OK so this will probably be my last post for this vacation, unless you all want to hear some imaginary things that I didn't do, but whatever.
So today was sort of a lazy morning. There wasn't much of a rush to get packed because the flight wasn't until 3:15PM. So I had one more hotel shower so I wouldn't stink like everyone else always seems to on the plane.
So luggage packed, everything organized, I'm stinkin' pretty and my hair looks awesome. I'm ready to go. Wheeled the luggage down to the foyer and checked out. Every step I take is one more closer to Canada. OH BOY! I CAN'T WAIT!
Then comes the 5 block walk to the "underground". It is how they say "The subway that travels underground". Brilliant! (Yes that was sarcasm)
OK so the luggage was starting to get sort of heavy after two blocks. I have been dragging this stuff for almost two weeks. You would think I would have built up some muscle by now. NOT A CHANCE! I was aching everywhere! Finally, the station. Oh what's this? Stairs? WONDERFUL! Not just any stairs though... there had to be over a thousand of them! Then of course there was an issue with the place I had to go, so they created a nice little detour. More friggin stairs! Finally on the train. Had to only do two transfers, no sweat! Wait, is that sweat? YES! It was like an oven down there! Transfer... Yep, more stairs. Wait? Crap wrong train! Get off on the next exit to flip back to the other station... what's this? UGH another 3000 stairs to just go back one station! SHOOT ME NOW! Physically exhausted, I've never wanted to be mugged for my belongings so much in my whole life! Anyway, to kill off the redundancy, there were more and more stairs until finally something that almost made me cry. There was an escalator at the end of the tunnel. I thought for sure it was going to heaven! It felt like it, so it must have been true.
Finally we get to the train shuttles to Heathrow Airport. Purchase the tickets and make it through the gate and the guy says, Oh you better hurry, the train is about to... ugh it's leaving right now. Sorry, you have to wait about 30 minutes for the next one.
Do you ever have one of those times in your life when you want to punch someone just because they're close enough? I didn't do it, but I think it would have felt great.
OK so an upgraded ticket purchased to catch the express... and we're off!
The shuttle was uneventful so I nodded off for about 10 minutes. That will be the last time I sleep for the day. We get to the airport early now, because the train was supposed to kill time for us, so instead we were really really early because of the express. Kelly and I got a sandwich. (Mostly because I blogged earlier that that's why we were going to London) I looked at three different places, but they all looked soggy. Then I went back to the first place and the woman brought out some fresh tuna and cucumber on a baguettes! I snatched one up and pranced proudly to the cash. No soggy bun for me!
OK so after about an hour of wasting time we boarded the plane. This is where the fun really begins. We found our seats, right side window and isle. In front of us were two noisy kids that were jumping around in their seats... UGH. Oh, then one up and to the left was a crying baby! This couldn't possibly Get. Any. Worse.... Oh wait... Yes, it could! There was a 4 year-old child jumping on his seat and grabbing at the woman (Complete stranger) in front of him while his parents totally ignored it. RAH! I made the plan right then and there, if that little creep even tries to do that with me, I'll punch his father right in the neck! (Not really, but I was going to do something about it). It took forever for the plane to take off. The whole while I that four-year-old was getting worse! Screaming, whining and being totally disrespectful to his parents. I put on my earphones, turned up the music and drowned them all out. I don't know how long I did that for, but I had to pee, so I got up and went. While I was gone, that kid switched places with one of his brothers directly in front of me. He was really bothering Kelly and I was gone for about 15 minutes because I had to wait for the stupid food cart to get out of the way. When I sat down THAT KID stood up on his seat and stared at me! OH MY GOSH! So I looked at him with the most evil hateful mean nasty yucky gross... did I mention hate? Evil? Then his eyebrows furrowed and he sunk back into his chair for a few minutes SUCCESS!!! Wait, he's back up!? CRAP! NOW HE'S MESSING WITH MY SCREEN! Screw it, I'm going to fight his father after all! I grabbed the kids hand and removed it from my screen, lifted it over his head and said with the most guttural mean but firm voice (without yelling) SSSSTOP! That did it! He never attempted one more interaction with either Kelly or me! YAH! I'm BRILLIANT! His mother gave me a look, but I didn't care one bit. It should have been her doing it anyway, not me! He continued to be annoying to everyone else in the plane running up and down the rows, screaming, crying and being a pain to other passengers, but NOT ME!!! HA! Little creep!
OK so I ended up watching two movies, Red Riding Hood and Gnomeo & Juliet. Yeah I know, but they were both pretty good. The reason why I watched two was because Kelly kept elbowing me in the ribs! Never fly with her, she is as bad as that little friggin kid! (I can't wait for tomorrow for her reaction about that). :)
Seriously though, I was about to drift off and she jabbed me in the ribs and said
Her: hey where is that pen?
Me: It's in with the luggage.
Her: YOU JERK!
