London Ticker

I have officially removed the London Countdown Ticker. It was reading several days since trip to London and I felt by posting my journal entries (see massive post below) it just might be time to stop talking about the trip so much (which I am sure people around me will be very happy with).

London Journal

I have decided that instead of one brief overview of my London trip I am just going to type up (and post) my entries from the journal I took with me to London. This way I can get a good feel for what Chris and I did everyday (and how much we spent). I am probably going to add more to each entry but will note those in some manner (probably italics) as I go along. I hope you enjoy my writeups, they aren't poetry or truly enlightening pieces but they are a good record of what happened each of the fabulous days we spent in the UK.

NOTE: I am using the & symbol as the british pound symbol since this keyboard does not have it readily available)

Day 1: Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
Dave and I left the house to pick up Chris from work for 4pm. We had to turn around and go back since I forgot my Nalgene bottle in my lululemon bag and decided that it was very important to have this for the trip. We still made it to Chris' work for 4:00pm (EST). Dave drove us to the Greyhound Station on Catherine Street where we waited for about 15 minutes with him. He took pictures of us waiting for the bus (on both Chris' and my camera) and then he headed back home. Chris and I spent the rest of the time (about 45 minutes) reading magazines and sometimes talking about the trip. We got on the bus with no problems and headed to Trudeau Airport. I slept most of the way there while Chris only slept a little in the middle. We checked in with Zoom Airlines as soon as we got to the airport to get rid of our big luggage. Both of our checked peices were way under weight (limit was 20kg - mine was 14kg and Chris' was 12kg). We requested seats together, one by the window and got them though they had Chris in the window and usually aren't very good about switching seats but the worker didn't seem to see a problem with it. We ordered Burger King for dinner (about $11) and then went through the security where Chris got patted down. Chris bought some gum and we went to the water fountain where I took an advil which proceeded to get stuck in my throat and I ended up having to buy a chocolate bar to get it down ($2). While waiting for the plane I called Dave and my parents on my cell phones for a total of 15 minutes and Chris read more magazines. I ended up reading some of the London books as well. We boarded the plane on time and Iw as very excited about my first time on a plane. We took off without any problems and my ears adjusted to the pressure quite nicely. The flight attendants came around with a little snack in teeny white boxes which consisted of a chocolate bar, crackers, water, chicken salad sandwich (very little mayo so it was yummy) and something else that I gave to Chris. The movies on the way there were not very good and I slept through them all while listening to my MP3 player (well Dave's MP3 player). Chris was not able to sleep at all during the entire flight which really sucked for her. We had a little breakfast consisting of potatoes, a weird looking cherry tomato and a salsa omelette. It was quite good. The plane descended shortly after breakfast and I got a little naseous but nothing too bad really. Overall the plane ride was exciting but also pretty uneventful. The customs line was enormous and took near to an hour to get through although there was a guy in line a little behind us who looked EXACTLY like my brother Tyler, it was kind of creepy.

Day 2: Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
This was the day we actually entered London - it was also Tyler's 27th birthday (Happy belated bro)! We got our luggage no problem and headed to the Gatwick Express platform. After a little direction we made it to the train and boarded it. We sat at a little table by ourselves and put our checked luggage in a rack for safe keeping. The ride took 30 minutes and was quite pleasant. We stopped at Victoria Station in London and proceeded to make our way through it. We noticed that there were pigeons flying around inside the station which we thought was weird. We bought our Oyster cards (&3 deposit plus &20 put on it). We started to make our way to the underground system where we learned that there were a great number of stairs involved in this. It was hard to get through the gates with the luggage as they didn't really fit. We rode the tube to the bayswater station (the closest one to our hostel) and when we exited the station there was a man from one of the hostels giving directions. He told us our hostel was close and to turn left at the Pizza hut and then right at the laundrymat and then go down the red stairs next to the red door. Going down the stairs with the luggage was difficult and dangerous to say the least. I was afraid I was going to fall or drop my luggage and take Chris down too so I waited for her to be all the way down before I went further.

