ragz news nook

day seventeen: london, new years day

2006-01-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

We actaully fell asleep after 3am so we are a little surprised that we both pop awake around 10. We said we would get in touch with Reid around 10:30, but it doesn't actually happen till 11:30, which was OK. He was still asleep. We decide to meet up and try to catch some of the highly-touted London New Years Day Parade.

Everything is closed in our neighborhood, including Starbucks, so we have to grab juice and pre-packaged muffin in a quickie-grocery across the street from the tube stop.
We meet Reid at his Underground station and decide to hop on train heading towards the center area near the parade route. We hop on the wrong train. Getting back on the right track takes a little longer due to some stations still being closed.
We arrive at Oxfrd Circus and start walking to Piccadilly Circus, with a brief stop in the Apple Store, aka "Geek Mecca".
When we finally hit the parade, we are, the say the least, underwhelmed. We were expecting something rivalling the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It felt more like the Founder's Day Parade for Alma Colorado. No pomp. No flair. No style. The weirdest thing to me was that ALL the bands were American high school marching bands. There wasn't a single band from the UK. There were, however, British baton twirlers and cheerleaders, but we don't want to go there.
We walk down Piccadilly checking to make sure some of the better locations to get High Tea were closed (Fortnum & Mason, The Ritz, etc)
Feeling a bit thirsty and peckish, we stop in the Rose & Crown pub for a pint and some nachos and chips. This will not be our last visit to this location today.
It is now dusk, and we walk through the east end of Hyde Park and find a fair happening along the northern border of the park.
About halfway through the fair, just when Robin is trying to decide which carnival ride we should get on, I realize that my wallet (passport and all) is not where it should be. I instantly remember not picking it up before leaving the pub, so, we head back.
The wallet is recovered and we then tube it back to Leicester Square to find a spot for dinner. Five minutes off the Underground, and Robin realizes a purchase from the day's shopping is gone. It too was left back at the pub. This item was left when she popped into the ladies room when I made us go back for my wallet. Two train trips and a lot of quick walking and we rejoin Reid with all possessions safely in hand.
Our last meal in London is very similar to our first. We hit the Wagamama in Leicester Square for asian noodle bowls. Mine is so spicy, my mouth needs a recess midway through.
Back to the hotel to pack for the trip HOME. We say adieu to Reid. He will be staying here till Thursday.

OK. That's it. We are done. At least with the remote trip reports. Keep checking back, as we hope to revise, expand, and fill in the gaps of these reports. Also, there will be tons of photos. 680 in fact, many which correspond to blog entries.

Time to finish packing then get some sleep. Like in Paris, we want to hit the very nice restaurant for breakfast before we head out to he arport. We should be on the ground in Denver by 4:30pm.

Cheers!
Gavin

day fifteen: london

2005-12-30T23:32:00.000-08:00

Today we are hitting some sights with the whole group. It is a miserable day with constant rain and a lot chillier than the reports said it would be. I get scolded over and over for leaving my hat and "muff" behind.

We meet Shawn and Anna in the lobby of the Zetter at 8:45 am, an early morning for us, especially after all the drinks with them the night before.
Next, we meet Reid at the nearest Tube stop and decide to hit Starbucks for a warm-up and tuck into some muffins before heading to the London Eye.
Tube to Embankment, the jog across a bridge spanning the river to the London Eye for a rainy, bird's-eye view of London.
Boat ride, boat ride, boat ride up the Thames to the Tower of London.
Since Shawn and Anna did the Tower a few days prior, we all head across the Tower Bridge to possibly check out the London Dungeon, a cheesy, haunted house-type attraction showcasing terrible things in London's past. The line is WAY too long. The others break off to satisfy some shopping desires.
Robin and I find a great pub in which we warm up over veggie pie, veggie bangers and mash, a pint of bitter, and a cuppa...
We tube it back under the river to the Tower of London where we (along with getting soaked all over again) see the old armories (shining armor, swords, etc.), the crown jewels, torture chambers, and of course, the giant ravens.
Back to the hotel for a rest before meeting the gang for dinner.
We had to Soho with Shawn and Anna and discover Mantra, a great, all-veggie Indian restaurant where they make some dishes with Quorn, my favorite chicken substitute. No complaints about lack of flavor here.
We are all kinda pooped, so we head back to the hotel with one small detour into a quickie grocery so Shawn can finally try out the fabulous "Kit Kat Chunky", a true European delicacy.

That's it for today, y'all.
Gavin

day twelve: amsterdam

2005-12-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

OK, same thing. Up late and breakfast in the studio. Remember, this is the slowed-down, relaxed portion of the trip. We have decided to make today Typical Tourist Day.

YAY! The Heineken Experience is open! This is great because the dumping snow has returned and we don't really want to walk around in it right now. 10 euros gets us a cheesy tour of the original brewery with lots of advertising, 3 beers each, and a free gift. The funny this is they don't give you the gift till the very end, after you have left the giftshop. In the shop we contemplated buying a couple of the trademark Heineken beer glasses but decided against it due to packing constraints. Turns out, our free gift is one free glass apiece. Guess we'll have to find a way.

