And I Say Its All Right...

Well, we’re in London. Our hotel wifi hasn’t been working well so we’ve found a café close by with free wifi.

Yesterday, my mom and I hopped a train to London. We arrived at London Paddington station and jumped on the tube to take us to our next hotel. We’re staying at Thistle Euston. It’s a great hotel and it’s just across the street from the Euston train station and tube stop.

After we got checked in, we decided to hit the town. But only after having lunch at Nando’s! I’ve only eaten at Nando’s once before, in Australia, and I didn’t even know they were here in the UK. I was really excited to eat there. And it was just a great as I remembered. And the “creamy salad dressing” tastes just like Alabama white sauce! If you know me very well, you know how indescribably happy this made me. Needless to say, I will be eating there again.

After lunch, we took the tube to Westmintser. We walked around the area for a bit, just to see the sights, before hopping onto a river cruise tour. We got to see all the bridges and fancy buildings along the River Thames. We got to the Tower Bridge just in time to see the Olympic rings being put up on the bridge.

We got off the cruise and went into the Tower of London. We wandered through the Tower for a while and, of course, saw the Crown Jewels. They wouldn’t let me try on Queen Elizabeth’s crown. I don’t know why…

We took the cruise back to Westminster and then took the tube to Harrod’s. Neither of us actually knew much about Harrod’s, but we’d both been told to go there. Now, let’s have an honest moment: I’m not much of a shopper. And I don’t give a rip about name brands. I think paying over $25 dollars for a purse is ridiculous and the only thing worth paying $100 for is a pair of Chacos. (By the way, if you need to be convinced to buy a pair of Chacos, give me ten minutes of your time. Honestly, the best $100 I’ve ever spent. Anyway…) So we walked into Harrod’s and back out in approximately 7.4 minutes. We did walk through the food section, which seemed like a place I’d enjoy if there weren’t a gazillion people there.

So, we decided to just take the tube back to the hotel. We’d been going all day and we’re pretty tired.

I slept so nicely last night. Besides the fact that I was exhausted last night, we also have air conditioning in this hotel, which helped a great deal.

This morning we went to Westmintser Abbey for the tour. Did you know the place is massive? And its been there forever. And about a thousand people are buried there. I mean, I knew there were kings and queens buried there, but I didn’t realize how many writers were buried there or had some sort of memorial there. Also, I kind of think stained glass is fascinating. And honestly, my brain can’t comprehend how someone can create sculptures so real. Those statues and whatnot are unbelievable.

After Westminster Abbey, we went to lunch at Earl of Sandwich. Yes, the same Earl of Sandwich that can be found at Downtown Disney in Florida. Who knew there would be one here! Certainly not me. I was pretty excited to eat one of my favorite sandwiches in the world for lunch today.

We wanted to tour St. Paul’s Cathedral today, but there was apparently some ordination going on and it wasn’t open to the public. Boo. We took a few pictures and then decided to hop on a bus for Trafalgar Square. We walked through for a bit and the hopped another bus for Hyde Park and Kensington Garden. Hyde Park and Kensington Garden are much bigger than we realized so we took an hour or so and just walked through. We saw the Diana memorial fountain, where apparently its acceptable for children as old as 11ish to strip to their underwear and run around in the water… If only it were just as acceptable for grown ups… We saw the Peter Pan statue, of course, before hopping on another bus to get back to the hotel.

Now we’re just hanging out at a coffee shop for a little wifi. Next stop: dinner at Nando’s, of course! 

By The Banks Of Her Own Lagoon...

Today, Bonnie and I discovered Bath. Honestly, neither one of us really knew anything about the town; we just picked it.

And guess what!

Bath is awesome. It’s old and beautiful and distinct. I loved it.

We took the tour buses around to get the proper tour. One bus took us through the town. Another took us up into the hills to see the skyline. The view was seriously breath taking. And I don’t use the term “breath taking.” Unfortunately, the bus ride didn’t exactly provide great conditions for a picture.

Turns out, Bath was like a big vacation town. Pretty much all the houses were originally built simply to rent out to people coming in for "the season." And people really just came in to party. And when they came, they stayed for months at a time.

They’d come to bathe in the hot springs because they were convinced it would heal anything. They got all dressed up for “assembly”, went to the abbey for the latest gossip, and basically went on the hunt for a significant other.

It was basically MTV Spring Break of Jane Austen’s generation. And it lasted upwards of six months of the year. Yikes.

Anyway, the place was beautiful. I’ve added it to my list of “Places I’ll Frequent When I Marry A Rich Man.”

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

Pulteney Bridge

Bath Abbey

This little guy posed for me.
Thanks, little guy.

