Facebook Notifications

Contrarily to most people, I don't have a lot of friends on facebook. The notification bar at the top of the web site is usually empty. Once in a while, there is a bit of red, indicating that something happened somewhere, that may or may not be related to myself.

But some rare times, there is a lot of red. There can be a red squared "1" on the message icon, and a red squared "2" or "3" on the notification icon. Maybe even the rarest of "1" on the friend icon. And it's when that happens that I know one thing.

Shit just got real.

London - Departure

I didn't expect to write a post about my departure from London, but considering what happened, i'm pretty much obliged to.

I woke up at 08:00, had a normal morning, preparing all my stuff for my hotel check-out. I had planned to leave at 10:00, but it was 09:00, and everything was done, so I had two choices: either stay in my tiny room for another hour, or leave right now and spend an hour more at the airport. I checked-out, and asked for a taxi to the Heathrow Airport. It wasn't a very long wait, but the vehicle surprised me - it was a black Audi Q5, possibly 2011, with no taxi sign that I could see. The driver was pretty chatty, and it looked like his personal vehicle, which was weird, because all the taxis in the UK were actually designed as taxis - different seat layout in the back, intercom system, glass between the driver and the occupants (bulletproof?). At two times, as he was talking about his daughter and what she was doing while he was driving with her, he groped my arm. That was really displeasing, and more so because the ride started to seem very long.

In the pamphlet, it was written that the Caesar hotel was 12.5km from the airport, but as I figured out later, London has more than one airport. The international airport is actually 16 miles (26km) from the hotel. I had £30 in notes in my wallet, £10 in coins in my pocket, and the small plastic bag of coins in my luggage. Since there were no price counter inside the car, I hated the feeling of not knowing how much it would cost. The guy stopped, and I saw as he was writing the receipt £70. 120$ for a f-ing taxi! The hotel clerk could have told me something about that! I also had 40$ in Canadian money and he was about to accept them, but I needed them for when I got back to Quebec. We went to the back and counted how much I had in the little bag - about £32-33. Wow, that really was a luck! On the positive side, I wouldn't have a lot of "lost" money in Canada, but on the negative side, I didn't have all that coin collection to show people around. Particularly, I was out of £1 and £2.

I got in the airport and wandered for a few minutes. It was a bit past 10:00, and I was starting to be hungry already. With no money left other than a 20$, I changed it, which got me £9.75. I got myself a sandwich and started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. When it was time to board, the plane started to lag behind, so we took flight 20-30 minutes later than we were supposed. No problem, I thought, since I have over an hour at the Montreal Airport. I was a good flight, with normal good food. I read a lot, and watched the movie Footloose when they started serving the lunch. I also watched an episode of Just for Laughs (season 7, episode 1), which was the best of stand-up comedy. I didn't laugh out loud once, but at least, it was mildly entertaining. In the plane, we got into a turbulent zone, and went into free-fall for a second (I really liked it).

We got at the Montreal Airport, and were told by the captain that there was another plane at our gate, so it will be a few more minutes. By then, just before landing, we were told that many of us were switching planes because we were running late. Among them was the Quebec City connection, switched to the 20:30 or 21:30 flights. I didn't have my ticket within reach, so I couldn't confirm that I was switching. I had enough time on my watch anyway, so it didn't make any sense.

After ten or fifteen minutes, the captain told us that the plane in our gate actually had mechanical problems, and all the other gates are taken. Oh, really? I was starting to get angry inside. We had to wait for 45 minutes (total) before we could get out. They could have let us leave the plane by one of them ladders, but to be politically neutral, they probably weren't expecting this to take that long. It was 17:00 (local time, so 22:00 on my internal clock), so I had missed the Quebec flight no matter what. I would have missed it, because I had to go walk a long way, go through customs, walk a long way, go through security, walk a long way, and wait. Before security, there were a line for connecting people like me, and they gave me my new ticket - of course, I was on the 21:30 flight. They put me on a waiting list for the 18:00 flight, but there were already a lot of people on it. I also bought a vegetarian subway wrap, but I found out that I had to go through security again, so I quickly ate it in case they would take it away. Turned out that the guy in front of me also had a subway in his hands, and was let in.

I got to the gate at 17:45, and apparently nobody on the waiting list was called. My flight was at 21:30, so I went to the pay phones to call my boss, to tell him that I won't be there to the farewell party tonight for the lab boss. Put 50¢ and dialed, and then, because it was a long distance, the phone asked for 4.90$ more, for one minute. Wait, what? What else could go wrong today? My cell phone was at my sister's, and the iPhone3 I had in my pocket is not connected to anything. I really, really, don't want to pay 5$/min, and I remember the internet stations in the UK, where you pay £1 or £2 for a set amount of minutes. I don't remember seeing anything like that in Canada, but I can check around - I have a lot of time.

Just before I leave the gate, I decide, as I have done many times in Edinburgh and London, to check the wi-fi networks. The airport has an unsecured one, as can be reasonably expected, so I connect to it. The airport internal website loads. Just to be sure, I load www.google.com, and the page loads. Website caching. I open my bookmarks, click on Reddit, see the loading animation, and actually see the page load (albeit slowly). As I understand it, the Montreal Airport is the only one I used this year that has free wi-fi, and this is the first good news of the day. I connect to facebook, send a message to my boss, and since it's getting a bit late, also send a message to my sister asking her to call him for me.

I read again after buying an expensive muffin, then at around 18:45, they start calling names on the intercom, about 20 of them. I'm on the list for the 19:00 flight! Two good news in a row! We get outside (my first draft of cold Quebec air), leave the big carry-ons on a large metal tray that goes in the back of the plane, and board. The plane leaves several minutes too late, but whatever - maybe I'll be lucky enough that there will still be some people left at that farewell party!

