Oh my is right. During my week and a half Spring break I travelled with girls from my school to London, Scotland and Ireland. Each place was so unique and so incredible in their own way.
London Day 1:
I started my trip in London where I spent about 4 days. I stayed with my friend's aunt and uncle outside of London in Mitcham. It was a super easy tube ride into the city. On our first day we took a bus ride around the city so we could get our bearings and see all of the sights. It only seemed fitting to see London from the top of a double decker bus. We went around the whole city and learned about some of the history while seeing all of the must see places. We got off for lunch around Picidilly Circus and walked around the area. At the end of the day we stopped to see Buckingham Palace. I think the concept of it is more exciting than the actual Palace.
London Day 2:
Our second day in London we went to the Notting Hill area. This area is known for the cute colorful buildings. It is such a cute neighborhood that I would definitely recommend checking out. There are tons of cute restaurants, cafes and boutiques. My favorite part was the Portobello Road Market. This is a huge clothing street market full of vintage clothing. It was so fun to browse through all the shops. My favorite part was the food. There was an area with tons of food trucks that we stopped at for lunch. I had a falafel that was so delicious. The whole Notting Hill area was so cute and had the cutest painted houses.
We also went to Abbey Road Studios which is a must while in London. It was a fun place to take pictures on the classic street and see the studio (well the outside) where all the magic happened.
London Day 3:
Our third day in London included a lot of Fashion. We started our day at the V&A museum to see the fashion exhibit. We weren't able to see the Dior exhibit as it quickly sold out but the regular fashion exhibit is very impressive. There were so many cool historical pieces that I have learned about in school that was so cool to see in person. The whole museum was spectacular. I could have spent all day there. The museum had such a nice feel to it and had some really cool pieces. I would highly recommend this museum to anyone who likes art and decorative arts. After the museum we went to lunch at Elan Cafe which is a super trendy coffee, tea and cake place in London. They have a few locations and each one is covered in pink, and flowers, and overall is just beautiful. It was a place of my dreams with all of the pink and the cute aesthetic. The food was good too and not that expensive. I got a sandwich, coffee, and a piece of cake for under 20 pounds.
Next we headed over to Harrods. As fashion students we had so much fun walking around and seeing all the high end designers collections. This is such a unique and cool department store. We finished our day by taking a stroll around Kensington Gardens which was a perfect and relaxing way to end our day. The gardens are beautiful and the park surrounding them is very relaxing.
London Day 4:
For our last day in London we went to the Brick Lane Market. This is a cool area that has lots of vintage shops and market that has everything from home stuff, art, and clothing etc. We had lots of fun browsing and shopping. We got some Indian food for lunch because I heard London is known for having good Indian food but to be honest I was kind of disappointed in the place we went. After thrift shopping we went the Dover Street Market which ironically isn't on Dover Street and isn't really a market. This place was amazing. It's a store full of high end and very cool designer brands and the merchandising of the store is incredible. It feels as if you're in a modern art museum but it also has clothing in it.
Scotland Day 1:
I arrived in Scotland in the afternoon so my first day was only a half day. Two of my friends from college (Madeline and Adri) are studying here so they took me around town today. We went around to the Grass Market and Royal Mile area. I totally understand how Edinburgh was the inspiration for Harry Potter because it felt like I was in the books/movies as I walked around. We went to a pub and got some drinks and then went to dinner. After dinner we went to a bar that had amazing espresso martinis. It just tasted like a good iced coffee with a little kick.
Scotland Day 2:
Today we got up early to go to the Edinburgh Castle. It was great going early because it wasn't very crowded. They have free tours so we got a tour of the outside of the castle that was great to learn the history. Then we went inside to see the different rooms, the dungeons, some of the memorials and the jewels kept there. It was really interesting learning about Scottish history because I never really learned anything about Scotland in my history classes in school. The castle was amazing and the view of the city from up there was even better. Edinburgh is such a cool city having a huge castle just smack in the middle. After the castle we went for lunch at a cute cafe. Edinburgh is full of cool hip cafes. I had probably the best grilled cheese of my life here. After the amazing lunch we went to Mary's Milk Bar for some delicious ice cream. I had the most amazing milkshake. It was the perfect amount of creaminess but not too sweet. It was perfect. Next, we went to The National Museum of Scotland. t was a free museum that had a beautiful atrium and really cool exhibits. We went and saw the fashion exhibit (of course) which was super cool! It had a great mix of new and old fashion. After the museum we went to get even more food for the day at The Elephant House. This is where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter! It was a simple place with simple food but it was just so cool to see where it all began. Oddly, the best part of the place was the bathroom. The walls were covered with people's writings of harry Potter quotes. It was so fun to see and read them all.
Scotland Day 3
Today was sadly my last day in Scotland and it was only part of the day. I wish I could stay longer and do some more of the hikes around Edinburgh. For our last day we went to the Princess Street Gardens to see the view of the castle. It was stunning with the fountain below. We then went to a gorgeous Starbucks that had a great view of the castle. Shortly after I was on my way to my next destination, Ireland.
Ireland Day 1
Our first full day in Ireland was spent in Dublin. We stayed in an Airbnb a little outside of Dublin. (I would NOT recommend staying outside of Dublin because the transportation into the city is very difficult and doesn't run often.) Once we finally got into the city we started our day with brunch. After brunch we walked around the Temple Bar area. It was a cool area and I bet even better at night. Then, we went to the Dublin Castle. The castle was really cool from the inside and outside. The back of the castle had a cool bridge and courtyard that also had some museums. We walked around Dublin more and went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was a classic beautiful gothic cathedral with beautiful grounds around it. It was pretty rainy the rest of the day so we tried avoiding the rain by exploring coffee shops and museums in Dublin.
Ireland Day 2
Our second day in Ireland we did a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher. We booked the trip through Viator which was great. It was super easy to set up and a good deal. We got up early to meet the bus to leave Dublin. We drove across the country to the coast where the cliffs are. On the way we got to see the beautiful countryside of Ireland and hear some history and stories of Ireland. The Cliffs were absolutely stunning.
We were so lucky the day we went was super sunny and clear. It was really cool just walking around the whole place and taking in the beauty. After our time at the Cliffs of Moher we headed to Galway.
On the way we stopped at this really cool area shortly that had really interesting terrain. The ground looked like the surface of the moon.
We then continued to Galway. Once we got there we went to O'Connel's which was a bar where Ed Sheeran filmed his music video for Galway Girl! We got Irish coffee her (of course!). Then we walked around Galway for a bit. Galway is such a cute quaint town that I would love to spend more time in.
Ireland Day 3
Today we took a day trip to the Blarney Castle! It was a similar trip to the day before where we left from Dublin to get on a bus to head across the country. Our first stop of the day was at The Rock of Cashel, ruins of an old medieval castle/monastery. It was a really cool place. It was built on top of a hill so the views were really cool. It was pretty eerie with the grey sky, graveyard and crows all around. It was something that I wouldn't have known about if I hadn't done this tour but it was definitely something really cool to see.
Next we went to the Blarney Castle. I had been so excited to go there. The castle and the grounds around it were so beautiful. I could have explored the area around the castle for a whole day.
We walked to the top of the castle which included lots of stairs on a narrow winding staircase. The view from the top was incredible. At the top you are able to kiss the Blarney Stone which is an Irish tradition with a cool history. To kiss the stone you have to lay on your back and a guy helps you shuffle back to kiss it. It was further down that I thought it was!
After the Blarney Castle we went into the city of Cork! We got some food and then wandered around the town. It was a really cute town that I again want to spend more time in. Overall, I need to start planning another trip to Ireland.