On to the Next

Five days ago, we were in Lisbon, Portugal.  We woke up early – Savannah and I – wanting to catch one last view of the city before heading to the airport.  We climbed up to Castelo São Jorge, a former Moorish castle and active archeological site, to breathe in Europe one last time.  From our vantage point on the castle hill, we could see the Atlantic Ocean in the distance – the end of Europe.  The West. 

Later that evening, we were back in North America.  It was my first time back in five months, and it feels good to be in the States, but I sure do miss Europe.  I miss my friends at Sussex, going to the soccer games and the pubs, conducting research at the archives – but the memories will stay with me forever.  It’s been several weeks since my last post, and in that time I’ve been fortunate enough to do some travelling with my family and Savannah.

My family visited London and Rome together, and Savannah and I spent time in Paris, Edinburgh, and Lisbon before flying back to Arkansas.  It was one of the busiest months of my life – a month of sight-seeing and museum visits sandwiched between early morning and late night flights, train and bus rides.  It would be impossible to properly catalog the past several weeks in detail, but I would like to pause here and recount a few of my favorite memories – starting with my family’s visit to Brighton. 

It was a bit surreal to welcome my family to Brighton after spending several months there on my own.  However, after extensively researching the history of the city and exploring its various neighborhoods on the weekends, I was excited to share some of what I had learned. 

We walked along the seafront shortly after they arrived, ending up at the Palace Pier and the center of town – an area steeped in historical significance for seaside leisure culture.  We would later order some fish and chips at the Cricketer, the oldest pub in Brighton.  In addition to walking around the city and the Sussex University campus, we did some hiking in the Sussex countryside.

We hiked out to the Seven Sisters white chalk cliffs to the east of Brighton, and we also visited the small town of Lewes in the north.  It was fun to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a little while and spend some time in the South Downs.  My parents said that the South Downs reminded them a little bit of where they grew up in southern Wisconsin.  I could definitely see it – the green hills of the “driftless region” and nearby Lake Michigan perhaps combine to look something like Sussex and the English Channel.  Of course, the pub culture is a bit different in England.  Only in England can you get a traditional Sunday Roast lunch complete with Yorkshire pudding and locally-brewed ale – which is exactly what we got in Lewes!

The Seven Sisters White Chalk Cliffs -- Sussex at its finest!

After spending a few days in London (where we saw the fabulous musical, Wicked!), we flew to Rome, where we spent time in Vatican City and toured the Roman Forum and Colosseum.  We stayed in the neighborhood of Trastevere – just one street away from where I myself lived during my first study abroad experience back in 2016.  Nestled in and amongst the neighborhood’s numerous gelaterias, pizza joints, and cafes, our AirBnB was cozy and within walking distance of the main sights. 

Perhaps our most memorable experience in Rome was a tour we took of the Roman Forum and Colosseum.  Our suave tour guide, Giancarlo, kept the mood light – even as he related bloody tales of gladiatorial combat and political betrayal.  One of the more gruesome facts he told us – something I hadn’t heard before – was that the ancient Romans killed animals from all over the world in the Colosseum as a show of power (and apparently dying ostriches were their favorite spectacle to watch – yikes, spectacle indeed!).  After our short stint back in Rome, my family returned to the United States, and I returned to Brighton. 

St. Peter's Square

The narrow, cobblestone streets of downtown Rome

The Roman Colosseum

Just a few days later, Savannah arrived!  Newly minted degree in-hand (err, in the mail at least, owing to the fact that she graduated from Seattle Pacific University just about 48 hours before getting on the plane to come to Brighton!), she arrived at Gatwick Airport ready to explore!  In our first week, we did just that – tearing up Brighton, Sussex, and London, and enjoying a spell of warm weather by lounging on the beach!  I particularly enjoyed introducing Savannah to my friends Nico and Diego from Sussex.  We enjoyed a few pints at some of my favorite local pubs – a perfect way to bid farewell to Brighton. 

It was hard to say goodbye – to board my last southern railway train and watch the sea and the city (the seascape, if you will), fade into the green hills of the South Downs and the Sussex countryside.  I feel as if I lived a whole life in Brighton, my attachment to the city heightened by the many decades worth of historical documents I sifted through at the local archives.  I can’t wait to go back and visit someday – to glimpse those timeless seaside promenades once more, and at a different stage in my life.  But for now, it’s time to get to work on my honors thesis – time to re-create and preserve the Brighton of centuries gone by for historians and researchers.

All sentiment and thesis-talk aside (plenty of time for both of those in the coming months), after boarding the train from Brighton to London, Savannah and I were on the go for two straight weeks!  We started our journey with some magic – literary magic, that is – with a stop at the fabled platform 9 and 3/4ths at King’s Cross Station!  The platform was a little more commercialized than we remembered it being described in the books, owing to the giant Harry Potter shop lurking – like a pro-business Professor Snape – just behind the platform.  Nevertheless, seeing the platform evidently gave us the shot of magic we needed to circumnavigate the city in the following two days, which is exactly what we did – making stops at the British Library, Westminster Abbey, and Her Majesty’s Theatre in Piccadilly (where we saw Phantom of the Opera)!  WOO!

