The Wrap Up: Five Month’s Worth of Reflections

Devon’s rolling hills

I’ve been back in Canada for exactly two weeks, though I have only been at my home for one of them. Almost immediately, I had to move not too far away but far enough for summer work, and it was still a bit jarring so soon after coming home. I’m not sure what I expected to change when I stepped on Canadian soil again, but mentality, I felt like I hadn’t been gone at all. Now that may sound different that what I say later on in this post, but walking up to my family at the arrivals gate and driving home, it really felt like I had only left yesterday. It was a typical late spring day, one that I had seen many times before, and for a second I feared the last five months would vanish out of my mentality for coming back to familiarity.

Bristol in the rain

Fortunately, I didn’t go through a reverse culture shock, which means you get so used to a lifestyle in a foreign country that when you’re home again, it’s almost the same difficulty to get used to life as it was when you first went away – probably the easiest way I can describe that phenomenon. I learned Canadian culture is actually not as Americanized as we think, at least in the areas I’ve lived. We still hold British and slight European traditions close to our hearts, more than we realize. Going away has actually made me more proud to be a Canadian when in fact I left to become more ‘worldly’. Home is where the heart is, and nothing rings more truly to that than learning exactly what I loved about home.

I like to think that I also helped a few others understand my country as much as I asked questions about theirs; studying abroad is all about give and take with cultural interactions, and I didn’t realize how much people would want to know about where I came from. At one point, I was Google-Earthing my house and street for my housemate to show him our suburbia versus an English-style one. Who would’ve thought I would be showing off my house, even my old cars, just to show off a bit of Canada instead of the vast national parks, hockey montages or Heritage Minutes that Canadians think of as our highlights?
*All of those videos and pictures were played many times as well!

Saltram estate in bloom

It wasn’t just all about going off on adventures either, though I did learn that I could be a very self-sufficient person if I had to be. I’m a person who enjoys school, and even though I didn’t get to connect with as many native students as I thought I would, time in the classrooms and seminar rooms was still very enjoyable. I was happy to be in classes not taught in my university, or many other universities in Canada except a handful. I learned how the North American system is much more intensive than the British, and that’s not necessarily a good thing; I don’t think I would be able to have as much social time as I did in England, unless I wanted to fail most of my classes. Yes, university is about gaining knowledge and hopefully usable skills for your career, but is it really worth being burned out after a year to do so? Arguably, the British system is much more self-guided than what I’m used to, but I still got by pretty well AND travelled the breadth of the country on my days off. Can’t be that bad to have some free time, eh?

South west coast path, we didn’t think it’d be that hilly

Now on to the more serious reflections: before I left, everyone told me to travel when you’re young and have no attachments, which I fully took advantage of in the last few months. Even so, I don’t think this experience should be limited to your gap year or unburdened early twenties. Putting your ‘life’ (as in a stable lifestyle) on hold for a few weeks is much harder as you settle into it more, though I now feel you shouldn’t need to settle. Life is not about what career you can strive to, how amazing your grades are, how well-off your family is with a good job; it’s about excitement, newness, and happiness.

This is probably the key thing I picked up on my time away, that it will not be my last great adventure before settling into a 9-5 family life. So many people I know say they can’t do the things they want to because of their schedules, lack of money, etc., but if you really want to do something, and it may not be travelling but could be any hobby, you have to put the effort into making it reality. There are sacrifices that have to be made, like saying goodbye to your friends and family for a while for something amazing like going to England, and at times it will be scary as shit, like being completely lost in a new city first thing in the morning when everyone else is still sleeping, and it can be lonely, or absolutely rivetting.

My last view of Plymouth – for now

I’ll end this little batch of enlightenment by saying there’s more to life than what’s comfortable and safe. I took the leap of moving to a foreign country with only two suitcases for a mere five months, and it was possible because I had been meticulously planning it for nearly two years in advance. It didn’t happen overnight, and the experience didn’t end overnight. I’m still getting used to not saying ‘ta’ as thanks or seeing pounds instead of dollar signs, popping down to one of many tea shops for a brew instead searching for the one MAYBE in town, and my bank account is scary to see at the moment, but it was so worth it. I’m planning my next trip right now not because I have a ‘travel-itch’ or want to get away, but because I want those future memories. I don’t want to regret not doing something because of material comfort, and I will probably always call Canada my home, but that doesn’t stop the adventure here and there.

I mean, what’s more awesome than waking up to Edinburgh Castle just down the street? Or the Tower of London visible from your room? If you’re making excuses not to go, really just think, why the fuck not 🙂

Last Days in the UK

This will be one of the last two posts on this blog (well, the last of two for my UK trip) since I’m finally home now, adapting to life back in Ontario and getting back into the swing of a summer job and school in the fall. The UK is behind me now, but with the experiences fresh in my head I’m going to finish this up; I didn’t have the time to write anything really in the last few weeks, bouncing across the country and the Irish Sea, travel nightmares just getting to the airport and reorganizing my life back in Canada took up a bit of time.

Manchester!

The last big hurrah that me and Fraser embarked on started with a few days in Edinburgh, and ended with three cities in four days in the north west of England: Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. If I had to pick a favourite out of these three, I would have to say I liked the trip to Liverpool the most, with Birmingham a close second and Manchester in last.

Spinners and looms at the Museum of Science and Technology

Not to say Manchester was a bad place, I liked parts of the trip there and the younger crowds, but there’s just something about a city with canals throughout it and another advertising it’s place in the world that just pushed them ahead. Manchester was a busy city and we had absolutely no plan going into it – so unlike me! But we were able to visit the Museum of Science and Technology, Imperial War Museum and the People’s History Museum while in town. The People’s History was my favourite part of Manchester because it was a museum housing what I find to be the most interesting subjects to study: suffragette and workers protests, labour conflicts, the importance of voting throughout the modern age in Britain; how could I not love it?

People’s History Museum … We HAD to dress up when it was offered, where’s the fun in not doing it?

Manchester was one of the first towns to really be affected by the Industrial Revolution, which was a main reason why I wanted to visit it in the first place. It was definitely a city of innovation and ideas, and a lot of the older structures had been re-purposed (like the People’s History Museum was in an old pump house, MST was an old railway junction and storehouse, and even things like a Marriott hotel or the Odeon cinema were in older factories and mills). History of the industrial age wasn’t destroyed here to make room for the new era, but modifying and continued to have a part in the new world.

