Ticket to Ride with the Kevins

I have these two friends that are constantly giving me travel envy.  They are always planning the coolest holidays to places I often have to look up on a map.  While most of us plan trips to the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum,  these friends are planning trips to Kosovo and Serbia.  It has always been my dream to get a travel invite mostly to visit cool places but also to prove I'm hard core enough to travel with them.  Plus they are really cheap and have been known to sleep on park benches in order to avoid getting a hotel for a few hours.  I guess I have to live in Europe in order to get an invite and when they told me the itinerary I was pretty excited.  I'm obsessed with the game, Ticket to Ride (TTR--yes we have an abrev for it), and force my family to play for hours anytime we are together.  This itinerary was basically a version of a mission from TTR which pushed my excitement over the top. 

They flew from the states and I met them in Poland where our trip began.  We started in Krakow and worked our way east via trains.  Krakow is a beautiful place with a European feel but an eastern European influence.  We spent the day walking around exploring the city and finding cheap Polish food. 

The official trip photographer fulfilling his  heritage  stereotype

I tried to talk the boys into going to Auschwitz and got vetoed which we spent the rest of the trip regretting.  Next we headed to Lviv, Ukraine.  The churches in Lviv were my favorite.  

 It was also the first place we tried Borche, an amazing beet soup, that I ate most days.

 Next,we headed to Kiev via an over night train where I was trapped in a small sleeper train with four men only one of which I could communicate with--it was interesting.  I was not expecting much in Kiev and was really surprised--I loved Kiev.  It was easy to get around and had so much to see and do.  We had major problems with the language barrier--NO one spoke English but other than that it was great.

Photo bombing Tiger, I hate you.

 
We went to an opera, ballet and classical music concert--I know we're so cultured:).  The opera house is beautiful.

 My favorite part was visiting a Pechersk Lavra.  It is a site for the Orthodox Christian pilgrimage   The whole complex is considered sacred and I had to cover my head.  We loved it so much we ended up going back twice.  The best part was these underground catacombs that are only lit by candles.  There are hundreds of saints buried and people come from all around the world to pay their respects by kissing the clear coffins.  It was by far one of the coolest culture experiences I've ever done.

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We ended the trip in Kiev, mostly because of poor planning and inability to make decisions but no one was complaining about more time in Kiev.  Traveling with the boys was fun and fulfilled my desire to experience traveling with them.  I have to give myself a shout out for being an amazing packer.  I knew it would be nuts and we'd need to pack light.  I managed to pack an ENTIRE weeks worth of stuff in my college backpack.  I might have had to attache my makeup, blow dryer, and coat on the outside but still amazing right?  If you knew how I used to pack you'd be even more amazed.  Let me also add that I had the smallest backpack of the three of us and I changed my underwear everyday. Kudos to me!

Traveling with these boys was so entertaining, I have to share some direct quotes from them:

"Maybe you should wear more eyeliner--you'd blend in more and not get as many stares."

"Don't smile so much, this is a holy place and you're a woman"

 Me: "Why is everyone staring?"
K2: "You ARE wearing a purple scarf and have a red backpack"

"Don't wear any of your bright colors. I know you and you always look like a rich American shopper.  That yellow jacket you have--don't wear that.  You have to look like a Russian communist."

Except for the disastrous trip back to London, when I arrived 30 hours later then I was supposed, the trip was a success.  I hope I get an invite from these boys again as there are many more TTR cities I still need to visit. 

Leaving London

It's officially, I no longer live in London. So sad.  I really miss it.  Darcee came to help me move home and after a week galavanting around Europe, we arrived home jet lagged and exhausted. 

Getting all my stuff home deserves a post of its own--it was quite the ordeal.  Thanks to the best Sherpa ever!

It still hasn't set in that I no longer live in London.  I kind of feel like I'm on an extended trip home and I will be returning to my flat, my friends, and my life. In an effort to soak up as much London as possible, I spent the last few weeks checking off my London bucket list, which included:

Visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

 

Destruction from WWII

Learn to make real Indian food 

 

One last shopping trip on Oxford Street--they were already geared up for Christmas.

 Celebrating Halloween with friends.

 Hanging out in my neighborhood.

 See a famous person--I saw Anthony Hopkins filming a movie last week. 

Take a final pic of the pizza boxes.  As you can see there is literally no more room.  I threw a pizza box away thinking that since there is no room now, we could start throwing them away.  I got in trouble--apparently there is room on the sides to stack.  I wonder why I didn't think of that.

 One last stop at school. 

