<span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 1 – London <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2001%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Alright! Here we go! Off to a good start with the trip updates!<br/><br/>Our flight was pretty good, but <a href=”http://www.seatguru.com/” target=”_blank”>SeatGuru</a> failed to mention that aisle seats on United’s international 777s had reduced foot room. I popped some pills, had some miscellaneous beef dinner, and after some restlessness, fell asleep. I figure I got around 4 hours, which would be enough to get me through the following day (we left at 6pm EST and landed at 6am here).<br/><br/>Dave originally told us to take the <a href=”http://www.heathrowexpress.com/” target=”_blank”>Heathrow Express</a> and a cab from Paddington station, but we instead opted for the slightly cheaper <a href=”http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2625.aspx” target=”_blank”>Underground</a> and walking alternative. The train system is pretty effortless and marginally better than DC’s metro system, but it still has nothing on Japan. Eight pounds (rather than fifty) and a mile walk later, we arrived at Dave’s place. Unlike Japan, finding street names and generally heading in the right direction is pretty cake here (until you are drunk and don’t have a map).<br/><br/>Dave’s place is very small and also very pricey… At 600sq-ft, and a lot of money PER WEEK, I don’t know how anyone affords to live here. It’s located in Chelsea, a pretty nice area, but an easy mile from any Underground station. Tiny poorly thought out bathroom (water sprays everywhere), an 8×10 living room, a kitchen with room for one (also has the washing machine, which takes half a dozen cycles to dry), a 5×8 office, and a 10×10 bedroom. I’m sure my calculations are off a little, but you get the idea. It’s very tight living.<br/><br/>We started the day with a little nap as the guys (Dave’s friend Dan is also here) were still asleep, got up, showered, grabbed some food at a little Italian cuisine place, which was nothing special, but cost $80 for the three of us (thanks, Busheypoo). We then hopped over to the tube station, picked up some “Oyster” (prepaid) cards with a weekly unlimited plan for $45, and head over to <a href=”http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park/” target=”_blank”>Hyde Park</a>. The park had its moments, but overall it was nothing too special. There was an oddly growing tree that formed sort of an umbrella with it’s limbs, a rose garden that was alright, a lake with a bunch of ducks, birds, and swans on it (note: the swans were huge and are apparently property of the queen), a <a href=”http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde_park/diana_memorial.cfm” target=”_blank”>memorial to Princess Diana</a>, which was pretty cool, the <a href=”http://www.serpentinegallery.org/” target=”_blank”>Serpentine Gallery</a>, a modern art (more like shart) gallery, which has provoked a rant on modern art, <a href=”http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/Default.aspx” target=”_blank”>Kensington Palace</a>, some Italian fountains, and a statue of Peter Pan.<br/><br/>Following the park, we hopped back on the tube again, sat around our destination for Dave for a few minutes since he was on his way back from work, grabbed some dutch pancakes for dinner, went to a pub for some brewdogs (had a Guinness, which was notably different from what we get, and a Fuller’s London Pride, which should be noted for being served at a perfect temperature), went to <a href=”http://www.fluidfoundation.com/venueDetails.aspx?VenueID=2174″ target=”_blank”>Babushka</a>, a trendy little lounge type thing, and while there met some locals who turned out to be a good time. We left the lounge, tried miserably to get in a handful of really high-end places ($1000 for a table), and eventually ended up in <a href=”http://www.travellondon.com/templates/attractions/gallery_piccadillycircus.html” target=”_blank”>Piccadilly Circus</a>, their Times Square. Caitlin and I opted to skip out on the cover and instead take a nice walk home… Yes, I said it…<br/><br/>Without a map, but a decent sense of where we needed to go, we got down to the river (Dave lives next to it), but were heading the wrong direction. Luckily, most everyone speaks English so finding that out wasn’t too difficult. This night walk allowed us to see some really amazing things (all were at night so they were lit up): the London Eye, Big Ben, the back of Westminster Abbey, and just a bunch of the city that people likely normally don’t see. There wasn’t too much special, but it was cool nonetheless. Based on a rough estimate, it looks like we walked about 5.5 miles back, but still arrived home before the other guys <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/tongue.gif”/> Good times!<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 2 – London <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2002%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Thanks to our 1pm wake-up time, we weren’t able to get much in yesterday. We also were fortunate enough to experience London’s typical weather for the entire afternoon – rain. Luckily, it was an “inside” day planned.<br/><br/>We started out at the <a href=”http://www.tate.org.uk/” target=”_blank”>Tate Modern</a>. Remember how yesterday I was ready to rant on modern art? Well, this stuff didn’t suck so my opinion may have changed. Very, very cool stuff in there. Since we only had a few hours, we only rocked through the poetry/something exhibit, which had some Picassos, a Monet, a Pollock, a Matisse, Rothkos, Miros, Twombleys, and a bunch of others I didn’t already know. We also were fortunate enough to see the “Cities” exhibit, which gave a very visual representation of the future of living space, sprawl, and the issues we face as more and more people flock towards urban centers. I believe Caitlin put it best when she said “It was a ton of information, but all presented in visuals and one-line factoids.” We’ll be heading back to the TM today to finish off the remaining floors.