Markus and Brian's Excellent European Adventure

Last of London

Yeah, yeah. I know.

Anyway, here's the last photos from London, from the end of our trip. Still many more photos to go. Next up: Ireland, France, and other areas I glossed over during the summer. I'll include more people photos, too; these are mostly just the "sights." (Give us a break, we were at the end of our trip! We stopped partying and being bad role models in mid-July.)

After I'm through these, I'll set up an album that puts all the pictures together in one place.

Pictures

1) Look! Rocks that don't move!
2) Markus poses with the rocks that don't move.
3) Another perspective on the action.
4) The lesser-known bank around the unmoving stones, built hundreds of years before the rest of the site was started. (It also doesn't move much.)
5) They're planning on building a traffic tunnel directly underground the site to alleviate traffic in the area. (Okay, last Stonehenge photo, I promise.)
6) Trafalgar Square; without reading the guidebook, neither Markus nor I had any idea why it was so popular. I think it's sustained entirely by tourists. And the pigeons. So many pigeons.
7) There's the column. There's a dude's statue on top. Talk about ego.
8) Speaking of excessiveness, here's the world's largest driveway, leading up to Buckingham Palace.
9) Approaching Westminster Abbey. There was a very graphic anti-war display on the road out front.
10) The Abbey. Like most places, we couldn't take photographs indoors. Very fascinating history inside, with tributes and coffins of many famous dead kings and queens, memorials to many artists, scientists, and poets, museum artifacts, and the chair used in crowning ceremonies for around a thousand years now. Much more interesting than some other historical stops on our trip because a) Canada has a close history with England that I've learned about in the past, and, more importantly, b) it was all in English.
11) I snuck a photo of the courtyard in the back; not terribly interesting, but it was something I could get away with. I'm such a badass.
12) Buckingham Palace. More like Boringham Palace.
13) A guard with a rather mean looking assault rifle stands guard.
14) Near the palace, leading into Green Park stands the Canada Gate. Several provinces have crests all over this sucker.
15) The gate in full view.
16) One of my favourite pictures. In the telecom section of the excellent Science Museum were exhibits covering the history of the telephone, including these instructions. "As soon as disengaged apparatus is associated with the calling line, a sound, known as the 'Dialling' tone, is heard in the receiver. This tone may be described as a continuous purring sound, and signifies that the apparatus is ready to function."
17) Ah, Harrods. The world's swankiest, most extravagant department store. Friendly but stern guards ensure you meet the dress code at the door. A heavy atmosphere of history and elegance. A massive array of rooms, each specializing in something you probably can't get elsewhere. Cigars, teas, pianos, horseback riding, Hello Kitty, HDTVs, postmodern furniture...each will have a room dedicated (and specially decorated) to the product. Even the elevator rooms are themed; the Egyptian one is peppered with statues and heiroglyphic motifs.
18) London Bridge.
19) My last photo of the trip: Piccadilly Circus. It's an intersection of five streets. While I sat near the fountain in the middle, I eavesdropped on some cops harrassing some homeless guys, who were harrassing the cops in return. Friendly people, those Brits.

More London Photos

Christmas and a drive to Seattle will mess up your focus, I suppose. But now I just want to get these photos up and out of the way! Thanks to the old GIA crew for dropping by and kicking my ass. Here's a few more from London!

Pictures

1) The Thames, with the London Eye and Big Ben in the background
2) The view from 180 degrees around. London grows.
3) The more modernized double decker bus, plus the classic London cab. We were never rich enough to take a cab, but London cabbies are unique; they undergo serious training for up to two years, such as being able to locate any street in London, no matter how small, by name alone.
4) Chinatown. Complete with scary headless chickens in windows.
5) "On Thursday in California, President Bush met privately with Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. What did the pair talk about? Neither is sure." —Tina Fey
6) The Albery theater, where we saw The Master Builder.

Harry Potter & King's Cross Station

When in London, I made a stop at King's Cross station in north-central London so I could find Platform 9 & 3/4 and board the Hogwart's Express train to Harry Potter's school; you see, university in Canada's getting pretty dull.

The station actually exists, though there is no barrier between platforms 9 and 10 -- the two tracks are simply side by side. Apparently, J.K. Rowling made a mistake when she wrote the first book, and has since gone on the record as saying that she was actually thinking about the platforms at nearby Euston station (though again, apparently there's no barrier between 9 and 10 there either).

