Goals for Returning to the "Real World"

It is so good to be home. 

My four and a half months of travel have absolutely changed me--I'm sure you'll see that when I get home--and I'd like to think that those changes have been for the better. I'm hoping to hold on to these changes now that I'm home, but it won't be easy, since my life will be very different at home from what it was abroad (which was kind of the point of traveling in the first place). So before I fall back into old habits and/or get sucked into the world of job applications, car hunting, and tax-paying--fun as all of that is--I want to take the time to lay out some goals for my transition back to being home. It's kind of my own set of New Years' resolutions (since I didn't actually make any of those). 

I'm hoping that by posting these here on my blog, I'll add an element of accountability that will help me stick to these resolutions. Might want to get yourself a cup of coffee...this is going to be a bit of a long one. 

CONTINUING TRAVEL HABITS

I don't want to stop adventuring just because I'm home...there are so many things to do at home, too!

--go more places/do more things solo; don't wait for other people to join me to do things that I want to do!

--go out to eat/get coffee 1-2 times a week (trying someplace new at least every other week)
--go someplace at least twice a month (adventures!), and make at least one of those places new (new city, new park, new museum, anything!)
--blog once a week (ish; I'm not going to blog if I have nothing to blog about, but I do want to keep writing about my adventures when I have them!)
--explore alternative modes of transport: use public transportation and/or bike to get around when feasible, and walk places!

STARTING FRESH

Living out of a 40-liter backpack has taught me that I really don't need that much, so I'll be aiming to simplify by jettisoning at least half of my personal belongings when I get home. It's just clutter in the end.

--clean out closet (sell/donate clothes that I don't wear anymore)

--invest in a few new good-quality items that I'll actually wear and will last me a while
--clean out room (sell/donate books, bedding, etc. that I don't need)

SELF-CARE HABITS
There were some aspects of self-care that I got much better at over the course of this trip; for example, I was taking time for myself, putting what I wanted to do above all else, making my own desires and dreams valid by making them a reality, and just letting myself be less responsible for once. I was also much more forgiving of myself when I made mistakes. I realize that I will have to take up some responsibilities again when I get home, but I want to continue to take time for me. To that end, here are my goals for psychological self-care:

--journal once a week (at least)
--limit Netflix/TV time to 3-one hour sessions during the week, one 2-hour session on weekends (movies)
--take half an hour a day to just do nothing (listening to one entire album and doing only that counts, but NO MULTI-TASKING)
--meditate for ten minutes every morning before starting the day
--unplug at least one hour before bed (read or meditate instead!)
--set boundaries for work hours (not answering work emails or grading papers outside of my designated times, for example)

The physical aspects of self-care sort of fell by the wayside on this trip. If you've been looking at the food pictures I've been posting, you know that I have been making my decisions based less on what's good for my body and more on what tastes good. Combine that with no regular exercise regimen (aside from walking all over the continent), and it's safe to say I'm not in peak physical condition. But that's going to change when I get home.

--yoga practice at least once a week (maybe sign up for classes)
--complete the Whole 30 to cleanse and reset my eating habits (I'm planning to start February 2nd, so keep your eyes peeled for some posts about that)
--switch back to vegetarianism (stay tuned for a full post about that)
--don't eat within an hour of going to bed
--run at least three times a week
--strength training at least twice a week

RELATIONSHIPS
It's true what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder. Being away from my family and friends for so long really made me appreciate them (you) all the more.

--make a point of actively spending more quality time with family and friends (this means not just hanging out at home watching movies, but actually DOING stuff! like traveling and hiking)
--be more communicative with family and friends 

PROJECTS
Europeans have some enviable skills; at least, I'm envious. Everyone speaks at least two languages, and everyone can drive a manual-transmission car; it's just the norm here. And I am extremely jealous of these skills, so add those to my list of goals. They won't be achieved overnight, but I'm hoping to make some serious progress on them by the end of 2017. 

--learn to drive stick-shift (for realsies this time; I've had a few false starts with this one)

--learn German (to better communicate with my German relatives)
--learn Spanish (to better communicate with my students and their families)

FINANCES

I'll be the first to say that I wasn't exactly fiscally responsible on this trip. I just didn't budget. When saving up for this grand adventure, I was very careful with my money, so I kind of cut loose and didn't stress about it once the vacation actually began. I let my heart (or in some cases, my stomach) determine when and where I spent money, rather than letting my brain take charge. But now adulthood begins. *sigh*

--create a biweekly budget and actually stick to it

--set aside money from every paycheck for future adventures! (and actually budget these adventures based on what I have saved up)

So there they are. My goals for the foreseeable future. 

Bam.

London Calling, Part Two

After the disaster that was Glasgow, I was ready to be in a city that had plenty to do. So when Evan mentioned that he was planning to spend a few days in London, I wasted no time inviting myself along.

I was able to book an evening flight from Glasgow to London for a mere $16 with RyanAir, and transportation to and from the airports cost me a grand total of $20, setting a new record in the "Cheapest Flight Jess Has Ever Taken" category. I also realized, shortly after boarding the plane, that it was my first flight since the one that brought me to Europe in the first place.

