London - Day 2

Normal morning - got up at 08:00, ate my two chocolate pastries and some fruits, and left at around 09:30. This turned out to be a reconnaissance day to the south of Hyde Park.

Entrance to the Buckingham Palace.

I arrived at the Buckingham Palace, but it was closed. I think it's only open to visitors on some occasion, or sometimes rarely... Took some pictures, starting to feel a bit depressed by such an unnecessary flagrant show of wealth, and left towards the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where the Wicked musical (wiki link) is playing. I wanted to buy a ticket for the next day (monday), thinking there would be less people. Going there, I stopped at the Sainsbury's Local to buy lunch. The theatre was closed, probably only opening during the evenings. Having no real access to the internet (the hotel wi-fi sucks), I'll try to buy my ticket tomorrow evening, just before the show.

Continued on Victoria Street, found Westminster Abbey, but it was closed on sundays. Found out that the Big Ben is right behind it! I had thought that the Big Ben was just a tower with a clock, but it's actually the tower on the UK Parliament. Took some pictures that I think will turn out nice, because there was no cloud all day.

Westminster Abbey.
Help the poor, they say.

I could see the London Eye some small distance away, on the other side of the Thames River, so I went, but it was closed for whatever reason until January 21st. I took the opportunity to eat my lunch, looking at the river and some gulls that were disappointed that I didn't give them any part of my wrap and fruit salad. I went back to Picardilly, stopping at the Comedy Store to buy a ticket for this evening, but, like the theatre, it was closed.

I found the National Portrait Gallery by chance. I didn't plan to go, but since I had only walked today and didn't do anything, I went. It was okay, but they are only paintings, and too many of them about religion. I left, slightly irked.

I took Picardilly all the way around Hyde Park to see if there was anything interesting, but not really... I stopped at an expensive Whole Foods Market (but still a lot less expensive than a restaurant), and bought my dinner and breakfast for tomorrow. I went back to the hotel, tried to go on internet (couldn't), ate dinner, and prepared myself for a second round of walking.

UK Parliament, with it's Big Ben.

I left at 17:45, and arrived at 18:30 at the Comedy Store. There were still some tickets left, for which I was grateful, because the improvisation show was sold-out quickly later. I also bought a ticket for tuesday's show. I had to wait almost an hour inside for the show to start, but I had a pretty good place on the side. The six guys (cast a bit different from the original cast on the site) who were part of the improvisation were terrific! I had an awesome evening. I wonder if anything I do until friday will be better.

The London Eye.

When I went back to the hotel, I stopped at a small bar called City of Quebec. I stayed two minutes because it wasn't good - it seemed more like the kind of bar that old alcoholics go to to forget their day and their families... Maybe I'll try again during the week, to see if it's better. I got back to the hotel at around 22:40, prepared my stuff for an early start tomorrow, and read a bit.

In front of the National Portrait Gallery.

Edinburgh to London - Day 1

Quite a normal morning, and I just relaxed and prepared my stuff. At 10:40, I leave for the Haymarket Train Station, which is conveniently located five minutes walk from the hotel. I take the train to Waverley Station, which is near the end of Princes Street, and wait for the train to London at 12:00. I get in, and read for most of the 4.75 hours of the trip I did not finish The China Study, but it's almost done.

I arrive in London, take a taxi to the hotel address, the driver struggles a bit to find the place (he passed twice at the same place, but took £2.60 off because of that - total of £18. I get out but there is no "Caesar Hotel" anywhere! The address I have is in fact a youth hostel, so after walking around a bit, just in case, I get in to ask some questions.

I fortunately had a second address, which was the one provided by the official web site and by CentralR. The first one was given by Google Maps. The hotel address was 26-33 Queen's Gardens. The Google maps address was 191 Queen's Gate, and pointed at the same exact place, so understandably, I thought both addresses were the same one, possibly after some renaming of streets. It turns out that Queen's Gate, in the biggest Google Maps blunder I have ever lived through, is completely on the opposite side of Hyde Park! It could indeed be a lot worse, but I still had to walk 30 minutes to get to the real Caesar Hotel.

