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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Aug 28, 2006 5:46:07 GMT -6
Hey all, we is back!! I have a bit of catching up to do, but my quick report is this [bracketing the two ends of the trip], the first part is a review of material already presented elsewhere, but for completeness here, I will repeat...
We were mid-Atlantic when everything 'went down' a couple weeks back. Landed in Amsterdam for a two hour layover before the flight to Heathrow, and there wasnt a single word of any issues during that time. In fact we were all through security and sitting at the gate when we were told the flight would be delayed, then delayed again then cancelled, then uncancelled, then after an extra 4 hours in the most hideous airport ever designed (postmodern brushed steel for walls and glass with round windows everywhere) we ended up on the first KLM flight back into Heathrow.
Picked up a rental car, managed to drive on the left without issue all the way to Cambridge (2 1/2 hours), found our hotel, passed a parking spot and noticed that it was a one way road in front of the hotel, and with TOTAL bad judgement influenced by 2 hours of sleep and 5 hours of jet lag, decided to back up 50 feet to get that parking spot rather than orbit the entire hotel... backed into a sign... REAL nice dent and green latex paint on the rear passenger panel. DOH!
Then a lot of touristy type stuff happened... [more on that later]
Last Friday... Heather had to get to Heathrow to take her Virgin Atlantic flight to Dulles. CheckIn was a short line but took an hour, we walked with her to security found the front of the line and then started walking... and walking, and walking... they had one bank of security check point for the entire Terminal...I started pacing the length of the queue (I have adopted that little Englishism). 900 feet later we found its end! Fortunately the line was moving at about 900 feet per hour, Heather made her plane, but just.
We returned to Heathrow the next morning. EARLY. Our flight was scheduled for 6:00am. KLM told us the desks opened at 4:30. We got there at 4:00am and found the end of a 200 foot queue and waited and waited... the desk opened at 5:00am. HOW THE HELL did they figure to process that many people and get them on the plane in an hour was beyond us. We were checked in by 5:30 (not bad I must admit), and the security line at this terminal was only about 50 feet long... GREAT!! except this line was moving at about 50 feet per hour. Fifteen minutes prior to our flight time was pushed past people with 9:00 am flight times, got to the gate, got on the plane. Then sat for over an hour. And there we sat, stewing... we had over 150 Pounds ($300) of unredeemed VAT taxes we had paid, that we had to abandon because of 'no time'. The Brits wont let you redeem those VAT taxes once you leave the country. DAMN!
Blasted through the Amsterdam airport because our 50 minute layover was now -10 minutes... Our luck improved, the flight was waiting for connecting passengers from a flight from Bombay. One hour late we take off for Minneapolis, a nice brand new Airbus A330 with a list of about 20 movies available on demand. Set watches for Minneapolis time... have two bottles of wine at 6:00am (Minneapolis time)... kick back and relax.
Over Iceland a 'Medical Emergency' is there a doctor on board? Somewhere past Greenland (which we caught glimpses of fairly cloud free, ALWAYS THE SINGLE MOST IMPRESSIVE SITE FROM THE AIR) the pilot announces that we are diverting to Goose Bay, Labrador. Its the first town with hospital facilities. It was one of the Bombay passengers... DAMN! (well, they did have the passenger on an IV, so I do hope that they ended up OK) One hour lost to divert, one hour to offload the passenger and their luggage. I have to check how one gets OUT of Goose Bay, I will report back on that. The airport had all the looks of an old NORAD base. Twin runways in two directions, lines of huge hangers and a small control tower, all out in the middle of nowhere. I could envision lines of B-52's there.
Anyways, got to MSP too late, KLM put us up in a hotel and got back yesterday afternoon.
More on everything else that happened in between, along with photos (I took over 300, I will use descretion) later!
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Post by Irish Stu on Aug 28, 2006 5:59:51 GMT -6
...I started pacing the length of the queue (I have adopted that little Englishism) ;D You discovered the hell that is Heathrow. We try to avoid it when at all possible and fly tranatlantic from London's Gatwick airport if we can get the flights we want. At Heathrow, even without terror alerts and the ensuing extra delays, the lines to check in can go out the door and into the street outside. I hope the rest of your trip was more enjoyable and I'm looking forward to reading all about it. Judging by how green my lawn is (it was dry and brown when we left the UK two weeks ago) you experienced plenty of our British rain when whilst visiting these Isles  Simon |
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Aug 28, 2006 6:12:08 GMT -6
Actually the rain was pretty much regional, and we dodged MOST of it. Had one morning of a driving drizzle while on the Island of Mull, the rest came while in London, and missed most of it by riding the Underground.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Aug 28, 2006 6:12:43 GMT -6
Simon, How was Turkey??
