A very occasional travelogue, but mostly the thoroughly engrossing musings and unlikely adventures of two cross-oriented life companions who don't really like you even though they say they do. By the way, how's that novel coming...you know, the novel you have been working on...working on for three years...
Friday, July 24, 2009
Bruges! Bruges! Bruges!
Go to Bruges. Seriously. Don't question me on this. Just get on a plane and somehow find yourself in Bruges. Do it. Okay, that is not realistic so what I will say is, "Go to Belgium - visit Brussels for a day and then get to Bruges." We went to Bruges yesterday for just a day trip and the general vote was we would all have rather stayed there. It was beautiful. The buildings all look medieval and the chocolate was the best ever. Even the chicken tasted better in Bruges. We took a quick boat tour through the canals. We gazed upon swans and ducks and castle-y looking things. We found a bar (across the street from the restaurant The Hobbit, next to The Tolkien cafe) that has 300 Belgian beers for your drinking pleasure. I had a fantastic raspberry beer and dreamily planned of hiding out in Bruges forever. It was a really, really, very good day.
Heading to Amsterdam today and will be in the hugging arms of our dear friends the Van Adrichems before the weekend is up. Hoo-ray!!
Well we made it to Brussels and have been here for 2 full days now. Gotta say - we aren't overwhelmed. Our hotel is decent but the city is a bit, well, sketchy. Lots and lots of dudes just hanging out on corners and in alleys. Girls are advised not to venture out alone and our boys are making sure that is the case. We spent the first day wandering aimlessly and found the town square which is so amazingly beautiful that it saddened me that it is in Brussels. The town is so dirty to be center of the EU and to be home to such a fantastic grouping of architecture. (like New Orleans and Jackson Square? maybe?) We laid in the square and then went to the cathedral, where we laid in the grass. We've become quite the lazy bunch. Well, mostly me and Cap, who find the Europeans love of outdoor napping just fine with us. Jim is much better at photographing and checking things out. As it was their National Day of super exciting something or other there were parades and fighter jets flying over. It was a nice day to be in Brussels, if only to see how others celebrate holidays. We paid homage to the great country of Belgium by eating waffles covered in chocolate or strawberries or ice cream or all of the above, followed by beer and dancing in the streets with gay boys to techno dj's. The dancing out of nowhere was so exciting that Jim and I didn't even care when the rain started. That's just how we roll in Europe. No worries. Wet feet. Good music. Tres bien.
It's says that this is Jim, but it is Kelley. We are heading to Brussels in 15 minutes. Once there we plan to eat way too much chocolate and drink beer. Oh, and maybe see the city. We are there until Thursday when we run off to Amsterdam for all manner of legal debauchery. Updates soon...
Here’s the thing about traveling by train. To Americans it seems exotic and romantic. A lazy anachronism free of stress and filled with rolling vistas. Get on when you want, get off when you want. If you miss one train there will be another along shortly: no fuss, no haggling with surly, dismissive ticket agents. You are the master of your own destiny on a train. You can breath more deeply. Your life’s path’s seems clearer. Surely, the US lost some bit of gentility and culture when it turned away from the rail systems to the impersonal bustle of the interstate highway system.
Bollocks, as the English say.
Like anything that involves the teeming masses of humanity, train travel sucks. And to the uninitiated, it is an incomprehensible babble of signs and signifiers requiring a lifetime to master. What platform is your train leaving from? Who knows? Depends on what platform it arrives on? It will appear on the destination board 2 or 3 minutes before the train is ready to depart.Sit anywhere you like? Sure, as long as its not reserved. How do you know its not reserved? The digital readout will indicate. But don’t get comfortable because the readout is updated at every stop. Well, at least I’ll have a seat. Well, not necessarily. If you can fit in the aisle or toilet or sit on the stored luggage, then welcome abroad. Or maybe you can just sit on your lovers lap the whole way and provide the entire car with a little soft-core entertainment for a couple of hours. It seems likely that the English’s first exposure to sex as a child isn’t on cable like in the states, but on the train.
But the vistas! Oh, the vistas! Building, building, church, field, sheep, sheep, sheep, church, camper, camper, building, building, sheep, sheep, hill, ruin, building, church, sheep. Oh, the vistas.
Then there is the ferry. The ferry is the train without vistas.
And just so you know, I’m being balanced and am willing to reveal flaws as well as sing praises, the English, a long with the rest of the world, have yet to figure out a solution to one of the oldest and most harrowing problems of travel.
Children.
