Cheers Mate!

Living in London for the past 7 months has been a wonderful experience. Teaching English children has been for the most part challenging but I am a much stronger and more confident teacher now than I was on my first day. I think those Canadian children will look like angels to me now.

I have gotten to know South East London pretty well and could call myself a local instead of a tourist. haha Meeting people here was probably the best part. Living with pretty cool flatmates and enjoying the party side of the city felt as though I have been on vacation my whole time here!

Tomorrow we are taking a dreadful 3 (count them 3) flights back home: London to St. Johns, St. Johns to Montreal and Montreal to Toronto. But I think it will be worth it for getting an extra 2 months to stay here and all the traveling I got to do in between.
See you again London!

Not sure if anyone actually looks at or reads this blog but I'll keep on bloggin'.

I took four days off work to extend a weekend into 6 days away in Poland visiting my family. My mom's side of the family lives in a small town in south west Poland. I spent a few days at my grandmother's house with my cousin. We also visited my aunt and uncle as well. I've been to my grandmother's twice, once at age 9 and again at 15 so it pretty much felt like home to me.

I'm really happy that I have learned to speak, read and write in Polish because it is amazing knowing another language. I am definitely not perfect since I wasn't born in Poland but I can engage in conversations. Most young people in Poland know English anyways since it is a world language that will get you by in most countries in the world.

My last day in Poland my cousin took me to Wroclaw which is a city where she studies and lives. We searched for gnomes (an attraction in the city), went to dinner with her boyfriend and sat at a couple of bars in the evening.

I am glad I decided to take this trip. Not only is it cheap to fly around Europe from England but I also wasn't sure about the next time I would have the opportunity to visit my family.

Schools were closed for a week for term break the first week of June, a perfect opportunity to travel again. Susan and I decided on Spain; her friend Michelle was visiting and was keen on it, Jen was going there anyways so we could meet up with her and Ryan would be there as well.

After a 1am wake up to catch a night bus (which we missed by a few seconds so took a cab instead) to Victoria station in central London, a 1.5hr coach bus to Stansted Airport and a 2hr flight to Spain, we made it to Barcelona! We had a beautiful but quiet hostel just outside central Barcelona. The 2 nights we were there we had a lot of Tapas (basically an assortment of appetizer sized food) and a lot of Sangria (a fruity wine mixture). We also had lunch near our hostel in a home grown cafe where no one knew English and they had to literally bring us other customers` plates of food to show us what we could order.

We did a free walking tour of Barcelona, cooked under the sun on the beach and checked out the real Absinthe bar in town (tastes like black licorice, ew). Barcelona was great but I knew I would fall in love with Valencia.

We took a 4 hour bus ride from Barcelona to Valencia and found our hostel in the city (more people this time=more socializing). Ryan was there before us all ready to go, by the time us girls got ready it had started to pour rain (in Spain?!) so we checked out the museum literally next to the hostel which showcased miniature Greek sculptures. Later, we had Paella and Sangria which is an amazing combination and we explored the city in the evening and settled on a bar for more Sangria. The second day in Valencia was spent at the market, at a fancy restaurant for Paella in humongous pans, the beach, met people at the hostel and Ryan and I saw a real Flamenco show at a bar = amazing entertainment.

Spain was lovely and I hope to go back again to explore it some more.

Susan and I hosted a party at our place and invited all the people we knew in London. Most people showed up and it was a success!

Highlights:

• BBQ and drinking starting around 6pm
• Beer Pong
  
• Playing (and winning) flip cup games in the garden
• Creating a club in the kitchen (singing and dancing to our favorites)
• Crashing around 1am
  
  

Last night we were invited by Erika, Emma Lee and Sasha to go to Fabric nightclub in London (which was rated as one of the top 10 clubs in the world last year). Susan and I bailed on the predrink with them but we managed to find our energy to pre drink at our place and on the way to the club. We met up with the ladies, found the club and after 20 minutes in line and £16 later we had gotten in and checked out coats.

