Mind the gap...

My mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton as I jogged down the long concourse to. my gate. "Mr. Guy Felder please present yourself at gate E7 for on-time departure of Continental flight 4 to Heathrow". They kept saying it over and over again. For those who don’t know, E7 is about half a mile from the security check-point. I plopped down in my seat, sweating and breathing heavily. I was running very late. Traffic, an inept shuttle van driver and my own ignorance had left me checking in past the one hour cut off period. After 20 minutes of arguing I finally told the clerk to check my bags and send it tomorrow if she had to. She said it might make it on the plane. I would take my chances.

Two glasses of water later (no booze because I was going to take an ambien later) I was calming down and getting settled in my seat. We departed late. I flew in first class, it was worth it. My own seat which turned into a flat bed and amazing food made the experience richer for me. I love to fly and flying in first class is part of the fun of any trip for me. An army of flight attendants hovering constantly and meal course that is enormous:
1. Warm cashews and beverage of choice (coke 0 for me)
2. Lobster bisque and spring rolls and chicken sate with peanut sauce
3. Spring mix salad with pecans and balsamic vinegrette dressing
4. A roll basked that seemed to come by constantly with ciabatte, garlic bread, rye and wheat bread rolls.
5. Main course of stuffed pasta in a mushroom cream sauce with brocolli
6. Wine, cheese, and fruit tray with assorted crackers
7. Port
8. Ice cream sunday with toppings selected at your seat
9. More port

After all of that, I couldn't stay awake. Fat and happy I popped an ambien, pressed the "bed" button on my seat control and tucked myself in. 5 hours later I woke up to use the restroom. I pulled out my ear plugs and chuckled as I heard a chorus of snoring around me. I had barely sat up when a flight attendant appeared asking if I was ok. I assured her I was and that I was only going to use the bathroom. She asked if she could have anything for me when I returned. When I got back to my seat she was there again and she helped me tuck back in for the rest of my nap. I woke up to the smell of breakfast and the cabin lights starting to steadily get brighter. I was still full from dinner but not knowing when I'd see food again, I ate.
1. Fruit and yogurt
2. Cinnamon Role
3. Cereal with fresh banana
I refused everything else I just couldn't do it.

8 hours and twenty-seven minutes later and I'm in London. I needed a shower and a hat. I cleared customs and went to stand at the luggage carousel to see if maybe my luggage had made it. I watched as piece after piece came down thinking I'd stand there until the last person left. There were only three of us left when my suitcase came sliding down. I did a little dance and was happy that the plane got delayed, I'm sure that's what got my luggage on. I grabbed it and resolved to not push my airport luck again. I hopped on the underground and started my long ride into London.

When I can, I use mass-transit in cities that have it. It’s usually an incredibly efficient and economical way to get around. This was true in London. For £7,50 (around $11.00 US) I bought a day pass for all zones which mean I could use the train all day. The station is right in the terminal outside of baggage claim and a train was waiting when I arrived at the platform. On a side note, subways systems are generally confusing to those who haven’t used them before. Thank goodness for the iPhone. I downloaded an app that was built for people who were using their iPhones off the data network (international data roaming rates are near $20.00/mb). Before my trip I bought 20mb of data just in-case. I had to use it sparingly. So, when I found the iPhone Tube app which had the schedules and maps stored in it I was set. Just put in the station I’m at and the station I want to go to (which I located using google maps, sparingly) and it would provide a detailed listing of which stations to transfer at, what trains to take, etc. You have to pay attention at first, but after a few trips you start to know where you are and what trains to take. All subway systems I’ve been on so far have their ubiquitous announcements that seem to ingrain themselves into your head. In New York (and many other places in the US), for example, you hear this:

