I have been in Spain for 4 days now and I absolutely love it! Granted it has been over 90 degrees every day and the heat can be really oppressive, but it's still totally worth it. Besides, rumor has it that it is that hot back in Maine so I really can't complain. Anyways, I'll update you from when I last wrote in Switzerland. Unfortunately I became pretty sick soon after I wrote that post, but not before having a great day in Germany! Marc and I took the train to Konstanz, Germany where I of course had my picture taken standing in two countries at once! We then wandered a bit around the lake before having some sushi. It may sound weird to eat Sushi in Switzerland but it was actually quite delicious. Then we walked around the town. It was pretty small but quite pretty with some really nice churches. After that we returned to his house where we just hung around for a bit. The next two days I became sick and so we didn't really leave the house. The day before I left we went to the city of Zug (which really wasn't much of a city) and had a look around before heading back to hang out by the pool. Sunday, the day I had to head to my hotel, we walked around his lake for a while to look at the cows and the magnificent view. After that we once again just hung around by the pool and relaxed. That night I stayed in a hotel at the Zurich airport, it was so nice! I had a giant king sized bed all to my self which I have decided is the only way to sleep. The next morning I got up bright and early (5a) and head to Spain!!!
I arrived in Madrid, Spain around 9:30a and met Uncle Mike at the airport. We hung around for a bit and then caught the 11a bus to Salamanca. We arrived there around 2p where we met up with Patricia, Pablo, and Anna. We then headed to Patricia's parents house for lunch and then a siesta. That is something I could really get used to and I am going to try and introduce it in the states. What a great idea-- a giant lunch and then a much deserved nap. Here stores actually close for 3 hours or so and then open again in the evening. It is completely understandable because of the heat. The first evening that I arrived we just walked around Salamanca and I saw the buildings at sunset. It truly is a beautiful city and because of the gorgeous architecture and cute cobblestone streets you hardly notice the fact that you are actually in a city.
On Tuesday I spent the morning walking around the city with Uncle Mike and then we spent the rest of the day (1:30p-7p) at the pool. The pool has a restaurant/bar and a huge grassy area where you lie out. Because of the heat it is a normal affair for people to hang out there and so that's what we did. It was really nice and I got some reading done. The next day was pretty similar with the pool again. Except that night was the semi-finals for the world cup!!! It was so exciting to watch the game in a Spanish bar because everyone was so excited. I cannot wait until Sunday to watch the finals! I will be there cheering them on with my Spain shirt!! Thursday was another low key day, it has been so relaxing which I love. And today was Pablo's 7th birthday!! He is so old I can't believe it. The first time I saw him was 6 years and 11 months ago when I went to California with Nanny and Granddad. Tomorrow (Saturday) all of us (Patricia, Pablo, Anna, Uncle Mike, Me, and Patricia's parents) are going to Portugal for lunch, how cool is that?! Then on Sunday we'll watch the finals for the world cup and Monday I got to Barcelona for 6 days to visit Kelsey and Diana!!! I can't wait to see them again and go to the beach!!
I'll try to update at least once more before I come home-- 12 days! <3
Friday, 9 July 2010
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Switzerland!
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to give a brief update on how my explorations in Switzerland are going. It is absolutely beautiful here and where my friend, Marc, lives is surrounded by the Swiss Alps! I arrived late Monday night (my flight was delayed) so by the time I arrived at his house I was unable to see anything, but we still wandered around down the lake and I got to meet his family.
Yesterday was a great day! We first took a train a couple towns over and just looked around. We ate lunch and I got to see part of where he goes to school. Then we took a boat ride and we had a fabulous view of all the mountains. After that we took a train ride up the side of one of the mountains! This train happened to be on the oldest mountain rain in all of Switzerland. At the top we once again had a get view of the Alps! We wandered around the mountain side a bit and now I can officially say that I have walked around the Swiss Alps barefoot! I wish I could describe how breathtaking the view was but I honestly can't. I did take pictures which I will try to post at some point, but they in no way actually demonstrate how beautiful Switzerland really is.
