Just back from our adventure in Scotland. Jamie and I drove up to Edinburgh via the lake district in England and that was amazing. All the red hills, the sheep, and staying with Jamie's godmother who lives in a huge, old farmhouse on the moor was kind of surreal. It reminded me of how I always pictured England from the James Herriot books when I was little. We even went to a hunt meet and saw the hounds race off to catch a fox!!

Edinburgh is a breathtakingly beautiful city. It made me feel like I'd been transported back in time and I kept expecting people to pop out of alleys dressed like the actors in Oliver Twist. The architecture is incredible. I didn't know that cities still existed that had that kind of old-fashioned feel to them anymore. Ancient gothic towers, castles, palaces, cathedrals, steep, winding cobble stoned streets framed by quaint shops painted in garish colours and topped with many storied flats of old stone, all intricately carved. Oh, and lots of cool pubs too! It's difficult to describe, but the feeling of the city is a mixture of quaintness, and overwhelming grandeur. It's all very warm and friendly as well, which may seem strange, given all the grey stone. It was the first time, in all my visits to cities, that I was in constant danger of walking out into traffic because I was staring up at the surrounding buildings. I think I could live in Edinburgh quite happily.

Reg has a great flat very near the centre of town where he graciously let us stay (thanks Reg...you rock!). It's huge and he lives there with some old friends from university who are all lovely. We spent some time exploring the city, meeting more great people and had lots of fun. On the night of the 31st, we had a little pre-party at the flat with yummy food and lots of hot toddies for Suzie and me as we were feeling a bit poorly. Then we were off to the street party after a tense moment when we realized our tickets didn't work. There were so many people in the street and the first thing we saw was Culture Club live! There was so much going on with music stages and dancing and singing and all the rest of it. We managed to stay together and eventually find a prime spot for the fireworks which were incredible. It was a very happy night and everyone was hugging and kissing everywhere. We only met one wierdo who was bent on kissing everyone...even Jamie! Then we went off to a pub for some dancing and warmth. I had a great time and the bonus is that no one got horrendously drunk or ill and we all remember how great it was!

I must say, it was another great New Year's eve and another great adventure! It was fabulous to see Reg and it was fantastic to spend another NYE with Suzie and Karen. That's three in a row for Suzie and me (each on a different continent!) and two with Karen. And, the first with Jamie. I'm glad that it was a chilled out experience with people I really like, in a beautiful city.

Jamie and I are off to Amsterdam tomorrow and will be meeting up with Dio after all. I'm looking forward to it a lot, though I will be sad to say goodbye to England and my friends here.

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I wasn't going to write until I actually got back to Canada, but as I have 5 minutes of time left on my card, I thought I'd write a little something. To entice you to come back and read more later, let me say that the time spent in Amsterdam was exciting, relaxing, cold, sunny with blue skies, I had lots of "Dutch pride" moments and that I did a few things I've never done before!!

I'm here in the greatest airport in the world - Schiphol, just about to head home and I only have one minute left on this card, so I'll leave the rest for later.

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PART I : AMSTERDAM

Hmmm...I've just discovered that, like with most things, the longer I wait between these updates, the more difficult it becomes to do them as the amount I have to cover grows. Procrastinator that I am, I've been...well...um...procrastinating and now look where I am. Well, I'm going to be brave and attempt to let you know what I've been up to in the last couple of weeks. Ready?

First, Amsterdam. Jamie and I arrived in the fair city that is known for its red lights and its hazy coffee shop culture and met up with my friend Dionijs, who took us to our luxurious borrowed digs in the posh part of town (thank you so much Rosemarijn!). After settling in, we took a tram into town and walked around in the famous district of red lights under a frigid (yet still clear and beautiful) sky. The next week passed in a sunny, blue sky whirl and involved many interesting tours of the city on foot and by bike, all courtesy of Dio, who is a tour guide by trade (if you go to Amsterdam, sign up for a ZOOM TOUR - check out his website!). We also went to a few museums, walked a lot, saw the sights, met some cool people, did the usual things one does in Amsterdam as well, but most importantly...RELAXED!!!! It was great and I've promised both Jamie and Dio that the next time we go, it will be in the summer, when we can walk for more than 5 minutes without danger of frostbite

Oops! Out of time again, so the first leg of the Canadian part of the trip will have to wait until we get to Fernie and I find a cafe (and a few hours).

