Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Backpacking Around the Mainland

I never really expected that I would go backpacking around Europe, but I'm essentially doing that starting tomorrow. I've packed a backpack and a shoulder bag, and tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM I'm heading off to catch a coach, which will take me on a nine hour bus ride to Paris.

Once arriving in Paris, I intend to find my hostel, check in, and then go up to the Eiffel Tower, which has admission until 10:30 PM. I want to go up on my first night for two reasons: one, I'm sure Paris is beautiful at night, and the Eiffel Tower gets lit up at night time. And two, the more important reason: admission prices go up, starting on Saturday, March 27th.

At any rate, on Saturday I will spend the day exploring Paris by myself. I'll go to the Louvre and see some famous artwork (I plan to focus primarily on Monet and other Impressionists), and I'll visit Notre Dame which is free! I like free. Aurelie, my friend in Belgium, does not like Paris and has no advice for me regarding visiting Paris. However, she has a friend who loves Paris, and this friend has provided me with all sorts of suggestions on things to do in Paris. So I'm sure I won't find myself bored on Saturday.

Sunday morning, I'm flying to Venice where I will explore the canals and visit St. Mark's Square, as I have been instructed to do. After a day in Venice, I plan to take a train to Rome, where I will check in to my next hostel.

On Monday, I will either take a day trip to Florence (the fast trains are about a 3 hour journey), or I will stay in Rome. I would like to go see Michelangelo's and Dontello's Davids, but I can forgo Florence if necessary.

Either way, Tuesday will be devoted to Rome, where I plan to see the Coliseum (I don't believe it's worth 13 euros admission, so I will be satisfied with seeing), visit St. Peter's Basilica (free to visit, 4 euros to climb the stairs to the top. We'll play that one by ear), and visit the Vatican Museum for 13 euros (this price IS worth it, as it includes the Sistine Chapel). A free walk around the forum and Trajan's Market will also be in order! I'll be sure to wish in as many fountains as I can, assuming I don't go broke doing so!

Finally, bright and early Wednesday morning, I will fly from Rome to Riga, with a layover in Frankfurt on the way. I will be spending the rest of my week, from Wednesday to Monday, visiting with the Sirmacs in Riga. I am very excited to be returning to Latvia!

As preparations for my trip, I have done a little bit of grocery shopping. I have a large bottle of water (two liters), some crisps (AKA Pringles), some cheese crackers, some chocolate cookies, Easter candy that my parents sent me, some granola bars, and seven peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches. We'll see how far this gets me without paying for food!

I should have internet access while zipping around Europe, but don't expect blog entries while I'm out and about; I'll be busy, trying to soak in all the culture I can get!

Tube People Watching

On the Tube, there is one of four things which people are doing during their commute. Everybody is doing at least one of these things; some people may do a combination of things, and occasionally you get people breaking the norm and doing something else completely. But everybody does at least one of these things on the Tube, and on any given day during a regular commute, you will see all four of these happening.

1. Reading. Londoners stick their nose in a book, and will not take it out for anything. People continue reading as they cross the platform to catch another train. People continue reading as they stand on the escalator to exit the station or switch lines. People go as far as possible to avoid putting the book down. Lately, the most common book I've witnessed people reading is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I think they're making a movie of this book, because I also see a lot of posters for it around Tube stations. People also read the sequel to this book. Also commonly read on the Tube are newspapers. It is not uncommon for other passengers to read news papers over peoples' shoulders, especially on packed Tubes. I certainly have been known to do so. Some people are even polite enough to share the paper if they notice people reading over their shoulder.

2. Listening to their iPod. I specifically say iPod, as opposed to mp3 player, because majority of people are, in fact, listening to Apple products, as the tell-tale white earbud headphones indicate. Listening to an iPod is frequently combined with another Tube activity.

3. Playing with their iPhone. Again, specifically iPhone. Occasionally you will see people playing with other cellphones (Blackberry is another common one), but iPhone is clearly a status symbol. Usually, the only people you see sitting on the Tube playing with an iPhone are business people wearing their fancy suits. They're probably doing important things on their phone (or at least trying to look important); I usually pull out my iPhone as if to say "look, I have one too! I am smug as well." and then sit there playing with Facebook. Very important use for Pete.