<br/><br/>Afterwards, we ran off to <a href=”http://www.harrods.com/” target=”_blank”>Harrod’s</a> per the recommendation of many. It turned out to be quite a spectacle; it is thd department store of all department stores. Since the dollar is so damned awful, affording anything was a joke so we just strolled through the store and picked up a cookie and some madeleines (Note: regarding the money… everything is about the same number of dollars as it would be in America, but in pounds. A meal at McDonalds in five pounds and a slurpee is one. However, the exchange rate is two to one so Americans would pay ten USD for McDonalds and two for a slurpee… It’s insane. People said it would be expensive here, but I sort of shrugged them off since they also said Japan would be expensive too and it was not. They were right this time… it’s freaking ridiculous for Americans in London.).<br/> Following our short jaunt through the store, we ended up doing a lap around its perimeter… Apparently guys from Dubai fly their exotic cars over just to drive while they’re visiting… There had to be five Lambos, five Ferraris, five Bentleys, a couple of Aston Martins, and one really crazily modified Cayenne, which received more attention than all of the previously mentioned vehicles.<br/><br/>As the subway entrance that we were targetting was closed due to flooding, we decided to walk back to our area. A pay-phone call and about two miles of walking later, we met Dave and Dan at a little Italian restaurant that featured two-tier seating… It was pretty neat and the desserts were to die for. A decent Italian meal at maybe a 3-star place? $50/each. I love you Busheypoo!<br/><br/>Still dead tired from the previous night, we opted for a night in. Video games, tea, and some really crappy TV (oh, and someone read Harry Potter all night) were our entertainment for the evening.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 3 – London <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2003%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Began this day at 11am and head to <a href=”http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/” target=”_blank”>Borough Market</a> for some browsing, tasting, and lunch. The place was very cool; food has been sold there since the 13th century AND Jaime Oliver shops there for his show.<br/><br/>Following that, we made our way east on the Thames and ended up at the Tower Bridge (the one you see in all the pictures). Crossed that, glanced at the Tower of London, but were too late to enter so we’re heading back Monday afternoon. Made our way through some less-traveled areas back west on the Thames, across the river, and back to the Tate. We ran through the Dali exhibit, which was awesome and then the Oiticaca exhibit, which sucked serious donkey nuts. Seriously, he had an entire “series” that was just white/blank canvases. No details, just solid one or the other. Yeah, all of his stuff wasn’t bad, but overall I wasn’t so impressed.<br/><br/>We then hopped on the tube, walked to where Dave and Dan were eating, ran to a pub nearby while they finished up, got beligerant, and stumbled home. I still maintain that I have yet to have a bad beer while here… Tonight I sampled Kroenenbourg Blanc and Young’s Special Ale.<br/><br/>P.S. we made a little detour to St. Katharine’s Dock between the bridge and tower. It turned out to be a neat little protected/locked harbor with a lot of nice restaurants, boats, and buildings. We also witnessed the making of a budget spanish music video… Hilarious. A stop at Starbucks and we were on our way.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 4 – London <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2004%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Woke up, got ready, and head to the <a href=”http://www.redbullairrace.com/” target=”_blank”>Red Bull Air Race</a>, which turned out to be quite awesome. Acrobatic (aero?) planes flying through gates over the water at times less than 60ft off the water? Nuts. If I were rich, I think I’d have found a new hobby <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/tongue.gif”/> They also had some stunt helicopters do flips, rolls, and all sorts of things a helicopter shouldn’t do.<br/><br/>That ended around 4 so we still had some time to kill before doing the dinner/out thing for Dave’s birthday (technically Sunday, but we celebrated early) so Caitlin and I decided to head to the London Eye. Unfortunately, the line was about a mile long so we decided instead to just take a little nap in the park and postpone that plan for a weekday.<br/><br/>We then got back to the house, ate some bags of chips instead of having a real dinner, head to the new home of the “Irish Kids,” a brother, sister, and cousin who bought a house out in Clapham Commons… Really nice place; some really cool design elements and very modern for being an ancient house. Once we finished there we all went out to a place called <a href=”http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/89/894/Babel/Clapham_Junction” target=”_blank”>Babel</a> followed by a “dive,” which turned out to be a pretty cool place called <a href=”http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/clubs_bars/venue-2304.php” target=”_blank”>The Swan</a>. Danced there for a bit, hopped in a cab, and fell in to bed around 3am.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 5 – London</span><br/>Woke up at 1pm, realized the air show started at 1pm (according to the planner, Dave), and had to hustle to make it. He had a friend already waiting for us so he left following his shwoer and the rest of us about 45  minutes later. We stopped by a McDonalds for lunch and upon leaving, received a call form Dave that he had just gotten there and the event was over. Apparently it started at 10am… Hurray $200 out the window!