The same day that BM and I traveled to Leeds Castle we also went to Dover to see the White Cliffs and the Castle that sits on top of them. This whole trip was a repeat of an earlier attempt back in March to see the same sites that didn’t turn out so well. This time everything went very smoothly. So after spending the morning at Leeds Castle we headed to Dover Castle. This was a much different Castle than Leeds. It sits on top of a very high hill where one front are cliffs that face the English Channel. From the top of the main keep you can actually see France pretty easily even in hazy weather. The castle consists of several rings of walls and building with a center courtyard that has a large medieval keep. Between the outer and inner ring of walls is the Church and outside the Castle walls lay an estate building made of stone with a slate rood, a glass toursist center and WWII gun banks facing Europe. What was surprising also was that outside the castle was a once secret set of tunnels where some parts of the WWII Naval operations were actually run from.
Once inside the main inner wall of the castle you walk through a courtyard paved with stone and can enter any number buildings lining the wall. There is a cafe, a gift shop, a British Military Museum, along the top of the wall you can also walk amongst a variety of cannon from the 1500s to the 1940s, and some other exhibits were as there but closed. There is also a large catapult in sitting to one side of the courtyard next to the main tower or keep in the center of the castle. The keep was used by many kings as a place to stay during trips to and from Europe; it was also used to store military goods, munitions, and supplies during the times when royalty was not there. You can explore several floors and are even allowed on the roof of the keep which offers spectacular views of the coast, the English Channel, and the French coast. It is a pretty old building and very utilitarian as no one used it as a residence. It was almost always used as a military facility. On interesting piece of information I found out about was that the castle is supposed to be very haunted and was even featured in a three hour special in 2002. Some of the passageways are certainly eerie enough to be homes to ghosts.
Just as amazing as the castle were the tunnels that lay beneath them. These are literally called the Secret Wartime Tunnels and have very good signs showing the way to the entrance. Originally dug during the Napoleonic wars as barracks for troops on their way to France they were later expanded greatly as a hospital and secret command center during WWII. The facilities were left basically intact so you can see the equipment and set up that was used during the Second World War. The hospital was pretty simple and was basically where we entered the tunnels. Later as you move through you are shown equipment rooms that once housed the most sophisticated telecom equipment of the day, the quarters of the Admiral in charge of the majority of British operations, the planning center used to evacuate the British forces from France as Hitler’s forces raced across the country, and some barracks used both a couple hundred years ago and during WWII. We got a little bit of a scare as we were the last tour and they basically shut the site down on us while we still in the middle of the tour. Our tour guide was brilliant though and was able to guide us out, before storming off to cause trouble with his co-workers. A scene BM and I would have loved to have watched.
After we were basically kicked out of the castle BM and I decided to go to a park that lets you walk along the famous White Cliffs of Dover. It was a pretty awe inspiring site to stand ½ way up the cliffs and watch the English channel as ferries and other boats left and came from the port. You could easily see most of the actual town of Dover and could walk right up to the face of the chalk based cliffs themselves. The only better way to see the cliffs is to actually take a ferry from Calais and watch the cliffs as you come into the dock. I was pretty happy to see it the way I did, I figured a hundred pounds to cross the channel twice was probably a lot to spend just for a better view of the cliff
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Leeds Castle
Well I meant to get around to this post a month ago, but other topics kept coming up. So hopefully I can still describe these places well. First I must mention that Leeds Castle is not actually in Leeds. It is in the country not really in any town somewhere between London and Dover in the South East of England. It is an old castle that has had many monarchs, church leaders, and even an American Heiress. Their is another American connection with this castle as it was once owned by Thomas Fairfax the only lord to live in America, though before independence. He was a guiding force in George Washington’s life. There is a sundial in Virginia that tells the time at the castle and one at the cast that tells the time in Virginia. So I was a bit interested to see the castle.