But, before you enter the small building enclosing platforms 9 and 10 (and up), you'll come across a sign the station people created to appease Potter fans. My hopes were pretty high at the time and I tried to get in, thinking it might be the real deal:

  

Foiled! But then I found the place where they actually filmed the movie: the barrier between platforms 4 and 5. Very sneaky! I was sure they'd admit me to the school after I figured out their crafty puzzle:

  

A cruel hoax! I banged my fist on the wall in frustration. And no one gave me a second look -- I think they're quite used to seeing people walk headfirst into a brick wall around there. (Oh, and yes, I've put some weight back on since the summer. Please, stop giving my number out to eating disorder specialists.)

Here's a picture partially showing the platform in the movie:

Tomorrow, the remaining England photos!

Sources: thesnitch.co.uk & plum.cream.org

London Calling

Hi all.

Quick photo update, all from England. I still have more England shots to post (including a few Harry Potter-themed shots); this is just a random selection. Looking back, I'd say London was one of my favourite stops; theater, nightlife, history & culture I knew something about beforehand, slick infrastructure (the Tube kicks ass), and people that actually speak English (or, at least, a version of it that I could usually comprehend). Very vibrant place.

Pictures:

1) One of the stops on the Tube was Waterloo. Made me a little homesick, it did.
2) On a rainy, dreary day, we visited Stonehenge. Fitting weather, but it wasn't enough to wipe the smarm from my face as I listened to the automated audio guide.
3) Stonehenge. Captured at a high resolution for my future desktop background needs. Feel free to bogart it for your own personal use.
4) Markus climbs on top of a massive bronze lion in Trafalgar Square. I think he has a slight ego problem.
5) Big Ben from nearby...
6) ...and from faraway Buckingham Palace.
7) Met some London skateboarding kids near London Bridge. Almost no one actually managed to land anything, but that didn't stop them from trying.

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Holy cow, Markus is definitely not at a shortage of things to say and postings to make. He's even pulling Shakespeare quotes out of thin air; all to impress the ladies, I'd wager. Girls, you won't think it's so adorable when you hear the upper-crust British accent he's been affecting on random passerby, including small animals. Yikes!

Well, I should start pulling my weight. I'll put in a quick posting now, and I'll definitely have a lot to post (especially pictures) over the next few days once I get home and settle back in. I'm incredibly excited to get home and, among other things, have a) A bathroom sink, b) A refrigerator, c) Laundry facilities, and (most significantly) d) A closet (holding more than 2 changes of clothes!). I'll be flying into Toronto around 11 in the morning.

London's been a blast. It's really been the first "city" I feel I've been in in Europe; that is, fitting my Toronto "city" definition with huge skyscrapers, very diverse multicultural populations, bright flashing lights, modern buildings, et cetera. Pile on that the type of culture and history we've seen elsewhere in Europe and it's been the best of both worlds.

Flying in from Dublin was fun, too: We spent lliterally more time circling around Heathrow airport waiting for room to land than we spent travelling to get there. It was an oddly surreal sight to look out the window and see, in the vast silence above the clouds, several other planes turning in circles as well.

Took in 4 shows in not even as many days when I first got here. Shakespeare's lesser-known historical tragedy Coriolanus was set in ancient Japan, decking the play's normally Roman warrior characters in samurai garb (complete with some spectacular choreographed katana fight scenes). Then said, as Markus described, the lame Joseph, the masterful Master Builder, and Stomp, which kept us with smiles on our faces the entire time. Anyone that says that percussion can't have the same kind of depth as note-based instruments needs to see that play / performance / art.

Well, I should dash for now -- Internet time's running out. I can't wait to see you all soon!

Things Won Are Done; Joy's Soul Lies In The Doing

Well, well, well,

How quickly the last posting from Europe has come upon me. I could think of noone better to sum up my feelings about this trip than Shakespeare himself. The past few days have gone by in a blur and I'll try to remember everything that we did, so here goes.

We did end up seeing stomp, and if you've ever been in the car with me while my music is going, you'll know that little in life brings me more joy than hitting random objects to a beat. Seeing this show was like multiplying that joy a hundred fold and nothing could have wiped the large grin from my face afterward. The ingenuity and humour by itself was worth the 15 pound fee, let alone the skill and ability these people possessed. I was thoroughly impressed and had to fight the urge to drum on everything and anything for the next couple of days.

