Joe and Tami's Eurotrip!!

We met Del Toro!

2008-04-19T06:36:00.001-07:00

Fat Joe was on our plane getting there...and getting home we run into director Guillermo Del Toro. Woot!

-J

Do Androids Dream of Electric Guitars?

2008-04-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

I am referring to the We Will Rock You show/concert in London. It's basically if you took the awesome music of Queen, mixed in Blade Runner for the Sci-Fi grittiness, and seasoned it with Rocky Horror camp; you would have this show.

The performances were good to great to amazing and the electricity from the crowd...wow. This is a bona fide tribute to the Rock genre, with Queen as its centerpiece. The message I get from it? Music is a gift, not to be transposed into a monetary commodity. Music is an expression of emotion, not a formula. It's this such formula that lacks a substance and a soul. By the way of conformity music is branded and marketed, devoid of true individual expression. These ideas work on a deeper level because this message has always been prevalent in Queens work. Through the show they give nods to other great individuals of Rock. It's a phenomenal tribute to the masterful work of one of the most illustrious bands of all time - without taking itself too serious.
That's darn hard to do...and they did a damn fine job of it.
-J

The Tate

2008-04-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the Tate Modern Art Museum and it was great! I definitely suggest anyone who wants to go to London to check this place out. The two special exhibits we saw (and by special I mean we had to pay to see them) was Juan Munoz (a sculptor) and a collection of works from DuChamp, Man Ray, and Picabia. Both were neat, but I enjoyed Munoz's work better. The place is big so set aside a few hours btw to see it all :)
-J

Last of London Pics

2008-04-19T06:02:00.000-07:00

We had a really busy last day or two and keeping up with the blog fell by the wayside...go figure...here's some more pics from london...
-J

Oxford Pics

2008-04-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well we're back in town and here's some Oxford pics for ya...and of course I'm being silly again:)
-J

Last shots from Amsterdam

2008-04-16T13:58:00.000-07:00

There's more stuff...but I've been pretty judicious in what to upload...honest:)

Anyways...Tami and I had a really busy day yesterday and today we went to Oxford...I'm just trying to catch up:P

The statues are a monument to the freeing of the slaves.

There's a shot of our hostel in Amsterdam that use to be an old school. Me being silly in a shot or two, of course:)

Here's some pics of Oosterpark, which was really cool. They let their dogs roam wild, but they seem pretty well trained. Some shots of us...and then our Easy Jet 'Air Taxi' back to London.

-J

No 'Bier' Tour :(

2008-04-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

-J

The Tram

2008-04-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is what we took from our hostel in Amsterdam. It's pretty neat how close the thing runs next to pedestrians.

-J

Hmmm dessert...

2008-04-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hey guys...this is the type of food we've been eating...Jealous?

-J

Smart People

2008-04-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

We're back in London after a day of taking in the sights of Oxford. A lot of it was nostalgia for me - I dragged Joe to my college (St Anne's - you can see the crest above), my fave pub, and other places where I used to hang out while I was a student there.

After tentatively heading through the gates of Magdalen College to take a peek at its beautiful buildings, we got a real treat - the college choir was rehearsing in the chapel and we stuck around for a listen.

-T

Amsterdam stuff keeps coming

2008-04-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

A whirlwind this leg of the trip...so I'll post some photos for you and let you figure them out:) Outside bathroom for men (I was told women can buy a tube so they can use it too...we'll stop there), Van Gogh Museum exterior, and other scenic stuff
The neon light thing is a bathroom in a coffee shop...hmmm....I'll let you think about that one as to why :) A pic of my friend Awesome Jeremy on his bike. Yes that's me using the public urinal.
-J

Some Amsterdam pics

2008-04-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here's some random stuff...Tami being crazy, I'm happy we have an actual room to stay in, Us at the Tram Stop, Tami getting food
-J

James Franco Look-a-like?

2008-04-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

More Random London Stuff

2008-04-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

More pics from London
-J

There and back again

2008-04-15T12:53:00.001-07:00

Apparently the Netherlands doesn't like photos, but the Brits do:P
We stayed in our first hostile which was, well, touch and go. It was nice because they had internet access...it was awful because we had no hot water, "something" kept biting me, and well it was cramped.

After that we went and saw a few things around London.

