Category: Europe

Back from Europe

As you may have gathered from my recent posts, I’ve returned safely from Europe – a little wiser and with, in my case, no wallet to speak of (more about this later). Between settling in and reading the seventh Harry Potter, I won’t have too much time to blog this week, but when I do, I will be cheating and back dating all of my posts in an effort to minimize confusion between past and present escapades. For those of you without aggregators, I realize incessant checking of my blog will start to drag after a while, so I will post an “I’m finished” equivalent if you are of the patient kind, and can await the full documentation that is sure to take some time.

Returning from a holiday is always bittersweet – seeing my family and sleeping in my own bed are nice, but the harsh reality of having to return to work and routine on Monday morning is a jolting reminder that the vacation mentality must cease immediately. It’s also funny how the seemingly mundane – being able to communicate in simple terms, not having to pay to use the facilities, ordering tap water free of charge at restaurants, and yes, even the hooks on the back of bathroom doors – become things that you appreciate and no longer take for granted at home.

So, hope everyone had a good few weeks in the heat wave, and I’ll begin posting soon.

Europe Day 3: London

Before separating from my friends to meet up with my relatives for dim sum and sightseeing, we were treated to a Jesmond “full English breakfast,” included in our nightly fee. When compared with a meal of Muslix and toast at our final London hotel, or even the Contiki breakfasts, the hot, made-to-order plate of beans, eggs, sausage and bacon, supplemented with fresh fruit, toast, coffee and juice spoiled us dearly early on in our trip.

Imagine waking up to this every day (calories notwithstanding)
As I had some time to kill before needing to head to Chinatown, I returned to the nearby British Museum for another spin. Turns out I had (oops) missed the Rosetta Stone my first time, among other things. Due to the car bomb incident in Glasgow the day before, there were police randomly checking bags at the entrance, a measure of heightened security not present during my last visit.

I’m not sure what it was besides nasty coincidence, but it was uncanny that the days that I spent with my relatives were never entirely free of rain. So much so that my cousin May started jokingly blaming the wet weather on me. This day was no different.

On one of the few Chinatown streets in London

After lunch, we headed in the direction of the London Eye, snapping pictures, briefly admiring the buskers on the South Bank, and stopping in the Namco Station arcade in County Hall to (surprise, surprise) get out of the rain.

With the London Eye

We walked past Big Ben, and stopped for a coffee break in a pub en route to Westminster Abbey. I am not immune to blame, as I should have been able to recognize the famous landmark, but we couldn’t locate it. When we stopped for directions, the gentleman pointed, almost laughingly, to the “big white building” we couldn’t miss. Shame. (It still boggles my mind how many Kodak landmarks are within walking distance of each other.)

Big Ben


Coffee (never liked beer, probably never will) in a pub with Cousin Kelly


Westminster Abbey

Here, I met up with the girls, and we Tubed to the Globe Theatre, arriving with quite a bit of time to spare before our 6:30pm curtain. As seems custom by now, we spent the free time before our play in a museum.

Tate Modern is an amazing space, a gallery of (post)modern art built out of a former power station. The exhibit we visited was called Global Cities and focused on the sustainability of large population centres. Even more than the prints, photography, sculpture and multimedia displayed, I was floored by the exposed scaffolding used to make up the two levels of the exhibition – a visual representation of density and differing perspectives, and an effective use of a stark metal jungle to signify the underbelly of growth.

Global Cities exhibit


May, Annie and Janice at Tate Modern


The Millenium Bridge and me

After a frugal dinner consisting of Tesco sandwiches and juice by the Millenium Bridge, we walked to the Globe Theatre and readied ourselves for a few hours of groundling toil. We had purchased the five quid cheap tickets, meaning we would be standing for the duration of the play at the foot of the stage. In the end, though I should have worn a different pair of shoes (my ankles were crying after three hours), it was pretty cool to watch Love’s Labour’s Lost from where we did. As most people know, I just don’t have an inbred love of Shakespeare most English teachers are born with. But to see it on stage, illuminated in speech (thus noticing the poetry of iambic pentameter), direction (the scene involving column hide and seek was hilarious), and use of vulgar visual gags (the age-old horn prop) made me fully appreciate Shakespeare for the master that he was. And darn it if casting Trystan Gravelle as Berowne didn’t help his case.

