I’ll be in Scotland Afore ye! (September 6th and 7th)

After being in London for less than two weeks I officially went on my very first out of country trip! HELLO Och-Aye-land! Sarah and I left London at 9pm (Saturday September 6^th ) on the overnight bus to Glasgow. I had popped a gravol prior to departing which made me quite comatose. Unfortunately for Sarah she not only did not take gravol but she had the misfortune of occupying a seat which was previously used as another passenger’s toilet. We assume that the pee had been drying for some time as it took about an hour for it to start soaking through and for Sarah to notice it. She then had to wait another 2 hours before the bus driver could safely stop to allow her to change out of her urine soaked clothes. Truly rotten luck.

We arrived in Glasgow around 6:30 am and it was FREEZING (compared to London … it was actually about 5 degrees). I christened this “second sweater weather” as I did not have any other clothing that would keep me warm. We met a very kind and helpful gentleman at the bus station who was able to give us a map of Glasgow and directions to Celtics (pronounced Sell-tics) stadium for the charity football match we were going to see that afternoon.

It turned out that check in at the place we were staying (McLay’s Guest House – 264-276 Renfrew St.) wasn’t until 2pm. However, yet again, we were treated to generous Scottish hospitality as the staff were very friendly and accommodating. We were allowed to use a large bathroom to change/freshen up, we could keep our suitcases in the dining room, and were even given free breakfast of cereal, tea, and toast (tomorrow will be a full breakfast with sausage, bacon, and eggs!). We were also able to get our phones (mostly) charged prior to heading out to the stadium, a good thing as we would need all the battery power we could get!

In order to get to the stadium we needed to take a bus, unfortunately it took us a bit of effort to find the correct bus but a lovely bus driver took us to the proper stop free of charge, what a dear! Unfortunately, I did not have enough change to pay for the bus so I popped into Tesco and found the manager to be very obliging and helpful as he changed my tenner for coins with no issue at all.

the view from the bus stop

In case you haven’t noticed, my major impression of the Scots thus far is that they are extremely kind and helpful people. They make my heart so happy!!

I digress… After one more bus ride we made it to the Celtics football club and, to our great joy, there were still tickets available for the game (JOY!).

the golden ticket?

ready to cheer on the teams!

I can prove I was at a footie game!

 

My excitement was growing as Louis Tomlinson (1/5 of One Direction, although not my favourite member) was playing in the game… and boy could you tell. At 11:00 am (the game started at 2) the only crowds were teenage girls swarming a barricade. By around noon the real crowds started showing up and so did the mounted police officers.

horses on patrol!

 

I could not believe how ridiculous the 1D fans were. When the police told them to move so that a barricade could be set up for the team buses to come through many of the fans refused to move. In the end, the busses came and so did the players. James McAvoy caused a semi major scene. He was absolutely lovely and stopped to take pictures with screaming teenage girls. I managed to magically snap a half decent picture of his gorgeousness but I am still pretty elated that I was close enough to touch him (but, you know, I didn’t because I’m not a creeper).

 

oh hello there Jimmy!

There was a bit of a wait but, eventually, a van with extremely tinted windows pulled up and Louis Tomlinson disembarked. Sadly, he walked straight into the stadium but I still managed to get a few pictures and I was excited to have seen him with my own eyes less than 20 feet away!

The true joy came once we got into the stadium and started snapping some pictures to document our first footie game.

Were we EVER pleased to be next to the pitch when the teams came out to warm up. Louis spent almost the entire warmup directly in front of us.

What a show! I was getting a bit annoyed by the teen girls yelling “LLLLLLLoooooooooooooooooooouuuuIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIssssssssssss” every five seconds though. I mean , the guy is trying to focus, just watch him and admire like everyone else. It turns out the true footie fans hated Louis as he was booed every time he went near the ball. Louis’ team lost but that meant that James McAvoy’s team won so, all was well.
On our way back to the guest house Sarah discovered some wonderful (not) ABC gum on her purse and trousers. She has had seriously rotten luck that way. If things continue thusly, she won’t have any clothes left. ERGH!
On Sunday night (after the game) we stayed in to plan touristing for Monday and to get a good night’s sleep after the crummy bus sleeps the day before.

I quite like Scotland, or at least Glasgow. The people are friendly and it feels like home, quaint and lovely but with great history and architecture too. I hope to come back soon and maybe have an opportunity to connect with my cousin who lives about ½ hour outside of Glasgow. It made me quite sad to be so close and yet unable to contact her. Otherwise though… a fantastic day!

footie men!

