Well, I've been living in Europe now for three weeks, and I can hardly believe it. It seems like only a few days ago I was living in a hotel in little ol' Chertsey wondering when the time would come when I would have a flat all my own to go home to every night. Oh, wait a second, it was a few days ago that I was wondering that. That's right, I got to live in a hotel for TWO WEEKS! For those of you that haven't tried it, I don't recommend it. The novelty of having my bed made for me every morning is now completely gone.
I must admit though, I do miss the full English breakfast every morning...nothing like a cooked pig's bladder with baked beans and Marmite(tm) to start off one's morning. But seriously, I jest, the food was truly delicious and there was a lot to choose from, which is more than I can say about the selection of television stations. Cricket anyone? No? Football, rugby, or golf? I'm not complaining really, who goes to another country to watch television anyway?
Over all I had a pleasant stay at the hotel.
So, you might be wondering what it's like to live in England. For those of you that have never been to Europe, at least the places in Europe that I've been, you can't quite shake the feeling that you're living in a WWII movie. Many of the buildings are made of brick and are covered in either moss, dirt, spray paint, or a combination of all three. This is especially true of the train stations. I had no idea what to expect when I started hunting for a flat. I had pretty good luck with estate agents and had found a place within the first week of my being there. I would have been able to move in right away if it weren't for that little problem of not having a bank account here in England. Oh yeah, and that wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for that other little thing about needing a permanent address before they'll let you have a bank account. I think I got it all squared away now. I moved into the flat on Monday night and it's wonderful. It's a fully furnished flat in Addlestone, Surrey. Hardwood floors, a dining room table, couch, bed, dressers, wardrobe, microwave, fridge, washer/dryer, and a perfect spot to sit next to the window and strum the guitar.
And now to the hands-down, absolute, no-doubt-about-it, best part of the move so far - Tiffany came to London the second weekend I was here! I met her at Heathrow and we rode the bus to Feltham and then the train back into Chertsey. We managed to squeeze in an incredible amount of sight-seeing in London on Saturday. The train to London goes right through Addlestone, where I live, and Chertsey, where I work, which is very convenient.
On Sunday we rode the train out to Salisbury and took a bus tour out to Stonehenge and back through Salisbury. The
cathedral at Salisbury is easily one of the most impressive buildings I've ever been into and Stonehenge is even more awesome than I'd imagined. In the cathedral they have one of only four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, a nearly 800 year document which a lot of modern law and much of the US constitution was based on. Incredible.
Well, there's probably a lot more to tell, and probably a lot more people wishing I would shut up. Everybody know that my door is always open. Flights over here are very reasonable and I'm always up for company provided I'm not off in some other country for the weekend. For instance, don't come the second to the last weekend in August, because I will be in Paris. Also, don't come the next weekend because I will be in Denmark. Gotta love it! But when you DO come, once you get to Heathrow it's a snap to get to my flat by train. I can meet you at the train station and tell you how to get to just about wherever you want to go for the weekend, and of course you can stay at my flat. I miss you all very much and can't wait to get together to watch a movie, go out to dinner, go dancing, make out, go drinking, or go for a walk, depending on which of you are reading this at the moment.
Last but certainly not least, I leave you with this bit of useful information for your own visit to England:
- The most important tip I can offer is do not, under any circumstances, try to determine how much you just spent on that meal in US dollars. In fact, don't convert any prices into US dollars. You will be sorry and you may starve by the end of your visit.
- Black Pudding: If you're curious, try it and don't ask.
- Get in on the left side of the car. You will fail to do this, there is no doubt about it. In fact, I'm so sure, here's a new tip - get used to hearing "you wanna drive?" in a sarcastic voice followed by mocking laughter.
- Black Pudding: on second thought, just stay away (hint: I mentioned it by key ingredient earlier in this letter. hint: it's not Marmite(tm).)
- If you're drunk, and you have to get home, and the train is the only transportation that you can afford, you probably take it. Also, being drunk and being on a train is on par with eating a grand slam breakfast at Denny's before going deep-ocean fishing for salmon. I guess the tip here is either a) don't catch the last train back from London, or b) be mindful of who you sit next to on the train
- Hint: it's not baked beans, either
- Go with Guinness, it's always cold.
- Chips = French Fries
- Not having a British accent helps you tremendously when delivering the line "I'm sorry, I was told that I could buy a ticket from you once I had boarded the train." This tip comes with a free bonus tip - keep track of who you tell this to, it only works once per attendant, and the fine is small, but impressive (especially if you failed to follow the first tip).
That's all I have for now. I miss you all and hope to see you soon!
Love and hugs for everyone...
