Final London Thoughts

One of my favorite views in London

This photo was taken from the steps of the National Gallery looking through Trafalgar Square with majestic Big Ben in the distance.

To sum up two fine days in London, not one person approached me about being an American and what to do about our President.  Last year that happened a lot.

The official temperature yesterday was 4 degrees Celsius which equals 39 degrees Fahrenheit.  It was the wind chill that made it memorable.

British Understatement Moment:  As I waited at the Charing Cross Underground Station late last night for my return to the London Elizabeth Hotel, a very subdued female voice came over the intercom to announce in a rather matter-of-fact fashion that "The Central Line is closed in both directions between Lancaster Gate and Notting Hill Gate due to a person under the train."

Now it is on to Catania this afternoon... Stay Tuned!!!

CHEERS From London!

Man vs. The Elements London Style

I slept right through my alarm due to a combination of jet lag and walking more in one day than I have in the last three months combined but if I hustled I could still make the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Buckinham Palace at 11:00 a.m.  A quick Tube ride and a brisk walk through Green Park is all I had to do to be on time.

Buckingham Palace

First let's talk about the weather the last two days in London, for some reason the word "RAW" keeps creeping into my noggin.  It was bad enough that they cancelled the Ceremony!  In my opinion, you have to be a little tougher than this if you want to hold on to an empire.

Here you see me by one of the ornate, heavily guarded entry gates.  Please note the green umbrella in my hand that I brought with me from Camarillo.  It would explode about an hour later on Cannon Street due to atmospheric turbulence.

Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral

My umbrella disintegrated as I took this picture.

City of London Court Buildings

Entry Way to Lloyds of London

The George

Time to refuel, this is a grand old pub across from the Royal Courts of Justice on Fleet Street.

The inside of The George was very cool with these old school glass dividers.

Fish and Chips, of course, with a Pint of an adult beverage.

If I have any more of this room temperature beer, I may become a white wine drinker.  Pino Grigio anyone?  Cheers!

Outdoor Ice Skating in the middle of London

And some of you thought that Rockefeller Center in New York City was the ideal venue for a winter skate!

 

The Phone Booth, the Road Sign... I just liked it.

This picture was taken in Southwark on the South bank of the River Thames on myway to my next stop which was...

The Imperial War Museum

First, it got me out of the wind and cold weather and second, there was no admission fee.  Finally, they have HUGE cannons out front.

Note the new and improved black umbrella I bought that is in my right hand.

A Piece of the Berlin Wall

Always interesting to see a piece of milestone history from my lifetime.

INCOMING!!!

The Imperial War Museum even had an exhibit about my Father-in-Law, Bill Gardner.

Nice Outfits!

There was a group of about 30 boys on a field trip to the Imperial War Museum today, all in their very proper school uniforms.  Rio Mesa H.S. colors, do you think Ray Gonzalez, our Principal, would go for it?

British World War II Propaganda Poster

It was GREAT to see this poster today!  I did an official weigh-in before I left and tied my all-time record at 136.36 kilos!!!  Now I know in what direction to take my diet.

Hey, wasn't Monty stuck in the mud in Catania?

The National Gallery

Weather and free admission once again entered the equation.  Yet another great European art museum with breathtaking paintings.

It is amazing what people did with their creative juices before Play Station and X Box were invented.

Steve Newman

The leader of our Haunted London Ghost Walk

1665: the Plague hits London

1666: the Great Fire of London razes the city

All the time: sadistic murderers, grave robbers (a.k.a. "Resurrection Men"), suicides, unfaithful hooker-wives, public hangings, tortured prisoners...

What more can a city do to inspire a walking night time tour like this one?

The Nancy Pub

Recommended by Catania Elephant WR Gregorio Barbagallo, this was a fine place to sit next to a heater for a while after the 90 minute walk in even RAWER weather.

Good call Gregorio!

London Elizabeth Hotel

This cute hotel has become my London home base.  I love their lift (elevator) that measures 2 1/2 feet deep by 2 feet wide LITERALLY!

Its fun riding down four stories with my two bags.

Catania tomorrow night, I'm very excited!!!

The Journey Begins Again

Every journey has to start somewhere, so mine always seems to start at Cronies Sports Grill in Camarillo, California.  One last club sandwich with a huge drink that was constantly refilled at no extra cost with both Diet Pepsi AND ice!

The best part was dining with my #1 Pink Elephant!

Afterwards Laurie drove me down to Los Angeles International to send me off on my 10 hour, 10 minute non-stop overnight British Airlines flight to London.

