Also: sweet luxury

It seems no-one else is booked in to my room tonight.

This, dear friends, is rather rare in the hosteling world and quite the luxury.

I will be relishing the quiet and peace tonight!

Sooo lovely and sooo lovely to see

Yes, dear readers, I bought the sweater. I wasn't sure at first, but I am completely in love now.

In non-shopping news, have visited Edinburgh Castle, walked the Royal Mile (in two installments), seen the North Sea from atop the Castle, had a pint in a pub, walked until my cheeks are bright red.

I like this city. It's nice to be in a city that is easily walkable. London is a great city, but is not made for the random I'll-just-see-where-I-end-up walk. I did this a couple times, and while Fleet Street was mildly interesting, I saw a lot of semi-residential neighborhoods with no decent window shopping. Though, did manage to come across both the BBC and Reuters buildings, and that was really cool.

The British Library is also quite stunning (I went there intentionally). They currently have on exhibit some papers of Oscar Wilde, and a much larger exhibit of Sacred Texts. The ST exhibit includes many hagadahs, a Gutenberg bible, some Korans, and more that I just didn't write down to remember. I really love illuminated texts, and this love is one of the reasons I will return to Dublin (to see the Book of Kells). The design of the BL is very modern and really, really cool. If you're at all interested in architecture or design, definitely pop in for a bit.

Finally, am finally starting to feel that I'm in Europe. I've been here almost a week. At first, it felt like Just Another City (London). Though, anywhere the presence of Starbucks is great just doesn't feel like anywhere unusual. There are Starbucks in Edinburgh, but not in the vast quantities of London or Seattle. It also feels unusual to be somewhere where English, such as it is considering accents, is the national language.

Though, with the slang differential, and the broad accents of particularly the Scottish, it sometimes sounds like an entirely different language.

More hostel thieves

This time, they took lovely traveller's water. Yes, water.

They also took four hours of lovely traveller's sleep.

Note to other hostelers, current or future:

1. if you come in late and other people are sleeping, quietly make your way in and around the room, and quickly settle in to your bed. DO NOT, body slam another's bunk, mess around with noisy plastic bags or talk to your friend...for 30 minutes.

2. if you wake up early because you have to check out, be quiet. Do not walk in and out of a room, with a door that slightly slams, many, many times. Do not use a hair dryer in the room. Do not noisily pack your bags (take them out of the room to do this, for everyone's sake). Do not (again) bodyslam another's bunk. Do not start making cell phone calls. Do no start talking at full volume to your friend. And most of all, do not take nearly two hours of someone else's sleep while doing all this.

Por favorrrrrrr.

Yes, I know staying in a hostel is a bit of a grab bag, but there must be basic courtesies observed. Right now, I think very poorly of Eastern Europeans. They may have been Russian.

I am now the only one left in the room. For how long, I don't know. In reality, probably just a few hours.

And so, vent is over.

The real question is, do I buy the lovely, grape-ish/violet, £4 wool sweater in the charity shop? It's quite lovely, but not necessarily the color I was thinking of.

But for £4...

The bed thief

Once upon there was a lovely traveller. She took a train trip from London to Edinburgh (quite lovely, thanks) and settled in to her hostel. She started talking with another American chick, and was comfy in her (preferred) lower bunk bed (the ankle is still healing). They chatted, and had several interesting conversational topics.

But that, dear reader, is not the point.

After returning from a lovely Chinese dinner, our traveller and the American chick decide to go to the pub for a drink (or four) and enjoy Saturday Night Edinburgh.

So. The chicks find a pub, buy some drinks and sit by the pool table. Eventually, they end up playing a couple of rather blitzed guys at pool. One, called Nigel, starts chatting up the lovely traveller.

But that, dear reader, is not the point.

At closing time, the two chicks make their way back to the hostel and up the ghastly, seemingly endless, three flights of stairs (courtesy note to readers: these flights are higher/longer than American flights, as the ceiling on each floor is much higher than in most American rooms) and in to their room. They do a quick bed check, before turning on the light, so they don't disturb anyone. This bed check reveals that some Twit has commandeered our lovely traveller's lower bunk (the last available). Now, general hostel etiquette states that if a bag or something of obvious personal ownership is on a bed, that bed is claimed. Lovely traveller left her daypack and journal on the bed. They were unceremoniously moved to the table.

