Midnight In Paris

April 15, 2015April 15, 20155 Comments

Hey there, friends!

Sorry it has been a bit since my last post. The weather has been so beautiful here in London and I don’t want to miss a second of it! I am also starting to get sad about the semester coming to an end which is making it hard to write these posts.

But anyway, let’s talk about Paris! I once again went on a Regent’s University sponsored trip. I’m not sure how many of us there were but I really enjoyed having a group to travel to and from Paris with. We took the train which only takes about 2 hours each way!

Our Paris guide first took us on a 3 hours bus tour of the city. We were all disappointed because we couldn’t get off the bus to look at things. At the end of the tour, we stopped by the Eiffel Tower for a few quick pictures before heading to our hostel.

The hostel we stayed at was really nice even though it was about 45 minutes outside of the city center. My friends and I stayed in a ten person room which made us all anxious in the beginning but turned out to be a ton of fun!

We had a quick snack at the hostel before heading out to explore Paris. On Fridays the Louvre Museum lets people under the age of 25 in for free after 6 p.m. We headed toward the Louvre from the hostel which ended up being pretty easy using the Metro.

The Louvre was just as amazing as I had remembered it. We explored for a few hours and I think we saw almost every inch of the massive building! The Louvre is huge and is definently a must see if you are ever in Paris. From one of the windows we caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower all lit up and decided that we had to go see it before returning home!

After we finished adventure in the Louvre we headed straight to the Metro station to leave for the Eiffel Tower. One of my biggest regrets in life is not seeing the Eiffel Tower at night last time I was in Paris. I put it on my bucket list and was determined to not miss out on it this time. We got off of the Metro and got a little lost put eventually found our way. We turned a corner and there it was, glowing and shimmering over the treetops. It took my breath away and was one of those perfect life moments that I will never forget.

We watched what was left of the light show and then began to walk closer to the tower. We stopped to take a ton of pictures and just laughed and had a great time together. It was nearing 11 p.m. and we still hadn’t had dinner so we searched around for a place to eat. We ended up at this nice restauraunt where we sat and talked for a couple of hours while sharing a bottle of French wine. I don’t like wine so I didn’t drink much but it was a fun thing to do.

Once we were done with dinner we stepped outside and were greeted once again by the Eiffel Tower light show. We stopped and watched as the tower danced with lights. We were in Paris, at midnight, watching the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

We got to our hostel around 1 a.m. and all fell asleep right away. The plan for the next day was to wake up bright and early and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower!!

Thanks for reading! I’m working on my next Paris post as we speak!

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Scotland Part 3: Loch Ness

April 10, 2015Leave a comment

Hi there, friends!

I am finally back from my amazing trip to Germany!! I had the best time and can’t wait to share my adventures with you. But for now, here’s the third and final installment of my trip to Scotland! (part one and part two)

Sunday began bright and early with breakfast at the hostel and packing. We left right around 8:30 am for Culloden Battlefield which was really close by. We made a few stops along the way for pictures by Loch Nest. Loch Ness is huge and beautiful and I wish that we would have had a little more time to explore it.

I was really interested in Culloden battlefield but unfortunately it started down pouring right after we got there and we weren’t really able to enjoy most of it. I don’t think I have ever been that soaked in my whole life! We wandered around the battlefield a bit and paid our respects to the soldiers that lost their lives and are buried in mass graves throughout the property.

After freezing to death in the pouring rain we returned to the bus and headed to lunch in Pitlochry. Diana accidentally spilled her coffee on me during the ride which helped warm me up a bit! 😉 After changing, we headed to a small bakery to grab lunch and then did some shopping.

Our next stop was a forest called Hermitage. Birnam Wood in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” was inspired by this forest. We took a nice walk through the woods with waterfalls and the salmon leap. It rained again so we walked quickly but I still really enjoyed the scenery.

After our walk we all piled back into the bus and headed back to Edinburgh to catch the train to London. I was extremely tired but still really sad that it was already time to go home. This trip went by so fast but I had an amazing time. I hope that one day I will be able to go back to Scotland!

Thanks again for reading! I am currently writing posts about Paris and Germany so stay tuned!

I also just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been reading, liking, and commenting! Your support means the world to me 🙂

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London Bucket List!

