I'm interupting the Roma posts to share an interview I came across. Enjoy.
Rick Steves stumps for pot
I don't condone the use of any illegal drug. Apparently my travel hero does.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Roma Day 2 Vatican Morning
I forgot to mention my Schiphol hero yesterday in the last blog. As they were unloading the plane arriving from Rome which I was waiting for to take to Rome, a truly dumb/extraordinary event occurred. As you are unloading off the plane, they make a lot of announcements about how Schiphol is a smoking free zone, except in designated areas, which are not outside the plane. There are very clear no smoking signs as you exit all over the ground coming off the stairs. It's not difficult. Have I mentioned that a lot of Europe is like the US in the late 80s, early 90s? They haven't gotten the message yet that smoking isn't cool and it will kill you (not that other things won't, but why do something you know leads to it?). Anyways, this guy gets off the plane, walks down the front steps, and proceeds to light a cigarrette, no less than 10 feet from where they are refueling the plane! I watched this happen, thinking, uhhhh, friend, your right to smoke is impeding my right to not die in a fire ball. Luckily just as I was saying my ending prayers, a bad ass woman (no other way to describe it) tackled the guy, pulled the cigarrette from his mouth and stamped it out. She then proceeded to yell all kinds of nasty things at him, point at the fueling in progress and ask him if he was stupid. He looked shocked and then yelled at her for costing him a cigarette. She responded by confirming to him that he was in fact stupid. She is my hero.
Ok, my Vatican morning awaits...
1. I got up relatively early and headed out to enjoy Rome while it was still quiet. It was serene to walk where I had been the night before in relative calm and enjoy monuments mostly to myself. I made the decision the night before on my hot date with Rick Steves to do most of Rome on foot as I felt like the metro was a useless 2 line mess that didn't run anywhere close to my hotel, so why not just hoof it. It was a great decision as I got to see a lot more of Rome on foot than I would have seen normally. And since I've built up my stamina, I only really got tired at the very end of the day. Score!
2. I walked first over what I thought was Pont Sant'Angelo bridge, but turned out to be the one before it. I got some great shots:
I'm not sure what the first building is, but that's on the opposite end of the bridge I accidentally went down. The second was my first view of St Peters. What a site. It also looks super far away, which made me second guess my decision to walk. Fortunately the walk was really pleasant along the river.
2. I also saw Castel Sant'Angelo:
I didn't go into the museum, but it looked great from the outside. During the years, it served as a mausoleum to the emperors, a refuge for the pope during sieges, a prison, and storage for the Vatican. It's on the list for next trip. RS gives it one pyramid, but from the description it sounds like it could easily be 2.
3. After rounding the Vatican, I rounded to St Peter's:
I'll get into this more later, but the whole Vatican experience was my first real experience with the sub-culture of Rome hawkers. I couldn't believe how many street vendors there were....I guess I didn't notice it as much at the Pantheon, but now that I think about it, there were a lot there as well. They are pretty aggressive, although most wouldn't follow you if you stayed focused and didn't make eye contact. I don't know who buys from them the junk they are selling, but PLEASE stop for the love! I don't want to see them starve and for the most part, it's not their fault. But what you are supporting when you buy from these guys is extremely questionable in nature. The wholesale of what they are selling is uncouth and most likely is connected to some type of organized crime. I didn't see anyone completing a sale....for the most part, these guys just ruin the ambience of one of the most historical cities in the world. Ok. Rant over. More on that later...this was not the first encounter with these vendors.
After arriving at St Peter's I decided to do the Vatican Museum first. Another interesting culture pops up on the way to the museum, which is a half mile from St. Peter's square. This culture is the fake tour guide culture, where anyone who knows how to use a printer will come up with their own "official" creditentials to get give you a tour of the museum. They are aggressive as well and numerous. I had 6 different woman yell from across the street at me "LADY, ENGLISH?". I didn't acknowledge...most of them probably give ok tours and probably help you skip a line somewhere, but again, who knows what you are supporting and how much they are going to charge you at the end. I didn't really care about the wait as I was really only expecting to do the Vatican on Saturday, so I was comfortable with whatever the wait was.
After turning the corner for the Vatican Museum, I was almost run over by 5 street vendors running in the opposite direction back to the square. I saw a police officer down the road, just having a relaxing stroll, which caused all this severe commotion. It was highly ineffective, because as I continued to walk, the police officer disappeared and all of the vendors slowly came back out to the sidewalk. I made it to the museum in relative peace. Thankfully, once you are inside, those trying to hawk a scarf and a guided tour don't go beyond the front entrance.