From there, we grab a Canal Boat Tour. Very nice, especially since it is quite frigid outside, although, it did finally stop snowing. We see the seven bridges canal, quaint house-boats, Amsterdam harbor, several canal mansions, and a HUGE line outside the Anne Frank house. We can't help but laugh at the suckers who weren't smart enough to go Christmas Day, when there was no line.

Lunch is a quick, but messy, falafel and more fries with curry sauce at MAOZ Vegetarian. This is our second visit to this fast food chain since arriving. I wonder how I can get some franchise info. They got one in Philly...

A bit of shopping follows, but the cold soon chases us into a small bruine kroeg or brown cafe (cozy beer pub) on a side street for a couple small Brand biers. We can tell it is the owner behind the bar because there are photos of her sprinkled throughout the place on the walls. She was something of a looker (not that she isn't anymore) and a few of the images border on Glamour Shots. Most of the pubs here will offer only one beer on tap. Usually it is either Heineken or Amstel (owned by Heineken), we have come across a couple variations. When they pour the beer, it is always given a thick head and the excess is scraped off with a wet knife. Ahhhh, tradition.

We make the final push for home, and finally make it to the warm studio and decide to stay in for dinner. We have some salad, soup, toasted bread, and a bottle of Bordeaux that cost us only 3 euros (yet was still very tasty).

Nighty night.
Gavin

p.s. This is probably the last post from Amsterdam. I don't know if we will find access at our new place in London. We'll try if we can. If not, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

day eight: paris / amsterdam

2005-12-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Not much in Paris today. We were up very early to grab the VERY expensive traditional cold buffet in the hotel restaurant. The "American Hot Buffet", which included eggs and meats (not for us of course), was an additional 6 euros a piece. We got quite full on wonderful breads and couissants, fruits, cereal, juice, and some of the best hot chocolate ever (made with dark chocolate)! We then checked out and took the Metro to Gare du Nord, the train station where we depart for Amsterdam.

The sun finally poked out of the clouds as our train left the station, but then stayed behind clouds till we arrived in Amsterdam. The trip was comfortable and very smooth and we both managed a couple brief cat-naps. In the 4 hours we cruised through lovely sheep-filled country-side and made very brief stops in Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, and The Hague before reaching the end of the line at Centraal Station.

We were off the train and on on atram towards our studio flat in under 15 minutes. We arrived and were met by Dennis who let us in and welcomed us from the to top of the 1st flight of the steepest steps we have ever laid eyes on. We had 3 flights to climb to get to our week-long home. After settling, we...

Head down all three impossibly steep flights of stairs and hit the streetmarket right outside the front door.
We found a MAOZ falafel shop very near the studio. FINALLY chips/fries with curry sauce. YUM!
We took a little tour of the immediate neighborhood and did some grocery shopping for basic supplies. We got food for some meals in the studio as well as a couple treats for Christmas morning since there would be no coffee cake.
Dinner was soup, salad, and bread in the studio with a little music on the iPod travel speakers.
We watched a little television (CNN International) and then CRASHED.

We are here for a while so we are going to take it a little easier and hope Robin's cold improves.

Gavin

day eleven: amsterdam

2005-12-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

Today is what the Dutch simply refer to as Christmas, Day Two or Second Christmas. For us, it is more wandering, more eating, and more sights to see. As before, we slept in a bit. I am sure this has been due more to the short hours of daylight than anything else. We head out around 11:30 after breakfast in the studio.

A brisk walk to Museumplein where the Van Gogh Museum is located as well as the Rijksmuseum. In this park they have installed a temporary skating rink.
We spend about 2 hours in the Van Gogh Museum and both fall in love with the same painting, Van Gogh's Trees and Undergrowth. We think it would look great over our couch, but they won't take 150 euros for it. The jerks. We settle for a post card of it although the color on it (and the image here) is far off from the original.
We have pizza and salads for lunch at the cozy Italian cafe called Il Palio in the Leidesplein area. There are tons of little italian pizza cafes. I wish I had 2 months and an endless pizza budget.
More wandering, but it is getting really cold now, so we decide to go back to the studio to rest for a bit.
On the way back, we check to see if the Heineken Experience is open, but it isn't so we put it on our list for tomorrow.
Dinner is at a Mexican restaurant called Alfonso's. My first burrito since leaving home. Not too shabby, but not as many beans as I like. The Coronas and guac were pretty tasty.
After dinner, instead of walking towards home, we head in the opposite direction towards Rembrantplein for some tasty chocolate and strawberry frosting covered waffles from a Oliebollen stand.
On the walk back the the studio it begins to snow quite heavily. By the time we get back they are HUGE flakes. It lets up after there is about a quarter inch on the ground.

