Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Last Days of London

The last full day I had was Thursday and Rosie was off work again so we opted to go down to the Thames for a last walkabout and a late pub lunch on the riverside. It's a great way to just see the city, as walking across the south bank you look across at the Tower, St. Paul's, the Tower Bridge, London Bridge and parliament all in a 30 minute walk. I also did a bit of last minute souvenir shopping. It was a quieter day and a nice final day in London.

Friday was a near disaster that turned out okay. I had specifically asked Emirates to fly in and out of Heathrow but upon getting there I learned that in fact I was flying out of Gatwick. Now shame on me for not reading the final itinerary which did in fact say Gatwick right on it but given that on my initial purchase it had said Heathrow I wasn't really looking that hard that morning. Fortunately we had left really early as Rosie was dropping me off before heading to work so we said goodbye at Heathrow and I hopped on the hour bus ride to Gatwick. Emirates was good about it and actually refunded my 25 pound ($40) bus ticket as I had in fact requested Heathrow and I still made it through immigration at Gatwick with over two hours to go. Still some unneeded stress.

After that is was a 7 hour flight to Dubai next to a woman who I think may have had certain mental issues. She listened to Emirates music the whole way but insisted on rocking out to it (drumming on her knees and singing included). Not totally welcome on an evening flight. Her friend (handler?) told her to be quiet several times but she didn't seem to get it. After that is was close to four hours in Dubai and a 9 hour flight back to Seoul that was quiet and stress free.

I already miss London but am happy to be back and getting settled again.

Two Trips Out of London

Tuesday Rosie had a day off of work so we opted to hop a tour bus for Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. I'm not always a big fan of tour buses, as they don't really give you enough time to see everything, a fact admitted by our great guide Trevor who called them a "sampling" of different places.

First was Windsor Castle, which the current Royal family is named after (not the other way round). It was changed from the German Saxe-Coburg in 1917 for obvious reasons. The Castle has hosted dignitaries from Napoleon III to George W. Bush (keeping such popular figures far out of London I guess.....) and is an amazing sight. Henry VIII is also buried here with Jane Seymour. It's a really cool castle and I wish I'd had more than the two hours allotted to us, but it was enough to see the state rooms, the tower and the chapel where Henry VIII is buried.

After that it was off to Stonehenge. One of the most amazing sights on earth. The current Stonehenge dates from 2300 B.C and is in remarkable condition for the age. It was sunny out but cold so we stayed for about 45 minutes, which really is enough time to take it in (although you could really just stand there looking at it all day). I feel silly writing about it as everyone already knows what it is and what it looks like, but seeing it in person is an experience that everyone should have.

Finally it was off to Bath, which may replace Princeton as my favourite small town ever :) It is home to the Roman baths and a Georgian city. We spent most of our time in the Roman baths, now in ruins but still an amazing sight. You can see where Roman Britons would have swam, bathed and relaxed in an ancient world sauna. Although Britain was a late member of the Roman empire it was still part of it for over 300 years and the effects of the empire can be felt to this day (cities such as London, Chester, Manchester and Bath can all trace their origins to the Romans). The city itself is also the brithplace of Jane Austin and much of the city retains that Georgian era look. The exception is that abbey which is a huge, Gothic building. I really wish that I had had more time in Bath, and if I ever return to the southwest of England I will have to spend the night there.

After that it was a three hour trip back to London and home to bed.

The next day was another early start as I was off to Canterbury, a 100 minute train ride east of London. It is famous mostly for the Cathedral which was a major pilgrimage spot for Catholics before Henry VIII, the site of the murder of Thomas Beckett and the destination of the pilgrims of the Canterbury tales. The town itself is small and has a certain charm to it, though the four hours I allotted myself was MORE than enough. The cathedral is amazing and surprisingly does not get any funding from the government and so relies on donations for it's maintenance. It also allows photography (something St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey do not). As with most sights in England, adjectives such as amazing, breathtaking, great, surreal etc. all apply. The city of Canterbury, as with Bath and Oxford has a great small town vibe, though it is an oddly different one from the cities west of London. I had been told that Kent had it's own feel and it really does.

Anyway after the Cathedral and a look around town I headed back to London to have a relaxing evening after two days of heavy travel.

Westminster Abbey

Well not much to say about this abbey, located next to Parliament. Queen Elizabeth I is buried here, and is Queen Mary. Geoffrey Chaucer is also buried here in poets corner, a site dedicated to English (and later British) writers. It's one of the most amazing buildings ever constructed and the history alone ensures that it will always be a popular spot for tourists.... and how.  This was probably the most packed place I had been to yet. It took me about three hours to see, stopping at numerous graves and sights and just taking it all in. It's also amazing to think that this abbey has existed here, in one form or another, since 1080 (the current one dating from the reign of Elizabeth I).

