Made it home

Made it home on Wednesday April 19th. No hassles.

This blog is now ended. I'll keep it available, but no new entries.

Mastering Bristolian

I am truely fascinated with the variety of English accents I've heard. I'm amazed how diverse they can be even within the small space between London and Bristol.

I'm also amazed that I've learned to listen so well. Today I only had to ask for a repeat 2 times.

Here is another clip. It starts in German, then translates to English, then translates into Bristolian. I understand the Bristolian. Brilliant !


To top it off, I even understood most of the German !

See if you can understand what he is saying. Remember he is speaking English, with a Bristolian accent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14iFODW2_Mo&feature=related

Bristolian

Ok, I've not gone mad. Folks here in Bristol do indeed speak a form of English that is quite different than any I've heard before. As I said in my previous post, I had to have the clerk "translate" for me when I was ordering Pizza delivery. I could not understand the person on the other end.

Before retiring I did some iNet surfing and found out that Bristol UK indeed has its own accent. Well, nearly every part of the UK has one, but here it is called "Bristolian" or "Bristol speak"

Listen for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhgUeY1BExk&feature=related

More news about the hotel in Bristol

Note to self: When traveling to the UK, ask if the Hotel is "Room Only". I'm currently located in a Business Park area. Brick paved roads, well manicured flora surrounding office buildings. Just like any Business Park area one could imagine in Overland Park KS. But who would have known that there is such a thing as "Room Only" accomodations?



My associates in KC told me to stay at the Aztec. My UK associates told me to save money and stay at "Lodge on the Park". Being a good employee I selected the Lodge. Both are on the same road, in fact they share the same driveway.



After finding out there were no restaurants close by I asked about "delivery". That was met with a blank stare. I asked again and was told to check across the street at the Aztec.



The clerk at the Aztec was very helpful, but there was not much in the way of options except for Domino Pizza. By this time I would have ate Skunk. She gave me the number and away I went back across the brick paved street to my room.

I returned to my room, dialed the number and guess what? I was connected back to the hotel operator. Seems I'm staying at a "room only" establishment. Which means no way to make outbound calls. Even though they have iNet, their phone system only works internally.

So I went back to Starbucks / Hotel Desk and asked if I could use the phone to order Domino Pizza delivery. There was a long pause. "OK, but just tonight". "What?" She continued "our restaurant serves Pizza, but since we are closed tonight I will allow you to order from Domino delivery." "Can I have them deliver here and you call me when it arrives?" "No" she said "I can not call your room."

So I ran over to the Aztec, explained my situation and the clerk let me use the phone to place my order. Then I was faced with the language problem. I could not for the life of me understand what the person on the other end of the phone was saying. I turned the phone over to the clerk and asked if she would "translate for me". I asked "Is he speaking English?" She smiled and said "yes.". Order placed. The clerk said "I'll call your room when he arrives." OK I thought I'm not going to die of starvation.

Back to my room. Then I thought...if the clerk at the Lodge can not call my room how can the clerk at the Aztec? I put on my shoes and headed down the stairs, opened the door and there was the Domino delivery guy. I had to run back to my room to get 15 Pounds, pay the delivery guy and then back to Aztec to let the clerk know I had my pizza.

So now, after I finish typing this, I'm going to eat.

Here are a couple of pics. One is the outside of the Lodge and the other is looking down the hallway with all the lights on. They are on motion detectors as I mentioned earlier.

PS: Pizza was delicious.

Hotel in Bristol

There is a lot more room in this hotel than the one in London.

But it is missing some key elements. For one, no Ice Machine. I have to go to the restaurant/check-in counter combo which is a Starbucks. No electric adaptors available. However the hotel next door is owned by the same company, and they had adaptors.

The hotel is located away from everything. The closest grocery store is a 20 min walk. Restaurant options are out of the question and the one here at the hotel is closed on Sunday. But never fear, the hotel next door which is also a SPA has a restaurant that I'm sure will do just fine.


When I first entered the room I looked for the thermostat. There isn't one. Panic. Then I saw the fan sitting on the table (click the pic and look at the left corner). I realized there was no AC. The heater is a wall heater located by the door. My concerns were quickly relived after I reminded myself that this was Bristol. Temperature outside was mid 60's and falling. I may end up turning on the heater before the night is over.

This is a very new facility. It is immaculately clean. And it is VERY GREEN. The lights in the hallway are controlled by motion detectors. The staff are all young and very enthusiastic about their business.

http://www.lodgeonthepark.com













The bathroom is very nice. But what I don't understand is that the towel rack (see pic) has a wire that connects to the wall. A sign on the rack states
"The appliance must be Earthed". I take that to mean 'Grounded". But why?

Train to Bristol

Today, Sunday, I took a train to Bristol which is located West of London on the border of Wales. The tracks went a bit north of Stonehenge. Didn't make it there this trip. Besides I was told you can't get to the stones except on the solstice. Seems they are trying to protect it a bit more.

The country side reminded me a lot of the Midwest USA. The weather was quite cool, mid to lower 60's.

The English spoken in Bristol is more difficult for me to understand than the English spoken in London.

Here are some pics that I took along the way.

Taking the Tube to London Tower and Tower Bridge

The closest Underground station to my hotel in London is Embankment.

I mentioned earlier that the London Subway (Underground / Tube) system is quite complex. I attempt to show this by the map on the wall. I'm sure I'd get it eventually, but for now everything I need to know is all contained on the Yellow 'Circle Line'.

The Tower of London was another spot that I was determined to visit. While I didn't go in, I saw enough from the outside. If I return to London, this is definitely one tour I want to take.

The image you see in the painting is what the Tower looked like 300 years ago.

Next to the Tower of London is Tower Bridge - which also goes by the name of "London Bridge"

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would walk across "London Bridge"

Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, Westminster Cathedral

My walk to Buckingham Palace started at the west end of Trafalgar Square at the entrance to what is called "The Mall". A long straight street lined with trees and adjacent to St. James park.

There were many people taking advantage of the wonderful weather.










Along the path were these markers announcing this to be the 'Jubilee Walkway'




Buckingham Palace is impressive to see. I didn't have time to take the tour. But seeing the outside and the monument to Queen Victoria was satisfying.

Westminster Abby is also impressive to see. I wanted to take the tour, however they didn't allow photos

And then there was Westminster Cathedral which is Roman Catholic. From the outside it looks Eastern Orthodox. We were allowed in for free and could take photos.

Pictures of Big Ben and Parliament area