A Girl In Europe
(But more importantly in the same place where The Queen died at. the. same. time.)
We all have a grand idea in our heads about what a European summer vacation looks like.
We talk about it with our besties and emphasize how amazing it would be to walk around the cobblestone streets of Italy with a gelato in hand. We watch movies that were filmed in Europe and fantasize about going abroad. Then one day when we finally work up the courage to book the flight…We go to Europe.
However, this is just the beginning. Going abroad isn’t as simple as booking a flight. Going abroad is: finding places to stay, figuring out how to navigate a foreign country, working through language barriers, and trying not to get pickpocketed. Aside from all the stress that may come with preparing/executing a European vacation, we carry on. Because going abroad isn’t just a vacation. Going abroad is learning about new cultures, seeing new things, meeting different people, and gaining a deeper awareness about life.
Going abroad is finding out what it means to be human.
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The following are journals from me and my best friend’s experiences abroad in Italy, England, and Scotland over the past two weeks. And to answer the pressing question… Yes, we were an hour away from where the Queen of England passed away but no we did not plan this. Get ready for a wild and exciting ride.
“I AM NOT THE SAME, HAVING SEEN THE MOON SHINE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.”
-MARY ANNE RADMACHER
Italy:
Tonight I’m taking a flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Linate, Italy airport and am meeting Nicole (my bestie) at our hotel in Milan. Travel days are never easy, especially with this long of a flight. My connection is at London, Heathrow airport and then I fly straight to Milan. I studied abroad in Viterbo, Italy in college and I feel like I have already seen so much of Italy- I’ve never been to Milan though! I am excited to see the duomo and to visit the city I was named after again. Brescia is a city right by Milan, only about a 2 hour train ride. Nicole has not been to Brescia yet so I hope she loves it. I know everyone raves about Italian food, but it gets old quick. When I studied abroad in Italy all they had was pizza and pasta. No Mexican food! Italy truly only has the traditional Italian meals and I need a little more variety in my diet. Regardless, I am so grateful for this opportunity to be back in Italy and I am hoping this flight goes smoothly!
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I made it to Milan, Linate and joined Nicole at our hotel. The great thing about our hotel is that it’s situated right by the main train station that we will take to get to Como and Brescia. We like the layout of the hotel, and our room is very nice. We did have a problem with the WIFI and a few room changes but that’s expected in hotels. The food at our hotel is not the best unfortunately. It’s so funny because our first night we were starving and tired so we just ate at the restaurant in the hotel…It tasted like microwaved pasta and pizza. Hopefully we will find better food tomorrow.
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Today we saw the famous Milan duomo! It was just as amazing as Dad said it would be. Because he served a LDS mission in Northern Italy, he always told me that the duomo took your breath away when you first see it. He was right. The food has still been very mediocre, usually that means we aren’t finding the right spots to eat though. Tonight we will be trying a pizza place that seems like it’s more for the locals and less for the tourists. We went into the duomo and they charged us around $30 each for the ticket and shoulder coverings that we had to purchase because our skin was exposed. I always think that’s so funny because if there is a god, he/she wouldn’t care if we showed a little skin. But of course we want to respect the Italian culture and Catholic Church. The inside of the duomo was pretty but not as amazing as the outside. We’ve had tasty gelato so far! I always get stracciatella flavor- it’s my favorite. Nicole is seriously the best travel buddy and we get along so well. I am beyond grateful for her. We also went to Lush today which is our European tradition. We get their chocolate face mask and do a spa night in our hotel room! Unfortunately tonight we made the mistake of wearing platform shoes which alluded to blisters all over our feet. We do so much navigating and walking around that these blisters won’t be healing any time soon. This was a rookie mistake and surprising for Nicole & I because we both are well traveled and should have known to never put anything on our feet that would give us blisters. I guess you live and learn!
Today we saw the city I was named after (it was Nicole’s first time and my second time!) My favorite part about Brescia, Italy is that it’s not a tourist town. The train ride from Milan to Brescia was about 2 hours and we only had to switch trains twice. It’s crazy though because everywhere we go Italian men look at us in the most intimidating/eerie way. On our train ride over we switched seats because an Italian man stared at us the whole train ride. It’s like they’ve never seen two blondes before! It’s scary and uncomfortable on all levels. When we got to Brescia we went straight to a restaurant by the beautiful main duomo because we were starving. The food was decent but the real treat was after our meal when we went to a highly recommended gelato shop and I got lavender gelato and it was the best I’ve ever had.
