The Gaudios invade the UK

Greetings from the other side of the pond!

This past week, I had the pleasure of having my family visit me in London! For two days, I showed them around the city, and for the remainder of the week, we explored the English countryside and Wales.

The week was full of stories and fun, however, I don't have time to do them justice with all the papers I must write. Therefore, I'll just give a brief overview of what I am saying. But just watch, even though I intend it to be brief, it will become long. O well. Read on!

Saturday, April 16:

Friday night, at around 11:30 pm my family arrived at our hotel in London! It was so nice to see them, but in order to have a full day on Saturday, we had to go right to bed after settling in. However, my sister seemed to be WAY too awake, so I didn't get to sleep until 3:30am since we shared a room.

The next day we started out at 8am. Yeah. Even with jetlag my family still wanted to be up and out bright and early. Typical.

So we explored the area of our hotel- South Kensington. Although the city is very clean, look what we found early on in our walk!

Who knew London was full of daredevils?

We ended up going into the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Although we only spent about a half hour in the Natural History Museum, we spent HOURS in the V&A. It was so much fun showing my family my favorite museum!

After the museum, we went and visited Brompton Oratory, then went back to the Albert Memorial, walked through Hyde Park, and then went to Harrods so Sarah could see all the high-end designers.

By this time, it was around dinnertime, so we headed to Piccadilly Circus. We stopped in a pub for a quick dinner, and then explored Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Covent Garden. First, we went into Fortnum and Mason, so I could show my parents the Queen's grocery store. By the time we got to Covent Garden, it was time for some dessert. So we headed to Snog....

...and now my family is hooked. So much so, my mom ordered the cookbook and an ice cream maker. Guess who gets to have Snog, even when she goes back to the States? THIS GIRL!

After walking all day, we went back to the hotel to rest up for the next day.

Sunday, April 17:

Today, my family basically finished London in a day.

We started out at 7am (No joke, 7am) and went to Palm Sunday Mass at Brompton Oratory. We then went to my flat so my family could see my room. From there, we set off down the east end of the South Bank, stopping at the Tate Modern and Globe along the way.

View of St. Paul's from South Bank

We crossed the Thames at Tower Bridge, and paused at the Tower of London. And then we found out that the London Marathon was happening that day... enter "Mr. Testicles".

Mr. Testicles in his glory

We paused for awhile and watched the marathon, taking pictures of some of the awesome costumes some of the runners were wearing. We then continued through the city, stopping at St. Paul's. After St. Paul's, we walked down Fleet Street, and I showed my family my library. We then went down the Strand, where I showed them my campus and Somerset House. And it was here, that my dad got hit on by a trannie. HA! Only in London.

After we pried the trannie off my dad, we headed over Waterloo Bridge and took a ride on the London Eye. It was gorgeous out and my parents and sister got some good pictures. After we got off the Eye we went over Westminster Bridge and snapped pictures of Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. We then headed through St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace, which is where the marathon ended.

By this time, it was 6pm, and time to get some dinner. We got back to South Kensington and went to The Kensington Creperie. Here, I had a salmon and spinach filled crepe, and it was possibly the best crepe I have had in my life.

When walking back to the hotel, we found another Snog. And had to go in. It was a perfect end to the night!

Monday, April 18:

Today my family took a 2 hour train to Dover, on the east coast of England. The White Cliffs of Dover can be seen here, as well as a pretty awesome castle:

Dover Castle

After touring the castle for most of the day, we then toured the Underground Hospital and War Tunnels, which are under the castle and were used during World War II. The whole experience was pretty cool! And even though we didn't climb the cliffs, we were still able to get a photo op in front of them from where the castle was.

Me in front of the White Cliffs of Dover

After we had finished exploring the town, we jumped back on the train back to London, and once we arrived, we headed back to Snog. Yes. I told you my family was obsessed!

Tuesday, April 19:

Today we left London and headed into the country. After picking up a rental (A BMW M3 Saloon) we drove on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road to a small town called Woolhampton, where we stopped for lunch. And I had pigeon. Yes. Roasted Wood Pigeon. And it was delicious! I bet now those pigeons will think twice before flying into my face back in London.

Pigeon for lunch! I dare their brethren to fly at me now...