We checked in and got our key to room #11 and started making our way up - there were a lot of stairs here to and they were also very narrow making it hard to move the luggage. I changed out of my airplane clothes and then we bussed to Piccadilly Circus and started aimlessly walking around the city trying to get a handle of everything. We ended up seeing Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch and hit the tourist centre on regent street. it was all so beautiful. We bussed from trafalgar to The Lamb (a tradiational pub) for dinner. I had fish and chips (&10) and Chris had a mint and lamb burger.

We then tried to go to the library near our hostel at Notting Hill Gate but it had the weirdest hours ever and was completely closed on Wednesdays. So we walked to the grocery store and bought our first load of groceries only to find out that there was a bigger better version just a little further down the street. We spent &16 for groceries. On the way back to our hostel we got some stamps and postcards at a convenience/tourist shop for &5.80.

We had lasagna for dinner with a salad of lettuce and carrots (Chris had some mayo on hers) and then hung out in our room for the rest of the night trying to get used to it too. I showered in a private shower room (the one for room #5) and then went to bed around 8:30pm (London Time)

Chris woke up @ 10 to go to the washroom and I did the same at midnight when 2 dutch girls arrived in the room. There were also a German girl, chinese girl and a guy from California in our room with us. Everyone was pretty quiet and laid back.

Day 3: Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Woke up at about 5:30am and got dressed and packed up. We ate the free breakfast which consisted of toast, cereal, milk, juice and assorted spreads. I paid for some internet time (50p) and emailed Dave and my parents informing them that we had made it safely.

We took the bus to Brompton Cathedral in Kensington and walked past the Victoria and Albert and Natural Science Museums.

We got to the Brompton Oratory at 7:45am and went inside where no pictures were allowed. It was absolutely breathtaking. It was so gorgeous. This was the first time we felt like we were 'somewhere else' - somewhere other than Canada. We walked from there down the road to Harrod's Deparment Store only to find that it didn't open until 9am that day. We took the bus to Tower Hill Station where we were supposed to meet our tour guide for the Old City Walking Tour. we Met an Aussie named Bobby there who was also waiting for the tour to start. Another guide showed up (who knew of Eddie Izzard) and informed us that the Old City Tour was cancelled just for today and offered to show everyone the way to the Royal Walking Tour. Since we were scheduled to go on this tour later on (on a day that woudl involve the changing of the guards) we decided to not go with them and instead head to the London Zoo.

We tubed to Camden Town and headed in what turned out to be the wrong direction although going in the wrong direction made it psosible for us to pass the Dr. Marten Shoe Store which was really neat. We finally made it to the zoo around 11 and bought our tickets (&13). We ate lunch at the cafe (our packed lunch consisting of yogurt, carrots, salami sandwiches, and Jaffa Cakes) and it was delicious. Black Cherry Low Fat yogurt in the little blue containers tastes just like Cherry Garcia Ice Cream from Ben And Jerry. We saw the 'Animals in Action' exhibition in the Amphitheatre right after lunch and then started walking around. We found the Winnie statue in the Children's Section of the zoo and took some pictures there. We met up with a fellower of the zoo (essentailly someone who has donated a lot of money) and he ended up giving us a grand private tour of the zoo starting with one of his favourites - Bertram who would present him with tokens of affection which was very cute.

We went to the Spider Monkey enclosure in which you can walk around with them and Maras (a large rodent). We saw that the monkeys in their little house had a nail which they had pulled from the wall so we had to tell on them and the volunteers called the keepers to come and get it from them. Jokingly I offered my camera to the monkeys and one came right up and starting holding and nibbling it. He then bit my thumb, not breaking the skin but he did crack the nail. Cheeky Monkey!

We went to the penguin feeding called Pecking Penguins. The penguin enclosure had to be moved since the old one had a meeting with a fox who killed 7 of the penguins. This isn't the story that the keeper told however. They are unable to change anything about the old enclosure though since it is classified as a "Grey Building" which means it was one fo the first suspended concrete buildings. We saw hunting dogs fighting over a carcas they weer being fed and then went to shop where I bought a toy spider monkey for &3.50. It started to rain so we covered ourselves and I put my rain cover on my bag. I used my new umbrella for abit and it was great. The rain stopped shortly after it started and we then bussed back to the hostel. We stopped at a grocery store and got dinner (frozen pizza) and Mars Ice Cream bars. My feet really hurt and actually had a couple blisters on them.

