The Royal Wedding!

The Queen and Prince Phillip!

I just got back to my room after spending 27 hours at the Mall for the Royal Wedding!  It was absolutely amazing!  We got to the Mall at 11 on Thursday morning and it was already crazy!  We stood and watched the Today Show for a while before getting our camping area.  We were able to camp right outside of the Clarence House, which is where William and Harry spent the last night.  People were coming in and out all night.  At one point, we were sitting at our camp site when someone told us that David Cameron, the Prime Minister was walking around.  I ended up getting to shake his hand which was pretty cool.

David Cameron

Meeting Prince William!

Then, I had one if the highlights of my life!  Renae and I were walking around because it looked like someone famous was getting ready to leave Clarence House.  A police officer told us that we should stay where we were and not attract anymore attention to ourselves and not encourage people to come stand by us.  We tried asking him why but he only said that if we did that, we would be very happy.  So, we're standing there when all of the sudden, William and Harry walk out of the house and start shaking hands with the people outside.  I GOT TO MEET PRINCE WILLIAM!  It was awesome!  I got to see Harry, but didn't actually get to meet him.

We all slept on some blankets last night at our camp out.  It got a little cold, but our seats were totally worth it.  We got to see William and Harry leave, Charles and Camilla, the rest of the Queen's children, the Queen and Prince Phillip and then Kate and her dad leave for Westminster Abbey.  The service was broadcasts over load speakers everywhere so we could hear all of it and cheer when they said their vows!  Then, I got to see William and Kate in the carriage and then the Queen!  It was awesome!  What a perfect way to start winding down my time in London!

William and Kate!

Winding down

I had such a great week with mom and Karen here.  It went so fast though.  We hit pretty much all of the tourist hot spots.  We rode the red buses, the eye, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and tons of other stuff.  We also made it to Paris for a day.  We lucked out and had beautiful weather for our trip to France.  We took the eurostar which was amazing.  It took us a little over 2 hours to get to a different country which is crazy! We took a riverboat cruise around Paris, had lunch on the Eiffel Tower and then wandered around for a while.

It's hard to believe that I have less then a month here.  I was at my internship today and realized that I only have 2 more days left.  It's really bitter sweet.  The people I work with are so awesome and I'm a little bummed to have to try and a job in the U.S. because I'm worried that nothing will compare to my internship.  Oh well.

It's off to Italy for spring break this week.

Family!

Hello everyone!  This past week has been so jam packed but so awesome!  I celebrated my 21st birthday last week and what better place to celebrate then London?  It was a gorgeous day outside, lots of sunshine and I didn't have a single thing to do all day!  It was perfect!  I also hit up the Imperial War Museum this past week.  I didn't think I would be a huge fan of it, but the exhibits were amazing.  There was a replica of a trench, that looked, smelled and sounded like a trench from WWI and then a 'Blitz Experience.'  It was interesting to see the World Wars from a different perspective.  I'm so used to seeing them from the American point of view, and I've never even realized how lucky we are to have not had to fight on our own land.  There was also a Holocaust portion of the museum.  It was a little hard to get through, and I still can't really wrap my head around the reasons for it.

I went to Spring Convention this past weekend for my internship and I was able to see all of the little things that I have been working on at the office pay off.  I got to meet the presenters that I had been reading about and I even did a few of the sessions.  I did a ViPR circuit and it was the hardest workout I have ever done in my life!  I couldn't walk without pain for the rest of the weekend.  I also listened to Mark Foster, who is an Olympic swimmer and then I did a Zumba class on Sunday.  It was an exhausting weekend but a ton of fun too.  I felt like I was really submerged in the British culture.  I ate a roast dinner, watched a college rugby game and even watched the Grand National horse race (which was really depressing).  It was the first time language has really been an issue for me though, because I'm used to being around a lot of other Americans, but this weekend, I was one of the lone Americans, it was still a blast though!

