Tuesday 31 March 2009
Sunday 22 February 2009
The intrepid explorer, back on home soil
Well, after over a year stateside, this chap sneaked back into the UK last week! It was a discreet arrival and I was a little dazed for it felt like the end of an adventure.
I'll never forget it. One sunny day in September 2007, I found out that my short-lived career was about to expand a little. A little over the transatlantic.
A few months later in early 2008, I was living in Herald Square, right in the middle of Manhattan, New York, with a 10001 zip code. The first city that had visited on my trip around the world, was now, home? Waking up in Manhattan was spectacular, if a little surreal.
After three months, a new life in Chicago beckoned and I didn't really know what to expect. But in many ways, with more time in Chicago I enjoyed it more and got to know the place really well. I was also very lucky to find a place in one of the tallest buildings in Chicago and home was a 63rd floor apartment with some of the best panoramic views of the city.
I truly had the time of my life! So to leave it all behind was hard, especially leaving behind a special girlfriend and some new friends, but it is great to catch up with family and friends again. I just need to work out what's next!
On that note, who knows what is next. When I came back from travelling three years ago, I was dazed even then and I thought that I wouldn't have another adventure for a while. At that time, I posted these famous words on my original blog:
AFTER AN EPIC TRIP AROUND THE WORLD, THE INTREPID EXPLORER FINDS HIMSELF BACK IN THE UK, WHERE WILL HE GO AND WHAT WILL HE DO NEXT? FOLLOW THESE CHRONICLES INTO THE REALM OF THE UNKNOWN... THE TRAVEL OF LIFE RATHER THAN CHARTERED FLIGHT, IT'S HERE, IT'S REAL, IT'S THE INTREPID EXPLORER BACK ON HOME SOIL.
Since then, there have been more adventures, both in terms of a fair few chartered flights (believe me!) and the travel of life - I'm now an uncle and that's a bit of an adventure in itself!
I'll never forget it. One sunny day in September 2007, I found out that my short-lived career was about to expand a little. A little over the transatlantic.
A few months later in early 2008, I was living in Herald Square, right in the middle of Manhattan, New York, with a 10001 zip code. The first city that had visited on my trip around the world, was now, home? Waking up in Manhattan was spectacular, if a little surreal.
After three months, a new life in Chicago beckoned and I didn't really know what to expect. But in many ways, with more time in Chicago I enjoyed it more and got to know the place really well. I was also very lucky to find a place in one of the tallest buildings in Chicago and home was a 63rd floor apartment with some of the best panoramic views of the city.
I truly had the time of my life! So to leave it all behind was hard, especially leaving behind a special girlfriend and some new friends, but it is great to catch up with family and friends again. I just need to work out what's next!
On that note, who knows what is next. When I came back from travelling three years ago, I was dazed even then and I thought that I wouldn't have another adventure for a while. At that time, I posted these famous words on my original blog:
AFTER AN EPIC TRIP AROUND THE WORLD, THE INTREPID EXPLORER FINDS HIMSELF BACK IN THE UK, WHERE WILL HE GO AND WHAT WILL HE DO NEXT? FOLLOW THESE CHRONICLES INTO THE REALM OF THE UNKNOWN... THE TRAVEL OF LIFE RATHER THAN CHARTERED FLIGHT, IT'S HERE, IT'S REAL, IT'S THE INTREPID EXPLORER BACK ON HOME SOIL.
Since then, there have been more adventures, both in terms of a fair few chartered flights (believe me!) and the travel of life - I'm now an uncle and that's a bit of an adventure in itself!
Monday 16 February 2009
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Last week I managed to fit in a little trip to Mexico with Lindsey. Ever since I arrived in Chicago she's been my special local guide showing me all the best places, taking me to some fantastic concerts (even the opera for five hours!) and we just seem to have a lot of fun. Oh, and she is also a very good cook (though my talents remain undiscovered as I did burn the rice once and was never allowed to cook again!). So, obviously, she was the ideal traveling buddy for a trip to Mexico!
We headed to the airport early on Saturday morning, witnessing a beautiful sunrise over the airport and the city of Chicago.
