…or should I say “paminnelsegate“?

While I lived in Lund, I took lots of lovely pictures of the beautiful Swedish town, and then my camera was stolen, my memories with it. A Flickr tag search has allowed me to revisit it for the first time in years. Happy, happy times. The web rocks.

The library of the university I attended.

We’d travel everywhere by bike.

Used to go for coffee on this street with my Finnish pal Janne. He looked like Elijah Wood. I wonder what became of him.

I’ve always said I hated L.A., but I’m starting to come around. It probably helps that I’ve managed to avoid going to Hollywood on my last three trips, but also, I started yesterday by having my morning coffee on a lovely terrasse…

…and ended it sitting in a tiny can being blown all over the tarmac in a bumpy attempt to land, five hours late, in icy Montreal.

How are the Kings doing this season? Just asking…

“If I take one more step, it will be the farthest from home I’ve ever been”.

Just got my ticket for Sydney today. It will officially be the farthest I’ve ever been from home, though not by much. Clocking at 23 hours and 50 minutes of flight time (one way), with a destination 16043 kilometers from Montreal, this trip beats out my Indonesia journey by only 35 minutes of flight time and less than 200 kilometers.

I’ll be arriving in Australia on my birthday, although I’ll biologically still be 33 because of the time difference. The client expects me to be sound enough of mind to take intelligent part in a three-hour meeting that very day, but I doubt that my one extra day of youth will compensate for the brain-melt of the journey. Then we have two days of presentations and meetings, then come home.

We leave Sydney on the 17th, get to Honolulu on the 16th, and get home on the 17th. We will have travelled 62 hours to be in Australia for 74. Holy Air Miles Batman!

From Gord:

The new China: 80 story super-highrises, monorails, 8 lane super-highways, and of course who uses these super-highways? Well, ox-drawn carts carrying hay, of course. Yes, be careful when you race out of Shanghai, or Wuhan, or Xi’an, or any other 10 million-person metropolis. As you drive your Audi A8 or your Beamer 7 series (yes, that’s what some drive there, ain’t communism grand?), you’ll be swerving to and fro to avoid the mule & ox-drawn vehicles of past millenia. And don’t think they are afraid of your 2 tons of steel rocketing by at Mach 0.2, no they know who owns the road and it ain’t those encased in chrome & black leather, blasting the AC. No the farmers and laborers slowly meander along the ribbons of concrete as if they were one of the ancient emperors of lost dynasties. They know who rules the road…

Welcome back buddy.

Glasgow…
is the friendliest town I’ve ever visited. People come up to you and offer help without you even asking. In fact, without you even needing it. Plus, they speak in a wonderful, musical way which I find absolutely irresistible (if very often unintelligible).

On the first night there, we ate in a pub which then turned into a Karaoke bar. I enjoyed watching people sing so we stayed. People came and sat with us, and pints and scotch kept appearing on our table. By the end of the night all the people in the bar were friends. It was a wonderful welcome.

Edinburgh…
Not to be outdone, is about the prettiest town I’ve ever seen, with its truly dramatic landscape. The Old City is built on the flanks of a mountain which is topped by an imposing castle. Oh, and it’s flanked by sea on two sides. We met up with Paul who showed us around, and we had a very good time. Pints on me in September, mate.

The highlands…
Are like a green version of Norway. I simply have to get back out there.

Tuesday:
Took a walk along the South Bank of the Thames. Westminster Bridge, London Eye (no, didn’t spend the 30$ on a ride), used book fair under Waterloo Bridge, Tate Modern, London Bridge and back over beautiful Tower Bridge. Walked all the way back in the rain. All attractions free!

Yesterday:
Buckingham and grounds, Harrods, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Hyde Park. Again, the only price to pay is sore feet.

Yesterday evening:
Much Ado about Nothing at Shakespeare’s own Globe Theatre. Very authentic, including the fact that you stand in the courtyard watching the play, under the stars. More sore feet.

Today:
Brunch in Soho, walk all the way to Shoreditch, “the Plateau of London”. I prefer the Plateau. Sore, sore, blistered feet. Feeling wonderfully tired.

Two nights until Scotland!

London looks amazing, especially under cloud cover (but at least I got to see it in the sun and take pictures yesterday). I expected it to look pretty, but nothing to rival Paris. Haven’t had time to do much yet, just walked around the Thames and did the tourist thing (Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square - WOW).

Took a walk in the rain last night and the atmosphere, look and smell of the city with wet streets was incredible. Still very much looking forward to Scotland.

Well, off to the Tate… (I think).

Air Canada has been granted an extension to the protection from its creditors. Until May 21st. I leave on the 30th.

I really hope we don’t have to wait and worry all that time. I hope something happens before long.

Planning planning overplanning…

Am I in denial of this Air Canada thing? You decide.

I have all our expenses nicely laid out in an Excel spreadsheet. Those that are already paid (in Canadian) stay the same. Those that are left to pay (in Pounds) get adjusted with the daily change in the exchange rate for the Pound Sterling. On another tab, I have an encouraging plot of the cost of the trip, which has been steadily going down in the last few weeks as the Pound keeps getting cheaper.

On yet another plot, I have the daily high temperatures of London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Montreal. Sure, the UK isn’t tropical, but it’s warmer than here.

I call it wishful spreadsheeting.

We booked our London tickets with Air Canada. If it goes under, as seems quite possible, we not only lose the ticket money, but everything that’s already paid for and booked in the UK (like a week’s hotel in London and the flight to Edinburgh).

Crap. And I have to wait a month or even two to find out if we are a go. Is it okay to pray for an airline to stay aflight?