Scottish Deep Thoughts

Yesterday was very lazy. I stayed inside most of the day and tied up some loose ends before the end of the year. Dugal and I are organizing the "End of Year activity day". It's gonna be pretty fun, I hope. I'm doing rugby, golf and teaching the kids Ultimate frisbee. We spent most of the night finishing things to do with that (we are two wild and crazy guys!). Just before 1am I was about ready to call it a night and was flipping through the channels hoping that some mindless drivel might lull me to sleep.

...Big Brother Live...
...BBC 24...
...Star Trek (Captain Kirk era)...
...NHL Ice Hockey?

Could it be?!Never. Not on UK television. Indeed it was Game 6! Sweet. I stayed up until 4am to glory in the Oilers thump the Hurricanes. This made my weekend. I am looking forward to another late late on Monday but dreading Tuesday morning. It'll be worth it.

Wednesday was the leaving ceremony (the closest thing to the North American Graduation as it gets). It is a very unceremonial event. There are a few awards and a few speeches but not much else. It was sad to see some of that group leave. The good news is that the boys gave me a bottle of whisky for coaching the rugby!

We went over to Ron's place for a few drinks after the ceremony and proceeded to empty my bottle of whicky and put a huge dent in another. Campbell provided the entertainment. It was a good night but, unfortunately, this was a school night so the next morning was torture. I was rough and didn't get better until the late afternoon. I went for a round of golf in the afternoon which helped with the hangover even though I was useless on the course.

Friday was a very good day at work. Some other staff members and I have been planning a day of "healthy" events for the kids. We planned 4 stations: teambuilding, silly sports, yoga and some guest speakers. I led the organization of the day. It reminded me of The Apprentice - I had to plan and organize an event with no money at all. Prizes and fruit were donated and the people who came to the school volunteered their time.

We had some great weather and all the kids and staff had a great time.

On Saturday our hockey team faced the toughest competition of the year...a team of 15 year old kids! This team was a last-minute replacement for the team we were supposed to play. We lost. It was humiliating and it made me feel very old. I can remember when I was that young and full of energy. It was nice to know I wouldn't be completely breathless and close to a heart attack after two minutes of hard skating. I think we took it too easy on them in the first period. ]

We decided to drown our sorrows and try to delete this painful memory by drinking. I went out with a few teammates and we drowned our sorrows. It was a good night. Ironically, a night out like that is probably the reason for our poor showingon the ice.

On Saturday our hockey team faced the toughest competition of the year...a team of 15 year old kids! This team was a last-minute replacement for the team we were supposed to play. We lost. It was humiliating and it made me feel very old. I can remember when I was that young and full of energy. It was nice to know I wouldn't be completely breathless and close to a heart attack after two minutes of hard skating. I think we took it too easy on them in the first period. ]

We decided to drown our sorrows and try to delete this painful memory by drinking. I went out with a few teammates and we drowned our sorrows. It was a good night. Ironically, a night out like that is probably the reason for our poor showingon the ice.

Went golfing last night. I go every Thursday now so starting to get my skills back. I had a pretty good round even though it poured a horribly cold rain on us. Afterward I went to the pub. When I left at midnight it was still just light out; it was weird.
Now it's Friday night and I have no plans for the weekend. yay!

I am enjoying my holiday in school. It's a bit complicated but we change timetable a couple of months before summer so the seniors have written their exams and left and there are no first years (grade 8). Thus, I have a whole bunch of free periods. Basically, I sit in my room and play solitaire on my laptop and occasionally teach a class or two. Actually I have been organising my class and lessons for next year.

I've been able to sort a few out at school as well. I've organised a "health day" - yoga, team building, softball and some guest speakers. It should be ok. Dugal and I painted some murals on the wall in our drab corridor. And lastly, I was able to get three half whisky barrels donated to the school. I'm gonna put some dirt and plants in 'em.

Still planning my trip. Flight has been booked. I'll be in Vancouver on July 3 and will be leaving August 10. Ian, a fellow teacher, is gonna come over for a few weeks as well so I'll be playing a bit of the tour guide as we make our way to the Rockies.

I planted flowers at the school today. I was getting tired of looking at the pathetic empty flower pots so I did something about it. I really enjoy being outside in teh evening and digging in dirt. Is that wrong? The bastard kids will probably pick all the flowers off. I tried.