Pizza, art, AND burritos in one day. WHEW!
Gavin

p.s. Robin and I are currently tag-team posting. She is in the stall next to me posting about Christmas Eve.

day seven: paris

2005-12-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

We got up and out a little earlier today and walked towards the Louvre. As it had been the other days, it was cold and cloudy, but never actually rained.

Breakfast was apple tarts and tea in a patisserie on Rue de St. Honoré
We made an organized 2.5 hour dash through a few sections of the museum seeing... Italian Paintings (Mona Lisa - really small and crowded, works of David, Bottecelli, and Giotto, etc.), Roman and Greek Sculpture (Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, etc), and several galleries of ancient Egyptian pieces.
We walked down Rue de Rivoli through a small Christmas fair towards lunch at La Victoire Supreme du coeur which was quite possibly the best meal we had eaten so far. Mmmmmm seitan escalope with mushroom creme sauce.... Robin has a mushroom roast with blackberry sauce.
After lunch we walked to Centre Pompidou for the modern art museum.
Outside the centre entrance, Robin made me sit for a charicature artist. I had been accosted by two in five minutes begging me to sit for them since my face was PERFECT to make fun of. OK, that wasn't their exact words, but having drawn myself for over 25 years, I knew what they meant.
We saw several exhibits in the museum and wound up getting lost when we were ready to leave.
Took the Metro back towards the hotel and grabbed two bagguette sandwiches for picnic on the bed.
Packed for Amsterdam.

Gavin & robin

day six: paris

2005-12-21T23:33:00.000-08:00

We slept in a bit today, again to try and fight off the impending cold Robin is developing. We hit the streets around 11.

We take the Metro to Montparnasse and start looking for breakfast.
We find a side street with about 700 creperies and pop into one of them that has english translations on the menu. The place is tiny and very crowded. The waiter is slammed and we have a few minor difficulties with ordering. He is understanding my fractured French, but didn't get the concept that these moronic Americans were placing special orders. Robin got her crepe with the added tomatoes and mushrooms (champingions), but i htink he thought i wanted extra ham in mine. Hers is delicious and the jam-filled crepe is amazing.
Next we walk to the tourist entrance to the Catacombs... Under the the streets and buildings of Paris are hundreds of miles of tunnels and chamnbers. They were originally built in Roman times as quarries. A few hundred years ago, the cemetaries had filled up so they dug up the remains of 6 million people and relocated them in these passageways. Some are just in piles, but many are stacked neatly with a few designs in the bone displays. Most sections are labelled by the cemetary they came from, but no individual remains are indentified. This self-guided tour takes about an hour and only shows a very minute portion of the catacombs of Paris. Other areas (outside the tourist area) were also later used by both the Nazi and resistance forces (sometimes very close to each other), and more recently by secret movie-loving societies and drug dealers.
Upon leaving the depths, we ride the Metro to the Trocadero, which is right across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
We cross the Seine and head up to the second level on the tower. The crowds are very light based on what Shawn and Anna tell us when they visit a few days later. It was very cloudy and cold, and visibilty was not great at the top.
Metro to small, predominantly Jewish and Lebanese neighborhood for dinner at Piccolo Teatro. This is a very small and quaint all-veggie restaurant which seemed to have an odd abundance of American patrons (maybe half)-- hmmmm, not many French vegetarians, we're guessing?
We walked through a very hip art fair prior to our meal -- lots of fog machines and wrought iron sculpture. The DJ was workin the Powerbook for some ambient noise and a cancan girl on stilts greeted us at the door.
A ride on the Metro back to the hotel and we did a bit of laundry before bed (as per usual) in the room. You gotta love those heated towel racks (that substitute as a dryer for us). ;-)

Gavin & robin

day five: london / paris

2005-12-20T23:20:00.000-08:00

No time in London today. We were up very early and on the tube by 7am to get to Heathrow. Our breakfast of soup and sandwiches was in the terminal. The flight was a speedy 1:10 to Paris.

We landed around 1pm local time and went straight to the train that will take us from the airport to central Paris. The weather in Paris is cold and foggy. Robin is feeling the start of a fresh cold coming on, btw.

