December 24, 2004
Happy Holidays
The best store window Santa I saw was in Edinburgh. Here Santa is dressed in traditional Scottish clothing, ready to play 18 holes of golf.
Scottish Santa and I wish you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Skyscapes - Edinburgh
When we were in Scotland, Jon and I took advantage of the vistas by shooting some pictures of the sky.
Here is one of them.
Here is one of them.
And here is another.
December 23, 2004
Christ-mastoria
Sneaky santa. I found this guy hiding just under a neighbor's front porch. I think he looks a little bit shy. He also looks like he's about to say something. What do you think it could be? Maybe if we listen really closely we can hear. Shhhhh!
December 22, 2004
Roasted Chicken
1 5.5 lb. chicken - seasoned with salt, pepper and OLD BAY.
The Stuffing
1 med. onion
1 challot
4 celery stalks
chopped and sauteed.
Saltines, smashed and then moistened with water and combined with
1 egg.
Then I shoved it inside the bird.
The Vegetables
Where the pan wasn't covered with chicken, I filled it with white aspargus and carrots.
I set the oven to 375 degrees and cooked the chicken for almost two hours.
Everything came out pretty good.
Something to Blog About
These images are part of my photo essay on Christmas in Astoria.
This enormous blowup Santa can be found in the front courtyard of a building around the corner from our apartment. If you look in the background you can see the front door of the building. Isn't this an utterly ridiculous display. A giant Santa waving hello, sheesh!! They should have just put out pink flamingoes and be done with it all already.
This enormous blowup Santa can be found in the front courtyard of a building around the corner from our apartment. If you look in the background you can see the front door of the building. Isn't this an utterly ridiculous display. A giant Santa waving hello, sheesh!! They should have just put out pink flamingoes and be done with it all already.
This household has handed over the responsiblity of cleaning their porch to their plastic snowman. I guess this household was going for a more laid back look. I actually kind of like this one, especially the broom next to the snowman. I would like to think they did it on purpose, as some kind of joke, but it's most likely a coincidence.
And last but not least, this family has hired some wicker reindeer to keep the bad guys away. These guys are stationed right at the front door. You'd have to do some pretty fancy footwork to get by them without getting all tangled up. I think these weird white wired decorations are the ugliest decoration to come along in quite some time.
Nothing to Blog About
I don't have anything to blog about.
Blogger's block.
I am blogging about nothing.
This is a nothing blog.
Let's give them nothing to blog about.
Bloggin' nothin'.
Bloggity blog.
Blogger's block.
I am blogging about nothing.
This is a nothing blog.
Let's give them nothing to blog about.
Bloggin' nothin'.
Bloggity blog.
December 20, 2004
Gray Sunday
Sunday was cold and gray. Jon and I went for a neighborhood walk. Yesterday's final destination was Socrates Sculpture Park on Vernon Blvd. in Long Island City. On the way there we discovered this wall painting by De La Vega, a street artist that leaves similar paintings all over New York City. It was surprising because the wall it is painted on is attached to a dreary, worn
out old building. We walked through a pretty run down and somewhat scare part of Long Island City near the water front. The Sculpture Park seemed to pop up out of nowhere. When you first approach the park, you notice that there are blocks lining the outer gateway. They look like letters collected over the years from other signs, but who knows? They could have been created as part of some installation. Jon took a picture of three blocks that spell out a funny word.
We continued on into the park and facing us as we walked in was a replica of the Paramount movie insignia. It's kind of hard to see in these pictures because the sky was so grey but I'm posting them anyway. That is upper east side of Manhattan far off in the background.
out old building. We walked through a pretty run down and somewhat scare part of Long Island City near the water front. The Sculpture Park seemed to pop up out of nowhere. When you first approach the park, you notice that there are blocks lining the outer gateway. They look like letters collected over the years from other signs, but who knows? They could have been created as part of some installation. Jon took a picture of three blocks that spell out a funny word.
We continued on into the park and facing us as we walked in was a replica of the Paramount movie insignia. It's kind of hard to see in these pictures because the sky was so grey but I'm posting them anyway. That is upper east side of Manhattan far off in the background.
