Trip #8: Edinburgh

Firstly, Edinburgh was nice due to the convenient travel. We took a flight leaving from Norwich airport, and it was only about 50 mins in the air. We arrived Friday night, had dinner and went to a pub for a little to try some Scottish whiskey. Despite the easy travel, we were all tired so we went home pretty early for a good night's rest.

"Home" was a building that used to be a church but was converted into a hostel at least twenty years ago. It was pretty cool, but most of it was built up and since they had to make the rooms, wasn't really just like sleeping on pews or anything. Still unique, though.

the creepy outside of our hostel at night

officially in scotland: colin found bagpipes in his locker

Saturday we went to Edinburgh Castle, which was really neat. The views are really spectacular and it also has the crown jewels of Scotland (older than England's!). Edinburgh is pretty cool too because the castle area is "old town" and it is all up a hill from most of the more city-like restaurants. "The Royal Mile" - which is book-ended by the Palace the queen stays at when she visits and the Castle, has touristy shops as well as old buildings and churches. I really liked the mix of old and new, and the cobble-stoned streets made me feel like I was in a Harry Potter movie.

spring has sprung! pretty yellow flowers

me and the castle in the background

Saturday afternoon we hiked/walked up a mountain that overlooks all of Edinburgh. Liz and Erica aren't the hiking folk, so they were with us for a bit but then left to go shopping while Colin and I conquered the higher peaks. It was probably my favorite part of the trip and had some breath-taking views of the city and the North Sea. After our time exploring, everyone re-grouped and went to dinner then walked over by the castle for our ghost tour! It was more funny than scary, but it was also interesting because with the ghost stories were included some history of Edinburgh. Definitely a fun way to spend the evening.

running up the mountain

looking over edinburgh

climbing some cliffs

Sunday we were all tired from the climbing the day before so we took it slow and had some fun shopping in the tourist shops and walking down "The Royal Mile." We stopped in some random cemeteries and churches that looked interesting and made our way down to the Palace. We had a flight in the afternoon so we made our way back to our hostel and took a short, easy flight back to UEA!

rubbing the toe for good luck

some more modeling shots

It was a but of a slow, lazy weekend but a nice recovery from the craziness of Rome! I also just loved Edinburgh's unique character and small-town feel.

Cheers.

Trip #7: Rome

I'll start by apologizing because this blog post is going to be annoyingly long. I was in Rome from Wednesday night to Monday evening and it was one of the best long weekends of my life. Literally everything was amazing and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect trip. That being said, here is my attempt at encompassing all my love for Roma in one blog post:

I arrived at Termini station around 11pm Wednesday night and with some help from 3 guys from Wisconsin that I met on the plane, I found the Nike store and met up with Gwen. I exchanged numbers with the guys and we were supposed to meet up but never did so those details are un-important. 

Walking back to Gwen's apartment was crazy because Thursday was the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy so everyone was celebrating Wednesday night. The streets were hectic and there were people everywhere. The national monument had a concert going on in front of it and all the other famous monuments were lit up. 

Next morning I woke up early to meet up with my best friend Eileen and her friend, Sarah, at the Vatican Musuem. On my way there I ran into one of my friends from high school -- small world! The museum was interesting and it was good we went so early because it wasn't crowded at all, and we got to skip the line with our pre-reserved tickets. The ticket to the museum includes seeing the Sistine Chapel, which was neat (but a little overrated if you ask me). After that we went to St. Peter's, which I love. It is so overwhelmingly large and amazing to be in. At St. Peter's we met up with another Notre Dame student who is studying abroad in Rome and he took us all over Roma. We went to this great little pizza place by the Vatican which was delicious, got some gelato, passed Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and looked over the Forum. It was raining on and off all day so after the Forum we decided it was a good idea to head back to Gwen's apartment to dry off and decide what we were doing that night.

St.Peter's

Sarah, Eileen and I in the map room of the Vatican Museum

Me & Eileen in St. Peter's

Sarah, Me and Eileen at the Trevi

Saturn's Temple at the Forum

That night we went to dinner at Dar Poeta which was FABULOUS. The food was cheap and delicious. For dessert Eileen, Gwen and I split a Nutella and Ricotta Calzone. I would have taken a picture to show the deliciousness, but it was gone too fast. That night was St.Patrick's day so Gwen and I went on our own adventure to Irish Pubs around Rome and had a blast. It was great start to our reunion. 

