Occasional musings from a Left-coast Canadian ExPat in Oxford.
One of the things I had to decide when planning this move is what on earth to do about a cell phone. In a first-world problem of the highest degree, I am unwilling to go without an iPhone. Credit history doesn’t carry over to the UK from Canada, so getting one on a plan there … Continue reading Freedom!
It seems like forever ago now, but just before returning to work full-time we spent a week in Cuba, where I lived out the kind of vacation I have always loathed and scorned: the all-inclusive resort. Verdict: it wasn’t so bad! Now that our tans have faded and I’ve had time to reflect (and then … Continue reading All-In
Because I want to bring both my kid and dog to the pub, goddammit. Because a bunch of my other friends moved to Europe, and I miss them. Because I’m sick of living somewhere with a mandatory bike helmet law. Because, as much as I love my Kindle, who wouldn’t want to live near an … Continue reading In which the WaterCooler lives up to the “WorldWide” part
By far the thing that I found most challenging about this trip was planning all the travel. In previous trips Neil and I have gotten really comfortable with the no-plan plan; booking things as we felt inspired and traveling super light. In our younger, unencumbered days, we spent 3 weeks traversing Morocco and Spain with … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Planes, Trains, Automobiles
We only had one full day in London on a stopover before making our way home. Having been before, it was nice to not be under any sort of pressure to see and do a ton of touristy things. Instead we spent the time wandering about and just enjoying the uncharacteristically sunny day. We happened … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the Sixth – London
One of our big reasons for going to Europe was to visit some good friends who moved to Spain about a year ago. We took the Trenhotel (which I’ll talk about more in a separate “getting around” post) from Paris to Barcelona for a week of shenanigans. Since we were going for a social visit … Continue reading EuroTrip 2011 – Part the Fifth – Barcelona
I will get this out of the way now, and say that while in Europe we did not attempt to set foot in one art museum. I KNOW. It’s probably some sort of crime against traveling or something. Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and NO ART MUSEUMS? Please don’t lynch me. I don’t have anything against art, … Continue reading EuroTrip2011 – Part the Fourth – Paris Sightseeing