Down time

Today wasn’t much of productive day. I have a terrible sore throat still today and Brandon seems to have come down with something too. But, we powered through and got a little bit done. We sat down with a representative at a letting agency to see if they could find us a flat. Only thing is, there are a lot of extra charges involved when you use one of those agencies. There will be a 270 pound fee to do a credit check. And mandatory insurance fees and an extra 100 pounds on top of our first month’s rent and damage deposit. Plus, they only had 14 properties to show us on the computer and all but one was over our budget. We walked away feeling rather discouraged. We have an appointment on Friday to see one of their flats, but Brandon’s also been busy trying to set up some appointments on our own as well.

After our stop in the agency we toured the City Chambers building at George Square. It was fabulous. Marble and wood imported from all over the world and amazing paint and architecture too. We got some really great photos here and I’m so glad we waited around for the tour to start.

We came back to the hostel after that and I napped for a few hours while Brandon researched flats and then went up to the piping centre. He got a good practice session in and figured out how to go about getting some lessons started.

When he got back and was feeling so bad, I put him into my spot in bed and headed out to the store. I got groceries for supper and when I got back, we cooked supper and since then we’ve just been relaxing in our room. Hopefully tomorrow we’re both feeling a little better.

A beginning in Glasgow

Today was a very grey day weather wise, and also for me personally. I think because I’m getting a cold. But we got a bit accomplished despite it all. First, Brandon woke up rather early. I stayed sleeping, just couldn’t seem to get going. He went down to eat breakfast and then even went out walking a bit. When I finally got up, it was only about 9:30, we headed out in search of cell phones.

The first place we talked to said we couldn’t get anything set up without a bank account. So to the bank we went. We tried two banks, both of which basically said we can’t open accounts without a National Insurance Number (equivalent to a SIN number) and/or proof of address. Enter melt down number one of my day. We can’t try to get a flat without a phone, and we can’t get a phone without a bank account and we can’t get bank account without a flat. Great.

Thankfully Brandon has a little more level head than I do and we tried phone place number two. And that went much, much better. The guy there was super helpful and got us all sorted out. Turns out my phone that I bought in Canada so that I could use it here is not usable after all. Thanks Koodo!

But now we have communication. They’re the simplest phones we’ve seen in years, not even as sophisticated as my old little green phone. But they’re cheap and they’ll get the job done. 15 pounds each is a whole lot easier to swallow than 500 pounds it would cost for an iPhone without a 2 year contract.

Next stop was a job centre to apply for the NIN. We wandered around a bit on the road where it was supposed to be. But it wasn’t there. We asked a guy in the coffee shop and got directions to where we finally found a really helpful place. We both got the process started for the application and we talked to a job advisor as well. The good news is that there are hotels screaming for chef de parties right now so Brandon is in good shape for employment. I, however, am not. Enter melt down number two. Though my eight years of customer service is wonderful, it’s maybe a little too specialized. Retail is going to be difficult since all the university students want those jobs right now too, and the minimum wage is only about 6 pound an hour. Most retail stores will only offer part time. When I calmed down and thought about it without feeling, well, rather stupid for attempting this adventure in the first place, I realized that I just shouldn’t freak out yet. I’d like to search for office positions and maybe reception or something.

After this, we got onto our city sightseeing tour. We sat on the top of a double decker bus, in the back where it was uncovered so it was a bit chilly. But we saw a good bit of the city and some places we want to go back to see again. We found out that the publicly owned museums are all free to visit. So tomorrow I think we’re going to try to catch a tour of the City Chambers and maybe Provand’s Lordship and the Glasgow Necropolis. But this is after we check in with a Letting Agent that’s just a few blocks from here. We saw some gorgeous neighbourhoods today that we’d love to live in. Fingers crossed the prices aren’t through the roof.

Tonight Brandon cooked supper for us in the hostel kitchen and it was great to have an actual cooked meal for the first time in what seems like forever. Most of our other meals since we’ve arrived have been sandwiches and soup from Tesco’s. I did two loads of laundry tonight too and man, I’m sorry I ever complained about how much it used to cost back in my apartment. It’s 3 pounds to wash a tiny load and 50 pence gets you 8 minutes of drying time. Thankfully they’re powerful driers and 24 minutes was enough to get each load almost completely dry. And the soap was included so that's a plus I guess.

Now, we’re back in our room, Brandon is snoozing away and I’m drinking a cup of tea to try to make my scratchy throat feel better. Time for bed.

