kellyann's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member kellyann on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kellyann en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:08:30 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com A few pics of Kelly in Scotland — Greenland, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1221037560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1221037560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1221037560/tpod.html Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:08:30 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Greenland, United Kingdom

Here are a few pics you might find interesting Cindi!
]]> Daily events here — Huancayo, Huancayo, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1209080160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1209080160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1209080160/tpod.html Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:24:01 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Huancayo, Huancayo, Peru

For some of you, it might be easy to picture what life is like here, in Peru and what we do on a daily basis, but for others who want a better picture of what our days are like here read on. We are volunteering and teaching English in a country that is poorer than ours, but don't worry we are by no means suffering or even uncomfortable compared to what we are use to. We are indeed living quite well if I may say so myself. We are in this town volunteering with Expand Peru- in case anyone who reads this is looking to volunteer in Peru- Expand Peru has done a really good job setting us up and I recommend them definately! Ok- our days.

We wake up around 6:30 and get dressed. The woman- Hortensia we are staying with- she is probably 70 something, and her helper- Carai are already up, cleaning and preparing breakfast. They serve us breakfast usually- a fried egg, some porrage stuff that's not amazing but its warm, bread, sometimes fruit and always a freshly prepared juice. Seems the beginning of the week is papaya and the end of the week is Orange juice. I don't know if you have ever had fresh squeezed orange juice- but it is to die for and I would take Hortensia home with me if I could just for that. Seriously- Starbucks and Caribu don't even come close.

We walk out the door to a dirt street, and catch a shared taxi or carpool car which in this town is usually a white toyota station wagon. These shared cars cost us roughly 30 cents each and they run more or less along the same routes and run frequently. Brillant. We get out of that car and walk one block to the place where we catch a van (carpool otherwise known as a combi). Oh yes- I forgot before we leave the house, Hortensia always does one of three things. Tells us to becareful of robbers and crazy drivers, tell us to put on warm clothes, or pulls fruit from an extremely random location and give it to us to take with. Ok right- back to the van. This van is meant to seat about 20 people max and without seatbelts. Usually though there are up to 30 people stuffed inside in various ways. Sometimes sitting on each others laps, or standing. There is a driver of the van and his helper who opens and closes the door, helps load heavy items like sacks of potatoes or peas, collects the money, watches traffic and sometimes signals a turn or something, and shouts the vans destinations. The van careens through traffic in the city of Huancayo stopping at lights sometimes, and to pick up passengers whenever they wave it down.

There is lots to look at in the city. Brick buildings mostly very oddly constructed. I always think of Amy Brogan when I am looking at buildings and wonder what she would think of them. Anyway here I think she would wonder what the hell they are thinking when they constuct them because they seem so carelessly planned and put together, but when you understand that building here is much different than in the states you begin to understand. It seems almost every home is a work in progress because the people- one do most of the work themselves, and two can only add things when they save enough money. Sometimes doing the work yourself even involves making the bricks- can you imagine? On the roofs you often see laundry and a water tank. The water situations here also interesting. Of course there is no flushing toilet paper- the systems aren't meant to handle that. I'm digressing though- along the street sidewalks you see lots of women usually selling various fruits and vegetables. Usually areas or streets sell similar things. For example there is the street that sells electrically things, or the one that sells wedding dresses. There kids in school uniforms- it sort of easy to tell public from private though they all wear uniforms the private ones are usually much cleaner.

This discription is getting quite long so I'll skip to my favorite things to see along the way- beside the beautiful fields of golden wheat and green rolling hills of the valley surrounded by bigger, yet manageable mountains. It is the ladies carrying their children on their back wrapped in beautiful bright colored blankets- though I worry this is not quite healthy for the kids development, they seem content and comfortable in there and i think it looks nice. It something most of the women seem to do- though its probably more prominent in the country side. And the other thing I love to see is the women walking and knitting and talking to their friends all at the same time. Knitting seems to be really popular here- my friend Nani taught me in Chiclayo as you know so I've finally finished my first scarf and become slightly obsessed with trying to learn this craft. Though teaching myself isn't nearly as much fun as Nani!!! Anyway it seems to be even more popular here everyday I see at least 3-5 woman walking and knitting and i clumsily totter along.

