A memory

The couple of days after getting home are a blur now. I was back to work on one of the days for an orientation shift which went fairly smoothly considering I was very unprepared. I showed up to work in sweat pants and my mother's shoes that were too small for me. Luckily they had scrubs available and everyone was very understanding. One of the days we ran errands and tried to organize our chaotic life. With no cell phones, vehicle or steady home, this is difficult to do. We are staying between my parents and Tyson's parents places and borrowing cars. On the morning that we left for Calgary none of this had been sorted yet, in fact our belongings were spread between four different houses and we had no idea where anything was. So in many ways, we were still living out of a backpack in various homes and this was comforting if you can believe it.

My mother threw us a coming home/birthday party for me the night after we got home and it was nice to see so much loving family. We continued to be shocked by all the new buildings that had popped up over the time we had been gone. We visited in on one of my best friends who had gone and had herself a very cute baby while we were gone.

On Thursday morning at five am we left for a very much needed vacation to Calgary. We tagged along with Tyson's parents and the four of us drove through beautiful British Columbia. We made many stops starting in Mission and then in Merrit and through to Kamloops. We drove past kilometers and kilometers of grassy hill and forests. The sun was shining but there was a nice breeze, the music was playing and the road trip went quite smoothly. The scenery of the Rocky Mountains on the way was breathtaking. I have rarely seen such natural beauty. There is a definite necessity to redo this drive ensuring we have a few extra days to stop along the way for hiking and sightseeing. We passed countless town of various sizes from cute quaint ones to large big box ones. We only hit a bit of traffic and got a bit lost once we hit Calgary but other than that there were no problems and we got to the hotel safely.

Tyson and I stayed at his cousin's house nearby the hotel that most of the other out of town guests were sleeping. We visited with all the other family at the hotel before getting picked up and heading back to Tyson cousin's place. We met his soon-to-be wife and got to know her and their friends a bit better. The next morning we helped set up the hall for the better part of the day which we have become quite efficient at since we have become of marriage age and all our friends ask our sober services. We attended two events in the evening for the different sides of the family. We initially went to a cocktail party hosted at a nice restaurant in downtown Calgary. We ate drank and were merry before heading very fashionably late to a family get together at a fabulously renovated house belonging to a family friend. That gathering went late into the night and was very fun. We saw a lot of family that we had not seen since our wedding nearly three years ago. I was also meeting a few family members for the first time ever.

The next day we hung out with Tyson's cousin from Shanghai and her new husband. We explored the local mall that was dead and normal before going back to the house and watching some Olympic events. Even though the wedding started at four pm we managed between the four of us to be late. His cousin that we were with was the sister of the groom. The wedding was a very enjoyable event with great people, speeches, decor, food and dancing. There were very emotional moments as in most weddings and I cried along with most of the other females and even a few males. Tyson's mother unfortunately missed the event because she was feeling unwell and we all thought of her throughout the night. As in every wedding there were moments where people cringed and family deals came up but overall I think everyone had a great time. Tyson and I did the take down of the decor immediately following the wedding and head back with the wedding party to the house. That night they opened the gifts and along with laughing and chatting, we were up until about five am.

The next day we attended a brunch where we were too tired to eat at about eleven am. We said bye to the people we would no longer see and the head to the hotel. We chilled for the day in the room and the pool and then ate a nice dinner nearby. We stayed that night at the hotel in Tyson's parents room to encourage an early start the next morning for the drive home.

Bright and early on the thirteenth of August we set out back to our temporary home in Pitt Meadows. We took a different way from the drive out to Alberta and got to see a different but equally beautiful area of the country. We stopped by Franks slide and saw Canada's deadliest rockfall. It was unreal and disturbingly beautiful. We also stopped in many other towns that I had heard of but never seen. We finally got home in the early evening and I visited with my family for my birthday.

Taking this trip was nice because it allows us to slip back into "normal life" slowly instead of being thrown in head first. Although the anxiety is building up for me with the amount of things that I have to do and take care of for "normal life" to progress normally, I was able to pause if for a week or so. Getting home meant lists and stress but perhaps that is what normal life is for me. The experience of being away for so long was refreshing in that I learned about how simple life can be if we let it and that is one of my goals, to bring that lifestyle to my life in Canada.


"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

London to Home!!

After visiting Abby Road in central London we travelled back to the house where my Aunt was hosting a big dinner. We had a great night with about twenty other guests from all walks of life. We told stories of our travels, ate delicious Persian food and danced the night away.
The next morning we slept in a bit more than usual and got up for a big breakfast with the family. Soon after the meal, we went to visit the resting place of the guardian of the Bahai Faith, Shoghi Effendi. He is the grandson of Abdul Baha who was the son of Bahaullah. Bahaullah is the founder and prophet of the Bahai Faith. Shoghi Effendi did insurmountable amounts of service for humanity all over the world and his resting place is in London. Recently one of the Bahais in Singapore bought the whole cemetary land because the previous owner wanted to develop parts of it into residential property. At the shrine there is a small plot dedicated to a beautiful garden of Shoghi Effendi's favourite flowers. There are three square marble steps leading to a very tall marble column with a golden soaring eagle statue at the top. We prayed at the sight for some time and enjoyed the peaceful ambiance.
After stopping to run a few errands on the way home, we enjoyed some tiramasu cakes and pastries with coffee. We talked with my Aunt about life and tests while playing and entertaining the baby at the same time. Tyson and I went for a walk in the small town and through the park. We stopped at the tube station to organize our plans for getting to the airport the next day and found that we were short English money by a few pence so we walked around until we found change on the ground to pay our fare. This took about an hour and it was a lot of fun. We wandered slowly back to the house in the sunshine. Dinner was left overs from the night before which we enjoyed and we spent the rest of the night chatting with my Aunt's two daughters and grandaughter. We watched some of the olympic games, packed our things, finished some laundry and relaxed with family. It was a great way to spend the last night of our trip.
As I call it "the last night of the trip" I still cannot believe that this is what it is. It has absolutely not set in and feels like we are just going to our next destination. Back to "normal life" means very little or nothing to me at this point because I am not sure what it will look like. With no permanent home, vehicle, furniture, job or belongings, everything is kind of up in the air. This does not make me feel nervous or excited but rather I feel nothing. Because surely one year has not gone by, surely this is not the trip we were on, surely I will not say things like "I once did a round the world trip". Surely.
We spent our final day waking up early and having a big breakfast. We made food for our day of travelling and Tyson woke up my Aunt by ringing the door bell several times. She came down with the baby and gave us a lift to the closest tube station. This is where we part ways from her with a big thank you and we hope to see her and the family again soon. When we got there the price that we expected to pay was triple because we no longer had the loyalty cards. We literally had exact change for the previous price that we had thought it would be. We explained our situation to the security guard who kindly just let us in for free. This was lucky because we would have been stuck otherwise.
We stopped at a station that we recognized so that I could run out to buy a couple of last minute things with the money we saved on the ride. Unfortunately it was a Sunday morning and everything was closed. We rode the rest of the hour and a half to the gigantic airport. Check in and security went quite smoothly and the line ups were very short. We checked in two very small bags under seven kilograms each and this was all we were coming home with. I bought a couple of horrendously overpriced items from the airport gift shop with the last of our sterlings and we were early to board our flight which may have been a first for us. The Iceland Air flight took us to Reykjavik, Iceland where we had a several hour stop over. During this time, in our thirty ninth and last country, we went outside briefly to smell the air and check out the scenery. We had to get our passports stamped but it was worth the effort. The air was crisp but the sun was shining and the landcape was beautiful. There was miles and miles of manicured green lawn with mountains in the distance. The air was bright blue with scarce puffy white clouds. We walked through the fields past a big man made pond full of clear water with a big silver statue of a pear in the middle. There was also a very colourful art piece in the meadow that added a different texture to the view. We took some photos and sat on the boulder rocks in the midst of green land for some time before returning to the airport. We had to go through security and customs again but the whole procedure from start to finish took under ten minutes. The gate was completely disorganized with people everywhere and nowhere to sit. Even the floor space was covered with people and we got bumped and pushed throughout the short time we were waiting for boarding.
Our next flight was eight hours long with Iceland Air but they did not serve food. We were shocked that they would not provide something to eat for that long period of time. The surprisingly poor service we recieved tied the airline with Air Canada for the worst airline we have flown this year. Luckily we had packed our own sandwhiches and snacks but we were still disappointed. This is not even their discount airline, they also run a sister company called Iceland Express which is meant to be their cheap fare line. I'd hate to see what that one is like. As we are now experienced travellers, Tyson got free headphones by complaining about the lack of food served. As we waited for the line up for boarding to die down a bit Tyson noticed that my sweater was missing. I realized that I had left it at security so we ran back full speed through customs to security just as they were calling our names overhead. Three more announcements came on as we ran full speed to rescue the jacket. For our last flight we were deadly close to missing it. When we reached the gate to board, the unimpressed hostess said they were seconds away from take off and we would have been left behind. Of course our last flight could not have gone smoothly otherwise I would have nothing to write about.
We flew in to Seattle airport where we had my family were lovingly waiting for us. It was an emotional renunion and it was wonderful to be back in their arms. My mother, grandparentsid and my Aunt, Uncle and cousins surprised us at the airport. They had a sign saying "welcome home, we want a baby!" They eased the pain of coming home and it was so sweet of them to show up all the way in Seattle. We visited with them and then head home with a pit stop at Ross and Taco Bell (the two musts during a visit to Seattle).
I passed out on the ride home and there was no waking me up. I was home. Returning to the homeland is, of course, very emotional after being away for a long period of time. This trip was a major dream in my life and I always knew I would do it. What I did not predict however, is that instead of returning home feeling satisfied, it only created an even stronger thirst for travelling. The list of places I want to see now is ten times what it was last year.

