in a disney movie

After our night of debauchery with the Bavarians we headed to Neuschwanstein castle located about 2 hours from Munich. I would like to make a note that taking a two hour train ride after the night we had was definitely not our best idea but nonetheless we made it and were stoked to see the castle that inspired the Disney princess castles. This may or may not have been the reason we wanted to go. 
So let's just say Neuschwanstein was all it is cracked up to be. Surrounded by mountains the off-white castle stands out amoung all of the greenery. The best part of the whole thing was standing on Marienbrucke, looking out at the castle with a flowing waterfall underneath. Postcard worthy photo op I tell you. But these pictures I have barely do it justice. Here they are anyways. 

first glimpse

your average bavarian viewpoint

dreamlike. i swear. 

disney princess anyone?

casual

waterfall

sarah gave me a lesson in camping

drinking some waterfall water

a usual day in europe

This is possibly what perfection looks like. No not me. The castle. Duh. 
We spent such a long time on the Marienbrucke gazing out at the castle and the surrounding area. Later Sarah and I climbed down to the waterfall (where we soon realized I am not nearly as capable of doing such a thing) to get a little taste of the water. yum yum yum. I think this was also the time we discovered sarah lives for danger. Yes danger, not the wilderness. (writers note: most likely no one will understand that. but I am too lazy to explain. sarah and mel can explain). xo

isle of skye pt.2

The second leg of my Isle of Skye trip was my favourite part! The weather worked out perfectly allowing us to spend more time off of the bus wandering the bright green landscape. We headed out to Neist Point, the most westerly point of Isle of Skye. It was absolutely beautiful. There was the cutest little yellow and white lighthouse on the tip of the point that made the whole scene even prettier. We also got to hangout with some pretty cool highland cattle. How could you not love these things? 

The Neist Point was by far one of the most beautiful places I saw on my entire time in Europe. xo

just like in dreams

I went on a solo trip to Isle of Skye in my last couple weeks of being in Scotland. I had heard so much about it and knew that I had to make it all the way up there while I was over here. With it being a somewhat inconvenient place to get to without renting a car (and no way was I doing that) I decided to go with a mini tour. There were 14 of us in total and as much as my parents made fun of me for going on a tour it was definitely the easiest way to see so much of the island. 
The island itself was remarkable. I could not have dreamed up a more perfect place. From the expansive and bright green slopes, to the countless grazing sheep it all seemed unimaginable. Like a place you can only think of in you dreams. BUt it existed, and of all the places I have been so far it was the most breathtaking, eye-catching and overwhelmingly amazing. Here are a few photos from our first day on the island. They barely do it justice.

it can't get much cuter

After our time in London enjoying the royal wedding Claire and I began our week long venture, and our final trip together. Our first stop off was in Bruges. It was recommended to us by a friend of Tess's we met in Ireland (thanks Astrid). We only spent the day in the lovely little town, but that is really all it needed. I am pretty sure we saw the entire town in the full day we were there. 

We started off our time in Belgium the proper way - with waffles of course. And they were as delicious as we thought they would be. During the rest of our time in the city we went on a boat cruise, drank Belgium beer in Markt square, admired all of the horse-drawn carriages, and experienced one of the most unexpected, however enjoyable surprises. 

Bruges was absolutely adorable - literally everything about it. The uneven cobblestone streets took cute to a whole new level. The houses couldn't have been more perfect. And all of the canals running through the city made it that much better. It is officially a contender for favourite visited place so far. 

Oh and if you are wondering who those random boys are with flags, yah that was the unexpected surprise. Claire and I wandered into one of the buildings in the Markt where it seemed like a performance was going to take place. And then these guys came out. And then some girls. And then a whole lot more people. So of course we ended up staying there for an hour and a half watching these random dancers. Turns out they are kind of famous - Aglaja anyone? Yah we didn't know either, but apparently wikipedia does. xo

once in a lifetime

As I mentioned before I was lucky enough to be able to make it down to London for the royal wedding. I was in a complete state of happiness the entire day, so excited to be in the crowd and experience the whole thing. Claire and I didn't think we would be able to see anything too exciting knowing that people had started camping out 2 days prior. But to our surprise we found an amazing place to stand right at Buckingham Palace. We got to see Kate in the car on the way to Westminster, the carriages coming back, and of course the kiss. Well the two kisses. 

The whole thing was amazing. Kate looked beautiful. Her dress was stunning - probably the best royal dress ever. And Will looked as handsome as ever. Although not being into the whole idea beforehand, Claire got really into the royal wedding spirit as we were sitting around waiting to see them. We had celebratory champagne after the whole thing went down, and then spent the night with a few of Claire's friends from USC. Even though our time in London was short, it was absolutely spectacular! And I am so glad I decided to make the trip down for the day :) xo