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Summer Trip:

Alicante, Spain [May 21st -24th]

Day 6: May 22nd 

We are in Spain, so obviously it's out to the beach to enjoy the nice summery day! [And by nice I mean hot because, again, SUPER not used to it...like where is my coat and why do I need sunscreen!?] We spent some time on the beach and the surrounding area which had some little shops set up. The main area by the beach had a long promenade like walking street with the marina on one side and restaurants on the other. 

We decided it was time for lunch and started looking at the menus along the promenade. On our walk, Becca was complaining that she had to pee really badly, so we started booking it to a restaurant that we deemed cheap and good down towards the end of the street. Kayla was getting swept up along the walk and we decided to just meet her there. Becca, Jesse, and I get to the restaurant and sit as close to the street as possible so Kayla will see us when she walks by. It was taking a concerning amount of time for Kayla to show up, so Jesse went back to find her. Becca and I ordered a big pitcher of sangria for the whole table to share and we started looking at the menu. We chose a huge basin of paella and it was absolutely delicious. 

Finally all together again, we walked around town a bit more and found a street that had an art installation of these huge mushrooms. Very artsy and kitschy. We continued on to the Santa Barbara Castle/Fortress up this massive hill. It is a 9th century Muslim castle that has amazing views of the whole city and sea. After all our learning and exploring, we headed back to our Hostel for the night. 

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Summer Trip:

Alicante, Spain [May 21st -24th]

Day 5: May 21st 

We woke up and took our Dublin Airport shuttle bus back to the airport without incident. Boarded our flight and too off away from my favorite place ever. I wasn't excited to go to Spain and was feel rather jaded. I missed my family, I was tired, I was sad to be leaving Ireland so soon, I don't really like the beach, I definitely don't like the heat, and a million other things. I'm sure it showed to the other girls (and by showed, I mean I'm sure I was bitchy), but we were 30,000 miles in the air and I kept telling myself that I was going to make it through.  

Looking out the window during landing was crazy. The landscape was a complete 180 from Ireland (this did not me feel better at all, by the way) and looked a bit more like Mars than Earth. We stepped off the plane onto the tarmac and immediately started shedding clothing left and right. 4 months in the cold rain and I was still not ready for the heat. We were meeting Jesse there too and she was arriving in an hour or so, so we decided to stay and wait for her. Stealing WiFi and grabbing something to eat, we sat in the airport waiting on her arrival. Her flight finally came in and we decided upon a Taxi to bring us into the actual city. [Jesse had been to Alicante before on a short study abroad and was going to be our mini tour guide!] We get dropped off at our hotel and I am continually reminded of just how hot it is. I am excited to get into the A/C of our hostel...and immediate disappointment hits me along with the stale, hot air inside the hostel. We get our keys and they take us up to our room. We drop our stuff, see we have roommates, and they continue the tour of the multi-floor hostel. While not large, there were many floor and a roof top. We finish the tour and head back down to our room and as we descend down the stairs BOOM 100% naked man in one of the open sink/vanity rooms. He quickly covered up and we continued snickering down to our room. 

Lunch time was upon us and we knew we needed some essential items: snacks, sunscreen, and beach towels. So we went around to shop after shop attempting to convey our needs to the shop owners in Spanish [or at least Jesse was, my Spanish is so rough]. We eventually learned our new terms and found out that sunscreen is was super expensive and towels are hard to come by. Luckily, Jesse remembered the town well and we went to a local mall. We found our selves some decent sunscreen and, now, our main focus was back on the towels. Finally, we found some in a grocery store. We grab the towels and some lunch items and headed for the beach.

The beach is right in town. The beach itself is not too thick, but quite long stretching off down past the giant fortress that over looks the whole town. We set down our towels, grab out our food, and relaxed. We just chatted and enjoyed the warm weather which was an interesting change after our chilly, English lifestyle. We eventually took off back toward the hostel to end our evening there. The other girls went up to make food in the kitchen, hung out on the roof, and met our fellow hostel mates. I decided I needed some alone time and watched a few shows and laid in bed.

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Summer Trip:

Ireland [May 17th -20th]

Day 4: May 20th

Unfortunately, this was the last day of our Ireland tour. But, today's adventure was to kiss the Blarney Stone! There are many myths surrounding this stone. Yet the biggest take away is that kissing the stone will give you the gift of Gab (the ability to tell stories extremely well). We heard all of this from Gillian as we made our way through the varies counties along the way.

Fitted with our raincoats and umbrellas, as it was on and off pouring, we set out towards the castle to get the gift of gab. Straight to the castle to stand in line, we slowly made our way up the terrifying, ancient spiral staircase that had no railing, but a thick rope that was anchored in the center. I admit that I felt a little sick trying to navigate the short, worn steps, but Kayla was having a worse time with feeling claustrophobic as we were having to wait in line on the steps.

