There’s no better time to travel to these places than when you’re in your 20s.
*anytime, just go.
Some of these places are already on my “places I really, really, really, really want to visit list.
Now that I’m an “adult” with a job and “house” and bills (not new) and things, I am trying (*keyword*) to budget myself and allow for an actual savings account. Lol. This actual savings account will hopefullllllly allow me to start traveling again, and exploring and adventuring…my three favorite “ings”. The hard part (other than budgeting, of course)…is choosing where. Do I want to return to a city I’ve already visited and knowingly love (LONDON <3). Orrrr shall I expand my horizons (literally) and search somewhere new. Probably the latter (just at first, I will return to you my rainy, lovely, love). Here are the top contenders for now…(in no particular order):
California, USA: preferably San Francisco, Malibu, & Big Sur, but I’m not too picky.
Scotland (kicking myself for not going whilst studying abroad)
Switzerland (^same)
NEW ZEALAND (it’s my absolute dream to visit the filming sites of Lord of the Rings xoxo)
Iceland: the pictures I’ve seen from this darling country are indescribably beautiful.
Norway (^same)
Ecuador (my boyfriend’s family is from this warm, equator-housing country, and the pictures I’ve seen and the stories I’ve heard are so so so enticing)
Sweden (another country I’m kicking myself for not visiting)
Portugal (and again…so much kicking…)
To be honest, I mostly just want to go everywhere….and i’m so very anxious to get started.
There is a lot to read about studying abroad, both positives and negatives. With any educational program or method, there’s bound to be loads of speculation and debate that come with it. Having been fortunate enough to study abroad during my own years as an undergraduate, I have been able to experience the pros and cons of the process. I have also seen many friends and classmates do the same in other countries, cities and programs.
There is a certain stigma that often surrounds studying abroad, generally from those who believe that the process is all just a “glorified vacation” or an opportunity for underage (by U.S. law) students to partake in a blurry haze of binge drinking and foreign hook-ups. Well, I can at least counter those two opinions due to the fact that I probably spent more money on my Oyster Card than I did on nights out at bars or clubs (as a matter of fact I did not go to any clubs during my time abroad), and I traveled to London with my boyfriend of several years (we somehow managed to spend most of our time together without driving each other insane).
Although it was incredible to visit Oktoberfest in Munich and visit the countryside of Germany, Michael and I split a pint of Hofbräuhaus so that we could each have a plate of authentic, German cuisine alongside some very friendly (absolutely obliterated), German & English-speaking South Africans in the HB beer tent. One enthusiastic gentlemen even shared a large pretzel with me (and by shared, I mean took a large bite out of my pretzel, after he decided the piece I gave him wouldn’t do). It was an adventure that I will never forget (especially being sober enough to take tons of pictures and write notes for my travel blog)!
Studying abroad with Michael guaranteed that we would each have support through the chaotic excursions we planned, and the culture shock of adjusting to another country. It is also immensely helpful that Michael is fluent in Spanish, speaks Italian very well, and is much better at navigation and map-reading than I am (I make up for my lacking sense of direction with cuteness and being able to roughly communicate in French, and understand thick accents relatively well). Although I highly advocate trying new experiences on your own, I also found that it was an incredible learning and growing experience that I could take advantage from with my best friend. I assure you, that even if you are the only person from your entire college/university traveling to a study abroad program, you will form new friendships and relationships that will last longer than your trip. Keep an open mind, be confident in yourself, and immerse yourself in your new environment.
During your study abroad program, you will also have the opportunity to learn about and observe cultures that may be radically different than your own. Despite language barriers, you will see the variety of ways in which people dress, speak, eat, interact with one another, drive…even sleep (if you stay in multi-bed hostels - the Flying Pig in Amsterdam is an excellent choice, fyi). Although you might feel a bit out of place, awkward and unprepared at times, just remember that you are a student (no matter your age, class year, major or occupation - you do not literally need to be enrolled in school to be a student), and your main purpose is to learn. One of the most important recommendations I can provide is to be polite, cautious, and curious. If you treat others with respect, they will generally always do the same for you (this comes in handy when you find yourself in a tricky situation).
