Did you know that many countries across the world, including England, have daylight saving time? I sure didn't until recently. Turns out it was invented by an Englishman, William Willett. As it also turns out, the UK switches back to regular time a week or so before the US, so yesterday morning I got an extra hour of sleep.
This means that now I'm only six hours ahead of New Mexico time. While lying in bed early Sunday morning, I completed the first hour of my journey home. Slept through the whole thing!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
On Cell Phones
To save you the same trouble I had getting functional cell phone service in here in England, here's what I know and found out about cell phones in the UK.
There are some services out there that allow you to rent an "international" phone, or you can buy a phone and service in England, but you may actually be able to bring your own cell phone if it meets a few requirements.
GSM vs. CDMA
First, it has to be a GSM phone. Verizon and Sprint/Nextel are CDMA phone services, while AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM. There's a difference between the two technologies that you can study if you're interested, but for practical purposes, GSM phones have a little plastic chip, called a SIM card, in the back of the phone behind the battery.
I'll get into the SIM cards more later, but right now the important thing is that to use your cell phone in England, it first has to be GSM. Next, it has to be able to operate on the bandwidth frequencies used in England.
Bandwidth Frequencies
Most cell phones operate on one or two different frequencies, allowing you to get good coverage in the States. If your phone is "tri-band" or "quad-band," it will operate on three or four different frequencies, and the provider will likely specify that in the product description online, labeling it as an international phone. Because the frequencies used by cell phones in the US are not the same as what's used in England, you'll need to have at least a tri-band phone to use it here.
If your phone is tri- or quad-band, look at the frequencies it can use, just to double check whether they're the ones used in England, 900 and 1800. If your phone can handle both of those, you're set to use the services of any provider in England. If your phone only has one of those numbers listed, you can still use it, you'll just need to choose a provider that works primarily on that bandwidth.
Choosing a Cell Phone Provider
The providers I've heard about the most over here are T-Mobile (UK), Orange, and Vodaphone. O2 is supposed to be very popular as well, but maybe not in East Anglia where I am. T-Mobile and Orange operate primarily on the 1800 frequency, and Vodaphone operates on 900. (No idea for O2.) Even if you don't purchase your service directly through one of these companies, you'll most likely be using one of their networks; the smaller guys make deals to use the existing networks because they can't afford to put up the infrastructure of their own. Since the smaller companies don't always make it clear which network they use for your service, you might as well get your service directly from T-Mobile, Orange, or Vodaphone, so you know what frequency your service will be before you buy.
Coverage, of course, is another issue. You won't find a totally honest coverage map online; everyone claims to get service everywhere, but of course in the countryside you'll have dead zones in some areas. If you want to be sure to get the right service for your area, when you reach your destination in England, look for an option in your phone (in the settings menu) for "network selection" to "search services" or labeled something similar to that. That will pull up a list of networks available in your area, so you can go out and purchase one of those services.
SIM Cards and Unlocking Your Phone
When you purchase a UK cell phone (mobile phone) service, really what you're buying is a SIM card, a little piece of plastic with a chip in it that contains data about your service plan. SIM cards represent, in my opinion, the genius of GSM. I really like having a SIM card because it separates the phone and the service attached to it, cutting out some dependence on the service provider. For example, if I get a new GSM phone, all I have to do to switch service from my old phone to the new one is to pull out the chip and put it in the new phone. Ta dah! I can also save data onto the SIM card, so contact numbers and other data can move to the new phone as well. For CDMA services, unless things have changed recently, I'd have to go into a store or use a different phone to call the service provider and get them to activate service on the new phone for me. CDMA carriers have to be personally involved in their customers' phone decisions, because the phone is inseparable from the service.
Separating the phone from the service in GSM also means you can use different services in the same phone by switching out the SIM cards. New SIM card, new service, same cell phone. The only catch is that most cell phone providers really don't want you do switch out of their service, so if you buy a phone from them, they lock it so it only reads their SIM card. There are places online where you can buy an unlock code for your phone, but if you've had an account with your provider for a certain amount of time (90 days is pretty standard), your provider is legally obligated to provide you an unlock code upon request, for free. Look up their conditions, request an unlock code per their instructions (usually you call or send an email), and they'll send you a code and instructions for unlocking your phone. Then any SIM card will work in it!
When to Buy
Unless you plan to be in England for longer than a few months, you probably want to get a prepaid service, buying minutes as you need them instead of agreeing to a contract and paying a monthly fee.
If you look online, you'll find several places willing to sell you a prepaid SIM card for UK service. Aimed at travelers, these sites will accept a US billing address and ship your SIM to you so you can have everything in place before you leave. Don't buy it. I strongly recommend purchasing your UK service after you get to the UK. Two main reasons:
1. Service and SIM card costs. Pay-as-you-go (prepaid) phone services are much more common here in the UK than in the States. This means that there is much more competition, so ultimately it's less expensive to get them. You can get SIM cards here absolutely free, only paying for minutes to put on them, while these online places only give you a pittance of minutes for the price you pay. The rest of the cost can sometimes go towards side benefits, like free incoming calls (which might be worth it to you) or slightly lower per-minute rates, but often UK services have side benefits too, so mostly you're just paying for the convenience of having the SIM card sent to you before you leave the country.