Me: What?!
Her: How could you be such an idiot!
Me: You're kidding right?
Her: Blah blah something about me having the pen all week, but now it is with the luggage.
Me: I was almost asleep eh? *Leaning back into my sleep lean
Her: *Another Jab!
Me: What frig!
Her: I need a PEN!
Me: What AM I supposed to do about that!
Her: FIND ONE!
Me: You're kidding right?
Her: NO!
Me: Oh my gosh, you're a freak! What do you want me to do ask the pilot to pull over at the next corner store? We're in a friggin plane! Leave me alone! *try to lean in again, and get another jab!
Me: What FRIG!
Her: YOU NEED TO FIND ME A PEN!
This continues on... but you get the idea.
Oh yeah, and by the way, that woman that fell yesterday? It was Kelly! She got mad at me for that too! I was like 10 whole steps ahead of her! She called me a jerk!
Someone please understand when I say HELP ME!
With the exception of issues like these, I had a lot of fun on this trip. I'm physically exhausted, mentally stressed, more educated and experienced. It might take me about 2 weeks before I can relax from being on vacation, but it was worth all the achy muscles to be able to experience Europe.
I want to again thank Kelly and the entire Coates family for allowing me the opportunity to have these experiences and for being such amazing people. Experiences like these help me to appreciate my Country so much more. We live in a blessed land.
*Hugs.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Day 16
It would appear that this would be my last night in London. London has been very interesting. I have seen many things that finally make some sense to me. When I was growing up, I never understood why the queen was on our money. I never knew what the UK meant. I didn't get anything about the wars, the monarchy, government, who was important and why... basically nothing! I didn't read a lot as a child and most of my experience came from cartoons. It wasn't until I joined the Picton Legion Pipes & Drums about 8 years ago that I even started learning any of this stuff (mostly thanks to Doug Craft for talking about wars and military while he taught me how to bang on my drum). Most of my further information has come from being a part of the pipe band and attending all the ceremonies that I play at.
I took a couple bus transfers to Notting Hill, apparently where they filmed the movie with the same name. I had lunch in a cute little pub surrounded in plants. Not a lot happened today that really stood out except for all the people. It seems like London is visited by millions of people every day. I kept asking for directions, but no one was even from London! HORDES of people and none from here! I saw some crowds around breakdancers and various other entertainers (probably not from here either). Jerks!
I guess the reason why there isn't a lot that stands out is because London is very much like Canada in a lot of different ways. Some things stand out, like the cars driving on the wrong side of the road, the different words people use to describe something. Rashers instead of Slices of Bacon, Lift instead of Elevator, 2 pound 80... for currency, there are a bunch more, but you get the idea.
I guess I just thought that it would be like it is in the movies. Dead dry humour, cops with those bowler helmets and checkered pattern, those red phone booths, the bullet looking red mailboxes and double-decker buses all over the place. Wait... that actually was true! I guess it just seems different in movies though.
OH! Guess what!? You'll never believe this! I saw another woman fall today! Well I didn't actually see her fall, but I heard it. I was looking right at her, then I turned to look as I stepped off the curb then I heard a thud and gasp from someone behind me and a bag of leftover-takeout hit the ground. I turned around to see what had happened and she was laying there flat on her back! Some woman was already bending down to help her up, so out of a nervous/comedic reaction was to ask her "What are you doing on the ground?" I wanted to be helpful so I grabbed her bag for her. That makes three different falls in that same location! Seriously weird! What's worse is, it was raining, so she got soaked. I felt kind of bad for her.
I spent a lot of time emailing people about an event that I would have been doing if I wasn't on this trip. Sasha was there in my place and from what I have heard, she did an amazing job! Thank-you soooo much for helping with this Sasha, you aren't just a pretty face. :)
I will be making the trip back to Canada tomorrow. I seriously miss my bed. But for tonight it will be a hotel bed and then an eight hour airplane seat to get through first.
I will post one more blog after this, and that will end my European Vacation.
Goodnight all, sleep well. :)
I took a couple bus transfers to Notting Hill, apparently where they filmed the movie with the same name. I had lunch in a cute little pub surrounded in plants. Not a lot happened today that really stood out except for all the people. It seems like London is visited by millions of people every day. I kept asking for directions, but no one was even from London! HORDES of people and none from here! I saw some crowds around breakdancers and various other entertainers (probably not from here either). Jerks!
I guess the reason why there isn't a lot that stands out is because London is very much like Canada in a lot of different ways. Some things stand out, like the cars driving on the wrong side of the road, the different words people use to describe something. Rashers instead of Slices of Bacon, Lift instead of Elevator, 2 pound 80... for currency, there are a bunch more, but you get the idea.
I guess I just thought that it would be like it is in the movies. Dead dry humour, cops with those bowler helmets and checkered pattern, those red phone booths, the bullet looking red mailboxes and double-decker buses all over the place. Wait... that actually was true! I guess it just seems different in movies though.