Uneventful flight, in which I continued to read. We land and wait a couple minutes, suspicion rising once more. The captain says to us that the cargo door, where all the baggages are, is frozen (welcome back to Quebec). Normally, they are supposed to get the tray out so we can get our carry-on as we leave the plane, but after another 2-3 minutes, we're told to go to the airport - the carry-ons will arrive on the conveyor belt with the registered baggages. Getting worse again. I only had carry-ons, so that my going through the airport be as swift as possible. We all wait near the conveyor belt, waiting for the luggages to arrive, when someone from the airport come to us and say that the cargo door is still frozen but mechanics (or whoever else) are currently warming it.

Ten more minutes (twenty minutes since we landed) - the same guy comes back and tell us in a triumphantly proud manner that the cargo door is unfrozen and the baggages are coming. The conveyor belt starts, but after a minute or so, it stops. What now? False alarm - it starts again, and the baggages arrive some time later. Let's add another good news, because I need some at this point - my small carry-on was the fifth or so on the conveyor belt. I grab it and leave the Quebec Airport, following the increasingly long path to follow to get at the taxi section.

Just before I pass through the door, I notice a sign that says the taxis are fixed-price - there is a constant fee of 14.50$ for rides near the airport. I live about 3km from the airport exit, and I expected paying 8-10$ maximum. I asked the driver about the fixed price, he replied by a positive, I sighed and said "I'll walk then". I did that partly because I was still mad about the 120$ taxi ride in the morning.

I started walking through the small airport streets, feeling the direction I was going, hoping I was taking the right turns. It was very cold (-20°C), but I had expected to feel colder, considering my three weeks at 2-9°C. It took me about thirty minutes to walk, during which I was imagining what else could go wrong - like that I lost the keys to the apartment, that they wouldn't work, that my car wouldn't start, or that my luggage would break open. Nothing happened, except a deep relief when I finally entered the apartment and put the luggage down.

It was now 21:00, or 02:00 on my internal clock. I wasn't tired. I quickly changed some clothes (for the first time, wore a white shirt, black jacket, and blue jeans, which I think looked good), and left, still hoping some people were left. I got there at 21:20, and most were there, to my relief. They had just finished eating, and I even got a free desert.

The rest of the evening was pretty great. I took two pints of Rickard's dark, to commemorate my lack of drinking in London, and to get my mind off what happened today. It was a 'Ginger' restaurant on the ground floor of the Plaza Hotel in Quebec. The lab boss had taken a room for the night, and when there were only five of us left, we went to the room to talk. There were a lot of laughs too, and a hotel clerk knocked to our room to remind us that people were sleeping. We left one by one, and I was the last one to leave at 02:20, or 07:20 on my internal clock. Still not really tired.

Got home, made my bed, and went to sleep.

Trip over.

London - Day 6

My last day in London! Normal morning, and left at 09:45, towards the London Bridge. I knew it was going to be a long walk, and it took me two hours to get there, excluding a quick stop at a Sainsbury's Local to buy a piece of bread. I learned that the London Bridge is not the same thing as the Tower Bridge - the one I actually wanted to see. No worries though, it was just one bridge away, near the Tower of London.

The Tower of London.

Just before I entered the Tower of London, I went to EAT and ate a humous wrap. For the tower, I didn't really know what to expect - maybe some one-hour tour of something mildly cool... It turned out to be an old fort, and I took the audio guide and spent three hours walking around. I saw the crown jewels, and the armor collection, and other cool stuff. It was increasingly disconcerting to see so much money in so small a place... I took the time to take a picture of the Tower Bridge before I left.

The White Tower, inside the Tower of London.

I went to the British Museum again, arriving at 16:45, but didn't have much time, because they started closing the exhibitions at 17:20, and I couldn't see all that I was missing from my tour yesterday. At least, I saw the whole Japanese exhibit.

I left and went to Wasabi for a delicious pack of sushi, and slowly made my way to the Comedy Store, stopping again at the same WaterStone and read, again, a bit of Death Note.

A tea ceremony house replica, in the British Museum.

Today, my back wasn't as sore as the other days (my body must be getting used to all the walking and standing), but by then, my right calf muscle was hurting. I arrived at the Comedy Store at 18:30, waited and found the show to be so-so. It was similar in vulgarity to the tuesday show, and I definitely loved the improvisation guys more. A lot more.

I went back to my room and checked if I had everything ready for my departure tomorrow.

London - Day 5

The entrance to the British Museum, made to look
like the Pantheon.

Got up at 07:50, ate breakfast, prepared for the day, and left at around 09:20, going towards the British Museum, arriving there at a bit past 10:00. I had thought it was more like a paintings museum that I would quickly browse through, but it was all kinds of artifacts and old stuff made by humans throughout history. Most notably, I liked the Egypt exhibition, Greece/Rome, and Mexico (with the Aztecs and Mayans). I did not finish everything, so I will come back for Asia tomorrow, which should take about an hour to go through, two hours maximum.

A model of the Pantheon, as it would have been initially.

For lunch, I went to the museum restaurant. I saw the prices, but didn't really realize how expensive that was. There were a couple of food courts that I should have gone to instead. I took the vegetarian tortellini, and it was delicious, but the cream was just way too fat! I also asked for water, and they brought me a 500ml bottle (£1.50). The total was £18 (including service). I left the museum at about closing time - 17:30.

The first mechanical clock.

I didn't want to go all the way back to the hotel since the British Museum was about 30 minutes from the Comedy Store. It would have taken me about 2.75 hours. I thought I would have looked for a restaurant for a long time, but near the museum, there was this Byron restaurant which specializes in burgers. What a good opportunity to taste my first veggie burger! It was very good - the pattie had been replaced by a portobello mushroom, and it had a slice of brie. Very good! I also ate a small portion of tostitos + salsa + guacamole.

I left too early (exactly 18:00), so I stopped at a WaterStone to browse through some books, and ended up reading quite a few pages of Death Note.

A mummy. Yeah.

I arrived at the Comedy Store at 19:00, and waited for an hour for the show to begin. It was the same improvisation guys than sunday, and it was equally excellent. They did the same basic concepts, but since it was improvisation, everything's new all the time. I left at 22:00, stopped at Sainsbury's Local for some yogurts and a pastry, and arrived in my room at 23:00, where I ate some more.


