alive & well

We did in fact arrive in England more or less on time, and we are well (some sunburn aside).

Evidently public libraries are the places to get Internet access, but we only figured this out a day or two ago. But here we are!

Since we only have a few minutes for free on the computer, I'll just stick to the highlights:

Manchester is gritty, gritty, gritty. Not super pedestrian-friendly, though now that I think of it so far everywhere we've gone people have been driving like maniacs. Had some good food and some not so good food in MAN. Friend P. picked us up from the airport, showed us around, nice time had but wouldn't recommend MAN to the masses. Lyme Park nearby, however, is definitely a must-see.

Then there was Prestatyn and Rhyl. Oh. My. God. Miles of arcades and kiddie rides and tacky. Nice walk by the ocean between though.

We're in Conwy now, which is PERFECT. Exactly what I imagined our trip to be: quaint, picturesque, lots of nice walks, history to see, beautiful rolling hills on one side and the ocean on the other. Lovely scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream yesterday helped too.

Walked to Llandudno, which is where we're using the library. When we started out this morning it was raining lightly and looked cloudy for miles, but about halfway around the estuary the sun came out and burned my face. Again. Only on the days when I'm not wearing sunscreen, of course. Boo.

But to sum up, we're now having a brilliant time and loving it...though based on our energy levels after two days of walking we are worried about our ability to walk the Cumbria Way without collapsing from exhaustion at the end of each day.

More when I can. Pictures will be posted when we get back to the States.

Next Up: England & Wales

The last time I went to England was two autumns ago. I went to Nottingham to visit my friend Sam. The immigration officer who gave me the third degree as I came into the country was quite rude (as usual); 2 tall mochas at Starbucks cost $10; the Robin Hood exhibit at Nottingham castle was disappointing in the extreme as it was based on a new TV show airing in England at the time; I attended a real English pub quiz (at a church) and multiple people of various ages let me video them saying "she's a ho, fo' sho'" in their English accents; and I generally had a fantastic time bumming around.

The time before that my mother and I spent two weeks on what I called "The English Major's Geek Tour." The trip was a present when I graduated from LC with a B.A. in English. We started in London and drove in a big circle, hitting things like Jane Austen's grave, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, a few parts of the Lake District, Edinburgh, York. On that trip Mom and I discovered that we travel remarkably well together...except when driving is involved.

This trip there will be no driving, just a lot of walking, some train-riding, and perhaps even a little busing and ferrying. We intend to spend about 8 days, with no schedule or reservations, meandering along the north coast of Wales (bore da!) and then another 8 days (with schedule and reservations) hiking the Cumbria Way, from Ulverston to Carlisle. I am very much looking forward to coming back with a new body. =*)

trip to Montreal, part 2

Montreal looks just like Paris! Oh wait, that is Paris. Oh yes, I remember now.

Only ever got as far as Seattle. When I got there, the plane that was supposed to take us to Washington/Dulles, and its crew, were...guess where! That's right: San Francisco. Awesome.

Got them to send me back to Portland on the 11pm Horizon flight (which the United person had to fight for because U.S. Airways doesn't have a relationship with Horizon & they didn't want to do it even though I'd sunk a sh*tload of money into this stupid ticket) and went home to bed.

Next day, slept in until 12:30pm (woohoo!) and later drove down to my mom's house for the weekend. Got to see much of the family for lunch on Sunday, spent the rest of the weekend lying around, watching TV, looking on the Internet for houses with Mom. Lovely!

Yes, I could've spent the whole weekend moping and making myself unhappy about my aborted trip, but I would rather enjoy myself. So I did.

trip to Montreal, part 1

Am taking my first trip abroad since I got back from Madrid last July. Is good to be back in the saddle!

My trip to Montreal has begun with a delayed flight and then a rerouting altogether. Was supposed to leave PDX at 6:27pm tonight on my first of three flights (even left work early to be sure to be here in plenty of time), but the bad weather there has delayed all flight in & out of SFO indefinitely. Poop. Now am scheduled to leave at 8:45pm for Seattle.

If everything goes according to (the new) plan, I will arrive in Montreal not much more than an hour later than originally planned, so will still have two full days there.

All day I've been experiencing mild anxiety for some unknown reason. When I finally examined this tonight, over a beer at the airport, I decided it was not because I am doomed to die (as my paranoia would have me believe), but because I am stepping out of my comfort zone for the first time in over nine months. I change depending on my environment, and because I have never been to Montreal before, I don't know who I'll be when I get there. Is thrilling and frightening at the same time.

And then there is always the risk of mechanical failure. But worrying will not change what is to be. And if science is to be believed, the fact that I've flown many times without dying suggests that I will again not die this time. Comforting, no? =*)

So I will sit here drinking my overpriced bottled water and munching on my overpriced King Sized Twix for the next hour or so, until they decide it's time to board.

Bon Voyage!

update

Here's the news in brief:

Am temping at a law firm downtown, where I basically bet paid to write and read all day. Excellent.

Current writing projects include: (1) a non-fiction book about my experiences teaching in Madrid, (2) a series of feature articles about being a late 20's single female in the contemporary dating market, (3) a series of feature articles about people in professions that are largely dominated by the opposite gender (e.g. female auto mechanics, male nurses, etc.), (4) The Lilly Frank trilogy.

Most recent book(s) I've read: all four Stephanie Meyer vampire novels from the Twilight series.

Plan to go to Italy in January or March for one month to take an Italian class and work on the novel.

Plan to go to Germany next October for one month to take a German class and work on the novel.

Plan to go to China in 2010 to teach for a semester at a Chinese university, to learn some Chinese, and to work on the novel.

Have just started a new blog to act as a central hub for my creative pursuits. If interested, you can find it at http://sioneaeschliman.blogspot.com