goodbye, manchester

Until we meet again...

last afternoon tea

Well, today was my last day of having traditional afternoon tea in England. And what better way to indulge in some fine tea than with some fine friends? Stacie, Eric, and I went to Richmond Tea Rooms, which is mainly Alice and Wonderland themed. The inside is really cute, and the designs made it seem all the more special and fancy. They also had up some pretty Christmas decorations, and played many Christmas songs by my favorite, Michael Buble (or we call him "Michael Bubble").

We went all-out this time with the "Queen's Tea," which was served with a variety of finger sandwiches, cakes, a scone with my forever favorite clotted cream, a quiche, and a pot of tea. All of our orders were served together on a huge three-tiered stand, and it was beautiful. Everything was delicious, and I was so full that I couldn't even finish a few of my cakes by the end of the meal! We also stayed at the tea rooms for nearly 3 hours. Our chats just flew by! The waiters were probably annoyed at us for staying so long, but oh well. You can't rush tea time.

Sillys.

It's GLORIOUS.

I still don't understand why afternoon tea is so expensive, but like I always say, TREAT YO SELF. I know there are some tea rooms in California that may suffice when I'm back at home, but it just won't be the same! This is definitely a part of British culture that I will truly miss.

And to all of my friends who are preparing for finals back at home: Keep calm, and drink tea.

lincoln christmas market

Yesterday, Stacie, Kyle, Eric and I went on our last (*cries*) trip with the International Society to the Lincoln Christmas Market! I came here with the intention of buying more gifts, but instead we mainly spent the whole day eating. But hey, I'm not complaining.

It was incredibly cold throughout the whole day. Thank goodness I wore tights under my pants again. When we arrive late in the morning, it was also extremely sunny. The sun didn't keep us warm, though. It made things worse by basically blinding us because we couldn't see where we were going. This is when sunglasses actually come in handy in England...

The market surrounded the Lincoln Castle. We wanted to visit and explore the castle too, but apparently there were renovations going on and we couldn't find a way in. But it was beautiful, anyway.

As you can tell from the photos, the markets were SUPER crowded. Apparently the Lincoln Christmas Market is one of the largest in England, so maybe that's why. Plus, it's only a 4-day event and it was a Saturday. So the crowds were partly why I didn't buy anything; people were just in the way everywhere and it made me frustrated. Tis the season to be jolly, y'all.

But what made me happy was the food. Oh, the food was everywhere and it was glorious. To start off our morning, we grabbed some good ol' sausages. I was tempted to get their Pork, Venison, and Mushroom sausage, but in the end I got the classic Lincolnshire sausage. And yes, it was amazing. The crispy casing gets me everytime.

As we walked around some more, we spotted a Danish Pancakes ("aebleskivers") stall. I've been wanting to try these for a while! I remember seeing them when I visited Solvang several years ago, but I didn't try them (I forget why!). We couldn't resist getting an order of 10 to share (though I probably could've eaten them all for myself). They were warm, light, and fluffy and just so darn delicious.

*drools*

Okay, here is my last mention of food. Shortly after devouring the Danish pancakes, we passed by a stall that had piles of different pastries. I ended up buying a "cappuccino shell" (a donut filled with whipped cream with a cappuccino-flavored icing) because I mean, look at this beautiful picture of the mountain of donuts:

How dare you do this to me.

So throughout the day, we walked through the entire market, stopping at stalls here and there to browse/buy. We also stopped by a little restaurant near the end of the day to have some nice afternoon tea to keep warm.

Overall, the city itself is pretty--but not when it's crowded. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time with my friends, and all of the International Society trips have been awesome and a convenient way to explore different cities around England (and Scotland!). I would definitely recommend study abroad students to join their university's International Society, as it's also a great way to meet students from around the world.

It is now hailing once again as I'm writing this. Apparently it was supposed to snow today, but it never did. We only get snow's evil twin.

And I can't believe I'm going home in 6 days! I went shopping today and I didn't even finish. I need to get crackin' on my essay as well. It's so difficult to start. Remember that Spongebob episode "Procrastination"? That's what's happening.

it's been 3 months...

 

 

 

 

MY GOODNESS, there's less than 2 weeks left until I return home! It also means I have two more essays to turn in before I leave (and another two I have to complete during Winter Break). The panicking is happening and stress levels are high.

