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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

Ireland

This semester has flown by right before my eyes and before I knew it, classes were over. For me, break started on May 5th. I had a final take home exam to finish so the next few days following were spent finishing that and preparing for our big week long adventure in Ireland and Rome.

Spencer and I left Friday the 7th and got off to a bit of a rocky start. It turns out I booked our tickets to Belfast for the following Friday. BIG OPPS on my part! After a train ride that seemed like it took FOREVER, we got to the airport to try to sort things out. It was too expensive to switch our tickets, or to buy new ones for the flight we were supposed to be on so we decided we would try to take the ferry. Luckly, it turned out to be a great idea! We took the next train south from the airport to Stranraer, Scotland and caught the ferry to Belfast. The ferry was HUGE, and looked more like a small cruise ship on the inside. It was extremely fast for a ferry also, got us there in only 2 hours. So a little later than planned and a little differently than expected, we finally made it to Belfast.

It was a beautiful afternoon so we were able to walk around a lot of the city. We saw the beautiful city hall, the opera house, the famous Crowne Bar and walked along the River Lagan. I had no idea what to expect from the city of Belfast but I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it was. We caught the train down to Dublin around 8:30. It was about a 2 hour journey and was a great way to see some of the country. We made it into Dublin around 10:30 and walked right to our hostel. It had been a long and pretty stressful day so we were pretty tired to say the least. This picture below is of Belfast City Hall, right in the middle of the city.

Saturday we woke up to a beautiful day in Dublin with not a cloud in the sky. We meandered around the city for the morning, taking our time. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral (the picture below) which was amazing and had a beautiful garden next to it. Then we walked down the River Liffey for awhile, passing the Guinness plant, the world famous icon of Ireland. We stumbled upon the Dublin Museum and decided to go in. The museum was actually pretty interesting since it was all having to do with Ireland, and the price was right too.. free! After the museum we went back to our hostel and made some lunch. After lunch we headed back out again to wander the streets of Dublin. It was great to be able to walk around and really experience a city instead of taking buses and metros everywhere.

That evening we headed to the races! Dog races that is. One of Ireland's national pastimes is dog racing, and you could really tell by the family atmosphere. There were kids running around everywhere, placing bets on their favorite dogs. It was definitely different to see such young kids at a dog track. We got there about half way in but still saw about 6 or 7 races. We bet a few Euros on the last few races but none of our dogs one. :( Oh well, it was still great to see the dogs race and be apart of the excitement. After the last race we walked back towards our hostel, but not before stopping for a pint of Guinness. It was the first pint for both of us and there was no better place to try it then Dublin. It was very different; flat, thick and to me had a coffee after taste, but still a lot better than I expected.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. We headed to the main shopping district of the city and found some good bargains. It was also a great place for some amazing people watching. After lunch back in our hostel we walked down to Merrion Square, a popular park in Dublin. It was very beautiful of course but was also home to the Oscar Wilde Memorial, a Dublin born poet and playwright. We walked around some more, and headed to another park that was close. We hung out there for a little bit but couldn't stay too long since the park was closing. We went back to our hostel, made dinner and waited for our friend Katie, who's flight got in that night. She made it in safe, despite some more airport closures due to the volcano. That silly thing just won't quit!

Monday was our last day in Dublin so we did a free walking tour of the city. The weather was not the greatest but we tried to make the best of it. It was Ireland after all, and rain is to be expected. Other than the weather, the walking tour was great. We learned a lot about the city and it's long history. We saw lots of famous sites like Dublin Castle, The Temple Bar, Trinity College and The Clarance Hotel which is now owned by U2. After the tour we went back to the hostel to warm up and have some lunch.

We headed back out to shop a little. Last thing on our list in Dublin, but certainly not least was the Guinness Storehouse. The first few levels were very interesting because they showed the ingredients and the processes of making a Guinness. We were running out of time so we headed up to the Gravity Bar on the top of the storehouse to get our free pint of Guinness. The bar had great views of the city so we definitely took our time and enjoyed the view. After we all finished our pints, we headed back into the storehouse to finish the tour. The next few levels were all about the consumption and marketing of the beer and it's long long history. After the tour we all headed to a pub to have one last drink in Dublin.

I had really enjoyed my 4 short days in Ireland and I wasn't looking forward to it ending. But at least I did have a little something to look forward too.. ROMA!!

Vienna & Bratislava

It's not exactly Tuesday, but at least I'm getting this post up before I leave for the next week.

Spencer and I left for Vienna Thursday afternoon and flew into Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia, which is only 40 miles east of Vienna. It is apparently pretty a popular thing to do because outside of the airport, everybody was getting on buses that said 'Wien' on the side. We got on one and made our way into the city. After some navigating of the metro system and the German language, we finally got to our hostel around 10pm. Were STARVING so we walked around a bit and found a great place to have a pizza.

The next day we hit the ground running. We spent the morning in the city center enjoying the beautiful weather and GORGEOUS city. We saw the Austrian Parliament building, Vienna city hall, Burg Theatre, Hofburg Palace, the stables of the Spanish Riding School, Stephansdom Cathedral and the Vienna Opera House.



