On the road again

So Tom and I woke up early for our new adventures ahead of us. I had packed my small bag and left the majority of my stuff at John's so that I can be a bit more mobile while up north.

John drove both of us to the tube station and said our goodbyes. While waiting for the train, I saw this itty bitty car in the parking lot.

It's ridiculous how much smaller the UK cars are than the US. On the way to Kings Cross we passed by Wembly Stadium, which is apparently a really nice football (soccer) stadium. 

Anyway, Tom and I make it to King's Cross where we were to part ways. He's off to visit some other friends and then to Brussles & Amsterdam. Crazy Israeli! 

Bye Tom!

So I make my way to the train station to go up north and see Jimbo. I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda nervous to find out what he's got in store for me. The train on the way there was really nice! I found out that my "first class" seat on the train is actually the exact same as the standard class except you get complimentary tea/coffee. Eh, it was still nice. What was cooler yet though was that the train had free wi-fi! So cool! I know places like Boston and such are actually trying to do it on their public transportation systems too. I'd love to see that become more mainstream.

The train was actually 2 trains. I had to get off and transfer in Retford and wait for about 45 min for the next train. They had a real nice sandwich and coffee stand so I got me a lil snack. Large Hot Chocolate & this really nice Brie & Cranberry sandwich - toasted panini style. Ugh! Quality!

Before the train shows up, I had to use the men's room. I didn't see any signs for it so I politely asked one of the train staff where the "restroom is". He points me in a direction, I thank him kindly and head off in that direction. Lo and behold, he just sent me to the rest-room (aka, waiting room)....where I just ate my sandwich and spent the last 30ish minutes. Finally I realized we had a little misunderstanding. Asked another person where the toilet was and they just point in a different direction and off I go. Kinda funny how in the US, "toilet" is a bit more vulgar term for the bathroom and our polite term is something completely different to the brits. Anyway, I digress.

Got on the train to Lincoln which was significantly smaller than the other train I took. It was only about 2 cars long. What's worse though....NO WI-FI!! I got spoiled! humph. At least the scenery on the way up there (through the Highlands) was absolutely gorgeous!

As soon as I get in, I see the over-sized egghead, Jimbo, waiting for me. He hasn't changed at all since I last saw him 2 years ago. After a quick 'allo 'allo, him and I stopped off at a little pub for a bite to eat and a drink. He's a bartender and he actually works there (surprisingly, its not a gay bar -- sorry Jimbo, I'm not like that :P). I get my first Strongbow while in England. I haven't had it in ages. It's a nice cider that my dad introduced me to. Got a little pizza and met up with one of Jimbo's buddies, Fat John (it was merely how he was introduced, not my name for him!) who seemed like proper fun.

Jimbo briefly showed me around a bit and made me walk up this ungodly steep hill which had to be at least a quarter mile long and at a 60% or more incline. ridiculous! Jimbo's mom picked us up and we headed back to his house. 

Right before we turn into the driveway, there is a kid in the middle of the road with an upturned bike, him standing around all confused and juice boxes scattered along the ground. He is rambling something to me that was clearly supposed to be English but I only heard the number 5 and that he needed a new bag in there. Apparently his bag holding his precious juice boxes broke and everything just went...boom. I later find out that I officially met my first "special" English child. The kid tried following us back to the house until Jimbo gave him a stern "Jog on!" off he went.

Jimbo and I played a little catch-up, I talked to his mom for a bit and then she was going to start making dinner. I was absolutely knackered (tired) so I took a nap to prep for the long night ahead! When I woke up there was a shmorgisborg ready. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, string beans, carrots, Yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, and all toppled with gravy galore. Let it be noted that his mom is a legend!

Day 1, in the books.

So I wake up around noon from a fantastic night with john, gin, Luke, & Leonie (Luke & Jenna's 4th roommate). John is jumping on the bed like a little schoolgirl yelling for me to get up (apparently Luke and john spent a solid 10 min trying to get me up). i blame it on the jetlag, not the gin.

after tinkering around for a bit, John, Luke, & I head over to the tube and Luke and i part our ways with john. from there, Luke and i meet up with Jenna at her workplace and go to a nice place for lunch, called Alibi. Got a Lamb Burger. Interesting choice which turned out to be quite nice. Interesting thing to note: burgers are not eaten with the hands, just a fork and knife. kinda an interesting change from the barbaric trends of the US. (an not-so-interesting-sidenote: the curry from last night was fantastic, but has quite a post-bite to it where Luke and i were less than comfy) :P (another not-so-interesting-sidenote: apparently "yogurt" in england is spelt "yoghurt"...what the hell is that all about?)

From lunch, Luke and i said our goodbyes to Jenna and then decided to head to the south bank (central England) for some touristy shite. First, we went to see The Clink which was a really interesting and slightly disturbing museum on torture in England. really neat stuff. I'll try and post some pictures when i can (silly yank didn't think about bringing a camera). after the clink, we wandered around the south bank area, saw some really neat stuff. one thing that stood out was a giant WW II cruiser called the HMS Belfast that was docked and was all camo-coloUred. According to wikipedia, the "dazzle camo" or "razzle dazzle" color was actually pretty common. weird brits.

also saw the tower of london and a few other things in the area then went back to luke's place to chill a bit, order a pizza and more or less, lay low tonight in prep for tomorrow.

speaking of tomorrow, i don't think i mentioned my plans yet. this whole england trip is based around sneaking to cardiff with Marc Kirby (adventure '08) to surprise all the internationals who are partying there. should be wicked fun! so i'm meeting up with marc tomorrow around 2ish and then going to cardiff for the big surprise.

luke and i just ordered some pizza that is "quite nice" says mr. windsor. interesting enough, its papa johns. which is apparently significantly better  quality than its sibling chain in the US. anyway, that'll do it for now. leave comments!

Kaufy