The Story of Stuff

GSE Team vs. Luggage
GSE Team vs. Luggage

We’ve segued from London down to Eastbourne for the Rotary District Conference. And I honestly think the trip to the train station was more problematic than the actual train ride. We dragged our luggage on double decker buses, pulled suitcases up flights of upstairs, wrestled bags on the train and then played a game of Tetris to make every piece of luggage fit in the train car.

But we made it! And no luggage was lost. Success.

Bruce @ Logan Airport.
Bruce @ Logan Airport.

And although we’ve told this story to virtually everyone we’ve met here in London, I haven’t shared it here.

Steve, Bruce and Ray each show up at the airport with multiple suitcases bags. Meanwhile, Sarah and I resigned ourselves to one suitcase apiece. We joke about the men overpacking, while the girls kept it simple. Done, right?

No.

Bruce goes to check his luggage and realizes that his behemoth suitcase is 30 pounds over the weight limit. 30 pounds! He then begins to re-pack, right on the floor at Logan. Still sorta hilarious.

But then we realized that he seriously brought too much stuff. And the rest of the team obligingly pack some of his shirts into each of our carry-ons. I spent the 6 hour flight manuevering around Bruce’s dress shirts to try and access my books or my iPod. Slightly less than funny.

But don’t worry, Bruce heightened the hilarity by finally explaining what he packed. Dude brought five pairs of shoes! And ten shirts! And god knows what else.

Luckily, he didn’t bring his Sherlock Holmes costume.

*Just an aside: I’m sitting in my hotel at Eastbourne, pretending to get ready for a black tie gala this evening (but I’m actually just blogging) and guess what I’m listening to? Car Talk! In real time! My dad would be so proud.

Horses, Hunting and … Museums

Chigwell Riding Trust
Team at Chigwell Riding Trust

Chigwell Riding Trust is set in an adorable English town, way back in the woods and only accessible via dirt road. Dogs, ducks and chickens roam everywhere, alongside amazing horse instructors in honest-to-goodness Wellies and comfy wool sweaters.

This picturesque and registered charity was the first riding centre for people with special needs in the world and provides riding instruction for people of all ages and abilities.

Instructors are intelligent, riders are sweet, and the entire ethos of the trust is inspirational. Chigwell Riding Trust was a perfect outreach experience and I’m thrilled I had the opportunity to visit.

Yup. That's me.
Yup. That's me.

And although they wouldn’t let us ride the real horses, we all took a turn cantering on the mechanical horse at Chigwell Riding Trust. And I may not be a professional equestrian, but I held my own!

The British Museum
The British Museum

Besides my new career as a horsewoman, I’ve also fallen under the spell of  The British Museum.

The building itself is huge (approximately 9 football pitches, I’m told) and it houses over 8 million museum objects. And although I saw maybe .02% of the exhibitions, I’m still in awe of the history, beauty, age of the pieces this gorgeous museums displays.  I just wanna throw down my sleeping back and camp out until I see everything . . .

Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge
Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge

Hey Dad, this one is for you: Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge is a Tudor timber hunt-standing that dates from 1543. Looks just like the farmhouse out in Florida, Mass!

Courtesy of McDonalds

Today was my only completely free, totally unscheduled, and absolute alone day during the whole of my GSE trip. And let me say: the freedom felt nice.

Unfortunately, spending a day alone is synonomous with spending a day lost beyond belief. I was armed with maps and two weeks of London experience, but still managed to turn myself in circles.

Trying to find the National Gallery, I ended up in SoHo. Looking for the British Museum, I wound up in Trafalgar Square.

I fought through insane crowds before realizing I was stuck in the hell of Oxford Street, wandered around Borough Market twice because I wasn’t sure where the food stalls ended, and walked back and forth across the Thames a zillion times, not sure where I was going or even where I wanted to be going.

I’ve decided I need a GPS (excuse me, SatNav) chip installed in my brain.

But on the plus side, I finally got the camera / computer working! Here are a few photos from the past week.

City view from London Eye
City view from London Eye
King & Tinker Pub
King & Tinker Pub
Fern window overlooking Capel Manor.
Fern window overlooking Capel Manor.
Burrough Market
Burrough Market
Cambridge (UK not MA)
Cambridge (UK not MA)

PS: I’m hiding in the corner of a McDonalds, stealing their free WiFi. How American of me.