So after all that wandering around, lugging heavy baggage, taking thousands of photos, eating far too much food, and having a generally wonderful time, I have somehow found myself right back where I started. Huh.
I'm home. Lucy, despite all fears to the contrary, has not forgotten me, but has been sticking to me like a furry,
Saturday, 12 June 2010
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Everything's comin' up roses, except my nightlife
Don't read this yet. Although it's in the past, I've only published it because I want to link to it in a future post. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.
Some really good stuff is going to go here about my last day in NYC. I meant to do the circle line tour of NY and missed it because I misread the schedule. There was a great deal of walking in less scenic parts of New York.
On my way there, I went to [name I can't remember] to buy macarons. I hadn't had any since leaving Paris, and I know that they have jumped the pond. (Not Payard, where my cousin worked, because that was uptown and this place was more-or-less on the way). The poor boy behind the counter didn't really know that much about them. No pictures, alas, because despite my best intentions they did not last. They were a bit chewy and possibly not completely fresh, but still very, very tasty.
Went to the Shake Shack for lunch.
[pic]
Tour of East Village & bought my earrings.
[pic]
On my way back to the hotel, I went through Soho to take more pictures of Green St. & cast-iron architecture. Saw a couple digging through a box of what I thought were fake flowers, but turned out to be real roses that someone was just throwing away! The woman was saying "Oh, we can't take them all. We should leave some for other people." The man just started threading roses in her hair. I grabbed a few for myself; I figured I could enjoy them for the evening and leave them as a gift for whoever cleans my room when I leave tomorrow.
[pic]
More stuff about getting back to the hotel. "You look like you need the bathroom more, because you are carrying roses and someone carrying roses shouldn't look that unhappy."
I hope to be going out dancing tonight. The reason I planned to stay in New York until tomorrow was Frim Fram on Thursdays. Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up some kind of... how shall I put this delicately... intestinal bug that is making life unpleasant. Not a great way to end this trip, I must say.
I won't think of that. I'll think of roses instead.
[pic]
Some really good stuff is going to go here about my last day in NYC. I meant to do the circle line tour of NY and missed it because I misread the schedule. There was a great deal of walking in less scenic parts of New York.
On my way there, I went to [name I can't remember] to buy macarons. I hadn't had any since leaving Paris, and I know that they have jumped the pond. (Not Payard, where my cousin worked, because that was uptown and this place was more-or-less on the way). The poor boy behind the counter didn't really know that much about them. No pictures, alas, because despite my best intentions they did not last. They were a bit chewy and possibly not completely fresh, but still very, very tasty.
Went to the Shake Shack for lunch.
[pic]
Tour of East Village & bought my earrings.
[pic]
On my way back to the hotel, I went through Soho to take more pictures of Green St. & cast-iron architecture. Saw a couple digging through a box of what I thought were fake flowers, but turned out to be real roses that someone was just throwing away! The woman was saying "Oh, we can't take them all. We should leave some for other people." The man just started threading roses in her hair. I grabbed a few for myself; I figured I could enjoy them for the evening and leave them as a gift for whoever cleans my room when I leave tomorrow.
[pic]
More stuff about getting back to the hotel. "You look like you need the bathroom more, because you are carrying roses and someone carrying roses shouldn't look that unhappy."
I hope to be going out dancing tonight. The reason I planned to stay in New York until tomorrow was Frim Fram on Thursdays. Unfortunately, I seem to have picked up some kind of... how shall I put this delicately... intestinal bug that is making life unpleasant. Not a great way to end this trip, I must say.
I won't think of that. I'll think of roses instead.
[pic]
Friday, 4 June 2010
Well, this is not entirely what I expected...
So it turns out that I get motion sick.
I knew that already, of course. When I was little, we had a boat and sailed to the Thousand Islands every summer. I loved most of that journey, but the waves outside Kingston were huge and I recall spending much time violently wishing I were somewhere else while being dosed with copious amounts of Gravol.
It hasn't really come up lately. My nausea takes the form of hideous headaches. It's why I avoid roller coasters. It didn't occur to me that it would be a problem on this smoothly movingboat sorry, ship. Guess what?
I didn't really notice it until Wednesday afternoon. It got much worse after I drank a glass of wine at the Commodore's welcome party and I wound up having to leave the dinner table halfway through the first formal night. Fortunately, there are magic pills. Magic, expensive pills.