Besides having the quarterly breakdown (or hoedown?), I can't believe my time here is almost coming to an end! I'm sorry I didn't post that often in November; I was just so busy juggling travelling with schoolwork. But last month was full of fun and wonderful times. Almost every weekend I would be hopping on a plane or a train to a different city, which was exhausting yet exhilarating. From clapping along to Irish songs and pouring Guinness in Dublin, to observing very "interesting" statues and being broke in Oslo, I've had some of the best trips of my life that I know I'll remember forever. It's definitely going to be weird and super boring once I go back home and not being able to travel to a different country on the weekends. Oh, the joys of living in Europe.

I'm excited to see my family and friends back at home, yet I'm already feeling sad that I have to say goodbye to Manchester. I've met some of the funniest and kindest people here, and I'm really going to miss them. And while I wasn't all that into the city in the beginning, it has certainly grown on me and I love it for what it is. I've got to make these last several days worth it! I'm already thinking about what my last meals would be here. It will most likely be afternoon tea, and a healthy dose of fish and chips. Oh, and maybe another praline cappuccino from Costa. Costa > Starbucks (at least in England). Their Christmas cups are also way cuter (the snowman is adorable)!

I've started to put my souvenirs into my luggage, and I definitely know I'll go over the 50 lb. weight limit. I haven't even finished shopping for souvenirs and Christmas gifts yet! This is not good. Wish me luck as I attempt to re-pack all of my stuff during these last weeks.

uceap thanksgiving in dublin

I am back from the land of O'Briens! There actually is a chain of sandwich shops called O'Briens in Ireland, which I found quite amusing. But anyway, I was primarily in Dublin this past weekend to attend UCEAP's Thanksgiving Event! UC students studying all around the UK gathered at the Guinness Storehouse for the festivities. It was a bit strange to be celebrating Thanksgiving 2 weeks early, but super fun nonetheless.

But before I talk more about the actual event, let's start from the beginning! I caught a 9:40 PM with Stacie and Eric Friday night. We got to the airport nearly 3 hours earlier than our departure time, but it was a good thing since going through security involved a pat down and an embarrassing struggle to put all of my liquids into one plastic bag. We grabbed some airport Italian food and had some fine chats before boarding. The flight was actually a lot faster than I thought it was going to be--it felt like it was only 30 minutes? Which is good, because I hate flying anyway. Once we arrived in Dublin, we boarded a bus, got to our hostel, and called it a night.

The next morning, I was still super tired because I had the hardest time falling asleep. I'm pretty sure I only managed to get about 2 hours of sleep, so it was a great way to start the day! After having a rather bland (but free!) breakfast, my friends and I walked around Dublin exploring various places. We stopped by Trinity College, found Oscar Wilde's seductive-looking statue, and discovered Ireland's local animals in taxidermy form at the Natural History Museum.

Hay gurl.

During the afternoon, we made our way to St. Stephen Green's park, walked around the shops along Grafton St., passed by Dublin Castle, and browsed some fine art at the Chester Beatty Library. We also stopped by Dublin's Christmas Markets to grab some lunch. It was so crowded, and it was madness trying to get to the stalls. But everything looked and smelled delicious, and I ended up getting a hot dog--the large size, obviously. I'm not sure if it was because I was super hungry or if I hadn't had a hot dog in a long time, but my goodness, it was probably one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. The casing was crispy, and the I love the charred flavor it got from the grill. Thank goodness there are Christmas Markets in Manchester because I am definitely getting another one. After lunch, we ended our afternoon with a tour at the Irish Whiskey Museum, naturally. This tour was definitely stranger than the one in Scotland. It involved lots of interactive videos, and there were no scratch and sniff cards this time. And once again, the whiskey burned my throat. It burns so good... (not).

Come to me.

At night, we got all dressed up and went to the Guinness Storehouse to finally have our Thanksgiving dinner. We left the hostel around 6:30 PM, and had to wait forever to actually get into the main dining room. While waiting, we were served refreshing lemonade with cucumber and mint. I don't know why I didn't grab another when I had the chance because they were so yummy.

