Not the Monday I was expecting. It started out quite promising, sleeping in a little bit but still up and ready to go at 9am. After checking out I wandered up to the train station ready for the next leg of my trip, taking a few pictures of the building while I was at it.
Making my way toward the ticket office, I noticed a rather long queue coming out of thee door which I joined. Not really in any rush. While waiting, I struck up a conversation with an Aussie couple in front of me - and it was they who dropped the bombshell.
Today there was a country-wide train strike.
Unbelievable! Not really panicking, but concerned about what I was going to do about getting to Venice, I was directed toward one of the workers who was able to help me. The good news was there _was_ a train going to Venice. The bad news was it was at 4pm - more than six hours away.
With no other choice, I bought a ticket and tried to think of ways to spend my time. More Milan sightseeing, obviously - so I headed to the closest Metro station and... oh no, you must be joking. They're on strike too! With my options limited to walking distance around the train station, my first port of call was an Internet cafe to email tonight's hostel to let them know I was going to be a little late.
I desperately wish I had something else to say I did today, but all I did was walk up and down various streets around the station - and they were all dull and boring. I wasn't in the mood for trying some new food (especially after last night) so I found a Burger King and ate there. It's somewhat reassuring to know that these fast food places are disgusting the world over.
After another trip to the Internet cafe, my train was finally ready to leave - so I sat in one seat listening to music for three hours, not really able to see anything out the window as it had become dark. The best thing I can say is the train was kept warm and was quite comfortable.
When I finally arrived I was feeling a little cross, quite sore and a lot tired (it always amazes me how tired you can get doing so little). I was really looking forward to seeing the approach to Venice on the train, but the strike had robbed me of that so I wasn't in the best of moods.
That all changed as soon as I stepped out of the station.
Last year I visited Portmeirion in North Wales, which was one of the highlights of that trip. My first sight of Venice threw me back to that time, but on a much grander scale. I wasn't really able to see much in the dark, but I can already tell I'm going to love it here.
Although my original plan was to spend most of today getting lost in the streets here, it turns out I didn't lose out on this - after arriving I spent the next 45 minutes desperately trying to find my hostel, to no avail! In the end I had to the ring the guy to help me out, and now I'm here ready to crash for a big day tomorrow.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Stuck in Milan
Just a quick one - expect a better post about yesterday once I get a decent Internet connection.
Right now I am sitting in an Internet caffe in Milan, just outside Stazione Centrale. My plan this morning was to get up early and catch the train to Venice. What I wasn't planning on was to get to the station to find a massive country-wide train strike!
The only train out is at 4pm, which has given me six hours to see more of the city... which would be easy if the metro wasn't closed as well! And the buses are out too, so I'm stuck within walking distance to the station.
Oh well, these are the exciting parts of traveling - you can never guess what's going to happen next!
Oh, and did I mention the guy sitting next to me is looking up porn?
Right now I am sitting in an Internet caffe in Milan, just outside Stazione Centrale. My plan this morning was to get up early and catch the train to Venice. What I wasn't planning on was to get to the station to find a massive country-wide train strike!
The only train out is at 4pm, which has given me six hours to see more of the city... which would be easy if the metro wasn't closed as well! And the buses are out too, so I'm stuck within walking distance to the station.
Oh well, these are the exciting parts of traveling - you can never guess what's going to happen next!
Oh, and did I mention the guy sitting next to me is looking up porn?
Sunday, 9 November 2008
You'd Think I'd Learn
I mentioned I was tired, didn't I? Well, last night I crashed at 10pm – completely zonked out, dead to the world. I wanted to have a good rest before today, so I set the alarm for 8am in the hope I could be out the door before 9am.
At 9.30am, alarm long past, I finally decided it was time to get up. I felt a teeny bit guilty for such a crazy sleep in, but heck, I'm on holiday – and isn't this what holidays are for?
Anyway, after a leisurely hot shower, I eventually made my way out of the hotel by 10.30am and made my way back to Duomo for a proper day's sightseeing.
Something I forgot to mention yesterday was the weather: it's so nice here at the moment! I brought along one of my jackets with me as I was expecting it to be quite cold – this is what living in London will do to you. Instead, I've been able to wander around most of the time just in a tee-shirt, although I have needed to don my hoodie at nights.
The reason I bring this up is, despite the warmth, the sky had decided to follow me from London. It's been miserable and grey for the last few weeks (months? I can't keep track any more!), yet when I landed yesterday it was blue with only a smattering of clouds. Today, on the other hand, was grey and not so pleasant – a grim reminder of what I'd left behind for a week.