March 28, 2015March 28, 20154 Comments

Hey friends!

I am officially on spring break which means that I have the next 17 days off to travel and explore Europe with my friends! I am so excited!

With that said, I have been thinking a lot about the things that I still have to do before heading back to Michigan. There’s not enough time to get everything in London done which means that I will have to come back again! 😉

Here’s a few of the most important things that I want to do before I leave:

Portobello Market
Notting Hill
Windsor
Les Mis
Westfield Mall
Convent Garden
Natural History Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum
London Eye
Harrods’s
Oxford

Tomorrow I am leaving for Germany where I will be staying until April 8^th! I probably will not be writing blog posts while I am away because I’m not sure if there will be Wi-Fi available! Follow my Instagram and Twitter to stay updated while I’m away! I am so excited to go explore Germany!!

Thanks for reading!! I will talk to you all in April 🙂

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Scotland Part 2: The Highlands

March 25, 2015March 25, 20151 Comment

Hello, lovely readers! I think I have kept you waiting long enough for part 2 of my adventure through Scotland. We left off with me spending the night in Edinburgh.

The next morning we all had a quick breakfast at the hostel before boarding the bus and setting off at 8:30 for the Scottish Highlands. Ever since I visited Switzerland back in 2011 I have been in love with the mountains. They are just so big, beautiful, and mysterious. I love winding through them as we drive and staring out the window.

We drove for about an hour before stopping at Stirling Castle for a short visit. We met another Scottish tour guide who led us around the castle telling us the history and facts. The tour guide had a really thick accent which made him hard to understand but I still enjoyed the tour.

While wandering around the castle my iPhone broke which made me really anxious. It did the thing where an “iPhone is not backed up” message pops up and won’t let you open your phone. Usually you can just restart your phone by pressing the circle and lock button. However, my lock button is broken so I had to wait until my phone died naturally and then hope that when I plugged it in to charge it would turn back on.

After the castle and iPhone incident we boarded the bus and continued on our journey. We stopped in Tyndrum for lunch where Dani, Diana, and I had a delicious meal of fish and chips. Yummmm….

After lunch we headed to Glencoe for a quick picture stop. It was raining so many people decided to stay on the bus. I decided not to let a little rain put a damper on my weekend so I left the bus to explore in the downpour. Glencoe is absolutely beautiful. We only stopped for 15 minutes so I didn’t have enough time to explore properly but what I could see was amazing.

After another hour and a half of driving we arrived in Fort Augustus near Loch Ness. Our first stop was the Clansman Centre where a man named Ken told us what it was like to live in the Highlands hundreds of years ago. I was really surprised to hear about the horrible conditions that those people had to live in. I guess I never really thought about what it would’ve been like to live in the mountains without technology, heat, and sanitation methods. After telling us the history of the highlands, Ken proceeded to dress one boy and one girl in traditional Highland gear. It was hilarious and very entertaining. If you are ever in the area I would suggest stopping and seeing a show.

Our next stop was the hostel that we were staying at for the night, Morag’s Lodge. We had a traditional Scottish dinner of chicken, haggis, potatoes, and vegetables with a creamy whiskey sauce. I’m really glad that I didn’t look up what haggis was until AFTER I had already eaten it. I think that when you visit a place you should always try the food even if you are positive that you won’t like it because it’s part of the experience. I enjoyed dinner a lot and felt really full for the rest of the night.

The hostel was such a fun place to be and we decided to stay in and enjoy it rather than explore the small town. The hostel had a bar where we hung out for the night. I’m not a big drinker so I mostly just watched people drink and laughed at them when they started dancing on tables. I had so much fun meeting new friends, talking, laughing, dancing, and staying up late. Eventually, we all went to our rooms to sleep because we had to be up at 7:30 the next morning!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the third and final installment of my trip to Scotland!

P.S. I am back from Paris and I leave for Germany on Sunday!

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Scotland Part 1: Edinburgh

March 19, 2015March 19, 20156 Comments

Hello again!

As promised, here is part 1 of my amazing adventure in Scotland! I went on a trip sponsored by Regent’s through Proscenium Tours. The trip included our train tickets to and from Edinburgh, a charter bus in Scotland, breakfast, 2 nights at hostels, a tour guide, and admission to all of the attractions that we went to.