Thankfully, lovely traveller's friend-of-the-night offered to take a top bunk and give lovely traveller her lower bunk. There is a lot to be said for the power of sharing booze with someone.

This morning, Twit wakes up and doesn't even introduce himself (another bit of standard hostel etiquette). Alas, dear reader, the Twit did not take his bag with him, so he will be there another night. Grrrrrrr.

Yes, lovely traveller has much more clearly 'marked' her new bed territory.

Beware of bed thieves!!

Hello, my name is Shana, and I am a Sun Addict

The cold weather in London is killing me. There was snow (again) this morning. I went back to sleep and thankfully the snow on the sidewalks was melted by the time I woke back up.

I leave for Edinburgh tomorrow. I want to also go to Glasgow, but there is a problem with finding accomodation for all the nights I want to stay there. Specifically, all the cheap beds I've seen listed online are taken for next Friday night. £25 is just too expensive for my budget (esp as it is my targeted daily allowance...). So, I might just toss or give away the £5 train ticket from Edinburgh to Glasgow if I can't find a room, and head back south. Very south.

And if Edinburgh is any colder than it is here in London, I may very well just check the temperature in Greece, southern Spain or southern Italy, then find a cheap plane ticket there and wait for Northern Europe to warm up.

Currently, I'm wearing: black skirt and tights; tank top; thin, long-sleeved t-shirt; cardigan; sweater; scarf; jean jacket. I'm sitting in an i-cafe, and I'm just about warm enough.

As a short side story: I once shared a cubicle with a woman at Amazon, who grew up on Maui. I always preferred an ambient temperature of about 70. She, about 80. She would turn on her heater, and I wouldn't realize it until I was starting to fall asleep at my computer (excessive heat makes me very sleepy when I'm not moving around). Now, I feel like her and just want to runrunrun from the cold weather. I don't think this weather would normally bother me this much, but my heart is still back in Argentina, basking under the hot, summer Argentinian sun.

My tan is fading, and that is a crime.

Cheerio

Well, I haven't actually heard anyone say that. Though I was called 'Love' within an hour of arriving. I suppose expecting to hear cheerio is like expecting to hear G'day mate in Australia. It wasn't until my second visit to Australia that I actually heard someone say that. So there you go.

There were snow flurries last night, but the streets are just COLD now (not a flake of snow in sight). I'd wondered about packing two cardigans and a sweater, and now know I did exactly the right thing.

Though, packing was a bit crazy on my last night in Seattle, and I ended up taking a little more than I wanted/expected to. So, since this is Europe and I will be shopping, I've decided to send a pair of heels (because really, did I ever wear heels in Buenos Aires, unless I was dancing??? and really, me wearing heels will probably not happen for at least a month longer, or until I can walk down stairs without a railing and walk for 2-3 hours WITHOUT an ankle brace and without any noticeable soreness or swelling) probably a (heavy, vintage, gorgeous) skirt and a shirt or two. T-shirt. [side note: of course I packed warm weather clothes -- 1. I just left summer in South America, and 2. It will be summer in Europe when I leave.]

Have splurged for a private room tonight. It's in the hostel I've booked for the next few nights, so it's not really too expensive. Really, I just want to be able to snore at will tonight, without anyone bothering me (when I'm really tired or have a cold (both of which are true right now), then it's worse than normal.

Tweaked the ankle while manhandling my backpack down some stairs, so I'm not sure if I'll be doing anymore walking today. I will return to the hostel, take a shower, get something to eat, and scope out the TV room, with a bag of ice for my ankle.

Really, I'm just rather tired, but scared to sleep because I don't want to wake up at 3am...

Leaving (again) on a jet airplane

In roughly 24 hours, I will be in London. Yippeee! Though, no 'yipppeee' for the freakin' cold weather over there.

I have packed two cardigans and a sweater.

My bag is too full and I have to take stuff out. It's one thing to pack clothes -- you think everything fits just so nicely, with a little room to spare. Then. You remember you have to pack shoes, shampoo, a dictionary, an extra book to read, lotion, tango shoes, tampons, and a pair of summery shoes (from Argentina), because you still have fresh memories of nearly bare feet in the sun.

But I digress.

My passport is at hand and I'm (almost) ready to get out of Dodge.

