Around the World in 37 Days

Okay, I know I’ve been absolutely terrible at this ‘blogger’ thing, especially since it’s been five months since my last post.  So with the acceptance that I’ve kind of dropped off the edge of the world and been absent from writing these little updates on my life, here I am with a new set of posts that I’ll hopefully be able to successfully finish writing. Some of you who aren’t the kind family and friends that read these posts may not know what I have been up to in the past five months, so here goes.

As the spring hit Seattle, I was eager to finish up my third year at University of Washington, because summer meant more adventures – and this being my last true summer ‘vacation’ meant that I was absolutely set on making this one for the books. However, my home away from home, a little apartment that I shared with my two best friends, would not be there when I returned. With Emily graduating and leaving us for the beautiful San Diego, Julia and I both found new and exciting places to live for our last year as college students – a bit sad to close the book on our little home, but we absolutely couldn’t send Emily off without a proper celebration. A girls day spent getting mani pedi’s was such a treat and then we surprised her with a gathering of our best friends, because you can’t leave college without a graduation party!  Our night ended with a late night run to Dick’s Burgers (an absolute Seattle must-do), so you know that the night was a success.

Just a day later, my mom was arriving from Sacramento to help me pack up my little Subaru to get back to California for the summer. The start of my summer was definitely just as crazy as the rest of my summer – my mom and I powered our way down I-5 & 13 hours later we pulled into the driveway to be greeted by my dad and of course, two very happy puppies. Less than a day later, I was on a 5 AM flight to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to partake in the festivities of my cousin Peter’s wedding to the absolutely wonderful Caroline. With the beautiful backdrop of the Museum of Natural History, we toasted to the happy couple whilst adorable photos of the two went up on the screen. My cousins and I sang, danced and celebrated the night away – one of the best little reunions we’ve had this far! With all of us getting older, and me being the one of the youngest, we’ve got a lot more weddings coming up soon, so more reunions to come! We’re a crazy family, but there’s no doubt that I love them.

Soon after my arrival back to the West Coast, I was driving off to my first day of a summer internship with Food Literacy Center, a non-profit that aims at making food education a norm for children. I’ve always had an interest in the culinary world, hence my internship with this organization, but I never knew how much food education could change someone’s life. By the end of my short six week internship, I was choked up to see the light on a child’s face when they could identify the parts of a plant and hum in delight when they got to make guacamole or a sunflower butter sandwich. Of course there are numerous stories about my time with Food Literacy Center, but being that I’ve been terrible blogger for the past five months, I’ll start my posts with something that happened a bit more recently.

Five weeks ago, I embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. Thirty-seven days that would take me from the San Francisco International Airport across the world – experiencing five different countries, five different currencies & meeting up with my friends that are dotted all over the world. So, this is where I’ll begin, where the stories and travel notes from my adventures will make there way onto this blog. It’s been less than three days since I actually touched back down onto American soil, and I’m excited more than ever to go back through my notes from these travels.  Here’s to a new and fresh start with this blog and hopefully some good tips for anyone looking for how to do a solo trip around the world or simply some adventures to embark on.

Thank you all who take the time to read & I sure hope you enjoy the posts to come about these worldly adventures!

A New Start

Oops, I did it again. I’ve been having a hard time coming up with valuable content to post on this blog – because I’m almost certain that you don’t want to read ramblings about registration for classes or looking for new apartments. So, allow me to start again and hopefully have a better track record for keeping up with this lovely blog site once again.

After a round of finals that left me absolutely exhausted, I left the clouds to go back to sunny Sacramento for a week and a half of pure relaxation (aka spring break). What a difference 800 miles makes – I boarded that plane with a heavy coat on and walked off almost combusting from the 75-degree weather at 9 o’clock at night. Nonetheless, my California skin was itching to get back in the sunshine and regain some of the tan that I always lose during the school year in Seattle.

Spring break was full of celebration. You see, two of my good friends and I all celebrate our birthdays within 3 days of each other. And this year being the big 2-1 meant that our days would certainly not go unnoticed. I started my golden year (21 on the 21^st!) with a lovely and leisurely day in the Napa Valley with my buddies Catherine and Jocelyn, along with all of our parents. We popped a bottle of champagne for mimosas and then snacked on a delicious brunch spread of bagels and lox, salads, dips and so much more.

My father decided that we had to proclaim that we were all recent 21 year olds, hence the bright pink sashes that were rhinestone filled and conveniently lost in the back of the car on the way to the first wine tasting. Thanks dad, you sure do know how to make us feel like proper 21 ladies. The first stop was Frank Family Vineyards, where we weren’t even ID-checked (but that probably has to do with us celebrating with our parents in tow!)! After joking about all the subtle overtones we did definitively not taste, we took some group pictures and went a little further down Silverado Trail to Rombauer Vineyards.

