Hello! I hope you all are well! Please update me on your lives!
This past weekend we went to London and Scotland. I had a fabulous time! The week leading up to this trip was nothing special. I caught up on some reading and we all got together and planned out what we were doing this weekend. Katie and I also booked our flight to Paris and our flight home from Eindhoven, Netherlands for the weekend of Oct 29-31. We're going to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam! So pumped :)
Thursday was Arthor's Day, founder of Guiness. Although we didn't get to celebrate too much, I did grab a Guiness at McSwiggans before we left town. McSwiggans was pretty poppin, but down in Eyre Square and on Shops St/Quays St, things were really going down. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to get lost in the massive mobs of people, but London was waiting! Our flight to London left at 6:30 am from Shannon, so we had to head to Shannon Thurs night and get a hotel room so we could be at the airport by 4 am.
The hotel was pretty gross. The room was for 3 people, and there were 5 of us....so Michelle and I snuck into the hotel after the other 3 had checked in. We were supposed to have 2 beds, but the original room only had 1...so Jessica got them switched. Our new room had two beds, and then I volunteered to push together sofa cushions and sleep on the floor. There was dust and spiderwebs everywhere....and to top it off, there was a HUGE spider in the bath tub. A few of the girls wanted showers, but they were too sceeved out by the spider, and wouldn't get rid of it. So I grabbed a glass, trapped the spider, and flushed it down the toilet...well attempted too. It didn't flush, and ended up swimming in the toilet bowl until it drowned. Super scuzzy. Anyways, we crashed and had a 3:25 am wake up call (how lovely). The taxi picked us up at 3:50 from the hotel and took us to the airport. Our flight departed at 6:30, got into London Stansted around 7:45, and we took a connecting bus to central london (Victoria Station), which got in around 9.
Here starts the London adventure! We wandered around the station and got some breakfast and found a tourist info station where we got tickets for a Hop on Hop off bus tour for 24 pounds. A little pricey, but worth it because we would have definitely gotten lost trying to walk, and we wouldn't have seen all that we did. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, which was flooded with mobs of people because we got there as the Changing of the Guards ceremony was taking place. The guards are now behind the gate so you can't go take pictures with them anymore =( We didn't go inside the palace, but got a good glimpse of the outside.
The next stop was at the Westminster Abbey and Parliament areas. Big Ben was also down here too. Parliament was beautiful! We didn't go inside, but we did walk around the premises. The architecture was so detailed, and the building glowed at night (as you will see in a few moments).
The next stop was Westminster Abbey, which is one of my favorite buildings I have ever been in. It cost 12 pounds to go inside, and I was contemplating whether I should or not, but I bit the bullet and paid. The outside is also quite beautiful, but once you go inside, you are blown away by beauty! We weren't allowed to take pictures in the inside, so I bought a few postcards to document the trip. They gave us individual audio guides that took you through different parts of the Abbey and gave in depth explanations. I must admit, it held my attention, and I learned a lot. Not only is this the royal church where cornation after cornation have taken place, but it is also the burrial grounds for many of England's kings and queens, along with famous authors and poets.
We also got a good glimpse of Big Ben here, and yes, it was everything I've ever imagined. He was tall, very recognizable, and you could see him from many areas of the city. And OH, I did not know this...but this area where Parliament, Westminster, and Big Ben are in the city of Westminster...the city of London is actually next door. I thought they were all one, but nope!
We then ate lunch at the Zen Cafe along the Southbank of the River Thammes. The London Eye was also down here, but I'll tell about that in a few :) We hopped on the bus and headed towards the city of London and stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral. This cathedral is very well known, and it is also another architectural beauty. However, we had to pay to go inside the cathedral, so we didn't go. We went in as far as the ticket booth, and it gave us enough insight to see that this was a magnificant cathedral. The whiteness with gold trim was stunning.
After this we hopped back on the bus and saw some more of the city and its sights. We passed many monuments, and one in particular being the monument of the Great Fire. If the monument falls, it would point to the exact bakery shop that the Great Fire actually started. I thought that was pretty interesting. We also passed Tower Bridge, the most famous bridge in London. We hopped off at the Tower of London and grabbed some ice cream from Piccadilly Whip. Some remains of the old wall were across from us, and it looked really out of place. We also saw a mouse running in and out of the bushes, and Michelle made quick friends with it. We wanted to go inside the Tower of London (one of the most famous buildings on the planet, and scariest), but by the time we got there it would have closed within the hour, and it wasn't worth it to pay the 20 pounds to get in. So we took some pictures around the outside and found a good spot along the river with a good view of the Tower Bridge to take a break.
