The Time I Got Bitten by a Bug

In 2005 I was given the chance to travel to the UK.  It was a random happenstance that will probably never happen again - though I'm constantly hoping it will.  I was teaching at the time, and one of the families I was close with traveled a great deal.  They were headed off to London right after Christmas, and wanted someone to go with them to watch the kids a night or 2 so they could have some alone time in the city.  Since the kids were lovely and the family was lovely, I was totally cool with that arrangement.

Seeing as the family would pay for my plane ticket, as well as my hotel, the trip was virtually a no brainer.  That is why I found myself flying to London - completely on my own (they had left before Christmas and I was due to meet them there a few days later.) I've never felt so brave or bold.  There's not much I remember about the flight - 8 hours in a plane next to a snorer so I probably blocked most of it out.  I do remember I read "700 Sundays" by Billy Crystal and proceeded to cry silently over that for at least an hour.  Fun times.

As I'm writing this I'm just realizing I don't even remember anything about Customs or baggage claim (even then I hadn't mastered the ability to only pack using a carry on.)  As someone who's landed at Heathrow twice since, I can't believe I ever found my way out of there onto the Tube and then into a cab.  I get lost in my hometown all the time, and this was a foreign country in a HUGE city.  How am I not still wandering around Heathrow? Blocking all of that out, the very first thing I do remember is the ride in the cab to the flat in Notting Hill.  I managed to call a cab and find the flat all by my lonesome - yet another feat of bravery on my part, even if I do say so myself.

I was amazed at the row of houses on Edgware Road.  This was like no apartment I've ever seen.  When Americans think of apartments, they picture tall buildings not beautiful brownstones.  And yet here I was, on the second floor of a walk-up entering a cute flat where I'd be staying for the next 4 days.  It was Christmas-time.  It was snowing. I was in London. And it was GORGEOUS!

The family never did ask me to watch the kids, even though I offered many times.  We all went out together to see Tower Bridge, the London Eye and do some other sight-seeing. They even gave me time to myself one day.  That's when I discovered wandering around.  I hadn't a clue where I was and I could most definitely not read a map.  So I wandered.  I walked around Carnaby Street and through Picadilly.  I found Fortnum & Mason and bought massive amounts of tea. I walked the Portobello Road market - imagining bumping into Hugh Grant a la Notting Hill the entire time.  I even went into a pub - The Blue Post - and had Bangers and Mash.  It was quite perfect and utterly wonderful.

After 4 days, I left and flew home, alone again as they were headed to see family in another state.  I don't remember anything at all about that flight either.  Though, I'm assuming I slept since that's what I do in any moving vehicle that I'm not driving. It was a quick trip, but it sealed the deal for me.  I would have the travel bug for good now.  And I was bitten by the specific European travel bug - the one that says, why stay in the states when you could visit somewhere more exotic? (I suppose exotic isn't the first word you think of when you think of the UK, but you get the picture.)  

That one small adventure taught me how to travel and how I like to travel - food, shopping, wandering, no set in stone plans, as often as I can- and I'll always be eternally grateful.  

Secretly British

For the last few months, I've been following the tweets of "Very British Problems." It's full of terrifying things that happen on a daily basis to Brits and it's fairly hilarious!  This one is my favorite because I've totally done this before!  Anyway, I know in Britain that they also have a television show that goes along with the account, full of British people talking about their problems.  But I didn't know that it would come to American Netflix.  

You can probably guess what I've been doing the last 2 nights.  I love it!  It's way too funny and it's the perfect accompaniment to crafting.  I enjoy it immensely more than I probably should.  However, I also get just a little creeped out.  They tend to pick on us Americans quite a bit.  That's not why I'm creeped out though - we totally deserve it.  I totally side with the Brits rather than my fellow Americans in every single instance.  No, I get creeped out because I've become even more certain that I'm actually British and everyone around me has just hidden that fact for the last 33 years.  

Here's a list of the things that they've described as "Very British" that I do on a daily basis.

~ Never reclining your seat on an airplane because it's just rude to the person behind you.  I absolutely refuse to do this.

