site visit travel "inconveniences"

i went on a site visit yesterday, september 01, monday. it was in bristol about 80-90 miles west from London, and our high wycombe office is located north about another 35 miles away.

of all the things that could go wrong that day, it had to be the train system.

i went along with one of our project managers. from our office, we travelled by car to reading, southwest of high wycombe. from reading, we booked a train to bristol. our train was supposed to arrived at 11:57am. it arrived at 12:23pm. our meeting was scheduled at 2pm, and it was an hour and a half ride. i guess we were lucky.

when we got back to the bristol station at 4:15pm, we boarded the 4:30pm train to london paddington... and at exactly 4:30pm the driver announced that the trip was cancelled. we had to wait at the platform for the 5:00pm train.

it's a good thing i already bought a ticket from reading to high wycombe earlier, as it would really be a hassle just to go down at reading, purchase a ticket and board the next train again. our project manager got off at the reading station. i would not want to be stuck alone in an unfamiliar station.

i arrived in paddington station at 6:45pm. went to the london underground to catch the train at marylebone station going to high wycombe. and just when i was thinking of having dinner at home, the driver announced that the marylebone station was closed because of a fire alarm or flooding, i could not remember... how would i get home? the only trains going to high wycombe terminates at marylebone!? i was thinking of maybe getting a taxi or bus or asking leo to pick me up somewhere...

and then, thank you Lord!...there really is a guardian angel, just as the underground train approaches marylebone, the driver said it has reopened...

can't you just imagine that? we got delayed at reading, we got cancelled at bristol, and my only station home - marylebone was closed...

i got home just in time for dinner... and then i remembered, i have a St. Jude novena in my bag...:)

lord nelson

for those who do not know, (like me, initially) lord nelson led the british army to victory during the battle of trafalgar, hence the name of the square near charing cross station where his monument is.

anyway, on our first week in our new office, one of our officemates brought us out to london for a little sightseeing... upon entering trafalgar square, he enthusiastically pointed out the statue in the middle and exclaimed- "that's lord nelson!" (WHO??!)

well, you could just imagine the look on our faces... it's probably the same thing as bringing our officemates to luneta and pointing out dr. jose rizal... blank faces! :)

i'll never forget who lord nelson is NOW.

--just want to share with you one of the funniest things we experienced here in the UK on our first month. well, i should have posted it a year ago! :)

the Sablon Church entrance

there was one thing i remember about our history of architecture back in college - copying european church plans and elevations from sir banister fletcher's book and submitting it to our professor... again, as in the case of the wind towers (see earlier posts) i haven't been that interested (as with many other topics!) in understanding church designs...gothic was with the pointed arch, romanesque was using columns and barrel vaults, and baroque was...well, if it is baroque, i'll know it is, because it definitely does not look like the others. :) and etc., etc.

i remember our professor banning us from using tracing papers as a medium for submitting the drawings - mainly because we don't bother to analyze the elements bit by bit...we just copied directly from the book. i think there was this one time that i did not even bother to scale the drawings larger! :)



when i went to brussels on a day trip years ago, i thought that finally, i could see some of the churches i once studied in college... i bought a ride-all-you-can-for-a-day ticket and set out to find my churches...then just a few blocks from the central train station, i saw this church... pretty much gothic, i think...





then at the entrance, i looked up and my jaws dropped, i was dumbstruck... it was the entrance to the Our Lady of the Sablon Church, i could not believe that a church's entrance could be this intricate and elaborate.. my camera started flashing at once!



of course, i could not remember coming across the Sablon Church during history classes... but this definitely made the trip worthwhile. i bought a book inside the church about brussels and used it as a guide during the day. (Photos taken at the Sablon Square, Brussels)


and i thought, no matter how thick fletcher's book is, it just could not make the topic more interesting than actually seeing and touching them. i just wish i knew more.

lonely planet and wind towers

marami rami na rin akong napuntahan... at kahit isang beses hindi pa ako naligaw, minsan nga, nagugulat ang aking mga kasamahan sa galing ng aking "sense of direction".. ang di nila alam, kolektor ako ng mapa at syempre, ang man's or woman's best friend when it comes to knowing where to go - the ever reliable lonely planet travel guide books!

nagpapasalamat talaga ako at naimbento ang mga travel guide books...

madalas, magpupuyat lang ako ng isang gabing pagbabasa ng lonely planet at magaayos ng aming itinerary para sa isang excursion sa susunod na linggo... anong oras magkikita, anong sasakyan or mga kalyeng dadaanan, magkano ang magagastos, gaano katagal dapat sa isang destinasyon, saan kakain, at syempre anong oras makakauwi. masaya, lalo na kung nasunod lahat ng plano at maganda ang kinalabasan... at syempre pag marami kang pictures na nakuha. dapat laging maraming pictures na makuha, walang proof pag walang pictures.

minsan din, sa di inaasahang pagkakataon, mapupunta ka sa isang lugar na hindi ka pamilyar, hindi mo alam kung saan ka dapat pumunta. dito malaki ang naitutulong ng lonely planet sa kin.


nung tumuntong ako sa dubai, ang alam ko lang na dapat makunan ng picture ay ang burj al arab, syempre. pero hindi naman yun lang ang dubai di ba? dahil sa lonely planet, namulat ako sa konsepto ng "wind towers" bilang isang building feature ng isang middle eastern dwelling. nung nasa kolehiyo pa ako, ang natatandaan kong feature ng isang dwelling para sa hot arid region ay - dapat may courtyard, small openings at magkakadikit...parang di ko yata natantandaan ang mga wind towers (baka natutulog ako o lumilipad ang isip nung binanggit ito - o baka iba din kasi pag malapit sa dagat)...mabuting paraan pala ang mga wind towers upang makakuha ng hanging magpapalamig sa loob ng kani kanilang mga bahay. habang ang mainit na hangin ay lumalabas, ang hanging napalamig sa loob ng tower ay pumapasok. sabi sa lonely planet, malamig daw at may kaunting hanging mararamdaman sa ilalim nito. (sarado kasi yung pinto e... di namin sinubukang pumasok, mahirap na.) (Picture taken from the Bastakia Quarter, Bur Dubai)


pero syempre, papalampasin ko ba ang pagkakataong hindi ito maranasan, dahil na rin sa aking lonely planet, napadpad kami ng sharjah, isang emirate din ito na 30-minuto lang ang layo sa dubai. sabi sa libro, may wind tower daw dito na tanging pabilog ang pagkakagawa ("The Majlis of Ibrahim Mohammed al-Midfa is known for having the only round wind tower in the Gulf" -Lonely Planet, Dubai, p.154), at sa kabutihang palad, maaari kang pumasok sa loob ng bahay! tingnan mo nga naman ang swerte. (Picture taken from the Sharjah Heritage Site)