Wednesday, March 3rd, MOM CAME TO VISIT! (This an extremely overdue and out-of-order post. My bad.)
After I got out of class I ran to her hotel to give her a big hug! :) Then we explored the Russell Square area by my flat/her hotel for a little bit, and settled down for a late pub lunch. Afterwards, I brought her back to my flat, and then we grabbed a quick dinner at a cafe. We parted ways, got dressed, and then met up around 7:00 to go see Wicked (!!) with Claire, Christine, Alex, Alex's mom, Alex's sister, and Alex's sister's boyfriend for Claire's birthday. It was quite a collaboration of people to say the least. It was all of our first times seeing the musical, and it was absolutely fantatsic! I only knew a small sliver of the story line, and the bigger storyline was really mind-blowing. I highly recommend seeing it wherever you can!
Thursday morning I had class until noon, and then afterwards I took Mom out on a crazy sightseeing adventure. We got off of the tube at Charing Cross next to the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. We walked from Trafalgar Square to Big Ben (past the London Eye), and then to Westminster Abbey. Then, we braved the walk to Buckingham Palace, stopping by the Royal Cavalry Museum on the way. While walking, I thought every building we were passing was Buckingham Palace, but it turns out it was (of course) the building farthest away from where we started. Go figure. After seeing Buckingham Palace, we walked towards Victoria Station and had some fish n' chips on the way in a pub called the 'Bag o' Nails'. As I am on a journey to find the best fish n' chips in London, this is definitely a finalist (along with a restaurant in Greenwich). It's slogan is that it has 'probably the best fish n' chips in London'; I would probably agree. That night I also brought her to Shakespeare's Head so that she could see one of the pubs that my friends and I congregate to on a regular basis. It was lovely.
On Friday, we took the tube to Kew to meet up with a school-sponsored field trip (free = yay!) to Kew Gardens. We started the afternoon off with a 30-minute tour of the gardens by one of SU's professors in London, and then were sent off to explore on our own. Unfortunately, I found the gardens to be relatively boring, and I was also very sick, so we only stayed for about an hour. We did manage to see two different green houses, though, including one from the 1800s that had a ton of tropical palm trees, and the Princess of Wales Conservatory that had nine different climate rooms, all with different plant species. After leaving, we went to a little Italian cafe for tea, and then headed back home so that I could rest for the evening. That night, we went out with some of my friends to another one of the local bars, this one called the White Hart, but not for very long because all of us were tired.
Saturday morning we went out to Pancake Cafe by the British Museum for Breakfast. Then, we met up with Alex, Ramon, and Ramon's friend Tania who was visiting at the British Museum. We stayed for a few hours, but were able to see Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Greece along with a little bit of Medieval British history. Ancient Egypt was by far my favorite exhibit. On the ground floor they had huge sculptures and pieces of tombs, and upstairs they had smaller artifacts and mummies. In the upstairs exhibit, they had mummified cats, canopic jars, tons of mummies, an unwrapped mummy (which was cool, but a little creepy), and Cleopatra's mummy! I have always been interested in Ancient Egyptian history, so this part of the museum was SO interesting to me. After the museum I went home and napped (I was sick all weekend while Mom was here, so I unfortunately spent a great deal of time napping). She had moved out of her hotel and into my flat by this time, so while I napped she went to the grocery store and made us all dinner, which was fantastic!
Sunday morning we did another big sightseeing day, but this time we visited my favorite part of London. We got off at St. Paul's and tried to visit the Cathedral, but it was closed to tourists since it was a day of worship. We walked across the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern, where we went up to the 7th floor cafe, which has a phenomenal view of St. Paul's and the Thames. Then we headed to the basement of the Tate, where we did the "box" exhibit, which I think I have mentioned before, but is just a giant box-shaped scupture that is pitch-black and you walk into until you are enveloped in darkness. Mom didn't like it very much, but it was really cool nonetheless. We then walked along the Thames past the Globe Theatre until we reached Borough Market, which was unfortunately closed. We then crossed the river on a different bridge, and walked along the opposite coast until we reached St. Paul's again to catch the Tube to Notting Hill. (We amazingly ran into Ramon and Tania while we were walking back to St. Paul's, which I couldn't believe happened in such a large city!) We caught the tube to Notting Hill, where I was planning on showing Mom the house with the blue door from the movie, along with the Portobello Market. Unfortunately, we sat down to grab some lunch, and all of the exhaustion that had been building up in my body hit me, and I absolutely had to go home to sleep. However, Mom was happy just to have gone to the Notting Hill Tube station, so she wasn't horribly disappointed.
That evening, Mom made meatloaf for my friends and I, and we had our last night together. I got some homework done after dinner, while Mom packed and got herself ready for departure. In the morning, I woke up early to get her to the Tube to Heathrow, where we said our goodbyes. Horribly, horribly bittersweet. I love being in London and beign on my own, but I really do miss her dearly. It was an awesome week, and I'm so glad that she got to see where I am living and what my life is like here! I will be home soon enough though, and then I will have an entire summer to spend with her and the rest of the family. :)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Spring Break Days 8&9: Back in Athens, Greece
Our last ferry ride was overnight from Kos to Athens, and was scheduled to take 12 hours. It only took 9. This messed up when we were supposed to check-in to our hostel, but luckily we had made friends there the first time, so they didn't mind us arriving early. Before falling asleep on the ferry, we talked, played cards for awhile (Kemps!), and read my new Cosmo magazine.
After unloading, taking the Metro to Monistiraki, and then arriving at our hostel, it was about 8:00 am. We hung out in the lobby for a little while before heading out for breakfast. After breakfast (and a little bit of shopping in the market) we headed back to the hostel to check-in to our rooms. This time, our reservations had us spread out all over the hostel, with two of us on the second floor, three of us on the third floor, and two of us on the fourth floor. After we (quickly) settled in, we all headed out to visit the Ancient Agora (market) in Athens. It wasn't my favorite site, however, it was still cool to see how the market had been laid out thousands of years ago. The market was set up with stones, so the foundations of different paths and stalls were still visible today. There were also some turtles (tortoises?) roaming around the ruins, along with the typical cats and dogs. We were also able to see the most well-preserved temple in Greece, which was located adjacent to the Agora. Afterwards, we went to a market for a little while where the boys looked at ancient coins, and then we headed back to the hostel. Some of the boys particpated in a wine tasting, while Alex, Claire, Christine, and I took the time to nap, shower, and relax. Post-naptime, Alex and I grabbed dinner and then met everyone up on the rooftop bar for happy hour. This happy hour was particularly "hopping", as it was completely packed and everyone was socializing with each other. I had originally planned on going clubbing with Christine and Claire, but was too exhausted from the week to have the energy to go. This was especially due to the fact that in Greece (or at least in Athens), you don't go out until at least 1:00 am, and you stay out until about 6:00 am. I love my sleep, so that is definitely not my scene.
