Go Padres

Well, I'm going to admit, I've been a bit boring. Gym in the morning to rehab my ankle by cycling or swimming, then job searching, writing articles for the Examiner, cooking, grocery shopping, and cleaning (because when I don't have a schedule I get OCD and have to clean/organize/color coordinate everything to procrastinate). Boring I know, but job hunting is boring and it's hard to go on fun adventures when you need to be looking for a job and not spending money.
But I have had a few adventures. After going to a few "joke" interviews, you know the "we are a marketing company" but really we are a door-to-door direct marketing company and we think you are a dumb star-y eyed college grad and if we tell you, you can make 6 figures you will eat it up, believe it and join us, well that's not me, but, at least it was practice interviewing. I also attended a networking event put on by Linked OC a Linked-In group for professionals in Orange County. That was fun, who says no to free food and meeting people? I met a few good connections and learned that we don't know a whole lot about social media marketing (in a speech by Brian Solis who wrote Engage, a book on social media marketing), especially how to do it to full advantage and how to measure it's success. It was a successful event for me because I learned some great things, met some awesome people, and had some good food.
Now on to the fun.... the weekend was beautiful down here on the coast, since Nick had PE class, a friend and I had a nice lunch outside in Laguna Beach and then spent some time reading and laying out in the sand, very relaxing, and my second real day of summer. Yes I know summer is technically over, but really, to me it's just begun, now that I can enjoy it. Sunday it was down to San Diego for a Padres game with good friends, the Pad's didn't win but it was still fun, especially, heading to Altitude a roof-top bar near Petco Park for some after game drinks and general harassment of Philly fans, hey, if you are in SD and at a SD bar, wearing a SD hat, of course you get to cut the bar line, duh, the bartender is most likely a SD fan and would rather serve fans. That put some Philly's in their place, they may have won, but locals know how to have more fun.

Still job hunting but things are looking up

I joined a gym this week and life has been so much better. It was torture to not be able to be active. Right now I can only spin (slowly), but I enjoy reading the 4th Outlander book (still addicted Marissa) and I can swim. Oh man have I missed swimming, it's been a few years and since I can't get in the ocean yet, swimming is the next best thing. When you grow up swimming every day, it's hard to be out of water for too long, and it had been way too long out of a pool, nice to be back, although it's a bit tough with the ankle at this time, but it will get stronger in time. I am just so glad to be back!

As for the job hunt, well it's going, I have received a few interviews this time, haven't been stoked completely but, at least I am getting interviews, the economy seems to be looking up. I will land that job soon, I feel it. And as requested by a few of you I have started to write professionally on a part time basis, I am the new Newport Beach community examiner (http://www.examiner.com/beach-community-in-anaheim/katie-peters). I will be writing about events, restaurants, companies, shops, beaches, basically anything of interest as it pertains to  Newport Beach. I make money through web traffic, so every time you click on my page, an article I write, or ads, I get some cash, it's not much but it's a start and I am published (for future job references). So please send the site along to anyone you might think interested or anyone with a lot of free time!

As for the beach, the weather has been amazing here, warm and sunny, can't ask for more, that's why I live here, I really don't think I could live in another state, California is just so amazing.

Happy to be Home, but Frustrated with my Ankle

I can't wait to get to the Doctors tomorrow to get my ankle checked out, this hard splint, which looks like a cast, is killing me, in more ways than one. First, I am an active person and it is KILLING me that I can't do anything but hobble to and from the bathroom, the bedroom, living room, and the kitchen; which is a feat (the kitchen) because the crutches keep me from doing anything when I get there. Ugh. If you can't tell this is the first time in my life I have been off my feet, or hurt this badly at all, I have sprained this ankle about 5 times pretty badly before, but never spent more than a day off my feet, and never had crutches, I was tough. I guess 25 has made me soft, or I just messed it up too badly this time. I hope and pray that they can put something smaller on my ankle, preferably something waterproof so I can at least get some exercise in a pool, even though I keep starting out at the ocean and missing it badly, but I can wait for that, just get me into a pool, please. It's hard enough right now trying to keep it dry in a shower. I just need exercise so I pray I get a waterproof something tomorrow and the okay to drive.

Some of you might wonder, why haven't I called or visited, or set up an appointment when I got back? Well it's because it's my right ankle and I can't drive, but that has got to stop even if I have to teach myself to drive with my left foot. I am really learning the value of patience and testing my new happiness frame of mind, that the past 4 months gave me. I lost out on a job (it didn't pay very well anyways, but it was a job in marketing) because I can't drive yet! Ugh, have another interview for a low paying job this week, but maybe some growth later, so I need to learn to drive so at least I can show up and interview. Oh gosh, just my Irish luck. God is teaching me the virtue of patience, and I'm fighting back and not winning.

As for some good things, I have had a few job call backs, and did get some interviews, so that's a plus. Had a wonderful night out at Cafe Alissa on PCH with Nick on Friday, although, I could have killed him because he made me hobble/crutch my way the 3 blocks to the restaurant and back, but I did need the exercise and it felt good to be out even if my arms hated me. Saturday was a blast, I went with a friend to a college friends bbq and baseball/beer pong tournament. Such fun, and there was another college friend there with a broken right leg too! Buddies, we traded war stories, I hope I don't have a boot on a month from now, although I found out driving left footed isn't too hard. Then I had the surprise of my life, I have never had a surprise party, so I was totally surprised when Nick set up an evening bbq/welcome home party for me, when everyone jumped out behind the counter I was shocked! I am so glad to have a great boyfriend and wonderful friends here. It feels good to be home. 

Reconnecting With Friends and Family

I have to apologize for leaving all of you hanging after returning to California from my UK Trip, I’m Sorry, but I was just having too much fun running around Northern California; that was until someone up top decided I needed to slow down, but more about that later. After returning from the UK 13 days ago, I have been on a non-stop ride that took me from the East Bay to San Francisco, back to the Bay, up to Santa Rosa then out to the Valley and down to Lake McClure and finally taking me off path and landing me back in the Valley. I can’t keep still, even being back, I know, but I know the reason why; according to my cousin my family line has a wondering gene, which would explain my prior inability to settle down in a career that trapped me behind a desk, I would however love to stay in Southern California as long as possible, so here’s hoping I find a great job in marketing quickly, but in the meantime I have free time and people that need to be seen.

So here goes my last 13 day experience in case you were wondering; I had a great dinner and night out with a high school friend out in Walnut Creek where we met the chef of Maria Maria and flirted out way to free drinks and off the menu food, followed up by a night of listening to the 80’s cover band the Spasmatics at Dan’s Sports Bar. Next it was off to San Francisco to reunite with half of my college Peach Street girls at Umami Sushi for a night of catching up and reminiscing of the good old college days. Saturday I spent the evening out with another college friend at Blue Agave in Pleasanton for a reunion, as well as some wedding planning, for her, and some needed venting (gotta love the parents, but also need some time to vent, sorry parents, we still love you). On Sunday, it was up to the North Bay for brunch with my cousins, some wine tasting, new house viewing, a bbq and drinks night. It was nice to catch up especially since my cousins up North were the ones who helped me decide on Argentina for learning Spanish and set me up with friends down there. Monday, I got hit with car trouble, just what I need on my limited budget right now, but Dublin Auto did a great job and fixed my converter cap pack or some car talk for a decent price, although it was a slight hitch in the road for me, but you can never plan things perfectly, I have learned that many times.

