Here's a giant picture of my eye. Don't ask me why.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
July 2, 2007: 20:29
So when last we posted, we had finished our day in Bath. (Pardon typos as UK keyboards are different from US.) The next day we spent in London. We had big plans for that day; we were going to go to about 5 different sites. But then we decided to sleep in. It is our vacation, after all.
We went to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The Tower of London was very interesting; we saw the Crown Jewels, many crowns, swords, scepters, etc. Seeing what was a castle nearly 1000 years ago was humbling. There are 4-6 ravens on the tower grounds that have been there for centuries. The legend is that if the ravens ever leave, the kingdom will fall. (I'm sure, as Kristy pointed out, that they are different ravens now than hundreds of years ago.)
We then made our way to Picadilly Circus to go to the Ice Bar. When we came out of the Underground, we realized that this was the area in which the attempted car bombing had occurred, because the police had some streets cordoned of and were monitoring traffic carefully. We made our way up to the bar and received silver capes with faux fur hoods. Then into the Ice Bar we went to receive our drinks in glasses made of ice. They looked sort of like square rocks glasses. The bar, the ceiling, the walls, tables, and benches were all made of ice. I put a couple of pounds down on the table to count out change for a second drink when I realized that they were melting into the table. We had two drinks apiece and then made our way out and onto our next stop. Definitely worth the trip to Picadilly Circus.
We went to Covent Garden, a great place to go shopping. We had our first pasties there at a little bar on the second floor overlooking the street performers. While we were in the area, we saw a contortionist, a mime, a silver statue guy, flamenco dancers, and a few more things I'm forgetting. We also shopped the stalls and little stores along the market before heading home for the evening. We went that night to a pub down the road from our hotel which is named Fuller's, the same last name as Nick's. We had a pretty good dinner and then headed home for the night.
. . .
Next day, we travelled by train to York. We were going to rent a car but decided against it due to the extreme rain and flooding in the Yorkshire area, as well as the fact that the train ride took 1.5 hours less than driving would in good conditions. We left from King's Cross Station, the one that Harry Potter takes to go to Hogwart's. We saw the brick dividers in between the platforms that he runs into to get to Platform 9 3/4 (though JK Rowling apparently got King's Cross confused with a different station because it only goes up to Platform 8.
The train ride was uneventful; we slept most of the way. When we arrived, we dropped our bags at the hotel and then went out to sightsee. We went to Clifford's Tower, across from which our hotel was located. We climbed all told 107 steps there. It was worth it, though. What a view! And such history. We walked down the street aways and found a little bake shop where we had our first English High Tea. I quite enjoyed it, and Kristy just enjoyed it because of the raisins in the scones.
Then we walked up toward York Minster, a gorgeous cathedral which was built in medieval times. Prior to that, a smaller cathedral existed on the same site, predated by Roman Barracks. The site is where Constantine became emporor of Rome. (He later deemed Christianity the official religion of Rome.) We saw artifacts and architecture from all three building periods, including the crypt said to contain the remains of York's patron saint.
On the way up and back from the Minster, we walked among the Shambles, a network of tiny old streets, most not wide enough to hold any cars--barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. There were many interesting shops and pubs. We stopped at a guest house for a late lunch, where Kristy had Yorkshire Pudding and I had something chicken. Then we made our way back to the hotel, where we slept for hours!
When we woke up it was after 8 so we figured we'd better find dinner quickly before everything closed up. We went to the Shambles again but didn't find anything. Then on our way back we saw a pub called the Golden Fleece, which was purported to be haunted by several ghosts, so we stopped there for dinner and did not see any ghosts, though Kristy swears she saw water dripping from the ceiling. I saw nothing and there was not a wet spot on the ceiling or on the floor. WooOOOooo!
Then it was back to the hotel to watch endless tv until we fell asleep.
. . .
We really just finished our second day in Scotland, about which Kristy will write. I will just say that I thought 107 steps was the most I would climb in one day on this trip. Boy, was I wrong!
We went to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The Tower of London was very interesting; we saw the Crown Jewels, many crowns, swords, scepters, etc. Seeing what was a castle nearly 1000 years ago was humbling. There are 4-6 ravens on the tower grounds that have been there for centuries. The legend is that if the ravens ever leave, the kingdom will fall. (I'm sure, as Kristy pointed out, that they are different ravens now than hundreds of years ago.)
We then made our way to Picadilly Circus to go to the Ice Bar. When we came out of the Underground, we realized that this was the area in which the attempted car bombing had occurred, because the police had some streets cordoned of and were monitoring traffic carefully. We made our way up to the bar and received silver capes with faux fur hoods. Then into the Ice Bar we went to receive our drinks in glasses made of ice. They looked sort of like square rocks glasses. The bar, the ceiling, the walls, tables, and benches were all made of ice. I put a couple of pounds down on the table to count out change for a second drink when I realized that they were melting into the table. We had two drinks apiece and then made our way out and onto our next stop. Definitely worth the trip to Picadilly Circus.
We went to Covent Garden, a great place to go shopping. We had our first pasties there at a little bar on the second floor overlooking the street performers. While we were in the area, we saw a contortionist, a mime, a silver statue guy, flamenco dancers, and a few more things I'm forgetting. We also shopped the stalls and little stores along the market before heading home for the evening. We went that night to a pub down the road from our hotel which is named Fuller's, the same last name as Nick's. We had a pretty good dinner and then headed home for the night.
