Monday, January 17, 2011
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Travel Day
Another long travel day. Got to Heathrow around 3 hours before my flight left. After walking around the terminal for a couple of hours the flight started boarding, as I was in the back I was one of the first on, and therefore one of the last off.
I learned something interesting on the flight. The Union Jack is made up of three different flags. The flag of England (Saint George), Scotland (Saint Andrew), and Ireland (Saint Patrick).
Pictures
I learned something interesting on the flight. The Union Jack is made up of three different flags. The flag of England (Saint George), Scotland (Saint Andrew), and Ireland (Saint Patrick).
Pictures
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Windsor and Eton
Today's trip was very close to my sisters place. We went to Windsor, it took around 30 minutes to get there in the car. It was a very interesting tour and a very cool place to be. We were lucky to be there when we were because the Queens Apartments were open. They close next week to allow for the Queen to spend April in Windsor. After touring the grounds we went to Eton, which is just across the Themes from Windsor.
We went to dinner at another Thia place, I had a beef Curry.
Pictures
We went to dinner at another Thia place, I had a beef Curry.
Pictures
Monday, March 23, 2009
Stonehenge and Bath
Started out the morning with a quick bite and then we were off to Stonehenge. The drive only takes around an hour from my sisters house. As you come up to the stones you can see them directly off the motorway. The wind was blowing rather fiercely. I got in for free using my sisters card. I listened to every audio guide stop. It was so cold that by the time I got back to the gift shop, my hands were frozen. After warming up, it was back in the car to Bath.
Bath has the only hot spring in England. Back before things of that nature could be explained scientifically, it was of a godly nature. The Romans built a Bath house / Temple over the springs. During the collapse of their empire, they pulled back and this was forgotten, for 19 hundred years. The spring was used during various times since the house was lost. During the Georgian period it was a very popular spot to come. This built Bath into a really large town for visitors.
In 1981 during an archaeological dig, it was discovered that there was much more to this hot spring. They have dug up quite a bit of it now. It is really amazing and anyone to stop in England should make a point of coming to this Roman Bath. The water is green with algi, and is around 39 degrees Celsius, the pool has not been used and will not be used because of the lead pipes they used. A very interesting fact I learned was that the lead piping came from around 48 miles away from Bath. The really interesting fact is how it is tied to another extremely famous Roman City, Pompeii. The lead was taken from the same location and shipped to Italy to make up the bath house and drinking fountains there. It is interesting to see how organized the Romans were. The original Bath House was huge, and because of its hot nature it was also the site of a temple. The city of Bath was around 3 thousand residents back in Roman times, The city of Pompeii around 22 thousand, and yet the bath house in Bath is 3 times larger, it received many more visitors each and every year. They thought by visiting they could be healed. At then end of the tour they have a spot where you can drink some of the water, without the algi, a lot of minerals.
After that it was the drive back, we stopped in Staines but could not agree on which movie to see so we went for dinner at Nandos. It is a chicken restaurant, it was pretty good. Then it was back to her house for more reading and bed.
Pictures
Bath has the only hot spring in England. Back before things of that nature could be explained scientifically, it was of a godly nature. The Romans built a Bath house / Temple over the springs. During the collapse of their empire, they pulled back and this was forgotten, for 19 hundred years. The spring was used during various times since the house was lost. During the Georgian period it was a very popular spot to come. This built Bath into a really large town for visitors.
In 1981 during an archaeological dig, it was discovered that there was much more to this hot spring. They have dug up quite a bit of it now. It is really amazing and anyone to stop in England should make a point of coming to this Roman Bath. The water is green with algi, and is around 39 degrees Celsius, the pool has not been used and will not be used because of the lead pipes they used. A very interesting fact I learned was that the lead piping came from around 48 miles away from Bath. The really interesting fact is how it is tied to another extremely famous Roman City, Pompeii. The lead was taken from the same location and shipped to Italy to make up the bath house and drinking fountains there. It is interesting to see how organized the Romans were. The original Bath House was huge, and because of its hot nature it was also the site of a temple. The city of Bath was around 3 thousand residents back in Roman times, The city of Pompeii around 22 thousand, and yet the bath house in Bath is 3 times larger, it received many more visitors each and every year. They thought by visiting they could be healed. At then end of the tour they have a spot where you can drink some of the water, without the algi, a lot of minerals.
