What.

[trinityofone]

Eoin Colfer to write new Hitchhiker's Guide book.

Okay, I was not a fan of how the series ended (and oh yeah—spoilers for that in article). But this? NO. Just...no.

:(

Comments

[sonofzeal.livejournal.com]

Ha! I'll read it so that you won't have to. This is my sacrifice to the world.

By the way, I'm going to be going to Europe soon. You've spent more time on the continent than I have. Have you been to London, Venice, Athens, or anywhere in Switzerland? I realize I don't actually have any real ideas of what I want to do when I get there.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Of those places, I've been to London and Venice. What do you want to know? London was more recent so I can probably give you some more specific tips; for Venice, I mostly remember: watch out for pigeons and bring a heavy coat. It gets incredibly cold.

[sonofzeal.livejournal.com]

And I'll be going in fall/winter. Better take the jacket. I'm just curious about things to do. London was chosen because I have a place to stay, and Venice is out of convenience and my curiosity. I like the idea of Venice, and I'd like to see it myself. I just don't know what to actually do when I get to either place.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Okay, Venice. The thing that sticks out for me the most is the Piazza San Marco—the famous square with all the pigeons. Besides the square itself, you can check out the Basilica and the Doge's Palace, which is really gothic and neat—I remember taking a cool tour of that. If you're interested in art museums, I remember really enjoying the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which is in this cool unfinished palazzo on (I think) the Grand Canal. Lots of cool modern art, including Picasso, Dalí, and Magritte (my favorite). Other than that...um, well, it's pretty cool just wandering around some of the narrow little streets and crossing over the canals at various points? You should definitely check out some of the more major bridges like the Ponte di Rialto.

Also, I would recommend reading The Lies of Locke Lamora before you go (or on the plane). It's a really fun, dark, mischievous fantasy set in an alternate Venice, which I think will help set the mood. (I also think you'd just enjoy it anyway.)

And London! Okay. Wow, there is a lot to do in London. You won't even have enough time to hit all the major tourist spots, let alone the lesser ones (I didn't). But, uh, here's what I really enjoyed: the British Museum (definitely). The National Portrait Gallery—very cool. Go see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street—they're all in walking distance of each other. In fact, take some walking tours. Check out this website (http://www.walks.com/) and sign up—there are themed ones and ones by neighborhood. You'll get an entertaining guide to show you a bunch of cool places in just a few hours. I also took a boat tour down the Thames to Greenwich—that was pretty awesome, too, although I think more expensive.

Eat a full English breakfast, including black pudding. (YUM!) And be sure to ride the underground! I took it out to Camden Town the first day to buy boots, and that was a great excursion. The area will actually remind you of stretches of Melrose with cheap shops catering to a certain crowd, but it was cool to see the whole market area, I got some decent Chinese food for a pound, and I found a cool used bookstore by a canal. All on 36 hours with no sleep. \o/

I'd also recommend that you read Neverwhere before you go. You'll recognize places mentioned in it constantly, which adds an extra level of fun.

Phew! Does that help? I'm all jealous now. ;-)

[sonofzeal.livejournal.com]

That's actually quite helpful to me, thanks! Magritte is my favorite, too; in fact he may be one of the few artists that can tempt me into an art museum. I'm going to be spending a lot of time on trains this trip, and as I'm deliberately not bringing anything electronic other than my mp3 player, books will be handy. I've already picked up A Confederacy of Dunces in preperation.

Thanks for all of the info! And if it makes you feel less jealous, I'm doing this now on account of not having a job, and thus having time. :P