Wale, Wale, Wales...what a great weekend we had! This weekend, as you have probably already gathered, my program and I toured Wales! It was lots of fun having everyone on this trip this time and being able to see many cities in two days. Wales was a hidden gem, as I thought it was just fields among fields of sheep, but oh no there is much more! Yes, there are sheep, but there are also castles and roman history! This made the trip even more exciting because I didn't know what to expect!
On Saturday morning, we all piled into a coach bus and headed on our way to Wales. It took about two hours to get to our first destination called Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths. Caerleon was a Roman settlement that dates back to around 75 AD. At the site, we were able to see the foundation of Roman soldiers' houses and an amphitheater. What was neat about this particular site was that these remains are some of the best preserved Roman ruins that remain in the United Kingdom.
Believe it or not, but six soldiers would sleep per square!
Kelly and the amphitheater
Rob taking in the view
The blondes abroad
Kelly and Judi
Countryside
After exploring the Caerlon Fortress and Baths, we got back on the road and headed into town to grab some lunch and walk around the streets. Kelly, Judi, and I discovered my new favorite restaurant called "Revolution". The atmosphere was busy and exciting. I didn't know what to look at because all of it was so interesting and you could tell the restaurant really valued and spent time on their appearance. The food was just as spectacular. They had everything but the kitchen sink on the menu and it was really hard to choose. I stuck to a classic and got fish and chips. It was delicious! To top it off, the service was amazing and we even got signed up for their rewards program and got a discount! What a great lunch!
Yes, that is a line of underwear hanging from the ceiling.
It says, " In these stones, horizons sing."
What's a blog post without Colby photobombing one of my pictures?
Our last destination before heading to the hotel was St. Fagans National History Museum. This was my favorite destination of our trip. St. Fagans is a open-air museum that displays the lifestyle of Welsh people. There was beautiful gardens, huge trees, sheep, and lots of little historical buildings. This place was basically heaven for me. I wished I could have stayed there all day. The girls and I didn't really go into many buildings because we enjoyed walking through the all the paths in the gardens instead.
Baaaaa
Looks like Kentucky to me!
This is why we are friends
After St. Fagans, we headed to our hotel and then went out on the town. The girls and I stumbled across another Revolution restaurant and we couldn't get in there fast enough! We spent most of our night there and eventually met of with the guys until it was time to head back.
Sunday morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel and then we piled back onto the bus to head to the Big Pit Mining Museum. At the Big Pit Mining Museum, we got to put on a helmet and utility belt (or in Allyssa's opinion...a fashion belt) and headed down into the mine. It was really interesting to see how everything operated and hear about all the life-threatening risks that the miners took everyday. My favorite part of the tour was that all the tour guides actually used to work in the mine when it was still being used. Our tour guide told us lots of crazy, funny stories from when he was working in the mines which made our tour unique.
Our last stop before heading back to London was at Caerphilly castle. When we got off the bus we walked around to look for a place to eat for lunch. The area was swarmed with so many birds such as geese, ducks, swans, and so many other birds. It was insane! I thought at any moment I was going to be pooped on! Luckily, the birds spared me.
After Kelly, Judi, Libby, Rob and I ate at a European chain pub called "Wetherspoons", we headed back to meet up with the rest of the group to explore the castle. You would think that I would get tired of walking through castles, and in some sense I have, but every castle has a unique aspect that is so intriguing to explore. In this case, Caerphilly castle is the most storybook castle I have yet to see. I think this is the first castle I have seen in person to have crenellation and a castle that was originally painted white. Unlike the other castles I have seen, this castle was not in use anymore and some of it was even collapsed. I liked this castle better because you could really use your imagination to picture what it was like in the castle.
Locals like to fish in the moat
Colby and I
The beautiful Judi
Making up after Colby broke Kelly's phone.
Oh, look! Kelly being a jerk! What a surprise?!
Kelly so proud of herself for photobombing my picture and Antonio joining in!
FINALLY!
Aren't we all a cute group of Americans?
After our last stop, we got back on the bus for a long drive back to London. I never thought that we would make it back! It was bittersweet to be back though. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Wales and going on a trip with everyone, even if it was short. That's why it's so important to take everything all in, the good and the bad, and make most out of every moment you have. These moments we have are fleeting and I would hate to waste them.
Hello from London! Autumn has finally made its way here and I can't get enough of the cool air and crunchy leaves. As much as I love Autumn, I loved our trip to Amsterdam over the weekend even more! My favorite song is called "Amsterdam" by Gregory Alan Isakov. So naturally in the back of my head I have always wanted to go visit Amsterdam. I never actually thought that I would get the chance! I found Amsterdam to be so charming and old, but somehow very hip and new too.
