Tuesday 27 June 2006

We didn’t do a lot of sightseeing this week, but there were certainly sights to see…
The Royal Ascot was underway and the ladies and gents were in full dress. Believe it or not, there IS a dress code. Ladies wear formal day dresses and hats that should cover the crown of the head and the men wear black or grey suits (although most are tuxedos) and top hats. One of the really cool things about living close to Victoria Station is the people watching. Saturday was a big day at the races and everyone was on the move that morning as Ray and I were walking through the station. How wonderfully Eliza Doolittle were those hats! The dresses have toned down a bit over the years, but the men’s suits and hats were just the same. The BBC devoted countless hours to fashion watching. As soon as we figure out this DVD multi-region issue, I’ll be watching My Fair Lady once again – just for the Ascot scene.

England made it into the quarter-finals of the World Cup and the football fans are buzzing. Apparently they are not playing very well, but a win is a win. We’re watching some of the games so that we can participate in conversations at work this week!

Wimbledon tournament begins today. Perhaps we’ll make a trip there one evening just to see the excitement. Doubtful that we’ll get in to see any action, but it would be nice to say we’ve been there during play.

We’re looking forward to the kids visiting in July. I’ve planned a side trip to Paris for the 4 of us while they are here. We’re also looking at vacation plans and hope that we can make it home for Christmas. Still a little too soon to tell.

Haven't mentioned our Astros in a while. Perhaps this will bring them a little luck.

Saturday 24 June 2006

Today we decided to see a show in the theatre district. After going into Covent Garden in the morning to the Half Price tickets booth, we decided to see The Rat Pack. Don't tell anyone but I had penciled in this show early on to see. Plus we got seats in the center on the fourth row.

It was in the Savoy Theatre which is part of the The Savoy Hotel (the ritzy century old hotel). The show itself was great, a "review" type show recreating the atmosphere of the original Rat Pack gigs performed in The Sands in Vegas (sans Joey Bishop & Peter Lawford). Amy had to occasionally elbow me in the ribs because apparently I was singing along too loudly. To be honest, I was digging the music piped in during intermission as well. I thought the big band backup musicians were the real stars as they seemed to capture the "mood". The performer that played "Dean Martin" was our fav of the trio. Did I mention we had fourth row center tickets? We caught a late dinner after the show at a little Italian place and people watched as the other shows let out. An entertaining show and a swinging fun evening.

Sunday 18 June 2006

Woke up early and rode my bike. Today was the London-to-Brighton charity ride, which is very similar, albeit larger if you can believe it, than the Houston-to-Austin MS150. As I saw all the riders pedalling through the streets with ride numbers on and all the cars with bikes on their racks I was reminded of home for bit. Well… except for the fact that instead of riding through Alvin past Ron Carter Chevrolet, I was riding past Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

Time to start planning for our first excursion - maybe next weekend. The weather has been nice for a couple of weeks, so we may be in for trouble.

Saturday 17 June 2006

Pomp and circumstance!!

Today, on Amy’s suggestion, we went and watched the Trooping of the Colour, the “official” celebration of the Queen’s birthday and her inspection of the troops. Regiments of soldiers in full dress uniforms, a 41 gun (artillery) salute, a 49 plane flyover, as well as the Royal family filled the day.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5357.asp

We arrived early at Buckingham Palace and found a good spot on the Mall (more importantly in the shade) to watch the parades. After Amy’s brief “encounter” with some Japanese tourists, we talked with the most entertaining Yorkshire couple. He was retired military having served in Korea, and he filled us in on ALL the specifics of the different regiments and symbolism. She gave us some insight into the lesser known things to see in London and their experiences with the pageantry of the day. Really just a great visit.

THOUSANDS of people lined the street to see the Queen in her carriage, with Prince Charles and the Princess Royal (Ann) riding behind on horseback. Prince Harry and Prince Andrew (along with a few others who warranted the Royal Salute) rode in a separate carriages. After the parade back to Buckingham Palace we moved over to Green Park to see the artillery salute, and still made it back in time to see the fly over. All VERY impressive.

OK - a London resident for only 3 weeks and I've experienced the first Queen sighting! We were really up close on the front row of the parade route. It was pretty exciting and the bits of information we picked up from the charming Yorkshire couple was great. Ray took nearly 100 photos. I'm still working on the photo album and will link to this page. Maybe I'll get it completed this week...

We found Bodean's BBQ on Friday night and enjoyed beer and ribs. Not quite like BBQ in Texas, but it was very good. Definitely a place we'll revisit.

Friday 16 June 2006

STILL no broadband!!

Was introduced to an unknown (to me) practice of the Friday English Business Lunch. Ales with no food over 2 ½ hours made for an interesting afternoon. I was assured that this was NOT the norm as we were “farewelling” a fellow employee.

Observation: Floor 1 of office buildings here refer to the first floor ABOVE the ground floor. Have made the mistake on more than one occasion of coming down the stairs, exiting on Floor 1, and realizing I wasn’t where I thought I was.

