I cannot believe how fast the past few months have gone by!!! It doesn't feel at all like I should be going home yet. I have had such an amazing time over here. There is so much more I still want to see. I think of all my travels, the city I have most enjoyed is Bruges, Belgium. It is such a beautiful, quiet, old, town full of nice people and good chocolate. I really liked it.
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Right now everyone is going a bit nuts and frantically trying to pack up everything and clean the flat. A few people have needed to purchase more suitcases. I mailed some boxes home just to make my bag lighter since I'll be lugging it around with me the next few days.
The next 2 days are not going to be fun. Basically I get kicked out of my flat tomorrow morning. My flatmate and I have flights leaving on Sunday so we are taking our luggage to the office my flatmate worked in then we are wandering the streets of London all day since we are homeless. At some point I am supposed to meet up with some friends from over the summer to crash on their floor for the night. My flatmate has a flight to Germany so she'll be headed to the airport around 2am. I think I'll be getting up around 6:30 on Sunday, make my way hour commute to the airport, sit on a plane for 9 hours, sit chicago for 8 hours, then finsih my flight home to the ROC!!! I should be landing in Rochester after 10. It's going to be a longgggg day.
All in all, I've had a great experience over here and I still really want to come back to explore more of Europe.
I'll let you all know when I'm back safe and sound!
Love you!!!
12.12.08
27.11.08
Happy Thanksgiving
happy thanksgiving everyone!!! wish i could be home to celebrate. going out to dinner for thai with the flatmates...very traditional, i know. haha
26.11.08
relaxing evening
So today I came home from work and just felt like taking it easy. I put on my headphones and doodled for a few hours. It was really nice. I haven't taken an art class since middle school and I'm really excited for my figure drawing class and beginning printmaking next semester. Anyways, thought I might as well post tonight's doodles on here.
23.11.08
Oxford, again
This weekend Amanda and I didn't end up getting together. She cancelled on me last minute becuase she had a lot of work to do. We're going to try and go to Blenheim next weekend, and regardless of whether or not she can go, I am planning on going.
I did go to Oxford anyways this weekend and I visited with Shanna. She absolutely loves Oxford and really doesn't want to leave. It was good talking to her and hearing how her experience has been. She lives in the house literally right next-door to the one Sharron's husband lived in while he was at Oxford. How weird is that?! I only spent one night with her but it was nice. She has been getting involved with the Oxford dance team and gymnastics groups so she has had the opportunity to meet a lot of people and she doesn't seem as stressed about the work as Amanda. It was funny because even though she gets out a lot more than Amanda in Oxford I think between all of us, I probably know my way around Oxford better than they do. I really really like Oxford.
Saturday Shanna and I went to a little tea room for lunch. I had a delicious sandwich with goat cheese, semi-sun dried tomatoes, red caramelized onions and some green leafy things. It was so0o good.
Getting home from Oxford was a bit of an adventure. I got the train back no problem but when I got into Paddington the circle line was completely closed (which is the line I usually take back since High Street is only about 3 stops away), the distrcit line was also closed (only between the locations I needed) and the only line I could therefore take was the bakerloo which takes me wayyyy out of the way. I obviously had no choice so instead of my ride home being 6 mins it became 46 mins, and as we were riding along they kept announcing the closure of more stations due to overcrowding. So I don't know if there was some big Christmasy event or something but it was definitely an interesting ride home. It's also been freeeeeeezing the past few days. It's been a lot more windy than usual.
It's funny that grandpa sent those pictures of London at night because my flatmates and I have been talking about going out and taking some of our own. I think we're going to do that tonight.
I can't believe how fast this semester has gone by! I was looking at my calendar last night I realized I barely have any time left here! This coming weekend I am going to go to Blenheim, the week after that is my last week at work and then I'm off to Sweden then the week after that I'm home. Wow. Time sure does fly.
I did go to Oxford anyways this weekend and I visited with Shanna. She absolutely loves Oxford and really doesn't want to leave. It was good talking to her and hearing how her experience has been. She lives in the house literally right next-door to the one Sharron's husband lived in while he was at Oxford. How weird is that?! I only spent one night with her but it was nice. She has been getting involved with the Oxford dance team and gymnastics groups so she has had the opportunity to meet a lot of people and she doesn't seem as stressed about the work as Amanda. It was funny because even though she gets out a lot more than Amanda in Oxford I think between all of us, I probably know my way around Oxford better than they do. I really really like Oxford.
Saturday Shanna and I went to a little tea room for lunch. I had a delicious sandwich with goat cheese, semi-sun dried tomatoes, red caramelized onions and some green leafy things. It was so0o good.
Getting home from Oxford was a bit of an adventure. I got the train back no problem but when I got into Paddington the circle line was completely closed (which is the line I usually take back since High Street is only about 3 stops away), the distrcit line was also closed (only between the locations I needed) and the only line I could therefore take was the bakerloo which takes me wayyyy out of the way. I obviously had no choice so instead of my ride home being 6 mins it became 46 mins, and as we were riding along they kept announcing the closure of more stations due to overcrowding. So I don't know if there was some big Christmasy event or something but it was definitely an interesting ride home. It's also been freeeeeeezing the past few days. It's been a lot more windy than usual.
It's funny that grandpa sent those pictures of London at night because my flatmates and I have been talking about going out and taking some of our own. I think we're going to do that tonight.
I can't believe how fast this semester has gone by! I was looking at my calendar last night I realized I barely have any time left here! This coming weekend I am going to go to Blenheim, the week after that is my last week at work and then I'm off to Sweden then the week after that I'm home. Wow. Time sure does fly.
Belgium
Belgium was AMAZINGGG!!!
Mari (my flatmate) and I went to Belgium last weekend. It was such a perfect weekend. We left around 4 after our Friday classes. We took the Eurostar (a train) from London St. Pancras to Brussells. The ride was only a couple of hours. We both really wanted to spend more time in Brugge than Brussells so we arranged 2 nights accommodation in a hostel in Brugge. When we got into Brussells, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then, through a series of pantomimes, pointing, broken English and French, we managed to purchase tickets to catch a train from Brussells to Brugge.
By the time we got to Brugge it was around 11 and we were supposed to be able to take bus 6 or 16 from the station to our hostel. We, however, are not fluent in Flemish, Dutch, French, or German and could not find said buses. We finally got on a bus that said it was going to a word that looked like it resembled the ‘town centre’. It was getting late so we figured we’d take our chances. Well, we made the right decision and the bus did indeed drop us in the town center. The ride was no more than 3 minutes so in the amount of time we took debating on which bus to take, we easily could have walked the distance.
Anyways, we got to the town center and still had to make our way to the hostel. We pulled out the map we, luckily, picked up at the station and found our way to the hostel. Checking in was interesting as there was no reception desk. The reception desk was literally the bar. After checking it we headed up to our room, which we were sharing with 4 other girls. It was nice enough for 2 nights.
Saturday morning we got up around 8:30, put on some clothes and headed down for the free breakfast (which consisted of instant coffee and bread and butter). We then headed out to explore the town. It was really nice traveling with Mari because we are both rather laid back people. We didn’t have a plan as to what we wanted to see or where, specifically, we wanted to go which made it really nice and relaxing. We wandered through all the main streets, went through little markets, moseyed down little side streets, sat by the river and watched the horse carriages drive by. It was just very very relaxing and non-stressful. We stopped in a small café to warm up and grab a bit of lunch.
After finishing my delicious panini, we hit the streets again. We went up the Belfry tower in the centre of town. We had to climb about 366 steps to get to the top but the view was amazing and you stand literally right under the massive bells (which makes it a VERY loud experience).
We spent the rest of the afternoon milling about and we ate dinner in a little Italian restaurant in the center of town. It looked so pretty at night all light up and they had Christmas lights up too. After walking the entire day we were ready to tuck in early so we headed back to the hostel around 10 and we just laid around and read a bit.
Sunday we woke up around 8:30 again and had breakfast. It was raining but we decided it would probably end up taking just as much time to get to the station if we waited for the bus as if we walked, so we opted for walking. We checked out and started the trek. About 45 minutes later we were at the train station on the next train to Brussells. When we got to Brussells we decided the two things we really needed to see where the Atomium and Manikin Pis so we decided to start at Atomium and throughout the day make our way back south west.
We got to the station and, once again, combining our acting skills with our limited knowledge of French we somehow managed to get metro tickets. We jumped on the next train to some city that started with an ‘S’ and from there we caught the metro to the Atomium. The weather was pretty gross most of Sunday but for the most part we were either on a train or standing in line at the Atomium while it rained most heavily. Mom and Dad have a picture in front of Atomium so I made sure to get one of me in front of it. After we climbed to the top, we took the metro back toward the market.
We wandered around, ate waffles and chocolate, and had pitas for lunch. There seem to be a lot of Greek restaurants in Brussells. Mari and I both decided that we liked Brugge better. Brussells was cool, but it felt very much like any other ‘large’ European city. We both liked it better at night. It felt less dirty and looked prettier with all the lights and Christmas lights.
After trekking back and forth across the city for the entire day we headed back to the station to catch our train back to London. We ended up getting there about 2 hours early so we had one final waffle covered in chocolate with haggen das ice cream. Delicious. We were both exhausted after lugging our backpacks around with us all day and having spent the majority of the past 2 days walking walking walking. We got into London between 10 and 10:30 and we went right to bed.
I had SUCH a great time. Belgium is the perfect place to escape to for a romantic and relaxing weekend. Brugge is quite possibly the cutest most picturesque city I’ve traveled to. It looks like it should be on a Christmas cookie tin and the people were all super friendly and helpful and I felt very safe there. All the cafes and pubs were so cozy and had open fires. The streets are cobblestone and you can always hear the horses walking around. Church bells ring loudly throughout the day and big windmills are scattered along the river. It is just so beautiful. I can’t wait to see what Stockholm will be like!
Mari (my flatmate) and I went to Belgium last weekend. It was such a perfect weekend. We left around 4 after our Friday classes. We took the Eurostar (a train) from London St. Pancras to Brussells. The ride was only a couple of hours. We both really wanted to spend more time in Brugge than Brussells so we arranged 2 nights accommodation in a hostel in Brugge. When we got into Brussells, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then, through a series of pantomimes, pointing, broken English and French, we managed to purchase tickets to catch a train from Brussells to Brugge.
By the time we got to Brugge it was around 11 and we were supposed to be able to take bus 6 or 16 from the station to our hostel. We, however, are not fluent in Flemish, Dutch, French, or German and could not find said buses. We finally got on a bus that said it was going to a word that looked like it resembled the ‘town centre’. It was getting late so we figured we’d take our chances. Well, we made the right decision and the bus did indeed drop us in the town center. The ride was no more than 3 minutes so in the amount of time we took debating on which bus to take, we easily could have walked the distance.
Anyways, we got to the town center and still had to make our way to the hostel. We pulled out the map we, luckily, picked up at the station and found our way to the hostel. Checking in was interesting as there was no reception desk. The reception desk was literally the bar. After checking it we headed up to our room, which we were sharing with 4 other girls. It was nice enough for 2 nights.
Saturday morning we got up around 8:30, put on some clothes and headed down for the free breakfast (which consisted of instant coffee and bread and butter). We then headed out to explore the town. It was really nice traveling with Mari because we are both rather laid back people. We didn’t have a plan as to what we wanted to see or where, specifically, we wanted to go which made it really nice and relaxing. We wandered through all the main streets, went through little markets, moseyed down little side streets, sat by the river and watched the horse carriages drive by. It was just very very relaxing and non-stressful. We stopped in a small café to warm up and grab a bit of lunch.
After finishing my delicious panini, we hit the streets again. We went up the Belfry tower in the centre of town. We had to climb about 366 steps to get to the top but the view was amazing and you stand literally right under the massive bells (which makes it a VERY loud experience).
We spent the rest of the afternoon milling about and we ate dinner in a little Italian restaurant in the center of town. It looked so pretty at night all light up and they had Christmas lights up too. After walking the entire day we were ready to tuck in early so we headed back to the hostel around 10 and we just laid around and read a bit.
Sunday we woke up around 8:30 again and had breakfast. It was raining but we decided it would probably end up taking just as much time to get to the station if we waited for the bus as if we walked, so we opted for walking. We checked out and started the trek. About 45 minutes later we were at the train station on the next train to Brussells. When we got to Brussells we decided the two things we really needed to see where the Atomium and Manikin Pis so we decided to start at Atomium and throughout the day make our way back south west.
We got to the station and, once again, combining our acting skills with our limited knowledge of French we somehow managed to get metro tickets. We jumped on the next train to some city that started with an ‘S’ and from there we caught the metro to the Atomium. The weather was pretty gross most of Sunday but for the most part we were either on a train or standing in line at the Atomium while it rained most heavily. Mom and Dad have a picture in front of Atomium so I made sure to get one of me in front of it. After we climbed to the top, we took the metro back toward the market.
We wandered around, ate waffles and chocolate, and had pitas for lunch. There seem to be a lot of Greek restaurants in Brussells. Mari and I both decided that we liked Brugge better. Brussells was cool, but it felt very much like any other ‘large’ European city. We both liked it better at night. It felt less dirty and looked prettier with all the lights and Christmas lights.
After trekking back and forth across the city for the entire day we headed back to the station to catch our train back to London. We ended up getting there about 2 hours early so we had one final waffle covered in chocolate with haggen das ice cream. Delicious. We were both exhausted after lugging our backpacks around with us all day and having spent the majority of the past 2 days walking walking walking. We got into London between 10 and 10:30 and we went right to bed.
I had SUCH a great time. Belgium is the perfect place to escape to for a romantic and relaxing weekend. Brugge is quite possibly the cutest most picturesque city I’ve traveled to. It looks like it should be on a Christmas cookie tin and the people were all super friendly and helpful and I felt very safe there. All the cafes and pubs were so cozy and had open fires. The streets are cobblestone and you can always hear the horses walking around. Church bells ring loudly throughout the day and big windmills are scattered along the river. It is just so beautiful. I can’t wait to see what Stockholm will be like!
28.10.08
13.10.08
A Much Needed Holiday
Monday and Tuesday last week I had my final exams. I am still waiting to hear what my grades are. Monday I had to sit my marketing exam. We basically had two questions to answer. The first was compulsory and then for the second we were given a list of about four questions to choose from. It was two hours straight of writing and drawing out entry models and let's just say I have not done that much hand writing in a long time. I don't know how I used to do it in school. I'm so used to typing everything now, my hand was cramping after 2 hours. Tuesday I had my advertising exam. My professor gave us the essay topics to study before hand so I think I did well on that one.