Metro from Chatalet station to our stop, right on the Jardin de Tuileries (just west of Le Louvre).
We check in to our fabulous hotel, and Robin needs a nap to fight the cold.
I hit the streets and look for a market for wine, cheese, bread, chocolate covered waffles, etc.
I return about an hour and half later with supplies after having done quite a bit of exploring. At the market i spent more on a carton of orange juice than i did on the bottle of Bordeaux. Should I be surprised? Right now, I need a nap myself.
We have a little picnic in the room :-) with the wine, bread and cheese. The wine is really good.
After the snack, we clean up and head out to the Champs Elysees to see the lights. It is around 8:30 or 9 by now.
There is a brightly lit ferris wheel in the Concorde at one end of the C.E.. On ither side of the wide avenue are trees lit up looking like wine glasses. The Eiffel Tower is only half-visible as the top is lost in the clouds.
We walk to the Arch de Triumph past all the fancy shoppes, movie theaters, restaurants, and car showrooms displaying concept cars for major makers. Arriving at the Arch, we wander ariound looking for plaqus in english and take pictures in the bad light.
We return on the opposite side of the street and stop at a pizza cafe. The staff is very friendly and speaks English. The pizza is fabulous. No blandness here! Wahoo! We even get a little of the romantic French atmosphere as we are RIGHT NEXT to (very close tables) a couple who are incredibly makey-outy. We cut them a little slack since they seem to be just kids, in their mid-fourties.
Now after midnight, we head to hotel. Sadly the Crepe / Hot Dog stands we had passed earlier are all closed.

Bon soir.

day four: london

2005-12-19T23:40:00.000-08:00

Today we got up earlier than normal since we had a LOT of walking and window shopping on our itinerary.

We take the Piccadilly line train to Green Park since underground line all the way to Knigthsbridge was out of service.
We walked past Hyde Park and had breakfast in a patisserie - quiche for me and a pastry and tea for Robin.
Harrod's of London = Wow + Oh my gosh x Merry Christmas. The food halls are amazing and the most crowded part of this London institution. We are now kicking ourselves for not waiting a little longer to eat. If we get a chance top take Shawn, Anna, and Reid back there, we will.
We walked to Sloane Square and window-shopped quite a bit as we headed down Kings Road into Chelsea.
Next, we tubed back up to Leicester Square for lunch in Soho.
I got us a little lost so we popped into a pub to get "oriented". A half-pint each was all it took and we were on our way.
Walking through Soho, we found Red Veg, which is basically a vegetarian McDonalds with veggie junk food. I had the Chili Veg burger, and Robin had the Hickory Veg burger. She isn't a fan of BBQ sauce so we switched and I was just as happy.
A little more walking and then we had a second lunch of dim sum in Chinatown.
From Chinatown we walked up to Oxford Street for more window shopping then back to hotel.
For our last night on our first stop in London we decide to hit an all-vegetarian Indian restaurant in Bloomsbury for dinner. We had high hopes, but we found the dishes to still be quite bland :-( The gulab jamun was still awesome.
Back at the hotel, we packed for Paris.

Gavin

day one: london

2005-12-16T23:45:00.000-08:00

We didn't think we could get much done on the first day due to exhaustion. Boy, were we wrong.

After checking in and a shower to freshen up, we hit the street and walked from Bloomsbury to Covent Garden.
We did some window shopping and checked out the shops, as well as enjoyed the Christmas decorations, musicians and carollers around the Gardens.
We stumbled across Wagamama, an asian noodle restaurant on our list of things to hit. We enjoyed a late lunch and vowed to make it back before we the trip is over.
After lunch, we do a little more shop browsing and wind up walking to Leicester Square. Among other things, this area is heavy with theaters and pubs.
Walking around a corner we stumble on the Albery Theatre, where Patrick Stewart was doing only 23 of his one-man Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol shows.
We checked with the box office and found out they were all sold out except restricted view tickets.
We decided to check around the corner at a discount stand... no luck.
Returning to the Albery, we decided to ask about the restricted view, but were told that someone had JUST cancelled. GREAT SEATS THAT NIGHT.
We needed a pick-me-up, so we stopped into a restaurant for dessert and coffee/tea.
The show was absolutely amazing. Robin would like to write a little on this experience on its own.
Next to the Albery is The Solisbury, a pub. We pop in to enjoy a couple pints before heading back to the hotel.
Before heading towards the land of sleep, we grab a couple slices of pizza for the walk back.

That is the end of day one. Cheers.

G

day two: london

2005-12-17T23:14:00.000-08:00

again... this is going to be quick and dirty. I have to buy time on a computer in a gift shop in 20 minute intervals.

Update: Now that we are home, I have been able to go back and provide a little more detail.

Today we were to meet a Scottish relative of mine to hand off some old family heirlooms. We got the message Friday night that she would be at the hotel at 10:30am, so we set the alarm. We overslept and got up 40 minutes before we were to meet her so no breakfast. Here is how the rest of the day went.

