Looks like things are busy; everyone's so quiet. No one's emailing or posting.

Yesterday we spent almost the whole day at Edinburgh Castle. The place is huge. There are several parts and we tried our best to visit all of them. We even took the guided tour at the beginning. The view is magnificent, and the wind is, for those of us raised in the tropics, biting and cold. There were some bored Italian students around, but they seemed bored and disinterested. There was a dog cemetery where regiments posted to the castle had buried their mascots, and a small chapel, the royal chapel, named for St. Margaret, who died at the castle. The castle's never been taken by a direct attack, only by stealth. We went in some dungeons and they had that genuine musty smell, very oppressive. Neva hated it. It was also very dark, gloomy, definitely very eerie. The arches of doors had different heights and that contributed to the growing feeling of claustrophobia.

Today was kind of shopping day, both an exciting day and the one with the most jitters. Since the beginning of the trip I've been noting cool stuff down, their prices, and where they are. I've avoided, for the most part, buying anything (thank God I relented on the Happy Together, though). Many people advised me against this, as I got told stories of coming back for something only to find it gone. Then I looked at the list and whittled it down: what can only be found in the UK? What's too good a deal to pass up? I even cross-referenced prices with online boutiques, and that slashed 80% of the list away. So I'm picking up only a handful of books, some that I've been looking for for ever (Jeff Noon's Pollen), and maybe one or 2 DVDs.

Last night we caught the first episode of The L Word, that hyped-up lesbian show. It was directed by Rose Troche. I didn't really like it. None of the characters were very interesting, and I couldn't fathom how they stayed together, when they clearly hated each other. The nudity was a plus, but Mia Kirshner's just skin and bones now. Neva is now watching The Hamburg Cell, that Antonia Bird movie (her first in 5 years pala) I saw at the Festival. It's showing on cable. Then I will watch Curb Your Enthusiasm. Another thing I will miss is their television. So many interesting shows. There's this show called Abuse Science, which is basically an educational show disguised as a prank show. Genius. And then lots of documentaries: anti-Bush ones about the conspiracies of the real reason for the Iraq war, and the contest to win the bid for building the shrine to be put up on Ground Zero in Manhattan. In the mornings, reruns of the Knight Rider, where I found out that KIT stands for Knight Industries Two-Thousand. Hahahaha.

It's slowly beginning to freak me out that these are our last few days here. :(

I'm wondering how I'll take the heat when I get back, though my mom informs me that it's been raining. I look forward to eating in restaurants again.