State of the Anj
Well! As I have said, I am back from my trip! I am still trying to settle in and get over jetlag and all that sort of stuff, and have about six loads of laundry to do and all of that, but I'm HOME, and now I have...well, a small amount of time to relax. But more on that later.
I promised a trip summary!! Because it was three weeks, and three very fast-paced, insane weeks, I am going to kind of break it down day by day into basically point form. If you want me to expand on anything though, you have only to ask. Because I love you guys. ;;)
June 17 Red-eye flight to London, British Airways. I was highly unimpressed, as the plane was very cramped and the food they served was shit even in comparison to regular airplane food, but beggars can't be choosers and the plane got me to Heathrow without killing me. So I can't object too strongly.
June 18
Early morning: Arrived at Heathrow, had a couple hours' layover before my next flight. Wandered the airport Harrods and duty-free and other stores (there is a BVLGARI in the AIRPORT, of all things. WTF!), and then sat for a proper English breakfast (ironically, the only one I got in my entire stay in London), which had delicious free-range eggs which made me very happy, and not-so-delicious bacon which made me less so.
Afternoon: Arrived in Madrid. Walked for MILES through the fucking HUGE airport completely devoid of people. Wondered if I had entered the Twilight Zone. Finally made it to the baggage claim and waited another hour for the bags to come. Collected those, headed out to meet up with the tour guide person (and hoped I hadn't missed him), and found my parents, who had just arrived the previous day to Madrid, and my sister, who was so tan I almost didn't recognise her. Six weeks on the beach in Valencia will do that. Had lots of hugs. Then headed outside, and found starrysummer already on the bus, and caught up with her some on the way to the hotel.
Evening: After having checked in to quite a nice hotel, we met up with the rest of the tour group, which was just under 40 people. We went with Trafalgar, with whom we'd travelled before to our great satisfaction, though the people we'd been travelling with were not so enjoyable. This time around proved to be the opposite -- the tour itself wasn't as good, but the people were much more fun, especially since there were about a dozen people between the ages of 18 and 25. Out of 38, that isn't bad at all. We also went in search of supper, and ended up at this little restaurant with a charming atmosphere but very oily food. This was to be the norm for the next week or so.
June 19
Included tour of Madrid, followed by a drive to Toledo, which was spectacular. It was so neat to wander around this town that was influenced by so many cultures. We also got to see the gold/steel-making process, and I bought marzipan from a nun, which was an awesome experience. We then took the evening to catch the subway downtown, wandered around a lot, went into a few shops, found a restaurant to eat at, and then headed back as Robin was not feeling well and I was sort of ready to take a rest as well. Tanya and I then headed down to the hotel bar to watch the Spain match, which was very entertaining and also fruitful, since Spain won. :D
June 20
Early wake-up. Check-out. Lacklustre breakfast. (They all kind of were, to be honest, though that wasn't why I was there, so you know. *g*) Long drive to Barcelona, where we arrived sort of early afternoon and then had a little bit of time to chill and check in and change (and explore, in the case of me and my sister) before heading out on the evening guided tour to see the city from the bus before heading out to supper with the whole group.
June 21
Early wake-up again, and off to admire the Gothic Cathedral followed by La Sagrada Familia and others of Gaudi's work including Guell Park. After this, we drove out to Montserrat, where I climbed Las Escalas to about ten feet off the ground (I don't think you're supposed to climb artwork, but oh well), bought millefleur honey (which is INTENSE, yo), and listened to the boys' choir at the Basilica Real. After that, Tanya and I decided to go shopping, though there wasn't all that much shopping to be done to be honest -- perhaps we just weren't looking the right places. We did however find this little shot bar Tanya had been raving about ever since she knew we were planning to go to Barcelona (Chupitos, if you're ever there -- it's fantastic and definitely worth tracking down), and revisited it that night with most of the young 'uns following a group dinner and a "Flamenco spectacle". We met a couple Scottish blokes and one kinda terrifying Spaniard, but all in all it was loads of fun.
June 22
Even earlier wake-up so we could make it to Aix-En-Provence in a timely fashion with stops along the way in Arles and Les Baux. The hotel was kind of a huge let-down, especially compared to the last two we'd stayed in, and it wasn't actually in the town itself which meant the walk there was long and not particularly pretty. I also got us a bit lost, and my parents got very angry with me. I was not pleased. But I think the south of France was my favourite part of the trip, so I can't be upset about having found our way here.
