HowTo - London in less than a day

Warning! - Not for the weak or faint of heart.

First start off your day at 4.30am no earlier,i.e. 2.00am you will need all the rest and energy you can get. Then head to the airport in a rental car and all the way trying to find a gas station to fill up at. After you can't find the gas station anywhere near by return the vehicle and head inside the airport. Catch a quick bite to eat at the only cafe that is open. Now find your gate and catch up on some sleep in the hour you have before your flight opens and boards. The trick is to fly from somewhere close by so that your flight is the same length as the time difference, i.e. Amsterdam. This will give you a head start on the day and utilize the precious time. When you arrive make sure you pick up your bags and then head straight for the bus terminal. Now this takes some planning or at least conscientious purchases. Make sure you buy the cheapest tickets into London so that you can arrive in a airport five miles outside of the city center. This will make for a nice hour and half long bus ride with a bus driver that is hard on the brakes and slow to react. From here head straight to your hotel located near the center of all the attractions. Unload all the things you don't need, pack light it will be a long day and lots of walking and last but not least use the toilet, you don't need that weighing you down or making for an unplanned pitstop. Once you have done all this you should have compiled a full list and locations of all the attractions and how to get there in the few hours you have had to prepare for your trip so it is now time to embark for the day. First stop Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, Big Ben and the London Eye. Once you realize that the two hour line for the London Eye isn't worth it head across the city center to London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London. Once you have seen the real London Bridge and determined that it is in fact still structurally sound head over past the Tower of London to the Tower Bridge. On the way discover that in fact the Tower of London is no more than a mere small fortress and there really is no tower and by your guess the jewels aren't really there and if they were they are probably deep deep under ground. Before you do this you must be properly hydrated so be sure to grab some free "delicious" and "refreshing" Vitaminwater knock off from someone on the streets. You will soon realize though that you were better off without it because the smell and lack of passion fruit in the passion fruit blend is simply just weighing you down. From here you proceed directly back towards the city center to Green Park and the Buckingham Palace. Admire the view of the park in the spring and the guards behind the gates of Buckingham. Now you may return to the tube or the underground and head for Madame Tuassands Wax Museum. Before you pay for tickets to the museum you will realize that maybe $50 is a little steep to see creepy and odd busts and statues out of movie stars struck in a famous pose. This is the home stretch. Next you will begin an arduous walk through Hyde square. On the map it looks easy but let me tell you the walk is a bit long after such a busy day already. The views are wonderful, it is warm and the sun is shining and the weather has been perfect all day so make sure you take your time so as to take in the air, sights and sounds. Stop at the Albert memorial and then the prize at the end Kensington Palace, the now memorial building to Princess Dianna. Make a quick exit through the gates and streets of the local foreign embassies. Once again hope on the tube and take it back to the London Eye and get in line to enjoy the spectacular view of London in the evening. Back on the ground it is time to head to your favorite restaurant, The Albert. Make it as quick as your tired and aching body will let you through the brisk night air. Order plenty of food and fill up your tank after only eating stand food and yes a little bit of McDonalds for the rest of the day. Your night is nearly over. Return to your hotel and slump onto the bed reflecting all the while on your wonderful experience that you have had (Be careful taking off your shoes for the smell may be too much to handle). Now slowly drift into a deep sleep by 10 because you are leaving on a train at 8 the next day and have to be up at 5.00am.

