The Traveling Westacotts

Where Are We?

2011-01-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

I realize we don't exactly keep this up-to-date. Blogger has proved to be more of a hassle than we anticipated - not the keeping up with it so much as the uploading of photos. It takes forever and we can only upload a couple photos at a time or it will give us an error message. Annoying! Often, I'll upload photos to Facebook where most of you read updates about us anyway, and sometimes I'll put stuff up on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwes), so you can pop over there to see some photos as well. I've also been posting stuff on Tumblr (http://www.urbanbasement.tumblr.com), but that's more arty stuff that I like or make on there - not updates about what we're up to.

I'll give you a wee update here anyway, but you may find your stalking more successful in those other locations. Jeremy and I have both resigned from our teaching positions. I won't go into details about it because this is the web, but most of you already know our reasons for leaving. It just wasn't what we expected and we couldn't condone or put up with what was happening there, unfortunately. We are definitely still interested in teaching, we're just not sure where that will be yet!

For the time being, I'm a Barista at Starbucks. I just started this past week, and I'm really enjoying it! I love learning how to make all the different drinks and talking with the customers. The people I work with are really great as well. They've been so helpful with my training, and they are just fun people to work with. Some perks of the job: I get to take home a free bag of coffee or box of tea every week, I get free drinks on shift, and discounted drinks/food when I'm not working, and we're required to do a coffee tasting every shift! Starbucks wants their employees to be knowledgeable of the products, so they require us to test all the drinks!!

Jeremy has applied to a nursery (kindergarden) and had two interviews with them. It looks really promising and we're just waiting patiently for the call. So things are really looking up for us after the stressful beginning to the school year. We are much more optimistic as we look to the future and decide what our next step is. We're applying to schools for the Fall all over the world (Kenya, Taiwan, Canada, Scotland, etc), and we're just hoping that something will come up for us!

That's it for now.

Katie xo.

Aviemore.

2010-08-17T05:20:00.000-07:00

Aberdeen Flat.

2010-08-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well, Jeremy and I have been living in Aberdeen for just over 2 weeks now. We're still on holiday for another week. We've spent our time reading, touring the city, trying new recipes, and crocheting (well, I've been crocheting; Jeremy hasn't).

We officially moved to our new flat in Aberdeen on July 30th. We had some troubles with the car rental and ended up having to wait another 4.5 hours for another car! Once we got the new car and had everything packed, we headed on our way from Edinburgh around 2pm. We arrived in Aberdeen at 4:30, parked at the flat, and walked to a local restaurant for dinner. We were starving! Nothing too spectacular - the place was called The Harvester, and it was much like a Swiss Chalet, but with more variety. There's a salad bar. Mmmm.

We met the manager of the letting agency at the flat at 6 so she could give us the keys and show us some things about the flat (like how to use the electric heaters), then we were on our own to unpack. Luckily we were able to unpack everything that night; we don't have much. I love walking into a flat and have almost everything already set up for you! Renting furnished is the way to go when you're living abroad.

So without further ado, here are some photos of our flat, if you haven't already seen them on Facebook!

Vlog Entries!

2010-05-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I have been teaching Kindergarten (they call it nursery here) this year in Edinburgh. I've heard some pretty crazy things from some of the kids so far and I have compiled a list of titles for my stories that I am going to post as video blogs. I plan to do two series, the first being "Life Lessons From a Kindergarten Student" with the other being "Tales of a Kindergarten Teacher." For those of you who are friends on facebook, I posted the first "Life Lesson" on my wall (for those of you who aren't, I hope to get on here somehow*). Stay tuned!

Jeremy

*I managed to figure out how to post it on the blog. Here it is:

Vanity.

2010-05-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I went shopping this morning to see if we could find anything to wear for next month's festivities. We're attending the End of Year Ball that my program is holding, and we are going to a friend's wedding in the Highlands! We headed to H&M first, because they tend to have some nice choices for good prices. Jeremy was looked after in 5 minutes flat. Jacket & Vest were decided on so quickly. Oh the ease of being a man. I, however, was worried that my quest for a dress would prove to be a little more challenging. I am, afterall, a woman. Surprisingly, I only had to try on two dresses before I found one that I quite liked. And I already have shoes that will go with it! Done and done. Oh, and Jeremy decided to purchase some faux glasses because he thinks they make him look distinguished. He also insisted upon a photo shoot when we got home so that he could update his facebook photo. So here the product of his shopping success:

My dress will remain a mystery for the time being. It is blue.

Berlin: Day 1

2010-05-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

Blogger is acting up a bit when trying to upload photos, so I will try again later. These are some photos from Day 1 of our trip to Berlin! We thought we lost all the photos when our external hard drive mysteriously stopped working. Jeremy took it to a computer shop and the technician was able to retrieve most of what was on there! Hooray!

So here is Jeremy at the top of the Reichstag reading about the buildings you can see from the top.

This is the dome at the top of the Reichstag. You can go inside too and there is a ramp going all the way around to go to the top.Jer and I at the top of the Reichstag. It was pretty windy up there, hence the wind-swept hair! Also, it was a gorgeous 19 degrees that day!

This is the inside of the dome. You can see the ramp going round with people checking out the view. The giant cyclone-like thing in the middle is covered with mirrors. It was a really weird structure, actually.

These next three photos are of a memorial designed by Peter Eisenman and Buro Happold. It's a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. There are 2711 slabs of concrete displayed in a grid, all at differing heights - one for each page of the Talmud. The construction is supposed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere (they were originally supposed to be arranged in a labyrinth, but Berlin officials didn't want people to get lost or hurt in it).

Some controversy surrounds the construction: Graffiti is a huge issue in Berlin, and the memorial consists of 2711 five-sided slabs of blank canvas. Degussa, a company which produces an anti-graffiti substance called Protectosil, provides Berlin with the substance for free to help keep the memorial graffiti-free. However, a subsidiary company of Degussa, Degesch, produced Zyklon B during WWII, which was used to poison people in the gas chambers. Construction of the memorial was temporarily stopped while decisions were being made on whether or not to use the Protectosil.

Also, the site on which the memorial is built is that of a former SS Barracks. Needless to say, there is much controversy over the memorial and many people do not agree with its construction, saying the Holocaust is not an appropriate subject for a memorial.