The following morning (Sunday) we woke up, grabbed a few last-minute things, and then headed to the airport. Ramon and Dave F.'s flight didn't leave for another six or so hours, so they headed into Athens to see more of the sights that they had missed earlier in the week when they were in Italy. We arrived at the airport, got some duty-free stuff, grabbed some lunch, and then took the flight back to London. Arriving back in London was an awesome feeling, because it was just like arriving back home after a long trip. Although Greece was fantastic, it always feels good to be back at your home in your bed with your slippers on. <3
After unloading, taking the Metro to Monistiraki, and then arriving at our hostel, it was about 8:00 am. We hung out in the lobby for a little while before heading out for breakfast. After breakfast (and a little bit of shopping in the market) we headed back to the hostel to check-in to our rooms. This time, our reservations had us spread out all over the hostel, with two of us on the second floor, three of us on the third floor, and two of us on the fourth floor. After we (quickly) settled in, we all headed out to visit the Ancient Agora (market) in Athens. It wasn't my favorite site, however, it was still cool to see how the market had been laid out thousands of years ago. The market was set up with stones, so the foundations of different paths and stalls were still visible today. There were also some turtles (tortoises?) roaming around the ruins, along with the typical cats and dogs. We were also able to see the most well-preserved temple in Greece, which was located adjacent to the Agora. Afterwards, we went to a market for a little while where the boys looked at ancient coins, and then we headed back to the hostel. Some of the boys particpated in a wine tasting, while Alex, Claire, Christine, and I took the time to nap, shower, and relax. Post-naptime, Alex and I grabbed dinner and then met everyone up on the rooftop bar for happy hour. This happy hour was particularly "hopping", as it was completely packed and everyone was socializing with each other. I had originally planned on going clubbing with Christine and Claire, but was too exhausted from the week to have the energy to go. This was especially due to the fact that in Greece (or at least in Athens), you don't go out until at least 1:00 am, and you stay out until about 6:00 am. I love my sleep, so that is definitely not my scene.
The following morning (Sunday) we woke up, grabbed a few last-minute things, and then headed to the airport. Ramon and Dave F.'s flight didn't leave for another six or so hours, so they headed into Athens to see more of the sights that they had missed earlier in the week when they were in Italy. We arrived at the airport, got some duty-free stuff, grabbed some lunch, and then took the flight back to London. Arriving back in London was an awesome feeling, because it was just like arriving back home after a long trip. Although Greece was fantastic, it always feels good to be back at your home in your bed with your slippers on. <3
Spring Break Days 5,6,7: Kos, Greece
We arrived on the island of Kos at 4:15 am in a state of extreme lack of sleep. We braved the walk to our hostel along the coast, which wasn't all that bad as the sun was rising so the sky was a beautiful shade of reds, purples, and blues. We arrived at the hostel a little bit before 5, and when we got there, the door was locked. As we were attempting to figure out if it was the wrong entrance, a female voice from above shouts down what we want. We shouted back that we had a reservation, and a few minutes later a little old lady in a bathrobe comes to let us in. She also allowed us to go to our rooms right away, so we could get some sleep. As it turns out (as we would find out later), the hostel (which was actually more of a family-run hotel) was supposed to be closed for booking that particular weekend, but I think that we booked so far in advance that they didn't realize we had already made reservations.
So, quick notes about our hostel. When you walked in there was the lobby, then up the stairs was a living room (which belonged to the little old lady and her family) and then you walked up another flight in order to reach the rooms. So, every time we came or went, we had to walk through a living room of Greek people watching TV. We started calling the little old lady "grandma", and she gave us keys to let ourselves in at night and was always checking up to find out where we were going and when we'd be back. She gave us breakfast in the morning which consisted of a hard boiled egg, cheese, bread with butter and marmalade, orange juice, and tea/coffee. This was all served at her kitchen table, and freshly prepared by her. There was a middle-aged man there as well who frequently tried to make conversation with us, usually only to ask if we were cold (we were the only people on the island who found it appropriate to not be wearing scarves and winter jackets) and how we made our hotel reservation. Some other members of the family included another old woman who I think had alzheimer's because she kept trying to touch us and talk to us and grandma would shoo her away, and a little girl who was about one to two years old who was adorable and always staring at us during breakfast. I believe they all lived in the hotel.
So, Wednesday marked my 21st birthday (woo!!) so we started the day off sleeping in and then exploring Kos (which I think took all of 15 minutes). While discovering the area, we also discovered a few things about the culture. (1) It was not summer yet, so our sun dresses, flip flops, and sunglasses weren't appreciated by the locals. (2) It was windy. Really windy. I think that it might have been 15 degrees colder by the water. (3) This meant that it was impossible to sunbathe because you were so cold all the time. (4) Even if you are wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, people will still stop you on the street and ask you if you are cold. So weird.
Wednesday night we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant called H2O, where we got a lot of delicious and fancy foods, and then we went to a Western themed bar (Western as in American cowboys) for the duration of the night. Needless to say, we drank, we danced, we had a good time, and my birthday was a success. Everyone chipped in on gifts for me, which included a deck of cards with 500 pick-up lines on them, a book of drinking games, a pink sequined visor, a "Birthday Girl!" ribbon, a coaster, a British Cosmo magazine, ridiculous red sunglasses, and tickets to see the LION KING!! Hooray.
I am going to summarize the remainder of the things we did on Kos in one big paragraph rather than trying to do it by day. Kos basically was pretty boring, so we didn't do much while we were there. It consisted of a lot of sleeping, sitting, and relaxing, which was nice, but also got boring. Oh, and Dave F. and Ramon met up with us on the 18th early in the morning, so we had them to play with for our last two days. Yay!
Most of the shops and restaurants on Kos were closed for the season, but we did get some food at a couple of authentic Greek restaurants that was pretty good. New piece of knowledge I learned? Aubergine = eggplant. Good to know. We also explored some of the more 'historic' sites on Kos one of the days. We saw the exterior of the castle, saw Hippocrates' tree (not that exciting. I'm still not even sure who Hippocrates was), and just walked around the old parts of town. The rest of the group went to an old theatre the evening after my birthday, but as I was still recovering, I decided to take a nap instead. We spent one day just sitting in the sun in a cute little square drinking coffee and eating crepes (delicious). We finally left Kos on Friday night at 11:30 pm, and arrived in Athens about 9 hours later for our last two days of Spring Break.
So, quick notes about our hostel. When you walked in there was the lobby, then up the stairs was a living room (which belonged to the little old lady and her family) and then you walked up another flight in order to reach the rooms. So, every time we came or went, we had to walk through a living room of Greek people watching TV. We started calling the little old lady "grandma", and she gave us keys to let ourselves in at night and was always checking up to find out where we were going and when we'd be back. She gave us breakfast in the morning which consisted of a hard boiled egg, cheese, bread with butter and marmalade, orange juice, and tea/coffee. This was all served at her kitchen table, and freshly prepared by her. There was a middle-aged man there as well who frequently tried to make conversation with us, usually only to ask if we were cold (we were the only people on the island who found it appropriate to not be wearing scarves and winter jackets) and how we made our hotel reservation. Some other members of the family included another old woman who I think had alzheimer's because she kept trying to touch us and talk to us and grandma would shoo her away, and a little girl who was about one to two years old who was adorable and always staring at us during breakfast. I believe they all lived in the hotel.