On the ferry, the swift ferry, the swift ferry named Jonathon Swift (wow, huh?), Kelley and I sat next to a family dedicated to fighting tooth and sperm against the leveling off of world population. But apparently their commitment extends only to birth. After that, the kids seem to be on their own. They travel as a group, much like a school of piranha, leaderless and hungry.
Thus Dublin. The first thing you need to know about Dublin if you are committed to traveling there is; don’t reveal your destination to strangers. Upon discovering your intention, strangers feel compelled to warn you off. “Dublin, you say,” as incredulity and, yes, fear begins to fill their eyes. “Why would you be going to Dublin?” Or just “God, Why?” Or “Get out as soon as you can. The countryside is lovely, but Dublin ……” The consensus of opinion seems to be uniform. Unless you are a Joyce-fetishist, there is one reason and one reason only to travel to Dublin: a U2 concert.
It’s a low city, Dublin. No skyscrapers. And brown, faded almost. And dirty. There is trash everywhere: in the street, in the gutter, in the canal, tangled in the masses of seaweed and algae hanging from the canal banks. It should be no surprise Bram Stroker grew up here.
But beyond that it took a day or two to discover the real danger of Dublin. The first night Liz and Cap and Kelley and I went to eat and then had a beer. Liz and I still shaky from our travel decided to call it a night. We told Cap and Kelley to have a good time and headed in.
The next morning Liz and I were kicking ourselves. The night Cap and Kelley had. Well, wow.Barhopping. Meeting friendly, colorful Irishmen completely infatuated with Americans. Singing, dancing, drinking. I could only hang my head in regret and hug Liz in solidarity. But tomorrow night, I silently vowed, tomorrow night, I would embrace Dublin wholeheartedly and drink from the cup of its debauchery.
As you can imagine the day passed slowly. We went looking for Temple Bar. Learn from our mistake. Temple Bar is a street not a bar. Wandering up and down Temple Bar asking where Temple Bar is does nothing to advance the reputation of American abroad. We visited Trinity College. We took the bus tour of the city. We visited the Mecca of Dublin: the Guinness Factory. But in my mind all of it prelude to the night. I could hardly suppress a smile as twilight began to approach. Tonight, I too would know the joy that Kelley and Cap had experienced the night before. I could hear the Bacchanalia calling to me.
One aside. One fact that increased my expectations and apprehension in equal measure; Dublin is city full of people lying in gutters. Not bums either. More than once, in the middle of the day, we passed a man dressed in a suit, lying in a gutter. Well, on a city where that was a common sight I would have been a fool not to be a tad nervous. Ah, Saturday night in Dublin.
Now I understand that an excessive buildup often undermines the actual experience. That anticipation often blunts actual experience.But, well…come on.
It was like being invited to an orgy, only to arrive to discover you’d only be watching Cinemax. Before 9:00pm. On a Tuesday.
Which brings me to the apparent real danger of Dublin: confabulation. I’ve known Kelley for a lifetime now and Cap seems completely trustworthy. We went to the same bars. But instead of the intoxicating beat of the a DJ, we listened to a remix of “My name is Luka.” Instead of exuberant Irishmen, there was a Bailey’s salesman dressed as a ringmaster and giving away free shots with no takers. Plenty of “hen parties” of middle-aged women in costume sipping drinks demurely through penis-shaped straws.
To be frank, I was worried. Because not only had Kelly and Cap told us of there adventures but there had been pictures. My best guess is they paid desperate locals to pose with them. Maybe pulled one or two directly from the gutter.
My commitment to my friend is absolute. The next morning I bundled Kelley on the first Ferry leaving for England hoping against hope no permanent damage had been done. Cap and Liz fled to the countryside. Only time will tell if I acted quickly enough.