Being away from her is the worst part of this deal.

London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5

Less than a year old, Terminal 5 deals ONLY with British Airlines.  It was built in part as an answer for British Air's uncanny ability to lose luggage in London (see Susan D'Antuono for more info).

Fortunately they did NOT lose my one piece of luggage but I didn't get my bag until one hour after I got off the plane.  Slow to be sure but I'm thankful I had it. 

Heathrow Express at Paddington Station

After the long trip from Camarillo to Heathrow, about 15 hours all told, this Express train that costs 16.50 GB Pounds one way was deemed a necessary luxury.

The London Elizabeth Hotel was only a short 400 meter walk from Paddington Station as opposed to the one hour meandering walk last January when I got hopelessly lost on my first trip to London... LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES!

After getting checked into the hotel, it was off to see the sights of London.  Where to start?  The obvious choice was a Tube ride to the Barclay's English Premier League's Shangri-La.

The Tube's Piccadily Line's Arsenal Station

My first, very emotional visit to the

"Home of the Gunners!"

Next up, lunch at the Punch & Judy Pub in Covent Garden

The Punch & Judy's Hearty English Fare of Beer, Sausages, Mashed Potato and Gravy

Harry Houdini, Jr.

He was back from the dead and performing at Covent Garden while I dined.

The view of Westminster Hall and the Houses of Parliament from Trafalgar Square

On Trafalgar Square some people get no respect!

The Horse Guards

Nice Warning Sign

Big Ben

The Buxton Monument

Celebrating Great Britain's outlawing of slavery in 1833.

CSI London?

I stumbled upon London's Coroner's Court.

Westminster Cathedral

No, this is NOT Westminster Abbey, totally different.  This Cathedral is Roman Catholic

West End Plays

This is my fourth trip to London and I have started each one the same way by attending a West End play on my first night in town.  Tonight's choice was the world's longest continuous running play, Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap".

As you can see by this sign in the lobby, the performance I attended was number 23,400 in the streak.  The show premiered on November 25, 1952 and is in its 57th year in London! 

I figured it out!

The audience had to swear a loyalty oath to not reveal "who dunnit?" to keep the mystique of the play going.  I will honor my sacred oath but I AM proud of myself for figuring out who the culprit really was.

Thank you Gil Grissom for all you taught me on all those CSI shows from Las Vegas!

Inauguration Day, Cal Lutheran Football and Occidental Football

My last full day in California before

Catania Round II...

Barack H. Obama

44th President of the

United States of America

Mike and I started the day with a father-son bonding moment watching Barack Obama getting officially sworn in as our new President.  I REALLY feel like today was a rebirth of the American  dream.  These are VERY TOUGH times and the task for our new President and our nation will be difficult but I have renewed HOPE!

Did you know that a Cuban born designer created Mrs. Obama's stunning dress for the Inauguration?

SPREADING THE WORD...

After watching the Inauguration, I spent the rest of the day talking to interested seniors at two Southern California powerhouse Division III football programs about coming to Europe to continue their careers.

Now while my knowledge is limited to what I learned and experienced in my one season in Catania, I felt that I know enough to get people to not waste time and effort in looking for a European opportunity.

Stop #1

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California

http://www.clusports.com/football/

7-2 in 2008

On the far left is CLU's Head Football Coach, Ben McEnroe with nine of his seniors who are interested in the possibility of coming to Europe some time soon.  Ben just finished his second season at the helm and is doing a great job.  The Kingsmen's only two losses this past season were to former Catania Elephant star lineman Brandon Bennett's 11-1 Willamette team and to 9-1 Occidental College.

We had a good 90 minute dialog and I felt good about getting these Kingsmen headed in the right direction, which is pretty much East across the Atlantic Ocean actually.

Stop #2

Occidental College

Eagle Rock, California

http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/index

9-1 in 2008

Occidental's only loss was 48-33 to 11-1 Willamette (Brandon Bennett strikes yet again!) in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

College Hall of Fame Certificate

Bill Redell

Occidental College, Defensive Back, 1962-63

Occidental is located about a one hour drive south of Cal Lutheran and I got there a little early.  While checking out their trophy room where I was scheduled to speak to the Oxy seniors, I came across this Hall of Fame Certificate.

