All the World's a Stage

London, England 2020

January 11-13th

Day 9: Saturday Jan 11th

Shopping in Covent Garden during our free day in London.

During the day, we were allowed to explore freely about London. My group decided to start the day off by travelling alongside our faculty chaperones who were headed to Covent Garden, a cute shopping area which offers plenty of open-air cafes, restaurants, market stalls and shops. It is also a famous location for street performers, of which we saw several — including one woman who was serenading the pedestrians with beautiful opera music. You certainly wouldn’t see opera singing street performers in New York City, that’s for sure! We took our time enjoying the market stalls, and eventually stopped for gelato at a small shop named Morelli’s. Zack and I decided on their pistachio gelato, and I swear it was the creamiest, most delicious dessert that I had on the entire trip! This, coming from a girl who doesn’t particularly like ice cream! With our shopping and sweets finished, it was then that our group broke off into two; while Tad, Gené, Lena and Lauren went to see a matinee showing of 9 to 5 the musical, my group (consisting of Elise, Zack, Imani and me) decided to take advantage of our hop-on-hop-off bus passes and explore the city.

Our first goal was to see the famous Big Ben and the London Eye, but unfortunately Big Ben was under construction and wasn’t looking quite as big or majestic as we would have hoped. So, with our plans mildly crushed, we decided to check out Baker street instead — home to Sherlock Holmes, and more importantly home to the only Dunkin’ Donuts in London. It was here that Zack and Elise finally got their hands on some Dunkin’ iced coffee, while Imani and I got to see 221B Baker Street. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see the entire Sherlock museum due to the huge line, but we did stop inside the gift shop and we even got our picture taken in front of the doorway. It was really cool seeing the location in real life!

The stage at the start of *Teenage Dick* made to look like a high school gym.

Afterwards, we met back up with the entire group at the Donmar Warehouse to see Teenage Dick, a play which I was actually quite excited to see. It was a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III, taking place at a high school. I thought that the inclusion of live-streamed video and imitated live-tweets really modernized the story, adding a crucial layer to the performance. The dance number between characters Richard and Anne at the prom was one of my favorite scenes, as well as Anne’s solo scene which was immensely dark and captivating. My only complaint would be that the theater itself was very hot and cramped in its design; the seats are extremely close to one another, making it so that the entire row would have to exit in order for one person to enter or leave their seat. It was for this reason that I was thankful the show was only a single act. Well, that and the fact that had there been an intermission, the emotional and dark ending of the play might have lost its impact. Overall, the play told a very strong message about bullying and the pressures of high school which I found to be very successful. It was a Shakespearean adaptation done right.

The night ended with some impromptu photo-shoots, a new friend, and an exploration of the less “touristy” areas of London. We ended up meeting a guy named Luke who showed us around Camden. We had a great time simply getting to know each other and the area a little bit better before we went back to the hotel to prepare for our final full day in London.

Day 10: Sunday Jan 12th

St Paul’s Cathedral on our walk toward the Millennium Bridge.

We began our day with another group trek — this time we set out to visit the famous Globe Theatre. It was on this day that I finally began to notice just how much my knees were killing me from all of the walking I had been doing! I suppose it was a good thing today was our last full day abroad, as sad as I was to say goodbye. After getting off the tube, we walked from St Paul’s Cathedral across the Thames via the Millennium Bridge. It was a gorgeous sight even thought it was one of the gloomier days of our trip. I truly enjoyed all of the photographs of the landscape that I was able to take, even if they were just taken on my phone. I would love to return one day with an actual camera! Everything is just so beautifully maintained.

A look inside Shakespeare’s famous Globe Theatre.

We arrived at the Globe Theatre for our tour and were greeted by a very animated and knowledgeable man. He explained to us that the Globe before us today was actually a reconstruction of the original theater, but that it was based on blueprints which make them 99.9% sure that this would have been exactly how it looked during Shakespeare’s time. The roof of the theater remains a thatched one, and it is the only building in London which is still currently allowed to have a thatched roof due to the fire risk it presents. The tour guide had plenty of unique stories to tell, yet unlike the previous tours we had been on, this one never seemed to drag on for too long. Before we knew it, the tour had ended and we were making our purchases at the gift shop which was organized by each of Shakespeare’s more famous plays.

Mannequins inside of Picknweight, a vintage thrift store in London.

