Cambridge

I shook off year end yesterday and went on a day trip up to Cambridge to see what the second oldest University in England (not to mention in the top 10 worldwide) looks like.  Cambridge was founded in 1209 by a group of academics displaced from Oxford.  Apparently, there was some difficulties in Oxford around that time -- there are mentions of hostile townsfolk -- and they had to close down the already established Oxford University for a couple of years.  Thus, some of the outcasts began Cambridge University.  So now you know. Exciting stuff for 1209 really.

The University and the city have been growing up around one another ever since so everything is all jumbled up in this lovely little place of about 100,000.  It is really quite charming. Most of the buildings date from about 500 or so years back...but not to worry the Victorians also left their mark too.  If you want to get a degree here it will take you about 3 years.  At the end of year three you take a comprehensive exam covering your entire degree.  So, three years of study and only the one set of exams.  No problem.

You will also need to apply to one of the 31 Colleges for admission.  These colleges (you've heard of at least three: Kings, Queens, and Trinity) are where you live for your three years but you can study at any faculty.  Your dorm room at your college could be built any time between the early 1500s and about 1950.  You will also eat at your college in the great hall...just like Harry Potter but presumably with fewer house elves.  All of this is very foreign to me but seems to make perfect sense to the Brits.  I like to think that the UofR would seem just as complex to them. Sure, they count the likes of Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking as graduates, but the UofR has luminaries too.  I just can't think of one at this moment.

For all my bicycle enthuiast friends out there...Cambridge undergrads are not allowed to own a motor vehicle.  Just a bicycle.  There are bicycles absolutely everywhere!  There are even bicylce parks (a parking lot just for bicylces).  I have to say that I am a fan.  It's a very small town so there is very little vehicle traffic at all.  There stats suggest that 25% of people bike to work every day.  If you combine that with the general willingness to walk (anthing under 2 miles is completely acceptable for foot commuting here), there is very little motor vehicle traffic at all.  A very pleasing experience if you ask me!

On my way back to the station (only a 46 minute train journey from Kings Cross), I stopped at the Fitzwilliam Museum which was, frankly, pretty average.  But, just as I was desperately trying to find my way back to the main entrance (how I wish museums were more like IKEA some days...if only there were an arrow on the floor that would lead me back to the exit) I wandered around a corner and came face to face with a lovely Seurat painting.  If you ever want to impress your Mom, the painting that Cameron stares at in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is by Seurat and is called Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grande Jatte.  A nice way to end the trip.

Well, honestly, I ended the trip with a Cornish Pasty standing on the platform at the train station.  It was excellent too.

Happy Christmas

Christmas normally meant travel in our family.  A trip to Yorkton or Ogema when I was little and then later a trip out to Winnipeg.  This year we are all off to Edmonton to celebrate Christmas with my Brother and his family.  Much like when I was little, I woke up bright and early this morning ready to get my trip underway.

It doesn't feel particularly Holiday-ish in London despite the constant bombardment of Christmas Carols, mulled wine and skating rinks.  Yesterday it was 11 degrees ABOVE freezing and the grass is still green.  People are shopping frantically and there is a steady stream of "How to Cook/Craft/Garden Your Way to the Perfect Christmas" on television.  One show even taught you how to butcher your own pig which is an interesting hybrid of all three categories of perfection.

My friend N and I went skating last Sunday at the Tower of London where they have set up a small rink in the moat.  It was a pretty spectacular setting...but there are also rinks at Canary Wharf, Somerset House, the National History Museum, Hyde Park, and Hampton Court Palace.  I'm sure there are others too but these seem to be the most advertised.  They are all artificial ice surfaces but I'm thinking that the ice plants aren't that sophisticated as the ice is really soft and could use a few laps of a Zamboni!  It definitely one of the first times in my life that I was one of the best skaters on the ice.

Skating also reminded me how lucky we are in Canada.  At home, we can regularly grab our skates and head out to a dug-out, slough, lake, neighbourhood rink or river. If you are lucky, some enterprising soul has gotten a few buddies together and dragged an old sofa down to ice level where you can stop for a breather.  Here in London, you clamp on your rented skates, book ahead and have a timed slot for hitting the ice...and there is not a hockey stick in sight.

