We woke up and headed to breakfast, nearly slipping to our deaths on the pavement (sidewalk to US readers) which had iced over in the middle of the night. All the puddles from the 3am showers had frozen solid. Many cars had frosted windscreens, bonnets, and boots, and a few coming in even had snow […]
I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year. When you read this in the US it’ll be well past New Year’s here. Five-hour time difference after all. The promised cold weather has arrived, and the temperatures are in the upper 30s already and continuing to fall with snow expected in the small hours. It […]
Today we got up and exchange our room keys. We’re moving from paid nights to free nights for the balance of the trip. Everyone here’s in a tizzy over VAT changing back because of the computer ramifications. They’re going to make the entire hotel check out 1-1 and check back in at the new rate. […]
We met Jan and Anna at the Patisserie at about 830am for an English Breakfast. We enjoyed it and had a nice time. Thanks for picking up the tab, Jan! It was raining lightly as we headed to the tube station and down to the District line platforms for our ride to Westminster where we […]
Today is a legal holiday so things are still closed sporadically. More importantly, all shops are filled to the gills. Last year, to help the economy, the VAT tax was lowered from 17.5% down to something lower (maybe 12% or 15%) and on 12-31-09 they are returning to its former level. The weather is beautiful, […]
Another rough night of sleep, but that’s par for the course. Woke up and watched the news. The bomber is the big news, of course. Flight delays from London to the US are running on average over 3 hours. I’m going to have to try to figure out how to pack to come home or […]
Boxing Day, a true English tradition brings the legendary sales with tens of thousands of people mobbing every store, most notably Harrods. So, of course, we avoided most of those places. We woke up to a dreary, wet, cold, day and went to our usual breakfast place only to find that their cook had done […]
We left Miami Christmas Eve, 20 minutes early because everyone was checked in and on board. We waited in Club America after breezing through security ZERO people in line. Club America really sucks but it’s where Virgin Atlantic sends you in Miami, since they only offer one flight per day. There were 113 on board […]
Just a quick post as I kill some time. The Christmas Party at work was a success. We had it catered by Boston Market instead of Stephen’s Deli for the first time in decades after two disappointing performances in a row. It was more money but very well received. Turkey, brisket, ham, corn, mashed potatoes, […]
I had a nice early holiday at Grandma’s. Me, Mom, and my Aunt all chipped in and got her a 26″ LCD flat screen to replace her 21″ tube TV which was slowly dying. Sophia (a vendor of mine in China) sent a beautiful walking cane for her. By far the nicest gift of the […]