Next we drove to the village of Hungerford. My kinda town- has "hunger" in the name. We looked in some antique shops and found this lovely road:

After we finished walking around the village, we headed back to the car and then drove to Bath. We got there around 6pm, and after finding a delightful B&B to stay in, we walked around the city. We saw the Abbey, the Baths, the Circus, and many other things.

Wednesday, April 20:

It was the next day, however, that we went into all these places. First we stopped in the Roman Baths, where we took the tour and then I drank the Bath water, which is supposed to heal people of maladies. We then headed to the Abbey and walked around.

The Roman Baths

Me in front of the Baths

The sign says "Please don't touch the water"... I'm a rebel.

Me in front of the Abbey

After this, we headed to the Jane Austen Centre. Aka my dream. Here we took tea and did a tour of the museum. The best parts? Tons of paintings of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy covered the walls. There was even one in the women's bathroom. I still don't know how I feel about that...

The man that greeted me and welcomed me into the Jane Austen Centre. I have his shoes. I don't know who should be more embarrassed...

Tea at the Jane Austen Centre

"Tea with Mr. Darcy", the type of afternoon tea I ordered :)

After touring the Centre, we walked down the Gravel Path (where the last seen of Persuasion is set!) to the Royal Crescent, and hung out there for awhile.

Me with the Royal Crescent in the background

After, we walked through the Circus to the Assembly Rooms. Jane Austen walked on these floors. Freaking. Out. Then, for Sarah, we headed to the basement to look at the Fashion Museum. And we got to try on corsets and hoop skirts. The corsets were too loose (damn the fatties of the world), so we pretended to not be able to breath and took this picture:

After we finished this museum, we walked around the city for about an hour, and then headed back to the car. Next stop, Wales. Specifically, Crickhowell.

After finding a place to stay, we went into the quaint village for a walk and some dinner. We then returned to our Inn, which was across a small stream from a field of sheep. Who apparently don't sleep. But I didn't care, it was actually a welcome change from the squeaky brakes of the trains at Waterloo.

Thursday, April 21:

This morning we started off early once again. We explored what remained of the quaint village of Crickhowell. We then got in the car and headed to one of Wales's National Parks- Brecon Beacons. Here, there were many farms, cliffs, mountains, and waterfalls. We had a ton of fun exploring this corner of the world, and a made many sheep/lamb friends. Weird though, that they ran away when I got within 3 feet of them! HA!

O yeah, and I drove today. It's a miracle we are still alive.

SHEEP! (No "Black Sheep" shenanigans here...)

Reservoir inside Brecon Beacons

Proof: me in the driver's seat. On the wrong side of the car. And soon, I was to drive on the wrong side of the road. And everyone survived. WIN.

Mountains in Brecon Beacons

Waterfalls in Brecon Beacons

After we went through a portion of the park, we headed back to the car, and made our way back to England. Our destination? Anywhere in the Cotswolds. After looking for B&B's, we found one in the medieval town of Burford. We unloaded the car, and even though it was after 7pm, we headed out to explore the town in what remained of the daylight.

Along the way we met a delightful elderly English couple. It turns out that they are native Londoners! We talked about our favorite places in the city. Turns out, they were married in Lambeth Palace, only minutes away from my flat. They had lived in London since they were children, and it turns out, they were evacuated to Brecon in Wales during World War II. And we had just come from Brecon! What a coincidence.

After we parted ways, we found a lovely footpath through a cow pasture, and many quaint cottages. I wish I could live here....

One of my dream cottages...

The cow pasture that reminded me of the scene in the new Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth for the second time...

You see these steps in almost every Jane Austen movie... and now I got to use one in real life! Ahhh, if only I lived back then.... wait. Then there wouldn't be plumbing. Nevermind!

Friday, April 22:

This morning we started off early once again. After walking down the Main Street of Burford again to see some of the little shops, we got back in the car to drive around the Cotswolds. After taking hundreds of pictures, we ended up in Woodstock, in Oxfordshire. In this little town is Belheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born. However, just to get on the grounds and walk around you had to purchase a ticket. Which was around £15. CRAZY! So we settled for exploring the town around it, which, just as with every other village, was beautifully quaint. I mean, where else do you find cottages like this?!?!?!