Being our final day, we once again broke off into our familiar smaller groups after the tour. Tad, Gené, Lena, Imani, Zack, Lauren, Elise and I leisurely walked around The Bankside, making our way back to some of the shops that we saw yesterday but did not have time to fully appreciate. One such store was a place called Picknweight which was a vintage thrift store or as Imani dubbed it “every hipsters’ dream.” If I had the money, and the room in my suitcase, I definitely could have gotten some really incredible finds while we were there. We then had lunch at Byron, a British restaurant chain focusing on hamburgers. I had a delicious Oreo milkshake (our waiter did not lead me astray with that recommendation!) and fries. With our final souvenirs purchased, we all decided to return to the hotel when it came time for dinner though; instead opting for a nice and relaxing evening in for our final night overseas.

Day 11: Monday Jan 13th

Heading to catch the plane back home. Oh, how we wished we could stay forever!

I must admit, our final day abroad was not a very exciting one since it was also a travel day. The entire group met in the hotel lobby for breakfast before leaving for the airport to catch our 8 hour return flight to Baltimore, MD. We spent this time discussing everything we did and saw, and lastly providing our final thoughts on the overall trip — from Dublin to London, and from show to show.

As for my final thoughts on the trip:

I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.
-Shakespeare, quote from As You Like It

Just as Rosalind describes the beautiful Forest of Arden, I too would willing spend my days in either of these beautiful countries. Both Ireland and England have presented me with fresh and exciting atmospheres that I truly admire, but I must admit that Dublin certainly swept me off my feet. I fell in love with everything that Dublin had to offer, and I’m afraid it only made me yearn to return and see more of Ireland. I would even go as far as wishing I might live there one day!

As for the theater productions we saw, I have no regrets and honestly enjoyed my time at every single one of them. If I had to choose a favorite, I would say & Juliet is a definite must see. I had little to no expectations for the jukebox musical going in, but I left that show completely enthralled by the costuming, dancing, music and even the story itself! Alternatively, if I had to choose which play I disliked the most, it would unfortunately be The Great Gatsby interactive experience. That’s not to say that it was a bad performance, quite the opposite actually. It’s just that I personally prefer shows were I have a guaranteed seat to sit in and I don’t have to be so concerned about my fellow audience members ruining the experience for me.

I would say that for my first trip outside of America, this was a huge success! I cannot wait to do something like this again — so, here’s hoping that the next time I’m able to travel, it won’t be quite as long of a wait as I think. Because in my opinion, it can’t come soon enough!

Photo Gallery: January 11-13th

London, England 2020

January 9-10th

Day 7: Thursday Jan 9th

Day seven was a dream come true for me, and it was hands down my favorite day of the trip. We checked out of Stratford early in the morning and began our day with the Warner Bros Studio Tour of The Making of Harry Potter. I am a huge fan of the books and movies (and a Ravenclaw for those curious), so it was an amazing experience seeing all of the costumes, sets, props, and most importantly all of the movie-magic which brought everything to life. Unfortunately, it seemed as though every elementary school in England had the same idea and were having their field trips that same day, so I was unable to fully appreciate everything that the tour had to offer. That said, it was still a heck of a lot of fun!

Professor Filius Flitwick’s transformation in *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*.

One of the most interesting parts of the tour was learning about the transformation of Filius Flitwick’s design from the first two movies to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Supposedly, Flitwick’s character was cut from the third movie, but they decided to bring the actor back to play the role of frog choir master. The director liked the look of the choir master so much, however, that this new character became known as ‘Flitwick’ instead. I have always associated Flitwick as being the frog choir master, so it was interesting to learn that they were initially meant to be two separate characters. The addition of the Weasley twins, a nice glass of Butterbeer, and some unique Ravenclaw merch made this stop a memorable one for sure! I would love to return to The Making of Harry Potter one day because I’m sure there were things that I missed out on the first time. One can never have too much magic in their lives after all!

We later checked into our third and final hotel of the trip, a Holiday Inn located in North Acton. It was a ways out from the city area of London, but it was a short distance from the nearest tube station which made traveling about really easy. We were then given time to settle into our new rooms before heading out to our third performance. I was excited to ride the tube, or underground train system, for the first time, and I was happy to learn it was surprisingly easy to navigate too.

