... and just about anything else, really. Yes, I made it to tumblr. It took me a while, but now that I've sorta kinda learned how it works and have discovered its uses, I'm there, and I'm happy. It's a pretty, shiny new playground. :D
So, if you want, you can find me there at beepsworld.tumblr.com. There's not too much there yet, but I'll be posting (mostly) photos there, old and new.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Eyjafjallawhat?
I haven’t updated my blog in a long time but my travels were mostly short and restricted to shuttling between London and Berlin. Like last week really. The only difference this time - and the reason why I felt I should update this blog - is called Eyjafjallajökull, better known as “that volcano in Iceland”.
I was supposed to fly from London to Berlin on Saturday, but of course the infamous ash cloud stopped those plans. I called the airline and got a new flight for Monday, believing that the skies would surely be cleared up by then. Yeah, right. Monday came and went, but planes to and from Heathrow certainly did not. I called the airline and they couldn’t tell me when they’d be allowed to fly again, so I decided to go back by train. Traditional travel, what fun.
I finally managed to get train tickets for today (Wednesday), so off I went at a ridiculous time this morning to start my long trip back. It’s a good thing I actually like traveling by train.
The Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras was packed to the gills - I’ve never seen a train station this crowded. And that was despite the fact that (of course) European airspace was opened again today. Hey, who knew, eh?
I got on the train and settled into my seat at one of those tables, and then took a look at my travel companions. Across the aisle: two businessmen who started discussing business as soon as they had sat down. At my table: a brother and sister plus their friend. They started bickering the minute they entered the train and hadn’t stopped by the time we reached Brussels. It was like traveling with a bunch of 7-year-olds. Did I mention that all three of them were at least 75? When one of them got up for some reason or another, the other two started telling me how stupid that person was. At one point, both the brother and the friend were gone and the sister told me in great detail just how stupid and mean she thought her brother was. Delightful, really. You should have been there.
We made it to Brussels exactly on time, and everyone got busy trying to get to their luggage. Some people were traveling with three or four suitcases, others just had a little carry-on case, but it was definitely fun to sit back and watch the mayhem. I knew I had about an hour, so I decided to stay put (with The Bickering Trio) and watch until everyone else had left. Mostly fun, but at one point I got a look at something that I really didn’t need to see. One of the businessmen from across the aisle had gotten up and was busy righting his clothes and, quite literally, getting his private parts sorted. He stood there right next to me with his fly open, hand stuck inside and rummaging around. Now there’s something you don’t see every day. He didn’t even try to be subtle about it ...
After I finally had gotten off the train and bid The Bickering Trio goodbye, I stood on the platform for a moment as I replied to a text. Bad idea - not moving means you’re approachable, and so about 30 seconds later this tiny elderly lady walked up to me and asked me if I knew my way around here. She showed me her ticket and I saw that she was on her way to Germany and was taking the same train as me. When I mentioned that, she said “Oh, good, then I’ll just follow you.” Great, now I had a German grandma with pink suitcases walking a step behind me at all times. She wanted to get to the platform. All I wanted was some coffee. That was until I remembered that Bruxelles-Midi station is sadly devoid of Starbucks or other halfway decent coffee places. Ah well. I took a short walk round the station and then joined the granny with the bright pink suitcases on the platform.
The platform was getting crowded by now as the train we were all supposed to get on was heavily overbooked. Luckily, I had a seat booked and found it fast because it was impossible to move about the train. Every bit of space was covered in either luggage or people or both.
It’s about two hours from Brussels to Cologne but we somehow managed to be 45 minutes late getting into Cologne, which means that a) I missed my train to Berlin and b) that there were quite a few people left completely confused. This young Belgian guy asked if I had the time to come with him to help him find out when and where his train to Hamburg left. Of course I had the time - the next train to Berlin wasn’t for another hour, after all, so I pointed him to the right platform before finding something to eat.
I finally got on a train to Berlin and I was lucky enough to actually get a seat, for part of the journey at least (had to sit on the floor for about 2 hours). The train was a lot less crowded than the one before. I made it to Berlin around 8.30pm (having set out from Wimbledon at 6.30am).
All in all, it’s been an interesting day. I have to say that people were generally very friendly; I think the shared sense of disastrous travel arrangements made for a nice common ground. There were lots of friendly chats and the trains were filled with people from all over the world. Unusual, but quite enjoyable.
And there’s nothing like being met at the station by a friendly face and a bag of groceries for the very empty fridge. :)
I was supposed to fly from London to Berlin on Saturday, but of course the infamous ash cloud stopped those plans. I called the airline and got a new flight for Monday, believing that the skies would surely be cleared up by then. Yeah, right. Monday came and went, but planes to and from Heathrow certainly did not. I called the airline and they couldn’t tell me when they’d be allowed to fly again, so I decided to go back by train. Traditional travel, what fun.
