BBC Big Weekend

Saturday marked the start of the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend event in Bangor! Sarah and Ashley won tickets for Sunday and were bringing Molly and I to the concert with them. We left early to catch the 10am to the site and waited in line until noon when the gates finally opened. It was crazy inside, with people rushing to the stages to wait for the performances to begin. We walked to the Main Stage Tent and got pretty close to the stage to watch Paolo Nutini, the first performer. People began to fill the floor, pushing closer and closer to one another until it was almost hard to move. It wasn't long before we were all sweating from all the body heat. After Paolo they had to evacuate the floor due to technical difficulties. As people lined the tent waiting to go back in, with security guards guarding the entrance, we waited for them to let us back in. As soon as they let us go, everyone was running to the stage to get close. Before we knew it we were all running as fast as we could without tripping on one another or loosing our shoes. At one point i lost my shoe and we were getting pushed into people. It was scary but we finally got a good spot toward the front and caught our breathe. The next performance was Pixie Lott, with more people crowding closer and closer. She was good and right after was Jason Derulo. It was getting really hot in the stage area and many people were passing out, which was scary. We all made sure to stay hydrated to avoid that situation. We saw Nikki, Charlie, and Liz in the crowd standing a bit behind us! How ironic that we found them in a crowd of over 20,000 people. Right after Jason Derulo, Paramore performed. She was really good! And Sarah even got the guitar pic of the guitarist after he threw it into the crowd and it landed on her shirt. We got to watch Ke$ha, Biffy Clyro, and Rhianna perform on the main stage before leaving to go to the smaller stage to watch Vampire Weekend. We left at a good time since mosh pits were beginning to occur and people were getting a little crazy. Vampire Weekend was my favorite performance of the day and people were dancing around. At one point during the concert a person tried to body surf over us, but Molly and I were the only ones in the section and they fell on us. I couldn't help but laugh at how scary yet funny it was, but we made sure to stay out of the way. By the end of Vampire Weekend's performance it was 9:30pm and we had been standing for 11 hours, and after climbing Snowdon yesterday, and were hungry and tired. We got some tasty Chinese food to refuel us after a long day and headed back to the bus stop to go home and sleep. Ashley and I noticed that our ankles had swollen up from standing for so long and looked like cankles, I just laughed at how ridiculous it looked. Sunday was great fun!

Monday May 24, 2010-

Tonight we went out for a flat dinner before we all left to go our separate ways for the summer. It was sad to think that would be the last time we would all get to eat together, but I had fun spending time as a flat. I'm going to miss them all very much and I don't know if I'm ready to say goodbye yet=/

Tapping the peak of Snowdon

This morning Molly, Sarah, Ashely and I got up early to climb Snowdon mountain before leaving Bangor. We got up pretty early to catch the bus to Llaberis, where the bottom of the peak of Snowdon is. We rode with Megan and Justine as well, who would be taking the train to the peak. We began our adventure around 9:45am with the sun beating down on our backs. We could not have asked for a better day to climb. We started walking up a very steep long path that took us to the beginning of the mountain. But it was definitely an intimidating climb since we were all thinking "is it going to be like this the whole way up the mountain?" There were many people climbing today too, probably trying to take advantage of the nice weather too. We began our walk up the mountain, getting passed by a couple runners, and walked past many sheep along the way. We were about half way in an hour, but still had the steep section to climb. We took breaks throughout the day, enjoying the view from all the angles and talking with locals, encouraging one another. We finally made it to the top, where a large group of people were gathered after about 2 hours, but realized we still had about a 15 minute walk up to the very summit. It was a steep climb and the bugs were awful, getting worse the higher we climbed. We finally climbed the last few steps to the very tip where a gold compass was mounted on a rock and about 15 other people were trying to gather around to touch the compass. Molly and I tapped the compass and got out of the crowd and swarm of bugs. It was so beautiful from the top and you could see for miles. The fog began to get thicker as the day went on but it was still very clear out. We enjoyed our lunch on a nearby grassy area and began our walk down the mountain. The walk down wasn't nearly as bad and we got down in about 1.5 hours. We were all pretty beat and very sweaty from the hot sun shinning on us all day and the continuous climb up the mountain. Before hopping on a train to go back to Bangor we stopped to grab an ice cream bar to cool us down. It was just what we needed. Once we got back to Bangor we got Pizza House pizza and watched a movie after a hard day of exercise. It was a great day to climb a mountain and I had the best crew with me to climb=)