June 23
After the morning tour of Aix, I wandered off into the city (which is actually quite gorgeous), and then caught the shuttle back to the hotel. I opted not to go to Marseilles, so instead Robin and I went and laid out by the pool and read, and I got rather an extraordinary tan out of it. Following this, she and I met up with nassima and her husband, both of whom are utterly delightful, and went out for Moroccan, which was the most delicious meal I had on the whole trip. She also showed us around and pointed out some major things and the history that went with them, and then we stopped to listen to a jazz group that was playing in the streets and also watched some student-age people swing dancing in the streets. It was really just...adorable and fun and I think the best day I had on the whole tour.
June 24
Again with the early wake-up, and then it was off to Cannes. Swank, eh? ;) We stopped in St Tropez first and took a ferry across to St Maxime, and then wandered the marché until it was time to head on to Cannes. We checked in, and then collected a local tour guide to show us around St Paul de Vence and then a parfumerie, and then through Nice on our way to dinner in a hilltop mansion overlooking the Mediterranean. We were actually meant to visit Nice the next day, but there was a triathlon competition going on, so we ended up cramming a whole lot into this day, which meant we were utterly stuffed full of information by the end of it.
June 25
This day we had some time off! We went back to Nice, this time just to chill, but of course, as luck would have it, it decided to rain. Plus it was also Sunday so nearly everything was closed. But it didn't matter, because I did however go completely maniacal and stood in the Mediterranean and got totally soaked, and I absolutely adored it and would totally go back in a heartbeat. Following this, Robin and I walked into Cannes on our own, had a delicious lunch on the Riviera, did a bit of shopping at the few stores that were open, and then headed back up to go for our included dinner, and thankfully I had a huge and delicious lunch because the included dinners on these tours tend to be utter crap. As a note, our tour guide was obsessed with telling us to have a light lunch since we had this or that dinner to go to that evening, but the dinners always happened like eight or nine hours after we stopped for lunch, first of all, and second were often both not very big and not very good. So we learned right quick. At this point in the tour, we'd all got it, so it became quite a joke between the lot of us (who, for the record, liked to sit in the back of the bus, listen to music, and make faces at each other between bouts of sleeping on the long stretches of travelling).
June 26
Early wake-up again, and we drove to Monaco to check out the palace and the like, though I spent most of my time in the local aquarium and didn't regret it at all since it was totally amazing. I just wish I'd had more time -- I only got to see one of the three floors. That thing is MASSIVE! Afterward, we headed on to Pisa, which...honestly? Amused the hell out of me because it was so touristy and full of...chachkas, I think Robin called it. It's so larger than life in the books, and it was...kind of a let-down to see IRL, to be honest. But it was still beautiful and if we'd had more time I definitely would've actually gone into all the places. The hotel in Montecatini, on the other hand, was...cute, but ridiculous. The worst one we stayed in the whole time. The staff was very unhelpful, the food was disgusting, and the town itself was kind of...meh. BUT! That night we went up into the Tuscan hills for an optional dinner, and that was a lot of fun (and a LOT of food that I totally could not finish), especially as we had one of those wedding DJ-type people who was totally insane and made us all do the Macarena like fifteen times. I am Macarena Champ. I have a reputation. This is what I did on holiday.
PH34R.
June 27
This time we drove out to Florence, and that was beautiful; the part of Florence we were in was also quite touristy though, so Robin and I ventured across to the Left Bank, and that was so much prettier. After that, we went on a walking tour of Santa Croce, the Duomo, Piazza Signorina, and so forth. Then we headed back to Montecatini for a truly forgettable supper which I couldn't finish, honestly. I made a meal of fruit. ;)
June 28
Last early wakeup (and note, when I say early I mean like...6AM as opposed to 7 or 7:30), and then it was on to Rome. We went to Vatican City first, though, as the day after was St Peter's Day and thus it would be closed, so the entire place was in a state of intense energy and anticipatory excitement, which made it a really enjoyable experience. St Peter's was glorious, accentuated by the choir practice that was going on. We then headed to Rome proper, where the hotel was -- a pleasant surprise -- absolutely gorgeous. It was a really nice way to end the tour, which I assume is what they had in mind, but I was very pleased with it. That night we had our "farewell" dinner, even though we had another night left after, because of the people leaving early on the last day and so forth, and it was one of those Opera for Tourist type shows, which was certainly entertaining in its own right. We also drove around and saw the city by night before heading back to the hotel.
