I’m writing this blog in the Heathrow airport on my last official night abroad. It is completely unbelievable to me to think that I will be home tomorrow and this chapter of my life will officially be closed. It feels like only yesterday when I was telling Mom & Dad about my crazy idea to study abroad in Scotland.
It is cliché but the only word I can think of to describe what I am feeling right now is bittersweet. I am happy to be going home and excited to seeing my friends and family again. I’m really looking forward to having my car again and having the freedom to go wherever, whenever. And I’m excited for hot Minnesota summers, BBQ’s and finally being able to watch a Twins game this season. :) I will also be happy to not have to carry around my entire life in a suitcase anymore.
Although I cannot wait to get home, I know I am going to miss almost everything about this past semester. Scotland was more beautiful than I would have ever pictured it along with all of the places that I am so fortunate to have been able to visit. I have seen and eaten things I would have never expected to in a million lifetimes. I have been challenged to do things I never thought that I could and I have loved every second of it. This semester has been an absolute dream come true and I am sad to have to say good-bye to it.
03 June 2010
27 May 2010
Last trip of the semester
I can't believe how fast this semester has flown by! It's already time for me to start packing up my things and I feel like I've only just arrived. As one last hoorah Spencer and I took a trip to London. He was planning on going with his parents when they came to visit but they weren't able to make it so I said I would go with him again.
We left Saturday the 22nd and after a long day of trains, planes and buses, we were finally settled into our hostel around 9 that night. We walked around little bit that night and found a late dinner but didn't have much time for anything else.
Sunday was a beautiful day in London and uncharacteristically hot for this time of year so we started the day by laying in the Hyde park waiting for our tour to start. Our walking tour started at 1:00 and covered all the major sites in London. It was the same one I had done the first time I was in London so it was a bit of a refresh for me but it was a good tour so I didn't mind doing it again. After the tour we had a late lunch in St. James Park and were pretty lazy the rest of the day. The heat of the day had worn us out! We walked along the Thames and hung around the London Eye for a bit, a great spot to people watch. We figured out that we were close to the London School of Economics, a dream school of Spencer's, so we made a short visit to the campus which was right in the middle of London. We were getting hungry so we quickly headed back to the hostel and made some dinner.
Monday was our busiest day in London. We started off the day by heading down to Abbey Road, made famous by The Beatles Abbey Road album. We were hopping to get some great pictures of us walking down the iconic street but we were disappointed to find out it was a pretty busy street. I got a pretty good picture of the street but with nobody in it. It is amazing how it looks so similar after all these years!
After the National Gallery, we had lunch in Trafalgar Square. It was another hot day in London so we sat on the edge of the fountain with our feet in the water, not a bad way to cool off. Next we were off to Westminster Abby to attend a choral service. We had heard about it the day before from our tour guide and thought it would be a great way to see inside Westminster without paying the ridiculously high admission fee. The service starts every day at 5 and is pretty much put on just for the tourists, but it was still an amazing experience to be a part of. Definitely not something I ever thought I would be doing.
After the service we headed down the river to see The Tower Bridge and The Tower of London. We walked around this area for a bit and then made our way home. Before making it there we decided to make a short pit stop at King's Cross train station, one of the largest in London, to see if we could find a Platform 9 & 3/4. For those of you that don't know, platform 9 & 3/4 comes from Harry Potter. They travel through the platform to get to the train station that takes them from London to Hogwarts. The cool thing about the platform in King's Cross is that they have an half of an actual trolley stuck into the wall. I wonder what people think of it if they don't know the reason behind it!
Tuesday was our last full day in London. We woke up early that day to go and get tickets for Wicked. Starting at 10am students can go and get tickets for that nights performance for only £25. We ended up getting great seats that would have cost £60 originally. We went back to the hostel to make lunch and take a short nap. We didn't stay in the hostel too long thought, we had some shopping to do. We spent the afternoon at the famous Camden Market. It was so huge we probably only wandered around about 1/4 of it. The day went by faster than we thought so we had to rush back to our hostel to get ready for the show but we made it with just a couple minutes to spare! Wicked was of course a great show, I was so excited to be able to see it, especially in London. 
We left Saturday the 22nd and after a long day of trains, planes and buses, we were finally settled into our hostel around 9 that night. We walked around little bit that night and found a late dinner but didn't have much time for anything else.