London and Flight of the Conchords

May 18, 2010-
I woke up to a beautiful clear, sunny day as Molly and I walked down to the train station to catch our ride at 7:22 AM. After a 3.5 hour train ride we arrived at the London Euston station. We found a place to buy a tube train pass and headed to find our hostel. When we thought we had found our stop, we got off and headed toward the exit. When we put our tickets through the machine though, if wouldn't let us through. Turns out we had only bought a pass for zones 1 and 2, when our hostel was in zone 3. Thinking we were stuck, the man in charge told us we could simply update our card for a little extra cash. We were glad we got that taken care of. As we began walking around the town the train had dropped us off in, Molly and I realized we had gotten off at the wrong stop. It was a rough start to the day but we eventually found our stop and made it to our hostel. We were staying at the London Backpacker's Hostel in a 12 person female room. We didn't know what to expect but as soon as we got to our room we met a nice Canadian girl who was traveling by herself around London. We became pretty friendly with her, getting to know her and sharing our travel stories. After Molly and I changed into our concert clothes we hopped on the tube again to head to King's cross to see Platform 9 3/4, like in Harry Potter. We walked around for quite awhile at the station trying to find this landmark and finally game in to ask someone, sounding like a typical tourist. We finally found the area where a half trolley cart was sticking out of the wall with a label above that said Platform 9 3/4. Of course, it was nowhere near platform 9 or 10. Our next stop was to London Bridge. As we were walking to see the famous bridge we got mixed into a group of business people who had appeared to have gathered for a fire drill. We continued to follow them until we realized they were walking into a parking garage back to their work, so we quickly escaped that pack of people, embarrassed that we thought they were tourists that knew where they were going. We walked along the Thames River enjoying the nice weather. We rode to Tower Hill next to check out the Tower of London where all the Jewels are kept and saw the famous Tower Bridge. Our next stop was to St. James Wood where the famous Abbey Road is located. We walked about 5 minutes from the station and came across the same exact street crossing The Beatles crossed for their album picture. There were a number of people crowding around waiting to take their picture crossing the road. The Abbey studio was located just beyond the crossing. Molly and I quickly took pictures of us crossing, avoiding getting hit by the cars passing by. I can only imagine how tired they are of having to wait for tourists to take their pictures everyday there. We hurried to the tube to catch the train to Wembly Central to see the Flight of the Conchords concert at Wembly Stadium. We grabbed dinner and found our way to the entrance. The concert was amazing and both Molly and I were laughing the whole time. Even Dave from Flight of the Conchords, Arj Barker, told jokes at the beginning of the show. I love his humor! It wasn't long before the concert was over, but I had a great time and could hardly believe I got to fulfil one of my dreams of seeing Bret and Jemaine live from the second row in London! I even got a picture with Arj Barker after the show. We found our way home after a long day, struggling to stay awake and climbed into our beds with the other girls asleep already. At some point during the night one of the girls yelled at the other girl to stop moving and making noise. Molly and I both got pretty scared since it had woken us up and were afraid there was going to be a big girl fight. They argued a bit but nothing more, guess that's what happens when you put 12 girls into a room together.

