October 03, 2004
Vacation Recap

Jetlag and head cold have conspired to keep me from posting vacation highlights for a couple of weeks now. However, continual re-hashing with friends has brought some highlights to the surface:

1. Watching "Battleship Potemkin" in the rain in Trafalgar Square in a crowd of thousands. This review didn't like the Pet Shop Boys soundtrack, but I thought it ran pretty true to form.

2. While walking past Parliament, we inadvertently walked through a mass protest of a proposed ban on fox hunting. As non-hunting Americans, we were (and remain) baffled by the whole issue, but were impressed by the apparent relaxed demeanor of the police presence (compared to the riot gear and tear gas that Chicago police frequently don for mass protests). After we left, some heads got busted and some tradition-minded rich kids 'stormed' the House of Commons(literally translated as 'ran around in customized T-shirts for a few minutes before being arrested').

3. A couple of day trips to various National Trust sites in Kent were also highlights, especially Chartwell, the estate of Winston Churchill, where we were among the youngest people there. Also of note was Sissinghurst Castle, where we wandered in the garden and photographed unrecognizeable plants.

4. Of course we were helped tremendously by the various friends and family members who fed us and gave us tips on where to go and what to do. One friend pointed us toward a nice walk along the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge, where we enjoyed the houseboats.

Too soon it was over, but we'll be back! I promise.

Posted at October 03, 2004 04:26 PM