London!!

The past week we spent 5 days in London!! London has been my favorite city so far and I don't understand why everyone told me the food was horrid there because I had some of the best meals. Heres a rundown of our days spent in London!!

Day One:
We left for London on a Tuesday. Our flight was from departed from Pisa and got us into London and at the hotel around 4:00. Upon immediate arrival to the hotel we had to rush out because we had booked tickets for a 6:30 Harry Potter tour at Warner Brother's studio! Pushed for time we realized that there was no way we were making our tour on time. Luckily a nice lady on the train let us use her phone to call the studio and warn them that there were 15 of us on our way and they allowed us to push our tour time back! We were picked up by the Harry Potter night bus and it took us over to the studio!! THE TOUR WAS AMAZING!!! It had all original props, scenes, and outfits from the movies. I can't even being to explain how intricate the tour was or how this is a must see attraction for every Harry Potter fan! I won't get into details because this blog post would go on for days but that tour was worth every pound! I even managed to find ice cream on the tour! We walked around for about 3 hours and by then the studio was closing for the night. When we got out the London weather was on par and it was pouring! We quickly hopped back on the night bus and headed back to our hotel. Next to our hotel was a gas station that had the best food! That was our saving grace that night because all the restaurants were closed and we were hungry! The hotel we stayed at was called "Thistle" in Kensington Gardens and was beautiful. By far the best place we have stayed! It was two to a room and we had our own bathroom..with a REAL shower and bathtub and they spoiled us even more because we had maid service...oh and the best part was a working tv in English!! This sounds ridiculous that I am obsessing over these simple things but it really brought back the comforts of home hahah. We turned in on the early side and enjoyed a great nights sleep.

Day Two:
We woke up around 8 to enjoy our FREE (if you study abroad as a college student you'll understand that any free meal is equivalent to winning the lotto) continental breakfast. Unlike the French and Italians who think a croissant or a baguette is an efficient breakfast,  the English love their big fatty breakfasts just like Americans! And we wonder why everyone in the world is skinner! Praise the English for this breakfast though!!! The breakfast had everything from fruit to scrambled eggs! FINALLY!!! From the hotel we headed to the Thames river for a quick tour on the boat and transfer from Embankment Pier to Bankside. From the boat we all herded to Starbucks for our favorite drinks. Side note: if you every want to find one of the KSU fashion students just head to the nearest Starbuck because someone WILL be there, which comes into great use later on in the trip. After everyone had gotten there "pumpkin spice latte" fill, which I personally think are gross, we went to take a tour of the Globe Theater. The Globe Theater was really cool because it was rebuilt years ago to look as accurately as it could to the original theater and it is still a functional theater today! Our guide went over what the theater was like in the time of Shakespeare and took us around. After the tour we headed inside to a separate part and we learned how the people used to dress in the time of the Shakespeare. Here one of the fashion design majors Michael got to model and be dressed in the women of that times attire. It was hilarious! After all our tours had commenced we were given time for a quick lunch. Around London there is a chain called Eat and it has soup, sandwiches, and salads, its almost like a Panera and they're everywhere! So we stopped in to eat...at Eat. When we were finished lunch we had to go to the Tate Modern Museum for another tour. This tour was of Modern art. We were guided around the museum where significant pieces like some of Picasso were pointed out and explained along the way. When the tour was over we walked over to go on the London Eye. When we reached the London Eye we realized how smart we were to get our tickets in advanced because the line was atrocious! Before we got on the Eye we got to watch a quick 4D movie on the London Eye experience which was really cool! The London Eye was breathtaking. It is the tallest ferris wheel in London thats located on the south bank of the river Thames to overlook the city. I am so happy we decided to see it! After the London Eye we walked across the bridge to Big Ben and to get our first London dinner, which of course had to be fish and chips! After our meal we went back to the hotel because we had plans to go out for the eve of Taylor's 21st birthday. We got ready and headed out to go to an exclusive club that a girl on our trip Cassie "had all set up." Unfortunately the club ended up being a disaster. The club was super exclusive and half of us didn't even make it in because although we were promised free bottle service and free entry none of those ended up holding true. About 7 of us got in while the others were dealing with the no heels no entry situation...ridiculous. We entered this snooty club only to find after a 20 pound entry fee and a 2 pound forced fee to check a coat that we did not fit in at all. This was no club for college students. It was a bunch of posh, business men and women who wouldn't even look at us because obviously we weren't rich business people. So after about 10 minutes we were out of that club in attempts to try and make up for a bad place on Taylor's birthday night. We all felt horrible. We headed over to another club where there was no entry fee (more our style) but it still was still very businessy. In attempts to turn the night around I immediately whipped out the birthday cake we had gotten Taylor and convinced someone to light the candles even though he told me "this is illegal." We soon found out that the area we were in was all very businessy and the people at this club were all taking out their boss and a guy they were trying to make a business deal with. So once again we just tried to make the best of it because we really couldn't get over to the more college pub area in time before things started closing down. The night ended up not being too bad. We danced funny..doing the moves like the robot and other awkward dance moves because there was really not many girls in the club either...we convinced a few business men to buy us a drinks and then pretty much ditched them hahah and by the time we got back to the hotel it was almost 3 so we passed out!