My unexpected car troubles kept me in the East Bay a bit longer than I wanted to be, but it worked out in the long run, since I was able to meet my AXO big sister for lunch on Tuesday and a much needed catch up that was, and I was blessed to meet my niece for the first time at my stepsisters, and boy is Milly beautiful, I am so glad I got held up with the car issues, because that extra day was worth it. By Wednesday I was heading off to the Valley (the 99 HWY part) to visit my Grandmother and Aunts, I had a nice day hanging out with them but, I wasn’t ready to sit for too long so I headed out the next day to see and stay at another college friends new house just up the road, we again had much to talk about; wedding planning, for her (I’m not there…yet), the new house, the puppy and just reminiscing; then I was off to Lake McClure for a weekend in the sun and water with my little sister from AXO. It was a great trip of tubing, house boating and the Poker Run up until Saturday afternoon when I managed to sprain my ankle (at the time we thought it might be broken), but I didn’t want the weekend to end early so I grabbed a beer and stuck my foot in the ice chest the rest of the weekend. I had to laugh because her 20 year old cousin was so excited to help me because he did the same thing 2 weeks before, however;  I think he just wanted to be near me as he got to grab my butt to carry me around the boat (gotta love boys). We still had a great trip but, Sunday night, instead of heading south to San Luis Obispo or even out to Tahoe (which was still up in the air) and eventually home to So Cal, I was heading back north to my Grandmothers and a trip to Kaiser that ended in a hard splinted right ankle (they were almost positive it wasn’t broken, but wanted to take preventative measures), needless to say I can’t drive and have been stuck up North, boo. I am lucky to have my Grandmother and Aunt here to take care of me, but all I wanted to do was head home to So Cal, and now it’s going to take me longer, plans just never work out perfectly, at least I am forced to slow down and have no excuse not to apply for jobs. Although, applying for jobs all day long gets depressing and all I want to do is swim and surf, do yoga or spin and see my friends and boyfriend. I have been gone for about month and a half this time (looping my UK trip and Nor Cal trip, and 4.5 months in total) and all I want to do is be down south and settled; I am ready for my own place, a closet to hang my clothes (tired of the suitcase), a job (I need something to feel whole again and productive), a workout routine, and my friends…Soon I will get there, I just need to be patient and God is showing me that for sure with my right ankle, he wanted me to slow down for some reason and I just need to be patient. 

Touring London: Rock, Plays and the Queen

After returning from Wales we had four days to explore London, not nearly enough time to do the city justice but, just enough time for us, since I feel we were ready to go home by Monday. We started Saturday off by just relaxing and doing some retail therapy that took us from Oxford Street down to Trafalgar Square and back up around to Covenant Garden where we stopped for the best fish and chips in London, according to my friend Ashley, at Rock and Sole, I have to say it was some of the best fish and chips I’ve had but my mom thinks she had better at Loch Ness (you guys will have to argue that one out yourselves). I was also shocked to order the Budvair or Chezh version of Budweiser, tasted just like regular Bud. After our shopping we wondered down to the Themes, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben, since I’ve seen them as a kid we just looked at them from outside as neither one of us really wanted to stand in the long lines to enter. Then we walked from Westminster to Victoria and hopped on the tube out to Seven Sisters area and out to Yum Yum, a terrific Thai restaurant in an old Georgian house or Hospital (we heard both tales, but couldn’t decipher which one from the outside).

Sunday was all about reliving the birth, life and death (of many rockers) on a rock tour through London. The guide was good (he was an American from Chicago who wished he had lived in the 60’s to experience the scene) but was very knowledgeable and entertaining. I didn’t realize so much of the Rock originated in London and so many of the key players also died in London, hard times playing music, drinking and doing drugs. We started off at Trident Studios on Abbey Court, then headed to Denmark Street, also known as Tin pan Alley or publishing row back in the day, we drove through Camden, where the music scene is now, stopped by Britannia Row where Pink Floyd has office across from the school where they borrowed the children for the song ‘Brick in the Wall’, headed up one of the only hills in London to the Alexandra Palace where Pink Floyd held the 14 hour Technicolor dream concert (the building is vacant now but, there are plans to turn it back into a concert hall), next it was off to tea at the Clissoled Arms, the restaurant across the street from the original house of the Kinks and the first place they ever played, next it was off to Abbey Road to recreate a Beetles album cover and see Abbey Recording Studios, and finally 34 Montagu Street home to Ringo Starr (or used to be), all before pausing for lunch, whew! I think we learned about 5 deaths before lunch and there were more to follow after, I really don’t understand the drug use of the 60’s and 70’s.

After lunch it was back on the Rock bus and off to American Disaster, now called the Hard Rock Café, the only place in London in 1971 that served burgers and beer together, the tale goes that American Disaster became the Hard Rock as we know it today because Eric Clapton loved the place so much he wanted to save a table so he donated a guitar to be hung above his table and then Pete Townsend did the same and now you have restaurants all over the world with rock memorabilia. Next we saw the pub Horse and Groom on Beetley, a back alley pub so obscure it’s not open on the weekends, and a frequent watering hole of the Beetles. Next it was off to Chelsea and King’s Road, famous in the 60’s and 70’s for small boutiques and the place where Live Aid started and the story of the Sex Pistols (who only lasted 18months) as a band Vivian Westwood’s husband set up because he didn’t like the rock scene and said any band would be popular even if they couldn’t play a note, I guess he was kind of right. After King’s Road it was a drive up along the river Themes to see the Battersea Power Station, the main art in Pink Floyd’s Animals album cover, supposedly the photographer didn’t like photo shop so they made a balloon pig and tied it to the stacks for the shot, well sometime during photographing the pig got loose and floated up into Heathrow’s airspace, the air traffic control though the reports from their pilots about a flying pig were bogus but, it was the first air traffic alert for a floating pig; I guess hell froze over that day, since the pig was flying, wish I could have been there to ski (okay, okay, bad joke). We also stopped at Bill Wyman’s Sticky Fingers Restaurant and Bar, he is a Rolling Stone, saw the location of Island Records, the location of the Beetle’s last concert which happened on a roof on Savile Road, and we saw the death place of Jimi Hendrix, who actually died on his way to hospital because the paramedics sat the stretcher upright and left him unattended and unconscious on a 2 minute ride to the hospital, he was dead on arrival from chocking on vomit, sad negligence, or so the story goes. It was very tragic to lose Jimi, he was such a talented artist, in fact so talented that the London National Heritage committee has a plaque outside his old home commemorating him, he is the only singer/artist to have a plaque and he’s American, crazy. They are hoping to get a George Harrison plaque soon, but that’s under petition now. So much information on a tour, I couldn’t jot it all down, so this was just a quick synopsis.

Monday it was back on the ground attacking the other London tourist sites. We started out walking past the Tower of London down to the Tower Bridge and across the other side of the Themes up to the London Bridge and finally taking the tube to King’s Cross station where we promptly headed to the rail lines to get a photo of platform 9 ¾ from the Harry Potter films, dorky, I know, but I just had to get a photo running with my trolley at the wall. That night we headed to Covenant Gardens again to have a great pre-theatre meal at an Indonesian restaurant before heading out to see the musical Chicago. The musical was good, but a bit of a letdown, since the Roxy on our night was brunette and she is supposed to be blonde! Oh well, still a great musical and a fun night.