Our next stop was Shakespear's Globe Theater. We wanted to go in here and take a tour, but there was a show going on. We walked around the back of the Globe and along the river before catching our next bus.
We then headed towards Trafalgar Square in the Covent Garden to see what was going on there. We didn't have time to check out the National Gallery, and by the time we got there, it was closed anyways. However, there was a Malaysian Festival going on in the square. We quickly left and found a restaurant nearby called Garfunkels for dinner. It was so cold and windy out that I didn't care where we ate, as long as it was inside. It had also been raining off and on all day, which didn't help the cold factor. After dinner, we headed back towards where we ate for lunch to ride the London Eye, which is the largest ferris wheel in the world. The ride lasts for 25 minutes, and each little compartment holds 25 people. It cost 17 pounds to ride, which was a little steep, but I bit the bullet again and went on. Katie, Jessica, and I went on at night, and the city was so pretty all lit up. We saw the city from many angles, and we snapped a few good shots.
After the Eye we headed towards the bus station to catch our overnight bus to Glasgow at 11:45. We had a fun-filled day in London, and saw many things for the short amount of time we were there. I took Advil PM and slept through the entire bus ride to Glasgow, which arrived at 8 am. We got off the bus and got some breakfast and explored the little city. We saw the city hall and the city's cathedral, which was stunning, and definitely my favorite part of Glasgow.
We then went back to the bus station to catch the bus that went from Glasgow to Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland. The bus ride lasted about an hour and we arrived in Edinburgh around 1 pm. The town has two sections...New Town and Old Town. New Town is a bit more modern and is fully loaded with shops of all sorts. Old Town is well, older, and includes all the historical sights, such as the Castle and Palace. The bus dropped us off in New Town and we crossed the Waverly Bridge into Old Town, where our hostel was located. The hostel was actually in a really nice location, right on the Royal Mile, which was the stretch of road that connected the castle and palace. Some of the girls wanted to take a nap and shower, but I wanted to get sightseeing, as there was much to see with such little time. So I offered to split up from them and meet them later, but they ended up coming with.
Our first stop was the Edinburgh Castle, which was located up on a hill in the center of Old Town. The castle also offered many great views of New and Old Towns. It was pretty cool, but not the most extravagant castle I've ever seen. However, there was a room that housed the crown jewels of Scotland, which was quite a sight. I can't believe how well preserved they were! Unfortunately, the room was guarded and we couldn't take pictures of the jewels.
Along the way we passed many old buildings and St. Gile's Cathedral.
After that we hit up some souvenier shops and headed towards the Holyroodhouse Palace, which is the royal residence of the Queen when she is in Scotland. We couldn't go in because it was closed, but I did sneak some good pictures of the outside.
Right by the Holyroodhouse Palace is a giant mountain called Arthur's Seat. You can climb this mountain and get fabulous views of the city. We saved this to do Sunday morning. After walking along the Royal Mile we ate at World's End, which was actually beside the hostel. It was a quaint little restaurant and bar, and we waited at the bar for about a half hour and of course got some Bulmers (my favorite). I got Steak & Ale pie, which was basically beef pot pie...sooo yummy! For dessert Jess and I got a brownie and ice cream, which was in pie form. We headed back to the hostel and got a good nights rest.
We woke up at 7:30 am and grabbed some breakfast and headed towards Arthur's Seat. It didn't look steep from the bottom, but wow, we were decieved. Once we got up the mountain we had some FABULOUS views of the city, bay, and mountains. Soooo Pretty! We stayed up there for a while and enjoyed the views before coming down.
After Arthur's Seat we headed back down and went to Waverly Station to catch a bus to the airport. The plane departed at 1:20, and we arrived in Shannon at 2:25. We caught a bus back to Galway, and walked through the end of the Oyster Festival (disgusting).
Edinburgh was so beautiful, and definitely my most favorite city I've been too. I would love to go back soon! :)
Tonight is Trad on the Prom, which is a live traditional Irish music and dance show. Ann, our coordinater, is picking us up at 8:30, so this should be a good night. Katie and I are also making baked mac & cheese for dinner tonight. Our Italian roommates have never had mac n cheese, so we thought we'd enlighten them. Otherwise, not much is going on this week. I have to catch up on some school work, so that's always fun. Brenda's coming Friday and I'm super excited!!! We're going to Dublin this weekend :)
I'll update soon!
LoveLoveLove,
Christy
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