The day was shaping out to be so beautiful, and when we pulled up the road to Rombauer, the views were stunning as well. Right on top of a hill overlooking their vineyards, their tasting room is seriously picturesque. A few cabernets later and we headed home with a convenient pit stop at Taylor’s Refresher, on the sideof Highway 29 (recently renamed as Gott’s Roadside – but I’ll forever call it Taylor’s)! Stuffed with burgers and sweet potato fries galore, we said goodbye to our little gaggle of friends and drove in to another California sunset on the way back to Sacramento.

What a wonderful 21^st birthday it was, and I couldn’t have asked for better people to celebrate it with. Hopefully, this quarter of school won’t leave me bombarded with schoolwork until the very last day so that I can keep posting little tidbits about my days spent up north. Happy Spring! Now go enjoy the outdoors!!

Thanksgiving: London Edition

Thanksgiving. That day where there’s the smell of a turkey roasting and family gathers from near and far, might just be my favorite. There’s something about the festive beginning to the holiday season…maybe it’s all the delicious food around, but I like to think that it’s the knowledge that you get to see your family every few weeks in the upcoming months. This year, I’m not surrounded by my incredible family members in the gorgeous Napa Valley – because I’m away in London on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. While I’m not there to tell my family what I am thankful for this year, I thought I’d put it in writing.

Every Thanksgiving I can remember starts with my dad and I up early and preparing the turkey to be put in the roaster while sipping on hot coffee or some tea. We usually spend a few nights up in St. Helena at our family home and have the chatter of family life going on all around us as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade blasts from the main room.  Sure I’m feeling a little homesick today, especially because I don’t get to be involved in the hub-bub of thanksgiving day, but this adventure I’ve been on for the last few months has been one I wouldn’t trade in for the world. Thanksgiving is all about recognizing what you’re thankful in life, because most of us don’t realize how good we have it until we’re forced to really think it through.

While I’m not with my amazing siblings this year, I’m extremely thankful for the relationship that we have and knowing that we’ll be together in just two short weeks. Nothing compares to the love of family. And specifically with siblings, there’s no one else I’d rather bicker with and then later make up with a hug and an ATV ride through the vineyard. It’s pretty silly to be sitting here in the library with a grin as wide as the ocean thinking about my family, but what can I say – I love them pretty dang much.

Not many people get the opportunity to move 5000 miles away to a new city in a new country and have the time of their lives. This adventure is everything and more I could have asked for. I’ve made friends I know will last a lifetime, memories that will never fade, and traveled to places I’ve only ever dreamed of. This may all sound cliché and cheesy, but I don’t know when else I can get away with putting my thankfulness in writing.  This little London family I’ve come to know will make it impossibly hard to leave my study abroad home, but I’m fortunate enough to know that I’ll be back to explore soon enough.

Speaking of adventure, I’m so amazed by the places the last three months have taken me. I could not have made it to the other side of the world to continue adventuring without the help of the other study abroad friends I’ve made here. This experience has gotten me out of my shell and made me realize that the great big world really isn’t all that big and hard to get to. The knowledge that the globe is filled with incredible places waiting to be experienced is one of the most major things I’ve taken out of this time. So thank you to the girls and guys that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and travel with – you’ve really made me feel a little bit more at home in great big London and I hope we travel to see each other when we’re back home in the states as well.

I came here completely alone, not knowing a single soul. It’s pretty amazing that I’ve had little to no homesickness and even crazier to think that in two short weeks, I’ll be reunited with my family. I know I talk about how much this adventure has truly meant to me a little too much, but I simply can’t recommend a study abroad experience enough. It’s changed the way that I view the world and view myself – knowing that I have what it takes to pack up and go exploring is some of the most liberating knowledge I gained from this. So, thank you Mom and Dad for giving me the experience of a lifetime – I’ll be forever grateful.

Knowing that I return home to the states in a few weeks makes me realize how amazing California is. I’m so thankful for the friends that have stuck with me through my crazy years and for the home I’ve made in Seattle.  To my Sacramento friends, I can’t wait to see you shortly and thank you for always being there to cheer me up.  To my Seattle friends, I can’t help but quiver in excitement for the reunion that comes so soon! That city on the Sound is near and dear to my heart, and I really can’t wait to be back in January.

The sun is setting soon on this study abroad experience, but as you can see I’ve had the time of my life. I’m sad to think that I have to leave this incredible city – it’s comforting to know that when I come back, I’ll have a little group of friends to visit and make some new memories with. Happy Thanksgiving to you where ever you are in this crazy world – have a double serving of pumpkin pie for me!

What are you thankful for this year?