Dream Cottage #2

After walking around for awhile, we stopped for afternoon tea at The Feathers, and before we knew it, it was time to get back to London.

Having my family visit was such a blessing. It was just what I needed. I wish it could have been for longer though- for Sunday is Easter, and Monday is my 21st birthday. Both days will be spent in a library, writing papers. How thrilling...

However, there are only 2 weeks left EXACTLY till I get back to the States. YAY!

Until then, I'll be the girl in the library typing furiously away... except for next weekend, when I will be staying with a host family in Exeter! That's right- leaving London on the day of the Royal Wedding. I'm getting out of what is sure to be the busiest day EVER. And I can't wait to watch the wedding with an actual British family, and see how they react!

Tune in next week to hear about my host family adventure!

Cheers! And a Happy Easter to all my readers!

Doesn't everyone know that "Study Abroad" really means "Euro-Trip"?

This whole "do work when you are in London" thing really isn't working out for me right now. I don't think I fully understood how draining writing 16,000 words is.

Especially when I haven't written a formal essay over 1,000 words in YEARS. My education has been limited to lab reports and article reviews. I am a Biology and Conservation major, after all. I don't need to write creative, thought provoking essays! I write papers based on fact, strengthened by using examples from peer-reviewed works, which are based on studies.

I am not used to sitting in a library for 8 hours a day. And I know that is not much at all. But I NEVER go to the library for work. EVER. This is because the library is a sacred place for me. I go there to enjoy books. One of my favorite places in the world is the original part of my hometown's library. In this dimly lit room is a fireplace surrounded by comfy armchairs. One can pick up one of the hundreds of newspapers located near the bay windows or just curl up on one of the chairs and read a book. To me, this is a library.

At home, I always do work in my room. Here, it is hard to concentrate in my room due to the fact that the building behind my room is having construction done, and the workers are jack-hammering god-knows-what ALL DAY LONG. So I am forced to find another place to work.

My library at King's will fool you- it looks like a castle on the outside. In fact, it was built to house the government's most important documents until a more suitable location was acquired in Westminster. I wish the inside complimented the exterior of the building.

Instead, the inside feels like a hospital. It is bright, with white walls, laminated floors, and the humming of florescent lights constantly inundating your ears. For the past 3 days, I have called a cubby in this environment home.

This has physically drained me in a way I never thought possible. The only way I can describe it is through a scene in "Hocus Pocus", that once-creepy but now funny Halloween movie in the States that says the word 'virgin' more times in 1.5 hours than I have uttered it in my entire lifetime (Shout-out to Mary!!!). You know the scene where the witches are draining the youth from the children, and the children grow older as their youth is sucked out of them? THAT IS WHAT I FEEL LIKE.

Still, in 3 days, I have written 7,000 out of 16,000 words I need to write. That means I have finished two essays- one with a word limit of 5,000, and one with a limit of 2,000. I have reached word counts of 4,876 and 1,995, respectfully. This amazes me- I have never been that close to a word count limit! I have even finished gathering sources for the last 9,000 words.

With deadlines approaching for the first week of May, the heat is on. But I fear I won't be very productive for the next week- my family is coming to London!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!!!!!!! CAN YOU TELL?!?!?!?!?! For four days we will be staying in London, and for the remaining 5 days, we are traveling the English countryside! So, my faithful readers, get ready to be inundated with photos upon my return!

Also, coinciding with my return to London and the departure of my family back to the States is my 21st birthday! Usually people are excited about this milestone. However, because I don't drink, this is just another birthday to me. And what better place to be than in England, where the drinking age is 18, and they couldn't care less about turning 21? PERFECT!

...Besides, with the way things are looking, my 21st will consist of me writing essays (and possibly finishing them all?) and then passing out on my bed. Not due to drunkenness, but by the exhaustion that takes over me after a full day of writing. Par-tay.

So, tune in next week to hear all about my adventures with my family!

Cheers!

Dear Scotland: I am sorry I ate all your haggis...

No, really. Look at the title again. I think I actually may have. The gym is going to be my best friend this coming week.