The highlight of our time in Brescia came when we saw a bar/cafe called the “Brescia Bar.” Nicole and I were taking pictures outside of the bar that had my name on it and then the shop owner came out smiling. He thought is was so funny the we were taking pictures outside his bar. I communicated to him in Italian that my name was Brescia and I conveyed the story on why my dad named me after this city. He thought it was the coolest thing and he said “come in I’ll make you whatever you want!” So we asked for fresh orange juice (which is THE best thing to get at bars in Italy) and he brought us complimentary cookies and made sure we had WIFI and strong AC on us. He truly made us feel at home and welcome in his bar and that is something I will never forget. We asked for a picture with him before we left and I’m so glad we did because I always want to remember his sweet smile!
The Brescia Bar.
Brescia, Italy.
After that we went to do a little shopping and Nicole found an incredible ring and I found a stunning pink dress that looked like a dress made for a princess. I have a tradition in Brescia that I stand in my favorite square in the city center and take a picture in a stunning dress I’ve purchased in the town…So I had to keep the tradition alive, and Nicole helped me take some beautiful photos! Although the pink dress pictures were only taken on an iPhone it’ll be fun to compare the images from the first time I visited Brescia to today.
We headed to the train station around 3:30 PM after we saw the medieval castle of Brescia. Our plan was to take a train that was heading towards Milan but we were going to have to switch trains mid-way. Our train seemed to be having technical difficulties and we tried to ask the conductor what was going on through our Google translator app. He responded back through the app but didn’t seem to understand our question. We were confused and starting to worry as it was getting dark and stormy out. Finally the train departed and we were on board. We were crossing our fingers that this was the right train because we were the only girls on it and all the men were staring at us again in a creepy way. We were following Google maps the entire time and making sure we triple checked which stop we would be getting off at because we only had five minutes to get to our connecting train.
Once we got to our supposed stop which was where our connection would be, we ran off the train and it was pouring rain. We quickly looked for the monitors that would lead us to the next train, but we seemed to have missed it. So we waited below the train platforms in a well-lit area because it was dark out and there was a man who kept bothering us on the platforms. He appeared to be homeless and honestly we felt very unsafe. We finally boarded the next train, a little uncertain if it was the correct route…but we knew we just needed to get out of that station because it was now dark and thunder storming. Luckily after a few stops we realized we were on the right train and about 15 stops away from our final destination.
For the record, Nicole and I are very intelligent girls. This situation could not have been prevented unless we spoke Italian and could truly ask the conductor our questions on how to get back to Milan safely. I was shaking and nervous during the route back to Milan, but we made it. Nicole and I applauded ourselves for being bad asses and making it back safely. Some people could have shut down and given up- not us!
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Today we went to Como! The most important part of our trip from Milan to Como today was to make sure we left early and got back early so we didn’t have a situation with the trains again. Como was beautiful and truly stunning. When we arrived at the main Como train station around 10AM we headed straight to the ferry area where we tried to buy cheap tickets to get to Bellagio. Unfortunately the ferry tickets sold out as we were in line. It’s too bad we are trying to budget…because we could’ve gotten a private boat to Bellagio. BUT I promised myself one day I would treat both Nicole and I to a beautiful boat ride around Como. With our limited options of transportation available, we decided to stay in the town we were in. I found us a rooftop bar with a beautiful view of lake Como and we took some fun pictures in our swimsuits. We thought the lake water would be clear and swimmable in the town we were at (but clearly it wasn't) so we decided to just get a few pictures with the view.
LONDON:
We arrived in London today! I can’t begin to explain the way this city makes me feel. The streets are filled with people wearing the most stunning outfits. Everyone looks like they are “dressed up” but really it’s just that they value and appreciate good fashion. This is why I love London. We had the best tacos today at a place called Club Mexicana. It’s our new favorite place! We checked into our hotel and asked if they had any room upgrades (because our room was so small) but they didn’t unfortunately. We are staying in Mayfair, London which is right by Buckingham Palace and the greatest park. We also decided last minute to go to Moulin Rouge tonight! We bought our tickets at dinner an hour before the show and absolutely LOVED the performance. The best cast and most exciting storyline! Today was truly amazing. I can’t say enough good about this place.