Wednesday was the start of our mid-semester break. All but one of my flatmates left for break. Two of them went to Paris, another two went to Italy, one met up with her parents and did a mini road trip to some small place in the english countryside and the other went to visit family elsewhere in England. That left Lyndsey and I. We slept in Wednesday morning since we, well I anyways, hardly ever get the opportunity to do so. The cleaning people brought us clean sheets which we put on our beds and then continued to sleep. At some point some men came to fix our hot water tank while we were sleeping and evidently locked the bottom lock of our flat door when they left. We usually only use the top lock because the bottom one jams frequently. So when Lyndsey and I woke up and tried to leave the flat, we found we were lock IN our flat. We called the RA on duty who didn't seem to understand that we were locked IN our flat so he took his time calling someone to come release us. After waiting for well over an hour we called again. This time I spoke to the person and explained our situation once again. This time they finally understood and sent someone over. We still had to wait about an hour for this person to arrive, only to discover they did not have the necessary key. Finally, around 5:00 p.m. we were freed from our own flat. It was an interesting experience, and all I can say is I'm glad we didn't have flight to catch or something.
Thursday we declared 'national be a bum day'. This basically entailed doing absolutely nothing and loving every second of it. The weather was nice so I did get out of the house for a bit. I went for a nice long relaxing walk, sat down read a book, took shelter in a coffee shop when it started to rain, and then I continued to sit there and people watch for a good 2 hours. It was just really nice and relaxing.
Friday Lyndsey and I decided to go to Oxford for the weekend. I checked the national rail site to see what times trains were going out. We found one leaving around 1:20 so we packed our bags and headed to Paddington. We made perfect time. We left the flat about 12:45, got to the tube by 1:00, got to Paddington about 1:05, bought our tickets and popped on the train and were off promptly at 1:20. We got to Oxford about 2:10 and by the time we walked from the train station to the OSAP/WISC office on George street it was 2:30.
My roomie from Tampa is studying at Oxford for the semester so we were meeting up with her. She and her new roomie Jess came to London last weekend so it was nice to see them again. Amanda doesn't have a phone and she didn't think she could give us clear directions to her house in Oxford so we met up with her at the students abroad office. It was very easy to find. Then we walked to her house which is about 20 minutes from George Street in Jericho and just up the road from the Oxford Press. The housing accommodation she has is arranged and provided through the study abroad programme. There are 2 guys living in the basement, one guy on the ground floor where the living room, kitchen, and laundry room is, and then Amanda and Jess share a room and a british girl named Mouse also lives upstairs. It is a really small little house that at first seems really dirty and old, but after a few nights there it kind of grows on you. It is definitely a well-lived in house by young university students but it has a VERY english feel. My flat is definitely a lot nicer and newer and just generally in A LOT better condition, but like I said, in a weird way, her place grew on me. All 6 of them share one bathroom on the top floor so there can be quite the queue in the morning waiting for a shower. The basement guys and Mouse we didn't see that much. They are always off doing their own thing, but Sam, the guy who has the room on the ground floor, is really nice as is Jess. Obviously they were all studying hard and busy reading loads of books so Lyndsey and I tried to stay out of their way and entertain ourselves.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! This was my fourth time to Oxford so I have a pretty good idea of how to get around, and it is such an easy city to walk. From Amanda's house to the city centre and closer to the classic oxford places it is about a 35 minute walk. I took Lyndsey to the Bodleian Library, we explored around New College, we walked down Cornmarket Street where a lot of the shops are and then we went to Christ Church. We walked down the wooded paths behind the college and walked along the river. It was so pretty, and I'll bet it will be even prettier in the next few weeks since some of the trees are starting to change. We found a nice tree to sit under next to the river where we sat and people watched. We also watched some new freshers learning how to row. It was rather amusing. Then we headed back to meet up with Amanda. A group of us went to this little restaurant called Posh Fish to grab some dinner. After we ate we headed out to meet up with some other kids in the programme that are living in a mansion in St. Giles. Everyone was really nice and we had a great evening out. We met up with the other 2 guys that are studying at Oxford from Tampa.
Saturday we all slept in and all the Oxford kids continued to labour away at their studies while Lyndsey and I wandered the city some more. I think she and I have seen more of the city than all of the others combined. We kept telling them to at least go outside along the river to read because the weather was SO perfect out, why waste a gorgeous day indoors. We walked alllll over. Lyndsey and I are a good travel team. It was nice not having an agenda to have to adhere to and we were both down for aimless wandering. We would turn down random side streets, without a clue where we were going, and both of us have a good enough sense of direction to always find our way back and not get completely lost. We went back down by the river and a lot of studetns were outside reading or snoozing in the sun. It was really nice. We came back mid afternoon. Everyone was tired so we all had a cup of tea, read a little, and next thing you know it's nap time for everyone. We all woke up about the same time and went back up to Posh Fish for dinner and to watch a bit of the England vs. Kazakhstan football game. We were all in the mood for a chill night so we stayed in and watched some terrible british television, drank tons of tea, ate biscuts, and watched notting hill. It was nice. We put another movie on, more or less as background noise, and we all sat around talking until almost 4 in the morning.
Sunday we got up, showered and went out again for awhile. Lyndsey and I grabbed a coffee and headed back to our trusted spot by the river. We sat there for about 30 minutes before we had to head back to grab our things and make our way to the train. We checked to see when the shortest train back to London was and we found one leaving around 3:50. So around 2:30 we left the riverside and made the 35 min walk back to Amanda's. On our way we passed Adam, this guy I met in London over the summer that goes to Pembroke College at Oxford. Turns out he had just gotten back from playing rugby at Cambridge all weekend. We also passed this guy Lyndsey knows from the BU programme who offered us a ride back to London, but we already had our return tickets. What a small world! We got back to Amanda's around 3:05, grabbed out bags, and then walked to the train station. We got there about 3:30 and we were on the train and back to London by 5:10.
I know this is all a bit detailed, but I haven't been that great about posting frequently so at least when I do post you can get a good idea of what all I've been up to.
All in all, it was a GREAT weekend. Amanda, Jess, and Sam were happy to see us and invited us back and we likewise left them with an open invitation to London. Lyndsey said she had a great time and I'm glad she came. We bonded a lot over the weekend. Everyone just got along so well and it was nice to get away from the big city for a bit.
This coming weekend (Saturday) I will be going to Leeds and Canterbury. That should be a lot of fun. The following weekend I might go back to Oxford.
While I was away I also received an email about my internship. Today was supposed to be my first day on the job. My supervisor, however, ended up in the hospital and all the other staff are in New York so they sent their appologies that I will not be able to start until next week. BU won't just let me sit around doing nothing of course, so they are having me work in the student life office for the rest of the week where I believe I will be assisting with the newsletter. My boss said not to worry, when I come in to work next week there will be A LOT for me to work on and some nice juicy accounts to 'sink my teeth into'.
So yeah, I think I've brought you all up to speed. As you can tell, I'm still having a blast here. This will definitely be one of the best years of my life.
Wednesday was the start of our mid-semester break. All but one of my flatmates left for break. Two of them went to Paris, another two went to Italy, one met up with her parents and did a mini road trip to some small place in the english countryside and the other went to visit family elsewhere in England. That left Lyndsey and I. We slept in Wednesday morning since we, well I anyways, hardly ever get the opportunity to do so. The cleaning people brought us clean sheets which we put on our beds and then continued to sleep. At some point some men came to fix our hot water tank while we were sleeping and evidently locked the bottom lock of our flat door when they left. We usually only use the top lock because the bottom one jams frequently. So when Lyndsey and I woke up and tried to leave the flat, we found we were lock IN our flat. We called the RA on duty who didn't seem to understand that we were locked IN our flat so he took his time calling someone to come release us. After waiting for well over an hour we called again. This time I spoke to the person and explained our situation once again. This time they finally understood and sent someone over. We still had to wait about an hour for this person to arrive, only to discover they did not have the necessary key. Finally, around 5:00 p.m. we were freed from our own flat. It was an interesting experience, and all I can say is I'm glad we didn't have flight to catch or something.
Thursday we declared 'national be a bum day'. This basically entailed doing absolutely nothing and loving every second of it. The weather was nice so I did get out of the house for a bit. I went for a nice long relaxing walk, sat down read a book, took shelter in a coffee shop when it started to rain, and then I continued to sit there and people watch for a good 2 hours. It was just really nice and relaxing.
Friday Lyndsey and I decided to go to Oxford for the weekend. I checked the national rail site to see what times trains were going out. We found one leaving around 1:20 so we packed our bags and headed to Paddington. We made perfect time. We left the flat about 12:45, got to the tube by 1:00, got to Paddington about 1:05, bought our tickets and popped on the train and were off promptly at 1:20. We got to Oxford about 2:10 and by the time we walked from the train station to the OSAP/WISC office on George street it was 2:30.
My roomie from Tampa is studying at Oxford for the semester so we were meeting up with her. She and her new roomie Jess came to London last weekend so it was nice to see them again. Amanda doesn't have a phone and she didn't think she could give us clear directions to her house in Oxford so we met up with her at the students abroad office. It was very easy to find. Then we walked to her house which is about 20 minutes from George Street in Jericho and just up the road from the Oxford Press. The housing accommodation she has is arranged and provided through the study abroad programme. There are 2 guys living in the basement, one guy on the ground floor where the living room, kitchen, and laundry room is, and then Amanda and Jess share a room and a british girl named Mouse also lives upstairs. It is a really small little house that at first seems really dirty and old, but after a few nights there it kind of grows on you. It is definitely a well-lived in house by young university students but it has a VERY english feel. My flat is definitely a lot nicer and newer and just generally in A LOT better condition, but like I said, in a weird way, her place grew on me. All 6 of them share one bathroom on the top floor so there can be quite the queue in the morning waiting for a shower. The basement guys and Mouse we didn't see that much. They are always off doing their own thing, but Sam, the guy who has the room on the ground floor, is really nice as is Jess. Obviously they were all studying hard and busy reading loads of books so Lyndsey and I tried to stay out of their way and entertain ourselves.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! This was my fourth time to Oxford so I have a pretty good idea of how to get around, and it is such an easy city to walk. From Amanda's house to the city centre and closer to the classic oxford places it is about a 35 minute walk. I took Lyndsey to the Bodleian Library, we explored around New College, we walked down Cornmarket Street where a lot of the shops are and then we went to Christ Church. We walked down the wooded paths behind the college and walked along the river. It was so pretty, and I'll bet it will be even prettier in the next few weeks since some of the trees are starting to change. We found a nice tree to sit under next to the river where we sat and people watched. We also watched some new freshers learning how to row. It was rather amusing. Then we headed back to meet up with Amanda. A group of us went to this little restaurant called Posh Fish to grab some dinner. After we ate we headed out to meet up with some other kids in the programme that are living in a mansion in St. Giles. Everyone was really nice and we had a great evening out. We met up with the other 2 guys that are studying at Oxford from Tampa.
Saturday we all slept in and all the Oxford kids continued to labour away at their studies while Lyndsey and I wandered the city some more. I think she and I have seen more of the city than all of the others combined. We kept telling them to at least go outside along the river to read because the weather was SO perfect out, why waste a gorgeous day indoors. We walked alllll over. Lyndsey and I are a good travel team. It was nice not having an agenda to have to adhere to and we were both down for aimless wandering. We would turn down random side streets, without a clue where we were going, and both of us have a good enough sense of direction to always find our way back and not get completely lost. We went back down by the river and a lot of studetns were outside reading or snoozing in the sun. It was really nice. We came back mid afternoon. Everyone was tired so we all had a cup of tea, read a little, and next thing you know it's nap time for everyone. We all woke up about the same time and went back up to Posh Fish for dinner and to watch a bit of the England vs. Kazakhstan football game. We were all in the mood for a chill night so we stayed in and watched some terrible british television, drank tons of tea, ate biscuts, and watched notting hill. It was nice. We put another movie on, more or less as background noise, and we all sat around talking until almost 4 in the morning.
Sunday we got up, showered and went out again for awhile. Lyndsey and I grabbed a coffee and headed back to our trusted spot by the river. We sat there for about 30 minutes before we had to head back to grab our things and make our way to the train. We checked to see when the shortest train back to London was and we found one leaving around 3:50. So around 2:30 we left the riverside and made the 35 min walk back to Amanda's. On our way we passed Adam, this guy I met in London over the summer that goes to Pembroke College at Oxford. Turns out he had just gotten back from playing rugby at Cambridge all weekend. We also passed this guy Lyndsey knows from the BU programme who offered us a ride back to London, but we already had our return tickets. What a small world! We got back to Amanda's around 3:05, grabbed out bags, and then walked to the train station. We got there about 3:30 and we were on the train and back to London by 5:10.
I know this is all a bit detailed, but I haven't been that great about posting frequently so at least when I do post you can get a good idea of what all I've been up to.
All in all, it was a GREAT weekend. Amanda, Jess, and Sam were happy to see us and invited us back and we likewise left them with an open invitation to London. Lyndsey said she had a great time and I'm glad she came. We bonded a lot over the weekend. Everyone just got along so well and it was nice to get away from the big city for a bit.
This coming weekend (Saturday) I will be going to Leeds and Canterbury. That should be a lot of fun. The following weekend I might go back to Oxford.
While I was away I also received an email about my internship. Today was supposed to be my first day on the job. My supervisor, however, ended up in the hospital and all the other staff are in New York so they sent their appologies that I will not be able to start until next week. BU won't just let me sit around doing nothing of course, so they are having me work in the student life office for the rest of the week where I believe I will be assisting with the newsletter. My boss said not to worry, when I come in to work next week there will be A LOT for me to work on and some nice juicy accounts to 'sink my teeth into'.
So yeah, I think I've brought you all up to speed. As you can tell, I'm still having a blast here. This will definitely be one of the best years of my life.
29.9.08
Horseback riding in Wales
Hello everyone!
I'd forgotten how long it's been since I've last written and I apologize for leaving you with such a cliff hanger about Cambridge and my interview.
As I'm sure you by now know, the interview went really well. I got a really good feeling about the company and they all seem cery nice and eager to help me learn and gain experience.
As far as my trip to Cambridge, it went wonderfully. The weather was very cooperative and Mother Nature provided us with a nice warm sunny afternoon perfect for punting. We had a short guided tour and then we were given time to grab lunch and wander on our own. We all met up in the afternoon around 2:00 and went punting. It was so nice to be able to sit down, relax, and still get to see Cambridge.
This past weekend I went horseback riding in Wales. It was such an awesome trip! Wales is beautiful. The trip I went on was set up through BU and they took care of arranging and booking our train tickets and accomodation. We were each responsible for getting to Paddington Station and getting on the train and then finding everyone in Wales to catch a group taxi to the lodge. I was a bit nervous since I had no clue who was going on the trip so I was travelling completely alone, but I am comfortable enough that I know how to get on and off the correct trains. The ride over was about 2.5 or 3 hours. I forced myself to stay awake the whole way so I could enjoy and appreciate the countryside we passed through. It was rather obvious once we'd crossed into Wales. I'm not sure how to explain it, but somehow you just knew you were finally outside London, and then the signs in both English and Welsh confirmed my suspicions.