Fortunately, they had my reservation - at least, CentralR's £50 reserve served to something, but I wish my reservation would not be there, so that I could come back at CentralR for a refund. I get the card and ask for the stairs location, but the clerk that soooooo wanted to help me with my baggages (I didn't let him) absolutely didn't see any reason why I wouldn't want to take the elevator, and virtually forced me in. I got into my room, and was in for another surprise - the room is tiny. Near-microscopic! I don't want to spend a week of vacation, staying in a hotel room, so it doesn't really matter.

I leave my stuff there and go take a long walk in the Comedy Store's direction. This is something that I had wanted to do - since I'm alone on this trip, the least that I could do would be to try having some fun in the evenings, and not stay at the hotel. I had planned on going to the Comedy Store during most evenings, but retrospectively-speaking, this limited what I could do in the late afternoon, since I didn't take the tube (subway stations), nor the bus.

The end of Regent Street.

The Apple Store on Regent Street.

I stop at a Sainsbury's Local, a store similar to the Co-Operative Food in Edinburgh, to withdraw some money and buy two £1 sandwiches for dinner. During the rest of my walk, I was increasingly aware that, even if this was not tourist season, there were a lot of people in the streets. That was Bayswater Road / Oxford Road, and when I turned right on Regent Street, I was in for another surprise. Regent Street apparently is one the busiest street I have every seen, and is the epitome of thoughtless consumerism and illogical capitalism. I hated the sight, and I hated the stores, all bigger and grander than the next one. Even though I never went to Las Vegas, I thought Regent Street could perhaps rival the Vegas Strip in term of useless luminosity and visual pollution.

Remembering Google Maps (with Street View), I finally get to where I was headed, and enter the Comedy Pub. I manage to buy a ticket at the last second, because the show was already almost sold-out. It's 19:15, and the show starts at 20:30, so I go for a small walk around. I turn the corner and see a big Comedy Store neon sign! Gaaaah, Google! (Note: as I checked when I got back home, the street view of the Comedy Store was either not updated recently, or the Comedy Store was suffering renovations. This was why I had missed it.) It turned out good, because there was no seat left for the 19:30 show.

I browsed 40 minutes in the HMV on Regent Street, and go back to the Comedy Pub, thinking of going to the Comedy Store after for the second show at 23:00. The show was nice, and I had quite a few laughs. It was four comedians, each of them doing stand-up comedy. I was having some trouble understanding some of them, but after ten minutes or so, it was okay. The third and last break was very long (around 40 minutes - I assume they had problems with something, or the guy was late), so the show ended at 23:15.

I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Sainsbury to buy a breakfast and some fruits, and I called it a night.

Edinburgh - Day 10

I woke again at 06:40, because I had a big day ahead, and a lot to do (or so I thought). I ate my last hotel breakfast (because I didn't know if tomorrow's is paid by the company or not), prepared my stuff, and went outside with my laundry. The previous monday, I had forgotten to ask for a receipt, so I was relieved when I learned that the guy working there remembered me, and agreed to send me the receipts by email.

Small lake in Holyrood Park.

Then I left towards Holyrood Park, going through Grassmarket / Cowgate / Holyrood Road. I got there at around 08:40, and walked almost completely around the park. I climbed the same path to get to the mountain like last time, then went ahead to Arthur's Seat. The paths were not as difficult as they seemed, and the view was spectacular! I was at the top at 09:40, so I took less time that I had expected.

I walked back down, slowly, taking the same way along the crags.

The dial on top of Arthur's Seat, showing the
direction and distance of nearby mountains.

My coworker and his girlfriend had recommended The Mussel & Steak for lunch, and I got there at 11:15, but it only opened at 12:00, so I walked around the castle and the Royal Mile and entered at 12:06.

