JFK Airport in New York City is like an island of the Third World right here in the middle of the First. The workers don’t speak English. The low ceilings are crumbling. It’s filthy. It’s chaotic. There aren’t enough taxis. And — unlike in many parts of the Third World — there’s isn’t even a [...]
Hampton Court Palace Formal Gardensat Hampton Court Palace Formal Gardensat Hampton Court Palace Maze at Hampton Court Palace Parliament from the River Thames Thursday was my first day with no teaching or international travel. I took advantage of my time off to visit Hampton Court Palace, built in the early 1500s by (soon-to-be Cardinal) Thomas [...]
London Reflections After several days in London (albeit with a break in Amsterdam), I felt like I was starting to get a feel for the city, at least parts of it. Because I was staying in the south and generally teaching in the north, I had already traversed the city a half dozen times, using, [...]
Having just barely managed to catch my return train from Amsterdam to London, I arrived into St. Pancras train station at 5:00pm local time ready for a break. I didn’t have to teach until 8:00 that evening, and I figured my destination in North London was less than an hour away. St. Pancras Train Station [...]
Here’s a little challenge I like to call “The Eurostar Biathlon.” My journey from London to Amsterdam via Brussels had been easy and relaxing, so I wrongly expected the same for the return. “This is Stage Two of the Eurostar Biathlon. After sprinting up and down stairs and through corridors with two heavy suitcases, you [...]