<br/><br/>We trudged back home and stayed in the house for pretty much the entire day only to leave for some really horrendous Mexican food (link to follow if I can find the name of the place) and for a <a href=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/upimages/london_run.JPG” target=”_self”>10pm run</a> through some parks and such. Note: London parks at night are pretty f’ing scary. Dark, sparsely populated, and I kept expecting the hoodlums from Clockwork Orange to jump out and beat me down. I ran across Battersea Bridge, through Battersea Park, over to some fancy residential complex, down to the old power plant, across Chelsea Bridge, and back down Chelsea Embankment. Very cool run; it’s great to see parts of cities that you typically wouldn’t and get sosme exercise at the saame time.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 6 – London</span><font size=”2″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”></span></font><br/>Seeing how most of the tourist sites were swamped all weekend, we plan to hit them today and tomorrow. Caitlin leaves Wednesday afternoon so we’re looking to get in a combination of the following in the next two days:<br/> <ul> <li>Tower of London </li><li>London Eye </li><li>Parliament/Big Ben </li><li>Camden Town </li><li>Buckingham Palace</li></ul>Once she’s gone, I plan to hit some of the smaller things:<br/> <ul> <li>Soho </li><li>Square Mile </li><li>Richmond Park</li></ul> <p>Anybody have other suggestions?<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 6 (done) – London </span><font size=”1″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>[</span></font><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2006%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>The above was valuable so I’m not deleting it like the previous pre-day posts. Enjoy!<br/><br/>Having been appalled by the lines at the London Eye on Sunday, we set our sights on this early this morning. After about 45 minute to an hour, we were in our “pod.” It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it’s also a must-do when visiting London. It did save us from bothering to pay to go up a couple of other places in the vicinity so in that sense, it was well worth the price of admission. Funny thing, the Eye was built for the Millenium celebration and was supposed to come down a few years ago. Fortunately, it has slowly become one of the top attractions in London and has repeatedly postponed its tear-down date. At this point, I’m willing to guess it will stay up indefinitely. A giant ferris wheel in the middle of an old town might sound like an eye sore to those who haven’t seen it, but it is very tastefully done and I believe only adds to the city’s appeal.<br/><br/>The entire area around Westminster station is chockfull of Lodnon must-sees so we stayed around and walked by Parliament, which was closed for the day, but truly a beautiful site, and toured inside Westminster Abbey. I wasn’t sure the Abbey would be worth going inside, but I’m very gald we sucked it up and went in. Tons of crazy tombs, famous people buried in the floors, and the wild history of England are all found inside. Unfrotunately, time has wreaked havoc on a lot of the wall paintings and floorings, but what can ya do?<br/><br/>Rounding out the day, we decided to hit the Tower of London since it is another must-see and my guide recommended seeing it later in the day to beat the crowds. It was a pretty cool place, but Caitlin and I both agree that having free roam around a castle would be much more enjoyable… This felt like a very linear museum-like place. The Beefeaters (guards) and ravens were very cool sights, but I’m not so sure I’d include entry unless you’ve got time to kill or are very interested in old weapons and such. Oh yeah! Almost forgot! The crown jewels are there! They were nuts! Ok, I take that back… Seeing them was almost worth the admission price on their own.<br/><br/>Completely spent and Caitlin having her worst sick day of the trip, we retired following the tower. London is certainly known for Lebanese food, so we head up the street to Maroush/Ranoush Juice for dinner. Caitlin fouled with her order by getting some eggplant/wrap crap, which was clearly very well prepared, but she didn’t care for the taste. I ordered a lamb stew, which was quite tasty despite the fact that I don’t care for lamb much.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 7 – London <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2007%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Set out early this morning in order to catch a glimpse of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, a glimpse really is all we could catch… We arrived plenty early, but it was already packed. We saw the guards and such march in, but once inside the gate, we just heard music… Funny music at that; they played a couple tunes that are escaping me, but they struck me as totally innappropriate (show tunes).<br/><br/>We had originally planned to journey inside Parliament, but given the crowds at Buckingham, which is a block away from Parliament, it would have been packed… Especially considering it was the first day it was open to the public in a while.<br/><br/>We scratched that and instead walked up to Piccadilly Circus and strolled through Soho. Soho was much like a bunch of cities all rolled in to one… There were punks, street vendors, parks, lots of gay (really, I mean it) shops, and one little strip that was like a red light district. While venturing through, we walked by Devonshire Arms, where gangsters used to congregate, Mozarts former home, and the home in which television was first demonstrated. COol stuff!<br/><br/>A short walk to Tottenham Court? and a metro ride later, we were at St. Paul’s Cathedral… Home of the second largest dome in the world. The architecture and sheer size of the place was amazing, but we got there near closing time so we didn’t bother spending the $40 to take a tour. We were able to get a few feet inside before the ticket booth so that sufficed.