While a few kings did reside in this castle or use it as a place to stay while traveling it spent a lot of it’s time as a Queens castle. The whole facility is run by a private foundation that keeps the Castle and its grounds up. The area is actually a major attraction in the area and well worth the trip. The Castle itself is a 10 minute walk from the parking lot through grounds with a lot of ponds, trees, exotic plants (rhubarb taller than a man), and animals. The last owner being a bird lover brought some exotic birds to grounds, and their descendants still can be found underfoot. The castle itself was built on a pair of islands in a lake. So the first thing you come to is a gatehouse followed by a yellowed stone bridge to the island. Then there is a set of buildings that originally probably were used for defense that now house a gift shop and toilets. The castle is still complete and is used for diplomatic meetings to this day. It is very picturesque with a tall arched doorway and torrents/towers symmetrically placed.
The castle tour actually starts you in the cellar the oldest part of the castle then walks you through all the hallways of both parts of the castle. The castle is actually two buildings that are attached by a walk way over the canal between the two islands in the lake. Each part of the castle has its own unique character as it was built, rebuilt, and decorated in stages by different owners. My personal favorite was a stairwell with carved wooded set of stars, up the main pillar in the center of the stairs was carved a snake. At the top of the stairs many different figures were carved. There is also a grand entrance to the Castle, one of the last rooms you visit, and some interesting living quarters decorated in the 20s. The tour takes about an hour and is engaging though out the entire time.
After growing through the castle there is certainly more to see. While we were visiting there was a falconry session being put on, there is an amazing garden (another staple of English sites), a restaurant is located in a set of building on another part of the grounds that must have been the servants quarters, another big part of the grounds is a large golf course that wraps around the north side of the castle, but my favorite area after the castle itself was a maze and grotto setup they had. While I am sure this is a kid’s attraction, BM and I had a blast going around it. The maze is actually quite difficult and the hedges used are pretty tall. I could not see over them at all and BM had to stand on his toes. Once you reach the middle of the maze there is what seems to be a tower to climb up and watch as others get lost in the maze. However on closer inspection there is also a doorway with steps leading under the tower that lead to a secret passageway (the grotto). Here you encounter strange sounds, lighting effects, and carved creatures and scenes as you travel in the darkly lit tunnel. It finally exits a dozen feet from the maze it self in a way not to arise the suspicions of those about to enter the maze.
This is a great place to visit if you plan to tour the English country side; especially if kids are along -- or if you a big kid like me.
While a few kings did reside in this castle or use it as a place to stay while traveling it spent a lot of it’s time as a Queens castle. The whole facility is run by a private foundation that keeps the Castle and its grounds up. The area is actually a major attraction in the area and well worth the trip. The Castle itself is a 10 minute walk from the parking lot through grounds with a lot of ponds, trees, exotic plants (rhubarb taller than a man), and animals. The last owner being a bird lover brought some exotic birds to grounds, and their descendants still can be found underfoot. The castle itself was built on a pair of islands in a lake. So the first thing you come to is a gatehouse followed by a yellowed stone bridge to the island. Then there is a set of buildings that originally probably were used for defense that now house a gift shop and toilets. The castle is still complete and is used for diplomatic meetings to this day. It is very picturesque with a tall arched doorway and torrents/towers symmetrically placed.
The castle tour actually starts you in the cellar the oldest part of the castle then walks you through all the hallways of both parts of the castle. The castle is actually two buildings that are attached by a walk way over the canal between the two islands in the lake. Each part of the castle has its own unique character as it was built, rebuilt, and decorated in stages by different owners. My personal favorite was a stairwell with carved wooded set of stars, up the main pillar in the center of the stairs was carved a snake. At the top of the stairs many different figures were carved. There is also a grand entrance to the Castle, one of the last rooms you visit, and some interesting living quarters decorated in the 20s. The tour takes about an hour and is engaging though out the entire time.
After growing through the castle there is certainly more to see. While we were visiting there was a falconry session being put on, there is an amazing garden (another staple of English sites), a restaurant is located in a set of building on another part of the grounds that must have been the servants quarters, another big part of the grounds is a large golf course that wraps around the north side of the castle, but my favorite area after the castle itself was a maze and grotto setup they had. While I am sure this is a kid’s attraction, BM and I had a blast going around it. The maze is actually quite difficult and the hedges used are pretty tall. I could not see over them at all and BM had to stand on his toes. Once you reach the middle of the maze there is what seems to be a tower to climb up and watch as others get lost in the maze. However on closer inspection there is also a doorway with steps leading under the tower that lead to a secret passageway (the grotto). Here you encounter strange sounds, lighting effects, and carved creatures and scenes as you travel in the darkly lit tunnel. It finally exits a dozen feet from the maze it self in a way not to arise the suspicions of those about to enter the maze.
