Two weeks from tomorrow I will be on a plane heading home. That is absolutely unbelievable. But more on that in a bit...
The past few weeks have absolutely flown by but I have gotten to do some traveling the past two weekends which has been wonderful!! Last Thursday Matt, Johnny and I flew over to Edinburgh, Scotland. That night we hiked up Arthur's Seat with some of Matt's friends from Summer's Best Two Weeks and were afforded the most incredible view of the city all lit up for nighttime and for Christmas! Friday I woke up early and took the train to St. Andrews to visit Lauren, a friend from WIP. After running into a guy I graduated from Mason with (what a small world...) Lauren and I went out for brunch and then walked around the whole city. St. Andrews is quaint and small but beautiful! I love the university, its traditions, and the city. I definitely think I would have loved to study abroad at St. Andrews. After walking around for the entire day, Lauren and I went out for a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then out with her friends and roommates to a club that was holding a rave to raise money for some charity. I had a really great time seeing the beautiful city of St. Andrews but what I loved the most was just spending time with Lauren, catching up and having a blast with her!! When I met her in DC back in July, I never would have imagined what a close friend she would become! WIP has been so so so great to me!! Back in Edinburgh on Saturday I spent the day wandering the city by myself while the boys went to Stirling to see the William Wallace memorial. I took a great 4 hour free walking tour and then went to visit the Edinburgh Castle which was also free because it was St. Andrews day! Talk about great luck :) That night, I went to the airport to say goodbye to the boys who were flying home annnnnnd to pick up Cortney who had just finished her semester in Italy and was coming to see me!!! I was so excited to be with my best friend in Europe for a second time! That night we wandered around the Edinburgh Christmas Market, rode the ferris wheel, reveled in the Christmas excitement and then hung out at the hostel drinking Cadbury's hot coco and catching up. I left at the crack of dawn the next morning to get back to Belfast but it was an incredible weekend in Scotland!
St. Andrews pier with Lauren!
View of the city from the Tower
Sunset at the beach
At the airport saying goodbye to the boys and hello to Cort!
Monday night, Cortney arrived in Belfast and spent the week with me there. It was so amazing for her to be able to experience my life here, fall in love with my city, meet my amazing friends and see what I've been up to over the past three months. She really did get a feel for my whole life in Belfast :) We made dinner at Phil's, went out with the guys from my flat, hiked snow covered Cave Hill, visited Belfast Castle, went to my small group, wandered around the Christmas market, went to see Four Christmases, had tea and biscuits with Cathy, hung out with my friends from theology, and saw Queens, Union and Belfast. Cort and I have talked constantly this semester which has been my lifeline, but it was different in an amazing way to have her actually experiencing everything I've been talking about and seeing for herself why I am so so happy in Belfast.
Out with Cortney and my flatmate Conor
My beautiful city!!
We got a bit lost...
But we found the path again! Snow covered!! :)
Thursday night we flew over to London to stay with Kim Mascher and Emily Wade - two friends from UVA who graduated last year and are now working in London. It has been so nice to be with them, in their apartment and to see London! Yesterday Cortney and I saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and did the four hour free walking tour of London (if you're going to Europe, you should really check out the free walking tour company, Sandemans, they're amazing!) which took us by all the major sites! We were planning on going to the evensong concert at Westminster Abbey but I felt awful so we came back to the flat so I could take a nap before our big night. That morning we had gone to the tkts booth at Leicester Square and bought half price tickets to see the Sound of Music! The show was wonderful and we were eight rows from the stage in the centre! Cortney and I both absolutely love musicals and going to the theatre so it was a blast!! When we got back, we were joking with Kim that we'd set our alarms for 6 am to get a jump start on the day. Little did I know that it wasn't much of a joke for me as I woke up at 7 and couldn't get back to sleep. I have been fighting a fever, a cold and laryngitis since Wednesday which has been a downer. I literally could not speak at all Wednesday and Thursday (which Cortney found very amusing...haha) and recently I haven't been able to sleep. Not a big deal considering I'm in LONDON! but that explains why my time in London is being spent on the internet. Because it's 7:30 on a Saturday morning! But today have plans for tea and crumpets at the flat, a trip to the market at Portobello Road, the evensong concert at Westminster, Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station and the Churchill war museum. I'll definitely post pictures of London and Scotland when I am back in Belfast tomorrow!
With Emily and Kim, our hosts!
Westminster Abbey
Apparently there are lots of people who have never seen the 1971 Disney Classic Bedknob and Broomsticks so you should watch this to appreciate the significance of this picture :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqY1lHJYIgY
Quite a staple of my childhood years!
About to catch our train to Hogwarts!
I know I mentioned this earlier, but I can not believe how quickly the semester has gone by. I have had the best time in Belfast and I am not ready to say goodbye. I feel so torn because I am so excited to get home but I can not bear to leave this place. I feel like I have two completely rich and full universities lives on two different continents - I honestly feel as settled at Queens as I do at UVA and that makes it so hard to leave. Knowing that I might never see these people again and that the people I love the most here are a plane ride away from home is difficult! But mostly I am just looking at the situation in amazement because I am so blessed! Some people never find a home at any university or in any city. How lucky am I have to have two college homes? I am the luckiest girl I know. Mostly because I have friends and family like you all who have been there for me through it all! I absolutely can not wait to see everyone from home! I have missed you all so much!!!! <3<3
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