Got Nikon, Will Travel

Buses: If the Greeks are the only ones doing it right, that’s telling you something

Posted on October 10, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from Luxembourg

First, this is going to be a photo light post. I simply have few-to-no pics of buses to illustrate this post.

Second, there are going to be swear words in this post. And I might call God’s wrath down on some bus drivers. Trust me, they deserve it. You’ve been warned.

Now, on to the topic at hand: buses. I’m done with them! No really, I can’t stand them and I will not take another fucking bus, God help me, from this point on. Why? Let me tell you why, but first, we need a point of reference. And that point of reference is Metrobus. Read more »

Photos: Portsmouth

Posted on October 5, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from Brussels

Portsmouth: place of naval history! This is going to be one of the quicker stops along the way for me, as I only had one target here. And that was HMS Victory. It ended up being fortunate that I was here for only two nights: the hostel I stayed at was not good, one of my roommates had feet so smelly I nearly got sick, and it rained, a lot.

Anyways, here are pictures of the historic dockyards and two amazing museum ships. And keep reading at the bottom for two funny stories. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: British Navy, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, Portsmouth | 6 Comments

Canterbury & Dover: On Retrospect It Should Have Been Dover & Canterbury

Posted on October 3, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from Cardiff

I am officially in Wales; Cardiff to be exact! Fun times have been had, as I have had three full days here. One I used to see Cardiff Castle and I got some excellent cheeses (Stilton cheese is A-FREAKIN’-MAZING!!! Oh, and did I mention the cheddar…from Cheddar? It aged in a cave. A. FREAKING. CAVE.); another day was quite the expedition to Carreg Cennen Castle, where I was rained on in the Welsh countryside; and then today, which has been wondering all over Cardiff. Good times…except for the rained on part.

But this post is really about two stops about a week and a half ago: Canterbury and Dover. Right after York I set out for Canterbury, which I was going to use as my base for seeing Dover. Annoyingly, I now wish I had stayed in Dover and went up to Canterbury, because I found Dover much more interesting. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, Dover, Dover Castle, White Cliffs of Dover | Leave a comment

The Great City of York

Posted on September 24, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from Bath

The lull in posts can be explained simply: this past week contained a great deal of traveling. I left York on Wednesday (the 19th), I then had three nights in Canterbury (one of which was a day trip to Dover), then a relatively quick stop of two nights in Portsmouth, and now I’m in Bath for three nights. I may be on a type of vacation, but it’s still a great amount of work going from city to city.

The good news is that I have been keeping up with my photo editing…for the most part. York is basically done, though not completely uploaded to Flickr. Canterbury, Dover, and Portsmouth are on my computer and sorted; they are now waiting for me to start editing them. My hope is that I will be able to get to them tonight, my first night in Bath. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: National Railway Museum, The Ghost Hunt of York, York, York City Walls, York Minster | 6 Comments

Photos: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Posted on September 18, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from York

Newcastle Upon Tyne was a funny city. I kept comparing it to Baltimore, and I think that comparison is still apt. People have a reputation of being peculiar; post industrial city which is very dirty but there are parts that really nice and new; and very artsy. I generally liked it, but I really only spent about a day in the city. Still, what follows are some of the photos I got. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Geordies, Newcastle, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Leave a comment

Greenwich or when Brian was in the Eastern & Western Hemisphere at the same time!

Posted on September 17, 2012 by mosleybrian

Greenwich is an outer borough/suburb of London. It’s also at the center of the world, longitudinally speaking at least. You’ve definitely heard of it before; every time someone says “Greenwich Mean Time,” this is the Greenwich they’re talking about. It’s also where the Prime Meridian passes through, separating the Western and Eastern Hemispheres of the world. So, it’s quite an important part of the world.

It also has a fascinating museum ship: the Cutty Sark. A British clipper ship which set multiple speed records just as the Age of Sail came to an end. The ship suffered a horrible fire just a few years ago, but it has been wonderfully restored. You can even walk under it’s hull. I’ve heard that’s pretty controversial, but I found it to give a unique perspective. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Cutty Sark, Greenwich, Greenwich Mean Time, Prime Meridian | 2 Comments

Photos of Westminster

Posted on September 16, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from York

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m going to back track with some photo posts. This one is about the City of Westminster, a borough of Greater London and where some of the most famous buildings of London are located (such as Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and 10 Downing Street). I’m going to group the shots by subject. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London, Parliament Building, Westminster, Westminster Abbey | 1 Comment

I Walked on the Edge of the Civilized World

Posted on September 15, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from Newcastle

Sorry for the lull in updates. I’m quickly realizing that if I go out all day seeing things and taking pictures, then sit down for an hour or two to edit photos, and then spend an hour or two writing posts, I will have no time to eat. That will end my trip VERY quickly. Besides, the backlog of photos from London is going to annoy me for awhile; and there’s no telling if I’ll run into the same problem at another stop. Oh, the wonders of blogging while you travel!

Anyways, I’m only going to write long post every few days. Other than that, I’ll try to get photo posts up more often. I’ll probably have to back track on my trip; case in point, I really want to get my Westminster and Greenwich photos up. So a slight change in how I planned to do this. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Hadrian's Wall, Housesteads, Newcastle, Northumberland, Sycamore Gap, Vindolanda | Leave a comment

Sunset at Stonehenge

Posted on September 11, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from London

A person only has so many great moments in life. You know the kind of moments I’m talking about; the ones where time moves slowly, everything feels amazing, and you walk away with a sense of awe. I had one such moment on Monday and it was at Stonehenge. At sunset.

But before we get to that, I have to lead up to it. I am trying to get a highly visited blog going here. Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Avebury, henge, Stonehenge, West Kennet Long Barrow | 4 Comments

Day of Rest

Posted on September 9, 2012 by mosleybrian

Dispatch from London

I have a confession to make: I really didn’t do much today. It’s Sunday and my third day in London, but for the life of me, I was exhausted when I went to sleep last night. I quickly figured out what was causing me to be so tired: I’ve been on the road for two solid weeks!

You might say “Wait Brian; you only left for your trip on Wednesday.” Ah, but think on this: in the past two weeks I’ve 1) moved out of my apartment, 2) went back and cleaned my apartment, 3) moved in with my parents, 4) went to Connecticut for my cousins wedding, 5) spent three days and two nights in New York City, and 6) had a red-eye flight from JFK to Heathrow where I was detained for five extra hours at the end. So it’s been a busy, event-filled two weeks which finally caught up to me. And, looking at my schedule, I’m not going to have a rest day until Bath or Bristol (which is a solid two weeks away). Read more »

Categories: England | Tags: Hyde Park, rest | Leave a comment