Last night Jim and I went to see The Lion King on stage. While I care very little about the story of The Lion King, the visual effects were astounding. Each character wears the face of whatever animal they are supposed to be on their head. And their heads and bodies move like the animals. The music was great and the dancers were beautiful. It was a great show. However... The audience was so weird that Jim and I just kept looking at each other with that face, you know the 'Wha? Huh?' face. They, not us - clearly - we know how to attend the theatre properly! - they would clap along with the music. And whoop when something happened on stage. They would almost participate in the show. It was so weird. Jim and I walked home discussing how we have been here almost two weeks and surely, by now, our American ways should have rubbed off on these people. I mean that is not how one watches theatre in AMERICA!! Obviously we were joking but it was still really weird. There are other things I have noticed about London that people should know before they get here. 1) Clearly the strapless bra has not been invented here. Girls are going all over the city in strapless dresses and blouses with giant bra straps showing. WEIRD. 2) Due to the lack of space it costs more to eat in at places where you have the option of taking it out. So, not like a real restaurant but a McDonald's for lack of a better example. Here there are places called Pret A Manger (have I mentioned this already?) that have very tasty fresh and cheap sandwiches and salads and when you check out they say, 'eat in or take away?' and if you stay they charge you 30p more. 3) In the same idea - if you want a bag at the grocery, they charge you more. So in the reverse of what is happening in America where some store deduct a few pennies if you bring your own bag - here they charge you an extra few if you require a bag. SO - lots and lots of people have their own bags for groceries and short stops at the store, including the pharmacy, bookstores, etc. I secretly love this. 4) Booze is cheaper than beer. Everywhere we go the booze is cheaper than the beer. So I am actually saving money by drinking whisky. I am nothing if not frugal. Aren't you proud, Mom? 5) They don't just drive on the left side - they walk there too. And seriously, I cannot get the hang of it. I am always always always on the wrong side of the sidewalk, tube stairs, crossing the street, etc. You know how when you are walking in a city and you turn a corner you veer toward the right side, away from the wall, because people coming toward you will be on their right? That is not the way it works here and I am constantly turning corners and running directly into people. I have however adopted 'Pardon' instead of 'Excuse me' because 'Excuse me' just makes people look at me weird.
That is all I can think of right now. All day long I catch myself seeing things and thinking 'weird' because I have clearly not travelled enough recently. I am getting back into the swing of things. Although the money is still weird to me, but I am getting the hang of it. Just in time to head to Belgium this weekend.
Hi, everyone. Jim is preparing a riveting post about Ireland so I will leave that to him. I will say only that I have been to Dublin and if I never get back there, I am okay with that. He will fill you in on the rest. We got back on Sunday and slept the day away. Yesterday, Jim and I went to Harrod's and I almost got kicked out for drooling on the handbags. There was a Valentino purse that I would have straight up stolen if I'd known how to get away with it. We also had Krispy Kreme donuts which is part of Jim's scavenger hunt list. Very tasty of course. We walked through Hyde Park and sat in some comfy chairs by the water. Jim was annoying the wildlife - geese and such and I all I could think was how much Elena (Peter's wife) would HATE where we were sitting. She ain't a fan of the birds. We walked over to Buckingham palace and stared at the doors like the rest of the tourists. 'COME OUT, QUEEEN!' Jim commented how the palace clearly has no a/c and I said that I bet her room does to which Jim said, 'No. She just has people come in and blow on her.' Nice. Last night was back to The Court, drinking whisky with Cap. Yes. I drink whisky over ice now apparently. Going to need some detox when I return home, I fear. Hope all is well at home. Miss y'all.
So Jim has been promising daily to post and I see he has not, so I am filling in the blanks. I have lost all track of days due to our nightly jaunts to the pub 'round the corner - The Court. Pitchers of beer, Long Island Iced Teas and pitchers of Jaeger bombs (Jaeger bulls here) are making Jim and I feel very out of practice. The 20 year olds here are way better at this nightlife thing. When did that happen? Anyway... What we've been doing: We went to church. Yeah, yeah. I know. WHAT? Kelley and Jim at church!! It's true. We went to Evensong at Westminster Abby (abbey?) and it was lovely. It is a service almost entirely sung and we thought it was nice and the church itself is gorgeous. We went to a Dali exhibit that has literally hundreds of pieces of his drawings and sculptures, glasswork, dresses by designers inspired by his art. It was fabulous. We have walked around a lot. Trafalgar Square, St. James Park in front of Buckingham Palace. Walked across a bridge that geeky Jim (I say that with love.) immediately said, 'This is the bridge Voldemort tries to blow up in the new Harry Potter.' I vaguely understood what that meant. But the bridge had a great view and was nice for crossing a river, you know like bridges are. Anyway... THE COMEDY STORE - Wednesday night we went to The Comedy Store in Picadilly Circus. This is an improv club where Whose Line Is It Anyway? began. AND we had found out beforehand thanks to Jim's curiosity that the one and only Eddie Izzard would be performing. We got in line (que) and got tickets and saw Eddie join in with the cast. When it was over and after a couple of pitchers of beer we were hanging around, taking pictures and the whole group came out. I asked if I could have a photo with all of them and they were very kind and said, 'yes.' Eddie asked where we were from and of course, we then talked about New Orleans and he said he thinks all his shows there from here on out would be to benefit the city. I thanked him for being so kind. Then somehow I lied and said I spoke French and he started speaking French and I was like, 'No - I am lying. I can just say 'je m'appelle Kelley' to which he replied, ' That won't get you a degree in Economics.' I have no idea what that meant. But he's right. It was a super fun night and I was very excited to meet him. And butcher the french language in front of him.
