End of Week One

Well, my first site and work went well. Spent all day yesterday typing up the report, so it's finished as well. Quite a feat considering how long my reports are, I'm feeling pretty accomplished right now.

Took a leisurely drive of the countryside to get to my next destination of Ware, Hertfordshire. It's a beautiful town with a lively shopping area and history. I've been here only a couple of hours and already feel like I'm going to like it here. Well, I'm going to spend the day walking about and seeing the local sights, grab a pint, and go do the laundry (limited clothes + lots of walking + sweating = stinky clothes). Everything here is very close together and finding shops appears to be very easy.

I've got the weekend free so it'll be me playing tourist again until Monday. Internet access is available at a cafe and at the local library. Should be able to keep up the journal, I think. One more week in England and then off to Italy.

First Day in Ware

So far so good. Got the laundry done and read up on some of the things I could do tomorrow. The town has a Grotto, which is honeycombed with tunnels that extended into the adjacent mountains. It's only open on Saturdays and it sounds kinda neat, so I'm going to give it a shot. There are several local things to check on here, so I'm going to spend most of the day goofing off.

Taken a few local pictures. The local church is impressive and they have statues dedicated to the Malters (aka the beer makers). To them I salute for evolving barely and hopps into the nectar of the gods that is a Murphy's Stout (mmmmm... beer). Also, the statue is of an impressive bear of a guy ;) Oh, have I been gone that long?? I'll have to try to post this one later.

Now for a brief tirade. There are many constants in this life... the speed of light, Avagadro's number, Planck's (these are science terms for the non-science geeks). Today I observed another constant that has mystified those of us in the states and now I realize that it extends to the European Union... the mystery of the missing sock.

Mind you, I came across the pond with a limited wardrobe due to my travels. So after walking and sweating around England for a week, I was desperately wanting to hit the laundry (just because I'm in Europe doesn't mean I have to smell "European" and my apologies to any European folks). Inevitably, one of my black dress socks vanished. The mystery lingers... not in the dryer or the washer... just falling into some transdimensional portal finding outlet through the various laundromats and household washer and dryers. It's not limited to the USA apparently. I chuckle at the thought that some Brit will find a black sock in his laundry and wonder to himself ... "but I don't own black socks." He will then cast an curious eye to his girlfriend/fiancee/wife/shack-up/cousin (the last in case of royalty) and a relationship could crumble. Such is the days of our lives.... ;)

Well, I'm off to sightsee a bit more before I lose the light. I'll post more tomorrow about the grotto, etc.

Cheers! (It's addictive, I swear. It's like saying "eh?" around Canadians)