Every single stop, every single station. “Stand clear of the closing doors please.” It rings in your sleep. In London, this lady with a lovely voice comes on and regardless of what the announcement is she always ends with a cautionary note to “please mind the gap between the train and the platform.” Every station, every stop, every train you’re reminded to mind the gap. I have to say that the announcements on the London Underground are probably the most informative of any subway I’ve ever been on. They tell you when you’re near a point of interest, what trains you can transfer to and if your train is stopping or changing service they tell you what to do next. The announcements are clear, informative and understandable. In New York it seems they have a goal to make things confusing and hire drivers who mumble or have such thick accents that you can’t understand them. Stops on the underground have announcements like this:

The stations are generally nicer than those in New York but not as nice the ones in DC (which I think are some of the most beautiful in their industrial/modern beauty).

Still as subways go, with the aid of my iPhone app it was very easy, and before long I was bumming around underground without the app. Much less confusing than New York City with its lines, trains, and closures. All in all I spent $30.00 US on transportation for the weekend. That was day passes, and a fare to the airport to leave. A cab ride from the airport to the east side was around £85 ($120) compared to £6,50 for a day pass. The taxi gets you there quicker, but I think that I can sit for an hour and watch people.

I got to my hotel around noon to find I could not check in until 3pm. I had 3 hours to kill. So I checked my bags and set out on foot. I want to take a moment and apologize to anyone who was around me for these three hours. I’m sure I looked weird with my greasy messed up hair; and I’m sure I smelt a little rank as well. That being said, I did what I often do when I get somewhere new. I headed out of the hotel and hung a right. Didn’t have to walk far before I saw one of the most recognizable landmarks in London.

Turns out the Tower Bridge is just down the road. Speaking of roads, they don't make any sense here. No nice straight roads intersected by other roads. They twist and turn and it's easy to get turned around on foot. I got jumbled up a lot at first. I strolled around the tower bridge and did the tour which lets you go up top and walk on the walk ways which run across the top. These were installed so pedestrians could continue to cross the bridge even when it was raised. So, if the bridge was up you had to get in an elevator, ride it up (or climb a lot of stairs) then walk across. Wow. No one in Houston would do that. No thank you. Londoners though do a lot on foot. The bridges are choked with foot traffic as people walk across in the evenings and mornings. I guess it makes sense if you look at a subway map

There aren’t many stations on south side of the Thames. Add tourist to the mix and you have congestion worse than automobile traffic. Joggers would wiz by annoyed at people standing their way taking pictures of the tower bridge.

The bridge itself is beautiful. It’s the first and last place I went in London. Staring out at the very wide River Thames under two huge gothic towers is just amazing. The Tower Bridge is the only draw bridge over the Thames. The rest (all up river) are low clearance bridges. So large ships can only go about half a mile at most up river before they have to stop at the London Bridge. When it was built the Tower Bridge stood between tall ships and the Pool of London which was a sort of port. Now river traffic into the small area is so low that you have to give 24 hours notice to have the bascules raised. The bridge, in this way, is like so much of the things which are interesting in London, a monument that, while beautiful is not that relevant any longer.
After my tour of the Tower Bridge and old engine works (very interesting) I walked down the Thames towards London Bridge. I arrived back at my hotel at precisely 3, checked in and hit the shower. After my shower jet lag caught up with me and I could barely stay awake which was not ideal as I had an appointment at 4. Thankfully, I was able to shrug off the sleepies. After I got back to the hotel I took a one hour nap that I wanted to be much longer. I was so tired I was nodding off on the train. I knew I needed to stay up for the full, very long day to get myself adjusted quickly. I decided to set out and get moving so I'd be able to stay awake.

 I hopped on the train and headed for Westminster Palace. As I walked across the bridge to get a full view of the palace Big Ben struck 8pm. It's not as loud as I thought it'd be. I suppose it was designed in a time when it did not have to compete with masses of cars. The view of the Houses of Parliament from the opposite bank of the river Thames is stunning. After stopping for a minute to take it in the area I was standing in was illuminated by a right kleg light from a film crew who was shooting what looked like a honeymoon scene from a Bollywood Movie. Not wanting to be in it I walked off.