Waiting To Take You Away...

In this, the year of 2012, the fiftieth year of the Beatles, I, Callie Ann Starkey, got to walk the streets that once belonged to and inspired the Fab Four.

Yesterday, Bonnie and I took the train into Liverpool. And due to a slight train/tram confusion, we got into Liverpool later than we hoped. And thanks to a kind police officer, a short underground ride, a helpful bus driver and tour guide, and a nice jog, we filled the last two seats on the Magical Mystery Tour.

No, seriously. By the time we got on the bus, we were both out of breath and sweaty. And we didn’t have cash to pay for it. The tour guide let us on anyway and let us pay at the end. If I hadn’t made it to that bus, I might have just sat down in the rainy streets of Liverpool and cried.

Have I mentioned that I’m a Beatles fan?

The Magical Mystery Tour took us all over Liverpool, seeing the childhood homes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, as well as other significant places in their story: where they went to school, where they met, where Paul sang in the choir.

We drove down Penny Lane, where the bank still stands on the corner, and the shelter in the middle of the roundabout. The barbershop is even still there.

We saw Strawberry Field, which happened to actually be a children’s home.

The tour ended at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles played over 200 shows in the early 60s.

Needless to say, it was pretty great. Not only did I get to wander the streets of the Beatles’ childhood neighborhoods, but I was also really impressed with Liverpool. I’d definitely like to go back at some point and spend a few days exploring.

But for now, we’re in the Bath/Bristol area now, planning to explore Bath tomorrow, and already planning out the weekend in London.

P.S. Did I mention that my fingernails are painted yellow? As in, the submarine that we all live in…

Pick Up My Bags, Run To The Station...

Today, Bonnie and I took off from Edinburgh on a train headed for Manchester. We got a bus that stopped a few blocks from the train station and dragged our suitcases those few blocks before spotting some other folks with suitcases. We followed those people down a ramp into a tunnel and suddenly a train station appeared!

I love when train stations are underground. Really, I just love it when an entire establishment functions underground, just below the surface. It just feels like a little hidden secret that I get to be a part of for a short time. Maybe it’s from my time at Disney, working at the Magic Kingdom and walking the tunnels everyday for work.

Anyway…

We got our tickets validated and waited for our train to arrive. Not long after, we boarded our train for Manchester and were on our way. We cruised through the British countryside and watched the sheep and windmills pass for a little while before drifting off into a nice nap.

A few hours later, we pulled into the Manchester Picadilly station, only to hop on another train because, turns out, we’re not actually staying in Manchester. Our hotel is in a smaller city just outside of Manchester called Altrincham. Try pronouncing that one. We can’t either.

We knew the hotel was somewhere near the train station, but we didn’t know the exact location. But do you know what was right across the street from the train station? The library! What better place to ask for a bit of helpful information!

The library was just about to close, but the two librarians were more than happy to point us in the right direction. I told them I was studying in the States to become a librarian and that I figured they’d be the best people to ask. They agreed and wished me luck!

A five (but felt like 50 pulling suitcases) minute walk later, we found the Cresta Court Hotel and got checked in.

We walked down to a local pub, George & Dragon, for dinner, as recommended by the lady at the hotel desk. She was correct in her recommendation. It was a great meal.

My dear friend, Miranda, asked me about the food here and I told her it’s been great and I realized I hadn’t really mentioned the food on this fancy blog. So for the record, we’ve had some really great meals.

George & Dragon served traditional English food. I had the fish and chips, of course, which was great. It was fresh and fried to perfection. And yes, I do love to drown the fish and chips in vinegar. It’s just so good. My mom had roasted chicken with a lemon glaze. Oh man, it was really good too.

Last night we ate at a local, family owned burger joint called Homemade Burger Company. And coming from a girl who loves a good cheeseburger, this was a good cheeseburger. Local beef on a fresh, homemade bun with a bowlful of fresh fried potatoes. Yum.

But the best we’ve had so far, and making it to my list of best meals ever, was Zizzi. I may have mentioned this the other night. The Italian restaurant? Bonnie and I started with the garlic and cheese flatbread and let me tell you, this stuff was amazing. Seriously. Melt-in-your-mouth kind of stuff. Then we both had the roasted chicken covered in ham in a white wine sauce, with roasted potatoes and green beans. All I can say is, I wish I could eat that every day for the rest of my life.

Or at least just once more. I’ve looked them up online. They’re all over Great Britain, but nowhere else. Don’t be surprised if I eat there several more times in the next 5 weeks.