It takes about an hour to get to the small village we teach at in the morning. At some point during the ride we are uncomfortably crammed in and the smell can at times be unpleasent. We arrive in our village where it is very peaceful and donkeys outnumber cars 10 to 1. The houses are made of mud, and the latest fashions haven't changed in 50 years. The women in this region wear their hair in two braids with a round hat with a ribbon on it- usually black, navy blue, or grey. They are usually wearing a knitted cardigan or two. And a skirt/apron thing over knitted stockings.

We teach four classes at this school in the countryside- they have 9-14 children each and range in ages from 9-12. We usually bumble through the first lesson- which is the same for each class because none of them know english. The second class loves to greet us with kisses on the cheek which is the standard greeting here in Peru. Greeting and farewell that is...lots and lots of kisses! The third class is the youngest of the four and quite easily my favorite- they are really excited to learn and perform almost as well as the older ones. The last class is quite bright as well. The education and classes at this school seems to be quite flexible or something- often when we arrive there is no teacher, the kids seem to be doing whatever they please. And it doesn't seem as if they are really made to think much. But they are pretty good kids none the less- mostly.

We take the van back- oh yes these things have a very loose schedule running approximately every half hour or whenever they feel like it. Walk back to the house- (about 1/2 mile) the first few times we did it suffered from the altitude. I think I am higher (in altitude) than I ever have been because I have really felt the effects of altitude sickness here like never before. I have been dizy quite a bit- the locals deal with that problem by drinking coca tea- yep same leaves use to make that drug that can be a problem in the states- its a herbal remedy here- and has none of the effects like the drug in the states. Hortensia serves us up lunch usually something with rice and potatoes a meat and lots of fresh vegies!- and usually quite tastey. We shower- with warm (thank god) water as the water stops for some unexplained reason in the evening here.

On Mon, Wed, Fri we go to an after school program in the afternoon. On Tues and Thurs I have a 2 hour spanish lesson and Craig studies and soon we will start dance lessons! The after school program is for kids who's parents neglect them a bit and can be challenging as the kids don't do well with structure, and authority and rules and are just generally chaotic but can have sweet moments. We van back and walk home and get another lighter meal sometimes soup- oh so yummy homemade chicken noodle soup- once you have it I don't think its possible to go back to the can. We shall see though- as you can see we are really being quite spoiled here. That about wraps up the day- some point we go to internet usually around the house. Have intermiten converstations with Hortensia where she does most of the talking or shall I say rambling. And ofcourse at every free moment I am knitting now, or trying to figure how to knit. We are really enjoying ourselves here- I hope this gives you a better idea of what we do on a daily basis- and if nothing else a break from work. We are looking forward to visits from my sister and Craig's dad in about 2 weeks. Hope they are ready for some intense sightseeing!!! Yas- and Tuesday class! Hello! I'm sending a quiz- hope you can understand this! Oh in case you are wondering how much this cost- we paid 390usd to Expand Peru for room and board, and the rest goes to fund their projects. Our transporation costs about 4 usd a day and then anything extra we buy like snacks we usually end up spending about 7 usd a day- and of course the market days are a bit more. Quite a bargain I´d say!

]]> Leaving Chiclayo Good news! — Chiclayo, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1208185320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1208185320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1208185320/tpod.html Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:51:28 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Chiclayo, Peru

