The World is My Playground

Sorry for being terrible at updating my blog. A lot has happened since I last updated my it, but here is a short summary.

A couple of weekends ago I did a day-tour with Amber and some of her friends from Glasgow. As always, it was so much fun to hang out with Amber and also really nice to meet her friends from school. The tour started in Edinburgh and went to a few different cities along the English/Scottish border. Our tour guide made our trip entertaining by playing Scottish music and telling us interesting facts and stories as he drove us to different cities. He was an extremely dramatic story teller - He loved pausing and starting the music at the right moment so that it would go along with his story. When he got to an epic part of the story, he would play really epic music (such as songs from Braveheart). I couldn’t stop laughing at how dramatic he was; it was wonderful.

The first stop on our tour was Rosslyn Chapel. This chapel was built in the 15th century and is almost entirely covered with carvings. These carvings have many different and interesting interpretations. Some say this chapel is very paganistic. This chapel was made famous due to Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code.” It is rumored that this is the resting place of the Holy Grail.

Afterwards we went to Melrose Abbey which is said to be one of the most beautiful ruins in Europe. The Abbey is thought to be the burial place of Robert the Bruce’s heart.

Our last stop was at Alnwick Castle, which is the the home of the Duke of Northumberland’s family and the second largest inhabited castle in England. It is also the location where part of the first two Harry Potter movies were filmed. We had fun dressing up and pretending to go dragon hunting.

We also did a few stops at a some picturesque places along our drive. Here are some pictures!

A couple of nights ago I did a Ghost Tour in Eidnburgh with my international program. Interesting fact- Edinburgh is claimed to be the most haunted city in the world. It was pretty cool to walk around the city at night, hear ghost stories, and go into our underground vaults.

Also, there are so many exciting things happening this week! This Wednesday I am going to Glasgow to see The Head and the Heart/My Morning Jacket in concert with Amber and her friends! Then on Friday I am flying to Berlin to meet up with Joanna and Amber. We’re going to spend a couple of days in Berlin and then take the train to Hamburg. In Hamburg, we’re going to see Bon Iver! I cannot express how excited I am to spend the weekend with these two lovely ladies :)

Paris

Last weekend my friend Kristina and I had a little weekend getaway in Paris. We flew into Paris early Friday morning and after checking into our hostel, we spent the day being huge tourists. We started off at the Arc De Triomphe, which was commissioned by Napolean in 1806 to honor his Grand Army.

Afterwards, we walked down Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris’s most famous street. It was a piecemeal project that begun under the reign of Lous XIV. Here’s some pictures!

We then went to the Jardin des Tuileries and had lunch and ice cream at the garden.

We then went to the Louvre. It was awesome to see art that I’ve studied and read about, but now get to see. Some cool things I got to see were Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Hammurabi’s Code, Jacques-Louis David’s The Coronatino of Napoleon, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

When it turns dark the Eifel Tower lights up for a few minutes every hour on the hour, so at night we went to the park in front of the Eifel Tower to watch it light up and had a mini picnic which consisted of 2 huge baguettes, brie cheese, and wine. The Eifel Tower was amazing and we decided to go there two nights in a row to just relax and watch it light up.

The next day, we continued exploring the city. We went to Moulin Rouge, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Hotel de Ville, Pantheon, went up the Eifel Tower, and ate at Berthillon (which is a family-run shop and is reputed to have the best ice cream and sorbet in Paris). We also found a cool street where they sell tons of artwork from local artists.

Basically, I had an amazing time in Paris :)

Being a tourist in my city

Today Amber came from Glasgow to visit me! I was SO excited to be reunited with her and to show her Edinburgh. After a 6 hours embrace, we decided to get our day started by going to the Elephant House for breakfast. This cafe is famous because J.K. Rowling first started writing Harry Potter here while overlooking the Edinburgh Castle.

Afterwards, we walked around the city for a little bit and I got to show her my university. We then did a 3-hours walking tour of Edinburgh. It was nice because I got to hear local stories and learn a lot about the history of this city. Random fact- Edinburgh is the most haunted city in the UK. There are frequent reports of panoramal activity and ghost sightings. Scary!

