Summer Firsts

Last summer at Echo Lake brought me many firsts, despite it being my 6th time on staff for the 4n4 trip across the west.  I even used that as the basis of my "Trail" article, summing up the summer and our trip through funny memories of things that were "firsts" for me.  (The list included the first time our group ever spent half the day in Newark airport on our way out west, as well as the first time we had a "Johnny Depp" sighting, starring a co-counselor who played it off really well, in Las Vegas.)

Seeing as this is my first summer I am ever spending in NYC, there are also a number of "firsts" I have already had here, and will continue to have.   Monday night was one of them.  I met up with a few friends to go see "The Wizard of Oz" in Bryant Park, as a part of their free movies series over the summer.

And it - was - fabulous!

The line was longer and way more intimidating than it actually was, and once I was IN the line, it moved quickly and I found out it was only to inspect bags, not to do headcounts or kick anyone out.  Our group all met up by about 7pm on the grass and we had great seats to see the screen (although I really think anywhere in the park provides a great seat to see the screen because of how they set up the screen and that they prohibit anyone bringing tables or chairs to use in the park; everyone is sitting or lying on the ground.

We all brought something to eat - snacks and/or dinner, and we enjoyed the nice warm summer breeze and chit-chat while hanging out and waiting for the movie to start.  It was casual and comfortable (I was smart enough to bring my crazy creek so I had a back to my seat - it was delightful!).  The wait was getting to be a little annoying, since we were in the park around 6:30pm and the movie was not scheduled to start until 9pm.  So we were a little antsy and at a few points I thought I'd leave before the movie even started, and that my being in the park and chatting with some friends was fun enough a night for me.

Eventually, as the sun went down, the big lights went off, I stayed put, and the movie started!  Everyone stood up at the HBO beginning (apparently a tradition, to "fly" through the lights) and the main feature was presented!  At some points, it was more like a sing-a-long in the park than a movie in the park!  With such familiar songs, many in the park joined Judy Garland at multiple points during the movie.  People applauded as little Toto jumped from the Wicked Witch's basket and ran to safety.  It was hilarious, but I got into it by the end and was also singing, clapping, laughing, and enjoying.

I'm glad I went and I think I will probably go again in 2 weeks (for Roman Holiday - anyone is welcome to join me!).  The only negative thing I really have to say is that there was one girl who continued to smoke cigarettes throughout the movie.  I was really close to saying something to her before the movie started, but realized that I would have had to step on a lot of people and/or their things to even get back to her, and I didn't want to shout my kind request across a group of people.  I should mention that not only is it rude to people around, but NYC passed a law not so long ago that it is illegal now to smoke in NYC parks.  Bryant Park is...drum roll please...a park!  So not only was she breaking the law, but also I thought she'd be a little more courteous to her neighbors and others nearby.  I guess it's too much to expect from someone who cares zero about their lungs and health, to care about others as well.

Next time, if this happens, there will be words, and I promise they will be nice.  I'm nice.  And so are my lungs.  I'd like to keep them that way.

Life in Queens, June 2012

After living on the Upper West Side for 4 years (except the summers and a 7 month period of time when I was abroad), I moved to Queens for the month of June.  Why, oh why, you may ask, did I do this?  Because my lease ended in May, I wasn't granted a lease extension (I asked for a few months - hey, if you don't ask, you won't get), and my sister (in whose apartment I stayed) will not be moving back there until after the summer.  (Why I am not staying longer than a month/the whole summer is because the family owned apartment was promised to my dad's cousins - in advance of me figuring out my summer sitch - for a month when their daughter - my cousin - had her baby.  So those arrangements were made and thankfully they WERE because she had the baby a few days ago!  Woohoo!)


Now that I have had this month of life change, I have some thoughts to share on life in Queens for a month:

-- Woodside did and probably will always remind me of my grandparents.  Every time I heard the subway running along Roosevelt Avenue, walking back to 57th Street, I thought of visiting Grandma Florrie and Gramps during the summers and other times of year when they'd come up to see us.  I don't really remember what we did in Woodside as children, or what shops we went to in the area, or any details, but that sound evokes fond memories of my grandparents.  Even after a month and lots of trains going by.

-- Living in a studio apartment is probably not for me.  I really liked having a door to my bedroom for so many years so it felt strange to be without one.  It was still nice to live alone and do what I want when I want, dress (or not dress!  oh my!) how I want around the apartment, take out the trash when I want, leave laundry where I want, etc.  But everything in the apartment was all in one room, so it was something to get used to.


-- Commuting on the subway is a pain.  Well, compared with my most recent commuting experience which was walking.  And maybe even compared with my not-as-recent commuting experience by car, which also had its downsides, but, here I describe my daily encounters with what I will call "The Beast."


   1) Despite some people trying to, many others do not care about personal space.  I know we all have our own spectrum on what is too much room or not enough room, between people, but to me there is a fairly happy medium.  Some folks get all up in your grill (and it's even worse when they smell bad!), but on the contrary, when the train is crowded, sometimes folks do not move in to the subway car as far as they could, or just don't move in general when they could, to make space for other people riding the train.  Additionally, it is almost painful to see an empty seat on a crowded subway that no one is taking, because those of us standing are crammed in like sardines as it is, and someone sitting in that one seat would give the rest of us some teeny weeny amount more in wiggle room.  It doesn't always happen that way.


   2) Many NYers are very courteous people, and in fact, I would say most are (despite non NYers fearing us, thinking we are just all rude/nasty people).  However, there are some people who do not know how to move from the doorway of a subway car as people are exiting or entering.  This makes the passenger loading and unloading process a little bit longer and so much more annoying!  When it's me in the doorway and people need to exit, I too exit, stand by the door, and when they are all gone, I make my way back in.  When I'm waiting for people to exit so that I can get on, I also move to the side of the door and wait for everyone to get out.  So many people just stand in the way like they own the MTA.  My happy medium on this one is to slightly bump people with my elbow or bag (if I have one) because giving them a little dose of their own not-so-courteous medicine, without me being a total d-bag, is sometimes OK.


   3) I have noticed on the subways that are truly subways, in that they are underground, people are usually pretty quiet, even when talking to others.  Not always, but most of the time.  On the 7 train, because it is mostly above ground, there are a lot of people who talk on their cell phones.  And at an unnecessarily loud level.  Or talk to their friend.  Also at an unnecessarily loud level.  This makes it particularly difficult to hear announcements on the trains where the speakers are already muffled, and also difficult to read on the subway, which I have done quite a bit.  I usually can only read in silence or with white noise in the background.  Too much talking for my taste on the train because many are discourteous to their fellow passengers.  Maybe it's just the 7 train, maybe it's just my increased sensitivity and irritability to this, who knows.  Keep to indoor voices, people!


   4) Others on the subway would entertain themselves by listening to whatever was on their headphones, or playing videogames.  Sometimes this is problematic as well.  Some people think it's OK to play videogames on their phone or other device, with the volume on and without headphones.  Guess what people, that is not OK.  But thanks for trying.  I even asked someone on a bus many months ago to turn down her volume and she did.  It pays to ask nicely sometimes, but usually on the subway, I just didn't care, or was getting off at an upcoming stop that it wasn't worth my trouble.  And sometimes people listen to their own headphones but with the music still way too loud.  So loud that I can not only hear the beat of the music but I could recognize the song and sing along to it because the music was so loud.  In 20 years, there will be lots of NYers with major hearing damage because they were not so smart.  Serves them right.  Regarding noise levels on the subway, I really think the MTA could make some subtle and casual announcements or post some signs reminding passengers to be courteous of other passengers in many ways, but particularly when it relates to volume level because it affects everyone.