Maximum Transportation

After a long weekend of traveling, we started off another week of more traveling. It is only Tuesday and we have already been on, or planning on being on, every form of transportation possible in Holland, except for the bikes(more to say about those later!). We left Bangor Monday morning on the train to London and made about 3 stops before we got on buses to finish the rest of the trip. When we arrived in London, another Central student met us to get us to the Vandon House, which is where the Central students studying in London stay. To get there, we used the "tube" system. That is one confusing system if you don't know what you are doing! We finally made it, had some dinner and got to bed pretty early as we had to get up by 2am to catch our flight. After our small nap, we walked about 30 minutes to the bus station. Then road the bus an hour to the airport. We caught our plan after getting a light breakfast in the airport. The flight was only 45 minutes, but a combination of me being sick this past weekend, being up at 2am, not having eaten much in the past 72 hours, and the flight, I did end up getting sick in the last 10 minutes of the flight. I felt completely fine afterward and was able to make it through the day without anymore problems! Once in Holland, we rented a car and drove into the heart of Amsterdam. We finally found the tourist center to ask about where to stay and what to do. They were very helpful and got us a nice hotel to stay in as we needed a place for the car. We headed out in the right direction but all of our maps ended about 3 or 4 streets too soon. So we drove around for quite some time, only to realize we had driven by the backside of the hotel once before... But we made it, got settled in and then headed out to explore. We bought a 48 hour pass that lets us have unlimited use of the public trams and buses, free admission to most museums/attractions, discounts on many restaurants, and a free canal tour. Trust us, we are taking full advantage of this! Just this afternoon, we have used the trams multiple times, been to at least 4 or 5 museums or attractions, been to one of the discounted restaurants, gotten some free coffee, and are planning on going on the canal tour tomorrow afternoon or evening. Finally, after eating supper, having been up for 18 hours already, we were ready to head back, get showered up and get ready for bed. Tomorrow we plan on heading out of town a bit, to Haarlem, and a few other small sites to get the rural view of Holland along with a few other sites here in Amsterdam and then finally the canal tour.
We have found that Amsterdam is for sure based on tourism even though the locals don't seem to like or care about the tourists. Everyone here rides a bike. You will see from the pictures that there are bikes everywhere, including a bike ramps like you would see a car ramp in the US. The only catch is that bikes have the right away. It doesn't matter if you are walking or in a car, if they go, you stop. There are bike paths everywhere and it is more of a hassle looking to make sure you won't get hit by a bike rather than a car or the tram. I'm surprised that more people are injured due to crazy bikers!!! The weather here is also kinda odd. Like Iowa, it can be one thing one hour and something else another. The only difference, is that is can be different every minute. We seriously saw sun, rain, snow, clouds, sun, snow, sun, snow again, and over and over. You would literally walk into a building, turn around, and it would be a completely different weather outside. I think you will get that a bit by looking at the pictures. Other than that, just having to deal with the language barrier is the main thing. It is sure nice that Maurice knows a bit though, he has sure helped out in that aspect of this trip! I will have to say, that even though I may not understand what I am saying, I am getting much better at pronouncing things in Dutch. Hopefully by Thursday, we will all be able to say that we have touched up a bit on our Dutch!
I'm sure we will have plenty more stories to tell tomorrow so we will try to keep things update! ~Anna

Luck of the Irish

Well I guess it didn't rub off on us. We have been doing laundry and sorting out plans for the rest of spring break since our return. We have come to find out that one of our flights has been changed/canceled. They didn't actually tell us about it but we found from someone else that is traveling with us who did receive and email. We checked the website and our flight doesn't exist. I haven't been able to get a hold of anyone. All the offices are closed and the people are out for Easter and I ended up calling people in America about and they said they can't do anything because it was booked online so I have to contact the internet booking office by email... which has been unsuccessful so far. I was also supposed to pick up my dad at the Manchester airport this morning however his flight in Detroit got canceled due to the weather. Now he will be arriving at 6.30 am our time Sunday morning. I haven't figured out what we are going to do yet. Anna was sick all last night throwing up and so she has been resting. She is feeling better though. The weather hasn't been cooperating much either it has been extremely windy and raining off and on since we got back. So it has been a long day so far for us and family back home as well. Not quite how we wanted to start off Spring break. It will work out I'm sure and we will have a great time. We will try and post as soon as we can about the places we visit and the sweet pictures we take.