My sister is coming to Peru!!! I am very excited about this as she was working so hard to get here! We are going to take her on a inka trail hike and to manchu pichu. And perhaps we will be joined by Craig´s dad as well! Que Bueno! Well we have left our first volunteering position here in Peru and ventured on to the next place. We spent the last month in a northern town of Peru called Chiclayo. We taught English to a group of people who volunteer to conserve the environment and teach children about nature. It was a really interesting experience and we made some good friends up there so it was hard to leave, but we were also looking forward to seeing another part of Peru. We had been scheduled to go up into the jungle about two weeks ago, however the day we were suppose to leave Craig had a fever so I said lets wait until tomorrow as I didn´t think that a night on a bus with a fever would be enjoyable for either one of us. The next day we said good bye to our friends and got our stuff rounded up. And when we arrived at the bus station they said the buses weren´t running because of the rain. They didn´t seem to know when they would go again but we changed our tickets and thought maybe the next day. Alas the next day was a no go, and the next and the next, so we took off for the even more north of Peru for the weekend and stayed in Tumbes and Piura and did some shopping and exploring. We had a nice weekend up there, went to a mangrove forest and an island that had the most birds I´ve ever seen at one time in my life. Also walked along the beach for a long time and collected lots of beautiful shells. And found our selves covered in mud at an all natural mudbath that was free. Yum. When we returned to Chiclayo we discovered that indeed the buses would not be running for a very long time as the road had been completely washed away by rain- we saw some pictures from the area that were amazing. So we spent last week looking for other places to volunteer and spending some more time with our friends. And also I was sick. But despite being sick we had a few really good last days with our friends. A few cool things happened. One my friend Nani- my little flower as I would like to refer to her. Because when we first got there, she didn´t speak really at all. In Spanish or English. But she came to all the classes and took us around birdwatching. Finally after a week she told me in Spanish- I don´t really like to talk in Spanish and definitely not English. But she kept coming to class and gradually, gradually she began to open up. I found out that she was the oldest of 8 sisters and more and more we talked. She began to practice writing in English and teaching us Spanish. And she taught me how to knit! That was very exciting for me because I always wanted to learn but didn´t think I would have the patience, luckily Nani was a very good teacher and I am half way done with my first scarf. And the other cool thing was that Nani and Cesar our other friend took us to this archeology site that is just being uncovered and so we got to see some super cool things there- who knows maybe it will be featured on Discovery channel someday! Anyway this entry is a bit scattered but I just wanted to update as it has been quite some time since the last post. Now we are in the mountains trying desperately to adjust to the altitude. We are volunteering with a place called Expand Peru and will be teaching English to 10-12 year olds and possibly some others. We just arrived yesterday but we had a very nice welcome from the people organizing us so I have a good feeling about this place. It feels cleaner too than the last city we were in. We liked Chiclayo because of the people we met, but not so much the city itself because it was dirty and overwhelming. Although it did have an amazing market where you could buy everything you could ever need... from hallucinogenic catus to wedding dresses! Will try to upload photos now. Hope all is well!
]]> Pictures — Chiclayo, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1206147480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1206147480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1206147480/tpod.html Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:58:32 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Chiclayo, Peru

Im sure you dont want to hear about the lovely day I just spend on the beach- at least not those of you in MN! So Im just going to post some pics. enjoy!
]]> Story time — Huanchaco, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1204682940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1204682940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1204682940/tpod.html Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:41:51 -0500 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Huanchaco, Peru

Hello All! Greetings from hot and humid Peru! I have some wonderful news to share via this blog- as some of you may already know, Craig and I are engaged! He popped the question on March 1st and I happily accepted! For those of you romantically inclined readers I shall of course share the story with you. Those just interested in our where about right now here they are briefly.
We are staying with a young man named Edavaly and his mother in the city of Chiclayo in northern Peru. We have a sparse but safe area to ourselves in which to sleep and shower and we shared the kitchen with them. They are both very nice and welcoming so far. We will be teaching English for one month to the non-profit organization which Edavaly runs in Peru called CANATURA. I can't remember what it stands for, but it is a group of people desperately trying to create environmental awareness in a country that is severely lacking even basic sanitation practices. There is some sort of garbage pick up that happens in the cities for those who can afford it I think. I am not sure how they decide which areas get cleaned and which don't- probably has something to do with tourism and money. The beach front in Huanchaco was littered everyday by tourist and cleaned every morning by women in orange suits. However, I can tell you right now that if I walk out side the front door here I will walk into a pile of discarded garbage that probably won't ever be picked up. I am not sure how the system works completely but I do know that last week I saw one of the most heart-wrenching sites I have ever seen. And I must share it with you even if it hurts. We were taken to a landfill outside the city of Trujillo where a group of about 1000 people work and live and literally fight each other over the piles of garbage that get deposited there. We drove through the site in a taxi, if you can imagine an bumpy, messy road cutting through piles of rubbish and dirt and broken up building- smelly and disgusting with rabid dogs prowling everywhere. This is what you can see all around for at least 2 miles from the road which is probably about 2 miles long in the taxi. Along the road you see carts being pulled by donkeys carrying sacks of the garbage that 1000 or so people that live on the site have collected to sell. The landfill is just this vast area that surrounds you in the car- you don't see much else in the way of buildings or anything. They don't bury or pile the garbage they just dump it. We continue driving along this road to the point where the new garbage is being dumped and it is here that we see the people- dirty, covered with old ragged, almost black with soot, clothes picking through the garbage. Living on the garbage. The most common form of shelter we see is a filthy mattress with 4 poles and a small piece of tarp covering it. There are children laying on the mattress in some of them. This is their home. This is their life.
You see there is a hierarchy in the landfill. The people living there are picking through the scraps to see if there is anything left to recycle or sell. And it isn't easy going because before this garbage makes it to the landfill it has already been picked through once by people who go around the streets collecting the most valuable items such as water bottles. So the people living in the landfill work hard from sunrise to sunset and make less than TWO dollars a day with their whole family working. They sell it to the 2nd level which are the people with donkeys or motocarts- these people bring it down the 2 mile road and sell it to another group of people who transport it to the capital- Lima to be recycled. It is an absolutely devastating site to see. These families are actually living worse than animals. Fortunately, with the help of foreign funds a school has been set up near by to start to rescue some of the children from this situation. It is the ACJ project and the school provides education for the kids for free as long as they agree not to work in the landfill again. This is a very difficult decision for the families to make- because it means that much less income for them, but the school will not support the child labor and refuses that the kids work or they can't attend school.
Before we left, we were able to collect several useful donations from teachers and people at Blackduck School. These donations were brought to the ACJ project and the teachers and staff there were very grateful for everything. When we received all the donations from Blackduck we felt very grateful that people were supporting us and helping us- and we know that the school and kids there really appreciate it as well. Thank you to all the people who donated! If you want more information on the ACJ project you can email me and I can try to answer your questions!