Okay, I think that is the bulk of what has been going on. Hope you are all well back home.
In the morning we got up and went to the British Museum and got to have a private lecture on counterfeiting money. We got to hold in our hands one of the oldest coins in existence. Then we saw different forms of money throughout the ages and the different ways people tried to fake 'em. It was really very interesting. We also parts of the British Museum, including the Rosetta Stone, which is very cool. After that Jim and I went to Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. There is a live art exhibit going on in Trafalgar Square where every hour on the hour a different Brit gets to stand on a pillar of 1 hour and do whatever he/she wants to do. When we were there a young man was making paper airplanes and throwing them down to the onlookers. I, of course, made Jim sit there until I could get a paper plane. It didn't take long and I was very happy. We went back to the dorm and laid low for the rest of the day. The rain just makes us want to sleep. I am very sleepy. It's midnight and Cap, my new frat boy best friend is making me drink nightly. I will make Jim post soon. He was supposed to today but did homework instead. So dedicated.
I was so exhausted yesterday that my post was rather lacking. Let's try that again...
The Flight.
Our flight from Jackson to Atlanta was most interesting because of the man sitting in front of us. A nearly empty flight it was and he decided to chat with us a bit. He claimed - CLAIMED - to be a professional baseball player for the Kansas City Royals. He wouldn't tell us his name, although he referred to himself in a story as Shane. Said he was/is a catcher. 38 years old, divorced 3 times and starting the paperwork for the 4th. He was a great storyteller. NOW - we have googled the hell out of this person and can find nothing on him. Liar? Probably, but the tales were great. If you can find out who this guy is and if he is truly a catcher for the Royals, let us know. Atlanta to London was uneventful. The flight was packed. Each seat had its own tv that you can watch movies or play games, totally touchscreen and all that jazz. We watched a movie and then watched TV shows. You could even watch 'True Blood' (Rhonda and Kennon!) but I resisted as I have seen them all so far. As most of you know I can sleep standing up and typically am asleep on a plane before it has taken off. Not the case on this flight. I didn't sleep a wink. Boo. We landed, got a taxi and got to our dorm.
Day 1: Jim and I got up around 9 and headed to our dorm breakfast. Breakfast is free everyday and we are saving our pence(s?) so that is good. We had eggs and fruit and hash browns and mushy sausages. Brits love mushy food, I guess. All tasty. The best is that the restaurant is on the 6 floor and there is an outdoor seating area. Very nice and pretty in the morning. After breakfast we headed to a market miles away and we did on foot. We are determined to lose 10 lbs. each while here, so no wussy Tube for us if we can hoof it. The market sucked and REEKED of fish so we headed back to the British Library. We passed through a couple of fantastic train stations. I just love the whole train culture. And here you can say things like, 'Want to go to Edinburgh today?' and mean it. Anyway... The British Library was one of my fave stops when I was last here and it is bigger and better than ever. It was only 6 months old when I was here in '98 so you can imagine. We saw an amazing exhibit on Henry VIII and man, seriously, so glad I didn't marry that guy. What a meany. Beheading people left and right. He was a lousy with issues. After that exhibit we went to an amazing exhibit of oral history: speeches, quotes, etc. We listened to speeches by William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot. Jim listened to the eulogy by Princess Di's brother while I listened to Muhammad Ali calling out Sonny Listen. All of these were amazing and well worth the time. We also saw HAND-WRITTEN lyrics to Beatles music and poetry by Sylvia Plath. Manuscripts by Jane Austen, the Brontes, the first copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Night. My fave though is the first, hand-written copy of 'Alice in the Underground' which obviously became 'Alice in Wonderland.' It was written as a gift for a neighbor of Lewis Carroll's and then became the phenomenon it is. Just loved it. The other VERY cool book they had there was the, darnit - what is the name of it? - well, it is one of the 2 oldest versions of the New Testament in existence. It is written in Greek and it is amazing. Four museums around the world are working to make it available for viewing worldwide, but it is a work in progress. After the museum we picked up great little sandwiches at Pret a Manger, which is everywhere, like au bon pain in NYC. Very good and expensive. Bought fans for our hotter than hades rooms and are now back to rest for a bit. Whew. I think that is it for day 1 - And - Michael Jackson is playing in every store we pass and restaurants. OH! And - WE also stumbled upon a park here with a statue of Gandhi (sp?) that when I was here almost 11 years ago, I sat in a journaled and wrote postcards. That made me smile. Felt like I had come full-circle and only on Day 1. It's amazing what traveling does for me. I feel more like myself than ever when on the move, yet admittedly, I am always fondest of home.