It was a relief to be back in London. Though Evan and I were staying in an AirBnB in a completely different part of London than I'd stayed in before, it was still a familiar city, and one that I already knew how to get around. Which came in really handy when I started to get motionsick on the shuttle from the airport; I didn't have to spare too much thought to figure out which bus to take and how to pay for it.

Since we hadn't gotten in until 1:00am, we let ourselves sleep in a bit on Evan's first morning in London. Then we caught a red double-decker bus to Hyde Park Corner and walked by Buckingham Palace, where we were surprised to find a huge crowd of people waiting. First we thought the Queen herself must be putting in an appearance, but it turned out that everyone was waiting for the changing of the guard. Evan and I were too hungry to stick around for the whole ceremony, but we caught the very beginning of it as we continued on in search of breakfast.

Evan was set on having a full English breakfast that morning, but I was craving waffles, so we found a place that served both. #winning

He also had Earl Grey tea, because he thinks he's posh or something.

Of course, then I changed my mind and got French Toast:

#stillwinning

Then I got to relive my days as a University Student Ambassador by playing London tour guide for Evan. First we headed down towards the Thames so that Evan could check off the stereotypical touristy picture with Big Ben. 

Okay, fine. He didn't care whether he had a picture with Big Ben. But I did. 😜

Ditto for the phone booth picture.

Then we headed to Covent Garden, where--in the week and a half since I'd last been in London--they'd set up a Santa's Workshop made entirely out of Legos.

We also got freebie Lego kits to build our own reindeer. Because we're children.

It turned out to be a bit of a Lego-themed day, because after that, we visited the Lego store around the corner. 

Child.

Children.

Once we managed to grow up a bit, we left the Lego Store and headed for Regent Street, one of the most expensive shopping streets in London. We had a lot of fun window shopping (being too broke to do any real shopping), and when we started to get hungry, we asked one of the shop assistants to recommend a place for a late lunch. Once we'd followed his directions and swooned over the burgers, we decided on a new motto for traveling: AAAL (Always Ask A Local). 

Next up on Evan's tour of London was Harrods, where we fought the Christmas crowds to do a little Christmas shopping of our own. Still in the Christmassy spirit, we looped back around to Hyde Park to visit the Winter Wonderland (it's much more fun when you have someone with you than it is to go by yourself).

We called it a night not too long after that, since we were getting up early for a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath the next morning. 

It turned out that we didn't have to be up quite so early as we'd thought. We arrived at the meeting point only to discover that I'd gotten the time wrong and we were an hour early. Oops.

Well, the tour was worth the wait. Our tour guide was a hilariously narcissistic Londoner who kept an entire double-decker coach (not bus, he was very adamant on that point) full of people informed and entertained for the whole day. 

First stop was Stonehenge, that mystical prehistoric monument that has fascinated researchers and tourists alike for centuries.

They don't let you get closer than this because apparently there's a lot of archaeological evidence in the area under and around the stones as well, which of course they don't want tourist disturbing.  

There are a lot of fascinating questions surrounding Stonehenge, including not only why it was built, but how. I mean, thinking back to prehistoric times, what tools could they have used to cut the stones, haul them from where they were cut (some from 32 km away, others from up to 250 km away), and raise and stack them? It's kind of crazy to think about, and researchers still aren't sure what the answers are. 

After standing around staring at a bunch of rocks, we boarded the bus--sorry, coach-- and headed for Bath, another place steeped in ancient legends. 

Apparently, the city of Bath began around 860 BC, when Prince Bladud (father of King Lear) caught leprosy. He was banished from the court and forced to scrape together a living by looking after pigs. Apparently, some of the pigs also had some sort of skin disease, but were cured by rolling around in the hot mud of the springs.Prince Bladud followed their example and his leprosy was miraculously cured. A short time later, he became king and founded the city of Bath as a place of healing.

When the Romans came to England in the first century AD, they built spectacular temples in the city, as well as the famous Roman baths, which were buried in a mudslide after the decline of the Roman Empire, and left undiscovered until Victorian times. The city had grown on top of them, passing in and out of fashion as royalty and members of the gentility followed the legend, seeking cures for their various ailments. 

Queen Victoria was one of those people, and her preference for Bath made it more popular than ever. The construction of a new bathhouse in the center of the city led to the discovery of the old Roman baths below, which had been well-preserved by the mud that had buried them. Since then, the ancient Roman baths have been the main tourist attraction for the city. 

You can no longer actually bathe in them, as the plumbing (which was incredibly modern for its time) is rusty and full of lead. However, a new pipe has been connected to one of the underground springs to allow visitors to drink some of the famous healing water, which Evan and I both did. Can't say it was the tastiest water I've ever drank (drunk? Ugh, grammar), but if I come back to the States with superhuman powers, you know where they came from. 

Because of our super-early start that morning, by the time we got back to London that evening, Evan and I were pretty wiped out. But we managed to muster up enough energy to visit a pub near our AirBnB, called the Earl of something (almost every pub in England is named after a Duke, an Earl, or a King). 

We got a much later start the next morning, but still managed to make it to the British Museum not too long after they opened. In all honesty, we didn't really do the museum justice--since I hadn't had any coffee yet, I was seriously dragging--but we did check out the museum's most famous artifact: the Rosetta Stone.