Sunday was a beautiful day in London and uncharacteristically hot for this time of year so we started the day by laying in the Hyde park waiting for our tour to start. Our walking tour started at 1:00 and covered all the major sites in London. It was the same one I had done the first time I was in London so it was a bit of a refresh for me but it was a good tour so I didn't mind doing it again. After the tour we had a late lunch in St. James Park and were pretty lazy the rest of the day. The heat of the day had worn us out! We walked along the Thames and hung around the London Eye for a bit, a great spot to people watch. We figured out that we were close to the London School of Economics, a dream school of Spencer's, so we made a short visit to the campus which was right in the middle of London. We were getting hungry so we quickly headed back to the hostel and made some dinner.
Monday was our busiest day in London. We started off the day by heading down to Abbey Road, made famous by The Beatles Abbey Road album. We were hopping to get some great pictures of us walking down the iconic street but we were disappointed to find out it was a pretty busy street. I got a pretty good picture of the street but with nobody in it. It is amazing how it looks so similar after all these years!
Next we headed to The National Gallery of London. Admission was free.. which is great for college students, and I was able to see my first Van Gogh. They had a whole room devoted to his paintings which was amazing to see, I could have stood there for hours. The most famous Van Gogh the Gallery had was his sunflower painting. There were no pictures allowed in the Gallery though, otherwise I would have some posted.
After the National Gallery, we had lunch in Trafalgar Square. It was another hot day in London so we sat on the edge of the fountain with our feet in the water, not a bad way to cool off. Next we were off to Westminster Abby to attend a choral service. We had heard about it the day before from our tour guide and thought it would be a great way to see inside Westminster without paying the ridiculously high admission fee. The service starts every day at 5 and is pretty much put on just for the tourists, but it was still an amazing experience to be a part of. Definitely not something I ever thought I would be doing.
After the service we headed down the river to see The Tower Bridge and The Tower of London. We walked around this area for a bit and then made our way home. Before making it there we decided to make a short pit stop at King's Cross train station, one of the largest in London, to see if we could find a Platform 9 & 3/4. For those of you that don't know, platform 9 & 3/4 comes from Harry Potter. They travel through the platform to get to the train station that takes them from London to Hogwarts. The cool thing about the platform in King's Cross is that they have an half of an actual trolley stuck into the wall. I wonder what people think of it if they don't know the reason behind it!
Tuesday was our last full day in London. We woke up early that day to go and get tickets for Wicked. Starting at 10am students can go and get tickets for that nights performance for only £25. We ended up getting great seats that would have cost £60 originally. We went back to the hostel to make lunch and take a short nap. We didn't stay in the hostel too long thought, we had some shopping to do. We spent the afternoon at the famous Camden Market. It was so huge we probably only wandered around about 1/4 of it. The day went by faster than we thought so we had to rush back to our hostel to get ready for the show but we made it with just a couple minutes to spare! Wicked was of course a great show, I was so excited to be able to see it, especially in London.
Wednesday we made our way to the bus stop, then the airport, then back to Glasgow and finally back to Stirling. It was a long journey home but as always, it was worth it. The next day I had my last exam at Stirling University. I am now officially done with my junior year of college.. something I still can't wrap my head around! For now I am busy packing, which more resembles jamming everything in two suitcases and hopping it will all fit. I leave the day after tomorrow and I can't really believe it still. I will write a small good-bye post before I leave, but for now, back to packing!
05 May 2010
ROMA
We all arrived in Italy on Tuesday the 11th. Once we got in, we had a little trouble navigating the metro system since none of us speak any Italian and people in Italy rarely speak English. (this proved interesting for most of the trip) Once we finally found a map we could read we were just fine. The bus after that was another story though. The directions to the hostel weren't the greatest, so we accidentaly got off a stop too early, tried to walk the rest of the way there but got pretty lost. We decided to take the metro back to the bus stop and try again. We were all hot and tired by this point but we finally got it on the second time around.
Our hostel in Rome was like nothing any of us had stayed in before. It was on the first floor of an apartment building in Rome, instead of taking up its own big building. It was really small, only five rooms with around 20 beds. It was a great way to get to know other people in your hostel, and it also gave us a more authentic feeling of the city. We had had a long day so we didn't do much on our first evening. Just got some pasta, planned out the rest of the week and went to bed early.
