Yes, believe it or not, that does actually mean something. The language is Welsh, and if you haven't guessed, that's what they apparently speak in Wales. It's odd though, because even though everything (road signs, menus, brochures, etc.) is printed in both languages, I never heard anyone actually speak it. I think it's almost a pride thing; keep the language around to show your heritage even though it's the weirdest language anyone has ever seen.
There really are some amazing pics to go along with this post, take a look at: http://picasaweb.google.com/bbergey/PembrokeshireNationalParkUK
So the title of this post translates as "Coastal Path," and it is referring to the 186 mile long hiking trail that follows the coastline of Pembrokeshire National Park in Southern Wales. I decided National Parks would be a good destination for me to travel to and this is the one I picked first. I researched the trail, found the most strenuous section, and set off by train last Friday to Fishguard Harbor, a small coastal town/harbor in the National Park.
The train was surprisingly nice and it took about 4.5 hours to get there. I haven't actually looked at the map to see how far it is from London. The train moved pretty quick but also made a lot of stops. I met a family from Colorado on my way there. They live in Leadville and have a place in Boulder. They were in England celebrating their twin daughters 18th birthdays. They were taking the ferry to Ireland from Fishguard the next day so the girls could drink on their birthday.
The train arrived in Fishguard at 1:45pm, but I missed the bus I had planned to take up the coast a couple miles to shorten my hike for the day. So instead I had to start hiking from town which made for a 14.7 mile day. I hiked up the coast and needed to keep moving because of the late start, but that didn't stop me from taking way too many pictures along the way. The coastline is absolutely beautiful. It followed the ins & outs and ups & downs of the coastline which made it pretty tough. It is also one of the most isolated sections of the entire trail although there are a few very small settlements at some of the easily accesible points along the trail. Every turn I made I saw something else amazing. It was an impressive mix of stunning coastal views and classic rural wales. I could often stand in one spot and see craggy cliffs with endless coasts, then turn the other direction and see livestock grazing near farmhouses and hills covered with fields. As the afternoon went on the sun came out and I couldn't stop taking pictures. I arrived in the village of Newport, my destination for the first night, around 8pm...not bad for over 14 miles.
Newport is probably the most beautiful town I've ever seen. When I first turned the corner and saw it from afar it looked great. But as I got closer it kept getting better. It sits on a huge beach with awesome cliffs on each side. It's small enough to be very quaint and classic, yet big enough to have a couple pubs and resturaunts. The hostel where I stayed was very nice. I was pretty tired so I showered, got some pizza, read a magazine in the lounge and hit the sack. I woke up a number of times overnight hearing rain falling on the roof, which had me question my plans for the next day.
The section of the trail from Newport to the north end of the trail at Poppit Sands Beach is the most strenuous and remote section of the trail. It is 13.8 miles long and had only one escape by road. Even though it was raining, I decided that I went to hike the trail, so I better do it! I got the raingear and pack on and started hiking. It really wasn't so bad...the temp was not cold and the rain was somehow peaceful. Within 30 minutes my feet were sloshing because the rain made a lot of brush fall over the trail which means my legs brushed against it and the water fell to my shoes. It also made the trail pretty slick and there were a number of very steep sections...I slipped and fell 3 times. A number of times I was a couple steps away from falling a few hundred feet off a cliff to the water below. It was pretty cool and the gloomy day definitely changed the atmosphere from the sunny day before. As the day wore on, I got more tired of being in the wind and rain and just kept going. I got to the Poppit Sands hostel around 3:30pm, another great time for hiking nearly 14 miles. Unfortunatley the end of the trail doesn't end in a town, so there was a coast guard station and a small cafe. I ended up getting a ham filled roll (ham sandwich) and some hot chocolate. Then ordered another filled roll for dinner since I didn't really feel like eating more tortillas and peanut butter that I had brought with me. When I went back to the hostel to check in, they did have some food to buy so I bought a can of soup to have with my roll. The hostel itself was not as nice as the night before, but the location and views were unbeatable. It sat up on the hill and had a wonderful view of the inlet and the beach.
On Sunday morning I got up early to catch a bus back down to Fishguard. It allowed me to see rural Wales up close. The roads are so narrow too! I explored Fishguard for a couple hours, but it was pretty uneventful since most places were closed on Sunday. I caught my train at 2:30pm and got back to London in the evening...just enough time to go to bed and get up for work the next day.
It was an excellent trip and was the first of many many more to come. I found a magazine that is the UK equivalent of Backpacker in the States, so I already have my next few locations in mind. Now I just need to meet some people who are interested in hiking way too many miles each day and roughing it in tents and hostels. I'm sure in time I will.
I could have written a lot more but I didn't want to make this too long and boring. If you have any questions, thoughts or want to hear more, just let me know!
