Fray Bentos

Right before we left London to visit our families and friends back in the good ole US of A, we had our very first Fray Bentos experience. For those who have not partaken, it is a pie in a can. As you can see in the pictures, you just take the lid off the can and stick the can in a hot oven. For 2 quid… it’s not bad at all.

Twelve Years Ago… We Think…

17 December is the anniversary of my asking my beloved to be my girlfriend. I am not sure why we remember the date and not the year… but there you have it. In celebration, I brought her to Le Relais de Venice. Apparently they are in Paris, London, and New York. I heard some of my work colleagues talking about it and I just KNEW I had to take my beloved there. They only serve one thing: steak & chips (fries), and as anyone who really knows her already knows... she is a steak and potato kinda gal. The steaks are cut so that the cooking time is the same no matter how you order it. And they serve it in two portions…so you are starting with it hot and fresh again half way through. Unfortunately for you, I didn't need to take a picture of her eating it because I will never forget that look. She said, “You realize that you have ruined me for steak anywhere else.” Very successful trip, 13 yeses in a row, we think it’s 13 anyway…

Photo Credits: http://www.relaisdevenise.com

Trousers That Fit

Bolstered by finding several pairs of trousers in my size a month earlier with my favourite shopping partner, I embarked on my first solo journey for trousers in London confident that I had finally figured out clothes shopping in this town. I had done some solo clothes shopping earlier, but none of it successful. But the crushing victory brought out unwarranted cockiness. Not only did I not find a single pair of black trousers in the store that yielded such good results in tan only a month ago, I also failed miserably in other shops. My demands are after all unreasonable: they fit me, are black, are not jeans, and are machine wash & dry. To be fair, after visiting a dozen shops, I found exactly them… for £100 ($150). It seems to me that there is a potential killing to be made. I might be mistaken but I think most men would love to go to a shop… lets call it: Simply Trousers… that has a stock of trousers in the basic men colours regardless of season or latest trend that you can reliably get a simple pair of trousers. I understand the need for nice clothes for bankers and such. I understand the need for fashionable clothing for going out and making a splash and feeling sharp. But there is even more need for just plain ole trousers.

Photo Credits:

Trousers http://www.ilasco.co.uk

Oxford Street http://www.electricwedding.co.uk

Connecticut Wedding

In early October, I had the most fun I have had in a long time watching two great people start their new life together in marriage with the added bonus of having my parents there too. To those of you who have been to Hartford, I know what your thinking: It is not possible to have that much fun. But this experience proves that if you have the right people with you, you can have fun even in Hartford.

Winners of the anniversary dance and my parentsThe Happy Couple, my wife's brother and his new brideDancing (and singing?) Queens, my beloved, her sis, and her mum (and my Dad about to knock someone's lights out?)The second happiest man in the room (my father-in-law and his wife).

Maybe the second best wedding ever.

It has come to my attention by way of my blog follower that the recent change in blog content may be indicative of a change in medication. Alas, I am still under the influence of the usual foreign substances. Although I had been feeling a bit overwhelmed, which lead to the perception that I had been neglecting the blog. So I decided I needed to post something quickly. Upon review, I can see that my blogging frequency is within my typical range. Therefore my fear that I was drifting from my habit of writing was unfounded. It seems that there are reasons for writing a blog other than entertaining my single follower or staying in the habit of writing. In my desperation to find a subject to write about when none of the usual fare was to hand, I clenched onto events within the mundaneness of my daily existence. It turns out that things like bicycle locks, cycling ahead of rain showers, and daily aches from my previously limber muscles occupy much more of my thoughts than the major events I usually blog about. I can see now that the blog also serves as a snapshot of my personal history. It may remind me at a later time of where I was applying my energy. So I am at a blogging crossroad, which is fortunate for me because I love the word 'crossroad'. Mmmm, crossroad. But it may be unfortunate for my reader. Perhaps this blogging crossroad is implies something deeper... or is it a cigar that's just a cigar?

