Edinburgh to Paris

I woke up bright and early this morning. 4:30 AM to be exact. I was completely disoriented when I got my computer out and found out it was 4:30 in the morning. The sky was light and the sun was almost out. The weather is crazy in Edinburgh. It wouldn't get dark until 10 PM and then, as I discovered this morning, the sun comes up super early too. I'm not entirely sure what happened this morning. It felt like an episode of The Twilight Zone. 

We packed up our bags, ate breakfast, and were out the door by 8 AM. We caught a bus to the train station and immediately boarded our train. I tried really hard to stay awake for the train ride so that I could see the countryside. Alas, as hard as I tried, I was lulled to sleep by the motion of the train. I find it difficult to stay awake while riding from Madison to Sioux Falls, which is only a 45 minute drive. I definitely did not stay awake for the whole four hour train ride. 

The English countryside 

Train ride to London

We arrived in London at about 2 PM. We all grabbed our luggage and walked across the street to the station where the chunnel leaves from. The chunnel is a train that goes from London to Paris and crosses under the English Channel through a tunnel. 

We couldn't go through security for about an hour so we killed some time by grabbing something to eat. After we had eaten, we still had some time before heading over to security. Not far from where we were camping out, there was a piano conveniently placed. The piano was super out of tune, but I still played for a while. Laura and I also did a pretty awesome rendition of Heart and Soul. 

We got through security without too much trouble. And then, once again, we had to wait for a while before we could board. Once we did board, we settled in for a 2 and a half hour ride to Paris. Needless to say, I fell asleep. I was asleep before we'd even gotten out of London and when I woke up we were already in France. 

My first impression of Paris was less than great. It seemed dirty and creepy. And there was graffiti all over the subway walls. It didn't help that my first interaction with anyone was when a lady came up to me and started asking me something in French. I had no clue what she was saying and my group was already walking ahead of me so my response was something like, "Ummm.... English, sorry." Hopefully I get better at my interactions with people here.


After carrying our suitcases up a lot of stairs we finally came out of the subway station. It didn't take long to walk to our hotel from the station. We were all given our rooming assignments and keys. Laura and I are on the fourth floor and there is only one tiny elevator that holds a maximum of three people. In reality it holds one person and a suitcase. Some of us took turns using it to take our suitcases up because we were tired of carrying them up stairs. 

Laura was also a little freaked out when we first got here

We settled in to our rooms for a little while and then we left our hotel to go out for a little while. The funny thing about Paris, or at least our hotel, you don't take your key with you. You are given one key and when you leave the hotel, you leave it at the front desk and then when you come back you tell them your room number and they give you your key. 

My opinion of Paris changed a bit after we went out for a while. It's a pretty city at nighttime. We took the subway (which is still scary) to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It's definitely beautiful to see. We took pictures for a while and then stopped at a small concession stand where food was being sold. I got a hot-dog and a crepe. Actually almost everyone in our group got a hot-dog and a crepe. When I went up to order, the boys taking my order said "Very original!" and then laughed because four people ahead of me had ordered the exact same thing. The hot-dog was in a baguette instead of a traditional hot-dog bun, which is basically the only reason I got a hot-dog. I don't like hot-dogs. However, the crepe was DELICIOUS. I got one that had Nutella and bananas on it. So yummy. 

The Eiffel Tower at night

The Eiffel Tower

To complete my first French experience, while we were standing across from the Eiffel Tower, gazing at it's splendor, someone started playing Moon River on the clarinet. It was like something out of a movie. 

After we finished, we got back on the subway and went back to our hotel. It is now currently 1 AM in Paris and Laura and I are listening to music from all the Disney movies that take place in France. But I should probably go to bed so that I can wake up tomorrow, er, today and be ready for a busy day.

Outside our hotel window

Restaurant across the street

Looking the other way down the street 

Michaela 

Edinburgh: Day 3

Today was a busy and exciting day! It was our free day in Edinburgh and Laura and I packed it full of fun things. 

We woke up bright and early and finished breakfast before anyone else had come down stairs yet. As soon as we were given our bus tickets for the day, we took off. We took a bus down to Princes Street and from there we walked a few blocks down North Bridge Street. Our destination was Scayles Music store but we ended up stopping at every tourist shop we came to along the way. We successfully found the music store and I got the one souvenir that I really wanted from this trip. Well, one of two. I really wanted to find a tin whistle while in Scotland. And I found one! The other souvenir will have to wait for Paris. 

Breakfast in Scotland

My tin whistle!

