after a 4 and a half year hiatus, the reggo blog has returned!!!

i made it manchester, but i don't know if i'll make it much further with all the excess crap i have in my bag! i overpacked yet again...son of a !!! i am close to 100% certain i'll be mailing a package home in the next day or two.

i am MEGA tired as i hardly slept on the plane; however, i have managed to make several astute observations since my arrival in manchester:

1) the british immigration officers all shop at NEXT...and this is not a uniform store. it was the stangest thing to be questioned about my trip to the UK by someone in street clothes. i wasn't sure if it was for real...maybe some college guys were playing a prank and decided to sit at the unlabelled wickets and pick-up girls? what the? after he stamped my passport, i politely asked the guy about his lack of polyester duds and he stated to me they had recently decided uniforms would be a good idea (hmmm, you think?) and they'd be getting them in the fall...until then, NEXT!

**side note for my fellow librarians, i saw the biggest ionscan machine i've EVER seen today...i was wondering what this huge "star trek" portal machine was when i saw the label...crazy!

2) where the heck are all the garbage cans? are people in manchester eating their trash? upon finishing my lunch after arriving at the airport on my flight from vancouver i decided to be a good girl and clear up my mess on the table and throw it out...yeah right, i carried my stupid garbage around for the next 20-30 minutes as i searched for a rubbish bin. i couldn't find one to save my life! finally, as i was about to miss my train, i shamefully left my water bottle and cardboard sandwich box in the luggage cart...but the madness didn't stop there. once i got into central manchester, my problem continued as i tried to get rid of my gum at starbucks before having a frapp. the only garbage can there was BEHIND the counter! i don't get it...the streets are spotless; yet there isn't a bin to be found. i figure there must be tiny little people rushing around picking up the trash so fast you don't see it.

3) guys in manchester don't appear to have caught on to the fashion trend of lengthening their ties beyond the centre of their chest. they seem to have missed the dork-o factor when they are not wearing their suit jackets or walk around with them unbuttoned. maybe they think people won't notice because observers are distracted by the fact they have mismatched socks under pants that are too short and hair that is too long and uncombed.

4) there are lots of people walking around wearing tee-shirts that read "help stop (insert anything here)". it took me awhile to figure out how to avoid them because they are everywhere! after the 8th or 9th guy approached me, i decided to respond with "quoi? oh désolée, je ne comprend pas l'anglais ! parlez-vous français ?" word spread fast that the red-headed girl with too much luggage doesn't speak english...yes!!

5) everyone smokes here...i might as well too. (just kidding mom!)

phew, now i've got that off my mind i'm free to waste more time observing and planning the rest of my day in manchester...

okay people! here's a humdinger of an update...hope it meets your standards.

next stop: rachel's place in london.

so my flight was late, the baggage took ages to come off the plane, and of course by the time i got everything under control the last train of the night had departed. to top it all off the tube was on strike (that's the underground...the subway!) and the cue for the coach buses into town was 3-400 people long. i called rach (who had fought her way into the heart of london on the stupid, overcrowded bus system, with her flatmate phil) and told her i would be several hours and to just go home. it was now 1am and i was still standing in the never moving line-up. i finally got into london at about 3am and flagged a cab that would hopefully take me to rach's flat. the driver was ace and even let me use his mobile phone to call rachel when we got near her place so that she could come to the door for me. she couldn't have lived in (what appeared to be) a dodgier place! i had to walk down a dark alley littered with junk and a stench that made me cringe…“just walk around back until you see the light” well there was no light and i was on my way to freaking out when i heard Rachel whisper ‘over here’. after walking up loads of steps in the black of night i saw her outline and felt relieved. her flatmates rock! there’s mike-a bfg type character with a leather jacket so long that when i saw him in it i said “you’re batman!”, and i found out that he’s ace…once he stopped playing on his computer. next comes rob-he has to be one of the most kind people i have ever met in my life, such a sweetheart with this cute little laugh that could make you die…ladies, start lining, whoever catches him will be extremely fortunate! as we move one room to the right we find phil-high protein/low carb doctor in training, he’s a true gent with a fancy mobile in hand that plays classic tunes and a fellow fan of the kind of movies i love…goonies anyone? last but not least is the jazzy russ-he’s training for a MARATHON people!! also a good conversationalist and he plays the guitar…what more could a girl ask for? oh yeah, there’s also russ, the sixth man, he thinks red heads are sexy, studied physics (finishing at the top level), but does not own a pocket protector, and believes that thailand “is very safe for young single girls to travel there alone”…yes, he is crazy, but quite nice as well.

so i basically had a brilliant time with rachel in london…we actually spent good quality time together for the first time since we went to hawaii together in ’99. she is a wonderful friend and i’m really, really going to miss her when i go back to canada!

i returned to the isle of man at the beginning of october and went back to work on tuesday expecting things to be back to normal after being closed for two weeks holiday. but of course i was the only one who had shown up b/c matthew had neglected to call and tell me me were still closed. i was so disappointed b/c i really was looking forward to seeing everyone. it turned out that maurizio (pizza chef) had forgotten to book a return flight from italy, thus we could not open until wednesday when he would, hopefully, be back!

fast forward through two uneventful weeks to a monday night when eileen and i were sitting in the kitchen commenting on how nice it was to be inside during a storm…in runs richard yelling, “we’re flooding! we’re flooding! the water is coming down the drive like a river!!!” and boy was it ever!! the three of us were out in the rain (which was bucketing down) for over 3 hours before anyone came to help us. after the fourth call to 999 (uk version of 911) with no help on the way, i asked the operator what the actual point of an emergency service was if no one comes to the rescue? not only did he not seem to grasp the fact that our kitchen was flooding, the garages were flooded, but he didn’t even think to ask our name or where we lived, in turn delaying the process of the sandbaggers getting to us before we were swept into the sea. we tried everything to stop the water from running down into the house…big rocks, bricks, digging-even attempting to divert the water with our own bodies. it was absolute madness!! at one point i just stood at the top of the drive with my mouth hanging open and said “holy schizer!!” it was so unreal and frankly quite scary. the following week i was to be home alone while they were on holiday and i can’t imagine what i would have done if i’d been on my own! the restaurant also got flooded and we were closed for a week. we lost all of our stock in the basement...300 bottles of beer, 2 kegs, nearly 1000 bottles of wine, loads of liquor, juice and soda. pasta was floating everywhere, the freezers were on the ceiling, and the amount of steak, lobster, salmon, etc. that had been lost was sickening! it was all insured, but it was horrible to see everything go to waste! however, nothing in the main part of the restaurant, nor the kitchen, was damaged---thankfully!

now everything is relatively back to normal…i joined the gym a few weeks after I got back from europe and have been forcing myself to get up at either 6:30 or 7:30 every morning (at first it was so hard to get up, but now i love being up so early!) so i can get the bus into town, work out and still have time to do stuff when i get back before having to head down to work. i have been feeling pretty decent and am still having a great time over here…however, i can’t wait to get home!

sorry this has taken ages to update, but u don’t have much access to a computer, let alone the internet!!

i miss you all loads and would love to get emails. i know i am not always prompt in returning them, but remember there’s only one of me and a huge amount of you guys!!!

take it easy and see you soon~~~

loads of great stories to come...keep checking!!!

sorry, this is my first chance in ages to use the internet!! i am searching stuff for school and flights to COME HOME!!! please bear with me!!!

peace out for now~~~

this is one for the books folks...