"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

CaMdEn sQuArE mArKeT

The next morning we got up the earlier than usual and ate breakfast with my Aunt. We played with her baby grandaughter for a while. The baby is teething and did not sleep at all the night before keeping everyone up. Everyone but Tyson and I though because we are dead to the world when we are sleeping. We managed to get out of the house before noon for the first day during our time in London. We topped up our Oyster cards (the transit loyalty cards) and caught the bus to Greenwood station. I bought a pair of shoes there at the Primark, and then caught another bus to Camden Market where several people had suggested that we go. Camden market is basically a street full of stalls and shops selling anything and everything. There are also offshoots that branch out into every nook and cranny in the area and one can basically find and they are looking for and more. All sorts of items were represented from from around the world. The goths, trendsetters, emos, eighties rockers, fashion forwards, slutty sluts, youngsters, stoners, oldies, skinnies and preggos can find their products represented. The place was decorated with a young bohemian vibe and people were loving it. We were unsuccessful with our shopping goals but we had a great time meandering through the tight aisles of the market looking at all the stuff and things people were offering. There was a very large food section as well where they offered foods from all over the world. Every country was represented and the food looked and smelled very authentic. We tried several samples and reminisced about when the same items were only one fiftieth of the price.

We walked past a hairdressers that specialized in dreadlocking. I stopped in to see if they could fix what has slowly become a tree trunk with frizzy brances. The two women in the shop both looked at me with pity in their eyes and told me they were not sure if they could help. I had been putting my dreads into ponytails and using a headband everyday for months without pulling the dreads apart at all. I learned (too late) that I was supposed to pull my dreads apart every night and maintain them every three months. None of that had been done. After about ten minutes of ripping my dreads apart from one another and shaking her head the whole time, the lady finally came to the conclusion that I would have to cut them off. I decided that ignoring her advice would be the best step for me to take at this time. Our next destination, was another place recommened to us by my friend called the Roundhouse. It is normally a theatre that hosts very famous acts including Jimmy Hendix and The Doors. During the summer however, they had imported soft white sand and created a beach on the roof. The weather was lovely and we enjoyed our feet in the sand for a few last minutes of our trip. We walked back up the other side of Camden Market and spent the very last of our English money on food. We will worry about transportation to the airport later.

Unsure of where to go next we caught a bus to Oxford Circus in downtown London. It was very busy and we tried to find a few last things that we needed but it was a lost cause. Although even if we had found the things we needed, we wouldn't have had the money to pay for it. I passed by a T-shirt that said "Abby Road" on it and asked Tyson why he had not mentioned to go there. He had thought it was very far away but a little investigation proved that it was only one bus ride. We caught the thirty minute bus to the famous crosswalk and took the infamus photos that everyone goes there for. There were a couple dozen others trying to time their photos so that they would not get hit by the cars going by. Tyson snuck into the actual studio parking lot and I snapped a couple shots of him there. As I was taking his photo mid step on the crosswalk, cars lined up and honked their horns only to hear my wrath. I was a bit embarrassed about lashing out at the drivers but some of the other tourists reassured me that it was ok. Tyson took a photo with three other strangers to equal a group of four and we even got one with the two of us so the trip out there was well worth it.

We caught four busses back to the house while getting a full tour of the city on the top level at the same time. Back at the house our host was also hosting twenty other people for dinner. Most of the guests had already arrived by the time we got there so we snuck away to change our clothes and freshen up before joining the group. We met a group of my Aunt's friends, some of whom were from work, some from the local Bahai community and some were family members. We all got to know each other over fruit and chocolate appetizers and then came the big Persian dinner. There was enough food to feed at least three times the people there and it reminded me of home. We ate all sorts of authentic Persian dishes including ghormeh sabzi, fesenjoon, coocoo, chicken and rice. It tasted the same as it does at any Persian household and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We had tiramasu, chocolate cream puffs with cherry centers, eclairs, cheesecake, fruit and nuts for dessert. We were so full that there was only one thing left to do-dance. My cousin is a professional dance instructor so she taught us simple salsa and chachacha moves. We all practiced and laughed with each other. After more dancing including Persian, brazilian and the macarena styles, things moved alond to rapping and singing. Again my cousin showed off her rapping skills and then her wonderful singing voice. Tyson even belted out a beautiful tune. The guests did not leave until about two thirty in the morning at which time we visited with aunt and helped to clean up a bit. We were up late enough to watch the sun rise on our last full day of our one year round the world trip.

"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

The Murderer

On our second day in London, we organized and cleaned ourselves a bit and ate a big breakfast with toast, cereals, teas and more. Our host had some other guests over that we visited with. One of the guests has family in Vancouver that I know very well, it is a very small world. Tyson fixed the pressure washer and won some brownie points. After sitting and chatting for a while we realized that the clock we were watching was one hour behind and it was actually nearly noon. That put a fire under our arses and we rushed out of the house.

The public transit system here is both wonderful and evil. Wonderful in that there is a tube that can take you anywhere fairly quickly and easily and there is also a wide variety of busses and taxis. Evil in that they want every last penny in your pocket to let you on. We pulled a scam to get on the tram the first night but it was too much stress and work so we decided to go the honest route. We each bought a day bus pass and a loyalty card which we were promised would be worth it in the end. We took two busses to get into Leicester Square and when we got out the sun was shining and the streets were bustling. To some people this may not be ideal but for me it was what I had been waiting for. I love crowds, it makes for a really exciting day. We walked through a bit of the China town area, looked at some souvenier and purchased a few olympic memorial trinkets. We continued on to Piccadilly Circus then to Trafalgar Square where the Canadian Embassy is located. We eagerly tried to enter our home country's embassy because all the other embassies had opened their door and were sharing exhibits, shows, food and giveaways. Our lovely embassy however, turned us away because it was only open to the athletes, their families and friends. We were taken aback and it was the least friendly embassy we visited that day.

We walked to Westminister Abby where we ran into the Christian friends we had met the day before. We walked with them for a while and read a special exhibition put on by some volunteers about human traffiking. We signed a petition pleading with the United Nations to put this multi billion dollar problem at the top of their agenda. We read stories and looked at photos of very young people caught being severly abused, overworked and underfed by their cruel rich "owners". All of these cases were this year in the United Kingdom. It was disgusting and eye opening that this happens in so called developed countries. Many times the criminals in these cases are not convicted. It is the second biggest type of traffiking that happens in the world after drugs.

There was a very hefty admission fee to get into the Westminster Abby but in very small writing underneath the listed prices, there was a statement saying that there is no charge for people to worship and that the fee was a mere suggestion to keep the place looking its finest. Of course, no one reads this very fine print and the prices are big and bold, front and center. We chose not to go in. There were some bobbies (police) working at Big Ben and Tyson forced me to take a photo with one of the guys. I was embarrased but the officer was very friendly indeed.

We walked along the North bank by the water and visited many of the houses for the olympics. We started at the Qatar house which was luxurious, exotic and a lot of fun. We walked through the "relaxation area" where it was set up with fine sofas, televisions and Arabic decor. We then walked through a very technical area that was set up to explain the advancements in technology, environmental health, medical care, leisure, architecture, education, entertainment, cinema and development happening in the country. Following this there was an entertainment and refreshment area. It was set up like a very classy bar and there were adult games available to be played as well as free snacks and smoothies. We spent a while there watching some events before heading to the Brazil house. Here they gave us audio guides free of charge and we walked through their plans for the 2016 games. They are well on their way in preparation for the games and we saw a lot of this when we where there last year near the start of our journey. They also had a lot of art and information about their country set up for people to see. A lot of it was rather strange and we were more confused than interested so we were not there for long. We visited Belgium house for a short time and then stopped at the famous Saint Paul's Cathedral. In the exact same fashion as the fee system for Westminister Abby, they had also had set up admission fees in an attempt to successfully trick the general public. We went inside this church for several minutes and it was very elaborate and beautiful.

We caught a very antique double decker bus to the Tower of London and Tower bridge. A couple of times throughout the day we caught the bus only to be passed by people on foot due to the overwhelming traffic. We were told there is a fifteen pound "congestion fee" that everyone driving into the city must pay at all times but it did not seem to stop people from bringing their vehicles. The Tower of London is where the crown jewels are kept (says Tyson, but I'm not sure) and the Tower bridge is where the Olympic rings are set up hanging from the center. We explored that historic Roman-built side of town for a while and it was very busy. The Tower of London is like a huge castle that the public can visit but we did not have time as it would likely take the better part of a day.

