it's over

Any hope of good [American] football in Europe is over. I don't think it ever really had a chance...just like soccer will never make it big in the US.

Snow Patrol...and the rest of my top 5

Last night was event number 2 on my summer concert series - Snow Patrol at the O2. It was an amazing show! You can't exactly tell from the picture but we had a great view. They are a great band. I can't think what else to say except if you don't listen to them you should really start. The venue was also pretty cool. It's a new arena in London, formerly the Millenium Dome. It has a huge arena inside for concerts, smaller concert venues, a movie theatre and over 20 bars and restaurants.

While I'm talking about Snow Patrol I thought it would be a good time to unveil my Top 5 bands off all time (so far!). Drumroll please.....

In no particular order the winners are:

Dave Matthews Band - I have to have him on the list because I listened to him non-stop in high school and college and I still enjoy it. He's got way too much of my money from CDs and concerts.
U2 - You can't deny they're one of the greatest bands. Any band who can keep producing great music across decades and have such huge influence has to be on the list. I'm still dying to see them in concert
The Beatles - Same as above (only I guess I won't be seeing them in concert)
Snow Patrol - This is the newest band on my list but I think they have staying power. I first fell in love with them when I heard "Run" and the rest of their music is awesome as well.
Rich Mullins - One of the best artists in Christian music. His songs (and life) inspire me, make me think and help me through hard times. Plus there is a slight home town connection.

I am still working on narrowing down the list who will make it into my Top 10. I may have to get creative.

and so it begins

Tomorrow The Championships in Wimbledon begin. I don't know much about tennis but I'm hoping to make it this year. I'll also try to go up to the village a few nights and try to spot some celebrities. I'll be pretty busy until the second week when I'm hoping to go with Melissa (who is coming in 10 days!). We're planning to line up early in the morning to get some grounds passes. By that time there won't be much exciting going down on the smaller courts but since I don't follow tennis I'm really only going for the atmosphere, including strawberries and cream. I was going to camp out overnight one night to try for better tickets but the scheduling didn't work out...it's enough to queue up at 6am! I'll keep you posted if I see any celebs around.

week in pictures

I've been a little busy. Good busy, but busy. Last weekend I was away in Portsmouth with my church for a fun and refreshing weekend. This week I was in Oxford a couple nights for work meetings. Last night I went to my first cricket match and today I had lunch with a friend, watched Shrek the Third and had dinner with friends. Phew...and it's not really going to slow down for awhile. Here are some pictures to summarize.
Me and my friend Erin in the harbor of Portsmouth, on England's southern coast. From here they have a hovercraft to the Isle of Wight and ferries to France. The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, we had dinner here on Wednesday. A cute thatched roof cottage in Oxford... We also went to the Turf Tavern in Oxford. Apparently it's one of the oldest pubs in Oxford and used to be frequented by Bill Clinton. The Oval cricket grounds in London. Surrey vs. Middlesex. At first I had absolutely no idea what was going on but once I learned how teams score it was much more fun and I have to say I was pretty into it by the end of the match! I was excited to see that the English do the wave at sporting events...although they have their own twist on it. It's just like the American version only they throw trash up in the air when they stand up. Eww.Me, Wakako and Eleanor at our first cricket match! I don't think I'll turn into a huge fan but it was a good time.

Chocolate

I love chocolate...but did you know that nearly half of the world's chocolate is made in the Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa? Over 12,000 children have been trafficked into cocoa plantations there to make our chocolate.

Here are a list of traffic-free chocolate brands you can buy. Most of them are UK brands but if you live in the States just buy fair trade! Click here to find out more.

quiet lately

I know I've been quiet lately...I'll have an update soon. For now I'm up to 10,000 page views.

Big Brother?