Jim and I arrived in London a few hours ago. Our dorm is very nice and very hot. What is with these Europeans and lack of a/c? We showered and then headed out for fish and chips and beer. All very tasty. Although the fish and chips came with 'mushy peas' and Jim refused to even taste them. That's all for now. We will be heading to bed fairly early and then going out to some of the markets tomorrow. We want to pick up fruit to snack on for the week to combat our lazy American lifestyles. And to counteract the beer we will be drinking. We shall see how it goes.
Yesterday was another day that everyone went skiing - except me. I went to the lodge, looked out of the window at the skiers, felt like I was going to throw up and that was that. Jim and I drove up to Lake Louise which is a frozen lake up in the woods. There is a hotel there that Asians are apparently obsessed with because it is the backdrop for one of their soap operas. Like Americans with Graceland. Jim and I got a great table in a window overlooking the lake where people were walking about and some kids were skating. We drank fizzy champagne drinks and had a cheese plate that was delicious. We were there about two hours and I didn't regret my non-ski choice one bit. Last night we had a great meal all together and then watched Dancing with the Stars. I have never really seen the show before and it was fun to watch them dance. Frankly, I think the altitude has me so damned tired that after 8pm, whatever is going on is fine. I fell asleep last night listening to Jim do his Spanish lessons. el gato. amarillo. azul. un adulto.
Today we got up and went for a hike. We went to Johnston's Canyon near Banff. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! There was a guardrail to hold on to as we went up the ice and snow covered path. You can look over and see the creek running beneath the ice and snow. I was doing great until I tried to go up a hill I knew I shouldn't. Peer pressure. Jim made me do it. I was not even half way up and I fell. Hard. Slipped and managed to turn over and fall on my butt instead of my face. Still painful as all hell. I should have a major-league-worthy softball sized bruise in the morning. After the hike we went into Banff were we had a great lunch. It was Bellini Tuesday. I loved that. Did a little shopping. Came back. Napped. Learned to play spades and got my (Jim and my) butts kicked. More stars dancing tonight. (Monica Seles - eeesh!) Off to bed.
Hi, everyone. (It's Kelley.) So, we are finally traveling again. It has been over a year since Hawaii and now we are in Canada for seven glorious days. We are in Canmore, Alberta which is around the corner from Banff. If you suck at geography we are northeast of Seattle, directly above Montana. Jim's mother, who you may remember as The Goddess Lynn, and her husband Snookie own two condos up here with eight bedrooms between 'em. We have a group of 13 here at the moment. The "kids" who are all over 25 and coupled up/married - Michael and Nikki, Louisa and Brian , and Lauren and Spence. The "adults" - Lynn and Snookie, Louise, Michelle, and Amelia. And Jim and me stuck in the middle somewhere. To quickly describe where we are staying, well no matter what window you look out there is a snow-covered mountain. And this morning I sat in a comfy chair just watching the snow fall for a good hour. It is gorgeous. We've not done much yet. We have taken a couple of walks down by the river and to town. Town is like a smaller Vail. Just little shops and weird locals who ask "Where are you from? The states?" I had a great honey wheat beer at the Grizzly Paw. Tried on some sunglasses that I may have to go back and get. Basically just hanging out...oh, wait, there was this one thing.
Jim bought new boots. Great good-looking boots. He proudly puts them on and says, "Lets walk to town". Awesome. We are just into town (1 mile) and he says, "I think I am getting blisters." About thirty minutes pass and he says, "Blisters. Baby, I, man..." By the time we were heading back up the hill he is convinced there are pools of blood in his new shoes. We try to call Snookie to save us but he is out. Everyone else is skiing. And then Jim does the smartest thing, but it made me hysterical. He took his boots off and walked through the town, over the river and through the woods and up the hill - in snow and mud and slush and various animal droppings - IN HIS SOCKS. If I wasn't breathing so hard going up the hill, he may have heard my laughter also and hit me with a rock. It was great.
Oh, and we visually journaled a la my cousin Lynn. I sketched then painted the view from the kitchen table which Lynn wants to frame! Jim sketched/painted our trip from New Orleans to here. We are geniuses.