once on the plane the safety procedures began (much to my delight)...it all seemed routine and i was contemplating my efforts of sitting through the whole boring scenario yet again b/c i was way beyond tired. but i did and boy was it worth it, let me tell you. the girl that was speaking started to get the giggles and the guy demonstrating was trying to maintain his composure since he was the one on display. he buckled his little seat belt and pointed out the exits, an act that was thoroughly unentertaining...but the show was just beginning. he slipped on the little yellow life vest in keeping with his demo, when everything went to the birds. he was in mid giggle and apparently was not aware of his own strength. he pulled just a little too "firmly" on the little toggles and broke the golden rule of the airplane lifejacket...DO NOT INFLATE WHILE ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT! his face was priceless and since i apparently was the only one paying attention, i was the only one laughing...my head off! i was crying with laughter, he was red with embarrassment, and the plane errupted into a murmur of questions just as he dashed into hiding. it was the definite highlight of my journey back to the uk.

next stop: rachel's place in london...update on its way (please be patient...we are in the middle of a huge storm and i don't want to get electrocuted!)

okay i know my blog has really been lagging for the past few weeks, but the stupid thing is giving me loads of trouble lately! i cannot read any of my previous entries, therefore i have no idea where i left off, but i'll give it a guess...

frankfurt...i'll fix that update later

i went to wiesbaden to stay with katharina's parents for the night before heading back to the uk. i had a really nice time with them, they are both so kind. kat's mom is a lot of fun and i enjoyed spending time with her. the little town where they live was quite small, but very pretty. we met kat's dad in frankfurt after he finished work so that he could take me to the airport to catch the bus to the smaller one from where i was flying to london.

i was booked on a flight with ryan air...a dead cheap airline. a fact that has not gone unnoticed...the flight was full and the passengers were nothing short of vultures when it came to checking in. as soon as the employees took one step toward the counter they were swarmed. it was quite sad to see how people pushed and shoved each other, with no regard for anyone. business men became animals, grandmas were morphed into gladiators and loving mothers into maniacs. i on the other hand didn't need to do any shoving b/c i was at the front of the cue, since once again i arrived at an airport hours too early. the same effect took place when it came time to board the plane...it was a mad house, people were running on the the tarmac towards the plane as if they were trying to break a world record.

once on the plane the safety procedures began (much to my delight)

frankfurt 101: how to make the most of your day

woke up at 7am, but didn't get up, just laid there with my eyes closed until i fell back asleep. at 11am i got up for real, had a shower and ate some brekkie with ronald. man, this guy is a star, he's so much fun and it is so great to see him again! steffie came home fro work at 12:30 and we were off.

happy one month anniversary to my cousin lynsay and her new hubby alistair!!

today's topic: oktoberfest, and the need to arrive early.

we were supposed to meet at 10:30 at the hauptbanhof so there would be no problems. but since they didn't arrive until noon, of course there were. the subway was packed with festival go-ers and i could barely breathe...i was excited but having seen the crowd, my heart sank b/c i knew that there was no way i was going to get into a tent. sure enough we arrived and were swept along through the sea of people to the proposed beer tent and the doors were locked. all of the doors were locked...every single place was full. that means that over 65,000 people go into the tents before me, dashing my oktoberfest dreams. but my day was not completely ruined b/c there were rollercoasters at the wies'n grounds...really good ones! the only thing was that they weren't long enough, only about 3 minutes. we wandered around, had some schnapps and attempted to get into the outside areas of the fest so we could at least get tome beer and food. höfbräu-strike one, löwenbräu-strike two...augustener-success! we managed to squeeze our butts onto a bench at a table of italians. they were hilarious! i drank over 4 litres of beer in under 5 hours, but somehow i didn't end up drunk...perhaps it's because the waitresses make you eat pretzels (as big as life preservers) and half chickens incessantly! these ladies were absolute no non-sense, let me tell you they kept everyone in line! i think a lot of guys were actually scared of them. i got home at a reasonable hour (the sun had since gone down), had a shower, drank 2 litres of water and went to bed.

i woke up this morning at 9am and wanted to go back to sleep right away b/c i was so tired. plus, my arms were hurting from lifting the huge beer klugs and slamming them into other peoples with wishes of good health. i had a traditional german sunday breakfast with annette, who graciously let me stay at her place for the weekend, chit chatted and then got ready to go out. the trip to the monastery went out the window once annette and her boyfriend, christoph, filled me in on what it was actually like. instead, i opted for another castle, schloss nymphenburg. this place was pretty huge, but it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. it was beautiful though.

tonight i head to frankfurt to see ronald and steffi, then kat's parents in wiesbaden on monday.

i'll write again when i get the chance...but it might not be for awhile~~~

remember...my email addy is: serenity_now79@hotmail.com

use it friends, cheers~~~

being in munich has it's perks.

this morning i went to the deutsche museum of science and technology on the museum island. boy, what a cool place...i was there for about 5 hours! they have everything in there---the standard planes, train, and automobiles, but also chemistry, physics, biology, space travel, history of musical instruments (that was the best!), boats, submarines, machines, water wheels. you name it, it was in there! next i trudged around in the rain for about an hour, bought some stuff and watched people dancing in the front of a department store to advertise jennifer lopez's new fragrance, glow. i asked one of the girls if i wore it, would i be able to dance like j-lo? she said no, so i said i didn't want any. i was on my way back to the station when all of a sudden there was a sea of people completely blocking the way i needed go. i fought through the crowd, totally annoyed because it was pouring down rain...it took my nearly 20 minutes. when i got out to the street i was fuming! i said aloud to myself "what the HECK was that all about!", then i heard a voice say sheepishly "i think it's b/c of me". without looking i said "yeah right, you wish", then i heard a familiar chuckle, looked up and instantly went red in the face. the crowd was there for him. it was none other than maverick, lieutenant pete mitchell. we chatted for a bit, i told him i liked him best in risky business when he danced in his underwear and dress shirt, he told me he liked that part too, but his fave was being in those jets in top gun and running through an empty time square for vanilla sky. as he walked away he told me he liked my jacket, my bright hurt-your-eyes-orange raincoat. what can i say, tommy has good taste~~~

the most boring part of a flight attendant's job has to be running through the emergency procedures. how many times have the buckled that little fake seatbelt? or waved their arms up and down the aisles to indicate the exits? as soon as they hear the voice start the demo they're supposed to mime, their eyes go blank and they start thinking about how much they dislike doing it, since no one really listens anyway. i think that there are 2 types of passengers: those that listen, in case something new has been added to the lecture (in most cases usually not); and those that don't, b/c they think they know everything already. i myself am a listener (well, i listen to the demo), i try to make eye contact then and again, and throw in a smile or two. i want the flight attendants to know that at least one of the hundred and fifty on the plane is making their job worth while.

so now i am in münchen, official host of the oktöberfest! i walked around the town, after shoving my stuff into a locker at the train station (let's hope it's still there when i go back in a bit!), despite the rain and the slap-in-the-face cold weather it's a pretty nice place. i still have lots of exploring to do, but i'm on borrowed time down here, so i have to be selective. i was thinking of going to the museum of unusual things and a couple markets. sunday i am hoping to go to a really old monastery with some friends of katharina. should be sweet~~~

in berlin everyone's shoes seem to click. even the running shoes make noise when their wearers are walking! maybe they have a "no sneaking up" policy in berlin? that seems like a pretty good idea; when you buy new shoes, they install little tappers into the heel so that you can't silently get behind someone and scare the crap out of them. actually no, i don't vote for that policy b/c i like sneaking up on people, but not grandmas or grandpas. you can't sneak up on them b/c they might kick it right then and there...