When we finally made it to the top, it was sprinkling rain. Walking on the wet stone pathway, grabbing onto the turrets for stability, we finally approached the magical stone. There was an man who was helping hold onto people as they arched backwards to kiss the stone. It was a very unpleasant looking scene. But when in Ireland! All of us successfully kissed the stone and earned our new abilities.

We went down from the top of the castle and walked through the poison garden (which was not as cool as Alnwick's). We had a map of the grounds and all of the gardens. I was interested in seeing the gardens more than the woods surrounding the castle, so I split off from Kayla, Becca, and Tracey. I walked around through all of the crazy beautiful gardens looking for the next mythical stop. Gillian had told the bus about the most famous...the Wishing Steps.

"Legend says that if you walk down and back up the Wishing Steps with your eyes closed while thinking only of a wish, that wish will come true within a year. The wish will be granted by the Blarney Witch, because she steals firewood from the Estate for her kitchen. In order to pay for this stolen firewood, she has to grant the wishes of those who walk these stairs."

After exploring all of the different seconds and areas, I found the Rock Close which had the steps and other magical areas. I was by myself which made me upset that no one would be able to take a picture of me doing the steps, but then luckily I found a group of people from my bus that were more than happy to snap some pictures! The steps were no cake walk. Even without the pouring rain, it was obvious that the steps were always wet due to the waterfall at their base.The other girls went first. Luckily there was a hand rail to cling to. I went next. I kept my wish in mind and focused on each step. Without much falter, I made it to the top and back down again. I love Ireland for moments like these. Why not partake in a dangerous, wet stair activity hoping an ancient witch will answer my wish because of firewood? The rest of the grounds were breathtaking (Some of the areas barely seemed real).

I headed back to the where we were to meet the buses in order to grab some lunch and look at the surrounding shops. I found Becca and Kayla in a convenience store/sandwich place where I also decided o get some food. We walked over to this huge store that had just about every souvenir you can think of and ate our sandwiches in the lobby (Read: got crumbs all over the fancy foyer). From high-end, expensive cashmere to tacky St. Paddy's day merch, we walked around looking to see if anything caught our eye (I don't remember if we bought anything).

We loaded back onto the bus and headed back towards Dublin. We had one more little stop along the way and that was to see the Rock of Cashel. We did't get to go up to it, but we stopped along the road, got out, took pictures, and had a quick bathroom break. And just like that, we were off the our final destination.

Arriving back in Dublin was very sad. I loved literally every minute of the bus tour and was already yearning for more. We had booked that HQ hostel as our hostel for the night, so we brought our bags to our rooms. While doing so, Tracey said goodbye and awkwardly sidestepped our attempts to friend her on Facebook or keep in touch which was hilarious. Then, of course because the world hates us, she was in the same room as us and just avoided us and it was painfully awkward. OH WELL! We were hungry, so we looked up a grocery store and went to find some cheap food. We walked to it and got to enjoy some more of Dublin. We passed the cathedral and the Brazen Head pub which is the oldest pub in Ireland! The rest of our night was spent finding good wifi spots around the hostel and relaxing ahead of our departure to a very different climate.

Ireland is my favorite place that I traveled too and I would go back there in a heartbeat.

[ivyabroadblog]

Summer Trip:

Ireland [May 17th -20th]

Day 3: May 19th

We starting our day with a stop in Adare which is a quaint, little town. It had small cottages with thatch rooves and a nice park. It was a bathroom break/quick-walk around spot, so I went down the street and found a little cafe. I grabbed a chai tea latte and tried to catch up to the girls who were in the park. It had a gazebo and creek with a bridge running through it. I caught up to them eventually and we walked back to the bus.

The main activity of the day was driving to and then around the Dingle Peninsula. The day before, I thought I had seen the prettiest sights I had ever seen. Well, today trumped it. One the way there, we drove around the Valley of the Mad...

"Tobar na nGealt (The Well of the Insane) exists in the valley of Gleann-na-nGealt known as the valley of the mad. References to this well date back as far as 1584. The story goes that the King of Ulster, Gall, traveled down to this well, drank of its water and feasted upon the watercress growing from its death. Miraculously this cured him of his madness. Since then those who had a touch of the madness traveled from across all of Ireland seeking out this magical healing water. The tale of An Bhuile Shuibhne talks about Mad  Sweeny the King Of Munster and his banishment from his Kingdom.  He wandered around the whole of Ireland generally  acting like a crazy person, until he found peace within this valley. Sweeny has often been said to be the inspiration for Merlin the Magician in the Arthurian legends. The book “On the Trail of Merlin” talks about Merlins adventures and wanderings throughout the British Isle and talks extensively of his stay at Gleann na nGealt."