Of course, we had to check out Check-Point Charlie. This was Checkpoint C between East and West Germany during the Cold War. Just behind me and to the left, there is the open air museum with info on the checkpoints, Cold War, attempted escapes, and much more interesting historical info. Dad, you would probably be there for hours trying to read it all! People were actually smuggled out of East Germany in hidden compartments of vehicles! Sadly, a lot of people died trying to escape East Germany.
Here's the sign that was put up at Checkpoint Charlie: "You are entering the American sector, Carrying weapons off duty forbidden, Obey Traffic Rules."

That was the last photo taken on Day 1. I'll make sure to post the others when Blogger decides to cooperate!

Victory!

2010-04-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to go edit some more Berlin photos when the hard drive started acting up on me. The computer wasn't recognizing that anything was plugged in, so I couldn't access any of the files! Jeremy took the hard drive to work to see if it would work on a computer there, but still no luck. Heartbroken, I kept trying in vain to see if the thing would work on the computer. I was devastated at the thought of losing everything I had taken since we moved here in August! Jeremy took the hard drive to a computer shop near us, and the guy said he'd see what he could do. It took a couple of days to extract the files, but he was successful and we now have everything safe and sound on the laptop! Victory! Unfortunately, everything was all organized into neat little folders before, and now all the photos are mixed up together - edited, watermarked, mexico and the cottage, etc. BUT we have it all and I'm ecstatic!

Stay tuned for Berlin photos!

Highland Highlights

2010-03-25T06:43:00.000-07:00

Back in January, Mike Wilson came to visit us on his way home from New Zealand. I was in school, so Jeremy and Mike did a lot of tourist-like things (the castle, Glasgow, Royal Mile, pubs). On the Saturday, we did a one-day Highland tour by bus. Our bus driver was amazing. He was full of stories and history, which made the ride that much more interesting.

At our first stop, we got coffee and muffins, and met Hamish the Hairy Highland coo (cow). He was all ready for his close-up. When Mike went to take his photo, Hamish kept shaking his head around. Silly Hamish.

January Photos

2010-03-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos that I should have posted earlier for your pleasure. These first four shots were taken from Calton Hill in Edinburgh, looking out over New Town.

This is the top of Arthur's Seat - the highest point in Edinburgh. Jeremy and Mike climbed it during his visit in January and they had to slide down on their bottoms because it was so icy.

This is looking down to Prince's Street at the fair that was on during Christmas-time.
Jeremy, of course, on his ipod.

Looking up at Edinburgh Castle.

Race for Life

2010-03-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to do a 5k for a while now, but keep chickening out. I started running last Spring-ish, and haven't really kept up with it as well as I'd like, but I thought the impending date of a 5k may encourage me to run on a more regular basis in preparation.

That being said, I will be taking part in the Race for Life 5k, raising money for Cancer Research in the UK. The race is on Sunday, May 9th at 11am. If you would like to sponsor me, you can go to http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/katrionawestacott and you will be able to submit your donation through the site. Easy-peasy.

I'll be sure to appoint Jeremy to take photos to document the event. Before-the-race photos will probably be the ones posted, as I will be a pile of sweat and death in the After photos. We'll see how it pans out :)

Overdue Update!

2010-03-15T09:29:00.001-07:00

I realize we haven't posted anything in a long time, so I will post a bit now, and add some photos later (I'm at school).

Jeremy and I keep pretty busy; Jer works about 50 hours a week, and I'm at uni for another couple weeks before Easter break (which is 3 WEEKS!!!). We tend to get together with friends most weekends, which is always great fun. A few weeks ago we were at a friends' flat to watch the hockey game. It was just a small group of us - all Canadians! I have pictures which are on Facebook, but I'll post them here too. The night involved poutine, Innis & Gunn Canadian cask, Kraft Dinner, and red maple leaf mittens! Twas' great fun!

I've been learning how to crochet. A friend of mine, Helen, taught some of us. We had a Stich n' Bitch night last weekend, and I've since made a hat, a headband, and I'm now working on another hat for Jeremy. Yes, I'm 80. But it's addictive.

Jeremy and I are continuing to apply to schools around the globe. If you don't know already, Jeremy and I are attempting to stay here for another year, but if that doesn't work out, we have applied to International Schools in the hopes of being hired somewhere! This weekend, we sent out 120 letters between the two of us to most of the Private schools in Scotland (that made a bit of a dent in our wallets!). The letters were pretty much sucking up ("I've heard so much about your prestigious school..."), telling about ourselves, and we included our resumes as well. Other schools we've applied to are in Beijing, Cairo, Italy, Spain, Germany, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Kenya, and S. Korea! But we're hoping to stay here for another year, and then move somewhere else to teach.

Jeremy and I are heading to Berlin for a long weekend in a few weeks! It is pretty inexpensive to fly here, so it's manageable to go away for little trips! I'm so excited to go! I've been looking at different travel sites for things to do, and we may do a bike tour. You pay for the tour and your bike/helmet rental, and you're taken around Berlin to 7 or 8 main tourist sites for about half a day. I think it's a great way to be introduced to the city, as well as meet some other tourists along the way. Should be fun! I'll definitely post pictures here and on Facebook upon our return!

That's it for now. I'll do another blog soon to post photos!

More Christmas Pictures!

2010-01-30T09:03:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from Roy Bridge when we were there at Christmas.

This is St. Margaret's Church. We attended on the Sunday. It's the church my Dad went to when he lived in Roy Bridge. The priest was probably the same one from when Dad was there, by the looks of him. He had two feet in the grave! hahaha
Lovely sun flare. It was like that pretty much all day.

This was taken by Jeremy and edited by me. Good eye, Jeremy!

It was so nice on Christmas Day! We had gorgeous sunny weather!!

This is inside the Stronlossit Inn in the Restaurant. We spent most of the day here by the fire on the Sunday before we caught the train back home. There's a sign on the hearth of the fireplace that says, "Don't hog the heat. Other people want to stay warm too." I had gotten sick on Boxing Day and still wasn't feeling so great. I downed a lot of tea while Jeremy helped himself to a few pints of Guinness! We also chatted with Maurice, the owner of the Inn, and childhood friend of my Dad's! According to him, Roy Bridge isn't much different than it was when Dad lived there. He remembers staying with my Dad's family once when they had moved to Bear's Den and watching Dr. Who when the show first came out. :)

Roy Bridge

2010-01-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I spent 3 nights in Roy Bridge in the Highlands of Scotland over Christmas. It was very beautiful. And it was great fun visiting some of the places Dad talks about from his childhood (since he spent part of it in Roy Bridge!). All the photos were taken on Christmas Day. I got sick on Christmas night and spent Boxing Day in bed. Shame. Enjoy the photos! There are actually a load more that I haven't edited yet (because I'm very particular like that), so you may see some at some other time. In the mean time, enjoy these ones.