We took another antique bus back to Trafalgar Square and walked to the Italy house. It was not very busy or very fun so we left. We walked into the Methodist church where the Christian guys had suggested we visit. They were there but we did not talk to them this time. We watched the end of an entertainment performance. A harp player was playing soft music and around the room there were very large pieces of religious art work. It was very peaceful and we relaxed there in the positive environment for a while. We caught another bus to Covent Garden Market where there is an outdoor market. People sell all sorts of things but we just caught the end of their day. There were dozens of street performers doing everything from singing and acrobatics to dancing, floating, comedy and dressing up. We made some sandwhiches for dinner and doubled up on chocolates and mentos for dessert.

Back in Leicester Square, we shopped for a bit along the way and then stopped for a rest to eat again. A large Canadian guy came up to us and started talking. We spent an hour speaking with him about his dodgy businesses in the States and Hong Kong and then about his weed fectories near Stave lake. Then he finally told us he just did thirteen years in prison for murder. He promised not to hurt us and his stories were entertaining so we sat with him longer. His prison style clothing and the stickers on his passport proved that he was not lying as if we doubted it.

We met with my cousin near the three story M and M shop and walked through the city at night. As the murderer suggested we walked along the bridge and looked at the full moon as well as the completely different looking city in the dark. Everything including the London Eye, Big Ben and the major buildings are lit up in different complimenting colours. It was a sight that unfortunately our camera could not capture but we will never forget. The three of us walked to the National Theater where they have free performances on throughout the summer. We got seats and I went to get coffees with my cousin at the refreshment stand. They rushed us through the order because they were about to close when an elderly man walked in. The young lady behind the counter told him, rather rudely, to turn around and leave because they were closed. He asked if he could just get a cup of water then. This was obviously very offensive to the coffee shop staff because they raised their voices and verbally abused him. My cousin and I were shocked that they could treat an elderly customer in that fashion. My cousin, who is a high school teacher, very respectfully told the girl that this was not acceptable behaivior. After I got over the initial shock of the abuse, I was able to pipe up and say that there was no need for the situation to escalate the way it did. The old man did not really seem to need our help though because he raised his voice and said "you really are a bitch!" We appologized to the man for the mistreatment on our way out and he seemed to appreciate the gesture. My cousin turned to me outside the shop and assured me that this is the regular behaivior of London people and that I should not be surprised. She was visibly angry.

Things got wierder from there when the performance started and three men with faces painted white like zombies staggered onto the stage and passed out ping pong balls. The show was an hour long and the whole thing consisted of the three men involved in self mutilation. They severely stapled their bodies and toungues, burnt, cut,stabbed and ravaged each other. They also shoved nails and swords down their throats. It may sound like I am exagerating but I assure you that this, as well as more wierd and gross events, took place on the stage. I am not sure why we stayed and watched the whole thing but many others from the audience left part way through. I am sure there has to be easier ways to make money.

After the show we split up from my cousin because she was taking the tube and we were taking the bus home. The ride was quite easy even though it was after midnight. There were still plenty of people out enjoying the night life when we left. Back at the house we ate chicken, rice and chocolate before passing out.

In the morning after another big breakfast of eggs, sweet beans, cereal, toast and coffee we managed to leave the house before noon. After refilling our transit cards back to the top at the News Agent shop, we caught a bus half way to the city. We stopped to buy some groceries and try on some clothes at the neat shops along the way before catching the next bus into Loncon. We watched the weather change from sunny to cloudy to rainy to sunny again throughout our drive. We got off the bus at Trafalgar Square again and went to The Portrait Museam. This is where we saw some pretty average artwork including a video of David Beckham sleeping through the night. We walked around the area for a few minutes and then caught another bus to Hyde Park. This is one of the official venues for the Olympics but there was no line up to get in. Inside, we watched Germany win bronze in table tennis and it was a very thrilling game. The ball was moving so fast that it was hard to see it somtimes but the players were returning it to each other with ease. We walked by several booths sponsored by different companies such as Samsung and Cadburry. There were mini triathalons and badminton competitions set up offereing small prizes. In addition to the big screens showing the games, there were also about five stages set up with different live bands playing their hearts out. There was also a grand stand in the center of the park and at the time we were there, there was a large group of Russian dancers dancing. Decent sized crowds were gathered at each attraction but it was not too busy anywhere. We ate some lunch laying in the grass and then caught a bus to Oxford street to meet a friend. I met this particular friend years ago in Vancouver but she is originally from London. We were horribly late meeting her and I felt absolutely awful but thankfully she was very gracious and forgave us instantly when we met. We walked about town catching up and chatting about life. We walked through Leicester Square to Covent gardens. We watched a few street shows along the way and went into a packed bar for some drinks. The bar had a balcony overlooking a very funny miming show so we watched, talked and drank for a while. It was a very lovely time! The temperature dropped quickly from a warm day to a very chilly evening. We walked to the metro station that my friend takes home and we said good bye until next time. We agreed that she would try and organize a ticket back to Vancouver sooner than later. We parted ways there and Tyson and I carried on to the National Theater to watch a show that was advertised in the schedule we had. We got there and there was no one else there. Upon asking, we found out that there was only a rehearsal that night and the real show was on the weekend. So we used the toilets, rested our legs and walked back accross the bridge to the bus station. During our walk I suddenly turned around and saw a guy running full speed toward me. I was severely startled and jumped and waved my hands around with alarm. The guy was very appologetic and was merely trying to run past me to catch the bus. Tyson laughed and enjoyed himself thoroughly. We rode two busses to get back to the house with no problems and visited with family there.


"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

Twice in a lifetime experience: the 2012 olympic games

On our first night near Birmingham (you don't pronounce the h) we fell asleep as the sun started to rise so we slept in a bit in the morning. Around noon, my friend and her husband had to head out to a wedding for the day so we puttered around and did some laundry. We watched the weather do crazy things like downpour rain for ten minutes and then shine a bright sun in through the windows like a tropical beach day. We organized ourselves and went for a walk down a beautiful trail past the hospital to the center of town. We stopped at a grocery store that was open late because of the Olympics. I am not sure how that was related but we were grateful that we could buy some food anyway. We walked around the center of town to a few shops but since it was a Sunday, most places closed early. We walked along the water looking at white swans, cathedrals and churches. We stopped at a bench for a while and admired the nature around us and then headed back to the house. We ate pasta and fried eggs for dinner while watching movies. My friends got home past midnight and we stayed up for several more hours watching funny youtube videos and reminding each other of days back in nursing school. By the time we went to bed, our stomachs hurt from all the laughing.

The next morning we all slept in a bit and the four of us got to hang out for the day. We went on a mini hike first to a very scenic mountain with a view of the city and green fields as far as the eye could see. We stopped for a survey conducted by a student on the way up and were rewarded by candy which we munched on to balance out the excersise we were doing. At the top of the mountain we saw sheep grazing and played guess the droppings as well as shared stories of past travels and experiences. We drove nearly one hour to a small quaint English villiage with small shops. We walked around for a while and tried to eat at a pub but they did not open until later in the evening. After wandering and exploring for a while we head back to the house. We walked to the local chip shop and bought food to eat on their lovely patio. I had a burger and chips while everyone else had fish and chips. It was greasy and delicious. We watched 30 rock and ate brownies for the next little while. After that everyone spent time fussing over their own technology all over the room into the evening. We watched a few episodes of a funny English sitcom that they follow and then eventually we all crashed for the night.

In the morning we got up early and got dropped off near the bus station around seven thirty. We tried to sneak onto and earlier bus but it was sold out so we waited at a McDonalds for the next bus time. After being refused onto three busses, the weather warmed up a bit and we decided to get some breakfast. We ate baguettes and coffee nearby and then went shopping in the area. It is quite a busy city with men and women in suits bustling around doing important things, I'm sure. Our bus was a bit late arriving but that is to be expected with the olympics in the next city over. We caught the bus after noon and head to London to witness the second olympic games of our lives. We had a perfect little visit in Birmingham with our friends and it was great to see them. We are hoping to meet up again in London on the weekend before we head back to the homeland.

Once we got into Victoria station in London, I thought we had come to the wrong city. I was expecting larger than life crowds and craziness. London is normally a very busy place, London in August is insanity and London in August as the host for the 2012 games was meant to be bumper to bumper fun. The few people wandering in the gloomy weather was quite underwhelming. We left the station late as our bus had been delayed "due to the Olympics" but I am pretty sure it was unrelated based on the non existent traffic. We walked to the one and only seat of the Queen, Buckingham palace which was again, underwhelming. It is of course big, grand and royal but the weather, lack of tourists and the fact that it was the thousanth large beautiful buidling we had seen in the last two months, made it less than breathtaking. Nevertheless we took photos, mocked the guards Mr. Bean style and continued past the beach volleyball games to the supreme court buildings, Westminister Abby, big ben and the parliament buildings. Big Ben is not a big statue of a bear like I expected but rather, it is a clock. Not a special clock, just a clock. Underwhelming. We passed protestors of different varieties, hundreds of red phone booths, big two level red busses and bobbies (cops). All cliches of London were there in addition to tons of pink vested volunteers looking for people to help out. We visited inside the Supreme court buildings and we went into the Italian house. The Italian house was set up very nice with a huge auditorium to watch the games and booths giving away samples with information. They said they were having a food and wine sample and for the first time this trip, we said no to free food because we had to get going to meet our host for London.

