My trip to the UK started off with a wacky bus trip from Rotterdam to London. Somewhere in Belgium, I noticed that the bus was all over the road and then realized that the driver was arguing with a woman passenger who was standing next to him. She sat down but was soon up again yelling at him, his driving getting more erratic. She wouldn't sit down so he finally swerved to the side of the road and they continued their argument in the middle of the isle. Several passengers started yelling at her to sit down as it was making the bus late. She yelled back at the passengers. She decided to get off at that point, in the middle of nowhere. This whole scene repeated itself 20 minutes later, this time with a man, who also got off in the middle of nowhere, in the pouring rain. Getting ready to enter the Chunnel, we went through French (easy) and British (extensive, lots of financial and work status questions) immigration one after the other and it took forever. Our bus then drove into an empty train car on the Eurotunnel Shuttle. It was a tight squeeze, only inches to spare on each side. As I sat sweating in the darkness (no lights, A/C) I was thinking that a person with Claustophobia would have a real problem in here. I was also thinking that this scenario might make a decent action movie (Willis, Stallone? No, too old. Neeson, Craig?) starring a bunch of cranky, tired international passengers inside a bus inside a train inside the Chunnel when oh, I don't know, maybe an earthquake or a terrorist bomb breaks the Chunnel...this is what happens when I have time to think...trite movie ideas happen... About 35 minutes later, we drove off the train and soon arrived at Victoria Station. Took at least an hour to reach my hostel as it was far from the city center. The place was a dump...dirty, dark, noisy, crowded, cold, and the dorm floor was seriously slanted giving one the feeling of always being close to rolling off the mattress. In reality, that wasn't possible since the springs sticking through the mattress into my back were holding me firmly in place to the stinking thing.

Hit the tube the next morning with my handy new Oyster Card fully charged and promptly got lost. The London metro is the most confusing system I've encountered so far. Found my bearings and saw the usual stuff: Big Ben, House of Parliament, Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, Royal Courts of Justice, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. James Park, Trafalgar Square. Took a tour of Buckingham Palace which was worth the dough. Spent the entire next day at the National Gallery. Fabulous. My favorite museum after the Uffizi. Broke down and bought a Hop On/Hop Off Bus ticket for 26 Euros. Ouch! In the end it was worth it because there is just so much to see in London...it's a bit overwhelming really. Saw the rest...London Bridge, Kensington Palace, Seven Bridges, Marble Arch, St. James Palace, Regent's Park, Tower Bridge, Lambeth Palace. Whew.

After four days in London I was ready to see some countryside so I headed to Bath. Gorgeous town with a river running through it, colorful folliage, and loads of Georgian architecture. Another horrible hostel though, 12-bed mixed dorm on a really noisy main street, with all sorts of shenanigans going on all night long. At 3:00 a.m. I finally told all the drunk, horny kids to shut up and get back in their own beds or I was going downstairs to tell on them. They all hated me (except one older and eternally grateful woman) after that (oh darn) and promptly voted me "most unpopular person in the dorm."

Took a fabulous walking tour the next day with a guide named Dickon. Love that name. Wonder if his mom read "The Secret Garden?" The thermal baths were impressive but over-the-top expensive. I was sorely disappointed as I was so looking forward to a good, hot soak. The Royal Crescent was quite impressive as were the rest of the gorgeous buildings in town. Took a bus tour of the Cotswolds the next day with 12 others. We had a fabulous guide who was full of historical facts and anecdotes as we drove through one adorable village after another. We stopped to explore churches, lush gardens, cottages. We lunched at a wonderful pub serving melt in your mouth roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Almost had a stroke when the driver announced that we were passing by Solsbury Hill. Begged and pleaded with him to drive us to the top so "I could see the city lights" but we were running short on time so it wasn't possible. Darn. At least I got to see it. The driver said that Peter Gabriel still lives in the area and his recording studio is also nearby. So cool!

Took off by train to St. Ives in Cornwall. Stayed at a cool hostel that had two rambunctious kittens as residents. They were let loose in the gigantic common room during the day and occupied themselves by batting the billiard and ping pong balls around, climbing the plastic palm trees, and sliding across the wood floors. They were entertaining. Took a five-hour hike from St. Ives to Zennor Beach along the coastal path high above the sea. It wound through sheep pastures and rocky outcrops. It was a wet day (shocking) and the path was a muddy, mucky mess. Sunk in over my ankles several times but my trusty, newish Vasque hiking boots didn't let a drop of moisture in. Not many wildflowers in bloom except for wild orchids and fuscias, plenty of lichen though in lots of strange colors. I love lichen. Saw seals playing in the coves below, they were watching me as I passed. Only saw another 10 hikers the whole way. Was going to turn around and walk back the way I came when I got to Zennor Beach, but the hike was steeper than I had imagined and I was pooped so I took the bus back to St. Ives. Hung out in St. Ives a couple more days shopping, playing with the kittens, and subsisting on the best meat pies and ice cream on the planet. Something about the grass the cows eat in this part of England producing the richest cream...all I know is that Cornwall ice cream is the creamiest, custardiest, richest ice cream I've ever eaten.