So the past couple of weeks I have gradually unwound and have been able to catch my breath (sort of).

The weather has dramatically improved as if a metaphor for the easing of the past 2 months' deluge of papers and stresses. The sunny weather makes one realize just how beautiful this country is.

I took advantage of this fine weather last weekend and drove to Tomintoul (about 30 minutes away) and spent the day out there. Tomintoul is in the centre of the "whisky trail" and, therefore, has a very good whisky shop. I stopped in to buy birthday gifts for my dad and grandpa. I was a bit intimidated at first but my nerves were soon put to sleep by the free drams - 4 samples of good whisky in 5 minutes will make anyone more at ease with paying the somewhat expensive prices of the bottles of the good stuff. I ended up with a really good bottle of 18 year old local malt for my grandad and some miniatures and a whisky glass for my dad. I strode off from the shop satisfied with my purchase and kinda buzzed. I headed off for a nice walk in the surrounding area.

The next day I packaged the whisky and went to the post office after work with the confidence that it would arrive on time for their birthdays.

"oh. It's whisky? Sorry, but we can't send alcohol in the post to international destinations."

Dammit. I had no idea that this rule existed! It's not as though I am trying to start a small-scale overseas bootlegging operation! What a joke. oh well. It will have to be hand delivered, which brings me to my big announcement...

I'm coming to Canada for the summer! I have to go back to sort out some overly-complicated Visa/Work Permit arrangements so that I can still work here next year. My return should be fun (as long as I can get all the Work Permit sorted without any problems). I'll be over early July and leave early August. I think I should be in Vancouver for most of the time but, again, depends on Work Permit stuff. Should be hitting up the island and the Okanagan.

I think Rich should be back in Canada now. The reason I say "I think" is because I haven't heard anything from him since left. He has been talking to mum and his girlfriend...but no contact with the brothers. I am not happy with him at the moment - I think he really rushed his trip.

Another big announcement...I bought my tickets to Pearl Jam in Berlin! I am super excited. The show is on Saturday Sept. 23 so I am just going for the weekend. I have 2 tickets so if anyone is in Berlin (or can make it there) you have a ticket!

I went out to Nethy (10 minutes away) on Saturday for a walk. It is really beautiful out there. I need to go more often. I had a hockey game on Saturday night against Aberdeen. I hadn't played in about a month so I knew I was gonna be a bit out of shape. We won 8-6 and I scored 4 goals so I was happy.

I had another game on Sunday against RAF Lossie. They're really bad so we were able to run over them 24-3. I scored 5 goals. Now am I very sore and tired. I'm getting old.

There. I am up to date again.

I'm back at work....booooo. Paris was really good. I have been there 3 times now and it gets better everytime I go. The sights remain the same and the queues are horrendous but the city is magic. It gives me a chance to practice my Grade 11 French again, too.

The first wekk back has been alright. I am looking forward to saying goodbye to some students but will definitely miss others. Oh well.

I went for a walk around Loch an Eilean last night. I have never been there before and went on teh recommendation of a couple of friends. It's a great place! It's such a peaceful place and there are the ruins of a small castle in the middle of the loch! When I build my castle, that's where I'm gonna build it.

Rich decided at the last minute to get on a plane and come over to Europe for an undetermined amount of time. He flew into Glasgow and met me in Inverness on the first weekend of my 2 week holiday. On Tuesday we set out for the Western Isles with Dugal and Mike O'Brien. It was a pretty cool trip apart from the abysmal weather. When it wasn't raining and cloudy it was snowing and windy! The poor weather was unfortunate because there are so many amazing things to see and do in the outdoors on the islands. As a result, we spent a lot of the time in the car and the pubs.

We came back home to Grantown on Friday afternoon. Rich and I went to Edinburgh that night and stayed there for the weekend. We had a really good time in the "big city". The weather improved slightly.

On Sunday we took a longer route back and stopped by St. Andrews. I had never been there before and had to make a pilgrimmage before I left this country. It is a really cool town and I'm gonna make a trip back down to play a round.

We made it back to town and have relaxed here for the past couple of days. Rich sorted his trip out; his first stop is Ireland. I'm going to Paris for the Easter weekend. Yay rioting!

I've posted new photos of our Scotland tour here. ("Scotland with Rich" folder)

Ok so now that I have some time I will try to remember where I left off...

School was not fun...too much work and not enough time to get everything done. The holidays have been a much needed break.

