Trips and Observances...

I know the question you all (or well, most of you) wanted to ask me. The answer is this: It was great. It didn't rain much. I had a lot of fun and I got to see all the people I really wanted to see, but it was freaking tiring. In the below pages I will give you the bullet overview of the trip with a few commentaries in the midst:

Saturday: Puttered around and generally got myself ready. Got on the plane with no complications. Flight was generally spent in dozing fits, but no sleep was actually gotten. Lovely dawn views of Ireland. Crap dawn views of Wales and England.

Observation: the cloud formations over the British Isles are exceptionally beautiful. It's like flying over a unique landscape (not like our boring old windswept cumulus clouds that settle in winter) and trying to land in it is like flying into a 7-layer dip.

Sunday: Arrived about an hour early and barely got approval from customs as I only had the address for where I would be in Edinburgh. Never making that mistake again. Took train from Gatwick to London. I really knew I was back in the UK when the train pulled into Clapham Junction in South London. On the tracks beneath the opposite platform were about 50 empty Lucozade and Coke bottles, a bunch of empty cigarette packs. One bleached white men's trainer and two non-matching stilettoes. Ah, the aftermath of a Saturday night in the UK. I had truly returned. Got train up from London to Lancaster, but made a "routine detour" through Manchester. Very very annoying. The highlight was seeing the Reebok Stadium as we went through Bolton. Got into Lancaster at about 4 and was met by Steve, Caz, and Anna. Steve says, "Hi Ben! Come with us. We're going camping." Pile into Steve's VW Camper Van and head to Langdale. Go to Old Dungeon Ghyll Pub and have my first (and second...and third) real ale in nearly three years. The pub has flourescent lights and it feels like drinking in an operating theatre. Steve wouldn't shut up about it. Go back to van and have another beer before going to bed. Steve wakes me up at 2.30:00 AM and starts whining about how he wants to go home because it's raining. He eventually stops talking and goes to sleep.

Monday: I wake up early and go for a short walk. The rain is non existent and there's even a bit of blue sky. I:00 AM reminded of why I like the North of England and Scotland so much: because even in crap weather it's beautiful. Go back to van and have porridge for breakfast with tea in my Orikaso mug. Clean up the van and take a short walk up to Stickle Tarn above the valley. Windy as all get-up, but a very enjoyable adventure for an afternoon. Feet stayed totally dry the entire time despite wearing low-cut hikers. Had a cup of tea with Anna at the bottom of the ghyll before heading back to Ulverston with Steve and Caz. Stayed in Caz' flat, which is in the top of a renovated church. Beautiful. Slept well until randomly jolted awake and X o'clock in the morning. Couldn't fall asleep again until probably 6 or so.

Tuesday: Woke up with a jolt at noon. Plans thrown out of control as I had planned to catch a train to Lancaster at 1. Skipped breakfast and spent early afternoon exploring Ulverston. Not much in the town. Nice covered market and the Laurel & Hardy Museum. That alone was worth the trip. Watched a couple shorts (and really, if you haven't seen a Laurel & Hardy short yet, you must make the effort). Had a small apple and caught train to Lancaster. Beautiful train ride along the coast of Morecambe Bay. Possibly one of the best I've been on. Got into Lancaster around 3.30:00 PM. Took a tour of Lancaster Castle while waiting for Steve to knock off work. The Castle is still a working prison and courthouse, so nothing exhaustive. I did have an interesting discussion with the guide about the use of neo-Gothic archituture in early Modern Britain as opposed to the neo-classical styles of:00 AMerica and France during the same period. Went up to Lancaster Uni to meet Steve. Eat my only meal of the day and go on a mini pub crawl of the pubs on campus. End up in the nice one for pub quiz, which we almost win. End up meeting a group of Russian students there and we talk to them for a bit. One ends up lending me three DVDs. Very nice of him, but they don't have subtitles, so I don't know how I'll understand them. Head back to Steve's and crash for the night.

