Rabbie Burns' Night

So the last few days the streets of Edingburgh have smelled of Haggis morning noon and night. This is because of Robert Burns' Birthday, which is celebrated with great fanfare here. Everyone heads to the pubs to eat Haggis and hear Burns' poetry being recited.

If one wants, they can organize their own supper.

I did try Haggis. It smells a lot worse than it tastes. Kind of a meaty salty taste. Sort of like a meaty paste. I won't tell you what Haggis is made of, I will just let Wikipedia tell you. The Neeps and Tatters that accompany the dish are nice, but not super exciting.

I think my favorite scottish meal so far is Sausage and Mash. I also like the Fish and Chips with Vinegar and Salt. I guess there is a brown sauce I need to try also.

According to Ben, the network guy from Parliment who lives in Glasgow, the best food is Indian and most of the restuarants are in Glasgow, so I don't know if I will get to try the UK version of Indian food while I am here because at the moment, its all about Work Work Work.

One important thing to remember when walking around a city in the U.K.--

New Band Alert

Check them out at:

Pure volume or MySpace

Scotland is more beautiful than I ever imagined. The first picture here is of Arthur's Seat. Its a large hill on the outskirts of Edingburgh and is a part of Holyrood, the Royal residence here. The name has nothing to do with King Arthur. It's just what its called.

Mirjam came and met me here from Switzerland. She is going to stay for a couple of days. What a dream to be here in Switzerland with her--to have adventures together.
A Royal Pint of Guinness. And yes, it tastes better here than in the States. I think probably becuase I am in the UK, its poured properly and is the right temp.
The Scottish flag waving proudly. Every street corner has flags and tartan shops. The Scottish are very proud of their heritage.
St. Giles church at night. This is where John Knox preached. I also saw the house where he lived and a life size statue of him. He was not even 5 feet tall! I think its a mistake for Dustin and my uncle to play him at the Reformation fest each year... Very misleading. He also had a very long beard. Mirjam and I found a very old bookstore today and I bought a Dryden poetry book published in 1711. And only for Ten Scottish Pounds. (I don't know if there is a difference between English and Scottish Pounds, but since mine are minted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, I figured I should pay tribute.)

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Not as bad as I thought, but not the best either. The sausage and mash was much better.

The Royal Monument of Scotland. I've noticed that the Scots like putting up monuments of many things. I climbed one called the Scott Monument (put up for Sir Walter Scott) and it was 278 steps one way. Whew. My coworker Will and I climbed it with this Aussie girl, Nadine. She attached herself to us for the rest of the afternoon. It was fun to meet a new person and just hang out, talking about differences in various English speaking cultures.

Edinburgh Castle. Amazing.

I'm in Scotland!

And let me tell you, this place is totally unbelievable. I think I am going to go out, find a kilt and paint my face blue... or at least start wielding a broadsword.

Pictures and Adventures to come...

East Village

Liev Schreiber Sighting

Wig Shop More East Village

Uptown

Downtown

Schillers for Breakfast

World Trade Center

5th Avenue

The Continuing Saga of Jen's First Time in New York City

Day 4 continued....

• Fresh Basil's on Lexington: Great Italian food complete with mouse! and wine on the house...
• Serendipity3--splitting a banana split

Day 5

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art: scuplture gardens
• Window shopping down Madison Ave
• A great cappuccino
• East Village: Barmundi (White Sangria), Little french wine bar (Cheese and wine), an alley restuarant complete with antlers on the walls and recently Mike Meyers was seen eating there (Grapefruit Martini), and Milk and Honey, a speakeasy appointment only joint, very hard to find, complete with Rules and 30s retro feel (you don't tell them what you want to drink, they tell you...I had something with Gin, mint, and lemon).

Day 6

• Empire State Building
• Schillers for breakfast (Cheese and Herb Omelete, Fries)
• World Trade Center Site
• Century 21 (a "Ross" of Designer clothes) We spent at least 4 hours there.
• EtcEtc: a posh NYC restuarant near the Theatre District. Very good and very expensive.

Day 7

• 5th Ave Shopping: H&M and Mexx
• Canal St with Jen Y and V: Yes, we went into the backroom.
• SOHO and little corner pizza joint
• Subway, NJ train and Alaska Airlines flight home.

My first and best Cannoli pastry was here at Veniero's. YUM. I think its worth coming to NYC just to go here.

The pic in front of the church had one the the craziest characters that I have seen yet here in the City. A "jesus" dressed in a shift dancing to a boom box. There were like 5 people watching him. Big Crowd.

I would love to live on this street. Quintessential New York.

I took this pic for Beth.

Here is the Empire State Building... Lego Style.

Spidey! Or not... Look at the back of his suit... He used safety pins to secure it. And people were letting him talk to their children!

Yes, BBQ in New York. and mighty fine too.

Some more Pictures from NYC:

Some Icons: the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and Radio City Music Hall.