~ Getting physically ill thinking about having to haggle the price of something. - Just give me a price.  Even if it's ridiculous, I'll probably buy it from you since I've wasted your time asking for the price already.

~ Going James Bond on vacation trying to avoid people that want to be your new best friends and want to talk your ears off. - Please leave me alone.  I'm awkward enough at home, let alone while on the beach.

~ Saying the words "I'm sorry" incessantly, even if you've done absolutely nothing wrong. - I often apologize when someone bumps me with their shopping cart or if someone is in my way.

~ Explaining your gifts to people just so they know you've actually put thought into it and then apologizing if they don't seem to like it.

~ The complete inability to take a compliment with grace.  - I have no idea what to say when someone compliments me.  I flush, and mumble a thank you or wave it off with a "Oh, it's nothing really."

And this is just 3 episodes in.  I've got 5 more to watch.  I can't imagine how many more similarities I'll find.  Do you think the UK would grant me citizenship on these traits alone?

Throwback Thursday

This time last year I was preparing to see David Tennant on the stage of the RSC in Richard II.  In other words I was pretty darn happy.  I had just arrived in Stratford upon Avon and had just fallen in love with the quaint little town.  I had eaten at the Dirty Duck and enjoyed my first Sticky Toffee Pudding.  I was pretty much high on all things Shakespeare.  

Tell me again, why I'm not there now...

Throwback Thursday

Thinking of all the Scots tonight on this historic day.  I usually spend most of my time wishing I was in the UK, but today more than ever, I wish I was there in Edinburgh seeing the sites and hearing the discussion.  87% of Scottish citizens showed up to vote in the independence referendum.  How awesome is that?  When was the last time that 87% of Americans did anything?  Whether they vote yes or know, it's surely (as one Brit said today on Twitter), a dazzling display of democracy!

PS: As of this moment, only one district's votes are in and the vote was No.  Of course, there are so many more to go.  Is it wrong, that I'm watching this more closely than the last presidential election? : )

Wishful Wednesday

Between everything that seems to be exploding here in the states this week and having to help so many guys with expense reports for England travel this month, I've been craving some London time like nobody's business.  I mean, it's a pretty much regular occurrence for me to want to be living across the ocean.  But this week, I can almost taste that British air.  I know that they're probably just as manic and full of issues as we are here in the US, but it's just so very different over there.  While they have scandal and corruption, they've seemed to deal with it just a bit better than we do; not to mention, a bit more civilized.  

I know that it's just under a year until I'm back there again, but is it too soon to start counting down the days?

A Curious Rave

I had planned to talk about how wonderful Boston was today. But I'd forgotten I was seeing this in DC this evening.  So seeing that there's so much to love about Beantown, and the fact that my alarm will be going off in approximately 4 hours, Boston Best will definitely need to wait until tomorrow.  

However, I need to say that this production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. The creative team behind it and the actors in it deserve any all awards thrown their way!

London Lit Love

I'm a big fan of cities doing fun things all around town.  A few years ago, Baltimore got in on the act with some super cute crab statues decorated by different organizations with different themes.  In the past year, Annapolis had some fun too with bird statues popping up all over the place.(I can't say why they picked birds though.  Crabs I get in Maryland, but birds?)

But leave it to London to knock everyone else out of the park.  They've chosen to decorate benches that look like open books with children's book characters. (They have other non-children's books too, but the kids lit's are just too adorable!)  How cute is that?  It's perfect for a city and country so ingrained with all things literature to celebrate the best in books.  I have to say, I knew there was a reason London has always had my heart.  (But really?  No Harry Potter?!)

My personal favorite

Wishful Wednesday

Edinburgh is a beautiful city.  Even though it was cold, dark and dreary, you could just feel the history on every cobblestone street and in every Georgian building.  I didn't get a chance to see much when I was there, so I'm frequently wishing I was back walking the streets, but never more so than this week.  The Edinburgh Literary Festival starts quite soon. A whole month of great literature, and amazing writers.  It's a reader's mecca and it's all going down in one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world.  Who wouldn't wish they were there right now?