It was a very interesting restaurant - they gave me an empty glass, and a clear bottle of wine filled with water. That was cool! And they have a camera in the kitchen, so we can watch them cook our meal while we wait.

I ordered a brie tart, which was delicious, followed by a main dish of mussels, which was also my first time. It was pretty good!

First time eating mussels.

I left the restaurant at exactly 13:06, and walked again through the Royal Mile, to Princes Street, to the St-James Mall Centre. I was smaller than I had anticipated. I wanted to buy some A4 wirebound books to take nots, but they were £4. That was much too expensive. I also wanted to buy a book, since my reading of The China Study was almost over, and the 5-hours train ride tomorrow would see it done, or nearly so. I had learned the previous day that J.K. Rowling had written her first Harry Potter book (The Philosopher's Stone) in some cafés in Edinburgh, notably The Elephant House, which I passed in front a couple times when I was walking close to the Royal Mile. I thought buying the first book in Edinburgh was more suitable than buying it in London.

The water I got.

There were no bookstore in the mall, so I asked the lady at the information kiosk, and she points to a place on Princes Street. I asked the name of the store, and upon hearing random letters and sounds and not wanting to make her repeat, I decide a bookstore is quite easy to notice. I walk back to Princes Street and search for a bookstore on all its length, but doesn't see anything. I go back towards the hotel, trying on my way to find a free wi-fi spot somewhere, and in my room, go to google on the hotel wi-fi. WaterStone is indeed on Princes Street, near the end. I take note of another bookstore, closer to the hotel, in case the WaterStone is closed or something. The other bookstore is small and seemingly uninteresting, but it's a suitable alternative.

I go back to Princes Street, but can't find anything. Check Princes Mall, nothing. I start my way back to the front of Princes Street, but find a board on the street saying which stores are where, and there it is! Near the beginning! I had missed it twice... I go there, spend almost an hour trying to find a book, because the only Harry Potter book #1 they have is damaged, and I need another book for the train. I settle with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, of which the american version is currently in theaters.

I go back, get my laundry, get back to my room and check my emails on my iPhone. My coworker said to meet him at 18:30 at Teuchters Bar, the bar on top of A Room at the West End restaurant. While I wait for the best time to leave the hotel, I write this text in my notebook, then leave at 18:00 and wait for my coworker at the bar. An Irish guy from the support department arrives first, and we drink, waiting for the coworker. When he finally arrives, we drink with him, and go down to the restaurant. I order a vegetarian dish with potato dumplings. It was very good!

After dinner, we returned to the bar section, and I leave at around 21:30, stopping at the Co-op Food one last time to get a breakfast for tomorrow.

Edinburgh - Day 8 & 9

Normal morning, normal day learning and browsing, and got back to the hotel after work. During the day, I was looking at the interesting restaurants in Edinburgh, and found out on tripadvisor that the Indaba was really good, and the prices were great.

Since the people here eat a bit later than I am used to, I waited in my room, watching an episode about the chemicals related to love on BBC, which is unavailable to people outside the UK. At 20:00, I left the hotel towards the Indaba, but when I got there, it was closed for January. I continued walking for quite a long while, trying to find somewhere interesting to eat, but wound up eating at the hotel restaurant at around 21:30 when I got back. Relaxed for the rest of the evening, and went to sleep.

The haggis I had looked like that.
Haggis, neeps, and tatties.

Day 9 (a thursday, and my last day of work), was pretty similar. Normal morning and day. For lunch, we went again to Gregg's (like yesterday and the rest of the week). We left by bus again, but I didn't leave at my hotel - I stayed with him, walking around the city centre, and he showed me a couple places on the way. We went to Mum's Comfort Food (previously known as Monster Mash). We waited for his girlfriend to arrive (a very pretty Chinese lady) and I ordered my first haggis ever. It was okay, but my coworker said it was better the year before. It tasted a lot like the tourtière we have in Quebec.

Traditional haggis, which I expected to get but didn't.