Oh! Check for photos on Facebook. I’m sorry I can’t get them on here but it takes forever to upload them onto the blog site when you can only add one at a time.

A new place

I’m sitting on a much more comfortable bed in a much nicer (though still very simple) room, in a new city. Brandon is in the shower in our own bathroom. We even have a tv! It’s wonderful! The hostel in London got the job done, but it wasn’t by any means what I was expecting. This place already makes that one look like a joke. I guess you get what you pay for in London.

We just got into Glasgow a little while ago after a very long day on the bus. Funny though, there was more leg room than on the airplane a few days ago! We made a couple of stops for food and bathroom breaks which was good and the bus itself wasn’t too full. And then when we got here to Glasgow and got our backpacks strapped back on, we started the walk here to the hostel. By the look of the map we thought we were in for a wicked long walk, but it really didn’t take all that long at all.

So now, we’re going to unpack a bit, spread out here in our room – I’m so excited to get all my clothes out of my pack – and then we’re going to go find some supper.

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So supper came to me! Brandon went up the road to Pizza Hut and brought us back supper. It was wonderful! Eating dinner in pajamas with no one else in the room. Glorious! It's amazing how much I missed silence and time with no one else around. I miss having space to myself and to just me and Brandon. It's going to be so, so good to have this room to ourselves this week. I think the next few days could be a little stressful and having somewhere to be where we don't have to fight for space is going to be wonderful. London was such a great holiday and now we have to get down to some business.

Day 3

Today was a rather unplanned day, but we saw some great stuff. To begin, we got up, had breakfast and started off to Buckingham Palace again, this time to tour it. But when we got there at 9:45, we were told that it was sold out for the day. I was so mad! Two days ago they wouldn’t let us buy advance tickets, but now you’re sold out within 45 minutes? Crap! So, new plan. We walked around to the front and took some pictures and then headed into what I think was Hyde Park. We ended up at the Wellington Arch and found out we could go up inside it. So we paid our fee and headed on up. It was very cool and while we were up there a bunch of guards on horseback came trotting through. It was a good view of the Mall and some of the Palace garden.

Included in our ticket was entrance to Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington’s home. Most of it has been given to the country so as to keep it kept up, and to show off the art collection. I’m so glad we went in here. It was beautiful. And a perfect example of an opulent Victorian home. The dining room was set with a huge silver centre piece that ran the entire length of the table. And the chandeliers in nearly every room were fabulous. We spent a good bit of time here and really enjoyed it.

From here we walked to Harrod’s. And with already pretty sore feet, toured around there a bit. It was overwhelming for me though and I had no idea which floor we should be on or which direction we should be going. We did not buy the nearly 30,000 pound watch that Brandon liked, nor the 11,000 pound diamond ring that I loved, but we did buy an alarm clock which we desperately need for tomorrow!

Across the street we sat down for lunch at a place called Eat. We had really good soup and sandwiches and our feet got a much deserved break. Next we got on the tube and headed to King’s Cross station to try to find platform 9 ¾. Turns out it’s moved. After walking down between platforms 9 and 10 and taking photos there, we saw a sign that said that all Hogwarts students should go to where it has moved to catch their train. Only by the time we got out of the station and walked for quite some time, we both didn’t know where we were supposed to be going anymore. We stopped in the Euston station where we thought it was to ask and the info booth guys thought we were nuts and told us to go back to King’s Cross. I’m choosing to believe that’s an elaborate new cover up spell cast so muggles like us won’t be able to find it.

Yep, I’m a geek.

We’re back now at the hostel, it’s about 5pm and we have such sore feet and hips and ankles and shoulders…we’re just taking it easy. We bought microwavable meals to heat up for supper and some stuff to take on the bus tomorrow so we’re set. Time now for showers and backpack maintenance. And tomorrow, we’re on our way north to Glasgow. London has been so good. We’re both so glad that we made this stop before we have to get serious about life here in the UK. And the hostel has grown on me a little, even though I was absolutely panicked with the guy in the bed above me came in to climb into his bed last night. I didn’t want it to crash down like Brandon’s did!

Day Two

Today was another really busy day. To begin, showers are a bit of an adventure. There are four little rooms and each has a shower stall that mostly closes watertight, and then has a little space to hang up your towel and then get changed. The one in the corner has the most room so you hope that one will be open. 

We started out with breakfast at the hostel – cereal, toast and juice at the bar below. Then stopped in at a store that is close by to get muffins, apples, juice and water for snacks and then stopped at the Pret on the way to the train station to get lattes.