Day Three:
The next morning we enjoyed another lovely breakfast and went to the V&A museum to get a tour of fashion through the years and to tour the "Club to Catwalk" exhibition. The museum was awesome! Especially the "Club to Catwalk." It was the 1980s in London so they had all these exotic outfits and fun music and fashion shows running through the exhibit. After the museum tours a few of us went to go find lunch in the area. We came across an organic health restaurant and decided to try it out. I got the most amazing salad...I barely even know what was in it but it was so good! From there we took the tube (which is so easy to use) over to Harrods and Top Shop to do some window shopping. Harrods is just like the English version of Macy's. They have everything in there!! Including a whole section of chocolate and candy that was making me want to die. We weren't able to spend too much time in Harrods because we had to make it over to a seminar at Central Saint Martins on sustainable fashion. It was only me at Taylor at this point because majority of the group had went their separate ways right from the museum and the other to girl we were with decided to skip the seminar. Having no idea where Central Saint Martins was exactly we had to just wing it. This is where Starbucks played a key role! As soon as we walked out of the train station we went into the nearest Starbucks and what do you know about 8 KSU fashion students were in there getting drinks. From there we all found Central Saint Martins together. Saint Martins is a beautiful school and one of the best in the world for arts and fashion. We listened to a seminar on sustainable fashion and then were broken up into groups to research companies and their sustainable fashion policies. We then presented our findings and received a certificate for completing the seminar. Taylor wasn't feeling well after the seminar so while the others decided to go out to shop and get Indian food I went back with Taylor to the hotel. But of course we didn't go back without getting Chipotle first...god the addiction is so bad. England's Chipotle was perfect! Once again the comforts of home! After Chipotle we spent the night in eating junk food and watching scary movies on TV.

Day Four:
When we got up Taylor was still feeling sick so she stayed in and the rest of us went to take the tube to Cockpit Arts. Cockpit Arts is a group that helps artists, like weavers, jewelry makers, and handbag designers, make their own company and/or establish themselves. It was such a nice place, very low key and everyone in there was pleasant and happy to show us around. We got to listen to a weaver and a handbag designer talk about why they are there, what they are doing, and even show us what they were working on. It was one of my favorite tours so far and it was such a casual and simple one. After the tour we had plans to go on a walk tour to see major sight seeing points in London...we got off the tube at what we thought was the meeting place for the tour...turns out it wasn't. We realized it wasn't the right spot too late in the game to get to the actually spot so instead we decided to make up our own walking tour! With super organizer Amanda of course this was possible! We hit up Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben for the second time, took the classic "in a red telephone booth" picture, and walked around the area until it was time to go to high tea at Harvey Nichols. The high tea was also THE BEST THING EVER! We went to the top floor of Harvey Nichols and were served tea, crumpets, jam, butter, and cucumber sandwiches. It was delicious! We then got a tour of the entire store by one of the sales associates. She told us how certain things are merchandised in the store and I felt like it was extremely relevant to the merchandising majors. After tea we made our way over to Apollo Victoria Theater to see the musical Wicked! The area around the theater was really busy and the tube station we got off at for it was like Penn Station. It was my second time seeing Wicked but I loved it all the same! We were so lucky to have a musical incorporated into our trip! We were exhausted after the play so we went back to the hotel and again watched another scary movie "Halloween H2O." The movie was really dumb.

