Dragon Breath

Not a long post today, just wanted to share the below photo with you. It's not very often that I encounter a fire breathing dragon on my travels.

Stopped By Security

Today was my lucky day, I was stopped by security twice. Going through the security checkpoint at Gatwick airport on my way to Krakow, the baggage screener pulled aside my bin that contained my liquids and jacket. I thought this slightly odd as all the liquids meet the size requirement and were in a clear plastic bag. The agent informed me that all liquids must be in a security provided clear plastic bag not one of my own. If liquids are in my own bag they can be confiscated by security. I have had no problems in any of my travels for the last 6 months at any airport with this bag so I inquired whether this is just as Gatwick as this restriction does not exist at any other airport. The agent replied that this is according to the transportation authority and should apply at all airports.

Of course I don't believe this as I would have been stopped on one of my countless other flights if that was the case. Looking up the rules of liquids in hand baggage the following appears on the BA website. I may be missing something here but the rules state a plastic resealable bag which is exactly what I have - this just was simply a case of a guy not understanding the rules.

My second encounter was of course when I was out taking photographs in Krakow this afternoon. There were some flags flying on some buildings an American, an EU and some other country I don't recognize so I took a picture. As I was putting my camera away I was approached and told no pictures are allowed as that is the US Consultate. I apologized and walked away, not nearly as many hassles here as in Dubai.

Two Days Too Late

I got a new Blackberry Pearl this week at work. I didn't think I needed a new phone and if I did get one I wanted a full keyboard not the stupid hybrid but I was told no unless I get approval to spend the extra money. The only good thing about the pearl is that it has a camera. This would have been very handy over the weekend when I was out for a walk with my sister and her family. I decided not to bring my camera as it is heavy and I didn't feel like lugging it around. Of course shortly after we head out we encounter a family of geese. Two baby goslings that probably weren't more than a day or 2 old and their parents. They parents were not too happy that we were approaching them and starting hissing. I was kicking myself that I had decided not to bring the camera. If I had gotten the pearl before I left it would have been very handy at least now I will always have some sort of camera with me. Haven't yet taken any pics with it. I'll work on that later this week to see what the quality is like.

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz

What a relief. This morning when I went down to the front desk I could clearly see my suitcase sitting there. It arrived early in the morning after a nice holiday at Heathrow. Of course this was not before I had gone to Nordstrom's to purchase a few choice items to wear - I figure it is being re-reimbursed by either BA or my travel insurance and I deserved some nice new clothes for all my hardships. I am overjoyed to be reunited with my long lost luggage.

Almost Around the World in 7 Days

Last Sunday I boarded a plane from Shanghai to London, yesterday I left for Seattle. Hard to believe that I have almost circumnavigated the globe.

I should have known the trip would not go smoothly when I got to Heathrow 2 hours ahead of time and the queues were massive and not moving. The friendly voice on the pa said that there was a fault with the baggage conveyor belt each flight was being called individually. After about 45 minutes the belts were working and then my flight was called. I dropped off my bags and headed to the gate. Once in Seattle there were still many people waiting for bags when all of a sudden they stopped coming out. Unfortunately they had made no announcements but they had a table set up with paperwork for about 40-50 customers explaining that the bags did not make the flight. Don't worry the box of gifts for everyone arrived only my clothes are somewhere in transit. I was told that the bag was on the 3 pm flight so I thought maybe I would be lucky and the suitcase would be at the hotel when I arrived. Not so much. Of course I thought it's only clothes and easily replaceable.

It wasn't until this morning when I was getting ready that I realized I forgot to take my jewelry box out of my suitcase when I brought it downstairs and put it in my purse. I'm sure everything will be fine and my bag will arrive today but at this point I'm a bit frazzled. My co-workers are teasing me that I went to Gap to buy clothes for today when I should have hit Nordstroms. If nothing arrives today that is where I will go for my clothes for tomorrow.

And The Winner Is

Last night the winner of the London mayoral elections was announced and the conservatives won. Ken Livingstone is out and Boris Johnson is in. He will be sworn into office today, none of this waiting around for a few months with a lame duck. Moving swiftly may have prevented the small mishap that occurred in Italy this week. The elections earlier this month provided an upset to the sitting government and in one of their last moves in office they published on the web all citizens tax returns for 2005. It was claimed that this was posted under freedom of information and democracy. Of course the site came crashing down as people flooded the website to find out what their neighbor or co-worker makes. The information has since been removed.

Election Day

With all the suspense over the Democratic primaries in the US you may have overlooked the fact that today is election day in the City of London. Elections for Mayor and some London assembly positions will be decided today. The incumbent mayor Ken Livingstone looks to have an uphill battle against Boris Johnson. Not being eligible to vote I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the process here but I have found out that voters can vote for 2 candidates - their first choice and second choice. I should say there are 10 candidates running for mayor so lots of choices. As a result of naming a first and second choice candidate the results aren't expected to be announced until Friday evening.

As with elections in the US this election before it's even the end of the day is shrouded in controversy. The news at lunch reported of voting irregularities in a borough. Any marks on the ballot other than the selection of candidate make it invalid, however station staff were writing on ballots as they were handed to voters - thereby making those votes invalid. It's nice to see it isn't only the elections in the US that are rife with controversy and impropriety.