Some of the Best Souvenirs in London are Free (or) Bussing, Marketing and Clubbing (or) As You Like It (standing in the sun for two hours)

Greetings! Only a week to catch up on (!) and I'll do my best to not make myself look lazy, but it's hard to hide the truth sometimes! :)

Saturday, the 20th, I had a nice lazy day where I last left you. My host made Mexican dinner for us, which was really "Mexican" dinner of tortilla shells, guacamole, lettuce, cheese and ratatouille (definitely not Mexican). It was a good dinner and after an online episode of Frasier (so many people here love Frasier!), I headed to bed.

Sunday I left my host's house and went to a Couch Surfing picnic in Kennington Park, just a short walk (seems longer with my pack) away and relaxed in the sun/shade for a few hours. Met some new people and saw a bunch of people I knew already, which was fun. The weather was beautiful and after, I went to Susy's for a few days.

Monday, Susy and I went to a local student art show just near her flat. It was very cool to see what students can do after going to museums with famous works. It was obviously more modern and quite impressive. Susy kept saying things like "I know this artist," "I know the person in this painting," and "this person comes to my pub all the time and now I know why she always has blue paint on her arms." It was fun and since it was in the art school building, there were classes going on and art students everywhere. A neat ambiance after being in museums for so much of my trip. After a quick drink and light bite and Wetherspoons, we started making our way to Valaria's new flat for dinner and games. First, we went to Sainsbury's for plastic plates and some seasonings. When we only found paper plates (for lasagna, plastic is very important and paper just won't cut it) we went to Tesco and found everything. On the walk back to the bus stop, we ran into Grant and his family. Quite random to bump into someone I knew after only being in London for a few weeks! I was able to confirm that he could host me in a day and we caught our bus. At Valaria's, we were greeted with homemade lasagna, tiramisu and lots of games and wine. We played Apples to Apples again and it was a lot of fun. It's the British version, of course, so it was educational with the historical cards and places. If you've played Apples to Apples, you know what I mean. If not, don't worry about it. Just know that it's a great game and you should play it if you ever get the chance! Since Valaria had just moved, she had gone through some things and she found a nice coat for me since I still don't have mine (long story I won't get into again). So now I have a coat, not my coat, and it won't go with me to somewhere warm, but it's really nice for when it gets chilly here. Of course, since I got it, it's been in the mid 20s (around 70-80F) here so I've only worn it leaving her flat when she gave it to me. I'll probably wear it on my walk to the shop now since it's chilly and rainy. Anyway, dinner and games were great fun and well past midnight (she wouldn't let us leave earlier!) Susy and I got a night bus with Omar, another CSer, back to Susy's area and went out for a drink. Needless to say, I didn't get to bed until 3:30am so I was not expecting Tuesday to be productive at all.

Tuesday, Susy and I decided to forgo cooking breakfast (at lunch time) and we went out. It's hard to find a good, family-run breakfast place where we could sit in the sun at noon and while we were wandering, a gal came up to us and asked if we wanted free haircuts. She was in styling school and needed to cut short hairstyles for her level. Susy and I both had short hair and had no problem going shorter (especially for free!) so when she asked when we were available, Susy said next week sometime and I thought and said "well, I'm free in about an hour after we eat lunch." So after my fantastic brie and roasted red pepper toasted baguette I went to meet Mai and get my haircut. It was a great thing that I didn't have any other plans that day because it took about two hours. She was certainly a student and wanted to do a good job and her teachers came over a few times to make sure she was doing everything properly (they were for everyone else, too, so I didn't fear too much for my hair, plus if they were watching everyone, there wasn't as much of a worry that you'd come out with a bad haircut!) and she did a great job, I think. After she was done and got the approval from her teacher, so told me she was going to dry it and if I decided I wanted fringe (bangs), she could give them to me after it was dry, so I had about two minutes to decide. I decided I may as well, so she gave me fringe and I love it. It's really quite short in the back which is nice for warmer weather. After, I went to H&M to buy a new top and earrings. Then I went to The Couch for CS drinks and then off to Grant's.