4. People watching. If you have nothing else to do, or if you have your iPod in your ears and nothing to occupy your eyes, it's difficult not to people watch. The Tube is packed full of people, sometimes they're practically in your lap - everywhere you look, you see other people. So it can be very interesting to people watch.

I mention all of this, because today I had an interesting little people watching moment. I hopped on the Tube, claimed a seat, and popped in my iPod.

At the next stop, a big gentleman got on and sat down next to me. I scooted over to allow him a little more room. I wasn't paying close attention to him, as he was directly next to me. All I could tell was that a big, strong man had sat down next to me.

And then, I heard the sound of a juice-box being slurped. My seatmate had pulled out a little juice-box and he was having a nice little treat on the Tube! I was so amused by this incident, that I didn't realize that the next stop was my stop. He got off there; you would have thought I would have followed him! So, as the train traveled to the next station (where I got off and went back to the previous station), I was musing to myself over this unlikely fan of juice-boxes.

Edit: I notice that I talk about the Tube a lot. In my defense, it is a necessary part of every day for me. And it certainly is considerably different from home, where I drive everywhere and only occasionally ride the bus. We don't even have an underground subway system in Washington state!

Keep Up With Sarah's Excursions Through Her Pictures!

For those of you not following the blog from Facebook, here are links to view my Facebook photo albums from all of my European adventures.

All of my England excursions are kept in an album generally (and inaccurately) titled London 2010. This album is updated the most, as I add to it every time I go do something within England.

The weekend that I spent in Spain back in February has its very own album, which can be found here.

The time I spent in Scotland is also in its very own album, and all the pictures are located here.

And let's not forget the St. Paddy's weekend festivities in Ireland, which have been documented for your viewing pleasure here.

Past European excursions are also included in album form on Facebook, so if you would like to see those pictures, click on the place name to see the albums!

2009
England (album one), England (album two), Berlin (album one), Berlin (album two), Athens (album one), Athens (album two), Napflio

2005
Sweden, Russia, Estonia and Latvia

A Day of Health in Bath

Yesterday, everyone from AHA (both the semester students and the quarter students) went on a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath.

Fortunately, I've been to Stonehenge before; my camera batteries decided to die right as we arrived at Stonehenge, and I was unable to take pictures of the stone monument. I spent 6 pounds (that's $9, folks) on two double A batteries at the Stonehenge gift shop to ensure having batteries for my camera at Bath (where I had never been before). So I have absolutely no pictures from Stonehenge this go round. Luckily, the only difference between last year and this year is that the grass was green this year. Everything else was exactly the same; so, for your viewing pleasure, I have attached a picture of Stonehenge from last year's excursion to the ancient construction.

After an hour there, we moved on to Bath, where we were given a walking tour of the town. I can't say that I saw much of it; it had just begun raining during our walk, so my eyes were focused on the ground, trying to keep my glasses from getting speckled. After the walking tour, we went in to the Bath Cathedral, which has the most gorgeous fan-vaulted ceiling.

After roaming around the cathedral, we went in to see the Roman baths. We had audio guides, and many of us were listening to the children's commentary, because it was short and to the point (and kind of silly, too). At the baths, we met a Roman gentleman who called us barbarians (because we are from outside the empire). As you walk around the bath complex, you occasionally see hologram videos of Romans bathing. In the men's private baths, there are holograms of naked men walking around and toweling off. We were highly entertained there.

After seeing the baths, Annie and I decided it was necessary to try some water from the baths. Heck, I tried haggis in Scotland, I can try anything (except blood pudding)! So we payed 50 p each (that's around 75 cents) for a glass of the water. It was warm and tasted very sulfuric. It wasn't awful, as most people say, but it was certainly far from refreshing. I had two sips before I decided I just couldn't have any more of it.

After this, a group of us decided to try pastys (pronounced pah-sties, not pay-sties), a traditional food in England. They're basically like pot pie, only portable.