Today we are going to take a train to Germany, and maybe Austria and Liechtenstein as well. It is crazy how easily you can get around in Europe, and it's relatively inexpensive! Also, three weeks from today I will be preparing to board a plane back to the States. While I miss everyone, I am honestly not ready to come home... the past 7 weeks have flown by like I can't even begin to explain.
Love and miss everyone!
I just wanted to give a brief update on how my explorations in Switzerland are going. It is absolutely beautiful here and where my friend, Marc, lives is surrounded by the Swiss Alps! I arrived late Monday night (my flight was delayed) so by the time I arrived at his house I was unable to see anything, but we still wandered around down the lake and I got to meet his family.
Yesterday was a great day! We first took a train a couple towns over and just looked around. We ate lunch and I got to see part of where he goes to school. Then we took a boat ride and we had a fabulous view of all the mountains. After that we took a train ride up the side of one of the mountains! This train happened to be on the oldest mountain rain in all of Switzerland. At the top we once again had a get view of the Alps! We wandered around the mountain side a bit and now I can officially say that I have walked around the Swiss Alps barefoot! I wish I could describe how breathtaking the view was but I honestly can't. I did take pictures which I will try to post at some point, but they in no way actually demonstrate how beautiful Switzerland really is.
Today we are going to take a train to Germany, and maybe Austria and Liechtenstein as well. It is crazy how easily you can get around in Europe, and it's relatively inexpensive! Also, three weeks from today I will be preparing to board a plane back to the States. While I miss everyone, I am honestly not ready to come home... the past 7 weeks have flown by like I can't even begin to explain.
Love and miss everyone!
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Ireland!
I cannot believe this trip is over in 3 days. Granted I will be going on to Switzerland and Spain so I still have just under 4 weeks left, but I can't believe I have to say good bye to everyone already. It feels like just yesterday I arrived at Edge Hill University, terrified that I would not make any friends. As it turned out that was not the case at all and I have met some absolutely amazing people. The three that I have become the closest to are Diana, Dani, and Kelsey. Luckily I will be meeting up with Diana and Kelsey in Spain and all four of us have plans to meet up in New York for New Years!
Anyways, I have so much to talk about starting with more of Scotland. I am 5 days into Ireland and I must say Scotland is still my favorite. The Highlands of Scotland were beautiful and although I took many pictures, it is hard to show how amazing the landscape really was.
Loch Ness was beautiful. I kept hoping to see a shot of good ole Nessie but she did not appear to want to come out that day. However we did get to see a demonstration done by a highlander on how the people once lived, including how they dressed and what weapons they used. That same day we also saw Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland. It was such a gorgeous day and even so it got lost in the clouds. That night we went to a tradition Scottish dance called the Ceilidh and what a blast that was! The following day we went to the Island of Mull and went to another castle. You can tell I have become spoiled when I say, "another castle". We have seen so many and each time they are different!
Saturday we went off to Glasgow where we had to say good bye to our tour guide and bus driver. That afternoon my friends and I went shopping and had a fun evening in the hotel.
Sunday we took a 3 hour ferry to Belfast, Ireland! We didn't do much that night except take a quick bus tour around where we learned about the Catholic/Protestant divide. The following day we first went to Giants Causeway which is honestly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I will try to send out pictures but everyone should google it. It is amazing! That evening we went to Derry where we saw murals depicting the tragedy of Bloody Sunday and we learned more about the Catholic/Protestant divide. It is really interesting and absolutely horrible. I got a little overly emotional at the memorial to the poor people whose lives were taken during an innocent civil rights protest. They were very brave, however, and for that I give them a lot of credit.
We have done so much more that I have yet to write about but I must go get ready to dine at a medieval castle!
xoxo
Anyways, I have so much to talk about starting with more of Scotland. I am 5 days into Ireland and I must say Scotland is still my favorite. The Highlands of Scotland were beautiful and although I took many pictures, it is hard to show how amazing the landscape really was.
Loch Ness was beautiful. I kept hoping to see a shot of good ole Nessie but she did not appear to want to come out that day. However we did get to see a demonstration done by a highlander on how the people once lived, including how they dressed and what weapons they used. That same day we also saw Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Scotland. It was such a gorgeous day and even so it got lost in the clouds. That night we went to a tradition Scottish dance called the Ceilidh and what a blast that was! The following day we went to the Island of Mull and went to another castle. You can tell I have become spoiled when I say, "another castle". We have seen so many and each time they are different!