i just got in from dinner and drinks with kat on my last night in berlin. man, we had such a laugh! she is super duper, if i may say so! i am so tired an need to get to sleep! catch ya later dudes...oh wait i almost forgot! i saw that "interesting" lady from the cafe again tonight. this time in a completely different part of town, she was wearing a blanket and singing next to a light post; she remembered me and suggested i try to play footie (soccer) with a red cabbage~~~

reading salinger's "catcher in the rye"...so far, so good. we'll see how it goes.

i forget what i did on saturday.

i woke up sunday morning to the sound of someone blowing their nose in the courtyard of kat's apartment complex. now, i say someone b/c it was one of those harsh non-gender specific blows. it was loud, long, and sounded like it must have hurt!! basically it was horrible and i don't wish that wake up call on anyone, not even...nevermind. sunday was an eventful day namely b/c it was election day and everyone was anxious to find out who the next chancellor of germany was going to be. my choice (if i'd had one) was edmund stoiber, definitely not gerhard schroeder...who ended up winning despite the fact that someone in his party referred to shrub (george w.) as hitleresque. what the?!? i met tina for brunch at a cafe in the eastern part of berlin. this place was very casual, couches everywhere, a bed and pictures or naked people hanging all over the walls. but they were classy pictures, you know...art. the deal was that you could have all the food you could eat for 3 euros...sweet! but, i fogot this was typical european breakfast: bread, cheese, jam, meat, and of course curry. who eats curry for breakfast?! i did. it was the only thing that hadn't been jabbed at by a thousand forks and spoons. about 4:30 this lady came into the cafe and started to set up this display at the table next to us. of course i had no idea what she was doing, but judging from the sideways glances and muffled chatter, i suspected it wasn't "normal", even for around here. since i didn't want to judge her and wished to know what was going on, i bit my lip, hoped she spoke english, and went over to her table. i wafted away the smoke billowing from somewhere in front of me, knocking over a stuffed dog sitting on an empty coffee can situated next to a post card and some cookie-cutters, and located the face of a pretty looking, forty-ish woman with blond hair and a cigarette dangling from her vodka soaked lips. her name was sara weisman...but only for awhile. her last incarnation had been amelia earhardt and before that andy kauffman. we talked about books that we'd both read and exchanged some suggestions. next we worked out a title for her book, she was an author as well! i asked her why she had all this set up and she told me only germans understand...i told her i didn't think she was weird, she told me i was of a higher intelligence b/c i bothered to come and talk to her instead of giving her shifty looks and talking about her. my friends told me they were leaving and since i was going to their place, i needed to go too. i wished her luck and she told me to look her up next time i was in berlin. "who will you be" i asked, but she had already disappeared behind the incense and tobacco emissions. went to tina and laura's for some election updates, laugh, and pizza. i had tuna and onion pizza...a commonality over here and despite my skeptisism, it was actually quite good. after a few hours we were all tired and i walked home.

monday i went for a walk around another part of berlin and met tina to go to the kudam....a big shopping street. we walked around for a bit, she was sick of the rain and i the snooty sales people. we caught the s-bahn back home and that was that. i didn't buy anything.
in the evening kat and i went out for dinner and a movie. i had some extremely german food--various types of rye bread, cheese, pretzels, and other 'interesting' things. we drank radler, beer and sprite (typical over here as well) in steins bigger than i've ever seen before. watched 'about a boy'...excellent film!! go see it if you can, then buy the soundtrack. i was introduced to badly drawn boy by my manx brother edward about a month ago and he's awesome. his music is superb! check it out.

tuesday was yesterday and i didn't do much except almost have my palm pilot destroyed by a crazy lady who insisted that the stylus (special palm pen) would fit, when in fact it wouldn't. she got it stuck and proceded to use all sorts of tools in attempts to get it out. scissors, knives, screwdrivers, paperclips...she was so stupid she eve tried a staple! i kept trying to tell her to get pliers, but she didn't know what this meant. i was freaking out! she kept banging it on the counter and cursing in german. she was so mad, i wondered if everything was okay at home! finally this other guy came with a little tool kit and i took the pliers and got it out in one try. phew! that was tuesday.

today i went back to the kudam in search of some special biotherm stuff. it's really a sad place...all these shops: dolce & gabana, zara, gucci, gap...millions must be spent there everday. yet, lingering in front of each huge department store, is a person stricken with some sickness or another asking for money. and they don't look like the beggars you see in vancouver, they're straight out of a national geographic article on 3rd world poverty. i felt awful as i walked past them down the street. i felt even worse on the way back having just dropped a load of cash on a gift for a friend; and though i hoped he would, i wasn't even sure he'd like it all that much. man it got the wheels in my brain cranking again about how i am so fortunate and have way more than i need. so many people have to have this or that, spending their paycheck before it even settles into the bank account without a thought, eh? well, i've been trying to think about it and so should y'all. gotta go out for dinner, it's my last night in berlin and i'm gonna zoo it up!

look out munich and oktöberfest here i come!!

updates to follow in the near future~~~

katharina has gone to düsseldorf for the weekend and i am alone at her place trying to find something else to do besides watch cnn (the only english channel). if anyone needs to catch up on world events give me a call and i'll fill you in. i decided to do so some channel surfing to see what i could find. as many of you (namely johnny and stevie potter) know, the simpsons is an excellent show---not as excellent as seinfeld, but excellent none the less. well, i have discovered something even better...the simpsons in german!! this is the best thing ever! it's hilarious to watch episodes you've seen previously dubbed over in this language. instead of bart saying "eat my shorts!", he says "mein unterhosen essen!" among other things. plus, their voices sound exactly the same as they do in english, i guess they had the voice actors take german lessons? well, once that was over i surfed again and let me tell you, there's nothing better than watching amateur german dj's, that can't dance, spin records from their living room and have the show broadcast live on the tv. i think on of them was bodo (do you remember me mentioning him about one month ago?). i was laughing so much i started to cry...it really was that funny!

now i need to find something else to do...maybe i'll go wander in the streets to see if i can make any new friends that want to go to a movie or play a gin rummi card game with me? relax mom, i'm only joking...but i'm sure you knew that right?! i'm trying to work out this oktöberfest business with my friends niels, not neil, but niels who lives in münchen (munich). niels! where are you! i got your email and yes i want to come...answer your phone!

by the way, i had a pretty cool b-day. like i mentioned earlier, i went with tina to the kaiser wilhelm church and it was amazing! we also cruised the main shopping drag-by cruised, i mean walked. the stored were gigantic! each one had at least three floors and i am not talking about department stores either! kat and i went with her friend fabio, yes--the fabio, to a place called pan asia for some sushi, noodles and curry. boy, was it lecker (deutsch for yummy)--it was so delicious and we ate too much. some swiss guys also joined us, but they got an invite from katharina b/c they were visiting berlin and didn't have anything to do. one guy was cool, the other was lets say...not. ha ha.

hey i need to go watch "wing commander" in german...i've been waiting for it to come on, hopefully it will be better in this language b/c the english version was pants~~~

david gray's "white ladder" is the greatest cd! the book i'm reading is so excellent!! (egg-salad, andy?!?!)

today the 23rd year of my life begins....or does it end? no wait, it ends--my 24th year begins today...oh man! 24? i don't even want to think about it!

i spent 26 euros on beads yesterday...i'm nuts! today i am going with kat's cousin to the kaiser wilhelm kirche, it was built in 1891-95 and was partially destroyed in an air-raid in 1943. wicked! plus we're going to a huge shopping centre, uh oh!