Wednesday, I went to Camden Market. The market is huge and I found too much to buy, but it's all useful, so I figured it was ok. I found a pashmina, small pocket mirror, tiger's eye bracelet and a piano to play for about a half hour. After a few hours wandering the market, I went to Susy's to return her keys and stayed for tea and the Simpsons. The highlight of the day was the Science Museum for Adult's Night (Lates they call them). The museum is open late one day a month for adult only and they have live music, drinks (yes, wine and beer) and no children to occupy the hands on stuff! We wandered for a bit, had some cake, and then went to the silent disco floor where they gave us all headphones with two stations and we were to just dance to whichever we wanted. It was a lot of fun, even more so when you took off the headphones and saw everyone dancing in silence. We went to the hands on area and had our turn at what the kids usual take over, heat camera, spinny things and rice transporters. Lastly, we went to a show on bubbles. Usually it's for five-year-olds, but even since it was a room full of adult the gal still treated us like kids, telling us to "clap really loud for your favorite bubbles... or for any bubble I tell you to clap for!" and just going on about keeping our bums on the ground- even the people dressed up and leaning on the wall. She wouldn't start until everyone was seated quietly. Some people left before she was done, so we all screamed "bubble haters!" which is an odd thing for a room full of adults to yell, but it seemed to fit nicely in the atmosphere. It was a lot of fun and at the end, she let some of us hold a carbon dioxide (?) bubble. I named mine Bebe the Bubble.

Thursday I found my way to the Tate Britain on the bus, but after 15 minutes on the bus it inconveniently changed destinations and dropped me off about 15 minute walk from the museum but since it was a really nice day, I wasn't too bothered by it, just annoyed that it changed destinations after I got on. I got to the Tate Britain just in time for a tour which interestingly turned into a discussion group. Most of the art we looked at on the 45 minute tour was modern, slightly abstract art and one (very vocal) man kept saying how he "didn't get it." He couldn't tell what it was or was supposed to be and just thought it was worthless ("how much did the museum pay for this? So I could just take paint and brush it over a canvas and get paid that much for it? I could just buy a boat and then write 10 words and associate them with the boat and the museum would buy it from me?") While he had interesting points, he didn't have an imagination. The tour was small, only 6 of us, so we were able to put in our two pence (two cents! haha) and tell what we saw in the artwork. The guide was impressed with my comparison of art and music. I think that the classical art (portraits, scenes, etc) are like classical music that tell you what to see or hear and you appreciate the technical aspects but don't need to use your imagination too much. If you look at landscape paintings, it's more like that pastoral music and you have to use your imagination a little bit more, finding your own story and how you feel about it. The most modern art is more like progressive, improvisational, abstract music where it doesn't elicit a storyline, it just tries to get you to feel certain things. Everyone is going to feel something different about them. While you may see horizontal lines of red, yellow, orange and one purple line, you may thing of one thing, but I think of an African sunset. I've never been there, but I connect it with what I imagine my Aunt Dorthea sees in Nigeria. Since other people don't have that connection, they may not see it, but for me, that's exactly what it is. The artist was trying to get us to have an emotion about the painting and for me, it was peaceful, just like I would feel watching a sunset with those colors. The man said he wanted to understand, but he wasn't trying to use his imagination at all and kept talking about how worthless and easy these paintings would be to do. While it was interesting, it was quite annoying to have him slam the art so much. Anyway, I explored the museum and then found myself another Tesco meal deal and Starbar (delicious chocolate bar with peanuts and caramel) then met Susy and a few others for drinks in Central London.

Friday, I went, on Grant's suggestion, to Bourough Market and found greatness! The weren't goods for sale like at Camden Market. This was more about food. Actually, all about food. There were food stalls (including a long line for falafel, I opted for a venison burger), cheese counters, bread booths and veggie stalls. There was plenty of options and it was hard, but I needed to be selective. I found a great Roasted Red Pepper & Basil Focaccia, almonds and hazelnuts covered in milk chocolate and cinnamon, a Sundried Tomatoe bread loaf and some portabella mushrooms for sandwiches the next day. After making my purchases and chowing my burger, I went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and saw the show As You Like It. I bought a 5 pound Groundling ticket, so didn't have a seat, just stood near the stage. At intermission, a couple with a perfect spot right at the stage edge left, so I took their spot and was able to lean over the stage and be in the shade. It was a fantastic show and I really enjoyed it and am considering going back for another. For 5 pounds and two and half hours of Shakespeare in the arena he wrote his plays for (even though it's small now since they rebuilt it), it is well worth it. After the show, I went to the Themes (the Globe is right on the bank) and read for a bit, then came back to Grant's before going with another CSer to a Cuban club in Camden, but there was sadly not much dancing and it was very crowded, so I didn't stay too long there.

