Searching for the Loch Ness Monster.
The Highlander
7/31/2009 11:53:27 PM - Day 502 - Scotland Highlands, Scotland
The Scottish Highlands, home to these things called "Mountains", something you don't see much of in the rest of the UK.
I trekked out to the Scottish Highlands today after hearing loads about them from tons of people from the United Kingdom (UK) and after visiting the Highlands have to say that they were beautiful. If there is one thing you don't have much of in the UK it's mountains, however the highlands have plenty of them thanks to ancient volcanic and tectonic plate activity making them unique in the generally flat UK. This creates a beautifully scenic area of the UK with mountains (the Highlands), Lochs (lakes), green grassy glens and small forests. Luckily for me, I got some good Scottish weather which essentially means it didn't rain.
The Scottish Highlands also have a very interesting history replete with Celtic warriors, warring clans and great Heroes. Like Ireland, there are plenty of tall tales about the local heroes and history that one has to take with a grain of salt, and like the Irish, the Scottish do a damn good job of telling those tales.
I also visited the fabled "Loch Ness", famous for being home of the mythic "Loch Ness Monster", a creature said to resemble a prehistoric water dinosaur. I took a boat out onto the huge loch to do some monster hunting… I searched and searched wide eyed across the black water the entire time out there and would you believe it, I didn't find the Loch Ness Monster! I was shocked! …I actually had no preconceptions that I would see the Loch Ness Monster (who knows if it is even real or not) but it was a nice cruise around the lake and the inner child inside of me was crying to go out on a look after being mystified by so many tales of the Monster as a kid.
Now I am back in my hostel in Edinburgh looking forward to a nice night's sleep. It was a long day and I have another long one planned tomorrow. Night!
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Where are all the Scottish Dwarves?
Relaxing in Aberdeen
7/29/2009 10:37:12 PM - Day 500 - Aberdeen, Scotland
Aberdeen was a nice city on a sunny day aptly named the "Granite City" since every building in the city seems to be made out of granite.
500 days traveling! Woo-hoo!!! Drop the confetti, pop the balloons and let's have a celebration! …Ok, not much of that going on over here but at least I can imagine that in my head. 500 days on the road, damn. I can still remember my first day on this trip in South Africa completely intimidated by the idea of traveling this long, not even knowing how long I was going to be able to go and here I am, already gone around the world once and then some in Aberdeen, Scotland, the best place to spend the 500 day mark. Ok, not really but Aberdeen isn't that bad of a place.
I actually got some bad advice about coming here from a decent amount of English people that I met while traveling. I figured they would know what they were talking about being on how close to Scotland they are. I met a couple Scottish people though in Ireland who were confused as to why I picked Aberdeen over the city I should have gone to which was Inverness. Don't get me wrong, Aberdeen is a decent, clean, friendly city however it doesn't offer much to a tourist such as myself and definitely not as much as the city Inverness in the Scottish highlands. Too bad I didn't figure that out until about a week ago.
That's the problem with traveling so long is that you can't really look too much into your future destinations since you are always worried about the present. I remember I had South Africa down perfectly since it was my first stop on this big trip so I had plenty of time to research it before I left.
I didn't do much here because there simply isn't much to do! Aberdeen is a nice place and known as the "Granite City" since the entire city is virtually made out of granite. It gives the city a very tough and lasting feel on a sunny day but can seem quite dreary if it is overcast. I was at a nice bed & breakfast though during my stay (since there aren't many good hostels in the city) named the "Open Hearth Guest House" (Open Hearth Guest House in Aberdeen Review and Information) which was nice because I haven't had a private room since I was in Iceland. After spending so much time in dorm rooms while traveling I have really learned to appreciate my privacy.