I don't think we actually got into the dining room until almost 8:00 PM. Unfortunately, we didn't get in fast enough to secure seats for all of us to sit together, so that was pretty upsetting. Nonetheless, all of at this point just really wanted food. After a couple of speeches, we finally got served 1 bread roll. Yay! And thankfully we didn't wait have to wait too long for the main course. I was expecting a larger variety of potato dishes since we were in Ireland, but we only got good ol' mashed potatoes. And for dessert, we were served a fudgey brownie with Guinness in it, of course. Overall, it was a pretty darn good meal. It wasn't as good as Thanksgiving at home, but it was satisfying enough. (Note: I apologize for the horrible looking photos that are about to follow. Bad lighting is a camera's worst enemy.)

The night's menu + magnet as gifts!

We ended the night with a live Irish band and a performance by Irish dancers. The dancers were amazing. I couldn't see their feet, but boy, do they know how to kick! The way they dance looks super tiring-- I don't know how they can manage to keep smiling. The whole room was full of energy, and we cheered them on as they danced. I tried to get good pictures, but they moved too darn fast. The band was also awesome--they played Irish folk songs, and Kyle said it felt like that scene in Titanic where Jack and Rose danced the night away. I totally agree; I didn't have my own Jack Dawson for the night, but eh... who needs one anyway when you're with great friends? The band also threw in quite a few American songs like "Sweet Caroline," "Folsom Prison Blues," and "I'm A Believer." When they played "You Can Never Tell," I felt like getting up and doing the dance from Pulp Fiction, but sadly no one got the reference. But it's okay, I sang along and did my own little moves in my seat. Actually, I surprisingly sang a lot throughout the night and let loose more than I usually would. I think this resulted from my lack of sleep. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time.

Fun night with these beautiful people.

The next morning, Stacie, Kyle, Katherine and I decided to head back to the Guinness Storehouse for a proper tour. Now, I knew very little about Guinness before coming here. I thought it was just your average beer--but oh no, it's apparently kind of its own thing. It has a distinct dark ruby red flavor that comes from the roasted malted barely, and a creamy white foam is formed when poured correctly into a cold glass.

Overall, this was probably one of the most enjoyable tours I've ever been on. The Storehouse is HUGE, and there's so much to see and do. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was going into the Tasting Rooms, where you get to smell the actual flavors and ingredients found in Guinness and are shown how to correctly drink it.

Woahhh.

AND YES, I FOUND THE CONAN PICTURE. I literally ran to the wall of celebrity pictures to find him, and was a little too excited when I actually did. But hey, a fan's gotta do what a fan's gotta do.

It's like he was there, but not really.

One of the last parts of the tour was a stop at the "Guinness Academy." It was time to learn from the pros how to pour a proper pint of Guinness. There were six steps total:

STEP 1: Take a cool, clean, dry, Guinness branded glass.
STEP 2: Hold the glass under the tap at an angle of 45 degrees.
STEP 3: Pull the handle forward until it is horizontal and fill the glass to between 15mm and 20mm (about ¾”) from the top. Never put the tap spout into the Guinness.
STEP 4: Leave the surge to settle (approx 119.5 secs).
STEP 5: Top up the glass by pushing the tap handle backwards until the head is just proud of
the glass. Do not let the stout overflow, and never use a spatula to level the head.
STEP 6 : Hand the pint to the consumer with a steady hand. There should be no overspill.

It looked easy when the instructor did it, but I was really nervous to pour in front of the whole group. I think I messed up a bit because I didn't get a lot of foam, but oh well. We all received certificates at the end, and it was certainly one of my proudest achievements.

After graduating from the Guinness Academy, we headed to the top floor's Gravity Bar that offered a 365 degree view of Dublin. And I've gotta say, I don't drink beer, but Guinness is actually okay! I mean, I still didn't like it, but it wasn't as bad as other beers I've tried (which is not that many, anyway). I managed to finish drinking up to the end of the Guinness logo on the glass. It was probably the most alcohol I've ever consumed in one sitting, which ended up being a bad thing because I got a headache afterwards.

Don't worry. I'm certified to pour your next pint of Guinness.

Enjoyed my Guinness as I looked to the horizon.

After the tour, it was time to grab our bags back at the hostel, hop on the bus, and catch the plane back to Manchester. Thank you to those from UCEAP for putting on such a wonderful event! Although my time was short in Dublin, it is a beautiful city and I had a fantastic time. I definitely want to come back to Ireland one day and explore the countryside. Farewell for now, Ireland!