After that I headed to the Imperial War Museum. This was probably my biggest letdown in England. It was was less empire and WAY more war than I had assumed and I guess I'm just not the kind of guy who gets all excited about guns and tanks and all that stuff (and some guys there were clearly WAY too in to it). I also find the flag waving, glorious dead stuff hard to swallow and a big surprise for me was that the British are far worse for that than I expected them to be (apparently two World Wars and dozens of colonial wars didn't teach them much) and I think I need to be less hard on the Americans for that stuff. However the displays had some neat old artifacts but 45 minutes was more than enough time.

But since I was still in awe of Westminster I let the war museum slide.

Monday, October 22, 2012

My London Weekend

After the museum I had to head out to Forest Hill to meet Rosie and Karis. We were all on our way to visit Greta and Rafa. Great is an old friend of Rosie's. In fact I remember Greta when I was in Elementary school. She has been in London with her boyfriend and their time here is up. They were moving their stuff to Rosie's for storage and were having a final meal at their favourite local pub.

Saturday involved the actual move and a day in Rosie's neighbourhood. We hung out, watched a few bad movies and explored Rosie's neighbourhood a bit.

Sunday Rosie, Karis and I decided to do to Oxford. I had been in the U.K a week but had not left London. What I got in Oxford was "real" England. Not that London isn't, but it's a vast, multicultural, international and not totally English city. Oxford felt, well, English.

Of course it is also home to the oldest university in the world, with medieval architecture and a beautiful park. We spent the day exploring it and seeing the sights, including the High Street, Oxford Castle and the University. It was a really cool city and I wish I'd had more time there. Unlike London, where you are going to see specific things, Oxford itself is the sight. It doesn't leave as much to write about other than the vibe was amazing.

After that we went back to London and again met Greta and Rafa at the Old Salt Quay, a pub on the Thames. Watching the sunset over the Thames was definitely a cool experience and one not to be missed. We then headed back to Rosie's apartment and were off to bed, as everyone but me was out early (Great and Rafa were starting a six week European holiday at 4am).

Also, these are coming out almost a week late as I am not settled yet. As soon as I am I'll try to bang out more.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

London - The British Museum and a Cold

Between Wednesday and Friday I managed a tour of the British Museum and managed to get a nasty cold that kept me out of action for most of Thursday. Disappointing but I didn't mind a day off. The rest of my time was mostly spent at the British Museum, one of the largest museums in the world and a centre of controversy over how many of the items were acquired.

To be fair the British didn't pillage them the way the Spanish did. Everything was purchased from somebody. However, to use the most famous example the Elgin Marbles taken from the Parthenon, they were not purchased by the people who's ancestors built them but by the colonial power in charge. In brief Lord Elgin went to Greece in 1812 while serving at the British ambassador to the Ottoman empire and purchased a right to do an archaeological survey of the Parthenon and to remove items for study. This was granted by the Ottoman sultan who ruled Greece at the time. The problem is that no Greeks were consulted and no limit was given to the time Lord Elgin could have them. The result is that he took parts of the Parthenon back to London. In 1816 the British government purchased them and they have been at the museum ever since. Of course today independent Greece wants the statues and fresco's taken from the Parthenon to be returned. The problem of course is that Lord Elgin went about removing them legally at the time, but the Greeks had no say as they were ruled as a colony of the Ottomans who had no right to be in Greece in the first place. You can see the dilemma. This story was repeated in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, China, India and elsewhere. However today they are preserved much better than they would be in many of those countries (the British Museum has the second largest collection of Assyrian artifacts taken from modern day Iraq before WWI. The largest had been at the Baghdad Museum, but after 2003 much of it was pillaged and stolen and the British Museum may now have the largest collection of any museum).

Regardless of HOW they got it the museum today boasts an amazing collection of artifacts from all over the globe, though by far the most impressive collections are from Greece, Rome and Egypt. To look at busts carved in 1600 BC is mind boggling. It was so impressive and large that I took two full days to explore it all. I say two because on Thursday I had a very nasty cold that took me no farther than the Thames for a walk. I left Friday with a sense of awe that can not be explained. An amazing place to visit.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

I HATE the New Wildcard System

Hate it. Passionately.

162 games boiled down to a ONE game series? Where to begin?

First off baseball is a game that needs a series to play. You need to go through several starting pitchers, face the lineup a dozen times. I';s why they play 3 game series in the regular season (one reason anyway). It's not like hockey or basketball where one game can decide it fairly and I think it's a major reason why MLB is still the standard for top players (as opposed to the World Classic). Any team can win one game.

