I was in town with Helen the other day, and she came across this fantastic comic in a shop. I couldn't resist.
Superheroes support Obama too! Heeheehee...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Superheroes for Obama
I was in town with Helen the other day, and she came across this fantastic comic in a shop. I couldn't resist.
Superheroes support Obama too! Heeheehee...
Monday, January 26, 2009
Mike and Alyssa's Visit
Mike, Alyssa, and I had a great week in London, Oxford, and Canterbury. On Saturday and Sunday we were in London, doin' the whole walking tourist bit. Not sure I'll ever get tired of that city. Definitely already tired of the pigeons there though. Those little guys are scary!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we spent in Oxford, and man was it fun! I was a little wary at first, because Oxford is a pretty intimidating place. I mean, everyone there is supposedly super smart and super rich. But after a while you just go with it and it's really cool. It also seemed more "British" than anywhere else I've been so far. Lots of old academic buildings, cobble-stone streets, striped scarves, and many, many pubs. We got to see a couple of the older colleges there (including the one where they filmed part of the Harry Potter movies), the town museum, a cool covered market, and one of the most cavernous bookstores I've ever see. I think that place had something on the order of 3 kilometers of shelving--in just ONE room. Crazy! And on Tuesday we watched the presidential inauguration on TV. It was super fun, even if there was a collective horrified gasp when the oath went a bit...differently.
Thursday was my first day of class, and despite a small freak-out about my schedule, it went really well. My classes this term seem even better than last term. I've got The Archaeology of Britain in the First Millennium B.C., and Roman and Medieval Artefacts. For the artefacts (I know, silly British spelling) class I get to go to the local museum every week and do a hands-on lab. We had to buy white cotton gloves to handle the artefacts, so I felt like a real pro. I can't wait to get a few lectures under my belt and really get into the topics. Interesting stuff!
Thursday night and Friday I got to show Mike and Alyssa around Canterbury, which was really fun for me--and for them too, I hope! I think they especially liked the Cathedral. Sadly, they had to take off on Saturday morning, but I think we all had a pretty awesome time!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we spent in Oxford, and man was it fun! I was a little wary at first, because Oxford is a pretty intimidating place. I mean, everyone there is supposedly super smart and super rich. But after a while you just go with it and it's really cool. It also seemed more "British" than anywhere else I've been so far. Lots of old academic buildings, cobble-stone streets, striped scarves, and many, many pubs. We got to see a couple of the older colleges there (including the one where they filmed part of the Harry Potter movies), the town museum, a cool covered market, and one of the most cavernous bookstores I've ever see. I think that place had something on the order of 3 kilometers of shelving--in just ONE room. Crazy! And on Tuesday we watched the presidential inauguration on TV. It was super fun, even if there was a collective horrified gasp when the oath went a bit...differently.
Thursday was my first day of class, and despite a small freak-out about my schedule, it went really well. My classes this term seem even better than last term. I've got The Archaeology of Britain in the First Millennium B.C., and Roman and Medieval Artefacts. For the artefacts (I know, silly British spelling) class I get to go to the local museum every week and do a hands-on lab. We had to buy white cotton gloves to handle the artefacts, so I felt like a real pro. I can't wait to get a few lectures under my belt and really get into the topics. Interesting stuff!
Thursday night and Friday I got to show Mike and Alyssa around Canterbury, which was really fun for me--and for them too, I hope! I think they especially liked the Cathedral. Sadly, they had to take off on Saturday morning, but I think we all had a pretty awesome time!
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| Mike and Alyssa's Visit |
Friday, January 16, 2009
Good Times, People
Dan and Beth visited this past week, and it was a total blast!
On Monday we started out by seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It was very cool. The guards all marched in from each side of the gate, and there was a band too. They played "Mama Mia" and "Singing in the Rain," and if you don't believe me, just ask Dan or Beth. (I also caught part of it on video!) The whole thing took about half an hour, which I thought was surprising because they do this every other day in the winter and every day in the summer. I wonder if the guards ever get sick of it. :P Later we did a mini walking tour of London. We saw Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Theatreland, the British Museum, Oxford Street, and dozens of little side streets too, including one that was full of vintage bookshops.
On Tuesday we saw the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Going up to the top of the bridge was pretty cool. I got lots of pictures of the city from up high. We went down into the engine rooms to see how they raise the bridge to let ships through. There was this little gold box on the wall--and I'm not even sure what it was for--but it provided probably the most entertaining part of the trip: we each took turns standing in front of it and taking pictures of our warped reflections in the metal. So if you're wondering what those funky-looking pictures of us are, that's what they're from.
