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Absolutely loved roaming around on foot yesterday and re-acquanting myself with the Underground. (It's been two or three years.) Going on a mandatory junket jaunt to Roald Dahl's home outside of London, which probably means no filing until I return to the hotel at 6 pm or thereabouts. (Using AT&T air card is out of the question.) This evening's gathering will be at the Cross Keys in Covent Garden at 9 pm.

Midway during Monday afternoon's search for new VOIP headset/earphones.

Wellington Arch -- Monday, 10.13, 6:10 pm

Foxfire<< previous | next >>Roald Dahl-ing

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 12, 2009 at 11:50 PM

comment #1

LexG says ...

I'm jealous. Shows what a bumpkin I am, but I've never left the continent, never traveled further than TJ, Hawaii, or parts of Canada.

Never been to another continent, ever... Seems almost SUPERNATURAL to me to do so; I want to travel (or move) to London or Japan more than just about anything, because they CAN'T be more depressing, alienating and lonesome than Los Angeles, CAN'T be any harder for a white nobody to get laid in.

British chicks rule, England seems SO AWESOME... Fuck, how do you just go to London? Every time I get vacation time (like once a year or two) I have to go somewhere else in America to visit family; Plus how do you deal with that 12-HOUR PLANE RIDE? How do you not go INSANE? I can't sit still for that long.

Plus doesn't getting a passport take two or three years? Fuck that, I'll just go to Vegas. But still, Japan or London have GOT to be filled with vag that would be charmed by a pasty white dork like me.

TRAVELING IS NOT HUMANLY POSSIBLE. I do not believe ANYONE from America has ever been to Europe or Asia unless they're a billionaire.

Posted by LexG at October 13, 2009 1:24 AM

comment #2

scooterzz says ...

lex -- it's insane for anyone your age not to have a passport....get one....you can't travel if you can't travel....

Posted by scooterzz at October 13, 2009 1:39 AM

comment #3

vansmith says ...

what kills me is the bon vivant that is wells, the cinefile that is wells the world traveler that is wells lives in north bergen new jersey...that is heartbreaking...

Posted by vansmith at October 13, 2009 3:04 AM

comment #4

Josh Massey says ...

So once you get to London, do all photos become alive like in the Harry Potter movies? Because the one on your badge is the same as the one on the masthead, just frowning.

Posted by Josh Massey at October 13, 2009 5:23 AM

comment #5

fortunesfool73.wordpress.com says ...

Hop on the train up to Edinburgh and we'll have a pint waiting for you :)

Posted by fortunesfool73.wordpress.com at October 13, 2009 5:41 AM

comment #6

Pomerania says ...

LexG - thanks for the offer old cock, but we have enough pasty white dorks over here to last us a lifetime. Get yourself a suntan and then we might consider you.

Posted by Pomerania at October 13, 2009 6:13 AM

comment #7

Griff says ...

Much envy here, as well. Spent about a week in South Kennsington 5 years ago, with the Rib and three kids. Loved the tube, the double decker buses. The English people were wonderfully warm and welcoming. South K was just a delightful place...no doubt expensive as hell these days.

Posted by Griff at October 13, 2009 6:24 AM

comment #8

Sabina E says ...

No wonder LexG is such a loser.

London is one of my favourite cities to walk around. Did you stop in the tunnel at South Kensington to watch any of these musicians play? I always love that.

You should take a walk in Trafalgar Square at nighttime-- one of my favourite London activities to do.

Posted by Sabina E at October 13, 2009 6:47 AM

comment #9

Ryansi51 says ...

when i was 18, minutes after i checked into the intl student hostel, fresh faced and so excited to be abroad, i locked myself out of my room after showering and had to wear my washcloth sized towel into the lobby to grab a spare.

horrifying at the time, but i put on a brave face and i certainly didn't lack for people recognizing me the rest of the trip!

Posted by Ryansi51 at October 13, 2009 6:54 AM

comment #10

dggunz says ...

I was just there in June - stayed right near South Kensington. Awesome location, a nice walk to a few museums close by.

Posted by dggunz at October 13, 2009 7:02 AM

comment #11

Rich S. says ...

Spent a week in London at the end of June. Stayed at a hotel about a block from the Gloucester Road tube station.

I highly recommend the Imperial War Museum, in the old Bedlam building. It may be the best museum in London, and that's saying something.

Posted by Rich S. at October 13, 2009 7:37 AM

comment #12

Eloi Manning says ...

