Edinburgh, Scotland

We had a good day in Scotland. It was drizzling rain and cold when we arrived so we sheltered in Clarinda’s Tea Room for breakfast. We dined on bacon sandwiches, cinnamon toast, and Scottish breakfast tea. It was warm and cozy and sweet and we basked in its coziness for at least an hour.

When we finally braved the weather and went out, we walked down the Royal Mile to check out the castles. Isn’t it funny that castles aren’t a big deal in Europe? Like, oh there’s just a castle over there. Meanwhile, in America we have…Walmart.

 

In the afternoon, we ventured to find The Elephant House cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote large portions of Harry Potter. It was such a neat place! We were sitting at a table by the window and when I happened to glance outside, I saw a girl from our Greece group taking a picture. I jumped up from the table and ran outside screaming. We were so excited to see Greece friends! And it was so funny to run into people we know in random European towns.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with them in a cemetery that J.K. Rowling used to get names for Harry Potter characters. Morbid? Meh.

 

Of course, we couldn’t get over the clothes.

It was disappointing that we only had one day to spend in Scotland, but we made the absolute most of it.
It was such a good day!

Luck of the Irish

In Ireland we:

were drenched in rain
met up with many great friends also backpacking
ate fish and chips (of course)
had the best chicken salad sandwich at The Temple Bar in Dublin
sheltered from the rain in a coffee shop eating warm chocolate muffins, hot breakfast tea,
and sharing backpacking stories with friends
took a train to the nearby town of Howth
stood on the cliffs of Ireland
went for a hike
bought pastries at the Howth Market
went to a castle
and took a picture with a viking

        

Paris, France

Paris marked the beginning of the second half of our backpacking journey. In the days leading up to our arrival in the city of love, all I could think about was the hotel room waiting for us. It would be our first night not staying in a hostel with 15 people to a room. It was a hotel room with two beds and a hot shower all for us.

We left Belgium in the late afternoon and arrived in Paris just before dark. Our hotel was a complicated train ride to the outskirts of the city but when we finally arrived, walking past a McDonalds and under an overpass, we unloaded our belongings, took long hot showers, ate peanut butter in bed, and slept.

We didn’t set alarms and ended up sleeping later into the afternoon than we had anticipated, but we needed the rest. Our day in Paris was full! In the pouring rain, we walked to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and well, ate a lot of crepes.

Anyway, aren’t pictures worth more than words?

           

What did my feet look like after all of that walking in the rain, you ask?

   

au revoir!