An adventure is simply an inconvenience rightly considered.

Friday, April 29, 2005

Rob's UK Passport


Rob's UK Passport
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
So yesterday i became British, officially! i had been applying for my UK passport since Feburary. Due to inaccurate forms and travelling i had been unable to get the application in. Two weeks ago, when I returned to Lancaster, i headed down to the passport office, handed in my application, waited 2 weeks and voilà this is the result.
So i guess i'm now British-Canadian? or is it Canadian-British? Either way, I'm both!

Thursday, April 28, 2005

How to post a Comment

Hey,
It has been brought to my attention that people are having trouble posting comments, trouble finding the link that is. Maybe this is the cause of the lack of comments on my blog, or you people just don't love me! no that can't be the case...can it?
anyways, to post a comment:

At the end of each entry is a little link that says comments. Click on it.
This will take you to a page that displays the one entry you have clicked on and below it there is a section that says comments. It will number the amount of comments that have been written and display them below.
On this page there is a small link that says "post a comment" click on it and you will be able to write me a message! yay!
People without memberships to Blogspot should click on the "other" option. I believe that this will allow you all to write me a nice message.

anyways that is how you do it. i'm not going to discuss comment making again because if i make a big deal about it, it will only prove embarassing to draw attention to the fact that no one is actaully writing anything.

Later.
Rob.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Rob, Alex, Martin in London

You've read the story now here's the proof.

Ben and Charlie


Ben and Charlie
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
An excellent shot of Charlie with Big Ben and the London Eye in the background.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

London Calling

So it has been quite the busy week/weekend! Want to hear about? Sure you do!
My story starts way back into last week. I was busy working, anxiously trying to get my three essays written. I arrived back to Lancaster a week early solely to write these essays. It was a rather productive week. there was no one on my corridor so it was quiet and there were few distractions to get in the way of work. However it was also quite lonely. On my breaks there was no one to talk to, no tv breaks (as there is no tv), it was just me sitting and reading my book "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" for entertainment inbetween work. I survived the week and the work, finnishing everything off with a marathon writing session that lasted roughly 23hours. Then i stumbled up the spine to hand in the threee essays. Upon returning to my room, promptly fell asleep for the rest of the day.
On Tuesday I went out with the guys on my corridor. we went to this bar called The Crypt. It is essentially a basement that has been converted into an alternative bar. It was a good night, we had a few drinks and then headed out to this club called Revolution. It was a great night, they played good music, plenty of fit birds to watch (heh, i've taken up bird watching whilst in England), and good friends to hang out with.
Wednesday was uneventful, don't really remember what i did, so it makes for a boring description of the day. Moving on to Thrusday. I remember what happened on Thursday.
Thursday was my friend Bryony's birthday, so we went out to celebrate. first it was this bar called Bentley's. It was half off all drinks and Karioke night. I didn't sing because of the self-imposed ban of Karioke because of my Karioke experience in Luton. Anyways, Bryony and some of the girls that we were with did a number, it was rather good. and a few other of our party did some, but on the whole the karioke machine was put to use by all the chaves of Lancaster.
After Bentley's we made our way to the Sugarhouse, the student bar. we drank, danced, etc. typical night out. was a lot of fun.
On Friday i made my way down to London. It was my 2nd cousin Mark's 30th birthday. I hadn't been to London yet on this trip so i decided that this weekend was the best time to do it. I arrived in the afternoon, and just kind of wandered around all day looking at the sights and taking it all in. The weather was beautiful. Upon arriving at Euston station the first thing i did was to head to Kings cross station to have a look around there. (Any HP fans will understand why i went there) then i just decided to walk from there towards the Thames and have a leisurly walk along the riverside. I saw the London Eye, Big Ben (well to be accurate the clock tower that houses Big Ben) the exterior of Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace.
Then that evening, Mark, Dan, Kelly (Mark's flat mates) and I went to a local pub in Kilburn, the bourgh of London that Mark lives in.
On Saturday, the most amazing thing happened, and i mean i don't think any random thing will ever hold a candle to this chance enounter. Saturday i got up and headed into town. I wanted to get into Westminster Abbey and have a look around, as it had been closed the day before when i got there. I was keen to see the monuments to all the past Kings and Queens, William Shakespeare and Newton. (Funny sidestory, as i was sitting beneath Shakespeare's monument, the announcer who leads visitors in a prayer he announced that it was the anniversary of Shakespeare's death. which was kind of cool as i was sitting admiring the bard's statue at the time)
when i left the abbey i decided that i was going to go to Greenwhich via a boat cruise on the Thames. so as i was walking towards the parliment buildings, i noticed that some guy ahead of me was staring at me. I looked and thought to myself, is that Martin?
He said "Rob?"
I replied "Martin?!?!"
He then turned around and got my sister's attention and we had an awesome reunion on the street outside Westminster Abbey!
I knew Alex and Martin were going to be flying into London, i just thought that since they were going to be flying to Dublin that same night that they'd be arriving in the evening and hurrying to catch their flight. or that they'd just remain in the airport and as there was no way to get in touch with them there was no way to let them know that i was going to be in London that same weekend and practically impossible to arrange a meeting. It was jsut an awesome coincidence. Funny thing is, the day before, as i was in relatively the same spot, i was thinking to myself that i prefer sightseeing with other people, and was wishing that i could randomly bump into someone who i knew on the street so that it make for a more enjoyable trip in London.
We decided to take the Thames River cruise to Greenwhich, along the way you pass by all the famous monuments such as the tower of london, the tower bridge, shakespear's globe, the london eye, etc. when we arrived in grenwhich we headed to the Royal Observatory to stand on the Prime Meridian. Well Alex and I made our way, martin kind of followed, he wasn't as much of a geography geek as i was so it seemed like he wasn't that interested that we were standing at 0 degrees latitude. Sorry Martin, i'll make it up to you.
Alex and Martin had to make it back to the airport so we navigated the tube to green park where we went our separate ways. Saturday night was mark's b-day celebration. He reserved a spot in a night club called the Soho club. it was a great evening, though the ac was non-existant and it soon became like a sauna, one that was filled with cigarette smoke and had no air flo at all! i just wilted by about 12:30 and had to wait until everyone else was ready to go at 2am. overall it was a really great night, the company was great, and when we got back to Mark's flat we had a good time chatting until 5am!
Sunday i did some more walking around saw Canary wharf, Trafalgar square, walked the mall, and went to Picadilly Circus. That night everyone took it easy, I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the 100 greatest kid's shows of all time. though it did have a huge british skew, and no degrassi junior high, which hands down is the greatest kid's show.
Finally on Monday i caught the train back to Lancaster, and have been trying to sit down and get to my revision ever since.
so there is my novel weekend (ha pun!) i'll upload some pics later, right now i have other things to do!
Later!
Rob.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Now anybody can post a comment!

