The last day--well, half day--in London wasn't all that eventful. I woke up at 9, finished packing, and we headed to the tube. Before boarding the tube, Allison and I stopped to grab lunch to go at Burger King.
We got to the airport and checked in, which gave Allison enough time to get back for her class that afternoon. One of the weird things their airports do, is that before boarding the plane, everyone gathers in one area to wait, instead of at individual gates like in the States. Once it's time to board, they announce the gate the plane is at, and you walk to your gate and get right on the plane. It's a good thing Allison explained that to me; otherwise I would've been extremely confused--and very worried about missing my flight.
On the plane, my assigned seat was in the aisle, but had a bathroom on the other side of the aisle, and 4 year old boy in the seat next to me. I never try to complain about other peoples' kids since I don't have my own to discipline, but this young boy elbowed me several times in the five minutes that I was sitting next to him. Thankfully, there was an exit row seat near me that was unoccupied, and needed to have someone in it according to law, so the flight attendant asked me to move. Free seat upgrade with unlimited leg room. I was thrilled.
I easily made it through the seven hour flight with two books, as well as the movies Just Go With It, and The Conspirator. Landed in Boston, made it through customs, and got my luggage without any problems. I took the T back to my car, drove home, and made it back safely at about 8:30 pm. Jet lag wasn't a problem, but I don't think I ever fully adjusted to London time.
While I was nervous about such long flights, going through customs, and all the stuff that go with international travel, it ended up being a great trip. Virgin Atlantic was a great airline, and the (very friendly) flight attendants frequently went down the aisles offering snacks and drinks. It also goes without saying how much fun I had seeing Allison, and everyone else, on the trip. Overall, I would have to say that this was probably the most fun weekend I've ever had.
A blog of comedy, sports, music, videos, life's lessons, and prep interest
Thursday, October 6, 2011
London, Day 3
Sunday was my last full day in London. It was also the day that I had the hardest time getting out of bed in the morning. I think I finally rolled out of bed between 10:30 and 11. We got out the door in time for lunch. We ate at a pretty American place, Byron's, which was right by the tube stop.
Allison and I took the tube to the Imperial War Museum, which ended up being really cool. We spent around 2 hours browsing the museum's 5 floors, which included exhibits for heroes, the Holocaust, naval warfare, and interactive exhibits for trench and Blitz warfare. It was all very interesting.
The next stop of the day was the Museum of Natural History. We got there half hour before closing time, so we only had time to check out one exhibit. The exhibit, which cost 8 pounds to see, was entitled Sexual Nature, which looked at the rules of attraction-and sex-for humans and animals. Again, some pretty interesting stuff. Also, some though provoking stuff, by asking questions as to what you find attractive in a mate.
That night we went on the London Eye, which is a huge Ferris Wheel structure, where you get in a glass bubble, and are taken on a half hour loop, providing views high above the city of London.
After the London Eye, Allison and I walked along the river, and had dinner at a place called The Wharf. Our River Thames walk also lead us past Shakespeare's Globe Theater (a replica, as the original burned down), The Millennium Bridge, The London Bridge, The HMS Belfast, The Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge.
Allison and I took the tube to the Imperial War Museum, which ended up being really cool. We spent around 2 hours browsing the museum's 5 floors, which included exhibits for heroes, the Holocaust, naval warfare, and interactive exhibits for trench and Blitz warfare. It was all very interesting.
The next stop of the day was the Museum of Natural History. We got there half hour before closing time, so we only had time to check out one exhibit. The exhibit, which cost 8 pounds to see, was entitled Sexual Nature, which looked at the rules of attraction-and sex-for humans and animals. Again, some pretty interesting stuff. Also, some though provoking stuff, by asking questions as to what you find attractive in a mate.
That night we went on the London Eye, which is a huge Ferris Wheel structure, where you get in a glass bubble, and are taken on a half hour loop, providing views high above the city of London.
