Last night in Europe

Tonight is my absolute last night in Europe.

I am not looking forward to the long day tomorrow, a day which will have 6 hours added to it, and a day during which I should really stay awake if I want to feel kind of normal when I get home.

I am looking forward to seeing Kirsten's lovely face in Charlotte, the roadtrip to Memphis, and everyone else's lovely faces in Collierville.

But, at the moment, I feel a bit sad.  Being alone in a hotel room probably isn't helping, especially after being in a nice, full house in Scotland for the last three nights.  I spent a few days in Ireland with my sister and Lee.  We wandered the city, took a tour to the opposite coast to see the Cliffs of Moher, watched some football (soccer), and drank some guiness.  Then I took a solo ryanair flight to London.  I will admit, I was a bit overambitious with my plans for this last week and a half.  I spent two nights in London.  Two nights dying of the heat in a worse-than-average hostel that had neither the free towels nor the free lock (to lock up my valuables) that was promised.  Without a cell phone (ooo I haven't gone into this wonderful example of French-ness and frustration), I felt a little lost in the giant former capital of the world.  (I am referring to the British Empire; I don't think that was a particularly good reference.)

Luckily, I met up with splendid Sheena without too much trouble.  Sheena and I had an excellent day in London.  It was a full day, but it seemed too short.  We walked in Hyde Park, went to the V&A museum, had ice cream, went to Oxford Circus and shopped, and speed walked to Brick Lane for a "proper curry."  All of this was done in the British equivalent of a heatwave, an event in which temperatures soared so high (maybe mid-80s?) the nice lady who makes announcements on the underground reminded passengers to carry water and to sit down if they feel faint.  I will admit, I was sweating myself.
It was really great to see Sheena after leaving Angers, and we had a great time.  Walking down Brick Lane was quite the experience, all of the restaurant people were trying to get us to choose their restaurant and making us offers like "two glasses of wine, rice and a main course £10."  We followed our stomachs and went for the guys who offered "two starters, rice AND naan, a main course AND a bottle of wine" for £10 each.  It was delicious, and we were stuffed.  We then ran to the train station, so she could catch her train. And I made one of my many genius moves of the trip left my camera in Sheena's purse.

Saturday, I flew into Glasgow where I met lovely Katie RRRundle.  We poked around some shops in the kind of miserable rain then met a couple of her friends for dinner.  Then we drove out into the country side, into the wee village of Haugh of Urr to be exact.  I hope Katie reads this and rolls her eyes at my typing "wee."  Anyway, the village of Haugh of Urr is wonderful in that it is not a major city.  There are lots of fields and hills and trees and cows, and I just absolutely loved it.  We mostly drove around the countryside and to the coast.  We also ate the best ice cream I have ever eaten at Cream O' Galloway.
I tried Haggis and Black Pudding, which I liked.  But I may have difficulty eating them again, now that I know what's in them.

It was really nice staying with Katie and her family and just relaxing in my own big bed and not doing much for a couple days.  They were really great hosts, and I hope I'll have the chance to visit again! I just loved Scotland.

And now, I need to sleep, so that I can stay awake during the long haul between Dublin and JFK tomorrow.

Aurevoir l'europe!