Note: If you're concerned about having cell phone use during your journey and until you secure UK service, check out your current provider's website and look at information for international roaming. Usually there's a free service feature you can add to your account (over the phone or online) that allows you to use your phone, at international roaming rates, while you're abroad. These rates will be horrendous, of course, but at least you will have service until you can get a UK SIM card.
2. Fixed vs. variable exchange rate. Getting a SIM card and service through one of these online places forces you to exchange your dollars for pounds through them at their fixed rates. For example, at Cellular Abroad you have to pay $19 for 5 pounds of talk time credit. Not even when the dollar was at its weakest this year was the exchange rate 4:1! If you buy a UK service and pay directly in pounds, your bank or credit card company handles the exchange from pounds to dollars, and their rates will vary as the standard exchange rate varies.
The only downside of purchasing a UK pay-as-you-go service that I've noticed is that I can't buy more minutes online, since I won't be here long enough to have a UK billing address. But prepaid phones are so common here that I can top up my minutes at the cash register of almost any store or at any ATM, so that hasn't been much of an inconvenience at all.
Enjoy Your New Service
After doing all that research and prep-work, you should be able to reap your reward and have good cell phone coverage. Now you have no excuse not to call your mother and tell her all about your travels!
For a quick review, here are the steps (in order) for getting all set to use your cell phone in England:
1. Check if your phone is GSM and tri- or quad-band. If it's CDMA, you'll have to rent or buy a new phone and service. If it's GSM but doesn't carry multiple bandwidths, see if you're due for an upgrade; maybe you could get one for free.
2. Add international roaming, or whatever your provider calls it, to your account, so you can use your phone if needed before you purchase a UK service. To be safe, do this a month before you leave in case it becomes effective only at the start of the next (monthly) billing cycle.
3. Unlock your phone. Allow for at least a day for your service provider to send you the unlock code, and then maybe another day or two for troubleshooting in the rare case it doesn't work.
4. When you arrive in England, select a service provider based on what's available in your area and what frequencies your phone can handle.
5. Buy the new SIM card and minutes, pop it in, and you're set! Keep the SIM card for your old service somewhere safe for your return to the States.
There are some services out there that allow you to rent an "international" phone, or you can buy a phone and service in England, but you may actually be able to bring your own cell phone if it meets a few requirements.
GSM vs. CDMA
First, it has to be a GSM phone. Verizon and Sprint/Nextel are CDMA phone services, while AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM. There's a difference between the two technologies that you can study if you're interested, but for practical purposes, GSM phones have a little plastic chip, called a SIM card, in the back of the phone behind the battery.
I'll get into the SIM cards more later, but right now the important thing is that to use your cell phone in England, it first has to be GSM. Next, it has to be able to operate on the bandwidth frequencies used in England.
Bandwidth Frequencies
Most cell phones operate on one or two different frequencies, allowing you to get good coverage in the States. If your phone is "tri-band" or "quad-band," it will operate on three or four different frequencies, and the provider will likely specify that in the product description online, labeling it as an international phone. Because the frequencies used by cell phones in the US are not the same as what's used in England, you'll need to have at least a tri-band phone to use it here.
If your phone is tri- or quad-band, look at the frequencies it can use, just to double check whether they're the ones used in England, 900 and 1800. If your phone can handle both of those, you're set to use the services of any provider in England. If your phone only has one of those numbers listed, you can still use it, you'll just need to choose a provider that works primarily on that bandwidth.
Choosing a Cell Phone Provider
The providers I've heard about the most over here are T-Mobile (UK), Orange, and Vodaphone. O2 is supposed to be very popular as well, but maybe not in East Anglia where I am. T-Mobile and Orange operate primarily on the 1800 frequency, and Vodaphone operates on 900. (No idea for O2.) Even if you don't purchase your service directly through one of these companies, you'll most likely be using one of their networks; the smaller guys make deals to use the existing networks because they can't afford to put up the infrastructure of their own. Since the smaller companies don't always make it clear which network they use for your service, you might as well get your service directly from T-Mobile, Orange, or Vodaphone, so you know what frequency your service will be before you buy.
Coverage, of course, is another issue. You won't find a totally honest coverage map online; everyone claims to get service everywhere, but of course in the countryside you'll have dead zones in some areas. If you want to be sure to get the right service for your area, when you reach your destination in England, look for an option in your phone (in the settings menu) for "network selection" to "search services" or labeled something similar to that. That will pull up a list of networks available in your area, so you can go out and purchase one of those services.
SIM Cards and Unlocking Your Phone
When you purchase a UK cell phone (mobile phone) service, really what you're buying is a SIM card, a little piece of plastic with a chip in it that contains data about your service plan. SIM cards represent, in my opinion, the genius of GSM. I really like having a SIM card because it separates the phone and the service attached to it, cutting out some dependence on the service provider. For example, if I get a new GSM phone, all I have to do to switch service from my old phone to the new one is to pull out the chip and put it in the new phone. Ta dah! I can also save data onto the SIM card, so contact numbers and other data can move to the new phone as well. For CDMA services, unless things have changed recently, I'd have to go into a store or use a different phone to call the service provider and get them to activate service on the new phone for me. CDMA carriers have to be personally involved in their customers' phone decisions, because the phone is inseparable from the service.