June 29
This was a super-long day, because we had a lot of Rome to cover, and we did it all on foot. It was totally worth it though, seeing the Forum and the Pantheon and all the squares and the massive amounts of history integrated into the still-bustling city. I definitely fell in love with Rome, I have to say. We also had a delicious lunch in a little backwoods café (or as backwoods as you can get in Rome), and dinner that night was the unofficial farewell dinner, where we took over an entire restaurant and traumatised the waiters. You know how it goes.
June 30
I lied. EARLY WAKEUP. This time at like...5AM. It was okay for me though because I never actually went to sleep. ;) We bade farewell to my parents and headed off to the airport to catch the flight out to Athens. The Athens airport is actually very pretty, though a bit out of the way, and we were a bit worried about the price of getting a taxi to our hotel. Luckily, it wasn't actually all that expensive. Not so luckily, our driver had no fucking clue where the hotel WAS, so we ended up driving around in circles for a very long time, including a terrifying squeeze through two rows of parked cars with literally three inches' clearance on either side. We finally found the place though, and it was the best hotel of the bunch -- naturally, because I picked it. ;) It was living in the lap of luxury after the others, and I was very pleased indeed to be there. We then proceeded to go get lost in our neck of the woods, found our way back, and chilled out in the hotel a bit before heading downtown for a bit of wandering, shopping, and supper. The Athens subway system is gorgeous, and I actually really enjoyed just sitting there and listening to the recorded voice announce the names of the stations. The shopping was, naturally, very expensive, so there was no buying of things except a lot of windows, but then we found this nice little restaurant where we could sit and watch the game while we ate. After this, we went outside and saw the Parthenon all lit up, which was a spectacular sight, and then spent two hours standing in the street talking to total strangers from Indiana who were totally drunk on bad wine before catching a taxi back to the hotel.
July 1
Sightseeing! Of course. We had to hit all the major attractions, so we subwayed down to the Acropolis and wandered as much of the site as we could handle before we had to stop before the heat killed us. It was fucking HOT, like 100+ degrees, but it was totally worth it to see everything we saw. We then met up with ishtar79 who showed us around and took us to lunch where we were seriously given like a kilo of MEAT, most of which we couldn't finish. Then we went walking through the bazaar and happened across those same Indiana strangers from yesterday, so we picked them up and went to a little outdoor café to watch more football, before going our separate ways. Back at the hotel, migrane set in, and so Tanya and Robin went out to meet Sophia alone and I stayed in and relaxed; they came back not too long after with the news that Sophia had never shown up, though I knew that already as she'd called and said she'd gotten the time wrong. Ah well.
July 2
Last full day in Athens! Robin slept in, as it was her birthday and she was tired of all the getting up early, and Tanya and I went to the bazaar to buy gifts for our family members in London. It was really charming and definitely enjoyable to wander around with her, and we did finally manage to buy things for everyone. This was followed by meeting up with Robin and Sophia again and tracking down the Herakleitos museum, where there was a display of Vasareli and Escher artwork which had me in utter awe. Afterward, we went to a little café to chill, and then Tanya and I headed back to the hotel to relax and really unwind from all the fast-paced travelling while Robin and Sophia stayed behind. We hung out for a long while, and then made it a plan to sleep early so we wouldn't miss our flights. Didn't really work that way, but you know. We tried.
July 3
Said goodbye to Robin at the hotel and caught the train to the airport. We were surprised to find that once you'd passed through security, there was nothing at all to do, not even a coffee place, which was unexpected, so we both dozed while waiting for our flight, as well as pondering the Serbian volleyball team we'd just passed in line. (They were all seriously like 7 feet tall. It was INSANE.) The flight was uneventful, and we met our uncle at the airport and headed back to his house in Croydon (literally the first time I've set foot in a house since the beginning of January) to wait for everyone else to get home. My three cousins and the two of us went out adventuring, got thrown out of a pub (sadly nothing exciting to tell there -- our US drivers' licenses were apparently not valid proof of age), sat in the park drinking Pimms out of a can, and then went back to the house for omgyum homecooked Indian food, which might have been the best meal on the trip were it not for a) the utter deliciousness of Moroccan food, and b) the green chili I managed to eat after mistaking it for a green bean. Apparently brown people actually can turn red.
July 4
Went down into the city to wander around and do sightsee-y type things -- met up with Tanya's boyfriend and his uncle, and pitchblackrose, who is gorgeous and elegant and made me feel totally intimidated except for the fact that she's just so damn sweet. Wandered around for basically a walking tour of the city, including the Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, etc. etc. etc. Then, after a late lunch, Tanya and I went to meet up with our cousin on my dad's side (the people we were staying with were on my mum's side), had pub food for the first time since arriving in London, and then went and sat in the park and chilled out before making our way back to head to bed.
