When I lived in Paris, I used to cross The Channel about once a month and travel by train to London. I think of London as the mother city of all American cities: she is historic, storied,beautiful, enchanting, civilized,democratic,cultured and captivating! If I had to select a city outside of US as a place of residence, I believe London would even win out over Paris.
I think the tales about London's bad weather may be hyped a bit! I have spent about 70 days there altogether in various months of the year and I have never seen rain, snow, fog or even extremely hot or cold weather! The curious thing to an American is to find that the temperatures in London are so moderate compared with North Atlantic and North Central cities in US. One can see lovely gardens blooming in London from March through November.
The Gap year sounds like a modern day version of what the English did at the turn of the 19th/20/th century. The sons of wealthy parents would spend a college year travelling on the continent. It became a common practice in US at the same time. Frequently the traveler kept a journal during their journey abroad!
Well , actually , it is mostly a matter of frame of reference , isn't it?
One could say NE of with Washington as the frame of reference and NE from with Baltimore as the frame of reference.
I can vividly remember the first time I visited Italy, even though I have been there on a half dozen occasions since then. We were in Innsbruck, Austria and I was driving my English Ford through Europe. My sister and my girlfriend, Loretta, were navigating...this was years before Sputnik had first winked from space or a GPS System had been conceived.
According to the map we were supposed to turn onto route 32A and cross over the border within a few miles. I want to tell you that we literally slipped and slid into Italy and never once stopped to present passports?????? Austrian RT 32A ( the A must have meant atrocious) immediately became an extremely steep incline where the car moved forward under sliding power and slid at least several miles down a hillside until eventually coming to another road where I managed to interrupt the downward slipping of the car. I turned right onto the new road and was greeted by a gasoline station where I stopped to find the direction to Italy. In her best German, Loretta inquired and the gasoline attendant's response was in Italian.
In effect , he said welcome to Italy, you are the first tourists to arrive by the unfinished new road!
I thanked God that Milan was only a short distance ahead. We took lodgings and showered and dined and I believe each of us retired before 9:30 pm. Never before or since have I had such a frightening ride in an automobile. Welcome to Italy, indeed!
I think if I lived in Moscow, or any other foreign city, I would probably welcome the comings and goings of the seasons and accept them as God directs them. Otherwise, I think life in the big city might get boring! Of course, there are those who can not walk safely on ice or snow, so I do fear for their safety; but , not enough to ask the snow to stop falling! I think of snow as nature's gossamer garb!
I understand what you mean, ebuensar, about how tight-lipped the English can be! However, not all people in the US are friendly and communicative. In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont the people are essentially just like the English in regard to not responding readily and to being essentially unfriendly to other Americans and to foreigners. It seems the further south you go in US, the friendlier the people become!
It is fascinating how things do change: I realize that I am older than most on this site; but, I remember when July 1 was called either Dominion Day or Le Jour de la Confereration, depending whether you were standing in Ontario or Quebec. I believe this day is comparable to July 4, Independence Day in US. The celebrations described above mirror those in US.
I trust today was a glorious day for Canada, her people and for the Monarch in attendance in Ottawa!
Precisely correct, eksena. Since Baltimore has a deepwater port, the several Cruise Ship Lines serving the two cities operate out of Baltimore. The two cities are increasingly considered as one for statistical purposes; although, Washington is focused primarily on government and electronics and Baltimore on aerospace, steel manufacturing and port activities.
I am from Baltimore/Washington , United States. We say the name that way because the two cities are so close in proximity that they have become one huge metropolitan area. Welcome to the site!
Well, Snowflake, I have spent many,many days in London seeing its thousand plus years of history and antiquity: revealed in its architecture, its museums, its parks, its traditions, its marvelous monuments and in its spectacular palaces and governmental buildings.
I have travelled by small yacht from Staines up the Thames to Runnymede and picknicked where the Magna Carta was signed! London is so steeped in tradition and ceremony that every turn provides an opportunity for a history lesson . Do you visit London?
I can understand why you might say Londeners are kind and not say that about New Yorkers. New Yorkers will not usually listen to what you say and they usually will not take the time to help you with directions. Heaven help you if you don't understand the subway; if you ask the person behind the ticket counter, they often snap and snarl at you. But, then of course New Yorkers are a lot like Parisians in this regard.
The orange patch visible about 45 miles northeast of Baltimore is silt that was deposited in The Chesapeake Bay by its parent river, the great Sussequehanna River. There had been a powerful rainstorm in the states of New, York and Pennsylvania and the silt is always deposited at the rivers's mouth in Maryland, where The Chesapeake Bay originates. The silt can be seen trailing down past the Baltimore harbor area. This requires occasional dredging to maintain maximum channel depth. Even the Bay portion north of Baltimore must be dredged because Baltimore has access to the Atlantic Ocean both from the north and the south by way of a canal linking it to another river system, the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. Several hundred miles are eliminated in sailing to Philadelphia harbor from Baltimore Harbor by using the land/sea level canal.
Russian
Satellite photo: Baltimore shown slightly above ( 40 miles NE of ) Washington.
One could say NE of with Washington as the frame of reference and NE from with Baltimore as the frame of reference.
According to the map we were supposed to turn onto route 32A and cross over the border within a few miles. I want to tell you that we literally slipped and slid into Italy and never once stopped to present passports?????? Austrian RT 32A ( the A must have meant atrocious) immediately became an extremely steep incline where the car moved forward under sliding power and slid at least several miles down a hillside until eventually coming to another road where I managed to interrupt the downward slipping of the car. I turned right onto the new road and was greeted by a gasoline station where I stopped to find the direction to Italy. In her best German, Loretta inquired and the gasoline attendant's response was in Italian.
In effect , he said welcome to Italy, you are the first tourists to arrive by the unfinished new road!
I thanked God that Milan was only a short distance ahead. We took lodgings and showered and dined and I believe each of us retired before 9:30 pm. Never before or since have I had such a frightening ride in an automobile. Welcome to Italy, indeed!
I lived and worked here so many years...Big, Bad, Beautiful Baltimore, by The Bay , but of course!
I trust today was a glorious day for Canada, her people and for the Monarch in attendance in Ottawa!
I have travelled by small yacht from Staines up the Thames to Runnymede and picknicked where the Magna Carta was signed! London is so steeped in tradition and ceremony that every turn provides an opportunity for a history lesson . Do you visit London?