Saturday I didn't do much of anything in the afternoon besides catch up on some things online and ate bagel, cream cheese, smoked salmon, pepper and lemon that Grant put together, then I made us sandwiches with the red pepper bread from the market, yellow pepper, portabella mushroom and Edam cheese toasted then topped with tzatziki sauce. It was delicious. In the evening, I met Gabby (from CS) at Brick Lane for Bangladeshi dinner and then more Salsa dancing at Tito's, the same place we went last week. On my way to the tube, it poured. Grant gave the understatement of the week, telling me before I left that I "might want to take an umbrella because it might rain a bit later." It was so bad that he told me his carpet downstairs is wet from the rain on the balcony. I am quite glad that I took my umbrella because I didn't take a coat and only took my pashmina since it wasn't too cold and I'd rather loose that at the club than a coat. Anyway, the dinner was great and the restauranteur gave us a free glass of wine and 20% off the bill because they were competing with all the other Bangaldeshi restaurants on Brick Lane, which is quite a few! Gabby and I split a Lamb Ragon, a dish that was a variety of other dishes, naan, and lemon rice. It was really tasty. At the end, we tried to guess what the bill would be and decided that the person wrong would buy dessert. I was closer and Gabby bought some treats from a Bangladeshi shop but we never ate them because after Salsa dancing, we were both still full and Gabby wasn't feeling well so we called it an early night (at 1am). I found my buses back to Grant's and slept a very peaceful sleep until 11am.

Now it's Sunday, just one day until my birthday and I'm going to Forro dancing with Gabby and other CSers tonight in Central London. I'll have a bite to eat before I leave here, or maybe just get something in town, and then try to stay dry. It's just started to rain and it's been getting a little dark all afternoon but my umbrella works well! :)

Molto Carino week...

So Italians defiantly run on Italian time. Which is fine, as long as you're prepared for it. Picking me up at 12:00 turned into 12:30 and in the mean time, I found tickets for the ferry for half price! Twenty euro instead of forty! Great. They even gave them the online price at the office because they didn't have time to get them online and I had called ahead. :) Yeah for saving money!

We had a great time on Inishmore, which is the largest of the Aran Islands. We went for a walk along the harbour and beach then to a shop. Aran Islands are well known for being Gaelic (here they just say Irish) speaking (although anyone related to tourists speaks English) and for their wool and knitting. The sweaters were beautiful but were a thick knit and 60 euro plus! So I settled for a nice hat for 8 euro. It's VERY warm. It's great. It's just blue and black yarn and is made of Merino wool. I love it. Not as stylish as my last cap with the bow, but much warmer.

We settled into the hostel and the manager (warden) is Italian so he hit it off with Arianna, Lia, Anna and Sam. They were very excited to find out there was a stove top espresso maker so we had an espresso before bed and then saved the last of the grounds for the next morning.

The next day, we rented bikes and toured the island. It is quite steep in places, but there are really nice bike paths. A lot of people bike because there aren't too many cars besides the tour mini buses. It was grand and we had great weather, but it turned into a sunburn for me. The Italians were used to the sun, but alas, my Washington skin was too fair and I am now a lobster.

Marco, the warden at the hostel, told us the boat left at 5 but it turned out it was actually 5 for Galway and 4 for Doolin. Most people go to Galway, but we needed to get back to the car in Doolin. Luckily, we all made it back just in time and arrived safely and happily in Doolin.

