This week was crazy busy, but honestly that's every week when you're studying abroad. There's always something to do whether it's plan a trip, explore your new city, or homework (because you can't forget about homework). Before studying abroad, I had no idea what my everyday life was going to be like, so I think this post will help anyone thinking about studying or even working in a new country.
location: Edinburgh, Scotland
6:30- PORTABELLO BEACH SUNRISE
My friends, Ansley and Walker, and I woke up really early Sunday morning to go see the sunrise at Portabello Beach in Edinburgh. The water was insanely calm, and there was no one out which made it even cooler.
8:00- BREAKFAST AT THE EDINBURGH LARGER
(highly recommend the Eggs Benedict)
10:00- CHECK OUT
At ten we checked out of our hostel, and went to a cozy coffee shop to edit pics and wait for our train.
12:00- TRAIN BACK TO LONDON
The train from Edinburgh to London goes through the countryside and has some of the prettiest views. You see a bunch of small towns and the cliffs on the coast.
7:00- DINNER AT THE SURPRISE IN CHELSEA
This week my mom flew over to visit me and her friend. Her and my dad used to live in London before they were married. We all had dinner at a cozy restaurant in the residential part of Chelsea called The Surprise. After dinner I went back to Siobhan's flat with my mom, and ate some homemade Irish soda bread.
location: London, England
7:00 am- COFFEE & PASTRY AT GAIL'S
Gail's bakery is my weakness. It's basically 100ft away from my dorm and has the best baked goods. My favorite combo is a Cappuccino and Cinnamon Nut bread for "take-away." My school is about an hour away from my dorm which I like because I can enjoy my breakfast on the bus and listen to a podcast which I've really gotten into lately.
9:00- PHILOSOPHY CLASS
My only class on Monday is Philosophy, so after class I took the bus back from Russel Square which is soooo pretty right now in the fall time, and then I took a nap. I know. Very exciting.
1:00- SLOANE STREET DELI
After I woke up, I decided that I needed to get out of my tiny dorm room, so I walked down King's Road to Sloane Street Deli which is one of my favorite places to do work. They have really good juice, and fast wifi which is a plus. I uploaded my "One Month Living in London" post which was way over due and did homework until it closed.
7:00- FIVE GUYS
After grinding for a while, I met my friend Ansley at Five Guys which is down the road from my dorm and got dinner. I know it probably seems like I eat out a lot which I do, but I can't buy a lot of groceries because they always go bad over the weekend when I'm traveling.
5:30 am- SUNRISE YOGA
Sky Garden is one of the tallest buildings in London, and during the summer and fall they have sunrise yoga on the top floor of it, so my friend Leah, whose also obsessed with yoga like me, went with me. It also included breakfast at the cafe there.
10:00- SCHOOL
Tuesday is my hard day because I have class from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm. Sometimes I'll have 30 min in between classes, so my friends and I will either sit in Russel Square or go do work and get a coffee at Burr & Co. which is one of our favorite spots.
8:00- DINNER WITH HANNAH'S MOM
After my Microeconomics class finally ended, I took the bus back to Chelsea where my dorm is, and walked in on a fire alarm which happens more often then it should. Once that was over, my friend Hannah's mom took us all to dinner at the Hereford Arms. I highly recommend it if you're in the South Kensington/ Chelsea area; it's a restaurant-pub mix and has a local feel to it.
10:00- COVENT GARDEN
In the morning Ansley and I went to Covent Garden which is one of the major shopping areas in London. I wanted to find something new to wear that weekend when I go to Ireland with my mom (also my mom went to Ibiza for a quick trip which is why I wasn't hanging out with her lol). If you haven't been to Urban recently you really should because they have really cute stuff right now, and they are having a lot of sales. I only got a few things, but it was a success because I got a dress that would be perfect for Ireland. After walking around a bit longer, we went to this amazing vintage shop called Pop's Thrift Store. Everyone always imagines jackets that they would find at vintage store's, but it's so hard actually finding them. Well, stress no more because Pop's actually has them. I got the perfect brown leather over-sized jacket and a sherpa lined quilted one too.
*I'm working on a favorite buys while abroad post, so look out for that*
1:00 - LUNCH AT BILL'S
We just decided to have a full out girl's day, so we went to lunch at Bill's, and I got the chicken skewers and quinoa which was amazing.
