Since I've put off posting, an attempt at a recap for the entirety of our time in the UK would leave you reading this until the fall so I'll spare you every detail. Plus I know you all would rather hear me babble on and on about it in person upon my return, right?
So I present to you now, an overview of the trip so far including city highlights and weather disappointments. I will spare you my musings of plots to kill my brother.
After the completion of my internship in Scotland (which I still can't believe has come and gone!) Quinton arrived and we started the journey with a quick hop up to Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. We only stayed a total of 22 hours but we were really just there to successfully check the Loch Ness tour off our bucket lists. We didn't find Nessie (I'm still recovering from that painful blow) but the loch is incredible and pictures really don't do it justice.
In fact, I gave up taking pictures from the boat at a certain point because I was angry that it wasn't really capturing what I was looking at.
Inverness was a nice small town and I think it was good for us to start there to get our bearings as travelers before skipping off to the larger cities.
I said goodbye to Scotland after 43 days with one desire in mind; heat. Our next stop was England so I knew I wasn't in for anything tropical but Bath didn't disappoint. We had good weather and plenty of sunshine which meant I finally busted out my shorts. This also meant I offended the kind people of Bath with my exceptionally pale legs that had just spent six weeks in Scotland. Sorry, Bath. I'll look better next time.
Bath has always been high on my list of places to visit since Samantha Brown first introduced me to the city on Passport to Europe. The entire city, full of Georgian elegance and Palladian architecture was everything I thought it would be; grand and awe-inspiring in it's symmetrical, cohesive style, yet welcoming and friendly despite the aristocratic feel.
We picnicked in parks, took tours both historic and comedic and enjoyed the beauty of the city (which is often a backdrop of major Hollywood films).
Bath also introduced me to the WORST hostel roommate (except maybe the person from the movie Hostel? I haven't seen it, but I assume whatever happens in the movie trumps the story I'm about to share). We were in a 12 bed mixed dorm room - which really is not a bad set up - and there was an old man who was in bed by 8pm every night and not only did he fill the room with the beautiful sound of his loud snoring, but he talked.. no no, he had full conversations in his sleep. It might have been more entertaining if I knew what he was saying, but he shouted in another language throughout the night. Thank goodness for headphones and Netflix.
After too little time, we said goodbye to Bath, stopped by Stonehenge (along with the entire Asian population) then headed on to London.
Our first full day in London was ironically the 4th of July. I subtly represented the holiday in the country we gained independence from by donning my red, white and blue...
Our hostel was about as centrally located as we could have hoped. We stayed in Waterloo borough and they just so happened to be having a month long summer festival so we were lucky enough to run into some parades, drink specials, and some spectacular street food.
My favorite activity in London was the midnight performance of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus at The Globe Theatre. The standing tickets were sold out by the time we got there but by combining my radar for cute guys and talent for eavesdropping I found some boys with extra tickets and snagged two for free. I've never seen anything as incredible as that performance of Titus and clearly other people were moved by it too as three people passed out and one person vomited.
As we left the theatre and walked home along the wharf at four in the morning, I was that creep that recognized an ABC Family TV star and approached her to make sure I was right. Nothing like some Shakespeare to bring peasants and actors together!
A close second was the free 2.5 hour bike tour we took from a new company which got my cardio in for the day and allowed us to see more than we would have on our own. Plus we stopped at a pub half way through and our adorable Irish guide was really informative.
And to round out the "Best of London" list: Quinton and I enjoyed walking to nearly every sight and frequently walked while exercising our right to carry open beer down the streets of London. Usually just because we thought it was awesome that we could. (Or while standing in the rain for 2 hours waiting to see the Tour de France come through town).
London is such a unique blend of neighborhoods and it's easy to find a place to hang out depending on what you're feeling each day.
We said goodbye to the United Kingdom and have been in Paris for a few days now. Right now, I am just a little angry with Paris because it's been rainy and cloudy so I'll wait to share my thoughts about the city until after our next few days of sun. I'm extremely affected by the weather and can't help that it alters my mood!!! Rest assured we're having tons of fun and Paris is as beautiful as you think it would be.
I didn't exactly hold true to my attempt at keeping this under novel-length. Sorry! I vow to get my next post up sooner rather than three cities later. Perhaps on the five hour train ride to the French Riviera. Watch for picture posts on my Facebook and pray that Quinton keeps on this exciting streak of not losing anything major like phone or glasses! yay!
Cheers!
TGT
AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I love you both! And I love living vicariously through you. Post when you can. We here at home love reading it. Be safe and have a wonderful time!
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