Edition 6 - Emma, the Brits, and the Bricks

After traveling throughout Ireland in November, I went back home to California to spend time with my family after all that had happened. I had a wonderful time with my loved ones, friends, and family in LA and even made a surprise visit to New York for a week to see some of my close friends before this next leg of my adventure.

On that note, welcome to the United Kingdom! Now starting my “purposeful” backpacking trip, the UK was the first stop on the list - and I had a special guest for the first week of this trip. A friend of mine from home, Samantha, joined me in traveling around England and we had a fabulous time. In total, I was in the UK for nearly 2 months, so apologies in advance if this newsletter is larger than all of the others! Curious what we did? Keep scrolling to find out!

England

December 12 - January 31

Bristol & Bath

Samantha and I arrived in England on Tuesday, December 12th. We got into London Heathrow separately (as I was coming from JFK and she was coming from LAX) and spent a good 30 minutes attempting to navigate the airport to find each other. Following our success, we started our venture out of the airport and towards our first stops - Bristol & Bath. Bristol is a city in the southwest of England that sits beside the River Avon. As with most cities during this time of year, Bristol has an adorable Christmas Market that pops up with local small businesses, crafts, trinkets, and snacks. Nearby is Bath, a city named for the historical Roman-build baths that still stand to this day (with the help of some care from the city). Bath has an incredibly interesting history, specifically when it comes to architecture. Here are some highlights from my time in Bristol & Bath:

A long walking day in Bristol that led us into Bristol Cathedral, up Cabot Tower, across the Clifton Suspension Bridge, to the Clifton Observatory, down into Giant’s Cave, and through the Bristol Christmas Market - needless to say, we saw a lot of sights but our legs definitely needed a rest.
After promptly not giving our legs a rest and taking a short train ride to Bath, we went to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein House and explored this adorable city on perhaps the best Free Walking Tour I’ve ever been on. Our guide, Susan, was amazing and incredibly knowledgeable - not to mention we were the only ones on the tour so we really got to know her.

Manchester

On the morning of Friday, December 15th we took a bus north from Bristol to Manchester. After a hearty bowl of ramen and some brief exploring through one of the many Manchester Christmas Markets, we returned to our Airbnb to relax (and immediately discovered the heated towel rack in the bathroom that basically changed our lives). Here are some highlights from my time in Manchester:

Sleeping in until 12 noon for the first time in what feels like forever and then spending the rest of daylight exploring the city and the Science and Industry Museum.
Taking Samantha to her first professional football (soccer) game! As a lifetime player, I knew we had to do this while in Manchester - the women’s Manchester United v. Liverpool game was incredible and Samantha loved it too.

London

Another travel day was upon us on Monday, December 18th when we took a train from Manchester down to London. The first half of our train ride was accompanied by some great chats with local Londoners who wanted to give us tips on what to see and do while traveling in the city. After finding our way to our hostel and settling in, we started to explore the Brick Lane area and made our way to Dishoom (a well-known Indian restaurant that definitely lives up to the hype - thanks Alyssa for the recommendation!). Samantha left to head back to The States on Thursday, December 21st after an incredibly fun week exploring England. I stuck around London for a bit longer and found some great new friends in the hostel to experience different parts of the city with. Here are some highlights from my time in London:

Spontaneously running into my Aussie friends from my Killarney, Ireland hostel in the kitchen of my London hostel!
A rainy day spent at The British Museum (along with what felt like 1,000 of our closest friends) followed by some delicious fish & chips nearby.
Days beginning with a free walking tour and ending with hopping from market (Borough) to market (Camden).
A spooky night tour that focused on Jack the Ripper and his history in the Whitechapel district of London.
Meeting new hostel friends in the kitchen one night and deciding to spend the entire following day together exploring Chinatown and getting rush tickets to The Book of Mormon.
Meeting someone in my hostel who thought they had booked a hotel (they were sadly mistaken) but it lent to a great icebreaker and conversation over many cups of evening tea!