Ok now that I have shared that horrible heart wrenching story I have a more uplifting one! Craig proposed to me the night of March 1st on the beach in Huanchaco, Peru. We had spent the day surfing or well at least attempting and I was exhausted. The Dutch girls that were staying in the same house as us offered to cook us dinner and I happily accepted. (little did I know I was messing up Craig's plans!) Craig disappeared at some point telling me that he was getting a phone card but he took a long time and had me slightly worried. When he returned he explained that he had been trying to get a us a massage for that evening but couldn't. I didn't think anything of this because we had been planning to do that anyway. So we had a nice dinner with Suzanne and Judith and ran down the block quick to get some pictures of the sunset- lovely as it is in Huachaco! We returned and did the dishes and I told Craig that I wanted to go for a walk on the beach, look at the stars and crash. He agreed but said first we had to go to our room. So I followed him there. He told me we were going to play a game. He told me to close my eyes and he handed me a bag with something in it. He wanted me to guess what it was- it was a dress from Monsoon that I had been eyeing when we were in Britain last fall. It was the display for the shop in all the windows so every time we saw it I gushed but it was too expensive to buy when we were traveling on a budget! And unemployed as we are! But he got it before coming to America and hid it from me the whole time. We were delighted to find that it fit perfectly. But because we were going to sit on the beach I changed into clean but unattractive clothes, I was wearing my glasses and my hair was messy too! We walked down and sat on the beach talking about the sea, surfing, skiing, and nothing in particular. Looking back on it- I suspected nothing out of the ordinary at all! Craig seemed very calm and normal to me. I told him I had had enough and was ready for bed but he said no wait a minute. We stood up and he walked away from me for a moment. When he came back he said he was really happy that he had found me. This isn't unusual, so I said yep me too! He hugged me and said that life was just about perfect right now. I agreed with that as well. He said, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else with anyone else right now, I am so happy that I'm here with you. I also agreed to this statement. Then he said, "So, do you want to get married?" I replied, are you serious? He said yes, and repeated himself- "Will you marry me?" I again, dumbfounded, questioned my hearing and said- are you serious? It was then I realized he was holding a ring. He said "Yes" again and I just had to make sure so I asked once more- Are you serious? He said "Yes" again, patient, calm, and sure. And I said "Yes, of course!" It was later I found out that he had made other plans but none of them worked out starting with the massage- he was going to send me to a massage and when I returned give me flowers and the dress and then take me out to a nice dinner where he would pop the question. But as it turned out none of that worked and the proposal was perfect anyway! We celebrated that night with a bottle of wine and the following night we had our fancy dinner and celebrated again. We know that things are going to be a bit complicated with planning but hope to start figuring it out soon. We will keep you all updated on our where abouts in Peru and plans for the future. We are really lucky to be surrounded and blessed with loving family and friends and thank you guys for always being there for us!
]]> Quick post — Huanchaco, Peru http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1204312320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1204312320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1204312320/tpod.html Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:14:09 -0500 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Huanchaco, Peru

Hola from Peru! It has been a long time since I last posted anything on this blog. It wasn't that I didn't have anything to say- its just there was not much time to write! I really enjoyed my time at home. It was nice to see all my friends and family and spend some quality time with them in Minnesota! Also Craig came to Minnesota for almost five weeks so we were busy showing him what Minnesota is like! We went snowmobiling, ice fishing, cross country and down hill skiing- he was chopping wood and having a good old time in general! While he was there we also went Boston and New York to visit his cousins. And thats a summary of the past few months/weeks for me.