In the surprising event that my family and I would want to have some fun someday and do some improvisation sketches, here are some of the concepts that can be done by non-professionals.

• Get an animal and a sports at random, have a TV presenter talking with "someone" who succeeded in training some of these animals in that sports, but that someone is 2 or 3 persons, all saying one word each at a time.
• Have 2 persons have a random position, play from the scene, when someone else says "freeze", he/she takes the place of someone in the scene, assumes the same position, and starts a new scene.
• Two people do a scene at random, and once in a while, the emotion theme changes at random, or the theatre type (? - action, comedy, silent, ...).
• Someone speaks another language and gesticulates to the "camera", while another translates for the crowd.
• Make a story with the characters appearing and leaving between scenes, with someone sitting and "reading the book".

London - Day 4

I got up at 08:00 because I now knew the opening hours for the National History Museum. I ate breakfast and prepared myself, and left at 09:20. I got there a bit faster than I had expected, so I had to wait 14 minutes.

Darwin is guarding the second floor.

During the day, I did all the exhibits that I hadn`t done yesterday - insects, nature, evolution, minerals, earth... For lunch, I ate a chef's salad at the museum's restaurant. I finished the day there by watching an interactive 40-mins movie about our place in evolution, and quickly going through the cocoon in the Darwin Centre.

I left at 16:20, pretty much the same time as yesterday, going towards Yashin Sushi. It's a place where they don't serve soy sauce, and instead rely on carefully-mixed sauces to match different sushis. It is a pretty expensive place, but was the only restaurant that had been referred to me in London. I got there at 16:54, but it was closed, so I assumed it opened at 17:00, and went to the Tesco Metro to buy a dessert and some fruits. When I went back, it was still closed. I asked someone inside, and they open at 18:00 - too late for the Comedy Store show... I went back to the Tesco Metro to buy two sandwiches, and went back to the hotel and ate dinner.

The minerals exhibition.

I left at 18:30, arrived at the Comedy Store at close to 19:30, and bought tickets for tomorrow's and thursday's shows. The show was from a group of six comedians called The Cutting Edge. It was good, but not as hilarious as the improvisation group from sunday. It was also more vulgar, and more involved with the public.

When I was going back to the hotel, I ran a bit (1.6km, in my winter coat). It felt really great - my knees felt warm (though they hurt a bit the day after, most likely because of my shoes), and my lower back didn't hurt anymore. After a few days of walking around 20 to 35 km everyday, my lower back was feeling sore, to the point of being uncomfortable sometimes, and hurting a bit some other times.

I took a shower, read a bit, and went to sleep.

London - Day 3

Hyde Park, in the morning.

I woke up at 07:30. I quickly ate breakfast and prepared my day, even read a couple pages in my book, then left at 08:30. For the first time, I went through Hyde Park. It was very peaceful, and I took several pictures.

The pond in Hyde Park.

I usually have a very good sense of direction, but near the pond, I somehow wound up 90° off from where I expected to be. I re-aimed for the south side of the park, which made me lose 15 minutes. Before carrying on, I stopped at Whole Foods Market to buy a chocolate chips scone, a cucumber, some dried figs, some more vegetables, and some mixed nuts. I took Queen's Gate (the street where the youth hostel was), and continued until I saw the National History Museum - or rather until I looked at the map, because I had missed it. I lost around five minutes because of that, and I finally saw the NHM. It's an architectural wonder - and it wasn't open. Yet. With all of that, I got there at 09:58, behind a crowd of 50-odd people waiting the last 2 minutes.

The National History Museum.

I got in, went through the dinosaur exhibit, reading everything, finding everything interesting, then I went through the human exhibit. There wasn't a lot of people, relatively-speaking, but there were too many school trips, groups of tourists, and families. The dinosaurs took me 1h30 to go through, while the human biology and physiology also took 1.5 hours.

Baby dinosaurs - I don't recall what type. 

I took a lunch break at the NHM restaurant, and ordered what I thought was a plate of vegetarian pasta, but it turned out to be a sandwich. My bad - I was reading the wrong section. I continued with the mammals exhibition, and that's about when I realized that I wouldn't have enough time to see everything... I started going a bit faster, reading only what was specifically interesting. I finished the mammals at around 16:00 (almost 3 hours), and finished with the small room for the fishes and invertebrates.

From the entrance to the mammals exhibit.

Decided to come back the next day, I left the NHM towards the hotel, where I ate a tomato, half a cucumber, some broccoli, and drank a lot of water, because I was parched. With all the walking I was doing, I definitely wasn't drinking enough water. I left soon after, stopping at Sainsbury's Local for two sandwiches, and walked down to the Apollo Victoria Theatre. I got there at almost 18:30, and was relieved that they had tickets left. It wasn't sold out, but all the sections were pretty full, and I was surprised because it was monday everning, and it's a show that plays everyday... Well anyway, I bought my first musical ticket for £32.50 - the red section near the wall. I followed the directions to the balcony and sat down, waiting for the show to start, but a group of people had the same seat number that I had, so I learned that "Stall" means on the ground (I didn't even know there were two levels). In my honest opinion, I was now in a much better place than on the balcony!

The show started - Wicked is the story behind the Wizard of Oz, and why / how the witch was to be known as "the wicked witch of the west". The show ended with an awesome finale. I took my coat and left, but subconsciously, something was amiss... People were not herding towards the exit... I didn't think too much of it, though, and started walking away, which, since I had left by the wrong exit, actually brought me back to the front. As I kept walking, I kept wondering why wasn't everyone leaving? The show ended with the head press secretary proclaiming to Oz that the green-skinned witch was evil and wicked, and Elphaba revolting, so there was the story! What was I missing?

