We headed out to London around noon today. We got a taxi from RA's place to Virginia Water. The train goes from here into Waterloo station in London. We got a travel card, when traveling in a group of three it is significantly cheaper, £8.80. This includes the travel into London and also around London.
When we got into London we headed to the Tube and went to the stop near The British Museum. It is always great to walk through the Museum. I have taken some photos of different areas. Not much to say, just that you could spend weeks looking through all of the artifacts that are housed within the building. We spent around 2 hours walking around.
After having a spirited discussion about what we should eat we decided to YO SUSHI! Basic Sushi go round setup, it was good to have something like that. No raw fish, but standard fare other than that.
We then headed over to Oxford Street. Which is a very busy shopping street, they have created a "mass" crossing where you can cross in all directions. This was modeled after Shibuya, but it is like a lighter less filling version. Still is entertaining to cross the street on the diagonal. I stopped by a UniQlo, they do have sizes that are bigger than in Japan. We then went to Primark, which is like Black Friday all the time. The deals are really cheap, and people climb over each other the free the savings. We are planning on heading to Reading in the morning to go to a more relaxed store.
Time had escaped us, and we were running a little bit late for the evenings activity. We met up with one of RA's friends and her fiancee near the Tower of London. After a quick bite of Chips we went over to observe the "Ceremony of the Keys". This is the longest running ceremony of the sort around 700 years. Every night they lock the tower gates in a particular way. It is very cool and one should try to do it if you get the chance. Photography and Videography are not allowed during the proceedings.
It happens at 10 PM everyday and lasts six minutes.
After that we headed back to Waterloo, when we arrived there were probably over 2000 people sitting in front of the gates looking at the board. Someone had been killed by a train on another line and had stopped all train traffic. Got some coffee then ran and caught the train back. It was packed, not to the standards of the Yamanote line in rush hour but enough to make you uncomfortable.
After getting back to Virginia Water it was a quick taxi ride back. Almost 2 AM so I should be getting to bed.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Travel Day and First Full Day March 29th - March 30th
My computer got setup on the network today, so internet access is back. I did use Starbucks WiFi in Staines today, just had to enter the Starbucks Loyalty account number and free WiFi was at your finger tips. Anyways back to the last two days.
March 29th,
The flight which is direct into Terminal 5 at Heathrow went smoothly. I have gotten used to at least Economy Plus on United, so the legroom got tiring after a while. The food was alright and I did manage to get some sleep.
Immigration was a breeze there weren't many non European citizens so the line was very small. After going through Customs we met up with Ruth Anne. She had borrowed a car from one of her friends to pick us up. We went and picked up a cheap cell phone at Carphone warehouse. The phone was £3 and a loaded SIM card was 20. Amazingly cheap, the phone looks like a child's toy, but does what it needs to. There is no predictive text input, which can make for a sore thumbs if trying to enter a long message.
We then stopped at Sainsbury's with a Starbuck's inside. I have found that people give you a quizzical look when you speak to them in an American accent. The great thing about Starbuck's is that the quality is there and it tastes the same where ever you go in the world. We picked up a variety of different groceries.
After getting to RA's placed we dropped off the luggage and she went and dropped off the car. Then we went to her office and met a few different people walking around campus. She made Vegan chili for dinner, which wasn't too bad. The mixture of spices was good, and the meat replacement wasn't that noticeable.
We finished the night watching the England versus Ghana Friendly. England didn't put out its full strength team but was able to go up 1-0 at half. Ghana equalized in the 90th minute and the crowd was going crazy. Most of their fans had flown from Ghana just for the game.
March 30th
I woke up a few times, but finally got out of bed at 1000. This was because RA called the house and I heard it and jumped up to answer. We went in to visit and picked up the laptop. We then walked the "Monk's Trail" which goes from Thorpe to Chertsey, it was around 3.5 miles. The rain picked up a few times, but nothing compared to what went on last weekend in the Northwest. There is an amusement park that the trail borders on. Lots of screaming people enjoying the roller coasters.
We stopped at Chertsey and had lunch at Subway, which might seem like a weak choice. The toaster they had actually warmed the bread instead of burning it. Much better than getting a toasted sub in the US. We got it Takeaway and went to the train station.
It took a while to find the electronic ticket booth and buy tickets to Staines. The train ride was a nice break. It took around 30 minutes to make the trip. After using my phone to figure out which direction was correct we headed to the mall area to pick up some things. They had a street fair setup, hidden behind a tent was a beautiful site, Starbucks. After taking a break siting we went to a grocery store and then headed to the bus station. After waiting 30 minutes for the bus to arrive and 10 minutes for him to pull around to the stop. After riding the bus for 20 minutes we were back.
RA got off work a little early and made some broccoli soup. She and Mom headed off to do stuff on campus, and I walked down to the Post Office. Post Office's here are stores. A very lazy day all in all.
March 29th,
The flight which is direct into Terminal 5 at Heathrow went smoothly. I have gotten used to at least Economy Plus on United, so the legroom got tiring after a while. The food was alright and I did manage to get some sleep.
Immigration was a breeze there weren't many non European citizens so the line was very small. After going through Customs we met up with Ruth Anne. She had borrowed a car from one of her friends to pick us up. We went and picked up a cheap cell phone at Carphone warehouse. The phone was £3 and a loaded SIM card was 20. Amazingly cheap, the phone looks like a child's toy, but does what it needs to. There is no predictive text input, which can make for a sore thumbs if trying to enter a long message.
We then stopped at Sainsbury's with a Starbuck's inside. I have found that people give you a quizzical look when you speak to them in an American accent. The great thing about Starbuck's is that the quality is there and it tastes the same where ever you go in the world. We picked up a variety of different groceries.
After getting to RA's placed we dropped off the luggage and she went and dropped off the car. Then we went to her office and met a few different people walking around campus. She made Vegan chili for dinner, which wasn't too bad. The mixture of spices was good, and the meat replacement wasn't that noticeable.
We finished the night watching the England versus Ghana Friendly. England didn't put out its full strength team but was able to go up 1-0 at half. Ghana equalized in the 90th minute and the crowd was going crazy. Most of their fans had flown from Ghana just for the game.
March 30th
I woke up a few times, but finally got out of bed at 1000. This was because RA called the house and I heard it and jumped up to answer. We went in to visit and picked up the laptop. We then walked the "Monk's Trail" which goes from Thorpe to Chertsey, it was around 3.5 miles. The rain picked up a few times, but nothing compared to what went on last weekend in the Northwest. There is an amusement park that the trail borders on. Lots of screaming people enjoying the roller coasters.
We stopped at Chertsey and had lunch at Subway, which might seem like a weak choice. The toaster they had actually warmed the bread instead of burning it. Much better than getting a toasted sub in the US. We got it Takeaway and went to the train station.
It took a while to find the electronic ticket booth and buy tickets to Staines. The train ride was a nice break. It took around 30 minutes to make the trip. After using my phone to figure out which direction was correct we headed to the mall area to pick up some things. They had a street fair setup, hidden behind a tent was a beautiful site, Starbucks. After taking a break siting we went to a grocery store and then headed to the bus station. After waiting 30 minutes for the bus to arrive and 10 minutes for him to pull around to the stop. After riding the bus for 20 minutes we were back.
RA got off work a little early and made some broccoli soup. She and Mom headed off to do stuff on campus, and I walked down to the Post Office. Post Office's here are stores. A very lazy day all in all.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Fly day - March 28th
Time for another trip over the pond. I have used what I have learned from traveling to Japan for packing. Should be fun.
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
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