<br/><br/>Another stroll later and we found ourselves at the Temple of Mithras. A 2nd century Roman temple that was unearthed when excavation for a nearby building. As the book said, it was comical to see these few stones all set aside for preservation in the middle of a concrete jungle. Following that, we made our way down to Monument, which is a 1672 monument built by Sir Christopher Wren and some other guy as a memorial/thing to recognize the Great Fire of 1666, which was apprently the 9/11 of its day. The monument was closed to the public, but stand 60.6m tall and 60.6m away from the king’s bakery where that fire started.<br/><br/>At this point, Caitlin was really dragging due to the sinus issue she’d been fighting. We went back to the flat and rested until dinner.<br/><br/>Since this was Caitlin’s last meal in London and we had yet to have the most British meal ever, we had to get fish and chips. Via the book, we found that the Golden Hind, which was a bit away from where we were, has been around for 90 years, was pretty cheap, and to top it all off, BYOB! We made the journey, and didn’t regret it one bit. Over the years the place has changed hands a few times, but all of those hands were Italian or Greek. As such, they had some fun other dishes on the menu… namely fried feta sticks.<br/><br/>As noted earlier, I’m currently waiting at Heathrow to board my flight to Glasgow. I have my laptop and my three hostels *I think* all have wireless access so I’ll hopefully be able to update from there. I plan to spend a day and a half in Glasgow, meet up with Dan and Dvae, and then shoot over to Edinburgh until Sunday night.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 8 – London to Glasgow <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2008%20-%20Glasgow” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>What? A wrap-up before the day is done? Yes. Woke up around 11am, packed our bags, grabbed some grub at the local <a href=”http://www.tesco.com/grocery/” target=”_blank”>Tesco</a>, and set off for Heathrow. I paid a few pounds extra to fly out of Heathrow at the same time as Caitlin… yeah, I’m a good guy. It worked out really well until we arrived at the stop for the airport and realized we had to depart each other like right THEN… It was wild, dude! Yay mushy! Haha… So she went left, I went right, and then I waited… Lucky me, my flight was delayed a bit over an hour so instead of having two hours to sit around (she had an international flight so we left a little early), I had three and a half! Yay! Plane finally left, and a short flight later, I was in beautiful Scotland. Yes, even from the plane window I could tell this. Rolling hills, cliffs, tons of farmland… Sweet! Also to note, <a href=”http://www.britishairways.com/” target=”_blank”>British Airways</a> rocks REALLY hard. Large leather-wrapped seats, great food (cooked salmon, a nice salad, fresh bread, and tea)… I’m in love with them.<br/><br/>Following the airport, I struggle for a few minutes to figure out where I need to head. Apparently the bus company that I looked up the night before, didn’t really do what they advertised or they had just been replaced… I figured it out, got in to the center of town, and began walking. Fifteen minutes later, I arrived at <a href=”http://www.euro-hostels.co.uk/Glasgow_hostel/” target=”_blank”>Eurohostel Glasgow</a>. I got a 2-bed private room (comes with shower) because I felt like splurging and my roommate has yet to arrive so I might luck out <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/smiley.gif”/><br/><br/>Made my bed, did a bit of unpacking, bought a lock to secure my valuables in the room locker, and set out on foot to discover the city. I started my journey at <a href=”http://www.bordersstores.com/” target=”_blank”>Borders</a> to do a bit of research. I did a bit, but then ended up just leaving with the usual, a <a href=”http://www.lonelyplanet.com/” target=”_blank”>Lonely Planet</a> guide to Scotland. I walked further, came to the financial center of town, witnessed a statue in front of the art gallery with a traffic cone atop it’s head, walked to a neat little sculpture garden where apparently a lot of maternalistic (? is that a word? anyway, the c-section was pioneered there) stuff took place. The building itself had been demolished, but they did some cool work with the remaining property. From there, walked through <a href=”http://www.strath.ac.uk/” target=”_blank”>the University of Strathclyde</a> enroute to the town’s cathedral… It was basked in very eerie lighting so I took the chance to also scare the pants off myself a bit more by touring through the necropolis in pitch black. No worries, Mom, I had my knife in my hand and ready to go <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/tongue.gif”/><br/><br/>Tired, hungry, and without enough light to make photography without a tripod very easy, I head back to the hostel, but not before a stop at McDonalds!<br/><br/>Here I sit, all alone in the hostel’s bar (it’s a real one, but full of youngsters), drinking a perfectly poured Guinness (she put a cloverleaf in the foam), just hoping I don’t lose my hearing to the absolutely blaring Doors music playing. Alright, this place is getting retarded, I’m out of this piece! Oh yeah, everybody sounds like Sean Connery! Way sweet!<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 9 – Glasgow to Edinburgh</span><font size=”2″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”></span></font><br/>Holy crap! Today was nuts, but I did all I desired (minus two minor things).<br/><br/>Woke up at 8:30am after getting crap sleep due to drunks on the street until 6am… I guess they don’t have police in Glasgow? Ate a powerbar, downed some water, threw on the running outfit and hit the streets.<br/><br/>After 12 minute of running, I arrived at <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mungo%27s_Cathedral,_Glasgow” target=”_blank”>St. Mungo’s Cathedral</a> on the east side of town. I got there so early, I was actually the first visiotr to set foot inside. The interior was pretty cool… some very old stuff, really intricate masonry and such. Good time. Afterwards, I ran around the back to the necropolis that I have visited the night before. As pretty much the highest point in Glasgow, I managed to snap some good pictures of the city.