Arlington Court, Devon

I am taking a huge risk and currently skipping over the blogging of my summer 2009 holidays. The task of rooting through and picking my favourite handful of over 500 photos is a bit too daunting for this very cold thursday january evening. So i'm temporarily fast forwarding to blogging my half-term holiday photos. What's nice is that I am sitting at the Southbank Centre on the Thames after a very (un)successful one point two snow days (early dismissal yesterday, no school today and late start/early dismissal tomorrow!). There is very little snow on the ground, but it's cold and the british don't really get snow in the same way midwest america does.

Anyhoo, these photos highlight my week-long volunteer trip to Devon with the National Trust at the end of October 2009. To sum things up as effectively as possible: I spent seven days living in a bunkhouse with twelve complete strangers ranging in age from 18-68. During the day we worked at Arlington Court, a national trust property located just outside of Barnstaple, Devon, cutting down and burning invasive rhodededrons (beastly plant-cum-trees) planted by the Victorians.



(these were successfully chopped down and burned by the end of day one)

During the evenings we drank small amounts of intoxicating beverages at the 'Blue Ball Inn' (I kid you not) located a short stumble away from the guest house. In between we cooked dinner for the group, read books and took naps.



Highlight of the trip: they gave me a saw
Lowlight of the trip: i wasn't allowed to use the chainsaw


woo!



our home for the week


the group, which split off into smaller factions during the day in order to complete something that felt a lot like slashing and burning


sawing down a slope proved difficult but fun


before the knee-deep in mud experience


the mini-bus i nearly got sick in almost every morning




Arlington Court, the actual property on the grounds we helped maintain



I met some fantastic people from across Britain whom i'm still in email contact with, which was probably the best part of the week. I also forgot how fast-paced and quasi-oppressive london can get and escaping into the countryside did something very positive for my spirit. I'm definitely keen to do another working holiday in the near future and perhaps could consider a career change? The woods don't talk back.

For more info on working holidays visit: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh.htmp

Henley Regatta

So i'm currently supposed to be on a flight back to London town, but some nebulous weather circumstances at Newark airport have me grounded in DTW. There's something about 60mph wind and snow, which i'd rather not be taking off or landing in, but it does mean i'm missing my first day of work in 2010.

Onto Henley then. My friend Dawn and I headed to the regatta, a grand tradition of all things English, in July. Though Henley-upon-Thames is only a few miles outside of London, the trip took us roughly two hours. The Henley Regatta is part of the poshness quartet, along with the Epsom Derby, Royal Ascot and Wimbledon. Thus, we decked the banks of the Thames in our flip flops and shorts with beach chairs, a BBQ and lots of Pimm's after sleeping in a tent in a field disguised as a campsite.

It was definitely an interesting cultural experience...where i got to see the 'finer' points of poshness. Unfortunately I encountered some really yobby yobs whose money didn't buy manners. But it was funny to see very rich girls stumble out of tents and over the mud in their finest finery including big, bold hats, flappy fascinators and high, high heels. I also greatly enjoyed catching intemittent english sun with Dawn's lovely friends on the river, having a wander through the makeshift tents and bars and watching boys, men and old men strut around in their funny private school rowing jackets.

In the end I don't think words can quite explain our weekend, but we might have round two next year.



the river in the morning before the races


possibly eton's team?


entry into our campsite and the race venue


riverside bar


Pimm's! the grand English summer alcoholic tradition mixed with fruit and lemonade


celebrating the 4th of July with some Pimms, my very american shorts and simon's rowing jacket


Aim for next year: get tickets to the enclosure where you are only allowed if your shoulders are covered and dresses go past your knee. Rumour has it there is copious amounts of champagne and delightful views of the rowers at the finish line.

Vienna day two

The day started with more antiquity...



tribute to mozart...before the rain





Parliament House...it's actually pouring in this photo


the tram...i rode the 1 train from end to end, then hopped on the 2 train and rode that from end to end


in front of another museum





one more big building

Then i got sick of the rain and opted to coffee myself around the capital. Finding a suitable place proved tricky; there were hundreds of options all filled with locals. For that, i loved Vienna.


espresso served with a strawberry and cream...not pictured, my lovely almond croissant


viennese coffee


at vienna's cute pink and brown chained cafe, Aida


cake heaven

I think the best thing about Viennese cafes was the open invite to loiter long after the coffee was done. Couples, coworkers and individuals came in, talked, read and sat for hours on end enjoying the caffeine and company. Magazines, magazine holders and free newspapers decked the walls for customers and there was absolutely no rush to go anywhere.

I ended my stay in Vienna this way, hedged in close to a wall by a rowdy group of old men who drank espresso after espresso over the course of two hours.

Vienna day one

It is probably incredibly philistinish of me to say, but I struggled with Vienna due to the sheer presence of its antiquity. It boasts to the have most museums per square inch of any european capital, but unlike London they all charge exorbident admission fees. And thus my three days there became a series of trying to spot the oldest, grandest, loveliest building, monument or cathedral in the city.

I didn't feel a lot of heart from the city or its people, but perhaps my attitude towards Vienna was tainted by the weather--it rained and then poured and then hailed for my entire trip, minus roughly three hours.


a preview of the weather to come in front of the Natural History Museum


elephant!


at the centre of the museum quarter--i'm a bad person; i lost track of the names of these places








angry because he can't find a place to put his umbrella on the beach?


St Stephen's Cathedral covered by scaffolding...every time i tried to enter i was accosted by men and women dressed up like mozart, beethoven, et al


a beautiful pub located on an offshot of the cathedral

Vienna did have many lovely qualities, namely its cafe culture, which i took advantage of. I also found a fantastic English bookstore-cum-bar-cum-cafe where i spent many hours with my book, journal and a bottle of wine. more to come in the next post!