The town we went to was Swansea. Once I got off the train I saw a group of girls circled together looking confused so I assumed they must be a part of the BU group. Turns out I was correct and I was surprised to discover there were only 7 students, myself included, that came on the trip. There were also two young staff members that brought along family members making us 11 in total. Once we all found eachother and used the restroom, we made our to the group taxi. Our train left London around 4pm so by the time we arrived in Swansea it was dark. We were in the taxi for about 30 minutes driving through the middle-of-no-where countrtyside when they driver stops and asks us if we know 'where exactly this place is'. We ended up calling the owners of the lodge who gave him directions and we continued driving through the pitch black countryside. The road we were speeding down was only wide enough for one vehicle so when we would occassionally come head to head with another car it became a game of chicken...who was going to finally back up on the twisting road with a cliff on one side so the other could pass? It was quite the adventure getting there. We finally drove through a small river in the taxi and we were on the grounds of our lodge. The place we were staying was absolutly beautiful and quaint. It is called Parc-Le-Breos and it is a 19th century hunting lodge that is family owned and operated. They served us the most amazing home cooked food in a nice warm dining hall and showed us to our rooms. All 7 of us students shared one room and after we put our things away we went and sat outside to enjoy the cold fresh air. It was freezing, we could see our breaths, but it was still so nice to get away from the city noise and lights. It was beautiful to see the stars again. the family also owns a dog names Sharp so she came out to play with us. We were all rather tired and had to get up for breakfast and a full day of riding by 8 so we tucked in early.
Breakfast was just as amazing as the previous night's dinner had been. They offered a full Welsh breakfast or pretty much anything you wanted. After eating we headed outside to find the sun glistening down on the soft yellow, dew covered fields.
After snapping a few photos, which do the area's true beauty no justice, we went to the tack room. Here we eaited for the other couples to join us for our day of riding. We were lined up in order of experience, the majority of the group being beginners and then we filed one by one into the tack room to collect a brush,bridal and the name of our horse. I got Kim. She was a sweet, rather chunky, white horse, but she was such a good girl. We then went in, put the bridals on our horses and started brushing them down for our ride. This was not only to get the horses ready to go out but for us to get to know our horses, feel comfortable with them, and most importantly show them who is in control. Then we went back to the tack room and got our saddles and mounted up. They gave a brief instruction on how to 'rev up' your horse, where the 'breaks' where etc. The lady instructing us was so cute. Her name is Olive and she is one of the owners of the house. We rode around for a few hours and then stopped for lunch at a pub down in town. We had about an hour to rest and then we got back up and continued on our trek. It was all so pretty.
When we got back and got our horses all washed down the girls and I decided to go exploring. We walked through the fields and back roads until we found a sign for the beach. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. Wales is just stunning. There are so many hills/mountains, cliffs, huge beaches, castle ruins. It is just breath taking. We got some quick pictures and then it was time to head back for dinner. Dinner of course was amazing and we had a delicious choclate cake for dessert. Olive ordered us a cab to take us into the 'big town' since she thought us youngins would want to 'get off the farm for awhile.' The cab dropped us off by the pier and we walked up to the town and stopped at the local pub, The White Rose. We sat there for awhile recapping the day's adventures. We were all exhausted from the long day so we headed back around 10 and went to bed.
Sunday we didn't have to meet our cab until 1:00 so we got up early for breakfast and then 3 of us did some more exploring. We found the path back up to the highest point in Gower, which was a part of the trek we had done on horse. It was nice to walk it though, a little less stressful. We took a lot of picutres overlooking the beach and the countryside and then we just took some time to sit and appreciate it all. We then headed back down to the lowest point, the beach. This time when we went down the tide was out so the beach was huge and amazing. We wandered through the marshy parts, poked at little creatures that got stuck in the small tidal pools, walked through some caves, and then played on the beach. The water was really cold, but the views and everything around us was just so amazing you couldn't help but feel amazingly happy and run around like a 5 year old. By the time we made our way back to the farm we had enough time to grab our bags and take a few more picutres of the horses and it was time to go. The cab got us a bit after 1:00 and we got to the station about 10 minutes before our train left. I think I slept pretty much the whole ride back. It was such a fun but exhausting weekend.
When I got back into London it was around 5:30 and I called my friend Shanna. Shanna is a friend I've danced with for years and she is studying at Oxford for the semester. She came a few days early though so she could get to explore London. Anyways, she is spending 2 nights with me so I called her to let her know I was on my way back to my flat. She's been staying with another friend in London and they were finishing up dinner, which worked out perfectly since we had people over at our flat working on our marketing project. We were just about done with our meeting when she came.
It's so weird to think I'm almost done with my classes. I have my marketing project to present this Thursday. It counts as 35% of my grade so it's a little stressful getting it all together. I also still have one last paper to write and then my 2 finals to take next week.
Today after class I took a short nap and started working on typing up this hugely long blog. When Shanna got back I took she and her friend to my favourite creperie and I showed her where the museums are near me. They both loved the food. Shanna and I took a nice long walk back past the park and I basically took her in a big loop to show her around South Kensington a bit. After I finish this blog I need to work on my marketing project and then I'm taking Shanna out to the area I was in this summer and my favourite pub there, since she has yet to go to a pub here in England.
I think tomorrow I will take her around central London to go see all the 'typical' London places e.g. Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, Buckingham Palace etc. and then at night we have another group meeting about our marketing project.
So, I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. Things have just been a bit crazy around here. I am having an absolutly amazing time though and I really enjoyed Wales. It would be the perfect place to go for a part of a honeymoon, so cute and quaint and quiet. Well, I'll try to get my photos online so I can add my links in here. Hope everyone is well! I love you and miss you all.
I'd forgotten how long it's been since I've last written and I apologize for leaving you with such a cliff hanger about Cambridge and my interview.
As I'm sure you by now know, the interview went really well. I got a really good feeling about the company and they all seem cery nice and eager to help me learn and gain experience.
As far as my trip to Cambridge, it went wonderfully. The weather was very cooperative and Mother Nature provided us with a nice warm sunny afternoon perfect for punting. We had a short guided tour and then we were given time to grab lunch and wander on our own. We all met up in the afternoon around 2:00 and went punting. It was so nice to be able to sit down, relax, and still get to see Cambridge.
This past weekend I went horseback riding in Wales. It was such an awesome trip! Wales is beautiful. The trip I went on was set up through BU and they took care of arranging and booking our train tickets and accomodation. We were each responsible for getting to Paddington Station and getting on the train and then finding everyone in Wales to catch a group taxi to the lodge. I was a bit nervous since I had no clue who was going on the trip so I was travelling completely alone, but I am comfortable enough that I know how to get on and off the correct trains. The ride over was about 2.5 or 3 hours. I forced myself to stay awake the whole way so I could enjoy and appreciate the countryside we passed through. It was rather obvious once we'd crossed into Wales. I'm not sure how to explain it, but somehow you just knew you were finally outside London, and then the signs in both English and Welsh confirmed my suspicions.
The town we went to was Swansea. Once I got off the train I saw a group of girls circled together looking confused so I assumed they must be a part of the BU group. Turns out I was correct and I was surprised to discover there were only 7 students, myself included, that came on the trip. There were also two young staff members that brought along family members making us 11 in total. Once we all found eachother and used the restroom, we made our to the group taxi. Our train left London around 4pm so by the time we arrived in Swansea it was dark. We were in the taxi for about 30 minutes driving through the middle-of-no-where countrtyside when they driver stops and asks us if we know 'where exactly this place is'. We ended up calling the owners of the lodge who gave him directions and we continued driving through the pitch black countryside. The road we were speeding down was only wide enough for one vehicle so when we would occassionally come head to head with another car it became a game of chicken...who was going to finally back up on the twisting road with a cliff on one side so the other could pass? It was quite the adventure getting there. We finally drove through a small river in the taxi and we were on the grounds of our lodge. The place we were staying was absolutly beautiful and quaint. It is called Parc-Le-Breos and it is a 19th century hunting lodge that is family owned and operated. They served us the most amazing home cooked food in a nice warm dining hall and showed us to our rooms. All 7 of us students shared one room and after we put our things away we went and sat outside to enjoy the cold fresh air. It was freezing, we could see our breaths, but it was still so nice to get away from the city noise and lights. It was beautiful to see the stars again. the family also owns a dog names Sharp so she came out to play with us. We were all rather tired and had to get up for breakfast and a full day of riding by 8 so we tucked in early.
Breakfast was just as amazing as the previous night's dinner had been. They offered a full Welsh breakfast or pretty much anything you wanted. After eating we headed outside to find the sun glistening down on the soft yellow, dew covered fields.
After snapping a few photos, which do the area's true beauty no justice, we went to the tack room. Here we eaited for the other couples to join us for our day of riding. We were lined up in order of experience, the majority of the group being beginners and then we filed one by one into the tack room to collect a brush,bridal and the name of our horse. I got Kim. She was a sweet, rather chunky, white horse, but she was such a good girl. We then went in, put the bridals on our horses and started brushing them down for our ride. This was not only to get the horses ready to go out but for us to get to know our horses, feel comfortable with them, and most importantly show them who is in control. Then we went back to the tack room and got our saddles and mounted up. They gave a brief instruction on how to 'rev up' your horse, where the 'breaks' where etc. The lady instructing us was so cute. Her name is Olive and she is one of the owners of the house. We rode around for a few hours and then stopped for lunch at a pub down in town. We had about an hour to rest and then we got back up and continued on our trek. It was all so pretty.
When we got back and got our horses all washed down the girls and I decided to go exploring. We walked through the fields and back roads until we found a sign for the beach. It was SO BEAUTIFUL. Wales is just stunning. There are so many hills/mountains, cliffs, huge beaches, castle ruins. It is just breath taking. We got some quick pictures and then it was time to head back for dinner. Dinner of course was amazing and we had a delicious choclate cake for dessert. Olive ordered us a cab to take us into the 'big town' since she thought us youngins would want to 'get off the farm for awhile.' The cab dropped us off by the pier and we walked up to the town and stopped at the local pub, The White Rose. We sat there for awhile recapping the day's adventures. We were all exhausted from the long day so we headed back around 10 and went to bed.
Sunday we didn't have to meet our cab until 1:00 so we got up early for breakfast and then 3 of us did some more exploring. We found the path back up to the highest point in Gower, which was a part of the trek we had done on horse. It was nice to walk it though, a little less stressful. We took a lot of picutres overlooking the beach and the countryside and then we just took some time to sit and appreciate it all. We then headed back down to the lowest point, the beach. This time when we went down the tide was out so the beach was huge and amazing. We wandered through the marshy parts, poked at little creatures that got stuck in the small tidal pools, walked through some caves, and then played on the beach. The water was really cold, but the views and everything around us was just so amazing you couldn't help but feel amazingly happy and run around like a 5 year old. By the time we made our way back to the farm we had enough time to grab our bags and take a few more picutres of the horses and it was time to go. The cab got us a bit after 1:00 and we got to the station about 10 minutes before our train left. I think I slept pretty much the whole ride back. It was such a fun but exhausting weekend.
When I got back into London it was around 5:30 and I called my friend Shanna. Shanna is a friend I've danced with for years and she is studying at Oxford for the semester. She came a few days early though so she could get to explore London. Anyways, she is spending 2 nights with me so I called her to let her know I was on my way back to my flat. She's been staying with another friend in London and they were finishing up dinner, which worked out perfectly since we had people over at our flat working on our marketing project. We were just about done with our meeting when she came.
It's so weird to think I'm almost done with my classes. I have my marketing project to present this Thursday. It counts as 35% of my grade so it's a little stressful getting it all together. I also still have one last paper to write and then my 2 finals to take next week.
Today after class I took a short nap and started working on typing up this hugely long blog. When Shanna got back I took she and her friend to my favourite creperie and I showed her where the museums are near me. They both loved the food. Shanna and I took a nice long walk back past the park and I basically took her in a big loop to show her around South Kensington a bit. After I finish this blog I need to work on my marketing project and then I'm taking Shanna out to the area I was in this summer and my favourite pub there, since she has yet to go to a pub here in England.
I think tomorrow I will take her around central London to go see all the 'typical' London places e.g. Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, Buckingham Palace etc. and then at night we have another group meeting about our marketing project.
So, I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've posted. Things have just been a bit crazy around here. I am having an absolutly amazing time though and I really enjoyed Wales. It would be the perfect place to go for a part of a honeymoon, so cute and quaint and quiet. Well, I'll try to get my photos online so I can add my links in here. Hope everyone is well! I love you and miss you all.
13.9.08
Update
Sorry I haven't written in awhile. There really isn't a whole lot to report back about. My classes are going well. Four hours can be a bit lengthy but the tutors are great. The weather has been much nicer this past week. It's only threatened to rain and will sprinkle every now and again. Today is a lovely day. The sun is shining, nice bright blue skies, and it's rather warm, well relatively speaking. I spent a lot of time in the park this week. I try to stay out doors as much as possible when we have good weather. The other day I was sitting in sort of a secluded spot near the back of Kensington Palace and all of a sudden this helicopter lands in the filed infront of me and the police come and escort two people into the palace. So, I don't know who these people were, but it was kind of cool to watch.
The other night my roomies and I went out to our local pub, Builder's Arms just to get out of the flat for awhile. We had a lot of fun chatting and bonded a bit more. Last night one of my other roomies and I went back to Tottenham Court Road to The Court. When I was up in the bathroom I started talking to these two girls who said they go to Huron! I told them I was there over the summer and I asked if anyone else was there with them, and two of the guys I was pretty close with were there! It was so nice to see them again. After the pub closed all 6 of us went back to Byng. It felt like home. We all stayed up and chatted til late into the morning and at that point my roomie and I decided to just stay up to wait for the tube to open rather than spend loads of money on a cab. So we all sat around talking, listening to music and just having a good time. We watched the sunrise and then around 7 am my roomie and I made our way back to Kensington. It was so nice to see everyone at Byng. Josh and some of his friends were actually planning on coming to our pub on Sunday so we're going to go meet up with them again after Cambridge.
Well, that's pretty much it. Like I said, not a whole lot to tell about. I'm going to Cambridge on Sunday, meeting up with Josh and his friends, and then doing some more research for my marketing project and that's about the extent of my plans. On Monday I have my interview right after class at 2:30. I'm getting a bit anxious about it but I know it will all go over just fine. I'll definitely be writing about Cambridge and whatnot on Sunday and then I'll be sure to write and tell you all about the interview and how that all works out. Time to go! I'm taking my roomie for crepes in South Kensington. Yummy!
