i'm really bad at keeping promises

So I know I said I'd write more frequently, that was an epic fail. Sorry, I do apologize for taking so long to write again. I'm really going to work on that :)So we go way back to October 13...

Tuesday 13 October
I had my lovely two classes for the day, I did some homework, and then my flatmate Britta (the German) made pizza. Let me tell you this wasn't really pizza. It tasted really good, but it involved tuna and corn, which you usually don't find on pizzas. Then I went out with the volleyball team for an informal social. We went to Dusk, saw some really drunk people.

Wednesday 14 October
I slept a lot this day. I have no classes, so why not? I shopped for a bit, but I can't remember if I bought anything, I'm thinking no if I can't remember lol. I know I did look at perfume with Katie though. She bought one and I found my new favorite: iDole d Armani... AMAZING! I did some more homework for my tutorial for the next day and then went to volleyball practice. It was a crappy practice though.. the coach didn't really set it up very well.

Thursday 15 October
I had my tutorial and then had volleyball practice. I particularly like Thursday practices because they are short and non of the beginners come. I hope that doesn't sound mean... it's just easier to play when everyone is on the same level. I then went on an adventure to Chris and Graeme's. I was supposed to pay Chris some money for the football game for that coming Saturday. So Katie and I went down to their flat for the time we said we'd be there and of course, being boys they weren't there. Now the logical thing would have been for me to stay there and wait for them to get back, but I was hungry and couldn't be bothered. So as we are walking back up to Cottrell (an academic building, not sure if I spelled it right though :P) I got a text message saying they were back. So I began to walk back to their flat when I get a text that says "Can you get us some washing up liquid?" Immediately I thought to myself what the hell is washing up liquid. But I was already on my way back down to their flat so I said no. When I got there they were quite upset that I didn't pick any up. I then found out that washing up liquid is really dish soap. Doesn't dish soap make far more sense? So me being the nice person went and got them some.

Friday 16 October
Went to my 3 lectures then went to Glasgow with my flatmates: Katie, Britta, Stephanie, and Maria (we now call her Fernanda). We went to go see West Side Story. We were a little early for the show so we decided to go sit at a pub. We sat at Bar Buddha. Such a cool name. The show wasn't the best, it was probably about as good as a high school performance. After the show Katie and I took a train to Edinburgh where Chris picked us up. We sort of had issues with the train, we were in a hurry and it could have happened to anyone. We arrived safely and on time so no harm done :P We will never tell anyone what we stupidly did lol...

Saturday 17 October
Chris took us to see the Edinburgh Castle. No words can describe it. It is absolutely gorgeous. It was a bit cold but we seemed to enjoy ourselves. Then we saw the Parliament buildig and the Queen's Palace. We just saw it from the gate but it looked gorgeous from the outside. After all the sightseeing we went to a pub where we met up with a few of Chris's friends before the football game. I watched some guys play pool and let me tell ya, they were amazing, or maybe I'm just that bad?

*A little side note, as I'm writing this, is is 5:19PM and completely pitch black outside... a little sad since it will only get worse.

The football game was crazy. The Hibs (Hibernian) won so all is good in life. Katie and I then caught a train back to Stirling. Later that night, Fernanda knew some guys that were at a party and Katie, Britta, and I decided to go with. It was in a town over (Bridge of Allen). The party was interesting, more of a chilled atmosphere than a real party. Katie and I decided to walk back earlier than the rest. Now if we were smart we would have called a taxi. But, instead we decided to walk back, wearing heels. Remember, it was further than 2 miles. Needless to say halfway through the trip we were saying ow every other word. It took us about an hour and a half to get back, or maybe even longer.

Sunday 18 October
I had a volleyball game in Glasgow and the University of StraethClyde ( I have know idea if I spelled that right) We played really well. I started setting... we play a six two, so I set in the front row and then I defend in the back. My serving didn't go so well that day though, I think I was thinking about it too much. We won the first two games pretty easily but then lost the third. During the fourth game they called it quits because their Sports Union was closing. So we won by default but we would have won anyway. It felt really good to play an actual competitive game. After the game we went to a Sports bar for dinner. They had american football on, but not he Packers. I was quite disappointed. When we got back I met up with a girl from my Religion class and we worked on our presentation.

