Last week, from the 10th of October until the 18th, I was on the road, exploring the land where English is spoken aplenty—the United Kingdom. Throughout my travels, I am convinced I utilized every means of transportation imaginable: airplanes from Granada to London, Edinburgh to Dublin, and Dublin to Málaga; trains between the cities and towns in England and Scotland; taxis to and from our hotels and the airport; buses through the streets of London and Oxford; and my God-given mode of transportation—my feet—for roads, hills, mountains, museums, and everything else in between. Needless to say, Rebecca and I were on the move constantly and had nary a moment to sit and relax except for meals. Of course we were unable to see everything, but we managed to take in quite a bit during our short time up north. Indeed, we were immensely satisfied with what we did see.
ENGLAND
Kings, palaces, red coats, poets, monuments, double-decker city buses, cathedrals, countryside, gardens, universities: the diversity of England is really quite extraordinary. On Friday night, we flew out of Granada to London-Stansted airport, where we waited in the customs line for a good 45 minutes. After the 300 EU arrivals had made it through their line, the customs officials decided to help us foreigners and allow us into the country. Fortunately, we were able to make the last train of the night into the city of London. On Saturday morning, with a solid four hours of sleep, we work up, ate our breakfast and went out to see all that we could see. We walked to Buckingham Palace, around St. James’ Park, back to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards (for which we waited nearly an hour and a half), took some pictures in a big red telephone booth, toured Westminster Abbey, and spotted Big Ben and Parliament, all before lunch time. After a long-awaited afternoon meal, we decided to head to the British History Museum and afterwards, we went to the theatre to see the musical “Zorro.”
The next day, we were planning to go to Stonehenge, but realized we would be rushing around too much. Instead, on Sunday morning, we took a bus to the “home” of the two famous bachelors of Baker Street—Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. After a tour of the nineteenth-century flat and museum, complete with artifacts and wax depictions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters, we headed to Paddington Station where we would take the next rain to Exeter, where I would reunite with my friend Amy who attends university there.
Rebecca and I waited for the train for over a half an hour; that was still better than the several hours others had waited that day. Apparently, there was a “fatality” on the tracks and the train had been stopped all day. Thus, the train that finally arrived to take us to Exeter was filled four times over, and not everyone had a seat. Somehow, Rebecca and I managed to get a seat in FIRST CLASS without having to pay extra because we found a seat before everyone boarded, and the conductor declared that no seats would be assigned that afternoon. Talk about traveling in style! We arrived in Exeter and were greeted by Amy, who spent the evening showing us around the center of town and making sure we were well fed. Furthermore, she helped us with our travel plans for the following day—a layover in Oxford before heading to Edinburgh.
On Monday morning, Amy showed us around the beautiful campus of Exeter University and saw us off on our journey. I hated saying goodbye, but hopefully it will just be “until the next time” I make my way to England. After we arrived in Oxford, with the desire to see the prestigious college town, we spent a good deal of time walking around with our very heavy backpacks. I must say, we were a little hungry and irritable, but as soon as we found the Thornton’s Chocolate Shop, which according to Amy makes some of the best chocolate in England, we felt much better. The city of Oxford was beautiful, with its stone buildings and deeply-rooted academic traditions; however, Rebecca and I both agreed that the country-style charm of Exeter was more to our liking. With aching backs and feet, the two of us headed back to the train station and made our way to Edinburgh.
SCOTLAND
All it took was a few words from the train conductor in a thick Scottish accent and I was hooked! We arrived in Edinburgh around 10:30 on Monday evening after quite a busy day of walking and hopping on and off of trains. As soon as I set my eyes on the stone castle and other building in the center of town, I was enamored by the city on a hill. Early the next morning, we set out on our adventure, which we supposed after the fact was the longest day of our trip. Without exaggeration, we walked every part of the Edinburgh except for the west side of the city. First, we hiked up and around a very large hill known as Arthur’s Seat. We proceeded to visit the sites of Hollyrood Castle and the Parliament building, ruins on yet another hill, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the shopping district on Prince Street and to other streets and roads I cannot even recall. The weather was frigid in Edinburgh, much cooler than England and we treated ourselves to Scottish Tartan scarves to keep the chill away.
The following day, we took a trip to the post office to ship some “souvenirs” and other purchases home (they would have put our backpacks over the 10 kg limit in the airport), and we visited Edinburgh Castle. We walked along the Royal Mile and then some to the Edinburgh Playhouse, where we purchased tickets to see “Mary Poppins!” Alack and alas, every adventure must come to and end, and after the show, we returned to our guest house, picked up our luggage and headed to the airport. We were off to Dublin!
