Beautiful by day...sketch by night: Poland

     Well here goes another: Poland, well what do I say about Poland? It was very different. I enjoyed the country and I loved being able to eat Polish Food and be able to learn about Polish History.

     The first day we got off the plane later in the evening and we went to the hostel.

This is the alley to our hostel at night, its kinda sketch.

 By the time we got to the hostel and got settled in we were very hungry and we went and ventured out to find food. We finally found a small kebab place and we all got food. I got a cheese and mushroom casserole, which turned out to be a cheese and mushroom pizza without marinara and they put ketchup on top of it. It wasn't bad but it was different. Later that night we went back to our hostel and went to bed.

     We woke up early around 7:30 and went and ate breakfast. We had a choice of deli meats and cheeses and there these wonderful cinnamon cookies that we had too. They also had slightly pickled cucumbers for us as well. After breakfast we went outside to wait for our bus to Auschwitz and Birkeneau.

 We spent most of the day there with an English speaking tour guide. I don't want to say that I had fun, because it was not fun, it was very somber, but it was very informative, and I like learning about the Holocaust so I can know the history and how not to repeat it. After our tour we went to the city center in Krakow.

 We went to Hard Rock

 and there were also open markets with Fruits and Veg and flowers, but there was also a market that under a barn like structure with both ends open that had souvenir stalls.

 It was very cool. After the market we went and found a Pirogi restaurant. They were amazing! I had cabbage and mushroom and it was one of the best things I've ever tasted!!!

  After that we made our way back to the city center

 and we thought about getting a cab except the man apparently didn't understand me and almost shut the door in my face on my nose, so we walked back to our hostel. It wasn't a long walk, it was actually quite nice. We stopped along the way for snacks and some very good drinks called Frugo, they kinda taste like snapple. Then we went and chilled out at our hostel and just sat around and talked and laughed, it was quite nice.

     The next morning we got up early and went to the airport and came back to London.

England & Wales

I've been soo busy since I went to Wales & Liverpool & Cambridge, but I'll go ahead and post about it.

     March 2nd I went and stayed at my meet-a-family's flat in Newark. We had a Mexican feast and it was AMAZING!!! I miss Mexican food!!! We had Gorditas and home made salsa and Guac, and Armindina even made me a soya mince for my Gorditas! Since she is from Texas and she is Mexican it was all homemade and wonderful!! After our feast we walked around Newark with a wind up torch (haha), we saw a pub on a boat that overlooks the castle! We were able to walk up to and see the castle from both sides, it was ruined but it was really cool how they took care of it and they built a hill up into it and now they have summer festivals there and they also have concerts there and the stage is naturally raised so everyone can see. After we saw the castle we went to the Pub on the boat that overlooked the castle and I actually got to meet some of Tom and Armindia's friends, they were very brittish and outlandish, and very funny. After the Pub we walked back and played a few hands of rummy, since Armindia and I are both very good at Rummy, we decided to not keep score, haha. The next morning we woke up quite early and went to the Market, it was soo cool. They had fresh fruits and veg and they also had other stands like ones with purses and scarves and one with candy, and one with lots of random things. Newark is absolutely beautiful and it was a very walk-able town and I loved being able to go see it. After the market we went to the train station and I got a train to London to meet my parents, it was after all my mom's birthday!!

   
     When I got to London I took the tube from Kings Cross to Green Park and after getting turned around a little coming out the the tube station I found my way to my Parent's hotel room! It was really nice to be able to spend my mom's birthday with her and see my parents after not seeing them for 2 months! That day we walked around London, we saw borough market and tried to get a cheese toasty, but the line was a 45 min wait so we settled on empanadas, dad had a steak and pepper one and I had a cheese and something I forget what else was in it, but it was very good. After borough market we took the tube to the Tower Bridge, and saw the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We didn't have enough time to go into the Tower of London, but at least they got to see the outside of it. After the tower bridge we went back to the Green Park station and went to the Hard Rock and ate dinner. My mom got to have a birthday fudge cake!