Several hours later we were in a small taxi weaving in and out of the Mexican traffic on the hot streets of a town called Puerto Vallarta which is nestled on the coast of the pacific ocean. Boy was it nice to be in a warm place for a change!!!!!
The taxi dropped us off at the villa with all its brilliant views over the town and ocean. We headed down to the town and the beach enjoying all the sights as well as some Mexican sweetcorn mixed with poblano peppers - a true delicacy to try at home.
Even nicer are the mangos from this region of Mexico (Lindsey loves them dearly!) and on one trip to a surfing beach on the bumpiest bus ever, we came across possibly the best thing - a truck load of them!
We even saw this chap again (the so-called Mango Man) the next day at a different beach further down the coast and he greeted us like long lost friends before we bought another dozen of freshly picked mangos to keep up our vitamin C intake, at least for a year.
Coincidently, I did go surfing and although it was a little rocky near the beach, the waves were pretty good and Lindsey even got a rare picture of me in action. Hard to believe I know.
After that I was feeling lucky and so I treated myself to a whole red snapper on the way back! It was very nice indeed.
On the trip, we played pool a few times, well, this wasn't just enjoyment as I needed to avenge an earlier defeat, and we found some pool halls to play even when we were the only tourists in sight!
There was one last thing we needed to do and that was tequila tasting which was way more sophisticated than I thought and it was actually quite nice!
We had one last brunch in town on a balcony overlooking the ocean before flying back to the Windy City.
It was a great trip and such good fun!
We headed to the airport early on Saturday morning, witnessing a beautiful sunrise over the airport and the city of Chicago.
Several hours later we were in a small taxi weaving in and out of the Mexican traffic on the hot streets of a town called Puerto Vallarta which is nestled on the coast of the pacific ocean. Boy was it nice to be in a warm place for a change!!!!!
The taxi dropped us off at the villa with all its brilliant views over the town and ocean. We headed down to the town and the beach enjoying all the sights as well as some Mexican sweetcorn mixed with poblano peppers - a true delicacy to try at home.
Even nicer are the mangos from this region of Mexico (Lindsey loves them dearly!) and on one trip to a surfing beach on the bumpiest bus ever, we came across possibly the best thing - a truck load of them!
We even saw this chap again (the so-called Mango Man) the next day at a different beach further down the coast and he greeted us like long lost friends before we bought another dozen of freshly picked mangos to keep up our vitamin C intake, at least for a year. Coincidently, I did go surfing and although it was a little rocky near the beach, the waves were pretty good and Lindsey even got a rare picture of me in action. Hard to believe I know.
After that I was feeling lucky and so I treated myself to a whole red snapper on the way back! It was very nice indeed.
On the trip, we played pool a few times, well, this wasn't just enjoyment as I needed to avenge an earlier defeat, and we found some pool halls to play even when we were the only tourists in sight!
There was one last thing we needed to do and that was tequila tasting which was way more sophisticated than I thought and it was actually quite nice!
We had one last brunch in town on a balcony overlooking the ocean before flying back to the Windy City.
It was a great trip and such good fun!
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Chicago charm
Just before the end of last year I pulled together all my footage of Chicago taken during the late summer. When I look back at this now, the city is so alive and different to what it is in the depths of the harsh winter!!! The long and hot summer really does make up for it, fortunately!
Enjoy!
Chicago Summertime from Adrian Swinbourne on Vimeo.
Enjoy!
Chicago Summertime from Adrian Swinbourne on Vimeo.
Saturday 10 January 2009
Thursday 8 January 2009
Monday 5 January 2009
Martha Anne Swinbourne
I think one of the most surreal moments for me in 2008 was meeting my little baby niece for the first time. My brother is now a Dad and I am an uncle. Hard to believe I know!
The strangest thing is that Martha just looks familiar - perhaps she has Charlie's mouth. I still haven't quite worked it out!
The strangest thing is that Martha just looks familiar - perhaps she has Charlie's mouth. I still haven't quite worked it out!
