yak

Summer in the U.K.

It's been a while since I posted an entry. You can blame it on the weather making me hang out outside and travel, etc. It's lovely here in London during the summer. Much better than the 100 degrees (F) in Texas! The mornings are cool and the afternoons are warm. Today is one of those days.

The last time I wrote was in June. I've left an entire months worth of activities unrecorded. Let me try to recap the last few weeks so we can all stop wondering what I've been up to.

What has happened since June 24? Greece won the Eurocup. I think that was _very_ unexpected. Oh, now I remember. It's not just the wonderful summer weather that is keeping me from writing... I've been in Knowsley for the past 4 weeks! Weekdays in Knowsley and weekends in London. To get to Knowsley, take a Virgin train from London Euston station to Liverpool Lime Street station. Then take a 15 minute taxi ride from Liverpool to Knowsley. I'd like to call Knowsley the armpit of UK. If you ask anyone in the know, Knowsley is rated the poorest city in the UK. Poorest city probably means cheap property. So, large businesses have big offices there. In the evenings, if I get out in time, we would take a taxi into Liverpool and eat somewhere in the city center or out in Albert Dock. Albert Dock is where the Beatles Museum is. You can even take tours that show you places like Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. I have not been fortunate enough to spend quality time in Liverpool yet.

The second weekend in July, I went to Frankfurt. I needed to be out of the UK for at least 48 hours for work permit processing, and my friend Jon was going to be in Frankfurt for work. So, it was nice to make a trip to a new city. My passport is filling up. I don't have much to say about Frankfurt. There was the Maritim Hotel with a dry sauna and pool, big train station in the middle of the city, and the U ban where no one checked your ticket. I was so impressed with myself getting around in the U ban. My German is minimal. I suppose once you know how to get around in the London Underground. All underground systems seem second nature.

The main train station in Frankfurt.

Two weeks ago, we went to Brighton with Melissa, James, and their visiting friend. None of us had been to Brighton before, so this was our first adventure together. Brighton is about a 45-minute train ride south of London, at the southern coast of the island. The day was nice, part cloudy, part sunny. However, with the winds and no warmth from the sun, goose-bumps start forming when you're down at the rocky beach. Funny enough, there are still people getting into the water. Brrrrr.

Last weekend, we went to see "Jerry Springer, the opera". It's a musical-slash-opera that makes fun of the JS show. The TimeOut magazine has it rated as one of the top musicals. I got bored after the first half hour, which was full of opera-type music with typical words that you'd hear from a JS show. I am amazed at how the actors/actresses keep a straight face. It's so funny. But after the first half hour, all the "jokes" were the same and were performed with the same delivery. So, I got bored. Plus, there was no A/C! Actually, most of the theatres are quite old and do not have A/C. So, after that sweating evening, I decided no more shows until the fall. The next night, we went to watch Fahrenheit 911 at the movies because they have the A/C at a comfortable temperature.

Cheers and stay cool!

Posted by oneray at August 6, 2004 8:55 AM