This is a great place to visit if you plan to tour the English country side; especially if kids are along -- or if you a big kid like me.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Victory!!!!
While seeing Ballet in Moscow some storm clouds rolled in on us. So that when we left the theater it was absolutely poring. Probably an inch or better in an hour. We had several blocks to walk and our pour umbrellas were of little help. My socks were soaked in my shoes, RG would have been better off walking barfoot than to wear the open shoes she had. But it the entire left side of my body got wet. We refused to duck into shelter however preferring to soldier on. I mean really come one, we are from Minnesota, if we don’t stop for a blizzard what affect should a little rain have (yes you are correct I do not have sense enough to come out of the rain). While drying off on the subway ride home – one of the few times I was happy it is pretty warm in the trains – we got another surprise.
Crazy Russians singing, playing music, and dancing on the train provided entertainment for most of the ride back to the apartment. While I am used to seeing people do one or two of these on the trains around the world they are usually 1. Looking for a hand out and/or B. Younger (in general). This group seemed to be older and established. Someone’s parents, in their late forties or early fifties, ok dressed for Russian, and looking pretty healthy. No what you would consider beggars or bummers by any means. I did capture some of the dance which can be found in the photos section of this site (link). It was quite amusing. They were doing a typical folk dance with their arms raised in the air bouncing from foot to foot all while spinning and occasionally swinging a hip or clapping. Most people on the train watch with a little bit of fascination but a few clapped along as well. It was quite a scene.
The rain continued the rest of the weekend, though it did let up some. So Moscow returned to what most of my memories are of the place, damp and cold. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have any fun. RG found a spectacular place to take me to. One thing about the Soviets was they knew how to build monuments. Another thing about Russians is how proud they were of their efforts in defeating the Germans in World War 2. Just about every where you go there is a memorial to the war; every park, several metro stations, some buildings down town, Red Square, basically everywhere. One, now that I have seen it, stands out. That is Victory Park on the West side of the city. It is fantastic. It includes dozens of fountains, monuments to individuals units that served in the war, the most ornate church I have seen in Russia to date, a large pillar topped with a winged angel and a bell, a large museum, and grounds that include tributes to each part of the military.
It was fantastic, even the unrelenting rain couldn’t have made it a bad visit. The best parts of the park were an out door display (where we spent our last few dozen rubles, 2-3 dollars) of Russian/Soviet and German military equipment. First you see some examples of mines and fortifications, along with some big guns, and amour cars from both sides. Then you walk through some trenched fortifications similar to those that may have been used during the war. Once out of the fortifications you get to the big fun tanks, planes, and guns on trains. Does that rime? I think it does. It was fantastic. I have seen some of the German equipment before but due to the cold war I have seen very little Russian equipment so it was great. It wasn’t all from WWII either much of the air power came from all times during the cold war. Some of it was quite unique other seemed to be copied from vehicles used in the west. It was a blast.
After this display we walked to the other side of the park and headed back to the subway. Of course RG was on a mission to find on last interesting part of the is park. Probably the most fun part to be honest. Along one of the paths in the park are parked 4 soviet tanks. They just sit there as if parked after a parade for use another day. Because of where they are you can climb all over them. So we did. I have to admit it my fearless wife was first to get on one. But I followed up her act with one of my own. We took some pictures sitting on the gun, behind the turret, and any other thing we could think of. All in the entire trip in the damp coldness to a wooded park was well worth putting up with the elements.