After we left the music store we crossed the street and went through some other stores on the walk back to Princes Street. We found a pretty awesome book store where we spent some time. I also found an awesome edition of The Wizard of Oz there and ALMOST bought it. But then I thought it'd be dumb to buy American literature while in the UK. And I already have my moms copy of the book. 

Walking back to Princes Street 

Once we got back to Princes Street we walked up to Calton Hill. Calton Hill is basically just a park on top of a big hill that's filled with monuments. It's pretty cool and it has great views of the city. 

Calton Hill from below

Lion railing

View from the top of the hill-- The Firth of Forth can be seen in the distance

Greek-looking monument

We were pretty hungry after our venture to the top of Calton Hill so we walked down to the pub, The Standing Order. This is where things got a bit interesting. Laura and I had decided before we'd even left for this trip that we NEEDED to try haggis while we were in Scotland. So we both ordered paninis and some haggis to share. When the haggis was delivered to our table my first thought was, "Yuck. That looks gross." For those of you who don't know what haggis is, haggis is a sheeps heart, liver, and lungs minced with onions, oatmeal, suet (raw beef or mutton fat), spices, and salt. Traditionally this would be encased in the stomach of the animal and cooked. It's a traditional Scottish dish so we wanted to try it. Here's the surprising thing. It really didn't taste bad. However, the texture was horrible. We both took one bite and decided we'd had enough. It only cost 70 pence, so we didn't really lose much by not eating it all.

My yummy cheese and tomato panini and Irn-Bru

And here we have our haggis

When we had finished eating, walked back down to Princes Street to do some shopping. Before we could even get to the shops, we heard a bagpipe and decided to find whoever was playing. Turns out it wasn't too hard. So we went and listened to the bagpipe player for a little while. She was really good! 

The bagpipe player

After shopping we hopped on a bus and took it down to the Firth of Forth which is an inlet of the North Sea. We spent a bit of time there and then we came back to our bed and breakfast to take a breather. 

The Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

Taking a breather in our hotel room-- take note of all the plaid

At supper time we got on another bus and went to Bella Italia, which has become our favorite Italian chain in the UK. After eating we hopped on another bus and took it just down the street because Laura wanted to see the Greyfriars Bobby monument. It worked out because it was just up the street from The Elephant House which is supposedly where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. I'm not a Harry Potter fan but I still kind of wanted to see that cafe. 

Pizza at Bella Italia

Desserts at Bella Italia-- so good

The Elephant House

Now Laura, Nelie, and myself are chilling in our room and listening to Disney music. We need to pack our things up and be ready to leave early in the morning. We'll be headed to Paris! 

Michaela 

Edinburgh: Day 2

This morning we woke up and went downstairs to eat breakfast. There was no bacon. 

We left our bed and breakfast at 9:30 and took a bus to the Edinburgh Castle. Laura and I opted to go on the guided tour of the castle. Our tour guide was an older man named Gavin. He had a strong Scottish accent and a good sense of humor. Once the tour got done, we went and explored the castle further. We went to see the crown jewels of Scotland, St. Margaret's Chapel, the Military museum, and the dungeon.

View from Edinburgh Castle

Scottish Memorial building

Edinburgh

The back of the memorial building

Inside the castle

While we were at the castle, we stopped in The Tea Rooms to eat some lunch. We both ended up getting hot chocolate and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. It was super good. 

Lunch at The Tea Rooms in the castle

Hot chocolate

After we finished at the castle, we walked down The Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is a road that goes from the Edinburgh Castle down to the Holyrood Palace. The Royal Mile is filled with tons of tourist shops. If you asked me to describe Edinburgh using one word, the word I would choose would most definitely be plaid. There is no lack of plaid here. 

Factory where they make plaid things

Holyrood Palace

Once we had finished walking The Royal Mile, Laura and I caught bus 27 which goes past our bed and breakfast. We're calling it an early night because tomorrow is our free day here in Edinburgh and we want to be rested up. 

Michaela 

London to Edinburgh

This morning we had our last breakfast at Ridgemount Hotel. I was a bit sad to say goodbye to the bacon, hot chocolate, and orange juice. 

Our last breakfast at Ridgemount Hotel

After breakfast we packed up our things and walked to a bus stop where we got on a double decker bus that took us to the train station. At this point, some of us ran to the toilets at the station before our train left. This was my first experience having to pay to use a public bathroom. It cost 30 pence to get in which converts to about 50 cents. 

After a bit of trouble finding a spot for our luggage, we got on the train and found our reserved seats. The train ride from London to Edinburgh was about four hours. We made a few stops in stations along the way. The train had a trolley cart that went through the train a few times. I bought a bottle of water and a chocolate bar off the trolley and it was pretty tasty.