6.25.2008
6.23.2008
Windsor
Pics to this post can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/bbergey/Windsor
Greetings! Last weekend after I explored the great West End of London, I travelled to Windsor with a couple co-workers to volunteer at a triathalon. One of the benefits of working for Active is that they are aware of all the big (and little) sporting events in the UK and Europe. Often we are able to volunteer to promote our company and in return they give us comp time at work. It's great!
We had to leave London around 430am on Sunday morning and Sam drove Hayley and I out to Windsor, about 20 miles west of our office in London. It was my first time out of the city and it was a really nice experience. Windsor is a great village and even though it's so close to London, it's amazing how quaint it really is. It made me realize that the more I can get out of London the better, to truely experience England. Windsor is everything that I imagined England to be.
We arrived at the race and Hayley and I were stationed at the first transition, which means the transition the athletes go through between swimming (the first event) and biking (the 2nd). It was pretty exciting to see all of them running from the river to their bikes and trying to take their wesuits off in the process. We had front row seats which was really exciting when the "elite" (or professional) wave came through.
It was a long morning, but we were done by noon and were able to watch the end of the race which was really cool. The elite wave was being taped to be televised on TV; the Windsor triathalon is the biggest in the UK and a pretty popular race because of it's setting and difficulty. After seeing the end of the race, Hayley and I walked up to the Windsor Castle and explored the village area. Unfortunatley the castle was closed to tours because Bush was in town and apparently staying in the castle with the Queen (the flag was up so I guess that means she's in).
Windsor itself was amazing! The castle is HUGE and I can't wait to go back and actually go inside. Otherwise, the village itself is exactly how I picture England. See the pics for yourself! We stopped in the square across from the castle and had some lunch before heading back to London. It was a great day and it definitely made me realize that living in London is great, but I need to take advantage of everything else around me. I imagine most of my weekends will hopefully be spent outside of the city exploring everything I can. Stay tuned for my first real adventure which took place this past weekend.........
Greetings! Last weekend after I explored the great West End of London, I travelled to Windsor with a couple co-workers to volunteer at a triathalon. One of the benefits of working for Active is that they are aware of all the big (and little) sporting events in the UK and Europe. Often we are able to volunteer to promote our company and in return they give us comp time at work. It's great!
We had to leave London around 430am on Sunday morning and Sam drove Hayley and I out to Windsor, about 20 miles west of our office in London. It was my first time out of the city and it was a really nice experience. Windsor is a great village and even though it's so close to London, it's amazing how quaint it really is. It made me realize that the more I can get out of London the better, to truely experience England. Windsor is everything that I imagined England to be.
We arrived at the race and Hayley and I were stationed at the first transition, which means the transition the athletes go through between swimming (the first event) and biking (the 2nd). It was pretty exciting to see all of them running from the river to their bikes and trying to take their wesuits off in the process. We had front row seats which was really exciting when the "elite" (or professional) wave came through.
It was a long morning, but we were done by noon and were able to watch the end of the race which was really cool. The elite wave was being taped to be televised on TV; the Windsor triathalon is the biggest in the UK and a pretty popular race because of it's setting and difficulty. After seeing the end of the race, Hayley and I walked up to the Windsor Castle and explored the village area. Unfortunatley the castle was closed to tours because Bush was in town and apparently staying in the castle with the Queen (the flag was up so I guess that means she's in).
Windsor itself was amazing! The castle is HUGE and I can't wait to go back and actually go inside. Otherwise, the village itself is exactly how I picture England. See the pics for yourself! We stopped in the square across from the castle and had some lunch before heading back to London. It was a great day and it definitely made me realize that living in London is great, but I need to take advantage of everything else around me. I imagine most of my weekends will hopefully be spent outside of the city exploring everything I can. Stay tuned for my first real adventure which took place this past weekend.........
6.15.2008
The West End
Follow along with my pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/bbergey/WestEndSightseeing
Greetings! So Saturday was my first bit of what I have decided to call "Power Sightseeing." This means that I see as much as I possibly can in one trip, mostly by foot. I think it's a great way for me to see the sights without spending the time and money to go in each one. And it will help me get to know London and know where to take all of you when you visit!
With the help of the great book that Julie got me before I left, I planned my first trip around the West End. This is a rather large area of downtown London where you will hear a number of familiar places mentioned. Also, as I said, it's very large. I decided to wear my pedomoter to see how far I actually walked. Believe it or not, I walked 38,000 steps (which according to my pedometer is like 15 miles, but that might be a stretch)! So needless to say, I was very tired by the end of the day.
Since my posts look like rubbish when I include pictures, I have decided to do a couple things. First, down the right hand side of this page, I have will add a number of pics from my recent adventures. These will change often as I cycle in new pics. Second, at the bottom of this post I have included a slideshow of all the pics I took on this specific trip. And finally, I have posted all of the same pics on Picassa, which is a web album provided by Google. If you don't have a google account, I'm sorry, but you should. :-) The link to the album is: http://picasaweb.google.com/bbergey/WestEndSightseeing.
