London

Having been to London two times before, I really didn't need to go. But I had a free place to stay with a friend from UNC and I am in the UK so I saw no real reason not to. The first day, Sasha and I did all the touristy things because she had never been.

After that, we walked along the South Bank and found a market to eat at. I got an amazing chicken shawarma wrap from a Mediterranean stand. 

Then we went to a Christmas market nearby. We saw this guy playing a tribute to Lou Reed. 

The next day I got to meet up with some friends from camp and so Sasha, my friend from UNC, Bridget, and a few of my friends from camp all got to hang out. So many friends. We went to Borough Market for food (my favorite market in London, not that I've been to all of them but whatever it is amazing) and then did some walking and went to Brick Lane, an area of London know for it's Indian food and graffiti. 

That night, we found out that Ellie Goulding was playing at a club for SIX POUNDS (a deal if I might say so myself) and despite our tiredness, we got ourselves together and went and it was amazing!

Berlin

About a month ago (sorry I'm awful) I went to Berlin. I must say Berlin is not the prettiest city I might have seen but it was so interesting. Two of my friends are studying abroad there for a year so I hung out with them. I stayed with my friend who lives in a house in a sort of suburb where she rents a room.

The first picture is my friend's house and the second is the TV Tower, a sort of Eiffel Tower of Berlin if you will (that is a stretch). The third is the Bradenburg gate, which divided East and West Berlin. I was only in Berlin for a day (two nights) so I mainly just walked around and hung out with my friends. One of the most amazing things about Berlin was how cheap the food and drinks were. A bottle of wine was around 2.50 euros and you could get beer for less than a euro if you wanted. And I never paid more than five euros for a meal. I found this kind of surprising for a city, especially compared to other big cities (COUGH COUGH PARIS, where I was malnourished). 

I knew the one thing I wanted to do in Berlin was go to the Berlin Wall. Most of the wall is destroyed, obviously, but there is one part that has been preserved called the East Side Gallery, which has lots of graffiti on it. 

The first one is really famous and I really just liked the second one. There is lots of writing over the graffiti now but there are people who periodically come back to restore the originals and cover up the writing. 

Another thing I really liked about Berlin was the transportation. I know that is nerdy but it is AMAZING there. They have two train systems (U Bahn and S Bahn), the tram and the bus. So many options. Here is one of the S Bahn trains. U Bahn is the metro (underground) and S Bahn is the above ground train. 

I really liked Berlin and I recommend going. It was incredibly interesting and lively but don't expect the beauty of Munich or Freiburg. 

Paris

Two weekends ago, Sasha and I went on a casual weekend trip to Paris. We got there on Friday night and the place we were staying was near the Arc de Triomphe.

It was okay I guess. The next day was full of activity. In the morning, Sasha and I went to go see one of her family friends who is an artist who lives in the Montmartre district in Paris. We went to the gallery that shows his work. One day he decided he wanted to be an artists and America wasn't really cutting it for him so he moved to Paris not knowing any French and now is a very successful artist. Isn't that so cool? After that we went to a Tibetan restaurant for lunch which was really good. Basically like putting Chinese and Indian food together so I mean obviously it was good. 

We did a bit of thrift shopping and then decided to go to Sacre Coeur, which is technically a church but we didn't go in the church and instead just walked around the area. There was this awesome band from England playing music. They even played Wagon Wheel.  

Once it started getting late, we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower at night. We decided wine and cheese were necessary. 

Once the wine and cheese were finished, we decided to walk up it! I highly recommend this because it is way cheaper than taking the elevator and also the line is incredibly shorter. When we were waiting in line, a mother asked me and Sasha to watch her kids and they were an absolute delight. The littlest one, of only six years, was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. 

LOOK AT THIS VIEW. 

The next day we did a lot of walking around. First, we went to the MOMA in Paris because it was free. I wanted to go to the Centre Pompidou but it was 14 euros and I mean that is just so much food I just couldn't. Afterwards, we mainly just walked around the Seine and on the bridges and such. 

That night, we went to the Jim Haynes dinner. Basically, everyone is invited to dinner, you just have to email him far enough in advance. It was fantastic! The meal, chicken curry, lentils, rice, green beans, tzatziki sauce and, of course, wine, was amazing and there were so many interesting people to talk to. I even met someone who had just graduated from UNC. I highly recommend this to anyone going to Paris because it honestly was great. 

We went home on Monday. They plan was to get back at 5 in the afternoon but our flight got delayed for five hours so we didn't get home until around 11:30. It is one thing to stay five hours at Charles De Gaulle but five hours at Paris Beauvais is a whole other story. Thanks RyanAir. 

HARRY POTTER CASTLE

Two weekends ago, I had the joyous experience of visiting the castle where the first two Harry Potter films were made otherwise known as Alnwick Castle because it is near the town of Alnwick in England.

Although it doesn't look like it right in that picture, do you remember the scene where Madam Houch was teaching a young Harry Potter and his fellow first years how to ride a broomstick. Or possibly the scene where Oliver Wood is teaching Harry how to play Quidditch? Let me refresh your memory. 

