So I have been really busy the past week or so trying to get in everything that we want to do before we leave England. I am missing out on sleep right now to write this, so hopefully I will remember everything. I will give you some good highlights of my past week and a half.
Last Tuesday (May 31st), Chelsea and I took a trip to London for the night to see the musical Chicago in the West End. It was so much fun and so good!! The musical was amazing, with really great actors, and we had a blast. We got there a little before the show started to walk around a little bit and have dinner. We had traditional fish and chips at a pub across the street before the show. We got our tickets before dinner and we got upgraded! We got moved down an entire section. We were still a little far back, but it didn't matter! It was an amazing experience that I am so glad I did!
On Thursday, we (Chelsea, Lindsay, Madison, Carli, and I) went to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and looked around in the Brighton museum then in the Pavilion. King George IV created it and lived there for a while before he became king. The rooms were so extravagant and pretty! We couldn't take pictures inside so I can't show you exactly what it looked like, but it reminded me a little of the Palace of Versailles on how pristine it was.
After we toured around the Royal Pavilion, Chelsea, Carlli, and I were hungry so we ate lunch at the Mock Turtle. Lindsay went home because she didn't feel good and Madison had to meet a friend somewhere. I had an omelet, and tea (of course) which was really good.
We walked around town the rest of the day, but I had to go home at 6pm to study for my last exam, critical psychology. YUCK! The worst class ever, seriously! Lindsay, Megan, Jenn, and I all studied for this essay exam all night then called it quits.
On Friday, Linds and I got up to finish studying then took our exam at noon. It wasn't too bad, but I am definitely glad it is over. I hated that class and didn't really like any of my other ones either. I am very much looking forward to going back to school in the U.S.!
After our exam, we headed to the beach! We didn't stay too long, because we had to catch our train at 9:30pm to go to Liverpool!!! We traveled all night long.
It was Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, Madison, and I who went and first, we took a train from Brighton to London, then the tube to another train station in London, then that train to Birmingham. We arrived in Birmingham at 1:30am, and our next train wasn't until 6am. So we had a lot of time to kill! We decided to go explore the city and we walked around for awhile taking pictures and hanging out the 5 of us.
Around 3:30am, we decided to go back to the train station and try to sleep a little. I was wearing shorts (bad idea!) and the floor was cold so I never fell asleep. The others didn't either or only for an hour or so. By the time our train was there and we got on to go to Liverpool, we were all very tired. But we couldn't stop then so we pushed on!
We arrived in Liverpool around 8am, and everything was closed in town. We just walked around looking at things and eventually found a place to eat breakfast at. We found a flyer in the train station about a Fab Four taxi tour that takes you around the city to all the places you would want to see that involves the Beatles. It was 50 pounds total (so 10 pounds each) and we thought it was a great idea since we didn't know how to get to any of the places we wanted to see. So we called them and booked our tour to start at 10am.
The taxi took us to all the houses the Beatles grew up in, Strawberry Fields, the cemetery Eleanor Rigby's grave is at, Penny Lane, the Liverpool school of the arts, and some other spots they hung out while they were in Liverpool. It was such an awesome tour! We learned a lot about the Beatles' history and saw some cool places. I kept thinking while we were taking the tour, how much my mom would have loved it!
After the tour, we were all hungry, so we stopped at the Grapes, a pub they went to a lot, and had some lunch. Next, we walked around and went to a few souvenir shops.
We walked around a little more and decided we were super tired and should find a patch of grass to try and take a nap on. We tried to sleep but it was so windy and cold that we eventually gave up. My allergies were getting bad from the wind and I wanted to go inside somewhere. We went into a few different shops and ended up back at the train station around 6pm. Our train was at 7:30pm so we just hung out there until our train got there.
Then we took a train to London, then the tube to another train station, then a train back to Brighton. Not a 5 and a half hour wait this time which was good. We got back to Brighton, all came home and went to sleep. We were so exhausted!!
Monday, Chelsea, Madison, Carli, Megan, Jenn, and I went to London to explore the whole day and go to a show in the Shakespeare Globe Theatre that night. We left around 10am on the train to London and spent the whole day in Camden shopping in the market there. It was huge! After spending most of the day there, we went to Abbey Road and took the picture of 4 of us walking across the street like the Beatles album cover. We split up after that and Chelsea and I went to London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. By the time we got to the Tower of London, it was closed so we didn't get to see the crown jewels, which I was upset about, but it just gives me a reason to come back someday!
Next, Chels and I got over to the Globe Theatre and had dinner at Pizza Express just across the street. We got in and got some good seats (not actual seats- we bought standing tickets). After dinner, we met up with the rest of the bunch to see the play, Much Ado About Nothing. I absolutely LOVED it!! It was the best play I have ever seen and it could not have been better!! The actress who played Beatrice was using a script because the actress who was supposed to be her was sick and she did amazing! It was crazy how great she was just being thrown into the role. The actor who played Leonato was Joseph Marcell- the butler, Geoffrey, from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!! It was so cool to see him up close like that! It was so funny and I think became my favorite play by Shakespeare!
Tuesday night, we had our last night of karaoke, which was a lot of fun and will be missed!
Yesterday (Wednesday), we went to the beach, then Lindsay, Chelsea, Tony, Rudy, and I went to a club. We were pretty tired and ended up back on the beach. We were there until the sun came up. Such a cool experience!! We left around 4:30am to come home and sleep for a little while. As we were waiting for the bus, we saw Christian getting off the bus and walking to the coach station to go to the airport to fly home. We ran over to say bye one last time and it was so weird! It finally hit me actually seeing someone leaving. It was really sad.
We came home and slept for a little while and now I am writing this. We are going back into town today and going to probably end up at the beach. Tonight is our last big night out and I am sure it will end in tears. The last few days have been emotional and the next few are going to be emotional as well. Everyone is just sad to leave each other.
The next few days are going to be rough, and I am sure I will update once more before I leave Brighton. Chels and Linds leave on Saturday and that is going to be a tear-fest, so you will hear about it in the next few days.
I miss you all and am excited to come home, but am definitely sad to be leaving these awesome people I have met over here. More later.
xxxx
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Brighton=Favorite City!
Just thought I would tell you a little bit about what I have been up to lately...
Tuesday, we went to the beach with a big group of people and just hung out and drank some cider. It is so pretty to sit on the beach at night, especially when the stars are all out.
Wednesday, I met Ara and Madison at the beach to lay out because it was sunny and warm out! :) That was fun, and I love how late the sun stays out here! Then, Chelsea met us for dinner at Nando's- I can't get enough of that place! After dinner, we were all pretty tired so we just came back and hung out in our rooms.
Thursday, we went out for our friends birthday, which was fun, as always going out in Brighton.
Friday, I didn't do too much. Just hung out with Ara and Madison, then we booked our trip to Liverpool!! It is me, Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, and Madison all going. We leave Friday night on a train and get to Liverpool at 7 something in the morning Saturday. Then we spend all day exploring and walking around the town and leave at 7 something that night and get back to Brighton around midnight. I am so excited!! Get ready for pictures, because I am sure I will be taking a lot!! A little while after we booked Liverpool, Ara, Jen, and I headed to the beach to hang out. On the way there, we got subway and cider. Perfect combo! :) It was fun, but really cold. I was wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and my North Face jacket over it and was still a little cold! It is so weird wearing that many layers at the end of May! I don't like it at all and am definitely ready for a hot St. Louis summer!!
Besides going to Liverpool next Friday, I also have my last exam at noon that day. It is weird not having any school work for almost 2 weeks, then having this random exam. I don't like it at all and am ready to be back in the American school system! After I take that exam, I am home free!
I leave here in just 16 more days... It is weird that is it that close to me coming home. I am both excited and a little sad to be leaving as I have said before.
This week is supposed to be nice, so hopefully I will get lots more beach time in, and maybe get a tan? In England! Haha, probably not...
xxxx
Tuesday, we went to the beach with a big group of people and just hung out and drank some cider. It is so pretty to sit on the beach at night, especially when the stars are all out.
Wednesday, I met Ara and Madison at the beach to lay out because it was sunny and warm out! :) That was fun, and I love how late the sun stays out here! Then, Chelsea met us for dinner at Nando's- I can't get enough of that place! After dinner, we were all pretty tired so we just came back and hung out in our rooms.
Thursday, we went out for our friends birthday, which was fun, as always going out in Brighton.
Friday, I didn't do too much. Just hung out with Ara and Madison, then we booked our trip to Liverpool!! It is me, Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, and Madison all going. We leave Friday night on a train and get to Liverpool at 7 something in the morning Saturday. Then we spend all day exploring and walking around the town and leave at 7 something that night and get back to Brighton around midnight. I am so excited!! Get ready for pictures, because I am sure I will be taking a lot!! A little while after we booked Liverpool, Ara, Jen, and I headed to the beach to hang out. On the way there, we got subway and cider. Perfect combo! :) It was fun, but really cold. I was wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and my North Face jacket over it and was still a little cold! It is so weird wearing that many layers at the end of May! I don't like it at all and am definitely ready for a hot St. Louis summer!!
Besides going to Liverpool next Friday, I also have my last exam at noon that day. It is weird not having any school work for almost 2 weeks, then having this random exam. I don't like it at all and am ready to be back in the American school system! After I take that exam, I am home free!
I leave here in just 16 more days... It is weird that is it that close to me coming home. I am both excited and a little sad to be leaving as I have said before.
This week is supposed to be nice, so hopefully I will get lots more beach time in, and maybe get a tan? In England! Haha, probably not...
xxxx
Friday, May 20, 2011
24 days left in Brighton!
So I have just a little over 3 weeks left and I will just take a minute to update you on what I have been doing since we got back from our Stratford-upon-Avon trip- which isn't much...
My mom is in Hawaii right now and I am super jealous! She texts me every day telling me about going to the beach, snorkeling, and how beautiful everything is. She gets back to St. Louis on Sunday and I am looking forward to skyping her. I haven't talked to her except for texting and a couple e-mails in two weeks and I miss her!! I know she is having a blast, and is lucky to have such awesome friends to take her on this trip! I am sure she is getting tan, and I am a little envious...
The past 3 weeks have gone by pretty fast! I have mostly been working on all of my papers. I have 6 to start with and only have 2 left! I am done with classes now- this week was my last week, which was very exciting! It is so weird still having school stuff to do when all of you guys back in America have been done with school. I really don't like having all this work to do at the end of the semester. It is stressful and no fun. I would honesty rather study for finals back home then write all these papers here. I am almost done, though! I turn my last paper in on Wednesday, have an online exam to take some time within this next week, and my last exam on June 3rd! I cannot wait for that day because then all the pressure will be off and I can just focus on having fun before we all go home!
Thinking about going home is so bittersweet. I am super homesick and really miss all of my friends and family, but I love Brighton, and the people I have met here are awesome!! Lindsay, Chelsea and I are already talking about me going to California to see my Uncle Johnny and seeing them too! Last night we got dinner and some drinks and just went and sat on the beach and all talked. I am going to miss being on the coast! But, I wont miss how cold it is for sure. I miss the hot St. Louis summer!!
Talking about my Uncle John in California makes me think of when I went to London and had dinner with him and since that was 2 weeks ago, I haven't talked about it yet! I knew that at some point in May, my Uncle John (my dad's brother who was born exactly 2 years later) was going to be in London and we had talked about possibly having dinner. It worked out that he had a night in London that we could go out to dinner before he went back to LA the next day. He told me I could bring a friend to keep me company on the train ride, so I brought Lindsay and Chelsea and we met him at the train station on Sunday, May 8th, and went to this Italian restaurant someone at his hotel suggested. It ended up being a famous British chefs place, Jamie Oliver! Uncle John insisted that we get everything and anything that we wanted so we all started off with drinks, then appetizers, main meals, and then dessert! We were all so full by the time we left, it was ridiculous! The food was delicious and definitely one of my favorite places I have been to since we got here! We had a nice, long dinner. We all talked about why we came here to study abroad and what we were studying back home and why. Then Uncle John was telling us all of the stories from his job. It was so fascinating! He has an amazing job and gets to see so much of the world! I really wish he lived closer and I got to see him more because it was so much fun hanging out with him for the night!
After dinner, we walked around London for a little while. It was getting late and we had a 2 hour train ride back home (it was longer than usual because it stopped at so many different places), so we went home after that. It was so nice for him to take us out to dinner and we all had an amazing night!!!! It felt so good to see family while being over here, and I was glad we were able to work out getting together. My dad was supposed to come over with him and go to dinner with me, and he was definitely there in spirit. I was so mad at myself for not getting a picture of Uncle John and I- I completely forgot until we were on the train! :( But, I will always have the memory!
The next week I will be finishing up my last papers and taking a test, and then I will be done! Except for my random test on June 3rd, but whatever. I will update you all some time in the next week or two. We have talked about possibly going to Oxford and Beachy Head, so I will let you know what great things we do before we leave. I can't believe it is already to that point! Only 24 days until I am back in America with all of you! I know it will fly by and I am going to enjoy the time I have left! Love and miss you all!!
xxx
My mom is in Hawaii right now and I am super jealous! She texts me every day telling me about going to the beach, snorkeling, and how beautiful everything is. She gets back to St. Louis on Sunday and I am looking forward to skyping her. I haven't talked to her except for texting and a couple e-mails in two weeks and I miss her!! I know she is having a blast, and is lucky to have such awesome friends to take her on this trip! I am sure she is getting tan, and I am a little envious...
