Crete, Greece

In February when the UK weather was chilling us to the bone and our lives revolved around a never-ending list of due dates for assessments Georgie and I decided to book a trip to a warm place for Easter.  We looked around at the websites that offer deals and came across a five star resort on the island of Crete.  It was an all-inclusive deal with flights and we jumped at the opportunity.  The weeks seemed to drag by, plagued with winter winds and rain.  Finally it was time for us to jet off to warmer weather!

We arrived mid-day at The Seaside Resort and Spa outside Crete's capital city, Heraklion. The island has a lot of desert aspects and is more mountainous than expected.  The resort is on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

The view from the reception area

Since we traveled overnight our first afternoon was pretty uneventful.  We had an early dinner and were in bed by 9:30 pm.  Monday we made friends with guys who worked in programming for the resort.  They were welcoming, which of course they are supposed to be.  But throughout the week we got to know them and they were the funniest guys!  Mario was constantly cracking jokes and telling the most elaborate stories!  They are all originally from Tunisia but Mario and Ramzi live in Sweden now and Mimo was visiting Sweden - that's how they all met.  They are in Crete for the summer working at the resort.

  

Top: Mimo, Mario
Bottom: Ramzi

Mario and Ramzi took the next day off work and offered to be our tour guides around the area.  So we rented a car and went to the beach, to downtown Heraklion for lunch, and then to Knossos ruins.  The beaches are all pebbles, which I've never been to before!  I surprisingly loved it!  I don't really like sand, so getting rid of pebbles was much easier.  And because the tourist season hasn't really started yet the beaches were fairly empty.  Minus a few people on the nude beach that we walked by..... ahhh, Europeans.

I honestly can't tell you much about the Knossos ruins... it was a palace between 7000 and 3000 BCE.  Otherwise we didn't read the signs, we just took photos like really pathetic tourists!  Hahaha!  However I have read up a bit on it since then.  Here is a link if you're interested: Knossos Ruins.

Ramzi and Mario's bromance photo | The most interesting part of the Ruins | Georgie and I at the Ruins

Each night the programming staff puts on a show after dinner ranging from Guess that Song Title to Miss and Mr. Seaside.  They were entertaining with the games they would have the contestants play.  During Miss Seaside the women participating were judged on wrapping a man in toilet paper like a mummy among other challenges.  After the shows we would hang out with Mario, Ramzi and other guests in the hotel bar or the disco.  Almost all of the guests were French and then some Israeli.  Apparently during the summer the English, German, and Russian guests start coming.  Because Georgie and I were pretty much the only two who spoke English every one assumed we are from England.  I suppose it's a fair assumption because traveling from America to Greece is quite a feat for only six days.  However, it also goes to show not every one knows an American accent!  

The mummy challenge

During the days if we didn't spend time at the pool we would walk down the cliff to a small beach next to the resort.  There were a few small shops there also where we would pick up bottles of water and small knickknacks.  The man who owned the shop was the sweetest Greek man.  He recognised us when we would stop in and ask us questions about our trip.  Our last visit into the store he had his daughter give us magnets to remember him by and tell us that he hoped he would see us again!  Such a lovely man.

Looking out over the cliff | The small beach and shops next to the resort | Walking down to the beach

All in all it was an amazing trip!  It was very relaxing and rejuvenating.  Even though we were not ready to leave, it has given us the energy we need to finish this semester strong!  And definitely was made even better by making friends there.

Visit to Edinburgh, Scotland

Hello all!  I apologise for being so lax in postings since the new year, but I spend most of my time working and that's certainly not interesting to post about.  However, last weekend I spent a couple days in Edinburgh, Scotland with my friend Lauren.

We took the train up on Friday evening.  We actually got in a bit of trouble because we had apparently gotten on the wrong train.  The man who checked our tickets was not too pleased with this and gave us a lecture because we should actually be paying more.  Whoops!