But I digress.

Will write again. From GMT.

Not your average backpacker

So. Am nearly finished with the re-packing of my backpack. Even with the absence of my laptop (sorry Edith) on this part of the journey, my bags are lighter than they were before. However, the main backpack is still quite full. This: a problem. I've already mentioned that I intend to shop while in Europe. While I know that some clothes will wear out (this happened to four pairs of pants in Argentina), I know I need room for additions -- and what about when the weather finally warms up and I'm not wearing a sweater??

So. Today. I will try and lighten my backpack. If for no other reason than I will regularly be hiking it up stairs and such...those wheels are only good for so long.

Which brings me to: I do not pack like the average backpacker. I have more than one nice outfit, I have more than five pairs of underwear, I have clothes I am not immediately wearing [for reasons other than weather], I have heels. I do not have fleece (though in reality, I own one), I do not have hiking shoes, I do not have khaki or cargo pants.

I just need a little variety in clothing. And yes, I know that I can buy as I go. However, while I intend on shopping in Europe (how can I *not*??), I do need to conserve money. I do want to return to Argentina in August (I know, it's foolish -- it'll be winter there...), and to do that I need money and I need to properly fit a certain skirt I have. We all make deals with ourselves, and returning to Argentina means wearing this skirt.

But anyway. I do not pack this way because I am an unexperienced traveller. I have travelled several times and am, in reality, a light packer. As in, I use everything I pack -- 98% of the time. I know it is a luxury to be able to swap out clothes at this point of a long trip, and I relish this luxury. There are just certain options that I wish to remain open, and being able to wear more than four outfits is one of them. Of course, I know that some of the clothes in my bag now will not make it back to the US. Clothes die, clothes are shed, clothes are lost by laundry services. All three of these things occurred in Argentina.

Also: there are some people would rather spend all their time marvelling at architecture, going on nature daytrips, going hiking. I am not one of these people. While I enjoy architecture, I am not Nature Girl. Occasional nature daytrips are interesting and quite enjoyable for me (such as all the excursions in Patagonia). However, I am happier just walking through a city, checking out the museums, checking out the open-air markets, and well, scouting out affordable shopping. I would rather take a tram and sit in a park on the top of the hill, and read a book, than rush to see eight sights of a city in one day. I believe in leisurely travel. I believe in trying to get a feel for a city. This doesn't always mean that I spend lots of time in a city, as there are cities in Europe that I will spend much less than a week in. However, my schedule is such that if I want to stay longer somewhere, I can. I do not "do" cities or locations, and I cringe when I hear someone (especially anyone I know) use that term.

So, dear reader, while I have a backpack, I'm not quite a backpacker. The bag does not define this traveller.

Surreal in Seattle

It's strange being back in Seattle. I usually feel a whole set of How Exotic emotions when I return to Seattle, after any trip longer than 2-3 weeks. Perhaps it's because I didn't fly straight here after Argentina, or perhaps it's just because I'm flying to Europe on Tuesday.

It's lovely to see my friends, yet also a bit sad. I was only able to spend a precious few hours with one of my best friends (he already had plans to go on a little vacation and he's not in Seattle anymore), and some friends I only get to see for very short periods of time. It's great to see people, but I've realized it's almost harder to do this, because seeing most of them only once isn't enough time to catch up and really SEE each other. Though, this visit was my choice and I don't regret any of it.

Last night, went to dinner witha couple friends and then went by the Century Ballroom to see another friend. It was really great to visit the CB, but sad in that the state of my ankle still prevents me from dancing. Of course, I didn't stay for the dance (and spend more time with my friends), because it would have been such torture to watch people dance and then not be able to dance myself.

And so. I will see more friends for drinks this evening, and then hopefully see a couple more friends this weekend, in between running errands and trying to lighten my backpack, because I *know* I will be shopping in Europe.

Random note: out of curiousity this morning, I conducted a little experiment. I have a lovely Eagle Creek backpack (they're simply the best). I also have a little suitcase on wheels, carry-on size. Now, you would think the backpack would hold more than the little suitcase. Wrong. The suitcase is only slightly smaller, though it looks like it's quite a bit smaller. How funny. To think I could have saved on buying an expensive backpack...

Another random note: in case you're wondering about what I did on Valentine's Day: I spent it with one of my best friends, and then had dinner with my mother.