The past 3 weeks have gone by pretty fast! I have mostly been working on all of my papers. I have 6 to start with and only have 2 left! I am done with classes now- this week was my last week, which was very exciting! It is so weird still having school stuff to do when all of you guys back in America have been done with school. I really don't like having all this work to do at the end of the semester. It is stressful and no fun. I would honesty rather study for finals back home then write all these papers here. I am almost done, though! I turn my last paper in on Wednesday, have an online exam to take some time within this next week, and my last exam on June 3rd! I cannot wait for that day because then all the pressure will be off and I can just focus on having fun before we all go home!
Thinking about going home is so bittersweet. I am super homesick and really miss all of my friends and family, but I love Brighton, and the people I have met here are awesome!! Lindsay, Chelsea and I are already talking about me going to California to see my Uncle Johnny and seeing them too! Last night we got dinner and some drinks and just went and sat on the beach and all talked. I am going to miss being on the coast! But, I wont miss how cold it is for sure. I miss the hot St. Louis summer!!
Talking about my Uncle John in California makes me think of when I went to London and had dinner with him and since that was 2 weeks ago, I haven't talked about it yet! I knew that at some point in May, my Uncle John (my dad's brother who was born exactly 2 years later) was going to be in London and we had talked about possibly having dinner. It worked out that he had a night in London that we could go out to dinner before he went back to LA the next day. He told me I could bring a friend to keep me company on the train ride, so I brought Lindsay and Chelsea and we met him at the train station on Sunday, May 8th, and went to this Italian restaurant someone at his hotel suggested. It ended up being a famous British chefs place, Jamie Oliver! Uncle John insisted that we get everything and anything that we wanted so we all started off with drinks, then appetizers, main meals, and then dessert! We were all so full by the time we left, it was ridiculous! The food was delicious and definitely one of my favorite places I have been to since we got here! We had a nice, long dinner. We all talked about why we came here to study abroad and what we were studying back home and why. Then Uncle John was telling us all of the stories from his job. It was so fascinating! He has an amazing job and gets to see so much of the world! I really wish he lived closer and I got to see him more because it was so much fun hanging out with him for the night!
After dinner, we walked around London for a little while. It was getting late and we had a 2 hour train ride back home (it was longer than usual because it stopped at so many different places), so we went home after that. It was so nice for him to take us out to dinner and we all had an amazing night!!!! It felt so good to see family while being over here, and I was glad we were able to work out getting together. My dad was supposed to come over with him and go to dinner with me, and he was definitely there in spirit. I was so mad at myself for not getting a picture of Uncle John and I- I completely forgot until we were on the train! :( But, I will always have the memory!
The next week I will be finishing up my last papers and taking a test, and then I will be done! Except for my random test on June 3rd, but whatever. I will update you all some time in the next week or two. We have talked about possibly going to Oxford and Beachy Head, so I will let you know what great things we do before we leave. I can't believe it is already to that point! Only 24 days until I am back in America with all of you! I know it will fly by and I am going to enjoy the time I have left! Love and miss you all!!
xxx
Monday, May 2, 2011
Stratford-upon-Avon/Warwick Castle Trip!
Hello all!!
I got back last night from our last trip with our program. It was a little sad- but I am looking forward to spending the last month and half I have left here in Brighton!
We woke up early on Saturday morning to catch the bus at 8am. We got to Stratford-upon-Avon around 11:30am, and checked into our hotel. It was the cutest bed and breakfast I have ever seen!! We just had time to set our stuff in our rooms and then we walked to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. We had a little bit of time to walk around the city before Macbeth started at 1:15pm. We just went into a few shops before we headed back to the theatre for our show. Macbeth was AMAZING! The acting was so good and it was an awesome show! The theatre was like the Globe- the seats were around in a circle and went almost straight up.
After the show, we decided to walk around the city more. We went into a bunch of little shops along the street. We were looking for a place to eat dinner and we finally found this place along the river. We sat outside because it was so nice outside and had dinner the 8 of us. It was all people from my program- Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, Madison, Amanda, Mark, and Matt. It was a lot of fun and so nice to sit outside and eat! Chelsea and I split a pitcher of Pimm's, which just made it perfect!
All weekend there were different events to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, so we decided to go to The Law of Love, which was two hours of drama, music, and poetry with performers from the Shakespeare Institute. It was an interesting 2 hours, but the acting was pretty bad. There were more American actors than we anticipated and they were bad. I was a little embarrassed...
We were all super tired from not getting much sleep the night before so we decided to just go back to the hotel and go to bed. When we got our hotel room (Chelsea, Lindsay, and I were all in a room together), we turned our TV on and watched Friends! We love how much Friends is on over here!!
On Sunday, we got up and had a full English breakfast in the morning, which was delicious! An egg, toast, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, a tomato, and tea of course. Then we left for a tour around the city given by Wendy Bowie- who was awesome! She showed us around the city and taught us so many new things! See the following:
Goodnight Sleep Tight: They used to tie ropes to the frames of beds to create a grid to put the mattress on top of. When the ropes were lose, the mattress was less comfortable. When they were tightened, you would get a better nights sleep.
Eavesdropping: The were holes in the eaves in the roof because of the thatched roofing so you could hear from one room to the other.
Canopy: The ceilings used to be made out of straw-a thatched roof- and birds would peck through them and sometimes drop some unwanted things into people's bedrooms. People put canopies over their beds so that nothing fell onto their faces while they slept.
Barber pole: Barbers used to be the people who performed surgery- the Doctors were just GPs and didn't do surgery. The barber poles are red and white because of the blood and bandages.
Frog in your throat: They used to tie a frog's legs together and put it down someone's throat when they had the whopping cough to get rid of their sore throat.
We learned so much from her and she was so nice! After our tour, we had some free time to get lunch and walk around a little. We went to a Shakespeare store and went into a few souvenir stores, then it was time to head back to the bus.
We got on the bus and went to Warwick Castle. We had almost 3 hours to roam around the castle and see some entertainment. Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, and I all decided before we went into the castle (while we were at the gift shop) to buy swords to fight each other all day. We also all got Princess crowns. I felt like a little kid again and it was so much fun! We were Princess Warriors for the day and I know you are all jealous! After spending the afternoon in the gorgeous weather walking around the castle, we headed back home around 4pm. It was a really fun last trip!
We were originally supposed to go to Oxford Saturday morning, but since it was Shakespeare's birthday weekend, our tickets for Macbeth had to be during the day. The night tickets were already booked for a special showing and we weren't able to get those tickets. With all the traffic and such, Oxford had to be cut out of the schedule. We were a little bummed about this, but we might take a day trip one weekend to visit the University. If not, it gives me more reason to come back!
Well I have a lot of school work to do, and really should get working on it. I have 6 papers due within the next 3 weeks- basically I hate school here! I only have 3 weeks left of school and 6 weeks left until I come home! I can't believe it is almost time to leave. It feels really bittersweet!! Although I miss everyone at home so much and want to go home, I love it here and don't want to leave!
I don't have any more trips left to update you all on, but I will keep you updating with things I do in Brighton! There wont be much the next 2 weeks with all the papers I will be working on- so pray that I get them done fast!
I hope you all are getting some better weather over there and good luck to everyone who has finals this week and next!! I found out today that Osama Bin Laden is dead so thank goodness for that! I am proud to be an American, even if I am not with you all!!
xxx
I got back last night from our last trip with our program. It was a little sad- but I am looking forward to spending the last month and half I have left here in Brighton!
We woke up early on Saturday morning to catch the bus at 8am. We got to Stratford-upon-Avon around 11:30am, and checked into our hotel. It was the cutest bed and breakfast I have ever seen!! We just had time to set our stuff in our rooms and then we walked to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. We had a little bit of time to walk around the city before Macbeth started at 1:15pm. We just went into a few shops before we headed back to the theatre for our show. Macbeth was AMAZING! The acting was so good and it was an awesome show! The theatre was like the Globe- the seats were around in a circle and went almost straight up.
After the show, we decided to walk around the city more. We went into a bunch of little shops along the street. We were looking for a place to eat dinner and we finally found this place along the river. We sat outside because it was so nice outside and had dinner the 8 of us. It was all people from my program- Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, Madison, Amanda, Mark, and Matt. It was a lot of fun and so nice to sit outside and eat! Chelsea and I split a pitcher of Pimm's, which just made it perfect!
All weekend there were different events to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, so we decided to go to The Law of Love, which was two hours of drama, music, and poetry with performers from the Shakespeare Institute. It was an interesting 2 hours, but the acting was pretty bad. There were more American actors than we anticipated and they were bad. I was a little embarrassed...
We were all super tired from not getting much sleep the night before so we decided to just go back to the hotel and go to bed. When we got our hotel room (Chelsea, Lindsay, and I were all in a room together), we turned our TV on and watched Friends! We love how much Friends is on over here!!
On Sunday, we got up and had a full English breakfast in the morning, which was delicious! An egg, toast, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, a tomato, and tea of course. Then we left for a tour around the city given by Wendy Bowie- who was awesome! She showed us around the city and taught us so many new things! See the following:
Goodnight Sleep Tight: They used to tie ropes to the frames of beds to create a grid to put the mattress on top of. When the ropes were lose, the mattress was less comfortable. When they were tightened, you would get a better nights sleep.
Eavesdropping: The were holes in the eaves in the roof because of the thatched roofing so you could hear from one room to the other.
Canopy: The ceilings used to be made out of straw-a thatched roof- and birds would peck through them and sometimes drop some unwanted things into people's bedrooms. People put canopies over their beds so that nothing fell onto their faces while they slept.
Barber pole: Barbers used to be the people who performed surgery- the Doctors were just GPs and didn't do surgery. The barber poles are red and white because of the blood and bandages.
Frog in your throat: They used to tie a frog's legs together and put it down someone's throat when they had the whopping cough to get rid of their sore throat.
We learned so much from her and she was so nice! After our tour, we had some free time to get lunch and walk around a little. We went to a Shakespeare store and went into a few souvenir stores, then it was time to head back to the bus.
We got on the bus and went to Warwick Castle. We had almost 3 hours to roam around the castle and see some entertainment. Lindsay, Chelsea, Ara, and I all decided before we went into the castle (while we were at the gift shop) to buy swords to fight each other all day. We also all got Princess crowns. I felt like a little kid again and it was so much fun! We were Princess Warriors for the day and I know you are all jealous! After spending the afternoon in the gorgeous weather walking around the castle, we headed back home around 4pm. It was a really fun last trip!
We were originally supposed to go to Oxford Saturday morning, but since it was Shakespeare's birthday weekend, our tickets for Macbeth had to be during the day. The night tickets were already booked for a special showing and we weren't able to get those tickets. With all the traffic and such, Oxford had to be cut out of the schedule. We were a little bummed about this, but we might take a day trip one weekend to visit the University. If not, it gives me more reason to come back!
Well I have a lot of school work to do, and really should get working on it. I have 6 papers due within the next 3 weeks- basically I hate school here! I only have 3 weeks left of school and 6 weeks left until I come home! I can't believe it is almost time to leave. It feels really bittersweet!! Although I miss everyone at home so much and want to go home, I love it here and don't want to leave!
I don't have any more trips left to update you all on, but I will keep you updating with things I do in Brighton! There wont be much the next 2 weeks with all the papers I will be working on- so pray that I get them done fast!
I hope you all are getting some better weather over there and good luck to everyone who has finals this week and next!! I found out today that Osama Bin Laden is dead so thank goodness for that! I am proud to be an American, even if I am not with you all!!
xxx
Friday, April 22, 2011
Amsterdam-probably my favorite city EVER!
Hallo! (As the Dutch would say)
Just a fair warning that this post is going to be pretty long...
So, Chelsea, Lindsay, and I get on a taxi to the Brighton train station at 6am Sunday morning. We had to get a taxi because there weren't any trains from Falmer (my campus) to Brighton that early in the morning. We get to the train station, buy our tickets to Gatwick airport, and literally miss the train by one minute. The next one is 25 minutes later. So, we get on the next train and get to the airport with little time to spare before the gate closes for our flight at 8:10am. I had already printed off my boarding pass a week or so earlier but Chelsea and Lindsay hadn't yet, so we had to check in. We get into this huge line for easy jet and we hear this guy at the front calling for people flying to Amsterdam. We try to get his attention to say that we are, but he really isn't even paying attention to anyone and we are really far back so he probably didn't hear us. A minute later, we get closer to where he was at and tell him we need to check in for Amsterdam. He says that it is closed and he called for the last call to check in. We try to explain the situation to him, but he is really mean and it is too late. Since I had already printed my boarding pass, he said I could go but I would have to run to get on the plane in time. So I left Chelsea and Lindsay to change their flights (and pay 50 pounds to do so!) and I run through security and get to my gate and everyone is lined up to get on the flight. I was running there for really no reason (again that guy was a jerk). I call Lindsay and they have a flight at 4 something so I decided to just wait for them when I got to the airport.
I get to the airport in Amsterdam and take my time doing everything because I have to wait 8 hours for them to get to the airport. In the 8 hours I was there, I read 250 pages of a book, half a magazine, took a nap, and had lunch. It was a long day and I was sick of airports, and so where Chels and Linds because they stayed at the Gatwick airport for the whole time. As soon as I saw them we just hugged and shared our stories of the long awful day.
We get on the train to go into the city and to our hostel. We get there and they upgraded us to a suite so it was just the 3 of us in a room with our own bathroom!! We were so excited we told the guy that it was like finally! something good is happening to us! After we check in, we walk around the city for a little bit, get some food, and hang out at a coffee shop for the rest of the night, but were really tired and went home early. We were in bed by midnight! Haha, that is what traveling does to you!
