Originally Posted April 10, 2011

Part 2

Thursday had arrived.  I, armed with a French model, made my way to find a tuxedo rental.  I had grandeur images of a James Bond tuxedo fitting, but Moss Bros For Hire did not deliver, go figure.  After trying a few on, we found the slim fit that Arthur says is so in right now.  Word of warning, once you’ve worn a tux, your other clothes will never be the same.  It felt good, I’m not gonna lie.  Although the rental shirts were a one size fit all, aka extra awkwardly large, I was avec tux.  With a couple hours to spare I was inspired to iron the pre-packaged tuxedo shirt.  Little did I know I was walking into the infamous “ironing incident”.  Let’s back it up, let’s Tarantino this thing.  I signed out the iron and ironing board from the front desk, got it to the room, set it all up, warmed the iron, good as gold.  And then….TSSSSSS! (Insert scary ironing noise followed by the panicked shriek of a 12-year-old girl)  After I helped the random 12-year-old girl in the hallway, I entered panic mode and made a quick phone call/Skype to super mom who gave emergency cleaning instructions.  Although the cleaning was a lost cause, mother did what mothers do and this is come through in the clutch.  Turns out buddy at the security desk gave me an iron with an oil mess on it, thus transferring yellow to my white shirt.  However cool heads prevailed and alternative shirt-tie combos were formed.  I was off to The Ball.  Checked off the guest list, greeted by a fleet of white blazers carrying endless Moet champagne, socialized with the rich stranger who still remembered me, enjoyed random conversation, Michelin star catered food, hundred-foot high mural covered banquet hall, and an experience I’ll never forget.  The night was topped off by a walk home through central London in a tuxedo.  Truly the definition of feeling like a million bucks.

Then came Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day.  I went there a few days early on my own (7 pound flight on Ryan Air…believe it).  Walked the city, did a bus tour out into the countryside, partied with some other travelers and had a classic “what a small world story” where I met a couple at a bar who live 5 minutes from my house in Oakville.  After that, mates of mine from England came the day before St. Patty’s, so we had a couple nights out and enjoyed the scene.  St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin is everything it’s stacked up to be.  Streets flooded with green.  Everyone is shoulder-to-shoulder on the streets, constantly having to fight through the crowds.  It was a really cool environment and I’m glad I got to experience it…and there was Guinness.  I ended up doing the Guinness brewery tour on my last day, which I highly recommend to anyone going to Dublin.  All in all, great time in Ireland.

All of these visits and trips were inevitably followed by schoolwork.  I had a bunch of things due in my last week, so it was a lot of coffee and a lot of late nights.  Got it all done on time, so I am now officially on summer break!  In these same couple weeks of schoolwork, my flatmate Christy (who loves a good shout out) and I began a fantastic week of deliciousness known only as ‘Curry Week’.  A different curry was cooked every night and it all culminated into Saturday night at a fantastic curry restaurant in London called Tyabbs.  What a week.  The end of curry week also found us at the festivities known as the Goat Race.  Oxford and Cambridge have an annual boat race on the Thames River, which is mocked by a race across town known as the Goat Race.  Naturally, we chose the Goat Race.  It was exactly as it sounds.  2 goats racing, one with an Oxford shirt, one with Cambridge.  Really funny to witness, we have fun.

Alas, we arrive at present day.  I mentioned before, but I am writing this post in Paris, France, which is the starting point of my post-semester traveling.  I won’t get into much detail because I will write a post about it sometime soon.  I’m just enjoying the 25-degree weather and seeing the sights, feeling extremely thankful and appreciative for being allowed this experience.  After a long winter I am happy to report that I got sun burned yesterday.  For the record, that was not meant to be a cheap shot to people in Ontario.  My plan for travel is very much undecided, but as of now Italy is looking like my next stop.  I will leave it at that and encourage those who are able to please feel free to check out my pictures on Facebook.

All the best to everyone back in Canada; I hope everyone is doing well.  And to all my friends of ’89 graduating in a few weeks, may your dreams fly as high as your hats.

Take care

No Regrets.

Pete