After the London Eye, Allison and I walked along the river, and had dinner at a place called The Wharf. Our River Thames walk also lead us past Shakespeare's Globe Theater (a replica, as the original burned down), The Millennium Bridge, The London Bridge, The HMS Belfast, The Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge.
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| In front of the Imperial War Museum. |
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| Allison in front of the Natural History Museum. Incredible architecture, as well. |
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| Allison and Eva in front of the London Eye and Sea Life Aquarium. |
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| Parliament and Big Ben. |
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| At the top of the London Eye. |
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| In front of the Tower Bridge. |
Vineyard Vines Whalegate Tour 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Song of the Day
Today's song is Mr. Saxobeat by Alexandra Stand. Only because I've heard this song a lot since I left for London.
London, Day 2
The second day in London started around 10 AM. The first thing was to take care of breakfast. It turned out there was little to no food left in the kitchen, so we went to a cafe in Hyde Park for breakfast. I got french toast--that didn't come with syrup. When we finished eating, we walked around the park a bit, stopping at the Princess Diana Memorial, and the Peter Pan Memorial.
Next, we got on the tube and saw Big Ben. Honestly, it was cool to see, but all the photos (including mine) and movies make it look much taller than it actually is. Along with Big Ben, we saw the rest of Parliament, and West Minster Abbey.
We headed over to Trafalgar Square, and Leicester Square, where we walked around and had lunch at a pub. I had fish and chips, and a Coke; they don't give free refills on soda over there. Another thing I noticed was that very few places were air conditioned. Normally, this wouldn't be a bad thing, but it was in the high 70's, with almost no breeze. We later found out that Saturday set the record for hottest October day in London.
After lunch, we went to the Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. The nicest part was that these places had air conditioning. In case you're wondering, a gallery is a collection of only paintings, while museums have sculptures or other works that aren't paintings. Since museums and galleries are free over there, we perused quickly.
We got back to the dorm to make some dinner, which would be frozen pizza. Unfortunately, the oven settings there were a little different (including Celsius temperatures), and one of the two pizzas burned...badly. It was quite the effort to keep the smoke detector from going off, though.
The pizza didn't taste very good so Allison and I went to a pub, had a beer and some chips, and then met back up with everyone else to go to a club that night--5 women and myself. There were some issues getting in to the first place (a long story that includes a cover charge at the discretion of the door lady), so we took a cab over to Leicester Square, where, after talking to a few different club promoters, ended up at the Penthouse with Allison and Danielle. The other 3 decided to go elsewhere.
Being on the 7th, 8th, and 9th floors of a building, there were some great views from the club. The views were nice because they distracted from the strange dancing of the Europeans. This included two Indian men who were running/jumping around in some sort of dance that reminded me of the dodo birds from Ice Age.
We left the club around 1 AM, hit up McDonald's, which ended up being the most rewarding meal of the trip for me, and took a red double-decker bus home for the night.
Next, we got on the tube and saw Big Ben. Honestly, it was cool to see, but all the photos (including mine) and movies make it look much taller than it actually is. Along with Big Ben, we saw the rest of Parliament, and West Minster Abbey.
We headed over to Trafalgar Square, and Leicester Square, where we walked around and had lunch at a pub. I had fish and chips, and a Coke; they don't give free refills on soda over there. Another thing I noticed was that very few places were air conditioned. Normally, this wouldn't be a bad thing, but it was in the high 70's, with almost no breeze. We later found out that Saturday set the record for hottest October day in London.
After lunch, we went to the Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. The nicest part was that these places had air conditioning. In case you're wondering, a gallery is a collection of only paintings, while museums have sculptures or other works that aren't paintings. Since museums and galleries are free over there, we perused quickly.
We got back to the dorm to make some dinner, which would be frozen pizza. Unfortunately, the oven settings there were a little different (including Celsius temperatures), and one of the two pizzas burned...badly. It was quite the effort to keep the smoke detector from going off, though.
