When I got back, I had a lot of text messages and voicemails from friends, which was nice to come home to. However, I was so exhausted and worn out from my travels that the only person I called was my mom. I suppose jumping right back into my old life is not going to happen easily; I'll have to take it slowly. Today I'm going into work, though we don't have classes; we have a ROPES course instead. Being a teacher and having a set daily routine again is going to be weird. Waking up early is going to suck - though I woke up pretty early every day in Europe anyway. I'm not much of a sleeper.

Anyway, I suppose you'd rather hear about the rest of my vacation. I'll do a quick run-down, as I have to get up and take a shower....and all that rot. Here goes....

When we last left off, I had just arrived in Edinburgh. My B&B there was among my favorites on my entire trip. I had a huge room that was nice and warm, with a TV and a little writing nook under a large window that had an excellent view of the street outside. They cooked me a good breakfast of scrambled egges and toast every morning, and the staff were very nice (and cute). Everywhere I went (except for France), they always serve the sae thing: a fried egg, greasy sausages, baked beans, boiled tomatoes, and instant coffee. Not the best breakfast around, so I just started just asking for eggs. They say Americans eat like crap...

Anyway, Edinburgh is a beautiful city. They have old castles, cathedrals, monuments, statues, grand old buildings, rivers...everywhere you look. In some parts of the city, it feels like you're truly stepping back in time, as the streets are made out of cobblestone (which are terribly difficult to walk on), and all the buildings are centuries and centuries old. I especially loved the Royal Mile, which was like a Medieval village filled with tons of great coffee shops and cute boutiques. I took a sightseeing tour, so I was able to take some fabulous pictures of the city. I visitied Edinburgh Castle, which was Mary Queen of Scots' abode. It pretty much dominates the skyline of the city. I was surprised by the fact that it was made up of several buildings, which were connected by cobblestone courtyards. It was definitely a neat place to visit. Other than that, I just did a lot of shopping, saw a couple movies at the cinema (Miss Potter and Eragon), and saw the touring production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Edinburgh Playhouse. It was actually very well done. The sets were amazing, as were the special effects. I didn't really connect with anyone there, so I was kind of lonely, but I did enjoy the city.

On the morning I checked out of my hotel, I took a bus to Glasgow. The cities are ridiculously close together, so getting there was cheap and easy (two words that I like!). I checked my suitcases in at lost luggage, then was free to wander around the city for the entire day. I took another sightseeing tour, then hopped off near the University of Glasgow, which I instantly fell in love with. It is this amazingly beautiful gothic campus set in the middle of a lovely park, overlooking a river and the entire city beneath it. The area around the university rocks: tons of cheap eateries, used books stores, boutiques....you name it. I also loved the people there. They were an ecclectic bunch: preppy students, punk rockers, fancy businessmen, elegant ladies, etc...I went to a museum of Scotland, which was situated beneath the university. It is set in a grand old palace, and has everything you could possibly imagine: dinosaur bones, art galleries, ancient artifacts, old war memorabilia...I even saw a lock of Bonnie Prince Charlie's hair. Cool! To top my evening off, I got a great deal on tickets to see the National Youth Orechestra of Scotland perform. They were so amazingly talented...it was moving. I loved Glasgow - probably even more than Edinburgh. It's a bit more rough and tumble, but it is bigger and more vibrant, and it seems that there is a lot to do there. It would be a place in which I could live.

I then took a very uncomfortable all night bus back to London, but hey: I got there cheaply and safely. Right before I left, there had been a horrible National Express bus crash in which people died and were maimed horribly. It was all over the news. Blegh. My journey was safe, though.

I had two days in London, so I tried to do everything that I hadn't been able to do before. I took a sightseeing bus, so I was able to take the pictures that I was too shy to take before (at the end of my trip, I became a lot more fearless about taking pictures and looking like a tourist). I visitied the National Portrait Gallery and saw all those famous paintings of kings and queens that you see in the history books. I went to Harrod's and had a ball there; they have great food halls and some gift shops in which you can buy decently priced souveneirs. I did go to some of the different levels and saw all the gorgeous Chanel dresses and Chloe handbags, but it was a mod scene, so I didn't do that for very long. I went to the British library and saw a collection of artifacts that made me cry: The Gutenberg Bible; the Magna Carta; Shakespeare's first folio; Jane Austen's writing desk; original manuscripts in the authors' own handwriting from writers such as Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, James Joyce, Willifred Owen, and Lewis Carroll; and I saw the original Beatles lyrics to several of their famous songs, written on scraps of papers and the back of napkins. It was pretty freaking amazing.

My favorite part of being back in London, however, was the theater that I saw. I stood in line and got half-price, day of tickets for Les Miserables and Guys and Dolls on the West End. It was like being back on Broadway! I adored Les Miserables growing up, so seeing it on stage in its original theater was freaking amazing. It was so fabulously done. I was koved to tears, and I'm not a cryer. Guys and Dolls was just fun. It was also fabulously well done, and it made me laugh and smile. It was a great end to a great trip.

I nearly missed my plane getting home, as I didn't realize how strict they were about check-in times. When I got to the aiport, it was a mob scene. Check-in closes an hour before the plane departs, and I literally made it with a minute to spare. By the time I went through security and got to my gate, I had three minutes before it also closed. Eeeek! Much too close for comfort. The ride was all right. I sat next to a nice lady and her cute daughter.I watched a couple of movies that I had been wanting to see in the theater: The Last King of Scotland and The Departed. Both were good, but very disturbing. Talk about disturbing: we had a horrible bout of turbulence when flying over the Rocky Mountains, I it made me ill and very scared. It was like riding on a roller coaster. Not a pleasant experience. Other than that, though, the journey was fine and getting back into San Francisco was easy enough.

So now I'm home, and you've already heard all about my feelings on that. One thing I've brought back as a souveneir is about five extra pounds, to my utter dismay. I walked everywhere on my trip, so I thought I'd be all sleek and toned when I returned, but nope. I ate like crap, though, so I guess that's what you get. It all went to my thighs, too. Siiiigh. Being a woman. I've decided that I'm going to see my return from this trip as a fresh start in a lot of areas in my life: at work, in my personal life, in my social life, and in my diet. As for the latter, I've decided to go on a juice fast for a week so I can let my body heal from the shitty way I've been treating it lately: no water, and tons of caffeine and sugar. I'm going to look for a juicer today once I get my car back and am able to start driving places again. That will be weird....but nice.

Ok, I'd better start getting ready. You'll hear from me again soon. Bye!

Anne