The Globe Theatre at nightfall


The stage


The girls with Henry and his beary friends

I did pick up a program (I don’t know if I will ever get used to having to pay for playbills), and successfully avoided buying the too clever “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” handkerchiefs and 50p felt strawberries “from” Othello.

We took our time getting back to the hotel, but had we known the long day that was to come, perhaps we would better prepared ourselves with a good night’s rest.

Europe Day 2: London

One of my best mornings occurred that second day, if not only because I wasn’t operating on anyone else’s schedule. I took my time with a morning shower, relaxed with a cup of Twinnings tea, and even watched a bit of a cooking program on BBC. I had to check out by 11, and to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on departing from Ramada Encore – it was drizzling outside, and I think it’s always a bit disconcerting when the journey to Point B is unfamiliar.

I sucked it up eventually, and dragging my 42.8lb suitcase behind me and with the help of a very nice Tube attendant and newspaper vendor (they must hate tourists), made it to Tottenham Court Road and then the Jesmond Hotel, where the girls would be meeting me later that afternoon. As we would discover over the course of our trip, the Jesmond really was a diamond in the rough – clean, reasonably priced, offering a generous breakfast and within walking distance of a few different Underground lines, I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for accommodation in London.

Our quad room on the main floor of the Jesmond


A picturesque British block

After dropping off my luggage, I wandered over to the British Museum, only a ten minute walk from the hotel. Free to the public (much like most other museums in London), it’s a wonderful place to spend a day, though one could easily take two weeks to read all of the informative plaques. And though this may be sacrilege to some – I would, without hesitation, choose the British Museum over the Louvre any day.

British Museum foyer


“Throne of Weapons,” a chair made from decommissioned weapons after the end of the civil war in Mozambique

Before returning to the Jesmond, I waited out the rain in the Starbucks across the street (yes, that made it two visits in two days). Not understanding my request for a “tall mild,” it turns out their slang for a regular brewed coffee is “tall drink.” Other differences include their liquid additives – only whole and skim milk are available (probably influenced by the tea drinking population). I still wonder how many Londoners frequent Starbucks on a regular basis – though with 471 locations throughout Britain, their appetite for gourmet coffee must be pretty high.

It was still pouring as I made my way back to the hotel. The weather over the last two days had such sporadic qualities, not quite being able to decide what it wanted to be – shifting between sunny and cloudy the day previous, and today, just pouring. I was glad that I had arrived on Friday to much nicer conditions.

Typical English weather forecast (but as we would find out, this would be the wettest year on record since rainfall began to be recorded in the 1700s)
Annie, Janice and May all arrived in one piece, and we set out to Regent Street for a bit of shopping and dinner. After some running to London’s Visitor Centre to pick up our London Passes, I directed the girls to Topshop. I ended up buying a fall coat, my most expensive purchase over the three weeks, as well as a purse for my Mum – both items having travelled Europe and then some upon return to Edmonton.

For dinner, we ended up at Ozer, a Turkish restaurant, after a man who was presumably the owner enticed us inside with the promise of a free pizza. He delivered what in Canada would be considered a large pizza, so on top of that, each of us ordered an additional dish. My spinach and cheese pizza was certainly filling, but I think I would have preferred a less overpowering topping – perhaps arugula or basil.

Spinach and Cheese pizza
Well-fed, we called it a night and readied ourselves for a full day of sightseeing.

Europe Day 1: London

In retrospect, I’m very glad I decided to take the day off from work. I wasn’t terribly rushed, but having the option of taking my time to pack last-minute things (including a styrofoam cooler of food intended for my UK cousins, courtesy of my Mum), and in general relax before driving to the airport was a good way to start my three-plus week vacation.

