July 9th - The Seven Sisters

Rolling down one of the Seven Sisters (although I'm pretty sure there are way more than seven)

Claude's order

The last full day of my time in the south of England was certainly the highlight. We slept in, ate crepes, and then took a bus for about an hour to the entrance of the Seven Sisters Park, just east of Seaford. It was spectacular. We walked, ran, and rolled up and down along the edge of white cliffs, overlooking the sea.





The highlight had to be our jumping photo shoot (see photos... don't hate me Maria).

We reached a small village as the sun began to set, and had a relaxing beer, only to find out that our beer had cost us the last bus back to Brighton. We took a taxi to the a bus stop at East Dean, and started a memorable game of scrabble. Not our best score, but deserving of mention because it was my lone victory! Back to Brighton for ridiculously priced sushi, and thus ended a happy 6 days in England.

Devil's Dyke

On the fourth day of my stay in Brighton, Maria and I jumped on an open-air bus to drive eastward along the coast to Devil's Dyke. My parents used to take Maria and I for hikes frequently enough, and we often complained about them. We have since moved beyond any chilhood rebeliousness, and I hope that they are happy that their passion of walking in the great outdoors has passed on to their offspring.

The dyke itself was crater-like, and much steeper and deeper than it initially appeared. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Maria and I hiked for a solid two hours. After our stroll, we perched ourselves on a hill overlooking a picturesque town, farmers' fields, and the sea in the distance. Perched to do what, you ask? To play scrabble of course! However, I don't think it was a good game since I left a blank in my journal where the score should have been recorded.

Not to have our Sunday afternoon spoiled by too many consonants, Maria and I headed back to Brighton for a Sunday roast. I have found that many European countries have Sunday rituals (gastronomical, not spiritual, for the most part), and I am a big fan. The roast in the photo below was a nut loaf with lots of yummy vegetables; a great way to complete a very fulfilling Sunday.

July 8th - Devil's Dyke

Open air bus on the way to Devil's Dyke

View of the English Channel

Vegetarian Sunday roast

In retrospect: the tale begins

My blog has just woken up from a long nap. Posting was tricky while travelling in the Balkans this summer, and after a few unsuccessful and very frustrating tries, Claude and I gave up. I am now comfortably settled in an appartment in Lens, a small town in Northern France, and in the next few weeks I will write my blog in retrospect, drawing on a records that I kept during the summer.

My journey began on July 5th when Claude (the wooden claw, for those of you who have forgotten) and I arrived in England. After thinking of nothing but this trip for a long time, it felt oddly surreal to finally arrive with all of my things for the next six months plus. My six days in and around Brighton were characterized by delicious food (compliments of Maria), a newly discovered-yet surely genetic-addiction to scrabble, and breathtaking scenery. I made the essential Brighton stops, which included afternoon tea and clotted cream in Lewes, a photo in front of the carousel, and a visit to the eccentric Royal Pavillion. The pavillion was transformed, by a flamboyant George IV, from a simple summer palace to an eccentric "pleasure palace" with oriental decoration (although none of the interior designers had ever been to Asia). The Pavillion is quite representative of Brighton itself, which seems to be the San Francisco of Britain, in that eccentric people flock there and fit right in. All in all, a very pleasant beginning to my European sejour.

Introducing Claude

This past February, while visiting Maria in England, she kindly offered me this claw. The idea behind it was that I would get back into drawing, as she purchased it from the Tate Modern with that in mind. Instead, I found many other functions for it, such as a poking device, a prank tool (putting it under my roomate's bed covers with just the nimble fingers pertruding), and most recently, a travel companion. I have finished my undergraduate degree in Political Science at McGill, and I am off to France at least until January to travel and to work as a guide at Vimy Ridge. Claude, as I have named him, will accompany me on this voyage to France, and hopefully to many other corners of Europe.