The Seniors and Juniors rugby teams played Dingwall. The juniors won and the seniors lost. The Sevens tournament was cancelled and rescheduled due to very poor pitch conditions.

We lost our hockey game against Inverness. Rip didn't play but was commemorated for his extensive career with a photo of the team (which got into the local paper) and a bunch of other stuff. I scored 3 goals and was Man of the Match.

ummm...I'm sure that there are a few other things that happened but I can't remember anything else.

wow, one month of no posts...that is completely unacceptable! I apologize. I have no excuse, just a couple of pretty good reasons. The last couple of weeks of school were extremely busy and relatively mundane. As well, I have been out exploring Scotland with my younger brother Rich! So as the "busy term" is now over and I am back at home I will update this more regularly.

The depression I suffered from due to a 15-1 thrashing against Inverness on Saturday night was effectively drowned by copious amounts of alcohol. I played like a giant heap of smelly detritus; i guess that is what I get for missing the past couple of weeks. We went out to the pub after I got back and then continued the party at our flatafter the pub shut. The neighbours probably did not appreciate the impromptu karaoke. Oh well. I have been quite slow all day but I still made it to hockey practice tonight. We have another game against Inverness next weekend. It will be a special night because the 80 year old legend fittingly known as "Rip" is playing in his last game before hanging up the skates.

I'm not looking forward to work this week. Only 3 more to go before Spring break though!!!

What a crappy week. Working ALL 5 days after having 3 days off last week (due to too much snow) killed me. This is the busiest time of year for me right now so that didn't help much with dealing with this shock to the system.

The one thing that made my week better was finding a big parcel from Royal Mail left in front of my door...Cranium! I was was feeling like a board game fix so I bought it from EBay on the weekend. It is the UK version so not sure how difficult it will be. I think I'll be crap at the trivia questions.

The past 7 days have been a blur and I am just catching my breath now. I was busy collecting money and permission slips and organising last minute details for 2 school trips on the weekend. The first was Friday to Glasgow to watch a production of Romeo & Juliet. 24 students, 3 other staff members and I left right after school (1:30 on Fridays) and made it to Glasgow by 5. We booked Pizza Hut for dinner before the show at 7:30. I was expecting a very traditional performance. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a modernised version (think the Leonardo di Caprio version but set in a Glasgow tenement). It was great. We had just finished studying it in class so my students were really into it...some tears were even shed from some of them! A succesful trip ended back at home at 2am.



The next day I was off again to Murrayfield in Edinburgh with 40 students to watch the 6 Nations rugby match Scotland v. England. A packed stadium of 50,000 fans turned out to watch Scotland beat the "Auld Enemy". This is one of the best memories since I've been here! (the boys with the painted faces were part of our group).

Sunday I was able to catch my breath...until Monday. After a particularly stressful day of teaching I took my rugby team up to Inverness to play Dingwall. We hadn't played this team before but knew we had a good chance of winning as they were a newly formed team. We played well and chalked up our first victory! The guys were really excited and I was happy that they finally won!

So now I am enjoying the second consecutive day off due to "bad weather" (bad weather in Scotland refers to 6 inches of snow). It was a pretty weak reason for school closure compared to Canadian standards but I'm not gonna complain.

This week we had an inspection at our school. It was a bit stressful, but they were there to evaluate the head, not the teachers. I don't think it went very well for him but we will find out on Monday.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been on a bit of a rampage at work. I have taken it upon myself to sort some things out in the school since no one else is doing a damn thing. I am becoming notorious for scathing emails villifying students and criticizing the lack of change that is long overdue. I have been using my exalted position as chair of the Health Promoting School committee as a veil to aid in my crusade. Since my reign of Terror began, I have rearranged the drab foyer with new furniture and display cases (thanks to IKEA) and put up new art display in the corridors. Plans are in place to paint murals on the corridor walls, get the school canteen to stop selling junk food and sting operations on students who litter. My reputation as a tyrant was solidified on Thursday when one of my rugby players broke his leg in practice. I feel bad about that, but he just wasn't listening to instructions...

It was a decent weekend in London. It was better than Dugal's weekend - he flipped his car and almost broke his neck.

Haig and I met up with two girls who I said I would see for a teacher friend of mine. It was awkward and lame. We didn't stay long. We proceeded to another bar where Jai and a few other people were. It is nice to be back in a place where you can still get food and a bus at 4am.

