Sunday, January 14, 2007
England
You should have seen me the past half of an hour...Trying every imaginable method I could conjure up to get our freaking pictures OFF of Leanne's camera and onto one of these computers so that I could include some more pics of the last two days. But it ain't gonna happen, folks. It is either British computers, these specific computers or just my bad luck, but the pictures are trapped and I...
I miss my MacBook.
With this reality, I shall try to paint you a picture with words. Yesterday John picked us up in the morning and we set out for a day trip in the rain. Where would you like to go, he asked. We don't care, we replied, as long as we see castles and sheep. Oh, and castles and sheep did we see!! All the while listening to John's diverse music, me holding his blessed iPod and playing passenger DJ (on the wrong side of the car). The weather was horrible which meant that we had the castle all to ourselves, all other tourists much smarter than we were and staying inside. But we wandered medieval tunnels and walked through god awful war museums and Leanne made love to a cannon (wait til you see the picture!). The three of us walked arm in arm calling each other Lady K, Sir John and Duchess Leann-ah with precious British accents. It was great fun.
Then we drove to Dover and looked at the white cliffs and ate some more fried food. I must say it is virtually impossible to find healthy cuisine here which could be attributing to my constant gut ache. Attempted to hunt down some banafee pie, came up short and then demanded to peruse some quaint villages. Sir John obliged and with me at the map and Leanne trying to get some sleep in the back (she hasn't slept hardly at all since we got here dear soul) we set off into the countryside. We pointed and oooohed and ahhhhhed at the thatched roofs and stone cottages. We stopped to take pictures of little English pubs that looked like they should be on movie sets. But then...we got off on a little back road and came across some pigs.
I rolled down my window and whistled and the pigs came running toward us. Leanne squealed and leapt from the car, cooing and talking to each of them. We even attracted a beautiful horse to the fence. We scratched the pigs behind the ears, fed them all grass and tried to ignore the gale force winds that whipped us to and fro. It was a memorable moment, quite perfect in fact, totally free and totally invaluable.
Arriving home, we fell into bed, exhausted. After of course bumping into more metal bunk beds in the dark and finally giving up on trying to pretend that I could be quiet enough. Our room was packed for the first time...with two French women, an Italian and an American. In fact, before bed we bonded with a drunk Irish man, a bloke with a cockney accent, Jan from Holland and Wayne from France. It was an international buffet of yumminess.
This morning we arose early again and got our butts on a tour bus that took us to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was cool if only because I was finally standing in front of something I had only seen in pictures. Even wierder was that it stands in what looks like, to me, the farmlands of Ontario. Go figure. Oh, but Bath. Bath was breathtaking. Like rolling Italy, Greece, France and England all into one. Lee squealed once again about the hot spring Roman baths (pigs and baths are on her top 5 list of things that are good about life) and I was placated by all the tiny lane ways filled with adorable shops filled with pastries and cafes and people dressed infinitely well. The views are unbeatable. The architecture is grandiose. A favorite moment came when we peeked inside a grand cathedral and the choir was rehearsing. I sat in a back pew and shut my eyes and thanked Spirit for my many blessings.
Really, I am a very lucky little girl.
Tonight we have done nothing. We can hardly move and tomorrow morning have to get up early to go to our #1 destination --- VENICE, ITALY. Hmmmmmmmmm. I am allowing myself to just putter about our hostel (which now feels like home) and wallow in emails from the man to whom I am afraid to give a label. He sent me an excerpt from an email his mother sent who seems to have already decided to like me. Funny to want to meet and thank and hug a woman I hardly know - mother of a man I have just met. In fact, tonight he has said things to me that are life changing and I am here, in Europe, a million miles away, wondering how all of this has happened so fast, so spectacularly.
If only I could attach pictures. If only I could be brave enough to say how I truly feel. If only there was a way to fully share this with all of you. Ah, well, we'll just have to go on faith.
Next time I write I will have fulfilled a childhood fantasy and kissed the mouth of Venice.
With tongue.
I miss my MacBook.
With this reality, I shall try to paint you a picture with words. Yesterday John picked us up in the morning and we set out for a day trip in the rain. Where would you like to go, he asked. We don't care, we replied, as long as we see castles and sheep. Oh, and castles and sheep did we see!! All the while listening to John's diverse music, me holding his blessed iPod and playing passenger DJ (on the wrong side of the car). The weather was horrible which meant that we had the castle all to ourselves, all other tourists much smarter than we were and staying inside. But we wandered medieval tunnels and walked through god awful war museums and Leanne made love to a cannon (wait til you see the picture!). The three of us walked arm in arm calling each other Lady K, Sir John and Duchess Leann-ah with precious British accents. It was great fun.
Then we drove to Dover and looked at the white cliffs and ate some more fried food. I must say it is virtually impossible to find healthy cuisine here which could be attributing to my constant gut ache. Attempted to hunt down some banafee pie, came up short and then demanded to peruse some quaint villages. Sir John obliged and with me at the map and Leanne trying to get some sleep in the back (she hasn't slept hardly at all since we got here dear soul) we set off into the countryside. We pointed and oooohed and ahhhhhed at the thatched roofs and stone cottages. We stopped to take pictures of little English pubs that looked like they should be on movie sets. But then...we got off on a little back road and came across some pigs.
I rolled down my window and whistled and the pigs came running toward us. Leanne squealed and leapt from the car, cooing and talking to each of them. We even attracted a beautiful horse to the fence. We scratched the pigs behind the ears, fed them all grass and tried to ignore the gale force winds that whipped us to and fro. It was a memorable moment, quite perfect in fact, totally free and totally invaluable.
Arriving home, we fell into bed, exhausted. After of course bumping into more metal bunk beds in the dark and finally giving up on trying to pretend that I could be quiet enough. Our room was packed for the first time...with two French women, an Italian and an American. In fact, before bed we bonded with a drunk Irish man, a bloke with a cockney accent, Jan from Holland and Wayne from France. It was an international buffet of yumminess.
This morning we arose early again and got our butts on a tour bus that took us to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was cool if only because I was finally standing in front of something I had only seen in pictures. Even wierder was that it stands in what looks like, to me, the farmlands of Ontario. Go figure. Oh, but Bath. Bath was breathtaking. Like rolling Italy, Greece, France and England all into one. Lee squealed once again about the hot spring Roman baths (pigs and baths are on her top 5 list of things that are good about life) and I was placated by all the tiny lane ways filled with adorable shops filled with pastries and cafes and people dressed infinitely well. The views are unbeatable. The architecture is grandiose. A favorite moment came when we peeked inside a grand cathedral and the choir was rehearsing. I sat in a back pew and shut my eyes and thanked Spirit for my many blessings.
Really, I am a very lucky little girl.
Tonight we have done nothing. We can hardly move and tomorrow morning have to get up early to go to our #1 destination --- VENICE, ITALY. Hmmmmmmmmm. I am allowing myself to just putter about our hostel (which now feels like home) and wallow in emails from the man to whom I am afraid to give a label. He sent me an excerpt from an email his mother sent who seems to have already decided to like me. Funny to want to meet and thank and hug a woman I hardly know - mother of a man I have just met. In fact, tonight he has said things to me that are life changing and I am here, in Europe, a million miles away, wondering how all of this has happened so fast, so spectacularly.
If only I could attach pictures. If only I could be brave enough to say how I truly feel. If only there was a way to fully share this with all of you. Ah, well, we'll just have to go on faith.
Next time I write I will have fulfilled a childhood fantasy and kissed the mouth of Venice.
With tongue.
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