a view from above

On our second day in Venice we tested out the water taxis and made our way to one of the little islands just across the waterway from the city. We climbed up to the top of the church where we heard the view was suburb. And it was. Totally worth it. We also ate gelato, visited St. Mark's Basilica in Piazza San Marco, and finally had the orange drink we had everyone with. 

By the end of our time we were sick of the Venice heat and ready to make our way to Florence. But I was going to miss the romantic canals and the way the buildings blended right into it all. Beauty at it's finest. 

learning to survive a riot

After our time in Munich we flew to Athens to start our week long adventure in Greece. I had been waiting so long for the Greece-Italy portion of my travels that I could barely contain my excitement. These two countries were must sees once I decided on exchange. With such rich cultures (and delicious food to be eaten) I had high hopes for the last two weeks in Europe and neither disappointed.

The sisterhood-of-the-travelling-pants adventure through Greece started with Athens. It was different then what I expected. It lacked the picturesque scenery that some of the other places had but made up for it in old, historical sites. I think we were all awe-struck when we saw the numerous ancient ruins located perfectly throughout the city.  

This was about the time we got ourselves mixed up in the public service riot. not the best place to be situated. Do we run? Or does that look like we are involved? Instead we stood on the outskirts and shot some photos. How often are you in Athens for a riot? Hopefully never again, but it probably tops some of our lists in hilarious stories. 

Our night finished off wonderfully though. A beauty view on the top of our hostel roof of the Acropolis. Perfection I tell you, perfection. Plus Mel and Sarah are some pretty cool girls to be spending time with. Just an added bonus of course. 

isle of arran

Last Wednesday Amy and I decided to venture over to the Isle of Arran for the day. It is located southwest of Glasgow and was the perfect destination for a quick little day trip. We had typical unpredictable Scottish weather but it didn't stop us from walking around the east side of the island. We had a great time exploring and relaxing in such a beautiful place. The scenery was stunning, and we both determined that we felt like we were in a Harry Potter movie. I am going to miss the everyday adventures of Scotland. 

inverness

Last week Marie and I went up to Inverness for the day. This town is a main hub for the highlands so we thought we should check it out. It turned out to be one of the windiest days this country has seen in awhile, and then the volcanic ash thing happened so our trip was a little strange. We were soaking wet and freezing but I am still glad I made it up there at least for the day. 

the prettiest city

How do I even begin with Prague? This city was magical and lived up to every expectation I had for it. We got in to the city around 12:00 on the 5th of April (after missing our initial earlier train - oops). The initial difficulty when first getting in to the Czech republic wasn't the language, but the money (getting 1500kc out of a bank machine felt ridiculous). We stayed at St. Christopher's Mosaic House which did not feel like the right place as we walked up to it. It was modern, clean and nice - something we weren't exactly expecting on this trip. The staff was so helpful in setting us up and giving us ideas of where to go and what to eat. 
As per suggestion we ate at Cafe Louvre and althouugh it sounds like a French restaurant it serves some of the best traditional Czech food.  We had a beef dish with whip cream and cranberry sauce in a gravy mixture and bread dumplings. It was really heavy but so delicious. We also had our first Czech beer, Bernards, that was priced significantly lower then water- just our style. 
We spent the afternoon wandering all of the curvy, cobblestone streets admiring all of the interesting architecture. I have never seen anything quite like it. Literally every building was beautiful and required us to stop and take a picture. We also stopped by Zidovsky hrbitov, the Old Jewish Cemetary in the Jewish Quarter. The tombstones were all tilted and leaning on one another creating an interesting effect. I didn't know much about Czech history before I visited so it was really interesting to learn about it while we were there. The inside of the synagogue was covered with all of the names of the Jewish people that died during World War II - and the impact it had was incredible. That night we ate at Lemon Leaf, a Thai restaurant close to our hostel and tried the Urquell beer. We spent the rest of the night trying as many more Czech beers as we could (our goal was to compare Czech vs. German beer over the course of our trip).
The following day in Prague was even better. We explored the Old Town Square, astronomical clock, Old Town Hall, Wenceslas Square and visited a market. The market was one of my favorite parts. There were so man cool pieces and childrens toys. If I had room in my bag I would have definitely picked up a piece of artwork. I was able to find a few bracelets that I fell in love with. We continued our day with crossing the Charles Bridge and headed to the Lower Quarter where the Prague castle is located. Within the castle gates we saw St.Vitus Cathedral,that had really beautiful stained glass and the royal palace. The view from the Prague castle was the best. You could see for miles and the city looked beautiful from so high up. We ate more traditional Czech food on our way down from the castle (goulash) that was heavenly. Sadly we only had two days in Prague but we felt like we got to see a ton in the time we had.
I will give more information on this fantastic city when I upload pictures when I get home from our trip (only 4 days left). I still have so many more cities to update on! Out for the night in Barcelona tonight! Xo

edinburgh

This past weekend my friend Carly flew allll the way over from Canada to visit me (and her sister..but thats not as important) for her reading week. We had first discussed this idea in the summer when I told her I would be studying in Scotland for the semester. Conveniently her sister goes to school in Edinburgh so it could be a joint visit for her. Although we tossed around the idea of her coming I didn't think that it would necessarily happen. But to my delight she did visit!
She arrived on Friday and made her was to Glasgow for the day/night. While in Glasgow we did a bit of walking around and went to see an x-rated hypnotist at the student union. Carly had never seen a hypnotist before, and I had never seen a show quite like this one. It was definitely something to remember. Due to the fact that she was jet-legged and I was getting sick we didn't venture out far later that night. In the morning we had brunch at All Bar One and enjoyed a delicious and very large meal. We then made our way on to the train (my first Euro train ride) to head back to Edinburgh for the rest of the weekend. 
In Edinburgh we were able to see a ton of stuff in the little time that I was there. After dropping our bags off at her sisters apartment Carly and I decided to climb Arthurs Seat that afternoon. We were very inappropriately dressed to climb a mountain type thing (seeing as we were both wearing black knee high fashion boots) but were determined to make our way to the top anyways. At the top of Arthurs Seat it was a whole different type of weather: aka rain and lots of wind which made it slightly unpleasant. However the view of the city was still insane. The pictures don't do it justice at all - it just looks like we are on some weird hill - so you are just going to have to trust me when I say it was unreal. And so cool. 

Arthurs Seat

At the top!

At the top!

Finally made it

Carly being silly

And me being sillier

We were dead tired after climbing this but decided to stroll around the city for awhile to see some of the sights. It was nice to see the city when the night was rolling around and how all the lights looked against the buildings. After making it home in one piece we got nachos and caesar salad for dinner at a local pub right next to her sisters apartment. We rested our feet for awhile, had some drinks with her sisters friends before heading out to their campus club/bar thing for the night. Thankfully no actual camera followed us to the club but Carly did snap this on her blackberry - it captures the moment the night got strange. 

"Carly and bunny"

Tonight is international night so we are currently getting ready to head out for the night. We are going to Missoula Bar tonight and most likely heading over to Common for the rest of the evening. xo