Monday, May 31, 2010
reflection.
So it's been a little while. A month. My mom made it. We explored London, Paris and Munich; and had a fantastic time. I realized how I really am turning into my mother. But also how that is not a bad thing. After my mom and I flew home I slept in my bed for one night and then headed straight for Madison. Mifflin to be exact. I got to see my lovely ladies and gents while being reminded how much I love and missed Madison culture. Then I jetted back to Mankato for a week of anticipation. I arrived in San Francisco after a three hour delay, but in one piece with all my nerves on edge. It was almost exactly as I had imaged it would be. Bennett standing there with his arms crossed and a sight smile on his face. We didn't make a scene, just hugging and soaking up each others presence. After that things became a blur. We stayed in San Fran for two nights; saw Haight Street and went to a Giants game(where I got to see the wonderful Caroline!) And then took the train back to Bennett's before spending five days with his family, who are always the best hosts I could ask for. I ate way too much amazing food, but what else is new :) We drove back to Minnesota... ha, it turned out to be a good trip overall, not saying we didn't fight...but the good times always out way the bad. We stopped at Mt. Rushmore because Bennett had never seen it, and really enjoyed ourselves even though we got rained on. My 21st birthday was a success! We celebrated properly and didn't really move the next day which is always good and then I was back in Madison. Which is where i sit now, in my living room once again. As right as it feels to be back it comes with a weird sense of unbelievement(probably not a word?) Sometimes it seems as though London wasn't real, like a random page in a book. Yet I still have the new friends I made and I'm faced with the questions of how to balance everything in my life. Old friends, new friends, boyfriends, work; the neverending circle of wants and needs pulling at me. I need to relax. I need to not worry. I need to learn how to not stress! It just seems impossible at times. I love life right now though. Sand volleyball, grill outs, the terrace. As the real world threatens to enter my bubble I push it away and immerse myself once again the life of a college student. One more year. But what a great year it will be.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
no time to reflect
So my next post was going to be a reflection on my experience in London, how i've changed, blah, blah, blah. Instead it's going to entail me updating you on how much the Eyjafjallajökull volcano sucks. Not sucks, blows. Blows ash all over Europe to be exact. Right now I should be getting ready for finals, preparing for my mom and I's big adventure across Europe and instead i'm contemplating how i'm going to spend my last week in London alone. It's funny that the entire trip my mantra has been Que Sera Sera; it's like the world is testing how well i've come to accept 'whatever may be may be.' Throughout these past few days I've also discovered how different the US and UK really are in handling large matters such as this. The UK is slow. It took them 5 (FIVE) whole days before they even set up a meeting to discuss whether or not putting the flight ban on planes was the correct thing to do. The US does one thing well, and that is react to situations in a timely manner. Another difference that i've discovered is how much the US likes to spin their news. My mom is sitting in America thinking she's still going to make it over here in less than two days, while the news I'm hearing has me worried about whether or not i'll be able to get home next Thursday. Maybe that's the true optimism of the United States. And I don't think that's a bad thing, I think my mom is holding herself together better than I am because she still possesses hope. I know that whatever happens we'll get through this. Some dreams will be crushed, but new dreams surface; different memories will be made, and overall I will accept that volcanos blow up and ruin plans, but life goes on.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Marissa Does London.
I had my first visitor last Tuesday and it was just what i needed. Seeing my bestie from home was a wonderful feeling and brought my happy face out after a week of rain in London. She arrived late, while I was in class, due to a person throwing themselves in front of her train... But she got to my flat in one piece and we were off getting dinner at Churchill Arms, starting off our week of amazing food. We had a drink at the bar after dinner and headed back to my flat to decide what to do for the rest of the night. Turns out my guest was exhausted and we decided to turn in early.
The next morning I had class, and Marissa came with as we watched 'An Education.' After that we made a quick lunch, picked up her friend Joe and were off. I took them on a walking tour all over London and along the way got to see the Churchill War Rooms. They were very interesting and were left intact from when WWII ended. Our tour ended at Westminster and we headed back to my flat to pick up Alex and Eric before heading over to Bayswater to get dinner at TukTuk; we had Thai two nights in a row, but Marissa didn't mind :) That night we went out with a lot of people from my program to a club, ironically called Club 49. We had crazy night out, but were up and ready to go at 9:30 on Thursday! I dropped Marissa off at the V&A and went to class, after which we met up, packed up and headed for the train to Eastbourne!
After a slight scare about not getting our tickets we were on the train and reading away. We were looking for a very relaxing weekend and I am pleased to say that is exactly what we got! We walked from the train station to our Bed and Breakfast, we took a few wrong turns due to our lack of directions, but got there and instantly fell in love with it. It was called the Victoria and Albert, and was decorated in the Victorian style. Our room was quaint and had a wonderfully comfortable bed. We needed a serious nap after the night before, so we settled in bed with our book and napped for a few hours. When we awoke we were starving so we set out in search of food. We ended up at this really nice Indian restaurant. The food was fantastic, a bit expensive, but SO worth it. Afterwards we headed back to the B&B for some more R&R.
We got up the next morning to have breakfast in the breakfast room :) The old man that owned the place with his wife cooked us our full English breakfast, of which we ate everything in sight, and then we ventured to the pier. This is where the story picks up. After touring the pier in the sun we boarded the bus that would take us to the famous white cliffs. The bus ride was only 12 minutes long, but as we drove it started to sprinkle...then rain...then pour. By the time we got off the bus it was windy, wet, and cold! But we were determined to see the White Cliffs, and see them we did. After struggling to maintain a firm hold on our umbrellas, we finally decided to put them away and use our scarfs as head wear. We pondered the cliffs for about 5 minutes, took some pictures to show that we'd been there and then ran towards the pub that was down the hill. There was a cute little museum that looked like a bunch of NHD projects thrown together in a room but it was interesting and something to keep us out of the rain. The bus only came every half hour, and we missed the first one, the fun adventured that had us laughing at the beginning was turning the corner towards no fun. As we stood in a little phone booth by the bus stop we came up with the wonderful plan of going back to our room and climbing into bed with our books again once more :) And that is just what we did. Getting up in time for dinner we went and ended up having high tea at a cute place by the pier. We then stopped and picked up some wine for the night and once again retreated to our wonderful room; where we proceeded to drink the wine and catch up on everything in each others lives.
Saturday brought sun that stayed, and we shopped! I introduced Marissa to Primark, and she got a cute new dress, while I picked up two new sweaters. After we were shopped out we grabbed coffee at a cafe and, what else, read our books outside in the beautiful sunshine! We got on an earlier train and headed back to London. We decided to make our own delicious dinner and picked up the ingredients for a Mediterranean pizza. It was super yummy and afterward we were ready to go see more sights! I took her all around central London; St. Pauls, Tate Modern, The National Theater, we walked for quite some time but ended the tour in Piccadilly Circus. We made our way back to the flat exhausted and ready for bed.
We got up early Sunday morning to go to Easter Service at the Brompton St Oratory, a very pretty Catholic church over by Harrod's. The service was kind of a downer as I'm used to singing, people being so cheery and bright colors filling my church on Easter, but I was glad I went and experienced something different. Following the service 12 girls went out to brunch at a fancy place about a block from the church and had a lovely time. Then Marissa and I came back to my flat, changed, and set out to the British Museum; after a terribly long bus ride, we arrived and saw the main attractions; which meant we could be on our way to Brick Lane. We wondered through the rows and rows good food and cute clothes, found Marissa a super cute new purse, and then met up with Andrea to have some authentic Indian food at a place called Aladdin. Stuffed, we made our way back to my flat for Marissa's final night in London. We were both wiped from the weeks events and turned in early due to the fact that we had to set our alarms for 4:15am so Marissa could catch a night bus to the airport. She made it home successfully and I am so happy we were able to share an experience like this together. No matter how we've each grown in different ways due to our respective colleges she'll always remain my best friend and this week together only reaffirmed that in my mind.
The next morning I had class, and Marissa came with as we watched 'An Education.' After that we made a quick lunch, picked up her friend Joe and were off. I took them on a walking tour all over London and along the way got to see the Churchill War Rooms. They were very interesting and were left intact from when WWII ended. Our tour ended at Westminster and we headed back to my flat to pick up Alex and Eric before heading over to Bayswater to get dinner at TukTuk; we had Thai two nights in a row, but Marissa didn't mind :) That night we went out with a lot of people from my program to a club, ironically called Club 49. We had crazy night out, but were up and ready to go at 9:30 on Thursday! I dropped Marissa off at the V&A and went to class, after which we met up, packed up and headed for the train to Eastbourne!
After a slight scare about not getting our tickets we were on the train and reading away. We were looking for a very relaxing weekend and I am pleased to say that is exactly what we got! We walked from the train station to our Bed and Breakfast, we took a few wrong turns due to our lack of directions, but got there and instantly fell in love with it. It was called the Victoria and Albert, and was decorated in the Victorian style. Our room was quaint and had a wonderfully comfortable bed. We needed a serious nap after the night before, so we settled in bed with our book and napped for a few hours. When we awoke we were starving so we set out in search of food. We ended up at this really nice Indian restaurant. The food was fantastic, a bit expensive, but SO worth it. Afterwards we headed back to the B&B for some more R&R.
We got up the next morning to have breakfast in the breakfast room :) The old man that owned the place with his wife cooked us our full English breakfast, of which we ate everything in sight, and then we ventured to the pier. This is where the story picks up. After touring the pier in the sun we boarded the bus that would take us to the famous white cliffs. The bus ride was only 12 minutes long, but as we drove it started to sprinkle...then rain...then pour. By the time we got off the bus it was windy, wet, and cold! But we were determined to see the White Cliffs, and see them we did. After struggling to maintain a firm hold on our umbrellas, we finally decided to put them away and use our scarfs as head wear. We pondered the cliffs for about 5 minutes, took some pictures to show that we'd been there and then ran towards the pub that was down the hill. There was a cute little museum that looked like a bunch of NHD projects thrown together in a room but it was interesting and something to keep us out of the rain. The bus only came every half hour, and we missed the first one, the fun adventured that had us laughing at the beginning was turning the corner towards no fun. As we stood in a little phone booth by the bus stop we came up with the wonderful plan of going back to our room and climbing into bed with our books again once more :) And that is just what we did. Getting up in time for dinner we went and ended up having high tea at a cute place by the pier. We then stopped and picked up some wine for the night and once again retreated to our wonderful room; where we proceeded to drink the wine and catch up on everything in each others lives.
Saturday brought sun that stayed, and we shopped! I introduced Marissa to Primark, and she got a cute new dress, while I picked up two new sweaters. After we were shopped out we grabbed coffee at a cafe and, what else, read our books outside in the beautiful sunshine! We got on an earlier train and headed back to London. We decided to make our own delicious dinner and picked up the ingredients for a Mediterranean pizza. It was super yummy and afterward we were ready to go see more sights! I took her all around central London; St. Pauls, Tate Modern, The National Theater, we walked for quite some time but ended the tour in Piccadilly Circus. We made our way back to the flat exhausted and ready for bed.
We got up early Sunday morning to go to Easter Service at the Brompton St Oratory, a very pretty Catholic church over by Harrod's. The service was kind of a downer as I'm used to singing, people being so cheery and bright colors filling my church on Easter, but I was glad I went and experienced something different. Following the service 12 girls went out to brunch at a fancy place about a block from the church and had a lovely time. Then Marissa and I came back to my flat, changed, and set out to the British Museum; after a terribly long bus ride, we arrived and saw the main attractions; which meant we could be on our way to Brick Lane. We wondered through the rows and rows good food and cute clothes, found Marissa a super cute new purse, and then met up with Andrea to have some authentic Indian food at a place called Aladdin. Stuffed, we made our way back to my flat for Marissa's final night in London. We were both wiped from the weeks events and turned in early due to the fact that we had to set our alarms for 4:15am so Marissa could catch a night bus to the airport. She made it home successfully and I am so happy we were able to share an experience like this together. No matter how we've each grown in different ways due to our respective colleges she'll always remain my best friend and this week together only reaffirmed that in my mind.
As I lie awake...
Lately getting to sleep at night has become a difficult task; not because I am not worn out from my days here, but because my head is constantly going over and over the same things. These things mostly revolve around numbers.
22 - the present number of days I have left in Europe.
17 - the current number of days I have left in London.
16 - the number of days until mom gets to London!
34 - the number of days until I am back in Bennett's arms.
24 - the number of days until I reunited with Madison and all the wonderful people I miss there.
But for every number there is a crazy set of emotions that go with it.
22 - It's SO close, I can't even imagine flying home at this point.
17 - Is that enough time to see everything I've missed? Will I be able to maintain the friendships I've made once we're back in Madison?
