Dad's Here

Hi folks. Sorry for the lack of updates lately. My dad arrived in Nottingham on Tuesday, and it's been sort of hectic since then. He's staying on a canal boat in Barton-under-Needwood, which is about a 45 minute drive from the flat here in Nottingham. So that sort of complicates things a little, as intense coordination is needed for each day. He got in Tuesday, and he and Anne spent the night at the Luther flat. Dad also joined me and the crew for a trip to The Lion, where he got his first taste of REAL ALE. I went to class Wednesday morning, afterwards, we went and rented a Ford Focus downtown, and made our way down to the canal boat. After a tutorial on how to operate the locks as well as the boat, I got shuttled back up to Nottingham for my orchestra rehearsal. While I was at class this morning, they drove up to Chatsworth, a large country home north of Nottingham (see post sometime in the fall for my own impressions on Chatsworth). After that, they showed up here and we took a look around the university. Following that, I exercised the right that every Luther College student has done thus far, and convinced dad to take me to a restaurant I could otherwise not afford. The choice tonight was 4550 Miles From Delhi, a swanky Indian restaurant downtown. Great food. Indian food is very popular in England thanks to all the immigration. Such is the spoils of empire, I suppose. Anyways, I've become quite fond of it. Quickly, after a morning spent turning in my César Chávez essay, hopefully grabbing coffee, and braving the BRITISH NOVEL, dad will come get me and we're hitting up a brewery museum in Burton-upon-Trent. After that, we'll head to the canal boat, maybe take the boat up a few miles, eat dinner, and sleep on the boat. In the morning, take it back down to the car, and off to Nottingham for yet another orchestra rehearsal, as well as celebrating St. Patrick's/Dad's Birthday with more than a couple rounds of Guinness. At night on Saturday, I take Handel's Israel in Egypt to school. Sunday, down to London for the day. And Monday, dad is off again. Even with all the hassles, it's good to see him. And good to have my feet quenched by the unbearable comfortabity that reside in my Minnetonka moccasins.

In other news, in a little over a week, I am off to Europe for the month long, extremely expensive, culturally explosive EUROTRIP OF THE CENTURY. Eurail pass has been booked. That leaves only my Eurostar ticket, flights to and from Istanbul, hotels in Siena and Paris, TGV reservations, ferry ticket to Greece, and God knows what else left to take care of. A word from the wise. If you're going to spend a month on the road in Europe, be prepared for the painful noise of money being ripped out of your wallet (or Minnesota Twins credit card). Even frugally, this place is damn expensive. Whatever. The proverbial all-you-can-eat lamb and yoghurt buffet that is Istanbul is waiting at the end of the rainbow. It will be worth it, even if I am stuck working in a bank for the next 5 years. If anyone is actually keeping track, there's a slight change to my itinerary. Wherever I posted my itinerary, replace "Tours/Loire Valley" with "Avignon." I'm once again seizing my destiny and traveling solo for 3 nights in southern France. That's what's up. Catch you all later.