Thursday 15 June 2006

Started work yesterday with KBR in Sutton, about a 30 minute train ride from the flat. This is SEVERELY going to cut into my travel plans.

Was officially introduced to World Cup play as we met some of Amy’s co-workers at a nearby pub (The Slug and Lettuce) to watch England beat Trinidad/Tobago. I think the Utah Jazz would be a good World Cup team as “flopping” seems to come into play quite often.

Observation: Understanding that space is a premium in an established and LARGE city, I find the urinals in public bathrooms to be uncomfortably too close to one another.

Tuesday 13 June 2006

Took my first trip into the England countryside. Today was cooler and rainy (London weather the way it’s supposed to be) as my original destination was the monoliths of Stonehenge. However, as it turned out, the true jewel was the medieval city of Salisbury. Toured the 13th century Salisbury Cathedral after walking through the gated entry of the “Close” (the walled-in community surrounding the Cathedral). Not only was the building magnificent, it still remains the tallest spire in all of England and to this day the largest medieval structure in the word, but within the building are several tombs including Knights of the Crusade and the most preserved original copy of the Magna Carta.

Stonehenge didn’t disappoint. It was amazing to see it in person. Over 5000 years old it’s a wonder how it was constructed using primitive means. Then there’s the fact that some of the stones used are only located over 200 miles away in Wales. Shame I couldn’t be there in a few day during the Summer Solstice when the Druids do their thing.

Sunday 11 June 2006

After being exposed to such hedonism yesterday, we decided to attend Mass at Westminster Cathedral which is just a few minute walk from our flat. Actually, you can see the bell tower from our balcony. Chose to attend the High Mass sung by the choir in Latin.

http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/art/art_home.html

Observation: Can someone explain to me why Mass at St. Helens’ regularly lasted close to 90 minutes in length, when a High Mass sung in Latin by the whole church choir accompanied by one of the finest organs in Europe in one of the largest Catholic churches in all of England took only an hour and fifteen minutes?

The Solemn Mass was amazing. The choir sang beautifully and it was a wonderful way to start the day. Our air shipment should arrive tomorrow and we'll begin to add a few personal touches to our home. The furniture and larger items won't be here until the end of June.
p.s. Ray's question above is definitely a rhetorical one.

Saturday 10 June 2006

World Cup officially gets serious. We heard some chants from the street below already this morning. If I’m going to fit in I guess I’d better brush up on the finer point of socc…. Errrrr….. football.

Amy and I decided to take in the Museum of Natural History today. Going through their Earth Science wing put things into perspective about walking in the crater of Kilauea. The dinosaur exhibit was very good also.

Walked to Harrod’s and just window shopped. The £8.00 bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup made me consider smuggling in pancake toppings. Note to self: Place order for Mrs. Butterworth in next U.S. care package.

Okay… on the stroll home (buses were WAY too crowded) we stumbled across one of the true hidden gems of this city. As we neared Hyde Park Corner, Amy noticed that something was going on near the Wellington Arch. Further investigation revealed that we were just in time for the start of the World Naked Bike Ride. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), I didn’t bring the camera.

Observations:
1. Male-to-female participation ratio was WAY out of proportion.
2. Seems circumcision is more of an American thing.
3. Old men should never be allowed to ride a bicycle naked… EVER!

While the naked ride was a bit of a shocker, it was actually a demonstration to discourage automobile use and encourage cycling. We're awaiting our bicycles - and since we don't plan to have a car while in London, it seemed appropriate to check it out. I suspect that the Big Red Bus tourists were far more startled when they saw several hundred naked riders on the streets of London. At least we saw the starting point and knew what was going on...

Friday 9 June 2006

Took Thursday “off”. Received the new PC, but spent the whole freaking afternoon w/ the help desk trying to get internet connectivity.

Took another London Walk, this time through St. Paul’s Cathedral. I think I prefer it to Westminster Abbey, but that’s just me. On my list of things to do is to go back and walk up the 500+ steps to the galleries and the top of the second largest dome in the world.

Decided to stay in tonight, but swung by the grocery store in our building and picked up a fresh fire baked pizza and VOILA!!! They finally had BASS ALE!! ...and there was much rejoicing. Waiting for the right time to venture onto our balcony, pour myself a cold Bass and light that Cuban cigar that has my name written all over it.

Wednesday 7 June 2006

BUSY day!!! Went to The Tower of London first thing taking the audio tour and taking it all in.

Then I walked over to The Monument which commemorates The Great London Fire of 1666. Climbed the 311 steps (I counted 310, but I might have missed one in mid-gasp) all the way to the top, a total of 211 feet.

Proceeded over to The Imperial War Museum next. Just scratched the surface as it is FILLED with tons of actual military pieces: tanks, planes (including a Sopwith Camel for you Snoopy aficionados) artillery, etc. from various conflicts. Need to go back as I cut short the visit to meet Amy for another London Walk. This one was through the National Gallery to see some of the works of Monet, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Da Vinci and a few of their buddies.

I have officially fulfilled my cultural quota for the month.