16 - I can't believe my mom's coming so soon! I can't wait to show her around... I really hope everything works out, she doesn't forget anything, her jet lags not too much to handle, etc, etc
34 - So close yet so far away...
24 - How will things have changed since I left? Will I fit right back in? Or be out side of my best friend circle?
I over analyze everything. I always have, and probably always will. Que sera sera has been entering into my head a lot lately and I try to remind myself that everything will work out the way it is meant to. I am also in the process of trying to figure out what I am going to do with my, as Bennett so eloquently put it, pointless major... Life after college is just now entering into my mind, and scaring the crap out of me. As much as this semester abroad has helped me figure out who I am, it has not really helped in what i want to be.
My nights may be consumed with unnecessary stress, but my days are filled with lovely London weather as of late, and trying to finish off my Semester to the fullest.
22 - the present number of days I have left in Europe.
17 - the current number of days I have left in London.
16 - the number of days until mom gets to London!
34 - the number of days until I am back in Bennett's arms.
24 - the number of days until I reunited with Madison and all the wonderful people I miss there.
But for every number there is a crazy set of emotions that go with it.
22 - It's SO close, I can't even imagine flying home at this point.
17 - Is that enough time to see everything I've missed? Will I be able to maintain the friendships I've made once we're back in Madison?
16 - I can't believe my mom's coming so soon! I can't wait to show her around... I really hope everything works out, she doesn't forget anything, her jet lags not too much to handle, etc, etc
34 - So close yet so far away...
24 - How will things have changed since I left? Will I fit right back in? Or be out side of my best friend circle?
I over analyze everything. I always have, and probably always will. Que sera sera has been entering into my head a lot lately and I try to remind myself that everything will work out the way it is meant to. I am also in the process of trying to figure out what I am going to do with my, as Bennett so eloquently put it, pointless major... Life after college is just now entering into my mind, and scaring the crap out of me. As much as this semester abroad has helped me figure out who I am, it has not really helped in what i want to be.
My nights may be consumed with unnecessary stress, but my days are filled with lovely London weather as of late, and trying to finish off my Semester to the fullest.
Monday, March 29, 2010
bits and pieces.
i'm going to do another random assortment adventures to catch me up...
1.) first I have now had the chance to become one of the crazy fans I swore never to become. On the opening night of Remember Me, a few of the girls from the program and I waited a few..okay four hours in front of the movie theater in order to get a prime spot to see Robert Pattinson himself. And I was not disappointed. In fact I'm a little sad to admit how giddy I got, giggling as he signed autographs right in front of me and said in his sexy British accent, "ahh, I'm getting bombarded." It was also very cool to see how a movie premier works and the time and effort it takes a lot of people to make the event happen.
2.) We also went to go see Rupert Friend in "A little dog Laughed" which was very good. Probably the best comedy I've seen in London so far, and afterward we waited by the stage door and got to meet Mr. Friend himself and of course get a picture :)
3.) I went to Bath on Friday and loved the city. It was cute, with a lot of history and a hilly landscape. I'm really happy with how much of England I've got to see going on pound trips through our program. Bath was our last day trip, but I'm going to continue seeing the English country by traveling to the Southern Coast this weekend with my bestest friend Marissa from home! 24 hours until she's here!
4.) In those 24 hours though, I have a paper to write for my Lit class, and I can't seem to make myself start...! I wrote my Contemporary Britain paper last night, and I can safely say the work I've done in London has not only been some of the hardest to accomplish, it's very close to the weakest work I've ever handed in as well... which makes me worried for next semester... in which i'll be a senior! I can't convey in words how much that scares me.
5.) A month from today I'll be hopping on a plane back to the United States. No matter how much I miss certain people and am happy to be heading back to see them, it makes me sad to think about leaving in only 30 days. I feel that I learned so much in the time I've been here. Not just the history and geography of London, but things about myself; the people I want in my life, the things i want to accomplish in the future, the personal space I require, and the ultimate knowledge that I can travel an ocean away and still be myself and build a life.
1.) first I have now had the chance to become one of the crazy fans I swore never to become. On the opening night of Remember Me, a few of the girls from the program and I waited a few..okay four hours in front of the movie theater in order to get a prime spot to see Robert Pattinson himself. And I was not disappointed. In fact I'm a little sad to admit how giddy I got, giggling as he signed autographs right in front of me and said in his sexy British accent, "ahh, I'm getting bombarded." It was also very cool to see how a movie premier works and the time and effort it takes a lot of people to make the event happen.
2.) We also went to go see Rupert Friend in "A little dog Laughed" which was very good. Probably the best comedy I've seen in London so far, and afterward we waited by the stage door and got to meet Mr. Friend himself and of course get a picture :)
3.) I went to Bath on Friday and loved the city. It was cute, with a lot of history and a hilly landscape. I'm really happy with how much of England I've got to see going on pound trips through our program. Bath was our last day trip, but I'm going to continue seeing the English country by traveling to the Southern Coast this weekend with my bestest friend Marissa from home! 24 hours until she's here!
4.) In those 24 hours though, I have a paper to write for my Lit class, and I can't seem to make myself start...! I wrote my Contemporary Britain paper last night, and I can safely say the work I've done in London has not only been some of the hardest to accomplish, it's very close to the weakest work I've ever handed in as well... which makes me worried for next semester... in which i'll be a senior! I can't convey in words how much that scares me.
5.) A month from today I'll be hopping on a plane back to the United States. No matter how much I miss certain people and am happy to be heading back to see them, it makes me sad to think about leaving in only 30 days. I feel that I learned so much in the time I've been here. Not just the history and geography of London, but things about myself; the people I want in my life, the things i want to accomplish in the future, the personal space I require, and the ultimate knowledge that I can travel an ocean away and still be myself and build a life.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Adventures in Holland...wait The Netherlands...wait...
So I once again have been quite slow at updating my blog, but I'm back to it as I am procrasting writing my screenplay due tomorrow, poli sci paper due monday, and lit paper due wed...
Well, I went to The Netherlands this past weekend, a term which confused me greatly because everyone calls it the Netherlands, but it's in Holland. I may or may not have been under the impression they were two different countries...oops. Anyways I started my journey a little late and stressed myself out the entire tube ride worrying about if I was going to get through security on time so that when I finally did get through security I had to buy myself a chocolate bar to claim my nerves :) The start of the weekend of junk food...I arrived in Amsterdam to meet a very unfriendly Dutch man at the train station counter, who didn't seem to really want to sell me a ticket to Utrecht. After I finally obtained the ticket I went to the platform he named and waited. Since the signs were in Dutch(and whoever says Dutch and German are similar I would like to argue with) I had no idea what train I was getting on since it didn't actually say Utrecht Central, only the ending destination, which was not where I wanted to go. I finally asked someone as I boarded the train and he said yes it was going there, I didn't really stop stressing though until I was actually off the train and hugging Steve, thankful to be with a friendly face. Speaking of friendly faces, you have no idea how good it felt to finally be with someone who knew me from home, that I hadn't just met, and had a real history with. It was wonderful being able to talk about our friends at home and not have to explain who they were to people! The rest of the weekend was just as amazing.
We did a little pub craw the first night and I was introduced to the back of Steve's bike. It's called dinking, and my butt never really got used to it :) I sat on the back of Steve's bike while he balanced and peddled, needless to say he got the workout and I got a lesson in trust. On Friday morning Steve went to class and I walked into the main part of town where the canal flow, there was a small market and a really old church called De Dom. It was beautiful and I toured the inside and then continued to tour the town before Steve called and we met up. He decided to take me to the culture boat. Which is a coffeehouse on a boat. We got cultured and then went on a little bike ride through Utrecht that stopped at a cafe where we got coffee, and then took us back to his apartment where we got Turkish food, so good. We decided to nap, take showers, watch the Badger's game and then get ready for the night.
We also made an epic meal, for which I am proud to say I ate a ton of veggies I never thought I would touch. After the lovely dinner we drank the 50 cent energy drinks we had picked up from the grocery store, and shared a bottle of wine with some of his friends, before heading out to a club called EKKO. And it turned out to be Balkan Beats night(russian techno!) and we danced a lot. It was really fun, but we tried to leave early to get some sleep.
And that was because we went to Amsterdam on Saturday! We were up and out the door by 10 and got into Amsterdam around 11:30, just in time to grab some Fritz und Fritzsause, (no idea if i'm spelling that correctly) a Dutch speciality, which is basically fries and mayo.
We explored the city and met up with some of the guys from my London program at the Heineken tour, after which we got some amazing Dutch pancakes, and decided to head towards the Van Gogh museum. Little did we know we'd get down poured on on our trek there. And I mean it poured. We were both soaked to the bone and i literally could decide if I wanted to laugh or cry about it. In the end I laughed and then went into the museum where I was a tad bit uncomfortable the whole time, thus not enjoying it as I wish I would have. Anyways, afterward we explored a little more, I actually got more Fritz und Fritzsausse for dinner and then we went in search of the Red Light district. It blew my mind. I don't know what I was expecting, as I had heard a lot about it, but it still surpassed what I had imagined. The only thing I could think of was, How does one end up in one of these windows? Where in this women's life did something go wrong? Did something go wrong, or do people grow up thinking this could be fun? It was something that put things into perspective for me and I'm glad Steve talked me into seeing it.
We went backed, skyped with some of my favorite people and then I went to bed because I had to get up early Sunday morning.
All in all it was one of the best weekends I've had in Europe, I really really loved Utrecht; it reminded me a bit of Madison and gave me time away from tourists everywhere, I also got to spend some much needed time away with a very good friend from home.
Well, I went to The Netherlands this past weekend, a term which confused me greatly because everyone calls it the Netherlands, but it's in Holland. I may or may not have been under the impression they were two different countries...oops. Anyways I started my journey a little late and stressed myself out the entire tube ride worrying about if I was going to get through security on time so that when I finally did get through security I had to buy myself a chocolate bar to claim my nerves :) The start of the weekend of junk food...I arrived in Amsterdam to meet a very unfriendly Dutch man at the train station counter, who didn't seem to really want to sell me a ticket to Utrecht. After I finally obtained the ticket I went to the platform he named and waited. Since the signs were in Dutch(and whoever says Dutch and German are similar I would like to argue with) I had no idea what train I was getting on since it didn't actually say Utrecht Central, only the ending destination, which was not where I wanted to go. I finally asked someone as I boarded the train and he said yes it was going there, I didn't really stop stressing though until I was actually off the train and hugging Steve, thankful to be with a friendly face. Speaking of friendly faces, you have no idea how good it felt to finally be with someone who knew me from home, that I hadn't just met, and had a real history with. It was wonderful being able to talk about our friends at home and not have to explain who they were to people! The rest of the weekend was just as amazing.
We did a little pub craw the first night and I was introduced to the back of Steve's bike. It's called dinking, and my butt never really got used to it :) I sat on the back of Steve's bike while he balanced and peddled, needless to say he got the workout and I got a lesson in trust. On Friday morning Steve went to class and I walked into the main part of town where the canal flow, there was a small market and a really old church called De Dom. It was beautiful and I toured the inside and then continued to tour the town before Steve called and we met up. He decided to take me to the culture boat. Which is a coffeehouse on a boat. We got cultured and then went on a little bike ride through Utrecht that stopped at a cafe where we got coffee, and then took us back to his apartment where we got Turkish food, so good. We decided to nap, take showers, watch the Badger's game and then get ready for the night.
We also made an epic meal, for which I am proud to say I ate a ton of veggies I never thought I would touch. After the lovely dinner we drank the 50 cent energy drinks we had picked up from the grocery store, and shared a bottle of wine with some of his friends, before heading out to a club called EKKO. And it turned out to be Balkan Beats night(russian techno!) and we danced a lot. It was really fun, but we tried to leave early to get some sleep.And that was because we went to Amsterdam on Saturday! We were up and out the door by 10 and got into Amsterdam around 11:30, just in time to grab some Fritz und Fritzsause, (no idea if i'm spelling that correctly) a Dutch speciality, which is basically fries and mayo.
We explored the city and met up with some of the guys from my London program at the Heineken tour, after which we got some amazing Dutch pancakes, and decided to head towards the Van Gogh museum. Little did we know we'd get down poured on on our trek there. And I mean it poured. We were both soaked to the bone and i literally could decide if I wanted to laugh or cry about it. In the end I laughed and then went into the museum where I was a tad bit uncomfortable the whole time, thus not enjoying it as I wish I would have. Anyways, afterward we explored a little more, I actually got more Fritz und Fritzsausse for dinner and then we went in search of the Red Light district. It blew my mind. I don't know what I was expecting, as I had heard a lot about it, but it still surpassed what I had imagined. The only thing I could think of was, How does one end up in one of these windows? Where in this women's life did something go wrong? Did something go wrong, or do people grow up thinking this could be fun? It was something that put things into perspective for me and I'm glad Steve talked me into seeing it.
