Shopping, Shopping and more Shopping!

Well I am first going to start by telling you all about yesterday as I'm sure you all read that we were not in the best shape to post yesterday. lol It was Jeanette's Birthday yesterday but I made her get up super early because we had a busy day ahead of us. Our first stop was the Boboli Gardens and Museum. It was so beautiful in the gardens. Not really any flowers, but loads of trees, grass, secret pathways and a fountain or two.

It was lunch time when we left the gardens so we stopped for lunch, then headed out to the Ponte Vecchio so Jeanette could see it and do a little shopping. After that we headed back home to drop off a few bags and we were back out on the street by 4pm. Boy did we shop! We actually both ran out of money by 5:30pm. It was super funny. I'm not even joking here. I went to purchase something I had in my hands and ended up counting my copper just to pay for it. We thought that was pretty funny but all of 20min later Jeanette was doing the same thing. She really didn't have enough though and had to put some stuff back. lol So with less than 1euro in each of our purses we headed back home to refuel up, on money that is. ;) lol

We then headed out for supper. It was 7 when we left and we had a reservation at 8 at a restaurant that Mario's friends own. He phoned a few days earlier and set it up for us. We ended up taking slightly a wrong turn on the bus and ended up in the middle of nowhere for about 20min while we waited for another bus to show up. After we got all of that sorted out we found our way to dinner with little problems. We were a little worried showing up 30min late for supper but they welcomed us in and it was an excellent meal. They gave us some free champagne and ended up knocking some money off the bill just because I was Mario's friend. The meal was so fabulous. We ordered a Florentine Steak (which you can see in our picture from yesterday's short post). It was so yummy. It was a rare steak, which is how it is cooked here and wow, was it good. We drank a little to much wine and had a great meal, what more can I say about it. All in all I think Jeanette had a great Birthday and I was very glad to be spending it with her.

Today we got up kinda early, both with a mild tumour, lol, and headed out to the Outlet mall. We hoped on a bus and was at the mall in about 40min. We only spent about 3 hours there but had a good time going from one designer store to the next trying to find some great deals. In the end, I came out with 20euros of chocolate and that's it. Jeanette fared a little better but not much. We headed back home to have a 2 hour break/nap and then headed out to the center for our last bits of shopping and our last supper in Florence. Overall, a very good day.

Bithdays and drunken dabauchery!

Well today is Jeanette's Birthday.... Sorry, I have to finish this tomorrow... drank to much wine. ;)

Having a Blast!

We've had a few busy days so far. We had a bit of a sleep in yesterday and caught the 10:30 train to Pisa. Arrived in Pisa around 12, had a quick bite to eat and then headed out to find the leaning tower. We only walked for about 20min or so and there she was leaning so proudly. It was really cool to see. Everyone I have talked to that has seen it is right, it really isn't as big as you would originally think. However even though it wasn't as big as we thought, it was still really cool to see. We took a bunch of pics, including the cheesy holding up the tower pics. :)

We then decided to just wander through the open market booths by the leaning tower. Around 4pm we headed back to the train station and ended up back in Florence by 6pm. Last night we just took it easy as we were both exhausted and ready for bed.

Today we slept in again and didn't leave the apartment until 11am. our first stop was the Uffizi museum. We were inside for about 2 hours. It was cool to see but both of us found that after about an hour the painting all kinda started looking the same. The only difference was that they were painted by different artists. We're both glad we went though. After that we made our way slowly to the Academia were the statue of David is. It was a much smaller museum and only took about 45min to go through.

After stopping at random shops along the way, we ended up at our stop, which was a wine tasting. I have been to this one before but I got to taste different wines than last time which was nice. There was only us and another couple there. There was great food and wine and great company. We all had a blast and Jeanette and I left a little more tipsy than we thought. ;)

And the fun begins...

I had the worst sleep last night but I think I was kept up partly by the really annoying mosquito buzzing around my head all night and partly because I was thinking about Jeanette travelling over here. I finally fell asleep though around 5:30am and I figured out why once I looked in a mirror this morning. I had a squished mosquito on my forehead. lol I remember swatting around my head and even remember smacking myself a few times but I never actually thought I killed it. Good aim huh? ;)

Once I got up, around 9:30, I checked my email only to find out that Jeanette's plane had been delayed by an hour and half. This gave me lots of time though to finish cleaning my room and do a quick cleaning of the rest of the house. I was all ready for her arrival so I managed to squeeze in a few quick games of poker before I had to head down to the train station.

I only waited about 40min or so before I seen her walking toward me. YEAH! It was awesome. no tears people (just in case you were wondering). We hugged, and then we started on our way. She was exhausted, which I totally understand having just done that a few months ago. We were back at the apartment by 4:30. I showed her around the place (which took about 2min) and then we decided to head the store to pick up a couple of groceries.

After that we headed into the center for some supper. By the time supper was done we were both exhausted so we decided to come back to the house so Jeanette could get some sleep. I decided to start putting my new ipod together and then played around of poker before blogging tonight. Its now about 11:30pm and I am heading to bed.

We have a big day tomorrow. We are heading to Pisa in the morning and then Lucca in the afternoon. We should be back in Florence around supper time tomorrow night.

Company Tomorrow!

Yeah, I can't believe it is here already! Less than 24hrs from now, Jeanette will be here and we'll either be out eating or she'll be sleeping and I will be on here blogging to you guys. Either way though, I am SOOOO excited! The last couple of days have kind of flew by with nothing really import to blog about so sorry for the couple of days without posts. I am definitely on the mend with my cold which I am so glad about.