Tuesday we got up early and headed to the opening day of the state rooms at Buckingham Palace, when the Queen is away, the common folk get to pay to see her digs, and pretend to be a royal guest. I have to say for all the castles, abbeys, palaces that I’ve seen on this trip, and there were many, Buckingham Palace was worth it, they had a phenomenal audio guide tour through the state rooms and gorgeous furnishings inside. We even got to have tea and scones on the back lawn of the Palace, such royalty indeed. As a note the state rooms are only open one month each summer when the Queen is away at her summer house in Scotland, so not many people even get the chance to see them, but if you are ever in London in August I highly recommend, we got lucky, because the Queen left a week early so we were fortunate to see them in July. After the Palace we walked through St. James’ Park to the Horse Guards, the funny suited guards you can take photos with and try to make them laugh or smile (they’re not supposed to, looks like a horrible position having to stand still for so long while people poke fun at you to get you to  falter). That evening we met up with family for a wonderful English dinner complete with Pimm’s, Banger’s and Mash and Plum Pie Crumble. It was fun to catch up with family that lives so far away who you haven’t seen in years, and yet feel like you could catch up quickly on everything. It was the perfect ending to our month long trip around the UK, ending with family and delicious traditional food.

Haggis: Welsh Spooning Dragon Explorer

Our Wales tour started out in a claustrophobic mining elevator descending 300meters into a coal mine shaft, what a way to get to know your tour group. The tour of Big Pitt coal mine in Blaenavon was a bit scary but also very funny (with everyone banging their heads on the ceiling) and educational, I could never work in a mine, I would go insane in the dark under the earth. Our next stop was a picnic lunch at a Norman Castle in Cheapstow, yes we were very cheap, but Chepstow means marketplace not cheap as in price. After our lovely picnic it was off to Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley, an old ruin of an abbey that was made famous from a Wordsworth poem, the best part of that stop was the Welsh cakes our guide Greta bought for us to try. Last stop on day one was Abergavenny at the Black Sheep Backpackers and some karaoke! Since they didn’t have Journey “Don’t Stop Believing” I opted for the second best Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire.” We had many Tom Jones signers as our team competition for the Wales trip was to have one member karaoke a Tom Jones song; it was a classic first night with a new group and definitely helped with the bonding.

 Day two started off with some middle school boy humor by stopping to take photos of the town sign for Three Cocks and Three Cocks Coaching Station, we just never grow up, do we? Then it was off to be academic in Hay-on-Wye, the largest book town in the UK, since I have gotten addicted to the Outlander (or Cross Stitch) series by Diana Gabaldon, I was in no need of a book but enjoyed walking around town. Next stop was Builth Wells to take a photo of the Llewellyn the Last mural, the best part of this was he shoed his horses backwards to confuse the British, unfortunately his horse-shoer was a drunkard and gave his secret away and he lost the battle and his life. The next part of the day was my favorite on the whole trip, we hiked up to Llangollen to see the Dinas Bran Castle ruins and valley below. On the hike up I specifically stated I would fall coming down this hill, since it was rather muddy, and sure enough the rain came out on our decent and I took the short cut fully knowing it was wrong and went down on my butt half way down the hill, it was a more graceful fall according to the viewers, and quite fun in my opinion, felt just like being on a slide. It was so inspirational that one of the tour members wrote her competition Limerick about it:

Ode to Katie, by Robyn

We climbed up the hill to castle ruins – so steep

Saw the town of Llangollen, aqueduct, cows, and sheep

To beat misty rains going down we did run

Katie slipped on smooth grass and slid on her bum

But fortunately for her did not fall in a heap!

Ahh, thanks Robyn, I’ve never had a poem written about me. Our last stop was the middle of nowhere in Cefn Brith at Tyddyn Bychan (little farm in the middle of nowhere) for a BBQ dinner and sleeping. We had a phenomenal BBQ  in the most amazing BBQ hut I have ever seen, I think it could even double as a sauna and steam room because it sure felt like one, but kept the rain out so that’s all that mattered.

Day three it was off to Betws-y-Coed falls then the Ugly House, which was rather cute in many opinions, just a bit odd because it was built with such large and mismatched stones. Next was Snowdonia National Park to hike a bit of Mt. Snowden on the Llybwr Mines Track from Pen y Pass. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny afternoon on our hour long hike to a lake and back, under the shadow of eerie mist covered Mt. Snowden in the distance. For lunch we stopped in Conwy a great river port town built inside the Conwy Castle walls. Here we walked the Castle wall around town, had some fish and chips, ice cream and saw the smallest house, which was pretty damn small, I again would get claustrophobic in there. After Conwy it was off to the Isle of Anglesey to visit Llanfairpwllbwyngyllgogerychwyrnbrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, or The church of Mary in the hollow of the while hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave, or the town with the third longest name in the world, whew. Not much there, except to take photos of the train station sign. After Llan…., you get the picture, it was off to view the Menai Suspension Bridge and Ynys Gored Goch Island, beautiful and then finally to our night destination of the Royal City of Caernarfon, where we got to sleep in a hostel that is inside the castle walls, not inside like a city but that the wall of the castle was one wall of the hostel, exciting, I know. Castle Caerfarfon is the Castle for the Prince of Wales, which is now Prince Charles, but it’s not livable. Now this is the part where some get offended but the British or the Welsh don’t understand American PC rules and think we are crazy but the best pub in town, according to locals was the Black Boy Inn, and they actually had a painting of a Black Boy on the sign, highly offensive to Americans but not so at all to the Brits. And it was the most popular place in town, it’s where most of us got our photos with elderly people and Cecil phone numbers (more tour contest stuff) and it was where some people tried Faggots or Welsh pork meat balls (offensive again, I know, I’m sorry, but just relaying some culture). It was also the place where the group got a nice Welsh boy to write a Welsh saying to me (I guess I was very inspirational to writers on this trip), anyways, I have no idea what it meant in Welch, he translated, but didn’t write it down, so here’s the Welsh version and if you are keen you can translate it yourself, or not, as it might just mean something like I look like a dog! Here goes:

Katie,

Rhy’n hiraethv amdanat am gweddill ry oes, mae ry nghalon yn wag heb y ti yn fy mywyd!

Carind Mawr,

Oddiwrth Guyn

It was the second highlight to the night with laughter, second to the Welsh boy calling our French tour companion Tiger Woods, after that the night was downhill with Tiger jokes and explanations for our French friend (his English was good but not that good, so the explanations, like charades, helped add to the hilarity).

Day four it was up and off to another castle, maybe I should have titled this blog castles? First stop was llyn Padarn Castle and slate quarry, then off to an overlook of Mt. Snowdon because there was a beautiful unobstructed view of the beast on Thursday, followed by a walk in Beddgelert to view Llewellyn’s dog Gelert’s grave, not a Hollywood ending story, so I’m leaving it out. We played a bit of rounders at Harlech Beach, where we saw another castle (overlooking the golf course and beach) and off to Dolgellay for lunch and a birthday cake for a tour member. After lunch we walked off the calories at The Devil’s Bridge and waterfalls near Aberystwyth and finally to the capitol of Wales, Cardiff, for the night.

Friday was a long driving day, we got up to tour Cardiff Castle then it was off to Caerleon to view a Roman amphitheatre and barracks and finally back into England to see a Cotswolds town of Castle Combe and back to London town. I won’t leave you hanging on our competition, my group did not win, our Cecil number didn’t go through, but all was good, everyone still had a great time participating. Ah and if you are wondering about my title, Wales is known for Dragons, and the spoons, well I have a funny story about a fellow trip mate, but the Welsh are known to express their love to another through beautifully carved loves spoons, so romantic.

