Don't laugh. I am doing the club. It will keep me busy and social and I'm hoping to promote some public health there, too. I also finally went to Harrod's, which is HUMONGOUS. I did not get to go to the food section, but I will go back.
We leave for Amsterdam on Friday morning. I'm sure there will be much to blog about when we get back. Right now there is not much...and no new pictures. Sorry!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Windsor Castle
Last Friday, I went with Rashmi and Siddarth to Windsor Castle. After a bit of confusion on my part about our meeting spot, we met at Clapham Junction (not to be confused with North Clapham, Clapham Common, or South Clapham stations)and took the train to Windsor. That was the day I learned how to take the bus in London.
When we arrived, the weather was looking pretty typical--rainy. Here is the Long Walk, which is, as its name implies, a long walk (3.5 miles to be exact) outside of the castle, but off the castle grounds. We were not allowed to go into the castle gardens, but we were allowed to go on the long walk. Since the weather was beautiful, we only took a short walk on the long walk, but we were impressed by its longness.
The castle dates back to the medieval times and was built high on a hill, so that approaching enemies could be easily seen and also so that it would take them a long time to actually reach the castle .
On this side of the castle, we were able to look down the side of the hill and see just how high up we were. This was also where we entered the castle to see the Queen's Dollhouse and dolls as well as the state apartments, which were, appropriately, very ornate. The dollhouse is a miniature version of the castle, complete with electricity, plumbing, sterling silver dishes, tiny oil paintings done by famous artists, and a miniature version of the crown jewels. The Queen's dolls each possessed incredibly fancy doll clothes and shoes including fur wraps and jewelry.
This rounded part of the castle was extra fortified, so that the king and his people could hunker down and be very protected in the case of a particularly violent attack.
We learned all of this exciting information through our free audio guides, which looked like long, skinny cell phones. Thus, in many of these pictures, we look as though we were talking on our cell phones the entire time. In fact, cell phones were strictly forbidden inside of the buildings and so were pictures, which is why I can only share the outside pictures on my blog.
Sadly, we didn't meet the queen or even SEE the queen (except in pictures), but we did discover that veggie burgers in England come deep fried and that fish and chips are not all equal.
When we arrived, the weather was looking pretty typical--rainy. Here is the Long Walk, which is, as its name implies, a long walk (3.5 miles to be exact) outside of the castle, but off the castle grounds. We were not allowed to go into the castle gardens, but we were allowed to go on the long walk. Since the weather was beautiful, we only took a short walk on the long walk, but we were impressed by its longness.
The castle dates back to the medieval times and was built high on a hill, so that approaching enemies could be easily seen and also so that it would take them a long time to actually reach the castle .
On this side of the castle, we were able to look down the side of the hill and see just how high up we were. This was also where we entered the castle to see the Queen's Dollhouse and dolls as well as the state apartments, which were, appropriately, very ornate. The dollhouse is a miniature version of the castle, complete with electricity, plumbing, sterling silver dishes, tiny oil paintings done by famous artists, and a miniature version of the crown jewels. The Queen's dolls each possessed incredibly fancy doll clothes and shoes including fur wraps and jewelry.
This rounded part of the castle was extra fortified, so that the king and his people could hunker down and be very protected in the case of a particularly violent attack.
We learned all of this exciting information through our free audio guides, which looked like long, skinny cell phones. Thus, in many of these pictures, we look as though we were talking on our cell phones the entire time. In fact, cell phones were strictly forbidden inside of the buildings and so were pictures, which is why I can only share the outside pictures on my blog.
Sadly, we didn't meet the queen or even SEE the queen (except in pictures), but we did discover that veggie burgers in England come deep fried and that fish and chips are not all equal.Thanksgiving in London
Jim was very excited about Thanksgiving. He couldn't stop dancing in anticipation.
The turkey breast was pre-packaged and pre-seasoned, just like many of the foods in British supermarket. Even though Jim was skeptical, he LOVES turkey, so he trusted that Claire wouldn't poison him or make him eat aything too weird. But this turkey looked pretty weird:
Jim's dancing was a little out of control, so Claire put the smack down by using her best hood (British gangsta) impersonation. 