The adventure started bright and early on Friday. I was smart and packed the night before so all I had to do was change into my pre-selected travel outfit and take my bags downstairs. I met a girl named Dani through Facebook and we decided to travel to Kings Cross together to catch the train to Edinburgh. On the short tube ride to Kings Cross we met another girl from Regent’s, Diana, and the three of us became fast friends. Before leaving Kings Cross we had to take a quick picture at Platform 9 ¾.

Off to Scotland!!

The train to Edinburgh was about 5 hours and actually went by pretty fast. Once in Edinburgh, all 39 of us from Regent’s stepped off the train and met our guide for the weekend, Graeme. He turned out to be the best tour guide. He had a strong Scottish accent and was sarcastic and hilarious as well as knowledgeable. Graeme took us to our hostel, SYHA Edinburgh Central, where we quickly dropped off our luggage before heading out for a walking tour of beautiful Edinburgh. Graeme showed us all of the sights as we walked down Royal Mile and taught us all of the history. We walked around for a couple of hours listening and learning as he spoke to us. I was surprised when he kept taking us to Harry Potter sights.

I knew that the story of Harry Potter was “born” in Edinburgh but I never expected to see so many important Harry Potter sights. It was amazing. We saw the hotel where JKR wrote the last HP book, the Elephant House aka the “birthplace” of Harry Potter, Tom Riddle’s grave where JKR got Voldemort’s real name, the castle that Hogwarts was inspired by, and many sites from the HP films. Needless to say, I was in Harry Potter heaven and basically freaking out the whole trip. I’m a nerd.

We ended the tour at Edinburgh Castle. We didn’t go inside the castle because it wasn’t included in the price of the trip and it was already almost 6 pm so we wouldn’t have had much time before it closed. The view from the castle was amazing; you could see the whole city of Edinburgh.

After the tour ended we walked around the town and stopped by little shops here and there. I picked up two cashmere and wool scarves and a cute little stuffed sheep ornament. After walking around for a while we decided to search for a place to eat. We all agreed that we wanted to try something new that we wouldn’t usually eat. Therefore, we ate at a nice Indian Restaurant. Our waiter was really nice and patient with us. He suggested that I try the chicken korma since I HATE spicy food. Diana and Dani both ordered and once our food came we all tried each other’s choices. I was brave and tried the spicy dishes and ended up with watery eyes while Dani and Diana laughed at me. Ha-ha it was a fun night.

After we went back to the hostel and turned in early because we were leaving for the Highlands at 8:30 the next morning. It was a perfect and unforgettable first day in Scotland. I was amazed by the history and age of the city. The “new” part of Edinburgh is older than the United States!

Thanks again for reading! Has anyone else been to Edinburgh?

P.S. I leave for Paris in the morning!!!! I’m so excited 🙂

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Explore the Elements

March 16, 2015March 16, 20156 Comments

Hello, friends!

This morning I was pleasantly surprised by being nominated by the lovely Louise from Captured to Share for a travel photography competition! Thanks again, Louise!

“Welcome to the Thomas Cook Explore the Elements photo blogging competition. It’s all about capturing and expressing the four elements through travel photography.

We’re looking for bloggers to publish photographs they’ve taken which best represent one of the four elements. All the categories are open to your interpretation, so you can be free to take a picture of anything you feel showcases your chosen element.

Once the competition has finished our panel of leading travel experts will come together to select the best photos. Each judge will preside over one category picking a winner from each before they collectively choose an overall winner.

The four individual category winners will receive a MacBook Air, a Fujifilm X-T1 camera, or an iPhone 6 with Bose noise cancelling headphones, depending on their personal choice. The overall winner will be awarded an amazing £5,000 travel fund. Keep up with the conversation using the official hashtag: #ExploreTheElements”

For all the competition details, click here.

Below are my four entries:

Earth

Represents the hard, solid objects of the earth. Associated with stubbornness, collectiveness, physicality and gravity

This photo was taken at Glencoe, Scotland. The day I took this it was raining hard and it seemed like it would be raining forever. I felt humbled to be in such a beautiful, inspiring place. These mountains are thousands of years old, they have survived all of the elements and changes that have taken place in their lifetime. They are stubborn and solid. You can always count on the mountains being there, they are stable in a world that is constantly changing.

