though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. [emerson]
TheCapitol.PN 
I’m officially a member of #District6PN. Become a citizen today. The 74th Hunger Games is coming March 23. http://TheCapitol.PN
. Caitlin Wall ii .
via shashankji
via shashankji
all you need is love.
Took this on the banks of the Tiber in Rome.
Rough translation:
“I love you from here to the end of the world, from here to infinity.”
Turns out love looks the same on every continent.
no place like home.
Remember that one time I promised regular posts from all sorts of exotic locations?
Yeah. I do, too.
Remember how I didn’t update AT ALL while I was gone because I’m A FAILURE OF A BLOGGER?
Yeah, I remember that, too. Whoops.
Ok, now that we got THAT straight..
Hello from the great/flat/corn-filled/friendly small town of Lebanon, Ohio. As of April 9th, I’m officially, once again, a resident of the USA. It really is good to be back. I heard all sorts of horror stories about how I wouldn’t fit in and how I wouldn’t be able to get adjusted to American culture and how I’d be depressed for weeks. Well, apparently I’m just an adaptable person or I have the best friends ever (or both?) because the transition hasn’t been nearly as hard as I expected. I braced myself for some serious culture shock.
Yeah, things are different. You pay at the end of a meal instead of the beginning. Coffee and tea with milk isn’t as popular. Ain’t no family-friendly pubs here. I have to drive on the OTHER side of the road. I had to deal with the fact that I moved five hours back in time when I came back (jet lag SUCKS!). People smile at me on the sidewalks (aaah, now that I can handle). The pace is a bit faster, the food is quite a bit cheaper and the weather is SIGNIFICANTLY sunnier.
Needless to say, I do miss Europe. However, while it is different being back, it’s a good different. If we traveled all the time we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the adventure of traveling! Humans can get used to anything. Traveling gets old if you are constantly on the go. In the same way, if we only stay at home and never venture out anywhere beyond what we consider safe, we lose the joy of being at home, of being in a place that’s familiar. You need to leave every now and then to be reminded of the value of that. It’s all about balance. I think if there’s one thing I’m working on, it’s to gracefully accept the change of every season; to appreciate every moment and to cherish every memory, but to also learn how to let go and move forward to make room for new memories. What’s life if lived only in the past?
My time in Cambridge was incredible, but that season has ended and it’s time to embrace this new one. The adventures don’t stop just because I’ve left Europe. There are bigger and better ones up ahead.
The current “adventure” right now is finishing up my (groan) 20-pg. research paper and a Jude the Obscure (ugh) paper so I can hurry up and get my SUMMER started. Brother graduates high school in May, I’m a part-time nanny starting in June and July marks my infamous 21st birthday. Aka - should be a fairly epic summer. ;)
Now that my internet’s reliable, I might update a leeetle more often. Might. Key word.
Look both ways before you cross the street, dear friends.
Cait.
let the adventure begin!
Well, friends, the weeks of planning and stressing and countless Facebook threads filled with links of hostels and train schedules and bus tickets have finally paid off. Tomorrow morning at 6:20 am (which would be in approximately 2 hours) Ashley, Caleb and I leave the Hamilton in beloved Cambridge for the last time (I refuse to dwell on that too much) on a bus headed to Heathrow Airport in London, where from there, I’ll board a plane at 12:25 destined for…
ATHENS, GREECE (I’m SO excited!)
Our trip’s changed slightly from what we decided upon our initial arrival here in Cambridge. We had to get rid of Prague because of price and Brussels because of time, so the final, FINAL itinerary looks like this:
March 25th - March 30th: Athens, Greece (with a few day trips in there)
March 30th – April 4th: Rome, Florence, and Venice, Italy
April 4th – April 8th: Barcelona, Spain (with maybe a day trip in there)
Nice, eh?
I know a lot of people who have planned their trips as somewhat of a whirlwind type deal trying to see everything they possibly can - and that’s fantastic!
That’s just not me.
I picked the three countries I wanted to see most and stuck to those. The majority of my travel I’m viewing as a chill vacation. Though we’ve had some down time here in Cambridge, looking at the big picture, we haven’t had much time to rest. I would not have done a thing differently, but this independent travel is my chance to people-watch and explore and rest at my own pace (for the most part).