I showered and then emailed Dave and my parents again (50p) while Chris cooked the pizza. It was very good pizza and once again we had a little lettuce and carrot salad with it.

We took the bus to the British Museum after getting changed only to find out (well I already knew) that the museum was pretty much closed at that time except for the Grand Court and one small exhibit just off of it called Living and Dying. We wrote in our journal while sitting in the Grand Court, looked at the museum maps and then headed back to the hostel.

At the bus stop this slightly drunk British young man started talking to us and ended up getting on the same bus as us and hitting on us the entire way home. It wasn't that bad though as both Chris and I were there and we felt safe.

We missed the Queensway stop and thebus went around a detour during which the bus driver wouldnot stop (not like in Ottawa at all). We ended up having to walk a fair bit back to our hostel but we made it so it was alright. We got to bed at about 11pm.

Day 4: Friday, January 18th, 2008
Woke up at 5am. Got dressed in communal bathrooms and brought bags downstairs. Found out that some of our food had been stolen (1 cupcake, 3 pieces of cheese, entire package of salami and bread). We made ourlunches with what was left and then ehaded to the Victoria Bus station (coach bus station). We got there 30 minutes early and were able to get good seats on the bus to Salisbury. The bus had seatbelts as there is a law requiring that in Britain and it felt very space-ish. I slept most of the way to Southampton while Chris stayed awake so we wouldn't miss our stop. We got there at 9:25am and began waiting for teh nextbus. I used a pay-toilet (20p) which Chris found entertaining. Got on the second bus and finished the trip to Salisbury. We walked fromthe station on Endless street (which is actually very short) and then walked up the many hills to teh hostel. It was very cute and the walkway was adorable. YHA Salisbury was so clean and pretty. We had to pay &3 for not beign YHA members but that was okay. We got our room keys (to #4) and walke dup the one set of stairs to the room. We ate a bit of our lunch and then slowly made our way back down and to the bus station. We arrived at noon, 15 minutes after a bus departed to Salisbury and had to wait 45 minutse for the next one. We got front row seats on the upper level of thebus and started the crazy ride to Stonehenge in Wiltshier. As we began to see it I started to realize just what we were about to see and got eally excited. We got our ticket (&3.50) and a complimentary headset and ran down the tunnel - okay I ran down the tunnel. I started taking picture after picture and I was so happy the be there finally. It was everything I had ever imagined and so much more. the weather was kind of awful as it was cold and rainy but I barely noticed. A blister on my foot had popped onthe way to the station that morning and I also didn't notice that. i was so emotional that I had finally made it to Stonehenge that I cried a little.

Chris adn I met up a couple of times around the circle and chatted a bit. I appreciated the fact that she let me do it on my own at my own pace (which was slow and picture filled) even though it was cold and wet. the complimentary headset didn't tell me much that I did't already knwo about the stones but it was still nice. the entire thing was beyond words amazing. There were few people which allowed me to take some great pictures in which it looks like there is no one else there but me. Chris and I met back up and took some photos of eachother and got some other tourists to take pictures of both of us together.

When we were waiting for the bus back - after shopping in the store (&22.50) and feeling two examples stone (one was significantly colder than the other) we got very cold. The bus came in a puff of black smoke as the back tire seemed like it was on fire. We had to wait for a replacement bus to come from salisbury so it took us longer than anticipated to get back to our hostel.

We went to the information centrein town and got some pamphlets after shopping at TK Maxx where I bought a picture frame for &3.

We got back tot he hostel and chatted with a girl from Kingston for quite some time while repacking and resting. We went down and made our dinner of tortellini noodles (from a can) and some corn. We had the rest of our cupckaes (which were squished) for dessert as well as our hula hoops chips. We ordered foro for our dinner the next day (&4.80) and got Purbeck Ice Cream from Dorset for a snack (&1.50). I t was very good - I got chocolate and Chris got mint and chipets ( small chocolate pieces). we apcked again and planned base of tomorrow's plans. We bought two bus passed today (one each)for &7.50 and split on one for tomorrow since Kingston girl gave us an unused one for free which was very nice of her.

We went to bed early (about 8:30pm) and planned to get up at 6:30am the next day.
this was an absolutely amazing day!!