We went backed, skyped with some of my favorite people and then I went to bed because I had to get up early Sunday morning.
All in all it was one of the best weekends I've had in Europe, I really really loved Utrecht; it reminded me a bit of Madison and gave me time away from tourists everywhere, I also got to spend some much needed time away with a very good friend from home.
Monday, March 15, 2010
top ten?
well I've done A LOT of blogging tonight and I'm still a week behind... so this is going to be the "top ten" things I've done in the last week...hopefully I'll find ten things to tell you about :)
10.) I went to another football game! QPR was not as good as Fulham, but still a fun experience all around.
9.) Weather. It hit 55 degrees today. It was lovely. I cannot wait for the 60's and strolling around London without so many layers on!
8.) Flowers. The flowers are starting to bloom in Kensington Gardens and Hyde park. I love running outside now because the colors are just popping up; I can't imagine how happy I'll be with ALL the flowers in full bloom!
7.) Stonehenge. Something I needed to check off my list of things to do in my lifetime, and it is checked. Interesting to contemplate how they got there, but once you've got your pictures there's really no need to go back. Our group did organize a five person base pyramid while walking around Stonehenge and it was sight to see. I was the person in the back pushing people up to their respective spots and we almost finished it! We got to level four before the collapse occurred :)
6.) Salisbury. A super cute town in which we explored the market, and I ate my first Pasty. We also explored the Cathedral and saw one of the four remaining Magna Carta's. I bought a bottle of Mead (honey) Wine, which was drank in the middle ages by newly weds on their wedding nights until the moon went down; giving rise to the name "honeymoon." I loved the story so much I had to have a bottle..
5.) Saturday Night. We had a very fun night in the flat with a few people's friends in town; it felt good to go out in London again!
4.) A Sunday morning stroll. Andrea, Alex and I walked from Hyde Park Gate around Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square where there was a huge St. Patty's Day Celebration going on. There were thousands of people dressed in green and drinking Guinness while listening to the live Irish music.
3.) Brick lane. After Trafalgar we ventured down to Brick Lane Market, where I had some amazing Chinese food, and walked through my new favorite market. I will be going back as soon as possible.
2.) Really Old, like 45. Tonight we went to a play at the National Theater. It was okay, parts were funny and I guess interesting to consider, but it dealt with Alzheimer's, and since my grandpa passed away a few years back after fighting it, I had a hard time finding many parts laughable.
1.) One month. One month from today we have our farewell dinner. It's crazy how time flies and how quickly my time in London has flown. I am already sad thinking about leaving the program, but excited to have a wonderful summer in Madison and see friends and family!
10.) I went to another football game! QPR was not as good as Fulham, but still a fun experience all around.
9.) Weather. It hit 55 degrees today. It was lovely. I cannot wait for the 60's and strolling around London without so many layers on!
8.) Flowers. The flowers are starting to bloom in Kensington Gardens and Hyde park. I love running outside now because the colors are just popping up; I can't imagine how happy I'll be with ALL the flowers in full bloom!
7.) Stonehenge. Something I needed to check off my list of things to do in my lifetime, and it is checked. Interesting to contemplate how they got there, but once you've got your pictures there's really no need to go back. Our group did organize a five person base pyramid while walking around Stonehenge and it was sight to see. I was the person in the back pushing people up to their respective spots and we almost finished it! We got to level four before the collapse occurred :)
6.) Salisbury. A super cute town in which we explored the market, and I ate my first Pasty. We also explored the Cathedral and saw one of the four remaining Magna Carta's. I bought a bottle of Mead (honey) Wine, which was drank in the middle ages by newly weds on their wedding nights until the moon went down; giving rise to the name "honeymoon." I loved the story so much I had to have a bottle..
5.) Saturday Night. We had a very fun night in the flat with a few people's friends in town; it felt good to go out in London again!
4.) A Sunday morning stroll. Andrea, Alex and I walked from Hyde Park Gate around Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square where there was a huge St. Patty's Day Celebration going on. There were thousands of people dressed in green and drinking Guinness while listening to the live Irish music.
3.) Brick lane. After Trafalgar we ventured down to Brick Lane Market, where I had some amazing Chinese food, and walked through my new favorite market. I will be going back as soon as possible.
2.) Really Old, like 45. Tonight we went to a play at the National Theater. It was okay, parts were funny and I guess interesting to consider, but it dealt with Alzheimer's, and since my grandpa passed away a few years back after fighting it, I had a hard time finding many parts laughable.
1.) One month. One month from today we have our farewell dinner. It's crazy how time flies and how quickly my time in London has flown. I am already sad thinking about leaving the program, but excited to have a wonderful summer in Madison and see friends and family!
Part III: Rome
Ahh Rome. My favorite part of the trip. There was so much in Rome I wanted to see and I am happy to say I got to see it all. The first night we got there we went to sleep after another full day of travel so we'd be able to get up and go the next morning. I also finished my 3rd book of the trip. We got up and had breakfast at the hostel and then set out to find the Rome(ing) Tour that had been recommended to us. We got their early and ended up sitting at a cafe for an hour waiting, we decided it was very Italian of us. The tour was great. It was given by Tad, a friendly man from Iowa. He was incredibly knowledgeable and I asked him quite a few questions. We ended up having the tour all to ourselves as well as we were the only ones who showed up. It was a 4 hour walking tour that took us all over ancient Rome. Seeing the Colosseum, Pantheon, Jewish ghetto, Mouth of Truth, Circus Maximus, Piazza Venezia, and the Roman Forum.
It wiped us out and after trying the restaurant Tad recommended to us, and disliking it, we turned in.
The next day we packed just as much in. Starting with the Vatican. We did a little shopping on the way to St. Peter's Basilica. Once there we decided we should get inline to go in...not really realizing what we were getting ourselves into. By mistake we got into line for the capela, where a friendly Canadian told us we were going to the top of the dome. It cost 5 euros to take all 541 stairs or you could pay 7 and take the elevator half way and only walk 300.. Alyssa and I decided to save two euros and burn some extra calories. It was definitely a climb, but we made it, and it actually ended up being one of my favorite things we did. We could see all of Rome from the top and had a great deal of arms that wrap around St. Peter's.
Afterward we got galeto on our way to the Vatican Museum, where the Sistine Chapel is located; something I couldn't leave Rome without seeing.
After our Vatican adventure we headed towards the Trevi fountain. It started raining... (the only bad weather we had on our whole trip) but it really didn't phase us, the fountain was spectacular.
The next morning we got up early to make our way to Piazza Navona to look for paintings. I bought two small water colors that I think will look great in Jen and I's bathroom :) We also got pizza and gatelo for the last time in Italy before we ran back to the hostel to catch our taxi to the airport.
Our trip really went without any hitches and it is truly something I will never forget.
It wiped us out and after trying the restaurant Tad recommended to us, and disliking it, we turned in.The next day we packed just as much in. Starting with the Vatican. We did a little shopping on the way to St. Peter's Basilica. Once there we decided we should get inline to go in...not really realizing what we were getting ourselves into. By mistake we got into line for the capela, where a friendly Canadian told us we were going to the top of the dome. It cost 5 euros to take all 541 stairs or you could pay 7 and take the elevator half way and only walk 300.. Alyssa and I decided to save two euros and burn some extra calories. It was definitely a climb, but we made it, and it actually ended up being one of my favorite things we did. We could see all of Rome from the top and had a great deal of arms that wrap around St. Peter's.
Afterward we got galeto on our way to the Vatican Museum, where the Sistine Chapel is located; something I couldn't leave Rome without seeing.
After our Vatican adventure we headed towards the Trevi fountain. It started raining... (the only bad weather we had on our whole trip) but it really didn't phase us, the fountain was spectacular.
The next morning we got up early to make our way to Piazza Navona to look for paintings. I bought two small water colors that I think will look great in Jen and I's bathroom :) We also got pizza and gatelo for the last time in Italy before we ran back to the hostel to catch our taxi to the airport.
Our trip really went without any hitches and it is truly something I will never forget.
Part II: Santorini
So as you can tell I've waited a long time to make this post. I got back from spring break ten days ago, and just haven't been in the mood to relay our trip in writing because I've told so many people about it verbally. But, for my memory, I'm going to jot some stuff down so I can blog about life now, which I really want to do :)
Santorini. It turns out Santorini is a 7 1/2 hour ferry ride away from Athens... who knew? Not us. But we had our hearts set on going and a hotel booked, so we boarded the ferry at 7:30am on Sat, after a crazy public transport trip that would not have been possible if not for the crazy nice bus driver who picked us up at vacant bus stop, the second bus driver who didn't leave the stop we were supposed to get off at until we were off, and the random Greek women who heard us talk about where we were going and told us we need to get on the metro on the other side of the track. The ferry ride went fast and I finished my second book of the trip. We arrived in Santorini after having witnessed the beauty of the island from the ship; an array of white houses on top of a huge mountain in the middle of the bluest water I have ever seen.
The hotel we were staying at offered free pick up from the port, and it was wonderful to not have to worry about some random taxi taking us for an unwanted ride around town. We drove up and up and up and finally reached the cutest little villa, Villa Manos, where we stayed. They welcomed us with Santorini wine and we were taken to our room. We freshened up and then set out to find food. We went to a place called Nikh's, which was recommended to us by the owner of the villa and I had the best cheesy potato dish I've ever eaten. It was like my mom's party potatoes times 10! We were stuffed and tired so we went back to the room and slept. On the second day we went and explored the town of Fira, which is located on upper part of the island of Santorini.(I didn't know there were separate towns on the island until we got there either) We walked and walked and walked. But we found the spot where all the picture are taken from, and rightly so. I could have sat on top of these roofs all day just to look at the water, the mountains, and tops of the white houses all around me.
We got pizza for lunch and divided in two groups. Andrea, Alyssa and I decided to go check out the black sand beach and the other girls went back to the room. We laid out on the beach although, like the rest of the town, we were the only ones there. It's not their tourist season so it felt kind of like a ghost town. We found a really cute restaurant on the beach though and enjoyed a drink while taking in the view. They also gave us tap water, which Alyssa didn't remind me we couldn't drink until it was already in my mouth! We ended up going back to the cute restaurant on the beach for dinner, and like every other place we went in Santorini, were given a free dessert with our meal :) The next day we woke up went back to the black sand beach, ate lunch, found a bakery where I picked up Greek Pound Cake, and waited for the time to be taken back to the ferry. They gave us wine again before we left and we prepared for the 7 1/2 hours of traveling ahead of us.
The ferry ride back to Athens, if I had to pick, was the worst part of the trip. I did not want to be on the boat for that long again so soon, and for some reason I got the most homesick I've been on this trip while riding that ferry. I read though and stared out at the wonders of the scenery.
We got into Athens late and got into a really nice taxi to take us to our hostel for the night. The next morning we were up and traveling again. We got brunch at a cafe in the square and headed to the airport.
Santorini. It turns out Santorini is a 7 1/2 hour ferry ride away from Athens... who knew? Not us. But we had our hearts set on going and a hotel booked, so we boarded the ferry at 7:30am on Sat, after a crazy public transport trip that would not have been possible if not for the crazy nice bus driver who picked us up at vacant bus stop, the second bus driver who didn't leave the stop we were supposed to get off at until we were off, and the random Greek women who heard us talk about where we were going and told us we need to get on the metro on the other side of the track. The ferry ride went fast and I finished my second book of the trip. We arrived in Santorini after having witnessed the beauty of the island from the ship; an array of white houses on top of a huge mountain in the middle of the bluest water I have ever seen.
The hotel we were staying at offered free pick up from the port, and it was wonderful to not have to worry about some random taxi taking us for an unwanted ride around town. We drove up and up and up and finally reached the cutest little villa, Villa Manos, where we stayed. They welcomed us with Santorini wine and we were taken to our room. We freshened up and then set out to find food. We went to a place called Nikh's, which was recommended to us by the owner of the villa and I had the best cheesy potato dish I've ever eaten. It was like my mom's party potatoes times 10! We were stuffed and tired so we went back to the room and slept. On the second day we went and explored the town of Fira, which is located on upper part of the island of Santorini.(I didn't know there were separate towns on the island until we got there either) We walked and walked and walked. But we found the spot where all the picture are taken from, and rightly so. I could have sat on top of these roofs all day just to look at the water, the mountains, and tops of the white houses all around me.
We got pizza for lunch and divided in two groups. Andrea, Alyssa and I decided to go check out the black sand beach and the other girls went back to the room. We laid out on the beach although, like the rest of the town, we were the only ones there. It's not their tourist season so it felt kind of like a ghost town. We found a really cute restaurant on the beach though and enjoyed a drink while taking in the view. They also gave us tap water, which Alyssa didn't remind me we couldn't drink until it was already in my mouth! We ended up going back to the cute restaurant on the beach for dinner, and like every other place we went in Santorini, were given a free dessert with our meal :) The next day we woke up went back to the black sand beach, ate lunch, found a bakery where I picked up Greek Pound Cake, and waited for the time to be taken back to the ferry. They gave us wine again before we left and we prepared for the 7 1/2 hours of traveling ahead of us.
