05/09/11 Day 1: Air Travel (Eww)

PDX personnel are always so much more friendly than those at other airports. One giggled at the check in counter as she advised me to have any fragile souvenirs shipped. The lady at the front of security, yes, security, greeted us with a "Happy Monday!" Who says that? Another highlight was being the only person to be offered one of yesterday's pastries for free. All I know that a free (overly-sugared) blueberry muffin made me feel better about paying $3 for a 1 liter water bottle.

I started reading Harry Potter on the flight to New Jersey, after begging month after month for my future(ish) roommate to let me borrow them. It seems odd to compare it to Twilight, but since everyone else does: If the first Twilight book reminds me of bad fanfiction, the first Harry Potter book reminds me of good fanfiction (not literature necessarily, but a fun read none the less.)

Aside from more over-priced food, dozing, and keeping an eye out for Brit passports, my layover passed without event.

foodcourt roof in Newark's terminal

I think I would sleep a lot better if meals were served on destination time rather than origin time. The flight attendants are always waking me up as I finally started to dream. Of course, this time I all I could dream about was packing, only to wake myself up to try and repack things that sit a continent and almost an ocean away.

sunrise over the Atlantic

The After

Now that I've been to the British Isles, I can I say I did see and hear a few things I expected. However, I saw double-decker-bus worth of stuff that surprised me.

Scotland: Contrary to my perception of Scotland, I found quite a few women there. They dress very nicely, usually in pantsuits. The only men that wear kilts are those promoting tourism through either acting or musical performances. Some of them have beards, but not more often than those in the States.

• I don't recall anyone wearing berets with fuzzy balls, except tourists. In fact, I felt like I ran into a lot of tourists in Edinburgh. Most of the accents and languages I heard were from places other than Scotland. Sadly, I didn't research what Gaelic sounds like, so I could have heard it without realizing it.
• Scottish men rarely pose, unless they are performing, then they pose all the time. Perhaps the most curious thing about Edinburgh residents, is that they walk on streets with buildings older than my country, and they don't seem to notice. That's how I discerned the difference between locals and visitors: the way they reacted to the scenery. I wonder if Scots take this beautiful city for granted, or if they're just in a hurry on their way to their next appointment.
• I don't remember seeing any fog in Scotland, but it was pretty chilly the entire time I was there. I'm pretty sure I wore pants every day, and a sweatshirt without feeling too warm. When I was inside a building is a different story. Every building (except maybe large cathedrals) was heated until it was slightly toasty, even in my hotel room. In Edinburgh, most people don't live in castles (though a few live in Edinburgh Castle), but a lot seem to live in oooooold buildings downtown. I think their definition of "new" city is one from the 1800s.
• I saw more sheep than I did people in the Scottish country side. 

England: This country has several time periods, some of which I learned about before my trip. I think I only made it as far in my youtube research as the Murder in the Cathedral. I should do more "research" soon.

• Arthur is supposedly buried at Glastonbury with Guinevere, more on that later. I didn't really hear anything about Merlin, or what exact age any of them supposedly lived in, but I did see ruins of an abbey.  
• Rome took over parts of England for a while, blending their empire's culture with that of England's. They built a wall, and a temple/bath complex that still stands (somewhat) today.
• Then there was the Norman era, in which many castles, cathedrals, and some cities were built. In this period the English developed a strong distaste for the French, really strong, like my distaste for bleu-cheese on blood sausage. They also made several changes to their language, making it sound more like English and less like German and Danish.
• Henry VIII did in fact make a terrible husband of himself. He may have also murdered some princes in a different family line, but no one knows for sure. He also had um...very specially-designed armor (pictures later.) Bloody Mary did kill a bunch of Protestants, but I'm not sure if she liked tea.  I heard less about Queen Elizabeth I than I expected, though I did see several painting of her throughout England. Shakespeare lived in both Stratford upon Avon and in London, and  a few of his residences are still standing, as well as his church. The Globe Theater burned down, but the replica still looks pretty awesome (and is a very inexpensive way to see a play in London, as long as you don't mind standing for the entire act.)
• Much time passed before C.S. Lewis came on the scene, including the American Revolution, an English civil war, and several changes in government. C.S. Lewis taught at Magdelen College in Oxford, ate at the Trout Inn, drank tea at the Randolf, and drank some variety of alcohol at Eagle & Child. His house is preserved on the outskirts of Oxford, as well as his church. I'm not sure what the English think of Lewis. Our British tour guides seemed to have an unusual sparkle in their eyes every time his name came up. I'm not sure when Lewis slept, because he seems evermore the busy man now that I know more about him. 
• England has aged since Lewis' death, adopting many sky scrapers, and breeding a few cute princes. Beatrice, the Princess of York, is only four days younger than me. Her cousin William got married a few weeks ago, and I may have heard one or two mentions of it, just a couple though, not that their pictures were all over tacky china and tea to wells or anything. Men in England still dress quite nicely, as do the ladies. I felt a bit undressed. Not as many people smoked as I expected. Though it's still hard to wrap my mind around, I'm pretty sure the Beatles, J.K. Rowling, and Doctor Who come from the same England as Elizabeth I.  English people like soccer and rugby, but to my surprise, I did catch two Oxford students carrying footballs. 

Ireland: Everything in Ireland is green, except the sidewalks and most of the buildings. Besides the rolling green countryside, Ireland has a university and innumerable pubs. They also have a shopping mall, wild rhododendrons, Italian-roofed beach towns, and loooots of young people. I found more eye-kandy in Dublin than any other city on this trip. A lot of Irish people like former president Bill Clinton because of his diplomacy in Northern Ireland, and a lot seem to like Obama (more on that later.)

My British Isles Playlist

For my plane ride and possibly some bus rides while I'm in England, I've designed a British Isles Playlist. Kudos to my sis Diana and my former flute teacher Sandy Norman for getting me Amazon and iTunes gift cards to contribute to this playlist. Jeers to iTunes for jacking up prices on most downloads, and Amazon for hardly selling any Beatles songs (and none of the good ones.)

Playlist includes songs by:

• Andy Hunter (England)
• Flogging Molly (the lead singer is from Ireland)
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi died in England)
• Chris Norman Ensemble (well, okay, they're not Scottish (Canadian/American) but they play Scottish folk music)
•  Florence + the Machine (England)
• the Subways (England)
• the Zombies (England...I think?)
• Stealer's Wheel (Scotland, I think?)
• The Reindeer Section (Scotland)
• Jethro Tull (...Scotland?)
• Coldplay (England)
• Escala (England)
• Belle & Sebastian (England)
• Franz Ferdinand (Scotland)
• Kate Nash (England)
• Keane (....uh...)
• Kim Wilde (England)
• Led Zepplelin (England..hopefully England...because I didn't double check)
• Lily Allen (England)
• Pink Floyd (England)
• The Proclaimers (Scotland)
• Queen (England)
• The Rolling Stones (England)
• U2 (Ireland)