Our best Easter-Island-head faces.

After a quick pick-me-up in a café (coffee and baked goods were a necessity), we headed off to the British Library, which turned out to be one of the coolest things that I have seen on this trip (and I've seen a LOT of cool things).

In the Sir John Ritblat Treasures of the British Library Gallery, there are hundreds of amazing texts, from gorgeously illustrated Bibles and Qur'ans to pages from Leonardo Da Vinci's notebook to drafts of original Beatles music to the actual Magna Carta. It was mesmerizing, seeing these things firsthand. One of the coolest parts of the exhibition was that they had headphones, so you could listen to recordings of Handel's Messiah or Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik while looking at the page where it was first written down by the composer himself. It was practically a transcendental experience.

If you ever find yourself in London, this is a must-do. Seriously. 

Evan and I spent so much time in the British Library that by the time we left, it was dark outside (and had been for a little while already). We once again braved crowds of Christmas shoppers to check out Oxford Street, the other main shopping street in London. Unlike Regent Street though, Oxford Street has stores that real people can afford to shop at.

The next morning, we got up early and took a short bus ride to Abbey Road Studios, which we had realized was actually pretty close to our AirBnB. Because I refused to leave London without this picture:

Shoutout to the random bystander who was willing to stand in the middle of a busy street to help us get this shot.

Before heading back to the AirBnB to get packed up, Evan and I had a pretty delicious brunch at a restaurant a few blocks from Abbey Road.

    

It was a great way to say goodbye to London before I headed off to my next city: Cardiff!

Glasgow is Boring

Those of you with a short attention span will be pleased; this is going to be a short post.

Even though I'd loved every minute in Edinburgh, I was ready to move on to a new city. I guess I've gotten used to moving to a new place every few days, because my wandering foot starts to itch once I feel familiar with the city I'm in. I took advantage of the train's wi-fi to do some research about Glasgow; the scenery between Edinburgh and Glasgow couldn't compete with what I'd seen on the ride from York to Edinburgh, so I didn't feel too guilty about being plugged in.

After about twenty minutes of Googling, however, I was a bit apprehensive about my next destination. Apparently there aren't any free walking tours in Glasgow, which seemed a bad omen. The only other recommended attractions that I came across in my internetting were the cathedral, three museums, the library, and the graveyard.

I'm sorry, but if a graveyard is one of a city's top-rated attractions, it can't be a terribly exciting place. You might even say it's dead boring.

I know. Sorry.

So I wasn't feeling too optimistic when I arrived in the central train station in Glasgow. My spirits dropped even lower after my navigation app revealed that my hostel was a 45-minute hike from the city center, right next to the highway. Still, I didn't want to write the city off entirely--I'd only just arrived after all--so I cinched the waist strap on my backpack and strode off.

My evening only went downhill from there. Rather than detail every single thing that went wrong--I did promise a shorter read this time--I'll give a thirteen-word summary: sweaty walk, nonexistent wi-fi, mean staff, disgustingly dirty kitchen, and a broken adapter. Sounds like a great time, right?

At least the bed was decently comfortable, and after a fairly good night's sleep, I was ready to give Glasgow another chance.

But after visiting four of the six recommended attractions before noon, culminating with the Gallery of Modern Art, I arrived at two conclusions:
1. I don't get modern art. I just don't.
2. Glasgow is boring.

Admittedly, neither was a very original conclusion.

That afternoon, I hiked to the other side of town to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which was actually fairly interesting. It had a mix of everything, from suits of armor to Impressionist paintings to a stuffed giraffe. However, it only took me two hours to explore the entire museum.

I spent the majority of the next three days holed up in the public library, reading The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

I also sampled that Scottish delicacy: haggis. According to Wikipedia: "Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck [whatever that is]; minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal's stomach." 

Luckily I didn't actually Google it until after I'd eaten it. Though honestly, I can't say I would have recommended it even before I knew what it was made of. 

The most exciting thing that I saw in the city was actually on my way out, when I spotted an old blue police box. My fellow Whovians will understand.

See you never, Glasgow!

Life in the 'burgh (Edinburgh)

Can I just start by saying how much I love traveling by train? It's faster and more comfortable than buses (or coaches or whatever the heck they're called), plus you get to see some amazing scenery. At least, that was the case on my trip from York to Edinburgh, which was mostly along the coastline. We're talking castle ruins, cliffs, and beautiful blue water. It was so gorgeous I wanted to throw up.

Well. That may have been motion-sickness, actually.

First order of business when I got to Edinburgh was finding my hostel, which proved to be surprisingly easy: I walked out of the train station, and there it was. I was glad to find that the mattress was far more comfortable than the one in York, but I was not so glad to see that I was on the middle bunk of a three bed stack. (Sure enough, in my four nights staying there I whacked my head, elbows, knees, you name it on the top bunk more times than I care to count.)

Anyway, after I checked in, I headed for the Christmas market, which I could see from the window of my hostel room.

I think I can safely say that Edinburgh's Christmas market is my favorite of all the Christmas markets that I saw this season. There was so much to do and see, and it was a good balance of food vendors, rides, and shopping. And their music playlist was on point. All in all, I was really feeling the Christmas spirit!

