The UK TOUR

Monday: Nestled beneath an escalator in the Rygge airport, all three of us didn’t get a wink of sleep all night. The marble floor sucked every bit of heat from my body.

Eventually I got up and sat at a table where I read for a while. I must have dozed off because when I woke up the airport was a buzz. We checked in and boarded our flight to London. I lost some interesting things through security along the way; a jar of peanut butter in Oslo, a butter knife and jar of jam in London, and a yogurt in Edinburgh. That was my dinner man!
Anyways… after the most miserable night of our lives we landed in London. Britt introduced Lauren and I to the joys of shortbread. I hate her for this. Shortbread, thanks for making sure that my pants didn’t fit by the time I returned to Oslo! We loved it so much that we carried it with us everywhere. At one point Lauren had to tell me that I had it in my hair. What can I say, I love shortbread! Pure butter and sugar baked into a brick.
The bus ride into London took nearly 2 hours. This was a surprise considering the sticker on the side of the bus said it took 50 minutes. When we finally arrived at Victoria station, luckily I had printed out directions to the hostel. Next on our agenda, decipher the London Underground (the metro system).


After a couple attempts and Britt ending up on the wrong side of the tracks and then finding us again, we made it to Lambert North station where we found the hostel, the Steam Engine. The metro tickets were extremely expensive. It cost us $10 a day to ride the subway. Due to the fact we couldn’t check in until 2 we set out to find some real food. We were thrilled to find steaming hot plates of curry vegetables and rice for relatively cheap after passing an impossible number of ‘chicken palaces’, ‘Mum’s chicken’s’, and ‘Clucking Chicken’s”. Way too many fried chicken places all with strange names. As soon as we checked into the hostel we crashed in our triple bunk for a good 4 hours.

We desperately needed it. Later that night we took the metro to Piccadilly Circus (London’s Time Square).

We walked around looking in tourist shops and for food. We also saw China Town.

To top the night of we visited Tower Bridge, the most celebrated symbol of London and truly a spectacular sight at night.




Tuesday morning I “popped” out of bed before the other girls (something I became known for) and went down stairs, had some coffee and watched the news (the first time in 4 months). When we were all ready we bought tickets for a double decker bus tour around London. The tickets were 25 Euro’s and since it was after November first they were valid for 2 days instead of one. The upside of traveling during the off season. The first stop on the tour was Buckingham Palace.

Unfortunately, we didn’t see the guards, but we did see the beautiful building and the park that is near it.


The down side of traveling during the low season is that EVERYTHING is under construction… including the palace.



Next we stopped at Westminster Abbey where we saw the parliament,

Big Ben,


and the London Eye.

I had waited so long to see these monuments and finally they were right there in front of me. Originally when I decided to stay in Norway I planned on staying IN Norway. I am so happy that I have also gotten to see other parts of Europe though. This has been the chance of a lifetime.
From there we stopped at Oxford St., one of the main shopping streets in the city. We went to a shop called Primark. It is a combination of Forever 21 and Wal-Mart. Cheap and somewhat fashionable I suppose. People were swarming all over the place. The line to try something on was wrapping around the store. I have never seen anything like it, not even on the day after thanksgiving. With this said, I bought nothing. I could hardly think it was so crazy. In opposition to Primark we went in Harrod’s department store, the biggest and most expensive in the world.

At this place you can buy Dolce and Gabana for your baby, a $500 collar for your dog, a guinea pig, a fabulous designer evening gown, or Burberry ear muffs. I mention the ear muffs because we tried them on. Shortly after we were yelled at.

We continued on our bus tour, going though Trafalgar Square,

over Tower Bridge,

and down Regent Street (more great shopping).
That night we went to a Musical, Wicked. This was my first musical and I absolutely loved it. Sadly we weren’t dressed up along with the rest of the entire tourist population in London.



Wednesday we woke up to a strike on the metro station, slightly inconvenient in a city that is so heavily dependent on it. Eventually we made it to Abbey Road. Yes, THE BEATLES! We walked where the Beatles did and just like the Beatles did. Aren’t we cute?