Wednesday was our first full day in Rome and we took full advantage of it. Our first stop of the day was Villa Borghese, which is one of Rome's biggest park. We walked around there for most of the morning and then made our way over to the Spanish Steps. We took some pictures and made our way up the steps through all of the people. We hung out there for a bit and ate lunch on the steps. Not a bad way to start our adventure it Rome.
Next we were off to the Colosseum. Stepping out of the metro station it was literally the first thing you see. That was absolutely amazing! We walked around the grounds a a little bit, took lots of pictures and then made our way into line to go inside. Inside the Colosseum they had great artifacts from ancient Rome and an exhibition on the gladiators of the Colosseum. Both were very interesting to learn about. We made our way to the inside of the Colosseum and were all astounded. It was so massive but beautiful at the same time. I was surprised to see how deteriorated it was, it was hard to imagine what it must of looked like so long ago.
After we left the Colosseum we went and explored the Foro Romano right next to the Colosseum. It was basically just lots more ruins of the Roman Empire, but still very interesting to see. We walked out past the Foro Romano and saw the Campidoglio an the Vittoriale. They were both very impressive buildings, especially compared to the old ruins we had seen all afternoon. It had been a long day with lots of walking so we went back to our little hostel, made some dinner and went to bed.
Thursday was definitely my favorite day in Rome! We started off the day at the Vatican City. It was amazing finally to see such a historic place it in person. We started off in the Piazza San Pietro, or St. Peter Plaza. We took lots of pictures of the basilica before making our way to the Vatican Museums. We wandered through there for a bit and finally made our way into the Sistine Chapel! It was so breathtaking to be able to look up at such a famous ceiling. We stood there for quite awhile just looking at everything and taking it all in. After the Sistine Chapel we headed outside to eat some lunch. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed laying in the sun for a bit. 
After lunch we walked around the museum for a little bit longer, looked around some gift shops and then made our way back to the Piazza San Pietro. We got in line to get into the basilica which was a lot shorter than before so that was nice. After we were in we decided to tour the tombs. Many of the Popes are buried here, including John Paul II, along with a few other people important to the church.
We left Vatican City shortly after that and headed to the famous Trevi fountain! My favorite part of the trip by far. It is such an iconic part of Rome is something I have always wanted to see. I was so excited to be able to throw my coins into the fountain. It is believed that throwing a coin into the fountain means you will return to Rome, and three coins is good luck. Coins are supposed to be thrown over your right shoulder with your right hand. All three of us threw three coins in for luck!
Our hostel in Rome was like nothing any of us had stayed in before. It was on the first floor of an apartment building in Rome, instead of taking up its own big building. It was really small, only five rooms with around 20 beds. It was a great way to get to know other people in your hostel, and it also gave us a more authentic feeling of the city. We had had a long day so we didn't do much on our first evening. Just got some pasta, planned out the rest of the week and went to bed early.
Wednesday was our first full day in Rome and we took full advantage of it. Our first stop of the day was Villa Borghese, which is one of Rome's biggest park. We walked around there for most of the morning and then made our way over to the Spanish Steps. We took some pictures and made our way up the steps through all of the people. We hung out there for a bit and ate lunch on the steps. Not a bad way to start our adventure it Rome.
Next we were off to the Colosseum. Stepping out of the metro station it was literally the first thing you see. That was absolutely amazing! We walked around the grounds a a little bit, took lots of pictures and then made our way into line to go inside. Inside the Colosseum they had great artifacts from ancient Rome and an exhibition on the gladiators of the Colosseum. Both were very interesting to learn about. We made our way to the inside of the Colosseum and were all astounded. It was so massive but beautiful at the same time. I was surprised to see how deteriorated it was, it was hard to imagine what it must of looked like so long ago.
After we left the Colosseum we went and explored the Foro Romano right next to the Colosseum. It was basically just lots more ruins of the Roman Empire, but still very interesting to see. We walked out past the Foro Romano and saw the Campidoglio an the Vittoriale. They were both very impressive buildings, especially compared to the old ruins we had seen all afternoon. It had been a long day with lots of walking so we went back to our little hostel, made some dinner and went to bed.