Day 5: Saturday, January 19th, 2008
We woke up to Kingston girl's alarm clock as both of our alarms died last night (mine throughout the night) so we woke up at 8am. We both showered, packed and put our luggage in the 'left luggage area' in the basement. Ate hot breakfast of egg, toast, cheese, meats, juices and milk. Then went to the bus station to wait for the avebury bus (9:20am). Bussed to Pewsey then to Avebury. Visited the tourist information centre which was inside a little chapel. Bought map of stones (50p). Weather was wrtched - raining, windy and cold. Shoes were soaked after 10 minutes of walking in the wet grass. We walked aorund the stones for about 2 hours. They were nice and much larger than anticipated but did not have the same feeling as Stonehenge. Possibly because we had only learned abou them a monthor so ago and therefore there was not this big buildup to them and possibly because you could not see all of them at once - maybe 10 at the absolute most. We ate lunch at the red Lion Pub (&11) where I had a coke and fish and chips. Chris has sausage and mash. Pubw as from 1800s and has a thatche droof - there was a well there which the pub had beenbuilt around and had been converted into a table to eat at with a light coming from underneath the glass top. Story goes that Flora was killed by her husband and thrown into the well for being unfaithful. She now supposedly haunts the pub. Chris called the hostel from a payphone to try to reserve our beds for that night since we would not be returning until late.

We headed back to salisbury on the 1:58pm bus and along the way i got pictures of a Tank Corssing sign For Dave.
We went to the Salisbury museum (&3ish) in which there was some stonehenge stuff and period costumes as well. Had to be asked toleave at which time we realized it waas very dark and that pictures of the Salisbury Cathedral were not going to be good though we took some none-the-less. We walked back to the hostel where we picke dout our bags and our lunches we had ordered the ngiht before. We took the bus back to Southampton and then to London and got in about 10:30. There weer only top bunks available so we slept in those and went right to sleep.

Day 6: Sunday, January 20th, 2008
Woke up at 5am (Chris at 5:30am). Got dressed and whatnot outside of the room to leave it quiet for the others in there who were sleeping. We ate breakfast slowly after emailing Dave (50p). Went to Tesco and bought some food (&3) and then came back and made lunches and then left the hostel again.

We bussed to Victoria Station where we traded in our Oyster cards for a 7a day pass (~&15). Went to Leicester square to get theatre tickets from TKTS but it was closed. Bussed to Wellington arch to meet tour people - atelunch while we waited. Started Tour with Gregg walked to Buckingham Palace and watched the Changing of the Guards which was not as interesting as I had thought it would be. We walked to St James Place took photos with the guards (this is where Charles, William, harry and Camilla live in London). Saw Piccadilly Circus (possibly named after fancy collar the Piccadill since the man who created them supposedly owned most of that road but could also be named after the fact that this is where the prosititues were chosen who were called dilly - pick a dilly), Downing Street (Prime Minister famous house is 10 Downing street although he actually lives in 11 Downing Street since 10 was not big enough, washed walls of building for big event several years ago and public proclaimed it was not the riht place since the walls should be black. This blackness was actually 'london fog' or pollution so they had to paint the bricks black), Big Ben (actually the name of the bell inside the tower which only people with a British passport can see), Cabinet War Rooms, Nelson's Column, etc. Finished at the Abbey where we tipped Gregg &5.

Went to the National Gallery and finished eating our lunch in the gallery cafe. We visited the impressionist rooms, Anolfini portraits then headed to the National Portait Gallery where we saw Queen Elizabeth portraits, shakespeare portait and Karsch photographs. Bussed back, went to Tescot to buy groceries (&4), had pizza for dinner again and once again emailed Dave and my parents. I wrote in my journal while Chris and I chatted and then we went to bed at around 9pm.

Day 7: Monday, January 21st, 2008
Woke up at 6:30am, had breakfast and made lunches for the day. We then took the stuve to St. James Wood and then walked to Abbey Road from there (Abbey Road Studios to be exact). We signed the wall surrounding the front of the building and then took pictures crossing the street we believed to be the famous spot from the Beatles album cover. We then tookthe bus and the tube to tower hill (gotpictures of Dave [man channel] advertisement along the way) where we ate the first part of our lunch. I was feeling very sick and dizzy for some reason.