So, Wednesday marked my 21st birthday (woo!!) so we started the day off sleeping in and then exploring Kos (which I think took all of 15 minutes). While discovering the area, we also discovered a few things about the culture. (1) It was not summer yet, so our sun dresses, flip flops, and sunglasses weren't appreciated by the locals. (2) It was windy. Really windy. I think that it might have been 15 degrees colder by the water. (3) This meant that it was impossible to sunbathe because you were so cold all the time. (4) Even if you are wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, people will still stop you on the street and ask you if you are cold. So weird.
Wednesday night we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant called H2O, where we got a lot of delicious and fancy foods, and then we went to a Western themed bar (Western as in American cowboys) for the duration of the night. Needless to say, we drank, we danced, we had a good time, and my birthday was a success. Everyone chipped in on gifts for me, which included a deck of cards with 500 pick-up lines on them, a book of drinking games, a pink sequined visor, a "Birthday Girl!" ribbon, a coaster, a British Cosmo magazine, ridiculous red sunglasses, and tickets to see the LION KING!! Hooray.
I am going to summarize the remainder of the things we did on Kos in one big paragraph rather than trying to do it by day. Kos basically was pretty boring, so we didn't do much while we were there. It consisted of a lot of sleeping, sitting, and relaxing, which was nice, but also got boring. Oh, and Dave F. and Ramon met up with us on the 18th early in the morning, so we had them to play with for our last two days. Yay!
Most of the shops and restaurants on Kos were closed for the season, but we did get some food at a couple of authentic Greek restaurants that was pretty good. New piece of knowledge I learned? Aubergine = eggplant. Good to know. We also explored some of the more 'historic' sites on Kos one of the days. We saw the exterior of the castle, saw Hippocrates' tree (not that exciting. I'm still not even sure who Hippocrates was), and just walked around the old parts of town. The rest of the group went to an old theatre the evening after my birthday, but as I was still recovering, I decided to take a nap instead. We spent one day just sitting in the sun in a cute little square drinking coffee and eating crepes (delicious). We finally left Kos on Friday night at 11:30 pm, and arrived in Athens about 9 hours later for our last two days of Spring Break.
Spring Break Day 5: Santorini, Greece: ATVs
Tuesday we woke up early in order to grab breakfast and rent ATVs to tour the island. We got a quick breakfast at a pastry shop before heading back to the hostel where George had someone come pick us up to bring us to the rental shop. Claire didn't want to ATV, so Alex, Dave, and I all rented/drove the ATVs, and Christine rode on the back of Dave's. Because Santorini is such a small island, everything on the island was within a 25-minute radius of Fira.
After we got our bearings on the ATVs (I was notoriously known as the "grandma-driver" of the group, because I was a little bit more nervous than the boys), we headed to the black beach. The black beach is a coastal beach that has black sand because of all of the leftover volcanic ash. It was really beautiful, and there was a road that ran along the coast that we followed for a long time. We then headed up the archaelogical site on the island, only to find that it was under construction, so we decided to leave. Then we drove around for awhile with no particular direction, and ended up at the tallest point of the island, which had a spectacular view. It was a giant mountain that we kept driving up, and by the time we reached the top, you could tell the air was thinner. We were so high that I remember thinking that the houses/people/cars below us looked as far away as they do when you're taking off in an airplane. It was crazy.
After we headed down the mountain we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant in another town on the island (I'm not sure which town it was). I'm pretty sure this was also the town that the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants took place on, so I was pretty excited to be there. It was also home to Santorini's most picturesque/famous church that is on tons of postcards.
After lunch, we headed to the red beach, which is a beach made of red clay and rocks. We sat on the rocks for a little while and got our feet wet, but it unfortunately wasn't warm enough to really go swimming. We also met some girls there who were on spring break as well, and one of them was from Manlius, NY! (Another Syracuse suburb - about 15 minutes from my house!) It really is a small world.
We headed back to the hostel quickly to grab some sweatshirts and jackets, because the sun was going to set soon, and your arms get REALLY cold while you're ATVing. Our ATVs were pushing 60-70 k/h, which made my hands get especially cold. After stopping at the hostel, we high-tailed it to Oia, which is the part of the island that is known for its beautiful sunsets. It was all its reputation made it out to be, and we drove down by the port and sat on the roof of a little shop to watch the sunset. After the sunset, we off-roaded a little bit and then headed back to the ATV rental place to return the ATVs.
We headed out to dinner afterwards, and then caught the bus to the ferry just before midnight (My birthday!)
Overall, this was definitely my favorite day of my trip abroad thus far. I wish that I could explain the sheer beauty of the island, but it's impossible. It had beautiful beaches, beautiful mountains, beautiful towns, and vineyards. I am so glad that I chose to go ATVing, because without having done that, I would not have seen even a quarter of the beauty of the island. Santorini is truly a beautiful place, and I recommend it fully to anyone looking for somewhere to visit.
This map should depict everywhere we drove during the day (roughly) I had a difficult time remembering, but the blue dots/squares indicate places we stopped and the red lines indicate where we drove. Woo!
After we got our bearings on the ATVs (I was notoriously known as the "grandma-driver" of the group, because I was a little bit more nervous than the boys), we headed to the black beach. The black beach is a coastal beach that has black sand because of all of the leftover volcanic ash. It was really beautiful, and there was a road that ran along the coast that we followed for a long time. We then headed up the archaelogical site on the island, only to find that it was under construction, so we decided to leave. Then we drove around for awhile with no particular direction, and ended up at the tallest point of the island, which had a spectacular view. It was a giant mountain that we kept driving up, and by the time we reached the top, you could tell the air was thinner. We were so high that I remember thinking that the houses/people/cars below us looked as far away as they do when you're taking off in an airplane. It was crazy.
After we headed down the mountain we grabbed some lunch at a restaurant in another town on the island (I'm not sure which town it was). I'm pretty sure this was also the town that the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants took place on, so I was pretty excited to be there. It was also home to Santorini's most picturesque/famous church that is on tons of postcards.
After lunch, we headed to the red beach, which is a beach made of red clay and rocks. We sat on the rocks for a little while and got our feet wet, but it unfortunately wasn't warm enough to really go swimming. We also met some girls there who were on spring break as well, and one of them was from Manlius, NY! (Another Syracuse suburb - about 15 minutes from my house!) It really is a small world.
We headed back to the hostel quickly to grab some sweatshirts and jackets, because the sun was going to set soon, and your arms get REALLY cold while you're ATVing. Our ATVs were pushing 60-70 k/h, which made my hands get especially cold. After stopping at the hostel, we high-tailed it to Oia, which is the part of the island that is known for its beautiful sunsets. It was all its reputation made it out to be, and we drove down by the port and sat on the roof of a little shop to watch the sunset. After the sunset, we off-roaded a little bit and then headed back to the ATV rental place to return the ATVs.
We headed out to dinner afterwards, and then caught the bus to the ferry just before midnight (My birthday!)
Overall, this was definitely my favorite day of my trip abroad thus far. I wish that I could explain the sheer beauty of the island, but it's impossible. It had beautiful beaches, beautiful mountains, beautiful towns, and vineyards. I am so glad that I chose to go ATVing, because without having done that, I would not have seen even a quarter of the beauty of the island. Santorini is truly a beautiful place, and I recommend it fully to anyone looking for somewhere to visit.