On the third of September…

Today was another glorious day in London town! Sydney and I met up with Sarah at the British Museum. I was absolutely in awe of the magnitude of the museum and its contents. To see things like the Rosetta Stone, Cleopatra, and statues from ancient Greece were just amazing. One of the great things about London is that many of the larger museums have no admittance fee. I am sure that I could spend months in the museum and never get tired of it or bored. To think, there are so many more museums here that I’ve yet to even start exploring. I am incredibly excited to see the War Museum, V&A, and Natural History Museum. At least I know that, if I’m having a crummy day I can always get lost in a museum.  Once I get set up in my flat I look forward to venturing out on my own to see some of the museums at my leisure on a rainy day. There is just so much to see and do here and I am worried that I am doing a whole lot in a Cole’s notes way and not really experiencing anything fully.

The British Museum

between land and sky

Rameses II

just one of the halls…

sup, Cleopatra?

3 trillion worth used as paper…

the holy grail?

After the British Museum and a short walk to a few shops in the Shaftesbury Avenue neighbourhood Sarah and I bought a cheap lunch from Sainsbury (one of the local supermarkets) and had lunch in Hyde Park! We attempted to find the Peter Pan statue but sadly could not find it. Regardless of that failed mission, lunch in the park was lovely, the day was sunny with some cloud cover, pretty perfect weather by London standards. In the next few days I am going to have to make a list of all the things I want to do and see in London so that I have something to go to on the days when I don’t have a plan or find myself with a chunk of time to spare.

a little change will do you good…

Hyde park on a practically perfect day

After Hyde Park, Sarah and I walked down Oxford Street and I finally got my first taste of Selfridge’s! Oh my goodness, what a building it is, we were only on the first floor but there was so much to see (and, unfortunately smell… don’t go in through the perfume entrance… big mistake!) Back in Canada, I watch the BBC series “Selfridge’s” with mum and dad so it was amazing to see what it is now and compare it to the store as it once was or at least, how it once was according to the show.

I wonder what majesty awaits…

one of my favourite window displays… so 1920’s

enter through these doors to experience Selfridge’s

Look Ma, I’m really here

Is that the guy from Avatar?

I am in love with the history and vibe of the city, I am not a city girl but even I can’t help but feel alive being here. There is so much to do, see, and explore that you would have to be a very unfortunate person indeed not to love it and want to make the most of it. I realized today that I have many homes: Peterborough, Port Perry, Kingston, and now London. I have grown in each of these places and left a bit of my heart behind as well. It will be a very wonderful thing to think back on my life and realize, London was my home, even if only for two years, this amazing vibrant and incredible city is one of my homes.

August 30th. Oh, what a day!

First off, today was my mum’s birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMMY!!!!!!!! I was able to video chat with mum and dad twice which was fantastic and today definitely deserved a great deal of video chatting because it was a huge day in London (and a huge day for mum). First, an ode to my mother. For those of you who know my mother, you know she’s a pretty stellar lady. She is far more adventurous, spontaneous, and thrill seeking than I am (and generally my mother is a much harder partier… she is much more fun than I am). Although I am a lot like my mother in other ways, I am also her antithesis, I am a worrier, a homebody, and generally like to keep things consistent and on an even-keel…. none of these traits have helped me as I have made the move to London. What has helped was the intense support I received from both my parents, by extremely vocally from my mum. I could never have made this move without her love and support (especially as I was a right stroppy cow whenever roadblocks came up, and boy did they come up!). I love my mum to bits and wish I could be just 1/8 of the awesome person that she is! So yes, happy birthday to this fine woman. She has truly been a super hero and done it all, I cannot be more grateful for the opportunities she provided for me (including but not limited to: driving me to dance classes 4-5 times a week growing up, making costumes for me last minute, driving me to Oshawa and back for 3 years’ worth of Mondays, driving to Kingston so I could see a doctor, being the one to bear the brunt of my frustration, hanger (hungry anger), and stress, and signing me up for sports camp as a kid even though she knew I was rubbish at sport) and while providing me with these opportunities she also worked full time 45 minutes – 1 hour away from home, cooked delicious meals, kept track of everyone’s schedules (most of the time….), and won awards for her amazing costuming in community theatre. My mother is a superhero. Happy birthday to Wonder Woman.

Mommy and me!

