London Take 2

So my trip to London didn't go exactly as planned, but I had the most amazing time!

When I got to London on Friday it was already dark. I mean it was 4:30 in the afternoon so why shouldn't it look like 9:00 at night? I knew I was going to be on my own for at least the first night so I made sure the hostel I was booked was close to the Victoria Coach Station. It ended up just being down the street so after checking in I decided to walk down to the London Eye. By the time I got across the bridge I was starving so I stopped to eat at this Japanese restaurant. I haven't had Japanese food in such a long time and it was delicious. They gave me way more food than I could possibly eat so I just sat there for a while trying to digest it all before heading back out into the night.

I was quite surprised that it wasn't colder. When I was there in October it was unbearably cold and windy at night, but this night it was quite lovely. Since it was so nice I saw no point in heading back to the hostel yet. I decided to walk along the South Bank of the Thames towards The Globe. I hadn't been there yet and I thought now would be a good time. I wasn't going to pay to go inside, and I can see the outside at anytime so now seemed good. Many of the buildings were lit up in colors along the river and there were tons of Christmas lights up. Right next to the London Eye there was this cool Christmas market. The stands/stalls all had wooden paneling so they looked pretty legit. There were sweets, mulled wine, crafts, and even churros! It was all very Christmas-y. Oh, and there was a carousel! After exploring that for bit I finally made it down to The Globe and realized it was nothing special. Thankfully it was a nice walk.
On the way back I just sat on one of the benches and admired the beauty of London at night. This guy sat next to me and we ended up talking for easily over an hour. He lives near Camden but is originally from Belfast. We just talked about all sorts of things. He was kind of one of those guys who thinks he knows just so much and is so wise, but he was kind enough that I just overlooked it for the night.
Before I headed back to the hostel I got to listen to this guy play probably one of the saddest songs ever...Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. That song was always sad but once my dad told me specifically what it was written about it just became heartbreaking. I won't tell you why (I don't what to be responsible for your sadness), but if you look it up all I can say is you were warned!

The next day I was supposed to meet up with Maile. I went to Camp Juliette Low with her, but I haven't seen her for three or four years. We were communicating via Facebook so I knew there could be issues. We had a tentative meeting place when I left: noon at Parliament. Unfortunately the internet was down in the hostel so I wasn't aware that the meeting place had changed. I ended up waiting at Parliament for thirty minutes before I realized something must have changed. Poor Maile must have ended up waiting at the Tower of London. It was disappointing, but I didn't let it spoil my trip.
I walked up to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I get bored by religious realist paintings, which most of them are, so I headed straight to the two rooms housing the impressionism paintings. I got to admire Monet's "Water Lilies, Setting Sun" and Van Gogh's "A Wheatfield with Cypresses: and "Sunflowers". I'm not going to lie, I looked for Amy's name in the latter but to no avail. It didn't take long to admire the paintings in those two rooms so I headed outside and got to enjoy the rehearsal of the Christmas tunes that were to be sung on the steps later that night. I had every intention of making it back for the formal performance, but it just did not happen.
I decided it was a museum kind of day so attempted to make my way to the British Museum near Covenant Gardens. I started off by taking a wrong turn and ended up having lunch at Tortilla. I finally got tacos and they were delicious. I just wish I could have had some queso. The British just don't seem to understand my desire to eat a bowl of melted cheese with tortilla chips. After lunch I took a couple more wrong turns and ended up in the Seven Dials area. It was such a cool Soho type area with tons of shopping. I found this store called Forbidden Planet and fell in love. It is sci-fi/geek paradise. It is filled with comics and TV and movie memorabilia. If I had had more money I would have bought a truckload of stuff. There was a whole section for Doctor Who and The Big Bang Theory and Marvel superheroes. They also had all of season 8 of the Buffy comics, the Buffy omnibuses, the Angel comics, and the Angel & Faith comics. I could have bought a lifetime of gifts  for Sam in that store and he must visit it whenever he returns to London.
Finally I made it to my original destination, the British Museum. The place is gigantic. I don't know how but I managed to walk through every room. I was there until it closed at 5:30. Honestly the trick is to not do much reading. If you try to read everything you will be exhausted after the first room. They had a marvelously depressing bunch of rooms on Egyptian burials, a fascinating room on the history of clocks, a room on tea in China and Japan, and a plethora of rooms on the history of the rest of the world. The combination of walking to the British Museum and throughout the museum resulted in some very pained feet.