Saturday 22 November 2008
Seattle
On my travels around the world in 2005, I stopped off in Seattle for a couple of days after visiting Canada. So when I headed out to Seattle with work for a few days in early November, it was good chance to retrace all those steps.
Even from Chicago it's a four hour flight to get out to the northwest coast of the USA. And once I had arrived, the whole city seemed familiar from the airport to the famous Pike Market.
After spending a bit of time in the midwest it was also nice to sample some fresh seafood from the pacific. I think I ate pacific salmon two nights in a row, perhaps three.
Even from Chicago it's a four hour flight to get out to the northwest coast of the USA. And once I had arrived, the whole city seemed familiar from the airport to the famous Pike Market.
After spending a bit of time in the midwest it was also nice to sample some fresh seafood from the pacific. I think I ate pacific salmon two nights in a row, perhaps three.
Sunday 16 November 2008
Friday 7 November 2008
The Obama rally
What a surreal night. Last Tuesday, on a warm evening, thousands upon thousands of hopeful Americans (and international observers like me!) went down to Grant Park for change that we can believe in.
I didn't actually see Obama. That was a bit tricky. But it was great just to be there and experience the drama once he had been elected!
An historical moment indeed.
I didn't actually see Obama. That was a bit tricky. But it was great just to be there and experience the drama once he had been elected! An historical moment indeed.
Sunday 2 November 2008
Friday 31 October 2008
Halloween in the US
As many of you will know, Halloween is a big occasion in the US. It's so big in fact, that I had two parties to go to with friends from work, one party was 'hell' and the other 'heaven'.
Getting ready for the night, I began my normal heroics as a zombie which my university friends may recognise, though this time it turned out more joker than zombie, almost a combination between the two. I am not sure if I would recommend it, but hopefully it was mildly effective.
Getting ready for the night, I began my normal heroics as a zombie which my university friends may recognise, though this time it turned out more joker than zombie, almost a combination between the two. I am not sure if I would recommend it, but hopefully it was mildly effective.
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Fleet Foxes
For a little while, I've been a big fan of Fleet Foxes and luckily enough I managed to get tickets when they came to town. They are awesome!
Monday 6 October 2008
Fernandes in Chicago
In October, Daniel Fernandes was in town. He's an old friend from uni and he was once an arch enemy as one of the rather nasty Greville Road crew. I was one of the lads from the nicer Raleigh Road crew, and we once beat the Greville Road lads during a dramatic game of football 10 goals to 9. The sweet taste of success was that much better as drinks were on them. For the rematch, we lost the game terribly, and the beers didn't taste quite so good.Luckily the rivalry was always good natured and they weren't really that nasty. Mostly, we could all be found watching football down the pub, out for a few drinks or playing football on the Park Street field in front of the Bristol Cathedral come rain, shine, or even darkness.
So Dan arrived in the Windy City armed with newspapers, Cadbury's chocolates, baked beans, and with the latest football news. We quickly opened a beer and sat at the window catching up with news whilst looking over downtown Chicago.
The rest of the week followed with a visit to Wicker Park for mashed potato pizza, a bit of an unusual classic! A visit to Zanies, a comedy venue, where the jokes were on us guys sitting in the front seats - never the best seats to take in a comedy venue.
Then, we went to see a few concerts, beginning at the Riveria to see TV On The Radio, before heading to Metro to see Spinto and a few other bands.
On Friday morning we headed off to sample a true American brunch - the equivalent of our own English breakfast. But it was a little much for Dan.
A couple of times we headed down the beach to... ahem, perfect our football skills. Although the sand was mildly cold on our bare feet, it was enjoyable nonetheless.
One evening, we headed to Buddy Legends - a famous blues venue for soul food and lots of good music.
We did also play a bit of pool and although Dan won the first 4 games, I managed to turn round my game to equal the score 4-4! But, my success was short lived and Dan picked up his game again, and I could only watch and learn.
Sadly, just before Dan left, he got hit hard by a freak gust of wind. In other words, the Chicago wind. It can be ferocious and I reckon Dan's got the scars to prove it.
Then just before he left, we got the classic visitor photo in!
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