A look at the stage after the performance of *& Juliet*.

& Juliet was by far my favorite performance of the trip — with its amazing choreography, beautiful costumes, and funny yet intriguing story-line, & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre was a phenomenal experience. This jukebox musical cleverly asks “what if” Juliet hadn’t died at the end of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and instead choose her own fate? Set to the tunes of familiar pop songs such as Since U Been Gone and Oops! I Did it Again, this musical found a compelling way to remix and modernize a classic tale while still staying true to Shakespeare’s original style. My favorite aspect of the show had to be the costumes! I loved the use of Elizabethan clothing elements mixed with more modern styles; it was an intelligent choice, especially considering what the show is all about! Each of the ensemble members had their own unique aspects to their outfits as well which were then maintained throughout each of their costume changes, which I really appreciated. My favorite actor was actually one of those ensemble members, and his outfits always included cut-off overalls. After the show I learned that his name was Josh Baker, and he was actually the Assistant Dance Captain for the show. Props to him! He did an amazing job, even if he was often in the background.

At one point, there was a technical difficulty when Romeo made his grand revival from the dead, coming down from the ceiling. We actually didn’t realize there was something wrong until a stage manager came out onto the stage and the dancers retreated mid-song. The actor playing Romeo actually looked out at the audience and smiling said, “This has never happened before.” Everything was fixed rather quickly, and it made for a unique and memorable experience. Even though there was this brief disruption to the show, it was handled so well that I still left the theater knowing that & Juliet was going to be a difficult show to beat as my new favorite. Overall, as an English major who has studied Shakespeare’s works dozens of times, I really appreciated the inclusion of William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway (yes, that was actually her name) as major characters. The underlying plot of Anne wanting William to change the story’s ending because Romeo and Juliet was the only play he ever wrote which reminded Anne of herself, was extremely touching. It also allowed the musical to maintain that sense of Shakespearean DRAMA! and confusion which he oh-so loved to include in his plays. It was definitely a show I would go see again; in fact, I am listening to the soundtrack right now as I write! I highly recommend this production, and hope to see it rise in popularity and acknowledgement over the following months.

Day 8: Friday Jan 10th

Guards at the Tower of London standing outside of where the crown jewels are kept.

The next day brought us to the Tower of London, where we learned a lot about the tower grounds, the crown jewels, and the royal family. At one point in history, there were many exotic animals kept on the grounds. These animals included monkeys, a lion, a polar bear, an elephant, some tigers, and many more; they were all able to wander about the tower grounds freely too. Supposedly, the lion actually mauled a female visitor to death right after she had been petting its paw; there was even an old news article reporting the event and everything! While animals are no longer present at the tower, there is still an aviary for the Queen’s ravens. And, just as the other animals were once able to do, the ravens roam freely about the tower. We were actually able to get fairly close to some of them. We then watched a video of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and saw many of the crowned jewels. Often times the jewels from one crown would be passed on to the next one. I had a really chill time exploring the Tower of London.

My attire for *The Great Gatsby* Interactive Experience.

Later, we got to attend a really cool interactive experience of The Great Gatsby. Many of us got dressed up for the performance, because the audience was meant to be a part of the show acting as guests at one of Jay Gatsby’s famous parties. What better way to welcome in the new year, but with a taste of the original roaring 20’s! The decor was really beautiful, and truly set the mood for the rest of the evening. The only downside to the interior setup, was that there were limited places to sit throughout the experience. At one point, Gatsby himself invited Zack, Elise and I (along with a couple other people from our group) to his office where he offered each of us a complimentary glass of gin and a business card inviting us to partake in some illegal gambling activities. It was here that we were able to witness a special scene, one which many others where not able to witness. Throughout the night, audience members could be invited to see special scenes such as this one which took place in side rooms separated from the main room of the party. This was a fun element to the interactive theater experience, because while the major scenes always took place in the main room when everyone was present, there were enough side scenes offered that would warrant attending multiple showings in order to witness them all.

By the end of the night, several of the actors had lost their American accents, but crowd favorite Nick Carraway (played by James Lawrence) was still going strong and it honestly didn’t bother me all that much. Apparently some of the actors were actually nervous about doing American accents because they knew that there would be Americans in the audience; they really didn’t have to worry though! The acting was so charged with emotion that I barely even noticed when or if the accents were lost. Unfortunately, there were some moments during the show where it was obvious that certain audience members had been there before and therefore posed a distraction when trying to get to the side rooms. While I don’t think interactive theater is really for me, it was my first experience of this style and I still really appreciated all of the work that went into it — from the 1920’s atmosphere, to the improvised audience interaction, to the creatively adapted story-line, it was a truly unique and fun production!

