Wales: Day 34 Men in Kilts

Friday, August 6 was an early, early morning. We caught the 7:27 am train from York to Edinburgh, but not without some difficulty. My room woke up late, so we had to sprint to catch up with the group as they walked to the train station about a mile away. Still injured from theatrics at Beaumaris, it was almost too much for my leg to handle, but I made it. The train ride was about 2.5 hours, and I should have used the time to prepare my Preston tour (everyone was assigned a cohort and a city within the cohort for them to be the expert on) or to read my "Princesses of Wales" book (we were required to read 2 books while in the UK that were either topically or historically relevant to our program. I read Jane Eyre and Princesses of Wales.), but instead I just listened to my ipod and enjoyed the ride. Riding trains is the best. It's super smooth and relaxing for me. Normally I just pass out and sleep great on our train rides, but this one was far too beautiful. We rode along the coast almost the entire way, and the sun coming up over the water, the lush green countryside and the excitement were too intoxicating.

If I had to pick one word to describe the north..... FRESH.

Edinburgh Castle is built on an extinct volcano, overlooking the city and the coast. Oh, and it's still functional. There are offices, the Crown Jewels and even a pet cemetery. Doesn't get much better than that.





A true Scot gave us a tour, but I was far too distracted by the awesome (sexy) accent to pay much attention to the information. Plus it was a madhouse there. The Scottish Military Tattoo was in town - I heard it described as the Superbowl of Bagpipes and Scottish culture. It was hard to tear myself from the castle wall and its spectacular view.





After the castle, we were off to the hipster side of town. Edinburgh is really into the rockabilly-vintage-indie-eclectic vibe. Street after street was full of vintage stores, and they were COOL. I've never been a huge thrift or vintage store shopper, but the cool vibes were undeniable. I resisted the urge to buy handfuls of cool sunglasses, and was instead intrigued for hours by masks and vintage jewelery. I ended up buying this cropped long sleeve jacket with huge pointy shoulders - true Lady Gaga style, thinking it'd make a great Halloween costume addition. Also it was only a pound. I couldn't turn that down!


The Royal Mile is the main shopping district. Tons of souvenir shops and plenty of kilted men. It was a total party. Comedy troupes and musical groups were performing and promoting EVERYWHERE, so the possibilities for entertainment were endless. It reminded me of Vegas the way everyone was trying to give us fliers, stickers and stuff. We found this a capella group of college boys that performed Backstreet Boys "in honor of the beautiful American girls," true Glee style. We LOVED them and they LOVED us.



Other performing acts included naked comedians (yikes), acrobats, fire-eating axe-jugglers (he was from America and we talked to him for half an hour or so until he started hitting on us), and some awful rock groups. Clearly we had plenty of material for humor and entertainment all day long.



Ok I know you've been dying to ask. And yes. I did have haggis (sheep heart, lungs and stuff...) It was gross. But I tried it. At a little pastry shop in downtown Edinburgh. That's pretty legit. Kayla, Jessica and I stopped along the main street performer line and got a caricature. I had never had one done before and I was really nervous that it would just crush me. That I'd look awful. That it would haunt me forever. But I actually loved the way it turned out! Quite the experience. {I'm in the middle, if you couldn't tell....} We also encouraged the foul-mouthed artist next to us to reconsider his life choices and look into the Church after he spilled a long, sad story about his recent unfortunate history. Haha guess we should have taken some pass-along cards, eh?

There were some tents with cool jewelery on our way out of the city and near the train station, so I spent half an hour and several pounds there. You guys know I'm a sucker for jewelery. We grabbed some food and boarded the train for the 2.5 hour trip back, crashing into bed really late and very tired. But ultimately pleased with our trip to Scotland. :)

Wales: Day 31 The Iron(woman) Ring

Well. This was almost two months ago. Tuesday, August 3, 2010. I'm lame. Sorry.

We enjoyed another awesome English breakfast, then returned to our room for some eavesdropping. When the girls next to us chat and gossip while both windows are open, the acoustics are FANTASTIC. We could literally hear everything. Our moths swam in the gossip pouring through the windows, as we sat hunched over on our beds, trying desperately not to laugh out loud (LOL) and give ourselves away.