Too many teams in the playoffs. I hate that the NBA and NHL have 16 teams making the playoffs. What is the point in having a regular season? Baseball's format is very exciting and does not need to be tampered with.

I hate on it because it waters down the playoffs or simply re creates the 163 game. Both Texas and Baltimore were 93-68. They would have played a game anyway but it would have been a regular season game. The NL was where the water down effect happened this year. 94 win Atlanta sits out because 88 win St. Louis beats them in ONE game? I wonder how the AL's 90 win Tampa Bay Rays or 89 win LA Angels feel about that? Last year we'd have seen Atlanta/Washington. That would be a series!

My own opinion is that every time you expand the playoffs you cheapen them. NBA and NHL playoffs are already comical until second or third round. We don't need MLB following suit.

London days 5-6. St. Paul's and the BBC

Well after my day at the tower I opted to see St. Paul's Cathedral, a building that after 400 years is still among the tallest in London (and before the mid-twentieth century I believe it was the tallest). Unfortunately pictures are not allowed inside as it is a working church but amazing does not begin to describe it. The dome is huge and you will hurt your neck staring up at it. The fresco's are also amazing. To just sit and look at it is amazing. Then there is the 500 plus climb to the top of the dome. There are many warnings to this effect but that never stops the grossly overweight from trying the climb and then not being able to finish. I made it up okay but on a hot summer afternoon I could imagine that being a bit sweaty. The views from the top are simply amazing and gives you a panoramic view of London. But before that slog I went down to the crypt where there are many tombs and memorials most important of which are the tombs of Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. Winston Churchill is also here though his tomb is not on public display. It is an amazing place and well worth the admission price.

The next day was my first day at the British museum. In four hours I managed the Egyptian, Assyrian and Greek sections. Absolutely amazing what is here and being that most other Assyrian artifacts are currently in Iraq it's great to know that these ones are safe. I am planning a trip back (or two) to see it all. I was planning on an early start today but I've managed to catch a bit of a cold. Not the end of the world but I'm opting to sleep in and rest for the morning before heading out this afternoon. Gives me time to catch up with this and watch Yankees/Orioles.

Anyway I had to leave early to meet Rosie at the BBC to be in a studio audience. We were at Room 101 and we were front row centre (I may be on British TV when it airs). I managed to interact with the host a bit off camera and the show itself was great except for the tiny chairs and two people next to us who were WAY too in to it (you ever meet people that really don't have much of a life outside of TV/other fantasy?). But the show was great and quite funny and something I doubt I'll ever be able to do again. However my cold was really getting the better of me and Rosie had been working all day so we opted to head home and I headed upstairs with a roll of tissue.

This weekend is a pub night and possibly Stonehenge.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

London Days 1-4

Well I'm safely in London and on my feet after a day and a half of travel.

I left Sangin at 830am London time (430 there) and took the subway to Dongdaegu station, the KTX to Seoul and the airport express (only built last year) from Seoul Station to Incheon. That was three and a half hours. After that is was a check in with Emirates Air and a 9 hours flight to Dubai, three and a half hours in Dubai and a seven hour flight to Heathrow. I met Rosie at the airport and took the tube to her house. We arrived at 2pm on Friday (10pm Korea time). However it was Greta's last day at work and her company was having a party for her. Being that the last time I saw Greta we were probably in grade 10 and 8 respectively I went, had a few beers, chatted with Rosie's coworkers. Rosie and I left around 10 and made it home. I went upstairs and was asleep in five minutes.

The next day I got up early (I find myself up at 7am a lot here). It was actually quite sunny so we made our way downtown for a bit of a sightseeing walk. We got out near Buckingham Palace and walked through Canada gate (each of the Commonwealth nations has a gate. I found Australia and South Africa as well but not New Zealand). We then walked through St. James Park via a huge statue of Queen Victoria and wound up seeing pelicans up close. We then walked past parliament and across the Thames to the south bank, a lively spot with lots of free stuff going on. We walked past Shakespeare's theatre and the Rose (his original theatre) before getting to tower bridge and the Tower. We then met Rosie's roommates and headed to Wetherspoons (a local pub chain) for dinner and home for a movie.

Sunday Rosie and I went out to Hampton Court, the palace of Henry VIII and later William and Mary and as a secondary residence for George II. The palace itself is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It undergoes restoration but the Tudor buildings are all still there. It's odd to think that you (and about a million other tourists) are leaning on window ledges that Jane Seymour would have leaned on 500 years ago.  The palace is also an interesting mix of styles as the back rooms were built over 100 years after the original Tudor castle. The area itself, being a few kilometers outside of London central, also makes for a very relaxing atmosphere despite the mobs of tourists.