However, the walking did not stop there. I decided to walk back to Trafalgar Square to see the Christmas concert. Unfortunately I was distracted again when I passed St. Martin's Theatre. They were showing Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap so I decided to catch a show. I must say the seats in the uppermost section were definitely not made for even average sized people. I'm short and even I felt cramped in those tiny rows. There was hardly any leg room at all. However, the show was a beautiful "who dunnit". I did keep expecting a giant bee to appear, but no luck. Clearly Doctor Who has severely altered my view of Agatha Christie mysteries. After that I tried to catch the Christmas market, but it was much too late and all the stalls were closed down so I caught a bus back to the hostel and crashed.




So there was no Maile, but it was a big confidence boost travelling by myself throughout London. Clearly I can do this.

Off to London!!

I'm off to London for the weekend and it will be a wonderful break from all the studying I've been doing. It will be bloody cold, but I know how to layer. I'll basically be like an onion.
I'm not sure what I will be up to, but I am supposed to meet up with a friend from camp, Maile. We haven't seen each other in about three years so I am very excited to see her. Hopefully all goes well and my nose doesn't freeze off because that is the one thing I can't cover.

The End of the Semester is Approaching

I only have one more week of classes and 13 days 'till I go home, and I am starting to feel the pressure. Technically my one exam isn't until January 9th and my 3 papers aren't due until the 8th, but I have a lot to do. I need to complete the papers before I get home because I will never get anything accomplished there. Home is just so distracting. Also I am only going to be there for two weeks and my dad already has me listing places I want to eat.

I just don't know where the time went. I can't believe my first semester abroad is almost over. I have not traveled to enough places yet and for that reason alone I am glad that I have another semester to go. Otherwise a year is a long time. However, my friends Elizabeth and Rachel will both be abroad next semester and that should make things more exciting.

November was not the best month overall and I realize its more about who you are with than where you are. I think I was just letting the cold, rainy weather get to me. It also doesn't help that it starts getting dark by 4:00. It just takes a little more effort to get me out of bed, but I am working on it. Next semester I will be prepared; I will be better. But I'm glad I'll be able to take a break at home before that.

Turkey Day

The girls in my flat and I decided to have Thanksgiving dinner together. I think we all were a bit bummed about not being with our families for the day so we thought this would be a nice alternative. I mean Thanksgiving is just about food, family, and football (American, that is).

Usually my family either goes to the lake or to my grandfather's farm. We eat turkey, honey baked ham ('cause I'm not a huge fan of turkey), rolls, corn, apple pie, fruit salad, stuffing, vegetables, and salad. Honestly I don't like most Thanksgiving food and since that is a huge part of the holiday it has never been one of my favorites. However I don't mind hanging out with the family, and its especially nice if Auburn beats Alabama in the Iron Bowl (which definitely didn't happen this year). Also you get to nap and eat all day without judgement.

This year was not the same, but it was a blast. Everyone made something for the dinner. I made grape salad because it requires no skill whatsoever. There was fruit salad, rolls, stuffing, green bean casserole, chocolate truffles, apple pie bites, and corn. Kelsey managed to make a turkey in the ridiculously small oven and I was very impressed. It was delicious! Maureen invited some of her cycling friends and they brought a huge pot of curry and rice. There was tons of food left over.

I'm not even sure how we managed to fit everyone into that tiny kitchen. All the chairs were occupied and even standing space was limited. But we ate and chatted. I sat next to one of Tim's friends and he was hilarious...like had to stop eating funny. After dinner some of us spilled out into the hall and we chatted 'till late in the night.

However, the day was not completely devoid of family. I got to Skype mine just after they finished their Thanksgiving meal. For the first time they had it at my grandmother's house, and some of my cousins were there as well. I love my family, but I could get used to having Thanksgiving with friends. I mean its really just a rehearsal for Christmas. 

Change of Plans

After Dublin we decided to cancel our Milan trip the net weekend. We were both getting worn out from constantly packing up and leaving only to return to school. Also we could never stay in a place long enough to settle down. So, no more trips until I was going to see my friend Maile in Seville. Of course that did not end up happening so the next trip is not until I see her in London.