I’m sure we really pissed some residents off as Abbey Road is smack in the middle of a busy residential neighborhood. Oddly there isn’t anything to label it. Just a lot of people walking back and forth several times across a random cross walk, cars waiting to go and everything. Kind of a sight.
That afternoon we went back to Regent St. and did some window shopping. We say Hamley’s (very large toy store),

Barbour (Lauren’s favorite store), the biggest Apple store, and The National Geographic Store. Very cool.

Soon the sun began to set and we boarded a river cruise up the Thames. It was very chilly and being a little sleepy in the first place, really dull. When it was finished we were starving and went up to Camden where we had a dinner of Fish and Chips, a must in the UK.

Our final day in London was a rush. We went up to Camden again and walked through the markets. There were some very interesting and beautiful art and also cheap Chinese imports that were overly priced for bartering.



We boarded a bus with our backpacks 3 hours before our flight left for Dublin.
Britt and I were on the same flight, but Lauren’s was scheduled to leave 45 minutes later. I thought this was a bit strange, but didn’t think twice about it. Then we got stuck in traffic… a half an hour until our flight left we pulled into the airport. My heart was pounding. Then Lauren looked at her ticket. Her flight left from a completely different airport. Luton, not Stansted. My heart fell out of my chest. We were all more than a little frightened. We ended up leaving Lauren in London, running through the security check and through a maze of an airport. Completely drenched in sweat we made it on the airport having no idea what Lauren was going to do. The flight was fine until the man sitting next to me started talking. Let’s just say he was a little odd. He was also a very nervous flyer. More than once he got way too close to me. The plane landed, but hardly. It was the most turbulent landing I have ever experienced. After we went through customs, the creepy man was waiting for us. Luckily we were able to make a quick escape into the bathroom. From Dublin airport we called Lauren through the internet to find out if she had died from a heart attack or not.
She was alive! She had changed her ticket for 100 pounds ($150); this was very expensive considering we paid $15 for the ticket. She was scheduled to fly into Dublin the following morning. She would meet us at the hostel. Relieved we rode the bus into Dublin city through the dark and rain. Already I knew I loved this place. As soon as we arrived we were relieved to see that the hostel had a kitchen. We went to the store and made the first of many spaghetti nights.
Afterwards we went to an internet café to check our emails… and face book. Both of us noticed Lauren had updated her status; it read “Holy Shit”. We both started laugh/ crying uncontrollably. Yea, holy shit was right. In the morning I got up early and waited for Lauren in the lobby while I enjoyed the free breakfast of the hostel. She made it! We were all so happy to be reunited. After cleaning up we headed out to the town. We saw Trinity College,


Grafton Street,
Molly Malone:


the suitcase I'm going to need to get home:

Ireland's version of T.J.Maxx:

and O’Connell Street. We did some shopping too. Bad, bad idea. Dublin unexpectedly has GREAT shopping. All 3 of us bought a new pair of boots. They also have a version of Primark called Penney’s.
I don't know what happened...

We walked by the post office where the revolution started. There are still bullet holes in the pillars. Dublin is a relatively compact city. If it wasn’t for the shopping we could have seen the entire city center in only a couple hours. For dinner we again had pasta.

This time there was also a sale at the grocery store. Beer: 10 for 10. We decided to go out that night. Since we were back packing we only had the most practical clothes. Getting dressed up for a night out was a bit creative and a bit of a struggle. It was also raining and cold out. We obviously weren’t Dubliners as we emerged in coats, sweaters, boots and umbrellas. The Dublin girls were clad in mini dresses and stilettos (I don’t understand how those work on cobblestones). BRRRR. Oh! Another thing regarding the people: I saw very few red head and many, many with black hair and blue eyes. For this reason I can say “I lost my heart to a Galway Guy”.

Maybe this is a stereotype, but they also had horrible teeth! Jamie and her 2 friends visiting from the U.S. arrived Friday night as well. They were hungry so they went out for pizza and promised to see us in the morning. We went to a couple different pubs and then went to the Temple Bar Club. We stayed there into the wee hours of the morning. When we finally dragged ourselves back, our French room mates were just going out. Go figure. The next day was a recovery day. We got a really late start.