We met some young Christian men who taught us about the love of Jesus and we went back and forth reasoning our beliefs to each other for a while. It was a refreshing conversation that (I think) ended with both parties thinking in the right directions. After this conversation around five pm people started appearing out of no where (likely from the games) by the thousands. The streets were packed, the sun came out and it started to get exciting. Based on my impression from the first day, the olympics here have far less free events for people. Nightly concerts and houses from different sponsors are non existant and other than the normal tourist activities, the Olympics are only visible by symbolic statues and monuments in addition to tacky pink vested eager volunteers.

We travelled by tube to Southgate station which is nearly forty minutes outside of the downtown area. We tried to call my mother's aunty with the payphone but the darn machine kept eating my coins so we borrowed a phone from a nice young lady. We had miscommunicated with my mom's aunty and cousin who were hosting us. They had been expecting us around one pm and were a bit cofused. Everything worked out in the end and we got picked up from the station. We went back to their home nearby and met the rest of the family over a delicious Persian meal. I met my second cousin and great aunty and we stayed up very late getting to know one another. We slept well that night in anticipation for another day at the twice in a lifetime event.


"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

Dublin To Scotland

We arrived in Edinburgh around eleven at night and there was no information stand open so we tried to figure out a bus route to get to our couchsurfing host`s home not too far away but nothing worked out because of the time of night it was. So Tyson made a phone call to a number that he thought was hers to say that we would be spending the night at the airport and that we would be going to her place the next night. We found out half way through the next day that he had accidentally called my friend in Dublin to leave this confusing message and our host was not sure what had happened to us. We layed out our things and slept on the familiar airport floor. Very early the next morning a security guard woke us up and poilitely suggested that we be on our way. We intended to listen but it did not work out that way and we ended up sleeping about four more hours on the seats nearby. After a good rest, we caught the city bus, paid some pounds and got into the city. We spent the first day exploring the Scottish tourist shops full of fake bag pipes, kilts, plaid products and keychains. We went to the Scottish Parliament building that is fairly new and very innovative in design and ideas. The design was created by a Spanish architect to reflect the images of the nature around the building as well as to incorporate some of the history of the land and its peoples. There was an exhibition on display from worldpress which was the results of their competition for 2011. They had chosen the top three photographs in several different categories from photographers from around the world. It was absolutely amazing. We spent many hours walking around and reading about the different stories and then gazing at the images that prove and reflect the writing. The subjects of some of the photographs were world events such as the tsunami in Japan, the war in Afghanistan, Syria and other poor countries, the economic collapse and the loss of housing for people in the United States, the poaching of innocent and endangered animals for sport or financial gains, the unjust behaiviors of countries such as Iran with their `justice system``, poverty throughout third world countries and mass murders. The photographs that these professionals have managed to capture regardless of danger to their person is remarkable. The pain and hardship caught on the faces of so many individuals was so haunting that I could not look away. These are just a few of the events of merely one year. It was a lot of heavy thinking material but a great exhibition that I will not likely forget.

We also took a one hour tour of the actual building where a knowledgable man took us around and explained everything from the material used, the meaning and hidden concepts of the building to the judicial system of the governing body. Scotland is still a part of the United Kingdom and their official parliament is still in Westmister Abby but there are many people who want independance and there is an upcoming referendom in 2014 to decide this. Thay have a great open system at present where the public can watch debates and visit the parliament with tours when they like. The outdoor area is also very nice with a few small pools of water. One of them was filled with children playing in the water. Tyson was trying to soak his stinky feet when one thing lead to another and we got into a full blown water fight. I believe that I won that fight since I only got a few spots wet, but he was soaked. When Tyson went to try to call our host to set up a meeting spot, he realized that he had dialed the wrong number the last night so he had to explain the situation to her. She was easy going about it and we agreed to meet at an address at eight pm. We head up the Royal Mile which is the famous tourist street from the Edinburgh castle to the Queen`s residence known as Hollyrood House. We visited this house after our time in the parliament building. We passed the Edinburgh castle but it was closed for the day so we only took photos from the outside. We stopped to eat and buy a load of groceries before heading to our meeting spot. When we found the address, there was only a small plain door so we thought we had the wrong place. We got lead to the other end of the street which ended up being wrong as well. We called our host again who told us to just meet her at the National Museam of Scotland so we again walked all the way near to where we were to meet her. We waited nearly an hour before I asked about the old address we had and someone gave us some better directions. I waited at the museam in case she came there, while Tyson went to the restaurant to see if he could find her. As soon as Tyson left a young guy came over to talk to me and was kind of wierd but helped to pass the time. When Tyson came back, he left but when Tyson left again, he came back. Long story-a bit shorter- we both eventually head to the restaurant where a Couchsurfing gathering was taking place and waited there for our host. She did eventually get there and we met a lot of people that night. We met a Ukranian girl who was working in a souvenier shop and offered us a discount at her shop, an American travelling Europe for a year as well as several others. There were quite a few people there and we stayed for quite a while. We left with our host and took the bus back to her place a few miles away.

Our host is a young woman who is working on her PhD in history and is also the leader of the local Green Peace group. She taught us a great deal about peace and war, environmental concerns and the history of the Scottish people. There were posters, quotes, stickers and photos all over her house that pointed out different catastrophes and information that related to her interests and they were all very thought provoking. The group are currently working on many projects including trying to get Shell Oil to stop drilling in the Arctic.

After a big spaghetti and tomato sauce dinner, we slept.

The next morning we played with our host`s two cats, ate breakfast and walked into town via a very beautiful hike. Our host had taken a four hour train ride to London for a green peace meeting and would not be home until midnight so we did not see her that day. The hike was called the Seat and it was not too difficult but it still made us pant a bit. At the top there were beautiful views all around of the gorgeous city. It was a crowded day since apparently before we arrived the weather had been a bit crap. We walked back down the other side of the mountain into town. We went to the National Museam of Scotland which is one of the biggest and most detailed museam of all time. Funny enough, we felt very old because very common childhood toys of ours such as the original Nintendo were on display along with Sony Discmans and Walkmans. We spent the rest of the day at the museam but did not even see half of it. It was very interactive with games and films about certain subjects. We played an awful lot of games including competitive ones, video games, trivia games and informative ones. Some of the subjects we learned about were animals, space, history of communication, technology and environmental subjects. We learned that our carbon footprint for this year is astronimical and the only way to pay society back is to sit in a dark hut for the rest of eternity. As I was passing by a steam powered hydrolic machine, I stopped to investigate it further when a repair man inside popped his head out. I jumped and panicked and waved my hands at him to get away. It freaked me out more than I can say and the only reason I did not scream was because the wind got knocked out of me with fright. He was extremely regretful and appologetic but Tyson on the other hand thought it was a free comedy show and nearly died of laughter for a full fifteen minutes following the event in addition to sporadic periods of laughter until now. After we got kicked out of the museam several times because they were closed we stopped to buy more food from the grocery store. It took us a long time to decide what we wanted and we bought a lot of junk food with nothing healthy. We walked to the nearby Starbucks to check our emails when we decided that Tyson should go back and get another bag of chips because we were not fat enough. We walked towards home but stopped at another viewpoint up Calton hill. There were many monuments on top of this hill including one for Scotland, an observatory and so on. When we got to the top we noticed about a dozen photographers taking photos. We looked in the distance to see what was so special other than the beautiful sunset but we saw nothing. So I had to ask but it turns out that it was just a photography course. As we walked back to the house, my precious sandal broke once again. It was devastating but Tyson assures me that it is fixable and I hope that he is right. We watched Beverly Hills Cop and ate the same pasta dinner that night before bed.

The next morning we planned to be up at seven am but the alarm got silenced many times until after nine. We finally got into town just before a walking tour was about to start. We took the same tour as we did in Amsterdam and it was very good. During the three hour walking tour, our guide took us all over the city and shared very wierd, interesting and disgusting stories with us along the way. He taught us that some time ago, a thief or other criminal would be nailed to a monument in the center of town by his ear and people would throw things at them. The only way to get out of it would be to rip one`s ear off while losing a part of it and labelling them a criminal forever which carried great social stigma with it. We learned about some of the famous writers that came from Scotland such as Robbie Burns, the author of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde and JK Rowling. We learned about the public executions including the story of Margaret Dickeins who has a pub named after her. She was convicted of having an illigitimate baby and concealing its death, they publically hung her but it turns out she survived. There was also the story of two men who mass murdered hundreds of people by suffocation to sell the bodies to the local medical school. They made a lot of money before one sold the other out and they got caught. One was hung and the other got six months imprisonment. This created a great underground of stealing bodies from graves and selling them soon after they were burried. People were forced to watch over their loved ones bodies at night and this is where the term `graveyard shift`` comes from. We also heard the story of Greyfriars Bobby which is about a dog that stayed loyal to its master even after death. It is a very popular Scottish story about this dog who sat by its owners grave stone everyday of its life. There are statues and references to this dog everywhere you look in the city. There is also a story of a famous carpenter and locksmith named Deacon Brodie who lived a foul life by night. This is where the story of Dr Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde comes from. He would copy the keys he created for rich families and then sneak into their homes to steal from them at night. Eventually he gets caught in the story but not before he was made the head of the investigating team meant to catch the famous thief.