Monday, we woke up at a decent time and headed over to the Anne Frank house. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and it was taking forever so we decided to go to the neighborhood Jordaan and walk around since it was close by. We walked through Jordaan but I am not sure if we were on the main streets or not. It was really pretty with a lot of canals everywhere- which I loved!! Next, we walked to the flower market on the canal. That was pretty and I was wishing I could have sent some flowers home to my mom that she could plant- she would have loved it!
After we saw all of the flower market, and went in to some shops along the way, we went to a cafe where they had really good smoothies and hung out there for awhile. Then we decided to go back to our hostel and take a nap. We slept for awhile then went to meet up with Lindsay's cousin, Courtney, and her two friends. We ended up at a bar waiting for them to arrive. There was karaoke and Chelsea and I sang "I Love Rock N Roll"! It was so much fun! At midnight, we all took a shot of tequila for Lindsay's 21st birthday! Then we walked around a little bit and went into a few bars then went home.
Tuesday, we got up early and met Courtney and her friends to go to Anne Frank's house. We waited in line for about an hour but it was worth it. They gave us pamphlets before we walked in that told the history of the house and everything which was nice because I couldn't remember much from learning about her like 8 years ago. The house in Amsterdam is the one that she and her family hid in from the Germans. We walked through the whole thing, but there isn't any furniture because that is the way Otto Frank, Anne's dad, wanted it. It was kind of eerie being there. The most emotional part was at the end. There was a video playing of Otto talking about Anne and it just hit me. I couldn't watch it anymore and left. It is so sad to think about!
After we left Anne Frank, we thought we would do something on a more happy note so we all went and got food then Chelsea, Lindsay, and I went to the Ice Bar. It is pretty self-explanatory- everything is made of ice! Before we get into the ice bar (which is at -10 degrees) they give us these bug puffy coats and gloves to wear while we are in there. We got two mixed drinks in glasses (of course made of ice) and watch a 4D short movie. It was a lot of fun and a good experience but it was sooo cold in there! When we got out, the bartender gave us free shots for Lindsay's birthday! We had been talking to him before we went into the ice part of the bar and told him about her birthday.
After the ice bar, we decided to go to this Sex Museum. We didn't really know what we were getting into, but it was only 4 Euros and since we were in Amsterdam, we figured, why not? Well it was interesting, to say the least.... It was pretty much like a porn museum. There was sexual pictures and such from way back in the Roman times- which I hadn't realized before. There was some interesting things in there and some very graphic things in there...
Anyway, moving on. Next we went back to our hostel to take a nap (yet again). We got up early and walked all over and decided before we went out big for Lindsay's birthday that we would try to get a little sleep. We got up and went to dinner at this Mexican restaurant before we went on our pub crawl. It was pretty good but definitely not as good as back home! Then we headed over to the meeting spot for our pub crawl. We were supposed to go to 5 pubs and one huge club at the end of the night. We got free t-shirts to go along with the deal- which I am ALWAYS down for!! By the time we got to the fifth place, it was already after 1am and we were all super tired, so we decided to just head back to the hostel. All of our feet hurt from walking around so much, so we decided to take a bike taxi home. It was actually really fun and totally worth it! I am sure the biker got a work out from pulling the 3 of us back...
Wednesday, we had to check out of our hostel by 10am. I wanted to go to Keukenhof really badly so we headed to the airport to see how long the bus from the airport would be to Keukenhof to see if we had enough time. Chelsea and Lindsay decided they wanted to save money (because they were out of Euros) and not go. But, I was determined to see the gorgeous gardens so I went by myself. It was sooo worth it!! It was a little lonely walking around by myself, but it was so peaceful and it was nice to just walk around. The place is huge- I was there for 2 and a half hours and didn't see all of it. I walked around and took pictures the entire time I was there. It was GORGEOUS. I took TONS of pictures and it was even more beautiful than the pictures show... It gets time for me to start heading back to the parking lot to wait for the bus to take me to the airport so I retrace my steps thinking I will be able to figure out how to get back. That didn't work so well... I realized I was going in a big circle and decided to find a map. I got to one and figured out which way I needed to head towards and walked all the way to the entrance/exit, or so I thought. I get there and realize I am at the car parking lot, not the bus parking lot where I need to be. I find another map and see that I am at the opposite end of the park that I need to be at. It takes awhile to walk all the way to the right entrance/exit that I need. I finally get there and probably miss the bus to the airport by 5 minutes or less (of course). I get in the very long line to wait for the bus to the airport. They come every 15 minutes. The next one comes, and of course I don't get on because it is too full. By this time, I am freaking out that I am going to miss my flight. I wait another 15 minutes. I finally get on a bus and we leave around 3:50pm. My flight is at 5:05, the gate closes at 4:35, and the bus ride is 20 minutes. I get on the bus and try not to keep freaking out.
We get to the airport and I sprint off the bus to the airport (it is 4:15 at this point) and look at the board to see what gate my flight is at. I see that my flight has been delayed by 15 minutes. I take a deep breath of relief and stop freaking out- as much.... I meet Lindsay and Chelsea and say my quick goodbyes as I head to my gate. They were getting on a flight to Rome, and I was going back to Brighton. I get to my gate and everything is fine. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have my flight delayed!
On the flight back, I met someone from St. Louis!! It was so weird! He is from North County. Such a small world! He is studying abroad in Amsterdam and decided to go to London for the weekend.
I get back to Brighton completely exhausted and relax for the rest of the night. I have been relaxing pretty much since I got back. I cleaned my room today and caught up on all of my TV shows! I was so excited that gossip girl and 90210 are back on that I couldn't wait to watch them!
Well I am in Brighton until Tuesday without Lindsay and Chelsea and all of our British friends. So, my goal is to get a lot of school work done. I have 5 papers due in the middle-end of May and want to get ahead start on them now while I have the chance. Hasn't worked so far, but I will get there!
I go to Oxford and Stratford next Saturday, so I am pretty excited for that! I can't believe that will be our last trip with our program. I come home in 53 days so everyone get ready!! Alright, enough for tonight- I told you it would be long!! Hope you all are having great spring weather in the States like we are having here.
Love and miss you all!! xx
Just a fair warning that this post is going to be pretty long...
So, Chelsea, Lindsay, and I get on a taxi to the Brighton train station at 6am Sunday morning. We had to get a taxi because there weren't any trains from Falmer (my campus) to Brighton that early in the morning. We get to the train station, buy our tickets to Gatwick airport, and literally miss the train by one minute. The next one is 25 minutes later. So, we get on the next train and get to the airport with little time to spare before the gate closes for our flight at 8:10am. I had already printed off my boarding pass a week or so earlier but Chelsea and Lindsay hadn't yet, so we had to check in. We get into this huge line for easy jet and we hear this guy at the front calling for people flying to Amsterdam. We try to get his attention to say that we are, but he really isn't even paying attention to anyone and we are really far back so he probably didn't hear us. A minute later, we get closer to where he was at and tell him we need to check in for Amsterdam. He says that it is closed and he called for the last call to check in. We try to explain the situation to him, but he is really mean and it is too late. Since I had already printed my boarding pass, he said I could go but I would have to run to get on the plane in time. So I left Chelsea and Lindsay to change their flights (and pay 50 pounds to do so!) and I run through security and get to my gate and everyone is lined up to get on the flight. I was running there for really no reason (again that guy was a jerk). I call Lindsay and they have a flight at 4 something so I decided to just wait for them when I got to the airport.
I get to the airport in Amsterdam and take my time doing everything because I have to wait 8 hours for them to get to the airport. In the 8 hours I was there, I read 250 pages of a book, half a magazine, took a nap, and had lunch. It was a long day and I was sick of airports, and so where Chels and Linds because they stayed at the Gatwick airport for the whole time. As soon as I saw them we just hugged and shared our stories of the long awful day.
We get on the train to go into the city and to our hostel. We get there and they upgraded us to a suite so it was just the 3 of us in a room with our own bathroom!! We were so excited we told the guy that it was like finally! something good is happening to us! After we check in, we walk around the city for a little bit, get some food, and hang out at a coffee shop for the rest of the night, but were really tired and went home early. We were in bed by midnight! Haha, that is what traveling does to you!
Monday, we woke up at a decent time and headed over to the Anne Frank house. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and it was taking forever so we decided to go to the neighborhood Jordaan and walk around since it was close by. We walked through Jordaan but I am not sure if we were on the main streets or not. It was really pretty with a lot of canals everywhere- which I loved!! Next, we walked to the flower market on the canal. That was pretty and I was wishing I could have sent some flowers home to my mom that she could plant- she would have loved it!
After we saw all of the flower market, and went in to some shops along the way, we went to a cafe where they had really good smoothies and hung out there for awhile. Then we decided to go back to our hostel and take a nap. We slept for awhile then went to meet up with Lindsay's cousin, Courtney, and her two friends. We ended up at a bar waiting for them to arrive. There was karaoke and Chelsea and I sang "I Love Rock N Roll"! It was so much fun! At midnight, we all took a shot of tequila for Lindsay's 21st birthday! Then we walked around a little bit and went into a few bars then went home.
Tuesday, we got up early and met Courtney and her friends to go to Anne Frank's house. We waited in line for about an hour but it was worth it. They gave us pamphlets before we walked in that told the history of the house and everything which was nice because I couldn't remember much from learning about her like 8 years ago. The house in Amsterdam is the one that she and her family hid in from the Germans. We walked through the whole thing, but there isn't any furniture because that is the way Otto Frank, Anne's dad, wanted it. It was kind of eerie being there. The most emotional part was at the end. There was a video playing of Otto talking about Anne and it just hit me. I couldn't watch it anymore and left. It is so sad to think about!
After we left Anne Frank, we thought we would do something on a more happy note so we all went and got food then Chelsea, Lindsay, and I went to the Ice Bar. It is pretty self-explanatory- everything is made of ice! Before we get into the ice bar (which is at -10 degrees) they give us these bug puffy coats and gloves to wear while we are in there. We got two mixed drinks in glasses (of course made of ice) and watch a 4D short movie. It was a lot of fun and a good experience but it was sooo cold in there! When we got out, the bartender gave us free shots for Lindsay's birthday! We had been talking to him before we went into the ice part of the bar and told him about her birthday.
After the ice bar, we decided to go to this Sex Museum. We didn't really know what we were getting into, but it was only 4 Euros and since we were in Amsterdam, we figured, why not? Well it was interesting, to say the least.... It was pretty much like a porn museum. There was sexual pictures and such from way back in the Roman times- which I hadn't realized before. There was some interesting things in there and some very graphic things in there...
Anyway, moving on. Next we went back to our hostel to take a nap (yet again). We got up early and walked all over and decided before we went out big for Lindsay's birthday that we would try to get a little sleep. We got up and went to dinner at this Mexican restaurant before we went on our pub crawl. It was pretty good but definitely not as good as back home! Then we headed over to the meeting spot for our pub crawl. We were supposed to go to 5 pubs and one huge club at the end of the night. We got free t-shirts to go along with the deal- which I am ALWAYS down for!! By the time we got to the fifth place, it was already after 1am and we were all super tired, so we decided to just head back to the hostel. All of our feet hurt from walking around so much, so we decided to take a bike taxi home. It was actually really fun and totally worth it! I am sure the biker got a work out from pulling the 3 of us back...
Wednesday, we had to check out of our hostel by 10am. I wanted to go to Keukenhof really badly so we headed to the airport to see how long the bus from the airport would be to Keukenhof to see if we had enough time. Chelsea and Lindsay decided they wanted to save money (because they were out of Euros) and not go. But, I was determined to see the gorgeous gardens so I went by myself. It was sooo worth it!! It was a little lonely walking around by myself, but it was so peaceful and it was nice to just walk around. The place is huge- I was there for 2 and a half hours and didn't see all of it. I walked around and took pictures the entire time I was there. It was GORGEOUS. I took TONS of pictures and it was even more beautiful than the pictures show... It gets time for me to start heading back to the parking lot to wait for the bus to take me to the airport so I retrace my steps thinking I will be able to figure out how to get back. That didn't work so well... I realized I was going in a big circle and decided to find a map. I got to one and figured out which way I needed to head towards and walked all the way to the entrance/exit, or so I thought. I get there and realize I am at the car parking lot, not the bus parking lot where I need to be. I find another map and see that I am at the opposite end of the park that I need to be at. It takes awhile to walk all the way to the right entrance/exit that I need. I finally get there and probably miss the bus to the airport by 5 minutes or less (of course). I get in the very long line to wait for the bus to the airport. They come every 15 minutes. The next one comes, and of course I don't get on because it is too full. By this time, I am freaking out that I am going to miss my flight. I wait another 15 minutes. I finally get on a bus and we leave around 3:50pm. My flight is at 5:05, the gate closes at 4:35, and the bus ride is 20 minutes. I get on the bus and try not to keep freaking out.
We get to the airport and I sprint off the bus to the airport (it is 4:15 at this point) and look at the board to see what gate my flight is at. I see that my flight has been delayed by 15 minutes. I take a deep breath of relief and stop freaking out- as much.... I meet Lindsay and Chelsea and say my quick goodbyes as I head to my gate. They were getting on a flight to Rome, and I was going back to Brighton. I get to my gate and everything is fine. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have my flight delayed!
On the flight back, I met someone from St. Louis!! It was so weird! He is from North County. Such a small world! He is studying abroad in Amsterdam and decided to go to London for the weekend.
I get back to Brighton completely exhausted and relax for the rest of the night. I have been relaxing pretty much since I got back. I cleaned my room today and caught up on all of my TV shows! I was so excited that gossip girl and 90210 are back on that I couldn't wait to watch them!