berlin is really interesting...especially at the moment with the impending elections for a new chancellor. it's historic yet completely modern, exciting and scary...disgusting and absolutely beautiful. there's no way to justly describe this city. you have to come here to understand. that said, i am really looking forward to going to munich, i hope that my plans go off without any hitches.

i gotta go...schnell, schnell~~~

dare i say 'only in germany'? i just turned on the tv to watch some news and was greeted by a commercial for a new hair styling product. i think it looks fantastic! it's like a diffuser that you would attach to your everyday hair dryer...only it works in reverse...get ready... because you attach it to your vaccum! it gives you phemnomenal volume! (by nearly ripping your hair out of your head) if you're interested email me and i'll order you one for only 30 euros (that's 45 cdn). it comes with 4 different attachments for 4 different looks.

this is the most off the wall thing i have seen in ages~~~

read on down for some updates of previous entries~~~

i finished reading paling's "deserters" and it was a huge disappointment in the end. i had been thinking that it would make and excellent film, and then it all went downhill. i was so frustrated b/c i wanted to chuck it out the window, but i had to finish it. now i am reading a definite goody...this one i will be able to recommend and lend without shame! yay!! i'm listening to my newest music purchase (they are few and far between since cd prices are ridiculous in the uk, but now i am in berlin...a whole different situ) "death to the pixies" by...the pixies. i have wanted to buy this cd for ages, but it has always been so expensive! but i found it for a mere 9 euros, which is about 14 buckeroos canadian. okay, now on to the goods...

i left the island (again) on the 10th and arrived in one of the zillion london airports and needed to get to another one for my 8:45 pm departure. i made it there no problem, except that i was 7 hours early!!! what the heck! it's a good, no great thing that it was an absolutley beautiful day. i found some grass and parked my a** (this is a pg site). hee hee. i settled in with the crappy book (i was at a good part) and enjoyed the sunshine. after about 4 hours i got sick of being honked and hooted at by the guys driving around the round about over and over again so i decided to make a break for the terminal. i enjoyed the last opprtunity that i'd have for awhile to use a free bathroom and then went in search of an internet kiosk. instead i met anthony.

my attetion was first drawn to the little backpack he was wearing and i thought about how i'd wanted one just like that and attempted to make a mental picture of it in my mind. he turned around and our eyes met briefly, but we looked away, unsure if the other was interested in a chat. i could tell that he was bored and to be honest, so was i. and so the conversation began in the typical fashion..."where are you from?...where are you going?" minutes later we were checking to see if we could get on the same flight to paris. we totally hit it off...we had a crazy talk about travelling, being at home, our families, our dreams and what we were actually going to end up doing with our lives. he was an absolute classic...we exchanged email addresses and plan on keeping in touch since he lives in oregon. needless to say we didn't get on the same flight and he probably just made it to his gate in time b/c we talked for to long! we may meet up at the oktöberfest...but it's a busy event and chances are slim to none...and word is slim just left town.

i spent 4 days with my uncle tom and aunt isabel at their summer house in south western france and really enjoyed myself. we went to an old fortified village, splunking in some caves, climbed a rock face up to an old troglodytic fort and drank some, make that lots of, french wine. i had the chance to practice my conversational french, which turned out to be better than i expected. i was able to talk with the locals and sort out stuff when i was in the shops. i wish that i could have stayed longer but i needed to get to berlin before my train pass expired.

i took the night train from paris to berlin and it was so sweet! i met stefanie...a german girl who was staying in my cabin for the journey. she spoke english quite well and we had a good laugh together. she offered to show me around berlin a bit as well too which was really nice of her. we are going to a bead shop tomorrow!! i am so EXCITED!!! apparently it really big and full of neat stuff. i think i'll go for broke! i've been in berlin since sunday and only ventured into the heart of the city today. i put A LOT of iles on my shoes today and got in some vertical distance as well with climbing the siegessäule (tower of victory). from the top i could see all of berlin...it was absolutely spectacular! thanks to mother nature for the great weather as well. now i am back at kat's, tired and full from dinner. my birthday is in 2 days, which makes me feel kinda home sick, but katharina and i are going out for sushi with some other friends which should be fun. if you feel like calling me, you can get the number from my mom (or dad, but some how i think mom is more reliable--no offence papa)...don't forget, we're 9 hours ahead of vancouver~~~

hey i've updated a few past entries...check 'em out and thanks for your patience~~~

okay, i know i've been bad at keeping this thing updated, but please bear with me...i am so busy over here!!! i am trying to find a place to stay in paris tomorrow night! then i am off to my aunt and uncle's place near tolouse for a few days before heading to germany. i am stressing so i need to go, but i promise a good one when i get to katharina's in berlin!!! ta ta~~~

so, where was i?

yeah, so i wasn't kid(dare i say adult?)napped, simply late...and met up with my auntie tessa. to make a long story a little less lenghtly, i had a great time in edinburgh, the weather was super hot aside from fridy the 30th when lynsay and alistair got married...what a bummer! but...lynsay looked so beautiful (al's face was classic when he first saw her as she came down the aisle!!!) their wedding was alot of fun. they had hired a caleigh (totally wrong spelling i'm sure!!) band and they played sweet celtic music all night...they even played a canadian carn dance song for my benefit....at which time i demonstrated my skills that i learned back in dance class at j.n.burnett secondary. all in all it was a great time...i met yet another guy this time things worked out much better as we went out after the wedding and i saw him for the rest of the weekend. ooooh! no, nothing of any notice, he's a cool cat and we're going to hopefully have our paths cross again. spent lots of time with my cousin eve...or evie, as i call her, and we went to her mom's for a day or two. my aunt sue and her b.f. douglas rock the party! i had a sweet time with them at their place.

***side note*** what's the story with the double faucets over here? i don't understand the logic behind this...you can't use the hot tap b/c you'll burn your hands, yet if you try and use the cold tap, you get unsatisfactory soap rinsing! who are the ad wizards that came up with that one? it's absolutely ridiculous!

i'm back. after spending the night at sue and dougie's i caught the train back to edinburgh and got back to tessa's in time for dinner. went to 'the basement' to see franco's (of mona lisa fame) son richard to pick up a little somethin' somethin' he had for me to take back to the island with me. this place is really cool-a bar/restaurant thingy where everyone wears hawaian shirts...i recommend it, the food was great and the desert even better!

tuesday morning i got the plane back to the island and it was straight back to work. man, i was dog tired after that shift...but thoroughly glad to get back. i had thursday night off to have a little b-day dinner at the restaurant with my manx fam and friends. i had a good time, but there was an incident...no alcohol involved, let's not get into it, but remind me to recount the tale when i get home. oooh i was so mad!! bye for now~~~

listening to pedro's 'control' on my head phones while i type this at the grammar school
reading chris paling's 'deserters' when i'm bored and at night before i fall asleep...it's a goody

hiya! it seems that i am always playing catch up with this thing...

sunday i woke up at a reasonable hour in order to go with my friends ali and jackie to go watch rachel's horse riding show. now, horses are not my main hobby, so you can imagine that i had no idea what was going to take place. it ended up that the horses had their hair done and then jumped some fences...or for some unfortunate few, didn't jump them and bucked their riders off...actually it was pretty cool to watch them jumping, rachel did quite well since fred decided that he would jump all the required fences, clearing most by several feet! then i went home got ready to go out and jetted off to ramsey with al and jack to meet up with the crew. after awhile paul came round and we went out together...and despite having had good time with him, i realize that two dates was all there was going to be. he's more than nice enough, but for several reasons, one of which is the fact he's a smoker (bleh!) i don't think i could see myself seeing him.