I amso sad to be leaving the Hamilton and all of the fantastic memories I’ve made in Cambridge, but I just keep trying to remember that, though I’m saying goodbye to one adventure, I’m saying hello to another. Come 6:20, once my hiking pack is ready and sitting by the door and I’m dressed and showered and goodbyes have been said, two weeks of adventures await me, and I’ll be as ready as I’ll ever be.
Τα λέμε σύντομα, friend! Next post from Athens, Greece. ( HOLY CRAP. )
a list of lasts.
Last breakfast at the Hamilton.
Last walk to St. Paul’s.
Last C.S. Lewis seminar.
Last day with Andy.
Last dinner in Cambridge.
Last bike ride to the market place.
Last browse through the market.
Last group back-scratching sessions.
Last hang outs in the annex.
Last lunch at the Tivoli.
Last stroll over the bridge.
Last “tea or coffee?” first thing when I wake up.
Last trip to the Co-Op.
Last Nescafé cup of coffee (ok, that I’m not so sad about!).
I know, I know – I’m not coming home to the States just yet. I am, however, leaving a home. I’m leaving wonderful people and I’m leaving a sweet little city I will miss with all my heart. That in itself is a really, really exhausting goodbye to think about. It’s looming over today and tomorrow and remember? I SUCK at looming goodbyes.
Lasts, lasts, lasts. These next few days are filled to the brim with lasts and oh, how I do so hate this part most of all. :(
Oh, Cambridge. I will miss you..
the sounds of silence.
One thing I’ve learned about myself on this trip is that I genuinely like being alone. I’ve learned that I don’t truly feel like I’ve soaked up a place until I’ve experienced a few moments by myself, with just my own thoughts to keep me company.
Before you blink a few times and ask if I’m feeling okay, yes, I’m fine, and don’t you worry, I’m still a tried-and-true extrovert. I’ve always been fine being on my own, but it wasn’t until this trip that I realized I need to be alone sometimes, and not simply because I feel smothered or am dealing with an issue or am upset and need to blow off steam.
No, I need to be alone because I’m an excessive thinker. Because I have thoughts crowding my head at all times - about me, about life, about others, and sometimes my perspective becomes a bit colored, especially on a trip like this where I’m constantly surrounded by people. You see, I need to be alone every now and then in order to remember who I am.
People have the power to distract me, to change my mind, to take my focus off what I think is important, to tint the things I think are beautiful, to complicate my simple and to simplify my complicated. The noise of others’ thoughts and ideas and opinions, though they’re all important to some extent, crowd out my own. It’s not an entirely bad thing, per se, and most times I don’t even realize its happened until I find myself alone, just me and the scenery. But then, once I get there, a sort of joy bubbles up in my heart, reminding me what I’ve been missing.
To be entirely at rest with one’s thoughts is a gift that I sincerely wish upon everyone. It brings me back to me - what I think and what I feel, and I’m free to be still, free to set my own pace, free to reflect on what I want to reflect on for as long as I darn well please.
If I want to giggle at a playful grandfather and his grandson having a bicycle race in the grass, I can. If I want to admire the steadiness of a duck’s graceful landing on a pond surface, I can. If I want to just sit and let my thoughts wander without worrying about a good conversation topic to keep the person next to me occupied, I can.
It’s a beautiful thing, this easygoing silence. It’s an art form, I truly believe it is, and it’s quickly becoming obsolete and to many people, irrelevant. But shutting yourself off for just a little while, hearing just your own voice in your head for a moment rather than the well-meaning voices of everyone else, is therapeutic. I’ve learned it’s necessary for my own sanity (but maybe that’s just me!) and peace of mind.
Somehow, sitting on a bench in the middle of a lovely Cambridge park for an hour being fully disconnected, and yet so tuned in at the same time, reminded me of how unnecessary so much is. It reminded me that life sometimes really is as simple as it seems, that maybe we’ve made happiness too complicated. That time by myself on a plain, wooden bench showed me that, by soaking it up all alone, just me, my thoughts and my own two eyes, I’ve somehow finally made this place my own. And what a wonderful feeling that is.
In my solitude, many miles from men and houses, I am in a childishly happy and carefree state of mind, which you are incapable of understanding unless someone explains it to you.
- Knut Hansen
sneak peeek!
This morning consisted of an early breakfast, class in the annex (during which I began to form my classic, daunting to-do list – ugh) and a whole lot of picture editing. (I’m so behind!!)
