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Cell Snaps Vol. II
21 Sunday Dec 2014
Posted edinburgh, pictures, scotland, study abroad
in21 Sunday Dec 2014
Posted edinburgh, pictures, scotland, study abroad
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18 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted edinburgh, pictures, scotland, study abroad, travel
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Like most European cities, Edinburgh puts on a Christmas Market every year from late November to the new year. A few weekends ago, me, Margi, Emma, Kenzie, and her boyfriend Dan all went down to Princes Street to check them out.
We all wanted to go ice skating, so we ran to the ticket booth to make it to the 7:15 time slot.
Miraculously, none of us fell. It took a bit of time to get going (I held onto the railing for a while before I had the confidence to let go), but we fared better than the little kid who smacked his face on the ice (thinking about the blood on the ice still makes me shudder) or the two women who fell and hit their heads. It had sprinkled a bit earlier, so conditions weren’t optimal, but it was still a fun time!
After ice skating, we got crepes and waffles before exploring the market a bit. There are all sorts of vendors lined up with Christmas ornaments, crafts, and food. It is a German-inspired market as well, so there’s lots of brätwurst and mulled wine to go around.
If you’re ever in Scotland during the holidays, I’d definitely recommend stopping by the Christmas Market – it’s incredibly festive and a nice thing to do at night (or, when it gets dark at 4 p.m.)!
17 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted glasgow, pictures, scotland, study abroad, travel
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This Sunday, Margi, Devon and I decided to go on a day trip to Glasgow, since it seemed silly to spend a semester in Scotland and never visit the Merchant City. We hopped on the train and were there in less than an hour (I will miss the efficacy of public transport in Europe).
Immediately we were struck with how friendly Glaswegians are; it isn’t that people in Edinburgh are outright mean, but we had lovely conversations with three strangers on our way to the Willow Tea Room for lunch.
After tea, we took the subway to Hillhead to look at Glasgow Uni. The Glasgow subway system is quite possibly the simplest one I’ve been on – it goes in an oval and you choose the inner or outer line based on the direction you want to go, so if you get lost, you’ll end up in the right place eventually!
After walking around the grounds of the University for a bit, we headed to the Kelvingrove Museum, which I’d heard good things about. It has both art and natural history, and was the perfect thing to do while avoiding the rain.
The inside of the museum was just as impressive as the outside, and reminded me a bit of the Yale Peabody Museum (though that may only be because both feature dinosaurs).
Devon left early to meet up with a friend studying in Glasgow, while Margi and I explored the museum a bit more and got bubble tea on Byres Road. Then, we hopped back on the subway to the city centre, and looked at all the pretty lights that had gone up for Christmas. While Edinburgh will always have my heart, Glasgow is pretty beautiful as well, in a more urban, modern way.
It was only a quick trip over to Glasgow, but it was just the break from revision the three of us needed! While I didn’t do any travel during the rest of revision weeks, I was glad to be able to see more of Scotland (and use my 16-25 railcard again!). It’s so strange to think the next time I leave Edinburgh, it will be to return to the States, ending this wonderful semester here.
05 Friday Dec 2014
Posted barcelona, pictures, spain, study abroad, travel
inEarly last Friday (and by early, I mean before 10 a.m.), I hopped on the AirLink bus to catch my flight to Barcelona by way of London Stansted. I arrived there at noon and waited for the rest of our group – Katie, Susan, and Emily (Katie’s roommate at Brown) – to arrive. We had an uneventful flight over to Spain and an equally lovely time settling into our airbnb. The flat’s owner, Vito, gave us plenty of restaurant and bar suggestions in El Raval, which was our neighborhood for the weekend. Since we were in Spain, it only seemed right to make our first meal tapas, so we walked up to the Universitat district and sat outside in the balmy (if not a bit windy) night. I say night because we ate dinner around 9 p.m., as is typical in Spain (all those Notas Culturales in my Spanish textbooks finally payed off!). Chelsea and her friend Maya, who is studying in Granada, arrived late that night, and the next morning we set off to see the city.
We started the morning with coffee and croissants before heading to the La Boqueria, a market (mercat, in Catalan, which was more common to see and hear in Barcelona than Spanish was) near La Rambla.
After walking through La Boqueria, we walked down La Rambla, which is a famous street lined with stalls selling souvenirs and more food.
At the end of La Rambla is La Plaza Catalunya, known for a large, beautiful fountain. It was hard for us to see it due to construction, but it was a pretty area nonetheless.
By this point, it had started raining much more (a recurring theme of the trip), so we made a quick stop to Casa Batlló, one of the many works of Gaudí architecture in the city.
After a quick lunch, we started walking over to La Sagrada Familia, which is a must-see for anyone visiting Barcelona.
I had only seen pictures of the exterior of the Sagrada Familia, so I was completely blown away by the beauty and scale of the interior.
After our trip to the Basilica, we stopped for coffee (of course) and xurros con xocolate (churros and chocolate) before dropping off our things at the airbnb and looking up directions to dinner.
We had another fantastic round of tapas and sangria, and went to a few bars back in El Raval before heading to bed so we could beat the rain in the morning.
We took the metro to Parc Güell in the morning, which is another place known for Gaudí’s architecture.
Surprise, surprise, it started raining again. At least it wasn’t snow!
After Parc Güell and some lunch, we took the metro down to the beach, since that was another feature of Barcelona we were eager to see. It was incredibly windy, which made for good surfing, but so-so photos.
Next, we strolled through the Gothic Quarter on our way to the Christmas Markets.The Christmas Markets, despite the rain, were pretty to walk through. There were lots of little nativity scenes, as well as “el Caganer” (the crapper), a popular Christmastime figurine (I forgot to take pictures of this charming character).
It was soon time to grab a taxi and drive through the downpour, thunder, and lightning back to the airport. Surprisingly enough, however, it was a belligerent drunk lad who delayed the plane, rather than the weather (I was lucky not to be hit by him swinging his luggage around). We got back to Stansted around 11, and were back in Southwark an hour later. I got up the next morning to fly back to Edinburgh, and almost as quickly as it had started, my last weekend trip was over!