Metal Meredith

Travel Day

We woke up at 630am, Phil jumping out of bed and me trying my best to keep my eyes open. We made our way to the Underground in a very chilly 30 degrees and waited for trains for a good 15-20 minutes. The airport was confusing and a real pain in the ass. By the time we boarded the train, we had been on elevators, escalators, stairs, subways and a bus. When we arrived in Amsterdam, we rode a train and a tram to our hotel. We are the reigning King and Queen of Transport.

Amsterdam is COLD (see photo above, right). We must have looked like lost puppies at the GVB station, their version of the metro. We are trying our best to be apologetic when asking directions in English or saying “excuse me” first to see if they are open to speaking English. I know that most people do, but it just seems nicer. Our hotel is gigantic with a pleasant mix of comfortable and cheezy. It is my early opinion of the city. Phil thinks it is super.

I must admit that the canals make even the dingiest places appear very nice. We studied our guides in the room and ventured out for lunch. Unfortunately, we started down the street with all the premium shops that we can’t (and don’t have the need to) afford. I kept thinking about how my sister would have loved it and we couldn’t get out of that area soon enough. So we took a sharp turn and ended up in Volden Park. There are bicycles everywhere, trams whizzing by and lots of people just walking around. From our window, we can see boats and one canal, a big sign that says “CITY” and immediately in front of our window is a Hard Rock Cafe.

We only made it outside for about an hour before both of us were dead tired from the lack of sleep and travel. I uploaded my photos and Phil took a tiny nap. We found some internet access in the hotel bar/lounge area where I am currently enjoying a cheese plate and a not-so-what-I-would-call a club sandwich. The cheeses were somewhat identifiable (for Dad - Edam, Roquefort, old cheese, young cheese, fig compote and some crusty bread). Phil thought all of the cheeses were stinky and smelled like diapers. He reluctantly tried the Roquefort due to its mold content. All of it just made me laugh out loud. The club had eggs, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and red pepper, some kind of pickled spread, cheese, and maybe bacon. It was great just not like any club sandwich I have ever known.

Phil is drinking a Heineken and has announced officially that it ‘doesn’t suck here’. Smoking is everywhere. In the airport, right under signs clearly making “NO SMOKING”, people were puffing away. It was comical but very annoying. It seems everyone here smokes all the time. Speaking of, Phil and I will not be partaking in any of the “smoking festivities” or eating “space brownies”. Sorry to anyone who wanted me to give it a go since it is legal.

Tomorrow we will be doing a boat cruise and then checking out the Scheepvaartmuseum. It is Phil’s “One Thing”. Mine is shopping for silly things that I can’t get at home. I don’t know what those are, but I will know them when I see them. We are paying for our internet connection, so I am unable to put many photos up. I will add a few of our journey and the city that we saw today.

Hopefully I will be able to update tomorrow as well!

Fish and Chips

It was our last day in London, since tomorrow is a travel day. Although our shins were tight and our feet were aching, we decided to take off again and visit a museum, get an authentic British lunch and do a little shopping.

Phil wanted to go to the British Museum, which was free. All the other attractions cost quite a bit. The London eye was 14 pounds per person, which is about $28. The Tower of London, which we opted not to go in, was 15 pounds or $30, Westminster Abbey was 10 pounds per person. Phil started talking about how expensive these tourist sites are considering how the Smithsonian is free. We could only come to the conclusion that since they were so old, they had monetary seniority for asking price. Just as we were done talking about it, three Americans passed us complaining “Tell me, what in New York costs $30 to visit?” Phil wouldn’t let me go share the ‘old’ theory.

The museum was exactly what you would expect. Well, kind of. It was all old stuff that Phil liked and I thought was pretty boring. I do understand how important these things are in the history of the world, but it seems like they exist solely for my father and husband’s pleasure of explaining them to me. (Dad, I know what the Rosetta Stone is now). There were some nice things about the building that kept me interested.

It originally had a large courtyard which was enclosed with a glass top and a large round building in the center. Then, one of the rooms looked more like a large personal library than a museum, with bookshelves filled with old volumes of books interspersed with collections of ancient statues, art, fossils, and stuffed animals (real ones, not like teddy bears).