Since Feb. 18th we have been in Peru. We arrived in the capital Lima, late at night and woke early the next morning to run errands and do some sightseeing. Our first day was a really good one for me because even though we had just arrived and were a bit tired and I couldn't spit out any Spanish we had a very warm welcome from Peruvian people. They helped us get on and off the bus when we needed to several times. One woman even walked us to our next destination and warned us about certian areas of the city. We sat down for a rest and ended up having wonderful conversations with a shoe-shine guy (in english no less), a lawyer, and a tourism security guard. The security guy came to stand near us while the other two were talking to us and then when they left the security guard proceeded to talk to us for another 30 minutes! So the people were very friendly and helpful the first day and it made us feel really good about being here. We spent a few days exploring Lima and then took a 10 hour bus ride up the coast to a town in the more northern part of Peru called Trujillo. The bus ride was pretty long but not terrible and the scenery was nice. On the left side of the bus we saw out the window the beatiful coast line with waves crashing into the sand and sometimes we were driving along a cliff and that was a bit scary but we made it. The right side was also lots of sandy mountains. The coast is mostly desert I guess wish some lush valleys so it was neat to drive through because I had never seen such a landscape!

Right so we are staying in a town a few miles north of Trujillo- called Huanchaco. Its a beach town- very relaxing and nice little town to be in for a few week or so. We arrived on the weekend and met with the people that we will volunteer with. They are still firming things up for us so we don't know exactly what we will do or where we will be yet but hopefully they will sort things out for us soon. Right now we are just trying to acclimatize- because its really hot and humid here! And we are visiting some of the various projects that they help find volunteers for- so that is interesting. We are also doing some sightseeing and have seen some really neat ruins around here. If anything Peru is famous for its Manchu Pichu right? But actually they have lots of great sights all over the country. We went to one the other day that was a temple to the moon built all of adobe bricks. It was like 3 usd and we got a free English speaking guide. It was really nice. We also went to the largest adobe city in the world. Most of that has been destroyed by wind and rain, but you can still see the outline of where the buildings were. When we arrived it was Carnival here so there was lots of people in the town to celebrate that and they had a parade and a big dance that we went to. It was lots of fun.

Since this is a beach town famous for its nice waves we rented a surf board one day. Craig has surfted in California before so he was my teacher. He came out with me in the water and put me on the board and at the first wave that came he just sent me off-without any instructions! I rode that wave all the way to the beach on my knees- it was pretty fun. I tried a couple more times but got really tired easy so we took a break. Then in the afternoon we tried again and I ate a lot of salt water and went under a couple times. Craig patiently bobbed in the water and told me what to do. So a wave was coming and I paddled, paddled, paddled and all of a sudden I was riding the wave so I stood up (while crouched) and somehow was staying up on the wave. I had no idea what I was doing because the only thing I was concentrating on was not running over the little boy I was heading directly for. So I screamed and he ducked under the water but I could still feel the board go over his. I stayed on all the way to the beach and then frantically went back to check on him. He was fine no problema! So I rode my first wave thanks to him I think! Craig was really surprise I had done that because he said it took him a few weeks to do it when he was learning. Must mean he is a really good teacher! We hope to do it again soon- that is when we are feeling better. We have been being careful about what we eat and stuff but the inevitable travelers diareaha/bad stomach has already hit us. I've been ill for two days already and Craig is starting it now. Its not so bad you know- we are taking good care of each other and hopefully it will make our tummys stronger for the next couple months!

We are staying at Senora Vilmas house. She has a nice big house and we are quite comfortable here. There are two Dutch girls and two Canadians here as well so its putting a bit of a strain on the system. Hopefully we got all the water problems fixed today though. Senora Vilma is 76 and a lively lady- she is busy all day and really nice to us. She speaks easy Spanish so we can understand her and sometimes she throws in an English word or two she knows. We hang out in the walled garden quite a bit because it is coolest there. We share the kitchen with the dutch girls and Vilma but its not so bad since we are sick and not eating or cooking much! In general this town is pretty nice- its small enough to walk around and we can hear the waves at night laying in bed so its very relaxing.