Hey all!

After looking and posting a comment on my friend Erin's online journal, (to view it if your interested, http://www.livejournal.com/users/me_erin82/) she is on an exchange to Singapore and recently changed her journal to allow anyone not just memebers to post comments, i thought to myself that it might be possible to make it so that anyone can post a comment on my online journal. and low and behold you can. now why didn't i think of this sooner. now it looks like i'm copying Erin!
Anyways, i am curious to find out who is reading this and what they think of my adventures. So please write me a message!
ta!
Rob.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Guys night out


Guys night out
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
So this is the end of my blogging for one day, and quite possibly a whole month! updating this thing has taken me over 3 hours!
anyways this photo and entry is ment to wrap up loose ends. First of all this was taken last night. that is Matt, a guy on my corridor, and myself. No my face is not dirty, i have been growing a beard. i figured that since i was in Europe and don't have to answer to anybody, i'll give the beard a try. so far it has been the subject of postivie reviews. such as "Its growing on me", and "Embrace the Yeti!"
if this entry is confusing, you are going to want to scroll down and start from the beginning to the first entry "Group shot Edinburgh"
well thats all i can think of right now. i'll catch you all on the flip side!
Rob.

Rob and Joey


Rob and Joey
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
Upon arriving in Luton, my friend Joey picked AJ and I up from the airport, and took us back to her place.
Joey is a friend from back home in Canada. I met her taking Drama 247, Introduction to Oral Communication. She is a teacher who is working in England teaching drama and english.
It was a lot of fun hanging out with her. it was a great way to end an awesome 3 week easter break.

The Weary Traveller


The Weary Traveller
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
This is me, waiting for the train to take AJ and myself to the airport to go back to England. needless to say i was ready to go home. (funny how i consider England as home now, it didn't occur to me until i was aborad and travelling)
It was a really great trip but i was ready to get home. too bad i didn't meet too many other Canadians while travelling, i guess i'll have to get a Tim Horton's Travel Mug for the next time.

Pergamon


Pergamon
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
This is me at the Pergamon, in teh Pergamonmuseum. It was an ancient greek temple. toted as one of the 8 wonders of the ancient world, right up there with the hanging gardens of babylon and the pyrimids of Egypt.
It was a neat exibit, that we got into for free because we bought the museum pass which allowed us to get into a bunch of museums in Berlin. the Jewish museum was another one we got to see.

Rob and AJ at the Reichstag

this was at the top of the Reichstag (I'll apoligize to everyone now for the terrible spelling errors that litter all these entries, there is no spell check on this blog-thingy!)
the Reichstag is teh German Parliment. they had this cool glass spiral walkway that lets viewers get a higher look at teh Berlin city scape, yet while i was in Berlin it was closed for cleaning. so just the rooftop had to suffice.