I decided to leave the house on Sat and head to the supermarket to buy a few things. Once I got back though my key wouldn't work in the door to the apartment. I tried and tried and nothing was working. I should back up a bit and explain here that this happens sometimes. Mario told me from the beginning when we leave the apartment we have to make sure the door knob is in the proper position or it locks you out. He didn't tell me how to fix this problem though, just that I shouldn't do it. So there I was trying everything I could to try and get in. I'm sure to random people walking by I may have looked like I was trying to break in, which in actuality I guess I was in a way. UGH! I texted Mario asking him what to do and thought I should give it another shot. Just then, I must have jimmied it just the right way because it opened! YEAH! I couldn't have been happier. I texted Mario back right away so he wouldn't have to come home and let me in and then when inside and breathed a sigh of relief. :)

Yesterday I didn't leave the apartment all day. I did some cleaning up of my room, which I actually started on Friday and still tonight am not done. lol I also played alot of Texas holdem poker on Facebook. Is anyone else addicted to that game? I can't believe it. Crystal told me awhile ago I should play it and just never thought of it. Then on Saturday I thought I should give it a try and now I am hooked. I find I play it as soon as I get up in the morning and was playing on Saturday night still at 2:30am. LOL I can't stop!!!! I fully blame Crystal on it. jk :) On a happy note though, I am only winning and losing fake online money and not my own. ;)

I got to chat with most of my nieces and nephews on Skype yesterday which was really great. I miss them all so much and they are all getting so big. I can't wait for my new little nephew to show up in January. I'll then have 5 nephews and 3 nieces to keep me busy. I am very lucky.

Today I got up and hit the streets of Florence just doing some shopping. I found a lot of great stuff and was glad to get most of it done today so I can focus on just having fun once Jeanette is here. I am going to try to get the rest of my room cleaned up tonight and then veg out and watch Angels & Demons so when I go to Rome next week it will be even cooler.

3 Months Down, 3 to Go!

Whew, I am almost blogged out after all of those posts. I hope everyone enjoyed reading about my trip just about as much as I enjoyed living it. :) I couldn't have had a better first Contiki trip experience. I have a few days left to catch you up on from the 13th to today but I promise I won't write that much.

I woke up the morning of the 14th with the most killer headache, a kind I have never experienced before and realized that it was time to go back to the doctor. I got up early anyway though because I wanted to get to the Resident permit office to collect my card that I have been waiting 3 months to get. I packed my bag with my Ipod, a book, my 2 translation books, passport and a bottle of water. I made it to the office only to be told that I had to come back at 1pm and wait in line until 3pm. Ugh!

So, because it was only 8:10am I decided to go the doctor right then. I was just around the corner from the bus stop and all of sudden I felt that my leg was really wet. I reached into my bag only to find that my full water bottle was now empty. I quickly tried to grab everything out of my bag but everything was soaked in water. I hopped on the bus which was now there and was still grabbing things out of my bag and trying to get them into my pockets. As I stood on the bus, people started looking at me because there was a really really big wet spot on my leg and my bag was leaking water out of it at a pretty good rate. :{

At the bus terminal I had a chance to survey what had happened and it wasn't looking good. My passport is just about totalled off and all of my books have that now water logged, crinkled look to them. My most sad thing though is that my Ipod is toast. Being drowned in water is not really the best thing for any electronic device and the poor little guy didn't survive. UGH!

I tried not to think about it though as I was heading into the hospital but as soon as I talked to the nurse guy that was waiting there I burst into tears. I know I know, but seriously it had already been a bad day and I really was feeling horrible so there I was in the middle of the hospital bawling to the nurse about wanting to see a doctor. :( I did manage to pull myself together finally after the doctor was already in the room because she finally said to me, "what are you crying for?". All I could say was "I've had a bad day" and then realized I should grow up, wipe away my tears and deal with the situation at hand. She ended up taking blood and x-rays which thankfully led to nothing serious besides a regular bacterial infection. So the next couple of days I spent sick at home trying to get over it which I think I almost am. Yeah!

Yesterday I was finally feeling well enough to try again for my resident permit card so at about 12:30pm I headed out and was waiting in line a few minutes later. We all got herded in out of the street into a small room at about 2pm where one of the guards started calling out everyones names and handing them another slip of paper with a number on it. It was hot and smelly in there and was not pleasant at all. I finally had my name called around 2:30. She then proceeded to tell me that the numbers that she already handed us wouldn't be starting to get called until 3pm. So there everyone was, waiting again. I had lucky number 75 and I have to admit, they actually went through them faster than I though they would. It was around 4pm when I got called up to the desk, gave the guy my almost wrecked passport and he handed me my card. yeah! As I walked back to my apartment all I could think of now was, "what do I do with it?" lol It took me 3 months to get and I don't even know what the real purpose is to it.

So lets finally discuss today. Again, its hard to believe that another month has gone by. 3 months already, wow. So much has happened in the last month even though I haven't hardly been here. I won't go over my trip again because I just spent the last 5 days writing about it. I will tell you though that I think the month of September is/was one of my best months ever! I had so much fun on my trip and meeting so many new friends. I ended up missing out on this weekend in Munich for Oktoberfest because of me being ill, but that's ok. I only have 4 more days and then one of my BCFF's is coming up. I can't wait! Her and I will do up Florence and Rome the way I know we can!

It's weird to think that I am already over half done my trip. I fly home in approx 2.75 months. The weather is still great here. It has been raining since I returned from the UK but it is still supposed to reach high 20's for the next few weeks for sure. I look forward to the future and my next couple of months here in Italy. I have no clue what is in store for me in the future but I kind of like that.