4. I expected to wait in line for an hour, at least. RS said that on a busy day, 2-3 hours even if arriving early. In actuality, I walked almost directly up to security (which proved a bit of a challenge with the money belt) and went right up to the desk, bought a ticket and I was in the museum in less than 10 minutes. Not bad! The museum has 4+ miles of art and artifacts, so I was content with just doing a fly through. It started with Egyptian artifacts and progressed through the ages up to Raphael and Michaelangelo, including the Sistine Chapel. Here are a few pictures/videos. I took the videos in some because I just didn't think the pictures did it justice (not that my videos do either).
Ok, my Vatican morning awaits...
1. I got up relatively early and headed out to enjoy Rome while it was still quiet. It was serene to walk where I had been the night before in relative calm and enjoy monuments mostly to myself. I made the decision the night before on my hot date with Rick Steves to do most of Rome on foot as I felt like the metro was a useless 2 line mess that didn't run anywhere close to my hotel, so why not just hoof it. It was a great decision as I got to see a lot more of Rome on foot than I would have seen normally. And since I've built up my stamina, I only really got tired at the very end of the day. Score!
2. I walked first over what I thought was Pont Sant'Angelo bridge, but turned out to be the one before it. I got some great shots:
2. I also saw Castel Sant'Angelo:
3. After rounding the Vatican, I rounded to St Peter's:
After arriving at St Peter's I decided to do the Vatican Museum first. Another interesting culture pops up on the way to the museum, which is a half mile from St. Peter's square. This culture is the fake tour guide culture, where anyone who knows how to use a printer will come up with their own "official" creditentials to get give you a tour of the museum. They are aggressive as well and numerous. I had 6 different woman yell from across the street at me "LADY, ENGLISH?". I didn't acknowledge...most of them probably give ok tours and probably help you skip a line somewhere, but again, who knows what you are supporting and how much they are going to charge you at the end. I didn't really care about the wait as I was really only expecting to do the Vatican on Saturday, so I was comfortable with whatever the wait was.
After turning the corner for the Vatican Museum, I was almost run over by 5 street vendors running in the opposite direction back to the square. I saw a police officer down the road, just having a relaxing stroll, which caused all this severe commotion. It was highly ineffective, because as I continued to walk, the police officer disappeared and all of the vendors slowly came back out to the sidewalk. I made it to the museum in relative peace. Thankfully, once you are inside, those trying to hawk a scarf and a guided tour don't go beyond the front entrance.
4. I expected to wait in line for an hour, at least. RS said that on a busy day, 2-3 hours even if arriving early. In actuality, I walked almost directly up to security (which proved a bit of a challenge with the money belt) and went right up to the desk, bought a ticket and I was in the museum in less than 10 minutes. Not bad! The museum has 4+ miles of art and artifacts, so I was content with just doing a fly through. It started with Egyptian artifacts and progressed through the ages up to Raphael and Michaelangelo, including the Sistine Chapel. Here are a few pictures/videos. I took the videos in some because I just didn't think the pictures did it justice (not that my videos do either).
I had no idea the amount of art and shear ornateness I was going to see at the museum. I started taking pictures way too early in the museum because it just kept getting more outlandish. By the time you finish in the Sistine, it's a bit disappointing because of everything else you have seen.
They don't let you take pictures in the Sistine as they just finished restoring it. The company who did the work added to the contract the picture clause, which I believe means they own the visual depiction rights to the chapel...which must be priceless. They were very serious about it. There must have been 400+ people in the chapel and there were at least 20 guards who once every other minute would yell "no pictures" and run to grab someone's camera to delete the image. It was a bit disturbing to the peace the place is supposed to represent. My favorite painting is the picture of God reaching out to man with the two hands almost touching, but not quite. It's a really small picture in the jumble of other paintings, but still incredibly powerful in the message it conveys about God's divinity, the Fall, and His grace to reach back through the divide to take us as His own. At least that's my humble interpretation. Picture stolen from another website:
Overall, I agree with RS giving the Vatican Museum 3 pyramids. In fact, I would go off the scale to 4. However, not being Catholic, I'm sure there were significances that I missed or wasn't particularly interested in. Catholics would probably give this a 5. Which brings up an interesting point. When the world looks at churches, I know a common conception is that most are nothing more than corporations hawking a brand. In fact, sometimes they are worse in how they use their money. I've seen churches with better technology equipment than what I use at work...and I work for a very well known international company. What used to get under my skin doesn't bother me nearly as much as seeing the shear wealth of churches I've seen in Europe. The priceless works the Vatican OWNS could feed a country of orphaned children in Africa. It could provide enough education to the entire continent of Africa to prevent the further spread of HIV. It could literally change the world. I think God must look down and wonder what we see that's so great in visual image of Himself created by a mortal man that we should turn our backs on the man standing in front of us in need. I don't get it. I guess I can see that the art and historical significance of the sight brings the world to the foot of the church, but not once did I see active evangelizing occurring or anywhere describing what the church believes. What a missed opportunity! People are paying to see your art...the very least you could do is share the gospel with them too! Maybe that oversimplifies the situation, but what I saw, while grand, in my mind stands in stark contrast to what we are called to do as Christians...Go and make disciples of all nations. Street vendor and CEO alike.
