If I’ve Learned 1 Thing Over the Last Week and Beyond, it’s that Great Britain Really is Deserving of its Name.

The Goal? 10 countries in 5 months - all while living as a full-time student. My progress? Well, as of this week I can happily report that I am 2 countries closer to my goal - bringing my grand total to a whopping 3. It’s not much, but I’ve got time.

I got the entire week off from classes because it’s middle of the term. I was supposed to spend it on campus doing some “innovative learning” attending seminars and workshops, but I went south instead.

It’s Day 1 of my journey. I’m up early, very early. Try 6:45 in the morning early - made worse by a phone call at 3 that kept me up for quite some time after. I grab breakfast and take out money from the ATM, make my way to Waverley Station, have a coffee and print my tickets all with 30 minutes to spare. Not a second after I walk over to the train postings board they change my train from “On Time” to “Cancelled”. Just my luck, I suppose. Thankfully this little hiccup wasn’t a prophetic warning about my adventure to come. After waiting for an hour or so, I make my way onto the train and find my seat next to the sweetest Scottish grandpa ever. We made casual small-talk for most of the 4-hour ride and then I find myself smack-dab in the center of London at King’s X station.

Saying that London and Edinburgh are all-around completely opposite would actually be a total understatement. Now, I’ve been to big cities before (L.A., Chicago, Boston, N.Y.C.) so I wasn’t necessarily intimidated, but I’m still not over the complete switch in the big city culture from Scotland to England - even Glasgow (Scotland’s largest city by population) couldn’t compare. London’s people are the typical city-folk - too busy and too absorbed in their own lives to notice you or care - no surprise there. But to their credit, it’s hard to be nice to tourists like myself sometimes, they can really make your everyday life much less simple or enjoyable, but I digress.

For the next 2 days I lived as the Londoners do (except I slept in a hostel at night and not my own bed). I rode the public busses (yes, the famous red double-decker ones) and the underground tram system - pretty nifty, that whole system is. One could ostensibly get from one side of the city to another in record time, should the occasion ever arise. While there, I met up with 2 wonderful ladies who also attend Roger Williams University with me - 2 of my Orientation Advisor friends, classmates and work buddies: Rachel Trahan and Gabby Perez, who are studying abroad at The University of Westminster this semester (links to their travel blogs here: Rachel’s Blog & Gabby’s Blog. Together we visited Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The River Thames, went for drinks, tea, and dinner, and had the best time just catching up, taking photos and enjoying each other’s company.

When Day 3 rolled around, I went at it alone and did my usual pick-a-direction-and-walk-until-you-get-lost maneuver. The day before I goofed and spent 52 pounds (roughly 79 U.S. dollars) on bus and tram passes, so I found literally any excuse I could to use them - even if it meant getting on a bus and riding it to the end of its line and then hopping right back on in the opposite direction. I figured, it’s like taking a bus tour, but without the annoying and near-constant chatter of a guide, plus it’s already been paid for! I found 2 different international embassies, some really important-looking governmental buildings, adorable shopping districts and enough #Starbucks and #Costa shops to keep me satisfied for (almost) the whole day. London is a gorgeous place, I must say - especially Westminster and the whole section along the river. Overall it may not be my favorite city that I’ve ever visited, but I’m very thankful that I managed to spend some real time there and really take it all in - a very surreal feeling it was to realize that I got to have that experience. It will be hard to take my time in London for granted.

Day 4 was an extra special one for me because I got to live out my life-long dream of going to Wales! I bought a ticket on a whim the night before and managed to spend the entirety of Thursday in Cardiff, Wales - otherwise known as one of my new favorite places on Earth. What can I even say about Cardiff that will do it justice? It’s gorgeous and trendy and everything is within walking distance of the water, the train station and the castle! It has a wonderful, up-scale shopping district and everything all around the city is written in both English and Welsh! I spent most of my day just gawking at all the pretty things to look at and talking to the locals - who, by the way, are the second-nicest culture of people I’ve ever met (after the Scots, of course). They all seemed to think I was as fascinating with my American “twang” as I did them with their sexy English and Welsh accents. Cardiff stole my heart while I was there. Maybe it was the adorable Welsh stores and restaurants that I stumbled upon or the fact that I was just walking down the street and BAM - walked right up to Cardiff Castle without even knowing it was there because it's just hanging out in the middle of the city like it's no big deal at all. My best guess is the fact that I finally, after 2 months of waiting, got to eat a real American donut - yes folks, of all places, Cardiff, Wales casually has a #KrispyKreme. Just let that sink in for a second…

All in all, leaving Wales (and even England) was unexpectedly hard to do. I absolutely adored my time in both beautiful countries and it’s a shame that I only had a few days to devote to them. Combine my love for them with my love for Scotland and the U.K. is really giving the U.S. a run for its money - no lack of patriotism intended. If I’ve learned 1 thing over the last week and beyond, it’s that Great Britain really is deserving of its name.