Monday 19 October (DAD's birthday! and I didn't forget it don't worry.. I even got him a gift)
I had class and worked some more on my presentation. Then I had more class and then volleyball practice and then worked more on my presentation. It was a very long day but we finished it.

Tuesday 20 October
We gave our presentation. It didn't go too bad, I was really nervous though. We finally had another volleyball social. We went bowling. I bowled with all guys, just my luck since usually I am a horrible bowler. I did surprisingly well the first game though. I took 2nd out of the 5 of us. Felt good about that :P The first game I bowled a 126. The second game didn't go so well though, I bowled a 98. It was still a lot of fun. Then we went out to the Corn Exchange for a bit before they all went to Dusk. I didn't go to Dusk this time.

Wednesday 21 October
I decided that I was in dire need of a hair cut, so Katie and I decided to go on an adventure and get our hair cut. It was an interesting experience. I got a small massage out of it. And I also had a guy hairdresser which I've never had before. Then after I had volleyball and did some homework.

Thursday 22 October
I had class then I had volleyball practice. I made quesadillas for Chris and Katie for dinner. They turned out quite good, except for the fact that I wasn't very good at flipping them. I need a little practice with that one. I watched part of Braveheart with Chris but then I had a volleyball picture, which took longer waiting for the bus than it did to take the actual picture. We are now published though in the Scottish Volleyball something or other. I think I added a URL link to the page but not sure if it'll work.

Friday 23 October
First time I deliberately skipped a class in my life. I went to the first two classes and then left to go to Edinburgh with Chris, so I decided to skip my Religion class. I'm sure I didn't miss much. First we stopped at his partents house for him to drop off his laundry, Mom I wish you still did my laundry lol.. It would be so nice. :P I met his sister as well. She seemed really nice. Then we went to his aunt's house. She has two adorable identical twin girls. So cute! I think they are two. We went to his gran's then. She's a sweetheart. I love all grandparents, they're always so nice and make you feel at home. Then we picked up his friend Euan from his parents house. I got some pointers from Euan's dad about Italy, he's a funny guy. We drove into Edinburgh and went to the pub that is literally next door to Euan and Steven's flat. I got a talking to about the game the next day, about Glasgow and how I should be warned lol.. (They're not huge fans of Glasgow) We left the pub and went to see this amazing bridge. I can't even describe how gorgeous it is. I can't remember the name of the town it is in, it's just outside of Edinburgh. I kick myself everytime I think about the bridge because I didn't bring my camera. But the bridge connected that part of town to Fife. It was soooo awesome! I need to go back so I can show you all a picture of it, it was that gorgeous! Then we got some food, it was called a munchie box. Apparently everyone needs to have one when they are over here. And then I got to enjoy some WWE.. such entertainment lol...

Saturday 24 October
We picked up Graeme and John and took a bus into Edinburgh. Then we met up with Steven and caught the train to Glasgow. Apparently I missed some pretty funny antics on the train as I was sitting listening to my iPod minding my own business. LOL We then went to a pub in Glasgow and met up with Katie and Fernanda. We went to the Rangers/Hibs game. It was a lot of fun. When we scored I thought I was literally going to be squashed. People went insane and arms were flying everywhere, I'm surprised I wasn't hit in the face. The game ended up in a draw, which everyone then was happy. Graeme is a Rangers fan and made Katie and Fernanda sit with him on that awful side. Oh, I almost forgot. Apparently football teams in Scotland have their own gang. And their is gang violence and such. The Hibs gang has a name but I can't remember the name of it right now, something like the Capital City something.. Craziness! It was such an intense game that after the game they wouldn't let any of the Hibs fans leave until all of the Rangers fans were out of the stadium. After the game we took the train back to Edinburgh to Euan and Steven's flat. We got ready for the Forth One event at Ocean Terminal??(which is a mall) Forth One is a local radio station and they had different djs throughout the night. I think mom would have loved it, they played her favorite song "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas at least 3 times. The whole night was soooo amazing. It was a lot of fun and really cool. It was probably the best night I've had here.

