EB in the UK

 

Hello Blog People,

The moment you have all been waiting for: my fall break post!!! I'm super excited to share everything that happened on this trip. Warning: this is gonna be a long one. I did a lot lolol (Sorry it took so long lolol)

    A quick little recap: I decided to go to Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England with one of my friends, Nevaeh, for our fall break. We had two days off school and got to travel and see a lot. We spent 1.5 days in Edinburgh, a day in Glasgow, and an afternoon in London. All I got to pack was one backpack, which was a struggle but I did it! YAY for me (I'm usually an over-packer, FYI.) During this time, I saw a lot of old buildings, experienced some Scottish culture, and got to check one thing off my bucket list. So here we go!

Wednesday, Nov. 1: Travel Day

    We left the school at 5:00 a.m. We had to leave that early to get to the tram so we could take it to the train station. From the station, we took a train to Pisa and then flew from Pisa Airport to Edinburgh Airport. To be honest, I was really anxious about traveling. I almost didn't want to go. I was scared to miss my flight or that something would go wrong, but everything went really smoothly. Finding our train was a bit tricky (had a different, further destination on it), but we figured it out. The flight went smoothly and we landed in Edinburgh in the afternoon. 

    We took the tram from the airport toward our hostel. We picked one that was really close to the tram station, so that was nice. We got lunch at a little cafe nearby ( I said ciao when I walked in and graze after I ordered. The Italian is starting to become ingrained lol) and waited to check into our hostel. While we were waiting, we walked to a local cathedral, St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral,  just to look around and it was so beautiful. We saw that they had an Evensong service that evening (it's like Vespers), which we did end up going to. We returned and checked into our hostel. The Hostel is near the Haymarket Station and was pretty nice. We picked the female-only dormitory, so we slept in a room with about 10 other girls/women. I didn't ever feel unsafe in the hostel and it was nice to have a place to call home base. I took a 2.5-hour nap once we got settled in (I was really tired!), and Nevaeh went and explored the city a little bit. 

    After I woke up and she got back we went to go out on the town a little bit. We went to the Evensong service and it was really nice to sit in the quiet and listen to the readings and the male choir singing. It was peaceful, and I'm always looking for peaceful moments in life. After the service, we got Starbucks (Side note: there was a really cute barista there. Not important, just wanted to say it) and then walked up Calton Hill, a lookout kind of in the middle of the city. The sky was a little cloudy and it was dark when we went walking, but it was beautiful to see the expansive city lights. There was also a monument with some columns, whose silhouette looked really cool against the sky (I'll put the picture I took). We made our way down the hill and to a restaurant that was recommended to me by a college friend and old professor. It was called Arcade Haggis and Whisky House. They had a very good 3 layer vegetarian haggis thing. It had a layer of veggie haggis (IDK what it was made of but it was good), a layer of sweet potato, and a layer of mashed potato. I liked it, even if it was more expensive than I would have liked. After that, we went to a pub called Stramash and went to Ceilidh dancing. 

    For reference, here is how we learned about this. As you enter the hostel, there is a blackboard with some recommended activities or things you could do while you are in Edinburgh. We saw that this was an option on Wednesday nights, so I thought we could give it a try. While we were waiting to get dinner, we checked out the pub it was at and it seemed fine. So we went back at 9:00 when it said it started and waited for about an hour. We almost left, but decided to stay and I'm so glad we did. The pub started to fill up as people found seats and started filling around the dance floor. The band set up on stage and it was made of two guitar players, one of whom sang/called the dances, a drummer, and a fiddle player who also helped call dances. They started by playing a little intro, and then they explained which dance they would be doing and how to dance it. All the dances were done with a partner and were done in lines or circles. There was a lot of stomping and clapping and it was a blast. It made me feel like I was line dancing, but UK version. We watched the first dance and it looked SO SO fun. Then we joined for the next two. I laughed and smiled so big. We danced with random people when we had to make groups of 3 or 6, and there was a lot of switching up the groups. But I had an absolute blast and didn't regret it one bit. I was on a dancing high for the rest of the night. We headed back to our hotel around 11:30 and headed to bed for the night. 

Thursday, Nov. 2: Edinburgh!

    The only thing we had planned for our full day in Edinburgh was a tour of Edinburgh Castle, one of the most famous structures in Edinburgh. I learned a lot about the castle. In the 1200's and 1300's, the ownership of the castle switched between the English and the Scottish a lot. At one point, the Scottish destroyed the castle, and later the English rebuilt it. At another point, no one owned it because it was run down, so it was taken over by some sheep. It was used in WWI as a training center, prisoner encampment, and hospital, and in WWII as a military hospital. I saw the Crown Jewels of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny (I almost bought a postcard with a picture of the stone, but I stopped myself). I also saw the room where Mary Queen of Scots had James VI. It was really cool to be in such an old structure. It was raining the whole time and got very windy at points because the castle was on a hill. But it was cool to mark it off the bucket list and say I got to walk around Edinburgh Castle. And even through the rain and wind, the view was breathtaking. 