We had the Old City Wakling Tour with Gregg (same guide as previous walking tour) during which we saw Tower Hill, St. Pauls' Cathedral, Globe Theatre, Millenium Bridge, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. We also saw the Bank of England, Mayor's House, Australia House and the stock excahnge. We saw the monument to the Great Fir (if laid on side tip of monument would mark starting point of the fire, when fire occurred mayor was alerted and proclaimed that a woman could piss it out), temple gardens, covent gardens (originally convenet gardens - it was a spelling mistake which took). We tipped gregg &5 again. When the tour was over we are the rest of our lunch in convent gardens and then went into a little toy shop. We then took the bus to the World's largest Toy Store - Hamleys where I bought my dad's present and my mom's persent. We then took the bus to the library near notting hill gate station where we had to get a user ID and password to use the internset. I emailed Dave and Chris checked some stuff as well.

We walked back to our hostel and started cooking dinner - pasta and vegetables, watched part of Mr and Mrs Smith, ate and Chris showered. We got dressed up and put on makeup and headed out for the theatre as we had bought tickets earlier for &30 at TKTS. I bought a booklet (&5) and we found our seats. There was a nice british family who informed us of the free coatcheck and chris went and checked our coats for us while I saved our seats (not that they were going anywhere). We talked to the British man until Les Miserables started. Chris and i cried through the entire second half. It was VERY good! We took the bus home and went to be at 11pm.

Day 8: Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
We woke up at 6:15am, although it was supposed to be 7:15am, had breakfast and made our lunched. We bussed to the Tower Hill station and took pictures of it and the Tower Bridge until 9:15am when we entered the Tower of London (&13). We saw the crown jewels right away and then ate lunch. We went through the White Tower and then did the Yoeman (beefeater) tour. We walked along the edge of the tower gate and went into each fo the individual towers. We went into the shop and I bought another gift for mom and a raven for myself (&8). We took the bus to covet gardens adn dwalked to ROck and Sole where we had fish and chips for dinner (&12). We then tubed to Kings Cross Station where Chris got her picture taken at 9 3/4 staton (Harry Potter). We went to the British Library and saw the Magna Carta, Beatles stuff (one song [hard day's night] written on back of John Lennons sons 1st birthday card), Da Vinci Papers, Shakespeare manuscripts, Mozart and Beethoven symphonies, many old bibles and scriptures, etc. It was really neat but no pictures were allowed. Took the tube to Tower Hill to wait for the Key Ceremony. We were very early so we had drinks and lollies in Wagamama (&4). We then went to the key ceremony. I twas really neat and interesting. Our Yoeman from earlier was the key holder and Camilla was in the White Tower having dinner. Felt under dressed as many people were in formal attire. We took the tube home and ordered our London Eye tickets online. Went to bed after hanging out in the loby (emailing Dave and chatting) at 11:30pm.

Day 9: Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Woke up at 6am had breakfast and made lunches as normal. Tubed to St. Paul's (&8.50). Walked around crypt and ate lunch with statues staring at us. we walked up 163 steps to the whispering gallery which really worked. I was nervous I was going to fall. We continued up to the Stone Gallery (another 150 steps) where I felt more comfortable due to the large walls. We then walked up to the Golden Gallery (another 160 steps) which was raelly scary and I was very nervous. but I made it up. The railing looked sketchy and the walkway was barely wide enough for one person. came down and went to Tube to London Eye. Picked up Tickets (pre-ordered pervious night), had lunch in Manga Cafe and then bought 360 degree guides (&3). Boarded capsule with only one other person - a Romanian woman who was very nice. We went very high but I was not nervous at all. Got amazing views of the city. Posed for picture machine which we later found out wasn't working - we must have looked like losers.

When we got off we saw dali statues in front of the Aquarium and thenwalked across Westminster bridge taking pictures of Big Ben and the London Eye as well as the Parliament builgins. Went inside St. margaret's Church and then into Westminster Abbey (&7). ate lunch in the courtyard and then visitied the museum where there were effigies of many Queens and Important people. I bought 3 postcards of the interior of Westminster since pictures are not allowed (&1.20). Walked in gardens and cloisters, saw Poets Corner (Shakespeare, Jane Austin, Bronte Sisters, etc) and saw tomb of little princes from the Tower of London who were near the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I (who shared with Queen Mary I). Walked around Nave - saw unknown warrior tomb and graves of Sir Issacc Newton and Darwin. Monument to Newton was big and important feeling (because it is) and it was very beautiful. We tubed home and took a nap from about 4:30 until 8pm. We made dinner (leftover pasta from previous night and vegetables). Chatted with Dave online while Chris read magazines. Thenshowered and headed to bed. Hot to bed at about 10:30pm.