OH! Guess what!? You'll never believe this! I saw another woman fall today! Well I didn't actually see her fall, but I heard it. I was looking right at her, then I turned to look as I stepped off the curb then I heard a thud and gasp from someone behind me and a bag of leftover-takeout hit the ground. I turned around to see what had happened and she was laying there flat on her back! Some woman was already bending down to help her up, so out of a nervous/comedic reaction was to ask her "What are you doing on the ground?" I wanted to be helpful so I grabbed her bag for her. That makes three different falls in that same location! Seriously weird! What's worse is, it was raining, so she got soaked. I felt kind of bad for her.
I spent a lot of time emailing people about an event that I would have been doing if I wasn't on this trip. Sasha was there in my place and from what I have heard, she did an amazing job! Thank-you soooo much for helping with this Sasha, you aren't just a pretty face. :)
I will be making the trip back to Canada tomorrow. I seriously miss my bed. But for tonight it will be a hotel bed and then an eight hour airplane seat to get through first.
I will post one more blog after this, and that will end my European Vacation.
Goodnight all, sleep well. :)
Friday, August 19, 2011
Day 15
OK so I'm well rested, ready to take on London!
Had another WONDERFUL hotel shower. Nice and hot and full. Trimmed my beard and shaved my head. I feel so clean when I do all that in a hotel shower.
After the shower I did a bit more work then hopped on a tour bus. It was a hop on hop off type, so they drive by monuments and buildings explaining how cool they are and why they exist and you can choose where to get off and on again. I went to a few cool places. I saw Hyde Park, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, saw where royal wedding took place, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and most cool of all... where Laurel and Hardy bought their bowler hats! Yes, I have priorities.
For lunch I had a some amazing London cuisine, a Whopper from Burger King. It had a little bit of a different flavour, but was basically a Whopper. I saw some pretty cool art and two people fall down. I'm guessing London has one of those weird centre of balance things going on. Like these people wiped right out! The woman slid very ungracefully and landed on her bottom, the guy landed really hard folded in half against a wall and his bottom. If I was to grade the falls, the woman would have gotten a 6, the guy a 8.5. If he had landed on his head or did a black flip too, he would have gotten a 10.
OK so here is something that has been bothering me since I started this whole trip. What's up with all the smoking!? Germany was pretty bad. It seemed like there were a lot of smokers there. Then I went to Scotland and it seemed like there were twice as many people smoking! London, I swear they're all chain-smokers! EVERYONE! It is like they don't listen to the cancer warnings or DARE cancer to strike them! I'm serious! It is way out of control! Kids, adults, babies in strollers! EVERYONE! At one point on my walk I actually had to walk on the street just so I could breathe again! (I hold my breath when I pass smokers, then when I pass them I breathe out of my nostrils before I inhale again, just in case there is any smoke that entered my nose... yeah I know, but I hate smoke that much!)
Another thing I've noticed is Europeans love cheese and tomato sandwiches both with or without some sort of meat. They always look amazing, but I can't eat sandwiches that aren't fresh. I have this gag reflex thing with soggy bread. I honestly can eat almost anything, but soggy bread is not one of them. If I saw the guy make the sandwich right in front of me, I would probably get one, but these things are prepared hours ago and bread can't stand up to wet ingredients for that long without being affected. Therefore, I would also be affected if I took a bite out of one. EUuWaH-Ahh! Gross!
OH! It didn't RAIN! OH MY GOSH! One whole day without rain! Seriously, I can't believe it. So I threw a glass of water on myself to remind me that I'm in Europe. HA, just joking, I would be kind of ticked off if I did that to myself. Yes, I'm a freak.
So what else went on today? Hmmm... OH, I remember something! I seriously saw about 15 teenage boys dressed like Duran Duran did in 1983! Complete with haircuts and the sleeves of their leather zipper jackets rolled up! I saw 5 women with 80's Pat Benatar haircuts and one guy that looked like both Duran Duran and Pat Benatar. He was scary!
One more thing. (This is for my friend Billy). William, remember what I said about the hot chicks in Germany? Well NOTHING compares to the hotties in London! Oh my cow! There are so many Kate Beckinsale grade hotties here. So if you want to have a location to aim for, then here is were you want to be! I'm not kidding!
Well my darlings, that's about it for today. I'm still exhausted so I'm heading off to bed. I will have more adventures to blog about tomorrow.
Nighty!
:)
Had another WONDERFUL hotel shower. Nice and hot and full. Trimmed my beard and shaved my head. I feel so clean when I do all that in a hotel shower.
After the shower I did a bit more work then hopped on a tour bus. It was a hop on hop off type, so they drive by monuments and buildings explaining how cool they are and why they exist and you can choose where to get off and on again. I went to a few cool places. I saw Hyde Park, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, saw where royal wedding took place, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and most cool of all... where Laurel and Hardy bought their bowler hats! Yes, I have priorities.