Finally, I concluded my day in Bath with a quick visit to the Jane Austen Center with Corrinne. You pay 5 pounds to go in, listen to a speech about Jane Austen and her time living in Bath (she hated it there), and then wander around the little exhibits downstairs. It's not much, but it's a cute little thing to go see. I also learned how to flirt properly with a fan, as proper young ladies did during the Regency period. As we were leaving, I bought myself a fan to go with my growing European fan collection (I have fans from Russia, Greece, Spain, and now England), as well as to practice my fan flirting. I wasn't a big enough Jane Austen fan to justify buying the "I heart Darcy" bag, but I was pretty amused to see the the gift shop sells Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. That's pretty cool, even if those books were disappointing.

After Bath, I went out to Harrow briefly with Annie, where we found a pub and split a bottle of wine. We spent the evening chatting before going home to bed. Today, the plan is to do laundry and work on my mid-terms. So far, only the laundry has been done.

In closing, for your viewing pleasure, here is the book trailer for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I showed this lovely work to my Book in Society class last semester, as part of my presentation on my paper about Jane Austen and monsters (known as Monster Mashups).

A Weekend in Dublin's Fair City

Hello folks - I apologize for the lack of updates this last week! I have been fighting off a cold (which stubbornly is hanging on in the form of an obnoxious cough), and have been spending more time sleeping than doing anything else. But I am here with a blog update!

My previous blog entry left off with an exciting trip to the Cadbury chocolate factory in Birmingham. The following day, I went to the Tower of London with Corinne and had a blast running around the tower and hearing bloody stories of execution and betrayal and all that exciting jazz. That evening, Corinne and I had dinner at a delightful Irish pub near King's Cross, and then we met up with my friend Hilary and her friend Stephanie, and we went to a club called The Hamlet, where we saw a band from Boston play. It was a blast.

But it was the following weekend that was really fascinating, and the meat of this blog will focus on the juicy details of this weekend!

First, Tuesday night the class went to see a play called London Assurance. The show was very much fun, and it featured two actors who are pretty big theatre stars here in London. Not so well-known in the US, but they were good and the entire production was very enjoyable.
Wednesday night, the class went to see Benjamin Britten's opera, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The director made some choices that disappointed me, but there were certainly some fascinating elements about the production and I am very glad that we went. To sum up this show, I have this to say: Oberon was a castrated Billy Idol, Puck was in bondage for some unknown reason, and Bottom did not only have an ass head, but a rather large appendage accompanying it. The Brits really like raunchy shows, I guess.

Thursday, Sasha, Annie and I had tickets to see The Misanthrope starring Keira Knightley (from Pirates of the Caribbean) and Damian Lewis (star of Life on NBC). On our way to the theatre, we passed through a giant crowd in the middle of Leicester Square. Turns out, we had wandered into the middle of the premiere for Bounty Hunter, starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. What's more, we had somehow arrived just as the aforementioned stars were arriving themselves. So we saw Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler on the big screen as the crowd was going wild. It was very exciting and a bit dazing.

We continued our fight through the crowd, and made it to The Misanthrope. The show was absolutely delightful, and Damian Lewis was utterly amazing. Keira Knightley with an American accent sounds just wrong, though. After the show, we got Damian's autograph. He was so sweet and friendly! I also took some pictures of him. I was ready to die happy.

After the night's excitement, Sasha, Annie and I made our way to the airport, where we spent the night before catching our flight to Ireland. None of us really got any sleep, but we certainly attempted. Finally, 5:00 AM rolled around and we were able to check in and catch our flight to Dublin.

Dublin was utterly amazing. The city is gorgeous and easy to get around, the Irish are so friendly and helpful, and the Guinness is absolutely delicious!

Friday, we arrived at 8:00 AM in Dublin. Our hotel room wasn't ready yet, so we stored our luggage and then went to breakfast. After breakfast, we explored the Dublin Castle a little bit, and then we returned to the hotel where we checked in and took naps for two hours. After nap time, we went to the Guinness Storehouse, where we learned the history of Guinness (Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease on the Guinness factory in 1759), how beer is brewed, the difference between a stout (such as Guinness) and regular beer, you get a taster of Guinness, and then at the top of the storehouse you get a complimentary pint while overlooking Dublin! That pint was the best pint of Guinness I have ever tasted; it was scrumptious.