. . .
Next day, we travelled by train to York. We were going to rent a car but decided against it due to the extreme rain and flooding in the Yorkshire area, as well as the fact that the train ride took 1.5 hours less than driving would in good conditions. We left from King's Cross Station, the one that Harry Potter takes to go to Hogwart's. We saw the brick dividers in between the platforms that he runs into to get to Platform 9 3/4 (though JK Rowling apparently got King's Cross confused with a different station because it only goes up to Platform 8.
The train ride was uneventful; we slept most of the way. When we arrived, we dropped our bags at the hotel and then went out to sightsee. We went to Clifford's Tower, across from which our hotel was located. We climbed all told 107 steps there. It was worth it, though. What a view! And such history. We walked down the street aways and found a little bake shop where we had our first English High Tea. I quite enjoyed it, and Kristy just enjoyed it because of the raisins in the scones.
Then we walked up toward York Minster, a gorgeous cathedral which was built in medieval times. Prior to that, a smaller cathedral existed on the same site, predated by Roman Barracks. The site is where Constantine became emporor of Rome. (He later deemed Christianity the official religion of Rome.) We saw artifacts and architecture from all three building periods, including the crypt said to contain the remains of York's patron saint.
On the way up and back from the Minster, we walked among the Shambles, a network of tiny old streets, most not wide enough to hold any cars--barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. There were many interesting shops and pubs. We stopped at a guest house for a late lunch, where Kristy had Yorkshire Pudding and I had something chicken. Then we made our way back to the hotel, where we slept for hours!
When we woke up it was after 8 so we figured we'd better find dinner quickly before everything closed up. We went to the Shambles again but didn't find anything. Then on our way back we saw a pub called the Golden Fleece, which was purported to be haunted by several ghosts, so we stopped there for dinner and did not see any ghosts, though Kristy swears she saw water dripping from the ceiling. I saw nothing and there was not a wet spot on the ceiling or on the floor. WooOOOooo!
Then it was back to the hotel to watch endless tv until we fell asleep.
. . .
We really just finished our second day in Scotland, about which Kristy will write. I will just say that I thought 107 steps was the most I would climb in one day on this trip. Boy, was I wrong!
Friday, June 29, 2007
June 30, 2007: 22:17
The more you travel, the more you come to realize just how important toilets really are. There were some nice ones today, but we are tired and must get up early to get to York, so we will update later. Just wanted everyone to know we are still alive and having fun.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Great Taxi Adventure
We had the continental breaky at our hotel this morning. It was, hands down, the best breakfast I've ever had at a hotel. It was typical continental breakfast food but the quality was better.
We took the underground to Paddington Station. They had a kiosk with Paddington Bear merchandise, which was cute. Tina and I went to a news stand where she bought water and I bought a little journal, a glue stick and a pen. I've decided to keep a travel journal, of sorts, where I glue in the business cards of places I go and write myself comments on what I liked and didn't like. It's now 0:12 so I'll be taking excerpts from that to expedite this entry. But what I think was most fascinating about Paddington Station is that the station was so clean and litter free despite the lack of trash cans of any sort on any part of the platform.
Anyways, In Bath we had lunch at the Cellar Pub. It's name is a very accurate description. But at least it was a clean cellar. We got naans (a pizza like food without sauce) with chips and drinks. All the food was good. The prices were fair. The bathroom was smelly and basement like.
After lunch we walked around for some sightseeing and shopping. This is the Roman Bath, a reminder of the expanse of the Roman Empire's rule. We spent a while picking up gifts in the gift shop.
This is Bath Abbey. In our guide book it told the story of the man who designed it. God spoke to him in a dream and this is how he described the abbey he was to build. At least he was only having strange dreams instead of hearing voices. We weren't allowed to enter the Abbey because there was a college graduation being held in the chapel.
We went to a few small shops (mostly candy stores) that had all sorts of cool, British candy.
This is a pretty statue in a river level park near the Roman Bath and Bath Abbey. It was so quaint with it's well-kept lawns and gardens, free public lawn chairs (I'm sure there's some cooler British term for it, but I don't know it) and sunbathing natives.
Then we took the train to Warchester which is the closest stop to the little town of Longleat, our destination. When we got off the train Tina said we needed to stop at an ATM. Unfortunately there were no ATMs at the station. We had enough to take the taxi from the station to Longleat House.
In spite of the lack of ATM, there was a beautiful stray cat. He was very friendly I wouldn't have minded adopting him.
Anyways, we then took a cab for about 10 pounds to Longleat House. When we went in to find a map and/or purchase tickets to the hedge maze (the only reason that we came) the nice, old man at the countertold us everything closed up at 17:00. It was 16:20ish. The maze was at the very back of the the estate grounds. On the way to the maze we tried to stop at the ATM. No good. It wouldn't read any of our cards. At all. We had, Tina said, 8 pounds. So we went to the maze. It was 3 pounds a person and it didn't take cards either. But that didn't matter because we weren't allowed in. It was too close to closing time. Even though the people before us in line were allowed in.