The next day consisted of lots of bus riding so that we could see Stonehenge. It was interesting and I enjoyed it over all, but the particularly bad weather that day made it hard to appreciate the mystery and history surrounding what is essentially some huge rocks sticking out of the ground. Once I learned that some of them were blue on the inside my interest was piqued, but since testing that theory to make my Stonehenge experience blue-rific would have resulted in further damaging this already crumbling monument (not to mention my possible death at the hands of the guards) I had to be content with looking but not touching. Other than Stonehenge we've seen a whole bunch of interesting London sights like the buckingham palace, Big Ben & Parliament, St. Pauls Cathedral, The Globe Theatre, the Westminster Abbey, the tower of London, platform 9 and 3/4 and a few other things. We've only gone inside one of these attractions, namely the Westminster Abbey, since paying the entrance fees for all those other places would have put us into more debt than the U.S.A and try as he might, Brian could not pass through the platform at King's Cross to catch the train for Hogwarts no matter how hard he tried. The Westminster abbey was packed tighter with stuff than any church I've ever seen. It had everything from bodies of famous dead people (Queen Elizabeth 1, Mary Queen of Scotts, and many more) to huge memorials honouring individuals ranging from Charles Dickens to some successful war general employed by the former powerful British East India Company. After our day of sightseeing we grabbed some food, caught a few Zzzs and prepared ourselves for the legendary Ministry of Sound.

Now some of you, particularly those of you who have never been exposed to the enthusiasm of our friends Kevin and Mike (a.k.a Wolfgang), might not know what MOS is. MOS is one of the most famed night clubs on the planet, it's reputation known throughout the world as one of the coolest places to get down with the help of funky techno beats. A club of this caliber doesn't open until late at night, doesn't close until early in the morning and has to have a large cover charge, of course. Brian and I were very much looking forward to this place, but in the end we came, we paid and we were disappointed. Now, the biggest factor to note here is that the club just happened to be undergoing a LOT of renovations while we were visiting which was probably the primary contributor to our distress. The music wasn't bad, but dancing to it was out of the question because the entire place was so packed that moving your hand to scratch an itch was an action requiring a plan consisting of 10 or more steps. In the end, we left early and decided to chalked the loss of money up to our ignorance about the renovations (which were conveniently never mentioned on the website for Ministry of Sound...).

Anyways, before I leave London I'm still going to try to see 221B Baker Street, also known as the residence of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous character Sherlock Holmes, and I have yet to try the true english version of fish and chips. Brian will be heading out tomorrow and I will be coming home on the following day. We will both be doing sum up postings in which we'll talk about the highs, the lows, the things we've learned and anything else that might come to mind. I want to thank you all for being a part of this amazing journey of ours. Your comments helped us to keep in touch with the world back home, and that enhanced our experience here in more ways than I can express.

Thank you all, see you soon and take it easy,

Markus

Patrick VS Picard

Hey there peoples,

I would tell you all about London if I knew what it looked like. From the moment I've arrived, Brian and I have either been in the subway, taking in a show or chilling in the hostel planning our next move. We've decided to go on a tour of some kind, be it of the walking or bus riding variety, tomorrow after which I'll be able to tell you more about the city itself. For now you'll have to be content with the inane ramblings of a star trek junky whom has just seen his hero perform live.

As you are all undoubtedly shocked to hear, I enjoyed the play last night more than any other I have ever been to. Our seats were in the third row, meaning that I was able to see the actors and actresse's pupils dilate with those subtle changes of emotion that they are so adept at commanding. The effect was nothing short of spellbinding, and as I sat there in utter awe of the talent that these people possessed they continued to performed their art flawlessly giving themselves over completely to their characters. Raw talent alone is not enough to make a play, however, and I am pleased to report that the story was filled with enough humour, intrigue and emotion (not to mention sexual charge) to make the three hours in the theatre feel like mere minutes. Even though the show seemed to be over as quickly as it did, the mere memory of it still causes me to touch my finger tips together in a most Burns-esque manner and whisper, "Ehh-xcellent" much to the dismay of other sane people around me. I fear that this condition may be permanent, but to be utterly honest it doesn't bother me one bit because I got to see Patrick Stewart perform live and as far as I'm concerned no better word describes the experience.

Aside from the Master Builder I also ended up watching Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat yesterday. It's fortunate that I watched it before going to the master builder since it didn't seem all that good beforehand let alone after. Brian assures me that the version I was exposed to was geared much more towards children than the one he's seen in Toronto and that the music and sets weren't nearly as well done. I don't regret going to see it at all since we got cheap student priced tickets and the overall experience was still positive enough to wet my appetite for more of the same. In response to our yearning for more we plan to go see Stomp today, while tomorrow will entail general sight seeing which may include stonehenge and then Saturday night (as well as much of Sunday morning) will be devoted to the Ministry Of Sound. This is the general plan so far, but it may change at any moment, especially since we want to get as much "cool" stuff in before heading back home.

As per usual, we'll keep you updated. Take it easy,

Markus