My Birthday in Scotland

The following day was a very special day on our trip. It was my 23^rd birthday. Our yearly tradition of traveling during the off-season started when my mom and I went to Rome and Florence last year. We were in Florence for my 22^nd birthday, and I was having some very serious birthday blues. It was a combination of wanting to be 21 years old, feeling a lot older than some of my best friends in college, and an overwhelming fear of the future, post-college. 22 years old felt like an age when I should have some direction and plans for my future. At that point in my life, I had completely overhauled my life, changing everything except my major. I had the feeling that nothing would ever settle down, and even though I was happier than I had been in a long time, I was still aching for something to remain constant, and my age refused to comply. This year was quite different. I had taken that fear and general apathy about my life into my hands, and chucked it all to pursue my dream of travel. After traveling around Europe for five months, I had found a new career path, found an internship in an awesome city, and was more fulfilled than I have ever been up to this point. And to top it all off, I was in a beautiful wintry city with cozy cafes and the best scones I have ever eaten. This birthday I wanted to celebrate all the things that I was grateful for in my life.

A really unfortunate picture of me in front of The Elephant House

Unfortunately, I had to spend the morning at the German Consulate, dealing with visa issues. Now I am a dual-citizen of the United States and Ireland, but at the time I was worried about being re-admitted to Germany. The kind woman at the Consulate allayed my fears and assured me that I would be readmitted with another three-month tourist visa. Afterwards, the fun of the day could begin. We started with a tour of Edinburgh Castle, mostly to see the crown jewels of Scotland. I’m not really into big jewels, but I did enjoy the history behind the Scottish lineage of kings. We were right next to the cannon when it sounded for the one o’clock bell. It cracked me up to find out that the Scots fire the cannon at one o’clock because it is cheaper than fire twelve times at noon. So practical! We walked down to the Grassmarket to look for a bite to eat, but my mom was too squeamish to eat roasted pork cut straight from the pig in the window at Oink. We ended up at the Elephant House, of Harry Potter fame. We warmed ourselves with tea and Scottish shortbread cookies in the shape of an elephant.

One of my favorite parts of Edinburgh was all the winding staircases and secret roads that go all over the old part of town. I would like to know my way around this city, the shortcuts, and hidden cafes. It reminds me of the back hills of Berkeley, with secret staircases that lead to shady parks and garden paths. We took a quick spin through the National Gallery of Scotland. Robert Burns’s painting, Diana and the Nymphs really struck a chord with me.

(Photo from National Gallery of Scotland)

After our stroll through the art scene of Edinburgh, we did a little bookstore browsing. I had been itching to find something new to read, after Bill Bryson’s book on England was a major disappointment. I left it half-read in our hotel room in London. As a birthday present, my mom bought me a copy of “A Fraction of the Whole” by Steve Toltz. This book has been on my To Read list for some time, especially since I am a fan of books shortlisted for the Man-Booker Prize. They tend to be more creative and addictive than other modern literature. I got hooked with Zadie Smith’s “On Beauty” and have used the Man-Booker Prize wikipedia page as my latest resource for book recommendations. I don’t know how to day this other than drop whatever you are holding (unless it is your laptop), run out and buy a copy of “A Fraction of the Whole.” I have not ready anything this provocative and inventive in years. We went to dinner at the Spanish place again, but this time it did not wow me. The wine was still good, especially my celebratory glass of cava, and the honey ice cream that came with my dessert was a dream.

Of the things I miss from home, gourmet ice cream is high up on that list. I know that sounds peculiar, but try living in the Bay Area for four years and you will understand. I am already daydreaming of a trip to Sebastopol just for the Honey-Lavender ice cream at Screaming Mimi’s. I’d stop in Berkeley to pick up some old Czars and go on a NorCal adventure.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Finally I get to write about my favorite corner of the whole UK: Edinburgh! It was much cheaper to take the bus to Scotland, but before we even arrived in Newcastle, my mom and I were ready to jump ship. Or bus for that matter. Newcastle looked gorgeous under the fresh layer of snow, but we didn’t have time to include this stop on our itinerary. We were completed wrecked when we got into St. Andrew’s bus station. I asked a friendly young police officer for directions to our hotel, and I had my first experience in Scottish hospitality. Every time I asked a person for help or advice in this friendly country, I had to sit through a half-hour long lecture about things to do in Edinburgh, the best way to get somewhere, the restaurants, the tours, ad nauseum. It was sweet, but got old fast for someone like me who likes to look at maps and figure it out for herself.

The skyline of Edinburgh looked stunning with twinkling lights and fresh white snow. This picture is a bit blurry, but worth including because it begins to capture the beauty of this charming city. I was instantly in love like I have never experienced with a city (except for maybe Prague.) Our hotel was a super classy, with a big comfy bed and a very powerful heater. All the news broadcasts during our entire trip were all about “Frozen Britain” but I felt positively tropical. We went around the corner for a Spanish place, Barioja Tapas Bar, that was recommended on chowhound.com. The owner recommended a delicious crisp white, Prado Rey Verdejo 2008. We shared tapas of chicken with olives, gambas al ajillo, and patatas bravas. We may have been in Scotland, but it was some of the best Spanish food I have ever had. I had reached a peak of happiness that bode well for the entire week in Edinburgh.

