I have been meaning to blog about my holidays, but I have to be in the mood to write. And since I decided I wasn't going to drink for the month of January, well I haven't been in the mood. My writing always seems to be a bit wittier when I am enjoying a glass of red wine. So if this one is really boring I apologize in advance, there is no wine in my system.
I have to start with the last day of work before the break. I had a fabulous time with the boys. Because I didn't really have to buy gifts for anyone and some of my students wouldn't be having much of a Christmas I decided to spoil them a bit. We played games that insured that each child received a prize, we made pizzas, watched a movie and then we opened presents. It was fantastic to see even my hardest kid surprised when he opened his remote control car. As I said good-bye to them I asked each one for a hug. Typically getting one from all my boys except for my tough one. But, on that day he hugged me! To me that has given me more reason to want to stay and finish the year out.
Wouldn't you know though, that it decided to snow heavily for about an hour in the morning, making the roads a little more slippery. Thinking that the boys taxis would come early so the boys could get home safely in case more snow came, was not what happened. All the boys left between 1/2 hour to 45 minutes later than the scheduled time of 1. I know I just said we had a wonderful day, but I still wanted to ship them home so my holiday could start. Plus, I knew that my dad would be arriving in my town soon and I was anxious to get on my way home. As a staff we were given permission to leave early this day, so I headed to the bus, (wearing these new shoes that don't require socks; it wasn't suppose to snow). I stood at the stop and waited and then waited some more. After 40 minutes and two buses well over due. I was frozen, the top part of my feet that were bare were all red and they were beginning to sting. I decided that the buses may have stopped running due to the snow (pathetic, I know) so I started walking to the nearest town 3 kms away. By this time, I was so cold my insides were shaking and well I couldn't tell I was walking on my feet. I reached the gas station to call for a taxi. The very busy taxi because of the "poor" road conditions took 40 minutes. Thank goodness that the gas station lady let me warm up in her unheated office. What normally takes 30 minutes, including the walk to and from the bus stop took well over two hours to make it home . It was a good thing that I had directed my dad directly to one of the pubs. It was so great seeing him sitting there when I arrived. I could have hugged him for hours.
We lugged his extremely heavy suitcase home, where I got to uncover all of my yummy treasures. Cheez Whix, a case of Kraft Dinner, Ranch dressing, a litre bottle of red hot, peanut butter, Lipton chicken noodle soup, Rootbeer (I promised my students they could try it), a bottle of grape sour puss, a bottle of baileys, and 3 bottles of rye. (Do you now understand why I am not drinking for the month). Too my surprise dad was able to bring some of his clothes.
A night out on the town with dad. We went for a nice supper and had a wonderful visit and then we went back to the pub and then to another pub and then stumbled home. All fun and games until we had to wake up because we were heading to London the next day. I am sure most of you heard on the news about all of the snow that the UK got, well that was the day we decided to go into the city. A normal 50 minute trip took us 6 hours. The worst part of it was that I was off by a day, we weren't flying to Scotland til Monday, not Sunday. So once in London we had to find a hotel room for the extra night we were there for. Because people here are not prepared for the snow (why I don't know, it happens every year) the sidewalks were a mess, no tubes were running and trying to take a taxi was a nightmare.
The bonus day in London due to my stupidity turned out to be great. Dad had wanted to see the Tower of London and this extra day gave us this time. But, we had to do it with the suitcase. If you have ever been to the Tower you will know how many stairs there are in the various buildings. I had the privilege of carrying the suitcase up and down all of the stairs. It was still worth it, the Tower was amazing. I really enjoyed seeing the Crown Jewels. After the tower we had to make our way to Gatwick because that is where our flight was leaving from early in the morning. The hotel we were staying in was packed, because there had been so many cancelled flights, both dad and I were hoping that our flight was going to still go.
We woke up early to make it to the airport 2 hours before flight. Thank goodness we did, it was packed. It took us and hour and half to just check in and go through security. Our flight was only delayed about 3 hours, which isn't nearly as horrible as been stranded in Heathrow for two days as some people were. A nice short flight and we were in Edinburgh, Scotland! We were able to catch a city bus into the centre of town. When we got off the bus, I realized that I was not as prepared for this trip as I was for my Italy trip. I looked at dad and was like I have no idea where we are going. Funny, but frustrating to me that I was so unorganized. We took a taxi to our hotel, and of course it was like 3 pounds, because the hotel was within walking distance from where we left. But, I didn't know. Anyways, our hotel was at one time an old bank, so it had a lot of character. The lobby was a pub, which of course suited both dad and I just fine. Our room was perfect for what we were going to need it for. Our first day in Scotland and it was really cold, so what else is there to do but go on a pub crawl. We went up and down the Royal Mile and stopped at a few watering holes. I enjoyed several glasses of mulled wine. I even tried a dark beer that tasted like chocolate. Dad and I had a simple meal for supper. the entire day was great, our conversation never got boring and we really enjoyed one another's company. We ended the night in the hotel's pub. We talked with some of the locals, enjoying the accents and sometimes laughing because we really had no clue what they were saying. Dad went to bed first and well me being such a social being I stayed up until 3, I think, meaning I had a good night!
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