Its nice that I know I have another semester so I can take time of from travelling when I feel I need to. Constantly moving is a lot of work. People need down time.

Gift of Gab

With the end of the semester fast approaching I have been seriously slacking off on my blog posting. Hopefully that will change now that the due dates for my papers are coming up. I always love a reason to procrastinate...not that I need a reason most of the time. 
In the next few posts I will just be playing catch up.


Three weekends ago I went to glorious Ireland and one weekend was not enough! We flew from Leeds to Dublin and took a bus to our hostel right off of O'Connell Street. For once there were no travel mishaps and we had virtually no problem finding where we were staying. Maybe I am getting better at this whole travel thing...maybe.

Anyway we always arrive late so after climbing like 5 flights of stairs we just headed to bed. The next day was when we really got to see Dublin. We decided to pay for one of those hop on hop off tour buses because the ticket is good for 2 days and it takes you to all the main sights. Basically it meant that we would have to pay for any transportation while we were there. Also they picked up right on O'Connell Street so it simplified things.
When we first got on we got off at like the first or second stop because I really wanted to see the statue of Oscar Wilde and roam around the park that the statue is in. I was in serious need of a park. I'm glad I got off. Oscar Wilde is posed in this awkward "just chilling on a rock with my pipe and smoking jacket" kind of way, and it just felt like Oscar Wilde....or at least what I know of him from his quotes seeing as how I've never read any of his work. Then we just meandered through the park. All the trees were beautiful fall colors and it was just breathtaking. I wish there was a park closer to where I am staying in Bradford. We ended up getting so distracted by it all that we missed the next two times the bus came around. Also we found SWINGS!! It was very exciting for some reason. Its not like I swing a lot at home, but for some reason I was craving it. Of course these swings were designed for little kids so even my legs were too long to really get any momentum. Still it was nice to just chill in a park.
Next we headed across the street to the "Dead ZOO". Really it is just the Natural History Museum, but that's what people call it. I mean it makes since because there are just a bunch of fossils and taxidermied animals in there, but the name is a bit morbid. I think we only went in because of the name. I mean honestly I don't really like Natural History Museums...unless they have dinosaurs. Dinosaurs make the whole thing worthwhile, but this museum was small and didn't have any.

We finally managed to get back on the bus. We were planning on just hopping off again, but this bus driver/tour guide was hilarious so we just stayed on for the entire loop. We sat on the top level in the open area just like we did in Scotland. It wasn't nearly as cold, but after a while the wind really gets to you. Since its been so long I don't even know if I remember everything we saw on the tour. I know we saw Dublin Castle (not a castle in the traditional sense), the Temple Bar area (definitely going to have to spend more time there next time), St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guinness Storehouse (considered going in but the tickets cost too much, especially considering how I am currently not a huge fan of beer), Phoenix Park, Old Jameson Distillery, Parnell Square, and The Dublin Eye.
 The amazing sights along with the witty commentary and historical references really just made me miss my Dad like crazy. He would have loved it. My family is Irish and it is actually sometimes a big deal. He has never been to Ireland, but we used to go see Riverdance every time they came to Birmingham and then we would spend the rest of the night pretending to Irish step dance on the air conditioning floor grating because it made the right sound. We also have a contemporary wood painting of St. Patrick next to our front door that my Dad is very proud of him. So I already know he would love Ireland, but he is also kind of a random facts/history buff. When we travel he likes to take over as our historical tour guide, and this tour would have given him some excellent information that he could later repeat to us four or five times. Hopefully he will come visit me at the end of the year and all of this can still happen.