Once we had driven around and taken in the views, we had made it to the city of Dingle. The city consists of townhouse-like shops, restaurants, etc. in bright colors that are situated right next to a marina. The town is known for many things, but the most peculiar must be Fungie, the bottle-nose dolphin. You can take a boat tour out into its territory and catch a glimpse. I don't think any of our tour mates went out. Our little group went to get lunch at Harrington's which is a local restaurant and all of us got fish and chips. After lunch, we walked around the town peaking into shops here and there. Gillian had told us about an eccentric record shop with an equally eccentric owner, so we were on the look out. We found it at the top of the hill and it was a little hole-in-the-wall shop. She was definitely an odd women. We made our way back down to the bus and hopped in to go drive along the peninsula using Slea Head Drive.

I cannot accurately describe the beauty of the amazing coastline. Rolling green hills met abrupt, cliff endings that fell into the Atlantic. It was view unlike any other I have ever seen. Along the way, we stopped at Mary's House which was characterized by the women who had once lived there. She welcomed the tours and let me look at her Beehive huts, an ancient part of Irish history. Unfortunately, Mary recently passed away and her home was taken over by her family which started charging money to see the huts and play with baby sheep. Although some went up and paid, Kayla and I took off down the road to were some sheep were standing in their completely inclined pasture. We tried to get them to come over, but I just ended up taking pictures of them. Then group got back in the bus and we headed to Coumeenole Beach which is a small beach that sits between two small cliffs. On the way, Jamie told us about hurling, one of the national sports, and had brought with him some of the equipment. So, when we walked down to the beach some people starting learning and playing. I went and put my feet in the other side of the Atlantic which played into another myth that Gillian told us about. The story is that if you dip your toes in the Atlantic, it takes a bit of your soul and you'll have to return one day to retrieve it.

As we drove and explored, Gillian told us stories about all kinds of mythology relevant to the area. The most intriguing was about a giant. Although I can't really remember the story well, it ended with him laying down in the Atlantic to sleep until he was need again. This bit of mythology was all based on an island that did really look like a giant man laying on his back. Just hearing these stories and the histories completely made Ireland such a rich place to be in. She began talking about all of the movies and TV shows that have been filmed in the area. The biggest and most recent being Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The final scene of the movie with Luke Skywalker was shot on a tiny island offshore the west coast of Ireland. It was a national trust landscape and so when they shot, they were to leave nothing beyond. Unfortunately. they messed it up and left behind some materials, so they got kicked off and told to not come back. This meant that the filming for the continuation of this scene in the next movie would have to be set up and shot somewhere else. Well, luckily for us, we were there the day before they began filming for the next movie. They were setup on a tip of the coast. We got out of the bus and used our phone camera's zoom and Jamie had binoculars to look at the set. So Star Wars filming was a little Easter Egg!

We continued our coastal journey back to Dingle with a quick stop at Inch Beach which was much longer than Coumeenole. We returned to Dingle and were given a bathroom break. Kayla and I went and got ice cream at Murphy's. They told me I had to try the Gin ice cream and surprisingly it was quite good. Kayla and I got our cones are went back the bus to head off to Killarney. This was our stop for the night. We got to our hostel, dropped our stuff, and went out for a group dinner. We went to a restaurant that had live music playing the whole time we were there. We sat with Gillian and asked her all kinds of questions. I got a Shepard's Pie that was absolutely delicious. After dinner, I ran back to the hostel to change since we were going out to The Grand Hotel which was hosting a live Irish band. Their band name is The Lolligaggers and they were a great time! We all danced and sang along!

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Summer Trip:

Ireland [May 17th -20th]

Day 2: May 18th

And so we started our first day on our 3 Day Southern Rocker Shamrockers Tour of Ireland. We gathered our luggage and went to the lobby of the hostel to sign-in and meet out guides. We received a little green, rubbery wrist band to indicate our being a part of the tour group (it has 2015 on it though, so). We then loaded everything onto the bus and met our fellow tour people. Our guides names were Gillian, the main guide, and Jamie, the trainee, and with Giovanni driving the bus!

Our first stop was a quick lunch stop in Galway, the origin of the claddagh ring. We grabbed some to-go sandwiches from a deli counter and walked around the town and main streets. Our little group was the usual 3 of us and Tracey, our Australian 'friend' that we met at the hostel the night before. We found the main street which was completely bordered by shops, galleries, and everything else. There was a band playing out on the street and they were pretty good! Kayla wanted to stop and watch the band, so I walked into the the surrounding stores. I immediately started looking at claddagh rings and ended up buying one for myself and a matching one for Miranda. They are simple and beautiful. We made our way back to the buses and joined the 7 and 5 day travelers to make one big Shamrockers adventure team! It was time to fully start our Irish adventures and I couldn't be more excited.

