November 23, 2009 - Arrive in Britain and Pub Crawl

List of the pubs we visited:

• Black Friar
• The Cockpit
• Ye Old Cheshire Cheese
• Seven Stars
• The Mitre Tavern
• Cittie of Yorke

What a way to start off London!
We arrived and napped, of course - our wake up call didn't ring so we slept until 4 pm. Oh well. We got ready and headed off on our first Tube adventure - with no problems. We decided to stop at Starbucks to grab a coffee and a quick bite, because Gaily warned us of the potency of British Brew.

We were to meet Rob at the Black Friar's and he would be in a rugby uniform. I was expecting a young, handsome guy and um, Rob was not what I was expecting. (like 50ish, graying and quiet) But, he was fun...once I was able to understand what he was saying! :)

He took us to some super cool pubs off the beaten path. We got to talk with some locals, and I was really surprised at how many people have been to the Niagara Falls area! Buffalo wasn't as unheard of as I thought it would be. The folks we met on the pub crawl were so warm and friendly and all had awesome reccommendations on things we should see and do while we were in town. I only wish we had more time here!

The beer taps are super cool - I took pictures of them. Pretty ornate handles, and huge arch that is pumped slowly. I talked with one of the bartenders and she was super cool. She introduced me to the most amazing drink ever - a Spider Bite. It's Hard Cider (on tap) mixed with raspberry or blackberry schnapps. SO GOOD!!!

We asked to be taken to pubs that had historical significance (and good beer). I could see just doing a vacation visiting pubs! The one pub was "rebuilt" in 1667! How cool is that!? I have to look into this great fire of 1666 that destroyed London. It plays a significant part in England's history and I am intrigued.

Well, I guess that's all for today. More later!

November 22, 2009

It's been so long since I've had a long layover that I forgot how much I hate them.

I ventured over to the food court for some non-exciting and definitely over priced lunch. But at least I won't be ravenous in DC!

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. But I am happy that I came in a day early. It would have been way too stressful tomorrow to fly from Buffalo - DC - London. I'm having flashbacks from Italy and being up for 24 hours on the return flight home. (And getting sick to my stomach thanks to turbulence!)

Lina and I have joked around about our ability to travel well, on the cheap. Someone had asked me if we were staying in hovel type places, and I laughed. I'm happy that we have figured out how to travel well, but inexpensively. However, I really need to figure out how to get upgraded to Business Class!

As I sit in the new T5 Jetblue terminal - their new HOME they have these desk terminals and you can order food from a computer screen and have it delivered directly to you as you sit at the terminal plugged in. No wonder Americans are so fat and unhealthy - we eat nothing but highly processed and fried foods and can't even get off our asses to go get it! :)

I think my New Year's resolution will be to get off my ass!

I'm trying to figure out what self-discovery this journey will bring. I'm so excited to be traveling again. If only I could get someone to pay pay me to do this.

More later!

La Tour Eiffel

The iconic Eiffel Tower. The mos recognized representation of France. Before I ascend, I needed to know how you came to be...

The Eiffel Tower is a 19th century iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is the single most visited paid monument in the world; millions of people ascend it every year. Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the tower was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair.

The tower stands at 324 m (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-story building. It was the tallest structure in the world from its completion until 1930, when it was eclipsed by the Chrysler Building in New York City. Not including broadcast antennas, it is the second-tallest structure in France, behind the Millau Viaduct, completed in 2004. And while the Eiffel Tower is a steel structure, and weighs approximately 10,000 tonnes, it actually has a relatively low density, weighing less than a cylinder of air occupying the same dimensions as the tower.

The tower has three levels for visitors. Tickets can be purchased to ascend either on stairs or lifts to the first and second levels. The walk to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level. The third and highest level is only accessible by lift. Both the first and second levels feature restaurants.

The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France. The tower is a featured part of the backdrop in literally scores of movies that take place in Paris. Its iconic status is so established that it even serves as a symbol for the entire nation of France, such as when it was used as the logo for the French bid to host the 1992 Summer Olympics.

High Tea

Ah tea. My winter respite.
While I totally love my coffee, I completely appreciate tea.

Lina and I are planning on having tea while in England...well, duh!

So, the history - Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.

Where shall we tea? http://www.fortnumandmason.com/
They have these super cool things called hampers. For more than 300 years, the Fortnum's hamper has been an iconic part of the British Christmas. Filled to bursting with a peerless selection of food and drink, each hamper provides a different kind of feast. From the Christmas Feast Hamper to High Tea Treats, there is a Fortnum’s hamper for everyone.

SO COOL! Baskets full of food. I like England already! :)

Georges a Seis

Just in case you don't hate us enough already....we are staying here for FREE!
http://www.princedegallesparis.com/

7 days

Where oh where have the summer and fall gone? I am so not prepared to leave in a week.
I snuggled on my couch today, laptop on lap to dig around and make a list of the things I want to do in London.

Our first night we have signed up for a pub crawl, which should be a BLAST!
We then plan to do the Tower of London and Red Bus Tour.
High tea, Harods, Changing of the Guard, Theatre, oh, yes, and PARIS!!
That is right, Lina and I will be staying (for free) at the Prince de Galles in the heart of Paris for a night. We have dubbed it the Georges a Seis (for those of you who love French Kiss - it's right next door to the Georges V) OMFG!!!!!

Dickens, Victorian Christmas, Harry Potter, Big Ben Parliament, London Bridge is falling down!
I feel like I can actually start to get excited. It seemed too far away, and I didn't want to wish my days away - but NOW I can TOTALLY get excited.

Italy was such a different trip and experience - one that was ingrained the moral fiber of my being. It was a journey of self discovery and a trip to answer questions about myself.

This trip - while I always knew I would eventually get to London/Paris - I cannot actually believe we are going!

Lina said it was funny, that we seem to be coming into our "travel personalities". I apparently am history and architecture; and she is culture and arts. So, together, we generally have a pretty interesting trip.

Rome was the cradle of civilization -things so old you couldn't fathom it. This week, it dawned on me that at one point in time England ruled the world! I have a Medieval version of England in my mind, followed by a Victorian version of England in my mind. I cannot wait to explore them both. And, modern England won't be so bad either! :)

Stonehenge

When I went to Arizona and my cousin offered to take us to the Grand Canyon, I was like "it's just a big hole in the earth". Boy was I WRONG. It was the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. When I think of Stonehenge, I think - it's just a bunch of rocks...but I HAVE GOT TO SEE IT! More importantly, Lina and I need a head shot of it to add to our book o'travels...(along with Big Ben and Eiffle Tower).

But, at any rate I am so excited to go traveling through the English Countryside. I'm hoping to swing by Salisbury on our journey to Stonehenge.

So here is the dealie-o...Stonehenge is surely Britain's greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery, power and endurance. Its original purpose is unclear to us, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities. It has been called an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago.

While we can't say with any degree of certainty what it was for, we can say that it wasn't constructed for any casual purpose. Only something very important to the ancients would have been worth the effort and investment that it took to construct Stonehenge.

What more details? Check it out: http://www.britannia.com/history/h7.html

Woo hoo! Cheerio!