So by the time we finished the loop and then went back around to get off at more stops we were both starving. We had had lunch, but that seemed like ages ago. First though we decided to go to the tourist information center and get a day trip for tomorrow. I really wanted to go to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, but Jasmine made it perfectly clear she had no desire to go there. I would have been fine with going alone, but I would have felt guilty because I still don't feel like she is comfortable with it. Anyway, we decided to go to Cork and Blarney Castle. I want to go there too so its not like I was unhappy, and I'll just go to the cliffs next time because there will be a next time. After dinner, which I don't even remember, we stopped by this souvenir shop so Jasmine could buy gifts before we headed back to the hostel. She spent a lot of time and money in that store. I haven't bought anyone any gifts. My family understands that I am saving my money for travel, and I don't want to get anybody "junk". If I see something that reminds me of them or that I know they would love then that is when I will buy gifts. I did get Jasmine a birthday present though, but I know she'll like it.
We were going to go out that night but we were both so exhausted that we bailed. Maybe if we hadn't gone to the hostel first it would have happened, but once we sat down and got settled we realized just how worn out we were. We ended up just chatting with this Australian guy that was staying in the room with us. I can't recall his name for the life of me, but I think he was about 18 or 19. It was a really cool story. After he graduated from high school he came up to England with his parents and younger brother to visit their grandmother. Then the day before they were supposed to return home he told them he was not going back with them. He said his father kind of expected it, but his mom was upset. Its very common for Australians to take a  year off before university (very jealous), but I don't know if I would have had the courage to just tell my parents I wasn't going back with them. After that he had just been travelling around Europe, but now he was going to head back to England to work because he was quickly running out of money.  Kind of a cool life, but I don't know if I want to travel for that long on my own.

The next day was already planned out because of the day trip. We had to be at the coach by 6AM, I think, so we hurriedly got ready in the dark and then it was just a straight-ish shot to the meeting place. I tried to stay awake because the tour guide/bus driver was giving us some really interesting information on the Irish struggles, but my eyelids had a different plan. I did get to see some of the countryside before I passed out so it wasn't all lost on me.

Our first stop (not including the halfway stop) was the Rock of Cashel. Its one of Ireland's most historic sites. There is this beautiful ruin on top of the hill that we got to explore for a while. It offered these beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. I wouldn't mind just staying up there and looking at the sheep covered hills. It had also just rained so everything was just incredibly vibrant.

Then back on the coach to Blarney Castle. We bee-lined it to Blarney Castle so we could explore it and make it up the steps to the Blarney Stone. Thankfully it is the off season so there was no wait. I've heard that the line can be horrendous so we really lucked out. The stairs up to the stone were a bit treacherous. Winding and steep and uneven. The supporting rope was a necessity! The tilt back to kiss the stone was also a bit of a head rush, but now I should have the "gift of gab". People should beware!
The stone wasn't the only reason to go into the castle though. I really enjoy castles. They just seem so ominous and they have these horrid and legendary histories. They also are one of the few places that I realize the benefits of being short. I know some people who would have quite a difficult time exploring the rooms and passageways, but most of the time I don't even have to duck. At this castle they had an  oubliette and all I could think about was:
Hoggle: This is an oubliette, labyrinth's full of 'em.
Sarah: Really. I didn't know that.
Hoggle; Oh don't act so smart. You don't even know what an oubliette is.
Sarah: Do you?
Hoggel: Yes. It's a place you put people...to forget about 'em!
-and-

Jareth: She's in the oubliette.

(goblins laugh)

Jareth: Shut up! She should not have gotten as far as the oubliette; She should've given up by now.

Since then all I've wanted to do is watch Labyrinth. 

Just outside of the castle they have this Poison Garden. Honestly if I lived in a castle I would have a poison garden. Its nice to have that stuff on hand. There were also a lot of plants from the Harry Potter books in the garden such as Mandrake and Wolfsbane. There was way more land to explore around the castle than I was expecting and I wish I had more time to explore it. Lots of mystical stuff like Druid caves and Wishing Steps. It kind of places you in a storybook. I was really bummed that I didn't get to explore the Witches Kitchen, the Witches Stone, the Druids Circle, and the Fairy Glade. When I was a kid I used to play in the backyard, of course I called it the Secret Garden, and I would collect wildlife and pretend to make magic potions as if I was a witch or Wicca. It kind of felt like I could go back and keep pretending. The woods also reminded me of my grandma 'cause she was always really into fairies and once we went to see Fairy Tale: A True Story in theaters and since then I always walk around circles of mushrooms. The woods were just very magical and in my mind it gave the castle validity. But it was back on the coach before I could get my fill.

The last stop was Cork and we spent most of the time in a pub having lunch. I was absolutely famished and I ended up having some chicken pie thing that was unbelievably rich. It just put me straight to sleep on the coach, again.

 And that was the trip to Ireland. The next morning we got up super early to catch our plane. But hopefully I will be back for St. Patrick's day and on that trip I am definitely going to the Temple Bar area and having a Guinness in Fagan's pub.