Sept 12 & 13- London & London to Florence

5 of us met this morning at 10 to head down to Buckingham palace and then over to the musical. We made it to the palace by about 11am. We were going to try to go in and look around but the changing of the guards was taking place at 11:30 and we didn't want to miss it. We had a prime standing spot so we just hung out there and watched as the police lady that was standing in front of us directed people back and forth. She was doing a pretty good job, other than the odd texting she was doing, but just then the head police guy came by on a horse and started yelling at her in front of all of us. I felt bad for her but kind of seen things from both sides.

Just then the changing of the guards started and we turned out attention away and started snapping pics like crazy. I felt a little like I was back in Sienna as I was holding my camera up trying to gets pictures of the guards as they came by but I did have a slightly better standing position for this one. The whole process took about 1/2 hour and during one of the calm parts we all of sudden seen the head police man come back order and bark to the police lady that she was getting written up and that she was taken off duty. About 3o people surrounding me (and me as well) heard this whole thing take place and then all of sudden she walked right up to me. I wasn't sure what to do. She then asked me for my address and phone number so the Police headquarters could get a hold of me for a statement at a later time. I ended up giving it to her cause she was freaking me out and I wasn't sure what to do. She then went to the other 4 that were with me and they all said, "uh, we really didn't see what happened", so she walked away. Seriously! Thanks guys! So I think I should maybe tell Crystal (or just let her find out this way, lol) that someone from the Queens police guard staff might be phoning the house soon. :{

Afterwards we decided to start heading over towards the street where our musical was playing. We walked by Big Ben and I really wanted to get another picture so I ended up playing frogger (does anyone remember playing frogger on the Atari when they were a kid?!?) across 6 lanes of traffic. It would have been ok but as I was across 2 of them, the lights turned green and cars started coming. I started laughing as I was dodging the traffic but all I could hear was screaming from everyone else who was still back on the other side of the street. I thought it was hilarious but I guess they did not. Who knew? ;)

We made it to the musical with plenty of time to spare after stopping for lunch. It was really good. I am very glad we were able to make it to a musical before heading home. It ran until about 5:30 and then I decided to head back to the hostel as I had to reorganize my suitcase for the flight tomorrow and wanted to get to bed early.

The next morning I was up by 6am. With my suitcase packed the night before all I had to do was get myself ready and I was off. Said goodbye to Anne-Maree, the last of my new friends to say goodbye to, and I headed out. I had no problems getting to the airport. I was feeling much worse though as the day and flight went on and by the time we landed and I made the 1.5hour train ride back home here to Florence I was ready for bed.

Sept 11 - London

I was up at 8am this morning as Anne-Maree and I had big plans to get to our hostel and then find me a doctor. The hostel to our luck was literally a 5min walk from our current hotel so that was very exciting. Once there and after putting our luggage in the storage room for the day we had some breakfast and then headed out.

We found the hospital without to much trouble and I headed straight for reception. Anne-Maree and I still aren't sure the reception guy wasn't just trying to have a good laugh at me or not, but as soon as I told him my symptoms and told him I had just come off of a tour, he knew right away that it was Contiki and they actually call it the contiki cough. The worst part was though was that he made me put on a face mask so I couldn't "infect" anyone else. I felt like a total dork and both Anne-Maree and I started laughing uncontrollably. I really was quite the sight as you can all see here. I did find it more funny then embarrassing so I figure why not share my pic with all of you. ;) In the end, the doctor said it was just viral and sent me on my way (allowing me to leave the mask there with her). I was grateful.

By this point Ross had met up with us at the hospital and also had a good laugh about my new attire I was sporting. We then headed down to our meeting point where we met 4 others and discussed what musical we should see the following day. In the end, cheapness won out and 4 of us purchased tickets to see Wicked the musical. We then broke up into smaller groups and did our own thing.

Kia, Liz and I ended up going and doing some touring around London and ended up at the Tate Museum, which is a museum that is full of modern art. Afterwards we went for a yummy supper of pizza and then headed for the London Eye. I was really looking forward to going on the eye and we ended up picking the perfect time. We got on about 7:15pm and was able to see London in dusk, as the sun was setting and the city at night. It was beautiful. The whole trip around in the eye lasted about 30min and then afterwards we just decided to walk back to the hotel.

On our way back to the hostel we decided to take the tube to cut some time out of our walk. As we were heading down the staircase we seen a sign that read "Due to person under train, X line will be closed". We all just stood there for a few minutes not sure what to think. We actually thought that it was someone (or maybe one of the engineers) playing some sort of trick, but as we kept going to get on the line that we needed we kept hearing over and over through the speakers, "Due to person under train....". It really creeped us all out.

Kia and Liz walked me back to the hostel so that I wouldn't have to walk back by myself. I finally got to check into my room and it was really cool. We had booked into the luxury girls suit which actually had 12 beds in it but looked really cool. It was all decorated in a bright pink and white. There was a make up vanity that sat 4 and a sitting area for 2 with comfy chairs and some magazines. Totally posh for hostel living I tell you. ;) Once I got settled in, Anne-Maree had come back so we just sat up and chatted with some of the other girls and was in bed by 11.

Sept 10 - Dublin to London

Well it was our last day together as a group as we headed back to London and just our luck we had to leave at 7am. Our Ferry left at 8:20 so there was no chance of sleeping in for us. On the ferry though I wandered for awhile while pretty much everyone else slept. I used the on board internet which was crazy slow but it was better than nothing and killed an hour. :)

We got off the ferry around 12pm and then had to head straight for our meeting point at the longest named town in Whales again to pick up the people that were done their Great Britain portion and were heading back to London. We ended up picking up over 20 people which we weren't really thrilled about as it was nice to have the bus to ourselves for awhile. The new group turned out to be very noisy, which I thought was a good thing and thought that they would have been a fun group.