IRELAND
Our flight to Dublin was delayed, but I passed the time by reading some more Pride and Prejudice in Spanish, as I had been occupying myself on every aforementioned plane, train and bus ride. Sometime after midnight and a very expensive cab ride, Rebecca and I made it to our guest house and slept quite soundly. Bright and early on Thursday morning, we ate breakfast and began to explore the city. Our first stop was Mercy International Center, were where we saw the red door on Baggot Street and Catherine McAuley’s House of Mercy—oh how it brought back memories from my day at Merion Mercy Academy! We did not take the complete tour, but a lovely Sister of Mercy showed us around a good part of the building. Rebecca and I then walked to see the statue of Oscar Wilde, the Book of Kells and Trinity College, and up the famous (and touristy) O’Connell Street. We walked around the Temple Bar area and found the statue of Molly Malone. We walked through a park, visited the Guinness Factory, saw St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then returned to get ready for dinner. That evening, we had our traditional Irish stews for dinner and later went to a pub to hear live music.
Both Rebecca and I wanted to see the Irish countryside before we departed, so we booked a bus tour to Wicklow County just southwest of the city of Dublin. From lakes to mountains and sheep to millennia-old monasteries, the emerald country of Ireland was exactly what I imagined. We stopped off for a few hours at the monastery of St. Kevin and also at the Avoca Handweavers Mill, Ireland’s oldest mill. We made it home around 5:00pm and spent some time trying to register Rebecca for her Winter Session classes, but to no avail. That night, we relaxed over dinner and a live show of Irish dancers and a band. That was the end of our adventure, and as much as I loved every part of the trip, I was ready to return “home” to my own bed in Granada.
We flew out of Dublin on Saturday morning, on yet another delayed flight, and arrived in Málaga. From there we took a bus back to Granada. Oh, it was sickeningly warm in Spain compared to the weather in UK. Not only did I have to adjust to the change in weather and driving on the right (and correct) side of the road, but I had to jump right back into speaking Spanish 24/7. It seems I am constantly transitioning from one way of life to another!
NAVIGATION TRAINING 101
Now, I know my family and friends always joke about my navigation skills. I will have EVERYONE know, however, that I was the official navigator of our trip! I carried the maps, found the train and bus routes and generally led the way during our walking tours. We made it through, and I was not half bad at playing the tour guide. At times, we did have to turn ourselves around, but generally that was because street signs in the UK are on the side of buildings, unlike the big green signs with large letters in the United States. Furthermore, some of the bus schedules clearly lied in London, and our stops were overlooked despite clear markings on the map and schedule. To throw another monkey-wrench into the mix, motorists drive on the opposite side of the street everywhere in the UK. Rebecca had to grab my arm several times to remind me not to cross the street at particularly busy intersections. It was a challenge to adjust to some of their signs and traffic patterns, but it made for a more interesting journey on foot.
I also concluded from the journey that I prefer trains to any other mode of transportation! Rebecca and I were able to hop on whatever train we desired with our BritRail passes and go wherever; plus, we were provided the opportunity to see an excellent view from the window. In contrast, with every flight, we constantly dreaded the check-in and weigh-in of our bags and the security and customs stops. We were denied a view from our seats in the sky. Some day, I would be game to take just a rail tour of Europe and enjoy all there is to see!
A WALK IN THE PARK
In every city or town we visited, Rebecca and I managed to find a park or two, perfect for strolling and seeing the lovely landscape. In London, Exeter, Edinburgh and Dublin we wandered around looking at trees, ponds and wildlife (including some very bold squirrels and friendly ducks). There was something about being in the great outdoors that spurred us on, despite out aching feet and backs (when we had to carry out backpacks around before catching the bus or train or whatever mode of transportation was next on the agenda).
HILLS AND MORE HILLS
Edinburgh was built on a hill, nay, a mountain. I cannot stress the height of the city enough, as I want you to understand just how much we walked, climbed and hiked up, down and around. We climbed up to Arthur’s seat, the site of a dormant volcano, which was approximately 250.5 m high. Then once we hit sea level again, we decided to hike up yet another hill to see some monuments and ruins. My pictures, unfortunately, cannot demonstrate the beauty of the Scottish terrain, but they can at least give you a taste for the natural beauty that is Edinburgh, with all its luscious shades of green.
