Now that I life is back to "normal," I have been staring at my Oxford pictures to keep my reminiscing going. So, like Tiff, I will be posting pictures in little groupings whenever I get a chance.

So, Tiff and I decided to spend one day spontaneously and take the train to whereever it leads us. Lucky for Bristol, we chose you!

Sounded like Pokemon for a second.

Bristol is in the southwest region of England and was a thriving nautical trading post, I believe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Bristol has also had a long history of slave trade from Africa to the Americas during that time. Now, Bristol has evolved into a prominent industrial centre for aeronautics and finance.

Zoom zoom, Tiffany.

Zoom zoom Matt as he attempts to write his aspiring travel memoir.

Matt's head next to an airplane engine at the Bristol Industrial Museum. As I said, Bristol has a long history of aeronatics-- in fact, the University of Bristol has a recognized program in that field. (Something for you, Leo)

Guess what's the boat's name?

Tiff found her dream job in Bristol.

Oh baby. Organic meats at this neat supermarket, Fresh and Wild.

A little sense of home in Bristol-- though neither of us live in Richmond Hill.

Me stuffing my face at this trendy "noodle bar", Wagamama. One of the best meals we've had in the UK. Nice trendy place with an ambience similiar to Salad King.

As some of you might know, I have stepped back into Canadian soil. Although I do miss travelling and catching all the neat sites from Tiff's godsend Eyewitness books, I do miss being home and getting a bite of some home-cooked (aka take-out) eating. I also miss my comfy bed, my clean sheets, my conditioner (not like that travellers 2-in-1 I've been using), my cellphone, my computer, and of course, high-pressured showers.

To conclude my entry, the following is a list of interesting notes about the exchange in numbers:

Number of scary local professors, 1
Days in overcast skies, 9,658
Number of flights taken, 6
Number of Spice Girls spotted, 0
Number of photos and videos taken, 2,373
Number of roundabouts travelled, 8,547,545
Number of hours airborne, 22
Number of visible stains on hostel beds, 3
Number of hostels stayed at, 6
Number of gravol pills taken, 6
Number of annoying hostel roommates, 0
Daily journal entries left to write, 15
Number of FCUK's spotted, 2
Number of times I said "oui" when I should've said "ci", 5,462
Cost in pounds for a 3-day pass on the London Tube, 15
Number of days in lectures, 6
Number of good fish and chip platters, 0
Total Canadian dollars spent, 3,519 4,059
Number of clubbing trips, 3
Number of times body-searched at the airport, 1
Cost of the cheapest beer at the bar in pounds, 1
Number of bubble tea places spotted, 0
Cost of the British Museum, 0
Number of times puked, 1
Number of really disgusting hostel bathrooms, 2
Cost of London Eye in pounds, 12 13
Number of class field trips, 6
Number of pairs of shoes tossed while on the trip, 2
Number of criossants eaten for breakfast, 8,696
Cost in Euros for a 4-pack of AA alkaline batteries in Paris, 6
Number of transit orgasms had, 12
Hours of good times had, 95,985,587

Oh man, Spain is awesome. It was been sunny since we´ve got here, and has no sign of stopping.

Something about Spain that I really like is that people are extremely laid back. The first vibe I got when roaming around the streets is that people really like life here. There are an ocean of people almost across Madrid just chilling, laughing and having a nice cold drink. For that reason, I have to say that Spanish people really age much more gracefully when compared to the others. If I knew more Spanish, I swear, it would be a great place to live.

Remember when I said that French guys are hotter than English guys? Well, Spanish guys are way in the lead when compared to the French.

Oh baby. I fact I met a Madrid "boyfriend" Luis-- the night reception . Haha!

Speaking of gayness, Spain is by far the most liberal country I´ve been to on this trip-- partly, methinks, because they´re so laid back. You can just see countless of gay couples hanging out, holding hands, and soaking up the sun.

Language has definitely been a barrier on this trip. Our great planner, Angie, has been godly to us because she was fortunate enough to have taken Spanish as a child. But now, Angie has left to head to Nice, and it´s now down to four people who are clueless about the language.

But we did pick up a few words however: hola, hablas ingles?, no hablos espanol, no comprendo.

I´m sure you can figure out what they mean!

That´s it for now. Hasta luego! See you later!