Sunday 25 October
We didn't sleep, we got back to Euan and Steven's from the Forth One event, changed... and then Katie, Fernanda, and I got a taxi to the airport. Our flight was at 6AM. And we had Daylight Savings time. The flight to Rome was horrible. It was freezing and the seats on RyanAir flights do not move back at all. So I couldn't sleep at all :( We got into Rome at 10 something. We went and checked in to the Casa Olmata. It was a little hard to find the hostel since there was no sign, just a small door on a little side street, yes a little shady. We were four flights up, I counted.. 78 stairs. The room wasnt bad, but the bathroom was disgusting. There was standing water in the cramped little bathroom. I never felt clean after I showered. We took a nap, a well needed nap and then wandered around for awhile. We ate supper on the rooftop of the hostel, different kinds of pasta. Then we went for desert at a little ristorante down the street and then went to an Irish pub which was a few doors down from our hostel. It was called the Fiddlers Elbows.

Monday 26 October
We went to the Coloseum where I got 'fake' stabbed many times by the people dressed up. We wandered around the Ancient City. All of which is gorgeous! That night we went to the Trevi fountain which is also gorgeous. Pictures can't even show all the pretty sights we saw the whole week. We also saw the Pantheon that night as well. Then we went to get ice cream.. gelatto (sp?) and we were hit on by an old Italian man that worked at the place we got ice cream from. He was infatuated by my red toenails.. who knows, crazy man.

Tuesday 27 October
We went to the Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica is gorgeous! It was so weird being there, when you see it in pictures all the time. We then went to a museum to see the Sistine Chapel. The whole museum was really cool, but really all we wanted to see was the Sistine Chapel and it was at the very end. It was a maze and it took forever to get out! Kind of funny actually. I think Rome is home to the most stairs a person has to walk. Later that night we decided to check out a Scottish pub in Italy.. yeah not as good, but we played Uno Spin. It was fun, except that Katie won both times :P (cheater! lol)

Wednesday 28 October
We had an early flight to Venice. When we got in to get our baggage Katie noticed she didn't have her passport. But we eventually found it in the airport's lost and found, we think she dropped it out of her folder (the folder of death) when we were getting off the plane. The hostel we stayed at (Villa Dori) was really nice, it was more like a hotel. The only bad thing about the hostel was that it was about 40 minutes from Venezia, which is where the canal streets are. We looked at all the different shops, so cool. It would be great shopping! We ate a really nice meal, 4 course meal lol. And had some tiramisu for dessert. We then went to a pub and had cocktails. The streets of Venice are really hard to navigate. Sometimes they are dead ends and other times you can't cross because there's no bridge. I accidently led us down a creepy alley way.. but we quickly turned around and ran back.. kind of funny though. I then realized I lost my water bus ticket, which was expensive. So the good Christian I am, just made sure they never looked for my ticket when I got on and off the waterbus. I did pay for one, so I wasn't stealing, I just didn't have it anymore to prove that I bought one. Ooops..

Thursday 29 October
We went to the different islands surrounding Venice. They were soo pretty, but it took a long time to get to them on the water buses. We walked around the islands. It was weird seeing places that people lived in.. it just didn't seem really safe living to me, and also how do you get around, it must be a pain. We saw a guy create a horses out of glass. We went to a glass blowing museum. It was also weird being surrounded by people who didn't speak English. Never happened to me before. Usually the majority of people speak English. Our flight that night was at 10:30PM. So late and I was so tired. The pressure was really bad too, my ears hurt really bad on the descent. It took us a while to find our hostel in Barcelona. But we did find it at 1:30 in the morning.

Friday 30 October
We went to the Picasso museum. We went down by LaRambla which is a big tourist area. We also went to Museu de l' Erotica, very interesting. We then went to the Catedral de Barcelona. Very gorgeous but by this time, I had such a bad throat (since Wednesday) that I could barely swallow and barely eat. I felt like crappy so I didn't enjoy the cathedral very much. I called my mom and she told me to go to the hospital. So.. guess where we were Friday night, yup at the ER in Barcelona at Hospital del Mar. I sat in the waiting room for 2 and a half hours while my throat was killing me. I had a swollen gland/lymph node half the size of a golf ball. When I went in to see the doctor she didn't really speak English so that was cool :S It wasnt that bad though. I ended up being diagnosed with strep throat. I couldn't get my prescription though until the next day because it was 12:30 in the morning by the time I got out of there.

