Hey everyone,

It's amazing how quickly a large amount of time can pass so quickly and a short amount of time can pass so slowly.  I have been traveling for only a month and at the same time it feels like much longer and much less.  It seems like so much more then a month of events has happened while at the same time I look at the date and wonder where all the time has gone.  Perhaps I should fill you in...

I left you last with the hope and plan of finding family and friends in Glasgow, Scotland.  I was successful in both.  The first night out I got to met
my Mum's best friend in Scotland.  Her and her husband were nice enough to take me out for dinner as we talked about ourselves and shared stories of my mother.  It was funny to hear about all the mischief my Mum used to get into. Apparently she had even devised a way of getting free phone calls from pay phones when she was young.  I won't go into details since I certainly don't want to encourage anyone others to attempt the same (You know who you are!! *lol*).  Anyway it was a really wonderful night and I was glad I was able to finally met this woman that meant so much to my mother.  The next day I had made arrangements to meet my..umm...cousin(?) Margaret who would take me to visit my mother's uncles and other relations in Alexandria.  Unfortunately since we had never met before she didn't know what I looked like and when she arrived at my hostel early she proceeded to inquire with every guy she met if they were David.  Even worse was that (not surprisingly) I wasn't the ONLY David staying there.  Fortunately I did find her as she entered the common room prepared to question the rest of the hostel's guest and we headed off to Alexandria.

From the moment I arrived I was made to feel welcome and part of the family, and their treatment was beyond generous as I shared my stories, continuously being offered some form of alcohol (Apparently the Canadian reputation preceded me ;).  Like the night before I learned much about my mother as well as about other members of my family both absent and present.  An interesting encounter was meeting another one of my cousins who ALSO lives in Canada (Sis - One of Matthew's brothers) that happened to have arrived that morning for a wedding on the weekend.  We laughed the day through at each others jokes and stories and much humour was derived when they learned that I'd be going out that evening to meet a friend I had made in London.  The mistake on my part was letting it slip that this friend was a lady.  You can no doubt guess where the conversation went.  Fortunately the friend I met up with that night (Some of you know Linda from EC) was similarly harassed by her family.  For her sake I do have to clarify that she is JUST a friend.  *lol*

The next day I was back on the road, hopping onto a train to Stranraer and then a ferry to Belfast.  I have to stop here to comment a bit about the ferry itself.  While it was massive and very impressively filled with about 8 different restaurants, a duty free shop, 4 or so arcades, and I don't know how many pubs I have to say that I was VERY disappointed.  Here's why:  I couldn't stand on the deck.  No one was permitted up on the deck.  The only access to anything 'outside' was a small smoking area at the back of the boat.  For those who don't know, I quite like boats.  And I like the feel of the water and the wind while I'm on a boat.  To watch our passage to Belfast from a window was just not the same, even though the sway of the boat was.  Anyway two hours later I arrive in sunny Belfast and get settled in.

Of Belfast itself I didn't see particularly much.  Part of it was because I was quite nervous to go exploring about as I normally do.  But despite the concerns I had the people of Belfast were very friendly and welcoming.  While I was in Belfast I booked myself onto a day tour that included the Giant's Causeway.  For those that don't know (since I didn't until a little before hand), the Giant's Causeway is a rather interesting geological sight.  In english - It's mounds and mounds of naturally formed hex-shaped pillars right on the ocean.  They were all packed together making pools here and there for water and sea life to collect, and making them very easy to climb around...which of course I did.  I met a Swedish girl that was as adventurous (or stupid) as me.  Every time I said 'Hey, you think we could scale along those rocks to that far point over the water?', she'd be right behind me pushing me on.  Not literally pushing of course.  She wasn't trying to kill me...I think.  Doesn't matter.  At one point our curiosity got us almost stuck on a large rock in the middle of the water as the tide started to come in.  We made it back all right...a little soggy, but safe.  I have noticed that around these natural formations I seem to have lost my previous concerns about heights.  I used to get quite nervous when I was in some mildly high areas (like walking the York wall without hand-rails) but now I love it!  Wait until you see some of the pictures I've taken!!

Well after Belfast is was time to (finally) leave the United Kingdom.  I hoped on a train and headed to Dublin.  Now, for those who have gotten a few of these emails you've probably noticed I haven't given any stories while I'm ON the train.  Well there's two possible reasons for this:

1.  I don't have have any stories from the train that are more interesting then me sitting there sleeping or reading.
2.  I have some REALLY good train stories and there's no way I'm telling them here.

Please feel free to pick whichever reason you thing is the most likely.

Dublin.  It was raining.  It's rained elsewhere in my travels but this just seemed more significant.  I guess it's expected in Ireland, so I certainly
wasn't disappointed.  However the rain hardly gets in your way from having fun. It was always a very light rain and it didn't actually rain the WHOLE time.  Not the whole time.  Anyway after getting settled and relaxing for a while I decided to join a bike tour of the city.  I thought it would be fun and interesting way to look around and it had been a while since I'd done anything really more athletic then a hike...I was due.  Unfortunately when I arrived, all that was there with me was the travel guide.  We both agreed that it would probably be more fun if there were some other people on the tour and I decided I'd come back the next day.  So...we went for a pint.  Irish people are friendly!  I had my first taste of REAL Guinness and while it was much better then anything I have had in North America, the second glass was Kilkenny.  That night I was able to find the fix that I couldn't get in Belfast...a Ghost Tour!  It was a lot of fun and along the way I made friends with another Canadian and
a couple from California.  The best part of any tour though is when the actors come out with you afterwards drinking.  Then you get the REALLY good stories.  These lasted until about 4am.  But so did the beers so that's what was important!  Well after a few days of fun in Dublin I was on the road again, this time to Galway on the west coast.

Galway reminded me somewhat of Inverness in that it wasn't important what was there, but what was close to it.  The Cliffs of Moher.  The Aurin Islands.  This drew the tourists to Galway more (unfortunately) then for the charms of Galways itself.  In it's defense, Galway is a sweet little city with plenty to keep you busy...especially numerous pubs.  Unfortunately the first night there I could not partake of the pubs since I woke up feeling rather sick and was taking influenza medicine with codeine.  The next day I was feeling much better and explored the Cliffs of Moher during the day...and the poor pubs I ignored the night before that evening.  I figured if there were any germs left in my body I would use alcohol to clean and disinfect.  Conveniently there was a pub located directly across the street from the hostel with live music to keep you
moving..and drinking...all the night long.  Now, I don't want people thinking I've become some sort of alcoholic.  I am merely trying to taste the different flavors of the countries and cities I visit.  Yes...that sounds good.  Well with the friends I made at the pub we continued our fun well into the morning.  We actually found a pub that opened at 6:30am.  Sweet.  The next day was mostly rest and recovery.  The flu (if that's what it was) was certainly dead.  Beyond the drinking I had a great time in Galway and hope to squeeze another visit in before going home.

So much happens in so little amount of time.  The stories above have occurred in less then two weeks.  As I said before, it passed so quickly and still feels like it was longer.

Last night I finally made my way back to Dublin and on Monday I will be planting foot on mainland Europe.  Since first coming to Europe this will be biggest change I will encounter.  Every other country I have so far visited shared my language and that is about to change.  Excitement and fear tingle through me like the day I flew out of Toronto.  Another adventure waits for me and a few more stories to share.  Until I share them, be safe and have fun.  I hope you liked my story and I that I hear from you all soon.

Cheers,
David