Goodness, I'm ranting a lot in this post. Apologies. Rome makes me over extend my vowels and rant apparently.
At the Sistine chapel, after observing for 30 minutes or so and people watching, RS said there would be a secret exit that would lead you into St Peters so you could avoid the line and second security station. He also mentioned that sometimes it was closed...this was one of those times. I wandered back to the entrance through more paintings, statues and about 200 gift shops, all selling 4000 different kinds of rosaries. Goodness...about to rant again. Resisting the urge. Let's just say, Jesus would have been turning up some tables.
After exiting, I found this great place RS recommended for a quick bite. I grabbed some Parma ham and pasta to replenish for the afternoon:
5. I then went back to the square through the gauntlet of vendors and unauthorized tour guides to get in the super long line for St Peter's. The vendors weren't bold enough to hawk in the line, but the tour guides were. It didn't take that long to make it to the front, but I did see one family give up and go with an unauthorized guide. They had a 3 year old, so not sure I could blame them. I wouldn't have brought a 3 year old, but if I had, I would have just let her run wild on the square. With one parent in line, you could easily have let her chase pigeons for the 30 minutes we were in line....she would have slept right through St Peter's then. Anyways, I grabbed this picture while waiting:
6. After making it into St. Peter's here's what I got on film:
Just incredible. I didn't realize how massive it feels until you get inside it. It's unreal.
This is one of 4 of Michaelangelo's Pietas - an image of Mary with the dead Jesus (not for long). This is the best sculpture I've seen. I couldn't believe how sad Mary looks, how dead Jesus looks and how much sorrow there is in this rock. I think it misses the reality of the good news to come, but to think about how dark and desperate those three days must have been, even with hope that He would return based on His previous words. It must have nearly killed Mary to see her son die in such a way, particularly a son she knew to be God as well. What a disappointment it must have been to hold the lifeless body of Jesus. And then what joy on Easter! Unfortunately, no Easter pictures...I couldn't find a great one with a depiction of Christ's resurrection.
The altar at St. Peter's where supposedly below, St Peter himself is buried. If it's true, wow. There's some archaelogical evidence to prove that at the very least, someone who was highly revered by popes just after Peter's death was buried there. However, who knows with the madness that was going on in Rome during the time of Nero. It's just as likely that the bones were some other poor soul who ran amuck with the Roman emperor and rumors were started like in the game telephone. I'm skeptical. The canopy over the altar is made of bronze. Also beneath, is the crypt, which I didn't go in, but apparently there are 100s of Popes from the centuries buried in there with well known Christian martyrs. I did see:
Which I believe underneath that painting is the internment of Pope John XXIII. I also saw, but did not take a picture of, the internment of Pope John Paul II. It's actually in a prett low key dark chapel off to the side with big iron gates in front. You couldn't see a lot, but he's in there with a huge picture of his favorite Saint (or so RS says)...St. Sebastian. I appreciated the simpleness of where he was placed, even if it's still in St. Peters. On the next visit, I'll go down to the crypt and climb the dome. I was saving my legs for my Ancient afternoon. I saw some Swiss guards as I was leaving. Love the unis!
Overall, RS did a good job on giving hints about short cuts and what to skip versus must see. The guided walk of St. Peter's was a bit of a mess to follow, but I wasn't in a rush, so I got there eventually.
Ancient Saturday afternoon/evening to follow!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Roma Day 1
Here's the recap of the first day in Roma:
1. I flew EasyJet again...it was much cheaper this time as compared to when I went to Milan because I booked 1.5 months in advance. Makes a huge difference. Easyjet is so simple...can't say enough great things about it. As long as you follow the baggage rules, they are really sensible. For just a weekend, my backpack works perfect.