I decided to save some of the Christmas market to explore the next night with my friends from Switzerland. They were coming to Edinburgh the same weekend to check out the Christmas market, and we'd agreed to meet up at the market on Friday night. So I called it a night and headed back to my hostel.

The next morning, I got up pretty early, partially because I'd gone to bed fairly early and was refreshed and ready to get moving, but mostly because I was in a 12-bed female dorm in my hostel, and there was just the one bathroom. In this kind of scenario, you snooze, you really do lose. Half the day will be gone by the time it's your turn to shower unless you shake a leg. It's every woman for herself.

So I was up and moving through the streets of Edinburgh by 8:30am. I wanted to get some exploring in before my free walking tour started at 10:00am.

Some of my favorite facts from the tour included:
--The term "shit-faced" supposedly originated in Edinburgh, after a law was put in place to regulate when chamber pots could be emptied into the streets. The new times were 10:00am and 10:00pm. Now, 10:00pm was also closing time for the city's pubs. So if you were one to stick around from the end of the work day until last call, you were likely to be caught in a shit storm--as it were--when you headed home. Thus, when you arrived home, you were very likely to be "shit-faced." (Unless, of course, your drunken reflexes were superhuman.)
--The Scots were pioneers in home security: the older buildings in Edinburgh have staircases equipped with "Scottish burglar alarms."  These "alarms" consist of a single step in the staircase that is a different size from all of the other steps, designed to trip an intruder creeping around in the dark, as they wouldn't know where the trick step is. Of course, you can imagine that someone coming home shit-faced would be likely to set off the alarm, as well.
--Grave robbing was a major problem in Edinburgh back in the 19th century, though not for the reason you may think. The medical school in the city needed cadavers, and would pay a decent price for any bodies they could get their hands on. Many enterprising people took it upon themselves to meet the demand by digging up the recently deceased. Two men by the names of William Burke and William Hare, took it even farther, murdering people for the sole purpose of selling their bodies to the medical school. When they were caught and convicted, the men were hung and then dissected, with their skeletons placed on display at the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh Medical School, where their remains remain to this day. 

In addition to this tasteful tales, my Australian tour guide shared information of interest to Potterheads in the audience: he pointed out the Elephant House café, where JK Rowling (an Edinburgher since 1993) wrote most of the first two books in the series. He also showed us Victoria Street, the inspiration for Diagon Alley:

The Original Diagon Alley!

And the two buildings that inspired Hogwarts: Edinburgh Castle and George Heriot's School (founded to educate orphaned boys).

Edinburgh Castle

The George Heriot School

After the tour, of course I had to check out the Elephant House café for myself.

I can see why she liked it. 

Apparently they've had so much Harry-Potter-related graffiti in the bathrooms in the café that they've given up trying to get rid of it:

"This way to the Ministry" LOL

After paying homage to the place where Harry Potter began, I headed to the National Museum of Scotland, where, among other things, I saw Dolly the sheep. That's right, the first critter to be successfully cloned has been taxidermied and is now on display in Edinburgh.

These Scots really have a knack for tasteful museum exhibits, don't they?

After that, it was time to meet my ex-pat friends at the Christmas market! We checked out every stall in the market, debated doing the Christmas tree maze (decided not to because £££), and scoped out the lights display a few streets away. Even though we'd gotten some munchies at the market, we were getting hungry for real food around that time, so we went to Nando's Peri-Peri for dinner.

I know what you're thinking. "I thought you swore off all American chains while in Europe. But you went to Nando's for dinner?" Well, joke's on you, because Nando's was founded in South Africa. So HA. 😝

After that, we wandered back into the Old Town in search of a pub, and ended up right next door to my hostel at the Doric, which was founded in the 17th century, which apparently makes it the oldest gastro pub in Edinburgh.

Casual.

I felt like I was obligated to try Scotch there; to drink anything else would be blasphemous. So I approached the bartender, who did his best to hide his incredulity when I confessed that I'd never had any sort of whisky before. He was kind enough to let me sample a few varieties, and patiently waited out my struggles to describe what I was tasting, until finally we landed on one that I could sip without coughing too much. Slàinte! (That means Cheers.) 

Whisky isn't my cup of tea.

The next day, I wandered down to the bottom of the Royal Mile (the main street in Old Town Edinburgh), where I saw Holyrood Palace, the Queen's official Scottish residence, and the Scottish Parliament. From that vantage point, I could also see Arthur's Seat, the mountain smack dab in the middle of Edinburgh. I wanted to climb it the moment I saw it, but thought better of it, considering that I didn't really have the best mountain-climbing footwear on. But I was determined to reach the summit when I was better dressed for it.

I thought that was the summit. LOL

So I headed back up the Royal Mile, stopping along the way to sample--and subsequently buy--some fudge and to check out a Christmas ornament shop. I also visited the Museum of Edinburgh, which featured a cool bird's-eye-view video showing how the city changed and grew over time, as well as many artifacts found within the city over the years, and silver and glass works created by Edinburgh's craftspeople through the centuries.