   5) On more than one occasion, I saw women putting on make up on the subways.  Granted, this was happening when the trains were not as crowded as the morning or evening rush, but I still thought it was pretty rude.  We all know (even those of us that don't own or wear make up) that when you put on anything with a powder (eyeshadow, bronzer, blush), that powder goes everywhere.  People who do their make up over a sink always have to clean up the layer of schmutz that develops on the sink.  So the fact that people were doing this in a highly public place was pretty inconsiderate.  Worst of all, I saw a girl using her eyelash curler on the subway about a week ago.  Is it wrong that I wanted to train to come to a screeching halt so she pulled our her own eyelashes?  It would have been her own fault and she would have deserved it; I am really not that evil.


-- I found some half decent restaurants in the neighborhood, on various occasions.  My mind, my world, and my tastebuds have been expanded.


-- I bought a monthly metrocard for the month I commuted, so you better believe I tried to get use of it when I could.  Normally I wouldn't make plans all over this city but I definitely visited some neighborhoods I don't visit on a regular basis.  I also swiped friends in to the subway when I knew they'd otherwise be using a pay-per-ride card, just to get more use of my card.  I used my card to run errands that were only a few blocks away even though I would normally walk.  It was nice to have the freedom to roam and I know I could get a monthly metrocard every single month.  But, I still have to watch my monthly budget so I think I will stick with my pay-per-rides for now and figure out how to get all my free transfers when possible.


-- I enjoyed reading the morning papers - the Metro and the AM New York, although I preferred the AM because I could actually DO the crossword puzzle on the last page.  The news articles were pretty similar anyways, as far as I noticed, from the days I picked up both on my way in.  My only plus given to the Metro is that it is stapled so it saves some hassle while trying to flip pages being crammed in the subway car.  I hear that most commuters actually have a preference on which newspaper they read, so I guess I've taken my stance.  Note: all of my papers are being recycled in the synagogue's religious school where the children use them for art projects throughout the year.  If they weren't collected there, they would certainly be recycled because I hate wasting; these papers were not read in vain!


-- I really felt displaced living in Woodside.  The few times in the last month I came up to the West 100s, I felt like I was back home.  I know the neighborhood and who lives here, and feel comfortable in this neck of the woods.  I am excited to be back in my hood!


In summary, my life has not drastically changed over the last month but I certainly learned some things about Queens, about commuting, and looking at the bigger picture.

Nostalgic in Buffalo (5/22)

This weekend, ahem, one night this weekend, I was in Buffalo.

I am on the Board of Directors of the UB Alumni Association, which meets quarterly, and due to my being abroad this past academic year, I've missed the other meetings. I was excused from them, but I missed them. So I knew many months ago I'd be up in Buffalo for this very meeting. Of course, a meeting is just enough to get me to Buffalo. But a nice dinner for the Board the night before, coupled with the opportunity to see friends from my undergrad days, and a sweet hotel deal, all made it happen.

Oh Jetblue, how I love you so. Reminiscing back to the days of being a student. All the NY area students gathered at the gate at JFK, going up to school each fall, and all the Jews gathered in the Buffalo airport to go home for Rosh Hashanah. Then all over again for Thanksgiving break, winter break, spring break, any break! This time, when I went to the Jetblue terminal, it was completely different. To state the obvious, I was by myself. To state the not-so-obvious, it was a brand new terminal! I guess I haven't flown on Jetblue for a while and I had no idea what kinds of improvements they had made since my last trip. I was very impressed. As usual, and for the most part, the flight was a pleasant experience. The only exception to that was that my TV did not work on the way up to Buffalo, but I since received a $15 or so voucher toward my next flight for it not working properly. I landed at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (probably international only because they fly to and from 1 Canadian city), and went over to Hertz where I had a rental car reservation. I was a bit early, so I had to wait a bit longer than I had hoped just to get the keys to my car and head out. But I finally did, and I drove to the hotel that the UBAA had reserved under a block and a great rate: $29. For that little cost, I figured I wouldn't inconvenience a friend and crash on a couch or guest bedroom. It was just perfect. I knew some other members of the board would inevitably be staying there as well.

Desperately needing a nap, I crawled into the huge cushy comfortably bed with way too many pillows. I took some time for me that afternoon and just rested. By the time my alarm went off, it was time to get a little gussied up (but not too much) for the annual board dinner, which was held near downtown Buffalo at the Jacobs Executive Development Center, UB property which I had never been to before. I only got turned around once, because I wasn't sure which entrance led to the parking lot. The grounds were beautiful, and as I walked in, the cocktail hour was underway, and the foyer of the building was bustling with people - familiar faces and new ones. Patty, my former USAB adviser was the first one to greet me with a huge hug and a smile on her face! I made my rounds to the many faces in the room, and sat when invited to join the group in the dining room. Salads and bread were served; I have to say it was very classy. After the dinner portion of the evening, there was a brief presentation (aka mini-roast) for the outgoing president of the UBAA. It was sweet, it was funny, and we moved on to dessert during the presentation. It was a pleasure to meet new people at my dinner table during the evening, including Jason who graduated the same year as me, but joined the board last year (so never met him until this moment) and Mary who has been on the board for many years but because the board is so big, I had yet to meet her. It was a great evening!

The next morning was the meat and potatoes of the weekend, the Annual UBAA Board of Directors meeting. First order of the day was to get my headshot done for the UBAA site. I had attempted to straighten my hair that morning after my shower, so I could try and look nice in the photo, but we'll see what the proofs look like and if it really worked. The meeting was efficient and we had plenty of time for breakfast and lunch during the day. I made sure to introduce myself to some of the board members who were brought on last summer who I did not have the chance to meet yet this year. Some older than me, and one I think younger than me. So maybe I am not the youngest any more! We'll see about that.

Once the meeting was over, I went back to the hotel to print out my boarding pass for my flight later that evening (didn't want to have to worry about it that morning when I was almost late as it was) and decided to go walk around the campus for a little bit. Cause, that's what ya do when the weather is gorgeous in Buffalo! While I was walking around campus, I did feel very nostalgic. As always, I'm flooded with memories of being at UB. Mostly positive ones, and many related to living in Governors (hey I was there for 3 years!). It was pretty quiet and pretty empty, and the Student Union was even closed (technically, although the doors were unlocked!). I guess I had a nice walk down memory lane, and I still say that if I could re-live any single year of my life again, it would be freshman year of college, hands down. There'd be no question about it. Meeting great friends, starting my life of 4 years in Buffalo, getting acclimated to a new class environment, working with professors and para-professionals in residence and campus life - it all added up to a great year. And being back at UB always makes me miss it. Thankfully, I made a lot of effort to live up my 4 years of school there, and left on such a positive note that I will almost always have those positive memories with me.

After my walk around campus, I went over to Target and EMS to do some shopping, off of Niagara Falls Boulevard. This is why having that rental car was so great! I was free to do anything I wanted! And I knew I would have the time to spend in Buffalo to go shopping, and the space in my luggage to take it back to NYC. A few Hanes t-shirt packs and sandals later, I was all set to go and meet my friends for dinner at my fave Buffalo restaurant, My Tomato Pie. My parents even remember it from my days there. Filling up way too quickly on tomato basil soup and pizza bread, I had to take most of my leftovers with me to the airport.