This was the view from our hotel! We had arrived at night, so it was great to wake up to this view!

Christmas morning! Jeremy and I in the hostel kitchen having breakfast.

The Roy Bridge Hotel where we stayed. Dad told me that when he and his brothers were younger, they would nick the empty bottles from the back of the hotel and bring them round to the front to get the deposit money!

Along the main road through Roy Bridge. Duck crossing!

The Stronlossit Inn. Dad was friends with the guy who owns this Inn. The Inn used to be a farm. Jeremy and I spent some time here on our last day in Roy Bridge. The Bar Lounge is lovely. We chatted with Maurice (the owner) for a while. He talked about what Roy Bridge was like when Dad used to live there. Apparently, not a lot has changed.

View of the school yard from the road.

Roy Bridge Primary School. Dad lived at this schoolhouse when he was young. His dad was the Headmaster and his mum was a teacher.

This is the road leading to the train station... er... platform. There's no actual train station anymore.

There we are!

A little blurry, but I still like this shot.

Jeremy says this shot is "epic."

I'm pretty sure we trespassed on someone's farm...

I love the light in these two shots. That's Jeremy up the road. I was constantly lagging behind because I kept stopping to take pictures.

Jeremy liked this tree because it looks golden and stands out against the blue sky. I agree.

We had a great time in Roy Bridge, despite my getting sick. It was fun to explore and put a picture to Dad's stories.

Christmas Eve is the new Christmas Day

2010-01-04T07:14:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from Katie and Jeremy! I know this blog is a little late.

Since Jeremy and I were going to Roy Bridge for Christmas, we opened our Christmas presents sent by my parents on Christmas Eve morning so we didn't have to bring them with us.

Jeremy's excited to start ripping the presents open! I know, we don't have a tree. It's sad. We've put up our own Christmas tree a total of ONE time since we've been married. The sad fake tree sits in a cardboard box all by its lonesome.

I love this scarf! I now have a total of 11 scarves with me. I still have a few at home. Jeremy bought be a pink tartan cashmere scarf for my birthday. I love scarves.

Hmm. I wonder what could be in here?

Gotta have my Timmy's. Mmmm. I missed you so.

Lovely Fossil earrings from Santa. Love the box they came in too!

Jeremy got some great gifts too. We've already read this whole joke book. It kept us entertained on the train to and from Roy Bridge. I think this one is appropriate given where we're from and where we currently live:

Q: What do you call Scottish Catholic Native people?
A: Mi'kmaqs.

Jeremy was very excited about his box of Hickory Farms. We ate the contents while chatting with family on iChat.

Reindeer droppings. Yum.

And this is on the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow. The train was delayed for about 40 minutes and we were worried that we missed our train from Glasgow to Roy Bridge. We didn't. The train waited for us! A blog from our trip to Roy Bridge will follow shortly. Sorry for the delay in posting this!

Christmas Ceilidh

2009-12-23T03:08:00.000-08:00

My program put on a Christmas Ceilidh (kay-lee) to celebrate and have some fun. Jeremy and I went with friends from my class. We met up at my friend Helen's first for wine and games. We played the "hat game," which Helen was very excited to play. You pull a name out of a hat (hence, "hat game") and you have to describe the person to get your team to guess who it is. There are three rounds; in the second round you can only use 3 words to get your team to guess, and in the third round, you can only use body language. It was really funny after a few glasses of wine.

We headed to the Ceilidh (it's a dance, by the way. Kind of like country dancing, with a caller and everything) about 9:30. I didn't bring my camera with me, so I've nicked some photos from friends on facebook to post on the blog.

Here's Jeremy and I for our first ever Ceilidh dance! Notice, I haven't taken my cardy off yet, so we haven't quite gotten into the swing of things.

This was Jeremy after the Ceilidh dancing, when the "real" music started. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. He just wanted to go home and go to bed. I don't blame him. It was a Tuesday night and he had to be at work at 8 the next morning!

This is Emma and Emma, two good friends from Uni. The first Emma is from England, but moved to Scotland when she was a kid. The second Emma is from Cork, Ireland.

Fran (the one in the grey dress) dragged Jeremy onto the dance floor to learn one of the harder Ceilidh dances. He was hesitant at first, but ended up enjoying himself! Probably because one of the girls in his circle kept winking at him. haha

Note the girl in the red dress. She's the one who kept winking at Jeremy! She even tried to add him as a friend on Facebook! I haven't even really met her at school yet and she's hitting on my husband!

Emma and me.

Jeremy and I totally messing up the dance. The other girl there is Katie. She's also Canadian. So all the Canadians are the ones messing up the Ceilidh!

Mhairi in the red dress, and Fran in the grey.

After the Ceilidh, rocking out to Black Eyed Peas! Mozoltov!

Lastly, this is Bob with Jasmine. Bob is our Science lecturer. Everyone loves him and he teaches us using a puppet. Amazing.

Merry Christmas!

Northern Ireland

2009-12-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I headed to Northern Ireland last weekend to visit Nicole and Jamie, friends of ours from camp. It was great fun catching up and seeing some sights. Here are some pictures of our trip:This is the view from Jamie and Nicole's driveway. Their house is there on the left. The North channel is right there in front (that the body of water between Scotland and Ireland).

This was the view from the living room. Lovely houses all along the water. There's a lighthouse in the background to the right. The town we stayed in was called Donaghadee. It was a lovely little town with pastel coloured houses. We went to Pier 36, a pub, for coffee and tea in the morning.

On Saturday, we went into Belfast and walked around the Christmas market, which is set up right in front of City Hall - the building in the photo. Beside the Christmas market, was a giant ferris wheel (that cost way too much to ride: £10/person!). It's like Belfast's version of the London Eye.

These Harland & Wolff Cranes were used to build the Titanic. They are in the Belfast ship yard.

Each crane has a span of 140 metres and can lift loads of up to 840 tonnes to a height of 70 metres, making a combined lifting capacity of over 1,600 tonnes, one of the largest in the world. Prior to commissioning, the cranes were tested up to 1,000 tonnes, which bent the gantry downwards by over 30 centimetres. The dry dock at the base of the cranes is the largest in the world.

I took the photo from the observation deck. Along with this one of Nicole and Jamie:

After I took the shot, Jamie said that I make Nicole look pretty... I'm not sure if it was a compliment on my photography skills or an insult on Nicole's looks?