The drive back to London was very long (our longest day drive of the whole trip) and we didn't make it back to the hotel in London until 7pm that night. I lugged my now overflowing and already expanded suitcase up to my room and then headed back down to the pub as the original 16 of us were all meeting to have one last farewell drink (coke had been my drink of choice now for a few nights) and just hang out and have some laughs. I don't think I was the first to leave but I wasn't far off. We had some tearful goodbyes and it was actually pretty sad leaving everyone. On a happy note though, there was about 7 of us that were hanging out in London for the next couple of days so we had a few more days to spend together.

Sept 9 - Kilkenney to Dublin

We left the hotel at 8:30 this morning and arrived in Dublin by 10:30. Those that went on the Trinity College tour did and those that didn't (I opted out of that one) went and started our free day of shopping. Steve, and I ended up hanging out and just wandered around until we found a doctor Steve could go to. After that we ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Ross found us there and joined us for some yummy food. I had the best caesar salad. It was hot there was so much garlic in it. Mmmm After lunch we just wandered in and out of stores for a couple of hours and then just sat for awhile and waited. We didn't feel like taking in any sites and Steve was feeling like crap and I was starting to get sick so we just headed back to our meeting point and hung out.

We took the Bus back to our hotel, where we all proceeded to get dressed up and then at 6:45 we were off to our last group dinner. We went to a place called The Merry Ploughboys Restaurant. The food was great and while we were eating, the Merry Ploughboys came out and started singing. They sang pretty much the whole night. They took about a 20min-1/2hour break and during that time we had some local Irish dancers come out and preform. I totally had rock star seating as I was at the table in the center and I was only 5 seat from the stage so I really did have one of the best views out of our whole group.

On our way back to hotel that night, because we didn't have any music in the rental coach, Kim thought that it would be fun to just randomly start singing. We did sing a few songs but a few days ago she had told us that she knows how to sing Jeremiah was a Bullfrog in Japanese. lol I think she had a few drinks in her by this point and so we convinced her to sing it for us. It was awesome! I made sure I got it all on camera so I can look back and giggle at it later.

Sept 8 - Cork to Kilkenny

We got to sleep in this morning as our bus didn't leave until 9am! Woop Woop! We stopped in a town called Cobh (pronounced cove) where we all had the opportunity to walk through the museum. Cobh is famous because it was the last port of call for the Titanic. Unfortunately, other than that there really wasn't much to see there and we were all kind of bored. Luckily the stop wasn't very long.

Back on the bus, we had the privilege of hearing one of the girls sing coacheokee to I'm to Sexy. I throughout that suggestion because I thought it would be funny for her to sing because she seemed really shy, but man, she knew every word...had us fooled. lol

We stopped for lunch at another small town that had a castle, which this is going to sound bad, but I don't remember the name of. lol I didn't go up it though as my knee was still bugging me and it was 6euros (I was starting to feel broke) so instead, my two buddies (Steve and Ross) and I went for lunch and then just walked around town until it was time to head back to the bus.

We got to Kilkenny and had a walking tour of the town by a local guy. I'm sorry to say this, but he wasn't the best tour guide. It was only an hour though and then we headed off to find some supper. After supper we ended up just back at the hotel and hung out for a couple of hours. Bed that night was very early, 10:30. It was a nice relaxing day which was nice because yesterday was crazy busy and tomorrow also will be big as it is our last actual night of tour. :(

Sept 7 - Killarney to Cork

Wow, ok so day 12 was a busy one so I will try to keep everything fairly brief. We left the hotel this morning at 8:30am and drove through the Ring of Kerry. It is this big forest area that is surrounded with water, hills, flowers, wildlife and trees. We were able to stop for 2min photo opt which was awesome and managed to pick the spot that was swarmed with thousands of little biting bugs. It was great. We really did just run out of the bus, took a couple of quick pics and then scramble back on. Only a couple hundred or so managed to make it on the bus so for the next 10min all you could hear was people slapping the windows and trying to kill them all. lol

Next stop, Blarney Castle where we had a couple of hours to have lunch, shop and go and kiss the Blarney stone. Now, I should say here that all of the rumours surrounding the Blarney stone are just that, rumours! Once you are actually there and see for yourself you understand why. We had to pay an entrance fee to get up into the castle (which is locked up every night). Once walking the 100steps up the very windy staircase to the top of the castle you can then see the people that are bent over kissing the stone. Their was 2 guys standing there, one which holds you so you don't feel like your falling, and other is there for the picture taking. They say that kissing the Blarney stone gives you the gift of gab (not the luck of the Irish), and I really didn't need the gift of gab but I thought why not. :) The topper for me was that the guy had a big bottle of sanitizer there that he says they use very often so that won me over and kissing I went. :)

I ended up having Irish stew for lunch. Everyone kept raving about how Irish stew was so great, but honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between great Irish stew and beef stew we get back home. oh well. I can't complain though.

After lunch we headed out to the Jameson Irish Whiskey Factory. We had a tour which was really good (better than the Scotch whiskey tour we had) and again got to try some whiskey. She was in need of some volunteers to be taste testers and well at that point no girls had volunteered so I figured I should take one for the team (ya right, huh?!?) and volunteer my services. ;) We ended up doing a tasting between Jameson whiskey, Scotch whiskey and Jack Daniels. You could 100% taste the difference and I can even tell you why (I was actually listening through out the whiskey tours, impressive huh?). The JD is made in the states and is distilled only once. The Scotch is obviously made in Scotland but distilled only twice. The Irish whiskey however is distilled 3 times and you can really tell because it was way smoother going down then the other 2. In the end she gave us all a little diploma and then we got yet another sample of the Jameson. I'm not a whiskey drinker but if I was, I would definitely be drinking that. It was smooth!