That evening, we had a quiet evening in our hotel room. We attempted to go to bed early, but that proved impossible, as the hotel was hosting karaoke that night, and it was taking place directly below us. So we spent the night listening to the karaoke from our room. It steadily got worse as the night got later and the singers got progressively worse.

Saturday morning, we took a tour around Dublin and Wicklow. The tour guide/driver asked me to be his co-captain, as I was sitting by myself and most other people on the tour were in pairs. This meant that I sat up in front of the bus, had to answer his questions and try to pronounce Gaelic words. He also threatened to leave me on the side of the road, or to make me go play ding-dong-ditch at Bono's house. For the record, I was more than okay with the Bono plan. During the tour, everyone had a shot of Jamieson's whiskey while looking down at Guinness Lake. Stephen, our tour guide (who, side note, was born on St. Stephen's day, which is three days before my birthday), also poured some Jamieson's into my mocha after a coffee stop at Avoca. That was surprisingly tasty.

After the tour, we returned to Dublin where the Irish were celebrating their recent Rugby triumph over Wales. The Welsh were also in Dublin, but they were all moping in the pubs. We went out to a pub for dinner and drinks. One person among us (I won't name who, but it was not me) turned to a man wearing a red jersey and a Welsh flag on his back and said "I bet you're excited about today!" Fortunately, her little blunder was forgiven and she made friends with the Welsh gentleman.

Later, we went to a second pub, where we made more Welsh friends and watched a bunch of drunk old people dance. It was very entertaining, and we enjoyed ourselves down there until 1:00 AM, when we went back to our hotel room and called it a night.

Sunday was our final day in Dublin, but we had some time to spare before we had to get to the airport. We checked out of the hotel and headed towards a street fair. On our way, we stopped at a grocery store for breakfast. Here, we met an Irish lady who chatted with us about Ireland, Shakespeare, and school. She was very friendly and sweet and offered advice for any future trips to Ireland we may make.

We passed by the street fair but were a smidge disappointed; so we continued on, where we found Oscar Wilde's old house and a statue honoring him in the nearby park. Then we went to Trinity College, where we saw the Book of Kells, and some other ancient bibles. After seeing the Book of Kells, we went in to the Long Hall, which is full of interesting history about Dublin and Trinity College. I was looking at pictures and news articles from 1911, when Ireland gained independence from Britain.

We wandered around Dublin a little bit longer, found a street band that we really liked (Annie bought a CD), and simply enjoyed ourselves in the beautiful city of Dublin. We even found a leprechaun! Then we headed off to the airport and returned to London. The weekend was magical, and none of us wanted to leave. I fell in love with Ireland in a way I have only felt before for home and Savannah, Georgia. It was incredible.

This week it's been back to classes; we saw a modern adaptation of Measure for Measure last night, which was very interesting. Tomorrow it's off to Stone Henge and Bath. I'll watch out for midgets dancing around Stone Henge while I'm there.

Sarah and the Chocolate Factory

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I discovered today that there really is such a thing as too much chocolate.

I know, this sounds scandalous, particularly coming from me.

Now, rest assured, I don't mean too much chocolate ever, just too much at one time. But anyway, allow me to start at the beginning of the day and explain the exciting, chocolatey end to my day.

The class made an excursion to Birmingham today, a focal point during the industrial revolution which led to the surrounding area being referred to as "black country", as the whole area was dirty from the dirty industry happening in Birmingham.

Birmingham is a delightful little town. We went to the art museum and looked primarily at the pre-Raphaelite painters, as our art history teacher had requested. Then we went outside to the courtyard, which has a pretty fountain, a tribute to gas and water (from the industrial era and Chamberlain era), and some nifty statues randomly placed on the steps. We sat outside on the steps and enjoyed our lunch until it was time to walk to the train station so we could go to the Cadbury chocolate factory.

The majority of our time in Birmingham was spent at Cadbury World. When we arrived at Cadbury World, we were instructed to go to Essence and the museum first. So we walked over to Essence, and everyone was absolutely ecstatic and bubbly. Everyone felt just like Charlie being allowed in to Willy Wonka's factory.

