Not all who wonder are lost...

Giants' Dance

2006-11-02T17:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome one and all to the Real Adventures of Sir Alex of Daw! Today’s adventure takes our hero to Stonehenge and the city of Bath!

Our hero first left for the amazing historical site of Stonehenge early in the morning. His eagerness was felt by those all around him. As his hour ride bus trip came upon the majestic site he was stunned. For as the bus made its way onto the Salisbury Plain, cresting the horizon his gaze was fixated on the site of Stonehenge glowing in the morning sun, a sight our hero will NEVER forget.

As his coach bus pulled into the car park he was amazed as he realized his long awaited dream was about to come true.

As he rose from the underground passage our hero’s eyes widened with awe. His dream had finally come true, he was standing in front of what they called in days of old, the “Giants’ Dance”. He remembers how the old legend went, that Giants dancing in a circle with arms upon one another’s shoulders were frozen to stone. He also remembered the legend that Merlin moved the stones from a mountain top in Ireland to the spot on Salisbury Plain using his magical prowess. Yes our hero, Sir Alex of Daw was in his element. All the magical stories he remembered as a kid flushed his memories, making the circle of stones all that much better.

He circled the Giants’ Dance taking pictures from every angle, so much so that those traveling along side him that day were starting to worry what others thought and abandoned him to his own devices. Did our hero falter, no; he kept on living in the moment.

Realizing that the time restraints set upon him by his tour guide were coming to an end, he took one last long look at the stone structure, not knowing when he would lay eyes upon it again, face downward cast, he made his way to the gift shop and was the last to board the coach to continue his journey to the city of Bath.

Upon the trek from Stonehenge to Bath he learned of a town that his coach passed was a modern day ghost town. The town was once thriving pre WWII, but as the Nazi party became more of a threat, Britain needed a town to practice war games. The British army then came to the town and ordered everyone out. The British Government paid everyone for their property and gave them a deadline. Once the locals moved out, the government moved in and began their war games. Once WWII ended and the town lay waist, the threat of the cold war was on rise as well as the threat of a possible war in Russia. Thus, the British government rebuilt the town in the looks of a Russian town and it sits in that same fashion on the outskirts of the Salisbury Plain next to two other small villages, as a modern day open secret.

With such stories our Hero was gleeful once more, and looked for the city of Bath.

Driving through the country side, the sun shown down upon the dewy grass reflecting its rays into the eyes of passerby’s. Then, upon the horizon rose the ancient Roman city of Bath, known worldwide for its natural hot springs which the Romans bent to their will.

Once Sir Alex of Daw set forth upon the city of old, he journeyed towards the well known baths and found them to be “nifty” but not quite astounding as the Standing Stones on the Salisbury Plain. He meandered through the ancient Roman baths and found them interesting, but not awe inspiring, so he set himself upon the city centre. Teaming with merchants and people, our hero bravely navigated through the crowds to stores of intrigue and finally upon a market centre where sustenance abounded. He picked from an assortment of foods, which he had never laid before upon his lips, and found them both intriguing. Though if one were to ask our hero today as to what he consumed you would find his memory slips him.

Then, as if the Gods themselves were pointing to it, he saw with amazement a sign that read “milkshakes”. His heart was racing and his mouth watering like Niagara Falls. It had been a long time since he had quenched his pallet with a swig of a chocolate milkshake. He began a nervous sweat and his heart was racing he could taste the shake, it had been so long! But there was a multitude of flavors on being Lime! Which should our hero choose! He then went for the classic chocolate, ordered and paid! Oh Joy! Sir Alex of Daw was to quench his craving then the man at the register handed him the shake. He took a swig and then in one fraction of an instant he realized that the cultural barrier had struck again! For England’s “milkshake” is what he would call back in his own native land, “chocolate milk”! Oh, the sorrow! The disappointment! Our hero walked once more with his head downcast from the market centre.

After such a disappointment, our hero romped through to the main river in Bath where he found a bridge that had shops on it. He was aglee again, for it seemed as though nothing could permanently damage his spirits today. After a shop or two the time constraints were once again his bane. Thus, our hero departed the city via two stops at buildings that were in the shape of a crescent moon and the sun. Our hero experienced one more exciting feet as he traversed back to his home, for on the motorway to his right hand side, in the near distance he saw the round tower of Windsor Castle! Oh a glorious day was had by our hero.

And as his fellow sojourners slept on their way home, our hero connivingly snapped photos of them.