PART II: TORONTO

Next stop, Toronto. Finally Jamie got to meet my (very much smaller and less complicated, but no less quirky) family and...nothing horrible happened. In fact, I think everyone got along quite nicely. I even got the nod from my little sister (and she’s picky!!).

Five days is not a lot of time to “do” Toronto, but we managed to pack in quite a bit. Less than four hours after our seven hour flight from Amsterdam, Jamie, Jules and I headed over to Raja’s house to see some friends and Jamie discovered our deep, dark secret - we all used to work at Tim Horton’s!

In our remaining time we managed to tour UofT, run around the ROM, have a sushi handroll buffet at my parents’ house (yum!), hear about my Mom and Dad’s Nepal plans, have our third and final Christmas of the year (where I got to see my Mom’s super-happy face when we gave her all the Dutch delicacies we brought across the water, and I got lots of yummy boarding gear and a digital camera - so look for fabulous photos soon!). Whew! Now take a breath (sorry about the ridiculously long sentence).

Then before we really got a chance to get used to being in the “family fold”, we were off again...this time to the other side of this huge land...Vancouver, and beyond.

PART III: VANCOUVER ISLAND

After one glorious, sunny, warm day of soaking up the sea air in Vancouver, we took the ferry across to Vancouver island for the final leg of the family tour. I got to meet Jamie’s mother, who is wonderful and friendly and made me feel at home. I also got to meet John, and taste his famous cooking (I’d been hearing Jamie talk about the incredible creations that come out of John’s kitchen for an entire year, so I was kinda curious!). They are both great and funny and I think all of us got along well.

Now while the rest of Canada was freezing (getting into the minus 20s and 30s in some parts), we enjoyed mild, mostly sunny days in the 10 degree range - yes, I know, you hate me! We went for walks through moss (or lichen) covered trees near the Butchart Gardens, walked around the harbour and Brentwood Bay, admired the views of Mt. Baker and the spectacular sunsets at Ogden point (where a group of ten or twelve sea lions swam within ten metres of us!), played backgammon, euchre and canasta with cheese and wine, accompanied by nice conversations and plenty of jokes.

Then Jamie and I headed up island to Tofino to visit Long Beach, Schooner Cove (where we were guided to the beach by a loveable and smelly dog) and the Roy Henry Vickers gallery. We had a very dramatic storm, complete with 18 hour blackout, but we had plenty of candles, cards and our own private hot tub, so we were OK. It was nice and very relaxing. I highly recommend going there if you have a chance. On a sad note, when the power came back on, we found out that an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies was responsible for the deaths of some very experienced skiiers and boarders, including Craig Kelly. That really made us think. Jamie and I are signed up for an avalanche course and will be very careful, but this was a very scary reality check.

PART IV: CALGARY AND ON TO FERNIE

And then, this morning, after the usual hectic packing and goodbyes, we jumped on a plane to Calgary. Did you know that Westjet flights all come with jokes at the end? We heard one about a football that....no wait, I won’t ruin it for you. We were picked up by Steve, Nina and Dave, friends of Jamie’s from Japan and driven to their home where we enjoyed the Superbowl and lots of food. Thanks you guys - yes, we're doing quite well on the tatami timeshare!

I think that just about brings us up to date, so pat yourself on the back for getting through all that and come back again soon for more.

**I’ve just found out that some Canadian friends we met in Japan had a very scary time with an avalanche at Geto ski resort in Iwate a few days ago. Cam, I’m glad to hear that you’re alright and hope that you mend quickly...ouch! To all of you out there, please be careful.

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