I've finally emerged from my Internet-less hole in Egham, England. It's about a forty minute train ride west of London, and the current home of Samara, who is studying music at Royal Holloway University for the year. It's nice seeing a friend from back home, since I've been traveling essentially alone for two months. We visited Rochester yesterday, and giggled every time we saw signs saying "medieval Rochester" or "Rochester castle," and we're heading into London today and tomorrow for action packed days of museums, markets, theater, and food/drink.

Speaking of which, I have barely mentioned food for awhile. I thought I'd compile a list of the best food I've eaten whilst in Europe. In order of appearance:

Estonia:
1. Pirukad- Estonian pastry pies and pretty much the national dish of the country, filled with the ubiquitous smoked fish, lamb, beef, or cabbage usually. I had all of these at one point or another...

2. Crepes with caramel, banana, and ice cream- not particularly Estonian, but delicious nonetheless

3. Pickles- Estonians are particularly fond of pickles, and make them quite well

Ireland:

4. Fish and chips- I am constantly craving fish and chips, and the best I've had so far was in Howth, Ireland.

5. Scones with butter and jam- finding a good scone is a bit hard, but I found a nice, fluffy one in Cork. Ireland also has some of the best butter and milk in the world; I'm not looking forward to dairy products back in the US after having been spoiled by Irish ones.

6. Tomatoes- The farm I worked at in Ireland had over 600 tomato plants, and they were all amazing. Not sure how many pounds of tomatoes I ate there...

Scotland:

7. Tea- It really is a tradition in the UK to have teatime in the pm.

8. Milk- Straight from Molly the cow and used to make yogurt, butter, cream, and ice cream. The elderberry flavored ice cream we made was literally some of the best ice cream I've ever had, even if it was a strange, brown color.

And there's still England and Poland to go.

I'm now flying back to the US Oct. 10 to start my job. Hopefully I'll see some of you soon after!

Zoom

So this blog has been layed by the way-side, mainly because I literally have not had Internet for the past month, aside from a couple of breif Internet Cafe sessions. Nevertheless, quite a lot has happenend in the past month. I've traveled from Ireland to North Ireland to the north of Scotland, where I am now living on a homestead/farm/brewery/furniture workshop complex working long days and learning wonderful things. The brewery work is dull and unenlightening, as only assembly line work with a bunch of surly and pessimistic Scottish young men can be, but the rest is great. I've practiced milking a cow, making butter and jam, cooking in an aga (oven that stays on all the time), and baking bread, along with garden work.

Most excitingly, looking back toward the US, I now have a job! I've accepted an AmeriCorps position with St. Mary's Nutrition Center in Lewiston, Maine. That means I have to fly back early, on Oct. 10, and immediately to Portland. Very exciting, but I'm also super-frustrated with trying to change my flight because I can't figure out how to put money on my phone. Note to US: please make phones that work in Europe.

I'm off to visit Samara on Tuesday, after which I will be more of a tourist and less of a farm girl, and will have more Internet, so a better post will follow!