Essence is a silly attraction, but we had a ton of fun and were laughing throughout the whole thing. You get taken back in time to the early 20th century and watch the Cadbury brothers try to figure out the perfect recipe for their chocolate. Once they discover it (one and a half glasses of milk is the secret), magic chocolate bars start floating around them.

Once you've been thoroughly excited, you get taken in to a room where two people are at a chocolate bar with candy behind them. Everyone gets to create "the perfect chocolate". You choose a candy from the back wall, and that gets mixed with a cup of liquid chocolate. If you don't want the candy, you just get a cup full of chocolate. If you don't want the chocolate, you just get a cup full of candy. Everyone is happy.

This is the point where I discovered that there is such a thing as too much chocolate; the first couple bites were pure heaven, but then as the chocolate began cooling, it began to get thicker and thicker. It was sticking to my mouth like peanut butter; I was almost worried that I wouldn't be able to open my mouth again (not seriously)! Halfway through the cup I figured I had to throw away my cup or I might make myself sick. It was still amazing and delicious nonetheless.

After we finished up at Essence and the museum, we went back to the main part of Cadbury World. When you enter that part of the attraction, they give you two free candy bars! Then you go to the Aztec forests and watch as they first discover cocoa. Then you watch cocoa get taken to Europe, and watch as chocolate grows in popularity through Europe.

Eventually you find yourself on a replica of Bull Street, where John Cadbury owned a tea shop and sold chocolate products. Then Mr. Cadbury himself shows up, and you learn about how his sons built a factory in the country, and built a whole little model town for the factory workers, complete with playing fields, swimming pools, and other modes of recreation.

You get to see the chocolates getting packaged in the factory, and then you take a ride on Cadabra (but first, they give you another free chocolate bar. Oh, and I mean legitimate, full-size candy bar; none of that whimpy sample or "fun-sized" crap)! Cadabra is clearly a ride meant for little kids, but when you have a group of college students acting like they're at Disneyland for the first time, it's still exciting.

There's some more strange and trippy exhibits after the ride (you can turn yourself in to a chocolate sculpture, or watch a gorilla playing drums for no apparent reason), you eventually find yourself in the World's Largest Cadbury Shop. The prices in the shop were amazing, and I literally loaded up my arms with chocolates I've never seen before to ship home for my family. I spent less than 9 pounds on my armful of chocolates.

The cashier ringing me up asked me where in America I'm from. I answered Washington State, and then specific "Seattle area". The cashier said "oh, the birthplace of grunge! Nirvana and Sound Garden, right?" I assured her that she had correct, and was kind of amused that grunge was what came to her mind regarding Seattle. I certainly prefer it to what people usually say to me, which is "Oh, like Sleepless in Seattle!"

All in all, it was a very fun day exploring Cadbury...oh, and seeing Birmingham too.

A Touch of Tacoma Pride at the V&A

I found out a fascinating (and extremely exciting!) bit of information while in Edinburgh last week. I had visited the Victoria and Albert Museum two weeks prior with some girls in the program, and while there, Hannah (another Tacoma local) and I commented that the glass chandelier at the entrance to the V&A looked very much like a Chihuly piece. However, we dismissed the idea, thinking that Chihuly wasn't that well-known.

Turns out, Chihuly is considerably more famous than we thought, and the glass chandelier sure enough is a Chihuly piece! Although Londoners describe Dale Chihuly as a "Seattle artist", those of us from the Puget Sound know better...and we're pretty proud to claim him in Tacoma.

Here is a link to an article about how the V&A cleans Chihuly's glass chandelier.

And here are two interesting little facts about Chihuly:
Chihuly wears his eye patch because of an accident he had here in London.
Chihuly has permanent collections all over the States, Canada, The United Arab Emirates, and England, but the place with the MOST Chihuly permanent collections is none other than Washington State (which, of course, is absolutely fitting), including collections at UPS and PLU. Out of that, Tacoma has the greatest number of his collections, with a total of 6 to be found around the city. I assume that the glass bridge is being lumped in with the glass museum.

