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This is my travel post. I'm not done with it. A lot of it is a placeholder for things I'd like to remember to talk about.
London, the first part:
Touristy Things:
I hate the idea of being touristy and I get a feeling of discomfort whenever it becomes obvious to others around me that I'm a tourist, I'm 5 times more uncomfortable than before. When I finally get to my touristy destination, I'm glad that I went because, for the most part, there is a reason why people go to see it.
London Eye:
Westminster Abbey:
House of Commons (Parliament):
St. Paul's Cathedral:
British Natural History Museum:
Tower of London:
Tower Bridge:
Hyde Park:
British Maritime Museum:
Greenwich Observatory:
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Current Events, both in London and the greater UK:
Tony Blair is no longer the prime minister of Britain. He was replaced wednesday by his #2 Gordon Brown. His was the longest liberal government in the history of the country. Wednesday, Tony Blair said goodbye to his staff at 10 Downing Street and went to the parliament, to have his last prime minister's questions. He then went to Buckingham Palace to give his resignation to the Queen. She accepted and promptly called Gordon Brown, who went and was given the task, by her, of building a new government. He then went to 10 Downing Street (1 door down from his previous office) and gave a speech in the typical politicians way. He's far more eloquent than Bush (huge surprise I'm sure), but less polished than his predecessor.
Terrorism has reared it's head. Two car bombs were found in the city of London, both in the west-end (where we're staying). The first was discovered early friday morning. It shut down the entire square it was found in. Next, another was found closer to Hyde Park. Finally, a car crashed in Glasgow Airport two men hoped out shouting "Allah" as the car started to flame. All of it has been traced back to Al-Queda.
Northern and Eastern England are flooding.
Wimbledon Tennis is here.
Reflections on the food:
It's not as bad as it could be, but they could have definitely been better, considering we are staying in a wealthy part of town, and this is the nation's biggest city. But what was I to expect, British food has a reputation for being shitty.
English Breakfast
Croissant and Tea
Thai
Cantonese
Burger (fine)
Mediterranean
Hotel
Hot Chicken
Cops
TV
Sharp British Clothing
Chelsea and Kensington
Evenings
Underground
The Hotel
Diana Memorial
Weather
Water as a drink
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Again I'll make a list of what I'd like to talk about as I can't be arsed to blog from Paris.
Tourist things:
Arc de Triomphe
Avenue de Champs-Elysees
Jardin de Tuileries
Notre Dame Inside:
Notre Dame Towers:
Le Louvre:
Eurostar
Americans in Paris:
It's not hard to imagine why the French, especially the Parisians, dislike Americans. Sitting in the hotel lounge for the last 40 minutes my dislike of Americans has grown 10 fold. They're star-struck, they're loud, they talk at no end about trivial things. I'd noticed that behavior at home, and hated it, but next to the more civilized french they're far more unacceptable. (To be fair, the Parisians can be quite loud, but they do it as a response to injustice done against, like cutting a person off on the road) them and not in conversation amongst themselves) Earlier today, when I was walking along a very rainy Champs-Elysees and saw a troupe of loud Americans jump for joy at the discovery of a McDonalds. As though they'd not seen it in forever, they ran at it full speed, eagerly awaiting a Big Mac or something. There is of course the issue of language. Americans, including myself (to some degree) and my father do not speak the language and therefore must rely on the French to provide as translators, which is rather unfair. End of the story: Americans should, in most circumstances, never go to Paris.
My French
The Rain
Paris Metro vs London Underground
Paris Metro Ticket Sales (it says VISA on the card, dickhead)
Arrondissement Numbering
Dad
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London again.
Sloane Square
Fish and Chips
Shopping
Piccadilly Circus
Abbey Road
English Railways
Oxford
Tour de France
The Plane
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The trip after it all
Europe was fun.