Just across the road from Victoria Station there are two theatres. One showing Billy Elliott and the other showing Wicked. We decided that we’d try to get tickets for Wicked since, well, it looked better. So we lined up to get day of tickets. They were a little pricey at 42 pounds each, but I just had to. And it was under our 50 pound limit.

Onto the tube and away we headed to the Tower of London. Being here off season is really quite good. There wasn’t much of a line up to get tickets and then we only had to wait about 15 minutes to get into one of the Beefeater tours. It was about an hour long and so worth it. Our guide was really funny and he told stories about all the famous prisoners and some of the more gruesome beheadings. The tour ended in the little church that’s just to the back of Tower Green where Anne Boleyn is buried.

We spent a few more hours here, looking at the crown jewels and through the White Tower armoury collection and then when we left, we made a quick stop on the side of the Thames to take photos of Tower Bridge.

Next stop was Hamley’s on Oxford Street. It’s the largest toy store in the world and Brandon desperately wanted to see it. There are five floors of every kind of toy you can imagine. And some you can’t! It was really a lot of fun. The best part for me was the squawking bird puppets. They were so, so funny!

We were both feeling the length of the day by this point so we made our way slowly back through the crowd and to the tube station. When we got back to Victoria, we stopped to pick up soup and sandwiches from the grocery store for supper. Then hurried back to the hostel to eat and get cleaned up for the theatre.

It was amazing. I’m so terribly happy that we spent the cash on the tickets. It was quite possibly the best play I’ve ever seen. The girls who played Glinda and Elphaba (the two witches) were outstandingly talented. And at one point I was close to tears thinking, “I can’t believe I’m here!” We were both so terribly tired and laughed at intermission how we both had to close our eyes during one of the musical numbers, but we made it through and gushed afterwards how we were so happy we went.

When we got back here to the hostel we sat out in the hallway for a bit to decompress from the day and to use the computer. We were hoping to be able to do this in the common room/kitchen, but it was full. (Not hard to do since there are only about 5 seats.) And our room was out of the question because there was someone sleeping in here already. (Though I don’t think much would’ve woken him up – he slept through the door opening and closing half a dozen times and the lights going on and off repeatedly!) While in the hall we met two people staying in the room next door. They’re from Brazil and super friendly. The girl is living in Dublin studying and working as an au pair, while the man is her friend here to visit. We tried to go down to the pub with them for a beer but they had just done last call and were closing up – at 11:30!

Day One

We made it! We are officially here in London, being tourists for a bit. I'm running on about 5 hours of sleep, but feeling pretty good. Awfully glad it's just about bed time though!

To begin the day (or, well, yesterday) we said rather tearful goodbyes at the airport. My mom and dad and my brother, and Brandon's mom and brother came to see us off. It was hard. I had to fight back tears while going through security. We got borded and then left a little bit early from the gate. 

The flight was really good. Smooth sailing all the way and the food was pretty good, even though you had to pay for most things you wanted. The seats were so small though and the leg room was a joke. I slept for only about an hour and Brandon didn't sleep at all. Oh and we had seat back tv's which was awesome - or would've been if Brandon's had worked. We switched seats a few times so he could watch while I tried to sleep.

We finally, finally landed, ahead of schedule by about half an hour. No problems through customs and then on to baggage. Our's were out pretty fast and then we both did a quick freshen up in the bathroom and then went to find the bus. We talked to a tourist info lady to find out where we catch the bus into the city and who informed us that the Easy Bus is only 2 pounds if you book your tickets online. It would cost us 10 each so why not take the train for 11 each? So we did. That put us at Victoria station (right where we needed to be!) at about 7:30. Feeling rather disgustingly tired, sweaty and a little motion sick, we fumbled  our way to the correct street and finally found the hostel. It wasn't really all that hard but the packs were just getting really heavy.

We couldn't check in yet, not till 1pm, so we stored our luggage and set off. Got some coffee and a sandwich accross the street but I really wasn't feeling well so I didn't finish either. Good thing Brandon was hungry! We decided to just start walking and exploring and ended up finding ourselves at Westminster Abbey. Originally we weren't going to go in, but when we saw it, Brandon was completely taken in and I was more than happy to see it again. So we paid the 16 pounds and toured around with a handheld audio guide that made a huge difference to making what we saw more enjoyable. 

