gifs {part two}

i could NOT help myself. i spent my saturday morning laughing my head off. honestly. these are so great. {especially preston's}. my apologies everyone. 

 blenheim palace, england. 

 blenheim palace, england.

hyde park, london.

 portobello road, london.

 cliffs of moher, ireland.

 cliffs of moher, ireland. 

 some garden, ireland. 

edinburgh, scotland.

rome, italy.

 florence, italy.

amboise, france. 

 chiang mai, thailand.

 chiang rai, thailand.

chiang rai, thailand. 

Travel Guide {Edition I}

well here it is. some of you have asked specifically for it so this is my attempt at rating the places i have been thus far in my nineteen years of life. why edition one? well i figure there will be more added for each year i travel. enjoy and keep in mind that this is my opinion and i have talked with many others who would differ depending on their experiences. {also, i would like to note how incredibly hard this was to do because i like each place for different reasons and it is hard to say one is better than the other}.

COUNTRIES:

12. Burma {Myanmar}

It was definitely a very interesting and insightful experience but I would not want to go again. It is war-torn and extremely poor, but the countryside is beautiful. {see the post here}

11. Grand Cayman Islands

I went here as a part of a Caribbean cruise I went on. Pretty but since we spent most of our time at Sting Ray City I did not enjoy it too much. {i mean who wants hundreds of sting rays swarming them and rubbing all over their body? how do you think steve irwin died?!}

10. Canada

I haven't been to Canada in a while, but I do remember that is can be gorgeous, green, and great for people who like nature. Last time I was there we went to Niagara Falls, which is cold and wet and magnificent.  

 9. Ireland

Part of my time spent in Ireland was awesome and part of it not so awesome, but it was an adventure that's for sure. If you want to see the Ireland they show you in the movies you need to get far away from civilization and plan on getting lost because tourism information is not Ireland's forte. But once you get out into the green rolling countryside it really is breathtaking. 

{posts one, two, three, and four from ireland}

8. Mexico

Mexico is great for many reasons. First and most important of which being the food. Mexican food is a gift from God. REAL Mexican food...nothing is better. And now I am hungry. I have been to Mexico a couple of times I think, but more recently on a cruise where we stopped in Cozumel and Costa Maya. The snorkeling was the best I have had so far (comparing to Florida and Thailand), souvenirs are cheap, there are ancient ruins just waiting to be explored, and the people are generally nice and humble. 

7. Belize

Man, Belize was so much fun. It was also part of the cruise and while we were there we went cave tubing in the rainforest. Dream come true? Yes. At that point in life I was obsessed with rainforests so this was perfect. We saw a lot of wildlife and got to float down a river, in and out of caves, on an inner tube. So awesome. The people in Belize were also nice and we got some good food there too. 

6. Scotland

My trip to Scotland was perfect, but too short. We only got to go to Edinburgh for a day and a half but we did a lot in that time. Including hiking to the top of an inactive volcano for sunrise at 3:30 in the morning, where I got to be the highest person in Scotland for just long enough to have one of the more incredible experiences of my life. We went on a ghost tour at night and visited the cafe that J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series in. Bonus: Scotland is gorgeous. {posts one and two} 

5. Costa Rica

One word: amazing. Loved every moment of Costa Rica. I convinced my parents to do a trip here during my rainforest phase. We were there for two weeks in the town of Jaco {a major surfer destination} and stayed in an awesome hotel complete with a private beach, huge pools, and hammocks. Our days consisted of horseback riding to waterfalls, kayaking, zip-lining, rainforests, national parks, beaches, and lots of monkeys. Oh and really really good food. Plus I loved the people there, they even sang me happy birthday at one of the dinners. GO TO COSTA RICA. Can I emphasize it enough? They are also one of the countries that are preserving their surroundings instead of destroying precious and rare life, and by doing so they make all their money through tourism. 

{some of the pictures are in this flickr photo album}

4. England

Oh England, what can I say to some you up? Well I spent about two months in this country and I have my likes and dislikes, but mostly fond memories. Six of those weeks were spent in lovely London on my theatre study abroad through BYU, where I also went to Dover, Oxford, and Stratford-upon-Avon. And the other two were spent in Harrogate with my sister and her family, enjoying the countryside, during which time we went to Bath on the way to France. England is simply beautiful. It looks just like it does in all the movies- green, rolling, and full of sheep. Combine their accents, their sophistication, their history, and their wonderful array of sporting events and you have a must-see. Plus the weather was quite enjoyable whilst I was there. Oh and it doesn't help that I am a Jane Austen addict either. {I am not about to link every post about England because there would be like a hundred but here are some of the posts on my side trips: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And if you want to read about London you will just have to dig through the archives or my facebook pictures}. 

