Amsterdam - Race

The travels have begun again - I came back from New York then headed out again with TJ to Amsterdam - then he left for Israel and now we're back until I leave for Cannes on Thursday and TJ for a US trip to D.C., and Richmond.

Amsterdam was fanastic - and the run went as well as I could have wished for. I plan at least one marathon a year, and have kept this up since I was 26, hoping to do 10 to celebrate turning 35.

For this one- I had a new strategy...instead of "just enjoy yourself", or "have fun out there" it was "get it Done!" The crowds were amazing- and I've never experienced people yelling what I presumed to be positive cheers at me in Dutch before. The best was the little children standing on the side of the road out in front of their houses on the canals with little cups of water.

TJ was there to do some mellow sight seeing with me, and there as I finished. I ran my best time in over 6 years, and second best ever! 4:14. Not Boston standards by any means, but enough to keep a smile on my face for over a week.

I posted this picture because it made me laugh tonight when I found it....and if you look closely, you'll see me - and it oddly looks like I am laughing then as well.

For some funny video clips of me racing at each 5k mark:
http://www.runnersweb.nl/runnerstv?e=AM07M&n=Rachel%20Church&r=15174&ct_
s1=11:09:04&nt_s1=30:20&ct_s2=12:07:13&nt_s2=1:28:29&ct_s3=12:42:39&nt_s3=
2:03:55&ct_s4=13:05:06&nt_s4=2:26:22&ct_s5=13:34:41&nt_s5=2:55:56&ct_s6=14:06:43
&nt_s6=3:27:59&ct_s7=14:38:36&nt_s7=3:59:52&ct_f=14:52:46&nt_f=4:14:02&=finish&l=
nl&ccount=1&k=finish

quick post - Ireland Golf

My good friend Steve and I planned an 11th hour trip to Western Ireland to play 5 rounds of golf this past weekend... It was a great trip, we saw some of the Lynch cousins, playd on some of the best golf courses in the world (sometimes well - sometimes not so well) and had absolutely spectacular weather (except possibly the three-club wind at Lahinch - but that is all part of the experience)... I'll post more later (pressed for time before a Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, London swing) - but wanted to get the photos out - (photo page here)

Where have we been?

After 3 weekends of being "home" here in London- the travels have begun again.

We had two fun dinners with friends that were visiting London - Christine over from a trip that started in Paris - and then Dawn from San Francisco.

I spent last weekend in Manhattan for a weekend with college friends, Ami and Jen. With the last day that included brunch with Kerry and Kevin in their new home in the Village - then dinner up on the Upper East side with Lauri, Christine and Alyssa. Full update to follow.

TJ left last weekend as well - for a golf trip through Ireland with Steve O'Shea from San Francisco.

We're headed out this weekend for Amsterdam- where I will focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

Golf : Old Fold Manor x2

I hope to soon join a club here - called Old Fold Manor (I've had my first interview, submitted the application, and now need to play with a board member presumably to prove that I am not a boorish, club-snapping, "you da man" American, and then a further full board interview later in October.
... their current website is a bit crap (or at least leaves room for improvement) - so I will hold off to post it until the new one is done (the current one shows men in armor swinging a golf club and was almost enough to deter me from playing the first time) - I'll let you find it on your own if interested.


I have a colleague in our finance team that is apparently a very good stick (I've yet to play with him - but he carries a 1 handicap) - from the north near Scotland and who received a D1 scholarship to play in Utah for college. He is a member of South Herts (click for earlier post) near to Old Fold, and after playing there in a competition came in on Monday and said that my friend Greg and I had to play it and give it a look for membership.

So - I shouldered my bag and hopped on the tube again -- this time to the end of the northern line, and then a short bus ride (about an hour and 15 minutes in total).

After the first hole I was worried that the course might be a bit nondescript - but it turns out that it reminds me very much of the older, traditional designs that you find in New York and New England, including the Country Club of Farmington where I grew up.

(I also was a bit worried after the first hole after I topped my 3 wood into the rough, then did not escape the rough with my next thrash, and ended up with a triple bogey).