Wishful Wednesday

On a dreary May Wednesday while I'm stuck in an unexplained funk, I go to my happy place.  The place I live when I day dream about the future.   It's perfect in almost every way. I love London and it will always have my heart. 

NT Live: Take Two

As you can see, I'm kind of loving the whole importing of British theatre.  The first I saw was "The Audience" through National Theatre Live so I kind of assumed all of the performances would kind of follow the same format.  In this case, 3.5 hours including a host, 30 minutes of previews, 15 minutes of countdown to interval, 15 minutes of interval interviews all on top of the actual show. Imagine my surprise when I saw "Richard II" through the Royal Shakespeare Company, and there was no host, no fancy previews and no interval countdown, in other words, parred down and perfect!  

I was sort of hoping for the parred down version this time around for Coriolanus, but not so much.  Aside from the formatting issues and the terrible seats (apparently, Loki as Coriolanus was quite a big draw for the geek girl crowd), the show itself was magnificent!  It was harsh to say the least, with quite a bid of fake blood (whoever thought dowsing their lead with fake blood and making him recite Shakespeare for most of the first act was a good idea, is a particular kind of evil) but the actors were fantastic.  I wasn't a fan of The Avengers so I didn't really get the appeal of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, but after seeing him in this, I have to say he's unbelievably talented and deserves all the raves he's getting.  And of course Mark Gatiss was superb as well, as I expected.  As for the theatre itself, it's set in an old warehouse and only seats 250 so the stage is intimate and sparse.  What they managed to do with some paint, and concrete on this tiny little stage, was pretty impressive.  Apparently, Coriolanus is usually performed in a much bigger arena seeing as most of the action takes place in the Roman Senate, but after seeing it on such a small scale, I can't imagine seeing it any differently.

Bravo National Theatre! Even though, you seem to be a bit long-winded, I can't wait until the next production!  

Friday Five

1. Who doesn't love a good cupcake?  I have to say that the best in Maryland (and outside of Maryland too, in my opinion) are from Kupcakes and Co. in Elkridge.  I'm usually partial to Elvis (Banana, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips - Yum!) but that wasn't the special today so I opted for Hot Chocolate which was chocolate with marshamallow icing.  I have a feeling it's a special just for winter which is a real shame because it's just become my favorite! I'll need at least another dozen before the season ends...Absolutely delicious!

2. As a Harry Potter Fan, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Disney World, has been on my radar for a while.  But I'm not a huge fan of Disney World in general (ridiculous I know) so I haven't really felt the need to get down there too quickly.  However, after the unveiling of the new plans for this summer, I'm super ready to hop on a plane.  The best part is, I'd only need a weekend to get it all done.  It's most definitely on the itinerary for next summer or spring.   I can't even imagine how they're planning to recreate Leicester Square in central Florida but I can't wait to see it!

3. You just have to love Brit award shows!  Their winners just seem so much more heartfelt in their speeches and well-spoken than ours ; )

          

          
4 & 5.  There have been 2 fairly ridiculous things that have made me laugh like a fool this week.  Neither should be as funny as I think they are, but I hope others at least get a giggle. The first is the list of the 30 Naughtiest Puppies. (Whoever created Dog Shaming should receive a substantial award.  I can't help but laugh every time I see those photos!)  And the second is the Bad Lip Reading of the NFL.  (I have no idea how in the world these people make these videos, but they are perfect on every level.)

Bigger, Better and in 3D

I was hoping to see TARDIS-es in Fezzes wearing converse pointing Sonic Screwdrivers, possibly eating jelly babies.  What I got wasn't Comic Con level of geekdom but it was still pretty cool nonetheless.  There were a few TARDIS-es, a great deal of bow ties and brainy specs, even some super long scarves.  It was, in a word, awesome!  

Going into the 3D screening of The Day of the Doctor, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I've seen all sorts of crazy fandom celebrating in all sorts of ways over the weekend, but Columbia MD, isn't really the sort of place that happens.  So I was cautiously optimistic that we wouldn't be the only ones in the theatre.  Turns out I needn't have worried.  The production was completely Sold Out and there were lines everywhere full of costumes and people cracking geeky jokes just waiting to see the film.