After massaging our aching ribs, we headed down to Conwy Castle, the main feature of the town.

It's one of the biggest of Edward Longshanks castles, and the huge city wall is largely intact.

I loved this one because it was right on the coast, therefore reminding me of Prince Eric's castle in "The Little Mermaid."

After the misty castle, we walked down to Plas Mawr, a Tudor Age manor home. It's huge and crazy expensive. Really cool for us to see the type of living situation that existed then.

Coming back to the vans, we were dismayed to find that some Nazi had ticketed us! Apparently Anders did not park "responsibly." Does he ever?

Caernarvon is one of the most popular and busiest castles in the UK. It's really big, and beautiful. It was Longshank's main Welsh castle. It probably ranks #3 behind Harlech and Raglan as my favorite castle.



Prince Charles was crowned Prince of Wales here by the Queen in 1958. He and Princess Diana received a lot of publicity and attention because they were more warm and friendly, and the Welsh people accepted them as their own. And really, who didn't love Princess Diana?
The courtyard is really cool. The big slate circle is where the coronation took place. The view from the towers is awesome, and I'd say if I were to play Kings and Queens, or Knights and what-have-you, I'd choose Caernarfon. Tons of towers, spiral staircases, long stone corridors, hidden dark tunnels, and a huge open courtyard for fencing, jousting, fun things.




There was an awesome British Military History Museum in the south end of the castle. No one wanted to check it so I went through it alone, and it was incredible. I usually don't love military history stuff, but they had some of the nicest exhibits I've ever seen. Alas, no flash photography. Trust me that it was cool. We hung out in the courtyard and got some ice cream (Yeah they were selling ice cream in a castle. Can you say best of both worlds?) and purchased beautiful postcards. Good castle experience.

Off to Beaumaris, "Beautiful Marsh," allegedly the Longshank's favorite castle.


This castle is pretty small, but has an awesome central courtyard. It's basically a huge, well-groomed soccer field. Naturally we did all kinds of fun, athletic activities for an hour or so.

Unfortunately, I'm an IDIOT, and decided to do a front handspring. I had successfully executed some cartwheels, roundoffs, backbends, etc., and I was certain that my background as a gymnast would allow me to continue this trend with a front handspring, even if I hadn't done one in quite a while.

Wrong.

I landed fine, but I hadn't thrown my momentum forward enough on the plant, so my hamstrings kicked in to stabilize me. Had I stretched prior to these antics? No. Did this pull my hamstring and send an intense burn through the back of my leg that didn't go away for 2 days? Yes. Yes it did.

Whatever. Anyways. Anders and I had been playing this game where we stuck this yellow sticker on people's backs, hoods and bags to see how long they'd stay before they found it. Wanting to take it to the next level, I enlisted Zoe's sneakiness and sisterly status (alliteration much?) to beat Anders at his own game. Victory.


Then we were off to the isle of Anglesey and the little town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Yep. It's the longest name of a place anywhere in the UK and one of the longest in the world. 58 letters. I couldn't even get them all in the photo and still be able to read it. Yikes. We got our passports and journals stamped there, and hung out taking pictures at the train station for a bit. Very touristy.


Bryn Celli Ddu is a a barrow/burial tomb very close to LLanfairpwll (short name for the crazy long name), so we detoured there quickly.

Umbeth graced us with sheep impressions/communications (sheep are EVERYWHERE), and we had a great time singing songs and sliding down the hill.


Of course we did a Tesco run. Tonight it was blueberries, pita bread and hummus, and chocolate cheesecake cups. These Welsh folk know their desserts. We all eat our meals down in the cafeteria and always get weird looks from the other residents. Me, Jessica, Gillian and Sam then did the Coke/Pepsi Challenge.

I nailed it 3/3. No big deal. Are you surprised? You shouldn't be. Not with all the diet soda I drink. Danica's addiction to Diet Coke is an ongoing joke, so everyone was LOVING this.

