Travels and Arrival in Canterbury

Howdy from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England!!

St. Peter's Basilica

(I am a photographer so please do not copy or in any way steal my photos, as some will be used in my portfolio. Thanks!)

Goodness, so much has happened since my last blog post. Where do I begin? My boyfriend and I arrived in Paris early Tuesday morning, Aug. 28^th to begin our 15 day backpacking adventure across Europe. From Paris, we took a quick flight to Rome and began booking it to all the attractions we could squeeze in during that first day. We were absolutely exhausted but kept running purely on adrenaline. We saw all the historical sites in ancient Rome like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Campidoglio. We ate a late dinner at a relaxed restaurant just outside of our hostel, The Yellow, which doubles as an awesome bar on the bottom floor. The following morning, we woke bright and early to tour Vatican City. Unfortunately, my body was not happy that day. I must have eaten something that didn't agree with my digestive system, and the wine from the night before coupled with sleep deprivation was certainly no help. Luckily, we were able to post pone our reservations until the next morning, because there was no way I'd be able to handle walking all day. Plus, I would feel horrible if I got sick in the Vatican. We went back to our hostel, and both of us passed out and slept like logs for the entire afternoon. When we woke up, my sickness had passed, and we took a midnight stroll around Rome that brought us to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and some other attractions. Picked up some cool souvenirs and post cards! On the third day in Rome, we explored the Vatican and some other famous religious sites including St. Peter's Basilica. Spent that night in a bed and breakfast then caught an early train the Venice! Ate some amazing food the entire time!!

                                                                      Ancient Rome

                                                                  Roman Colosseum

Vatican City

Venice IS the most romantic city in the world. Honestly, all the buildings are just floating on the open water. We got lucky with good weather too! Our hostel was on an island just off the main land and opened to a beautiful view of the heart of the city. You have to travel by barge, ferries, water taxis, or water buses, so for those who get sea sick, this is probably not the best vacation destination. We got completely lost the first day we were there while walking around the narrow back allies and down old cobbled roads, but Venice is an island, so there was no need to freak out. I LOVED all the window shopping. Everything was so sparkly and mesmerizing! There's definitely a bigger distinction between the locals and the tourists in Venice then there was in Rome, where the historical city really blends with the modern world. The second day in Venice we explored St. Mark's square, St. Mark's Basilica, and Peggy Guggenheim's art museum (where I met Ryan Reynolds!!!!!!). Then we got all dressed up and had a very satisfying late dinner. I got a plate of lobster, mussels, and clams, all of which I actually ate and enjoyed! (For those of you unaware, I usually do not eat any type of sea food or fish.) Called it a night after that and traveled to Milan in the morning. Spent the afternoon exploring that city, (oh my gosh, SO many expensive designer shops. Holy cow.) then made our way to Geneva, Switzerland, that evening! Traveling by train really IS the most convenient, affordable, and quickest way to see the countryside. Geneva is gorgeous also. Very modern and fast paced, similar to New York. We took a late train to Leysin, Switzerland, where my boyfriend’s sister-in-law and family took us in for a few nights. They live in this adorable mountain village that overlooks the Alps. What a breathtaking view to see every morning!!! We stayed in Leysin for a few days to catch our breaths (and do laundry) before venturing to Zurich, Switzerland!  

                                                                             Venice

Venice

                                                                     Leysin, Switzerland

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to check out Zurich much before catching our next train, but I've heard it's pretty neat to walk around if given the chance. We boarded an overnight train from Zurich to Berlin that took 12 hours. Sleeping on the train wasn't as difficult as one may imagine. We were in a "cochette" where beds folded out from the walls. The motion of the train actually kind of rocked both of us to sleep. We had a full next day in Berlin (arrived in the city about 7am.) Got to check out all the historical WWII monuments. Had an adventure in the Berlin Zoo, the largest in the world and home to the most varied species of animals. After that, we walked around the parks and got some awesome sausages, pretzels, and beer! Then toured the parliament/government buildings. We were pretty exhausted after that but managed to catch the late train to a small town called Hannover, where we got a teeny tiny room in an old family-run hotel. Surprisingly, the continental breakfast there was AMAZING. (Usually, Europeans just get some tea/coffee and smear some jam on toast.) But we got to taste some delicious meats and cheeses, yogurts, fresh fruits, nutella on bread, and the list goes on. I was very happy to have a full belly in the morning for once.                                                                       

                                                                             Berlin

                                                                                                Berlin Zoo

                                                                                                       Berlin

So we woke up pretty early in Hannover and caught the train to Amsterdam. Holy cow. I LOVE that city. We found our hostel fairly easily (thanks to my boyfriend who is a pro navigator) then hit the town. We toured the Reitz museum, which was amazing. It's been nicknamed the Met of the Netherlands. Then we got some grub and toured the Hemp museum, the Heineken brewery, walked around the Red Light District (despite it’s reputation, it’s not gross or dirty before 11pm. On the contrary, a lot of the shops are quite entertaining) and went souvenir shopping!

                                                                          Amsterdam

                                                                         Amsterdam

                                                                                                  Amsterdam

From Amsterdam, we took a day train to Brugge, Beligium, where we walked around for the afternoon collecting more souvenirs and shoving our faces full of Belgium chocolates. Mmmmmm. We really wanted to tour the brewery they had there since it's suppose to be pretty awesome, but we missed the last tour on Sundays by 5 minutes! Shucks. We traveled to Paris that evening and spent the next three days in that city exploring the Louvre, Notre Dam, and other famous sites. We also climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower in the evening and shared some champagne while enjoying the view. Very romantic :)  

                                                                               Paris

                                                                               Paris

                                                                                Paris

                                                (They don't call it the 'City of Lights' for nothing!)

                                                                              Paris

                                                                             Paris

I flew from Paris to London on September 12th to begin my 3 day study abroad orientation. Quickly found my hotel (the subway system there is super easy to navigate) and met a lot of cool people also studying through Globalinks, my study abroad program. My Globalinks coordinators gave us great info on living in another country, told us all about the laws here, helped us get phones/money, and let us explore London on our own. I got to tour the Tower of London (super neat to visit!) and Buckingham Palace and saw the London Bridge, Big Ben and the Eye of London. My FAVORITE thing we did was see Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, in the Globe Theatre!!! It was absolutely fantastic!!!! I made my way to Canterbury from London via train on the 15^th to move into my on-campus housing (guaranteed for all Globalinks international students). I feel like a freshman again! Everyone is super friendly and excited to be here.

                                                                          London

                                                                              London

                                                                          London

                                                                                                      London

Right now, I’m sitting in my very quaint flat room. I have recently decorated the walls with post cards from my travels and posters I bought at a huge campus-wide poster sale. I have a bed, some chests for clothes, a bedside table, a desk, a sink/mirror, and a small closet. Just found out my schedule. I have lectures at 10am and 11am on Tuesdays and “seminars” aka “break out sessions” later in the week. I can attend the lectures at my convenience, but it's mandatory to sit through my seminars. Students attending UK schools are given much more responsibility and independence than in US universities. I’ll be taking Medieval - Tudor Literature and  18^th Century Literature. Because of the difference in credits between UK schools and the University of Arkansas, I am only required to take 2 courses (called “modules” here) to be a full time student. So I'll have plenty of free time to travel/explore! Canterbury itself it an awesome little city situated about 10 minutes down the hill from the University of Kent campus. We can see Canterbury Cathedral all lit up at night!

 

I'm in the process now of taking care of all my on-campus stuff (moving in, getting books, my ID card, registering with the gym, getting a bus pass, etc.)  I live in a 2 story "flat" with 5 other people; Franky and Steve are the 2 guys who live on the first floor. Lilly, Margot, and Charlotte are the 3 other girls who live on the 2nd floor with me, and we all share a toilet/shower up here but have personal sinks in our rooms. There is a communal kitchen/living area downstairs with refrigerators, pantries, a microwave, an oven, etc. Everyone is really cool! Margot and Charlotte are from France and have been dubbed "The Frenchies." I'm, of course, the token American and have been dubbed the “Yank,” which I proudly accept! Dare I say it? …. ‘Merica!! Hahaha. Phew. Sorry this entry was as long as a novel! But that's about it from this side of the pond. I’ll try to update more often now that I have a secure internet connection. Go Hogs!! And in case I don't get a chance to blog again before or on September 23rd, I'd also like to wish my oldest sister, Allyson, a very very HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! I love you!

Cheers!

Kat

P.S. I will NEVER take free public restrooms in the US for granted again. IF you can find one to use here, you have to pay first, usually about 1 Euro. (The conversion rate right now is about 1.2 Euro to 1 US dollar. So if you have to use the bathroom several times a day, it can get costly! Especially when on a budget! I'd like to thank Rick Steves for his travel guides and advice; use the train bathrooms whenever you can, because those are the only free facilities you'll see for a while!) Then you're faced with the task of figuring out how to flush the dang toilet (which varies by city). And forget about soap. Apparently, they don't use it in the majority of the European cities we visited. I should have taken my sister’s advice and brought sanitary wipes!