31 August, 2006 | Comments are off

A few people have asked me if there were any extra security procedures at the airport before coming to London. Flying from the US to the UK, you can take two carry-on bags like normal. However, if you are changing planes in London you are restricted to one small bag (purse or briefcase). Besides all the regular security screening, right before we boarded the plane we had to go into a room filled with TSA security people. They went through our hand baggage with latex gloves on, then frisked certain people at random (but not me!). I was glad I didn’t have anything embarrassing in my carry-on — unless you count a rather large supply of Mentos. In our terminal there were planes leaving for Stockholm and Venice, yet I didn’t see these extra security measures for those flights. Apparently, it’s inconceivable that any terrorists out there may switch tactics and focus on other cities now that their London plot was uncovered.

31 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

George W. Bush speaking live from The Place That Cannot Be Named.

WHY? I’m on the other side of the Atlantic now. Stop following me!

31 August, 2006 | 3 Comments

In lieu of writing a dozen e-mails, I just wanted to let those of you who care about such things know that I arrived in London safe and sound. It was a blessedly uneventful trip. I didn’t realize how much I missed London until I got back here. Too bad I’ll only be here for two days!

I am now trying to resist the urge to crawl into bed…must resist…zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

30 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

I’m getting ready to head to the airport in Philadelphia — my flight to London leaves this evening. I’m rather terrified of flying and the current state of alert doesn’t help, but right now I’m only feeling slightly anxious. I just want to get back to London, then Paris and on with life. Still, if you’re so inclined, please think happy thoughts for me today.

On Monday when I was in New York, I went to Battery Park to view the Statue of Liberty. It’s been ages since I’ve seen her in person. I intended to take a few snaps and leave, but as I looked at the Statue of Liberty — the ultimate iconic symbol of everything that is good about America — it hit me that I’ve travelled the country from coast to coast over the past five weeks, from Los Angeles to New York and places in-between. This was not by design — I simply wanted to visit my friends and family and this is where that path took me. But it’s been a trip — and I mean that in many different ways.

The first half of 2006 was difficult for me in many ways, due to some personal issues. I had planned to stay in London for the summer but then at the last minute decided to go home for a visit. Sometimes those split-second decisions are the best ones. I hoped that seeing my family and friends would rejuvenate me. And now that the trip is over, I can tell you that I’ve never felt more loved. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such treatment, but it’s meant the world to me.

My parents are remarkable people. They went out of their way to take care of me and make sure I had a good time. My whole family has been patient with me and looked out for my well-being and nurtured me. My friends William and Drew welcomed me into their home, going above and beyond what any friends could be expected to do. My friends J and T hosted me in their home as well, my friend Anita took the train up from DC to see me and my friend S flew to New York to meet up with me for a few days. My homecoming actually meant something to the people in my life and I won’t soon forget that.

I also had interesting conversations with both my grandmothers — one of them in person, one by telephone. While they both worried about me moving so far away, they also encouraged me to go. My dad’s mother told me that she wished she’d had the kinds of opportunities I’m having to see the world and experience new cultures. Very few women of her generation had the opportunity to pack up and move to Paris or even do anything besides get married young and have kids. This made me think about my current circumstances in a new way.

With all of these people in my life, I sometimes wonder why I’m moving to a country where I know virtually no one. In many ways it doesn’t make sense. But perhaps I’m going because all of these relationships have nurtured my confidence and my sense of adventurousness. I have the support of many people who care about me and the value of this cannot be underestimated. I will carry the memories of this summer with me for a long time. Thanks everyone. Big hug.

29 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

I feel like a supermodel — minus the emaciated figure and nicotine breath — because I will be in New York, London and Paris this week! Not sure how I managed to hit this trifecta. What a glam life I have. Ha! I’m so exhausted that I just want to curl up in a ball on the floor and suck my thumb. I’m sure you all pity me.

In other news, I have nowhere to stay in London for the two days I’ll be there. Oops.

P.S. — I made a video of Times Square. It features the Viacom building (MTV) and the Millennium Broadway Hotel, where we stayed. Times Square is really just too overwhelming now. It’s a theme park.