And here's Jeremy at the top of the observation deck as well. Sorry, no shots of me. I'm always behind the camera.

We had a great weekend. Jeremy and I were talking about how it takes longer to drive from my parent's house to Scarborough Town Centre than the plane ride from Edinburgh to Belfast: All of 30 minutes. I love it here. :)

Zap!

2009-11-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

I have a notebook back home (I forgot to bring it with me) that I call the Zap book, only because it says "Zap" on the cover for some reason. I use it to record funny things that kids say. There's a lot in there from when I was a nanny in Ottawa. Lately, I've been recording bits and pieces on post-it notes so I don't forget some of the funny things I hear during my placements. Currently, I'm with a P2 class (equivalent of Grade 1). Here are some of the gems:

I did a lesson with a group of kids about things different animals eat and what they like to eat. They had to write different repetitive sentences beside each animal: "I like grass" "I like bones" etc. When it came to them doing the sentence about themselves, one kid asked, "how do you spell 'boogers'?"

A kid in my class was looking at a world map. I asked if he knew where we were on the map. He pointed to Scotland. I pointed to Ontario and said, "this is where I'm from. I got on a plane and flew all the way over here," and showed him with my finger moving over the ocean. His response: "it's a pity you've got to work on your holiday!"

Two Karate teachers came in to teach the kids some moves (why they decided to teach 27 six year olds how to kick each other is beyond me). Anyway, after kicking one of the pads being held up by the instructor, a kid came running up to me all excited and exclaimed: "I kicked him in the PENIS!"

We were reading a story about owls and the teacher asked, "Why do you think the boy owl was giving the girl owl a dead mouse." A kid responded, "because they are in love!"

The teacher asked the children what a manger is. A kid said, "it's a little house where babies get made."

Hope you enjoyed some of those. It's difficult to keep a straight face when kids say funny things. If you giggle a little, the whole class bursts into laughter. Trust me.

Keith the Robot

2009-10-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

Jeremy has been posting blog entries on here for the most part, and I haven't really contributed much (other than Jeremy using some of my photos), so I figured it was time I wrote something on the blog. As you all know, I'm in the PGDE program at the University of Edinburgh, so I am constantly swamped with work. It is unbelievable the amount of work they expect of us, so it's a welcome change when we have art class and we get to play!

On Tuesday we were talking about 3D models and different ways we could go about making them. I have an illustration of a robot on the front of my notebook, so Emma suggested we try to make him for our 3D model. We used newspaper for his body, hands and feet; straws for his arms and legs; and cardboard for his head. We then covered him in plaster strips and painted him gold! Helen named him Keith. We broke him out of the art room on Thursday. We were afraid he'd be kidnapped during our 5 week placement. Seriously, he's that cute.

See?

Keith hangs out on my window sill now, next to photos of Laura, Patrick, Jeremy, Matthew, and Paul. He's pretty comfortable there.

Glencoe-Aonach Eagach

2009-10-19T01:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to go camping up in the Scottish Highlands with a couple of guys (Matt & Tom) I had met through Katie's program at Moray House.

We left Edinburgh on Friday evening and by the time we arrived in Glencoe it was pitch black outside. The area we camped in was quite boggy, and the fact that it was night when we arrived made finding a place to set up camp quite difficult. But we were able to find a decent little spot that was dry enough for us to set up our gear. Once we had set up the Tipi (yes that's right, a Tipi), we took the time to look around us at the enormous hills that surrounded us on all sides and admired the clear sky and all the stars that were shining in the darkness (It really made me miss being in northern Ontario). I couldn't wait to see what it would look like in the daylight. It didn't disappoint:

Here is the Tipi we stayed in (It had a wood burning stove inside)

Our site was just beauty!

So the decision was made that on Saturday we would scale the Aonach Eagach or "Notched Ridge", an enormous ridge that was just down the road from our site. It is famed as the narrowest ridge on the British mainland, the Aonach Eagach gives a thrilling and spectacular traverse for keen scramblers, linking the Munros (Scottish mountain with a height over 3,000 ft) of Meall Dearg and Sgorr nam Fiannaidh (I have no idea how to pronounce these places as they are all in Scottish Gaelic: Gàidhlig). It was absolutely amazing. This next picture isn't of Aonach Eagach but it was just an unbelievable looking mountain that we passed on our way from our campsite to Aonach Eagach, so I just had to include it here:

So we got to Aonach Eagach and climbed (I was dying at the beginning, but I eventually got my second wind! I really haven't done much climbing before. The last time I climbed anything was Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, which was nowhere near as high as Aonach Eagach. Arthur's Seat was really just walking up a hill. Aonach Eagach involved a lot of scrambling and actual climbing, which I've never really done, but I was totally excited for it, even though I have a fear of heights...or more accurately a fear of falling from heights). It took us from about 10 am to approximately 4:30 pm to climb to the top, make our way across the ridge, and descend on the opposite side. Here are some pictures of our journey:

This was one of the few spots where we had to do a full-on climb rather than just a scramble.

Tom, Me, and Matt

We headed down here because we heard that there was a pub down there somewhere. There was and it was great!

Here are a few more pictures of the scenery from the top:

I believe that these mountains opposite Aonach Eagach are referred to as "The Three Sisters"

I honestly can't believe I actually climbed on that...

...and that!

This is the view after we completed our descent (from outside of the pub)

At the end of the day it was an absolutely tremendous experience. A lot of fun. A lot of work. And worth every minute of it. Needless to say, I slept like a baby that night.

For those of you who are interested, more information on Aonach Eagach is available at http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/3399 or http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/fortwilliam/aonacheagach.shtml or http://www.scotclimb.org.uk/aonacheagach.shtml

Where Are We? A Comparative Geography Lesson

2009-10-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved to Edinburgh, a lot of people have asked me about Canada. Most people start off by asking where in Canada I am from, so I tell them Toronto (because Scarborough would mean nothing to them). The next question? You guessed it: "What's the weather like in Canada?" The assumption is that all of Canada, from east to west is extremely cold and snowy all the time. People just imagine that we wear parkas, toques and mitts all year round while we live out our days in our igloos. So I am left to explain that, "Yes, in Toronto, the winter gets quite cold, as cold as -30℃ or worse somedays, but the summer gets as hot as 30℃ on the positive side of the thermometer at times as well. But it would be different if you lived in Vancouver, Halifax or Iqaluit." People are actually quite surprised that it isn't just a perennial winter all over the country and that we get temperatures much higher than Edinburgh during the summer! I have had to tell people that we are actually lot further north in Edinburgh compared to Toronto, and people are usually surprised by that as well, because Canada is usually considered "The Great White North".