My senior portrait for high school was taken in front of Chihuly's Persian Glass in the Mary Baker Russel music building at PLU 3 years ago.

I like to go around bragging to people that "that chandelier is by Chihuly; he's from Tacoma; my dad used to deliver his mail." (Okay, so I don't really tell people that...much.)

Scottish Food

While in Scotland last week, I decided it was necessary to try at least a few new things. I didn't really intend to try haggis, as eating sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and intestines, that is) stuffed inside the sheep's stomach didn't sound particularly appealing to me, but I was informed by a few Scots that it was delicious, so I felt I had to try it.

I justified with myself that I enjoy pepperoni, and the main ingredient in that is pig heart. If I eat the pig's heart, why not the sheep's? That reasoning worked, and I was able to try haggis without gagging. It actually was pretty good; it tastes like a sausage (which it essentially is), but it was prepared more like ground beef, mixed up with oatmeal and various other herbs.

But the food that I discovered in Scotland and fell in love with was actually a home-baked good which I kept encountering in coffee shops and cafes throughout Scotland. I first discovered it on Wednesday, in the cafe at Edinburgh Castle. I went in for hot chocolate, and a bar with chocolate on top caught my eye. So I picked it up and bought it as well.

It was delicious. I was able to figure out that the bottom layer was a graham cracker-type layer, and the top was obviously chocolate, but I couldn't identify the middle layer. All I knew was that I loved it.

After encountering it twice more in Scotland, I finally decided to ask a lady in a coffee shop in Inverness what it was called. This lady was purchasing two of them, so I had a feeling she too was a fan of this amazing bar. She told me it was called Millionaire's Shortbread, and she commented on how delicious they are.

This also helped me to identify the middle layer of the treat as caramel.

And now here, for my viewers' pleasure, I provide you with a link to a recipe for Scotland's delicious home-baked good, the Millionaire's Shortbread at Joy of Baking.

Reasons Why I Hate The Tube

The Tube, I have decided, is the bane of my existence. London is heralded as having one of the greatest public transportation systems in the world...but I don't find it very great, unless you happen to be a fan of sardines...or rather, being a sardine yourself.

Sure, sure, The Tube is convenient when it's working. As it's underground, traffic isn't an issue. And you don't have to pay much attention, apart from what stop you're at. It's less stressful than driving and more direct than taking a bus. So basically, The Tube is a great way to get around when A) it's working, and B) it's not rush hour.

The problem is, however, many, many, many, many people take The Tube places, and this makes The Tube downright miserable at times.

Rush hour is bad enough; everybody is literally rushing. If you aren't moving fast enough, they give you a huffy "excuse me" while they push past you (and get a whopping one foot in front of you!). Sometimes, you don't even get the "excuse me", it's just an exasperated look. Nevermind the fact that you happen to be moving at the flow yourself and can't go any faster, given the sea of people in front of you. It's the same as road rage on a freeway, only instead of having cars, people are left to their own devices - which unfortunately, occasionally include pushing others off the subway platform (this happened last week when a woman told a man who was smoking that she didn't appreciate getting his cancer. He shoved her off the platform).

But worse even than rush hour are sporting events. Sporting events, particularly football, is a pain to deal with. Unfortunately, these happen to occur at the same time as rush hour. So suddenly, you find TWICE as many people down in the Underground trying to cram on to the same exact trains.

You can tell when a sporting event is happening not by the increased number of people, but rather by what people are wearing. Everyone shows up in the same colors. Many people have scarves. Some even have full-blown capes on. Apparently face-painting and bare chests is an American football thing, but people are still full of team pride when it comes to European football.

Oh, and the most obvious indicator that there's a football game? Anytime fans of one team see other fans of their team, there appears to be an unwritten code that everyone must start whooping and hollering and running through the extremely crowded Underground. This is met by a few smiles from fellow team supporters, but everyone else, who is a regular rush hour commuter and is therefore tired, cranky, and has the one and only goal of going home, glares at these people as they continue pushing their way towards the train platform.