monday i slept in, went to the grocery store, laid in the sun with rach and ed before cooking a meal for everyone at home. had a nice evening, but i was up way too late packing last minute for my trip to edinburgh. hmmm, a fairly uneventful day judging from the brevity of my entry.

tuesday i was up and running at 6am for a 7am departure for the airport. rach and i had a nice chat in the car on the way, one of our rare moments together since we are always missing each other by about five minutes. when i arrived for check-in i discovered that i was booked on a private jet! ha! no kidding dudes, i had the plane all to myself! i was wicked, the view was amazing and i even saw 'the glory'--dad, lindsay, and john you may know what this is, but for the rest of you i'll explain. basically it's a completey circular rainbow that's only visible in the clouds when you're flying. it's apparently quite rare, and it was really beautiful...you wouldn't think that my morning could get any better what with the private plane and all, but then the flight attendant gave me a second granola bar!! wowzers! i arrived in edinburgh safely, but late. this had me in a bit of a panic since i was to meet my grandma's sister before i had even landed. i made it into town on the bus with tessa pacing, worried that i missed my plane or was kidnapped or something. let me tell you a little bit about tessa---she is EXACTLY like my grandma!!! well, perhaps a bit more intense, but that's all you need to know.

man, someone needs the computer, i'll be back in a bit to finish this off~~~

so i'm just in from work and a little bit tipsy, as we have a 'familia nota' (family night) at the restaurant on saturdays where we all hang around together after our craziest night and have pizza, wine, beer, etc.

i must say that my date on thursday was a success. though at first it seemed that i wouldn't even get to go b/c the restaurant was so busy! i just about died at the thought b/c my u.k. mummy (eileen) decided that i needed something to wear and so she made me a dress! in one afternoon no less! and let me tell you, this dress is so beautiful...it is the prettiest thing that i own and i love it! it is probably the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me...she was so busy prepping for her trip to ireland and she was sure that she wanted to make me this dress. anyways, matthew and chrissy let me off just before ten o'clock...i ran around like a chicken with my head cut off to get ready in time for a taxi that was coming to the restaurant to get me at 10:15 (note: paul was paying for me to get a cab ride that would cost nearly 65 bucks canadian!) so the cab is outside, everyone is oohing and ahhing over how nice i look in the dress, when mauritzio says "ah, you need-ah a ride-ah to the party, i give-ah you a ride" (in his italian accent). everyone starts yelling at him in italian, asking why he didn't offer earlier b/c now the cab is already here...he says something i don't understand with arms waving around for effect...so lorraine called the cab company and said i fell down the stairs and couldn't go out, otherwise i'd have had to pay the full fare anyway! so i made it to the party (make it known that i knew no one at this shindig--i'd only met my supposed date once, briefly, at the restaurant). so because i was late all eyes were on me as i walked in the door, this is a bad thing b/c i don't like being gawked at, but gawked at i was. i guess i looked good in the dress...i got lots of compliments (quite a few people actually asked if it was versace or gucci--can you believe it!!!) and paul seemed pretty chuffed that i had actually shown up. i had a great time, he was great, his friends were awesome and i had no problem being my usual crazy self. well, this is probably getting boring for you so i'll wrap it up. i had a wicked time, i'm seeing him again and then well see what happens.

off to edinburgh on tuesday for my cousin's wedding...should be a great time...i'm going to wear 'the dress'. emails, emails, emails friends....hop to it!

catcha later dudes~~~

ok i'm going to continue where i left off....giddy up!

so i'm busy people watching in the station and trying to keep track of my bags b/c there is an announcement playing repeatedly that says: "please keep your baggage with you at all times. if you leave your bags unattended, you will be prosecuted"....i wonder, if you were to leave bags unattended, you'd either have to be stupid, or actualy mean to leave them, in which case, how could they prosecute you if you've already taken off. oh well. i was sitting on a bench across from a little restaurant and there was a family sitting having some food and drinks. the mum and nana had ordered red wine and the garcon promptly brought out two glasses, perhaps a tad too prompty as he spilled a glass all over the poor little nana, ruining her sunday best. he muttered some french apologies and ran to get her some soda water, a cloth, and another glass of wine (which he proceded to spill on her yet again!). now she was in a state and since they spoke english and he spoke french, i wandered over to see if i could help them out...long story short, i got the manager, told her that she needed to give them about £50-60 to replace the clothes that were ruined, she said she couldn't do it, i then said the garcon should get his bank card and take the money out of his account since it was his fault...that wasn't an option either. so finally, after a heated discussion en francais, it was settled that the nana would return to london, buy herself some new digs and send the receipt back to the owner of the restaurant and be reimbursed for the cost. it ended up that we were all on the train to london togther and they were so thankful that they offered to have me stay with them that evening...i thanked them for the offer, but told them i had plans to stay chez ben. by this time, we were so late for the train, we weren't even sure we'd make it....and this wasn't helped by the fact that i got stuck behind a guy with a dodgy passport that ended up being a fake.

i made it on the train, got back to ben's safely and had a relaxing evening. the next day i was to go watch a cricket match that ben and all of his friends were playing in. this was fun, except i didn't know what was going on and what the heck is a wicket anyway? it started to pour down, we took refuge in the trees, to no avail, and then decided to call it quits and head to the pub. now, for those of you guys who play hockey, and girls you know what i'm talking about too...you guys know how to have a good time, but let me tell you, these british lads have you beat by far. i have never had such a laugh in my life, they were absolutely mad! we literally took over the place, drinking beer, having push up contests, playing darts...etc. and though i didn't drink much, after awhile i couldn't tell you what was going on. it was an absolute zoo! after a couple kegs, a few bruises, broken glasses, and many hours later we all hopped on the tube back to ben's flat. (by the way ben's flatmates are paul and chris--really great guys! simon is hilarious as well, though he was just visiting for the weekend with his brown sleeping bag).

wednesday, i caught the train to liverpool and then the ferry over to the isle of man to see ali, rachel and her family...and some other friends i had made through them over the past few visits. i was so thankful that i was going to be stationary for three weeks! intially stopped off at carol's house for some visiting and chinese food with the girls. we set off for home and that was supposedly going to be no problem b/c rachel 'knew' where we were going. but ssince there were five of us and my 2 gigantic bags, we had to take two cars. michelle drove ahead with rachel as the navigator, while ali drove behind with jackie and i in her fancy new peugeot. the drive should have taken us about 20 minutes/half an hour, but thanks to rachel we ended up on a nearly three hour tour of the island that only takes two hours to see all of it. jackie was yelling in her accent "what are they doing? they've to turn right there!!...put your indicator on so they know where to go..." we finally made it back and i spent the night with rach at her boyfriend alan's, place and thursday morning i was up at the crack of dawn. you see, alan lives on a farm...thus he has loads of work to do everyday, all day. rach and i were in for it as we had volunteered our services to get soe sheep ready for an agricultural show two days later. all day we brushed (called carding) the sheep, trimmed their hair, carded it again, clipped it again....and so on. i also fed pigs, played with the sheep dogs and played around with the cutest little baby pigs!! friday was the highlight, as our task was to clean all the crap from the sheeps butts and give them baths while alan was away wrapping hay at another farm. what a joy...actually, it wasn't that bad. rach and i ended up having a lot of fun...we even had a little adventure trying to catch a runaway top lamb (baby male sheep). and with the help of some rope, a fence and the sheep dogs we barely managed. these dogs are brilliant animals! they are so smart you wouldn't believe the things they can do. saturday was the show and we all dressed up in expendable jeans, white button-up tops and ties (you need to impress the judges ya know). my job was to put baby oil on the legs and heads of the 5 wooly animals to keep them looking nice and shiny. i was filthy, hot and gross, but thankfully the juges were looking at the sheep...we did really well, my sheep (i named her zoe) won best in breed and reserve. the rest won firsts and seconds, with one coming in fourth b/c she was faking a limp. that night was a riot as we attended a young farmers party, complete with hay bails...and these farmers are hot, hot, hot! and why wouldn't they be, they've been in the sun (and rain & snow) since they were young doing hard labour. whew...those were some nice looking bodies!