Crazy Russians singing, playing music, and dancing on the train provided entertainment for most of the ride back to the apartment. While I am used to seeing people do one or two of these on the trains around the world they are usually 1. Looking for a hand out and/or B. Younger (in general). This group seemed to be older and established. Someone’s parents, in their late forties or early fifties, ok dressed for Russian, and looking pretty healthy. No what you would consider beggars or bummers by any means. I did capture some of the dance which can be found in the photos section of this site (link). It was quite amusing. They were doing a typical folk dance with their arms raised in the air bouncing from foot to foot all while spinning and occasionally swinging a hip or clapping. Most people on the train watch with a little bit of fascination but a few clapped along as well. It was quite a scene.
The rain continued the rest of the weekend, though it did let up some. So Moscow returned to what most of my memories are of the place, damp and cold. But that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have any fun. RG found a spectacular place to take me to. One thing about the Soviets was they knew how to build monuments. Another thing about Russians is how proud they were of their efforts in defeating the Germans in World War 2. Just about every where you go there is a memorial to the war; every park, several metro stations, some buildings down town, Red Square, basically everywhere. One, now that I have seen it, stands out. That is Victory Park on the West side of the city. It is fantastic. It includes dozens of fountains, monuments to individuals units that served in the war, the most ornate church I have seen in Russia to date, a large pillar topped with a winged angel and a bell, a large museum, and grounds that include tributes to each part of the military.
It was fantastic, even the unrelenting rain couldn’t have made it a bad visit. The best parts of the park were an out door display (where we spent our last few dozen rubles, 2-3 dollars) of Russian/Soviet and German military equipment. First you see some examples of mines and fortifications, along with some big guns, and amour cars from both sides. Then you walk through some trenched fortifications similar to those that may have been used during the war. Once out of the fortifications you get to the big fun tanks, planes, and guns on trains. Does that rime? I think it does. It was fantastic. I have seen some of the German equipment before but due to the cold war I have seen very little Russian equipment so it was great. It wasn’t all from WWII either much of the air power came from all times during the cold war. Some of it was quite unique other seemed to be copied from vehicles used in the west. It was a blast.
After this display we walked to the other side of the park and headed back to the subway. Of course RG was on a mission to find on last interesting part of the is park. Probably the most fun part to be honest. Along one of the paths in the park are parked 4 soviet tanks. They just sit there as if parked after a parade for use another day. Because of where they are you can climb all over them. So we did. I have to admit it my fearless wife was first to get on one. But I followed up her act with one of my own. We took some pictures sitting on the gun, behind the turret, and any other thing we could think of. All in the entire trip in the damp coldness to a wooded park was well worth putting up with the elements.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
My Fourth Job....
In consulting we have a saying. When you work for the firm (I’m not going to divulge my employer to many people get fired for this) you have 3 jobs. The first and most important job is client services. The work you are doing that the company bills for. This takes the first priority. It also takes the majority of your time and effort. Generally we put in 40 to 45 hours a week for this job, not including travel time to and from the city the client is located in. But while this job is the biggest priority no matter how good you are at it you will not get promoted beyond a certain level or on schedule only completing these activities. In fact it is only what is expected as a minimum. It is the next two parts of the job that get you promoted.
The next job you have when working for the firm is logistics or bureaucratic processes imposed by the company. Most people have to spend 10 min to ½ hour a week filling out their time and expense at a normal company. When you work for a consulting firm there is easily 10 times more to do. We have to fill out surveys, take a certain amount of required ethics trainings, fill out long performance evaluations, do goal setting, provide either counseling or mentoring to a junior employee, respond to knowledge requests, and continuously support other resources who need your expertise to complete their client work. And all of this is reported on. When mid-year or year-end comes along they have a whole set of reports to make sure your time and expense were in order and on time, that you filled out all the other firms on time, that you took the appropriate trainings, and that you contributed when directly asked. This work doesn’t take up as much time client services but you can figure on at least 2-5 hours a week on top of your 40-45 client hours and 2-8 hours of traveling. Though many times you can do some of this work on the plane so then traveling is at least productive time.