OH, IT’S A LOVELY HOLIDAY WITH MARY, ZORRO AND MOLLY MALONE
In each of the three major cities, London, Edinburgh and Dublin, Rebecca and I had the pleasure of seeing a musical or a musical performance. When we were riding the bus in London towards the British History Museum, we saw a sign for the musical “Zorro” playing on the West End (London’s equivalent of Broadway). On the spur of the moment, we decided we would purchase tickets and enjoy an evening at the theatre! The show was spectacular, and despite our distance from Spain, we gravitated towards a show filled with flamenco dancing and music, and quite a bit of Spanish-speaking and singing. What a delight!
While Rebecca and I were inside one of the buildings at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh (we wanted to escape from the frigid air), we saw a rack of brochures for sites in the city. We beheld a flier for the Edinburgh Playhouse that pleased us both tremendously—the traveling production of “Mary Poppins” had a matinee performance the following day! On Wednesday, we went to the theatre and using our charms and good looks (plus our student I.D. cards), we obtained decent seats for half the price. The music was incredible, as anyone who ever saw the movie would understand, and we were surrounded by jolly little children, laughing in their bright Scottish-English accents. The only thing that could have made the show better would have been to see Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke themselves performing on stage.
Now, in Dublin, we did not go to the theatre per say. We did, however, enjoy our last night in the city seeing a performance by a live band and a team of Irish dancers after a very filling dinner. Essentially, it was akin to a dinner theatre performance. The band played and sang the infamous “Molly Malone” song along with several other Irish ballads. The dancers who followed demonstrated the spectacular skill and sport of Irish dancing. It was a marvelous way to close our busy week of traveling.
A COMFY BED TO REST MY HEAD
In each of the major cities, Rebecca and I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast guest house. In London, we were only a ten to fifteen minute walk from Buckingham Palace and all of the major center city attractions. The accommodations were decent, but the location was the key. In Edinburgh, the quality of the accommodations increased tremendously. Once again, we were only a fifteen minute walk from Edinburgh Castle and only a bit farther to the hills we elected to climb. However, the accommodations in Dublin were superior to both guest houses in London and Edinburgh. I never once felt unsafe in any of the cities (of this my parents will be quite relieved to hear) and I thankfully had a warm and comfortable bed at the end of every day.
I cannot, however, neglect to add that Rebecca and I spent a night in Exeter with Amy, who graciously gave up her own bed for the two of us! Of all the places we stayed, the hospitality in Amy’s home was the best. I give the management a full 5-stars! It was so wonderful to see her, to sit and chat, if only for a few hours. Unfortunately, we only spent one night there; that only means I will have to return someday to visit Amy and enjoy her company once again!
TWO FOR TEA AND FINDING FOOD
Breakfast was taken care of each morning thanks to our wise decision to stay in a Bed and Breakfast guest houses. Finding lunch and dinner, however, proved a bit more challenging at times. We relied a great deal on sandwiches purchased at local grocery stores and also bread with peanut butter or bread with marmalade pilfered from the breakfast table of the B&B. We did not go hungry, but sometimes we were bit irritable because places were not open as late as they are in Spain—the transition was a bit tough, I must say. On Saturday night in London, we resorted to eating prepared salads from a grocery store in the train station terminal because all of the restaurants had closed. On Tuesday night in Edinburgh, we struggled to find an inexpensive meal and thus opted to eat take-out Chinese food. We did get to eat some fish and chips in Edinburgh (on the steps outside of the Playhouse) and our hearty stews in Dublin. Generally, we gravitated to park benches, train stations and other rest areas to consume our piecemeal sandwiches, but the most exciting dining spot of them all was a cliff in Edinburgh where we had out peanut butter sandwiches and apples (also carried away from the B&B table that morning).
Both Rebecca and I took advantage of the amble quantities of tea in the UK. When in doubt, we took some tea. We forgot, however, to try some scones and Irish soda bread before we left. Hopefully we can remedy that error someday.
SCHOOL IN SPAIN: TAKE TWO!
The second session of classes just started on Monday, and I can already tell that I will enjoy them tremendously. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have “Problems in Western European Politics” and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have “History of Contemporary Spain” and “Art History of Spain.” My professors seem quite agreeable and the themes are exactly what I enjoy learning most. My art history professor, and eccentric older gentleman, sings and jokes in class while my political science and history professors are both young and enthusiastic. There will be papers and a bit more work in the second half, but I think I can manage!
I apologize for the abundance of details from my “holiday,” but I wanted satisfy everyone with a sufficient account of my week-long adventure in the United Kingdom. Now that I am back and settled in Spain, I am up to receiving phone calls and e-mails or chatting on Skype or AIM. Just give me a heads up! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers while I was traveling!
Con amor,
Diana
No comments:
Post a Comment