I apologize for being M.I.A. recently, I’ve had a lot of coursework due in, my birthday, my dad visit and I’ve spent the last ten days traveling to Newquay and Edinburgh.
Thank you for bearing with me. You can read about my last two weeks or so in my updated Great Britain Exploring post.
Friday, 21 March: I arrived at my hostel in Venice in the early afternoon. For those who don’t know, the only way around Venice is either by foot or water bus; there are absolutely no place for vehicles bar the bus and car park immediately after the bridge. My hostel was on a island called Giudecca separate from the main cluster islands, so that left my options limited to the water bus. Although it’s slow and a bit pricey, riding the water bus is defiantly a neat experience. Once I got back to the main islands, I visited some main tourist locations like Piazza San Marco, bits of the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge, although it was disguised by scaffolding.
Saturday, 22 March: I took a walking tour in the morning. It was an interesting tour in that we didn’t hit the main attractions, but rather less known places with some history such as the smallest street, oldest bridge and several churches. After that, I took one final walk around the Grand Canal before heading out. That evening, I rented a car (thank goodness I know how to drive a manual transmission) and dove about forty minutes northwest to a venue in the middle of nowhere (hence the car rental) to see Enter Shikari. I saw them about a month ago in London with a crowd of about 10,000 people, but this venue had no more than 500 people. During the opening band, Modestep, the guitarist for Enter Shikari, Rory, was standing right behind me! A little later, the singer, Rou, and drummer, Rob, were hanging out at the merchandise booth. I got a few pictures and the two of them signed my ticket. Their set was amazing. Although it was the same songs they played last month, it was a totally different experience in a small venue. At one point, Rou brought an amplifier in the crowd and stood on it for a song while the crowd made a circle pit around him and during the last song, Rory came into the crowd and played and the crowd promptly lifted him up. Not to mention, they both were climbing on things throughout the set. After the set, I waited by the merchandise table, hoping to get the other two members to sign my ticket. The crowd was dying down and I assumed they went to bed, which I understand, it was a late show (it ended at about 12:30AM). On social media, Enter Shikari was running a contest: for everyday of the tour, they autographed a group photo (Polaroid) taken in front of the venue they were playing that night. Although I didn’t win, the winner didn’t show, so the merchandise manager gave me the Polaroid before I left. It was an amazing night, I’m thankful I got several signed items and got a chance to talk to Rou and Rob. After returning my car in the wee hours of the morning and waiting for the hourly night water bus, I was finally back at my hostel, at least for a few hours before I had to catch my train that morning.
Thursday, 11 February: On the train from the airport, I met two Americans who are also studying in England. We also happen to be staying at the same hostel, so that night, we went out to eat together at an affordable and critically acclaimed restaurant where I had beef goulash. After that, I turned in early to save energy for my busy day that was to come in the morning.
Friday, 12 February: I started my day with a walking tour of the city, where I saw several beautiful squares, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Chain Bridge and visited the castle district, which included a walk up Castle Hill to get stunning views of the city and hills, Matthias Church and Fisherman’s Bastion. Then, I visited Heroes’ Square and walked to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath, where I took a dip. It was an impressive structure with multiple pools both indoors and outdoors, but I think I preferred the outdoor baths as the cold weather made the water feel even nicer. After that, I met up with my Dublin-based friend Rachel and her boyfriend, Craig. I met them both when I visited Dublin in September and by some awesome twist of fate, we happened to be in Budapest at the same time. We went up to the top of the St. Stephen’s Basilica for an incredible panoramic view of the city. We then visited the Jewish quarter and went to a ruin bar, which can best be described as a ruined building transformed into a bar with mismatched accessories. It made for a really fun and interesting atmosphere.
Saturday, 13 February: Before I left for the airport for my afternoon flight, I took a rainy morning walk along the Danube to the Parliament building to see one last sight. Despite the weather, it was a nice, peaceful morning and good way to end my trip.
I loved Budapest and wish I had a bit more time here, but I’m glad I pushed through I did a lot for the short time I got in this wonderful city.
If you would like to see pictures of my journey, check out my album on Facebook here.
A piece of advice that really resonated with me before I left was “explore a lot of your home country.” With that in mind, I made time to do so. Last term, I took time to explore Southampton, Bath, Eastbourne, Kingston, Lewes, Lancaster, Manchester, Glasgow and, of course, London. This term, I got to see Birmingham, Bristol, Newquay and Edinburgh and visit London and Southampton again.
