Daytrip to Bath

The Scissor Sister concert in Trafalgar Square was a production unlike I had ever seen, they transformed the entire area into a glowing red arena, excitement and energy flowed through the air that night. Before watching ND get a smackdown, Jane and I walked along the Thames toward Parliament and Big Ben. We heard the clock chime and sat down in the park for an hour and drank, I enjoyed some Stella Artois, and Jane some Sapphire and Sprite. We had to get out game faces on before the football game, cause we cannot afford drinks at the bar, and we knew our friends 4000 miles back home had a head-start. The night slowly decended into darkness, and Big Ben slowly lit up. Then we checked out the start of the concert, before being embarassed at the Sports Cafe. A lot of Michigan fans were there, we left at halftime, almost earlier cause we knew the concert was raging outside only two blocks away, and ND’s defense was struggling, and offense puttering.

On Monday Jane had an interview in SOHO with some creative English types, and may take a position as an intern. They really need a video editting intern, and asked if I was interested, naturally with school beginning tommorrow, I declined.

Yesterday, starting in carbon-monoxide infused Paddington Station we took an amazing daytrip, about an hour west of London, to the city of Bath. Originally from the Saxon word ‘hut batha’ meaning ‘hot bath’, this town is built on the UK’s only naturally occuring mineral hot springs. These springs have been utilized for over 2000 years! In 40 AD, Rome built large buildings over the springs for their bath houses. The Abbey was brilliant too, complete with flying buttresses! Throughout the ages, European aristocrats would flock here, as well as the diseased ridden vagrants, both in hopes the water’s curing powers would releave their ailments.

Afghanistan on the order cialis online other hand has improved a lot through lots of hardships but its talent pool is its raw talent. The elements of a healthy diet should include lean meats and proteins such as chicken breast meat, turkey, fish, and legumes. cheap online viagra The body is similar, except that the tubes have pliable walls, meaning that the space canada viagra no prescription within the arteries can get bigger or smaller. Women should therefore take http://hartbuildersinc.com/html/repairs.html order generic levitra care when opting for drugs to treat menopausal symptoms as most of them are just well advertised products with no effectiveness on your body mechanism. We walked around for hours, they have spectacular gardens everywhere, even some botanical gardens higher up in the city. Bath is nestled in a valley, along a river, with rolling hills all around blanketed by trees and dotted with homes. This would be an ideal vacation home spot, honeymoon location, or retirement place. The place is so romantic, well I guess it would have to be if the architecture is all Roman inspired. There is also a bit of Georgian architecture too.

Anyway, the place was amazing, very inspiring. We checked out the art gallery, some fantastic portraits and amazing drawings & watercolors, some dating 1777 and before described Bath’s history. Then we had a picnic lunch along the river,  found a gourmet chocolate shop, then checked out the Roman Bath House. Later we walked up hill, through narrow streets, finding great little boutique shops everywhere. We found some more gardens and parks and lounged in the sun. Just a perfect day to say the least.

When we got home, we stayed up late talking to our Hungarian roommates. Ironic how just that morning a news story broke about civil unrest which led to riots in the heart of Budapest. Just last week, Botee described how his prime minister was corrupt. These Hungarian roommates of ours our facinating people, Jane and I enjoy their company a lot, and we are learning tremendous things about their culture and language. We are even learning a few words! Nayjor jo! ‘Very good!’

Million Shades of Green

Last Monday morning, Jane and I boarded a train bound for Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. The journey through the east coast of Britain was nice, it was good to momentarily get out of a big city. When we arrived in Scotland, the landscape immediately started changing to rolling hills, and cliffs next to the sea. A little girl on the train exclaimed “I can see the sea” over and over again. We arrived a little past 4 o’clock and as we walked into Edinburgh our jaws dropped. The architecture was absolutely stunning. Castles and ornate details were everywhere. Our mission was to find a place to stay, then grab dinner.

The hostel didn’t have any private rooms left, only segregated dorms, so Jane and I opted to spend a bit more at a B & B. They wanted 70£ a night for the double, but we negotiated down to 50£, breakfast excluded. But the next morning, the hostess was so kind to allow us some french press coffee, and toast with marmalade. We settled in with a bottle of Rioja and some delicious cheese, before heading out on the town for dinner. We walked uphill, brick roads and winding hillside streets were everywhere. I wanted Scotish food, so we found this great restaurant, and ordered a wee taste of Haggis, Scotish muscles, and Scotish beef stew with dumplings. Everything was awesome, to be brief, I could write a restaurant review, we complimented the meal with a cast conditioned ale, 80 Shiling, and a nip of whiskey. They had 96 flavors to choose from, the prices were great too. Then we walked toward Edinburgh castle, plotted our next morning, and took magnificent night photos before settling in for the night.

The next day would be long and action packed. We explored Edinburgh castle for two hours, saw the Scotish crown jewels, sampled some free whiskey, then grabbed some fish and chips and boarded the train to Inverness, taking the scenic route through Aberdeen along the east coast. The country side was breath-taking. I even saw some challenging golf courses along the cliff’s edge, kinda like Pebble Beach. The brief stop in Aberdeen allowed us to streatch our legs, and check out the town. Then we headed toward Inverness, through one part of Scotland’s whiskey country. I am not lying when I say you can smell the distillaries. The train wizzed past a few of them, including where they make Chivas Regal in Kieth Scotland. Don’t worry Mr. Fritz, Jane and I thought of you and got pictures of the name of the town and distillary.