Day 10: Thursday, January 24th, 2008
Woke up at 7:30am, had breakfast and made lunch. Headed down to Harrods byu bus only to find out that it opens at 10am not 9am like we thought. We walked downt he street and sat on a doorstep for 45minutes then walked back to Harrods. When we got into Harrod's we learned just what an event this store really is. Backpacks were not allowed so we had to carry them like hand bags - very heavy awkward handbags. We found the fountainf or Princess Diana and took photos. Then bouight souvenirs and gifts at the Harrods Gift shop (&33) and then left the store an hour later. We bussed down the the Natural Science Museum and ate the first half of our lunch at a maple leaf table in the school section apaprently. We checked our bags (&3) and walked around the museum together. We saw dinsoaurs skeletons and bones and the teenager t-rex robot, a cut of a giant sequoia tree 1300+ years old. we walked around the gen and minreal section for quite some time and then set off to the volcano and earthquake area. the exhibit where the ground shakes as if in a real earthquake could not be found so we visited the gift shop (bought nothing) and then picked up our bags and headed off to the British Museum. Before going in we went to Fancy That of London and bought some souvenirs - I got something for me and something for Tyler. We ate the second half of our lunch and then split up after checking our bags again (&2). I bought a highlights audio tour (&3.50) from a guy who highlighted all the parts of themuseum which were open past 5:30pm on the map for me. I walked through the Egypt section, Assyria and Greek areas then headed up through the Americas section to the Mummies. Waited fro a mummy talk at 6:15pm (took with Chris) which was reallyinteresting. Learned about Shabti's from my audio guide which are figures placed in the tomb with the mummies who when the person is caleld upon to do physical work in the afterlife, will activate and do the work for the person. Some people had up to 365 Shabti's (one for each day) and some even had Shabti watchers who would make sure the little groups of Shabti were working efficiently on your behalf. Bought small gift for dave (&1) and got my bags. The harrods bag had ripped and they gave me a british museum one for free. The store worker made a note about how cheap the harrods bags can sometimes be. We walked to Wagama for dinner where I had noodles, rice and some chicken meat. I didn't eat most of it so I got it wrapped up for breakfast tomorrow. We bussed home and I emailed Dave requesting a ride from the bus station the next day when we returned to Canada. We went to bed rather early.

