Rino and Beth's UK Adventure: 06/01/2006

Friday, June 30, 2006

Who says it only rains in the UK?

I hear the weather back in NY has been very different.

Word of the day:

"Solicitor"

A lawyer

Thursday, June 29, 2006

*** RANT ALERT ***

Let me clarify that this is not a rant about anything British, rather it is about stupid people in general. I went for a run the other morning... and I'm puffing along the SIDEWALK, minding my own business, when I'm nearly mowed down from BEHIND by a crazy cyclist who decided that they would rather not ride in the road. Well, sorry, but if you decide to ride your bike the wrong way up a one-way street, I think you should take your chances with the cars instead of running over innocent pedestrians who are using the sidewalk for its intended purpose!

There, I feel better. Thanks for listening. And yes... I am procrasinating...

{image copyright 2006 nori studios}

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

I stumbled across this the other day: http://www.expat-blog.com/
You can search by country for expats who have blogs just like ours.

Not much else to say except that we booked a vacation today... We're going to Malta at the end of July for a week of relaxation in the sun. http://www.visitmalta.com/

Word of the day:

"Chips"

These are served with a BigMac (yes, they are fries)

Monday, June 26, 2006

It rained today for the first time in about a month... Well, it's probably been more recent than that but I have to say that we have been lucky with the weather. Not lucky for those attending the first day of games at Wimbledon. http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html

Here's a nice shot from the weekend. As I mentioned we took a boat to Greenwich and snapped a not so common sight of Tower Bridge opening for a tall ship.

Word of the day:

"Biscuit"

It's a cookie

Sunday, June 25, 2006

We went to Greenwich this weekend. http://www.greenwich-guide.org.uk/ To get there, we took a boat on the River Thames...

There are plenty of things to see in Greenwich, most notably the Royal Observatory where the Prime Meridian Line is clearly marked.

So I'm standing in the middle of it. Can you guess which foot is in the East Hemisphere and which one is in the West?

Friday, June 23, 2006

The O2 Wireless festiavel in Hyde part was a blast! Food, games, rides, and 4 performance stages. I was lucky enough to see KT Tunstall (pictured above), David Grey and the Violent Femmes. The concert fest goes throughout the weekend.

My word for the day:

Brit-speak: Subway
Ameri-speak: Underground PEDESTRIAN walkway

Thursday, June 22, 2006

The Tube circa 8:30AM.... packed.

Imagine no air conditioning. That freshly showered feeling in the morning disappears very quickly. I've now figured out why the English don't wear under shirts. Who needs another layer?

Having worked in New York for many years, I think I qualify as someone who can compare the New York subway to the London Underground. I find the maps, signs, announcements, frequency of the trains and overall friendliness of the transit workers significantly better in London than in New York. But New York has air conditioning.. a massive plus in the summer. Both systems were built around 100 years ago.... Why did NY figure out how to install A/C while London did not?

Work of the day:

"Bonnet"

The opposite of yesterday's post - The hood of a car

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

I popped on to post the "Word of the Day," but Rino beat me to it. I think I'll post it anyhow, for fear of forgetting to do it tomorrow.

Brit-speak: Pavement
Ameri-speak: A sidewalk

I don't read many books for pleasure. I read the paper almost every day, and do a lot of reading at work, so the thought of going home to read more does not really interest me. Whenever my brother has visited us back in CT, he would chuckle at the added layer of dust on the books that were sitting on my nightstand. Beth on the other hand, reads about 1.7 books per week. I'm sure the stock price of Borders back home has fallen since we left the US.

When I do read a book (and finish it), it's usually a recommendation from a friend or colleague. A guy at work recommended Freakonomics. Rather interesting... I recommend it. The JPEG (courtesy of Amazon) suggests it's now 50% off.

Several people have asked what happened to the Word of the Day... I guess the vacation that we took up north and to Ireland distracted me from it.

So here we go:

Word/phrase of the day:

"Boot"

Not something you put on your foot, but rather, the trunk of a car.

Monday, June 19, 2006

We went to Brighton on Saturday... it's on the south coast of England - about a 50 minute train ride from London Victoria... Quite a nice beach and town...

I think we will definately go back there several times this summer.

http://www.visitbrighton.com/

Thursday, June 15, 2006

The St. George's Flag. Everyone seems to have one on their car/home. Plenty of national pride here with The World Cup currently taking place. England won today against Trinidad & Tobago 2-0.

I hear many people yelling "Come On England!" I doubt people back home are yelling "Come on USA!" Is The World Cup even broadcast back home?

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

I've been out of town this week.... busy on a project so my postings are not as frequent.

I'm up in Stoke which is north of Birmingham.

http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/portal/

Ahhh... the English countryside... complete with office parks just like in America.

Staying at the "Moat House" hotel.

http://www.bestwestern.co.uk/content/hotel-details-leisure.aspx/hotel/83862

Gotta love it.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Loch Lohman, Scotland...

Close to Loch Ness.

Come here Nessy.

Boats along a lake on the Lake Dristict in North England

Friday, June 09, 2006

Cheers to our new friends!
(and the Guinness Factory... which has the BEST views in Dublin)

Thursday, June 08, 2006

The Lake District is a beautiful and peaceful place. We had about 5.2 minutes to explore it before getting back on the bus, but it was long enough for a picture opp! We have to add this to our list as a place to visit again.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

We had a great time on the trip last week. The weather (although started as rainy and cold) quickly became perfect and lasted the entire week.

We joined the tour bright and early on Sunday morning.

First stop: Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare was born. Here is a picture of the house of his wife, Anne Hathaway. Notice the thatched roof...

I'll continue to post pictures of the trip every day or so.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

We just got back from our tour of England, Scotland, North Ireland, Ireland, and Wales... we had a great time.

Check back soon for more details and pictures.

Rino and Beth's UK Adventure