The ferry ride back to Athens, if I had to pick, was the worst part of the trip. I did not want to be on the boat for that long again so soon, and for some reason I got the most homesick I've been on this trip while riding that ferry. I read though and stared out at the wonders of the scenery.
We got into Athens late and got into a really nice taxi to take us to our hostel for the night. The next morning we were up and traveling again. We got brunch at a cafe in the square and headed to the airport.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
and away we go...(part I: Athens)
Ever since AP Art History my senior year of high school I've had insanely high hopes for getting to see everything I studied during the entire year... Again, at the time these were hopes, dreams, ambitions. But I can now say it is slowly turning into a reality. On Wed Feb 24th I left for Athens with five darling girls from my program. I turns out almost all European Airlines serve meals and I was thrilled to get salmon on the way there! We landed at about 12:15am and waited in customs for a bit before hoping into a taxi which was supposed to bring us directly to our hostel. Well after a scary ride, on which I turned to Ashley and commented that I felt like we were on a roller coaster, we received a taxi fee that was much steeper than expected and didn't even drop us off at the door to our hostel, only the alleyway leading to it.. but we were out of the taxi alive and happy to be so. When we finally got to our room we discovered it was perfect! We had our own studio style apartment with a separate kitchen, bathroom and living room apart from our bedroom with three sets of bunk beds. We headed straight to bed and decided to sleep in the next morning so we would have energy to explore. 
On our first full day we woke up a little late and thus went in search of lunch as we left the apartment. We discovered old town and ate Gyros! After which we got galeto, and then set our sites on the Acropolis! We climbed the hill leading to it as the sun was shinning and my face was smiling. We stayed on top of the Acropolis not just looking at the ruins but the view it offered us! We saw the Parthenon, Porch of the Maidens, Temple of Athena Nike, and the Theater of Dionysos, to name a few.
After leaving the Acropolis we went to explore the rest of the city. We ended up making our way to Syntagma Square, which is right in front of their main govn't building (like their white house) We got freshly made donuts in the square and then decided to go back and get re-ready before dinner. We tried to find a Greek menu so we could taste a truly Greek meal. We found one relatively close to our studio and i decided I was going to be adventurous and order something I didn't know if I would like. I ordered Moussaka, which consists of eggplant and minced meat and it was my favorite meal of the trip. Absolutely one of the best things i've ever tried. The Greeks loved six American girls everywhere we went and we were constantly given free things at meals. The first night started this fad with free Ouzo, the Greek alcohol of choice. It reminded me of black licorice and I did not like it.
The second morning we woke up a little earlier and got breakfast at this cute little restaurant with a large outdoor seating area. We all ordered their Greek yogurt/fresh fruit waffle and I found it superb.
The rest of the day was devoted to shopping! We walked the streets of Plaka, which contained hundreds of cute little shops and bought a lot of souvenirs for family and friends :) On our way back to the apartment for the night we stopped and made reservations at a resturant in old town where the owner promised us live music and let us pick the table to we wanted for that night. When we came back our table was ready and I order a four course meal to celebrate our last night in Athens.
On our first full day we woke up a little late and thus went in search of lunch as we left the apartment. We discovered old town and ate Gyros! After which we got galeto, and then set our sites on the Acropolis! We climbed the hill leading to it as the sun was shinning and my face was smiling. We stayed on top of the Acropolis not just looking at the ruins but the view it offered us! We saw the Parthenon, Porch of the Maidens, Temple of Athena Nike, and the Theater of Dionysos, to name a few.
After leaving the Acropolis we went to explore the rest of the city. We ended up making our way to Syntagma Square, which is right in front of their main govn't building (like their white house) We got freshly made donuts in the square and then decided to go back and get re-ready before dinner. We tried to find a Greek menu so we could taste a truly Greek meal. We found one relatively close to our studio and i decided I was going to be adventurous and order something I didn't know if I would like. I ordered Moussaka, which consists of eggplant and minced meat and it was my favorite meal of the trip. Absolutely one of the best things i've ever tried. The Greeks loved six American girls everywhere we went and we were constantly given free things at meals. The first night started this fad with free Ouzo, the Greek alcohol of choice. It reminded me of black licorice and I did not like it.
The second morning we woke up a little earlier and got breakfast at this cute little restaurant with a large outdoor seating area. We all ordered their Greek yogurt/fresh fruit waffle and I found it superb.
The rest of the day was devoted to shopping! We walked the streets of Plaka, which contained hundreds of cute little shops and bought a lot of souvenirs for family and friends :) On our way back to the apartment for the night we stopped and made reservations at a resturant in old town where the owner promised us live music and let us pick the table to we wanted for that night. When we came back our table was ready and I order a four course meal to celebrate our last night in Athens.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
PUPPY CHOW!
Today is a big day. I leave for spring break in about six hours. But bigger than that, my parents sent me a package. And it contained Puppy Chow! I received this package about 45 minutes ago; it is now half gone. Andrea helped a tad bit, but it's safe to say I will not need a real lunch or dinner. I'm sooo happy right now. I took a midterm this morning, feel pretty good about it, got my package and now leave in 6 hours to see more places I've only dreamed about. Athens, Rome, and Santorini.
Quick update on everything before I leave and come back to write about more amazing things -
Sat - We went to Greenwich, stood on the Prime Meridian, and toured the town for a bit. That night we went to a really cool place called the Rooftop Gardens; it's a really posh place that Ari, a boy our trip, had booked a few tables at for his birthday. We went at like 9 and got in, and then discovered it was not a cheap place. This should have been assumed because this place is frequented by celebs. I had a wonderful night though, thoroughly enjoyed the venue.
Sunday - We went to a football game! It was Fulham vs. Birmingham and Fulham won! It was a really cool stadium and we want to go back. I ate a footlong hotdog and it was in a baguette, so yummy.
Monday - we went to see Billy Elliot! It was amazing! I now completely understand how the 12 year old boy(s) won the Tony when it first opened. The dancing sequences were mind blowing, the music was good, but the dancing made the show.
Tuesday - was full of packing and preparing. And I caught up on one tree hill and brothers and sisters, and watched Bridget Jones' Diary.
AND now I leave! dun dun dunnnnnnn.
Can't wait to show you pictures and tell you stories!
Quick update on everything before I leave and come back to write about more amazing things -
Sat - We went to Greenwich, stood on the Prime Meridian, and toured the town for a bit. That night we went to a really cool place called the Rooftop Gardens; it's a really posh place that Ari, a boy our trip, had booked a few tables at for his birthday. We went at like 9 and got in, and then discovered it was not a cheap place. This should have been assumed because this place is frequented by celebs. I had a wonderful night though, thoroughly enjoyed the venue.
Sunday - We went to a football game! It was Fulham vs. Birmingham and Fulham won! It was a really cool stadium and we want to go back. I ate a footlong hotdog and it was in a baguette, so yummy.
Monday - we went to see Billy Elliot! It was amazing! I now completely understand how the 12 year old boy(s) won the Tony when it first opened. The dancing sequences were mind blowing, the music was good, but the dancing made the show.
Tuesday - was full of packing and preparing. And I caught up on one tree hill and brothers and sisters, and watched Bridget Jones' Diary.
AND now I leave! dun dun dunnnnnnn.
Can't wait to show you pictures and tell you stories!
Friday, February 19, 2010
sure was bright in brighton.
It turns out 6 hours of sleep is enough to get one through a beautiful day in Brighton. Brighton, mentioned as a traveling spot to Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, is a beach town on the southern shores of England. It was a cute town that many people actually commute from to work in London every day. We started out by walking with Brit, who first navigated our huge group through 'the lanes,' which are tiny walking streets that take you through a wonderfully cute brick lane/window shopping district. Andrea, Ellie, Alex and I splurged on a cupcake at yet another adorable cup cake shop. Mine was made of Devils food cake and had peanut butter frosting and a Reese's on top. Possibly greatest frosting i've ever tasted. We then explored the Royal Pavilion, which was built by Charles IV when he was the Prince Regent. It was built in an eastern Asia style and looked like the Taj Ma Hall. In side was jaw dropping. The chandelier in the dining room was unbelievable, and although we weren't allowed to take pictures I have a mental picture in my head which still blows me away every time I think about it. Queen Victoria also had rooms redecorated in the palace even though she only visited four times because she decided she hated vacationing there. Why I can't even imagine.
After the tour of the Royal Pavilion we went in search of fish and chips. Because Brighton is on the sea we figured it would so fresh. We ate at the Pier, and stuffed ourselves with the largest box of fish and chips I've ever seen. The picture is half way through the meal because I was too hungry i had to eat before a picture could be taken :)
We walked on the pebble beach for awhile and toured some cute beachside shops before heading back to the bus for the ride home.
I don't want to bore with a detailed description of the rest of my week so i'll outline it quick and throw a few pictures in :)
Monday - went to see a play called Ghost, and it was okay, just seeing all the theater shows I can while in London seems to be a good way to spend my time.
Tuesday - It was Ellie's birthday! We started out the night at a pub called The Greyhound and later moved to a club called The Roxy which Peter talked us in to. It turned out to be a great move because the club was a lot of fun and relatively cheap because Tuesday's are student nights. We danced the night away and got home around 2.
Wednesday - Can't think of anything notable that occurred...
Thursday - Andrea and I started out on an adventure to find a new Longchamp bag for me! We started at Harrod's, because if I was going to buy one anywhere I wanted it to be there. But they only ended up having two colors in the size I wanted and I didn't want either. So we went to a store called London Luggage and I found a slate gray one and I love it :) It was my big buy for the trip, but they're still very inexpensive compared to buying one in the states. After I got my bag we tubed over towards Westminster Abbey, where we had decided we would go to see a service. We got there early and decided to tour the Supreme Court first. London just opened their Supreme Court less than a year ago (i believe) and it's quite modern. It consists of three courts within and I believe they all deal with separate issues. After that we crossed the street to enter Westminster Abbey, where every monarch has been crowned since William the Conqueror in 1066! It's a gorgeous cathedral and the service was very nice. It was called eveningsong and occurs every night at 5:30, the men's Abbey choir sings and their are verses read
After we got home we ate some food and got ready to go out for the night. This time Eric directed us to a bar down towards Lescester Square. It had waxy in the name...but was a very cool place with a tree in the middle of it! It also played great American songs (including Time of my Life from Dirty Dancing!) After we went to a club called O'Neil's which is three floors of American students dancing the night away. We ventured to the top floor which had a live band.
And this led us up to the morning in Brighton. Good week :)
After the tour of the Royal Pavilion we went in search of fish and chips. Because Brighton is on the sea we figured it would so fresh. We ate at the Pier, and stuffed ourselves with the largest box of fish and chips I've ever seen. The picture is half way through the meal because I was too hungry i had to eat before a picture could be taken :)
We walked on the pebble beach for awhile and toured some cute beachside shops before heading back to the bus for the ride home.
I don't want to bore with a detailed description of the rest of my week so i'll outline it quick and throw a few pictures in :)
Monday - went to see a play called Ghost, and it was okay, just seeing all the theater shows I can while in London seems to be a good way to spend my time.
Tuesday - It was Ellie's birthday! We started out the night at a pub called The Greyhound and later moved to a club called The Roxy which Peter talked us in to. It turned out to be a great move because the club was a lot of fun and relatively cheap because Tuesday's are student nights. We danced the night away and got home around 2.
Wednesday - Can't think of anything notable that occurred...
Thursday - Andrea and I started out on an adventure to find a new Longchamp bag for me! We started at Harrod's, because if I was going to buy one anywhere I wanted it to be there. But they only ended up having two colors in the size I wanted and I didn't want either. So we went to a store called London Luggage and I found a slate gray one and I love it :) It was my big buy for the trip, but they're still very inexpensive compared to buying one in the states. After I got my bag we tubed over towards Westminster Abbey, where we had decided we would go to see a service. We got there early and decided to tour the Supreme Court first. London just opened their Supreme Court less than a year ago (i believe) and it's quite modern. It consists of three courts within and I believe they all deal with separate issues. After that we crossed the street to enter Westminster Abbey, where every monarch has been crowned since William the Conqueror in 1066! It's a gorgeous cathedral and the service was very nice. It was called eveningsong and occurs every night at 5:30, the men's Abbey choir sings and their are verses read
After we got home we ate some food and got ready to go out for the night. This time Eric directed us to a bar down towards Lescester Square. It had waxy in the name...but was a very cool place with a tree in the middle of it! It also played great American songs (including Time of my Life from Dirty Dancing!) After we went to a club called O'Neil's which is three floors of American students dancing the night away. We ventured to the top floor which had a live band.
