Londontown

April 3, 2009
Well, I have been in London since Tuesday evening and I love it here. However at this point in my trip I just want to get home to Canada. I’m really sick of living out of a suitcase and not knowing anyone anywhere I go. It was lovely to spend some time with Emily in Scotland and Kim in Ireland but I want to see all of you back in Canada too!!
I arrived in London on Tuesday and made the trek into the city from Gatwick Airport. The train cost ₤11 and the underground cost a whopping ₤4!!! That is about triple what I have paid in any other European city. Booooo. Anyways I arrived at my hostel. It was cheap so I couldn’t expect too much but the only place to hang out was the downstairs bar because I was on the top of three-bed bunks and the light in the bedroom had a five minute timer so I would have to climb up and down every five minutes. The bar was loud though which was irritating for reading etc. Anywho, I caught up on my emails and everything. A cute guy came up to me and asked me if I had a plug adapter. Luckily I did so I lent it to him for the night so he could charge his camera battery. He returned it to me at breakfast in the morning and we got to talking. He is very adorable. He is German and has spent the last six months in South east Asia. He was in Sumatra on an island with only four other people for 3 months!! He was doing some volunteer research on sea turtles and teaching the other four people English. When I asked him how he communicated with them if they didn’t know English he simply said “a smile goes a very long way.” I like the philosophy. Sometimes do-gooders are really kind of self-righteous you know? They look down on other people who don’t eat fair trade organic chocolate and spend their days helping others? Maurice wasn’t like that. He seemed to just have a wonderful yet not naïve view on life. He was truly a pleasure to be around and rather easy on the eyes too haha. So he tagged along on the day I had planned for myself! We went on the free walking tour around London which wasn’t as good as in Edinburgh and Dublin but still interesting. We did see President Obama!! He is of course, in town to meet with the Queen and the Browns and for the G20 Summit. Well we were just beginning our tour at Wellington arch and his entourage of armoured cars and limos all flying the stars and stripes drives right through the arch about 15 feet away!!! So there is my brush with fame in London.
So Maurice and I headed to Starbucks after that (he is a coffee fanatic like me) to charge us for the afternoon. We walked along the Thames chatting in the uncommon sunshine and making our way to Shakespeare’s rebuilt Globe Theatre. Of course the play start in mid-April… right after I leave. So we decided not to go in for the tour; I might go later this weekend (I’m not a fan of entrance fees).
So we snapped a few photos before heading back and crossing the river to Embankment underground station where we caught the tube to Camdentown! We were starving having not eaten since breakfast at the hostel so we stopped for some delicious fish and chips (yes mom, I know you told me not to eat the British food but this was a must). They served heaping portions for 5 pounds; it was great even if it was not served in the traditional newspaper. So London is divided into all these boroughs you know. So this one is the “alternative neighbourhood”. It is full of punk people with rainbow Mohawks, ripped clothes and lots of metal on their faces. It’s a cool neighbourhood though. It is famous for its markets and I can see why. There are heaps of stalls selling everything from Thai Buddhas to lip rings and bongs. Haha rather an interesting place; there is one area called Horse Tunnel market and I can only assume that stables used to be there. There are life-size iron horses everywhere!! Cool!! We also stumbled upon Camden Locks. You know in the river? I don’t know if it is spelled differently but it was a beautiful area with a picturesque bridge over the sparkling water. The whole neighbourhood was full of this industrial age architecture. Maurice is a wonderful photographer and took some great artsy shots he promised to send me. After a long day of walking we were wiped by sunset and stopped at the Starbucks overlooking the locks in the sunshine. We sat down and who is sitting next to us but two other Germans who coincidentally are staying in our little hostel!!! So they chatted in German while I wrote in my journal a bit. I decided I wanted to head back to relax a little at the hostel. The boys decided to go out to the bar for a couple beers.
They met me back at the bar around 11pm and we decided to walk over to Big Ben (they were a little intoxicated and saw this as a mission). The walk was complete with free-styling German and English rap that was rather entertaining. These guys made me laugh harder than I have in months and I grateful. The three of them hilariously tried to convince me that one of them was a German prince and the other two were actually his bodyguards. We took heaps of photos and headed back to the hostel around 2 to bed.
We woke up early and had breakfast at the hostel yesterday. I decided to check out as I was not very happy with one of the staff members who I found to be very rude and inappropriate. So I booked another one in a different area of town. The wonderfully kind Germans escorted me to my hostel and while I was checking in they decided to go to the nearby market. When I was done I went to find them but the market was much bigger than we thought and I couldn’t find them!!! It was very unfortunate because Maurice left last night. Luckily I had gotten his email beforehand. So I hopped on the underground and headed to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. I walked across the bridge and ended up at Southwark Cathedral and then the Globe again! On my walk from Tower Bridge to the Globe (about 20 minutes) I passed 5 Starbucks!!! And yet, there isn’t one in 2 miles of my hostel (I googled it.) I have now collected four Starbucks city mugs: Paris (thanks Dee), Scotland (with a bagpiper), Ireland (James Joyce) and England (Shakespeare- perfect!!). So I wandered around the Thames etc and got back on the tube because I was starving. I decided to hit up the Tesco (grocery store chain) near the hostel. I bought some groceries so that I wont have to eat out. I spent the evening reading and watching a movie. Uneventful but enjoyable.
I decided to take it easy today so I can avoid spending money. The tube day passes cost 5 pounds which is relatively cheap compared to a one way ticket but still equal to $10. So I went out this morning to do laundry and I have just been reading my book since then!!
So that’s the lengthy update of my time in London!! I love you all very much and trust me I can’t wait to get home and see you!! Only five more days!! XOXO
Love,
Kate
EMBLEM OF THE PAST FEW DAYS
Definitely it is meeting Maurice and spending time with him in this wonderful city.