sunday, i slept in...til 3pm! monday i went into town to buy black trousers (not pants, as we say at home, b/c here that means underwear...hence the snickers when i complained in public that my pants were falling down) and white tops for work...

work!! i love my job!! i started working at a little italian restaurant called la mona lisa the next day (tuesday 13th) and everyone their is so great. matthew, the 24 year old owner, who is so dramatic you could die...chrissy, the greatest gal around, runs the show...franco, the 50 something italian chef, who scares you to death, but is really one of the sweetest men i have ever met...mauritzio, 22 yr cutey pizza chef that hardly speaks any english (perhaps he'll give me some italian lessons?)...michele, the 40 odd french guy that is barely understandable, and bought a motorcycle he doesn't know how to ride properly yet, thus giving us all heart attacks when he sets off for home at the end of each night...vicky, claire, jeanette, charlotte, bruce and sam, a group of 14-16yr olds keep us in constant supply of clean dishes (you guys are the best!)...lorraine, the mummy of the group, who runs the bar...and julie, who saves us when people are away and keeps us entertained with her glamorous stories of her former life as a flight attendant for the rich and famous...and then there's me, the novelty that everyone seems to love...i don't know why, but they do. i keep people on their toes and sometimes do a bit of work. ha ha, actually i am really busy bartending, waitressing and entertaining the guests with my foreign accent...b/c i am from south africa, or australia, or sweden, or germany, and most often america...people seem to forget about canada...and when they remember, they ask me if i know their friends...it is a great place, but the busiest reataurant on the island and we are full from open til close every night with waits of over an hour most days.

i really, really enjoy working there and get along great with everyone, it feels like i've worked there for ages, not just a week and a bit. i'll be here until christmas living at rachel's (in her room while she's away at uni) with her wonderful parents, eileen and richard.

oooh! the big news, i got asked out on a date last night by a guy and his mates (paul was to embarassed to ask me, but i told him that if he wanted my company, he needn't be shy and ask me himself)...so tonight i am going with him to his mates wedding reception...can't go to the wedding b/c i have to work. though everyone there is so excited (perhaps more than me?) that they are going to let me off early and let me get ready...eileen is even going to make me a quick dress, as i don't have much to wear at the moment! don't worry mom, they are regulars, and he's not going to be drinking b/c he is driving. he seems really sweet, but i'll be wary and keep my dukes up in case he tries any monkey business. i'll let you know how it goes. wow, i am pretty stoked, but a little nervous...he's a nice looking guy and it's a pretty big move to ask a girl you hardly know to accompany you to your friend's wedding!

so, that's that for now, sorry for the extremely long entry, but i had to be done as i was way behind in my story-telling. don't forget email me friends~~~

i can't believe that i've not been updating this thing for nearly 2 weeks! i apologize...but i have not had an opportunity to use a computer in almost that long as well. i am going to start with the days following my last entry and work up to the present...though i am really tired, so i might not get it all down tonight! here goes nothing:

so i made it to the beach for some more tanning, but i didn't last long. i started to roast a little too rapidly and needed to head for the shower and some shade. the bus driver told me that i couldn't ride the bus, and when i got confused he pointed to the lobster in a red circle with a line through it....oh man, my butt tan line is still going strong 2 weeks later amidst rain and cold weather! friday night was basic chill time while britt and i cheesed with the hotel owner and his cute french nephew. despite the fact i had intended to hit the hay early, they managed to talk us into hitting an irish pub with them for a few drinks. it was such a laugh since they spoke mostly french and we didn't!

saturday was one for the books...i woke at 6:30am and was on my way to the station by 7 to catch a train to paris, then switching stations to get to lilles and then onto the eurostar to take a trip under the channel to london. the ride to paris was nice, i dozed off just a bit and woke up when there was a noise or a sudden movement...you all know the type of sleep i'm talking about, the one where you start to nod off during a school lecture and the teacher calls on you to answer a question...suddenly you jerk back to reality trying to get a grasp of what's going on. that was me and i giggled every time i did it b/c i was remembering good old mr McCracken back in history class, if he caught you, 250 word essay on why you love his class, or why history is your favourite subject. okay, back to my trip...in paris i was waiting for my train thinking about how funny it would be if someone tried to steal my bag, b/c it's so freakin' heavy they'd probably throw out their back trying to pick it up. just then some kid snatched a lady's purse and started to run off with it. well, i couldn't let that happen so i stuck my foot out and tripped the chump. as he was falling i said some of the nastiest french phrases i could think of and when he landed i grabbed him by the collar and told him to give the lady back her purse. i asked him if he'd taken it in order to get some money for lunch and if perhaps i could offer him a knuckle sandwich to go instead...he declined, though i think it's b/c he didn't understand my english sarcasm. security came and took him somewhere--who knows, who cares--the lady got her bag back and that's all that mattered. i caught the thief, then my train and i was off to lilles. i had nearly three hours to kill before the ride to london, but it was crappy weather so i decided to chill in the station and do some people watching.

***time out, i'm tired and need sleep. it's 1:20 am and i'm to be up by 7--ahhh! i'll write more tomorrow, until then i hope this holds you over. if you still check this that is!***

okay, i'm back at the computer, most of the keys don't work, and i'm tired....so hold on to your hats friends, you're in for a ride.

on the train from koln germany we got reservations in 1st class...how sweet is that? we got complimentary drinks and food, though we didn' take advantage of the free booze b/c we needed to be on the ball on our travel day. we arrived in paris and almost immediately my knowledge of french was put to the test since we needed subway tickets to another train station. on the train to montpellier, not only did britt and i not have seats together, we were 4 cars apart...i had some guys sitting with me, so of course when the fourth seat turned up empty i went a fetched her. they were excellent dudes, both from germany but studying international business in maastricht, netherlands. they spoke very good french, so they helped us find our hotel...but they had not booked a place and hoped there would be room where we were staying. there wasn't, so instead of having them wander all night in the rain, we decided they could have one of the big beds in our room. wednesday we all went to the beach together and got slightly burnt before returning to our place to wash the 5 tons of sand out of our ears before eating dinner. the beaches were awesome!! i forgot were were on the mediterranean, so when i jumped into the water, with my eyes open, i swallowed a whack of salt water...it tasted great! yuck. we had italian for dinner and stopped for a beer on the way home. our new friends left today for barcelona and i hope that they have a wicked time!!! you guys rock, say hi to bodo for me!!