July 5
Said goodbye to Tanya, thus beginning the last (solo) leg of my journey. Caught the train into London proper, found my hotel, and sat back to wait for rosie_red73 to arrive. Called her to make sure she hadn't got lost, and managed to flag down her cab. There was much hugging. Then there was much talking. For HOURS. Literally. This was interrupted by lunch at a noodle bar, a trip to Marks&Sparks for fixins for a hotel picnic, and many other forms of food, as yon pregnant lady was quite peckish all the time. Good food and great company made up the rest of the day, though, including an evening jaunt to a café to watch the game, and she crashed out early while I opted to stay up and use the net downstairs. Bad idea, as Creepy Icelandic Man who had kids older than me tried to get me to sleep with him, but not only him but also the guy working night shift at the hotel desk, presumably at the same time. Which meant basically that the fact that he was drunk and harassing me (and, eventually, getting violent and calling me names) didn't mean anything since receptionist guy wasn't going to DO anything. Except perhaps me, as it seemed CIM already had him well in pocket, as it were. So that was my nighttime adventure, which I fortunately managed to cut short by retreating quickly, though not after being groped, yelled at, and called names. But lelek kept me entertained over Y!M until I chilled out, and the sound of rosie_red73 breathing in the next bed quite made my night, I have to say.
July 6
This was a really nice day because it was just so relaxing, and involved wandering around, shopping, and then heading into London proper to meet up with pitchblackrose again and go to Snape's Pub. Now that was exciting, and totally made my trip, I have to say. T00bs, I really must return so I can see more of you and possibly get in on these infamous orgies she kept telling me about. It was also notable in that I went to sleep very very early (for me, which means like 11PM or something), and actually slept through the whole night.
July 7
Breakfast. Drama. (Namely in the form of my filing a proper complaint with the hotel and quite possibly getting Night Receptionist fired. :D) Lunch. And then I had to say goodbye to rosie_red73, in a teary soap opera-y fashion that didn't actually involve any tears or, for that matter, any soap. Then it was off to the airport, and my flight home, on which I met a young lady from Holland whose family is Somalian and who told me she has like 50 aunts and uncles (as in, parents' siblings alone, not counting the in-laws) and like 150 cousins, which totally boggled, but made for very interesting conversation and a fantastic and multicultural end to my trip.
Right. So I hope I haven't bored you all to death. That's all my news from those three weeks, though, so hurrah! Now you're mostly caught up on Anj's life.
Just a few more things:
1. I GOT INTO ST JOHN'S!!! This means that I have about a month and a half to get everything sorted so I can move to Santa Fe. ._. It's kind of terrifying, to be honest, because it's all going so fast, but I know it's the right decision since I get the feeling that staying in Toronto and working and all would have just made me stagnate. As much as I love it here, and as much as I adore my flat and my friends close by, I've chosen academia as a career, which means going where the opportunities are. That'll be a hell of a thing to get used to though after living the city life, hahahah. But Santa Fe has a Jamba Juice. You have no idea how excited this makes me.
2. I am totally 100% addicted to So You Think You Can Dance. I am going to get all of my friends hooked on it too because I am a Vile Enabler like that. I got Tanya hooked, and also rosie_red73, and have lelek hooked and she hasn't ever even seen it. *wins* This show is making me question my sexuality. If you do watch, Natalie and Allison are absolutely killing me. Especially Natalie. Although Benji and Travis and Musa are as well, so I suppose there's still straight in me yet. ;) My fave dancers are Natalie, Allison, Donyelle, and Heidi, and then Benji, Travis, and Ivan. So I guess we shall see where that goes. TOMORROW IS WEDNESDAY OMG!!!
3. I have picked up another character at the_leaky. sinick resigned a few days ago and I was very sad to see her go as she was one of the very first people I played with and her Blaise was just spectacular. With such a unique character, I didn't want someone who wasn't really familiar with hir to take over, so...hahah. *blushes* So I'm playing Blaise now. I'm scared shitless about it, because Sinick left some very formidable shoes to fill, but I shall do my best. In other Leaky news, Terrence has now become a proper sub to Dom!Theo in an attempt to salvage the broken pieces of their relationship, the most notable of which is Theo's sense of self-confidence. This is also quite difficult to write, but it's a challenge I'm really enjoying.
4. I am finally reading Discworld. That is all I have to say about that. Oh, except that I finished American Gods and am now a slavering fangirl. Yes. Thank you. Move along now.