Continuing up the Royal Mile, I stopped in St. Giles' Cathedral to have a look around. Having already done a fair bit of walking by that point in the day, I took advantage of the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes while I admired the interior of the church. The pew was surprisingly comfortable, and of course it was pretty quiet in there, so before I knew it, I'd dozed off. I woke up pretty suddenly about ten minutes later when the priest started the noon service.

Oops.

A few "amens" later, I was free to go--good thing weekday services are short. It was pretty evident that I needed coffee, so I headed back to the Elephant House for a cappuccino and some lunch.

Re-energized, I decided to check out the Writer's Museum, which featured exhibits on some of Scotland's most famous writers: Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson. They also had, of course, an exhibit about JK Rowling, the highlight of which was a copy of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, annotated by JK Rowling herself. Not going to lie, I spent more time looking at that than I did at all the other exhibits combined. Though there was a Stevenson quote that I liked: "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

I spent the next hour wandering in search of a place for dinner. I wasn't really hungry yet, but knowing how long it usually takes me to make up my mind about what I want to eat, I wanted to get an early start and avoid getting hangry if at all possible.

I came across a Mexican place that seemed promising, which was both exciting and surprising. Generally, Europeans aren't big fans of spicy foods, or so I've noticed, so Mexican restaurants are pretty rare, and those that you do come across are generally not that great. But I could smell some spice as soon as I walked in the door, and it smelled good, so I was willing to take the chance.

Man, I almost cried when I took that first bite. Did I mention that I love Mexican food? Because I do.

Yum.

Double yum.

After dinner, I met my Switzerland friends for my first ghost tour. If you know me at all, you know how far outside of my comfort zone that kind of thing usually is. But my comfort zone has gotten a lot bigger on this trip, so I was willing to give it a shot. 

Plus it's not so scary if you go with friends. 

That being said, I was sufficiently spooked by the end of it, so when my friends headed off to their dinner reservation, I made a beeline for my hostel.

The next morning, I made an even earlier start than usual, because I was going on a day tour! Our kilt-wearing guide took us through the Scottish highlands to Glen Coe, one of the most famous and beautiful valleys in Scotland. 

Looks very mist-erious in this picture. 😜

The valley also has quite a sad and violent history: in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprisings, a plan was hatched to make an example of the MacDonald clan, who had been the last to pledge their allegiance to the new English monarchs. On February 13th, 1692, there was a massacre. It began simultaneously at dawn in three villages throughout Glen Coe. Thirty-eight people were killed by the soldiers, who had been treated as guests by the MacDonalds. Another forty died of exposure and frostbite fleeing the valley after their homes were destroyed. 

Pretty grim stuff for so early in the morning. But the rest of the tour was much more cheerful.

We made a number of other stops on the tour, but the one I was most excited for was Loch Ness. I'm a big Nessie believer, so when we were offered the chance to go on a boat ride on the Loch, you can bet I was the first in line. 

Of course, you can't actually see into the water, I discovered when we were on board. It's literally pitch black; if you were to stick your hand in the water, you wouldn't be able to see it once it was about six inches under. The guide explained that, as the water runs off the surrounding mountains into the loch, it absorbs many of the nutrients from the peat, which gives the water is dark color. 

Even though Nessie didn't put in an appearance, it was still quite a nice cruise on the water. We had beautiful weather for it:

The rainbow was not photoshopped in, I promise. It was the real deal.

When we got back to Edinburgh that evening, I met my friends for a farewell drink at an alehouse called BrewDog, which serves only Scotland's BrewDog beer. A couple of pints later, food was in order, so we headed to a fish and chips place near the B and B my friends were staying in. I decided that I was feeling too adventurous for fish and chips, so I went for the deep-fried Mars bar with ice cream (apparently a local delicacy). 

As you can probably guess, it was a heart attack in every bite, and I regretted it several times over by the time I'd said goodbye to my Switzerland friends and made my way back to my hostel. Talk about going out with a bang. 

The next morning--my last in Edinburgh--I was craving some physical activity to make up for the previous evening's dietary disaster. So I laced up my sneakers and headed to Arthur's Seat.

Even though gusts of wind made me fear for my life at some points, I did make it to the summit, and was rewarded with spectacular views of Edinburgh in every direction. Unfortunately, the wind was even stronger at the summit, and I chose to sacrifice the quality of my photos in the interest of not falling off the mountain. But I got a few that should give you the gist:

Blurry.

Double blurry.

All in all, it was a good way to say goodbye to the city, before hopping on a train to Glasgow.

Of course, if I'd known how boring Glasgow was going to be, I would've stayed in Edinburgh. 

Stay tuned!

Old York

"Start spreading the news....I'm leaving today. I want to be a part of it! New York, New"--oh. Dang it.

Why aren't there any songs about old York? If you know any, hook a sister up, would you? Thanks.

Anyway, I arrived in York at about 7:00PM, so it had already been dark for several hours. But York is not a terribly big city--or is it a town?--so my hostel was only a short walk in the dark from the bus--sorry, coach--station. 

It's easily one of the strangest hostels that I've stayed in yet. Which isn't to say that it wasn't nice, because it was. In fact, it's one of the nicer hostels I've stayed in. But strange. Well, you'll see.