Love,

Laura Reed

 

Western Ireland + Cliffs of Moher

I’m not so sure I agree with the list of the seven wonders of the world. Sure, the places listed are incredible and I truly hope to visit each and every one of them one day – but what defines wonder? The dictionary says “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unfamiliar, unexpected or inexplicable”.  If wonder is taken as in this definition, then finding a place that elicits these emotions must be pretty personal.  I’d say that there are a lot of places in my life that have caused me to feel full of admiration for nature.  At age 20, my list of wonder-full adventures is already lengthy, and this most recent trip to western Ireland certainly earned a spot on the growing archive.

It astounds me how rural parts of Ireland are. The drive to the other side of the country took us a mere three hours – you can’t even get across California in that amount of time.  Throughout the rainy drive, there were pastures of cows and sheep, small cottages and very little traffic on the roads; then again it was around 8 AM on Tuesday morning. Our first stop was to Kinvara, a small fishing town in Galway Bay.  This pit stop was only about 10 minutes long, because the town consisted of a few ships in the water, some closed shops and a little spread of houses in the surrounding fields. Regardless of the small amount of time we spent there, the views of the Atlantic Ocean were really beautiful. Clumps of seaweed floated along the coastline and a couple ships were sailing out to the ocean – this quiet, little town was full of wonder to me.

About twenty minutes further down the Atlantic Way are the ruins of Corcomroe Abbey.  When I think of ruins, I typically picture of old churches that are full of really old graves. This abbey was certainly old but some of the graves there were not from too long ago.  The collapsed ceiling and the aged stone was shining brightly from the cloud covered sun.  While walking around the abbey ruins, I found several little doors and windows that were so tiny and being ever-curious, I took it upon myself to climb through each and every one.

Our tour group was fairly small, just around 20 of us exploring around the ruins. There were pastures just outside the gate of the abbey, filled with rolling green fields and not much else. Again, these vistas were making me realize just how rural western Ireland truly is. After living in the bustling London city center for a month and a half, these rural towns were so refreshing to be in.  Getting away from the concrete jungle and finding a little bit of space in these towns.  Especially in the grey weather, the vibrant green of the hills was illuminated even brighter – Ireland kind of reminds me of Washington in a way.  It looks so beautiful in the dull weather that can sometimes drown a city.

We went driving down the Atlantic Way a bit further through the colorful Burren landscape. It’s known to be full of smaller versions of the ultimate destination, the Cliffs of Moher. Sure enough on our stop off in this area, I walked right out to the cliffs and sat down to witness the depth of the sheer cliffs. One of my favorite views was the waves continually crashing over the rocks sitting out of the water.  Salt water filled air is among one of the most refreshing feelings.  The mist that was being sprayed up along the cliffs made the cool wind more brisk, so the fifteen minutes spent outside of the bus was just enough.

The wind was whipping along the coast line when we arrived.  There were hills rising next to the ocean that were void of trees and littered with large boulders. In fact, Burren (or Boireann in Irish) means ‘great rock’ and this massive landscape spans 250 kilometers across Ireland. The glaciers that once dominated the landscape, around 10,000 years ago, are responsible for the rocky grounds and the large boulders the area is named after. It’s well known for having colorful flora and fauna – hues of red, green, yellow and blue sprinkled along the vast views.

After a lunch in the small town of Doolin, we made our way to the pinnacle of the day… the Cliffs of Moher! On my growing list of wonders, the impressive 700 foot cliffs along the Atlantic coastline certainly earned their spot.  The pictures don’t do nearly enough justice of this incredible view.  In a moment of true jaw-dropping astonishment, I hardly could speak. I’m even having trouble writing about this moment now, lost trying to find the right words so I can convey the sense of beauty I found in this place.  Alongside the fenced pathway sat a pasture of Irish cows; they really do live in a small slice of heaven.

What would a day on top of Ireland’s famous cliffs be without playing a joke or two? After climbing over the gate that conveniently had a plaque memorializing the people who have died over the side of the cliffs, we dangled our feet over the edge and I fell a little bit more in love with the enchanting area. No need for the heart attack, there was at least three feet of ledge underneath me before the 700 foot fall. Despite the gut-dropping feeling when you’re looking at some pretty sharp rocks that far below you, the view was absolutely incredible.

What places give you a feeling of incredible wonder?  Let me know in the comments below!

Lots of love,

Laura Reed

 

 

Weekend Trip: Dublin

It’s so strange having a fall break this early on in the semester. Of course, I’m used to the first break of the year including a big roast turkey and pumpkin pie.  With it being just the end of October, I guess a trip to Ireland will have to do.

Ireland has been on the top of my travel list for a very long time. I’ve always wanted to visit the land of four leaf clovers and green as far as the eye can see. Despite the stereotypical idea I had in my head of Ireland, the time I’ve spent here has lived up to every expectation I had regarding this trip.  Saturday morning had Hannah, Rebecca and I leaving Stamford Street for Heathrow Airport (at an ungodly hour for them, but just the morning for me).  The tube was empty and we actually got seats for the hour ride to Heathrow Airport. A quick breakfast at the cafe and then on to the airplane, jetting towards yet another adventure.