Exploring Harrod’s, a Palace, and the Cotswolds

We took Saturday easy, slept in then headed to Harrod’s to get lost in. I have never seen such a prettier mall. I actually liked getting lost in it, and I hate malls with a passion, but the elevator areas were all different and elegantly decorated and the first floor had beautiful ceilings. I personally loved the first floor with all the food stalls. We ate the most expensive lunch at one of the lunch counters but, it was cool to sit there. I have to say the fashion was a bit drab though, all black and grey and very ugly, I don’t know what the designers were thinking this season, but I was unimpressed, I hope American stores don’t have those clothes when I get home, I love color. That evening we made our way across town to Brick Lane, home of the best Bangladesh food in London.  You felt a bit like you were in  Bangladesh with all the restaurants on the street trying to get you to eat at their place with drink and meals discounts, it was kind of fun to bargain for the best deal. We ended up eating at one of the Spicy joints on a corner (I didn’t even think to notice the name) because the people who had just exited said it was amazing and amazing it was, I didn’t know really what to expect but I loved the whole meal. On our way home I ran into the taxi that had an advertisement for Newport Beach California on the side, my friend Kristi said she had seen it earlier in the day and I was so excited to spot it dropping off people in front of my hotel, the Spanish customers and taxi driver thought I was crazy wanting to take a photo of it, but I was so excited I couldn’t explain in Spanish. About Spanish I have been fortunate to speak quite a bit of it here, the guy at my hotel front desk is from Spain and many people here speak it or are visiting from Spanish countries, so it’s been exciting to use it a bit and listen to conversations and understand.

Sunday we got up early and headed out on an Evans Evans tour of Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds, gorgeous. Blenheim Palace or the home of the current Duke of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill was enormous and absolutely stunning, or at least the exterior and gardens, I am never really impressed with the insides of buildings, I normally like the exteriors more, we had a lovely walk inside and a better walk outside in the gardens. Our next stop was Burford in the Cotswolds for lunch; Burford was a quaint old stone town. Then it was off to Bourton-On-The-Water, which was also a small stone town with a river running through and much more charming and full of life. It looked like the perfect place to bring a picnic, put your feet in the river or just play (at least for kids). Our last stop was Bibury and Arlington Row which has the most picturesque row of Cotswold stone houses along a river bank. All the British rich want to move to the Cotswolds but, I don’t get it, you pay half a million pounds for a tiny stone home that you can’t change and some you can’t even hang a picture on the inside, I would rather have a home I can paint and do whatever I wanted to for much less money and more room. I guess I just don’t understand status and the rich. An interesting fact about the Cotswolds is that it literally means sheep grazing on the hills and they are known all over the world for the best wool, however; the Cotswold Lions (sheep) that create the finest wool came from the Romans and it was Italy and France who bought all the wool from England way back when, ironic. Another odd fact, Britain outlawed Blood Sports recently (hunting for fun, not for food) and they went so far to make a law that says if you kill an animal with your car it is illegal for you to pick it up and take home for dinner but they guy behind you can (odd).

Okay enough with the random facts, we had the most amazing Thai curry at The Churchill Arms Pub in Notting Hill, it was super spicy and awesome. The pub is famous for having the most flowers, the outside is covered with them and the entire ceiling and walls and floor space have potted plants, it was some the freshest air I’ve breathed in a long time. We felt the day complete by eating at the Churchill Arms after visiting his birthplace today and driving past his burial place.

I can say that I am having a great time over here with my mom, I am very glad we had the opportunity to do this trip, it’s been good for the both of us, and I am learning to relax and slow down and rubbing a bit off on her. After spending a whole day on tour with older American’s I felt so foreign and it was good, I felt like I enjoyed life more than just schedules and lists and titles. Off to Wales this week.

Haggis; Cornwall Crusader Tour

Sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted but, we were just having too much fun on our last tour to stop and write, so this one is going to be a LONG one but I will try to keep it short and interesting. We arrived last Sunday in sunny, yes I said sunny (I know it’s normally foggy London town, but we got lucky) London town. After taking 3 different tubes and then getting lost on the streets, we finally got to our hotel by the end of the day. I was really hoping to spend some time in the sun but we just had a wasted travel day (sad face) and some rest.

Monday kicked off our five day Haggis Cornwall Explorer tour, brilliant tour (our guide kept using the term and I only felt it important to repeat), I highly recommend the tour and our guide and driver, Greta and Tony. First stop was beautiful and mysterious Stonehenge, still glorious today, even though you can’t walk up and touch the stones. After Stonehenge it was off to Salisbury to see the Salisbury Cathedral, a piece of the Magna Carta which is inside the Cathedral also known as the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Thomas Becket Church. According to legend the Cathedral site where it is because an archer went up to the highest point in town and shot an arrow, where the arrow laid was to be the site of the Cathedral but it hit a deer who ran and ran and finally fell a bit away in the new Salisbury. I thought this was the most interesting part of the area, Salisbury was beautiful but the cathedral lacked the beautiful stained glass (only had a bit) and a better version of the Magna Carta is in London (the one in Salisbury was only a small piece of one of four copies, where London has a full copy). Next it was off to Cheddar (yes this is where the cheese originated) for the night. We drove through the stunning Cheddar Gorge and saw the native Cheddar goats, little grey sheep like things. Cheddar was a lovely little town. The whole Haggis group at dinner at a local pub with some of the most amazing food I’ve eaten.

Tuesday we drove from Cheddar to the surf town of Newquay, on the way we stopped in Devon at the Canonteign Falls, the highest waterfall in Britain, the walk was brilliant but the waterfalls disappointing. Guess they didn’t have theaming, or the art of making fake rocks and trees and stuff, back in early 1900’s when the Third Lady of Exmouth made her husband install the waterfall, they didn’t even hide that it was fake. We tried clotted cream and scones here, I thought it was delicious, but others begged to differ. Next stop was Bovey Tracey for lunch then it was off to Dartmore and Haytor on Dartmore for a walk in the misty rain. Made for a mysterious moor and helped your imagination picture Sherlock Holmes walking in the mist trying to solve the Hound of the Baskervilles mystery. After a spooky drive out of the moor we stopped at a postbridge that still stands in useable condition and then into Cornwall and Newquay for the night where I got no sleep due to 2 people snoring in my room (ugh), I decided I should have stayed out with most of the group at the bar because I really didn’t get sleep until about 3 am when they all came home.

Wednesday was a walking day. We started by going to Minack Theatre, a small but exquisite theatre carved out of a cliff overlooking the ocean created by the imagination of Rowena Cade. It was phenomenal, the views were stunning, the stone work amazing, the only thing we needed was a play to be on, although I might get distracted with the views instead of watching the play, which they still put on today. Next was an hour long walk from Land’s End, the most southwesterly point in Britain, to Sennen Cove, then a quick ride over to Pendeen Lighthouse for a picnic lunch with views of the tin mines and ocean. Cornwall used to be a tin mining area until the price of tin fell and all the miners moved, so they have hundreds of old tin mines dotting the countryside. We took a walk to see a tin mine up close and on our way passed through Mên-An-Tol a mysterious rock formation with a center stone where you can pass through and if you do you are to be cured of your disease, the rock does have high levels of radiation, so I guess you would call it the first cancer treatment machine. The next set of mysterious rocks were Lanyon Quoit or a small henge that looked like a large table, our guides told us if we held hands and circled the stones three times then kissed the rock we would become more beautiful, and it worked, or at least we felt better looking, but maybe we just decided our guides were crazy but participated anyways. We hit a rain storm while viewing St. Michaels Mount and beach and headed back to Newquay for a surf, unfortunately it was late in the day and high tide was coming in. It was nice to get in the water but as for surfing it was pretty impossible, we had those large ship-like foam boards and about 20 minutes in the waves started lapping off the wall and back at us. Everyone had a blast but it was more like being in a washing machine on ship then surfing.