I did not have the 'A game' out that day, topping another tee shot on 6 which shocked me, and then an honest & true shank/lateral on 16 which left me having to play from up against the needle sharp gorse... but also made a few saving putts along the way and a few good swings that were encouraging...

result: 78


Being impressed, we went back this past Monday when there was a 'new member' event. We of course missed it, having to be in the office for a meeting that morning, but when we showed up at about 1 we met Brian Cullen, the club manager, as well as the pro and the clubhouse staff - all exceptionally welcoming and accommodating. Brian gave us the history of the club and details of membership, showed us around a bit, and then kindly invited us to play the afternoon... which is a fantastic way to spend a Monday in my book.

When we started off I had a rare experience - hitting solid shots backed up by making some putts on the same day (usually it is either one or the other...or neither that occur). As a result I was standing on the 9th tee, a relatively short uphill dogleg left par 5, at three under par.

I think I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself, thinking that a birdie there would give me a career low 32 and four under for nine holes... and as so often occurs in golf, I promptly hooked my tee shot left around the corner. I thought I would find it in the rough but hit a provisional tee shot just in case (right down the middle of course), and then set off to find my ball... for the full five minutes, and still came up empty in the long grass.

A frustrating double bogey, which also prevented any further birdies from appearing on my card over the rest of the round.

result: 35-39 = 74. a good result, but a bit frustrating at the same time with what might have/could have/should have thoughts...

Zip Car

It's been 8 months that we've been here - with no car. Not that we need one, (and the idea of parking in Chelsea makes the Marina seem like the suburbs) but to get out of the city and learn how to drive on the other side - we've joined Zip Car. TJ can provide the details, but basically you go online and see where there is a car in your neighborhood. You then book it, and drive, bringing the car back to where you got it from. They pay for gas, congestion charge etc., and we just pay an hourly fee.


Our first zip-trip was for a proper Sunday pub lunch - to The Trout in Oxford. There was a cute blue Mini right around the corner and off we went. After a couple hour drive we arrived - ate, took a brief walk and then back in - to another couple hour drive, a hilarious session at a gas station and an even more hilarious/tense ride which could have been considered "getting lost", back through the city.



It definitely is an adventure here.

full pictures are here.

Rugby World Cup

What are sports fans concerned with in the UK right now? Not the NFL and its arrival at Wembley Stadium when the Giants will play the Dolphins here... not the FedEx or President's Cups, and definitely not the drama currently surrounding the Padre's or Mets' slumps, the Cubs surge to the top of their division, or the annual Red Sox-Yankees drama...

Its the Rugby World Cup (and then Premiership Football of course... but the World Cup is dominant right now).


I have a French colleague that purchased tickets for every French and Irish game in the first 'pool matches' and then also for his anticipated support of the French in at minimum the quarter finals - and took a 15 day holiday traveling around France (there are 10 French venues as well as matches being played in Cardiff and Edinburgh - click here for an interactive venue guide)...
I've not seen someone return to work after two weeks off looking less healthy and less refreshed than he.

Before it all began on & September in Paris this same colleague sent out an email to me and two other Americans in the office asking if we wanted tickets to see England vs the USA in the first round...and I took them immediately - thinking of Rachel's affinity for the game and the opportunity to see a World Cup match that we might not have four years from now, especially because the host nation in 2011 is New Zealand...

So - off we went, having found a special Eurostar service with trains provided specifically to access the match, on a day trip to Lens, France.

We went with fairly low expectations for the results (it was, after all, a semi-pro team that made it through qualifying up against the defending world cup champions) - but had a really good time with the whole day - with the highlight for me walking around Lens ahead of the match and witnessing the complete overwhelming effect of the English fans who had descended upon this smaller French city. Many of the more industrious/entrepreneurial bar/cafe owners stocked up on Kronenboug kegs and plastic cups and charged premiums (we heard that the price of beer at one had doubled overnight from some England fans making a weekend of it) - we even saw pastry shops and a pr agency that had rolled out portable 'kegerators'... anywhere that beer was being poured was guaranteed to host an impromptu English party at least 40 strong and overflowing on to the streets.

The match itself was fun to see - with the Americans playing some inspired rugby in their first match and the English appearing a bit lethargic, or potentially looking ahead to their next match vs South Africa.

It was much closer than anticipated (the betting spread was +56 points at one point in the week prior for this match with the US at 5000-1 odds to win the whole thing)
(USA's first points on the board were from this kick:

- and then there was a break out chance for the US team to score a try - foiled by the English captain tripping the ball carrier (which ultimately resulted in his being suspended for two subsequent matches and also being left on the bench for his next eligible match - all of which was massive news here...)