After dinner we went up into the Observatory to write in our journals and study. This weird college kid in short shorts came up and started talking to us and the minute he sat down we were punched in the face by his BO. It was soooooooo groooooooooosssssss. Soon after, Mr. Clown arrived. Mr. Clown was a smiley, gap-toothed man in a plum corduroy blazer and a plaid bowtie. He had what I like to call "Mad Scientist Hair," and a video camera. He looked like he wanted to talk to us, but was too timid. He went out on the balcony and proceeded to videotape the countryside while reading poetry aloud.

This is the Wales 2010 Study Abroad. This is a fairly representative day. Tons of castles, a Tesco run, pyramid-building, Danica doing something stupid and hurting herself, and interactions with some of the weirdest people on earth. I love it.

Wales: Day 29 & 30 Hostel Takeover

(I'm writing this like 2 1/2 weeks after it actually happened, so bear with me.)

Sunday (Aug. 1) was fairly normal and uneventful. Church, nap, hung out with my friends, and then a program meeting to prepare for the coming WHIRLWIND of a week.

Monday (Aug. 2) we hit the road. Tom being gone we left around 9 am, instead of our usual 7 or 8, so that was quite welcome. The entire week was to be spent traveling the north, beginning with the "real" Wales - Aberystwyth. Cardiff may be the capital, but that is only because of the historical importance of the port, and the southern location. If there were a "Welsh" capital of Wales, it would probably be Aberystwyth or somewhere near there in North Wales. Aberystwyth is a pretty cool coastal town, but we spent very little time there.

First me and my friends went into the National Library of Wales (of course I went to a library), which is like the mecca of all things Welsh. It made me miss my office and my LAO peeps like crazy. This library, while not as cool as the HBLL, was legit. They have a manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, an original copy of a letter from Owain Glyn Dwr, and a fantastic art gallery featuring a Picasso and some Durer engravings. I loved it.

We didn't have time to check out the castle, but we did walk through downtown and along the pier for lunch, which was really pretty.

Climbing back into the van, everyone was in great spirits, I was DJ Danica in the front seat while running the GPS, and we partied on the long van rides all day long. (This is my teddy bear, Tegwyn. Never really had a teddy bear before, but I got this little guy, and yes, I've been sleeping with him.)

UPDATE. I have a new favorite castle. And it's this one.

Harlech Castle. Loved it. Built as part of the Iron Ring of Edward Longshanks (I), its position on the coast was once strategic, and now is picturesque. This is one of my most favorite views I've encountered. It was just stunning. And the fact that I had to hike up a steep and winding road and STILL enjoyed my experience at the castle is huge. The experience was enhanced by a couple scoops of Belgian chocolate ice cream as we headed back down the hill to the vans.





After plenty of directional crises and tight squeezes on the narrow north country roads, we made it to our final destination for the day - Conwy. This coastal town is structured around the castle, which is also really, REALLY cool, and the huge city wall still stands and runs throughout. More will be said about this in the next post, because we visited Conwy on Tuesday. Our hostel was pretty cool. We had a great view, and the common dining area had the best view. We hung out in there a lot. Our room (Me, Jessica, Gillian and Sam) had a bathroom and shower, which was convenient, but also made it kind of smell. And it was MOTH CENTRAL. We seriously killed over 20 moths in our 3 days there. And my duvet situation was less than desirable.


Tesco run for baguettes and hummus (yesssssss). Dinner with everyone in the awesome mess hall. Finally, we decided to watch Jurassic Park, which I have on my laptop, because we'd been quoting it like crazy and several people hadn't seen it. We commandeered the entertainment room, clustered together in front of my laptop, and laughed like crazy.


My hair is super straight so I haven't been blow-drying it at all, and I can sleep on it wet, no problem, so I volunteered to shower before bed so that it wouldn't be such a traffic jam in the morning. The shower was really narrow, probably about 3x3', and weird to get into. I turned it on and WHAMMMM! I was being blasted with the craziest water pressure I've ever felt, EVER. It was like a fire hose. And COLD. My whole system froze up (ha) and I was freaking out for a second before I could turn it off. I stood there, almost collapsing to the floor of the shower, laughing so hard and panting like crazy. My roommates were laughing and knocking on the door asking what was going on and if I was ok. I explained the oddity of the crazy instant water pressure, and my inability to move out of the direct stream due to the small volume of the shower and the freezing cold.