One thing that is somewhat backwards about the UK that I am learning is that every fucking area seems to print their own versions of the British "pound". If you pull out money in Northern Ireland you get Northern Irish British pounds, same for Scotland and England/Wales. This can turn into a royal pain in the ass if you want to spend pounds printed in Northern Ireland or Scotland in England (however English printed pounds seemed to be accepted everywhere). Therefore when you travel from Northern Ireland or Scotland to other parts of the UK the best thing to do is exchange your "British Pounds" for the British Pounds of the area you are going to otherwise you might have some trouble spending your money. I'm glad we don't do that in the United States. Can you imagine if each State printed their own money and how confusing that would be?
My next stop in Scotland is Edinburgh. I still feel like I pronounce the name wrong each time I say it (most Americans seemingly do). Until then!
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Good times, good times!
Belfast Beats
7/26/2009 8:51:55 PM - Day 497 - Belfast, Northern Ireland
One of the main gates seperating the Catholic and Protestant areas of a working class neighborhood in Northern Belfasts. They open them every morning and shut them every night.
Belfast has been quite an interesting city. I've heard a lot about it, its history, the nightlife and the culture and after being here for a bit can confidently say it has been a cool place to stop off at for a couple of days.
I initially got into my hostel "Paddy's Palace Belfast" (Paddy's Palace Belfast Review and Information) and after spending a couple hours there began thinking "awww fuck" wondering if I had picked a crappy place to stay at. The hostel itself was nice but when I first met the staff they seemed like a pretty unhappy lot always making comments underneath their breath anytime a guest asked a question or they got a phone call. After being there for five days though I got to know them a bit and they seemed like an alright bunch if not somewhat unprofessional. This only reiterates my belief that when it comes to hostels staying at a good or bad one can be the difference between having a good or bad time in a city.
My first full day there I did something considered a Belfast "must" for tourists being the "Black Cab Tour". A Black Cab Tour involves a local cabby/tour guide in a black cab (shocker) that takes you around some of Belfast's sites concentrating the most on the social housing projects and political murals in the segregated section of Northern Belfast. Taking this tour was a good call because I got a much better understanding about the issues that the locals have amongst themselves being Catholics and/or "Republican" and being Protestants and/or "Loyalist" as well as against the local government.
One thing that really surprised me was the level of segregation in the lower income working area of Northern Belfast. They literally have a giant wall known as the "Peace Wall" (because it keeps the "peace") in place separating the Catholic and Protestant areas of the town with gates along the wall that open each morning and close each night. This all stems from the problems between the two groups known as "The Troubles". Although things have calmed down a bit recently, there is still a good deal of tension between some Catholics and Protestants in Belfast (and most of Northern Ireland) especially in the working class neighborhoods. Even with the huge wall people still manage to throw things over it onto houses on each side (bricks, petrol bombs, etc.) necessitating protective barriers on the backend of houses that are right alongside the wall.
Being that I was in Belfast for a weekend I had the chance to go out to enjoy the nightlife which turned out to be fucking awesome. First off, all the pubs in Ireland/Northern Ireland that I have been to have been a blast with people dancing and singing over pints of beer seemingly letting go of all pretense. I can honestly say that people really seem to have fun over here in the pubs, more so than most countries that I have visited. The clubs were also a lot of fun and it was nice to go out again to do some dancing. One thing out here that I got a kick out of was that people really do seem to like my accent. Anytime I talked to someone at a pub or club filled mostly with locals they would immediately ask me where I was from.
The funny thing was that almost every time I told someone I was from the USA they would tell me how they have relatives in this or that state. It goes to show you how many Irish people have relocated to the USA over the years. Hell, even I have some Irish roots in my background.
Now my sojourn into Ireland/Northern Ireland is about to come to a close when I leave tomorrow for Scotland. I had a great time here on the "Emerald Isle". I experienced friendly Irish Culture, seen some great natural scenery, learned a bit of history and had plenty of pints of beer. Shit, now that I think about it, I had one heck of a good time here.
A Belfast pub experience with live music, pints of beer and lots of singing. A couple things surprised me about going to pubs in Northern Ireland and Ireland. One, people seemed to have a lot more fun at these pubs with all the singing and dancing than at pubs around most of the world. Also, I was surprised at how similar a lot of the live Irish music was to American Country Western music. I once read that the American "Western" accent (think John Wayne) has its roots in the Irish accent.