We arrived at our hotel and after supper went out for a night of bowling and pool. I didn't end up bowling because my knee had been hurting for a few days now and I thought bowling would really bugger it up more so I sat out. I did however end up playing some air hockey which was loads of fun but in the end, ended up with a pinkie finger air hockey injury. Don't worry though, I made it out alive and I can still type ok. ;) We then ended up playing some pool where one of the creepy guys in our group was taking pictures of a few of us as we were making our shots. Once I realized this though, I gave him a piece of my mind (not even kidding) and he left soon after. Seriously...he was just creepy! :{ Headed back to the hotel shortly after pool and in bed by 12:30. Good but busy day all around.

Sept 6 - Galway to Killarney

We left the hotel at 8:30 this morning. It was raining pretty hard and lucky for us didn't stop all day. ;{ Our first and only stop of the day before reaching Killarney was at the Cliffs of Moher. We had about a 45min stop here to go and take some pictures and then have a quick look around the gift shop. It was raining so hard out though that not many of us felt like walking up to the top to get some pictures. I did get a little ways up though and managed to take a couple of pics before turning and running back down to get in out of the rain. We all looked like drowned rats, it really was quite funny.

I took the next 1/2 hour to shop the gift shops and then ran back to the bus. We had our second coacheokee singer heading out of the Cliffs as a couple of the girls were late getting back on the bus. It really was quite funny as Anne-Maree belted out the words to It's Raining Men. lol I guess you had to be there though.

We pulled into Killarney around 1:30 and had some time to grab lunch before we were to go on the jaunting cars. At 3:00 it was still raining like crazy but we all managed to climb up into the carts of these poor horses that were going to carry us through the Killarney National Park. There was 6 of us in the back and 2 up front and we only managed to get about 20 steps before our horse had to stop. He was sick, and lugging us all around in the rain was making it worse so we had to get down and change carts and horse's. I should also say at this point though that there was no top on the carts that we were sitting in, so we were all soaking wet and getting grumpier by the minute. We tried to have fun and had a few laughs at each other as everyones (except mine) umbrella kept overturning on its self causing everybody to get more wet. We really were a site.

Supper was back at the hotel and yes, it was another good one. After supper we went to a cocktail bar (Kim has these places all scoped out for us) and then afterwards we went to a local pub were we got to listen to some good celtic music. I heard there was a dj playing in the back as well but I didn't stick around long enough to find out. I wanted to show you this drink I had from the cocktail bar because it was so green, I couldn't believe it. Tasted more like oranges though than anything else. It was called a Lucky Shamrock. :) I also can tell by now that you are thinking I was doing alot of drinking. In my defence, I really didn't drink that much. I only drank about half the time and only had a couple when I did. I thought I did quite well. There were others that actually ripped it up every night.... I am way to old for that! :)

Sept 5 - Galway

Today was our free day in Galway but 95% of us decided to do the option excursion and go to Aran Island for the day. The bus took us to the ferry which was pretty small compared to others we had been on. the water was very very rough and it was crazy windy out so you can only imagine how well I did this morning on the boat. There was people throwing up everywhere, it was really kinda gross, but I have to be honest I was just about one of them. :{ I made it through though but had a very weak stomach all day.

Once on the Island, me and 4 others hired a driver to take us around the islands. We could have rented a bike for the same amount of money but there was no way I was pedalling up and around and island all day long. I was really glad though that we did hire a driver because it was raining and like I mentioned earlier, very windy. He took us first to see the seals that live on one part of the island. Then he drove us up to the drop off point where we then proceeded to walk about 25min up to the top of a cliff. It was the best views I have ever had of the ocean. We were even allowed to dangle our feet off the cliff which was cool because there are no guard rails or anything. I got some awesome pics! We stopped for a quick lunch at the bottom of the cliff and I once again had soup you guys! See, it is growing on me. ;) He drove us around to some other really neat sites and then back to the ferry were we met the others and headed back to Galway. I also need to mention here because it was kind of funny but kind of not. Once on the bus back to our hotel, Kim got on the microphone and told us that not eveyone that goes up the cliff comes back down. :o She said because it is so windy up their, sometimes the wind just blows people off. Seriously! I'm glad she told me that once I was off of the mountain or I would have never set foot up there. oh well, I lived to tell the tale. :)

We arrived in Galway just in time for supper. After supper some girls when out, most people stayed in and played cards and I was lame and went to my room, watched a bit of a movie and was fast asleep by 11pm. All in all it was a really good day but man that sea air and and upset tummy can make a person fall asleep fast. ;)

Sept 4 - Dublin to Galway

We left Dublin at 8:30 this morning. Our first stop of the day was the Guinness Factory to learn how Guinness is made and have a pint. It was a self tour, which was nice because we could go at our own pace and then afterwards we all ended up at the top of the factory (7th floor) to have a pint in the 360 degree bar. It was really cool. I managed to get down half of my pint, which I thought was pretty good because it was only 10am. I had to pace myself you know. ;) I did some much needed souvenir shopping in the ridiculously huge gift shop and then back on the bus.

Our next stop was at Kilmainham jail. It was the first jail open in Ireland in the 1700's. The tour itself was a little boring but the jail was kind of neat to see as it was dark and creepy. After an hour we ran back to our bus in the pouring rain and headed to Galway.