And this led us up to the morning in Brighton. Good week :)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Did I Mention my Family's Scotlish?
So in case you missed the last post - go read it. This one is about to pick up where the other ended, and you'll just be confused :)
After our amazing trek up Arthur's Seat we were all famished and found the cute restaurant on campus. I actually ordered a pot of tea because I was chilled and have decided I rather like a good cup of tea now and then - who knew? Anyways, after our cute lunch we headed into town to find this 'ghost tour' that had Alyssa and Andrea intrigued. I'm not a fan of ghosts, and not to upset any of them reading this, but I don't really believe in them either... I guess I've never been around people that do share this belief or have encountered one. I also don't do well with scary. I hate scary movies and jump fairly easily. But we were in Scotland and there were underground vaults to explore... We had a wonderful tour guide who spooked the shit out of me(pardon my language, but he did!) The history of the underground vaults was fascinating in itself, but every room had it's own ghost that had it's own story. A little boy is one of the most frequently seen ghosts because he enjoys holding a woman's hand or playing with children on the tour. Our tour guide told us to take our mittens off and leave our hands by our sides to have a better chance of meeting him. This did not happen. While I left my gloves off, one hand was wrapped around Andrea's arm, the other was in a fist in my coat. Did i mention that it's pitch black and you're underground? The only torch that traveled down with us was the one the tour guide held and he turned it off whenever he pleased. But we made it out alive and he promised us the ghosts wouldn't follow us out of the vaults. We were given a shot of scotch and shortbread cookies at the end; which I thankfully took to ease my nerves, which were a tad bit on edge.
After that crazy experience we walked to The Elephant Room, where JK Rowling dreamed up and wrote the Harry Potter series which I so adore. As we looked for dinner places on Saturday night we discovered something we had all forgotten about...Everyone was celebrating Valentine's Day..and we couldn't get in anywhere. Not even Pizza Express! We eventually split up and Ashley, Lindsey and I found an open table at "wannaburger," which turned out to be cheap and very good. I ended my meal with the best milkshake i've had since we arrived. It was finally thick! For some reason everyone over here likes making really really thin milkshakes, but this place did a superb job.
We had a few drinks at the hostel, but were completely worn out from the whole climbing a mountain thing so went to bed a little after midnight. Before going to bed I tried to talk to one of the guys sharing the room with us; I had talked to one of the girls he was with before and she had spoken English and told me they were French and would be there for three days. Well I decided to ask him how his day was. He said good; it was an easy enough questions.
I tried to continue; "Will you guys be going to the Castle tomorrow?"
He replies, "oh, oh, Newcastle."
"No, I'm sorry, the Edinburgh Castle, are you going?"
"Newcastle, Newcastle."
I laugh, not because he was not understanding me, but because this is the first language barrier I had ever encountered and i didn't know what to do with myself.
"I'm sorry," he says, "I not speak English."
I smile and apologize myself, "No, No, I'm sorry, I don't speak a word of French."
We smile at each other, and we both hop into bed. I still look back and smile at how American it was of me to assume everyone spoke English...
We got up early, packed up, and ate our last free breakfast before heading to the train for our ride home. We all discussed going home, only to moments later comment on the fact that we had just called London home. But I'm sitting in my bed, in my flat, which I call home. And i'm completely content. Sure I still have my ups and downs, I still miss certain people so much it hurts sometimes, and wish I was able to fly back for friends birthdays, but i've only got 71 days left of living in London to continue to experience everything I possibly can. Sometimes I dread the number because it seems too long to be away from Bennett and sometimes I dread that number because I feel I still have so much to see. These mixed emotions are finally hitting and sometimes I struggle to put them in their place, but overall I'm loving life, learning new things about myself, and what I can accomplish on my own.
After our amazing trek up Arthur's Seat we were all famished and found the cute restaurant on campus. I actually ordered a pot of tea because I was chilled and have decided I rather like a good cup of tea now and then - who knew? Anyways, after our cute lunch we headed into town to find this 'ghost tour' that had Alyssa and Andrea intrigued. I'm not a fan of ghosts, and not to upset any of them reading this, but I don't really believe in them either... I guess I've never been around people that do share this belief or have encountered one. I also don't do well with scary. I hate scary movies and jump fairly easily. But we were in Scotland and there were underground vaults to explore... We had a wonderful tour guide who spooked the shit out of me(pardon my language, but he did!) The history of the underground vaults was fascinating in itself, but every room had it's own ghost that had it's own story. A little boy is one of the most frequently seen ghosts because he enjoys holding a woman's hand or playing with children on the tour. Our tour guide told us to take our mittens off and leave our hands by our sides to have a better chance of meeting him. This did not happen. While I left my gloves off, one hand was wrapped around Andrea's arm, the other was in a fist in my coat. Did i mention that it's pitch black and you're underground? The only torch that traveled down with us was the one the tour guide held and he turned it off whenever he pleased. But we made it out alive and he promised us the ghosts wouldn't follow us out of the vaults. We were given a shot of scotch and shortbread cookies at the end; which I thankfully took to ease my nerves, which were a tad bit on edge.
After that crazy experience we walked to The Elephant Room, where JK Rowling dreamed up and wrote the Harry Potter series which I so adore. As we looked for dinner places on Saturday night we discovered something we had all forgotten about...Everyone was celebrating Valentine's Day..and we couldn't get in anywhere. Not even Pizza Express! We eventually split up and Ashley, Lindsey and I found an open table at "wannaburger," which turned out to be cheap and very good. I ended my meal with the best milkshake i've had since we arrived. It was finally thick! For some reason everyone over here likes making really really thin milkshakes, but this place did a superb job.
We had a few drinks at the hostel, but were completely worn out from the whole climbing a mountain thing so went to bed a little after midnight. Before going to bed I tried to talk to one of the guys sharing the room with us; I had talked to one of the girls he was with before and she had spoken English and told me they were French and would be there for three days. Well I decided to ask him how his day was. He said good; it was an easy enough questions.
I tried to continue; "Will you guys be going to the Castle tomorrow?"
He replies, "oh, oh, Newcastle."
"No, I'm sorry, the Edinburgh Castle, are you going?"
"Newcastle, Newcastle."
I laugh, not because he was not understanding me, but because this is the first language barrier I had ever encountered and i didn't know what to do with myself.
"I'm sorry," he says, "I not speak English."
I smile and apologize myself, "No, No, I'm sorry, I don't speak a word of French."
We smile at each other, and we both hop into bed. I still look back and smile at how American it was of me to assume everyone spoke English...
We got up early, packed up, and ate our last free breakfast before heading to the train for our ride home. We all discussed going home, only to moments later comment on the fact that we had just called London home. But I'm sitting in my bed, in my flat, which I call home. And i'm completely content. Sure I still have my ups and downs, I still miss certain people so much it hurts sometimes, and wish I was able to fly back for friends birthdays, but i've only got 71 days left of living in London to continue to experience everything I possibly can. Sometimes I dread the number because it seems too long to be away from Bennett and sometimes I dread that number because I feel I still have so much to see. These mixed emotions are finally hitting and sometimes I struggle to put them in their place, but overall I'm loving life, learning new things about myself, and what I can accomplish on my own.
back to the home of my ancestors
On Thursday afternoon I embarked on a lovely weekend away from London by getting on a train to Edinburgh, Scotland. I'm guessing that 99% of the people who read by blog have heard me mention that there is a Dundas Castle in Edinburgh and i'm going to get married there. This trip only confirmed that statement. Ha, but seriously, Scotland is my new favorite place in the world, I'm worried I may say that about every country I visit from now on, but something inside me tells me that Scotland may truly have won my heart for good. The Scottish countryside was beautiful and we got to see the most magnificent sunset from the train.
We got in around 7:30 and walked the 5 minutes to our hostel before meeting the other half of our group and heading to the nearest pub for food. I had my first burger of the semester! And it hit the spot, we drank wine, shared stories and enjoyed our little night out before heading back to the hostel and getting to bed before midnight(!) so we would be able to get up early the next day in order to explore.
Our hostel offered free breakfast that consisted of cereal and toast with like ten choices of spreads; I thought it was great and loaded up on at least one large bowl of cereal and two pieces of toast a morning. After filling myself up, our group proceeded to walk up to the Edinburgh Castle. One of the things I loved about Edinburgh was that you could walk everywhere! So we ventured around the town up to the Castle and started to explore. Within the walls there are three museums and countless other room that were once inhabited by Mary, Queen of Scots, and all other Scottish and non-Scottish royalty. We spend almost three hours exploring the contents of the castle and thoroughly enjoyed all the history that came with it.
After the Castle we went to the "Scotch Whiskey Experience" which offered us a small 'ride' that explained how whiskey was made. After which we went into a room to learn about the four different regions in Scotland that make scotch whiskey and how the different regions each have their own flavor/taste. I was in love with the one that smelled like cookies but decided that the fruit smelling/tasting whiskey would probably be better. It turns out I dislike good Scottish whiskey as much as cheap American Whiskey.. I am glad we did it because it was very interesting and worth the experience. We also got special whiskey tasting glasses that allowed us to swirl and nose the whiskey properly.
That night we drank at the hostel bar and ordered different mixed drinks to try something new. I decided to try the 'milk bottle' because it had whipped cream on top, and you can never go wrong with whipped cream, and that turned out to be right because the drink was delicious. I'm not going to reveal the ingredients because it was very unhealthy and doesn't sound all that great, but it tasted like vanilla milkshake. We then ventured to a pub we had been told was very nice and all tried Früli, a Belgian fruit beer, that was very good. We made it to bed rather early again to be able to get up and explore more!
On the second day we set out looking for arthur's seat, which is a dormant volcano on the outskirts of town. Walking towards it we questioned our hiking attire but ultimately set up the path in search of amazing views. The walking path didn't seem to be the fastest way up the mountain so we did some off-roading and took the path less traveled. It was a tad bit muddy in some parts and super steep in others but I hadn't felt that alive in weeks, maybe months. With every step I took the views got more amazing and every time I turned around to see how far we'd come I was blown away by the shear vastness of the land we were able to behold. I felt completely and utterly free and relished every second of it.
At the very top I felt so utterly happy and accomplished I didn't really want to go down. We took many pictures at the top, but no pictured can combine the way I felt with the actual beauty of the landscape and it is something I can only attempt to hang on to for as long as possible.
On the way down Ellie and I discovered that running down the hill side was more fun than just walking down it :) We let our feet guide us and only slowed down when it was absolutely necessary. On the really steep part I decided I still wanted to run but ran in a zig-zag formation which is supposed to be better on your knees and safer because it slows you down a little bit. I probably looked crazy though! ha, especially because i yelled zig or zag every time I turned a corner to face the other direction. I laughed the whole way down and felt like was 7(probably because i was acting like I was 7..but these things do happen) Anyways, after we got down we walked back around the base of the mountain and ate at a little restaurant which I believe was on the campus of the University of Edinburgh.
I think I'm going to go for a bit of a run and try to spread this post out over two so you don't have to be completely bored and reading this for like an hour. more to come.
We got in around 7:30 and walked the 5 minutes to our hostel before meeting the other half of our group and heading to the nearest pub for food. I had my first burger of the semester! And it hit the spot, we drank wine, shared stories and enjoyed our little night out before heading back to the hostel and getting to bed before midnight(!) so we would be able to get up early the next day in order to explore.
Our hostel offered free breakfast that consisted of cereal and toast with like ten choices of spreads; I thought it was great and loaded up on at least one large bowl of cereal and two pieces of toast a morning. After filling myself up, our group proceeded to walk up to the Edinburgh Castle. One of the things I loved about Edinburgh was that you could walk everywhere! So we ventured around the town up to the Castle and started to explore. Within the walls there are three museums and countless other room that were once inhabited by Mary, Queen of Scots, and all other Scottish and non-Scottish royalty. We spend almost three hours exploring the contents of the castle and thoroughly enjoyed all the history that came with it.
After the Castle we went to the "Scotch Whiskey Experience" which offered us a small 'ride' that explained how whiskey was made. After which we went into a room to learn about the four different regions in Scotland that make scotch whiskey and how the different regions each have their own flavor/taste. I was in love with the one that smelled like cookies but decided that the fruit smelling/tasting whiskey would probably be better. It turns out I dislike good Scottish whiskey as much as cheap American Whiskey.. I am glad we did it because it was very interesting and worth the experience. We also got special whiskey tasting glasses that allowed us to swirl and nose the whiskey properly.
