Set Sail

Tomorrow is my last final AND the day before I fly to Venice, Italy!

The rest of the girls have exams until the end of May, so I'm traveling solo (which will likely be the case later on as well).

I'll be in Venice for two days, exploring St. Mark's Basilica and hopefully taking a romantic gondola ride. Then, on the 17th, I'll be embarking on a 7-day Greek Isles cruise to Kotor, Montenegro; Corfu, Greece; Athens, Greece; Mykonos, Greece and Argostoli, Greece.

I'm looking forward to a week of relaxation, sun and swimming - I already stocked up on sunscreen!

Fun fact: my top three countries I've always wanted to visit are Ireland, Greece and Egypt. I'm so lucky and fortunate to have been able to cross off two of those places during my study abroad experience. I'll have to add more to the list now!

On the 24th, I fly back to Wales, where I will spend a week or so (packing and saying goodbyes), before heading off on another European adventure! I'm considering my options and might buy a Eurail pass, but we'll see. I have about three weeks to fill up before heading back to the States on June 20th.

Guess Who's Back? Back Again...

I've been back in Wales for almost two weeks now and I'm not quite sure where the time has gone.

Graduation

On the Wednesday (30/4) after Easter break, Bangor Uni held a "mini-graduation" in Powis Hall in the Main Arts Building for International Students. It was compulsory to go, but I don't think there would have been severe punishments for not attending. The ceremony was quite nice - a few speeches on how our time here has changed each of us and reminders to remember the little things, like sounds, scents, etc. At the end, we were all called up and received a certificate. We also got free "Alumni" tote bags, so it was worth it if you ask me.

^My Korean friend, Kyoungmi (aka Jenny), and I

Other Things

Last weekend was quite hectic, but in a good way.

On Thursday (1/5), I went to Paddy's for the first time with Emily and a few others for pound a pint.

On Friday (2/5), Harriet, Emily and I tried (apparently getting lost was a thing this weekend) to go to a rugby game, but couldn't find the pit. Instead, we walked over the Menai Bridge and explored a bit of the Isle of Anglesey. I bought a Welsh flag that looks big enough to cover a wall in my room.

On Sunday (4/5), Dan and I walked up to Roman Camp (I need to go back and get pictures) and then walked down to the pier. Later, we tried to find the Penrhyn Castle in Bangor. We saw it in the distance, but then managed to lose it (damn Castles). Next time directions will probably be a tad helpful.

On Monday (5/5), Harriet, Emily, Maddie, Short Harry, Dan, Marissa (another American) and I took a train to Llandudno to go to the Victorian fair and pier. We ate "candy floss" (aka cotton candy) and went on a ride that just spun in a circle nonstop, which made me want to throw up said candy floss.

^Photo courtesy of Hazrat Photography (aka Harriet aka dog ugly)

After the fair, our flat decided to go out to Cheese Night - not sure if I've mentioned this before, but when we all first heard about cheese night, we thought there was actual cheese involved. Nope (which breaks my heart), just 90's night. It was the first night we all made it out as a flat (technically Maddie doesn't live in our flat, but shh, we adopted her).

As our time together is coming to an end and we're likely to all be traveling separately during the summer holiday, I'm really starting to feel quite sentimental and sad.

It's weird to think that people I've basically eaten every meal with and shared so many special, irreplaceable moments together (like eating nachos for the umpteenth time or all holding hands promising we would invite the others to our weddings), I won't be seeing on a daily basis anymore.

I think I'm having a hard time booking countries to visit after my last final (May 14th - next Wednesday!!!) because I don't want to leave them. I don't want to leave this. Bangor has become home and these three girls have become family.

I swear the only reasons I'm even remotely interested in going home are my cats, my bed, my DVR and Dunkin Donuts iced coffee - can't all those things just come to me?

The Land of Scots

SCOTLAND

Scotland, where you can hear a bagpipe playing anywhere and everywhere you go.

Edinburgh

My first experience traveling via RyanAir and we made it safely, in one piece and no lost luggage. Hallelujah.

