Time Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Hello everyone!
As it turns out, although people have complimented me on my blog writing abilities… I’m not so great at the act of writing said blog. Apologies for being MIA. I have decided to make another photo blog to catch you up on January, February and March!

In January I went to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Scottish Student Trampoline Open (SSTO) competition. I scored my personal best for the novice routine, however since there were many more clubs (and 78 people in my category) I didn’t place like last time. I did however fall in love with Scotland, and have an incredible time!

Flying into Scotland

Our hostel

Our first night out at the Caves

Our coach somehow convinced him to let me rub his head and make a wish!

The results from the competition (I placed 21/78).

 

When you take selfies on my phone, they end up on my blog. Meet Dylan, nominee for the 2014-2015 sassiest tramp(olinist) of the year award.

Our next night out was at Cav and it was Zoo themed. I was lazy and just painted myself to look mildly like a Zebra. However many people fully committed with a onesie.

I snuck out of the second day of competition to go visit The Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. Now, I will admit I went here purely for the shameless tourist reasons but the food is actually SO delicious. Do yourself a favour and go eat this brie, mango, and bacon panini ASAP.

So much yes!

So you could say Scotland is pretty I guess.

The National Museum of Scotland is free and it has a rooftop terrace with an incredible view of the city and the Edinburgh castle.

Just beware of the massage chairs at the airport. They are a little bit forward… (Massage up your bum crack anyone?)

In February miss Carly Raffiek came to visit! She is the only other person I know who was as obsessed with Ireland as I was without even having visited. Nostalgia for a place you’ve never been. It’s a thing. But now we’ve been and it’s safe to say we both love it here!

Carly arrived the morning after Valentine’s Day at 5am. So naturally I greeted her at the airport wearing club clothes with a heart shaped balloon in hand.

We discovered these palm trees and were afraid that perhaps we were on the wrong island.

Carly got to ride the infamous Dublin bus that I complain about so often in my Facebook status updates. However, we experienced no issues while she was here. Typical!

We did the usual tourist things. Sitting in Molly Malone’s basket. (For reference: https://youtu.be/vdxLxnhGnvo)

We tried a Prosecco and Guinness cocktail, and we are still unsure if we liked it.

We were able to grab dessert and coffee at the famous Bewley’s Café on Grafton street the week before it closed. Good timing!

We went to Antrim in Northern Ireland and got to see the Dark Hedges. This place was so cool! As you walk through the trees they don’t even look real. You feel like you’re in a painting. They are famous for their use as King’s Road in the tv show Game of Thrones.

By far the most exciting part of the trip was getting to see the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. This has been #2 on my bucket list of places I wanted to see in the world for as long as I can remember. (#1 was Venice which I was able to see in the summer of 2012). I couldn’t help but cry as I walked down the path and finally saw this standing in front of me. It made me think how incredibly lucky I am to be in a position where my family can help realize my dream of living in Ireland. And how lucky I am to have experienced this with my good friend Carly.

As if that wasn’t enough, I also had a two-week midterm break immediately following my birthday. I asked for money to be able to travel and planned a week long trip to Scandinavia. Despite Norwegian air going on strike and all of my flights being cancelled during the week, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I learned so much about myself and the world while travelling solo for the first time ever. I cannot recommend solo travel enough! It is truly a great experience.

I FaceTimed into my parents signing Happy Birthday and eating cake in my honour on my birthday. And then I cried a lot because I missed my family, but let’s skip to the fun pictures from my trip…

Everyone rides bikes in Copenhagen. The photo on the right is Nyhavn (the classic postcard, harbour photo)

This is me taking a selfie with the Little Mermaid Statue from a boat. You would have too, don’t lie.

Pictures from around Copenhagen.

 

Relaxing in my hostel. It had curtains on each bed so it was like camping in a tent and you had your privacy… to lay down with a Sephora face mask.. or whatever it is you do with your free time.

Exploring the city.

By far the coolest experience in Copenhagen was hanging out in the Freetown where the government has no authority. There is a ‘greenlight district’ where they sell weed products. Besides this though, the community is full of artists, athletes, and generally really awesome people. I spent nearly a whole day wandering around here. It’s on the waterfront and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Denmark. There are however three rules: No photos (what we do here is technically still illegal), No running (it causes a panic), and Have fun!  **Photos were allowed in the areas where I took them. I’m not that much of a rebel haha**

They have trampolines in the street! Safe to say I am in love with this city!

On the recommendation of several people I visited the Paludan café. LOVED it. Passing on the suggestion to anyone who plans on traveling to Copenhagen.

Lastly, I did my little sister duty and picked up a Lego keychain for my older brother Josh. Lego was created in Denmark! Leggodt in Danish means “play well”.

Next I ate a hot dog (they are really good in Denmark) and grabbed an express train to Stockholm.

 

I started out my time in Stockholm with a Viking Sauna Tour. I heated myself up to 95 degrees Celsius (yup, 5 degrees short of BOILING point), and then dunked myself into the freezing cold waters of the Baltic Sea. Three times. It’s an insanely cool experience that causes chemical reactions in your body similar to that caused by drugs. It was an amazing day.

As any political science student would do, I explored the parliament buildings. I also visited this square on the right, which, ironically is actually a giant circle…

Exploring the old town. And paying a visit to the smallest statue in Sweden.

I finished my last night in Stockholm with a classic Swedish meatball dinner. It lived up to my expectations and more. (Bla Dorren, or Blue Door restaurant in English).

Last stop on my trip was Oslo, Norway. I only had one night in Oslo, but I fell in love with Norway. My flight getting cancelled meant I had a five hour scenic train ride through the Norwegian country side and it was absolutely stunning!

I had to have the most expensive Big Mac in the world. (This is also my first Big Mac ever. It tasted like pickles. I don’t like pickles. Last Big Mac ever).

PSA. Scandinavia invented cinnamon buns. They are really good at making them. This one was the size of my head. I have a big head. I ate it anyway.

Anyway, I am getting sick of typing so I can only imagine you must be getting bored of reading. Stay tuned for my next post which includes pictures from my sister’s visit to Ireland (and Paddy’s day), Aaquib’s visit to Dublin, and my last trampoline and cheerleading competition in Cork (featuring a visit from an ex McGill cheer buddy- Tara).

Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a lovely Easter!

xoxo Cass