This past weekend I was talking to a guy about how much further north Edinburgh is than Toronto. I had checked out the difference in latitude between Toronto and Edinburgh a few days earlier and found that Toronto would be at about 43° 48' 6" N (actually that would be the intersection of Morningside and Sheppard in Scarborough, but whatever...we are part of the "Greater Toronto Area") while Edinburgh would be at 55° 56' 46" N. So I rounded it to a difference of 12° or 12 latitudinal parallels between the two cities. Then he asked, "Well what does that mean then? How far would that be?" My response was, "Pretty far..." which was a pretty lame answer!

Here are some interesting facts that would have made a better answer than "pretty far":

I set out to find out the distance between the two cities if they were in fact directly parallel to each other on a North/South axis. It turns out that Edinburgh would be approximately 1350km north of Toronto. Edinburgh would be so far north in Ontario that it would be on Tukarak Island in Hudson Bay (which would really be closer to the Quebec side than the Ontario side of the bay). It would be impossible to drive there from Toronto because roads don't go that far north. And even if you could drive you would have to take a boat or a plane to the island. Also, Tukarak Island is probably one of those places in Canada where it is winter all the time (thank God the temperature in Edinburgh doesn't get much lower than 0℃ or I never would have moved here. I'd just as soon move to Nunavut...though the winds here do make it pretty chilly, but I think I can deal with it after the one winter I lived through in Ottawa with all that snow). Here is a map of Ontario to put it in perspective:

Conversely, if Toronto was 1350km directly south of Edinburgh it would be just off the northern coast of Spain near Bilbao. Which I am sure has much nicer weather than Toronto even though it's on the same latitudinal plane, but you'd have to live on a boat, which wouldn't be so bad if you avoid the extreme cold of a Canadian winter. Here is another map from Edinburgh's perspective:

Well, I hope other people found that interesting. Luckily, I'll be starting work tomorrow so I won't have all this time on my hands to provide you with these "fascinating" facts.

Here is an additional geography lesson from two great Canadian scholars, Bob and Doug McKenzie:

Art Galleries and Dean's Village

2009-09-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I decided that instead of staying inside bored out of my mind, that I would go to a few of the art galleries. What is absolutely great about the art galleries and museums here is that they are free. So I went to the National Gallery of Scotland and the two Modern Art Galleries.

The pieces of art in the National Galleries were great. I especially enjoyed the paintings done of Scottish landscapes. It makes me want to travel all over the country. Here is an example from the Highlands (It makes me want to be a bag-pipe playin', kilt wearin', haggis eating shepherd):

Here are a few more:

The Modern Art Gallery left a lot to be desired (There really weren't a lot of exhibits). It was filled with some pretty weird/intersting stuff, like this giant metal man:

And this sheep in a box of formaldehyde:

What made the trip out to the Modern Galleries worth while was the fact that it was located near the Dean Industrial Village. It is a cool little area in the west end of Edinburgh that I stumbled upon accidentally on my way back home.

When I saw the clock tower there and realized that a lot of the houses looked like places Hobbits would live I had to venture down into the village:

Who wouldn't want a cool bridge to walk across to get home. If only it was a draw bridge with a moat!

Now that's a moat!

The strangest part of Dean Village was when I came across this ominous dark statue:

Truth be told it had the head of Dean (my Dad) on it. As soon as I looked at it a bright light shone out blurring the features so it can't be seen in the photo (but I swear it was him), and his voice boomed out, "If you grow it, I will come." Which is why I'm currently growing this beard and wearing my "Dean Westacott Lumberjack shirt":

"I'm waiting Daddy! Sorry Mom, the statue said you guys would be here, so you'll have to get over your fear of flying!"

Doors Open Days, Dog Pubs, and the 20p to Pee!

2009-09-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

Whoa. Another new post. Totally unexpected. This isn't going to be another month long lull!

On the 26 and 27 of September it was Doors Open Days in Edinburgh. These Doors Open Days are happening all over Scotland this year as part of the Homecoming celebrations. Homecoming Scotland is an events programme celebrating Scotland's great contributions to the world, the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth, Scottish contributions to golf & whisky, plus their great minds and innovations and rich culture and heritage. So during Doors Open Days, many historical sites are opened up to the public for free so that people can explore areas that are normally closed off to the public or usually charge an entry fee. Katie and I decided that we wanted to go and see the old lighthouse in the Harbour area of Edinburgh.

The journey started off pretty well. As you can see here, I was very happy:

The reason I was so happy was that I was on a double decker bus...AND I WAS ON THE TOP DECK! It wasn't the first time I was up on the top deck of a bus in Edinburgh, but for me, it is always totally awesome (although, that night I had a terrible dream that I was driving a double decker bus from the top deck, up and down Bellamy Road in Scarborough from Bendale Bible Chapel heading north towards the 401. It was actually terrifying. I kept smashing into things).

However, once we arrived at the lighthouse, we realized that it wasn't as cool as it had sounded.

The building was pretty neat, but the vantage point from the top of the lighthouse wasn't that amazing. Especially after waiting for about an hour to get to the top (we stayed up there for about 4 minutes before we went back down).

What ended up being the best part of heading down to the Harbour was the view of the waterfront. We were able to walk along a footpath next to the shore and get some pretty nice pictures of the beach, fishing boats and me!

Wait! I spoke too soon. This photo below was actually the best part. Katie saw this place and took a picture because she made a hilarious Star Wars joke about it. I know, I can't believe how good she is getting at picking up Star Wars references. She hates the movies, but can't help but make these observations because she knows it's really the only way she can make me laugh hard! She makes me proud. This is a home for the aged that was clearly founded by Master Yoda because of the backwards talk...I died laughing. I just imagined Yoda presenting this idea. "This slogan, how about? Help the aged, we will..."

When we finished up our walk around the Harbour, Katie and I went and had a beer at a pub. After we each had a Fuller's London Pride (great to be able to have my favourite beers on tap over here) we looked over and this is what we saw:

(Re-enactment. This is not the actual dog or pub, but you get the idea)

A dog was just chillin' out in the pub. It was so weird. It would come in and hang out by the bar, and then head back outside, and then come back in. After that I decided that I would only go to pubs that have dogs from now on because once you've been in a pub with a dog you can't go back to dogless pubs.

