We are playing catch up on the blog. It's been a few days since we last posted. We didn't find any internet cafes in Paris and currently don't even have the GSM phone working, but that's one of my chores for today.
Paris was a beautiful city. We were very close to the Arc de Triumph at our hotel. The morning after we arrived we went out to catch a double decker tour that let us listen to commentary in English and get off and on the bus as we pleased. It rained off and on, but the weather wasn't unpleasant.
Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower where we rode up to the lowest level and looked around for a bit. I had a hot dog for lunch, which isn't as plain as it sounds. They stab a piece of french bread on a inch diameter metal prong that heats it from inside and then stick the sausage inside. It was very filling. I guess I'm not one for the fancy french food. The tower gave us a good view of the city and we moved on to the bus again.
We also visited Notre Dame Cathedral which was just amazing. The ceilings are a couple hundred feet up and the place is just huge. There was a lot of artwork and sculptures, but honestly none of it compared to the actual architecture. The arches and woodwork and stained glass windows were beyond words.
All in all, Paris was very nice. Pam was more enamoured of it than I was. Scotland is still leading in that respect for me.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Leaving London
We had a good day of touring yesterday. We took the double decker down to the Tower of London and checked it out. That was the highlight of London for me. The armory was especially cool.
We then took a boat up the Thames to Westminster where we headed to Buckingham Palace. Pam loved that part, but I'm not into the overly ornate stuff, but the history and art were interesting.
We then had to take a trip to Harrod's. Again - not my cup of tea. We did pick up a copy of the new Harry Potter book (the British Version). We closed out the night sitting by the Thames and listening to Big Ben sound off.
Today we are headed to Paris. We'll be catching the Eurostar train in Waterloo and traveling thru the Chunnel to get there. We'll post more later.
We then took a boat up the Thames to Westminster where we headed to Buckingham Palace. Pam loved that part, but I'm not into the overly ornate stuff, but the history and art were interesting.
We then had to take a trip to Harrod's. Again - not my cup of tea. We did pick up a copy of the new Harry Potter book (the British Version). We closed out the night sitting by the Thames and listening to Big Ben sound off.
Today we are headed to Paris. We'll be catching the Eurostar train in Waterloo and traveling thru the Chunnel to get there. We'll post more later.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Pam's Chocolate Tasting
For my part, the beer is ok, but I am working my way through all the wonderful chocolate over here! There are candy bars that I have never seen and so many kinds of Cadbury chocolates. Chocolate tasting is a serious job and I am up to the task! Cheers, Pam
Scotland is complete - on to London
I wrote this on the PDA a couple nights ago. We've checked out Edinborough Castle and flown to London and toured the city since writing this, but didn't have a chance til now to post it to the blog. All is going well so far. Here's the write up from the other night....
We just got back from a two day tour of the highlands of Scotland. The highlands were amazing. It was stunning scenery and the air was amazingly clean. Every Scot we've met has been exceedingly friendly. It's worth a trip if you ever have the chance.
Our driver/guide, George Shank was very good. He has the real Scottish brogue, a good sense of humor and lots of patience.
It was a very diverse group on the tour, besides us, we had two ladies from Idaho, two Chinese, one lady from Taiwan, a guy from South Korea, two Germans, two Australians, two Basque Spaniards and another two from Barcelona. Except for the Korean guy wandering away for shots of things like traffic, cattle and fence poles, everyone got along well.
George was an 'aggressive' driver and these were some winding roads. If not for some dramamine, I'd have likely joined the Chinese lady losing her lunch in a ditch. Pam is using a watch to stop motion sickness, but the turns today were even getting to her.
Let's see - scenery was good, people are nice... let's talk about the food. The short version is "good, but different." The long version is probably for another e-mail, but I'll give it the old college try.
Breakfast isn't too different aside from apparently always serving a half a cooked tomato unsliced, bacon that's closer to salty ham and sausage that has leeks in it.
For lunches we've had some interesting sandwiches. My favorite so far are the cheese and onion sandwiches- very tasty. I also have tried what they call a sausage roll, which is a bread shell shaped like a hot pocket, but filled with something like deviled ham. And being me, I ordered haggis at the first place I found it. I was a bit disappointed- it was kind of bland, though George said it usually has a good bite to it.
Strangely enough, three out of three dinners have been in pubs. Bar meals are a good deal and so far been very tasty. I've had the traditional British meals of fish & chips, steak pie and bangers and mash. With each meal I've sampled some very good brews. Barmen keep suggesting weaker lagers, but I've been sampling some fine ales and an occassional stout.
Not only have I sampled a number fine Scottish ales, but at our tour driver's suggestion, we stopped at a little distillery. I personally sampled about 10 different types of scotch. They were just tiny amounts, so it didn’t add up to more than a couple or three shots worth, but it was a good ride back to Edinburgh. I may have dozed off for a bit.
We just got back from a two day tour of the highlands of Scotland. The highlands were amazing. It was stunning scenery and the air was amazingly clean. Every Scot we've met has been exceedingly friendly. It's worth a trip if you ever have the chance.
Our driver/guide, George Shank was very good. He has the real Scottish brogue, a good sense of humor and lots of patience.
