I'm back online after various shenanigans with GoogleAccounts and hostel computers that don't accet cookies! You've missed a wealth of activity. Since we last spoke, I have:

* Visited Newgrange, Mellifont Abbey, and Monasterboice in eastern County Meath and seen real-live round towers, high crosses, and neolithic carvings

* Visited Kilkenny and seen the magnifcent castle, and witnessed just how GOOD it was to be an English landowner i Ireland

* Visited Galway and the Aran Islands and climbed to the ring fort at the edge of the island's cliff faces.

* Visited Belfast and viewed some of the murals supporting both Unionist and Orangemen causes. Also, the zoo with some of the most FERTICAL enclosures I've ever seen. Barbary lions which are extinct in the wild!

* The Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge (200 years old and what can only be described as swishy). This one especialliy needs photos to describe it.

* Amsterdam's Red Light district (better by night) and various gorgeous canals, the world's narrowest house, and various other important old buildings. The Rijikmuseum "greatest hits" (as most of the museum is currently rebuilding) and the Van Gogh for a second time! I spent 45 min. just looking at Almond Blossoms and finally decided to buy a copy in the museum shop, the pain of carrying it around and hand luggage restrictions be damned!

Tomorrow it's on to Dusseldorf, and I have no idea whether I'll be able to post again. Here's hoping!

Eurotrip 2007!: Days 1-4

As always, I didn't really relish the flying bit. But I watched parts of five movies, all coalescing into one big meta-movie that made Norbit way better and Pan's Labyrinth way worse. Time was short so we headed right to Victoria Stn. from Heathrow. We didn't manage the Tate. Surprise, surprise, I know. The Tate Britain is becoming my travelling equivalent of Susan Lucci at the daytime Emmys- I just never quite make it.

Computer troubles looked like they might trip us up on the way to Exeter as a malfunctioning security code meant we didn't have physical tickets, but when we gave our ticket numbers and names, he told us the numbers didn't mean anything to him, but we were on till Exeter, right? And spit-spot we're on the bus with no further trouble. An exceedingly jet lagged Beth passed out and missed the Devon countryside but arrived at Exeter relatively awake. Somehow I avoided jet lag. Maybe it's just experience- my first trans-Atlantic flight knocked me on my ass.

We were met at the bus station by Emma and Eleanor, which was brilliant, and they led us back to Danes Rd., behind one of the nicest and most colourful prisons I have ever seen, and let us drop the bags threatening to rip off our arms at the shoulder. I ran into Tanya and Tara and met the charming Lucy. Then off to the Firehouse for cheap wine and pub grub- where I ran into my old flatmate Jessie, Timepiece for a bit of shouting to be heard, and then back to the most comfy maroon loveseat I've ever had the pleasure to sleep on. Emily, who was out of town to visit a famous American actor relative in the West End, kindly allowed Beth to use her room.

It was awesome to see everyone again, and I want to thank Emma, Emily, Lucy, Tanya, and Tara again for their hospitality and Eleanor for her general wonderfulness. Any and all of you should come visit me in Arizona in the near future!

A series of mix-ups on the way out of Exeter meant we missed our flight to Dublin, but all was well and we were able to take the next flight out. Dublin is as great as I remembered and this time we got to see even more creepy, leathery, fascinating bog bodies. Gold hoards and the Oscar Wilde Monument: nothing says Ireland quite like them! From here we'll travel onto Kilkenny, Galway, Belfast, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, and Frankfurt. Keep checking back for more updates!

Brian!

I got back from Amsterdam, checked my email, posted some photos and my blog, checked Facebook, and there I discovered... Brian was headed for Bristol! And despite the fact that I am nigh on the most unreachable person in Britian, we managed to catch up for a visit in Exeter. It was brilliant to see somebody from home, and I'll be happy to catch up with all you folks back across the pond. And he's had such exciting news over the last few days- check his (and Charity's) blog out here to read about this rising star of medieval literature academia!

But things are RAPIDLY winding down here. I've cancelled my DVD subscription, closed my bank accounts, and packed off everything to the charity shop that isn't coming home. I'm gonna miss the UK, the land of The Kinks, The Who, The Stones, and various other 'definite article' plus 'common English word' bands. And in the spirit of these guitar heros, I'm bringing home a little rock n' roll of my own: I've constructed a rider. Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all Van Halen on you and bust up the house, but I would appreciate the following things if it isn't too much trouble:

Please have available for the use of the artist:

One (1) box of rice-based cereal; Chex prefered but Crispies acceptable, generic fine.
Two (2) contatiners of lemon yogurt
Also:
Please make sure that the artist's room is emptied of any printers, photo detritus, glue sticks etc. that may or may not have been used in the construction of a Mother's Day present and then abandoned by the party of the second part, i.e. Caitlin Bailey.