Jim was SCARED so he put on a clever disguise:
Meanwhile, the beans got overcooked and the biscuits had too much salt, but the turkey roasted perfectly and, in disguise, Jim made delicious mashed potatoes, using only 2 sticks of butter.
With great anticipation, Jim carved his first "turkey" (...ummm...breast). He licked his chops and ate a piece of turkey skin with great relish. "DELICIOUS!" he said, "but not as good as my mom's."
"Well, what did you expect, " said Claire. "I could never cook like our Moms!"
Despite all that, Thanksgiving was pretty ok in London, but we would have preferred to have been at home.
"YUMMY! I LOVE MASHED POTATOES!!!"
The turkey breast was pre-packaged and pre-seasoned, just like many of the foods in British supermarket. Even though Jim was skeptical, he LOVES turkey, so he trusted that Claire wouldn't poison him or make him eat aything too weird. But this turkey looked pretty weird:Jim's dancing was a little out of control, so Claire put the smack down by using her best hood (British gangsta) impersonation. 
Jim was SCARED so he put on a clever disguise:
Meanwhile, the beans got overcooked and the biscuits had too much salt, but the turkey roasted perfectly and, in disguise, Jim made delicious mashed potatoes, using only 2 sticks of butter.
With great anticipation, Jim carved his first "turkey" (...ummm...breast). He licked his chops and ate a piece of turkey skin with great relish. "DELICIOUS!" he said, "but not as good as my mom's."
"Well, what did you expect, " said Claire. "I could never cook like our Moms!"Despite all that, Thanksgiving was pretty ok in London, but we would have preferred to have been at home.
"YUMMY! I LOVE MASHED POTATOES!!!"Saturday, November 25, 2006
And the sun came out!
When we emerged from the lush, wooded area, the sun was out and we were dry and happy!
But soon after, it started to get dark and we had to rush to get back to our train and out of the wilderness before it became pitch black at 4:30. The last leg of our walk was through very muddy fields. We agreed that the stiles were no longer as charming as before and the general mood is reflected in this picture of me:
But we made it back just in time to take our train and when we got to the tube everyone avoided sitting next to us because we were muddy and had bad hair. What an adventure!
But soon after, it started to get dark and we had to rush to get back to our train and out of the wilderness before it became pitch black at 4:30. The last leg of our walk was through very muddy fields. We agreed that the stiles were no longer as charming as before and the general mood is reflected in this picture of me:But we made it back just in time to take our train and when we got to the tube everyone avoided sitting next to us because we were muddy and had bad hair. What an adventure!
After the pub, full of grease, mayonnaise and steak, we hiked straight up a very steep incline and were rewarded with this view:
And then we got lost for a while, but eventually ended up at the site of the remains of some fort. We couldn't actually figure out what were the remains...mostly there were fallen down trees on the ground. This picture doesn't really show it, but these tall pines were VERY spooky.
And soon we found ourselves descending into a valley via this wooden staircase. We were surrounded by ferns and moss and lush, deep groves of trees--a completely different scene than where we had been just a few minutes before.
Eventually, the rain got us a little down. At one point, the directions started rubbing off of the page, the book pages were sticking together, we were feeling soggy and tired, and then, pheasant hunters started shooting all around us. So, with the help of some boy scouts, we found an alternate route to a pub nearby, where we could get some lunch and dry off a little bit. But not before Jim slid down a muddy hill on his bottom. Being a supportive wife, I laughed my bottom off once i was sure that he didn't hurt himself:
The pub we visited was called the Red Lion. We refreshed ourselves with some pints, a steak burger sandwich, a tuna sandwich, and lots of chips and then resisted the urge to call a taxi and continued our journey...and we are so glad that we did, because things got even more beautiful as we went along. Here is a picture of Jim soaking wet with his pint.
And here is Jim, under the Red Lion sign, as, still soaking wet, teeth chattering, we continued on for 7 more miles or so. We felt pretty tough, because while we were in the Red Lion a whole walking group came in talking about how horrible the weather was and how they hadn't been able to walk.
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