Elisha

Courtney

So concludes this day’s adventure of our hero, Sir Alex of Daw. Tune in soon, same Alex time, same Alex channel to the Real Adventures of Sir Alex of Daw! ::echo::Daw, daw, daw, daw…..

If you would like to hear more on the story of the buildings and why they are shaped the way they are, you could contact Sir Alex of Daw personally; our hero is always ready to speaking upon his adventures to his followers.

Living out of a Suitcase.

2006-11-02T08:14:00.000-05:00

Big Ben (again)

Well it' been some time since I last posted, what with travels and midterms, I've barely had time to reach the computer. So my apologies on leaving you folks in the dark. But now I shall start updating you on the adventures of the Daw. In multiple posts. So sit back, get your reading glasses, blanket and some hot chocolate and read the wonders of the world that are my travels.

The first weekend in October I took it upon myself to frolic on down to the Palace of Wesminster (Parliament) and Wesminster Abbey.

The whole way to Parliament I walked along the Thames and realized all the monuments they have there. Randomly there was an Egyptian obelisk with huge dents and holes in it due to shrapnel hitting it in WWII after a bomb exploded nearby. It still astounds me the history that I walk past each day while I'm here, especially down town.

I saw then, a monument to "The Few" from WWII for those of you who might not know, a bit of a history lesson shall commence...now.

The Few is referring to the British airforce that would chase down the German bombers from the Blitz. They get the nick name from one of Churchill's speech that state "Never into he history of war, did so many, owe so much, to so few". Class dismissed.

There aren't many pictures due to no photography being allowed in Parliament or Wesminster Abbey.

Parliament was amazing, we (the tour group) walked the path that her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II walks when she opens Parliament each year. First starting in Victoria Tower (the other tower on the opposite side of the building) where her horse drawn coach pulls into. From there we walked up the hall and into the crowning room. Which it's soul purpose is just for The Queen to put on her robes and crown. The walls are decorated with carved oak portraits depicting different scenes from Arthurian legends, which I loved! This room was also used for a brief period during WWII for the House of Lords to meet in since the old House of Lords was bombed.
We then walked into a huge room which name escapes me at the moment, though on it's walls hangs portraits of the current King and Queen and every King or Queen who had reigned through a war. It was quite astounding. There was model of the old Palace of Wesminster which was burned in the great fire. We learned that the old palace had two churches in it, but when the King started the Church of England and separated from the Vatican, there was no need for the church to be in parliament.

Vicki's Tower

Before this time, only the House of Lords met in the actual Palace of Wesminster, though after the separation from the Vatican the House of Commons started meeting in Parliament in the abandoned church, sitting in the choir seats. Thus the reason British Parliament sit on benches straight across from one another and not in a circular patter like most current Congresses. Who Knew!

From that room we moved along to a little room that had portraits of the Tudor line then into The House of Lords! It was all in a velvety dark red with elaborate railings covered in gold and ornately carved wooden panels. This room also held the throne the Queen sits in when she opens Parliament for the year and reads all the bills to be introduced throughout the year.

When she opens Parliament, it's the only time all three branches of the government are in one room together. The ceremony is pretty cool. Everyone wears there ornate costumes and big hats. The House of Lords in quite small and can't even sit all the Lords, let alone those from the House of Commons. The House of Commons just stand in the back of the room while some of the Lords sit in the velvet dark red benches and the Queen with her party in the Throne at the end of the room. Stepping back a bit, when the Queen actually arrives in the House of Lords and takes her throne she then summons the House of Commons. A man with a specific title that I can 't remember then walks across Parliament (which is a long way) with some sort of scepter, towards the House of Commons. Once the man reaches the House of Commons, they slam the door in his face! This s to symbolize that The House of Commons has the right to deny the House of Lords and The Monarch's summons and demands. The man then bangs on the House of Commons doors with his scepter, (which there is a big dent where he bangs each year!) and they open the doors and fallow the man to The House of Lords where the Queen then reads the bills to be introduced. Then the ceremony ends!

OKAY! So, from the House of Lords we walked towards the main lobby of the building, where people can leave messages for their MP and even speak to them if they wish. Parliament has it's own restaurants and store where the House of Commons and Lords can eat and shop! We weren't allowed there though. On the dome of the lobby are the Patron saints of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom; England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

We then walked down towards the House of Commons. It was quite plain. It had plain wooden panels, and dark green curtains, carpet and cushion on the plain wooden benches. Very simple and dreary. After damage from WWII all the British Commonwealth countries sent, in thanks, an item to refurbish the House of Commons. So the seat the Speaker of the house sits was given from Australia, the gavel from Canada I think and so on and so forth, pretty cool trivia.