Separating the phone from the service in GSM also means you can use different services in the same phone by switching out the SIM cards. New SIM card, new service, same cell phone. The only catch is that most cell phone providers really don't want you do switch out of their service, so if you buy a phone from them, they lock it so it only reads their SIM card. There are places online where you can buy an unlock code for your phone, but if you've had an account with your provider for a certain amount of time (90 days is pretty standard), your provider is legally obligated to provide you an unlock code upon request, for free. Look up their conditions, request an unlock code per their instructions (usually you call or send an email), and they'll send you a code and instructions for unlocking your phone. Then any SIM card will work in it!
When to Buy
Unless you plan to be in England for longer than a few months, you probably want to get a prepaid service, buying minutes as you need them instead of agreeing to a contract and paying a monthly fee.
If you look online, you'll find several places willing to sell you a prepaid SIM card for UK service. Aimed at travelers, these sites will accept a US billing address and ship your SIM to you so you can have everything in place before you leave. Don't buy it. I strongly recommend purchasing your UK service after you get to the UK. Two main reasons:
1. Service and SIM card costs. Pay-as-you-go (prepaid) phone services are much more common here in the UK than in the States. This means that there is much more competition, so ultimately it's less expensive to get them. You can get SIM cards here absolutely free, only paying for minutes to put on them, while these online places only give you a pittance of minutes for the price you pay. The rest of the cost can sometimes go towards side benefits, like free incoming calls (which might be worth it to you) or slightly lower per-minute rates, but often UK services have side benefits too, so mostly you're just paying for the convenience of having the SIM card sent to you before you leave the country.
Note: If you're concerned about having cell phone use during your journey and until you secure UK service, check out your current provider's website and look at information for international roaming. Usually there's a free service feature you can add to your account (over the phone or online) that allows you to use your phone, at international roaming rates, while you're abroad. These rates will be horrendous, of course, but at least you will have service until you can get a UK SIM card.
2. Fixed vs. variable exchange rate. Getting a SIM card and service through one of these online places forces you to exchange your dollars for pounds through them at their fixed rates. For example, at Cellular Abroad you have to pay $19 for 5 pounds of talk time credit. Not even when the dollar was at its weakest this year was the exchange rate 4:1! If you buy a UK service and pay directly in pounds, your bank or credit card company handles the exchange from pounds to dollars, and their rates will vary as the standard exchange rate varies.
The only downside of purchasing a UK pay-as-you-go service that I've noticed is that I can't buy more minutes online, since I won't be here long enough to have a UK billing address. But prepaid phones are so common here that I can top up my minutes at the cash register of almost any store or at any ATM, so that hasn't been much of an inconvenience at all.
Enjoy Your New Service
After doing all that research and prep-work, you should be able to reap your reward and have good cell phone coverage. Now you have no excuse not to call your mother and tell her all about your travels!
For a quick review, here are the steps (in order) for getting all set to use your cell phone in England:
1. Check if your phone is GSM and tri- or quad-band. If it's CDMA, you'll have to rent or buy a new phone and service. If it's GSM but doesn't carry multiple bandwidths, see if you're due for an upgrade; maybe you could get one for free.
2. Add international roaming, or whatever your provider calls it, to your account, so you can use your phone if needed before you purchase a UK service. To be safe, do this a month before you leave in case it becomes effective only at the start of the next (monthly) billing cycle.
3. Unlock your phone. Allow for at least a day for your service provider to send you the unlock code, and then maybe another day or two for troubleshooting in the rare case it doesn't work.
4. When you arrive in England, select a service provider based on what's available in your area and what frequencies your phone can handle.
5. Buy the new SIM card and minutes, pop it in, and you're set! Keep the SIM card for your old service somewhere safe for your return to the States.
Friday, October 17, 2008
England Eights
I was reading a friend's blog, and she didn't tag me specifically to do this and pass it on, but I thought it would be fun to do my own set of eights. So, here goes!
8 TV (BBC) Shows I Love to Watch:
1. The Restaurant. It's a reality TV show with a bunch of couples competing to open a restaurant with Raymond Blanc. I love the ups and downs, the ridiculous challenges, and of course the food.
2. Masterchef: The Professionals. A bunch of semi-professional chefs competing for the title of Masterchef (and a great job afterward). The season finished a few weeks ago, though, which makes me sad.
3. Strictly Come Dancing. It's the British version of Dancing with the Stars, and I've gotten into it. I used to really dislike ballroom, but it's growing on me.
4. Merlin. It's a cheesy-ish family drama-type show about teenage Merlin trying to get along with teenage Arthur and learn magic and such. Enjoyable fluff.
5. Fawlty Towers. Finally I'm surrounded by people who know and love this show! The funny thing is, here everyone knows it but it's never on the air. In the States, few people know about it but it actually is broadcast on PBS every once in a while.
