Easter Holiday: Part 3

Our last leg of our Journey was London and Scotland. After a week and a half in France and Italy, it was great to be back in the UK. It felt relieving to be back in a familiar country, even though I had never been to London before. We met up with Erika and continued our journey. I was quick to assume London would be very touristy but I was wrong, London was amazing. We went in the London Eye, saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, took a stroll down Abbey Road, and went in King's Cross Station. 

After another exhausting three days, the Eric/ka's and I headed up to Scotland. Scotland is by far my favorite place I've visited. There is so much natural beauty it is hard not to fall in love with it. In seven short days we were able to explore Glasgow, Oban, Fort William, Inverness, and Isle of Skye. Whilst in Fort William, we hiked to a gorge and spent the day in a valley. That day was by far one of my favorite days since being here. Life just seemed to press pause and I had to constantly remind myself that I was casually taking a nap in a bed of daffodils in the middle of Scotland. 

Gondola ride to see Ben Nevis Mt.

We were in Inverness on Easter and found a church to attend Easter Mass. Even though being away from home and family was a bit difficult, I felt at home because everyone in the community was very welcoming and made sure we were included. 

We also made Easter dinner in our hostel (Yorkshire Pudding!) which turned out really well and shows the importance of surrounding yourself with great people and friends because they make even the hardest of times worthwhile. 

At the end of two and a half weeks, we were on our way back to Ormskirk and I couldn't have been more excited. Ormskirk is home and I am beyond thrilled to be back. 

Easter Holiday: Part 2

After our adventure in France, Erica, Leah, and I made our way to Italy. Venice was our first stop and after a stressful day of travel, we finally arrived at our bed and breakfast. It was good to get away from a  hostel for a few days and experience life outside of the city in a home. The hardest part about being in Italy was the language barrier. Since we were staying outside of the city, we had to figure out which stop we needed to get off at but no one had any idea where we were talking about. The bus stop ended up being on the side of a road surrounded by fields and a small gas station.

In the end, we figured it out and learned how to communicate where we needed to go. Venice was beautiful. We spent our days walking around a lot, getting lost a lot, and eating gelato. Our last night we ate pasta along a canal which screamed Italy. 

After about two days, we packed up and headed to Rome. The cool thing about Europe is that you can hop on a train and be across the country in five hours. We spent our first night at the Trevi Fountain. It was even more beautiful than I could have imagined. 

The next day we went to the Colosseum, Vatican, saw the Pantheon, and ate the best Chinese food.

 I always knew traveling was exhausting but I never fully understood it until our nights in Rome when all we wanted was cheap, good, food close to our hostel that didn't have a sit in or water charge. Our hostel in Rome had a very welcoming atmosphere and we were able to meet people from Australia, USA, Canada, and Italy who were all doing the same thing we were. 

I think the most memorable part of Italy was running into a couple at the train station who spoke italian sign language. I took two semesters of american sign language prior to being here and was able to communicate to them. It is so easy to take school and education for granted but I really understood the value of it at the train station that day. The experience was extremely eye opening for me and helped me remember the value of education and the opportunities it can give you.

Easter Holiday: Part I

After a stressful week of assignments, I can now sit down and take this time to reflect on the past three weeks. Five countries, ten cities, 7 hostels, 1 B&B, and numerous hours on a train, I am back at Edge Hill with the experience of a life time still weighing on my mind. I started my holiday in Paris which was absolutely magical. In my head, I had this vision that Paris would be some tourist trap (don't get me wrong, there are parts) but there is so much more to Paris. We only had about a day and a half so it was packed with lots of walking, sightseeing, and adventure. We saw the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the Luxembourg Gardens, and much more. By far my favorite part of Paris was eating dinner our first night in front of the Eiffel Tower. I was able to just relax and take a moment to appreciate everything this experience has given me. 

Sacre Coeur

Luxembourg Garden

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

After Paris, Erica, Leah and I went to southern France to explore Nice, Eze, and Monaco. Nice was beautiful and very relaxing. Whilst here, we explored the neighboring towns of Eze and Monte Carlo. They were all so similar but each with their own style. Nice was a great place to walk around and shop or sit on the beach whereas Monte Carlo and Eze were great areas to explore the streets and local attractions. 

One of my favorite memories of the whole three weeks was spending my last night in Nice swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Nice

Monte Carlo

Eze

Preparation

This past week as been one of the most difficult weeks thus far. It is Thursday afternoon and I am currently sitting in my last lecture of the semester. In less than 24 hours, I will be heading off to Paris for the start of my two and a half week Easter Holiday. I should be excited and eager to leave, however, with so much yet to do it is proving difficult. I have been planning this holiday since I arrived in England and it quickly snuck up on me. I honestly didn't think it would arrive this fast and part of me is sad because this means my experience is coming to an end. However, I turn my focus onto the new and exciting experiences yet to come and focus on getting everything ready before I leave. 

This week was jam packed with essays, reports, and events. I have been to the library more times in the past week than I have over the past two years of my college career. This scares me. 

I also went climbing and had the opportunity to shoot open mic night again. 

I turn my focus to the next ten hours which will be consumed with lecture, seminar, packing, editing, and planning. This three week holiday will test my abilities to deal with short term 'goodbyes' which I'm not that great at. If anything, it will start to prepare me for my departure from Edge Hill in May. 

Moving forward, this time next week I will be in Italy hopefully soaking up the much needed sun. I am extremely blessed to be able to travel Europe with my friends. This will also be the first time I will be in a non-english speaking country which will truly test my ability to adapt and be flexible. It is all part of the learning experience and I cannot wait to see where it takes me.