This map should depict everywhere we drove during the day (roughly) I had a difficult time remembering, but the blue dots/squares indicate places we stopped and the red lines indicate where we drove. Woo!
Spring Break Days 3&4: Santorini, Greece: Jumping in the Mediterranean & Donkeys
Sunday marked Day 3 of our trip, and we departed at the crack of dawn (literally) to catch the metro to our ferry. We caught the metro at 5:30 am and the ferry at 7:25. The ferry ride went suprisingly well considering that it was eight hours long. The ferry was more like a cruise ship than a ferry, and it had a few cafes, a fast-food restaurant, a bar, a bunch of lounges, and some seats called "air seats" that looked like seats on an airplane. We started out on the deck, but soon realized it was going to be a cold and wet journey up there, so we moved down to the air seats so that we could get some sleep.
We arrived in Santorini around 3:30 pm, where George, our hostel owner, picked us up to drive us to the hostel. Our hostel was located in Fira, one of the small towns on Santorini. When we arrived at the hostel, George helped us become acquainted with the island by explaining to us where all of the good sights were and how to get there, along with suggesting different activities for us to do while we were there. Our rooms were gorgeous; they looked more like hotel rooms than hostel rooms. The girls had a room to ourselves, and the boys were next door, so we weren't crowded at all. It was lovely.
Sunday was a little bit rainy and overcast in Santorini, so we decided to do a little bit of exploring while it was still light out, but nothing crazy. We walked around Fira for a long time and enjoyed its seaside view. We then went out to dinner for some delicious Greek cuisine at a restaurant that George suggested to us. After dinner, we went out to an "Irish" bar for happy hour, hung around and danced for awhile, and then headed to bed.
Monday morning we woke up around 10 so that we could catch the ferry (which was actually more of a pirateship-esque type of boat) to the volcano in Santorini. The volcano is no longer attached to the island, but you can still see it from the island. We took the ferry there at 11 and walked around the hilly island until we foudn the volcano, which was smoking and releasing sulfur. I also found a TON of pumice stones that had been created by the volcano, and all of the sand on this island was black from the volcanic ash. We also hiked to the highest point of the island, where we had a beautiful view of one of the coasts of the Santorini mainland. After this, we headed back to the ferry. What we didn't realize, was that there was another stop on the trip. We seemed to be taking the long way back to Santorini, when the boat stopped, dropped an anchor, put a ladder in the water, and the driver told us that there was a hot springs about 50 meters away if we wanted to swim to it. So, on a whim, Christine, Alex, and I stripped down to our underwear, jumped in the Mediterranean, and swam to the hot springs. The water surrounding the boat was absolutely FREEZING, and it took a minute to catch our breath after jumping in, but we successfully made it to the "hot" springs (which were actually more of a luke-warm springs) where we treaded water to enjoy the moment before heading back to the ship. Once reaching the ship, we put all of our clothes back on, and proceeded to freeze from the wind once the ship started to sail back to the island.
Once we arrived back at the island, we realized we had to walk up the extremely windy and steep walkway that we had walked down to get to the port. However, there were two alternatives to walking: a high-speed gondola (not like the kinds in Venice, more like the kinds at ski mountains) orrrr.... DONKEYS!! Christine, Alex, and I decided to brave the donkeys, while Claire took the gondola up. Let me just say, the donkeys were an absolute riot. There was a crazy Greek man in charge who just kept shouting at everyone (including the donkeys). At first, he loaded Alex and Christine (along with a hefty majority of our group) on to donkeys, and then started running away with them up the mountain. I chased them up for awhile (taking pictures along the way) until we reached a second group of donkeys. The crazy Greek man must have hated me, because I was the last person he put on a donkey, and I ended up sharing with Christine. He also didn't let me climb up, instead he just grabbed me and hoisted me up behind her. I wish that I could fully describe the insanity of the situation, but it's nearly impossible without having been there. All I can say is, it was quite an experience.
We headed back to the hostel to shower and warm-up, and then we got Dave and went out to lunch. The rest of the crew walked around the island for a little bit, but I was absoutely exhausted, so I decided to take a nap back at the hostel until dinnertime. For dinner we went to another delicious Greek restaurant, this one better than the first night. I tried mousakka, a traditional Greek dish that combines potatoes, eggplant, beef, tomatoes, and cheese into an almost lasagna-like dish. It was pretty good, but was so flavorful that I had a difficult time finishing it. That was something I found in the majority of Greek dishes: they all contained feta cheese and were extremely rich in flavors. I also had some white wine that was made in Santorini, along with a free dessert provided by the restaurant owner (he also gave us another casque of wine!) After dinner, we went back to the same bar for happy hour, but hung out for much less time before heading back to the hostel.
We arrived in Santorini around 3:30 pm, where George, our hostel owner, picked us up to drive us to the hostel. Our hostel was located in Fira, one of the small towns on Santorini. When we arrived at the hostel, George helped us become acquainted with the island by explaining to us where all of the good sights were and how to get there, along with suggesting different activities for us to do while we were there. Our rooms were gorgeous; they looked more like hotel rooms than hostel rooms. The girls had a room to ourselves, and the boys were next door, so we weren't crowded at all. It was lovely.
Sunday was a little bit rainy and overcast in Santorini, so we decided to do a little bit of exploring while it was still light out, but nothing crazy. We walked around Fira for a long time and enjoyed its seaside view. We then went out to dinner for some delicious Greek cuisine at a restaurant that George suggested to us. After dinner, we went out to an "Irish" bar for happy hour, hung around and danced for awhile, and then headed to bed.
Monday morning we woke up around 10 so that we could catch the ferry (which was actually more of a pirateship-esque type of boat) to the volcano in Santorini. The volcano is no longer attached to the island, but you can still see it from the island. We took the ferry there at 11 and walked around the hilly island until we foudn the volcano, which was smoking and releasing sulfur. I also found a TON of pumice stones that had been created by the volcano, and all of the sand on this island was black from the volcanic ash. We also hiked to the highest point of the island, where we had a beautiful view of one of the coasts of the Santorini mainland. After this, we headed back to the ferry. What we didn't realize, was that there was another stop on the trip. We seemed to be taking the long way back to Santorini, when the boat stopped, dropped an anchor, put a ladder in the water, and the driver told us that there was a hot springs about 50 meters away if we wanted to swim to it. So, on a whim, Christine, Alex, and I stripped down to our underwear, jumped in the Mediterranean, and swam to the hot springs. The water surrounding the boat was absolutely FREEZING, and it took a minute to catch our breath after jumping in, but we successfully made it to the "hot" springs (which were actually more of a luke-warm springs) where we treaded water to enjoy the moment before heading back to the ship. Once reaching the ship, we put all of our clothes back on, and proceeded to freeze from the wind once the ship started to sail back to the island.