Saturday 31 October
We went to the Chocolate museum!! That was very cool. Only I wish we were little kids so we could have gotten a cool tour on how they make the chocolate. Too bad we weren't 10. Then we went to Petit Palau which was a gorgeous building that was made a lot of glass but was actually where they hold concerts. No plays or anything like that just singing and musical instruments. The sound in there is amazing. Then we went to a Sports Bar for dinner. We watched the Barcelona football game. All was good. We went upstairs to use their internet. Still, all was good. We walked home, it was a long walk and we got a little lost. Here comes the bad news. We got back into the hostel and guess what, I have no wallet and no phone. Somewhere along the way I believe I got pickpocketed. No idea how. Pretty much my own stupidity but still baffled by it. It is probably the most frustrating and aggravating thing that has ever happened to me. So I called home and had mom and dad cancel my credit and debit card. My wallet had my credit card, debit card, driver's license, St. Norbert student ID card, Stirling Uni student ID card, Health insurance cards, blood donor cards, 40 euros in cash. Ahhh.. just sucks basically.

Sunday 1 Nov
11AM we went to the police station to fill out a report. I've never been called a victim before.. weird feeling. We ran into a British guy who was there for his job. He had check out of his hotel and was waiting for a taxi or something when a guy ran and stole his backpack. He lost 7000 euros worth of stuff. His laptop, camcorder, camera, money, passport, driver's license etc. So then I didn't feel quite so bad. After the police station we walked around and saw some beautiful flower gardens. We also had a weird encounter there, which I will not go into detail about. I think Katie is scarred for life lol.. Then we went to the Segrada Family church/cathedral. It has taken 80 years to build and they still aren't finished, I believe they won't be finished until 2030. It wasn't all that impressive either. I wasn't a huge fan. We went to La Rita for dinner that night. So good, not too expensive and the food and service was great. After we went down to the beach (la playa, there's my high school spanish at work lol) and we went into IceBarcelona. It was a bar made completely out of ice. The temperature was -12 degrees Celsius which is 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to wear big poofy jackets and gloves. It was really cool though. Then we got too cold and went into a club, we didn't realize this at the time that you get in free but need to consume 10 euros worth of drinks, we were literally there for 10 minutes and the bouncer wouldn't let us out. But eventually we found a guy to let us out. Then we walked on the beach at night, it was really pretty.

Monday 2 November (mom's birthday!!)
We checked out of our hostel and went to go have breakfast/lunch. Then we went down to the beach. I love the beach, except the water was really cold. Then we had about 8 hours worth of traveling to do. It took us about an hour and a half to get from Barcelona to the airport. Then we had to wait in the airport and our flight was delayed by half an hour. Then we got into Glasgow. We had to take a train from the airport to the central station which was about a half an hour ride. Then we had to walk to the Queen street station to catch a train to Stirling. Which was another 30-40 minute ride. But then we got back and all was good. :O)

*Quick question.. How many of you celebrate St. Nick? December 5 or 6 (I can never remember which night it is) he comes and leaves stuff in your stocking. Katie had never heard of that until I brought it up.

*I keep hearing that my name is very Scottish.. both first and last.. even though we have no Scottish heritage...

*Sausage pizza from Dominoes is sausage cut up in slices, not sausage like we are used to.

NEW WORDS:
*washing up liquid - dish soap
*heather - evergreen branching shrub with purple or mauve flowers, which I have yet to see :(
*boak - sick
*catch - bye
*tidy - someone or situation that is pleasing
*pinch/nip - pinch is for "pinch me, am I dreaming?" and when someone actually pinches you it's called a nip
*windscreen - windshield... this one completely baffles me.. a screen is used for air to get through and to keep bugs out.. hmmm...
*aquaplaning - hydroplaning

Word from my Scottish Dictionary: byre - a shed or stable where cows are kept