January woes.

I feel that the title of this post summarizes why it's been three ruddy weeks since I've found time to update (blogging is more time consuming than I had thought - and I don't even do anything to blog about!).  January woes are really only part of the story for the last three weeks, but they sure do account for a good chunk of that time.  But I'll get to that.  As usual, to save you the bother of reading an entire post only to realize you didn't really care to know about any of it, a quick agenda:

1. Remainder of Barcelona
2. Lisbon!  (This one's going to be as hazy and vague as my memories of the trip.)
3. Back to school sickness, visits, and resulting academic misery
4. The future ...

Look forward to some decent snaps from recent travels (although they're mostly decent thanks to Picassa, as my camera theft has left me wanting for a better quality piece of machinery [in the mail!!]) as well as the usual nonsense.  Here we go.

[Before I get started, I have to say that my photo album for Barcelona/Lisbon is really disappointing.  However, I am absolutely crazy about the Lisbon waterfront (above) and am dying to get home to my piles of unused paint, etc and muck about with it.  Since, you know, I'll be unemployed all summer. End digression.]

1.  Remainder of Barcelona.  Well this was really not too much to write home about.  I ate a lot of very tasty (and sadly, not very cheap) food and took a wander down the beach and ports.  I'd completely recommend Barcelona in the off season - almost no crowds which means far fewer tourist-related dangers (pickpockets, etc) so you can relax and enjoy the city.  Plus the temperature is not what anyone from Canada would argue with, although certainly not swimsuit weather.  I didn't have a fantastically fun time there, but I went alone and stayed in a quiet hostel so I really got what I'd planned to get out of the trip - peace and quiet.  Towards the end I was getting a bit bored of peace and quiet though, so I was very, very pleased to get on to Lisbon (although at that point I didn't realize what a turn around it would be).

2.  Lisbon!  Oh, I cannot say enough good things about the city, the region, the food, the hostel, the prices, the sights or the people - if you ever, ever have the option of going to Portugal, don't think twice.  Lisbon is just as scenic, relaxed and fun as Barcelona, but it's almost as if they haven't quite learned how to gouge tourists for it yet.  You will definitely find tourist traps and wind up some typically central European prices for certain attractions.  However, I managed to take a day trip to Sintra (fantastic, by the way) including the train, meals, entrance fees, trip home and quite a good night out back in Lisbon for about 25 Euro without pinching pennies.  You can't argue with that.  

The hostel I stayed at really made the trip.  It's very new and you can tell they'd really considered detail people are hoping for in a hostel.  I don't think it could have been improved, which of course means I'm now spoiled for all the middle-of-the-pack places that used to seem great.  Shockingly, it was also really affordable.  Truly fab place to meet people with a very lively (and cheap) bar, but still comfortable, quiet rooms.  (For potential Lisbon-goers: Yes! Lisbon Hostel, book it.)  Spent a few crazy days touring around with a bunch of Kiwis, one of the guys working at the hostel, and a guy from Vancouver (the first Canadian I've met abroad!) and had a truly fantastic time.  Check out my photos for some of the neat things I saw.  The nightlife in Lisbon is also incredible.  It's surprisingly laid back considering it's not unusual to get home past 7am!  Getting the night started after dinner at 11:00 is actually a pretty early start, I learned.  From there a typical big night out involved drinks until 1ish, bars in Bairro Alto (pubs and smaller places) until 2 or 3, club until 4 or 5, then after-hours until you want to sleep.  Fantastic.  The other Canadian and I marveled at the thought of a club being empty at 2am not because they were closing, but because no one was there yet.  We also had some quieter nights.  On my last night six or seven of us went to the supermarket and cooked up a big family meal, had some drinks and watched a movie on the projector - we all needed a recovery night.

3.  Back to school ... This raucous behaviour probably has a lot to do with my getting miserably ill upon my return (or at least entirely accounts for being bloody exhausted).  However, last time I checked exhaustion doesn't give you strep so I'm going to try and dodge the blame there, at least partially.  Spent Week 1 of semester in bed with my antibiotics and cold medicine, but luckily recovered in time for the arrival of the ever delightful L. Riggs in Week 2.  She spent the week with me en route to her new job in Arras, France and we had a marvelous time wandering about, catching up, and primarily eating.  I didn't realize how much I miss friends from home until one actually visited - left me a bit lonely this weekend!  No matter, at least by that point I was fully recovered and (I thought) past the January misery.  Due to some administrative cock-ups mostly on my part, however, I was attending a class I never officially switched into which has now left me two weeks behind on the class it is now to late to actually switch out of.  Joy!  Worse things have happened, just means that I'll regret Burns Night a little bit more on Wednesday when I remember the hundreds of pages of semantics theory I have to get friendly with.

4.  The future.  What's coming up and up and coming in Edinburgh, you ask?  Well, couldn't tell you much about the latter, but I can most certainly tell you that tomorrow night is Burns Night!  Oh a very exciting night indeed.  What is Burns Night?  Officially, it's a celebration commemorating the birthday of the legendary Scottish poet of the same name; unofficially it's a piss-up involving reading poetry to haggis.  Wiki it and consider trying it out yourself.  We're hosting our own between my flat and Honor's.  None of us really know how to go about this but we will have haggis and Scotch, so I feel like it'll be pretty hard to completely muck it up.  Any excuse to get drunk on Tuesday (typical Scots).  Dean arrives a week tomorrow for a three-week long stay, which I'm quite looking forward to.  Don't know when the next chance to see each other will be, so it'll be good to spend an extended visit rather than a one-week holiday.

I've honestly got nothing else to add at this point.  I'm pretty tired after a long day of class, reading and then Rapidough (think charades with play-dough) over cider.  I'll let you know how our Burns supper turns out (hopefully with photos) and I will actually get around to that hammam post eventually.  For now, keep warm - we're halfway through the dark.

Cheers.