I started the trip by taking the Tube down to Covent Garden Piazza, which is a large square with a market, shops and resturaunts. It also has a number of street performers that were actually quite good. I snagged a couple shots of the Piazza from the inside and out, and also enjoyed walking through the Saturday-Market style shopping area. I also found a number of Outdoor gear shops!
I then walked through Chinatown and down to Piccadilly Circus. No, it's not actually a Circus, but it is London's version of Times Square. There are big flashing advertisements on the circle where a number of major roads intersect. It is a popular area because you can easily get to a number of "hotspots" in town from here. I've been told that this area is much better at night with all the lights and the nightlife, but I did find the blend between the old architecture and modern marketing quite interesting. On my way to the Circus, I walked through what is London's Broadway. I'm not horribly interested in musicals, but I think I would like to see Monty Python's Spamelot!
From the Circus, I walked down to Green Park and Buckingham Palace. Little did I know that Saturday was the Queen's official birthday. She actually has two birthdays every year, one is of course her own, and the other is every June so a celebration can be done with decent weather. I wish I would have arrived earlier because the crowds were gigantic, but I did see quite a bit of the festivities nonetheless...including a couple sightings of the Queen herself from her balcony! There were also a dozen flyovers of varios air force jets and many shots of a canyon in the park nearby. It really was quite an amazing place and the parks surrounding the palace are absolutely beautiful. Plus I got the full experience with marching bands, marching gunmen, police on horses, and the royal guards dressed in their full red uniforms. It was by far the best part of the day and I look forward to going back sometime.
St. Jame's Park is a large park that stretches down "The Mall," which is the long road that connects the Palace to the city streets. It has great views of the Palace and other nearby buildings, and was a great place to stop and eat lunch. At the end of the mall is the Ministry of Defense, which looks quite amazing from afar. I'm determined the red stadium seating in the square in front of the building is for the public executions and hangings.
After walking through the Ministry of Defense and into Trafalgar Square, I headed toward the mighty Thames River and the Westminster area. Westminster houses a number of political buildings, such as the House of Parliament (with Big Ben towering it's east end), and the gothic Westminster Abbey is an impressive church where almost all British sovereign have been crowned. The churchnitself was closed when I got there so I'll have to go back sometime. I got quite a few pics of Big Ben from both sides of the river, including the square across the street where I had a snack and took a quick nap.
From there I trekked back through the Circus and into Soho, a popular spot for nightlife, and into Bloomsbury which is the home of the British Museum and the University of London. Although I didn't spend any time inside the museum, it is free and huge! The University was surprisingly unimpressive, but a nice quiet walk away from the bustle of the rest of the city. My last stroll was down the high street of a small borough called Marylebone. It sits between Bloomsbury and Hyde Park and was really posh and nice.
My day wouldn't have been complete without a stroll through Hyde Park and a stop at Whole Foods (that's right, I found a few around!). I was excited to find a familiar store, but found that it was still as foreign as everything else. Although it was by far the nicest grocery store I've been in since I've been here. It was quite expensive (even for London standards) but I did buy a yummy roll and some juice.
As promised, here is the slideshow of my pics, which can also be seen on my web album linked above.
Greetings! So Saturday was my first bit of what I have decided to call "Power Sightseeing." This means that I see as much as I possibly can in one trip, mostly by foot. I think it's a great way for me to see the sights without spending the time and money to go in each one. And it will help me get to know London and know where to take all of you when you visit!
With the help of the great book that Julie got me before I left, I planned my first trip around the West End. This is a rather large area of downtown London where you will hear a number of familiar places mentioned. Also, as I said, it's very large. I decided to wear my pedomoter to see how far I actually walked. Believe it or not, I walked 38,000 steps (which according to my pedometer is like 15 miles, but that might be a stretch)! So needless to say, I was very tired by the end of the day.
Since my posts look like rubbish when I include pictures, I have decided to do a couple things. First, down the right hand side of this page, I have will add a number of pics from my recent adventures. These will change often as I cycle in new pics. Second, at the bottom of this post I have included a slideshow of all the pics I took on this specific trip. And finally, I have posted all of the same pics on Picassa, which is a web album provided by Google. If you don't have a google account, I'm sorry, but you should. :-) The link to the album is: http://picasaweb.google.com/bbergey/WestEndSightseeing.
I started the trip by taking the Tube down to Covent Garden Piazza, which is a large square with a market, shops and resturaunts. It also has a number of street performers that were actually quite good. I snagged a couple shots of the Piazza from the inside and out, and also enjoyed walking through the Saturday-Market style shopping area. I also found a number of Outdoor gear shops!
I then walked through Chinatown and down to Piccadilly Circus. No, it's not actually a Circus, but it is London's version of Times Square. There are big flashing advertisements on the circle where a number of major roads intersect. It is a popular area because you can easily get to a number of "hotspots" in town from here. I've been told that this area is much better at night with all the lights and the nightlife, but I did find the blend between the old architecture and modern marketing quite interesting. On my way to the Circus, I walked through what is London's Broadway. I'm not horribly interested in musicals, but I think I would like to see Monty Python's Spamelot!