The new group that joined us yesterday seems very quiet and reserved right now. Not sure what to think about that. Hopefully they will come out of there shells a little. Kim did start playing The Galway Girl which is a song by Steve Earl and most people know it from the movie P.S. I love you. What a great song. This was the first of many many times we heard this song over the next 6 days. The newbies livened up a bit once hearing the song. :)

We made it into Galway by 5pm. Liz and I ran around for a couple of hours doing more much needed souvenir shopping. Is anyone seeing a trend here?!? lol I also bought a claddagh ring. A claddagh ring is ring that is worn by men and women, single or taken. The meaning behind it is Love/Loyalty/Friendship. They are pretty famous throughout the UK but people all over the world know what they mean.

We had our own walk about supper again tonight and then everyone met a local pub for a few drinks. I ended up sitting with one of the girls and a bunch of random guys who I later found out were on a stag night. There was only about 6 of them though and they were all married but they kept buying us drinks so we stuck around. ;) About an hour later though the group was leaving and I decided to leave Erica behind with the guys and head on with the group. We stopped at another local pub that had a band starting up soon. I grabbed another drink and turned around to talk to the group. Luck be to me though a guy was standing there and we started chatting. The first thing he asked me was about my claddagh ring. Anyway, long story short (because there isn't really much to tell here), we talked the whole night. Then when it was time for everyone to leave (which was our usual time of 12pm, lol) he gave me a hug, said he really liked my name because it sounded Irish and gave me a kiss. So there I was, my second night in Ireland with my claddagh ring on and I had a kiss from an Irish boy. I was pretty happy with myself. ;)

Sept 3 - Liverpool to Dublin

Well, we left Liverpool at 8am this morning. I had such a good night sleep. I felt refreshed and ready to head into Ireland! We stopped in a town called Chester were we had about and hour and half free time. Liz and I decided to go get some ice cream for some strange reason. It was freaking cold out and raining but we were determined to get some ice cream because neither of us wanted to go shopping. We ended up finding an ice cream parlor that said it specialized in Italian Ice cream. I was skeptical after the wonderful gelato I get here in Florence but we checked it out anyway. I was right, they called it ice cream because it was nothing close to gelato and the dude didn't even speak Italian. I was so disappointed.

We left Chester and headed for the town in Whales with the longest name in the whole UK (prob the world). It's name is LLANFAIRPWLLGW
YNGYLLGOGERYCHWYRNDROBWLLLLANTYSILIOGOGOGOCH and I was told it has 52 letters, though I didn't actually count. We stopped here for a quick lunch and to say farewell to the rest of the group that was leaving us and heading back to London. We were all really sad because we all became so close in the 8 days we were together.

There was only 15 of us that headed over on the ferry to Ireland. The ferry ride was over 3 hours long and was a little rough. It was very windy out that day and you could tell. We basically just sat inside most of the trip and played cards. I checked out the gift shop and just killed time. Once off the ferry it was only about 30min into the hotel where we met the new 24 people joining our group for the next 8 days.

We all had supper and then headed to the pub for a drink. I should take a moment here to say that I don't think I hate soup anymore. I know I know, shocking isn't it? Well, up to this point in the trip I had already eaten about 4 bowls of soup and all of them were actually pretty good. Tonight's was my favorite though which was asparagus and chicken. Mmmmm The hotel was a bit run down but honestly I can't complain about any of the hotel rooms along the way. They were all comfortable and warm and I was able to have my tea every morning. :)

Sept 2 - Glasgow to Liverpool

Bus left at 8:15 this morning which means that after my night of drinking I was up at 6:15...ugh :{ We ended up saying goodbye to the 9 people that joined us for the Scotland portion of the trip and headed on out to Gretna Green for our group photo and "marriage". I have to admit, Scotland was so beautiful I am really sad to be leaving it today. I never thought I would love Scotland as much as I did. Everything about it was great, from the people, the way of life, the hairy coo's to the scenery. I can't say a bad thing about it. I definitely want to go back someday.

Gretna Green is a famous town in Scotland because back in the day they performed marriages for anyone that wanted one. There was no legal age to get married whereas there was in the surrounding countries like England, Whales and Ireland. Couples of all ages who could not get permission from there parents for whatever reason would just jump over the border and have a quick 5min ceremony and then head back over and tell there parents they were married. In away, its kind of like Vegas. :) Gretna Green for this exact reason has turned into a pretty big tourist area and still to this day people come over to the small town to get married. So, we had our quick 5min mock wedding and then our group photo and off we were again to the next town.

We arrived in Liverpool at 2:30 and had a local lady hop on and give us a Beatles tour around the city. She showed us all of the places where the Beatles grew up, went to school and many other cool spots.

We checked into the hotel by 3:30 and had free time until 6:30. It rained really hard all day but a few us walked to the mall anyway which was about 10min away. Once there though I didn't find anything good and ended up heading back to the hotel. To be honest I was looking for a souvenir shop but there was nothing! I ran across a girl from the group that was also looking for a souvenir shop and so we decided to look together. We found one but just our luck it had closed 2min before we got there. Ugh! Oh well, it only means I didn't get any Liverpool souvenir's.

Supper was really good that night and afterwards we all went to a pub called The Cavern which was the pub where the Beatles first got discovered so that was pretty cool. I only stayed for one quick drink though and was in bed fast asleep by 10pm. :)

Sept 1 - Aviemore to Glasgow

Bus left at 8am this morning. I managed to get a second row seat and I was feeling great! Our first stop this morning was at Loch Ness were we had some time to take some photos and do some much needed souvenir shopping. :) I had my picture taken with Nessie the Loch Ness which was fun and then we were off again. Stopped at Urquhart Castle for a quick 10min photo op and then again, back on the bus. Not even 30min later we stopped again to take photo's of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland. We were on our way out of the Highlands today which was kinda sad because they were so nice. I could definitely go back someday.