The Tower of London is da shit, yo.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 13, 2009 7:47 AM

comment #13

Stringer Bell says ...

Lex: I guess you'd have to go to Epcot to get a flavor of Europe, since they wont let you out of the country ...

Jeff: How do you handle the eventual return to freakin' North Bergen, NJ after spending time in London? The airport in Newark must cause a serious culture shock.

Posted by Stringer Bell at October 13, 2009 8:17 AM

comment #14

Eloi Manning says ...

Epcot is fairly hilarious. I remember seeing an episode of the Hulk Hogan action show "Thunder In Paradise" that was meant to take place in Britain. They just went to Epcot and filmed it there. Pure comedy.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 13, 2009 8:25 AM

comment #15

Edward says ...

I hate Newark Airport, who the hell designed that place? Stay in London Jeff, change the title of the site to London and Elsewhere.

Posted by Edward at October 13, 2009 8:31 AM

comment #16

mccool says ...

I say this as NYer ... London is NYC x 10 ... literally. Culture, character, history. I'd be living there now if they didn't want to put my dog in quarantine for six months ... SIX MONTHS.

Plus, there aren;t a ton of Italians or Hispanics there, so, everybody wins.

And van smith ... where might a lover of life live ... certainly not amongst the people...that's disgusting.

Posted by mccool at October 13, 2009 8:48 AM

comment #17

Gogocrank says ...

I spent some time visiting my sister in Leeds not long ago, with trips to York and Sheffield, as was surprised to learn that even though every city in England is just a couple of hours apart, Brits barely travel within their own country. You can spend a lifetime in the south and never go up north, and vice versa. The ironic thing is, outside of the big cities most of the UK might as well be North Bergen, NJ.

Posted by Gogocrank at October 13, 2009 9:17 AM

comment #18

bluetide says ...

What a city. I spent a semester living about four blocks from the South Kensington tube stop pictured above. It was a little closer to the Gloucester Road station (only about a block from that one on Ashburn Gardens). Jeff, if you ever feel like jaunting over to the Gloucester Rd. stop (just a couple minutes at most), if you go right when you come out the main exit (with the newstand) there's an excellent breakfast cafe run by a French ex-pat right next to the tube station (I believe it's attached but only accessible from the sidewalk). Good baguettes. Good sandwiches. Good coffee (or tea). It was a favorite hangout of cabbies last time I was there; I figured if anyone knew the good local hangouts, it would be the black cab drivers. I was right.

Posted by bluetide at October 13, 2009 9:42 AM

comment #19

Rich S. says ...

bluetide, I think I actually ate at that cafe when I was there last summer. Had a chocolate croissant, I believe. Excellent tip, very good food.

Posted by Rich S. at October 13, 2009 9:45 AM

comment #20

bluetide says ...

Gogocrank, you are dead on about intra-UK travel. If you go out in the country, a lot of the small town folks will travel to other small towns for festivals or whatnot. At one point in the Twentieth Century, something like 90% of Brits had been to Blackpool for vacation. But I think that trend has changed drastically in the past couple of decades. EasyJet. RyanAir, and the EU travel area have made summer vacations in mainland Europe cheap and easy for most everyone in the Britain. If you really want to get a funny look from someone in London, ask them if they have ever been to Scotland. It's about like asking them if they have ever slept with their sister. It's a shame as Scotland is a great, beautiful country.

Posted by bluetide at October 13, 2009 9:50 AM

comment #21

bluetide says ...

Rich, do you remember the name? Ah, it just came to me: "la Liason" I believe.

Posted by bluetide at October 13, 2009 9:51 AM

comment #22

Pomerania says ...

This wouldn't be a true hommage to the great city without some wingeing too. Bad weather, anyone?

Go on the big wheel Jeff. It's a must.

Posted by Pomerania at October 13, 2009 10:18 AM

comment #23

Rich S. says ...

I think you're right. It was next to a Kentucky Fried Chicken or a Burger King (both were next to each other on that street).

I really liked that area because of that mini shopping mall right next to the tube station. Nice little grocery store so you didn't have to spend all your food money at restaurants.

Posted by Rich S. at October 13, 2009 10:19 AM

comment #24

Eloi Manning says ...

"I spent some time visiting my sister in Leeds not long ago, with trips to York and Sheffield, as was surprised to learn that even though every city in England is just a couple of hours apart, Brits barely travel within their own country. You can spend a lifetime in the south and never go up north, and vice versa.