      The next day, March 4, 2012 went to Abbey Road first then we got a train to Liverpool and took a 3 hour tour of all the Beatles sites. Dad thought it was very cool to see Abbey Road, and he got to sign his name at the wall. Even though it was raining I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad had fun crossing Abbey Road and getting their pictures taken and signing the wall.

When we got to Liverpool and found the taxi Dad was excited to learn that our tour guide was Ian, dad said he was the best.

 All day Sunday Dad had soo much fun and went and saw everything I could ever think of we saw the shelter in the middle of the round about

 and strawberry fields,

 and we even saw were all 4 of them lived.

 After the tour we went to the Cavern Club and got to see where they played and where many other famous bands have also played.

 After the cavern club we ate at an Irish Pub for dinner and it was very very good! I went back to Grantham from Liverpool.

      Monday night I went back to London and mom and dad met me at Kings cross. Tuesday Morning we left from Paddington Station and we ran to the station and got to the train in just enough time to get the train! We went to  Newport Wales first

then we caught a train to Taffs well and saw a very cool Castel, Castell Coch.

 It looked like Rapunzel's Castle. My mom and I walked what seemed like a mile up the drive, all the way up hill to the castle. Once we got to the castle it was just beautiful! After we left Taffs Well we went to Cardiff and we went and found food and ate dinner. Then got a train back to London Paddington. I then hurried and got the tube and tried to catch my train back to Grantham, however I missed it and had to buy a new train ticket, it was  £24! But I made it back to Grantham and all was well.
   
      The next time I saw my parents was Thursday, they took a train to Grantham and we hurried around the manor and we saw what we could of the rooms because of classes, then we were on our way back to the train station and went to Cambridge and rented a car and somehow safely made it to the Olmstead Hall.

Olmstead Hall was cool to see and it was very large according to the size of all the other houses in the 1700's when it was built, I can see how it was called a castle by many.

 After we left Olmstead Hall we went back to the train station and left Cambridge for London. After that we ate dinner in Piccadilly Circus at another Irish Pub, we also shopped a little and bought a few things for some people and then made our way back to the hotel.
   
     The next morning mom and dad left around 10 am for the airport and went back home. It was a very good week and we had an amazing time!

A Breathtaking Experience

I know that I've been lacking on blogging but here it goes!

Oxford was absolutely beautiful! We went to Christ Church College and saw the Cloisters where Harry Potter found out his dad was a seeker and where they got the ideas for the moving staircase and the dining hall in Hogwarts! I loved walking around Oxford, it was amazing! I loved loved loved Oxford!! It was beautiful!

After Oxford we headed to Bath, We walked around Bath that night and found a pub with free wifi and good cheap food! It was called Sam Wellers! After that we went back to the Hostel and went to bed. The hostel wasn't really that clean or nice in fact, I didn't even really have a bed, I just had a mattress on the floor. The next morning we woke up pretty early and went to Glastonbury. Glastonbury was beautiful it was a perfect day for it! We walked to the Top of the Tor, and it was definitely worth the asthma attack and the dizziness I experienced on the way to the top! haha! Looking down from the top of the Tor at the small picturesque scenes was a very memorable experience. After the Tor we went to Glastonbury Abbey, and it is the site where King Arthur was buried. It was beautiful as well and I loved Glastonbury!!

 When we got back to Bath we ate at a little Irish Pub and watched a Rugby Match it was very cool. We then went to the Jane Austen Center and then walked around Bath.

 I will never forget my experiences in Oxford, Glastonbury, and Bath; but the next morning we got up and went to the Roman Baths and Stonehenge! Those 2 things are things I've wanted to see since I was a very small child, ever since I learned about them I believe! The Baths were so beautiful, and seeing all the carvings and how well preserved they were was just astonishing!

 Stonehenge, even though there was a huge barrier around it so we couldn't get close to it, it was still absolutely amazing and just the experience was an indescribable one to word!

After seeing what I saw this past weekend, the other trips I take during the rest of the semester will be hard to hit the level of awe I experienced during this one weekend!