Berlin Wall


Berlin Wall
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
It is just mind blowing that 20 years ago this photo could not have been taken, and that i'd have been shot dead by the commies for infiltraing the no-man's land and being anywhere near the wall.

Charlie and Brandenburg Tor

Since Charlie wasn't with me in Munich and Amsterdam (we went out separate ways, but decided to meet up in Belin) i don't have any photos of him until Berlin. This is him and the gate.

Rob and the Berlin Wall


Rob and the Berlin Wall
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
a chunk of the wall that was placed outside a tourist shop. i'm sceptical that it is an actual piece of the real wall, but it makes for a good photo

Brandenburg Tor


Brandenburg Tor
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
Berlin, the last stop on the sightseeing tour of Europe. I was only on the mainland for a week but it seemed a lot longer than that. this was especially true in Berlin. I really enjoyed the city, but after living out of a backpack for 3 weeks, it can take it's toll on the traveller.
Though i didn't let that stop me from having a good time! In Berlin, my friend AJ (see previous entires, Liverpool) just so happened to be there at the same time. actually we both had booked seats on the same flight back to England. This was a pure fluke that we discovered after we both ahd purchased the flights!
so we hung out in Berlin together. this is me in front of the Brandenburg gate.

German Beer


German Beer
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
Beer in an Authentic Beer Garten!

Twyla Jasper and Rob


Twyla Jasper and Rob
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
This is the family photo. Jasper, Twyla and Rob. All cut from Weixl cloth, of varying sizes.
It would have been nice to have spent some more time getting to know Jasper. It would be interesting to see if he and I could establish the kind of relationship that Andy and I have created. (for those who don't know, Andy is my older second cousin)
but we'll save that story for time to tell.

Munich Olympic Park


Munich Olympic Park
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
For the two days that I was in Munich, twyla took me to see the various sights, like sunset at Munich Olympic park. That is where this photo was taken. check out the hair, all the cool kids are styling it that way now and days.
The weather cooperated beautifully. We dined outside at many different German market places and resturants. We rode out bikes down the sunlight paths through the english garden. I's have to say that Munich was one of the best cities i have been to in Europe so far, and i have been to a lot! London, York, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Paris, Nice, Barcelona, Venice, Pisa, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, Berlin, etc. (sorry, i'm braging. I'll stop now)

Rob, Twyla, Munich


Rob, Twyla, Munich
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
After Amsterdam I amde my way to Bavaria, to the city of Munich. There i met up with Twyla. (warning, complicated family connection about to be made, may casue headach) She is my Grandmother's brother's daughter. In other words, my mother's cousin, or my first cousin once removed.
I took the over night train to Munich from Amsterdam. I arrived at Twyla's, got cleaned up (was positivly minging from my all night train journey, and for those of you who don't know what "minging" is, as far as i know it is just a state of feeling dirty and greasy, though i think it has deeper connotations than that, but i'll look into that for next time) and headed out for a city biking tour courtesy of Twyla's site seeing bike tours. That is a bit of an embellishment, but she's been living in Munich for a long time and Knows practicaly knows every knook and cranny.

Thinest House in the World


Thinest House in the World
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
Need i say more?

Amsterdam Street


Amsterdam Street
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
So after a delightful Easter break, having the opportunity to spend some time with Tony, Valerie, Mark, and Andy. i hopped onto a plane to embark on my first ever solo trip. just me and the world! and I won! well, maybe not that far, but i did survive, that is what is important.
Amsterdam was an extremely surreal place. especially if your high. They're so open with everything. The street in this photo is just one block away from the red light district. (this is the street where my hostel is on) Prime location! I would have taken a photo of the red light district, but it is taboo to do so, I've heard that if you do they can confiscate your camera, maybe even destroy it.
Amsterdam was fun, though i think that it would have been better if i had had someone to get high with. but i still made the best of my time there.
I saw some amazing museums, coffee shops, and scenerey. and the worlds thinest house! stay tuned!

London Irish Tailgate Party

On Friday the 25th of March i left Dublin to catch the Ferry to Shoreham-by-Sea. This is where i met up with Tony and Valerie for easter. They treated me to a London-Irish rugby game. It was an awesome game. I know some of you are shaking your heads saying "Rob has always said that he hated watching sports!" this is true i don't like watching spots, on tv. Seeing them live is so much better. you have the atmosphere and the fans. Plus, sports fans in England/Europe are much more fanatic about their game than their North American counterparts that it provides a better atmosphere.

Drunk Charlie


Drunk Charlie
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
Charlie got into the Guinness at the Guinness Skybar. A bar that allows you to sip on your Guinness and get a birds eye view of Dublin. I told Charlie that I didn't believe that turtles were allowed to drink Guinness. He countered by pointing out that the turtles in the Guinness/Gilroy commercials managed to get their hands on some. Touchée.
P.S. charlie is a mean drunk, i don't think i'll take him to anymore breweries while i am in Europe. Oh the emotioanl scars!

