Day LI (which pretty much blended into day LII), and Day LIII

I awoke at 5.50 am on Day LI with a pep in my step! It had finally arrived, the day that I was headed to Europe! I knew there was lots to do, so I cracked down and got the dishes done (again?), put the garbage, green bin and recyclables out, and did a final check that I had everything (and by all accounts, too much – typical).

Mom arrived around 9.30 am so we buzzed around town getting the last few things necessary. We did discover that indeed Zellers had a “Canadian” section, much what the cashier said to the contrary. We also discovered that the postal system doesn’t want to be as quick as you want it to be. Plus it is possible for me to visit 8 people in two minutes when I’m in a time crunch at work. Seriously.

We got back to the house, unplugged everything, did final cleaning - including making sure the toilet wouldn't implode (long story) - and then left around 1pm. Picked up lunch at Extreme Pita, got to the airport, checked in, sat for a few minutes, and chatted with a gentleman from England who loved Millionaire. I am very excited that I get to see two more tapings of this fine quality product next month!

I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to carry both my small daypack and my pelican case with my underwater camera, but they did get through. Problem number one adverted. My alterness was further caught seeing someone being escorted through security by Canadian Border Services... who ended up on the same flight as me!

In any case, check in was at about 5.10, approx 35 minutes before the flight hit. I have never flown KLM before and was severely impressed. The food was awesome - dinner was pasta and cherry tomatoes, tuna and chick pea salad, a brownie... plus the wine was complimentary. I figured, when in Rome... Wait, did I say wine? I meant root beer. Yes, root beer.

The only thing was that my flight was one of the few that didn't have seat back teevee... but it wasn't bad for two reasons - they played The Proposal and an old Mr. Bean (the one where he blows up the paint) and my seat mates Keith and Desmond were phenomenal storytellers. Desmond was on his way to Lyon, France, to visit his daughter who was on exchange, and Keith, who shares most of the same life philosophies as myself, was on the way to Glasgow to meet up with friends that shared the same love of a band. Plus he was doing a Beatles-themed tour in Liverpool!

I got into Amsterdam about 45 minutes earlier than expected. On the way out someone spotted my Pelican case and asked if it was dive gear... and thus I met someone from Buffalo who was in Amsterdam visiting friends.

I actually was holding up well at this point. I should explain that it was significantly cheaper for me to fly YYZ-AMS-LHR then it was direct. Weirdness insues. So while the 3 hour stopover was slightly draining it worked pretty well. I met a nice couple from Kitchener-Waterloo of which the husband used to live in a town just near where I live now. I would tell you about the flight... but (a) it was an hour long and (b) I slept through it.

Getting into Heathrow I had to clear customs. One thing that having the stopover created was a short hop flight that had mostly EU passport holders on it. As such, I spent a whopping three minutes waiting for a customs agent. In fact I spent more time filling out the form. I did get a good grilling, although near the end of the conversation the nice customs lady asked what else I was doing besides visiting my friend in Gidea Park... I chipped in about Countdown and she was very surprised! Maybe I should have started with that...

In any case I got my luggage, got a ticket and headed onto the tube (North Americans read: subway) and headed off to Liverpool Street station. The ride was fine... until I got into Central London. Not much space inside that there tube! Although that being said the switch to the Central line (I started on Picadilly) at Holborn was very efficient. Got a train to Romford at Liverpool Steet and hopped a black cab to Emily's school. It was so nice to see her! She gave me her keys and then I made it back to her flat.

At this point I was still holding up pretty well... although I felt like I was in a bit of stupor. I actually made it through Countdown although my score was really horrible but I guess that didn't matter because I had been up for the better part of 36 hours at this point. I did manage to take a small nap while watching Deal or No Deal (although not intentionally as it is better than the US version - yes, I said it).

Chris, Emily's partner, got home around 5 pm and we caught up, I having met him when he was in Canada previously. He is a teacher as well so we swapped war tales. All teachers love students, never forget that kids! He decided that I needed a proper meal, so we went and got fish and chips at a proper takeaway called:

In any case as you might imagine I pulled out anything and everything that was even related to a saying in Newfoundland at that point which I do believe enriched the cultural experience for everyone, natch. And the portions were huge! They don't wrap them in actual newspaper like they did when I was a youngin' living in the Mumbles. Sigh.

Emily's open house night at her school finished around 8.30 pm so we picked her up and went out for a pint. Chris and I were feeling very patriotic...

so we broke out the Canada apparel (and yes, readers, I had changed at this point, this wasn't what I wore during my travels). I fell asleep at about 11 pm, which I thought was quite good for the time change.

I awoke at about 7.45 am on Day LIII, which I thought was pretty bizarre, as I usually have a much longer sleep in (that being said it's Day LIV when I'm typing this, and I made it to 8.06 am so really that's consistent) when I travel abroad. HOWEVER! I had a lazy morning after Chris and Em left for work. It was a 'booking' morning as I tried to clear up a few more locations. So Weymouth is booked in full for next week. I rebooked Paris - I was in a hostel but figured I should go to a hotel because of my luggage situtation. And possibly most exciting, I booked a hotel in Stuttgart. Why Stuttgart? Well, I also booked a ticket to see WICKED: Die Hexen Von Oz! Yes, although my language skills are limited, I am going to see Wicked in German! I figure why not? I anticipate I'll be singing along in English but I want the experience nevertheless. I am going to make sure to buy the soundtrack as well, as Kari B mentioned that she wanted to see how "Popular" played in German. I heard a clip, plays just as well as the English version :)

I headed out around noon to do a bit of exploring, mostly to find the train station. Well as it turned out I went completely the wrong way but I did enjoy my walk about Gidea Park. I did make it to the train station eventually (right where Chris said it would be, natch) and did pick up a lotto ticket as I am going to win it today. Sure sure right.

Em came home around 2 pm (it was a PD day for her) so we watched Countdown, Deal or No Deal and (The) Weakest Link. While I realize that's there not a lot of 'freeview' tv as it's called, at least they know how to have good game shows! Even the CBBC show Keep your enemies close seemed to pass the time (although inflating rubber dish gloves does not a good game make).

All three of us were sluggish at this point so we decided to order in pizza and just play Scrabble. I got my behind severely handed to me on a platter... with Emily getting to start and Chris bingoing (played his entire rack) on his first turn, I was playing catch up the whole game, although I saved face by at least getting past the century mark.

So all in all a good trip so far! And it will only get crazier, I'm sure!

Cheers,

Vick.