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Depends on who you ask.
Derry or Londonderry?
7/21/2009 9:41:52 PM - Day 492 - Londonderry/Derry, Northern Ireland
Posing like a cheesy movie scene at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland most popular tourist's attraction.
As soon as I booked my hostel here in Derry/Londonderry I realized that something was up considering I have never been to a city that had two names. Looking on Google maps I remember being somewhat confused as to the two names. What I have come to learn is that the two names is only one sign of the underlying tension that exists here and in Northern Ireland.
Until recently, Northern Ireland was racked with infighting known as "The Troubles" between small factions from the mainly Catholic "Nationalists" and factions from the mainly Protestant "Unionists". At the most basic level the Nationalists want Northern Ireland to be part of Ireland while the Unionists want to stay part of the UK. The controversy is much more complicated than that however spanning hundreds of years dealing with all sorts of issues beyond religion such as civil rights, loyalty, internment, etc. and I don't want to get into the specifics of things because entire books could be written on the subject. Suffice it to say there is a lot of tension in the area between the two sides with the latest cease-fire being called as early as 1998. There is enough tension that the city is somewhat segregated with the Catholics living on one side of the river which splits the city and the Protestants living on the other. Also, in case you are wondering the Catholics typically call the city "Derry" while the Protestants tend to call it "Londonderry" so you have to be careful what you call the place depending on who you are talking to.
Luckily for myself I didn't have to deal with much in regards to the tension within the city between the two sides and simply got to enjoy myself while in Derry/Londonderry and have to say that I am quite fond of the city. It is a pretty fun place to spend a short bit of time at. I stayed at a great hostel named "Derry City Independent Hostel" (Derry City Independent Hostel Review and Information) and I think that had a big part to do with my great experience here. I can't stress how much influence your accommodation can have on your experience in a city.
After some quite time spent in Sligo I enjoyed some much needed "Craic" which is a word used in Ireland/Northern Ireland for partying. An Irish pub with some good live music is one of my favorite ways to spend a night out (I loved them back home as well). The locals are a riot and just like in Ireland, very clever with the spoken word. Here in Northern Ireland however the accent is stronger and more difficult to understand which can lead to some fun conversations. I got to go out dancing to some clubs as well which was nice since I haven't done that in awhile. At the clubs I saw something that was mentioned to me by some locals yet I initially found hard to believe. They said that there are way more girls in Derry/Londonderry than guys for some reason. No joke, that is definitely true here. In the clubs the guys were certainly the minority. I was told this had something to do with the employment situation in the city.
When I was going out I made sure to do some sightseeing around the city. The sights I found the most interesting to visit would be the murals on each side of the river as well as the "Bloody Sunday" memorial on the Catholic side erected in memory of 14 people who died there when shot by the British military during a civil rights demonstration. Some people outside of the region unfamiliar with the event might know it as the incident referenced by the 'U2' song named "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The murals were very interesting to check out and they had them on both the Catholic and Protestant sides of town.
Another place I visited was Northern Ireland's most popular tourist attraction named the "Giant's Causeway" which is about 40,000 interlocked basalt columns (most of which are hexagonally shaped) created by an ancient volcanic eruption that lead into the ocean making for a very picturesque sight. Getting out there was pretty easy from Derry/Londonderry with the good train/bus system that's available.
Tomorrow I leave for Belfast. I had a good time in Derry/Londonderry and it's been an enjoyable stop on my trip (especially thanks to the awesome hostel I stayed at). On a side note, I passed the three week mark for the day that I come home. As always is the case, time flies.
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It's Slig-time!
Sligo you Sluggo
7/16/2009 10:06:08 PM - Day 487 - Sligo, Ireland
A memorial to the Irish potato famine or "Great Hunger" that ultimately reduced Ireland's population by a quarter in the mid 1800's. It doesn't happen often, but I found this statue moving.
