Michele in London...
"Cheerio"--- or something like that....
So I've been here for almost a week now & can't believe my trip is almost over. London is quite a busy city and there is plenty to see and do. We saw Big Ben ("kids"), London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Eye, etc. I've seen the inside of many a pub also. For those of you who know me, I'm sure you're quite surprised by that! Jamie had a meeting on Tuesday night- so John, a coworker of John's, and I met for "a drink". This turned into an impromptu pub tour. Although it was a Tuesday night- the English seem to treat every night like a weekend night. Pubs were pretty full. Oh and time of day doesn't seem to matter much at all either. We walked by many pubs during our sightseeing that had plenty of people in them- even at noon.
Wednesday, Jamie and I left for our trip to Dublin, Ireland!!! Definitely need to go back- because the 24 hours we spent there was certainly not enough. Weather on Wednesday was not so good. Chilly, windy, rainy, & gloomy- not typical words I think of when I picture Ireland. I foolishly expected shining sun and green rolling hills (with dancing leprechauns). Because we stayed in the city of Dublin- there certainly wasn't much green. And who knew it would be so difficult to find an actual Irishmen in Ireland. It turns out Dublin is quite the melting pot. And oh so many tourists!! Americans, French, Italians, Hungarians, etc, etc.- everywhere!!! I just wanted that beautiful Irish accent! Took till almost midnight to hear it! Met two Irishmen at a pub who bought us some drinks. Then they took us to another pub where we could finally hear some traditional Irish music. Attempted some Irish jigs- unfortunately there's some pictures to prove it. Thursday was a much better day- weather wise! Finally some beautiful sunshine that lightened up the city and made it feel more like my anticipated Ireland. Saw some wonderful sights-- St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and of course the 'gorgeous' Guiness factory. Will definitely have to go back when I can visit outside of the city!
Friday, Jamie & I took the bus tour of London. Cheers to Jamie for actually wanting to do it again since it was like the 5th time she has done it. Jamie has learned so much about London and it's history that she could do her own bus tour that could probably top some of the others. What a beautiful day it was! The sun does shine in London!!! I have some sunburn on my nose to prove it! Met John at his work- where, ready for this... there is a bar inside his work!! The company stocks the alcohol! Employees can have a refreshing beer after a hard week of work. What a concept! Think I can bring that to the States? Met John's Australian "mate" Steve there and the four of us followed up our trip to the work bar with a speed game of grocery shopping. (The barbeque was the next day!) After that we went to a pub named Alex's. There I realized I had only met one or two actual Englishmen! Fortunately, I met a nice English bartender, who's name happens to be Jamie, at the pub. We invited him to join us to a Comedy Show that we are planning to go to on Monday. Have to see how that goes. Also at the pub- met an unforgettable drunk Scottish man- seems he has a strange manner of picking up the ladies that involves curse words that I never dare repeat.
Saturday, was the big combined Barbeque- with Jamie & John's neighbors, Lindsey & Andy. Quite a few people came and we had a "lovely" time. Met some more Australians- who are just a blast to hang out with! Participated in a made up game of "Penalties". This basically means anytime there was a party foul, i.e. spilling your drink, losing your drink, etc- the person was giving a penalty. Unfortunately, the penalty was a shot mixed by one of the fellow party goers. The type of shots that were mixed are probably better left to the imagination- but if you want a slight indication- picture hot sauce, olive juice, tomato juice & vodka--- all mixed together. Thankfully, I did not suffer any penalties! During the party, I watched on the "tele", my first English "football game". Definitely not as exciting as Amercian football! Do you believe we sat through over 2 hours of play to see just 1 single goal?!? After the barbeque, we decided to head to "Alex's Pub" again. Saturday nights in this part of London are unlike anything I've seen before. The streets are packed with people and just about every pub or nightclub has a large line (or "que" as they call it here) of people waiting to get in. Even Alex's was packed to the brim. Literally- people were packed in like sardines! It was near impossible to even move- let alone take a sip from your drink without someone bumping into it and you wearing most of the drink. We still managed to have a good time. Jamie, the bartender, took a break and had a drink with me. Also, ran into the drunk Scottish guy from the night before who had no recollection of what had occurred the previous night. Surprise, surprise!! Met a group of Irishmen. Figures, huh? Had to meet the Irishmen in London! Overall, was a great Saturday!
Time to head out. Will try to update after our night out at the Comedy Show...
Thanks to Jamie and John for a fabulous time!