But enough with that nonsense- time to fill you in on my second trip to Scotland! This time, I ventured to the capital city, Edinburgh.

Wednesday, April 6:

So I guess today marks my third international flight in less than a week- after all, I was just in Ireland a couple of days ago! (I know Scotland is technically part of the UK, but whatever, I flew from England to Scotland... I consider that international.) For a life total, I have now been on 10 international flights, and only 2 domestic ones. Crazy, right? Before this trip, I had only been on 2 domestic and 4 international flights!

My journey started at noon with a train ride to London Gatwick Airport. Whoopie! After getting through the check-in and security in a record 20 minutes, I was left to read my books for my school papers- exciting, I know.

Soon enough, I was on a one hour EasyJet flight from London to Edinburgh.

It was a beautifully clear day. Since I got a window seat, I was able to get some GREAT aerial shots of London:

Hyde Park and part of Regent's Park from the plane

The London Eye!

Westminster, St. James', Mayfair, South Bank, and some of Central London from the plane

And soon enough, we were above Edinburgh:

My first view of Edinburgh

Upon landing in Edinburgh, I hopped on a bus that promised to get me to Edinburgh City Centre in 30 minutes. So, by 5pm, I was in the capital city!

Following directions given to me, I made my way towards my hostel. They sucked. Luckily I found some helpful police men and women. Although their accent is no where near as thick as the one in Glasgow, I still could barely understand them. It's like they were speaking a different language!

Finally, I found my hostel- Art Roch. Let's just say it was very... eccentric. I was greeted by some creepy mannequins that were spray painted neon colors in my room. You know what else greeted me? In a room of 16 beds, 14 were occupied by guys. What? I knew it was dorm style, but really?! Luckily, I had a bottom bunk, which meant I had some curtains all around my bed. Thank God. With my luck, one of the boys would be an Edward Cullen wanna-be and creepily watch me sleep.

By the time I was settled in it was around 6pm. My friends Naeemah, Kerry, and Julie weren't getting in until the next day. I didn't want to just stay in the hostel and do nothing, so I walked around the city.

The Scott Memorial

St. Giles' Cathedral

Edinburgh Castle, or Castle Rock, which I could see from my hostel room!

Eventually, I started to get hungry. One of the first places I stumbled upon was a little cafe called "The Elephant House". At first I was like, "O, that's nice"... until I saw this:

The front of The Elephant House

What made me freak out.

Yes. I couldn't believe it. I wonder if people make pilgrimages to this place. I figured the girls would want to go here, so I resisted the temptation to get dinner here. Instead I told myself that I would come back here later and read for my papers. I had brought one of my books with me, and the place said it was open till 11pm. I figured I would walk until the sun set, and then head to the cafe, read till closing, and head back to the hostel and go to bed. Good plan, right?

... In theory. Turns out the sun didn't set till around 9pm. This kinda freaked me out, not gonna lie. Because of this, I walked the majority of the city... on my first night.

I happened upon a whole section of the city dedicated to Greyfrairs Bobby. Long story short, this dog's master died, so every day until the dog's own death, he guarded his master's grave. Because of this deed, this dog now has a monument, a pub, a huge gravestone, and a church dedicated to him. The irony of the situation? The dog's gravesite and church are on grounds where dogs ARE NOT allowed! If a person is caught with a dog in this area, they are charged a considerable fine!

Greyfriars Bobby

After walking more of the city, I found the University of Edinburgh, a park, and a place called "Che" that served falafel and doner. Queue dinner. After getting a falafel and hummus wrap with a decently large side of chips (fries for all you Americans!) for ONLY £3, I walked to Edinburgh's Millennium Park- the Meadows. I found a bench, and had my dinner as I sat watching a group of people play rugby with Arthur's Seat in the background.

Yum Yums...

After eating every last bit of my meal, I headed back to the center of the city. The sun was still out. It was 8pm.

So I walked the entirety of the Royal Mile, the site of Charles I's coronation route. By the time I was done I was wiped, as it was 9pm. So I headed back to the Elephant House. Only to find that they were closing when their sign CLEARLY said it closed at 11pm seven days a week. Grr.

So off to the hostel I went. I hung out in the lobby till 11pm, reading for classes. It was finally an acceptable time to go to bed, so I headed upstairs.