On our first morning we found a small funky café with carved wooden booths and a black magic theme. Scones, lattes, and free wi-fi are all it takes to make me a happy camper. I convinced my mom to take the Free Walking Tour. Our guide, Gavin, was an American who grew up in Germany and now lived in Scotland. He had the weirdest combination of accents and said “wee” a lot, but we loved him anyway for his theatrics and audience participation. Every time he said “The Stone of Destiny” we all went “Woooo!” Normally I think this stuff is cheesy and lame, but I was in such a good mood and so happy to be in Scotland I played along. We walked up the Royal Mile, pausing to hear stories about ghosts and horse statues that pee, and how silly tourists propose to their girlfriends while kneeling in the heart paved into the road. The heart that the Edinburghians spit on for good luck. ha ha! We walked past Edinburgh Castle, down some secret (and slippery!) staircases to the Grassmarket. We saw the café where J.K. Rowling wrote the first books of Harry Potter (gasp!) and made our way down to the Princes Street Gardens. At the end of the tour, Gavin told us it was his very first tour ever. It had been a magnificent day.

Historic Photo of Gavin on his first tour:

Day Trip: Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Warwick Castle

Me at Warwick Castle

I’m sure most frequent travelers have a good story about a kooky tour guide, and I found mine in Trudy, my tour guide on this day trip. Trudy seems like the type of woman who has purple wallpaper and twelve cats named after Tolkien characters. I’ll never be able to convey via this blog how odd this woman was, but I can tell you she said, “Thanks very much indeed” about 5,000 times throughout the day. For this daytrip I was a lot less tired. I had the chance to see the English countryside as we made our way to Oxford. We even rode through the Cotswald region and saw some original thatched roofed houses, which immediately reminded me of high school and Homestar Runner. Also, the houses looked just like Rose’s house in The Holiday, the classic Christmas rom-com that I watched three days in a row when I was sick over Christmas.

It was too cold in Oxford for me to even look around. Most of my time was spent imagining my Uncle Tom here when he studied abroad in college. I love the idea of all the colleges and their separate campuses all stacked on top of each other, but how they interact is still a mystery to me. However, I did get a picture in front of a building that was in Harry Potter.

Stratford-upon-Avon was the real attraction of the day for me. My days performing Shakespeare are long behind me, but I still have a great love for his works. One of the best course I took at Berkeley was Shakespeare (English 117S) with Janet Adelman. She enlightened me to the true meaning behind some of the most famous lines in Anglophone theater. Reading Hamlet in her course was a particularly illuminating experience. We walked through Shakespeare’s birth home, reading the carved signatures of famous visitors in the glass of the china cabinet, and feeling the pelts and leather set up in Shakespeare’s father’s glove workshop. I felt a deep longing for performing again.

The Garden at Shakespeare's Home

Lunch was a Marks & Spencer picnic of English cheeses, wheat buns, and a lovely view of the Avon river. There was the cutest Border collie that looked just like my old dog Molly. I snapped a picture and the dog gave a smile. I loved Stratford-upon-Avon, even if I only got a quick peek. The last stop on the tour was Warwick Castle, which looks majestic from a distance and tacky up close. This place is owned my Madame Tussand, so unfortunately for me, it was full of wax statues. I am extremely phobic of wax statues and fake human beings of any kind, so I mostly stayed in the courtyard watching a horse carriage that looked like a hearse. When we left, I was more than happy to head back to London.

Here's the Molly Look-Alike:

Day Trip: Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury

The Roman baths at Bath (I'm all about ruins, in case you didn't know)

It was early in the morning when we set out with our bus tour to Bath. London looked gorgeous in the winter sun, especially when we drove through Kensington. It really looked like how I pictured London, from the Mary Poppins-type images in my head. The bus lulled me to sleep and I woke up when we were winding down the road into Bath. Bath was bitterly cold and absolutely breathtaking. The winter sun was low in the sky, shedding a gorgeous light on the famous ‘Bath stone.’ We took the tour of the Roman baths, and had just enough

time to eat a Cornish pasty as we ran to catch the bus to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge!

Stonehenge was the event I was really looking forward. I am ashamed to admit, but before this trip, I did not know where Stonehenge was. For some reason I thought it was in Scotland, or possibly that it did not exist anymore. Who knows where I came up with this information, because a short while later we were pulling into the bus parking lot. Apparently they put up some rope to keep people from walking right up and carving their names in the stone. The audiotour was interesting enough, but I really like just looking at the stones and wondering how the hell they pulled those suckers over from the quarry. It was again bitterly cold, and we did not linger. The last stop of the day awaited us.