On Wednesday we went into museum mode. We saw the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. I think the Natural History Museum was the most gorgeous, architecture-wise. It had this incredible bi-color stonework that was amazing to see, and on the inside there was a huge vaulted room with all these arches. The Science Museum was more modern looking, but still very cool. We didn't have a whole lot of time to spend in there, so I mainly saw the space exhibit. What I remember most is that there was this really loud annoying ring every couple minutes, and I never managed to figure out where it was coming from. Weird. Then we moved on to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which Beth said has something like 7 miles worth of exhibits. It was like the British Museum all over again, with just tons and tons of stuff to see. My favorite part was the Cast Court, which had plaster casts of all these famous statues and monuments, including Trajan's Column from Rome and a really neat Celtic cross. Across the hall they had another Cast Court gallery, but it was closed, which was a bummer because I could just barely see the top of the David statue peeking above the closed sign. I bet they had a bunch of cool casts in there too.
All too soon, it was time for Dan and Beth to catch their flight back home. But it was really awesome to have them here! And I can't be too bummed out, because Mike and Alyssa are coming tomorrow!
On Monday we started out by seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It was very cool. The guards all marched in from each side of the gate, and there was a band too. They played "Mama Mia" and "Singing in the Rain," and if you don't believe me, just ask Dan or Beth. (I also caught part of it on video!) The whole thing took about half an hour, which I thought was surprising because they do this every other day in the winter and every day in the summer. I wonder if the guards ever get sick of it. :P Later we did a mini walking tour of London. We saw Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Theatreland, the British Museum, Oxford Street, and dozens of little side streets too, including one that was full of vintage bookshops.
On Tuesday we saw the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Going up to the top of the bridge was pretty cool. I got lots of pictures of the city from up high. We went down into the engine rooms to see how they raise the bridge to let ships through. There was this little gold box on the wall--and I'm not even sure what it was for--but it provided probably the most entertaining part of the trip: we each took turns standing in front of it and taking pictures of our warped reflections in the metal. So if you're wondering what those funky-looking pictures of us are, that's what they're from.
On Wednesday we went into museum mode. We saw the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. I think the Natural History Museum was the most gorgeous, architecture-wise. It had this incredible bi-color stonework that was amazing to see, and on the inside there was a huge vaulted room with all these arches. The Science Museum was more modern looking, but still very cool. We didn't have a whole lot of time to spend in there, so I mainly saw the space exhibit. What I remember most is that there was this really loud annoying ring every couple minutes, and I never managed to figure out where it was coming from. Weird. Then we moved on to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which Beth said has something like 7 miles worth of exhibits. It was like the British Museum all over again, with just tons and tons of stuff to see. My favorite part was the Cast Court, which had plaster casts of all these famous statues and monuments, including Trajan's Column from Rome and a really neat Celtic cross. Across the hall they had another Cast Court gallery, but it was closed, which was a bummer because I could just barely see the top of the David statue peeking above the closed sign. I bet they had a bunch of cool casts in there too.
All too soon, it was time for Dan and Beth to catch their flight back home. But it was really awesome to have them here! And I can't be too bummed out, because Mike and Alyssa are coming tomorrow!
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| Dan and Beth's Visit |
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Sightseeing
I had a great week this week. I saw the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben (finally up close!), Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge.
It might be kind of strange to have a favorite Underground station, but I love Westminster station. It goes down four long flights of stairs (well, escalators anyway) to the lowest platform, and there are all kinds of exposed pipes and structural bits. It feels like you're in a secret underground base. But the best part of Westminster station is that when you first step out, immediately you see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, right across the street and right in front of your face. Very cool.
Westminster Abbey is very close by too, and also completely gorgeous. But even the gorgeous outside has nothing on the interior. It's so amazing! I couldn't believe how lavishly decorated that place is! There's gold and stonework and colors and statues everywhere you look. It's such a pity that they don't allow photography in the abbey. I think I could have taken about 600 pictures. Instead, I had to content myself with listening to Jeremy Irons narrate an audio tour, which was pretty interesting. I also saw the grave of Elizabeth I, along with a lot of writers in Poet's Corner. SO worth the time if you ever go to London.
On Friday I went to the Tower of London. It was a much bigger complex than I had thought it would be. Apparently there are actually 20 separate towers in the whole place. The two most famous ones are the White Tower (where all the torture happened) and the Bloody Tower (where the princes were killed). Fun stuff. I went on a tour given by one of the Yeoman Warders (also known as Beefeaters), who was very cool. They get to live in the tower, but then again they have to put up with all the tourists. I'd have to say, though, that the best part of the trip was getting to see the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House. They have the world's biggest cut diamond there, set into one of the coronation scepters. It's unbelievable! And they have little conveyor belts going along the display cases, I guess to make sure that nobody stops and gawks for too long. I rode around it twice to make sure I got a really good look at all the crowns and things, heehee.
Also, Dan and Beth are flying in today. Woohoo!
It might be kind of strange to have a favorite Underground station, but I love Westminster station. It goes down four long flights of stairs (well, escalators anyway) to the lowest platform, and there are all kinds of exposed pipes and structural bits. It feels like you're in a secret underground base. But the best part of Westminster station is that when you first step out, immediately you see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, right across the street and right in front of your face. Very cool.
