Saturday, 16 August 2008

Eye on London

Being back in London again, some things stand out as unusual:

1. Summer
Everything you hear about an English summer is true. Expect to be rained on, blown away, or electrocuted in a thunder storm. You wonder why sun screen is even sold here.

2. Left and Right
English drive on the left (the correct side) and hence overtake on the right, but on the underground you stand on the right and overtake on the left. Nonsensical.

3. Weights and Measures
The English have a 'relaxed' attitude to metric measure. Expect to see litres used on liquid volume; but miles used in distance - unless they use kilometres.
As Daniel also mentioned, a sign saying 5m could mean 5 miles or 5 minutes.

4. Princess Diana Memorial Fountain
With all respect to the late princess, calling her memorial a 'fountain' is a stretch of the definition at the best of times. More apt would be 'aqueduct', 'drain', or more poetically a 'cascade'.

5. Madame Tussards
Everyone knows Madame Tussards, the famous celebrity wax museum (and worth the price of entry). However it isn't quite that easy.
a. The models are made of fibreglass, not wax. Only the original scuplt is wax, and then moulded with fibreglass to make it last longer.
b. Part of the tour includes a dungeon (what's with the British and their dungeons) where live actors frighten the audience. Surely this is a blasphemy for a wax museum.

Tomorrow I leave for New Zealand and back to whatever you call a normal life. Time to sort out my photos

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

For Your Culinary 'Pleasure' part 2

I have made it back from the front lines, and with only a few hours to go before this campaign ends it seems that we will win the day.

I created part 1 of this list of American 'treats' earlier http://russellpbrowning.blogspot.com/2008/08/for-your-culinary-pleasure-snack-food.html

Here is part 2:

11. Angel Food Cake
I ended the previous post with this lead-in, and it didn't disappoint. A cross between sponge cake and meringue, a sweet tooth delight.

12. Taco Bell
From the mexican fast food chain. They sell cheap tacos ($0.89ea), which, while hardly brimming with options (you get beef, lettuce and cheese), are surprisingly tasty.

13. In and Out Burger
Another fast food chain, in the California region only. If you read the menu, you will see only 5 things*:
-Burger (beef)
-Slightly larger burger (same ingredients as above)
-Slightly even larger burger (as above)
-Fries
-Soft drink
Given the lack of choice, you would think they would be pretty special. Think again. Think a cross between a fat fried pattie from Burger King and the swept up remains of a Wendy's bun with lettuce; throw in the worst fries ever. Voila.

14. A slice of Cheese pizza
Taking pizza to a whole new level of minimalism (except the portion), the cheese pizza has only one topping - cheese. This may not scream 'tasty'; but much like Taco Bell, it's cheap and what you pay for isn't too bad. I'd add pepperoni for a bit more flavour though.

15. Philly Cheese Steak
Steak coneseuirs will be disapointed, as this is basically a steak and cheese hot roll (or sub), don't expect them to ask if you want it medium-rare either. It's tasty enough, but the cheese is runny and horribly processed (what I wouldn't do for a slice of Edam). Which brings me to...

16. Cheese Whizz
"Cheese What?" might be a better name, due to it's complete indifference to anything resembling actual cheese. First of all it sprays from a can (like dairy whip cream), and second it is orange. If you like your cheese not at all then this is for you.

17. NYC Hotdog
From a roadside stand even. $3 gets you one with everything (cue zen joke), which is reasonably tasty. The portion size is on the small size though so I felt a bit cheated.

18. Soft Pretzel
Also available in roadside stand versions. $3 gets you a large pretzel and enough salt to fill the pacific ocean. Avoid unless you adore salt with everything, or are looking to have a heart attack.

19. Bagels
This high-carb donut wannabe, available with every variety of cream cheese filling imaginable. A fresh one is very nice, and very filling. However this almost doesn't qualify Bagels are readily available in New Zealand.

20. Crispy Creme
If bagels are not for you then donuts have all the sugar you need. The Crispy Creme glazed donut (without a hole) is very nice as a dessert; unfortunately American's haven't figured out the right time to eat them, so the are available any time from breakfast. The glaze will melt in the sun, so eat it quickly.

I hope you can now go out yourselves, knowledgeable of the dangers ahead.

End Transmission

* There is actually a secret menu for those in the know. But it doesn't have 'added flavour' on it.

Tuesday, 12 August 2008

News report from our man in New York

Time to break up travel reports with a breaking opinion story.

Pick the odd one out:
1. New York
2. London
3. Munich
4. Singapore
5. Auckland
6. Los Angeles

If you said Los Angeles you get half a point because they ARE odd there; but no, the correct answer is Auckland (and not because it's the only southern hemisphere city on the list).
Why then?

It's the only city (or perhaps - metropolis) without a metro train system (yes, even the infamous LA is getting in on the action now); and the Britomart terminal doesn't count, you need to have actual trains for it to work.
If you look at most large 'western' cities they will be likely to have a metro system of some kind, that functions (for better or worse); and the reason they work is that large numbers of people use them daily to: travel to and from work/go shopping/be tourists/...
because they are:
1. Cheap
2. Fast
3. Easier than driving
4. More environmentally conscious than driving (I bet London didn't think of that one when they started the underground in the late 1800's)

Having spent today using the New York subway to get all over Manhattan (for a total of $7), I find them to be generally excellent; and from a statement I heard today, another 5 million people in New York agree with me.

So why not Auckland!

The obvious answer is because of the cost, they aren't cheap. But if the metro will be used for 100 years, perhaps someone should think about how history might value such a decision.
I know I'd like it.

(PS: Aucklander's, take a look at Wellington's example. Electrified rail. The Future. In the 20th Century.)

In other news; being atop the Rockefeller Centre during a lightning storm is not advised.
But the view is excellent.

I'm Russell Browning reporting from New York city, back to you in the news room.