6. LazyTown. A kid's show I've caught a couple of times and laughed heartily about. Aimed to encourage exercise, the hero of the show is Sportacus, and his favorite things to eat are sports candy, i.e. fruits and vegetables. Bright, manic (in a sporty way), and containing catchy pop songs.
7. The World's Strictest Parents. Another reality TV show, in which spoilt British teens (yes, American teens aren't the only ones!) are sent to very strict households in different countries like India, Ghana, and Jamaica. So fun to laugh at their nonplussed reactions ("Chores? Ew!") and to see them get a change of attitude.
8. The Eggheads. A game show on about the time I start making dinner, in which a team of trivia masters compete against challenging teams of regular joes. I like seeing if I can get the questions right.
Note: If you want to check them out, you can find most of these BBC shows on the BBC iPlayer.
8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Rode on a double-decker bus. So fun, especially since the roads here are so narrow; when you're sitting at the front you feel like you're going to crash into the buildings across the street when you turn corners!
2. Walked along the river Cam and crossed a bridge over it (thus, Cambridge).
3. Bought a Cambridge University hoodie at the open-air marketplace, so now I look like a student, haha.
4. Looked at the chapel at King's College. So beautiful!
5. Had a good chat with a friend who used to live in the ward back home (Sis. Lund). She's the one who took me out to Cambridge, for which I'm very grateful.
6. Went to institute and, for the first time in my institute experience, there were more guys than girls there.
7. Took a nap on my couch.
8. Did some writing, of course!
8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. The Ship Inn, in Dunwich (pronounced "Dannich"). It's near the coast (falling into it more year by year, actually), so you can get really fresh fish and chips there. Yummy!
2. Indian restaurants. Chicken tikka masala is pretty much a staple of the English diet these days. I really enjoyed the Indian food I had in Bath.
3. Marketplace stalls. On market days in Bury St. Edmunds (Wednesdays and Saturdays), I like to get a little something from a snack shack (that's what I say, can't remember what the Brits call them) to eat while I wander around looking at all the stalls and goods. Usually I get a little cheeseburger. The Brits usually don't put anything in with the meat and cheese than caramelized onion and condiments, which I thought was interesting. Still pretty tasty.
4. Pret a Manger. An extremely green restaurant, focusing on soups and sandwiches to take away or eat in. I think I've mentioned it before. I like their focus on pure, fresh ingredients, and I've enjoyed everything I've had there.
5. At home. It's nice to have time to cook and my own kitchen to do it in. Saves money!
Places I really miss:
6. Wendy's. Or rather, going to Wendy's with Vanessa and Lisa!!
7. Cafe Rio, my I've-had-a-crappy-day,-I'm-eating-out place.
8. The Olive Garden, the old classic family treat.
8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
1. Stake conference this weekend.
2. Getting rides to institute for a couple more weeks with new friends.
3. Seeing some more sights with Rachel the week before I leave.
4. Having breakfast at the B&B with Mark and Kay Dewsbury, now such good friends.
5. Arriving at the airport in Albuquerque, having survived customs, flights, security, and heavy luggage.
6. Having my car back. Oh Honda-San, I miss you so . . .
7. Thanksgiving and Christmas at home!
8. Finishing this manuscript!!
8 Things on My Wish List:
1. The exchange rate to be better between dollars and pounds sterling. Sigh.
2. More motivation and self-discipline.
3. Hero of Ages, the last Mistborn book. I gotta know how it ends!
4. Two or three people to sing a cappella with me. I love the sound of tight harmonies a cappella, and I miss my singing roommates and friends.
5. Time and means to finish/spruce up my dollhouse back home.
6. A completed manuscript and an interested publisher to hand it to.
7. Better posture.
8. A kitten!
8 TV (BBC) Shows I Love to Watch:
1. The Restaurant. It's a reality TV show with a bunch of couples competing to open a restaurant with Raymond Blanc. I love the ups and downs, the ridiculous challenges, and of course the food.
2. Masterchef: The Professionals. A bunch of semi-professional chefs competing for the title of Masterchef (and a great job afterward). The season finished a few weeks ago, though, which makes me sad.
3. Strictly Come Dancing. It's the British version of Dancing with the Stars, and I've gotten into it. I used to really dislike ballroom, but it's growing on me.
4. Merlin. It's a cheesy-ish family drama-type show about teenage Merlin trying to get along with teenage Arthur and learn magic and such. Enjoyable fluff.
5. Fawlty Towers. Finally I'm surrounded by people who know and love this show! The funny thing is, here everyone knows it but it's never on the air. In the States, few people know about it but it actually is broadcast on PBS every once in a while.
6. LazyTown. A kid's show I've caught a couple of times and laughed heartily about. Aimed to encourage exercise, the hero of the show is Sportacus, and his favorite things to eat are sports candy, i.e. fruits and vegetables. Bright, manic (in a sporty way), and containing catchy pop songs.
7. The World's Strictest Parents. Another reality TV show, in which spoilt British teens (yes, American teens aren't the only ones!) are sent to very strict households in different countries like India, Ghana, and Jamaica. So fun to laugh at their nonplussed reactions ("Chores? Ew!") and to see them get a change of attitude.