Saturday was a slow start. I spent most of my hungover morning wandering around the Tate Modern gallery. It was a relatively short visit and I need to spend more time there. Some pretty cool things that were met with the typical "uncultured" response: "That's not art. I could do that!"

I met up with Haig in the afternoon and we went to a Champions League football match (Millwall v. Queen's Park). I don't follow football at all but it was pretty cool to see a match. The crowd is so much more lively than a North American crowd. The chanting and songs need to be imported to North American sports. The riot police were out and had to break up a couple of fights in the stands. The walk to the Tube was lined with riot police and horses. We went out again that night and proceeded to pay exorbitant prices for mediocre drinks at average bars.

I came home on Sunday and slept before being completely useless at hockey practice.

My car is fixed. There was A LOT wrong with it. I knew that there would be. I went to a different garage this time. He was really good and quick. I didn't argue and just had him replace what he thought the car needed. I did think that replacing the floor mats was a bit strange though. oh well.

My weekend starts today. Half-term break so we get a 4 day weekend. I'm off to London for a couple days to meet up with some friends. Should be fun.

I went to start my car this morning...rrrr...rrr...rr...r...nothing. I had to get the jani to give me a jump start. The car limped to the garage and the mechanic checked it out. As I suspected, the battery and brakes are done. Gonna cost some money but as long as I can get to the Inverness airport on Friday afternoon I will be happy.

IComputer course tongiht...I pretended to do work for an hour and then we went to the pub. Ronny, the PE teacher, was already there and already drunk. We spent most of the night arguing and taking the piss out of him. Good fun.

Last day of the week tomorrow!!

My weekend was boring. I am boring. Nothing much to say about it. The high point was when I went to start my car and found that the battery was dead. Dammit. Now I have to take it in to the garage to get a new battery. Seeing as my car was starting to make funny noises anyway, it is probably a good move to take it in for a service.

I was having a video conversation with Rich tonight. The conversation, as always, was of little importance. The significant incident occurred when the phone rang. It was for me! Some guy from EBay was calling about an undelivered package that I bought 4 months ago! Wow, great service. After Rich explained that I "would be out for a long time" he relayed the message to me. We sorted out the problem (hopefully) and I should have my poster very soon. I found this mind-bogglingly funny. This guy calls in the 60 minute span that I was talking to Rich and even though I am on a different continent it was like I was back in good ol' Armstrong.

Webcams are going into my "What's hot" list for this week.

Sunday night we played Edinburgh in Stirling. We lost, but it was our closest loss this year! The trip home was a classic hockey team road trip...alcohol fueled immaturity.

One of the teachers is retiring so there was a party for her last night at the school. I ended my impressive (or sad) streak of returning to school after hours at 3 times this week! The party was OK, but I left early. I didn't feel like dancing and could feel that I was an easy target for drunk female teachers looking for dance partners. With a tinge of purple on their teeth and a glint of schadenfreude in their eye, these middle-aged Scottish dance enthuisiasts attempt to drag the reluctant Canadian to the dancefloor.

"C'mon, Mike. You look like you need to get up and dance."
"ach, no. I'm fine. Really. I'm tired. I don't know this dance."
"That's ok. I'll teach you."

At this point she grabs my hand with a rigid grip. I now have three options: get up and dance; act like an 11 year-old boy who still thinks girls are vile, germ-ridden beasts and desperately try to shake my hand loose; or gnaw my arm off and escape.

"No, really. I don't feel like it."

Others around the table join in to persuade me up, as if I am almost at the end of a grueling marathon, struggling to cross the finish line. Bastards.

"ugh"

I admit defeat. My fearless conqueror struts to the dance floor, towing me and their indestructible sense of self-satisfaction. To them, this noble act has helped me enjoy the evening. To me, they have only added to my discomfort and misery. I suppose it's not that bad, but I didn't feel like dancing the Canadian Barn Dance last night.

While "the speeches" were made I had frightening vision of a year and a half into the future. I had images of being subjected to the same ordeal during my going-away party - games, food, mingling, drinking, speeches and dancing. I'm not into that. I'm gonna leave a nice card with that classic high school line: "Have a good summer!". Maybe a few people will meet me at the pub.