We were there about an hour and half and then walked up the road a bit to Westminster Bridge past the parliament buildings and Big Ben. All of this I should mention was without a camera. Duh. Oh well. Next we found a bathroom and sandwiches at a little grocery store and had a quick lunch underneath Big Ben. And we heard it chime Noon!

I sort of remembered from being here before how to get to Buckingham Palace so we headed in that direction. We walked through St. James' Park which is more gorgeous than I remembered it. And then there was the Palace. The Victoria fountain is covered up with scaffolding which was a big disappointment, but I guess they're restoring it or something. We're going to try to get back there and tour the gardens and such either tomorrow or Sunday.

We started the long walk back and got ourselves a little bit lost. We asked for directions once and got heading the correct direction. We came out in a completely different place than we started this morning, but we made it back at least.

So now the hostel. I'm far from impressed. It's above a pub, we knew that, and it's old, we knew that too. But I can feel every spring in my bed (very bottom bunk in a set of three) and our room for six is full now with the addition of us two. My comforter has some kind of disgusting stain on one end which at least is covered up by the duvet cover and I'll put that part down by my feet. Then Brandon climbed up to the very top bunk to make his bed and promptly fell through the slats. The girl came up to fix it so now he says it's fine, but I'm not so sure. I told him to switch with me but he won't let me sleep up there either. He tells me not to worry, that we'll be just fine and that we have everything we need here. And really, it's very safe and the locker in the room here is big enough to hold the laptop and all sorts of everything else we need. Maybe I'm just extremely overtired and oversensative too. It was cheap!  

We both got much needed showers and took about a 4 hour nap and then took ourselves out again. We walked back up to the Thames and accross to take pictures of the parliament and Westminster. They're so different all lit up at night. Then we found a pub called the Red Lion which is very old. Some semblance of it has been in that area since the late 1400's. The form it's in now has been there since 1900 and Charles Dickens was a patron. Fish and chips and mushy peas...so good!

We're back in the hostel now, sitting on Brandon's bed which we've pulled down onto a spare spot of floor. So much safer for all involved! And we're going to do a little research about how to get to the Tower of London tomorrow. And then sleep. Oh glorious sleep!

One final note on the day. We're finding that we make a really good travelling team. Between the two of us someone is always very aware of where we are and what general direction we should be walking in. Brandon keeps me calm and notices when I need food and I tell him not to cross the street before the light changes!

Get ready...Get set...

Today is an important day. Today is our last day in Canada. Well, at least for a while!

I know it's been too long since there was a new post, sorry about that! Since I last wrote so, so much has happened. My final day of work came and went with little fanfare, only a few tears, but with many good wishes and a gift that was unexpected and so welcome. It was a perfect last day. Brandon also finished up work on a good note and received a card and gift from some co-workers that was super thoughtful. On the September long weekend we both had band events - Brandon went to California to play in Pleasanton and I played at the Calgary and Canmore games. And after that was all done, it was down to work. We didn't take even a single day to do nothing and relish in our unemployed status! Every day we were up before eight to begin packing and cleaning and finishing up at our house. It paid off though since we were out of the house a day early and got our full damage deposit back!

So, as of September 14th we've been homeless. Thank goodness for family! We spent four days in Innisfail with my parents and now we're in Calgary with Brandon's parents. It's been difficult to be living out of our backpacks, but good practice for the weeks to come.

And oh the backpacks. They both weigh in at roughly 18kg. Under the limit for the airplane! I had a little bit of a melt down the night of my first attempt at packing. I realize now that I was a little overzealous in my expectations of the backpack's capacity. Well, more than a little. But how do you make the choice of what you're going to wear for a year? It was hard to say the least.

So today. The cars aren't sold yet and I'm sure we're forgetting to do something, but at this point I just want to get the show on the road. I've been so happy to have had this week with our families, but I want to go. I want to get to London and see what we're going to see and I want to get to Glasgow and have our own space in the hostel. And I can't wait to find a flat and be able to post pictures of where we're calling home. I'm sad and a little apprehensive about a few different things, and worried about how it's going to feel to say goodbye to the most important people tomorrow. Everyone keeps asking if we're excited, and we are for sure. But I think rather than excited, a more appropriate word for me at the moment would be ready. I'm just ready for this. I'm not stressed about the unknown, I'm not worried that we're leaving things a little open ended here in terms of cars and such. I'm just ready for this. And to be completely honest, I'm surprised and so proud of myself for saying - and being - in this frame of mind.

In 24 hours, we will no longer live in Canada.