Rain, then Sun, then Rain again...

Rain, then Sun, then Rain again... - Mar. 30, 2006 at 03:38 AM

Well now, it's raining in Edinburgh today, but yesterday was the sunniest I've seen on my journey so far! Perfect day to go check out the Rosslyn Chapel. Gorgeous! So full of mystery and amazing architecture and such skill in craftmanship. No wonder there are so many people flocking to see this place - this summer is going to be nutso there when the Da Vinci Code movie comes out!!!
Tuesday was pissing rain all day, so why not climb a mountain?! Erin, Ryan and I decided to trek up Arthur's Seat, the hill in the middle of Edinburgh - it wasn't raining when we climbed up, just a little soggy. The trip down was by far the best part - we kinda slid down on our asses, me most of all because I had my boots with zero grip on. Fun times, muddy once again! Did laundry last night, so all is good!
Chilling today, making plans for the weekend with folks in the hostel and heading into town to buy an alarm clock because mine cacked. Hopefully it warms up a bit in the meantime!

Haggis Tour Rocked!

Haggis Tour Rocked! - Mar. 27, 2006 at 02:26 PM

Wow! So much fun in 3 days! Saw amazing waterfalls, sexy castles and tonnes of hairy coos (highland cows)! Made some wicked friends and experienced some unforgetable times in the highlands of Scotland! More details to follow, just wanted to update so you all knew I was still alive!
Back in Edinburgh today and heading out to Rosslyn Chapel tomorrow with some friends I made on the tour (Erin and Ryan - both Aussies). Stay tuned...

Sunny Scotland!

Sunny Scotland! - Mar. 24, 2006 at 03:12 AM

The sun was out all day yesterday as I toured around the famous Edinburgh Castle. So much to see and do here, I've booked myself in for another week! Heading out of town tomorrow morning with my new roommate Erin from Brisbane for the 3 day Haggis Tour to Skye, the highlands and Loch Ness - should be good times!

Scotland Day 1

Scotland Day 1 - Mar. 22, 2006 at 12:00 PM

Had an amazing sleep last night - this hostel rocks! Got up at 8:45am, had a HOT shower(good times), and took my time getting down to the free breakfast, which I thought ended at 10, but of course it ended at 9:30 (I sauntered in at 9:45am and paid 2 pounds for toast, oj and Frosted Flakes). Guess I'll get my ass down there a tad earlier tomorrow!
Took a tour bus to get my barrings and hopped off to tour around the Brittania Yatch - the big ship the Queen used to tote around the world in. Very cool, got some good pictures and loaded up on my Royal Family history! Laundry tonight, followed by planning the rest of the week!

In Edinburgh!

In Edinburgh! - Mar. 21, 2006 at 02:40 PM

Made it to the Scottish leg of my adventure in one piece! My day began in Dublin at 6:30am, grabbing a cab at 7:10am heading over to the Busaurus (sp.) bus station for the 8am bus to Belfast. Got there at 7:30am, then proceeded to MISS THE BUS! Not sure what happened there, I was looking at the loading dock, waiting for the bus, but failed to actually go up to the electronic gate to read the small print on some random piece of paper with the tiniest arrow pointing to the corner of the terminal where...oh, yeah, there goes my bus! Freaked out for a moment, then thankfully got a full 12 euro refund and walked next door to the train station to make some magic! Chatted with the information guy for 30 minutes - super helpful! He called buses, trains, ferries and planes to find me the best deal - finally settling on a 39 euro train/ferry ticket! Sweet! Train to ferry port just outside of Dublin, ferry to Holyhead, Wales, then train to Edinburgh! All said and done, I left Dublin at 10am and arrived here at my hostel at 9pm. Very fun day actually - ferries are fun!
Love this hostel - very clean and so far I'm the only one in my room! Plans for Scotland train/bus tours will commence tomorrow - stay tuned!

Last day in Dublin!

Last day in Dublin! - Mar. 20, 2006 at 03:02 AM

Well, it's been a very lovely ride indeed! Dublin has given me a terrible cold, I have no voice AT ALL, but my mental health more than makes up for that! It's raining again today, but I'm feeling well and have booked my bus to Belfast then the ferry to Glasgow with bus to Edinburgh! It's an all day trip, but that's what I wanted. I leave at 8am from Dublin and arrive in Edinburgh at 6:30pm - just in time to check into my hostel for the night! I'm booked in there for 5 nights, so I'll plan my Scotland adventures from there!
Saturday night was a bigger party night than my birthday night! Got together with some of Shannon's friends - very cool and fun folks - and we watched the Ireland vs. England rugby match with a pub full of fans. Great match! Ireland won - awarding them the Triple Crown, having beat the other 4 countries of the British Isles in the 6 Nation competition. Dublin was a great place to be on Saturday night after the game - parties were spilling out onto the streets everywhere and love was in the air! Good times for sure!
Went to the movies yesterday with Shannon, we were both a little 'ill', so it was nice to chill and lose ourselves in dark theatre. This morning was an early one as Shannon had to be at work at 8am - so I hung out at a cafe, then booked all my tickets. I'm heading off to Dvblinia - the medieval area of the city for a last bit of history!

Happy St.Patrick's Day!!! Indeed!