3. Italy

Three cities, two days each, six days of jam-packed tourism. I loved Italy, and I think I would have loved it even more if I had gotten to take it slow and spend some time in the country too. Rome was perfect to us the first day, and the second day was a bit interesting hahaha. Florence was breathtaking and full of art {most of which I didn't get to see}. Venice was sunny complete with clear blue waters, fascinating architecture, and slow times riding bikes to the beach on a quaint little island. And the best part of Italy? Food, of course, but mostly GELATO. And it helps that there are lots of good looking men with great fashion taste and excellent glasses.

 {see the posts for all three cities here: one, two, three, four, five}. 

2. Thailand

Six weeks in Thailand, and it only took one day to fall in love. Riding elephants and ostriches, playing with adult and baby tigers, lighting thai floating lanterns, side trip to the beaches in the south, temples, and lots and lots of rain. However, my favorite aspect of this was the children we taught at the orphanage through HELP International. Northern Thailand is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, the skys are gorgeous, the hills are a perfect shade of green, and it is almost always sunny. The food is delicious, the markets have everything you could want and it is incredibly inexpensive, and the people are the most friendly of all. {again, to read more you'll need to search past posts because there are a lot of them}

1. France

Been there twice and it is still my favorite country so far. I love everything about French culture- the language, the food, the pastries, the lifestyle, the art, the architecture, and the countryside. What more is there to say? Paris, Loire Valley, and Normandy. C'est bon. 

{see the posts here: one, two, and three}

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!

And now for some less detailed lists:

CITIES:

1. London

everything you could ever want at your fingertips: culture, music, theatre, art, food- and all in an incredibly quiet, clean, and efficient city of its size.

2. The cities of the Loire Valley in France {Amboise, Beaune, Blois, Chinon, Tours}

3. Florence

4. Venice

5. Rome

6. Paris

7. Chiang Mai, Thailand

8. The Normandy Region of France

9. Edinburgh

10. Jaco, Costa Rica

11. Harrogate, UK

12. Chiang Rai, Thailand

13. Phuket, Thailand

14. Tachileik, Myanmar

100,000,000. Dublin, Ireland

PEOPLE:

1. Thai

2. Costa Ricans

3. Italians

4. Scottish

5. British

6. Burmese

7. Irish

8. all the other ones i will not list because i have no opinion slash too much bias

Travel Week Day 2: Doing Edinburgh Right

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18TH. DAY 22.
So after going to bed in our hostel we then woke up around 3am-ish. 3 IN THE MORNING. For a sunrise hike on a volcano called Arthur's Seat. All 12 of us made it out of bed and to the trail on time and all together. Miracle? Yes. We started off on a trail that looked pretty steep because apparently it looked like it went up to the top of the hill even though it was on the opposite side of the mountain where the sunset would be. More than halfway up we figure this out and head back down but the sun had already begun rising. However it was still absolutely gorgeous and I got to see some of the sunrise as we came down. After we got to the bottom some of us still wanted to hike to the top of Arthur's Seat because we found a map with the actual trail. We hiked for a while that morning, and let me tell you, it was so worth it. The view hiking up was breathtaking. It was so green and the yellow flowers were blooming along the sides of hills. We got to the top and as I caught the view of Edinburgh below I gasped, and I won't lie, my eyes might have teared up a little bit. It was incredibly windy up there and I felt like I was going to blow over, but it felt amazing. And for a couple minutes as the hymns "High On A Mountain Top" and "How Great Thou Art" ran through my head, I was the highest person in Scotland. It was the perfect way to start the day and no pictures or words can describe it.

After the hike we went back and slept for about two hours and ate our free breakfast. Next after we were a little refreshed went to the Edinburgh Castle to explore. I have been to many castles in my life time and I have found a common theme: they are ancient and made out of rock. Don't get me wrong, they are very interesting but after a while they all kinda blend, especially after you have been up since the wee hours of the morning. So I am not really sure if I remember too much about the castle haha. Our group of 12 then divided in half- 6 to stay in Scotland and head north, and 6 of us to head over to Ireland aka the motherland. I was in the Ireland group so after we were done at the castle we had time to kill before we had to catch our flight. We wandered down this street and happend to come upon a cafe called The Elephant House...and guess what it just happened to be?! The cafe where JK Rowling wrote a lot of the Harry Potter series. They had pictures and articles on the wall about her and even a Harry Potter toilet. I will admit that I used it, but it's just one of those things you have to do. I loved the elephant house though, it was so cute, there were elephants everywhere and the food was great. I got a beef and mushroom pie and an elephant shortbread.