Today was one of those days I will never forget. Last night our toilet wouldn’t stop making noises so at 1AM I called the front desk and asked for a mechanic to come up and look at it. He fixed it which was great… but we lost a lot of sleep because of that situation. We decided we were going to switch hotels and find one closer to the airport. It would be more of a commute but it was cheaper and a larger room. Anyways, we decided to do breakfast at the hotel because we were both starving and it was convenient. At breakfast I started sharing some things about my story with anorexia to Nicole. Nicole asked me some questions about it, and I started to cry. But not just a little cry, a pretty loud sob. Nicole put her arm around my shoulder and was so loving and understanding about my emotions, I really appreciated it. We then got all ready and headed to The Ritz for afternoon tea! I had booked this experience out MONTHS in advance and was SO excited for it. I had researched all the spots in London where you could get afternoon tea and nothing looked as special as The Ritz. I think Nicole was a little hesitant about spending money to have “tea” but I promised her it was going to be amazing (and it ended up being one of her favorite things.)
Afternoon tea was set in The Ritz’s ballroom. It was golden with a stunning chandelier overhead and a live harpist playing. All of the servers wore the most graceful suits and we got seated around our time slot of 3:30pm. When we showed up they handed us a menu and we got to pick our choice of tea. There were at least 20 different teas from all over the world. The teas all seemed incredible but I went for a mint chocolate and Nicole went for a rose petal tea. Once we placed our tea orders we enjoyed listening to the calming sound of the music and were in complete awe of the room decor and ambiance. Pretty soon they brought out sandwiches, followed by desserts, and the scones. This was all accompanied by our delicious teas with almond milk and tasty jams to pair with the scones. I was in heaven and Nicole was too. We even asked for some scones to-go (and they brought us a whole box.) I crave those scones to this day and my mouth is watering just thinking about them right now.
I had convinced Nicole that this experience was worth the money and we loved it so much we tried to get back in on another day but they were completely booked. We then went to Notting Hill before our dinner reservations to take some pictures in our amazing outfits that we had worn to afternoon tea. I had on a blue vintage dress I found at Decades (one of my favorite vintage stores in SLC, UT) and Nicole has on a stunning pink dress from Zara. Notting Hill was cute but nothing like the Soho and Mayfair region we were staying in. By this point we had absolutely mastered the tube which is Londons main route of transportation.
When we got back from Notting Hill we did a quick outfit change and I paid for a taxi for us to get to our dinner reservation on time. We rode for about 10 minutes in the taxi and it was $40! Kinda crazy but worth it for the experience. Dinner was a very relaxed environment. I had an amazing chicken Milanese and Nicole had a nice Italian dish. This time around I was asking Nicole about some of her childhood experiences growing up and she started to get emotional. I guess there was something in the air today for both of us. But I just let her cry and thought it was so brave of her to show her emotions. She’s always been such an inspiration to me and she truly is so strong. After dinner we walked back and it was like time stood still during this walk. I was so happy, so calm, and so in love with this town. It was dark out and it was cold enough to need a jacket, but not freezing. We passed adorable streets and I just couldn’t help but feel like London was part of me in these moments. I think it was on this night that I realized I was going to live in London someday.
We started today with yoga at the park right by Buckingham Palace (which was also only a 2 minute walk from our hotel!) We brought the leftover scones from The Ritz with us and got a Starbucks, some fruit, and Galaxy chocolate bars to have a little picnic in the park after yoga. We also brought towels from our room to lay out on the grass. I have to mention that here in the UK the Starbucks’ have the cool lime refresher! This is a drink that used to be available in the states…but it’s been gone for years. So it’s truly such a treat to have these in the UK! We did yoga in the park and no one even stared- it was amazing. It felt like we fit right in and this was a totally normal thing to do. The yoga flow was the best start to our day and afterwards I meditated, then we both looked up at the sky and took in all the beauty of this experience. To make things even more special, little squirrels were running around us the whole time. After yoga we knew that we had to come back to the hotel and pack up because we were going to be leaving later that night to transfer hotels. We got all packed and left our bags down at the front desk while we headed off to go to lunch at a Mexican restaurant I reserved in the theatre district, followed by our tickets to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! Nicole and I both love the Phantom of The Opera film and we knew this was a production we wanted to see in London, so we booked our tickets out months in advance. The performance was incredible and I was in awe with the opera voices that these performers had. Right after the show we headed to the dinner restaurant I had reserved a table at called Ave Mario. The food here was amazing and I specifically loved the pizza, the bathrooms, and the gelato. We quickly finished our meals though because we knew we had to take about an hour and a half tube ride with all of our luggage to the new hotel in a not-so-nice-but-more-affordable part of town. Around 7PM we made our way to the new hotel and it was a journey to get there, we were tired, and felt unsafe once on the tube, but we made it safely! The hotel room was bigger but definitely less glamorous- which was okay because we payed less and made it work! It was an eventful and beautiful day in London and my heart is growing more and more connected to this region in England.