I have finally been truly homesick and you'll never guess what was the cause: it snowed one morning.

Happy Christmas to all my friends and family!

Glasgow

I forgot just how much I love Scotland.  Even in the pouring down freezing rain I was still really happy to be there.  Something about it just makes me feel happy.  Well, maybe that was the fresh from the oven Cheese Pasty!

I was last in Scotland in late July and early August 2002.  I know this with absolute certainty because when I opened my Lonely Planet guide an old train schedule fell out.  I love when I leave myself these little surprises/reminders.  I have tucked my Coldplay ticket inside that same guide to find in another 9 years.

The quick-witted among you will have deduced by now that the purpose of my trip to Glasgow was to see Coldplay live.  I am not going to lie.  It was awesome.  It was the first time that I have seen them in concert and it was also the start of their Mylo Xyloto world tour.  Only 10,000 people in a nice small venue.  They gave everyone these cool bracelets that they could light up remotely which was really neat.  It was pretty tough to act all cool and sophisticated...you just put your hand in the air and dance like a teenager!  Attached is a photo of the crowd with the bracelets.  I would like to be able to say that I was inspired by my very cool photographer Uncle (Hans) or my equally cool videographer Uncle (Steve) but...in reality...my camera was on the wrong setting and I wound up with this rather cool picture.





Sunday's weather smartened up a bit (flashes of sun occasionally) and allowed us to shop shop shop!  Glasgow is the definitely the ugly step-sister of Edinburgh (my apologies to any Glaswegians reading this!).  It has rather retained the gloom it inherited during the Industrial Revolution.  There are highlights...it was in Glasgow that I first discovered Charles Rennie Mackintosh whom I continue to love and it is also the home of the most spectacular modern stained glass windows in a Church I have ever seen.  But, on the whole, it isn't my favourite spot.  However, the shopping is actually really good!  I was just a humble backpacker last time I was there and didn't have money to spend on anything other than food and lodgings (and beer)...but I did my best to support the local economy this time!

I was sorry to say good-bye to S&P but I am really grateful that they introduced me to N...whom I am sure will be a great companion on future trips!

Bath

Road trip!  Spent the weekend in Bath with my good friends E&J.  It is hard to believe that we only left Friday after work as we saw so much in so little time.  E&J are also expats but they have recently bought cars so we were on the road.  Sure, we don't really know ALL the driving rules, but we know a bit and what we don't know the on-board navigation system more or less makes up for.  I think the biggest problem is trying to work out where you can and can't park.  The Brits do like to paint a lot of lines onto the road...I think they are supposed to explain things?  They just look like a big old mess to me!

Anyway, we drove out to Bath on Friday after work and enjoyed a weekend of pubs, Christmas markets, a Tour of the Roman Bath, and a bit more shopping.  No wonder I'm tired!  The Christmas Markets (think outdoor craft fair but cute little wooden boths instead of ugly convention centre draping) were so busy with people it was hard to even walk around. Through perseverence I managed to pretty much start and complete all required Christmas shopping.  The Roman Bath was very interesting to tour.  You can't go in the water at the historic location (there is a shiny new spa for that) -  I may or may not have quickly slipped my hand in to see how hot the water was anyway and it may or may not be about the temperature of a warm bath.  The water has a really high copper content so it has a vaguely turquoise colour to it...although the picture above makes it look more like the slough at the farm!  I have to say that the Romans were really such amazing engineers.  The system they put in place to collect, clarify, and deliver the water was really impressive. Plus, they had sauna/steam room areas where they built a false floor over a small vault which allowed them to circulate hot air from the furnace room to produce what is surely the first under floor heating system!