At this vendor outside the stadium an Americain is a sausage in a long french bread bun and a bed of french fries all bunched together in a tin foil pouch...topped with a curry mayonnaise. I tasted and re-tasted it the rest of the day and return trip.

The end result was England 28, USA 10, and a fairly sombre England fan base (a match recap can be seen here)




Two other 'interesting' events:
- a young English kid (not even a teenager, Kevin Dillon) waiting outside the stadium saw a US flag on the ground took the opportunity to stomp aggressively/repeatedly on it - until he spied me and his friend asked me if I was from the US, to which I replied 'do you really feel that strongly about that?' and he shrugged no. In our time here I've noticed that people seem to like, or at least get on well with Americans, but also seem to really dislike the US now.

- our return train trip that evening had a transfer to the Eurostar in Lille, where I suppose the authorities were anticipating fan violence or hooliganism because we were forced to walk through a receiving line of police in full riot gear (including the plexiglass shields) that literally ran from the end of our train through the entire station and then to the one exit we were allowed to use that led over to the separate Eurostar station... that walkway also was spot-manned by machine gun bearing cops... we saw one guy ahead of us that did not understand where we were supposed to go rather roughly escorted back to our group

Funny and Scary

I dragged myself out on Saturday for my second to last long run prior to the race. 45 minutes in and feeling quite sorry for myself each painful step - and what do I spy....

600 people dressed in full, head-to-toe gorilla suits running in a race.

I ran for the next half an hour, against the tide of gorillas - carrying bananas, making gorilla sounds, wearing bikinis on top of their suits, and my favorite, carrying a Welsh flag.

I was laughing hysterically, and a wee bit frightened because of a childhood fear of people wearing masks. It turned my run around - and I finished still smiling. We'll definitely do this next year.

A great cause: The Great Gorilla Run: http://www.gorillas.org/GreatGorillaRun/

Venice - She said

Alright Rebekah, you asked for it.

I will try not to gush too much - but when, after multiple times of asking TJ, "where are you taking me?" "Come on, tell me, where are we going," and finally receiving the answer... "Ok- you want to know, Venice."

My smile lasted for days and my nagging stopped for at least a full day with that answer. (OK maybe one reminder to mail something, or pick something up - but it was small.)

There may not be a more romantic a birthday present than that! Last year was a weekend in Napa, at the Carneros Inn, private winery tours involving glasses of red while walking amongst the vines with a big "Jack Falstaff" character, and white on a porch of the wine maker's home, and a dinner at Chez Panisse. This year - VENICE!





TJ continually surprises me. Just when you think that maybe he hadn't planned anything - or maybe continual episodes of "Family Guy" have warped his sense of reality and romance...he goes and does something as fabulous as this.




The weekend was 4 days of walking, eating, drinking and laughing. Starting with the previously mentioned private boat trip from the airport...


quaint stops in squares, trying the local "spritz" shown above, lunch at Da Fiore, and perfectly timed with a local gondola festival.

We had a Bellini in Harry's Bar- supposedly where they invented it. It was the kind of bar where I imagined my Grandfather would have visited while on tour. Barman in a a bowtie and vest, beautiful marble bar - cast of characters mixed with a bit of elegance.

4 days of pure relaxation.


I am blessed - and not only for weekends in Venice, but to have found someone that makes me laugh every day, who is thoughtful and with whom I am seeing all of this.

OK - I know it's a little sappy - and I'll blame on Rebekah =) She asked.....

My immense set of pictures are here.

Recipe for Spritz to enjoy while you are perusing them:
-white wine
-campari
-mineral water
-lemon or orange

serve with some salty chips

Venice (TJ's version)

Venice was great -- and exceeded my expectations.

We went for Rachel's birthday in part because she had said before we moved over that Venice was a place she had always wnted to visit. I had always heard that it was too touristy, that the weather was iffy, the food was not that great, and that you should only go for two days (and to watch out for the high waters (acqua alta).

Not true across the board & I've never taken more pictures.

We had perfect weather, primarily stayed away from the touristy areas, had one particularly great meal (and several slices of very good, the kind you cannot find in San Francisco or London, pizza), and just tried to do what the locals do.

