Friday, August 31, 2012
Quick Brussels update before I go to sleep
I'm in Brussels! I put off booking a plane or train because it wasn't working on my phone and I kept getting distracted so today my only options were very expensive flights or train tickets or a £40 bus that left at 2 pm and arrived at 10:30 pm. Of course I took the bus. It wasn't great but it could have been a lot worse. We went under the Chunnel but our bus was loaded into a train car so we couldn't see anything until we came out the other side. We got our passports stamped for France - but not Belgium - when we crossed over here. My iPhone served its main purpose as the GPS helped me stay headed in the right direction during the 20 min walk through the red light district of Brussels at 11:00 at night. Fun! I checked into my hotel - yes HOTEL, not hostel - and the nice guy at the front desk let me use the staff kitchen to cook my sweet potatoes (oops, I guess I smuggled those in from England) so I wouldn't have to go back out looking for food. Later on while I was using the wifi downstairs and chatting with him, he asked me to watch the desk for a few minutes :) I think I could get a job here if I really like Brussels. My friends from Norway are here already. Sadly I had to blow off our dinner plans tonight when I realized I wouldn't be getting in until very late but we're going to meet up tomorrow for breakfast and then the beer festival :) I'm at the hotel two nights and then couchsurfing my third night in Brussels.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Back in London after the Edinburgh Fringe
I love London! After I arrived here on Thursday night I found a nice hostel near Westminster and the next morning, after a delicious English breakfast. I went to the train station and caught a train to Edinburgh. If I was smart I would have looked around online and compared bus/train prices. But I'm not smart so I paid an outrageous amount -- it was so pricey I'm embarrassed to post it here -- and jumped on the next train north. I napped most of the way to Edinburgh but I did open my eyes every so often to look at the gorgeous countryside, coast, and the occasional castle. When I got off the train in Edinburgh I almost cried, it was so amazingly beautiful. The old buildings are incredible and you can see Edinburgh Castle from pretty much every spot in town. Here are a couple pics. I'll post more when I can get them off my phone.
That first night I met up with my friend Jon who lives in Melbourne and has been in Edinburgh for a few weeks performing his comedy show at the fringe festival. I've been to a few of his shows and this was the best I've seen. The venue was packed and the audience loved the show. It was so much fun. The next day I checked out of my hostel (another amazing building -- pics soon I promise!) and took a walk up to the castle with one of my roommates. We didn't go into the castle because it was £16 but we had a great view of the city from the entrance and got some awesome pics. Then we went to see another comedy show - a very funny British girl named Ellie Taylor. Afterwards I walked to Jon's place and hung out with him and his flatmates. They decided to go to the castle so I walked with them to the entrance and then went off on my own.
I went to the Scott Monument which is a very cool old building that you can climb to the top of for only £3. Sounds like a cool idea right? Well maybe it doesn't sound cool to you but it did to me. Anyway, it's not. If you're ever in Edinburgh, do NOT do this, no matter how much you may love stair climbing. They warn you that near the top of the spiral staircase it gets quite small so it's not great for people who are claustrophobic. Unfortunately they don't warn you that there's only one staircase for those going up and down, or that the observation deck at the top only holds about 10 people. For the second half of the climb (287 stairs I think) you are squeezing past people going down and the stairs are so small there's not enough room for two pairs of feet. People are literally hugging the wall while others try to smash past them. But you've gone too far to turn back so you just keep climbing and squeezing. It was ridiculous! Everyone was laughing because it was so awkward and also a bit scary because it would be easy for someone to slip and fall down the stairs. When we finally made it to the top, there were about 15 people packed onto the outer deck, several people coming up behind us, and no room to turn around. I wish I could have taken a picture but there wasn't room or time. People were seriously panicking up there. I was walking down with a couple girls from Korea and all we could do was laugh about how it was the worst £3 we ever spent. We were so happy when we finally got to the bottom and got out of there! Here's a picture (stolen from the internet -- not mine) of the Scott Monument.
I had booked a new hostel online but then a couchsurfing host replied and said I could stay with him. I decided I'd have better luck canceling the hostel booking if I went in person so I got my bags and walked about a mile and a half to the hostel. They were very nice and did let me cancel but after that I didn't hear from my host again for a few hours ... so I wandered all around Edinburgh -- in the cold and rain -- with my two backpacks. It was pretty brutal but I finally met up with my host, Miko, and he was very kind. He had another couchsurfer there from the Philippines and we all went to a bar with some of Miko's friends from work.