Wednesday: Once again, jolted awake at 5 in the morning. Doze until about 8 and get up. Quick bacon sandwich and cup of tea before heading into Lancaster city centre to meet Anna. We spend the day driving around country lanes and small villages. Looked at a few pipes, but didn't like anything I saw. Went for a short walk in a valley near Anna's village, but kept taking mysterious wrong turns and didn't get very far. Ate dinner with her and her dad. Apparently:00 AMazed them by suggesting that they add corn to the chili. Meet Steve and Caz for a few pints in Kendal. Go to bed.

Thursday: Wake up and rush to catch train to Edinburgh. As the train pulls out of Kendal it passes the Kendal driving range which, strangely, runs uphill. If anyone can explain that to me, I'd appreciate it. Uneventful train ride gets me to Edinburgh around 1. With an hour to kill, I head to Fopp and come up with about 5 cds that I want to buy, but settle on The Band's self-titled sophomore album and Uncle Tupelo's "03/ 16-20, 1992" album. Head back to train station and meet up with Sarah, who's come up from Bournemouth to meet me. It was great to see her again. We walk around the city a bit before heading up to Leith to meet my friend Helen and her boyfriend Dan. Incredible winds. Probably gale force out on the Firth and definitely the windiest conditions I've ever experience when not on a mountain. Eat dinner at Helen and Dan's flat and go to the climbing wall. I seriously think I climb better at those walls. I don't know what it is, but had my best climbing session since leaving UK a few years ago. Crash early at Helen & Dan's.

Friday: Woke up around 8 to sunshine and a light breeze. Sarah and I catch the bus into town and eat breakfast at a really nice little deli on Elm Row near the City Centre. It was my first experience with polenta. Good stuff. Walked from there to the top of Arthur's Seat and got lovely views of the city. Came down and did some second-hand book shopping before returning to the flat for lunch. Talked to an old professor/friend of mine over the phone (had wanted to actually meet up with her, but wires got crossed) and went to catch the train for Stirling. Walked around Stirling briefly before retiring to a coffee shop in order to escape the rain. Caught 8:00 PM train to Glasgow and walked around trying to find the place that I swore I knew the location. Gave up after 45 minutes and met a bunch of Stirling folks at a pub near the train station. Caught up with the couple who lived downstairs from me in Stirling. Drove back to Edinburgh with Sarah, Helen, and Dan in Dan's car, which had been broken into. Mini discs were stolen and water was spilled on the seat (we hope). Late night and bed.

Saturday: Up early again to catch 10:00 train to London. Journey goes well enough except for people play music too loud on their phones. I like the song "Crazy", but not at 10:30 in the morning. Sat across from these two Scottish girls on their way down to Newcastle. They had polished off a bottle of wine by 11:00 AM. It was:00 AMusing for Sarah since listening to "real" Scottish accents can be like listening to total jibberish. Especially since alcohol was involved. Got into London about 2.45 and found the flat where Sarah and I were staying (belonged to a family friend of her's). Spent ages in line at Tesco just so we could buy two sausage rolls, a scotch egg, and to chocolate bars. Seriously, that place was nuts. Took the tube into the city centre and had a pint at "my local" in London, the Museum Tavern. Then went out into the east end for dinner with a good friend of Sarah's and her girlfriend. A very nice evening was interrupted by the realization that we had to catch the tube back to the flat. Got back (barely) and had toast and tea before bed.

Sunday: Arose early to catch train to Gatwick. Got there with no complications, but Gatwick was a total madhouse. Got picked for a random search of my backpack, but the guy gave up when he realized that he'd never be able to get everything back in if he took it out. It seemed redundant to me that they we should go through security and then have to go through it again before boarding the plane. Flight was uneventful. Arrived home around 3. Even managed to get some food items past customs. Two Mars Bars and a slab of christmas cake fudge. End of story.

In the aftermath of all this, I'm fighting off a sore throat and a cough. I:00 AM also trying to flounder my way through three grad school applications that are due next Friday. I think I should be able to finish them in time. Barely.

Photos have been posted.