For the most part, the park was pretty dismal with the exception of a wind chime sculpture which has been in the park since 1991 or so. I also liked this rusted pile of scrap. The picture on the right is a mere detail. The man in the foreground is Jon.
December 19, 2004
S-A-TUR-DAY (beat) NIGHT!!
After yesterday's fascinating post about finding new ways to be lazy, I decided to take a little walk around the neighborhood to see what I could see. With camera in tow, I headed to the Rite Aid to see if I could find some Xmas cards. Normally, it's not that hard to find our local Rite Aid but this year it was hard to see because this happy fellow was positioned in front of the store by the Xmas tree vendors. He's big and frightening and looks like he wants to squeeze you into submitting to buy one of his trees.
While there, I decided I wanted to buy a fancy, scented candle. The ones at Rite Aid were far too expensive. Fortunately, in my neighborhood, there are multiple 99 cent
stores. When I got out of Rite Aid, I looked across the street to the Bargain Stop. The store being all tarted up for the holidays and looking warm and inviting, I was anticipating a fight with large crowds once inside. I sallied forth. It was worth it. Not only was the story blisfully uncrowded but I found a beautiful, scented candle for 99 cents. I walked a little bit more to see what else I might photograph and I came upon the butcher shop. I've been looking into the window of this butcher shop for over 10 years now and every time I've looked in the past, I've thought I'm going to take a picture of this one day. So, I took two. Here they are. One sign encourages you to order your holiday meat early, the other advertises goat meat. Yummy.
On the way home, I found this "treasure" for sale at the local thrift shop. It is a doll's cradle with one of the Unicorn tapestries painted on the side. I shit you not. I would have bought it except I'm not crazy. When I got home, I finished preparing dinner. I bet you are wondering whether or not I am going to tell you about the meal I prepared last night.
Well, put your wondering aside. I made pasta with meat sauce. The tomato sauce came from a can of Sclaffani pureed tomatoes. Okay, here's what I did.
I diced one medium yellow onion and sliced a container's worth of stuffing mushrooms. I sauteed the onion until it started to get trascluscent, then added the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms started to shrink, I added 1/2 a cup of old wine that's been sitting on our counter since our last party (corked of course). Once the mushrooms absorbed some the yummy wine, I added the chopped meat which I had sauteed and drained of fat while cooking the onions. Once the meat was a browned, I added the 16 oz. can of tomato puree. I let that simmer for a while on low heat, about 2 hours (I love slow cooking) and then I made some shells and the rest is dinner history.
It turned out pretty delicious.
December 18, 2004
Silence on a Saturday
This is turning out to be my laziest Saturday in some time. I started out the day with serious activity. First I posted a fascinating entry about hubris, below. Then I made breakfast. It was no ordinary breakfast. I made steak and eggs. Okay. I let the meat soak in a dry marinade of chili powder, Old Bay, salt and pepper for the hour it took me to bake a quiche. The quiche contained eggs, cream, seasoning and parsley (my favorite herb ever). After the quiche was finished, I cooked the steaks in a hot pan full of butter. Sounds good? It was.
But since Jon left for work, I've just been bumming around. Napping.
I started to watch Reservoir Dogs but had to turn it off when Madsen started torturing the cop. I didn't want to get "stuck in the middle" of that.
Then I found Silence of the Lambs while flipping through the myriad HBO stations that come with DTV. I caught it 20 minutes into the movie. I missed the Chianti and that creepy guy cumming on Starling but did catch the first "quid, pro, quo Clarice";
the flaying and displaying of Charles Napier (one of his guards) in the courthouse scene; the scene where Gumb insists "It puts the lotion in the basket" when Catherine Harris, his victim, discovers nails in the walls of the well where she is being kept; and where Starling accidentally happens upon the scene of the crime. I love that scene. When she first walks into the house, she has no idea. Then, as she waits for Gumb to get her the phone number of Lipman's son, she starts putting it together. The discovery is sealed when she sees that odd moth.
I love that movie.
Now, I'm writing. Sure it's here and not on some other blank canvas but at least I'm writing.
If I stop writing, I'm going to have to decide what I should do next that doesn't involve napping.
But since Jon left for work, I've just been bumming around. Napping.