The other night my roomies and I went out to our local pub, Builder's Arms just to get out of the flat for awhile. We had a lot of fun chatting and bonded a bit more. Last night one of my other roomies and I went back to Tottenham Court Road to The Court. When I was up in the bathroom I started talking to these two girls who said they go to Huron! I told them I was there over the summer and I asked if anyone else was there with them, and two of the guys I was pretty close with were there! It was so nice to see them again. After the pub closed all 6 of us went back to Byng. It felt like home. We all stayed up and chatted til late into the morning and at that point my roomie and I decided to just stay up to wait for the tube to open rather than spend loads of money on a cab. So we all sat around talking, listening to music and just having a good time. We watched the sunrise and then around 7 am my roomie and I made our way back to Kensington. It was so nice to see everyone at Byng. Josh and some of his friends were actually planning on coming to our pub on Sunday so we're going to go meet up with them again after Cambridge.
Well, that's pretty much it. Like I said, not a whole lot to tell about. I'm going to Cambridge on Sunday, meeting up with Josh and his friends, and then doing some more research for my marketing project and that's about the extent of my plans. On Monday I have my interview right after class at 2:30. I'm getting a bit anxious about it but I know it will all go over just fine. I'll definitely be writing about Cambridge and whatnot on Sunday and then I'll be sure to write and tell you all about the interview and how that all works out. Time to go! I'm taking my roomie for crepes in South Kensington. Yummy!
6.9.08
Walks on rainy days
Heya!
I went for a walk this afternoon to find DDA. It is actually rather easy to get to. I took the district line to Fulham Broadway and then it was about a 20 minute walk from there. It is a really nice area and not dodgey at all. The actual complex is really nice and right along the Thames. There are restuarantes, pubs, cafes, Marks and Spencer, and all kinds of places right there. There is also a really nice walkway all along the bank of the Thames. The Business Exchange is on the ride side of the complex. I couldn't go in since it's a Saturday and they doors are always locked and require a key entry or a pin code. I could see through the doors though and I saw DDA on the board in suite 14 so I know I was in the right place. I still haven't heard back from EUSA as to when my interview will be, but they are trying to get it for sometime this week or Friday, 19 September. I think I'll really like it there. The EUSA woman I spoke with seems to know Spenser, the head of DDA rather well and it sounds like the intern they had over the summer really enjoyed his/her time there. The woman told me Spenser is quite a character and really likes interns that are proactive and step right in and want to help. She seemed rather impressed with me and she seems to think we'll get on great. I asked her what the dress code was like there and she said it is rather casual. She said Spenser is always in jeans except for when there is a client. I asked her what would be appropriate to wear to the interview and she said just a nice pair of slacks and a smart top would be just fine, a business suite isn't necessary, but if I have one feel free to wear it for the one and only time. So, I guess you won't have to worry too much about the blacks matching perfectly or the skirt being 'too tight'. After I found Imperial Wharf I walked back toward the tube station, which is also very nice. (There are a lot of shops and cafes in there too.) I walked past it to see what was further down the road. I tried to follow the majority of people since I figured they would be going to 'the good places'. It is really nice. It's much quieter than Kensington and has a much different feel from the other areas I've been in, but I like it very much. It's been misting most the day but as I was wandering it began to rain quite heavily so I headed back to the tube.
I got back on the district line and headed toward Edgeware to get off at the High Street. From there I walked to Waterstones, which is conviently located across the street from my favourite local Starbucks. They still have a lot of 3 for 2 book tables so I perused the secletion of favourites but, as usual, I couldn't pick a book since they all sound like the same story but with different character names. I finally found the Twilight series and I picked up the third book Eclipse. In the states they only have the first two books in paperback, but they had Eclipse in paperback here and it was much cheaper. I paid 7 pounds for it. It costs around $20 or so in the states. Anyways, I bought the book and headed over to Starbucks. I read the first chapter there and then left so a group of women could all sit together to chat. It was quite crowded in there this afternoon. I walked back to Lexham, dried off a bit, and here I am writing this blog, which actually started out as an email, but has clearly gotten too detailed to just be an email.
After staying in most of yesterday everyone was itching to get out of the flat, despite the bad weather. Lyndsey was having trouble with her mobile so she went to the store to try and have it fixed; Carolyn (girl in the middle in photo) went to Imperial College to join the gym there; Mari (girl on the right in photo) went to Notting Hill and is out for a run; Allie is off wandering aimlessly; Alyson went off exploring; Melissa went on the day trip planned by BU; and Meena is staying with her cousins for the weekend.
Well, I suppose I should try and get some more of my marketing reading done while everyone is away and it is still relativley quiet.
Hope all is well stateside!
I went for a walk this afternoon to find DDA. It is actually rather easy to get to. I took the district line to Fulham Broadway and then it was about a 20 minute walk from there. It is a really nice area and not dodgey at all. The actual complex is really nice and right along the Thames. There are restuarantes, pubs, cafes, Marks and Spencer, and all kinds of places right there. There is also a really nice walkway all along the bank of the Thames. The Business Exchange is on the ride side of the complex. I couldn't go in since it's a Saturday and they doors are always locked and require a key entry or a pin code. I could see through the doors though and I saw DDA on the board in suite 14 so I know I was in the right place. I still haven't heard back from EUSA as to when my interview will be, but they are trying to get it for sometime this week or Friday, 19 September. I think I'll really like it there. The EUSA woman I spoke with seems to know Spenser, the head of DDA rather well and it sounds like the intern they had over the summer really enjoyed his/her time there. The woman told me Spenser is quite a character and really likes interns that are proactive and step right in and want to help. She seemed rather impressed with me and she seems to think we'll get on great. I asked her what the dress code was like there and she said it is rather casual. She said Spenser is always in jeans except for when there is a client. I asked her what would be appropriate to wear to the interview and she said just a nice pair of slacks and a smart top would be just fine, a business suite isn't necessary, but if I have one feel free to wear it for the one and only time. So, I guess you won't have to worry too much about the blacks matching perfectly or the skirt being 'too tight'. After I found Imperial Wharf I walked back toward the tube station, which is also very nice. (There are a lot of shops and cafes in there too.) I walked past it to see what was further down the road. I tried to follow the majority of people since I figured they would be going to 'the good places'. It is really nice. It's much quieter than Kensington and has a much different feel from the other areas I've been in, but I like it very much. It's been misting most the day but as I was wandering it began to rain quite heavily so I headed back to the tube.
I got back on the district line and headed toward Edgeware to get off at the High Street. From there I walked to Waterstones, which is conviently located across the street from my favourite local Starbucks. They still have a lot of 3 for 2 book tables so I perused the secletion of favourites but, as usual, I couldn't pick a book since they all sound like the same story but with different character names. I finally found the Twilight series and I picked up the third book Eclipse. In the states they only have the first two books in paperback, but they had Eclipse in paperback here and it was much cheaper. I paid 7 pounds for it. It costs around $20 or so in the states. Anyways, I bought the book and headed over to Starbucks. I read the first chapter there and then left so a group of women could all sit together to chat. It was quite crowded in there this afternoon. I walked back to Lexham, dried off a bit, and here I am writing this blog, which actually started out as an email, but has clearly gotten too detailed to just be an email.
After staying in most of yesterday everyone was itching to get out of the flat, despite the bad weather. Lyndsey was having trouble with her mobile so she went to the store to try and have it fixed; Carolyn (girl in the middle in photo) went to Imperial College to join the gym there; Mari (girl on the right in photo) went to Notting Hill and is out for a run; Allie is off wandering aimlessly; Alyson went off exploring; Melissa went on the day trip planned by BU; and Meena is staying with her cousins for the weekend.
Well, I suppose I should try and get some more of my marketing reading done while everyone is away and it is still relativley quiet.
Hope all is well stateside!
5.9.08
London weather
I've been pretty busy trying to get all settled in and adjusted to classes. Thursday morning I had my first class. It was long, four hours, but I like the professor very much. You can tell she really loves her job in marketing. I also had an interview thursday afternoon with EUSA, the company that is in charge of my internship placement. The people there were very friendly and said that this summer's students had an excellent time interning at the company I will be with. I also had to run around and pick up my textbooks and whatnot. Luckily the library owns multiple copies of my book so I didn't need to buy it, seems like it would have been a waste of money to buy a book I'll only use for 5 weeks.
All in all, everything is going quite well here. The weather has been rather nasty. According to the news, we'll have a lot more rain and wind coming this weekend making this past August one of the darkest and wettest on record. I don't mind the cold, wind and rain though, not yet anyways. It's sort of refreshing. I could do without the rain. Actually, my hair could do without the rain, I don't mind it. It's just nice to feel autumn again. It's been about 3 years since I've actually been able to feel and see the seasons change. It's early still but some of the trees are beginning to drop their leaves here.
Last night we had a 'start of semester' party at a nightclub in the area of London I spent most of the summer. It was alright. BU rented out a VIP room which was really nice, but we didn't get to meet any locals that way. We spent a few hours there and then we went to The Court,a pub I went to a lot over the summer. The girls all really liked it there since it's all young local people.
This morning I slept in a little since my class got postponed until next Friday and then I headed down to Starbucks to get some of my marketing reading done. It's been raining all day so we've all been laying kind of low. Most of the girls decided to go out tonight though. They wanted to go back to The Court. It is like a hurricane outside so I opted to stay home. It's realllly windy and POURING rain. They are going to be soaked by the time they get home.
I'm really hoping the weather will at least clear up a little bit this weekend so I can go find my internship place. I was supposed to have the interview this coming Friday, but I had to have them reschedule it since my class got moved to that date. Now I'm not sure when my interview will be, but I think EUSA is trying to make it for some afternoon this week, so I'd really like to know where it is I'm going.
Well, that's pretty much all that's been going on. Even though the weather hasn't been great, I'm still super happy to be back here.
All in all, everything is going quite well here. The weather has been rather nasty. According to the news, we'll have a lot more rain and wind coming this weekend making this past August one of the darkest and wettest on record. I don't mind the cold, wind and rain though, not yet anyways. It's sort of refreshing. I could do without the rain. Actually, my hair could do without the rain, I don't mind it. It's just nice to feel autumn again. It's been about 3 years since I've actually been able to feel and see the seasons change. It's early still but some of the trees are beginning to drop their leaves here.
Last night we had a 'start of semester' party at a nightclub in the area of London I spent most of the summer. It was alright. BU rented out a VIP room which was really nice, but we didn't get to meet any locals that way. We spent a few hours there and then we went to The Court,a pub I went to a lot over the summer. The girls all really liked it there since it's all young local people.
This morning I slept in a little since my class got postponed until next Friday and then I headed down to Starbucks to get some of my marketing reading done. It's been raining all day so we've all been laying kind of low. Most of the girls decided to go out tonight though. They wanted to go back to The Court. It is like a hurricane outside so I opted to stay home. It's realllly windy and POURING rain. They are going to be soaked by the time they get home.
I'm really hoping the weather will at least clear up a little bit this weekend so I can go find my internship place. I was supposed to have the interview this coming Friday, but I had to have them reschedule it since my class got moved to that date. Now I'm not sure when my interview will be, but I think EUSA is trying to make it for some afternoon this week, so I'd really like to know where it is I'm going.
Well, that's pretty much all that's been going on. Even though the weather hasn't been great, I'm still super happy to be back here.
2.9.08
London Part II
Here I am, back in London! :]
I had a very good flight over. We arrived early in London but had to circle for awhile due to really thick fog. Both the bags I checked arrived in London with no problems. I got on the tube and took it to Gloucester Road. When I got on the tube the weather was just a bit grey. By the time I had to get off, however, it was POURING rain. By the time I completed my 15-20 minute walk I was soaked through and my arms felt like rubber from lugging my bags. I think I was the first person to arrive.
My flat is really nice. Much better than the place I stayed this summer. I am, once again, on the top floor, and yet again, there is only a half floor above me which is occupied by guys. Basically the way the building is set up there are about 7 flats. Basically each flat is like a multiple bedroom flat. My flat, for example, is like a 3 bedroom apartment. When you walk in the door there is a 'long' narrow hallway. To the right of the entry is a double room, the living room, and our kitchen. To left, is another double and the quad in which I live. The two double rooms share a bathroom located in the hall, while the girls and I in my quad have a bathroom in our bedroom. We also have a small balcony off our room with a lovely view. I'm really glad I chose the quad. Our room is much larger than the doubles and we have a lot more closet space.
So, in a nutshell, I live with 7 other girls. They are all very nice. Allie, a girl in my flat from Duke, is in all the same courses as me. Mari is also in the advertising track, but she is doing different electives. My roomies and I get along really well. Carolyn, Lyndsey, and Alyson are my roomies. Carloyn and Alyson are doing the psychology track and Lyndsey is studying film. Most of the girls I live with are seniors.
So far we really haven't done that much. We had to go on a boat tour yesterday. It was interesting but it's been really cold and rainy. Then last night we had a pub night at the Builder's Arms to meet other people in the programme. Today we had an orientation programme all day. It was rather dry and like all orientation programmes. Tomorrow should be even more dry...we have 5 lectures from 9-4 to sit through. They are interesting but they are all exactly like the courses I took this summer and the course I took with Dr. Piper.
Well, time to go! So happy to be back in London!!!
I had a very good flight over. We arrived early in London but had to circle for awhile due to really thick fog. Both the bags I checked arrived in London with no problems. I got on the tube and took it to Gloucester Road. When I got on the tube the weather was just a bit grey. By the time I had to get off, however, it was POURING rain. By the time I completed my 15-20 minute walk I was soaked through and my arms felt like rubber from lugging my bags. I think I was the first person to arrive.
My flat is really nice. Much better than the place I stayed this summer. I am, once again, on the top floor, and yet again, there is only a half floor above me which is occupied by guys. Basically the way the building is set up there are about 7 flats. Basically each flat is like a multiple bedroom flat. My flat, for example, is like a 3 bedroom apartment. When you walk in the door there is a 'long' narrow hallway. To the right of the entry is a double room, the living room, and our kitchen. To left, is another double and the quad in which I live. The two double rooms share a bathroom located in the hall, while the girls and I in my quad have a bathroom in our bedroom. We also have a small balcony off our room with a lovely view. I'm really glad I chose the quad. Our room is much larger than the doubles and we have a lot more closet space.
So, in a nutshell, I live with 7 other girls. They are all very nice. Allie, a girl in my flat from Duke, is in all the same courses as me. Mari is also in the advertising track, but she is doing different electives. My roomies and I get along really well. Carolyn, Lyndsey, and Alyson are my roomies. Carloyn and Alyson are doing the psychology track and Lyndsey is studying film. Most of the girls I live with are seniors.
So far we really haven't done that much. We had to go on a boat tour yesterday. It was interesting but it's been really cold and rainy. Then last night we had a pub night at the Builder's Arms to meet other people in the programme. Today we had an orientation programme all day. It was rather dry and like all orientation programmes. Tomorrow should be even more dry...we have 5 lectures from 9-4 to sit through. They are interesting but they are all exactly like the courses I took this summer and the course I took with Dr. Piper.
Well, time to go! So happy to be back in London!!!
