July the eighteenth

Today is another busy day of moving and finding a new place to stay. I do have a place but I can't go there until after 6pm. I will be seeing my friend Kat soon and we will spend the day trying to find something to do. I'm back in England now and it's been a pretty slow week. Just preparing to go to France on Sunday. It should be fun. We are going to try and get to a place called La Rochelle. How cool would that be? OTher than that we plan to visit Paris and Bordeaux. I went swimming this week and played tennis and went on the internet for a few minutes (hence the blog update) and am just so excited to go to France. Well until then toodle loo.

Days long since past

Well it's been a while but my internet time here is limited and quite expensive. I have however been having a wonderful time in Edinburgh. I spent my 24th birthday here and it was pretty fun. I woke up the morning of the 9th and I went swimming it was a nice long relaxing swim. I just love to swim. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid and it just feels like you're floating over the world on a cloud or something. So I did that then I went to a book store and bought myself a present. They were having a book sale and so I got 2 for 3. I came back to the hostel and I had a nap and was awoken by a new roomate from Spain. We ended up spending the evening together and when he found out it was my birthday he took me for supper. IT was nice we had nachos. Then later in the evening we entered into the pub quiz, much like the one that was on The Office. It was such a fun event. I now see why people love them so much. I was in a group with 6 people. Me and one other Canadian guy, my spanish friend, one girl from Australia and 2 Scottish girls. There was 5 categories with 10 questions in each and whoever gets the most right by the end wins. One of the rounds was Dance so they had a bonus round of Limbo. I went in for my team and won the limbo competition. It was great. So by the end of the game we were tied with one other team at 30 points. They asked us a bonus question and we both failed. Next question and we lost but there were two prizes of equal value so we both won it was just to determine which prize you got. We won a bottle of Vodka. ha ha.
Also this week I went to see the Camera Obscura. It's like a camera in a dark room at the top of this tower and you can spy on the whole city which was really cool. Then you work your way down the tower through all these rooms with optical illusions cooler than most I've seen. It was a laugh. I went and toured around the botanical gardens here and that was just the most amazing and beautiful garden I've ever seen. There were the garden grounds outside then inside was a greenhouse which was so cool. Or literally hot like a tropical rain forrest. :-) I also went to a few other the national art galleries and museums they have here which was pretty cool however a lot of them push evolution which I don't believe in of course. But still pretty cool to see. In one of the art galleries there was a whole floor dedicated to Christianity which was beautiful. There were paintings of John the Baptist and Jesus and many others from like a thousand years ago that were all cracked. There were martyrs and so on. I loved that bit. It's really amazing to see how God has survived through the ages and yet people still deny it. Yesterday I walked the Royal Mile which is a Scottish mile (1 1/8 mile) and at the top is the Edinburgh Castle and at the bottom is the Holyrood Palace. I didn't go into either because it was so expensive. like $50.00 CAD. But walked up the side of a mountain beside the palace and took lots of pics. Ha ah I've had a great time in Scotland. It's so beautiful here I would definately come back again. Well I will write more soon. I am off to France this week so hopefully there will be many more adventures and such.

Batten down the Kilts.

Well I've finally have enough of the old England and Wales and am now in Scotland. I really really really like it here. It is so beautiful. I am in the centre of Edinburgh and overlooking a beautiful castle. I have taken a ton of pictures already and hope to share them all soon. Yesterday I went to the Scotsman Hotel and Spa and spent the evening getting the royal treatment. I got a back massage and went into the steamroom hot tub and pool. It was this cool stainless steel pool and it was so dark and relaxing in there. I felt like so relaxed and after my back rub I sat in a relaxation room and drank tea. Oh it was beautiful. Today I went to the botanical gardens and I just marvelled at all the beautiful plants and flowers. I felt like I was in a dream world lost in the amazon forrest. The smell was so sweet. There were lemon and orange trees growing and tea trees as far as the eye could see. I walked and walked for about 3 hours all around that place and it seemed there was no end. It was great. I can't wait to tour the castles and different parliment buildings that are around as well. I am staying very central so everything is within walking distance which is great because I hate wasting so much money on transport here. It's like £2/bus ride here which is like $4.00 that is way too much. Well more adventures soon to come.
Cheers.

