Where is Mari?!

[BombaySapphire3]

I see she has not been around in over a week.I sure hope she didn't recieve a third strike although I see nothing strike worthy in her recent posts .For that matter I didn't see anything strike worthy in her old ones either! :o

[face of glass]

Mari is on a two-week vacation in Scotland and she should be back next week. She told me she's been bothered by both the rain and the sunshine.

Geez, I wrote the same thing at TBL. Maybe I should go out more.

[eclipse]

Thanks for letting us know :cool:
Hope she still enjoys not working :]

[BombaySapphire3]

[QUOTE=face of glass]Mari is on a two-week vacation in Scotland and she should be back next week. She told me she's been bothered by both the rain and the sunshine.


Hey thanks for the info it sounds like she is having a wonderful holiday! :laugh:

[wondergirl9847]

I just saw a show on Travel Channel (Great Hotels) and she was going around Edinburgh! I'd love to go there someday.

Hope she's enjoying her trip!

[Mari]

lol, you actually missed me? :o :laugh:
I had a great time, even with the rain (I guess it wouldn't really be Scotland if the weather was nice all the time). I walked parts of the West Highland Way, a walking route that goes through some incredible nature. I loved it... pictures on the way. Couldn't squeeze in a day of Edinburgh, but did some shopping in Glasgow instead;) Just two more days of not working left :]

[Mari]

Don't know but I think she's about to post.

Isn't "currently active users" a great pastime when you're bored.

[Mari]

I'm having so much fun all by myself here. The place that was once virtual metropolis, now just left for me to wander the empty spaces alone. Stalking passers by is the only form of entertainment.

Aww. It's just early. And I know it because I've been online at this hour many times.. Just wait a while and you can stalk whomever you want.

[Mari]

But then I'll be deflated or just sober and the fun might have ceased. Go on, invite your friends over.

I don't have any. At least none to invite over here at this time. Sorry.
Hm, I could tell you about some vacation horrors to amuse you, is that alright?

[Mari]

Ok!
Scottish vacation horror #1: Midges (http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/bitmidge.htm) . I used a pretty good but also pretty poisonous insect repellent so I wasn't as badly attacked as some of the other people in our group. They always managed to find that one spot I had missed though, and now I've little red (fading) spots all over my ankles (they'll bite right through your socks) and a strip on my back between shirt and jeans. It's so much fun trying to eat breakfast when you're in the middle of a cloud of these darlings. Or try to make dinner. We were told by the locals that they actually try to stay inside as much as possible during these months when the midges plague is at it's worst. Only tourist outside.

[Mari]

Scottish Holiday Horror #2: this is one especially for the Dutch who only walk on flat country and thus haven't trained those muscles you need for climbing on mountains and descending from them. The very first walking day (24 km) I strained both my knees pretty bad. I couldn't walk for the next two days. I couldn't get up or more so, get down stairs, walk down a little slope without each step hurting like hell. The best way to get over that is to keep on moving.. so that's what I did, walk while cursing through my teeth. (And it did get better, fortunately.)

[Mari]

Scottish Holiday Horror #3: the Scottish accent. My english is ok from watching a lot of bbc.. but scottish? Aye! As in, :shocked:
And, village etc names like Kinlochleven, Ballochullish, Glen Cruigh.. how do you say that ?!?
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the Beinn Glas campsite is? Uh, Beinn Glas, yes. Oh, that's how you pronounce it!"

[Mari]

Scottish Holiday Horror #4: landscapes like these:
http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Union/Explorers/Gallery/scot2k4alex/65_Scotland2k4_West%20Highland%20Way.JPG

Yes, very beautiful, but how far to the nearest village? 8 miles? umm, or 14? With these blisters and these knees?
And if there is a village, is there a supermarket where I can get some sandwiches? Is there an atm-machine that accepts european bankcards? Talking about money, I never knew that Scotland has Scottish Pound notes. Which you can only use in Scotland. So, all the banknotes you get there, you'll have to use there. Hmm, that's actually not so dumb...

[Mari]

Still, I'd love to go back there and spend more time there.. I loved it. I must be a masochist.

[Mari]

oh, another one, but this isn't exclusive for Scotland. I went on holiday with a group of in total 16 people. I think I survived it allright considering I am NOT a group-person. Anyway, most of the people were cool, I got along pretty well with them and enjoyed their company when I wanted it. Of course there's always the one or two persons you just love to hate (and everyone else with me). There were two young student girls, sorority type.. every morning when the rest of the group had finished breakfast, and breaking down the tent, ready to go, that's when these two would stick their heads out of the tent, shocked to hear that breakfast was over, running to the washing rooms, making everyone wait. This went on all those two weeks, even at the end when we were about to embark on the boat from Dover to Calais.. they were the ones missing. The busdriver almost drove on without them.
On the other hand, they were a nice source of entertainment for the rest of us to gossip about and make fun of now and then;)

[Mari]

You certainly paint an enticing picture. You sure you enjoyed it? Pft, bugs. It wouldn't be home without being attacked by bugs.

With your lack of mountain climbing skills you've reminded me of my mother (I shall punish you later as I was enjoying the selective amnesia) who has just informed me via email that she's alive. After the initial disappointment, I've come to accept the outcome of her expedition of insanity. I can barely make it up the stairs but my 50 something mother just climbed the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, famous not only for WWII but for people falling to their deaths. She had to train for months though but still, the thing is freakin vertical in parts. I even have a picture (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/Lux_Adams/kokoda.jpg) if you're remotely interested in my slightly related diversion of topic. So I can't relate but I'm sure if I were my mother I could but if that were the case I'd also kill myself. I digress but I'm allowed to, I'm high.

Hey, Scottish accents are cool, except when they're being emitted from the mouth of Billy Connolly.

Oh sure they're cool, but it takes quite an effort to understand if english isn't your first language. I love to put 'wee' in front of every noun, now.
That track looks :shocked: (for lack of a better word). I was already impressed when I saw people passing by with tents & sleeping bags etc on their backs, we were a lazy bunch compared to them. I'd never be so crazy to do that.
You might like bugs, but have you experienced sitting in a cloud of midges? It was maddening. They were everywhere. Don't let my pessimism fool you, I'll still say I loved it there.. I want to go back! Even when I forgot to mention the most famous Scottish Holiday Horror, which is the weather. We had two or three sunny days out of 14 in total. Why does it always rain on me?