The waiter was very friendly. Almost light-headedly friendly, as if he had drunk a bit while working. We overheard that it was his last day of work (?), so maybe that was it. When he heard that I was Canadian, he talked a bit about Canada and a friend in Montreal. He was also physically friendly, putting his hand on the clients' shoulders (mine included, but mostly the female patrons on another table). He also learned that it was the first time I had haggis, and he said "A haggis virgin? And you ate it all?" and he made me stand up and offered me a friendly hug, which I accepted.

We finished eating, parted ways, and I walked back to the hotel, where I drank my second (and last) beer in my hotel room while reading. (I had a total of 1 cidre, 2 beers, and 1 ale bought).

Age Difference

The other day, I was thinking about what an age difference between two people really mean. I think this is a subject that is easier to write about spontaneously, so here it goes.

I'm about thirty, and we're talking about a twenty-years difference of age. I'll imagine someone my age with a twenty years older person of the opposite sex. I think there are four point of views that need to be analyzed. As usual, my opinions do not reflect the general population's, so, as usual, if you are offended by anything I write, either accept an apology, or don't read my blog.


An Older Man
From the point of view of the girl... If she is dating him because of his financial situation, she is an opportunist and found herself a sugar daddy. She could also be with him because she wants the intellectual maturity of an older man. She could also be insecure about herself, afraid to commit to a long-term relationship with someone her age. Founding a family could even scare her - an older man already has a family, or doesn't want one.

From the point of view of the man... He is successful. His wealth or maturity helped him catch a beautiful fish in the pond.


An Older Woman
That one is harder to visualize, for the only reason that it seems to be frowned upon. A young man going out with an older woman is taboo, and can even be thought of as shameful. I think a relationship like this is more heartfelt, more mentally intimate, than the classic young girl - older man.

From the point of view of the boy... He could be tired of people his age, their immaturity. He doesn't want commitment, and prefers a hug over sex.

From the point of view of the woman... She has found someone who likes her personality more than her looks.

This is very hard for me to visualize, perhaps because years and years of movies have shown only the successful older man with his trophy younger wife.


Scenarios
You see a girl in her thirties going out with an older man. The way they move and talk together makes it obvious that the man is not her father. What are your thoughts about that?

Don't lie. "The man is successful, but is taking advantage of her naivety. The girl is there for the money, and should be ashamed." Stereotypes.

You see a young man in his thirties, walking hand in hand with an older woman that could be his mother, but obviously isn't. What are your thoughts about that?

I... I don't even know what my thoughts would be. This is so uncommon, so taboo that I don't even know what I would really think if I saw such a couple. I think I would be a little bit freaked out, but would I really?


Conclusion
However I look at this (based on my four point of views), the older person is a winner, while the younger person has some (minor or not, depending on his/her reasons) issues. I can't imagine a relationship like this going long-term, but it feels more like a short-term thing, in order to respond to a temporary void. The younger person could have something missing inside, and possibly went to the first person who was there to fill that void.

Of course, this post was assuming a 30 - 50 years old couple. A 60 - 80 years old couple is very fine by our society's standards, because the age difference is not as pronounced.

So, why would society care? The only thing I can think of is that the younger person could still have a family. Maybe people look at a girl / older man couple, and subconsciously blame her for renouncing her "obligation" to found a family? An older couple with the same age difference is socially acceptable because their families are finished, their "obligation" to the human race done with.

Fake Fireplaces

I had a thought during the holidays. Remember the DVD of a fireplace, that you put in your living room TV to pretend you have a warm fireplace? My parents have one, and so does my uncle.

When we got there on December 24th, we were greeted by the sound of such a fireplace. I know it is used to generate a comforting and cozy ambiance, but it got me into some useless thinking.

Where it got me is there:

• If I don't have a fireplace, I can watch a video of someone who does;
• If I don't have a girlfriend, I can watch a video of some guy who does.

