OH MY GOSH WHAT AN AMAZING WEEK.

Enjoying our first day in Venice

Honestly, this break was absolutely incredible! We started off with a long but easy trip to Gatwick with plenty of time to kill before our flight. Soon enough we were landed in Venice, walking to our Air BnB. The next morning we set off into the city with a list of things we wanted to do but with only one main objective: to explore & get lost. From the moment we crossed over the main bridge I was in love. I loved everything about Venice. Mostly I loved that instead of roads there was water. the way the light reflected off the buildings and water was so incredible I was in heaven. We wandered around the streets, following the crowds sometimes then veering off the main roads, heading into little shops and boutiques. Eventually we stumbled upon Saint Mark’s Square, one of the places on our list we knew we needed to visit. I thought it was so incredible that one moment we were just walking around, admiring the city, then the next we were in this huge plaza filled with restaurants and music and people. It also helped that we had a whole entire week of beyond gorgeous weather. I found the whole day to be so relaxing yet extremely productive. We were able to see so much of the city without any real plan or idea where we were going.

Burano, Italy

The next day we headed out to the water taxi station where we got on a boat for Burano, a small island about 30 minutes from Venice. It was just as perfect as Venice but in a completely different way. It was so colorful with so many small shops and restaurants I loved that it was so quaint and peaceful even though it was somewhat touristy. We spent the day eating delicious pizza and finding the perfect souvenirs for our friends. It was so beautiful on the boat ride back because we got to watch the sunset as we rode into Venice. We only spent about 2 ½ days in Venice but it was a perfect amount of time to get to know a lot of the city by just wandering and exploring on our own. It was a perfect start to the break, and made me fall in love with Italy.

Myself, Niki Day, and Izzy Gonzalez in Rome

Then we headed by train to Rome, which was more incredible than I ever could’ve imagined. In all honesty, I was very nervous for Rome. All my experiences in the bigger cities involve a lot more stress than in cities like Venice that are smaller and easier to navigate. However, that was not the case in Rome. After about 5 minutes of being there, I was absolutely in love. We spent our first night relaxing and watching movies after unpacking then started out early the next morning. Our first stop was Palatine Hill, which is part of the huge complex that also includes the Colosseum and the Roman forum. From the moment we started walking around I loved it so much, all through out the city you can still imagine everything that has happened in the centuries before. I loved being able to see out into the city, it was a perfect view of the skyline. After getting lunch we headed to the Colusseum, which was just unreal. It was incredible I still can’t even believe I’ve been there. That’s how I felt about the whole city, was that everything was so historical and beautiful it was so cool how it’s such a modern city with this amazing history behind it.

View of Rome from the top of Palatine Hill

I climbed a mountain… A FREAKING MOUNTAIN! What the heck?! Never in my life did I think I would hike through the mountains in the Lake District! It was absolutely incredible, I’m still in shock that it actually happened. That’s something I really like about our class trips is that we get to see different parts of England that I never thought would be in the UK.

The day of the hike started out with the large paved hill, at which point I already thought I was going to die. How was I supposed to hike a mountain if going up a paved road was too much to handle?  Luckily it got easier and we were soon walking through fields that were leading us to the mountains. I love these kinds of days because everyone goes at their own pace but we also are looking out for one another. I loved being able to look up and down the trail, whether I was with people or not and being able to see where everyone was. I also loved that everyone decided to take the harder route. I think it says a lot about how far our group has come and how much we’ve grown this semester. I think if we would’ve done this in the beginning there would be more hesitation, or negativity but even at the hardest points we all kept our heads up and enjoyed the view.

As the trail carried on, I was taking in all the sights around me, while also pushing myself physically. I had never hiked 9 miles up and down mountains but there I was doing it. There were so many times I would just stop, look out and realize how absolutely spectacular it was to see all the way around the Lake District. The physically pushing myself was another factor that made it all the more rewarding. My legs ached as I trudged up each hill but I tried to push a little further each time and take less breaks to see how much my body could handle. It was both exhausting and exhilarating to be pushing myself harder but of course during every break it was insanely rewarding.