There are rooms/hallways really to either side of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons call them the "Aye" and "No" lobbies. The House of Lords call them the "Contents" and the "No Contents" lobby. When either house calls a vote the MP's walk to the corresponding lobby that they wish to vote, yes or no. I found it very unique. Our tour guide said that when she was a child the voting times weren't scheduled and when Big Ben rang to annouce that the MP's had 10 minutes to get to either lobby for their vote to count, they would literally run from nearby pubs, leaving whole meals on the table and police would stop traffic to let the MP's get to Parliament for their vote to count. Unique indeed. Nowadays since the chaos it cause in years passed, Parliament schedules what times the votes for which issues will be taking place.

Another little fact, the real estate around parliament when advertising for flats to let, they read "within range of voting bells". Apparently it rings quite loud.

Oh, you think I'm done...But I"M NOT!

We ended the tour by Wesminster Hall, it was under construction, but still would take your breath. It's been standing there for I believe 900 years? Could be wrong, but nonetheless pretty long time. The huge beams were ornate and beautiful.

OK, so on to Wesminster Abbey

Again no photos, and really I was actually surprised at to what was in it!

Every corner was filled with a tomb of some sort. Including Queen Elizabeth the first! I was standing right next to her tomb, how incredible! I've read about her ever since grade school and here I am at 23, standing next to her tomb! I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. Also there was the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots! INSANE! I just couldn't believe it!

I also saw the coronation throne. Every monarch since the 1300's has been crowned on it! And I stood next to it! A freakin' chair! Older then the U.S.! What the poop!

The chair holds the Scottish Coronation Stone, which is a huge stone that is fabled to have been part of the Rock Merlin thrust Excaliber into. It was stolen from the Scots by some king in the medieval ages, but was returned to Scotland a few years ago, though Scotland will send it back when a coronation is about to commence.

I also saw the old monk council room and a beautiful courtyard. Pretty cool stuff. There were also plaques to honor President Roosevelt during WWII.

"Beautiful Courtyard" You decide.

I also saw this "monument" I guess you could call it, but I thought it was very appropriate.

"Monument"

Well hopefully updates shall abound! And I will catch everyone up on my travels before I leave for another one.

And the other posts should hold some more picture so you don't have to read this babble!

Well I hope everyone is well and PLEASE feel free to leave some feedback or wacky message.

Cheers!
Sir Alex of Daw

Mid Semester Sprint

2006-10-17T05:18:00.000-04:00

Hello all,

Just wanted to apologize for the lack of posts, but due to school and the internship I haven't been able post about my ever so awesome travels. Hopefully sometime next week, or the first week of November.

Just to let you know where I have vanished to, 3 weekends ago, I saw parliament, and Wesminster Abbey, the next weekend took me to see Stonehenge and the city of Bath, then last weekend I found myself in Paris, and next week I'll be in Ireland, so I'll update as soon as physically possible.

ROCK IT!

AOSFYC

2006-09-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

I just received a good-bye card from the other staff members of the All-Ohio Youth Choir. That was sent the 31st of August (took a long time to get here, good lord). But that card was awesome. It really helped with my slight homesickness today. It really showed how much my pervision has rubbed off on other people and how much they love it.

Thanks Guys, It really meant alot.

Low Batteries and "urges"

2006-09-28T12:45:00.000-04:00

Atop London

The feature picture of this post is a shot I took from atop St. Pauls Cathedral.

Saturday the 23 of October I journeyed forth unto St. Pauls Cathedral. It was a spectical to see. So ornatally decorated with gold, oak, mosiacs, it was in one word, breathtaking.There was no photography allowed, so no that many pictures.

I first lit a candle for my father, which was pretty cool I must say. I said a prayer, took a moment and continued my stroll. There were ornate golden grates in the floor that let you see down into the Crypt of the church which was filled with more sightseers. I also walked through the American Soldier remebrance area of the church. During WWII part of the Cathedral was destroyed towards the back of it, when they rebuilt it, they made it a memorial for all the American Soldiers that were killed defending Britain soil. It has a book with all the names in it and a sword. It's quite nice. On the floor there is a sentance that I can't remember excatly but got the jist of thanking the Americans. It was nice.

After 30 minues on the ground floor looking over every minute detail, I decided to take the 500 some stairs up to the dome. From there you could look down into the congregaton area on the ground floor and see the sun shinning through the glass of the dome casting beautiful designs on the marble floor.