As we made our way through the countryside towards the Cliffs of Moher, our guide Gillian, the world's most wonderful women, told us about Irish history, stories, and mythology. We learned about fairies and their mysterious circles and she even pointed some out to us. We then passed a Leprechaun Cathedral, I shit you not a tiny cathedral on the side of the road, and a Leprechaun Well that is meant to bring good luck (If I remember correctly) to those who leave offerings.

We then entered an area called the Burren Landscape which is exposed, dark bedrock mostly. We stopped for a quick second, got out, took pictures, and I also grabbed a piece of burren rock to take home. This landscape extended most of the way to the Cliffs of Moher, our big destination of the day.  

We arrived at the Cliffs and were met with an absolutely stunning view. As we walked up the path, you could turn right an walk along the the actual cliffs or turn left and walk towards what looked like an old watchtower and further to the Cliffs of Insanity (from the Princess Bride). We went left in order to get the best view of the Cliffs. It was astonishing. As we walked, Kayla and I decided to jump over the wall to get a better look and to take pictures (we soon found out this wasn't allowed, but we got away with it). We walked past the "It is not our fault if you fall off the cliffs sign" onto the unnecessarily windy "path" to the Cliffs of Insanity. Once we made our way down and onto the edge, the drop made your stomach heave. I somehow managed to put my feet over, look over, and hang my head off for pictures and to see below. It was absolutely terrifying, and Tracy was not pleased with out actions often calling us back from the ledge. After spending some time on the cliff, we headed back and walked brielfy onto the actually Cliffs of Moher. Then it was straight to the book shop to buy stickers and postcards. I bought Miranda a postcard and a stamp in order to send it to her while I was in Ireland.

We all loaded back on to the bus and went towards Ennis which was our final destination for the day and where we would be spending our first night. We arrived at the hostel and loaded our stuff into our respective rooms. We were told to meet in the dinning room after settling in to play a trivia/ice-breaking game. Our little group of 4 went downstairs and sat together. As per all ice-breakers, they split us up into a few groups and then told us to share a fun fact about ourselves to the group. I decided to go with that I sing opera and then this other girl, Mary, said she did too! We started talking about where we go to school, she does to American University, but lives in Florida. I told her I go to Towson and am from Glenelg in Maryland and she just stops and looks so bewildered. She said she has family that lives there, the Maisels, and I told her I went to school with some of her relatives. So! I met a girl in Ireland from Florida with whom I know her relatives, so weird. But we became friends really quickly and I ended up hanging out with her a lot, as much as a lot is over 3 days. The trivia game began shortly after our fun discovery and it was all about Ireland information that we should have picked up from the guides on the bus rides. We all gave a pound or two beforehand to make the game more competitive and to have a pretty substantial reward for winning (maybe 30 euros?). Our team was confident and we answered every question and then we WON! All high and mighty, we went to dinner as a whole group (All of the tour peoples) and I sat with my trivia mates for a change of people. We went to an Italian place that was lowkey nice and I met some over Americans on the trip: Jackson, from Alabama, Mitchell, the funny guy, and Cassandra (?). We ate and learned about each other and at the end of the night, we divided up our winnings which were held in a velvet coin pouch.

Once dinner was over, as a group, we went over to a local pub which had local musicians in it improving traditional music. We sat, talked, drank beer, and listened to the musicians. They were playing the Irish flute, accordion, and banjo. At some point later in the night, Mary and I got roped into singing with them. They told us to just go ahead and start singing any song and they would pick up the tune. We chose Rolling in the Deep by Adele and they picked it up instantly. It was so much fun to sing with them! I drank my obligatory pint of Guinness and Becca got the world's best cider, Orchard's Thieves! Kayla and Becca left earlier in the evening while Mary and I stayed behind. It seemed like it didn't get dark until 10pm, but eventually we went back to the hostel to get ready for our next day of adventure.

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Summer Trip: Ireland [May 17th -20th]

