Easter Trip

I spent the whole week reading the chronicle of Percy Jackson, all five books of them. Ask me anything about the Greek gods and chances are I can tell you more. *snobbish snort* I can’t wait to get more books from the city library tomorrow!

I have lectures for another two weeks and a half, then a few assignments to remind me that the semester is not over yet and three exams to ensure I’ve learned something in the past four months and afterwards, pack and start a new chapter in Denmark! Another new place, culture and language to get acquainted with. I feel like a fugitive on the run but grateful nonetheless. It is a fun run after all. Always be thankful. It’s easy to forget how good things are compared to those, say, in Haiti or Bangladesh.

Alright, I’ve been meaning to write about our Easter trip and I suppose the photos on my Facebook convey the story in general so I’ll just sum it up and leave the details out for our personal keepsake.

London:
A must-see for those who are going to Europe, though I personally prefer Paris / Rome because London, in certain parts, reminded me of Kuala Lumpur and as far as my patriotism goes, I still find it hard to tolerate a city so hectic and crowded with too many immigrants. Well I know I’m sort of an immigrant myself but I’m not exactly planning to have three generations of family here. Then again, some people have it tough in their land so England, as we know it, is an almost perfect asylum so I can understand that. We got to see a blue mass of Chelsea fans in the city and singing the anthem so deafening you wouldn’t want to go near wearing your striking red Manchester United jersey if you valued your life.

Edinburgh:
A very old city with such calmness that makes you think time has stopped. I loved the kilts and the sound of bagpipes though I think it would be more wonderful if we opted for Loch Ness or Skye instead.

e.g.o p.i.m.p

Oh, I didn’t know Da Vinci Code's Rosslyn Chapel was in Scotland so going there on a detour was a pleasant twist.

Geneva:
For years I’ve had people telling me how lovely Switzerland was and you know what, they were absolutely right! Geneva was beautiful with her own charm but unfortunately we didn’t get to see up-close the real beauty, the mountains and the Alps specifically, so will have to make another trip for that. Ahaa, I wonder if Monsieur Maurice is planning for another mountain climbing that we could tag along...

Dublin…erm:
Our final destination of the trip, supposedly. But the volcano happened and we got stranded in South of France which was our home last semester so it was bearable and we had a friendly shelter. Some people just stayed in the airport for days and nights. Although sleeping on the glossy airport floor is definitely safer and even more comfortable than laying on a cold stone bench in a rail station, it’s not any more fun. I know, I’ve done both. We ended up spending €700++ and 24 hours going from one terminal to another, one website to a dozen more, just to find ways to go home. We struggled through a strike with people boarding the train for free from Nice to Paris, we crossed the English Channel from Paris to London, took a night bus for six hours to Newcastle and walked for half an hour at 5 in the morning. So we never got to Ireland but it was still a very long journey. I was just glad hubby was there with me. We’ve got so many stories to tell our kids eh. The airports and train stations looked like a scene from the movie 2012 where everyone panicked and felt lost but they just kept running to the next safest place they knew and when we finally got to London, the Brits were all looking relieved like they were hostages finally being released. So I guess all was not lost anyway, it was an exciting adventure (once we made it through of course, I was on the verge of stealing a plane after the fifth trip to the airport terminal).

To end this entry, a huge congratulations to Kak Aliaa & her husband on their first pregnancy! That is another adventure so have fun! That lucky baby is going to get the best of both worlds, having dual residency of Malaysia and UK. I’ll see that little bump when we go to Manchester this June. *wink*