I ate a lot of haggis, neeps and tatties tonight. The school put on a Robert Burns dinner. It was ok, but unusual to have a "dry" Burns night. The food was awesome but the singing and dancing gets awkward and uncomfortable quite quickly. More drinking, less dancing.

I suppose the Canadian voting public and I have been having a similar experiences as of late... We have both been fed things that we didn't know much about or didn't care to know about. Both of us have been subjected to long speeches in languages that I don't understand and seemed to focus around creating some semblance of a national identity. And finally, we both know that Robert Burns Day and another Canadian federal election will inevitably happen again this time next year!

Sweeeeeeet.

BEFORE & AFTER

The beard is coming off tonight. I amassed some seriously impressive growth. A lot of people said that it suited me but, alas, it is time to say goodbye. However, not all of it is coming off. I'm going to sport the bad-ass moustache for 2 days. It should be legendary. I'll take photos.

I took 3 of my Advanced Higher(Grade 13?) pupils down to Edinburgh on Saturday. They are in AH Art as well so Dugal came too. We went to look at some art during the day and in the evening we went to a live performance of a novel they are currently studying. It was a very culture-packed day in the "big-city". I missed a hockey game for this outing so they better treasure it as a fond memory of their high school days!

I didn't get up to much this weekend. It was a just a relaxing weekend. I played hockey for the first time in a month. I hurt the next day. This week is going by with relative ease. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.
I'm going to Edinburgh with a few of my Advanced Higher pupils to see a perfomrance of a novel that they are reading. Should be alright. I think the kids just enjoy seeing the "bright lights" of Edinburgh.

I am back...I spent some time trying to piece together my trip and have written them below. Nothing exciting. Unlike some of my blog fans, I keep up to date mith my posts (James, this means you...Mexico?).

I got my presents unwrapped tonight...socks, playing cards and a webcam. Not bad. If any of you have a webcam and would like to chat sometime, let me know.

ok, ok...much too long for a new post. I'll get my holiday blogs up this weekend. I know. I'm lazy. I suck. As most of you know, I'm back in Scotland from a holiday in Spain and started work today.

I spent the last few days of freedom being lazy and trying to get a bit of work done. I succeeded at both. We didn't have a TV in the flat, which was quite nice. I wasn't distracted by crappy reality shows, Coronation Street or very bad late-night movies. Instead, I became addicted to Radio 6. Holy crap, I love this station. It's only online or digitial radio and plays such an amazing variety of music. If any of you are looking to listen to some good/different music than the CanCom crud (most of it, anyway) that Canadians are subjected to on major stations, give this a try. It has all the BBC sessions (including all the John Peel sessions) and they archive everything for at least a week and you can listen to any show anytime....too much music, too little time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music

Other than that, I didn't do too much. I met up with Ian for a few pints on Saturday night. While walking back, I bumped into a student who lived next to my flat. After an exchange of "hi" the student replies: "Don't get too drunk tonight". Who says that to their teacher?! I wasn't visibly drunk and didn't stink of alcohol. I don't think that I would say that to one of my teachers...damn cheeky kids.

My disappointment of the failure of "The Great Moustache Competition" between myself and three other staff members was somewhat lessened this morning due to a pleasant surprise from Chris the Jani. A package sent by my parents in November somehow landed in my landlord's brother's wife's hands for the past month. She works in the school canteen and brought it to me today. I am convinced that I would get my mail if it were addressed to Canadian teacher, Grantown-on-Spey. Gotta love small town postal service!

Nothing out of the ordinary today.

I made it back to Barcelona for one more night. The train ride showed yet another bad film. This time it was from the illustrious library of Ice Cube ("Are We There Yet?" maybe). The only advantage was that it was filmed in Vancouver so spotting places I knew in the city kept me occupied.

I stayed at the same hostel when I got back to Barcelona. The next day, I went out to the Olympic park....such a relaxing day. The sun was shining so I just hung out in the park all day.

The trip home the next day was long but harmless.

If you like New Year's Eve don't be on your own in a foreign small town. Fortunately, I don't make a big thing over New Years Eve. Having said that, I wouldn't do it again. I spent a relaxing day around town. Then went into the square of the town where the celebrations happened. I spent the countdown to midnight listening to the stage band murder Gloria Estefan "hits" - the rhythm definitely did not get me that night.

