Week Seven: a visit with the Scots

Arthur's Seat

Elephant House

Calton Hill 

On more or less a whim, I found myself exploring the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, this past Monday-Wednesday. The English department decided to grace us with an independent study week, so I felt that it was only appropriate that I took advantage of the opportunity and see a bit more of the UK (Scotland is part of the UK, but separate from England). After scrambling together a few other international students, (Noah, Ashley, and Tiago) we were off for the two and a half hour train ride up to visit the Scots.

Upon arrival we did not waste anytime starting our adventures. We checked into our amazing hostel, The Castle Rock Hostel, and headed off to the Elephant House for lunch. For those of you non-Harry-Potter-fanatics out there, this place is famous for being the birthplace of Harry Potter because Rowling wrote it there, way back in the day before she could even afford to buy paper. The food, tea, and overall vibe of the place was awesome, but we didn’t linger too long… off to Arthur’s seat!

Arthur’s seat is a dormant volcano that was carved out by ice age glaciers so that it is a very steep, yet very beautiful hike up to the top where there is the best view of the city. After endless stone stairs (yes, even more than CSUSM), we reached the breathtaking top. We sat and enjoyed the view for a while, and were then driven back down the hill by the sinking sun and blustery winds. Now the question remained, what were we going to do tonight? Ashley really wanted to do a ghost tour, but a friend of ours had also told us about a highly recommended pub-crawl. To pub-crawl or not to pub-crawl.

To pub-crawl is of course the answer! While Tiago and Ashley decided to go on the ghost tour, Noah and I opted for the crawl…obvi. The crawl met at The Bank Bar in town, and then went around to four other pubs, and ended in a nightclub. There were overall about twenty participants, a good majority of them being highly intoxicated Ecuadorian teenagers. However, we did meet a really cool couple Jon and Grace from Australia who were working in London and on holiday. Over the course of four hours we made our way to an Australian themed bar, an open mic night bar, a hostel’s bar (famous for the jagger bomb dominos), Frankenstein’s bar, and finally a nightclub, receiving discounts and free shooters all the way. All in all it was definitely a good night.

The following day we went on a three-hour walking tour of the city. I know, it sounds painfully awful, but it was by far one of my favorite things. We had a very entertaining and charismatic guide that took us all throughout Edinburgh, teaching us the origins of various monuments, locations, and historical sights. We even got to see the building that inspired Rowling’s Hogwarts, heard the tale of Maggie Dickinson who inspired Nearly Headless Nick, and visited the graveyard where there is actually a Tom Riddle buried there. Although it was three hours long, I didn’t even find that I was bored or tired at the end. The tour offered us an inside look at the beautiful city and was also extremely interesting. Five stars to New Europe Tours. Onward!

The rest of the day was spent in the Scottish National Museum, home to mummies, ancient artifacts, a T-Rex skeleton, a space exhibit, and even Dolly the sheep: the first ever clone stuffed for all to see. Needless to say, we spent a good couple of hours getting lost in the various exhibitions, but eventually made our way to Henderson’s for some delectable vegetarian curry and frozen honey cheese cake. Mmmmm J We stayed in the hostel that night, but it was anything but dull. Noah described the Castle Rock as a “hipster’s dream”. Everywhere you looked were funky painting, suits of armor, various lounges like the posh lounge complete with a baby grand piano and cozy fireplace or the record lounge where you can just relax while listening to some good old vinyl, themed rooms (Scottish clans, Virgin room, Latin room…), and a great bunch of people. We enjoyed a cheesy 90s movie, popcorn, and good company and we were off to some much needed sleep.

Our final day in Edinburgh began with a trip to the St. Guiles Cathedral located on the Royal Mile (the old town city center). Here we found ourselves gazing into the seemingly endless panels of remarkable stain glass, intricate carvings, and one massive organ. After sneaking a few pictures, we headed off toward the National Gallery. By this time it was only about noon, and with nothing else planned for the trip we decided to all go off on our own adventures after spending our desired time in the gallery. I thought that I would be in and out of the gallery, but I found myself in there for a substantial two hours, in awe of the enormous paintings and the stories behind them. Now off to my own little adventure…

I began to mosey along Prince’s Street (lots of shopping), and found that I left my map and all touristy pamphlets in my suitcase. Fabulous. With no real idea of where I was headed, I started walking through the new town and off toward a group of columns up on a hillside a ways away. Eventually I made it to what I discovered was Calton Hill Park where I spent the majority of the day walking a few trails, befriending a calico, and gazing up at monuments. As my legs and stomach grew impatient, I headed first to Victoria Gardens to enjoy the sun and people watching, and then off to The Elephant House for lunch.