On the way home we stopped at Stonehenge.  I'm struggling with how to describe it.  Driving up to it, it doesn't seem as big as you might expect but I think it is a bit of an optical illusion because when you are standing next to them - or at least as close as you can get - they really are enormous.  The stone was quarried in Wales and then moved up river to where they are now.  They don't really have any explanation of how the stones got from the river bank, up a really large hill, inland about a mile, and then hoisted into place.  A full 1/3 of the stones are actually underground.  They also don't really know what they were used for...but there are lots of theories.  It is all quite deliberate so there must have been some reason.  I don't think it was to entertain the sheep who graze in the field surrounding the stones...they don't seem particularly interested.

I think the highlight of the trip was actually all the great little pubs we nicked into for a pint.  The local brewery, Abbey Ales (http://www.abbeyales.co.uk/index.asp), brews an excellent pint and they are all hand pulled from the keg.  Just what I have been looking for since I moved here!  My favourite pub was the Salamander (http://www.bathales.com/our-pubs/pid/the-salamander/) where we seemed to wander into some sort of sing-a-long.  I didn't know very many of the songs!  The most interesting one was what I recognized as Raffi's 'Down by the Bay' except in the West Country it is 'Down by the Sea' and it is definitely NOT a children's song.  Unless you are trying to teach your children swear words.

5 Aleimda Street

Sometimes it is a good thing to be a stubborn pig-headed mule of a woman.  Like tonight.  I had to pick up a parcel from my local post office.  Okay, no problem, I have even been there once before to buy a stamp.  It's on Upper Street right across from St Somebody-or-Other's Church.  Except according to the card that is not the place I am supposed to go.  I'm going to 5 Aleimda Street.  At first I was looking for Alameda on the map -- which is a dam in Saskatchewan and not a street in London -- so that wasn't helping.  Once I sorted that little bit out I was able to ascertain that I, in fact, pass Aleimda Street each and every time I walk up to Highbury Islington Station (note to self: look up every once in a while) on my way to and from work.

With this bit of confidence in place, I leave work early -- this was a really good idea as you will soon discover -- and proceed to a street in London and not a dam in Saskatchewan.  I turn onto Aleimda and note that the first place is 32 and then 28.  Excellent.  Not so excellent, I have reached the end of the street and I am only at 14 (a quick check across the street reveals it is only at 13).  There is a very mysterious, and poorly lit, Aleimda Passage at the end.  I can only descibe this as an arch shaped tunnel between/under two townhouses.  I emerge in another street definitely not named Aleimda.  I wander a bit.  You would be surprised how often you are the only person on a street in a city as large as London.  Eventually, I find my way back to Upper Street (which is the street I started on) but a considerable distance south.

The card from the post office most definitely says 5 Almeida Street.  I am now irritated beyond all beleif with the Royal Mail.  I try to phone their "help" line but the automated voice hangs up on me.  Twice.  Grr.  Back up to Aleimda I go -- but this time approaching from the opposite direction.  The first thing I notice is that, while the other side of the street started at 32 and was going down, this side is starting a 1 and going up.  Are you kidding me?  1, 2, 3, 4...6.  WTF.  But there is a very dodgy looking ramp thing hidden between 4 & 6.  No sign indicating that this may lead to a Post Office? Wouldn't there be some lights?  This is just a dark alley-ish path.

But as I stand there wondering if this the kind of spot that Jack the Ripper used to stake out?  A woman with a parcel emerges from the dark path.  So, I ignore my Mom's instructions and head, by myself, down a dimly lit alley in one of the largest cities in the world.  Turns out that is where you find the Post Office in Islington.

Paris

Mom & I at Notre Dame Cathedral

Me at the Eiffel Tower.

Metro sign in the Art Nouveau style...

Bon soir au Paris! Well, actually from London but I just got back from a fabulous weekend in Paris with my Mom.  We popped over on the Eurostar for a three day weekend of art, eating, and joix de vie!  It was a really great time and I am so glad that I have finally been to Paris!  What was I waiting for?

We arrived on Friday morning.  After a small navigational error on my part (whoops!) we landed at the Hotel Britanique.  It was a great little hotel just one street back from the Pont de Neuf over the Seine River.  We made the most of our first afternoon checking out Notre Dame Cathedral.  No lightening strikes to report.  It is an amazing building especially when you realize that it was begun in 1163 and it is still used everyday for mass.  Yikes!