We didn't arrive to the hostel until 11:30pm ish, but it did not disappoint. Each room had a theme, ours was 'Happy Days' (and we could see the Edinburgh Castle from our bedroom window!!!). We met up  with Alex in the 'common room', which was very Harry Potter-esque (fireplace and all).

On our first full day there, we walked down the 'Royal Mile' for a bit, before doing another free tour (seriously, look up Sandemans if you're in the UK/Europe area and want to do a free tour of a city).

Our tour guide took us all around (which really helped get a lay of the land before going off on our own) - we went to the Grass Market, St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Kirk Cemetery and Greyfriars Bobby statue, the tombs that inspired J.K. Rowling to create the characters Tom Riddell and McGonagall in Harry Potter and the birthplace, the Elephant House Cafe, of the series. We decided to go back to the Elephant House Cafe and eat lunch there. The bathroom walls are covered in HP quotes and sayings.

After lunch, we sat on the grass and relaxed in the West Princes Street Gardens (which quickly became a favorite spot for me). When the sun started to go down and it got a bit chilly, we headed to Calton Hill (and climbed up the National Monument) to watch the sunset.

On our second day, we went past the Scottish Parliament building (there will be a referendum in September to see if Scotland will separate from the UK) and headed to the Holyrood Park. We trekked all the way up to Arthur's Seat, which is the highest point in the city. While it was a bit windy, the view was spectacular. We treated our selves to a nice Easter lunch and then headed back to the gardens to read and write postcards.

Inverness

Besides high street and the Inverness Castle, there's not much going on in Inverness (maybe we would have liked it better if the weather was nicer). Our first day there, we explored what little there was to see and planned for our following day trips to Loch Ness and Aviemore.

We took a bus to the town of Drumnadrochit, and were dropped off at the Urquhart Castle, which is situated on Loch Ness. We decided not to pay the £7.90 to see the dilapidated castle up-close and instead walked back into town (where I found a house, with what I hope my future backyard will look like) and inquired about walking trails. We started on the 'Milton Trail' in the Craigmonie and Balmacaan woodlands. It was raining on and off and a bit foggy, which made visibility difficult.

In Aviemore, we rented bikes and explored the Cairngorms National Park - we took 'the Old Logging Way' to the Glenmore Forest Park. Eventually, we reached Loch Morlich, which was an extraordinary view and quite peaceful. Then, we took a different trail up to Loch Uaine (the green loch). I hope one day I could have a view similar to this from my house. In total, I think we biked around 26km.

Fort William

Our final stop. Fort William is quite a nice town and definitely not touristy. Most people there seemed to be avid hikers/into nature, and I think many just go there to climb Ben Nevis (my legs were not in any position to be climbing the highest mountain in the UK, so that didn't happen). On our first day there, we relaxed in a park next to the high street (I was reading J.K. Rowling's 'The Cuckoo's Calling' while in Scotland), before checking into the hostel (which was also themed - I was in the 'Robert Roy MacGregor' bunk).

On our second day, we took a train to Glenfinnan to see the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, which appears in Harry Potter films. We didn't know, but the train we took to get there actually went over the viaduct and slowed down so people could take pictures/videos. When we got off the train, we walked around and got a better view of the viaduct.

On our final day, I decided to go off on my own to Appin, a town about an hour away, to go on a 2-hour horseback ride. I had been wanting to make a day of it at some point during our Easter break trip, and so it seemed like the perfect fit to end the trip on a good note.

It was just the guide/owner and myself on the ride. I rode a 20-year-old Irish born Thoroughbred named Millie. We had to go earlier in the day because of the tide rising around Castle Stalker, which was featured in the film Monty Python. 

A little over halfway through the ride, the other horse was being fussy and didn't want to continue on. The guide dismounted, in hopes of walking him through this one bit, but the horse had other plans and took off instead (spooking Millie in the process). I managed to make Millie stop and not race off after the other horse. So, my last day, was interesting to say the least. 

I still can't believe we were gone for a total of three weeks, and that we had the opportunity to see two beautiful countries and explore so many new towns/cities. I was excited and ready to go back to Wales (and be in a 'home base'), but I'm also looking forward to doing more traveling after my exams.