From the ferry dock, we drove to Galway (yeah for Italian GPS!) and attempted to find food at 9p. Most places closed their kitchens at 9 or 9:30 so we tried a few places before finding one that was still open. We ordered three dishes between the five of us and then when we were still hungry, we found out that our first order was one of the last of the night before their kitchen closed. So we searched Galway and found McDonald's for ice cream for two of us (Rolo shake for me! I know, I know, I know... but you have to do it sometimes otherwise you're not really European if you never go to McDonald's) and an Irish-McDonald's for two others. From there, we went to Tesco, a shop that was open 24-hour, and bought ingredient for pancakes. I was also getting sick, so I got some lozenges and lotion for my sunburn (I'm just falling apart slowly...).

In the hostel, we met a boy from Toulouse, France and invited him for pancakes. It turned out he was going on a day trip to Cliffs of Moher the next day, so he wasn't able to join us. They didn't turn out anyway. The flour here is different. I tried with the self-rising flour and they didn't work. Yesterday, I found pancake mix in the shop, so I bought some for next time. It's a small package so will be easy to carry around until I use it.

We went for a real Irish breakfast- Italian/American style: for five of us we got two plates and it was filling. Very good. Even the blood sausage and white sausage. We then drove North and after a few wrong turns (it's an Italian GPS! :) ) we arrived in Westport, my stop!

I was sad to leave them. There is something you cannot understand about Italians drives without experiencing it: at various times, they were singing opera (serious and goofy), songs from Italian cartoons including my personal theme song when I was with them "Magica Emi", and singing along to Disney movie songs, in Italian, along with their iPod (two with a headphone ear each, the others without. It was so much fun and didn't matter if we were running late or took a wrong turn or whatever. Very relaxed and fun. It was nice. Thanks Arianna, Lia, Anna and Sam! Grazie mille! I'll come stay with you in Bologna, Lia! You can teach me more Italian and I'll teach you more English! They do have a lot of energy, so when I arrived at the hostel in Westport, it was great to find out I had the WHOLE place to myself!

I left them, after ciaos and grazie milles and an hour after they left, I realized my black North Face coat was in their car still. Merde. I had used it as a headrest in the back seat and it must have slipped back by the window. I'm still trying to get ahold of them but their number doesn't go through (it may be wrong or I can't call to Italian numbers maybe) so I'm still awaiting their response. I have a CS host in Belfast who they can mail it to and then I'll just pick it up there before heading to Scotland. They leave from Dublin in four days so will return the car then and will hopefully find it if they haven't already.

I just wandered Westport my first day, taking in the sunshine and taking it easy. It's a nice town. Not too small, not too big. Two main streets and a canal-like river running through it. I found a SuperValu and got some sauce for pasta. Not real Italian pasta like we had in Kilronan (on Inishmore Island) but it will do for me. I spent a lot of time online waiting for a reply from the Italians about my coat, but nothing yet. I didn't realize the computer cost for Internet otherwise I would have used my computer with wireless for free, but instead paid the hostel owner 2,50 euro today. That's ok though- since I'm waiting here in the hopes of getting my coat and she is full in the dorm room, she's only charging me for a dorm bed but I'm in a four bed room (instead of 8). So I pay 20 euro instead of the 24 euro it would be for the four bed room.

This morning, I went to Croagh Patrick. Croagh Patrick is a hill/mountain depending on if you're from Washington (hill) or Ireland (mountain). It's about 780 metres up I was told, or 2,500 feet above the bay. This is the summit where St. Patrick fasted for 40 days and rang his bell to drive out all the snakes from Ireland (there were never snakes to begin with, but it was symbolic of pagan beliefs). It was really quite a steep climb up and took me about three hours to the summit, where there is a church and not much else. It is very rocky, so it was quite hard going, especially the last hour because the rocks are loose and it can be hard to get good footing. I probably could have done it in less, but I am quite social in these things and asked most everyone who passed me how long to the summit, just to get them talking. I met a couple from Idaho (Ponderosa State Park is what I was trying to think of, but it's farther Northwest than I thought), Vancouver (they go to Mt. Baker often! Wave hi to my family!), Chicago, Minnesota and then a guy, Sam, from Zurich, Switzerland who is traveling for a while and I may go visit in Zurich!