At 10:30 am, we met Irene in the hotel lobby and I handed off the heirlooms. She asks us if we are intersted in catching the changing of the guard at the palace. In the winter, they only do the ceremony every other day.
Upon leaving the hotel, we take the Underground to Green Park station. We walk across Green Park to Buckingham Palace just in time to watch changing of the guard. The crowd is huge, but we do get to see the procession. The guard is a little less flashy as they are wearing their long gray winter coats instead of the bright red ones. The tall black fur hats are present, however. I don't know why I am surprised to see they are carrying big, black M-16's with long, shiny bayonettes, instead of more ceremonial rifles.
We head back across the park and down in the direction of Piccadilly Square and had lunch at Ponti's, an Italian cafe.
We said our goodbyes to Irene at Piccadilly Circus after taking some pictures in front of the statue of Eros. From here, Robin and I walked to Trafalgar Square and saw the lion statues she had seen years ago.
We cross the Thames to south bank where we walked and shopped along the south side fr a couple hours.
Outside the Tate Modern (we'll see the museum tomorrow), we wander through the Frost Fair, a winter carnival of sorts with various food carts, games, entertanment, and a portable, artificial sledding hill.
We hoof it back across the Thames via the Millenium Bridge towards St. Paul's Cathedral. This was first opened in 2000, but closed after a month when it was determined to be too "wobbly". It was reopened two years later after being reinforced.
We peeked inside St. Pauls Cathedral, but since it was 45 mintes to closing we didn't bother with paying the admission. The view from the information satnd is still breathtaking.
Looking for a pub offering chips and curry, we stop in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This pub was rebuilt after the fire of London back in 1667 and was a favorite among writers over the centuries. It is a actually windy maze of a series of little bars with little hidden rooms with coal fireplaces. We can't find a place to sit and it is fairly smoky in here so we head back out.
Across the street, we get out of the cold and order pints and chips in a Fleet Street pub called the Tipperary, which has recently celebrated its' 400th birthday. They don't offer curry sauce, but they do hand us a basket of different condiments, including brown sauce. This is not completely unlike Heinz 57, and tastes really good on chips (fries). HP Brown Sauce is apparently the official sauce of Britain.
From the Tipperary, we walked all the way back to Bloomsbury.
I do a little exploring while Robin is getting ready for dinner and find a cute little Italian restaurant in an alley called Cosmoba. It is almost completelty hidden by scaffolding being used on the apartment above it so it is very quiet.
After dinner, we enjoy a few pints nearby at The Lamb, a pub that now stays open past 11! The Lamb also features a bar with snob screens - small, ornate glass shutters at eye level that can be closed if you don't want to see the bartender and then opened when it is time to order a new pint of bitter.

BTW, the weather both days has been crystal clear, although quite chilly and a bit breezy.

That's it for now.

Gavin

day eighteen: london / home

2006-01-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

Well, this was it. The end. Our flight out of Heathrow is at 1:30pm, so we didn't have to get up so dreadfully early as some of our other travel days.

As planned, we hit the Zetter's restaurant for breakfast. Just like in Paris, we are the only ones there right after they open. Robin has been dying to try the featured ricotta pancakes since we arrived. They live up to expectations.
Today is bank holiday in England, so the city is still very quiet. This also means that the Underground stations and trains are not crowded at all, which is great since we are lugging our bags around.
The train ride to Heathrow is quiet and takes about 45 minutes.
After checking in, we roam some airport shops and settle down for one more pre-packaged sandwich from a coffee shop. It is about this time that we start noticing small groups of young, obnoxiously loud, American girls milling about. It turns out that we will be sharing the flight with a bunch of the cheerleaders from one of the groups performing in yesterday's parade. I overhear one genius tell her giggling friends "GAWD, it is so AWESOME! They don't charge tax here. We are saving SO much money!" I just wish I was a fly on the wall when she (or her parents) see her credit card bill and she learns that a pound is not quite equal to a dollar.
The flight is loooooong. No sleep for me. The only decent, working movie to watch is Just Like Heaven and Robin and I play "Guess the Ending" throughout. I think Robin peeked in on Pride and Prejudice a bit later as well.
We eat twice on the place, including a really tasty spinach and tomato risotto with red wine. Sadly, no oreo cheesecake on this flight.
Lys and Carl meet us after we get through customs and give us a ride home.
Once in the house and the kitties have been given the appropriate amount of lovin', I head out to run some pre-Robin's-birthday errands, and pick up Q-Doba. We have been missing the queso dip somethin fierce.

We are now home safe and sound. Our own bed feels wonderful, especially with the added warmth of the two cats.

day sixteen: london, new years eve

2005-12-31T04:23:00.000-08:00

Wow! Day sixteen. Very hard to believe...

Well, it is a little after noon on Saturday and we still have only tentative plans for tonight with Reid, Shawn, and Anna. It is kinda difficult to plan anything right now since a 24-hour London Underground strike started at 12. They claim the trains are gonna run until they lose too many workers.

That's all I got for now on today. More later.

Gavin

Update
Robin and I decided to head out and brave the Underground strike. Apparently just the station staff are striking, not the train drivers. It is now just a matter of keeping enough stations open. Our closest station is open but not very active, and the trains are running less frequently.