Well, things got a little weirder after that. As most of you know, after a beer or two you usually have to take a pee. So on our way home we ended up looking for a public washroom to use. We finally found one at the Princes Street Mall. But it was a pay washroom. I had to pay 20p(ence) to pee! Never had to pay to pee before. But I guess there's a first time for everything.

When we got home we had chocolate bars and milk for dinner. It was a great day!

Arthur's Seat

2009-09-28T03:30:00.000-07:00

So, it has been quite a while since we have posted anything, so I figured today was as good a day as any to fill you in on some of the things we have been doing. Katie has been at school and has been very, very busy, hence the lack of posts here. I, on the other hand, have been unemployed for a long time and was busy looking for work. But now that I have secured employment and have some stress free time on my hands before I start work, I thought I would post some stuff.

On August 22, one of the last things Katie and I did before she started school was we headed to Holyrood Park. Now we did a post on Holyrood Park before, but we hadn't actually headed to the highest peak in the park, Arthur's Seat. It was absolutely amazing (actually, the first day Katie went to school I went and climbed it again). Here are some of the pictures:

About halfway into the park we noticed that there was remnants of an old building, so we decided to head up the hill to check it out.

It turns out that it was an old church called St. Anthony's Chapel.

After I took this picture of Katie in the doorway of the chapel, I wanted to climb to the top of Arthur's Seat. However, Katie did not. So I devised a plan. I said, I just wanted to go a little closer to Arthur's Seat. And every so often, just like Lando, I would say, "Higher. Just a little Higher!" Obviously Katie caught on after a while, and said, "I know what you're doing. You're going to say just a little higher until we're basically at the top!" To which I said, "Yes, and now that we are this far we can't turn back! So obviously my plan is working."

Needless to say, we made it to the top and Katie was happy because we were able to get some awesome photo opportunities:

Holyrood Park is definitely my favourite place so far in Edinburgh, mostly because it is absolutely beautiful, but also because anytime Katie does a superhero stance, like in the photo above, it makes me happy to know I'm not the only nerd in this relationship (...I told Katie I wished I had my beach towel with me for my picture because it was so windy up there that I could have tied it around my neck like a flowing superhero cape).

Innis & Gunn

2009-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you know this, but on our honeymoon, Katie and I had an awesome time, simply because we discovered Innis & Gunn beer (nothing, I repeat, nothing topped the sweet taste of Innis & Gunn). It just so happens that Innis & Gunn is a beer from Edinburgh. With hindsight being 20/20, I firmly believe that God Himself, on the first moment that Innis & Gunn touched my lips and corroded my liver, destined me to move to Scotland.

Now I have had the pleasure in my time on Canadian soil, while stroking my pet moose up on Kawagama Lake, to share a bottle or two of Innis & Gunn Original Oak-Aged Beer with my family and friends. It was spectacular. I couldn't help but tell people of my love and undying affection for this glorious drink! I would make sure whenever I could that I would bring some to a party to share my joy with others.

The plot thickens:

On the way up to the cottage one weekend I discovered that the LCBO had begun importing Innis & Gunn Blonde. I was enraptured, and bought enough to share with my brother Matthew and my father-in-law Dave (two fellow enthusiasts). Upon my arrival to the cottage, with a grin so large I thought my face would explode, I ran down the steps as fast as I could shouting, "David, David! Where are you! You'll never believe what I found!" Oh, but he did believe. In fact, he had meant to surprise me as I had hoped to surprise him. The fridge was overflowing with the blondie goodness of our new found Innis & Gunn. Needless to say it was a great weekend.

(I know, you're beginning to think, "Is Jeremy a lush?" No, I say! You are also thinking, "When is this going to have anything to do with them actually being in Edinburgh?" Hey, I'm getting to it)

So on the day of our departure to Scotland (see, we're getting there) I found out that there was an Innis & Gunn Canadian cask made especially for Canada Day! So I thought, what would be a great way to celebrate our last moments in the Great White North? By drinking an Innis & Gunn brewed in a Canadian whiskey cask, of course. SO I DID!

Now, we have arrived at today, oh GLORIOUS DAY! While at a local beer shoppe, Katie and I we're perusing the different beers. Katie, while pointing to a bland generic beer, said, "Hey isn't this the beer I tried at the Bier Markt?" To which I responded, "WHO CARES?" (I actually said this, I'm not even joking this time!) "Look at all these Innis & Gunn flavours we've never tried. The India Pale Ale, the Rum Cask, the Highland cask! They're all here!" I wept. I picked up one of each and slowly walked towards the clerk, with the bottles cradled close to my bosom like a mother overjoyed over her new triplets. I said to the clerk, "Oh man, I'm a huge fan of Innis & Gunn, but we don't get all these kinds in Canada." To which he responded, "I don't really like Innis & Gu..." I slapped him hard across the face before he could speak the last of his blasphemous words. Wasn't this guy Scottish? And from Edinburgh? He whimpered and confessed, "Although, I really like the Canadian cask. Have you tried it? I think they did their thing the best with that, mate." I slapped him again and said, "Of course I have, I'm bloody Canadian. I drank it before I left my snow covered homeland!"

Then I walked out of the store without paying because I was so insulted.

Anyway, here are the pictures of me in my joy:

Here's a picture of each brew from lightest to darkest (really just for enthusiasts):

And lastly, here's a close up Katie took of me slapping the clerk:

(I haven't cut my fingernails in a while. And yes, I did get a manicure. It's oh so European).

This post is dedicated to my brother, Matthew Westacott, and my father-in-law, David Freel. Good luck with the polar bear hunt on the frosty plains of Toronto. Don't forget to leave the lights on in your igloos so you can find your way home. While I drink these beers I'll be thinking of you and how jealous you must be.

Exploring the City

2009-08-19T04:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of our first real exploration of Edinburgh!

This is one of the buildings of Moray House School of Education where I'll be starting on Monday. For those of you whom I showed pictures of my school to on Google Maps and it was a modern looking building, I was sort of wrong. The building from Google Maps is part of Moray House, but it's the Sports and Physical Education building. There are a few other buildings across the street where I'll probably be spending most of my time.

Here's another photo of one of the buildings that is part of Moray House. It's actually the library.

This is Holyrood Park. There was a concert going on, hence the crowd.

Here, you can see the huge crowds along the Royal Mile. There are just so many people! I feel sorry for the people who have to get to work in the morning!

More crowds with a tour bus trying to get through!