Eileen and I at dinner with our yummy pizzas

The next morning I was supposed to wake up early and go to Florence to go bike riding with Sarah and Eileen but for some reason my alarm didn't go off so I wasn't able to make the train. It was a blessing in disguise though because Gwen and I had the best day ever in Roma. We walked over to Borghese gardens and rented bikes for the day and literally rode all over the city. It was the most perfect day. We passed nearly every famous landmark and even made our way to the edge of the city to some less-famous areas. The weather was perfect -- clear, blue skies -- and we just soaked in how awesome our lives were. Late in the afternoon we stopped at Duecenta Gradi (i think), which is this amazing Panini place close to St. Peter's. We walked over to a plaza close by to eat our sandwiches and who do we see outside but Jimmy and Pat, two of my friends who go to Marquette who were visiting Rome for their Spring Break. Once again, small world! I had known they were coming but it was so random to run into them there. To top it all off, we got back to Gwen's apartment and literally 10 minutes later it started raining, so we arrived at just the right time! And by the time we left to go out to dinner, it had stopped raining and was pretty warm out. 

the beginning of the Mallon-Toupin bike tour

random road we wandered down

artsy

in st.peter's square!

For dinner that night we went to a restaurant that Gwen's teacher suggested that was once again, cheap and delicious! Roman pizza is so much tastier than fish and chips!! After dinner we went to Scholar's and met up with a ton of friend's from High School. It was so great to see everyone and catch up. We ended up staying out much later than planned, but it was completely worth it because it was such a blast. 

some fenwick alums

Saturday morning Gwen was leaving for her Spring Break to Barcelona and Ireland so I moved my stuff to a hostel close to Eileen. I met up with Eileen, Sarah and Sarah's friend (also named Sarah...) at a church in between us and then made our way over to the Colossuem. We got a guided tour because it was crazy busy due to the Roman Marathon being the next day. The tour let us skip the long individual line, which was nice and provided us with some historical information on the monument. After that we made our way over the Palatine Hill and the Forum. It was crazy to think how big the palace built on Palatine must have been. Also it was a great view of the Forum... so cool. 

After the Forum we walked over to the Vatican area to go back to Duecento Gradi for panini's, they're just so good I had to bring Eileen there! We then got delicious (i need to look up a synonym) gelato at Old Bridge, which is also by the Vatican. With our stomachs filled, we walked over to St.Peter's to take some pictures in front of it when it was sunny and drop off Sarah to meet up with some other friends. Then the original Sarah, Eileen and I went to Castle St. Angelo (which was originally Hadrian's Tomb). I'm so glad we decided to go there because it was really awesome! It wasn't crowded and we just wandered around the castle and went up to the top to get some spectacular views of the city. 

Eileen and I at the Colosseum

View from Castle St. Angelo

From the Castle we went over to the Trevi Foutain then to the Spanish Steps and the Gucci store. We then made our way back to our Hostel/hotel to switch our shoes and quickly get ready for dinner. For dinner we met up with Bolzan and Kit at a place that had some wonderful home made gnocchi! We got some gelato and met up with Jimmy and Pat, then with some other Fenwick friends. That night we started everything late, and the next morning both Jimmy and Pat and Eileen and Sarah had to leave at 7am so what was the most responsible thing to do? Stay up all night. We were out pretty late and then went over to the Trevi Fountain, which was beyond amazing. No one else was there and we just took it all in. Jimmy and Pat walked us back to Eileen's hotel, making it back in perfect timing. Such a fun night.

Jimmy & I in front of the Trevi at night

Sunday I slept in a little bit and then left to go to mass at St.Peter's. However, because of the marathon it was a huge pain to get anywhere, so I ended up instead just stopping in a random church on the way there. It was cool because instead of being in a huge place I was in a smaller church with, I think, locals. Another unique experience. After that I made my way over to St.Peter's to make it for the Pope's blessing and then met up with Kit, Tommy and Paul to go up to the Dome of St.Peter's for some spectacular views of the city. After that we hung out in St.Peter's square for a bit, then I met up with Bolzan to grab some dinner and then said goodbye and went back to my hostel for an early night's rest. 

Monday I went over to the Pantheon, then wandered around the Jewish Quarter as well as Trastervere. Then I made my way to Duecento Gradi for one last panini (I told you they were good!!). I took it to-go and made my way over to a hill about a ten minutes walk from St. Peter's. It was very cool, I sat on some stones and overlooked the city while enjoying my sandwich. It was a great way to end my time in Rome! After that I just went back to my hostel to pick up my bag, go to the bus station, the airport and home.

Did I use the word perfect enough in my descriptions to show how wonderful my weekend was? The best time ever. 

Cheers.

Trip #6: Paris

I wasn't really sure about going to Paris during my time here this semester since I've been 3 times before, but one of my friends here found a really cheap ticket to get there by bus/train/ferry, so I figured why not. And I'm so glad I did because my affinity for Paris was made even stronger than it already was.

To get to Paris we took an over-night bus that went through the chunnel. It really wouldn't have been that bad except for the fact that I was sitting next to a guy who didn't understand that I existed in the seat next to his and therefore spread out as much as he very well pleased. This would have put me in a bad mood but thankfully the lady sitting next to Colin was hilarious, so I mainly focused on that. Within the first hour they covered the death penalty, gun control, republicans vs. democrats, racism, Obama, religion... just about everything you shouldn't talk about at the dinner table. She also didn't understand much English, so Colin kept on having to repeat things, "No, people do not get killed automatically with the death penalty." "No, I do not own a gun." "Yes, I am from Texas but no I am not a racist." She then force fed him two fried dough garlic things, her words of wisdom when he tried to politely say no: "Don't eat because you're hungry, eat because you like the taste!"