There were more exhibits that I took some photos of. Big scary costumes with masks, and Easter Island statue and a very large Buddha-thingy. After, we went to Munchkins and both had a traditional British lunch of Fish and Chips, Mushy Peas and Bangers and Mash. We also had pints of Diet Coke with no ice. The mushy peas were good, even though it doesn’t sound like they would be. I am not sure what kind of sausage “Bangers” are, but they were very tasty. Fish and Chips were exactly what you would expect.

We took a walk to Russell Square and looked for some shopping centers, only to find that it wasn’t opening until summer 2006. We jumped on another tube and went to Oxford Circus Station. This was by far the busiest area we have been to yet and I can only imagine what the shopping districts of New York must be like. It was wall to wall people, buses, shops, restaurants and horns, sirens and cars. At every block we were hoping to find the store we were looking for, but ended up walking another 10-15 blocks until we found yet another station. By now, we are tube experts.

With my arches about to fall and Phil staggering along behind, we made it back to our hotel. We ate some noodles for dinner, had more of that horrid chocolate crazy thing and packed for tomorrow. Flight is at 1030am. By 1pm, we will be in Amsterdam with a whole new city to learn, another language to a giant new hotel. It is supposed to be 35 degrees the entire time we are there. I am sure my next post will be about how cold it is and how I can’t pronounce one single thing.

Blisters and History

We started today off at 9am. I can’t believe we slept in that long. I probably could have done more, but I felt bad sleeping in too long when there was a whole city we had to explore. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel of toast and yogurt. We would have loved to have some OJ and Apple Juice, but it seemed to be watered down beyond belief. Not sure if that is a cheap thing or a British thing. We are hoping it is the former. We walked to the Underground Station and bought a day pass for 4.80 pounds each. It allowed us full access to the city with one ticket.

Our first stop was Westminster. It was the first place that felt like the London we have seen on TV. We walked out of a dingy tube station to see Big Ben in full view. Surrounding the station entry was a pancake stand (that smelled delicious), a hot dog stand, and a souvenir stand. We took a few photos and looked behind us to see a group of American teenagers. The only thing I heard was “Kids, it is Big Ben” and one of the girls squeal, “I am so cold!” I might not have been that impressed with Big Ben, but I know when to acknowledge a landmark. Kids...geesh. We walked across the Westminster Bridge over the Thames and came to the London Eye, the Dali Museum and the Aquarium. I took some photos; we bundled up and bought tickets to the London Eye. The London Eye really looks, like Phil said, a giant bicycle wheel.

After, feeling very adventurous, Phil and I lunch.

MacDonald’s isn’t any different in the UK, by the way. Well, almost not. It seems that every place here has someone who cleans your table and tosses your trash for you. At Starbucks, someone comes around and cleans off tables after you leave. It is the same with MacDonald’s. But if you go to the grocery store, the cashiers sit behind the register and you must bag your own purchases. It seems oddly backwards.

We walked toward Westminster Abbey and passed the Parliament entrance along the way. It is an odd feeling to read banners and displays about President Bush while visiting another country. I almost wanted to go over and apologize. However, they seem to have the same thoughts about him that we do. Those who know me don’t need me to go into detail. There were 4 guards, two with machine guns. It was a far cry from the stories I have heard about English Police not having guns.

Right across the street was Westminster Abbey. First we were able to go into Margaret’s Church. I sat down for a moment just to say that I did. Then we toured the Abbey, which didn’t allow photos. I saw the tombs of Henry V, Elizabeth and Mary, lots of Edwards, Henrys, and many many people with noble names that I have never heard of. I stood in a room that was built around 1000 AD, lit a candle and said a little prayer (because it couldn’t hurt) and encouraged (read: gave the evil eye to) Phil to do the same. We stopped for the afternoon prayer with everyone else. I stood and took in the place where they had Princess Diana’s funeral for my mother. She loves all things royal.

After, we walked about 400 miles around the rest of London. Through the financial district where we exchanged some travelers cheques in a bank where they played Terrance Trent D’Arby’s ‘Sign You Name’ and ooo’d and awe’d at the fact that its wasn’t Kenny G or Celine Dion or Classical...in a bank! We caught the Underground again to Tower of London and walked another 393 miles to see the Tower Bridge. Inside the gift shop, there was a tiny, toy guillotine. It really worked.