Michele
So I've been here for almost a week now & can't believe my trip is almost over. London is quite a busy city and there is plenty to see and do. We saw Big Ben ("kids"), London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Eye, etc. I've seen the inside of many a pub also. For those of you who know me, I'm sure you're quite surprised by that! Jamie had a meeting on Tuesday night- so John, a coworker of John's, and I met for "a drink". This turned into an impromptu pub tour. Although it was a Tuesday night- the English seem to treat every night like a weekend night. Pubs were pretty full. Oh and time of day doesn't seem to matter much at all either. We walked by many pubs during our sightseeing that had plenty of people in them- even at noon.
Wednesday, Jamie and I left for our trip to Dublin, Ireland!!! Definitely need to go back- because the 24 hours we spent there was certainly not enough. Weather on Wednesday was not so good. Chilly, windy, rainy, & gloomy- not typical words I think of when I picture Ireland. I foolishly expected shining sun and green rolling hills (with dancing leprechauns). Because we stayed in the city of Dublin- there certainly wasn't much green. And who knew it would be so difficult to find an actual Irishmen in Ireland. It turns out Dublin is quite the melting pot. And oh so many tourists!! Americans, French, Italians, Hungarians, etc, etc.- everywhere!!! I just wanted that beautiful Irish accent! Took till almost midnight to hear it! Met two Irishmen at a pub who bought us some drinks. Then they took us to another pub where we could finally hear some traditional Irish music. Attempted some Irish jigs- unfortunately there's some pictures to prove it. Thursday was a much better day- weather wise! Finally some beautiful sunshine that lightened up the city and made it feel more like my anticipated Ireland. Saw some wonderful sights-- St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, and of course the 'gorgeous' Guiness factory. Will definitely have to go back when I can visit outside of the city!
Friday, Jamie & I took the bus tour of London. Cheers to Jamie for actually wanting to do it again since it was like the 5th time she has done it. Jamie has learned so much about London and it's history that she could do her own bus tour that could probably top some of the others. What a beautiful day it was! The sun does shine in London!!! I have some sunburn on my nose to prove it! Met John at his work- where, ready for this... there is a bar inside his work!! The company stocks the alcohol! Employees can have a refreshing beer after a hard week of work. What a concept! Think I can bring that to the States? Met John's Australian "mate" Steve there and the four of us followed up our trip to the work bar with a speed game of grocery shopping. (The barbeque was the next day!) After that we went to a pub named Alex's. There I realized I had only met one or two actual Englishmen! Fortunately, I met a nice English bartender, who's name happens to be Jamie, at the pub. We invited him to join us to a Comedy Show that we are planning to go to on Monday. Have to see how that goes. Also at the pub- met an unforgettable drunk Scottish man- seems he has a strange manner of picking up the ladies that involves curse words that I never dare repeat.
Saturday, was the big combined Barbeque- with Jamie & John's neighbors, Lindsey & Andy. Quite a few people came and we had a "lovely" time. Met some more Australians- who are just a blast to hang out with! Participated in a made up game of "Penalties". This basically means anytime there was a party foul, i.e. spilling your drink, losing your drink, etc- the person was giving a penalty. Unfortunately, the penalty was a shot mixed by one of the fellow party goers. The type of shots that were mixed are probably better left to the imagination- but if you want a slight indication- picture hot sauce, olive juice, tomato juice & vodka--- all mixed together. Thankfully, I did not suffer any penalties! During the party, I watched on the "tele", my first English "football game". Definitely not as exciting as Amercian football! Do you believe we sat through over 2 hours of play to see just 1 single goal?!? After the barbeque, we decided to head to "Alex's Pub" again. Saturday nights in this part of London are unlike anything I've seen before. The streets are packed with people and just about every pub or nightclub has a large line (or "que" as they call it here) of people waiting to get in. Even Alex's was packed to the brim. Literally- people were packed in like sardines! It was near impossible to even move- let alone take a sip from your drink without someone bumping into it and you wearing most of the drink. We still managed to have a good time. Jamie, the bartender, took a break and had a drink with me. Also, ran into the drunk Scottish guy from the night before who had no recollection of what had occurred the previous night. Surprise, surprise!! Met a group of Irishmen. Figures, huh? Had to meet the Irishmen in London! Overall, was a great Saturday!
Time to head out. Will try to update after our night out at the Comedy Show...
Thanks to Jamie and John for a fabulous time!
Michele
posted by Jamie & John | 10:32 AM
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