Britania!

Well Blogosphere, its been awhile hasn't it? How about we make up and I can leave an update? I couldn't be happier. I'm sitting in an Internet Cafe in Northeast Athens, a Diet Coke next to me, Europop music over the loud speakers, and the Mediterranean heat blowing in from the door. It has been a crazy week to get to this point. On Wednesday I waved goodbye to my stay at the London Centre at least for a little while (also to shaving). My parents flew in that afternoon and I picked them up via tube system and led them to our hotel in Camden. That first day they were quite tired, so we took it easy. My mom (should I say mum now?) stayed at the hotel while I took my Dad to visit the centre and take care of some last minute business before I officially checked out. That first day was pretty low-key. We ate at the hotel and got ready for the next couple of days.
On Thursday we woke up kind of late, and took the tube to the West end for the day. Breakfast that morning was something else. We ate near my swimming pool at a family-run Turkish restaurant. The food was cheap and filling, and only got us more excited for the Mediterranean. We spent the day on a tour bus that took you through the city and allowed you to hop-on and hop-off. One of our stops was St. Pauls Cathedral and I took my Dad part way up the Dome. For lunch we had some British food, which is not much more than meat pies and chips(french fries) with everything. My parents weren't too impressed with British cuisine, and neither am I. It is very hearty and filling, but isn't much to experience of even look at. Even you can't imagine what it is, think of baking everything in a flaky pastry and add some mushy peas on the side. The highlight of the tour was probably a boat tour that took us up the Thames from Tower Hill to Westminster Palace. Our guide on the tour was a typical Brit, with a biting sense of humour and full of witty observations. I couldn't really ask for more to end my British experience. Even the accent was spot on. That evening we saw Les Miserables in the West End. I have to say it was a pretty good show.
On Friday we were a bit tired of the city, so we headed to the countryside for a trip to Windsor Castle, the Queen's favorite residence. To get there we had to catch a train from Waterloo station. Our train shared a platform with the one heading to Ascot for the day of horse races. Royal Ascot is a chance for the London elite to show off their most outrageous hats and mingle amongst each other. It really threw myself and my parents for a loop to see all these people dressed in huge hats, and long coattails. On the way to Windsor we passed by a town called Whitton, which is pretty similar to my last name Whetten. Supposedly both last names come from the same place. I guess at least part of me is British to the core? Windsor was an awesome place. It is still a fully functional palace. Just days before it was closed for a state visit by President Bush, and Prince William was made a Knight in the Order of the Garter. While we there the Queen was too, because her flag was flying from one of the towers. That evening we didn't have too much to do, so we hit up another show. This time it was the musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. I was skeptical when we bought the tickets because I had heard it wasn't too good. However, it closes in July so I figured I at least could be one of the people that had seen it before it disappeared into musical oblivion. I've been to a few musicals now, so I consider myself an apt critic (haha) and given some bad acting, and a poor storyline, it was pretty good. The set was incredible as were the costumes. Parts of the stage would rotate and rise up to mimic the mountains and the battle scenes. Actors were dropping from the ceiling, and in between acts they would come out and interact with the audience. The Hobbits would hop from chair to chair making jokes, and the Orcs would creep in the aisles scaring the occasional tourist. It was great fun.
Saturday was a day lost. We didn't have much planned because our flight left in the middle of the day. When we got there, Olympic Airlines told us we were delayed until 9:00 pm so we spent the afternoon touring Heathrow. There isn't much to see, haha. We made it into Athens last night (or should I say this morning). I'll save my love for Greece for the next post.

pictures, pictures, pictures

Here are some pictures from my recent adventures galloping around Scotland and York. Enjoy.
This is a view of the Edinburgh skyline.






Me and some of the boys.






The Elephant House Coffeeshop where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter on a napkin.

kilts and more

Well I made it to Edinburgh yesterday around mid-day. Unfortunately I can't post any pictures yet but I've taken plenty so far. It seems kind of odd that I'm sitting in the middle of the old-city of Edinburgh with Haggis in my belly and the blair of bagpipes still fresh in my ears. I've spent the past day and a half walking through the old streets with my buddies and touring some of the more historic sites. The city is built on the "spine" of an ancient volcanic moutain. The old city was only less than a mile wide and a few miles long, so it ran the entire length of the slope of the ridge to the bottom. It used to be walled with lakes (or lochs in Scottish) at either end. At the summit of the volcanic mountain is the Edinburgh palace where the Scottish Crown jewels are now housed. I had the chance to spend the morning there, and it was incredible. The palace is guarded by the Scottish military in full Scottish kilt atire, you can be assured I took lots of pictures of them. Speaking of Kilts, I'll be bringing back a little surprise with me to the States that I can only really get in Scotland. And believe me I look pretty good in this surprise.
The city has a very old feel, more so than London; almost as if time as stopped for awhile. I've got plenty more stories to share, but I'll save those for when I can illustrate them with pictures. Tomorrow morning we head to York for another day of fun and excursion until Saturday afternoon. By then, I should have tons of pictures to share.

Canterbury, Rye and Beachey Head

Every morning the sun rises in England at about 5:30 which disrupts all of us who sleep in the attic. However, yesterday we all woke up just after the sun had risen and headed downstairs for our trip to Canterbury and its famous cathedral. As soon as we hopped on the bus the Centre had rented, I fell asleep in the back seat and didn't wake up until we were well into the English countryside. Canterbury is a medium-size city in the county of Kent in Southeast England. The Cathedral absolutely dominates the skyline and has so for almost a thousand years. It is the current seat of the worldwide Anglican church which gives it a kind of Temple-Square feel with guides at every corner. The Cathedral is also known as the site of the martyrdom of Thomas Beckett in 1170 who at the time was Archbishop of Canterbury.We had a couple of hours to walk through the massive building, contemplating the statues, stained class windows and relics. After Canterbury we headed to the medieval village of Rye which used to sit on the coast. Years ago, it was a haven for smugglers but now it only hosts the massive throngs of tourists who descend upon its quaint streets. After Rye we drove further along the coast to Beachey Head in Sussex. This is the eastern most point of what is called the seven sisters, or seven massive cliffs made up of white chalk. With a more than 500 foot drop to the sea below, the cliffs have traditionally been a favorite spot for suicides and daredevils. As a group we walked the sides of the cliff and endured the strong wind coming off the coast. It was an incredible view across the English channel. On a good day they say you can see France, but for us it was impossible.
Call me a dork, but the English countryside looks like the Shire in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It has rolling green hills, the occasional outcropping of trees, and a massive population of sheep.
Today I started my second class which is an Introduction to Drawing. Our first assignment was to head to one of the many museums in the area and sketch various sculptures. Myself and two others headed to the British Museum and sat in the Greek and Roman section for three hours sketching classical statues. We were asked by our professor to look more than we drew, and watch for the subtle differences in shading and texture. I produced a horrible drawing, but with more time spent among the classic works of art, I'm sure I'll improve.