Saturday we went off to Glasgow where we had to say good bye to our tour guide and bus driver. That afternoon my friends and I went shopping and had a fun evening in the hotel.
Sunday we took a 3 hour ferry to Belfast, Ireland! We didn't do much that night except take a quick bus tour around where we learned about the Catholic/Protestant divide. The following day we first went to Giants Causeway which is honestly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I will try to send out pictures but everyone should google it. It is amazing! That evening we went to Derry where we saw murals depicting the tragedy of Bloody Sunday and we learned more about the Catholic/Protestant divide. It is really interesting and absolutely horrible. I got a little overly emotional at the memorial to the poor people whose lives were taken during an innocent civil rights protest. They were very brave, however, and for that I give them a lot of credit.
We have done so much more that I have yet to write about but I must go get ready to dine at a medieval castle!
xoxo
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Orkney Islands
I love Scotland. It is absolutely beautiful. The past few days have been spent mostly on the bus popping off now and then. It's actually really fun though and we have seen so much. So far we have been to Edinburgh, Inverness, the Orkney Islands, and Nairn. Tomorrow we are seeing Loch Ness and going to Oban. The Orkney Islands were really fun. They are off the farthest tip of Scotland so we were parallel with Norway. At midnight when we were crawling into bed it was still really light out. There are 7 islands all together there are only 20,000 people. It is mostly farmland with lots and lots of sheep. It's really pretty though and it's so fun to see the farm land stretching right up to the beach. On the islands we saw these standing stones and they are over 5000 years old. They were incredible. We have also saw a village that had only been uncovered 30 years ago. They were also 5000 years ago. I'll update more and send out pictures later, but I'm exhausted and going to bed!
I am also trying to plan out my trip after I leave Ireland. I am going to Switzerland for a week and then going to Spain. I am going to meet up with two of my friends from this trip and I'm going to stay with them in Barcelona. We are also going to try and go to France, Portugal, and Madrid. We are a pro at staying hostels now so we will probably do that. They are super cheap, only about 14 pounds a night. Last night our hotel was so sketch our individual rooms did not even have locks on the doors. It was ok though because we were on the Orkney islands and it's really safe.
Anyways, good bye everyone! Miss you!
I am also trying to plan out my trip after I leave Ireland. I am going to Switzerland for a week and then going to Spain. I am going to meet up with two of my friends from this trip and I'm going to stay with them in Barcelona. We are also going to try and go to France, Portugal, and Madrid. We are a pro at staying hostels now so we will probably do that. They are super cheap, only about 14 pounds a night. Last night our hotel was so sketch our individual rooms did not even have locks on the doors. It was ok though because we were on the Orkney islands and it's really safe.
Anyways, good bye everyone! Miss you!
Sunday, 13 June 2010
London and Scotland
So I haven't written since my first day in London so I have a lot to update. I am going to try and condense it as much as possible to be quite honest I am not really in the mood to update my blog.
So I am currently in a cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a 5 hour train ride from London. We are going to be in Scotland until next Sunday but only here until tomorrow morning. We will be traveling through a good portion of Scotland over the next week, staying at almost a different place a night. We are currently staying in a youth hostel but it is five star place and actually pretty nice. Much better then the two hostels I stayed at in Canada.
Anyways, I am going to give a brief synopsis of my time in London. On Monday June 7th we first went to the Tower of London and then to see Henry VIII at the Globe. I loved the Tower of London, especially the Crown Jewels. Dani, Diana, Julia, and I went passed the jewels at least three times. They were so shiny and although I have never had any interest in being royalty, being able to wear one of those crowns might change my mind. We spent a good 3 hours exploring the tower and learning about the history before heading out to eat some fish and chips. Then we had to rush back to our hotel (Novotel West) to rest and change before heading out to the Globe. I had been to the Globe once before to just look around (when I was 11) but it was really fun to be able to go to a show. I was not a huge fan of the play at first because I did not really understand it but because of my knowledge of Henry VIII I began to figure it out and by the end I enjoyed it. Although I was unimpressed by then ending.