What we know of what we are doing so far is that we will probably traveling around a bit which is nice because we will get to see more of Peru. For the first month maybe we will be in a town called Chiclayo its also near the beach but more urban I think. And for the second month we may be in a remote village in the mountains which should be interesting. No we are taking Spanish lessons as well for at least 1-2 hours a day so that is really helpful. Craig is picking up the Spanish really quickly- I am amazed. Hopefully it will help when we get out to the jungle parts! Well that's all for now- time for a walk on the beach! Chao!
]]> My First Haggis — Thurso, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1194781800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1194781800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1194781800/tpod.html Sun, 11 Nov 2007 08:06:57 -0500 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Thurso, United Kingdom

I am still in Scotland at the moment, but I will be leaving very soon, and very sad to be ending the European adventure. Though of course looking forward to seeing and being with family and friends in the U.S. for holidays! We have been busy trying to firm up plans for whats next. Stay tuned as they aren`t quite finalized! Though we do know that Craig will be coming to Minnesota in Jan. and hopefully we will be able to show him as good a time as I have been having here. I have been shown around the lovely countryside of Northern Scotland and introduced to some fun Scotish traditions. One of which being the Haggis. For those of you who don`t know- Haggis is a very tradional Scotish dish eaten a few times a year and esspecially on Robby Burns night when they celebrate the famous Scotish poet. What is a haggis you ask? Aye should you only be so priveleged to have a straight forward answer! The Scots love to let on about this and that as not to reveal the true knowledge that is Haggis. See pictures to see what one funny Scot depicts in the Kelvingrove museum in Glasgow. I can tell you that it is all boiled in the stomach of a sheep for about 15minutes before eating. The one we cooked last night was a boy haggis and we did a proper ritual for him of reciting the Burns poem before devouring. He went down without a fight and was quite a tasty devil, served with Clapshot- mashed turip and potatoe. Craig was esspecially respectful and doned his full kilt for the occasion which I must say is quite striking in person! I also got to participate in the Christmas tradition of Crackers a wee bit early. Little presents pop out of packages with a bang! Quite exciting I tell you! Please enjoy the pictures!
]]> Scotland — Thurso, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1193666460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1193666460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1193666460/tpod.html Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:09:34 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Thurso, United Kingdom

Hello! We are still in the lovely north of Scotland, at Craig's house. We are enjoying staying in one spot for awhile. The weather was really nice last week and we enjoyed running/walking with dog. And riding bikes to the beach nearby. Here are some pictures of what we've been up to!
]]> North of Scotland — Thurso, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1193051880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1193051880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1193051880/tpod.html Mon, 22 Oct 2007 07:46:27 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
Thurso, United Kingdom

We arrived in the North of Scotland over the weekend. We have been settling in and exploring a bit. It is really pretty up here in the country side and as much as I liked the hustle and bustle of London, I think I feel most at home in the countryside. We went for a run with the dog, Meg, along a beach near Craigs house. Punching along through the sand, and some seaweeds. A slight breeze and the waves crashing in next us, almost catching our feet as they slowly creep closer. The sun was setting a bit and through the clouds came a lovely orange, purple, and yellow sunset. On part of the beach a pinkish, red seaweed comes in through the waves making the waves look deep purple. Very pretty and peaceful. 5km on the sand is much more difficult than running on the road, but the scenery makes it all worth it. We took a tour of the coast as well. We picked up some fresh crab from a crabing boat. Saw some of the rugged coast line cliffs and rolling hills and lochs. And also spied some seals lounging on the rocks. This weekend we very lucky to be entertained by a jazz band and a big band at the local arts center. They played Sentimental Journey and it was indeed very sentimental Grandma! hehe. So we have been very busy and having a lovely time and I must go help Craig now. Hope all is well!
]]> London town — London, United Kingdom http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1192356900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1192356900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kellyann/europa/1192356900/tpod.html Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:31:31 -0400 An adventure through Europe-- 85 days, lots of things to see!
London, United Kingdom

We have been running around London and England for the last few days before we head up to Scotland. We have been meeting lots of Craigs friends and old friends from Okinawa now living in London. Going to museums, shopping and spending too much money in general but having fun!
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