<br/><br/>Ran back to the hostel, showered, finished my powerbar, checked out, and put my bag in storage. From there, I began walking. The plan was to head straight up to some things in the northwest part of town, but instead I hugged the Clyde River and caught some good views of the auditorium (looks like the Sydney Opera House, but much smaller), the<a href=”http://www.thetallship.com/” target=”_blank”>Tall Ship</a> (it really did have a name, but that’s what they call it), and the <a href=”http://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/” target=”_blank”>science museum</a>, which is supposed to have the world’s only revolving tower, but in the 30 minutes it was in my view it didn’t budge an inch.<br/><br/>From there, I trudged up to the <a href=”http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=4″ target=”_blank”>Kelvingrove Museum</a>, which I left after five minutes. Cool architecture and the sign that reads “Scotland’s Best Museum” attracted me… I’m such a sucker. It turned out to be a general museum that did a lot very poorly… It’d be a good place to take kids, but not for me.<br/><br/>From there, crossed the street to the <a href=”http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=7″ target=”_blank”>Museum of Transport</a>. This museum is not all that well known, but my book mentioned it and being a car lover, I was in. The museum had some highlights, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone not that all in to cars. Me? I enjoyed seeing all of the old eurocrap <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/tongue.gif”/><br/><br/>Onward and upward (literally), I next hit the <a href=”http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/” target=”_blank”>Hunterian Museum</a> and accompanied art gallery. The museum was a private collection of William Hunter, a very famous dude from the 18th Century. Lots of cool stuff (foreign things, anatomy things, coins…. really everything) and well worth the visit. The art gallery on the other hand, not that spectacular… I skipped the 2nd floor altogether in order to scoot over the the connected <a href=”http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/collections/art_gallery/mac_house/machouse_index.shtml” target=”_blank”>Mackintosh House</a>, a reconstruction of the home of famed architect/designer/everything Rennie Mackintosh. The original house was demolished due to instability (mining below it) in the 60s, but architects took precise measurements and kept all furniture in hopes that it would be rebuilt. Eventually, it was. For a 1900s home, this guy was a freaking genius. It was modern even by today’s standards! Great lighting, great design… wow. I even walked in to one room and my breath was taken away. A glance down at the pamplhet told me why… “This breatkaing room…” Funny stuff.<br/><br/>From here, I wanted to visit the <a href=”http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=1″ target=”_blank”>Burrell Collection</a>. Unforunately, it was 3pm, it closed at 5pm, and I was probably six miles away from it. With no idea how the bus system worked and no cabs around, I began walking. After two miles or so, I ended up back at the Clyde River. I crossed it en route to my destination when I realized that just up ahead, the science museum, would likely have taxis! Sure enough, they did. I hopped in, had a great conversation with a guy who joked “Funny, I have never met an American who voted for Bush.” To which I replied “People who voted for Bush aren’t the type to travel and see the world.” His reponse? “Touche” or something along those lines. A few minutes later, we arrived. Lucky for me, I had a bit over an hour to view the 9000 piece collection (note: that is relatively small compared to other museums I’ve been to). Like the Hunterian, this was also a private collection given to the public. This collection was again much like the Hunterian. It contained ancient artifacts, but even more impressively, some very famous painting and sculptures… Never again will I answer erroneously to a Trivial Pursuit question with “The Thinking Man.” I saw “The Thinker” in person! I think there might be a handful of them though? Bleh, whatever. Around 5pm, I left the collection and started walking again. Passed some Highland Cattle, took some pictures, and walked, and walked.<br/><br/>After a few miles, I finally arrived at the train station. Hopped on board, and bam! found myself back in central Glasgow (the collection is about 3 miles south of town). Grabbed a well-deserved dinner (mussels and swordfish), had a pint, came back to hostel to collect my laptop, am now sitting here with a glass of local whisky (note: no ‘e’) and another pint of Guinness. In an hour, I head up to the bus station to meet Dave and Dan.<br/><br/>And that, folks, is how to see Glasgow in one day. I’m freaking exhausted and my legs are toast, but I pulled it off. Cheers! Ooh! Look at that! The whisky has made me change the title of this post! <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/smiley.gif”/><br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 9 (update) – Edinburgh </span><font size=”1″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>[</span></font><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2009%20-%20Glasgow” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Arrived in Edinburgh following a $14 round-trip hour long bus ride. It was late so the night was spent finding our places and eating. The city is incredibly small compared to Glasgow so that was cake. We then grabbed some food at a place right near the main square… I had some boney fish and a fried Mars bar… Ew! The fish wasn’t bad for as cheap as it was, but the candy bar? Disgusting.<br/><br/>Went back to my hostel, met my roomates, and went to sleep. I shared the 4-person room with a male/female cousin pair from California. They were nice folk and they didn’t snore so they’re good people in my book.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 10 – Edinburgh</span><font size=”2″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”></span></font><br/>I have yet to even glance at the Edinburgh portion of my book. I’m planning on locking up my luggage and getting to work on an itinerary. The guys didn’t want to meet until noon so that gives me plenty of time to read and maybe even see something before then. I’m guessing we’ll end up at the castle today.