Well I am in Brighton until Tuesday without Lindsay and Chelsea and all of our British friends. So, my goal is to get a lot of school work done. I have 5 papers due in the middle-end of May and want to get ahead start on them now while I have the chance. Hasn't worked so far, but I will get there!
I go to Oxford and Stratford next Saturday, so I am pretty excited for that! I can't believe that will be our last trip with our program. I come home in 53 days so everyone get ready!! Alright, enough for tonight- I told you it would be long!! Hope you all are having great spring weather in the States like we are having here.
Love and miss you all!! xx
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Last day in Italia :(
So I am now sitting back in my room at Brighton trying to gain enough motivation to start one of the 6 (or so- who is counting?) papers I have due within in the next month. NOT looking forward to it!!
Anyway, I will fill you all in about my adventures in Amsterdam in my next post! But first, I have to finish my last day in Italy!
So after I spent the entire day on Friday (while Shelley was on her day trip) on the internet, I went to this little park where the sun decided to finally come out! I don't actually know if it was a park but there were benches and grass so that is what I am calling it, because you don't see any grass in Florence really. So I sat in the sun and wrote in my journal for awhile until the stupid clouds decided to ruin my day and cover up the beautiful sunlight. It got cold and I went back to Shelley's apartment and continued to journal until she got back. She didn't get back until around 8pm because they were stuck in so much traffic, which kinda sucked, but as soon as she got back, we headed to dinner to get kebabs! They were sooo good! I am glad Shelley told me to put the spicy sauce on it, because it made it amazing! After inhaling that, we went to walk to Shelley's favorite nutella crepe place. By the time we got there though it was closed!! We were so mad and I was still really wanting to try a nutella crepe, so we went back to the place where we got canolis at the night before and got one there. SERIOUSLY best dessert EVER!!! I have literally been going through withdrawals (only after having one)! I got back to Brighton and all I could think about was how much I wanted a nutella crepe. So glad Shelley introduced me to those and I hope they have them back home or I will make Shelley make me some after she gets her crepe maker! I also got another canoli for breakfast the next day just because they were so good and why not go big while in Italy?!
We got back and were really tired (and I have a 7:50am flight the next day) so I wrote some more in my journal and Shelley got on her computer. We called Kasie and Deanne and it was so nice to talk the four of us again!! I really miss 225 sophomore year! After catching up on their lives, we went to bed.
My flight came bright and early the next day and I left Shelley definitely not wanting to leave Italy!! I wish I could have stayed way longer! My flight was pretty uneventful. I got back to Brighton I think around 11am and ran into Lindsay and Molly heading to the airport for Molly to fly back to California. It was cool that I got to see Molly one last time before she went back home and I got to hear a little about their time. I get back into my room, and what is the first thing I do? Get on the internet- duh! I have felt so out of the loop on everything while I have been traveling because I haven't had internet really anywhere for that long.
So I get back to Brighton and just hang out for the rest of the day really. I wanted a chill day before we woke up super early again to catch our flight to Amsterdam.
Well I need to shower and get something accomplished today besides watching TV online, but I will post again either later today or tomorrow to tell you all about Amsterdam!!!
Ciao!
Anyway, I will fill you all in about my adventures in Amsterdam in my next post! But first, I have to finish my last day in Italy!
So after I spent the entire day on Friday (while Shelley was on her day trip) on the internet, I went to this little park where the sun decided to finally come out! I don't actually know if it was a park but there were benches and grass so that is what I am calling it, because you don't see any grass in Florence really. So I sat in the sun and wrote in my journal for awhile until the stupid clouds decided to ruin my day and cover up the beautiful sunlight. It got cold and I went back to Shelley's apartment and continued to journal until she got back. She didn't get back until around 8pm because they were stuck in so much traffic, which kinda sucked, but as soon as she got back, we headed to dinner to get kebabs! They were sooo good! I am glad Shelley told me to put the spicy sauce on it, because it made it amazing! After inhaling that, we went to walk to Shelley's favorite nutella crepe place. By the time we got there though it was closed!! We were so mad and I was still really wanting to try a nutella crepe, so we went back to the place where we got canolis at the night before and got one there. SERIOUSLY best dessert EVER!!! I have literally been going through withdrawals (only after having one)! I got back to Brighton and all I could think about was how much I wanted a nutella crepe. So glad Shelley introduced me to those and I hope they have them back home or I will make Shelley make me some after she gets her crepe maker! I also got another canoli for breakfast the next day just because they were so good and why not go big while in Italy?!
We got back and were really tired (and I have a 7:50am flight the next day) so I wrote some more in my journal and Shelley got on her computer. We called Kasie and Deanne and it was so nice to talk the four of us again!! I really miss 225 sophomore year! After catching up on their lives, we went to bed.
My flight came bright and early the next day and I left Shelley definitely not wanting to leave Italy!! I wish I could have stayed way longer! My flight was pretty uneventful. I got back to Brighton I think around 11am and ran into Lindsay and Molly heading to the airport for Molly to fly back to California. It was cool that I got to see Molly one last time before she went back home and I got to hear a little about their time. I get back into my room, and what is the first thing I do? Get on the internet- duh! I have felt so out of the loop on everything while I have been traveling because I haven't had internet really anywhere for that long.
So I get back to Brighton and just hang out for the rest of the day really. I wanted a chill day before we woke up super early again to catch our flight to Amsterdam.
Well I need to shower and get something accomplished today besides watching TV online, but I will post again either later today or tomorrow to tell you all about Amsterdam!!!
Ciao!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Florence!
Ciao!
I am currently in Florence visiting Shelley (a suite mate from sophomore year)- it is my last day here and I am pretty sad about it!
I got here Monday night late and Shelley and I were both so tired we just went to bed. Side note: I hate traveling alone! It is so stressful and just plain lonely! I was surrounded by families which just made me miss home even more!
On Tuesday, I slept until Shelley got out of class. Then, we went to the place where Shelley's favorite sandwich is, and I tried it for lunch. It was incredible! Ham, cheese, lettuce, and some Italian seasoning on this amazing bread cooked in the oven. It sounds so simple, but the bread and seasoning just made it sooo good! After that, Shelley came to work out and I got on the internet for a little bit. Sent an e-mail to my mom to let her know I got to Shelley's apartment okay. After Shelley worked out, we went to the food market so she could show me around and so I could try some of the dried fruit she has been raving about. I got kiwi, banana chips, strawberries, and coconut. They were all delicious but the kiwi and strawberry are by far my favorite! Shelley also got melon and that was good as well! After we went to the market, Shelley had her baking class so we went back to her apartment. She took me up to her balcony so I could see the view and it was really cool! You could see a lot of the city's rooftops and it was nice and sunny, which made it better. When Shelley got back from class, we went to Gusta's for pizza. We split the spinach, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese pizza. The best pizza I have ever had HANDS DOWN! I probably could have eaten the whole pizza by myself it was that good! I am glad I didn't eat the whole pizza though, because I had to save room for gelato!! We went to Shelley's favorite place and I tried the cheesecake and the caramel kinds in a cup. TO DIE FOR! I could literally eat gelato every day of my life! That night we went to a bar to play beer pong. It was pretty fun- but we left pretty early because we had such a long walk back to Shelley's apartment.
On Wednesday, Shelley and I worked out after she got out of class. She had to meet with a girl for one of her classes, and I just got on the internet to send my mom another e-mail while she was busy doing that. Then we went souvenir shopping in the market. We had a little time to kill and were craving some gelato so we stopped at a place near Sante Croce. I got cheesecake and strawberry and loved them both!! I figured out later that the place we went to was called Vivoli and my Aunt Linda had recommended I go there! It was a funny coincidence that that place was the random gelato place Shelley and I picked that night. Then, we went to Piazza de Republica, which is like a big square with shops and restaurants. Shelley bought an espresso maker and couldn't stop talking about how excited she was about it. Next, we headed to Tijuana for mexican food and margaritas! We got peach margs and chicken and sausage quesadillas. It was really good mexican food- especially for Italy! The service was pretty crappy so I guess it is a good thing you don't tip over here... We were supposed to go out with Shelley's friends that night and we went over there to hang out with them but it got to be midnight and they still hadn't left to go out yet, so Shelley and I decided to call it a night and go back to her apartment. We were both really tired and wanted to get up at a decent time Thursday to see some more sights.
On Thursday, we got up and went back to the market so I could take all of my pictures of the amazing food there! We wanted to get these sandwiches at this place in the market that Shelley's roommate said were really good. We had roast beef sandwiches for lunch which were pretty good- but the meat was a little too red for me. I am like my dad and have to have my meat medium-well or well done and this was probably medium-rare. I still ate it because I will try almost everything, but it was rough for me to eat something still bleeding... After that, I said we should have canolis because I wasn't completely full yet. So we had canolis from the market- it was my first canoli EVER! I FELL IN LOVE! I could seriously have those every day for dessert. I have been missing out by not ever trying a canoli before. After walking around there for a little while, we went inside the Duomo. It was beautiful and the ceilings were so tall! I do think that Notre Dame is prettier... I don't think anything could compare! After the Duomo, we did some shopping in the market. Shelley bought 4 (YES 4) scarves and I bought an Italia track jacket! I haven't bought anything except shot glasses and post cards from every other place I have traveled to and I don't plan on buying anything else in Amsterdam so I decided to buy this one thing! Then, we headed to the long and treacherous walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo. There were so many stairs! We were definitely out of breath by the time we got to the top but it was sooo worth it! The view is phenomenal!! We stayed up looking around for awhile then sat on the steps and enjoyed the view. It got pretty cold since it was overcast so we left to go to dinner. We went to this place to get pasta and I got fettucini alfredo with chicken. It was good, but not great! I was a little disappointed in the pasta- I was expecting it to be amazing! I don't know if it was what I got or the place... It just wasn't as creamy as I would expect alfredo sauce to be. Oh well. The bread they gave us before we got our food was completely worth it!! We of course had to get dessert after dinner so we went looking for canoli. It started to rain so we went to a place Shelley hasn't tried canoli at before. We were both a little nervous about trying it because it had probably sat out there all day long... We were glad we decided to get it!! It was cold, which made it even better, and really crispy- which is important! We pretty much ran back to her apartment to eat the canoli and loved every bite!! We were tired from having walked around all day and just wanted to watch a movie. Shelley had downloaded Winning London (an old Mary Kate and Ashley movie) so we watched that and went to bed. I forgot how corny those movies are! But still fun to watch, of course.
Today (Friday), Shelley left for her day trip at 8:30am and I stayed and slept in. I got up at 10am and got ready then went to try and get internet from a cafe right next to Shelley's apartment. Shelley doesn't have internet in her apartment (really crappy, right?!) They have to pay per hour for whenever they use their wireless. Sooo dumb! Anyway, the internet at the cafe didn't work so I had to text Shelley and ask her where I could go to get internet. I ended up coming to her school's gym and using their wireless. It works pretty well! No one is really around so it has been nice. I uploaded all my pictures to facebook and skyped Kevin. Now I am updating this and I need to update my journal next. So I am accomplishing a lot today. It is overcast and cold again, so I am not missing much by not being outside today. I walked to the Duomo by myself and got Shelley's favorite sandwich again for lunch because it is so good! I got back alright and was proud of myself! All the streets look the same to me so I was happy I could get there and back without getting lost.
I head back to Brighton early tomorrow morning then head out again on Sunday morning for Amsterdam! I come back Wednesday for good until I go home June 13th (only 2 months away)! I like traveling but I am exhausted from all of it. I am ready to be back in Brighton and relax. Even though I have to work on papers, it will be nice to finally have some down time.
I hope everything is going great back in America- I hear you all are having some great warm weather! We had it for a week or so, and now it is cold again. Hopefully when I get back to Brighton, it will be sunny and warm!! I miss the 70 and 80 degrees you all are having right now so enjoy it! I will post more when I get back from Amsterdam on the 20th!
Ciao!!
I am currently in Florence visiting Shelley (a suite mate from sophomore year)- it is my last day here and I am pretty sad about it!
I got here Monday night late and Shelley and I were both so tired we just went to bed. Side note: I hate traveling alone! It is so stressful and just plain lonely! I was surrounded by families which just made me miss home even more!
On Tuesday, I slept until Shelley got out of class. Then, we went to the place where Shelley's favorite sandwich is, and I tried it for lunch. It was incredible! Ham, cheese, lettuce, and some Italian seasoning on this amazing bread cooked in the oven. It sounds so simple, but the bread and seasoning just made it sooo good! After that, Shelley came to work out and I got on the internet for a little bit. Sent an e-mail to my mom to let her know I got to Shelley's apartment okay. After Shelley worked out, we went to the food market so she could show me around and so I could try some of the dried fruit she has been raving about. I got kiwi, banana chips, strawberries, and coconut. They were all delicious but the kiwi and strawberry are by far my favorite! Shelley also got melon and that was good as well! After we went to the market, Shelley had her baking class so we went back to her apartment. She took me up to her balcony so I could see the view and it was really cool! You could see a lot of the city's rooftops and it was nice and sunny, which made it better. When Shelley got back from class, we went to Gusta's for pizza. We split the spinach, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese pizza. The best pizza I have ever had HANDS DOWN! I probably could have eaten the whole pizza by myself it was that good! I am glad I didn't eat the whole pizza though, because I had to save room for gelato!! We went to Shelley's favorite place and I tried the cheesecake and the caramel kinds in a cup. TO DIE FOR! I could literally eat gelato every day of my life! That night we went to a bar to play beer pong. It was pretty fun- but we left pretty early because we had such a long walk back to Shelley's apartment.