It seems like we just got here yesterday, but now we're packing our bags. Again, my brain is in no state to be writing long entries, but again, here are some last random facts from Oxford and Britain as a whole.

• Boxers-exposing low-rise jeans is widespread with the English male demographic, not just with the "Urban Outfitters" crowd like Canada. I suppose it could be hot-- and if you're until that, you might get to see butt crack too
• The privatization of public transit in the United Kingdom is a horrible move, and there is absolutely no coordination between all transit authorities. There are two private bus companies in Oxford: Stagecoach, and the Oxford Bus Company.
  • Oxford Brookes has its own marketed bus operated by Stagecoach-- it runs mostly on 30 minute headways and has serious schedule reliablility issues
• English men like to take off their shirts more than Canadians. Perhaps it's because of the humid and muggy climate. English men predomiately are built similarly: tall and lanky.
• But overall, French guys are hotter than English guys. But on the other hand, English guys have really nice hair. On a side note, there are Toni and Guy's everywhere.
• There are a lot of Tandoori places here. West Indians represent!
• There are no bubble tea places here. Chinese don't represent! I should really start a business and acquaint the English to something other than tea or nasty £1 Carling beer!
• Discount clothier, Primark, is friggin awesome
• After being in Britain for a while, you get sick of visiting the following:
  
  • Churches and cathedrals
  
  
  • Countryside
  
  
  • Historic buildings
  
  
  • Pedestrian streets (some)
  
  
  • English food
  
  
  
  

I should have internet access in Spain, but I'm sure the updates would be sporadic.

Cheerio!

The Queen!

Us all excited after meeting the Queen.

If you didn't see our photo in the newspaper, take a look!

Martina and me at Tower Bridge.

Everyone in front of Les Miserables in Picadilly Circus. We got rush tickets to see it-- for only £12!

Me and Liz on the streets of Picadilly Circus.

Transit orgasms in the London Underground.

Matt the treehugger, close to London City Hall on the Thames.

Here are some random facts about what I noticed in Paris:

• Not only is it the City of Love, it's also the City of Graffiti.

  No where in the world have I seen so much graffiti. People managed to get spray stuff in subway tunnels-- and I don't mean the station platform areas.

• Paris has very divided rich and poor communities.

  Beyond the grandeur of the central Paris, the outskirts are extremely dilapitated-- the city definitely has major poor/rich income gaps. Shawn and Fadi warned us before our trip of notorious pick-pockets in Paris-- which really freaked us out. Luckily, we were all okay.

• Paris is quite diverse

  Surprisingly, I witnessed a healthy mix of cultures in the city. Although it is hard to say, since many of the people we saw were probably tourists too. But nevertheless, I saw many Asian and Middle-Eastern looking workers in many of the many places were went.

• Paris has a extremely extensive subway and commuter-rail system

  Large historical cities have always been blessed with a healthy mass transit system. Paris is no exception. We travelled around the city at ease, though it often takes a long time to transfer to another platform at interchanges. Here's the map.

• Louis Vuitton is overrated

  All of us decided to visit LV on popular high-end shopping street, Champs d'Ellysees. There was this sexy Arab bouncer at the door, and he made visitors line up to get in-- even when it was clear that a lot of customers left. Once inside, there was many departments-- bags, accessories, clothes, watches, etc. It was so blah, we had to leave. There was a bitchy Asian sales associate there, but that's another story.

Me and the Grande Arche. We sketched this back in PLAN 210.

I told Tiff to pose for this picture. It looks like an apple pie. Tiff makes apple pies.

This picture is dedicated to Shima. It's our beloved flamingo, our pretty centerpiece public art in our Davis Centre site design.

Us chilling at the Charles de Gaulle airport. Here's Brennon blowing his birthday candle. I like this picture.

Me
and Angie at Centre Pompideau.

Here is everyone at our trio birthday get-together in Lizzie's room. It was Mel, Brennon, and Tamas' birthday on April 30th, May 1st and May 2nd respectively.

Me and the Eiffel Tower.

Me and the Arc de Trioumphe.

Me and LV. LV sales associates are little stuck up bitches. I guess that's no surprise. :p

Me and hot guys in a Paris Metro ad. Hubba hubba.

Angie, Mel, Tiff and I at the Louvre.