Creperie de Hampstead

This stuff is so good, I can’t believe that I had never had one until I came to London. The stuff to which I am referring, of course, is the warm chocolate goodness of the crepe. If you’ve never had one, you don’t know what you’re missing. As far as food goes, there are so many things I miss about the good old US of A while I’m here. Ice in drinks that get refilled as many times as you want for one example. However, there are an equal number of items that just aren’t the same in America. When’s the last time you had a good plate of Bangers and Mash? How about really good curry you got from that little place in China town you love so much? Or even mincemeat pies… okay so there are a lot of foods here that are not so good either. But back to the crepe, just down the street from us is a little place called the Creperie de Hampstead, on occasion I’ll join one of the massive groups that goes there after diner to pick up a Belgium Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Cream Crepe… and I never regret it. I did that tonight, and now you know.
Cheers!
www.hampsteadcreperie.com

That's Mister John David Deniston, thank you very much.

I apologize for my lack of activity in the realm of the blog recently, it is a crazy world I live in, and one I should be taking time to write a few lines about sooner than later. For the moment though I would like to take a moment to send a shout out for my fellow CultureShockFM host, future President of this the United States of America, blogger-extraordinaire, and good friend John Deniston. Check out the article he links in his blog HERE. John, I’m proud to know you.

The French Connection

Back from Paris, and I have to admit it was quite an experience. I did get to see almost everything I was wanting to see… I didn’t make it to the d’Orsay, it turns out that that museum is closed on Mondays, so I caught an earlier train and come home late Sunday night. I spent a lot of time walking along the river… that way I always knew where I was, and a lot of the important stuff is right on the river… the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, The Louvre, and a lot of random little buildings are all right on, or very close to the river itself. I put a new photo gallery up already with my digital pictures from the trip, HERE.. I was fighting a dying battery in my digital camera the whole time, so I don’t have as many as I might otherwise, and for some reason my website didn’t upload the pictures in order, so they might appear to be a little oddly placed. I found the French to very much fit into their stereotype: quite rude (especially when I talked with an American accent, I faked a Russian one after that and since they don’t hear many Russians speaking in English I got away with it, I just had to keep my red hair covered); lots of guys with long hair, and everyone was so skinny I wonder if a nationwide epidemic of anorexia hasn’t broken out. Other than bad experiences with the people, the place was incredible, everything was at least four times as big as I expected it to be. The Louvre, being the crowning glory of my trip, let me completely in awe. I’ll never have quite as much admiration for the National Gallery here in London as I used to. All in all, it was a good trip, but it was lonely there by myself, and I think that that is a city that can be much, much more enjoyed with the aide of a bag of gold. One day, when I’m rich, I’ll go back and see if that thought is true.

An American in Paris

Through an interesting situation I was given a free ticket to go to Paris tomorrow. All I had to pay for was a ticket to get back, so for 40 pounds I’m going to spend Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday, and Monday morning in the city of love. My goal is to see the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Musee d’Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame. If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, my further goal is to spend no more than 50 Euro the entire weekend through arriving back at the house Monday afternoon. I actually think I can do this because I don’t plan on going in Notre Dame, will just do stairs at the Eiffel Tower, and if I can pass myself off as an art student, or as a 17 year old, entrance to the d’Orsay and the Louvre will be free. In keeping with the spirit of the title of this post (or at least its namesake), I will be videotaping snippets of this journey, and may randomly burst into song at any given moment. Expect there to be many pictures, many stories, and many strange experiences to share Monday night!

Aero

Top Three Signs that you have done more than your share of flying:

1) You recognize flight attendants and know which airport they operate out of.

2) You know the layout of the seats on different aircraft to the point that you know that being in seat 21E on an American Airlines 777 means you’re in the middle seat of the second row of coach before you get to the airplane.

3) You know where the gate you’re connecting with is, even in an airport that is not the one by your house.

I used to love flying. There’s something magical about soaring above the earth at thirty-nine thousand feet, but the more I do it, the more I begin to loathe it. Maybe it’s just the fact that I can’t sleep on planes, especially since they almost never turn the lights off in coach. Maybe it’s just the fact that the larger you are, the less room you have, and I inevitably end up between two people larger than myself, and on international flights, the people I’m between inevitably don’t believe in bathing. Maybe it’s just that it got old. Perhaps if I was nicer about it, they wouldn’t give me such a hard time, but I want that arm rest and I learned a long time ago that elbows are just about the only way to get it. It’s probably all of the above, and then some, but flying no longer holds any mystique for me. I’m ready for that whole space plane thing to get going, you know, the one that can take you all the way around the world in two hours. Yeah, that would be nice. Or perhaps I just need to make a filthy amount of money and buy my own personal Learjet. I wouldn’t end up in the position I am in that way. In the mean time, anyone got an extra Learjet lying around they feel like letting me borrow?

Look who's back.

It’s been over a month since m last post, I think it’s safe to say a lot has happened. As is status quo among college students, finals week kicked my butt. I was glad to get it behind me and come home to good ole’ Dallas, Texas, “the friendliest people and the prettiest women you ever seen,” oh so true. I spent most of my time working, and just about every other waking moment with Laci. This morning she left for Otis College of Art and Design (in LA), and I leave Monday to head back to London. Hope all is well with all of you, and look for more frequent posts with school gearing back up next week.