Ireland

March 31, 2009
Hello all,
I know Im the worst blogger ever. I never update. Basically I was in Ireland and now Im not. Satisfied? No just kidding.
Ok so I love Ireland. I was in Dublin and it was fabulous. I definitely love the Irish pride and passion. Also, they have an amazing sense of humour that I haven’t encountered anywhere else. They are uber sarcastic and dry. Love it. Perhaps its only that I haven’t been in English-speaking countries but I miss humour… I actually find myself being really slow when people make sarcastic jokes when normally I am the mayor of Sarcasmtown. One night I was trying to get on the internet on my computer and it wasn’t working and the guy working at the hostel said “I’ll show you where the router is because perhaps your computer will work better there!” So he takes my bag for me and holds out his arm. I put my arm in his and he says “Well at least I can say that I had a date for Friday night!”
So while I was there the Irish had their football match against the Bulgarians for the World Cup Qualifier. It might as well have been St Patricks for all the green I saw!!! Scarves, hats, facepaint etc all could be seen on O’Connell (the main drag if you will) on the north side of the river which is the natural divider of the city. It was great.
I also went on the free walking tour just like I did in Edinburgh and it was so great. I had another really funny guide which is sweet. I learned a lot about the city of course. For example there is a plaque on the O’Connell bridge commemorating a priest who died in the river. Funny point: this priest never existed. Interesting….
I met some Americans in my hostel the first day there. They were going to the Guinness Brewery and said it was cool if I tagged along. Excellent!!! I loved it, I thought it was very interesting. Beer is such a complicated process that I don’t remember it all but I found it very interesting nonetheless. I think Arthur Guinness is as important as St. Patrick to the Irish. My tour guide said the two of them are considered the saints or Ireland. Love that too. So we took heaps of photos and the girls apparently don’t drink so I might have had three pints by noon…
So basically I spent my time in Dublin wandering. But I also met up with my friend Kim who is studying in Lyon and was visiting another friend in Dublin. We spent the day in Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was certainly an interesting city. It was really run-down and dirty. The guidebook that Kim’s friend had said Belfast was part of the three B’s to avoid for travelers: Baghdad, Bosnia and Belfast. Of course it was because of the political unrest. Now for those of you that watch international news you know that there were shootings there a few weeks ago and some British soldiers died. The whole city reminds you of all the killings and everything that went on… very powerful. We saw the peace line that separated the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods which is obviously ironically named. The political murals were pretty intense even though the craziest of them have been painted over.
Overall, I had a really great stay in Dublin. I didn’t meet many Irish people but it was still fun. I understand the culture well and I love it even more than I did before I went if that’s possible. Again sorry this isn’t longer.
EMBLEM OF THE WEEK
Wandering around Dublin listening to the accents and the walking tour.