Tuesday 6 June 2006

HAZZAH!! This morning we have an actual phone line. NOW I have to start memorizing all of these new numbers.

Observation: Find it interesting that while the phone numbers here have the same number of digits as those in the states, locals group those numbers as they see fit. Instead of 999-999-9999, one could see it in numerous other groupings. But that’s just me.

Officially having Astro withdrawls.

Tonight we went to see The DaVinci Code at the Odeon Theatre in Leicester Square. Can't remember the last time we had a date on a weeknight. It was the largest theatre and most expensive movie I've ever been to. It was pretty cool, though... guess we are still "tourists". The days are so long here and we are starting to take advantage of the pre-Summer nights. I'm being told that these sunny days - we've had 5 in a row - are not common. Perhaps we brought a little Texas sunshine with us.
Our telephone company friends and family will appreciate the recent frustration in getting our phone line activated. The line was already here in the flat and it took 8 days for the switchboard cutover and activation. Oh well, we bought Ray a pay as you go mobile phone - so we've been able to stay in touch. I thought he might have to "ring" me if he got lost, but he's learning his way around quickly.
I am also missing #17 Lance and his pals.

Monday 5 June 2006

Completed the trifecta of mass transit as I took the train to Leatherhead to meet with the KBR people about my job. We decided to waited until the whole department relocates to their new offices before I join them. Offices are in the Surrey countryside and the view from the windows is actually quite nice.

Broke down and bought a pay-as-you-go cell, phone service by Orange(Dave S would be proud).

Also purchased a laptop that will be delivered to the flat later.

Saturday 3 June 2006

Last night’s Jack the Ripper tour was excellent. Our guide was the pre-eminent expert on the Ripper murders, Donald Rumbelow. Okay… I’ll admit it… I’m a tourist. I bought his book afterwards and had it signed.

Still not getting used to the sun setting at 9:30 PM and rising at 4:30 AM. Spent the rest of the weekend doing things around the flat. Bought a bistro table and set it up out on our balcony. Amy didn’t realize it, but our flat is located almost perfectly to be out of the sun in the afternoon. Quite pleasant

Friday 2 June 2006

Took my second London Walk (I officially plan on doing several of these). Did the Royal London and Westminster Abbey tour. Got to see the Changing of the Guard and a personal tour of the Abbey with an entry through The Cloister. WAY too much to see in a tour.


Amy and I plan to do a Jack the Ripper tour tonight.

Thursday 1 June 2006

Took my first “London Walk” tour, a guided walking tour (http://london.walks.com). VERY cool!!. My first was on the London Blitz and how St. Paul’s survived Hitler’s bombing. Swung by afterwards to pick up Amy from work and we ventured over to Covent Garden (theater or is that theatre? district). Stopped by Cleopatra’s Needle again. My early “favorite” monument.

Wednesday 31 May 2006

Went to Amy’s office to sign bank paperwork. Decided to carry the England’s Heritage book (gift from Dana-Leigh) home in my backpack.

Note to self: Heavy books bad for touring walks.

Did the London Eye. Got my bearings from atop the wheel and decided to walk to Trafalgar Square. Crossed the Thames @ the Golden Jubilee Bridge, then over to Cleopatra’s Needle obelisk. Pretty cool monument. Made way to Square and into the National Gallery.

Note to self II: DON’T take pictures of Da Vinci art in the gallery. Cut short trip in Gallery, and decided to take first tube trip home from Embankment as Heavy Book Back Pack Syndrome was setting in.

Put my road bike together once I got back, then talked to KBR people about my Monday report date. Looks like I get another week to be a tourist as the job I was to work on has been put on hold. Actually…. A good thing as we are still awaiting our air shipment from Houston.

Found a bike shop just around the corner from the flat. Bonus!!!! Still no mobile phone.

We found a local store called Argos. It's a lot like Service Merchandise. You choose things from a catalog and then pick them up at the counter. We bought a few things for our flat in an attempt to make it a bit more homey. I am SO ready for our own things to arrive. The hardwood floor is getting quite uncomfortable!

Tuesday 30 May 2006

Amy went to work and Ray did the tourist Red Bus Tour. Basically, a cram course in central London. Met Amy at Shell Centre (guess I’m going to have to learn to spell things the “right” way) and took my first bus trip from Waterloo Station. Made first attempt to get my mobile phone, but don’t have the required info. Ate dinner at the local Italian place, Gran Paradiso (FYI… You can actually see this place from our balcony). It’s a small place run by a real Italian grandma and grandpa that go around bossing all the help around.

Monday 29 May 2006

We arrive in London on time and... you guessed it... it's raining. Arrive at our flat in Westminster, really close to Victoria Station. Pretty cool place once you figure out all of the door ways.

Note to self: Should have packed the jackets as it is fairly cool and windy. We ate Portugese chicken for dinner and Amy started showing me the ropes around town. I was almost run over - only once.

It's obvious that Ray is going to be a better journal keeper than I am. We'll see how this works so that we can share our adventures with you.