It was kind of fitting that we went to see Mad Max: Fury Road on our first day in Manchester. I thought it was a pretty kick-ass movie, and makes you think how the oil wars and the possible water wars could change the world as we know it. How was Manchester fitting? Well, it was a city trying to hold on the the past and not destroy it, but also held remnants of the industrial era where humanity really took a beating. I at least found the connection intriguing, but that was after I woke up the next day from the pub crawl right after the movie. Our hostel had some pretty good deals in the nearby pubs, and we met another Canadian from Calgary travelling through as well!

Liverpool skyline

Liverpool next: aside from a lot of Beatles things in the area and the gorgeous sky line filled with museums and historical buildings (see a pattern yet?), there was a U-Boat.

U-534 interior

It was pulled up from the ocean in the early 1990s, and was sunken on the final day of German U-Boat surrender for disobeying the surrender order. We took a cruise-ferry over to the site which gave us a bit of a tour of the river as well and spent about an hour looking into the rusted sections of the u-boat.

There were also Titanic, Lusitania, and international slavery exhibits on in the Merseyside Museum back on the other side of the river, so we spent the rest of the day in the sunshine by the water and looking through these interesting areas. The Tate Liverpool finally fufilled my desire to see a few paintings while I was in England, like the Jackson Pollock that wasn’t at the Tate Modern this time, and saw a few new artists (to me) like Jasper Johns and György Kepes, that I wanted to see more of.

Newspaper from the Titanic exhibit

Fraser made a good remark of Liverpool, and I thought it summed it up very nicely: Liverpool knew its history and was proud to share it for the world to see. It really made the day trip there more enjoyable.

These were the Shaun the Sheep of Liverpool.. I think I found about 7 or 8

The last day in Manchester was not what I expected it to be, and it didn’t help that I was developing some kind of sickness from travelling so much that week. We hit up the usual spots (the Manchester Cathedral, and today was the day we headed down to the Imperial War Museum of the North), but decided to do something a bit different and went on the Coronation Street Studio tour.

Outside the Imperial War Museum

Corrie St anyone?

I don’t watch the show, and neither did Fraser really, but it was fun seeing a fandom from the outside and going through a studio tour. We also headed into the National Football Museum, which again neither of us really watch, but there was a Football and WWI exhibit on in the top floor that I enjoyed. The atmosphere here was really upbeat as well, probably from the birthday group of kids running around learning of football (soccer to my North American friends) or the numerous guys wandering around in awe of the football artifacts from their favourite teams. I could see the same thing happening to a lot of people I know if they went through Maple Leaf Gardens or some other hockey place – most likely why I got their excitement. The sickness ebbed off throughout the day, which was good since we had one more day of travelling left!

Luggage exhibit from war displacement at IWM

Oh we played alright…

The next day was Birmingham, and I still find it hilarious to say the one thing we really wanted to visit here was the Pen Museum, and we spent two hours in this small museum having a blast. Just to clear it up, this is an older pen museum, think quills and calligraphy nibs. We got to press our own pen nibs, play around on the typewriters and a variety of quills, and probably would have stayed longer if we weren’t on a bit of a schedule to see the rest of Birmingham.

Iron Man sculpture outside of Birmingham’s Museum, same artist as the Angel of the North near Newcastle

All pen nibs, lots of displays like this in the Museum!

It doesn’t really have a city centre where all the attractions are located which happened to mean we spent a bit of time walking from one quarter to another. It was also Sunday when we arrived, and the clouds looked like they were threatening to open up on us, so there probably weren’t as many people out on the streets as a nice day or Saturday. We walked through the city’s Museum and Art Gallery, surprisingly full of contemporary and modern works and also a Viking treasure hoard exhibit (aw yea), and spent quite a bit of time walking around the canals of the city. I heard somewhere that Birmingham was like the Venice of England because of its vast canal network, and the amount of greenery near the water edges really made it an enjoyable time.

The Brummie canals

The bus was late getting back to Plymouth (surprise surprise), and we spent the rest of the week packing up, finalizing documents, and figuring out what was going to happen to the things I would leave behind. There may have been a bit of Brit tv shows binge watching  and of American Horror Story too… BUT the next weekend we had tickets to Jimmy Carr!! I absolutely love his sarcastic and offensive comedy, and got to meet him after the show. If I wasn’t completely slack-jawed at meeting him, it probably would have been more memorable to have had a better conversation, but I did find out he really likes the Toronto area and was a Leafs fan (never saw that coming).

Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast, finally went on a tour of this place!

Touched the grave of St Patrick too

I also hopped over to Northern Ireland for a few days to see some family up there before I left and had a blast with them. There was only one or two things I really wanted to see in Belfast since me and my brother had been there 3 years before for a longer trip, but being back with familiar people right before heading home really helped me to let go of life in Plymouth. There may be a time I come back in the future, even for a visit, but like my family in Belfast it will always be familiar and a comforting place in a world of newness.

Along the Bangor coast and out to the Irish Sea

Scottish Hills and the Ghosts below

Edinburgh!!

Even though this is my last day in Plymouth, worrying about travelling to Gatwick tonight and the long-haul flight home tomorrow morning, I’m not going to reflect on that until I make my way back home and realize exactly what I will miss here. Instead, I want to share a few more experiences I’ve had in the last few weeks, starting with an all-nighter flight up to Scotland. I’m going to split up my Edinburgh-Manchester road trip into two parts, since Edinburgh really deserves a post of its own.

Walter Scott’s Monument, shall we climb it while sleep deprived? Hell yea! Good idea? Hell no.

As I write this post out, I’m wearing my “I heart Edinburgh” gory t-shirt, and really this is exactly how I felt about the city. I bloody loved it. Edinburgh and the Scottish felt a bit more superstitious and spiritual than any other place I’ve seen while in the UK, and I think that’s what I connect my love to the most. After getting over a late bus ride, trying to sleep in Bristol Airport and arriving in Edinburgh at like 8 in the morning (never again, I’ve decided I’m not allowed to do all-nighters anymore since they can be deadly), I still was so excited to be in the mountainous city with Edinburgh Castle towering over the city. Just imagine that for a moment, no matter where you go in the Old Town, the Castle is there, quiet and strong, but threatening with its awesome power over the land.