Thursday we saw the birthplace of King Arthur, he really was only a fairy tale but if he was real he would have been born at Tintagel Castle. Here we also tried Cornish pasties, delicious large pastries filled with meat and potatoes, ummmm. Then it was off to Glastonbury and the burial place of King Arthur, again he was a myth so there is no tomb, but we had a great walk up the Glastonbury Tor and a few reenacted a sword fight, since it was a steep walk a few people went into town and checked out the Abby. After our two days of walking/hiking (Tintagel Castle was like walking on a stair master) it was off to Bath and the Therma Baths and Spa for some R and R, brilliant! For 39P we got to use the roof deck pool, the four steam rooms and waterfall, and the lower pool, as well as have an amazing dinner and glass of wine. Everyone who participated in this was thoroughly content and rested, and just in time too for it was our last night and we were having a pirate party at the hostel bar. Arrrrrrrrrghhh Mateeeey! We might have had a bit too much fun, but I won’t give details.

Friday it was up and early with the birds to be the first to check out the old Roman Baths and Bath Abby. The Baths were stunning and they have excavated more of the site to include the old steam rooms and changing areas. We had some time to walk through town so we strolled down the River Avon which had great view of the Putney Bridge. They have a pained lion exhibit in town right now, which made our stroll through town interesting trying to spot our favorite lion; mine was the Michael Jackson lion, complete with studded white glove in a music shop. Next was Lacock Village a quaint old village that has been the setting for a few movies like Harry Potter. Our last stop before heading back to London was the Avebury standing stones, the largest standing stone circle, but also the most ruined. The remaining rocks were huge and impressive however. It was a bit sad departing at the end of the tour because everyone was amazing and got along so well, but we were off to different travels and I had to meet an American friend for dinner across town. We had a fun night catching up and checking out a traditional British pub.

Whew! That was a long one. Well I am off to explore London for a few days then it’s off to Wales with Haggis again, I will try for a mid week post but no promises. Cheers for now.

Haggis: Scottish Tales and Battles

The atmospheric (rainy) Scottish summer just won’t let up, one minute it’s glorious the next atmospheric and on day 6 we experienced at bit of the dramatic (lots of rain). At least we were doing a bit of driving that day and could jump out of the bus, take our photos, and hop right back on, no lollygagging around. We started the day driving from the Isle of Lewis down to the Isle of Harris, which didn’t require a bridge since they are both the same island but both called islands, oh the Scotts, they decided that the two parts of the large island were vastly different so they should have two separate island names even though they are the same island, confusing, I know. But they are right, while Lewis is full of rolling hills and fertile farm land; Harris is mountainous and rocky with poor soil. Our first stop on Harris was Luskentyre beach, were our very free-spirited Aussie friend decided she needed to go for a swim in the freezing water, while the rest of us stood there stunned that anyone would want to swim in the wind and rain and the COLD Scottish sea. She assured us the water was fine, but I’m skeptical and a big cold water wimp. Next we took the Tarbert ferry to Uig on the Isle of Skye and promptly off to Cuith Ruing viewpoint for some viewing of sexy Scottish scenery. On the bus we heard the Scottish version of the Giant’s Causeway (I heard the Irish version in Ireland, both very different) and saw the Kilt Rock (looked like a miniature Cliff’s of Moher but less spectacular, well the waterfall was beautiful). Then we heard the tale of the old man and woman of Storr and saw where they have been sitting for hundreds of years. Lunch was at Portree a quaint and beautiful little harbor town, then off the Culligan Mountians; one half of the range has been dated as some of the earliest mountains, the Red mountains and the Black are much younger, you can tell the difference because the Red mountains are very worn down and gentile while the Black look gnarly and sinister. Dividing the Culligan Mountians is the river Sligachan, where the tale goes that if you stick your face in the river you will be forever beautiful, I tried and I managed to look more hideous with running mascara! Damn Irish luck. Our journey on day 6 also took us to our overnight stop in Kyleakin, were we stayed at Saucy Mary’s. Interesting story, Mary was a queen of some sort and made a living my lining her boats up across the narrow waterway that separates Isle of Skye from the mainland Scotland, well the shipmen got tired of paying her fees to pass so they started sailing around the island to avoid her, she realized she needed them to come through the inlet and pay her fees for her income so she started the world’s first strip show, where she showed her boobs to the sailors after paying the fee, it worked and they returned to using her route. Men.

That evening we went on a brief walk about town to see Castle Moyle and the Skye Bridge and finished off the evening in the pub chatting with the locals and playing pool. Day 7 found us driving across the Skye Bridge and back to mainland Scotland on our way back to Edinburgh. The rain was still with us. We saw Eilean Donan Castle, Glengamy Mountians and Loch, the Spean Bridge and Mill in Inverness-shire, Glencoe and the three sisters mountains (or what we could through the rain and haze), in Glencoe we learned that anyone with the surname Campbell is not welcome and it is legal to refuse service to anyone with that last name in the area, due to the massacre of the MacDonald clan by the Campbells; only Scottish law would make it legal to discriminate against a surname, even 200 years after the massacre; although the Campbells were ruthless and horrible people. The story goes that the king of England at that time (I forget when but related to the Campbells) wanted all the Clan chiefs to sign a document swearing loyalty to him, well the MacDonald head heard about this document very late and went off to sign but was mislead and then held up by weather, he eventually signed it 4 days late, but signed it none-the-less, well the king thought this was an act of spite and sent his men up to Glencoe to kill the MacDonalds, after getting pampered by the hospitality of the MacDonalds for a week, the Campbells received orders to kill everyone, so they awoke early one morning and, well, killed many before the MacDonalds realized what was going on. Horrible story and if you’re a Campbell I suggest you steer clear of hiking in the area or someone might not rescue you and they definitely won’t give you food or shelter at the hotel. 

On to happier tales, we stopped at Tyndrum and the Green Welly Stop (I love this name) for lunch and then it was off to Kilmahog to meet Hamish and Heather, Hairy Coooos (Highland Cows). They were adorable and fun to feed. I also learned where Scottish black mail came from. There was this Scottsman Rob Roy MacGregor who was a great Highland Cow thief (the cows back then were mostly black, not red like the ones today and they called them blacks) and he had the brilliant idea one day to sell himself as a thief watcher to the local farmers for a small rent (mail was the word for rent back then), the farmers weren’t dumb and told him he was the cow thief, why should they pay him? He told them he wouldn’t steel his cows (black) if they paid (mail) him. Oh good Scotts. Our last stop was Stirling and the Wallace Monument, the tallest monument built for a man that was not Jesus, and basically William Wallace fits right up there next to Jesus to the Scotts (not the Braveheart version, since the movie was off on many ways, but he was a true leader and protector of Scotland). We reached Edinburgh for some sun, a nice walk, some of the best lobster ever and laundry.

Our last day in Scotland was spent trying to stay out of the rain that seemed to follow us from the Highlands and Islands. We checked out the National Gallery, St. Giles Cathedral and the highlight, the Lewis Chessman at the Museum of Edinburgh. They are these awesome Scandinavian intricately carved whalebone chess pieces. The funny faces were the best part. We then walked around town poking our heads into shops in the rain and then back to the hostel to relax and have some hot tea. It was off to a lovely dinner and catching the end of the Uruguay and Germany game before bed. I do hope England is much warmer, but the weatherman says the rain will follow us for the next few days, boooo.