I started to watch Reservoir Dogs but had to turn it off when Madsen started torturing the cop. I didn't want to get "stuck in the middle" of that.
Then I found Silence of the Lambs while flipping through the myriad HBO stations that come with DTV. I caught it 20 minutes into the movie. I missed the Chianti and that creepy guy cumming on Starling but did catch the first "quid, pro, quo Clarice";
the flaying and displaying of Charles Napier (one of his guards) in the courthouse scene; the scene where Gumb insists "It puts the lotion in the basket" when Catherine Harris, his victim, discovers nails in the walls of the well where she is being kept; and where Starling accidentally happens upon the scene of the crime. I love that scene. When she first walks into the house, she has no idea. Then, as she waits for Gumb to get her the phone number of Lipman's son, she starts putting it together. The discovery is sealed when she sees that odd moth.
I love that movie.
Now, I'm writing. Sure it's here and not on some other blank canvas but at least I'm writing.
If I stop writing, I'm going to have to decide what I should do next that doesn't involve napping.
Cure for Hubris
What is a good cure for hubris? Walking into a second interview expecting to be offered a job and then NOT GETTING IT. Yes. Yesterday, I made that huge error. I walked in expecting full well to be offered a job and then was interviewed for another hour and a half. I can call back on Wednesday. Mr. W keeps telling me to think on it. I said all sorts of things to assure him I wanted the job like "You sound like an interesting person and I'd like to work for you." or "Well, if you feel you need me, I'd be interested in working here." What I'm sure he meant by telling me that I need to think about it, is he needs to think about it. What do you think? Should I call back on Wednesday? Besides, he said, I wouldn't be starting right away anyway. It's the holidays.
When I walked away from him on the street after saying our goodbyes, I walked by a store with some frightening manakids.
Take this one for example. He looks like a little birdie waiting for his mother to drop regurgitated food into his mouth. Or like he has no bones in his face. Or like someone is about to beat him up for his lunch money. Or like someone just ripped out his tongue and he's still in shock. I was very disturbed when I saw this manaquin, that I didn't even notice what he was put there to sell. All I could see was that slack jaw and pair of frightened eyes. But he wasn't as scary as this next one.
This one is downright deranged. This mana"kid" looks like a snake unhinging its jaw in order to eats his pray. Or like he's laughing at me to distract me while something comes up from behind and eats me. Or like he thinks my outfit is so ridiculous that his laughter will shame me into coming into his store to buy something new to wear. Or like he's been driven mad because he learned the truth about Santa Claus. Or because he knew that I wasn't offered the job like I mistakenly thought.
Knowing that I was going to write about these characters, I took a wider shot to help you place these manaquins in the larger setting. See that creepier teenage manaquin in the back. Imagine a whole display of these creepy and mocking dolls. Standing together like that, they resemble a live action Twilight Zone nightmare sequence. They look like someone slapped them on the backs and froze the stupid looks they had on their faces, like their mothers warned.
Yes. It was strange to walk by these laughing figures as I walked out of that interview. Hopefully, I opened a large enough window for you to understand the weird things that go on in my head.
When I walked away from him on the street after saying our goodbyes, I walked by a store with some frightening manakids.
Take this one for example. He looks like a little birdie waiting for his mother to drop regurgitated food into his mouth. Or like he has no bones in his face. Or like someone is about to beat him up for his lunch money. Or like someone just ripped out his tongue and he's still in shock. I was very disturbed when I saw this manaquin, that I didn't even notice what he was put there to sell. All I could see was that slack jaw and pair of frightened eyes. But he wasn't as scary as this next one.
This one is downright deranged. This mana"kid" looks like a snake unhinging its jaw in order to eats his pray. Or like he's laughing at me to distract me while something comes up from behind and eats me. Or like he thinks my outfit is so ridiculous that his laughter will shame me into coming into his store to buy something new to wear. Or like he's been driven mad because he learned the truth about Santa Claus. Or because he knew that I wasn't offered the job like I mistakenly thought.
Knowing that I was going to write about these characters, I took a wider shot to help you place these manaquins in the larger setting. See that creepier teenage manaquin in the back. Imagine a whole display of these creepy and mocking dolls. Standing together like that, they resemble a live action Twilight Zone nightmare sequence. They look like someone slapped them on the backs and froze the stupid looks they had on their faces, like their mothers warned.