This is bad enough, but as I discovered yesterday, Brazilians in London for football games are even worse. Somehow, they reach decibels that should not be physically possible, and chatter away a mile a minute in Spanish. And they run around chanting. In case the bright green and yellow attire they are covered in didn't make it obvious enough that they are here for the football game.

But here is why I really hate The Tube: because despite the fact that everyone is trying to get to the same place in a hurry, everyone moves RIDICULOUSLY SLOW. Everyone pushes and shoves to move through the crowd, and yet the crowd shuffles along at a glacial pace between platforms and trying to exit the station. I have yet to figure out why this is. The only thing I can think of is that maybe really old people somehow get in front of the crowd, and everyone else has to wait as they ascend and descend the stairs one foot at a time.

With everyone moving in one mass slug formation, that means many, many people are waiting at the platform when the train actually arrives. This creates even more pleasurable problems. For example, the train arrives and everyone flocks to the doors waiting for them to open. Once the doors open, the sea of people on the platform are met by a wall of people on the train itself. This creates a fascinating game, in which the objective is to let the people off the train (so there is room for you to in turn get ON), without letting any of the other people push in front of you and take your place on the train.

Sometimes, the best solution is to hang back and let that train go by. The next train comes a minute later, and sometimes it's emptier and easier to get on to. This solution usually works for me, but today, this was not the case.

Today, getting on the train was a major feat. At two different stations I wound up missing the first train, as the train literally COULD NOT fit another person in it. I had no option but to wait for the next train, and repeat the fight to get on. I eventually got sick and tired of The Tube, and so I switched to bus instead.

Turns out, barely anyone takes the bus. The bus is, I have decided, a beautiful thing. Buses don't have signal problems. Buses can take alternate routes if something goes wrong on the usual route. Buses don't get so full you are packed in like sardines and wondering who smells so bad, and hoping it won't rub off on you. Buses are beautiful.

In short, the conclusion I reached today, is that I miss driving. I never thought I would...but I do.

You Have Not Experienced Cold Until You Have Experienced Scotland

Hello dear followers! I apologize for the week without a word...but I was in Scotland for five days without Rufus, my darling laptop, and then I was a smidge busy on Monday with a play and a paper for class. But here I am, at 11:38 PM on Tuesday, come to update you on the highlights of last week galavanting off around Scotland.

Let's do this by day!

So first, Wednesday.
We left London bright and early at 7:50 AM, which meant waking up around 6:00 AM which is bloody early. The train ride was approximately 4 hours, and we arrived in Edinburgh just past noon. We walked a mile and a half (in reality, it was only 15 minutes, but when you're carrying bags and the weather is...well, the weather in Scotland in February, it feels like forever!) to our hostel, where we deposited our items and then we took off for the Edinburgh Castle.
Now, I would like you to know, that the entire time we were in Edinburgh (from Wednesday to Friday), it was either pouring rain, snowing, or doing a combination of both, and it was at all times very windy. So we explored the castle in these very conditions. Despite the horrid weather, we had fun wandering around the castle and looking at the Scottish war museum and learning about their rich history.
After the castle, we went to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery where we wandered around looking at paintings. It's a rather small art museum, so we managed to see everything in it within one hour before they kicked us out for closing time.
We returned to the hostel where we were given dinner and then everyone went to bed as we were utterly exhausted.

Thursday, the hostel fed us breakfast and provided us with sack lunches for our day. Then we headed out for a visit to St. Giles Cathedral. We split in to two groups and got tours around the cathedral. It was really cool, I even saw an angel playing bagpipes!
After the cathedral, we went to the Scottish History Museum (or whatever it happens to be called) where we had free reign to explore the museum. I played dress-up again (I love these Brits and their dress-up opportunities in the museums!), this time as a Viking. I didn't get far through the museum, but that's okay, because after the museum we had the option of going to Linlithgow Palace. I chose to go, and I'm ridiculously happy that I went; you get to wander around the palace at will, and it's just a ton of fun. We climbed up in every tower.
After the palace, several of us went to The Elephant, a coffee shop with a claim to fame: J.K. Rowling began the Harry Potter series in that very shop. We took pictures, we ordered hot chocolate, and a few people wrote (like Rowling). Then we briefly went shopping, which contained stops at an antiquarian book store and a yarn store.
After dinner at the hostel, I went to a pub Thursday night with Corrinne, to try some pear cider. Turns out, pear cider is delicious. After the cider, I had a Guinness. After two drinks, I was more than ready for bed, and so Corrinne and I walked back to the hostel and I promptly climbed in bed (but did not sleep very well).