I really almost continued walking, but decided to take a look, just in case. People were smoking outside... I went back in, slowly, almost shyly, towards the seats, and about 9/10 of the room was still seated! WTF‽ How come did everyone know that there was a second act? Today, I learned that it's not because the curtains are dropped and the lights are turned on that the show is over. I sat down, and the second act started soon after. The people beside me did not get back, by design or lack of knowledge. The second act was also very, very good, though it did not end in a climax like the first one. The curtains were dropped, the actors went back to bow before rounds of applause, and I was part of the 1/5 joining in for a standing ovation for the two main actresses. Lights were turned on, and then everyone got up and slowly herded themselves towards the exits.

I walked back to the hotel, stopping again at a Sainsbury's Local to buy tomorrow's breakfast (chocolate pastries, pears, yogurt, and an apple), wrote this text, and called it a night.

London - Day 2

Normal morning - got up at 08:00, ate my two chocolate pastries and some fruits, and left at around 09:30. This turned out to be a reconnaissance day to the south of Hyde Park.

Entrance to the Buckingham Palace.

I arrived at the Buckingham Palace, but it was closed. I think it's only open to visitors on some occasion, or sometimes rarely... Took some pictures, starting to feel a bit depressed by such an unnecessary flagrant show of wealth, and left towards the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where the Wicked musical (wiki link) is playing. I wanted to buy a ticket for the next day (monday), thinking there would be less people. Going there, I stopped at the Sainsbury's Local to buy lunch. The theatre was closed, probably only opening during the evenings. Having no real access to the internet (the hotel wi-fi sucks), I'll try to buy my ticket tomorrow evening, just before the show.

Continued on Victoria Street, found Westminster Abbey, but it was closed on sundays. Found out that the Big Ben is right behind it! I had thought that the Big Ben was just a tower with a clock, but it's actually the tower on the UK Parliament. Took some pictures that I think will turn out nice, because there was no cloud all day.

Westminster Abbey.
Help the poor, they say.

I could see the London Eye some small distance away, on the other side of the Thames River, so I went, but it was closed for whatever reason until January 21st. I took the opportunity to eat my lunch, looking at the river and some gulls that were disappointed that I didn't give them any part of my wrap and fruit salad. I went back to Picardilly, stopping at the Comedy Store to buy a ticket for this evening, but, like the theatre, it was closed.

I found the National Portrait Gallery by chance. I didn't plan to go, but since I had only walked today and didn't do anything, I went. It was okay, but they are only paintings, and too many of them about religion. I left, slightly irked.

I took Picardilly all the way around Hyde Park to see if there was anything interesting, but not really... I stopped at an expensive Whole Foods Market (but still a lot less expensive than a restaurant), and bought my dinner and breakfast for tomorrow. I went back to the hotel, tried to go on internet (couldn't), ate dinner, and prepared myself for a second round of walking.

UK Parliament, with it's Big Ben.

I left at 17:45, and arrived at 18:30 at the Comedy Store. There were still some tickets left, for which I was grateful, because the improvisation show was sold-out quickly later. I also bought a ticket for tuesday's show. I had to wait almost an hour inside for the show to start, but I had a pretty good place on the side. The six guys (cast a bit different from the original cast on the site) who were part of the improvisation were terrific! I had an awesome evening. I wonder if anything I do until friday will be better.

The London Eye.

When I went back to the hotel, I stopped at a small bar called City of Quebec. I stayed two minutes because it wasn't good - it seemed more like the kind of bar that old alcoholics go to to forget their day and their families... Maybe I'll try again during the week, to see if it's better. I got back to the hotel at around 22:40, prepared my stuff for an early start tomorrow, and read a bit.

In front of the National Portrait Gallery.

Edinburgh to London - Day 1

Quite a normal morning, and I just relaxed and prepared my stuff. At 10:40, I leave for the Haymarket Train Station, which is conveniently located five minutes walk from the hotel. I take the train to Waverley Station, which is near the end of Princes Street, and wait for the train to London at 12:00. I get in, and read for most of the 4.75 hours of the trip I did not finish The China Study, but it's almost done.

I arrive in London, take a taxi to the hotel address, the driver struggles a bit to find the place (he passed twice at the same place, but took £2.60 off because of that - total of £18. I get out but there is no "Caesar Hotel" anywhere! The address I have is in fact a youth hostel, so after walking around a bit, just in case, I get in to ask some questions.

I fortunately had a second address, which was the one provided by the official web site and by CentralR. The first one was given by Google Maps. The hotel address was 26-33 Queen's Gardens. The Google maps address was 191 Queen's Gate, and pointed at the same exact place, so understandably, I thought both addresses were the same one, possibly after some renaming of streets. It turns out that Queen's Gate, in the biggest Google Maps blunder I have ever lived through, is completely on the opposite side of Hyde Park! It could indeed be a lot worse, but I still had to walk 30 minutes to get to the real Caesar Hotel.

Fortunately, they had my reservation - at least, CentralR's £50 reserve served to something, but I wish my reservation would not be there, so that I could come back at CentralR for a refund. I get the card and ask for the stairs location, but the clerk that soooooo wanted to help me with my baggages (I didn't let him) absolutely didn't see any reason why I wouldn't want to take the elevator, and virtually forced me in. I got into my room, and was in for another surprise - the room is tiny. Near-microscopic! I don't want to spend a week of vacation, staying in a hotel room, so it doesn't really matter.

I leave my stuff there and go take a long walk in the Comedy Store's direction. This is something that I had wanted to do - since I'm alone on this trip, the least that I could do would be to try having some fun in the evenings, and not stay at the hotel. I had planned on going to the Comedy Store during most evenings, but retrospectively-speaking, this limited what I could do in the late afternoon, since I didn't take the tube (subway stations), nor the bus.

The end of Regent Street.

The Apple Store on Regent Street.

I stop at a Sainsbury's Local, a store similar to the Co-Operative Food in Edinburgh, to withdraw some money and buy two £1 sandwiches for dinner. During the rest of my walk, I was increasingly aware that, even if this was not tourist season, there were a lot of people in the streets. That was Bayswater Road / Oxford Road, and when I turned right on Regent Street, I was in for another surprise. Regent Street apparently is one the busiest street I have every seen, and is the epitome of thoughtless consumerism and illogical capitalism. I hated the sight, and I hated the stores, all bigger and grander than the next one. Even though I never went to Las Vegas, I thought Regent Street could perhaps rival the Vegas Strip in term of useless luminosity and visual pollution.