For lunch I had a some amazing London cuisine, a Whopper from Burger King. It had a little bit of a different flavour, but was basically a Whopper. I saw some pretty cool art and two people fall down. I'm guessing London has one of those weird centre of balance things going on. Like these people wiped right out! The woman slid very ungracefully and landed on her bottom, the guy landed really hard folded in half against a wall and his bottom. If I was to grade the falls, the woman would have gotten a 6, the guy a 8.5. If he had landed on his head or did a black flip too, he would have gotten a 10.
OK so here is something that has been bothering me since I started this whole trip. What's up with all the smoking!? Germany was pretty bad. It seemed like there were a lot of smokers there. Then I went to Scotland and it seemed like there were twice as many people smoking! London, I swear they're all chain-smokers! EVERYONE! It is like they don't listen to the cancer warnings or DARE cancer to strike them! I'm serious! It is way out of control! Kids, adults, babies in strollers! EVERYONE! At one point on my walk I actually had to walk on the street just so I could breathe again! (I hold my breath when I pass smokers, then when I pass them I breathe out of my nostrils before I inhale again, just in case there is any smoke that entered my nose... yeah I know, but I hate smoke that much!)
Another thing I've noticed is Europeans love cheese and tomato sandwiches both with or without some sort of meat. They always look amazing, but I can't eat sandwiches that aren't fresh. I have this gag reflex thing with soggy bread. I honestly can eat almost anything, but soggy bread is not one of them. If I saw the guy make the sandwich right in front of me, I would probably get one, but these things are prepared hours ago and bread can't stand up to wet ingredients for that long without being affected. Therefore, I would also be affected if I took a bite out of one. EUuWaH-Ahh! Gross!
OH! It didn't RAIN! OH MY GOSH! One whole day without rain! Seriously, I can't believe it. So I threw a glass of water on myself to remind me that I'm in Europe. HA, just joking, I would be kind of ticked off if I did that to myself. Yes, I'm a freak.
So what else went on today? Hmmm... OH, I remember something! I seriously saw about 15 teenage boys dressed like Duran Duran did in 1983! Complete with haircuts and the sleeves of their leather zipper jackets rolled up! I saw 5 women with 80's Pat Benatar haircuts and one guy that looked like both Duran Duran and Pat Benatar. He was scary!
One more thing. (This is for my friend Billy). William, remember what I said about the hot chicks in Germany? Well NOTHING compares to the hotties in London! Oh my cow! There are so many Kate Beckinsale grade hotties here. So if you want to have a location to aim for, then here is were you want to be! I'm not kidding!
Well my darlings, that's about it for today. I'm still exhausted so I'm heading off to bed. I will have more adventures to blog about tomorrow.
Nighty!
:)
Day 14
Today is Thursday.
Today is mostly a post about travel and sleeping. I barely slept in the night because I was working on stuff that needed to get done including packing and whatever. So 6AM came really early. (Yeah I know it comes exactly at 6AM every day, but you know what I mean!)
After saying goodbye to my friend Michelle (she left for Ireland for a year to go to school) I went and had a 30 minute nap.
So we got a cab to the airport, got on the plane with no difficulty. After take off, I choked down the awful plane breakfast and I slept for the hour plane ride to London. Then in London, they have this HUGE long walk through a bendy tunnel. It felt like at least 20 minutes to get to the luggage spity-out thing. Then they shuttle-train you to another location to get to the exit so you can then walk another 600 years to the hotel! Ugh, why does everything always involve so much walking!
One cool thing was a Londoner stopped and saw us being strangled by the map in the street and offered some help. Kelly said he was sexy, but I only used him for his knowledge of London, I wasn't really interested in a date just then.
Tired, grumpy and physically exhausted of course the Concierge screwed up the room number so it took another 20 minutes of walking around the hallways that went into a series of circles, looking for room 369 when the rooms only went to 350!
I had a shower and a nap, then worked on my laptop for a bit. By 6PM it was pouring rain harder than it had ever done in Scotland. This was a bit much to take. The whole 10 days in Scotland it rained about 9 & 1/2 days! There were two sunny days, but it had rained on those days also. I was completely soaked on a few of them and have about had my fill of rain. So instead of going out to see London, I was quite content on being in a dry hotel room doing absolutely nothing.
I got some extra sleep though, so that's a bonus!
Yay SLEEP!!!
So that about sums up my boring but DRY first day. Trust me though, dry is very welcome.
I will be doing more tomorrow.
Night my cuties. :)
Today is mostly a post about travel and sleeping. I barely slept in the night because I was working on stuff that needed to get done including packing and whatever. So 6AM came really early. (Yeah I know it comes exactly at 6AM every day, but you know what I mean!)
After saying goodbye to my friend Michelle (she left for Ireland for a year to go to school) I went and had a 30 minute nap.