From the Circus, I walked down to Green Park and Buckingham Palace. Little did I know that Saturday was the Queen's official birthday. She actually has two birthdays every year, one is of course her own, and the other is every June so a celebration can be done with decent weather. I wish I would have arrived earlier because the crowds were gigantic, but I did see quite a bit of the festivities nonetheless...including a couple sightings of the Queen herself from her balcony! There were also a dozen flyovers of varios air force jets and many shots of a canyon in the park nearby. It really was quite an amazing place and the parks surrounding the palace are absolutely beautiful. Plus I got the full experience with marching bands, marching gunmen, police on horses, and the royal guards dressed in their full red uniforms. It was by far the best part of the day and I look forward to going back sometime.
St. Jame's Park is a large park that stretches down "The Mall," which is the long road that connects the Palace to the city streets. It has great views of the Palace and other nearby buildings, and was a great place to stop and eat lunch. At the end of the mall is the Ministry of Defense, which looks quite amazing from afar. I'm determined the red stadium seating in the square in front of the building is for the public executions and hangings.
After walking through the Ministry of Defense and into Trafalgar Square, I headed toward the mighty Thames River and the Westminster area. Westminster houses a number of political buildings, such as the House of Parliament (with Big Ben towering it's east end), and the gothic Westminster Abbey is an impressive church where almost all British sovereign have been crowned. The churchnitself was closed when I got there so I'll have to go back sometime. I got quite a few pics of Big Ben from both sides of the river, including the square across the street where I had a snack and took a quick nap.
From there I trekked back through the Circus and into Soho, a popular spot for nightlife, and into Bloomsbury which is the home of the British Museum and the University of London. Although I didn't spend any time inside the museum, it is free and huge! The University was surprisingly unimpressive, but a nice quiet walk away from the bustle of the rest of the city. My last stroll was down the high street of a small borough called Marylebone. It sits between Bloomsbury and Hyde Park and was really posh and nice.
My day wouldn't have been complete without a stroll through Hyde Park and a stop at Whole Foods (that's right, I found a few around!). I was excited to find a familiar store, but found that it was still as foreign as everything else. Although it was by far the nicest grocery store I've been in since I've been here. It was quite expensive (even for London standards) but I did buy a yummy roll and some juice.
As promised, here is the slideshow of my pics, which can also be seen on my web album linked above.
6.14.2008
Flat Sweet Flat
So I have a place to live. After a full week of looking at multiple places each day, I finally made myself make a decision. Part of me really wanted to wait until I found the perfect place, but I didn't want to risk the fact that the perfect place may never come along. I also wanted to get settled so I can start living as normal a life as possible (and I was tired of living in a hotel!) and this place was available immediatley. I have to be honest and say that it wasn't my first choice, but I'm really starting to like it! My first choice didn't go through because the management company didn't want to work with my references in the States. The biggest reason it wasn't my first choice is because it is an apartment building. I really wanted to live in a true flat, but the building definitely has it's benefits like added security and a great view! I have two flatmates, both girls, and one has been gone all week. Marsha, the girl who has been here, is great and we are getting along very well. She joined my coworkers and I for drinks on Friday and we are going to join a gym nearby next week. She is English and I think she said she is 24. Saundrine is French and I don't really know anything about her yet!
Below is a picture of my building. I'll be the first to admit that it's really not that attractive. Although another advantage I forgot to mention above is that we are directly across the street from a neighborhood pub, The Queens Arms. I haven't been there yet but my guess is that won't last for long.
The flat is located about halfway between Hammersmith and Fulham. It's about a 15 minute walk to work in central Hammersmith, less than ten minutes to the nearest tube station, and 15 minutes to Fulham Broadway. Of course there are plenty of buses within minutes as well. Hammersmith and Fulham are both great areas with malls, lots of shops and excellent resturaunts and pubs. Fulham is especially known for it's nightscene and resturaunts. When walking to work or the nearest tube station, I get to walk through this cementary at the end of our road. It's kinda odd, but it is a really big commuter route for foot traffic. From what I can see, most people buried there died in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Like I mentioned, one great benefits of living on the 7th floor of a building are the excellent views. These were taken out my window right above my bed!
The inside is really nice and it's the main reason I kept this flat in mind during my search. Below are some pictures of the inside. My room is really small. In fact the entire place is pretty small. There is a small common area connected to the kitchen. It is not unusual at all to see flats in London that do not have this type of area at all. In many cases, these rooms were converted into bedrooms to make the rent cheaper. You will also see our washing machine that tumble dries clothes too! It's pretty cool, although the clothes come out a little wrinkled. It's a very efficient machine though. We also have a sweet shower.
Below is a picture of my building. I'll be the first to admit that it's really not that attractive. Although another advantage I forgot to mention above is that we are directly across the street from a neighborhood pub, The Queens Arms. I haven't been there yet but my guess is that won't last for long.