Anyway, we’re back at the hotel and remember that time I mentioned that I don’t sleep here? Well it’s almost 1:00 am. Bonnie is asleep and here I am, writing to you all and watching Gameday on MLB.com. Let’s be honest, I didn’t sleep much in the States… maybe this isn’t a jet lag thing, so much as a Callie Ann thing… 

Cellophane Flowers Of Yellow And Green Towering Over Your Head...

It’s been a busy few days. Geez, Louise. Where to begin…

First off, jet lag is no friend of mine. The first night I woke up around 1:00 am and rolled around for three hours before finally going back to sleep. Last night, I just did the laying around first and finally fell asleep somewhere around 2:00 am. Moving on…

Yesterday, Bonnie and I took advantage of one of those hop on/hop off double deckers with the open top. It took us around the city to show all the scenes and fancy buildings and whatnot.

We stopped at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which I think might be the Queen’s summer home or something… I didn’t catch that part… I was listening! I promise! We walked from the Palace up The Royal Mile for a little while, hitting up the souvenir shops.

We hopped back onto the Majestic Tour bus and rode through the city to the Royal Botanic Garden, or as I like to call it, Fifty Shades Of Green. It was never-ending and beautiful. It was more trees and less flowers than I expected, but I loved it. There was a demonstration garden with vegetables and whatnot. There were green houses galore, a glasshouse full of palm trees, a lily pond, a Chinese garden. I could keep going.

I’ve been playing Pick-Out-The-Americans-In-A-Crowd, and at the bus stop leaving the Garden, I noticed a girl with a North Face jacket and a dad with a Titlist hat. I asked where they were from: Birmingham, Alabama. We all struck up a conversation that lasted the entire bus ride. We talked about our adventures in Scotland, but also about our jobs and school and such back home. The son, who’d just turned 16 asked me about the University of Alabama and what life was like in Tuscaloosa. We did the friendly “I’ll take your picture if you take mine” thing and hopped off the bus.

Happy travels to the Mays family of Birmingham, AL.

Bonnie and I went to a restaurant in the shopping centre nearby, thanks to a recommendation of a nice jewelry saleslady, which turned out was a really good idea. Zizzi. It was Italian. And delicious. Honestly, that was one of the most fantastic meals I’ve ever had. Seriously, the Scottish know how to do Italian.

After making our next-day plans and doing a little Facebook chatting with my dad (and a few other lucky ones), we went to bed. Bonnie slept. Did I mention that I hate jet lag?

Sidenote: It’s somewhere in the 50s, lower 60s here and almost always cloudy. It rains at least twice, if not three times a day. Don’t get me wrong. This is not a complaint. It’s mostly so everyone in the burning hot southern summer back home can be jealous.

Today’s agenda included the National Museum of Scotland, The Elephant House, and Edinburgh Castle.

We rode the bus into the city and found our way to the National Museum of Scotland. I wanted to go here mostly for two reasons: 1. It was free. 2. I have some friends at school who are going into archives and museum work. Therefore I’ve had a recent spark of interest in museums.

And guess what? It was great! I really loved it and took lots of pictures. I honestly didn’t know I could actually enjoy a museum, but now that I have a better understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, it makes the whole experience a lot cooler.

You’re welcome, Jamie and Becky.

Next stop today was The Elephant House. For anyone asking what The Elephant House is, it was one (and possibly the most popular) of the cafés where J.K. Rowling spent much of her time writing the first Harry Potter books. In fact, even the t-shirts they sell claim to be the “birthplace” of Harry Potter.

Being a big HP fan and an even bigger JK fan, I was really excited to get a mocha and a piece of shortbread and just relax and know that this was a place of inspiration for her. If it hadn’t been so blasted hot in the place, I would’ve enjoyed it a little more. Nevertheless, it was a very cozy joint. Not to mention, the mocha and the shortbread were both fantastic.

Next, we walked the few blocks back to The Royal Mile and up toward Edinburgh Castle. We bit the bullet and paid the pounds to get in (my favorite things in life are free), and it was worth it. We explored the castle grounds for a few hours, wandering through some of the oldest buildings in Edinburgh, seeing exhibits and memorials, and gazing upon the Scottish Crown Jewels. Oh, and you can see all of Edinburgh from the castle.

We left the castle and did a little more shopping before deciding to find a bus and head back to the hotel. Once again, we made friends at the bus stop. Today, it was a nice couple from St. Louis who happen to be staying at our hotel. We talked about St. Louis and how I’m currently dreaming of moving there. (Oh yeah, if you’re reading this and didn’t know it yet, I’m currently dreaming of moving to St. Louis.) They were great and we swapped stories of our travels here and St. Louis stories before exiting the bus and heading toward dinner.