29 August, 2006 | Comments are off

I left NYC this morning and returned to my friend William’s house in New Jersey. This afternoon we spent some time at Washington Crossing Historic Park, which is about a five-minute drive from his house. Spending time at a Revolutionary War site on the day before I return to England was a mere coincidence, I promise!

This is the spot where George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Night, 1776. They attacked unsuspecting Hessian soldiers who were fighting for the British in Trenton and this was a major turning point in the war. The whole area is now so beautiful and serene. I was grateful to spend some time here after being in New York and before the stress of travel that comes tomorrow and for the rest of the week.

Click here for a video I took this afternoon. Here are some photos…

The Delaware River at Washington Crossing:

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29 August, 2006 | 3 Comments

I visited New York with my friend “S” who is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Whenever we’re together, we always eat at interesting places. On our first night we ate at Pure Food and Wine, a raw food, all vegan restaurant. I know this might seem disgusting, but it was quite good. The chocolate mousse cake was to die for.

For dinner, I had the Zucchini and Golden Tomato Lasagne with basil-pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato sauce and pignoli ricotta:

One day we stopped at a coffee house on the Lower East Side and I tried one of these “Rice Krispie” squares made with Fruit Loops instead. I just ordered it because it was cute and colorful:

[tags]Pure Food and Wine, vegan[/tags]

28 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

Almost five years after the fact, I am still traumatized by thoughts of 9/11. Many people act jaded about it, as if we should all just forget it ever happened. Of course Bush and other world leaders have twisted everything about 9/11 to fit their agenda, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about the events of that terrible day. People have said to me that America has killed more people in Iraq than 9/11 killed, which is true, but to me that does not in any way diminish the tragedy of September 11th. I refuse to trivialize the fact that two skyscrapers were blown up and thousands of people died a horrific death. Those people had nothing to do with American foreign policy, they were just average people like us living their daily lives. I will never let myself lose sight of the human tragedy the whole nation suffered that day.

I moved away from New York about a year before 9/11. When I lived in Brooklyn, I took the subway to and from Manhattan each day. The train crossed the bridge over the harbor, taking us right by the World Trade Center. I was always in awe of those massive towers. I remember going to the observation deck with friends, having dinner at the top with my sister, shopping in the arcade on the ground level. I could see the WTC from my neighborhood in Brooklyn and when I was in lower Manhattan, I used the towers to navigate my way around the confusing streets of the Village or Soho. When I returned to New York for the first time after the towers fell in November of 2001, Ground Zero was still filled with smoldering wreckage. I was with my parents and we had taken Amtrak down from Boston. When the NY skyline came into view I gasped in horror at the sight of it without the towers. I had to look away. I couldn’t bear to look at the skyline. Even today I’m not quite sure how to look at the city.

I visited Ground Zero this afternoon and it’s still a shocking sight. Seeing the spot where the towers stood brought back all the memories. It’s bizarre to feel such feelings of grief for two skyscrapers. Of course it’s more than that — the thought of all the people who died on that spot is the real tragedy. But I do feel grief for the towers as well. To me, they were an essential part of New York.

Click here to watch the video I took this afternoon. Here are some photos I took:

Looking at the spot where the WTC towers used to stand:

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28 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

I went back to my old neighborhood in Brooklyn today. I haven’t visited Brooklyn since I moved away six years ago. It’s hard to believe that Park Slope has become so trendy, with movie stars such as Heath Ledger living there. When I lived there, people in Manhattan still turned their noses up at the thought of Brooklyn. It was becoming more gentrified when I lived there and there was definitely a sense of class warfare between the working class people who’d lived there for generations and the urban professionals who were pushing them out. One day someone painted “Fuck You Yuppies” on the side of our local coffee house and the owners left it up for at least a year.

When I lived in Brooklyn I was working full-time as a magazine writer. It was the life I thought I wanted — living in New York, working in the media. But I wasn’t very happy and decided on a drastic change — to move to New England and get my MFA in creative writing. It was the right decision. It set me on a different path, the path I’m on now. Walking around Brooklyn today I didn’t feel a sense of nostalgia. I was just happy that I’ve moved on.