Susan and I lost the girls because they hit up the bar(s) before us, this place had so many rooms and stairs that we just couldn't find them at first. Susan and I wandered and danced and wandered some more (not to mention used a unisex washroom- interesting). We finally found the room the girls were in, met up and danced to 2 DJs spinning (I think it was drum n bass/hip hop style). After a while the girls decided to leave and go to a bar but Susan and I decided to stay to get the full experience of this place. We hit up another room with hard core drum n bass - we literally could not move it was so packed that we jumped around to the music (I am surprised I don't have bruises today!)

Leaving the place we got a Bratwurst (street meat) for the road home. We took our first bus to Peckham (which some guys at the bus stop laughed and said, "you should never go to Peckham"). At Peckham we found the second bus we needed and waited at the bus stop. There was a creepy Irish guy standing there and I will try to detail the conversation for the next 10 minutes:

Irish man - "Girls, wanna come back to my place?"
Susan - "No thanks, we're good"
Irish man - "Get you some drinks, I'll pay"
Susan - "No thanks, we're good"
Monica - "We've had enough drinks for the night"
Irish man to Susan - "£70"
Susan - "No thanks, I'm alright"

Irish man - "You're not from here are you?"
Susan - "No
Irish man - "Where are ya from?"
Susan - "Canada"
Irish man - "Oh Canada. Where in Canada?"
Susan - "Toronto"
Irish man - "Where is your friend from?"
Susan - "Vancouver"
Irish man - "Ah, Vancouver as well?"
Susan - "We're just passing through"

Irish man - "You girls should be careful around here"
Susan - "Yeah"
Irish man - "It's not ... good, safe you know?"
Susan - "Yeah thanks"
Irish man - "You girls should watch out for each other, you know?"
Susan & Monica - "Yeah thanks"

Yes, we should watch out for each other because of creepy men like you who try to pay for girls to come back to your place! (that's why were were warned about Peckham)

Back at the house Susan and I wanted to Skype people (that's kinda our thing after a night out with our friends Cider and Rum&Coke). We Skype called people (only Myles answered and probably wondered what we were carrying on about to him) and karaoke'd Chris with such songs as 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Under Pressure', 'Defying Gravity' (Wicked version) and some others. It was quite entertaining.

P.S. It's 6pm and I've been in bed practically all day.

Today we did tons of souvenir shopping (kinda addicted), checked out Notre Dame (beautiful church) - saw a scary Hunchback, tried to see the Catacombs but they were closed, checked out the Museum D'Orsay (for free!), saw the Sacre Coeur (beautiful Bascillica), was followed by a guy and had flashes of the movie "Taken" in my mind, ate at a French cafe and bought French wine to take home (to be consumed after a stressful teaching day). Unfortunately it started raining in the evening so we decided not to check out the Eiffel Tower at night (it lights up pretty!) Our train is tomorrow so we have to leave Paris in the morning.

Au revoir stinky Paris!

This morning Ashley and I woke up and had a buffet breakfast at our hostel (baguettes, cereal, tea, coffee, juice). We got ready and headed out to meet up with our Free Sandeman's Tour group in Saint Michel (best tour to check out when you travel). We walked for ages, saw tons of sights (forgot half the information) met some Canadians and had some McDonald's.

After the tour we went on a trek to see the Eiffel Tower. Just before the Eiffel Tower we had some crepes at a small place called Crepe's King (the guy knew perfect English) so it must have been a touristy place. We took pictures of ourselves and the tower and got bombarded by guys selling hundreds of Eiffel Tower key chains. We checked out some tourist shops and ended our night getting into The Louvre (for free!) to see Ms. Mona Lisa. I was very impressed with the interior of the building.

Tomorrow will be an even busier day: Saint Michel shopping, Catacombs, picnic under the Eiffel Tower and some other sights. I am coming around to liking Paris. The city centre is nice but I can't say the same about the locals.

Since Ashley is visiting me in London I decided to take a couple of days off work so we could have a long weekend in Paris (it's easy to get to and one of the closer popular cities). We got a cheap Eurostar train and one of the best hostels to stay in, St. Christopher's Inn.