    After we toured the castle we went to a little cafe called The Thistle Stop Cafe. It was a super cute little place in the bottom of a building. We started but just getting drinks, but then we were hungry so we split a waffle and OMG it was SO GOOD!! I miss waffles. I haven't had any before those or since then. After our little meal, we went to St. Giles Cathedral and walked around. This was also a beautiful cathedral. I never get tired of walking around beautiful, quiet cathedrals. We also walked to The Scott Monument, a beautiful dark, gothic structure. 

    Near the monument is the Scottish National Gallery (with free admission!). We went in there and I honestly let track of time. The paintings were absolutely beautiful! I found that 1800's Scottish painters knew how to paint a sky. If I were to buy a piece of old artwork. it would definitely be that one. At one point, I stared at the painting O'er Moor and Moss for like 3 minutes (il quadro a sinistra). It was absolutely perfect, and the artist painted the sky exactly like I had seem it at home. I also saw paintings of Edinburgh in the past and the surrounding Scottish nature. All of these paintings were done with oil paint, and after working with oils in art class, I appreciated the pieces even more. The details and the shading and just everything about the paintings made it very obvious why they were in the National Gallery. We didn't even get to see the whole thing, there were many many floors. I cannot even imagine all the paintings we didn't see. But by the time we left, my brain was full of art. 

    After that, I stayed in for the evening. I rested for the rest of the afternoon. As I spent the night in the hostel, I was able to meet one of the girls who was also staying in our room. Her name is Mila, and she is from Australia. She graduated high school, worked 4 jobs, and then decided to travel for 4 months. She has been to 21 different places. It was interesting to talk to her and hear about her home and her stories from traveling so far. She is already more of an adult than me, even if she is a few years younger. We went to bed a little late, even though we had to get up the next morning to go to... 

Friday, Nov. 3: Glasgow!! 

    Since we were in Scotland for a few days, we planned to take a day trip to Glasgow. We bought bus tickets and took a nice little hour drive to Glasgow. The drive there was nice. I got to see some sheep, which is only significant because Mom told me to take a picture of them if I saw them. And I did! Multiple times! Anyway, we arrived in Glasgow and I immediately realized it was different than Edinburgh. It felt more busy, industrial, and lived in. Edinburgh was quiet and pretty clean for a major city. It was more touristy, and just all around a little more serene. Glasgow had a lot more people and more action. There were lots of cars and students since there were a couple universities in the city. It was louder and a little more dirty, and just different from where we had been for the last few days. 

    We got there and started to look for things to see. We hadn’t made any serious plans, only that we were leaving to go back to Edinburgh at like 7 pm. So we started by going to George Square, a famous plaza in front of a Glasgow government building. It was nice; nothing really to write home about lol. Then we made our way to the Glasgow Cathedral. On the way, we stopped for some coffee and sat at a little park for a few minutes. It was such an autumn vibe, it was hard to express. Yellow leaves layer on the slightly wet cobblestone. We sat in the quiet, looking at the blue sky and old brick building, drinking our hot coffee, and watching the squirrels and pigeons. I loved it.  I took quite a few pictures. After that, we finished the walk to the cathedral and it was as beautiful as any of the others we had seen. The architecture was more of a Gothic style, and the downstairs had a preserved body of a Saint or something. There was also a little chapel where they filmed a scene from Outlander. I didn’t care that much, but it was cool. 

    After walking around the cathedral, we walked to a nearby Necropolis. It was basically a big graveyard on a hill with lots of monuments and fancy headstones. It wasn’t well taken care of I realized. I saw quite a few stones that were knocked down with age and weather. The necropolis also gave us a good view of the city. We spent a good amount of time there, just looking at the trees and wandering around. While on the hill, Nevaeh saw a tower that she wanted to check out. We didn't know what it was or where it was, but we ended up finding it after walking for 30 minutes. It ended up being the spire of a torn-down church near a community center. It was the only thing left standing from this church, and you could see the outline still in stone in the ground. It was neat. Anyway, after we went and saw the torn-down church we made our way back toward our original goal, which was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This was one of the must-sees in Glasgow, recommended by the Internet and one of my friends. 

   
    We stopped at a restaurant called Farina which was right across from the museum. I had some very good gnocchi that I split with Nevaeh. After that, we went and walked around the Gallery. You could spend a whole afternoon in this place. They had so much art from tons of different artists, different exhibits and displays from pieces of history, and even a bunch of preserved animals like a giraffe and two elephants. I got to see a couple Picasso paintings which was neat, and just looking at all the art was crazy. In my opinion, I liked the museum/gallery in Edinburgh more than the one in Glasgow. It was just more focused on the art and the different Scottish artists. But if you were to go with a group or with a family, the Glasgow Museum would be more interesting. 