I finally managed to get train tickets for today (Wednesday), so off I went at a ridiculous time this morning to start my long trip back. It’s a good thing I actually like traveling by train.
The Eurostar terminal at St. Pancras was packed to the gills - I’ve never seen a train station this crowded. And that was despite the fact that (of course) European airspace was opened again today. Hey, who knew, eh?
I got on the train and settled into my seat at one of those tables, and then took a look at my travel companions. Across the aisle: two businessmen who started discussing business as soon as they had sat down. At my table: a brother and sister plus their friend. They started bickering the minute they entered the train and hadn’t stopped by the time we reached Brussels. It was like traveling with a bunch of 7-year-olds. Did I mention that all three of them were at least 75? When one of them got up for some reason or another, the other two started telling me how stupid that person was. At one point, both the brother and the friend were gone and the sister told me in great detail just how stupid and mean she thought her brother was. Delightful, really. You should have been there.
We made it to Brussels exactly on time, and everyone got busy trying to get to their luggage. Some people were traveling with three or four suitcases, others just had a little carry-on case, but it was definitely fun to sit back and watch the mayhem. I knew I had about an hour, so I decided to stay put (with The Bickering Trio) and watch until everyone else had left. Mostly fun, but at one point I got a look at something that I really didn’t need to see. One of the businessmen from across the aisle had gotten up and was busy righting his clothes and, quite literally, getting his private parts sorted. He stood there right next to me with his fly open, hand stuck inside and rummaging around. Now there’s something you don’t see every day. He didn’t even try to be subtle about it ...
After I finally had gotten off the train and bid The Bickering Trio goodbye, I stood on the platform for a moment as I replied to a text. Bad idea - not moving means you’re approachable, and so about 30 seconds later this tiny elderly lady walked up to me and asked me if I knew my way around here. She showed me her ticket and I saw that she was on her way to Germany and was taking the same train as me. When I mentioned that, she said “Oh, good, then I’ll just follow you.” Great, now I had a German grandma with pink suitcases walking a step behind me at all times. She wanted to get to the platform. All I wanted was some coffee. That was until I remembered that Bruxelles-Midi station is sadly devoid of Starbucks or other halfway decent coffee places. Ah well. I took a short walk round the station and then joined the granny with the bright pink suitcases on the platform.
The platform was getting crowded by now as the train we were all supposed to get on was heavily overbooked. Luckily, I had a seat booked and found it fast because it was impossible to move about the train. Every bit of space was covered in either luggage or people or both.
It’s about two hours from Brussels to Cologne but we somehow managed to be 45 minutes late getting into Cologne, which means that a) I missed my train to Berlin and b) that there were quite a few people left completely confused. This young Belgian guy asked if I had the time to come with him to help him find out when and where his train to Hamburg left. Of course I had the time - the next train to Berlin wasn’t for another hour, after all, so I pointed him to the right platform before finding something to eat.
I finally got on a train to Berlin and I was lucky enough to actually get a seat, for part of the journey at least (had to sit on the floor for about 2 hours). The train was a lot less crowded than the one before. I made it to Berlin around 8.30pm (having set out from Wimbledon at 6.30am).
All in all, it’s been an interesting day. I have to say that people were generally very friendly; I think the shared sense of disastrous travel arrangements made for a nice common ground. There were lots of friendly chats and the trains were filled with people from all over the world. Unusual, but quite enjoyable.
And there’s nothing like being met at the station by a friendly face and a bag of groceries for the very empty fridge. :)
Friday, January 2, 2009
Home
So I'm back home now, trying to get over my jetlag, and to appease my cats. The former results in me being up all hours of the night, the latter involves lots of play time and cuddling. I can do that.
I've had a great trip, from the first to the last day. Even the sometimes inclement weather couldn't change that. I saw more than I had ever hoped to see, drove more miles than I thought I would, and took more photos than anyone can ever look at. In fact, I just realized that I took about 1 photo for every kilometer on the road. I drove 3,423 miles all in all, which equals about 5,500 km, and I took 5,469 photos. Funny, that.
I want to thank you all for being with me on the road. I hope you had fun following this tour from the comfort of your own homes.
Can't wait to do it again.
I've had a great trip, from the first to the last day. Even the sometimes inclement weather couldn't change that. I saw more than I had ever hoped to see, drove more miles than I thought I would, and took more photos than anyone can ever look at. In fact, I just realized that I took about 1 photo for every kilometer on the road. I drove 3,423 miles all in all, which equals about 5,500 km, and I took 5,469 photos. Funny, that.
I want to thank you all for being with me on the road. I hope you had fun following this tour from the comfort of your own homes.
Can't wait to do it again.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Orange
Orange in Orange County, that is. And my final day really on this trip, unfortunately. Although it'll also be good to be home again to make sense of everything I've seen over the past 3 1/2 weeks, and to see my cats again. It's a good thing I was provided with cats to pet on several stops along the way, especially here at my friends' place as they have two adorable kitties.