I spent most of yesterday at the spa and napping. And eating. I'm feeling a bit better now, and really starting to enjoy myself. I'm finished working on the Venice photos, but the internet is so slow (and expensive!) that I'm not going to have enough time to upload them until I get on dry land. Stay tuned.
I knew that already, of course. When I was little, we had a boat and sailed to the Thousand Islands every summer. I loved most of that journey, but the waves outside Kingston were huge and I recall spending much time violently wishing I were somewhere else while being dosed with copious amounts of Gravol.
It hasn't really come up lately. My nausea takes the form of hideous headaches. It's why I avoid roller coasters. It didn't occur to me that it would be a problem on this smoothly moving
I didn't really notice it until Wednesday afternoon. It got much worse after I drank a glass of wine at the Commodore's welcome party and I wound up having to leave the dinner table halfway through the first formal night. Fortunately, there are magic pills. Magic, expensive pills.
I spent most of yesterday at the spa and napping. And eating. I'm feeling a bit better now, and really starting to enjoy myself. I'm finished working on the Venice photos, but the internet is so slow (and expensive!) that I'm not going to have enough time to upload them until I get on dry land. Stay tuned.
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Photo Albums Galore
Aged P has brought it to my attention that the regular Joe on the street can't see all my photo albums at once on Picasa. This is as it should be because I've made all my albums unlisted (which means that they are unsearchable, but anyone can see them if they click on the link from my web page). However, it might a bit annoying for you, dear reader, who is dying to look at my pictures. There's no work-around from the Picasa side, so I'll post links to every photo album here and put it up on the sidebar (with my itinerary post).
Note: As I post this, some albums might only have a few photos them, and some might be completely empty. This is because I haven't worked through the photos yet. Or haven't gone there yet. All of the Paris albums are incomplete, for instance. I've put (Inc) in the ones that aren't finished yet. I'll let you know when all the photos are ready to go.
Here we go (click on each image to go to the album):
Note: As I post this, some albums might only have a few photos them, and some might be completely empty. This is because I haven't worked through the photos yet. Or haven't gone there yet. All of the Paris albums are incomplete, for instance. I've put (Inc) in the ones that aren't finished yet. I'll let you know when all the photos are ready to go.
Here we go (click on each image to go to the album):
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
It was bound to happen at some point...
I'm spending my last evening in Oxford in bed, feeling miserable because I've come down with a nasty cold. My head feels like it's full of cotton and my nose is running away from home. There is a lot of tea, but not enough milk and sugar. I'm off to Bath tomorrow, providentially. Perhaps the waters there will fix me right up.
I'm working on my Venice pictures and they will be ready for prime time Real Soon Now. However, I learned to punt yesterday and I have some video to capture the event. Not that you can really tell I'm in a punt unless I tell you.
I'm working on my Venice pictures and they will be ready for prime time Real Soon Now. However, I learned to punt yesterday and I have some video to capture the event. Not that you can really tell I'm in a punt unless I tell you.
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| From Oxford 2010 |
Monday, 24 May 2010
And now, it's...
Once again, I'm taking a "break" from repacking the damn suitcase to post something. I've just had a whirlwind five days in London, where I've been drinking lots of tea, getting kind of frustrated with the Underground (but mostly with the Aboveground), and seeing not nearly enough of the sites. I've been to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Tate Britain and National Galleries, the British and Sherlock Holmes Museums, St. Paul's, Notting Hill, Soho, the theatre district, the Tower of London, and the Westminster, London, Millenium, and Tower Bridges. I saw the Lion King at the Lyceum, Macbeth at the Globe, creepy Jack the Ripper photos and locations in Whitechapel, and fancy tea and scones at the Goring. I'm bushed and a little footsore, and already planning to come back -- and stay in a slightly
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Planes, trains, ferries, and buses...
I'm sitting in my extremely charming hotel room in Delphi (when you come to Delphi, and you must come at least once because the scenery is terrific and the ruins and museum are impressive, you must stay at the Hotel Varonos because it's fantastic -- my room is quite basic but really lovely, with welcome wine, a fridge, and a terrace looking out over the Pleisto River Gorge with a view of the Gulf of Corinth at Itea, and Yannis has been absolutely wonderful. Say γεία σου from me when you come. Because you're coming to Delphi.) keeping an eagle-eye on the ash cloud. I called Aged P yesterday to wish her a happy birthday and she nearly gave me a heart-attack when she told me Heathrow was closed.
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