meltingpothotpot
From Melting Pot . . . to Hot Pot
A DC girl's guide to China and East Asia.
97 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
laluceverde
the green light
gingerboy1
leeroys pics
whatthehaelx
Beyond normal
parkeraveneu22-blog
Parker Aveneu
Text
Iceland and the Best (Air Travel) Decision I Ever Made
Here’s a tip for all you travelers: when flying to or from Europe, try Iceland Air. It’s cheaper than most other airlines, let’s you have two free checked bags, and always has a layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. No free meals, but with all you get, bringing your own sandwich isn’t a big deal. On my way to the US from England, I flew Iceland Air and booked myself a nice long layover. With the money I…
View On WordPress
1 note
·
View note
Text
Salisbury Cathedral, The Magan Carta, and my Favorite Picture Ever
Canterbury Cathedral, The Magan Carta, and my Favorite Picture Ever
On our way back from Stonehenge we stopped at the Salisbury Cathedral, which houses one copy of the Magna Carta. It was just as magnificent as you’ve been led to believe.
…if you’ve never heard of it, then, well, that’s what my pictures are for!
~ ~ ~
Inside the main sanctuary (Nave? Guys I don’t know the names for rooms in churches.) was a miniature replica of the cathedral being built.
~ ~ ~
View On WordPress
1 note
·
View note
Photo
PS -- Woodhenge This is not a joke. Woodhenge is right down the road from Stonehenge. There's nothing actually left of the original structure except for holes in the ground, which have been helpfully filled with concrete columns to represent the original wooden poles that would have stood there.
0 notes
Text
Stonehenge (It's the place to be)
Stonehenge (It’s the place to be)
After London (jeez, finally, amiright?) we went to Stonehenge. Unbeknownst to me, the Stonehenge visitor’s center has a whole lot more than just a bunch of big rocks. It begins with a nice-sized museum, which empties out into an outdoor section of experiential learning. There’s a replica of one of the sarsen stones (a particular type of standing stone) that would have taken one hundred strong men…
View On WordPress
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
London: The Ultimate Drawn-Out Adventure (Part 5)
London: The Ultimate Drawn-Out Adventure (Part 4)
The day after the market we went to the British Museum.
There’s not much I can say about this; it’s a museum. It’s pretty good, as museums go–pretty much on par with a Smithsonian (for all you DC people). And it has the Rosetta Stone, which is really what I wanted to see anyway.
~ ~ ~
We also saw some other cool exhibits, like this Easter Island statue,
And some Egyptian mummies!
~ ~ ~
Howeve…
View On WordPress
1 note
·
View note
Text
London: The Ultimate Drawn-Out Adventure (Part 4)
We met up with the ‘rents in London (yep, still in London) and went to Borough Market. It had a lot of great food to buy, stalls to wander through, and weird vegetables to look at. Some of them, like this fractal-y cauliflower thing, were just too cool not to take pictures of.
~ ~ ~
And then there was the food, most beautiful of which was the German sausage and Indian food.
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
London: The Ultimate Drawn-Out Adventure (Part 3)
Next up in my London adventure was a day with my sister, seeing all the Big Famous Things. First stop? Big Ben of course!
Between the buildings we could even see the London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel. The giant Ferris wheel looks cool, but was just too expensive and far away to be worth the time.
For those who don’t really know anything about those big famous buildings in London…
View On WordPress
#big ben#buckingham palace#churchill war rooms#England#london#london eye#travel#UK#westminster abbey
0 notes
Text
London: The Ultimate Drawn-Out Adventure (part 2)
After touring the Tower of London, we took a walk along the River Thames (pronounced “tems”).
~ ~ ~
We passed a lot of pretty cool things, like this “hovering” statue street performer:
And this fountain, which raises and lowers it’s water “walls” so that you can stand inside without getting wet:
~ ~ ~
Then we went mud-grubbing. That is, of course, the entirely professional, technical name for…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
London: The Ultimate Drawn-Out Adventure (part 1)
You may have noticed that I never actually posted my pictures from London. I went three different times, and kept thinking that I’d post them all together… later. Well, now it’s later. So get ready for all the London stuff you never knew you wanted to see. First up is the Tower of London, circa September 2014.
~ ~ ~
Pretty, right? Well it gets better. At that point the grounds crew and a whole…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Happy Holidays to One and All!
My blog posts may be way behind, but I did actually look at a calendar (or maybe someone mentioned it) and noticed the rapidly approaching winter holidays. So I’d like to wish you all a very merry whatever-you’re-celebrating. I, for one, will be lighting Hanukkah candles and exchanging presents beginning tomorrow night — and maybe y’all will get a post about the perfect fried potato pancake…
View On WordPress
#A Home for the Holidays#aholidayhome#christmas#family#Hanukkah#holidays#Kwanzaa#latkes#letters#love#potato pancakes#presents#Solstice#support#Winter Solstice#writing#Yule
0 notes
Text
Someplace Unpronouncable, Wales
After leaving Ireland, we spent a few weeks in a lovely small town in Wales. Don’t ask we where exactly, but possibly somewhere near the Brecon Becons, and it probably had a nigh-unpronounceable name. That’s all I got, folks.
It sure was pretty, though.
~~~
~~~
There was this cool bench made from old pieces of wood. It was pretty awesome, and I probably would have sat on it if not for the risk…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
"In Dublin's Fair City..."
“In Dublin’s Fair City…”
In Dublin’s Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel’d her wheel barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Molly Malone is one of the most famous residents of Dublin — though some would argue that she’s not there, and never has been. Molly is one of the city’s great myths and the subject of Dublin’s…
View On WordPress
1 note
·
View note
Text
The Leprechaun Museum
Our first day in Dublin dawned wet and dreary. In our quest to get out of the rain while still doing something fabulously Irish, we stumbled upon the Leprechaun Museum.
The Leprechaun Museum is a fantastic little interactive, storytelling museum. Groups travel through different rooms, while a trained tour guide/storyteller helps you to experience a variety of traditional Irish tales. Before you…
View On WordPress
#Dublin#europe#fantasy#Ireland#leprechaun#leprechaun museum#museum#storytelling#travel#UK#united kingdom
0 notes
Text
Cliffs, Castles, and Churches (Bus Tour #3)
Cliffs, Castles, and Churches (Bus Tour #3)
Next city on our British Isles whirlwind tour was Galway, Irealnd. Galway was also the home of our third, and final, bus tour. So. Here we go!
Our first stop was Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara. It was a pretty nice, picturesque stop, with just enough time to run up to the castle and peak inside. Climbing up to the ramparts cost extra, though.
~~~
We parked next to some cute little mostly-authentic…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Market Day
On our last day in Belfast we went to St. George’s Market. It’s a huge room filled with booths selling food and crafts, and if you like markets (like I do) then it’s the place to go in Belfast.
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Lookout Point
Belfast city center has a lovely little look-out point at the top of Victoria mall (inside). After climbing up approximately fifty-bajillion stairs (read: about six staircases), you read the viewing platform. Of course, if you’re lazy, you can take the elevator.
Some of the surrounding roofs are “green roofs,” meaning they use sustainable methods to lower their environmental impact. The ones…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Hop-On (but don't Hop-Off because it's the last tour of the day)
Stuff in Belfast
After the bus tour to Giant’s Causeway we did actually go see Belfast city on one of those hop-on, hop-off tour buses. (Hint: we didn’t hop off.) Here are some of the things I saw:
One of the many signs referring to “Her Majesty.” So when the UK gets a new monarch, all these signs will need to be changed from “Her” to “His.” I wonder how much leeway time they get…
I don’t know what this is, but…
View On WordPress
0 notes