The line for pictures at the platform was long, and the employee's countenance (on the right) tells all 😆  Still magical though!

Her Majesty's Theatre -- Where we saw Phantom of the Opera

But we didn’t stop there – oh no!  Even the phantom and his cohort of aggressive ice cream vendors (strange, but true – every usher and their brother was trying to get us to buy “salted caramel on a stick” at the intermission of the performance) couldn’t hold us back!  After two days in London it was on to Paris! 

The City of Light!  Was BEAUTIFUL!  We loved it!  Especially Sacré-Coeur – a political and cultural monument (completed in 1919) situated at the top of the highest hill in the city – and the Louvre Museum.  In addition to the panoramic views from Sacré-Coeur and the immutable paintings of the Louvre, we enjoyed learning a few words of French, navigating the Paris Subway system, walking along the Champs-Elysees, and seeing the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral! 

Beautiful Sacre-Coeur on Montmartre Hill 

Savannah and I at the Louvre!

Notre Dame -- epic Gothic Cathedral!

After Paris, it was on to Edinburgh, Scotland, a fitting destination to travel to after Paris considering the historic “Auld alliance” between France and Scotland (a centuries-long partnership between two countries that didn’t trust or have any particular reason to like England).  Anyways, Edinburgh might aptly be described as the quintessential “medieval” city – complete with a large castle, tight alleyways (called “closes”) nestled in and amongst tall stone buildings, and bagpipes/kilts galore!  The bagpipes and the kilts, however – vestiges of Highland Scottish culture – didn’t come to symbolize Scotland until the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  Sir Walter Scott and King George IV (the same king who patronized and popularized Brighton) helped solidify Highland attire and bagpipe accompaniment as symbols of the proud nation. 

Savannah and I spent more time in Scotland than anywhere else – hiking up King Arthur’s Seat (a sizeable peak adjacent to the town), taking multiple walking tours, and riding a bus all the way up to Loch Ness and Glencoe in the highlands.  Loch Ness was particularly interesting – we didn’t see the monster, but we did hear some bone-chilling stories.  The water appears to be black and tar-like, and this is because the Loch never receives direct sunlight.  Thus, the bottom of the Loch cannot be bleached by the sun and sonar waves cannot fully penetrate its 750-foot depths, leaving some doubt as to what may or may not be swimming around at the bottom.  One thing is for sure though – Loch Ness is home to some giant fish (including salmon and trout) – some of them more than four feet in length!

Savannah and Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh -- after our two hour climb to the peak!

Loch Ness

Glencoe Valley in the Scottish Highlands

Scotland and northern England from the plane window

Our final stop after Scotland was Lisbon, Portugal.  Quite a bit warmer than Edinburgh and the highlands, Lisbon was perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing city we visited.  Red roofs, yellow street cars, and lively public squares are everywhere in Lisbon.  Here, we toured São Jorge Castle, ate some amazing tapas (tasty and traditional hors d’oeuvres), and watched Portugal play Iran in the World Cup! 

The Lisbon skyline -- notice the Moorish Castle on the left and the 25th of April Bridge (Golden Gate-esque) on the horizon.  We climbed about 500 steps to get to this lookout point!

By the end of our trip, we were exhausted, but also very grateful for all of the wonderful experiences we’d had.  On our flight from Lisbon back to North America, we sat next to a woman from Canada who was returning home after traveling all around the world for several months.  She told us that she was from London originally, and that she still missed Europe sometimes.  “After you live in Europe, there’s always a little Europe in you,” she said, “And you’ll have to go back someday.”  I couldn’t agree more. 

Whether it’s just a few years from now, or many years down the road, I’ll be ready when that day comes.  It was an absolute blessing to be able to spend half a year in Europe… and then experience it together with my family and with Savannah!  I’ll never forget my time abroad.  None of my experiences – but specifically my research, study, and living in Brighton – would be possible without the support I received from the University of Arkansas Honors College, the University of Arkansas History Department, my literature and history professors at the University of Arkansas and the University of Sussex, and all of my friends and family at home in the United States and all over Europe and the world.  Thank you all.

I am now looking forward to an action-packed senior year at the University of Arkansas – one in which I will formulate my research into a solid paper, finish up my coursework, and enjoy some Razorback football games with friends and family. 

My time abroad has taught me that everyone has and needs a horizon to strive for.  For many – myself included, that horizon is often something tangible – a specific place, a specific degree, or even a specific object that you can see or hold in your hands.  The best horizons, though, in this blogger’s humble opinion, are those that defy dimension – ideas.  As Henry Miller once said, “one’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things.”  My time abroad helped me to step inside this sentiment, this elusive horizon of empathy -- though I have a very long ways to go yet before I can truly live it.  We all must work, tirelessly, to help others define and realize their horizons, lest our own horizons forever be tangible and finite. 




Onwards,

BD