Adventure in the Big Apple

--Day One

Arriving at Newark Airport and taking the train to Penn Station, I walked into an underground station of people, stores, and signs. Sorting out which direction to go took a little figuring, but in the end, I found the subway, bought a pass and shoved my bags through the turnstile along with myself.

No amount of TV or movies can prepare a person for that first glimpse of Times Square. It's like Vegas on Steroids. Walking down W 42nd with my bags, stars in my eyes and mouth open must have been a sight. Luckily, everyone else down there was a tourist, so I fit right in.

I met Vanessa in our Hotel, The Times Square Westin, 720 W 43rd, and we made our plan.

Subway to 14th, Jackson Square. A few blocks to 8th Ave, W 4th and Jane to the Corner Bistro. A cash only, wait in line through the restaurant. After pigging out on Bacon Burgers and Fries served on little paper trays, we went back to Times Square to the W hotel. The Blue Fin is a great little posh place where we had a drink. I had something called Summer Splash...I think that's the name.

Day 2: (ok, since I am a little behind. we are resorting to the bullet point method here)

• Grand Central Station


• MOMA


• Rockerfeller Center


• 5th Ave shopping: H&M, Zara


• Virgil's BBQ: met some coworkers for BBQ Nachos, Brisket & Chicken and a Chocolate Cake

Day 3

• Guggenheim Museum


• Central Park: Belvedere Castle


• Chelsea: Bravo Pizza


• Union Square: I found the coolest Barnes ever!


• Flatiron Building


• Nolita: Stanton Public to watch the 24 Premiere with V and Dave Rogers. Our own little private room downstairs with food and drinks. A swell evening NYC style

Day 4

• 5th Ave: MAC. Got my eyes done.


• SOHO: Le Petit Cafe (eggplant salad and a cappuccino), Marie Belle Chocolates, Ana Sui


• East Village: Veneiro's (Probably the best Italian pastry shop in NYC, IMHO. --well considering its my first time, that probably doesn't mean much, but a native suggested it to me and it was well worth the trek


• Greenwich Village: St. Mark's church with a creepy "jesus" character in a shift dancing outside to a boombox. Yes. I have pictures....

Tomorrow, I will be sportin' some new eyewear...

Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

So of course, Seattle decides again to have some crazy weather. Its almost like we are trying to be the east coast or something. Well, I shouldn't complain, because as I look outside tonight and see those pretty white flakes falling, I feel happy. I just wish I was in school again and could get a snow day.

Here is a digital snowflake that I made myself.

Soon, I won't have to borrow images of New York City off the internet, because I will be there!

2 more days!!

Eating at the Original Pancake House for lunch after a week of fasting is quite wonderful. I ate buckwheat pancakes. YUM. They have quite the selection of Pancakes. I think the best part of their website is when they answer the Question "What are Pancakes?"

Currently Reading:

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million by Daniel Mendelsohn

Last night was a full moon. I saw it on my way home from work. And I screamed...inside.

I should have sat outside for a bit watching it, but instead I fixed my router, went to bed and watched an episode of Ugly Betty on the internet.

I have to make some kind of "best of 2006" post. Instead of giving you a list, I will add to an earlier list which I posted in 2005, which happens to be the what you might call the soundtrack to my life.

2006: Brandi Carlile/Death Cab for Cutie Plans

I found a twice stabbed lady bird beetle in my house. I got this picture off the internet, thanks to Valerie. Isn't he cute?

Found at Barnes yesterday--the new Stephen Lawhead Book: Hood.

A Start to the New Year

At the beginning of each new year my church has a tradition of fasting and praying for a week. I did not join in last year, because I was visiting my friends in Switzerland, so this year I am actually excited about joining in.

There is quite the art for fasting. Here are a few things of noteworthy attention:

Yesterday I discovered a smoothie that tastes like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Today, I realize that I notice when people are chewing. It's quite distracting.

The key is to drink a lot. Keep the pee clear. If that's happening, the fasting becomes easy.

I will be glad for tomorrow, because on the third day, usually the hunger pains go away.

Make plans to break the fast with a bunch of friends, but becareful of the fare you choose to eat. I do not recommend eating cheesecake, unless you want horrible stomach pains. Usually soup and bread are the best option.

Japenese Tourists Mark Shift in Technological Extinction

This should be the title to the front page of the local Martha Lake newspaper, (if there is such a thing) as I saw two Japenese tourists taking pictures of themselves in front of a phone booth outside the local Shell gas station.

I thought, "WOW, What is the world coming to, with people who see a blue and white phone booth and exclaim... 'How archaic! let's take a picture in front of this most important American artifact!' " ??

Soon, Archeologists will be seen dusting the remains of the phone booth with their little brushes.

Can I just mention that 11 hours of snowboarding = every muscle in the body aching in extreme and horrific painful misery?

Somehow it feels good...