Car rental returned, and into the airport I go. Knowing the security regulations, I try to find the restroom before going through the metal detectors, and on the way I find a huge group of people, sporting their red, white, and blue proudly. Many of them are waving or wearing flags, and many holding signs. It seemed as though a group of soldiers were returning home. It was a bit moving to see how many people were gathered on the arrivals side of security to greet these folks. I was the only person passing through security at that time, so I made mention of it to the security guard from TSA checking my board pass, "Lots of people coming home today?" "Veterans." "Wow, I guess they are in for a warm welcome!" I went through security and sat at the gate, finishing up some of my leftovers so as not to have any more bags to carry on board. I was definitely on edge a bit while I was sitting and eating my dinner, to see if the soldiers would be passing by at my end of the airport, or if they'd be going down the other way. The airport isn't all that big, with only a few gates, so I was pretty hopeful I'd see or at least hear the excitement. After waiting for my delayed flight quite a bit, I finally started to hear some music and noise approaching. The music sounded like a Sousa march, one I probably played in high school, totally appropriate for soldiers returning home. I was expecting to see men and women in uniform, happy to be returning home to be with their families, and instead, I heard someone say energetically, "World War II Veterans, returning from Washington DC!" Then, there came many an old man in a wheelchair, being pushed by a partner each, down the corridor toward the exit of the airport. We all clapped and cheered for them as they went by. It was the least we could do to honor their service, this many years after. What a special moment.

I'll be back in Buffalo some time this fall, maybe even a few times if I am lucky. More memories to make!

The Wonder of it All (4/14)

I'm finally adjusted to the jetlag (kind of) and absorbing what NY life is like now.

My first week back has been a bit of a whirlwind. I came back from Israel with a cold (surprise, surprise), and some jetlag. I stayed at mom and dad's house for 2 nights longer than I had planned because I was feeling pretty miserable.

The reason I came home when I did was because of Dad's invitation to take a photo on center ice at Madison Square Garden for being a Rangers season ticketholder for so long. Certainly, taking that photo was a highlight of my first week back. (Unfortunately, the game that went down beforehand was a pathetic showing of the Rangers.) I almost fell asleep at the game (partly because it was boring and the Rangers got crushed 3-0, but also because of the jetlag). I fell asleep on the train coming home and basically slept walked up to my bedroom when we got home from the station. What a night!

I also got to go to the season closer of the game, at MSG, against the Devils. Dad had to be at the Port Washington Education Foundation's gala that evening, so he gave his tickets to Allison and me! It was an afternoon game, so I was much more awake this time, not as jetlagged, although still suffering from this damn cold. The Rangers played much better, to a victory this time that was absolutely crucial in their making the playoffs. With a little help from Tampa Bay winning against Carolina, we secured our spot in the Eastern Division as the number 8 seed, playing the Washington Capitals in round 1. No problem. Happy to watch the Caps go down (I HOPE!) and engage in some more family rivalries, as always.

I've listened to the radio a few times since being home (just putting it on in my room, setting my alarm to go off in the morning, etc.), and I'm amazed at how many songs Adam and I heard on European radio that are being played here. Living in a non-English speaking country and only having access to some music online (thank you Janglo!), I wasn't sure I'd know what's current. But, I've heard:
Forget You -- by Cee Lo Green

On The Floor -- by JLo and Pitbull

Lazy Day -- by Bruno Mars

Grenade -- by Bruno Mars

It was a little weird to hear these songs on the radio after all this time! I'm happy to get back to American radio on the actual radio, and not online somewhere. Makes me smile :)

It's always great coming to mom and dad's house - my bed is super comfortable, dad cooks great homemade food, Yvonne is great company, I can lounge around the living room and watch as much TV as I want, and get a little bit pampered. No complaints here.

The first time I went back to my apartment in Manhattan, it was a little weird. I took the subway uptown from MSG after the Rangers/Devils game, just to check it out and see what the situation looked like before I started moving things in. I discovered that it was a bit of a mess from my last subletter, so it won't be very fun cleaning up but it must be done. I rode on the subway uptown, which was weird. I walked on my block, which was weird. I got into my building and into my apartment, which was weird. After I did some cleaning, I took the bus down to 82nd street to meet Rebecca for a quick bite (early dinner?), which was weird. I sat across from her at the table, and it was weird! It was made even MORE weird by not having felt weird at home. Being at mom and dad's was fine. I didn't feel out of my element at all; I felt very comfortable. However, getting back into NYC was like a new world. I feel a little bit like a tourist - I was amazed at how beautiful the Empire State Building looked a few days ago. I was staring at the list of shops and restaurants on every block; maybe one would be a new place! It will just take some getting used to, I'm sure, and I'll be back to normal.

I'm still getting used to hearing English on a regular basis. It really was in my head for so long, that I just wouldn't hear English walking around on the street, in the grocery store line, or on the train. I'm still slightly shocked when I hear kids playing and talking in English, instead of Hebrew, or French, or Italian. It is definitely nice, because I obviously can talk to anyone and help them if they need directions, or ask a clerk at a store for some help finding an item, but still something to get used to.

All I have right now -- maybe some more will come!

My last week in Israel (3/28-4/5)

After just over one month of traveling, I returned to the Holy Land for a week. A few things were on the agenda:

-- catch up on some much needed sleep. I slept til after 10 or 11 almost every day I was there. JOY!

-- weekend/Shabbat getaway with Steven - to Tel Aviv and (drum roll please) HAIFA! Never been, this will be my only chance before leaving the country! This also meant renting a car and driving there myself! Me, behind the wheel after 6 months of not driving. It felt a bit weird, but it also felt a bit cool. It's not like you just forget how to drive if you don't practice. It just comes right back to you! But, it was definitely a strange feeling to be driving on roads and in places that I had only been in as a passenger in a car or riding on a bus. Coming back from the Goldsmith cousins on Saturday night (last chance to see them and give them gifts from England!), I was behind the wheel when we went through the checkpoint. We weren't stopped, but it just felt weird to be the one driving! Throughout the weekend, we were busy: we had dinner on the beach in Tel Aviv (hooray for good weather), watched baseball at Mike's Place in Tel Aviv (quite a different experience from Mike's Place in Jerusalem), made a quick visit to Caesaria, went to Shabbat services at Or Chadash, dinner at Giraffe (an Asian fusion restaurant), walking down 700+ steps in the Bahai Gardens, which was stunning, but painful on the calves the next day, and seeing the Goldsmith cousins for dinner and hangout time on Saturday night before heading back to Jerusalem.

-- ice skating at Kikar Safra with Avi Mayer! When he posted on Facebook that the rink was coming into town, I knew the dates overlapped a bit with mine, so we made a promise to each other and stuck with it! Of course, Lisa Friedman was there with us in spirit. Avi printed a picture of her so she came ice skating with us. I think she enjoyed it :) And I met a cute little 8 year old boy who I decided is my new best friend slash younger brother. He was so cute, and kept skating near us when we were going around and around. He fell a couple times (unlike Avi or me, who somehow managed to stay on our feet the whole time) but got himself right back up again. What a trooper!

-- Rangers vs. Philly game on Sunday night at Mike's Place. I invited all my Israel friends to come say hi, and/or bye, and/or have some food/drink and/or enjoy the hockey game! I had a really nice turnout of friends from WUJS, Pardes, HUC, and some others. It was a great night with great company, AND the Rangers won! I think it was the first game I had watched in Israel that came out a victory! Finally!