At first (this may come as a surprise), I didn’t consider Paris a priority destination. But with nothing but amazing reviews from my family (especially my brother, Ryan, who went there in June), I decided to make it a reality for myself. I originally planned to go with Emily, but with the recent terrorist attacks, she didn’t feel comfortable going. I coaxed Ben into going with me instead and with that, we set off.
Saturday, 12 December: After getting in fairly late on Friday night, Saturday was our first real day in Paris. First, we went to the Arc de Triumph. We admired its vastness, then went to the top, which had amazing views of the city. From the top of the Arc, we saw a climate demonstration starting. For those who don’t know, major legislation regarding climate change action has been being reviewed in Paris over the last couple of weeks, with awareness marches all over the world. In fact, Ben and I (and another friend of ours) were at the one in London. However, due to the terrorist acts from the other month, the march in Paris was banned, but an alternate protest was held. After that, we went to the D’Orsay Museum. There were several interesting pieces and an intriguing temporary exhibit.
Sunday, 13 December: We started our day by visiting the Lourve, first taking a walk around the nearby park before going into the museum. The museum itself was really impressive. Like The Met in New York, you could spend days in that museum and still not see everything. With that in mind, we chose a few exhibits we were interested in and saw those, including the Mona Lisa. After that, we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral and admired both the inside of the church and the view from the top some 400 odd steps up.
Monday, 14 December: Monday was Ben’s birthday, so I treated him to a trip up the Eiffel Tower. While the view from the lower levels were amazing, the view from the very top of the tower was clouded by fog, which was a bit of a disappointment. However, right after we exited the Tower, the sun came out. It was the first time I’ve experienced a sunny day since who knows when. We sat along the river and enjoyed the weather for a while. To end our time in Paris, we went to a wine tasting. I was just getting over being sick, so I wasn’t in any mood to drink, but Ben enjoyed it.
I loved Paris more than I anticipated and it has been one of the only cities I feel like I still have a lot to see and do.
I am heading back to Arizona tomorrow morning for Christmas break. I can’t wait to be reunited with my friends, family (including Bailey) and American delicacies like Chipotle and Target.
If you would like to see pictures of my journey, check out my album on Facebook here.
I have updated my Great Britain traveling post here with my time in London for the climate march and other various tourist attractions.
My grandparents (my dad’s parents) have gone to Prague many times and if they happened to be there the same time I was in Europe, I would gladly visit them. With that, Emily and I hopped on a plane to do so this last weekend.
Saturday, 21 November: We got in late Friday night and went to bed after a quick dinner. We started off our trip by visiting the Prague Castle. It actually isn’t a traditional castle per say, but rather a gathering of government buildings with an impressive cathedral (the St. Vitus Cathedral) in the center of the complex. After that, we took the long way back to the flat and walked across the Charles Bridge for the first time (little did I know we would be crossing it several more times during our time in Prague). Once we got back on the other side of the river, we had what was my favorite meal in Prague: an appetizer of baked goat cheese with fig jam and an entree of tortellini. We then visited the Lennon Wall. The area was incredible: with an area of candles presumably in solidarity for the events in Paris, as well as related paintings on the wall. I even made my own addition: “We are one,” a lyric from a song about international unity I felt appropriate. To end our day, all four of us went to the opera. The opera was Carmen and I’m glad I had the experience to see such a popular opera with such great seats.
Sunday, 22 November: The four of us walked through Old Town. A lot like Nice, it was a series of narrow streets with unique shops and equally unique eateries. Emily and I even got a famous Czech pastry: the trdelník, a hollow treat with your choice of goodies inside. We walked through the streets and across Old Town Square to the Municipal House, where we had lunch. After that, we went our separate ways, where Emily and I got fish pedicures; a treatment where fish eat the dead skin off your feet. It tickled at first, but I soon learned how to relax and not think about it. My feet turned out surprisingly smooth!
We left early this morning and now it’s back to real life, and by real life I mean my mountain of coursework. I really enjoyed this weekend and it was nice to get a taste of my home life by seeing my grandparents.
If you would like to see pictures of my journey, check out my album on Facebook here.
I have combined all my Great Britain adventures into one post here and have updated it with my London daytrip last week to see The Book of Mormon and Kinky Boots.
My next adventure: Paris, France!