Notice the castles in the background. Now look at this picture:

IT IS THE SAME ARCHITECTURE. So, for any of you Harry Potter fans reading this, isn't that COOL? Honestly, this was my main reason for attending but the castle was also really cool. It is still inhabited by the royal family from Northumberland in northeast England so people actually live here. 

The castle also had this cool treehouse thing which had a swinging bridge and was just generally very pretty. All in all the castle was cool but I couldn't help wondering how much it would be oh-so-annoying to live in this castle and have hundreds of tourists roaming around your home all the time. 

St. Andrews and Aberdeen

Yeah I know I haven't posted anything in probably close to three weeks. You might have thought I'd forgotten about you, the faithful readers of my riveting study abroad blog but NEVER FEAR. I haven't forgotten you, readers and friends.

About two weeks ago, I took a day trip to St. Andrews. St. Andrews, in case you aren't aware, is about an hour and a half north of Edinburgh and is notorious for golf and being the home of the University of St. Andrews, the school a certain prince attended and met the future duchess of this United Kingdom. One of those I care about much more than the other.

This is Sasha in front of William and Kate's dorm where they met. 

This is us at the St. Andrews Cathedral. The cathedral is no longer in use obviously because it is in ruins. St. Andrews also has wonderful beaches that we went to. 

They aren't exactly the warm sunny beaches of North Carolina but I quite liked them. Don't know about the swimming though. 

St. Andrews was nice but a bit too quaint and golf-focused (note: I did not visit a golf course while there so I might not be the most best person to ask) for my tastes. But, this past weekend, I went to visit my cousins in Aberdeen, which is about three hours north of Edinburgh. Sasha came with me as well because we are a married couple. 

On Saturday, we went to a farm in the Highlands near Ballater. There were green rolling hills, some farmers and sheep everywhere. 

This is me and Sasha and my two cousins, Marthann and Virginia Flora. 

Some of the sheep were this color because the breeders thought it would be funny to die them the color of whiskey. Nearby, there is a whiskey distillery, the Royal Lochnagar Distillery, that we also went to in the afternoon. Balmoral Castle is nearby and it is one of the Queen's favorite places to stay. So, this distillery is the one that supplies all of the queen's whiskey when she is in town.

The next day, Sunday, before we went home, we visited Dunnotar Castle in Stonehaven, which is right outside Aberdeen. It was everything you wanted to see when you think of Scottish castles. I personally think it looks like Pyke from "Game of Thrones" which is a compliment if there ever was one. 

There was also a beach around the bottom because yes, it is a seaside castle (but clearly in ruins). 

That is all for now. Edinburgh is great but there is a lot of research involved. Probably should have thought of that before when I read Edinburgh was a research university. 

Edinburgh

So now I'm in Edinburgh. The first week was Freshers Week which is mainly designed for freshmen (or as they're called here freshers) but also includes people new to the school. Most the events were very overwhelming and the queues were far too long but it was still a good time to meet a lot of people. I went to most events with my friend, Sasha, who lives in my flat. We mostly went to concerts or bars in one of the student unions (yes their are two and yes they have bars) called Teviot. The other is named Potterrow.

The picture on the left is Teviot at night lit up with the somewhat famous (or at least I think so) purple lights and the picture on the right is a band called Bwani Junction who opened for the band, Fatherson, who we went to go see on the second night of Freshers Week.

Last Saturday, Sasha and I also hiked to Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is a large hill near the coast (between where I live and the sea but still in Edinburgh) that everyone hikes up because the view is amazing. 

Last week was my first week of classes. Classes are different here in that I only have three (History of Art, American History (for the perspective), and Architecture History) and while that seems like not that much, there is a lot more independent study. Basically, there is no busy work like quizzes or drafts or even midterms. There is a reading list recommended per week (which is more than enough to consume all spare time) and students can read as much or as little as they think necessary. Instead of midterms, there are essays due and in one of my classes I have journals to do every week but they aren't due until the near end of the semester. So, the moral of this story is that it is really easy to procrastinate. 

Where I live is very close to George Square which is where most classes in the College of Arts and Humanities are so that is nice. It is also near the Meadows, one of Edinburgh's parks. Although it is called the Meadows, it is really just a flattish park that has a golf course but isn't really meadow-like at all. But still lovely. 

(left is view from my window and right is the Meadows at sunset)

Next weekend I hope to go on a trip with some other international students to St. Andrews. As for now, I am still trying to decide which societies (clubs) to join. So far I have joined the Wine Society and the Labour Students Society (which involved joining the Labour Party so don't know how that is going to work but sorry Dad) but am thinking about the Art Society and Retrospect Journal (a history, classics, and archaeology journal I am hoping to design for) along with the Water of Life Society. What is the Water of Life Society you may ask? It is not a charity if that is what you're thinking. In Gaelic, the word for whiskey also means "water of life" so it is in fact the Whiskey Society.