*as noted if you want the facebook photo link please email me as I won't be including it in my blogs anymore, thanks!

Haggis: Searching for Nessie, Stone Circles and Windy Places

Day 3 finds us still at Fort Agustus with a free day to search for Nessie. After a quick breakfast we were off, well we did get a bit side tracked by the mezmorising loch system to get from Loch Ness to Loch Oich, then we got distracted by the walking path around town, next our books and a hot tea were calling our names, after that we got hungry for dinner (a nice lamb stew if you must ask topped off with a local beer), and FINALLY the boat ride at dusk (well not really dusk because 8pm is still light out in Scotland in the summer, but in real life it should have been dusk) to search for Nessie on the Loch, we got an amazing view and a crazy boat captain along with some delicious local made Nessie Monster Ale, but no Nessie sightings, guess someone else will win the 1mil pounds for finding her (damn Irish luck).

We were on the move again on day 4, first stop Invermoriston and the Summer Hoes and falls that helped inspire J.M. Barrie to write Peter Pan, or so the Scottish say. Our next stop was Glen Affric national forest with dog falls, which is one of the last remaining Caledonian forests left in Scotland, gorgeous, we hiked for about 30 minutes up to a viewpoint to take in the breathtaking forest. We stopped in the quaint town of Bealy for lunch and a quick visit to the Priory (some type of religious house, but I really don’t know why). I need to mention now that this was a day of waterfall touring, after lunch it was off to Rogie Falls, then Corrieshalloch (swing) Bridge and Falls; stunning beauty. We ended our day taking the ferry from Ullapool on the mainland to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. They ferry crossing was fairly smooth and we were sent off by a large group of dolphins, I guess that was a good omen because no one got seasick and like I said the passage was smooth (unlike today, when the new people at the hostel came in looking sicker then dogs because the sea was so rough), glad we traveled the day before. We finished the night with a pint at a local pub, the only problem was the pub closed at 11pm, I think it should be a sin to close a pub before it gets dark, but I only really needed the one cider anyways.

Windy, windy, atmospheric, and windy, is how I would describe day 5 on the Isle of Lewis. First we were off to the Callanish Standing Stones, very similar to Stonehenge (or so I was told, I will be seeing those stones in a week or so, so I can report back then, or you can comment here), these were beautiful and you could walk right up and touch them (something I hear you can’t do at Stonehenge). While many of the other stone circles in Scotland were made to worship the sun, these were for the lunar cycle, or so the tale goes. Our next windy stop was Carloway Broch and Dun, I am not quite convinced that people would want to live up on that blustery hill but, you could see for miles and it was beautiful if you didn’t get blown off first. It was quite surprising that after a few thousand years the inside was still intact and a great shelter from the wind. We got a quick demonstration on how they make Harris Tweed at the Garenin Blackhouse Village, and a view of life back in traditional rock and heather thatched roof homes of the early Scotts. Plus a great view of Scottish scenery and the ocean on a super windy cliff walk, I am pretty sure if I had had a kite I could have flown all the way home, or at least Ireland. Final gusty stop was the Butt of Lewis, and no I am not making that name up. It’s the most northern part of the Isle of Lewis and has the only brick building on the Island, the lighthouse, which I guess can be seen from 25 miles out at sea; another breathtaking spot. Finished the day walking around the town of Stornoway and hiding inside from the wind with a nice cup of tea, now it’s off to the pub for some dinner, live music and a bit of world cup watching.

Note: I will no longer be posting my facebook photo link in the blogs, if you aren't a facebook member and want to see my photos please email me and I will send you emails with the link as I make albums, thanks! katie11peters@gmail.com

Haggis: Touring the Highlands

On Saturday we started our 7 day Haggis tour of Scotland. After a quick tour though new and old Edinburgh it was off to Dunkeld Cathedral and Town to have a quick glance at the cathedral, then it was off to the town of Kingussie for lunch. We went to Culloden Battlefield where the Bonnie Prince Charley of Scotland was defeated by the Brits, a battle which changed Scotland and clan life forever. The Scot’s lost horribly and the British decided that it was then illegal to wear the kilt, carry weapons, and harbor Scottish Jacobites, this forced a mass emigration from Scotland over to Ireland and America, because the Highland Clansmen could no longer live their normal way of life without weapons to hunt for food. I have to say that the prince was insane and picked the worst, flattest area to fight, which was detrimental because the Highlanders had heavy weapons and only knew how to attack by ambush and by propelling themselves down the mountain sides. We also visited Clava Cairns, a druid Stonehenge like place. This one is famous because it contains the split rock which the book series by Diana Gabaldon, “The Outlander”, was based off of to propel the protagonist from the 20^th century back into the 1740’s. I have to say, I highly recommend the book, I’m only 100 pages in and in love, plus it’s amazing to read about a place and then visit it, it’s like I am living in the book. We drove through Inverness onward to Carbisdale Castle for our overnight. Nothing like sleeping in a haunted castle overnight, I am not sure if the children’s giggles I head in the restroom were the ghosts or the German schoolgirls sleeping in the room across from it, but according to Scottish tales it’s haunted by murdered children ghosts, the Duchess of Southerland, and a man.

Day two was off to explore the highlands, we stopped at Clottie Well, where people tie a piece of a sick loved one’s clothing to a tree and as the clothing disintegrates so does the sickness. By the looks of the mostly intact clothing, I am not sure it works but who knows. Then it was off to Loch Ness to hunt for Nessie. A little blurb about Loch Ness; it’s the biggest body of fresh water in the UK; used to be connected to the sea until a glacier cut it off in the ice age; it contains a type of arctic char that has adapted to a fresh water fish; they have ferrox a type of cannibalistic trout; it’s a perma-dark lake due to peat; and its 4 degrees Celsius year round. We also saw Urquhart Castle and Fort William which had St. Andrew’s Church. We drove through the Glen Nevis region and saw beautiful waterfalls due to the liquid sunshine, the mountain Ben Nevis, and the mound used in the film Braveheart, where Mel Gibson yelled for a free Scotland. On our way to Fort Agustus to sleep we stopped in at a floating pub in the Laggen Lochs. In fact on the drive we saw all four lochs (lakes) in the Glen Nevis region, Loch Ness, Loch Oich, Loch Lochey, and the sea Loch Lenny. That night at the hostel in Fort Agustus we participated in an overly long and drawn out pub quiz that most of us ended up dropping out of just because it was taking too long, but the local Black Isle Beer was delicious (and it’s organic).

 On the bus we learned about the Scottish weather; it’s either glorious, atmospheric, or dramatic, and it’s liquid sunshine, not rain, as others would call it. In two days we have had much liquid sunshine. I’m hoping once we exit the highlands in a few days we will get a bit more sun and not the liquid kind. I also wouldn’t mind trying more Uskabey or Whisky or The Water of Life, mmmmm….

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Welcome to Majestic Scotland, The Tour Starts With Edinburgh

We decided to fly Virgin Atlantic hoping the  seats would be more comfortable, the staff friendlier and the food better, well the food was better than most American airline companies, but since it was an air bus, the staff was way too busy to really care about the passengers and the seats cramped and uncomfortable. The personal video and tv in the seats were nice, but I was hoping for more space…oh well, someday I will be able to afford business or first class.  At least the flight was non-stop to London, then a short hop over to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, no wonder my friend Alicia is coming to vet school here, it’s green and full of castles and beautiful buildings, plus I’m sure the accents help a bit, for her. My mom and I can’t believe how HOT it is here, well hot is a relative term but it’s warm and sunny here, I hope it lasts; haven’t needed a sweatshirt at all, even at night. Thursday was our first day here, and we got in around 5pm, so we walked a bit of the city then headed to dinner and a pint of Magners cider, then an early sleep, since it was impossible to sleep on the flight.