Rather than fret about it, I started snapping pictures of Duomo – despite the less than flattering light being cast. It's a fascinating looking building, with hundreds of spires along the roof covered in statues and other intricate carvings. I'd read that there were stairs up to the roof that offered stunning views of the city, so I set off to find the way up – and accidentally stumbled upon them first go.
There were only 160 or so steps (a piece of cake after St. Pauls!) and I'm pleased to say the views lived up to their reputation – although not in the way I think they were intended. Possibly because the sun wasn't out, or maybe it was the layer of haze sitting over the city, but the panorama wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped. Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice looking city, but the better views were much closer – being right up there with the stone carvings.
The walkways gave almost full access to the entire roof, including the very top where you could almost see 360 degrees around. While I was admiring the view, the sun finally poked its way through the clouds and, on the roof, provided some very striking lighting for the spires.
Having marked probably the biggest attraction on my list early, I took some time to decide where to head to next – the Castello Sforzesco, a giant red-brick castle in the heart of the city. I started walking up a road that looked like it went there, but after 15 minutes of walking it dawned on me I was going the wrong way. Confirming with my map, I headed back to where I started – stopping off at a local caffè for lunch.
Now heading in the right direction (evidenced by the fact I could see it in the distance), I took my time to enjoy the walk and take in the sights of the streets. Milan is, as you're probably aware, a super-trendy city – I think the locals can tell I'm not one of them from my clothes before I even open my mouth.
Arriving to an almost perfectly blue sky, I worked my way around the castle interior before buying a ticket to the museums that are housed there. Loads more statues, some amazing tapestries and even Michaelangelo's final, incomplete work were all on show, as well as a collection of Egyptian pieces. Annoyingly, I couldn't find the musical instrument museum, and by now it was around 5pm and not only was everything starting to close, but my legs were about to drop off.
After a couple hours rest back in the hotel, I was ready and hungry to hit the town again. Rather than stick to the same areas I'd already seen, I thought it'd be a good idea to head further out of the city centre for my meal. One of the guides mentioned Marghera street for a good pizza, so after a short underground ride I was wandering the streets deciding where to eat.
Despite stumbling into one place before it was open, I found a rather nice little place and ordered – and it was, I must admit, very good. Not the best pizza I've had in my life (and I've had quite a few!) but definitely up in the excellent category. With mains out of the way, it was finally time to sample some gelato!
The closest place was directly across the road, so I wandered in and bought a chocolate and white chocolate cone. As I brought it close to my mouth I took a smell – and recognised a familiar nutty smell. Oh crap, did I just order something with peanuts?
Given my recent near miss (and especially after I'd just finished documenting it two nights earlier), the very intelligent part of my brain decided I should have a tiny taste just to see what would happen. After waiting a minute or two to see if I had a reaction (all the while dripping chocolate on the ground), nothing had happened so I cautiously started into it. As amazing as it tasted, the smell was really off-putting as every bite reminded me of my brush with luck in Pamplona. As much as it killed me to do so, I decided not to risk it any more and dumped it in the bin.
Although I'd been keeping track of my breathing for the 20 minutes or so since I'd had my first taste with good results, it wasn't until I was sitting in the underground waiting for the train that I felt a bit of a tickle in my throat. Unbelievable, I can't believe I could be so stupid that this could happen to me again! Once again, I took every breath carefully to make sure my throat wasn't constricting, and so far so good – although I was feeling a bit of gunk in the back of my throat that wasn't there before. Nor did I need to cough. Oh good, here comes the panic right on time...
Now stuck on the train, I was at least relieved that my breathing didn't appear to be affected in any way, but it still took me no time at all to get back to my hotel room in close reach of my Epipen. Thankfully, by this time my throat had gone back to normal – the only thing I can think that happened is poor quality air in the underground, a reaction to the dairy in the gelato (I've been steering clear of dairy for a few weeks on advice from my personal trainer) and, the most likely culprit, an overactive imagination!
Still alive, I'm glad to say.
Tomorrow I'm catching the train to Venice and staying two nights there. I'm really looking forward to this, I've been eager to see this city for years – although I'd always hoped I wouldn't be on my own.
At 9.30am, alarm long past, I finally decided it was time to get up. I felt a teeny bit guilty for such a crazy sleep in, but heck, I'm on holiday – and isn't this what holidays are for?
Anyway, after a leisurely hot shower, I eventually made my way out of the hotel by 10.30am and made my way back to Duomo for a proper day's sightseeing.
