Because I Love All Things British….

My new favorite song…

Air India

To All Air India Passengers on flight 125 from Mumbai to Chicago via London,

 Let me first start with saying that I love India.  Its a great place to visit and the people are more than welcoming.  I am not trying to offend anyone by this, but I do have some concerns/observations.

Firstly, WAIT UNTIL THEY CALL YOUR ROW NUMBER TO BOARD THE PLANE.  There is no reason that everyone needs to swarm the boarding door the minute the man gets on the overcome.  Just so you know, you DO have a seat on the plane.  We are not boarding a third class train on IndiaRail where you have to fight for your seat. 

This flight is via London and going to America, therefore there may be one or two um..caucasian people on the plane.  Please do not give them dirty looks.  Thanks.

Please keep the toilets somewhat clean.   I do understand that this is an eight hour flight, and many people use the toilets, but honestly, that shit was nasty.  I guess I have different standards regarding plane hygiene.

Please leave your socks on.  I understand most people don’t like to wear shoes on the plane, fine, take them off.  But leave your damn socks on.  Don’t your feet get cold?

Thanks for the great curry.  It was an extra bonus for the flight.  Just like the several Bollywood films at my immediate disposal whenever I wanted to watch them.  And unlimited Tetris, a double bonus.

Overall, my flight was enjoyable, getting  my baggage was a bit stressful as people had once again swarmed the carousal and I couldn’t see anything, let alone fit in to actually pick up my bag. 

Just chill out everyone!  The plane most likely won’t leave without you, and no one wants your baggage.

Sincerely,

EmG

Bloody National Rail

Our hell began on Saturday night. When I had originally booked our train back to London, I booked the last possible train from Newcastle. And we missed it.

What happened was that I had printed out the email confirmation from National Rail. Only seeing the time of 19:30 train. Thinking this was the time that we were suppose to leave Newcastle. Little did we know, this was the time we were suppose to leave from York after a two hour bus ride from Newcastle.

We got all the way to York to find that we had missed the last train to London by about two hours and were stuck in York until the following day. The day that I was suppose to catch my flight back to Chicago. Dammit.

In the end we took the bus back up to Newcastle and spent the night with our friend again. We complained to the train people and got no where, we went to catch the 8-hour bus to London and they were all full. We went to the train station and had a lashing out at the staff. And finally, after several people, we encountered a most wonderful man who helped us get on a new train without having to pay.

I did miss my flight and have to pay a little bit (well, a lot) to rebook a flight. I am currently stuck in the arrivals gate of Air India. Ready to spend 8 hours on a crowded plan.

I am going to fight with the train company for some compensation money for my flight, as it was their system that screwed me up and even the station manager said that the email confirmation was not clear.

Newcastle

Our plan was to do as much as we could outside of London while I was here. We achieved that by going to Paris and up north to Newcastle.

Us American’s only know Newcastle because of the brown ale that is named after this fine town. I didn’t see that anywhere while I was up there.

It was a pleasant journey up to Newcastle on the train. Only about three hours. We arrived and were picked up by our friend and taken to his new townhouse. A far cry from the dingy apartment we had been in for the past few nights.

The first night, we decided that we wanted to have curry for dinner. This turned into a huge ordeal. And we ended up at Asda (Englands Walmart). Where we spent 36 pounds ($72USD) on loads of curry, naan, and various other things to accompany our Indian feast. We laughed a lot because we had so much food.

We enjoyed the company of our friends, and celebrated one’s birthday. Dean and I shared a twin bed together. Something we haven’t done since my college years long ago.

“Walk on to Electric Avenue…”

I seem to have a very love/hate relationship with London. I don’t remember it being this dirty and smelly last time I was here. I love the hustle and bustle of the city, how smoothly “The Tube” runs, and it is extremely multi-cultural.

Though this multiculturalism has it’s drawbacks too. The city doesn’t seem English anymore. I seemed to encounter more immigrants than I did born and breed Englishmen or women.

We went shopping the other day, meeting our friend at Harrods. Ahh, what a wonderful place. So much to look at and dream about. I love their food market. They seem to have some of the most extravagant and delicious looking food I have ever seen. We ended our shopping trip with nothing bought but a scoop of wild berry gelato.

We went to several parks and made our way through several shopping high streets. Mostly eating and drinking our way around the city.

The buses are also better than any that I have experienced in the world. Though there are constant news articles and programs regarding teens on buses and stabbings and running a mess, so you constantly need to be looking over your shoulder and be sure not to piss anyone off.

I guess that leads me into that last paragraph of this post regarding the place that I laid my head each night. That place is on Coldharbour Lane in Camberwell. Have you ever heard the song “Electric Avenue.” Well, it is based not far from Dean’s childhood home. The flat is located above several barber shops and is very old. The first night I was there, there were a few bums that had some how got into the building and relieved themselves (not talking a simple pee) and, we found out later, slept right outside the door to his dads flat. A little too close for comfort.

In the end, London is a great place to lay your head at night. I am working on an England vs. America pros and cons list as Dean and I will soon have to make a decision as to what country we want to settle.

An American In Paris, Part Deux

We arrived at the ultra-modern St. Pancreas Station in London’s King’s Cross. It’s a newly rehabbed station with fabulous architecture and where the infamous EuroStar leaves to Paris.

The train ride was very fast, only 2 hours from station to station and when we got off the train we were extremely disoriented. We walked for a bit realizing that we were going the wrong way. The streets were crowded and we had been warned several times of pickpocket, so we were conscious of that happening to us.

Eventually we decided to walk from the train station to our hotel which was located near the Arc De Triomphe. It took us about three hours to walk which was wonderful because we got to see so much of the city. The Parisians love to ride bikes and several times, Dean almost got run over.