Photo Gallery: January 9-10th

Stratford-upon-Avon, England 2020

January 7-8th

Day 5: Tuesday Jan 7th

On day five, we said goodbye to Dublin, Ireland and traveled onward to our second destination, Stratford-upon-Avon where we would be seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company and their performance of The Boy in the Dress. I began the day with a short nap on the flight from Dublin to Birmingham. This was probably the smallest plane I have ever been on, and it was definitely the only plane that I have ever boarded from outside of the airport. Most flights will have the passengers enter from inside through a covered walkway, but this one had us take a bus out to our plane and board from a staircase. It was a new and exciting experience for me.

Once in Birmingham, we then traveled to our new hotel, the Mercure Shakespeare Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon. We were told that each of the rooms would be named after different Shakespearean characters, locations, or plays. At first, Elise and I were disappointed to see that our room did not have any such name on the door. Our opinion quickly changed, however, when we saw just how spacious our room was! We later learned that we were most likely placed in one of the privilege rooms; these rooms included extra amenities such as a seating area with a second TV and a Nespresso machine. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the room, but it was hands-down my favorite hotel of the trip and I would highly recommend it — even if you are just staying in one of their classic rooms! The breakfast was decent, and the cozy fireplace seating areas found on the ground floor were a lovely addition to our stay.

After our workshop with Oscar (centered) from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

After settling into our new hotel and finding a bite to eat, the group prepared for our workshop with the Royal Shakespeare Company, or RSC for short. This was an amazing experience, not only for those on the trip who already had acting experience, but also for those who had no interest in acting and were simply on the trip for a fun traveling experience. Our workshop instructor, Oscar, taught us several theater games/exercises, and he also had us perform some scenes from The Boy in the Dress which we would be seeing the following day. Apparently, before we arrived for the workshop, Oscar had been informed that we would be a bunch of French 8-year-olds. We were sorry to say that we were neither 8 nor spoke French, but we were instead a bunch of college-aged Americans. Oscar was cool with it though, and it made for funny story to tell. I had a lot of fun breaking out of my comfort zone that day.

We concluded our fifth day with dinner at Rose and Crown, and then walked around the small town looking for someplace that sold gelato. It took us an embarrassingly long time, since most places seemed to close up shop at 8 pm in Stratford-upon-Avon. If you’re looking to eat or shop in this area, be sure to get it done earlier in the day rather than later — especially if you’re trying to do it on a Tuesday. We almost abandoned our gelato search, but we finally found what we were looking for at about our fourth stop. We probably should have just gotten dessert at Rose and Crown…

Day 6: Wednesday Jan 8th

Romeo created from 2,000 small metal stars, located inside RSC Theatre.

The day began with a behind the scenes tour at the RSC. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and really cared about the Company and Theatre. The RSC personally makes everything that is used for their productions, well everything except for the fake blood! This means the sets, costumes, wigs, and props are all done by the RSC themselves. We also learned a lot about the inner workings of the theater and got to see where many of the tech and crew complete their jobs for a show. The tour concluded with a close up look at the artwork titled For All Time, which shows Shakespeare’s Romeo imaged from 2,000 hand-made metal stars. This piece was created by Steven Follen and hangs beautifully in the Swan Theatre foyer. It is a gorgeous creation, bringing life and meaning to Juliet’s lines from Act 3, Scene 2.

When he shall die take him and cut him out into stars and he shall make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.
-Shakespeare, quote from Romeo & Juliet

William Shakespeare’s home, located in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Next, the group was lead on a guided walking tour of Shakespeare’s Stratford. We saw Shakespeare’s childhood home which is pictured to the right, as well as the church he would have attended in his life and the church he is currently buried at in his death. Both churches had beautiful stained glass, and we learned a lot about the architecture of Shakespeare’s time. There were several buildings in Stratford which still showcased the original appearance and structure, Shakespeare’s home being one of them.

Ticket from *The Boy in the Dress* pictured in front of the stage.

