We've sold our house in San Francisco, said goodbye to family and friends, changed offices, and begun the adventure of living in London. Check in with us often to see what we've discovered, where we've travelled, what's new, and how it has all been.
To follow on Rach's post about her (and her 7 boatmates) triumphant result at Peterborough...
They may not have rowed their best technical race... but that does not mater... they beat two other crews and gained a point each - which means they are no longer classified as 'novices'.
A great result - (it was almost a photo finish) - and the confusion at the end was down to the fact that lane 2 was announced as the winners (where the Sons of the Thames boat was) - but for the spectators they were in the outside lane closest to us... (perhaps I and the others on the bank are no longer novice spectators after that..)
this is not the best video - especially at the end where I try to walk on the bank and then do my best cinemetographically dramatic pan to the 500m finish line marker... but it does capture the moment well
and here are some photos from both bberry and camera (camera battery was nearly dead - good planning by me):
many boats participated in the regatta - which was a good one all around for Rachel's club - the Sons of the Thames
the winning boat that will no longer be called 'Women's Novice VIII':
celebration after getting the boat out of the water:
team chat after the win(s) with their pots that will soon be delivered due to an unforeseen 'technicality':
Way out of date - but I wanted to post the photos... especially now that the 2009-10 Champions league qualifying has officially started...
The UEFA Champions League might be the most fun football to watch (until the final, which gives up the home and away match aggregate score format for a one match final that is usually a defensive, plodding, careful match). Every team wants to qualify for the prestigious event (and the $$ that comes with it)... the only downside for me is that i have to hear this at least 5,349 times over a 8 month period.
seriously...
I found the following: The UEFA Champions League theme song was performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chorus. It is an arrangement by Tony Britten of Georg Frideric Handel's "Zadok the Priest" from the Coronation Anthems.
so good for them... it still gets on my nerves.
The matches are great though. Last year my buddy Ben & I were able to see Chelsea v Juventus (Italy) at Stamford Bridge - and Chelsea v Barcelona at the famous Camp Nou (one of the most visited spots by tourists to the city)
-- We were given al of the traditional warnings before going (don't wear an away jersey in the streets (I do not have any jerseys - away or otherwise - so tick that box...), the environment will be 'charged' (see flares and smoke here):
the welcoming committee:
and that the stadium was large...and the away supporters seats were very high up (all true) The stadium itself is pretty central Barcelona - we walked from the hotel... you go through a neighborhood and then it is just right there in the middle of it: the away seats are so far away from the pitch to try to eliminate them from having any vocal impact that you get a great view of the surrounding hills, sea, airport... pretty much everything:
Drogba! - its a bit like saying "Newman" from Seinfeld...
We witnessed Chelsea clamping down on the prolific Barcelona offensive side to a 0-0 draw... Barcelona was dominant- however an away draw goes a long way in these events because the team was going home now with an advantage - and both sides supporters believed they were on their way to Rome for the final: this is after they made us wait for at least 45 minutes after the game to allow 89,200 or so Barca fans leave... I call it "we're going to Rooooome"
We indeed were going to go to Rome to watch the final if Chelsea won the next one... instead Drogba was suspended for several 09-10 UEFA matches in the aftermath of that match... and we did not go to Rome (nor did Chelsea..)
It has been 2 years of early Saturday mornings, many outings in the pouring rain, lugging around a heavy, heavy boat, and countless hours post-outing on the couch with a hot water bottle on my back....but we won our race on Sunday.
I was not originally chosen for the boat, but due to a team member's injury I made it in at bow. It didn't feel like an elegant race, and we finished so closely that we had to have TJ run back to the scoring tent to check the results.
We are novices no longer, we've earned both a point and a 'pot' (the tankard trophies.) It was a beautiful way to end a season! I have a month off, and will enjoy the sleep!
The term 'fancy dress' here means something very different than it does 'in the states.'
Our friend was told, while packing for a ski trip he was going on that one of the evenings would be 'fancy dress.'
He packed his tux and was amazed on the 'fancy dress' night that everyone else was wearing a costume. Standing next to a cowboy....he realized that 'fancy dress' really meant 'fanciful dress'.
One of the things I love most about London is its plethora of black tie occasions. They seem to occur most often during the holidays, when the tube is packed with men in black tie, or during the Ascot season when morning suits are the choice.
I tried to capture TJ, getting home from a 'work-do' is his finest. Not too sure he was happy being photographed...but I love the formality.
its mid July and Sunday of the Open Championship... so thought it the right context to go back to the beginning of May and our very fun visit to PVB to highlight the Players Championship practice rounds that we attended.
I am now more of the mindset that the practice rounds are the most fun to attend, and then watching the 'main' event on television provides the best coverage and feel of an event (except perhaps Augusta) - as you are able to see more players, and in a semi casual setting - and also get to see how they prepare.
Some look very serious and practice in solitude, some are elusive and out early in the morning (Tiger & Phil - but on separate parts of the course), and others look like they are genuinely having fun, playing side matches with friends, and trying out shots that they might not play when under the pressure of a Sunday final round.
and they allow cameras:
one of the 'home course' contestants the island green 17th (with netting to protect the tee and collect divots so that it looks good on tv) Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, and Padraig Harrington (and a bag of trail mix) Couples, Love, Stewart Cink, and Zach Johnson playing a match: Davis keeping his head down glamorous spectators: impatient commentators: Camillo Villegas on the range (not sure why the caddie is staring at me) the UK Contingent Ross Fischer, Oliver Wilson, Luke Donald, Paul Casey the new clubhouse - a (5th) major improvement over the old
We spent more time enjoying the beach, family, and our own struggles and successes on the golf course than paying attention to the action across the street - which was exactly what we were looking to do with this holiday!
me on the left... 'attempting' to surf - I guarantee that building wave beat me up
It is the Open Championship week - and if anyone is wondering if we have the same weather in London... either those guys are all weenies, or the climate really is that different between coastal Scotland and south east England... The latter is probably most likely (it feels like summer here) even if they seem to be overreacting with winter hats, etc up there...