The Castle, from the Scott Monument

Me and Fraser did our regular chill-out-in-the-gallery/museum-until-we’re-relaxed for the first part of the day, grabbed a few Scottish clothing items and climbed the Scott Memorial tower, and after a refreshing nap we were heading into the nightlife of Edinburgh. The main reason I’ve skipped to this part is because we went on a ghost tour which made me very happy. Our guide lead us through a few parts of town, relaying stories of gruesome histories and a few fun facts that weren’t so bad about the city, and eventually we ended up in Greyfriar’s Cemetery.

Dun dun daaa… Greyfriar’s

Now, this cemetery is supposedly the most haunted in the UK because it is PACKED with remains. It became a hill throughout time because of this fact, and after two separate occasions within its walls, I can definitely see where the stories come from. The first time was at dusk, and the second was the next day with our friend Laura joining us, and we couldn’t feel at ease either time. The foreboding clouds that were only there while we were in the cemetery didn’t help (not even joking, they appeared and left with our visit), and you felt like you were being watched at all times. Sent a shiver up my spine for sure since I am usually focusing on the tombstone art and the landscape in graveyards, but none of that here.

A view into the vaults below, the camera didn’t work because of the dark down below

But back to the tour! We then headed down into the vaults below the city where the infamous witch trials occured, and it was so black I couldn’t see my own hands until they touched my face, and even then it was only by feeling. Creepy, but I can say it was an experience! We discovered a bar on our way through the tour and spent the next two nights there because it was a themed bar around my favourite novel: Frankenstein’s. I wish this place was closer to home, it had good food, great drinks, and old Frankenstein movies playing all the time.

Need a good drink after that scare of a tour

We also visited Edinburgh Castle since it was not an option to NOT go there during our stay and spend a good part of the day there exploring the various rooms and museums of the castle. You don’t see how big it is from the ground, but walking up the Royal Mile towards the drawbridge, it becomes obvious that this castle is famous because of its grandeur.

Cannon anyone?

And beside it, the Scotch Whisky Experience! After a bit of a tour and history of scotch whiskey, we got a little pour of whisky to taste test, but before it touched our lips our guide took us into another large room full of whisky bottles, old, new, foreign, domestic, a huge and very expensive collection. Tres bien, Scotland, tres bien.

Scotch everywhere…

Our last day in Edinburgh (only 3 days allotted with the fourth leaving at 5am for the next adventure) was spent on the other side of the city than the other two. We started in the National Portrait Gallery, which wasn’t like the Portrait Gallery in London, but felt a lot more contemporary (aside from the WWI photo and etchings exhibit). They even had a lot of death mask casts in the library, including Burke and Hare, Coleridge, David, Keats, Mendelssohn, Brunel, Voltaire… it was crazy! We then headed up a passage called Jacob’s Ladder to go to the National Monument, on the other freakin’ huge hill in Edinburgh.

The view below, looking west (I think) onto the City

Can’t forget this guy!

Stopping in the Museum of Edinburgh and peeking into Holyrood Palace on the way down the monstrous hill (and no, we didn’t climb Arthur’s Seat on the southeast end), I finally got an impression of Edinburgh. It was definitely an old soul of a city, building up proudly and always looking to the Scottish identity to cement itself. There wasn’t a moment where you didn’t hear a bagpipe in the wind or walk by a shop where the uniform included plaid as an homage to the Scottish clans.

There was one more thing we did in the town, but that was really just for our own amusement. We went to the Edinburgh Dungeon, listening to more horror stories of the city and being guided around by murderers and ghosts of the past. Oh I loved it, maybe on par with the London Dungeon (which I didn’t get to see the new and improved one on this trip, but Edinburgh made up for it).

Oh yes 😀

A final walk in the shade of the castle ended our days in Edinburgh, and even though at times I felt a bit lost by the thick Scottish accent, I had so much fun here. I believe that we touched a lot of the sights of the city, went from the very top to the undercity below the streets, from the informative and prideful museums to the decrepit whisperings of a haunted past, and it was a city I won’t forget soon. Our last sight as the bus pulled away was the Castle at dawn, its features barely noticeable as it silhouetted against the rising sun. Well, that’s how my sleepy eyes saw it anyways, though my camera captured the true moment of its glory.

Bye for now, Edinburgh.

From Code-breakers to the Tower; London, Oxford and Bletchley

What’s this clock tower I see?

10  days and counting until my flight back home, and I really only have one more trip (Belfast) and about 3 or 4 more posts on this blog to finish up! Wow. I can’t believe five months have gone by already, and with all my paperwork for my exchange and all coursework done, I’m starting to feel like my inner tourist can be fully unleashed. Before I get onto that, I need to describe the long, tiring and damn-amazing week spent in London. As soon as I told my mom where our next trip was, she looked very confused. “London? Again?” – I’m pretty sure were her exact words. Yes, again, since I hadn’t actually been able to enjoy it without being rushed through it as an afterthought, and I’d be damned if I didn’t get to see a few things I missed the last time around.

Tower of London, next to our first hostel of London

After the long bus ride from Plymouth early in the morning (7:45, not as bad as it could have been, and a traffic jam just outside of Heathrow so I got to plane watch for about an hour), and a long wait in line at Victoria Station to get my tube transit card, we finally made it to London. In the true artist fashion, our first stops were to the National Gallery and an exhibition on Toronto artist Jeff Walls beside it in the Canadian Embassy. Seeing paintings, prints and drawings in real life is so much better than any photo can produce; it really explains why we hit up every gallery we come across in a city, and make sure we at least go to one. Need art everyday 😉

Bletchley Park!!!

To start off my last month in England, we booked a train ride up to Bletchley Park from London Paddington. I was so giddy with excitement (for historical interests of course…) that I think I practically ran from the train station over to the site. Bletchley Park, for those who don’t know, was the home base of English codebreakers during WWII specifically trying to break the Enigma Machine, which the Germans used to  encode all radio transmissions. We got a demo on how the Enigma codes worked, why they were so hard to break, and how the Bombe was invented to break these codes (thank you Alan Turing!), but the highlight was getting to walk through the huts.