Yes. It was strange to walk by these laughing figures as I walked out of that interview. Hopefully, I opened a large enough window for you to understand the weird things that go on in my head.
December 17, 2004
Friday
TGIF. Well, Friday has kind of blended into the other days being that I'm not working and all. I have to admit it's kind of nice not to have to worry about going to work. I like it. But later this afternoon, I have meeting that will most likely lead to a job. Or at least that's what I'm kind of hoping. I'm also kind of hoping it doesn't lead to a job so I can be off for a couple of more weeks. I'm finally getting relaxed.
I know. I can't stay on vacation forever and I had enough of that when I was out of work last year but the truth is having to go to work is hard. Most likely, no one really likes working unless they are working on something for themselves or their family, or at something they truly enjoy.
I like not working. I like taking care of the house. I like being able to take naps in the middle of the day. I like playing with our new camera and discovering the great things it can do.
This is probably my last day off in a while. I'm glad my mom could come and visit with me this morning. We exchanged holiday/vacation gifts and had a nice time catching up.
Insert further rambling here.
I know. I can't stay on vacation forever and I had enough of that when I was out of work last year but the truth is having to go to work is hard. Most likely, no one really likes working unless they are working on something for themselves or their family, or at something they truly enjoy.
I like not working. I like taking care of the house. I like being able to take naps in the middle of the day. I like playing with our new camera and discovering the great things it can do.
This is probably my last day off in a while. I'm glad my mom could come and visit with me this morning. We exchanged holiday/vacation gifts and had a nice time catching up.
Insert further rambling here.
December 16, 2004
Christmastoria
On our morning walk today, we discovered many beautiful (not) Christmas decorations in Astoria. I'll keep you posted as the neighborhood becomes even MORE beautiful.
Interview
The interview went much better than I expected. Instead of walking into a bleak and cold office staffed with vapid 22 year olds, I walked into a small office with four desks and two employees. I impressed K with my skillset and charming personality. K is going to get me an interview with a small company on Wall Street for Monday. Wahoo!!!! I don't always like to wear makeup but today, I think I did a pretty good job for the likes of me. It doesn't always come out as nice as it did ealier. To show you what I mean, I took a couple of pictures of myself in makeup.
I've developed this weird fascination with photographing myself. Can anyone explain it to me? Does anyone else have the same weird solopsistic fascination?
I've developed this weird fascination with photographing myself. Can anyone explain it to me? Does anyone else have the same weird solopsistic fascination?
Yodelay Da-Hee
Easy Thursday. Just got ready for a job interview. I'm made up, wearing my new pink sweater, listening to the sound track of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou and looking at Jon lovingly every two minutes or so. I look very pretty. The interview is with an agency for a job as Assistant to VP of Marketing for an online education company. I think it's one of those fake jobs designed to bring you into an agency so they can humiliate you but I have something else good lined up for tomorrow so what can this hurt. Two hours of my life.
========================================
This morning, before our walk, I made a yummy for your tummy breakfast. Eggs in the nest or Maryjanes, toasted bagels with butter and lemon curd picked up in England and Turkey Polish Kilbassa.
Tonight we'll be eating the leftovers of last night's dinner. Sorry to those of you who wanted me to bring the leftovers to you for lunch today, but time didn't allow for it today.
========================================
This morning, before our walk, I made a yummy for your tummy breakfast. Eggs in the nest or Maryjanes, toasted bagels with butter and lemon curd picked up in England and Turkey Polish Kilbassa.
Tonight we'll be eating the leftovers of last night's dinner. Sorry to those of you who wanted me to bring the leftovers to you for lunch today, but time didn't allow for it today.
Recipe
I surprised myself. The shephard's pie turned out pretty yummy.
First I boiled 5 medium red potatoes and 5 chopped carrots until soft and let them cool.
Then I sauteed 1/2 pound of chopmeat with 1 chopped medium onion and 2 diced tomatoes.