8. The Eggheads. A game show on about the time I start making dinner, in which a team of trivia masters compete against challenging teams of regular joes. I like seeing if I can get the questions right.
Note: If you want to check them out, you can find most of these BBC shows on the BBC iPlayer.
8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Rode on a double-decker bus. So fun, especially since the roads here are so narrow; when you're sitting at the front you feel like you're going to crash into the buildings across the street when you turn corners!
2. Walked along the river Cam and crossed a bridge over it (thus, Cambridge).
3. Bought a Cambridge University hoodie at the open-air marketplace, so now I look like a student, haha.
4. Looked at the chapel at King's College. So beautiful!
5. Had a good chat with a friend who used to live in the ward back home (Sis. Lund). She's the one who took me out to Cambridge, for which I'm very grateful.
6. Went to institute and, for the first time in my institute experience, there were more guys than girls there.
7. Took a nap on my couch.
8. Did some writing, of course!
8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. The Ship Inn, in Dunwich (pronounced "Dannich"). It's near the coast (falling into it more year by year, actually), so you can get really fresh fish and chips there. Yummy!
2. Indian restaurants. Chicken tikka masala is pretty much a staple of the English diet these days. I really enjoyed the Indian food I had in Bath.
3. Marketplace stalls. On market days in Bury St. Edmunds (Wednesdays and Saturdays), I like to get a little something from a snack shack (that's what I say, can't remember what the Brits call them) to eat while I wander around looking at all the stalls and goods. Usually I get a little cheeseburger. The Brits usually don't put anything in with the meat and cheese than caramelized onion and condiments, which I thought was interesting. Still pretty tasty.
4. Pret a Manger. An extremely green restaurant, focusing on soups and sandwiches to take away or eat in. I think I've mentioned it before. I like their focus on pure, fresh ingredients, and I've enjoyed everything I've had there.
5. At home. It's nice to have time to cook and my own kitchen to do it in. Saves money!
Places I really miss:
6. Wendy's. Or rather, going to Wendy's with Vanessa and Lisa!!
7. Cafe Rio, my I've-had-a-crappy-day,-I'm-eating-out place.
8. The Olive Garden, the old classic family treat.
8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
1. Stake conference this weekend.
2. Getting rides to institute for a couple more weeks with new friends.
3. Seeing some more sights with Rachel the week before I leave.
4. Having breakfast at the B&B with Mark and Kay Dewsbury, now such good friends.
5. Arriving at the airport in Albuquerque, having survived customs, flights, security, and heavy luggage.
6. Having my car back. Oh Honda-San, I miss you so . . .
7. Thanksgiving and Christmas at home!
8. Finishing this manuscript!!
8 Things on My Wish List:
1. The exchange rate to be better between dollars and pounds sterling. Sigh.
2. More motivation and self-discipline.
3. Hero of Ages, the last Mistborn book. I gotta know how it ends!
4. Two or three people to sing a cappella with me. I love the sound of tight harmonies a cappella, and I miss my singing roommates and friends.
5. Time and means to finish/spruce up my dollhouse back home.
6. A completed manuscript and an interested publisher to hand it to.
7. Better posture.
8. A kitten!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Turned a Corner
Just a quick update in the writing arena. I actually haven't gotten a whole lot of writing done yet on this trip. Part of it is that I've been taking every opportunity to see and do things here. I'm in England! If someone offers to take me to Cambridge for the day, or give me a lift to Bury on market days, can I say no? Sure can't! Even if I don't get much written when I'm off touring, being here has helped me to better understand and picture the setting for my story.
Other part is, I've been stuck. I admit it. I've had a hard time bringing myself to the computer to get writing done, and I couldn't figure out why for the longest time. I've been worried that I'm just not cut out to be a writer, that I'm too lazy. Well, sometimes I am lazy. But I realized about a week ago that there were some really important underlying things, plot-wise, that I needed to figure out. I've slowed down because I was rushing up to a big, pivotal scene with little to no motivational undergirth. Then after that scene, I had only nebulous ideas of what was going to happen, plot points to be reached in random, unconnected order.
Well, I took some time to figure things out, and I started writing. Not story, but notes. Wow did that help. For the past two days I've been scribbling and typing down thoughts and wandering around the flat in a daze, twisting and turning ideas around, playing and replaying different scenes in my head. I have pages and pages of notes now, and half a dozen beautiful background stories that almost certainly won't make it to the final version, but they're stories that I had to know, so I could understand each character's viewpoint and acting motivation for this big scene and what follows afterward. I now have a fairly solid plot outline, and just like for the first part of the story, I can see it breaking down in order for me to write, scene after scene. And I'm excited to write again!
Bottom line is, if you can't write the story, write about the story. Just keep writing! I have turned a corner, and this week I'll really fill some pages.
Other part is, I've been stuck. I admit it. I've had a hard time bringing myself to the computer to get writing done, and I couldn't figure out why for the longest time. I've been worried that I'm just not cut out to be a writer, that I'm too lazy. Well, sometimes I am lazy. But I realized about a week ago that there were some really important underlying things, plot-wise, that I needed to figure out. I've slowed down because I was rushing up to a big, pivotal scene with little to no motivational undergirth. Then after that scene, I had only nebulous ideas of what was going to happen, plot points to be reached in random, unconnected order.
Well, I took some time to figure things out, and I started writing. Not story, but notes. Wow did that help. For the past two days I've been scribbling and typing down thoughts and wandering around the flat in a daze, twisting and turning ideas around, playing and replaying different scenes in my head. I have pages and pages of notes now, and half a dozen beautiful background stories that almost certainly won't make it to the final version, but they're stories that I had to know, so I could understand each character's viewpoint and acting motivation for this big scene and what follows afterward. I now have a fairly solid plot outline, and just like for the first part of the story, I can see it breaking down in order for me to write, scene after scene. And I'm excited to write again!
Bottom line is, if you can't write the story, write about the story. Just keep writing! I have turned a corner, and this week I'll really fill some pages.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Goodbye, Paris; Hello, Bath!
Okay, so you've seen the pictures, but I realized that I forgot to specify that this trip replaced the one I was planning to Paris. I had planned to take a trip to Paris through the Eurostar railways the week of September 22, but two weeks before leaving, there was a fire in the channel tunnel (chunnel) that these trains went through. I kept up with the news, and trains were going through just a few days later, but a week before the scheduled trip, I got an email stating that the tour was canceled with a full refund. Paris was out!
I moped about it for a bit. It is hard to be here without transportation of my own, and trying to arrange all my sightseeing alone, and I'd been looking forward to seeing Paris and having an arranged, guided tour. But then I remembered that I'd been considering Bath as a side-trip. I found out that the month of September was Bath's Jane Austen Festival. That was the clincher. After a few minutes of looking at the tourism website for Bath, I knew that's where I wanted to go.
There were really too many coincidences to ignore. I hadn't bought train tickets to London or booked a hotel for the Paris trip, so I didn't have that to worry about. With the refunded money, I was able to spend an extra day in Bath that I wouldn't have had in London or Paris. I found a hotel in Bath, close to the city center and not too expensive, and was able to book even though it was a little last-minute.
I had felt overwhelmed about trying to arrange a replacement trip to Paris, but I felt calm about finding my way to Bath. I was nervous about the trip, but I caught every train and boarded the right tube line in the right direction. I had a wonderful, busy few days in Bath, and I took every opportunity I could to see what could be seen there.
And there was a lot to see!
The Hotel and Bath Routine
I stayed in a tiny single room at the Kennard Hotel bed and breakfast. There was a sink in the room, but the toilet and shower were down a flight of stairs and shared with the person in the other single room. I knew about this before I checked in, but it was still a little strange. The shower stall was so tiny, if I'd been a little fatter I would've had to hold my breath to stay in. The room itself was narrow and small, but well and carefully furnished, and perfectly adequate for my needs. I was paying for the location close to the city center, and not for a huge room. (They had those too, for much steeper prices.)
Every morning I had breakfast around 8:30 in the gorgeous dining room in the basement (you have to go up or down several flights of stairs to get anywhere indoors in Bath). It had been the kitchens of the building in Georgian times, and still had the inset structure where the fireplaces had been, but that was the only reminder. It was painted bright teal and decorated very prettily, but I kind of wished I could admire it invisibly, because every time I walked in I felt like a tall, weedy, American thumb sticking way out. The tables and chairs were so small and crowded that I found it extremely awkward getting my long legs around them. Eating there by myself did nothing to lessen my self-consciousness, but the hostess was very polite and never spoke above a demure murmur, and quickly learned to just offer me hot chocolate.
The actual breakfast wasn't as good or fancy as the decor, but decent. And I learned that posh people don't say "ketchup," they say "tomato chutney."
Nothing in town opens until about 10 a.m., so after breakfast I'd go back to my room and write or figure out what I wanted to see that day. Then I'd head out, get lunch at midday, and come back at 5 p.m., when everything closes. The restaurants don't open for dinner until 6 or 6:30 p.m., so that was an hour to put my feet up, write some more, look over the souvenirs, etc. Then I'd go out for dinner, get back around 8 p.m., watch some TV (I'm addicted to The Restaurant), and get to bed.
If you're interested in night life, Bath isn't the place for you; it was very quiet where I was after 9 or 10 p.m. Since "night life" often means "drunken carousing" here, I didn't miss that. I didn't see many children or young adults around at all, but school was in session, so they were probably there (suckas!). There were a lot of old people though; the old people do a lot of touring here while most of the young people I've talked to don't have their own car or, astonishingly, don't even have a driver's license.
Touring
I had two full days in Bath, so I tried to break it up evenly between tours and museums and just exploring on my own and looking into shops. I took a free, two-hour walking tour, which I highly recommend, around the city center, then a boating tour on the river Avon, which I don't recommend because it was very boring. If you ever go, just sit by the river near Pulteney Bridge and the weir; that's the most exciting part the tour covers. I visited the museum at the Jane Austen Center, the Victoria Art Gallery, and then loads of interesting little shops.
The next day I set up an appointment to take pictures in Georgian costume as part of the Jane Austen Festival, so that afternoon I went up to the highest floor of the center to get dressed up. The ladies working with the costumes were very professional, they had long racks of gorgeous dresses and jackets and such. The photographer was . . . less professional. But it was okay; I had a good camera and some of the shots turned out, haha.
Then I took the tower tour in Bath Abbey, climbing some 212 steps to the very top, stopping in between to visit the bell room, the belfry, behind the clock, and the lower roof. That was really neat! The Abbey itself, with all its stained glass, was also very lovely.
After that, I went to the museum at Number 1 Royal Crescent, which was a house all furnished and decked out as it would have been in Georgian times, a lot like Mount Vernon. A docent stood in each room of the house to explain what everything was and how it was used. After all these Georgian museums, it was really interesting (refreshing!) to go to the Roman Baths, which focused on the Roman history of Bath and the hot springs that made Bath famous. I wasn't expecting the Roman Baths museum to be so large, so I kinda squeezed it in my last morning, but it was really neat.
The only thing I regret is not seeing Sally Lunn's famous "refreshment house" and museum. Supposedly it's the oldest house in Bath, and the restaurant is famous for a certain kind of bun. Maybe next time!
Eating Out
The hotel didn't have a restaurant, so for lunch and dinner I hit the town. There weren't many casual dining places, but Pret a Manger was the best I found (loved the chicken avocado sandwich!). Other than that, I ate at a French restaurant, a Thai, and two Indian ones. I looked around for a nice, fish-and-chips joint (and . . . no, I haven't been brave enough to enter a pub by myself), but couldn't find one, so I've yet to have a decent fish-and-chips meal! This will be remedied soon.
Eating out in England was a little different. I've mentioned here and elsewhere that water was hard to come by. Every restaurant I went in had a pretty long wine list and the waiters all looked taken aback when I simply requested water. That wasn't a big deal, though; the harder part was that British/European culture values privacy in dining a lot more than Americans, i.e., the waiters leave you alone as much as possible. Too shy to just talk to people in the street, I was kinda looking forward to conversation with the servers at dinner, but no go. In America, your waiter will give you a little speech telling you who they are and welcoming you to the restaurant, and if they walk by and don't fill up your drink, that's grounds for lowering the tip. Here, the servers don't speak unless spoken to, and if you want something (like a refill of your drink) you need to hold out your hand and snag someone. I was sitting in a restaurant once and watched a lady come in. The head waiter just looked at her, watching her glance around for a free table or a clue of what to do, and didn't speak or move until she tentatively said, "Uh, I'd like to . . . eat . . . here . . . ?"
I knew it was a cultural thing, they didn't hate me or anything, but I still felt extra lonely and exposed whenever I dined out. It was okay, but I'd definitely recommend not going it alone if you possibly can. On the plus side, tips here are just 10%, and often optional.
All in all, Bath was a lot of fun. Plenty to do and see, and history everywhere you turn. I'm glad that I went!
I moped about it for a bit. It is hard to be here without transportation of my own, and trying to arrange all my sightseeing alone, and I'd been looking forward to seeing Paris and having an arranged, guided tour. But then I remembered that I'd been considering Bath as a side-trip. I found out that the month of September was Bath's Jane Austen Festival. That was the clincher. After a few minutes of looking at the tourism website for Bath, I knew that's where I wanted to go.
There were really too many coincidences to ignore. I hadn't bought train tickets to London or booked a hotel for the Paris trip, so I didn't have that to worry about. With the refunded money, I was able to spend an extra day in Bath that I wouldn't have had in London or Paris. I found a hotel in Bath, close to the city center and not too expensive, and was able to book even though it was a little last-minute.
I had felt overwhelmed about trying to arrange a replacement trip to Paris, but I felt calm about finding my way to Bath. I was nervous about the trip, but I caught every train and boarded the right tube line in the right direction. I had a wonderful, busy few days in Bath, and I took every opportunity I could to see what could be seen there.
And there was a lot to see!
The Hotel and Bath Routine
I stayed in a tiny single room at the Kennard Hotel bed and breakfast. There was a sink in the room, but the toilet and shower were down a flight of stairs and shared with the person in the other single room. I knew about this before I checked in, but it was still a little strange. The shower stall was so tiny, if I'd been a little fatter I would've had to hold my breath to stay in. The room itself was narrow and small, but well and carefully furnished, and perfectly adequate for my needs. I was paying for the location close to the city center, and not for a huge room. (They had those too, for much steeper prices.)
Every morning I had breakfast around 8:30 in the gorgeous dining room in the basement (you have to go up or down several flights of stairs to get anywhere indoors in Bath). It had been the kitchens of the building in Georgian times, and still had the inset structure where the fireplaces had been, but that was the only reminder. It was painted bright teal and decorated very prettily, but I kind of wished I could admire it invisibly, because every time I walked in I felt like a tall, weedy, American thumb sticking way out. The tables and chairs were so small and crowded that I found it extremely awkward getting my long legs around them. Eating there by myself did nothing to lessen my self-consciousness, but the hostess was very polite and never spoke above a demure murmur, and quickly learned to just offer me hot chocolate.
The actual breakfast wasn't as good or fancy as the decor, but decent. And I learned that posh people don't say "ketchup," they say "tomato chutney."
Nothing in town opens until about 10 a.m., so after breakfast I'd go back to my room and write or figure out what I wanted to see that day. Then I'd head out, get lunch at midday, and come back at 5 p.m., when everything closes. The restaurants don't open for dinner until 6 or 6:30 p.m., so that was an hour to put my feet up, write some more, look over the souvenirs, etc. Then I'd go out for dinner, get back around 8 p.m., watch some TV (I'm addicted to The Restaurant), and get to bed.
If you're interested in night life, Bath isn't the place for you; it was very quiet where I was after 9 or 10 p.m. Since "night life" often means "drunken carousing" here, I didn't miss that. I didn't see many children or young adults around at all, but school was in session, so they were probably there (suckas!). There were a lot of old people though; the old people do a lot of touring here while most of the young people I've talked to don't have their own car or, astonishingly, don't even have a driver's license.
Touring
I had two full days in Bath, so I tried to break it up evenly between tours and museums and just exploring on my own and looking into shops. I took a free, two-hour walking tour, which I highly recommend, around the city center, then a boating tour on the river Avon, which I don't recommend because it was very boring. If you ever go, just sit by the river near Pulteney Bridge and the weir; that's the most exciting part the tour covers. I visited the museum at the Jane Austen Center, the Victoria Art Gallery, and then loads of interesting little shops.
The next day I set up an appointment to take pictures in Georgian costume as part of the Jane Austen Festival, so that afternoon I went up to the highest floor of the center to get dressed up. The ladies working with the costumes were very professional, they had long racks of gorgeous dresses and jackets and such. The photographer was . . . less professional. But it was okay; I had a good camera and some of the shots turned out, haha.
Then I took the tower tour in Bath Abbey, climbing some 212 steps to the very top, stopping in between to visit the bell room, the belfry, behind the clock, and the lower roof. That was really neat! The Abbey itself, with all its stained glass, was also very lovely.
After that, I went to the museum at Number 1 Royal Crescent, which was a house all furnished and decked out as it would have been in Georgian times, a lot like Mount Vernon. A docent stood in each room of the house to explain what everything was and how it was used. After all these Georgian museums, it was really interesting (refreshing!) to go to the Roman Baths, which focused on the Roman history of Bath and the hot springs that made Bath famous. I wasn't expecting the Roman Baths museum to be so large, so I kinda squeezed it in my last morning, but it was really neat.
The only thing I regret is not seeing Sally Lunn's famous "refreshment house" and museum. Supposedly it's the oldest house in Bath, and the restaurant is famous for a certain kind of bun. Maybe next time!
Eating Out
The hotel didn't have a restaurant, so for lunch and dinner I hit the town. There weren't many casual dining places, but Pret a Manger was the best I found (loved the chicken avocado sandwich!). Other than that, I ate at a French restaurant, a Thai, and two Indian ones. I looked around for a nice, fish-and-chips joint (and . . . no, I haven't been brave enough to enter a pub by myself), but couldn't find one, so I've yet to have a decent fish-and-chips meal! This will be remedied soon.
Eating out in England was a little different. I've mentioned here and elsewhere that water was hard to come by. Every restaurant I went in had a pretty long wine list and the waiters all looked taken aback when I simply requested water. That wasn't a big deal, though; the harder part was that British/European culture values privacy in dining a lot more than Americans, i.e., the waiters leave you alone as much as possible. Too shy to just talk to people in the street, I was kinda looking forward to conversation with the servers at dinner, but no go. In America, your waiter will give you a little speech telling you who they are and welcoming you to the restaurant, and if they walk by and don't fill up your drink, that's grounds for lowering the tip. Here, the servers don't speak unless spoken to, and if you want something (like a refill of your drink) you need to hold out your hand and snag someone. I was sitting in a restaurant once and watched a lady come in. The head waiter just looked at her, watching her glance around for a free table or a clue of what to do, and didn't speak or move until she tentatively said, "Uh, I'd like to . . . eat . . . here . . . ?"
I knew it was a cultural thing, they didn't hate me or anything, but I still felt extra lonely and exposed whenever I dined out. It was okay, but I'd definitely recommend not going it alone if you possibly can. On the plus side, tips here are just 10%, and often optional.
All in all, Bath was a lot of fun. Plenty to do and see, and history everywhere you turn. I'm glad that I went!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Best of Bath
I spent three days in Bath during the last week of September and had a wonderful time. There's so much to see there, it's impossible to do it in three days, let alone ten minutes, but nevertheless, here's a photo tour of what I saw.
You can pause the slideshow and just view them one at a time if you wish, and you can turn off the captions (since some of them are long) if you'd like by clicking on the green icon that looks like a square speech bubble.
You can pause the slideshow and just view them one at a time if you wish, and you can turn off the captions (since some of them are long) if you'd like by clicking on the green icon that looks like a square speech bubble.
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