Cheers,
Greg
You're right Leslie. I wasn't able to edit and correct the last set of messages, so I deleted the entire thread and it worked great. In starting, I decided to put Greg's original message from July back on because it seemed to flow with the entire story and help explain what's going on with my family, and what took me to Europe last month.
ReplyDeleteIn October we had the opportunity to visit my son Mark and his wife Rebecca in Austin, Tx. We had the most wonderful time. It's hard to get a good picture of the Alamo without people in front of it. Scott Lockwood This tree was awesome... and HUGE! Scott & Mark talking to the sellers at the Marketplace in San Antonio Mark and Rebecca Nance Mark seems to be discussing the fact that Rebecca is taking his picture.
ReplyDeleteIn November I took a couple weeks vacation, left Scott at home in Spokane, and flew to Europe to visit Greg and Tiffany. Leaving Scott at home was hard for me to do. In our lives, being so hectic all the time, we see each other so little that vacation time together is important to me. I don't believe in seperate vacations, but the opportunity came up for me to be able to go to London, and he did not have any vacation time left after the trip to Texas. The other thing is that I didn't have any traveling companion. It was hard for me to watch interesting sights for the first time and not have anyone close by so I could say "HEY! Did you see that???" First of all, I should mention that in September I turned 50 years old. I've had a hard time adjusting to the fact that all 3 of my boys moved so far away from home that it's almost cost prohibitive to be able to visit them. For my 50th birthday, my sister threw me a wonderful party..... complete with a money tree... for the soul purpose of sending me to London to visit my son. They raised enough to pay for the airline and some of the expenses while I was there. It was the gift of a lifetime, and one that I will always be grateful for. What can I say: other than Thank you so much! I have the best family in the whole world! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 11/08/04 Monday
ReplyDeleteScott dropped me off at the Spokane airport at 11:15 am, where I checked my bags and went through security. The plane took off at 1:20 pm.
It was a good thing I rushed to my departure gate in Minneapolis without taking time out for lunch or bathroom break, because they were already boarding my plane when I got to my gate. 11/09/04 Tuesday
I arrived at Gatwick airport and met Greg at 9:00 a.m. We went to his flat in Addlestone and dropped off my bags. Then we took the train to London, where we rode the London Eye, walked around a bit and had lunch. It was a struggle staying awake on the train ride back. We stopped by the grocery store and then went home. The London Eye The largest "farris wheel" in the world. It is an observation platform. They sell maps so you identify all the buildings below as you look out over London. 11/10/04 Wednesday
Greg had to work. Since I was on my own for the day, I decided that it would be fun to see Addlestone. I walked to the train station and back, stopping in all the shops along the way. 11/11/04 Thursday
I took the 8:30 train into London. There was a nice River Cruise up the Thames River, so I did that before getting onto the bus tour around the city. I got off and walked to the Florence Nightingale Museum. London Bridge Tower of London
11/12/04 Friday I left the flat at 11:45 and walked to F5 in Chertsey, where I met Greg and his coworkers for lunch. At the end of the workday, when he got home, we took the train to Staines and spent a nice evening watching a movie (Sharks Tale) and rushing through a wonderful Chinese dinner. The place was packed. When we were seated we told the waitress that we had to catch a train very shortly. She took our order and had it to us a few minutes later. It was the most exceptional service I've ever had in a restaurant. 11/13/04 Saturday
ReplyDeleteGreg and I got up bright and early and walked into Chertsey to pick up a rental car. Then we drove to pick up his boss, Jason and drove to Salisbury where we toured Salisbury Cathedral. Greg was right when he told about how beautiful it is.
From there we drove to Stonehenge. Saturday was the coldest day, without question, while I was in England. Since the sun is shining so brightly and you can’t see the wind, you’re probably wondering why we’re all bundled up and the pictures are blurry from our not being able to stop shivering. We started the tour slowly, listening to everything the guide had to say. As the tour went on, we found ourselves starting to skip things and push ahead. Needless to say, the gift shop out of the wind was very inviting. We left Stonehenge and drove on to Bath and walked around the shopping area, then had a nice quiet Italian dinner. (Thanks Jason!) As we were leaving, we had a bit of a tour of the city. (”Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament”) http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=420775 After dropping Jason back at his house, we dropped off the rental car and ran to the train station, barely getting there in time to catch the train back to Addlestone. I must congratulate Greg on a job well done. Driving on the “wrong” side of the road can’t be easy the first time, and yet he handled it like he’s driven that way all his life. Lost maybe… but never once was I afraid for our lives.