So that's my bit! I'm not sure I'll be posting again before I make it home, so I'd like to extend a big thank you to the University of Exeter, my friends and flatmates, and the UK in general for an absolutely BRILLIANT year! I have had such an amazing time, and I have high hopes for future visits to Albion and locales thereof. But for the time being: TTYL, TTFN.

Wij zullen Nederlands gaan!

I am back from the Netherlands! Eleanor and I had a brilliant time tramping around the canals (Prisengracht, Amstel, and Singel) and museums (Anne Frank, Van Gogh, and Sex). I got to see my favorite Van Gogh of all time, "Almond Blossoms," so that was a major highlight for me. It was a great trip, really nice, and I CAN NOT advocate overnight coach travel. I was very, very, verrrrry sleepy by the time I got home. And for the first time in history, our bus arrived in Amsterdam two hours early, before anything was open and in the pouring rain. So that was less than ideal, but it did make the rest of the trip even better since it was so nice in comparison. Once we were able to change into warm clothes at our hostelboat, everything improved vastly.

Coming home, we were stopped in Calais for passport control, and hash was discovered in the bags of one of our fellow passengers- this meant an extra 45 minutes sitting around when all I really wanted was to be home! The bus driver, a sort of 'grandpa' type, made them stand in front of the whole bus and apologize, and threatened to leave them in Folkstone! The whole bus was giggling like primary school kids. And although we made it to only about fifteen minutes late into London, traffic on the way into Exeter was miserable and we arrived an hour and a half late. Blurgh. But it is the cheapest way to do it, and seeing Amsterdam is definitely worth doing!

But I need some R&R from my holiday, so I'm gonna take a nap now. It's my last few days here and I still have so much to do! And, of course, I have more photos of Amsterdam (including one of me wearing giant yellow wooden clogs) up in my gallery. Have a perusa-rooney around the gallery if you feel up to it! TTYL, TTFN.

Penzance!

Consipicuosly lacking in pirates, I must say. I only saw one. And he was a sign board for a curio shop. I also saw a life size mannequin of either a Cornish smuggler/bandit or some type of officer of the law creeping along the roofline of one of the local free houses. These two professions sound as though they would be diametrically opposed, and they are, but the context clues available in the image were not enough to provided me with a conclusive answer. He was dressed like a pilgrim, if you were observing said pilgrim during the throes of an especially colorful acid-derived freakout. And he had a pistol, one of those cool late 17th century ones that have flared muzzles like teeny-tiny blunderbusses. It was painted in typical gun colors.

The picture above is of 'The Egyptian House' and is actually one of things really wanted to see in Penzance. And I walked right by it COMPLETELY without seeing it. Which is difficult to do. The building stands out. In fact, what caught my eye was a rather non-descript building across the way. "Oooooooh!" I said. "A flea market! I'll come back after I've found The Egyptian House..." Fast forward about ten minutes. "Well I don't know where that House is... Guess I'll check out that flea market now." I'm a dorkwad.

And I frolicked a bit in the sea, which was very nice, but I was glad to come home to a good wash up and de-salination. It was very pretty out today, really, not a single cloud in the sky- just some errant contrails. It's a bit of a train journey, especially if you pick up the London-Penzance sleeper, as I did. You spend an hour just sitting at the platform in Plymouth. Which is time that could be better used frolicking in the sea!

I'm heading out to Amsterdam on Tuesday, and should be back mid-afternoon on Friday, so I'll try to update with pictures of the trip then. But I may not do it until much later. There is a slight chance I may be 'tired' after some 13 hours of bus travel. I'm just throwing it out there as a possibility. But for now, I've posted a handful of new photos at my Photobucket gallery. Hopefully that should tide you over until I come back with photos of a distinctly Dutch variety. TTYL, TTFN.

This is tougher than it sounds...

And I think it sounds fairly tough... I'm trying to pack my belongings into two suitcases. I've already started, as a kind of 'test run' which is very different from the way I usually pack- that is to wait until the night before and then cram everything into boxes willy-nilly. This is an imperfect system, since I habitually forget things, which is how I end up with multiple staplers in various shades of neon transparent plastic.