After the tour, we walked around some more. We saw a cool rock/folk band. I’m not exactly sure how to categorize them since they were rocking out with their guitar and drums, but also incorporated the bagpipe. We also walked to see the new Scottish Parliament and the Holyrood Palace where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. We weren’t able to go into the Palace though since it was closed by the time we got there.

I had such a fun day being a tourist in my city with Amber! :)

Oh! and next weekend I’m going to Paris with my friend Kristina :) I am extremely excited.

Loch Lomond

This past weekend I went with a group of students to Loch Lomond for the day. Located in southwestern Scotland, it is the biggest lake in Great Britain and contains many little islands. It was nice to get out of the city and spend the day with nature. We spent the majority of the day walking around the nearby town and sitting by the lake just talking. We also took a cruise around the lake.

Oh and funny story. I just arrived to Loch Lomond and was at the Information Center with my friend trying to figure out how we wanted to spend the beautiful day when something next to impossible happened..

Actually, let me first start by giving you the setting I was in. I was INDOORS at the Information Center which was packed with many tourists. I was covered head to toe wearing a long-sleeve, scarf, pants, and boots.

Anyway, I was looking at postcards and chatting with my friend when a courageous bee flew into the Information Center and somehow flew directly at me and into the neck part of my shirt. Needless to say, I freaked out when I felt the bee fly down my sleeve and sting my arm. I almost stripped off my shirt, but had to stop myself when I realized I was still in public. You can imagine how funny the scene must have been.

Good thing though, I found out that I’m not allergic to bees :)

I’ve been in Edinburgh for a week now and I’m loving this city more each day. The first time I was walking around the city I came across my first legit Scottsman playing a bagpipe!

This is my home for the next few months.

I’m still trying to get used to the weather here. It is very cold, rainy, and windy. Usually with weather like this, I use it as an excuse to stay in my pj’s all day and watch movies, but I quickly came to realize I can’t do that here since this is the weather every day!

It is true what they say about Scottish people. They really are extraordinarily friendly and warm people. Also, humor is a big part of their culture so they’re also very funny (if you can get passed their thick accent to understand them)!

One of my favorite things to do in Scotland is going to ceilidhs (kay-lee) which is a traditional Scottish dance. It is very fast-paced so it’s a good workout. You’re constantly dancing and moving around and nobody really knows what they’re doing, but it’s loads of fun. If you’re ever in Scotland, going to a ceilidh is a must!!!

Family and friends,

Sorry for taking forever to update my blog. I’ve been in Edinburgh for a week now and have already settled down so really I have no excuses as to why I’m not updating. I will try to be better at it!

I’m going to continue from where I left off from the last post. After Salzburg, Joanna and I traveled to Vienna, Venice, Verona, and Milan. I’m going to do a short bullet point of things we did in each city.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Vienna is a huge city so it wasn’t as charming as Salzburg. Joanna and I quickly came to realize that people in Vienna aren’t exactly the nicest people either. When we arrived to our hostel, the receptionist was very rude and unfriendly. Despite the people, we still had a lot of fun. Here’s a bullet point of things we did in Vienna:

• Stephansdom and Graben

• Am Hof and Freyung (houses the Church of the Nine Choirs of Angels and the Collato Palace where Mozart gave his first public performance)

• Hofburg Palace (the Hapsburgs’ home until 1918)

•  Schloss Schonbrunn (HUGE palace; behind the palace contains gardens with a labyrinth)

• St. Peter’s Church

• Café Central

VENICE, ITALY

From Vienna, Joanna and I took a sleeper train to Venice, Italy. Once again, the sleeper train was quite the experience. We were in a small compartment with 2 Italian men for 12 hours. It was a funny experience because they were very curious about EVERYTHING and wanted to know more about us, but they spoke no English and we don’t know any Italian. Joanna, who has studied in Rome for 5 weeks, was trying to communicate with the guys with what little Italian she knows, which actually turned out to be more Spanish than Italian. We ended up communicating by doing charades and guessing what the other person was trying to tell us.

After 12 hours on the train, we finally arrived to Venice!  We didn’t realize it until we got there, but we came at a very busy time since there was a festival going on. Venice is a small city with tiny streets so it was PACKED with people.