When we landed, we were so giddy with excitement and the customs officers were laughing at us as we cheered when another stamp marked our passports. We took the AirCoach bus to the city center of Dublin, for only 12 euro round trip – it was definitely easier on our wallets than the emergency taxi we took on our delayed Scotland flight. Hannah went running down the road when she spotted her friend and their reunion was so priceless…made for a movie, even. We had a great hot lunch at KC Peaches, across the road from Trinity College, before making our way to the area of Rathmines, where we were staying in a Travelodge hotel just across the road from Molly (Hannah’s friend from the states).

A much needed pick-me-up coffee was at TwoFiftySquare, a cute little cafe around the corner from our hotel in Rathmines. Although the flight to Dublin was only 50 minutes, any day of travel makes me more tired than usual, and we had a night at the pubs ahead of us.  Caffeine was an absolute must.  I was prepared for a bustling nightlife that resembled London – but Dublin has a much more relaxed pub life.  Sure there was the loud music, mingling groups and many “sláinte”s to drinks around the room, but it seemed more intimate and you were certainly able to simply talk with your friends if that was what you desired. On top of it all, the Irish guys were actual gentlemen – they were there to socialize and share a drink with their buddies (although that accent didn’t hurt much).  Fast forward to 1 AM, when Dublin had daylight savings and I became confused when I left to go back to the hotel at 1:40 but got back at 1:10 – definitely took a while to notice.

Come morning, I left the sleepy heads to their morning slumber and ventured for a walk into city center. I passed along St. Stpehen’s Green and Merrion Square as the parks were being unlocked and the city was waking up on the chilly Sunday morning.  There’s something so refreshing about walking around when nothing is quite open yet.  Seeing an area wake up teaches you a lot about the way it works – whether its busy or sleepy, young or family oriented. Dublin is so much smaller than London, in the height of the buildings, the amount of time it takes you to walk from one side to the other and the number of people living in it.

My friends joined up with me at Trinity College, after I had done some souvenir shopping up and down Grafton street.  We took a short walk to the Temple Bar area, which is a young and vibrant slice of Dublin, and crossed the Ha’Penny Bridge, that separates the north side of Dublin from the south. Much like everything in London, everything in Dublin is very old and has seen so much history pass by.  It’s still such a new concept for me to grasp – these bridges existed before the states had even declared independence… how strange.

We took a bus over to the Guinness Factory at St. James’ Gate. Founded in 1759, Arthur Guinness had such a large vision for his brewery that he signed a 9000 year lease for the land.  It was definitely worth the 14 euros to take a tour through the brewing process – the hops, barley, water and yeast that are used in crafting the perfect pint.  Speaking of crafting a pint, we went up the fourth floor after learning how to properly taste the qualities of Guinness to take a stab at pouring a pint at the Guinness Academy.  All three of us came out with a certificate…kind of reminds me of those participation trophies they hand out in recreation soccer; but no matter, because we did it!

The day ended with a dinner at Portside Pub in the temple bar area for a traditional Irish lamb stew in front of live music being played by what can only be described as a rock flutist. Like no kidding, live flute and rock music combined. I had no idea that genre of music even existed. For day one of our reading week trip, it was pretty darn good.

Little to our knowledge, we picked Ireland’s Bank Holiday weekend to come visit. Apparently the population of Dublin doubles during this weekend, as the marathon runs through city center and most of the smaller towns shut down for the day.  I spent a few hours in the morning catching up on some journaling in the cafe down the road and by the time I was caffeined up, the sleep head brigade was waking up and ready to go explore. We made our way back to Grafton street in search of Claddagh rings – traditionally worn as wedding bands symbolizing love, friendship and honor, and now more commonly worn.  It’s been an item on my list for a while; to purchase a Claddagh in Dublin – really can’t get more Irish than that.

With hot chocolates in hand, because dang Dublin is cold, we made our way through the Iveagh Gardens.   It was the perfect spot to spend some time outside when most of the shops were closed. There were a few statues throughout the park and locals were walking through with their dogs and enjoying the bank holiday outside.

For the first two days of our trip to Dublin, I would vote it as pretty successful. Dublin is an enchanting city – small yet busy.  Our trip continues with a day trip to Western Ireland, so keep an eye out for the update this weekend! Each trip I take makes me fall a little bit more in love with living abroad.  I’ve learned so much about what I want out of adventure from these 6 short weeks – hopefully it won’t be too long until I’m moving back a little more permanently.