On Tuesday (MY 21st BIRTHDAY!!!) we went to Oxford. We didn't spend that much time there but we went to Christ Church College where Harry Potter was filmed!! We saw the Great Hall and the hallway from the first movie. I have seen multiple places where it has been filmed, and being a total Harry Potter geek I love it! The rest of the day I spent getting ready for my birthday and of course... drinking. So I won't go into anymore details about my birthday.
Wednesday was unfortunately a very unproductive day. That evening Dani, Sarah, and I went to Chicago though which was amazing. They didn't really use props at all which really placed emphasis on the singing. I was really impressed and so excited. I know that it isn't a British musical but it was still worth seeing.
Thursday we had a very busy day. It started out with a group tour of St. Paul's Cathedral and then we were free for the rest of the day. Dani, Diana, Julia, Sarah, Liz, Jason, and I went to the British Museum where we wandered around for a while. The last time I was there we head to leave after a few short minutes because my darling sister Eve started crying when Aunt Annie had no gum left for her. I made sure to keep extra sticks in my purse this time in case that same unfortunate event was to reoccur. Luckily it did not and so I got to see a lot more of the museum. It was really cool mostly because I absolutely adore history. The two most significant pieces that I saw were the Elgin (Pantheon) Marbles and the Rosetta Stone. After that we went to a cafe for lunch and then headed to Leicester Square to purchase tickets for another show. This time Dani, Liz, and I got tickets to see the Lion King! The performance was amazing! I did not like the singing as much as Chicago, but the set and costumes were crazy. They were giant puppets and it was just incredible how they put it on.
Friday was our last full day in London. I did not do much that day except see Macbeth at the Globe. It was AMAZING! The production itself was really well-done and the set was so fun. We had to stand with our heads sticking out of this giant sheet. They made sure the audience was involved by crawling among our legs, pouring water on certain people (Dani and Diana), and making it as gruesome as possible. It really was gory and bloody, but still worth watching. That afternoon was spent packing and saying good bye to some of the people who were not continuing on to Scotland/Ireland :(
Saturday (yesterday) we took a train to Edinburgh, Scotland! Despite the fact that it was 5 hours it actually went by really fast. We arrived, dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and immediately set back out on the coach to see the city. We were dropped off in the heart of town (which turns out to really only be a 10 minute walk). Our first stop was going to the Elephant Room where JK Rowling first wrote Harry Potter when she was on welfare. I was so excited (did I mention I love Harry Potter!?)! After that we went on a tour called Mary King's Close which is a tour that takes place under Edinburgh. It actually used to be the city but then they built up around it. It was all a true story that included ghost stories and was a really interesting tour. We learned about the Plague (which Kelsey may have caught) and saw where one girl may have been locked up by her family and left to die because they did not want to catch it (this was according to a Japanese Psychic who felt her presence). Overall it was an amazing experience! Then we went to a pub (The Theatre Royal) to watch the England USA game. We also met a couple of Americans from Seattle there who are currently working in Belfast, Ireland (we will be there a week from today!).
Today we went to Edinburgh Castle and wandered around the city. I am getting too tired to write anymore so I will update everyone as soon as I have internet again!
Love and miss you all!
So I am currently in a cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland. We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a 5 hour train ride from London. We are going to be in Scotland until next Sunday but only here until tomorrow morning. We will be traveling through a good portion of Scotland over the next week, staying at almost a different place a night. We are currently staying in a youth hostel but it is five star place and actually pretty nice. Much better then the two hostels I stayed at in Canada.
Anyways, I am going to give a brief synopsis of my time in London. On Monday June 7th we first went to the Tower of London and then to see Henry VIII at the Globe. I loved the Tower of London, especially the Crown Jewels. Dani, Diana, Julia, and I went passed the jewels at least three times. They were so shiny and although I have never had any interest in being royalty, being able to wear one of those crowns might change my mind. We spent a good 3 hours exploring the tower and learning about the history before heading out to eat some fish and chips. Then we had to rush back to our hotel (Novotel West) to rest and change before heading out to the Globe. I had been to the Globe once before to just look around (when I was 11) but it was really fun to be able to go to a show. I was not a huge fan of the play at first because I did not really understand it but because of my knowledge of Henry VIII I began to figure it out and by the end I enjoyed it. Although I was unimpressed by then ending.