Something I forgot to mention yesterday was the weather: it's so nice here at the moment! I brought along one of my jackets with me as I was expecting it to be quite cold – this is what living in London will do to you. Instead, I've been able to wander around most of the time just in a tee-shirt, although I have needed to don my hoodie at nights.
The reason I bring this up is, despite the warmth, the sky had decided to follow me from London. It's been miserable and grey for the last few weeks (months? I can't keep track any more!), yet when I landed yesterday it was blue with only a smattering of clouds. Today, on the other hand, was grey and not so pleasant – a grim reminder of what I'd left behind for a week.
Rather than fret about it, I started snapping pictures of Duomo – despite the less than flattering light being cast. It's a fascinating looking building, with hundreds of spires along the roof covered in statues and other intricate carvings. I'd read that there were stairs up to the roof that offered stunning views of the city, so I set off to find the way up – and accidentally stumbled upon them first go.
There were only 160 or so steps (a piece of cake after St. Pauls!) and I'm pleased to say the views lived up to their reputation – although not in the way I think they were intended. Possibly because the sun wasn't out, or maybe it was the layer of haze sitting over the city, but the panorama wasn't quite as amazing as I'd hoped. Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice looking city, but the better views were much closer – being right up there with the stone carvings.
The walkways gave almost full access to the entire roof, including the very top where you could almost see 360 degrees around. While I was admiring the view, the sun finally poked its way through the clouds and, on the roof, provided some very striking lighting for the spires.
Having marked probably the biggest attraction on my list early, I took some time to decide where to head to next – the Castello Sforzesco, a giant red-brick castle in the heart of the city. I started walking up a road that looked like it went there, but after 15 minutes of walking it dawned on me I was going the wrong way. Confirming with my map, I headed back to where I started – stopping off at a local caffè for lunch.
Now heading in the right direction (evidenced by the fact I could see it in the distance), I took my time to enjoy the walk and take in the sights of the streets. Milan is, as you're probably aware, a super-trendy city – I think the locals can tell I'm not one of them from my clothes before I even open my mouth.
Arriving to an almost perfectly blue sky, I worked my way around the castle interior before buying a ticket to the museums that are housed there. Loads more statues, some amazing tapestries and even Michaelangelo's final, incomplete work were all on show, as well as a collection of Egyptian pieces. Annoyingly, I couldn't find the musical instrument museum, and by now it was around 5pm and not only was everything starting to close, but my legs were about to drop off.
After a couple hours rest back in the hotel, I was ready and hungry to hit the town again. Rather than stick to the same areas I'd already seen, I thought it'd be a good idea to head further out of the city centre for my meal. One of the guides mentioned Marghera street for a good pizza, so after a short underground ride I was wandering the streets deciding where to eat.
Despite stumbling into one place before it was open, I found a rather nice little place and ordered – and it was, I must admit, very good. Not the best pizza I've had in my life (and I've had quite a few!) but definitely up in the excellent category. With mains out of the way, it was finally time to sample some gelato!
The closest place was directly across the road, so I wandered in and bought a chocolate and white chocolate cone. As I brought it close to my mouth I took a smell – and recognised a familiar nutty smell. Oh crap, did I just order something with peanuts?
Given my recent near miss (and especially after I'd just finished documenting it two nights earlier), the very intelligent part of my brain decided I should have a tiny taste just to see what would happen. After waiting a minute or two to see if I had a reaction (all the while dripping chocolate on the ground), nothing had happened so I cautiously started into it. As amazing as it tasted, the smell was really off-putting as every bite reminded me of my brush with luck in Pamplona. As much as it killed me to do so, I decided not to risk it any more and dumped it in the bin.
Although I'd been keeping track of my breathing for the 20 minutes or so since I'd had my first taste with good results, it wasn't until I was sitting in the underground waiting for the train that I felt a bit of a tickle in my throat. Unbelievable, I can't believe I could be so stupid that this could happen to me again! Once again, I took every breath carefully to make sure my throat wasn't constricting, and so far so good – although I was feeling a bit of gunk in the back of my throat that wasn't there before. Nor did I need to cough. Oh good, here comes the panic right on time...
Now stuck on the train, I was at least relieved that my breathing didn't appear to be affected in any way, but it still took me no time at all to get back to my hotel room in close reach of my Epipen. Thankfully, by this time my throat had gone back to normal – the only thing I can think that happened is poor quality air in the underground, a reaction to the dairy in the gelato (I've been steering clear of dairy for a few weeks on advice from my personal trainer) and, the most likely culprit, an overactive imagination!
Still alive, I'm glad to say.