Friday night I arranged for Mom & I to take in a show at the Moulin Rouge.  Some of it was pretty cheesy (for example, I believe that the male dancers started the show in the same suit my Crystal Ken Barbie had in 1985) but on the whole it was actually enjoyable.  The in between musical number bits were the best part: a ventriloquist, a woman who swam with snakes (a giant pool rose out of the dance floor for this), and a Cirque de Soliel inspired couple who did these amazing feats of balance & strength like him triceps pressing her while she was balanced in a handstand in his hands.  I'm thinking normal push-ups aren't so bad after all!  And gentlemen, if you like T&A (don't bother lying), this is a good ruse to get to go to the "ballet" with your significant other.

Saturday was a marathon of culture: Musee d'Orsay, L'Orangerie, the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triumph, the Champs Elysee and A LOT of walking!  Mom was a total trooper.  Pretty much everything on my list of things to see in Paris in one day!  Plus a lovely dinner.  Sunday we continued with a trip to the Carousel de Louvre (the mother of all gift shops...it's own mall) and then onto the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in le Lourvre. Definitely feeling a little arted out at this point.

My highlight would definitely be all of the fabulous Art Nouveau!  It is my absolute favourite period (1890 to 1910ish) and I have only ever seen a few pieces with most of my exposure, until this weekend, being pretty pictures in art books or on-line.  But not anymore!  Paris was at the centre of the Art Nouveau movement and there was so much to see live and in person.  It was absolutely spectacular.  And, I got to see a painting by my favourite artist, Gustav Klimt (which was also the first time I've seen one for real and not in a book).  Even the Metro station signs date back to the Art Nouveau period... c'est magnifique!

Commuting

My very first week of commuting is now complete.  Nobody told me how exhausting it would be!
 
Generally, I have a couple of options.  No matter what it starts with a walk ( ¼ mile to Angel Underground or ½ mile to Highbury/Islington), then one stop on the Underground (Northern or Victoria Line), then a stint on the National Rail Service above ground (Kings Cross or Finsbury Park to Potters Bar) and finally either another walk (1 mile from the Station to the Office) or a trip in the Canada Life Bus (only in service 8-10 and 4-6 every 15 minutes...so depending on your arrival time you either have no choice or are just as well to walk).  The Canada Life Bus, when not servicing the insurance crowd, ferries Nursery School children about town so there is a “naughty” list taped onto the back of the driver’s seat and another list with the kids names and gold stars.  So far I have managed to avoid the naughty list but have been unable to earn any gold stars.  I am really hoping for some gold stars by the end of the year.  Last Thursday I made friends with some of the people on the 5:45 bus departure on the way home...I’m hopeful they are regulars as it was nice to have someone to talk to on the way home!
 
The new neighbourhood continues to delight me.  There are so many great looking restaurants, coffee spots, bakeries, dress shops...I need more spare time! I have also spied on the map that I am (I think) very close to Regent’s Canal so I’m hoping that it proves to be a good running route on the weekends. I really want to eat at this one spot called Ottolenghi (http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/locations/islington/) but it is always lined up out the door.

Tonight on my way home was my first transit through/around/amongst Arsenal Football fans getting to Emirates Field for a game. Yikes! Thank goodness I am a Rider fan as having fought my way from Superstore to Taylor Field was a good warm up. Emirates Field seats just over 60,000 rabid football fans (that would be soccer to you North Americans) and is in the middle of a residential neighborhood accessible only by public transportation or on foot. Yes, citizens of Winnipeg, you read that right. Bomber Stadium isn't so crazy after all, is it? Londoners would swoon with incredulity if they saw the acres of parking spots and nice big streets leading to the new Stadium! If that was even an option here they would pay thousands of £'s a year for the privilege of having a parking spot near a stadium. Until then, they mostly walk from miles around because it is too hard to push your way onto a crowded train on game days.