London - Ireland - London - Tewkesbury - Edinburgh - London - Home

I landed in London on December 15th, and stayed a few days at Central Hostel in Bayswater, London. Everyone there is absolutely amazing, and I met TK who showed me around London and helped me get a handle on the transit system so I could survive on my own. Compared to public transit here, the TTC is archaic and down right brutal.

After a couple of quick days in London recovering from jet-lag I moved on to Dublin and spent some time there touring, seeing the sights, hanging out and eventually finding one hell of a party in a tiny little pub called Purty's Kitchen. It was a hell of a time and I didn't arrive home until the sun was up.

I then returned to London to meet up with Cake and we spent a few more days trucking around London, seeing some sights, having a couple of pints, eating some truly amazing food and discovering a multitude of cheap eats.

Cake and I then continued on to her sister's place in Tewkesbury and spent Christmas with her sister's family, enjoying an amazing meal and a few days of peace and quiet before moving on back on the road.

After Tewkesbury we adventured out to Cheltenham for a day of shopping maddness on Boxing Day and then I returned to London to kill a few hours before catching the night bus to Edinburgh. More on that later. I arrived in Edinburgh on the 28th, slept the entire day away and then spent the evening hanging out at Budget Backpackers Hostel with a guy from Oz, a girl from San Diego and another guy from Miami.

The next day I got up, and decided I had best take a look around Edinburgh before having to go back to London so I went and saw Edinburgh Castle which was really interesting and then moved on to the Tartan mills where I bought a scarf in my clan tartan. Called my Nana from Edinburgh and she was thrilled that I was there and glad I had taken the time to see Scotland.

The next morning I hopped on a bus back to London and spent one last night in Central Hostel. I stayed up too late talking to people who I had met earlier in my journey and then got up way too early to catch the train to the airport to head home. I really didn't want to get on that plane but decided missing it intentionally may be a bad idea, so I came home.

I have a tonne of posting to do as soon as I get a spare moment but right now I must go do the rounds and visit all the family I haven't seen in almost a month.

Updated List O'Chaos

Since I'm the only one reading this right now I'm going to update it with my pre-travel to-do list for my trip to Europe.

For those of you who don't know, I'm going to the UK from December 14 - 31, 2008. I'll be staying in Gatwick, Dublin, London and where ever else my little feet carry me. I was going to back pack but I've decided to give up and actually take a suitcase because my backpack just doesn't seem that secure.

I have a lot of stuff left to do and to get myself organized I need to put it in a list - - so here it is!

The to-do list:

Home Stuff

• Clean Room
• Finish Landry
• Finish Packing
• Unpack and Repack to make sure I have everything
• Shopping for any missing odds and ends
• Re-load my cell phone music list

Work Stuff

• Dec 2 Transcript
• Dec 8 Transcript
• Complete Bill & Submit

School Stuff

• Canadian Studies Exam
• Study for English and Chemistry Exams
• Make up Chemistry Test and Assignment from last week (hopefully *cringe*)
• Take a deep breath - the semester is over!
• Have a few drinks - the semester is over!

Pre-Travel Stuff

• Print All Information
• Organize Itinnerary
• Email Itinerary to Parents / Grandparents / Whoever
• Exchange Money
• Re-check everything I've packed
• Provide emergency contact info to everyone who needs it
• Panic
• Stay up all night because I can't sleep because I'm excited

Sunday - LEAVE FOR THE U.K.! 18 DAYS BABY! YAY!

This week in review / preview...

So, this week has been a challenge thus far, and will continue to be one for the next 5 days.

The to-do list is as follows:

Saturday

1. Doctor's appointment regarding all this upcoming travel and the inoculations / health care odds and ends that we need to figure out - find out I need about a million needles
   
2. Grocery shopping
3. Find out that my medical insurance may not cover all the inoculations
   
4. Finish typing a case that is going to be due soon

Sunday

In bed with a migraine all day

Monday

1. Go to work - expect a full day case, end up with two half day cases (this is good because it's more money) - both cases order leaving me with three transcripts to complete before Friday
2. Coffee with Lasina - <3>
   
3. Shopping for some travel needs
4. Visit with my great grandmother and tell her all about my upcoming vacation and listen to her tell me all about Europe, her travels, and then just hang out which was especially cool
5. Make mental note to visit Nana more, she rocks.
6. Get stuck in the nursing home because neither myself, nor Nana know the code for the door
7. Make mental note to write down the codes on the whiteboard.
8. Come home - type 1.5 of my 3 transcripts which is less of an accomplishment then it sounds like because I'm typing the super easy stuff first because it's on an expedite.
9. Realize I HAVE to clean my room because I'm going to go crazy.

Tuesday

1. Biology Exam
2. English Test
3. Finish 2 more transcripts
4. Clean Room

Wednesday

1. Work full day
2. Finish another transcript
3. Study for Canadian Studies Exam
4. Landry for the trip
5. Start packing
6. Finalize all arrangements

Thursday

1. Canadian Studies Exam
2. Study for English and Chemistry Exams
3. Make up Chemistry Test and Assignment from last week (hopefully *cringe*)
4. Finish Laundry
5. Finish Packing
6. Make sure all transcripts are submitted / billed

Friday

1. Chem & English Finals
2. Clean up room again - It will be a mess again by now
3. Unpack and Repack to make sure I have everything
4. Shopping for any missing odds and ends
5. Re-load my cell phone music list
6. FIND MY HEADPHONES!!!!

Saturday

1. Take a deep breath - the semester is over!
2. Have a few drinks - the semester is over!
3. Re-check everything I've packed
4. Provide emergency contact info to everyone who needs it
5. Panic
6. Stay up all night because I can't sleep because I'm excited

Sunday - LEAVE FOR THE U.K. 18 DAYS IN THE UK BABY! WOOOOOOOOO! Needless to say, I'm not sure if I'll sleep or breathe any time in the next week... but I'm hoping it will be worth it.