Ummm...I think that's it from me for the time being! It's good to be home, even if home will soon be in boxes. Again. I missed you all. ♥ And I owe lots of comments. I will get on that in the near future.
I promised a trip summary!! Because it was three weeks, and three very fast-paced, insane weeks, I am going to kind of break it down day by day into basically point form. If you want me to expand on anything though, you have only to ask. Because I love you guys. ;;)
June 17 Red-eye flight to London, British Airways. I was highly unimpressed, as the plane was very cramped and the food they served was shit even in comparison to regular airplane food, but beggars can't be choosers and the plane got me to Heathrow without killing me. So I can't object too strongly.
June 18
Early morning: Arrived at Heathrow, had a couple hours' layover before my next flight. Wandered the airport Harrods and duty-free and other stores (there is a BVLGARI in the AIRPORT, of all things. WTF!), and then sat for a proper English breakfast (ironically, the only one I got in my entire stay in London), which had delicious free-range eggs which made me very happy, and not-so-delicious bacon which made me less so.
Afternoon: Arrived in Madrid. Walked for MILES through the fucking HUGE airport completely devoid of people. Wondered if I had entered the Twilight Zone. Finally made it to the baggage claim and waited another hour for the bags to come. Collected those, headed out to meet up with the tour guide person (and hoped I hadn't missed him), and found my parents, who had just arrived the previous day to Madrid, and my sister, who was so tan I almost didn't recognise her. Six weeks on the beach in Valencia will do that. Had lots of hugs. Then headed outside, and found starrysummer already on the bus, and caught up with her some on the way to the hotel.
Evening: After having checked in to quite a nice hotel, we met up with the rest of the tour group, which was just under 40 people. We went with Trafalgar, with whom we'd travelled before to our great satisfaction, though the people we'd been travelling with were not so enjoyable. This time around proved to be the opposite -- the tour itself wasn't as good, but the people were much more fun, especially since there were about a dozen people between the ages of 18 and 25. Out of 38, that isn't bad at all. We also went in search of supper, and ended up at this little restaurant with a charming atmosphere but very oily food. This was to be the norm for the next week or so.
June 19
Included tour of Madrid, followed by a drive to Toledo, which was spectacular. It was so neat to wander around this town that was influenced by so many cultures. We also got to see the gold/steel-making process, and I bought marzipan from a nun, which was an awesome experience. We then took the evening to catch the subway downtown, wandered around a lot, went into a few shops, found a restaurant to eat at, and then headed back as Robin was not feeling well and I was sort of ready to take a rest as well. Tanya and I then headed down to the hotel bar to watch the Spain match, which was very entertaining and also fruitful, since Spain won. :D
June 20
Early wake-up. Check-out. Lacklustre breakfast. (They all kind of were, to be honest, though that wasn't why I was there, so you know. *g*) Long drive to Barcelona, where we arrived sort of early afternoon and then had a little bit of time to chill and check in and change (and explore, in the case of me and my sister) before heading out on the evening guided tour to see the city from the bus before heading out to supper with the whole group.
June 21
Early wake-up again, and off to admire the Gothic Cathedral followed by La Sagrada Familia and others of Gaudi's work including Guell Park. After this, we drove out to Montserrat, where I climbed Las Escalas to about ten feet off the ground (I don't think you're supposed to climb artwork, but oh well), bought millefleur honey (which is INTENSE, yo), and listened to the boys' choir at the Basilica Real. After that, Tanya and I decided to go shopping, though there wasn't all that much shopping to be done to be honest -- perhaps we just weren't looking the right places. We did however find this little shot bar Tanya had been raving about ever since she knew we were planning to go to Barcelona (Chupitos, if you're ever there -- it's fantastic and definitely worth tracking down), and revisited it that night with most of the young 'uns following a group dinner and a "Flamenco spectacle". We met a couple Scottish blokes and one kinda terrifying Spaniard, but all in all it was loads of fun.
June 22
Even earlier wake-up so we could make it to Aix-En-Provence in a timely fashion with stops along the way in Arles and Les Baux. The hotel was kind of a huge let-down, especially compared to the last two we'd stayed in, and it wasn't actually in the town itself which meant the walk there was long and not particularly pretty. I also got us a bit lost, and my parents got very angry with me. I was not pleased. But I think the south of France was my favourite part of the trip, so I can't be upset about having found our way here.