Day 11: Friday, January 25th, 2008
Woke up at 7:30am and packed out bags after a quick shower. It was hard to get everything into our bags and took a great deal of time to finish packing. We lugged our bags down to the floor with the main door (not to the basement) and then went downstairs for breakfast. There were a lot of people eating today and the kitchen was very crowded. I warmed up my dinner from last night and ate some of it, then offered it to Chris. I had one piece of toast as well and some juice. We asked for the driver to take up to Victoria Station Train Station. It was a very dodgy ride to the station. The van felt like it was going to fall apart and the driver was very french. He reminded me of someone from a movie but I couldn't figure out who (still can't). Chris had to answer his phone for him since you are not allowed to talk on a cell unless with a handsfree device and he had forgotten his and the cops were everywhere. He dropped us off with plenty of time to spare and we made our way to the gatwick express platform. There was a train waiting for us there and we got right on. We put our bags in the storage place again beside us and faced backwards the entire ride there (I was actually fine in terms of motion-sickness). We got to the airport and figured out what terminal we had to go to and then made our way there. We checked our bags which were both over weight. The limit was 20kg as before and Chris was 22 whilemine was 25kg. They didn't say anything as we were the first to check in and let it go which was awesome. We went and walked around the waiting area as our gate had not yet been posted. This is a very clever trick by the airport people - they do not post your gate until an hour before your plane's departure which makes you stay where the shops are and you end up buying things you do not need. Chris and I bought chocolate. I got 3 bags of mini creme eggs (they were 3 for 2) for &2.50 and a big bag of Quality street chocolates for &5 so their ploy worked perfectly I guess. We walked to the Burger King and waited for a bit talking about random things then bought and ate lunch there (&9). We played some children's games and then found our gate number was posted so we headed there. We waited for less than 30 minutes and then got on the plane. We had to wait a bit on the plane as it was early. It eventually took off and once again I had no problems adjusting to the pressure on the way up. We had dinner shortly after starting on the plane which was shepherds pie and salad (potato so I gave it to Chris) and well as a bun. It was very good. There was also a snack which was not so great. It had a curry chicken wrap which was not yummy at all - ew curry. The movies were better on this trip - there was a night the museum and something else I now forget but watched. I fell asleep through the third movie which I was not interested in. Chris again was unable to sleep on the plane. The flight attendant gave us a giant bottle of water for our naglene bottles which was really cool of her though it looked like she snuck it to us - probably so other passengers didn't ask for the same thing. The sky was gorgeous on the way home with the big puffy clouds against the blue skyand then later then gorgeous sunset just starting. We crossed over Greenland and the pilot seemed to know a great deal about this place which was a little eery but it was beautiful though we had to go to the other side of the plane to see it. We could see iceburgs in the water on our side though. Later a plane passed by us (and below too) on our side of the plane which was really neat. We landed with no complications whatsoever and flew through customs. We got our baggage and the whole thing took 45minutes. We would have just missed our bus to Ottawa but there were delays and we ended up catching the one whichwas supposed to leave at 6:20pm (EST). We got into Ottawa at about 9pm and Dave came and picked us up and then dropped Chris off at home. I went home, got some water and a snack (dave and I bought chips on the way home) and went to bed shortly there-after as I was very tired.

It was a fantastic trip which lived up to my every hope and dream. I would do it again in a heartbeat and not change a thing (maybe make my feet hurt a little less). I absolutely loved it. Thank you Chris for thinking of such a wonderful thing so many months ago - I really appreciate that you wanted to go travelling with me.

London Days 1 and 2

Chris and I got in safe and sound yesterday and made it through customs and baggage claim easily and with no holdups.
We went to bed early last night to try and counteract the busy day and jetlag. We got up bright and early this morning and are heading to Brompton Cathedral and a wlaking tour and the British Museum today. It should be really good.
Our hostel is clean and safe and except for the ridiculous amount of stairs - it is pretty much perfect for us.
Yesterday we walked around the city a little trying to get a handle on things like orientation. We saw a lot of neat things like Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus but were not intending on really seeing anything. We ate dinner at a traditional pub called 'The Lamb' which was really neat. We rode on the double decker buses and on the tube and that was awesome (though expensive).

London

Chris and I leave for London today! WAHOO! I have a few last minute things to do before I can say I am ready though such as emailing my itinerary to my parents and getting some mailing addresses ready. I am so freaking excited - 11 days away from Ottawa, 10 days in Canada!
I have met all my goals that I wanted to achieve before we left so I truly feel like this is a GIANT reward for so much - I am so happy for this trip to come.

Apologize

I am really liking this song lately - actually it gets stuck in my head all the freaking time and whenever I try to explain it to someone with the lyrics "it's toolate to apologize, it's tooo late" no one knows what I am attempting to sing, you know because I can't sing worth a dime. Anyways, take a listen and let me know what you think:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1287043293/bclid1297325563/bctid1295342490

Goodbye Student Life

Today the winter term officially started at Carleton University and I am not participating. This is the beginning of my non-student life, up until now I could have been like all the rest of the studnets, just on holiday break - but now that school has started and I have no classes to attend or assignments to turn in, I am done. It still hasn't kicked in yet, meaning I still feel the same as I did before - perhaps when Dave gets home and he too is not in school I will start to realize that I am not on holidays or anything like that and that this is my life now - working in the real world.
I need to find myself a job in my field else I will be working here for the City in an unrelated position longer than I want with no benefits and lower pay than I want. But that will come with time - there is no point in me searching for a job right now as I need to wait to hear about Dave's possibility in Mississauga (we need to know what city we are going to be in). I hope he gets it eventhough it will be hard to move so far away from my family and friends.