Now, onto my day! What a day, went to Borough Market and met up with Sarah, Tiffany, and Jodi. Tiffany and Jodi had quite the adventure as the Jubilee line was down this weekend… the underground is great as long as it’s working. The girls all ate at the market but I didn’t, most of the food smelled delicious and I have regrets about eating right before heading out from the residence. Noteworthy: Borough Market, or more specifically, the car park, was featured quite heavily in an episode of New Tricks. We then took a lovely walk down to Millennium bridge (yes, featured in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince). We crossed over to see St Paul’s, walked down Fleet St (where we did see a barber shop, but no demon barbers), had some tea at the Twinings Store, walked through Leicester Square, then down to BUCKINGHAM PALACE! Sadly, the Queen is not in residence but it was still a momentous occasion to see the Palace in person.

By this point all four of us were exhausted, so we went our separate ways but… the day was far from over for Sarah and I …

So, remember how yesterday I mentioned that one would get cheap theatre tickets from Leicester  Square? WELL, many months before I flew into London I looked into what shows would be playing and I learned that the brand new stage production of “The Commitments”. The show is based on a novel, which was turned into a movie, about a group of Irish musicians/wannabe musicians who decide to form a soul band. I used to watch this movie when I was quite young (like 5-6?) and it was my absolute FAVOURITE movie, the music was so great! I remember there being a fair bit of cussing, sex, drugs, and soul. Well… today we bought tickets for 11 pounds to tonight’s show! HOLLAAAAA!! When we got to the theatre and our seats we realized that the ticket seller was not lying, we were 100 feet up in the air in the steepest balcony I’ve ever been in and half the stage was blocked.

 

You might be thinking “dang, that sucks!” but we also received a ‘ten pound upgrade’ offer so we took advantage, paid ten pounds each and ended up second row of the dress circle.

upgrade baby!

Best. Decision. Ever. WHAT A SHOW! Amazing music, amazing actors/musicians, amazing experience. If you know me, it should be no shock that I’ve been in London for less than a week and I’ve already seen my first West End show. The whole night was just fantastic, I was in awe the entire time. I highly recommend seeing this show if you like soul music… but be warned that the subject matter is not at P.C. as we might like in 2014 since the show is based in the 80’s. Among the highlights were the actor who played Deco (amazing voice), Tower of Power music played at intermission (YES, YES, YES!!), and the finale being basically a soul concert where you are encouraged to stand up sing along and basically have a super time!

I’ve got soul… probably because I watched this movie so much as a young child…

The past two days have really helped me to feel a bit more settled in London, I have loved being here! I have also figured out where I will be staying until Sept 14^th, the girls up in Kilburn (Jodi, Tiffany, and Sydney) are letting me crash at theirs which has been a huge stress off as I have to leave LSE on Monday at 10:30 am! Sarah and I will be moving back into res on the 14^th of September so that we will be centrally located for the start of our contracts on the 15^th.

On the Hunt …. (August 27th-29th)

My first three days in London were mostly consumed with the mundane tasks of setting up my life here. This means bank appointments, setting up viewings of flats, and actually getting out to view said flats. I’m happy I was in residence for these days because they provided a simple, yet filling, breakfast with items that could easily be snuck out in my purse. Can you say 2-for-1 meals? Yes please!

On August 28th, after setting up a fair number of viewings the day before, we had almost as many cancellations as we did viewings themselves. In the end, we went all the way out to Mile End and found a cute little place which was only part furnished and with a less than fantastic kitchen. That flat was 360 pounds per week. We were going to try to move forward with it but it was already leased by the time we got home from our second viewing (the place there was a complete dump, the girls clearly hadn’t taken care of it, floors were warping, cupboards coming off hinges… if that is what London has to offer…). Ugh. By this point I was stressing pretty hard about Where I was going to stay after my short term accommodations ran out on Monday Sept 1st. I stayed up quite late talking with numerous friends who were helping me try to find a short term place to stay. Part of what made this whole experience so stressful is that many of the flats being advertised aren’t available until October… not even close to ideal.

