All Around

360 degree shorts of a few places visited last weekend. 

Hook train station

Atop a hay bale, being pushed off by Thomas

Inside the plane; we didn't take off because the weather was bad(see dictionary under 'England') but the inside of the plane is fun and all in German and uncle John showed me the vintage planes, cars, and nuclear bomb shells in the RAF Museum.

Smell My Feet

Upon travelling to Portsmouth(no not Oregon) again today, we went up Spinnaker Tower, and looked out on the partially glass floor in the lowest observation deck before going up the next two levels. It was a rare sunny and 70 degrees so we lunched outside at a place called Zizzi's, then walked around the shops in the outdoor plaza. 

Being in the shoe market for a pair of nice flats, my Inner Shopping Radar found a shiny gold-detailed mauve pair that were gorgeous; however, ignorance is no excuse from the law, and not knowing one's UK size makes it difficult to try anything on. After several minutes of comparing apparent foot sizes with strangers and an in depth psychological deliberation of the difference between UK and US sizes with a confused sales girl, the assistant took off her own shoe and insisted I try it on, finding that my feet fit somewhere around a size seven. Although resourceful, her efforts were in vain as Ted Baker didn't have a size seven in shiny mauve, only in a lackluster orangey-red pair that could make CoCo Chanel look as though she had borrowed granny's last season orthopedic insoles. 

Fancy a dive off Spinnaker? Frustrated by shoe shopping I decided to go shoe-less. Unfortunately I now need new socks.

We played a little game of Battleship while we were there.

Harbor.

Oregon? No.

Stranger Danger

The following pictures are not for the lighthearted. Images may contain pictures of crazy people and are unsuitable for blind children under the age of 13. Parental discretion is advised. 

Crazy old lady asleep on a bark bench in the middle of the day in Stratford. 

Accordion beggar man. Or serial killer, one can never be sure.

This stranger offered me candy so I went for a car ride.

Stealing the car. 

Pirates.

Get Lost

Here I am with my little friend Neve.

News of Late: Took a walk intending to get lost and ended up sitting in a field for an hour attempting to soak up a little sun or at least burn, but somehow stayed my current hue of albino.  I also forged a stream, saw British Bambie frolicking in the forest and got my feet caked in mud, so overall it was immensely productive. 

Went to a restaurant called Bluebeckers for my birthday.  Thanks for the cards everyone. 

Bought a new coat today and its pretty. Pretty awesome. 

Loving Michael Gungors new album song: White Man. 

Making faux chicken Chinese with real asparagus. 

 

News of the Weird: 

Selling pre-made pancakes in plastic packages. Reheated pancakes are horrible and one can almost taste the flavor of microwave in them.

Pronouncing fillet, Fill-Let. Instead of Fil-Ay and saying Kway-sah-dill-a. Instead of Quesadilla(K-sa-dee-ah). Revoltingly hilarious. 

I Make It Rain

Guess what, it's raining. Surprise! It is what it is, so grab wellies, an umbrella and a trench coat because its unavoidable.

Rain Classification System, a la junior high science class style:

Dripping Rain: A few raindrops, the beginning or end of a period of rain and a definite early warning sign(Latin: Checktheweatherandhopeitsright).

Spitting Rain: A light rain that doesn't necessarily warrant an umbrella, but will cause a damp sensation after about 10 minutes(Latin: Dontstraightenyourhair)

Intense Rain: A pounding type rain, one that makes driving in the car in scary due to limited visibility(Latin; dont'gooutside; DONTT-gu-oout-sEeyde).

Constant Rain: On and off raining all day, for days at a time. (Latin: lame). 

Aye' Aye' Cap'n!

I went to Portsmouth today, which is by the sea(hence "port") directly across from the Isle of Wight. Although it was windy and a bit dark, it was still very pretty. There were ships moving in and out of the harbor, people walking their dogs, and others lunching near the hot dog stand. There was also a large white structure overlooking the area called Spinnaker Tower. 

The British have explaining to do when it comes to the pronunciation of certain words and their choice of spelling; traveling to Portsmouth raised several questions that had previously been stifled in my attempt to acclimate myself with the culture. However, I can no longer ignore the questions that are vehemently singeing the inner coils of my mind.

Case and point: 

Portsmouth: "Ports-muhth" Not too bad, America copied this one in Oregon, but let's carry on to the next offender.

Isle of Wight: What heck is a "Wight" and why is it spelled that way, not "White"? 

Spinnaker: "Spin-Na-Ka". I think they like to throw in the letter "R" in the middle of words for kicks and giggles. Sometimes they add "R" sounds to words that shouldn't have them, which is doubly confusing.

Spinnaker Tower

Watch out for those heavy vessels. They'll getcha' every time. 

Pop Eye the Sailor Man sails on this vessel. 

This pub is real old. 

I don't think its safe to dive here, considering

there's about 15 feet of sharp rocks at the bottom

What a Glorious Feeling

Well its definitely raining right now and doesn't look as though it will stop for a while, but what did I expect? It IS England, its what it does. However there are good things about the rain. Like getting to wear a cute trench coat and carry an umbrella. 

Personally, I find umbrellas fascinating. There are pros and cons concerning them; pro's being that A) One gets to carry it, saving themselves from becoming totally and completely drenched and B) One feels empowered to sing lines from musicals such as "Singing in the Rain" when carrying this amazing contraption. Con's are that A) Well, its raining because you're not just carrying it for fun, and B) Getting wet is inevitable, even with the best umbrella and aforementioned cute trench coat. 

The Five

Here is my "Official Top Five French Things I Like" list, in no particular order of relevance nor preference(seeing as I am indecisive and reserve the legal right to add or change to this list at any moment according to my each and every whim and will).

1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) French Onion Soup. Not sure if the French made it first or if one is supposed to use onions from France, but by golly its good. My Aunt Liz made it when I visited her a few weeks ago and it was D-E-lish.

2) The shutters on the windows and wrought iron edged balconies.

3) Indescribable mountain hiking trails, some of which have cafes sitting right in the middle of the journey, just in case one needs a rest half way(okay so they're not all like that, those were just the main, shorter trails, like the 12 mile one). 

4) Little slices of culture, like this: 

There are just some activities one shouldn't attempt participate in on a 10,000 foot high mountain slope, like playing "Tip the Gondola".

There was a lot of wildlife, such as this deranged moose who was apparently very vicious in his time roaming the Alps. I don't see the need to display the remnants of beheaded animals above one's doorway, but Franqois certainly produces qualities that add to the overall aesthetic of this building's facade. So basically, if one feels like a dead animal would look pretty above their parlor, awe inspiring in their apartment or delicate while on the whitewashed walls of their prison cell, by all means, go for it! Its not creepy at all and they won't be staring while you sleep!

Truffle hunting! 

(*Note: No actual mushrooms, truffle, illicit drug, nor mushroom soup 'shrooms were picked or consumed on this vacation nor have ever been picked or consumed due to fear of imminent and sudden death and discomfort)

5) The pretty language.

6) Anything I happen to fancy at the current time.

These candies are everywhere, but the caramel is so chewy and sticky that I felt like a dog eating peanut butter with its legs tied together. Bon apetit, right?

A horse and pony ranch we visited.