Yesterday Candace and I woke up very early to head into London to meet the Arcadia group for a little field trip. The event, which we signed up for in January, was a trip to Rochester, Kent for a May Day festival.
It was a rough morning, but once we arrived in the little town it was like the super nerd inside me woke up. I have this thing about revels, mummers, medieval festivals, re-enactments in general, caroling, and funny fat kings eating turkey legs that I find hilarious and too good to be true. Not that I like making fun of this sort of thing - it's more like I want to take part. Badly. In fact, there's a part of me that wishes I was born a peasant in a tiny village so I could get good and drunk and silly and sing songs and dance around the may pole.
But this is the next best thing I suppose. The town, Rochester, is absolutely beautiful itself. Set side the Medway River and at the bottom of a hill holding a real life castle, you couldn't have asked for a better setting. The buildings on the street are also very old so it really was like stepping back in time.
After we walked through the visitor's center, we immediately stumbled upon a troupe of Morris dancers in the street. Complete with live musicians, crazy costumes, face painting, and - literally - all the bells and whistles, it was shocking at first. I couldn't stop squealing with joy and saying "What the hell is going on?!". As we wandered down the street, we saw more groups like this with their own traditional costumes and style. It was almost like a street dance-off. Only Morris dancing.
On top of that, there were food stalls lining the sidewalks and antique stores up the wazoo. A huge portion of the day was spent just walking around, relishing in the sights, sounds, and smells and just enjoying spring.
Eventually we arrived at Rochester Castle on the hill. We couldn't go in, but the grounds surrounding the castle were taken over by a carnival. More food, music, and now lots of kids and families were up here. It reminded me of June in middle school at the Ridgefield Fireman's Carnival. But what a place to have a carnival! There was a gorgeous view of the river as well.
And I have to talk about the food. If you've been reading this blog at all, you'll probably know that a lot of my best experiences abroad have been somehow based around food. Now, even though I didn't try any of the beer, and therefore did not get to be a jolly peasant, I did have other exceptional treats. I had a pork and apple burger with onions and every sauce available, and I think it was honestly the best burger I've ever had. And for only £2.50! I later found the Hog Roast and had the most incredible sandwich - roast hog meat off the spit with home made stuffing and apple sauce on bread. Before we left, of course, I ducked into the local pastry shop and got not one but 3 scones. I'm still working on those.
We were there so early that by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, it felt like 8 pm. I felt like a kid again going to this festival. Not only was it just a great atmosphere, but for really the first time I felt very in touch with the history of England. There is nothing really like the Sweeps Festival in America, and since it was outside of London in a tiny historical town, there were hardly any tourists besides ourselves. I didn't feel out of place though. Just very happy to be in a small, lovely town, enjoying the history and culture of England.
So I've returned from my wee trip to Scotland. It was a strange one. It was good, but strange. First of all, my mom and little brother were supposed to fly over so we could stay at this nice resort type place up in Scotland. Unfortunately, due to volcanic ash in the air, they couldn't come at all. So, we were bummed out for quite a few days together and then my mom recommended I go up to Scotland anyways. After some thought, I agreed, simply because a) it would have been money wasted to not use the train tickets and to skip out on the fancy hotel and b) I would be sitting on my butt in my room by myself anyways, so I thought I'd at least go and sit on my butt with the beautiful Scottish mountains in my back yard.
But in all seriousness, I was kind of looking forward to spending a couple days by myself to catch up on some needed R&R. I had books to read, studying to do, TV to watch (I can't remember the last time I just sat and watched TV), and pools and hot tubs calling out to me. Little did I know it would end up being a 10 hour journey. Well, I exaggerate - only because I woke up at 7:45 that morning and arrived at the hotel at 8:00pm. It's not like the traveling should have been exhausting - I literally sat through the entire trip :-)
I spent Tuesday night exploring the hotel and indulging my love for mountains and lakes. I also watched TV: And British game shows rock!
On Wednesday, I slept in, then considered doing outdoorsy activities (there was an outdoor adventure place nearby) but did not follow through. After attempting to cook without the proper ingredients, I set out on a 4 mile walk to the nearest store. Mind you, this place on hidden on the opposite end of the lake from the nearest town, Aberfoyle. I tried to soak in as much as I could from this little town - it was smaller than Egham! But the people in town were really nice. It was funny to me that seemingly everyone in the town flocked to this one gardening/general store. It was also funny that there were 4 ice cream parlors and candy shops (I tried Scottish Tablet ice cream), but no bank, gas station, or chemist to be seen. I stopped by the Wool Factory and got some treats and pet the sheep outside. Then, God knows why, I faced a sudden urge to try haggis. It was deep fried - apparently this is not 'proper haggis', as a townie soon told me. He also seemed interested, albeit slightly annoyed, in my American-ness and said: "Can I ask you something? And I don't mean to be offensive - but what exactly is beef jerky?"