Finally when working for a consulting company there is the third job. This is managing your own career. Most consulting firms have org. charts that look like pyramids; a ton of people at the lower levels with very few at the top. This means that it is up or out. No one really stays at the same level more than additional year than the expected amount of time. You don’t really get fired you are just informed that you working for the firm may no longer be the correct match. So this is an important job, though of course you have to keep up with the first two before you can worry about the third. This is where networking activities come in, meeting people going to events, basically getting your name out there. It is also where volunteering to help with sales, marketing, and practice building activities come in. This work can sometimes be done in place of client services to some extent but it is the work you put in above and beyond that gets you noticed. Some of the activities include working on proposals, working on methodology documentation, contributing to our knowledge exchange, writing white papers, and giving presentations to teach a process, tool, or methodology. It is basically working to becoming a go to person that people will call when they have questions or needs.
But now I am a little lucky because I get board easily. So having all these different activities to take care of seems to keep in from getting myself in trouble. However if I didn’t have enough work I have my fourth job. My wife, plain and simple, requires as much work as any of my three jobs above. Lucky for me it is a total labor in love though. But basically she requires constant attention. It doesn’t always need to be a lot at one time, just a constant supply. If she posts a blog I need to comment, if she writes on my Facebook wall I need to write on hers, I should call at least once a day – though when she was in the states she would call me a couple times herself (I guess for good measure), emails need as close to as immediate responses as possible, the next weekend we get together needs to be planned, if I don’t post blogs on a regular basis I start to get pinged until I do it, and so on, and so on. To be honest I find this most endearing. It means she wants to interact with me and spend time with. She wants to know my thoughts on things, and she is spending her attention on me. I do love it. But to be honest it is still a lot of work. But I would suppose anyone who is married must have this extra job. I just wonder if they have a task master as tenacious mine. They should be so lucky!
I wonder if each kid will be an additional job... Sheesh... I may be in for it.
Of course I wouldn't have it any other way.
The next job you have when working for the firm is logistics or bureaucratic processes imposed by the company. Most people have to spend 10 min to ½ hour a week filling out their time and expense at a normal company. When you work for a consulting firm there is easily 10 times more to do. We have to fill out surveys, take a certain amount of required ethics trainings, fill out long performance evaluations, do goal setting, provide either counseling or mentoring to a junior employee, respond to knowledge requests, and continuously support other resources who need your expertise to complete their client work. And all of this is reported on. When mid-year or year-end comes along they have a whole set of reports to make sure your time and expense were in order and on time, that you filled out all the other firms on time, that you took the appropriate trainings, and that you contributed when directly asked. This work doesn’t take up as much time client services but you can figure on at least 2-5 hours a week on top of your 40-45 client hours and 2-8 hours of traveling. Though many times you can do some of this work on the plane so then traveling is at least productive time.
Finally when working for a consulting company there is the third job. This is managing your own career. Most consulting firms have org. charts that look like pyramids; a ton of people at the lower levels with very few at the top. This means that it is up or out. No one really stays at the same level more than additional year than the expected amount of time. You don’t really get fired you are just informed that you working for the firm may no longer be the correct match. So this is an important job, though of course you have to keep up with the first two before you can worry about the third. This is where networking activities come in, meeting people going to events, basically getting your name out there. It is also where volunteering to help with sales, marketing, and practice building activities come in. This work can sometimes be done in place of client services to some extent but it is the work you put in above and beyond that gets you noticed. Some of the activities include working on proposals, working on methodology documentation, contributing to our knowledge exchange, writing white papers, and giving presentations to teach a process, tool, or methodology. It is basically working to becoming a go to person that people will call when they have questions or needs.
But now I am a little lucky because I get board easily. So having all these different activities to take care of seems to keep in from getting myself in trouble. However if I didn’t have enough work I have my fourth job. My wife, plain and simple, requires as much work as any of my three jobs above. Lucky for me it is a total labor in love though. But basically she requires constant attention. It doesn’t always need to be a lot at one time, just a constant supply. If she posts a blog I need to comment, if she writes on my Facebook wall I need to write on hers, I should call at least once a day – though when she was in the states she would call me a couple times herself (I guess for good measure), emails need as close to as immediate responses as possible, the next weekend we get together needs to be planned, if I don’t post blogs on a regular basis I start to get pinged until I do it, and so on, and so on. To be honest I find this most endearing. It means she wants to interact with me and spend time with. She wants to know my thoughts on things, and she is spending her attention on me. I do love it. But to be honest it is still a lot of work. But I would suppose anyone who is married must have this extra job. I just wonder if they have a task master as tenacious mine. They should be so lucky!