My whole family was there to see me off, and before I knew it, I was on the plane. It was an older model (especially when compared to the jet Annie, Janice, and May took the next day), and thus I didn’t have the luxury of a television screen to myself. I was, however, lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me, fantastic for an eight hour flight. Though we reached London Heathrow on time, the airport apparently didn’t have a clear runway for us to land on, and we were forced to circle above for an hour.

I was told I may be met at the airport by family of mine currently residing in London, and sure enough, my cousins Dick and May, her son Justin, and my Aunt pulled me aside, and the whirlwind rush that I would come to associate with them began. I felt bad, having made them wait an extra hour, but I can tell you that we certainly made up for lost time. We seemingly sprinted for the Underground connection, and Travelcard in hand, we took the Piccadilly line straight to Park Royal, listed on my hotel website as a nearby station. As my cousins were not familiar with this part of non-central London, it took us nearly an hour to find our way to the Ramada Encore West.

It was a sparkling new hotel, but all of the reasons why I booked with Encore West in the first place (safety, affordability) seemed not to matter in the face of its inaccessibility. Still, I must say, it was a really nice room, probably even better than the four-star hotel in Amsterdam we stayed in at the end of our Contiki tour.


My first night’s accommodation – swanky, eh?

After dropping off my luggage, my relatives took me for a late dim sum in Chinatown. Unlike the pushcart norm in Edmonton, all of the dishes at the restaurant were made to order. For that reason, the food tasted better than the fare I was used to.

After lunch, we walked to the nearby Trafalgar Square where, lo and behold, Canadian tourism officials had set up a “Canada Day in London” celebration, complete with flags, beer, bison burgers, and entertainment.

Canada Day in Trafalgar Square


My cousin May poses by the Edmonton hockey exhibit


“Hey, it’s that girl” (Tanya Kim) from CTV

It started to drizzle a bit, so we waited out the rain at a Starbucks in Leicester Square. Starbucks is expensive in London (around £1.70, depending on the location), and they charge around 30p more for food meant to be eaten in the shop itself. Of course, for a little bit of home (I admit to feeling a bit of a Hallelujah! moment when I saw the familiar green and white logo), money isn’t really an obstacle. Leicester Square is also a great place for people watching – so many of the after-work crowd were chatting away on their cell phones.

They then led me to Piccadilly Circus so I could explore on a surface level some of the shopping London has to offer. Topshop was the biggest draw for me, after lusting after their seemingly affordable merchandise for years in magazines. On my first visit, it didn’t really blow me away. With the pound conversion, most of their things were pricier than I expected, and much too trendy for my wardrobe – something I would continue to discover with most of Europe’s fashions.

I Tubed back on my own, via a Central Line station much closer than Park Royal (thank goodness), and wound down early in an attempt to get myself on London time. That night, it felt as if I had been up for two straight days, and somewhere during that time I had been transported to an alternate universe where it didn’t quite look like North America, but for some reason everyone spoke English (at this point as well, I should mention that the novelty of British accents was starting to wear off).

My friends were to join me the next day, so there was much to look forward to.

European Experience 2007

“The use of travelling is to regulate imagination with reality and, instead of thinking how things might be, to see them as they are.”
– Dr. Samuel Johnson

That quote comes from the Travel Journal I brought with me and used throughout my European vacation. I found as I filled up its pages, I tried to keep it with me whenever possible, as the document became more and more valuable to me – the photos taken along the way are only half of the story.

Though much of these upcoming blog posts will be a direct transcription of my thoughts recorded at the end of each day on the trip, I’m sure I will not be able to avoid including some observations coloured by my time there as a whole. But to this, I say, all the better, as even looking back now, it is becoming more difficult to separate the individual days and nights, and in some cases, even the cities and countries.

As uploading the photos from my hard drive to Blogger is an exceptionally time-consuming process, I gave in and started a Flickr account out of necessity. Not all of my pictures are on that page, but most of the interesting ones, and certainly all that I will reference, can be found there.

I look forward to your comments, and as always, thanks for reading!

Off to Europe!

My last post before I leave – I hope to return with stories, pictures, and of course, good eating experiences! Have a good summer everyone!