Once the sautee was soft and nice, I emptied everything into a bread pan. Then I mashed the carrots and created a mushy carrot layer on the meat mix. Then I added the mashed potatoes to top everything off. I placed the bread pan into a preheated oven which I turned down to 200 degrees so the pie could slow simmer.
It was done by 10-ish, when I enjoyed a piece before Jon came home.
For seasoning, I used salt, pepper and OLD BAY to taste.
Yum.
First I boiled 5 medium red potatoes and 5 chopped carrots until soft and let them cool.
Then I sauteed 1/2 pound of chopmeat with 1 chopped medium onion and 2 diced tomatoes.
Once the sautee was soft and nice, I emptied everything into a bread pan. Then I mashed the carrots and created a mushy carrot layer on the meat mix. Then I added the mashed potatoes to top everything off. I placed the bread pan into a preheated oven which I turned down to 200 degrees so the pie could slow simmer.
It was done by 10-ish, when I enjoyed a piece before Jon came home.
For seasoning, I used salt, pepper and OLD BAY to taste.
Yum.
December 15, 2004
Back on the Block
Guess who's back. Back again.
We're home. Jon is at work. I am chilling out. I was just looking over our oodles of photos. I'm trying to figure out which ones are truly worth printing. Digital is great.
This morning we went for an hour long walk in Central Park. In London, I started enjoy walking around daily. It's incredibly relaxing and invigorating so I want to keep it up. The walk was certainly invigorating. It was cold out there today. After our walk through the park, we found our way to Whole Markets in the Time Warner Center to pick up some food for dinner.
This afternoon, after Jon left for work, I watched ELF on DVD (hee hee - funny, funny) and then I went for a pedicure/manicure. Ahhhhh. That was nice. I chose Pink Slip for both toes and fingers. It's a light, pink color usually used as the base for a French manicure. It looks incredibly natural but very neat.
Tonight, I'll be making shepherd's pie. Our host, Mark, made it for us during our visit and I remembered my mom making it when I was younger. Being the stubborn person that I am, I refuse to look up the recipe in a cookbook so I'll be making it up as I go along, based on memories from my childhood and my vacation.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
We're home. Jon is at work. I am chilling out. I was just looking over our oodles of photos. I'm trying to figure out which ones are truly worth printing. Digital is great.
This morning we went for an hour long walk in Central Park. In London, I started enjoy walking around daily. It's incredibly relaxing and invigorating so I want to keep it up. The walk was certainly invigorating. It was cold out there today. After our walk through the park, we found our way to Whole Markets in the Time Warner Center to pick up some food for dinner.
This afternoon, after Jon left for work, I watched ELF on DVD (hee hee - funny, funny) and then I went for a pedicure/manicure. Ahhhhh. That was nice. I chose Pink Slip for both toes and fingers. It's a light, pink color usually used as the base for a French manicure. It looks incredibly natural but very neat.
Tonight, I'll be making shepherd's pie. Our host, Mark, made it for us during our visit and I remembered my mom making it when I was younger. Being the stubborn person that I am, I refuse to look up the recipe in a cookbook so I'll be making it up as I go along, based on memories from my childhood and my vacation.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
December 14, 2004
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Bags are packed. I'm ready to go. . .
We are ready to go. We will be leaving in about 40 minutes to begin our long commute home. We've had a marvelous time.
For those of you who are positively sick of reading about my happy vacation, you will be pleased to know that as of tomorrow, I will be resuming my regular mixed emotion writing. After all, I have to find a job which is where we first met when I started this blog.
Dear Reader. Thank you for indulging me as I kept a journal of my first real vacation.
See you soon.
We are ready to go. We will be leaving in about 40 minutes to begin our long commute home. We've had a marvelous time.
For those of you who are positively sick of reading about my happy vacation, you will be pleased to know that as of tomorrow, I will be resuming my regular mixed emotion writing. After all, I have to find a job which is where we first met when I started this blog.
Dear Reader. Thank you for indulging me as I kept a journal of my first real vacation.
See you soon.
December 13, 2004
Westminster Abbey/Elgin Marbles
Today, our last full day in London, we went to Westminster Abbey and then to the British Museum to see the Elgin marbles.