Sligo is a relatively small city which is why I chose to come here. Having visited some of Ireland's larger cities I thought to visit a smaller one (however there are much smaller places than Sligo). Plus, Sligo happened to be on the way to Northern Ireland so was a good stopping off point.
The city itself doesn't offer much to see or do but the surrounding areas are beautiful with great natural scenery, nice coasts and beautiful mountains. I didn't see much of any of them though (only a little) since I simply wasn't that motivated to check them out. I meandered around the city in a daze contemplating my coming return home. I did get to see a bit more of Irish culture however and learn some more history.
Sligo was a calm and nice place to relax at. My next stop is Northern Ireland. I am excited to head up there because if Northern Ireland is full of anything, it is energy and I can use a bit of that right now.
While in Sligo I stayed at a small hostel named "The Railway Sligo" (The Railway Sligo Hostel Review).
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Bring on the heights!
Galway All the Way
7/14/2009 8:31:56 AM - Day 485 - Galway, Ireland
A balancing act on the Cliffs of Moher, probably not the best idea...it's a pretty long fall.
I heard nothing but good things about Galway before I arrived here. It was supposed to be the "cultural" capital of Ireland and I can see why. When I arrived at my hostel "Sleepzone Galway City" (Sleepzone Galway City Review and Information) I found out from the staff that some type of cultural festival was just wrapping up and within a couple days I was going to be around for the start of the "Art Festival". I guess they have cultural events in Galway all the time.
I didn't get too much culture in myself though, however I did manage to make it out to some of the famous local pubs in the city as well as visit some nearby sites. The pubs were amazing and I can honestly say that Ireland has been the first country that I have been to that doesn't have "Irish Pubs", fancy that!? The locals are always nice, beers are good (although a bit pricey) and you can always find some good music to listen to. One interesting fact is that American beer seems to be somewhat popular over here. I see a lot of places with "Coors Light" on tap.
One area that I visited while here in Galway on a tour was the "Cliffs of Moher" which were beautiful and reminded me a lot of the cliffs I saw on the Faroe Islands, except that there were a lot more people at Moher. The tour I went on was booked through the hostel and we also visited a couple other sites as well as a castle which I am learning our as common in Ireland as taco stands in California. My tour guide was a pretty funny old dude who jokingly flirted with all the girls and never failed to repeat himself a couple of times; "Over there you have the Cliffs of Moher, yes, over there you have the Cliffs of Moher …The Cliffs of Moher are right over there".
One thing I am noticing more and more recently is that I seemed to have become increasingly irritable in regards to traveling. I hear a French accent and think "damn, not more French" then I hear a Spanish accent and think the same thing and the like for most European accents. After these negative preconceptions flutter across my consciousness I usually realize I'm being a complete ass (and hypocrite in some ways) for judging people I don't even know and realize that the simple fact of the matter is that the traveling is grating on me. It seems that this turn of events with me coming home sooner than later will be for the best. Next stop, Sligo!
The Cliffs of Moher (Irish: Aillte an Mhothair, lit. cliffs of the ruin, also known as the Cliffs of Mohair) are some spectacular cliffs located south-western coastline of Ireland near a city named Doolin. They reach a maximum heaith of about 700 feet (214 meters) and grant its visitors with one of the nicest views in Ireland.
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Blarney, not bologne.
Blarney Master
7/9/2009 11:35:46 PM - Day 480 - Cork, Ireland
Kissing the Blarney Stone, motor-mouths, watch out!
I didn't have much of a reason to come to Cork other than it was a city in the south that might show me a new side of Irish Culture. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see that new side so much while here since I ended up getting sick after going out so hard on the 4th of July back in Dublin but I did get a couple tidbits here and there.