On Wednesday, Shelley and I worked out after she got out of class. She had to meet with a girl for one of her classes, and I just got on the internet to send my mom another e-mail while she was busy doing that. Then we went souvenir shopping in the market. We had a little time to kill and were craving some gelato so we stopped at a place near Sante Croce. I got cheesecake and strawberry and loved them both!! I figured out later that the place we went to was called Vivoli and my Aunt Linda had recommended I go there! It was a funny coincidence that that place was the random gelato place Shelley and I picked that night. Then, we went to Piazza de Republica, which is like a big square with shops and restaurants. Shelley bought an espresso maker and couldn't stop talking about how excited she was about it. Next, we headed to Tijuana for mexican food and margaritas! We got peach margs and chicken and sausage quesadillas. It was really good mexican food- especially for Italy! The service was pretty crappy so I guess it is a good thing you don't tip over here... We were supposed to go out with Shelley's friends that night and we went over there to hang out with them but it got to be midnight and they still hadn't left to go out yet, so Shelley and I decided to call it a night and go back to her apartment. We were both really tired and wanted to get up at a decent time Thursday to see some more sights.
On Thursday, we got up and went back to the market so I could take all of my pictures of the amazing food there! We wanted to get these sandwiches at this place in the market that Shelley's roommate said were really good. We had roast beef sandwiches for lunch which were pretty good- but the meat was a little too red for me. I am like my dad and have to have my meat medium-well or well done and this was probably medium-rare. I still ate it because I will try almost everything, but it was rough for me to eat something still bleeding... After that, I said we should have canolis because I wasn't completely full yet. So we had canolis from the market- it was my first canoli EVER! I FELL IN LOVE! I could seriously have those every day for dessert. I have been missing out by not ever trying a canoli before. After walking around there for a little while, we went inside the Duomo. It was beautiful and the ceilings were so tall! I do think that Notre Dame is prettier... I don't think anything could compare! After the Duomo, we did some shopping in the market. Shelley bought 4 (YES 4) scarves and I bought an Italia track jacket! I haven't bought anything except shot glasses and post cards from every other place I have traveled to and I don't plan on buying anything else in Amsterdam so I decided to buy this one thing! Then, we headed to the long and treacherous walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo. There were so many stairs! We were definitely out of breath by the time we got to the top but it was sooo worth it! The view is phenomenal!! We stayed up looking around for awhile then sat on the steps and enjoyed the view. It got pretty cold since it was overcast so we left to go to dinner. We went to this place to get pasta and I got fettucini alfredo with chicken. It was good, but not great! I was a little disappointed in the pasta- I was expecting it to be amazing! I don't know if it was what I got or the place... It just wasn't as creamy as I would expect alfredo sauce to be. Oh well. The bread they gave us before we got our food was completely worth it!! We of course had to get dessert after dinner so we went looking for canoli. It started to rain so we went to a place Shelley hasn't tried canoli at before. We were both a little nervous about trying it because it had probably sat out there all day long... We were glad we decided to get it!! It was cold, which made it even better, and really crispy- which is important! We pretty much ran back to her apartment to eat the canoli and loved every bite!! We were tired from having walked around all day and just wanted to watch a movie. Shelley had downloaded Winning London (an old Mary Kate and Ashley movie) so we watched that and went to bed. I forgot how corny those movies are! But still fun to watch, of course.
Today (Friday), Shelley left for her day trip at 8:30am and I stayed and slept in. I got up at 10am and got ready then went to try and get internet from a cafe right next to Shelley's apartment. Shelley doesn't have internet in her apartment (really crappy, right?!) They have to pay per hour for whenever they use their wireless. Sooo dumb! Anyway, the internet at the cafe didn't work so I had to text Shelley and ask her where I could go to get internet. I ended up coming to her school's gym and using their wireless. It works pretty well! No one is really around so it has been nice. I uploaded all my pictures to facebook and skyped Kevin. Now I am updating this and I need to update my journal next. So I am accomplishing a lot today. It is overcast and cold again, so I am not missing much by not being outside today. I walked to the Duomo by myself and got Shelley's favorite sandwich again for lunch because it is so good! I got back alright and was proud of myself! All the streets look the same to me so I was happy I could get there and back without getting lost.
I head back to Brighton early tomorrow morning then head out again on Sunday morning for Amsterdam! I come back Wednesday for good until I go home June 13th (only 2 months away)! I like traveling but I am exhausted from all of it. I am ready to be back in Brighton and relax. Even though I have to work on papers, it will be nice to finally have some down time.
I hope everything is going great back in America- I hear you all are having some great warm weather! We had it for a week or so, and now it is cold again. Hopefully when I get back to Brighton, it will be sunny and warm!! I miss the 70 and 80 degrees you all are having right now so enjoy it! I will post more when I get back from Amsterdam on the 20th!
Ciao!!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ireland!!
I am in London now and thought I would update my blog while we are having a lazy day at our friend Ben's house in London (whom we are staying with for the next 4 days).
We got to Dublin around 2 or 3 on Friday and checked into our hostel. It looked like a shady area when we turned onto the street our hostel was at, but the inside looked way better! It was centrally located in the middle of Dublin- only a 5-10 min. walk to anywhere we went! We took a walk around after we set our luggage down in our rooms and changed. The four of us (Chelsea, Lindsay, Lindsay's little sister- Molly, and me) bought necklaces from this street vendor that say our names in metal with shamrocks on either side of our names. We all match and have worn them every day since! :) We decided to get dinner at an Irish pub next to our hostel and it was so good! I had a cajun chicken panini and it was AMAZING! I know it isn't Irish, but it didn't matter...
Then, we went back to our hostel to get ready for a pub crawl that we signed up with earlier through our hostel. It was 13 Euros to get into 4 pubs and one club, a free Guiness at the first pub, a free shot at every other place, and discounted drinks at one of the places. It was so fun! We met some Americans, Australians, and Irish people.
Saturday, we got up early to do all of our tourist sight-seeing. We bought a bus pass that took us around the city and had a tour guide telling us about everything as we drove by. We went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells (thanks to Aunt Linda for suggesting this), the Guinness factory, Jameson factory, and Leprechaun museum. I met up with Shelley and hugged her for like 5 min!! She came along with the 4 of us for the day and left and met up with the people she came with before we went to the Jameson factory. The Book of Kells was so cool!! Everything was so old and hard to believe. We couldn't take pictures so you won't see any on facebook- but it was cool! The Guinness factory was interesting even though I hate beer I appreciated seeing how it is made. At the end, we got to pour our own Guinnes, and yes I drank it. It was nasty. I had already had a Guinness the night before I took lots of pictures there so be looking out for those on facebook some time soon! The Jameson factory was cool as well and we had a tour guide explain everything to us. At the end of the tour, we had a free drink of Jameson. I didn't think I liked whiskey, but Jameson is really good!
Right before we left, it started pouring rain. We got lucky and were given ponchos from the people who worked at the front desk of the factory. We were so hungry and walked to the nearest restaurant, which happened to be an Italian restaurant. It was really good, but we were very tired and full so we went back to our hostel and took naps. We took about an hour and a half nap and then decided that we should go out and do something. We met up with Shelley, Kate (a girl in my honors fraternity) and went to Temple Bar for the night. It was sooo much fun and properly Irish! There was a band (a woman singing and man playing guitar) that we listened to for a couple hours. I actually drank a beer at the bar- which I know will shock many of you! It was alright, better than Guinness, and I felt like I should drink an Irish beer while at an Irish bar. Also, it was the cheapest thing at the bar... On the way home, we got BBQ chicken kebabs. Lindsay was Irish and got a lamb kebab, which I tried. It was alright, but I just don't like the fact of eating lamb.
Sunday, we got up at a decent time to finish some tourist things. We wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone, but it was a 3 hour train ride to the town where the Blarney Stone is at and it was 50 something Euros to get there. We decided that was too much money and to stay in Dublin for the day and do other things. We started it off right with breakfast at McDonalds... Then we went to the oldest pub in Ireland, The Brazen Head, which is now my profile picture. Shelley spent the whole day with us, except the Leprechaun Museum, and it was so good to see her!! I have been pretty homesick lately and seeing a familiar face from home was comforting. We had an Irish coffee at The Brazen Head and I think it has become my new favorite drink! After the pub, we went to the Leprechaun Museum. Everything was huge so we felt like leprechauns- I felt like a kid again! We took lots of pictures here too so be on the lookout for those as well! After the museum, we went to a shop to get our souvenirs. Then we went back to the pub we ate at the first day for dinner. I got the same thing as the time before because it was just so good!
After dinner, we got our luggage from the hostel and got on a bus to go to Ben's house. I know some of you are thinking, aren't you at Ben's house now? And yes, I am. Ben has two houses: one in Dublin because his dad does a lot of work over there, and one in London. Must be nice, right? So we got to Ben's after an hour long bus ride and just hung out with him and his friends there for the night. We left Monday to catch our flight back to England.
We got back to Brighton and had a little less than an hour for all of us to take showers and re-pack for London. It is probably the fastest I have gotten ready and packed ever. Chelsea and I rode to Ben's house with his friend, Gabriel and Lindsay and Molly rode back with Ben and his other friend, Alex. We got here around 10pm and had a nice home cooked spaghetti from Ben's mom. It was delicious!
Then we got ready and went out to a club in London that was pretty fun but definitely didn't compare to the ones in Brighton!
Today, we have been really lazy and just slept and layed around. We are going to dinner with Lindsay's cousin who works at the U.S. Embassy (and who we stayed with when we went to the Justin Bieber concert). We aren't sure of our plans while we are in London, but we want to take Molly to all the best sights while we are here and see the things we didn't get to see when we were in London at the beginning of the semester. I will update after I get home from London on Saturday!
Still miss you all!
We got to Dublin around 2 or 3 on Friday and checked into our hostel. It looked like a shady area when we turned onto the street our hostel was at, but the inside looked way better! It was centrally located in the middle of Dublin- only a 5-10 min. walk to anywhere we went! We took a walk around after we set our luggage down in our rooms and changed. The four of us (Chelsea, Lindsay, Lindsay's little sister- Molly, and me) bought necklaces from this street vendor that say our names in metal with shamrocks on either side of our names. We all match and have worn them every day since! :) We decided to get dinner at an Irish pub next to our hostel and it was so good! I had a cajun chicken panini and it was AMAZING! I know it isn't Irish, but it didn't matter...
Then, we went back to our hostel to get ready for a pub crawl that we signed up with earlier through our hostel. It was 13 Euros to get into 4 pubs and one club, a free Guiness at the first pub, a free shot at every other place, and discounted drinks at one of the places. It was so fun! We met some Americans, Australians, and Irish people.
Saturday, we got up early to do all of our tourist sight-seeing. We bought a bus pass that took us around the city and had a tour guide telling us about everything as we drove by. We went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells (thanks to Aunt Linda for suggesting this), the Guinness factory, Jameson factory, and Leprechaun museum. I met up with Shelley and hugged her for like 5 min!! She came along with the 4 of us for the day and left and met up with the people she came with before we went to the Jameson factory. The Book of Kells was so cool!! Everything was so old and hard to believe. We couldn't take pictures so you won't see any on facebook- but it was cool! The Guinness factory was interesting even though I hate beer I appreciated seeing how it is made. At the end, we got to pour our own Guinnes, and yes I drank it. It was nasty. I had already had a Guinness the night before I took lots of pictures there so be looking out for those on facebook some time soon! The Jameson factory was cool as well and we had a tour guide explain everything to us. At the end of the tour, we had a free drink of Jameson. I didn't think I liked whiskey, but Jameson is really good!
Right before we left, it started pouring rain. We got lucky and were given ponchos from the people who worked at the front desk of the factory. We were so hungry and walked to the nearest restaurant, which happened to be an Italian restaurant. It was really good, but we were very tired and full so we went back to our hostel and took naps. We took about an hour and a half nap and then decided that we should go out and do something. We met up with Shelley, Kate (a girl in my honors fraternity) and went to Temple Bar for the night. It was sooo much fun and properly Irish! There was a band (a woman singing and man playing guitar) that we listened to for a couple hours. I actually drank a beer at the bar- which I know will shock many of you! It was alright, better than Guinness, and I felt like I should drink an Irish beer while at an Irish bar. Also, it was the cheapest thing at the bar... On the way home, we got BBQ chicken kebabs. Lindsay was Irish and got a lamb kebab, which I tried. It was alright, but I just don't like the fact of eating lamb.
Sunday, we got up at a decent time to finish some tourist things. We wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone, but it was a 3 hour train ride to the town where the Blarney Stone is at and it was 50 something Euros to get there. We decided that was too much money and to stay in Dublin for the day and do other things. We started it off right with breakfast at McDonalds... Then we went to the oldest pub in Ireland, The Brazen Head, which is now my profile picture. Shelley spent the whole day with us, except the Leprechaun Museum, and it was so good to see her!! I have been pretty homesick lately and seeing a familiar face from home was comforting. We had an Irish coffee at The Brazen Head and I think it has become my new favorite drink! After the pub, we went to the Leprechaun Museum. Everything was huge so we felt like leprechauns- I felt like a kid again! We took lots of pictures here too so be on the lookout for those as well! After the museum, we went to a shop to get our souvenirs. Then we went back to the pub we ate at the first day for dinner. I got the same thing as the time before because it was just so good!
After dinner, we got our luggage from the hostel and got on a bus to go to Ben's house. I know some of you are thinking, aren't you at Ben's house now? And yes, I am. Ben has two houses: one in Dublin because his dad does a lot of work over there, and one in London. Must be nice, right? So we got to Ben's after an hour long bus ride and just hung out with him and his friends there for the night. We left Monday to catch our flight back to England.