June 23
After the morning tour of Aix, I wandered off into the city (which is actually quite gorgeous), and then caught the shuttle back to the hotel. I opted not to go to Marseilles, so instead Robin and I went and laid out by the pool and read, and I got rather an extraordinary tan out of it. Following this, she and I met up with nassima and her husband, both of whom are utterly delightful, and went out for Moroccan, which was the most delicious meal I had on the whole trip. She also showed us around and pointed out some major things and the history that went with them, and then we stopped to listen to a jazz group that was playing in the streets and also watched some student-age people swing dancing in the streets. It was really just...adorable and fun and I think the best day I had on the whole tour.
June 24
Again with the early wake-up, and then it was off to Cannes. Swank, eh? ;) We stopped in St Tropez first and took a ferry across to St Maxime, and then wandered the marché until it was time to head on to Cannes. We checked in, and then collected a local tour guide to show us around St Paul de Vence and then a parfumerie, and then through Nice on our way to dinner in a hilltop mansion overlooking the Mediterranean. We were actually meant to visit Nice the next day, but there was a triathlon competition going on, so we ended up cramming a whole lot into this day, which meant we were utterly stuffed full of information by the end of it.
June 25
This day we had some time off! We went back to Nice, this time just to chill, but of course, as luck would have it, it decided to rain. Plus it was also Sunday so nearly everything was closed. But it didn't matter, because I did however go completely maniacal and stood in the Mediterranean and got totally soaked, and I absolutely adored it and would totally go back in a heartbeat. Following this, Robin and I walked into Cannes on our own, had a delicious lunch on the Riviera, did a bit of shopping at the few stores that were open, and then headed back up to go for our included dinner, and thankfully I had a huge and delicious lunch because the included dinners on these tours tend to be utter crap. As a note, our tour guide was obsessed with telling us to have a light lunch since we had this or that dinner to go to that evening, but the dinners always happened like eight or nine hours after we stopped for lunch, first of all, and second were often both not very big and not very good. So we learned right quick. At this point in the tour, we'd all got it, so it became quite a joke between the lot of us (who, for the record, liked to sit in the back of the bus, listen to music, and make faces at each other between bouts of sleeping on the long stretches of travelling).
June 26
Early wake-up again, and we drove to Monaco to check out the palace and the like, though I spent most of my time in the local aquarium and didn't regret it at all since it was totally amazing. I just wish I'd had more time -- I only got to see one of the three floors. That thing is MASSIVE! Afterward, we headed on to Pisa, which...honestly? Amused the hell out of me because it was so touristy and full of...chachkas, I think Robin called it. It's so larger than life in the books, and it was...kind of a let-down to see IRL, to be honest. But it was still beautiful and if we'd had more time I definitely would've actually gone into all the places. The hotel in Montecatini, on the other hand, was...cute, but ridiculous. The worst one we stayed in the whole time. The staff was very unhelpful, the food was disgusting, and the town itself was kind of...meh. BUT! That night we went up into the Tuscan hills for an optional dinner, and that was a lot of fun (and a LOT of food that I totally could not finish), especially as we had one of those wedding DJ-type people who was totally insane and made us all do the Macarena like fifteen times. I am Macarena Champ. I have a reputation. This is what I did on holiday.
PH34R.
June 27
This time we drove out to Florence, and that was beautiful; the part of Florence we were in was also quite touristy though, so Robin and I ventured across to the Left Bank, and that was so much prettier. After that, we went on a walking tour of Santa Croce, the Duomo, Piazza Signorina, and so forth. Then we headed back to Montecatini for a truly forgettable supper which I couldn't finish, honestly. I made a meal of fruit. ;)
June 28
Last early wakeup (and note, when I say early I mean like...6AM as opposed to 7 or 7:30), and then it was on to Rome. We went to Vatican City first, though, as the day after was St Peter's Day and thus it would be closed, so the entire place was in a state of intense energy and anticipatory excitement, which made it a really enjoyable experience. St Peter's was glorious, accentuated by the choir practice that was going on. We then headed to Rome proper, where the hotel was -- a pleasant surprise -- absolutely gorgeous. It was a really nice way to end the tour, which I assume is what they had in mind, but I was very pleased with it. That night we had our "farewell" dinner, even though we had another night left after, because of the people leaving early on the last day and so forth, and it was one of those Opera for Tourist type shows, which was certainly entertaining in its own right. We also drove around and saw the city by night before heading back to the hotel.
June 29
This was a super-long day, because we had a lot of Rome to cover, and we did it all on foot. It was totally worth it though, seeing the Forum and the Pantheon and all the squares and the massive amounts of history integrated into the still-bustling city. I definitely fell in love with Rome, I have to say. We also had a delicious lunch in a little backwoods café (or as backwoods as you can get in Rome), and dinner that night was the unofficial farewell dinner, where we took over an entire restaurant and traumatised the waiters. You know how it goes.