Day 1: May 17th We flew from Newcastle to Dublin to start our second 2 week adventure. We arrived in Dublin with enough time to explore the city a little, so we took the airport bus to our hostel, got settled in, and looked up what we should see. We stayed at the Four Courts Hostel which was the meeting place for the tour the next day which helped reduce some stress. We decided that, of course, our first stop had to be the Temple Bar. This place as super cool, design-wise. It was made up of a bunch of different rooms and buildings which included some outside terrace areas. We sat in one of the outside areas because it was just beautiful. Sadly, it was the smoking area (silly American always thinking everything is smoking free), so we didn't like that too much. But otherwise, the sandwiches were all great and I got a Kilkenny Beer. Our next stop was to go see the Castle. It was later in the day, so I figured we wouldn't do a full tour and that we'd just do and see as much as we could for free. This has to be one of my favorite moments of studying abroad, because it was just hilarious. We walk in and see that you have to pay to see pretty all of it and I look at the girls and just say something like, "Act confident," and then we just joined a group that was going up into the Mansion. We are about to walk up the stairs and we pass a checkpoint at which time they ask everyone to hold up their wrist to show off their wristband that proves they've paid. I'm slightly ahead of the girls, and I make an executive decision...I confidently raise my wrist and hope they follow suit. We make it upstairs and all of us are red in the face from holding back our laughter. We look at each other and I say, "If something happens. just let me talk and otherwise, let's just try to fit in." So the guide starts talking and it becomes apparent that we haven't just joined a group, but we joined one that has been touring the castle for at least an hour. I can't describe how hard it was to not laugh or freak out since that tour guide must have known that we weren't there before. But, although we didn't deserve it, we lucked out and no one told on us. We enjoyed the mansion tour and learned a lot about Ireland's heritage and past. Once the tour was over, we got the fuck out of there in order to not push our luck and just marveled at what had happened. We then headed towards Trinity College in the hopes of going into the beautiful old library. It took us a good while to find the front entrance, but it was well worth it. The campus in the middle of Dublin, but is enclosed by walls and buildings. We were too late to see the library (about 10 minutes), but we sat in the courtyard and tried to imagine that we went to school there. You weren't allowed on the grass, but as the rebels we are we had a somersault race in which Kayla won. On our way to the college, we passed hot chocolate place that Kayla had heard of before, so we went back there next. It was the richest hot chocolate I've ever had. Like so rich, you almost can't have more than a few sips! With hot chocolates in hand, we walked around the city and saw the Cathedral and the museums from the outside and then went back to the hostel. We just relaxed and sat in the weird faux windows like cats in the stairwells and then readied ourselves for the next day!

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Alnwick Castle and Gardens [May 6th]:

All of us were so close to the end our semester and tarting to go slightly crazy over th amount of work that we were doing and had left to do. Kayla was the first to express what everyone want to do...jut simply run away even if just for a bit. She began looking into going to Paris for the weekend which gave me this idea to look at some possible option for a day trip. I looked at Glasgow, Southern England, and finally ended up with the perfect trip to Alnwick Castle and Gardens.I bought my train tickets and tickets to the grounds for a solo, spontaneous adventure. I told both Kayla and Becca that if they wanted to join they were more than welcome! Kayla ended up deciding not to go to Paris and so she joined my adventure! We had to take a metro from Sunderland to Newcastle and then a train headed towards Edinburgh and get off at Alnmouth. Then we were suppose to take a city bus to the castle bus stop that was a short walk from the entrance. We go to the bus stop and there are two, one with vague schedule information and one with none. We eventually figure out that we had just missed the bus and that the next one wouldn't come for another hour. There were a few more people at the bus stop and we all decided, fuck it, let's take a taxi. There was an older couple who offered to split a taxi to the castle and then they would continue into town. So we took them up on it, and made some friends! They were on a 'walking holiday', which to me is an oxymoron, but nonetheless they were fun people. They told us about their holiday and the next steps of it. Gary, our taxi driver, dropped us at the gates and we said goodbye to our friends and headed in! We started with the gardens, and it was unreal. They were massive and so ornate. We first went to the Poison Garden which was done through a guided tour since everything in the garden can cause some serious harm. On this little tour was when Kayla and I realized that we were absolutely the youngest people in the whole garden minus elementary aged children that had been dragged along. The Poison Garden was super cool and very interesting because we got to learn a lot of fun ways to murder people if ever necessary (joking, just joking...). There were big tunneling trellises covered in thick English ivy that you could walk through and they were so beautiful. The next section of the garden was the Cherry Blossom Forest. On the way to it, there was a big pond and it had little baby ducks swimming around. Like 15 tiny ducklings just swimming and running and being too cute for real life, so we obviously sat down and watched them for a while before continuing up to the trees. Luckily, we were there in the spring, so they were in bloom! Tons of pink blossoms all the way up the hill. with a little winding path throughout. We found Humpty Dumpty by the top wall and would later find a bunch more fairy tall related figures. The path lead up to the top garden which is the Ornamental Garden. This was a classic garden with sectioned off areas of differing types of tulips, roses, and bunch more. It was put into sections by a garden-wide fountain that had small streams running through and creating borders. In the different sections were more figures like the Frog Prince, Belle's Rose, Cinderella's Glass Slipper, and more! While walking around we found a big gate that had a tiny gate on the bottom of one the doors and to our happy surprise it opened! Kayla went through first and then me. Sadly it didn't lead anywhere special, so we went back through and saw the rest of the garden. We were super hungry by the time we finished there, so we walked down by the side of the enormous fountain/water feature to the cafe at the front entrance to get lunch. We decided to come back to the Garden later if we had time and headed for the Castle when we were finished. Alnwick Castle was used as Hogwarts in the 1st Harry Potter movie, so I was super excited to be as close to being in Hogwarts as I ever could. We walked through the main gates just as a Filming Locations Tour was starting, so we ran over and joined in. It was being guided by an older man and a cute guy about our age. They were both in period dress of which I don't know, but the younger guy, later discovered that his name is Harry, was wearing a green tunic and until the discovery was called 'Sweet Tunic Boy'. They first brought us outside the castle gates and did a sort of introduction where we said where we're from and Kayla made everyone laugh by looking behind her when pointed at. The tour was full of all kinds of fun facts for the different TV shows and movies that had filmed at the castle. Like how the 1st Harry Potter filming crew left behind brackets on the front gates that were used for torches and how the courtyard was covered in fake snow for a 3 second scene, but took 3 years to completely get off. Kayla and I really enjoyed the tour and Sweet Tunic Boy. Once the tour was over, we did some exploring of our own. We walked around the castle trying to find the crafts area that was advertised. Turns out, kids only. Boo. Well on our way back we found Dragon's Quest which was like a weird fun house full of dragon related things and other Halloween decorations. It was super weird and I still don't know how I feel about it. After walking the castle walls, we headed back to finish up the Gardens. We first went to the Serpent Garden which was like sort of like a maze with all different sorts of fountains. We found and played in all the fountains and moved onto the Bamboo Labyrinth which was as terrifying as it sounds. We finally made our way out and went into the Rose Garden. Sadly, it wasn't in bloom. We sat and relaxed under one of the huge trellises that would soon be covered in blossoms. From there, we ventured back up the hill to the Fairy Tale Garden which didn't have much in it. We didn't want the day to end, so we went and got tea at the cafe and called our taxi driver. He informed us that we would be "looking for a man called Bob" and that he would bring us back to the train station. This trip was one of my all time favorites (as can be seen by pure length of entry)!