We got back to Brighton and had a little less than an hour for all of us to take showers and re-pack for London. It is probably the fastest I have gotten ready and packed ever. Chelsea and I rode to Ben's house with his friend, Gabriel and Lindsay and Molly rode back with Ben and his other friend, Alex. We got here around 10pm and had a nice home cooked spaghetti from Ben's mom. It was delicious!
Then we got ready and went out to a club in London that was pretty fun but definitely didn't compare to the ones in Brighton!
Today, we have been really lazy and just slept and layed around. We are going to dinner with Lindsay's cousin who works at the U.S. Embassy (and who we stayed with when we went to the Justin Bieber concert). We aren't sure of our plans while we are in London, but we want to take Molly to all the best sights while we are here and see the things we didn't get to see when we were in London at the beginning of the semester. I will update after I get home from London on Saturday!
Still miss you all!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Home from Paris and ready for Dublin in 4 days!
Paris was AMAZING!!!! Everything is beautiful and so cool to see! I already want to go back... I will tell you step but step everything we did in the short weekend we were there.
We left bright and early at 6am on Friday and got on a coach (bus) and headed to the chunnel. Our bus got onto the train that then went under the sea to France! It was so crazy! We arrived in Paris around 5pm (a very long journey!) and checked into the hotel. We had an hour to get ready for our river cruise and Lindsay, Chelsea, and I planned on going to dinner afterwards.
We went on our river cruise which was pretty cool. It was nice to see the major sites of Paris at night but it was difficult to see and get good pictures since it was covered in this clear plastic. We didn't get a seat actually outside so that was kind of a bummer. At the end of the cruise, we got back to the Eiffel Tower, and it was all lit up! It is lit up after sundown and every hour, it sparkles!! Right when we got back, it started to sparkle! I got a video of it- it was gorgeous!
Then we were really hungry and decided to find a place near the Eiffel Tower to eat at. Just Chelsea, Lindsay, and I went to this cute restaurant, which was a little pricey but so good! I tried some of Lindsay's escargot, which was pretty good! I had duck, which was amazing and creme brulee for dessert. We also had some wine with our meal- had to while in Paris. I try so hard to like wine, and I just can't! We were really tired after our 3 hour dinner and it was already 11:30 so we went home. We got a little lost along the way, but we asked some people and eventually got back to our hotel and to bed!
The next day, Saturday, was another early start with breakfast at 8am. We left the hotel at 9am to go to the Eiffel Tower, which was only a 15-20 minute walk from our hotel. We went up the Eiffel Tower all the way to the top. It was probably the coolest thing I have ever gotten to do!! It was a little cloudy but still a gorgeous view of the city!
After that, at noon, we got back on our bus and took a tour of the city. We saw Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Champs Elysees, L'arc de Tromphe, the Louvre, and Notre Dame. We stopped at Notre Dame and had time to go in and look around. It was so beautiful! Then we got dropped off at the Louvre for the day. We went inside and saw lots of paintings and sculptures, including the Mona Lisa! It was really interesting to see all the old paintings housed there.
It started raining right before we left the Louvre and we got on the Metro to go back to our hotel. We got some champagne on the way home for later, then went to our rooms to get of our wet clothes. We went to dinner at a cafe around the corner from our hotel. I had a tomato and mozzarella starter drizzled with balsamic and pesto; beef, salad, and fries for my main course; then creme brulee with pistachio for dessert. It was delicious! After dinner, we went back to our hotel and put on some warmer clothes and headed to the Eiffel Tower to hang out and drink champagne! It was a little rainy and cold but we were sitting and looking at the Eiffel Tower and it can't get much better than that! We went back to the hotel a couple of hours after we got there because we lost an hour due to daylight savings time in Europe. We got back to the hotel and were so tired we fell asleep pretty quickly.
On Sunday, we had breakfast at 8am again and left the hotel at 9 to head to Versailles. Lindsay, Chelsea, Madison, and I paid to get into the Palace of Versailles to see the palace, gardens, and Marie-Antoinette's Estate. Madison left after we saw the gardens to visit the nearby market while Chels, Linds, and I went to Marie-Antoinette's Estate. Everything was so old and pretty! I have pictures of everything up on facebook already so take a look! After Versailles, we headed back onto the bus to come back to England.
We had to go through customs to get back into England, but not when we went into France. Our bus driver just said we were all U.K. students going on a trip to Paris and they just let us in! It was strange!
We got back around 7:30pm and it was still light outside because of daylight savings time! I love when it stays light out later!
So we didn't really have a lot of free time in Paris to go shopping or anything, but it was an amazing trip and I had a blast! I am super excited to keep traveling! I just have this week of school then 3 weeks of Easter (Spring) Break! We head to Dublin on Friday and I am super pumped for that!
I will let you all know how my experience with the Irish goes!
Au Revoir!
We left bright and early at 6am on Friday and got on a coach (bus) and headed to the chunnel. Our bus got onto the train that then went under the sea to France! It was so crazy! We arrived in Paris around 5pm (a very long journey!) and checked into the hotel. We had an hour to get ready for our river cruise and Lindsay, Chelsea, and I planned on going to dinner afterwards.
We went on our river cruise which was pretty cool. It was nice to see the major sites of Paris at night but it was difficult to see and get good pictures since it was covered in this clear plastic. We didn't get a seat actually outside so that was kind of a bummer. At the end of the cruise, we got back to the Eiffel Tower, and it was all lit up! It is lit up after sundown and every hour, it sparkles!! Right when we got back, it started to sparkle! I got a video of it- it was gorgeous!
Then we were really hungry and decided to find a place near the Eiffel Tower to eat at. Just Chelsea, Lindsay, and I went to this cute restaurant, which was a little pricey but so good! I tried some of Lindsay's escargot, which was pretty good! I had duck, which was amazing and creme brulee for dessert. We also had some wine with our meal- had to while in Paris. I try so hard to like wine, and I just can't! We were really tired after our 3 hour dinner and it was already 11:30 so we went home. We got a little lost along the way, but we asked some people and eventually got back to our hotel and to bed!
The next day, Saturday, was another early start with breakfast at 8am. We left the hotel at 9am to go to the Eiffel Tower, which was only a 15-20 minute walk from our hotel. We went up the Eiffel Tower all the way to the top. It was probably the coolest thing I have ever gotten to do!! It was a little cloudy but still a gorgeous view of the city!
After that, at noon, we got back on our bus and took a tour of the city. We saw Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Champs Elysees, L'arc de Tromphe, the Louvre, and Notre Dame. We stopped at Notre Dame and had time to go in and look around. It was so beautiful! Then we got dropped off at the Louvre for the day. We went inside and saw lots of paintings and sculptures, including the Mona Lisa! It was really interesting to see all the old paintings housed there.
It started raining right before we left the Louvre and we got on the Metro to go back to our hotel. We got some champagne on the way home for later, then went to our rooms to get of our wet clothes. We went to dinner at a cafe around the corner from our hotel. I had a tomato and mozzarella starter drizzled with balsamic and pesto; beef, salad, and fries for my main course; then creme brulee with pistachio for dessert. It was delicious! After dinner, we went back to our hotel and put on some warmer clothes and headed to the Eiffel Tower to hang out and drink champagne! It was a little rainy and cold but we were sitting and looking at the Eiffel Tower and it can't get much better than that! We went back to the hotel a couple of hours after we got there because we lost an hour due to daylight savings time in Europe. We got back to the hotel and were so tired we fell asleep pretty quickly.
On Sunday, we had breakfast at 8am again and left the hotel at 9 to head to Versailles. Lindsay, Chelsea, Madison, and I paid to get into the Palace of Versailles to see the palace, gardens, and Marie-Antoinette's Estate. Madison left after we saw the gardens to visit the nearby market while Chels, Linds, and I went to Marie-Antoinette's Estate. Everything was so old and pretty! I have pictures of everything up on facebook already so take a look! After Versailles, we headed back onto the bus to come back to England.
We had to go through customs to get back into England, but not when we went into France. Our bus driver just said we were all U.K. students going on a trip to Paris and they just let us in! It was strange!
We got back around 7:30pm and it was still light outside because of daylight savings time! I love when it stays light out later!
So we didn't really have a lot of free time in Paris to go shopping or anything, but it was an amazing trip and I had a blast! I am super excited to keep traveling! I just have this week of school then 3 weeks of Easter (Spring) Break! We head to Dublin on Friday and I am super pumped for that!
I will let you all know how my experience with the Irish goes!
Au Revoir!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
I go to Paris in 2 days!!!
Hey all,
Sorry it has been awhile since I have updated!
As you all know, I went to the Justin Bieber concert last Wednesday in London, and it was amazing!! I know you all thought I was being silly going to his concert but he is seriously talented! He played the guitar, drums, piano, danced, and sang! He was crazy good and just made me fall in love with him more. Definitely worth the money and I got a sweet t-shirt to go with it. Yes, I have Bieber Fever... London was fun to walk around in and the O2 arena was amazing! I missed Brighton, though. As many of you know, I am not a big city person and London is huge. I just love that Brighton is by the sea and town is pretty easy to figure out. I know I picked the right place to study abroad to!!
Thursday was St. Pats day and we went all out! Chelsea didn't feel good and had a paper to write so she stayed in while Lindsay and I dressed up in our green get up. We had white v-necks with lime green suspenders, black shorts with tights and bright green leg warmers. We also had green stunna shades (the glasses with the lines down the middle like Kanye West wears) that we painted green glitter nail polish around the outside of the rims. Pictures are on facebook! We were the most dressed up compared to our British friends, but we didn't care- it was so much fun!
Today and yesterday have been the nicest days since I got here! The weather has been sunny at it has almost gotten up to 60 degrees each day! I know you all are thinking, well it is 80 degrees in St. Louis, but 60 is really warm for Brighton, especially in March! Yesterday, we sat out on a hill on our campus and drank a 'posh' British drink called Pimms. It was sooo good!! Pimms is a type of liquor and you add lemonade (Sprite) and tons of fruit! It is to die for and I hope we have it in the U.S. so I can recreate it this summer! Our British friends told us it is a drink they drink in the summer and since it was so warm yesterday, they thought it would be perfect- which it was!
I am so excited to go to Paris- I can hardly wait!! We leave Friday morning at 6:30 to drive on a bus to the chunnel and on over to Paris! We get back Sunday night around 8 or 9 pm. I have been looking through a traveling book, Paris' 25 best, given to me by Aunt Linda and Uncle Bill- who also sent me to Paris- thanks so much, you guys are the best!! :) I have found some awesome things that I already want to do! We haven't gotten the schedule from our advisors taking us on the trip as to what we will be doing, and we wont until the day of, so we aren't sure how much free time we will have to do whatever, but we definitely know we will be going shopping and making sure we see all of the main tourist attractions and hopefully more!! We are seeing how much it would be to eat dinner at the Moulin Rouge one night with a bunch of us, so I will let you know if that works out or not!
Well I have been slacking a little on school work lately, and I want to get some stuff done before spring break- which is in one week- so I am going to go read. Sorry this was so long! I will update again after we get back from Paris!!
Ciao!
Sorry it has been awhile since I have updated!
As you all know, I went to the Justin Bieber concert last Wednesday in London, and it was amazing!! I know you all thought I was being silly going to his concert but he is seriously talented! He played the guitar, drums, piano, danced, and sang! He was crazy good and just made me fall in love with him more. Definitely worth the money and I got a sweet t-shirt to go with it. Yes, I have Bieber Fever... London was fun to walk around in and the O2 arena was amazing! I missed Brighton, though. As many of you know, I am not a big city person and London is huge. I just love that Brighton is by the sea and town is pretty easy to figure out. I know I picked the right place to study abroad to!!
Thursday was St. Pats day and we went all out! Chelsea didn't feel good and had a paper to write so she stayed in while Lindsay and I dressed up in our green get up. We had white v-necks with lime green suspenders, black shorts with tights and bright green leg warmers. We also had green stunna shades (the glasses with the lines down the middle like Kanye West wears) that we painted green glitter nail polish around the outside of the rims. Pictures are on facebook! We were the most dressed up compared to our British friends, but we didn't care- it was so much fun!
Today and yesterday have been the nicest days since I got here! The weather has been sunny at it has almost gotten up to 60 degrees each day! I know you all are thinking, well it is 80 degrees in St. Louis, but 60 is really warm for Brighton, especially in March! Yesterday, we sat out on a hill on our campus and drank a 'posh' British drink called Pimms. It was sooo good!! Pimms is a type of liquor and you add lemonade (Sprite) and tons of fruit! It is to die for and I hope we have it in the U.S. so I can recreate it this summer! Our British friends told us it is a drink they drink in the summer and since it was so warm yesterday, they thought it would be perfect- which it was!
I am so excited to go to Paris- I can hardly wait!! We leave Friday morning at 6:30 to drive on a bus to the chunnel and on over to Paris! We get back Sunday night around 8 or 9 pm. I have been looking through a traveling book, Paris' 25 best, given to me by Aunt Linda and Uncle Bill- who also sent me to Paris- thanks so much, you guys are the best!! :) I have found some awesome things that I already want to do! We haven't gotten the schedule from our advisors taking us on the trip as to what we will be doing, and we wont until the day of, so we aren't sure how much free time we will have to do whatever, but we definitely know we will be going shopping and making sure we see all of the main tourist attractions and hopefully more!! We are seeing how much it would be to eat dinner at the Moulin Rouge one night with a bunch of us, so I will let you know if that works out or not!