Prepare for the unexpected. There’s no doubt that you have heard horror stories about missed flights, pick-pockets, or getting lost. Lucky enough for me, I only experienced 2 out of these 3 troubles. During a fall break trip throughout Italy, Michael and I were late to our Rome to Venice flight, and in order to keep our hostel reservations, Michael had to run to the gate and (barely) make the flight, whilst I waited for the next flight out, 13 hours later. I had to pay a penalty fee for a new ticket (I believe it was over 100 euros), and navigate the foreign airport by myself with our clunky (and admittedly unnecessary) suitcase that wasn’t admitted onto our closed-gate flight. Although I have a limited Italian vocabulary (pretty much “yes/no” and “thank you” were really all I had in my arsenal), I made it safe and sound to venice on my first flight completely alone. This might seem like a small victory to many experienced travelers, but being as my study abroad experience was my first international trip ever, I was quite proud of myself. That’s they key! Take pride in your small victories, and cherish the big lessons that they teach you. (note: we realized that although our trip was 10 days long, we probably should have roughed it by packing our belongings into backpacks, rather than lugging a suitcase the entire way…especially through the steep hills of Cinque Terre - a must-see destination).
By taking the time to plan your adventure and explore entirely new places, you sure as hell will learn a TON about the world around you. More than you ever thought possible. To this, I advise you to remember as much as you can. Pictures will certainly help, but don’t let the lens of a camera, or the screen of your iPhone take away from the first glimpse you get of the ancient pillars of Rome’s breathtaking colosseum. Keep a blog or a journal, or even a note page on your phone or iPod to write little blurbs about the things and people you see. By doing this, you will have stories to take with you as you return home, and as you plan for your next big adventure. You will learn about these new places and ideas and lifestyles, and you will also learn about your own.
While you’re away, you will begin to realize what is truly important to you in your own life, in your own home. While you’re away, you’ll realize that it’s not uncommon to get a frequent cold due to public transportation and frequent flights (I was perpetually sick during my time away), but it’s also not uncommon to fight through the runny nose and sore throat so you can spend a weekend in Paris, instead of in a comatose state in bed. While you’re away, you will get homesick from time to time: maybe because you’re always sick, or maybe because you miss your family (I missed my family’s dual celebration of Thanksgiving & my grandmother’s 80th birthday in warm, sunny Florida). BUT…when you come home, things will never be the same.
When you come home, the littlest things will remind you of your home abroad (tea, Harry Potter, buses, any sort of public transportation, Harry Potter, curry, cider, Harry Potter, Barclays, anything Union Jack printed, did I mention Harry Potter?). When you come home, you will see how many luxuries you have and how many superfluous actions take up your time. Do you really need that trendy new dress that you bought, but left at home because you didn’t want to ruin it on your trip abroad? Do you really need to text your best friend every minute of every day, even though you rarely used a phone at all whilst you were away? Is it super necessary to go out every weeknight, when all you could really afford in London was cheap wine at Tesco?
I hope that everyone has the opportunity to one day study (or just travel) somewhere far, somewhere new, and somewhere that puts you entirely out of your element. It doesn’t have to be across an ocean (although I hope it is, one day). Life is a journey, but it can also be an adventure. Make the most of it!
Getting to Cinque Terre was fairly simple, an took a couple train connections until we arrived in Riomagiorre, the more popular of the 5 towns that make up the area. Our hostel was actually a man's home, we called him Eugene, but it was like Eugenio or something Italian like that. It took a while to find the place because the directions he provided were very brief and very vague, but some locals pointed us in the right direction. When we climbed up many, many steep hills and stairs (poor Michael carrying our huge bag) we arrived at more stairs that were gated, and behind were about 10 or so residences that had call buttons. Eugene's name wasn't on the list though, so we tried all the buttons, but no answer. Finally someone from another house let us in and we finally found the right home, but then there was so answer at the door. After waiting on the stairs for about 20 minutes, another guest let us in and explained that Eugene had gone out. At this point Eugene was really pissing us off...but it gets better, when Michael called him and finally got ahold of him, he told us that he had to relocate us to another room, in another building, in another town! Apparently a woman staying in our room had gotten food poisoning, and couldn't leave....supposedly. So we took a train to Vernaza, the next town over to find our new hostel. The hostel we were supposed to stay in, although difficult to get to, had an amazing view of the water, and the colorful buildings overlooking the beach. Unfortunately, our new location was in a building directly next to the train station. Although the room itself was nice, it was pretty inconvenient and our view had changed drastically and negatively. Eugene was a huge SOB and and told us we still had to pay in full, but did give us he option of staying one night instead of two. We walked around the little town to find something to eat. The few restaurants that were open were a bit fancy and pricey, but we got to sit and eat at one that was reasonable and had a lot of seafood options, yum! After dinner we headed back to our room to get some sleep, after our long day of trekking all over the cities. Thursday, we decided to leave, only staying the one night, and head to Florence a day early. We were staying with our friends Brooke (who was hanging with her parents who came to visit) and Rachel (my roomie from Monmouth who was currently in Greece but who'd be coming home before we left). So from Vernazza, we explored a bit, by taking trains to the other cities and looking around a bit, and then we got our tickets to Florence.