Between a few of the huts on site

I figured they would be on a very spread out site, but really the park was much smaller than I imagined. And the huts were barren and cold, even in the heat of an English spring. I do not kid here, it was a gorgeous, sunny day with highs almost around the 20C mark. I’m not sure I would have been able to work like they did, especially the wren’s jobs in the dimly lit rooms using the bombe machines; but that makes me appreciate their work for the world even more (not only for England, but our soldiers too!).

Woke up to this site pretty often, can’t say that’s a normal thing!

Bletchley was only half a day trip, and soon we found ourselves in Camden Town, which ended up in me buying a super sweet jacket (I’m pretty sure there will be pictures of me in it on Facebook or in here somewhere). Bloody love Camden and the clothing there, and because of that I had to leave quickly before I spent more money than I had. We also decided to hit up a London Haunted Walk that night and I wish I could actually remember the route that guide took us on. It seems these walks are meant to disorient you through all the unknown alleyways, twisting passages and hidden gems: we walked by a known plague pit, a bombed

Are you scared yet? Ghosts, mayhem and humour on this night

out church converted into a garden (St Dunstan in the West), Leadenhall Market (where a Harry Potter scene was filmed, Hagrid and Harry walking in the first movie apparently), the Bank of England, the Guildhall (where Jane Grey was tried for treason and a Roman arena was found below the surface, with a nod to it in the stonework of the cloister), a Shaun the Sheep (it was a game to find these guys!) and it ended in the Barbican Centre. Thankfully I wrote that out the night of the walk or I’d be shit outta luck trying to remember the stories to pass on!

St Bart’s Hospital, another fandom stop 😉

Oh yea, during our trip the Royal Baby, Princess Charlotte, was born, so we did eventually hit up Buckingham Palace to see the birth announcement; I thought the Palace’s square was busy the last time I went, HA how wrong I was.

The tribute to Karl Marx’s grave and work

But before we ventured into the throngs of royal-obsessed media and fans, we headed into Zone 3 of London to see Highgate Cemetery, one of the largest in the London area and the burial ground of great people like Karl Marx and Douglas Adams, both graves which we paid tribute to during our visit. I wish I could have appreciated it more, but like other long-haul travels, I got to a point where I had no choice but give in to my body’s desire to fade, fatigued by walking around and being awe-struck at the sites. Frequent break times would’ve helped this, but sometimes its hard to think that you need a break when something marvellous is just around the corner.

The good Dr Watson’s room

The next day, we may have indulged in our fandoms once again and went up to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street, technically at like 237 Baker Street, but who’s really paying attention to something like that, especially at a consulting detective’s fictional rooms. It was awesome inside, including every little detail in what could have been Holmes’ and Watson’s belongings, as dictated by the style of detectives or what was described in the books, and even the space of the apartment (since the detectives were not wealthy men). It even had 17 steps, exactly as counted in the books! There were ‘souvenirs’ from a few of Holmes’ cases, and little models of Irene Adler, Moran, Milverton and a few other known stories.

Tower Bridge, which we also climbed!

We then headed down to the V & A Museum, where we bought tickets to the Alexander McQueen fashion show. I had no idea of McQueen’s fashion, and was very surprised and intrigued at his art in fashion. It really was an artform, and anyone into Victorian or gothic fashion should look into his work, and the music in each room was insanely accurate to the collections’ themes.

By this point, we were able to check into our second hostel of London, the YHA hostel, because of its late check in time, as per normal practices for hostels, which only had its location right beside St Paul’s to go for it.7 beds in one room (not bad, had worse) and ONE outlet to share. Hold up, ONE OUTLET?? There was only 3 of us in that room, but we still had to take turns to charge up our phones, very essential when travelling. Thankfully we were in good moods from our treks, and too damn tired to care by the end of each night.

The White Tower, still standing tall and proud

We decided to split up for the rest of the afternoon, I’m not entirely sure where Fraser went but I went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels since, well, I didn’t actually see them last time. No photos in there either, but there was a conveyor belt for the visitors to go past all the crowns. They were shining brightly, perfectly highlighted by the lights, sparkling, and an absolutely glorious show of power and wealth of England. A wander around the Tower until its closing time was also included in the admission, and I took advantage of all the places I didn’t touch because of the crowds last time years ago. I know I’ve said it before, but it is an odd deja vu sense since I never thought I would be able to visit this place in the same way again, but it just shows that the future and new adventures are just a goal away.

Imagine having this as your dining hall

Oh, but I’m not done yet. The next day was a trip up to Oxford; Fraser had never been, and I wanted to make up for the disastrous trip in January. After finding the town centre from the train station, we went on a 2 hour walk, one that was advertised by a few people handing out flyers on the street. We though why not, and were so fortunate to get into the Balliol College, the Bodleian Library and the School of Divinity as part of this free tour! The guide was very friendly and a former student of Oxford, so his personal experience did make the tour come alive a bit more. After it was over, it was lunch time, and our grumbling tummies only had one destination in mind: the Eagle and Child, a place I’ve noted before as the meeting place of the Inkling writers (Tolkien and CS Lewis to name the well-known ones). We almost didn’t get in, but grabbed a seat at the last moment and had a drink to our favourite authors.

A bit cloudy today, but nothing we can’t handle!

After hitting up the Ashmolean Museum, a view of Christchurch Cathedral (screw the huge admission prices) and a peek into the Alice Shop, full of Alice in Wonderland trinkets, we headed back to London for the night.

The stage of the Globe Theatre

Through all these trips, I bring a book for the downtime in hostels or just to read in a park along the way. This trip, I had The Beautiful and the Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald, which moral pretty much is even if you get exactly what you want, it doesn’t equate your happiness. In Oxford and London’s case, it does equate happiness. These were the best places I’ve been on my trip, and I really wish I didn’t have to come back the next day. But we still had a few more adventures planned before our later bus back to Plymouth, including a tour of the Globe Theatre by a cute guide, the tall and arduous climb to the top of St Paul’s Cathedral, and a trip over to the Saatchi Gallery, taking the bus out front of St Paul’s to do it. Bad move, traffic backed up and what would have been a half hour bus ride was more like an hour and a half (as per London’s requirements of traffic to be fulfilled). We got there eventually after walking a block  since I was sick of the wait and we got off a stop too early, only to find the Gallery closed for a private event. Oops. At least the Natural History Museum was nearby, and we spent the remnants of our energy in here before heading to the bus station and leaving London for the last time.