On Tuesday (MY 21st BIRTHDAY!!!) we went to Oxford. We didn't spend that much time there but we went to Christ Church College where Harry Potter was filmed!! We saw the Great Hall and the hallway from the first movie. I have seen multiple places where it has been filmed, and being a total Harry Potter geek I love it! The rest of the day I spent getting ready for my birthday and of course... drinking. So I won't go into anymore details about my birthday.
Wednesday was unfortunately a very unproductive day. That evening Dani, Sarah, and I went to Chicago though which was amazing. They didn't really use props at all which really placed emphasis on the singing. I was really impressed and so excited. I know that it isn't a British musical but it was still worth seeing.
Thursday we had a very busy day. It started out with a group tour of St. Paul's Cathedral and then we were free for the rest of the day. Dani, Diana, Julia, Sarah, Liz, Jason, and I went to the British Museum where we wandered around for a while. The last time I was there we head to leave after a few short minutes because my darling sister Eve started crying when Aunt Annie had no gum left for her. I made sure to keep extra sticks in my purse this time in case that same unfortunate event was to reoccur. Luckily it did not and so I got to see a lot more of the museum. It was really cool mostly because I absolutely adore history. The two most significant pieces that I saw were the Elgin (Pantheon) Marbles and the Rosetta Stone. After that we went to a cafe for lunch and then headed to Leicester Square to purchase tickets for another show. This time Dani, Liz, and I got tickets to see the Lion King! The performance was amazing! I did not like the singing as much as Chicago, but the set and costumes were crazy. They were giant puppets and it was just incredible how they put it on.
Friday was our last full day in London. I did not do much that day except see Macbeth at the Globe. It was AMAZING! The production itself was really well-done and the set was so fun. We had to stand with our heads sticking out of this giant sheet. They made sure the audience was involved by crawling among our legs, pouring water on certain people (Dani and Diana), and making it as gruesome as possible. It really was gory and bloody, but still worth watching. That afternoon was spent packing and saying good bye to some of the people who were not continuing on to Scotland/Ireland :(
Saturday (yesterday) we took a train to Edinburgh, Scotland! Despite the fact that it was 5 hours it actually went by really fast. We arrived, dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and immediately set back out on the coach to see the city. We were dropped off in the heart of town (which turns out to really only be a 10 minute walk). Our first stop was going to the Elephant Room where JK Rowling first wrote Harry Potter when she was on welfare. I was so excited (did I mention I love Harry Potter!?)! After that we went on a tour called Mary King's Close which is a tour that takes place under Edinburgh. It actually used to be the city but then they built up around it. It was all a true story that included ghost stories and was a really interesting tour. We learned about the Plague (which Kelsey may have caught) and saw where one girl may have been locked up by her family and left to die because they did not want to catch it (this was according to a Japanese Psychic who felt her presence). Overall it was an amazing experience! Then we went to a pub (The Theatre Royal) to watch the England USA game. We also met a couple of Americans from Seattle there who are currently working in Belfast, Ireland (we will be there a week from today!).
Today we went to Edinburgh Castle and wandered around the city. I am getting too tired to write anymore so I will update everyone as soon as I have internet again!
Love and miss you all!
Sunday, 6 June 2010
London, England
Hello everyone!
This is going to be a short update just to let you all know I have arrived safely in London! I love it here so far. Yesterday we arrived at our hotel around 1p and after showering and getting settled in, Diana, Dani and I decided to go out exploring. We first went to Piccadilly Circus where we found a little diner on a side street. Because it was so cheap we were a little unsure about how it would be, but because we were starving we decided to give it a shot. It was actually quite delicious and they even had salad with salad dressing!! I had not realized how much I had missed good vegetables with dressing. Afterwards we walked about 15 minutes to Buckingham Palace where we took so pictures and just looked around. Then we wandered into St. James Park where I had the best ice cream cone ever... instead of just placing the two scoops on top of one another there was a spot for each scoop but it was connected into one cone! We wandered through the park and it was really pretty, despite the numerous birds and squirrels that walked right up to us. Then we just walked around and wound up being at Big Ben, West Minster Abbey, and this "Democracy Village". The village was really cool, it was a bunch of tents set up in a park protesting the war and violence, etc. I talked to a guy who was there and he said that they were currently being evicted because it made the queen look bad, but he said it was up to 8 weeks. I wish that I could have participated! I thought it was great what they were doing. After the peace rally (and about 15 minutes of attempting to cross the street) we hopped a bus that took us back to our hotel.