When we arrived at the airport I had prearranged a private water taxi to take us directly to our hotel... typically for Italy we then had to wait, with no one really telling us what was going on, for about 20 minutes before we were able to board a taxi, and shared it with a nice older English woman (it was supposed to be just our own - but that was ok... until the taxi driver did not know where our hotel was).
As a result we got a great tour up and back the Grand Canal - and then were let off somewhere in the vicinity of our hotel...

When researching hotels I made a point of trying to find one away from the main tourist spots... one in particular had great reviews - and was fully booked as a result when I first emailed them -- however they were just finishing up an 'annex' that they had purchased - right around the corner - but with a separate entrance. It was great - not overly 'posh' but new (on the inside - see photo at right - it is the two windows above the black door), and quiet, and it felt like we had our own little apartment there.

From there we just explored on foot. We covered all of the neighborhoods of Venice, and ended up knowing the geography fairly well, which is no small feat given the fact that it can take over 20 minutes to walk through the very narrow passageways and up and down the stairs innumerable times to cross the canals for what would take you five or less in a straight line.

The weather really added to the trip - we came upon scenes all day long, each day, that were just absolutely beautiful - and unlike anyplace I had ever been before.

The great meal we had was set up by Rach - she had read about the restaurant, and when we asked the guy at the hotel to book a table he said that you had to do so at least a month in advance because it was one of the 10 best restaurants in all of Italy... but not for lunch. This could not have turned out better, because at lunch it was busy, but not crazy, and we had a phenomenal table at the end of the restaurant right by a canal. The food was really, really good, and we were there for more than two hours, just enjoying each plate as it came out and the scene outside the window (at right) - and there were no 'socks and sandals' tourists at all except for the ones crossing over the bridge outside the window...just far enough away (but close enough to be in many of their pictures -- see the photo page for a couple of good examples of good outfits and the crowds of St Mark's).

While sitting there it dawned on me what was the most significant difference about Venice... it is really quiet. No cars, buses, motorbikes, sirens, etc.... it is all done via boat or foot... and moves at just that same pace.

The rest of the time we just wandered and found squares and ordered what the locals did, then watched to see which restaurants/pizzerias were popular and followed suit --- and risking too many photos / too long a post..... and 80 or so others are on this photo page

just after a wedding -- on the way to the reception

gondolas put away for the evening

venetian laundry

just a corner of san marco square

venice at night

mmmm.. sandwicesys...

Football

Well... some company called NetResults has requested that Google disable my previous youtube video of a English Premier League football match that was all of one minute and three seconds long... intended just to share the atmosphere of Emirates Stadium (and maybe encourage more people to follow the team) for copyright infringement. I'd understand if I had

A: rebroadcast the entire match or B: was profiting from it

but I did not, and am not - and it was captured with a small digital camera (and therefore grainy and the view is from a significant distance... and no goal was scored, just a corner kick and some brief play that really had little bearing on the result of the match.

Yep - they sent an email, and if I want to appeal I have to send my argument in writing to Google's ombudsman in Mountain View, which is just a pain - especially for a video that was just for family and friends to see that was, as previously mentioned, 63 seconds. NetResults is officially on my List. - Jerks.

So - I went to another match recently, where team A was playing a team with the initials M.C. from the north-west who was at the top of the league tables at the time (end of August) at a stadium named after a middle eastern airline (how's that?)...

It was a good, competitive match that should have had more goals than were scored for team A (including a missed penalty).

-- I again placed a few small bets and lost them all (the missed penalty played a role in this, and that player that missed was very close to making... but is not on the List)

- team A won and the home supporters were pleased.

I have two videos from this one... one from outside of the crowd filing down the street towards the stadium and a great guy selling the 'brand new issue of the gooner' (hopefully you can hear him on the audio).



The other is from... wait for it.. yep - inside the stadium. I again am hoping to share ambiance / feel of the game with family and friends -- which was absolutely great all match long (as you can see from these 49 seconds)



Photos:
inside E Stadium, pre-match:

a different view of the seats:

post-match pitch maintenance - there are just 4 guys doing this...

and the give away - and I know that there are copyrights on logos too - but this is a part of the stadium, on the steps between seats, and I thought it might be a cool photo... no malicious intent whatsoever...