That night we drank at the hostel bar and ordered different mixed drinks to try something new. I decided to try the 'milk bottle' because it had whipped cream on top, and you can never go wrong with whipped cream, and that turned out to be right because the drink was delicious. I'm not going to reveal the ingredients because it was very unhealthy and doesn't sound all that great, but it tasted like vanilla milkshake. We then ventured to a pub we had been told was very nice and all tried Früli, a Belgian fruit beer, that was very good. We made it to bed rather early again to be able to get up and explore more!
On the second day we set out looking for arthur's seat, which is a dormant volcano on the outskirts of town. Walking towards it we questioned our hiking attire but ultimately set up the path in search of amazing views. The walking path didn't seem to be the fastest way up the mountain so we did some off-roading and took the path less traveled. It was a tad bit muddy in some parts and super steep in others but I hadn't felt that alive in weeks, maybe months. With every step I took the views got more amazing and every time I turned around to see how far we'd come I was blown away by the shear vastness of the land we were able to behold. I felt completely and utterly free and relished every second of it.
At the very top I felt so utterly happy and accomplished I didn't really want to go down. We took many pictures at the top, but no pictured can combine the way I felt with the actual beauty of the landscape and it is something I can only attempt to hang on to for as long as possible.
On the way down Ellie and I discovered that running down the hill side was more fun than just walking down it :) We let our feet guide us and only slowed down when it was absolutely necessary. On the really steep part I decided I still wanted to run but ran in a zig-zag formation which is supposed to be better on your knees and safer because it slows you down a little bit. I probably looked crazy though! ha, especially because i yelled zig or zag every time I turned a corner to face the other direction. I laughed the whole way down and felt like was 7(probably because i was acting like I was 7..but these things do happen) Anyways, after we got down we walked back around the base of the mountain and ate at a little restaurant which I believe was on the campus of the University of Edinburgh.
I think I'm going to go for a bit of a run and try to spread this post out over two so you don't have to be completely bored and reading this for like an hour. more to come.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
downtime?!
In preparing for Scotland this weekend(we leave thursday!) I have tried very hard to not spend money or get sick; two things that seem to be very hard to avoid in London. A lot of people on my program are passing around an English cold. On Sunday I decided to rest after a long weekend and watched American TV and movies in bed and talked to my mom, dad and alex via skype. Sunday night was also the super bowl over here, even though it started at 11:40pm, I stayed up until 3 to see the final score. We got to see the American commercials as well, although I wasn't too impressed with any. Getting up Monday morning was hard to say the least, I don't do well with lack of sleep, but I made it through class(we watched 'The Queen' which I really enjoyed) and then we walked to a very English Pub called Maggie Jones for a group lunch. For those of you who are not familiar with my program, there are 45 students and we what we call 'pound trips' where we pay a pound to sign up for activities and events that our program organizes. The lunch was a pound trip and we gathered around a huge table as our three course meal was served. I got garlic buttered mushrooms as a starter, then the steak(which i thought was going to be a steak) stew, and bread and butter pudding. Everything was amazing, I think I want to say best meal of the trip so far because it was so hearty and fulfilling. I took a wonderful two and half nap when I got home, watched a movie and then headed back to sleep the night away. This week has been wonderful for catching up on rest and relaxing in our flat.
I cannot wait for Edinburgh!!! It has been wonderful to get to know London so well before going out and exploring but I am ready to see the beauty of Scotland and enjoy time away from a city that never rests.
I cannot wait for Edinburgh!!! It has been wonderful to get to know London so well before going out and exploring but I am ready to see the beauty of Scotland and enjoy time away from a city that never rests.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
utopia.
This past week has gone quite fast, but than again, what week hasn't!? Alyssa's friend Alex came thursday night and we went to get Thai at Churchill Arms Pub, and then continued to drink cider after meeting our study abroad 'planner?' Damian and getting to talk to him. We made it home by midnight to make sure we got plenty of sleep for Friday. Friday I awoke at 8 am sharp and proceeded to get on a coach bus with everyone for an hour and 20 minute bus ride to Oxford. Oxford is a beautiful little town that is mostly made up of Oxford University itself. The university actually consists of 38 separate colleges to which a person applies separately and then lives within the walls of their respective college.
Sidenote- We toured Christ College first which was used in the filming of Harry Potter!
We walked throughout the town and decided to eat at a hidden Tavern, called the Turf Tavern, which we had to walk through very small walkways between buildings to find it. It was fun, then I bought an Oxford T-shirt and went to the Ashmolean Museum and wandered for an hour. I did get to sleep on the way home which was nice, because we went out to Imperial on Friday night. Danced a little, well a lot, and got home around 2. Which meant I slept-in longer than normal on Sat. When I did get up Andrea, Karen, Lindsey and I ventured to the Natural History Museum, which is within walking distance from our flat. It is very well done, so even though I wouldn't normally enjoy looking at rocks and the history of the earth's core, it was visually pleasing and a nice way to spend a sat afternoon.
Sidenote - I watched The Young Victoria Saturday evening and it was great! I absolutely loved it.. but then again there are not very many historical movies I don't enjoy.
Speaking of things I love. Last night we went to the 'Ain't Nothing but the Blues Bar.' More live music, more bobbing my head to the beat, and more sore knees the next day :) I enjoyed it immensely.
Sidenote- As I was finishing my drink at the bar I noticed that the bottom of the cup had words you could only see when your cup was completely turned on the side, like if it was your last drink. The words were utopia. over and over. And I really enjoyed the idea that utopia was the feeling you had when you finished your drink. Kind of neat...
I hope this post wasn't too boring, I'm just trying to remember everything i've done, which means it won't always be exciting stories :)
Sidenote- We toured Christ College first which was used in the filming of Harry Potter!
We walked throughout the town and decided to eat at a hidden Tavern, called the Turf Tavern, which we had to walk through very small walkways between buildings to find it. It was fun, then I bought an Oxford T-shirt and went to the Ashmolean Museum and wandered for an hour. I did get to sleep on the way home which was nice, because we went out to Imperial on Friday night. Danced a little, well a lot, and got home around 2. Which meant I slept-in longer than normal on Sat. When I did get up Andrea, Karen, Lindsey and I ventured to the Natural History Museum, which is within walking distance from our flat. It is very well done, so even though I wouldn't normally enjoy looking at rocks and the history of the earth's core, it was visually pleasing and a nice way to spend a sat afternoon.
Sidenote - I watched The Young Victoria Saturday evening and it was great! I absolutely loved it.. but then again there are not very many historical movies I don't enjoy.
Speaking of things I love. Last night we went to the 'Ain't Nothing but the Blues Bar.' More live music, more bobbing my head to the beat, and more sore knees the next day :) I enjoyed it immensely.
Sidenote- As I was finishing my drink at the bar I noticed that the bottom of the cup had words you could only see when your cup was completely turned on the side, like if it was your last drink. The words were utopia. over and over. And I really enjoyed the idea that utopia was the feeling you had when you finished your drink. Kind of neat...
I hope this post wasn't too boring, I'm just trying to remember everything i've done, which means it won't always be exciting stories :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
odds and ends
This afternoon when I returned from Screenwriting I decided to try and wash some underwear and socks. Instead of spending money and walking to metrogate, I decided to try using the tub. You know, old school, wash yourself, dry on a line type of washing clothes. I filled the tub with steaming hot water and start to throw my dirty clothes in. What I should have realized though, was that i was throwing A LOT of clothes in the tub. The underwear were quick washes, from the tub I took them to the sink, rinsed, and hung on the drying rack. Then I found a shirt...which i didn't realize I had thrown in, but I washed it, and moved on to the socks. This is where I went wrong. Socks are gross, I never want to hand wash socks ever again in my life. There was hair and dirt and now they're going to dry all stretched out, and it's just horrible! But if you have been reading my blog you'll notice this is the first time I'm writing about laundry. Yes, today marks being in London four weeks, and i brought enough clothes to go this long with out having to clean them :) I am very proud of myself. I also made my bed with new sheets and feel accomplished.
Last night Andrea and I watched Dirty Dancing, one of my all time favorite movies, in my bed, just like we had done two nights before only watching Cruel Intentions. Great movie week, but I will have to be more careful in picking movies next time because love stories matched with not seeing your own lover boy for five months can prove to be a tad bit depressing. But still great, because who wants to feel sad when Patrick Swayze is shaking his hips and telling parents that 'no one puts Baby in a corner'?!
I finally got to talk to Marissa and work out when we will be able to see each other as well! She's going to come experience London March 30th and we'll try to travel to another country that weekend! I can't wait to show her the history and culture of the city (i'm a pretty good tour guide you know). I encourage anyone else studying in Europe this semester(or at home if you want to venture over for your sb!) to not hesitate facebooking me about coming to London!
Tonight we're going back to Church Hill Arms for dinner and then on a pub crawl as Alyssa's friend Alex is coming for a visit, then tomorrow off to Oxford, I'll be sure to update you after said events actually take place :)
Last night Andrea and I watched Dirty Dancing, one of my all time favorite movies, in my bed, just like we had done two nights before only watching Cruel Intentions. Great movie week, but I will have to be more careful in picking movies next time because love stories matched with not seeing your own lover boy for five months can prove to be a tad bit depressing. But still great, because who wants to feel sad when Patrick Swayze is shaking his hips and telling parents that 'no one puts Baby in a corner'?!
I finally got to talk to Marissa and work out when we will be able to see each other as well! She's going to come experience London March 30th and we'll try to travel to another country that weekend! I can't wait to show her the history and culture of the city (i'm a pretty good tour guide you know). I encourage anyone else studying in Europe this semester(or at home if you want to venture over for your sb!) to not hesitate facebooking me about coming to London!
Tonight we're going back to Church Hill Arms for dinner and then on a pub crawl as Alyssa's friend Alex is coming for a visit, then tomorrow off to Oxford, I'll be sure to update you after said events actually take place :)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
cookies.
For some reason, while living in London, the girls I hang out with and I have decided that sweets are okay to eat every second of everyday. When we started out I believe this was because we were in the mindset of being on a vacation, and when on vacation of course you may eat whatever you'd like. Now that the vacation feeling has pasted, one might think that the desire to eat sweets would be gone as well. This is far from the case. In fact i'm eating right around a sleeve of cookies every two days. Bennett called me cookie monster yesterday, and although it made me feel huge, it is probably an accurate nickname. It's a very bad habit to be experiencing at this point in my life but I suppose we only live once, right?! But seriously, I am trying to stop, or at least cut back.
Besides eating cookies, I have been enjoying food far more than normal. I have not figured out what to attribute this to; because although it's not abnormal for me to crave food, I truly crave the food in my fridge every second of every day. I have a few theories, first, that the food just simply tastes better because using preservatives in food is unheard of here, second,that I'm using food to fill the voids of special people in my life, and third, I'm just walking way more than normal and it creates a deep sense of hunger. It's probably all of the above, but the point is, I'm going to Greece in a month and I have to wear a swim suit!!! THIS EATING MUST STOP!
But I am enjoying the food immensely, along with everything else this city offers (besides the weather). Andrea and I ventured to the Covent Garden antique market on Monday, which occurs every Monday afternoon. We didn't buy anything, but fell in love with the old antique ring boxes, and may go back for a piece of jewelry sometime in the future.
Last night I wrote my first paper of the semester. It was rough. Not only could I not motivate myself to sit down at my computer, when I finally did that, I could not for the life of me focus on what I was supposed to be writing. Let's hope the grading system is not based on making sense, just using pretty words :)
Anyways tonight we may try to go to a blues bar, or back to Notting Hill Arts Club, doesn't really matter I guess...we'll just go where ever the night takes us.
Besides eating cookies, I have been enjoying food far more than normal. I have not figured out what to attribute this to; because although it's not abnormal for me to crave food, I truly crave the food in my fridge every second of every day. I have a few theories, first, that the food just simply tastes better because using preservatives in food is unheard of here, second,that I'm using food to fill the voids of special people in my life, and third, I'm just walking way more than normal and it creates a deep sense of hunger. It's probably all of the above, but the point is, I'm going to Greece in a month and I have to wear a swim suit!!! THIS EATING MUST STOP!
But I am enjoying the food immensely, along with everything else this city offers (besides the weather). Andrea and I ventured to the Covent Garden antique market on Monday, which occurs every Monday afternoon. We didn't buy anything, but fell in love with the old antique ring boxes, and may go back for a piece of jewelry sometime in the future.
Last night I wrote my first paper of the semester. It was rough. Not only could I not motivate myself to sit down at my computer, when I finally did that, I could not for the life of me focus on what I was supposed to be writing. Let's hope the grading system is not based on making sense, just using pretty words :)
Anyways tonight we may try to go to a blues bar, or back to Notting Hill Arts Club, doesn't really matter I guess...we'll just go where ever the night takes us.
Friday, January 29, 2010
one bloody more!