The last stop of the day was Salisbury Cathedral. I was not really excited about this place, mostly because I had never heard of it. It turned out to be quite beautiful and my Mom and I enjoyed reading the tomb inscriptions. Its really strange to look at the sepulcher of a person who died before our country was even founded. Sometimes I get tired of the European argument that the United States has no history or ancestral culture because we were only colonies a few hundred years ago. We took some pictures of the modern baptismal fountain that looked like it belongs in a design magazine and hopped on the bus back home. With a quick stroll through Harrod’s (our drop-off point) and some fish and chips for dinner, a long day of sightseeing was put to bed.

My mom and I at Stonehenge. It may look sunny, but it was freezing!

My perspective on my home country has changed quite a bit since my travels in Europe began. The variety of landscapes and traditions in the States makes me wish I could relive the road trips of my childhood. My parent’s love of history and my dad’s love of nature has exposed me to the diverse corners of North America (I am including Canada, because it really is a gorgeous country.) I complained the whole time on those camping trips of my youth. Now I find myself daydreaming of California wildflowers on the cliffs of Big Sur, canoeing down the bends of the Colorado River, and following the Freedom Trail in Boston.

London

I was still sick when I flew from Dublin to London. I arrived at my hostel and collapsed into the bunk bed. The next day I only had enough energy to go across the street to Wagamama because Kela had recommended it to me. Luckily enough, they sat me off the side, all alone, so I did not have to worry about coughing into anyone’s noodles. I had a huge bowl of pork and noodles and broth. It was heaven sent. I felt a million times better after only one sip of broth. Kela was right. After that, it was back to sleep so I could get up early to meet my mom at Heathrow. While I was waiting for her, I wondered how I would react when I saw her for the first time in about 5 months. I thought I would be pretty normal, but as soon as I saw her in her little red vest, I burst into tears. It had been a long month of travel and travel-related illnesses, but now my mom was there and she would take care of me. She even brought one of her Christmas scones, Cranberry and Tangerine. We spent the day catching up on everything and walking around Windsor, which is only a short bus ride from Heathrow. Windsor was very beautiful, all the streets were lines with twinkling Christmas lights, and the castle looked epic but intimidating in the background.

Because London is an expensive city, we stayed in an airport near Heathrow. It ended up being pretty convenient, as we got coffee and muffins at the airport and ate them on the Tube on the way into town. Our first day in London we went to Leicester Square to buy tickets at the TKTS booth. We got a great deal on Wicked tickets, which I have been wanting to see for years. It was raining quite a bit, so we headed over to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels. They were unbelievable, and even though my brother told me not to get too close to the “family jewels” we rode the people-mover three times to see those stones.

Afterward, we walked across the river into South London, strolled past Shakespeare’s Globe, and popped into the Tate Modern. I wanted to go to an authentic pub, so we went to a charming little place called the Seven Stars. We totally ordered the wrong things on the menu; I was kind of heartbroken. To make up for this, we walked around Oxford Circus and browsed some bookstores.

On New Year’s Eve we went to the British Museum. This was one of my favorite events on our agenda. Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was something I have always dreamt of since my days at Marymount. It was also special for my mom to see the Easter Island Statue. Her sample lesson for her job interview at Santa Barbara City College was about Easter Island. She got the job, and the rest is history. That night we walked around the Big Ben and watched people gather around the London Eye for the fireworks show.

Ireland

My Ryanair flight sat on the ground for about four hours on the icy tarmac in Belgium. I was pretty stressed about getting to Ireland, but I read my copy of The Diary of Anne Frank. This gave me a healthy dose of perspective. I finally arrived in Dublin around midnight and caught the bus out to Shankill. My gracious hosts, Kara and Emer, waited outside the grocery store for me until about 1:15 am and then chased down the bus when it took off with my suitcase. We spent the following day wandering around Temple Bar, drinking cider and eating delicious Italian food. Kara and Emer introduced me to my latest food addiction: chocolate chip cookies from Marks & Spencer. Before I knew it, I was on the bus to Swinford.

It was either the best time or the worst time to arrive in Swinford. My cousin Claire’s friend Tara was celebrating her 21^st birthday in one of the pubs on the two main streets that make up this small Irish town. Every citizen of Swinford between age 18 and 24 was there, drinking and being merry. One of them was merry enough to greet me by licking my face. However, it was a very fun re-introduction to Swinford. I was shocked to see how old my cousin Jack looked. I had not seen him in about ten years. Of course, I always enjoy spending time with Claire and the rest of the McDonnell family.

Claire and I went to Limerick to attend an end-of-semester party at her friend Grainne’s. It turned out to be a pretty fun party even though it ended quite abruptly. Claire and Andrea and I went shopping in Limerick for Christmas presents. Limerick is a lively city with some cheeky youths. Although, I have to admit that my favorite part was chatting with Claire and Andrea during the car ride. We giggled a lot and came to some serious conclusions.

This winter was one of the coldest and snowiest in Ireland’s history. It was my first white Christmas ever and I spent it coughing and sneezing on the McDonnell’s couch. At least I got to watch a lot of bad TV from the other side of the pond. Santa brought me some nice little gifts, and I was touched. However, my favorite thing of Christmas in Ireland was all of John McDonnell’s stories. They always ended with “You can google it!” with an appropriate typing hand motion.