We had our boat tour on the Loch Lomond today. It rained all day though and the boat was small so none of really had a good time. Oh well... Didn't even see Nessie in the water liked we hoped. Maybe next time... ;)

We made it into Glasgow about 5pm and then headed straight out for supper. We all ended up at the same restaurant even though it was our own night to buy supper. We all crowded into this pub and all had some really cheap pizza. I ended up ordering a cocktail for about 6pounds which ended up being more expensive then my whole pizza (which was 5pounds). We then broke up into girls and guys and headed out drinking. We actually did plan this in advance though as the next day we were heading to Gretna Green, a town where they performed many many marriages (I'll tell you more in the next post). So just for fun, Kim picked two people out of the group to "get married" tomorrow at Gretna Green and so tonight was our stags and hens night.

I'm still not sure exactly what the boys did for there hour and half away from us (and maybe we didn't really want to know) but us girls went for cocktails and drank a lot in our 1.5hours we had. lol I managed to down a whole pitcher in my time, along with most of the other girls as well. good times! We then met up with the boys at 10 and headed to a different bar. I have to admit though I only lasted about and hour and was fast asleep back at the hotel by 11:30. hahaha drinking really isn't what its cracked up to be. ;)

Aug 31 - Edinburgh to Aviemore

We had a really early morning today with the bus departing at 7:45am. The drive was very long and windy today which put me in row 4. lol We stopped for a about an hour in a town called St. Andrews. Some of you may recognise the name as this town is most famous for its golf. Everyone that has ever played pro golf has played on this course we were told. It books up months in advance. I took a few pictures here of the golf course as well as the Abby ruins, the beach, and of really cute little Scottish highlander dog nicknamed "Westie".

I saw my first "Harry coo" today. "Harry coo"or Hairy cow in English is a Highlander Cow that is smaller than a regular cow and has really long hair. I loved them. They were so cute. In Scotland they use the Harry coo's for Angus beef and that's all. I guess they just taste better. I can't say I tried one and don't think I would have wanted to. They were to cute to eat. :)

We stopped at our first Whiskey distillery today were we had a tour of the distillery (but couldn't take pics) and got to sample some Scotch Whiskey. There were three to choose from but I tried the most mellow one which was the 12 year old. It was ok, but a little harsh. I'm not the biggest whiskey drinker and today proved that.

We then drove past Balmoral Castle (the 4th place of the queens castles that we seen so far). Her other homes we actually had a chance to go into, which I went into one of them, but this one we just drove by. Just our luck too, when we drove by we seen her flag flying which meant that she was there in Scotland just a few Km's from us. very cool!

We got to Aviemore in time for supper. We ate, played some cards and was in bed by 10:45 that night. It had rained all day so it was good that we spent it mostly in the coach.

Aug 30 - Edinburgh

Well today was our free day in Edinburgh. Breakfast was at 9:15 and then we all met at 10 so that Kim could purchase us bus passes for the day. Brandi, Kelly, Steve and I headed up to Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is this pretty high mountain that looks out over all of Edinburgh and surrounding towns. It took us about one hour to climb up this hill which was (for the most part) straight up. I took many breaks and had just about given up when a couple in there 70's or so came down past me and said that I could do it. I felt like a weakling then because if they could do it, I should be able to do it. Once at the top, the whole walk was worth it! What a fabulous view. We only stayed at the top for about 10min and then headed back down. Not even 20min later we were back at the bottom.

Tonight was our big Scottish Night out. We went to a nice place for supper where I tried haggis (gross!) and had some really yummy salmon for supper. Then Andy the Scottish bagpiper came and played for us. He had a great sense of humour and played really well. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was pretty chilly out today but no rain, so we couldn't complain. Back at the hotel that night we just hung out and played cards. I was in bed before 11 that night. Climbing a hill/mountain is exhausting! ;)

Aug 29 - York to Edinburgh

Left the hotel this morning at 8:15am. I ended up sitting about half way down the bus as I was not feeling the best. The roads heading into Scotland were very curvy and hilly. Up until this point I had been sitting in the back of the bus.

We stopped for a break at a place called Hadrian's Wall. It was a wall that was being built way back when by the Romans to try and keep Scotland out of Britain. It was a long walk up to the wall but a cool view once up there. It was VERY windy though and we were all dressed up pretty warmly that day.

Once back on the bus we headed through the England/Scotland border where we stopped for a few pictures and then back on the bus. We ended up in Edinburgh by about 4pm. We had a coach tour of the city and then had supper at the hotel.

At 9pm that night we headed out to the Military Tattoo. To be honest I had never heard of it before but once there and once I heard all the hype surrounding it I couldn't wait. I wore about 6 layers that night as it was very very cold out and we were sitting on the top of the mountain at the castle. The walk getting there was crazy. Edinburgh is built to have different layers of streets. So one minute you could be on one level and then the next you could be walking up about 100 stairs to get to the next street level (which is exactly what we did). :{ The Tattoo was really good though and I really enjoyed it. There were groups from quite a few different countries playing. It was all marching bands, including bagpipers. It is held in Edinburgh every year for a few weeks at a time and is sold out every night. At the end, they held fireworks as well which ended up being right over our heads. It was the closest I have ever been to fireworks. It was such a great thing to see.