Once we arrived back at the island, we realized we had to walk up the extremely windy and steep walkway that we had walked down to get to the port. However, there were two alternatives to walking: a high-speed gondola (not like the kinds in Venice, more like the kinds at ski mountains) orrrr.... DONKEYS!! Christine, Alex, and I decided to brave the donkeys, while Claire took the gondola up. Let me just say, the donkeys were an absolute riot. There was a crazy Greek man in charge who just kept shouting at everyone (including the donkeys). At first, he loaded Alex and Christine (along with a hefty majority of our group) on to donkeys, and then started running away with them up the mountain. I chased them up for awhile (taking pictures along the way) until we reached a second group of donkeys. The crazy Greek man must have hated me, because I was the last person he put on a donkey, and I ended up sharing with Christine. He also didn't let me climb up, instead he just grabbed me and hoisted me up behind her. I wish that I could fully describe the insanity of the situation, but it's nearly impossible without having been there. All I can say is, it was quite an experience.
We headed back to the hostel to shower and warm-up, and then we got Dave and went out to lunch. The rest of the crew walked around the island for a little bit, but I was absoutely exhausted, so I decided to take a nap back at the hostel until dinnertime. For dinner we went to another delicious Greek restaurant, this one better than the first night. I tried mousakka, a traditional Greek dish that combines potatoes, eggplant, beef, tomatoes, and cheese into an almost lasagna-like dish. It was pretty good, but was so flavorful that I had a difficult time finishing it. That was something I found in the majority of Greek dishes: they all contained feta cheese and were extremely rich in flavors. I also had some white wine that was made in Santorini, along with a free dessert provided by the restaurant owner (he also gave us another casque of wine!) After dinner, we went back to the same bar for happy hour, but hung out for much less time before heading back to the hostel.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spring Break Days 1&2: Athens, Greece
I am currently sitting on a ferry en route to the Greek island of Santorini. This is Day 3 of our spring break, and it has been awesome so far. We spent our first two nights in Athens, Greece, where we were able to do some sightseeing and eat some delicious food.
We departed from my flat in London at 4:45 am on Friday morning. We ate breakfast at a restaurant called Giraffe at Heathrow airport. After breakfast we had a little bit of time to relax before catching our flight to Greece. The flight went really well, and there was barely any turbulence. I slept for a good portion of it, and afterwards I stayed up and talked. The plane ride was much different from any plane I had ever been on, however. This was because many of the passengers were standing up throughout the flight in the back of the cabin with the stewardesses and drinking and socializing. It was very weird because it didn't even feel like I was on a plane. I also witnessed a group of students try to fit as many people as possible into the bathroom. They fit five people, including a stewardess. It was interesting, to say the least.
When we arrived in Greece, they opened the door and let us out into the warmth and sunshine!! We had to take a shuttle bus to the airport, and then we had to deal with customs, baggage claim, etc., which all went smoothly. We took the metro to our hostel, which was located in Monastiraki. The directions to the hostel said that when we exited the metro station we were supposed to turn our backs on Acropolis Hill. I wasn't really sure what this meant, but when we exited the station, the view was phenomenal. I had assumed that Acropolis Hill was a road or restaurant or something, but it was the hill with the actual Acropolis on top. Absolutely breathtaking. We could also see the Parthenon from the market (we were in the Athens flea market) before heading to our hostel.
Our hostel was located in the heart of the town, right next to a custom leather sandal maker (Janae - I think this is where you got your sandals!!!) I'm planning on getting a pair when we return to Athens. The hostel was very nice, and Alex, Christine, Claire, and I were able to get our own room, and Dave was next door to us. We were starving by the time we arrived, so the first thing that we did was get a recommendation for somewhere to eat. We ended up getting sent to a place called Ouzo Marathon (however, it was spelled entirely in Greek) where we had a really delicious dinner. After dinner we headed back to the hostel and went to happy hour at the hostel's rooftop bar. This view was even better than the one from the market, as it was one of the taller buildings in the area. From it, you could see a beautiful mosque atop a hill, the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and Zeus' Temple, not top mention a view of a good portion of the city. All of the monuments were lit up on top of hills, so they were easily visible. It was awesome. When we were up there we made friends with some of the other people at the hostel, including three Canadians, two Germans, two Americans also studying in London (through Wakeforest University), a French guy, a Lithuanian guy, an Australian guy, and an Italian girl. It was really fun talking to them about their experiences traveling and living in all of the different countries, and it was also fascinating how much we had in common (I had an extensive conversation with the Canadians and a few of the Germans about snowboarding). After we finished up at happy hour, Christine and Claire went out to a nightclub, while Alex, Dave, and I decided to explore the city for a little bit before retiring early since we were all exhausted and didn't have a chance to take a nap.
We started Day 2 pretty early, with a 9:00 am wake-up and breakfast at 9:30. We got ready and got out the door by 10:30. This was especially important because the girls had discovered the night before (while talking to some of the people we met) that most of the monuments close at 3:00pm. We decided to start out by going to the Acropolis/Parthenon, which was free because we were students (yay!). It wasn't very crowded since it was off-season, and the view from the top of the Acropolis was awesome. From there you could actually see the entire city. (Side note: Acropolis = mountain that the Parthenon sits on. The Parthenon is the building. I literally just discovered this). So anyways, we spent about two or three hours exploring all of the buildings and hanging out on top of the Acropolis before we hiked back down the mountain to grab lunch.
We ended up getting roped in to lunch by this really nice Greek man who offered us free wine or ouzo since we were Americans. Hooray. (Another side note: Ouzo = a sipping liquor that tastes like black licorice [aka death] that you drink on ice during and before dinner. It turns cloudy when it is cold, so that way you know when it is cold enough to drink.) I had calamari for the first time, and it was really good even though it was a little bit... graphic? I'm not sure if that is the right word, but we'll just say that it was obvious by sight that I was eating squid tentacles. Anyways, after lunch we decided to hike the mountain that led to the monastery because some of our hostel friends told us that it had the best view of Athens. They were right. It is the highest point in the city I think (or at least very close) so you had a 360-degree view. The hike was a little bit more intense than I had expected, but it was enjoyable. Afterwards, we hiked back down, grabbed some baklava at a local gelatto shop, and then headed back to the hostel to nap.
After naptime, we went back up to the hostel bar for happy hour, and the girls decided to go out again, but Alex, Dave, and I decided to just get something to eat and go to bed early since we had to be up at 4:30 am to catch the metro to the ferry.
We departed from my flat in London at 4:45 am on Friday morning. We ate breakfast at a restaurant called Giraffe at Heathrow airport. After breakfast we had a little bit of time to relax before catching our flight to Greece. The flight went really well, and there was barely any turbulence. I slept for a good portion of it, and afterwards I stayed up and talked. The plane ride was much different from any plane I had ever been on, however. This was because many of the passengers were standing up throughout the flight in the back of the cabin with the stewardesses and drinking and socializing. It was very weird because it didn't even feel like I was on a plane. I also witnessed a group of students try to fit as many people as possible into the bathroom. They fit five people, including a stewardess. It was interesting, to say the least.