We take the train down to the river's edge.
It is a cool, sunny day (what a difference from yesterday!)so we grab some baguette sandwiches and a cup of soup to enjoy on a bench in the Victoria Embankment Gardens under a statue of Robert Burns.
We then checked out Cleopatra's Needle, a 3000 year old Egyptian obelisk adjacent to the park.
From the river, we walk back up to Covent Garden, and Leicester Square for more shopping.
Time for a couple half paints in a pub before heading back to the hotel to start getting ready for the evening. I have an Abbot's Ale which is some of the tastiest Brittish beer I have had so far.
Back at the hotel we cancel our tentative reservation for dinner here which would have set everyone back £65 ($114) a person. OUCH! We made the group decision to just walk north of the hotel to a nearby area full of restaurants, clubs, and bars.
We finally decide on Italian for our last meal of 2005. The restaurant is very busy and the staff is running ragged, and when we ask for a table, they look at us oddly as if to say, "You want to eat here? Now? At a table?? Well, I guess so..." The tales of this dinner could go on, but just know it was delicious, and we wound up ringing in the New Year with a bottle of champagne and the predominantly Polish staff.
We begin wandering back to our neighborhood in the light rain, all the way trying to find a club with an after-midnight cover charge less than £20. We find one near the hotel and do a little dancin' till we decide to turn in around 2:30am
We say goodbye to Anna and Shawn who are heading home in few short hours.

Happy 2006!
Gavin

homes away from home

2005-12-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

A few people have asked where we are staying on our travels. Let me break it down for you...

London (first 4 nights): Bonnington in Bloomsbury
I assure you we will not be in any rooms as fancy as the photos shown here. Near the British Museum and Covent Garden.

Paris (3 nights): Rennaissance Paris Vendome Hotel
Thanks to Hatcher and his donation of a boatload of Marriot points. This hotel is very close the Seine and the Louvre.

Amsterdam (6 nights, including Christmas): Studio Apartment in De Pijp
This is located in a trendy area of Amsterdam and right near Holland's best outdoor market.

London (4 more nights, including New Years Eve): The Zetter
A hip, boutique hotel (not unlike the Luna Hotel here in Denver). Shawn and Anna will be here with us for this leg and Reid will only be 2 tube stops away.

day three: london

2005-12-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

We kicked the day off with a veggie version of true English breakfasts. Fried eggs (just me), mushrooms, baked beans, toast (on a little rack), roasted tomatoes, potatoes, veggie sausage, and tea. We are considering adding the beans to our regular menu at home.

Tate Modern - The Unilever Series: Rachel Whiteread, Jeff Wall: Photographs 1978-2004, as well as a few permanent galleries including some Warhols.
LOTS more Bankside walking and exploring
We had pizza for a late lunch at Pizza Express. This is a chain we see everywhere in London. For a fast food-sounding name, this place is aa sit-down restaurant that is a bit swanky. Cloth napkins (a good indicator for my mom), fresh flowers, and wine glasses on every table. Robin likes her white pizza with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes, and rocket (arugula). I find my mushroom pizza with red sauce to be... you guessed it, bland. We notice, not for the first time in Europe, that most restaurants offer up pizza in only one size and don't cut it.
We grab the tube at the London Bridge station and make our way back to Bloomsbury for a rest.
Eat and Two Veg for dinner. This is an all vegetarian upscale diner. I order the Hot Pot, which is like a stew which is perfect for this drizzly night. It still wasn't overly spicy, but more flavorful than most of the meals we have had on this leg in London.
We walked through Marylebone and the Oxford Street shopping area which was all lit up for holidays

I know it seems like a short list, but we sure did burn up the day doing it.

Gavin

day thirteen: amsterdam

2005-12-28T23:09:00.000-08:00

I am having trouble recalling this day right now. The "big blur effect" is really kicking in now. This is our last full day in Amsterdam (sniff sniff).

I receive a text message from Rodney at 5:20am (i heard it but didn't read it till after 7). He wants to know if we are up for lunch later that day. He arrived Christmas Eve and his body refuses to adjust.
I got up a little early so I could do one more trip to the "Wash-O-Matic". Almost all the restaurants in Amsterdam are completely devoid of any type of non-smoking section, so I want to head to London with as few articles of stinky clothes as possible.
After breakfast in the studio we go for a more casual stroll through the huge market out the front door. The weather is slightly warmer and the sun is out today, although it stays so low we rarely see it except between buildings.
We walk a zig-zag line towards Dam Square wandering past more touristy gift shops and new hidden alleys.
We finally hook up with Rodney and Ursula. She takes us to what becomes Robin's most favorite lunch spot on this whole trip. Check back later, as she would like to expand on this experience.
After we say goodbye to R & U, we walk back in the direction of the apartment through a, shall we say, neighborhood with a certain color scheme to the lighting.
We spend a little relaxation time at home and begin packing for our trip back to London.
On our way to dinner, we stop into another brown cafe and get a couple beers that are much darker than the lagers we had been getting used to in Holland.
Golden Temple is an all-veggie restaurant not far from our studio. It has been on our list of places to hit, but didn't notice till halfway through the trip that we walk past it all the time. It serves Indian, Middle Eastern, and Mexican. Wahoo! We are glad we decided to save this for our last meal.