Remembering Google Maps (with Street View), I finally get to where I was headed, and enter the Comedy Pub. I manage to buy a ticket at the last second, because the show was already almost sold-out. It's 19:15, and the show starts at 20:30, so I go for a small walk around. I turn the corner and see a big Comedy Store neon sign! Gaaaah, Google! (Note: as I checked when I got back home, the street view of the Comedy Store was either not updated recently, or the Comedy Store was suffering renovations. This was why I had missed it.) It turned out good, because there was no seat left for the 19:30 show.

I browsed 40 minutes in the HMV on Regent Street, and go back to the Comedy Pub, thinking of going to the Comedy Store after for the second show at 23:00. The show was nice, and I had quite a few laughs. It was four comedians, each of them doing stand-up comedy. I was having some trouble understanding some of them, but after ten minutes or so, it was okay. The third and last break was very long (around 40 minutes - I assume they had problems with something, or the guy was late), so the show ended at 23:15.

I walked back to the hotel, stopping at Sainsbury to buy a breakfast and some fruits, and I called it a night.

Edinburgh - Day 10

I woke again at 06:40, because I had a big day ahead, and a lot to do (or so I thought). I ate my last hotel breakfast (because I didn't know if tomorrow's is paid by the company or not), prepared my stuff, and went outside with my laundry. The previous monday, I had forgotten to ask for a receipt, so I was relieved when I learned that the guy working there remembered me, and agreed to send me the receipts by email.

Small lake in Holyrood Park.

Then I left towards Holyrood Park, going through Grassmarket / Cowgate / Holyrood Road. I got there at around 08:40, and walked almost completely around the park. I climbed the same path to get to the mountain like last time, then went ahead to Arthur's Seat. The paths were not as difficult as they seemed, and the view was spectacular! I was at the top at 09:40, so I took less time that I had expected.

I walked back down, slowly, taking the same way along the crags.

The dial on top of Arthur's Seat, showing the
direction and distance of nearby mountains.

My coworker and his girlfriend had recommended The Mussel & Steak for lunch, and I got there at 11:15, but it only opened at 12:00, so I walked around the castle and the Royal Mile and entered at 12:06.

It was a very interesting restaurant - they gave me an empty glass, and a clear bottle of wine filled with water. That was cool! And they have a camera in the kitchen, so we can watch them cook our meal while we wait.

I ordered a brie tart, which was delicious, followed by a main dish of mussels, which was also my first time. It was pretty good!

First time eating mussels.

I left the restaurant at exactly 13:06, and walked again through the Royal Mile, to Princes Street, to the St-James Mall Centre. I was smaller than I had anticipated. I wanted to buy some A4 wirebound books to take nots, but they were £4. That was much too expensive. I also wanted to buy a book, since my reading of The China Study was almost over, and the 5-hours train ride tomorrow would see it done, or nearly so. I had learned the previous day that J.K. Rowling had written her first Harry Potter book (The Philosopher's Stone) in some cafés in Edinburgh, notably The Elephant House, which I passed in front a couple times when I was walking close to the Royal Mile. I thought buying the first book in Edinburgh was more suitable than buying it in London.

The water I got.

There were no bookstore in the mall, so I asked the lady at the information kiosk, and she points to a place on Princes Street. I asked the name of the store, and upon hearing random letters and sounds and not wanting to make her repeat, I decide a bookstore is quite easy to notice. I walk back to Princes Street and search for a bookstore on all its length, but doesn't see anything. I go back towards the hotel, trying on my way to find a free wi-fi spot somewhere, and in my room, go to google on the hotel wi-fi. WaterStone is indeed on Princes Street, near the end. I take note of another bookstore, closer to the hotel, in case the WaterStone is closed or something. The other bookstore is small and seemingly uninteresting, but it's a suitable alternative.

I go back to Princes Street, but can't find anything. Check Princes Mall, nothing. I start my way back to the front of Princes Street, but find a board on the street saying which stores are where, and there it is! Near the beginning! I had missed it twice... I go there, spend almost an hour trying to find a book, because the only Harry Potter book #1 they have is damaged, and I need another book for the train. I settle with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, of which the american version is currently in theaters.

I go back, get my laundry, get back to my room and check my emails on my iPhone. My coworker said to meet him at 18:30 at Teuchters Bar, the bar on top of A Room at the West End restaurant. While I wait for the best time to leave the hotel, I write this text in my notebook, then leave at 18:00 and wait for my coworker at the bar. An Irish guy from the support department arrives first, and we drink, waiting for the coworker. When he finally arrives, we drink with him, and go down to the restaurant. I order a vegetarian dish with potato dumplings. It was very good!

After dinner, we returned to the bar section, and I leave at around 21:30, stopping at the Co-op Food one last time to get a breakfast for tomorrow.

Edinburgh - Day 8 & 9

Normal morning, normal day learning and browsing, and got back to the hotel after work. During the day, I was looking at the interesting restaurants in Edinburgh, and found out on tripadvisor that the Indaba was really good, and the prices were great.

Since the people here eat a bit later than I am used to, I waited in my room, watching an episode about the chemicals related to love on BBC, which is unavailable to people outside the UK. At 20:00, I left the hotel towards the Indaba, but when I got there, it was closed for January. I continued walking for quite a long while, trying to find somewhere interesting to eat, but wound up eating at the hotel restaurant at around 21:30 when I got back. Relaxed for the rest of the evening, and went to sleep.

The haggis I had looked like that.
Haggis, neeps, and tatties.

