No theatre

I've been in the UK for more than a week now. I wasn't blogging much because it is a business trip...working long days, and because I've been here many times and will probably return.

This is my first trip to London in a very long time where I haven't seen any shows. I'm pretty sad about that because I love theatre. It just didn't work out this time. I could possibly go tonight but I've been sick since before I arrived aand I think I should rest because I am not going home yet.

Las Vegas June 2011

Family trip to Vegas. It was short but memorable.
Sun
Pool
Shopping
Cirque du Soleil "O" at Bellagio
Sleep
Sun
Tequila
Pool
Tequila
Sun
Shopping
Celine Dion
Champagne
Pool
Sun
Tequila
Great food
Excellent people watching
Sun
Bellagio Fountain
Sore feet
Great laughs with my cool cousin Kerry

Arles Amphitheatre

Arles Amphitheatre - in “the book.”

It is pretty easy to find a huge coliseum / amphitheater / arena in a small French town. Arles has many Roman ruins, but the coliseum is the main feature. And…the ruins are in a compact area thereby limiting the amount of walking required.

The coliseum is being restored, but it is in really good shape considering its age. I am so amazed at what people built thousands of years ago without the technology we have today. The coliseum has many creepy, dark alcoves and hiding spots. I would not want to be there in the dark.

The other impressive ruin in Arles is the Ancient Theatre. The stage is now very modern, but most of the seating is original. Lying around the area are some of the original columns and other artifacts from Roman times.

Arles is also known as the city where Vincent van Gogh lived and worked near the end of his life. He apparently painted many of his masterpieces here, but the local museum does not have any original art; so we skipped it. Van Gogh was living in Arles when he went mad and cut off his ear.

We visited a local cathedral. It is not an ornate cathedral – pretty plain actually – except for the beautiful stained glass. One section of the cathedral contains boxes with remains. I saw a skull. I could have skipped this part.

London 13 March

Back in London - yeah!!

I am staying at a different hotel this time and I love it. The location is awesome - I can see the London Eye and Big Ben from my window. I can walk to the offices of three clients - BIS, Parliament and DECC.

I spent the afternoon walking, which included a wander through Trafalgar Square, past Parliament and Westminster Abbey. I had afternoon tea at my hotel. I like afternoon tea!

I saw Private Lives at the Vaudeville theatre. This is a Noel Coward play that I've seen before. It was awesome! It is a comedy, and was very funny. It starred Kim Cattrall and a British actor that I hadn't heard of before.

The worst part of the day - a few body parts STILL hurt from skiing in Vail two weeks ago. I couldn't walk as much as I wanted because I have a sore knee and ankle. I guess I better take it easy....but that is hard because there is always lots to see in the city - even stuff I've seen before is fun to see again.

London 10 November 2009

I had a little time today to spend at the Tate Modern. Awesome art!

The highlight of the day:

London theatre......


.....wait for it....

Phantom of the Opera

Enough said.

London 7 November 2009

I love London. I always find new adventures.

I forgot my umbrella. It didn't start raining until 10 pm, and I was pretty much done for the day. I'm still hopeful for good weather the rest of the trip so I won't need to buy one.

I also forgot my camera, so these blog posts will be sans pictures. Or...I could steal pics from the Internet. I've been known to do that.

Sadly, I didn't get as much done today as I planned. I have been unable to get my BB connected to UK's local mobile phone network. I'm sure I got more frustrated than I should have been, but I am here alone; so it was important to me that I can easily connect with people back home.

The highlight of the day was going to the theatre. I bought the ticket before I left, and because I was a single I got a great seat. I was 5th row - dead center. I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's. I really enjoyed the play. It is different than the movie.

I've had season tickets to the Guthrie for ~ 10 years. I see lots of plays. I've only seen one play at the Guthrie that had any nudity - Six Degrees of separation.

Breakfast at Tiffany's had male and female nudity - and I had a great seat. I think Europeans have a different - more open - attitude toward nudity.

"Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act" Truman Capote.

Good day, good day! Now I need to try and get to sleep. It is 5 pm at home, but I need to sleep now.

UK January 1989

I can't believe it has been 20 years since my first trip outside of the US. I went with 19 other girls (strangers) on a college trip during J-term. We spent the whole month of January in the UK.




Sadly, I flew to London one week after Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Scotland. Yep, I was scared, but I still went.

Here are the highlights of what I can remember

First week was spent in London; weeks two and three in Leicester; and 4th week back in London.

First meal was horrible - fried veal patty and peas. (What is with their obsession with peas? There are like 10 other vegetables that I actually like - peas is not one of them.) I didn't eat again for 2 days - when I found a KFC.

We went as a group to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels, to Buckingham Palace, to watch Les Miserables, and to Windsor Castle. (All places in "the book" are colored.)

We took a bus from London to Warwick Castle, to Oxford and then to Stratford-upon-Avon. A cute, ancient man took us on a tour of the oldest library in the world at Oxford. We saw Shakespeare's wife's home in Stratford and then watched the Tempest at Shakespeare's theatre. I also saw his grave.

I vaguely remember stopping at other places too - like the place where Lady Godiva rode naked on her horse.

We then spent two weeks in Leicester - this was the real learnin' part of the trip. All 20 of us girls were placed in the local schools and we lived with local families. I really liked my family. I got to be friends with another girl (Belle) who was placed in the same school and lived with a family on the same street.

I remember taking a tour of a local radio station. They even interviewed a few of the girls. (Not me - I am too shy.) Our radio station guide played a song for us and said the "singers" were going to be HUGE in the US in the next 6 months. It was Milli Vanilli. He was right - they were huge - but we all know how that ends.

I spent one weekend in York. I only remember going to the Railway museum.

I spent the next weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland (new country). That was an interesting experience for a college-aged girl from the US. We arrived before noon on Saturday. There were already lots of drunk men wearing skirts (kilts) who were more than happy to show us young American girls what they had - or didn't have - under their kilts. We stayed at the local youth hostel - another first for me - and last. I did visit Edinburgh Castle.

And we looked for the Loch Ness monster.

I don't remember much about the last week in London. I was pretty homesick by this time. I took the tube (subway) to Wimbledon, but was disappointed when I couldn't see anything from the station.

I have no idea where to find my pictures from this trip.

New York

Another big state that I've visited many times. Let's start with "the book" - 10 entries and I've been to 4.

The Adirondacks
NYC
Historic Downtown New York
Museum Mile

My most recent trip was April 2007. It was Andy and Jill's first trip to NYC. Highlights from that trip:

American Museum of Natural History
Central Park (it snowed a bit)
Empire State Building
Rockefeller Center
Times Square
Seeing Rent on Broadway