My last picture of London, and look at that view

Can’t believe London is behind me now, but it did mean that Edinburgh and the north west were just ahead, four days ahead to be exact! Even though that trip is behind me now too, I still do miss the aura of London, though I may wait until I travel around the world a bit more before heading back. Hopefully, the variety of English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish cities will help me appreciate all of their unique qualities a bit more; like Canada, the UK is made up of so many cultures and regions, and one town can’t describe the whole experience of these islands.

Sirens in the Morning

There is one thing that I will never get used to in Plymouth, and its the Monday morning air raid siren. I can only hypothesize what it’s for, and that’s a kind of remembrance for the Blitz since Plymouth was decimated in World War II, but honestly I have no exact idea why it rings out around 11am every week. But it is absolutely chilling.

I got back from a week long trip late last night, and knew I would be sleeping in late this morning to catch up. Travelling really takes the energy out of you after a while, even with the excitement of visiting a new city, looking forward to the galleries, going on a variety of tours or sitting down on a ferry ride across the River Mersey, but by the end of the day all I want is to sink into a familiar bed. The next morning, I started to think that I slept too late and probably missed the last time I would be able to hear the siren ring out, even though I’ve only heard it once or twice before in my entire time here (but that’s what a Monday morning class will do to you). I sat at my desk, opened the window to let some of the leftover residue from the fresh rain air into my room, and zoned out on my computer for the next little while. And then it came.

Starting slowly, then rising up into a spine-tingling wail, the siren rang out in its measures for about two minutes, rising and falling until a final long note dropped off into the morning silence. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’ve studied the world wars intensely in my classes, or if it was just the nature of the siren, but every time it leaves me in a state of semi-fear. That’s the noise that rang out so much in this city over 70 years ago when it was ruthlessly targeted for its position on the coast, the closest to  France, targeted for its shipping and military naval facilities that would provide a hell of a challenge to its opponents.

It is the last Monday that I will be in Plymouth, and the last time I will hear that memorial siren. It’s one of the things I’m glad to leave behind, if only to leave behind the chills running up my spine at the resonant notes.

Rehashing Wales and Somerset, and Venturing into Cornwall

Cardiff at night

In the wake of a few intense weeks to finish up my coursework, two full but separate weeks of travel, and a few goodbyes and farewells, I decided not to worry about the constraints of a travel blog and just enjoy the remaining time I had here. That’s probably the worst thing a travel blogger can do since the experiences aren’t completely fresh in my mind anymore, overrun by a recent week in London and by the upcoming journey to Scotland and back, but I’m going to try to recount anyways with a bit of help from my personal journal.

Bristol, looking up the River Avon

The last place I left off was back home in Plymouth, refreshing myself and becoming reacquainted with the city. And there is a change right in that last sentence: I’ve recently taken to calling my room in Plymouth home, a home away from home of course, but something familiar and relaxing nonetheless. That is what happens when you spend quite a while in one place, and after personalizing my surroundings and learning the roads (finally), there really is a feeling of ease walking down the Armada Way into the shops, heading north into the forest area, or learning the public transit to get a bit farther away for a day. This feeling was amplified when Fraser and I decided to spend a few days up in Bristol, Cardiff and Bath, places I’ve seen before, once alone and another time with some international friends, but nothing beats travelling with friends you’ve known for years.

In Victoria Park, just outside of Bristol

We revisited some places in Bristol that I recommended, fangirled at bit from Being Human filming locations, and complained about the not-so-bad but not the greatest hostels in the city later on i the trip. We were only in Bristol for the day though as our main HQ was just outside the city centre of Cardiff in one of the BEST hostels I’ve been in my entire stay in the country: Riverside Backpackers. It was made up to be like a house, treated its guests great (there was even free cake the night we arrived and a pizza night when we left), and it was about 5 minutes from most of Cardiff.

Bristol Cathedral

As fun as it is to go to a new location and immerse yourself in the culture and attractions there, it’s very much worth it to go back and see things in a less exciting way. I don’t mean that I wasn’t completely stoked to see Cardiff, Bristol or Bath again (though we did skip the Roman Baths this time, a bit pricey), but I was able to relax a bit more, do double takes and really soak in the city. There were many moments of “oh the last time I was here this was awesome…” or “we can skip that, I know it’s not the best…” but I felt like I re-experienced them all over again.

Bath Abbey orchestra

There was something we happened upon in Bath too, that was quite the experience. Fraser wanted to go into Bath Abbey, and I really wanted to see the interior since I couldn’t really last time. Instead of walking around the pews like we normally would in a church, we opened the doors to a beautiful orchestra rehearsing in the middle of the church. Let me tell you, church acoustics are the best thing ever, better than good quality amps, huge stadiums or concert halls. Churches and cathedrals are built for their acoustic capability, and my god it was amazing. We sat in the pews, along with about 20 other people, for about half an hour just listening before we decided to move on. I almost didn’t want to, I was too enraptured with the strings singing to the crevices of the chapels, but we couldn’t spend the whole day in there.

Cardiff Castle, in the sun this time!

We also met up with another Canadian friend from my uni back home, who was also staying in Wales for a while, and explored Cardiff together. Thankfully he had a better mental map of the city than I did (but these ‘cities’ are nothing compared to the hectic streets of London or the countryside, I’ve learned). The trip was filled with a lot of closed attractions, so we had to reformulate our itinerary a few times, including postponing the Doctor Who Experience and a trip to M-Shed in Bristol. Turner’s watercolours were no longer at the Holbourne Gallery in Bath either, but I think we more than made up for it with the vast collection of art in the Cardiff City Museum.

(For Torchwood/ Whovians) Ianto’s Shrine. The best thing is the city of Cardiff actually had to put up a plaque beside it saying this shrine was for a fictional character’s death. HA!

And the compulsory trip to the Doctor Who Experience, again. There were new props at least!

Jane Austen Museum

A while back, I remember talking about the personality of cities and how it takes more than one day to get a bigger taste of it. I’ve had samples, but being in the country for a bit longer enabled me to have a much bigger piece than I ever would have if it was a few weeks on vacation. I really think this trip has spoiled me since I won’t look at travelling the same way anymore. This was especially true in Bath because I remember back in 2009, I may have had 2 hours, maybe 3, in the city, and it was so, so, soooo different when revisiting than my memory lets on. Each time there’s something new too, whether its a new pasty shop, hidden garden square, a new attraction or just a different route into the town, and it does make a difference.