I wonder if each kid will be an additional job... Sheesh... I may be in for it.
Of course I wouldn't have it any other way.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Swan Lake
As mentioned in a previous post I recently acquired a 12 month multiple entry visa to Russia. As RG’s passport and visas had expired this was the only way to see her. So I took a Friday off and booked a trip to Moscow. For the first time in a long time I didn’t have any site seeing plans or really any agenda beyond going to see my wife and doing what ever she wanted to do. However, it was a pretty packed weekend. RG knowing my interest, well in just about everything, put together and amazing weekend, she really did put out do herself. She arranged for us to go to a very nice dinner, the ballet, and to some sites I had never heard about. On top of that she put up with me making her go to the tourist souvenir market to find my grandma a birthday gift. I had a spectacular trip and am much recharged from it. And the even better news is that I will get to see her again in just over 3 weeks when I take a weeks vacation.
So the day I arrived in Moscow my flight came just after sunrise. I took what is basically a redeye from London to Moscow. So when we got to the apartment is was basically time to go to bed. Though we did chat for a couple hours first. I couldn’t believe how much I slept. We didn’t get up until after 3pm. Now that is noon London time but still. At that point it was time to get ready for dinner. Dinner was at a very nice Georgian Restaurant and quite good. The restaurant is located on Arbat street toward the center of Moscow. This street is where a lot of nicer shops are, tourist attractions, and artists shops and galleries. The building is amazing, Done up to look like a building from Georgia (the country mind you not the US State) with a giant wine pitcher next to it on it’s side for the entrance. There are white Christmas lights to add some more affect.
The weather was very nice and we had to try a lot of different things. I had a Russian beer, we had a cheese and mushroom appetizer that I picked around the mushrooms, we had great entrees, and RG ordered a strange but wonderful desert that I stole half of. Georgian food is mostly chicken, mutton, or pork, cooked with peppers, vegetables, and greens, in either very tasty yet mild spices or chili like sauce along with some doey/cheese bread with a similar consistency to cornbread but needing no sweat butter. I had mutton RG and KB had some kinds of stew. The desert was some sort of candied fruit with powdered sugar and was also amazing. We sat on the balcony and spend at least two and a half hours at this place. While we ate, and between course, I took a lot of funny photos and a video of the girls being the wonderful goofy selves.
The next night I was further cultured when we went to the theater to see the famous ballet Swan Lake. We did not go to the Bolshoi theater as it is under renovations currently. The theater we did go to was just reopened after being renovated and did not disappoint. It had all new or redone wood floors, decadent chandeliers, tall think and intricately carved doors, great woodworking, and great old styled brad hardware everywhere. Even the theater chairs were nicely upholstered with think finned wood frames. The theater was painted a deep purple inside with bright white trim and was quite striking. Our seats were in the best section and we had a perfect view of the entire stage. The show was amazing too. The company has been around for a long time and parts of the choreography go back several decades to the early part of soviet rule in Russia. The stage furnishings were also amazing, better than any play I have been to consisting of three complete scene changes.
I certainly enjoyed the night. The dancing was amazing actually. I always wondered if I would get board at the ballet. The entire story is of course told with only the use of dance and music. The music in this case was provided by a decent sized orchestra and was entanting to listen too. The movement of the dancers though was certainly, and rightly so, the highlight of the performance. I do not know how they bend there bodies, twirl on their toes, leap in to the air, or do any of the other amazing things they do. Graceful would be an understatement of the way they moved. It was captivating. The 3 hour show seemed to fly by. I am certainly glad my first exposure to the art was in a country known to have the best performers in the world they certainly live up to the reputation.