"Why stop now?" I thought. So I headed back to the underground and wound my way up to Buckingham Palace. It’s a 10 minute walk from Victoria station to the palace. You come up the side along the Royal Mews and the Victoria and Albert Musuem. The place complex is big. Maybe I’m patriotic, but I like the Whitehouse better. Perhaps it was that only half of the architectural accent lighting was on and many of the lanterns on the palace walls were busted but the entire thing just screamed of something that was once great and now transitioning to becoming a relic. I hope the Whitehouse never falls to that state. Like the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace stands for something ceremonial. A Queen, who is the sovereign in formality only ruling over what was once a great empire and is now just a commonwealth that seems to treat her with respect for the past role that monarchs have played in the nation’s history, yet if she actually exercised her authority it would be probably lead to the end of a monarchy in Great Britain.

Something about seeing great building for the first time at night strikes me. Perhaps it's the intimacy of it. Far fewer people are there and the buildings are usually illuminated more than those surrounding them. I suppose it sort of sets them apart from their surroundings. Coming back during the day is like seeing them for the first time again set along side and within the surrounding city.

I first had this experience in Washington, D.C. when my friend Kevin picked me up from the airport and took me to the National Mall at night. I was spellbound at the pitch black mall with the monuments illuminated against the darkness almost as beacons. As in D.C. I sat on the steps of the Victoria monument and took moment to not only take in the palace but to also consciously realize I was in London. I was in Great Britain. I was across the ocean. I was 5,000 miles from my home. I was using mass transit. I was finding my way in an unfamiliar place. I was sitting on the steps of a monument to Queen Victoria looking at Buckingham Palace. Yeah. This is what travel is all about.

Westward ho!

It's in the 40's there is a light dusting of snow on the mountains that seem to be ever present obstructions to the horizon. So far for me mountains have been the defining element of my time here in Utah. They impact everything from the weather to the round-about routes you must take to get anywhere. Seems a fitting place for Mormons to settle. A land of obstacles for a people, who for a long time faced obstacles to enjoying the free practice of their religious beliefs; and who now have become the grestest obstacle for so many to express love the way that they want.

The 3 hour drive from Salt Lake City to Loa took me from wide, familiar interstates, through traffic choking construction on the same (familiar too), to a high pass in a rain storm with winds so strong that the road spray from the car next to me blew onto my windshield obscuring my view. Around half way I turned off the instertat and wound my way through a series of twists and turns over several roads, for the time that I was on them bore the name of the same state highway. We have the same thing in some of the more remote parts of Texas. Some trans-state highway intersecting the main streets of towns in its path. The single lane, poorly maintained roads suddenly turns into a large, well maintained highway as if to say "this is all we are interested in." And for it the town gets a speed trap and a few fast food places and a big 24 hour gas station.

The placement of the rural towns here is different. Mostly they are in clusters. Not strung out like they are in Texas. My sister tells me that the original settlers (read: Mormons) grouped their towns purposefully. In every single town, regardless of size, there is a large Lds church.

As I drove further south, I began to spend more and more time climbing up mountain passes and cruising back down. Ear popping and signs indicating the summit elevation were frequent. The elevation afforded breath taking views of verdant irrigated valleys juxtaposed against the brown and yellow mountainsides. The final climb was the highest and steepest before I swept into Loah.

I bought the Tom Tom application for my iPhone and it ended up working as a very able guide. There is much more to write about. Now it is 7:30 and I need to head to Salt Lake for my flight.