 

Weekend Trip: Edinburgh

I know that it’s been 10 days since my last update, but the autumn weather that has landed in London has called for copious amounts of tea, working on essays and a new binge-watching marathon on Netflix. I’ve been snuggling in my blanket, constantly putting more water on to boil, researching memorials in Berlin and attempting several times to write this entry on my trip to Edinburgh.  So I’ll apologize for this being nearly a week late, but the break from the internet has felt absolutely lovely.  I know that there will be a time in my life when I look back at the journaling I did during my time abroad and be grateful, but this little break has been exactly what I needed to get my head straight with the adventurous times I’m having.

Train to shuttle to plane to taxi, we finally arrived at 48 London Street (a bit ironic, right?) in New Town Edinburgh for a weekends worth of exploring and touring.   We were welcomed by our landlord with a great tour of our little flat that was in walking distance to all the places on our to do list for the weekend. Edinburgh is a beautiful mix of historical and modern. It’s definitely a quaint little town that attracts a lot of tourists. I woke up in my lovely bedroom complete with a floor-to-ceiling window and fireplace and padded into the kitchen to turn on the kettle for a wake-me-up cup of tea. It was an enchanting feeling to have space to actually walk around while not leaving the tiny dorm room I’ve been living in.  I had a few too many cups of tea and when 9:30 rolled around, I woke up the sleepy travelers in the only way I know – I guess being the youngest child just teaches you the most effective way to say good morning.

After leisurely getting ready, we walked out our flat to the Bake Shop, a quaint shop that served us the much needed lattes, bowls of porridge and pain au chocolat.  We continued on our way through blue-skied Edinburgh past the Balmoral Hotel, Scott Monument, through the Princes Street Gardens and finally ending up at the Edinburgh Castle.  Apparently, it’s completely normal to have a 12th century castle towering above the city that is both small and widespread.  We made our way to the top viewing point of the castle grounds and were astonished with the ariel views of the little town on the bay.  About 10 years ago, my best friend visited Edinburgh and brought back a package of Castle Rock, a sweet chalky candy, as a souvenir – I obviously bought another pack to bring back those memories.

After the amazing views at the castle, we were a bit cold from the chilly autumn wind making it’s way in from the water. We walked along the Royal Mile that was full of cashmere shops, whiskey tasting rooms and beautiful churches like St. Giles Church.  I knew that bag pipes were Scottish, but was not prepared for the people playing on each corner in traditional kilts. I’m constantly in awe of the amount of history that the little British towns have – and I know it’s because I’m not used to walking past 15th century buildings that house the new cafes on each corner, but I thought after five weeks of living abroad, I’d be getting acclimated to all that the UK has to offer.  Definitely still amazed each day with what there is to explore.  As we continued walking, the wind finally reached our bones and led us back to our flat where we had a wee bit more of tea while watching the last night’s episode of X Factor.

  

A much needed break was in order after a day of touring and the day before filled with traveling. So post-nap, we got ourselves presentable enough to go up Broughton Street and find a small place for dinner. Perhaps our best decision of the night was crossing the street to Smoke Stack, a small pub-like atmosphere, that served me one of the top five dinners I have had in my entire life.  We laughed over a glass of wine, talking about the month of adventures we’d already had – yes mom, I’m legal here! – and when our steak and ale pies came out, I forgot how to talk while I had the first few bites.  It was heavenly. If you’re planning a trip to Edinburgh any time soon, you must pencil in Smoke Stack as a dinner spot, because it was such a wonderful dinner and the ambiance inside was incredible.

The next morning, my cold decided to turn up the dial a bit, so I slept in until 8:30 – whhhhaaattt?!?! I slept in! It’s a miracle! Instead of wasting the precious hours of daylight we had left, we opted for another morning at the Bake Shop for porridge. Before I head back to the states, I’ll be figuring out how they make porridge so velvety and delicious. Definitely a new favorite.  We walked over to the Royal Mile once again to pass towards Greyfriars where the famous Elephant House cafe is.  J.K. Rowling was living out of her car and visited this little cafe each day where she eventually conceived the idea for her multi-million dollar series Harry Potter.  The graveyard next to the cafe was closed, but apparently there is an actual tombstone there for Tom Riddle, where she got the inspiration for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself.

The day was coming to an end and our hours in Scotland were ticking down, so we decided to walk back to New Town and climb up to Calton Hill. Although it’s not the tallest of the seven hills in Edinburgh, you get a spectacular view over the city and of the tallest hill, Arthur’s Seat.  The monuments on top of the hill are so interesting – we climbed atop the acropolis looking towers to get the highest view of the town we could. I will definitely be visiting this town again, because there is loads more to explore and see.