One other thing that I noticed and was amazed by was the diversity of the crowd. It was certainly not just upper middle class and above. It was all walks of life. It is amazing that Russia can provide such opportunity to see such art to the wide range of citizens from all walks of life. I think it is amazing because it means that 1 it is affordable to everyone and B that everyone is taught an appreciation for art, at least ballet. Now the draw back to this that many people I felt were underdressed. It is one thing to own the fanciest clothes it is another to wear jeans to a nice evening out. Plus some people took flash photography during the show even after the announcements were made to please not record the show. But that didn’t detract from the experience it was just something I found interesting.
Of course this only brings us through Saturday night, but this blog is already getting a bit long so I think I can recount the rest of the weekend in another post.
So the day I arrived in Moscow my flight came just after sunrise. I took what is basically a redeye from London to Moscow. So when we got to the apartment is was basically time to go to bed. Though we did chat for a couple hours first. I couldn’t believe how much I slept. We didn’t get up until after 3pm. Now that is noon London time but still. At that point it was time to get ready for dinner. Dinner was at a very nice Georgian Restaurant and quite good. The restaurant is located on Arbat street toward the center of Moscow. This street is where a lot of nicer shops are, tourist attractions, and artists shops and galleries. The building is amazing, Done up to look like a building from Georgia (the country mind you not the US State) with a giant wine pitcher next to it on it’s side for the entrance. There are white Christmas lights to add some more affect.
The weather was very nice and we had to try a lot of different things. I had a Russian beer, we had a cheese and mushroom appetizer that I picked around the mushrooms, we had great entrees, and RG ordered a strange but wonderful desert that I stole half of. Georgian food is mostly chicken, mutton, or pork, cooked with peppers, vegetables, and greens, in either very tasty yet mild spices or chili like sauce along with some doey/cheese bread with a similar consistency to cornbread but needing no sweat butter. I had mutton RG and KB had some kinds of stew. The desert was some sort of candied fruit with powdered sugar and was also amazing. We sat on the balcony and spend at least two and a half hours at this place. While we ate, and between course, I took a lot of funny photos and a video of the girls being the wonderful goofy selves.
The next night I was further cultured when we went to the theater to see the famous ballet Swan Lake. We did not go to the Bolshoi theater as it is under renovations currently. The theater we did go to was just reopened after being renovated and did not disappoint. It had all new or redone wood floors, decadent chandeliers, tall think and intricately carved doors, great woodworking, and great old styled brad hardware everywhere. Even the theater chairs were nicely upholstered with think finned wood frames. The theater was painted a deep purple inside with bright white trim and was quite striking. Our seats were in the best section and we had a perfect view of the entire stage. The show was amazing too. The company has been around for a long time and parts of the choreography go back several decades to the early part of soviet rule in Russia. The stage furnishings were also amazing, better than any play I have been to consisting of three complete scene changes.
I certainly enjoyed the night. The dancing was amazing actually. I always wondered if I would get board at the ballet. The entire story is of course told with only the use of dance and music. The music in this case was provided by a decent sized orchestra and was entanting to listen too. The movement of the dancers though was certainly, and rightly so, the highlight of the performance. I do not know how they bend there bodies, twirl on their toes, leap in to the air, or do any of the other amazing things they do. Graceful would be an understatement of the way they moved. It was captivating. The 3 hour show seemed to fly by. I am certainly glad my first exposure to the art was in a country known to have the best performers in the world they certainly live up to the reputation.
One other thing that I noticed and was amazed by was the diversity of the crowd. It was certainly not just upper middle class and above. It was all walks of life. It is amazing that Russia can provide such opportunity to see such art to the wide range of citizens from all walks of life. I think it is amazing because it means that 1 it is affordable to everyone and B that everyone is taught an appreciation for art, at least ballet. Now the draw back to this that many people I felt were underdressed. It is one thing to own the fanciest clothes it is another to wear jeans to a nice evening out. Plus some people took flash photography during the show even after the announcements were made to please not record the show. But that didn’t detract from the experience it was just something I found interesting.
Of course this only brings us through Saturday night, but this blog is already getting a bit long so I think I can recount the rest of the weekend in another post.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Welcome to France... Really?