We followed the signs to an alternate ATM at a gift shop 2/3's of the way across the grounds that still wouldn't read our cards. Tina and I dug about and found 2 more pounds as well as some odd change. We made our way back to the other ATM which was next to a phone booth where we had some difficulty calling a cab (Okay, I had trouble. Tina did it.)
We walked a short path through a topiary garden where we
saw dragons and witches and stuff cut out of bushes and decorated with moss and flowers.
The whole taxi ride back to the train station, Tina and I kept eying the meter to makes sure it didn't exceed 10 pounds (at which point we planned to stop the taxi and walk the rest of the way). Fortunately we made it back on 9 pounds and change. Safely on the prepaid for train we decided to dine in Bath.
The Rat and Parrot is a cool pub on a back road in Bath. We chose it because it was bold enough to put rat in the name of a food establishment. I had a raspberry collins which was great, with raspberry puree in it. Tina had sweet and sour chicken and I had chicken tikka and we shared chips topped in cheese. I really enjoyed my food and drink. We decided to use the toilets before our long train ride. They were in the basement. The drippy, stinky basement that had puddles all over the floor and no light at all in one stale. I had stinky Bath bathroom water drip on my head. Ew.
Then we caught the train back to Paddington Station and then the underground to the hotel. Where we've continued our unfortunate evening tradition of watching horrible British quiz shows.
And on that note, I'm going to go take a baseball bat to the tv. Or go to bed. Either way.
We took the underground to Paddington Station. They had a kiosk with Paddington Bear merchandise, which was cute. Tina and I went to a news stand where she bought water and I bought a little journal, a glue stick and a pen. I've decided to keep a travel journal, of sorts, where I glue in the business cards of places I go and write myself comments on what I liked and didn't like. It's now 0:12 so I'll be taking excerpts from that to expedite this entry. But what I think was most fascinating about Paddington Station is that the station was so clean and litter free despite the lack of trash cans of any sort on any part of the platform.
Anyways, In Bath we had lunch at the Cellar Pub. It's name is a very accurate description. But at least it was a clean cellar. We got naans (a pizza like food without sauce) with chips and drinks. All the food was good. The prices were fair. The bathroom was smelly and basement like.
After lunch we walked around for some sightseeing and shopping. This is the Roman Bath, a reminder of the expanse of the Roman Empire's rule. We spent a while picking up gifts in the gift shop.
This is Bath Abbey. In our guide book it told the story of the man who designed it. God spoke to him in a dream and this is how he described the abbey he was to build. At least he was only having strange dreams instead of hearing voices. We weren't allowed to enter the Abbey because there was a college graduation being held in the chapel.
We went to a few small shops (mostly candy stores) that had all sorts of cool, British candy.
This is a pretty statue in a river level park near the Roman Bath and Bath Abbey. It was so quaint with it's well-kept lawns and gardens, free public lawn chairs (I'm sure there's some cooler British term for it, but I don't know it) and sunbathing natives.
Then we took the train to Warchester which is the closest stop to the little town of Longleat, our destination. When we got off the train Tina said we needed to stop at an ATM. Unfortunately there were no ATMs at the station. We had enough to take the taxi from the station to Longleat House.
In spite of the lack of ATM, there was a beautiful stray cat. He was very friendly I wouldn't have minded adopting him.
Anyways, we then took a cab for about 10 pounds to Longleat House. When we went in to find a map and/or purchase tickets to the hedge maze (the only reason that we came) the nice, old man at the countertold us everything closed up at 17:00. It was 16:20ish. The maze was at the very back of the the estate grounds. On the way to the maze we tried to stop at the ATM. No good. It wouldn't read any of our cards. At all. We had, Tina said, 8 pounds. So we went to the maze. It was 3 pounds a person and it didn't take cards either. But that didn't matter because we weren't allowed in. It was too close to closing time. Even though the people before us in line were allowed in.
We followed the signs to an alternate ATM at a gift shop 2/3's of the way across the grounds that still wouldn't read our cards. Tina and I dug about and found 2 more pounds as well as some odd change. We made our way back to the other ATM which was next to a phone booth where we had some difficulty calling a cab (Okay, I had trouble. Tina did it.)
We walked a short path through a topiary garden where we
saw dragons and witches and stuff cut out of bushes and decorated with moss and flowers.
The whole taxi ride back to the train station, Tina and I kept eying the meter to makes sure it didn't exceed 10 pounds (at which point we planned to stop the taxi and walk the rest of the way). Fortunately we made it back on 9 pounds and change. Safely on the prepaid for train we decided to dine in Bath.
The Rat and Parrot is a cool pub on a back road in Bath. We chose it because it was bold enough to put rat in the name of a food establishment. I had a raspberry collins which was great, with raspberry puree in it. Tina had sweet and sour chicken and I had chicken tikka and we shared chips topped in cheese. I really enjoyed my food and drink. We decided to use the toilets before our long train ride. They were in the basement. The drippy, stinky basement that had puddles all over the floor and no light at all in one stale. I had stinky Bath bathroom water drip on my head. Ew.
Then we caught the train back to Paddington Station and then the underground to the hotel. Where we've continued our unfortunate evening tradition of watching horrible British quiz shows.
And on that note, I'm going to go take a baseball bat to the tv. Or go to bed. Either way.