There was no reception desk; instead, I had to lug all my bags through the restaurant next door to the bar to check in. Luckily, it wasn't very busy (it was a Monday), so it didn't take long to catch the bartender's attention. She was very friendly, chatting as she walked me up to my room. The room, though, turned out to be more like an apartment. There was a living room (featuring a flat screen TV and a hella comfy couch), a bathroom, and a kitchen in addition to the bunk room I was expecting. And the kitchen had all kinds of goodies in it, including free coffee, tea, and juice. There was even a washing machine in there to do laundry, for free! *gasp* It was such a homey place that there weren't lockers, which are usually a given in hostels. Normally, this would have made me nervous for the safety of my stuff, but my roomies turned out to be pretty nice people, so I felt okay about leaving my stuff out in the open.

Anyway, once I managed to pop my jaw back into place, I cooked some pasta for dinner and headed to bed. I was so exhausted that it didn't take long for me to fall asleep, despite the mattress clearly being made entirely out of springs. Oh well. Can't have everything. 

I finally had the type of English weather that I'd been expecting when I awoke: chilly and foggy. I was thrilled, and headed out to explore York. I'd only given myself two nights there, so I was determined to make the most of it. 

I started with a full English breakfast at a restaurant overlooking the main square.

Black pudding=not my thing. 

After spent most of the day wandering, checking out the mostly-intact city wall, which dates back to Roman times. 

Part of the city wall.

I also stumbled upon the birthplace of Guy Fawkes:

Remember, remember: the fifth of November. 

Once it got dark again, I headed back to the main square, where I had seen the Christmas market setting up earlier that day. Now, it was all lit up, with Christmas carols playing and the smell of mulled wine in the air...Christmas markets are easily one of my favorite things about traveling this time of year. 

Check these guys out!

I spent the rest of the evening relaxing in my hostel, lounging on that supremely comfy couch and chatting with my roomies, before heading to bed. I had a train to catch the next day. 

York was a lovely place to spend a day, but it was only ever a pit stop on my journey north. I was on to the next exciting place.

Scotland!

London Calling

The day after Thanksgiving, I took my first night bus. I usually prefer to travel during the day, but in this case, I didn't have a day to waste. The clock was ticking.

You see, the average passport-bearing American is allowed to stay in the Schengen Area for 90 days, total, within a 180-day period. And the Schengen Area includes pretty much every country I had planned to visit. (For more information about the Schengen Area, click here.)

So I did my research during the months before I left, and got everything in order to apply for a visa from the German embassy in Washington, DC (since I have family in Germany, it seemed like the best bet). But when I arrived for my appointment, completed application in hand, I was informed that I wasn't eligible for the visa, and that the only way that I'd be able to stay in Germany longer would be to apply for an extension visa from an immigration office once I was actually in Germany.

Well, it turns out my aunt has connections in German immigration, and the guy she spoke to said he could extend my visa, no problem. But the evening before my November appointment to go see him and actually get the extension, he said that he had looked into it more and found that he apparently couldn't actually do that.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

Since I can only (legally) stay in the Schengen Area for a total of 90 days within a 180 day period, I've had to leave the Schengen Area for a total of 47 days. (Since I'd already booked my flight home from Germany, I was committed to being Europe for a total of 137 days.)

So I had to pass on Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece this time around. Luckily, I hadn't booked too much for those countries yet, so I didn't lose too terribly much money. (But losing any amount of money still stinks.)

So where did I go instead? To the UK! (It's one of the countries not included in the Schengen Zone, even though it is/was part of the EU.)

Since every day now counted, I decided the best use of my time was to take a night bus from Paris to London, rather than waste one of my (now very limited) days in the Schengen Area by sitting on a bus.

I didn't get much in the way of quality shuteye on said bus, partially because of the passport checks at the border, but also because I was too busy chatting to my seatmate, a friendly native of England who had taken it upon himself to offer advice for my upcoming travels around the UK.

When we arrived in London at 5:30am--an hour and a half ahead of schedule--my new friend proved extremely helpful, helping me through a minor crisis involving every ATM refusing to pony up any cash for me. (I guess I probably should have let my bank know when I decided to come to the UK. Oops.) He also navigated the process of getting an Oyster card, which would allow me to travel London's public transportation like a local.

Once my new friend departed to catch his connecting bus, I headed out to explore the city for a bit. I had a few hours to kill before I could check into my AirBnB, so I headed to Buckingham Palace, just a short walk from the bus station. Sorry, coach station. They're very particular about that in the UK.

Guess the Queen was still sleeping...can't blame her. It was still pretty early!

After I popped by to see the Queen, I walked down to the Thames. On the way, I passed Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and, of course, Big Ben!

Did you know that the clock is actually named the Elizabeth Clock? Big Ben refers to the bell inside!

After lounging on a bench in St. James Park for a while, I finally made my way to my AirBnB, which turned out to be further from the center of the city than I'd anticipated. I had to take the Tube (that's the London Underground train) to the end of the line, then take a bus. In total, it took more than an hour. Oh well. I settled into my room for the next ten days, then headed back out for the afternoon. I went to check out St. Paul's cathedral at the recommendation from my host, but it turns out that it costs £16 to visit! Nope. I'll pass, thanks.