Thursday was definitely my favorite day in Rome! We started off the day at the Vatican City. It was amazing finally to see such a historic place it in person. We started off in the Piazza San Pietro, or St. Peter Plaza. We took lots of pictures of the basilica before making our way to the Vatican Museums. We wandered through there for a bit and finally made our way into the Sistine Chapel! It was so breathtaking to be able to look up at such a famous ceiling. We stood there for quite awhile just looking at everything and taking it all in. After the Sistine Chapel we headed outside to eat some lunch. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed laying in the sun for a bit.
After lunch we walked around the museum for a little bit longer, looked around some gift shops and then made our way back to the Piazza San Pietro. We got in line to get into the basilica which was a lot shorter than before so that was nice. After we were in we decided to tour the tombs. Many of the Popes are buried here, including John Paul II, along with a few other people important to the church.
We left Vatican City shortly after that and headed to the famous Trevi fountain! My favorite part of the trip by far. It is such an iconic part of Rome is something I have always wanted to see. I was so excited to be able to throw my coins into the fountain. It is believed that throwing a coin into the fountain means you will return to Rome, and three coins is good luck. Coins are supposed to be thrown over your right shoulder with your right hand. All three of us threw three coins in for luck!
The fountain was very crowded so we didn't stay long. We headed back to our hostel and stopped at a little pizza place across the street. We ended up getting a meter long pizza for dinner for all of us to share. It came with different types of pizza on it, one on each section. There was just a bit of a language barrier while trying to order the different kinds of pizza, so we didn't really know what to expect. But they were all amazing of course, after all it's Italy.
Friday was our last full day in Rome and we got a lot done. We started out at the Santa Maria. This church is famous for the Mouth of Truth outside of it. It was once believed that if you tell the Mouth of Truth a lie and then stick your hand in, it will be cut off! We explored the inside of the church a little bit and then made our way on to the next one, Saint Maria in Trastevere. This church was absolutely beautiful on the inside. The detail was breathtaking! Next stop of the day was the Pantheon.
Friday was our last full day in Rome and we got a lot done. We started out at the Santa Maria. This church is famous for the Mouth of Truth outside of it. It was once believed that if you tell the Mouth of Truth a lie and then stick your hand in, it will be cut off! We explored the inside of the church a little bit and then made our way on to the next one, Saint Maria in Trastevere. This church was absolutely beautiful on the inside. The detail was breathtaking! Next stop of the day was the Pantheon.
We journeyed our way there through the winding streets of Rome and finally got there around lunch time. We ate on the steps of the fountain and then went inside. It was very crowded since it is a very popular site in Rome so we didn't stay long. Next up was the Chiesa Del Gesu, yet another church. By this point I was growing tired of all of the churches and walking but that changed when we walked inside. The ceiling was magnificent. There was so much detailing and the artwork almost looked 3D. The last thing we did that day was go back to the Vittoriale. This time we walked inside so we could get to the top of the steps on the front. It was worth it because we got great views of the city below. It was starting to rain by this point so we made the long trek back to our cute little hostel and called it a night early.
Saturday we had some time in the morning before we had to be at the airport, so we did a little shopping. It was a pretty nasty day out weather wise though, so we didn't stay out too long. We hung out in the hostel and stayed dry the rest of they day before we had to head to the airport. Our time management wasn't the best that day, and Italian public transportation is less that reliable, so we cut it very close. But we made it just in time thankfully and got back to Glasgow safe and sound.
We had a busy 5 days in Rome and we saw A LOT, but I loved it nonetheless. I was glad to get back to Stirling though after a long and tiring week of traveling. The Tuesday after we got back I had my first of two finals and I'm fairly pleased with how it went, I'm mostly just glad its over. The past few days since then have been spent putting up lots of pictures and getting ready to go back home. I finally got my flight changed from the 7th of June to the 2nd. My last final is the 27th of May so I had some wiggle room to change it and come home a few days earlier. It was quite the process but completely worth it. Thanks again for all your help Mom.
My second to last weekend in Scotland won't be spent in Scotland at all, but in London. Spencer and I are leaving tomorrow and staying until Wednesday. He had planned on going with his parents when they came to visit but they weren't able to make it over here, so I said I would go again with him. I am excited and so very fortunate to be able to go to London twice while I am here! I couldn't think of a better last trip to take.
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