-- "How to Lead a Passover Seder" workshop at HUC followed by Rachel Goldberg's Passover class on Monday night. Seeing as Passover is SO by far my fave holiday, it was no wonder I agreed to go to everything I did on Monday. Shelly, a liturgy professor at HUC led this workshop, geared mostly toward the HUC students who are leading seders in the Former Soviet Union, but opened it to others (including me!). I also got to go to Rachel's class that evening with the new WUJS crew, and surprisingly, they had the room filled! We only had 5 or 6 people on average attending her classes. Either it's still the beginning for them, or they have more people interested in the learning aspect. I loved the class, as usual, and wish I could study more with her. Her approach and teaching style is so engaging, and so "real life." I'm afraid I won't really ever find that same style in a Judaism teacher. She'll be missed!

I had some firsts, and I had some lasts, during my last week in Israel, and it was a great last week to have. I was in many cities, saw many of my friends, and did a variety of activities to keep me interested in being here. I wasn't otherwise really interested in being here, with the exception of seeing friends and family. I am ready to go home; NY is calling my name. I have spent many months away from my parents and my close friends from home. I want to be back in my apartment in NYC. I still have some processing to do of all of the experiences I've had in Israel; it will certainly take some time. But that time to process can begin soon now that I am on my way home.

America here I come!

Kingskerswell and the coast (3/25-3/26)

This was my last 24 hours of real travelling. I knew by the next day I'd be back in London for 2 nights, with the rest of my belongings, feeling like I was on my way back to Israel for my last week of being abroad. Wow, last week of being abroad. It sounds strange to say it, but it's true. The time has come. Lots of mixed emotions to say the least.

Well let's recap the last 24 hours out of respect for keeping up with the blog - we can get to the emotional mumbo jumbo later. Dawn came to meet me at the Newton Abbot train station after I spent over 6 hours on the train. Boy was I happy to see her! She informed me that Liam (aka Lemur, from CEL 2010) was actually supposed to be coming in to Newton Abbot too, around that time, from Plymouth, but that it was meant to be a surprise. Well he wasn't there and she wanted to wait for him so she had to bust the surprise and tell me. (I actually had a feeling he might have planned a bit of a surprise visit.) As it turned out, he wasn't there at the station; he also didn't arrive on the next train in from Plymouth (we waited for it) so we decided to leave. Dawn brought me to her house, where she lives with her mom, dad, and grandfather. Her grandfather was the first member of her family that I met, after we pulled in to the driveway. He was so cute! He shook my hand and everything; Dawn told him that I am one of her friends from America. I was led inside and shown to my bedroom (seriously, English folk have some major hospitality going on!) and met Mom and Dad Wylie - Paul and Kris. The whole family was SO lovely! Lovely, that's a word I've definitely picked up here.

I told Dawn I was absolutely tired, so I wasn't going to be too much fun or up for too much of a party...thankfully she understood and had planned not so much anyways. We drove into a little village called Cockington, walked around a bit of a park/estate, saw some beautiful magnolia trees and the property. The sun was going down and it started to get a bit chilly, but it was the earliest we could have gotten there, so no regrets. We couldn't have planned it any differently. Once we got back in the car, we drove over to the coastal area (man, there is a lot of water around this area!) for dinner. When we approached the restaurant "Beefeater" I got a little worried. "Dawn, you know I don't eat any meat, right?" "Right, and I don't eat any red meat, just chicken." "Well I don't even eat chicken; will there be something here for me to eat?" "Yep no problem I've come here before and there are plenty of vegetarian options." Feeling a bit better, I gladly hopped out of the car and walked down the hill to the entrance to the restaurant. Finding out it was a 45 minute wait to be seated, we decided to go to the bar side of the restaurant, where we could seat ourselves immediately, order at the bar, and have our food brought to the table. That's how our dinner went down! I find it interesting that over here (here being England), I've ordered food at the bar and had them bring it to the table more than once. Maybe it's to prevent run-offs and ensure that customers pay up for their meals. Maybe it's so they don't have to hire a large wait staff. I don't really care why, but it's definitely something unique to this part of the world, at least that I've found.

We drove back to Dawn's house, got ready for bed, sat in our jammies and watched the CEL Reprise video from 2010 and all the FNL weekly videos, for old times sake! I hadn't seen the Trail or the videos since I was away all year so I saw the Trail for the first time at Jon's house, and now the video at Dawn's. It was so nice to have all those memories flood back. I was finally and truly ready for bed, so I politely said my goodnights and drifted off to dreamland for the night.

I had some trouble sleeping the last few nights, waking up before my alarm. This morning was only slightly different. I woke up well before my alarm, but fortunately fell back to sleep for at least some time. It was nice actually being woken up by an alarm clock instead of just having to turn it off. I hopped out of bed, to collect my clothing that was washed last night, and dried on the radiators overnight, so I could pack up my backpack for the last time (thank goodness!). I had some cereal for breakfast (just like usual!) and brushed my teeth to head out for the day. We drove to some of the coastal areas and took the ferry to Dartmouth (not the college although I'm sure this is what it's named after and now I have seen the real thing) to see the famous castle there. By the way, this means that I have added a method of transportation to my travels - A BOAT! I had planes, trains, and automobiles down. Now all I need is a bike...hmmm.

The weather was a bit hazy so photos didn't come out the best, but it was definitely beautiful scenery, and any chance the sun was out was a treasured moment. WWe did a combination of driving around, parking, and then walking around, and then back to the car to drive again, park again, and get out. Our last stop of the day was lunch. We really didn't know where we'd end up but we parked in Dartmouth and decided to walk around until we found something suitable for both of us. We ended up in a place called the Sloping Deck Restaurant, which was definitely a building on a slant; we could see it and feel it while sitting upstairs. It was definitely an experience. The food wasn't the best but it was good; I think we both enjoyed our menu selections.

It was time to get back to the car and on our way to Newton Abbot; my visit was over and time to head back to London. We had about 30 minutes of spare time once we arrived at the station which meant...time for hot chocolate! I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate that I brought with me on the train to keep warm. I said my quick goodbye to Dawn as the train approached. Only 60+ days until we see each other again. It's so soon! There is good in the world :)

Next stop - London. Two more nights; one full day, hopefully with some more camp faces that I am excited about, and then my flight from Paris on Monday. The adventures are truly coming to a close. I will have to make some space and time to blog about that at another time.

A Newcastle...in Newcastle! (3/23/-3/25)

I wasn't able to spend too much time in Newcastle, but I did have a good time while I was there! Emma Vaughan came and met me at the train station as she promised, and we walked over to her car nearby. Got on the road and drove right to her house, where her mom and cute little dog Elmo greeted me. I almost immediately face planted onto my bed and drifted off into a nap. There was almost no way I was going to function otherwise. Emma got me settled upstairs in my room and I set my alarm for a little bit later. I stumbled back out of bed and went downstairs where she was watching some TV. It was getting to be dinnertime so we discussed some options, deciding on Indian. I haven't had Indian in a bit, so my tummy was ready to handle it. We left a few minutes later to drive over to a place Emma knew that had a 5 course meal for a set price. Sounds good to me! We both enjoyed our meals; mine was particularly spicy. I guess that's what you get when you order a dish with 3 pepper symbols next to it. But, to be fair, the hottest was 5 peppers, so I thought 3 was in the middle. It was definitely at the higher end of spicy, but it was fine with me. I couldn't finish my meal so I took home the leftovers in hopes of having it some other time, or leaving it for someone in her family to enjoy.

