heat wave???

apparently, we are experiencing a heat wave in london...one of the hottest stretches in years...in years! its was the hottest day of the year if not in several years today...32 degrees Celsius = 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit...

this is certainly not hot for chicago standards...far from it...but for london, the city with very little residential and public transport air conditioning...its freakin' hot...its an absolute roast in our flat right now...no air conditioning generally exists in homes across london...cause there is no point as it stays in the very comfortable 70s most summers...on the tube which has no airconditioning of course, i think the air temperature hits over the 110s on the lines furthest underground...you step in and the dead stale heat just hits you...like stepping into a dry, smelly sauna...its worse during rush hour because its packed and everyone is wearing professional attire...resulting in lots of sweaty professionals arriving in the office...there is nothing better than showering to go to work, then sweating profusely before you even sit at your desk...the heat on the tube has led me to do away with the obligatory white undershirt...just go skin to collared shirt...commando baby!

poor gus though...he is overheating as i type this at almost midnight here...doesn't know what to do with himself...if only fur could sweat.

Mr. Rude in Amsterdam...

okay...so, this food apparently originated in belgium (we had our fair share when we visited belgium)...but belgium and the netherlands are basically the same thing!!! anyways, this is apparently the national snack...FRENCH FRIES WITH MAYO! check out the size of the large order we purchased at this store window (basically, the size of a bouquet of flowers)...it's absolutely ridiculous...and yes, that is a whole lot of mayo...kinda gross actually...i had to dump out some mayo cause we couldn't even get to the fries!

anyways, this is what wonderful wiki says...is this really true? if so, then i never knew!

"A Belgian legend claims that the term "French" was introduced when British or American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I, and consequently tasted Belgian fries. They supposedly called them "French", as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time. Whether or not Belgians invented them, "frites" became the national snack, making the Belgians their largest per capita consumers in Europe and their "symbolic" creators."

ultimately, this is the only "tame" picture I could take of Mr. Rude in Amsterdam...cause if you know anything about Amsterdam, then you know that nothing there is PG-13...actually, nothing there is even rated below R either...

droopy-eyed high...

say that three times fast...tongue twister yo.

hi from amsterdam...

we are all here...logging into the free hotel computer in the executive lounge.

hi pa!

the day we hit THE Queue...

apparently, its the self-proclaimed, most famous queue (that's what they call a waiting line here in the sporting world...the wimbledon queue...okay...you can view the wimbledon website to read all about The Queue...its massive...its so structured that they actually hand out a fancy brochure when you get in line on how to queue in The Queue...

if you don't already know, getting tickets to wimbledon is pretty tough...they don't really go on sale on line...you basically have to write in about 8 months in advance to join this lottery to have the opportunity to buy tickets...which we joined 8 months ago, but obviously did not win...

so, we queued it up biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiatch!!!

Basically, every single day during the tournament, you are able to stand in line to get either premium tickets (centre, #1, #2 courts) or ground tickets...the fact that Wimbledon offers this led to many crazies waiting in line overnight in unorganized fashion to get first dibs on this tickets...at which point Wimbledon (many many years ago) decided to get it all organized so that it was all polite and proper, in that british sort of way...

so, they only offer 500 premium tickets to the first 500 people in line...meaning you have to be there personally to gain entry...therefore, understandably, more than 500 people camp out overnight in appointed grounds to get these tickets...every single day for the better part of two weeks this occurs (we definitely saw a good amount of people brushing their teeth in the morning and with bed head...and smelled them too)...

anyways, premium tickets...nah...we weren't this crazy...

we just wanted ground tickets which they offer to the first 5,000 people...after the first 5,000, entry is given only on a "one person leaves, one person enters" basis...ground tickets basically give you access to courts 3 through 19...which is fine because there are obviously many good players and matches to see...

tickets didn't go on sale until 930am...so, since the tube wasn't running to wimbledon until 530...we decided to just go at that time (we were a little late of course) cause taking a cab would be too much...we got to The Queue at approximately 615am...at which point they give you a Queue Card which establishes your place in line...so that there are no line jumpers/cutters...if you don't have a Queue Card, you can't buy tickets...simple as that...so, you can't save anybody a place in line or anything...gotta wake up!

now, here is a picture of my queue card...look at the number...number 2,066! so, at 615 in the morning, there were already 2,065 people in front of me in line...but we were well within the 5,000...so, we definitely got in...however, by the time 930 rolled around, there had to be way way more than 5,000 people in line...cause the end of the line never stopped growing since we arrived...it was certainly a long day...we got there at 615am...play didn't start until NOON!!! but it was well worth it in the end (despite the three of us all getting sunburn...who knew that it would be an absolutely sunny hot day here in london!) anyways, we were able to push our way into SECOND ROW seats on court 3...right behind the players chairs!!! we stayed there for a women's and a men's match...pretty good players...then we started wandering around the grounds to check out other matches...have some grub...have some pimms and lemonade...have some strawberries and cream (wimbledon specialty) an d of course by souvenirs...

it was a great day and i am beat...

btw...i ran 5 miles when we got back home tonight...gotta keep up with marathon training...booya!

one...

so, today is our one year anniversary here in london...the pics are from my work permit page...i have no clue why the work permit has "xes" printed on it four times...is that really necessary?

