Travelodge Hemel Hempstead

Hello Everyone! We made it! The trip to London was uneventful, thankfully. We arrived at 6:00 am local time and had nothing to do until 12:00 noon. So after about thirty minutes of confusion we figured out which of the 300 underground (subway) ticket options was best and made it out of Heathrow Airport successfully. After we annoyed the 15 other people crowded around us on the underground do to our 30 lbs bags, we got off in downtown London ...

... s Nutcracker (u all know this tune)

* Rule Britannia

* Nessun Dorma (Pavarotti's signature song, from Turandot, u all know how this one goes too)

* 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, my favourite classical piece, and we got the full 18 minutes



The 1812 Overture was a show in itself. All throughout the concert, coloured lights had been used to add to the ambience, yet in this piece they added far more - soldiers with muskets, lasers ...

... time or eyesight. Anyway, Ill try and keep this thing updated when I can.. apologies if I dont... remember you can always email or facebook us too! So, 'speak' to you all soon, hope you are all well... and au revoir!! * more than one reader would be a bonus. I count myself as the first.

... I'll grab my cup and approach the waitress and ask where the cofee is located (note that at the same time that I ask her she has both hands full with a coffee pot and a tea pot). She says she will be right over. Phew! Problem solved! Post breakfast we decided to walk to the Thames to have a look around. An hour and a half later we made it!. On the way we strolled down through Regent Street, Picadilly Circus, past 10 Downing Street (I did ...

... the special effects were quite good. On our last day in London we went to Buckingham Palace and then the National Gallery which has a large collection of world famous artists like Monet, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Van Gogh etc. Next we walked down Oxford street for a little bit of window shopping. On our way back we walked through Hyde Park was was very big and pretty. We had a tradition Curry for tea at an Indian Restaurant for our last night in London.

... at this point and having a great time. Come 7pm we headed around the corner to find the Atlantis bookshop on Musuem street. I gave Mark a call, and met up with him a pizza shop nearby. Soon enough we arrived at Atlantis bookshop, a little shop with about 30 or more people sqaushed inside. More wine was handed to us as we entered the shop, plus finger food. Another mate, Steve had released ...

... percebi que tinha sido uma providencia divina. O rapaz se mostrou irado quando o guarda passou. Entao o guarda olhou para ele. O rapaz fez careta, o guarda voltou e chamou o rapaz. Falou firmemente com ele. O rapaz retornou a falar com a irma, mas com outro semblante, falando mais baixo, sem gesticular e ainda aceitou o pacote. O Senhor fez coisas maravilhosas aqui em Londres!!!Hoje eu estou preparando as malas para ...

... my brain. I didn't do any sight-seeing or so, but just hanging out with my friends was more than enough for me! The student-party on Saturday was a blast though. After numerous (implying I lost count) beers I found an ironing board - I took it out and used it as my personal drum-kit for about an hour. Jana danced around me in circles, like an Indian around a camp-fire. In other words.. the way it should be! Next to my old study buddies ...

... others sometimes are this way too. I guess that would be the lure of more travel for someone like me. If alienation is more or less a natural state, you have more company here than at home... at least in terms of people coming from the same mental place. I'm betting it's not good to get too much of it, though, if you're naturally prone to it. It would probably make it that much harder to build those friendships/relationships later on... and as much as some of us ...

... bars? To socialize? On Friday, we met C.J. and Gary. C.J. was the loud, proud Hemel local who just decided to start up a conversation with these "mates from Canadia". Gary was the more subtle observationalist, continually grinning and shaking his head as C.J. moved his way into any and every social circle that night, even to the point of sitting down with and chatting up a couple who, before he entered into their universe, had been having a rather pleasant time making out with each ...