On Monday morning, I headed off to Heathrow to pick up Mom and Karen!  It was so nice to see a couple of familiar faces after being away from home for so long.  On Monday, we did a big red bus tour, which I had been waiting to do for so long!  Tuesday, we really did London.  We started our day at Westminster Abbey.  The building is absolutely stunning, both inside and out.  It was a little depressing though because I had no idea how many people are buried in the building.  Poet's corner was another one of my favorites part of the Abbey along with the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.  After Westminster Abbey, we took a cab (my first one since being in London) over to the Tower of London.  We waited to get a tour with a Beefeater, and it was so worth it.  He was a riot!  I felt like a really learned a lot though, which is always a plus.  I think Mom and Karen had a great time there too.  We got the chance to check out the crown jewels, and boy are they impressive.  I think the 535 karat diamond was my favorite...its almost unfair that the Queen actually gets to wear all that stuff!  That night, I went on the London Eye for the first time with the rest of our tour group.  I can't believe I had waited so long to do it, because it was awesome.  We lucked out and had a really nice night, so it looked like London just went on and on.

Tomorrow, it's off to Brighton to spend a day at the beach...I cannot wait!  

Ireland!

I said that Barcelona was my favorite place, but it has been taken over by IRELAND!  I never wanted to leave.  It was such a beautiful place, and everyone was so friendly.  You never even had to directions, if you looked lost, some nice Irish person would come over to help.  We started our trip pretty early (4am) but ended up getting into Dublin by around 9.  We weren't exactly sure what to do so we went to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery.  We got to take a guided tour around the old distillery that has been transformed into a museum type area resembling the original building.  At the beginning of the tour, I had volunteered for a surprise at the end because our tour guide said it involved us getting free stuff.  I couldn't resist!  After learning how to make whiskey, us 8 volunteers had to go sit in front of the rest of the group and compare 3 different kinds of whiskey, the leading Scottish whiskey, Jameson and the leading American whiskey, Jack Daniels.  Americans really need to take a hint from the Irish because they sure do know how to do it!

Jameson Whiskey Distillery

After Jameson, we went to the next logical place...the Guinness Storehouse!  The place was absolutely massive.  When you first walk in, you're standing in a giant pint glass.  The women who gave us a quick introduction said that you could fit over 7 million pints of Guinness in this one glass.  Here, we learned what ingredients go into the Guinness and how it is actually made.  The rest of the storehouse is used as a museum type place where you can see previous advertisements and how the Guinness gets from the Storehouse in Dublin to the rest of the world.  It was pretty cool stuff.  After that, I learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness.  These people have it down to a science!  First off, you have to start with the logo facing you and the pint glass tipped to 45 degrees and touching the tap.  Then you pull the tap forward and fill it until it touches the bottom of the word Guinness on the glass.  Then you hold the glass straight up and down until the Guinness reaches the middle of the harp.  You have to let it sit for 119 seconds and then you hold it straight up and down again while pushing the tap backwards and filling it to the top.  When you push the tap backwards, no gases come out with the beer so you can fill it over the top without it spilling over...who knew?

My perfect pint of Guinness!

On Saturday, we decided to take a tour of the Wicklow area.  It was seriously the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen in my life!  The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the grass was green...it was perfection.  I saw the Irish sea, and it was clear enough that I could even see over to Wales.  The first stop on our tour (the tea break) was in a small area called Glencree.  The British built barracks there during one of the wars, and today the barracks is still standing, but there are really pretty lavender flowers growing on the stone.  I saw my fist bog on this trip too.  I never knew much about them, but our tour guide, Joe (the most adorable and friendly Irishmen you will ever meet), told us how dangerous they are.  After hearing that I think I'll be staying away from them.  Our next stop of the day was definitely my favorite.  For those of you who have seen P.S. I Love You, we stopped at the bridge where Gerry and Holly meet for the first time.  After being there I can totally see why the producers chose that spot to film at.  It was gorgeous!  The stone bridge was sitting just over a small creek with little waterfalls.  It was so peaceful and pretty, I can't really even describe it in words, so here is a picture!

The bridge from P.S. I Love You!

The next stop was at a lake that looked like a pint of Guinness.  The Guinness corporation must have figured this out because they had a ton of beach sand brought in and put at the one end of the lake to look like the foam of the beer and then used it in an actual advertisement.  At first I didn't see it, but after Joe explained it to me, it suddenly appeared to me.  The house in the bottom right corner is where the Beatles stayed when they were in Ireland.  Joe told us that Paul McCartney was wandering around the lake one day when the song "Yesterday" came into his head.  Pretty cool stuff. 