On August 29th, our first flat viewing of the day was up across from Archway tube station. Unfortunately the two guys living there kept it an absolute mess but it appears to be all superficial (lots of dirty dishes and food on the counters, clearly hasn’t been swept in a while, and the bathroom… needs a good scrub). Aside from that, the flat is lovely, it has good bones, is a decent size, and is right across from the tube station and above a salon (which is beside the cutest, albeit expensive, little café). The letting agent was pretty confident that we’d be able to get the flat for 340 ppw, less than the asking price which was 360 ppw. A few short hours later we got a phonecall telling us that the flat was ours if we wanted it at 340 per week! What an afternoon THAT led to, we dashed our other plans (going to Camden market) in order to figure out paying the first two weeks rent as deposit. We managed to get into the letting agents office just before it closed! PHEW! WE HAVE A FLAT!!! Unfortunately, we cannot move in until the 21^st … so now to find short term accommodations until then.
As a celebration, Sarah and I bought some ciders and went out on the town! What a night, walked around Covent Garden (My Fair Lady, what, what!),

 

Trafalgar square (National Gallery pictured below),

Piccadilly Circus (felt like London’s answer to Times Square),

 

and Leicester Square (where we will be getting cheap theatre tickets in future).

Today was a pretty stellar day, I feel a great sense of relief because we found a flat and I was actually able to enjoy London for the first time since I got here. Tomorrow we are hitting up Borough market and Sarah will be acting as tour guide through some other areas of London. Cheerio, mates!

Touchdown, want to turn around… (August 26th)

My morning started off in Iceland, well, technically it started off somewhere over the East Coast or Atlantic ocean but I suppose we aren’t that nitpicky. The Iceland security screening was not my friend, in Toronto I did not have to remove my belt, rings, or shoes but apparently standards in Iceland are far less lenient than in the True North. That was a less than stellar way to start off my day but, that too passed and soon Jodi and I were sitting in the Iceland airport trying to stay awake as the rain came pouring down outside.

From what I saw of Iceland (not much) it looks like a beautiful country and it reminded me of images I have seen of the East Coast… definitely going to the East Coast when I am once again living in Canada! The most notable thing about Iceland was definitely the airport washrooms, instead of stalls with just a toilet in them, each stall was a self- contained room. The weird part, there were still communal sinks to use outside of these pee-pods! The second weirdest thing about this washrooms were the 2-in-1 faucet/handdryer….

 

Yes that faucet both washed and dried my hands. Iceland.

After our short hour and a half layover Jodi and I boarded the flight for the second leg of our journey. This one only lasted 2hours and 45 minutes … it took less time to fly from Iceland to London than it did for me to drive from Peterborough to Toronto… EUROPE! During the flight I finally watched The Life of Pi (not as good as the book although it follows it pretty amazingly) and once that was done I only had about 20 minutes to wait before we touched down in the place I have dreamed of living in since I was 11. I MADE IT TO ENGLAND BABY! Jodi and I had a lovely time sorting ourselves out at the airport, luckily the international customs line was relatively short and the gentleman that we went through was shockingly jovial despite his austere look, he almost forgot to register/check my biometrics but no way was I coming all this way and not getting my fingerprints scanned! I was EXTREMELY pleased that all four of our suitcases arrived (mine were soaked but luckily the lining ensured that this was not an issue for my clothes! YAY! Once we collected our luggage it was off to find our agency contacts, Sital and Mark.

Sital informed us that they brought “a BIG car” to take us back to London. While in Iceland, Jodi and I discussed whether they would send a van to get us… Well, it turns out that they did not send a van and that the British idea of a big car is actually a small hatchback SUV. Quite a nice car but not quite suitable for four large suitcases, two carry-ons, two personal items, and four fully-grown adults. I hope that the seatbelt laws in the UK are more lax than at home because we drove 2.5 hours from Gatwick airport with no seatbelts… Welcome to London!

Notable experiences that occurred whilst driving to London: there are an abundance of round-abouts, drivers are insane (but in a different way than in Canada), and sheep casually graze by the motorway like it’s no big deal (like right beside, there is road, a flimsy fence and sheep!). When I saw my first double-decker bus I almost had a fit, until that point we could have been driving in Canada as the view along the motor way was very similar to the 115 (except for the sheep).

Once I got into London I dropped off my bags at the agency and Sarah and I headed over to the residence where I would be staying for my first week in London. Once I was somewhat settled in we were off to view a flat! This attempt did not go so well, it turns out the flat was in council housing (equivalent to government subsidized housing back home, a bit sketchy). Needless to say we did not go for that flat.

At this point in the day I was exhausted (having slept only 4 hours in three days). Sarah took me shopping at Sainsbury’s, a local supermarket chain, and was telling me all about how “meal deals” work when it hit me… I was not just visiting London. I was not here for a month then going on my merry way back home where I knew the ropes, where everything was familiar, and where my loved ones were. I had packed my life, hopped on a plane, and landed 1/3 of the world away. I was officially jet lagged and homesick. This was not the stellar start I had hoped for in London.