Up early tomorrow. Later.
Gavin

day fourteen: amsterdam / london

2005-12-29T23:18:00.000-08:00

This is a travel day, so not a lot to speak of till we arrive back in the UK. Here are the notes.

Up before light and out of the studio before the vendors have their stalls set up in the market.
We take a quick tram to Centraal Station and then a 25 minute regional train to Schipol Airport outside of Amsterdam.
Brunch is pre-packaged gouda and pickle (similar to a chutney) sandwiches with Lays chips and sodas. Actually better than you would think. We have learned that Europeans love their sandwiches, especially if they are on the go. In England and France, many bakeries will have cases full of pre-made baguette sandwiches made with hard crunchy french bread or ciabatta. Coffee shops, petrol stations, and grocery stores will stock their coolers with pre-packaged sandwiches like the ones we Americans would normaly see in a hospital vending machines, sealed in the little plastic triangle. The difference is that these are made fresh that day with quality ingredients. We actually enjoyed several examples of both types on this trip.
The flight to the UK is an hour long and smooth. We then get a train from Luton airport (35 miles north of London) straight to the station closest to our hotel. From here we actually got to see a good bit of the lovely, snow-covered English country-side.
We unpack and I go explore for supplies and to get the lay of the land. We then have a little picnic of hummus, pita, cheese, fruit, and sodas I found at a local grocery.
Shawn and Anna have arrived from Paris and we all meet Reid in the lobby for drinks. We hit the local area for Italian food and wine. Next, we find a club for more drinks, dancing, and a few more drinks.
Bedtime arrives around 1am-ish.

The hotel we are in is very hip and has interactive TVs which include free music library and web access in addition to the normal TV and movie features. The internet feature is free on the weekends so no more internet cafes.

Gavin

day nine - part two: amsterdam

2005-12-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

- robin here. %:-) this may be my only post (i tend to be a bit more...well, thorough...than Gavin), so i'll try to make it a good one! okay, so while G was schlepping laundry at the Wash-O-Matic, i was lying in bed, trying to WILL away my nagging cold. sigh -- it could definitely be worse, thankfully!

- breakfast at the flat (bananas/toast/cereal) and then out into the cold, clear day.

- the cobblestones are throbbing with last-minute Christmas shoppers in their swirling scarves. we walk for awhile and then duck into an Irish pub to escape the biting wind, where we chat with a friendly barkeep (an Irish lad -- go figure -- by the name of Martin). He's been in Amsterdam 5 years and doesn't plan to leave anytime soon. after washing down a basket of chips and mayo with a couple of half-pints, we bid him a "goedenavond."

- more exploring: streets, shops, signs, and of course, the ever-present canals and bridges (which, by the way, are filled with swans, ducks, and various other types of waterfowl that i don't quite recognize -- oh, and of course, there are houseboats -- LOTS of them). yes, we did get a bit lost today, but it's the first time gavin's considerable navigating skills have faltered throughout this entire trip! pretty impressive. anyway, we (okay, HE. let's face it, i have NO directional skills.) figured it out eventually, and we probably saw some stuff we wouldn't have otherwise.

- late lunch at a traditional Dutch cafe specializing in pannekoeken (we're pretty sure you can decipher that word on your own). not much English spoken here, but we manage to get by. it's interesting how similar the Dutch language is to German -- but with crucial differences! i am determined to learn all of the phrases listed in the back of our Amsterdam travel book!

- yup, you guessed it -- MORE walking -- this time with a purpose in mind. we need to book a restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner (tonight!) and -- more importantly -- for our holiday feast tomorrow. after some browsing, we decide on Casa di David (Italian and highly recommended) for later in the evening, and we choose Cafe Indrapura for the next day (more to come on that selection).

- we make our way back to the flat for a rest -- stopping briefly on the way to pick up something sweet for "brunch" at the flat in the morning, and to grab our own "Dutch" version of a Christmas Tree: 3 dozen blazing red tulips in a silver bucket (plus a few well-placed candles for ambience)! ;-)

- late dinner (9.30pm) at Casa di David...yummm. the pasta was lekker (good), and the "smokescreen" was minimal. it's a bit hard to get used to smoke in a restaurant again, though it's not as bad as we'd feared it could be. very few places in Europe have non-smoking sections, and we can only hope that our neighbors at the next table don't light up and potentially spoil dessert! the Dutch are so highly evolved in other ways...when will they realize that cigarettes are going the way of the dinosaur?! must be their extremely tolerant mindset, which is otherwise quite refreshing!