So we got a cab to the airport, got on the plane with no difficulty. After take off, I choked down the awful plane breakfast and I slept for the hour plane ride to London. Then in London, they have this HUGE long walk through a bendy tunnel. It felt like at least 20 minutes to get to the luggage spity-out thing. Then they shuttle-train you to another location to get to the exit so you can then walk another 600 years to the hotel! Ugh, why does everything always involve so much walking!
One cool thing was a Londoner stopped and saw us being strangled by the map in the street and offered some help. Kelly said he was sexy, but I only used him for his knowledge of London, I wasn't really interested in a date just then.
Tired, grumpy and physically exhausted of course the Concierge screwed up the room number so it took another 20 minutes of walking around the hallways that went into a series of circles, looking for room 369 when the rooms only went to 350!
I had a shower and a nap, then worked on my laptop for a bit. By 6PM it was pouring rain harder than it had ever done in Scotland. This was a bit much to take. The whole 10 days in Scotland it rained about 9 & 1/2 days! There were two sunny days, but it had rained on those days also. I was completely soaked on a few of them and have about had my fill of rain. So instead of going out to see London, I was quite content on being in a dry hotel room doing absolutely nothing.
I got some extra sleep though, so that's a bonus!
Yay SLEEP!!!
So that about sums up my boring but DRY first day. Trust me though, dry is very welcome.
I will be doing more tomorrow.
Night my cuties. :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 13
Woah! Last full day in Scotland then I'm aff tae London. I've used about 5 full words today in a Scottish accent without even meaning to. I can't believe how easy it is to slip into another Country's accent! (Which is why I'm glad we will only be in London for only 3 days! I mean who wants to sound like THAT!)
So today again was a rough wake up. Each day seems to get harder and harder to get out of bed. I'm not sure if it is from all the walking or what, but my body is feeling it now. I have a huge deep blister growing on the inside of my right foot.
Anyway blah blah, I'm sure you don't care about my stupid blister.
We went to Holyrood (spelled it wrong yesterday) which I called a castle, but was corrected. It apparently isn't a castle, but I mean what makes it not a castle is beyond me! It looks like a castle, feels like a castle, smells like a castle and I'm sure tastes like a castle. Stupid not a castle!
The show went really well, people seem to love us a lot. We get pictures taken of us a lot too. I don't know why but people seem to pick me for pictures more than everyone else in the band or at least that's what it feels like. I keep forgetting too that other cultures have issues with touching or PDA and I keep grabbing them and throwing me arms around them and pulling them in right next to me. One that shocked me was one woman from Asia put her hand right on me butt! I don't know if she was just nervous, but HEY! Another observation was Russians seem to be soooo extra polite! Their thank-yous seem really sincere.
Once we finished we headed to Edinburgh Castle (Yes, castle this time). We had a few hours before the show so the band had some lunch and took a tour of the castle. It was magnificent on the outside, but this time the inside wasn't as nice as some of the others. It had a lot of history and stories, but it seems a little less impressive than some of the others I've seen in the last week or so.
The show here was a lot better than all the others. I'm not sure if that was because it was the last show or if it was because we had already done a warm up show only a few hours earlier or the acoustics were better here, but we sounded awesome! We looked pretty sexy too! :)
Once the show was over we all grabbed our stuff to go. I heard Kelly say to Bill that she would be in some of the shops for a bit. So I went to look for her. She wasn't anywhere to be found. Yesterday I thought she went home (being two blocks away from the flat) but misheard what she said. Then she got ticked off that I just left her. So today I made sure I didn't leave, especially now that it was a fair distance away. The whole band waited for about an hour while I searched the entire castle! We couldn't find Alison or Kelly, so we figured they were together. Finally the band left and Beth and I stayed looking for them. Lochie eventually sent Beth a text saying they were at home. So here's how this went down, I got to the flat after about 2 hours of wasted time looking for her and I'm told "You know I can find my way home on my own eh?" Grrrr! How can I ever know what to do!? I mean just yesterday I'm the biggest jerk in the world for figuring out that she knows how to get to the flat on her own two blocks away, today I'm a jerk for waiting for her.
Anyway, we all started packing and then went to Shakespeares for dinner. They have some amazing deals here for food. 5 pounds for a 12oz hamburger with fries and an egg on it. I split it with someone and we were both stuffed! I figured out why Scotland isn't an overweight land, it is because of all the hills they have to climb! Every road is a hill!
So that's about it for Scotland. I'm now mostly packed. I am some sleep and a shower away from getting on a plane for London. I don't know what to expect, but judging what I know of Germany and Scotland I'm sure they will have toilet issues and the buildings will be old and have some exciting history.
Until we meet again, I'm going tae bed now. Goodnight my beauties.
:)
So today again was a rough wake up. Each day seems to get harder and harder to get out of bed. I'm not sure if it is from all the walking or what, but my body is feeling it now. I have a huge deep blister growing on the inside of my right foot.