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Post by Liz of Chris & Liz on Aug 28, 2006 6:24:10 GMT -6
Welcome home Gordon! Glad you are back safely. We'll look forward to reading more about your trip & seeing (some) photos. And of course we'll see you in November.  Liz |
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Post by Irish Stu on Aug 28, 2006 6:25:31 GMT -6
We had a great time. Lot's of relaxing mixed in with some sightseeing and shopping. I was very sorry to hear about the bombings there last night when we got home this morning, they give a false impression of what are on the whole a very friendly and welcoming people who combine their Muslim beliefs and traditions with their place in the modern world. Simon |
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Post by Christinko on Aug 28, 2006 6:29:32 GMT -6
I'm so excited to have you two gentlemen back at our cocktail party--welcome home!
Dr. Goon--gawd what a misery of air travel...but glad you are well and made it home in one piece.
And yes, I'm dying to hear about Turkey, Simon!
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Aug 28, 2006 6:32:57 GMT -6
BTW- I only missed ONE tourist spot, and it wasnt even on my list prior to not getting in to visit it. The last day in London, we were in Soho and I saw a red neon on sign that said "Licensed Sex Shop", Ann dragged me off in the opposite direction. DAMN- I would bet there was no admission charge too.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Aug 28, 2006 7:54:02 GMT -6
THANKS Liz and Chris... GREAT to be back!
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Post by Tex on Aug 28, 2006 7:57:02 GMT -6
Welcome home Gordon. Too bad about the licensed sex shop. It's good to have you back.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Aug 28, 2006 9:04:15 GMT -6
Welcome home to both of youse guys! It's been too quiet around here. Now I'm looking forward to some good travelogues, AND a return to the normal witty repartee........Jake
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Post by nemo on Aug 28, 2006 9:58:58 GMT -6
Welcome back BAD....Glad the trip was a success and safe (even if time consuming).
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Aug 28, 2006 10:00:04 GMT -6
... AND a return to the normal witty repartee........Jake So who is the new member who is going to supply THAT? |
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Post by edie2u on Aug 28, 2006 20:13:35 GMT -6
Great that you are back. I am waiting with bated breath to hear of all your adventures. Hope the stories above were only difficult parts of the trip. BTW- I only missed ONE tourist spot, and it wasnt even on my list prior to not getting in to visit it. The last day in London, we were in Soho and I saw a red neon on sign that said "Licensed Sex Shop", Ann dragged me off in the opposite direction. DAMN- I would bet there was no admission charge too. Now you have something to look forward to on your next trip! Glad both of you guys are back! |
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Sept 1, 2006 7:45:09 GMT -6
England/Scotland Part 2- Food, Accommodations and Transport I have decided that a report based on topic rather than chronological order was a better approach to reporting on a 2 1/2 week experience. Transport- I have already mentioned 'rental car'. We had a Volkswagen Passat, diesel, manual transmission, an unremarkable vehicle on most counts. It WAS reliable, and it soon became apparent that even with 6 cyl and plenty of get up and go, it was a gas sipper. Even while getting comfortable with the vehicle, I noticed that the dashboard readout was indicating almost 50 mpg! I was astounded 50 mpg while flying down the highway at 85 mph. Let me just spend a few words on units... the UK seems to be a mish-mash of metric and English units of measurement. Highway speeds and distances seem to be in feet and miles, everything else meters (excuse, metres). Gas is sold in litres, but I have already mentioned “miles per gallon”. My impressive view of the Passat’s mileage was later tempered by the realization that the readout would have been Imperial gallons, which is about 20% larger than the US gallon, so the Passat was actually getting about 40 miles/US gallon (still not bad!). Weights are sometimes kilos, sometimes in ‘stones’ ( =14 pounds), temps are formally presented in Celsius, and sometimes translated to Fahrenheit. Back to the Passat.. Even at 40mpg (US) filling up the tank was expensive. Americans... don’t ever complain about your gas prices again. Petrol/diesel prices in the UK, hovered at about £1/litre... with the consumer exchange rate of $2=£1, that translates to a bit over $7.50/gallon!! I filled up the Passat 3 times over 2,000 miles, each fill up was over $120. I got the manual transmission, because it was over $200 cheaper over the rental period. In hindsight, the automatic tranny would have been worth the price! Its been about 20 years since I have had a stick shift. I will confess to stalling it out a couple times in the Avis lot, but got the feel of the clutch quickly. THAT was not the problem. The stick in a right side drive vehicle is in the left hand. My natural instinct is to push the stick AWAY from me as I go up through the gears, reality required me to do the opposite. So while I hit the left side of the road all but one time during the trip, I was going from 3rd gear to the intended 2nd or 4th gear MAYBE 70% of the time, to the excitement of all! Oh YES... Biggest disappointment... NO CRUISE