The Badly Written Blog: October 2014

Saturday, 25 October 2014

Aack!!

We arrived in London exactly 2 months ago today. We arrived exhausted and unable to check into our flat. We spent several hours roaming the streets of London, in the rain, feeling frustrated and completely unsure of everything.

In two months we've gotten used to our lives overseas and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our lease is up tomorrow and we start the next half of our adventure. It is almost impossible to believe that it is passing this quickly. Tomorrow, we head to Bruges, Belgium. We will be there for 3 nights, then Paris for 3 nights, 1 night in Bayeux exploring the DDay beaches, then driving to Lyon where we will reside from Nov 2 - Dec 29th.

We've spent the past two days packing up all our crap (we've accumulated a fair amount) and putting the flat back in it's original configuration. I believe that all four of us are in agreement that, if we hadn't already paid for our flat in Lyon, we'd stay in London for another 2 months. We've really liked it that much. However the next week, and the next 2 months are likely to be just as enjoyable. Or at least as much of an adventure.

In the past 10 days we've tried to pack in all of the various things that we hadn't managed to see yet. Time in Cambridge (a wonderful bicycle and punting tour), a few days in the Cotswalds and Stratford-Upon-Avon, and the Chislehurst Caves (totally cool--started by the Druids and used during WWII for up to 15, 000 people as shelter from the Blitz). We've also managed to pack in a few more shows, Matilda (really fun), Much Ado About Nothing (aka Love's Labours Won, a surprise hit with the kids), Charles III (a fun show about Prince Charles becoming king--totally pissed me off!) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (cancelled after the interlude b/c they couldn't raise the 'iron curtain' and we had to get a refund).

We've said goodbye to the London City Voices Choir, to the friends we've made (Iain/Clare and Andrea) the friends we know (Clay Sublett) and Engin from the little coffee shop down the road. It's a little sad, a little nerve-wracking and a lot exciting.

Picture time.

King's College at Cambridge. We saw Evensong here.

Cambridge is kind of pretty...

And the girls aren't too bad either.

Creepy Grasshopper clock in Cambridge!

When it chimes, it sound like chains falling in a coffin!

Our local coffee shop

Mezze pastrie table.

The Ingham's with our friend Engin.

Appolini. Pastry goodness filled with chocolate or lemon cream.

We came here every morning...

and were sad when they were closed on the weekends.

This place was cool. Chalk and flint mines started several hundred years ago and then used as shelter during the blitz. Up to 15k people lived in this maze of tunnels for 1p/day or 6p/week. It was really cool but also a very scary reminder of what people went through not that long ago.

Sunday, 12 October 2014

Greenwich

When you have the chance to stand in 2 hemispheres at once you should most definitely do so. We spent the day there recently and had a bunch of fun learning about time, telescopes, astronomy as well as discovering that there are parrots here! We were totally floored to see the trees filled with these large green birds. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting a decent picture. Might have had something to do with the birds and leaves basically being the same color.

In addition to the Royal Observatory, we looked around the Old Royal Naval Academy including it's beautiful Painted Halls--quite possibly one of the most extravagant dining halls ever. We couldn't take pictures of that but it was truly amazing. Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I were also born there.

We had a lovely chat with two police officers, and that's not a euphemism for anything. They were genuinely nice gents with some very helpful information including what all the cops call their traditional 'bobby' hats.

We had hoped to arrive in time to see the 'ball' drop. We weren't entirely sure what that meant, other than we knew that it happened at 1pm and was something we shouldn't miss. We did miss it. In part because our boat was a little late and also because we were looking for something much larger and closer to the river where it could easily be seen.

After all that fun, it was time to stand on either side of the Prime Meridian. You have to pay to go through the museum to stand where it says 'Prime Meridian,' which seems kind of silly considering you can line yourself up just about anywhere and have one foot in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. But if you don't pay you don't to stand in front of the cool sculpture or one the bronze line. We paid, and other than wanting to punch some obnoxious German teenagers who took way too much time, it was the highlight of my day. Yes, I do know I have a geeky streak.

After taking the above photo we went and touched a really old rock. Actually, it's a chunk of meteorite and is about 4.5 billion years old. I love that it's not behind some ropes or glass and that touching is encouraged. When I asked if we could, they looked at me like I was nuts and said 'of course, please do!' I love that!

Well now, it's been awhile, hasn't it?

I had such grand expectations of myself and this blog. I really envisioned writing at least once a week and having the girls write some of their own posts as well. Clearly that hasn't happened and I'm somewhat disappointed in myself, but I've lately taken to heart the idea that you can't change the past so there's really no point in worrying or complaining about it.

Given the opportunity, I would change many things about this trip, but it's been pretty remarkable and if we'd changed anything it just might have been less so. For instance, a flat slightly further away from the tube station and all it's construction and noise would have been nice. If we'd done that, we wouldn't have met Engin and Omer, the lovely gentlemen who own the shop where we get our coffee each morning. It's a bustling little place but they always take the time to chat for a minute and if we've gone for a couple of days they take notice and welcome us back. Sure, with the money we've spent buying cups of coffee, we probably could have bought a working coffee maker for the flat, but then we wouldn't have this daily bright spot. For a few moments each day we feel less like tourists and more like locals.

I might have made some changes last week to our various travels (Winchester, Stonehenge, Avebury, Bath and Plymouth). Mainly not waiting until the last minute to book things like hotels and train tickets. We might, after all, have had some better options than the Holiday Inn Express in Bath or the Citadel House in Plymouth. We potentially might have found rooms at the various cute guest houses littered all over both of those cities. I wish I could say something really amazing came out of staying in those places, but really it was just a learning experience. For example we have already booked everything for our next trip up to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

In addition to a learning experience, the mishaps lead to memories. After all, I'm sure we will always remember trying to admire Stonehenge while also desperately trying to stay warm-ish and somewhat dry. Nor will we forget getting to Avebury as the rain stopped just in time for us to wander among and touch the stones of its circle and hang out with a few grazing goats. Discovering a bed that is so unbelievably uncomfortable that the floor is a better option will stick with us for awhile. So too, will finding a gaggle of toga and roman gladiator clad women heading to a bachelorette party in the lobby of that same hotel. The really cool thing about this though, is that the 4 of us are doing it together and I think, for the most part, truly enjoying experiencing it as that unit.

Ok. Enough of that sappy stuff.

A little extra info about the travels. The girls and I got to explore the sights and streets of our sister Winchester city while Will was spending time at their University. We unfortunately forgot to get a picture of the 4 of us with the 'Welcome to Winchester' sign. Damn! From there it was off to Stonehenge and then it's larger cousin Avebury. Two nights in Bath, checking out the architecture and Roman baths then we were off to Plymouth. A little history, a really crappy aquarium, then back to home. Er. London.

Time for pictures, and there are a bunch!