Saturday - Life in Rio is a Beach

First thing I have to say about the beaches in Rio...There are some beautiful people and they all go to the beach. We walked out on the beach and rented a chair for 7,00 reais (about $4 US). In fact the entire day with drinks, chairs, and all cost us about 50 reais ($30 US). We spent about four hours on the beach. I spent a lot of it under my umbrella watching the waves roll through the turquoise water and crash to the shore. This town is centered around beach life. Shorts are rare, speedos are common and nice bodies are the rule. Made me wish I had taken weight watchers a little more seriously. Then I thought, "It's Rio, who cares" peeled off my shirt and ran out to the water with my friends. The waves here were serious. They'd drag you out and push you in as they came crashing down. There were a few times I had to pull my suit back up. Although it was cold, it was a blast. We went back to our chairs and people watched some more before deciding to head home.

After we got back home there were showers and a trip to the mall for some sim cards and dinner. Now it's 12:31AM and everyone is getting ready to hit the clubs. I'm on the fence. If I go to this I'm not going to pride tomorrow. There has to be more to Rio then trying to find large concentrations of gay men. I want to see the city. I've seen the beach. I think I may split from the group tomorrow and do my own thing. It's hard to believe but after tomorrow we only have two more full days here and then it's back to Houston. And though I'd prefer sitting in a beach side restaurant having acai paste, granola and bananas for breakfast with some fresh squeezed Ubru over dancing the night away at the clubs, I have to say I'm loving this city. Just being here is energizing. The constant breezes. The people all seem pleasant and happy. The word you hear the most is "Obragado" which means "thank you." You know that word and you'll get far.

This morning when Alex and I were having our breakfast by the beach we both agreed, we could spend a month here. I wish all my friends and family could be here. I know, I know, different strokes for different folks, but I can't imagine a life where I don't occasionally go to a place where no one speaks my language. I learn that though I get scared and I'm not comfortable, I can do it. I can make it. That's an important thing for me to remember. It's also nice to realize that even when the economy is in the tank, our life in the US is pretty good. Good enough that I could conceive of being in Rio for a month. I'm feeling pretty energetic, I think I'm going to go out.

In Rio de Janeiro (Trip report and day 1)

Whenever I'm leaving for vacation I always imagine the experience as something like Pilgrim's Progress. I'm cutting off heavy load called "work" that I carry with me. Whenever I have a trip experience where things go wrong, I imagine it's like work trying to drag me back. Take four people on three flights with six segments through six various airports, combine with some bad weather and you have a recipe for a "Anything Could Happen" casserole.

My 9pm departure from Houston direct to Rio de Janeiro did not leave until after midnight, over three hours late. I was going to be the earliest to arrive and now I thought I'd be the latest. Since there was nothing I could do to speed the plane up I just sat back and enjoyed the 9hr 10min flight to Rio. I decided to upgrade myself to first class. I'm glad I did. The food and service were "ok". The real benefit for me was after the meal when everyone in the cabin pulled out their masks and ear plugs then laid their seats down, extended the leg rests and went to sleep. I slept until it was time for breakfast. It was very relaxing. Then, we landed. That's the end of the relaxing.

I was supposed to meet two others who were coming from Dallas at the airport. When I checked the arrival boards I could not find their flight. Two hours later I found out they weren't coming to that airport. I found myself in the circumstance I feared the most. No idea where anyone was. No idea how to speak to anyone in a place that was foreign to me. I was making calls to the people back in the states. I finally heard from Alex, we agreed I would join him at his airport. I arrived there around 5pm, four hours after landing.

On the cab ride over I saw much a very stratified Rio. Slums called favelas full of precariously stacked apartments, some only partly finished pushed up against a freeway of crawling traffic where motor cycles wiz between cars and vendors walk along the narrow medians selling food to people in their crawls as we crawled along. Then, we turned a corner, and we were on the main drag to Copacabana. As we entered the city the scenery changed dramatically. Lovely tree lined vistas, parks where kids were playing soccer and large buildings took the place of sprawling squaller. The people changed too. All dressed in shorts, sun glasses and some with shirts.

I arrived at the other airport to find Alex waiting. My trip at this point changed dramatically. I had someone who could speak the language. We stopped at a food stand and ordered some thing that was a blend between empanadas and a corn dog. It was delicious. Then we headed over to the apartment we would be renting for the week.