The trip to Florence took a few hours on a few trains. We were at the main Pisa station at one point, but we were going to Florence directly that day and then we planned to do a day trip to Pisa another day. When we got to Florence, Brooke met us a the station so she could show us to her apartment where her parents were hanging out. They had come to visit her I've their fall break and they were finishing up he last leg of their trip in Florence, after seen many other cities in Italia. Florence isn't huge city but its very lively and holds a ton of history. Brooke and Rachel's apartment was very nice and homey. They have their own bedroom they share and a bathroom and their two other roommates, two EOF girls who were away traveling had their own bedroom and bathroom to share also. There was also a kitchen with room for a table to eat, and there was a living room with two couches (beds for us!) and a tv, which I don't think really gets used because there's pretty much only Italian channels and I know Rachel, at least, hardly watches tv anyway. Brooke's parents were super friendly and invited us to come to dinner with them that night, which was very sweet of them. They went out for a bit while Michael and I got ready for dinner.
So I successfully got to Venice on my own! Waiting in the Rome airport for like thirteen hours was incredibly boring, but close to noon I got so bored that I had to go find a bookshop and see if they had anything in English. Luckily for me, they had JK Rowling's new book 'A Casual Vacancy'. I had to spend €20, but I needed something to occupy myself with. Finally around 9:30pm I arrived in Venice airport, picked up my luggage at the claim, and found Michael waiting for me right outside in he lobby. Thank goodness! He got me a slice of pizza and we were on our way to the hostel. We took a bus a short ways to a town called Favaro just outside Venice, about a twenty minute bus ride away. We stayed at a bed and breakfast that was absolutely adorable (B&B Venice). We were on the top, third floor of the building, which was like a split level house (with three floors) that was sectioned into apartments. Ours had a nice bathroom, a kitchenette and a section of wall that separated the entranceway and the sleeping area with a big bed and a modern wardrobe closet. On the bed Michael had placed a beautiful bouquet of 6 red roses, they were gorgeous and so lovely. He's absolutely adorable. I was so overwhelmed and happy to be there with him, I'm surprised I could contain myself and not start crying (for once..haha).
By the time our stuff was all settled in the room, I took a much needed shower and was immediately ready for bed. The next day I slept in, LATE but it was wonderful after not getting a good nights sleep the two previous nights. We went to the grocery store down the street and got some pasta, tomatoes, sauce, eggs, butter, iced tea and mozzarella so that we could have a cheap dinner...actually we got two out of all the pasta we had, and even had to throw some away before we left. After dropping the groceries off in the room we finally took the bus into Venice and Michael showed me around the city. It was absolutely beautiful. At night, the canals glowed and the city was so serene and its winding streets and cool architecture were great. We had a late lunch at a little pizzeria and we ate outside because the weather was so nice. Michael had lasagna and I had olive pizza, it was yummy! The. We walked around a lot and saw the sights at night, including the Rialto Bridge. Once we returned to the B&B I started making dinner. We had caprese (sliced tomatoes and mozzarella) and spaghetti with classic tomato basil sauce. 'Twas yummy and we were stuffed by the end of dinner.