Friday we were full-fledged tourist, we paid the extra two pounds to have access to all four tourist busses in town, we only used two of the busses, the first the Edinburgh Tour had a live crotchety old Scotsman as the guide, he was full of knowledge but a bit irritable. Was a nice tour of town though; Edinburgh Castle, The palace of Holyroodhouse, Our Dynamic Earth, The Royle Mile, and Scottish Parliament were on route, as well as other hot spots around town, including a view of the original Hogwarts, or at least the school that the Harry Potter books were born from and Arthur’s seat, Nelson Monument and Scott Monument. The second bus was the Majestic Tour that takes you through new town, past the botanical gardens and out to Port Leith and back to Waverly Bridge. Both were informed and educational, but the best part of the day was walking through the city and checking out all the spots shown on tour.

First was Edinburgh Castle, great views but that’s about it. Second was a Textiles factory, too bad our clan was exiled/very small so they don’t have the tartan on hand, you have to special order it, darn. But I did learn that that Hannah’s didn’t know how to spell and there is Hanna, and Hannay as other options, no wonder I can’t spell, it’s in my genes. After the disappointing tartan experience we headed over to the fun, a Scotch Whisky Experience and tour. The tour was a bit Kitschy, you got in a plastic whisky barrel ride, that kind of reminded me of the Haunted House ride at Santa Cruz, but the whisky lesson was wonderful. They put 4 bottles with distinct smells from the 4 main whisky regions in Scotland; the Lowlands, the Highlands, Speyside, and Islay, in front of you to smell, then you decide which you want to taste, since they were all malt whisky’s I opted for the blended whisky “Famous Grouse”, it’s the most sold whisky in Scotland, smooth but, I’m not a big scotch whisky drinker. After the main tour I opted for the extra whisky tasting where I got to try a single malt from each whisky region; the Lowland “Glenkinchie 12yr” had a refreshing mouth with citrus in the finish, the Highland “Old Pultney 12yr” was my personal favorite with a fresh nose, full-bodied taste of light salt and malt, the Speyside “Glenlivet 12yr” was actually appealing as well, I think Nick likes it more aged but I could actually enjoy this one with its peachy and floral nose and well balanced sherry and vanilla sweetness; and finally the Islay “Caol lla 12yr” very peaty and smoky. We topped off the tasting with a taste of a chocolaty scotch and a piece of chocolate, but at 120 pounds a bottle, I deliberately decided to forget the name. Sorry. After the scotch whisky tour it was off to see the Queen’s Scotland summer home, Palace of Holyroodhouse, very historic, and educating audio tour. We wrapped up the day having dinner at the Elephant Bar on George IV Bridge, the place where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter, a very mystical evening full of witches and wizards, pumpkin juice and butterbeer, I wish, it was a normal café restaurant but delicious.

Whirlwind California Return Home...and New Blog Colors

Hi everyone, yes I made it back to the States safely and yes this is the same blog, I just tweaked it for my next journey. I hope you like it.
Whew, I have a very quick 4 days in California before my flight out to the UK and boy was it a whirlwind trip! I got in Saturday morning to LAX where my lovely boyfriend Nick picked me up and whisked me away to Palm Springs for the day/evening. It was wonderful, so hot and sunny, I was really missing warmth, summer is my favorite season and I never understand why I go to the other hemisphere during Summer here. Nick and I had a wonderful Saturday drinking out by the pool at Hotel Zoso, which was more like a Vegas pool party than the relaxing resort we were hoping for, but when in Rome! We spent the early evening playing 9 holes of golf, well Nick golfed and I drank the "free" beer, well I say "free" because we payed $20 for the golf, the golf cart and they gave us 4 Budweisers on top of it. I don't know how they make any money and it made for very bad golf on my end. After dinner we spent the evening entertaining the lobby band by practicing our Tango moves.
Sunday we cheered on Argentina on our drive to San Diego, Vamos Argentina, they listened in their victory over Mexico. We had our relaxing afternoon at Nick;s parents in San Diego, topped off with a fantastic BBQ and the delicious Familia Tommaso Reserve Malbec brought home from Argentina. Monday, I got up and surfed with Nick's roommate, who got laid off 2 months ago, yay friends without jobs, then spent the rest of the day doing laundry and re-packing for the UK, exciting, I know. I did manage to sneak in a run on the beach and balcony yoga, so proud. Since I have been craving sushi for the past 3 months, Nick took me to Buddha's on Lido Peninsula to get my fill. Tuesday, I had the luxury of driving up the 5 home to the Bay Area, and I also got my In-N-Out Burger fix. Perfect, I am now ready for bad English food (note: I got my Mexican food fix for dinner Tuesday night courtesy of my mom's wonderful cooking).
A rant:  I am however concerned on the state of farming in the San Joaquin Valley, and all the poor farmers who are now out of work and farms left to turn into dust bowls due to our declining California budget and water shortages. People, California is a dry state, 80% of the rain comes from the north and 80% of the use is in Southern California, hello, So Cal is a natural desert, so get rid of the lawns and please stop watering your sidewalks to clean them, you are hurting the farmers and shorting our water supply and thus our food supply, and less water for farmers equals less food for us and higher prices, which is disastrous! So please, please, please California, STOP wasting water. Okay, I am sorry for the rant, but we are in a water crisis here, and people need to be more aware. Mono Lake website has a great article on how and why to conserve water, Water Conservation.
I am off to England now and hope to keep you all updated on my new travels, adventures, thoughts, and soul seeking moments that entertain but, hopefully also help me pick out my passions and find a career path.

Saying Goodbye to Buenos Aires

As I sit in the airport, I ponder my time in Buenos Aires. It has been an exciting three months. I was told I am the model international intern for Connect 123, I came to Argentina with limited Spanish, and leave with a proficiency that let me live for three months in a Spanish speaking house, have meaningful conversations with my roommates, and the confidence to ask questions and give answers in Spanish. I leave with the understanding that I have become “really good” at Spanish, as my professors, roommates, Brazilian friends and random Argentines have told me. Exciting. I also added value to my Spanish School through my marketing skills and I leave knowing that they have a 10% student increase for this winter (our summer) due to my hard work. And I made the most of my nights and weekends. I learned to eat medalunas and cake for breakfast with coffee, enjoy maté (and share), eat lunch when I got hungry, and have dinner at 10pm. I made valuable friendships with foreigners and locals, made it a priority to enjoy my evenings, had the discipline to practice yoga, alone in my room 4 days a week and make it to Spanish class every day at 9am after being out till 3am every evening. I even walked about every square inch of this city and can give restaurant and sightseeing recommendations. Heck, I even somewhat figured out the Guia-T (or Buenos Aires bus guide), a major feat, mind you. Yes, I leave Buenos Aires feeling good and fulfilled and a little more sure about myself and my wants and needs from life.