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Whitby Goth Weekend [April 23rd]:

Background: The reason WGW exist is because the Whitby Abbey was the inspiration for the novel Dracula. 

Getting ready was the best part. No doubt. We had so much picking our outfits and doing our makeup. The train ride over was interesting. We got so many side-eyed looks until we got closer to our destination since more goths showed up. But we also met two people. We had a table seat for the 3 of us, so we had one seat open. It was first occupied by a young guy who was acting super weird. He was with ~4 other friends who were behind us and he kept looking at them and smiling and laughing. Eventually, Kayla got a bit fed up with it and introduced herself and tried to talk to him to make it less awkward, but he just gave his name and barely answered. He eventually got up and joined his friends. Our next friend was an older man who we appropriately nicknamed Man. We chatted with him about a bunch of stuff and he told us stories of past WGWs. 

Whitby is right on the sea, so it is known for its fish and chips. Specifically, The Magpie. So we headed there first. It was super good and became my second favorite to Roker Beach’s. After we finished, we walked out to the sea since we were close by. The wind was absolutely ridiculous and we gave up pretty quickly to retreat back to the city. We walked around the city for a bit and looked into shops here and there on our way to the Abbey. There were two types of people in attendance. Those who were dressed up and partaking in the goth subculture and those who were there to photograph it. With huge, fancy cameras they would stopped the goths and take dramatic photos. 

The Abbey is situated on top of a hill, so we climbed the steps up and first cae upon another church that was surrounded by big, old gravestones. It was a perfect aesthetic for the day. We walked up to the Abbey and went on in! The massive ruins towered over us (and kept us away from the crazy wind). I love ruins, so I was stoked to just look around. We had about one goal for the day and it was to take “sweet, insta ready pics” of ourselves looking badass. We took pictures on top of things, inside of a grave, on stairs..pretty much everywhere. We sat and relaxed for a bit as well just to take in the beauty of the ruins. 

We headed down eventually and popped into a cafe like place that had a perfect window for people watching.I got a little bowl of ice cream and a cup of tea and the girls got tea as well and we just sat there a people watched. Once we had had our fill, we shopped a bit more and made our way to the train station to see if we could catch an earlier train back since we were cold and tired. No luck. Just the one train back. So we went to a restaurant to kill time. We got chips and stuff and just relaxed there for a while until it was time for our train.

The ride back was no less interesting. Again, 3 person table. One seat open. This time occupied by a drunk, middle-aged woman. Who was obsessed with the fact that we apparently didn’t speak English. She continued tried to talk to us about whatever came to her mind, shoved our feet with her massive heels, and would not stop touching and staring at Kayla who was sadly next to her. She would read over her shoulder and kept asking Kayla if it was written in “her language” and she also asked if it was Arabic. She eventually fell asleep...but on Kayla. Like hands on Kayla’s thighs and head on her shoulder. Like I said...an interesting ride back.  

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The Lake District [April 16th]:

This trip was organized by the University of Sunderland, so it involved no planning on our part which is fantastic. Tom Murray was the coordinator and he was a very fun, crazy, all over the place kind of guy. We loved him. They bused us over to the Lake District and had our day planned out! It was snowing like crazy on the bus ride over, but luckily it cleared up as we went west. 