In the times of the past, Edinburgh was very poor and the living conditions were atrocious. People lived in multi level buildings with the poorest people on the top because it was the most dangerous. The buildings were made of wood and fires, mold and other toxins were not uncommon. People had no bathrooms so they would relieve themselves in cups and throw it out the window. The would shout out a special saying `Gadyloo`and then throw. Apparently the term ``shitfaced`` comes from when people were stumbling home from the bar late at night and someone would shout `gadyloo`and the drunk person would look up to see where the sound came from and...yeah shitfaced. Many great stories were told during the tour including a brief telling of the history of the Royal Family and the role of religion within the country. Both subjects very touchy and powerful. We also stopped at the very popular Elephant Cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote some little books called the Harry Potter series. She could not afford the cost to heat her home during the daytime so it was cheaper for her to buy one cup of coffee for the day and that`s what she did. The cafe now shamelessly flaunts this fact and people love it. The tour was based on tips so we paid the guy some money and took off to the money museam.

The National Bank of Scotland was the first bank to print actual notes in the world, prior to that there were only coins. The money here is actually quite funny because each of the three major banks print off their own currencies which are all different from the one printed in London and Northern Ireland. Although all are accepted at all the stores and worth the same amount, some trouble can arise. Inside the museam we saw a million pounds in notes, we also saw how coins are made, we got to practise building a bank as well as breaking into a vault. Tyson broke the combination and we both got chocolate coins so we were happy. Inside the museam, we looked out the window and saw that it was raining cats and dogs, by the time we left, it was clear and sunny again. This happened a few times throughout our four days in the country. After the museam we went back to the Edinburgh castle and took some photos before going back to the National museam for the second time. We explored some more, watching films about natural disasters and looking at exhibits about poaching. It was very interactive and informative. Again, we got kicked out a second time due to time but we still did not get a chance to see everything. I would need a full week just for the museam to get a good look at everything.

After picking up some more groceries for the night, we walked back to the apartment and cooked another pasta dinner. We spent a few hours chatting with our host about the history of family tartans and crests and she told us that less than half a percent of Scottish families have actual crests or tartans handed to them from the Royal family due to heroic actions or wealth. The other vast majority of people never got them but the marketting companies created crests and tartans for people so that they could sell them products more easily. It was hilarious because many of the family names advertising crests were not even Scottish names but tourists were buying the stuff like crazy, convinced that the stories they were told were true whereas most of the families were ordinary people. She has studied history for a very long time so she shared some very interesting things.

The next day we slept in a bit and walked back into town. Part of the way, our host accompanied us but she was on her way to a Shell gas station to protest in a polar bear costume so she left us soon afterwards. We walked past several monuments and signs for the olympics in the United Kingdom. The olympic fever was not as high as we expected it to be but there is a bit of tension between the Scots and the English so they do not feel the same connection as there might be in other countries. We started off our day at the Edinburgh museum which was more history about the city. Much of the stories were the same as the stories we were told about in the tour so it did not take us long to walk through. We also stopped at the People`s Museam where first hand stories of the lives of ordinary folk in the country were told. All aspects of life were covered such as work, home life and leisure, there were very creepy wax figures to portray people doing the activities. We also stopped at The Children`s museam which was very small and had toys on display from throughout different times inn history. Unfortunately we recognized and owned many of the toys on display as historical items. We stopped to watch several street shows such as knife jugglers, comedians, people who could get out of straight jackets, floating people and also the most pierced woman on earth. This middle aged woman holds the Guiness World Record for the most piercings with nearly 10,000! Her whole face and tongue were covered in silver studs as well as most of the rest of her body that was not visible. She was offering herself up for the night if anyone wanted to pay. She has also auctioned herself off to be married and was once paid $30,000 for her services. Once you see her picture posted on my facebook wall, you may be even more surprised than you are now. Before I took a photo of this lady however, I could not find my camera and thought it had gone missing so I sent Tyson off to look for it. Moments after he had left I found it in the bag but he was gone. I waited about twenty minutes until he came back in a panic which turned to frustration and relief after finding out that it was okay.

We walked to the bus station stopping briefly at the busiest McDonalds of all time for free fries. We took the three pm bus to Birmingham which was meant to take eight hours. We stopped for about twenty minutes in Glasgow which looks like a mildly interesting place. We also stopped in Manchester for about the same time and got a good tour of the city from the bus. Since it was raining the whole city looked a bit drab. The scenery along the way was very beautiful though with green hills, huge fields, random ruins and a whole lot of rainbows. We played hangman, ate like crazy, bugged each other and laughed until about eleven when we reached our destination where two beautiful people were waiting for us with smiley faces. My friend and her husband picked us up from the stop and I talked non stop the whole way home until nothing was left of my voice but a raspy mess. When we got back to their lovely two storey home just outside the city, we sat and chatted until the middle of the night. We ate brownies and caught up on the last year of life with big changes and experiences had by all of us. We will be here for a couple of days and we are looking forward to our time very much.





"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

Derry to Dublin

We were at Tyson's cousin's place in Letterkenny, Ireland, in the early afternoon when the baby woke up from his morning nap. We had a big lunch of authentic Irish stew with mashed spuds, for them this may not be a special meal because it is a common one but for us it was new and delicious. We ate while the baby entertained us with his cuteness. Tyson`s cousin`s husband also came home from work for lunch which was a nice break in the day. After our tummies were filled to the rim, we headed out to the beach area of town and even though it was not warm by anyone`s standards, the place was still very nice to look at. The rain held up for the most part. We drove to Tyson Aunt's house in Muff (near Derry) where they have a dairy farm.

Some of Tyson`s cousins were hard at work on the farm and his other cousin had to run off to work herself so we were able to watch her son again. It was time to milk the cows so we went outside to herd them into the milking parlour. We had to stand at the end of the lane and block the road to send them in the right direction. Tyson wanted to help his cousin with milking so we all walked up to the milking parlour and jumped in. The cows are brought into the room ten at a time on either side of the pit and move into individual stalls where they are given feed to keep them occupied during the milking process. Each cow then gets its udders cleaned with a soapy rag and has four sucction cups attached to them to pump the milk. It is pumped into a holding jar that can hold up to twenty litres (roughly two cows worth) of milk before it gets transferred to the large holding tank. After the pumping is finished the suction cups are removed and the udders are sprayed with an iodine solution that prevents infection. This process is repeated until all the cows have been milked. The cows are then moved into a holding barn before getting herded back down the lane to the fields. The whole process takes about two hours and is repeated twice daily. I was carrying the baby so I watched and it was a fairly quick process but apparently there are bigger farms that have computerized systems for more cows.

We went back to Tyson's cousin's place in Letterkenny that night and Tyson went to work helping to fertilize some land in a big John Deer tracktor. I stayed back and baby sat a little for the afternoon shift. The baby and I went for a walk through some of the countryside where he intelligently pointed out many of the animals and the sounds they make. We came back to the house and enjoyed dinner together with Tyson's cousin. After the baby went to bed, we watched some television but both of us fell asleep on the couch and napped until the boys got home. We learned about a kidney transplant that Tyson's cousin has had several years ago. Her story is an amazing and inspiring one. She found out her kidneys were failing badly by accident as an adult and her life changed instantly. She went on dialysis for a few years and then as a result of a horribly unfortunate crime she and seven other individuals recieved the organs they needed to save their lives. In short, a very young man and his friend brutally murdered two men older than themselves in Dublin Ireland. The two men were stabbed through the temple and into the brain with screwdrivers over a tiny scuffle and their lives ended. As a result of their family's generosity however, their organs were donated and many people benefitted. It is a story that really touched me because there was light at the end of this tragedy.

In the morning, we babysat for a few hours and we really enjoyed it, the child is at a very fun age and his character is warm and funny. After breakfast Tyson's cousin brought us to the farm in Muff again and we had a tour of the grounds. We saw the dozens of baby calves who were only weeks old. They were frightened of us when we first entered but they warmed up to us after a few minutes and were even suckling on our fingers and letting us pet them. They are very cute with their big brown eyes and soft fur. We saw the chickens who were not scared of us at all and we fed them dry grass stems. We walked along a small river and took a look at all the big machinery that helps with all the work there is to be done. We walked up the hill to another fair sized piece of property with an old and destroyed house on it. It was the home of Tyson's grandfather's cousin. She has passed away now but the home was looted several times by hooligans who stole copper piping among other goodies that they could sell. As a result the place flooded and over time, the damage worsened. We walked around the area and Tyson was afraid the place was haunted so we left.

