Greetings, friends and family!
So, I know I have been completely lax in writing my travel log lately, but I have an excellent excuse. I have been working crazily trying to get everything from my European trip wrapped up. I just finished last night. I have literally been working night, day and weekend to get everything done.
OK… so we left off last in the UK. My ride to the airport was okay. I had yet another traffic ride with a Portuguese Indian… Yes, this sounded weird to me as well. Apparently, East Indians have not only migrated to the US and UK, but also to Portugal. Whenever I get in the cab, I'm always chatty, especially on the long ride. As rarely any of the cab drivers are ever actually of the native country (yes, folks this is not only the case in the US but EVERYWHERE else in the civilized world). So, anyway I was always expecting these guys to tell me that they were from India or Pakistan or something like that… No, Portugal. Okay. Enough on that.
So, I get to the airport (Heathrow)… get checked in. I had yet another "it rocks to be American" experience. The line was ridiculous. There was a lady from the airline going around asking for people with American passports. She took us to the first class check in, which had no line! Woohoo. I think this brings the tally for this trip to: America - 3, EU - 0
So, I'm checked in. I head to the waiting area of the Heathrow airport which probably has more stores than the Mall of America. I search for the last souvenirs that I neglected on this trip (which I still have not mailed by the way. I will! I promise.). Finally my flight comes up on the big screen. I trek out to the gate. Yes, it is a trek. It takes 20 minutes to walk from the "mall" that is the waiting area.
Magically, I do not have to be subjected to the manual searches at the gate. Woohoo! I must be acquiring the "I fly every week" look. I hang out for a while and wait for the plane to board. As I wait, I play the PSP and get envious looks from everyone 6-15 in the room. Hahah, it pays to have a job!
I board the plane. My seatmate finally comes. He is amazingly gorgeous. Bright blue eyes and perfect white teeth. He is a nice guy. He was visiting his gf in Greece. He is a bit odd, but isn't everyone going to LA generally? We are chatting and he asks what I do. I give him the whole auditor spiel. So, in return, I ask him what he does. "Oh, I make ends meet. You know." Obviously I don't know as you didn't tell me! Jeez! What kind of crap answer is that? I figure he is an actor or model. I don't pursue it further. We have some nice chats. I try to take a nap, but end up watching Pride and Prejudice 3 times! (It is an 11 hour flight).
We hit ridiculous turbulence over Greenland. Bad enough that the flight attendants were even freaking out a bit. My flight arrives. It was the best landing that I've had in the past 6 flights. I get through immigration, luggage and customs with no issues. This time I decide to take the SB airbus instead of getting picked up. For $28 to SB, it is worth every cent! Heck, it costs more than that in gas lately! Three hours later and a lovely drive up along the coast on the PCH, I am home!
I googled my seat mate when I got home. Jake Muxworthy. He's a C list actor. He was in I Heart Huckabees and on a bunch of TV shows (24, Third Watch, American Dreams). Apparently, he is making ends meet. He has a movie coming out soon with a starring role that was directed by Morgan Freeman. He should really change his head shot though. It does him no justice! I'll put it on the blog. So, this brings my LA experience counter to 2!
So, I get home. Work. Adjust to the time and leave. I hit tons of Oscar traffic on the way down here. Uggh.. I don't think of these things. I'm now in La Jolla which is a few miles from San Diego. It's been a pretty good trip. I've been sleeping an average of 3 hours per night, but hopefully the worst is over!! I did see something hilarious today! Carne asada fries. What the heck is that? Well, for the east coasters… carne asada is a type of Mexican steak. It is usually used in burritos and such. These are french fries topped with steak, cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. What a kick! They looked really good though.
Here is the list for La Jolla:
Positives:
-The view of the ocean from my office
-The view of the San Diego temple from my hotel
-Carne Asada fries
-Rockin' Mexican Food
-Sammy's Pizza - They have the best salads
-Sweet weather
-The sun actually sets over the ocean here
-No oil on the beach
-Sea World!
-Balboa Park
-San Diego Zoo
Negatives:
-No Claron
-No relaxed SB feel
-Man, Sea World is expensive
-Traffic!
-Lot of people
Well, I made a list of things that I failed to report on when in the countries. So, here goes. Here is my follow up:
Plastic Bags (Moscow)
OK… so you may have ascertained from my previous e-mails that the average Muscovite likes their plastic bags. I don't think that I fully explained. EVERYONE that you see on the street that is not mafia will have a plastic bag. I don't mean like a supermarket bag, but like a bag you'd get from a mall bag. Plus, they are given as gifts. When we came last time, Sveta brought her mom a Gucci bag… not a hand bag, a shopping bag. Crazy Russians!
Subway Music (Moscow)
In every subway station you will see vendors selling CDs. This is illegal music. This is not at all restricted in Moscow. I am amazed at how much I see of this.
Moles (Moscow and Cyprus)
So, one day I get on the subway and it is packed. It looks like those videos that you see of the Japanese subways. It is way too close considering the hygiene of these people, but anyway... I am squished next to this mole. I mean this guy with a HUGE mole on his face. When I say huge I mean more than an inch across. I felt like it was going to jump out and get me. You see this all over Russia. Apparently moles must be okay there. They are huge, nasty and EVERYWHERE. I also saw some of this in Cyprus. What the heck people?!
Tempers (Cyprus)
Man, I thought I had seen the Greek temper. I had no clue. The Cypriot temper is crazy! They flare so quickly at each other. Some of the people we were with were so sweet and docile then something would set them off and it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I've never seen anything like it.
Starch (UK)
So, what is up with starch in the UK? Everything in my hotel
was starched-- sheets, napkins. And I don't mean spray starch for ironing... I mean crunchy starched. My sheets were actually a bit uncomfortable they were so stiff. I was wondering, dang how much starch do these people use and why!?
I must get back to work, but before I do. Here are the addresses:
http://amandastravel.blogspot.com/http://community.webshots.com/user/asarnociQuick news updates:
-Mom and Dad are coming the last week of March. We are planning on going to the Price is Right and the Magic Castle with Uncle Butch. I'll write more later.
-In sad news, my uncle Cork's wife, Rita died of an unknown reason.
-Claron and Clark turn 26 in 6 days.
-Mildred's kalanchoe bloomed (and is still in bloom.) It is awesome. I will put a pic on the blog.
Well, cheers, folks. I miss you all. Come and visit.
Amanda