When we arrived in Greece, they opened the door and let us out into the warmth and sunshine!! We had to take a shuttle bus to the airport, and then we had to deal with customs, baggage claim, etc., which all went smoothly. We took the metro to our hostel, which was located in Monastiraki. The directions to the hostel said that when we exited the metro station we were supposed to turn our backs on Acropolis Hill. I wasn't really sure what this meant, but when we exited the station, the view was phenomenal. I had assumed that Acropolis Hill was a road or restaurant or something, but it was the hill with the actual Acropolis on top. Absolutely breathtaking. We could also see the Parthenon from the market (we were in the Athens flea market) before heading to our hostel.
Our hostel was located in the heart of the town, right next to a custom leather sandal maker (Janae - I think this is where you got your sandals!!!) I'm planning on getting a pair when we return to Athens. The hostel was very nice, and Alex, Christine, Claire, and I were able to get our own room, and Dave was next door to us. We were starving by the time we arrived, so the first thing that we did was get a recommendation for somewhere to eat. We ended up getting sent to a place called Ouzo Marathon (however, it was spelled entirely in Greek) where we had a really delicious dinner. After dinner we headed back to the hostel and went to happy hour at the hostel's rooftop bar. This view was even better than the one from the market, as it was one of the taller buildings in the area. From it, you could see a beautiful mosque atop a hill, the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and Zeus' Temple, not top mention a view of a good portion of the city. All of the monuments were lit up on top of hills, so they were easily visible. It was awesome. When we were up there we made friends with some of the other people at the hostel, including three Canadians, two Germans, two Americans also studying in London (through Wakeforest University), a French guy, a Lithuanian guy, an Australian guy, and an Italian girl. It was really fun talking to them about their experiences traveling and living in all of the different countries, and it was also fascinating how much we had in common (I had an extensive conversation with the Canadians and a few of the Germans about snowboarding). After we finished up at happy hour, Christine and Claire went out to a nightclub, while Alex, Dave, and I decided to explore the city for a little bit before retiring early since we were all exhausted and didn't have a chance to take a nap.
We started Day 2 pretty early, with a 9:00 am wake-up and breakfast at 9:30. We got ready and got out the door by 10:30. This was especially important because the girls had discovered the night before (while talking to some of the people we met) that most of the monuments close at 3:00pm. We decided to start out by going to the Acropolis/Parthenon, which was free because we were students (yay!). It wasn't very crowded since it was off-season, and the view from the top of the Acropolis was awesome. From there you could actually see the entire city. (Side note: Acropolis = mountain that the Parthenon sits on. The Parthenon is the building. I literally just discovered this). So anyways, we spent about two or three hours exploring all of the buildings and hanging out on top of the Acropolis before we hiked back down the mountain to grab lunch.
We ended up getting roped in to lunch by this really nice Greek man who offered us free wine or ouzo since we were Americans. Hooray. (Another side note: Ouzo = a sipping liquor that tastes like black licorice [aka death] that you drink on ice during and before dinner. It turns cloudy when it is cold, so that way you know when it is cold enough to drink.) I had calamari for the first time, and it was really good even though it was a little bit... graphic? I'm not sure if that is the right word, but we'll just say that it was obvious by sight that I was eating squid tentacles. Anyways, after lunch we decided to hike the mountain that led to the monastery because some of our hostel friends told us that it had the best view of Athens. They were right. It is the highest point in the city I think (or at least very close) so you had a 360-degree view. The hike was a little bit more intense than I had expected, but it was enjoyable. Afterwards, we hiked back down, grabbed some baklava at a local gelatto shop, and then headed back to the hostel to nap.
After naptime, we went back up to the hostel bar for happy hour, and the girls decided to go out again, but Alex, Dave, and I decided to just get something to eat and go to bed early since we had to be up at 4:30 am to catch the metro to the ferry.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Eastbourne, England: Unite the Union Conference
I was given the opportunity, along with eight other students, to attend a Unite the Union conference in Eastbourne, England. Unite the Union is an organization that tries to get different trade unions in the UK to work together and fight for their rights as workers. This particular conference was about globalization in the workplace. It was one course of many that is taken by non-traditional students wishing to pursue a degree in trade union and labor studies. These non-traditional students were mostly men (although there were some women) aged 25-50, who are trade union workers from around the UK.
The conference began on Tuesday, 23 February. We arrived in Eastbourne just in time for lunch, which was provided for us by the conference. We stayed at a very nice hotel/conference center called the Eastbourne Center. After lunch we had some free time to explore Eastbourne, as the lecture that was given that afternoon did not pertain to us. (It was about the Internet, and the center had a very limited number of computers, so we were unable to participate). I took this time to explore as much as I could in the short time that I had. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty crappy (about 45 and rainy), so I felt like it was difficult to truly judge the city, but it was very quaint and pretty. There was not much to "central Eastbourne" besides some furniture shops and restaurants, but I managed to find a cute little sweet shop, where I bought some candies that I had never seen before to try.
After our break, we attended the conference for a lecture. I will be honest when I say that I don't remember the content of this lecture, as it was mostly geared towards those in the Trade Union. Prior to the conference, the idea of trade unions was very abstract to me, so I used this time to read some of the materials that had been given to us about the history and purpose of trade unions so that I could get some perspective on what I would be learning in the coming days. After this lecture, we had dinner, and then headed down to the hotel bar to mingle with some of the Unionists. We still felt relatively out-of-place at this point, so we kept to our own group, and then eventually went to bed at a pretty early hour.
Wednesday we began bright and early with breakfast in the dining room. The day would be full of lectures by speakers from various parts of the world. Our first speaker was from the UK, and he spoke a lot about the history and organization of trade unions, and how they function on a global scale. Afterwards, we were given a 15-minute tea break before coming back together for our second set of speakers. This time, they were a man and a woman from Iraq. The man spoke of the way that trade unions work in Iraq, while the woman gave a much more enthralling speech about women's rights in Iraq. Her speech was compelling, and she was given a standing ovation by the group once she finished. Afterwards, I was able to speak to her for a little while, and she agreed to come speak at Syracuse University London, hopefully in accordance with upcoming Women's Rights Day.
We had lunch after this, and then came back together for the afternoon's speakers. We began with two men from Zambia, who talked about the trials and tribulations they have faced as a result of trying to organize trade unions in their country. Trade unionists are often faced with violence in foreign countries, and if not violence, then of persecution. (I was suprised to find out that this is even true of the United States!) After another brief tea break, we were faced with our fourth and final speaker of the day, who was a woman that briefed us on how to organize yourself and others on a global level, and how to do so successfully.
This concluded our second, and longest, day at the conference. Although it was long, though, it was incredibly interesting and really helped me to learn about the plight that trade unionists face. We were served dinner, and afterwards there was a little "party" in the bar downstairs for Andy, one of the leaders of Unite the Union, who was leaving to work somewhere else the following week. They got someone to come in and play live music, and everyone dressed a little bit nicer. Andy was presented with some gifts as well since the unionists were sad to see him go.
This was the time when we truly were able to mingle with the trade unionists. We had been sitting with a few of them at mealtimes, however, we had not been able to meet the vast majority of them. A few of them came over to us to tell us about things that they had been involved in or things that they had faced in their lifetimes. One man had been a part of the miners' strike in the late 1980s, and he was able to tell us what that was like. We also spoke to many other members of the course who were able to tell us personal accounts of their lives and beliefs. After the party started to die down, the majority of us headed up the street to a local pub where we spent the rest of the evening. Here I was even able to meet some local British boys (including the one who played guitar at the party), who I ended up playing pool with later in the night. It was a truly enjoyable night.