Brownstones on Carroll Street, where I used to live:

Seventh Avenue in Park Slope (on this very dreary day):

Taking the subway to Brooklyn:

[tags]Brooklyn, Park Slope[/tags]

27 August, 2006 | Comments are off

Our hotel room is way up in the clouds. I must admit that post-9/11 this freaks me out, but I’ll try to enjoy it for a few days. It’s not too often I get to open my eyes in bed and see skyscrapers. I feel like Judy Jetson. In this photo, if you can imagine that giant building to the right is invisible, you’d see the neon, flashing lights of Times Square:

27 August, 2006 | 2 Comments

I took the train up to NYC this afternoon. Anglofille’s 2006 reunion tour has now moved [temporarily] up the eastern seaboard. My friend “S” flew in from Pittsburgh to meet me here for a few days of fun. She has a knack for searching travel websites and we’re staying in rather swank accommodations for a very reasonable price.

After a few days in tranquil southern New Jersey, I walked out of Penn Station and New York just hit me. It’s so overwhelming. And it’s raining, which is never fun in New York. As I walked up Seventh Avenue to our hotel in Times Square, all I could hear was the chant: “Umbrellas, $3…Umbrellas, $3…”

I stopped at a bagel cafe, hoping to wait out the rain.

Bagel guy: We only have cinnamon raisin or salt bagels left.

Me: Uh, okay.

Bagel guy: SO?! (throws hands up in air) WHADDYA WANT?

Ah, New York. Am I glad to be back? It’s too soon to tell.

27 August, 2006 | Comments are off

[Hello Bennington Class of 2003! Hello "B" club! Wish you were here!]

Anglofille: “I want a mojito.”

Anita: “Nooo! Only a sip.”

Anglofille: “Okay.”

[gv data=" http://www.youtube.com/v/X6LASwqXFY8" width="425" height="350"][/gv]

26 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

Today I’m so excited to see my dear friend A for the first time in almost three years! She’s taking the train up from DC this afternoon. She and William and I all met in grad school and I haven’t seen her since graduation, though we e-mail every day. Our creative writing grad program was a bit different — we were only required to be on campus about 10 days each term. And it was so exciting to head up to Vermont each term to see all the gang each time we had a residency. William reminded me yesterday that during the on-campus residencies, he would go to bed when the pub closed at 2:00 a.m. like a good boy (!) but A and me and a couple others in our clique would stay up chatting in our dorm’s living room until 5:00 or 6:00 am every night and then sleep through the morning lectures. Oops. Someone even called campus security on us once to get us in trouble. [Anglofille is normally very well-behaved except when she gets around certain writerly types.] I was always so tired and walking around campus bleary-eyed, but it was worth it. Those times were really magical and I will never, ever forget them. I met people I had such a rapport with, people who were and are kindred spirits. That’s rare.  I hope they’ll always be my friends.

25 August, 2006 | 2 Comments

The day I left London, I wrote about how I’m essentially homeless until I arrive in Paris. I thought that feeling was exhilirating at first – I felt free and not tied to anything. This feeling can become addictive – it’s why I’ve never put down roots. But now I must admit that being a vagabond in extremis and having no fixed address aside from a mailbox in Houston, Texas and living out of [several large] suitcases isn’t so much fun anymore. It’s been more disconcerting and stressful than I anticipated.

Hello, my name is Anglofille and I’m a move-aholic.

24 August, 2006 | Comments are off

If you’re bored, click here for the video.

24 August, 2006 | 1 Comment

I am staying with my friend William and his partner until I return to London. They spoil me every time I come here. I guess it’s such a treat for them to have a woman around! They live outside of Philadelphia in New Jersey, close to New Hope and Princeton. William and I met in grad school about 5 years ago (we were both studying creative writing) and we’ve become very close friends. I often refer to him as my “husband,” so I decided to ask him if he’d ever want to marry me.

If you were straight would you want to marry me?