"Pint of Guinness" if the picture was a little wider, the house the Beatles stayed in would be on the bottom right.

Next on our drive around the Irish country side was a little place called Glendalough.  It is a town where there used to be a monostary.  It was almost creepy because there was a huge cemetery and then the remnants of an old church.  Only the walls were left standing, but I'm sure it was a beautiful church in its day.  There were 2 lakes around Glendalough and our group walked to the first of the lakes.  The lake was very pretty and peaceful and there were some pretty adorable sheep running around.

Remains of the church

The last stop on our day trip was at a restaurant for lunch and a wool mill in Avoca.  The restaurant was used to film the show Bally Kiss Angel.  I had never heard of it, but I guess it was a really popular show.  The food was really good.  The wool mill was awesome.  There were so many different colors of yarn and the scarves and other things that they were making were so pretty.  I would have been dangerous if I would have taken my credit card in with me.  

That night, we decided to go to the Arlington in Dublin for some live music.  We went a listened to a cover type band, and they were pretty awesome.  We also met some super nice people.  Everyone there was just dancing around and having a great time.  After the Arlington, a few of us decided to go to Temple Bar.  This area is really famous but I'm not exactly sure what for besides having a lot of bars.  We went to the actual Temple Bar in the Temple Bar area, and it was huge.  It was covered in twinkle lights and there were places to stand outside with heat lamps so you didn't have to worry about getting cold.  We were sitting there talking when we met this guy from North Dakota...small world!

The Temple Bar

On Sunday, we decided to head to the National Leprechaun Museum.  We learned all about the different myths and such that led to leprechauns.  We walked through a magic tunnel where we 'shrunk' and then into a room where all of the furniture was giant so we felt like leprechauns.  Then we found a rainbow and even the pot of gold.  At the end, we got to color our own pictures and then hang them up in the museum.  

On some 'giant' furniture

The last part of the day was spent at St. Patrick's cathedral.  I was a little bummed that I didn't have time to get inside, but we had a plane to get to.  The cathedral was so beautiful though.  It was huge and there was a really pretty park next to it that had tulips blooming everywhere.  Who said that leaving Pella for a semester had to mean going without tulips.  Overall, Ireland was amazing!  Someday, when I'm rich, I'll have to go back for a few weeks so I can make it to all of the places that I missed during this trip!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Barcelona!!

Barcelona is officially my favorite new place!  I had heard that it was beautiful but I had no idea just how amazing it would actually be.  I met my good friend Nikki and a couple of her friends who are also studying in Spain there.  We got there late on a Thursday night so we didn't really see much of the city until the next morning.  The first place we went was the Segrada Familia.  Gaudi orginially built this huge church but he was killed before it was finished.  The church is still not finished yet, but it is stunning!  They told us that it would be at least 25 years before it was completed.  After the church we hopped on a sightseeing bus to tour the city.  We had such beautiful weather for the whole trip so we were able to sit on the open deck on the bus.  We saw Las Ramblas, Park Guell, which was also created by Gaudi and everything else that Barcelona had to offer.  That night, we found the 1992 Barcelona Olympic site.  It was the first time that I had ever looked into an Olympic stadium and it rocked!  After the Olympics we went to the Magic Fountains.  They are a series of fountains and waterfalls that all go to a huge fountain that 'performs' each night.  There are lights and music and it's such a cool experience.
The next day, we went to Camp Nou, which is Football Club Barcelona's stadium.  The stadium was huge!  We saw the field, press box, visiting locker rooms, and all sorts of other stuff.  I had never been on a stadium tour before, but it was totally worth seeing.  After Camp Nou, we went to Las Ramblas, which is an area where you can eat, shop and just look around.  I had paella for lunch which was delicious and after doing some shopping around, we ended up at the Mediterranean Sea.  The water was such a pretty color so we sat and relaxed for a few minutes.  Then it was time for churros and sangria.  Me encanta Barcelona!