Cell Phones are funny things. Cell phone rates aren’t in most cases, especially if you are talking about roaming rates on a pre-paid or pay-as-you-go phone. Normally I don’t worry about my roaming. In the US my minutes are my minutes no matter were I go. I have one rate period. However the last 5 months I am almost never in the states so this has changed the game. While in the UK I use a pre-paid or as they call it a pay-as-you-go phone, it is really on good in the UK. When I run out of minutes I log onto the website and “top up” or pay for more minutes. A weird and great part of the plan is that I can call (from the UK) Eastern Europe or Russia for less than I can call someone in the UK, 7p vs. 15p. When I am not in the UK I switch back to my ATT phone which outside of the US cost between $1.25 and $2 a minute for international roaming (ouch). But generally any calls I need to make are business related and I can expense them so that is nice.
What is funny is that every time I get off a plane I get a welcome text from the local provider. It generally says welcome to x country please remember you are now roaming. Some even give you the option of sending a text message so the network does not forward calls and/or texts to you allowing only out going calls. This is a nice feature that is for sure. It is also nice that I can swap the SIM cards from one phone to the other so I only have to travel with a single phone. And I am really happy that my phones work pretty much all over the world. It is just too bad that there is no true world provider. It would be really nice if ATT could partner with all these other providers and provide a true one-rate no matter where you are. Or T-Mobile, or any other player. O2 in the UK is starting to offer European one-rate plans, but that would still require me to have 2 different plans.
Anyway, having all of these complicated systems, and segregated networks can have amusing side effects as well. This can really be crazy when countries are so close that their networks overlap. So you are physically in one country but roaming with your phone in another. You would think being in the UK, a large Island, that this wouldn’t be a problem. And since Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the like all use the same networks you really wouldn’t expect to be caught off guard by ending up on the wrong network. Well this is exactly what happen to me a few weeks back. While exploring the White Cliffs of Dover along the eastern seacoast of England I got a text message. I figured it must be time to call the wife and she was getting a little anxious (she likes me to call rather promptly). Nope it was a message reading “Welcome to France”. Only I wasn’t in France. I was still in England. Across the freaking English channel! Well apparently T-Mobile in France has better signal than T-Mobile in the UK, because I was picked up by the French network.
So unfortunately RG had to wait a little while for me to call so that I wouldn’t be roaming in France. This certainly would have depleted my pre-paid account quite rapidly. I have to say while the Cliffs and the Exploring of the area was fun, the big surprise was roaming in France that day.
What is funny is that every time I get off a plane I get a welcome text from the local provider. It generally says welcome to x country please remember you are now roaming. Some even give you the option of sending a text message so the network does not forward calls and/or texts to you allowing only out going calls. This is a nice feature that is for sure. It is also nice that I can swap the SIM cards from one phone to the other so I only have to travel with a single phone. And I am really happy that my phones work pretty much all over the world. It is just too bad that there is no true world provider. It would be really nice if ATT could partner with all these other providers and provide a true one-rate no matter where you are. Or T-Mobile, or any other player. O2 in the UK is starting to offer European one-rate plans, but that would still require me to have 2 different plans.
Anyway, having all of these complicated systems, and segregated networks can have amusing side effects as well. This can really be crazy when countries are so close that their networks overlap. So you are physically in one country but roaming with your phone in another. You would think being in the UK, a large Island, that this wouldn’t be a problem. And since Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the like all use the same networks you really wouldn’t expect to be caught off guard by ending up on the wrong network. Well this is exactly what happen to me a few weeks back. While exploring the White Cliffs of Dover along the eastern seacoast of England I got a text message. I figured it must be time to call the wife and she was getting a little anxious (she likes me to call rather promptly). Nope it was a message reading “Welcome to France”. Only I wasn’t in France. I was still in England. Across the freaking English channel! Well apparently T-Mobile in France has better signal than T-Mobile in the UK, because I was picked up by the French network.
So unfortunately RG had to wait a little while for me to call so that I wouldn’t be roaming in France. This certainly would have depleted my pre-paid account quite rapidly. I have to say while the Cliffs and the Exploring of the area was fun, the big surprise was roaming in France that day.
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