Cardiff city centre

Hot Air balloons around St Mary Redcliffe, there were about 3 up that night!

I have to say, looking back on everything I’ve seen in the past 4 1/2 months (which I haven’t completely written up here yet), if I had to recommend a place for anyone to visit aside from the grandiose of London, go to Bristol. It’s so underrated, but amazing. It’s artsy, slightly a university town but not wholly so, and just a really welcoming place overall. The hostels aren’t the greatest, the whole city has about 300m elevation difference which really separates the good walkers from the lazy quickly, but it’s still awesome. The only bad thing about this trip was I had to tape up my foot by the end of it, and eventually go buy a tensor bandage for very, very strained and swollen ankle tendons. This was another good excuse to take a week off, forced relaxation to heal it up.

Oops. Yea don’t overdo your travels, it’s not worth it to be hurt. Still nursing it here and there

I do have a new place to share: I finally ventured into Cornwall, the county that’s been literally a stone’s throw away from me the entire time. And what better to visit than Falmouth, a nice seaside resort town before resort-season begins!

The gardens in Falmouth were beautiful, all just in bloom and releasing sweet smells into the warm air

It was a hot day for end of April, and I just needed to get away from my final essay for a while (procrastinating, maybe, but it was done on time!) so I hopped on the train as soon as Fraser suggested we go.

Old guns guarding the coast, from the world wars era

The main reason we went to Falmouth was to see Pendennis Castle, a Tudor fortification built for foreign threats along the Cornish coast. We explored the town a bit, saw a Viking exhibit in the Museum and walked along the coast line for quite a while. The walk was a bit of a mistake since we ended up walking all the way around the castle instead of climbing up a driveway to actually get in it. Oops.

Viking exhibit in Falmouth’s Maritime Museum

Pendennis!

It was still a great view, even though a pain in my foot started acting up and we had to take frequent breaks. During one of the breaks, we had a bit of a show: the coast guard went out over the bay in a helicopter and hovered over what looked like a fishing boat for about half an hour, which was quite an interesting site. It made the bay a bit wavy, adding to the already windy seas and broke up the peace of Falmouth’s silence a bit before we moved inland.

Don’t feed the magpies. They will stalk you. No joke.

After the almost 2 hour train ride back home, handing my final essay in and starting the process to finalize my exchange, and after making sure my ankle could handle another expedition, we booked a week long trip to London, including two trips out of the city that I was almost giddy for. Oh, I have been waiting for this for so long!

The South-West: Round 2

Following up my trip to Yorkshire, I went down to London to grab Fraser, and we made our way back to Plymouth to recuperate – her from jetlag, and me from the week away. In the meantime, I decided to show her around the place I’ve called home for the last few months.

Elizabethan Gardens to begin the Plymouth tour!

Plymouth Hoe, down by the waterfront

Yea, that was done in like 3 days. Plymouth is a really great town, but you can really see everything ‘touristy’  within a few days, and it doesn’t have the same extravagance as the places I’ve been to in the past. It’s a good city to live in though in comparison to a place like Oxford or Newcastle; I feel I’d get used to the magnificent architecture, and I’d rather that not happen. Let the mystery live on!

Tudor Rose tea room’s delicious panini and pot of Earl Grey

Ford Park Cemetery, a solemn and relaxing place to write or sketch for a while

But anyways, after exploring the town, including a hike up to Ford Park Cemetery, Devonport Park and afternoons chilling on the Hoe, we decided to go on an adventure: Mount Batten and the South West Coast Trail!

Devonport Park

Never underestimate the power of free areas, including the green spaces around town. You don’t always need to go to fancy National Trust sites in England to enjoy the countryside (though those manors… wowza. And we did go to a few anyways).

Ferry ride to Mount Batten, looking back on Plymouth

Mount Batten fort

We kind of just kept walking, didn’t really have a plan, but on the way we encountered a mystical forest that I dubbed Mirkwood-Shire, a few old WWII lookout bunkers, an active military target field and a few ponies that wanted nothing to do with us.

After a climb on the rocks (in the wrong footwear, don’t go hiking in sneakers), we sat on the rocks for a few minutes and enjoyed the sound of the ocean

There were a lot of hills.. legs were dead after we got home. But it was sooooo worth it.

Mirkwood-Shire, not dark like Mirkwood, but just as mysterious as a Middle Earth woodland

Bunker, one of the ones still intact and converted into a radar house

😉

Once we got to Wembury beach, we stopped for lunch and a bit of a tan. I didn’t realize until we made it back home that the tan actually turned into a massive sunburn. Yes you heard that right, a sunburn, in April, in England. I was surprised too. I think it was about a 10km walk each way that day, plus the exploration of the Mount Batten pier and ferry across the harbour, it was a great day overall!

The day before our hike, I ordered a bottle of absinthe online since I really had to try it. So why not end a day away with a few drinks, the Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, and going out to a local club. I also learned you don’t go overboard with it, but it’s an enjoyable drink 😉

I visited Saltram House a while back to scout it out for a prospective project (that didn’t happen, but it was still a great day trip in February!), and I thought it would be a good idea to go up again when the whole house was open, and the weather was much warmer.

Saltram!

After tours through the house, where the personality of the Georgian estate finally came through, we walked through the gardens and out to the amphitheatre on site.

Interior shot

Dress up time, feelin’ like a little kid again!

The amphitheatre of the Saltram Estate

After recruiting Tomas for another day out, the three of us headed up to Dartmoor early in the morning. I attempted to follow the same trail we went on with the Chaplaincy just from memory. It actually went very well, though we wandered off the path a bit to see the stone structures, and make friends with a few ponies.

Dartmoor take.. 3?

We did get a bit lost, but I had my compass at least and knew where the reservoir was. Just had to make it through the forest to get there, and back to the bus stop. It worked out in the end, and we explored a bit more of Dartmoor than I ever had in the past!

Tomas with the ponies, he did get a few great shots!