Ireland

We have returned from the land of the Irish. We had a great time and amazing weather. However is sounds like the weather back home was better than it was here, at least warmer. We arrived in Galway after a 2 hour ferry ride and 4 hour bus ride from Dublin on Saturday and just checked out he local nightlife that night. Sunday we went to the Aran islands for the day. It was good no rain and it was sunny. We rented bikes for the day and traveled the island. The island was formed by volcanic activity and it created some large cliffs that we went to check out. We didn't do much that night in anticipation for the big St. Patrick's Day activities. On St. Patrick's Day we started off with a small walking tour of a cathedral and the river. After this we watched the parade. It wasn't quite up to par with a Tulip Time parade but it was better than nothing. They didn't have any floats or anything mainly just people representing different activities, organizations and tribes of the city. The tribes are the main 14 or so families that dominated the city political, commercial, and social life of Galway between the 13th and 19th centuries ( you can thank wikipedia for that side note). Anyway after the parade we just toured and rested for the afternoon before we went out for the night. We went out and had a good time, some of the group was a little worse off than others. Everyone managed to make it back in one piece thanks to several of us. Before leaving Galway the next morning we went to visit the Galway and Waterford crystal store. Again after a four hour bus ride we were in Dublin and had a short walking tour. We walked through the Temple Bar area and just checked things out. That night we went and listened to some traditional Irish Music in a bar. On Wednesday we had a walking tour of Dublin, the Millennium Spire, Museums, a statue of Oscar Wilde, the book of Kells and Trinity College, St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Guinness Brewery. The only two cathedrals in Dublin are in fact Protestant despite the overwhelming majority of the Irish being Catholic, this is because they were under British rule. The Guinness Brewery was alright, I liked the Budweiser Brewery tour better because there you actually get to go through the brewery itself here it is more like a museum. I still don't like the taste of Guinness even though it was at the factory. Later that night Anna and I went out for some mussels. They weren't too expensive considering Dublin is one of the most expensive cities in Europe even given the exchange rate. We rocked out after that to American Classic Rock at the Hard Rock Cafe with a band that dressed like Kiss but didn't play any Kiss music. The next morning before we left Anna and I booked it out to the old Kilmainham Jail of Dublin which is a good 45 min. walk that we made into 30 mins. We got there two minutes before the next tour started which is Lucky because they only start on the hour. It was a very historical tour about the political history of Ireland. On the way back we walked through Dublin Castle. One the ferry ride back we slept most of the time. Anna was able to sleep through the wailing and screaming of a small child for about 2o minutes straight. Its alright though I got enough sleep. While we were in Dublin we cooked most of our meals in the hostels and then just store food from the breakfast for lunch. We returned home and are now going to be spending a week with my dad in Wales, London and the Netherlands. Finally to spoil a few myths, St. Patrick's Day is more of an American Holiday it is celebrated more in the USA than it is in Ireland. They don't have green beer in Ireland and they don't have to wear green on St. Patrick's Day either, sorry to ruin the fun.

And They're Off.....

We headed out for Ireland on Saturday morning. This is/was the beginning of a three and half week adventure. The past week has been really busy getting ready for spring break and trying to finish off papers and assignments. Last week I had a friend from Central, Stuart Patterson, staying with me. We had a chance to check things out around Bangor and chill since he was on his spring break. After arriving in Dublin we traveled across Ireland almost all day arriving in Galway shortly after 7 pm. It was a rainy day nasty day. The guys went out to several pubs and then to a club. On Sunday we went to the Aran Islands. It was a good day it didn't rain however it was a little chilly. We had to ride bikes to see most of the island. We were all tired but after cooked we still went out for awhile to a local pub. The big day is tomorrow however when we be attending St. Patrick's Day. There is a huge parade bigger than Dublin's from what I have heard. It should be a good time but there isn't a whole lot to considering it is a holiday and everything is shut down and the city is extremely packed with people. The weather is looking to be alright for the day so that is good. Tuesday morning we will travel back to Dublin for two days and then back to Bangor for a week. We will check in again some time maybe when we are in Dublin. Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Dealing with the weather