Today was another special day in London. We commuted into the Soho & Mayfair region where we were originally staying early in the AM to make sure we could do everything we wanted because tomorrow (our last day before Scotland) we are doing a day trip from London to Cambridge. The tube/train ride was an hour and a half long but once we got into the Mayfair region we had to go get a Starbucks! These cool lime refreshers have our hearts. We walked around for a little bit and then I had the opportunity to go to my favorite clothing store that was founded in London, it’s called Self Portrait. I walked in with Nicole and was SO excited to be in the flagship store, where all of their most recent pieces were on display. Two helpful sales attendants helped me grab some pieces to try on..and then I was “Pretty Woman-ed” by the manager-but I’ll come back to that part. I must have tried on 10 pieces and nothing was truly standing out to me. Nicole reminded me though of a stunning gold pleated set that she had seen when we walked in. I had the attendant bring it down and I tried it on and knew that I had to purchase it. Nicole contributed $150 towards the jacket and dress because I was initially only going to buy the dress, but when she saw the matching jacket on me she said she would pitch in if I bought both pieces. I’ll never forget her kindness here. That was truly the most amazing thing and I couldn’t believe she would do that. Going back to the Pretty Woman scenario…The manager didn’t pay any attention to us when we first walked in, in fact she gave us looks like we didn’t belong in her store. Little did she know I had already saved up and was going to be purchasing a piece from this store no matter what. As soon as I was checking out with my pieces, she walked over to Nicole and I and made the most petty and fake conversations with us. It hurt me because I felt like she only cared about our experience once she knew we were purchasing items. That is awful management, but regardless I got my outfit and wore it out of the store on the streets of London!
Shortly after we had reservations at Sketch, the iconic restaurant in the heart of Mayfair that I had been eyeing for years (even before I knew I was going to be visiting London.) The bathrooms and overall ambiance in Sketch are unreal. When you walk into the bathrooms you notice the rainbow glass ceiling and the fact that the bathroom stalls are actually “egg pods.” It is the coolest thing ever! As soon as you walk into your egg pod and close the door the lights dim and calming music is played in your pod. Talk about a calming bathroom experience! After our outstanding meal we headed back to our hotel that was an hour and a half away, but we are safely back now! So grateful for today, it truly was unreal.
It’s been a great final day in England! We went “punting” in Cambridge and saw the town and university which was such a neat experience. We found the best restaurant in Cambridge called The Ivy and I had the best iced tea and chicken Milanese + Nicole loved her dish too! Nicole said she could live in a town like this and I thought that was great because I will live in London one day and then come visit her in Cambridge! It’s only a couple hour train ride away. On our way back from Cambridge to our hotel we decided to make a pit-stop in Mayfair and have our FAVORITE Mexican restaurant’s tacos one last time. The most ironic thing happened while we were there. Our server was so sweet and at the end of our meal asked us if we were vegetarian. We thought that was a weird question because we had both just eaten chicken tacos. She laughed and told us that it wasn’t chicken we just ate, it was vegan! We were so surprised and honestly it didn’t bother us because it was the best tacos we’ve ever had. We had a self-care night with face masks after arriving back and I took care of my blisters (blister blaster pads have become my new bestie.) Tonight we are wiped but excited for Scotland tomorrow!