May 19, 2010-
The next morning Molly and I got up early to shower and get ready for the day. The hostel provided breakfast where we got to talk to our Canadian friend again. Our first stop for the day was to St. James Park to watch the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace. We got there extra early to get a good view. We were right outside the gates with a great view of the ceremony of the changing of the guards. At one point two of the guards came marching straight toward us! It was pretty neat seeing them up close and person. I couldn't imagine having to do that everyday though. We walked along the outside of St. James Park. It was so beautiful with all its trees and the sun was shinning. There were so many runners too! I was really surprised, but if I had a beautiful place like that to run in, I would too. We walked past Big Ben, the Parliament, saw the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The clock just struck 1pm when we walked past the abbey so we were able to listen to the bells. We were really hungry so we stopped at a Pasty shop to try the famous Cornish Pasty made in Cornwall and shipped to London. I had a steak pasty and it was delicious! We stopped at a near by McDonald's to get a McFlurry, of course, to end our meal right. We hopped on the train again to Knightsbridge to do some shopping and stop at Harrods. I couldn't believe how big Harrods was! There were over 5 floors in Harrods full of clothes, accessories, and toys. It was so easy to get lost. We spent most of our time in the toys, having fun looking at all the neat stuff. After too much fun and a good hour spent in Harrods we did a bit more shopping around the city. It was all so expensive though, ranging from Burberry to Dolce and Gabbana! At one of the stores there were even paparazzi standing right outside the store. We thought that was pretty neat and wondered who it could have been. We hopped on the tube to the Euston train station and began our trip back to Bangor. It had been another long day, but I had a blast getting lost and finding my way with Molly =)

The Beatles and Liverpool

Yesterday morning we gathered outside to head to Liverpool in England, home to the Beatles. In order to get there, we drove through one of the long underwater tunnels that connect Wales to England, called the Queens Way and the Kings Way. Once we got there, we headed straight for The Beatles Story Exhibition. On our way there we passed a large Ferris wheel that reminded me a lot of the London Eye. It was really cool because it looked out at all the small docking areas surrounding the outside edges of the coast. We were lead through the history of the Beatles, from the lifestyles of each band member, to the story of how they met, to finally the break up of the band in 1970 by an audio tour with the Beatles songs playing throughout the different sections of the tour. I learned so much about the Beatles and really enjoyed getting to know John, Paul, Ringo and George individually through their stories in the tour. I never realized how much they accomplished throughout their short time being a band. Even after their break up as a band, each one was able to find their own fame and success through their different talents. I could definitely see myself as one of the crazy Beatle fans if I were a band during their generation! I gained a new respect and appreciation for them after the tour and was glad we were given the opportunity to go there. After our adventure Beatles adventure we decided we wanted to learn more about the Beatles so we walked to the other exhibit, getting lost in the town center where street performances were going on at every corner and you could only see clutters of people in the distance. We explored there for a bit and tried finding the Albert Docks, where the rest of the Beatles tour was. A nice Liverpool woman helped direct us in the right direction and we were off. By now the sun was out and was beautiful out! In the other exhibit we experienced a 4D short film about the Beatles, taking us through the different places in England associated with the Beatles songs. We then went through the John Lennon exhibit narrated by his first wife, Cynthia. It was all really interesting and I enjoyed learning about John's life. The rest of the day we spent shopping around the city center with its 3 floors of shops and watching performers on the street. I couldn't believe how many people were out on and shopping though. It was almost overwhelming at times, especially when you could barely move in a store to get to the exit. The day went by really fast and before we knew it, it was already 10 minutes to 5! Molly, Megan, and I raced back to the bus, getting lost along the way like normal, but finally made it. We headed back to Bangor after a busy, interesting day. I really enjoyed my time at Liverpool, especially because we were able to spend so much time learning about the Beatles. I feel like that is really part of the experience with coming to Liverpool. It was fun to be in a city with so many people since we are all not really use to it, coming from small towns in Iowa and elsewhere and from our safe town of Bangor. It is definitely a trip a person should make if they come to the united Kingdom.