We arrived in Paris early Friday morning, checked into our awesome hostel, and set out into the city. We walked to Notre Dame, Isle St. Louis, Mont Marte, the Arc de Triumph, down the Champs Elysees, and ended at the Louvre.

view of Notre Dame from the locks of love bridge

Saturday we slept in a little bit since we had such a long day on Friday. We took the metro to a few stops before the Eiffel Tower, got off and bought some bread, cheese and jam and walked over to the parks by the tower and had a picnic... thankfully the pigeons stayed away.

Then we went to take a photo-shoot in front of the tower, and we weren't the only ones who had this idea. In our same area was a group of about 11 Asian tourists and a young couple. All was well, we were doing our own thing. Then we see one of the Asians walk up to the blonde girl and ask her to take a picture. She was obviously taken aback and a little confused, but agreed. So she took the picture, and began to take a step, but then another one of the asians ran to get in the picture. This continued with every single person in the group. Her face looked pained by the last one and she nearly ran away to her boyfriend. Why did they want pictures with her? We'll never know.... but it was great entertainment for us and I can only imagine what they're going to say about the pictures during the slideshow to their families at home

Next, Erica and I were on a mission to find the LongChamp store. Since they're made in France, the bags are less expensive when bought at the Paris stores plus, how cool is it to say you actually got your bag in Paris!? It wasn't a very long walk from the Eiffel Tower and took us through a cool shopping district, so it was a fun pass time with a very satisfying end: cute purses!

im more of a blue person while Erica's all about the pink

so happy with our purchases!!

After that we walked around the St.Germain district, and stopped in random shops on the way back to our hostel. We put our bags away and then went back out to the area around Notre Dame, got a crepe then went to the 6:30 mass. Though it was in French, it was still really cool to be there because its such a majestic service. We went to dinner in the Latin Quarter, which was fun because its such a lively area then made our way over to the Eiffel Tower. We ended our trip waiting until the hour so we could see the Eiffel Tower light up, the perfect way to leave Paris!

Never gets old

Our way back was much more pleasant than the way there... we took a ferry which was cool because we got to walk around and weren't confined to a bus and also because when we reached the coast of England we saw the white cliffs of Dover. 

à bientôt, Paris!

Cheers.

Trip #5: London

As part of the British Exchange Program, U of I hosts a "London Weekend" during the semester that everyone who is part of the BEP can come to. They give everyone a travel stipend and set-up a full schedule of things for the group to do. I was pleasantly surprised because we stayed at a pretty nice hotel instead of a hostel and we even got a full continental breakfast! I think I ate better this weekend than I have in the past month I've been abroad.  It was also great because I got to reunite with some lovely Chi O's, Rachel & Callie!

Rachel, Me & Callie had a great time together -- and even ALMOST touched the top of Big Ben!

The first night we had dinner at a Lebanese place. The food was really interesting and surprisingly filling. There was so much food  we thought the appetizers were our meal!

Not the best meal ever, but it was free so I'll take it!

That night we went to see Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. I wouldn't really suggest it, but it was still fun to go see a musical. Afterwards Rachel, Callie & two guys from Callie's program went to a place called The Rocket and we met up with Eileen!! It was so great to see her because even though we're both in the same country its nearly impossible to try to coordinate trips, etc. with our different schedules. It was fun to meet some of her Notre Dame friends too.

Eileen & I at The Rocket!

Saturday we took a bus tour around London which was actually pretty nice because it was raining and we got to see most of the main sites. In the afternoon U of I set-up a scavenger hunt but my group mostly just walked around and took pictures of what we wanted to see. I loved Trafalgar Square!

Trafalgar Square

After a long day of walking we made our way to 'The Albany' for dinner (only a little late) and had some amazing food. We stayed for about 10 minutes of the Comedy show U of I gave us tickets for but the opening act with the creepy old guy whose pants were falling down had us running for the door. Supposedly the next acts were funnier and had younger comedians, but we didn't want to take any chances.

Sunday the U of I program dropped us off at the Tower of London, which was nice to see when it was sunny because last year when I was there it was rainy and pretty cold.

Sunny day @ the Tower hanging out with the guards

After the tower we went to Old Spindalfields Market which was HUGE and had just about everything. Typical of England weather the sun we had in the morning quickly turned to rain so it was nice to be at the market because it was under a covering.

just a small part of the market

 After the market we had to say goodbye to Rachel because she was leaving on an earlier bus and we made our way to Abbey Road. Its not very exciting at all, they don't have any real indication that the intersection we took a picture at was in fact the place where they took the album cover, we just knew the studio was in the background so we took it. The street was busier than expected so we did our best to get a picture without getting run over!

After that it was time to head back to the train station and we safely made our way home.

Cheers.