Yet another random note: the food in the US defeats diets. Now, I'm not dieting, but I lost quite a bit of weight while I was in Argentina. Granted, I'm not walking around quite so much here (I prefer to spend the days lounging and packing and re-packing my backpack and watching the cats), but I've been gaining weight. The food here has way too many preservatives, additives, butter, oil and grease added to it -- even when you go to a non-fast food restaurant. Low-fat food is awful because it generally doesn't have much taste. This isn't to say I lived on salads and steaks alone in Argentina, because really, I ate chocolate, ice cream, bread, whole milk yogurt, pastas, etc quite often. Really now. It is entirely possible to eat well, and tastily, without all the extra crap added to food. I'm sure part of the food problem is because Americans demand easily-prepared food and food high in 'taste' (which results in the over-processing of food products), and also that generally, Americans don't really view food the same way as other parts of the world. This is to say, food is a necessity, not something that people really enjoy or spend much time with. Or maybe, this view of mine is just another aspect of the culture shock I've had in the US. But I don't think so.

In any case, I can't wait to get to Europe. Life will be cheese, bread, chocolate, fruit and bottled water, and steaks whenever I can afford them. Oooh, and Orangina in France!

Where I's at and how I's got here

I am in Seattle on a surprise visit. I've been here since Sunday, and only my two best friends and mother knew I was coming (ok, a couple I know knew, too, but that's just because they're very busy people and I wanted to be sure I could see them). The Brooklyn comment was just a red herring...

I haven't said anything until now, because the friend that I think reads my blog most frequently, well, reads the blog frequently. There was a group event that I went to last night, and I wanted to surprise everyone there and I knew I would see her there. And boy was she surprised! It was rather fun, because noone there would've dreamed I was going to be there.

I'm gradually telling a few people that I'm here. I thought it would be so cool to see everyone, and it really is, though, it's hard. While I'm staying with one of my best friends, I've only been able to spend a few hours with my other best friend (watching dvds with a group of five others last night doesn't really count), and it was hard to look him in the eye when I was leaving his house last night.

I've missed my best friends a great, great deal, and it's such a treat to see them. However, it's difficult because I will be leaving on Tuesday. It's also difficult because hours and days here and there just isn't enough time to really catch up with them. I just want to pack them up and take them to Europe, but they have mortgages, so...

So. I took the train from NYC to Seattle. In all, about three days. It was a nice trip, although if you ride Amtrak at night, I recommend bringing an extra sweater or blanket, because the heat is pretty low then. I was able to see a little bit of states I've never been to, and I also saw things like frozen lakes/ponds/rivers -- which I'd never actually seen before.

The only thing I hadn't taken into consideration, is that going through Middle America would mean there were Middle Americans on board. I heard a couple political I Support Bush conversations going on, and I just plugged in my CD walkman and turned up the volume. Thank you Keane and Narcotango and Tanghetto for saving me.

However, music wasn't able to save me at the dining car breakfast I had. A standard Middle America family sat down in my booth. From the not-so-witty repartee (father: "You didn't wait for us." Me: [pained, trying-to-be-polite smile]), to the food choices. To wit:

Waiter: Sir, would you like a croissant or biscuit with your breakfast?
Father: I dun't eat French food.
Waiter: OK.
Father: I'll have a biscuit.

Fine. No skin off my back. Though, you have to wonder that he didn't say anything when his wife ordered an omelette and his son French Toast. Now, I've never actually seen French Toast on a menu in France, though I suppose it's possible.

I almost spoke to him in French (well, told him off with the first French insult I learned in high school), just for the bullying fun of it. Though, I've lost a lot of my French since I took Spanish classes, so I wouldn't have been able to keep the French bit up for very long. I could've talked to him in Spanish, but the effect surely wouldn't have been the same.

While not because of this family, that breakfast was the first and last I had in the dining car. Simply, it was the most awful omelette I've ever had. So I stuck with turkey sandwiches and pretzels and chocolate chip cookies from the snack car.

Coming through the Cascade mountains on Sunday morning, just past dawn, was spectacular. There was quite a bit of fresh snow on the ground, and much more coming down. Absolutely breathtaking and exceptionally beautiful.