June 30
I lied. EARLY WAKEUP. This time at like...5AM. It was okay for me though because I never actually went to sleep. ;) We bade farewell to my parents and headed off to the airport to catch the flight out to Athens. The Athens airport is actually very pretty, though a bit out of the way, and we were a bit worried about the price of getting a taxi to our hotel. Luckily, it wasn't actually all that expensive. Not so luckily, our driver had no fucking clue where the hotel WAS, so we ended up driving around in circles for a very long time, including a terrifying squeeze through two rows of parked cars with literally three inches' clearance on either side. We finally found the place though, and it was the best hotel of the bunch -- naturally, because I picked it. ;) It was living in the lap of luxury after the others, and I was very pleased indeed to be there. We then proceeded to go get lost in our neck of the woods, found our way back, and chilled out in the hotel a bit before heading downtown for a bit of wandering, shopping, and supper. The Athens subway system is gorgeous, and I actually really enjoyed just sitting there and listening to the recorded voice announce the names of the stations. The shopping was, naturally, very expensive, so there was no buying of things except a lot of windows, but then we found this nice little restaurant where we could sit and watch the game while we ate. After this, we went outside and saw the Parthenon all lit up, which was a spectacular sight, and then spent two hours standing in the street talking to total strangers from Indiana who were totally drunk on bad wine before catching a taxi back to the hotel.
July 1
Sightseeing! Of course. We had to hit all the major attractions, so we subwayed down to the Acropolis and wandered as much of the site as we could handle before we had to stop before the heat killed us. It was fucking HOT, like 100+ degrees, but it was totally worth it to see everything we saw. We then met up with ishtar79 who showed us around and took us to lunch where we were seriously given like a kilo of MEAT, most of which we couldn't finish. Then we went walking through the bazaar and happened across those same Indiana strangers from yesterday, so we picked them up and went to a little outdoor café to watch more football, before going our separate ways. Back at the hotel, migrane set in, and so Tanya and Robin went out to meet Sophia alone and I stayed in and relaxed; they came back not too long after with the news that Sophia had never shown up, though I knew that already as she'd called and said she'd gotten the time wrong. Ah well.
July 2
Last full day in Athens! Robin slept in, as it was her birthday and she was tired of all the getting up early, and Tanya and I went to the bazaar to buy gifts for our family members in London. It was really charming and definitely enjoyable to wander around with her, and we did finally manage to buy things for everyone. This was followed by meeting up with Robin and Sophia again and tracking down the Herakleitos museum, where there was a display of Vasareli and Escher artwork which had me in utter awe. Afterward, we went to a little café to chill, and then Tanya and I headed back to the hotel to relax and really unwind from all the fast-paced travelling while Robin and Sophia stayed behind. We hung out for a long while, and then made it a plan to sleep early so we wouldn't miss our flights. Didn't really work that way, but you know. We tried.
July 3
Said goodbye to Robin at the hotel and caught the train to the airport. We were surprised to find that once you'd passed through security, there was nothing at all to do, not even a coffee place, which was unexpected, so we both dozed while waiting for our flight, as well as pondering the Serbian volleyball team we'd just passed in line. (They were all seriously like 7 feet tall. It was INSANE.) The flight was uneventful, and we met our uncle at the airport and headed back to his house in Croydon (literally the first time I've set foot in a house since the beginning of January) to wait for everyone else to get home. My three cousins and the two of us went out adventuring, got thrown out of a pub (sadly nothing exciting to tell there -- our US drivers' licenses were apparently not valid proof of age), sat in the park drinking Pimms out of a can, and then went back to the house for omgyum homecooked Indian food, which might have been the best meal on the trip were it not for a) the utter deliciousness of Moroccan food, and b) the green chili I managed to eat after mistaking it for a green bean. Apparently brown people actually can turn red.
July 4
Went down into the city to wander around and do sightsee-y type things -- met up with Tanya's boyfriend and his uncle, and pitchblackrose, who is gorgeous and elegant and made me feel totally intimidated except for the fact that she's just so damn sweet. Wandered around for basically a walking tour of the city, including the Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, etc. etc. etc. Then, after a late lunch, Tanya and I went to meet up with our cousin on my dad's side (the people we were staying with were on my mum's side), had pub food for the first time since arriving in London, and then went and sat in the park and chilled out before making our way back to head to bed.