The pictures above are of the Austrian Parliament building and a beautiful park and Hofburg Palace in the background.

It was a jam-packed morning but we didn't even notice. We went back to our hostel to relax for a bit and get in touch with Spencer's friend Michael, who goes to school in Vienna. We finally got ahold of him and met in back downtown that evening. We met some of his friends from school and a couple of them walked around the city with us and told us a little about all of the things we had seen that day. It was so nice to have tour guides with us to tell us about everything!

We all grabbed a beer and sat outside and just chatted, which was very nice. It was finally beginning to feel like a true laid-back vacation. After drinks Spencer and I got some dinner and went back to our hostel, we were pretty worn out from our long day.

Saturday was a pretty busy day as well. The morning started off pretty slow and relaxed but we managed to fit a lot in. That morning we planned on going to Belvedere Palace, just outside the city. We had made it all the way there and realized we had to leave to go meet Michael at his flat all the way on the other side of the city. Poor planning on our part. :( So we went back to the metro and headed all the way across town. Michael met us at the station and took us to his flat. It was interesting to see where somebody our age lives in a different country. We left his place and walked down to the Danube River for awhile, which was very beautiful. There were lots of Austrians outside enjoying themselves and the nice weather.

After the river Michael left and Spencer and I headed to Schonbrunn Palace. It was of course beautiful, but HUGE as well. It was painted an amazing color that made it stand out from any other palace or castle I had seen. We explored the massive gardens all around the palace and took lots of pictures. We went around to the back of the palace and were in awe of the rest of the complex. There were lots more gardens, fountains and huge hill behind the palace with another massive building. We climbed to the top so we could get some great photos of the palace and the city behind it and boy was it worth it!

The top picture is me in from of Schonbrunn Palace and the one below is of the view from the top of the hill. The back of the palace with Vienna in the background.

After the palace we headed back to Belvedere to see what we had missed earlier that day. I'm very glad we decided to go back because the palace and the gardens were beautiful. We sat and relaxed here for awhile before walking around and taking lots more pictures of the grounds. I was so tired at this point so we got some dinner and returned home and went to bed! I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Sunday we decided to go to a museum that Michael recommended for us, the Albertina Museum. We were defiantly glad he did because it was an amazing museum. We got to see an Andy Worhal exhibit featuring his Cars series, which he was working on to commemorate the centennial of the automobile. The permanent showcase of the museum held works by Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir & Picasso. I was so in awe by all of the famous artwork that I got a chance to see! I'm so glad we chose to go to Albertina!

After the museum we were planning on doing some shopping but since it was Sunday, everything was closed. We definitely didn't anticipate this because at home, things are rarely closed on Sundays anymore. So instead of shopping we just window shopped and walked around the area near our hostel. Before we knew it we had made our way back into the center of Vienna. We stopped at a park outside the University to enjoy the weather once again. Around 7 we went back to Michael's flat to hang out there for the night, since we were leaving the next morning. We just hung out at his place for the night. He and Spencer caught up on what they had missed since high school and it was nice to finally meet one of Spencer's friends. After hanging out for awhile Spencer and I said goodbye to Michael and headed back to eat dinner at pack up our bags.

Monday morning we checked out of our hostel just in time and got some last minute shopping in before catching the train back to Bratislava. Our flight back to Scotland didn't leave until that night so we planned on spending the day in Bratislava seeing the castle. It was just over an hour train ride and it was very interesting to see the scenery change as we left Austria and neared Slovakia. Our train dropped us off just outside of town, which was definitely not where we thought we were going to be. Navigating and making our way to the castle was interesting to say the least, but once we figured out what bus to take it wasn't too bad.

We got to the old town which is the main tourist area and completely different than the rest of the city. The old town Bratislava was quaint and clean with parks and shops and the rest of Bratislava was well, not so quaint! We walked around the old town for a bit and then headed up to the castle. It was under heavy construction so we couldn't go inside but it was still very beautiful. The view of the city from the top were full of huge apartment complexes and big boxy buildings, so different from the beauty of Vienna, only 40 miles away. After the castle we wandered around the old town some more. It started to rain so we decided to shop a little bit in the shopping complex just across the river.

The top picture is of the Bratislava castle and the one below is of the streets of old town Bratislava.

By then it was time to make our way back to the train station to change buses and then finally on to the airport. It was such an amazing weekend and I am so lucky to have been able to experience two completely different cities in just a few short days. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be in Slovakia, but I still loved every minute of it!

The past few days since I have been back have been very busy. I have been working on a final essay and preparing for a big trip that I leave for tomorrow! eek This past week was the last week of class and finals don't start until May 18th, perfect for international students who want to travel. So tomorrow morning Spencer and I leave for Ireland, stopping in Belfast first and then onto Dublin for 3 days. Katie is meeting us in Dublin on Sunday. Then Tuesday we will all leave for Rome. I'm very excited for this big trip, two places that I have wanted to go my whole life, but so different from each other. I'll have a very big post when I get back, probably more than one. Until then... cheers everyone!