Westminster Abbey is amazing. The most famous English Kings, Queens, scientists, poets and other impressive citizens are interred here. There are more amazing sculptures here than I have seen in any of my travels. Of course, photograph taking is banned there. I noticed that all the sites we've had to pay to see forbid the taking of photographs. That didn't ruin the experience for me but it would have nice after paying 15 dollars a head to get in, if I could have taken some pictures of Isaac Newton's statue, or Shakespeare's statue or Mary Queen of Scots effigy, etcetera.
After an overwhelming tour of Westminster we walked north to the British museum. There were two exhibits Jon wanted to show me. The first was the Rosetta stone. Pretty cool. But as cool as it was to see the Rosetta stone, the Elgin marbles were 10 times better. Of course, since this museum was free, I could take as many pictures as I wanted, which I'll download when we get home. I don't know how to describe them to you. They are the oldest sculptures I have ever seen, rescued from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.
I was pretty pooped after absorbing all that info, so Jon and I came back to our home base. 10 minutes after we got back, Jon went off alone to play at apub quiz with Mark. As much as I wanted to go, I really needed to hang back. After all, I have packing to do. We are leaving tomorrow. We are going home. (sniff and hoorah!)
Westminster Abbey is amazing. The most famous English Kings, Queens, scientists, poets and other impressive citizens are interred here. There are more amazing sculptures here than I have seen in any of my travels. Of course, photograph taking is banned there. I noticed that all the sites we've had to pay to see forbid the taking of photographs. That didn't ruin the experience for me but it would have nice after paying 15 dollars a head to get in, if I could have taken some pictures of Isaac Newton's statue, or Shakespeare's statue or Mary Queen of Scots effigy, etcetera.
After an overwhelming tour of Westminster we walked north to the British museum. There were two exhibits Jon wanted to show me. The first was the Rosetta stone. Pretty cool. But as cool as it was to see the Rosetta stone, the Elgin marbles were 10 times better. Of course, since this museum was free, I could take as many pictures as I wanted, which I'll download when we get home. I don't know how to describe them to you. They are the oldest sculptures I have ever seen, rescued from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.
I was pretty pooped after absorbing all that info, so Jon and I came back to our home base. 10 minutes after we got back, Jon went off alone to play at apub quiz with Mark. As much as I wanted to go, I really needed to hang back. After all, I have packing to do. We are leaving tomorrow. We are going home. (sniff and hoorah!)
The Palace of Holyrood
One of the more romantic places Jon and I went was Holyrood Palace. The Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the Royal family when the pass through Scotland. It's really old and is the setting for some pretty historic events. One of my favorite historic residents was Mary Queen of Scots. This is where she lived when her wicked cousin, had her friend/lover? murdered. The story of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth is probably a favorite of a lot of anglophiles, which I am slowly becoming. Anyway, there is a room that contains many, many personal effects of the Mary and other 
famous members of the British royalty. One of the creepier things we saw in this room was a cast of Robert the Bruce's skull made from his found remains which were interred somewhere else, perhaps at Edinburgh castle but I don't really remember. My head is pretty crammed with royal knowlege.
Not to be overlooked is the abbey at Holyrood. It was built by King David I after he saw a white stag when hunting. It may have been some kind of vision or something. Again, I'll have to study the story a little further (crammed head needs much sorting). He built this abbey which is now a romantic ruin. Here is my photographic contribution.
famous members of the British royalty. One of the creepier things we saw in this room was a cast of Robert the Bruce's skull made from his found remains which were interred somewhere else, perhaps at Edinburgh castle but I don't really remember. My head is pretty crammed with royal knowlege.
Not to be overlooked is the abbey at Holyrood. It was built by King David I after he saw a white stag when hunting. It may have been some kind of vision or something. Again, I'll have to study the story a little further (crammed head needs much sorting). He built this abbey which is now a romantic ruin. Here is my photographic contribution.
