Trains, planes, and home.
Forgive me livejournal, I have neglected to update you and everyone else who reads this of my whereabouts for the past month.
God damn, one month of summer has dissapeared?
Haha.
So I took off on a plane bound for London, England not too long ago. A 7 hour plane ride, with a 3 hour layaway in Atlanta, and a 5 hour time change to be exact. Which gave me plenty of time to read the entire book the Da Vinci Code. An exciting page turner with a stunning conclusion. And let me confess a little something I hate about plane rides. The pillows fucking suck.
Once we arrived in London we immediately boarded a train bound for our 3 star Hilton hotel, a task that became all too familiar to us as the trip progressed. Which led me to discover the first major difference between England and The States: SUV's, Minivans, and Pick-Ups are nowhere to be seen on the streets of England. Mini Coopers, smartcars, bicycles, trains, and fully capable legs are among the modes of transportation used more frequently, an interesting concept which I'm sure saves a ton of gas while at the same time emits less air pollution for people to choke and die on. Anyways, once we were checked in to our hotel it was time to hit the streets with an iPod in the pocket and a camera in hand. The next few days were spent in this way. Trekking through the streets of a bustling city, sharing the sidewalk with business men and women traveling at a much greater speed than I, and immersing myself in the sounds of the city: the accent-infested street corners, the clanking of coffee cups from the dainty corner cafe, the high pitched honking of a car smaller than my empty bed at home, and even the cooing of the billions of pigeons that inhabit London.
But a change in song brings my senses back and the music coming from the white earbuds redirects my focus. And then i succomb to a task i like to call streetography.
Street photography has always fascinated me. I guess I just admire its fleetingness. But I'd be lying through my teeth if I said that was the only reason why I enjoy it.
But nevertheless, I snapped about 300 pictures in 3 days. Famous monuments. Big Ben. Houses of Parliament. London's numerous parks. Changing of the guard. Windsor Castle. Famous streets. Random Londoners. Soccer Hooligans. Double Decker Buses. Small Cafes. The Underground. Train Stations. Statues. Signs. The Thames River. Tower Bridge. Telephone Booths. Art Musuems. Street Artists. Churches. Fountains. Cathedrals. World Cup ads.
I got the pictures I wanted.
Back in the hotel room the TV flashed with episodes of familiar American movies and TV shows as I sat in bed with the book "A Million Little Pieces" open in my lap, a book i was looking forward to reading, but at that moment all I could think about was the day's escapades and the argument I was having with my brother about which British dish tasted better. But all of that didn't matter because England had just won their first World Cup match!, according to BBC News.
And then it was off to Oxford the next morning. By train, of course. Let me give you a little taste of my train-riding music, this seems like an appropriate place. From my playlist:
Earthquakes and Sharks - Brandtson
The Pioneers- Bloc Party
Chocolate- Snow Patrol
Stability- Death Cab for Cutie
Always Love- Nada Surf
Wake Up- The Arcade Fire
Poison Oak- Bright Eyes
Amsterdam- Coldplay
Where To Now St. Peter- Elton John
Take A Picture- Filter
Back To You- Jeffrey Gaines
Pilot- The Notwist
How Soon Is Now?- The Smiths
In The Waiting Line- Zero 7
Fair- Remy Zero
Is It Any Wonder?- Keane
Anyways the remainder of the trip included Oxford University and the surrounding city, the city of Bath and it's breathtaking cathedrals and Roman baths. Train ride to Bristol and Brighton, seaside towns with their own peirs, boardwalks, and beaches with stones rather than sand. Brief visits to other countryside towns with rolling hills and barns and horses strewn throughout like seeds in a watermelon.
And finally back to London where I found myself arriving at a gate just in time for a final boarding call for a flight back to The States. As I walked down the catwalk I heard the last British accent coming from a TV reading back the scores of last nights World Cup matches.
Ughhhh how I love foreign countries.
God damn, one month of summer has dissapeared?
Haha.
So I took off on a plane bound for London, England not too long ago. A 7 hour plane ride, with a 3 hour layaway in Atlanta, and a 5 hour time change to be exact. Which gave me plenty of time to read the entire book the Da Vinci Code. An exciting page turner with a stunning conclusion. And let me confess a little something I hate about plane rides. The pillows fucking suck.
Once we arrived in London we immediately boarded a train bound for our 3 star Hilton hotel, a task that became all too familiar to us as the trip progressed. Which led me to discover the first major difference between England and The States: SUV's, Minivans, and Pick-Ups are nowhere to be seen on the streets of England. Mini Coopers, smartcars, bicycles, trains, and fully capable legs are among the modes of transportation used more frequently, an interesting concept which I'm sure saves a ton of gas while at the same time emits less air pollution for people to choke and die on. Anyways, once we were checked in to our hotel it was time to hit the streets with an iPod in the pocket and a camera in hand. The next few days were spent in this way. Trekking through the streets of a bustling city, sharing the sidewalk with business men and women traveling at a much greater speed than I, and immersing myself in the sounds of the city: the accent-infested street corners, the clanking of coffee cups from the dainty corner cafe, the high pitched honking of a car smaller than my empty bed at home, and even the cooing of the billions of pigeons that inhabit London.
But a change in song brings my senses back and the music coming from the white earbuds redirects my focus. And then i succomb to a task i like to call streetography.
Street photography has always fascinated me. I guess I just admire its fleetingness. But I'd be lying through my teeth if I said that was the only reason why I enjoy it.
But nevertheless, I snapped about 300 pictures in 3 days. Famous monuments. Big Ben. Houses of Parliament. London's numerous parks. Changing of the guard. Windsor Castle. Famous streets. Random Londoners. Soccer Hooligans. Double Decker Buses. Small Cafes. The Underground. Train Stations. Statues. Signs. The Thames River. Tower Bridge. Telephone Booths. Art Musuems. Street Artists. Churches. Fountains. Cathedrals. World Cup ads.
I got the pictures I wanted.
Back in the hotel room the TV flashed with episodes of familiar American movies and TV shows as I sat in bed with the book "A Million Little Pieces" open in my lap, a book i was looking forward to reading, but at that moment all I could think about was the day's escapades and the argument I was having with my brother about which British dish tasted better. But all of that didn't matter because England had just won their first World Cup match!, according to BBC News.
And then it was off to Oxford the next morning. By train, of course. Let me give you a little taste of my train-riding music, this seems like an appropriate place. From my playlist:
Earthquakes and Sharks - Brandtson
The Pioneers- Bloc Party
Chocolate- Snow Patrol
Stability- Death Cab for Cutie
Always Love- Nada Surf
Wake Up- The Arcade Fire
Poison Oak- Bright Eyes
Amsterdam- Coldplay
Where To Now St. Peter- Elton John
Take A Picture- Filter
Back To You- Jeffrey Gaines
Pilot- The Notwist
How Soon Is Now?- The Smiths
In The Waiting Line- Zero 7
Fair- Remy Zero
Is It Any Wonder?- Keane
Anyways the remainder of the trip included Oxford University and the surrounding city, the city of Bath and it's breathtaking cathedrals and Roman baths. Train ride to Bristol and Brighton, seaside towns with their own peirs, boardwalks, and beaches with stones rather than sand. Brief visits to other countryside towns with rolling hills and barns and horses strewn throughout like seeds in a watermelon.
And finally back to London where I found myself arriving at a gate just in time for a final boarding call for a flight back to The States. As I walked down the catwalk I heard the last British accent coming from a TV reading back the scores of last nights World Cup matches.
Ughhhh how I love foreign countries.