The flat is located about halfway between Hammersmith and Fulham. It's about a 15 minute walk to work in central Hammersmith, less than ten minutes to the nearest tube station, and 15 minutes to Fulham Broadway. Of course there are plenty of buses within minutes as well. Hammersmith and Fulham are both great areas with malls, lots of shops and excellent resturaunts and pubs. Fulham is especially known for it's nightscene and resturaunts. When walking to work or the nearest tube station, I get to walk through this cementary at the end of our road. It's kinda odd, but it is a really big commuter route for foot traffic. From what I can see, most people buried there died in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Like I mentioned, one great benefits of living on the 7th floor of a building are the excellent views. These were taken out my window right above my bed!
The inside is really nice and it's the main reason I kept this flat in mind during my search. Below are some pictures of the inside. My room is really small. In fact the entire place is pretty small. There is a small common area connected to the kitchen. It is not unusual at all to see flats in London that do not have this type of area at all. In many cases, these rooms were converted into bedrooms to make the rent cheaper. You will also see our washing machine that tumble dries clothes too! It's pretty cool, although the clothes come out a little wrinkled. It's a very efficient machine though. We also have a sweet shower.
So that's the place! The rent is really good for the area, since it is a really well-known and popular area to be. So I feel like it's a great opportunity to live close to work in a good area, but also have more money to do the things I want to do while I'm here like travel!
Warning! If you decide to come visit me, just keep in mind that this place is really small and not really condusive to visitors, at least for not long periods of time. So if you come, we'll just have to travel around and spend some time elsewhere too! I'm pretty sure I can fit a single sized air mattress on my bedroom floor, and there is certainly size for one in the kitchen if not.
6.04.2008
First Impressions
I apologize in advance for this being a rather long post. Obviously I have a lot to talk about and many of you have already asked me more than once to post something, so here it is! Regardless of how long this is, I'm sure some of you will want to see and hear more, so don't worry, there is A LOT more where this came from...
So I'm here. After a deliberately sleepless last night in Boulder, I left town around 8am and departed at 11:30am for my first stop in Houston. I slept for most of the 2 hour flight and then it was off to London. I stayed awake long enough to get dinner and then passed out for about 4-5 hours. I woke up in time to get breakfast and gaze over some people out the window as we approached London and landed.
Once I landed and got through customs, I had to drag my two 49 pound checked bags, my completely full backpacking pack and my messenger bag with two laptops onto the tube (subway, apparently pronounced "chube") and then to the hotel. The first thing I noticed walking around is that the streets are very narrow and not in our normal square/block system. Since there were no street signs, I ended up walking 3 blocks too far and then had to turn around. I later noticed that the street names are actually on signs posted on buildings at the intersection. Although it still seems like they just assume you know what the main roads are called because I don't see many street signs labeling them. This is good to know now.
I got to the hotel around noon and was able to check in early. My room is much smaller than American standards, but very nice. I have a single bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a microwave and a very nice bathroom. There is also a small tv and internet access. The tub does not have a shower curtain or door, so I guess they assume that everyone takes baths. I took a shower. The bathroom got a little wet but it was fine. Below are pics of the street with my hotel (blue awning) and my actual hotel room.
After cleaning up, I decided to explore a bit. I walked around the area where I'm staying (Earl's Court/Kensington) and then took the tube two stops up to Hammersmith which is where my office is. The office is very interesting. There are 5 full timers and one part timer all crammed in one small room. There are no cubicles set up or anything, and as far as I can tell by looking in other offices, they are all very similar. So there is no privacy at all, but my coworkers are great and there is a lot of random banter going on all the time. A great advantage of working in the office with Active.com (our parent company) is that I hear about all of the races and athletic events in London, the UK and Europe. Simon is an avid cyclist and does many races and finished well. Sam is an ex-professional triathalete and still very active. Jenny is a runner and recently finished another marathon. Today the debate was how to see how many of us would be interested in signing up for an Active event running 100 miles in 48 hours. I think Sam is going to do the smaller part of the event which is 50 miles in 20 hours. I told him that if it wasn't just two months away I would do it! Our office does have a great view, as it is over 10 stories high and there really aren't many buildings much taller than that around. The building is in a very busy area and basically connected to a mall and the tube station, so very convenient. Every Thursday there is a great market that sets up in the courtyard just outside our doors. I had a great roasted pork sandwhich for lunch my first day! On my 2nd day we walked to one of the literally hundreds of places to get food near the office for lunch. It is also a couple blocks away from the Thames River which runs through London. It apparently has a path that follows it forever and ever and also has many parks and green spaces along its banks. I'm guessing it's going to be a great place to run, among the wide number of other large parks spread throughout the area. The pics below are of our office, the view from the window, and the river. We can see downtown London from our building, but not on the side that we are on.