From there I went outside where you got a great view of Lonon. One picture I took on the dome are is facing the front of the Cathedral, which I saw later was the same picture a professional photographer had taken, I rock what can I say.

I'm a professional!

After about 20 minutes at the dome I decided to go to the very top of St. Paul's. So I did.

Once at the top I took the picture that is at the top of this post and afew of parliment from the top. The view was so great I just stayed there for close to an hour taking in the view from all the angles. Why? You should allready know the answer. Well, after taking two picture, my camera said "Low Battery" and freakin' shut off! I was not pleased...AT ALL.

It was disgusting though all the grafitti that was on the dome of St. Paul's. There was one though that was somewhat cool. It said "Alex, I Love You!". That one was ok, but the others, not so much.

Well it got REALLY crowded up there so went back down to the dome look out area. From there I heard the clock at St. Paul's chime 4. Then about 5 after 4 I got an "urge" if you will, and the "necessary room" was in the Crypt...a.k.a. the basement, and I was at the dome lookout. NO GOOD! Then I looked towards the exit and saw the sign say 500 some stairs till the ground floor.

I bolted! Ran "gently" down the stairs, looked towrads the map for the Crypt found the stairs, ran past two coffins, and a gate dedicated to Churchill and saw a sign with an arrow pointing to a dooe that said "toilets" I ran inside, and saw...WOMEN! Iwas in the wrong restroom. I stood there like a deer cought in headlights "holding in" and the women were likewise. So I retreated like a dog with it's tail between his legs, found the right Loo and did what needed to be done.

Yup, only me.

Since the camera wouldn't turn on, and the tramatic experience of "the incident" I left to go back home.

The next day (Sunday, after recharging my camera) I went to try and take the tour of Parliment and Buckingham Palace. But since it was Sunday, it was closed. Buloxe! I took out my map and thought I would just stroll through Hyde Park, but on my way I found the Secret Churchill War Rooms. So Heck! I went in!

It was amazing that they spent 6 years of there life donw there planning and co-ordinating the war, while they could still hear the bombs dropping above them.

It was almost too much for words.

Halfway through the tour of the war rooms there was a sidetrack into the Winston Churchill museum. It was very impressive. Splitting the museum in a diagnal was a table with a computer interactive table top. It started with the year 1847 when Churchill was born and ended with the year that he died. You would touch which year you wanted to look at, and it would list which month had any details in it. It had everything, including dates he wrote letters with a copy of it to read and pictures, which you could view. For any major event in history during his life time like WWI or WWII or the sinking of the Titanic the whole tabletop would whiteout and the whole table would view that event i.e. I hit 1912, April, Sinking of the Titanic. The whole table whited out and scrolled the headlines and had commentary from eyewitnesses . It was awesome.

The Table where Churchill and his advisors Made the decisions of the war.
Churchill never overuled his advisors decisions.

Chief's of Staff Conference Room

Charicature of Hitler one of the Chief's of Staff drew on a map.
Transatlantic Telephone that was secret to even the people working in the War Rooms.
When the war ended, these men got up , turned off the lights and went home after 6 years.
This room was found the same way it was left.
One of two Churchill bedrooms in the war rooms. This one was used for midday 1 hour naps and where he made his speeches to the British people via radio.
A picture of Churchill on his 90th B-day(a few months before his death) with the pasts Churchills cheering him on!

Churchill being born in the mid to late 18oo's was born into a time of infantry, two world wars no electricity, and died in a age of nuclear weapons. What a lifetime to live.

Couldn't have done it without them. Thanks Baba

After the War Rooms I went to Hyde park for the remaining daylight hours and saw non other then my people..Squirrels!

Squirrel!

I'm so jealous of this man! He would feed squirrels...FROM HIS HAND! Maybe he will divuldge his secret to me and I shall take his place.

SQUIRREL MAN!

Look! The Daw family is infamous! We are al lover the streets of London!

As Spak would say...DAW!

Sweeny, Sweeny Todd, the Demon barber of Fleet Street!

Didn't see him though.
Didn't see the Muffin Man :(

Need I say more?!

Ya'll come back now, Ya Hear?

Color or Colour?

2006-09-19T08:28:00.000-04:00

My Favorite Tower of London Picture. I wish their wasn't city behind it.

For the sake of viewing purposes, please read in your underwear.

Not really you perv!

The London Gang
Reading from left: Val, Matt, Irene, Nikki, Jimmy in the back, Bill, and Mike.