CONTROL... not that it would have been much good on even the 'A' roads, it was sorely missed on the Motorways!! Accommodations- The first two nights in Cambridge and the last four nights in London were spent in good ole Holiday Inns. Both were reasonably new facilities, but neither were equipped with rooms that could handle more than 2 people. In fact when reserving rooms back in May, I could not find hotels in those cities with rooms big enough for 3 people. So, 2 rooms each place. Typical mass market rooms otherwise, although you really have to search to find the hidden hair dryer. The UK has a law that hotel supplied hair dryers cannot come anywhere near the bathtubs, so Ann and Heather found them out by the outdoor windows. As for the tubs, please mind the gap between the bottom of the tub and the bathroom floor, the tub is set about 6 inches higher, and more than once I almost fell over trying to get out. We spent a week at a B&B just outside of Stirling Scotland. We chose the location because it was centrally located between the sites to the east and west. Hillview Cottage www.Hillview-Cottage.com, Jon Darby proprietor. Modest, quiet, clean, lived in. It was much to our liking, and a pleasant enough place to return to after a heard day of being a tourist. The word ‘perfection’ however, doesnt seem to be part of Jon’s vocabulary. He has divided this place up into several B&B units, but not quite finished work on any of them. We stayed in two of the ‘Family’ rooms (defined by having bunk beds for the kids and a double for the adults). Neither were ‘spacious’ by US standards. Fortunately, with three of us, Heather took the top bunk, leaving the bottom bunk for getting suitcases out of the way. A 12" TV with an odd assortment of channels provided the in-room entertainment. Breakfasts were ‘Full Scottish’ which is not much different than ‘Full English’, which means, two rather bland sausage links, two full pieces of bacon (that includes the part we would call ‘Canadian’ bacon, VERY lean and tasty) a poached egg, fried half tomato, and toast. Juice was served in a shot glass. While at the Hillview Cottage, we were entertained and greeted by several cows every morning who leaned over the fence to within a couple feet of our bedroom window. Either that or they were massing for an attack, because once our guard was up, they backed off and went elsewhere in their field, until the following morning. We went all the way to Scotland to watch a HILARIOUS American made docmentary that aired one evening on the BBC... "Combover: The Movie" the story of one mans’s search for the worst combover in America... or maybe just Texas humor.about.com/od/movies/v/ds061604.htmThe humor is amplified by the fact that the guy doing the documentary has a head of hair like Fabio. Our stay in SW England was made perfect, by our hosts and fellow Hedo travellers Bev and Maggie (they post their visit dates on Denny’s calendar, but never actually post anything else there). We were treated to a MARVELOUS 3 night stay!! Bev (short for Beverly and it’s a ‘he’ everyone) owns a construction company and pretty much built himself a wonderful, modest (by US standards) and VERY COMFORTABLE bungelow. It felt like home, and for two days, he took off work, and showed us around the SW English countryside. FOREVER GREATFUL Bev and Maggie!! Food: I have already covered the B&B breakfasts, I must admit that I fell for Weetabix while staying with Bev and Maggie. Weetabix is difficult to describe, shaped like a large, flat Shreaded Wheat bisquit, but tasting like naturally sweet Grape Nuts, pour a little milk on a couple of them they quickly become soft enough to chew, yet not soggy. And you can do just about anything to them, top with honey, jam, clotted cream, berries. I have found them available locally at an ‘International’ food outlet, and online. Pub Grub- We quickly found out the reality of prices in the UK. The numbers look like the numbers you would be accustomed to see in modest US restaurants, except they have the £ sign in front of them rather than $. There was no way to avoid $100 dinners except by eating at Pubs, WHICH in many cases was unavoidable, AND turned out to be anywhere from ‘not to bad’ to ‘hey, THAT was a really good meal’. We were warned in advance that British hamburgers were to be avoided as tasteless. Ann proved that 3 times. I had a Macaroni and Cheese entree in one pub that was ABSOFUCKINLUTELY TO DIE FOR GOURMET. We tried to taste the ingredients, and as near as we can figure there was cream cheese and/or clotted cream in there. And everything from fantastic Steak Pies, Cumberland Sausages, to mediocre Fish&Chips. But the best thing about Pub Grub was getting to talk with the proprietors. We did a bit of travelling to get ‘out of the way’ of the tourist traffic in this regards, and ended up on some back roads and in small towns to hit some of these places, often without a plan in mind. We were rewarded with a tremendous level of service and attention from owners who appreciated the efforts we made to spend our tourist £’s at their establishments. I would HIGHLY recommend this, and we plan on doing the same in future trips. Even when the food wasnt great, we never left a Pub feeling that it wasnt worth the stop. Part 3- Touristy things... later |
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Post by edie2u on Sept 1, 2006 8:16:36 GMT -6
Great report, Gordon! I started chuckling over the "shifter". Sounds ominous, to me! It sounds like a wonderful time. I can't wait for the next installment!
