We took a tiny, 19 row plane with propellers on the wings that any uneasy flyer would be especially uncomfortable with from Dublin to Edinburgh. In the airport, we briefly lamented that we now have to get pounds. Going from 1.3 euro to the dollar to 1.5 pound to the dollar. Proud to be an American... We also were very confused by the sight of the streets. The cars...they were...they were driving on the wrong side of the road...I don't get it...I...which way do you look to cross the street??? Luckily, we made it. We got to or hostel before check-in and were invited to hang out in the lounge where they serve breakfast until noon. Clearly they know how to please their crowd. An instant sense of comfort and familiarity came over me in that hostel. Why? Because it looked exactly like a Berkeley coop. Paintings on the walls by various artists, vegetarian dread-locked hostess, people sipping tea and lounging on the collection of furniture in the common area. Despite my exhausted, slightly irritated from early travel self, the coop environment that reminded me of so many (best) friends back at Cal put me at ease. Once we got into our room, we settled in and then spent the rest of the day wandering around the quaint little city. We had heard that the Edinburgh Castle is the thing to see, and, considering that almost every building in the city looks like a castle, we were pretty sure we had located it about five times. With a little map investigation, we managed to correctly locate the one that actually housed kings and such. We climbed up the road to the royal residence to take the tour. Crown Jewels, jail cells for prisoners of war, a Great Hall, royal bed chambers, and of course great views of the city were some highlights. A cool place to see, but not my favorite castle. It's ridiculous that I have a favorite castle. Who am I? This is unreal. Later on, I made the terrible glutenous mistake of eating Chinese food, which pretty much kept me in bed the rest of the night. Live and learn and don't mix something you're allergic to with MSG.
The next day, we attempted to go to the National Library, but found it closed for the Easter holiday. Rude. Caitlin, the brave one among us, went on a tour of underground Edinburgh full of ghost stories and legends while the three of us walked around another part of the city. Quaint castle style buildings really is the best way to describe Edinburgh. There were some cute shops and cafes, and we even found gluten free pizza for lunch! Take that, chinese food. We then rushed back to our hostel to grab our stuff and head to the train station. Arrived about 2 minutes late. Oops. Luckily there's always another train.
We pulled into King's Cross Station and, despite it being dark and us being sleepy, we were immediately amused by the fact that yes, you can visit platform 9 3/4 and pretend just for a second that you're headed to Hogwarts. HP nerd sigh. After the obligatory picture, we tackled the tube and found our next hostel. Caitlin and I introduced Michelle and Nick to Indian food. Helping people from cultural food deprivation all day every day. Then we slept to prepare for the London adventures ahead.
Well, if the first thing you do in London relates to Harry Potter, the second should probably have something to do with the Beatles. Caitlin and I went on a Beatles themed walking tour where we got to see the band members' residences, some restaurants that they frequented, and of course, the famous Abbey Road. Just a tip, don't drive on Abby Road if you're in a hurry. Tourists will be there taking pictures. Londoners must know that, but they still were quite displeased with the delays. But we got our picture soooo it's all good. We met up with Nick and Michelle at Harrods. Harrods is not just a department store. Harrods is magical. It's overwhelmingly huge and sparkly. It has everything you could ever want (but not for Costco price). The people who work there are all charming and good looking. The best part? CHOCOLATE. They have these chocolate counters that supply the best chocolate in the world. Now, I understand I haven't tried all chocolate, but I will hold onto my belief that this is the best until I am proved wrong. If you're cute and complimentary, you get some free samples. You also just spend the money to buy more in the end. It's that good. Oh right, then we got real lunch-fish and chips for the others, grilled tuna salad for me. We made a quick stop in Piccadilly Circus to buy some theatre tickets!! West End!! We chose Billy Elliot, even though the first snooty ticket seller insisted that all the tickets would be sold out. We found some. I also found self-serve frozen yogurt. Apparently, it's the only place in London (maybe in Europe) that has self-serve because I was the only customer who knew what was going on. The girl working there seemed to appreciate that I didn't ask 100 questions, and I shared the joys of living among endless yogurt shops at home. Next up, Buckingham Palace proceeded by a walk in a beautiful park filled with flowers, trees, the craziest variety of birds, and a memorial pathway for Princess Diana. The Palace was very cool but closed, so we couldn't go in or even annoy the guards. Shame. But nothing could really bring me down because we were going to a musical, and really, life can't get better than that. I really enjoyed the show. The dancing was great the the 13 year old Billy was just incredible. It was cool to see a show that was actually set in England, although the cockney accents were a bit hard to follow. The music didn't blow me away, but the production was overall very good. They don't give playbills in London theaters so I had to buy the fancy program for my collection... After the show, we walked around trying to find a night spot and realized that London's bars close before midnight which only leaves clubs, which are open until around 3. Pass. The differences in night life in various cities really is very interesting. I think Madrid is the capital.
We started off the next day at Brick Lane Market, a huge outdoor market with ethnic food and vintage clothes and chockeys you'll never use. It was touristy and local at the same time. We indulged in the delicious street food, got some deals on dresses, and took in the culture around us. London is certainly more diverse than other European cities I've seen so far. After the market, we hit some more big sites. From Big Ben to Westminster Abbey to the London Eye. We spend a lot of time walking around this famous part of the city, snapping photos and posing in front of red telephone booths. We bought tickets to the London Eye but decided to wait til dark so we could see a view of the lit up city. We ate some sushi and then walked to Shakespeare's Globe. So many theatre dreams coming true in one place. The Globe is located on a the river and the walk back was simply charming. Once we got back to the Eye, it was the perfect time of night. We spent the 30 minute once around ferris wheel ride enjoying views, especially of the lit up Big Ben. I definitely think there's something special about cities at night. After that, we headed to a swanky bar to meet some swanky British people. It was fun, but of course all of the people weren't British. Gotta love those huge cities.
Now I'm in Madrid with one more week of classes and one week of finals to go. I don't know where the time has gone. If anyone has seen it, please contact me asap.
Until next time.
Hasta luego.
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