We wrote a couple post cards and then headed to the Brazen Head (Dublin’s oldest pub) for an Irish coffee, a must in Ireland.


Afterwards we tried to tour the Guinness factory but just missed the last tour. Instead we were drenched by a down pour of rain. Not the most successful day. That night us girls sat on the hostel room floor and talked and talked for hours. I have made so many amazing friends along this journey.

Sunday we booked a tour into Wicklow country. The first stop along the way was Glendalough, a historic and scenic walking area. It was absolutely gorgeous. There are rolling, brilliantly green hills, a misting sky and roaming sheep overwhelming the view.




This is where I lost my heart to Ireland.
My future home:

Because of this area’s natural scenery it has been the backdrop to many famous movies, such as Braveheart, P.S. I Love You, and Leap Year.

Along the way we made sandwich's in the bus. A Texan woman walked buy and told us "Your mama's would so proud girls. You save every penny!"


From Glendalough we headed up through the Wicklow Gap and into the countryside. Because it was Sunday and there were church services going on. The combination of this plus a funeral, plus narrow streets, plus cars parked on both sides, plus an enormous tour bus is not a good thing.

We barley wacked a couple mirrors off. Eventually 2 men from the funeral saw our predicament; we couldn’t even open the bus door, and came to guide us through. Only in Ireland.
The last stop on the tour was the city of Kilkenny. We saw their castle and cathedral and walked around for a bit.



Our last day we had a full agenda. We saw Dublin’s castle (not impressive),


St. Patrick’s Cathedral,

and finally the Guinness Storehouse. I was hoping for the down and dirty version of a storehouse tour but instead it is an exhibition style walk through museum type thing. Along the way you get to try different kinds of Guinness and at the very end you get a free pint of Guinness with an amazing view of Dublin. Now I understand why they say Guinness is made from the waters of the Liffey.





After wards we went to Phoenix Park, previously the royal hunting grounds, and walked around for a bit.






Then we headed back to the hostel and packed our backpacks, me stuffing too many souvenirs in (Don’t worry. I got you ALL something!), and headed to the airport for our next flight.
Off to Edinburgh SCOTLAND! I never in a million years thought I’d make it Scotland. Originally I was going to just fly back to Oslo with Jamie, but then Britt and Lauren convinced me otherwise. The entire time I was there I felt that it was unreal. I asked myself over and over, “Where am I?” The second I arrived I knew this was a good choice. Again, when we arrived it was dark out. After walking through the airport trying to find someone to give us a Scotland stamp in our passports and picking up every brochure possible, we caught the bus into town. Edinburgh is historically charming. There are so many old buildings that are simply magnificent at night, and day. The city is also build around a large hill, the remains left behind from a glacier. At the top, on a massive pile of rocks, sits the most beautiful castle.

We stayed at a hostel named, the art roch hostel at the base of this hill. There was paint and art and fun stuff everywhere. The kitchen/ hang out room was enormous!


After filling our tummy’s we settled down for some reading and zzzz’s.
Tuesday morning we hiked up to the castle. Many, many steps. We passed a scarf company where we each bought a plaid wool scarf. Much needed in the chilly weather. From the castle grounds you could see much of the city.

From the castle we walked down a street called the Royal Mile, it’s a mile from the castle to the home of the queen and the Scottish Parliament. Along this street there are trillions of tourist shops, something I have been known to love.




There are also stunning churches, and historical places of torture. We learned that it you stole your ear would be nailed to this post. You could choose to rip your ear off or undergo people throwing their sewage and spitting at you. There is also a heart in built into the cobbles known as the heart of Edinburgh. We thought it was cute until someone told us that this marked the entrance to the tax collectors building years ago. Now people come and spit on the heart when they have any discontent with the government. There was definitely spit and gum on it when we saw it. One way to tell if someone is a tourist or not is by if they walk through the heart or avoid it. The phrase “shit faced” also came from Scotland. If you were drunk and staggering home and people were throwing their waste out the window you probably weren’t able to move out of the way quickly enough…. Thus shit faced.
Along our way down the royal mile we picked up some post cards and headed to Starbucks to write them. Oh, eggnog latte how you remind me of home!