Day Five:
The last day was a free day to do whatever we wanted. We had one last delicious breakfast and headed out for the day. We went into a couple souvenir shops so we could buy post cards and then Taylor and I decided to break away from the group because we wanted to go to Kings Cross Station to see platform 9 3/4. The line was a little long to take a picture at the platform but the photographer and assistant kept the crowd entertained. After it was finally our turn we walked into the shop to see the pictures up close (even though you were allowed to take your own pictures for free). The guy in the store told Taylor and I that our picture was very unique...I guess not too many people ask to get into the cart to take the picture. Taylor ended up buying their copy of the picture because she thought it was too good not to. From there we took the tube to coventry garden and walked around. In Europe they have a store called TK Maxx...sound familiar?? It is the exact same thing as TJ Maxx in the US. I don't know why they changed the J to a K but logo and all it is the same! After walking around and window shopping we decided to head back closer to the hotel so we could try Indian food before we left. It was a bit early to be eating lunch but we knew we couldn't leave without trying it. We walked into an Indian restaurant that was completely empty and struggled to order food. We tried to order these dishes and the waiter was like "sooo you've never had Indian food before" and of course we said we hadn't and he told us that there is no way we could eat the meals we got without ordering rice with them...and he was right the rice made the meal! The food was absolutely delicious! I got a chickpea, spinach, tomato, onion, and spices dish. I definitely will want to eat Indian food again! Before we knew it, it was time to go back to Florence. We all got on the bus and waited, and waited, and waited...turns out we were missing 3 students. Our teachers who brought us there were so mad. We were seconds away from leaving without them when they finally showed up. We continued on to the airport and soon it was time to board. We all board the plane then realize once again there was a different 4 students missing...once again my teacher was like are you kidding..and we had to page them to the flight...my goodness! We arrived safely home and basically went straight to sleep and slept for the whole next day.

Harry Potter Tour

Globe Theater 

View from top of Tate Modern Art Museum 

London Eye

Big Ben

V&A Museum

Harrods 

Central Saint Martin

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey 

High Tea and Tour at Harvey Nichols

Wicked

Platform 9 3/4

Coventry Gardens

Indian Food

Éirinn go Brách!

This has been a crazy week! It was midterm week...so basically the first time we've had to do any bit of studying! I have been delayed on writing about my favorite trip so far Ireland! Get ready, I am obsessed with Ireland so this post will go on for days!


Our journey began last Thursday at 12 in the afternoon. It was a crazy day of traveling! We started out on a train from Florence to Dublin. From there we switched over to the plane for about a 3 hour flight to Dublin. Now that seems like an easy enough journey, but nothing is ever easy when I travel so of course it wasn't! Just as we were about to get on the plane we were stopped by the attendant checking our tickets, apparently if you live outside the UN your were supposed to get your visa check and ticket stamped before getting on the plane. We went through security and customs without anyone telling us this or the slightest clue you needed to do that. The attendant told us to step to the side so she could see what she could do. Immediately I went into panic mode in my head and started making up sob stories to get myself on the plane in case they said no. Luckily everyone was spared from my made up scenarios because they pulled a lady up to stamp our tickets. THANK GOD!! From there it was on the plane and to Dublin no problems! 

When we arrived in Dublin I got a facebook message from my cousin saying to take the bus to Letterkenny in Donegal. Conveniently I had bought tickets to Donegal Town instead because I thought that was where we were supposed to get picked up...once again when can my travels ever go smoothly?? This time we had time to figure out how to get the bus ticket settled and had time to grab a bite to eat. Everyone in the airport was so nice and friendly (as we found out every Irish person was) and told us getting on the bus to Letterkenny with our Donegal ticket would be no problem! It wasn't until we got on the bus that we realized it was a small problem. The bus driver was very in distress about us using "the wrong ticket" so much for it being no problem. So we held up the bus departure time but after calling his supervisor the dilemma was handled and we were on route to Donegal a 3 hour bus ride! 

From the bus we were picked up by my Great Aunt Sally. Even though I had't seen her in a few years I immediately recognized her when I got off the bus. We hopped into her car and of course were mind boggled by the whole driving on the right side thing! It really throws you off!! It was a 20 minute car ride down dark, narrow roads, and after 12 hours total of traveling we finally arrived at my cousin Loretta's house. Her house was beautiful!! It looked like a house right out of a home magazine! Exhausted, it was not long before Loretta was showing us up to our rooms and we were passing out. 

After the best sleep ever, Loretta's beds were like sleeping on a cloud, we woke up early to get ready for the day. Loretta had work that day so her sister Catriona would be taking us out for the day. As we got ready for the day we soon realized that Loretta also had the worlds greatest shower! We could actually move in a shower unlike our lovely 2x2 shower in our Florence apartment where the curtain sticks to you the whole time. In addition we had the most lovely breakfast! Loretta had gotten us bagels, eggs, bacon, croissants, everything you could hope and dream for in breakfast foods was there. Loretta is truly amazing! Around 11 Catriona picked us up to head over to hike Mount Errigal. It had been 15 years since I last saw my cousin  Catriona, it also had been 15 years since I last was in Ireland! 

Mount Errigal is a 751 meter hike up and the tallest peak of Donegal. Most people kind of snake there way up the mountain but we decided to take the direct route up! The climb was crazy! Luckily Catriona had brought some hiking boots with her and I had taken her up on wearing them because the mountain was so muddy at the bottom!! Amanda and Olivia were not so fortunate and got there shoes covered in mud but they were great sports about it! The hike up took us about an hour and a half but the whole time was full of none stop chatter and catching up with my cousin. When we reached the top the view was breath taking. There is no way to describe the true beauty of Ireland or what it feels like to be standing at the highest point of Donegal looking over the whole county.  Catriona had packed us tea, coffee, and chocolate for a victory party at the summit! This started us all on an addiction to Ireland's best....Lyons tea (I am my parents daughter because I truly am addicted...4 cups in 2 hours a few days ago) CRUNCHIES...I know these have been in my house, dad why didn't you tell me how delicious they are?!?!? and Mars Bars which are like the equivalent to a 3 musketeer bar. We devoured the candy and the tea and after sitting for a bit we decided to head back down. The hike down only took us about an hour but Taylor feel about 5 billion times and ended up covered in mud by the time we made it to the car! 

Next we headed over to Glenveagh National Park, which is the second largest National Park in Ireland. They had the cutest tea room where we all went into for a little lunch. After lunch we walked around the park which was once again beautiful and breathtaking! It was on the lake and there was a castle on the grounds as well! You could spend the whole day walking around the park! It was huge! We only had about 2 hours there but it was amazing! On the way back to Loretta's,  Catriona asked if we had tried a Guinness in Ireland yet, of course we hadn't since we had only been there for only a few hours so she stopped at a local pub to make sure we got our first! The pub was very authentic! Had a nice fire going and all!  Catriona watched as we all tried our first real irish Guinness. Thank god I liked it because  Catriona told me I wouldn't be truly Irish unless I liked Guinness. When we had all finished our half pints we headed back to Loretta's to get changed and ready to go out to dinner. We hung out with Loretta while we got ready and hung out in her kitchen. Her son Stefan also hung around a bit and it was nice meeting him for the first time! 

We went out to dinner at a hotel restaurant in town with  Catriona. The food was incredible!! We got a "Wagon Wheel" appetizer and I had cod with avocado and mango salsa...I could eat that a million times over! My cousin Atlanta and her boyfriend Leon joined us towards the end of dinner and we cleared the place out chatting and exchanging stories! Atlanta is another cousin I haven't seen since I was 5 and were actually only two days apart! Atlanta and Leon drove us back to Loretta's and we all went inside. Again we were all back in the kitchen chatting and laughing, trading off words and expressions that differ from America and Ireland. Our best one was "shifting" which Catriona had taught us earlier in the day. It means making out in Ireland. Before we knew it, it was getting late and Atlanta and Leon were off and it was time to head up to bed again to get rest for the next days activities! 