I discovered that the farther north you go in England, the prettier it gets. There were so many pretty sights on the train ride up, but it was hard to get any good pictures.

Train ride up to Scotland

When we arrived in Edinburgh and got off the train, the first thing I noticed was the weather. It was extremely cold and windy and felt like winter. It didn't take me very long to discover that the weather here is strange. One minute it would be overcast and pouring rain, the next it would be sunny and slightly warm, and then it would start raining again but the sun would stay out. You never know what the weather will do next. 

After checking into our bed and breakfast, we took a bus down to a park on Princes Street where we took some photos of the castle in Edinburgh. After that we went to a pub and ate supper. Laura and I finished supper before everyone else so we ended up going for a walk and exploring some of the tourist shops on Princes Street. Don't worry, there is no shortage of kilts here in Edinburgh! :)

Edinburgh Castle

Our group taking photos

A cool quote on a gravestone

Scottish pop

Michaela 

London: Day 5

This morning we got a late start. We didn't leave the bed and breakfast until 9:45. After stopping at the ATM, we took the subway to The Tower of London. This was super exciting for me because I've wanted to visit The Tower of London for a long, long time.

Laura and I explored as much as we were allowed to and we ended up seeing almost everything. We saw the towers where they kept prisoners, the tower where the royals stayed, the dungeon, the torture chamber, and traitors gate where both Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn entered The Tower of London before being imprisoned. 

Suit of armor

This marks the area where private beheadings took place inside the tower

Due to superstition, there always ravens kept at the tower. This raven was the size of a cat

Traitors Gate

White Tower

In the tower where prisoners were kept there was graffiti all over the walls that dates back hundreds of years. Most of the graffiti was written in Latin or Old English. The translations of the graffiti was posted in the tower. It was interesting to read what all those prisoners had left as one of their final marks on the world. I also found it to be slightly eerie. 

Translation of some graffiti

Ancient graffiti

While we were at the tower, we also checked out the crown jewels, of course. But we weren't allowed to take pictures so just trust me when I say that they are exquisite. 

After leaving The Tower of London, we took a short boat ride down the Thames river from Tower Bridge (commonly mistaken as London Bridge) to Parliament. We also saw the fake London Bridge that is actually in London. I still haven't seen the real London Bridge which happens to be located in Arizona now. 

Tower Bridge

London Bridge-- the fake one

After getting off the boat, we walked to Westminster Abbey. Because it was Sunday, it was closed to sight-seeing. But I'm hoping we'll get a chance to go back before we leave London. 

Michaela 

London: Day 4

Breakfast this morning consisted of an egg, bacon, and a boiled tomato. The bacon in England makes me pity vegetarians. It's so good. There are three things I look forward to every morning here: bacon, hot chocolate, and orange juice. So, so good. 

We headed out this morning and made our first stop at the Hard Rock Cafe. We didn't stay super long there and immediately after we crossed the street to see the Wellington Arch. We went to the top of the arch and got a good view of the area.

The Wellington Arch

View from the top of The Wellington Arch

After the Wellington Arch, we headed to Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guard. There were so many people there watching, it was crazy. 

Buckingham Palace

The changing of the guard

From there we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. That church is so crazy big and elaborate. Taking pictures inside isn't allowed, but we took photos outside. We also climbed to the top of the dome there and took pictures of the city. There were so many stairs up to the top, it was insane. We've been walking a LOT on this trip and it hasn't bothered me so far. But those stairs were killer and my legs were sore after trekking up to the top. 

St. Paul's Cathedral

The dome we went to the top of

View from the dome

View of London from the dome

When we were done at St. Paul's Cathedral, our group decided to go to Camden market and skip going to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. However, Laura and I decided that we still wanted to go see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre so we headed over there on our own. When we got there we learned that there was a play going on in the theatre itself and we wouldn't be able to go inside to look. Since it was free for us to get in with our London Pass, we decided to go through the exhibit since we were there. It was sort of interesting. 

A model of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

A costume that was made for an actress playing Elizabeth I

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

After we had gone through the Shakespeare exhibit, we headed to Camden Market. But first, we stopped at a street vendor that was selling roasted chestnuts. They were pretty yummy. 

We made it to Camden Market without any trouble. But holy cow. That was a totally different experience. I've never been somewhere that you have to haggle with the vendors. I didn't end up buying anything there, but Laura bought a few things. 

Before heading back to our bed and breakfast we stopped at the grocery store and bought food to take "home" with us. There are a lot of places here that sell pre-packaged food such as sandwiches. I've always thought that pre-packaged sandwiches sound pretty gross. But they've become one of my favorite meals here in England.

Michaela