The feeling of getting to a "home" is such a grounding and secure feeling. It's nice to have a place to put down your bags. We dropped of four bags and hit the streets. We found a grocery and picked up some food and water and such. Then we headed back to the apartment and met up with the rest of our party. They dropped off their bags and we all got dressed and walked down to the beach to find some food.

From dinner we headed to a club. Clubs, in general, are almost all the same. They have the same types of people. This one was no different, save for the music sucked. It was stuff that we would have heard on the radio in the US years ago. Another interesting thing, it was all in English. That was fun to sing along with. We were out until 2'ish and then we headed for pizza.

I have to say that I enjoy not being single. But it can also be annoying. When the energy of the group is devoted to finding and meeting guys it can take away from the fun of dancing and hanging out with friends. Tying your self worth to the chance of meeting someone in a club is a risky bet. in my experience it is usually the people who are there to have fun who tend to get the attention. Something about people having a good time and not worrying about making eye contact or standing over in a certain part of the bar in order to try and get the attention of someone just seems to be a waste of an evening. I do also realize that I view things a little differently. My looks are not something that I've ever leaned on in order to make friends or meet people.

Prologue

When my friend Alex said, “You should come to Rio with us next time!” The year was 2004 and a lot had happened to me in that one day in August that had lead me to Alex’s dinner table. Between now and then we became close friends. I say this only to point out that this trip has significance beyond just going to another place. It’s something a friend and I have talked about doing for a long time. That is important for me. It is important that I live a life of “I wanted to and I did” as opposed to “I’ve always wished I could have.” And now, even if I had to go home tomorrow, I’ve been to Rio de Janeiro. I wanted to do it and I did it

Washington DC day 3

Today was wet. It rained almost all day. Combine that with temperatures in the 50's and we were in winter again. We started our day with a tour of the US Capitol. Waste of time. We waited in various lines for about 30 minutes for a tour of basically two rooms with a tour guide who could be the daughter of Gretta Vansustren. We saw the Rotunda and Statuary Hall. After that we went over to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Cool stuff! After that we headed over to the Natural History Museum and saw the Hope Diamond. Then we headed down to the American History Museum saw the Ruby Slippers, Kermit D. Frog, Oscar the Grouch and a bunch of gowns worn by former first ladies. We had dinner at Old Ebbitt's which was a PJ Blands. Back at the hotel now staying out of the rain.

Tomorrow we are renting a car and heading to Udvar-Hazey, National Cathedral, Arlington Cemetery, and to dinner with some friends.

Washington, DC - Day 2

Today was started with rest. We did not leave the hotel room until almost lunch to head off to Steven Udvar-Hazey. We stopped off at a Subway on our way to the subway. We headed out towards the airport where the air and space museum was. We arrived to realize we were not carrying exact change bus fair and could not find somewhere to get change on a Sunday. SOOOOO we turned back around and headed to the mall. We went to the museum of modern art and saw some disturbing stuff. Jeremy said ti best, "modern art is something anyone could do, the artist was just the one to think it up." My favorite piece was the big man. He looks SO REAL.

We wondered through some sculpture gardens then over to the American History Museum to find it packed. We'll be going back during the rainy week ahead. We then went over to the American National Holocaust Museum. This place was terrible. It was laid out like a 4-story Ikea, death march and all. The place was packed, over-loaded to be exact. The experience of the museum was greatly diminished because we were shuffling through oh so slowly.

We finished up at the museum and got back to our hotel around 5PM. This hotel is the most curious place I have ever stayed. It's like if a Star Trek and a James Bond film collided.



We rested a bit and then headed out to Marvin's a Belgian/Soul Food fusion restaurant. It wasn't amazing, just good. We walked back to the hotel and have decided to call it a night.

Tomorrow we go see the Capitol and do more museuming.