The pizza didn't taste very good so Allison and I went to a pub, had a beer and some chips, and then met back up with everyone else to go to a club that night--5 women and myself. There were some issues getting in to the first place (a long story that includes a cover charge at the discretion of the door lady), so we took a cab over to Leicester Square, where, after talking to a few different club promoters, ended up at the Penthouse with Allison and Danielle. The other 3 decided to go elsewhere.
Being on the 7th, 8th, and 9th floors of a building, there were some great views from the club. The views were nice because they distracted from the strange dancing of the Europeans. This included two Indian men who were running/jumping around in some sort of dance that reminded me of the dodo birds from Ice Age.
We left the club around 1 AM, hit up McDonald's, which ended up being the most rewarding meal of the trip for me, and took a red double-decker bus home for the night.
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| Breakfast in Hyde Park. |
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| Experiencing the Princess Diana Memorial. |
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| Big Ben. It looks taller here than it does in person. |
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| In front of the Oliver Cromwell statue at Parliament. |
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| Trafalgar Square. |
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| The effort to keep the smoke detector quiet. Eva is holding the burnt pizza. |
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| Allison and I at the club. |
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| The view from the club, Penthouse. |
London, Day 1
After I landed in London, very early Friday morning, I met up with Eva, Allison's roommate, at the airport. Being abroad, I couldn't use my cell phone to try to find her. After about 20 minutes, she finally found me, and we took the tube (subway), back to their dorm. Immediately I noticed how hard it is to cross the street. The cars don't have to yield to pedestrians at all, and instincts tell you to look the opposite way to see if cars are coming. Thankfully, the major intersections tell you which way to look. Plus, they use a white line to separate different directions of traffic, so I never could figure out which roads were one way or two way.
The first stop was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was exciting/interesting to see, but still a little anti-climactic. All that really happens that spectators can see is a group of guards marches past you. When that ended, we headed over to the library, which was in the basement of the building Allison had her first class in.
I surprised her at 1, in between her two classes. It was really fun, and she was really surprised. And, she loved her, "Surprise, AKP!" sign. I went with her to her Woman's Studies class, which was supposed to go on a tour of Westminster. We didn't know that the tour was prefaced by a 2 hour lecture. I ended up attending the lecture and then going back to Allison's room to nap. I hadn't slept at all in 26 hours.
When I got back to her room, I couldn't get the key to open the door. I ended up sleeping on the couch in the kitchen for 45 minutes before one of Allison's friends showed up and open the door for me. I got to take a two hour nap while Allison was still in class.
When she got back, we went to a pub at Imperial College for dinner of a burger and chips, and a few beers. A little before 11, we called it a night (mostly because I was exhausted), and headed back to the dorm for bedtime.
The first stop was the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It was exciting/interesting to see, but still a little anti-climactic. All that really happens that spectators can see is a group of guards marches past you. When that ended, we headed over to the library, which was in the basement of the building Allison had her first class in.
I surprised her at 1, in between her two classes. It was really fun, and she was really surprised. And, she loved her, "Surprise, AKP!" sign. I went with her to her Woman's Studies class, which was supposed to go on a tour of Westminster. We didn't know that the tour was prefaced by a 2 hour lecture. I ended up attending the lecture and then going back to Allison's room to nap. I hadn't slept at all in 26 hours.
When I got back to her room, I couldn't get the key to open the door. I ended up sleeping on the couch in the kitchen for 45 minutes before one of Allison's friends showed up and open the door for me. I got to take a two hour nap while Allison was still in class.
When she got back, we went to a pub at Imperial College for dinner of a burger and chips, and a few beers. A little before 11, we called it a night (mostly because I was exhausted), and headed back to the dorm for bedtime.
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| Changing of the guard. |
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| Dinner at the pub. |
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| Buckingham Palace. |
College Football Week 5 Review
Well, I'm back home from London. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see a single game this weekend, but I was very pleased to hear that Michigan routed Minnesota 58-0, and moved up to #12. I can't really comment on any of the games since I didn't see any of them. In Games I Care About I was 8-1. I went 2-1 in Big Games, and 0-1 in Big Games I Care About. The overall record for the weekend was 10-3, which improves the overall record to 36-12.
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