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Post by Irish Stu on Sept 1, 2006 8:32:00 GMT -6
Great trip report Gordon, and so interesting to read about my neck of the woods from an outside perspective. Sorry about the bizarre mix of imperial and metric units, but as you learned the pen pushers in Brussels may have taken away our feet and inches, and our pounds and ounces, but we're still clinging on to our miles and stones.
Can't wait to read the rest.
Simon
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Post by Irish Stu on Sept 1, 2006 8:34:04 GMT -6
I started chuckling over the "shifter". Sounds ominous, to me! I've never found them to be a problem  ;D Simon |
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Post by Chicago Jake on Sept 1, 2006 11:21:04 GMT -6
We have an odd mix of metric and English here, too. Liquor in the USA is all metric (but beer isn't for some reason) and a lot of public temperature displays are in both C and F. And engineering data is about half and half (granted, that isn't an issue for most people). Then again, even pure English units aren't particularly consistent, so tossing in a few liters or Newtons doesn't really make it much worse.......Jake
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Sept 1, 2006 11:23:09 GMT -6
Quite frankly, I couldn't give a fig about the Newtons.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Sept 1, 2006 11:49:52 GMT -6
Quite frankly, I couldn't give a fig about the Newtons. I will have to chew on that for a while. |
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Sept 1, 2006 12:04:07 GMT -6
You're so gullible, I knew you'd swallow that one.
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Post by Bluejay on Sept 1, 2006 12:35:38 GMT -6
We have an odd mix of metric and English here, too. Liquor in the USA is all metric (but beer isn't for some reason) and a lot of public temperature displays are in both C and F. And engineering data is about half and half (granted, that isn't an issue for most people). Then again, even pure English units aren't particularly consistent, so tossing in a few liters or Newtons doesn't really make it much worse.......Jake It's interesting that in Mechanical/Industrial engineering that it's a mix of the two systems. In structural engineering in the States, it is all english units. In Canada, however, it is an odd mix. The engineers often deal in metric, while the contractors and trades often deal in english. Or rather, in any application that doesn't involve the services of an engineer (like in home building) it's ususallly in english, while engineered structures are ususally in metric. Most building supplies, like dimensioned lumber, structural steel and whatnot are all still manufactured in english units, but designed using metric. A 2x4 is referred to, for example in the wood design code as a "38x89" (mm). But the tradesperson installing it will refer to it as a 2x4. I think this is done so that there is still easy access for manufacturers to US markets. Rebar, however, is manufactured and sold in metric units (rebar is manufactured with cross sectional areas of 100m2, 200m2, etc. This is in contrast to the US designations of a No. 3, 4, 5 etc (where the nbumber refers to the diamater of the bar in 1/8" increments). To compiund matters, there are plenty of buyildings built before metric was introduced that were built in imperial units. So canadian structural engineers tend to need to be bilingual in metric and imperial! |
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Post by Irish Stu on Sept 1, 2006 13:19:19 GMT -6
When we joined the Common Market, now the EU, in 1973 after French President Charles De Gaulle had twice previously used the French veto to barr us (he'd clearly forgotten how he had spent WWII as our guest in the relative safety of London), we converted from imperial to metric units to bring us into line with Europe. All that escaped was our miles, stones and pints. However this ch-ch-change was not enforced until we passed laws of our own in the 1990's making it an offence to offer goods and produce for sale in imperial units. Some small shopkeepers who refused to comply were prosecuted as an example to others - this witchhunt thankfully stopped when one poor bastard had a heart attack and died as a result of the stress, and the newspapers here turned on the government. In spite of all this some things still seem to get sold from time to time in imperial units, and it infuriates me when I've measured up for a new carpet, or for some lumbar, in metric units only to find it marked in feet and inches. We still have our pints of beer, but have recently been given a final warning from the arseholes in Brussels that these must be replaced with a metric measure, and as yet our miles haven't been threatened, though as Gordon may have noticed the speedometers in our cars display MPH and KPH.
