London Calling

2005-07-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

Prague in all It's Spendor

But first…a stop in Brighton.

Okay I missed my flight all on account of buying THE DODGIEST muffin in the Heathrow airport! After getting up at 5am to get to the airport at 7am and being through check in an hour before the plane was set to go, I lost track of the departure time. Yep…and it was all because I decided to wait ten minutes in the line to have a disgusting blueberry muffin! The next flight wasn’t until 6pm that night so I decided to head to Brighton for the day. Got shat on by a seagull (luckily it only hit my bag!) if you can say that is lucky. Decided to hide out in a lovely restaurant and just eat, drink and watch the people go by. The beach at Brighton doesn’t have sand but rocks! No wonder the Brits love Australia!

Finally got to Prague where John and Katerina were great hosts taking me to all the top spots around Prague. This shot is from the airplane..it is approx 9pm at night...another splendor of Europe.

I saw more of Prague in one day than I would have seen in a week – it was great! Prague is a city with a river flowing though its centre, and is surrounded by stunning architecture and sculptures.

As far as experiences go, Prague is an outstanding city. I thought they would have spoken more English but the shopping was amazing, as was the food. My favourite was the Honey Cake...cinamon and honey, intermingled with cream and sprinkled with shredded hazelnuts - so so tasty!

I went to the Immigration Police with John and Katerina as we had to register ourselves in the country as we weren’t staying in a hotel (who do this for you). It was such an eye-opening experience. I expected lines, order and a better process for handling this, as all it required was filling out a small form stating who we were staying with.

When we arrived it was a bit chaotic but bearable. I decided this would be a great job because the office is only open Monday and Tuesday 9:30 – 1:30 and Wednesday 9:30 – 1:30, 2:30-4:30. That’s it! Mind you, you have to deal with aggravated and annoyed desperate people. We arrived as the tellers were going to lunch. The lines dissipated so we just waited an hour.

Gradually the station grew in excitement as the tellers were returning. The station was packed like a headline concert was about to begin. This is where I became aware that you can hold a place for your entire extended family of 10-15 people (including any hangers on). Each person in line seemed to be holding spots for at least 3 others. We started as 3rd in line and before we knew we were placed approx 20th and the window was closing in 2 hrs.

The heat in the room was growing and people were crammed so close together and it gave me a real insight into what people who live in desperate circumstances have to do to get ahead. It was survival of the fittest. We decided that we would pay the $70 fine if it came to that as it seemed as though a fight could break out. We were lucky enough to be able to afford to pay the fine but others weren’t. Having money certainly gives you choices you wouldn’t otherwise have. Turns out I had a friendly customs officer who didn’t care anyway. This experience didn't overshadow Prague but it was an insight into the days of old perhaps.

One of many statues on Charles Bridge overlooking the river running through Prague.

This is from inside one of the many beautiful churches in Prague.

Ladies, Prague is great for shoes if you get a chance! Not to mention the food!

Look at the Lineup!

2005-07-01T03:39:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this is free?!! U2, Madonna, Cold Play, Dido, Pink Floyd, Robbie Williams and more all in one location this Saturday 2 July!

I am so disappointed I can't go as I will be in Prague - but the other unbelievable thing is that it is literally 3 minutes walk from where I am staying!! Apparently we can hear it from here...

Damn shame...http://www.live8live.com/theconcerts/index.shtml

You should check out the site for Velvet Revolver...it is so cool! http://www.velvetrevolver.com/

Oh well...next time

http://www.argos.co.uk

2005-06-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing shop I found on Edgeware Road that is a department store with no product displayed, only catalogues where you select the item you want and then collect it from the store front. It has everything you could imagine in a normal store, without the overhead of paying for rent. Quite a good concept, and it was so busy. I pesonally like to touch the product and see it, so this wasn't for me, but for many out there it doesn't seem to matter.

It is not obvious what the store sells. I have walked past it a number of times and didn't realise what it was. I thought it was some sort of mobile phone company. Even as I was leaving Argos today I overheard some American's saying they thought it was a book store. Perhaps there is a opportunity here...I'm not sure it is something that would fly in Australia though.

http://www.argos.co.uk/

Footie Fever

2005-06-27T05:05:00.000-07:00

The other day I caught the Tube on a new line I hadn't taken before, so was looking at the map on the wall (my first big mistake). An Italian kid (around 25 or so) with a thick silver chain, basketball shirt and slick back spiky hair was standing beside the map. Ignoring him, I focused on trying to find where I was and which stop I had to get off at. I did notice that he looked me up and down, and thought I should make a move away from him. He must have sense it because before I could move he looked down and said "Hi." I said "Hi" back. Then he launched into this..."Do you know you have perfect feet?." Even now it makes me laugh.

Anyway, he said "No...no...you have the perfect feet, your toes are all in proportion...just perfect, amazing - the best feet I have seen!". As you could imagine - I was speechless! He went on about the toe nails and all! Then came the usual questions of "Are you visiting London?...Where are you from?..." and then he asked "Can I take you out for lunch sometime?" This was all in the space of about 2 minutes as the train was approaching.

I of course was not certain if I was going to be robbed, end up in a ditch or whether he was just a nice kid who was infatuated with feet. I said that I don't normally go out with strangers. He looked so disappointed, said "Ok" and disappeared around the corner. He didn't get on the train at all. I thought this odd (not to mention the entire situation itself!). So I am still not sure if he was too embarrassed (as he did seem a bit bashful afterwards), or was a con guy off to find his next victim, or was ashamed of his foot fetish. I shall never know. But it did make me think how does one develop a foot fetish at such a young age?...if that is the case here. If so, when did it start? Or, is he just a con guy?