I couldn’t resist not visiting the place where my obsession was created one more time. I went even one step further and wrote a nice little journal entry on one of their napkins to complete my nerdy cliché fantasy. I then enjoyed my veggie chili in the company of a very nice German girl who was looking at potential colleges, and concluded my own little day of exploration. Before we bid farewell to Scotland, we made one last little trip to the Castle that was right in front of our hostel, hence the name Castle Rock. And alas, it was time to head back to the dreary reality and rains of Preston until I venture out to Paris Friday J

Week Six: Hoi! Welkom in Holland

Zaanse Schans

Twiske

Amsterdam

Hoi! Welkom in Holland! Translation Hi! Welcome to Holland: The land of fairy tale villages, wooden clogs, luscious green landscapes, the Red Light District, coffee shops, breathtaking architecture, and serene canals that line just about every other street. If you haven’t already put two and two together, I spent this past weekend in the Netherlands. (For those of you not so geographically gifted, Holland and the Netherlands is the same thing and Amsterdam is the capital.) I traveled with Tori, and we stayed with her boyfriend’s (Harold) family in a quaint little village called Oostzaan, just a quick ferry ride out of the red lights, confused Asian tourists, and city buzz of Amsterdam. Staying in Harold’s village was the perfect balance of spending the day out and about in the city and then coming home and waking up to the peaceful canal right outside the window. But now I am getting too far ahead of myself, back to the beginning.

Thursday morning started off not so bright, and far too early as Tori and I made the trek over to the train station in the grueling Preston weather. After one drowsy train ride and some pesky airport security, we were off and flying with KLM: destination Amsterdam. When we arrived my mood instantly went from tired don’t bother me teenager, to kid in a candy store. We were immediately warmly welcomed with smiles and European kisses from Harold’s parents (Nynke and Herman), probably the nicest people I have met since being abroad. I was in awe and shock of all the signs in Dutch and the variety of languages coming at me from every direction. We grabbed a quick sandwich and headed off to Zaanse Schans, a small touristy village complete with all original homes, towering windmills, tiny candy shops, a cheese factory, a wooden clog factory, and plenty of ethereal fields and gardens.

Zaanse Schans was gorgeous, not to mention the sun was out so that was a definite bonus. We made our rounds through all the little shops, stopped and watched a clog be made in about five minutes, went into a windmill, and finally stopped in heaven… aka the cheese factory. Now, I’m not really even a huge cheese fan, but this stuff was absolutely delectable. They had hot and spicy, pesto, garlic and herb, young, aged, smoked, goat, cow, you name it they had it made there fresh. Nynke surprised us later with some garlic and herb cheese to take home, yumm. Nynke didn’t stop feeding us there either… being a classic mom she put food in front of us faster than we could make it disappear: pasta, rice, tiramisu, cheese, crackers, wine, tea, and the list goes on. Although we didn’t see much of Nynke and Herman the next few days, it was so nice and relaxing being in a home with a family again opposed to my dingy little dorm room.

 We had a nice lazy morning, and eventually headed of too Amsterdam in the afternoon. It was gorgeous. We took a ferry into town and were immediately in the hub of it all. There were vendors, packed streets, and gorgeous buildings. I saw a massive building thinking it was a museum of some sorts and Harold informed me that it was the shopping mall… a little nicer than the Westfield I must admit.  We wandered through town as Harold, our personal tour guide, pointed out various squares, good places to eat, one of the Queen’s castles, and much much more. In addition to the beautiful architecture, I think one of the most enchanting things about Amsterdam is that a series of canals run through all ends of the city. They are lined with nice little benches to sit on and watch as the tiny boats mosey on by, and picturesque bridges that light up at night and glisten on the water—amazing.

After we got tired from the typical sight seeing, we ventured off to Vondel Park to sit back, relax, and enjoy the day. The park was just as awesome as the city itself. It had big open lawns, statues, towering trees, and tons of people out enjoying the weather. We laid back and relaxed, had a little picnic, and enjoyed some very entertaining people watching—a man doing meditation hula hooping, sporting tie-dye pants and a fishnet shirt to top it all off… interesting. From there we ventured off to a smaller version of one of the US’s little Italies for some tasty, and reasonably priced calzones. By that time the sun was setting so we made our way over to the ever so infamous Red Light District.

Seeing as I had heard a decent amount about the Red Light District before I went, it really wasn’t all that shocking to me. One thing that did catch me off guard was when I was trying to take a picture to capture the fact that is really is lit up by both glowing florescent red lights that line the shops and alleyways, Harold informed me that I couldn’t take picture in a few more feet because if a prostitute was in one the pimp would get mad at me. Needless to say I put my camera away after that. We did a bit of walking around and saw our fair share of “adult” shops. Down the alleyways there were all the girls in the windows and it was a tad bit on the uncomfortable side. I actually felt really bad for them. We finished off the night in a coffee shop, The Dolphins, which was completely decorated as if it was underwater with detailed murals on the walls and coral coming from the ceiling. It was a very nice and relaxing way to end a long day of sight seeing.

On Saturday we made the decision to head into Amsterdam a little later in the day, and spend some time seeing some less touristy parts of Holland. Seeing as everyone rides bikes, we rode our bikes through the village and into the Twiske, which is like a big park or reserve. We rode our bikes through a good portion of it, taking in all the greenery and nature. On the way back we rode through another little village, which was the epitome of picture perfect: clear skies, tiny homes with kids playing outside, tractors crossing the road and heading into the fields, canals with floating lily pads… After we got our nature fix for the day we headed into Amsterdam for a second time and explored the West end a bit more, seeing more sights such as the Anne Frank house, and ending up back in the city center. Exhausted from all the walking we treated ourselves to a nice beer and appetizers out on one of the terraces in Rembrandt square. It was wonderful.