Simon
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Post by Chicago Jake on Sept 1, 2006 13:38:23 GMT -6
. .....the speedometers in our cars display MPH and KPH. Ours do too, but I assume that is so they can use the same components wherever they sell it.......Jake |
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Post by Irish Stu on Sept 1, 2006 13:45:41 GMT -6
. .....the speedometers in our cars display MPH and KPH. Ours do too, but I assume that is so they can use the same components wherever they sell it I've driven, or been a passenger in, lots of cars in the USA and I had never noticed. Simon |
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Post by waterdweller on Sept 1, 2006 13:46:58 GMT -6
the pilot announces that we are diverting to Goose Bay, Labrador. Its the first town with hospital facilities. It was one of the Bombay passengers... DAMN! (well, they did have the passenger on an IV, so I do hope that they ended up OK) One hour lost to divert, one hour to offload the passenger and their luggage. I have to check how one gets OUT of Goose Bay, I will report back on that. The airport had all the looks of an old NORAD base. Twin runways in two directions, lines of huge hangers and a small control tower, all out in the middle of nowhere. I could envision lines of B-52's there. Gordon - Welcome Back! So glad you had a chance to see beautiful Goose Bay. The nearby town is sarcastically named "Happy Valley" And you're right about its origins. The airport - which is still military - was built by the Canadian Government during WW2, partly to provide air cover for convoys, partly as defense against incursions from the Northeast, and significantly, as one of the main staging points for Ferry Command who were delivering heavy Bombers like Lancasters and B-17s to the European Theater. Subsequently, the base became one of the main NATO training bases, specializing in low-level tactical flight, mainly because of its isolation, and the unfortunate resemblance of Labrador to Siberia. Eventually, SAC B-52s were based there right up to the end of the Cold War. Several NATO countries had permanent detachments stationed at Goose Bay, including the UK, Germany and Italy. The UK closed their permanent presence a few years ago, but still use the base for training missions. Halifax, Nova Scotia and Goose Bay, between them, took in more than 30 international airliners when the FAA shut down civil air traffic in the immediate wake of 9/11. Halifax would have been the much better gig. As far as getting out is concerned... choices are limited. You can fly, or you can go by boat. There used to be a coastal service that sailed up and down the Labrador coast and the Island of Newfoundland, bringing mail and supplies. I don't know if it still operates. You can also drive from Goose Bay to Labrador City, and on to Baie Comeau in Quebec, but the drive is through some of the most isolated and bleak countryside in Canada, with not much more than spruce trees to keep you company. Apologies for thread drift. Newfoundland and Labrador are actually pretty cool. |
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Post by Bluejay on Sept 1, 2006 14:02:18 GMT -6
When I lived in England in the mid 80's I recall always expressing my weight and others' in stones. And I refuse to order beer in a pub in anything other than units of pints!! (could pub owners be prosecuted for selling beer in pints?)
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Sept 1, 2006 14:11:33 GMT -6
Apologies for thread drift. Bastard. |
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Post by Irish Stu on Sept 1, 2006 14:31:02 GMT -6
When I lived in England in the mid 80's I recall always expressing my weight and others' in stones Stones is the norm for expressing our weight here. There are 14 pounds in a stone. Bathroom scales are marked in stones with the increment in pounds in between, so for instance the scale will read 13 stone and 12 pounds (my weight) not 194 pounds. For some reason until now, probably to preserve our traditions, we have clung onto our pints and it is illegal to sell beer in any other measurement. Spirits however became metric a few years ago and are sold in units of 25ml or 35ml from optics on the bottles. Local councils are obliged by law to strictly enforce that correct measures are served and often send their Weights and Measures staff undercover into pubs and bars about which complaints have been received to order drinks then discretely measure them. Simon |
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Liz
;D