June 28, 2007: 23:02
Yes, it's true. I fell and banged up my knee. I also found a bruise this morning on my arm and I don't know how it got there. But what Kristy failed to tell you is that she and I both nearly got hit by a car since we looked the wrong way crossing the street near Parliament. Glad to hear everyone is well there and the puppy is getting along okay. I found my travel sandals today so no falls (unless you count when I tripped walking into the bathroom in our hotel room because I forgot to step up).
I'm going to finish up from yesterday with some pictures and Kristy will post about today later on.
When we visited Parliament, there were a lot of press around because Gordon Brown had just become the new Prime Minister, and also some Torrie switched parties and joined Labour, which was a big deal. Tony Blair got a standing ovation when he finished his last address to Parliament, a rare event that not even Churchill saw at the end of his term in office.
Kristy got a closeup of these gargoyles hanging out at Parliament.
Look, kids! Big Ben! Parliament!
Westminster Abbey was closed when we walked over to it, but lucky for us we came around the back entrance and snuck in, as there was some school concert going on. So we took our own mini tour for free and on the down low. We walked on the graves of lots of people. We might go back when it is open for real.
Kristy and I both loved this statement at the main entrance to the Abbey. If you can't make it out, it says, "May God grant to the living-grace; to the departed-rest; to the church & the world-peace and concord; and to us sinners eternal life."
There were protesters across from Parliament. Some were protesting taxes, some were protesting the war, some seemed just to be protesting the general state of things.
We then went on the London Eye, the largest observation wheel in the world. We had reserved our tickets online to avoid a long wait when we got there. However, we arrived early so we ducked into a bar for a drink while we waited.
However, it had started pouring when we emerged from the bar. The lady at the ticket counter said we could wait out the rain to go on, but as we had no idea how long this would be and also knew that the large crowd inside the ticket office was doing that very thing, we decided to go ahead in the rain. Notice the raindrops on the lower part of the picture.
At any rate, Kristy got postcard-quality photos once we were over 1/2 way up. Here is a great shot of Parliament with Big Ben at the front.
An aerial view of Buckingham Palace.
Here is the view from the tippity top. Not something Mom would enjoy, for sure. There was a group of 3 Scottish women and their children in the car with us. One of the woman would not move from the bench in the center of the car. There are little tiny flecks from left to right in the center of the shot. Those are people on the ground.
This is a pretty gold eagle Kristy saw on the side of the Thames.
When we were done with the Eye,
it was still raining and about 9 PM (2100), so we made our way back to the Underground. It was at this point that we nearly got run over. Luckily, the hospital was across the way, so we wouldn't have had to go far. We used our Oyster cards to travel back to Earl's Court, where we are staying. We felt like proper visitors, having gotten the hang of public transport in London.
Once back, we stopped into the hotel to change into dry clothing before heading to a neighborhood pub for a late dinner. Amazing thing: I hate guacamole in the States but love it here. They make it with more onions, I think, and better spices. We had chicken sandwiches with chips, which were okay, but the chips were pretty good. Then back to the hotel, where we watched this totally annoying real-time game show, Make Your Play, where people call in to solve word puzzles. This one puzzle was on air for over 30 minutes with no one guessing the answer, and even the hostess was getting bored. There were barely any calls coming in. We stayed up until 1 AM waiting for someone to guess, and finally shut it off and went to bed, even though they were still playing. I checked when I woke up around 3 AM, and they were finally on to another game.
I'm off to bed now. Kristy has said she will blog about today, though I think we will be posting fewer pictures and more text because it is taking a long time to load all the pictures.
I'm going to finish up from yesterday with some pictures and Kristy will post about today later on.
When we visited Parliament, there were a lot of press around because Gordon Brown had just become the new Prime Minister, and also some Torrie switched parties and joined Labour, which was a big deal. Tony Blair got a standing ovation when he finished his last address to Parliament, a rare event that not even Churchill saw at the end of his term in office.
Kristy got a closeup of these gargoyles hanging out at Parliament.
Look, kids! Big Ben! Parliament!
Westminster Abbey was closed when we walked over to it, but lucky for us we came around the back entrance and snuck in, as there was some school concert going on. So we took our own mini tour for free and on the down low. We walked on the graves of lots of people. We might go back when it is open for real.
Kristy and I both loved this statement at the main entrance to the Abbey. If you can't make it out, it says, "May God grant to the living-grace; to the departed-rest; to the church & the world-peace and concord; and to us sinners eternal life."
There were protesters across from Parliament. Some were protesting taxes, some were protesting the war, some seemed just to be protesting the general state of things.
We then went on the London Eye, the largest observation wheel in the world. We had reserved our tickets online to avoid a long wait when we got there. However, we arrived early so we ducked into a bar for a drink while we waited.
However, it had started pouring when we emerged from the bar. The lady at the ticket counter said we could wait out the rain to go on, but as we had no idea how long this would be and also knew that the large crowd inside the ticket office was doing that very thing, we decided to go ahead in the rain. Notice the raindrops on the lower part of the picture.
At any rate, Kristy got postcard-quality photos once we were over 1/2 way up. Here is a great shot of Parliament with Big Ben at the front.
An aerial view of Buckingham Palace.
Here is the view from the tippity top. Not something Mom would enjoy, for sure. There was a group of 3 Scottish women and their children in the car with us. One of the woman would not move from the bench in the center of the car. There are little tiny flecks from left to right in the center of the shot. Those are people on the ground.