Instead, I went to check out St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Generally, it's not a touristy place, but if you're a Sherlock fan, it's one of those things you check out when you're in London.

It was actually a pretty surreal day. Maybe it was partially the sleep deprivation, but I think it had more to do with my inner Anglophile freaking out about the fact that I was finally in London, in person, seeing all of the places and things that I'd only seen on TV or read about.

The sleep deprivation did strike pretty hard, though, once the sun started to go down, so I made myself an early pasta dinner and hit the hay not too long after.

I let myself sleep in the next morning, before I got up and did some planning for the next leg of my trip. Since my itinerary had changed on such short notice, I'd given myself ten days in London to figure out what to do and where to go next, as well as to see all the sights there.

By early afternoon, I was burned out with planning, so I decided to treat myself to a movie. When I'd been in Paris, I keep seeing posters for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (but of course, it was Les Animaux Fantastiques), so I was excited to be in an English-speaking country where I'd actually understand what the actors were saying.

I ain't no plagiarizer. I got this photo from: https://logganeo.fr/

The next morning, I got up early, ready to really start to experience London. I went for a short run to kick-start my day (I doubt I'll ever truly be a city runner), then hopped on a double-decker into the city.

My first stop was to pick up my London Pass. Since I'd gotten so much use out of the Paris Museum Pass, I was eager to see what the London Pass had to offer. It turns out, A LOT. I used the heck out of that thing over the next few days.

I then headed to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street. It was super cool to actually be at the legendary address, but the museum itself was a total rip-off. Since it's supposed to be a museum, I was expecting things about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's life and career, about how Sherlock has been reinterpreted over the years, you know, informative museum exhibits, but I was extremely disappointed. Nothing about it is a museum. You basically pay £15 for five cramped rooms full of crappy (and creepy) wax figures and props. Fellow Sherlockians, steer clear. Just take your photo outside the front door and just keep on walking.

Okay. Rant over.

The rest of my day was more enjoyable. I checked out Regent's Park, one of London's many gorgeously-landscaped green areas, then went to the Victoria & Albert Museum, better known as the V&A. They had some pretty cool exhibits, including a fashion exhibit featuring the history of undergarments. (Scandalous!) Then I went to check out one of the world's most famous department stores: Harrods.

If you've ever been to the Macy's flagship store in New York City, picture that. Now multiply its size and extravagance by about twelve. Harrods is insane. Holy cannoli. It's seven floors of some of the most diverse, luxurious, and, yes, expensive merchandise I have ever seen. It was even more overwhelming because of Christmas: both the decorations and the crowds simply added to the madness. I only had the energy to tackle about two of the floors that evening before skedaddling back to my AirBnB.

The next day dawned as clear and bright as had my first few mornings in London. It was kind of freaking me out, actually. Isn't London supposed to be rainy? Or at least cloudy?

At least it was good weather for (surprise, surprise) a free walking tour! We walked through the City of London, which is the part of London where the original London town stood way back when. This part of London is still governed separately from the rest of the city, by a Lord Mayor, rather than your garden-variety mayor. Another stop on the tour was the oldest pub in London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. The pub has been in the same spot since 1538, and it was one of the first things to be rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666: the Cheshire Cheese was up and running again within a year of being burnt to the ground. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was frequented by many famous writers, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. Right around the corner from the Cheshire Cheese is the home of another one of its famous patrons: Samuel Johnson, writer of the very first dictionary. Outside of his house is a statue of his beloved cat, Hodge, who famously dined only upon oysters.

The tour finished at the Tower of London, whose name is rather misleading:

That's the original Tower, the corner right above my left shoulder. But I was actually inside the Tower of London when I took this; the name now refers to the entire complex. 

I used my London Pass to bypass the line at the Tower of London, and caught the start of a Beefeater tour. "Beefeater" is the nickname of the Yeomen Warders, the ceremonial guards of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress: the Tower of London. They supposedly first got the nickname in the 1660s, by those who were jealous of their beef-heavy diet (culled from the King's dinner leftovers).

My favorite fact of the Beefeater tour was that the Tower of London has six resident ravens. Legends dating back to the Tower's beginning claim that wild ravens were first drawn there by the smell of the corpses of the executed enemies of the Crown. However, the start of the royal tradition of keeping ravens with clipped wings there can supposedly be traced to Charles II and his royal astronomer, who complained to the King that wild ravens were flying past his telescope and making his work in the observatory at the Tower difficult. Charles II was prepared to remove the ravens, but shortly before he gave the order, he heard a prophecy that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London, England (and the King himself) would fall. The superstitious King--who had only just regained the throne--instead set measures to ensure that there would always be ravens at the Tower. 

The best part of my visit to the Tower of London, however, was getting to see the Crown Jewels. (Can you say "ba-bling?") If you've ever gone to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History with me, this won't come as a surprise. I always insist on seeing the Hope Diamond when I visit.

Once I managed to tear myself away from all the sparkly things, I headed to Tower Bridge, flashed my London Pass, and took the elevator up, up, up. 