The next morning, Lexi Forth (CEL 09, 2010) met us at Emma's house and we went out for the day. We drove up to Morpeth first, and walked along a riverbank, taking advantage of nice weather for the day, and enjoying each other's company. Then we drove to Alnwick (which I found out is pronounced Annick), another nearby town, which has the castle that part of Harry Potter 1 was filmed in. Although I'm not a Harry Potter freak (or even a fan to be truthful), I figured it was a good opportunity to take some pictures! So, I did just that. After we parked the car, we walked over to the castle, down the hill, across the bridge, and took some photos. We passed just enought time for our tummies to be ready for lunch, which was already decided - FISH AND CHIPS! I hadn't actually ordered a Fish n Chips meal for myself since being in this country. I had a taste from other people's plates but not my own order. The heavy fried food is normally not my choice but in this case, I had to do it. The restaurant even had a sustainable fish of the week, which was what I ordered. It tasted just like a cod or haddock, so I was happy, and I felt less "bad" about ordering it when I knew it was sustainable. I also got onion rings instead of the chips, because I'm just a sucker for 'em. Lexi and Emma couldn't finish their chips and onion rings, so I just keep piling them in. I was eating like a savage. Maybe every now and again, a meal made up entirely of fried foods is just what the body needs. Well...let's see how my stomach feels about that later!

Our meter for parking was up, so we made a quick dash into the chocolate store on the corner, and made our way back to Emma's house. On the drive, despite the music, Emma's singing, and the curving highways, I fell asleep. Needless to say, when we got back, Lexi left for the rest of the afternoon, and even Emma was tired so we both went upstairs for naps. Two and a half hours later (yep, two and a half hours later) we both woke up and figured out some dinner plans. Time to meet up with Sam K! Boy how I miss that character - what a sweetie. Emma's dad was nice enough to drive us into the city so we didn't have to take the Metro in, and be bound by the timetable. He dropped us off at our meeting point, where we found Lexi, and a few minutes later, Sam. We went to Francesca's, an Italian restaurant Sam knew about (because we were in his neighborhood). I was actually kind of hoping for an Italian style meal because it has been a while since I had something like that. I started with avocado vinagrette which I thought would be a salad with avocado on it. Turns out, it was an ENTIRE avocado! Oh how happy I was when they brought that. There was a bed of lettuce underneath it also, and the vinagrette dressing, so I mixed it all up myself. Sam was craving mussels so he got a plate as a starter, and Emma and Lexi shared potato skins. Each of us had our main meal arrive on the table - ravioli for me, various individual pizzas for the rest of them. I kept saying, "Grazie" to the wait staff, in a heavy Italian accent. Boy how I miss Italian!!!

We went out to a nearby bar to get a drink and check out the scene, which apparently is very much students. Lots of young people there. We couldn't stay too late (I had to leave on the train the next morning, Lexi had class, and Emma had work) and the bar was closing right around 11pm anyways. I thought it was early for a bar to close but it wasn't yet the weekend so maybe that's what they do here. I did have a Newcastle Brown Ale...in Newcastle...which I have to say was probably my highlight of the trip! A little after 11pm when the bar closed, Emma and I walked to the Metro to go home, and ended up on the wrong one by mistake. Emma only realized it after it was a little too late, so we got off in hopes of another train coming back the other way. She checked the train times, and we had missed the last one! Oh no! Thankfully, she had the number in her phone to a taxi company, so we had one coming in a few minutes. Well, we thought it would be very quick, but it was about a 15 minute wait. And I was cold! You could see your breath kind of cold! Finally the cab came and we hopped in. The driver was very nice and very friendly. He and Emma had a nice little chat about the taxi companies in Newcastle. Once I chimed in to some part of the conversation, he could tell I was American - and either I had mentioned it (but I don't exactly recall) or he just guessed I was from NY. I was surprised at how friendly he was. In NY, you don't talk to cab drivers. In Jerusalem, you barely do. If they speak English (or your Hebrew is good enough) you might have a conversation with them. But most of the time, cabbies are nonconversational. Not in Newcastle! So friendly. He dropped us off at home and we called it a night.

I'm now sitting on the train heading south to Newton Abbot where Dawn Wylie (CEL 06-2010) is picking me up so I can spend a day with her. My morning was quite the hectic one, to say the least. There was much frustration and even tears. The main problem was that I had mistakenly selected an e-ticket for my train reservation, which was sent to my email. It required that I print it out and present it to gain access to the train platform and get my ride. However, I didn't have access to a printer, and I was sure that when I got to the station I could retrieve my ticket another way - through a self-service machine or the ticket counter. I first tried the self-service machine. My credit card was read but my reservation was not found. I went to the booth next to it so I could actually speak to someone and explain that I had my ticket in my email but could not access it nor print it. The teller gave me the phone number to Cross Country, the company of the train I made my reservation with, and said I could try calling them, or going to the hotel across the street to see if they had a business center and I could print off my ticket. Well, I went over there, and they had no business center where I could print off my ticket. So, I walked over to Emma's work to see if they had a computer where I could print off my ticket, and she said she didn't have it. I started to panic, and the tears started. I put my bags down and called the Cross Country company. The woman who was on the phone clearly did not speak English as her first language, so it was a bit difficult to understand her. What I did understand from her was that the only way I could print my ticket was to use Adobe and print off the ticket. I really thought it was so bogus that you couldn't do it any other way. I was standing, face to face, with someone who WORKS at the train station, who should be able to retrieve reservations, and settle the score. And he couldn't. The lady on the phone was not much help either. I hung up, gave Emma my bags to keep while I ran across the street to yet another hotel, in hopes of them having a business center or a place I could print out my ticket.

I walked in and waited patiently behind the last person in line at reception. They must have just had a group check out and everyone was giving in their keys and making final payment arrangements. I knew time was running out. I got up to the counter and asked nicely, "Hi there, do you have a business center or another place I could print out an e-ticket I need for the train across the street?" The receptionist told me they didn't have a business center but that I could forward them an email and they could print it out for me. I said I had no internet access (does everyone think that everyone has Blackberries and iPhones now? I guess so) so I couldn't do that. She said I could try getting on the computer if it would open Gmail and I would be more than welcome to print the ticket if it worked out and showed up. THANK GOODNESS it worked. I printed out the ticket, thanked her profusely, and ran out of there. I got back to Emma's where I collected my bags, gave her one final hug and ran out. I was so hungry, and there was a Starbucks between where I was and the train station. I popped in to grab a muffin to go, because, well, they are really yummy. At this point, I considered it comfort food. Just enough time to spare, I got my muffin, walked back to the train station, and showed the barrier clerk my ticket so he could scan me in. Walking toward the platform, I realized I didn't have my scarf with me anymore! I must have left it at Emma's work, when I left my things there in a haste. Well, I hope that after all the hassle I've had, that's the only thing I've misplaced, which is not a big deal. If she still has it, she'll bring it to camp when she flies over, and I will then thank her profusely for dealing with all my crazy shenanigans this morning!

On the train, I finished watching the 4th Indiana Jones movie, had all of my leftovers for lunch (Indian from the other night, and my ravioli from last night), and I'm all caught up on my blog. I think it's time for a well deserved nap.

Manchester and others (3/18-3/23)

My flight to Liverpool was probably the shortest flight I've ever been on. And I've been on some pretty short flights! I guess I didn't realize how close Belfast was to Liverpool. Then again, I am not from the UK and I haven't familiarized myself very well with the map of the UK.