Last night I packed my bags and set my alarms. I knew that we had to catch the train at 7:27am from central London. I also knew that we should give ourselves about a good hour to get there (no rush, no stress). I set my alarms for around 6 o'clock in the morning, waited to talk to Chris after he arrived safely in Toronto (2am my time) and tried to fall asleep. Did you notice my mistake here?

I woke up to my alarms and laid in bed for 10 more minutes. I checked my phone again and clued into the time...IT WAS 6:10am!!! We were supposed to leave the house at this time! I jumped out of bed, started swearing yelling, threw some clothes on and woke Ashley up (she finally woke up after the 3rd time I called her name).

There was no time for hair and make up, filling up my water bottle or brushing my teeth. I threw my bags on me and ran out the door. Jogging to the bus stop I wasn't sure what we should do. Should we wait for the bus and take the train and tube to the station or should I call a cab? Decisions! This lady at the bus stop gave us a mini cab card (why would I ever carry one, I never think of paying for a cab in London unless it's too late for the bus, tube, etc). I called the mini cab company and as I was talking to a lady a bus was approaching. I decided the cab would get us at the station. We were at the station in 5 minutes and WE had to wait for the cab. Finally the guy shows up, we jump in and say we are in a hurry. I am not sure if he understood because he was driving pretty gingerly and talking about the election voting and stuff I really didn't want to hear about but nodded and laughed with him. Ashley asked about 4 times how much longer to the station. When we told him what time we needed to catch our train he finally became more of a hero and pressed that damn gas pedal more than an inch.

Cabs in London don't seem to want to take cards so I had to pay over the phone...isn't that risky telling your card number, expiry date and securitynumber on the phone in front of a stranger (the cabby?) I don't think he could remember all that though. Let's hope.

We made it to the station, I left Ashley in the dust and ran to the entrance. Inside I skimmed the train schedule board which read, "PARIS - closing." What the heck? We still had time, they can't close the gates on us!!! As we were running aimlessly a SNCF train staff noticed us and knew we were there for the Paris train. She calmed us down and told us to get our baggage scanned while she checked our tickets. Not only did I have a backpack, a large purse, a camera bag and a money belt to add to the conveyor belt but we had to take our scarves and jackets off. What a pain. I didn't even bother to put my jacket and scarf back on, I left Ashley once again and bolted to the boarding gate we needed.

You know those Walmart moveator things? We had to stand on one of those to get to our train. Well, there was a guy in front of us with a cart full of luggage. He tried to move it for us but apparently the carts don't move well on the moveators. We squeezed by him and started running up the moveator and a staff member was calling to us to stop running, our train was still there. Once on the platform we started running again to find our coach (at the end of the platform of course) and the lady yelled at us again to stop running. Sorry lady but I can't miss a Eurostar train for the 2nd time.

We made it into our train with about 5 minutes to spare. What a nightmare. I can't believe we made the train. After Chris and my adventure trying to book a train in Paris to London during the volcanic ash cloud I was sure Eurostar was against me again.



Needless to say we arrived in Paris hungry and tired. Our hostel wouldn't let us check in until 2pm (buggers!) so we walked around the neighborhood (we went into a church, some shops, the 'boardwalk' and ate at a pizzeria - we couldn't find french food unless we wanted crepes for dinner and not to mention this city smells like pee and I think people peeing where they feel like it would explain it).

We are doing a Paris walking tour tomorrow which will take us to all the major sights in this city and then in the evening and Saturday we will do more detailed sightseeing of the places we want to see more of.

Whew!

My fever broke at the perfect time, right before The Star Wars Symphony Orchestra and our two week trip to Italy and France. Chris and I left my house in London (Chris carrying the backpack-4-two) and went on our way to the tube and then Easy Bus which took us to the airport (located in the London boonies).

For the past couple of weeks (and 2 more weeks after the Easter holiday) these two reception (aka kindergarten) classes need me as a second teacher because they have taken in too many children into their classes. It's been alright, some children can be (to put it lightly) difficult but the teaching is easy (phonics, counting, nursery rhymes).

