Tag Archives: summer

Week 1: UK, Part 1!!

hey all! It’s been quite crazy the past few days (and wifi is not always around), but I figured I’d give a quick update before starting the day. I’ve been in Europe for about a week, and what a week it was. Here are some highlights:

Regent’s Park – London : Upon leaving my beautiful hostel, I knew I wanted to walk down to lush oxford street. It was quite a walk, and with no wifi, I just had to depend on the signs and maps throughout London. Thank god there are plenty of them! On the way to Oxford Street, I stumbled upon the enormous Regent’s Park. Beautiful! Seeing such a large park on such a beautiful day was the perfect welcome to London. And the St Mary’s Garden….breathtaking!!

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Lush Oxford Street – London: I made it!!! After months of looking at the 250 new lush products from 1,000 miles away, I found new Lush flagship store on Oxford Street!! Bath oils, dusting powders, new perfumes…I was in heaven. This picture of me in the Stayin’ Alive (perfume room) perfectly captures how I looked throughout the entire store:

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I even got my hair done! I was freaking out over the Jersey Bounce shampoo (similar to Big) and the Avocado Co-Wash (with the best smell I’ve ever smelled) and Abby offered to do my hair. It was her first hair demo….look at all that volume!!! I smelled my hair constantly for the next day. Yup, I was one of those customers….

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Royal Tour – London: for the lovely price of free + donation, I got up bright and early for a tour of all the royal touristy stuff. Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square. Oddly enough, my tour guide had lived in Lancaster County for three years.

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After the tour, I had a lovely lunch with two tourists from Wisconsin and then I headed off to the museums. If my most recent traveling excursions have taught me anything, it’s that I’m perfectly content museum-hopping. I went to the National Gallery and the Tate Modern museums. For me, they’re just amazing places for inspiration. I write a lot in museums, and always make sure to jot down my favorite paintings/artists for future reference.

imageLiverpool! – Ok, everything in Liverpool was a highlight. For one, it was my first time Couchsurfing, so that was a huge part of my trip. I stayed with a Couchsurfer named Michael and his family – the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. Avid travelers themselves, they had tons of great stories and good advice. Micheal took me around the parks in Liverpool, the bars in Liverpool, and then we did all of the touristy things. The last night I stayed, his parents made an awesome dinner and of all things, watched a bunch of throwback music videos over a bottle or two (or three) of wine. Couchsurfing is a really cool way to travel – it’s a lot more personal than hostels or hotels, and you’re constantly social. I intend to couchsurf for most of my trip, honestly. The people I’ve met so far Couchsurfing always have great stories and a similar outlook on the world. It’s an amazing community.

imageimageNatural History Museum and Hyde Park – London: As my flight to Gdansk was leaving from London, I went back for another day to finish my roaming. I saved the Natural History Museum and Hyde Park for the last day….what a finale!! I’m a huge environmental nerd, so seeing a museum with the focus of teaching us about the earth (and how we can help preserve it!!!) was wonderful. And Hyde park was gorgeous. Best statues by far!!

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This was just a quick update, as I’m headed off now into Gdansk. Currently I’m staying in a Grateful Dead hostel with a bunch of Open’er goers…but more to come on that later!! I’ll be posting after my trip through Poland is over!

“Who Are You Seeing?” 7 European Music Festivals to Attend This Summer

No summer is complete without a trip to a music festival; this absolutely rings true for a summer overseas. Europe is home to some of the biggest music festivals out there (Glastonbury, Tomorrowland), and I want to attend all of them, but this blog is called Beat, Broke, and Backpacking for a reason. Attending any one of these festivals will be amazing…it’s just a matter of which one(s) I choose.

Sziget – August 10-17 – Budapest, Hungary

from szigetfestival.com

Maybe I’m late to hop on the Robbie Williams train (or am I, Americans?) After seeing his name on the top of many Europeans lineups this summer, I became a combination of confused and curious. I found his performance at Knebworth on YouTube, and within three minutes of watching, I feverishly went back to Google to find out which festivals I could catch him at. Sziget is one of these festivals, on the Island of Freedom (you sold me there), and Robbie Williams shares the bill with Florence + the Machine, Tyler the Creator, and Gramatik. Check, check, check and check off my bucket list.

Longitude – July 17-19 – Dublin, Ireland

from longitude.ie

If I could travel back in time to last spring, I would reassure myself that yes, I would have the chance to see this skinny man-bunned Irish Hozier guy I saw on YouTube in concert. He’s everywhere, for good and obvious reasons. Included in ‘everywhere’ is Longitude Festival in Marlay Park, which isn’t too far from the center of Dublin. (This makes the idea of finding accommodations a lot less stressful.) James Blake was added to this lineup recently, and there are more artists to be announced. At this rate, the lineup will cover most of my Spotify listening history, so it’s definitely on my radar.

NOS Alive – July 9-11 – Lisbon, Portugal

from festival-calendar.com

It’s very hard to turn down an opportunity to see Muse, Stromae, or James Blake, especially now, as James Blake’s album may be released very soon. I’ve already talked to a few people in Lisbon who say that a ton of Couchsurfers head to this festival every year (the festival used to be Optimus Alive) in a big group, and there are also groups of festivalgoers who travel to the beach throughout the week for surfing lessons. Surfing and music in one day sounds pretty solid to me.

T in the Park – July 10-12 – Pertshire, Scotland

via tinthepark.com

I’ve watched many T in the Park sets from my bedroom via YouTube (thank you Arctic Monkeys), so this was one of the first festivals I researched when I started planning this trip. It’s moving this year to Strathallan Castle, and if a trip involves a castle, I’m most likely down (yes, I know, I’ll see a few in Europe). This year’s lineup is solid, with at least one London artist on my bucket list for each day of the festival.

North Sea Jazz Festival  –  July 10-12  –  Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands

from one2entertainment.com

I feel the need to satisfy Grade School Megan and check seeing Lady Gaga (with Tony Bennett, no less) and Paolo Nutini off my list. I’m also all for expanding my horizons and listening to more jazz. Maybe I’ll go to the Manchester Jazz Festival too. Let’s make it a summer of jazz festivals, shall we?

Somersault Festival – July 23-27 – Castle Hill, North Devon

from http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/

The music lineup for Somersault is great (Bombay Bicycle Club, Angus & Julia Stone, and up-and-coming adorable South African folk artist Jeremy Loops get me pretty hype) but I’m just as intrigued by all the other cool things to do: yoga and circus workshops, feasts, and falconry? Falconry sounds fun. I can feel the good vibes coming from this festival five months in advance.

Open’er Festival – July 1-4 – Gdansk, Poland

from http://www.atmsystem.pl/

I had no interest in checking out Poland, mainly because the only thing I know about Poland is the excellence of pierogies, but then I saw that D’Angelo, St. Vincent, Father John Misty, and Chet Faker would all be at the Open’er Festival. Then I saw how beautiful the nearby city of Gdansk looks. Then I remembered that pierogies are REALLY good, and that I might as well add a city I know nothing about to my list.

I discovered Open’er this week, and I’m sure I’m missing out on a ton of festivals that will be going on during my trip. Feel free to share your knowledge, your opinions, and anything else in the comments below!