Look who looks like a professional backpacker...this in the Rome FCO airport waiting for the Leonardo express:
There it is! Best way to get from the airport to city center...14 Euros each way, but totally worth it. Quiet and relaxing. I did end up sitting in a 4 seater with 3 Italian business men who weren't quiet, but it was fun to hear the vowels overly extended as they argued about whatever business deal was going down. Exciting stuff!
2. After arriving at Rome Termini, I chose to take a cab to my hotel. Here is the first monument I saw:
Cab was totally worth it...would have been a long walk and the city is like a crazy maze. I'm positive there are people lost in there who would love to get out but just can't find that one right street. The cab proved invaluable because it got me to my hotel in less than 10 minutes.
3. The hotel I stayed at was in a 500+ year old building just off of Piazza Navona. The hotel Navona Gallery and Garden Suites was discounted due to off season in November, so I got a great deal for the hotel in a really popular area. In general, I found November to be perfect for Rome. I think I got lucky - the weather was about 70 degrees during the day and 50ish at night...sunny the whole weekend, no rain. Thin crowds due to the offseason, albeit still a lot of tourists. Apparently it was much lighter than the summer. I wouldn't want to see it in the summer if that is "light". The doors to the hotel are pictured below, which came with a special key. In fact, the hotel reception gave me 5 keys for my stay. That freaked me out a bit as me and European locks don't get along well, but I never had an issue and I only had to use 3 of them. The room was perfect for a place to sleep and then get out early to the sights.
4. The first thing I did after throwing my bag down was grab the hotel map and take my small one with me to find the Pantheon and food. I'll be using Rick Steves to review this trip. I wore a money belt for the first time since moving to Europe, and I'm really glad I did. I'll get into that later, but I highly advise a money belt in Rome. It's the best way to be safe and there are plenty of reasons to feel unsafe in Rome, despite what the nice hotel reception will tell you.
5. I got thoroughly lost on that first trip out. I first found Piazza Navona, which was easy as I was one block off of it. Here's the statue/fountain in the middle:
6. I switched to my smaller map and back tracked a bit. Along the way, I found a liturgical shop:
Need a pope outfit? This place (and several others on the same street) can accomodate that. There was communion pieces everywhere as well and crosses, etc. Everything you need to outfit a Catholic church.
7. I found an oasis of Gelato and stopped to deal a bit with the hunger (not healthy, I know...but when in Rome). It was a taste of heaven. I then wandered into the Pantheon area and ate my Gelato sitting on the steps of the fountain in the square. Talk about perfect!
8. After I finished my Gelato, I took a few pictures:
Nice American couple took a picture of me in front of the Pantheon. I'm focusing on the hole in the roof...not sure what they do when it rains. I just don't get it. I also got the following video to show the immense size of the Pantheon. Be careful if you get seasick easily...probably not the video for you:
After visiting the Pantheon, I made my way back to the Piazza Navona. In the short walk (the correct way this time), I was called a pretty girl twice by random men, even though I always made sure to follow the crowds. First off random men, I am a woman. Second, yuck. Do you think that works in an age where people of my generation grew up knowing not to talk to strangers? Seriously misguided. Luckily, they didn't follow...all of them seemed relatively harmless...modern day casanovas.
9. After Piazza Navona browsing, I found that my RS book recommended a restaurant 3 doors down from my hotel. It was a little early for dinner, so I grabbed some Chianti at the wine bar right next to my hotel. See my hot date with RS planning tomorrow's adventure:
10. Then I wandered next door to the restaurant recommended by RS, called Ciccia Bomba, where I met an American couple about my age who were on their last day of an official RS tour. I had been wondering if his official tours would be mostly distinguished older people, however, they said that there are quite a few young people on his trips and even some singles. Something to think about...may mean I have less thinking to do when planning. But some of that is the most fun. Anyways, here's the obligatory food pictures that one must take when in Italy:
The food was great, the wine was good and the price wasn't bad. And it was crawling distance to the hotel, not that I needed to crawl, but I could have.
Day 2 and 3 to come this week. Those are infinintely more interesting, including seeing my first European protest on accident. Have a good night!
1. I flew EasyJet again...it was much cheaper this time as compared to when I went to Milan because I booked 1.5 months in advance. Makes a huge difference. Easyjet is so simple...can't say enough great things about it. As long as you follow the baggage rules, they are really sensible. For just a weekend, my backpack works perfect.