Upon going up to my room, I was greeted by a couple only 2 years older than myself. They were from Australia. We spent the next 2 hours talking about anything and everything. Turns out that they had both graduated from Uni in December, and have been touring Europe ever since! They only have 2 weeks left of their tour- Dublin is their next and last stop before heading home. How cool is that? They were super nice, but by 1am we couldn't stay up any longer.... so we went to bed.

Only to be woken up at 3:30am by 8 very drunk Brazilian boys. They deemed it acceptable to talk loudly to each other across the room, from when they returned till when they finally fell asleep at 4:30am. Boo.

O well, that's a hostel for ya!

Thursday, April 7:

After a late (10am) wake up due to the Brazilians disturbing my much needed REM cycle, I found the Australians had already checked out. So I headed to breakfast in the Hostel alone. After having some cereal and a banana, I was out- it was 11am, and I had to entertain myself till Naeemah got in at 1pm.

Castle Rock, or Edinburgh's Castle, could be seen from my hostel, so I headed up to it. I figured the girls would want to tour it, so I didn't go in- I instead snapped some pictures and headed back toward the city centre. On the way, I found a weaving and tartan mill exhibition, and it was free! So I stopped in and learned all about Kilt making!

Kilts through the ages....

Actual looms to make the tartan and kilt fabric!

Next, I headed to the Scottish National Gallery. It has 3 buildings. I didn't even get through 1. I have seen so much art these past months that I am quite sick of it.

Luckily, Naeemah had just got to the city. I met her at the station, and after dropping her bags at the hostel, we were off!

First we stopped at The Elephant House for a quick lunch. I had to pose with the sign to prove I had been there:

After lunch, we pretty much walked everywhere I had walked the day before. After finishing that, we decided to head to new territory- Arthur's Seat, the hightest point in Edinburgh. The city is built around hills and mountains after all.

Only bad thing? Although we could SEE the mountain, we had no idea how to find a trail to climb it.

As we approached a condo complex, we stared up at the mountain, utterly confused. We must have looked completely lost.

And all of a sudden- an angel.

"Do you need help? You look lost."

An old man with snow white hair and long nose hairs (this seems to be quite popular with old British men...) stood next to us.

Long story short, the old man offered to show us the way to the trails that lead to the top of the mountain. It was a 15 minute walk. He was the sweetest man ever, and it turns out he is a Londoner! He moved to Edinburgh 23 years ago, and told us a bunch of places within the city to visit. Upon arriving near the base of the mountain, we parted ways after he told us some good paths to take.

So then we climbed the mountain. I almost made it to the top, but the wind was so intense that I got blown into the side of the mountain when climbing it. I decided to forgo going to the peak... if the wind could push me into the side of the mountain, there was no doubt in my mind that it would push me off the mountain. I settled on being about 100 feet below the summit.

Arthur's Seat in the distance

Me on the start of the trail to the top... this "trail" disappeared soon after. Which made climbing the mountain difficult, considering I was wearing boat shoes. Fail.

Yeah, it was THAT windy. But look at the city in the background!

After climbing the mountain, Naeemah and I ventured back to the city. We got to see the Queen's official Scottish residence (her husband is the Duke of Edinburgh after all...), the Scottish Parliament (which is an eye sore), and this building- "Our Dynamic Earth". Apparently it is a natural disaster simulator. No thanks.

Me in front of "Our Dynamic Earth"

After exploring this end of the city, we wandered back up the Royal Mile. And we found this:

Chocolate Soup- home of amazing chocolate soup. Really.

Long story short, they had molten chocolate. But not just dark chocolate. WHITE CHOCOLATE! SO EXCITING! I love white chocolate, so I had to get a molten white chocolate drink covered in caramel and whipped cream. YUM!

We then headed back to the hostel to officially check Naeemah in and drop some stuff off. And I found this mural when we explored the hostel...

New best friend.

By the time we were done, it was 7pm. Time for some YUM YUMS! We headed out to Grassmarket, where our hostel was, and went into a little pub called "The White Hart", which is the oldest pub in Edinburgh- it is almost 500 years old! And it was here that I introduced Naeemah to Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. YUM!