A weekend in Bath

I just got back from a weekend out of London.  Our class went to Dyrham Park, Bath and Lacock.  It was nice to get out of the hussle and bussle of the big city for a few days.  The first place we stopped was Dyrham Park.  It is an old estate and the house is absolutely massive.  There is also a church on the grounds and a beautiful garden with ponds and everything else.  After Dyrham Park we drove to Bath.  It is such a gorgeous city.  I saw Pulteney Bridge, which is one of 3 bridges that are actually inhabited, the Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths, and so much more.  Bath is surrounded by huge hills that houses are built up on.  The first night in Bath we visited the Roman Baths.  It is so amazing that the water is still coming from under the Earth's surface and is still just as warm as it would have been when the Romans were using them.
The next day, a few of us decided to take an impromptu trip up to Stonehenge.  It was only about an hour away from Bath and it was quite a sight.  It's not somewhere to spend a whole day, but it is definitely something that you have to see.  It is mind blowing how people would have moved these giant rocks back when there was no machinery or other things.  That afternoon I took my first double decked bus tour around Bath and learned all about the city.  There is so much history in the city and it was a beautiful day to be riding around on an open top bus.
On Sunday, the group went to Lacock.  It is an old English village and all the buildings are left alone so it looks like it may have looked a hundred years ago.  We went to the Lacock Abbey, which is where many of the scenes from the first 2 Harry Potter movies were filmed.  We also saw where the first photograph was taken and got to play dress up in old clothes.  Then I had cream tea, which is just English tea served with a scone and clotted cream, our a mix of butter and whipped cream.  Yum!
The weeks are starting to fly by here and it is hard to believe that this was the halfway point of my trip.  The rest of the weekends are already filled up with trips so I'm sure that the second half of the semester is going to go even faster then the first!

Dyrham Park

Bath Abbey

Roman Baths

Royal Crescent in Bath

Stonehenge

Lacock Abbey

Corridors from Harry Potter in the abbey

Village of Lacock

Another Fun Week!

Hi everyone!  It has been another crazy and fun week in London.  For my theatre class, I got to go see "As You Like It" at the Rose Theatre.  It was a pretty awesome place to watch Shakespeare from.  I made it through another week of my internship and then it was back to the weekend!  I went to the London Aquarium.  It was so fun.  They had sharks, sea turtles, nemo fish, dory fish, crocodiles and a ton more.  I also got the chance to go to Windsor Castle this weekend.  It was a quick bus trip up to Windsor and the castle was amazing!  We got to go inside on a tour, even though we looked like total tourists with our audio guides and headphones.  The State apartments were so beautiful.  We got to see the giant dining room where the Queen still hosts state dinners and such and some of the more private dining rooms.  We got to see some great artwork too.  The Queen was even home while we were on our tour, but we didn't get to see her.  After our tour we walked around Windsor for a while, and it is such a cute town.  We found a cupcake shop and I had a delicious red velvet cupcake!  Yum!

The King's Speech

WOW!  I went to the King's Speech yesterday and it was absolutely amazing!  For those of you who are reading this...go see the kings speech!!

Greenwich

Yesterday, I went to Greenwich on a day trip.  It's only about 4 miles out of Central London, but there is such a huge difference in the towns.  Greenwich was so laid back and I didn't feel like I was having to spring across the road to avoid being hit by taxis.  To get to Greenwich, our group took a river boat down the River Thames.  It was a great way to see the London Eye, Tower Bridge and all of the other monuments on the river.  When we got to Greenwich, we walked up a huge hill to get to the Royal Observatory.  This is the spot where the prime meridian is located.  I was able to stand on the line and have half of my body in the Eastern hemisphere and the other half in the Western hemisphere.  It was such a cool feeling.  There was also a great view from the top of this hill.  You could see all of Canary Wharf, the new financial district, the O2 arena, and the Queen's Gallery, Queen's House and the Royal Naval College.  It was such a beautiful view and it was sunny out so everything just looked prettier!

After we walked back down the giant hill, we walked through the Queen's Gallery and took a tour of the Queen's House, which was originally built for Queen Anne.  It was filled with artwork and it was a little depressing because all of it was centered around ship wrecks.  Next, we went to the National Maritime Museum.  It was very cool inside and there was an exhibition of toy boats going on while we were there.
For lunch, we ate at Cafe Sol.  It was a Mexican restaurant and it was delicious!  I haven't had Mexican food since I left the States, and I had been craving it so much.  I'm glad I was finally able to curb my craving, at least for a little while.

We took a driver less train back into Central London, called the DLR, and it was a lot of fun.  The tube runs underground, so most of the time that you are on it, you have no idea where you are actually going.  It was fun to actually see building and people as we came home.  We stopped at Canary Wharf and wandered around the mall type area that is there.  We found a Tiffany's and I was so pumped because I have never been into one before.  It was gorgeous!!

Today, a group of us are going to see The King's Speech.  I've heard that it is a great movie and I figure London is the perfect place to see it in.

Amsterdam & Brugge

I just got home from Amsterdam and Brugge and it was quite the experience.  To get to Amsterdam, we took a coach.  The coach drove onto a ferry at the Port of Dover, which was a little creepy.  I watched as semis, cars and other coaches piled off the ferry and was a little worried that our ferry would sink.  Luckily, we made it across the English Chanel and landed in France about an hour later.  From France, we drove through Belgium and then stopped for lunch in the Netherlands.  We got to Amsterdam that night and the first tour we went on was one of the red light district.  I was not sure what to expect at all, but it was actually a really cool experience. There were rows and rows of windows and we walked around for a long time and I'm sure we didn't see even close to everyone.  It was a little strange though because there is a church in the red light district and families live above the girls' windows.  Now, I realize that it is just a way of life there and not really a big deal for the locals.  The next day, we went out of Amsterdam to a small town call Volendam.  We went on a tour of a cheese and clog farm where the group learned how cheese and wooden clogs are made.  We even got to sample some of the cheese and it was delicious.  My favorite was either the garlic and onion cheese or the ham cheese (there were actually chunks of ham in the cheese...YUM)!  We went back into Amsterdam and took a quick driving tour of the city and then we took a canal tour.  There were so many canals and it was a great way to see the city.  It was really rainy and crappy so after wandering around for a while we decided to head back to the hotel to dry off and warm up.  That night, we went to a bar in Amsterdam and then out for dinner at a really cute Italian restaurant.  The next morning, we left for Brugge, Belgium.  It is a very touristy town, but also very cute.  We walked along the canals and found the Markt and Burg, which were like the city squares.  Then we ate fries, waffles and chocolate and now I know why Belgium is famous for it!  Before heading back to London, we stopped at a Belgian chocolate factory.  I did pretty well and only bought one bag of chocolate, I'm already in enough of a sugar coma from this trip as it is!

Jack the Ripper

Tonight, our favorite tour guide, took us out for one last tour in London.  We didn't leave for our tour until 7, so it was already dark when we started.  They call this the Jack the Ripper tour.  I wasn't really sure what to expect and was a little creeped out before we left but it was really cool.  We walked around the East end of London, where all of the murders actually took place.  It was like our own private detective story.  We learned about when the murders started, the state of horror they put the city in and most importantly, all of the different conspiracy theories behind all of the stories.  Parts of the tour were pretty nasty but it was still really interesting to actually learn about a time in history that is so mysterious.  It seems so strange to me that no one ever truly figured out who this man was.  We learned about several of the suspects, and one of them actually turned out to be an American!  Other then a great tour today, I finished yet another week of my internship.  I'm still really enjoying it and getting excited to see my work pay off at the spring convention.  This weekend, I'm headed to Amsterdam and Brugges, Belgium.  It is supposed to be beautiful!  Our tour takes us by bus and ferry and we are going to drive the France and the Netherlands.  I can't wait!  It's hard to believe that in one week, I have gone from Scotland, to walking the paths of Jack the Ripper and am getting ready to leave for the Netherlands!  I really have it rough = )

Scotland!