The following morning everything felt much more comfortable with the trade unionists, as they had become our friends and peers the night before. We were able to laugh with them and talk to them much more easily. Instead of having a speaker in the morning, we were asked to split into groups to talk about the Informal Economy and to try to develop a strategy to make sure that members of the Informal Economy are represented. They split our group up to go and work with members of the conference, and we helped give them some perspective on life in America, while they gave us persepctive on their lives in the UK.
After completing this session, we said our goodbyes, had a quick lunch, and then headed to the train station for departure. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Eastbourne (besides the fact that it was free food and no classes!) It gave me a lot of perspective on the lives of those with "blue-collar" jobs. I hope to extend this knowledge to my life, especially in the workforce (if I ever get a job :P).
The conference began on Tuesday, 23 February. We arrived in Eastbourne just in time for lunch, which was provided for us by the conference. We stayed at a very nice hotel/conference center called the Eastbourne Center. After lunch we had some free time to explore Eastbourne, as the lecture that was given that afternoon did not pertain to us. (It was about the Internet, and the center had a very limited number of computers, so we were unable to participate). I took this time to explore as much as I could in the short time that I had. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty crappy (about 45 and rainy), so I felt like it was difficult to truly judge the city, but it was very quaint and pretty. There was not much to "central Eastbourne" besides some furniture shops and restaurants, but I managed to find a cute little sweet shop, where I bought some candies that I had never seen before to try.
After our break, we attended the conference for a lecture. I will be honest when I say that I don't remember the content of this lecture, as it was mostly geared towards those in the Trade Union. Prior to the conference, the idea of trade unions was very abstract to me, so I used this time to read some of the materials that had been given to us about the history and purpose of trade unions so that I could get some perspective on what I would be learning in the coming days. After this lecture, we had dinner, and then headed down to the hotel bar to mingle with some of the Unionists. We still felt relatively out-of-place at this point, so we kept to our own group, and then eventually went to bed at a pretty early hour.
Wednesday we began bright and early with breakfast in the dining room. The day would be full of lectures by speakers from various parts of the world. Our first speaker was from the UK, and he spoke a lot about the history and organization of trade unions, and how they function on a global scale. Afterwards, we were given a 15-minute tea break before coming back together for our second set of speakers. This time, they were a man and a woman from Iraq. The man spoke of the way that trade unions work in Iraq, while the woman gave a much more enthralling speech about women's rights in Iraq. Her speech was compelling, and she was given a standing ovation by the group once she finished. Afterwards, I was able to speak to her for a little while, and she agreed to come speak at Syracuse University London, hopefully in accordance with upcoming Women's Rights Day.
We had lunch after this, and then came back together for the afternoon's speakers. We began with two men from Zambia, who talked about the trials and tribulations they have faced as a result of trying to organize trade unions in their country. Trade unionists are often faced with violence in foreign countries, and if not violence, then of persecution. (I was suprised to find out that this is even true of the United States!) After another brief tea break, we were faced with our fourth and final speaker of the day, who was a woman that briefed us on how to organize yourself and others on a global level, and how to do so successfully.
This concluded our second, and longest, day at the conference. Although it was long, though, it was incredibly interesting and really helped me to learn about the plight that trade unionists face. We were served dinner, and afterwards there was a little "party" in the bar downstairs for Andy, one of the leaders of Unite the Union, who was leaving to work somewhere else the following week. They got someone to come in and play live music, and everyone dressed a little bit nicer. Andy was presented with some gifts as well since the unionists were sad to see him go.
This was the time when we truly were able to mingle with the trade unionists. We had been sitting with a few of them at mealtimes, however, we had not been able to meet the vast majority of them. A few of them came over to us to tell us about things that they had been involved in or things that they had faced in their lifetimes. One man had been a part of the miners' strike in the late 1980s, and he was able to tell us what that was like. We also spoke to many other members of the course who were able to tell us personal accounts of their lives and beliefs. After the party started to die down, the majority of us headed up the street to a local pub where we spent the rest of the evening. Here I was even able to meet some local British boys (including the one who played guitar at the party), who I ended up playing pool with later in the night. It was a truly enjoyable night.
The following morning everything felt much more comfortable with the trade unionists, as they had become our friends and peers the night before. We were able to laugh with them and talk to them much more easily. Instead of having a speaker in the morning, we were asked to split into groups to talk about the Informal Economy and to try to develop a strategy to make sure that members of the Informal Economy are represented. They split our group up to go and work with members of the conference, and we helped give them some perspective on life in America, while they gave us persepctive on their lives in the UK.
After completing this session, we said our goodbyes, had a quick lunch, and then headed to the train station for departure. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Eastbourne (besides the fact that it was free food and no classes!) It gave me a lot of perspective on the lives of those with "blue-collar" jobs. I hope to extend this knowledge to my life, especially in the workforce (if I ever get a job :P).
Edinburgh, Scotland: Days 3&4
So, I'm basically extremely behind on my blogging, and I'm hoping to blog a bunch of posts until I catch up. Here is the rest of my Edinburgh adventure, almost two weeks late (oops - life is crazy!)
Saturday 20 February, 2010
Saturday we woke up and ate breakfast at the Royal Mile Tavern again. This time, I tried haggis, which is a Scottish specialty. "Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours." Yum. Although it sounds pretty gross, it actually tastes and looks a lot like stuffing with sausage in it. Go figure.
After breakfast, Ramon, Christine, and I split off from the other boys to go to the Scottish National Gallery. (The other boys went on the Scotch Whiskey Tour). They had a lot of beautiful artwork, but unfortunately the French Impressionism wing was closed. French Impressionism is the only art I know anything about because my class did a unit on it when I was a senior in high school, so I have been finding it really humbling to see the paintings in real life. Anyways, I found one painting that I really liked, entitled "The Three Ages of Man" by Titian. I don't know why I liked it so much, but I did.
After we finished at the National Gallery, we met up with the boys to get some fish n' chips. We ate outside on this terrace that overlooked the city, until we were kindly asked to leave (we were sitting in another restaurant's seats... whoops...) After that, we headed to Edinburgh Castle for the afternoon.
Edinburgh Castle was home to a lot of very interesting things, including dungeons, great halls, a castle (obviously), and a really good POW exhibit. It was also home to a BEAUTIFUL view of the city, that would only be trumped by the view from the mountain on Sunday.
We finished up at Edinburgh Castle, took a nap, and got ready for the evening, where we participated in a Pub Crawl. The crawl brought us to 5 different pubs and one club in Edinburgh, and only cost £10. At each bar we were given a drink or a shot, and we were given free admission to the club, which is usually £10 itself. So, it was a pretty good deal. We had a fun time, and it was a good way to see a lot of Edinburgh and its nightlife all at once.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Sunday was our last day in Edinburgh, so it was also the day we had to check out of our hostel. Our bus wasn't scheduled to depart until 11:30 pm, so this was the longest day of all because we didn't have a bed or a room to go back to per se.