On Wednesday the children were kinda wild. I was asked to be outside for an hour in the afternoon supervising play and making observations. Well, it was freezing and children were constantly coming up to me every few seconds asking to use a bike (there were only 4 bikes out and about 24 children) and I was raising my voice at children who were pushing others on the bikes and wrestling on the mats. When the day was finally done I was happy to get outta that school but I had to wait about 20 minutes for my bus straight home. On the 30 minute bus ride I was dozing and probably looked like one of those people that drops their head and jolts it back up every few seconds while sleeping on a bus or train. I laugh at those people.

Wednesday night I was exhausted and could feel a scratchy throat coming on...uh oh...I told myself I am not getting sick, only one more day of work and then Easter Holidays. Sure enough, I woke up Thursday morning in severe pain (throat, ears, head, body and a FEVER!) I called work to cancel my booking and they were very understanding, I fell back asleep with sweats and chills. In the late afternoon Chris and I walked to my GP where the doctors were done for the day and there were no more appointments to see the nurse practitioners. Plan B - emergency room. We walked to the hospital and I checked in at the emergency room to be seen by a nurse and doctor. After 45 minutes of waiting I was seen by a nurse, when I told her my symptoms she just said, "So you have a flu?" Well, Miss Nurse, I don't know that's why I'm here! She gave me some paracetamol to lower my fever (it was just above normal) and I was back in the waiting room to wait to be seen by a doctor. Another 45 minutes a doctor called me and I was taken to the Primary Care Suite where he asked me what was wrong. I told him my list of symptoms. He looked at my throat and said, "Yep you're right, you have a throat infection." He prescribed me some antibiotics and I was on my way to get 'em!

That Thursday night I had another fever, could barely function Friday - ate some garlic on a sandwich and boiled a clove of garlic in water and tried to drink it but gagged - this may have helped me though because this morning I think my fever broke - I woke up drenched in sweat (I know spare me the details right?) but I didn't feel horrible so that is a good sign right? My throat is still very sore - looks like that bacteria is having a good fight with the meds, but I know I will win - just in time for my trip to Italy on Sunday with Chris to meet up with Susan!

I also bought tickets to the Star Wars Symphony Orchestra in concert for Chris which is tonight so hopefully I will have built up enough energy to sit through that - Chris' eyes and ears will be glued to that stage for sure.

Of course this ordeal would only happen to me, the last time I went on a trip (Nigara Falls with Chris c. November 2009) I had a throat infection, fever, etc - but that was during the trip and this sickness is before Italy/France so I can't complain...if it's meant to happen might as well be before I fly out.

Some of you may know that Susan and I refer to ourselves as 'Monsoon' and London has decided to name some of its shops after us. We're famous!

Saturday night Jonny and Nat invited me out for a night on the town. We hit up Brick Lane which is a street in the East End of London (busy nightlife). We began our night at The Big Chill which had a social vibe to it, then we walked to Exit Bar which was a small, cozy lounge feel (except we didn't lounge) and then we ended the night at Beduin which was more of a club type venue. All these places had DJ's too!








My night ended much earlier than Jonny and Nat's though (they took care of me). Somehow I forgot what my limit was or maybe it was that Jägerbomb (those that party with me KNOW that I can't do shots) - this night proved it!










So, aside from knocking over a tray of drinks, getting yelled at by the female toilet attendant, stopping the cabbie twice and recouping in bed until 4 in the afternoon the next day...it was a great night!

Last weekend Bardy cooked up a lamb with rice, potatoes and veggies! Mmm. The best home cooked meal I have had in England. Too bad it was his last weekend with us, leaving us for the land down under. We miss you!

Bardy spent hours cooking

Classy eaters

According to Johnny we are such girls for taking pictures of our food (this was take 3, hence some not impressed expressions)

Last weekend Susan and I ventured out for a night of rock band and an Irish pub in Leicester Square with some Canadians and Americans.

We're pro at taking the tube

Leffe in the 's backseat of a cabbie

Someone was crackin' jokes...or not

Posing with the boys

hehehe

Love the top Susan!