My motivation level is currently fueled by the shockingly large amount of work that is sitting on my to-do list after taking the last 11 days off for family holiday. One of the best things about working in a small firm is also one of the worst – you are responsible for getting your own work done. Even if you go on holiday, it will all be sitting there waiting for you when you return … with the addition of the all the new stuff that came in while you were gone, so lovingly placed on your desk in a “we hate you – hope you enjoyed your vacation while we stayed here working” pile from your co-workers.
So yeah … uhm, good to be back.
Since I am currently recovering from a 6 hour time difference, about all I have managed to do so far is look through some of the holiday photos I took – it’s what we architects like to do post holiday. I have organized a very, very small collection of photos here in chronological order based on the days we were in England. Some of these adventures might end up getting their own blog post because the experience was that terrific so please excuse me if I don’t tell my best stories today … it’s currently 2:57am London time and my eyeballs feel like they’re bleeding.
Friday
Salisbury Cathedral
Long Barrow
Drive to Enford (where we rented a cottage while in the country)
.
Saturday
Silbury Hill
Long Barrow
Avebury
Stonehenge
.
Sunday
Stourhead
Barge Inn
Walk around the town of Enford
.
Monday
Hawk Conservancy
Highclere Castle
Drive to London
Westminster Bridge
.
Tuesday
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Hamley’s
Natural History Museum
Covent Garden
Trafalgar Square
.
Wednesday
St. James Park
Buckingham Garden
Saint Paul’s Cathedral
Millenium Bridge
London Eye
.
Thursday
Tower of London
Double Decker Bus ride
Return to Dallas
I should just point out that in this very last picture, I am actually in it … bottom left-hand corner. I was told to “get out of the picture” and this was the best I could manage.
Oh well.
All in all, I think we came home with just North of 2,000 photos, a bunch of terrific stories (that I would never actually put down in writing for fear that they would be used as evidence against me in a court of law … just ask me to tell you about the “parakeet incident”. This trip was a wonderful break for the entire family, not just the architect in the group. We always endeavor to find something that is specific to each one of us on each day of our family vacations – there’s only so many churches and domes I can force on my wife and daughter (although to their credit, if I keep the number reasonable, they are happy and willing participants.)
If you lived in Dallas, I would be happy to open a bottle of wine or two and run through the pictures with you and explain what you are looking at and tell the stories that go along with some of these adventures. For now, thanks for letting me share this small glimpse with you.
Cheers (and Tally-ho!)