Anyway blah blah, I'm sure you don't care about my stupid blister.
We went to Holyrood (spelled it wrong yesterday) which I called a castle, but was corrected. It apparently isn't a castle, but I mean what makes it not a castle is beyond me! It looks like a castle, feels like a castle, smells like a castle and I'm sure tastes like a castle. Stupid not a castle!
The show went really well, people seem to love us a lot. We get pictures taken of us a lot too. I don't know why but people seem to pick me for pictures more than everyone else in the band or at least that's what it feels like. I keep forgetting too that other cultures have issues with touching or PDA and I keep grabbing them and throwing me arms around them and pulling them in right next to me. One that shocked me was one woman from Asia put her hand right on me butt! I don't know if she was just nervous, but HEY! Another observation was Russians seem to be soooo extra polite! Their thank-yous seem really sincere.
Once we finished we headed to Edinburgh Castle (Yes, castle this time). We had a few hours before the show so the band had some lunch and took a tour of the castle. It was magnificent on the outside, but this time the inside wasn't as nice as some of the others. It had a lot of history and stories, but it seems a little less impressive than some of the others I've seen in the last week or so.
The show here was a lot better than all the others. I'm not sure if that was because it was the last show or if it was because we had already done a warm up show only a few hours earlier or the acoustics were better here, but we sounded awesome! We looked pretty sexy too! :)
Once the show was over we all grabbed our stuff to go. I heard Kelly say to Bill that she would be in some of the shops for a bit. So I went to look for her. She wasn't anywhere to be found. Yesterday I thought she went home (being two blocks away from the flat) but misheard what she said. Then she got ticked off that I just left her. So today I made sure I didn't leave, especially now that it was a fair distance away. The whole band waited for about an hour while I searched the entire castle! We couldn't find Alison or Kelly, so we figured they were together. Finally the band left and Beth and I stayed looking for them. Lochie eventually sent Beth a text saying they were at home. So here's how this went down, I got to the flat after about 2 hours of wasted time looking for her and I'm told "You know I can find my way home on my own eh?" Grrrr! How can I ever know what to do!? I mean just yesterday I'm the biggest jerk in the world for figuring out that she knows how to get to the flat on her own two blocks away, today I'm a jerk for waiting for her.
Anyway, we all started packing and then went to Shakespeares for dinner. They have some amazing deals here for food. 5 pounds for a 12oz hamburger with fries and an egg on it. I split it with someone and we were both stuffed! I figured out why Scotland isn't an overweight land, it is because of all the hills they have to climb! Every road is a hill!
So that's about it for Scotland. I'm now mostly packed. I am some sleep and a shower away from getting on a plane for London. I don't know what to expect, but judging what I know of Germany and Scotland I'm sure they will have toilet issues and the buildings will be old and have some exciting history.
Until we meet again, I'm going tae bed now. Goodnight my beauties.
:)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Day 12
OK today I felt it. I just wanted to stay in bed. I'm tired. Leave me alone! I don't want to go see some castle, or some old building with mould on it, I just want to sleep in my own bed. Tell the killer seagulls to scram, don't knock on my door, just go away and let me soak up my bedsheets and pillows.
Fine, I'll get up! Kelly booked a whiskey tour, so I had to go. It was really airly, (early with a Scottish accent). It's funny, I've been saying words like Scottish people all day totally involuntarily. So once we got our teek-ets, (tickets). We met Dave our tour guide. He seems a bit too awake at the early hour of 9am, but whatever. We were on our way! OK, so I've only been on a few tours in my life, but let me just say... He was awesome! He started the whole tour by introducing himself and going over the safety rules. He made fun of everyone and called us sort of stupid if we didn't know how to be safe, then he pointed around the bus and had no idea where the emergency doors were, but "he knew they were in there somewhere". Then he drove 3 blocks out of the way to show us his home and his daughter, but we only got to see his mother-in-law because his daughter was sleeping. Then he started the real tour. Only he kept talking about his brothers, his parents, his dog, his hang-outs, honestly it was a riot! He was hilarious too! He would say something about the sites we were seeing on the tour, then he would make fun of it under his breath but totally into the mic so we could hear it. Then on top of all that, he would talk to the traffic as he drove making it seem even more funny! Like seriously, the tour was so much fun and totally because of him!
He kept doing things too along the way that were not part of the trip. He would pull over the bus, and tell us to get out and walk 4 blocks because he liked the little town and he would pick us up at the end of the 4 blocks after we found whatever it was he told us to check out. Or he would talk about the "pisser" that we needed to pay 30 pence for to get to see how "brilliant" it was. "Ah, s'totally worth the 30 pence to take a piss in style" he said before shoving us out the door!
The distillery was amazing. To see the process and how many details goes into every bottle is an eye opener.