Friday was the class's final day in Edinburgh. We took a walk to a hill that I can't recall the name of. On top of said hill is an unfinished monument in honor of all that the Scots have achieved. It was built in the 19th century and is meant to resemble the Parthenon in Greece. Although it's unfinished, it's still pretty impressive up about the city.
Then we went to Scottish Parliament, where we were given tours around the building. The Scottish Parliament, if you do not know, is barely ten years old. They have a pretty snazzy building, though.
Once the class finished up, Annie, Sasha and I took a train to Glasgow. In Glasgow, we checked in to our hostel and then wandered out for dinner. We found a pub in the town center where we chose to eat, and then we went back and read Shakespeare out loud in our room.

Saturday was the most interesting day in Scotland. Annie, Sasha and I had booked a tour to take us all over Scotland. We were worried the horrible weather would cause problems, but fortunately the weather cleared up by Saturday. As we drove north we saw lots of snow, but for once the sky was clear! The tour took us up north, stopping in places to let us take pictures. We saw the Three Sisters of Glencoe, we visited Urquhart Castle by Loch Ness, we took a cruise on Loch Ness, we got to explore the town of Inverness, and we stopped for dinner in Perthshire, where Annie and I were brave enough to try haggis. We returned to Glasgow by about 9:30, and Annie and I decided to go explore Glasgow for the evening. We're clearly such wild party animals, we chose to go to a pizzeria where we had coffee, tea, and dessert and we chatted. Sasha did not join us, she rather went to the hostel. When Annie and I returned to the hostel at 11:00, we came in giggling and being silly. Sasha thought we were drunk, which we were intentionally acting like.

Sunday morning was the only day we got to sleep in, and so we slept until 9:00! Annie went to get a shower, and when she returned I went for a shower. And, as luck should have it, right as I was preparing to rinse the shampoo out of my hair (and finish my shower), the power went out. First, the lights flickered out, and then the water (which was only just a trickle in the first place) ceased. So I wrapped up in a towel and returned to our room, where the power also was out. The sink was still running, so I rinsed my hair in the sink. Now, the thing with the sink is, it has two faucets: one for hot, one for cold. And you cannot find middle ground. The hot is HOT. So I rinsed my hair in the sink with freezing cold water. As soon as I was finished, the power returned. I went back to the bathroom and hopped in the shower again just to make sure my hair was properly rinsed. We spent the rest of Sunday traveling back to London...it was truly unexciting.
I am happy to say that my shower that morning was the only Trains, Planes and Automobiles moment which I experienced that day (although, Sasha and Annie had to inform two guys on the train that they were sitting in their reserved seats).

Yesterday (Monday), was class as usual. However, the theater class was going to see Dunsinane, a play about Scottish history that is the sequel to Macbeth. They had 10 extra tickets, and I was informed that this production is the world premiere of the show. I had a paper due the next morning for art history which I had yet to write, but I eventually decided that I couldn't resist going to the play. So I went, and I was glad that I did. The show was very well done, with good music accompanying the drama, and just enough jokes to keep you entertained amidst all the serious drama and death. My subject line, by the way, is a line from Dunsanine. I, personally, didn't find Scotland too terribly cold. Berlin in January last year was worse.

And finally, today, after class I came home and took a nap, and then went to see Waiting for Godot with Annie, Sasha, and Hannah, starring Sir Ian McKellan and Roger Rees, the actor who played the Sheriff of Rottingham in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Our seats were amazing, and they only cost us 11 pounds each. We bought "day-of" tickets, which the theatre reserves and you cannot buy until the box office opens on the day of the show. The tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and we really lucked out! It was a great show, and a great day.

You can see my Scotland pictures all together in one photo album here.