</p> <p><strong>Day 10 (done) – Edinburgh</strong><font size=”2″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”></span></font><font size=”2″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”></span></font><br/>Saw the entire city today… alone… drunk, tired, and not at my own computer (at Dave’s, above the bar). Will attempt a write-up tomorrow, but no promises.</p> <p><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 10 (write-up) – Edinburgh</span><strong> </strong><font size=”1″><strong></strong><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>[</span></font><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2010%20-%20Edinburgh” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/>Where to start? I guess at the beginning? Woke up around 9:30am, showered, checked out, and looked at a map of the town… Apparently everything is pretty centrally located so a single and pretty straight sweep through should cover it all.</p> <p>The night before we had decided to meet at noon at the central square. At 12:15, I left without them… I’ve got a packed schedule; no time to waste! On my way up to the castle, I caught one of the many street shows taking place during the<span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”> </span></span></span></span><a href=”http://www.edfringe.com/” target=”_blank”>Fringe Festival</a>. The performer was a pretty talented guy who did sword swallowing, juggling “dangerous implements,” and unicycle riding… At the end, he did all three blindfolded. His name? <a href=”http://www.thespacecowboy.com.au/” target=”_blank”>The Space Cowboy</a>. I certainly think he could use a new name, but hey, it was a great show regardless.</p> <p>As I said, I was on my way to the <a href=”http://www.edinburghcastle.biz/” target=”_blank”>castle</a> when I stopped for the show. After a 30 minute wait in line for tickets (note: buy tickets online before going to places that require them in the UK), I was in. I honestly wasn’t too impressed with the contents of the castle, but the view was spectacular. Unfortunately, I found out later in the day that I could have gotten those views for free. Regardless, it was a must-see as it housed the jewels of Scotland. Not as impressive as those in London, but they did have a pretty cool sword. Yeah! Swords! Cool! At 1pm, they fired off a cannon right next to me… Yes, without any warning unless you knew it was scheduled at that time every day.</p> <p>Following the castle, I strolled down the Royal Mile stopping at the <a href=”http://www.hbosplc.com/abouthbos/History/Museum.asp” target=”_blank”>Museum on the Mound</a>, a couple small places that aren’t worth noting more than this, the <a href=”http://www.cac.org.uk/venues/museumEd.htm” target=”_blank”>Museum of Edinburgh</a>, grabbed some fudge for lunch, passed by <a href=”http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/home.htm” target=”_blank”>Parliament</a>, housed in a god-awful new building, and finally down to the <a href=”http://www.royal.gov.uk/OutPut/Page559.asp” target=”_blank”>Palace of Holyrood</a>, the royal house in Scotland. I took a tour there, which was audio-guided… Despite a very slow pace (remember, I was on a mission!), it was very well done, but worth the $20 entry? Meh. The abbey ruins behind the palace were pretty cool, but I’m still not sold on the admission fee. Anyway, it was another one of those must-dos when in Edinburgh.</p> <p>From the palace, I eyed up the steep ascent required for <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Seat,_Edinburgh” target=”_blank”>Arthur’s Seat</a>. Exhausted, running on only a banana, piece of toast, and two bits of fudge, I wasn’t too sure about it… Until I saw some old dude start climbing up. In! The hike itself wasn’t cake, but for something in such amazing shape as me, very manageable. Preggers Jessie probably couldn’t have done it <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/wink.gif”/> The views? 360 degrees of the city and surrounding ones… awesome. I then traveled around the back side and sat down in a field behind the palace to kill off an orange.</p> <p>From there, my final stop of the day, <a href=”http://www.edinburghguide.com/travel/visitor/caltonhill.htm” target=”_blank”>Calton Hill</a>, which offered some more awesome views of the city, but from the other side. The hill contained the <a href=”http://www.cac.org.uk/venues/nelson.htm” target=”_blank”>Nelson Monument</a>, the <a href=”http://www.astronomyedinburgh.org/publications/booklet/” target=”_blank”>City Observatory</a>, which was shut down after they realized its position near the smokey <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Waverley_railway_station” target=”_blank”>Edinburgh Waverley</a> just didn’t work out. Also on the hill was the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monument,_Edinburgh” target=”_blank”>National Monument</a>, which was to be paid for by donation. Unfortunately, they ran out of money on the project so it is now a complete one-third of a Parthenon. Funny stuff.</p> <p>Following the hill, I e-mailed the guys, caught up with them, and we grabbed a great (tasting) dinner at the <a href=”http://www.rampantscotland.com/besteating/best_eating_dev_scotsman.htm” target=”_blank”>North Bridge Brasserie</a>. Service? Well, first of all we were told they had no seats until 9pm despite being about 50% full. He clearly just thought we weren’t up to snuff as his manager sat us promptly. we then spent a ton of money… screw him. Our server was very nice, but also incredibly slow. Example? From the time we asked for our check to the time that we left, 40 minutes elapsed. Oooh! I also had a new Scottish beer that I’ve fallen in love with! <a href=”http://www.belhaven.co.uk/index01.html” target=”_blank”>Bellhaven’s Best</a>, which I can hopefully locate upon my return home. Oh yeah, I also had haggis. Quite tasty, but weird texture.