******side note******
it's apparently customary for guys...(er, do i dare say immature men?) in europe to do any or all of the following when they see girls/women walking past them:

say "hey baby", make kissy faces, whistle, bark, meow, make awkward animal noises (whichever they deem appropriate), or just follow you and try to talk to you (when you don't respond they try every language they know!). we just walk away laughing at them...is this rude?

surprisingly, there are not that many french people speaking english and when i say i'm from canada, they assume i speak french and continue the conversation in their language. today was a lazy day spent nursing our sunburns, doing laundry, and moseying about the town. had a wee nap before eating greek for dinner. i had falafel balls, does anyone know what these are made of? i'd never eaten them before and thought they were made of some sketchy meat products, but it's chick peas...CHICK PEAS!!! i really liked them and ate too many so now i feel all falafely.

i don't like this whole keyboard fiasco that's going on here in europe, but i need to experience the culture right? ha ha. i love backpacking and reccomend it to everyone who has access to time, money...and brains. be on the ball and you'll make it just fine.a basic knowledge of languages would be helpful too!

well, i should get going because there's a huge line up for the computers. it's back to the beach tomorrow for more roasting~~~

just a quick update...i love montpellier!!! i already have a sweet tan after a few hours in the sun. the keyboards have changed yet again which makes it difficult to type fast. ahh! my time is running out...so i'm safe and sound. postcards are on the way as soon as i buy stamps. love y'all~~~

i'm so hot i think i might melt...and i'm only in germany, just wait until i wake up tomorrow in montpellier france. i'll be cookin'!

it's been awhile since i last made an entry simply b/c i have not had access to a computer long enough to blog. the last time that i wrote, i was trying to get to the jüdisches museum in berlin...i made it and it was amazing! definitely make room for it on your intinerary if you're headed for berlin. i also wandered around the city a bit more and saw multiple museums and monuments. i had a wonderful time in the city and was so happy to be able to spend time with such a great friend. katharina dropped me off at the berlin zoo station friday morning and i met up with my friend brittanee in düsseldorf, germany. i have to say that i am so happy to be travelling with her! she is such a blast, we get along great and are having so much fun. she also doesn't mind if she goes into a little bit of debt from this trip--which is cool since having a good time while in europe costs a pretty penny.

on saturday night we arrived in köln to the most amazing site i have ever seen...the köln dom (cathedral). it took over 4 centuries to build it and it is enormous! i just stared at it for about 2 hours as we waited to catch the next train to her friends house to stay the night. we people watched most of the time, drunk guys being slapped awake by laughing police officers, japanese tourists skating around in the convertible runners/blades, families re-uniting. the whole shebang. a couple of girls approached us to see if we could change some money for them and i apologized telling her that our office was closed for the evening (they gave me a funny look). we spent saturday and sunday night in hilden at this dude bodo's house, he trying to become a rockstar, but i think that in medias res has way better odds! monday afternoon we took a ferry trip up and down the rhine while we made sandwiches and gawked at the hudreds of naked male sun bathers along the far side of the river (köln is the gay capital of germany--not that there's anything wrong with that). i have never seen so many burnt bellies in my life! spent last night in köln at a super cute place called 'pension jansen'. i definitely recommend it if you're in town. i have taken up smoking since i've been here...just kidding, though i may as well have since i'm engulfed by the smoke nearly 24/7. it's really irritated my sinuses and i am now sick which sucks, but i'm not too concerned.

so now britt and i are just waiting to catch our train to paris and then to montpellier...we're arriving late, about 11pm! but thankfully the place we're staying is right by the station. (mom, don't worry!) i can't wait to lay by the mediterranean (sp?) and soak up the sun! i'll try to write some post-cards between sun and sleep. i hope that the ones i've sent already arrived safe and sound. so keep those emails coming and i'll keep pumping out the half-funny stories~~~

so i stilll haven't left for the museum yet! i went next door to antonia's to do some laundry and got stuck staring at the machine. it's one of those front loading ones...it's a novelty since we don't really have this type of washer in north america. i found myself hypnotized by the cycle, seeing the water fill up and then spin like crazy. however, somehow i don't think that these machines are as efficient as the top loaders b/c your clothes just seem to get all bunged up into little balls. it's not as much of a party for the clothes. the top loaders are like little night clubs...it's dark, lots of bubbles, they're dancing around, meeting each other, the socks start to plan their escape to join a puppet show. what the heck am i typing? who thinks of this sort of stuff?!? i need to get some air. okay, i'm going to get my laundry and get the rock out of here.

hope you got a laugh out of this blog, b/c now that i'm re-reading this i sure am~~~

oh man, i just typed a whack of info and the the computer went crazy and i lost it! i'll do my best to recount my tales, though i'm sure they won't be as good the second time around.

i have been pretty lazy the past few days, perhaps it's the dreary weather that's persuading me to sleep in? tonight will probably be my last night in berlin as i am hoping to head to bonn and düsseldorf for the weekend. i'm going to be meeting up with my popstar friend britt to do some running around in germany and then on to spain. there is a huge concert on the central coast, south of barcelona, which we are dying to go to , and so we shall. who wouldn't drop everything to go and see radiohead, chemical brothers, the cure, beta band, supergrass (and 100's of other bands and dj's) in one of southern europe's hottest countries??? maybe my friend christie...regardless, i am totally stoked! after spain i am hoping to meet up with my hilarious uncle tom and aunt issy. they are so great and i am really looking forward to seeing them again! after that i'll hit the isle of man for a few weeks before heading up to edinburgh for my cousin lynsay's wedding...can't wait to see her too!

okay, i need to get going. emails, emails, emails...send them, send them, send them! i miss all of you so much!

love rego~~~

hey, have any of you guys ever heard of a band called nickelback from vancouver? i haven't...yeah right, i am so sick of them. they are on the radio every 30minutes over here. it's ridiculous...plus all the bars seem to own a copy of their silver side up album, as well as enrique iglesias' escape. ahhh!

time to head out on the berlin underground. why it's called this i have no idea b/c all the tracks seem to be above ground. the logic over here is quite interesting. ta ta~~~

guten tatad.

i am having such a züper-düper time in the land of triple-ply toilet paper!!!

it's now monday, i have been in berlin for 3 days and boy have they been fully loaded! alexa and i arrived friday night and kat picked us up at the station named, above all things, ZOO ostbahnof! wicked! chilled out over some yummy food and drink. katharina and i stayed up so late talking, laughing, and practicing each others language. speaking german is so cool though i am the farthest from fluent, i am beginning to understand it a lot more. berlin is a very intersting city and i am so glad that i came here, there is so much history! saturday we went to schloss (castle) charlottenburg, an old castle in the centre of berlin. it was so amazing. we also walked through the grounds which were so gigantic...imagine having a backyard nearly as big as richmond!! we were starving by the time we got home, but ate quickly to prepare for our evening on the town. went to the hausbar for some intersting drinks and i had another chance to practice my german with some of kat's friends. of course the boys were only interested in teaching me the bad words and insults...it was fun none the less. afterwards we went to the sage club, which is by far the BIGGEST club i have ever set foot in! 2 floors, six rooms, an outside patio, and get ready for this....a POOL!!! it was absolutely nuts! we danced all night and when we emerged, it was almost 7am and the sun was up. i could hardly see anything. slept for 3 hours and then we were up and out agin, this time to potsdam (town just outside berlin) with antonia (kat's sister) to see the schloss sanssoussci, other palaces, their gardens, and roman baths. this is the most beautiful place i have ever been. the neue palais (new palace) was built in the early 1700's and it's enormous! we had to wear slippers over our shoes, which were slipping on the marble floors, so the four of us decided to be silly and skate/slide our way around the palace. the rooms were indescribably fascinating. one of the halls was decorated completely with shells and precious stones. sea serpents on the ceilings and stalagmites on the walls. unreal. i like the sights and the history more than the shopping and reading books.