Now this is significant for me because in 1958, when I first got interested in football, Bill Redell was the star QB (#12) of San Marino High School in the town where we lived.  That year he led the Titans to a Rio Hondo League crown and a berth in the C.I.F. "AA" playoff finals, a crushing 20-0 loss to Claremont H.S.  My Mother drove a bunch of the neighborhood kids to many of the away games and we snuck into most of the home games by crawling under the fence behind the visiting stands.  Bill would go on to win C.I.F. Player of the Year honors and earn a scholarship to U.S.C. before transferring to Occidental.

Bill was the obvious star and leader of that great team and I guess you would say he was my childhood sports hero.  I remember going to watch him practice one day where I saw the my other two memorable Titan players, twins Newt and Cecil Withers.  The twins were both linemen and I really don't know how good they were but I fell in love with their names.

After college, Bill played several years in the Canadian Football League and then I lost track of his exploits.  I wonder whatever became of him?

Occidental's Interested Seniors

Equally attentive, they were a great group too.  Rocky Ciasulli, on the far right, actually played in Finland last season and was a good sounding board for all of us with his perspectives.

Rocky Ciasulli and

Occidental's Head Football Coach

Dale Widolff

Dale has been Occidental for 27 seasons and, like Ben McEnroe at Cal Lutheran, is both a good guy and a good football coach.

Barack H. Obama

Occidental College Student

1978-1981

Did you know that President Obama attended Occidental before transferring to Columbia to earn his B.A. degree?  Well Oxy knows it and the Tigers were justifiably proud of him on this special day.  Small world...

Monday's Farewell Tour Stop

With Florene and Bill Gardner

Laurie's Step-Mother and Father

at Camarillo's California Grill

Monday was a simple day of packing and hanging out at Casa Contreras with Laurie, Mike and Vanessa.

In the evening we had a delightful meal with Bill and Florene.  Just a day of being with family, it really doesn't get better than this if you think about it.

Dr. Amada Ruiz de Villa

Orson Welles ground breaking 1941 film,

"Citizen Kane"

"Rosebud..."

From "Citizen Kane", it is arguably the most famous one word line in cinematic history.

And now for something totally different...

Amada Ruiz de Villa

My Long Lost Second Cousin

The Internet is such an amazing instrument!  Thanks Al Gore!  O.K. I know that IS a big stretch.

About ten days ago, I got a comment posted on the blog asking if I was Amada's second cousin George Michael.  I'm still not sure how she stumbled upon the blog but I'm glad she did!  Sure enough, I am.

First we had to clear up the Michael thing.  When I was born in 1947, my Father, Dr. Jorge Contreras was a brand new, proud immigrant to the United States from his native Cuba.  My Mother, Chuny, also a Cuban immigrant, wanted to name me George Michael but was knocked out as was the child bearing custom in the '40's.  So while she is passed out, Jorge, in a fever-pitched, patriotic mood signs the birth certificate with my legal name now officially being George Washington Contreras!  I'm sure that being born on July 7th, just after Independence Day, influenced his decision.

Not to be completely out foxed, my infuriated Mother was appeased by having my name appear as George Michael on my baptismal certificate.  I have to say that the good doctor won this round EASILY.  My Mother still calls me George Michael but I proudly am George Washington, thanks Pop!

Having cleared this name issue up, "Amadita" and I have been e-mailing and phoning back and forth ever since trying to make up for 40+ years of lost contact.  I really am excited about continuing our dialogue and just catching up on way too much lost time.

She just retired on December 31, 2008 from a very successful career as an Opthalmologist working in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina near the Virginia border.  She still lives a very outdoors oriented lifestyle in rural Littleton, N.C. near Lake Gaston.

Now for the tie-in.  If you are familiar with "Citizen Kane" you know that Orson Welles plays the title character, Charles Foster Kane and that the movie starts with his death as the last thing he says in this life is "Rosebud..."  The movie then proceeds to tell the story of this extremely powerful man based on real life mogul William Randolph Hearst as they search for the meaning of his dying word.

If you have NOT seen "Citizen Kane" stop here NOW as I am about to give away the ending.

It turns out that "Rosebud" was the name of Kane's snow sled from the idyllic, care-free days of his youth.

In these difficult times, I venture that if we thought about it that we can all come with our own "Rosebud" moments.

I have always known that my "Rosebud" moment occurred one summer in the late 1950's on a family vacation in Cuba.  Amadita, who is my age, and her family lived in a small town about 30 miles outside of Havana named San Antonio de los Banos and we visited them for a few days.

Their home was located on a corner with a very nice veranda in front that faced the village's central plaza/park.  Amadita was athletic, so it was a dreamland for two 10 or 11 year-olds to play in that park, go to see a film in the town's ancient movie house and eventually adopt a puppy together that her Father, Dr. Pepe Ruiz de Villa, was none too happy to see us bring home one day.  According to Amadita, her family happily kept it as a pet after we left for our return to California.

