Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Spring Break 2012 (Liverpool and Edinburgh): Beatles, Baggage, and Mountains

So, from London it was onward to Liverpool for a night before Scotland. We trained it the three hours from London to Liverpool where we lugged our bags the mile from the train station to the hostel. Luckily, these directions actually checked out and we made it without incident. Upon checking in, we met our Aussie roommate, Craig, who had been in Liverpool a few days already, so he offered to show us around. It was so nice to hear the familiar Aussie accent that I’ve missed ever since landing in the states! Craig was a wonderful tour guide, showing us the city’s municipal hall and the harbor where the Beatles Museum also is.




Walking around the harbor, he led us to a delightful little candy shop where we stocked up on gummies and other sweet snacks for the rest of the trip and onward to the massive Ferris wheel that takes you high enough to see over the whole city. After the rain we’d endured during the train ride, we were pleasantly surprised by the sunshine that came to greet as we perused Liverpool.




That night, we all went to the Walkabout, the Aussie bar Craig had found, for dinner, drinks, and the Chelsea vs. Barcelona semi-final game of the Champions League. This was a great night for several reasons: I got to flaunt my newly purchased Chelsea gear, I got to drink Tooheys New – the real Australian beer of uni students, we all finally tried kangaroo – I ordered a steak and was all too eager to share the delicious meal, and last but not least, Chelsea won! All around, a wonderful night.


We were up and at it early on Wednesday to catch our train to Chatsworth House, a noble estate a few hours outside of Liverpool. Ever seen Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley? Well, this house was used for some of the filming at Pemberley and may have even been Jane Austen’s inspiration for that estate. It was hands down bigger and grander than Kensington Palace with over 300 rooms, thousands of books, and a legit hedge maze in the vast gardens. The guides stationed in each room were beyond helpful and knowledgeable, fielding our eager questions in almost each of the rooms throughout the marked tour. Best part? I might have to say playing dress-up with the time period clothes provided in one of the spare bedrooms. The photos don’t quite do it all justice, but I hope it gives you an idea of how incredible this house is.






From Chatsworth, we had lunch in Chesterfield where the train station is before catching our train back to Liverpool. We were nervous because we knew we would only have forty minutes between the train and getting the overnight bus to Edinburgh, but that turned out to be the least of our worries. Because of the location of the hostel, train station, and bus station, it made more sense to check our bags at the train station luggage place, given our tight schedule. Unfortunately, we failed to take into account that the place for left luggage closed thirty minutes before our train got back. Whoops.

After speaking with security, a few of the remaining train station workers, and a police officer (all of whom had pretty heavy Scouse accents – I recommend Youtube-ing it, because it’s really interesting but so difficult to understand!), we resigned to the fact that we would not in fact be collecting our luggage until the following morning. More happy traveling accidents: moving the bus ticket only cost five pound total, the hotel we found around the corner in place of the hostel a mile away only cost twenty pound each, and we got to stay in a hotel. After months of hostel traveling, it was absolutely refreshing to be in a private room with our very own bathroom and shower, decent breakfast, in-room tea and coffee, and everything else lovely about hotel rooms. So, we had a few drinks at the hotel bar and watched The Inbetweeners from the comfort of our very own private room. What could have been a terribly expensive mistake had turned into a cozy, relaxing, and fun night. But mostly we were excited about the hotel room.


After collecting our bags from the train station, we took full advantage of the breakfast and shower before catching our bus to Edinburgh via Manchester and Glasgow. We arrived in Edinburgh a bit travel weary but happy to have finally arrived after an entire day on a bus. We celebrated our arrival with Indian food tapas style and then joined in the hostel’s weekly pub crawl. By the time we joined in the pub crawl after 11pm, it had been going for a few hours already and it felt a bit awkward, being on the edge of the group, but we were warmly welcomed at the second pub once people realized we were with the group. We sang one last karaoke with the whole pub crawl/hostel group, then moved on to the club where we met more people from all over, including a group of boys in kilts. They’d just celebrated the end of their sports season and were dressed to impress. You may not think it, but kilts are actually a very cool, very flattering article of clothing. Thank you, Scotland, for opening our eyes to the awesomeness that is the kilt.



Over the next few days, we knocked out some of the things Edinburgh is most famous for – the Edinburgh Castle, the surrounding grounds, St. Giles’ Cathedral, the John Knox House (where more dress up ensued!), and King Arthur’s Seat.








We also went on a ghost tour, which took us by old jail and detailed the torture methods used on criminals and witches alike throughout the past, as well as the construction of the underground vaults. They were originally used for storage by merchants, but became the home to vagabonds and unmentionable crime after years of disuse and neglect of law officials. One vault is still occupied today by a Wiccan group who practices in the vaults. One of the most supernaturally active places in the world, it’s no wonder they’ve chosen these vaults to hold séances and communicate with the beyond. Let’s just say being down in the dark underground passages made the ghost stories they told very, very convincing!

In addition to the sights, Edinburgh also provided some of the best food of the trip. I did my best to stick to the traditionally Scottish dishes: bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes with loads of gravy, of course), and haggis. We weren’t entirely sure what haggis was, aside from a mish-mash of meats and animal—um, parts. Turns out it’s ground up sheep organs, including lungs, intestines, stomach, and heart. I was skiddish about trying it, to say the least. But when I asked the waitress if she recommended the haggis with nips and tatties (turnips and mashed potatoes!) or fish and chips, she strongly recommended the haggis. I couldn’t say no. And I wasn’t disappointed! Mixed with tons of spices, it had a flavorful, meaty taste, as long as I didn’t think too hard about what I was eating.


I think it’s safe to say that the three of us fell in love with Edinburgh – the people, the food, and the culture. In honor of Scotland and memorable souvenirs, we all decided to get piercings at the hostel-recommended tattoo shop. Why the hostel is recommending a tattoo shop, I don’t know but I’m glad they did. Most people that know me know that I like my piercings. For those of you who don't know, I have thirteen in my ears if that gives you an idea. I played with gauging my ears last year, but I haven’t really done anything new in two years, so I was super keen to do something new and different. I had my mind made up to get my daith done (a part of the cartilage toward the inner ear), but our awesome piercer-friend Kyle recommended punching a hole in my cartilage and putting a plug in it. I’m a sucker for recommendations, and I’ve never seen this kind of piercing before, so I went for it. It’s the red one, right there.


He even let us take a photo of the little block of cartilage that he more or less hole-punched out of my ear. If you have a squeamish stomach, keep scrolling. If you don’t, check out the piece of my ear on Kyle’s black glove. Yes, that’s a chunk my ear.


Now studded and feeling significantly cooler than when we arrived, we boarded our plane to Dublin, leaving Edinburgh with every intention of coming back and spending a fair amount of time. Those few nights just weren’t enough in such a beautiful, welcoming city.

At present, I’ve completed my only paper that’s due tomorrow. It has the tutor-stamped seal of approval, so my hopes are high for that grade. I’m still working on registering for my final summer course that will allow me to complete my English degree, but I’m actually looking forward to my British Romantic Literature course, both for its content as well as the fact that it will be in English. To everyone graduating in the states this week/last week/this semester, CONGRATULATIONS!! I’m so happy for you all, and I wish I could be there to celebrate with you. Hope this post finds you all well, and I’ll see a bunch of you states-side in three weeks! Love and miss you all, all over.

Here and there,
Kiley

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