5.8.08
End of Part I, soon
Hey everyone,
Sorry about the sparcity of these posts. You really have no idea how terrible the internet connection is here. So let me think, I think I left off with Paris. The past week was a rather typical week of classes. It was nice to be able to stay in London for the weekend. A large portion of our group went to Dublin, but I opted to stay a bit closer to home since I've already been to Dublin and didn't want to spend the money to go back for only a few days.
Friday I met up with some of the kids I met last summer in the Czech Republic. Tala, Amy, Adora and I met up outside the Baker Street station and got a bite to eat. It was nice catching up with them. Amy had to leave early for her driving lesson, but Tala, Adora, and I went out shopping for a bit and then we all had to go our separate ways again. I cannot believe how quickly this past year went by! When we met up I felt like it'd only been a few weeks since we'd last been together, not a whole year!!!
Saturday I went out to Richmond to do some research for one of my papers. It was a nice place and I'd like to go back. The weather wasn't very cooperative so I cut my visit a bit shorter than I would have liked. Saturday night I just hung out around the dorm and went to starbucks and out to this really good restaurant called Giraffe where I had an amazing chicken sandwhich.
Sunday I hung pretty low. I slept in for once and it was great! After I got up I went to Starbucks to get some work done. It's too hard for me to get work done in my room. We have one desk for 3 people and there are just too many distractions. Needless to say, Starbucks and I have become good friends. So yeah, I spent about 4 hours writing papers and relaxing before heading back to Byng. That night a bunch of us went out to our favourite pub, The Rocket, to celebrate Melinda's birthday. It was a lot of fun.
Yesterday I went to class and was rather amused to find only 4 people were there. Since there were so few of us, my professor decided to cancel class and let us leave early to go work on our final papers. So, once again, I headed down to good ol' starbucks where I spent between 6-8 hours writing more papers. You know you spend too much time somewhere when you're walking around town and recognizing people as "that guy from starbucks" or "that girl from starbucks studying for her psych exam". haha. I got a lot of work done and hopefully I'll have everything completely done by later this afternoon so I can enjoy my last few days here.
Last night a bunch of us went to go see probably one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It is a movie based off the popular book series and it is directed by the same lady that did Bend It like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. To sum it all up, it is a typical teen movie about the confessions of a 14 year-old girl. Basically the movie follows the girland her friends through all the difficulties of growing up and starting to get involved with boys. It is just a sweet, light, funny movie with a good message that leaves you happy and just yeah...it was great. I don't know if it's out in the states, but if it is you should definitely go see it. Everyone in the audience was laughing for virutally the entire movie. Angus, the cat in the film is absolutly hilarious. I don't know where they found this creature, but he is awesome.
So yeah, that is basically what I've been up to lately. Today is a rather rainy cold day so I think I'll probably spend most the day indoors. Maybe I will venture down to starbucks to finish up a few things, but other than that, it's a great day to lay in bed and read, listen to music, and just take it easy. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.
I have a feeling this year is going to go by way faster than I would like it to. I'm ready to graduate, I just don't really know what I want to do with my life exactly. I'll tell you one thing, I am definitely done with Florida. It was a great place to visit and go to school, and I've had a wonderful time at UT, but I am REALLY starting to miss my four seasons. I feel like it's been an eternity since I last experienced autumn. Despite always being cold, I do miss having four seasons, and I am definitely done living in the city. I miss my trees, lake, hills, and fields. I'm tired of loud craziness 24/7, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see where life is going to take me. The ride so far sure has been nice.
Sorry about the sparcity of these posts. You really have no idea how terrible the internet connection is here. So let me think, I think I left off with Paris. The past week was a rather typical week of classes. It was nice to be able to stay in London for the weekend. A large portion of our group went to Dublin, but I opted to stay a bit closer to home since I've already been to Dublin and didn't want to spend the money to go back for only a few days.
Friday I met up with some of the kids I met last summer in the Czech Republic. Tala, Amy, Adora and I met up outside the Baker Street station and got a bite to eat. It was nice catching up with them. Amy had to leave early for her driving lesson, but Tala, Adora, and I went out shopping for a bit and then we all had to go our separate ways again. I cannot believe how quickly this past year went by! When we met up I felt like it'd only been a few weeks since we'd last been together, not a whole year!!!
Saturday I went out to Richmond to do some research for one of my papers. It was a nice place and I'd like to go back. The weather wasn't very cooperative so I cut my visit a bit shorter than I would have liked. Saturday night I just hung out around the dorm and went to starbucks and out to this really good restaurant called Giraffe where I had an amazing chicken sandwhich.
Sunday I hung pretty low. I slept in for once and it was great! After I got up I went to Starbucks to get some work done. It's too hard for me to get work done in my room. We have one desk for 3 people and there are just too many distractions. Needless to say, Starbucks and I have become good friends. So yeah, I spent about 4 hours writing papers and relaxing before heading back to Byng. That night a bunch of us went out to our favourite pub, The Rocket, to celebrate Melinda's birthday. It was a lot of fun.
Yesterday I went to class and was rather amused to find only 4 people were there. Since there were so few of us, my professor decided to cancel class and let us leave early to go work on our final papers. So, once again, I headed down to good ol' starbucks where I spent between 6-8 hours writing more papers. You know you spend too much time somewhere when you're walking around town and recognizing people as "that guy from starbucks" or "that girl from starbucks studying for her psych exam". haha. I got a lot of work done and hopefully I'll have everything completely done by later this afternoon so I can enjoy my last few days here.
Last night a bunch of us went to go see probably one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It is a movie based off the popular book series and it is directed by the same lady that did Bend It like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. To sum it all up, it is a typical teen movie about the confessions of a 14 year-old girl. Basically the movie follows the girland her friends through all the difficulties of growing up and starting to get involved with boys. It is just a sweet, light, funny movie with a good message that leaves you happy and just yeah...it was great. I don't know if it's out in the states, but if it is you should definitely go see it. Everyone in the audience was laughing for virutally the entire movie. Angus, the cat in the film is absolutly hilarious. I don't know where they found this creature, but he is awesome.
So yeah, that is basically what I've been up to lately. Today is a rather rainy cold day so I think I'll probably spend most the day indoors. Maybe I will venture down to starbucks to finish up a few things, but other than that, it's a great day to lay in bed and read, listen to music, and just take it easy. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.
I have a feeling this year is going to go by way faster than I would like it to. I'm ready to graduate, I just don't really know what I want to do with my life exactly. I'll tell you one thing, I am definitely done with Florida. It was a great place to visit and go to school, and I've had a wonderful time at UT, but I am REALLY starting to miss my four seasons. I feel like it's been an eternity since I last experienced autumn. Despite always being cold, I do miss having four seasons, and I am definitely done living in the city. I miss my trees, lake, hills, and fields. I'm tired of loud craziness 24/7, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see where life is going to take me. The ride so far sure has been nice.
29.7.08
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
This weekend I went to Paris and had a great time. We left early Friday morning on the 6:55 a.m. Eurotrain from St. Pancras to Paris. I will start off by saying that most of the 2 hour ride is above ground and only about 20 minutes or so is it dark as we cross under the water. When we got to Paris we took about a 20 minute walk from the station to our hotel, The Carlton. The two closest metro stations were Anvers and Pigalle (Pigalle being the sex district...needless to say we had a 12 p.m. curfew). The hotel was very nice. Our beds were so comfortable and the shower was amazing. We also had a rooftop terrace that looks out over the whole city. From there you could see the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, etc. When we arrived not all our rooms were prepared so we dropped off our bags and then went out to grab a bite to eat. Around 12:30 we all got checked in and then took the metro from Anvers to Charles de Gaulle where we connected to Bir-Hakeim, near the Eiffel Tower. We snapped a few pics and then got on one of the red tour buses. We did the full loop around Paris which took between 2 and 3 hours and then we got off and wandered around Notre Dame. Then we all met up for dinner. We were allowed to select a starter, entre, and dessert. I had the French onion soup, a vegetarian dish with potatos, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese, and then chocolate mousse for dessert. It was pretty good. After dinner we went back to the hotel where we relaxed on the rooftop terrace.
Saturday morning we all met in the lobby after a breakfast of bread and cheese to go to the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the second level, snapped some pictures, and then headed out to explore the rest of Paris. Krysta, Nate, Gina, and I went to the Musee d’Orsay which was absolutly wonderful. It is a museum of mostly impressionist art, but I got to see all kinds of famous paintings by Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, etc. It was a good size museum and had really interesting architecture since it used to be a rail station. After wandering through the museum for a few hours we took the bus to the Champs Elysees where we walked around and window shopped. We got some ice cream and continued our walk. Nate and Gina split off to go to the Louvre and Krysta and I went and laid down in a park for about an hour. (Turns out it was a good decision to go rest in the park because by the time Nate and Gina got to the Louvre it was closed). After our break we went on a mission to find dinner. Everything was so expensive (15-30 euro plates). We finally found this little pub/restaurant place with reasonable prices. The food really wasn’t that good, but at least it wasn’t any more bread and cheese. (We had been stocking up on the bread and cheese we got for free for breakfast from the hotel. It tasted really good, but I think I’m all bread and cheesed out.) The guy who owned the restaurant was really nice, but very flirtatious which made us rather uncomfortable. After we gobbled down our food we went to go take the bus back to the Eiffel Tower to meet up for the night cruise but they said the bus wasn’t running anymore. So we basically ran back to the tower to meet up with the group. We took a night cruise down the Seine which was really nice. We got to see a lot of places that we’d seen during the day on the bus but it was really pretty to watch the sun set and the Eiffel Tower light up. After the boat cruise our guide, Michelle, took us on a walk past the Moulin Rouge where we stopped to take a few pictures and dance around a little. Then we walked back to the hotel and waited until midnight to wish Dr. Harf a happy birthday. We all stayed up pretty late celebrating.
Sunday morning we got up about 8:30 and went down for breakfast about 9. After breakfast we checked out, stored our bags, and then hiked up to the Sacre Coeur. We can see the church from our hotel and it is absolutely beautiful. Dr. Harf told us not to go up there at night though because the gypsies and thieves are particularly aggressive. So, we went early in the morning and were still haggled quite a bit, but nothing bad happened. The hike up was hot, but it was beautiful inside. Around 11:00 we took the metro to the Champs Elysee to get a good spot for the Tour de France. We all bought t-shirts and other souvenirs and then we found our place to watch. We were right up front and we sat there until about 4:15 when the cyclists came flying by. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The people standing near us were really nice and they had been there before so they kind of filled us in on what was going on. They had huge screens set up by the side of the road so you could watch the race as it was coming. Then there was a parade of floats from all the different sponsors. Last came the cyclists. It was really cool because the anticipation grew so much. First you would see the cars come flying down the road with the extra bikes on top, then some police motorcycles, then you hear the screams of people further down the road and then the cyclists literally go flying past. They were going SO unbelievably fast. The videos I have of it look like I sped everything up. It is literally a blur. You can’t even see them peddling. They circled around 10 times, but we left after 4 since we had to leave for the train station. It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went.
So, after all that excitement we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and use the toiletts one last time before heading to the train station. The ride back seemed to take forever for some reason, even though it was only 2 hours. After that, we walked back to Byng and I went right to bed.
All in all, it was a great trip. I definitely do prefer London to Paris. There is a lot more to do in London and I feel 100 times safer in London. I did enjoy Paris but I felt like I always had to be on my guard. There were always people coming up to try to trick you to pick your pocket and there were gypsies everywhere. I don’t think I’d like to spend much more than a weekend in Paris, but I would definitely like to go back to France and check out some of the other cities and the countryside a bit more.
I’ve been trying to upload my pictures from Paris, but the internet here is REALLY slow and it hasn’t been cooperating. I did, however, manage to get up an album of just some random pictures from the trip of me and my friends in various places. So, definitely check that out until I can get all my other pics up.
This weekend I went to Paris and had a great time. We left early Friday morning on the 6:55 a.m. Eurotrain from St. Pancras to Paris. I will start off by saying that most of the 2 hour ride is above ground and only about 20 minutes or so is it dark as we cross under the water. When we got to Paris we took about a 20 minute walk from the station to our hotel, The Carlton. The two closest metro stations were Anvers and Pigalle (Pigalle being the sex district...needless to say we had a 12 p.m. curfew). The hotel was very nice. Our beds were so comfortable and the shower was amazing. We also had a rooftop terrace that looks out over the whole city. From there you could see the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, etc. When we arrived not all our rooms were prepared so we dropped off our bags and then went out to grab a bite to eat. Around 12:30 we all got checked in and then took the metro from Anvers to Charles de Gaulle where we connected to Bir-Hakeim, near the Eiffel Tower. We snapped a few pics and then got on one of the red tour buses. We did the full loop around Paris which took between 2 and 3 hours and then we got off and wandered around Notre Dame. Then we all met up for dinner. We were allowed to select a starter, entre, and dessert. I had the French onion soup, a vegetarian dish with potatos, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese, and then chocolate mousse for dessert. It was pretty good. After dinner we went back to the hotel where we relaxed on the rooftop terrace.
Saturday morning we all met in the lobby after a breakfast of bread and cheese to go to the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the second level, snapped some pictures, and then headed out to explore the rest of Paris. Krysta, Nate, Gina, and I went to the Musee d’Orsay which was absolutly wonderful. It is a museum of mostly impressionist art, but I got to see all kinds of famous paintings by Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, etc. It was a good size museum and had really interesting architecture since it used to be a rail station. After wandering through the museum for a few hours we took the bus to the Champs Elysees where we walked around and window shopped. We got some ice cream and continued our walk. Nate and Gina split off to go to the Louvre and Krysta and I went and laid down in a park for about an hour. (Turns out it was a good decision to go rest in the park because by the time Nate and Gina got to the Louvre it was closed). After our break we went on a mission to find dinner. Everything was so expensive (15-30 euro plates). We finally found this little pub/restaurant place with reasonable prices. The food really wasn’t that good, but at least it wasn’t any more bread and cheese. (We had been stocking up on the bread and cheese we got for free for breakfast from the hotel. It tasted really good, but I think I’m all bread and cheesed out.) The guy who owned the restaurant was really nice, but very flirtatious which made us rather uncomfortable. After we gobbled down our food we went to go take the bus back to the Eiffel Tower to meet up for the night cruise but they said the bus wasn’t running anymore. So we basically ran back to the tower to meet up with the group. We took a night cruise down the Seine which was really nice. We got to see a lot of places that we’d seen during the day on the bus but it was really pretty to watch the sun set and the Eiffel Tower light up. After the boat cruise our guide, Michelle, took us on a walk past the Moulin Rouge where we stopped to take a few pictures and dance around a little. Then we walked back to the hotel and waited until midnight to wish Dr. Harf a happy birthday. We all stayed up pretty late celebrating.