Back at the farm, we met another one of Tyson's six cousins in the area. He is married and has a beautiful daughter. She has huge bright blue eyes and makes you melt when she smiles, which she does a lot. It took her a few minutes to warm up to us but when she did, it was worth the wait. We spent some time with her while the boys were outside doing silage. Twice a year, they have to cut, gather and pile up grass to save for the cows' winter feed. This is a big job that can take several workers several days. The weather has to be dry so when there is no rain, they work hard to get it done. This is what the men of the family were doing most of the time we were visiting, only coming in for little bits at a time for meals. They worked from the early morning until the middle of the nights everyday to get it done.

That night, Tyson's Aunty and Uncle came home from their vacation and we got to see them. Tyson's Aunty and I went out and she bought us chips and hawaian burgers for a later dinner. We ate back at the house and caught up until the middle of the night when we all passed out.

The next day we all ate "dinner" together. "Dinner" is what we would call lunch, and what we would call dinner is called "tea" so this was a bit confusing at first but we caught on. After we had eaten dinner, Tyson's cousin, her baby, Tyson's Aunty, Tyson and I went out for the day to Derry. It is a nearby city that is well known. We explored the old wall that is still intact, we walked over the peace bridge which is new and very impressive looking. We went into a small church where the greeter took one look at me and asked me if I wanted a Spanish pamphlet. We met two people impersonating old soldiers, at first we were not sure if they were really actors but by the end of the conversation we realized that they must be. One other lady who also met them was completely buying their stories about the war and such. We stopped at the tourism office to find out about transportation to Dublin to catch our flight but they were not terribly helpful. In Derry, there are also a lot of extremist religious people fighting with each other. There was a really bad time of bombs and bloodshed that seems to have gotten better with time but some people say it is getting bad again. We saw many young people loittering about and being annoying by muttering things to people or even throwing things as people passed. Boredom seemed to be a part of the problem there.

Back at the farm, we had our tea with one of Tyson's cousins before he ran back outside to continue with the silage. They continued their work throughout the day and night until three am. At around midnight we brought them out tea, sandwhiches and snacks for energy. They finished the bulk of the work that night. In the morning, we were did not do much but just read and hung out. We ate dinner with everybody including a lot of family who came by. Almost all the cousins, kids and in laws were present. After eating a lot of food and sweets, the boys (including Tyson) went outside to cover the huge pile of silage with a tarp and hundreds of old tires. This took a couple of hours and when they came back inside in the afternoon, Tyson's Aunty took us out to see some more of the beautiful country. In addition to seeing the stunning scenery of greens and blues on the way, we went to Malinhead which is the most Northernly point of the country. The wind was so strong there that it was pushing us around. The lookouts to the country were really breathtaking and there were many other people there enjoying it as well. Dozens of people had written their names with white stones along the mountain for others to see.

After some shopping and errands, we came back to the farm where Tyson and I drove the quad bike around for a while. At first Tyson drove and then when I figured it out a bit I took over. It was great fun and we even took it over to Tyson's cousin's place nearby for a visit. This is the same cousin who has the beautiful daughter. We visited with them for a while and got a tour around their lovely home. We ate tea with them which was chips and burgers from the local chip shop. It started to pour rain so we passed on driving the quad and got a ride back to the farm where we slept.

On our last day with the family, we went into Buncrana which is a nearby town for some grocery shopping. Shopping for that many people must be difficult, but Tyson's Aunty who has been doing it for years, makes it look easy. We changed some cash from Euros to Pounds for our upcoming currency transition at an apparently crappy rate and head home. Tyson's Aunty and one of his cousins were heading to Canada that night as well. Their plan was to drive to Belfast and then catch the bus down to Dublin from there. Since we were leaving from Dublin as well, we caught a ride with them to Belfast where it would be closer for us to take the bus to Dublin. They were not leaving until the next day so we got dropped off at the bus station in Belfast. I slept during the ride down but I am sure that it was gorgeous. We said good bye there and ran to catch our bus. By the time we bought our tickets to get on and organized ourselves a bit, we watched the nasty bus driver drive away while ushering to us that we would have to wait. So we got a chance to explore the most boring city in the world called Belfast. I walked around with a camera trying to look for something to take a photo of in an effort to remember the city but it was hopeless. So we caught the next bus for the three hour ride to Dublin. We had a great time with family in Ireland but it went by too fast. It was a perfect visit for us and we got to do everything that we wanted to.

As opposed to Belfast, Dublin is a super exciting and interesting city. We arrived very late at night and decided to walk to my friend's house. About nine years ago, I worked for a marketing company in Vancouver where I met some Irish friends. I became closer with one girl in particular and it was her that we stayed with for one night in Ireland. We asked about five people for directions and each one told us that we should not be walking around with all of our belongings at that time of night in a place like Dublin. Since Dublin did not look half as scary as many of the other places we had been, we decided to ignore their suggestions. We did try to walk fast however and it still took us about an hour to reach her place. We arrived around midnight and my friend greeted us warmly. She had been very ill for a few days prior to our visit and she had not improved by the time we arrived but she was still very gracious and offered us drinks and dinner which we drank and ate. We caught up about nine years of life in a couple of hours and then she insisted that we take her bed while she slept on a cot. Yes, she is a very hospitable friend.

The next morning after some cereal and coffee for breakfast, my friend helped us to print off and mark a map to plan our day. We walked back into the city which looked a lot different in the daylight. We visited nearly everything on our list including the Dublin castle, Christchurch cathedral among many other churches and cathedrals including one that has been in operation for 800 years. Each had similarities, differences and unique stories that made them stand out amongst their peers. We stopped at the Guiness brewery at St. James Gate for some photos but we did not go inside for many reasons including that we heard it sucks. We continued to the Jameson Distillery and then to the St. Michen's church and crypts. From there we walked to the main tourist shopping area called O'Connell street where I bought a new pair of jeans. We took photos with the extremely tall and pointy sphire monument. We arranged to meet my friend for dinner at a restaurant called Marco something or other restaurant (I cannot remember the name). A couple of young guys who we asked for directions from told us that it is the most famous restaurant in the country with a highly respected chef so we were in for a treat. We walked through Trinity University grounds where the book of kells is kept, before heading over to the restaurant. The whole city is architecurally beautiful, the people were very friendly, the shops were unique and interesting and we had a great time. One day was definitely not enough to explore the place.

Luckily we changed out of our grubby clothes before we got to the restaurant because it was a very fine one indeed. The chef is most famous for making chef Gordon Ramsay cry. We ate steaks and chips and cokes out of glass bottles which were all very delicious but the best part was the desserts. Between the three of us we had a strawberry, merangue and ice cream dish, a chocolate, white cream and rasberry set dessert, and a creme broullet. It was all very unforgettable. We had great conversations to continuous Madonna hits (her concert was that night in town). Following this fantastic meal, my friend drove us to the airport and sent us on our way. It was great to see her and she went above and beyond (while being very sick) to take care of us.

We caught our last Ryan Air flight to Edinburgh, Scotland which is our thirty seventh country thus far. Because Tyson's aunt had kindly taken a lot of our belongings with her to Canada, we did not have to put on all of our clothing or hide our weight so everything went rather smoothly. In an effort to spend the last of our euros, we bought a few candy bars and a big golden coin from Starbucks but I can safely say that it was definitely not money well spent.



"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

Legends, greenery and Manure

After our first night in Ireland, we woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy. We slept on what Tyson called "a cloud" which was obviously a very comfortable bed. We ate breakfast and then head out to see Giant's Causeway with Tyson's cousin and her child. It was a bit of a drive but there was lovely scenery of the country and coast along the way. We stopped for pictures a few times to try and capture some of the beauty in the especially scenic places. When we reached Giant's Causeway everything was a bit different from the last time Tyson had been there. They were now charging a hefty entrance fee which had always been free so we had to pull a fast one and sneak in the back. It was not too difficult because they had just created this pay structure two weeks prior to our visit and the staff were still trying to figure everything out. The three adults and the innocent child snuck by the guards who didn't know what hit them.

Giant's Causeway is not a big race track as I suspected but rather it is huge formations of volcanic rocks that have naturally formed into hexagon-shaped steps along the coast. There are over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns as a result of intense volcanic and geological activity at the Unesco world heritage site. The rocks are sixty million years old due to the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows. The place is also the victim of many legends and stories that the locals here believe. We did not buy the audio guide so I cannot tell you more than it is about a Scottish giant, an Irish giant, a camel, a wishing rock, a grandma and a fight. We walked along the paths and took in the breathtaking views of jagged cliffs, thousands of smooth steps and beautiful blue waters crashing onto them. We climbed about and took many photos. The place was quite busy with tourists and the rain even held up for our whole visit. We snuck back out without being noticed and drove through the city of Bushmills. It is a small place but it has some famous sites including the whiskey distillery. We walked into the visitor's center of the well known branded building and read some of the information about the place. They offered guided tours that we did not have time to take but Tyson had taken in the past and enjoyed. We also stopped at an old castle a little outside of town and spent some time taking photos and exploring the oldness of it all.