Say goodbye to my favorite people. 

Dinner with the boys at the OXO Tower.

In no particular order, here is a list of what I will miss the most about London:
-Getting blitzed with the boys
-Accents...they're hot
-Shopping especially on Oxford Street and in Camden
-Using words like 'trousers' and 'rubbish'
-Dinners with my school girlfriends
-Jogging in Primrose Hill
-Being a quick and cheap plane/train ride away from the rest of Europe

It also makes me sad that I am no longer living the real live version of 'New Girl'.  I love this show mostly because I watch it and feel like it is my life. I literally cried during the first episode of the second season because it felt a little too real.  This is not the forum to express how I really feel about leaving my flatmates, mostly because they read this and I don't want them to get fuller of themselves than they already are.  However, I will really miss late night chats, watching football matches, making cookies, the bees, and learning more about men than I ever wanted too. 

What I won't miss about London:
-My UK cell phone

Bet no one has used a phone like this in 10 years. 

-Unpredictable shower temperatures and no water pressure
-Calculating the time difference of someone from home I'm trying to get a hold of
-The inability to get a summer tan
-Calculating the exchange rate
-Mice in the winter
-Not having a clothes dryer


Ironically, the night before leaving the UK, I found out officially I had passed my degree.  To make a really long story short, there was a time when I realistically did not think this would happen.  I was more than thrilled as you can tell by the pic of my finding out I passed below.  It felt great to leave London knowing I had accomplished what I came to do.  And knowing I get to come back in March for graduation made leaving a little easier. All are invited for a trip back across the pond in March for the big celebration!

For the time being, I am going to spend my time enjoying the holidays with my family and apply for jobs on the west coast (and maybe a few in London...don't tell my mom).  I'm excited for another extended time period with the fam and hope they won't get too sick of me before I can find a job.

The welcome home party.

Islay, Scotland

As a last hurrah before all moving away from London, a group of friends made the trek to the island of Islay (pronounced EYE-lah) in Scotland.  It's just across the waterway from Northern Ireland and two hour journey from Glasgow.  It's small, remote, and GORGEOUS.  One of my friend's family owns a vacation home in a small village on the island and we thought it would be the perfect spot for one last getaway. 

The invitations designed and created by my talented friend...check out her website http://joynevada.com/

The drive over was just a sneak peak of the beautiful Scottish country side.  We drove through the highlands and along several lakes.  I'm becoming a huge fan of Scotland.  Not only are the accents amazing but the men are manly enough to wear skirts and the scenery is incredible.

Catching up on some zzz's on the ferry after an overnight bus ride

The island welcomed us with open arms.  When you drive pass someone on the road, everyone waves.  Imagine if every car you pass you waved to--good thing there aren't a lot of people on the island.  It was obvious that we were just visiting as EVERYONE know everyone.  

A church with no corners because that's apparently where the devil hides

We stayed in Port Wemyss which total population is about 25.  It is located next to Portenhaven a thriving metropolis of  50.  Because the villages are so close they share a school, post office and church.  There are no longer school age children in either village.  In fact we were the youngest people by about 60 years.  We attended the local protestant church while we are there.  There are two doors--one for each village.  Depending on the village you are from that is the door you must enter.  We kept our allegiance to Port Wemyss and entered on the right side.  

This is the view from the house.  We were lucky enough to have great weather and rain only started the day we left. 

We spent days going on walks through different villages, playing on the beach, looking for seals, and having deep conversations about life.   

Nights were spent having bonfires on the beach, attending traditional Scottish Ceilidh dance (pronounced KAY-lee), and telling Scottish ghost stories while walking through sleepy villages.

Our neighbor on the island is this old woman named Bessy that has spent the majority of her life on the island.  The water on Islay is so rough and cold so you can't really swim in it.  Bessy never learned to swim growing up but decided at the age of 80 she wanted to learn.  She is now in her late 90s and still swims every week in a local swimming pool.  She spoiled us by making us homemade scones and jam and telling us stories about Islay and its people.

Please forgive our appearance--we got caught in a downpour

Love these friends and it was the perfect last weekend before we all move to Turkey, Ireland, US, and Scotland.  Islay may need to be a reunion place for us in a few years.

A special shout out also goes to my friend's grandma who owns the vacation house and let us stay.  She was instrumental in growing the church in Glasgow.  And the missionary that baptized her was trained by my Grandpa Hague when he served his mission in the UK over 50 years ago.  Small world right?  We stopped in Glasgow on our way back to London and it was so fun to meet her.