The next day I wanted to walk up to the top of Arthur's Seat but it was raining and I was exhausted so I just caught the train back to London. I found a really great hostel in a nice area for only £9 a night! (compare that to £32 a night in Edinburgh) When I walked into the pub on the ground floor of the hostel, there was a duck named Charley standing next to the bar. His owner told me they're "regulars" =) The people are all very friendly and the hostel is clean and safe so I've decided to stay for the rest of the week. Last night I drank beers at the pub while I did my laundry. I asked one of the guys who works at the hostel if there were any middle eastern restaurants around and he said I should go to Edgware Rd (a couple blocks away) and since it's Ramadan all the restaurants stay open late. So around midnight I walked to an amazing Lebanese restaurant and ate the most delicious hummus with lamb and cashews ... and of course baklava. It was soooo good! Right now I'm in Notting Hill, waiting to meet my friend Kasia who's in town for an interview. I'll write more when I can. =)
The Castle
That first night I met up with my friend Jon who lives in Melbourne and has been in Edinburgh for a few weeks performing his comedy show at the fringe festival. I've been to a few of his shows and this was the best I've seen. The venue was packed and the audience loved the show. It was so much fun. The next day I checked out of my hostel (another amazing building -- pics soon I promise!) and took a walk up to the castle with one of my roommates. We didn't go into the castle because it was £16 but we had a great view of the city from the entrance and got some awesome pics. Then we went to see another comedy show - a very funny British girl named Ellie Taylor. Afterwards I walked to Jon's place and hung out with him and his flatmates. They decided to go to the castle so I walked with them to the entrance and then went off on my own.
I went to the Scott Monument which is a very cool old building that you can climb to the top of for only £3. Sounds like a cool idea right? Well maybe it doesn't sound cool to you but it did to me. Anyway, it's not. If you're ever in Edinburgh, do NOT do this, no matter how much you may love stair climbing. They warn you that near the top of the spiral staircase it gets quite small so it's not great for people who are claustrophobic. Unfortunately they don't warn you that there's only one staircase for those going up and down, or that the observation deck at the top only holds about 10 people. For the second half of the climb (287 stairs I think) you are squeezing past people going down and the stairs are so small there's not enough room for two pairs of feet. People are literally hugging the wall while others try to smash past them. But you've gone too far to turn back so you just keep climbing and squeezing. It was ridiculous! Everyone was laughing because it was so awkward and also a bit scary because it would be easy for someone to slip and fall down the stairs. When we finally made it to the top, there were about 15 people packed onto the outer deck, several people coming up behind us, and no room to turn around. I wish I could have taken a picture but there wasn't room or time. People were seriously panicking up there. I was walking down with a couple girls from Korea and all we could do was laugh about how it was the worst £3 we ever spent. We were so happy when we finally got to the bottom and got out of there! Here's a picture (stolen from the internet -- not mine) of the Scott Monument.
I had booked a new hostel online but then a couchsurfing host replied and said I could stay with him. I decided I'd have better luck canceling the hostel booking if I went in person so I got my bags and walked about a mile and a half to the hostel. They were very nice and did let me cancel but after that I didn't hear from my host again for a few hours ... so I wandered all around Edinburgh -- in the cold and rain -- with my two backpacks. It was pretty brutal but I finally met up with my host, Miko, and he was very kind. He had another couchsurfer there from the Philippines and we all went to a bar with some of Miko's friends from work.
The next day I wanted to walk up to the top of Arthur's Seat but it was raining and I was exhausted so I just caught the train back to London. I found a really great hostel in a nice area for only £9 a night! (compare that to £32 a night in Edinburgh) When I walked into the pub on the ground floor of the hostel, there was a duck named Charley standing next to the bar. His owner told me they're "regulars" =) The people are all very friendly and the hostel is clean and safe so I've decided to stay for the rest of the week. Last night I drank beers at the pub while I did my laundry. I asked one of the guys who works at the hostel if there were any middle eastern restaurants around and he said I should go to Edgware Rd (a couple blocks away) and since it's Ramadan all the restaurants stay open late. So around midnight I walked to an amazing Lebanese restaurant and ate the most delicious hummus with lamb and cashews ... and of course baklava. It was soooo good! Right now I'm in Notting Hill, waiting to meet my friend Kasia who's in town for an interview. I'll write more when I can. =)
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