Water

Represents the fluid, flowing, formless things in the world. Associated with emotion, defensiveness, adaptability, flexibility, suppleness, and magnetism

Taken during a walk through the Hermitage in Scotland, also known as Birnam Wood in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This river winds through the woods and provides the peaceful sound of rushing water as you get lost in the nature. The fluid movement of the river contrasts against the dark woods around it.

Fire

Represents the energetic, forceful, moving things in the world. Associated with security, motivation, desire, intention, and an outgoing spirit

This picture was taken in Innsbruck, Austria near the site of the Olympic ski jump. In 2011, I traveled to Europe for the very first time and fell in love with traveling. For the first time in my life I felt like I was part of something bigger than me. This picture represents the fire that was created inside of me, motivating me to keep moving forward, to keep experiencing new things. I learned to be secure with myself and to accept the things that I can’t change.

Air

Represents things that grow, expand, and enjoy freedom of movement. Associated with will, elusiveness, evasiveness, benevolence, compassion, and wisdom.

I took this during my first hot air balloon ride in my hometown, Kalamazoo, Michigan. We glided over the treetops, over the city, just letting the wind take us away. I felt safe and free, like no one could touch me. It was one of the most beautiful and perfect moments of my life. I wasn’t thinking about school or work, I wasn’t worrying about the time passing. I was just enjoying the moment, living my life exactly the way I wanted to. I learned so much about myself during my short hot air balloon journey and was a much stronger person when we landed.

—–

Thanks for reading!

I nominate:

kelzbelzphotography

retireediary

Travelling the Word Solo

Flux + Flow

Travel Defined

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Making Plans: Upcoming Trips!

March 11, 2015March 11, 20153 Comments

Hello everyone!

March is turning into a super busy month for me so I thought I would share my travel plans with all of you. When I thought about studying abroad I figured that I would be traveling every weekend and just spending the weekdays in London. Now that I am in London, I am finding it difficult to leave. I love it here and I enjoy having the weekends to explore.

With that said, I still want to travel a lot this semester. I had a whole list of places that I wanted to go which was super unrealistic. I’ve decided to let go of my expectations and just go with the flow. So far, everything has turned out to be better than I could have possibly imagined.

So here’s a list of my upcoming trips:

March 13-15: Siw visiting me from Denmark
March 20-22: Paris
March 29-April 8: Germany with my friends
May (Dates TBD): Denmark and Ireland

As you can see, the next several weeks are going to be very busy for me but I wouldn’t have it any other way! I am so excited to see as much of the world as possible! The places on my list that I won’t hit this trip will just mean that I will need to travel again soon. 😉

Thanks for reading! I hope you are all having a wonderful week! And if you have any suggestions for things I need to do/see, please comment below!

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Hampstead, UK

March 8, 2015Leave a comment

Hello lovely readers! How are you today? I hope you are doing wonderful!

I just wanted to let you know about a little secret place that my friend Anna told me about. It’s not actually a secret, I had just never heard of it before. And if you couldn’t tell by the title of this post, that place is Hampstead.

Hampstead is a little town outside of central London. It’s only about a twenty minute tube ride but it feels completely different than London. Anna, Ana, Alejandra and I set out for Hampstead on February 21^st for a relaxing day in the sun.

We started our little adventure by walking to the park, Hampstead Heath, where we climbed a big hill and were rewarded with an amazing view of London. There was a cross country event that afternoon so there were a ton of runners and cheering fans. All of the activity had turned the paths into pits of mud but that didn’t stop us!

After having our breath taken away by the picturesque scenery and posing for a million pictures, we headed back down the hill and into town. We stopped for some carrot cake and hot chocolate at a little café where we sat and talked for some time. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with the wonderful girls that I have met here. It’s such an amazing thing when you find people who understand you and can make you laugh until you cry.

We wandered around Hampstead for a couple of more hours until Ana and Anna had to head back. Alejandra and I didn’t have anything else to do so we stayed in Hampstead. We met a group of drunken Australians (it was only 5 pm!) who invited us to a pub crawl and posed for some pictures! We declined their invitation and continued onward.

I could have spent the rest of the day in Hampstead but it started to rain which turned into snow. We decided that it was time to head back as the sun started going down as well.