Well I have been slacking a little on school work lately, and I want to get some stuff done before spring break- which is in one week- so I am going to go read. Sorry this was so long! I will update again after we get back from Paris!!
Ciao!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bath and Stonehenge Trip!
So this past week was pretty eventful with my 21st birthday on Wednesday! I was a little sad that I was missing it in the States and with all my friends and family but my friends here made it AMAZING! It was the best birthday yet! It is still weird that I am 21- I can't believe it! We had a nice dinner just Chelsea, Lindsay, Fi (one of our British friends we hang out with a lot) and me. We got Italian because it is my favorite and had the best desert ever! Then we went out to this awesome club and had an awesome night!
On Saturday, we woke up bright and early to go on our trip to Stonehenge and Bath. It was a crappy bus ride- trying to sleep on a bus was awful with my bad back and it still is killing me! Stonehenge was really cool to see and interesting to learn about. It is so crazy that they don't even know how all the stones got there! From there, we went to Bath, which is known for the Roman Baths located there it's shopping and a setting for 2 of Jane Austen's books. On Saturday, we went through the tour of the Roman Baths, which was so neat! Everything is so old!! It was cool to think that this was all here 2000 years ago! After that, we of course had to go shopping. I didn't spend that much because I am trying to save all my money for Paris in 2 weeks!! :) We went back to the hotel around 5 and took a nap before dinner. We then went out in Bristol (the town where our hotel was) to see how the nightlife was. We basically just walked around for a couple of hours trying to find a club and gave up around 12:30 and came back to the hotel to sleep.
On Sunday, we went back to Bath and went to the Jane Austen Centre! We learned about her life and the time she lived in Bath. Her parents were married in Bath and they moved there after her father retired. Her mother, sister, and her left Bath after her father passed away and Jane wanted to leave. She was a country girl at heart and disliked the city life. She is Bath's most famous citizen and her two books Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are largely set in Bath. After learning about Bath and Jane's life, we had a tea party in the tea room at the Centre. It was the cutest little tea room and we ate scones, cucumber sandwiches, and little pastries. It was so much fun!!
We got on the bus around 2 for our 3 hour bus ride home. I have decided that I hate buses and would rather be in a car on that long of a journey, but I guess I will have to get used to it while I am here...
This week is going to be fun as well with Chelsea's 21st birthday tomorrow (Tuesday) as well as my friend from home, Allie! Justin Bieber on Wednesday! Then St. Pat's on Thursday! Then, I am missing another 21st birthday on Saturday- Sam! It is going to be another busy week, and I will let you know how it goes....
On Saturday, we woke up bright and early to go on our trip to Stonehenge and Bath. It was a crappy bus ride- trying to sleep on a bus was awful with my bad back and it still is killing me! Stonehenge was really cool to see and interesting to learn about. It is so crazy that they don't even know how all the stones got there! From there, we went to Bath, which is known for the Roman Baths located there it's shopping and a setting for 2 of Jane Austen's books. On Saturday, we went through the tour of the Roman Baths, which was so neat! Everything is so old!! It was cool to think that this was all here 2000 years ago! After that, we of course had to go shopping. I didn't spend that much because I am trying to save all my money for Paris in 2 weeks!! :) We went back to the hotel around 5 and took a nap before dinner. We then went out in Bristol (the town where our hotel was) to see how the nightlife was. We basically just walked around for a couple of hours trying to find a club and gave up around 12:30 and came back to the hotel to sleep.
On Sunday, we went back to Bath and went to the Jane Austen Centre! We learned about her life and the time she lived in Bath. Her parents were married in Bath and they moved there after her father retired. Her mother, sister, and her left Bath after her father passed away and Jane wanted to leave. She was a country girl at heart and disliked the city life. She is Bath's most famous citizen and her two books Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are largely set in Bath. After learning about Bath and Jane's life, we had a tea party in the tea room at the Centre. It was the cutest little tea room and we ate scones, cucumber sandwiches, and little pastries. It was so much fun!!
We got on the bus around 2 for our 3 hour bus ride home. I have decided that I hate buses and would rather be in a car on that long of a journey, but I guess I will have to get used to it while I am here...
This week is going to be fun as well with Chelsea's 21st birthday tomorrow (Tuesday) as well as my friend from home, Allie! Justin Bieber on Wednesday! Then St. Pat's on Thursday! Then, I am missing another 21st birthday on Saturday- Sam! It is going to be another busy week, and I will let you know how it goes....
Monday, March 7, 2011
Spring Break Trips are Booked!!
Sooooo... I finalized my plans for Spring Break today, for the most part! I have an AMAZING next two months that include three whole weeks of Spring (Easter) Break. Here is what it looks like----
Wednesday, March 9th: My 21st birthday!
Saturday, March 12th-Sunday, March 13th: Bath/Stonehenge trip with my program
Tuesday, March 15th: Chelsea's 21st birthday!
Wednesday, March 16th: JUSTIN BIEBER Concert in London!
Friday, March 25th-Sunday, March 27th: Paris trip!! (with my program)
March 31st-April 24th: Spring Break! Plans are as follows----
April 1st-4th: Dublin
April 4th-7th(ish): London
April 7th-10th: back to Brighton
April 11th-16th: Florence to visit Shelley
April 17th-20th(ish): Amsterdam (and Lindsay's birthday on April 19th)
April 29th- Royal Wedding-- I don't know if I am going to this or not, but it is still happening and we have a bank holiday because of it.
April 30-May 1st: Oxford/Stratford trip with my program
As you can see, the next few months are going to be AMAZING! There might be a trip to Liverpool next weekend to see the birthplace of The Beatles...
So looking for and trying to book flights is what the past week of my life has consisted of. Nothing else has been going on. I did get two cards in the mail- one from Kelsey Firsick and one from my mom! It was awesome to get mail! :) But super expensive to mail things abroad! Well I know I haven't written much, but I am tired so I am going to bed. I will try and update soon- if not this week, then definitely after I go to Bath and Stonehenge!
Wednesday, March 9th: My 21st birthday!
Saturday, March 12th-Sunday, March 13th: Bath/Stonehenge trip with my program
Tuesday, March 15th: Chelsea's 21st birthday!
Wednesday, March 16th: JUSTIN BIEBER Concert in London!
Friday, March 25th-Sunday, March 27th: Paris trip!! (with my program)
March 31st-April 24th: Spring Break! Plans are as follows----
April 1st-4th: Dublin
April 4th-7th(ish): London
April 7th-10th: back to Brighton
April 11th-16th: Florence to visit Shelley
April 17th-20th(ish): Amsterdam (and Lindsay's birthday on April 19th)
April 29th- Royal Wedding-- I don't know if I am going to this or not, but it is still happening and we have a bank holiday because of it.
April 30-May 1st: Oxford/Stratford trip with my program
As you can see, the next few months are going to be AMAZING! There might be a trip to Liverpool next weekend to see the birthplace of The Beatles...
So looking for and trying to book flights is what the past week of my life has consisted of. Nothing else has been going on. I did get two cards in the mail- one from Kelsey Firsick and one from my mom! It was awesome to get mail! :) But super expensive to mail things abroad! Well I know I haven't written much, but I am tired so I am going to bed. I will try and update soon- if not this week, then definitely after I go to Bath and Stonehenge!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Trip to Brighton Pier!
Chelsea, Lindsay, and I finally took a trip to the Brighton Pier on Thursday. It was a pretty sunny day, but still cold because we were on the sea. The pier was a lot of fun! There were rides at the end and arcade games in the middle. I tried my first crepe at one of the food stands, and it was good! Not as good as I am sure they are in Italy- I will have to try one when I go! After we walked around the pier for awhile, we had tea and ate fish and chips (of course!) at a cute place across the street. The tea was nice because we were so cold. I lost my gloves on the bus a week or so ago and my jacket didn't have pockets, so my hands were freezing!
Some good news: Lindsay, Chelsea, and I are going to the Justin Bieber concert in London on March 16th! Chelsea's birthday is the day before, so it is going to be so much fun! Don't make fun of the fact that I will be 21 years old and going to a 17 year old's concert. Justin Bieber is amazing and I mean that in a strictly platonic way. You can't argue the fact that he has great music...
I can't believe Tuesday is already March 1st, and my 21st is only 10 days away! The weekend after my birthday, we are going to Bath and Stonehenge for 2 days, so that will be a great trip.
There isn't anything else really going on over here, so I will update more when I have more fun things to tell you all! Have a great last few days of February!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
East Sussex Trip!
Hey all!
Yesterday, we took our field trip to East Sussex and it was beautiful! It was difficult to see how pretty it really is though, because it rained ALL day! We took a 40 minute bus ride to Beachy head, where we were supposed to see chalk cliffs and the sea, but it was too foggy to see anything! :( We left pretty soon after we got there, because there was nothing to see, and it was freezing! The wind was horrible and it was spitting rain. It was an awful weather day for our trip. Our advisors from the University who took us on the trip said they would bring us back some day when the weather is better so we could actually see the cliffs.
Next, we went to Alfriston, which is a cute little village in East Sussex. We had some free time to go into the shops. The town is preserved so everything is so old and pretty! We had tea and crumpets (first time trying crumpets- they are SOOO good!!) in this cute little tea place.
After that, we headed to the Six Bells Pub for lunch. I of course had a cider (which is becoming a favorite thing!) with black currant (a type of juice) in it which makes it taste sweeter. I ate something called Paul's Special (Paul is the owner). Is was this french bread with a spicy tomato sauce on top with cheese melted on top of that. Soooo good!! I love pub food!
After lunch, we headed to the town of Battle to Battle Abbey where the Battle of Hastings occurred. The Battle of Hastings was the last time England was successfully invaded, in October of 1066. We spent the rest of the day looking around on the battlefield, in the museum, and the gift shop. It was so cool to be somewhere so old! I took a ton of pictures, and they are all on facebook, so go check them out!
It was a very long, tiring day, and getting into warmth felt amazing! It is a good thing my mom got me the leather Uggs for Christmas! It was so muddy and wet- and my feet were nice and toasty! Also, it is easier to clean the mud off of leather rather than cloth, so they were a good investment, Mom!
I am doing laundry for the first time since being here. It is the longest I have ever gone without doing laundry- 3 weeks!! I pretty much ran out of everything... I am also cleaning my room today and doing homework. A good Sunday spent on getting everything ready for the week. Oh, and also catching up on some of my TV shows! We found a couple websites where we can watch shows from back home so I can watch my favorites: Pretty Little Liars, Glee, Gossip Girl, 90210, and Desperate Housewives.
Update: As many of you know, I told you that my roommate for 2 and a half years is getting married this summer. Well, they found out that Scott is probably going to be deployed before their wedding date... So, they got married yesterday! It was sudden, but so exciting! I haven't seen pictures yet, but they just had a small thing with their family. I am so happy for them and please send some good luck prayers to them for their marriage!! I know they are going to be very happy together. :)
Also, I should share with you that we celebrated my dad's birthday here in jolly England. The two new best friends I made here surprised me with a little cake that we had in memory of him. It was so sweet of them, and it was so good! They tried to find cherry pie (his favorite) but couldn't find one. Even though he might not have liked the cake we ate, I thought it was great and he appreciated the thought. :) I still miss him every day, and know I always will, but I know I will see him again some day and am living my life to the fullest!!
Well that is all for now, I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week ahead!
Yesterday, we took our field trip to East Sussex and it was beautiful! It was difficult to see how pretty it really is though, because it rained ALL day! We took a 40 minute bus ride to Beachy head, where we were supposed to see chalk cliffs and the sea, but it was too foggy to see anything! :( We left pretty soon after we got there, because there was nothing to see, and it was freezing! The wind was horrible and it was spitting rain. It was an awful weather day for our trip. Our advisors from the University who took us on the trip said they would bring us back some day when the weather is better so we could actually see the cliffs.
Next, we went to Alfriston, which is a cute little village in East Sussex. We had some free time to go into the shops. The town is preserved so everything is so old and pretty! We had tea and crumpets (first time trying crumpets- they are SOOO good!!) in this cute little tea place.
After that, we headed to the Six Bells Pub for lunch. I of course had a cider (which is becoming a favorite thing!) with black currant (a type of juice) in it which makes it taste sweeter. I ate something called Paul's Special (Paul is the owner). Is was this french bread with a spicy tomato sauce on top with cheese melted on top of that. Soooo good!! I love pub food!
After lunch, we headed to the town of Battle to Battle Abbey where the Battle of Hastings occurred. The Battle of Hastings was the last time England was successfully invaded, in October of 1066. We spent the rest of the day looking around on the battlefield, in the museum, and the gift shop. It was so cool to be somewhere so old! I took a ton of pictures, and they are all on facebook, so go check them out!
It was a very long, tiring day, and getting into warmth felt amazing! It is a good thing my mom got me the leather Uggs for Christmas! It was so muddy and wet- and my feet were nice and toasty! Also, it is easier to clean the mud off of leather rather than cloth, so they were a good investment, Mom!
I am doing laundry for the first time since being here. It is the longest I have ever gone without doing laundry- 3 weeks!! I pretty much ran out of everything... I am also cleaning my room today and doing homework. A good Sunday spent on getting everything ready for the week. Oh, and also catching up on some of my TV shows! We found a couple websites where we can watch shows from back home so I can watch my favorites: Pretty Little Liars, Glee, Gossip Girl, 90210, and Desperate Housewives.