The best part of the whole trip though was going to the waterfalls. He made us take a half-hour walk into the woods just to see this amazing site. It was probably my favourite place in all of Scotland. Funny though, it reminded me so much of Canada. The only thing Canada lacks is the old ruins and the amazing moss that grows here. It makes everything so fantasy-movie-like. The sounds, smells and colours was totally Canada though. We live in a beautiful Country my friends.
When the tour was over (which was 9 hours that felt like 4) we all said goodbye. I really liked him a lot. He made everything so much fun.
Then it was raining again! Hard. I got soaked coming back to the flats. I got changed and it was time to go out again. UGH! I got soaked again before we even got anywhere. The restaurant we went to only served food upstairs and wouldn't bring us any to our tables. So I left with Kelly and Shauna because they didn't want to eat upstairs either. We went to another restaurant, but that too wasn't good enough, so I told them I just wanted to grab a sub and get home. By the time I got home I was chilled, cold, wet and homesick. I don't want to get wet anymore. I'm tired.
Speaking of tired, I'm going to get to bed now. I will be performing with the band tomorrow in hollyrude and the Edinburgh Castle. Our final performances before we leave in a couple days. I'm not sure if I can walk anymore, so I'm glad we're getting close to being done.
I'm done.
Good night my lovelies.
:)
Fine, I'll get up! Kelly booked a whiskey tour, so I had to go. It was really airly, (early with a Scottish accent). It's funny, I've been saying words like Scottish people all day totally involuntarily. So once we got our teek-ets, (tickets). We met Dave our tour guide. He seems a bit too awake at the early hour of 9am, but whatever. We were on our way! OK, so I've only been on a few tours in my life, but let me just say... He was awesome! He started the whole tour by introducing himself and going over the safety rules. He made fun of everyone and called us sort of stupid if we didn't know how to be safe, then he pointed around the bus and had no idea where the emergency doors were, but "he knew they were in there somewhere". Then he drove 3 blocks out of the way to show us his home and his daughter, but we only got to see his mother-in-law because his daughter was sleeping. Then he started the real tour. Only he kept talking about his brothers, his parents, his dog, his hang-outs, honestly it was a riot! He was hilarious too! He would say something about the sites we were seeing on the tour, then he would make fun of it under his breath but totally into the mic so we could hear it. Then on top of all that, he would talk to the traffic as he drove making it seem even more funny! Like seriously, the tour was so much fun and totally because of him!
He kept doing things too along the way that were not part of the trip. He would pull over the bus, and tell us to get out and walk 4 blocks because he liked the little town and he would pick us up at the end of the 4 blocks after we found whatever it was he told us to check out. Or he would talk about the "pisser" that we needed to pay 30 pence for to get to see how "brilliant" it was. "Ah, s'totally worth the 30 pence to take a piss in style" he said before shoving us out the door!
The distillery was amazing. To see the process and how many details goes into every bottle is an eye opener.
The best part of the whole trip though was going to the waterfalls. He made us take a half-hour walk into the woods just to see this amazing site. It was probably my favourite place in all of Scotland. Funny though, it reminded me so much of Canada. The only thing Canada lacks is the old ruins and the amazing moss that grows here. It makes everything so fantasy-movie-like. The sounds, smells and colours was totally Canada though. We live in a beautiful Country my friends.
When the tour was over (which was 9 hours that felt like 4) we all said goodbye. I really liked him a lot. He made everything so much fun.
Then it was raining again! Hard. I got soaked coming back to the flats. I got changed and it was time to go out again. UGH! I got soaked again before we even got anywhere. The restaurant we went to only served food upstairs and wouldn't bring us any to our tables. So I left with Kelly and Shauna because they didn't want to eat upstairs either. We went to another restaurant, but that too wasn't good enough, so I told them I just wanted to grab a sub and get home. By the time I got home I was chilled, cold, wet and homesick. I don't want to get wet anymore. I'm tired.
Speaking of tired, I'm going to get to bed now. I will be performing with the band tomorrow in hollyrude and the Edinburgh Castle. Our final performances before we leave in a couple days. I'm not sure if I can walk anymore, so I'm glad we're getting close to being done.
I'm done.
Good night my lovelies.
:)
Day 11
Oooops, sorry about that! I'm a day behind now. I was so beat last night, I ended up crashing into my bed and that was it!
OK so yesterday (Day 11) I woke up kinda late. It seems as though all this stuff is catching up with me. I'm tired. Not just from all the walking walking walking walking EVERYWHERE... but because of the weird food, weird hours, doing something all the time, it eventually wears you out!
So I got up and Lochie wanted to go visit the Rosslyn Chapel. So Michelle and I saddled up our walking shoes and headed off with him. I almost died 5 times because I can't keep the direction of the traffic straight in my head. I look the "wrong" way because I know that it is the right way, then when I get half way across, I forget to look the other "wrong" way again, only this time it really is the wrong way!!! I see nothing coming and then after taking a few steps realize I'm looking the wrong way and almost get killed!