Aug 28 - Oxford to York

Bus left at 8:30 this morning. Kim played us our day song. It is a song that she plays every morning first thing to get our day started. There was only about 10 of us (the Canadians) that new the song. It is "Home for a Rest" by Spirit of the West. Everyone was looking at me funny as I was singing along but I didn't care, its a great song! We learned a few other things about the bus, like coacheokee. Basically the way it worked was that is someone was late getting on the bus then they had to sing a song at the front of the bus to whatever song we chose. Good Fun! Also while on the bus this morning (as it was about a 3hour drive) we played get to know your neighbour. Everyone changed seats every few minutes and got to know each other. It was fun but on day 2 of the trip, I lost my voice playing this fun game and to this day haven't received it totally back yet. ugh... :)

Got to York and Kim took us on a walking tour of the town. It was pretty small but there was lots to see. We then had a few hours of free time. I just hung out with a couple of the girls and we did some shopping.

We all met back up at the hotel at 6 where we then walked to the restaurant to have supper. Supper was really good (I actually can't complain about the food at all for the whole trip...weird huh?). I tried Yorkshire pudding, which isn't even a pudding. Its a cake that is drenched in gravy. Tasted pretty good though. I talked the lady at the bar into making me a paralyzer. She looked at me strange when I started drinking it but boy was it yummy! :)

After supper we had a ghost tour around the town. It creeped me out a little I have to admit, but it was cool anyway. York is said to be the town that has had the most ghost sitings in the whole world. It was raining on and off which made it pretty chilly at night but we survived. Out Ghost tour leader dropped us back off at the hotel were we had about 10min to get ready before we headed out to a bar called the "Reflex". It was 80's Disco night and a few of the people in our group dressed up. The bar was crazy busy and we had lots of fun. There was a really huge lazy susan that was in one part of the bar that turned constantly. It was really fun and a few of us (me included) danced on it.

Aug 27 - London to Oxford

Up at 4:45am this morning. I couldn't sleep. having 2 other people in my room and knowing that I couldn't sleep in made me have a very rough sleep. So I got up and got ready to go. I was downstairs and ready for check in at 6:45. Got my bag weighed (which ended up about 14.8kg btw) and was on the bus ready to go at 7:30. Kim, our tour manager introduced herself and away we went. She (along with our bus driver David) gave us a bus tour of London. It was pretty quick but still nice to see everything for the first time.

We then headed out to Windsor where we stopped for 3 hours so we could tour Windsor castle and have some lunch. We were hoping to see the changing of the guards but it is every other day and we were the "off" day. Took lots of pics though and started to meet everyone on the tour.

Everyone seems really nice to far. There is one couple and about 3 groups of friends but everyone else is travelling by themselves just like me which makes it really easy to get to know everyone. The group was made up of mostly Australians, Canadians, a couple US, one German, one from New Zealand, and 2 from Taiwan. A very diverse group. 8 boys and 30 girls made up our group so the boys were sort of out numbered but I don't think they ever felt that way. ;)

A few of us stopped at "The Crooked House" for tea and lunch and then ran back to the bus so we could continue on. Yes, it really is a crooked house.

Back on the bus, Kim gave us the introduction speech which was long but needed and I like a few of her sayings. One was "It's not Wrong, its just Different" which pertained to the way of life in the Europe and the other was that she didn't like BMW's (Bitching, Moaning, Wining).

Arrived in Oxford and had a tour of the city from a local lady. She was so nice and very funny. In her mid 60's I would say and so full of life. She would tell us about one street or church or college and then turn to us and say, "Ok, now forget it...lets move on!" So enthusiastic, you can really tell she loves what she does.

Along the walk we walked past a stores called Bonnie. I had to take a picture of it. Really cool. We then had some free time and a few us of just walked around through the local market and then headed to the pub where we were meeting the others and had my first pint of English Beer.

Got to the hotel around 8:30 and headed down to the hotel lounge where we played cards (Kings and assholes) and just hung out getting to know each other for awhile. All in all, it was a great first day. My roommate is Emma, who I will be sharing a room with for the full 15 days. She seems very nice.

Aug 26 - Florence to London

Got up this morning at a reasonable time and was on the train heading to Pisa at 10:30am. Waited in line at the Pisa airport for about 2 hours before they opened up the check in gates (I have learned that this is normal for Ryanair) and then waited more to get through security. The planes are a decent size (a Boeing 737) and they squished many people in them. The planes are bare bones and you have to buy anything you want, including water. I guess this is why they can charge the cheap prices that they do. I was lucky though and had a seat where no one sat beside me...yeah!

Landed in London around 4:30 and headed out to find my coach. Found my bus no problem and hopped on. The ride was about an hour into the city. It was raining in London at the time, and the wind was strong which made it a little cool out (high teens) but all in all it was a pretty nice day. I even needed my jacket on which was kind of exciting as I haven't used a jacket in months! Hoped on the tube with the help from the tourist office guy. lol I went up to them to ask where I could get the correct line to take to my hotel and he offered to walk me there which I thought was great because he carried my suitcase down all the stairs as well. So far my opinion of England is holding true that people are friendly. lets hope it lasts. :)

Made it to my hotel about an hour after my Contiki meet and greet meeting so I missed out on that. I headed up to my room where I was sharing with an Australian and a Korean girl. Went back down to find some supper and was in bed by 10 because we had to meet at 6:45am the next morning.

Feels like Forever!

Hi all, wow it feels like forever since I last posted. I have so much to tell you I just don't even know where to begin. I have come up with a way to post about my UK trip though. I am going to blog about every day separately and that way I won't forget anything. In total after sifting through all of my pics, I took a whopping 566 pictures which works out to be approx 30 a day. Pretty impressive huh? :) I will post a couple with each post. The rest will have to be shown to those that are interested once I am home. Anyway, I'll keep this short and start my 19 days of posts. Hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoyed living it! What an experience!