Sunday, June 11, 2006

In England!

Well, we made it. I'm in Stratford right now sitting in a Starbucks with Liz, paying for an hour of internet time. I kind of hate myself for sitting in Starbucks right now, but it's a Sunday night and this little town shuts down on Sunday evenings so there's really nowhere else to go anyway. Plus we ate at a Whetherspoons for dinner and you can't do that in the U.S., so I'm not totally being lame. I try to make a point of doing things you can't do in America when I'm abroad, but sometimes you just can't help it.

Anyway, our journey was long, long, LONG. I spent the night with Matthew on Friday night, didn't sleep at all, got on the plane to Toronto at 6:30 in the morning, got to Toronto at 10:30, and sat at the airport for HOURS. We had talked about maybe going into the city and doing something, but logistically it just would have been hard to do. We had bags with us, we weren't sure where to go even if we had left the airport, none of us had Canadian dollars and didn't really feel like exchanging money for just the afternoon. So we explored the airport. Thoroughly. Very exciting, let me tell you.

The airplane rides were both good. The plane from Houston to Toronto was awesome. Each person had their own TV screen on the back of the chair in front of them and could select from like, 18 movies, make playlists from all the airline radio stations, watch dozens of TV shows...I've never been on a plane with a selection like that before. So what did I watch? Eight Below. Yes, the dog sled movie. I thought it would be cute. And it was either that or Annie Hall, and it was way too early in the morning for Woody Allen. And it was cute. And then of course a couple of the dogs died, and there was this reunion at the end and I got all emotional thinking not of Cohen but of stupid Morty! The dogs reminded me of Morty and then I thought about him freezing in the snow and I cried on the airplane. I. Am. A. Loser. Thank God I had the whole row to myself and nobody could witness me crying over a Disney dog sled movie. After that I made a playlist that consisted of nothing but the same Panic! At the Disco song and some Madonna over and over and over again until we landed. Ha.

The flight from London to Toronto was seven hours long. Since by that point it was nighttime again I actually managed to sleep most of the flight. Given, it was a really short night since we were flying east and I probably only slept 4 or 5 hours of the flight. So basically what I'm saying is it's 5:30 on Sunday evening right now and 11:30 AM Texas time. And the last time I slept a full night was Thursday night. I did take a nap when we got to Stratford this afternoon, too, but damn, I'm going to sleep good tonight.

Anyway, I don't have much exciting to report yet. Our bed and breakfast seems fine. Liz, Amanda and I are sharing a good-sized room and it's cute. The only problem is that it's basically the attic of the building and there is no AC so it's freakin' hot in there even with the windows open. I'm hoping that the fact that it's almost 90 degrees here right now is just a fluke and we'll be getting some real England-y weather soon. I was prepared for chilly weather, I was not prepared for 90 degree heat.

Alright. Liz and I are sharing internet time so I'm gonna hand my computer over to her. I'm hoping to find a free internet connection at some point in the next couple of days 'cause I refuse to sit in Starbucks and do this more than once or twice during the whole trip.

So yes. I'm here, I'm safe, and so far all is well. I'll talk to you all again within the next few days I'm sure. Love to you all!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

All of the boys are doing fine. Jose has adjusted well and by that I mean he's not walking around all angry and hissing. He pretty much blobs on my kitchen table all day (at least that's where he's spent these past two). He did come into the bedroom last night and blobbed on the dresser which was a surprise for both Morty and I this morning. He hisses at Morty whenever he comes near and has tried to attack him twice, once getting Ced instead (Ced than went under the kitchen table and looked pathetically sad). The second time was funny because he jumped from my kitchen counter where I keep my toaster to the kitchen table claws bared and hissing as Morty ran in from outside to the family room. He slid on the table-cloth and it was very ninja like. Cohen is being a little punky but not bad. He's not very barky which is good, except today when he barked at me to take a nap with him which I did. He sucks at walks though. Yesterday he flat-basset after half a block. He did better on our second walk though. About the worst thing these two do is alligator wrestle in the morning and I can't keep them apart so I end up getting up but it's not bad. Right now they are out baking with Roscoe. I'll take some pictures/videos soon and I'll let you know when I post those.

*A* said...

Awwww, I miss my punk boys! Tell Jose I said to be nice. There's a cat at our B&B here that reminds me of a mix of him and Ced-looks just like Jose but he's about Ced's size. He's cute. Kiss them both for me!

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, when we were in Stratford on the Orchestra trip in high school, I stayed in a b&b attic too! Craziness! Like you said, uber cute but hot and the stairs got progressively narrower as you went up so no fun with luggage. Anywho, hope you are having a great time,

Anonymous said...

Hi Ash--didn't even see this entry until tonight--sorry! Can't believe you didn't watch Annie Hall on the plane--it's never too early for Woody Allen! And yes, crying at a Disney dog sled movie--you.are.a. loser. Not really, I just liked putting a period after every word! Fun! I am managing to survive with your brother home for the summer, but, man, is he ever cramping my style! No, boys are fun--sometimes. Hope you're having fun and learning a lot--sounds like Chelsea's having fun,huh? Love you, Mom