11/14/04 Sunday
ReplyDeleteGreg and I took the train to Windsor, where we took a tour of Windsor Castle. It’s much larger than I had imagined. Before we started the tour, it was overwhelming to think that a family actually lives there. In spite of the cold looking stones, the castle really was a lot warmer and friendlier than I pictured a castle being. Speaking of the stones, The stone carvings in the old buildings are incredible. 11/15/04 Monday
Greg had to go back to work, and I had laundry to do, so I stayed at his flat and finished reading “Between a Rock and a Hard Place”, then walked to the store and got groceries to make Taco Soup for dinner. 11/16/04 Tuesday
I took the train to London and the Tube to the Natural History Museum. The museum was nice, but I have to admit that their featured exhibit was the one exhibit that I liked the least. Sometimes you just have to have someone else with you in order to appreciate things outside your area of expertise.
11/17/04 Wednesday
ReplyDeleteGreg and I left the house early so I could catch the bus to Heathrow Airport. OMG it’s huge! I walked around for a while, looking at all the shops before catching my flight to Denmark. Tiffany picked me up at the airport and we toured Copenhagen. Tiff rented a car for the week that I was there, which turned out to be a very nice thing to have. 11/18/04 Thursday
Tiffany and I went to the Fjord and B챈lt Centre for a few minutes, where I got to meet several of her coworkers. Tiffany is an animal trainer. She's the one in the yellow jacket on the left. On the right, she is working with one of the purpoises. We drove to the Viking Ship of Ladby Museum. Ladbyskibt. I don’t know why I was so intrigued with this ship, but it was one of my favorite things I did when I was on this trip. When they buried the Viking Chiefton, of course they had to kill and bury his favorite men servents, horses and dogs with him. It just wouldn't be right to have him get to the other side without any help, transportation, or hunting dogs. http://www.kert-mus.dk/ladbyskibet/dk/main.html Horse Bones We drove to Aarhus to spend the day. Wouldn't you love to be in a play, or watch a play in this theater? It was beautiful.
This last picture is for Boyd specifically. Above, I mentioned that when I got back to work my co-workers had dismantled my office, auctioned off my furniture and made my old office into a conference room. It seems to be what they do when the bosses take off for vacation and don't leave them with enough work to keep them busy. Last year they moved the owner out of his office and moved another employee in. For a year now, the owner has been working on a table without a space he can call his own. When they set up the conference room last month, they finally moved the owner into a small corner with his own desk again. I found beautiful desk on the sales right after Thanksgiving and put it together last weekend. In my search for the finishing touches to my new office, I brought in the picture Boyd painted for me. It's a huge hit with my employees. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteGreg Nance - Dec 2, 2004 TIFFANY NAILS INTERVIEW, NANCE'S ARE PERMA-EUROS! Not sure if anyone spilled this news to the masses yet, if someone already posted it and I'm just to lame to keep up with everyone, my apologies, but here it is again Since Tiffany took the job that she is currently working with the Fjord and B챈lt Center in Kerteminde, we knew there was a chance that she would get hired on full time. Until recently, it was only a pipe dream for Tiffany but while Mom was in Denmark visiting her it became a reality. They have extended her stint there from October, to December, to April, and now it's indefinite. She's been hired on full time. The plan as of right now, though it's tentative, is that I will leave England some time around the end of April and move back in with my wife once again. Thanks everyone for the e-mails and well-wishes! It's hard being away from all the ones you love, but it sure helps knowing that they're all there. If you've ever had a hankerin to visit Europe, the next year or so may be the best chance you will ever get. It takes about the same time to drive to Hamburg from Tiffany's flat as it does to drive from Seattle to Spokane, roughly...that is of course if you aren't detained by those darned German border officers. Something about a car full of Americans driving a car rented in Denmark makes them ask a lot of questions. Go figure. Anyway, that's all the news for now. Love, Greg (& Tiffany, of course)
ReplyDeleteGerri, great job! The photos are well worth the download time. I'm impressed! Here's some helpful tips: for anyone who finds a white box with a red X in the corner instead of a photo, just right-click your mouse on the X and click on "show picture". It worked for me except for the largest photo. If you use up all your alloted space and can't add anymore photos, just get a new membership under a different name and use it. For the large photos you can use your photo program to resize before you insert picture. We are all learning together. Leslie
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't even think of getting another account. I went back and deleted a bunch of attachments that I'd entered last year. .
ReplyDeleteIn case Gerri's photos disappear after Feb 21, 09 when our old MSN Groups "family fun', stops, I have put them in a photo album on this website.
ReplyDeleteGo to http://lesliesfamilyfun.multiply.com/photos/album/83/Gerris_trip_to_Europe_2004
or click on "Photos" at the top of this page. Leslie