Well anyways we ended up leaving London and heading to Amsterdam like we said before...
-J

Greetings from bright sunny Netherlands

2008-04-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well Tami posted the last two to keep you guys up to date. Yeah there's no way of getting pictures on here. The hostel has their comps in wood boxes:)
So we had a few trendy things to do the last couple of nights. A friend of mine (who forever will be called Awesome Jeremy) showed us around to a few chill places. One of them ended up being a meeting place for the Dutch Gay Republican Party. He didn't know they were having a meeting there, but it was great to see a bunch of queers in suits speaking dutch to eachother. Certainly not cool, this was the place where Tami got her wallet taken. Good thing is that she only lost money and she pretty much kept her cool. Then last night Awesome Jeremy took us to a really underground Gay Party. Basically it's a place that's only open on Sunday nights. The people running it seemed really cool. The party was great and there were a lot of hot men and women. The place likes to be chill and they prove it - demanding you to not bring/or use cameras and cell phones while inside. Met some nice people, including Awesome Jeremy's boyfriend who filled me in on why Amsterdam Doesn't Like You. Well I gotta go for now...but I've got some great pics. Promise:)
All the best
-J

The Full Euro Experience

2008-04-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

Joe and I and the amazing Jeremy (a US-born local who's been showing us a good time) were in a bar in Amsterdam a couple of nights ago, I took out my wallet to buy a round, and then my wallet was gone. Luckily there was only cash in there (probably about 80 Euros) but it kind of ruined an otherwise great night out. Lesson learned: don't pay for rounds anymore!

Amsterdam is beautiful and we've been taking it all in. Tomorrow we leave our pleasant hostel and head back to London.

-T

Tired feet

2008-04-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Seems like it's been an eternity since our last update - we've packed a lot into the past couple of days.

We're now in Amsterdam, blogging from our hostel's internet room (very expensive - 5 Euros for one hour. And we can't upload pics from here, so you might have to wait til we get back to London).

Yesterday we spent the morning in Westminster and saw the Houses of Parliament, the Abbey, etc. Then we made our way to Gatwick for the short flight to Amsterdam.

Our hostel here is a huge improvement - new, clean, quiet (perfect for old fogies like us). And we have hot water (!!!), so we actually were able to get cleaned up before heading out on the town. Our tourguides/hosts were two locals who promised to get us into an "exclusive" club after dinner - but we walked and walked and walked for hours til we found it, and by that time the "guest list" was "closed." So we walked and walked and walked til we arrived at another "exclusive" club, only to find another huge queue of "guest list" folks. We ditched our hosts and headed back to the hostel for much-needed shut-eye.

Today we went to the Van Gogh museum. We didn't know that ol' Vince shot himself in the chest and died two days later. Bummer. The paintings were cool, though.

We think we did some other stuff today but we can't remember.

Did you know that people (men) can legally urinate on the street here? In public? In broad daylight? There are these big plastic things with holes... guess you'll have to wait for the photo.

London at night

2008-04-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's a little after 9pm and we've just been to a screening of 'Flashbacks of a Fool' starring Daniel Craig. They gave us nice little sandwiches and wine! Our consensus on the flick is: Nice beginning, nice middle, no end. Oh well, it's got Dan's beautiful eyes, and that's all that matters.
-T

Tami owes me a beer for making me go to that flick
-J

I had to go to Orc's Nest AND Forbidden Planet. 'Nuff said.
-T

Really?! Come'on! To begin with they were both awesome (pictures will be coming). That movie was about a man who had a bad childhood and does drugs...the end. No seriously, that's it.
-J

Whatev. We did other things today, too - we walked a lot and rested in Hyde Park with the ducks. As Joe said, more pics to come soon- stay tuned.
-T

okay here's more...

2008-04-10T01:51:00.001-07:00

Here's the Heathrow Xpress Tunnel actually

Our Room at the Hostel

2008-04-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

So here's the tunnel to the Heathrow Xpress...really fast and neat...although kinda pricey...

Speaking of price...here's pic of my money exchange receipt...

Ouch! Thanks Bush...

Our Trip there

2008-04-10T01:43:00.001-07:00

Here's some more picks of us getting there and the long line at immigration at Heathrow.

We're here!

2008-04-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

So after a slight delay and our initial flight being canceled, we have finally made it.

Without too much pomp and circumstance we've had some pretty interesting stuff happen so far. Fat Joe ended up being on our flight and we got a chance to say hi. They say hi to the gang back in New York, especially Tim Kash, Rahman and Shaheim.

Wish I Was There

2008-04-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

The big trip's less than a week away, and we're really feeling the excitement. So much to do before then! I did go out and buy laceless sneakers - something I've wished I had every time I've gone through security at the airport.

$$$ Woes

2008-03-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Every day I hear more bad news about the value of our lowly dollar and that Americans visiting Europe are screwed. And now I'm reading an article from Reuters about smaller money-exchange places in Amsterdam refusing to convert dollars. Oy vey! This trip is gonna cost us big time... but I'm determined to have fun!!

No, you can't come with us.

2008-03-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Reader beware... this blog may make you insanely jealous. Joe and I are going on a trip, leaving all you working schmucks behind for 10 blissful days in Europe. We're leaving on April 9th, and we'll be hitting London and Amsterdam (and assorted day-trip destinations).

The tickets are reserved and paid for, and hostel rooms have been booked. Joe's got the Euromap pinned to his wall (he's especially excited because he's never been overseas). I'm pretty familiar with London, but Amsterdam will be totally new for me. I'm hearing good things, though!

So the countdown begins.

-Tami