Day 9 (a thursday, and my last day of work), was pretty similar. Normal morning and day. For lunch, we went again to Gregg's (like yesterday and the rest of the week). We left by bus again, but I didn't leave at my hotel - I stayed with him, walking around the city centre, and he showed me a couple places on the way. We went to Mum's Comfort Food (previously known as Monster Mash). We waited for his girlfriend to arrive (a very pretty Chinese lady) and I ordered my first haggis ever. It was okay, but my coworker said it was better the year before. It tasted a lot like the tourtière we have in Quebec.

Traditional haggis, which I expected to get but didn't.

The waiter was very friendly. Almost light-headedly friendly, as if he had drunk a bit while working. We overheard that it was his last day of work (?), so maybe that was it. When he heard that I was Canadian, he talked a bit about Canada and a friend in Montreal. He was also physically friendly, putting his hand on the clients' shoulders (mine included, but mostly the female patrons on another table). He also learned that it was the first time I had haggis, and he said "A haggis virgin? And you ate it all?" and he made me stand up and offered me a friendly hug, which I accepted.

We finished eating, parted ways, and I walked back to the hotel, where I drank my second (and last) beer in my hotel room while reading. (I had a total of 1 cidre, 2 beers, and 1 ale bought).

Age Difference

The other day, I was thinking about what an age difference between two people really mean. I think this is a subject that is easier to write about spontaneously, so here it goes.

I'm about thirty, and we're talking about a twenty-years difference of age. I'll imagine someone my age with a twenty years older person of the opposite sex. I think there are four point of views that need to be analyzed. As usual, my opinions do not reflect the general population's, so, as usual, if you are offended by anything I write, either accept an apology, or don't read my blog.


An Older Man
From the point of view of the girl... If she is dating him because of his financial situation, she is an opportunist and found herself a sugar daddy. She could also be with him because she wants the intellectual maturity of an older man. She could also be insecure about herself, afraid to commit to a long-term relationship with someone her age. Founding a family could even scare her - an older man already has a family, or doesn't want one.

From the point of view of the man... He is successful. His wealth or maturity helped him catch a beautiful fish in the pond.


An Older Woman
That one is harder to visualize, for the only reason that it seems to be frowned upon. A young man going out with an older woman is taboo, and can even be thought of as shameful. I think a relationship like this is more heartfelt, more mentally intimate, than the classic young girl - older man.

From the point of view of the boy... He could be tired of people his age, their immaturity. He doesn't want commitment, and prefers a hug over sex.

From the point of view of the woman... She has found someone who likes her personality more than her looks.

This is very hard for me to visualize, perhaps because years and years of movies have shown only the successful older man with his trophy younger wife.


Scenarios
You see a girl in her thirties going out with an older man. The way they move and talk together makes it obvious that the man is not her father. What are your thoughts about that?

Don't lie. "The man is successful, but is taking advantage of her naivety. The girl is there for the money, and should be ashamed." Stereotypes.

You see a young man in his thirties, walking hand in hand with an older woman that could be his mother, but obviously isn't. What are your thoughts about that?

I... I don't even know what my thoughts would be. This is so uncommon, so taboo that I don't even know what I would really think if I saw such a couple. I think I would be a little bit freaked out, but would I really?


Conclusion
However I look at this (based on my four point of views), the older person is a winner, while the younger person has some (minor or not, depending on his/her reasons) issues. I can't imagine a relationship like this going long-term, but it feels more like a short-term thing, in order to respond to a temporary void. The younger person could have something missing inside, and possibly went to the first person who was there to fill that void.

Of course, this post was assuming a 30 - 50 years old couple. A 60 - 80 years old couple is very fine by our society's standards, because the age difference is not as pronounced.

So, why would society care? The only thing I can think of is that the younger person could still have a family. Maybe people look at a girl / older man couple, and subconsciously blame her for renouncing her "obligation" to found a family? An older couple with the same age difference is socially acceptable because their families are finished, their "obligation" to the human race done with.

Fake Fireplaces

I had a thought during the holidays. Remember the DVD of a fireplace, that you put in your living room TV to pretend you have a warm fireplace? My parents have one, and so does my uncle.

When we got there on December 24th, we were greeted by the sound of such a fireplace. I know it is used to generate a comforting and cozy ambiance, but it got me into some useless thinking.

Where it got me is there:

• If I don't have a fireplace, I can watch a video of someone who does;
• If I don't have a girlfriend, I can watch a video of some guy who does.

A fake fireplace video, according to this impeccable logic, is considered as fire porn. Case closed.

Social Responsibilities from Companies

Popular companies have social responsibilities. Their actions mirrors their users'.

They can spark controversies when they support the wrong organizations, or turn their back on others.

In recent years, Paypal has banned wikileaks, and has blocked different accounts for different reasons. One of the most controversial one was the regretsy issue. Paypal have worked with regretsy to resolve the problem, but it is mostly understood that they did so because of the bad press they received. People cancelled their Paypal account because of this (myself included, though I should have done so sooner, when they banned wikileaks a year before).

Credit cards are losing face because of the same reasons. They blocked wikileaks for no reason. It is my money you have in your vaults. What right do you have to block me from helping any organization I feel is right? And why do you charge such a high percentage on every transaction? (3-4%) Dwolla is a very interesting alternative concept - let's hope it catches on completely in America, and spreads to Canada and the other countries.

This week (it is now December 23rd), it was made known to the internet that GoDaddy was supporting SOPA. SOPA is something that would give a lot of power to the US government to censor web sites, in a supposed attack against piracy. The thing is, it would also have a lot of power against free speech. There is a boycott rising against GoDaddy, which I will be part of when I have a few minutes to move my web site to another host. Soon after, like Paypal, GoDaddy withdrew its support for SOPA, but it was too late. Allegiances were made.Other companies declared their support for SOPA, with similar reaction from the public.

I think companies like that have social responsibilities to support the organizations that their users support. They should not respond to pressures from the government, nor other financially powerful entities.

Edinburgh - Day 7 & 8

Nothing exciting here, move along!