Researching the Past

My Dad is coming up to Ottawa tomorrow so that he and I can go to the Library and Archives of Canada to do some research on our ancestory. He has been looking into his dad's side of the family for quite some time now and has found out a great deal of information but it I think he has gotten as much from just the internet as he can now.
He knows that his grandmother came over here from England and that all her descendants are still living in the Surrey, England area so he has sent a request for information to the local paper there and hopefully he will find something out before Chris and I head over there for vacation so that maybe I can help out a bit while I am there.
His grandfather was in WWI and possibly went under different names so it is hard to find some information on him since we don't know what other names he used. When Dad brought me back to Ottawa on New Year's Day we went to the Archives and he registered as a researcher for the general public and we were able to order a box of his grandfather's war papers (like his attestation papers and other things) and that will be waiting in a locker for us when we get there tomorrow. I looked up some stuff yesterday and found a land grant paper which may be his grandfather's and so I am going to see if we can't go look at it (it will already be there since it is on microfilm).
There is tons of other sorts of information at the Archives and these two things will just be the beginning I am sure but for now I think it is good to do this and then to figure out what else the place can do for Dad's search. They have documents like immigration papers and whatnot too so perhaps he can even find some information on his grandmother from England. Who knows, but I think it is all really interesting and am so glad that I am able to help him out, even if I am just another set of ears to listen.

Almost Time

When I did my dailychecks of websites and whatnot I realized that it is almost time to start packing for London. Usually I pack way in advance to make sure I don't forget anything, so I normally would have started by now. But this time I have been trying to wait as long as possible in an attempt to not get too excited, since it is such a big trip and one I have been waiting to come for as long as I can really remember. When I got my luggage for Christmas I really wanted to start packing right then so instead I put all my clothes that I had brought home with me for the holiday in as if I was going somewhere (loserish I know but it distracted me from London packing). Chris and I are going shopping tonight and tomorrow Dad is coming up to do some research at the Library and Archives of Canada so that will distract me those nights, but I have a feeling that after the laundry is done on Sunday, most of it is going to get packed in my suitcase instead of put away in the closet and dressers. Oh well, packing a week early isn't too much is it?

Chris just sent me this link: http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?month=1&day=15&year=2008&hour=4pm&min=&sec=&p0=188 it is a count-down (more accurate than my little one) until London, assuming we head to the bus station here at 4 (to catch the 5 o'clock bus to Trudeau airport)

Cold and Alone

I got back into Ottawa yesterday (through a big storm) only to be greeted by nothing and no one. The house was freezing and took a while to warm up to even a live-able condition let alone a comfortable one. Dad didn't spend any time at the house since he wanted to get back on the road before the storm got worse (luckily he made it home safe and sound in about 1.5times the length of the normal trip). None of the roommates are back in town until the 3rd of 5th, I forget which, and classes start on the 7th (so I am told) so they will definitely be back by then, but until then I am left all alone in the 5 person house. I keep hearing sounds from the neighbouring townhome as they walk around and live their lives. I don't usually hear them since my roommates make noises that cover them up, but when there is no one else to blame the noise on I had to make up excuses for them. My imagination is still really good even at age 23 and I kept dreaming up intruder scenarios and when the snowplow went by I thought someone had broken in for sure. Oh well, people will be back soon and Dave get back into the country on the 8th, back into Ottawa on the 9th or 10th. That's right, I am semi-counting down to his homecoming. Mind you we only get to spend 4 or 5 days together until I take off for London and then if he gets the Mississauga job we might only get a couple of days together when I get back until he has to move, but I am not thinking about that too much right now.

It was -27 degrees Celcius (with the windchill) this morning and I wore several scarves, my mittens and my hat to the bus stop. I put on two pairs of socks to keep my feet warm in the insualted boots I have but unfortunately forgot to further cover my legs so they were freezing by the time I walked from the bus stop to my building. Itook about 2 hours to fully warm up in here and I suspect it will take even longer by the time I get myself home tonight. I need to do some running around my little neighbourhood getting things that I need for the next couple of days, like bus tickets since I am not getting abus pass this month (the math doesn't add up). I left the heat on a tiny bit when I left this morning so I am hoping that my room won't be an complete ice box for me but rather just a chilly fridge or something. Perhaps I will do my exercise as soon as I get home with my coat on and everything to warm the place, and me, up faster.