Thursday night was a pretty big night. 4 of us from work went out for what I thought would be a drink and some dinner for a nice evening. It ended up being three pubs, a resturaunt, and a club and I didn't get back to the hotel until 3am. Thank goodness for the low elevation or I'd probably still be in bed. From what I can tell, the Brits do drink a lot which is definitely an adjustment I'll need to make from my recent lifestyle. In any resturaunt, it's basically the norm to order some kind of drink, whether it's beer, wine or cocktails. They don't bring you water unless you ask for it, and then they will bring you an expensive bottled water unless you specifically request tap water. So that's something I will definitely need to remember. The first night here I went to a pub near my hotel and had a steak sandwich and salad with a nice tall glass of cider served over ice. It was delicious! On Thursday I ate at the market outside work for lunch and then went out at night with the coworkers. We went to a wonderful italian place that serves pizza by the metre. So we got one metre of pizza for four of us and it was amazing! I also had an excellent drink that night called a Snake Bite Black. It is 1/2 cider and 1/2 lager (they used stella) with a splash of black currant concentrate. It was very sweet and extremely tasty. Today for lunch I ordered penne pasta with pesto, asparagus, artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. In case you're all wondering, the ketchup is exactly the same as it is in the States...it's even Heinz!
Speaking of, I'm kinda amazed at how many things are similar to the US. There are McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, a surprisingly large number of Subways, and Starbucks. Right now Family Guy just came on TV. The accent does prove to be hard to understand at times. I've noticed myself asking others to repeat what they said occasionally. Last night at the club and a couple of the pubs, I just had to pretend to understand what was being said half of the time because it was so loud and I couldn't hear them clearly enough.
I also made a trip to a couple of grocery stores near my hotel. This is probably one of the biggest adjustments I'll have to make. The stores are very small. Like the size of a 7-11 or maybe a little bigger. Although they do have a decent selection of all the necessary items, along with plenty of produce and fresh baked breads/rolls/baguettes/etc. But obviously the selection is not near as good as to what I'm used to. I did find peanut butter but it took me two stores before I found pretzels. I did see Kettle Chips today (go Salem!!). I have heard of some of the store chains having bigger supermarkets in certain areas, and today I finally saw one. It actually had carts outside (the others just had hand baskets) and looks closer to a normal American sized store. I didn't go inside but I plan on going this weekend. I did buy some staples for my hotel room to have for bfast and snacks like fruit, cereal and pretzels. I also stole a handful of cookies they put in your room from the hotel closet in the hallway (the door was open) and the lobby has a bowl of apples so I take one every time I walk through. Overall I've eaten and drank far too much since I've been here so that needs to stop.
Probably the best thing I've done since I've been here was go for a run. This was good for two reasons. First, it's my first significant run since I hurt my knee over two months ago. My knee felt great and so far I haven't had any pain. Second, it was by far the best way to get out and explore the area around my hotel. I had only seen the few blocks around the tube station since my hotel is only one block from the station. Little did I know that there are tons of other pockets of resturaunts/pubs/shops just blocks the other direction. I ended up running and seeing all kinds of stuff that I will now have to check out (including the large grocery store). One thing I'm learning as I explore is that all you have to do is walk a couple blocks before you meet a busy intersection with dozens (if not many many more) of resturaunts, etc. It makes me feel better that in such a gigantic city, no matter where I am there will be stuff close by. There have been so many places I want to try already that I could be here for years and not eat/drink at them all. And I've only been within 2 or 3 tube stops around my hotel and office.
Tonight I visited my first London flat. By the sounds of it, it was a little misleading because this one was actually pretty spacious. It was 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, a full kitchen with dining room, living room, laundry room and a small "garden" aka patio in the back. It was about 10 blocks from work and the price for the one room is 700 pounds, which is roughly $1400 per month. That is a bit high for a shared flat, but it was very nice. I have 5 other appointments so far this weekend so we'll see how those go. However, places are taken fast so I need to jump on one that I like. I had not been to the area where the flat was, so I think flat hunting is going to be a great way to explore new areas and get a better feel for them. I've noticed that London is very old. I wouldn't say it's that dirty (although it certainly can be I think), but in general nothing is very new. Once you get away from the main roads, you have rows and rows of flats which really makes you realize how many people can cram into a city. I don't think I have seen a house yet, and I don't know that there are any in London itself. All flats basically look the same and they are all connected to each other. I'm a little nervous about finding the right area to live because I feel like it will really define my experience in London, so I want to make sure that I'm in a good area. Although to be honest, all the areas I have been to are all pretty similar.
During my run tonight, I've determined that the nicest area I have seen so far is the area around my hotel. I think this is so because it is in Kensington which is very touristy. There are a number of museums (I ran past the Natural History Museum and it looked absolutely amazing, I'll be sure to go and bring my camera next time). But I think this is the nicest area to me because it is full of real nice hotels and therefore the entire area seems newer and well kept. I don't know that I would actually like to live in this area though. I just need to be more comfortable knowing that I'm living in a really big and old city, and I do know that regardless of where I live I will find a lot to do and enjoy nearby. Hammersmith, where the office is and where I'm lookin to live, is one of the better places to live in all of central London from what I hear.