View of the Tower Bridge.

View from the Tower Bridge.

My interest had been piqued by the Cheshire Cheese earlier that day, and now that my day was winding down, I decided that, yes, I did want to have a drink at the same pub as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, thank you very much. So I made a one-beer pit stop there on my way back to my AirBnB for the night.

The next day found me--bright and early--at Westminster Abbey again. But this time, I was armed with my London Pass, and actually got the audioguide and did a tour. And man, that thing is not one of the most famous churches in the world for nothing. 

No spoilers, though. Go check it out for yourself. 😉

Afterwards, I headed to the Churchill War Rooms, not realizing until I arrived at the balloon-bedecked entrance that it was, in fact, Winston Churchill's birthday. It was meant to be. 

The War Rooms were far more interesting than I had expected them to be; I think that spending so much time in Europe has managed to make World War II an interest of mine, despite what I told my World History teacher in 11th grade. (Sorry, Mr. Richardson.) I actually spent so much time in the War Rooms and the attached Churchill Museum that I was late for lunch.

That's right, I had plans to meet someone for lunch in London! As soon as I knew I would be in London, I reached out to my fraternity to see who was around, and made plans to meet a Brother from a chapter in Washington, DC, who was studying abroad in London. He introduced me to the wonder that is Wagamama, an Asian-style chain restaurant that became a slight obsession of mine while in the UK. So. Yummy. 

After lunch, we headed to Covent Garden and found a red phone booth, taking the requisite super-touristy pictures. 

So obvious I'm from out-of-town it's embarrassing.

Afterwards, my friend had to split to take care of some school things, so I made my way to the Royal Mews, home to the Royal wheels, carriages and cars alike. I was just in time to see the horse-drawn Postal Carriage depart on its daily journey to collect the Royal mail, a tradition that has been going on since 1843. I then headed next door to the Queen's Gallery, to check out an exhibit called "Portrait of the Artist."

I was still in museum-mode when I left the Gallery, so I headed back to the V&A to explore some of the exhibits that I hadn't gotten around to the last time I visited. I also stopped in the museum café for afternoon tea, courtesy of the London Pass.

That evening, I had tickets to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End, which I was SUPER excited about. I listened to the Wicked soundtrack quite a bit growing up, but never actually saw the musical, or even read the synopsis. (I didn't want any spoilers for when I finally did see it, and boy, was that a good move on my part!) So when I found out I could get a ticket for under £20, I jumped on the opportunity. 

And I am so glad I did. It was wonderful. (Or dare I say wicked good?) High-five through the past to young Jess for not reading the synopsis, because those plot twists were pretty dang awesome. 

The next morning, with the Wicked soundtrack still on repeat in my head, I set off for Windsor Castle. Since you have to buy tickets almost a year in advance to see Buckingham Palace, I had to settle for a tour of the Queen's weekend residence, which is a bit outside of the city itself, and which boasts the title of both the oldest and the largest inhabited castle in the world.

Fun fact that I learned while touring Windsor Castle: Her Majesty was a Girl Guide (the European equivalent of a Girl Scout)! As a lifetime Girl Scout, I got pretty excited about that. I also got kind of hungry, wondering what kind of cookies Girl Guides in England sell. So after finishing up at the castle, I headed into the town of Windsor itself, in search of fish and chips.

After lunch, I moseyed back over to the train station and headed back into the city. Next up was the London Transport Museum, which didn't actually sound all that interesting to me, but since it was included in my London Pass, I figured I'd give it a shot.

That place is amazing.

It's an elementary-school teacher's dream, with tons of hands-on and multimedia exhibits. There was even a simulator that allowed you to be a Tube driver...SUPER cool! My inner child was so thrilled to be in a museum where I could actually touch things that I ended up spending almost three hours there.

The museum is located right next to Covent Garden, so that was the only logical next destination for me. The Christmas decorations there were next-level.

I also took advantage of the free samples at a tea shop there before heading to the nearest Tube station, where I found a huge crowd of people waiting. Apparently, several of the Underground lines were "operating with severe delays." So I busted out Citymapper (this app is a must-have for getting around London) and figured out which bus I needed. I passed the hour-plus bus ride by becoming best friend with the kid sitting across from me. We made faces at each other, much to his mother's amusement, until my stop came up.

Over the next three days, I structured my days around what was included in the London Pass, traveling all over the city and becoming a pro at London's public transportation in the process.

I checked out the Banqueting House:

Saw the changing of the Horse Guard at the Royal Calvary:

Visited Shakespeare's Globe Theater:

The only thatched-roof building in London. This is actually a reconstruction of the Globe, built in the 1990s. When applying for the building permit, they had to get special permission to have a thatched roof, due to building regulations still in place from the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. (Thatch is pretty flammable.)

Checked out the HMS Belfast:

Did a riverboat cruise:

Got my Christmas on at the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park:

Saw all the critters at the London Zoo:

I also saw the Reptile House. You know, the one from Harry Potter. 

Went on a tour of Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea FC Stadium:

Visited Kensington Palace, home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

And, for my last geeky London shenanigans (for now, at least) I went to Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross Station:

Did I actually make it to Hogwarts? Stay tuned!