Within the first 15 minutes of arriving to Italy, I got 3 bug bites on my legs and one on my thumb. To the average person this would not be a big deal since it would just cause some discomfort for a few days. As some of you may know though, I am allergic to mosquito bites. While most people get a small, itchy bump that goes away in a few days, my bug bites usually become very, very swollen. In Poland, I got a small bug bite on my ankle and it swelled up so much that I had cankles (when your ankles are so big that it looks like it’s part of your calf). To prevent myself from getting eaten alive and turning into a marshmallow, Joanna gave me garlic pills and grapefruit seed extract. As gross as both of them taste, I took religiously took them multiple times a day. The garlic smell goes through your pores and this is supposed to keep away the mosquitos.

Venice is a very charming city.

We went to San Marco Square and saw the outside of Basilica Di San Marco. Afterwards we did a tour of the Doge’s Palace and saw the Grand Canal. I also ate the biggest calzone ever!

In the evening Joanna and I hung out at Café Blue and had some wine while reading. Afterwards we decided to go back to San Marco square to get a night view of the square. We were caught in the rain, but it was beautiful to walk down the streets of Venice in the rain. San Marco square at night is gorgeous! There was live music playing in the square at night so Joanna and I just sat there enjoying the beautiful scene and music.

VERONA, ITALY

From Venice, we took a train to Verona. We were very excited to arrive to Verona because we were exhausted from always being on the go. We needed a day to just relax and catch up on our sleep. We stayed at a bed and breakfast and LOVED it so much that decided to extend our stay in Verona. The first evening we were there, we walked around the streets looking for a place to have dinner. We met Leo, an Italian man that owns a restaurant and a couple of cafes. He was extremely friendly and spoke English very well. He invited Joanna and I into his cafe (that he’s planning on opening soon) for some beer. He also took us down to the wine cellar of his restaurant and told us the history behind win cellars in Italy. The next day, Joanna and I just explored Verona. We went to Pizza Bra and saw the Arena.

Since Shakespeare’s drama, Romeo and Juliet, is set in Verona, we went to Piazza Erbe and saw Casa Di Giulietta which is Juliet’s house. Here is a picture of the balcony.

We also went to the Duomo which is a church. We crossed the Pietra bridge to the Castel San Pietro (the San Pietro Castle) where we sat and had a nice view overlooking the city of Verona. The next day we went to Lake Garda, which is a beautiful lake. We rented a paddle boat that had a slide attached to it so we spent the day swimming and sliding down the slide.

MILAN, ITALY

Milan is a very cosmopolitan city so it didn’t have the same charm as Venice or Verona. We had a lot of fun in Milan exploring the city though.

At night Joanna and I decided to go to the Fashion District to check it out and we accidently stumbled on Vogue Fashion Night Out in Milan. The streets were packed with people. Instead of having manikins displayed in the windows of the stores, they had live models! There were models as manikins, models doing catwalks down the street, and models standing in front of stores.

The next day, Joanna and I decided to go to Lake Como. It was a very beautiful lake! The day after, I flew to Edinburgh and Joanna flew to Istanbul.

Prague and Salzburg

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

Okay, continuing from where I left off… Joanna, Amber and I took a sleeper train to Prague from Krakow. It was quite the experience, to say the least. We imagined it to be like the Hogwarts Express, but our dream was quickly crushed when we saw our train pull up. Our small beds better resembled cardboards with fabric stitched over them. Actually, cardboards might have been more comfortable. The light in our compartment could not be turned off so we decided to be resourceful and sleep with sunglasses on. Okay, maybe we didn’t really sleep with sunglasses on the WHOLE night. We wore our sunglasses for a little and got a good laugh out of it. After a very restful night we arrived to Prague early the next morning!!