Here’s a sneak peek from three albums that’ll be hitting Facebook sometime before Friday:
Hadrian’s Wall.
Dingle, Ireland [photo cred: Nicole Jagger].
Rydal Mount, Lakes District.
And this is just because I’m in love with yesterday’s purchase from the market:
Favorite British Phrase Award, no contest.
Keep an eye on Facebook for more!
the beginning of the end.
I know, I know. It’s been weeks. I know I’ve done an awful job at keeping you posted on my life-changing journey in Europe. But, I feel like I’d rather be out DOING memorable things than home WRITING about them, you know? There’s only so much time I’ve got left here. I’ve got my whole life to write. And if I’m at home all the time being perfectly faithful to my blog, never missing an entry, do you think I’d have anything super exciting to write about?
No.
So, really, I’m doing this for you, dear readers.
To make a long story short, since we’ve talked last (a month ago.. oops) I’ve:
- been to Scotland & Ireland
- been to several awesome cities in England: Oxford, Hexam, Newcastle, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Lakes District
- gotten bangs!
- been to C.S. Lewis & J.R.R Tolkien’s house
- officially become addicted to tea and coffee (with milk)
- tried more variations of fish ‘n chips than I can count
- spent time on the gorgeous Dingle peninsula
- climbed an 150 ft. cathedral tower
- stayed in more hostels and hotels than I can count
- sang “Amazing Grace” in Ely Cathedral (by myself! me – the one who will never sing in front of anyone when they ask!)
- been to the Hogwart’s Dining Hall at Christ Church!
- navigated foreign cities by myself
- seen Wicked in London
- tried blood pudding
- been to the prettiest beach in my life (Inch Beach in Ireland)
- explored a trillion old and new castles and cathedrals
- hiked an ancient Roman fortress
- climbed a mountain
- tried a fried Mars Bar (which completely replaced all calories burned from climbing said mountain)
- seen a Newcastle United football match (and it. was. awesome.)
- sat on the edge of a cliff and stared out at the Irish Sea from the Aran Islands
- taken a legitimate ghost tour
- been to street markets galore
- learned how to Irish dance (kind of)
- eaten in the café J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter
- gotten attacked by a shower head
- made new “forever friends” (that’s for you, Nikki)
- learned how to survive on a bike in Cambridge
- rock-climbed AND kayaked (first time ever!) in the Lakes District
- tried butterbeer (woot Harry Potter!)
- spent Friday lunches with dear souls at St. Paul’s (I have some new penpals!)
- celebrated Nicole’s “Hen Night” (aka Bachelorette Party) the English way
- been asked directions (which means I kind of look like I fit in! :))
Time really did fly so fast. Looking back, I feel like I did all of the above (and more) in just a few days rather than 9 weeks! It seems like just yesterday (literally yesterday) that I sat down to write my very first journal entry about my very first impressions of Cambridge. I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, giggling at all the awesome accents, sore from all the walking & biking and peeing every 5 seconds from the excessive amount of tea that was offered to me (and gladly received). I forgot every time I got to the road that cars come from the right, not the left, apologized entirely too much over my many social blunders and thought I’d never get used to the lack of sunshine or paying in change rather than bills.
Now, I walk the cobblestone streets like I own them. I say “cheers” in response to everything. I’ve gotten used to very little ice in my drinks, people walking on the wrong side of the sidewalk, and not tipping at the end of a meal. I now know you always order at the counter of a pub or restaurant, pushing the crosswalk button (while wearing [GASP] color) makes you look like a tourist and avoiding eye contact when walking down the street is the general norm. I know all of the colleges and greens by name, I say “toilets” instead of bathroom, using the word “porridge” no longer elicits a Goldilocks reference in my head, and I’ve successfully learned how to pay with British pounds and pence (and count it up rather quickly!). I drink tea and coffee like it’s my job, I expect potatoes to be served with EVERY meal and I don’t know what I’m going to do when I can’t ride my bike or walk to any and every local destination.
Cambridge has been my home, and a very good one at that.
But alas, all good things must come to an end, so this week I’m doing my very best to soak up every bit of Cambridge that I can (while balancing papers, packing and spending time with the 11 individuals that have stolen my heart).
I can only say I’ll TRY and write more, but no promises. It’s the beginning of the end, and I refuse to miss it.