For one, Irish people sure are nice. Maybe I have just been lucky with whom I have met but Irish people are simply very friendly people. Also, from what I understand Irish people don't really get into all that many fights (unless you're in a bad area, but that's the same in almost any country). I know in the USA they have the reputation of the drinking, "fighting Irish" but after asking around here I guess Irish people don't fight that much after all (they can drink though). If you want to see a lot of fights, go to the neighboring pubs in England (or the USA). There seems to be a ton of French tourists in Ireland, must be the place to go if you're from France. Another thing is that it seems that a good amount of Irish who like wearing Adidas warm-up clothes around here. The weather also sucks for the most part in Ireland unless you like lots and lots of rain. There is a reason why it is so green over here.
Finally, Irish people sure do like to talk, and they are also pretty good at it. Irish people definitely have the "gift of gab", as long as you are able to understand them that is. They must have all kissed the "Blarney Stone" which is said to bestow the power of eloquent oration upon all those that kiss it. It is located at the top of "Blarney Castle" which is right here outside of Cork in the town of Blarney. I went out there because I could always add a bit of eloquence to my discourse.
It is only a 20 - 30 minute bus ride out of central Cork and you're in Blarney which is a small little town. The Castle Grounds are immaculate and have some beautiful gardens full of real Druid's caves, old manors and of course, a castle. At the top of the Castle is the "Blarney Stone" which is a block of bluestone that is built into the top Battlement of the castle and has been kissed by people as a tradition for hundreds of years (Winston Churchill even kissed it). The Blarney Stone is on the outer wall of the topmost battlement a couple hundred feet up with an opening below you where there is a steel grate over it to protect falls. You have to lie down, bend over backwards then give the Blarney Stone a big smooch. It was a nice little trip and I also enjoyed watching people squirm as they bent over backwards to kiss the stone. I mean come on, it's not like you're going to fall with that protective barrier there.
This little sickness of mine seems to be getting better and I hope I am back to a 100% soon, especially since my next stop is a place called Galway that I've heard nothing but good things about.
During my stay here I was at a hostel named the "Bru Bar & Hostel" (Bru Bar & Hostel Review in Cork, Ireland).
Ride a swing in Blarney Castle. Blarney Castle's grounds had some really nice gardens and pathways. It also had a swing to ride on. I did just that and took a little video of it. Nothing special but gives you a chance to see a swing ride in Blarney Castle.
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I feel good about this.
Light at the End of the Tunnel
7/7/2009 4:34:46 PM - Day 478 - Cork, Ireland
What an adventure. Soon, I'll be able to rest.
I'm coming home.
I've purchased my return ticket back home. It'll be about one month from now once I finish my tour of the United Kingdom.
After I completed my original goal of one revolution around the world at the one year mark of this grand adventure of mine I was left with a decision. Do I continue traveling, seeing the world, having new and exciting experiences while at the same time dealing with all the costs and hardships that come with backpacking from one foreign country to the next or do I stop, having already realized my original goal and enjoy a sedentary life back home. A life that is comfortable, stable and monotonous. I used to hear the word "monotonous" and cringe. Now, after almost 16 months on the road the idea of a monotonous life sounds not only refreshing, but appealing.
Most people cannot and will not ever realize how difficult it is to backpack around the world. It is full of wonderful experiences and is fulfilling beyond all measure, but the act of always being on the road, always being alone, always being an outsider, always carrying all of your worldly possessions in a backpack gets very, very tiring. Almost every single time I told a fellow backpacker how long I had been gone for they would say something along the lines of "wow…don't you miss home?" Yes, I miss home dearly and think about it every day. However I've had an opportunity during this trip that was too good to pass up. This opportunity was one of the greatest motivating factors behind my decision to surpass my original goal of one lap around the world and continue my journey. During this entire trip thus far I have been lucky enough to work via my laptop doing software engineering for my old company back in California.
Being able to work on the road while seeing the world has been the chance of a lifetime that I am eternally grateful for. After saving up for years and paying off a sizeable amount of debt I had a nice amount of money in the bank that I decided to use for this trip. However the idea popped into my head that maybe I could continue working for my company while traveling. Given the circumstances at the time with my job it seemed like a mutually beneficial situation and although somewhat hesitant at first, my employers eventually saw the advantage of the newly proposed working relationship and agreed to the idea. This turned out to be a godsend since I had grossly miscalculated the amount of money that would be necessary to make one revolution around the world. Without my job, I would have not only burned through my entire savings but would have also had to go into a huge amount of debt on my credit card. I always follow through on important decisions in my life so come hell or high water, I would have made it one time around the world, even if I came back not only broke, but in heaps of debt.