Our travels ended with one last hoorah at Harold’s friend’s birthday party. It was hosted in his in a party-venue type tent in his backyard complete with fully stocked mini fridges, snacks, awesome lighting, and good company. Most everyone spoke English, but it really made me aware of how many more languages other cultures know in comparison to us. We met tons of really cool people and had a great night, which eventually ended with some tea and cookies back at Harold’s house. Needless to say Sunday morning came far too early. Staying in a home with someone who knew the area truly made my trip to Amsterdam feel like a real vacation, void of the stresses that come along with travel. Amsterdam is most definitely a city I plan on making my way back to sometime in the future but until then, tot ziens!

Week Five: Stepping out of my comfort zone and into karaoke, sushi, and a funeral?

Karaoke-Source Bar

Homemade Sushi 

Funeral Birthday

When cuddled up in a big baggy hoodie with the best book ever (Harry Potter of course), it is extremely easy to turn down offers to go out anywhere because it requires 1) getting up out of the cozy comforts of warm blankets and pillows and 2) venturing out into the cold wind, rain, and occasional hail. This past week I felt as if I was faced with this dilemma time and time again, but a saucy little fresher, Lucy, talked some sense into me. She bluntly told me that I was only here until December so I better make the most of it. With nothing terribly monumental planned for the week, I attempted to take a step or two out of my comfort zone to make the most of everyday here.

Monday night was not much different from the norm: a walk over to Roper Hall, a few quids lost, a few pints gained, and an overall good night. Since I went out Monday night, I had no intention of going anywhere out of the confines of Whitendale Hall on Tuesday, but Lucy (one of Tori’s roommates in 62) and my roommates had other plans for me. Tuesday night is Karaoke night at the Source bar, which is the bar in the campus student union. After some pushing and prodding, I found myself walking alongside my roommates on our way to Karaoke night. Source was absolutely packed, and we found ourselves standing near the bar because there wasn’t an open chair in the place. Even though it was Karaoke night, no one had enough guts or interest to actually get their name on the list. The result of the news was sad puppy-look plastered across Lucy’s face. I decided to take her original advice and make the most out of my time here and offer to sing with her. Lucy started frantically searching the books for our grand début song, while I sat back and rejected the majority of them since I hadn’t the slightest idea what they were. To make the selection process worse, the DJ turned down about five of the songs because they had already been done throughout the night. Somehow at the end of the night, we both found ourselves standing on stage belting Shania Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman”. Although the song choice could have been better, it was still an extremely good time with extremely great people. And the week moves on…

Being the California kids that we are, Tori and I have been absolutely pining for some sushi. So when Thursday night rolled around, we decided to take matters into our own hands and attempt to make it ourselves. Although it required rushing all across town to various markets, trying to get in before they closed, we successfully bought all of the required ingredients for some delectable sushi J . We did not bother to look up any actual instructions, but in the end the sushi turned out relatively well, especially for our first time. The ideal girls night just would not have been complete without some cheap pinot grigio, tiramisu, and the definition of a chick flick: Mean Girls. Needless to say, it was the ideal night in.

Friday was welcomed in with three hours of Renaissance Literature, and a group meeting to find a hostel for the upcoming trip to Paris. In the end, the group decided on a cheaper hotel opposed to a hostel… I think some members of the group may have taken the horror film a bit too seriously, but what’s done is done. Tori’s friend Jess, who studied abroad at San Marcos, invited us to a party that night. I didn’t even think twice when Tori asked if I wanted to go. Since leaving the states I have not been to one single house party and I was definitely ready for a break from the club scene. To make sure we dressed appropriately, Tori texted Jess to ask what we should wear and Jess said: Black, it’s funeral themed. Now my instant reaction was, no way. Who in their right mind thinks it will be loads of fun to have a funeral themed birthday? However, I already had make-up on my face, and the intention to go out so there was no turning back. We reluctantly approached the house and as soon as we opened the door we were warmly greeted by her friends and promptly introduced to everyone. The party was a blast. I met a ton of new friendly faces, and actually got to have some conversations (something the club scene is rather void of). The reason it was funeral themed was because Tim, the birthday boy, was mourning the loss of his youthful 20s and moving onward into his 30s. It was actually a really great theme, and if I had let my initial reaction hold me back, I would have missed out on an amazing, memorable night.

Today I laid low, just did a bit of reading and cleaning. I do not have any plans yet so we will just have to wait and see if the night has anything in store other than howling winds and torrential rain. Tomorrow Tori, Harold, possibly some roommates, and I want to make the trip over to Manchester for the day to get out of Preston and maybe do a bit of exploring and shopping J. Next weekend is the big trip to Amsterdam so I will most definitely have some exciting updates to share after then!
Xxx