Tomorrow I'm catching the train to Venice and staying two nights there. I'm really looking forward to this, I've been eager to see this city for years – although I'd always hoped I wouldn't be on my own.
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Sleepy in Milan
At around 2pm today (local time) my plane touched down in Milan, first stop in my whirlwind tour of north Italy. Nothing of note to report until this point, fairly standard routine by now: get up, shower and dress, finalise packing, get the train to the airport and make sure I'm on the plane in time.
Despite how much preparation, I still manage to cock up somewhere along the way. The next part was easy, a fairly quick bus ride into the city and I was at Central Station. According to my directions, I was close to where I was staying - or so I thought. To be truthful, the directions were a little vague and I was a bit confused to where I was going.
I figured it'd be worth asking the information centre in the station, but the only directions he could give me were I had to ride the underground rail. Still confused, I bought a map and tried to figure out where I was and where I had to go.
For some reason, the street I was looking for didn't appear to be in the street directory, so I found the closest match and set off on my way. As the information guy had said, it was three stops away on the underground. Only problem was, the closest station was a bit of a hike, but at least it gave me a chance to explore a bit of the city.
Three stops later I emerged into the light again to find my hotel - but I quickly got the impression I was in the wrong place. I hadn't gotten off at the wrong stop, it was the area - the amount I was paying didn't appear to match what I was seeing, a very rich, busy and ultra-trendy part of the city. Still, I wandered into where I was hoping to be staying... and found no hotel. Thoroughly confused by now, I ventured into a book shop to ask for help.
As it turns out, where I'd arrived at the station was only a five minute walk from where I was staying! My street was in the directory, I was just looking in the wrong place. Back I went on the underground, and within 30 minutes I was crashed out on my bed, quite exhausted.
After a bit of a rest, I decided I should take advantage of my day-long travel pass so I headed back into the centre of the city to Duomo. As I was a bit peckish by now, my first priority was to find something to eat. Both guides I've been reading have warned to stay away from eating anywhere around Duomo, so I began to wander up a busy looking road in search of food.
Passing quite a few tempting places, one small pastry shop caught my eye and within minutes I was munching into a pizza-style pastry. And it was really, really good. Now on a roll, I figured I may as well continue on the same path - which I did. Almost 45 minutes later I finally hit the end of the way, so not wanting to stray too far from where I started I retraced my steps and took a break just outside Duomo.
Now, the reason I'd decided to come to Italy in the first place was a chance to catch up with my ex-flatmate Elena, who had returned here almost six months ago and was now living in Milan. All was looking good until a few days ago when she got in touch to let me know she wasn't going to be in Milan this weekend after all!
As I contemplated this turn of events while I was resting, my eyes slowly started to droop and I started to drift off. Right in the middle of the city. I guess the four hours sleep is finally starting to catch up with me, so rather than collapse somewhere in a strange place I've decided to have a nice early night, get up bright and early and start to properly investigate this new city properly - and in the light.
Goodnight!
Despite how much preparation, I still manage to cock up somewhere along the way. The next part was easy, a fairly quick bus ride into the city and I was at Central Station. According to my directions, I was close to where I was staying - or so I thought. To be truthful, the directions were a little vague and I was a bit confused to where I was going.
I figured it'd be worth asking the information centre in the station, but the only directions he could give me were I had to ride the underground rail. Still confused, I bought a map and tried to figure out where I was and where I had to go.
For some reason, the street I was looking for didn't appear to be in the street directory, so I found the closest match and set off on my way. As the information guy had said, it was three stops away on the underground. Only problem was, the closest station was a bit of a hike, but at least it gave me a chance to explore a bit of the city.
Three stops later I emerged into the light again to find my hotel - but I quickly got the impression I was in the wrong place. I hadn't gotten off at the wrong stop, it was the area - the amount I was paying didn't appear to match what I was seeing, a very rich, busy and ultra-trendy part of the city. Still, I wandered into where I was hoping to be staying... and found no hotel. Thoroughly confused by now, I ventured into a book shop to ask for help.
As it turns out, where I'd arrived at the station was only a five minute walk from where I was staying! My street was in the directory, I was just looking in the wrong place. Back I went on the underground, and within 30 minutes I was crashed out on my bed, quite exhausted.
After a bit of a rest, I decided I should take advantage of my day-long travel pass so I headed back into the centre of the city to Duomo. As I was a bit peckish by now, my first priority was to find something to eat. Both guides I've been reading have warned to stay away from eating anywhere around Duomo, so I began to wander up a busy looking road in search of food.