Well where doest I begin? How about last Monday? How about me not asking questions to myself for you to read. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Well, the Internship isn't quite what I was wanting, or expecting. The internship or "work experience" as they call it here is based on production management. So, though it's not a "news" atmosphere it is still in the media. So I will still hopefully get valuabe experience that I can put on my resume. Though, so far I've been putting information in excel, and reorganizing the video archives. I'm praying I can go on a shoot, sooner rather than later. I guess it's all of what I make of it. I just need to warm up abit, I guess.

I met one woman that works their that was making fun of my American accent, which I just loved. She was teaching me how to pronounce some words. ROCK-IT!

Classes are interesting: "Gender and Identity", and "Phtotojournalism". They are classes, so nothing really to say about them yet besides already having papers and large projects due within two weeks.

Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, now comes PICTURES! Woo-hoo!

I started Thursday or Friday with a trip to the 500 year old pub. It was awesome, all the buildings were literally built around that pub. Which is just amazing. Established in 1546 it's 230 years older then our country! Just to imagine that there were people sitting there talking about "Those damn New Englanders" trying to break from the crown. The whole pub is steeped in history it's just like walking back in time. No pictures yet, but that will soon change.

Starting Saturday they had the Thames festival. Which is really a great idea. The Mayor of London opens buildings that aren't normally open to the public and people from all around come to walk the Thames and walk into houses and government buildings and old homes. It's quite a site.

So Saturday began around 14:30 (they use military time here, which I didn't know), once everyone woke up and got ready and walked over to the Flat. We went to Brick Lane which has 300 years old homes that people actually still live in and can't do anything to the building unless it is approved by the gov't and maintains the "feel" of the building. It was pretty interesting, no picture though, too crowded and I was getting the "closties" as my family would say.

From there we walked past a painting of Jack the Ripper in a ally way that catches you off guard and gives you a bit of a shock as you walk down the road. We also walked past a pub that is still in existence that Jack the Ripper took his pray to for a pint before he would kill them. Freaky.

Cheers! To your soon to be gruesome murder!
Next up: Sunday!

I woke up early so I could have a head start on attractions to see. I walked down the road, made a left and right in front of me was none other then St. Pauls Cathedral. It is quite large, I'm not sure how I've missed it over the past two weeks. Though since it was Sunday the touristy section of the cathedral was closed for the day, so I walked in, looked around and walked out so I can see it at another time. As I was walking out a photo shoot was in progress so I took afew shots myself.

Thats right darling! Yeah, baby! Yeah!

Just a stroll at St. Pauls

From here I started across the Thames when I saw a statue commemorating the Firefighters of the Blitz. Thought it was quite impressive and reminded me of those Firefighters on 9/11.

This way!
St. Pauls from Millenium Bridge

Tried to make it to Shakespeare Globe theatre, found out it was closed for a perfomance. I am determined to find the brick with my sister and brother-in-law's name on it. Though looking through the gate, I'm praying they have some sort system to find their name's or I'll be there a week looking for that brick!

Then I was off to TOWER BRIDGE!
It was pretty cool. I walked across the bridge then on the way back I got to walk across the top walkway! The view was pretty cool I got to take yet more pictures of the Tower of London. It was cool. There were scale models of other bridge designs that were, lets say..Interesting.

Up, Up and away!

Imagine these in place of Tower Bridge

They went with the right choice.

Got to see the old engine room of Tower Bridge.

Wow, those engine workers had it good in the early 1900's! They had 21st century pop machines!

They had it pretty good down there!

On my way back from Tower Bridge I passed Pizza Express, a restaurant whose name is false advertisement, Because they don't have good pizza, and it's definitely not express.

False Advertisement!

I also entered "The Clink" the first prison in London along the river Thames and saw a chastity belt...that's right I came to England and saw a chastity Belt. That's what I'll tell people when I get back home. I also learned that the original London Bridge had 19 arches that supported it and was the only bridge to cross the Thames for a few hundred years and actually had houses on it. Pretty cool.

Can you imagine living on that as the only bridge at the time?

I also saw a replica of a ship who's owner I can't remember at the moment that circumnavigated the world and a old harbour that 150 years earlier housed Tea Clippers. Just imagining it is pretty cool to think about.

The old Tea Clipper Harbour.

Random! I saw this on my way home. An old Church, just in the middle of London! I love this City. An Old Church!

Blessed be! Ruins!

And a lighted sidewalk! Oh! Shiny!

Just give me some spandex, and we'll have some 80's fun!

More A.D.D. photo's:

There was a horse balloon floating over London, so I decided to take a pic! Here ya go!