This is a pretty gold eagle Kristy saw on the side of the Thames.
When we were done with the Eye,
it was still raining and about 9 PM (2100), so we made our way back to the Underground. It was at this point that we nearly got run over. Luckily, the hospital was across the way, so we wouldn't have had to go far. We used our Oyster cards to travel back to Earl's Court, where we are staying. We felt like proper visitors, having gotten the hang of public transport in London.
Once back, we stopped into the hotel to change into dry clothing before heading to a neighborhood pub for a late dinner. Amazing thing: I hate guacamole in the States but love it here. They make it with more onions, I think, and better spices. We had chicken sandwiches with chips, which were okay, but the chips were pretty good. Then back to the hotel, where we watched this totally annoying real-time game show, Make Your Play, where people call in to solve word puzzles. This one puzzle was on air for over 30 minutes with no one guessing the answer, and even the hostess was getting bored. There were barely any calls coming in. We stayed up until 1 AM waiting for someone to guess, and finally shut it off and went to bed, even though they were still playing. I checked when I woke up around 3 AM, and they were finally on to another game.
I'm off to bed now. Kristy has said she will blog about today, though I think we will be posting fewer pictures and more text because it is taking a long time to load all the pictures.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
June 27, 2007: 23:42
Here are a couple of observations regarding toilets on transportation: There is often a breeze when you sit down that Kristy does not care for, but I would say it is not unpleasant. In a bus bathroom, there is an emergency release on the window in case you get trapped. Which I guess is a good thing, but I would hate to be in the position to ever have to use it. When flying at 35,000 feet, the toilet flush could possibly take a piece of your clothing with it if you weren't careful.
And now, the trip...
Our flights were pretty smooth. Very long, but smooth. I did leave my Discover Card at a vendor in JFK, and was told to go to three different places to pick it up from security, the last being the gate for my flight. Which was good because the flight was about to board. Unfortunately, the security guard never brought my card and said I then had to go down into the basement to get it, and miss my flight! I said no, I will just cancel the frigging card, and got on the plane.
Here are some pictures of what we did today:
Here is Buckingham Palace. The flag over the entrance means that the Queen is in residence today. When Princess Diana died, many Brits were in an outrage that the Queen did not fly the flag at half mast, but the Queen was not in residence then and she maintained that Diana was not royalty anymore anyhow. Bloody Queen!
And here are the guards. I remember them wearing those big tall hats when I was here last time, but maybe that was the one they made stand outside the Guards Museum that I was remembering. These guards do a sharp little march every half hour or so that serves no purpose but to impress the gawking tourists, so we obliged and gawked while they marched about 20 paces away from the gate and then back.
A shot of the ornate gold-plated gate at the entrance to St. James's Park. It's a lovely park with giant ducks. The ducks here are much larger than the ducks in the U.S.
This is the Victoria Memorial located in front of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria is facing the Mall, flanked by the Angel of Justice and the Angel of Truth. Behind her facing the Palace is a figure representing Charity. Above her is Victory. It's quite pretty with a pool of water and several fountains surrounding it.
Here is a view from the Southeast, featuring the Angel of Justice. Very dramatic against the cloudy sky. Nice job, Kristy!
The Mall.
And we did a lot more today but it is late and I must get up early tomorrow so I'll have to post the pics later. We also went to Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and on the London Eye. Goodnight!
And now, the trip...
Our flights were pretty smooth. Very long, but smooth. I did leave my Discover Card at a vendor in JFK, and was told to go to three different places to pick it up from security, the last being the gate for my flight. Which was good because the flight was about to board. Unfortunately, the security guard never brought my card and said I then had to go down into the basement to get it, and miss my flight! I said no, I will just cancel the frigging card, and got on the plane.
Here are some pictures of what we did today:
Here is Buckingham Palace. The flag over the entrance means that the Queen is in residence today. When Princess Diana died, many Brits were in an outrage that the Queen did not fly the flag at half mast, but the Queen was not in residence then and she maintained that Diana was not royalty anymore anyhow. Bloody Queen!
And here are the guards. I remember them wearing those big tall hats when I was here last time, but maybe that was the one they made stand outside the Guards Museum that I was remembering. These guards do a sharp little march every half hour or so that serves no purpose but to impress the gawking tourists, so we obliged and gawked while they marched about 20 paces away from the gate and then back.
A shot of the ornate gold-plated gate at the entrance to St. James's Park. It's a lovely park with giant ducks. The ducks here are much larger than the ducks in the U.S.
This is the Victoria Memorial located in front of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria is facing the Mall, flanked by the Angel of Justice and the Angel of Truth. Behind her facing the Palace is a figure representing Charity. Above her is Victory. It's quite pretty with a pool of water and several fountains surrounding it.
Here is a view from the Southeast, featuring the Angel of Justice. Very dramatic against the cloudy sky. Nice job, Kristy!
The Mall.
And we did a lot more today but it is late and I must get up early tomorrow so I'll have to post the pics later. We also went to Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and on the London Eye. Goodnight!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Pictures of New Orleans
So I'm finally publishing some pics from the New Orleans trip.
Here is the jazz funeral that took place my first night there. I received my 1st three strands of beads from this one.