Lately I've been really missing having a car! I like cars in general and it would be so nice to just jump in the car and go to the store or drive anywhere I want. There are a few things holding me back from getting one. First, I am saving a lot of money by not having one and I'm not sure the cost is worth how much I would use it. Second, my license will only last for a year then I have to take driving lessons and get a brand new license. Ugh! And last, but not least - they have speed cameras here. I've had my share of speeding tickets and am always on the lookout for cop cars when I am driving, but here there are cameras everywhere! A colleague said she got a ticket in the mail with a picture of her and her husband in the car that was so clear it made her shudder.

According to this article "there are more than 4.2m CCTV cameras, with the average person being filmed more than 300 times a day" in Britain. Rumor is that the UK is one of the most watched countries and now they are experimenting with installing listening devices as well.

Not only does the UK have a lot of surveillance cameras, people here are obsessed with the TV show "Big Brother." I've even come across several shows on cable that are commentaries on the Big Brother show itself. They're like accessories for a TV show. You can even watch cameras from the house 24/7 online or on cable.

Yikes...there are some crazy people over here. (Not my friends of course!)

the list

It's time to re-visit my list. Of the 5 things I want to do before I'm 30, I can now cross another one of the list - I went to the French Riviera! Thursday I headed to Nice with my friend from school, Ryan (thanks for being a great tour guide and translator!). We also went to Cannes and Monaco while we were there. It was awesome! If I loved France after visiting Paris this only makes me love it more.

The weather was beautiful- it was sunny almost all the time. Of course, I love anywhere with a beach and palm trees. The old buildings there are so cute! I loved all the different colors and the shutters on the windows. Combined with the blue of the water the colors make for beautiful pictures. I also love France for the cafe culture and the great food! You can't go wrong with Nutella crepes :) And finally, I'd say my favorite thing was para-sailing in Cannes. Unfortunately I didn't really get any pictures because I didn't want to risk it with my new camera, but it was gorgeous, and so relaxing! I figured it would be the perfect way to check off my list.

I created a new web-page on my Mac with all the pictures (slightly abridged version). It's much easier than web-shots and you can make it more personal. Check it out here.

milestone #2

We'll see how long I can keep it going but I've been writing this blog for a little over a year. Sometimes I don't have much to say so you may get bored of checking back for updates. (Check out Google Reader to eliminate this problem.)

Not surprisingly most of my readers are in Cincinnati but there are a few more interesting locations as well. I've had some readers in Mason, Columbus, Nashville, New York, California, Michigan, Oxford, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Ireland. I also have regular readers in London and surrounding areas. I'm pretty sure I've become more famous since I left Cincinnati because people I rarely talked to at home come up to me when I'm back and tell me they've been reading my blog. (Don't worry Heidi, I don't think you're stalking me!)

I'm no Steve Carr but I get an average of 20 visits per day and my number of page views is approaching 10,000! My unique visits aren't that high but I'm getting there. Currently I'm at 9,801 views. Maybe I should offer a prize for the 10,000th view. Nah- you'll just have to keep reading because you like me.

a Notting Hill weekend

This weekend my friend Ryan from LA came to London to visit! Saturday was a beautiful day and we went to Kew Gardens. We walked all over the grounds which were really pretty. I got some great pictures but unfortunately I spilled water on my camera part way through our walk and now the camera won't turn on! Once I get the pictures off I will post them. After Kew we headed to Notting Hill and Portabello Road market.

While we were there we decided to hunt down a few of the landmarks from the moving, "Notting Hill." First we found the original travel book shop. This was the one used as the model for the actual store used in the movie. The inside looked a lot like the one in the movie. (I got these pictures off my camera phone). Then we headed to find the blue door a few streets down. It's no longer painted blue because too many people were knocking on the door, but we found it anyway!On Sunday we went to the Southbank to visit the Tate Modern and see Othello at Shakespeare's Globe. The play was amazing, although I have to admit if I hadn't read the synopsis beforehand I would have been very lost. The actor who played Iago, the main villain in the story, was actually an actor from Notting Hill! He was the husband of the lady in the wheelchair. It took me a few minutes to figure it out but it was definitely him.

We didn't see Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts but it was still a Notting Hill weekend...