Sunday morning we got up about 8:30 and went down for breakfast about 9. After breakfast we checked out, stored our bags, and then hiked up to the Sacre Coeur. We can see the church from our hotel and it is absolutely beautiful. Dr. Harf told us not to go up there at night though because the gypsies and thieves are particularly aggressive. So, we went early in the morning and were still haggled quite a bit, but nothing bad happened. The hike up was hot, but it was beautiful inside. Around 11:00 we took the metro to the Champs Elysee to get a good spot for the Tour de France. We all bought t-shirts and other souvenirs and then we found our place to watch. We were right up front and we sat there until about 4:15 when the cyclists came flying by. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The people standing near us were really nice and they had been there before so they kind of filled us in on what was going on. They had huge screens set up by the side of the road so you could watch the race as it was coming. Then there was a parade of floats from all the different sponsors. Last came the cyclists. It was really cool because the anticipation grew so much. First you would see the cars come flying down the road with the extra bikes on top, then some police motorcycles, then you hear the screams of people further down the road and then the cyclists literally go flying past. They were going SO unbelievably fast. The videos I have of it look like I sped everything up. It is literally a blur. You can’t even see them peddling. They circled around 10 times, but we left after 4 since we had to leave for the train station. It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went.
So, after all that excitement we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and use the toiletts one last time before heading to the train station. The ride back seemed to take forever for some reason, even though it was only 2 hours. After that, we walked back to Byng and I went right to bed.
All in all, it was a great trip. I definitely do prefer London to Paris. There is a lot more to do in London and I feel 100 times safer in London. I did enjoy Paris but I felt like I always had to be on my guard. There were always people coming up to try to trick you to pick your pocket and there were gypsies everywhere. I don’t think I’d like to spend much more than a weekend in Paris, but I would definitely like to go back to France and check out some of the other cities and the countryside a bit more.
I’ve been trying to upload my pictures from Paris, but the internet here is REALLY slow and it hasn’t been cooperating. I did, however, manage to get up an album of just some random pictures from the trip of me and my friends in various places. So, definitely check that out until I can get all my other pics up.
24.7.08
A Day in the Royal Borough of Kensington
Today I spent most of the day in Kensington. We went to the science museum this morning for class. I didn't particularly care for it. I liked the Natural History Museum much better. I thought the Natural History Museum had a much more interesting and scientific collection than the Science Museum, which basically had a lot of gadgets. After the museum my roomie and I ate at the crepe place I love and then we walked to Kensington Park and visited the palace. I really liked Kensington Palace. It was really interesting and reminded me a lot of Kew. There was an interesting display about the deputantes and I loved the paintings and clothing they showed throughout the palace. After the palace we walked down toward the high street and I found my flat in Lexham Gardens. It is so nice and the neighbourhood is cute and quiet, unlike my current location. I LOVE IT! We hung around there for awhile but there didn't seem to be anyone coming or going so I could sneak in. I hope the inside is as nice as the outside. We could kind of see in some of the lower windows. I think I'll really like it there. Compared to Byng, it will be a palace! It will definitely be easier for me to come into High Street Kensington. Lexham Gardens is literally just around the corner...I walked right past the hotel I stayed at with Dr. Piper. It would be a realllly long walk, especially with luggage from S. Kensington. After we checked out my flat we went to H&M where we did some speed shopping for cheap dresses for Paris. It was SO hot here today and it is supposed to be really hot while we're in Paris. I just finished washing a bunch of stuff and packing and I really need to get to bed since we have to leave to catch the train at 5:15 a.m. I can't wait! It should be fun. Nighty night
22.7.08
Takin it easy
The past few days have been nice. I've gone to class in the morning, grabbed lunch, and then relaxed in the park. It's so interesting to go people watch there and just have some time to myself. This afternoon I ate in the park and then wrote some of my papers. It was good to get away from the computer and the craziness of being in such a large group. I have definitely realized my need for independence and quiet on this trip. It is sometimes frustrating being in such a large group because everything takes 10x longer and ends up being more complicated and rushed than necessary. I love the people on the trip. I just need a little break from them. We're always all together 24/7 and I just need some space.
It is really loud living in central London. My bedroom faces out to the street and it is REALLY loud at ALL hours of the day. At night there are loud drunks stumbling in and in the morning the traffic is crazy loud and the cyclists are swearing and garbage trucks are dumping glass bottles. haha It certainly is always an interesting way to wake up in the morning. I loved going to Oxford and out into the Scottish highlands. It was so nice and quiet. I am having a great time here. The parks, even though they are right next to the road, are still somehow a bit quieter and provide me with some sanity. Tonight Krysta and I were craving chocolate cake so we bought a bunch of cakes from Waitrose and brought them back for people at Byng. It made everyone really happy.
I am really tired, so I think I'm going to head to bed early. I'm still trying to get over whatever bug I had. I think I'm getting better, but I'm still not feeling 100% and I still have a nasty sounding cough. I'm feeling a bit less congested though and my ears don't hurt as much. I have had a stomach ache all day today though. Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning and I'll be completely better by this weekend when we're off to Paris!
It is really loud living in central London. My bedroom faces out to the street and it is REALLY loud at ALL hours of the day. At night there are loud drunks stumbling in and in the morning the traffic is crazy loud and the cyclists are swearing and garbage trucks are dumping glass bottles. haha It certainly is always an interesting way to wake up in the morning. I loved going to Oxford and out into the Scottish highlands. It was so nice and quiet. I am having a great time here. The parks, even though they are right next to the road, are still somehow a bit quieter and provide me with some sanity. Tonight Krysta and I were craving chocolate cake so we bought a bunch of cakes from Waitrose and brought them back for people at Byng. It made everyone really happy.
I am really tired, so I think I'm going to head to bed early. I'm still trying to get over whatever bug I had. I think I'm getting better, but I'm still not feeling 100% and I still have a nasty sounding cough. I'm feeling a bit less congested though and my ears don't hurt as much. I have had a stomach ache all day today though. Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning and I'll be completely better by this weekend when we're off to Paris!
19.7.08
Sleeping in
Yay for sleeping in! It was SO nice to be able to sleep in this morning!!! I am so happy to have this weekend free. Yesterday was a lot of fun going out to Oxford and just being able to wander at my own pace and not have to be on some rigid schedule. This morning I slept in and then got up to go to Camden market. There was a lot of really cool stuff there but I just don't have the money to spend. There were also a million people there since it was a saturday morning so it was a bit overwhelming and I had to leave. I met up with my roomie and her friend Emily and we all grabbed lunch together. I've bascially been trying to take it easy today. I think I'm starting to get sick. I've had really bad allergies, mainly to something in the building I think. My eyes have been super itchy and I have the sniffles. The past few days have been particularly bad. I'm super stuffed up, my ears feel are all muffled and feel like they need to pop, and my chest is tight and I have a cough. We did a lot last week and it is half way through the trip so I think I'm just a bit run down. I mean, we're always on the go here. It's nice to have this weekend to just relax, sleep, and hopefully get better.
So I thought I'd make a list of all my favourite places here so far. Or at least the places we tend to frequent.
Night and Day- A pub just off Russell Square. They have delicious chicken pesto baguettes for 4.50.
Wagamama- SO good. It's a Japanese chain restaurant that's all over the place and they have the most amazing food. My personal favourite is the Yaki Soba, which is fried noodles with veggies and chicken. It is AMAZINg. Other people like the chicekn soup, which comes in a HUGE bowl that you could feed a small family with. You can usually get out of there for around 6.45 or 7.50.
Kensington Creperie- Another one of our favourites. We try to go here every week. It is a creperie just around the corner from the South Kensington tube station and the crepes are AWESOME. My personal favourite is the Italian crepe...it is a crepe with mozzerella cheese, fresh basil, and cherry tomatos. YUM! Again you can get out of there for around 7.50.
Yo! Sushi- Is in Brunswick Square which is just off Russell Square. There are lot of them throughout London. Basically you go in, sit down, and there is a conveyer belt that has sushi on it and you pick up what you want. The dishes are each a different colour that corresponds to a price. Mondays & Tuesdays you get a 50% discount on an already cheap meal. They're chicken rice is really good (2.70), edemame (1.70), cucumber sushi rolls (1.70), and they also have unlimited miso soup.
The Rocket- A pub near Euston station, a short walk from Byng. We like going here. It's a fun pub usually open until midnight. A lot of young people, good music, decent priced food. Student discounts. Always a great time.
Cafe in the Park- There is a cafe in Russell Square park that we like to go to for breakfast before class or to grab a coffee before class. It's right across from the school and the prices are reasonable. For breakfast we usually get eggs on toast or a cappaccino. They're cappaccino is great...has tons of cafeine that makes class much more tolerable. Breakfast is about 4.50 and cappaccino is about 1.80.
Ben's Cookies- Only the most AMAZING cookies EVERR! They are sooo moist and delicious, I cannot even begin to describe them. Let's just say if you find a Ben's Cookies DO NOT PASS IT UP. Go for the triple chocolate or the milk chocolate chip. The triple chocolate is, by far, my favourite.
Tesco- The grocery store we usually go to is Tesco. There is a 24 hour express one just across from Russell Square station. They seem to have reasonable prices. I can usually get out of there for around 6.65 which will buy me... a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, milk, cereal, and some chocolate or cookies. There is also a Waitrose in Brunskwick Square (near the Yo! Sushi). It's really nice but a little further of a walk and little more expensive.
Goodge- is our favourite tube stop, or at least we think it's the closest. It's on the northern line. It is really easy to walk up there and there are a lot of cafes and such nearby. Russell Square is also close as is Euston and Holbourn.
We can walk pretty much anywhere from Byng. We're very centrally located. We usually walk to covent garden, leceister square, even trafulgar sqaure is a do-able walk. I really wish I would have brought my pedometer. I can't even begin to guess how many miles I walk each day.
Well, I think it's time to go work on my paper. Roman London circa 200 AD...what a thrilling topic. haha.
So I thought I'd make a list of all my favourite places here so far. Or at least the places we tend to frequent.
Night and Day- A pub just off Russell Square. They have delicious chicken pesto baguettes for 4.50.
Wagamama- SO good. It's a Japanese chain restaurant that's all over the place and they have the most amazing food. My personal favourite is the Yaki Soba, which is fried noodles with veggies and chicken. It is AMAZINg. Other people like the chicekn soup, which comes in a HUGE bowl that you could feed a small family with. You can usually get out of there for around 6.45 or 7.50.
Kensington Creperie- Another one of our favourites. We try to go here every week. It is a creperie just around the corner from the South Kensington tube station and the crepes are AWESOME. My personal favourite is the Italian crepe...it is a crepe with mozzerella cheese, fresh basil, and cherry tomatos. YUM! Again you can get out of there for around 7.50.
Yo! Sushi- Is in Brunswick Square which is just off Russell Square. There are lot of them throughout London. Basically you go in, sit down, and there is a conveyer belt that has sushi on it and you pick up what you want. The dishes are each a different colour that corresponds to a price. Mondays & Tuesdays you get a 50% discount on an already cheap meal. They're chicken rice is really good (2.70), edemame (1.70), cucumber sushi rolls (1.70), and they also have unlimited miso soup.
The Rocket- A pub near Euston station, a short walk from Byng. We like going here. It's a fun pub usually open until midnight. A lot of young people, good music, decent priced food. Student discounts. Always a great time.
Cafe in the Park- There is a cafe in Russell Square park that we like to go to for breakfast before class or to grab a coffee before class. It's right across from the school and the prices are reasonable. For breakfast we usually get eggs on toast or a cappaccino. They're cappaccino is great...has tons of cafeine that makes class much more tolerable. Breakfast is about 4.50 and cappaccino is about 1.80.
Ben's Cookies- Only the most AMAZING cookies EVERR! They are sooo moist and delicious, I cannot even begin to describe them. Let's just say if you find a Ben's Cookies DO NOT PASS IT UP. Go for the triple chocolate or the milk chocolate chip. The triple chocolate is, by far, my favourite.
Tesco- The grocery store we usually go to is Tesco. There is a 24 hour express one just across from Russell Square station. They seem to have reasonable prices. I can usually get out of there for around 6.65 which will buy me... a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, milk, cereal, and some chocolate or cookies. There is also a Waitrose in Brunskwick Square (near the Yo! Sushi). It's really nice but a little further of a walk and little more expensive.
Goodge- is our favourite tube stop, or at least we think it's the closest. It's on the northern line. It is really easy to walk up there and there are a lot of cafes and such nearby. Russell Square is also close as is Euston and Holbourn.
We can walk pretty much anywhere from Byng. We're very centrally located. We usually walk to covent garden, leceister square, even trafulgar sqaure is a do-able walk. I really wish I would have brought my pedometer. I can't even begin to guess how many miles I walk each day.
Well, I think it's time to go work on my paper. Roman London circa 200 AD...what a thrilling topic. haha.
18.7.08
I'm still alive
YAY for the internet!!! This is the first time my internet has worked in the past week. It is such a mess, and it really messes things up for me since all my homework has to be submitted online. Anyways, I don't even remember where I left off last. Scotland was a lot of fun. I really liked the highlands. They were so beautiful. We also went on a ghost tour which was pretty cool. York was alright. I think people built it up too much for me so I was rather disappointed when we got there. The ride home was rediculous! It took soo long to get home. We had to take a series of buses and trains that seemed never ending...kind of like our ride home tonight, I'll get to that later. So let's see, after our weekend in Scotland and York we had a regular week of classes. Monday night we went to see Chicago. It was great. Tuesday night we all hung out around the dorm and then went to this place called the Ice Bar. It was really cool. The whole thing is made of ice and you have to wear a blue parka. The glasses were cool because they were made out of ice. I don't know, it was fun. Wednesday we went to see Into the Hoods, which was AMAZING. I absolutley LOVED it. It was a hip-hop show that was simply A-M-A-ZING. Last night a bunch of us just hung out and went to a pub near us called the Rocket. It is such a small world. So get this, we met these guys at the hostel we were staying at in Scotland, they were both from Australia and one is now living in south london. Anyways, we get to the Rocket and these other guys come over to play cards with us and it turns out they live like 10 minutes away from my friend Krysta. This other guy with them is from Buffalo and their other friend is from Australia and who else do we see at the Rocket but the two australians from scotland who, turns out, live 2 minutes away from the other australian. I'm not sure any of that made sense, but it all comes down to EVERYONE was at the Rocket last night. haha. This morning we slept in until about 9:00 and then we headed to Paddington station to catch a train to Oxford. Four of us went so we got a 'group' rate of 9.50 for a return ticket. The ride out was nice and only about an hour and a half. We spent the afternoon wandering around Oxford, taking pictures, and shopping. It was nice to not be on a strict schedule for a change and to be able to just wander around on our own pace. We were all a bit tired and the weather was deteriorating so we got on the train to come home. The ride back was not so short. We left at 5:20 and we got into the station at 7:00. We stopped at pretty much EVERY station between Oxford and London. Then there were problems on the underground so we had to wait another 45 minutes before the tube even came. Then we got on only to have it break down so we needed to change to another train and then walk back to the dorm. It wasn't that bad, it just took forever. Tonight we're just taking it easy. Some people are out of town for the weekend. I'm working on putting more picutres online. Definitely check them out. I think I'm going to head down to the common room to watch Across the Universe with some people. Hopefully this week I'll have the internet again so I can keep this thing updated.