Prague is a beautiful city that I am definitely coming back to again. We spent a couple of days in Prague and did a lot of sightseeing. It’s too much to explain so I’ll just bullet point them:

• Charles Bridge

• Old Town Square

o   Astronomical Clock

• Wenceslas Square
• St. Nicholas Cathedral (where Mozart played the organ when he visited Prague)

•   Wallenstein Garden
• Church of our Lady Victorious (contains the wax statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague)
• John Lennon Wall (very cool wall covered with Lennon and Beatles-related graffiti)

• Café Louvre (Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein used to be regulars there)
•   Reduta Jazz Club

•   Petrin Gardens and View Tower
•   Prague Castle (one of the world’s biggest castles)

o   St. Vitus’s Cathedral

o   Golden Lane (Franz Kafka had his workspace here)

• Museum of Communism (explores life under Communism in Czechoslovakia)

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA

From Prague, we took a train to Salzburg (where Mozart was from and where the Sound of Music was filmed)!! Salzburg is a charming city that everyone should definitely go visit when in Austria. We did a short walking tour of the various places where the movie was filmed and Amber entertained us the whole time by singing songs from the movie. Here’s a bullet point version of everything we did in Salzburg:

• Benedintine Convent Nonnberg
•  St. Peter’s Abbey
•  Mirabell Palace and Gardens

• Hohensalzburg Fortress
• Mozarts Geburtshaus (Mozart’s birthplace and childhood home and holds a collection of his belongings)
• Mozart’s Residence
• Panorama Museum
• Franciscan Church
• Cable Car Untersberg (it took us to the top of a mountain)

In Salzburg, Amber left us to fly to Glasgow, Scotland where she is going to school for the Fall Quarter. We were excited for her to start her adventure in Scotland, but also sad to see one of our Three Musketeers leave. Joanna and I don’t start school for another week so we continued our journey to Vienna.

Okay, I’m taking a break. I will update about Vienna soon! Since then we have been to Venice, Verona, and Milan. I am flying on Saturday morning to Scotland!

Love you all!

New Adventures. New places. New faces.

Okay so this is my attempt to keep those in my life updated while I’m abroad for 4 months. I will try to keep it updated as often as possible.

Since I’m starting this blog late (I’ve already been traveling for about a week), I will start from the beginning when I arrived to Europe and update you until now.

POLAND

On Thursday, August 25^th Amber and I arrived to Krakow, Poland where Joanna picked us up from the airport. We were super excited to see Joanna after being parted for so long since she was in Africa for about a month and a half. We drove to Andrychow (an hour out of Krakow) where Joanna’s grandpa lives. There we had dinner with her grandpa (who is super cute) and then we went out to explore the town and catch up with each other. The next morning we took a bus to Auschwitz/Birkenau. I knew it was going to be hard to be there, but it was more difficult than I expected.

Afterwards, we took a bus to Krakow where we checked in at Mama’s Hostel. It was the first time any of us have slept in a room with 11 other people! In Krakow we walked around and explored. We went to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Wawel Cathedral, and Wawel Castle where we walked through a really cool cave. We also went to Warsaw Catholic Church and then we headed over to Schindler’s Factory. We walked to Kazimierz (the Jewish District) and ate the BEST ice cream I have ever had! I can’t wait to go back to Poland for that ice cream.

While in Poland, we also went to Zakopane, a mountain town, and stayed at Hostel Goodbye Lenin which was all communist themed. We stayed in a room with 7 other people and everyone was super friendly. We weren’t prepared for the weather at all. It was cold, rainy, and foggy all day. All I brought with me were shorts, dresses, and sandals. We misunderstood the guy at the hostel and thought that we would be able to ride individual horses up and down the mountain. What he meant was we can ride horse carriages up and down the mountain for 40 zloty and down the mountain for 30 zloty. We didn’t bring enough money with us to ride the horse carriage, so we decided to do a 4 hours hike up the mountain. Here’s how we looked hiking up the mountain! 

Once we got to the top, there was a beautiful view of a lake and mountains that made it all worth it!

After hiking, we walked to Zakopane’s town center and explored the town. Afterwards, we took a train back to Andrychow to spend our last day in Poland with the biggest Polish stud we met, Joanna’s grandpa. Her grandpa took us to Wadowice, the town where Pope John Paul was from.

Here’s us playing dress up with the stud himself…

That evening, we took a sleeper train to Prague. We we were super excited and thought it was going to be like Hogwart’s Express, but boy were we wrong. Here’s what we looked like on the sleeper train.

Okay, I lied. I’m not going to update you with everything until now. Too much to write. Since Poland, we’ve been to Prague and right now we’re in Austria. I will update about Prague and Austria soon!!!

Love you all!