9 Days later...

Well it's been a very eventful last nine days what can I say. I've moved more in the last 2 weeks than I've done in years (and if any of you know me you'd know We used to move like every 6 months) :-). well I am offically in Wales now and I am loving it here. It is so beautiful and right on the coast of the Atlantic. Who could ask for anything better? So where did I leave off? Oh yes. I was on my way to Camden Town. So I finally did go with my friend that Saturday. It was an interesting and crazy place. I've never seen anything quite like it. Teh best way to desribe it would be a human zoo. The people traffic was maddening at times with all these people just brushing up against you. It's not that you can avoid it really and that's why it's so maddening. It is totally beyond your control. As you can tell I'm not much of a writer I just jump topics and what not mid sentence and the like. Anyways carrying on. I didn't buy much in Camden just a sweater as I have been freezing my butt off since the day I arrived here. Ate some really gross food and then came back to Egham. The next few days after that I didn't really do a whole lot just hung around waiting to get off to Wales to see another friend of mine. So I managed to snag a free ride to Wales from these peopel who were going on a camping trip but it was quite funny how when we got here they jsut dropped me in the middle of Swansea and I had no idea where I was or how I was to get to where I was going. Bit of an adventure that. So I mozy on over to this hotel that's just on the corner and ask for help. They called me a taxi and I ended up waiting an hour. Finally I tell the taxi where I want to go and she takes me the complete wrong way to the wrong location. I mean who knew there would two places called the exact same thing? So finally she took me to where I was going and it cost me a tenner in the end. Far more than it should have. This is the best part though I get all checked in to my hotel and my window looks right over the Atlantic ocean. I was so glad to be there and it was a very clean and hospitable hotel, the nicest people i've met in a while. I just spent the first night walking up the shore and looking in all the local shops and then ate at a really nice restaurant (also on the ocean front). So the next day my friend picks me up after an eventful day of shopping and we go for a good old curry. It was the best curry I've ever had in my life at a place called Surma. so much food and all so so good. Then we went to see Pirates 3. I loved it. thought it was better than 2. The next day we went up and down the coast looking at all the beaches there are in the area. again so beautiful. Then we went to the Swansea airport to watch some K-car racing which was fun. Then we went to the horse race and I placed my first ever bet on a horse called Poppets Sweetlove. I wanted to place to win but my friend assured me this horse would never win because the odds were 12/1. I did it anyways and my horse won 1st place. I only placed a small bet but I still won £17. After that we went for Joe's icecream where they make it themselves fresh every 25 minutes. mmmmmm. After that we went to Parriswood Archery. We did Archery, Talons & Tea for a Tenner. It was brilliant mates. You get to learn and play a few rounds of archery, then you go upstairs and have tea and cakes and all other things nice, and finally you get to play with the hawks and owls. They were supposed to fly but the weather was too bad so instead we just held them on our arms. It was brill. In the evening after that we went for chinese food and it was like all you can eat but not buffet style. They make it fresh as you order so just order off the menu each course. It was crazy. We were in there like 2 and a half hours just eating all these different courses. so that brings me up to today. Haven't done a whole lot yet. I'm hoping to write my events a little more frequently so that I don't have to play catch up but I haven't had a lot of internet access and need to find a calling card store. Cheers!

P.S.

P.S. this blog sucks because I can't upload any picks for you guys. Peace!

Day 10

hmmm. life is pretty crazy over here in England. I've been shifted around so much I feel like a gear shaft. I haven't stayed in the same place more than one night yet and it's getting a bit old. I think I will just be staying in a hotel in the next day or so and then I am going to Camden Town on Saturday and then Monday I am off to Wales to meet up with my friend. That should be grand. It's been a pretty boring day today. I just did some wash and walked around a bit. My suitcase is fso full and yet it feels like I have nothing at all with me. Hopefully things will pick up for me soon. Well that's all for now.