2. After arriving at Rome Termini, I chose to take a cab to my hotel. Here is the first monument I saw:
3. The hotel I stayed at was in a 500+ year old building just off of Piazza Navona. The hotel Navona Gallery and Garden Suites was discounted due to off season in November, so I got a great deal for the hotel in a really popular area. In general, I found November to be perfect for Rome. I think I got lucky - the weather was about 70 degrees during the day and 50ish at night...sunny the whole weekend, no rain. Thin crowds due to the offseason, albeit still a lot of tourists. Apparently it was much lighter than the summer. I wouldn't want to see it in the summer if that is "light". The doors to the hotel are pictured below, which came with a special key. In fact, the hotel reception gave me 5 keys for my stay. That freaked me out a bit as me and European locks don't get along well, but I never had an issue and I only had to use 3 of them. The room was perfect for a place to sleep and then get out early to the sights.
4. The first thing I did after throwing my bag down was grab the hotel map and take my small one with me to find the Pantheon and food. I'll be using Rick Steves to review this trip. I wore a money belt for the first time since moving to Europe, and I'm really glad I did. I'll get into that later, but I highly advise a money belt in Rome. It's the best way to be safe and there are plenty of reasons to feel unsafe in Rome, despite what the nice hotel reception will tell you.
5. I got thoroughly lost on that first trip out. I first found Piazza Navona, which was easy as I was one block off of it. Here's the statue/fountain in the middle:
I wandered around the Piazza for a bit before orienting myself on the map to head to the Pantheon. I checked the map every block, but still managed to get lost. I blame it entirely on the hotel map. It was worthless, except it had a bit more detail than the map I got in the Hague. Detail was in the wrong place, but it was more detailed. I did come across this church:
This is the Gesu Church, the headquarters of the Jesuits in Rome. However, not knowing what the Pantheon looks like, starving from no food since breakfast, probably slightly dehydrated and having a blond moment, I honestly thought that this church was the Pantheon...because I just couldn't imagine this place not being something GRAND. The inside is really neat...Baroque with huge painted ceilings. That was before I realized that everything in Italy is grand, with each site seemingly trying to out-decorate the next. I stopped to read RS and realized this was not the Pantheon and somewhere along the way I'd gotten horribly lost.6. I switched to my smaller map and back tracked a bit. Along the way, I found a liturgical shop:
7. I found an oasis of Gelato and stopped to deal a bit with the hunger (not healthy, I know...but when in Rome). It was a taste of heaven. I then wandered into the Pantheon area and ate my Gelato sitting on the steps of the fountain in the square. Talk about perfect!
8. After I finished my Gelato, I took a few pictures:
Nice American couple took a picture of me in front of the Pantheon. I'm focusing on the hole in the roof...not sure what they do when it rains. I just don't get it. I also got the following video to show the immense size of the Pantheon. Be careful if you get seasick easily...probably not the video for you:
After visiting the Pantheon, I made my way back to the Piazza Navona. In the short walk (the correct way this time), I was called a pretty girl twice by random men, even though I always made sure to follow the crowds. First off random men, I am a woman. Second, yuck. Do you think that works in an age where people of my generation grew up knowing not to talk to strangers? Seriously misguided. Luckily, they didn't follow...all of them seemed relatively harmless...modern day casanovas.
9. After Piazza Navona browsing, I found that my RS book recommended a restaurant 3 doors down from my hotel. It was a little early for dinner, so I grabbed some Chianti at the wine bar right next to my hotel. See my hot date with RS planning tomorrow's adventure:
10. Then I wandered next door to the restaurant recommended by RS, called Ciccia Bomba, where I met an American couple about my age who were on their last day of an official RS tour. I had been wondering if his official tours would be mostly distinguished older people, however, they said that there are quite a few young people on his trips and even some singles. Something to think about...may mean I have less thinking to do when planning. But some of that is the most fun. Anyways, here's the obligatory food pictures that one must take when in Italy:
Day 2 and 3 to come this week. Those are infinintely more interesting, including seeing my first European protest on accident. Have a good night!
Before the Rome Posts...A to Z Thankfulness
Last week was tough....Spending my first holiday away from family in Europe and it being Thanksgiving made it hard to remember how great this opportunity is and how much I have to be thankful. So as I sat at work, first time I've ever worked on a Thanksgiving, I had quite the unnecessary and silliest pity party of all time. Then I read the following blog, which reminded me how much I have to be thankful for. This family is members at my home church in Spring and they are dealing with an awful situation...their youngest of 6 has Stage IV Neuroblastoma. They spent Thanksgiving at Texas Children's, fighting a fever. Here are the blog entries that the dad and mom wrote about thankfulness:
Hickford Dad blog on Thankfulness
Hickford Mom blog on Thankfulness
If those don't get you tearied eyed, I don't know what will. Say a prayer for Jake. He needs all the prayers we can give for him...he has a long journey ahead.