After that it was the drive back, we stopped in Staines but could not agree on which movie to see so we went for dinner at Nandos. It is a chicken restaurant, it was pretty good. Then it was back to her house for more reading and bed.
Pictures
London Day 4
We started out the day by heading to the Tower of London. My sister waited in a pub while I took in the tour. I went through it really fast, but I must say it was the coolest thing I have seen in Brittan. The Crown Jewels were especially cool.
After that we hurried to catch our "Flight" on the London Eye. It took around half an hour and I got some really good pictures. We headed over to were Big Ben sits and took some photos. An interesting fact is that the tower is not called Big Ben. Big Ben is instead the bell used for the clock. The tower is St. Stephens tower.
For lunch we ate at eat. Then it was on the train and back to Thorpe. The train ride took around 40 minutes. We caught a cab back to my sisters house. The cabby was very interested in hearing about the game the day previous.
After we got back my sister made dinner. It was decent, although I do not understand why anyone would want their soup pureed, it really is a crime.
Just hung around and read for the rest of the evening.
Pictures
After that we hurried to catch our "Flight" on the London Eye. It took around half an hour and I got some really good pictures. We headed over to were Big Ben sits and took some photos. An interesting fact is that the tower is not called Big Ben. Big Ben is instead the bell used for the clock. The tower is St. Stephens tower.
For lunch we ate at eat. Then it was on the train and back to Thorpe. The train ride took around 40 minutes. We caught a cab back to my sisters house. The cabby was very interested in hearing about the game the day previous.
After we got back my sister made dinner. It was decent, although I do not understand why anyone would want their soup pureed, it really is a crime.
Just hung around and read for the rest of the evening.
Pictures
Saturday, March 21, 2009
London Day 3 and an unexpected victory.
We got up a little early to check out Borough Market. We spent around an hour walking around the market and sampling a few different food items. After stopping at a Starbucks it was back to Oxford Street to do a little shopping.
We got back to the hotel and dropped off our stuff and then headed out for a quick bite of lunch. We then took the Tube to Putney Bridge and started the walk in to watch another Football Match. This match was against Manchester United, they are the reigning champs of the league and currently are on top. In the previous two games they beat Fulham 3-0 and more recently 4-0. They had been tabbed as unbeatable, but whenever that label hangs over you it is a harbinger of doom. They lost embarrassingly to the team that is in third place last week 4-1. So there was a concern going into the game that they would use it as a bounce back and really go for the jugular.
The match started out with the crowd being fired up even with the apparent trashing coming. It was excellent footballing on both sides. The first goal was in the 18th minute. It was the result of a penatly kick, after a player was red carded and left the game. The odds were starting to tip in the favor of the Whites. There were many more attempts on both goals but no further scores in the first half. After half it seemed like the Red Devils were playing with a bit of fire. They had many more shots on goal than the Whites. But in the 80th minute Rooney received a Red card and left the pitch punching the flag at the corner of the field. Man U was down to 9 men, and FFC was up 1-0. At that point the stadium started to get crazy, nobody sat down. It was like a proper College Football Game for electricity. Another goal was scored by a sub in the 87th minute and for the first time in 45 years Fulham beat Man U at Craven Cottage. Everybody was ecstatic on the way out. We had to wait in queues to get on the train. We went to Hell pizza for dinner, still not bread sticks, no wonder a tiny group of colonies was able to defeat them.
Then it was off to see the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Very interesting, no pictures allowed by they have been doing the same thing for almost 800 years now. They don't remember why they started but they keep on doing it at the same time every night. 6 minutes to 10 finishing at 10 pm.