Giddy-up!

I saw then The Templar Knights chapel, (which was closed) but they are rumored to be the guardians of the Holy Grail (which reminds me of Monty Python, thanks to the Siblings Daw, which rock!) and since it was closed, I took a picture of the statue in front of the chapel.

Protect the Grail!

After that we went home for a bit and came back for the Fireworks on the Thames. Which I only got 1 good picture of, but they were better than even Disney's fireworks, they pretty much rocked my world. Even though I'm not a fireworks person.

oooooooh, ahhhhhhhh!

The highlight though would have to be none other then A WIZARD!

I was officially dubbed Sir Alex of Daw when a wizard on the Thames Knighted me.

So, I've decided while I'm here to adopt their spelling(because that's what I do). Such as instead of "color" its "colour" The same goes with favourit, harbour, you's a whour...not really that list one, just thought I'd throw that in. Programme..Craziness.

that's pretty much it. Their are people talking around me and too me so my A.D.D. is going crazy as you've all witnessed at one point or another.

Keep in touch! I can't tell you how much it helps. Hopefully I'll be able to walk through Buckingham and parliament at some point over the next week and finalize my trips through the semester.

Buh-Bye

I soon shall storm a Castle.

The Little Things

2006-09-11T12:03:00.000-04:00

The White Tower!

Cheerio!

Sorry for waiting 2 weeks, but if your read the previous post, you'll get the picture.

So, ready for two weeks worth of updates? I'll try and condense it all...ok? ready?! Annnnd GO!

Beginning the Monday before last I FINALLY got to go to the river Thames and check out Buckingham Palace, Wesminster, parliament, and the Tower of London! HOLY AWESOME!

Just walking through Greene Park and seeing as you turn the bend Buckingham Palace with the Victoria Monument in the center of the roundabout was spectacular. To know that the Queen was either just waking up with bedhead to go brush her teeth and scratch her behind, or sitting down with a cup of Earl Grey (Like Captain Picard) in jeans and a "I'm with Stupid" T-shirt on. was pretty cool. To think she could have peeped through her curtains and seen me her new love (sorry Em) is pretty cool. Though I think she was in Windsor..eh.

The Ham of Bucking!

Around the roudabout were pillars, which said names of countries which I can only assume were at one point or are ruled by the Queen. I saw one for Malastates (whatever that is), Canada, and Australia. Which I took a picture of, since it was the day our beloved Steve Irwin died. CRIKEY!

In Honor of you "Sir Steve of Irwin"

I did get to see the crazy men in furry hats, but no changing of the guard. They only change at the beginning of the day and I wasn't up at that time. Though the guards did march in a line to stretch their legs. Which I had no idea they were allowed to! And I saw the British flag waft in the breeze above the Palace, it was pretty nifty.

You Go Queeny!

From Buckingham we (Nikki, Bhav and myself) walked down Birdcage Road to find parliament. It didn't take too long! Right as the trees overhead parted Nikkei and Bhav both looked at me awkward as I did the "excited, I can't believe I'm actually seeing Big Ben with my own two eyes, crouch slowly with a silent giggle and wide smile looking as though I have to pee" type expression! (those who have seen me react to anything Lord Of The Rings, has seen this moment). I just couldn't believe I was seeing it in person, not in a James Bond flick, or V for Vendetta, but in real life. BIG BEN!

My first View of Ben

My favorite Big Ben Pic

From parliament we went to see Wesminster abbey, but due to the price to go in, I'll save it for another day. Also, across from parliament is a statue of Abe Lincoln. Not sure why, besides the obvious. But weird to see an American President statute infront of parliament. I kind of felt honored as an American.

The Abbey

Good 'ol Abe

We then "froggered" across the street to a ice cream man, so Nikki and Bhav could put an end to their craving, and I decided just to sit back and take in the view from the Thames of parliament. While I was in "aww" a man was selling bird whistles next to me and interrupted my tranquil moment. So for this rude interruption and annoyance I thought I would share it with a picture of the "Crazy Birdman"

Nikki and Bhav ending their craving for Ice Cream.

"Crazy Birdman"

Parliament from across the Thames

We moved on to The Tower of London and Tower Bridge via Underground, and happened across London Bridge!

It's Falling Down!