Brighton

Based on some recommendations from friends who live in England, I then decided to venture over to Brighton on Wednesday, December 27th as my final stop before my first volunteer stint. Brighton is south of London and along the coast - this of course means that I spent many mornings running alongside the beach for some fresh ocean air. While with every few steps, there was a huge gust of wind trying to blow me over, I still did what I could to take it all in. Here are some highlights from my time in Brighton:

Exploring board game pubs with locals!
Enjoying a lot of time outside running, walking, and breathing in the salty air.
Spending Shabbat spread between two different local communities - one progressive/liberal synagogue and one orthodox, each just as memorable as the other.
An evening full of laughs at a local comedy club (yes, English gin was involved and yes, it was delicious).

Story Time - Shabbat in Brighton

My Shabbat experience in Brighton was one that I would have never guessed I would have. Typically when I am traveling, I’ll reach out to a few synagogues or Chabad Houses I find in the area that I am staying in really just for Friday night - I love the practice of bringing in the holiday each week with community (even if I have never met them before). It just so happens that this week, two had gotten back to me and I really wanted to experience both because they were so vastly different from each other.

On Friday night, I went to a very cute progressive/liberal synagogue. I was greeted inside by 5 lovely English folks who were very interested in my backpacking journey thus far. The Rabbi was out of town that week so a congregant offered to lead services and give a d’var (“word of Torah” typically connecting the weekly reading to something that feels relevant to people in today’s world). When I told the group that I was American, the leading congregant was incredibly excited because his d’var surrounded the unofficially official practice of American Jews on Christmas - eating Chinese food. The service was lovely and unique - we sat on chairs in a circle and had a calming end to a hectic week. I always find it astonishing that no matter where I am in the world, the tunes used are transferable, it’s special and it’s homey.

The following morning, I went to the local Orthodox synagogue. When I had emailed the community to ask about services over Shabbat, the Rabbi responded inviting me for lunch so I was overwhelmingly excited to really get to know the community in a more personal way. After services ended, I found myself talking with 3 Israeli women who were based in Brighton for Sherut Leumi (volunteer-focused, non-military national service). I mentioned to them that I had intended to be in Israel for the year in Lod for my fellowship program when one of the girls said “I’m from Lod!”. We start talking more and it turns out that her family was the host family for one of my roommates. The world is big, but it is also so incredibly small. Later, the Rabbi prepared me for lunch by mentioning that I would be bringing the average age of the meal down by many decades but I was excited nonetheless! The meal was lovely and I learned so much about the history of the diverse community that exists in Brighton.

Woodbury - Volunteering

As you might know, I’ve decided to sprinkle in some volunteering throughout my purposeful backpacking trip. I’ve done this for a few reasons:

It is a great way to save money while traveling abroad
It allows for more purposeful cultural immersion while living with locals and staying in one place for a more extended period of time
It brings me back to what my main goal for this year was - to focus on helping others accomplish their goals rather than focusing on my own

Woodbury (East Devon County) was my first volunteer stint of this trip and while it was definitely not what I expected, I learned so much, developed close bonds with my roommates, and definitely added some muscle. Woodbury is a small English village in the southwest of England with the nearest city being Exeter. Let me paint a picture of Woodbury for you… there is one corner store, an antique shop, and two pubs. *IF* there are sidewalks along the roads, they are only on one side of the street. I went on a run during my first week in Woodbury and accidentally ran past a dairy farm. It’s hilarious, it’s quaint, and it’s adorable. So yes, it was ever so slightly different compared to New York City.

I had a total of 5 roommates while living in Woodbury, 4 humans and 1 dog (Buddy, who is featured in the photos of course). Each of these roomies made a great impression on me and made my English Village adventure interesting and memorable. Thanks to these roommates I was able to experience so much including spending a day reading alongside little ducklings at the East Devon Wetlands, going to my first rugby match (free of charge), and seeing some of the most beautiful and natural views that villages have to offer.