<br/></p> <p>After dinner, we went and got trashed at <a href=”http://www.edinburghpubguide.co.uk/PubDetails/Three_Sisters__The_90.html” target=”_blank”>Three Sisters</a>. Good drinks, good people, but the layout was kinda bleh… it is a long and skinny c-shaped place, which resulted in pockets of people, but not much interaction between them. When that closed, we ran over to <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smirnoff_Underbelly” target=”_blank”>Smirnoff Underbellt</a>, which sucked a fatty. I left and jumped in bed at my hostel, <a href=”http://www.castlerockedinburgh.com/” target=”_blank”>Castle Rock</a>.<br/><br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 11 – Edinburgh <font size=”1″>[</font></span><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2011%20-%20Edinburgh” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a></font><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><font size=”1″><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</span></font><br/></span>Ended up doing exactly as I planned today. Despite getting very little sleep, I couldn’t go back to bed at 8am so I’m staying in tonight to make up for it. A tough decision, but with a 10-mile run early tomorrow morning, a necessary decision.</p> <p>I started the day with a minor debacle… trying to figure out where and how to catch a bus. I knew which one I wanted, but I didn’t know where to get a ticket, I didn’t have exact change, and it no longer stopped where my guide book said it would. After wasting half an hour sorting all that out, I had in my hand an all-day bus pass and a map of where the bus ran. Joy! Hopped on the bus, went to sit up in the top, quickly regretted that (giant window = sun = heat + hangover = blehhh feeling), but stuck it out just to say I traveled in the top of a bus. After thirty minutes or so, I hopped off my stop, which was a quarter of a mile outside where I wanted to be. On the walk, I took a look at the Roman fort ruins of <a href=”http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/cramond/index.html” target=”_blank”>Cramond</a> and the church/kirk (they call  some churches kirks… I should probably look up why). After that, a bit more walking, and I begin to spy a beautiful scene in between houses. Water! and mountains! and birds! and boats! It was a beautiful site… Down by the water, a took a quick stroll and decided to cross the causeway (after checking which times it went underwater) to <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramond_Island” target=”_self”>Cramond Island</a>. With a few hours to spare, I was golden. Got over there, did some exploring on the “flood plain” (area where you can walk when the tide is out), got a bit muddy, and got tons of really sweet pictures. A glance at my watch later and I realize I’m late! I told the guys we’d meet at 1pm, but it was already 12:10am and I had at least a 30 minute walk from the island… I hustle off the island (miss some things that were there apparently), down the causeway, pee in the wood, back in town I hit the payphone and leave a voice message saying to push it back to 1:30pm since they didn’t pick up, hop on the bus, ride back to town, and arrive at the city center right at 1:30. Score one for me!</p> <p>We grabbed some kebabs at a local fast food place, decided on our adventure, and were off. Our adventure on this fine afternoon would be <a href=”http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/” target=”_blank”>Rosslyn Chapel</a>, of Da Vinci Code fame. Yes, the same place where all these conspiracies come from. Walk to the appropriate bus stop, hop on the bus, and within minutes we’re in a totally different world… the Scottish countryside. BEAUTIFUL! Rolling hills, flowing fields, cute cottages… yes, I said cute. It was awesome out there… We then arrived at the chapel, paid admission, and sat down for a tour (it was a small place with lots of people so it wasn’t a walking one, but apparently sometimes it is). That place… crazy… Amazing masonry work, a design style that is unlike any other in the world, so many oddities, a giant vault that hasn’t been entered in two and a half centuries that some speculate contains items such as the holy grail, the ark of the covenenant, the body of jesus, the head of John the Baptist. Who knows? Maybe the Knights Templar or Freemasons who had their marking all over the damned place!? Or maybe they just use all the craziness to make themselves seem more mysterious and “elite” than they actually are? The guide said specialists have told them to not bother trying to enter the vault as the entrance is unknown (sealed/hidden after the last entrance) and it might affect the structure of the building… I call BS… if we can safely pick up and move houses, we have the technology to make a freaking door without collapsing a building. Argh… I’m angry about it all. I want to go in the vault! Upon my return home I’m kind of forced to read Angels &amp; Demons and Da Vinci Code, though. ARGH! After the tour we did some hiking in to a valley… We got burnt by some mysterious plants… really weird stuff. Hop back on the bus, back to town, grab some great dinner (pretty cheap this time too, at <a href=”http://www.cleverdicksbar.co.uk/” target=”_blank”>Whiski</a>.</p> <p>I’m off to bed now… You know, shooting for that 10-miler/shower/check out by 9:30am tomorrow. We hop on a bus back to Glasgow at 1pm and then fly out of there at 4:25pm so this will be my last post from Scotland… a place I definitely plan on coming back to, but for hiking the endless trails through the countryside.</p> <p><strong>Day 12 – Edinburgh to Glasgow to London</strong><br/>Nothing too exciting to report. It was rainy in Scotland so we didn’t bother to see anything. Before checking out, though, I fit in a 4-mile run through the mountainous area I had hiked two days earlier. It was hills the entire way and sometimes at a pretty steep grade. If you take a look at my log, you can see that based on my time <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/tongue.gif”/></p> <p>After showering and checking out, I wandered over to Dave/Dan’s hotel, laughed as they attempted to get ready to leave, hopped in a cab to the bus station, grabbed some Burger King, caught a bus, napped to Glasgow, caught bus to the airport, got delayed two hours, flew back to London, and an hour later back at Dave’s flat to pass out.