today i went around berlin with antonia, we had lots of fun despite the rain pouring down on us (side note, my name means rain in german, so when i tell people i'm regan flowers, they just start laughing b/c they think i'm joking around). i saw some of the remnants of the berlin wall, scraped right through in places so that families that had been separated could see each other. we did some shoppping as well, but not too much. i tried curry-wurst, which berlin is famous for. so yes, i'm back on the meat wagon (no beef!), i just wasn't getting enough protein. i think that both my mom and steve will be happy to hear this.

i must go as kat and i are about to eat and go out for a bit. i hope that you are all doing as well as me~~~

p.s. alexa and i have parted ways as she left for münchen (munich) last night. i decided it would be best for us, since we don't view travelling the same way. it's a long story, with a whole lot of patience on my part. the separation was pretty much amicable and we will see each other again when we are back home. i wish her the best on the rest of her trip and hope that she has lots of fun and stays safe~~~

yo yo yo! i am just about to leave amsterdam for berlin, but i had some funny stories to enter that couldn't wait...well, i thought they were funny.

on wednesdays afternoon, post major frustration, alexa and my new friend megan decided to roam around the city in search of little treasures. there was shop after shop with colour tinted shades, wigs, band-aids(?) and beanies (as well as the standard amsterdam paraphernalia). we got hungry, so we ate. i had a wacky sandwich with pickles, tomato, cucumber, pineapple with cheese, and surprisingly it was yummy! we jammed back to the hostel and chilled for a bit before dashing off to another crazy part of the city to see a jazz band. during their intermission we wandered into the square to watch the performers...the first was some guy with a half shaved head, his performance was nothing spectacular. the second was two guys dressed in black who had candles all around them, and they were fire dancers. it was really cool to watch, but i began to wonder how they decided "'i think i want to become a fire dancer, this is what i want to do for a living". i asked them if they went to fire dancing school, if their dentist knows that they put lighter fliud in their mouth, and if they could give me the nama of the place they bought their equipment. now, here's the kicker, we were watching the next performer set up, while talking to the fire dudes, and he was a sixty-ish year old man in brown trousers and a knit sweater. just a cute little mr. roger's type man....but no! once he was all set up and had completed his stetches, he removed his sweater to reveal an amazing pupper body. i yelled out ''hey, you're batman!'''. then i shut up when he pulled down his pants and was wearing nothing but a strapless sequined thong. i couldn't believe it! he started climbing his rope and doing acrobatics...it was so crazy!!! we bolted when he started walking over to us still in the same attire, so i can't tell you much more about that.

yeserday i went with megan and alexa to the van gogh museum and luckily i didn't notset off any alarms. then i went off on my own on my little dutch bike to cruise the streets. i was like kramer on his bike in new york, swerving from side to side, ringing the bell, nearly missing pedestirans. it was great to be causing such a zoo! next i went to the anne frank museum--totally unbelievable! it was the actual house where she and her family hid during the holocaust.

well, i gotta go, hopefully i didn't bore you too much! gotta catch that train to germany~~~

greetings from amsterdam! this is a brief entry b/c i only have 8 minutes left on the computer!!! brussels was awesome, though my time there was too short! on the train ride to holland, some girl spilled her juice all over me! but that's cool, b/c i was just thinking about how i wanted to be a sticky and reek of some wacky juice flavour. i also met some really cute somalian kids and spoke french with them most of the trip. arrived yesterday afternoon to beautiful sunshine and nice breezes. went to the red light district last night...boy was it interesting! it was very sad to see all the girls that have hit rock bottom so hard they have turned to this icky business. the hostel that i'm staying at is great and i've met some lithuanian brothers that are so hilarious! tomorrow i am supposed to be heading to berlin to see katharina, but perhaps i will stay on more night here. there are still lots of places and museums i'd like to see, but my travel mate isn't interested which sucks. please send emails!! i miss you all lots and would love to hear from you. especially my parents and my chump brother...hopefully next time my stories will be more interesting and perhaps a bit funnier~~~

the past few days have been an absolute zoo! i finally managed to meet up with ben after another struggle with my stupid bags (this time trying to get them stuffed into a cab, who's driver ended up being off duty stopping traffic, horns blaring from the impatient drivers behind him, but he drove me anyway b/c he felt so sorry for me!) we got back to ben's flat and i had my anticipated shower...then we headed out to buckinghamshire (pretty fancy name, eh?) to his mates' place to party it up. had a wicked night, at the end of which, the guys managed to toss me into a skip (dumpster) full of drywall. i ended up sleeping most of the next day, though walking every few minutes thinking my alarm was going off, when really it was the pedestrian crossing warning outside. then we went driving around acting silly. got back into london with benny about half 7, at which time i began to unpack yet again, as to re-organize for my european tour 2002.

...and so my life returns to life on the right side of the road...i'm hanging out with the jean claude van damme, you know, the muscles from brussels? no no no, actually i met up with alexa today and we caught the train here...i went in the chunnel (the underwater train from england to france)! i was so scared i thought water might start rushing in, i made it out fine, though i did feel a little dizzy from holding my breath for so long. now here we are after a slight panick attack on alexa's part b/c she couldn't get in touch with her friends parents. she was visualizing us sleeping on the streets or something since we'd been told that all the hostels were full. i called jorge at the jacques brel hostel and told him what was up and begged him to get us a room, and after an argument with his boss, he did...then we ended up getting picked up by our original hosts, so poor jorge is still sitting at his desk waiting for us to arrive. so i'm safe, sober and sleepy...tomorrow we go to bruges and then it's look out amsterdam on tuesday afternoon/evening.

uhhh, yup...that's me for now. hope to hear from you soon...oh and i'd like to apologize to ash for not opting for one of his plethora of entries to win the rights to name my site. maybe you'll make the cut for my australian tour 2003~~~

and so life begins on the other side of the road. i made it to london in one piece! after leaving vancouver at 9am and waiting in ottawa for 6 hours for my departure, i was anxious to get going! but such was not the case, our flight was delayed for nearly 3 hours! i got to know the airport staff really well. i made a new friend, nicki, from sweden and now i have someone to visit there. we didn't end up leaving until almost 1am ontario time and arrived in london @ 12:15pm! i had the worst time with my bags...picture me: a foreigner, half asleep, not knowing where i'm going, trying to get 2 HUGE bags up and down nearly 30 flights of stairs to get to and from the tube stations! my friend ben was going to pick me up on his lunch break, but since i was late, he couldn't swing it. but he is going to meet me around 5 to take me back to his flat, as he has graciously offered to let me stay with him for the night. on top of that, he said i could leave my bigger bag at his for the time that i am in europe! yay! i can't wait to see him!

other than the day i got the cast taken of my leg, i don't think i've ever been so excited to take a shower...until next time~~~

i'm still tired, but i am on my way!!! i am in the ottawa airport and have been for nearly 6 hours!! my flight to london doesn't leave for about another hour. i am SO excited!! i found this internet thingy here at the terminal and it's pretty sweet, except the keys are kinda funny so i can't type that fast. i think they did it on purpose so you end up needing to pay more money to finish writing your emails etc. i hope everyone is doing well and not missing me too much yet! this is ridiculous, i've already put over 2 bucks in and i only have one minute left....i guess i should get going and email this website to y'all, be sure to email me and keep me up to speed on life back home...peace out

it's the eve of my departure and i'm way beyond tired. i'll update you when i arrive in london~~~