We emerged from the train station to cold, damp air.  The buildings are all stone, with narrow cobblestone streets, and bars were glowing in the fog.  We found our hotel after climbing what seemed like a million stairs, and settled in for the evening.  We looked up things we wanted to do Saturday, starting with breakfast.  We read really great reviews about a place called the Edinburgh Larder, so that's where we started our Saturday morning with a full Scottish Breakfast.  A full breakfast is fried eggs, toast, mushrooms, beans, and in this case vegetarian haggis.  Vegetarian haggis, you're wondering?  Yes, in fact it was the only haggis on offer.  It's seasoned the same, but mostly made up of lentils.  It was delicious and I was seriously full all day.

The Edinburgh Larder uses locally sourced products

Afterwards we spent the day walking up and down the Royal Mile to the castle at one end, and Hollyrood Palace at the other.

Royal Mile Street | Edinburgh Castle | Hollyrood Palace - the Queen's Scottish home

Looking out over the city | Standing guard at the castle | Walking down Victoria Street to the Grass Market

As we walked up and down the Royal Mile we passed some men who work with a wild animal refuge.  I was able to hold this lovely little owl, Tee.  She is really sweet and her feathers are very soft.  She was there with another bird, a falcon.  He looked interesting - but a bit intimidating to hold.  And really, when you're in a place that makes you feel like you're at Hogwarts, why not hold an owl?!  Cheesy, I know.

Some other photos...

View of the castle from Princes Street | View of the city from the castle

The city is quite small, which was surprising.  We saw most of the major things in one day.  The weather was calling for some sun on Sunday so we decided to save a walk up Arthur's Seat for then.  When we needed a break from the cold and some coffee we stopped in The Elephant House, which is most known for being the place where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book.

To finish off Saturday we took an underground ghost tour.  It was really interesting!  The tour guide went through much of the history of the city and the people which always puts things you're touring into a better context.  He talked a lot about the relationship with the English and the development of the city.   We went under the South Bridge which has 18 vaults.  They've been built up around by shops and restaurants, but long ago they were a neighbourhood for undesirables.  Sometimes 100+ people could be living in one vault, and they really aren't that big.  They're also dark, made out of limestone, very damp, and very little ventilation.  Funny enough, I listen to these tours and all I hear are public health problems now... tight spaces, unsanitary conditions, disease, etcetera.

After our ghost tour Lauren and I got dressed up and went out for a night in Edinburgh.  We searched for good cocktail bars in Edinburgh, and also asked one of the hotel staff where he suggested.  We settled on a bar called Tigerlily.  It was very posh with lovely decorations and hand-crafted cocktails.  It was pretty busy when we arrived, so we staked a spot at the bar and then observed for an open table.  A group of women got up to leave, a group of gentlemen had been lurking near by also.  Lauren takes the opportunity and happens to get to the seat first.  Since there were only two of us and it was quite a large table we told the gentlemen to feel free to use the rest of the space.  One of the men asked us what we were doing in the city, where we were staying, and where we were going after Tigerlily.  He mentioned there was a club downstairs and if we wanted to go he could pull some strings.  To which my response was, do you own it?  And he did.  He owned the club, the bar we were in, and the hotel above it.  He and his friends talked with us the rest of the evening about our travels and the countries we are from.  We were the last people in the bar when it closed, at which point the owner took us to the bouncer of the club and asked to have us escorted into the VIP section.  Needless to say we were a bit starstruck.  Nothing like that ever happens to us!  Those are just stories you hear about!

The next morning, after having far too much fun the night before, we dragged ourselves out of bed in time for check out.  Unfortunately, our sunny weather did not appear and actually the weather turned out to be worse on Sunday.  The fog was so heavy you could hardly see the tops of buildings.  We decided not to climb Arthur's Seat because we wouldn't be able to experience the view.  I guess I'll just have to go back!  Instead we did the Edinburgh Dungeons.  The Edinburgh one is supposed to be the most frightening, luckily I have done the London Dungeons so I knew better what to expect this time around.  It was certainly still unsettling, especially for a jumpy person like myself, but I didn't want to have an anxiety attack like when I did the London Dungeons.  The Dungeons are more of a tourist attraction, but also goes through a great deal of history from cannibalism to fires to the disease outbreaks to English invasions and William Wallace.