My pity party ended after reading that. A British family invited me over for dinner, which was really nice. Homecooked food on Thanksgiving! Here's my A to Z of thankfulness for this year:
Advent season
Brother
Coworkers
Dad
Every time I make my tram...and those when I don't
Flannel pajamas
Girlfriends from ULC
Hague
Instant hot chocolate
Jesus
Knowing I'm going home for Christmas
London weekends (another coming up!)
Mom
Nice thick socks
Open grocery stores
Perfect size backpacks
Quilts
Rome weekend - especially when its warm!
Sweaters
Trinity Ablaze in Kenya
Upcoming weekend in Vienna
Very good umbrellas
Warm clothes
Xtra long nights
Yummy Dutch pancakes
Zebras to remind me of Kenya
Notice the focus on warm clothes! Happy belated to my American friends!
Hickford Dad blog on Thankfulness
Hickford Mom blog on Thankfulness
If those don't get you tearied eyed, I don't know what will. Say a prayer for Jake. He needs all the prayers we can give for him...he has a long journey ahead.
My pity party ended after reading that. A British family invited me over for dinner, which was really nice. Homecooked food on Thanksgiving! Here's my A to Z of thankfulness for this year:
Advent season
Brother
Coworkers
Dad
Every time I make my tram...and those when I don't
Flannel pajamas
Girlfriends from ULC
Hague
Instant hot chocolate
Jesus
Knowing I'm going home for Christmas
London weekends (another coming up!)
Mom
Nice thick socks
Open grocery stores
Perfect size backpacks
Quilts
Rome weekend - especially when its warm!
Sweaters
Trinity Ablaze in Kenya
Upcoming weekend in Vienna
Very good umbrellas
Warm clothes
Xtra long nights
Yummy Dutch pancakes
Zebras to remind me of Kenya
Notice the focus on warm clothes! Happy belated to my American friends!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
London Day 3 Afternoon/Evening and Day 4/5
Afternoon/Evening of Remembrance Day...
1. So after walking/standing for 6+ hours, I made an executive decision that the majority of my activities in the afternoon should be relaxing and some of them should involve food. I headed back to Trafalgar Square and took some more pictures from a different angle:
I then headed over to Leicester Square because I thought about seeing a third show. The square has the only official half price booth, TKTS London which I thought would be a good way of accomplishing relaxing in the evening. I checked the listings and they had pretty good seats for half price to Jersey Boys! Score! I took the deal and then tried to figure out what I was going to do before the show.
2. I found a place to do Afternoon Tea, which in the US we call High Tea. Here's a shot of what the before looked like:
The after:
I've never been a tea connoseiur, just like I'm not a wine expert. I know that box wines are not good and generally lipton/nestea is not high class. That's the extent of my knowledge. I don't know what they did to that tea, but it was the best tea I've ever had. I could tell the difference, big time. It was peppermint...so good. And I felt extra girly with the little sandwiches and snacks.
3. I then did a bit more shopping. I walked down Carnaby Street:
According to Time Out London, the Christmas decorations are themed after the Rolling Stones. I had the moves like Jagger down that street (groaaannnneerrrr).
4. I then walked around Soho, which was where Jersey Boys was playing. It reminded me of Montrose, except MMUUCCHH crazier. It was definitely the education of Lindsay. Case in point, I was walking to the theatre for the play and this guy abruptly stopped in front of me. I almost ran into him and had to go around. As I went past, I hear him ask some guys sitting at a cafe where to find gay people. The guys politely responded "Look around you man, they are everywhere! Go nuts!". It was a really eclectic part of town.
5. Jersey Boys was at Prince Edward Theatre, which was much like the Hobby Center as well. Huge seating capacity...not nearly as ornate as other theatres I had been to so far. Still really neat. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It's mostly about the music...they had a ton of hits. The show makes you leave whistling their tunes. I really enjoyed it. If I had to rank the shows though (gun to the head), I would rank it in order of what I saw: One Man, Two Guvnors; Billy Elliot, and Jersey Boys. Still worth it...I would do it again, no question.
6. After that, I knew I had an early morning for training the next day, so I headed back to the hotel, but not before stopping at Piccadilly Circus's famous statue:
That's me! An Irish couple exchanged a picture of them for a picture of me. Perfect!
7. Monday and Tuesday I had to work, but I managed to make it out on Monday night to Convent Garden for dinner with co-workers. Best Christmas lights I saw....I didn't get all the pictures I wanted because I was trying to appear cool with my co-workers and not super touristy. These pictures don't do it justice:
On Tuesday, I found Harrod's before I had to fly out:
I'm pretty sure someone cursed at me for taking this picture...but in my defense, I made sure I was out of the way and safely did it. I don't know if the guy was aiming his statement at me, but he definitely told someone they don't own the f-bomb road. I just smiled and kept going. No I don't own the road, but you also don't need to be in such a rush.