Image from: www.junkscience.com

No sudden movements, please

Thankfully, my head isn't getting any bigger. I looked at my helmet a few seconds after taking it off and I watched it slowly creeping down in size. Phew! That mystery being solved, I only have one more bicycle related nonmystery to report: I pulled a muscle in my back whilst loading it into the lift this morning. I suspect it was my twisting to catch the backpack slipping off my shoulder as I hoisted the bike onto its hind wheel. Learning outcome: strap into the pack before the lift. It is a pretty tiny muscle. I only feel it when I has to make a sudden movement or if I try to demonstrate the position I was in when it happened. Hope I can sleep.

Image from: www.ropeofsilicon.com

No hints, just a big head

So this morning, the lock mechanism came out with the key. Mystery solved. Here's another bicycle related mystery. For the past week, I have had to expand my helmet liner one more notch. I just noticed yesterday that if my head gets any bigger, I am going to have to get another helmet as I am on the next to the last notch. Any thoughts on that one?

Image from www.huffingtonpost.com

Hint?

This morning my bike lock would not open. I could get the key into the lock, but it would not turn. I tried many times. I tried shaking, banging, jiggling, everything in my stuck lock repertoire… nothing. I know, I know, my stuck lock repertoire is pretty lousy. But the end result is that I had to take the train to work. Upon my return home, the lock now opens fine. There is this rattling noise when the lock moves. I am not sure why. Maybe somebody stuck something in there. It would have to be pretty small. I tried it a million times and it opened every time. Now what was that all about?

Image is from www.maicar.com

Our Latest Flat

[Photo from Things Magazine]
Several weeks ago now, we moved in a flat in a new development right on the Thames. It is pretty amazing. It has a café, a full service restaurant, a full service pub, a doctors surgery (office), a dental surgery (office), and a grocery store on the ground floor. And we even have a concierge. But it gets even better when you leave. This development is immediately adjacent to a tube station, a bus station, and a national rail station. And just beyond that there is a little Portuguese neighbourhood with shops that have real Portuguese food!

It has an indoor bicycle storage shed. That’s Bernard (pronounced BURR-nird) in the centre of the centre panel.



Here is the entrance to our building.



There is a toilet (including a towel warmer),



a bedroom (with a built-in cupboard! (closet!)),



a kitchen (left)



(& right), and



a living room (from balcony)



(from kitchen)
Shh, that’s MI-5 out the window there.



I saved the view from the balcony for last



Yes that is Parliament and the London Eye!

Barcelona!

I was part of a team that presented a case study at the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication July 2010 conference in Barcelona. It was my first professional conference presentation, my first time in Spain, and my first time seeing the Mediterranean. Everything about it was awesome! (Well, the absence of my beloved was not awesome, but everything else was.) The first night I wondered around the old city with my copresenter using Google Maps on his Android to try and find some other UK delegates at a bar. When we finally found them, we went out for tapas. Food was yummy & people were really fun and interesting.
We did our talk the next morning. The conference centre was right on the Mediterranean so at lunch I went out there. I was not keen to spend the afternoon in soggy socks so I did not step in. Even though the conference let out pretty late, there was still plenty of daylight afterward to see some of the city in the sunlight. I went to Las Ramblas, which is the heartbeat of Barcelona. It is street vendors and artists. Disturbingly, the only sign in English was this one informing me and other English readers that public urination is illegal. Figures! I go to the ONE European city where public urination is illegal. Anyway, just off of Las Ramblas are really cool, little winding streets, just like I imagined about old medieval cities as a child (which is what you do when you are a little kid in a country that is only 200 years old). I wandered in the romanticism of the idea of an old city until I found a restaurant. I asked the waiter to bring something Catalan. Apparently, that is a mushroom omelette starter with a sausage entrée. The bread course, starter, and the entrée each came with a whole tomato. Oddly enough, the conference did not serve lunch, and on both days somehow I picked local places with staff that did not speak English… so they were subjected to my awful Spanish… but it was fun to try. I found out on the second day that the European Athletics (Track & Field) Championships were happening. My copresenter went after the conference. I am glad that they were professional athletes because I was just starting to wonder if all German tourists dressed alike when visiting Barcelona.

