European Tour 2004 by Titta
So, I went on vacation for the last 2 weeks. I've dubbed these summer trips European tours, because I tend to get around a bit. This time the tour was: Cologne - London / Heathrow-Hounslow-Hammersmith - York - Manchester airport - Cologne.
Cologne turned out to be a bit too hot for me - I was sleepy most of the time even though I did sleep 9 or 10 hours a night. I was 'baby-sitting aunty' for my nephew; didn't get to spend much time with my sister - maybe that's why we got along quite well (or perhaps she didn't dare act hell-bitch so much with mom & dad not around - she knows I have a much lower tolerance than they do).
On Friday, June 11th, I flew into London Stanstead airport (north-east), then made my way across the entire city to Heathrow (south-west), where the Angel convention "Hyperion" was held. Went shopping in Hounslow, but ended up in Hammersmith, because shops in Hounslow didn't meet my expectations.
The con weekend was fun, although I wasn't staying at the con hotel (a long ranty story I won't bore you with). I enjoyed being able to put my clothes and things in drawers instead of living out of the suitcase, and I loved the fact I could spread my things around as I pleased because I was staying by myself. Did miss the late night conversations with roommates, though. As strange as it probably sounds, the highlight of the weekend for me was meeting Andy Hallet's mother. I got to do some 'serious' dancing on Saturday night, and I had a good time stewarding, too. If I can find the energy, I'll do a more detailed post about the actual con.
On Monday after the con, I got up at 8 AM to catch a train to York. York is always lovely, hanging out with my graceful host-three-years-running is always a good time, and there's always some good shopping to be done. Plus Cafe Concerto to visit. This year, we also went to Castle Howard - the sun shone, it was warm and beautiful, and the hordes of peacocks on the estate refrained from attacking me, so it was a good experience. Except that now I want a rose garden - preferably somewhere in England.
My friend also finally succeeded in convincing me that Harry Potter really is must-know pop culture for the 21st century. We watched the first 2 movies on DVD - now I can go see the new one in the movies. I really should get away from my DVDs and video tapes once in a while and go see a movie. I enjoyed the first two, so there's really no reason NOT to go see the new one.
I took the train again to get from York directly to Manchester airport (the rain helped in making me not feel bad about passing through Manchester without stopping) for my flight back to Cologne. I spent a busy day there shopping (my sister wanted to do that) and eating before flying home again. My suitcase was only very, very slightly over the 20 kg weight limit, and nobody paid any attention to my backpack (which was probably over the 5 kg limit). This left me thinking that maybe I could have brought some more stuff home with me...
Also, while I was away, I pretty much succeeded in convincing myself I do need Firefly on DVD. But not until next month, because this month's visa bill is already big enough.