I had such a wonderful day exploring with my friends! There’s always something to do in London and it’s nice to step outside the city and enjoy nature! I definitely recommend stopping in Hampstead if you are ever in London!

Thanks again for reading! I am feeling overwhelmed (in a good way!) with the amount of support I have been receiving lately!

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Beautiful Regent’s Park

March 7, 2015March 7, 20151 Comment

Hello again! London has been wonderful these past couple of weeks and has distracted me from blogging….so blame London for my absence.

I can’t believe I’ve been here for over a month already! Time has really flown by and it’s making me sad. I love it here so much!

I thought I would show you a little bit of Regent’s University and Regent’s Park. Before coming to London, I wondered a lot about what campus would look like here. I spent a lot of time on Google looking for pictures and pouring over maps trying to get familiar with the area.

Regent’s Park and University went above and beyond all of my expectations. The park is so well maintained and picturesque. I feel so thankful to be able to live in a Royal Park and have the Queen as my “landlord.” I’m sure not many people can say that.

Another really cool thing about Regent’s Park is that it contains the London Zoo. I can walk 10-15 minutes from my dorm and see zebras and giraffes without even paying to go inside the zoo. It’s so cool!

I also love that Regent’s University is so close to Primrose Hill. I went there with the girls yesterday and had a great time taking pictures and wandering around the surrounding area. It is such a beautiful little neighborhood! From Primrose Hill you can see an amazing view of the London skyline including the Shard and the London Eye.

I hope you have enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading!!!

P.S. Look for a post on my weekend in Scotland very soon!! 🙂

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“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” Play Review

February 24, 2015February 24, 2015Leave a comment

Hello again! I decided to write a review of a play that I saw a couple of weeks ago in London! I thought it would be fun to share my thoughts in case any of you might be interested in seeing it too. Let me know what you think about it! I went with my friend Hannah that I met at the Harry Potter Studio tour.

On Wednesday February 11^th, Hannah and I set off after class to go to see “The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time” at the Gielgud Theatre. Hannah had asked me on Sunday if I wanted to see it with her and without knowing what it was about I said “Yes!” I’m trying really hard to get in the habit of saying yes every time someone asks me to do something with them!

I briefly looked it up on Wikipedia on Sunday before we bought the tickets but didn’t really put too much thought into it. I was excited to see a show in London and Hannah had read the book and said that it was good so I believed her.

The Theatre itself was stunning and full of history. We arrived about an hour and a half early to pick up our tickets and then just wandered around the area near the theatre. Gielgud Theatre is right by Piccadilly Circus so we had a lot to see before the show. We grabbed a bubble tea and walked through China Town admiring the lights and buildings.

The show started promptly at 7:30 and I was surprised with the setup of the stage. The stage had hundreds of lights that blinked different colors throughout the show. It was really modern and unique compared to other plays I have seen.

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” is based on the book by Mark Haddon. After seeing the day I really want to read the book, it was that good! The main character’s name is a 15 year old boy named Christopher John Francis Boone who has a knack for numbers and memorizing details. You can tell from the beginning of the book that Christopher is a brilliant boy.

In the beginning of the play Christopher finds his neighbor’s dog murdered in her garden. He is determined to find the culprit. I don’t want to give too much about the story away but you will learn about Christopher’s life and past and really get attached to his character. His condition is not stated in the play but after some research I learned that he most likely had Asperger syndrome.

The whole play was so well-written and portrayed. I had goose bumps throughout and the ending really made my heart happy. I felt like I experienced all of the emotions and moments with Christopher, which is how a play should leave you feeling, in my opinion.

Overall, I would recommend this play to anyone in London and suggest that you also read the book by Mark Haddon like I’m going to do. It was a really well acted show and I am so glad that Hannah and I were able to experience it together!

Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts on “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Have you read the book or seen the play? I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Life of Hayley

Making the most of my twenties

Category: Study Abroad

Midnight In Paris

Scotland Part 3: Loch Ness

London Bucket List!

Scotland Part 2: The Highlands

Scotland Part 1: Edinburgh

Explore the Elements

Making Plans: Upcoming Trips!

Hampstead, UK

Beautiful Regent’s Park

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” Play Review

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