Back on the Underground to Piccadilly Circus, where we decided out feet hurt too much to continue on. We went into the Virgin Megastore briefly to warm up where they were playing some vintage Michael Jackson. It was pretty cool. Phil wanted so badly to eat dinner in a pub. We walked into the Rat and Parrot and it was smokier than any bar at home. He had one beer and we opted to find another place to eat. It was like being trapped in a car with a cigarette. I couldn’t breathe!!

We ate Mexican food to see if that was different. Again, nope. Just like you would think. We popped down to the local market where Phil got this:

It is chocolate cake, topped with chocolate sauce, chocolate and white chocolate mousse, brownies, white chocolate chunks, chocolate candies and more sauce. It is appropriately named “Crazy Chocolate Overload” and it was a little disgusting.

Now we are exhausted, I have a bunch of blisters on my feet (Phil: Why didn’t you tell me? Me: I told you my feet hurt. Phil: Feet hurt doesn’t mean blisters, it means your feet are tired. Me: Great, next time I will be more specific.) And both of our legs are achy. I have a feeling our last day will involve taxis instead of walking. Go look...MORE PHOTOS!

Transit and Bearings

Phil and I can honestly say that after arriving to London, going through the airport, riding the tube and walking around in Notting Hill, that people all mainly look the same. Of course, there is a ridiculous amount of diversity from the plain, white faces we see in Virginia.

Our funs started when we realized that a half hour into the car ride to the airport, we had forgotten our coats. We stopped in Fredericksburg and bought Phil a sweatshirt at Old Navy. I was unlucky and decided I could bear it until we had time to shop (besides, I would get a ‘London Coat” and in “Hey, where did you get that coat?” “Oh, I bought it in London”)

The flight was largely uneventful. We opted to upgrade to “Economy Plus” from Economy. It was like going from a sardine can to a tuna can, just a tad more wiggle room. In truth, it was enough to keep us both happy for the 6 hour flight.

I got to go to the international flight check in for the first time ever, hand over my newly minted passport, and take my luggage through customs. I was unable to look at the plane before we boarded. Not because I couldn’t see it but because I am still under the impression that something with 2 levels shouldn’t be able to fly. My fears were peaking as we boarded and I immediately saw the stairs to first class.

The plane wasn’t full, so we were able to stretch out. We couldn’t decide if the flight attendants, who were mostly male, were all gay or just British. Isn’t that sad? Phil and I have been playing “Gay or just British” most of the morning for the fun of it. Our plane landed at 6am on Thursday morning with both of us having combined sleep of maybe 3 hours.

The first thing we did was go to the restroom (toilets, as the sign said). I giggled as I realized how different they look and in a state of utter exhaustion, contemplated taking a picture for memory sake. (But, I didn’t). We found our way to the Underground and rode with the daily commuters the 50 minutes to Bayswater Station. I have only ever been on the DC Metro, so this was actually like a real subway and I am feeling worldly.

We walked out of our station and realized that studying Google Maps paid off when we made a few turns and found our hotel with little problem. We arrived at 730am and much to our delight, relief and amazement, they let us have our room. The hotel is a maze of corridors and elevators (lifts, to the residences) that lead to this little teeny studio all dressed up in fancy contemporary décor.

We have a lovely view of Prince’s Square outside our window. There is a garden and trees and birds. It is wonderful.

Since we arrived, it has been sunny and then rainy every hour. We took showers, took a brief nap and went to the local shopping district where much to my delight….there was a MALL!!!! I was so happy to not have to walk around in rain and cold that I immediately went in and found my “London Coat”. I look very chic now and totally blend in with the locals. We had lunch at a sushi place with one of those cool conveyor belts (something else to cross of the lists of ‘things I have always wanted to do’.) Then we went and got some coffee and perused a local grocery-type store called Marks & Spencer. Everything was only their brand. Phil bought some beer and candy and we got some goodies and chips for later.

Now we are in the room for a bit waiting for another rainstorm to blow over. Then out to walk this area again before dinner.

I am putting up photos in the gallery under “London/Amsterdam 2006”. Please take a few minutes to see where we are. More photos to come, promise!