Uh, we could live together instead. You’re much too high-maintenance for me. I’m only teasing! I mean that affectionately. (Plus, if we lived together I could see gay men on the side.)

Care to explain your answer more?

We have a lot in common but we’re very different people. Things are black and white for me, but you’re not like that. For example, when I asked you what you wanted for dinner, you were like – whatever! I know you have all these dietary needs but you don’t tell me. You try to be accommodating. I put more energy into having to figure out what you want. But I respect you and I see who you are, so I’m willing to work with that.

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24 August, 2006 | Comments are off

My Jo Malone perfume did not travel well — the plastic bottle I poured it into leaked in my suitcase and now there’s only a tiny bit of perfume left! What a tragedy! I had put the bottle in a zip-loc bag and amazingly, none of the perfurme escaped the plastic bag; otherwise, my clothes would have been ruined. Packing toiletries is difficult. And I think these new travel restrictions are just window dressing — at the airport they put my carry-on luggage in the x-ray machine but did not even open it. Do shampoo bottles show up in an x-ray machine? I doubt it. My bag could have been loaded with all sorts of ‘contraband’ and they didn’t even care. Yet they made me take off my shoes! As with most of these anti-terrorism regulations, these restrictions will not prevent anything from happening and are a complete waste of time and money. They’re just put into place to give us a false sense of security. If they really wanted the plane to be secure, they’d ban all hand luggage.

Can I send al-Qaeda a bill for my perfume?

23 August, 2006 | Comments are off

I arrived in Philadelphia late this afternoon. I was going to do a post earlier but forgot the password to my blog. It’s been a long day!

[My mom is depressed now that I've left. Hi Mom! ]

I’ve spent a lovely evening with my friends. Since I’m tired now, I’ll just post this photo I took of the Grand Canyon from the airplane window:

22 August, 2006 | Comments are off

Had tacos and a [virgin] margarita for dinner. My last good Mexican food for…a year.

Saw my grandma today. She sorta fell apart when I left. I live so far away, she said. So very far. What went unspoken was her belief that she may not live to see me again. She’s turning 85 this year and she said she hopes it’s her last. It was a strange experience, to be with my grandmother as she contemplates the end of her life and while I’m about to embark on a new chapter of mine and have high hopes for the future. I know that youth and good health should never be taken for granted or squandered, but sometimes it’s important to be reminded of that.

That’s the bad part about coming home. Saying goodbye again.

In completely frivolous news, I bought three pairs of shoes this afternoon at Nordstrom [best department store ever]. I’m not really a shoe girl — I have picky feet. And the weird thing is that after leaving London I noticed my feet are somewhat smaller. Strange. Here’s one pair of shoes that I bought. They look like slippers and feel like slippers (ahhhhh) but they’re proper shoes. They’re completely ridiculous and cute and perfect for Paris.

Must finish packing! I had to pay a fee coming back from LA because my luggage was too heavy for a domestic flight. So I went to the ATM this evening because my suitcases are going to be a lot heavier now. Most of my money is in dollars and it’s a better deal for me to shop here. I’m not a shopaholic — I have good reasons!

22 August, 2006 | 2 Comments

I’m packing up today and getting ready to ship out. I will not reveal the name of The Place That Cannot Be Named, though I’ve given enough hints so that anyone who even mildly cares could figure it out. Tomorrow I fly to Philadelphia, via Phoenix, thus landing in all major cities beginning with Ph. One of my dearest friends lives outside Philadelphia and I will stay with him until I head back to London next week. A friend of ours is taking the train up from DC to see us and I’ll meet another friend in NYC for a few days. A whirlwind of reunions!!! Lucky me!

I hate packing and now it’s even more of a hassle. Thanks to the terrorists™ I’ve had to pour my beloved (and rather expensive) Jo Malone cologne into a cheap plasitc bottle from Target. I don’t dare pack a glass bottle of cologne in my suitcase. Getting the cap off that glass bottle wasn’t easy either — William, you’ll smell me at the airport before you see me.

I resent being parted from my perfume bottle. Heaven help the terrorist who stands between me and my signature Red Roses cologne!

Before:

After: