Riding the Rails: London to Brussels

July 16, 2011 -- After a night out at a local Swiss Cottage pub with some hostelers, I woke up early the next morning and took a taxi to St. Pancras Railway Station where I took a Eurostar high speed train to my next stop -- Brussels, Belgium.

The train zips you to Brussels in a little under two hours and travels at speeds up to 186 miles per hour (300 kilometers per hour). It was my first time riding a high speed train and it was an amazing experience. You literally feel as if you are flying on the ground. But while the speed is incredibly fast, the ride is also surprisingly smooth. The highlight for me was traveling through the English Channel Tunnel, otherwise called the Chunnel. It takes about 20 minutes to travel the 31.4 miles (50.5 kilometers) from Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France. It is thrilling being 250 feet (75 meters) under sea level on a high-speed train roaring ahead at nearly 200 mph.

Eurostar makes stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in southern England; and Calais and Lille in northern France, before arriving at Brussels South Railway Station.

Here is video riding the rails from London to Brussels:

Here are photos of the rail trip from London to Brussels. Click here to see the Flickr set.

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Missoni for Target is Here!

Today is the day!  Missoni for Target debuts.  I can't remember being this excited about a design collaboration with a mass retailer in well...EVER!  I am hoping to score everything from barware, to paper goods, to shoes, and clothes by shopping online.  I have never tried this before with Target's design collabarations, but I have limited time to go in the morning, and I am hoping that I will actually have a better chance of items being in stock if I can start shopping once it goes live.  The items are already being sold for many times their original Target price on Ebay from those lucky enough to have early access.  If anyone goes to Target today, I would love to hear your reaction to the collection!

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Message Received

source

Communicating is sometimes hard for me. I don't always like to talk on the phone; I am not very good at expressing myself vocally; I prefer to write things in a letter or a journal or on a post it note. When I was young, my mother used to yell at me and I would just glare at her wordlessly. I am not good with words. If there is a "wrong thing" to say, I may accidentally say it. I take that back, I will probably say it. So I sometimes keep quiet instead.

When I went to college, I received my very first email address from CSU, Sacramento. I had no idea what to do with it. The only people I knew with email addresses were the other students in my classes, and I could just talk to them. Why would I go all the way to the computer lab to email someone that lived right next door to me in the dorms? However, I did go over there to sometimes play solitaire on the computer between classes. Other than that, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about, maybe because there was no fuss.

The first time I went abroad, I lived and worked in France for three months. Every couple of weeks, I would buy a phone card and go and stand on the street at a pay phone and call my parents to let them know that I was okay, where I had been and what I was doing. I sent post cards and letters and beer labels home to my friends. I wrote in my journal and kept a box of scrapbook worthy items (mostly beer labels). There were internet cafes, but they were mostly full of people smoking and drinking coffee in front of empty computer stations. I did have an email address, but I still did not know a lot of people who had emails themselves, nor was using email as a means of communication yet a habit.

I am learning to communicate. I am still not very good at doing it vocally. However, through the means of email, I have learned to ask questions and to ask for help; I have asked people out on lunch dates that I may not have asked before; I have learned things about people that I would not have asked them about. I have made friends that I probably would not have made if I had to pick up the phone and talk to them, not only around the world, but even on a smaller scale such as around the office at work.

Both the internet and I have come very far since the 90s. I did not have that first email address until I was 18. I didn’t really use it until I was 22. And then that was ALL I used the internet for. I didn’t even own my own computer until I was 26. I didn’t need it! I went to the computer lab to study and to write papers and to do research on the internet. Now I use it to find knowledge and different worlds and great people.

The communication lines are now open.

I always wonder if I would be different if I had been a child in a world full of Internet. Would I know more or less? Would I be more outgoing or less? Would I still hand-write Thank You cards or not?

This post is part of the Write on Edge RemembeRED prompt. Today's assignment was:

Many of us remember life before the internet. We wrote letters instead of emails, used encyclopedias instead of Google, and went to parties that weren’t of the Twitter variety. For this week’s prompt, we want you to recall those early memories of being online. Tell us how it impacted your life and what it meant for you. Write about your experience in 600 words or less.



Now tell me -- do YOU remember the days before the internet? When did you get your first email address? When did you actually start to use the internet regularly?

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Summer 2011: London, England

July 14-16, 2011 -- London, England was the first stop on my travels to Europe and Israel this summer. It is an ideal starting off point because of cheap flights from the U.S. and high speed trains into Continental Europe. Plus it is a world-class city and a fantastic place to visit. Despite the recent riots and looting in poorer sections of town, the city is putting on its best face for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics and the improvements are noticeable.

I flew the red eye on Virgin Atlantic from Washington Dulles International Airport, arriving at London Heathrow Airport early in the morning on July 15th. The Underground subway zipped me from the airport to the Swiss Cottage neighborhood in the Camden borough where my hostel was located.

Palmers Lodge is a big, busy hostel with easy access to London's extensive bus system and an Underground subway station. There are also lots of shops and restaurants in the area.

Since I was only in London for a day and a night I wanted to cover as much ground as possible. So after hopping on one of the frequent buses from Swiss Cottage to Central London, I rented a bicycle through the Barclays Cycle Hire bike sharing system.

Biking is the best way to see a lot of a city in a short amount time. In London it was a bit tricky at first because cars drive on the left side of the road. But there are also plenty of bike lanes and once the adjustment is made to the left side, London is an easy city to bike around.

Hyde Park, Serpentine Lake, The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Rotten Row, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, Victoria Memorial, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Palace, Trafalgar Square. These are most of the places I biked to in one day. If I was walking I might have covered half of these places.

It is not just bike sharing that makes London easy to get around. The buses run every five minutes or so and go to every corner of town, providing an additional commuting option to the extensive Underground subway system and a late night option because the Tube closes around 1 a.m.

Click here for my environmental perspective of London on my Green Center Blog.

Here are photos from London. Click here to see the set on Flickr.



And here are videos of the Underground subway and biking in Hyde Park.

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Wine & Love (3)

I decided to do Nora's Wine and Love today, since Thursdays are now dedicated to 12 Weeks to Better Photos posts! And I like Nora's Wine and Love, so I thought I would do it today and link up with her when she posts later in the week. I hope she doesn't mind! You know how this works, you list what made you whine, or makes you need to have a glass of wine (or is just plain bad) this week and what you love this week! You can link up with Nora on Thursdays!

WINE:

- They are trying to get our work wrapped up soon. This may mean that in the next month, I will be (a) jobless or (b) moving somewhere else. Which is not always bad, but it makes it REALLY hard to make plans with other people, you know the ones who have a "normal" life and a "normal" job. (also see: love list)

- I slacked on my workout schedule last week. I was tired, and I went to visit a friend and it was a short week at work so I just put it to the bottom of the to do list.

- Because of this, I ran a very slow pace on my run on Sunday. I just wasn't as motivated / energetic / into it as I am sometimes. Which is strange, because my run on Thursday night was really good. Running is weird.

- This week at work is really busy!

- I still don't feel ready for the half marathon on Sunday.

LOVE:

- As I said above, I may be moving. This could be good. Right now I am two hours from any airport, which means that I am at least 6 - 8 hours away from my friends and family. Soooo, if we move, I may be (a) closer to an airport or (b) closer overall (driving distance) to some of my friends and family. Which would be awesome.

- I got to see a good friend last weekend. Girl time was much needed and much enjoyed. Isn't it nice to be around someone that just knows YOU? It is.

- I am going to also see my Dad this weekend! I am excited about that. He is going to come to cheer me on for the Half Marathon on Sunday. It is also the District Fair that day, and although he may not go on the zipper with me (my favorite ride!) he will hold my purse while I spin around madly!

- I found this great deal online for a 8 x 11 photo book (10 dollars for a 35 dollar value!) I think there are a couple more days to buy it if you want it!

- The weather! Love, love, love! I hope it stays this way for a while and doesn't descend right into winter.

- Yes, work is busy, but it means I am feeling productive!

- The next few weeks should be crazy busy, what with busy work, busy weekends and trying to fit in training and fun, it will zoom by!