To show how heavy the fog was on Sunday

I would like to go back in the summer and do the Highlands and the Isle of Skye, both of which I've heard are very beautiful and could be a very different experience to Edinburgh.

To sum up the trip in one word: stairs.

PANCAKES!

Today is Pancake Day... an entire day dedicated to pancakes!  It is also known as Shrove Tuesday.  In the US this is known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.  In both places it is the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  Similarly, this is also a day of feasting - the British just feast on pancakes in particular.

Historically it is meant to use up all the fattening foods in one's house before the Lenten period begins, the 40 days leading up to Easter.  Many people give things up during this period as a show of sacrifice.  I've never participated in Lent.  I actually didn't know much about it until I went away to college.  There a lot of my friends would give up a vice, or several during Lent - mostly chocolate, fried foods, Facebook, drinking, etcetera.

Anyway, a British pancake, to me, is really more like a crepe.  I'm completely ok with this as I find American pancakes very heavy.  It's an easy recipe: 110 grams flour, 2 eggs, 200 ml milk, 75 ml water, pinch of salt, whisk.  Luckily I had a native to take the lead on cooking....

Traditionally these pancakes are topped with fresh squeezed lemon juice and sugar or golden syrup.  The lemon juice and sugar was very refreshing!  We certainly indulged in two batches of these beauties this evening.

As with any holiday I suppose at some point businesses try to market it and profit from it more than if it were to remain static.  This article of the most expensive pancake was in the headlines today!

Another Year of Life

As most of you know, I celebrated another birthday earlier this week!  It came at sort of a bad time, unfortunately.  I have a lot of work on right now with uni.  I had a huge exam the next day that I absolutely had to pass or would not be earning a Masters degree.  So the pressure was on and I spent most of my birthday in the library!  However, I was able to spend the morning with some of my lovely friends.

Brunch was planned at White Rabbit Teahouse with some of my classmates... really, any excuse for coffee and cake!  Turns out my "out of class" friends had been scheming with my classmates and they showed up also to surprise me!!  They even arranged to arrive early to secretly order me a slice of cake and gave the woman working candles to put on it!  Seriously, so thoughtful.

White Rabbit Teahouse

The group of us, minus one | My cake with candles :)

I have to say I wasn't particularly excited about my birthday, my feelings were coined the birthday blues.  But I ended up feeling so incredibly special and it was really warming to have these girls do so much for me!  Of course, I very much appreciated all the cards mailed to me, text messages, emails, Facebook posts, Instagram collages, and FaceTime calls also from family and friends near, far, old, and new!

My collection of cards from every one!

Considering my exam was the next day that was the extent of the celebration on my birthday.  But the next day I went out for Mexican with some other friends who couldn't make it to the brunch. They knew I had been craving it and it was bloody marvellous!!

It ended up being a lovely birthday celebration (spread over a few days)!  Many thanks to those that had a hand in making me feel loved.  

... oh, and I passed my exam ;)

Wicked Weather

Britishism of the week: 

brolly - an umbrella

My friends and family are keeping me very up to date on the snopocalypse happening across the US with weather alerts, photos, and snapchats.  I wonder how many people know that half of England is flooded?  Parts of the southern coast are practically falling into the ocean.  Ok, that may be a bit exaggerated.  But the flooding isn't.  There is a lot of animosity at the moment as there are not enough sandbags, nor are the agency responding as quickly as the tenants in the effect villages need.

Luckily, Nottingham is far enough north to not be affected much.  However, the rain has been intense lately.  I could deal with the rain.... but this rain is combined with cold and the most evil wind you every experienced in your life.  Brollies are useless because the wind just turns them inside-out.  Sometimes you have to hold your hat on your head.  Sometimes you have to just stop for a minute because you just can't seem to push through the resistance.  It whips through streets and against the buildings keeping you up at night.