With our bags packed once again, we waited for our taxi to take us back to the airport.  Once we got through security, we had the greatest surprise – a delayed flight until 1 in the morning!  Four hours later, we were finally leaving out of Edinburgh and craving the tiny single beds back in our dorms. If you’ve ever been curious, Gatwick airport is really empty at 3 in the morning. Luckily, we had it on our minds to book a taxi to be waiting when we landed and what a welcome sight it was to have “Laura Heck” written on a name board as we groggily walked into arrivals.  Another hour later, I was quietly unlocking my door and falling asleep almost instantaneously after the long, long night of delays. I’m having my first weekend actually in London this time round and I’m so excited to have a proper morning of sleeping in (well as late as my biological clock actually will let me sleep in).  In just a week, I’ll be heading to Dublin for a few nights of exploring and crossing off another bucket list item, so if you have any tips – leave them in the comments below! For now, I’ll go back to dreaming of the morning light coming through my beautiful Edinburgh window with a cup of tea in hand as I plan my next trip.

Lots of love,

Laura Reed

 

Day Trip: Windsor, Bath & Stonehenge

I’m not usually one to take the tours that make you stand out as the ultimate tourist, because half the fun of traveling is to fit into the local lifestyle, right?  This weekend, I gave into the tourist desires and took off on a day trip to Windsor Castle, the city of Bath and Stonehenge.  At 7:30 AM, I met up with four other study abroad students from the US and we started our walk over to Charing Cross where we would catch the tour.  After some troubles with getting our ticket, we were scurrying across the Hungerford Bridge and praying we would be able to snag a coffee somewhere along the line, because it was just too dang early for the speed we were going.

With a hot coffee in hand, our tour started towards Windsor Castle and the famous private school, Eton.  It was a thirty minute ride and our overwhelmingly enthusiastic tour guide, Graham, filled the time with fun facts about the area.  Did you know that 93% of the current Parliament attended Eton? And the reason the Union Jack flies at all times on the castles is due to the day Princess Diana died?  It used to be that the royal flag was only flown when the Queen was in residence, so there was no flag to fly at half mast when the public heard the news. Now the Union Jack flies constantly, in case there is ever another tragedy.

We didn’t buy admission to the actual castle, so Hannah, Rebecca, Elena, Westley & I found ourselves in a pub at 11 AM with mimosas as the rain came down.  Around noon, we had to make our way back to the bus through the torrential downpour for the next leg of the tour.  Due to the storm, Graham decided to change our route so that we would see Stonehenge with clear skies – off to the city of Bath we went! It was a two hour journey west and the most beautiful scenery of the English countryside passed by.  As we came into the Cotswolds region, I was astounded by the views – I don’t think it gets much better than the countryside. I can imagine moving to this area with a small house outside of the city and a running a little bakery in the town – whoops, sorry for the daydream.

In Bath, we first went to the Roman Baths which were built upon a old hot spring that had healing qualities (it cured an Irish prince of leprosy but I was trying to avoid thinking about that… because EW).  The main pool was green from the minerals, but it was so interesting seeing the steam rolling along the top.  A quick walk through was enough for us, so we went exploring into the city streets.  Bath is a very small town, but it has a great combination of modern stores and the quaint countryside shops you would expect.  The Bath Abbey was hauntingly beautiful. The moment I walked in, I was awestruck by the vaulted ceiling with a canopy design.  Churches hold so much history – there were headstones along the walls that told of the many people buried around the Abbey dating all the way back to the 1600s.

As we approached the Salisbury Plain, we saw the Westbury White Horse – during the Dark Ages, ancient people dug into the soil to create a picture of a horse and due to the chalky ground, it is visible from miles away (google it and you’ll be amazed).  It is now maintained by the English Heritage Council. Finally, we made it to the Stonehenge visitors center, where we boarded another bus that would take us up the actual historical landmark.

Walking up to 5000 years of history is not something I do on the daily basis, obviously, so as we approached Stonehenge I tried to think of all the things these rocks had seen. It is not exactly clear why the actual Stonehenge was built, however with the new technology they have found that the rocks came from up to 130 miles away around 4000 years ago.  The Roman philosopher Tacitus was the first to document this strange landmark as a temple to the sun.  Modern historians now believe it was constructed as a temple to the moon during the time when the United Kingdom was connected to Scandinavia by glaciers.

After an 11 hour day, I was back in my tiny dorm exhausted from a day of traveling and was beginning to feel the cold that I’ve been sleeping off this week.  This day trip was so worth the embarrassment of being a true tourist because of how much we accomplished in the short time we were out.  In the words of our tour guide, it was a “lovely jubbly diddly die tip top pop” day!

Notting Hill & Kensington

This week, my body has finally decided to give into the three weeks of travel and exploration with a nice cold. I’ve been walking to new neighborhoods each day and planning future weekend trips with such excitement, I kind of forgot that bodies need sleep and relaxation every once in a while. Waking up on a Sunday morning with a nasty head cold calls for only one thing – lots and lots of tea. Anyway, enough with the sick talk – on to my wonderful day spent walking around Notting Hill and Kensington.