- on the walk home (11.30pm), we stumble upon a sizeable cluster of "carolsingers" (to use a British term) in the middle of a square. accompanied by a small orchestra, a robust woman in a wine-colored scarf is leading the gathered crowd through rousing renditions of "Jingle Bells," (in English), "Stille Nacht" (in German), and the old standby, "Last Christmas" by...George Michael?! yes, the former frontsman for WHAM has managed to squeeze his cheesy pop song from the mid-80s through an unprotected crack in European culture; apparently it's now a widely accepted holiday carol. no one else bats an eyelash, but we have a hard time stifling the giggles as we sing along tunelessly and cough up a few euros for the needy (it turns out to be a charity concert). a few songs later -- while shamelessly begging for some figgy pudding -- we all light our individual sparklers and shed a little brightness on the dark square. definitely the perfect, festive bookend to our Christmas Eve in Amsterdam!

-robin %:-)

british food

2005-12-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

some have asked about the food we have been eating. Well, of course we have been having only vegetarian fare, but most of it is not really of "British" nature (asian, italian, pizza, etc.). If we had to sum up in one word what we have had so far, it would be MILD. What we have had has been pretty good, but not overly spiced or flavorful. Last night, however, we had an amazing and ispiring meal at Eat and Two Veg, an all-vegetarian upscale diner. Tonight we are hitting an entirely veggie Indian restaurant in the hood. We hope to get our fill of spices there.

Oh, the beer is the same as the food... mild. A friend warned me before leaving that I would find it all to be watery. I would describe it more as light-bodied with a very small finish. And this is almost every pint we have had, with the exception of a nice double-chocolate stout from Young's.

Off to pack for Paris.

Gavin

Update: The Indian meal we had that night was some of the mildest we had, and the service was the worst of our entire trip. No worries though, the second term in London was much more flavorful. We even managed to find some better beer, specifically Abbot Ale, which is brewed by monks.

day nine - part one: amsterdam

2005-12-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today is a VERY exciting day. You know why? It's laundry day! I got up a little before Robin so I could hit the street with two bags of clothes and properly clean and dry them without a sink or hot towel rack. An hour and twenty minutes later I am finally able to try and get this blog up to date since we had no access in Paris. We did eventually see some internet cafes in the City of Lights, they just weren't in our fancy-shmancy neighborhood.

Oh yeah, it's also Christmas Eve. We decide to make this an exploring day. I'll fill you in on it later. My time is up and we need to hit the cobblestones now.

Gavin

day ten: amsterdam, christmas day

2005-12-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

COMING SOON. This will be posted by robin.

made it!

2005-12-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

London from the air on our approach. A very tiny Tower Bridge spanning the River Thames can be seen under the plane's wing. Click pic for larger image.

sorry it took so long. I am date/time-stamping these around the time they happened, not when i actually posted, just FYI. This will have to be quick, but we will elaborate later with pics.

Everything is great! The flight was smooth, although without much sleep. No one told us they give you free wine with your dinner on British Airways.

Arrived about 10am and was through customs and on the tube into London by 11:40. The weather is great. Found the hotel with little difficulty and was able to check in early.

more coming...

Gavin

gettin ready

2005-12-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been picking out our best interchangeable layered outfits and testing the warmth of our best coats. We are trying really hard to select just two pairs of shoes each. Our new luggage has been getting filled and emptied with packing trials. Our new travel kits are filled with fresh razors, vitamins, and full mini-bottles of shampoo and laundry detergent (for those in-room washings).

We received our new passports a few weeks ago with almost no problems. The only issue being the quality of the photos. We, being the picky visual people we are, decided to take our own portraits for our I.D.s. I set up a little studio in the bedroom and we each pressed our backs against the only art-free white wall in the house so I could snap some regulation pictures with our digital camera. I then spent about an hour or so tweaking the colors and contrast in Photoshop until they looked just right. The next day we turned in our applications and sent off the checks. Six weeks later we got the new passports and were very disappointed to see that they no longer laminate the pics to the documents. Nowadays, they do some weird photo/paper-infusion process which result in a really washed-out and unflattering image. At least we can get new ones in 15 years.

I passed one other major hurdle to getting ready for the trip this week. I got my shots. That is to say that I got my 5th, and hopefully last, series of cotisone injections in my spine. This is done to reduce the amout of pain I have from a ruptured disc between my lumbar vertebrae. I am crossing my fingers that I can get about a month of relief. Then I get to start researching surgery... joy.

More progress later.
Gavin

stay tuned!

2005-12-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

I have tweaked and tested and it seems that this little news blog is gonna work just fine. I can log in and create a post or just email a quick note. The point of it all is to give you, our beloved family and friends a place to check in on our holiday travels in Europe. We should be able to periodically pop on and post quick updates. We aren't sure how we can get pics uploaded yet. We aren't taking any laptops, but will have to rely on the capabilities of the various internet-cafés we hope to find.

I will try to post a few more messages before we go, just so you can get used to checking in. You can also bookmark this page.

Cheers!
Gavin

the beginning...

2005-12-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

So, this should be the first blog actually working on ragz.com. We hope it makes it easy for us to post reports from our upcoming trip to Europe. We'll see....

G