Update: As many of you know, I told you that my roommate for 2 and a half years is getting married this summer. Well, they found out that Scott is probably going to be deployed before their wedding date... So, they got married yesterday! It was sudden, but so exciting! I haven't seen pictures yet, but they just had a small thing with their family. I am so happy for them and please send some good luck prayers to them for their marriage!! I know they are going to be very happy together. :)
Also, I should share with you that we celebrated my dad's birthday here in jolly England. The two new best friends I made here surprised me with a little cake that we had in memory of him. It was so sweet of them, and it was so good! They tried to find cherry pie (his favorite) but couldn't find one. Even though he might not have liked the cake we ate, I thought it was great and he appreciated the thought. :) I still miss him every day, and know I always will, but I know I will see him again some day and am living my life to the fullest!!
Well that is all for now, I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week ahead!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
First week of classes... done!
So I am done with my first week of classes and they weren't too bad. I was actually done on Wednesday after 12pm! My schedule changed a little bit. I couldn't get into the Critical Addiction Studies class on Thursday, because it was already full, which I am not really surprised about, because the class sounded really interesting! So instead, I am taking Social Context of Health and Illness on Mondays from 9-10am then the seminar from 10am-12pm. This class will probably be dropped though. I am in the process of talking to my study away advisor from back home to see if I can get away with only taking 12 hours instead of 15. It looks like it is going to work out! :) So my schedule is looking pretty awesome! I love not having classes on Thursday or Friday. 4 day weekends all semester are going to be fabulous!
I am learning way more outside of going to classes than I thought I would! Even though we speak the same language there are so many words that are different or used differently it's crazy! There schooling system is even way different. They have high school from age 14-16 then from 16-18 they go to college. Their college is what we would do as general education requirements in our college. After that, they go to a university for three years. So for them college and university are two different things. So, they pick an area (what we call a major) and are on a set path for the three years they are at a university... Since I am a foreign exchange student (feels so weird to say that), I can pick whatever classes I want. I am all over the place in classes with first years, second years, and third years. It has been an interesting experience so far.
We haven't done anything exciting really except go to pubs and clubs- it's all British people do! I am definitely not complaining though. They seem to stay out later than we do back in the States so we are trying to get used to not getting home until 4am or later... Rough life, right? Next weekend, we are taking a day trip to East Sussex, which I am very excited about!
Well this is all for now. It is nice and sunny out (YAY!) so we are going to go shopping in town. More later!
I am learning way more outside of going to classes than I thought I would! Even though we speak the same language there are so many words that are different or used differently it's crazy! There schooling system is even way different. They have high school from age 14-16 then from 16-18 they go to college. Their college is what we would do as general education requirements in our college. After that, they go to a university for three years. So for them college and university are two different things. So, they pick an area (what we call a major) and are on a set path for the three years they are at a university... Since I am a foreign exchange student (feels so weird to say that), I can pick whatever classes I want. I am all over the place in classes with first years, second years, and third years. It has been an interesting experience so far.
We haven't done anything exciting really except go to pubs and clubs- it's all British people do! I am definitely not complaining though. They seem to stay out later than we do back in the States so we are trying to get used to not getting home until 4am or later... Rough life, right? Next weekend, we are taking a day trip to East Sussex, which I am very excited about!
Well this is all for now. It is nice and sunny out (YAY!) so we are going to go shopping in town. More later!
Monday, February 7, 2011
First day of classes
Well today was my first day of classes, and as you can see by my schedule, I only had one class today. It was very interesting. It seems more laid back here. We call our instructors (called tutors) by their first name. Our discussion was fun- I like having small groups to talk about questions with the lecture material and getting to know people in my class better.
I was super tired for my class today, because I was out until 4am watching the super bowl. It was awesome to still be able to watch the game while I am over here! We did miss all of the commercials so if any of you have any favorite commercials from last night- tell me what they are so I can look them up on youtube and watch them! I was very excited that the Packers won- I figured I would root for them since I live closer to Green Bay than Pittsburgh... and I have some family friends who are big Packers fans...
This week, there isn't much going on besides going to classes but I will keep you updated if anything exciting happens.
Cheerio!
I was super tired for my class today, because I was out until 4am watching the super bowl. It was awesome to still be able to watch the game while I am over here! We did miss all of the commercials so if any of you have any favorite commercials from last night- tell me what they are so I can look them up on youtube and watch them! I was very excited that the Packers won- I figured I would root for them since I live closer to Green Bay than Pittsburgh... and I have some family friends who are big Packers fans...
This week, there isn't much going on besides going to classes but I will keep you updated if anything exciting happens.
Cheerio!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My Schedule!
I just got my schedule for the semester and I thought I would share it with you all!
Mondays: 1-2pm & 3-4pm: Developing a Therapeutic Relationship
Tuesday: 9-10am & 10-11am: Care, Well Being, and Interdependence
12-2pm & 2-3pm: Critical Psychology Theories and Methods
Wednesday: 9-11am & 11am-12pm: Developmental Psychology
Thursday: 2-3pm & 3-4pm: Critical Addiction Studies
No class on Fridays!
I am pretty exciting about my schedule! The first time is the lecture and the second time is the seminar which is like a discussion.
Mondays: 1-2pm & 3-4pm: Developing a Therapeutic Relationship
Tuesday: 9-10am & 10-11am: Care, Well Being, and Interdependence
12-2pm & 2-3pm: Critical Psychology Theories and Methods
Wednesday: 9-11am & 11am-12pm: Developmental Psychology
Thursday: 2-3pm & 3-4pm: Critical Addiction Studies
No class on Fridays!
I am pretty exciting about my schedule! The first time is the lecture and the second time is the seminar which is like a discussion.
Friday, February 4, 2011
London Trip!
Yesterday, all the USAC students went on a day trip to London. It was amazing! We took a tour of the city given by our two advisors from USAC. We walked by Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, the River Thames. For lunch, we had fish and chips, which is now a favorite and I had my first glass of cider! After the tour, Chelsea, Lindsay, Laura (another girl from my program who lives in the flat above me) went shopping in downtown London and I got two great dresses. When we came back, Lindsay, Chelsea, and I went out for our British friend, Ben's birthday. We went to this awesome club downtown.
Sorry I don't have much more to say, it was really just a day full of sightseeing!
Sorry I don't have much more to say, it was really just a day full of sightseeing!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I AM HERE!!!
Well I have actually been here for two days now, but internet explorer is absolute CRAP and wouldn't let me post anything. So sorry it took me so long to update you all on everything going on in the UK.
With that being said, I have a lot to talk about...
First of all, I realized I hate traveling long distances by myself. The plane ride wasn't awful except I couldn't fall asleep! Which was really frustrating!! I arrived in London-Gatwick 45 min. ahead of schedule. Getting on the train with my 48 pound suitcase, a carry on suitcase, and my very heavy backpack was awful. I suggest if you want to travel anywhere for 4 and a half months, travel with someone! The train to Brighton was only 30 min. but the whole time I was thinking, "What did I get myself into?" Why did I think it would be fun to travel to a new country by myself for an entire semester?? Am I crazy?" I have now realized I am not crazy but when I was thinking these things, I was sleep deprived which made me a little emotional.
After that, I had to catch another train to Falmer. From there, I got a very short taxi ride (with the nicest taxi driver ever) over to my campus. I got to my flat at 8:30am and we have the farthest flat away from the middle of campus (and where I had to check in to get my key). So that was a pain! Our flat is like a small floor in a dorm. There are 8 rooms, one person in each room, with a lounge/kitchen for all of us to share. We each have a tiny bathroom with a shower in each of our rooms. The shower consists of the corner of the bathroom with a curtain over it. (Pictures are coming.)
By this point, I am stressed, extremely tired, and just want to talk to someone! But, everyone was asleep because I got here so early and I didn't want to wake anyone up. So, I called my mom and Kevin on the minutes I bought on skype to call cell phones and told them about my tiring experience. This only made me miss home even more. I had gotten here and had no one to talk to, my room was freezing and I couldn't figure out the heater, and I also couldn't get my adapter into the socket so my computer was dying. It was a rough day, to say the least.
Finally, I heard some people in my flat moving around so I went to go introduce myself. The rest of the day went well. We went shopping in downtown Brighton to get some essentials and had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, which I didn't like very much. I think I just got the wrong thing...
Moving on to my adventures from yesterday! We had orientation in the morning and talked about the school and all of our field trips. I absolutely LOVE our program advisors! They really know what they are doing and are very friendly! We spent the rest of the day shopping for food to bring back to our flat. We went out last night with some British friends Chelsea and Lindsay (two of my flat mates) made the night before who go to our University. We went to two pubs/clubs downtown on the coast. It was so cool to be right near the sea! Madison (a girl in my program) and I ran on the beach (not a sand beach but a pebble beach) and went up to the edge to touch the water. It was freezing but so much fun!! After the two clubs, we went to eat our first fish and chips in England which were INCREDIBLE! Definitely going to be eating that a lot. And along those lines, I am planning on getting a membership to the gym on campus so I don't gain weight from all the grease! After the fish and chips, we went to a casino, which was pretty small, and I didn't gamble at all, just watched others. We finally got home around 4:30AM and were so exhausted we went straight to bed. What a great first night out in Brighton!! Well there is probably something I forgot, but I am going to end here since it is so long already.
Cheerio!
With that being said, I have a lot to talk about...
First of all, I realized I hate traveling long distances by myself. The plane ride wasn't awful except I couldn't fall asleep! Which was really frustrating!! I arrived in London-Gatwick 45 min. ahead of schedule. Getting on the train with my 48 pound suitcase, a carry on suitcase, and my very heavy backpack was awful. I suggest if you want to travel anywhere for 4 and a half months, travel with someone! The train to Brighton was only 30 min. but the whole time I was thinking, "What did I get myself into?" Why did I think it would be fun to travel to a new country by myself for an entire semester?? Am I crazy?" I have now realized I am not crazy but when I was thinking these things, I was sleep deprived which made me a little emotional.
After that, I had to catch another train to Falmer. From there, I got a very short taxi ride (with the nicest taxi driver ever) over to my campus. I got to my flat at 8:30am and we have the farthest flat away from the middle of campus (and where I had to check in to get my key). So that was a pain! Our flat is like a small floor in a dorm. There are 8 rooms, one person in each room, with a lounge/kitchen for all of us to share. We each have a tiny bathroom with a shower in each of our rooms. The shower consists of the corner of the bathroom with a curtain over it. (Pictures are coming.)
By this point, I am stressed, extremely tired, and just want to talk to someone! But, everyone was asleep because I got here so early and I didn't want to wake anyone up. So, I called my mom and Kevin on the minutes I bought on skype to call cell phones and told them about my tiring experience. This only made me miss home even more. I had gotten here and had no one to talk to, my room was freezing and I couldn't figure out the heater, and I also couldn't get my adapter into the socket so my computer was dying. It was a rough day, to say the least.
Finally, I heard some people in my flat moving around so I went to go introduce myself. The rest of the day went well. We went shopping in downtown Brighton to get some essentials and had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, which I didn't like very much. I think I just got the wrong thing...
Moving on to my adventures from yesterday! We had orientation in the morning and talked about the school and all of our field trips. I absolutely LOVE our program advisors! They really know what they are doing and are very friendly! We spent the rest of the day shopping for food to bring back to our flat. We went out last night with some British friends Chelsea and Lindsay (two of my flat mates) made the night before who go to our University. We went to two pubs/clubs downtown on the coast. It was so cool to be right near the sea! Madison (a girl in my program) and I ran on the beach (not a sand beach but a pebble beach) and went up to the edge to touch the water. It was freezing but so much fun!! After the two clubs, we went to eat our first fish and chips in England which were INCREDIBLE! Definitely going to be eating that a lot. And along those lines, I am planning on getting a membership to the gym on campus so I don't gain weight from all the grease! After the fish and chips, we went to a casino, which was pretty small, and I didn't gamble at all, just watched others. We finally got home around 4:30AM and were so exhausted we went straight to bed. What a great first night out in Brighton!! Well there is probably something I forgot, but I am going to end here since it is so long already.
Cheerio!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Yes, I gave in and created my very own blog.
Hello!
I know I told some of my friends that I would NOT be blogging, but I caved. I saw a friend's blog and got a little jealous. I realized that I should utilize this cool technological tool while I study abroad this semester in the U.K. Europe. I was originally going to stick to just facebook, but some of my family who want to keep up with my travels don't have facebook! Hence, I created this very awesome blog.
At the moment, nothing extremely exciting is happening to me. I am just packing and readying myself to go to Brighton, England. Mom and I have even been looking up some British slang. For example, do you really know what wanker means? I didn't realize it was so vulgar, and have decided to not use the word in the future. So this last week I will spend my time packing, sleeping, and learning about what British words NOT to say so I don't look like a dumb American.
You will hear more from me when I am actually in the exciting country of ENGLAND.
Cheerio! (Not the cereal- it means goodbye in British slang)
I know I told some of my friends that I would NOT be blogging, but I caved. I saw a friend's blog and got a little jealous. I realized that I should utilize this cool technological tool while I study abroad this semester in the U.K. Europe. I was originally going to stick to just facebook, but some of my family who want to keep up with my travels don't have facebook! Hence, I created this very awesome blog.
At the moment, nothing extremely exciting is happening to me. I am just packing and readying myself to go to Brighton, England. Mom and I have even been looking up some British slang. For example, do you really know what wanker means? I didn't realize it was so vulgar, and have decided to not use the word in the future. So this last week I will spend my time packing, sleeping, and learning about what British words NOT to say so I don't look like a dumb American.
You will hear more from me when I am actually in the exciting country of ENGLAND.
Cheerio! (Not the cereal- it means goodbye in British slang)
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