14.7.08
Scotland and York
The past few days have been very busy but a lot of fun. Our first night in Scotland a small group of us got together and went on a ghost tour of a large cemetary in Edinburgh. It was actually a lot cooler than we had anticipated and was well worth the money. We went on the last tour of the day which left at 10 so it was starting to get dark. Our guide was awesome. The next day we got up early in the morning to get on a bus and drive to the highlands. We spent the day riding the bus and stopping off in different places. We stoped to see the William Wallace staue, which was quite a hike. We literlly had to climb a small mountain to get to the top. It was cool though, and there was a great view. Then we got back on the bus and drove through some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen. I loved the highlands. They were SO undescribably beautiful. I tried taking pictures, but they're just not the same and don't do them justice. We took a short potty break and visited Hamish, a large hairy highland cow that is probably one of the most photographed scotts. We got back on the bus and stopped in a small town for lunch and a group picture. Next we headed to The Famous Grouse distillery. We went on a tour of the facility and they taught us about malt whiskey and how it's made and what makes a good whiskey. At the end we had a smell test of the different whiskies and then they gave out free shots. After the distillery we headed back to Edinburgh where we walked around and had a cheap dinner and dessert. We met up with a bunch of people in the lobby of our hostel from Autralia, Wales, and Ireland. They were rather amusing, so we hung out with them for awhile before going to bed.
The next morning we were up early to catch a train to York. We spent about 6 hours in York. We took a bus tour around the city and then we spent the rest of the afternoon walking the wall, eating lunch, and poking around the little side streets and shops. It was nice, but I honestly was expecting something a lot more spectacular since everyone talks about it so much. It was pretty, but after the scottish highlands nothing really compares. Then we got back on the train for about 2 hours, then we had to switch to a bus for about an hour and a half, then we got back on a train to King's Cross, and then we walked back to Byng. It was a long day of crazy transportation. I think I may have liked York better if the transportation would have been easier. The trains were nice though, and when I had one of the table seats it was nice and comfortable. Everyone was really tired last night so we all went to bed early and a lot of people skipped class this morning. I went, and we walked all over London for 4 hours. Then I stopped at the grocery store on my way back from class and now I'm just taking it easy before we go see Chicago tonight. We also just bought tickets to go see Into the Hoods this Wednesday. I'm really exicted for that. It should be a really good hip hop show. We're also thinking about going back to Oxford this Friday. Krysta's sister gets in on Wednesday so we're trying to take her around, plus we didn't have nearly enough time in Oxford on our day trip. Well, I think I'm going to take a power nap to recharge a bit before this evening. I'm so happy to have the internet again, even if the connection is spotty.
The next morning we were up early to catch a train to York. We spent about 6 hours in York. We took a bus tour around the city and then we spent the rest of the afternoon walking the wall, eating lunch, and poking around the little side streets and shops. It was nice, but I honestly was expecting something a lot more spectacular since everyone talks about it so much. It was pretty, but after the scottish highlands nothing really compares. Then we got back on the train for about 2 hours, then we had to switch to a bus for about an hour and a half, then we got back on a train to King's Cross, and then we walked back to Byng. It was a long day of crazy transportation. I think I may have liked York better if the transportation would have been easier. The trains were nice though, and when I had one of the table seats it was nice and comfortable. Everyone was really tired last night so we all went to bed early and a lot of people skipped class this morning. I went, and we walked all over London for 4 hours. Then I stopped at the grocery store on my way back from class and now I'm just taking it easy before we go see Chicago tonight. We also just bought tickets to go see Into the Hoods this Wednesday. I'm really exicted for that. It should be a really good hip hop show. We're also thinking about going back to Oxford this Friday. Krysta's sister gets in on Wednesday so we're trying to take her around, plus we didn't have nearly enough time in Oxford on our day trip. Well, I think I'm going to take a power nap to recharge a bit before this evening. I'm so happy to have the internet again, even if the connection is spotty.
11.7.08
Stupid slow internet
Sorry about the lack of posts the past few days. Our internet has been really messed up. Basically I've just had class as usual during the day and then we've been going out at night. We took the train from King's Cross to Edinburgh today. It was a beautiful 4 hours ride. The weather is rather nice. It rains lightly on and off and it's a bit chilly but nothing to complain about. The other day, on the other hand, it POURED all day long in London. We had to go out to visit the Oxo Tower and we were soaked through by the end of the evening. An umbrella was of no use since the wind was so strong and blowing rain in every direction. Oh! That's what I forgot to mention Krysta and I went to the National Youth Dance Festival on the southbank and it was great! It only cost about £10 and then the next day we got to see short highlights from all the west end shows for free. We are going to go see Chicago Monday night and Wednesday night we are going to hopefully go see Into the Hoods, a really cool looking hip-hop show. Um... what else...I think that's really it. Just classes, museums, and dance shows. Well, I'm in an internet cafe and my time is almost up. I need to get going. So far I love Scotland. It is so beautiful. I can't wait for our trip to the highlands tomorrow.
8.7.08
Just an ordinary day
Today was just another day. I got up, put my sheets out to be washed, walked to school, went to the British Museum, came back, took a nap, went to the Soane Museum, grabbed a coffee, did some homework, went to South Kensington for a crep dinner, went to a sports cafe, found it boring, came back, watched blood diamond with a bunch of people in the common room, and now I am getting ready to go to sleep in a bed with no linens (for some reason they were unable to give me new sheets today, but they were also not able to give me my old sheets back. the cleaner had a very thick accent and I couldn't really tell what he was saying, plus I had just woken up from a nap. The important thing is I should have clean sheets some time tomorrow. I had a fun night in last night. A bunch of us ended up hanging out in the common rooms of Byng and we had a great time playing cards and stuff. I got to bed really late though, so I'm trying to get to sleep at a semi-decent time this evening. Well, that's all. Nothing really to report home about. I'm still having a great time and I think we're going to try to see a dance performance or two this week. I'll keep you posted. Nighty night.
7.7.08
Week two of classes
It's already the start of our second week here. I got up this morning and went to my history of london class. We sat and listened to my professor lecture for about an hour and a half and then we headed over to the Museum of London. Once we were there, we were paired up with another student and we had to write a small paper about a certain section of London under Roman influence in the first, second and third centuries. My partner and I had to write about daily working life. It was interesting. The museum had a lot to offer, but I didn't particularly care for it. It was very dark, confusing, and I just had a very weird feeling in it. And there were tons of little kids there this morning.
I was supposed to go check out the Soane Museum for class tomorrow, but it is closed on Mondays and we were gone all weekend so none of us got that section of the homework done. Tomorrow we will be going to the British Museum for my Musuems and Galleries class. I do like that museum, and it is so close to the school I hope to spend some more time there.
It was really rainy all day today. We even had a bit of thunder in the afternoon. For the most part we all just laid low today. Krysta has been having trouble with her cell phone and oyster card so I walked over to Huron with her to try and get things sorted out. Then we got stuck there for awhile, due to the rain, and then we chatted with Prof. Hertz and Prof. Harf. Once it cleared up a bit we walked back to Byng. We sat and talked with some of our other friends and then we all went out to dinner. I've been really tired all day, even though I went to bed early last night. Maybe I'll go to bed really early tonight. Well, that's pretty much it. It's been a rather uneventful day. I think we might try to go to the Soane tomorrow after class or sometime in the afternoon. Time to socialize with other people from Byng before bed.
I was supposed to go check out the Soane Museum for class tomorrow, but it is closed on Mondays and we were gone all weekend so none of us got that section of the homework done. Tomorrow we will be going to the British Museum for my Musuems and Galleries class. I do like that museum, and it is so close to the school I hope to spend some more time there.
It was really rainy all day today. We even had a bit of thunder in the afternoon. For the most part we all just laid low today. Krysta has been having trouble with her cell phone and oyster card so I walked over to Huron with her to try and get things sorted out. Then we got stuck there for awhile, due to the rain, and then we chatted with Prof. Hertz and Prof. Harf. Once it cleared up a bit we walked back to Byng. We sat and talked with some of our other friends and then we all went out to dinner. I've been really tired all day, even though I went to bed early last night. Maybe I'll go to bed really early tonight. Well, that's pretty much it. It's been a rather uneventful day. I think we might try to go to the Soane tomorrow after class or sometime in the afternoon. Time to socialize with other people from Byng before bed.
6.7.08
Bath, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Hampton Court
Sorry for the minor delay in posts and pictures. We have the internet here at Byng but it can be quite spotty. We've also been really busy travelling the past few days so I haven't had much free time. Our bus has been leaving at 8:30 the past 3 mornings and then we spend a good chunk of the day on the bus travelling from place to place.
BATH
Yesterday we spent the majority of the day in Bath. It was beautiful. For some reason I thought there would be more Roman baths, but the one that we saw was very beautiful. The town around the bath was beatiful as well. I really wish I could back when there are fewer people. There were so many tourists since it was a saturday and there were a lot of locals because there was a small dance showcase and to top off all the chaos there was a wedding taking place as well. As I said, the baths and town were absolutly beatuiful. I really liked the architecture of the area. It has a very quaint feel, minus all the zillions of crazed tourists.
STONEHENGE
After Bath, we road about an hour and a half to Stonehenge. It was pretty much exactly what I was epxecting, a bunch of rocks in the middle of a very random field. For some reason I was under the impression it would be closer to a river, but I wasn't able to see one from the site, but I couldn't see one at Newgrange either. It was very cold and windy, similar to my experience at Newgrange, and the rocks were shorter than I anticipated. In all the professional photographs the monument seems to tall, but in actuality it is quite short. The drive between Bath and Stonehenge was beautiful, but not quite as nice as the drive between Oxford and Stratford. That truly was a BEAUTIFUL drive.
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Today we visited Windsor Castle and Hampton Court. I went to both of these places on a previous trip with Dr. Piper. I am glad I'd already been since our day tours on this trip are rather short and it seems just as we're getting settled on location it is time to get back on the bus. Really, all the places we've visited deserve no less than a FULL day each. I don't know how some tour groups get three to four in in one day.
WINDSOR
We got to Windsor just as it was opening this morning. We went in and a small group of us attended the church service in St. George's Cathedral. It was a very beautiful and moving expereince. Here we are, sitting in the church, in these really old seats (I quite literally had the best seat in the church. I don't know how I managed that) an amazing chorale, candels, beautiful prayers about peace and a sermon about the current struggles of the church, it was very small and peaceful. The church felt nice and warm despite the cold wind and rain outside. After the service we didn't have much time to wander around the rest of the castle, so we waited in line, for about 30 minutes, to see the doll house and walk through the state apartments. We gobbeled down lunch and it was on to the bus and out of the rain we go.
HAMPTON COURT
I really enjoyed our trip to Hampton Court. It was nice to see different parts of it that I had not seen last time. Our guide took us through, what she felt were, the most important parts and gave a us a brief history. Then we had time to wander around. Last time I came I spent a lot of time inside the palace and the kitchen. This time I chose to spend more time outside, despite the cold wind and rain. The gardens were lovely. There were so many beautiful flowers and I am in love the clouds and the sky here. Everything is just so breath-takingly beautiful. I can't imagine what it must have been like to live in such a grand palace. I only have a few photo links in this blog, but I would really encourage you to look through all the Hampton Court pictures on the online photo album. I haven't got time to put captions on each since the internet is so slow here, but they are all pretty obvious, and most are just of the garden. They are just so beautiful.
Well, it's about quarter to eight here. I haven't done my homework yet so I should probably get a move on that. I am enjoying my classes, but I am really really busy. The workload is really heavy, although the content is quite easy. A lot of people complained about it, so hopefully it will lighten a bit. If this were a full semester-long course the work they are asking us to do would be reasonable. Since it is only 6 weeks and we travel on the weekends, however, it is quite hard to find time to get everything done and still go out and explore England. Well, I'm just waiting for my pictures to finish uploading online so I can post the links into this blog then I'll get to the homework.
I'm really having a great time here. I absolutly love England. It's just so me.
PS: When I come for the semester, I will definitely need to pack WARM clothes.
BATH
Yesterday we spent the majority of the day in Bath. It was beautiful. For some reason I thought there would be more Roman baths, but the one that we saw was very beautiful. The town around the bath was beatiful as well. I really wish I could back when there are fewer people. There were so many tourists since it was a saturday and there were a lot of locals because there was a small dance showcase and to top off all the chaos there was a wedding taking place as well. As I said, the baths and town were absolutly beatuiful. I really liked the architecture of the area. It has a very quaint feel, minus all the zillions of crazed tourists.
STONEHENGE
After Bath, we road about an hour and a half to Stonehenge. It was pretty much exactly what I was epxecting, a bunch of rocks in the middle of a very random field. For some reason I was under the impression it would be closer to a river, but I wasn't able to see one from the site, but I couldn't see one at Newgrange either. It was very cold and windy, similar to my experience at Newgrange, and the rocks were shorter than I anticipated. In all the professional photographs the monument seems to tall, but in actuality it is quite short. The drive between Bath and Stonehenge was beautiful, but not quite as nice as the drive between Oxford and Stratford. That truly was a BEAUTIFUL drive.
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Today we visited Windsor Castle and Hampton Court. I went to both of these places on a previous trip with Dr. Piper. I am glad I'd already been since our day tours on this trip are rather short and it seems just as we're getting settled on location it is time to get back on the bus. Really, all the places we've visited deserve no less than a FULL day each. I don't know how some tour groups get three to four in in one day.
WINDSOR
We got to Windsor just as it was opening this morning. We went in and a small group of us attended the church service in St. George's Cathedral. It was a very beautiful and moving expereince. Here we are, sitting in the church, in these really old seats (I quite literally had the best seat in the church. I don't know how I managed that) an amazing chorale, candels, beautiful prayers about peace and a sermon about the current struggles of the church, it was very small and peaceful. The church felt nice and warm despite the cold wind and rain outside. After the service we didn't have much time to wander around the rest of the castle, so we waited in line, for about 30 minutes, to see the doll house and walk through the state apartments. We gobbeled down lunch and it was on to the bus and out of the rain we go.
HAMPTON COURT
I really enjoyed our trip to Hampton Court. It was nice to see different parts of it that I had not seen last time. Our guide took us through, what she felt were, the most important parts and gave a us a brief history. Then we had time to wander around. Last time I came I spent a lot of time inside the palace and the kitchen. This time I chose to spend more time outside, despite the cold wind and rain. The gardens were lovely. There were so many beautiful flowers and I am in love the clouds and the sky here. Everything is just so breath-takingly beautiful. I can't imagine what it must have been like to live in such a grand palace. I only have a few photo links in this blog, but I would really encourage you to look through all the Hampton Court pictures on the online photo album. I haven't got time to put captions on each since the internet is so slow here, but they are all pretty obvious, and most are just of the garden. They are just so beautiful.