Anyway, today I decided to explore Orange a bit (or to be more precise what they call Old Towne Orange). I walked around and took in the incongruence of palm trees and plastic snowmen and Santas. I sat outside in the sun with my coffee, just listening to the people around me, which was fun and interesting and entertaining. The script writer who complained to his friend that all the movies that get made these days suck, and why wasn't anyone getting his brilliance ... The two friends who bitched about (I guess) their husbands. The business meeting two tables down that ended in a what-is-the-best-college-football-team discussion. All the while I'm enjoying the sun, the warm breeze, and just the fact that I'm here.
On my way to Orange, though, I stopped at a scary place. The Crystal Cathedral. Yes, a church. I know they shouldn't be scary but this one is. I can only imagine what it cost to build, and I actually don't want to know. I also don't want to know what happens when a major earthquake hits this mammoth made of steel and glass, although I can imgaine that much more easily than the money it cost to build. Let me put it this way: when that earthquake hits, I don't want to be anywhere near this building. As I was standing there looking at the place I couldn't help but wondering how many poor people could have been helped by the money that went into building it ... Of course I took some photos nonetheless - and couldn't shake the feeling I was in Miami. For some reason the palm trees being mirrored in the glass facade reminded me of it.
The rest of this, my last, day I spent with more of my friends, which was the perfect way to end this vacation. Good friends, good conversation, good food, and a couple of cold beers. Perfect.
Just like this vacation.
Orange
Crystal Cathedral
Anyway, today I decided to explore Orange a bit (or to be more precise what they call Old Towne Orange). I walked around and took in the incongruence of palm trees and plastic snowmen and Santas. I sat outside in the sun with my coffee, just listening to the people around me, which was fun and interesting and entertaining. The script writer who complained to his friend that all the movies that get made these days suck, and why wasn't anyone getting his brilliance ... The two friends who bitched about (I guess) their husbands. The business meeting two tables down that ended in a what-is-the-best-college-football-team discussion. All the while I'm enjoying the sun, the warm breeze, and just the fact that I'm here.
On my way to Orange, though, I stopped at a scary place. The Crystal Cathedral. Yes, a church. I know they shouldn't be scary but this one is. I can only imagine what it cost to build, and I actually don't want to know. I also don't want to know what happens when a major earthquake hits this mammoth made of steel and glass, although I can imgaine that much more easily than the money it cost to build. Let me put it this way: when that earthquake hits, I don't want to be anywhere near this building. As I was standing there looking at the place I couldn't help but wondering how many poor people could have been helped by the money that went into building it ... Of course I took some photos nonetheless - and couldn't shake the feeling I was in Miami. For some reason the palm trees being mirrored in the glass facade reminded me of it.
The rest of this, my last, day I spent with more of my friends, which was the perfect way to end this vacation. Good friends, good conversation, good food, and a couple of cold beers. Perfect.
Just like this vacation.
Orange
Crystal Cathedral
Friday, December 26, 2008
Boxing Day = Shopping Day
Yes, shopping. We had a nice, quiet morning first and then hit the mall in Orange in the afternoon. That of course meant having to fight gazillions of other people for parking spaces but we did finally manage to find a spot for us. I bought a couple of pairs of jeans and the book that I wanted to buy in New York City but didn't and so far hadn't been able to find anywhere else.
We had dinner at a nice Mexican place at the mall, and I'm embarrassed to say that it was the first time this trip that I actually had Mexican food. Oh my, you'll say ... how can you travel through the Southwest and not have Mexican? I don't know - it's just what happened. Wait, I actually did have Fajitas once but that was at the Grand Canyon and therefore probably doesn't count as real Mexican food. It was good though.
Tonight we'll relax with a little movie watching and playing on our respective computers. It was a good day, and I'm winding down nicely from all the excitement and great sights of my trip. I've made some plans of what I could go see and do while here but there's nothing that's an absolute must for me, which is a good feeling. I might go to the Getty Center and to the Huntington Library, however, and maybe drive to one of the beaches. And if all else fails, there's always The Mouse just around the corner from here.
We had dinner at a nice Mexican place at the mall, and I'm embarrassed to say that it was the first time this trip that I actually had Mexican food. Oh my, you'll say ... how can you travel through the Southwest and not have Mexican? I don't know - it's just what happened. Wait, I actually did have Fajitas once but that was at the Grand Canyon and therefore probably doesn't count as real Mexican food. It was good though.
Tonight we'll relax with a little movie watching and playing on our respective computers. It was a good day, and I'm winding down nicely from all the excitement and great sights of my trip. I've made some plans of what I could go see and do while here but there's nothing that's an absolute must for me, which is a good feeling. I might go to the Getty Center and to the Huntington Library, however, and maybe drive to one of the beaches. And if all else fails, there's always The Mouse just around the corner from here.
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