Day seven and eight were very similar, and so should be the next two. I woke up at 6:40, ate breakfast, prepared myself for the day, and left the hotel to take the bus. On monday (day seven), I had to buy a FirstWeek bus ticket, which is a huge ticket that grants you unlimited access to the First Group buses. It cost me £24 for the LM region (around Edinburgh, up to Broxburn). It was the first time I tried those two-storied buses. The second level is pretty cool, because you get a better view of what's around, but the perspective is skewed a bit, and it seems the bus is passing terribly close to other cars. That was but mildly unsettling at first, then you just trust the driver.

I'm going too fast... Monday, I had to go to the laundry store. £9 for a washing, drying, and folding. Not too bad for when you're on vacation, but I would have liked to have this service in the hotel, though if it costs as much as in Tokyo, nevermind. Tuesday (today, actually, as I'm writing this), I went to the Co-op Foods, and bought raspberries, plums, clementines, green grapes, bell peppers, and tomatoes, which I brought to work.

I spent the days with my other coworker. For lunch (both days), we went to Gregg's, which is some kind of bakery where they sell baked stuff. I ate a lot both times because I wanted to taste everything, but I'll have to eat less the next two days. Spent most of the days learning, and browsing. We got back by bus.

Monday, I went to the Pho Vietnamese restaurant close to the hotel. It's a very tiny place, with only five tables, and they were all full. I went away, going to my alternate choice, sushi at Sushiya. What? Why are the curtains closed? I found out later that they are closed on mondays. I walked a bit, then went back to the vietnamese restaurant. They accept take-outs, but right before I ordered, a table was emptied, so I sat down instead. I ate a rather large bowl of beef Pho (soup with udon-like noodles, with some strips of beef on top), and two spring rolls. It was all pretty good!

On tuesday, I went to the sushi place again (Sushiya) at 20:00, and went to the Co-op Food to buy two beers while they made the sushis. I learned that they are very expensive - what I thought were hosomaki (6 for around £4) were in fact just maki. The real hosomaki were then 8 for around £9. It cost me £16 for 3 sets of maki and two nigiri. They were very delicious, though. Even though I would be tempted to go back if I don't have any restaurant in mind, I won't, because I didn't learn anything new there.

On both days, I spent the rest of the evening relaxing a bit and reading. And that's it! Not very exciting, wasn't it?

Edinburgh - Day 6

Week-end is already over. It's not that bad, though. I've seen most of what I wanted to see - the rest is mainly some restaurants. I'm eager to move to London next week!

Woke up at 07:00 (yep, on a sunday), ate breakfast, and was ready to leave the hotel at 07:45. I went to the Edinburgh Castle, through all of the Royal Mile, turn right to... indeed! Holyrood Park! The hill is very impressive, especially when standing at the bottom.

West of Holyrood Park. End of the Salisbury
Crags at the left.

If you arrived from the Palace of Hollyroodhouse (east end of the Royal Mile) like I did, you are face to face with the Salisbury Crags. These are ominous, and the reminders along the road that there can be rock slides are a bit unsettling when you look up. I immediately take the road that seems to go up to my right, and continue walking, and walking, panting at some points, reminding myself that I'll continue running when I get back home to get back in shape.

West of Edinburgh, seen from the hill
next to Arthur's Seat.

I get to the point where there are some different paths to take. I take to one that seems to go to the top of that hill, which I wrongfully assumed to be Arthur's Seat (Arthur's Seat was just behind it). The earthen path doesn't rise that much, but there are very tall wooden steps (some around 50cm (1.5 ft) high), which are testing my endurance. I get to the end of the path - the rest is only rocks, pebbles, patches of grass, and earth, that would be deadly for someone under the influence of alcohol. I'm saying this because I actually saw some beer bottles on top of some hills. That's dangerous...

Arthur's Seat, as seen from it's neighbor hill.

I know what I'm doing. There are two clear paths from here, and I take the left one. More earth than rock on a slight incline for about 10 meters, then rises sharply with only rocks. I look back and decide this is as far as I'll go. The other path seems easier, at a 45 degree angle, but mostly rocks. I climb around 5 meters, and decide there must be about 20 meters maximum to reach the top. Now, the climb was not that easy. I had to make sure my footing was good, because even if I didn't use my hands, it was easy to slip.

The Salisbury Crags, from the top.

I look back. Woah. How the hell can I go back if I continue? The rest of the climb is even harder, but even if it wasn't, I decided this wasn't a good day to break something. One slip, and I slide down to the bottom, hitting everything as I get more momentum down the sharp incline. I start going down, which proves at least ten times harder than climbing, even when using my hands. I get stuck about a meter from the path, and after about a minute trying to find a spot where to place any foot, I see no other choice than to jump. It wasn't a difficult jump, but so many things could go wrong, like landing and slipping, and sliding all the way down. There are no rails anywhere, in case you wanted to know. I just jumped and landed safely, relieved.

Just that climb was a terribly good exercise for my legs, but I didn't see Arthur's Seat. I go back the tall steps, take another path leading somewhere dangerous, take another one, same thing, until I notice some people using stairs that go the side of the hill I wanted to climb (the stairs were hard to see if you didn't know they were there). I follow the path, and follow a 200 meters path made out of different sizes of slabs, forming a very long stairs. That was another kind of hard exercise for my legs.

I make it to the top, trying not to think too much about the hill behind it, which is a bit taller, which must make it Arthur's Seat. I go to the ledge, standing on a rock amid the grass, close my eyes, and feel the wind. Because wind there was. A lot of it. Edinburgh (or Scotland, for that matter) is a windy city, most noticeable when in a high location. Even though the wind was cold, it felt great.

There were some paths that now led to Arthur's Seat, but none seemed to be really safe. Maybe there was the "official" path on the other side? I'll probably never know. I look down, notice which path would lead me to the top of Salisbury Crags, go back down the stairs of slabs. Previously, I had taken a path towards the crags, but took a right when it forked. It looked like the correct path, but became muddy, slippery, and dangerous, so I had gone back. Now, with the right path in my mind, I went over Salisbury Crags. The sudden rocky drop was exciting, especially since there was nothing to prevent anyone from falling. In america, there would have been fences and rails everywhere, marring the view.

