euroSlurve

Photos from London »

It always surprises me how expensive London is. Most of it can be blamed on our weak, measly dollar (1 pound = $2) but still, it’s almost laughable how much it costs to do stuff here. Just the other night we paid $16 US to take the subway two stops. $16! That’s just nutty. Pints of beer are pretty ‘cheap’, though. They end up being around the same price as a pint in NYC. But often they’re warm. If you want a cold one, you need to specifically order one of the ‘extra cold’ brews.

London is pretty much the polar opposite of Cornwall, so it’s been tough adjusting to the busy and expensive lifestyle here. We’ve spent most of our time here exploring neighborhoods, taking photos and stopping in at pubs and cafes. We bought London Underground travel cards yesterday with Rich and Jenny and used the heck out of them. We took about six or eight tube rides and hit all corners of the city. The weather’s been real nice so we also spent a bit of time sitting outside at Hyde Park. The four of us found a good people-watching spot and sat down and smoked Cuban cigars we bought for 50p each ($1). Well, Rich and I did. Jamie and Jenny watched and made fun of us.

Anyway, Rich and Jenny just left for Heathrow so Jamie and I plan to spend the day relaxing in the park (it’s nice out again) and reading the paper. We also plan on catching a little football this afternoon (Everton-Middlesborough) and enjoying a traditional Sunday roast dinner at a pub somewhere. Laters.

Price of a cold pint: $5.50

Price of a cup of tea with milk: $2.50

Coming to the realization that you’re enjoying these beverages in a gay pub in London with your wife, your brother-in-law and his wife: Priceless.

Really, there are. And I have photos to prove it. As I was reading tour books in preparation for this trip, there was mention of Cornwall being the “Riviera of England”, I thought they were just joking around — like the Welsh with their language.

Well, they’re not. There are actually palm trees here and the scenery is similar to stuff we saw in Hawaii a few years ago. I know, it’s crazy. Everyone settle down. It’s not exactly tropical, but it’s green and lush and filled with palm trees and rainbows. The weather is pretty similar too. It’ll rain a few times an hour, for about five minutes. It’s not even worth taking out an umbrella. They call it “Cornish Liquid Sunshine” here.

We spent a large part of today exploring the towns of Falmouth and St Mawes. We also ate a lot (no really, A LOT) of food and drank decent Cornish beer. By day’s end, we concluded that we had been in five different eating establishments over the course of the day. I’m not quite sure how that happened and I don’t look forward to next month’s Visa bill.

OK, so what’s the best way to look like a stupid American tourist? I found out this afternoon at a cafe in Falmouth when the cafe owner had to pick coins out of my open hand because I couldn’t figure out which ones to give him. That’s amateur stuff there. Bush league. I might as well of had a “Bush/Cheney - 4 more years!” t-shirt on.

OK, enough. We’ll be traveling to Newquay tomorrow to board a Ryanair flight to London, where we’ll meet up with Rich and Jenny. (For those who don’t know, Rich is Jamie’s brother. He likes beer too. Much more than me, even. And he has lots of hair.)

Talk to you more from Londontowne. Cheers.

We’ve just pulled into Falmouth in Cornwall after a five hour train ride from Cardiff. It was a long ride, but it was nice to relax on the train and stare out the window at the scenery. The landscape in these parts is amazing. Lots of green hills, cows and sheep and stuff. It’s pretty much the complete opposite of where we woke up this morning (in urban, cosmopolitan Cardiff).

Falmouth is a small fishing village waaaay the heck down in the southwest corner of England. We just walked through the town center on the way to the B&B from the train station (with our packs on) for about 25 minutes and it’s ridiculously beautiful and quaint. It’s loaded with tea shops, cafes, pasty shops and pubs. We’re planning on exploring tonight and all day tomorrow. Apparently there are other villages located nearby (on the other side of the bay) that are reachable by boat, so we’ll probably head over there as well.

OK, it’s time to clean up and find some fish and chips. Laters.

Photos from Wales!

We’ve made it to Cardiff, Wales. Or as they call it, Gaerdydd Cyrmu. We arrived at around 9 am this morning after a relatively quick and comfortable flight over the Atlantic. The weather here is manageable, so far, and is pretty much what we expected from Britain. It’s blustery and bright and feels like fall, but it’ll rain at the drop of a hat. The rain will last only 15 or 20 minutes and then the sun will come out again. There are rainbows all over the place. I guess that’s pretty common here.

These Welsh folks (and British folks over in Bristol — where we arrived) are extremely friendly. They seem proud to show off their homeland. They probably like us for our pounds (the currency, not my beer gut), but hey, that’s alright by me. The customs official (who stamped our passports) actually held up the line at the airport to recommend to us sights to see in Cardiff.

Their language, Welsh, is just wacky. It’s so wacky that I think they’re just screwing with us. It can’t be real. There’s no way to pronounce any of these words. No way at all. Beer is pronounced Cwrw. Cwrw! How do you even begin to say that? Fortunately everyone speaks English so we won’t need to try, but still.

They also speak really fast. I’ve had conversations with four people now, and I’ve had to ask all of them to repeat themselves. It’s pretty hard to keep up with them.

Anyway, Cardiff is a pretty small and laid back city. Lots of great architecture and history. It has the charm of a city like London, but about eight million less people. There’s also a feeling of national pride that is visible everywhere you look. Speaking of pride, their local beer is called Brains. I sampled a couple pints at a pub just a little while ago — a light and a dark. Both were tasty. Warm, but tasty. We hadn’t even planned on visiting this pub, but it started pouring as were walking down St. Mary Street so we had no choice but to seek cover. I was just looking out for Jamie. I didn’t want her to get wet. Because that’s the kind of guy I am.

OK, we’re going to settle in and watch some British sitcoms before we fall asleep. We plan on checking out a few more sights in Cardiff tomorrow morning before boarding a train for the five-hour trip to Falmouth, Cornwall.

Hwyl. (That’s goodbye in Welsh. Go ahead … try to say it. See, that’s what I’m talking about.)