Posted 9:18 AM by Lodger
Hi there.

A quick update from Italy. Currently in Rome after stints in Brussels, Paris, Venice and Florence. Weather's been warm. Sights have been plentiful and interesting, if not overwhelming at times (The Sistine Chapel brought on sensory overload big-time!).

Wish to send out Happy Birthdays to Dad and Melissa, and congrats to the Canucks for coming through when it counted. Would be remiss to not mention that Avalanche couldn't do the same (hee hee... couldn't resist).

Should go. Lemmon , say hi to J. Lo for me the next time you see her.

Ciao.

Posted 12:25 PM by Lodger
Nottingham was fun. Went to Nottingham castle. Did the guided tour thing. Found out little evidence supports the Robin Hood legend. Bummer.

Carrie told us about a tour of underground caves where the management felt the attraction needed a little extra to bring in the tourist dollar. They came up with 'Guess that smell!' Yep. Little boxes that you open up, take a wiff from, and then, yes, that's right... you guess that smell. You might think to yourself, 'I wonder what kind of smells?' Vanilla? Strawberry? Lavender perhaps? Nope... try smelly feet and vomit. Hmmmm. Classy. We agreed Nottingham could probably use a new director of tourism.

However, I don't want to slag Nottingham entirely. Great pubs. Vibrant atmosphere. They love hockey (go Nottingham Panthers!). We had a good time.

Saturday night we went to 'The Cookie Club,' a nightclub that played indie rock downstairs and funk upstairs. Had a kick-ass dancefloor moment with a local couple... 'I Am the Resurrection' by The Stone Roses was playing, a song, for those who haven't heard it, that rises to a powerful crescendo for the last chorus... they grabbed my hands and we rose them to the air while singing 'I Am the Resurrection and I Am Alive!' at the top of our lungs. Brits really get passionate about certain songs and seem to love singing while intoxicated. For the first time I kind of got the whole singing in pubs thing. Anyway...

School this week has been relatively painless, probably because I've known that whatever happens, I have Easter break to look forward to. Yes! Heading to Brussels Sunday, followed by France and Italy, I think. Things are not set in stone yet. Taught my last two lessons this term this morning. Tomorrow I just go in for what will be essentially a training day for me. Our department is moderating GCSE coursework (I'm not going to bother explaining that) and since I don't teach year elevens and am very unfamiliar with the marking criteria, I just read over coursework and do my best to make sense of it all. It will be good experience for next year.

Tonight Brida, Winnie (colleagues from Canada) and I went out for sushi to celebrate the end of term. It was very good. My first sushi in the UK. We even had sashimi, which was as good as I've had, surprisingly. However, the wasabi was kind of weak, which sucked, but the tempura was delicious. Overall, we were impressed. I do feel a bit gassy as I write this, however. Not a sign of poor quality Japanese food, I'm sure. More likely my system is in shock... my lunches tend to be quite heavy and fatty (cafeteria food!). The mega veggie intake will probably wreak some havoc.

Speaking of that, I should go. Will try to update from Europe. If not, have a great Easter everyone!

Posted 1:31 PM by Lodger
Just got home from year eight parents evening. Much quieter than the year seven one. Still, it's a long day... my feet hurt. I should be planning for tomorrow, but instead I've decided to blog and I'll probably go to bed early.

So... Greece has become Brussels and then Italy. It was much less expensive to book. I'm excited and glad the trip will not be too costly. I can't believe it's just one more week and then Easter break. This is the part of the job I really... the time off!!!

Sheilagh and I are heading up to Nottingham this weekend to visit Carrie, which should be fun. Our last opportunity to visit the land of Robin Hood without having to pay for accomodation. A colleague told me today that Manchester is a nice city to visit. Yet another destination to add to the list. I'm thinking next year will be largely dedicated to visiting sights and cities in the UK, although many trips within the country are surprisingly more expensive than I would have thought. For example, our train tickets to Nottingham, which is two hours away, will be approximately £35. Our flight to Brussels is £9.99 plus taxes and charges (total is about £23). Go figure. Although it's the same at home. Domestic flights are a rip-off.

Last night I went to a local pub to watch England play Turkey in a European cup qualifying football match. I wanted to watch the game and new the ladies here at the flat would be watching a combo of American sitcoms and coverage of the war in Iraq. I'm glad I went. For those of you who are not up on your football/soccer, Turkey is ranked seventh in the world, England is ranked ninth. England had to win to guarantee a spot in the tournament. Their play has been sketchy at best lately and they were under incredible pressure to win. They didn't disapoint. They dominated the play for most of the game and won 2-0. The atmosphere in the pub was electric all night and when they scored the place went ballistic. It reminded me of home in an odd way... the English live and die with their football team as we Canadians do with our hockey team. I must say the experience has turned me on to football in a big way... I'm starting to 'get it'... the players, the positions, the strategy, the individual battles.

It reminded me, though, that I will not be able to experience the Canucks' playoff run first hand this year. I'll be depending on accounts from friends and family back home for blow by blow accounts. I really hope they win. Markus Naslund for MVP!

Once again, I end on a Canucks note. Can't decide if that's a good thing or I should re-assess my priorities. Ack! What the hell am I saying? Of course it's a good thing. Go Canucks Go!