) / 6:39pm (London)
Just about 25 minutes until we land in London. Pretty good flight overall. I watched most of Get Smart ( fell asleep halfway through ) and all of In Bruges. Had two pretty decent meals and listened to a bunch of music that I had my buddy Nate put onto my iPod.
7:21pm
Just got off the plane.
7:39pm
What is it with airports and terrible smelling people?
8.28pm
On the underground on the Picadilly line to Cockfosters. Haha.
9:30pm
Dad and I got to the hotel about 20 minutes ago and are now heading out to explore. The hotel is pretty nice. Our room is kind of small though and the faucet has a different spout for hot and cold. Minney would fail miserably at this.
10:56pm
At a Mexican restaurant ( most expensive ever ) in Leicester square. I am very hungry. Dad is writing a postcard. We've been here for two hours and he's already bought about 20. We just walked across the River Thames to see the London eye and then walked west on the southern bank to the next bridge which brought us to Parliament and Big Ben. Pretty cool stuff. One of the funnier things that I forgot about and am assuming everyone else forgets about is that the roads are switched. Every crosswalk has a reminder painted on the ground to "look right" or "look left". Silly britains and their unorthodox driving.
6:00am
Cab just picked us up from 50. Man it's early, but knowing that I'll be in London in several hours is enough motivation to get me going. I need a coffee and a bagel.
8:20am
Buckled up in my seat on the airplane and in line for take off.
1:39pm (Boston) / 6:39pm (London)
Just about 25 minutes until we land in London. Pretty good flight overall. I watched most of Get Smart ( fell asleep halfway through ) and all of In Bruges. Had two pretty decent meals and listened to a bunch of music that I had my buddy Nate put onto my iPod.
7:21pm
Just got off the plane.
7:39pm
What is it with airports and terrible smelling people?
8.28pm
On the underground on the Picadilly line to Cockfosters. Haha.
9:30pm
Dad and I got to the hotel about 20 minutes ago and are now heading out to explore. The hotel is pretty nice. Our room is kind of small though and the faucet has a different spout for hot and cold. Minney would fail miserably at this.
10:56pm
At a Mexican restaurant ( most expensive ever ) in Leicester square. I am very hungry. Dad is writing a postcard. We've been here for two hours and he's already bought about 20. We just walked across the River Thames to see the London eye and then walked west on the southern bank to the next bridge which brought us to Parliament and Big Ben. Pretty cool stuff. One of the funnier things that I forgot about and am assuming everyone else forgets about is that the roads are switched. Every crosswalk has a reminder painted on the ground to "look right" or "look left". Silly britains and their unorthodox driving.
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