I went to the old Cathedral (Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàli) the next day during the lunch break. I have never seen such well-restored 13th century altarpieces. It was amazing. And the crypt had a ramp to it so that when you are seated in the nave, the central alter and the crypt have equal visual value. I’ve never seen anything like it. I couldn't bring myself take pictures inside the church even though it was allowed, so if you want to see it, you will have to go. Afterwards, I stopped by the Gaudi Cathedral (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família) which is absolutely HUGE. It is a modern cathedral and is amazing to behold. It is still being finished because unfortunately Gaudi was killed by a tram. I can relate because I was also almost hit by one.

Motorhome!

In July my inlaws reenacted their annual summer vacation of driving down the east coast to Disney. But now that the children are all "grown up,” this time, with significant others and grandchildren in tow. This meant a total of eight adults, two children, and three dogs. A close friend of the family drove a second trailer upping the count to 10 adults. I started in Massachusetts with my mother-in-law, father in-law (that’s him driving), brother-in-law,

his fiancée and two dogs. The trip sent us through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where we picked up my wife, her sister and her two children and two dogs (my sister-law’s husband flew up later.) Then we went through Maryland to our first stop: Harpers Ferry,

West Virginia where I got to visit my first American Civil War battlefield and I got to play minigolf with my nephew. The next day it was Virginia, North Carolina and the next stop: Yemassee, South Carolina, where everyone was so friendly. Finally, it was Georgia and Florida. We had to bypass South of the Border due to overheating. We camped at Fort Wilderness and the family dispersed between tents, trailer, and motorhome.

Highlights at Disney of course include Epcot. This picture is fake England, which is almost as crowded as London. We met a cast member (Disney employee) from Islington (where we were living at the time). We had an amazing dinner just the two of us in fake France and later that night at 11 oclock at night it was like 77F (25C), we took a dip in the outdoor pool. That was my favorite memory of the trip. That moment felt like the first real vacation we have had in four years. I had my first character dinner and I got a card signed by Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, & Eeyore. A cast member brought us through 'backstage' in one of the attractions to get us caught up with a group we missed. We got to ride the elevator with an equipment cart. My favorite ride was Tower of Terror when something started flapping in front of all of our heads. It was a bag my father-in-law was carrying. We were all trying to catch it while laughing and plummeting. We were all still trying to catch our breath twenty minutes afterward from laughing so hard. And of course, being Disney, there are fireworks every night (you definitely want to click on the video):

Poznan

Way back in June, we had the good fortune to visit Poznan for a wedding. This was the first trip to Poland for either of us and it was awesome. Poznan itself is an interesting mix of old and new, bare and bustle. The people were incredibly friendly and kind. The center of town was absolutely charming. The food everywhere was absolutely fantastic.

The wedding was at Cathedral Island, the oldest cathedral in Poland. It was friends we met from my beloved’s masters program at UCL: he’s Polish and she’s Japanese. The plan is for a Catholic wedding in Poland to be followed by a Shinto wedding in Japan several weeks later.

Unfortunately, due to a clash with the yet-to-be named caravan holiday (motorhome vacation) in July, we are not able to attend the Shinto wedding (but not to fear, we will make it to Japan eventually). More on the caravan holiday in the not too distant future… The bride impressed everyone with her reciting her vows in Polish.

The reception had a refreshingly unchoreographed feel to it compared to the typical US weddings we are more accustomed to. After the wedding, we all just hung around outside the church as everyone just kind of talked. Almost everyone brought flowers , and this is when you gave the flowers and your gift to the bride and groom. Various members of the family dutifully carried the bootie to a waiting car so that everyone at the wedding was now unencumbered of gifts and flowers.

Next, we all jump onto two buses that had been arranged to a castle for the reception. It was about an hours drive out of the city through farmland. The castle was literally in the middle of nowhere. We all gathered outside the front door waiting for the bride and groom to arrive and the staff served us all a glass of bubbly. More hanging out, talking, and singing… yes, singing. At various moments the entire wedding broke into Polish song. It was awesome.

When the bride and groom arrived, the fathers each made a lovely speech and the mother of the groom presented the bride with a loaf of rustic looking bread on a platter, which the bride broke into with her fingers and then the groom. After that they each drank a flute of champagne, turned theirs backs to us and hucked the flutes into the air which landed in the centre of the semi circle we were standing in and smashed into a million pieces on the brick paving stone, which brought cheers from the crowd… And on par with the rest of our Poznan experience, the food was delicious and the people were fantastic. What an exquisite place Poznan is, and what a magical wedding it was!