Our journey started on Thursday afternoon when Kelly, Judi, Alli, Zach, and I got on a train and headed to Gatwick airport. We met up with Jigar, Brendan, and Will at the airport and hopped on an hour flight to Amsterdam. When we got there, getting to our hostel was only supposed to take less than an hour, but due to the language barrier...it turned into two hours! After a train ride, a tram ride, and lots of walking, we finally found our hostel. All that time and aggravation slipped away though after we saw our hostel. We stayed at the "Generator Hostel" and it was spectacular. It was so clean, funky, and just plain cool. We ended our night by literally running a mile to get McDonalds before it closed and then we headed to bed. A day of travelling is an adventure in itself.
Up, up, and away we go!
Catching the tram
Generator hostel
Generator hostel
Cool graffiti
The next day, the girls and I started our morning by coffee shop hopping to try different croissants, bagels, and of course...coffee! My favorite was a cafe called "Bagels and Beans". The name immediately hooked me and I was not disappointed! I had a delicious cinnamon and raisin bagel with honey and walnut cream cheese.
We headed to the Amsterdam sign after breakfast to take some pictures and meet up with the guys. The sign was a lot bigger than I expected and a lot busier! People were climbing all over it, making it near impossible to get a good picture without other people climbing on the letter with you! Nonetheless, we were able to climb on it as well and have some fun!
The rest of the day we explored the city and walked wherever we pleased! I think that is the best way to see the city most of the time. By skipping on the tram and walking instead, you get to stop to see cute, little shops, see different parts of town, and even get some gelato! The girls and I finished the night by getting some dinner at Spiro's and then called it a night!
Our first coffee shop stop
Judi and Kelly
Alli and I
Judi and Kelly
Jigar!
Our group deciding where to go
Left to right: Judi, Kelly, Me, Will, and Alli
Saturday was much more productive as we visited many more places! The girls, Colby, Antonio, and I started the day by walking around town to find a place to eat for breakfast. We ended up eating at a sketchy Marilyn Monroe restaurant. For some reason, Amsterdam really likes Marilyn Monroe. There were many themed restaurants about her and murals on the side of buildings. Unfortunately, the food quality matched the appearance of the restaurant, but nonetheless we still had a great time enjoying each others company and Alex eventually joined us to grab some coffee.
After breakfast, we headed to the Heineken brewery for a tour. It was really interesting to see how the beer was made and bottled. We got to have samples, try some Dutch food, and play around with interactive games. It was a cool experience.
Next on our list was to visit the Anne Frank house, a place that I had almost considered fiction in the back of my mind. Fortunately, I had Ms. Smith while I was in Middle College because she stressed the importance of the Holocaust and had taught us about it for the two years I was being taught by her and she even took us to meet two Holocaust survivors. Never in a million years would I think that I could go and visit places where the Holocaust actually happened! The Anne Frank house was so eery and sad. This sounds odd but you could feel the history in the walls and floor. You could feel an empty presence of the Frank and van Pels family. It was a memorable experience that I will appreciate always.
The rest of the night consisted of us meeting up with the rest of the guys and getting some dinner. We walked around the city at night and admired the lights and canals after dark. Tired eyes and achy feet, we made it back to the hostel and fell asleep almost immediately.
Waiting for the rest of the gang so we can start our day!
Colby and Alex- Just for laughs and giggles
Cute coffeeshop
Love seeing all the lights at night
Sunday was sadly our last full day. The girls and I got up early in hopes of doing a bike tour, but unfortunately when we got there it was already fully booked! We then took a ferry across the water and enjoyed the sunshine. We continued our day by visiting a windmill that had been transformed into a brewery! It was super neat and we spent about 3 hours there just talking and enjoying the scenery. We ended the day by taking a pizza canal cruise. As hinted in the title, we got to go on a night time tour of the city through the canals while eating some delicious pizza and ice cream! It was a great way to end our trip!
Our view after the ferry ride
Windmill brewery
My beautiful friend, Kelly! What would I do without her?!
On Monday, we had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to catch our 6 a.m. flight. It was a rough morning. We were all exhausted and didn't want to leave. On top of that, we all had class at 1. By 9 we managed to make it back to our dorm and I think we all passed out for a few hours. It was a great trip however and was easily one of my favorites cities I've visited. I hope I can go back one day!
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Travelling.
It leaves you speechless, then it turns you into a storyteller.
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A shoutout and credit goes to Judi and Antonio for giving me some of their photos to use in this post! Thank you!