The next day we returned to the city to see everything by day, and we even got to go on a gondola ride!! We were asking around for prices and they were quite high, but when we were wandering around the gondolas near San Marco square, a Russian man came up to us and asked us if we "wanted gondola". He and his lady friend eent on a ride with us for €100, which is less than we would've payed anywhere else (going by ourselves). The gondola ride was so peaceful, and we got to see the city and the canals from a new point of view. We went through many shops and got some souvenirs, and I really wanted a coral ring, the kind with a carving of a woman on it...I'm not exactly sure if there's a specific name for them, but anyway, I looked in tons of windows and there were many, but the really pretty ones were either real gold or silver and very pricey, and the fake ones looked cheap and still were considerably costly. Finally, we found a shop that had a wide collection of them for reasonable prices, and I finally found mine! At first, I was a little bummed about he cost, because I feel like I should stick to buying gifts for friends and family, but I wear the ring all the time and I'm glad I got it. Michael was able to haggle he price down a bit and he paid for half of it, so it was a good split gift for me we had pizza for a snack after not eating much all day, and before we began to head back, we bought some more mozerella and tomatoes, some rosé wine and some bread. So that night we finished the pasta, had more caprese and I even made some garlic bread/bruschetta on the stove which was actually really good!
We had to be up relatively early the next morning to be on time for our train to Cinque Terre, so we packed up some snacks from the B&B and we made our way back to Venice to the train station.
Venice was so beautiful, and the B&B was so perfect and adorable and relaxing. It was definitely one of my favorite cities, and I would absolutely love love love to go back one day!
Regents gave us about a 10 day fall break, so Michael and I visited Italia! Our first stop: Rome. On Thursday immediately after class Michael and I went to our easybus to catch a flight to Rome! We cut it a little close, but we made it safe and sound. For this trip, since we'd be gone for ten days, we checked one bag for us to share, it actually wound up being like four kilos overweight, but we were able to stuff some things into our backpacks and then they let us slide. This was one of the luckier transportation events that took place on break so far...but I'll get to the not so lucky parts soon.
In Rome, we stayed with Rocco, one of Michael's friends from high school, and his two roommates, Riley and T, who go to John Cabot University with him in Rome. They were all very nice to us, and wonderful hosts! I told them that they should clue visit us in London when we were leaving, and I hope they do:)
The first night when we arrived was very late and we didn't know very much about the city, so we found our way to the apartment and found that Rocco was out for the night, and we were exhausted so we just got some McDonald's and then went to sleep (Michael won a free small milkshake which was awesomee). The next morning we found our way to Vatican City and went on a tour of the museums there, the Sistine chapel and we walked around St. Peter's basilica a lot. The tour was a bit expensive and probably overpriced, but we learned a lot and didn't have to wait in any lines to see everything which was great, and we also got some souvenirs for family. After seeing the Vatican, we met up with Rocco and his roommate Riley on a bus. We got some lunch (kabobs, which probably aren't what you're thinking. they are like fat sandwhiches, ish, made with like beef and lettuce and tomatoes and some sauces in a wrap. so yummy!!) with Rocco and got to see some of his school. It's really so cool how his school is so close to he historical spots in Rome, and the whole city is just SO OLD. You could literally just dig a hole in a park somewhere and probably discover ancient ruins! Like seriously, it's incredible.
Rocco took us on Friday to see a bunch of places around Rome including the Trevi fountain, a couple piazzas and we saw the colosseum from a distance. Like I said, it was incredible. It's so interesting to see how the city has grown around its past, and how they come to exist together. For example, here are many old archways and remnants of bridges that traffic has to pass through, and buses and taxis and everyone just pass by these old roman archways everyday! So cool. That night he three of us got dinner at a little restaurant that had delicious food for very reasonable prices. Rocco and I had gotten gelato after lunch so I was still pretty full, so I just got pasta fagoili, which wound up being very thick and filling, but tasty nonetheless. We also had tomato and mozerella as an appetizer (caprese) and Rocco and Michael had some pizza which was very good.
On Saturday, Rocco and Riley went on a school trip to the Italians chocolate festival (he brought us back chocolate!!) so Michael and I went off to see the rest of the sights. We saw more piazzas we walked through the park, we saw he Spanish steps (there was a protest going on though, so we didn't see them too well), and we got to explore the colosseum, which was unbelievable. I loved reding the information a out its history and seeing the ancient columns and statues and everything. Unfortunately, the ancient ruins had closed by the time we got to them, but we could see them from a distance. We wound up going back to the same restaurant as the night before because it was so yummy. I had bruschetta, margarita pizza, and tiramisu that Michael and I shared. Michael also had some bruschetta pizza with ham and salami and lasagna, which I had some of and it was so tasty. When we got back to the apartment everyone was home but they didn't have dinner yet so they got some while we rested and packed our stuff up. We were going to meet them for gelato, but we were so tired we wound up stayin in and getting rest because we had to leave around 4am to get to the airport.