The Tower of London was beautiful to behold, just imagining 500 - 900 years of British History taking place here, And it's where the governor lives! Also imagining our American forefathers setting foot here to speak to the King and in the halls of parliament is so cool to think of. To walk through a place where battles were waged, Kings and Queens lived, villains tortured, and conspiracies plotted, is a bit overwhelming to comprehend all at once. There was so much their, it's impossible to talk about it and bore you all. So, we all know about the curse, that if the ravens were to leave The Tower of London, the British government would collapse, so here is one of the six crows who's wings were clipped to feed to superstition, which I wouldn't blame them!

Caw! Caw!

Within the courtyard you can see the tip of Tower Bridge which we think is London Bridge over some homes and trees.

Apparently the first walls build around the Tower of London , were build on pre-existing Roman walls, which are outline here, Those Romans always had to be the first didn't they!

One of my favorite words to use in any phrase is non other than "Poop". So to honor that here is a medieval Pooper, where Kings, Queens, Princes, Princesses, and Knights all shared a "Throne".

From that eventful Monday, much has ensued, which I shall sum up briefly,

Classes: introductory still, but looking promising.

Partying: Yes I have gone out to a few clubs, and have had safe fun. One night, letting the other students see a little more of the real Alex, by dancing. Thanks to moves learned from my brothers, sister and parents, I have been told that they have never seen moves like that before. And yes some were a little shall we say, sporadic! (which reminds me of a Junior Prom picture).

British Museum: Wonderful! I can see myself spending a lot of time there over the next few months. There wasn't enough time to see everything in the 5 hours I was there! One highlight was the Rosetta Stone, which I was so giddy about seeing. (A Dream come true ever since I learned about it in elementary school..I'm such a nerd. I know).If you don't know about it, you should. It's a cool piece of the past, at least for me. I suggest looking it up on Google. It's a quick history lesson. Also saw a real sarcophagus. SWEET!

Internship: I GOT ONE! It was with Media Trust (www.mediatrust.org) I'll be working behind the scenes and whatnot, more to come later. no BBC :( they didn't have any openings this semester. But looking into a week long internship next summer with the BBC.

Finally, if you can hold out just a bit more...

It's not the driving on the other side of the road, or the accents, or that everyone knows your American without even hearing your voice, that lets me know I'm in another country, it's the small things.

You would think that the paper size would be standard worldwide, or you wouldn't even think about normal paper size elsewhere, but it is a different size! Here, it is 210 X 297 mm, while back home it's 8 1/2 by 11. It's so cool! For those of you not willing to measure it out yourselves, their paper here is slightly taller, and thinner then ours. (Ours is wider and shorter then there's..kind of like our own Americans. BAD ALEX!, just couldn't pass it up).

There are coins galore! My goodness, they have coins for 1p, 2p. 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, 1 pound, and 2pounds, all in regular circulation, everyday. By pockets be heavy!

Mercedes over hear, makes trucks, busses, mini economical cars as small as a door width, and they're cheap! There like our Ford back home. Everything here is Mercedes. So why are there cars back home so expensive! Holy Moly!

Everyone hits the Pubs at 6 right after work, literally EVERY pub is busting at the seams, that people stand and sit outside the pub to have a their favorite lager.

And their Censorship..Whew! Not much at all, is all I have to say to that.

These aren't complaints, but observations and little newoncesn that show I'm not in the U.S.

Quick note: my tutor(teacher) told me that people from the U.S. when they come over here identify themselves by state, i.e. Hello I'm from Ohio, in the States. But by the end of their stay, they identify themselves by country, i.e. Hello, I'm from the States.

Thought that was interesting.

Well sorry for the length, and if I keep this up weekly, it won't be so long. Hope all is fine back home, and thanks for the posts on this page and e-mails, and facebook. I enjoy everyone.

9/11...I remember.

Alex

Frustrations

2006-09-08T06:56:00.000-04:00

Top o' the morning all!

Or evening..or afternoon, which works best for you.

Well sorry for the lack of updates recently, it actually has nothing to do with my laziness...for once. The internet at the flat that I was pirating from other companies around us, was finally locked from random users..a.k.a. the got wise to us using their bandwidth! So without such internet, all I have left is the computers at school, which I can use, but keep forgetting to bring my camera so that I may download my picture for you.

On the other end of frustrations...internship...I am trying not to explode with angst, frustration, anger, hatefulness, and all other power Satan has domain over. The lovely internship director has yet to hear back from companies that want to set up an interview with, and refuses to contact them everyday until they do otherwise. So I shall annoy her everyday until she does otherwise. AND the internship she applied me for are for production places, which, yes, has a lot to do with News...but it's still not News. I wanted to be in a News environment, to see how Brits structure their news packages and to be in the hussle and bussle of a News room...anger. So begins the countdown till my Daw temper is unleashed upon Ms. Internship Director. T minus 4 days and counting.