During the movie was even better.  Everyone gasped at the same time, and laughed at the same things and even hooted and hollered for the same reasons.  It was unlike any movie experience I've ever had before. Everyone in that theatre really wanted to be there and were filled with the exact same excitement as everyone else.  It was fun to be a part of that community for a short time.  It's much different than watching it on my own, on my couch.  It was brilliant and fantastic on Saturday but everything surrounding it this go around made it 10 times better.

This time around there were extras as well.  Strax doing the rules and regulations for the film watching experience was genius.  The joke in the Doctor's (or should I say Doctors'?) introduction was brilliant and pure Steven Moffat.  And the behind the scenes featurette narrated by yet another doctor was fun and the perfect ending to a perfect evening.  

All I have to say is they really need to make this birthday thing a yearly event.  We all celebrate ours yearly, the doctor should too, if only for our enjoyment!  

Wibbly-Wobbly Wonderful & Timey-Wimey Terrific!

If you've seen Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or pretty much any media this week, you've noticed that today is the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who.  As such the entire world got the chance to watch the special episode together.  You could say I was pretty excited about seeing it.  I've been waiting for months since they announced who would be coming back.  After all the previews that were released this week, I was sure it would be a bit of a letdown seeing as most of the episode had been released already.  

Well, I'm delighted to report that it was most definitely not a let down and will stand as the best hour and a half of television I've ever seen. I've been smiling from ear to ear since it went off and I'm not quite sure I breathed through the whole darn thing ; ) It was magical and fantastic and brilliant and perfect in every way!  And even with all the buzz surrounding it, they managed to jam pack it with surprises and easter eggs a plenty.  I'm amazed that these stayed hidden until today.  Here in America, if we ever would have attempted something so huge, these details would have been leaked weeks ago.  

The writing of the episode was spot on; weaving all sorts of funny little side comments with allusions to the past doctors.  The story was straight forward for a change and I therefore understood everything that was happening.  The acting as always was superb.  Seeing Matt Smith (who I've admittedly never been a big fan of as the doctor - He seems perfectly lovely in real life), interact with the Tenth Doctor was a dream come true. Adding John Hurt into the mix, which I thought would bring it down a bit, only added more spark and fun to Doctor-iness of it.  And the fact that they were able to bring so many of the old faces and some new (I almost fell off the sofa when Peter Capaldi's eyes showed up) was such a tribute to what started 50 years ago and the people that made it happen.  I'm sure the die hard fans surely appreciated the care that went into quite a fitting tribute to an utterly brilliant, unique and un-matchable character.

Bravo Doctor Who!  Everyone involved should be very proud of what they've accomplished!


 

Breezy and Bright Books

A few months ago I wrote about the annoyance I had with the lack of British writers being published here in the States.  Luckily, as much as this still bugs me, I was in Great Britain just about a month ago and I was able to remedy this situation by purchasing about a million books that I'd been coveting on Amazon UK.  Most of those books were written by Jenny Colgan. I'd like you to notice that while she's written about a dozen books, only one is available currently on our Amazon. 

After devouring not only Meet Me at the Cupcake Café, which was the first of hers that I had read and the reason I scooped up so many in England, Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop of Dreams, West End Girls & The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris, I'm officially hooked and will read pretty much anything this lovely writer churns out.  I also have Christmas at the Cupcake Café currently resting on my book case - it's being rationed until we get a little closer to Christmas. 

What first drew me to the stories were the recipes.  I'm a sucker for a story that includes the perfect recipe for Chocolate Cake.  The fact that she's able to weave these tales together with some seriously delicious (sounding that is - I haven't been as adventurous yet to actually try them) recipes is pretty impressive.  The other thing she has going for her are the characters.  In most Chick Lit series, if you'll excuse the term, the girls are always flighty, blonde and grumpy until they've met Mr. Right and then they're brilliant, blonde and far from grumpy.  In these stories, each main character is completely different than the last.  They're all flawed and really remind me of me as a 29+1 single person trying to find her Prince Charming.