We made it to he bus stop with no problem, but unfortunately we made a mistake and wound up at the wrong airport. This meant we had to take a taxi to try and catch our flight..which was pretty expensive. When we finally got to the correct airport, we missed the gate clamping by five minutes....yes five minutes. How annoying. So Michael had to run brought check in and security to catch the flight, while I'm here at the airport until about 8pm to catch the next one to Venice. So that's where I am now...It's almost noon so the time is passing relatively quickly. I got some sleep here and there and I had a cappuccino and a croissant with jam which was yummy and uplifting. In a few hours i'll get to print my new boarding pass and check in asap so have I have plenty of time to figure out where everything is and get through security and all. Then, off to Venezia!
PHEW I am so behind. Well, I'll do my best to recap the final day of our Germany trip, which was so long ago now! Wow!
Well, like I mentioned before, we got to sleep in on Saturday after our hectic Friday, and then we had lunch with Veronica, the kids, and her in laws. Her mother in law made home made spaetzles, which were similar to my mom mom's in texture, but they were shorter and cheesy, and she served them with tomato sauce, so it was almost like a German type of spaghetti, in a way. It was delicious! We also had a salad with (I think) home made dressing as well, which was excellent. After eating, Veronica took her kids to a neighbor's house, and then we set off for our day trip. It took a little less than an hour to get to Meersburg which is in the south of Germany, across a Lake Constance from Switzerland, and not from the borders of Austria and France as well. The city was very hilly, but there was a lot of traditional German architecture, and it was a very cute town. There was also a castle!! We didn't go in (because it probably cost money) but it was really cool to see, overlooking the lake.
We took a ferry across the lake to a town called Konstanz. This town seemed a bit more industrialized than Meersburg, but just a bit. We took a bus to the town center where there was a lot of shopping and things to see. There was a large cathedral, Konstanz Cathedral/Minster. This church is hundreds of years old, and I don't read German so it was hard to learn while I was there, but I did some research afterwards, and many popes have come to visit the church. When it was first built (in the mid 8th century!) it was built right next to old Roman ruins, and quite possibly on or around them! There are portions of these ruins on display underground, that the public can see through a glass-covered opening in the ground. It's amazing to see these ancient ruins still existing today, and the history and stories they reveal. The church had many different sections and chapels, mostly made of stone, so it was very cold and dark like most German churches. There was also a crypt attached to the church, underground. I'm not entirely sure who was buried there, but there was this one closed off passageway, sealed by a glass wall, but lighted for visitors to see, that looks like it may have been a part of - or lead to the old Roman ruins...so cool!! Veronica and I explored the church and crypt while Michael waited near the entrance, and when we came upstairs to exit, we heard loud drums echoing outside the church. We went outside to see a large band performing outside the church, which was really cool to see. I took a ton of pictures, which I will post some of on here!
When we came back to Illmensee, Veronica and her kids gave us a tour of their new home (next door to the grandparent's), which Chris built! It was a really lovely home. Veronica, Michael and I went back to the bar we visited on our first night and had more chicken wings and fries before our long trip home early the next morning. It was so sad having to leave Michael's family, and I am so glad that I got a chance to meet them. They were so hospitable and sweet, and I really, really loved spending time in Germany. It was relaxing and calm being away from the rush of the city in London, and it was great to see the lifestyle and culture in such a small, farm town. I will miss it there a lot, and it was definitely one of my favorite visits so far!
I'm getting very behind on updating my adventures, but I'm going to try my best to catch up! Getting from Illmensee takes several hours, so we had to wake up bright and early to catch a bus in the town center to Ravensburg, where we could catch a train to Ulm (again) and then another train off to Munchen!
So when I say I don't speak any German...I mean it. I only know how to say 'hello', 'thank you', 'goodbye', and 'no'. Not the most well-rounded vocabulary. But, a lot of people spoke English and the only real issue it created was our transportation issues...but I'll get to that later. When we got even to just Ravensburg, we already saw people who were geared up for Oktoberfest, and there were more and more people as we got closer to the city. Arriving in Munchen, there were already so many people! We arrived around noon ish (after leaving at 8am, gah!). We didn't really know where anything was, including Oktoberfest...so after briefly looking at some super expensive German garb, we followed some Germans that were dressed up and eventually they led us to one of the entrances to Oktoberfest, near the beautiful St. Paul's Cathedral. We passed the cathedral and just around the corner was the party! After being mildly harassed by a silver-painted man who I didn't give money to after taking his picture, we walked through the gates.