The next day it was our day with Loretta. Loretta took us up to Slieve League, the highest point in Europe! The mountains are located on the Atlantic coast and, I have been saying this about everything but, once again the view, the experience, everything was UNREAL!! I have never been to a country as beautiful as Ireland! The colors of the mountain, the grass, the sheep, the water....simply breathtaking. No words, or pictures could ever describe the feelings of truly being on top of the world. We drove up most of the mountain...cheaters...haha but we did do some hiking and take loads of pictures! We even tried to take pictures with the sheep but the kept running away! Which brings me to another point..the sheep are EVERYWHERE!! They are like deer in America! Except they are so much cooler! After walking around Slieve League for a bit we headed back down to a tea shop (the theme of Ireland...TEA!) but we actually all ended up switching it up and getting hot chocolate and cookies. In the tea shop we asked for directions to get down to the beach area of Slieve League. We went down small country roads and even passed a farmers market kind of fair where they were having a sheep auction! The countryside on the way down was amazing! When we arrived at the beach we had to walk down steep stairs to get to the bottom. You know what I am going to say, the beach was amazing! I have never been to the beach in cold weather wearing a northface! There were people fishing on the beach and we even saw someone catch a fish! 

After the beach we headed over to Donegal town to get lunch. We had yet another amazing lunch at a place called Blueberry, one of Loretta's favorites! The food was delicious, we got soup, sandwiches and fries..yummmm! We explored the town a little, stopping in a few souvenir shops and all making purchases! From there it was back to Loretta's once again! When we got back to Loretta's of course we all had tea! We took showers and drank Coronas with Loretta as we waited for my Uncle Hughy and Aunt Sally to come by and visit! Loretta is the coolest to hang out with, we felt so at home! When my Uncle Hughy arrived Loretta commented as he headed up to the door that he was wearing his jacket and tie because anytime there are visitors he gets dressed up! I spent the next few hours talking with my Aunt and Uncle who were such a pleasure to be around! My Aunt Sally soon insisted that we headed over to Catriona because she had gotten us some irish tea and snacks and we couldn't leave without them! It also happened to be  Catriona's birthday! Stefan, Amanda, my Aunt Sally and I went over and I got to meet all  Catriona's little babies for the first time!! They were adorable!!! The youngest is only four months old, the next two, and the oldest is three. Before we left  Catriona gave us a huge bag of crunchies, lyons tea, irish caramels, everything we had raved and devoured at Mount Errigal and more! Soon it was time to say goodbye and go back to Loretta's because Atlanta was taking us over to her friends 21st birthday party. 

Atlanta's boyfriend picked us up and we loaded all our bags into the car. It was time to say goodbye to Loretta as well. It was hard saying goodbye to our amazing host but luckily I should be seeing her this summer because she is planning on coming to America! On the way to the party we made Leon imitate an American accent and I attempted to imitate an Irish one...fail for me. At the party we were greeted by the birthday girls mother who welcomed us with open arms saying "You're all welcome!! You're very welcome here." We then were greeted by the birthday girl and all her friend who were saying the same thing! Like I said before Irish people are truly the nicest, most welcoming people I have ever met. They really go out of there way to make people feel at home. We were taken to the back where a huge tent was set up and a DJ. The mother than herded us over to the food table and told us to eat and drink whatever "You're all welcome!!" Atlanta of course too made us all feel at home and comfortable getting us drinks and chairs...amazing, amazing people. The party was a blast with a ton of throw back songs and the irish hit Galway Girl. Everyone from the party then headed out to the club. We stayed at the club until it closed and then took a cab back to Atlanta's apartment in Letterkenny. Atlanta just like my other cousins was incredibly hospitable offering us tea and blankets upon arrival AND building a fire. Leon came down too and Atlanta and him stayed up with us until we had to get on our bus back to Dublin...by the way we had a 5:30 am bus ride and we got back from the club at around 3:30/4 so after a quick hour at Atlanta's it was already time for them to take us to the bus and head back to Florence. Our flight was at 10:20 and we just made it to the airport on time...another close call! But we arrived back in Florence safe and sound and then proceeded to sleep for the next 12 hours! 

I could write a novel about my time in Ireland, I feel like I practically have. Immediately after leaving Ireland I felt a pit of sadness because the trip and my family had been so incredible I didn't want to leave. I felt so at home. This entire trip I know I will miss hanging out in Loretta's kitchen listening to music! I went a little Ireland crazy because also upon immediate arrival in Florence I started looking into getting dual citizenship and started looking up flights to see if I could visit one more time...there may or may not be some irish music on my ipod now....I finally get why my dads all irish crazy! I truly have found a whole new appreciation and love for where my family comes from. Ireland, I know I'll be back soon! 

Slán! 
(Goodbye in Gaelic)