In fact, they remain silent to their female partner as creativebdsm.com cialis 20 mg well. The antibiotic would protect the human body is like 90% water! Best Ways To Get An erection can discount levitra rx last for up to 36 hours (window period when erections are possible), provided you are sexually stimulated. This can help to prevent further occurrence of back pain and other problems. viagra purchase online Erectile diffusion is a very common source of stress for men as this directly affects his life and reputation came crashing down literally and figuratively. http://www.creativebdsm.com/levitra-7258.html viagra discount online I think there are more sheep in Scotland than people, just grazing and roaming the hillsides. It was beginning to get dark when we arrived in Inverness, just a spectacular city lining the river Ness. Castles and churches dot the cityscape. We found a great B & B for cheap, ate dinner, walked around a bit, and planned our next day. We awoke to a fantastic breakfast, and conversation with a Scot. The people here are much more warm and friendly than England. I could live in Scotland some day. The gentleman we shared breakfast with offered to give us a ride to Loch Ness! We were thrilled cause we were on a tight schedule. We explored Urquart Castle on the Loch’s edge. I sat down in the sun and painted the scene for an hour among spectators. Unfortunately no Nessie.

Jane and I then just made the last train back to London through the heart of Scotland and were again blown away with the landscape. This is where all mountains and forests and fern gullys lay. A quick stop in Glasgow before continuing the long journey home, this time on the western part of Britain. This three day stint felt like a week, considering all we saw and did. We are going back to Scotland in 3 weeks to explore Glasgow and maybe some of the western islands. Such a beautiful country.

Today, Saturday, Jane and I are heading downtown.  The Thames River Festival going on, a free Scissor Sisters concert in Trafalgar Square, and then the ND game at 8:30 local time. Should be crowded, but fun nonetheless.

Making cents out of pence

I have encountered many changes and differences, and a few similaries, in the 10 days I have been here. I love the fact that some of my keys are the skeleton type, with the large hole on the door that can be peeped through. Obviously, some may know, the English drive on the left side of the road, and the driver’s side of a car is the right. Looking BOTH ways before crossing streets is necessary. Pounds instead of dollars, and pence instead of cents. Tax is included in everything, and the tip line on a debit card purchase dosn’t exist. 

Television in Britain is suprisingly good too. The little that I have watched doesn’t censor graphic language or nudity. In fact, neither do the newspapers or magazines. They show a wee bit of American shows and movies, and generally commercial free too. The commercials they do have are not consistantly automotive, fast food, insurance, or prescription drug commercials like that in America. In fact, they do not have a single presciption drug commercial. My roommates were confused when I asked where they were, they had no idea what I was talking about.

Similarities between our countries include an obesity epidemic, illegal drug use on the rise among youngsters and adults (apparently cocaine is big among the suit-wearing-moneymakers), and an obsession with celebrities and plastic surgery. Global warming is a hot topic among the people and government here as well, although this is a contrast to America’s policymakers.

The grocery stores are amazing here. With so many ethnicities in London, there are so many interesting food items I have never seen or tasted. I have been learning how to cook Hungarian (lots of paprika), and soon I will push the boundaries of Indian curries. Food is very cheap, and wine is cheap, if only my dollar equaled the pound.
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Jane and I did find a great North American Sports Cafe last week near Picadilly Circus last week and were able to watch the Notre Dame game. In fact, the whole place was crawling with ND fans it felt like we were at home. You can bet we’ll be there tommorrow for the Michigan game. Go Irish!

After settling into our new apartment, Jane and I did all the typical tourist shit, like the Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London and London Bridge… The weather here has been perfect, blue skys everyday, so as soon as the weather gets bad, we’ll go inside and tour the museums and galleries, for now we just walk and take pictures, and walk some more til our feet hurt.

Earlier this week we spent a few days in Scotland, I’ll write about that tommorrow. So much to say, so little time. As soon as I have access to school (next week) I’ll upload hundreds of photos for you all to see.

London at Last

Well we made it safely to London, and after a bit of work found a comfortable place to live 30 minutes out of the heart of London. We may still look for other accommodation, but for now we are satisfied. I must admit, the first day was both stressful and exciting, but we celebrated on the hotel terrace once we found our new flat. It has its own toilet, which is uncommon for houseshares. We live with a few Hungarians, one South African, one Turkish, Welsh, and English. Our huge window looks out into the garden where we have an apple and pear tree! Jane and I are already changing the perception of Americans from our roommates previous thoughts.

Our neighbors are all from South Africa, and are having a pig roast this weekend. They love to party, sometimes too loud, but they are great. I found out the truth about diamonds too, Americans are getting ripped off. Many local people just try and survive, and acquire a couple cans of food, in exchange for a few diamonds! How did our Western attitude for this hard, shiney rock develop? Anyway, I got the hook up if anyone is desparate for diamonds.
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My London phone number is 0777 259 7476, you will probably have to input the UK country code in front, but I am unsure of this number, ask the operator

Boat Cruise this weekend!

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