Of course, all these characters have found their Prince Charming by the end (Spoiler Alert!), so that makes me hate them the tiniest bit, but I can actually see myself being friends with them. (Is that weird?  Do other people think about characters in books like this?  I hope so...) Lastly, it's the England tie-ins that do it for me.  How can you not like a book that takes place in your most favorite place in the whole world?  But she's not content to stick to the same part of the island each time: she moves around to the lesser seen, but no less beautiful places - Chelsea (ok so not lesser seen but you get the idea), a small working town up North, Stoke Newington, and Paris (also not really lesser seen).

Like most things do, seeing parts of England through their eyes, made me all the more envious and  grumpy that I'm here in the States - but in a good way, I promise ; )  Her books are wonderful, funny, breezy and sometimes sad (just finished tearing up over the end of The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris - so don't say I didn't warn you.) and I promise you will love every last page if you are an avid reader or just a sucker for a happy ending!  And if you figure out how to obtain the rest of her canon, please let me know.  It's at least a few months until I get back there and I could really use some more books to add to my reading list.

Book Worm

While cleaning up the purchases and souvenirs from the trip, I decided to see just how bad I was in regards to reading material.  You see, bookstores seemed to be a dime a dozen in the places we visited.  I already have a nose for sniffing out any shops selling anything that even resembles a book or magazine in the general vicinity anyway, however, it's even worse when book stores pop up on every street corner. And of course, since these weren't your average Barnes & Noble, I just had to visit each and every one.  I must admit a bit of a thrill each time I was able to acquire something I knew I wouldn't be able to get here.  Some people experience this same thrill with shoes or the perfect outfit, for me, it's books.

Though I wouldn't recommend purchasing 15 (yes, you read that correctly: 15! - the one I'm currently reading isn't in the stack above) books the next time you're on vacation.  Truth is, they're super fun to purchase and read, but when you schlepping them through the airport, they get very old, very fast!

Thank goodness Blackwell's in Edinburgh "gets" me or those books would still reside in the UK - I hadn't a clue how they were going to get home!

Friday Five: UK Edition

My 5 favorite things about my trip (in no particular order) were:

1. Boating on the Avon: The little ride was only about 40 minutes long, but the space, and the scenery and the gorgeous houses dotted along the little river provided some great photography practice.  It's so green and serene! The captains of the canal boat really knew their stuff.  They were also hilarious and sweet as can be and made the ride a delight.

2. Richard II: How could I not?  The show was the genesis of the whole trip at this time of year in the first place.  Any live theatre is good with me but when given the chance to see such a multi-talented cast perform a classic work, it's hard not to jump up and down and squeal a bit. 

3. Abbey Road: I wasn't really looking forward to this.  Don't get me wrong: I LOVE the Beatles.  But I've seen the webcam on Abbey Road Studios.  Londoners are not kind to those tourists attempting to emulate that album cover.  Now, I'm not saying that someone's not going to get hit by a bus one day, but seeing it was still kind of cool.  The graffiti messages, most of which are quotes from Beatles songs, were pretty special too.  You get the distinct feeling that many, many awesome talents, not just the Beatles, have graced those streets and that studio.

4. The World's End: This may have something to do with finally getting to taste the Sticky Toffee Pudding I'd been waiting for.  Or it could have something to do with the pub being the inspiration for the new Simon Pegg movie of the same name (if only in my mind...but Simon is Scottish so there's a chance).  In any event, it was the quintessential pub to me and Fish & Chips with Sticky Toffee Pudding just sealed the deal.

5. Portobello Road Market: Thousands of people swarming the streets.  Stalls selling jewelry  food, ceramics, spices, and about a thousand other things.  Tourists trying desperately to recreate the classic scenes of Notting Hill.  Everyone up early and basking in the early morning glow of just another weekend morning in Notting Hill.  It's one of those things that everyone does, but it's classic London to me.  Even if I do one day become a jaded city girl, Portobello Road will still be on my weekly agenda, if only to stop by Alice's to pick up some beautiful china at ridiculously good prices.