Penrhyn Castle

This morning we left for our last castle field trip of the semester around noon to Penrhyn Castle in Llandygai. I was especially excited to see this castle because I have ran past it so many times and have always wondered what the castle was like inside. The Penrhyn Castle was home to the Pennant family and their many servants over 150 years ago and is still in very good condition today, with all of the rooms still furnished and decorated. The castle was very large and had a stone wall surrounding the whole land they owned, covering 2.5 square miles! The Pennant family gained their fortune through slavery at their Jamaican sugar plantations, but added to their fortune through the success of the slate mines they owned, referred to as the Penrhyn quarries. We entered the castle and began our extravagant tour through all the bedrooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. One of the first rooms we entered had a billboard made completely of slate. Slate was popular throughout the castle and the men especially liked this unique object. The Tea Room was one section of the castle where the women could enjoy a nice cup of tea and chat. The room had drapery wallpaper and a beautiful marble table, with many nice comfortable couches. And to think this was just the tea room! The next room we entered was called the Ebony Room because all the furniture in the room was made from dark wood, giving the room an almost mysterious feeling. On one of the walls there was a picture of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. It almost seemed out of place in such a dark room. We then walked up the large detailed spiral staircase to the bedrooms. Just opposite the stairs and above was an overhanging lamp held up by a statue hand, meant to represent a light guiding the way. The first bedroom we entered was called the State Bedroom where important people slept if they were to visit. This room had a huge canopy bed with 15ft ceilings and a separate changing room and bathroom. The bathrooms in the castle were the first to have indoor plumbing, which was quite unique during the 1850s. Another bedroom we saw was the Slate Bedroom with a bed carved completely from slate and an amazing view of the slate mines the Pennant family owned right outside the window. Queen Victoria is said to have slept in this bed when she came to visit the castle. As we were walking around the castle I noticed the thick doors and walls that separated the rooms from one another. Each door was about 3 inches thick! There were many pictures throughout the castle of the castle itself in the distance with the Welsh mountains and ocean in the picture as well as various pictures of the Pennant's sugar plantations in Jamaica. Another bedroom that was really unique was the Indian Bedroom that contained stuff from Eastern Europe and the wallpaper hand painted in India. Above the bed was a painted cockle said to wake up the Lord in the morning sleeping in the room. There was even a small chapel in the castle, where the servants were to attend everyday. The Dining Room was really extravagant with the table all set up, ready to be eaten at. The different utensils used were really interesting. There were pictures throughout the room of the Pennant family and a secret area where a screen could be moved for the men to pee if they needed to during dinner. Outside the Breakfast room/Small Dining Room there was a large picture of the workers at the Penrhyn quarry, which covered 3,500 acres. We passed through the Servant's Hall that had over 50 bells hung from above with a label of the room that each bell represented. These bells could be rung throughout the castle in the various rooms to call for a servant and a boy would be watching to see what bell rang and go to the housekeepers and tell them. The last area we visited was the Kitchen, which was made up of many different rooms. It looked as if there was a separate room for desserts, meat, and dishes. The kitchen had various tools used for cooking such as a copper fireplace, which was later replaced by a coal-bunker, pastry ovens, gas stove, 3 gas grills, and an interesting turning spit that was controlled by the strength of the fire below. The castle was very extravagant inside and I couldn't imagine a single family living in such a large building. The family left the house to the government because government taxes reached up to 95%, making it too expensive for a family to afford to pass it down to their family.

After exploring inside we walked around the castle boundaries to a beautiful walled garden with various flowers, trees, and a bog garden or swamp garden just outside the walled garden. It is set at a low level with wet plants growing within that area such as tree ferns, Japanese Maple and copper hazel. We walked around the forested area, finding a pasture full of cows and a great view of the mountains. I enjoyed walking around the castle grounds and trying to imagine being a kid and exploring the area. It was such a beautiful day too, making it that much more enjoyable. I really enjoyed this castle not only because it was furnished inside, but because it covered so much ground and felt like a secluded town within a busy town outside the walls.