Now, I’m sitting in the lobby of the hotel, the only room with free internet. Everyone else at the hotel is in the lobby, too, only they’re here to watch Euro2012.


Here are a few pictures from the Big Adventure:

At Edinburgh Castle

Royal Botanic Garden

Shops in Old Town

The Elephant House

At the National Museum of Scotland
Kayla, I took this for you. 

Lift My Head, I'm Still Yawning...

I’m currently sitting in a hotel room in Scotland watching How I Met Your Mother.

After a long day of travel, we finally made it to Edinburgh, Scotland. We arrived this morning at 8:30ish, Scotland time, which was 2:30 am according to our brains and bodies. Neither my mom nor me actually got much sleep on the flights, so we were pretty exhausted by the time we got our luggage, hopped a bus, and finally checked into our hotel around 11:00 am.

We were dirty, hungry, and extremely tired.

We’ve been told not to nap on our first day to help combat the jet lag, but we had to. I literally could not make my eyes focus and my brain refused to think for itself. We decided that we could take a short nap, and then we’d get up, shower, and find somewhere to eat.

We woke up about an hour and a half later to the loudest alarm I’d ever heard. It was one of those moments where you’re so disoriented when you wake up that you’re not really even sure you’re awake.

I walked into the hallway to see if the alarm was just in our room. I couldn’t hear anything, so Bonnie called the front desk, only to find out that it was the fire alarm and we were to evacuate the building while we wait on the “fire brigade.”

Talk about a wake up call… It was probably for the better. I’d already hit the snooze twice.

The fire brigade arrived. All was cleared. We all went back inside. But not before my mom took a few pictures, of course.

We finally got awake and got clean. We went a shopping centre close by that had a few restaurants and we were so hungry we didn’t care too much where we went. We ended up at Frankie & Benny’s… a “New York bar and grille”… Ha. Our first meal in Scotland at a “New York” bar.

At least I had the fish and chips.

Tomorrow, we plan to take a bus around the city and see the sights: Edinburgh Castle, Royal Botanic Garden, a million cheesy souvenir shops. I’m going to try to convince my mom to buy my nieces and nephews some bagpipes.

I’m off to figure out more things to do to keep myself awake. My goal: 8:00pm. Two and a half more hours of keeping myself awake. I think I can do it.

My mother, however…

She's Got A(nother) Ticket To Ride...

Well, so much for flying out tonight. 


My mother and I are now sitting in our fancy room at the Sheraton at the Huntsville airport. Thanks to Delta for the hotel room and the delicious burger I just had at The Grille. Oh, and the Dr. Pepper I'm currently drinking. And the breakfast I will be eating in the morning.


Our first flight was delayed so much that we knew we'd miss our second. So we rescheduled everything. So we never got on a plane at all. After a slightly frustrating (and long) conversation with the airline folks, we have a new flight plan. 


Our new flight schedule begins at 11:30 tomorrow morning. We'll still fly through Detroit and Amsterdam and end up in Edinburgh, but this sets us back almost 24 hours. We will (hopefully) arrive in Scotland around 8:30 am, which means our first day will be a bit more exhausting than we'd planned. 


But for now, I'm watching the Cardinals beat the Tigers. It's the top of the 8th. For the sake of my crazy day, please Cards, beat the Tigers. 


Hopefully, my next post will come from Edinburgh, Scotland... but I make no guarantees. 

She's Got A Ticket To Ride...

I cleaned out my purse to get ready for the big adventure and I found this...

My first flight leaves in approximately 6 1/2 hours! 

They're Gonna Put Me In The Movies... (or: video editing exercise)

As part of my preparation for the big adventure, I’ve created a short video introducing myself. This is a little assignment to get me more comfortable with video editing.

If you know me, you may know that I recently discovered a love for creating awesome, albeit somewhat ridiculous, videos about whatever I want to talk about. I call it “Book Talk Y’all”… Maybe you’ve heard of it.

Thank you, grad school, for forcing me to create and edit videos.

But the extent of my editing is just for fun, so I’m looking forward to learning more about video editing in an academic setting.

Anyway, here’s my 45 second introduction…

Two Of Us Wearing Raincoats Standing Solo In The Sun...

As part of our student experience, we’ve been asked bring a “mascot”- some small sort of character that we can carry with us and use in pictures.

Well, naturally, I want to take Pirate Minnie.

Pirate Minnie has been with me for many years now and she is quite a traveler. She has also been a representative of a group of my best friends. We call ourselves “Family Dinner” and we’ve been together for years and years. We all went to college together, but now we live all over the country and beyond. From Nashville to New York. North Carolina to Haiti.