I really enjoyed the RSC performance of The Boy in The Dress, a musical adaptation of a children’s book which shares the same name. While there were definitely things about the story which I had hoped would be expanded upon such as the bond between the 2 brothers, it was a very enjoyable production overall — one I wouldn’t mind seeing again! There were many creative choices which I really appreciated. The set pieces and flown-in backdrops were very unique; I enjoyed how the small houses used in the opening would then open up to form the interior of said houses for the later scenes. My favorite character had to be Gareth with his Weird-Al-Yankovic-vibe hair that grew every time he came on stage. I also enjoyed the way in which the soccer game scenes were handled on stage. I have never seen sports like this performed during a musical production, so I thought the way that they handled having a moving ball in the scene was very creative. Just as our tour guide promised, the main song “It’s a boy in a dress” was stuck in many of our heads well after the show’s performance.

We had dinner at The Black Swan, otherwise referred to as The Dirty Duck, a location where the actors are known to frequent after performances. We actually saw a few of the actors there too! After dinner, Imani and I met up with some friends from another group who were having drinks at The Garrick. We ended up hanging out with some of the workers there too; they were a year or two younger than us and would ask us about what college was like back in America. They were a lot of fun! I’m glad we had the chance to meet such cool dudes before we set off to our next destination, London!

Photo Gallery: January 5-6th

Dublin, Ireland 2020

January 3-6th

Day 1: Friday Jan 3rd

Preparing for our second flight of the day to Dublin.

I, along with 20 fellow students and two faculty chaperones, left from Baltimore MD on Jan 2nd headed for Dublin, Ireland. Due to the time difference, we arrived in Dublin on the 3rd and had to power through the rest of the day in order keep our mind and body on schedule. We first landed in London, but quickly transferred from there to Dublin on a second plane. Then, after landing and going through customs, we finally checked into the Academy Plaza Hotel where we remained for the entirety of our stay in Ireland. The hotel was fairly nice and in a great location that was easy to navigate from. The breakfasts there were also quite nice; they had the best mini croissants ever!

The remainder of our evening was spent as free time, which we used to explore Dublin and the many pubs it had to offer. A small group of us settled on Oliver St John Gogarty’s, an establishment in the heart of Temple Bar, and it was here that I tried fish and chips for the very first time! I quite enjoyed it, which is saying something since I am a pescatarian and a picky one at that. I also enjoyed the live music which played as we ate and was a staple of many of the bars and pubs in the area. We ended our first night with Butler’s hot chocolate, and let me just say that this was the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted. I ordered the caramel hot chocolate, and unfortunately I do not know that I could ever go back to anything else.

Day 2: Saturday Jan 4th

Our second day in Dublin was extremely busy, and despite my roommate and me having a bit of a late start, we still managed to see it all! We began with the Natural History Museum. I didn’t take too many pictures there, but obviously Zack and I had to take a picture with the zebra. We sure did learn a lot; mainly that Irish deer are incredibly huge and scary — don’t worry though, they’re extinct! Also, did you know there were once hyenas in Ireland? Because I didn’t. Additionally, some recommended locations to grab a bite to eat are KC Peaches Cafe if you want a sweet pastry or The Counter if burgers and spiked milkshakes are more your style.

Myself walking through the National Gallery of Ireland.

Next, we visited the National Gallery of Ireland. It was here that we saw many paintings, busts, statues, and an interesting piece of video art with people rolling around in blue fabric. It was also here that Imani and I stepped inside a Willy Wonka style glass elevator and then found ourselves incredibly lost for a solid 15 minutes. We then met with the Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture while on our way to Trinity College. He is truly just living his best life lounging on that rock, and I am 1000% here for it. At Trinity College, we were able to visit the Old Library and learn about the Book of Kells. Unfortunately, we could not actually see the real Book of Kells.

The entire group after seeing our first performance of the trip, *Drama at Inish*.