Happy St.Patrick's Day!!! Indeed! - Mar. 17, 2006 at 07:34 AM

Sorry, been out of sorts lately - stupid cold kept me dazed and confused, so any 'spare' time I spent sleeping! Melissa and I checked our cold selves out of the hostle on Wednesday and so have spent the last 2 nights at Shannon's lovely flat in Kilmainham. We toured Wicklow and Glendalough on Tuesday; did the 'hop on, hop off Dublin Tour bus' on Wednesday, to get all the historical info we could in one day!; then yesterday we took a train/bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway! Very cool stuff! This morning I was finally feeling like myself (thanks to Benylin 4 Flu and vitamin C!!!) Melissa and I headed out to participate in the St.Patrick's Day Parade at 8:30am (the parade itself began at 12 noon). You will never guess where we were in the parade!!! RIGHT AT THE FRONT!! Yeah, that's right, Melissa and a nice Polish guy named Christian were on the right and left sides of the street respectfully, and I, Liz 'It's my Birthday Today' Kaye, was right smack dab in the middle of the street, walking in front of all the bands and floats and street performers! We were the first thing everyone saw of the parade all day! The 3 of us were carrying St.P day banners that kept catching the wind, almost tossing us into the crowds! So super crazy fun! Gotta buy a few papers tomorrow and see if my mug made the cut!

Crush of the Day - Rory!

Crush of the Day - Rory! - Mar. 12, 2006 at 01:12 PM

Yup, got a new one! Melissa and I did the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail) tour today and the tour guide was so cute! Very Irish and a kind of a cross between Ralph Fiennes and George Clooney - ya, that's right. And super awkward - you all know how intriguing I find social awkwardness! Total history geek = HOT! Anyway, I asked him and his tour guide friend out for a pint later with Melissa and I and he totally turtled! His buddy had the 'sick-in-bed-girlfriend' excuse, but Mr.Rory said NOTHING, just stared at me and smiled. Oh well, painfully shy loses again!
On non-crush related news, the jail tour was really cool and it warmed up a bit here, but is still rainy and chilly. I'm losing my voice in true close-to-my-birthday-sickness fashion, so hopefully my cold goes away for this weekend!
Off to eat at the Hairy Lemon - chat soon!

Falling in LOVE!!!

Falling in LOVE!!! - Mar. 11, 2006 at 07:48 AM

Okay, so this place is so me, it's a little ridiculous! Green everywhere, check; tonnes of beer, check; friendly people drinking beer, check! Oh, and I've totally met my future husband - although, no, because he's married, boo! A barkeep named Frank, so cute - tall, dark brooding type who rarely smiles, but when he does...
Anyway, on to a new crush - I usually have a new one daily! Melissa arrived last night, so her, Clair, Vicki and I went out on the town! Their last night here, so we wanted to make it memorable! I had met some random Irish guys at the Brazen Head (oldest pub in Dublin) earlier that day - and one of them is a barkeep at Spy Bar - posh club in Temple Bar, so we went and had a pint there. Before that, visited with Frank (sigh) and had an Italian feast - yum pizza! Today we visited the Guiness Factory - and I got all the beer as I was 1 of 4 who likes it! Sweet!
So, Melissa and I will have new 'roommates' tonight - hopefully they are not smelly boys! Stay tuned for epic tales for sure!

Dublin Day 1

Dublin Day 1 - Mar. 09, 2006 at 10:50 AM

Guess what? It's raining! The sun did appear for a bit around 1pm, but it's been raining off and on all day. Still amazing here though! Hung out with the 2 girls from my room in the hostel - Victoria and Clare from Devon, England. We went over to Trinity College and saw the book of Kells and the massive old library with tons of ancient books. Had a cheap lunch at the student cafeteria - 4 euros for stirfry and dessert! Then we walked over to Dublin Castle and took the tour - amazing decore! Meeting some very cool people at the hostel and am invited to a party on Saturday night - should be fun! Melissa gets here tomorrow, so the two of us will rip it up! Stay tuned, and I'll try to get some pictures downloaded!

I'm really here!!!

I'm really here!!!! - Mar. 08, 2006 at 09:16 AM

I can't believe it! Dublin, Ireland!!! I feel like a little kid on my birthday - close enough I guess! Tiring flight - couldn't get a window, so I did the bumpy nap in the aisle. Gatwick London was uneventful and hopped on the plane to Dublin sans problems! I'm all checked into the hostel and heading out to find my first of many pints!
Cheeeeeers!!!!

Off I go...

Off I go... - Mar. 07, 2006 at 01:25 PM

This is it, last few hours in Canada until my grand adventure 2006!!! Getting excited! Hope I can sleep on the plane a bit. I'll post as soon as I get to the hostel in Dublin and am awake.

Familial visit...continues

Familial visit...continues - Mar. 06, 2006 at 08:35 AM

Dined with cousin Norm, Amy, Ken, Michele and Mike at the famed "Cafe Diplimatico" yesterday afternoon. Amazing food!
I can't believe it - one more sleep until I jump the pond!

Picture: Uncle Ken, goofing in the background, (l-r) Amy, Michele, Mike and Norm

Toronto Love

Toronto - Love - Mar. 02, 2006 at 01:38 PM

Left Kamloops Tuesday afternoon heading for the big TO where Michele awaited my arrival. So great to hang with my sis again - miss her terribly! It's chilly in Toronto, not Winnipeg chilly by any means, but the wind is piercing. Mum is here on business, so I get to sleep in a comfy hotel bed for 3 nights! Then I'll move over to Uncle Ken's where Mich and Mike live for the rest of my stay. Leaving for Dublin (via London) on the 7th, which is fast approaching!