Passing quite a few tempting places, one small pastry shop caught my eye and within minutes I was munching into a pizza-style pastry. And it was really, really good. Now on a roll, I figured I may as well continue on the same path - which I did. Almost 45 minutes later I finally hit the end of the way, so not wanting to stray too far from where I started I retraced my steps and took a break just outside Duomo.
Now, the reason I'd decided to come to Italy in the first place was a chance to catch up with my ex-flatmate Elena, who had returned here almost six months ago and was now living in Milan. All was looking good until a few days ago when she got in touch to let me know she wasn't going to be in Milan this weekend after all!
As I contemplated this turn of events while I was resting, my eyes slowly started to droop and I started to drift off. Right in the middle of the city. I guess the four hours sleep is finally starting to catch up with me, so rather than collapse somewhere in a strange place I've decided to have a nice early night, get up bright and early and start to properly investigate this new city properly - and in the light.
Goodnight!
Ha, I did it!
Right, now I've finally finished writing about Pamplona - Lee, you can get off my back now!!
I'm getting up in a couple of hours for my trip to Italy, I can't wait. My itinerary for the next week involves Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome. This time I'll try to keep the posts coming as I go along.
In the meantime, I need to get some sleep!
I'm getting up in a couple of hours for my trip to Italy, I can't wait. My itinerary for the next week involves Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome. This time I'll try to keep the posts coming as I go along.
In the meantime, I need to get some sleep!
Monday, 3 November 2008
The Plan
So last time I mentioned things on the travel front were going to change, starting this month - and here's where I get to tell you the good news! I've just finished booking my trip away to Italy, starting this coming Saturday and returning a week later on Sunday.
It wasn't a tough choice to decide where to go this time - I wanted to visit my ex-flatmate Elena, who moved back to Italy a few months ago and is now working in Milan. It has to be next week, too, as I've got gigs booked the following weekend, the one after and then December is a bit of a write-off. So keep an eye out, the travel tales will be returning soon! (And I've almost finished writing the Pamplona post, I swear!)
This one trip isn't all, though. Despite not appearing to have done a huge amount of anything this year, I've actually been working toward a few goals that have kept me busy. The most important one was making sure I had a solid foundation for the rest of my time in the UK: I've been working toward a savings target and I've started a new job that's putting me on a more secure (and potentially lucrative) path for employment. The downside has been a lack of time actually getting out to see the world, but now I have some good news.
The best part is I reached my savings target three months early, which means either my goal was too conservative or I can actually afford to start hitting the road again. I've chosen to believe it's the latter, so I now have a plan for the months to come.
From this month on, I intend to make at least one trip away per month, be it overseas or somewhere in the UK - even if it's only just for the weekend. I figure I can make two extended holidays away throughout the year, as well. I also intend to do at least one new thing in London each month, be it an exhibition, a tour - whatever. Just, something to get me out to see more of the city!
As I mentioned earlier, I've already made my first steps to make this happen: next week I'm off to Italy, which satisfies my monthly trip quota. And today, I satisfied the London part by visiting the Doctor Who Exhibition at Earl's Court!
Faithful readers should remember I visited a similar exhibition last year while I was in Cardiff. This one was much closer - in fact, the bus that goes past my flat goes directly to Earl's Court where it was held which worked out perfectly (especially considering my local tube line was closed for the weekend).
I'd actually intended to go yesterday, but my insanely busy schedule during the week meant I was completely knackered on Saturday morning and my legs were begging for a rest.
On Monday I'd gone to see my friend's band again, in what I can only describe as the most hilarious gig I've ever been to. Not because of his band, but the band on before them - they were a group of kids no older than 16. They were pretty talented musically (hell, they were miles better than me - but that's not saying a lot), but it became cringeworthy after they'd finished and the next band failed to show up. Rather than leave the stage empty, three of the kiddies jumped up and started messing around on stage... for 45 minutes. We decided to leave after 10, but outside we could still hear them at it until it was time for Dave's band to start.
Tuesday night I did very little, but Wednesday was another gig - this time, Jesus Jones! Yet another band I've been dying to see for years, I found out they were supporting The Wonder Stuff at two gigs that were on this week and they'd decided to do their own show as well - so I booked tickets for all three. Even better, the venue was just around the corner from my flat. It was a brilliant gig, they sounded amazing and I was totally exhausted after a good hour or so of dancing and jumping around.