In general, I wasn't adequately prepared for how busy London is. I'm very glad I didn't choose London for my secondment. The Hague is so much better for my personality...calm and relatively slow paced (at least compared to London). However, I will not turn down more work trips to London. Great to visit. And there's at least 5 more shows I want to see. At least. The plan for now is for me to get to London once a quarter for work. Hopefully that materializes.
1. So after walking/standing for 6+ hours, I made an executive decision that the majority of my activities in the afternoon should be relaxing and some of them should involve food. I headed back to Trafalgar Square and took some more pictures from a different angle:
2. I found a place to do Afternoon Tea, which in the US we call High Tea. Here's a shot of what the before looked like:
3. I then did a bit more shopping. I walked down Carnaby Street:
4. I then walked around Soho, which was where Jersey Boys was playing. It reminded me of Montrose, except MMUUCCHH crazier. It was definitely the education of Lindsay. Case in point, I was walking to the theatre for the play and this guy abruptly stopped in front of me. I almost ran into him and had to go around. As I went past, I hear him ask some guys sitting at a cafe where to find gay people. The guys politely responded "Look around you man, they are everywhere! Go nuts!". It was a really eclectic part of town.
5. Jersey Boys was at Prince Edward Theatre, which was much like the Hobby Center as well. Huge seating capacity...not nearly as ornate as other theatres I had been to so far. Still really neat. Jersey Boys is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It's mostly about the music...they had a ton of hits. The show makes you leave whistling their tunes. I really enjoyed it. If I had to rank the shows though (gun to the head), I would rank it in order of what I saw: One Man, Two Guvnors; Billy Elliot, and Jersey Boys. Still worth it...I would do it again, no question.
6. After that, I knew I had an early morning for training the next day, so I headed back to the hotel, but not before stopping at Piccadilly Circus's famous statue:
7. Monday and Tuesday I had to work, but I managed to make it out on Monday night to Convent Garden for dinner with co-workers. Best Christmas lights I saw....I didn't get all the pictures I wanted because I was trying to appear cool with my co-workers and not super touristy. These pictures don't do it justice:
In general, I wasn't adequately prepared for how busy London is. I'm very glad I didn't choose London for my secondment. The Hague is so much better for my personality...calm and relatively slow paced (at least compared to London). However, I will not turn down more work trips to London. Great to visit. And there's at least 5 more shows I want to see. At least. The plan for now is for me to get to London once a quarter for work. Hopefully that materializes.
London Recap - Remembrance Day
Remembrance day recap...
1. I got up early and packed up my stuff to switch to my business hotel, Hilton Metropol. The Metropol is on Edgware Rd, near Paddington station. I took a cab again, because I wasn't really interested in dragging my suitcase up and down stairs. No way I can do that in some of those stops and I wasn't sure what the Edgware Rd. station would look like.
2. After dropping my bags at the bag check, I ran immediately to the tube to get to the Remembrance day festivities on Whitehall at the Cenotaph. I read online the night before that the queen/royal family lays a wreath as part of the ceremony so I jumped on the chance to see her. No issues on the tube, got to the right stop and followed the crowds to the right exit. I made it there at 8:30 and it was already packed. I went through security and then found a spot 3 rows back from where the action was happening. I thought I chose well behind a smaller woman and a kid on the front row, but around 10:00, 2 large men switched spots with them. They had to be at least 6'5". The ceremony started at 11, so at 10 I started staring at the back of jackets. I couldn't see anything. I began to think it wasn't worth it and should get out, but by the time I had that thought, it was too late. I was stuck in a sea of people with no hope of getting out. It gets pretty boring staring at the back of a jacket and your shoes.
3. I ended up watching the cameras that were held up to take pictures or video. I saw the queen on their little video screens. Here are the bbc highlights of what was happening 50 yards away from me:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15710473
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20285860
I'm somewhere in the crowd on the second video. Bonus points if you can spot me. I couldn't, but I guarantee I'm there.
Here are some pictures I took through the rare moments I could see around the jackets:
Most of the people in the crowd were wearing their British Legion poppy pins on their lapel. I bought one as well to fit in...made me feel very British.
I borrowed that picture from the Telegraph.