For more pictures of beautiful Poznan and gorgeous Zakrzewo Castle: Click Here.

Loos of London

Just when you thought this blog couldn’t descend any lower… The inspiration came from Anniversary weekend. We were at the Prince Charles Cinema and of course I went to the loo… and this is what I found:

I know… a Kevin Smith cubicle! Awesome! But it gets better… inside there is an homage to Kevin Smith …

…and a picture of him standing in front of the cubicle. According my extensive internet research (0.29 second on Google), ‘steeev’ on flickr says "In April 2007 the cinema opened an official Kevin Smith toilet cubicle, after the cult director held a Q&A at the cinema, he is quoted as saying "I don't know, Quentin Tarantino has never turned up here and they name the bar after him, it's my second visit and they haven't even named a toilet after me!" The next day they screwed a framed a picture of him to the first cubicle in the gents and he officially opened the toilet."

Here’s me in roughly the same spot, apparently I am a bit taller. The only thing that could have made it better would be some kind of proof that he used it!

Keeping It Gay

I never imagined that we could ever top the theme of our eighth wedding anniversary, “The Ocho: Just can’t get enough of it”, but a worthy contender came from my mother by way of a hand written note in the anniversary card she sent us. So this year’s theme became “Keeping It Gay”.

This year’s anniversary weekend celebration included a trip to the Prince Charles Cinema. It is a cute little cinema ala Cable Car and Avon. It is like having your own private cinema screening room like the ones ridiculously rich people have. The ceiling in the upstairs cinema has a random scattering of little lights reminiscent of a rural night sky and right before the film starts neon accent lighting on the walls slowly transforms from one colour to another that suggest you are viewing the world from inside a string of Christmas lights.

We saw A Single Man, which featured several nude bottom scenes of Colin Firth, earning him a BAFTA, a Volpi, and a Golden Globe… perhaps making it a contender for the most decorated nude male bottom in British history. Call me old fashioned, but I would much rather get lost in the locks of a young Hugh Grant… but I have vowed never again to be distracted by that supernatural hair. Still, Firth’s bottom is well worth the price of admission.

My American friends may not be aware that ordering film popcorn in the UK comes with this question: “Sweet or Salted?” My myopic mind just would not allow me to conceive of watching a film with anything but the butter-and-salt soaked snack of my youth. But the Prince Charles tricked me into it because they serve an unannounced mix of sweet and salted. The combination invaded my mouth with no warning. Perhaps I was still heady from all the Firth butt, I fell hard for this delectable combination. Each reach into the eats had the anticipatory tease of not being quite sure which one you would get, making each bite just like the first: munched for the very first time…. Mmm.

The next day we treated ourselves to dinner and a ballet. Dinner was at Sophies Steakhouse. I have to admit that British beef mystifies me. I don’t know what unnatural process results in the tender, flavourful steaks back home but I have yet to experience a steak here whether in a restaurant or from the grocer that is not a mandible workout. Some of them have tasted good, but I am just not used to working that hard. The samples of my wifes steak, however, chewed with ease…ahhh. And my salmon was devine. Yum.

I am ashamed to admit that this is my first trip to the ballet in London. My wife on the other hand has seen several. We went to see Royal Ballet at Covent Garden (when a dancer says Covent Garden, they mean the Royal Opera House, not the market). We had the perfect seats. Ironically, Sarah Lamb who had her start at Boston Ballet danced Cinderella. She is beautifully crisp and clean. There is something I am not grasping about the Royal Ballet attitude line that to my eye looks turned in: the only one not doing it was Sarah. But I loved all of the ladies doing the ‘seasons’ variations and Prince, his friends, and the Jester were also fantastic. Sorry to the stepsisters, nothing personal, you did a wonderful job, but I never liked that role in the ballet. The corp was excellent and the Ashton choreography still feels relevant, although I wasn't raised on it. A wonderful finale to anniversary weekend.

During this weekend, I had some very interesting bathroom experiences at all three of these venues. But I am going to have to save that for another blog entry…perhaps.

Photo Credits

Keep It Gay

Prince Charles Cinema

A Single Man

Sophies Steakhouse

Royal Opera House

Fredrick Ashton