We were all very excited for the main activity of the day which was dragon boating. We got all split up and put on our life jackets and it was time to row! With each row everyone had to yell PULL to keep in time. Tom was with our group and manned the drum at the top of the boat to help keep time. Our group was fantastic. The other group was so, so sad at rowing. We went to an island or the other end of the land and got off an explored. There as a giant set of hands that we took pictures in. The man running the dragon boating told us a bit abot Beatrix Potter and her love for the area and then it was time to get back to boating! We had a race between the two groups at the end . We won by a fraction of a second and screamed for a bit instead of yelling pull in order to intimidate the other group. The water was freezing, everyone was drenched, and everyone’s arms hurt by the end, but it was so much fun! We changed and got back on the bus to go to Keswick. 

We had to get a quick lunch, so we went to the nearest cafe. I got a steak pie and it was soo good. We sat near the windows, so we could watch all the dogs go by! Then it was time for our walk. We were behind schedule, so we couldn’t go on with the original plan, but they improvised and decided to go on a walk around the lake. Then that go ruined because there was a family on the trip with a pushchair and it couldn’t take the terrain. So we ended up just walking back to Keswick through the surrounding towns and it was still a nice walk. 

We had a bit more time before we had to head back, so we walked arounnd a bit. Leigh and I bought some duck food and fed the ducks and swans which was nice and then it was time to go back. We went back to Sunderland, but I had a nice chat with Tom on the way back about music because he plays the upright! 

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And Then They Left Me [April 10th]

We got up early and started the long drive up to Sunderland. Although I was hoping we would never make it, we did. I gave them a quick tour of my flat and my room and then we headed up to Roker Beach to see the North Sea and to eat my favorite Fish and Chips. We had to eat them outside, so it was a bit cold and we didn’t want to stay long. They dropped me back at the flat, said goodbye, and left. Of course, I was sobbing because I didn’t want them to leave and I didn’t want to go back to school and there was still so much time to go here without seeing anyone I know...ugh I cried a lot. But I was pretty tired after 3 straight weeks of travelling, so let’s blame it on that.    

Spring break was amazing and, even though it was pretty rough at times, I really enjoyed my travels! 

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The Cotswolds [April 9th]:

Hidcote Manor was created by a famous gardener, Lawrence Johnston. It was broken up into different sections and each had a different theme or name. It was of the only gardens that we went to that had a significant amount of flowering plants and it was wonderful. I absolutely enjoyed this garden and its unique design. There were also sheep so close by, but were separated by ditches and man, did I want to jump those ditches. Ugh. I should have. 

We didn’t have any more planes for the day, so we looked at a map of the Cotswolds and chose a nearby attraction, a Roman Villa. It was out in the middle of no where and we were certain there would be no one around. But once we pulled into the little parking lot, there were plenty of people there! The Villa was in ruin, but there were significant pieces completely gone. The bath houses were still partially intact and you could even see the mosaic floors which was pretty cool. We each had an audio guide, so I got to learn a lot.

We drove around the Cotswolds for a good bit just enjoying the cute villages and such. Then back to our temporary home for our last night at the George and to pack up to return to Sunderland the next day :(

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Cardiff, Wales [April 8th]:

Into Wales we went, our first stop being the Doctor Who Experience. I was originally going by myself, but Mom decided to join me! Fun Fact: On the signs near the Experience the icon pointing to it were little Daleks! We went in and started our joining. The part of it was made be like you were in an episode of Doctor Who. They had little videos of Peter Capaldi that ‘interacted’ with us and the guide. It was fun and super silly. Then you went into an area that had monster replicas, costume pieces, and other memorabilia. We spent a bit looking around and then went down to the shop. I really wish there had been a better area to take pictures with the monsters or with the doctors in some way because I totally wanted to do that! We bought a few things and then got some lunch at the cafe where Aunt Diane was waiting for us. She told us about a bus tour that she had seen going by, so we decided to leave the car in the parking lot there and take the bus. 

The bus tour was  actually pretty fun and very informative. You plugged a set of provided headphones into the bus and listened to a prerecorded guide talk about the city. It had a ton of information and I really enjoyed it. It was a hop on hop off tour, so we hopped off at the Cardiff Castle. 

The castle had also been used for filming Doctor Who, so  I was pretty excited about that and also to learn more. The castle had a long history and had changed many times through history. The walls, well under the walls, were used as WWII bunkers and we walked in them for a while. Then we went back up and I headed towards the big thing on the hill and climbed up a bunch of stairs to the top. It was a beautiful view of Cardiff! Then we went into the state rooms and they were ornate as ever. Then we popped into the shop, bought a few things, and fell in love with the cashier. Then back on the bus to learn more and to head to the car. 