Jon picked me up at the airport, and when I walked outside, it was freezing! Either it was a little colder here than Belfast, or I had just been inside for long enough that the cold caught me by surprise. Or both! Well I hopped in the car and we drove to his house. We arrived late enough that everyone in his house was sleeping already. He showed me to my room for the weekend (which is actually his room; he would sleep downstairs in his sister's room since it is right next to the TV that his dad watches soccer on every morning). I slept comfortably for the night, and woke up excited to meet the family and figure out our schedule for the day. Jon had a soccer game in the afternoon, so he and his dad dropped me off in downtown Manchester where I met up with Andy Brides (CEL 04, 09, 2010). He showed me around the city, and I played tourist, asking questions and taking pictures. A friend of his (Chris) and his girlfriend (Leann) also met up with us at a pub in the music district of Manchester. We were trying to watch one of the soccer matches on during the day but none of the pubs carried the right channel. So we sat and chatted for a little while; I tried a new beer. Jon called Andy to say he was done with the game, and we were all meeting up at a hotel downtown near Jon's work. He booked it for a great price and we could go out in Manchester that night without anyone having to drive back home. Safety first! Princess (aka Matt Evans) was also staying with us that night, so Andy took me to the hotel where Jon and Princess anxiously awaited our arrival. Andy couldn't stay very long, as he had plans with his girlfriend and some other friends, but we had just enough time to do a self-portrait photo on my camera in the hotel room. Man am I glad I figured that way back when; it's come in handy more than once.

Andy left and we all got ready to go out to Panama Hatty's, one of Princess's favorite Manchester restaurants. We walked over, and immediately ordered a round of yummy cocktails! We ordered our food (appetizers and all), and even a second round of drinks. I had pre-arranged to attend a synagogue's megillah reading for the holiday of Purim, which is celebrated usually in March. I picked a synagogue that was in the downtown area so I could make it there on time and fulfill my Purim obligation of hearing the megillah. I arrived there and only a few people were in the room. The security guard and the man who appeared to be the rabbi, knew my name (because I had made this reservation/inquiry in advance), which was sort of nice and welcoming. But it really wasn't the most enchanting evening I've had in my life. They started with Havdallah, the ceremony that ends Shabbat, followed by the short evening service Ma'ariv, before moving on to the megillah reading. I'm not against doing Havdallah or Ma'ariv, but really I went there for Purim, so I wasn't very interested in the rest of it. Not to mention that the woman who wrote me back to my inquiry could have mentioned that it wasn't exactly the biggest crowd of people who would be attending. Granted, they might not know exactly how many people or who is coming, but I think they could have anticipated not having the craziest Purim party. I hadn't indicated that was what I was looking for, but I felt a little misled. After the evening service we moved downstairs into another room and basically took turns reading in English, Megilat Esther (the scroll of Esther). The rabbi inserted some questions and commentary where he felt necessary. Everyone participated in one way or another, which was nice to see. It just still didn't quite feel like Purim. In the end, I definitely was happy that I got to celebrate Purim in at least a small way, and those who were there were more than welcoming to me.

At 10:00 on the dot, I called Jon to see where the guys were (knowing they wouldn't be too far away) and met up with him on my walk to the club they decided to go to. I walked in and to my surprise, Jen Sugden (CEL 08 and 09) was there, and Jon's brother, Andrew. It was officially a party! I was so excited. We danced all night, the music was great, we got really sweaty, and it was just like a fun day off. After many hours of being in the club, it was finally time to go home. Jon walked Jen to the bus station and met Andrew, Princess, and I outside the club nearby. We finished up our night with some greasy french fries and cheesey garlic bread, and walked back to the hotel. Andrew was originally not supposed to stay with us, as the room was only set up for 3 people. But he came prepared - with a sleeping mat AND a sleeping bag! So we were all set.

We woke up in the morning around 9am, all still feeling exhausted (we were out too late for sure!), but ready to set out on our next adventure. Despite the rain, we packed up the car, got our daily dose of Starbucks (man, there are a lot of Starbucks in England! I guess I got used to no Starbucks in Israel and now they are everywhere!), and went back to casa de O'Brien for a quick switch of items. We dropped off Andrew at home, had a huge breakfast (including many eggs, toast, bagels, fruit), and packed up the car for an overnight at the Lake District where we had a small cabin booked for the evening. Given the cool temperatures, Mama O'Brien gave us all the blankets and sleeping bags she could find, tons of pillows, and we packed up the car for our day. The first little town we stopped at was Windemere, on Lake Windemere. It was still overcast and misty when we got there, but we walked around anyway, in attempt to get some hot beverages or a snack to hold our tummies over until dinner. We found a cute little tea place, walked in and upstairs to be served, and it was like a "Candid Camera" moment. There were at least 10 people in there, all at respective tables, most of them with other people, not alone. Yet, it was almost silent up there. A room with at least 10 people and no one was talking? It was strange. Clearly it wasn't an English "thing" because both Jon and Princess were very confused! Well we were hoping for some soup or a scone or a small bite to eat, and when the waitress came over and we asked about the soup of the day and other meals, she enlightened us, "We only serve food until 4." "Oh, thank you, ok, give us a second please." "What time is it" I said to Jon, who had his watch handy. "It's 7 minutes past 4." We all rolled our eyes in confusion and decided to leave the menus on the table and head out. What a weird experience. They stop serving at 4? Ok, well then you aren't getting business from us. We wandered around the town a bit more until we found somewhere else that actually did serve food past 4pm! Some minty hot chocolate and a bowl of soup later, we were back on our way. I wanted to see the Peter Rabbit store, and shop around for a bit, maybe buy something cute. Meanwhile, Jon and Princess asked the two clerks if they had any recommendations for dinner nearby - in town or on our way to our campsite. They gave us a few places including one that was listed in the top 50 pubs in the UK. Man, this place would have to be pretty good! We got a little worried when we were already back on the road and hadn't seen it yet, but out of nowhere, it appeared on the side of the road, kind of its own stand alone place. They had a great specials board, lots of beers on tap (but we were not playing that game today) and a full menu. We placed our orders and the food came out. It was presented nicely, but I think we were over-critical because of the girls telling us it was in the top 50 pubs. So the food wasn't the best food I've had in my life, and we figured that it was probably in the top 50 pubs in the UK because of the ales they had on tap there, which we chose not to experience. The food wasn't awful, but it wasn't amazing. We were fairly satisfied and off we went to find our campsite.

The sun was almost down and we had pretty spotty confidence in our directions, and a dying battery on Jon's phone with GPS. After many curves down the dark winding road (and many "Oh I feel sick" comments coming from me in the back seat), we got to the campsite. It looked like an axe murderer's haven! It was so sketchy. It was also rainy and muddy and misty and dark. No one was around. It was just a bit too shady for us. We looked in the cabin, which was VERY cute, but...we decided against staying there. As long as Princess had enough energy left in his body to drive back, I was fine with that! So about an hour and 15 minutes later, we arrived back to casa de O'Brien to surprised parents. We explained to them what we encountered, and blamed Andrew for the whole mess, since he had been the one to recommend the campsde to us in the first place. He had stayed there a few weeks ago but in much nicer weather and he arrived during the day. So we blamed our dissatisfaction on the difference in arrival factors and called it a night. Princess slept on the couch in the living room, Jon slept in his sister's room, and I slept in Jon's room again upstairs.

