Wednesday 30 July 2008

Those that know me realize that I might obsess just a little bit.

One of my quirks concerning this blog is the cool little map located on the right hand margin, which shows the locale of visitors to this blog. Insomuch as I will view the blog from the airport lounge (Thanks to Amy's frequent flyer status) if we are flying from a city I know hasn't shown up.


It IS a tad misleading, in that, it shows the location of the user’s ISP and not their true "location".

Example: If I look at our blog from the office, which I NEVER do (much), the result is a hit from a Houston server even if I’m in London, because that is where our provider originates.

Another anomaly is that the blog is also available to Google/Yahoo searches which results in us being more popular in South America than I thought we would.

A few observations on my part.

I’m REALLY disappointed in the showing from the African nations, as well as, the “Stans” (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the like), so if you have any friends or relatives in the area. Send them our way.

Also… I’m not quite sure why the largest “dot” (signifying the most visits) is located in the center of the U.S. My initial guess would have been Houston or London.

Maybe it’s NORAD checking out my whereabouts and pub activities.

Sunday 27 July 2008

So…

I had this great spur of the moment idea. My friend Marty is back working in Paris for a bit, and since the final stage of the Tour de France ends in Paris, I thought it would be a cool opportunity to experience such a world class event.

After grabbing the late Eurostar to Paris Saturday night, I met up with Marty at one of his usual haunts. The night’s festivities started by sitting in an Irish pub in the Latin Quarter of Paris drinking a Belgian ale and listening to a German chap singing American ballads.

Kinda weird when I write it down, isn’t it?

Oh... but it gets better.

On our way to a cocktail bar called Bob Cool, we were invited to join Marty’s friend for a quick bourbon in his flat (in a 500 year old building no less). Unbeknownst to me, his friend is fellow Texan Ealy Mays, a world renowned artist whose paintings have hung in the New York Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and the Louvre. Not only did he share drink with us, he was also kind enough to give me a small piece of his work.

So yeah… I hung out with an artist in Paris. How bohemian of me, no?

Don’t be worried. We were able to awaken in plenty of time to grab a spot off of the Jardin des Tuileries on Rue de Rivoli (although I did have to cling to a fence) to watch the winner, Spaniard Carlos Sastre, and the rest of the remaining riders take their celebratory loops before the finishing at the Arc de Triomphe.

Wednesday 24 July 2008

Call me irresponsible...

Tonight we crammed ourselves into the tube like sardines as we travelled out to the O2 Arena in Greenwich to experience the Michael Buble concert. It was quite the entertaining show even IF he included his version of YMCA, complete with hand signs.

He performed most of the songs we wanted to hear accompanied by his 13 piece orchestra and even gets bonus points for doing an Elvis impersonation.


Amy has also decided that next time we see a show here, we’ll hire a car home as it seems she didn’t enjoy revisiting the sardine experience on the tube ride home.

Saturday 19 July, 2008

This was expected to be the busiest travel weekend of the year as school summer holidays are officially underway. The tourists have arrived and the streets of London are bustling.

While Ray’s trip to Houston is winding down, I spent Saturday at the Portobello Market. My friend Delma was in London on business and we spent the day walking through the antique markets and street booths. It was quite crowded, but a great experience. I found a few antique clock vendors that I’m sure Ray will be visiting some day soon.

I’m still grounded for another month or so and won’t be flying, so our adventures will be local for a while. We are expecting guests in August and hoping that the lovely mild summer continues! Ray surprised his mom at her 70th birthday party last weekend and spent the week running errands and “unofficially” house hunting. It’s a little soon – but we do plan to be back in Texas by the end of the year!

Tuesday 8 July 2008

You know...

You THINK you've seen a lot of the world until you put it down on paper, and then realize just how little you really have.


visited 18 countries (8%)


Happy 70th Birthday mom!!!

Thursday 3 July, 2008

On the eve of America’s Independence Day I find it fitting to expound on a couple new realizations. In the last week it has been brought to my attention that I do not know ALL of the pronunciation/spelling difference between our “two” languages.

Jewelry = Jewellery

Hemophilia = Haemophilia

Not sure how we plan on celebrating the 4th tomorrow. Maybe some Sweedish meatballs trimmed with English peas. Perhaps with a nice French onion soup as a starter topped off with a tasty Belgian ale.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!