Now onto the fun stuff - what in the world was I doing for 4-weeks of volunteering? Well, let’s start off by saying that I am basically a contractor now, and if you have any questions about building a brick wall, I’m your girl (kidding but also not really)! Candidly, I was very much under the impression that I would be doing some sort of work in a garden. I thought to myself “Yeah, I could water some plants in an English village in the winter… why not?”. While my work definitely took place in a garden, it was much more than that. My general tasks included:

Breaking down old brick garden walls with a mallet with the intention of saving the bricks that did not break into tiny pieces
Clean the bricks using a chisel to remove old concrete and mortar
Rebuild brick walls using cleaned bricks and fresh mortar (that I also made) in a different part of the house which would eventually become a seating area

While this is definitely not what I expected to be doing for my 4-weeks of volunteering in England, I learned a lot. When I walk around and see brick houses, walls, or decorations, I have a new appreciation for the workmanship that goes into the creation. You just start to see it everywhere! I also loved the ability to use my body for work and to see my strength grow day by day. To step away from working on my laptop all day, every day, and physically create something that I can see growing after each hour of hard work is incredible and something I haven’t experienced before. There’s a lot to look back on during my time in Woodbury, but here are some of my favorite memories from that period of time:

My train from London to Exeter randomly split in half without my knowledge and trying to figure out with strangers sitting beside me how in the world to get myself back on the right track (thank you, strangers!).
Runs on the street, through the village, past the dairy farm, and towards the River Exe with no sidewalks in sight.
A spontaneous London concert weekend with Eve, a friend of mine whom I met in my hostel in Jerusalem prior to my fellowship starting.
A little midweek “weekend” exploring the beach town of Exmouth.
Attending my first rugby match for free because one of my roommates was working at the stadium in security.
A day spent at the East Devon Wetlands relaxing, listening to the birds, and reading my book because one of my roommates worked there as well.
Many MANY cuddles with Buddy.

Scotland

January 31 - February 7

Edinburgh

After my volunteering ended, I knew I wanted to explore a bit more of the UK. I had never been to Scotland before and it was on my list - so away I went! I arrived in Scotland after a pretty long train travel day on Wednesday, January 31st. My first couple of days in Edinburgh were filled with free walking tours, random Harry Potter facts, staring at beautiful architecture, and some delicious teas and pastries from local coffee shops. Overall, I would come back to Scotland for a very extended period of time - I think the history and architecture is fascinating and that this trip was just the tip of the iceberg! Here are some highlights from my time in Edinburgh:

Free walking tours filled with some of the most absurd historical facts of Edinburgh (ask me about Jenny and St. Giles Cathedral).
Shabbat dinner at the Chabad of Edinburgh where I met some incredible locals and tourists that I clicked with immediately, including an adorable French couple that came to Edinburgh to get engaged!
Eating one of the most delicious and moist blueberry muffins I might have ever had.
A day dedicated to the amazing (and free) museums of the city including the National Museum, the National Galleries, and the Writers Museum.
Unplanned hikes to Arthur’s Seat with wonderful women I met in my hostel 20 minutes prior, followed by cups of decadent hot chocolate.
A spontaneous University of Edinburgh tour, a delicious sandwich whose name I cannot pronounce for the life of me, and pouring tea into empty latte mugs.

Inverness & Isle of Skye

Following my time in Edinburgh, I knew that if I had time, I needed to venture up north to the Highlands. I had heard nothing short of incredible things about the sights and the nature - so on Monday, February 5th, I made the move to Inverness. While there was some transportation difficulty, I finally made in up north via bus and promptly went to bed. The main part of my time up north was spent on a day tour to Isle of Skye, the second largest island in Scotland and known for its stunning nature and beautiful overlooks. And no, it did not disappoint. We got incredibly lucky - especially at this time of year, the island is known for very heavy mist but somehow the day was perfect. We had some light showers but the sun came out to surprise us and give us some of the most stunning views I have seen. Here are some highlights from my time in Inverness & Isle of Skye:

Realizing that not only do I love Scottish music, but that I have been accidentally listening to it for the past year thanks to my Spotify Discover playlist.
Befriending an entire California based book club that happened to take up over half of the participants on my Isle of Skye day tour.
Every view on Isle of Skye - seriously, every single one.