We then went to a souvenir shop  before catching a bus to the airport. I found my dad a Scottish tie (he gave me specifics types to look for) and I was so proud of myself for finding one for him, since he only wear Scottish ties I had to do it for him. So we get to the airport, check in, and get in line to board the aircraft (yes we were in the tunnel almost out the door) when one the airport stewardesses tells us that our plane has been delayed until 10pm. At this point I had been awake for way too long and they were telling us we would be waiting in the airport for like another 5 or 6 hours. My reaction? I just bust out laughing. This is how I respond to ridiculous things out of my control, especially when I am slap happy. This trip was full of my tired gigglings. So we attempted to sleep, we ate a couple of times, I listened to music and then eventually the time came and we boarded the plane for real this time. It was a short flight to Dublin from Edinburgh and when we got in we tried to get a bus to our hostel, but we soon found that nobody knows anything in Dublin, and maybe all of Ireland while we are at it. The first Irish man we meet and ask for help is rude and grumpy and gives us poor information. Lovely. After talking to a couple more workers we finally figure out how to catch the bus and make it to our hostel after more wrong directions while trying to walk there from the bus stop. We get to the hostel eventually and it looks to me like the Leaky Cauldron from the outside, complete with a bald hunch-backed man creeping outside the entrance. But we checked in safe and sound and extremely tired. Safe to say after a much needed shower, I slept like a rock that night.
ps- I didn't take any pictures of the 2nd hostel and I can't find any from the others, sorry.

Song of the Day: Modern Nature by Sondre Lerche

Travel Week Day 1: SCOTLAND

So this is one of many long blog posts to come...this is going to be crazy trying to catch up, and as I do this I am listening to audio of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, such a great multi-tasker haha. So during our study abroad here in London we are allowed a "travel week" which is like 4 and 1/2 days and we are allowed to go pretty much anywhere in Europe as long as there is at least three of us at all times. Some groups went to Paris, Italy, and Spain, while mine went to Scotland and Ireland.

TUESDAY, MAY 17TH. DAY 21.
We started off the day in class which got out early so that all of us could finish up last minute packing and make it to our planes and trains on time. Right before I left I booked my plane ticket to Rome June 9th after the program ends! It was surprisingly cheap and I am so excited, I have always wanted to go to Italy (more on that when it gets closer). Four of us then took a train to Edinburgh. It took around 4.5 hours I think and the scenery as we got closer to Scotland was gorgeous. The coast was especially green and gorgeous. I was kinda bored for the train ride itself unfortunately, I was too tired to read and couldn't fall asleep on the train either. We got to Edinburgh and met up with the rest of the huge group. 12 of us in all at this point. We then checked in at our Hostel which was actually pretty nice and I felt safe the whole time. We had dinner at a cheap pub where I got lasagna and chocolate cake...I wouldn't recommend the lasagna though, it had this thick layer or creamy stuff on top that was kinda sickening haha. We then decided that we wanted to do a Ghost Tour of the cemetery. However that tour didn't start for an hour so we went on the City of the Dead tour which was in the tunnels beneath the city where many people had lived and died during desperate times. They tried to make is scary and haunting but although it was a little bit lame I had fun. They even showed us pictures of people "scratches" and "marks" from the ghosts that live there and terrorize the visitors. Our tour guide was entertaining and it was worth it just to hear his Scottish accent for the whole time. We then went to bed and I slept like a rock. I am so glad I am a deep sleeper, it really came in handy on this trip especially when you have other girls at the hostel coming in and out at all time during the night, some drunk.

On the train

Me and Amy with the Edinburgh Castle behind

The pub

The Castle

Our tour guide

Our Scared Faces

They locked us in to add to the effect

The hallway of the Hostel- it had cool murals that were hippy/beatles-ish

Our room, there are three more bunks not shown in this picture

Stay tuned, there is a lot more to come!


Song of the Day: Talking Bird (Demo) by Death Cab for Cutie