The 3 hour train ride from Barcelona to Zaragoza was so much better than yesterday's train trip to Figueres. The seats reclined, there was ample leg room and there showed a movie (free headphones too!) I killed the time by reading up on the place I went to on a whim and a recommendation as well as trying to understand the Spanish translation of a very bad Ben Affleck Christmas movie. First impressions of Zaragoza were that it is a nice city but I think 2 days here is the right amount of time. I found my place and tried to wade my way through the Spanish-English divide at the hotel I booked. It was a bit of a dodgy place but was decent enough for two days. I went out to see a bit of the city followed by my habitual tapas, wine and coffee.

I slept longer than I wanted to this morning. Normally, I wouldn´t be bothered but I wanted to sort out a place to stay for tomorrow night. Instead, I decided to take a train to Figueres to visit the Salvador Dali museum. A fantastically bizarre and genius palace of artisitc expression. This may sound pretentious and naive of me, but I think ol´Salvador and I have similar brains. Some of the things he has created are really like what goes on in my mind sometimes, which is kind of disturbing. Anyway, it is a highlight of a Spanish holiday. It is worth sitting on the 2 hour train trip from Barcelona (the train also provides amazing views of the Pyrenees).

And now for a short examination of train trips...

Train trips are fun, sort of. It is an excellent time to people watch, eavesdrop, sleep or stare out of windows for prolonged periods of time thinking of nothing at all. The success of a train trip is very much dependant on who sits next to you and across from you. For example, on my trip to Figueres two girls sat opposite me. Unfortunately, the 6 foot 5 inch girl sat directly in front of me. My whole trip was spent trying not to knock knees. We were both constantly shifting and sharing awkward smirks of apology when we did accidently bump into one anothers knees. Some might think this might sound like a good way to pick up the ldaies. You could not be more wrong. First, they did not speak English. Second, it would just be creepy if I were to intentionally rub knees with her. On the other hand, this may just be me and my damned shy personality showing through. By the end of the trip I was in serious need of stretching my legs. To the casual observer I must have looked like I was going to piss my pants. In fact, I am highly suspicious that this is what the two girls opposite me were saying to eachother in their foreign language. My trip back was not much better. At least on the way there I could stare out the window at the passing scenery of the magnificent Pyrenees (I really must make it up into those hills on my next trip to Spain.) When it is dark, you have three places to look: the ceiling, straight ahead at the other person opposite or across to the other aisle (providing that you have a seat at all!). Two of these options get very boring very quickly and the other option makes you look like a psycho. I spent the first half of the trip standing amongst two families and being flanked by two baby carriages. Train trips can be fun on occassion but, unfortunately, these two were not.

I got back to the hostel and went out for dinner with a guy from the hostel. Had paella and wine. For some reason, you can only order paella if two or more people are having it. I suspect that money has A LOT to do with it.

I booked a place to stay in Zaragoza tomorrow over the phone...I think. I either have two nights booked at a hostel or a threesome booked with a Spanish whore. Either way, tomorrow should be fun.

Gaudi park is amazing! Dr. Seuss and Willy Wonka would be great frineds with Gaudi. I love it. I wandered around there for most of the day. Good day.

A very smooth start to the trip, as usual. I am quickly becoming a seasoned veteran at low budget travel. I made it to Barcelona and the hostel - a very good location - with ease. I was greeted by the hostel employee, who turned out to be a Scot. I was shown around, introduced to people, given a glass of wine and fed. Pretty good welcome! I met most of the people at the hostel when I was shown a chair at the table. Most of them seemed to be from eastern U.S. We all went out for a few drinks later. We got back around 3 and I crashed after a LONG day of travel.

The next day I walked around the city and made it down the Ramblas - a very large boulevard of street performers, kiosks and markets. I suppose it is the heart of city and somewhat impressive - good vibe and a lot going on. The food here is amazing! I found a cool market and introduced myself to the tapas bar (a bunch of tasty small dishes, for those unfamiliar). Unfortunately, I was relegated to pointing and speaking a broken, incorrect Spanish. It was annoying and embarrassing. I really hate not being able to speak the language. After a delicious lunch of roasted peppers and octopus (i think) and wine I found myself staring at Picasso masterpieces. The museum has a decent representation of his work and charts the progress from a "normal" artist to his cubist stuff. I found a pretty cool restaurant down a wee side street in the Old Town for dinner. Again, awesome food. I completed the night at a tiny relaxing pub and wrote a few postcards.