Squam Lake- or the next best thing

No sooner had i gotten settled in the office then i promptly set out for Zurich. Typically I don't enjoy traveling there (food is awful!) but this time was much better. I arrived late Monday night and walked from the train station to my hotel on the river Limmat.

The next morning I woke early and wandered down the river to the limotquai where a friend had directed me to a structure called the seebad- an old wooden bathing house built out into the lake. Its like something out of atlantic city in the 1920's! I paid 7 francs for a locker and walked down some steps into the lake. The temperature was 68 degrees so chilly until I got moving. I swam down the limotquai troubled only by a few swans and scullers. One of the two main rowing clubs in Zurich have the same oar paint design as the Union Boat Club in Boston but my UBC cheers drew only puzzlement. It was a lovely morning and I regularly stopped and put up my goggles to marvel at the surrounding mountains. I turned around only when I heard the church bells strike 7:30. I rehydrated by drinking lake water and headed back to the hotel for breakfast.

Whenever I travel I try and put aside time for one selfish experience for myself. A football match in London, squash at club harmonia in Sao Paulo, an evening by the copacabana hotel pool in rio, the great wall in Beijing, a pasta feast in Milan, an evening in Tokyo where I simply took the train to the end of the line and wandered around. I've been to Zurich many times and never found such an experience. The food is terrible and the city is dead at night. This was a nice change.

Rhymes with "Home"

Rome makes me want to fall in love. I think its my favorite city in the world to just walk around (New Orleans is the other that springs to mind). 10 years ago Hen (my sister) and I took a wonderful trip here and today brought back so many memories- posing by the Neptune statue at the street of 4 fountains, buying a beer by the Spanish steps, sitting by the Trevi fountain, eating a ridiculous meal (this time not in a mob dining room and it cost more than 20 euro!).  

My meetings ended at 5 and I hitched a ride to St Peters in the Vatican. I'd forgotten that La Pieta is in Rome- it transfixed me as I walked through the main doors. I stood there for 30 minutes- Michaelangelo was only 23 years old when he carved it. Its one of my favorite pieces of art in the world and I GOT TO SEE IT TODAY!

I spent -90 minutes combing over the inside of St Peters- I am always amazed at the engineering, construction, and interior design that went into those old medieval cathedrals. I walked back to my hotel by the Spanish steps via the Via dei Condotti- the fashion street with all the high-end shops. I then meandered (via the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain) over to a restaurant recommended by a colleague.

It was awesome. Zucchini flowers fried with cheese. The best mac and cheese ever (al dente pasta with bacon and black truffles).
 
Calamari from the iced display in front of the restaurant.

And yes Bruce- in honor of Katherine Elkins I got Abruzzi wine.

I'm not sure why I love this city so much- the food, the omnipresent classical architecture, the art, the statues, the fountains, the lights, memories of a favorite trip with my sister. I want to stay up later here than anywhere else. After 2 week where I haven't spent three nights straight in the same place it feels a lot like home. 

Mountains, Lakes, and Goat Crap

Last friday I took a train to the extreme northwest of England for a weekend in the Lakes District. Home of the highest mountains in England and (Beatrix Potter!) the Lake District has a long history of inspiring English poets, artists, and writers. It is also the most popular area of England for "walks" (ie hikes). It reminded me a lot of Vermont.

We stayed near a cute tourist town called Ambleside at the Riverside B+B (finalist for friendliest landlady in England last year- I'm trying to imagine how they judge that contest?). Saturday morning we set off for a local waterfall before renting a skiff on Lake Windermere and rowing across to an old castle. During the hour-long row I got rained on and sunburned.

We then set off for the mountain behind our hotel, "Loughrigg." There is no tree cover so even though elevation was only -1000 ft you got spectacular views (and an amazing amount of goat crap). Its quite an interesting mix of people on the trails, old mountain goat couples and Scots drinking beer as they hike along. Everyone massively over-"geared" for hiking as is apparently typical of the English.

We stopped by a pub on the way back before walking a side trail back to the b+b. I took a dip in the beautiful rushing stream (marginally warmer than the East Pemi River). All the Brits thought I was mad but I liked it so much I went in again.

We then headed to the Drunken Duck- one of the most amazing restaurants I have ever visited. The 4 mile drive was classic narrow roaded English countryside. As the sun set over the green fields I couldn't help but think of the line from William Blake's poem "Jerusalem"
"And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen"
It truly seemed a blessed piece of country.

The Duck was spectacular, home-brewed beer, venison, wood pigeon, cod cheeks, and sea bass. My friend has a wide knowledge of wine and picked a great bottle. We practically rolled out, only stopping to pet the snoozing boxer (dog) lying across the dining room doorway. The sensations from that evening, the light across the fields and hedges, the food and wine, the velvet of the night, will stay with me for a long time.

The next day we undertook a slightly more ambitious "walk" up "Underfell." It was bright and sunny with no cloud cover and magnificent views over lake windermere. I was most impressed by the amount of livestock and the intricacy of the stone falls that split much of the mountain. You'd have thought the farmers would have combined forces rather than build so many walls so high up. We observed a bull chasing a reluctant cow (at one point there were 3 cattle all mounting each other simultaneously) and got chased by some goats for a while.

We then spent the afternoon in Ambleside enjoying the best apple pie I have ever tasted and venturing into a truly local pub.