How did I accrue so much stuff?!? And heavy, bulky stuff at that! I brough a few books with me, but they must've been breeding behind my back because I'm currently faced with a major population explosion here! Also, DVDs are like Tribbles, apparently. Allowing even ONE into the safe and warm confines of your home causes them to consume every available resource- just like on the Enterprise, I can no longer open cabinets with out copious numbers of DVDs dropping on top of me. Only they are not warm, or soft, nor do they make a charming cooing noise. And I think thay may be capable of asexual reproduction since I hadn't even ONE when I got here, and now they are rivalled only by the books in terms of dominance.

And just when I though I'd mostly accomplished this task, I realized I hadn't packed my cricket bat. I briefly thought about taking it as carry on, but since they took away my saftey scissors on the way to Dublin, I somehow doubt they'd allow me to take what is essentially a club made of solid English Ash into the cabin with me. Forget butter knives and toenail clippers, imagine the kind of damage I could do with a cricket bat! Ah well, I think I can slide it into the 'clothes' bag if I really force it. Cricketers are a clear and present danger. All the civility and white linen is just a front for the rampant violence that burbles beneath the surface. This kitty figurine is an excellent example- do you trust those wide, sociopathic eyes? I don't.

And I think I'll be making a stop or two at some local charity shops to see if I can get shut of some of this stuff. Especially things like a frying pan that has the dubious attributes of being bulky, not overly useful, and can in no way be considered a souvenier. I'm thinking 'Pets in Need of Vets' because, beyond any kind of valuable charitable work they do, I can really get behind rhyming. Also, they're closest which may be a deciding factor since this could be an expedition with multiple bags/boxes of kitcheware and old clothes.

A Photo Safari! Only... Without animals...

Okay, I have for you a series of photo blog posts coming right up! I've crowed a bit about the weather, but I haven't actually SHOWN it... Remembering to replace the ScanDisk back in the camera when you're done downloading photos is such a fiddily bit of business! I had to get out early today so the cleaner could hoover my room, plus I had a letter to post, so I got out and got a nice early start on the day! I took some photos on and around the High Street/Quay area, and I'm gonna share them with you, along with FACTS. It's a full service blog, this is! This particular photo I took a couple days ago from the hill behind my building at sunset. It's quite pretty I think, but you don't get so much detail... And actually, there was ONE animal. A swan drifting lazily on the canal, but I didn't bother to post it since he was such an obvious avian flaneur. All these photos can be found in my Photobucket gallery- plus bonus photos I haven't posted here because I couldn't be bothered!

The Guildhall

The Guildhall is the oldest municipal building still in use in England today. It's also bloody hard to get a good picture of, coming as it does at a particularly narrow spot on the high street. Inside a deceptively low doorway is the main chambers, decorated in the high Victorian's version of medieval style. The stainglassed windows bear the armorial signets of the various high mayors up to the Edwardian period. Subsequent mayors must be contented with having their arms embalzoned on the surrounding seats- sometimes sharing with as many as four other sets of arms from previous tenants. Exeter is a city of firsts, also holding England's oldest public garden, Northernhay Gardens. These gardens hold the remains of Rougement Castle and were the site of the imprisonment of Alice Molland, the last person executed for witchcraft in England.

The Quay

Originally built for the trasport of goods, the canals now serve primarily as areas for pleasure cruises. You can can't actually see it here, but that light post has a shield bearing three turreted towers. This is the city insignia and served as the city's silver mark until that office shut down in 1883. The mark probably comes from the city's Rougement Castle- a Norman stronghold built by William the Conqueror. This castle- though now in ruins- was long used as impressive fortifications and the city was frequently identified as a bastion of Royalist loyalty. This lead Elizabeth the First to suggest the motto 'Semper Fidelis'. Rougemont Castle, like many important buildings including Exeter Cathedral, is built out of the local red sandstone hence the French for 'red mountain'.

Customs House

Exeter was a bustling port specialising in the wool trade starting in the Tudor period, hence the dockside customs house. The canal and lock systems were finalised at that time, returning Exeter to trading prominence. In fact Exeter had been a very succesful trading hub about five hundred years earlier, until an angry countess blocked off the city's access to the River Exe. There is still an area, now within Exeter proper, called Countesswear (Countess's 'weir' or dam) remebering this.

Exeter Cathedral

World Famous Exeter Cathedral! It has the world's longest uninterrupted medieval rib vaulting because they ran out of money and decided not to build the enourmous spires that usually break up the junction between the trancepts and the nave!