Anyway, I'm pretty quick, so I'm still OK.
So about this chapel, apparently it is pretty famous and was in that movie "Da Vinci Code". I've never seen the movie myself, but the Chapel is pretty amazing. Different then the one in Germany, but just as cool for different reasons. There is a neat/weird story about a pillar maker and his apprentice, I won't give it away, but you can either look it up or come visit Scotland.
It was my first experience with Scotland's Countryside. I find Scotland to be very much like Canada only with older houses and poorly kept streets. We went to a little pub while we were there and Robbie Burns seems to be present in every little pub in all of Scotland. Posters, pictures, quotes, tunes... they LOVE him!
It rained for a bit in the last half of the day, but the morning was pretty nice. I'm glad, because walking around in that chapel soaking wet would have sucked.
After we got back, we went for a walk to visit some more shops and stuff. Michelle and I continued on while Lochie went back to the flats. Michelle then dragged me into every bizarre and freaky store available in Edinburgh. There must be 600,000 used clothing stores here! We finally got to the pub everyone was supposed to be meeting at, but no one was there, so we headed back to the flats. No one apparently was making a move for supper so Michelle suggested a little pub/restaurant we saw in our travels. I ordered some fish and chips that I had been craving all day. It was very well done. One thing that bothers me though about Scotland is they don't offer regular vinegar. Every time I ask for vinegar they say it is in the little dish. Well the only vinegar in the dish is malt vinegar! THANKS!!! Jerks.
I'm actually getting homesick for food. I miss cooking. I also miss my favourite brand-names. I miss clean dishes. You can't clean anything with the dish washing liquid they have here and the laundry soap will give you a headache from the smell of it. I also miss just being home. I miss my routines and I miss my bed. Oh how I love that bed of mine.
By the time we all got home I was already in that walking coma sleep thing. I can barely remember how I even got home. I think I fell asleep in the restaurant and someone carried me home. Really, I am getting worse as time goes on.
OK my dear friends, I am going to write another one of these about my adventures today. So I will see you soonish.
Mmmmmwah!
OK so yesterday (Day 11) I woke up kinda late. It seems as though all this stuff is catching up with me. I'm tired. Not just from all the walking walking walking walking EVERYWHERE... but because of the weird food, weird hours, doing something all the time, it eventually wears you out!
So I got up and Lochie wanted to go visit the Rosslyn Chapel. So Michelle and I saddled up our walking shoes and headed off with him. I almost died 5 times because I can't keep the direction of the traffic straight in my head. I look the "wrong" way because I know that it is the right way, then when I get half way across, I forget to look the other "wrong" way again, only this time it really is the wrong way!!! I see nothing coming and then after taking a few steps realize I'm looking the wrong way and almost get killed!
Anyway, I'm pretty quick, so I'm still OK.
So about this chapel, apparently it is pretty famous and was in that movie "Da Vinci Code". I've never seen the movie myself, but the Chapel is pretty amazing. Different then the one in Germany, but just as cool for different reasons. There is a neat/weird story about a pillar maker and his apprentice, I won't give it away, but you can either look it up or come visit Scotland.
It was my first experience with Scotland's Countryside. I find Scotland to be very much like Canada only with older houses and poorly kept streets. We went to a little pub while we were there and Robbie Burns seems to be present in every little pub in all of Scotland. Posters, pictures, quotes, tunes... they LOVE him!
It rained for a bit in the last half of the day, but the morning was pretty nice. I'm glad, because walking around in that chapel soaking wet would have sucked.
After we got back, we went for a walk to visit some more shops and stuff. Michelle and I continued on while Lochie went back to the flats. Michelle then dragged me into every bizarre and freaky store available in Edinburgh. There must be 600,000 used clothing stores here! We finally got to the pub everyone was supposed to be meeting at, but no one was there, so we headed back to the flats. No one apparently was making a move for supper so Michelle suggested a little pub/restaurant we saw in our travels. I ordered some fish and chips that I had been craving all day. It was very well done. One thing that bothers me though about Scotland is they don't offer regular vinegar. Every time I ask for vinegar they say it is in the little dish. Well the only vinegar in the dish is malt vinegar! THANKS!!! Jerks.
I'm actually getting homesick for food. I miss cooking. I also miss my favourite brand-names. I miss clean dishes. You can't clean anything with the dish washing liquid they have here and the laundry soap will give you a headache from the smell of it. I also miss just being home. I miss my routines and I miss my bed. Oh how I love that bed of mine.
By the time we all got home I was already in that walking coma sleep thing. I can barely remember how I even got home. I think I fell asleep in the restaurant and someone carried me home. Really, I am getting worse as time goes on.
OK my dear friends, I am going to write another one of these about my adventures today. So I will see you soonish.
Mmmmmwah!
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