Absolut Vodka Ice Bar

In an attempt to show a collegue an interesting time in London, we decided to try out the Ice Bar in London. It cost £12 to get int but that includes one fruity vodka drink. You get a special coat with gloves to wear to keep you warm as it is below freezing in there because yes...it is all made of ice...the bar, tables, and glasses. Needless to say, the coat and gloves don't keep your feet warm when you are wearing sandles! So it is a fun, try-it-once experience, not really interesting enough to keep going back...except to bring others :).

Jacob's Well - Wimberley, TX

During my last visit to the US, my family and I went for a swim at Jacob's Well just outside of Wimberley, TX. It was recently purchased by Wimberley Valley Watershed Association in an attempt to preserve and learn from the natural well. The US Geological Survey provides real-time water data. Essentially, Jacob's Well is a real deep hole that is the main source for Cypress Creek. While I have heard rumors that it is 1 mile deep, my reading have not put it quite that deep...but still deep! The well is the dark spot in the water. Otherwise the creek is only a few feet deep in the area. So the fact that you only have a hole with an effective diameter of about 2-3 meters makes it quite exciting to jump from the rocks above. A few kids went to the highest point to jump into the well, which required a bit of a running start to build enough propulsion to make it to the hole and not land on the rocks. We were told they were closing it to soon to begin research so if you want to experience jumping into a really deep hole, better go soon! Oh, and it's quite refreshing in the Texas heat!

No Catapults!!!

In light of the current flight events, I thought I would mention this bit of amusement at the airport. Unfortunately I was in an area of Gatwick security that didn't allow pictures else I would have taken one of the sign of items not allowed on flights...among them...CATAPULT!!! I don't know about you, but I was greatly inconvenienced by the prohibited item! How am I suppose to attack the castle in a land far away that requires a flight if I can't take my catapult on board with me?! Really, I can't check that on because I can't trust that there are no enemies working for the airline who would steal it from the checked baggage!

Chaplin Film in Canary Wharf

I spent a little over a week working in the Canary Wharf area. There is a park there and one night they had a showing of a couple of Chaplin films with a live orchestra. It was really nice! I had never seen a Chaplin film before and had assumed it was purely silly slapstick humor, but I found it to be really intelligent and I found a dark side to some of it as well. So if you never seen a Chaplin film and have a little hesitation, get over it and check them out! And keep on eye on the summer season at this park.

Queen of Spades Opera - Holland Park

A friend has a friend who is in this Tchaikovsky opera and got two free tickets to the final dress rehearsal so we went. There is an outdoor stage in Holland Park that does an opera series. It was a good opera...I definitely got wrapped up in the emotion of it. The costumes were Russian winter garb while we were in the middle of our great heat wave, so you had to feel bad for the performers! We met a deputy orchestra player (he plays when one of the regulars needs a night off) who happened to be Russian so he explained some of the historical references in it which was nice. Queen of Spades is no longer playing unfortunately.

Zurich - How Lovely!

Ok, I have fallen in love with Zurich! I would like to think we have a bit of a romance going on. I've managed to visit so far her each season I have been here and she's been wonderful each one...you get the full range! The summer was so exquisite! While riding on the trains can be a bit hot and stuffy, the head of Zurich Lake is right there in the city center so a quick swim is only a few steps away. And let me say, that water is oh so refreshing and clean as it's not that far from the source of the snowy mountain tops! I'm looking forward to a fall visit to see the changing of the leaves. It's not the largest of cities, but it is gorgeous and has come interesting people. There are some interesting swimming spots along the river that runs through town near Limmatplatz.

Even if they can't win...

America will make sure they are visible. I couldn't believe it when I saw this sign that one of the worst (but most well known) American beer is the official sponsor of the World Cup while the World Cup is being hosted by Germany, a country well-known for it's beer! Leave it to American Capitalism to take away from a hosting country to tout its local culture.