- I went to the thrift store and bought a bunch of great books for 50 cents each! I am excited to read them....whenever I find the time!! (see above comment, category: fun) I may also need a new suitcase just for my books! It's a disease, this book buying business, but it sure makes me happy!

Notice many of my wines are also loves? I guess there IS a silver lining to every cloud! 

Do you have anything exciting or stressful going on this week? 
Make sure you go to Nora's page to link up!

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Sifting the Soil of Greece: Review

Review by Sinclair Hood, in The Anglo-Hellenic Review 44 (Autumn 2011), 29

• 'Gill's book is a revelation of the diversity and interest of the work done by the staff and members of the BSA in the period of just over 30 years from its foundation in 1886 until 1919.'
• 'There are three long and useful appendices on Trustees, Managing Committee (Council) Members and Directors, and Students, followed by a very full biography, which all help to make this an invaluable work of reference.'

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TONY BREZNIK 02

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Monday Escapes

When I anticipate a hectic week ahead, I can always dream myself to this scenic look-out: 

In Fiji!

I am in the midst of receiving 15 boxes that contain all of my childhood memories (old schoolwork, mementos, pictures, and who knows what else) courtesy of my parents, as they clean out my room.  Despite having to unpack again, I am excited that all of my photo albums of past travels will be arriving so I will have more Monday Escapes destinations to share!

Have a great week!

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Hindi Movies - A Real Bollywood Movies

Bollywood History

The Indian film business has been creating Hindi films since the Thirties and there has been a surge of recognition in some places for movies created here. Since there are completely different languages spoken everywhere India, a number of the films are in numerous languages. The Hindi movies became the foremost fashionable within the last 10 years, that led to the term "Bollywood." This term really refers to the Indian film business as an entire however the films to that it's referring are Hindi.

If you're yearning for a Hindi Movie, you may have several thousands to settle on from. By trying into the year of the films, you may be able to learn a trifle bit regarding them. Here may be a simplified guide. If the movie was created throughout the years of:

    * Forties - Sixties, it's from the Golden Age of Indian Cinema.

    * Sixties - Seventies, it's presumably planning to be a romantic or action film.

    * 2000 - gift, it's doubtless to be a musical or a melodrama.

You can use this guide to undertake and hone in on specific genres, or do an enquiry on-line to undertake and realize the proper movie for you.

Still from  The Dirty Picture (Bollywood film )

If you wish to observe movies with specific Hindi songs or realize a selected song from a movie, you'll seek for this yet. There are continuously trends involving bound actors or designs and songs within the media, therefore if you retain on prime of the Indian news you may be able to realize these trends and proceed accordingly. Watching a Hindi movie with several famous actors can in all probability mean that you simply are able to realize a replica of the soundtrack or recordings of the songs as a result of individuals are additional fascinated by that movie.(Hindi Movies )

If you're yearning for a Hindi VHS or Hindi DVD, you may be in luck. Though VHS is a smaller amount common lately because of an absence of video cassette recorders and also the predominance of DVDs and Blu-Ray, there are continuously those who refuse to throw away their VHS tapes. you'll realize these and additional on-line so you'll play them within the comfort of your own residence or boost an existing

assortment. a similar goes for Hindi DVDs, however they'll be way more common and doubtless easier to seek out.

You can realize Hindi movies on-line at several websites since they need become therefore fashionable. The vital issue is to create certain you discover one you actually need to observe as a result of simply as in America, there are a large form of movies to settle on from.

If you be a part of a web site or refer to others who are watching Bollywood movies for years, you will be able to get some steering towards watching the proper Hindi movie for you, which is able to solely keep you coming for more!

Source :

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<a href="http://www.movies.sulekha.com/tamil/">tamil movies</a>

<a href="http://www.movies.sulekha.com/telugu/">telugu movies</a>

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How It’s Changing The World Of Online Music

Internet radio has made it possible for you to listen to your favorite
tunes anywhere you can access the world wide web. In fact, internet
radio is changing the way people listen to music online.



With internet radioradio, there are literally thousands of choices. The possibilities are endless!



And, unlike other forms of online music, internet radio is totally free.
There are no

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