Thanks to my work my savings have been left relatively intact with my paychecks funding my travels. It has been a dream situation, a dream situation that is about to come to an end. With one software application there is only so much you can do. The one that I have been working on for the past 16 months is virtually complete. The best way to explain it is if I had a list of 100 things to do to complete this application, I am now on item 99 with my incoming work slowing down to a trickle. I figured that this day would come sooner or later and in no way am I bitter. I've had the opportunity of a lifetime for the past 16 months and for that I'll always be thankful.
This turn of circumstances left me with a decision to make. Do I begin burning through my savings to continue the journey or do I go home? For the past couple of months as I saw the oncoming end to my work tenure I'd been grappling with the decision going back and forth with what to do. When the time finally came that I either decide to continue traveling or go home, I had already put a great deal of thought into it so the decision had become easy to make.
I decided it would be best to go home. I'd already accomplished my original goal of a trip around the world. Any places I saw after that initial revolution would be extra. I've already spent an extra four months on the road seeing many places I'd never planned on visiting on this trip and when I do finally go back I'll be at five extra months. I was tired the whole time however and longed for home but I couldn't sensibly go back while I had the chance to work with my laptop. Now that work has dried up and after already doing what I had initially set out to do and then some, spending around 17 months in total on the road when I do go home a month from now, I decided that the money I have in the bank is more valuable to me as a means to get my life back in order instead of trudging through on a journey that had exhausted me months ago.
I've already done more than what I had set out to do and now that I am no longer able to work it is time to go home and rest. This has been the experience of a lifetime that I will cherish all the way to the grave. I'm tired though and after all this traveling I'm finally "content" about my decision to call an end to it. I can go home now knowing that I had seen my original goal all the way through to the end and then some.
If trips like mine were easy they would be much less extraordinary. I saw a quote once that summed it up best:
"Traveling is only glamorous in retrospect".
After 478 days on the road… I feel like I truly understand the meaning of that.
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Green is the new black.
"Patty O'Mattis" in Ireland!
7/6/2009 6:46:11 PM - Day 477 - Dublin, Ireland
Enjoying my free pint of Guinness after doing a tour of the first Guinness factory in the world in Dublin.
Dublin, Ireland has been a cool place to visit. Like a lot of people from the US, I have always wanted to come to Ireland, but the high prices of the country always held me at bay until now. Dublin (Dublin, Ireland Review and Travel Information) is notorious for its high prices and after being here for a couple of days I would have to say that facet of Dublin's reputation is well deserved. Even so, with a bit of scouting around I was able to find some decent deals on food and overall didn't let the high prices slow me down so much as they did in Scandinavia (I still have nightmares about the prices out there).
Even though Dublin is a decent city there isn't too much to do here. Thanks to the close proximity of my hostel "Kinlay House Dublin" (Kinlay House Dublin Review in Dublin, Ireland) to most of the sites, I was able to do everything I wanted in Dublin. I visited Trinity College which was a pretty nice place steeped in history and tradition. Of course, I made sure to visit the Guinness Brewery and Storehouse as well. They actually still brew the "dark stuff" over there and the Guinness brewery in Dublin was the first one ever so being able to visit it was pretty cool. They give you a free pint at the end of the tour where you can also get some amazing views of Dublin. Besides that I spent some time walking around the city admiring the many churches and landmarks.
One downer during my visit here, as it is always when I am on the road was that I once again missed the 4th of July back in the States (3rd missed one to date). It is the one holiday that makes me miss home the most since being absent of your own country's Independence Day celebrations really brings to light the fact that you're in a foreign country. Luckily this time around I met up with a good group of Americans (as well as other nationalities that simply wanted an excuse to party) and we all ended up having one hell of a night celebrating in Dublin's pubs. One thing is for certain is that this will be the last 4th of July I miss in the States for some time to come. If I am still traveling this time next year (which is a HUGE long shot) I'll be traveling in the States where I'll be able to celebrate the 4th properly.
