Harry's Blog Page

Hello everyone,

So the trip has officially started and, besides a little jet lag, it's off to a great start! Kevin and I boarded the plane headed for Gatwick around 6pm (toronto time) and arrived shortly after 1am (~7am UK time). I was pretty excited to finally be in europe and actually be on the eurotrip I've wanted to do since 3rd year university.

Gatwick was quite nice. The weather was sunny and about 10 C when we landed but warmed up nicely as the day progressed. Unfortunately my battery was dying so I didn't take any pictures while in Gatwick. Shortly after we arrived we took the first train into Crawley. Initially, due to accent issues, we were planning on heading into Horley. That was cleared up after we saw the train schedules, and decided what the woman at the info booth said was closer to Crawley. We had to wait about 2hrs in the airport before shops would open then were on our way.

Crawley was a nice little town...some nice english looking buildings, streets, and cars (including the british taxis which im sure many pictures will be posted of once the two stragglers arrive and we are all in london). We went straight to the mall to get our phones. We quickly found the Carphone Warehouse and found cheap europe-wide prepaid phones for around $45 CAD. After getting our phones sorted out we asked the cashier to recommend a place to eat. the suggestion: McDonalds. Weak. We ended up grabing breakfast at some fish and chips place. Apparently eating beans for breakfast is popular in england bc they served it with the in-flight breakfast as well as at the fish and chips place in their special. Personally, beans with breakfast is not for me, but I guess this is a piece of the culture I came to see. On the train ride back, kevin and I were given (buddhist?) prayer cards by an old lady. She said they ward off disease, bad luck, and unforeseen events...so we should be good for the trip I guess! The next several hours went by slowly and painfully as I was dead tired from staying up all night and now had to wait around in the terribly excited gatwick airport until our next departure at 4:15pm (UK time). I was so tired I fell asleep for the entire 1 hour flight and was only woke by the landing gear. (britney and christina: you will not enjoy your jet lag!) Later that day we found our way to the BruBar Hostel via city bus, walked around the city a bit (pictures on flickr), got dinner at this africian themed irish restaurant(?), and just crashed in our 6 person dorm (which was closer in size to a small single bedroom).

The hostel was less lively/social than expected. It had more of a laid back vibe going on, I didn't mind though bc I was so tired. Security doesn't seem to be an issue, even though there are no lockers or any way to secure your bag except by putting it under your bunkbed.You have to press a button and the shower runs for ~15 seconds at a time. Helps keep your showers efficient.

For today, we got up around 7:30 am, walked to the nearby grocery/clothing store (strange combination) and bought some food for lunch and dinner, for only a few euros each per person! Then we boarded the train and left for Kilarney (national park). We were there for about 4 hours. Lots of walking, but we got to see a beautiful lake/mountain, some sort of old castle like building (the castle guest house?) and a 500 year old castle. Needless to say it was awesome! Check out the pictures on the flickr link.

Tomorrow Kevin and I are planning on visiting some famous 200M cliffs. Probably rent some bikes and hang around there for the day like we did in Kilarney.

Christina and Britney: I'm looking forward to your arrival!

Post back soon...

Link to Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sean_and_tylers_euro_trip_08/collections/