Haggis #1 of the trip, #3 in my life

And guess what? She liked it! Seriously, it's great. We stayed in the pub till 10pm, talking with each other and the nice German couple next to us. By 10 though, we headed back to the hostel- we had to be up at 6:45 the next morning- we were going on a bus tour!

Friday, April 8:

Today Naeemah and I decided to take a bus tour of the Scottish Highlands. Best £42 I have ever spent. Our tour started at 8am, and went until 8:30 pm. We traveled almost 400 miles around Scotland, stopping in a ton of towns, including Stirling (where William Wallace aka Braveheart had his epic battle in the movie), Glencoe, the Highlands, and Fort Augustus (where Loch Ness is). Our guide told us the history of the towns we went through, and local legends. He was so entertaining!

Instead of telling you all the details of the trip, I'll just put up some pictures. However, one of the highlights was taking a boat tour of Loch Ness. Did you know that this loch is 26 miles long, and holds more water in it than all the lakes of Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland COMBINED?!?!?! Yeah.

...and if anyone asks, I saw Nessie.

Me in front of a Loch at the beginning of the trip... so gorgeous!

Entering the Highlands... this land was owned by Rob Roy!

Me in Glencoe, formed from the most destructive volcanic eruption in the history of the Earth!

Me in the depths of Glencoe. Yeah, it's huge. I wasn't even NEAR the bottom- I was at the edge of a cliff leading to the bottom.

Just hangin' with Nessie.

Loch Ness!

Me in Fort Augustus, with the cliffs surrounding Loch Ness in the background.

Highland cows- I call them Emo Cows. They're just so... emotional... *Shake head to make bangs get out of your eyes*

The Forth Bridge in Edinburgh going over the River Forth.

After the tour, we met up with two of my new friends from Interstudy- Kerry and Julie. They are studying in Ireland, and after meeting them last week, we found that we were going to Edinburgh at the same time! They were also going on a tour that day (we actually saw them in Loch Ness) so when we got back to the city, we met up for dinner! We found a nice Mexican place (which I have been craving like CRAZY!) and enjoyed some amazing food and great company.

After planning to meet up the next day early in the morning, we headed to our hostels. Naeemah and I found a little crepe stand on our way back to Art Roch. The crepes were £2. Hard to resist. So we relented. AND THEY WERE GREAT!

Finally, it was time for bed.

Saturday, April 9:

Today was my last day in Edinburgh, so after checking out of the hostel at 10am, Naeemah and I went to the Elephant House and had breakfast. I had stromboli- one was spinach and mozzarella, and one was.... HAGGIS and sweet potatoes! Haggis #4! YAY!

We then met Kerry and Julie at Edinburgh Castle, after seeing William Wallace....

Best job ever.

Because we were at the castle, we did the tour, and got to see the Scottish crown jewels! Very pretty, but nowhere near as impressive as the English ones.

After the tour, we headed to a cafe for lunch. Where I had Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties. #3 for the trip, #5 overall. Still delicious!

We then headed to the "New City", which is across from the Old City. It is not separated by a river, like London. It is separated by a train station. Yeah, Edinburgh is small.

After wandering the streets, we saw lots of shops. Including this one. At first I only saw the three mannequins on the left. I turned to the girls and was like, "Really, who does what the one in the green undies is doing? NO ONE squats like that!"

...and then Julie pointed out the one in the pink undies. HA!

Dear mannequin with the pink undies. What the HELL are you doing? Really Calvin Klein? Really?

Before I knew it, it was time for me to get on a bus back to Edinburgh airport! After bidding adieu to the girls, I hopped on and was driven back to the airport.

I had 3 hours to kill (security took 10 minutes), so I headed to the airport restaurant, where I got....

...HAGGIS! #4 for the trip, #6 overall. AND IT WAS GREAT!

So to all those haters out there... don't bash it until you try it.

And to Scotland? If your haggis sales go up due to this blog, I think I should get some of the profit.

Finally it was time to get on the plane back to London. Although I had a ton of fun in Scotland, I was glad to get back to London. Not because I missed it though, but because I have 16,000 words waiting to be written for my papers....

Wish me luck! (I'm gonna need it...)

Cheers!