The next morning, we all got up when we got up, and had planned on going to The Windmill, a restaurant nearby in Parbold, which he knew would be good to make up for the not-so-great food from the night before. I have to say - it was delicious! Our waitress, however, looked like she came from the circus. Her makeup was layered and caked on over and over again. How silly! English girls really do it up a little too much I think. Thank goodness she wasn't cooking the food! After we finished up our lunch, we drove to Liverpool so I could go to the Beatles Museum. It was definitely on my list of highlights of the trip and we now had the entire afternoon to make it happen. Jon and Princess decided that they didn't want to go, but were happy to walk around Liverpool for a little while and let me go in and see it. I paid for my admission (student ticket, with my student ID, thanks Buffalo for not putting an expiration date on my card!) and received my audioguide to help me through the maze of the museum inside. I enjoyed the museum on the whole (how can you not enjoy a Beatles Museum?) but one of the main problems I found with it was that there was music playing in many of the rooms along the way, and therefore it was hard to hear the audioguide some of the time. There were also a few small groups of young people who were being louder than I would have liked, not helping me with the listening situation. But I tried to just steer clear of them when I saw them, going ahead of them or letting them pass me. I ended up at the Fab 4 Store to make my purchases (you're welcome Dad!) and go back outside to meet the guys. We hopped back in the car to head back to Parbold, and stopped at a grocery store on the way back to pick up some items to make Jamie Oliver's tomato soup. Princess is a PRO! He knew exactly which ingredients and how much to get, so we did a quick run around the store and went home. Immediately, we all went into the kitchen to start prepping the food. Princess just jumped right in, Jon guided him around the kitchen to find knives and cutting boards and oven dishes, and I sat there reading Jamie Oliver's recipes! It was so nice to have the guys cooking. I DID offer to help out and just said to let me know what I could do and when. But otherwise, I basically stayed out of the way. Jon's sister made her way back home that night too, so we had a full table for dinner! We started with Princess's tomato soup, and Mom O'Brien prepared a goats cheese and tomato pastry. Man, I've had a lot of tomatoes for a girl who doesn't really love them all that much. Everything was delicious though, because none of it was raw tomatoes. I got my share of antioxidants to last a while I'm sure.

We spent the rest of the night relaxing at casa de O'Brien, while Princess took off to head home (sad story!). I haven't seen Jersey Shore Season 2 in Miami, but Season 3 was on reruns (or had been recorded on the DVR) so I watched a few of those. Hilarious. Dumb. But hilarious. Another day in the UK came to a close.

Tuesday finally arrived, which was the day I had planned to meet Mona Bloom (a cousin of my grandfather Ralph's) in Leeds. I'm still not 100% sure how we are related, but she was so excited to hear from me when I originally called, and she was incredibly sweet about meeting me and showing me around Leeds and taking me for lunch! So she met me at the train station in Leeds, and we took the free city bus to Victoria's Quarter, where we sat down at a restaurant for lunch. Plenty of vegetarian options available, including soup (I'm really loving soup!), and we were able to sit for a while without being rushed out, which gave me just enough time to hear from Emma Speake (CEL 09, 2010) when she was done with her class at 3pm. She came and met us there and we did a nice little transition of tourist in Mona's hands to tourist in Emma's hands. I said my goodbye to Mona, promised her to call her once I got back to the states which she knew I was looking forward to. And Emma took me to her apartment via bus (my first double decker bus ride in the UK so far!) which is in a highly populated student area. The apartments and streets reminded me a little bit of South Campus at UB, filled with student houses and apartments. It was such an unusually nice weather day, that we saw people setting up BBQs, walking around in flip flops and shorts. I haven't seen that for a long time! We went from her apartment to the pub she works at, so we could chill out for a bit with a drink before I had to leave and she had a meeting at work. She knew everyone in there! Customers, other people working. Emma was just miss popular! I guess when you work somewhere for 2 1/2 years you get to know the population! Eventually I had to go get the bus back to the train station so I could get into Manchester, so she walked me to the bus stop and told me to get on one going into town. I wasn't exactly sure which stop to get off at once in town, but fortunately, this is an English speaking country! So I asked someone standing next to me if she knew which one to get off at, and she told me. I kept asking people on the streets as I was walking, if I was going in the right direction, and they just said to keep walking and I'd see it. Well they were right! I followed instruction well and arrived at the station.

I got on the next train I could going to Manchester Piccadilly, the only station I really knew, and told my dinner gang that I'd be in the city around 7:30. Rich Wagstaff (CEL 09) met me there at the station right as I came off the platform. And we walked across the city to meet Jon and Laura Hallows (CEL 2010) so we could all go out for dinner. Wagamana it was! It's a chain here, and cheap and reliable Asian food, so I was totally in. It was surprisingly not that crowded, compared to the day Carla and I tried going in London and it was packed. It was also near one of the theatres right before showtime, so they must make a killing on theatre nights. This was much more calm and quiet. It was so nice to see Rich after not having seen him in over 18 months. I knew I'd be seeing Laura this summer too, and just saw her in August, but, it was also still good to see her! Reunions are just always fun in my book. And camp reunions are the best. By far.

We called it a night and we all went our separate ways. Rich lives in the city; Laura went back to her car to drive home, and Jon and I caught the train back to Parbold. What a night, what a few days I spent in Manchester. I got to see a ton of camp people that I wanted to see, saw the surrounding areas, and met what I think is the equivalent English family of my own. I couldn't ask for anything more.

The next morning, I got to the Parbold station to head back into Manchester to catch the train to Newcastle, as planned. I was the most sad to say goodbye to Hattie O'Brien, the dog! Luckily I got a photo with her right before I left. I hope I see her again sometime soon!

St. Patty's Day in Belfast (3/16-3/18)

As promised, Laura Ostler (4n4 09, among other summers), picked me up at the Belfast City Airport, in what she called "the teeniest car you'll ever see." It was a pretty small car by American standards, but, it still had 4 doors and 3 seats in the back, and a small "boot" or trunk. I assured her it wasn't the teensiest.

She showed me her apartment very briefly, which, I have to say, is beautiful. It's really a house, right on main road in Belfast, and she has 3 housemates. The first floor is absolutely huge, with the living room/den area, and the kitchen. When I popped in, all of her housemates were there, so I introduced myself, and told them that their kitchen is basically the size of my ENTIRE NYC apartment. Oh the joys of living in an overcrowded city. Anyways, she gave me the tour of the rest of the house before we went out for dinner in downtown Belfast. She previously made a reservation at the lovely restaurant "Made in Belfast." It features food grown and produced locally (as opposed to abroad or from far away) which I really enjoy because of its environmental impact, as well as supposed of local foods. The ambience was very calm, the color scheme inside the restaurant very soothing. None of the furniture matched anything else. It had a really unique flavor inside. The meal I ordered was delicious as well. Butternut squash topped with couscous, goats cheese, cranberries, and even more (that I can't remember). Laura got the fish and chips, and we swapped about halfway through our meals. I think both of us were very pleased with our meal selection. Night one in Belfast - done.

The next morning we woke up, and it was St. Patrick's Day! I figured in Belfast, this holiday must make people go nuts. We knew the parade started downtown around 12pm so we met up with Gareth Stitt (CEL 09, 2010) who was already there. We watched the environmental themed children's style parade, which included bagpipes, floats pushed by manpower (no fuel used, they're being environmental!), some awesome puppets, and some lame dancers. Once it was finished, we walked around the downtown area for a bit, went into a few pubs, saw part of an outdoor concert, had lunch at a diner (man they fry EVERYTHING here, fried fried fried!), and finally became so exhausted that Gareth went his own way home for the evening, and Laura and I went back to her apartment. Despite the cold temperatures in her apartment, we snuggled under blankets in the living room to watch a movie - "My Sister's Keeper" which is a book I had read recently but hadn't seen the movie. That passed a few hours of time for us until we were planning to go out to continue celebrating the holiday!