Although I'd bought a ticket to see Jesus Jones and The Wonder Stuff on Thursday night, it dawned on me a week earlier that I wouldn't be able to make it that night as it was a long way away in Birmingham! Rather than worry about trying to make it there and back in time for work the next day, I reluctantly decided to sell my ticket to a friend - so instead of seeing the gig, Lee had bought tickets for us to go and see French and Saunders live!
On Friday night I headed back to Shepherd's Bush to see Jesus Jones and The Wonder Stuff, which turned out to be one of the best gigs I've seen all year. Jesus Jones were fantastic again, but I was amazed at how tight and energetic the Stuffies were - not to mention how great they sounded. They played for almost two hours all up, but after three songs I was completely worn out (to be fair, I wore myself out jumping around to Jesus Jones) so I moved to the side and enjoyed it away from the heaving crowd.
Oh, something I forgot to mention - I've been going to the gym again. Five times a week, in fact. There's three of us in my team who go during lunch, which has helped me actually keep at it. I've lost a little bit of weight so far, but nothing drastic. I do have a goal, though... I'll let you know if I reached it when the time comes.
It wasn't a tough choice to decide where to go this time - I wanted to visit my ex-flatmate Elena, who moved back to Italy a few months ago and is now working in Milan. It has to be next week, too, as I've got gigs booked the following weekend, the one after and then December is a bit of a write-off. So keep an eye out, the travel tales will be returning soon! (And I've almost finished writing the Pamplona post, I swear!)
This one trip isn't all, though. Despite not appearing to have done a huge amount of anything this year, I've actually been working toward a few goals that have kept me busy. The most important one was making sure I had a solid foundation for the rest of my time in the UK: I've been working toward a savings target and I've started a new job that's putting me on a more secure (and potentially lucrative) path for employment. The downside has been a lack of time actually getting out to see the world, but now I have some good news.
The best part is I reached my savings target three months early, which means either my goal was too conservative or I can actually afford to start hitting the road again. I've chosen to believe it's the latter, so I now have a plan for the months to come.
From this month on, I intend to make at least one trip away per month, be it overseas or somewhere in the UK - even if it's only just for the weekend. I figure I can make two extended holidays away throughout the year, as well. I also intend to do at least one new thing in London each month, be it an exhibition, a tour - whatever. Just, something to get me out to see more of the city!
As I mentioned earlier, I've already made my first steps to make this happen: next week I'm off to Italy, which satisfies my monthly trip quota. And today, I satisfied the London part by visiting the Doctor Who Exhibition at Earl's Court!
Faithful readers should remember I visited a similar exhibition last year while I was in Cardiff. This one was much closer - in fact, the bus that goes past my flat goes directly to Earl's Court where it was held which worked out perfectly (especially considering my local tube line was closed for the weekend).
I'd actually intended to go yesterday, but my insanely busy schedule during the week meant I was completely knackered on Saturday morning and my legs were begging for a rest.
On Monday I'd gone to see my friend's band again, in what I can only describe as the most hilarious gig I've ever been to. Not because of his band, but the band on before them - they were a group of kids no older than 16. They were pretty talented musically (hell, they were miles better than me - but that's not saying a lot), but it became cringeworthy after they'd finished and the next band failed to show up. Rather than leave the stage empty, three of the kiddies jumped up and started messing around on stage... for 45 minutes. We decided to leave after 10, but outside we could still hear them at it until it was time for Dave's band to start.
Tuesday night I did very little, but Wednesday was another gig - this time, Jesus Jones! Yet another band I've been dying to see for years, I found out they were supporting The Wonder Stuff at two gigs that were on this week and they'd decided to do their own show as well - so I booked tickets for all three. Even better, the venue was just around the corner from my flat. It was a brilliant gig, they sounded amazing and I was totally exhausted after a good hour or so of dancing and jumping around.
Although I'd bought a ticket to see Jesus Jones and The Wonder Stuff on Thursday night, it dawned on me a week earlier that I wouldn't be able to make it that night as it was a long way away in Birmingham! Rather than worry about trying to make it there and back in time for work the next day, I reluctantly decided to sell my ticket to a friend - so instead of seeing the gig, Lee had bought tickets for us to go and see French and Saunders live!
On Friday night I headed back to Shepherd's Bush to see Jesus Jones and The Wonder Stuff, which turned out to be one of the best gigs I've seen all year. Jesus Jones were fantastic again, but I was amazed at how tight and energetic the Stuffies were - not to mention how great they sounded. They played for almost two hours all up, but after three songs I was completely worn out (to be fair, I wore myself out jumping around to Jesus Jones) so I moved to the side and enjoyed it away from the heaving crowd.
