Monday

Checked out of the Hostel and made my way back to the Hyde Park room.  Got settled.  Actually used the dresser drawer.  Had a real desk and real WiFi so I tried to do some real work for a while.

Ended up watching Netflix instead a lot.  Decided on “Suits” since it’s obviously one of those shows that I would like and it only has 2 seasons on Netflix so it isn’t a huge investment.  But I watched way too much of it of course and got a minimal amount of work done.  An apt prelude to my return home. Continue reading And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? →

My time in East London had come to an end and I was moving on to the next hostel.  Just to change things up, really.  So I checked out and spent a little time pouring over work in the coffee shop next to the hostel before setting out to find the new place I’m staying in South London. Continue reading To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. →

So a couple hours after arriving in London, I ran to the bathroom in a Pret a Manger and had my phone stolen while I was in there.  Which I’m annoyed about, but not really that upset.  It was a piece of crap, but it’s still an inconvenience.  At least he/she didn’t take my laptop or passport, which were also sitting right there.  Mainly, that just means I won’t be taking any more pictures. Continue reading I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human. →

Started off the day at The City Cafe, which was just around the corner from where I was staying.  Had a vegetarian breakfast which included some form of “vegetarian haggis” – although I have no idea what could have possibly been in it.  It was OK. Continue reading I was very impressed with the capable and stylish manner in which you dealt with that situation →

It’s the weekend, so now I have to do things.  After not being able to find a place in Belfast, I booked my rooms in advance this time, which unfortunately meant my touring options were limited.  There are a lot of 2-day to 5-day tours up to the Isle of Skye (a 2-day or 3-day would have been nice), but I had to settle for the 1-day intensive course for the Scottish highlands.

The day started at 8am and ended at 8pm and involved about 8 hours on the coach.  I took lots of naps. Continue reading I would walk five hundred miles And I would walk five hundred more →

On Friday I started off by visiting a start-up hub in the city.  Someone there gave me a tour and showed me everything that was going on.  It was alright – not as exciting as I was hoping, but still pretty cool to work in that kind of environment.

Continue reading So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. →

Finally, I’m out of Belfast.  What a depressingly horrible place.  It should be sister cities with Rochester.  I finished it off by having a vegetarian fry for breakfast, getting some work done, then getting wasted on Irish car bombs at the Europa hotel #toosoon?, which was right next to my bus station.  JK I hung out at the coffee shop next to it.

And then I was off to Glasgow.  

Continue reading To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive. →

Finally Saturday came, meaning it was time to take my tour to Giants Causeway.  It’s a hexagonal formation of layered basalt due to volcanic a long time ago.  But as I’ve figured out with these tours at this point, they make you see other things too.

Game of Thrones is shot in Titanic Studios (right next to the museum I was in earlier in the week) and also throughout a lot of Ireland that we visited on this tour.  I’ve only seen one episode, but a lot of people were really into it.  So now I can say I’ve been where Game of Thrones is filmed at least. Continue reading You know nothing, Jon Snow! →

Big surprise, it was raining Wednesday morning, so I decided to forego my plans for another walk in Howth Head.  After getting a bit of work done in the hotel, I got an early start on my travels, taking the DART to Dublin and then a bus to Belfast.

Belfast is dirty.  But they have a lot of nice coffee shops and affordable places to eat, despite the fact that I have to switch back to £’s from €’s.  The hostel I’m staying in is small but nice, WiFi in the bedrooms which was great because I had a couple important calls today I needed a great connection and quiet for (which went well).  So this place has worked out well for my “working and travelling” plan. Continue reading I cook the world’s best duck flambe →

So I’m used to hostel breakfasts which are just toast, maybe some cereal, and tea. The hotel breakfast had all those things, plus juice, and fruit, and yogurt, and croissants, and you got to order something (so I got scrambled eggs). It felt weird, being waited on.

But anyways, my room is situated so that I actually get a pretty nice view of the Irish sea. Continue reading History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake. →