At the summit, it was a great feeling. I had conquered the mountain! Not in record time, but I met so many people coming down who had not made it the whole way that it felt really good just to make it. Being sick and taking a lot of water and food breaks was really important for me and I'm just glad I made it. There isn't much beyond a church at the top. Croagh Patrick is used as a pilgrimage site for many and the most serious do it barefoot. I can't imagine that. It is so rocky there and so steep, that would just be too much for me. While I was looking around, I met two Frenchmen who asked me to take their picture and they took mine, I got some photos of the landscape and then the fog rolled in.

Not being able to see much, I went back down the mountain and was hollered at by Mathieu (pronounced Matieu, not Matthew... he thinks the English TH is ugly), the youngest Frenchman, from just off the path to come take a break with them. I sat and chatted with them for a while. They were five people, two women and two men, all 40s or 50s and Mathieu, the youngest, who spoke the most English and was the most outgoing. Mathieu and I talked the whole way down and he helped me over slippery and steep spots (it was starting to rain so getting mildly dangerous) and he taught me a bit of French and we just talked about traveling and it was really great. You don't notice how hard something is on your legs when you have company.

At the base, we did photos and exchanged emails. He drew me a sketch of Croagh Patrick and I wrote him a limerick about our trip and he said I was welcome to visit him in France when I make it there.

Back at the hostel, I met some Northern Irish hill walkers. I ate my dinner with three of them, Gerry (an older gentleman who helped me planning my trip), Paddy (?) who I can't understand at all and David who was the easiest for me to understand and nearest my age. The whole time, I just tried to figure out what the hell they were saying. Their accent is so different, even they couldn't tell what each other were saying. I felt like I was just a sentence behind them in translating from the accent to mine. I think I got on better when Arianna, Lia, Anna and Sam were speaking Italian! It was funny but I was getting sicker, so after a cup of tea and three (small) glasses of wine, I am blogging and then off to bed.

Tomorrow I am going to go the Derry. I'll try hitch hiking (it's quite safe here) on the route that Gerry showed me but if it doesn't work, I'll just take the bus. Hopefully the weather won't be too cold since I don't have my warm coat but I can layer like it's nobody's business. :) That is, as long as I can walk. I'll have to stretch tonight and tomorrow morning to recover from my hike.

If you've gotten this far and still don't know what molto carino means, email me or leave a comment and I'll tell you. If you've figured it out, perfetto!

Relaxing at the Cliffs of Moher... in the wind and rain

I've had some relaxing but adventurous few days here.

When I last blogged, I was getting ready to leave with Allison, an Australian I met at the hostel in Dingle. We left around 3 and four hours drive and a ferry ride later we were in Doolin. It's not remote, but it is a very small town. There's a lot of music here. Every night the pubs (which outnumber shops) have music. It usually starts around 9. We got to town around 8p and we were staying in different hostels, which I figured was ok. Mine turned out to be very institutional, very clinical and overrun with a group of 20 17-19 years old German students over for a school trip. They were nice kids and I ended up going to the pub with them. Only slightly odd to meet a group of school kids and seeing them all drink beer on a school trip, but welcome to Europe! They were great- only three girls in the lot of them so I hung out with them. When I was listening to the music I recognised the sweater of Catherine, who I met in Cashel over a week ago! We talked a bit and made plans to meet the next day to the Cliffs of Moher. They're two hour walk or 20 minute drive and she had a car so it was great!

She picked me up and had a car load of other people from the hostel who were just getting a ride with her. It ended up being just Catherine, me and Madori. Madori is amazing! She's Japanese and went to Dublin for a month to learn English with a private tutor and has been speaking it now for just two months! She's learned so much! It's really amazing! And she's learning all the time. I've learned that phrases don't always mean the same as the words they're made of which makes them hard to explain. Today she learned "cool beans" from a kid who walked by and I just told her it meant "cool". She's funny and really easy going so it was good to spend time with her.

The Cliffs of Moher were rainy, cloudy and windy. It was still really beautiful though- evocative. We parked about a kilometer away so we didn't have to pay 8 euro for parking. The walk there was really nice. Views from every angle and one minute it may be cloudy and the next clearer (but not clear). There are puffins there that only come for a few weeks before going to South Africa, so we were luck to see them. A ranger pointed them out to Catherine and we would have completely missed them if he hadn't said anything. Catherine had binoculars with her, so we really got to see them better than most. We went into the displays they had set up and learnt why the weather is the way it is, how they were formed and lot of other facts and stories.