I went to take a picture of the newborn babies, and the rest of the herd did NOT like it. They ran over in a matter of seconds and starred me down

It was a week and a bit of double takes, and soon we were heading off to Bristol, Bath and Cardiff (once again for me). It was nice to be a bit of a tour guide, and to show someone else my part of the world. As I scrolled through a few friends’ facebook feeds and their own blogs, most people had used their Easter break to go abroad, meet up with family and show them around the area, or they went MIA from the travelling.  I’m glad I got to re-experience some of my favourite areas in the Southwest, and can’t wait to show off the highlights of one of my favourite towns in England!

Saying goodbye and staying behind

This post is a little different from the rest, but even though there is only one month left on my expedition here, a lot of my friends are leaving within the next few weeks. One of the things you don’t really think of when you go abroad is the amount of friends you will make: friends that will share your experiences, both the good and the bad, friends where you see them every week in classes and the comfort that comes with that familiarity, friends where you only see once in a while, usually on a trip away but you trust having them on the road, and friends where it tears your heart apart to say goodbye.

At the beginning of the semester, our international office set up many events so students can connect with fellow scared and overwhelmed people, and through these feelings a study abroad bond is formed. We may never hear from these guys again, or may talk to them every few months after going home just to say hi, but in the present, these people will be your support base, and you become theirs as well. I would have liked to meet up and integrate more into British culture than I have on this trip, but it’s been fun no matter what the nationality.

The prompt of this post is that my housemate left to go back to his home in Czech Republic last night. Housemates really make the difference for whether you’ll enjoy your time abroad, and I was extremely lucky to get four nice, memorable and internationally diverse people to share our house with. One invited me up to his family in the North of England (which my previous posts cover wonderfully), another has been my trusted travel buddy and friend, and the others we’ve shared many meals, long nights talking or watching the TV, sharing frustration over homework and finals, but overall we’ve all really made it feel like a home away from home. And now, one by one, we’ll divide and go back to our lives at home.

Even though the international troupe is mostly still in England, we’ve all gone our separate ways after the end of term to explore: some go off to experience as much of Europe as they can, others (pretty much only me and a few others) explore the UK and centered our experiences in the country we’ve studied in. We’ve had a few farewell parties and ‘final hurrahs’ since it will be hard to have everyone in one place before our visitor visas expire, and it’s really starting to feel like the end is near. I do have a bit of travel time left, heading up to Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast soon, but it feels like another leg of the journey begins, though without the study abroad buddies at my side these adventures. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but I didn’t know it would be this bad until I thought about everything we’ve shared.. That is the purpose of adventures sometimes, to meet people that will change your life, even in the slightest way, and they will stay in your heart and mind for the rest of your life.

Though for now, it’s on to the next city, the next hostel, and the next awe-inspiring place to see!

Walled cities and Middle Earth, owls and Henry VII, all in one!

YORKSHIRE WAS GORGEOUS. There, that’s out of the way and I can focus on what actually happened there instead of gushing over how pretty this part was, or how extravagant that castle was (and yes, there literally are castles, Tudor halls, Victorian and Georgian houses, cathedrals and bloody amazing architecture everywhere. It’s England, what else did I expect). The best part about going to all these places is my teensy bit of historical ‘training’ where I can see the theory I’ve learned in action. But back to my original plan for this post: Yorkshire.

Devin Townsend with the lead singer of the Shining, playing the sax in a monkey mask. Yep 😉

So after Newcastle, we traveled back to Jake’s home in a quaint little town in northern Yorkshire. I’d like to say that we just relaxed the first day back from rushing around Northumberland for a few days, but immediately we ran to catch the train into Manchester – Jake had got us tickets to a few bands called the Devin Townsend Project, Periphery and The Shining. I really hadn’t heard of them too much, but they were all absolutely amazing, energetic, and Devin was Canadian (representin’! yes I went there)! I still haven’t gotten around to downloading a few of their songs yet, but I really do plan to. Also the brief time I spent in Manchester made me want to plan a trip back there in May, even for a few days. It was such a lively town.. man I am bad at staying on topic, it’s like a sensory overload when traveling around! Planning what to do next, standing silently and admiring what you have done, all of it keeps the mind very busy!

Can I just move in? You won’t even notice…

The town close to us was Halifax, so for a ‘relax’ day we decided to explore it a bit. It was raining and a bit chilly, which really did suck as my hands started to freeze at one point, but overall the journey was worth it. We explored Shibden Hall, the intact Tudor manor of the village and its large garden estate, and later went to Halifax minster, the parish church dating from the 1200-1300s and not as restored as other churches I’ve been to, but that’s what makes it special.

Brew anyone? From Shibden’s brewery

Halifax’s church, one of the oldest still in use in England

The roof had the family crests of the important families in the area faintly painted on it, and the stone work of the old walls was peeking through inside the church. If there wasn’t modern electricity, I feel it would have been very dimly lit, almost monk-like. It would have been something to see, but I could imagine it easily. It was solemn, but a bit overwhelming so we didn’t stay too long.

Hall of Steel. Wouldn’t want to stand here in an earthquake

Leeds was the next day, and we went to the Royal Armouries straight away. To be honest, I didn’t know what I would expect in the armouries, but I was surprised at how much I loved this museum. The Hall of Steel, a cylindrical tower with hundreds of guns, swords and other steel armour pieces reached about 4 storeys up, and that was just the entrance way. We had historical gun and medieval weapons demonstrations, saw Orchrist and Sting from the Middle Earth display, and saw so, so many swords, arrows, shields and guns that have been created through the ages – and not one of them was like the other.

‘Holding’ Thorin’s sword, Orchrist

…And a very deadly hammer. Surprising how much of a weapon’s museum is hands on!

It’s like the towns here, the same on the surface (as England is usually generalized to everyone outside of it), but the small details, the backbreaking labour and love that is put into each indent, really make the differences shine.

Leeds in the sunshine, unlike the rain from the past few days!

We explored Leeds for a bit more too, of course hitting up the city centre and art gallery for my sake (need my art fix). Because it was close to closing time, not many people were filtering through the gallery, so we chilled out in the Romantic to Realist room for about an hour – why not ponder among these great artists? I was getting antsy with art at this point, and it only took another day until I gave in an bought a few paint supplies to quell the urge. But for now, Leeds and taking pictures were keeping me very happy.