Westminster Abbey is very close by too, and also completely gorgeous. But even the gorgeous outside has nothing on the interior. It's so amazing! I couldn't believe how lavishly decorated that place is! There's gold and stonework and colors and statues everywhere you look. It's such a pity that they don't allow photography in the abbey. I think I could have taken about 600 pictures. Instead, I had to content myself with listening to Jeremy Irons narrate an audio tour, which was pretty interesting. I also saw the grave of Elizabeth I, along with a lot of writers in Poet's Corner. SO worth the time if you ever go to London.
On Friday I went to the Tower of London. It was a much bigger complex than I had thought it would be. Apparently there are actually 20 separate towers in the whole place. The two most famous ones are the White Tower (where all the torture happened) and the Bloody Tower (where the princes were killed). Fun stuff. I went on a tour given by one of the Yeoman Warders (also known as Beefeaters), who was very cool. They get to live in the tower, but then again they have to put up with all the tourists. I'd have to say, though, that the best part of the trip was getting to see the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House. They have the world's biggest cut diamond there, set into one of the coronation scepters. It's unbelievable! And they have little conveyor belts going along the display cases, I guess to make sure that nobody stops and gawks for too long. I rode around it twice to make sure I got a really good look at all the crowns and things, heehee.
Also, Dan and Beth are flying in today. Woohoo!
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| Westminster |
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| Tower of London & London Bridge |
Saturday, January 3, 2009
New Year
Happy 2009, everybody! I hope the new year has gotten off to a great start for everyone. New Year's Eve was fantastic on this side of the pond. I met up with a group of friends in London and we went to a fair in Hyde park. They had a pretty strange assortment of rides and attractions there, like a tilt-a-whirl topped with a Christmas tree right across from a haunted house. Unfortunately, we went through the haunted house, which was, as expected, not so great. It was silly fun, though. :) There were also lots of Christmas craft stalls open, and even an ice rink. It was ridiculously cold that night, so I'm glad we didn't go ice skating or I might have turned into an ice cube.
Around eleven o'clock we headed for the river so we could see the midnight fireworks. I guess we should have started out way earlier, because it was a total madhouse. Seriously, I've never seen any place so crowded as that part of London on New Year's Eve. Anyone who is even remotely claustrophobic would have gone crazy, I think. People were all mashed together in this huge crowd that went on forever, everybody trying to press forward to get to the river. Every so often we would pass a line of police officers in their bright neon vests, which I thought was a little creepy at first, but for which I quickly became grateful. It was a little unnerving, really, to be stuck in the middle of that massive crowd. Because there were so many people, we couldn't get anywhere near the river, so we stopped in Trafalgar Square and watched the fireworks on the huge screens they had set up. It would have been cool to see the fireworks firsthand, but this was cool too. We could see the sky beyond the buildings of the square light up from all the fireworks, and at one point it was so bright it was like daylight. So like I said, very cool.
Getting home after all the festivities were over was a transportation nightmare. We ended up walking for like an hour to find a tube station that was a) open, and b) not completely mobbed by hundreds of other people trying to get home. That was actually pretty fun though, because we got to walk around London and see what everyone was doing to celebrate the new year. When we got to Waterloo Station, Gabby and I had to make our way through another huge crowd being herded into the station past barricades, which took like half an hour. And when our train finally got in (they were running trains until like five in the morning), there were so many people rushing to get on the train that the train car we were on was worse than a can of sardines. I can't say that being crushed into a train car for half an hour at 2:30 in the morning was great fun, but it's certainly an experience that will stand out in my memory for a while. ;)
So all in all, New Year's was crazy, crowded, and super fun!
Around eleven o'clock we headed for the river so we could see the midnight fireworks. I guess we should have started out way earlier, because it was a total madhouse. Seriously, I've never seen any place so crowded as that part of London on New Year's Eve. Anyone who is even remotely claustrophobic would have gone crazy, I think. People were all mashed together in this huge crowd that went on forever, everybody trying to press forward to get to the river. Every so often we would pass a line of police officers in their bright neon vests, which I thought was a little creepy at first, but for which I quickly became grateful. It was a little unnerving, really, to be stuck in the middle of that massive crowd. Because there were so many people, we couldn't get anywhere near the river, so we stopped in Trafalgar Square and watched the fireworks on the huge screens they had set up. It would have been cool to see the fireworks firsthand, but this was cool too. We could see the sky beyond the buildings of the square light up from all the fireworks, and at one point it was so bright it was like daylight. So like I said, very cool.
Getting home after all the festivities were over was a transportation nightmare. We ended up walking for like an hour to find a tube station that was a) open, and b) not completely mobbed by hundreds of other people trying to get home. That was actually pretty fun though, because we got to walk around London and see what everyone was doing to celebrate the new year. When we got to Waterloo Station, Gabby and I had to make our way through another huge crowd being herded into the station past barricades, which took like half an hour. And when our train finally got in (they were running trains until like five in the morning), there were so many people rushing to get on the train that the train car we were on was worse than a can of sardines. I can't say that being crushed into a train car for half an hour at 2:30 in the morning was great fun, but it's certainly an experience that will stand out in my memory for a while. ;)
So all in all, New Year's was crazy, crowded, and super fun!
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| New Year's Eve (Blog) |
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