Luckily for me, just as the homesickness/what-am-I-doing-in-this-far-from-home-for-three-months freak out happened, I was seeing someone from my home town the very next morning.  Sharing a nice farm-to-fork breakfast and not having to explain where I’m from made me feel rejuvenated and excited to continue exploring.  Daylesford farm shop is a wonderful Slow Food Movement approved spot with the freshest of juices and menu items.  I went for a chia bircher (my new found breakfast item love) and a B-Vibrant juice of carrot, ginger, celery and orange. Tasty stuff, I’m telling you.

My hometown friend left for work at Whole Foods – the world’s largest and amazing location – and I continued to explore the lovely Notting Hill.  Portobello Road is an amazing antique store filled spot and among the tourist souvenirs are the greatest finds.  I found the Portobello Print & Map Shop that had extremely rare maps from all over the world.  I was so tempted to buy one of the United Kingdom to frame for my apartment back home, but couldn’t find the perfect one to spend one hundred pounds on.  The quaint restaurants and cafes that fill this area are enchanting and exactly the image I had of Notting Hill, thanks to the movies I’ve seen.

If I hadn’t already had a killer cup of juice at Daylesford, this little stand on Portobello Road would have stolen my heart and tastebuds with fresh juice squeezed right in front of you.  Among little booths like this was the coolest pub on the corner (pictured above). For a few minutes I was trying to figure out if it was an art installation or something, with it’s plant covered walls – nope, just a wonderful little pub! Definitely putting that on my list for future explorations!

Notting Hill and Kensington are full of the most wonderful rows of homes. If I post enough pictures of this area, will I get to live here some day? Maybe just a little bit of wishful thinking? London and the UK in general have already stolen my heart. I’m planning for the day when I get to move back here and open a nice little bakery…what a life that would be.

Just a two minute walk from the Whole Foods on Kensington High Street is the breathtaking home of the royals – Kensington Palace.  It’s beautifully landscaped (duh) and on the sunny afternoon, the grounds were filled with locals and tourists sitting down for picnics.  I took the liberty of exploring the grounds for an hour or two and purchased a little souvenir tin of the “palace approved” tea.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over how many neat things there are just a twenty minute walk from my temporary home.  It’s really intriguing to hear the locals take on a Royal Family – there are definitely those who enjoy the tradition of it, and some who really dislike their position in society completely decided on their bloodline.  Most of all, the tourists are far more interested in their palaces and royal lifestyle than the locals – but you can’t blame us, we don’t see this everyday!

Three weeks in and with a cold brewing, tea is all I can hope for.  The fall weather is here and my sweaters are being pulled out of the closet – so time to hunker down for the ‘study’ part of studying abroad.  I had a wonderful time exploring this new area, and there are definitely trips planned for the weekends ahead, but the top of my list includes a nice little nap and some Netflix to get me back to a healthy state!

Weekend Trip: Oktoberfest

Being in London for three months is already amazing enough because of the historic sights within the beautiful British city – but it’s amazing how far you can get with an afternoon flight out of Heathrow.  I took a weekend trip to Munich, Germany for the famous and traditional celebration of Oktoberfest. It’s crazy that in just two and a half hours of flying (with some horrible delays, but I’ll get to that later), I was in a completely different area of the world. After a rude awakening at 5 AM due to a fire alarm being set off in our dorm – I was up and trekking through the congested and crowded Waterloo station, on my way to Heathrow Airport. Despite the sardine-can-like tube I was on, the 5 Pound trip was much better than splurging on a taxi all the way there.

We had a few delays out of London because of planes arriving late, but finally made it to Düsseldorf, Germany where I was to catch a connecting flight to Munich.  Of course, that couldn’t go off without a hitch, so we ended up on the runway for an hour, making us land way past our estimated arrival time.  This usually wouldn’t be an issue, but I was meeting my Seattle friend who was coming in from Amsterdam.  Let’s just say that after a few panicky conversations with the information desk, we finally found each other and we learned some international travel lessons. Whew! We made it and were so excited to see each other after a summer spent in different states and catch up on all the things that had happened.

When we got to our apartment complex, we were greeted by our German roommates who we found on AirBNB.  Our room was exactly as it looked on the website and we had a nice little balcony off the kitchen.  The room was great and actually quite big, definitely a nice change from the small dorm room I’ve grown accustomed to in London. The best part about our new little room, was the proximity to the Oktoberfest grounds – only a short ten minute walk with a conveniently placed coffee and pastry shop on the way. If I thought that reading a few blog posts and travel tips about Oktoberfest gave me a good idea of what this weekend was to hold, then I was massively wrong.

Oktoberfest is something completely different than anything I’ve ever experienced.  It’s a bit like a state fair on steroids. There were rides galore and souvenir booths with immensely cheesy beer related memorabilia.  Let’s get one thing out there though – who ever thought that serving massive steins of beer and then promoting roller coasters was a good idea? Just walking around the venue, you definitely saw your fair share of those who had been less than lucky with that combination.