Now after three months there are some things I have decided I won’t miss and more that I will; first, I won’t miss the pollution; broken sidewalks and the dog poop; waiting 30 minutes in line to buy my groceries; walking in circles to find the thread store, only to be told they don’t have black and having to walk 15 blocks to find another store (I know have a greater appreciation for the Target’s and Wal-mart’s of the world, I like one stop shopping for things like thread, b-day cards, toiletries, etc), I didn’t like walking all over town to find the sock store or to buy medialunas; hanging all my laundry to dry and the musty smell when it rains while your clothes are air drying (although clothes last longer air dryad, I miss the softness of dried clothes); and the medialunas or cake or alfajores for breakfast, well maybe just a little, but my hips won’t miss the extra fat and carbs.

Some things I will miss; speaking Spanish, world cup fever, my new friends, the beef – it’s the best in the world and so cheap, alfajores – even though they are so fattening, coffee and the cookies that come with it for free, agua con gas without all the added salt – just plain water and bubbles, empanadas, the exchange rate, my street parilla that sold the best steak sandwich in town, the fact that I can wear anything I want and it’s fashionable because I’m  a tourist, Liter beer at a restaurant, gancia baitida (not fernet and coke though), facturas – again bad on the waistline, walking, public transportation….oh man, that’s a lot to miss.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Buenos Aires; however, I am ready to go, it’s time; I’m looking forward to dryer dried clothes, warm weather, the beach, sun, fresh fruits and veggies, oh wait, I am off to England and these things won’t exist for me their either, ah the horrible life I lead, guess I will be another month for these things, I guess I can wait, but I am getting my Sushi and spicy food fix in before I head out, and a bit of sun, I can’t be the whitest person in England! This is the end of my journey in Argentina, but I have decided to keep writing, so look forward to reading about my adventures in the UK! (I am going to change the title page too, so don’t get worried)

Last Week in Buenos Aires

My last week in Buenos Aires started off with an Argentina Soccer win. I decided to watch my last Argentina game in Buenos Aires, crammed into the outdoor lawn area of Plaza San Martin where they had a big screen set up to watch the event. And boy was I crammed in there, I think there were 50k people there, and it was incredible! The cheers, the horns, the costumes, so exciting, and made even sweeter with an Argentina 2 goal victory. The only thing that made it better was some Irish people asked me to translate some of the things the announcers were saying, score for my Spanish.

Now I am not too sure about these World Cup referees but I am proud of our American last minute goal win against Algeria on Tuesday, made my whole day. The night was even better; we had an asado at my house as a going away party for me with my friends from VOS. It was pretty much my first time cooking alone for a large party. I ended up with 13 pounds of flank steak, a mountain of pasta with veggies, a variety of snacks and dips and fruit salad and a flan (cooked by a friend). I basically cooked enough food for a small army, but no one starved and it all came out perfect so I can officially say now that I can cook (with some help from Carlos who was the asador, and some g-chat advice from Natalie, and my roommates’ extra hands at preparation; thanks guys). We had a wonderful evening eating and drinking and speaking Spanish, since half of the attendees were VOS teachers and employees. I will really miss VOS and everyone I met through them, the school and people there really made my time amazing here.

I spent Thursday packing, running and saying more good-byes (and a few hellos). My last night was spent repeating one of my first nights in Buenos Aires with VOS and Connect-123 where we went to Bangalore for drinks then Carnal to celebrate some birthdays; it’s funny how things happen. I guess I like to close things out the way they started; I first went to Bangalore with VOS for a good-bye pint, then around the corner to Carnal with the people from Connect 123. There I met some new interns and gave them some advice and said good-bye to the others. It was a pretty relaxing night, and I was just trying to take it all in that I would leave the next day, bittersweet, because I am sad to leave but also excited for my next journey. I came, I learned a new language (and got pretty damn good at it), and I met new friends, re-connected with an old friend, experienced amazing adventures and learned a bit more about myself. I think it was the right decision to be a little “crazy”, quit my job and come down here.

Friday was quiet, finished packing, said good-bye to my roommates and landlord and was off to lunch with Peter and Mari who first picked me up in Buenos Aires. We had a wonderful lunch and leisurely drive out to the airport. I will defiantly miss this place, but am ready to come home, even if it’s just for four days! 

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Visiting the Holy Land…..

Forgive me Father for I have sinned, it has been 13 years since my last confession and it took me attending a religious themed park to realize this. What? Yes, Buenos Aires has a religious theme park and it’s called Tierra Santa or Holy Land; although, I can hardly call a place where mannequins re-enact the Nativity, Last Supper and Creation, and where a 40ft Jesus rises again from the Calvary mound a moving religious experience, I guess some do. I still don’t know how I feel about Tierra Santa, with its plastic mannequins depicting every scene from the Old Testament, employees in full Jerusalem era garb, over the top kitschness ( I created this word, I know), and ridiculous traditional dance shows where the dancers look like over-grown children who are slightly off and look at each other for guidance. I can say that the park is very informative on the Judea-Christian Religious beginnings, and it is probably a good place for a child to learn about the bible. As for the Lonely Plant quote, “most are visibly moved when the over-sized Jesus gazes upon them,” I doubt this is actually true, but, maybe. I wasn’t moved, only slightly disturbed, maybe that’s my Catholic upbringing and the sheer ridiculousness of the land. It was interesting though to see their rendition of Creation, where God created light, then land, then went straight to African animals and Man, I kept thinking what happened to the Dinosaurs? But you can’t show everything, right? I left feeling a bit off, like maybe it was a sin to attend this park, but I kept telling myself it was informational, which it was. I guess you can all look at the photos and decided for yourselves…..

Moving on to a brighter note, the Referee who got suspend for robbing the USA of a win can share his sins with the Referee from the Brazil and Ivory Coast game. That ref was horrible, and don’t get me wrong, I wanted Brazil to win, I was a bar with 150 Brazilians and 2 Brazilian friends, but he was horrible, two “Brazos de Dios” on Brazil and no call, you could even see him laughing with a player later in the game about the bad call, or red carding Kaká for no reason except acting on the half of Ivory Coast. Ugh! Who is paying the Referees to swing this World Cup? It was a fun game, and Brazil did win, and a Brazilian at another table told me my Spanish was really good (um, that’s making me think it’s bad, but hey I’m learning).  The evening was spent at an Asado at my friend Nicole’s, oh how I love Chorizo and Chimichurri. Delicious evening.

Monday was “tranquillo,” I feel the Spanish version of this word sounds so much better than the English version “tranquil,” the Spanish version rolls off the tongue better and just sounds more relaxing. I went to VOS to film, but it was a holiday and only the teachers were working, so I hung out with Lucio and watched the Chile and Suiza (I like this Spanish word better too) game while writing blogs and happiness lists. I feel like it was a productive day, after school I walked down to the Mall (about 1 mile), and reminded myself why I hate shopping (I didn’t buy a thing), but I would love to come home and shop, wearing the same clothes constantly for 3 months wears on you, and I brought all my favorites, so I am really sick of them and want to donate them all, but then I would be naked and I don’t think anyone would hire me, or at least the companies that I would want to work for. Ugh, my dilemma, I am ready to work again though, I miss having an income, now I just need to keep thinking about what it is I want to do….Such is the question of my quarter life crisis. I went to dinner with my roommate Jessica, we spent an hour taking bus and subte all over town to 2 different sushi joints, which were closed, which is the norm in BsAs, I am getting used to things being closed, but I did get to see the neighborhood of Villa Crespo, briefly and I got to ride on the oldest subte line A, in the old cars, so the night worked out, we ended up eating just down the street from my house at my third favorite restaurant here, La Cholita. After a great beef kebab, corn empanada and a bottle of wine, we decided it was a good night.

* More Tierra Santa photos are posted in the link on my previous blog