I had a nice time here in Dublin but being the cosmopolitan capital city that it is, I feel like I only gleamed the surface of Irish Culture so I'm looking forward to seeing a bit more of Ireland in the coming weeks. My next stop is Cork where I can kiss the "Blarney Stone"!
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"I said, nice one brotha!"
Wales
7/2/2009 6:15:41 PM - Day 472 - Cardiff, Wales
Having a pint at "Gassy Jacks" which was used in a scene from one of my favorite movies named "Human Traffic".
Whenever I told someone from England I was going to Cardiff they would say something jokingly negative about Wales then ask me "why"? Whenever I told someone from Wales I was going to Cardiff it was the same without the slight. However, they all agreed on one thing which is that Cardiff has some of the best nightlife around. I didn't get a chance to check that out though because after spending time with friends and family for the past couple of weeks doing some drinking I was over going out. Plus, it is midweek and I got a weekend in Dublin coming up which I am sure will be more than enough for one week. Some guys in my room did go out though and they said the nightlife was quite nice. In fact, one of my favorite movies named "Human Traffic" was filmed here in Cardiff and ironically it is all about partying (although they never mention anything about Cardiff in the movie).
While here I stayed at a great hostel named "The Riverhouse Backpackers" (The Riverhouse Backpackers in Cardiff, Wales Review). I also checked out the Cardiff Castle, walked around the city and even went to a couple of the locales/pubs that were used while filming "Human Traffic" so while watching the movie I could annoyingly say to friends "I've been there". After walking around the place I'm not sure what the bad talk was about because Cardiff seems like an alright city. It is a bit quiet at the moment though since University is out and Cardiff has a huge University population.
One thing that always trips me up while I have been traveling around Cardiff as well as Weymouth is that as a greeting people often say "are you alright" being akin to saying "what's up" in the United States. Every time someone asks me if I'm "alright" I always forget that they are just saying hi and not literally asking me if I am alright. I always end up feeling like an ass when my reply of "yes, I'm alright" is met with a blank stare. It would be like replying to what's up with "the sky".
I'm only here for a short while since as my schedule worked out I had to make the executive decision on whether to spend the weekend here in Cardiff (which I am sure would be fun) or in Dublin, Ireland and I chose Dublin since I find it a bit more intriguing. Until next time!
The trailer from one of my favorite movies named "Human Traffic" which was filmed all in Cardiff. I went and checked out a couple of the areas in Cardiff that were used in the movie.
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Finally at the beach again.
Seeing Family in Weymouth
7/1/2009 12:56:41 PM - Day 472 - Weymouth, England
Hanging out with the family. It was great seeing them.
I came to Weymouth to visit some extended family of mine in England. I'm really happy that I did because it was great to see and get to know them better. My family was extremely gracious to me as well and it was nice to be in an atmosphere that felt somewhat like home instead of hopping around hostels/hotels like usual. Also, hanging out in Weymouth was interesting because it is a little town I may have never gotten to see had I no family here to visit.
Weymouth is a small beach town on the South Coast of England. Normally, one doesn't think the words "beach town" and "England" in the same sentence but Weymouth is an exception. It has been unusually hot lately as well so the beach was packed. In the past English people would tell me that I hadn't really visited England by only going to London and now I see why. Weymouth is very different than London. The multi-cultural diversity of London isn't here, the pace is much more relaxed and overall the city gives off a different vibe and shows another side of English culture. In fact, I imagine each city in England to be unique in their own ways.
I enjoyed my time here. It was nice to visit with my family, enjoy the beach that I have missed so much traveling thru the northern reaches of the world for the past couple of months and see another side of English culture. My next stop is Cardiff where I need to get some work done as well as fit in some sightseeing.
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