Jeremy was clearly getting sick of my picture taking at this point. I think he was embarrassed to be seen looking like a tourist. I had to keep reminding him that we were tourists. This is at one of the staircases to the Grassmarket. There are all kinds of random alleys and staircases taking you to other streets as a shortcut. A lot of them aren't on the map, so it's fun discovering them as you go.

This was taken in the staircase down to the Grassmarket. Even the Scots know!

Here's Jeremy trying Haggis for the first time! I had a bite too, and it was actually pretty good! We ate at Maggie Dickson's (I posted the story about her earlier). Because of the Festivals going on right now, it was so busy anywhere we went and we ended up sitting on the patio. It wasn't exactly patio weather, but we were hungry, so we stuck it out. Plus, Maggie Dickson's was so busy that we had to wait an hour for food because they ran out of dishes!

Haggis, tatties, and neeps (aka haggis, potato, and turnip)

We Gots the Interweb! Hazzah! Plus a Trip to Hollywood (I Mean Holyrood)

2009-08-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

So we finally have our very own internets. Yes, internets. So we thought we would post some pictures from our adventures.

One of the first evenings we were here, I turned to Katie, speaking in the voice of those native

to my newly adopted homeland, and said, "Ack(bar), sittin' in this wee flat, right now is

somethin' only an edjit would do with the weather being what it is this bonnie evenin!'" So, knowing the rain would eventually destroy our lives here, we went to Holyrood Park. To those of you that take us for liars, here is the proof:

Here's Katie, standing in front of a gigantic mound in Holyrood Park. She was afraid that you would not be able to see it in the picture so she decided to point her arms toward it.

Here's another picture of Katie. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could screaming, "Da, Da, Daaaaaaa, Daaaaaaaa, DaDaDa DaDaaaaaaaaaa, DaDa Da Daaaaaaaaa...and yelled "Adrienne" when she got to the top, while swinging her "fists of fury" in the air. If you look really closely, you can see the asian tourist she punched lying just behind her and Mr. T cowering in the foliage (but you have to look really closely).

Oh, would you look who it is, Katie again. Isn't this picture beautiful, if you look beyond the person ruining the view of the well lit Edinburgh landscape.

...Hold on, I think I have one here that has an unobstructed view. Ah, there it is:

Oh, and I was there too (nice back, eh?):

Unfortunately, it was getting too dark, so we stopped half way up the hill. Plus, Katie has a terrible fear of falling down stairs, and falling off the top of a giant cliff because we couldn't see seemed a far worse fate! The next morning when it was light enough for us to see, we climbed back down and headed home.

THE END!

Maggie Dickson

2009-08-17T03:33:00.000-07:00

The first pub Jeremy and I went to was called Maggie Dickson’s, which came with a very interesting story. Apparently, Maggie Dickson was this young mom who, soon after having her second son, ran away and lived in a Bed & Breakfast. She got to know the owner of the B & B very well and became friends with her, but became even better friends with the B & B owner’s son. Maggie found herself pregnant and hid it from everyone so as not to get into trouble, but apparently, in those days, it was illegal to conceal a pregnancy. Maggie went into labor early and decided to put the baby in the river, but lost nerve at the last minute, and hid the baby in the reeds by the river instead. Not long after, some men found the baby. It was soon revealed that Maggie was the mother and she was sentenced to be hanged. Before being buried, however, the funeral procession heard muffled moans coming from the coffin. They opened the lid to find that Maggie was alive! Maggie returned to full health, but there was a problem. Should she be hanged again? Representatives from the Church, the University and the Town Council debated the issues, and decided that her sentence was already carried out, and whatever happened thereafter was in the hands of God, and who were they to question God? Maggie lived on for another 40 years in Edinburgh known as Half Hangit Maggie.

Excuse me sir, which way to the Internet?

2009-08-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Journal,

We're going to be writing more soon, hopefully some funny stuff (I've been thinking of some stuff, based on weird things I've seen that are different over here). But we're still stealing internet from the neighbours, so it's pretty unpredictable. Should have our own up and running in a couple of days! Meanwhile, we're making notes about what to write next.

Your Pal,

Doug...

...I mean, Jeremy

(I hope people remember Doug Funny from Doug...that old cartoon...Oh, man this joke blows...)

Departure/Arrival

2009-08-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

4 August 2009

“We Be Fancy”

This blog entry has been brought to you by the Letter J. Followed by the letters E, R, E, M, and Y.

This afternoon the family decided to get fancy before Katie and I headed to the airport. We got out the best linens and fine china, then in a ceremonial send-off, we popped the cork off a bottle of champagne. We quickly raised our glasses and said our cheers because we couldn’t wait to take a bite out of our hamburgers. We’ll always remember the day we left Canada because it was the only day in the history of ever that someone had champagne and hamburgers together. Don’t knock it!

Then, Dave, Patrick, and I decided to dress up like Mexicans in honour of moving to Edinburgh. Dave and I obviously had too much champagne... I still don’t know why Patrick did it. Peer pressure?

“The Airport”

This blog entry has been brought to you by Van Delay Industries.

While Jeremy and I were in line to check in, our families waited off to the side. That’s when Dad decided to make Cindy cry by saying, “Cindy, you’re not even crying yet.” To which her response was, “CRY.” After checking in and saying our tearful goodbyes [Jeremy almost cried, you’re not alone Cindy] to our families, Jeremy and I indulged in a pizza, salad, and water that cost $26! The airport knows how to milk it because people can’t buy food anywhere else.

Then, at about 6:10pm we sat at our gate for the short wait to board at 6:40. Unfortunately, we heard there was going to be a delay. Word on the street said there was inclement weather. Our plane finally left the tarmac at 9pm, when it was supposed to leave at 7:40.

P.S. While waiting at the gate, we saw a woman walking around with her 1 year old son, and Jeremy said, and I quote, “I hope we get to sit next to her and her baby. I’m going to chat her up to see if that baby has a daddy.”

Guess who we sat next to on the plane?

Yep. The baby and his momma. We found out he has a daddy. He kept touching Jeremy’s shoulder because he missed the male companionship of his father. So did she. Just kidding.

Fortunately, the baby slept for the majority of the flight.

P.P.S. This paragraph is brought to you by Jeremy (bolded for emphasis, as a friend thought Katie was the one farting)! And the letters F, A, R, T. As many of you know, chili, beer, and the state of being alive make me gassy. I found out that flying does the same thing based on my experiences flying to Mexico, and now Edinburgh. Anyway, I farted. Which prompted previously mentioned mother to sniff her son’s butt. She then promptly took him to the back to the change table to clean him up. While she was back there, the seatbelt light went on because of turbulence and she was stuck at the back for about half an hour. I farted for the rest of the trip.