While three days without a shower was a little much for me, the train ride itself was really quite nice. There weren't too many people on the train, so everyone that wanted two seats to themselves were able to have one. I enjoyed the rest of not being able to do anything (except read, write, listen to music, eat and sleep), and being able to rest my ankle some more (the ankle is still tender, stiff and sore and I can't walk great distances or walk very quickly).

And in other, funny news: a friend in Seattle sent me a package of chocolate back in mid-November. To save money, she sent it via boat and was told it would take about 4-6 or 6-8 weeks (I don't remember which) to arrive in Buenos Aires. I just received an email from the family I stayed with, and the chocolate has just arrived. Three months.

Though, the CD of glacier photos still hasn't arrived at the residence. Which means it probably won't, which is very sad. And which also means I will just have to return to El Calafate and take more photos!

I miss warm weather and especially Buenos Aires.

What timezone am I in??

My body doesn't know what timezone it's in. I wake up anywhere between 5-7am. Though, where I am is a bit of a secret, and I'm hoping a few people aren't following this blog too closely this week. Which is more than I should say and all that I will say, but there you go.

The shop in Brooklyn is out of the scarf I wanted to buy. Alas.

Hope you all had a nice V day. I well, what I did is a secret...but I had a really nice day...

Take the A train

Which is what I did today.

Went to Central Park, in hopes of seeing the Christo installation. Alas, it will not be finished until Saturday. Though, it looks like it will be (of course) absolutely stunning. The beginnings of it are in place. There are orange metal archways and they will have orange cloth hanging down seven feet. The arches frame the walkways. How lovely will that be.

Spent the afternoon walking through Manhattan (had a slice of NY cheese pizza!!yum!), and window shopping. OK. So I went to H&M and bought a lovely skirt and a red t-shirt. I had no desire to go to Bloomingdales or Bergdorf Goodman, but when I saw the H&M marquee, I made a beeline for the store. Just another thing the Swedes are wonderful at.

Had a wonderful dinner with the owner of the house my friend lives at, along with the owner's niece. This is the type of dinner I wish I could share nearly every night. My friend sang a piece before dinner (opera), the owner sang Danny Boy (as opera). The talk revolved around opera, politics (the owner and his niece are British), the niece's job at a perfumerie company and port. One of the most wonderful dinners I've attended in a while. There is such a drive and passion that New Yorkers have, and I'm drawn to it.

J gave me a gift of some difficult-to-find British salt. Now, this may not seem like much to you, but if you could sample this salt, you would understand what a gift it is. He gave it as a gift for me to take on my travels, to 'help' unfortunate or bland food. It is going with me!

It is worth talking about the home I'm staying in. It's exquisite and quite lovely. Filled with various antiques, but not don't-touch-me-or-you'll-scar-it antiques. The mix of old with other slightly ethnic touches is really superb and striking. A grand piano dominates the main floor living room, and the living room is understated. The basement is completely finished and the brick walls are painted a striking, cerulean blue. The room I'm staying in has a wall constructed of the square glass bricks so popular in the 80s. However, the wall is quite small and it does not looked like affected 80s architecture. This wall is also the wall to the outside of the house, so the diffusion of light is quite nice. In short, I LOVE this place. J has remarkable style. It is quite similar to the style of home I would like to put together one day.

I want to live in NY.

Take the L train

Which is what I did tonight. I'm in lovely NYC. Well, Brooklyn, to be honest.

While I felt a great deal of culture shock in Florida, it is gone here. Could easily be the variety of everything here. From accents heard on the streets, to the variety of everything here. Or maybe just because there are bags of trash on the streets, waiting for the trash collectors. Though thankfully, there are no cartoneros here, ripping into the bags and spreading refuse everywhere.

Had dinner with a former colleague from my Amazon days. We worked together for over a year and developed a personal friendship. Tonight was the first time we met. There have been other times I thought I would be in NYC, but those plans all fell through. It was so great to meet up with her and to actually *see* her. We both know each other's voices at 10 paces, but it was different to actually see her face, instead of the face I created for her and from the grainy picture she once sent me.

As I said, I'm staying with an old high school chum in Brooklyn. He's the only person from high school I'm still in contact with (though, we haven't seen each other in about 3-4 years). He looks fantastic and it's like little time has passed between the last time we saw each other. If we're lucky, we normally only get to talk two or maybe three times per year, in addition to random emails here and there. He's an opera singer, and I will get to hear him sing tomorrow, when he goes to an audition. Very cool.

