TRAVEL BLOG
Friday, July 29, 2005
London Bomb Scare
I was in Covent Garden when found out about the attempted bombings on the 21st of July. There was a large crowd gathered around a public TV - too large to be interested in the cricket - which could only mean something bad had happened again. Another bomb attack, two weeks after the first one. Fortunately the bombs didn't work.
There was nothing else I could do but to walk back to where I was staying in Archway, North London. I passed within the vicinity of Warren Street, one of the tube stations wich was targeted. The streets around it were cordoned off and the only traffic was pedestrian. It was an odd feeling to be walking around London in the middle of the day with no cars and people walking down the middle of the street. People were calm and talking to one and other as well.
There was nothing else I could do but to walk back to where I was staying in Archway, North London. I passed within the vicinity of Warren Street, one of the tube stations wich was targeted. The streets around it were cordoned off and the only traffic was pedestrian. It was an odd feeling to be walking around London in the middle of the day with no cars and people walking down the middle of the street. People were calm and talking to one and other as well.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Thursday, July 21, 2005
Box o' Joe Challenge
I owed a friend in the U.S - The Enigma of Bellevue as he is known - a coffee. Actually I owe him 100 coffee's, but that's another story. The deal is that the coffee's can be taken any time and can be any type or size.
We were in Boston and we went to Dunkin Donuts, the omnipresent chain store in the East Coast that has seemingly reinvented itself as a cafe chain in the years between my last visit to the States.
I noticed in D.D's a product called the Box o' Joe. It's a cardboard box with a plastic bladder inside with a nozzle at the bottom (it resembles wine casks that are sold in Australia). It contains 10 cups (110oz / 3.25 litres).
It is meant to be for multiple users, say for an office, but I said to the Enigna that it can count as one coffee, as long as it is consumed in one go.
Of course, he took up the challenge. I bought the box and we went to the Boston Common.
On the box it says best consumed within one hour. Sure enough my friend the remorseless coffee drinking machine drank it all in half that time - 11 cups in all with the addition of milk.
So there, in the most appropriate of American cities, the Box o' Joe challenge began.
(The writer and editor of this site does not endorse such activites nor will be held responsible for people hospitalised for caffeine related injuries.)
We were in Boston and we went to Dunkin Donuts, the omnipresent chain store in the East Coast that has seemingly reinvented itself as a cafe chain in the years between my last visit to the States.
I noticed in D.D's a product called the Box o' Joe. It's a cardboard box with a plastic bladder inside with a nozzle at the bottom (it resembles wine casks that are sold in Australia). It contains 10 cups (110oz / 3.25 litres).
It is meant to be for multiple users, say for an office, but I said to the Enigna that it can count as one coffee, as long as it is consumed in one go.
Of course, he took up the challenge. I bought the box and we went to the Boston Common.
On the box it says best consumed within one hour. Sure enough my friend the remorseless coffee drinking machine drank it all in half that time - 11 cups in all with the addition of milk.
So there, in the most appropriate of American cities, the Box o' Joe challenge began.
(The writer and editor of this site does not endorse such activites nor will be held responsible for people hospitalised for caffeine related injuries.)
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Dentists - Vietnam Style (Part II)
Following up from a previous post about Vietnamese dentists, I found this dentist in Toronto's Vietnamese neighbourhood which shows what a dentists store front should look like.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Monday, July 18, 2005
Toronto
I was in Toronto over the Canada Day weekend (1st 0f July). While I have been to the U.S a number of times, this was my first visit to Canada. it's a curious mix with its American style 8 lane superhighways, French announcements at the airport and Queen Elizabeth II on the coinage. They also use the Queen's English, so words like "centre" are spelt correctly (however they still drive on the wrong side of the road).
I've come to learn to not tell people if they will like a city or not if I have already been there. Coming to Toronto reinforces this philosophy for me. Over the years most Canadian's I've met who aren't from Toronto seem to have a low opinion of the place. I met a Canadian woman the day before I left and I told her I was going to Toronto. She said "Oh I'm sorry - please don't judge us by one city." - Hmm?
Armed with such prejudice, I really liked Toronto. It has a population of 5 million people, a lakeside setting and the worlds largest building (the CN Tower).
I was staying in a local neighbourhood called Kensington, near the Kensington Market, which like the legendary Kensington market which used to be in London, has a very funky and alternative vibe.
Nearby is Queen Street, a grungy party street with bars, cafes and an assortment of interesting independent shops. This is all the more remarkable considering that so many cities across North America have been swallowed up by franchise store sameness.
So, if this is so bad by Canadian standards, I can't wait to come back and see the rest of this vast country.
I've come to learn to not tell people if they will like a city or not if I have already been there. Coming to Toronto reinforces this philosophy for me. Over the years most Canadian's I've met who aren't from Toronto seem to have a low opinion of the place. I met a Canadian woman the day before I left and I told her I was going to Toronto. She said "Oh I'm sorry - please don't judge us by one city." - Hmm?
Armed with such prejudice, I really liked Toronto. It has a population of 5 million people, a lakeside setting and the worlds largest building (the CN Tower).
I was staying in a local neighbourhood called Kensington, near the Kensington Market, which like the legendary Kensington market which used to be in London, has a very funky and alternative vibe.
Nearby is Queen Street, a grungy party street with bars, cafes and an assortment of interesting independent shops. This is all the more remarkable considering that so many cities across North America have been swallowed up by franchise store sameness.
So, if this is so bad by Canadian standards, I can't wait to come back and see the rest of this vast country.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Thursday, July 14, 2005
Back on the Tube
I came back to London on Tuesday after two weeks in Canada and the U.S. A week had not passed since the London terrorist bombings and I was anxious to get back as my Dad was in London at the time and I wanted to see London friends and hear there experiences.
I came back from Boston Logan, an airport haunted with September 11 memories. An American man mistook my Australian accent for a British one and asked if I was going to London. I said yes, and he said "good luck", as if I was heading off to a war zone.
Getting on the Piccadilly line tube at London Heathrow I could feel some tension in the air. London Underground staff were patrolling carraiges asking everyone which bags belonged to everyone.
I came back from Boston Logan, an airport haunted with September 11 memories. An American man mistook my Australian accent for a British one and asked if I was going to London. I said yes, and he said "good luck", as if I was heading off to a war zone.
Getting on the Piccadilly line tube at London Heathrow I could feel some tension in the air. London Underground staff were patrolling carraiges asking everyone which bags belonged to everyone.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Friday, July 08, 2005
London Terrorist Attack
My thoughts and sympathy goes out to my fellow Londoners affected by the terrorist attack.
This articulate statement by London mayor Ken Livingstone sums it up for me:
Ken Livingstone
To echo Ken, the city of London is the greatest in the world.
This articulate statement by London mayor Ken Livingstone sums it up for me:
Ken Livingstone
To echo Ken, the city of London is the greatest in the world.
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Saturday, July 02, 2005
Smart Car Parking
The Smart Car, by DaimlerChrysler, are a just a bit longer than most cars are wide, ideal for pulling off sneaky parking in small European streets.
Smart Car Parking - Frankfurt
Smart Car Parking - Frankfurt
Labels: frankfurt, germany, smart car
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Friday, July 01, 2005
Deutsch we all understand
Nazis? Nein Danke! (Frankfurt)
Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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