I took some video...some of these I actually got the parade, some I just shot my feet or the tree above me to capture the sound. Ignore the singing in 2 of them...I can't remember to stop singing when I have the video camera on. It was neat to sing Our God Our Help in Ages Past with a crowd like that...and I attempted God Save the Queen. I need to learn the words! Blogger's not working all that great, so I'll do another post with some of the videos referenced here.
After the official ceremony ended, the veterans present marched, were wheeled or used scooters to form the longest veterans parade I've ever seen. It was pretty cool. I couldn't get out at that point, so I just relaxed and people watched. They had veterans marching from every corner of the Commonwealth, so the uniforms were a sight just alone. Add in all of the band pomp and circumstance and it made for some very pleasant standing. What I didn't realize until after it was over was that I stood in one place for over 4 hours. I don't think I really understood how tired that was going to make me until I tried to move. My feet were like blocks of ice and dead to the world. That drastically adjusted my plans for the rest of the day. However, on the way out, I did catch the area where all the dignataries parked. I'm pretty sure I saw Boris, the mayor of London and I was able to grab a picture of the ambassador to Britain from Kenya:
I saw quite a few other ambassadors, just didn't take pictures of all of them. The building in the background was the Horse Guard's Parade, where they played beach volleyball for the Olympics:
I then followed the crowd to the WWII memorial:
I found the Churchill War Rooms, but the line was at least an hour to get in. After standing for 4 hours, I wasn't really up to standing in line. I didn't think it would do the place justice to be in pain while walking through, so I'm saving it for the next trip. I followed some more crowds and ended up on the opposite end of the mall from Buckingham:
I then got my own close up experience of the parade as a group of Marines marched back to Buckingham:
That summarizes my Remembrance Day morning activities. Another post for the rest of Remembrance Day....
1. I got up early and packed up my stuff to switch to my business hotel, Hilton Metropol. The Metropol is on Edgware Rd, near Paddington station. I took a cab again, because I wasn't really interested in dragging my suitcase up and down stairs. No way I can do that in some of those stops and I wasn't sure what the Edgware Rd. station would look like.
2. After dropping my bags at the bag check, I ran immediately to the tube to get to the Remembrance day festivities on Whitehall at the Cenotaph. I read online the night before that the queen/royal family lays a wreath as part of the ceremony so I jumped on the chance to see her. No issues on the tube, got to the right stop and followed the crowds to the right exit. I made it there at 8:30 and it was already packed. I went through security and then found a spot 3 rows back from where the action was happening. I thought I chose well behind a smaller woman and a kid on the front row, but around 10:00, 2 large men switched spots with them. They had to be at least 6'5". The ceremony started at 11, so at 10 I started staring at the back of jackets. I couldn't see anything. I began to think it wasn't worth it and should get out, but by the time I had that thought, it was too late. I was stuck in a sea of people with no hope of getting out. It gets pretty boring staring at the back of a jacket and your shoes.
3. I ended up watching the cameras that were held up to take pictures or video. I saw the queen on their little video screens. Here are the bbc highlights of what was happening 50 yards away from me:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15710473
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20285860
I'm somewhere in the crowd on the second video. Bonus points if you can spot me. I couldn't, but I guarantee I'm there.
Here are some pictures I took through the rare moments I could see around the jackets:
I borrowed that picture from the Telegraph.
I took some video...some of these I actually got the parade, some I just shot my feet or the tree above me to capture the sound. Ignore the singing in 2 of them...I can't remember to stop singing when I have the video camera on. It was neat to sing Our God Our Help in Ages Past with a crowd like that...and I attempted God Save the Queen. I need to learn the words! Blogger's not working all that great, so I'll do another post with some of the videos referenced here.
After the official ceremony ended, the veterans present marched, were wheeled or used scooters to form the longest veterans parade I've ever seen. It was pretty cool. I couldn't get out at that point, so I just relaxed and people watched. They had veterans marching from every corner of the Commonwealth, so the uniforms were a sight just alone. Add in all of the band pomp and circumstance and it made for some very pleasant standing. What I didn't realize until after it was over was that I stood in one place for over 4 hours. I don't think I really understood how tired that was going to make me until I tried to move. My feet were like blocks of ice and dead to the world. That drastically adjusted my plans for the rest of the day. However, on the way out, I did catch the area where all the dignataries parked. I'm pretty sure I saw Boris, the mayor of London and I was able to grab a picture of the ambassador to Britain from Kenya:
I saw quite a few other ambassadors, just didn't take pictures of all of them. The building in the background was the Horse Guard's Parade, where they played beach volleyball for the Olympics:
I then got my own close up experience of the parade as a group of Marines marched back to Buckingham:
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