Day 6, seven, Ate & 9

Well hello there world. I've finally arrived in England and it was a bit stressful of a journey. Let me regale the tales to you. It all started off Thursday night back in Canada. I went to sleep. When I awoke the next morning it was 6:30 am. As you may or may not know I usually sleep in until about 10 or 11 so this was really early. I was a bit excited about the trip and so I couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to get on with the day and get all the things done that I had to do. I had a short nap in the afternoon but all in all I didn't sleep much. By the time I was done all that needed doing it was after midnight and I have to be at the airport by 4 am, I decided to stay awake. I went over to Tim Horton's to have a coffee with some friends before I was off. I thought I would be able to sleep on the plane with such lack of sleep but alas, no. I got to Calgary at 7:30 am and got to visit with my dad. That was great. I didn't sleep the whole day (mainly because I wanted to be really tired for my next flight). So I get on my next flight and it was with Thomas Cook airlines (I've never flown with them before) and they had the worst seats I've ever sat in. I could not sleep so I was up for the majority of the flight. So I finally arrive in London Gatwick and it's 7am. No one here is awake yet and I had been having trouble with getting ahold of my friends to confirm they were going to meet me at the airport so no one was there. I tried calling everyone but to no avail. I finally just took a bus into London. That was about an hour and a half. It only went to Victoria station so now I'm still stranded just as a new location. I finally called another friend and finally they were able to come and pick me up. I needed to stop at the bank before going anywhere obviously to pay for whatever room I was to get. They dropped my off at the bank and gave me directions to this hostel I was to stay at. Of course as my luck would have it, they were wrong directions and what appeared to be a wrong address. I spent an hour and a half walking around with a 50 pound suitcase and a 20 pound backpack trying to find this place again, to no avail. I finally stopped and got directions which were in the exact opposite direction to the previous directions I was given. So I FINALLY get to the place and they say I must wait 2 more hours until check in time when a room is available. You must keep in mind here I am so bloody tried I could pass out at mid walk. ( It was Sunday now and I hadn't slept a whole lot since Thursday night). Anyways. I wait. and it was sheer torture. Finally I sleep for 6 measly hours and then I wake up and have supper at the place called garfunkle's. (it was the best meal I've had in ages) Come back to my room and sleep again til about 2 am. However the people in the hostel felt the need to be loud and obnoxious. (even to the point of playing soccer in the halls-full out) So I stay up and watch TV until something opens up for breakfast. Crazy. MIddle of bloody London and nothing is open at 6 am.Strangest thing ever. ha anyways. I go for breakfast and meet this American girl who happens to be in the same boat as me staying at the same hostel one floor up. we spent a few hours looking for an internet cafe as the hostel had no internet available. What was worse the brochure said they do and also that they have WiFi. We asked about it and they just tell you to piggy back other networks. YEAH RIGHT!!!! so finally we go back to the hostel and it's getting close to check out time ( as I didn't have a booking I had to check out and re-check in) BUT, and this is a big but, there were no more rooms available for me as I didn't have a booking. I had to leave so I was back at square one with no where to stay. I called some of my friends again and finally got ahold of one who said if I make to a certain place they would be able to pick me up from there but that they weren't driving into London. Now for the fun part. I have to get to Waterloo and then take a train to this place WITH ALL MY BAGS AGAIN> ha ha it was great (hint of sarcasm for good measure) so I do finally get the train but on the way the bottom of my bag breaks clean off and my bag no longer stands up on it's own. How great was that? So I finally get off the train when I reach my destination and what more than it starts pouring rain and I have yet to call my friend and tell him I've arrived so he can pick me up. I must have stood in the rain at least a half an hour. The worst part was the pay phone wasn't working well so I had to bang it like crazy just to get it to work. (the bonus was after the call for some reason it gave me all my money back-prasie God for that). So I finally get picked up and we aren't really sure what to do. So we heads over to another friend of ours. When we get there, there seems to be an awkwardness ( I basically feel as though I was intruding as we showed up unannounced). So we left went back to my friends place I got showered and changed and we ordered pizza and watched some movies. Seriously though that was my favorite part of the whole trip so far. I was so exstatic to be doing this seriously I was after all the events of the week so far. So now I am just haning out here and we are waiting to find me a new place to stay. I hung out with my good friend Laurie last night and that was also a bonus. I really hope this week gets better and I can't wait to get organized. alright?

Day 4 & 5

Holy crap I am so excited. So I leave in a matter of hours to England and I can't wait. I just spent the last few hours resting up and went to see my grandma as well. We went for lunch to Joey's. It was terrible and it gave me a wicked stomach ache. Now I am just trying to stay awake til 4am when I head over to the airport. I am meeting my dad tommorow morning for the 8 hour layover I have in Calgary. That will be nice since I haven't seen him in ages. Can I emphasize enough how excited I am to get my butt overseas. I managed to get my suitcase down to 40 pounds and my backpack down to 20 pounds so I hope that it's not all too heavy to be lugging around place to place but I just can't sacrifice anything else. Ha this is going to be an experience of a lifetime. Yesterday I never posted but there really wasn't a heck of a lot to tell. I know these posts seem to be pretty boring but hopefully they will pick up soon. Cheers.