A fake fireplace video, according to this impeccable logic, is considered as fire porn. Case closed.

Social Responsibilities from Companies

Popular companies have social responsibilities. Their actions mirrors their users'.

They can spark controversies when they support the wrong organizations, or turn their back on others.

In recent years, Paypal has banned wikileaks, and has blocked different accounts for different reasons. One of the most controversial one was the regretsy issue. Paypal have worked with regretsy to resolve the problem, but it is mostly understood that they did so because of the bad press they received. People cancelled their Paypal account because of this (myself included, though I should have done so sooner, when they banned wikileaks a year before).

Credit cards are losing face because of the same reasons. They blocked wikileaks for no reason. It is my money you have in your vaults. What right do you have to block me from helping any organization I feel is right? And why do you charge such a high percentage on every transaction? (3-4%) Dwolla is a very interesting alternative concept - let's hope it catches on completely in America, and spreads to Canada and the other countries.

This week (it is now December 23rd), it was made known to the internet that GoDaddy was supporting SOPA. SOPA is something that would give a lot of power to the US government to censor web sites, in a supposed attack against piracy. The thing is, it would also have a lot of power against free speech. There is a boycott rising against GoDaddy, which I will be part of when I have a few minutes to move my web site to another host. Soon after, like Paypal, GoDaddy withdrew its support for SOPA, but it was too late. Allegiances were made.Other companies declared their support for SOPA, with similar reaction from the public.

I think companies like that have social responsibilities to support the organizations that their users support. They should not respond to pressures from the government, nor other financially powerful entities.

Edinburgh - Day 7 & 8

Nothing exciting here, move along!

Day seven and eight were very similar, and so should be the next two. I woke up at 6:40, ate breakfast, prepared myself for the day, and left the hotel to take the bus. On monday (day seven), I had to buy a FirstWeek bus ticket, which is a huge ticket that grants you unlimited access to the First Group buses. It cost me £24 for the LM region (around Edinburgh, up to Broxburn). It was the first time I tried those two-storied buses. The second level is pretty cool, because you get a better view of what's around, but the perspective is skewed a bit, and it seems the bus is passing terribly close to other cars. That was but mildly unsettling at first, then you just trust the driver.

I'm going too fast... Monday, I had to go to the laundry store. £9 for a washing, drying, and folding. Not too bad for when you're on vacation, but I would have liked to have this service in the hotel, though if it costs as much as in Tokyo, nevermind. Tuesday (today, actually, as I'm writing this), I went to the Co-op Foods, and bought raspberries, plums, clementines, green grapes, bell peppers, and tomatoes, which I brought to work.

I spent the days with my other coworker. For lunch (both days), we went to Gregg's, which is some kind of bakery where they sell baked stuff. I ate a lot both times because I wanted to taste everything, but I'll have to eat less the next two days. Spent most of the days learning, and browsing. We got back by bus.

Monday, I went to the Pho Vietnamese restaurant close to the hotel. It's a very tiny place, with only five tables, and they were all full. I went away, going to my alternate choice, sushi at Sushiya. What? Why are the curtains closed? I found out later that they are closed on mondays. I walked a bit, then went back to the vietnamese restaurant. They accept take-outs, but right before I ordered, a table was emptied, so I sat down instead. I ate a rather large bowl of beef Pho (soup with udon-like noodles, with some strips of beef on top), and two spring rolls. It was all pretty good!

On tuesday, I went to the sushi place again (Sushiya) at 20:00, and went to the Co-op Food to buy two beers while they made the sushis. I learned that they are very expensive - what I thought were hosomaki (6 for around £4) were in fact just maki. The real hosomaki were then 8 for around £9. It cost me £16 for 3 sets of maki and two nigiri. They were very delicious, though. Even though I would be tempted to go back if I don't have any restaurant in mind, I won't, because I didn't learn anything new there.

On both days, I spent the rest of the evening relaxing a bit and reading. And that's it! Not very exciting, wasn't it?