It was a very diverse group on the tour, besides us, we had two ladies from Idaho, two Chinese, one lady from Taiwan, a guy from South Korea, two Germans, two Australians, two Basque Spaniards and another two from Barcelona. Except for the Korean guy wandering away for shots of things like traffic, cattle and fence poles, everyone got along well.
George was an 'aggressive' driver and these were some winding roads. If not for some dramamine, I'd have likely joined the Chinese lady losing her lunch in a ditch. Pam is using a watch to stop motion sickness, but the turns today were even getting to her.
Let's see - scenery was good, people are nice... let's talk about the food. The short version is "good, but different." The long version is probably for another e-mail, but I'll give it the old college try.
Breakfast isn't too different aside from apparently always serving a half a cooked tomato unsliced, bacon that's closer to salty ham and sausage that has leeks in it.
For lunches we've had some interesting sandwiches. My favorite so far are the cheese and onion sandwiches- very tasty. I also have tried what they call a sausage roll, which is a bread shell shaped like a hot pocket, but filled with something like deviled ham. And being me, I ordered haggis at the first place I found it. I was a bit disappointed- it was kind of bland, though George said it usually has a good bite to it.
Strangely enough, three out of three dinners have been in pubs. Bar meals are a good deal and so far been very tasty. I've had the traditional British meals of fish & chips, steak pie and bangers and mash. With each meal I've sampled some very good brews. Barmen keep suggesting weaker lagers, but I've been sampling some fine ales and an occassional stout.
Not only have I sampled a number fine Scottish ales, but at our tour driver's suggestion, we stopped at a little distillery. I personally sampled about 10 different types of scotch. They were just tiny amounts, so it didn’t add up to more than a couple or three shots worth, but it was a good ride back to Edinburgh. I may have dozed off for a bit.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
The Trip Starts Tomorrow
In about 21 hours we'll be on the plane heading to London on the first part of our trip. Tonight, we are both pretty tired, but are just about set for leaving for Cleveland tomorrow.
We'll drive to my sister's to drop off the dog and the truck and they'll give us a ride to the Cleveland airport. We fly out at 7:30 eastern time and will arrive in London early the next morning. We are switching airlines in Gatwick after going through customs and will continue up to Edinburgh.
I'm hoping to sleep for most of the flight to help with the jet lag, but that might be a long shot. We'll have to wait and see.
We'll drive to my sister's to drop off the dog and the truck and they'll give us a ride to the Cleveland airport. We fly out at 7:30 eastern time and will arrive in London early the next morning. We are switching airlines in Gatwick after going through customs and will continue up to Edinburgh.
I'm hoping to sleep for most of the flight to help with the jet lag, but that might be a long shot. We'll have to wait and see.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Last Weekend at Home
We finally got our packet about traveling to Ukraine today and I read it while eating lunch. We were supposed to get this at the start of June and it arrived today only 50 some days late by my estimate. On the plus side it has some very good info in it. I especially like their recommendations for dealing with the NAC and trusting our facilitator to make the decisions on negotiating.
There is a section on culture shock that I found interesting. The discuss how people tend to get a brain overload from trying to take in and comprehend things they don't understand. This applies to written and spoken language, but also to customs, mannerisms, food and accomodations. Everything is different and you can get fatigued from trying to understand even a part of it.
They suggest taking refuge in the familiar (which we are prepared for naturally). They say that listening to familiar music, watching familiar movies, reading books and other entertainment is a good way to relax and decompress. They also talk about getting familiar foods in Kiev. If we've been out to a remote region for a few weeks, getting a cheeseburger and fries will be like a plate of ambrosia.
Ray
Here's a link to a site with some pictures of Kiev (Kyiv) Click Here
There is a section on culture shock that I found interesting. The discuss how people tend to get a brain overload from trying to take in and comprehend things they don't understand. This applies to written and spoken language, but also to customs, mannerisms, food and accomodations. Everything is different and you can get fatigued from trying to understand even a part of it.
They suggest taking refuge in the familiar (which we are prepared for naturally). They say that listening to familiar music, watching familiar movies, reading books and other entertainment is a good way to relax and decompress. They also talk about getting familiar foods in Kiev. If we've been out to a remote region for a few weeks, getting a cheeseburger and fries will be like a plate of ambrosia.
Ray
Here's a link to a site with some pictures of Kiev (Kyiv) Click Here
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Appointment in Kiev
Our appointment with National Adoption Center is scheduled for August 8th in Kiev. Since this may be our only chance for visiting Europe, we are going to take some time and go to Scotland, London and Paris before getting to Ukraine.
We've got our reservations planned out for just about everything and our facilator, Tatiana will be arranging an apartment for our stay in Kiev. Any other travel and lodgings in Ukraine will also be handled by her.
Our job now is to make sure we're well prepared for an extended trip, but trying to keep the luggage to the minimum possible.
We've got our reservations planned out for just about everything and our facilator, Tatiana will be arranging an apartment for our stay in Kiev. Any other travel and lodgings in Ukraine will also be handled by her.
Our job now is to make sure we're well prepared for an extended trip, but trying to keep the luggage to the minimum possible.
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