Conwy Castle/Colwyn Bay

Today we got up early to go on a field trip to Conwy to visit the Conwy Castle, the favorite castle of King Edward's, and Colwyn Bay to the Welsh Mountain Zoo. The bus dropped us off at the harbor of Conwy, where many yachts and boat were stored. The harbor was really pretty with the sun shinning off of it and the castle in the background. Conwy was actually one of the most important pearl fisheries in the country at one time. Musseling is still carried out the traditional way in Conwy, making the harbor such an important aspect of the town. Along the harbor we also got to witness the smallest house in the UK! It really was pretty tiny...probably only about 1.5x my size with 2 floors. Talk about cramped living=/ Next we walked along the medieval town wall connecting to the Conwy Castle. It's amazing to think that the walls were still standing and once defended the largest of Edward's Welsh Frontier towns and protected the castle itself from attackers. The views from the stone walls were magnificent! From one angle the Wales country side could be enjoyed and from another angle the beautiful harbor could be admired. We made our way to the Conwy Castle and walked around the different rooms/chambers throughout the castle. Conwy castle was especially interesting because of its Prison Tower that held captives for ransom, which none of the other castles we had visited had. From the top of the towers you could see the draw string bridge and train tube bridge over the Conwy River, connecting Western Wales with Eastern Wales. During the thirteenth century this bridge would have not existed in order to protect the castle. For lunch we stopped at a small fish and chips shop to try what Sally refers to as "the best fish and chips"...boy have I heard that a lot=/ But it was actually very good! I don't think I've had any bad fish and chips experience since I've been here though.

After lunch we headed to Colwyn Bay to visit the Welsh Mountain Zoo. We wandered around looking at the different animals, especially enjoying the baby Welsh Mountain Goats galloping around by their mom. We also got to see Przewalskis Wild Horses, who look very different from most horses, with their short manes and long, dark line running along their back. We watched the penguins and seals for awhile since they were both having fun splashing and swimming in the water. We even saw some Guinea pigs! They looked a lot like the kind of Guinea pigs you buy for pets. It was kinda funny to see them at a zoo, along with the Red Squirrels breeding programme. There were a variety of monkeys, including the Cotton Top Tamarin, which looked like miniature gremlins almost, and the Red-Faced Black Spider Monkeys, which had a snake like tail that could hook on to objects and swing from them. We also got to see a large Mississippi Alligator that was almost twice my size and touch a corn snake from North America. Before leaving we pasted a camel exhibit that was pretty unique for Wales. The zoo was a lot of fun and we got to see a bunch of different animals that zoos in America wouldn't have. It was especially interesting to see what kind of animals a zoo in Wales would have since the conditions are different and what kind of animals people are familiar with.

Tonight Megan, Will and I went to Annie's choir concert. It was really neat! The choir, orchestra, and soloist sounded amazing, even if it was all in Latin. I couldn't believe how much talent these students and older residents had. It really is true that Welsh people have beautiful voices=)