Mr. Rude in Edinburgh...

this is mr. rude with a "wee taste of haggis"...that's what it actually said on the menu...it was an appetizer in this nice ol' pub in edinburgh...none of us were adventurous enough to try the full main haggis dish so we chickened out and just had the taster to share...it tasted alright actually...but a wee lil' taste was enough for me...

this is what wiki says about haggis..."Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours."

yum yum yummy in my tum tum tummy...

let there be light!!!

ok...a little dramatic...anyways, i'm sure i wrote about this before...but its pretty cool how late the sun goes down here...for those that don't know, london is actually further north than the tip of Maine...so, although it blows in the winter time when the sun goes down before 4pm...its absolutely awesome in the summer when the sun doesn't set until around 1030pm...i was walking home today at 1015, and just looked up and just saw the light blue haze on the horizon...pretty sweet...

when we were in edinburgh last weekend, which is 5 hours train ride north of here, the sun went down well past 11pm...and it never actually seemed to go down...because the sky just had that light blue haze on it the whole time...until it came back up at like 4am...so, it really just stayed under the horizon...

i can't imagine being up in scandinavia where the sun apparently stays up until the wee hours of the morning...or further north where its always sunny around the clock...granted, it stinks when its always dark around the clock in the winter season...but, let's not think about that...

great cookies...

i was looking through some pics and ran into this one that i've forgotten about...when we were in madrid, we remembered to get these cookies that a friend of ours bought us on a visit to spain a long time ago...apparently, these cookies are pretty popular over there...they come in a few flavors...they are shaped like mini donuts...so, i went into a grocery store in madrid, and whaddayaknow, they are prominently displayed in the cookie aisle...so, if anybody has seen these sold anywhere else other than in spain (cause i've never seen them in the motherland)...do let me know!

thanks mr and mrs plate eyes for visiting...

we really enjoyed having you guys over...
p.s. i don't think sunglasses are supposed to cover your eyebrows like that...

heading back from edinburgh...

on the train...4.5 hour ride...about 2 hours into it right now...free wi-fi on the national express...pretty sweet...the countryside is absolutely beautiful...especially when we were heading from edinburgh to newcastle as we were right along the seaside...the train was right along the cliffs...very picturesque...pretty weird seeing herds of sheep in fields right along the cliffs...one wrong step, and your donzo sheepos...too bad pictures from the train ain't so great...plus, m was snoozing, so i didn't have her expertise with the nice camera...

anyways, short post here, but i promise to post more this week as i know i didn't post much last week...

run forrest...run...

so, i did my long run for the week today...since we are heading to edinburgh this weekend and i can't guarantee having enough time to run 10 miles...since the tube is in strike, i decided to kill two birds with one stone and ran home from work...it alleviates having to take the packed bus and saves time going home and changing...

so, i brought my running clothes to work...changed...and off i went...the trip home is just under 5.5 miles and i have to run through the west end...it is pretty weird running home because i pass by so many sights...ran along the thames...passed the london eye, big ben, parliament, then ran up and passed buckingham palace...and ran through st. james park, green park, hyde park, and finally kensington gardens...its definitely a surreal experience despite living here for a year now...i'll definitely miss this place...

the Geri-Vest phenomenon...

you are probably wondering what i'm talking about...well, after going on all these trips in europe, i've found this piece of clothing that every senior citizen seems to own...i call it the Geri-Vest (if you don't know why I call it that, then please add a "atric" after Geri)...anyways, as you can see, its this khaki vest that appears to be a fisherman's vest that has all these pockets...which is exactly what the elderly tourist needs...it keeps you warm...its versatile...somewhat stylish looking...it matches everything in the wardrobe...and there you have it...THE GERI-VEST...

anyways, i took all eight of those shots above spending about 45 total minutes actively looking for the Geri-Vest while in Prague...they are absolutely everywhere...but primarily in large, slow-walking tourist groups...i remember being in other cities and just seeing Geri-Vests lining the streets as far as the eye can see...

I wear my black northface vest a lot when i go on trips...which makes me believe i am well on my way to wearing a Geri-Vest when i pass the ripe ol' age of 60...

Pa, do you want one then? hahahahahaha...

immature fun with german...

i just couldn't help myself...i took pictures of the following signs in a 10 minute time span while walking in vienna...

he makes complete sense...oddly enough...

so, i was flipping through the pages of the paper recently and came across this article about this guy that is on a mission to visit every Starbucks in the world. Apparently, he has been doing this for years and is very well-known in coffee drinking circles (I don't drink coffee so never heard of him) and has been chronicled in various documentaries and articles in the past...

anyways, he has visited over 9,000 stores in the past dozen years...spending an absolute fortune on travel. The article was basically stating how Starbucks has begun shutting stores down over the last couple of years...which has clearly put a huge obstacle to this guy's mission. If he hears of a store closing, he apparently books a ticket immediately to visit it (on weekends or vacations of course because he has a real job as a software programmer)...

he was quoted as saying "if the store closed before I visited, I would lose another piece of my soul"...clearly, this statement makes one believe that he is absolutely bonkers. They say he has "mildly" obsessive-compulsive tendencies and has a "mild" addition to coffee...uhm...YA THINK!

anyways, this is where the guy makes complete sense to me...when people (including his parents) question him on why he is wasting his time doing this...he stated...

"People should be out doing something rather than just existing and surviving. Even if you think that what I'm doing is meaningless, it is a purpose, at least."

i'd be interested to sit down for a cup of coffee with this guy...