An American in Leeds

Sorry for disappearing there for, oh what, a whole month. July brought me to Madison, WI, for the Int'l DNA Tumor Virus conference. I gave a talk, so most of my month was eaten up with preparing that. The talk went really well, though, so it was worth the effort. Anywhoodle, Barcelona! Second stop on my Big Fat European Vacation. La Sagrada Familia: A picture of La Sagrada Familia was on the cover of my 9th grade Spanish book. I remember thinking "Why does that building look like it's melting?" Well, now I know that it's supposed to look like that- Gaudí designed it to be very organic, like a living creature. The mindboggling part- La Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882, and won't be finished until 2026 (estimated). Scenes from around town: I also took a day trip up Montjuïc as well, to see the castle: The rest of my Barcelona photos can be found here . I'm thinking of going back and editing my Toulouse blog entry, because I think it...

For my 31st birthday, I went to Toulouse, Barcelona, and Rome with a couple friends. It was my first trip to the continent, and my first adventure into places where English wasn't the primary language spoken. Since I'm terribly lazy, English is the only language I speak with any proficiency. Toulouse was our first official stop. Home of the Basilica of Saint Sernin: And the Church of the Jacobins: As well as cassoulet. I do not have a picture of the cassoulet, but I am attempting to make my own this weekend. We also ventured out to some of the Bastide towns in the neighboring area on my birthday. We ended up visiting 8 of them. This towns are characterized by a central market hall, and a church slightly out of the center of town: Cologne market hall and church. Birthday rosé. Loads more pictures here. I'll do separate posts for Barcelona and Rome.

Yesterday, as I was walking through town, I noticed a car sitting at a green light for a full 10 seconds before accelerating and NO ONE honked at him. That, my friends, sums up the differences between England and the US. Or at least England and Massachusetts.

I was poking around on the internet, like you do, and I came across this thing called the Leeds Owl Trail . Apparently, owls are a big thing for Leeds. They're everywhere, if you look hard enough. So on Sunday, I printed out a map, and went owl hunting. First stop, Millennium Square: There are four owls in the above picture. It took me a while to find the owls in the City Museum carving. Next stop, St. Anne's Catherdral: I think these guys are my favorites. I walk by them everyday on my way to work. Then, Municipal Building: The Corn Exchange: I love the inside of the Corn Exchange. Malmaison Hotel (formerly the Leeds City Tramways Department): And finally, Leeds Bridge: Not sure what's going on with the sheep there.

I don't watch a lot of TV. I have it on for background noise most of the time, but I don't actually watch it (why I don't just turn on the radio, I don't know. Maybe I want to get my money's worth out of my TV License). I occasionally pay attention enough to catch a commercial or two. And I've noticed two odd things about some commercials: 1. Some seem dubbed over, and 2. Some have characters with American accents in them. The dubbed ones I've figured out are so they can show them in several countries- they just dub over voice actors with a regionally appropriate accent. I've seen the same Febreeze commercial in an American accent, a British accent, and in Icelandic. (As an aside- I've also seen Dynasty dubbed in Icelandic. It seemed way more entertaining that way). The commercials with characters with American accents are fine, until they say a Britishism with the American accent. To my brain, it sounds like the needle just jumped off the record. ...

I just need to admit at this point that I am a masochist. Between doing a PhD, and these punishing walks I do, I may as well accept it. I did a 20 mile walk around Knaresborough this past weekend. It was mostly flat, so it wasn't too bad, although the last three miles or so, I thought my legs were going to fall off. River Nidd (I think) Bluebells! Sheep because, duh, I was walking in the country. Churchyard Horse! I finally found out what these fields of yellow I saw from the train are. Rapeseed fields. For making canola oil and biofuels.

T rex at the Boston Museum of Science I went back to the US for two weeks in April. I actually did some touristy things this time, like visit the Boston Museum of Science, The New England Aquarium, Harvard's Natural History Museum, and The Butterfly Place. Cephalopod chillin' out. Glass Venus flytraps Butterflies on a banana bender In This-Is-Not-a-Sewing-Blog news- my finished Lady Grey jacket, at the Concord Cemetery: I made no alterations to the original pattern ( Colette Patterns #1010 ), other than to make the seam allowances 1/2" (I find 5/8" too bulky in general). The sleeves aren't 3/4 on me, but are just right full length because I have T rex arms (heh). Shell fabric is some sort of tweed I bought at the city markets, fiber content unknown. Although it sheds like the dickens- my dust bunnies will be green for the next few months. It was a good visit home. Just like last time, it inspired me to change some things in my life when I got back to Leeds, mainly...