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Spring Break: For the love of London sights, Scottish bagpipes, and Irish accents.

DEAREST READER,

I am glad to report that I did indeed survive spring break. It was an incredibly thrilling/wonderful/strenuous weeklong holiday up in the north. Although, I did come out alive, I didn’t get away without a little bit of a cold.

So this post comes to you from 90% functioning Elise as I write this on my new bed in my new apartment with my new homestay family. Thus far, things are going splendidly as not only have we been given more storage space, an extra desk, and a more welcoming host mom, we are also feeling as if a new chapter has begun. A fresh start. 

Spring break truly marked the end of the first chapter of this semester abroad. The night before my vacation began was a bit mad since I had to pack up everything, not just the things I’d be taking with me for spring break. Nevertheless, I was able to make it to my Friday afternoon flight to London without having to fret too much about getting my belongings to the new homestay. This was all thanks to Sandrine, the AIFS coordinator, and my roommate, Meghan.

After a 1 hour bus ride, a 1 hour flight, 30 minutes on the “tube”, and a dance around the hostel building since I wasn’t sure where the entrance was, spring break had commenced!

LONDON

This place keeps drawing me back for more. From the get-go, I knew that this time around would be better since…

1. I was not walking around like a zombie due to jet lag like the first time
2. I already had an idea of what I wanted to see and do (Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, see a play, go to Camden market, go to Easter service)
3. I actually know how to use the tube now (the metro system)
4. It now takes me 5 less seconds than it did before to figure out how to pay in pences and pounds

Voila! Those 4 facts alone made London so much more enjoyable. 

Another girl from the AIFS Cannes program and I stayed at Clink78 Hostel in London. It was good to have a companion for this first leg of the vacation although we had different itineraries for ourselves.

Together, over the course of 3 days, we went to…

Leicester Square, where there is an array of restaurants, theaters, and tickets booths to buy cheap tickets to a play or musical in London

Trafalgar Square, where the National Gallery is and houses some works by Monet and Titian

Camden Town, which is a massive flea market where we learned the trick to bartering.

And Holy Trinity Brompton for a delightful Easter morning service

On my own, I made it a point to go to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. Though I wasn’t sure if it was the real Globe theater, after doing walking around the exhibition and a guided tour, I realized that the real one stands no more! No one even knows what it looks like exactly, but this is the best model they could make with what little info can be found…

It was great to learn more about the man who has come to define the theater. The exhibition and the tour did an excellent job of explaining how things worked back in the days of Shakespeare–the music, the dress, the preparation for the play of the night. The most astounding of facts was that, rain or shine, the actors would perform on the stage in a theater where there is no roof!

Thankfully, in the play I saw that same night, there was a roof. I treated myself out to Once which was first a small Irish film that has now been turned into a play. A cute storyline and some great music was exactly the night out I needed.

After wrapping up all the touristy things I could accomplish for this time in London, I already began to make a to-do list for myself for next time. There is so much to see.

Thankfully, an Easter dinner with my cousin who lives 15 minutes outside London city by train solidified that I’ll be back again in the beginning of June. This will be a quick stop before I head off for 4 more weeks of traveling throughout Europe on my own. Then, I’ll be back in July until I officially end my European adventures. It’s great to have family in the right places!

It’s like I said earlier. This place keeps me coming back for more!

EDINBURGH

The 4 hour train ride from London to Edinburgh got me more and more excited as we passed through the English countryside. Slowly but surely, I was falling in love as we were nearing the second destination on my spring break. 

Edinburgh truly had me at hello. The people are friendly. The city is clean and has shops, cafés, and restaurants with their own character. It all feels medieval in a sense with the castle up on a hill above the hostel I stayed at (Castle Rock Hostel)!

Upon the first hour of being in Edinburgh, I was greeted with the sound and the sight of this…

He, along with two other pleasant conversations that I had with a Scot and an Australian, made me realize that traveling solo would not be a problem at all in this city.

Apart from a 3-hour city tour and 2 trips to the National Museum of Scotland, I didn’t hit too many of the things my TripAdvisor App advised me to see. Instead, I wandered a bit and thankfully, you don’t need to wander too far to figure out that Edinburgh is pretty easy to get around.

There is Old Town. And there is New Town. And they are exactly what their names are. Old Town is where I stayed and where all the historical and touristy things are to see in Edinburgh.

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Hanging out at my hostel, going on the tour, and wandering about town, allowed me to meet so many people from all over the world. At times, I think I thrive off of such encounters. To hear everyone’s story and in turn, have the opportunity to tell mine. There are many things I learned in my first solo trip that set the tone for what I will most likely hear for the rest of my independent travels…

1. There is such a thing as good Americans and bad Americans. (To be explained in a much needed “Featured Post”)
2. Traveling abroad is financially doable and very common among internationals.
3. If you say you’re from California, you automatically are greeted with a “woah…” (in a good way)
4. If you say you’re traveling alone, people will always invite you to come with them to dinner, to a pub, to a tour, etc.
5. People always want to know my ethnic background and it always makes for great conversation. Ha!

Although #5 was pretty unexpected, it paved the way for what was to come in Ireland. Dublin was the last destination for this holiday but I can’t help but admit that Edinburgh was hard to leave…

DUBLIN

Dublin was quite the sight. Ireland was quite the experience. In the span of 4 days, I learned that like the French, the Irish are true to their stereotypes. The #1 stereotype that I was glad to find to be true was that the Irish are genuinely nice.

The capital city of Ireland is not too big and my hostel, Barnacles Hostel Dublin, was conveniently located next to the main party area of Dublin for tourists and Irish people alike. Though I wasn’t looking to throw caution to the wind, something about Ireland makes you a bit more daring. The first night I got there, I signed up for a traditional Irish music pub crawl and was delighted to be treated to free drinks from some fellow Americans who were visiting Dublin and the sounds of the acoustic guitar and banjo!

I would say that the first of two big nights out on the town was a success.

The mornings and the afternoons were full of meeting new people at my hostel, going to an Irish breakfast, taking a hop on and off tour, and stopping by the Dublin Writer’s Museum.

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No major sights for me really. I wanted to save all that for the next time I’d be in Ireland. I kept thinking how much my family would enjoy Dublin and so I’ll have to convince them to go so I can come back!

Some revelations/highlights from my stay in Dublin…

• American media, politics, and music is more far-reaching than I thought. Every international person I talked to made a reference to at least one of those three.
• Irish is actually a spoken language and is written all over Dublin.
• Leprechauns are real. I met two. They taught me Irish and told me I was very pretty. Ha!
• Irish breakfast is the most hearty breakfast I’ve had yet in Europe!
• Guinness stew pretty much is the best thing since sliced bread.
• Hearing traditional Irish music makes my heart full.
• You are way more approachable in an Irish pub or bar if you are by yourself. Exercise caution of course, but most of the time, you will have pleasant conversations and be treated to free drinks.
• If I ever need an ego boost, I will come back to Dublin. Compliments galore!

All in all, it was a spring break for the books. In one week, I learned so much about myself in terms of how I travel, how I prioritize, and how I relate to others. It was a good experience to have before embarking for a whole month of solo travel but before I head into the preparations of that, I have to remember that the festival is nearing. I am back in Cannes. I’ve got French to catch up on. And an internship in the works. 

Goodness. Two months in. Two months more in Cannes. And then, c’est tout pour ce semestre!

Time to take a breather.

Til next week!

LOVE,

ELISE