All of my idyllic, care-free, "Rosebud" memories happened in about a three day period I would guess and they all occurred in and about that central plaza/park.

If you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to hear about your "Rosebud" by posting a blog comment below.

GOOD TIMES INDEED!!!

The Farewell Tour - Sunday Edition

This is a big week here in the USA, today is a National Holiday honoring the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday, America officially gets a new leader that brings renewed hope and vigor to a nation sorely in need of both, President Barack Obama.

On a much lesser note, Wednesday marks the end of the Farewell Tour as I fly to London for two days before landing in Catania, Sicilia, Italia (Eatalia?) Saturday evening.

To recap Sunday's Tour Events...

Dr. David and Gayle Hicks

"Physician Heal Thyself"

Gayle, Laurie's sister, and David drove up from Santa Ana in Orange County to visit and get travel tips for their first vacation to 'The Boot" this spring.  Unfortunately, David wound up feeling ill and had to lay down for most of the visit.

David was out of commission but Mike, Vanessa, Laurie and I proceeded to give all of our ideas to Gayle on the essentials for their first taste of Italy.

We look forward to their visit to Sicily at the end of their journey from Venice, Florence and Rome.

Hope you feel better today David.

Getting in the Mood

Sunday was also a day to work on packing for Sicily and watching both of the NFL's NFC and AFC championship games.

Though on a commercial break when this picture was taken, we were riveted by the Chicago-St. Louis-Phoenix-Arizona Cardinals' (this is why I like college football more than pro football, your college team NEVER moves or changes names) 32-25 come from behind after being way ahead victory over the Philadelphia Eagles to represent the NFC in Super Bowl XLIII on February 1 in Tampa Bay.

In order to watch the AFC championship game we would have to switch venues and move to Chuy's Mexican restaurant to engage in a very large Tour stop.

Gonzalo "GONZO" Rodriguez

Head Coach, Rio Mesa Girls Calcio Team

"Forza Spartans!"

Watching the AFC game on Chuy's multiple TV screens

Sixteen of us with Rio Mesa H.S. ties showed up for another round of food, football and friendship.  It was a great to see everyone one more time before leaving.

The AFC game was a good one too as the Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Cleveland Browns-Baltimore Ravens (yes they both moved AND changed their nickname) 23-14.

Today's NFL Trivia Question: In 1970, after a decade of fighting, the upstart American Football League's ten teams merged with the older, more established National Football League's 16 teams to form the current NFL.  The NFL split into two Conferences, the American and the National.  To make the Conferences equal in number, 13 each, the Cleveland Browns-Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore-Indianapolis Colts (yet another infamous moving franchise) and the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the new AFC from the old NFL.

Now for the question, with the Chicago-St. Louis-Phoenix-Arizona Cardinals earning a spot in their first ever Super Bowl yesterday, only two other of 1970 franchises that merged still have not played in a Super Bowl.  Can you name them?

The answer is at the end of this post...NO FAIR PEEKING!

Kathy DeVera, Koreen FitzGerald and Laurie

Even Tanner Wrout made a

Special Guest Appearance!

Many of you have been clamoring for updates on Tanner's progress since the end of the Freshman football season.  School is going well for him, he is performing at a very high level on the Frosh-Soph basketball team and the chicks dig him!

Lori, Tanner and Jeff Wrout

I can't thank these three people enough for making the 8-2 2008 Frosh football season such an interesting experience.  The Oxnard game... WOW!

A BIG thanks to Mike, Vanessa, Laurie, Brian and Koreen FitzGerald, Gonzo and Pam Rodriguez, Joe Mollica, Ben Todd, Kathy DeVera, Yen Lam, Marlene Mahan, Jeff, Lori and Tanner Wrout for all of their friendship and support!

Connie and Gino Milano

Owners of Camarillo's Cucina Isabella

The Milanos are building a Bed and Breakfast in the Sicilian hill top town of Enna about an hour west of Catania.  Gino just got back last week from a trip to Sicily. 

The Cucuina Isabella is a great little italian restaurant that is located across the parking lot from Chuys so we just had to go over and include them in the Farewell Tour.

Today's NFL Trivia Answer: Only the New Orleans Saints and the Detroit Lions from the original 26 franchises involved in the 1970 NFL-AFL merger teams have failed to play in at least one of the 43 Super Bowls.