Christine had had her heart set on hiking up the mountain in Edinburgh since the day that we got there. We started Sunday off by hiking this hill. We got to a point where we weren't sure where to go, or even if we were at the top, and we were pretty exhausted (or at least, I was). As it turns out, we had merely walked to the hike, and what we had already completed wasn't even considered a hike at all. Well, since I'm super lazy, and my asthma was starting to bother me, I ended up not completing the hike, along with Alex who was really sick. We ended up going to a cafe at the bottom of the mountain and having some tea while we waited for the others to finish hiking. A few hours later, they collapsed on a statue at the bottom of the mountain where we met them before heading out to lunch.
After lunch, we went to the Scottish Museum to look around. We saw Dolly, the first cloned sheep, who had been taxidermied in the museum. We also saw numerous other artifacts, and Christine and I (later joined by Ramon and Alex) played dress-up in one part of the museum where they had different Victorian gowns and Samurai helmets that we could try-on.
By this point, we were all so exhausted and had no place to nap since we were checked out of our hostel. We were all pretty low on cash, so we decided to have dinner at Burger King. It had an upstairs dining room, so we sat up there by ourselves for a few hours while we killed time. We did, however, get in a very juvenile ketchup packet fight, which is evidence of how overtired and bored we actually were.
After sitting in Burger King we were desperate to find something to do, so we went back to the hostel to play some board games (they had some available for us to use). After surveying the choices and realizing most games did not have all the necessary pieces, we ended up commandeering a large stack of Trivial Pursuit cards and going to Starbucks to drink coffee (hooray for caffeine!) and quiz each other on random trivia questions. When Starbucks closed at 9:30, we headed back to the hostel to get our things (and return the careds) and go to the bus station. We stopped at Tesco Express on the way to grab some snacks, and arrived at the bus shelter at 10:43, exactly 47 minutes early for our bus.
When we arrived at the bus station, however, our 11:30 bus was not showing up on any of the departure boards. We looked at our confirmation only to find out that we mis-calculated the military time (or, perhaps we got confused at some point during the day) and our bus actually left at 10:30. Oops. After a moment of sheer panic and finding out that the next bus wouldn't depart for London until 11:00am the following day, we managed to high-tail it to the train station and catch the last departing train to London at 11:00 pm. This involved a lot of running which resulted in getting on the train roughly three minutes before it left. Oy vey.
In the end, the train ended up working out very well. It got us back to London about an hour earlier than we would have arrived via bus, and the seats were much more comfortable (and larger) than on the bus. We were able to sprawl out (there were many empty seats) and lay down across two seats and get some real sleep. There were also complimentary ScotRail sleeping masks! Hooray for sleeping masks!
Saturday 20 February, 2010
Saturday we woke up and ate breakfast at the Royal Mile Tavern again. This time, I tried haggis, which is a Scottish specialty. "Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours." Yum. Although it sounds pretty gross, it actually tastes and looks a lot like stuffing with sausage in it. Go figure.
After breakfast, Ramon, Christine, and I split off from the other boys to go to the Scottish National Gallery. (The other boys went on the Scotch Whiskey Tour). They had a lot of beautiful artwork, but unfortunately the French Impressionism wing was closed. French Impressionism is the only art I know anything about because my class did a unit on it when I was a senior in high school, so I have been finding it really humbling to see the paintings in real life. Anyways, I found one painting that I really liked, entitled "The Three Ages of Man" by Titian. I don't know why I liked it so much, but I did.
After we finished at the National Gallery, we met up with the boys to get some fish n' chips. We ate outside on this terrace that overlooked the city, until we were kindly asked to leave (we were sitting in another restaurant's seats... whoops...) After that, we headed to Edinburgh Castle for the afternoon.
Edinburgh Castle was home to a lot of very interesting things, including dungeons, great halls, a castle (obviously), and a really good POW exhibit. It was also home to a BEAUTIFUL view of the city, that would only be trumped by the view from the mountain on Sunday.
We finished up at Edinburgh Castle, took a nap, and got ready for the evening, where we participated in a Pub Crawl. The crawl brought us to 5 different pubs and one club in Edinburgh, and only cost £10. At each bar we were given a drink or a shot, and we were given free admission to the club, which is usually £10 itself. So, it was a pretty good deal. We had a fun time, and it was a good way to see a lot of Edinburgh and its nightlife all at once.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Sunday was our last day in Edinburgh, so it was also the day we had to check out of our hostel. Our bus wasn't scheduled to depart until 11:30 pm, so this was the longest day of all because we didn't have a bed or a room to go back to per se.
Christine had had her heart set on hiking up the mountain in Edinburgh since the day that we got there. We started Sunday off by hiking this hill. We got to a point where we weren't sure where to go, or even if we were at the top, and we were pretty exhausted (or at least, I was). As it turns out, we had merely walked to the hike, and what we had already completed wasn't even considered a hike at all. Well, since I'm super lazy, and my asthma was starting to bother me, I ended up not completing the hike, along with Alex who was really sick. We ended up going to a cafe at the bottom of the mountain and having some tea while we waited for the others to finish hiking. A few hours later, they collapsed on a statue at the bottom of the mountain where we met them before heading out to lunch.
After lunch, we went to the Scottish Museum to look around. We saw Dolly, the first cloned sheep, who had been taxidermied in the museum. We also saw numerous other artifacts, and Christine and I (later joined by Ramon and Alex) played dress-up in one part of the museum where they had different Victorian gowns and Samurai helmets that we could try-on.
By this point, we were all so exhausted and had no place to nap since we were checked out of our hostel. We were all pretty low on cash, so we decided to have dinner at Burger King. It had an upstairs dining room, so we sat up there by ourselves for a few hours while we killed time. We did, however, get in a very juvenile ketchup packet fight, which is evidence of how overtired and bored we actually were.
After sitting in Burger King we were desperate to find something to do, so we went back to the hostel to play some board games (they had some available for us to use). After surveying the choices and realizing most games did not have all the necessary pieces, we ended up commandeering a large stack of Trivial Pursuit cards and going to Starbucks to drink coffee (hooray for caffeine!) and quiz each other on random trivia questions. When Starbucks closed at 9:30, we headed back to the hostel to get our things (and return the careds) and go to the bus station. We stopped at Tesco Express on the way to grab some snacks, and arrived at the bus shelter at 10:43, exactly 47 minutes early for our bus.
When we arrived at the bus station, however, our 11:30 bus was not showing up on any of the departure boards. We looked at our confirmation only to find out that we mis-calculated the military time (or, perhaps we got confused at some point during the day) and our bus actually left at 10:30. Oops. After a moment of sheer panic and finding out that the next bus wouldn't depart for London until 11:00am the following day, we managed to high-tail it to the train station and catch the last departing train to London at 11:00 pm. This involved a lot of running which resulted in getting on the train roughly three minutes before it left. Oy vey.
In the end, the train ended up working out very well. It got us back to London about an hour earlier than we would have arrived via bus, and the seats were much more comfortable (and larger) than on the bus. We were able to sprawl out (there were many empty seats) and lay down across two seats and get some real sleep. There were also complimentary ScotRail sleeping masks! Hooray for sleeping masks!
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