After all of this acitivity we stopped for a very windy picnic lunch. Tyson's cousin had kindly prepared sandwhiches and snacks for us to feast on but the wind decided not to let us have it so easy. Drinks, napkins, saran wraps and even the blankets were each flying at certain points in time. We ate quickly and drove to the farm. I cannot say much about the drive because I slept most of the way but my guess is that the others had a pleasant time. I did wake up at one point to see a few gypsies riding their horse and carriages and their villiages of caravans. We learned that they are a community of people who steal from others and sell their stolen goods back to the farmers. Apparently they are a funny bunch who inbreed, do not pay taxes, like to burn and destroy the places they live in and are not afraid to become violent. We went to the farm of Tyson's Aunt and the family. There are six children in total including the cousin who we were staying with. She had to go to work for a few hours but I met two more of the younger cousins that live on the farm. They were running the place since their parents were out of town. I watched the baby and we followed Tyson and his other cousin to milk the cows. This happens twice a day everyday and it is a big job. There are hundreds of cows that have to be moved from one field to the milking area with the help of a Land Rover and a couple of border collies. They are led ten at a time into a big room where they recieve feed to keep them happy while sucking machines are attached to their nipples and they get drained of their milk. The milk goes into glass holding containers and then is transported into a large steel contraption where it is kept cool. The whole procedure was fascinating to watch and even got pretty entertaining when Tyson recieved a couple of golden showers and one brown one.

This took a couple of hours and by that time, Tyson`s cousin had returned and we all head back to their house about thirty minutes away for delicious fish and chips. The adults hung out and chatted over tea and desserts for a while before it was bagpipe time. Tyson`s cousin is a very talented musician and Tyson has always dreamed of playing the bagpipes so she set up her set for him to try on. He was supposed to use about six breaths to fill up the reserve and then keep breathing into it to keep it full while playing notes. He actually was not too bad and was able to make noises that resembled what the instrument is supposed to sound like. I not only could not make the correct sounds, but I couldn`t even hold the thing up right so apparently Tyson has the blood lines for this difficult instrument. We were treated to a real song from the professional in the group which was exciting.

The next morning Tyson and I woke up earlier and baby sat for a few hours while the baby`s mom and dad were at work. We managed to keep him entertained, fed and clothed the whole time but we cannot say we weren`t tired afterwards. When Tyson`s cousin got home we puttered around for a while chatting, doing laundry and organizing our things. We planned to go out after the baby`s nap.


"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

Getting to Ireland

After our first night in Ireland, we woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy. We slept on what Tyson called "a cloud" which was obviously a very comfortable bed. We ate breakfast and then head out to see Giant's Causeway with Tyson's cousin and her child. It was a bit of a drive but there was lovely scenery of the country and coast along the way. We stopped for pictures a few times to try and capture some of the beauty in the especially scenic places. When we reached Giant's Causeway everything was a bit different from the last time Tyson had been there. They were now charging a hefty entrance fee which had always been free so we had to pull a fast one and sneak in the back. It was not too difficult because they had just created this pay structure two weeks prior to our visit and the staff were still trying to figure everything out. The three adults and the innocent child snuck by the guards who didn't know what hit them.

Giant's Causeway is not a big race track as I suspected but rather it is huge formations of volcanic rocks that have naturally formed into hexagon-shaped steps along the coast. There are over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns as a result of intense volcanic and geological activity at the Unesco world heritage site. The rocks are sixty million years old due to the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows. The place is also the victim of many legends and stories that the locals here believe. We did not buy the audio guide so I cannot tell you more than it is about a Scottish giant, an Irish giant, a camel, a wishing rock, a grandma and a fight. We walked along the paths and took in the breathtaking views of jagged cliffs, thousands of smooth steps and beautiful blue waters crashing onto them. We climbed about and took many photos. The place was quite busy with tourists and the rain even held up for our whole visit. We snuck back out without being noticed and drove through the city of Bushmills. It is a small place but it has some famous sites including the whiskey distillery. We walked into the visitor's center of the well known branded building and read some of the information about the place. They offered guided tours that we did not have time to take but Tyson had taken in the past and enjoyed. We also stopped at an old castle a little outside of town and spent some time taking photos and exploring the oldness of it all.

After all of this acitivity we stopped for a very windy picnic lunch. Tyson's cousin had kindly prepared sandwhiches and snacks for us to feast on but the wind decided not to let us have it so easy. Drinks, napkins, saran wraps and even the blankets were each flying at certain points in time. We ate quickly and drove to the farm. I cannot say much about the drive because I slept most of the way but my guess is that the others had a pleasant time. I did wake up at one point to see a few gypsies riding their horse and carriages and their villiages of caravans. We learned that they are a community of people who steal from others and sell their stolen goods back to the farmers. Apparently they are a funny bunch who inbreed, do not pay taxes, like to burn and destroy the places they live in and are not afraid to become violent. We went to the farm of Tyson's Aunt and the family. There are six children in total including the cousin who we were staying with. She had to go to work for a few hours but I met two more of the younger cousins that live on the farm. They were running the place since their parents were out of town. I watched the baby and we followed Tyson and his other cousin to milk the cows. This happens twice a day everyday and it is a big job. There are hundreds of cows that have to be moved from one field to the milking area with the help of a Land Rover and a couple of border collies. They are led ten at a time into a big room where they recieve feed to keep them happy while sucking machines are attached to their nipples and they get drained of their milk. The milk goes into glass holding containers and then is transported into a large steel contraption where it is kept cool. The whole procedure was fascinating to watch and even got pretty entertaining when Tyson recieved a couple of golden showers and one brown one.

This took a couple of hours and by that time, Tyson`s cousin had returned and we all head back to their house about thirty minutes away for delicious fish and chips. The adults hung out and chatted over tea and desserts for a while before it was bagpipe time. Tyson`s cousin is a very talented musician and Tyson has always dreamed of playing the bagpipes so she set up her set for him to try on. He was supposed to use about six breaths to fill up the reserve and then keep breathing into it to keep it full while playing notes. He actually was not too bad and was able to make noises that resembled what the instrument is supposed to sound like. I not only could not make the correct sounds, but I couldn`t even hold the thing up right so apparently Tyson has the blood lines for this difficult instrument. We were treated to a real song from the professional in the group which was exciting.

The next morning Tyson and I woke up earlier and baby sat for a few hours while the baby`s mom and dad were at work. We managed to keep him entertained, fed and clothed the whole time but we cannot say we weren`t tired afterwards. When Tyson`s cousin got home we puttered around for a while chatting, doing laundry and organizing our things. We planned to go out after the baby`s nap.


"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"

Frankfurt

Near Frankfurt we couchsurfed with a lady in a place called Laangan. She lived in a beautiful one bedroom apartment and she gave us her bedroom to sleep in because she was an early bird who wanted to work from home early in the morning. The stores were closed by the time we got near her home so we cooked some pasta we had from before and our host provided the sauce. She loved to cook so she prepared a nice dinner and we ate and got to know each other before calling it a night.

The next morning we wanted to visit the Bahai House of Worship near Frankfurt and our host wanted to accompany us. She prepared a delicious breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon and peppers which we enjoyed. After several cups of coffee, the three of us drove about half an hour through the beautiful country. The temple is located on a hill in the countryside. It is an architectural masterpiece and a peaceful place to pray and meditate. We were greeted in the information center by a very kind and elderly man. He was of German, Protestant decent and had been serving in there for the last ten years with his wife. He was very knowledgable about the Bahai Faith and after showing us a very informative and well created video on the basis of the religion, we all discussed its contents. Our host was Protestant so the conversation was very interesting and I believe we all learned a great deal about each other and a few of the major religions of the world. The topics varied from life after death, to the fact that there is one creator that some people call God, to the need for spiritual and moral education for the betterment of society, to praying and other such things. Some things we agreed on such as the equality of men and women and some things we disaggreed on such as independant investigation for the truth without the need for preachers. The conversation went on for several hours which was much longer than any of us thought we would be there. Nevertheless it was necessary and after we were finished, the three of us walked to the temple. As an architect, our host was amazed by the design and the building of the structure. We walked through the colourful gardens and each prayed independently for a while.

Our host drove us into the center of Frankfurt and we got the one on two private tour of the place from the point of view of an architect which was a unique and refreshing take on the city. She taught us that after everything was destroyed in the bombings of world war two, some things we rebuilt to look modern and others were repaired to their original old look. Thus the effect is a mixture of very old brick buildings with modern white high rises. There are also very impressive gigantic funny shaped buildings that make the city look a bit space aged. There is something for everyone in the small town. There are, of course, many cathedrals. Some Protestant and some Catholic but all very breautiful. There is a bridge near the center of town that was apparently built by the local residents so that they could get from one side of the river to the other without having to travel a long distance. It is a unique place because it is a story of the citizens taking matters into their own hands and creating what they wanted. On one side of this bridge are dozens of museams and on the other is everything else. We saw a lot of street musicians and performers including one extremely intoxicated older woman who was dancing in the middle of a crowd of people who gathered to laugh at her. She was trying to be provacative but it was a rather horendous display of the effects of alcohol. We tried not to watch as we passed. We also passed by many gypsy ladies, some of whom had young children and puppies, we were instructed to ignore them. We went into a couple of the cathedrals which were very big and in line with all the others we had seen up until this point.