From the Cliffs, we came back to their hostel and I realised just how much better it was so I talked to Karl, who runs the hostel, about moving in for the weekend. He said it was ok and was happy to have me so I was very glad to leave my sterile, soulless hostel! We picked up Allison (who gave me the lift from Dingle) and went to lunch for pub grub. I had Chicken and Cheese Panini, chips (French fries) and salad. It was really good and only 8 euro. Catherine got apple crisp (they don't have it in Switzerland so she was very excited about it) and shared with all of us. She's very generous and Madori and I decided she is our mother here, always making sure we're happy, have food, water, toilets, time, everything. In Cashel, she was the one who I had dinner with (and her friend, Thierry, who is gone back home now) and paid for it all because "it's not that much more for one person after two." She's really a great person.

After lunch, we went around the countryside and found some wedge tombs and portal tombs that were prehistoric. They are just in a cow pasture off the road, no trail going to them, sometimes a sign pointing in the general direction and maybe steps built into the stone wall to get over from the road. Some were from 4000 BC! Amazing. And the sun had started to come out by this point, so it was even better.

With the sun out we went back to the Cliffs of Moher and it was almost a totally different place. It was beautiful in a very different way. No wind so we could hear the birds more. It was around 7p by this time and the sun sets at 9:20p these days! So much sunlight. You almost forget to eat dinner until 9, which is what we did that day and what will probably happen tonight with Madori and myself.

We came back for a feast of white sausage, tomatoes, noodle veg soup, bread, garlic toast, fried rice and Japanese tea. Madori's mother teaches tea ceremonies so she showed us some things. When you serve two cups at once, you fill each halfway, then wait, then fill up each bit by bit alternating pours between cups. It was interesting to learn about Japanese culture in Ireland but that's what this trip is all about!

I went back to the sterile hostel since I had paid already and in the morning I moved to this hostel and I am so much happier. I hadn't met many people at all besides the German students and here I've met some many more people in much less time. At the other hostel, I never even met my roommates because one of us was always sleeping or gone while the other was up but here I'm in the common room and just waiting for Madori to make dinner. It's the same price, just a ten minute walk away so first thing in the morning, I checked out and moved here.

On my walk there, Catherine and Madori drove by, honking, saying they were glad to catch me because they were going to a Slow Food Festival in Lisdoonvarnna, about 15 minute drive away. We went back to the hostel so I could check in and get some food and then took off for the festival. There was a lot of organic, local food and plenty of samples. I think I got full just on samples. Breads, jams, sauces, cookies, loaves, quiche, cheese and much more. It was great. We got some picnic supplies after walking around for an hour (two loops- one to try things and look, the second to buy) and then had another feast outside at the picnic benches, right in the wind. It was still great and we all shared with everyone.

Coming back to the hostel, Catherine left for Dingle and Madori and I made plans for dinner. Well, not really plans, we just planned on making something for dinner sometime, and after tea and a biscuit (cookie) I went for a nap and now I'm blogging and emailing and then will read until she appears. Probably pasta, leftovers from the Slow Food Festival, a bottle of wine we bought (for 10 euro it was the cheapest I've seen outside of cheap convenience stores) and whatever else we find.

I'm sitting by the fire now and there around about a dozen people in the common room which is a little lounge area by the fire and two big dining tables. I'm apparently the person to go to with questions and request. An Australian, Megan, just asked me if I could email her my pictures of the cliffs because "they were better than the postcards"! That sure made me feel good.

An American from California, Heather is studying for her Masters in London and first asked me if I thought it was ok to put her coat straight on the stove to dry but I suggested on the back of the rocker so it didn't melt. :) Also, she asked why people were putting newspaper in their shoes by the fire so I told her it was to absorb more liquid and let them air out more and that maybe she could take out the insoles, too. People are funny sometimes. I have no idea if my answers to her were right, but I obviously seemed certain enough that she followed them.

I just saw a guy walk by with a Seattle Mariners shirt and he's from just South of Olympia. He just finished studying in Austria so is traveling before he goes back home. Good idea. It costs so much to get her it's good to use the time once you're already here to travel.