You've got to consider a) the high cost of petrol and trains in England, and b) the fact that Europe is basically the same size as the USA so people tend to go abroad for their holidays. While someone in New York might visit Miami or San Francisco for a vacation, there's no real point in someone from Manchester going to Leeds when they can just fly cheaply to Rome or get a train to Paris.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 13, 2009 10:22 AM

comment #25

Eloi Manning says ...

"If you really want to get a funny look from someone in London, ask them if they have ever been to Scotland. It's about like asking them if they have ever slept with their sister. It's a shame as Scotland is a great, beautiful country."

To be fair, most Londoners are massive, swaggering cunts who have no knowledge of anywhere north of Watford.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 13, 2009 10:25 AM

comment #26

bridgeman says ...

I was at Wellington Arch from about 1pm to 1:30 this afternoon actually. Then I walked up Park Lane to Marble Arch, passing the Dorchester and remembering that Jeff was in town.

Been walking around London for three days straight (got here on Saturday morning from Australia) and my feet are ready to fall off. Agony. Probably because I tried to break in new shoes on Sunday.

Posted by bridgeman at October 13, 2009 10:35 AM

comment #27

Markj74 says ...

Edinburgh is the most beautiful city in the UK. No competition whatsoever.

Posted by Markj74 at October 13, 2009 11:32 AM

comment #28

George Prager says ...

Fucking expensive. I loved the bookstores. Bought Patrick Hamilton novels. Drank and ate at The Cow. A scenester there came up to me and started a conversation. He thought that he knew me, was surprised when he found out that I was an American. That's how cool I am.

Posted by George Prager at October 13, 2009 2:30 PM

comment #29

bluetide says ...

Rich, the place I'm thinking of is actually on the same side of the street as the Gloucester Rd. tube stop on the other side of the block from the entrance to the little mini-mall. I found a little mini-review online http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/cafe/1e61r6p/la-liaison. Maybe we are speaking about the same place, but last time I was there it seems like it was the only business that side of the block. The BK and KFC were across the street. That was going on two years ago; things might have changed.

I never shopped at the Waitrose in the tube station much. I felt like you could get more for your money at Sainsbury's and I was usually so poor I ended up shopping at the Tesco Metro across from the tube stop.

Eloi (great name), I hate to say it but you're right on about a lot of the folks I met in Chelsea and Kensington. I did meet some great folks when I got drunk one night and ended up in an Irish ex-pat pub somewhere south of where the tube ended way, way south of the river. Pints of Guiness for 1.20 and fish and chips for 2.80. I figured selling food and drink wasn't their main business but they were equally drunk and funny as hell so nobody minded. I ended up walking about five miles to catch a bus at one in the morning.

And markj, you're just wrong. Edinburgh's fine but it's not even the most beautiful city in Scotland. Heck, it's barely even Scottish. Head up to Inverness if you want some great scenery. And none of those are London.

Posted by bluetide at October 13, 2009 3:22 PM

comment #30

Markj74 says ...

bluetide: I'm talking about the city itself, not the scenery. Do you seriously think Inverness is a better city than Edinburgh?

Posted by Markj74 at October 13, 2009 4:59 PM

comment #31

Markj74 says ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8199815.stm

Posted by Markj74 at October 13, 2009 5:01 PM

comment #32

bluetide says ...

It's apples to oranges as Inverness only has about 75,000 people. Edinburgh is fine city, but it pales in comparison to London. I'm not an architecture expert so you could probably blow me away on the front but I found the buildings of London much more lively and diverse than Edinburgh. And honestly, in terms of both people and surroundings, I enjoyed Inverness a lot more than Edinburgh.

Posted by bluetide at October 13, 2009 6:16 PM

comment #33

bluetide says ...

And the poll you cite was nice for Edinburgh; I just would have been in the segment of voters who made a different choice.

Posted by bluetide at October 13, 2009 6:18 PM

comment #34

Rich S. says ...

bluetide,

Sorry, you're correct. We're talking about the same area, but different patisseries. The one where I got the croissant was next to the BK. It was very good, though.

Another thing I love about London is the "crispy aromatic duck" you can get at most restaurants in Chinatown. Like Peking Duck, but crunchier. I never miss it when I'm there.

Posted by Rich S. at October 14, 2009 2:58 AM

comment #35

Eloi Manning says ...

Another thing I love about New York are the "loaded potato skins" you can get at most restaurants in Times Square. Like a baked potato, but cheesier. I never miss it when I'm there.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 14, 2009 5:45 AM

comment #36

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comment #37

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