Anyway, even though multiple people are without power in southern England and homes are destroyed, as in all natural disasters, people always turn up to help.... even Princes!!

School Spirit and Varsity Sport Matches

First, I'd like to apologise for my absence, especially for those of you that use this to keep up with me.  I was in the US for the holidays, and even though I've been back in the UK for a month now I have been really busy with school, and thus not much exciting has happened to talk about.

Until last week.... when I went to a hockey match!

Nottingham has a large ice rink and a renowned hockey team in the UK.  But that isn't why I was there.  Every year the University of Nottingham (my uni) has a series of varsity tournaments against Nottingham Trent University, which is on the other side of the city.  Apparently this is quite a big deal, and the two unis are pretty competitive rivals.  The tickets went on sale on a Friday and were sold out by Monday and then the venue released another 600 tickets which sold out within 30 minutes.  I haven't been to any student event in years, and this was quite exciting!  It made me miss undergrad a bit, because every one was so school-spirity and energised!  With somewhere around 6000 students from both unis watching the match I also got my first real experience of what a D1 sports environment is like in the US.

Upon arrival we bought tshirts and foam fingers to support our team

Within the first period we were down 3-0.  It was disappointing and frustrating, but the crowd was amazing.  Every one chants, mostly derogatory things towards the other Uni.  There is a rift between UoN and NTU because UoN is a prestigious university, with higher entry requirements and typically more affluent.  NTU used to be some equivalent of a community college, but now is an official University, however doesn't carry quite the same credibility to its name.  I didn't really participate in the chanting.  One, because I don't know the chants.  Two, I felt bad, especially having gone to a University for my undergrad that isn't considered a very high calibre.  Three, I'm just not a super competitive person and didn't see the need.  But I did get tons of enjoyment from listening to it all.

Anyway, the second period started and we managed to score, and again and again and again until we finally won 4-3 with just a few minutes left in the match!  It was quite exciting!!  Needless to say NTU students weren't too pleased, but we certainly were!!!  Claps for the hockey team!

They also host a variety of others matches over the next few weeks: American football, basketball, I think swimming, and maybe volleyball.

Seasons Greetings from the UK

I think Christmas is a big deal in a lot of places... many stores in the US will start playing Christmas music by the beginning of November, items are rolling out on shelves before Halloween.  It's a constant bombardment of holiday cheer.  The past few years I've been a Scrooge and avoided it until December, not wanting to participate in the ridiculousness of Christmas for months on end.

The UK does Christmas even better!!  I would say stores started stocking items in early November also, and Nottingham's Christmas Market kicked off mid-November.  But it's just so festive!!  The markets are all these little cottages in the squares selling a variety of goods - handmade artisan items, baked goods, street food, and mulled wine.  

L: The Christmas tree on the square all lit up - there is an ice skating rink around it
C: The Exchange building on the Market Square and you can see some of the cottages
R: Sacha and I at the lighting of the Christmas tree, they do fireworks for every thing!

Mushy peas - an apparent signature dish.
You eat it with mint sauce... I preferred it with some salt.

I also took a day trip to the Manchester Christmas Market to see my friend, Harriet.  It's much larger than Nottingham's Christmas Market.  The centre photo is me with my mulled wine and my cute little keepsake mug.  Mulled wine is essentially warmed red wine, though I think there's more to it than that.

Then my group of friends had a Christmas Soiree before we all go our separate ways for the holidays.  

Us, minus one who was taking the photo

Our Christmas Soiree
L: On the top of the plate is the Cracker - you cross arms around the table, linking with the cracker and pull.  Inside is a crown, a toy and a joke!  (Those of you who know my love for cheesy jokes can understand my giddiness over this!)
C: Christmas Pudding, which you eat warm, and then pour cream over it.
R: Our Secret Santa tree!!!

America 1 and America 2 with our paper crowns from our Crackers

Last, but not least, is my humble Christmas tree for my flat.

I've enjoyed all the preparation for Christmas here, but I'm looking forward to spending it at home with my family!!