We stopped by a Thai store where we bought all the ingredients our host needed to make us some Thai food. Since she loved to cook, she offered to make us a few Thai dishes and while the ingredients proved to be more expensive than what we had expected to spend, the food was very good. At the house we ate a cold pasta salad with seafood to start. During the first of the two movies we watched on her comfy couches that night, we ate a big bucket of sweet popcorn between the three of us. Following that snack, we devoured all of the coconut cream chicken curry and jasmine rice she prepared. After this gluttonous evening, we slept well.

The next morning we had a slow start which we blamed on the gloomy weather, it rained on and off with beautiful rainbow breaks in between. We drank coffee and watched movies before finally dragging ourselves out of the house. We got dropped off at the train station near our host's house and decided to hitchhike from there. We were not familiar with directions to the city so we asked people to guide us. The first lady drove us to a more appropriate spot to catch a ride to the city and after about thirty minutes a friendly Turkish guy took us out of his way into the city. Another very generous gesture from a complete stranger that we will not soon forget. We noticed that, for the most part, their seemed to be trends in the people who were picking us up. They seem to be young, male, single Turks in Volkswagons. While this has not been every time, it has been enough that we took notice. In town, we walked along the waterfront and stopped at a near by playground to use the teeter-totter. While we were playing, a lady walked by and asked if she could take our picture because, "you are really in love". Further down the waterfront, we decided to walk along the bridge that our host had pointed out the day before. It was a small simple foot bridge but there were many people enjoying their time on it. There were thousands of small locks attached to the structure as symbols of the love of the couples who put them there. Some of them had initials engraved or quotes written and this gesture also takes place in other European cities such as Venice and Paris. We did not have a lock but Tyson carved a very sweet message on the bridge in pen. We also heard that when couples break up, they return to their lock with bolt cutters and take their anger out on the metal representation of what used to be.

We spent the majority of the afternoon shopping and people watching. We went to a mall that had an observation deck at the top and took in a panoramic view of the city with all its cathedrals and high rises. We made lunch out of meat and potato chips with a side of McDonalds french fries. We had also bought a small square of what we thought was butter but turned out to be a foul smelling mystry food. We never discovered what it was but Tyson got our money back for it. We checked out the sites some more and somehow we were late to meet up with our host (as planned) to watch a classical music performance at one of the churches we visited the day before. There were two female opera style singers and a piano player who performed for over an hour. Opera is not generally the music we like but these women had beautiful voices and we really appreciated the quality of the music. I cannot say I didn't fall asleep for part of it but the part I was awake for was a wonderful experience. The acoustics in the church and the atmosphere added to the performance to make the evening even better. After the show we decided to head back home for dinner of pasta (again) and have an early night because we were all so drained from the day.

In the morning, our host took us to a rest stop on the highway that she suggested would be a good place to hitchhike to our friend's place in the Netherlands. Yes, we decided to hitch through Germany and into Holland. We had tried to use public transit or carpooling websites but nothing worked out and we still wanted to see our friend. We realized that we were not experienced after only two prior experiences but we felt confident that it would be okay. With zero preperation or knowledge of the route, we took the advice of our host and started our journey. We ended up going in a huge circle around the entire country in the wrong direction. We were picked up by at least a dozen people that we trusted to get us closer bit by bit. Since we did not have a single set destination, we went all over the map. We had a list of places that were near my friend's home so each driver took us toward a different one until we had been close to every place but had not actually reached any of them. Finally, from about forty five minutes to our friends house a nice young couple drove us the rest of the way (out of their way) to my friend's exact address. Actually we did not even flag these people down, Tyson had asked them a question as they were pumping fuel and they offered to take us. The driver of the VOLKSWAGON was TURKISH.... just saying. They gave us a dozen cans of pop to drink on the way and promised to visit us in Vancouver. The total journey took over nine hours when we were only three hours away to begin with. We withstood rain, wind, embarrasment, honking, taunting, laughing, joking and cold thumbs throughout the adventure. Tyson even raised his pant leg to show a little skin but for some reason it did not exactly work.

We knocked on the door and were greeted by familiar smiling faces. It was so nice to see our friends with their super adorable kids. We got there on a Saturday afternoon and soon learned that the grocery store would be closed on Sunday so we walked with my friend's two year old to the store. It was a short walk and he is at an age where he likes to stop and look at everything and try to pronounce their names. Half way through our shop, the staff shut the lights out to inform us they were closing. We grabbed what we could and rushed through the till. On our way back to the house we ran into my friend who was walking with the baby in a sling towards us. She made us spaghetti with meat and spinach sauce which was yummy and filling and we spent the night talking and catching up. Tyson and my friend's husband spent the night talking hockey and wandering the town gathering air matresses and sleeping bags for our sleeping arrangements.

We slept in the baby's bedroom which has dark curtains making it look like night all the time. This is our excuse for sleeping in until eleven thirty the next morning. We woke up to rainy weather that made it okay to have slept in. We spent the day playing with the kids, hanging out, drinking pots of coffee and catching up some more. It was exactly what we had come there to do. During a break in the rain, Tyson took the three year old to the park so he could burn off some energy. For dinner my friend prepared macaroni which we ate all together and then we quizzed each other about movie quotes and hockey trivia. We ate bags of candy until our mouths hurt and watched a classic Will Ferrell movie that was kinda funny and kinda not.

We spent our last morning there drinking coffee and getting ready to go out. As we learned, getting two kids up, fed, packed up and presentable enough to go out is quite the task. My friend is a pro and managed on her own while we watched and learned. We all walked to the grocery store to shop a bit and then continued into town. The town was dead because nothing opens on mondays before one pm but it was still a nice quaint place full of friendy-ish people. Once we got back to the house, we packed up and got a generous lift to the border of the Netherlands and Germany where we could begin another series of hitching rides from strangers. Although it was a short visit, we were happy we got the chance to see them and we had a great time together.

Luckily the rain held up as we held up our poorly written sign and stuck out our thumbs to the traffic. We always start off with fresh energy and an optimistic attitude which slowly fades away to pessimistic behavior which eventually turns into anger at the singly occupied vehicles driving in the direction we want to go without a glance. Normally we do not get to this stage between rides but when it happens I usually give up and sit down while Tyson forges on baring his legs, waving and performing other stunts that don't work but make us laugh. The experience of hitching with a known path and a knowledge of the area we want to go to makes a world of difference. We looked up and wrote down the way to the airport from my friend's house so we knew exactly where we wanted to go. We made signs and got to our destination two hundred and fifty kilometers away in only four vehicles. After being dropped off at the border by my friend, the first pick up was a lively Turkish guy who was ever so interested in our trip, the second was a young German guy with a new baby on his way home from work, the third was a middle aged truck driver who did not speak English in a huge semi truck, the last one who drove us completely out of his way was a young German guy who also wanted to hear stories of our travels. We got to the airport around seven pm for our eleven am flight to Ireland. We spent the time organizing our bags to not exceed the permitted ten kilograms by setting aside huge piles of clothes we had to put on the next morning. We watched movies, ate all of our food, watched people hugging their loved ones in arrivals and blogged. We slept along with dozens of other poor backpackers on the floor in the airport and it was a great time.

In the morning, we woke up in front of a huge crowd of people in line to check into their flight. When we checked the clock it was five am so we grabbed our stuff, found a quieter corner and went back to sleep until after nine. We waited in the unorganized line up to get our passports checked, scarfed down some pudding and rice cakes with peanut butter, squeezed into every piece of clothing we could and went to get our bags tested. After a thorough examination of the size and wieght of our bags, they passed and we were allowed to cross through security. Tyson set off the alarm because there were so many buttons on his several layer of pants and shorts so they checked each layer of clothing to make sure he was not hiding anything in his drawers. We continued to the waiting room which is not the nicest we've seen but it suited its purpose and we did not complain. We waddled our sweaty selves onto the plane and out the other side into our thirty fifth country.

We watched a movie on the flight while attendants constantly tried to tempt us to buy overpriced cigarettes and booze from their duty free options. When we finally got to Knock West Ireland Airport, it was pouring rain and windy. We had to wait just under two hours for our bus to take us to LetteryKenny but the covered waiting area was full so we stood just outside of it. In some countries, people would have squished together to give us spots out of the rain but in this one, people stoof a comfortable distance apart and did not seem to mind that we were under a downpour. We drank several cups of hot tea and rode the three and a half hour bus through the country. It rained throughout but we did not mind as much from inside the comfortable (but higher priced) bus. We watched the scenery of small towns, hundreds of churches, cute little shops and more green than one can imagine. Small hills of green, pastures of tall green grass and green trees along with acres of cattle and sheep passed by as we watched and waited to get to our destination. We called Tyson's cousin and planned to meet an hour later in front of some nearby shops. We spent the time trying on clothes and checking out our new environment. We got picked up and drove ten minutes to their very large, very beautiful house among acres of green grass, cattle and sheep. Twenty eight hours after leaving my friend's place in the Netherlands, we finally made it to our intended destination in Ireland. We met their baby


"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"