Home is not where you live, but where they understand you

I guess i haven't found home yet. I'll keep looking.
and let you know what i find
Rob

Rob and Joyce


Rob and Joyce 2
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
This is great aunt Joyce and myself. Taken at her friend Rebecca's appartment. I stayed with Joyce for four days. She is a really neat lady and it was good to have a chance to reconnect with a distant family memeber.
it's kind of funny how i left Canada and my family behind yet i seem to be finding a bunch of branches from the family tree to explore while in Europe!

Edinburgh Backpackers Take 2

This is Ben and Andy standing outside the Edinburgh Backpacker's Hostel. This was a nice hoste, yet also one of the worst i have ever stayed in! It was expensive, the doors to the room didn't lock, and there was no hot water at all. The shower i had there was the coldest one i have ever had in my life!
but the rooms were nice, the people we met while staying there were awesome (especially the German and American who we befriended) so all in all it wasn't a bad place to stay. Though a hot shower would have been nice! i felt like a minger the whole trip.

Rob Calls Home


Rob Calls Home
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
While on the Royal Mile I decided to call home.
Actually i simply wanted a photo of myself in a red British phone booth, and i got it!

Charlie and the Castle


Charlie and the Castle
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
This is Edinburgh Caste. Built on an extict volcano, when the ice age covered a large portion of Europe, the hard basaltic rock, that this mountain is compirsed of, wasn't eroded by glaciers. Andy would tell you that this process is called crack and tail.
This really give Edinburgh an awesome scenery. You end up getting streets that are essentially staircases that enable pedestrians to get from one street (at the bottom of a hill) to the next at the top of the hill!
This is Charlie at the Castle. The day we went to go see the castle it was foggy and cold. but even the weather didn't stop this hard core turtle from seeing the sights of Edinburgh!

Group Shot Edinburgh


Group Shot Edinburgh
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.
On the last day of term (from left to right) Anna, Ben, Kara, Bryony, Caddy, Myself and Andy (not shown) drove from Lancaster to Edinburgh. This is recounted in an earlier entry and does not need to be repeted here.
This photo was taken on Saturday, as we were hanging out and having a picnic lunch. Taking a break from sightseeing.

So you've decided to cop out have you?

Hey everyone,

This is my big update time. i've set aside some time to finally update my blog with exciting news from my European trip.
However, i've decided to recoount the stories and exciting tidbits through a photo essay of my trip. it is a bunch of my favorite photos compiled together. This way i will save myself writing a huge long recount of everything and then add in the photos anywyas. this way i can split up the dialog and people wont get bored reading one long entry and then looking at the photos.

ps. for those of you who haven't already figured this one out, if you click on the photos in my blog you get taked to Flickr which is where i keep the presented photos, and some that i don't post in my blog.

Enjoy!
Rob.

Fluff

Tis Wednesday and i still haven't updated this thing to include pictures from my trip on the Continent.
Do not fret my pet as i will get it done some time today. i promise.
Rob.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Don't Look at Me That Way, It was an Honest Mistake

Well here i am winding down from yet another all-night essay session. i managed to hand in all three of my essays! I am no essay free for a whole month until i have to write my finals! last night was the worst night i've ever had. i managed to work straight until 8am then i printed off my work and headed for the essay drop off box.
I was thinking about it while i was ambling towards the Geography department, that i've never in my life actually stayed up for a whole 24 hours. i guess there is a first time for everything. On Sunday i woke up at 10am and i have not slept yet. and i am writing this at 9:35am Monday morning.
C'est la vie eh?
and now....Death.

Monday, April 11, 2005

I Hate Cobbled Streets!

Travelling through Europe as a tourist means a lot of walking. That is just the way it is. It is really amazing to have the opportunity to see all these amazing historic sites yet there is one thing that manages to hamper the awesome experience. Those damned cobbles streets! they're everywhere in Europe! i have not been to anyplace on my travells that did not have them.
Now if you ask me the amount of work that goes into laying one single stree full of hand crafted individual stones just reaks of effort. i'd imagine they had to find a quary, harvest the rock, hack away ot them until they were the relativly the right size then laythem down in the street. they're just uneven, hard on the feet and difficult to navigate.
I know i'm not the most gracefull of people, but my clumbsyness is doubled trying to walk along a cobbled street. the rocks are always uneven and you are always catching your feet on one that happens to be 3 inches higher than the previous one. considering the work that is involved in making them you'd think that there would be less streets that are cobbled. but no. Sigh, i guess i'll just have to continue stumbling along until i return to my nice paved canadian sidewalks, it's all part of the experience, i guess...
that's my rant for the day.
(This satyrical rant has been brought to you by the letter B, and the number 5)