So, what does one do when one is in the city of their dreams and wanting to hop on the next plane back to Canada? One asks to be taken to somewhere spectacular, I was not disappointed. On my very first night in London Sarah took me to see some of her favourite sights including: St. Paul’s, Millennium Bridge (yes, of Harry Potter fame, you know I was stoked!), and the Globe (I cannot wait to see a show here!). The sight that made me start to feel that I could probably be quite happy here ended up being Tower Bridge. As I was crossing Millennium bridge from the North side I turned to my left and there, off in the distance was Tower Bridge, the iconic London Landmark. This was in my new backyard. This was going to be my new home.

St Paul’s from Millennium Bridge

South bank!

The Globe

wall art in a tunnel

Wall art in a tunnel

so many underpasses

old meets new

modern London

we found the apartments over the Leaky Cauldron

There she is…

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey (August 25th)

On, August 25th, I finally left Canada for London. That Monday was a bit of madness for me, I had finished packing (but wasn’t happy with the results) around 3 am, stayed up until about 5 getting lists finalized and printed, and being generally stressed out. I woke up just before 7 feeling extremely anxious. At this point, my two suitcases were weighing in between 49 and 49.5 pounds (the limit being 50) and my carry-on was about .3 of a pound under 22 (the limit). My personal item stretched the boundaries of personal item for SURE as it ended up weighing in at over 22 pounds and I couldn’t get the zipper closed… oops.

Regardless, I did not fall asleep full of joy and happiness as my suitcases were missing some items I was super loathe to part with and might even end up overweight if the wind blew the wrong way.

only half of these shoes made the cut…

I was young and foolish. My closet and dressers are still pretty well full… I have many regrets.

Just after 7 I went down to talk to my mum and voice my fears, she then assisted me in removing a few items from each suitcase and redistributing items in order to get BOTH my large suitcases and carry-on suitcase underweight… I wish I had packed those jeans I had decided against the day before, alas. By the time I got everything sorted and my dear friend, and the most helpful packing assistant ever, Steph had to head back home and I had juuuust enough time to finish getting last-minute electronics together and get myself put together.
We left Peterborough around 2:30 pm, before I knew it (and with a pit stop on the way due to my nerves) we were at Jack Astor’s and I was eating my first meal of the day, and my last meal in Canada. My amazing friend Steph, who was also my personal packing assistant extraordinaire stopped by Jack’s to do me one last HUGE favour. She had procured some book files but we had been unable to get them from her micro SD card onto my computer (and we tried every conceivable way) so this wonderful woman drove back to Brampton, from Peterborough, loaded all of the files onto a thumb drive and then drove that over to me, hers was the last (non-parental) familiar face I would see in Canada!

Once at the airport my parents and I waited in what I felt was a ridiculously long line, but which they assured me was not) to check my two 48 pound suitcases. I found this to be very difficult as I suck at saying good-bye, especially to the two people who mean the most to me in the world. My dad had been pretty stoic about the whole affair prior to the airport but as we were waiting in the baggage line even he couldn’t help getting a bit emotional. This is good as, in the letter I left for him to read after I left, I told him that if he didn’t tear up I would be very disappointed. I was not. Mum and dad stuck around to the bitter end to shout out and wave to me as I passed through security and then, I was on my own. Another vision teacher, Jodi, was flying out on the same flight and I had told her to look for a girl with a purple carry-on and grey/white large personal item bag (it’s a diaper bag, I am not even ashamed because it’s fabulous and it weighed as much as my carry on and STILL passed for a personal item. BONUS!). Time went on and I still had not met the elusive Jodi so I felt a bit awkward, lonely, and started to question what the hell I was doing. Luckily, just as I was feeling the most freaked out, Jodi appeared! We sat and chatted for a bit while waiting to board but we were seated ten rows apart.

Finally, the time came to board, I was seated beside an older couple who didn’t speak much English but had an aisle seat so I was able to stretch out my legs a bit so that was cool. Not cool was the in-flight literature.

One does not want to read about volcanoes when one is racing against one that is set to erupt at any time. As I hunkered down for the first 4:55 minute leg of my journey I was full of excitement, trepidation, fatigue, and sadness … here goes the adventure of a lifetime.