And that's a wrap (finally!)

Okay, okay, I'm getting to the rest of my trip I promise! Having returned from a month away in Europe, I headed straight into the exam period. A few weeks of study later and I was finally finished the semester. From there I had almost two weeks to enjoy Nottingham, in which I spent time with friends, went to a few clubs and pubs, and got to show my parents around the city where I'd spent the last half a year. Eventually, it was time to leave, and after suffering through hours of packing and having to say goodbye to some close friends, I headed out of Nottingham was my parents, for the last time.

But there wasn't much time for reflection that day because it was straight off to Chatsworth house, possibly England's most famous and decadent stately home. We enjoyed a tour through the house, and then explored the gardens. Luckily we had a brilliantly sunny day so we got some really beautiful views of the house and the surrounding grounds.

The next couple of nights were spent up in Glasgow, my first journey to Scotland since arriving in the UK. As it turned out, Glasgow had great significance in the Myles family as birth place of my grandfather. As well as visiting this house we went to the Modern Art Gallery, and Tenement House. The next day we also got a chance to visit Glasgow University, which has its own art gallery. Here we got to see a recreation of Mackintosh's house, one of my personal highlights. We also enjoyed a lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms, also designed by Mackintosh. Unfortunately we missed out another of his designs, the Glasgow School of Art, which had just suffered a fire. I didn't really know what to expect from Glasgow, but it quickly became one of my favourite places on my trip. This probably also had a lot to do with the amazing weather, which was not at all what I had come to expect from Scotland. Glasgow itself had a really strong cultural sense, with architecture and art being major attractions of the city, and there were huge numbers of (really good) buskers wherever we walked. This was really exemplified on our second evening when we went to an Open Mic Night. there was an incredible amount of talent, with mostly musicians and poets performing, and made for a great night.

After Glasgow we headed further up to Edinburgh to visit my great auntie Tricia. With only half a day to enjoy in Edinburgh we had time for just a few stops. First on the list was the Elephant Cafe, made famous as one of J K Rowling's main haunts. We enjoyed both some lunch and a trip to the toilets which were covered in Harry Potter-themed graffitti. From there we visited the Royal Museum of Scotland, which I would highly recommend to anyone. The exhibitions were great and the building itself was really beautiful. 

The next morning I was headed straight off to Spain for the final leg of my trip, a European getaway with my brothers. After a bumpy start involving missed flights and rebooked flights, I was safely off, enjoying the relative comfort of an emergency exit row all to myself. To read about my time in Spain and Portugal with my brothers please refer to my earlier post :)

Having arrived to Spain and Portugal separately, we all returned to the UK together. Max headed back home to London, while Jasper and I headed to Saffron Walden with Dad. We enjoyed a sunny day in Cambridge, watching some punting on the river. We (that is, me, Mum, Dad and Jasper) then headed to Canterbury where we would be staying for a few days. No trip to Canterbury would be complete without a visit to the Cathedral, so we attended an Evensong which gave us a chance to enjoy a service and see some of the interior and exterior of the cathedral.

The next day we enjoyed a traditional English seaside outing. This involved a drive-by of Dad's Dad's old home before some cheddar and chutney sandwiches on the beach at Dymchurch. We even enjoyed a short dip, the water was amazingly warm. We then took a miniature train out to Dungeness where we climbed the lighthouse and then wandered down the boardwalk to the pebbly shore. We finished up the day with fish and chips, so all and all I can barely imagine a more English experience.

Our last day in Canterbury, after Jasper had left us, we drove out to explore a few small English towns. We very much enjoyed Turner Contemporary art gallery at Margate. It was in Margate that we also encountered the most eclectic tearooms, The Mad Hatter's, where we really were served by a "mad hatter". I would definitely recommend a stop here. Our last night in Canterbury we also enjoyed the most delicious meal at a farmer's market by the train station. Another incredible find.

From Canterbury we headed back to London, where we had a family lunch with most of Dad's relatives from the London and surrounding area. It was a great chance to catch-up with everyone one last time before leaving the UK.

Our last few days in England were spent exploring London. A particular highlight was our day out to Greenwich. We took the ferry down the Thames, saw the exhibitions a the maritime museum and walked up the hill to stand on the meridian line, and get a great view. While in London we also got to see the Tour de France (not just de France it seems), get afternoon tea at Liberty's (yum!!) and explore some of the markets. On our final night we went to the Lion King on the West End. The show was incredible and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone (unless you are a young french girl with no grasp of the English language, causing you to speak loudly throughout the perfomance..)
In any case, this was absolutely one of my favourite parts of the whole trip and a great way to end my stay! 

Well it took some time but we finally made it to the end! I had such a special time on exchange. I got to catch up with family, and meet new friends. I saw such a huge variety of things, it still blows my mind to think of everywhere I went and everything I did. I'm so glad I chose to have this crazy 6-month whirlwind adventure, and I can't wait to get back overseas and explore even more!! 

BYYYYEEEEE!