</p> <p><strong>Day 13 – London <font size=”1″>[</font></strong><font size=”1″><a href=”../gallery/?dir=vacations%2F2007_07_UK%2FDay%2013%20-%20London” style=”font-weight: bold;” target=”_self”>pics</a><strong style=”font-weight: bold;”>]</strong></font><br/>My final day… having been exhausted from travel the day before and not having my “free” underground pass any longer, I decided to stay close to home.</p><p>My journey began at <a href=”http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/brompton_cemetery/about.cfm” target=”_blank”>Brompton Cemetery</a>, home to many names from children’s books by <a href=”http://www.peterrabbit.com/beatrixpotter/index.cfm?territory=1&amp;country=1″ target=”_blank”>Beatrix Potter</a>. Apparently she used to walk the cemetery quite often… you may know of a character named Peter Rabbit? Yeah, there really is a Peter Rabbet buried there. The guidebook to the cemetery was $10 so I passed and didn’t get a chance to view the actual gravesites that she used, but really, $10?</p><p>From the cemetery, I picked up some lunch at <a href=”http://www.nandos.co.uk/” target=”_blank”>Nando’s</a> and scurried on to the home of <a href=”http://www.chelseafc.com/” target=”_blank”>Chelsea FC</a>. Really odd to see a stadium in the middle of a residential district… Unfortunately, they didn’t hold any game while I was here <img src=”http://www.iammike.org/cutenews/data/emoticons/neutral.gif”/> I picked up a polo shirt and a gift for my man BJ and was off.</p><p>Back at the flat, I doodoo’d around the internet for a bit, walked over to <a href=”http://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/” target=”_blank”>Chelsea Physic Garden</a> to read a magazine, and was let down by the fact it is only open three days a week… Monday wasn’t one of them. I walked across the street and instead read on a bench overlooking the river.</p><p>Returned to the flat once again, made dinner plans, went for a good run (2.3 miles, but pretty fast considering the effort I was giving it), met a coworker in <a href=”http://www.londonnet.co.uk/ln/guide/about/placesleicestersq.html” target=”_blank”>Leicester Square</a>, grabbed a few drinks, dinner at <a href=”http://www.browns-restaurants.com/” target=”_blank”>Brown’s</a> (mmm, brie/spinach/something tart), grabbed a few more drinks, walked to another bar laughing at the fact the local gay bar was called “Box,” grabbed some drinks at their hotel, chased a mouse around, and hopped a cab back home.</p><p><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 14 – London to Home<br/></span>Packed up this morning, messing arund on the net currently, going to finish a magazine, and in an hour I head to the airport. See y’all soon! Upon arriving home I’ll give a quick review of the quirks of the UK and as promised, a ranking of all the places I’ve been.  Oh, and I’ll hopefully get my 500 pictures up tomorrow… Cheers!</p><p><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Day 14 – London to Home (done)<br/><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”></span></span></span>Just needed to brag that I was upgraded to business class on the way home for free. Ate tons of artisan cheeses, filet mignon, got wasted, was able to lay down… All for free… Awesome!</p><p><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Oddities<br/></span></span>They do things a bit differently across the pond… Here’s a list of the things that I found odd:<span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><br/></span></span></p><ul><li><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Dual faucets</span></span> – Put your hand under cold water and then dash it under the hot to get warm water, but be careful not to scald ourself! Stupid.</li><li><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Showers</span></span> – Every shower I used made a huge mess of the bathroom. They’re just not designed well.</li><li><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Toilets</span></span> – Sometimes it was a trough, sometimes a real toilet that required you to pump the handle, and sometimes a regular urinal that received drops of water from a ceiling mounted tank. WTF?</li><li><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Candy</span></span> – Yay marketing! I’d get a candy bar expecting something new only to open it, bite, and realize it’s the same as something we already have, but with a different name.</li><li><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Teeth</span></span> – Not quite as bad as Japan, but oral hygene is clearly not a priority.</li><li><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Money</span></span> – If you’re visiting, be sure you’re far from your credit limit… Everything really is twice the price.</li></ul>I had a few other things, but they’re in my notebook, which is at home. I’ll add them tonight.<br/><p><span style=”font-weight: bold;”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Final Thoughts<br/></span></span>The UK is a cool place… to see once. Actually, I take that back, London is a cool place to see once. It was really too similar to the US for me to bother going again. See some sights, and that’s really all it had to offer (note: you can see everything in a week if you move). I really loved the pub atmosphere, but that’s not enough to bring me back.</p><p> Scotland, on the other hand? Awesome, much more my style. Laid back, slower, beautiful scenery, and very much backpackable. I think Caitlin and I will be scheduling a long “roughing it” trip there in the next few years.</p><p>Overall, a good trip. The company was great, the sites were very cool, I managed to stay in running shape with 5-12 miles of walking per day and a few runs in there, and the food was much better than expected.<span style=”font-weight: bold;”><br/></span></p>