3:00- RUN THROUGH BATTERSEA
Ansley had to go to class, so I went back to Chelsea and went on a run through Battersea Park. Battersea park is one my favorite parts about living in Chelsea. It's about a mile away from my dorm and right on the Thames river. My go to work out is running there and around the park and then doing a HIT half-way through the run.
5:00 PHILOSOPHY
After my run, I showered and took the bus to school for my Philosophy class. On the bus I read my book, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, which is essentially a narrative that explains India's Independence from England. That probably sounds terrible, but books like that are my favorite type to read.
8:00- ROSA'S FOR DINNER
Rosa's was featured in my One Month Living Abroad post as one of my favorite restaurants in London. It's a Thai chain in London, and definitely another one of my weaknesses.
10:00- WALKED ACROSS THE BRIDGE
My friends and I decided to walk to across the Thames because it's so pretty at night when the bridge is light up.
10:00- GAIL'S COFFEE
(got the usual*)
11:00- 3:00- SCHOOL AT RUSSEL SQUARE
6:30- SOUL CYCLE
This was a monumental day. I took my first Soul Cycle class, and now I'm addicted. Since this week, I've already gone through two packages. It's bad for my bank account, but good for my health. It honestly is the best workout because it's such a mental thing too, not that all workouts aren't, but Soul Cycle is mental like yoga is mental.
8:00- WENT TO SIOBHAN'S FLAT
My mom and Siobhan, her friend, got back from Ibiza, so I went to her flat to spend the night there because we were all leaving for Ireland the next day.
7:30- NOTTING HILL
Before my class, my mom and I walked around South Kensington/ Notting Hill, and she showed me where her and my dad used to live. We went to there old deli for Breakfast too. It's so weird thinking about them living here.
9;30- NU-in SEMINARE
I took the Tube (London's subway) to class which ended up only being a meeting that I was 30 minutes early for, and the actual meeting only lasted 10 minutes.
12:00- LEFT FOR THE AIRPORT
5:00- ARRIVED IN DUBLIN
We stayed in the Iveagh Garden Hotel in Dublin which was so cute. The location was really good because it was close the actual Iveagh Gardens, the shopping area, the Grafton Quater, and landmarks like Trinity College.
8:00- DINNER AT THE WINDING STAIRCASE
The Winding Staircase is a restaurant that has a book shop attached to it. The food was amazing, I got the steak, and the waiters were all true Irish men with strong accents and very energetic.
location: Dublin, Ireland
9:00- BREAKFAST AT THE CAKE CAFE
The Cake Cafe was recommend to me by one of my sister's friends who goes to Dublin all the time. It's definitely not a touristy place, and on a nice day you can sit outside. I got the sweet potato hash and a chai latte. The food was amazing.
12:00- A WALK THROUGH THE PARKS
If you're visiting Dublin, one thing you have to do is walk through the parks. The main one is Iveagh Gardens, but they have a few all over the city. Because it was the fall time the leaves were bright orange and red which made it even more beautiful.
2:00- THE SEARCH FOR THE SWEATER
Every time I go to a new country, I try to get one special thing that's unique to that country. Everyone always talks about Irish wool sweaters, so I was on the hunt for the perfect Irish Aaron wool sweater. It was eventually successful after going to ten sweater stores that all looked the same, but I found the perfect sweater. Santa got it for me though, so I have to wait until Christmas to wear it.
3:00- AUTHENTIC IRISH STEW
Another one of my goals for the trip was to have authentic Irish stew and soda bread at a pub. The waiter explained Irish Stew really well. He said that everyone always looks for the best stew, but it doesn't exist because the best stew is the one that tastes like the one your mom makes for you, and no stew is going to be as good as that one. He was right. The stew I had was good, but the one my mom makes is definitely better.
4:00- WALK THROUGH TRINITY COLLEGE & GRAFTON QUARTER
8:00- DINNER AT LA MASION
La Masion is a boutique french restaurant in the central Dublin. When you walk through the red curtain that separates the door from the restaurant, you feel like you are really in Paris. The waiters are running around talking in french while glasses clink and baguettes are cut. I had the most amazing baked scallops, and Siobhan knew the owner, so they sent us Prosecco and chocolate blocks at the end of our meal.
END OF THE WEEK IN MY LIFE: LONDON EDITION
FOR NEXT WEEK:
Sunday- going to Dalkey (small Irish town on the coast)
Monday- high tea at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel
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