This is part of the memorial to Katrina victims that is in the lower 9th ward. There were 1600 victims. 300 of those died when they fled to a local elementary school, thinking they'd be safe. Instead, they all drowned.
This is also part of the memorial. Thomas, my professor, is sitting in the chair to the right. Clockwise, Paul, then Jackie, then Shane, and then Kelly are around him.
Here is another view of the memorial (sans people). It is an incredibly accurate depiction of what a wrecked home may look like, except as you'll see in later pictures, the concrete steps, porch, and stilts are the only things remaining of most of the destroyed homes. Perhaps this is supposed to be a home in the process of being rebuilt.
Here is a gas station that never re-opened after the hurricane. The price of regular unleaded gas in the lower 9th ward on August 28, 2005, was $2.55 a gallon.
This house was originally attached to the porch steps you see on the right side of the picture.
The steps of 1630 Reynes Street. The tilted house may have belonged to this lot, but there were two sets of steps and only one house left.
A closeup of the house that possibly belongs to 1630 Reynes.
This brick house was across the street from 1630 Reynes. Brick houses held up pretty well to the flood, mainly sustaining roof and window damage. However the house itself held up, the cross next to the window on the right indicates that someone died in that house during Katrina.
A pile of debris at the side of the road. It contains a child's toy frog, a video tape, some broken vinyl records. A photograph. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that this pile has been there since the water was pumped out, but it is very likely that the people who owned what is now in this debris pile still haven't returned home, likely don't have a home to which to return.
The man on the right owns this home. His friend is helping him begin to clean it up. They have only recently been allowed to return to the property, and have received no money or help from the government to fix his home. Even though they weren't allowed back, the man on the left (I regret not having caught their names) said, "We keep the flower beds up because we trying to let people know we coming home." Again, notice this is a brick house. I am ironically reminded of the three little pigs.
The wolf knocked on the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." "No, no," said the pig. "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin, I will not let you come in." "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in," said the wolf. So he huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed. But the house of bricks did not fall down.
You can see that the center of this building has collapsed. What you cannot see because it is no longer there is that the foreground of this picture is the spot where they found a barge in the aftermath of Katrina. That barge ran into the levee, causing it to break and initiating the great flood that caused all this damage.
This is the inside wall of the levee that broke. You can see the canal to the left. The canal swelled up against the levee, allowing the barge to make its way all the way over and smash the levee down.
Someone painted on the outside of the levee in Spanish, "New Orleans gave me patience and passion."
Here is the levee wall as it appears to those in the neighborhood. Ching Mae and Chris are walking along next to it.
Thomas and John are standing atop the levee with the bridge behind them. Over the bridge is the upper 9th ward. The flood waters rushed into the lower 9th ward and then when they had no place left to go, backtracked and came into the upper 9th. The upper 9th did not see the flood waters get nearly as high as in the lower 9th.
The only organization doing any work in the lower 9th ward is Common Ground Relief, a grassroots organization started up by hurricane survivors and sustained by donations from individuals. No government or larger nonprofit agency has helped at all.
This home is nearly rebuilt, thanks to Common Ground. A 99-year-old woman lived here before the hurricane. She will be 100 later this summer, and thanks to Common Ground, she may celebrate that birthday back in her home.
In front of the home is a sunflower garden, part of the Meg Perry Healthy Soil Project. Meg Perry was one of the first Common Ground volunteers and she died in a car accident in New Orleans in December 2005. Sunflowers draw lead out of the ground, and there are several sunflower gardens throughout the Common Ground work area that are part of this project. It must look spectacular in July when they are all in bloom. Also above the garden notice the solar panel on the wall. This provides the only source for electricity.
This is Malik, founder of Common Ground Relief. The sign in the background says, "I am coming back! I will rebuild! I am New Orleans!" These signs are on homes throughout the lower 9th ward.
A closeup of the mural on the side of the house. It was painted in September of 2006 to mark the one year anniversary of Common Ground Relief. Besides the tremendous rebuilding effort the organization is undertaking, its buildings are rich with artwork.
There is no electricity and no running water in most of the lower 9th ward almost 2 years after the hurricane. As you recall, solar panels help with the electricity bit; Common Ground has set up these barrels to process rain water.
This solar panel heats water so that relief workers may take a hot shower.
No running water means no sewage either. This is a composting toilet. The front of the outhouse contains a barrel of soil, which you add to the bucket once you've done your business.
Here is another concrete porch with steps. The house that belongs to it is in the background. At the top of the picture is the bridge where the levee is located.
This is the front of Common Ground's headquarters. Posted is a list of supplies that are needed.
Next to the headquarters is another soil project.
There is a fine line between being a gawking tourist and someone who wants to truly understand and appreciate the horror and tragedy that occurred in the lower 9th ward. Those who live there believe many things. They believe that the barge was cut loose on purpose to flood the 9th ward and save the rest of the city from the worst of the damage. (This may sound very conspiracy theory to you, but their belief is founded in fact: In 1947, as a major storm approached, members of the upper class living in the French Quarter spent days wiring the levees at the 9th ward before blowing them up and flooding this poor area to save their own home.)