This weekend I don't really have a lot of plans. I have a handful of flats to visit. I also need to get a cell phone and bank account, although I think both might prove to be difficult since I don't have any credit established here or an address. Otherwise I want to explore some more and visit Hyde Park for a run which is fairly close. And of course take lots of pics for my blog.
Cheers!
So I'm here. After a deliberately sleepless last night in Boulder, I left town around 8am and departed at 11:30am for my first stop in Houston. I slept for most of the 2 hour flight and then it was off to London. I stayed awake long enough to get dinner and then passed out for about 4-5 hours. I woke up in time to get breakfast and gaze over some people out the window as we approached London and landed.
Once I landed and got through customs, I had to drag my two 49 pound checked bags, my completely full backpacking pack and my messenger bag with two laptops onto the tube (subway, apparently pronounced "chube") and then to the hotel. The first thing I noticed walking around is that the streets are very narrow and not in our normal square/block system. Since there were no street signs, I ended up walking 3 blocks too far and then had to turn around. I later noticed that the street names are actually on signs posted on buildings at the intersection. Although it still seems like they just assume you know what the main roads are called because I don't see many street signs labeling them. This is good to know now.
I got to the hotel around noon and was able to check in early. My room is much smaller than American standards, but very nice. I have a single bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a microwave and a very nice bathroom. There is also a small tv and internet access. The tub does not have a shower curtain or door, so I guess they assume that everyone takes baths. I took a shower. The bathroom got a little wet but it was fine. Below are pics of the street with my hotel (blue awning) and my actual hotel room.
After cleaning up, I decided to explore a bit. I walked around the area where I'm staying (Earl's Court/Kensington) and then took the tube two stops up to Hammersmith which is where my office is. The office is very interesting. There are 5 full timers and one part timer all crammed in one small room. There are no cubicles set up or anything, and as far as I can tell by looking in other offices, they are all very similar. So there is no privacy at all, but my coworkers are great and there is a lot of random banter going on all the time. A great advantage of working in the office with Active.com (our parent company) is that I hear about all of the races and athletic events in London, the UK and Europe. Simon is an avid cyclist and does many races and finished well. Sam is an ex-professional triathalete and still very active. Jenny is a runner and recently finished another marathon. Today the debate was how to see how many of us would be interested in signing up for an Active event running 100 miles in 48 hours. I think Sam is going to do the smaller part of the event which is 50 miles in 20 hours. I told him that if it wasn't just two months away I would do it! Our office does have a great view, as it is over 10 stories high and there really aren't many buildings much taller than that around. The building is in a very busy area and basically connected to a mall and the tube station, so very convenient. Every Thursday there is a great market that sets up in the courtyard just outside our doors. I had a great roasted pork sandwhich for lunch my first day! On my 2nd day we walked to one of the literally hundreds of places to get food near the office for lunch. It is also a couple blocks away from the Thames River which runs through London. It apparently has a path that follows it forever and ever and also has many parks and green spaces along its banks. I'm guessing it's going to be a great place to run, among the wide number of other large parks spread throughout the area. The pics below are of our office, the view from the window, and the river. We can see downtown London from our building, but not on the side that we are on.
Thursday night was a pretty big night. 4 of us from work went out for what I thought would be a drink and some dinner for a nice evening. It ended up being three pubs, a resturaunt, and a club and I didn't get back to the hotel until 3am. Thank goodness for the low elevation or I'd probably still be in bed. From what I can tell, the Brits do drink a lot which is definitely an adjustment I'll need to make from my recent lifestyle. In any resturaunt, it's basically the norm to order some kind of drink, whether it's beer, wine or cocktails. They don't bring you water unless you ask for it, and then they will bring you an expensive bottled water unless you specifically request tap water. So that's something I will definitely need to remember. The first night here I went to a pub near my hotel and had a steak sandwich and salad with a nice tall glass of cider served over ice. It was delicious! On Thursday I ate at the market outside work for lunch and then went out at night with the coworkers. We went to a wonderful italian place that serves pizza by the metre. So we got one metre of pizza for four of us and it was amazing! I also had an excellent drink that night called a Snake Bite Black. It is 1/2 cider and 1/2 lager (they used stella) with a splash of black currant concentrate. It was very sweet and extremely tasty. Today for lunch I ordered penne pasta with pesto, asparagus, artichokes and sun dried tomatoes. In case you're all wondering, the ketchup is exactly the same as it is in the States...it's even Heinz!
Speaking of, I'm kinda amazed at how many things are similar to the US. There are McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, a surprisingly large number of Subways, and Starbucks. Right now Family Guy just came on TV. The accent does prove to be hard to understand at times. I've noticed myself asking others to repeat what they said occasionally. Last night at the club and a couple of the pubs, I just had to pretend to understand what was being said half of the time because it was so loud and I couldn't hear them clearly enough.