It’s incredible seeing how dedicated people are to get into their favorite beer tent. And by tent I mean an actual building, fully furnished with actual decorations.  People arrived at 7 AM to get a spot at their desired tent, and while we only arrived around 10 AM – we were just fine in getting our pick of the venues.  My friend and I visited the traditional Hofbräu tent where they had chandeliers made from hops and an incredible band playing dressed in lederhosen. The beer waitresses walked around holding up to twelve steins, impressing us all with their brute strength and concentration on not spilling.

These rides were just a few of the more mild ones seen there. There was a large population of young families dressed in the traditional outfits, so these rides made sense for them since they obviously would not be taking their five year olds into the beer tents.  The atmosphere around Theresienwiese was celebratory and full of tens of different accents and languages around, listening and chanting along to the classic German songs.

The last time I was in Munich was around 12 years ago, on my very first trip to Europe with my immediate family and grandparents. I wanted to find the Eden Hotel Wolff, where we stayed during our trip there all those years ago, and it just so happened to be right near one of the spots where we ended up for dinner. Memories came flooding back of being in the actual Hofbräuhaus in central Munich and being so overwhelmed at 8 years old, that we changed locations to the Hard Rock Cafe just across the street. It was extremely surreal reliving part of the trip that has fueled my insatiable thirst for travel. So, even though this hotel brought me back to a memory from 12 years ago, I just want to say a thank you to my grandparents who showed us the world at such a young age – it has made all the difference.

We had a stein of beer, ate a bratwurst, bought corny and hilarious souvenirs and ultimately crossed one more thing off my very long bucket list. It was a quick 48 hours, but the experience was worth every ounce of stress from traveling internationally alone.  I may not get back to Oktoberfest any time soon, but hopefully there will be another time in my life where I’m able to come back and see this celebration once again.

Shoreditch & Spitalfields

So far, I’m two weeks into my time in London and I’m making a promise to myself now – I will explore a different area of London each week on my day off from university.  And by putting this promise out there, I’m hoping you readers hold me accountable to that, since I don’t want to come home regretting not exploring my area enough. This week, my University of Washington adventure buddy, Westley, and I decided to catch the tube to Shoreditch in East London for an afternoon of walking around and hopefully not spending too much – I guess my wallet is just on a diet? Losing a few pounds every day… (that was horrendous, so sorry)!

We ended up in the Indian and Pakistani neighborhood of London and regardless of the directions I had, we weren’t stumbling across the promised vintage shops.  After a few misguided turns, we found the entrance to Old Spitalfields Market – an open square with vendors selling cheap goods and vintage designs. It was as if we stepped into a heaven of fun and interesting shops beckoning us with their window displays. We decided to try out the Wagamamas (Asian-fusion deliciousness) on the balcony of the market which gave us an ariel view of all the shops and let us plan our afternoon shopping.

Back in the States, there’s a store called All Saints that sells the absolute best leather jackets along with so many other chic items – and the only issue being that they are ridiculously expensive.  In short, I’m obsessed with this brand.  When we came across the All Saints in Spitalfields, we learned that it was the flagship store and that the lead designer was just downstairs working on a few products. I was stunned and eventually depressed when the trying on all the amazing clothing and realizing I just don’t have the funds for these additions to my wardrobe.  One day, one day, All Saints I will own your merchandise.

 

I’m constantly impressed with the historic buildings at each corner around London and then all of a sudden, the modern buildings are placed right next to them.  It’s really beautiful to see two different architectures up against each other, somehow educating you of the past and present simultaneously. Shoreditch is full of intersections like this, there are so many beautiful shops and old landmarks and randomly you’ll see a modern building from the next neighborhood at the end of a street. 

There’s no doubt that the United Kingdom is well known for their tea – and I love having a good cup before bed…but I miss coffee. It’s so expensive here and rare to find actual ground coffee in a grocery store so you can make it yourself! Enough with the rant – in Shoreditch there was this amazingly modern cafe called Brooklyn Coffee that reminded me of (and made me tremendously miss) my New Yorker sister and the fun times I’ve had traveling there as well. And it was a welcome site to have a latte in hand as I roamed the streets of East London.

If you’re into a younger feeling in a neighborhood, Shoreditch has that along with artistic graffiti on the streets near the tube stop, Spitalfields Market for the cheap and funky goods, the vintage market open Thursday through Sunday for all the your retro desires. There are loads of book stores, record shops and quirky house stores along the streets – so basically a trap for anyone with a few pounds in their wallet, since it’s impossible to leave without having done some shopping. Even though we were only 8 stops away from Central London and our campus, the differences in the neighborhoods are fantastic to see and explore.

Any suggestions or recommendations for which neighborhood of London I should explore next?

Until next time,

Laura Reed