That night we hung out at the hostel with some Australians we had met cooking dinner, drinking wine, and giggling over their obsession with Vegemite (a nasty spread for toast).
Views of the city in the evening:



Wednesday we hiked to Arthur’s seat, the highest point in Edinburgh. The view was spectacular!


After wards we walked along the shopping avenue, Princes Street. Lauren’s father had requested a bottle of specific whiskey. So we went hunting. Alas we found it. Does anyone wish to take a guess at the price tag? A whopping 110 EUROS ($160)! We guarded that baby with our lives.
Lauren signing her life away:

We also checked into tours into the highlands. More than anything I wanted to visit Loch Ness. The girls were a little short on money and I really didn’t want to sit on a tour bus for 12 hours alone. So … I didn’t make it to Loch Ness or the Highlands this trip. One day I will make it back though. I know I will. Of all the places I’ve been the UK has been my absolute favorite. I can actually see myself living here and feeling at home. Instead we booked a trip to St. Andrews, the birth place of golf.
Thursday we boarded a bus to St. Andrews, a 2 hour ride. The ride was going fine until the crazy man behind me identified I was a foreigner from the way I spoke. Great… From that point on I endured his life story (he has 11 brothers and sisters), an analysis of how my English was cooler than his, him trying to deal me drugs, and quizzing me on my knowledge of them. I tried so many times to ignore him or end the conversation but he kept coming back. Never before have I been so thankful to get off a bus.
St. Andrews is a beautiful coastal city. We ate lunch down by the sea, enclosed in surroundings of ruins.



We walked through the ruins of a cathedral

and down the city’s main streets. We stopped in a café to buy some hot chocolate and met some girls our age who were locals. They enlightened us to Iron Brew, a tutty fruity flavored soda that is banned in the USA because of mildly addictive pain killers as one of the main ingredients. After she gave us one, we were feeling good.

We stood on the famous bridge of the St. Andrews Links Golf course, the most famous and expensive in the world. Tiger Woods stood there!


We also saw St. Andrews University, where Prince William of England went! Did you know he just became engaged and that he gave his mothers ring, Princess Diana’s, to her? It’s all over the news.
That night was our last in the UK. We were all exhausted. Finally I started to feel the consequences of traveling for 3 weeks. It’s stressful and so exciting at the same time. Every day. I was ready to go home… back to the US or Oslo? I’m not sure, just home.
Our final day we spent reading in a corner Starbucks. We were starting feel the pressure of upcoming finals. Around 2 we loaded onto the bus with our overflowing backpacks and headed home.


We bought some things at the tax free shop to hold us over for our final weeks in Oslo. Somehow we made it on the plane with all of our things. The flight attendant checked the size of every ones carry on except mine and mine was obviously the biggest. I ran to the tarmac in case she noticed and came after me. The flight went smoothly, but the bus ride back did not. We were exhausted and trying to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow, but the 5 drunk Italian men behind us had a different agenda. They sang and cheered the entire 2 hour bus ride into Oslo city. Really?!
Clearly in pain:

It felt so odd to be back in Oslo. After 2 weeks of being able to completely understand what we were buying at the grocery store and read billboards, we were back to the world of the Norwegians. In only 3 weeks I feel like I have lost my ability to decipher what things say and quickly respond to simple questions in Norwegian. I am afraid to go back to the US. My world will be completely flipped upside down. I’ve tried to picture what it was like walking into Super One. It will be an overwhelming experience seeing US dollars as prices and having no conversions to do. Price shock. Without the simple excitements these activities provide on a day to day basis, life will be very, very boring for awhile. But something has stirred within me that from now on will never be quelled, wander-lust. I am amazed in myself. One can really follow dreams if they work their hardest towards them. I fulfilled mine 20 times over again. Now I need some new dreams. One of those will be to come back to this place I love, that stole my heart and went running away with it. And just you watch, I will.