Last Outdoor Pursutis Sea Level Traversing

Yesterday was our last day of outdoor pursuits. It was weird thinking that we had had 10 other outdoor pursuits and this was our last one in Wales. We were all excited to see Sally as soon as we got into the van and she immediately gave us our options for the day. Originally we were suppose to go sailing, but this morning provided little wind and was very cloudy with sprinkles. She gave us the option to go climbing in the mountains or go sea level traversing again. In the end we choose sea level traversing because we had plans to BBQ and Sally had plans to take us to a cave called "Soup Dragon". We were all happy with that choice, a little disappointed that we couldn't try sailing, but knew we would have a good time like always. Iwan came along with us for the day to help set up the activities. We got to the Conway Centre and gathered out supplies without the help of Sally since we knew what we needed for sea level traversing from the past and changed for the day. We drove to Penrhyn Mawr in Holyhead, the same place we sea level traversed last time, but we started from the other side of the edge. We left our BBQ supplies and dry bags on the beach nearby and walked to the side of the cliff to begin our adventure. Our first challenge right away was abseiling. We had all abseiled before when we had rock climbed outside, but with the guidance of Garreth, and this time Iwan wanted us to be in complete control. We all took turns abseiling down the steep Atlantic slabs, which were flat vertical rock slabs surrounding us in the particular area that we were in. After watching a couple of the other girls make it down safely, it was my turn. I checked my squeeze test and began abseiling down the rock. It was nerve racking at first being in complete control and I began very slow, but progressively got more comfortable and reached the bottom. Sally instructed me to go all the way to the bottom of the rock till my butt touched the water, so I did what she said. But when she told me to let go of the rope, I didn't let go because I knew I would fall in the water. Turns out that was her plan all along, and the only person she got to fall for her trick was Megan, haha. As we all gathered at the bottom of the cliff and waited for our other teammates to reach the bottom Sally instructed me to lead the pack to the opposite side of rock she was sitting on. I was able to guide the group along the edge sea level traversing, finding safe paths and passing along helpful advice to those behind me. When we were all gathered again, Molly lead the pack around the edge of the cliffs, staying close to the sea level, helping all of us get around some pretty difficult parts. There was one area where it wasn't safe enough to climb near the sea level, so we had to climb higher up on the rock edges. We had to be very careful and were reminded how to fall safely if it came down to that. When we finally reached the Soup Dragon cave opening we had a difficult gap between the two rock edges. Sally demonstrated how to get across safely and Molly followed, with me right behind her. It was really important to instruct the person behind each of us so that we could each get across safely. As soon as we got across we jumped into the water to enter the Soup Dragon cave. We were all swimming around deeper and deeper into the cave, having fun splashing around and reached the back of the cave. We could feel the tide getting higher as it pushed and pulled us back and forth. We had a blast pretending we were on a roller coaster ride and people could probably hear us yelling from miles away. Some of the girls were really nervous about being in a dark cave as the tide gradually rose. Surprisingly I was comfortable because I knew Sally would never put us in a dangerous situation. After so many activities with her I have grown more confident and have gotten over many of the fears I didn't think were possible. We made our way out of the cave and continued to sea level traverse until we were close to the beach for lunch. It was much more difficult this time around, with certain area where we really needed to focus on our footing and hand placement. I felt much more confident in my ability to sea level traverse after doing the activity already, as did many of the other team members, which made the day go by a lot smoother. Our last challenge was a large gap between the two cliffs where we had to reach our leg all the way across to the other edge. It was really difficult, trying to hang on and move without falling into the water. I successfully made it, being the only girl to have made it, and Molly and Annie followed right behind me making it across. As soon as we were across we jumped into the water and swam to the beach to begin our BBQ. I had a really great time sea level traversing, and the sun had even come out for part of the day. We enjoyed our last lunch together as a group and packed up to go back to the van. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to the Conway Centre after we had spent so much time there but went away with a new outlook on life. I have had the best experiences in Wales because of Outdoor Pursuits and I can't wait to take everything I've learned back to America and share it with others.

Last night we met up with Sally and Laura and the other Americans at Varsity to have a few drinks and spend one last night with our Outdoor Pursuits instructors. It was a blast! We had drinks, talked, laughed, took pictures, and just enjoyed each others company. After spending almost 3 hours at Varsity we all decided to go to Academy to dance for a little, even Sally and Laura came with! We danced all night with Sally and Laura and had fun being silly with them, just like in Outdoor Pursuits. We didn't leave until 2am when Sally and Laura both left for the night. We gave them hugs and said our goodbyes. It was really hard saying goodbye after spending so much time with them and it made me think how hard its going to be when I leave in June. Sally was such a great inspiration for me and taught me so much, pushing me mentally and physically past what I would expect of myself. She taught me to be confident in myself as well as never giving up in any situation. I hope that I made as big of an impact on her as she did for me=)

Karaoke

Yesterday all us girls and the guys went to Bar Uno to sing karaoke for the last time in Wales. We sang "Wanna Be" by the Spice Girls while the audience helped sing to it, which helped a lot with my nerves at least. It was a lot of fun! We signed the guys up for "Man I feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain...they were pretty good! And they also sang "Stacy's Mom"...making a few changes to the song itself. There was one character last night that was no doubt gay from his squeaky voice and singing "I am Woman" and the girl version for "Summer Nights". He was fun to listen to and watch sing. We had fun making fun of ourselves and listening to the other more drunk singers perform their karaoke songs. It was a great night out with all our friends=)