And anytime we get together, Pirate Minnie is there to stand in for whoever can’t make it. She has been on many a vacation with us, including New York, Orlando, St. Louis, Portland. Unfortunately, Pirate Minnie not exactly small.

WDW

NYC

Go Cards!

Family Dinner Thanksgiving 2011

13102 January 2012 

But there is another group of very important people in my life, whom I commonly refer to as “13102.” This is the group of ladies I lived with when I moved down to Orlando and worked for a time at a little known place called Walt Disney World.

13102 traveled to our old stomping grounds earlier this year to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. It was a crazy, fast, lovely, perfect weekend. And while there, I found myself another Minnie!

Purple Minnie will travel with me to the United Kingdom and will carry with her the blessings of my beloved Family Dinner and 13102. She and I are looking forward to the many adventures that await us! 

Pirate Minnie passing the torch!

Purple Minnie is ready to go!

Dear Sir or Madam Will You Read My Book...

Last month, I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday in Nashville, TN, a city that is one of my many homes. To celebrate, I allowed myself to wander through Nashville’s newest bookstore in the lovely neighborhood of Green Hills.

Parnassus Books is an independent bookstore that opened last fall. Parnassus was more than welcomed by the community, since Green Hills had to say goodbye to its beloved bookstore, Davis-Kidd, a few years ago.

I decided that I’d buy myself a book for my birthday and, naturally, wandered through the children’s and YA section for quite a while. I finally decided on The Apothecary by Maile Meloy. I picked this title for a few reasons:

A. It has a cool cover. Yes, I judge books by the cover. Listen folks. In today’s society, when people pay lots of money to go to arts and design schools and get paid money to create attractive book covers, its okay to judge them every now and then. Now, I’m not saying that the judgment passed will actually be an accurate assessment of the book, but whatever. The Apothecary has a great cover. And you know why? Because it has the Tower Bridge on it. Which leads me to…

B. Its based in London! That was the kicker. I actually didn’t realize it was Tower Bridge until I saw the poster in the bathroom. I’d already noted the book on the shelves because…

C. It’s an autographed copy. But it was seeing the book poster that convinced me that The Apothecary would be my birthday book.

I actually didn’t start reading The Apothecary till a few weeks later, but once I started I couldn’t stop. It was one of those.

The story takes place in 1952. It’s the story of 14 year old Janie, who’s parents suddenly decide to move the family from their home in sunny California to dreary London. Janie is less that excited, to say the least. That is, until a defiant classmate, Benjamin, befriends her. Benjamin is the son of the local apothecary. His intense desire to become a spy suddenly throws Janie and himself into a mystery that is beyond belief. Their adventure takes them all over the streets of London, searching for Benjamin’s father, trying to keep safe the ancient Pharmacopoeia, and racing Russian spies to an atomic bomb.

The adventure is action packed, but Meloy has not forgotten her characters in the midst of the action. The characters are well developed, quirky, likable and believable.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait for the next. (Maile Meloy is currently working on a sequel.)

The Apothecary was a great book to get me (even more) excited about my upcoming trip to the United Kingdom. But it was certainly not the first one I’d read. Last summer I became slightly obsessed with reading British books… which may or may not have partially led to my decision to study in London this summer. I reread all the Harry Potters and a few classics, including Peter Pan and The Wind in the Willows. And on top of that, I audiobooked some of those. Honestly, what is better than a British man reading you to sleep?

Naturally, I have lots of recommendations for great British reads, but I’ve tried to narrow it down a little and just give a few of my favorite titles. So here goes…

The Harry Potters- Oh come on, you knew I’d throw these out there. I’m not going to sum up the story here because if anyone out there doesn’t know the story yet, then that person is probably not reading this blog. Moving on…

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I first read this book in college. Actually, it was on my first trip to England. It follows Christopher, who’s autistic and finds his neighbors dog murdered in the front yard and is determined to solve the mystery. Christopher's perspective is fascinating and I couldn't recommend this book enough. Although Christopher is a teenager, this book is classified as an adult book. But its a great read for teens and up. 

Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet. I read this novel for my YA class last semester. It’s a mixed up tale of a family’s drama and struggle through World War II and the later discovery of secrets that had been kept for several generations. This is one of those fantastic novels that, although it is classified as Young Adult, should definitely not be limited to young adults.

I could keep going, but I won’t. Don’t fret. I’m sure I’ll write more about my favorites when I’m visiting places like the Eagle & Child pub where Lewis and Tolkien hung out or Primrose Hill where Mary Poppins and the Banks children flew kites. 


Have I mentioned that I am so excited? I leave in 5 days!!!