They believe that the city is actively fighting any rebuilding efforts to preserve the damage as a tourist attraction. Tour buses drive through these streets several times a day. Still, it seems to me that all these people want is for their story to be heard, to feel like someone cares about their plight. Once we approached Malik and the two residents on Reynes Street and told them we were volunteers helping to rebuild, they were more than happy to tell us their stories. The men on Reynes talked to us about the best places to visit in the city and wanted to know when we would come back. They don't hate tourists. They hate being an exhibit. Talk to them. Tell them about yourself and ask them questions. You will have a richer experience and they will have a completely different attitude about you being there.
About the only thing FEMA provides is canned water. There was a lot of FEMA water in the upper 9th, but in the lower 9th all I saw was this canned water donated by Anheuser-Busch.
This is where Common Ground decontaminates work equipment every day.
Another piece of Common Ground artwork.
Contact Common Ground Relief's website to see how you can help.
The X on the side of this house is on all houses in the 9th ward. When clearing houses, this was the mark made so that the same house was not cleared again. When someone entered the house, they made the first slash. When they left, they made the second. The top quadrant contains the date of clearance. The left contains the initials of the group or National Guard unit that did the clearing. The bottom contains the number of bodies found. Thankfully, most have a 0 in this quadrant. Many buildings are marked by the SPCA or the Humane Society, indicating dogs or cats found, or bodies of dogs or cats found.
A fire hydrant now at a 45 degree angle.
This is the other side of the building from an earlier picture with the middle collapsed. You can see from this side that it was a church. Locals have returned the steeple and stood it up next to the building.
The night after we went to the lower 9th ward, we took the free ferry across the Mississippi. The building that is second from the left is the World Trade Center, where the Baptists use three floors as the Volunteer Village. We women had the 5th floor for our dormitory.
Later that same evening, there was a parade down Canal Street. Louis Armstrong was apparently the Grand Marshall. Here I got several more strands of beads.
Still later that night, I had a glass of Absinte, a weaker version of Absinthe (which is illegal in the U.S.). Preparing it is quite a production. You pour the Absinte over the sugar cube then light the cube on fire. Finally, you pour a bit of water over the cube to finish dissolving it.
This is the patio I built during my last two days of work in the upper 9th ward. See the two levels? I had to find a concrete slab that would fit into each section and then make sure each slab was level by itself and then level with all the slabs surrounding it. It could take 15 to 30 minutes just to lay one slab.
Okay, so maybe I didn't build the patio all by myself. There were lots of people helping to move the slabs and dig dirt, but it takes a special skill and patience to be able to lay the slabs. Only John (pictured here with the tape measure) and I were the master craftsmen up to this job.
And now I am back home.
With Andy the cat.
And Chloe the cat.
And of course Goober the dog.
Here is the jazz funeral that took place my first night there. I received my 1st three strands of beads from this one.
This is part of the memorial to Katrina victims that is in the lower 9th ward. There were 1600 victims. 300 of those died when they fled to a local elementary school, thinking they'd be safe. Instead, they all drowned.
This is also part of the memorial. Thomas, my professor, is sitting in the chair to the right. Clockwise, Paul, then Jackie, then Shane, and then Kelly are around him.
Here is another view of the memorial (sans people). It is an incredibly accurate depiction of what a wrecked home may look like, except as you'll see in later pictures, the concrete steps, porch, and stilts are the only things remaining of most of the destroyed homes. Perhaps this is supposed to be a home in the process of being rebuilt.
Here is a gas station that never re-opened after the hurricane. The price of regular unleaded gas in the lower 9th ward on August 28, 2005, was $2.55 a gallon.
This house was originally attached to the porch steps you see on the right side of the picture.
The steps of 1630 Reynes Street. The tilted house may have belonged to this lot, but there were two sets of steps and only one house left.
A closeup of the house that possibly belongs to 1630 Reynes.
This brick house was across the street from 1630 Reynes. Brick houses held up pretty well to the flood, mainly sustaining roof and window damage. However the house itself held up, the cross next to the window on the right indicates that someone died in that house during Katrina.
A pile of debris at the side of the road. It contains a child's toy frog, a video tape, some broken vinyl records. A photograph. It is unlikely (though not impossible) that this pile has been there since the water was pumped out, but it is very likely that the people who owned what is now in this debris pile still haven't returned home, likely don't have a home to which to return.
The man on the right owns this home. His friend is helping him begin to clean it up. They have only recently been allowed to return to the property, and have received no money or help from the government to fix his home. Even though they weren't allowed back, the man on the left (I regret not having caught their names) said, "We keep the flower beds up because we trying to let people know we coming home." Again, notice this is a brick house. I am ironically reminded of the three little pigs.The wolf knocked on the door and said, "Little pig, little pig, let me come in." "No, no," said the pig. "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin, I will not let you come in." "Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in," said the wolf. So he huffed and he puffed and he huffed and he puffed. But the house of bricks did not fall down.
You can see that the center of this building has collapsed. What you cannot see because it is no longer there is that the foreground of this picture is the spot where they found a barge in the aftermath of Katrina. That barge ran into the levee, causing it to break and initiating the great flood that caused all this damage.
This is the inside wall of the levee that broke. You can see the canal to the left. The canal swelled up against the levee, allowing the barge to make its way all the way over and smash the levee down.
Someone painted on the outside of the levee in Spanish, "New Orleans gave me patience and passion."
Here is the levee wall as it appears to those in the neighborhood. Ching Mae and Chris are walking along next to it.