Sunday in Greenwich -The Cutty Sark
Sunday, Jon and I spent some time in Greenwich, near the meridian. The first site we visited was the Cutty Sark (see below). We also went to this charming open market because Sunday is Market day in Greenwich. Then we walked up to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park where we stood on the meridian. We saw where Haley did most of his work. We saw cool equipment and took photos of each other on either side of the line. Later that night, we went ice skating with some friends, also in Greenwich. We had drinks at Trafalgar pub which was full of Lord Nelson memorabilia. I did not try the ale named Lord Nelson's Blood. After our drinks we went skating at the Old Royal Naval College, although I did more wall grabbing than skating. Jon and our host Mark both impressed me with their skating, especially Jon who was actually quite good at it. The other people we met, Steve, Annie and Shonny were just lovely. They were such nice people. We had a very nice time. After skating, Jon, Mark and I went out for Indian food. Yummy. I've had some pretty amazing Indian food here, better than New York City even.
That was enough for one day. After that we pretty much called it quits and packed it in for the evening.
We got home pretty late.
That was enough for one day. After that we pretty much called it quits and packed it in for the evening.
We got home pretty late.
December 11, 2004
Tower of London
Here is a self portrait of me near the entrance of Tower of London. Mark and Jon were on line waiting for the tickets and I was getting a little restless. I tried to to take some shots of the wall I'm standing in front of but the light wasn't quite right. The haziness at that moment made the light bounce everywhere so all my shots kept coming up all washed out.
About 30 minutes after I took my brilliant self portrait, the sky changed completely, clearing up wholly producing a brilliant blue sky. This happened about 3 minutes after we started our tour. Here is a picture of the first gate. I think it's the North Gate but I could be wrong.
This is a head on shot of the building that houses the crown jewels. I don't know what else to say about that except they are utterly breath taking. Sadly, the casual tourist is forbidden from taking photographs in here for security reasons. You'll just have to trust me. If you haven't seen them they are everything you've heard they are and more. Just breathtaking. If you have seen them, you know what I mean.
One of England's more interesting kings was King Henry VIII. You have probably heard of him. He's best known for having had six wives and for being an overall jerk with an appetite so large that only his greedy ego could top it. The most fun I had was observing this enormous cod piece from one of his later suits of armor. I hope you enjoy it as well.
Dog and Bell Pub Quiz
Here is Jon, asking questions as host of the Dog and Bell weekly pub quiz. As I mentioned before this went over very well. People were pleased with the questions and it helped us connect with London on a more personal level.
While I was walking around the pub with my camera, Charlie the owner of the pub, asked me to photograph his most recent award of Regional Pub of the Year. I requested that he hold the award to give the photo a nice human touch. He was just the loveliest man ever. He explained to me how proud he was because there is a real art to running a neighborhood pub. Activities, types of ale, food and ambiance are all part of it. He managed to put it all together which is why he won the award. Here is a picture of proud Charlie.
Photo Update
Well. I managed to get some more pictures off this disk onto Flickr into this post. Our first day out, Jon and I went on the London Eye. Here are the pictures. Enjoy. I won't bore you with the details when you can just look at them. You may have figured out by now that we are having a good time. This is also apparent from our enormous smiles.
Friday in London
Jon and I split up so he could spend some time with his friend and I could be on my own a little bit. I thought it would be interesting to visit Harrod's, you know that big department store owned by the Al Fayeds. It was interesting to see the exterior but the interior was as busy as any New York department store two weeks before Christmas. I did use the luxurious bathroom but then I headed out to get some lunch and to see the Victoria & Albert museum.
Lunch was delicious. For £9 (about 18 dollars because the dollar is crap right now)I had a huge bowl of soup, chicken and four different vegetables. Yummy.
Then I went to the V&A. I walked around for about 2 and a half hours. It's a museum of decorative arts. There didn't seem to be any really famous artworks there but there were some lovely pieces.
Here is a photo of the church we saw in York.
Here is a picture of Jon in front of above church.
Lunch was delicious. For £9 (about 18 dollars because the dollar is crap right now)I had a huge bowl of soup, chicken and four different vegetables. Yummy.
Then I went to the V&A. I walked around for about 2 and a half hours. It's a museum of decorative arts. There didn't seem to be any really famous artworks there but there were some lovely pieces.
Here is a photo of the church we saw in York.
Here is a picture of Jon in front of above church.