My roommates and I recently made a pact to try and do something every night. We realized that we were sitting in the flat more than normal(for being abroad) and decided to fix the situation. Monday we saw another play, 39 steps, which I really enjoyed. Tuesday we went to dinner at the union pub for fish and chips. And Wednesday we went to the Notting Hill Arts Club; where we listened and grooved to two bands. The first one was decent, but the second band was amazing. I loved them. I don't get into music very often and I definitely don't go out and buy cds, but I wanted to go out and buy their cd during the concert. Their name is the HooDoo Scoundrels, but they were just signed in the US so they're going to drop the hoodoo part, and be "the Scoundrels." They're going to be in Chicago in two weeks so anyone who wants a reason to road trip there now has one :) Anyways the place was a very artsy fartsy place and Vivian commented, 'I feel like we're in an Urban Outfitters Magazine,' so true. But it was one of my favorite nights so far, I don't remember the last time I saw a band live besides the at the terrace and this was a very cool smaller venue. "One bloody more" refers to what everyone yelled instead of 'encore' at the end of their set. They then proceeded to play a song that the guitarist didn't even know until the singer told him the cords, and they rocked it. 
To continue with my week of not sitting around we decided to finally go to a legit club last night. And club we did. We drank, a fair Madison amount before we left, and headed to The Zoo Bar. It's a pretty sweet place that has many rooms for drinking and dancing, and we enjoyed ourselves, probably too much, but these nights do happen.
It would have been an excellent night if I hadn't misplaced/lost my coat check number... stupid me. So without the number I couldn't get my coat until they closed at 3:30am, it was 1:30am, and we were not staying. So instead of thinking through the situation clearly, I decided i'd lost my coat and proceeded to have an emotional irrational break down while I was freezing without a coat at the bus stop. I have great friends though and they tried to comfort me while I tried to maintain control over my emotions. I failed, but we took a taxi home and was lucky enough to find Bennett online and via skype he was able to accomplish that task. I woke up this morning feeling quite silly but I called Zoo Bar and got my coat back this afternoon. Wasted tears, but I never would have believed that last night.
Today was the best part of the week though, because not only did I get my coat back(!) but I also got to go to the Tower of London. The crown jewels were the best part and it is almost unreal imagining them being used for centuries and worn by the royal family. The issue of the royal family is also so weird to me, I never realized how much of a role they play in the everyday workings of London life. I've always pictured the queen as head of state, but everything revolves around tradition and those traditions all stem from the royal family. It's crazy to me, I could go on about it for awhile but I won't bore you with my opinions on the matter.
Anyways, successful week! We also booked our flights for Spring break! We're going to Athens, Santorini, and Rome. I'm already so excited.
To continue with my week of not sitting around we decided to finally go to a legit club last night. And club we did. We drank, a fair Madison amount before we left, and headed to The Zoo Bar. It's a pretty sweet place that has many rooms for drinking and dancing, and we enjoyed ourselves, probably too much, but these nights do happen.
It would have been an excellent night if I hadn't misplaced/lost my coat check number... stupid me. So without the number I couldn't get my coat until they closed at 3:30am, it was 1:30am, and we were not staying. So instead of thinking through the situation clearly, I decided i'd lost my coat and proceeded to have an emotional irrational break down while I was freezing without a coat at the bus stop. I have great friends though and they tried to comfort me while I tried to maintain control over my emotions. I failed, but we took a taxi home and was lucky enough to find Bennett online and via skype he was able to accomplish that task. I woke up this morning feeling quite silly but I called Zoo Bar and got my coat back this afternoon. Wasted tears, but I never would have believed that last night.
Today was the best part of the week though, because not only did I get my coat back(!) but I also got to go to the Tower of London. The crown jewels were the best part and it is almost unreal imagining them being used for centuries and worn by the royal family. The issue of the royal family is also so weird to me, I never realized how much of a role they play in the everyday workings of London life. I've always pictured the queen as head of state, but everything revolves around tradition and those traditions all stem from the royal family. It's crazy to me, I could go on about it for awhile but I won't bore you with my opinions on the matter.
Anyways, successful week! We also booked our flights for Spring break! We're going to Athens, Santorini, and Rome. I'm already so excited.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
average day?
Today could be written like an average day. Finally getting to sleep in, heading to class, coming back, eating dinner, having a drink, going to sleep. And the funny thing is, it seemed like a normal day to me, but what I got to see, three months ago, would never have been an average day in my mind. I woke up around 10, had breakfast, skyped, had lunch, and then headed out for class. My class however was taking place at London's National Portrait Gallery.
I got to stare at JMW Turner's and John Constable's works as my assignment and I was done doing that I wandered over to the Rembrandt's where I was reminded why he my favorite artist. Andrea and I then decided to go explore the neighborhood.
We took many photos in Trafalgar Square and then headed towards Big Ben. On our way there we ran into a cute little cafe that had homemade desserts. I got the best blueberry muffin ever and she chose lovely looking piece of apple pie. We walked around Parliament and crossed the bridge to get better pictures :)
It was a very successful day and now we are off to get fish and chips. It is probably as surprising to you as it is to me that this will be my first fish and chips of the semester.
By the way my voice is back along with a clean bill of health and I thoroughly enjoyed Windsor. The Castle was pure history and we got to tour the state rooms inside which have been restored to their full glamor after the a fire in 1992 had destroyed that entire part of the castle. Within the walls of castle is St. George's Chapel; fit with flying buttresses, a rose window, and amazing fan vaulting, it is quite lovely to behold, and the royalty that is buried within makes it worth walking through even if it was not grand. We walked over King Henry VIII's bones and that of his last wife's along with passing many previous Queen and King's. Before we had entered the church we got to experience the changing of the guard which I absolutely loved because it was changing to the Irish guard and they used bagpipes in their march. There are four branches of guards; the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and English. They all have different head gear and use a different march/instrument when changing the guard.
Yesterday I went on a shopping excursion and bought myself a few 'needed' things. I got socks (which I did need), leggings (which I kind of needed), and two going out shirts (which I wanted). It was a successful day and I got to see Oxford Street, which is one of the biggest shopping strips of the city (and has been for many centuries).
Off to the pub. cheerio!
I got to stare at JMW Turner's and John Constable's works as my assignment and I was done doing that I wandered over to the Rembrandt's where I was reminded why he my favorite artist. Andrea and I then decided to go explore the neighborhood.
We took many photos in Trafalgar Square and then headed towards Big Ben. On our way there we ran into a cute little cafe that had homemade desserts. I got the best blueberry muffin ever and she chose lovely looking piece of apple pie. We walked around Parliament and crossed the bridge to get better pictures :)
It was a very successful day and now we are off to get fish and chips. It is probably as surprising to you as it is to me that this will be my first fish and chips of the semester.
By the way my voice is back along with a clean bill of health and I thoroughly enjoyed Windsor. The Castle was pure history and we got to tour the state rooms inside which have been restored to their full glamor after the a fire in 1992 had destroyed that entire part of the castle. Within the walls of castle is St. George's Chapel; fit with flying buttresses, a rose window, and amazing fan vaulting, it is quite lovely to behold, and the royalty that is buried within makes it worth walking through even if it was not grand. We walked over King Henry VIII's bones and that of his last wife's along with passing many previous Queen and King's. Before we had entered the church we got to experience the changing of the guard which I absolutely loved because it was changing to the Irish guard and they used bagpipes in their march. There are four branches of guards; the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and English. They all have different head gear and use a different march/instrument when changing the guard.
Yesterday I went on a shopping excursion and bought myself a few 'needed' things. I got socks (which I did need), leggings (which I kind of needed), and two going out shirts (which I wanted). It was a successful day and I got to see Oxford Street, which is one of the biggest shopping strips of the city (and has been for many centuries).
Off to the pub. cheerio!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
no voice.
This morning I awoke breathing threw my nose and feeling a little better. That was however, until I tried to talk. It seems that my voice has disappeared along with my runny nose. Most people might think this is not that big of deal; for me, it's a huge deal. As most of you know, I enjoy talking, it's probably one of my favorite things to do in the world and hearing the awful sound that comes out of my mouth when trying to say anything is slightly depressing. We are however going to Winsor Castle today, so maybe we'll all be in such awe of that that we won't talk. Hopefully my voice will be back by tomorrow, and the entire cold will be gone with it.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
In search of Peter Pan
Today marks the two week of studying abroad in London and this morning I awoke feeling much better than the last few days(as I had been fighting off a little cold that my roommates were nice enough to pass along to me). So I finished off my second week of school with Screenwriting and started walking back to my flat. It was then that I realized something great. The sun was shining! I came back to the flat skyped with Bennett for awhile and then decided today was the perfect day to go on my first run though Hyde park. It's still a bit chilly so put on my fleece, my mittens, and my 180s and headed out to explore. I didn't bring my camera which had pro's and con's. I couldn't take pictures of all the beautiful things I saw but I also didn't have to carry it and didn't have to look like a tourist. I headed out not knowing where I was going to go but as soon as I saw the little arrow pointing me in the direction of peter pan I knew what i wanted to see. Many of you may know this statue from the movie "Finding Neverland;" it's a wonderful film and some of the scenes take place in this park by the statue. On my run there I stopped at new favorite spot for reflecting; it's a tiny little path that leads to a bench that overlooks an old bridge that runs over the lake, it was gorgeous. In the lake as I ran I saw mallards(minnesota's bird) and it gave me that little feeling of being home. I ran for an hour, well I ran/walked for an hour... it's been awhile since i've ran and I had to take a few breaks. But I ended my adventure at Kensington Palace which has a little pond in front of it(supposedly one of Keira Knightley's favorite spots to hang out). But it has a wide variety of birds; swans, seagulls, ducks, crows, you name I swear they're there. And for someone who has a slight fear of birds it's not the place to be if the person next to you is throwing out bread crumbs! But I do like watching. And while i was there, there were these two moms who had their baby's in strollers right next to them and they were throwing out handfuls of bread. They had a full bag each and the birds were going crazy. The little babies were crying because it looked like they were being attacked and I swear those children will hate birds the rest of their lives. But the moms were just loving it, so I vowed to never throw bread out there ever especially with children present.(unless Jen is there, because she's more scared of birds than I am, haha)
Anyways my run is complete, and it made me feel wonderful. I wrote yesterday about wanting to feel like I could truly be living here not just studying, and running through the park definitely made me feel that way today.
Anyways my run is complete, and it made me feel wonderful. I wrote yesterday about wanting to feel like I could truly be living here not just studying, and running through the park definitely made me feel that way today.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
shapeshifters.
This morning in my gender, culture, and literature class we discussed the need to feel like we fit in in the city we live in. We read 'The Lonely Londoners' (yes i've already read a whole book!) and it portrayed London from the eyes of immigrants from the East Indies. We used shape shifter as the word to describe how they molded into their surroundings and did everything in their power to truly become a Londoner. And although they did becomes Londoners at heart, it was hard for most of the English at the time to fully accept them into the English culture. Although times have changed and London now is one of the most diverse cities on the globe, it's interesting to consider being a student studying abroad how I could possibly consider myself to be a shape shifter. In the course of this discussion i just had to mention that shape shifters are also found in the Twlight series...but my point was that the Native Americans in the book choose to turn into wolves, just like you can choose to take the shape of whatever you'd like. That is the point. I think in my time here I would like to get away from the illusion of American tourist as much as possible. I don't want to be an American studying abroad, I want to be an American living abroad and be able to experience all the joys that come with that title. I am learning the tube and buses, the random sayings that set our English languages apart, and if all goes well I think i will feel at home here by the end of the first month. When I wrote my essay to get into this program my main goal was to immerce myself in a different culture, not really knowing what that meant. I know what that means now, at mostly. We may speak the same language and some of us may say our ancestors were English, but in how we act and live, we are literally and figuratively an ocean apart. I can't name everything, but two things comes to mind and I both find them completely refreshing. The first is imagine you go to a bar, meet someone new and start up a conversation that somehow gets on the topic of politics. Now imagine having that conversation while both people have completely different beliefs and stand on different sides of the aisle, but can talk with respect for the others opinions and take no offense to what is being said. It's brilliant. The second is to imagine a world where guns don't really exist. Police Officers don't even carrying them unless the Royal family is about. People can't own them and there is absolutely no need to. They think we're crazy for our easy it is to get guns in America and I think they're right! Anyways, culture is different where ever you go, but these are just two things that have really stuck out and are prevalent in my mind as i'm out and about meeting people.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Monday, January 18, 2010
so many ups! one down.
Disclaimer: This blog is kind of a diary for my time here, this post may contain emotion and mushy love comments that you can skip and not read at any time.