You have to understand - water pressure we'd experienced there had generally been really weak, and often the showerhead would cut out or reduce to a drip. This was completely unprecedented. Soon I learned that you have to instantly turn the dial all the way to 6 or it's cold, and it doesn't drain fast enough, so you are repeatedly turning it on and off during the shower. Violent, yes. But efficient and quick? Absolutely.

Wales: Day 21 My Canterbury Tale

5:55 am departure time from the Cathays train station in Cardiff. Painful. But once again, we were all so excited to be going to Dover and Canterbury that we did it with a smile. :) We connected in London, and after a brief scary moment on the subway (not scary for me) where Tom thought he lost me, we were on the road again.

Dover Castle is probably now my third favorite behind Raglan and Usk. It's enormous! It's right on the coast, so the view is incredible. It is also on a huge hill, so the hike was somewhat daunting, but hey, the higher the destination, the better the view. Right? That's what I've learned here. Maybe I'll be able to use that analogy in a sacrament meeting talk someday.

Along with awesome castle construction, it also includes a Saxon church and a Roman Pharos (lighthouse). It was built by Henry II in honor of his grandfather, William the Conqueror.

We had key timing and were able to participate in a re-enactment of some "court proceedings" in the Great Hall. Prince John (yeah the evil nemesis of Robin Hood) took a particular interest in me. I was spittin' game until my director, Tom, interfered. He was such a babe, too! Freak. What a waste. No worries though. We rendezvoused after the court proceedings and tour of the castle. Let me just say. They may call his brother Richard the Lionheart, but from what I've seen, John is the animal. (Just kidding. Kind of.)

Hopped back on a train for a 15 minute ride to Canterbury. Ever heard of Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales? Well. The pilgrimage providing Chaucer with material was made famous by Henry II, after his knights brutally murdered Thomas a-Becket in the Cathedral. The Pope was so pissed that he excommunicated the entire country until Henry completed a highly publicized pilgrimage and did other stuff for absolution.

The city of Canterbury was super busy. It was a Saturday and they had little festivals and things going on. Downtown was pretty cool though. We had some free time so we finally took advantage of the nearest Shake Away. These shake places are everywhere here and people FREAK OUT about them. I'm not crazy about milkshakes so hadn't made the Shake Away detour in any of the other cities, but as it was a Saturday afternoon, we were exhausted and it was a little too crowded to fight our way through the packed streets, I thought it sounded pretty fantastic. I got a Toblerone shake, and WOW. Very delicious. It wasn't like our milkshakes at home. It was actually a MILKshake. Not an ICE CREAM shake. It was mostly liquid. Milk, a little ice cream and some crushed up Toblerone chunks. MMmmmmmmmmm. Who in the United States decided that milkshakes should be crazy thick? No. If I want to eat something with a spoon, I'll turn to my beloved ice cream. This was amazing. Maybe I'll try to make one when I get home. Won't be as good, but definitely worth a shot.

We braved the crowds and shops for a bit after our delicious shakes. I bought an awesome dress! I got lucky and found a super cool little black shift in a chic boutique downtown, so I capitalized on the situation. Yahtzee.

We went to the famous Canterbury Cathedral for Evensong at 3:30 ish. This cathedral was AMAZING. The architecture was so elaborate and intricate, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the stained glass. This was also the best Evensong we've been to. The combination may have combined to produce my opinion. This was the best cathedral experience ever. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures inside, but it was just amazing. Trust me.

We connected in London again on the way home. I had my little heart set on seeing Phantom and I was getting all geeked up for it. Unfortunately, the trains to Cardiff weren't running late enough. :( We just came home instead.... but it was ok. We were crazy tired and had church in the morning. Had the trains been running we wouldn't have gotten home until like 2 am. And I get to see it on our free day in London in a week and a half. No big deal.