Well, it's about quarter to eight here. I haven't done my homework yet so I should probably get a move on that. I am enjoying my classes, but I am really really busy. The workload is really heavy, although the content is quite easy. A lot of people complained about it, so hopefully it will lighten a bit. If this were a full semester-long course the work they are asking us to do would be reasonable. Since it is only 6 weeks and we travel on the weekends, however, it is quite hard to find time to get everything done and still go out and explore England. Well, I'm just waiting for my pictures to finish uploading online so I can post the links into this blog then I'll get to the homework.
I'm really having a great time here. I absolutly love England. It's just so me.
PS: When I come for the semester, I will definitely need to pack WARM clothes.
4.7.08
Oxford and Stratford
Today we got up early and left for Oxford. It was a nice drive, about an hour and a half, maybe a bit more. The longest part of our trip was trying to get out of London. When we got to Oxford we were supposed to be able to go see all these things but they were all closed and we didn't have very much time. I felt bad for everyone since it was their first time and they really didn't get to enjoy it. I think Krysta and I may go back. I think to really enjoy Oxford you need to spend at least a whole day there, not just and hour and a half. We did, however, find a cute place to get a cheap bite to eat. After lunch and a 15 minute walk, our time was up at Oxford and we were rushed back on to the bus and wisked away to Stratford.
The drive from Oxford to Stratford was beautiful. We passed a lot of very typical english scenes of gently rolling hills and sheep. We stopped and visited the Anne Hathaway cottage and took some time to roam around the gardens. Then we went to see the birthplace of Shakespeare. They were both very interesting, beautiful and OLD. After walking through Shakespeare's old house we enjoyed an ice cream cone and took a walk around the small town and then back on the bus we went to get back to London.
The Huron students prepared a BBQ for us tonight as a 4th of July celebration. It was nice to get to talk with some of the other students that go here that aren't in our group.
We had lovely weather for our trips today. It was a bit on the cool side, but at least it didn't rain. Let's hope we have the same luck tomorrow.
Well, that's pretty much it. I'm dead tired. It's been a long day of walking and buses. We have to be on the bus by 8:30 tomorrow morning to go to Bath and Stonehenge. I'm very excited about Bath. I can't wait. Time for bed.
The drive from Oxford to Stratford was beautiful. We passed a lot of very typical english scenes of gently rolling hills and sheep. We stopped and visited the Anne Hathaway cottage and took some time to roam around the gardens. Then we went to see the birthplace of Shakespeare. They were both very interesting, beautiful and OLD. After walking through Shakespeare's old house we enjoyed an ice cream cone and took a walk around the small town and then back on the bus we went to get back to London.
The Huron students prepared a BBQ for us tonight as a 4th of July celebration. It was nice to get to talk with some of the other students that go here that aren't in our group.
We had lovely weather for our trips today. It was a bit on the cool side, but at least it didn't rain. Let's hope we have the same luck tomorrow.
Well, that's pretty much it. I'm dead tired. It's been a long day of walking and buses. We have to be on the bus by 8:30 tomorrow morning to go to Bath and Stonehenge. I'm very excited about Bath. I can't wait. Time for bed.
3.7.08
Day 6: Rain, classes, and walks
This morning we spent an extra long amount of time in the classroom since it was raining rather hard. Once the weather cleared up a bit we went to the Wellcome Collection. It was an awesome msueum. They had an exhibit about medicine and "what it means to be human". There was also a section with random old medical tools, Darwin's walking stick, Napoleon Bonaparte's toothbrush, Lord Nelson's razor,japanese sex toys, a chasity belt and all kinds of other weird odds and ends. It was all very interesting. (Sorry the pictures aren't that clear. I wasn't allowed to use a flash so they got all blurry.) After that we went to the British library where I got to see the Magna Carta, Beatles manuscripts, hand written pieces by Shakespeare, Mozart, Handel and tons and tons of other really old and very famous books and manuscripts.
After class we can back and lunch at the dorm. Then Krysta, Amy, and I went for a walk to Leicester Square and Covent Garden to see if we could find cheap tickets to a show. We ended up finding the best prices online so we'll probably try to see a show next week some time. While we were down in Covent Garden we stopped at Ben's Cookies and had the most AMAZING cookies ever. I got a triple chocolate cookie that was honestly THE BEST COOKIE I have ever tasted in my life. Then we walked back to the dorm and I took a nap until dinner.
Krysta and I went walking around to find a place to eat, and we ended up going to the Night and Day pub where we went the second day we were here. Their food is pretty good and it is a decent price and it's within walking distance of the dorm. After dinner we decided to walk around and go exploring. We walked through Russell Square, down the little side streets near Huron, past the Museum Tavern (a pub we went to the first night in London across from the British Museum), stopped at a starbucks for a chai latte and then made our way back to the dorm. I just finished up some homework and I chatted with a few Huron students down in the common room. Now it's time to get to bed. Our bus leaves tomorrow at 8:30 so I need to be showered, dressed, and fed before 8:15. We're off to Oxford and Stratford tomorrow. In the evening we will be having a BBQ in the courtyard so we'll get a chance to meet other students from Huron and visitng schools.
After class we can back and lunch at the dorm. Then Krysta, Amy, and I went for a walk to Leicester Square and Covent Garden to see if we could find cheap tickets to a show. We ended up finding the best prices online so we'll probably try to see a show next week some time. While we were down in Covent Garden we stopped at Ben's Cookies and had the most AMAZING cookies ever. I got a triple chocolate cookie that was honestly THE BEST COOKIE I have ever tasted in my life. Then we walked back to the dorm and I took a nap until dinner.
Krysta and I went walking around to find a place to eat, and we ended up going to the Night and Day pub where we went the second day we were here. Their food is pretty good and it is a decent price and it's within walking distance of the dorm. After dinner we decided to walk around and go exploring. We walked through Russell Square, down the little side streets near Huron, past the Museum Tavern (a pub we went to the first night in London across from the British Museum), stopped at a starbucks for a chai latte and then made our way back to the dorm. I just finished up some homework and I chatted with a few Huron students down in the common room. Now it's time to get to bed. Our bus leaves tomorrow at 8:30 so I need to be showered, dressed, and fed before 8:15. We're off to Oxford and Stratford tomorrow. In the evening we will be having a BBQ in the courtyard so we'll get a chance to meet other students from Huron and visitng schools.
2.7.08
Day 5: History of London
Today we had a wonderful lecture about the history of London. I really like my professor. He did a wonderful job giving us a crash course of English history from pre-roman times up until 1914. Then we took the tube and went for a walk along the river.
Today we ran into our first rain and it was rather chilly. Actually, the weather has been very much like it usually is at home. After our walk we went to this place near the river called Wagamama. It was DECLICIOUS and it only cost a little over 6 pounds. Then we headed back to Bloomsbury to go visit two museums for tomorrow's class. They were alright. Nothing to really write home about. After that we stopped at Tesco to stock up on some groceries. Most of us have opted for cerial or toast for breakfast and pb&j for lunch or dinner.
I just finished writing up and submitting all my little papers and I think Krysta and I are going to go out and explore a bit on our own. I'll be sure to post again if we discover anything cool and exciting. Otherwise, today was a good day and a busy day. And tomorrow is another day of class before our weekend trips begin!
Today we ran into our first rain and it was rather chilly. Actually, the weather has been very much like it usually is at home. After our walk we went to this place near the river called Wagamama. It was DECLICIOUS and it only cost a little over 6 pounds. Then we headed back to Bloomsbury to go visit two museums for tomorrow's class. They were alright. Nothing to really write home about. After that we stopped at Tesco to stock up on some groceries. Most of us have opted for cerial or toast for breakfast and pb&j for lunch or dinner.
I just finished writing up and submitting all my little papers and I think Krysta and I are going to go out and explore a bit on our own. I'll be sure to post again if we discover anything cool and exciting. Otherwise, today was a good day and a busy day. And tomorrow is another day of class before our weekend trips begin!
1.7.08
Uneventful Day 3 and First Day of Classes Day 4
Not much to report about for Day 3. We spent the majority of the day in orientation listening to various rules and safety tips. After orientation we did go out for dinner at a wonderful Indian restaurant near Covent Garden. After we ate we went to a bar/club called Zoo Bar. One of the girls who had been here before recommended it. It was alright, not really my scene but at least it was free because we went early.
Today we got up and walked to a small cafe in Russel Square Park for breakfast. I had fluffy scrambled eggs on toast with a glass of orange juice for a semi-decent price. The cafe is right across from the school, but there were a lot of people so we had to wait longer than expected and ended up making egg sandwiches to eat on the way to class.
The class I had today was Museums and Galleries. We had the typical first day discussion of course expectations, rules, and procedures, etc. and then we went on our first walk. This afternoon we walked just around the corner from the school to go see the first church in Bloomsbury. It was a very unique building, very different from most other churches I've seen. As we walked toward the church we discussed the "acceptable" and rather "traditional" models of architecture, with the bottom floor appearing to be the largest and the higher floors being smaller to establish a sense of balance. The church, however, was built in the opposite way. It is also interesting because it looks more like a governmental building, from the front, than a church. It's architecture was also controversial because it placed the communion area in the north end of the church rather than the east end, and has a statue of George I on the top of the steeple. This happens to be the only statue of George I.
Another reason for the governmental appearance and statue of George I was becuase of the history of the area and the need for a church in Bloomsbury. Back in the 1550s Bloomsburry was still a very rural area lush with orchards and market gardens. By the 1800s, it was no longer as rural and was actually very built up and one of the most poverty-stricken areas. This area was known as a "Rookery", or a slum. There was also the widespread problem of drinking gin. Things got so bad the government felt the only way to help turn it around would be to establish a church there. Hence the construction of St. George's church. All in all, it is a very intersting building with a facinating history. They also, just recently, cleared out the crypt below the church to rent out the space to raise money to maintain the church. Over 900 people were burried there.
After going to St. George's we went to the Cartoon Museum, which is also just around the corner from the school. It was a small, but very interesting museum. All the pieces were British cartoons, my favourites being Pont's the British Character Series. They were amusing little sketches of "typical" british manners and characteristics.
After class we came back to Byng to veg out for awhile and then we took the tube to Oxford Circus. We stopped at Top Shop and H&M and then as the afternoon dragged on we stopped at a Starbucks to grab a coffee. All shopped out, we headed back to Byng to take a nap before heading down for the "Free Food and Drink" in the dining room. When we came down, the food turned out to be terrible so we opted to go out for dinner. We took the tube to South Kensington and ate at a small creperie less than a block from the station. I had an Italian crepe which was delicious. Then we headed back to Byng where half our group went off the pubs while the other half returned to our rooms to do our homework. Speaking of which, I should stop writing all this and get my homework done.
To give you an idea of the workload, for Museums and Galleries on Thursday I need to have written a response about the history of Bloomsbury, a paper about St. George's, a response to the Cartoon Museum and a commentary on a particular cartoon. Then I have to research and write a brief summary of the Foundling Museum and October Gallery, write my expectations for the galleries, visit the galleries, write a response to my experiences there, and then prepare for Thursday's class by researching and summarizing the British Library and Wellcome Collection, followed by my expectations for the two museums. It's a lot and it will certainly keep me busy, but at least they do not have to be too in depth.
Time to get some of that out of the way so I can get a good night's rest for tomorrow's busy day. I have the History of London tomorrow. We are supposed to go for a Southbank walk from London Bridge to Westminster Bridge after a historical introduction. After that I think we're going to try and go to the Foundling Museum and October Gallery.
Time to go write write write.
Today we got up and walked to a small cafe in Russel Square Park for breakfast. I had fluffy scrambled eggs on toast with a glass of orange juice for a semi-decent price. The cafe is right across from the school, but there were a lot of people so we had to wait longer than expected and ended up making egg sandwiches to eat on the way to class.
The class I had today was Museums and Galleries. We had the typical first day discussion of course expectations, rules, and procedures, etc. and then we went on our first walk. This afternoon we walked just around the corner from the school to go see the first church in Bloomsbury. It was a very unique building, very different from most other churches I've seen. As we walked toward the church we discussed the "acceptable" and rather "traditional" models of architecture, with the bottom floor appearing to be the largest and the higher floors being smaller to establish a sense of balance. The church, however, was built in the opposite way. It is also interesting because it looks more like a governmental building, from the front, than a church. It's architecture was also controversial because it placed the communion area in the north end of the church rather than the east end, and has a statue of George I on the top of the steeple. This happens to be the only statue of George I.
Another reason for the governmental appearance and statue of George I was becuase of the history of the area and the need for a church in Bloomsbury. Back in the 1550s Bloomsburry was still a very rural area lush with orchards and market gardens. By the 1800s, it was no longer as rural and was actually very built up and one of the most poverty-stricken areas. This area was known as a "Rookery", or a slum. There was also the widespread problem of drinking gin. Things got so bad the government felt the only way to help turn it around would be to establish a church there. Hence the construction of St. George's church. All in all, it is a very intersting building with a facinating history. They also, just recently, cleared out the crypt below the church to rent out the space to raise money to maintain the church. Over 900 people were burried there.
After going to St. George's we went to the Cartoon Museum, which is also just around the corner from the school. It was a small, but very interesting museum. All the pieces were British cartoons, my favourites being Pont's the British Character Series. They were amusing little sketches of "typical" british manners and characteristics.
After class we came back to Byng to veg out for awhile and then we took the tube to Oxford Circus. We stopped at Top Shop and H&M and then as the afternoon dragged on we stopped at a Starbucks to grab a coffee. All shopped out, we headed back to Byng to take a nap before heading down for the "Free Food and Drink" in the dining room. When we came down, the food turned out to be terrible so we opted to go out for dinner. We took the tube to South Kensington and ate at a small creperie less than a block from the station. I had an Italian crepe which was delicious. Then we headed back to Byng where half our group went off the pubs while the other half returned to our rooms to do our homework. Speaking of which, I should stop writing all this and get my homework done.
To give you an idea of the workload, for Museums and Galleries on Thursday I need to have written a response about the history of Bloomsbury, a paper about St. George's, a response to the Cartoon Museum and a commentary on a particular cartoon. Then I have to research and write a brief summary of the Foundling Museum and October Gallery, write my expectations for the galleries, visit the galleries, write a response to my experiences there, and then prepare for Thursday's class by researching and summarizing the British Library and Wellcome Collection, followed by my expectations for the two museums. It's a lot and it will certainly keep me busy, but at least they do not have to be too in depth.
Time to get some of that out of the way so I can get a good night's rest for tomorrow's busy day. I have the History of London tomorrow. We are supposed to go for a Southbank walk from London Bridge to Westminster Bridge after a historical introduction. After that I think we're going to try and go to the Foundling Museum and October Gallery.
Time to go write write write.
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