London is amazing. It has entered into to the spot of favorite city in my heart and I now continue to embark on the journey of getting to live here for four months. Everything I do is a new experience and everywhere I go I learn more about the history of the city and of it's people. Saturday consisted of waking up hung over after a wonderful night of dancing and drinking at the Union Pub/random dance club across the hall and we ventured off to find the British Museum where our favorite tour guide Brit took us around and I got to see some of the amazing art I studied all senior year in AP Art History! Yesterday we went to the best outdoor market called Petticoat Lane Market where I purchased a pair of super cute flats for 4 pounds and a pair of pants for 6. I'd been super worried about my pants situation because I found a little rip(butt of course) in my light pair of jeans two days ago and the button came off on my dark skinny jeans(my favorite pair!) so I was happy to find cheap jeans that I think will work. They were a little skinny, but meant to be that way, so they'll be going-out pants as Andrea says. Anyways afterward, Andrea, Ellie and I explored the city; I had my first experience with real Indian food and loved it. We got veggie somoa's and they were delicious, they made my mouth burn but i went and got free samples of ice cream at this cafe which cured it.(although the guy giving me samples probably wasn't too happy I didn't buy anything :) Andrea and I also went to watch the Viking's game with Andy and Matt last night. We went to the Sport Bar, which is just a huge ESPNZone. There was a huge crowd and we ended up sitting on the floor but right in front of the huge screen. Vikes Won! And i'll get to wear my vikings shirt again next Sunday! Holla!
All of these things are wonderful, and I wouldn't give up this experience for anything, but I do miss a certain boy quite a lot. It's funny that we decided to take a break to not put pressure on the relationship when no matter what title we use it doesn't stop me from wishing I could be with him. It's the down time that gets to me, sitting in the flat while he's sleeping. My hope is that this will feeling will ease because I know time is going to fly by. It seems like I've been here for months when it's really only a few weeks. I still have so much of London to see and so much of Europe to explore. We tried to book our trip to Scotland tonight, and I shouldn't say we tried, because I succeeded. I was the only one who's credit card worked when we reserved our train tickets, so as of now I'm going to Edinburgh by myself! Kind of scary but the rest of the girls will figure it out tomorrow, we all booked our hostel so we're for sure going! First of as many weekend trips I can fit in (and afford) I hope!
Anyways, long story short. I love it here, I just want to soak in as much as possible and keep as busy as possible for more reasons than one.
London is amazing. It has entered into to the spot of favorite city in my heart and I now continue to embark on the journey of getting to live here for four months. Everything I do is a new experience and everywhere I go I learn more about the history of the city and of it's people. Saturday consisted of waking up hung over after a wonderful night of dancing and drinking at the Union Pub/random dance club across the hall and we ventured off to find the British Museum where our favorite tour guide Brit took us around and I got to see some of the amazing art I studied all senior year in AP Art History! Yesterday we went to the best outdoor market called Petticoat Lane Market where I purchased a pair of super cute flats for 4 pounds and a pair of pants for 6. I'd been super worried about my pants situation because I found a little rip(butt of course) in my light pair of jeans two days ago and the button came off on my dark skinny jeans(my favorite pair!) so I was happy to find cheap jeans that I think will work. They were a little skinny, but meant to be that way, so they'll be going-out pants as Andrea says. Anyways afterward, Andrea, Ellie and I explored the city; I had my first experience with real Indian food and loved it. We got veggie somoa's and they were delicious, they made my mouth burn but i went and got free samples of ice cream at this cafe which cured it.(although the guy giving me samples probably wasn't too happy I didn't buy anything :) Andrea and I also went to watch the Viking's game with Andy and Matt last night. We went to the Sport Bar, which is just a huge ESPNZone. There was a huge crowd and we ended up sitting on the floor but right in front of the huge screen. Vikes Won! And i'll get to wear my vikings shirt again next Sunday! Holla!
All of these things are wonderful, and I wouldn't give up this experience for anything, but I do miss a certain boy quite a lot. It's funny that we decided to take a break to not put pressure on the relationship when no matter what title we use it doesn't stop me from wishing I could be with him. It's the down time that gets to me, sitting in the flat while he's sleeping. My hope is that this will feeling will ease because I know time is going to fly by. It seems like I've been here for months when it's really only a few weeks. I still have so much of London to see and so much of Europe to explore. We tried to book our trip to Scotland tonight, and I shouldn't say we tried, because I succeeded. I was the only one who's credit card worked when we reserved our train tickets, so as of now I'm going to Edinburgh by myself! Kind of scary but the rest of the girls will figure it out tomorrow, we all booked our hostel so we're for sure going! First of as many weekend trips I can fit in (and afford) I hope!
Anyways, long story short. I love it here, I just want to soak in as much as possible and keep as busy as possible for more reasons than one.
Friday, January 15, 2010
we had a green!
The title, "we had a green!" has really become the theme of trying to cross the street here in London. Let's just say it's the complete opposite of Madison; car don't stop if you walk in front of them. And since the cars are coming from the opposite way it's also easy to say that even while we're trying sooo hard not to get hit, we've all stepped in front of a taxi and almost been run over. Alyssa, Andrea, and I went on a wine run a few nights ago and while crossing the street, in a crosswalk, with a green walk sign, and we thought we were going to get run over by a bus! A doubledecker to be exact. Very scary :) Anyways, I will be very surprised if no one on the trip gets hit for real one of these days, I just hope it's not me!
Last night we went to a bar/club called Sketch. It was very modern and we went to the bathroom in an Egg. Like these huge white eggs that opened into a toilet. We probably won't go again, it was a little too expensive and trendy for us, but just seeing it was worth going once.
In terms of classes, we started them this week and I'm excited for all of them, two seem like they'll be a lot easier than the others. I'm playing with the idea of dropping one class because even though I could handle 5 classes, I'm studying abroad and want to be able to experience as much of London as possible and not be tied down by all the class work. We'll see what I decide, but for now I have 5 three hour classes a week. The three hour class times are going to be a little much, but probably better than power lectures twice a week.
I'm about to get ready for tea time. We're going to a historic hotel to have a true tea time experience. Lots of little sandwiches and cookies, i'm less excited about the tea, but I actually did buy tea and have had a few cups since I've been here, I'll probably always be a coffee girl though(thanks to jen and marissa).
Last night we went to a bar/club called Sketch. It was very modern and we went to the bathroom in an Egg. Like these huge white eggs that opened into a toilet. We probably won't go again, it was a little too expensive and trendy for us, but just seeing it was worth going once.
In terms of classes, we started them this week and I'm excited for all of them, two seem like they'll be a lot easier than the others. I'm playing with the idea of dropping one class because even though I could handle 5 classes, I'm studying abroad and want to be able to experience as much of London as possible and not be tied down by all the class work. We'll see what I decide, but for now I have 5 three hour classes a week. The three hour class times are going to be a little much, but probably better than power lectures twice a week.
I'm about to get ready for tea time. We're going to a historic hotel to have a true tea time experience. Lots of little sandwiches and cookies, i'm less excited about the tea, but I actually did buy tea and have had a few cups since I've been here, I'll probably always be a coffee girl though(thanks to jen and marissa).
Saturday, January 9, 2010
View from the Top
Growing up the only time I ever remember sharing a room with others was when first, I had nightmares and my parents were lucky enough to have me grace them with my presence, second, getting to have friends over to sleep on my floor, and third, going to my grandma's where she always enjoyed my company. Those are a little different than my loft Freshman year of college and the present situation of bunk beds. Oh bunk beds. It was never a childhood dream of mine to have a bunk bed with my brother, or even just to have them for when friends came over. In fact as I walked to my room two days ago bunk beds never crossed my mind, that was until I opened the door and alas alyssa had taken the one bed on the floor(don't worry alyssa we all would have done the same thing). But now came the question of whether or not to take the top bunk or the bottom? My first instinct was of course the bottom, i felt like that would have been the logical thing to do. But I decided I didn't care and that Andrea might like the bottom better so I i threw my bag on the top bunk. I've decided this view from the top has really enlighten me. how you ask. no idea, just trying to make the best out of a probably bad decision. ha, no really, I kind of enjoy sitting on the top bunk with my laptop and book with space to breathe. The book that sits next to me is a historical, a historical romance to be exact, and it involves a Duke. We walked down millionaires row (now billionaires row) a few days ago and it contains the flats(houses) of two dukes. When i figure out a way into their circles I'll update you on those details later. :)
On to more details about real life, Saturday we went on a three hour site seeing tour and I think, if possible, every book i've ever read that took place in London came alive within my imagination. We saw the places where harry potter's world became real and every King and Queen has been crowned(Westminster Abbey). Everything i've ever dreamed London to be has become real. Besides the carriages and outfits adorned in previous centuries. I wish I had an endless amount space in my brain to remember every word that is being told to me right now, but since i do not have a photographic memory i'm just trying to hang on to everything possible.
Yesterday we went to Harrod's, the largest and most beautiful store I have ever been in. (Note to self, if you ever grow up to be rich take a trip back here just to shop) It was a very pretty store but completely unrealistic in terms of my spending budget for this semester. We went out to a Thai restaurant last night which was located in the back of a lovely little pub and it was brilliant. I have to admit I didn't start eating Thai food until very recently but it was the best I'd ever had. We are already planning to go back.
Today I had my first class, in a pretty small room, but with a great lecturer(like Professor, but that term is not really used here). I'm sooo excited for my Contemporary Britain (which is like a poli sci class) and History of London. I probably raised my hand in class too much this morning to answer questions but I just couldn't help myself, I'm too happy learning more about the political system that i'm so curious about.
On to more details about real life, Saturday we went on a three hour site seeing tour and I think, if possible, every book i've ever read that took place in London came alive within my imagination. We saw the places where harry potter's world became real and every King and Queen has been crowned(Westminster Abbey). Everything i've ever dreamed London to be has become real. Besides the carriages and outfits adorned in previous centuries. I wish I had an endless amount space in my brain to remember every word that is being told to me right now, but since i do not have a photographic memory i'm just trying to hang on to everything possible.
Yesterday we went to Harrod's, the largest and most beautiful store I have ever been in. (Note to self, if you ever grow up to be rich take a trip back here just to shop) It was a very pretty store but completely unrealistic in terms of my spending budget for this semester. We went out to a Thai restaurant last night which was located in the back of a lovely little pub and it was brilliant. I have to admit I didn't start eating Thai food until very recently but it was the best I'd ever had. We are already planning to go back.
Today I had my first class, in a pretty small room, but with a great lecturer(like Professor, but that term is not really used here). I'm sooo excited for my Contemporary Britain (which is like a poli sci class) and History of London. I probably raised my hand in class too much this morning to answer questions but I just couldn't help myself, I'm too happy learning more about the political system that i'm so curious about.
Friday, January 8, 2010
solidifying an ideal
London has been a place in my mind where earls fall in love with ladies and the author describes in detail the packed London streets which never sleep. I can't say that the London I was introduced to yesterday is the same London I've been daydreaming about for years. It is however, filled with the same buildings and houses that sit next to new roads, which are no longer crowded by horse and carriages but with cars, they have the brick facades that they have had since the 17th century (and probably the same windows as well, it feels like they're open when they're closed!) But our new flat is actually quite old, and in the most expensive area of London, Kensington, We are flanked by the Dutch embassy and Dubai royalty, look into Hyde Park when staring out our living room window and if we walk outside and turn left we are confronted with the former home of Princess Diana, Kensington Palace. I'm already in love with the history and cannot wait to fall in love with the present.
In terms of arriving here, everything went without a hitch, besides the machine printing out the wrong boarding pass and me looking like I was trying to get to New York with the name Gabbi Caddes. Oops. After that little mishap however, it was a smooth flight, went very fast with sleep, but good. We arrived in London, grabbed our luggage, and found Andrea's name on a piece of paper and had a impeccably dressed man with a gorgeous accent deliver us to our flat. I'm rooming with Andrea and Alyssa on Flat Three. More later, I'm off to a walking tour of Kensington :)
In terms of arriving here, everything went without a hitch, besides the machine printing out the wrong boarding pass and me looking like I was trying to get to New York with the name Gabbi Caddes. Oops. After that little mishap however, it was a smooth flight, went very fast with sleep, but good. We arrived in London, grabbed our luggage, and found Andrea's name on a piece of paper and had a impeccably dressed man with a gorgeous accent deliver us to our flat. I'm rooming with Andrea and Alyssa on Flat Three. More later, I'm off to a walking tour of Kensington :)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
que sera sera
As many of you know my moto for the last few weeks has been based off my favorite doris day song, "que sera sera." (sorry I can't figure out how to get the accent over the e) So as my days in the U.S. dwindle down to four I find my emotions are no longer as mixed as they once were. I attribute this to having already said goodbye to Bennett. As sad of a goodbye as it was, the fact that it is over now allows me no longer dwell on the event and truly realize that I am leaving for four months. I haven't started packing though, which I should probably get on, but i find the task daunting. I'm trying to see as many people as possible before I head out but at the same time telling myself four months isn't long at all and with skype it'll be almost like i never left... hopeful thinking? We shall see :)
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