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April 7th:

Destination Downton Abbey. Our first adventure of the day was to Highclere Castle. We took a tour of the house which was just amazing. Each room had big pictures that showed the cast of Downton in the rooms which was super cool. I really enjoyed it even though I haven’t watched the show and now I plan to! We walked the grounds and gardens and went to the thing on the hill, Jackdaws Castle, which I know has a specific name, but I can’t remember the name of what it is. Then on we went to our next location. 

I was super excited to go to Gloucester Cathedral because it has been used as a filming location for a lot of movies and TV shows, like Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Sherlock, and The Hollow Crown [which means B-batch, Hiddleston, and Tennant have been there!!!] It also have a very rich history in and of itself. Each part of the cathedral was just astounding. Detail covered every inch, inside and out. The experience would have been sublime, but for some reason there was a SKATE PARK in the middle of cathedral. It was ridiculously loud, but I did really enjoy the cathedral still. 

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Travel Day [April 6th]:

We traveled south to our new home base in Gloucester. The local pub, The George, would be our favorite dinner place as it was walking distance from our AirBnB! 

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The Peak District [April 5th]:

I returned home to Chatsworth.  It was as beautiful as ever. I put my headphones in and listened to the 2005 film score while viewing the rooms. Once we were done with the house, we went outside and ate pasties from the little cafe thing that was just outside. Then we decided to take a golf cart garden tour. It was super informative and I really enjoyed seeing more of the graden as I hadn’t last time we were there. They had a lot of wonderful water features and fountains. Chatsworth is as a Cavendish family home!

Next adventure, Stanage Edge. I wore my dress to take the above picture. Which meant I climbed up there in a dress! It was terrifyingly windy, but oh my god. The view was jut spectacular. It was easily my favorite view of the entire trip. After climbing back down, we just made our way through the Peak District towards home and enjoyed more livestock, views, and tiny, English roads. 

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April 4th:

We start our unexpected tour of the Cavendish family homes. First, Bolsover Castle (Nope, it’s pronounced Balls-Over).  This was one of my favorite places that we went. It had a main house building which was full of lavish rooms and approximately 2 sex rooms. What a fun guy, William Cavendish. There was a courtyard around the building that was walled in and you could walk on the wall. Of course, the views were gorgeous. My favorite part though was outside of the main area, and it was a huge ruined building that was once a massive entertaining hall and housing building. It was barely recognizable to it’s former glory, but it had these huge, old windows that looked out into the country side and it just looked like they were the windows to the world. I couldn’t stop just looking at them and out them. After I was done falling in love with a bunch of windows, we left for our second Cavendish home, Hardwick Hall.

We couldn’t actually go into either building, the new and the ruined, but we walked around the gardens.They were also walled, but within them were tall hedges that created smaller gardens. The plants are the edges were blooming, but not much within the hedged gardens. We went to the cafe and got tea because it started pouring. We ate flapjacks (possibly for the first time?) and cake as well. Once the rain calmed down, there was an amazing rainbow. 

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Derbyshire [April 3]:

Our first stop of the day was the Bronte Parsonage Museum. After a few wrong turns and roads, one of which was named Butt Lane, we made it to the parking lot for the town. We walked up and into the town which was super cute and got a spot of tea quickly. We went into a graveyard and walked around a bit listening to the Rooks above us. We then walked up to the museum and we were harshly greeted by a very red faced woman who hated us for no reason. We got our tickets along with some disdain and entered the museum. The home is actually the home of the Bronte family and they had the rooms set up like they would have been back in the day. I didn’t know much about the sisters or the family, so it was very interesting! 

We then went in search of lunch. We walked past a store that was labeled Apothecary and I just loved that so much that we went in. I bought some gifts for myself and others. We asked the women working there what was the best lunch place in town and she pointed us in the direction of a nice little cafe. We went there I got Afternoon Tea while Diane got Yorkshire Pudding and Mom got a Meat Pie (or the other way around...not 100% on that). Then it was back to the car to find a parking ticket guy giving us a ticket :( We were suppose to Pay and Display, but hadn’t seen anything that told us to. They were very sorry and funny and even told us not to pay the fine. Oh well, it wasn’t a huge fine. 

We jumped in the car and headed to Harewood House. We were too late to go into the house, so we got garden tickets and went in to explore. They had a gorgeous formal garden at the back of the house and the view was amazing as well. The rest of the garden were all around this lake and the Walled Garden that Mom wanted to go to was the last one and it was on the other side of the lake, so she and I went on a walk. We went into the Himalayan Garden which was gorgeous and had these super cool and scary stepping stone across the river that was going through it. After that, we waled along the lake and finally made it to the Walled Garden which was completely empty! It was for vegetables and so nothing was growing yet, but we looked around and went back out to look at the lake. We walked back and met Aunt Diane at the car and went on home after a very fun day!