We concluded our second day in Ireland, with our first theater production of the trip, Drama at Inish, performed at the Abbey Theatre. Drama at Inish was a play first produced at the Abbey in 1933. I believe that director Cal McCrystal made excellent use of physical comedy throughout the show, and left many of us with inside jokes which lasted throughout the entirety of our travels abroad. The show began with a funny and meta message about turning your phones off and enjoying the show; it was also delivered in Gaelic which was cool to hear. Most entertaining were the intermission set change and the curtain call, moments where song and dance played a major role despite the show not being a musical. I loved the ending performance the most because instead of a typical curtain call, the entire cast danced an extensive Irish jig while still remaining in character. And because I cannot recreate this jig for you, I will instead leave day two’s experiences with this: just as the ice cream loving (favorite character) William Slattery once said, and just as we happily repeated over and over again on the trip, “For me weeds. For me rats.”

Day 3: Sunday Jan 5th

The view of St Patrick’s Cathedral from the dog park next door.

Day three began with an early trek out to St Patrick’s Cathedral. We hoped to arrive before the service started so that we could take a quick peak inside without needing to stay for the entire service. We did not arrive in time. So, rather than sitting through a service that you are not aloud to leave early from, we did the next best thing and went to the dog park next-door! It was fun seeing all of the dogs playing and running off leash. Many of the dogs in Ireland are actually trained off leash and we often saw them walking calmly beside their owners even when going outside of the parks and into the shopping areas. This is very different from how dogs are trained in America, and it was nice seeing such well-behaved dogs walking about freely.

Jeb deviously holding his cards while playing Go Fish.

Our next stop was Dublin Castle. It was still decorated for Christmas which was beautiful to see. There was a gorgeous staircase which my friends and I decided to take prom-style pictures on, but we were quickly shown up by Jeb, John, and Jakob who took the staircase poses to a whole other level. After visiting the castle, Imani, Elise, and I joined their group and together we visited a small bistro for lunch. There, we ordered coffee and played Go Fish. Those of us who weren’t actually playing, were instead attempting to help John win the game. While John may not have won, he did succeed in taking some of Jeb’s cards and making a match of his own. Ultimately, we learned that math is not our forte, and this was once again proved correct when we went to pay our bill. It is not common for restaurants to split the check in Ireland and England. This lead to a lot of calculating on our part throughout the trip.

Drinking a Guinness from the rooftop sky-garden overlooking Dublin.

We concluded our third day in Ireland by visiting the iconic Guinness Storehouse. In 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease for the brewery. This means that A) he was extremely confident in his product B) the brewery has only gone through about 250 years of the lease. Even though Guinness is not my drink of choice, I still appreciated seeing the process. The tour ended with the rooftop sky-garden, where we were able to drink a complementary Guinness as we overlooked Dublin’s skyline.

Day 4: Monday Jan 6th

For our final day in Dublin, we decided to visit Kilmainham Gaol Jail. The rainy day actually made the experience feel more realistic in a way. Traversing through the old jail on a guided tour was very educational. Leaders of the various historical rebellions were detained and in some cases executed at this jail.

A French cafe where we had the most delicious macarons ever!

We spent the remainder of our final free day completing the last of our personal goals for Ireland. First, was ring shopping! Lauren and I wanted to get Claddagh rings which we had admired earlier on our trip. I decided on one with an emerald stone. Next, we stopped for macarons, a treat that I had never had before but really enjoyed. And last but not least, Imani finally got her picture taken with “The Tart with the Cart” aka the Molly Malone statue.

Photo Gallery: January 3-6th

Introducing Me

It is difficult beginning a blog when I know it may only have a limited amount of sporadic content. While I may not be traveling often, however, I want to be able to share my travels whenever I do. And since you have decided to click on this post, that makes YOU one of the chosen individuals whom I would like to share these travels with.

To start, you may be wondering:

What is this blog about?
Why should you (the reader) read this blog?
Why am I (the author) blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?

This blog began as part of a homework assignment during my final year at McDaniel College. In 2020, I took a Jan Term course which provide an opportunity for me to travel to Ireland & England with a professor and 20-or-so fellow students. This trip lasted about 10 days and along the way we saw five theater productions, a couple museums, several churches, and even a castle or two! It was truly a dream come true for me.

My goal for this blog is to have somewhere to return to every time I travel abroad: from my first trip overseas in January 2020, to every adventure that my future holds. I want this to be a space where I can remember the travels and can share them with anyone who desires to follow alongside me on this journey.

So, as poet and playwright William Shakespeare once put it,

Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days.
-quote from Romeo & Juliet

And that is exactly what I intend to do, both in life and in this blog! I hope you decide to join me on my latest adventures and throughout everything the future has in store for me.