We arrived at our hotel and were a little nervous because I had booked it on hotwire.com, and read reviews which weren’t the greatest. Generally, European hotel rooms are tiny and we were expecting this. Our room was perfect, very cozy and recently renovated. Our windows opened to a cute little street below with a café and bakery below.

That night we ventured out into the city once again on foot. We walked down the Champs Elysees, the grandest road of all in Paris, lined with designer shops and beautifully decorated trees. We walked along the Seine and decided to brave the Metro. Paris has a well-run subway, and it is extremely easy to use. We simply picked a stop on our map where we thought there might be some restaurants.

We arrived at our stop and walked out to a dead street. Luckily we walked a little further and turned to our left where we could see lots of lights. We walked upon a very popular place among Parisians and not tourists which was just what we were looking for.

There were loads of restaurants to choose from, all doing set menus (three courses for about 25 euros). We choose a bustling restaurant that had a line coming out of the front door. If there is a line of Parisians at the door, it must be a good place. We got a seat in the back, and ordered typical French fair. Dean had frog legs, rabbit followed with apple pie. I had escargot, duck, and caramel crème. We shared a carafe of wine, which seemed to be the trend with the other restaurant goers.

The next morning, we had planned to get up at 7:30, as it was the only full day that we had in Paris, but of course, we didn’t roll out of bed till close to 9:30. We bought day passes for the Metro and were off to the Louvre. The museum is huge. The outside is a tribute to old and new, with a modern glass pyramid between the old architecture of the museum. We spent about 2 hours, in a place that you could spend, easily, a day if you wanted to see every wing and floor. It was enough for me, as I get bored easily.

We walked outside and enjoyed a baguette sandwich as we walked through the park. Then took the metro to Notre Dame. Took lots of pictures and walked through the church. Had a crepe and a hot chocolate and bought postcards.

We ventured off to the staple of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. Luckily we got off at the wrong stop, but we had a fabulous view of the tower from a point we might otherwise see. We debated whether to stand in line and go up in the tower, and in the end decided we were only in Paris once. There were fabulous views from the top of all of Paris. It took me a while to walk with ease as I was scared to death of the height and the gusty winds.

After the Eiffel Tower, we decided to head to the “seedy” area of town, near the Moulin Rouge. Dean’s aunt lives in the area but doesn’t speak any English. We found her building, but we couldn’t figure out how to ring her from the street, later we found out that you simply can’t do that. We stopped in a café and enjoyed a coffee and cheese. We then headed up a massive hill to the “church”. The views of Paris at sunset were magnificent. The color of the sky against the Eiffel was beautiful.

We walked around Montmarte and had a beer in a café. I bought two little paintings to frame and put up in my apartment. There were lots of artists around the square and when I think of France, it was exactly what comes to mind.

As we were heading back to the Metro, we saw a bunch of people gathering outside Dean’s aunts’ apartment complex. We snuck in but once we were in the huge courtyard, we didn’t have the number for her apartment. We ended up using my cell phone (ahhh, massive phone bill) and got a hold of her, luckily she had a visitor that spoke English.

We went up to her apartment and she invited us in for dinner. We drank aperitifs, a bottle of wine and a digestive. Had good conversation and wonderful curry. Then had a walk down to the Moulin Rouge at night.

Overall, our trip was romantic, and went by way too quickly.

I’m Back From Outer Space

I am home, after a pretty much hellish Air India flight.  I was suppose to come home Sunday, but long story short, we missed the train.  Good news though, I got to spend an extra 48 hours with Dean.

I miss Dean terribly, and love England, except for the rain.

Once I am over the jet lag I will post more things about my lovely trip.

An American In Paris

We just arrived back in London after a whirlwind 48 hours in the city of love/lights.  It was wonderful and gave me my fill of European charm and culture.   We enjoyed sitting in cafes, tackling the Metro, walking for miles and miles, and dinner with Dean’s aunt.  I will have more to write later when I don’t have to pay by the minute to use the computer!

Priceless…

Bus from South Beloit to Chicago O’Hare………….$24USD

Breakfast sandwich at O’Hare………$2.75USD

Dinner at Montreal Airport……$7.22CAD

Flight from O’Hare to London Heathrow……$425USD

Seeing Dean at the arrivals hall….PRICELESS

ORD

Man, spending more than three hours in the airport is ridiculous.  I remember why I live my lonely life in the woods on a lake.  People fucking annoy the shit out of me. 

I CAN NOT stand when people talk on their cell phones in a crowded area.  This first happened on the bus down to the airport.  And luckily the bus driver said something over the loud speaker and the person stopped their stupid talk.  There is no need to have a conversation about a) all the girls you have hooked up with or b) how stupid your assistant is in a place where everyone can hear.  NO ONE CARES, and you should be respectful and not talk on your phone.  What happened to the good ole days when people could only talk on their phones in the privacy of their own homes…….

There is no reason, not one, that anyone needs to bring the pillow from their bed on a plane with them.  It’s dirty and takes up too much room.  I doubt wherever these people are going, have pillows.  And the plane provides pillows.   So keep those pillows at home.

 During my time in the security line, this guy totally cut right in front of me while I was putting everything the bins, not like I was moving slow.  He just looked like an ass.  But the ass didn’t take off his shoes and got an earful from the TSA guys. And in turn, was behind me in the end.  I made extra special care to remove my belongings very slow so he was unable to get his shoes.

I know I have been complaining about packing, but finally finished last night.  I was even able to stuff an extra bag in my backpack so I can bring lots-o-stuff back (mostly Deano’s things).  Ok, peace out, I’m off to London via Montreal.