Oh, something I forgot to mention - I've been going to the gym again. Five times a week, in fact. There's three of us in my team who go during lunch, which has helped me actually keep at it. I've lost a little bit of weight so far, but nothing drastic. I do have a goal, though... I'll let you know if I reached it when the time comes.
Saturday, 4 October 2008
A Minor Catch Up
I'll get Pamplona finished soon, I promise. It's taking a while because it is really long.
In the meantime, here's the latest:
Last night was the first of two Killing Joke gigs, and it was unbelievably good. After the gig I was wandering around and saw someone who looked familiar - so I asked him if he was Guy Pratt. And he was! So I had a chat to him, he seemed quite surprised that I'd read his book (of course I had, it was Pink Floyd related!) and we talked about Floyd, Rick Wright, Roger Waters's band and heard the final truth about the reunion. I would've loved to have talked for a bit longer but he had to go (as did I, stupid tube), but that was a nice surprise ending to a brilliant night. Even better, I'm going to tonight's gig as well - this time it's an entirely different set, part two of one long show if you will.
I'm no longer on probation for my new job, which means I'm a fully-fledged member of the company now. Enjoying it a lot, and not just because of the extra money (although it definitely helps). I'm learning new things all the time, which is exactly what I wanted as I feel I've been stagnating skills-wise for the last couple of years.
My guitar is coming on in leaps and bounds, I've definitely made a lot of improvements in the last six months. The problem is I hate my guitar! Warning, guitar nerd talk coming up: I will never, ever buy another guitar with a floating tremolo, they're just too much of a pain to deal with for something I don't even use! I snapped a string on Sunday, so I bought new ones and restrung it. The problem is the new strings were slightly heavier, so it threw the tremolo out a mile. After a lot of tinkering I finally got it almost right, but now the springs in the back are stretched to their limit so I've had to buy new ones to compensate. I've had my eye on a new guitar for a while now, I just need to find one to play before I order it. You'd think in a city like London it'd be easy...
I've not done any other travel since Pamplona (aside from a pleasant journey to Heathrow Terminal 5, as documented previously), but now I've set myself up fairly well I've been thinking about how to change this. I realise this blog was supposed to be about my travels over here, and aside from the first couple of months it's been a bit bare, but I think I've worked out a plan that should see this change - starting next month. Watch this space...
It's been a bit quiet for gigs up until now, too. Aside from some London bands I've been seeing (I'll get to that in a minute), the list has been a bit short - but definitely quality. One of the most enjoyable was Ladytron, which was interesting in its own way as the first night was cancelled half-way through the show! Apparently the front of stage lost all power and there was no backup, so they had to postpone the rest of the show for a couple of months.
A few weeks later was the reformed My Bloody Valentine, a band I'd heard loads about over the years but have never actually listened to - something I rectified quickly and instantly kicked myself for not doing sooner. I was very lucky for this one, a friend of mine had managed to score an extra ticket for this very sold out event and I was very pleased when he offered to me. This is the only gig I've ever been to where earplugs were handed out at the door, and believe me they were needed. Even with them in it was easily the loudest gig I've ever been to - and you could tell the ones who opted out of the free earplugs. During the last song, they stopped half way through and just played one chord constantly, letting it build up slowly and gradually - over about 15 minutes. After five minutes it was loud, really loud - you could see people starting to feel uncomfortable. After ten minutes, dotted around the crowd people were clamping their hands over their ears. By the time they went back into the ending of the song, the only thing you could hear was the carefully constructed cacophony they'd been generating - it was still going long after they put their instruments down and walked off stage. And it kept going for another ten minutes or so while we waited to see if they'd come back (they didn't). Very, very glad I took the earplugs after that!
Coming soon is three nights of Jesus Jones, two of them with The Wonder Stuff. Carter USM, EMF, vileevils and Ned's Atomic Dustbin are all up again soon, as well as a probable repeat of Ladytron. I'm also strongly considering a trip to Glasgow to see Slayer, as both nights they're playing in London I'm busy! Mixing travel with music always seems like a good idea to me.
I'm also off to see two bands this week, both with guys I know from bands I've played with since I got here. I've seen one of them three times so far, I like them a lot.
As for my own music, it's not been the best of times. Of the two bands I was in at the beginning of the year, I'm now in none. The first one I decided to leave for various reasons, the other one split up rather unexpectedly a couple of weeks after our first gig. This really bummed me out for quite a while as I genuinely loved that band and we were coming up with some fantastic music, but it wasn't meant to be. I've been on the lookout for something similar since, but so far nothing has really grabbed me. I'm auditioning for a new band in a few weeks, we'll see how that goes.