I follow the oft-disappearing path, back down to the ground on the other side, close to where I initially started on Queen's Drive. Royal Mile, Hotel, 11:00. Quite a walk!

I rest for a few minutes and go down to the hotel reception, asking about laundry service. They don't offer it (damn...), but there is a laundry shop nearby where I can drop my clothes. I decide to go there to get some info first, but it's closed, and no opening hours anywhere. Most shops on Dalry Road are not open yet (it's about 11h15), so I walk around a bit, wondering what I can eat for lunch - with the morning exercise, I'm hungry!

11:35, still not open, so I decide to walk to the Co-operative Food (similar to a Metro or IGA), buy a sandwich, a caesar wrap, and some fruits. 12:05, still not open. Must not be open on sundays. I go back to the hotel, and eat while asking Google what laundry service there are. There's another one that seems even better, opens tomorrow at 08:00. My bus is at 08:28, so all's good. Well, almost all's good, since I'll have to wear the same underwear tomorrow, a wrinkled pants, and one of the unwashed shirt that I bought yesterday. Oh well... I continue to relax a bit in my hotel room, and I tell myself that I really should go out again, even though I have nowhere to go.

I, of course, go to the Royal Mile again. The last thing I could do that seemed promising was the Scotch Whisky Experience. I pay the admission, enter a motorized barrel that brought me along a railway, showing me the process to making scotch. That lasted 10 minutes, then about 10 other people and I were brought to a room, where a guide taught us about the four whisky regions of Scotland. One tasting was included with the admission price, so we had to choose one region. He brought us to a winding corridor displaying the 3500+ bottles of scotch whisky in some guy's collection. That was impressive.

I go back to the Royal Mile, but this time, I try all the perpendicular roads, looking for interesting shops. Of course, being the perfect tourist that I am, I find none, but ended up walking for a long time, looking around. I leave the Royal Mile by the north, and instead of taking Princes Street, I take the parallel street to the north, Rose Street, looking at the different shops there.

Back to the hotel a bit past 16:30, after about 10 hours of walking, and climbing. Some wikipedia, then dinner at the hotel restaurant (entrée of prawns (shrimps) and a tiny salad, then a plate of pesto pasta (which was very fulfilling, even with no meat), and a "Caramel Apple Crumble with Ice Cream"). Back to my room, upload photos, write day, and relax.

Edinburgh - Day 5

Wow, already fifth day! Time flies so fast, and before I even know it, I'll be back in Canada.

Edinburgh Castle, seen from Johnston Terrace.

Woke up at 8:00, ate a breakfast, relaxed for a few minutes, then walked towards the Edinburgh Castle. I took the audio guide, and spent the next hour and a half walking around inside the castle walls, and inside some of the buildings there. It was very pleasant. After that was done, it was around 11:30, a bit too soon to eat lunch, considering I had a pretty big breakfast.

The Castle entrance.

Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park, seen from inside the castle.

Right next to the castle, there is the Camera Obscura, a building filled with illusions and mind tricks, topped with a mirror that can be controlled from inside to look around. Most of it was mildly interesting, but there was one in particular that blew my mind. It was a corridor made to look like a small bridge around which was rotating a cylinder. That made your brain think that the bridge was falling on its side, so unless you just closed your eyes, you had to reach for the hand rail lest you just fall over. It was just crazy. Even knowing about the trick didn't help - you instantly felt dizzy and tried to fall.

Another of interest was the mirror maze (a tiny labyrinth). If you go through it carefully, it's very easy. At the entrance to the maze, there is a panel saying that you must not run inside, and they even put a fake picture of a woman with bandages over her face. While I was inside, a little girl started running, and hit a wall head-on. Her father was a bit concerned, but she was laughing. Five seconds later, she's going in the other direction, and runs directly into another mirror, harder this time. She starts crying and whines that she wants to go home.

A battered Mars bar.

That lasted about an hour, and it was time to eat lunch. I knew where I was going - The Clamshell! My coworkers from Canada had talked to me about this tiny restaurant where they deep-fry a lot of things, so I took the classic "fish n chips", a deep-fried fish (mackerel?) with fries. Actually, I went there for one thing specifically - a "battered Mars bar" (interesting article), which is actually a Mars bar, deep-fried. Yes. Let me repeat that: a Mars bar, deep-fried. Une barre Mars frite. The fish and fries were alright, in an American kind of way, but the Mars bar... Imagine a medium rare top sirloin cut from an angel. To almost quote Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings, "There are no words in French, English, or the tongues of America, for this sapidity." It was legendary, and I'll never take another one, ever.

Then I went to The Real Mary King's Close. I didn't know what to expect, but the first part was, by far, the most interesting I've seen in Edinburgh to date. To make a very long story very short, there were all these old medieval apartment houses each sides of the Royal Mile, some 8 stories high, and they decided to build a huge government building (the Royal Exchange). Because the Royal Mile is at the top of some kind of hill chain, the sides are on a slope. They destroyed the apartment levels that were higher than the Royal Mile, and built the building over the rest. That means that part of the ancient city (from the 1600s) is still down there, under the building. The tour talked a lot about what kind of life these people were living in, about the plagues, and all these things. It was fascinating!

It lasted an hour, then 20 minutes break, and then an hour-long tour around the Royal Mile, talking about some people who lived there centuries ago, and old buildings, and old history. Very interesting also.

By then, it was 16:00, and I walked further away to Princes street to buy two shirts. I had only brought two in my luggage, because I expected to be able to wear a t-shirt most of the time there, but since everyone at work was wearing a shirt, I decided I wouldn't want to get any unneeded attention. Then, I went all the way back to the hotel. Arrived at around 17:00, had dinner at the hotel later on (entrée of mushrooms, a pint of Guinness, and a chicken burger). Relaxed in my hotel room for the rest of the evening, mainly writing this post and uploading the pictures I've taken so far. I get to keep the work laptop in the evenings, so it's very useful.