December 09, 2004
Last Day In Edinburgh
We slept well last night, our last night at the Hotel Ibis on the Royal Mile. Today is our last day in Scotland and we plan to squeeze in as much as humanly possible. The main focus of the day will be visiting the Holyrood (sp?), a palace of some sort or the other. I'm sure I'll learn plenty from our tour guide.
Scotland is a beautiful place and I recommend vacationing here highly. It's not too expensive and the people are friendly enough and mostly everyone speaks English. Edinburgh is lovely.
This is probably the last chance I'll have to blog for a while so until next time . . .
Scotland is a beautiful place and I recommend vacationing here highly. It's not too expensive and the people are friendly enough and mostly everyone speaks English. Edinburgh is lovely.
This is probably the last chance I'll have to blog for a while so until next time . . .
Happy Chanukah!!!
For those of us who are celebrating the miracle of lights, happy holiday to you and yours. Just so you know, there is no indication at all over here in Edinburgh that Chanukah is even in play. Nor was there any indication in London for that matter. One would think there weren't any Jewish people around here.
December 08, 2004
About the Pictures
Okay. I've moved our pictures to disk but forgot to pack them before leaving our hotel. I promise there will be pictures soon.
Time to go. We're going to go have some scotch and dinner.
Time to go. We're going to go have some scotch and dinner.
The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre
That nap was absolutely wonderful. After spending the morning in the crisp, mountain air wandering around the Castle, I was quite nackered. I slept peacefully and deeply. I've gotten to the point on the vacation when you've finally relaxed after several days of not working, except this time, I don't have to leaave yet. This is my longest and most fun vacation since I was 14 years old and spent the summer in France.
One of the activities I looked forward to when we were planning our trip was visiting The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. Here, for a small fee you are taken by a guide on tour of the history of Scotch Whisky. This was worth every pound. Our guide was an adorable 25 year old, Spanish woman from Seville who spoke with Scottish English with a thick Spanish accent. The tour started with a taste of single malt Scotch called Teachers. Then we were led to a room where we watched a movie on the history of Scotch as told to an American tourist by a Scottish bartender. After one sip, he was magically transported in time to when his great grandfather worked in a Scotch destillery. The movie shows the several stages of production from germinating the malt to aging in the casks. Then we were led to a second room where we saw a movie on the different geographical regions where Scotch is produced.
Did you know that there are 90 distillerys for single malt whisky butt only 7 that produce the grain whisky they use to make blended whisky? Then we watched a holographic image of figure from the past who was the first to blend whisky. He explained the importance of blending whisky and of gathering years of experience developing a nose for it. Blenders are the one who make sure a particular brand of scotch or whisky is consistently the same for quality control.
As you can see, I learned a lot about the process of making Scotch and Whisky.
The best part of the tour was the ride. We rode a car through wax figures depicted from different times while a voice from the speaker on the dash explained the history of the Scotch industry. I took many pictures on this ride, perhaps foolishly but I'm sure you will like the once I get them posted.
One of the activities I looked forward to when we were planning our trip was visiting The Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. Here, for a small fee you are taken by a guide on tour of the history of Scotch Whisky. This was worth every pound. Our guide was an adorable 25 year old, Spanish woman from Seville who spoke with Scottish English with a thick Spanish accent. The tour started with a taste of single malt Scotch called Teachers. Then we were led to a room where we watched a movie on the history of Scotch as told to an American tourist by a Scottish bartender. After one sip, he was magically transported in time to when his great grandfather worked in a Scotch destillery. The movie shows the several stages of production from germinating the malt to aging in the casks. Then we were led to a second room where we saw a movie on the different geographical regions where Scotch is produced.
Did you know that there are 90 distillerys for single malt whisky butt only 7 that produce the grain whisky they use to make blended whisky? Then we watched a holographic image of figure from the past who was the first to blend whisky. He explained the importance of blending whisky and of gathering years of experience developing a nose for it. Blenders are the one who make sure a particular brand of scotch or whisky is consistently the same for quality control.
As you can see, I learned a lot about the process of making Scotch and Whisky.
The best part of the tour was the ride. We rode a car through wax figures depicted from different times while a voice from the speaker on the dash explained the history of the Scotch industry. I took many pictures on this ride, perhaps foolishly but I'm sure you will like the once I get them posted.
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