So that's it for now, I have written myself a note to bring my camera Monday so that I may update on my recent travels and post some pictures....Hope all is well with you and your families.

Address

2006-08-30T17:11:00.000-04:00

Right, so I said I was going to give everyone my final address when I got here, so It is as follows:

47 Hatton Gardens
London, EC1N 8Ex
Flat 7

My phone in the flat is only for outgoing calls only. But I bought a cell phone for over here, due to complications, I'll have 2 phone numbers while I'm here. Currently the number is 07726 760118. And it only costs me 10cents (5 pence) a minute talking over seas. Yay! I'll let you know when I switch numbers..again, don't ask.

Tut-tut
Alex

The dream becomes a reality.

2006-08-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

Where doest I begin...oh, at the beginning.

From Cleveland Hopkins I flew back in time two hours to the windy city, Chicago. My flight was delayed about an hour due to Heathrow's landing curfew(no plains land before 6 a.m.) so instead of flying around London for 45 minutes, I slept in O'Hare airport for 45 minutes. And if you know me at all, i will choose sleeping over anything...even eating! I know "gasp"!
Continuing with my flight, it really didn't hit me that I was leaving for England until I was served the first snack on the plane and all the flight attendants started speaking in their accents...I was giddy as a school girl listening to N'SYNC!
The flight itself only lasted 6 hours and 30 minutes, and I was lucky enough to sit right in the center of the plane with a wall in front of me..so no window seat...but I had more leg room, which came in handy taking catnaps on the plane. The plane also had this awesome screen that showed you where the plane was located in the world....so while no one was looking I snuck pictures of the screen....

This is me leaving the North American Continent...for the first time!

(I know the photo is a little fuzzy, but deal!)

And during that time, from Newfoundland to England I slept and had breakfast, and didn't see the Atlantic at all cause it was to dark outside. But I digress.

This is me entering Ireland with 30 minutes left till London.

Once I landed I sweated it abit going through immigration..but it was a snap. Then I sweated it more once I got my luggage and exchange my 200 U.S. dollars for 96 pounds. That's right for every pound it's 2 of our dollars. Holy Expensive!
It hit me that I was in London for good once I took the Underground(subway) and everyone had an accent..it was pretty sweet. It took about an hour on the Underground to get to Chancery Lane Tube station(Which their public transportation here even the busses are very clean). It was quite a site to see urban England.
Once I walked off the Underground, I thought London had evacuated for my arrival, like the very foundations felt it's impending doom as the Alex grew nearer. But, it was a Bank Holiday and NO ONE was on the streets, which was nice since I had two very large and buldging suitcases.
Once I arrived at the flat complex a sign read "Huron Students, please ring for Flat 5". So I did just as it said, and to my dismay, no one answered. So there I was, alone, in London, with two very large suitcases, and no means to call the University. So I sat on the stoop hoping that another student would be arriving and the RA would be with them. 30 minutes passed as the few passer-bys just stared awkwardly at the very obvious American. Then two old men exited the building across the street walked over to my building and let me in, even though they didn't know me. So I just got comfortable in the lobby, whipped out my laptop and pirated off someone's bandwidth. 15 minutes passed and a RA with a student walked in and showed me to our flat.
I have to say that the flat is a bit smaller then the pictures they sent us(surprise) but it's pretty sweet. My flat is located on the 4 floor and is Flat 7, but it has two glass doors that open onto the street, and is still pretty roomy.

My living area:

My room:

My bed is on the left.

Currently, two of my four roommates have moved in. Both seam pretty cool and down to earth, one is Jimmy from Illinois, and another from New York whose name is Mike. The other two roommates move in tomorrow and we're just hoping they will get along with us as well as we get along with one another.
So today which is August 29, we just walked to campus which is a 10-15 minute walk from the flat, and met our RA which seams to be pretty lax and down to earth, he apparently went to school at Muskingum College in Ohio. Besides that, not much to say besides their milk is thicker over here, and it takes longer to cool, oh, Also, their eggs are just in a regular isle and not in the cooler. Hope everyone is doing fine and dandy. Remember I still got e-mail and AIM. So I'll speak unto you later and update my post at a later date.

Rock it!

It has begun!

2006-08-21T19:07:00.000-04:00

Welcome one and all to my blog! Woo-hoo!

Hopefully I can keep on top of updateing this site once I'm over in England. So yea, this is my first post..I'll write more later...hopefully.