Day 4 of Europe 2012 Trip: Bristol & Dublin

It’s still sort of a shock that Shannon and I are on the other side of the world and visiting so many places! It’s definitely been a great experience so far. So on day 4, we decided to ditch our friend Pete and meet up with Scott and Aileen who lives in Dublin. We went from Gloucester to Bristol to Dublin. There were definitely a lot of pictures. That’s why I’ll be splitting up the Dublin part into a few different posts. So stay tuned!

We had a couple of hours to kill in Bristol, so we wandered around the place. It was raining and sort of miserable. At first we saw nothing of any interest. So we decided to go back to the train station and wander the other direction. I was glad we did because we found the city centre!

First stop was St Mary Redcliffe Cathedral. It’s really crazy how different these cathedrals are compared to the ones in BC.

More wandering around Bristol.

Banksy graffiti. Soooo cool!

We went to a place called Mission Burrito. They had really good food AND big portions. Mmmmmm….

Back to Temple Meads station to catch the bus to the airport.

Waiting…

We’re off to Dublin!

Landed safely in Dublin. Now to meet up with Scott and Aileen.

Time for a whirlwind tour of Dublin before Scott and Aileen take off back to BC. Hmmm…. Good timing to visit eh?

St Stephens Park

The canal.

St Patrick’s Cathedral

The River Liffey

 

Day 2 & 3 of Europe 2012 Trip: Gloucester

Shannon and I spent the first day traveling by plane and train. We met up with Pete, and we spent the next two days recovering from jetlag and exploring Gloucester. So off to downtown!

I love all the brick buildings and the old warehouses along the canal that are now offices/apartments.

The next two pictures are HDR pics of St Mary De Crypt Church.

Gloucester Cathedral

This is the remains of St Oswald’s. It was really cool because it had a picture of the different expansions throughout the years.

The next day we wandered around downtown Gloucester again and checked out the folk museum. Just a bunch of history lessons. It was interesting!

The Long Plane Ride

After a long day of 9 hours being on a plane, two 1.5 hour train rides, and an hour or two of waiting around, Shannon and I finally made it to my friend’s place in Gloucester, UK. The scenery definitely felt familiar yet different. A lot of the buildings were made out of bricks and a lot of fields. It’s cool seeing different parts of the world! It’s still hard to believe that we’re actually on the other side of the world, but I’m sure it’ll set in soon.

This is what a lot of non-paying people don’t get to see at the airport. We had an hour or two to kill before we boarded the plane, so we walked around for a bit.

We’re on a plane! …. To the UK! It’s sooo crazy!

We caught two sunrises. It was pretty sweet.

I believe this next picture is when we were flying over Greenland.

UK!

Waiting for the train at Reading.

Thought I’d try out this HDR thing again.

More pics to come!

Epic UK Trip 2012 Starts Now

Shannon and I have been talking about possibly going to the UK to visit our friend for a really long time. We have been throwing the idea around, and I can’t believe we’re ACTUALLY at the airport right now waiting to board the plane.

This is super exciting for me because
a) I’ve never been to the UK
b) Get to finally visit some friends
c) Going to check out the Olympics again (last time was in Vancouver)
d) Finally get some stamps on my passport!

We’ll be going for 3 weeks, and hopefully I’ll be able to keep you all posted about the trip my blog. All pictures were taken with my phone.

Canada Day 2012

Hope you all had an awesome Canada Day! I stuck around Victoria and decided to hang out downtown. I love it here especially when big holidays like these happen – everyone is wearing red and white, downtown is packed with people, roads are closed so you can wander freely, live music, and so much more! It’s always a great time hanging out here on Canada Day. Here’s some proof:

Pretty good spots for watching the fireworks! Patiently waiting as the skies are getting darker.

I don’t know how every year, the fireworks get better and better. Maybe I just love fireworks, and how loud it is, the different colours, and the rumble you can feel in your chest. It almost seems magical. Can’t wait for next year’s fireworks display!