Pictures
We got back to the hotel and dropped off our stuff and then headed out for a quick bite of lunch. We then took the Tube to Putney Bridge and started the walk in to watch another Football Match. This match was against Manchester United, they are the reigning champs of the league and currently are on top. In the previous two games they beat Fulham 3-0 and more recently 4-0. They had been tabbed as unbeatable, but whenever that label hangs over you it is a harbinger of doom. They lost embarrassingly to the team that is in third place last week 4-1. So there was a concern going into the game that they would use it as a bounce back and really go for the jugular.
The match started out with the crowd being fired up even with the apparent trashing coming. It was excellent footballing on both sides. The first goal was in the 18th minute. It was the result of a penatly kick, after a player was red carded and left the game. The odds were starting to tip in the favor of the Whites. There were many more attempts on both goals but no further scores in the first half. After half it seemed like the Red Devils were playing with a bit of fire. They had many more shots on goal than the Whites. But in the 80th minute Rooney received a Red card and left the pitch punching the flag at the corner of the field. Man U was down to 9 men, and FFC was up 1-0. At that point the stadium started to get crazy, nobody sat down. It was like a proper College Football Game for electricity. Another goal was scored by a sub in the 87th minute and for the first time in 45 years Fulham beat Man U at Craven Cottage. Everybody was ecstatic on the way out. We had to wait in queues to get on the train. We went to Hell pizza for dinner, still not bread sticks, no wonder a tiny group of colonies was able to defeat them.
Then it was off to see the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Very interesting, no pictures allowed by they have been doing the same thing for almost 800 years now. They don't remember why they started but they keep on doing it at the same time every night. 6 minutes to 10 finishing at 10 pm.
Pictures
Friday, March 20, 2009
London Day 2
Slept in a little bit this morning. On the way to the Tube we found a Starbucks for breakfast. We first went to Kensington Gardens and walked past Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived when she died. We walked through the park and into Hyde Park. There was nobody at Speakers Corner for debating with today.
We walked through Oxford Street stopping in a few shops along the way. We ended up at the British Museum, where I spent around 2 hours walking around looking at the different exhibits. All the stolen history, but it does come in handy when you are the only world power of that day.
My sister was getting a headache so she headed back to the hotel. I set out to find Greenwich. It took around 30 minutes to ride the Tube and DLR lines out there. I walked around the dock area and then headed up to the Royal Observatory. The Museum was closed by the time I got up there but I did take a photo of the clock right outside the gates.
I started to make my way back to the hotel when my sister sent me a text. We met up at West Kensington stop and went to 222. It is a vegan restaurant, I refuse to eat anything that is supposed to taste like meat. So I had a curry instead, it was decent. I had a chocolate cake for desert, which was good.
We hopped back on the Tube and headed to St. Pauls Church and then walked across the Millennium Bridge. When the bridge was opened it had to be shut down the first day because it was moving so much in the wind. We walked and found the Golden Hind and then went to London Bridge Tube stop. After a quick stop at a grocery store it was time for bed.
Pictures
We walked through Oxford Street stopping in a few shops along the way. We ended up at the British Museum, where I spent around 2 hours walking around looking at the different exhibits. All the stolen history, but it does come in handy when you are the only world power of that day.
My sister was getting a headache so she headed back to the hotel. I set out to find Greenwich. It took around 30 minutes to ride the Tube and DLR lines out there. I walked around the dock area and then headed up to the Royal Observatory. The Museum was closed by the time I got up there but I did take a photo of the clock right outside the gates.
I started to make my way back to the hotel when my sister sent me a text. We met up at West Kensington stop and went to 222. It is a vegan restaurant, I refuse to eat anything that is supposed to taste like meat. So I had a curry instead, it was decent. I had a chocolate cake for desert, which was good.
We hopped back on the Tube and headed to St. Pauls Church and then walked across the Millennium Bridge. When the bridge was opened it had to be shut down the first day because it was moving so much in the wind. We walked and found the Golden Hind and then went to London Bridge Tube stop. After a quick stop at a grocery store it was time for bed.
Pictures
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