Scotland:
We arrived in Edinburgh in the later afternoon as our flight from London Heathrow was delayed. We are staying with my friends (and soon to be Nicole’s friends) the McGuffs! They live in Dundee, Scotland. I met the incredible Tina McGuff through a video I put out on the internet about my survival story through anorexia in 2014. We have been friends ever since and this will be my second time staying with them in Scotland and Nicole’s first! Tina has a daughter named Holli who is my age and is AMAZING too. Tina’s husband Jock was out of town unfortunately but he is another incredible human that is part of this family. Tina has 3 other boys who all are grown up and living elsewhere, so it really was a girls trip in Scotland! When Tina picked us up from the airport she drove us to their home in Dundee and prepared pizza, sushi, tea, and cakes for us and it was so sweet. She showed us our room, which was incredible, and then we headed to bed after spending time with her and Holli. We are exhausted from the travel day but are excited for the exploring we will be doing tomorrow with them!
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Today we went to the Glamis Castle with Tina and Holli! Tina had thoughtfully reserved Nicole & I tickets to tour the castle and it was truly stunning! After we walked around the castle gardens and even ate some apples and fresh plums. After that we headed over to St. Andrews! This was my second time visiting this charming town where golf was invented. We walked around the town, had delicious fish and chips, and visited the 18th hole at the famous St. Andrews golf course. One of my favorite memories in St. Andrews from the previous time was going to get a fudge doughnut at Fisher & Donaldson which is the most iconic 5th generation Scottish family bakery located in the heart of St. Andrews. I crave this dessert whenever I think back to Scotland so Tina introduced Nicole to this shop and we got a fudge doughnut! After exploring St. Andrews we headed back to Dundee and then we went to a little beach by the McGuff’s home. We did an evening walk and it was very cold, but so pretty!
Today history was made and we got to be apart of it. We started the day at the Blair Atholl castle, where Tina had a friend who is the head archivist! It was incredible to tour the castle and see the stunning grounds. This castle is the only White Castle in Scotland. After we explored the castle we headed towards Edinburgh where Tina and Holli would be dropping us off for our final 2 days in Europe! On the drive over to Edinburgh Holli announced that she had just seen a report from the Scotland news stating that The Queen was very ill and under medical supervision. Holli said this had never happened before and that we were only two hours away from the castle in Scotland where she was “dying.” The radio in the car starting playing solely Queen related news and we waited to hear the updates- we were invested! After Tina and Holli dropped us off at the train station and we made our way into Edinburgh we received news that The Queen had in fact passed away. When we checked into our room all of the television stations were playing videos of her life and it was sad and incredible all at the same time. We felt a sense of loss for the UK nation but also we couldn’t help but feel like we really were apart of history as we sat and watched images/videos of The Queen flash along the screen in our hotel in Edinburgh. I have to shout out Tina for facilitating such a great start to our Scotland trip. We are forever grateful for her and I am so glad she is me friend.
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Our first day in Edinburgh was really our only day in Edinburgh as we both leave early tomorrow back to the US. We started the day by heading towards a yummy healthy breakfast place. On our walk over I realized that I had worn the wrong pair of shoes and I started getting more blisters. This was a bummer because our hotel was so far from the restaurant, so I toughed it out (for a little bit.) Then we walked around the stunning Victoria Street which is an iconic spot in Edinburgh. Everywhere we walked though images and videos were flashing on the live screens of The Queen and you could tell the country was in mourning. It felt surreal but also sad in a way. As we continued exploring we realized that they were beginning to barricade the streets because The Queen’s body would be driving through tomorrow and reside in a Cathedral in Edinburgh for one day and then should would be sent to London to rest. This complicated things for us slightly but was very interesting to observe. We had an incredible lunch at The Ivy in Edinburgh in the later afternoon and then I switched my shoes before we continued exploring Edinburgh. It rained off and on and was truly a magical finish to our time in Europe.
Nicole just left to the Edinburgh Airport to head back to the states. I leave in about an hour and will check us out of the hotel then take a taxi to the airport. Two weeks in Europe went by so fast. I am beyond grateful or every moment I’ve had abroad and I am going to miss it. Let it be known that this is the first place I will openly be writing that I will live in London one day. Every step I take in my career from here on out will help me get closer and closer to my goal of working in London one day! I’m ready to get back into routine in America but am not so excited about the long flight back home. My connection is actually in London then straight to Phoenix from there. I will never forget the memories Nicole and I have made in Europe over these past two incredible weeks.