The Rundown

I couldn't leave this blog without posting one last time, could I? I've been back in the States for about a week now and have decided to compile a little list of statistics about my trip. This idea is in no way stolen from my brother's blog about his trip to Ireland.

My study abroad experience

Days abroad: 161 (including 1 partial day)

Days in UK: 145 (including 3 partial days)

Days in continental Europe: 17 (including 2 partial days)

Earthquakes missed: 2

Favorite foreign accent: New Zealand

Favorite city visited: Rome

Favorite city visited (UK): Edinburgh

Cathedrals visited/seen: 7+

Favorite cathedral: Duomo

Castles visited: 3

Favorite castle: Cardiff

The UK

Classes taken: 4

Classes passed: 4 (hopefully)

Essays written: 4

Times had fish and chips: 3

Yorkshire Pudding: 1

Bangers and Mash: 1

Doner Kebabs: 1

Times said "Oh capital!": 2

Times laughed at for saying "Cheers!": 1

Times said "Cheerio guv'nor!": 0

Henge: Stone

Professional football games attended: 1 (score: 1-1)

Professional football games attended in lifetime: 1

Rainfall total: Incalculable

Sheep total: See above

People from Wisconsin at Lancaster: 7+

My place in Line of Succession to Throne: 13,480,582

Ireland

Years under British rule: ~750, depending on where you start

Preferred drink: Guinness

Price of Corona in Dublin Temple Bar: €6.10

Seconds our group discussed whether to travel to Belfast: 4

Times nearly missed train due to Daylight Saving Time: 1

Would have liked to have seen: Cliffs of Mohr

France

Work week: 35 hours

Strike week: 85 hours

Paintings seen: 13,422

Paintings truly appreciated: 407

Meals baguette served as main component of: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Commute time to Beauvais Airport: 1 1/2 hours

Times actually attempted to speak French to French people: 2

Italy

Governments since 1946: 62

Gaffes of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: 0 (source: Silvio Berlusconi)

Cities visited: 3

Churches visited: Countless

Pizza places eaten at: 4

Gelato places eaten at: 2

Times actually attempted to speak Italian to Italian people: 0

Times used Spanish instead to talk to Italians: Enough to get me by

Places I would have liked to have visited but didn't
Isle of Man, Glasgow, Loch Ness, Nottingham/Bingham, Canterbury, Normandy, Germany

But as MacArthur said
I shall return

Aye canna hold her much longa, Captain!

Wow. Edinburgh is a beautiful city--definitely worth getting up at 6:45 AM for. I have never seen such beautiful countryside--green and brown hills, rows of pine trees, even a few snow-covered mountains mixed in there--and I'd be hard-pressed to say I've visited a more photogenic city. Edinburgh is a very old, with cobblestone roads and Georgian architecture (something my friend Cory pointed out; architectural styles aren't my forté). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but unfortunately I'm having problems uploading them to Facebook/Kodak Gallery because of network issues on the University's end (we had some very strong winds yesterday and the power was knocked out). The camera said I took 211 pictures, the most I've ever taken for a single event.

Among our adventures included meeting William Wallace--actually just some guy in facepaint working for a Leukemia foundation who posed with tourists. The high point of the day, literally and figuratively, was touring Edinburgh Castle. Built on an extinct volcano, the structure featured cannons galore, winding roads galore, sword and musket displays galore, and gift shops galore. I don't know how much of it we saw percentage wise, but I feel the two hours or so we spent inside weren't enough.

Most of the rest of our excursion constituted the six of us searching for the new Parliament building, which for some reason I insisted on taking photos of. We never quite got to it, instead only viewing it from afar, owing to the fact we had to be on the bus by 7:45. I'll have to come back sometime, because seven hours is not enough to spend in a city like that.

What else have I done? Let's see...on Wednesday I went to a football match in Liverpool between Wigan Athletic and Liverpool. I was excited, since this was my first professional soccer game, but after ninety minutes (plus a fifteen minute break) the game ended with a 1-1 time. I wanted to see some goals! At least in American football they score once in a while, even if they do pause all the time for adverts. I haven't joined any clubs or societies yet, but am looking into the Writer's Guild and the Hiking Club. And I've already signed up for a "weekender" to Bath and Stonehenge set for February 28-March 1.

Things I've started to say: "pounds" instead of dollars, even when referring to US money; "cheers" instead of thank you; and "chips" instead of fries (though this one is still hard to get used to). I realized yesterday that "Starters" on a menu refers to "Appetizers."

I have to go make dinner now...I actually baked some salmon the other day, something that made me proud. Keep an eye out for photos.