Thursday was bizarre on many accounts. First, I woke up and ended up somehow losing a filling in my back molar. This led to me freaking out, but then I was eventually resolved when I kicked back and finished my novel that I've been working at for a year now. After taking full advantage of the gym and pool later on, I watched the UK political debates. Pretty interesting stuff. Not as thrilling as our CNN Obama/McCain wars. All relaxing came to an abrupt halt, however, when the entire hotel lost power. This is me, staying by myself in a huge apartment in the middle of the forest with no cell service, no internet, at least 5 hours away from anyone I know, in a different country. I ended up listening to my ipod in the hotel lobby, sitting in a room full of couples in a, quiet, romantic, candle-lit fire side setting. They all seemed to quite enjoy the blackout. It was an odd moment in the life of Eliza.
On Friday, I slept in again, contemplated going outside again, but then was hindered by a pounding migraine. Still not sure what brought it on, but I was kindly escorted to the doctor in town. The doctor, I kid you not, was my age, wearing glittery eye shadow, black rimmed glasses, and converse sneakers. She was very sweet though and prescribed Ibuprofen. I stupidly did not bring any with me, so I was thankful for the free doctor visit (yay European healthcare!) and the kindness of the people working there and at the hotel.
Saturday's journey back was a lot more exciting: I gave myself a project. I filmed the two hour bus ride from Aberfoyle to Glasgow, then spent a good chunk of the train ride back editing it into my first ever Indie film. It's pretty impressive.
So, though I didn't get as much work done as I thought I would, I spent a lot of quality time by myself witnessing the weird things happening around me (can someone please explain "Wife Swap"?). I have some fond and... not so fond memories of Scotland now, but I'm really glad I went. It was a whirlwind adventure, as per usual.
The very next morning after returning from the Netherlands, I met my Grandpa and Dad at a bed and breakfast in Egham. They had arrived the day before, but getting back from the Netherlands was a longer trip than expected.
We spent Saturday getting groceries and walking around the Royal Holloway Campus. Later on, we made an attempt to cook in my flat. It worked out alright! Plus I was just happy to host since I'm usually just cooking for myself.
Sunday was Easter and Dad had to work on his presentation, so Jess and Grandpa and I walked through the Runnymeade National Trust Reserve. It turned out to be a nice day and despite the mud, it was a good walk. We got to see a part of the town that we didn't even know existed. Besides the pretty park and river views, there was a memorial to John F. Kennedy and a monument for the Magna Carta, which was signed there. Then we had a good Sunday roast at The Crown, a pub in Egham.
Tuesday was the day of Dad's big presentation. He had to set up for the majority of the day, and it was a bit stressful at moments, but it was worth it. People came and seemed to enjoy the presentation! He did a really great job. We got to unwind at another pub nearby afterward (seemed to be week of pubs!) before heading back to Egham.
On Wednesday we had a good touristy day. We went to Shakespeare's Globe. I had never been there so I really enjoyed it. The exhibit is just jam packed with any ounce of information they had about Shakespeare and the plays put on at the original London theatres. The theatre itself is absolutely beautiful. I've got to see a production there before I leave!
We had another pub meal, though this was a more up-scale pub on the South Bank :-) We then hopped on some buses as a way to rest our feet and to see sights of the city. Eventually we got to Knightsbridge, stopped at Harrod's and a Starbucks, and then went home to Egham.
Dad and Grandpa managed to squeeze in another sight on Thursday morning: going to the Chiswick House before going to the airport to return home. It was great visit - both busy and relaxing. I'm just glad I got to see family.
Unfortunately, Mom and Lyle couldn't make it out here for their visit. The volcanic eruption in Iceland prevented them from flying. It really stinks because I won't get to see them until June now, but we're trying to make the best of it. I'm going to take a little trip up to Scotland anyways as a change of scenery for my studying. Exams are coming up!
Will post about my trip to Scotland upon my return.
I am a rising senior at Sarah Lawrence College.
This blog is about my yearlong study abroad experience. I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, England, Scotland, and The Netherlands. I studied at Accademia dell'Arte and Royal Holloway University of London.