It started to rain just before we left and after one more dip in the river we headed back to the train station.

A Sunny Day (Arsenal 6 Southampton 1)

I met an Orioles fan on the Heathrow Express this morning. He was a bit weird frankly but it was nice to see a familiar orange shirt. I also saw a Landon Lacrosse hat while walking through Pimlico.

I took my first steps onto a squash court today- got my stuff and went down to hit by myself. Unfortunately all the courts were full. A guy asked if I wanted to join in the round-robin.

90 minutes later I had a whole group of new friends! I was a bit under-matched but everyone was very nice and I had 3 offers to play on League teams by the end of the hour (I'm remaining a free agent for the moment). Apparently a group of guys from all over London meet in my gym every Saturday at noon- it's nice to have an open invitation and it's an interesting diverse bunch of guys.

I left my apartment at 2:15 and was at Emirates Stadium (home of Arsenal Football Club) by 2:45. That was a very nice feeling. Islington is my favorite part of London, and one of the 15 biggest soccer teams in the world is embedded in this leafy suburb a 15 minute tube ride from Central London. I love this sign- you're walking through a typical English neighborhood- massive, globally renowned Football Club that way!

Arsenal simply blew out Southampton- it was 70 degrees, the crowd was happy and on song, the combination play was beautiful, and beginning of season possibilities seem endless. a wonderful afternoon.

I met up with some fellow fans I know through work at a pub, then ate a takeout dinner sitting on a bench in Highbury Fields. Children, dogs, my favorite soccer team, a lovely sunset- all just a 15 minute tube ride away. I still want to live in Islington someday. For the second day in a row I felt at home.

The Villa Kennedy

"Welcome to the Villa Kennedy... Mr Kennedy." Oh german humor. This week I went to frankfurt for 2 days and frankly didn't do much of interest. But the nicest hotel in the city is the Villa Kennedy and the staff's obvious glee (3 of them had ready-made jokes connecting my name with the hotel) was the most enjoyable part of my trip.

I also met with the European Central Bank which was very interesting from a work standpoint and even more interesting from an artistic perspective. I came across a posted notice that "the ECB choir will no longer rehearse in this room" (central banks have choirs?!?!?) And there is a 75 ft high statue of the euro sign outside (see below).

Liverpool (Arsenal 2 Liverpool 0)

The emails started coming in at the end of the game- "do you have an English clone?" "I think I'm crazy but I thought I saw you wearing an SAS t-shirt at the Liverpool game?" "was that you behind the Arsenal goal?" they came from US, Europe, Asia, Brazil- a fascinating example of globalization.

My friend, colleague, and fellow Arsenal fan Graham Stone had kindly arranged a ticket in the away supporters section at Anfield. My ticket said obstructed view- it was obstructed... by the goal post! I was front row staring at the right goal post. Pretty amazing stuff. And after Arsenal scored the second goal to put away the game, the camera apparently focused on me celebrating for quite a while. This was the view from my seat.

I walked the two miles from Lime St station to Anfield, turning off at Everton Park to look down on the Mersey River. I met a lovely American pit bull terrier (banned in the UK) and the Scouser who owned it was overjoyed to meet someone that admired his dog as much as he did. I'm pretty good with "British English" but I had to ask the Liverpudlian to repeat several phrases- Scouser talk is complicated

Anfield is a dump compared to any American stadium- its surrounded by boarded up houses and football pubs. Its incredibly intimate- i touched the locked door to the player's entrance. the city feels like its dying and the fans were subdued, almost sad. I was disappointed as theres nothing like an English football stadium when it really gets behind its team and Anfield is supposed to be the best. I've only seen it happen twice and it's truly magnificent. Still- it was a great win for Arsenal and being an away fan is a lot of fun when you're winning!

I hung around after the game for a bit then took the bus down to the waterfront. The Mersey is quite a tidal river and it was easy to imagine the cotton ships from America pulling into the Albert Dock to unload their cargoes bound for Manchester. I felt like i could easily be in boston or baltimore. More than 9 million Europeans emigrated to America through Liverpool and I'm sure many of our ancestors took that brave journey. I meandered up and down the waterfront before walking back up to the train station.

Arriving and Departing

My sojourn in England started in row 61 of a british airways plane- what kind of plane has 61 rows you might ask? One with a staircase... Imagine my surprise when the stewardess directed me "past the next cabin and up the stairs."

My apartment in Dolphin Sq, Pimlico, SW London is the nicest space I've lived in since I left for boarding school in august 1997. The apartment is spacious and bright and the buildings surround an extensive and verdant lawn/garden. There's a lovely swimming pool, well-stocked gym, and 3 squash courts. The office is a 12 minute walk. Tough to imagine a better place for me.

I'm currently on a train through the West Midlands heading to the famous "triangle trade" port city of Liverpool. Arsenal (my favorite English soccer team) are playing Liverpool (one of the two famous English teams along with Manchester United) at Anfield (the Fenway Park or Wrigley Field of England). The train is stuffed with fans from both clubs and so far has been genial and spirited. Arsenal sold their best two players and have yet to score this season so the supporters are restless.

The train is passing through rolling farmland full of sheep and cows. It is pleasant but doesn't quite match the lush countryside of the southwest I've experienced during my trips to Bristol and Henley.