    After we walked around we still had some time in the city before our bus back to Edinburgh. We ended up walking into the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It was basically a fancy music school. We sat in a little corner, letting our phones charge, and watched Brooklyn 99, just to kill some time. The school was having an exhibition in their lobby for Gibson guitars, and people would randomly come up and play them. I'm blown away by people who can make such beautiful music. Anyway after we sat there for an hour, we went to McDonald's to get some snacks. Then we walked to the bus station and got on the bus for the way back. It was a good day and I'm glad I got to see another city in Scotland. 

Saturday, Nov. 4: LONDON!!!

        This was our last morning in Edinburgh as we started to make our journey back home. We checked out of our hostel in the morning, backpacks on our backs, and got some breakfast at a little recommended cafe named Mayvn. I got to have some Earl Grey Tea which made me feel super fancy. It even came in a little teapot! So cute! 

    We walked to the train station and made it with just enough time. We rode the train from Edinburgh to London and it was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with the British coast. We rode past little pastures with sheep, little towns near the seaside, and waves hitting the gentle cliffs. I took a lot of pictures. Even now, I want to spend a long time just watching the water. 

    

    We got to Kings Cross Station and then took the underground to Victoria Station. We only had one thing planned for our time in London, and we still had some time to kill. I remember walking out of the station and just taking a big breath. Even though it looked like every other city, with people, cars, and buildings, I knew. I was in London. I had dreamed of going to London for years. It's a bucket list place, and I made it. I was standing in the city. We immediately started walking toward Buckingham Palace, which was pretty close to Victoria Station. I took pictures in front of it and that was nice. I hope to go back someday and actually get to spend an extended amount of time in London and get to see all the iconic places. 

        

   
    We made our way across the river and as we crossed the bridge, I saw the London Eye. For those who don't know what that is, it's a giant Ferris wheel stationed on the river Thames that takes about 30 minutes to do a full rotation. You get to see a lot of London on your way up and down. I have wanted to go on it since I was in middle school. I don't know why, but it was just one of those things that I wanted to do. So when we decided to go to London for a little bit, I knew this was one of the things we had to do. We crossed the river and took some pictures and then waited for our turn. We ended up going through the line early and going earlier than we had paid for, which was really nice. It was beautiful; everything I had imagined. The sky was turning gentle pastel colors and I took so many pictures, smiling like a goof the entire time. The little announcer in the speakers gave a little background to some of the bridges and buildings that we saw while on our ride. After half an hour, I had officially marked this experience off my bucket list. And I would do it again if I got the chance. 

    

    After we went on the London Eye, we didn't have much to do. I had seen posters for some theater shows that were in town. As a joke, I looked into how expensive tickets would be, and they weren't horrible. I started talking to Nevaeh about it. We got dinner near a theater and after some discussion decided to see the show nearby. I called my mom to confirm that it was a good idea, and she said "Yes. Do it". This is the kinda spontaneous thing I like to do. So I bought tickets for Wicked in the West End of London. It was amazing. Someone from home actually bought the tickets for us and I am still very very grateful for it. We had an amazing time at the show. The seats actually turned out to be pretty good. The theater was incredible. The actors and actresses did an incredible job (obviously!). I hadn't listened to the full musical before, so it was very interesting to see the story play out and give some background to the characters of The Wizard of Oz. I kinda liked it. It also made me think of my mom because this is her favorite musical. I cried a little bit. Only at one song though! Anyway, it was an amazing experience. 

    The show was done around 10:15, so we went back to Victoria Station and bought tickets for Gatwick. We were flying out of the Gatwick airport in the morning and booked our hotel close to the airport. We took that train and then a shuttle to the Travelodge near the airport and went to bed really late. It was a very fulfilling day, stuffed full of adventure. 

    

Sunday, Nov. 5: Traveling Back

    Our flight was at around 8:30 in the morning, so we got to the airport around 6:30 am. Everything went smoothly, from the very full tram ride over to getting through the airport to security. We got breakfast from one of the places in the airport. We got to our gate and I unfortunately had to pay for extra baggage because my very stuffed backpack didn't fit under the seat. That was expensive man! Like 50 euros. Note to travelers, a big backpack doesn't count as a small under-the-seat bag, and it's cheaper to pay for a bag before you get to the gate than when you are at the gate and getting your bag looked at. So just buy it before. ANYWAY, we made it to the plane and had a short flight from London to Pisa. I just watched Brooklyn 99 again (go figure!). Once we got back to Pisa, we rode the little tram to the train station and rode back to Florence. Then we took the tram back from the train station to the school. We made it back in the afternoon, and I was so grateful to be back. I enjoyed traveling. But I really enjoy the feeling of getting back home, unpacking all my things, and just resting after a big adventure. 

    Of all the cities, the time I spent in London was my favorite. I loved the energy of the city, all the iconic skyline buildings, and just the endless possibilities that came with the city. I was barely able to explore it in the time that we had because it was so big. I could definitely see myself living there for a bit in the future. I would love to travel all around London, and around the UK. But that will be a month-long trip at another point in my life, I think.

If you got this far, congrats! You just read a lot and I'm really grateful for it. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip. Check back soon for more recent updates.

Ciao,

            Ellie