Lo and behold, Gareth ended up with plans, and Laura's friends said that the St. Patty's Day celebrations were actually kind of lame. So...we decided to go to dinner, sit there instead of do take out (because I was still so cold in her house!) and come back home for a relaxing and quiet night. We went to a place called "Thai-tanic." Clever name, with Thai food being popular in Belfast, and the Titanic being built there. Don't you think? Well, the food was delicious - I ordered something with ginger, basically because it had ginger, and it's not something I have often, but it is something I love! Laura got the chicken pad thai as per her housemate's recommendation, and was also pleased. Back in the car we went, back to the cold apartment, and we went to bed.

Laura had work the next day so I planned on getting up whenever my body decided to wake up, and head into town for one of those open bus tours - hop on hop off. I started to make my way into town toward the information center to inquire about bus times and prices. In the meantime, Gareth got off of work early so he changed the plan and we ended up meeting up in the center of town instead of me doing the bus ride. I really was just going to do that to kill time until I could spend time with Gareth or Laura again. So this was bonus! Skip the bus ride, hang out with a friend. I had a little bit of time to kill so I went into the City Hall as recommended by Gareth (nice architecture inside he said) which was lovely! I did a little bit of walking around in there to kill the time, and some shops nearby to see what was around. He met up with me outside of the City Hall and we walked around some different parts of town from what I had seen the last 2 days. We went to get some lunch, met up with his girlfriend Laura Corrigan (who was also at camp, in 2009) so I had another reunion! We walked through a bit of Queen's University right in the center of town, and finished off our day with a warm drink from Starbucks. That's where we said our goodbyes and I went back to Laura's apartment to pack up my bags. I managed to pack everything up, and even squeeze in a couple of Skype calls, before Laura got back. She cooked a lovely mushroom risotto (from a packet!) for both of us to eat before my flight.

Well that was it for my Belfast visit; Laura took me to the airport for my departing flight. She even walked me in to see me off. Any extra time with Laura is treasured so I was happy she came in with me! What a doll. Flight to Liverpool is up next - here we come!

London-itis! (3/13-3/16)

Reflections on London...

Carla was a FANTASTIC hostess. I could not have asked for anything better! She opened her apartment to me as her guest for 3 nights (which is a long time!), and cleared her schedule so that we could spend a lot of time together.

She met me at St. Pancras which is where the Eurostar arrives, and we hopped on the underground (the subway, the metro, the tube, call it what you like) to her apartment. She lives in student housing for graduate students, and it's a brand new building! We sat around for a few hours just catching up with each other (and each of us calling our respective family/friends on Skype) before heading out to the local Chinese Takeaway for a greasy dinner. Cheap, quick, and reliable. We brought everything back to her place and probably finished dinner after 10pm. Great on the tummy, right? Well we stayed up chatting until after 2, which my body thought was 3, so we really had to just call it a night.

The 2nd day involved the grand tour of some main attractions in London including Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye (the big ferris wheel), and Trafalgar Square. We went to Wahaca for dinner, which is a Mexican restaurant that Carla LOVES! I love Mexican food because I can always find something vegetarian there, so it's always a good selection for me. They have lots of tapas on the menu, plus main dishes, and lots of vino! I started with a garlic mushroom cheesy something or other, followed by a beautiful salad which included sweet potatoes, goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, on mixed greens. From dinner, we went to the theatre!

We saw WICKED, somehow getting tickets less than 2 hours before showtime, in the 4th row, in the center, for 27 pounds. That's like $40! Pretty good deal for any show, but for this one in particular, I was very happy. (Carla has already seen the show before, so I told her that I didn't mind seeing another show that she had never seen before so that we could both experience something novel, but she said she loved it so much as a show that she wouldn't mind seeing it again, that it was her favorite musical.) I didn't really know much about the show besides it was the pre-quel to the Wizard of Oz that shows where the witches came from. I won't give anything away here because I don't know who is reading this that might ever see the show, but I was thoroughly impressed by the acting, the singing, the costumes, the set, the entire production. I have always known London to have top notch theatre but I was just completely impressed by the production of the show, and the story itself. I kept making connections between this show and the story of the Wizard of Oz, translating characters in one to each other, remembering that this came first, leading up to the adventures of Dorothy, Toto, and the others following the Yellow Brick Road. I can't wait to see it again. I'm turning into Carla!

We met up with the one and only Phil Carroll, another Londoner from Echo Lake, who actually lives closer to Carla than to where he met us (by the theatre) but location didn't really matter. It's the company that does! So we met him for a couple of drinks at two different pubs to catch up on the last year (and then some), what's been going on at camp since he couldn't come back last year, and how the Eurotravels have been going. It was good to see him after all that time. Reunion all the way!

The next day, we slept in a little bit, given how tired we were from a busy day before, and we slowly got out of bed. We started our day walking toward and throughout Regent's Park, one of the largest parks in London. We people-watched, had hot beverages, enjoyed the fresh air (and even a little bit of sunshine!), and did a lot of walking around. We eventually hopped on the tube toward the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, where I had to take some pictures. Unfortunately it was still overcast so the pictures do not do that bridge justice. I don't know why I think it's so pretty, but it just is! It reminds me of a castle. Or a really fancy wedding cake - the kind that they decorate on those shows on the Food Network. Delicate and precise. So I was really excited just to look at it!

We finished off our afternoon/early evening by walking to the National Theatre area to look for a nice place to have some dinner. We went to the theatre, getting our tickets less than 1 hour before showtime, and this time, for only 10 pounds! Even more impressive than the previous night's cost. We found a place right next door that has us out of the restaurant in time to get our seats. Unfortunately, we both had more criticism of this show than WICKED. The show was called Greenland, and addressed the issue of climate change. It had 15 actors (men and women) all portraying different real life characters who encounter this global issue. It certainly made the issue current and interesting, but my main criticism was that it just had too many story lines going on. There was one about a guy who was on "Deal or No Deal" trying to make a decision to take it or continue playing the game, making the analogy that our world is in one box and we all have to make the decision as to whether or not we want to take the world as is or try to address ths climate change issue and take a stand; take a different box. There was a potential romantic encounter with a scientist and someone else interested in the environment who somehow finds him online and they go to the g8 summit together, UN committee on global warming having meetings, etc. There was another one about a girl named Lisa who stages a protest in a grocery store about the use of plastic packaging on most food items in the grocery store, and how most of the food items in the grocery store has been chipped in from abroad. There was one about what seemed to be a lesbian couple in therapy, one of whom is trying to educate the other on environmental issues, but to an extreme. It was just a lot to remember and blend together, and then figure out the main point. Was there a point though? A main message to take away? I didn't think so, really. I thought the acting was very good. (They all also spoke "British" not "English" so of course they sounded good to me.)

The last day I had with Carla was a short one because Carla had to go to her afternoon classes. She took me to a place called "The Breakfast Club" for a huge, hearty, greasy, yummy brunch! The place had really awesome decorations, in the spirit of the movie, and the 80s and 90s, and a great menu. It is located in Angel, a neighborhood filled with students. It's not cheap, so it's not the kind of place you can go to every day! But for me, it was one restaurant I didn't want to pass up. Everything was delicious. We hopped back on the bus for Carla's so she could get her books and head to class. I had to pack up my things! Thankfully, Carla said I could leave as much as I wanted in her place because I am coming back to London next week. So I packed up for a week in my backpack, shoulderbag, and purse (I'll be doing some laundry in the next few days for sure!), and left my big bag with most of my belongings staying in her apartment.

Glad I'll be returning to London in a few days to finish up any last London sightseeing business I need to take care of!