Here’s a picture of ME sleeping on the plane:

Here’s a picture of how I slept - we just don’t have a shot from the actual flight.:

5 August 2009, 3:30am Toronto time; 8:30am England time.

“Exetired”

We arrived in Exeter. What we originally assumed would be a quick stop to let passengers off and pick up new passengers, turned into a security check point where we had to get off the plane and go through security, wait for the plane to be cleaned, and then re-board to continue on to Edinburgh. Needless to say, we were dead... tired, that is.

Here are some shots from above England!

“Welcome to Edin-bor-oh”

Our flight attendant seemed thoroughly confused by the name Edinburgh. Every time she had to say it on the PA she said it as a question. Edin-bor-oh? She had the same problem with the name of the pilot and Exeter. We weren’t entirely sure if she knew where she was or what she was supposed to be doing.

We arrived in Edinburgh at 11am local time, surprisingly at the time we were supposed to. I guess the pilot was speeding?

Our flight attendant said, “Welcome to Edin-bor-oh?” But we weren’t sure if we were there, because she certainly wasn’t. We got off anyway. Turns out, we were in Edinburgh! We got a taxi and shockingly got all our luggage in it. Our first stop was Click-Let, the letting agency we rented our flat from. We signed our lease and picked up our keys. It took forever just to get through all the paperwork and the taxi was waiting for us. We didn’t want to get another cab because we weren’t sure if we’d be able to get all our stuff in it! So the poor guy waited. He’s not poor anymore.

Eventually we got to our flat and we were so excited to finally be there just to be able to relax. Jeremy went inside the building while I stayed with our stuff on the sidewalk. He came out soon after discovering none of the flat doors were labeled! So I went in and guessed which one was ours, but didn’t want to try my key in case it wasn’t, so I knocked.

(Check out our flat keys, by the way!)

A kid answered (so clearly it wasn’t ours) and I just said, “Sorry, wrong place.” Turns out ours was across the hall. I tried the key, but couldn’t get it to work, so I went back outside to get Jeremy to try it. He tried and couldn’t get it either. We went back and forth a couple times with no luck. We looked at each other, shrugged, and said, “Edin-bor-oh?” We cried.

Just kidding.

Jeremy found a pay phone to call Click-Let, to which they said, “just pull the door while you turn the key. Steven’s been there before and he says it’s really tough.” Jeremy came back and finally go the door open. Whew.

We weren’t 10 minutes in when Fay arrived! She brought us towels, bedding, and some food [mostly goodies, actually]. Then she took us out for dinner to a place called “Al Dente.” Not exactly Scottish cuisine, but it was the only place open that served food. Apparently bars don’t serve food here. Weird.

While we were walking around looking for a place to eat, Jeremy and I kept getting mixed up as to which ways to look first when crossing the street. At one point, I almost stepped out into the street when Fay grabbed my arm because a car was coming from the other direction. However, Jeremy kept walking and got hit and rolled over the hood and windshield. He continued somersaulting and rolling onto the other side of the street where he quickly jumped up, brushed himself off and called to Fay and I, “hurry up guys! I’m hungry.” He won’t be making that mistake again (in case any of you are scared that this is a true story, don’t worry. Jeremy just made it up. Jeremy wasn’t hungry. We had already eaten by this point). Needless to say, it’s going to take some getting used to when watching for traffic.

We went straight to bed after Fay left around 7pm Edinburgh time. We slept straight through until 11am. That’s 16 hours of sleep! Oh shoot.

6 August 2009

“Would you like a 2L jug of beer with that?”

We had a bunch of things on our agenda for today, number 1 being groceries. Fay told us about Sainsbury’s, a grocery store close to us. It’s like a Loblaws. Only with bad teeth and an accent. Once we had everything we thought we needed, we walked through the last aisle just in case. That’s when we found out that they basically have an LCBO in the grocery store! No lie, there was a 2L bottle of Strongbow cider.

They must drink this stuff like pop over here. Unfortunately, they only had Innis & Gunn Original (for those of you reading this who have never tried it, TRY IT!). Stay tuned for a future posting when Jeremy discovers a flavour of Innis & Gunn that’s not available in Canada.

For those of you who don’t know, Matthew Westacott loves HP sauce. He puts in on everything. Especially his cereal. We found a bunch of flavoured HP that we’ve never seen in Canada (Matthew, I know we can’t send booze in the mail, but maybe we can send HP).

We did some other shopping today as well because our flat doesn’t have some things we either needed or wanted. We picked up a teapot (the one in the flat was all rusted inside. Gross), some sharp knives, and a frying pan among other things. One of the things we bought today was a “toilet scale” (apparently people need to weigh their toilets?) that was only £2.99. (It took Jeremy 35 minutes, and a system terminal override, to fix the special character function for the pounds symbol. That’s the kind of dedication we have to our blog and our readers). The scale is in kilograms, so now I have to do math anytime I weigh myself. Ugh.

Well, that’s it for now, mates (pickin’ up the lingo).

This blog was brought to you by scammed wi-fi. We’ll have ours set up soon.

My Suitcases

2009-08-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I decided to put something on our suitcases to distinguish them from all the other suitcases in luggage claim. I had some fun doing some doodles in my sketchbook before deciding what to put on the suitcases. Here are some shots:

We also have some address tags with Canadian flags on them - gotta let everyone know we're Canadian so they don't mix us up with Americans!

Go here for some pictures from our day at Wasaga Beach on Saturday.

Farewell BBQ

2009-07-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

The countdown to our departure started a long time ago (by me, at least), but we are now down to a mere 6 days before we get on the plane for Scotland. Last night, we had a great BBQ with friends and family - thank you so much to all who joined us. It was so fun to hang out and catch up.

Beka and Laura bought me this adorable bag filled with some goodies for the airplane. Thanks ladies! The bag is so cute!

We have a few more things to do before we go. Jeremy got up bright and early this morning to cancel our cell phones, deposit some generous gifts from friends & family, and pay off our credit card bill before we close our bank account. Preparing to move to another country has proved to be a lot more work than I anticipated. This year was full of paperwork, applying for one thing or another, waiting, and paying fee after fee. There's a flippin' fee for everything: visas, passports, passport photos, canceling cell phones, etc. etc. ...

We're really looking forward to our new adventure and we'll definitely try to keep up with the blog!