I’ve come to find that I love the trips that are least touristy. Of course, seeing London and Barcelona were incredible, and soon Rome will be amazing. But being able to be in the countryside and the quieter cities allows me to see more of the culture and the everyday life in England. Of course walking up to the hostel with our huge backpacks, was kind of a give away that we were Americans but when we were out on the hike, none of that mattered. We were just all people, following the trail, enjoying the amazing life put in front of us. Its days like this that I’ll cherish in a different way than my days as a tourist. When I think about my favorite days so far, I know I’ll never forget going up in the London eye, or riding around on a Segway in Barcelona but they’re so different from my experiences wandering around Ambleside or riding bikes in Valencia. And that’s what I’m coming to love about traveling, that each different place holds something completely different but equally important. I have loved every place I’ve went in vastly different ways but there are certain places that I know will always have my heart. Those places will be my ultimate favorites and I can definitely say that the Lake District is one of them. Getting to the top and just looking out for miles and miles was a site I will never forget not only because it was something so beautiful but because of what it took to make it up there. I did it all on my own, of course with some encouragement from my friends. But it was something that I accomplished without help from any bus or Segway or anything else. I will never forget the pride I felt when I finally reached the top.

Over the summer we had decided we wanted to go to the Florence and the Machine concert in London. We had looked into tickets for the show and even train tickets before buying them to make sure we would be able to get back to Cambridge on a Tuesday night. And so last night after Ely cathedral, we set off on our journey to Alexandra Palace. Since I don’t have a data plan I looked up all the directions the night before, printed them out and was prepared to get us there in one piece.

From our train from Ely to Cambridge, we had to make a connection for a train towards King’s Cross. After we got to our stop at Finsbury Park, we then got on another train for Alexandra Palace, our last stop. I was shocked and surprised when we actually made it with no issues! It was amazing! We got off the train at Alexandra Palace with the rest of the train, all heading to the concert, and walked up to the venue, which sat on top of a hill overlooking all of London. It was spectacular. Tiph and I couldn’t believe we were actually in London, seeing Florence, all by ourselves.

As we wandered around after getting food we wandered into a large hall with all different food carts and a large fake lawn for everyone to sit around and eat. It looked like a giant carnival (without the rides) but it was incredible! Since it was already 7:00, we were shocked at how everyone was so chill. Why weren’t people already packed in so tightly, getting as close as they could to the main stage? It was so much more relaxing. Again to our surprise, the opening act didn’t come out until about 7:45, finishing up at 8:30. At this point, I was getting a bit antsy. When was Florence going to come on? Would we be able to make it back to our train?

At 9:00 Florence came on and all my worries went away. The show was phenomenal. I don’t even have the words to explain how amazing it was. By 10:45 the show was coming to an end and while I wish it wouldn’t have ended, Tiph and I went into traveling mode. We found our way onto an earlier train, extremely happy to be getting home faster than we had anticipated. Again we had started on the right track, figuring out our next moves, determined not to get lost. But as fate would have it, of course getting home wouldn’t be that simple. After getting off at Finsbury Park, we discovered that the trains to Hitchin and Cambridge stopped at 10:30 and we had to get on a bus to get to Cambridge. We wandered outside, looking for a bus or any workers to help us but for some reason, it seemed that every employee of the station had already gone home. At this point the nerves started setting in. We found ourselves getting back on a train to King’s Cross to find a way back to Cambridge. There, panic still very much present, we found some workers who we hoped would tell us there was still a way to get back home. They told us to get back on a train to Hitchin, where we will find the bus to get us to Cambridge. Reluctantly, Tiph and I obeyed, found our way to the train, convinced we would be sleeping in the Hitchin train station. Luckily we ended up on a bus to Cambridge and by 2:00 am, we were finally back home.

Last night I learned a lot. I learned, like I do every weekend, that traveling will never go 100% smoothly no matter how well you plan and that’s okay. In fact, it makes for an even better story. I also learned how lucky I am to be here. Sure, traveling is expensive and stressful. But last night I got to see Florence and the Machine, in London, her hometown, in one of the most beautiful arena’s I’ve ever been in. I’m not going to lie, I have a lot to do before I leave for Spain on Thursday but taking time out to enjoy where I am is what’s important. Spending the day at a beautiful place like Ely, then the night in one of the greatest cities in the world, is unbelievable and I need to remember that while I’m here it’s important to make new adventures and experiences that are all my own, not just going along with what everyone else is doing.

-Emily