This past week wasn't all that bad weather wise except for the days that we needed to be out in it, of course. For outdoor pursuits on Thursday, we went canoeing in the Menai Strait. It is quite a bit different than canoeing in the Iowa lakes or rivers, or even the Boundary Waters. Not only did we have to deal with the strong winds, we had a tide like none other to pay attention to. Since it is around daylight savings, this past week was the equinox tide, which is one of the highest tides of the year. We were able to get out on the water with no problem and practice all the basic canoeing techniques but once we were headed up the strait, it was windy enough and rough enough waters that we tied two canoes together to make a stronger boat. This helped a ton! We only went up the strait a small ways because of the rough water and wanted to make sure we had enough time to get back. My group had lunch on an island and built a small fire in which we roasted some marshmallows. No chocolate or graham crackers though. Derek's group just ate and made a fire along the shore a short way back from where my group stopped. When we pulled our canoes up on shore to eat lunch, we tied the ends of the canoes together so two of the canoes were still completely in water. When we were done and ready to head back out, there was dry land about 15-20 feel behind out canoes. That gives you a bit of an idea of how fast the tide was moving. From the time when we left in the morning to when we got out, the tide had probably dropped a good 15 feet at least. To head back towards where the trailers were, we untied the canoes because the wind was at our backs so it would be a bit easier going. The very last thing my group tried was to have both people in the canoe sit in the middle of the canoe, facing each other so their backs were against the sides of the canoes. Then tucking our toes under the lip of the canoe on the other side, we both tired to lean all the way out so that our heads touched the water. There were a couple of pairs that were able to do it but unfortunately I was paired up with a guy that probably weighs at least 210. We were able to get leaned back but even when I was almost completely leaned back, he was still basically sitting in the boat. Needless to say, we both ended up in the water... It wasn't that deep but of course it was cold! It was a fun end to a good day though!
Then on Saturday, we had another field trip with the Central group. We went to Harlech castle, the town of Portmeirion, and the dog grave, Beddgelert. The castle was nice but it was so windy you didn't want to stay out on the top walk ways or in the towers very long. When this castle was built it was built on a cliff that was in the water. Since then, the water has completely receded about two miles so it stands alone but it was still impressive. Portmeirion is a town that was built to prove that towns could be built in junction with the land and that you didn't need to destroy the natural beauty of it. The architect that built it also wanted to bring in bright colors and interesting designs. If you look at the pictures, you will be a bit of an idea of what this means! This site also has some amazing plants and vegetation considering that it is on the coast of the UK. It makes it seem like it should be much closer to the equator. It would have been much nicer to go on a sunny day but it was still nothing like I have ever seen! Beddgelert is basically a couple of rocks in the middle of a field that is supposedly the grave of a dog that saved a child. We also stopped at a wood carvers shop in this town which had some amazing art. Grandpa Calvin would have been impressed! Of course, when we got back to Bangor, the sun came out and it turned out to be a nice evening. Thats the way it is here.
This next week is going to be a busy one as we are trying to get things done before we head off for spring break. Lots of papers, finalizing plans, and we have another student from Central, who is studying in Leiden, coming to visit!!! Not sure how much internet access we will have during spring break but we will try to update you as often as possible as we will be seeing lots of new things!

Getting Filled Up

It has been almost a week again. Not too much has gone on really. Today was warm and cloudy but no rain. It has been raining off and on for the past few days however Sunday the sun was out but it was a little chilly. We have been going to several churches through Bangor, Hope Church(pentecostal church start), Penrallt Baptist, Ebenezer Evangelical, Assembly of God Pentecostal Church, Bangor Community (Rivers of Life a Spanish denomination). They have all been good and it has been hard to get a consistent schedule because our weekends aren't very regular. We have been warmly welcomed at each. In fact almost at every church we have attended we have gotten a free meal out of, quite unplanned of course ;) For example the past two weeks we have gone to church and there were meals afterwards. Two weeks ago it was soup and potatoes at the Pentecostal church and then this past week we had a free meal at the Baptist church, this was our second free meal there and we had no idea until they announced it during the service. We have no plans for this Sunday yet, so we will have to see what happens. Last night I cooked fried chicken and had mashed potatoes and corn. Then tonight we had a really good pasta/chicken casserole that Anna made. Don't get too many assumptions we don't eat like that every night. The truth is I have Tuesdays off and Anna has most Wednesdays off so we make two fairly good sized meals and then we eat leftovers at night and sandwiches for lunch most of the time. Tomorrow we are going canoeing probably in the Menai Strait however it is the Equinox tide tomorrow so it could be too high and rough for us to go there. We may have to find a lake. The Saturday we are going to Harlech Castle, Portmeirion, Beddgelert, and Llanberis Pass. It should be a good day, as long as we have no rain. There is just a little over a week left before we start Easter Break! We are all ready to be off and traveling I think, thats why we are here isn't it? just kidding it is for the education of course.