There is a series of Christo pieces in Central Park, and we're probably going to go check a couple of those out tomorrow. That, and 1. I'd like to buy a scarf I saw advertised in Vogue (a steal at $25); and 2. considering there is snow on the ground, I'd like to buy a warmer sweater than the thin thing I have now. It's really not that warm... Ideally, I'd like to pop into a thrift store, and find a lovely, worn, cashmere or wool sweater. Sort of like one of those preppy, v-neck ones that were all the preppy rage in the 80s. Easy to layer and I can still wear my jean jacket with it. Also, will be useful to have a warmer sweater once I get to Europe, as it will be winter there, too.

Ankle is still stiff and sore, but is generally better. I'm just bad about thinking it feels ok, and then walking way too much. I already have a few days of pure rest planned before I head further east. I will be very upset if I'm still unable to walk properly (read: quickly) and for long distances when I get to Europe.

OK. It's late here in Brooklyn. Time to get some beauty rest and snuggle under 2-3 layers of comforters. How different from the recent days of sleeping with air conditioning (though, in cool (65 F) Ft Lauderdale weather, I don't know why my bunk mates did that...) and fans (BA).

So much for a year of summer...

Weeping for Argentina

Yes, tears rolled down my cheeks as my plane banked over Buenos Aires and began heading north.

Do you, too, think it's a bit odd that an airline would show Sky Capitan and the World of Tomorrow -- a film with airfight sequences, where some places are shot and go down in flames -- on a flight? I do.

So. Am safe and sound in Fort Lauderdale. There's a SuperBowl bbq going on. Hate to say it, but the sausage was awful. But then, compared to Argentinian chorizo, nearly everything would pale in comparison. The bbq chicken was fairly nice. I haven't actually had that for months.

Am experiencing reverse culture shock. It feels incredibly unnatural to not greet someone with a kiss and hola. While I never was at the point that I consistently thought in Spanish, some phrases are automatic and those thoughts just come out in Spanish. That was ok with the Cuban shuttle driver, but to my knowledge, noone in my hostel speaks Spanish.

It's strange to see clean streets and signs in English and orderly traffic. Though, the traffic in Buenos Aires is certifiably crazy, I never once saw an accident in four months. In the time it took to drive from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, I saw four. Go figure.

Lawlessness rules.

Hopefully, will have a lovely, uninterrupted night's sleep tonight. And a blissful day of no real plans tomorrow.

I will be crying for missing Argentina.

Soooooo sad.

My taxi picks me up at 6am tomorrow morning. I might be going out with some others from the residence, so I may just not sleep. Doubtful, but it could happen. Though, I will be wrecked if I don't sleep.

I just need to buy a bottle of wine, some alfajores and that's it.

And maybe juggle the weights in my bags again. Getting my main carryon bag (laptop backpack doesn't count) to 8kg or less is a challenge. My main backpack is stuffed with books and papers (mostly from my Spanish classes). I just hope they don't want to open my bag because it will certainly look odd when it goes through a metal detector. I will definitely be shipping things to Seattle from Florida or New York.

I bought Harry Potter I (en español, claro). Can't wait.

I promise to write lots and lots for you after I've had a good night's sleep in Florida.

So.

Time to search for dinner. I miss Bife de Lomo already, and have mixed feelings about eating one tonight. Es possible, pero no sé en ese momento.

I will be crying for missing Argentina.

Last days of sun

After a couple AWFUL days of wind and rain (think Seattle in February...), the sun has been back for the last couple days. This is very nice, as since my itinerary has significantly changed, I will not be having a year of summer.

While I've been in Buenos Aires nearly four months, I've taken quite few photographs. So, this is my mission between today and Saturday (I leave rather early Sunday morning). I'm 95% packed, I've bought nearly everything I need to. The only thing missing is the CD of photos of the glaciers in El Calafate. I'm hoping to have good luck and that they will arrive on or by Saturday. Otherwise, odds of me getting those photos are rather slim. Which is very sad.

I know I'm woefully behind on the Patagonian Express entries. I apologize. Before I get to London, they will be posted. Promise.

So. Off to walk and take photos of this great city.