Today we had a bus tour for a little over three hours. It wasn't bad though because we got to get off in certain places and take pictures. We also saw the Changing of the Guard which was awesome! Now we are sitting in this little pub where we can get wifi. Later we are going out for my friends birthday. And my 21st birthday is in 2 days!!
Love and miss you all.
This is going to be a short update just to let you all know I have arrived safely in London! I love it here so far. Yesterday we arrived at our hotel around 1p and after showering and getting settled in, Diana, Dani and I decided to go out exploring. We first went to Piccadilly Circus where we found a little diner on a side street. Because it was so cheap we were a little unsure about how it would be, but because we were starving we decided to give it a shot. It was actually quite delicious and they even had salad with salad dressing!! I had not realized how much I had missed good vegetables with dressing. Afterwards we walked about 15 minutes to Buckingham Palace where we took so pictures and just looked around. Then we wandered into St. James Park where I had the best ice cream cone ever... instead of just placing the two scoops on top of one another there was a spot for each scoop but it was connected into one cone! We wandered through the park and it was really pretty, despite the numerous birds and squirrels that walked right up to us. Then we just walked around and wound up being at Big Ben, West Minster Abbey, and this "Democracy Village". The village was really cool, it was a bunch of tents set up in a park protesting the war and violence, etc. I talked to a guy who was there and he said that they were currently being evicted because it made the queen look bad, but he said it was up to 8 weeks. I wish that I could have participated! I thought it was great what they were doing. After the peace rally (and about 15 minutes of attempting to cross the street) we hopped a bus that took us back to our hotel.
Today we had a bus tour for a little over three hours. It wasn't bad though because we got to get off in certain places and take pictures. We also saw the Changing of the Guard which was awesome! Now we are sitting in this little pub where we can get wifi. Later we are going out for my friends birthday. And my 21st birthday is in 2 days!!
Love and miss you all.
Monday, 31 May 2010
York, England!
After looking around the house for a while we set out to explore the grounds. We took our picture next to the large fountain behind the house and then wandered past the pond and through the woods. We walked around the Temple of Four Winds which was a cute little stone building with a gorgeous view. We then walked around the woods some more, and although the forecast had predicted rain it was a relatively nice day. It occasionally sprinkled and it could have been a bit warmer but overall it was lovely. The best part of the day however was when we went to Adventure Playground! Yes, it is exactly as it sounds. Earlier I had read about it on the pamphlet and had mentioned it to one of my professors, Carolina, who is definitely a kid a heart! She readily agreed that we must go check it out and I must say it really exceeded all of our expectations. We spent over an our sliding down slides, playing on teeter totters, and spinning around on some disk-thingy. It was fantastic! I have not laughed so hard in such a long time. When we finally left the playground we were exhausted so we decided to head back to York and grab some dinner. We ate a pub where I had steak and ale pie which was delicious! I also tried a Stella which is a type of beer, but it was really bitter and actually quite disgusting. After the pub some people went on a ghost hunt but I don't really believe in ghosts/care about that stuff so I went back with a few and took a nice hot shower and just relaxed. I went to bed pretty early because we had to get up fairly early to head to Durham.
After leaving Durham Cathedral we bought sandwiches and had a picnic out on the lawn. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice just to lie back and relax for a little while. Then we took a tour of Durham Castle which was really cool. It is now a college and it is apparently pretty difficult to get into. The tour was interesting and it is always fun to visit castles! Now I am back in Ormskirk and should be sleeping because I have to get up and go to class in the morning. We only have a few more days of classes and then head to London on Saturday. I cannot wait!! My birthday is one week from today!
I love and miss you all!
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