I also made a trip to a couple of grocery stores near my hotel. This is probably one of the biggest adjustments I'll have to make. The stores are very small. Like the size of a 7-11 or maybe a little bigger. Although they do have a decent selection of all the necessary items, along with plenty of produce and fresh baked breads/rolls/baguettes/etc. But obviously the selection is not near as good as to what I'm used to. I did find peanut butter but it took me two stores before I found pretzels. I did see Kettle Chips today (go Salem!!). I have heard of some of the store chains having bigger supermarkets in certain areas, and today I finally saw one. It actually had carts outside (the others just had hand baskets) and looks closer to a normal American sized store. I didn't go inside but I plan on going this weekend. I did buy some staples for my hotel room to have for bfast and snacks like fruit, cereal and pretzels. I also stole a handful of cookies they put in your room from the hotel closet in the hallway (the door was open) and the lobby has a bowl of apples so I take one every time I walk through. Overall I've eaten and drank far too much since I've been here so that needs to stop.
Probably the best thing I've done since I've been here was go for a run. This was good for two reasons. First, it's my first significant run since I hurt my knee over two months ago. My knee felt great and so far I haven't had any pain. Second, it was by far the best way to get out and explore the area around my hotel. I had only seen the few blocks around the tube station since my hotel is only one block from the station. Little did I know that there are tons of other pockets of resturaunts/pubs/shops just blocks the other direction. I ended up running and seeing all kinds of stuff that I will now have to check out (including the large grocery store). One thing I'm learning as I explore is that all you have to do is walk a couple blocks before you meet a busy intersection with dozens (if not many many more) of resturaunts, etc. It makes me feel better that in such a gigantic city, no matter where I am there will be stuff close by. There have been so many places I want to try already that I could be here for years and not eat/drink at them all. And I've only been within 2 or 3 tube stops around my hotel and office.
Tonight I visited my first London flat. By the sounds of it, it was a little misleading because this one was actually pretty spacious. It was 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, a full kitchen with dining room, living room, laundry room and a small "garden" aka patio in the back. It was about 10 blocks from work and the price for the one room is 700 pounds, which is roughly $1400 per month. That is a bit high for a shared flat, but it was very nice. I have 5 other appointments so far this weekend so we'll see how those go. However, places are taken fast so I need to jump on one that I like. I had not been to the area where the flat was, so I think flat hunting is going to be a great way to explore new areas and get a better feel for them. I've noticed that London is very old. I wouldn't say it's that dirty (although it certainly can be I think), but in general nothing is very new. Once you get away from the main roads, you have rows and rows of flats which really makes you realize how many people can cram into a city. I don't think I have seen a house yet, and I don't know that there are any in London itself. All flats basically look the same and they are all connected to each other. I'm a little nervous about finding the right area to live because I feel like it will really define my experience in London, so I want to make sure that I'm in a good area. Although to be honest, all the areas I have been to are all pretty similar.
During my run tonight, I've determined that the nicest area I have seen so far is the area around my hotel. I think this is so because it is in Kensington which is very touristy. There are a number of museums (I ran past the Natural History Museum and it looked absolutely amazing, I'll be sure to go and bring my camera next time). But I think this is the nicest area to me because it is full of real nice hotels and therefore the entire area seems newer and well kept. I don't know that I would actually like to live in this area though. I just need to be more comfortable knowing that I'm living in a really big and old city, and I do know that regardless of where I live I will find a lot to do and enjoy nearby. Hammersmith, where the office is and where I'm lookin to live, is one of the better places to live in all of central London from what I hear.
This weekend I don't really have a lot of plans. I have a handful of flats to visit. I also need to get a cell phone and bank account, although I think both might prove to be difficult since I don't have any credit established here or an address. Otherwise I want to explore some more and visit Hyde Park for a run which is fairly close. And of course take lots of pics for my blog.
Cheers!
Farewell
So I had this thought during the last couple of days that I need to write a post thanking all of my sweet friends for everything you've put up with and done for me during the last week. But now I have lots of other things to write about so I'll just get it over with. THANKS!!
Seriously though, thanks for the day at a-basin getting a few last turns in. Thanks for the dinners and the drinks and the parties. A special thanks to my roommates for putting up with me and all my crap. I know it was a mess (and probably still is!). And thanks to Liz for putting up with my venting and crankiness and eating my cooking & getting nachos. hahaha
I know there are lots of pics out there of the good times had, so as I get them I can post them here.
Seriously though, thanks for the day at a-basin getting a few last turns in. Thanks for the dinners and the drinks and the parties. A special thanks to my roommates for putting up with me and all my crap. I know it was a mess (and probably still is!). And thanks to Liz for putting up with my venting and crankiness and eating my cooking & getting nachos. hahaha
I know there are lots of pics out there of the good times had, so as I get them I can post them here.
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