We soon realized that Germans definitely know how to throw a party. There were tons of beer 'tents' that were huge and elaborately decorated based on whatever company owned/sponsored them, and what beer they were selling. One of the first tents we walked into, the HB one I think, was absolutely crazy...and kinda smelly at certain points haha. At first we just walked through the tents to get pictures and just see what was going on. Most of them were already packed at noontime. And everyone was already WASTED. It was definitely a sight to see.
We walked around outside a lot also, where there were amusement rides, food, and games, and tons of other stuff. Michael liked to play the shooting games and even won some prizes for Veronica's kids, I tried too but the gun was too much for my zero upper-body strength and poor aim. We also played the game where you hit frogs at a pool of water and try to land them on spinning flowers. He also won that game too...me, not so much. But I tried! The two rides we went on were a 'haunted house' and a big ferris wheel. I put the haunted house in quotes because it was the sillest, lamest haunted house ever, but it was a lot of fun. The ferris wheel was definitely a good choice to go on because we got an amazing view of EVERYTHING and some great pictures. There was this one ride that we saw while waiting for/riding the ferris wheel which was this big spiral slide, that you slide down on a rug sort of thing. But the best part about it was getting up the slide, because there was a ramp with a thin conveyor belt thing that took you up to the stairs for the slide. It was funny to see little kids, guided by the ride's employees, get up the ramp with no problem. But a lot of the men, and a few ladies (especially those who were dressed up) did not make it up so easily. Many wavered and flailed to catch there balance, and sometimes wound up making the trip on their backs. It was soooo funny to watch, I'll have to see if I can upload the videos I took!
When we finally did sit down in a tent, we actually wound up back in the HB one, but we sat in a box off to the side where it was less crazy and easier to sit down and actually eat. I had bought a pretzel outside also, so I snacked on that while we ordered and waited for our food and drinks. I ordered a Coke and Meatloaf and potato salad. The meatloaf that they make isn't like the American kind...it's a bit hard to explain, but it almost reminded me of a hot dog patty, but much better. And the potato salad was amazing! Not as good as my mommom's but close! Michael had chicken that was stuffed with spinach, and he ordered a liter of beer, which wasn't too bad. We shared our drinks so neither of us got drunk haha. It was nice to try the food and beer and it was delicious. At first we were sitting next to two men who told us they were from South Africa. The one man was really drunk and decided he wanted a bite of my pretzel. I wanted to be nice, so I broke him off a piece, but he was upset that he didn't get to take an actual bite of it. As they were leaving, we had to get up from the booth to let them out, so before he left, the man yelled something like, "Aggh I still want a bite!", and he grabbed my pretzel and took a huge bite, and then went off on his way. I feel like in any other situation I would have been annoyed by this, but it was just too funny and odd to really care all that much.
Before we left we bought one of the gingerbread cookie hearts that they were selling all over the place, so we could give it to Veronica's family in thanks for having us. When we got to the train station we had a bit of time to kill so we hung out at a Burger King and relaxed after a busy, busy day...which was still not over! Our train from Munchen was supposed to go directly to Ulm, where we would take one other train back to Ravensburg and catch the last bus to Illmensee for the night. However, somewhere along the way, that itinerary changed and we wound up past Ulm, on a train that was not going in the right direction. Luckily, a conductor lady found us a train that would take us back to Ulm, where we could catch a later train from Ravensburg...but we would miss the bus. Unfortunately that was our only option. We left Munchen around 7ish and I believe by the time we got to Ravensburg it was very close to being 1am. German transportation was EXTREMELY difficult to get the hang of...but at least we made it home safe. Veronica had to make a longer trip to come get us in Ravensburg, but she was glad that we were okay too, and I was so happy to see her by the end of our long train rides I gave her a huge hug to thank her for coming to get us so late.
The following day Veronica had a day trip planned for us to see the Germany-Swiss border, but we could sleep in and go in the afternoon so we were very grateful and glad to be getting some rest for the next day :)