July 5
Said goodbye to Tanya, thus beginning the last (solo) leg of my journey. Caught the train into London proper, found my hotel, and sat back to wait for rosie_red73 to arrive. Called her to make sure she hadn't got lost, and managed to flag down her cab. There was much hugging. Then there was much talking. For HOURS. Literally. This was interrupted by lunch at a noodle bar, a trip to Marks&Sparks for fixins for a hotel picnic, and many other forms of food, as yon pregnant lady was quite peckish all the time. Good food and great company made up the rest of the day, though, including an evening jaunt to a café to watch the game, and she crashed out early while I opted to stay up and use the net downstairs. Bad idea, as Creepy Icelandic Man who had kids older than me tried to get me to sleep with him, but not only him but also the guy working night shift at the hotel desk, presumably at the same time. Which meant basically that the fact that he was drunk and harassing me (and, eventually, getting violent and calling me names) didn't mean anything since receptionist guy wasn't going to DO anything. Except perhaps me, as it seemed CIM already had him well in pocket, as it were. So that was my nighttime adventure, which I fortunately managed to cut short by retreating quickly, though not after being groped, yelled at, and called names. But lelek kept me entertained over Y!M until I chilled out, and the sound of rosie_red73 breathing in the next bed quite made my night, I have to say.
July 6
This was a really nice day because it was just so relaxing, and involved wandering around, shopping, and then heading into London proper to meet up with pitchblackrose again and go to Snape's Pub. Now that was exciting, and totally made my trip, I have to say. T00bs, I really must return so I can see more of you and possibly get in on these infamous orgies she kept telling me about. It was also notable in that I went to sleep very very early (for me, which means like 11PM or something), and actually slept through the whole night.
July 7
Breakfast. Drama. (Namely in the form of my filing a proper complaint with the hotel and quite possibly getting Night Receptionist fired. :D) Lunch. And then I had to say goodbye to rosie_red73, in a teary soap opera-y fashion that didn't actually involve any tears or, for that matter, any soap. Then it was off to the airport, and my flight home, on which I met a young lady from Holland whose family is Somalian and who told me she has like 50 aunts and uncles (as in, parents' siblings alone, not counting the in-laws) and like 150 cousins, which totally boggled, but made for very interesting conversation and a fantastic and multicultural end to my trip.
Right. So I hope I haven't bored you all to death. That's all my news from those three weeks, though, so hurrah! Now you're mostly caught up on Anj's life.
Just a few more things:
1. I GOT INTO ST JOHN'S!!! This means that I have about a month and a half to get everything sorted so I can move to Santa Fe. ._. It's kind of terrifying, to be honest, because it's all going so fast, but I know it's the right decision since I get the feeling that staying in Toronto and working and all would have just made me stagnate. As much as I love it here, and as much as I adore my flat and my friends close by, I've chosen academia as a career, which means going where the opportunities are. That'll be a hell of a thing to get used to though after living the city life, hahahah. But Santa Fe has a Jamba Juice. You have no idea how excited this makes me.
2. I am totally 100% addicted to So You Think You Can Dance. I am going to get all of my friends hooked on it too because I am a Vile Enabler like that. I got Tanya hooked, and also rosie_red73, and have lelek hooked and she hasn't ever even seen it. *wins* This show is making me question my sexuality. If you do watch, Natalie and Allison are absolutely killing me. Especially Natalie. Although Benji and Travis and Musa are as well, so I suppose there's still straight in me yet. ;) My fave dancers are Natalie, Allison, Donyelle, and Heidi, and then Benji, Travis, and Ivan. So I guess we shall see where that goes. TOMORROW IS WEDNESDAY OMG!!!
3. I have picked up another character at the_leaky. sinick resigned a few days ago and I was very sad to see her go as she was one of the very first people I played with and her Blaise was just spectacular. With such a unique character, I didn't want someone who wasn't really familiar with hir to take over, so...hahah. *blushes* So I'm playing Blaise now. I'm scared shitless about it, because Sinick left some very formidable shoes to fill, but I shall do my best. In other Leaky news, Terrence has now become a proper sub to Dom!Theo in an attempt to salvage the broken pieces of their relationship, the most notable of which is Theo's sense of self-confidence. This is also quite difficult to write, but it's a challenge I'm really enjoying.
4. I am finally reading Discworld. That is all I have to say about that. Oh, except that I finished American Gods and am now a slavering fangirl. Yes. Thank you. Move along now.
Ummm...I think that's it from me for the time being! It's good to be home, even if home will soon be in boxes. Again. I missed you all. ♥ And I owe lots of comments. I will get on that in the near future.