I can't really think of much else now, to be honest. I'm sure there's loads more I've been doing, but I think that covers most bases. See you again in nine months for the next update!
In the meantime, here's the latest:
Last night was the first of two Killing Joke gigs, and it was unbelievably good. After the gig I was wandering around and saw someone who looked familiar - so I asked him if he was Guy Pratt. And he was! So I had a chat to him, he seemed quite surprised that I'd read his book (of course I had, it was Pink Floyd related!) and we talked about Floyd, Rick Wright, Roger Waters's band and heard the final truth about the reunion. I would've loved to have talked for a bit longer but he had to go (as did I, stupid tube), but that was a nice surprise ending to a brilliant night. Even better, I'm going to tonight's gig as well - this time it's an entirely different set, part two of one long show if you will.
I'm no longer on probation for my new job, which means I'm a fully-fledged member of the company now. Enjoying it a lot, and not just because of the extra money (although it definitely helps). I'm learning new things all the time, which is exactly what I wanted as I feel I've been stagnating skills-wise for the last couple of years.
My guitar is coming on in leaps and bounds, I've definitely made a lot of improvements in the last six months. The problem is I hate my guitar! Warning, guitar nerd talk coming up: I will never, ever buy another guitar with a floating tremolo, they're just too much of a pain to deal with for something I don't even use! I snapped a string on Sunday, so I bought new ones and restrung it. The problem is the new strings were slightly heavier, so it threw the tremolo out a mile. After a lot of tinkering I finally got it almost right, but now the springs in the back are stretched to their limit so I've had to buy new ones to compensate. I've had my eye on a new guitar for a while now, I just need to find one to play before I order it. You'd think in a city like London it'd be easy...
I've not done any other travel since Pamplona (aside from a pleasant journey to Heathrow Terminal 5, as documented previously), but now I've set myself up fairly well I've been thinking about how to change this. I realise this blog was supposed to be about my travels over here, and aside from the first couple of months it's been a bit bare, but I think I've worked out a plan that should see this change - starting next month. Watch this space...
It's been a bit quiet for gigs up until now, too. Aside from some London bands I've been seeing (I'll get to that in a minute), the list has been a bit short - but definitely quality. One of the most enjoyable was Ladytron, which was interesting in its own way as the first night was cancelled half-way through the show! Apparently the front of stage lost all power and there was no backup, so they had to postpone the rest of the show for a couple of months.
A few weeks later was the reformed My Bloody Valentine, a band I'd heard loads about over the years but have never actually listened to - something I rectified quickly and instantly kicked myself for not doing sooner. I was very lucky for this one, a friend of mine had managed to score an extra ticket for this very sold out event and I was very pleased when he offered to me. This is the only gig I've ever been to where earplugs were handed out at the door, and believe me they were needed. Even with them in it was easily the loudest gig I've ever been to - and you could tell the ones who opted out of the free earplugs. During the last song, they stopped half way through and just played one chord constantly, letting it build up slowly and gradually - over about 15 minutes. After five minutes it was loud, really loud - you could see people starting to feel uncomfortable. After ten minutes, dotted around the crowd people were clamping their hands over their ears. By the time they went back into the ending of the song, the only thing you could hear was the carefully constructed cacophony they'd been generating - it was still going long after they put their instruments down and walked off stage. And it kept going for another ten minutes or so while we waited to see if they'd come back (they didn't). Very, very glad I took the earplugs after that!
Coming soon is three nights of Jesus Jones, two of them with The Wonder Stuff. Carter USM, EMF, vileevils and Ned's Atomic Dustbin are all up again soon, as well as a probable repeat of Ladytron. I'm also strongly considering a trip to Glasgow to see Slayer, as both nights they're playing in London I'm busy! Mixing travel with music always seems like a good idea to me.
I'm also off to see two bands this week, both with guys I know from bands I've played with since I got here. I've seen one of them three times so far, I like them a lot.
As for my own music, it's not been the best of times. Of the two bands I was in at the beginning of the year, I'm now in none. The first one I decided to leave for various reasons, the other one split up rather unexpectedly a couple of weeks after our first gig. This really bummed me out for quite a while as I genuinely loved that band and we were coming up with some fantastic music, but it wasn't meant to be. I've been on the lookout for something similar since, but so far nothing has really grabbed me. I'm auditioning for a new band in a few weeks, we'll see how that goes.
I can't really think of much else now, to be honest. I'm sure there's loads more I've been doing, but I think that covers most bases. See you again in nine months for the next update!
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