I had been thinking that I needed to bring a camera out on the course for months, and never did - but then when the adjacent farm decided to attack me with airborne allergens, I thought I might as well capture the cause because while it caused me to sneeze maybe more than I ever have over a two week period, it looked great (when I was able to see through my itchy eyes)...
a small gorse bush in bloom (nice to look at, but evil when the ball ends up near/in them): the green at the 5th... a short hole, but with a brutal green (I recently fired a second shot right off of the gate in the brick wall just behind the green (and made par)). Bridgman hitting his second into the 8th from the right hand side of the rough:
the 8th green he was targeting:
the 'all-clear' bell on the 9th fairway: the 11th, a downhill dogleg right par 4:
and I think it is great that all water hazards in the UK must have life preservers... par tof 'Health & Safety" regulations:
no trophies to hoist yet in the 09 campaign... but I'll keep at it.
It is Bastille Day today -- so why not throw a post on here about France...
We recently went to two concerts within 5 days, after not going to a concert for two years... and both involved the Dave Matthews Band.
The first was 'Hard Rock Calling' at Hyde Park. We met friends at Automat. before walking over to the park and claiming our spot for the evening. I had the brunch burger... a burger with sausage, bacon, and a fried egg on it (good).
Here we are (minus me behind the camera as everyone is looking at a guy offering to take the photo with me in it... credit goes to Jen for holding the pose during a distraction - the others obviously need to work on their concentration)
Hyde Park was packed... with Bruce Springsteen fans. Apparently he was huge here in the 80's, and that demographic was out in full force. (reliving their glory days?) It was a near full day event - we saw just James Morrison, DMB, and the Boss... My favorite part of seeing Bruce and the E Street Band was anticipating when 'Little Steven' would take on his Sopranos character on stage...
-- it didn't happen though.
This was as close as I could get to the stage... people were being very territorial about their Boss viewing...
Just before the end of the show... 10pm curfew on a sunday night in Hyde Park - which apparently could be heard for miles
We then headed off on tour with Dave Matthews the following Wednesday to Paris - which surprisingly turned out to be one of the best concerts I've ever seen (bold statement, I know - but it was...)
this is how close we were to the stage (with the camera zoomed in...)
We had no idea where or what the venue would be like... it turned out to be a small theatre (the Olympia) in the 9th arrondisement - general admission on the floor, and seating above. Our seats were on the far right balcony just above the stage...
here is our true view... in arsty black & white (I thought it looked cool)
We were in the middle of a heat wave in London, and it was warmer in Paris, and then incrementally warmer inside this small theatre (and in true parisian style there was only evian and badoit as water options) - and they put on an amazing show... either they were happy to be in Paris, happy to be out of the UK, or for whatever reason it all just 'clicked' for them that night. They played for close to four hours - mixed in old with with new music really well, and from time to time dipped back into the 'jam' roots of the 'new' band - with the new big guy on trumpets, one of the Flecktones replacing Leroi Moore on saxophone, and Tim Reynolds
here is the first encore - when dave came back out by himself, voice a bit shot from the show:
and here you can (maybe) see us here if you pause it at :47ish on this video up in the balcony when the woman's face is in the foreground...
this is from the opposite angle:
and this 'youtuber' was sitting right next to us - and took better videos than I did with my camera... so can be a proxy for us if you want to see a bit more of what we saw: http://www.youtube.com/user/lmcoelho666#play/uploads
definitely one of the best, and I have seen quite a few (not a boasting statement...its just what we used to do on Wednesday nights in Richmond at the Flood Zone where we went to many of these shows for $5.
Great fun... and then we headed off to the Basse Normandy coast the next morning - to a town called Deauville.. more to come on that.
test of a google streetview link below of the olympia theatre..
The people at Glade and Fairy could not have gone home at night after filming these ads and thought 'well, that was a productive day'...
without further delay:
Going For a Poo at Paul's...
and
perhaps the worst jingle ever (it's at the end...) - and an ad hoc market study (my office) shows that 2 out of 5 english people can actually recall and sing the tune.
I spent a long weekend in June up in Skaneateles, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York with my friends from college.
It was a perfectly planned weekend starting with massages right when we arrived, a tour of the local wineries, our own private cottage with a deck, custom made pajamas, an ipod full of college-era music, gift bags and hours and hours of talking.
It was my first time up in this region and I can't stop talking about it. The wine was good (rieslings, crisp whites) the lake was stunning and we quickly agreed to make it an annual destination.
Our last trip together was to New Orleans, (Manhattan before that - and our 4 weddings before that) and after hours spent on the hotel balcony with snacks, wine and pajamas we agreed that we really just needed a place to be together and catch up - any hope of sight-seeing or cultural activities were really just wasted on us.
We just need a place to bring us all back together - and from the tired, happy looks at the end of the weekend - I know we got it right.
celebration after getting the boat out of the water:
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