Thomas and John are standing atop the levee with the bridge behind them. Over the bridge is the upper 9th ward. The flood waters rushed into the lower 9th ward and then when they had no place left to go, backtracked and came into the upper 9th. The upper 9th did not see the flood waters get nearly as high as in the lower 9th.
The only organization doing any work in the lower 9th ward is Common Ground Relief, a grassroots organization started up by hurricane survivors and sustained by donations from individuals. No government or larger nonprofit agency has helped at all.
This home is nearly rebuilt, thanks to Common Ground. A 99-year-old woman lived here before the hurricane. She will be 100 later this summer, and thanks to Common Ground, she may celebrate that birthday back in her home.
In front of the home is a sunflower garden, part of the Meg Perry Healthy Soil Project. Meg Perry was one of the first Common Ground volunteers and she died in a car accident in New Orleans in December 2005. Sunflowers draw lead out of the ground, and there are several sunflower gardens throughout the Common Ground work area that are part of this project. It must look spectacular in July when they are all in bloom. Also above the garden notice the solar panel on the wall. This provides the only source for electricity.
This is Malik, founder of Common Ground Relief. The sign in the background says, "I am coming back! I will rebuild! I am New Orleans!" These signs are on homes throughout the lower 9th ward.
A closeup of the mural on the side of the house. It was painted in September of 2006 to mark the one year anniversary of Common Ground Relief. Besides the tremendous rebuilding effort the organization is undertaking, its buildings are rich with artwork.
There is no electricity and no running water in most of the lower 9th ward almost 2 years after the hurricane. As you recall, solar panels help with the electricity bit; Common Ground has set up these barrels to process rain water.
This solar panel heats water so that relief workers may take a hot shower.
No running water means no sewage either. This is a composting toilet. The front of the outhouse contains a barrel of soil, which you add to the bucket once you've done your business.
Here is another concrete porch with steps. The house that belongs to it is in the background. At the top of the picture is the bridge where the levee is located.
This is the front of Common Ground's headquarters. Posted is a list of supplies that are needed.
Next to the headquarters is another soil project.
There is a fine line between being a gawking tourist and someone who wants to truly understand and appreciate the horror and tragedy that occurred in the lower 9th ward. Those who live there believe many things. They believe that the barge was cut loose on purpose to flood the 9th ward and save the rest of the city from the worst of the damage. (This may sound very conspiracy theory to you, but their belief is founded in fact: In 1947, as a major storm approached, members of the upper class living in the French Quarter spent days wiring the levees at the 9th ward before blowing them up and flooding this poor area to save their own home.)They believe that the city is actively fighting any rebuilding efforts to preserve the damage as a tourist attraction. Tour buses drive through these streets several times a day. Still, it seems to me that all these people want is for their story to be heard, to feel like someone cares about their plight. Once we approached Malik and the two residents on Reynes Street and told them we were volunteers helping to rebuild, they were more than happy to tell us their stories. The men on Reynes talked to us about the best places to visit in the city and wanted to know when we would come back. They don't hate tourists. They hate being an exhibit. Talk to them. Tell them about yourself and ask them questions. You will have a richer experience and they will have a completely different attitude about you being there.
About the only thing FEMA provides is canned water. There was a lot of FEMA water in the upper 9th, but in the lower 9th all I saw was this canned water donated by Anheuser-Busch.
This is where Common Ground decontaminates work equipment every day.
Another piece of Common Ground artwork.
Contact Common Ground Relief's website to see how you can help.
The X on the side of this house is on all houses in the 9th ward. When clearing houses, this was the mark made so that the same house was not cleared again. When someone entered the house, they made the first slash. When they left, they made the second. The top quadrant contains the date of clearance. The left contains the initials of the group or National Guard unit that did the clearing. The bottom contains the number of bodies found. Thankfully, most have a 0 in this quadrant. Many buildings are marked by the SPCA or the Humane Society, indicating dogs or cats found, or bodies of dogs or cats found.
A fire hydrant now at a 45 degree angle.
This is the other side of the building from an earlier picture with the middle collapsed. You can see from this side that it was a church. Locals have returned the steeple and stood it up next to the building.
The night after we went to the lower 9th ward, we took the free ferry across the Mississippi. The building that is second from the left is the World Trade Center, where the Baptists use three floors as the Volunteer Village. We women had the 5th floor for our dormitory.
Later that same evening, there was a parade down Canal Street. Louis Armstrong was apparently the Grand Marshall. Here I got several more strands of beads.
Still later that night, I had a glass of Absinte, a weaker version of Absinthe (which is illegal in the U.S.). Preparing it is quite a production. You pour the Absinte over the sugar cube then light the cube on fire. Finally, you pour a bit of water over the cube to finish dissolving it.
This is the patio I built during my last two days of work in the upper 9th ward. See the two levels? I had to find a concrete slab that would fit into each section and then make sure each slab was level by itself and then level with all the slabs surrounding it. It could take 15 to 30 minutes just to lay one slab.
Okay, so maybe I didn't build the patio all by myself. There were lots of people helping to move the slabs and dig dirt, but it takes a special skill and patience to be able to lay the slabs. Only John (pictured here with the tape measure) and I were the master craftsmen up to this job.And now I am back home.
With Andy the cat.
And Chloe the cat.
And of course Goober the dog.
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