Took the train to Cardiff, Wales. It was a beautiful journey through fields and meadows dotted with farms, sheep, stone walls, hedges. Wasn't expecting much from Wales but I needed to get through it to catch my ferry to Ireland. I was pleasantly surprised. The hostel was cool, the free walking tour was great, the food tasty. Cardiff Castle, in the heart of Bute Park, was old and creepy. The River Taff runs through the city, running right past the new Millennium Stadium where rugby and football are played. The city's residents are quite proud of this new state of the art stadium. They're rugby crazy here! St. David's Cathedral and Gorsedd Gardens were impressive and I spent way too much money in Cardiff Market with all of its sweets and baked goods. Shopping is excellent in Cardiff and right in the middle of my mini-spree I had an ATM malfunction...everyone's nightmare...the damn money didn't come out of the machine but it was still debited from my account! Panic! The bank let me use their phone to inform my bank of what happended. I needed that cash...for more shopping and to buy a damn train ticket out of there! Had to file a claim which took days to process. Got more cash at a different ATM the next day but the whole thing was super stressful.

Took a train to Fishguard, Wales in preparation for my ferry crossing. Stayed a couple of nights. It's a cute town nestled on St. George's Channel. Not much going on in town but I did find a nice path that wound all the way around the harbor. I also enjoyed talking to the hostel's owner, Steve. He's visited the States and we reminisced about places that we had both been years ago. He also had some other travelers staying there who were interesting and fun to chat with. It was nice to relax and take a breather.

After having spent over three weeks in Ireland, I took a bus from Dublin to Belfast. The central business district is very affluent with every high end store possible. It's a nice part of town for shopping. I was much more interested in seeing the western part of the city though. I took off walking early one morning from my hostel in the east and ended up on Falls Road. I walked the entire length of Falls and Shankill Roads. I stopped in a lamp shop and ended up having an enlightening conversation with it's owner, James, who had lived through "the Troubles". He showed me photos he had taken from his shop (on the front lines) of car bombings and shootings. He witnessed a woman who was shot and killed just outside of his shop door while she was waiting for her bus. The western part of the city is still largely industrial, working class, Catholic. A stark contrast from East Belfast. Spent a while in Clonard Church just off of Falls Road. It's a beautiful church but as I was sitting there all I could think about was the immense pain and suffering that this congregation has undoubtably lived through. Checked out the Freedom Walls and Murals for several hours then headed out of town.

I took a bus/ferry/bus to Edinburgh, arriving late in freezing temps. Didn't have a hostel reservation so I had to take what I could get. Ugh! Moved to a new place the next day, Haggis Hostel. Much better. Took a free walking tour which lasted 3.5 hours, but it was so cold that we lost half of our original group within the first hour. I stuck it out but my knees were killing me. Edinburgh Castle was lovely and the Royal Mile was impressive. Finally got up the nerve to try haggis in the form of a haggis burger with grilled onions and cheese. I liked the taste but the consistency was a bit strange, kind of chewy due to the oats I suppose. Anyway, I tried it, so there. I was surprised at how crowded with tourists Edinburgh was, seriously crowded.

Got out of town on a three-day Highlands tour with 12 others. We had a great group. Chris and Pam from VA were hilarious and fun as hell! On the way to Isle of Skye we passed by Loch Lomand, travelled over the desolate Rannoch Moor, through Glencoe Valley, Fort William, Ben Nevis, Glen Garry, 5 Sisters of Kintail, ending in the quaint village of Portree for the night. Saw some Highland cows by the side of the road. Cute and furry. Day two we stopped at Uig, Flora MacDonalds grave, the black houses, Kilt Rock, Duntulm Castle, Lealt Falls, and Old Man of Storr. Day three was a tour of Eilean Donan Castle, Fort Agustus, and Loch Ness. I jumped off the tour in the cute town of Pitlochry for a night stay before returning to Edinburgh. Loved the U.K.! Every bit of it! Gotta go back! There's so much more to see!