The upshot of it all though is that I am feeling a lot like George Costanza on Sienfeld when he became the hand model! I'm looking at my feet in a way I haven't done before - and laughing about it at the same time. Maybe I have a hidden talent I didn't even know about! ha!

Taken for Granted

2005-06-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't lived in a new city for approximately six years (excluding a jaunt in Melbourne) and it is constantly made known to me that you can't make assumptions about what to expect. Every day there is something new that makes you realise you are in a new city.

For instance, if you dial a taxi in advance here you will pay more for the overall journey because you pay for the costs of the driver coming from their original destination to you, while if you hail a taxi from the street you will pay the distance you travel.

If you enter the city by car between 7am (or something like that) and 6:30 pm you pay a congestion charge of 6 pounds for the pleasure of sitting in traffic.

The restaurant service here is also so different, and a lot of people do not enjoy their jobs! If you do happen to be able to get tap water, they only serve it in a single glass - a bottle of tap water for the table is considered rediculous! I loved the response when I was out with friends and the waitress said - you can't have tap water in a bottle because it comes from the tap! Brilliant. This is ground breaking!

As my friend Laura says, in London you have to pay...pay for everything, even it it can be free, you have to pay. So true, as I am discovering.

You would think that air conditioning or at least some descent ventilation on the tube would be possible. I got the tube at 3pm and all I can say is I don't know how people sit in the middle of the carriage away from the windows with suits on! Another day when I got the tube at 6pm it was so cramped I could feel the person behind me breathing on me - it was disgusting! I think the London undergrounds needs to introduce the Japanese style of using brooms to cram more people onto the Tube...much more efficient. At the station they even recommend you take water with you and if you are feeling unwell to leave the train and see a station attendant. I am thinking that I will have to live somewhere close to the city so if I want to walk to work I have that choice.

Also, I am really unsure as to how blind people get around London as there are very few cross walks for the blind and they are not in the main city areas. I had not realised how often I use the tick of the cross walk to trigger crossing the road. I really don't know how blind people navigate the city as I am having trouble and I can see!

Another thing you don't know is where the good/ok places to eat are when you are in a rush. I love good food and needed something quickly as I was meeting someone for a conference. Without knowing what I would get I went into Ed's Easy Diner in Charring Cross as it looked the best of bad options for a quick meal. It was the typical American Themed Diner and it looked like a good option from the outside. They had French's mustard (the worlds best) and it was an American theamed diner so I thought they couldn't stuff up a burger (don't worry Mom I got a chicken burger :-). I should have known when all the staff were eastern European and they said they could make my burger in 5 minutes...It was disgusting - mayo that was so processed, dried out lettuce, really fatty bacon. The girl I am staying with said it was normally a pretty good place to go but I ended up having a croissant and hot chocolate instead from the safety of Pret a Manger.

I know I have been complaining but the reality is that these things present as new experiences and potentially an opportunity to introduce something as revolutionary as bottled tap water into this seemingly progressive society! I could become famous!

Which way to turn?

2005-06-17T05:09:00.000-07:00

Directionless in London!

Ed Stephens my wake up call…and he and Eleri chaperoned me around town to Covent Gardens for lunch (with the melodic sounds of opera singers in the courtyard below) and then we headed to the Tate Modern Gallery, across London Bridge, past St Pauls Cathedral and into Charing Cross where farewell felt strange - I knew I wouldn’t see them in sometime, and it was them leaving not me.

Eleri and I outside the Tate Modern infront of London Bridge.

I decided to walk home. Directions are never my strong point, but I have decided that I won’t give in and start turning maps upside down and all around! Since being in London I find myself not only wanting to flip the map but turn it so it matches the street direction and my exact location on the map, whilst considering which direction is North! Most frustrating of all is that it doesn’t work anyway. I know this and it is only after futile attempts that I end up at my destination, but not in the way that I’d planned.

Funnily enough as I am trying to find my way around I have had a number of tourists ask ME for directions, how to use the Tube machines, and lots of other questions I don’t know the answers to..but today had to take the cake. I was trying to get myself to Hyde Park but was winging it (with my Street Map in tow, but this doesn’t make much difference anyway). This girl approached me and asked me "Do you know where Buckingham Palace is?" I looked at my map and basically had no clue but thought it was to my left. I continued on and as I did I had this growing sense of dread (for her) that Buckingham Palace was ahead of me (that is, where she was walking away from). So whilst I am realizing that I have no chance of ever being on the Amazing Race, I am also armed with the knowledge that there are people who are worse off than I in navigating this city!

When I made it Hyde Park I had to take this photo as I run past this tree each morning and am drawn to it – it is so beautiful, its wide base, low set branches and no matter the time of day there is a shadow cast on the ground beneath.

This tree, the fragrant rose garden and Achilles (the man in my life) are just some of the things that I love about being in London, that and dodging the traffic…it is worse than Bangkok.

Getting Started

2005-06-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

"Be excellent to each other." Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

"A mind that has been stretched will never return to it's original dimension." Albert Einstein

Many things in life will catch your eye but few will catch your heart... Pursue those” Anon

"Now is a rushing river. There are those who would hug the shore, but there is no shore. Push off into the stream. Hold your head above the frey. See who else is in the midst of things, and celebrate." Native American saying