After the palace we opted for another pub meal and then home. They all had to get up early and to be honest I was beat.

Monday everyone else went off to work so I opted for the Tower of London. My previous great weather did not hold up and I was in a real down pour in the morning. However I got my ticket and was inside the Tower before 11. The tower itself is almost 1000 years old, having been built by William the Conqueror. It was built on an old Roman fort dating to the second century A.D, part of which can still be seen in the courtyard. It has been added to by Henry III, Henry VIII, Charles II and Victoria. The oldest rooms in the Tower date to around 1200, and it's simply amazing to walk through and to see. The tower contains the Crown Jewels and the Royal Armoury. While It was amazing I did prefer Hampton Court only because I don't find rows of guns especially interesting, which makes up both the armoury and much of the Fusilliers Museum compared to the architecture and history of Hampton Court. That being said to see where Sir Walter Raliegh stayed in the Tower and where Edward III slept and ate in the Middle Ages was amazing.

I then grabbed a pub lunch (beer and a meat pie at 3 in the afternoon is perfectly acceptable here, North America is way too uptight about drinking) and headed off to Westminster thinking I could do a tour of parliament but being that it was already 330 it was getting too late and, to be honest, I was a bit tired so I opted to head back to Rosie's place to watch Yankees/Orioles and upload photo's before they all got home.

So far a good start to my trip.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Typhoon Video

a much delayed video from the "typhoon" that hit Daegu last month


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Off to England

Tomorrow afternoon I will leave Daegu around 5:30pm on my way to Seoul Station, Incheon airport and London. I'm flying Emirates air via Dubai, taking the red eye from Incheon and arriving in the UAE at 4:30 am local time. After a 3 hour stopover it's 7 hours to London and a 12:15 arrival time (which is 9:30pm in Seoul, that should mess with my sleep).

I'm very excited but also looking at this trip with a bit less cash than I had hoped (I had to give a deposit for a new apartment and a few unexpected moving costs). However that means I spend one day at a coffee shop watching the baseball playoffs on my laptop while Rosie is working. I am there to relax too.

I plan to check out the major sights in London and a few towns outside the main city (Canterbury, Oxford etc.) but will mostly stay in London at my sister's place. I'm sure I'll be writing more in the coming weeks.

I'm also dreading the weather change. It was 26 and sunny today in Daegu, I heard it was 14 in London...............

Moving and Moving

I am now homeless.

Well sort of, I moved out of my Readingtown apartment on Monday and am living with Mike until Thursday when I go on vacation. About half my stuff is at Mike's place, who was nice enough to take a few things while I'm gone.

I also shed a lot of fat, getting rid of an old bookcase that I had inherited from Kris and Miranda in 2010 and a few odds and ends that I didn't need. I get back to Daegu on Sunday Oct. 21st and it looks like I can move in to my Moonkkang apartment the next day, giving me a few days before work to set up and settle in.

Anyway, for the next three weeks I'm living out of a suitcase in Korea and England. Should be fun.

Readingtown is Finishee

Well as of Friday I no longer work at Reading Town. I would love to say that I will miss it but in many ways I won't. It's not that it was a bad place to work, but I have a feeling that my next place will be better.

As negatives the discipline and admin BS was just amazing if only for how ridiculous it was. The detention room was a playroom, which made for kids who really didn't fear staying late or being sent out. Admin was silly, with blatantly contradictory requests being made of us routinely (check all the students homework essays clearly in class, but don't spend more than five minutes doing homework. Give the students time to study for their vocabulary tests then give them ten minutes to write them, but have them up at the desk within 10 minutes). There was also the comical such as giving each student an "English" name, but then giving them all the same one. A class with two Daniel's, three Kevin's, three Jenny's, two Sally's and two Jinny's (not even an English name) was common. Lack of coordination between management was also intense, leading to my almost not getting a two month renewal which had been agreed upon and planned around at it's worst

That being said the school wasn't bad. There we no hassles with pay, the lack of discipline made for fun classes with better students. The material was easy and we were always given time to do everything, even if what we were required to do wasn't presented to us clearly. However for me the best part was meeting Mike and Kris. Two friends who I will likely have for the rest of my life and thus a fun year in Daegu. My apartment was also very nice and a real upgrade from the dump my previous school had put me up in (or down in).

My new job is also in Daegu at Moonkkang. A $300/m pay raise and more vacation time accompany it. However when I look back on my year at Readingtown my memories will be mostly positive, and any negative things will become funnier with time (god help the first "Daniel" I meet at Moonkkang).

With a two week trip to see Rosie in London and a move to do upon my return I may not have as much time to blog, but I'll do my best.