And then there was York! The walled city lived up to the expectations, and more, even though it was pissing down rain by midday. But in the beginning, I got to hold an owl, see the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, and explore York Minster while the Good Friday services were going on.

York! At last!

So soft, and really made me want to hold my own birdies again. Though all of them together wouldn’t weigh as much as this guy

St Mary’s Abbey ruins

York Minster in all its glory

We also walked down the Shambles, a very old market part of town where the buildings leaned in over the alleys. We walked down here just as the rain was starting, and could barely feel it because of the slant.

Street in the Shambles area

All it needed was the market sounds of owners shouting out to customers, lose all the new technology, umbrellas and clothing style, maybe a bit of smell (when there was only the fresh scent of the rain) and I would have been in medieval York in a flash. I keep saying it’s like a look back in time, though with new world customs overlaid on it, because it really is. The English are proud of there history, not looking to cover over the ages but embrace them standing side by side to another era, and keeping history alive. Oh, I am so glad I was able to come to this country (and I couldn’t believe my trip was half-over by this leg of the journey).

One of our last stops was to Micklegate Bar and the Henry VII Experience, which was harder to find than I thought. I didn’t realize it was INSIDE the gatehouse, so we walked around it for like five minutes trying to look for a sign. It was a small exhibit on Henry VII’s life, his time in York, and trying on a bit of armour from the era.

The wall of York

I’m not ready to go to battle yet!

We walked along York’s wall since I couldn’t leave the town without doing a small stretch of it. The wall was part of the Roman wall of the city, reformed over time but fragments of the Roman stone were still intact. We did hit up the National Railway Museum here too, but I think a week of moving around museums and walking constantly was wearing on all of us. But, I can now say I’ve touched York’s wall, Hadrian’s wall, seen the North Sea, been right across one side of England to another in a single day (east to west), and spent an amazing week with such a nice English family. And, the next day I was in London meeting up with my friend Fraser who’s coming to stay with me for the remainder of my trip! YAY!!

Me and Fraser back in Plymouth (for now). Who knows what we can get up to in a few months!

Northumberland: a glimpse of the North

My view in Yorkshire!

For the past few months, I’ve tried to explore as much of the south of England that I could. Most of the region is within a few hours drive, hell London is only 6 hours away by bus, but I haven’t had the chance to go up to the north, the idyllic England, until the last of my classes were done. So north I went, on a bus ride from hell (9 hours including delays; it’s me, of COURSE there’s gonna be delays), but in the wee hours of Saturday morning I reached my housemate’s place in Yorkshire.

On the Millennium Bridge in Newcastle

I arrived at night so the valleys of north Yorkshire would be a surprise to me as I opened my curtains the next morning, and a quick walk through the town showed me just how varied the country is. I know even in Canada our regions are vastly different, but we still all have the same Canadian-esque theme going on; here, it’s like the regions developed separately  with their own tried-and-true traditions, and merged into the English experience we see today. I didn’t get to see too much of it though as we set off for a few days in Newcastle that morning – I was getting very sick of car rides, but I wouldn’t complain for the awe-inspiring things that I would not be able to experience on my own. It’s nicer to travel with locals too; they know all the tricks, secret places that not many others go to, and the obvious tourist places which are still really great to see themselves. I’m pretty sure Jake remarked to me many times how he was starting to see things through the eyes of an outsider and not a local who has blinders on. I’ve learned it’s better to look up and around rather than dead ahead to your destination, even if it means tripping on a stray stone here and there.

Up on the Baltic’s balcony – a bit windy!

Newcastle had many sites to see, and I wish I had more time to explore them all. The first day there, we were able to go for a walk along the quayside, explore the Black gate and castle ruins, visit the Baltic Art Gallery (previously the Baltic Flour Mill – love mill re-purposing). The trip was always a bit of a surprise for me since I wasn’t really told the plan, and even then it wasn’t finalized, until the day of trips. Me and Jake went off on a “Hadrian’s Wall hunt,” got lost (of course) and ended up in the coast town of Tynemouth with his parents.

A walk through Denton Park on our Hadrian hunt

A bit of the Hadrian’s Wall! I think this part is called Benwell’s crossing

A walk through Jesmond Park in Newcastle

Tynemouth!

A weir on the coast, in Tynemouth

It was raining a bit that morning, but the afternoon on the coast of the North Sea was clear enough to see the freighters waiting in the distance to come in at a better tide. While in a coast-side restaurant, I noticed a rainbow outside over the entire beach; Jake’s family noticed the double rainbow, almost a triple one since another rainbow had formed a bit away from the reflecting one. I don’t think I was anything less than amazed and really happy from this trip since everything was so new, it was like seeing England for the first time all those months ago when everything in Plymouth appeared special, untainted by the ‘local-gaze’ as I call it. I know it all sounds a bit cheesy, but that’s the feeling you get when exploring; it’s never a dull moment, even having dinner in a household different from my own, or watching X-Men Days of Future Past in a completely different setting.

One of the many rainbows today

My highlight of Newcastle changed everyday, but it’s hard to top going to Hogwarts, aka Alnwick Castle to the Muggle-folk. The state rooms were gorgeous, as they always are in a manor with their own personalities showing through here and there (I swear to you, on a table in front of a large TV was ‘Cards Against Humanity’ packed away neatly in its box), and the town itself stayed true to a medieval market set up, but with Boots, Tesco, local bakeries, etc. set up in the shop fronts. We spent the whole day here, and were all exhausted when we got back to Newcastle.

Hotspur! in Alnwick Castle’s knight’s barracks

And the Castle itself, aka Hogwarts!

A little wander through Alnwick led us to this quiet church and cemetery

The everyday things are needed sometimes, like catching up on TV shows (got Poldark going on now, I highly recommend it even though it is a bit slower than normal drama shows), finishing up a novel (my latest is The Beautiful and the Damned by the greatest F Scott Fitzgerald), and catching up on my own writing and artwork. Travelling is great, but it can’t be go-go-go all the time; it takes a toll if you’re always seeing something new and not spreading them out among ‘chill-days’, and the novelty slowing begins to wear thin. Good thing I have not come across this yet. It may seem like my adventures are one after another since that’s all I really share on here, but I do take many days, sometimes a week or more, off in between them all to recollect and reground myself. I’m not a huge explorer, but I do like to say I experience all that I can manage.