My recent trip to the UK was both fun and rather shocking. Did you know that the dollar is incredibly depressed in Europe. It now takes $2.14 to purchase one British Pound. So here is a shock if you were to eat out and have two pints and a burger you will be spending $40. That’s right $40. Petrol costs are also out of sight and I spent more refilling my tank than I did on the car rental. Well enough on that but just be prepared if your going to Europe anytime soon for the sticker shock.

My travel this week took me to Bristol about 90 miles outside London proper. Bristol is a beautiful city with quite a nightlife and loads of entertainment opportunities. If I had known that there was an airport there I would have flown in instead of renting a car and driving the almost 2 hours to get there. I was in Bristol to teach a Serial Attached SCSI class at a major computer company. The company site was absolutely beautiful and felt like it was set in the country side even though it was on the outskirts of town – about a 20 minute drive from town center. The training room happened to be in an old converted farmhouse which was surrounded by a football (soccer) field, picnic areas, and plenty of room for croquet or company activities. As I started the class a flock of geese flew in and laded in the adjacent field.

After my class I got a chance to spend some time with my sister-in-law Kathy. We had a great time hanging out and doing some low key sightseeing. On Saturday morning we went to one of my favorite Bangers and Mash restaurants where I had Guninness and Steak, Italian, and Wild Boar bangers. They were fabulous. Afterwards we went to the outdoor market – kinda like a flee market – where I picked up some really cool old school records. I got some original Pink Floyd, Led Zep, and the brand new Beatles albums. Later the day I visited Abby Road to complete the Beatles theme.

Sign posts outside Studio.

Doing the geeky thing – walking the most famous crosswalk in the world.

The studio where it all happened – it is still being used today.

Well that’s all for now I am off to Dallas for Storage Networking world.