I just got home from Scotland and I can say that it is by far the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen in my entire life!  A group of us, me, Renae, Emily, Anna and Rachel, left from London at 6:30 on Friday morning and took a train to Edinburgh.  It was a really pretty train ride and as we got closer to Edinburgh we got to see the North Sea.  When we got into Edinburgh, Robin, our tour guide, met the group by the train.  He had his kilt on and he loaded us all on a bus and we went on a bus tour of Edinburgh.  When we got out to look at a castle, he led us there by playing the bag pipes.  They are such a pretty instrument and it seemed like no matter where you were in the city, you could hear the bag pipes echoing in the distance.  We ended up staying at a bed and breakfast just outside the city center and it was too cute.  All of our beds had blue plaid comforters and we even had a skeleton key to get in and out of our rooms.  The breakfast was delicious too.  On day 2, we went on a tour of the Scottish Highlands.  It was absolutely gorgeous!  It was so strange though because when we left Edinburgh in the morning, it was raining, when we stopped just into the Highlands, it was snowing and at Loch Ness, it was sunny.  One of the first stops we made on the bus tour was to see hairy coos.  They are just cows that are super fuzzy and have big horns.  They are adorable.  The 2 that we got to see up close were named Heather and Hamish.  They are expecting a calf soon, but I'm sure the babies are even cuter.  The next time we stopped, we were in Glencoe.  There are 3 big mountains there, called the 3 sisters of Glencoe, and they are beautiful.  We also stopped at Loch Ness during our tour.  I kept on the lookout for Nessie, but I didn't catch a glimpse of her.  Peter, our tour guide and bus driver for the day, told us that the Loch is 700 feet deep and contains black holes where no one knows how deep it could be.  It was also eerily still on Loch Ness.  There was no movement at all, no birds, no fish, no nothing.  We even got to get into the Loch and it was so cold.  The top of the Loch stays at about 2 degrees Celsius throughout the year so I was glad that I only put my feet in.  On our final day in Scotland, we took a tour of the Edinburgh Castle.  It is located on a huge hill that overlooks the entire city so there were some great views.  We also got to walk through some war museums, restored parts of the original castle and see the Scottish crown jewels.  

Home Cooked Meal

Hey everyone!  I just had one of the best meals ever.  Mark and Beth, our program directors, made the whole program a traditional British dinner tonight.  We had shepard's pie,  peas and bread and butter pudding with a custard topping for dessert.  It was delicious!  Yesterday was Valentine's Day and the London Eye looked adorable.  It was a red/pinkish color last night and there were some twinkling lights that were lining it.  We went off to a play last night, When We Were Married, and it was in an old theatre.  There was a beautiful chandelier and the seats were a red velour type material. This weekend I am off to Scotland.  The plan is to leave early on Friday morning and then get to Edinburgh by lunch time.  Then we are going on a tour of the city.  On Saturday, we are going on a bus tour to the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness.  Who knows, maybe I'll catch a glimpse of Nessie?

Another Week in London

Its been a little while since I have last updated my blog and it has been a pretty crazy week.  I made it through week 2 of my internship and I'm still really enjoying it.  I've been helping with travel plans so I think that is really going to help me when we start planning trips here.  On Tuesday night, the whole program went out for an Pakastani meal.  It was so good!  It was a little spicy but everything was just so delicious.  We had this giant plate full of grilled BBQ meats from lamb, lamb chops, chicken and fish, then tortilla type shells with all sorts of yummy dipping sauces and deep fat fried veggies and onions.  Then the main course came.  There was chicken, lentil, beef, lamb and vegetable curries, rice and this delicious bread.  I've never eaten this type of food before but I was really impressed.

On Wednesday night, our theatre class went to see The Invisible Man.  It was surprisingly hilarious.  The special effects were awesome too because there would be times that there was no one on stage, but props would be moving all over the place.  We got to sit in the second row and I couldn't believe that I couldn't figure out the special effects.

Thursday night was a good one too.  It is cheap mojito night and a bar in London, so about 15 people from the program ventured out for mojitos.  After we were there for a while we found another international house type place and went there.  There were people from everywhere and karaoke too.  Jason and a few of us girls sang Bad Romance.  Once we were ready to leave we realized the tube was closed and we couldn't find the right bus, so we walked home.  When we finally found Buckingham Palace, everyone was pretty excited to see the Queen's flag flying, meaning that she was in the Palace when we walked by.

Super Bowl

Go Packers!  I'm so glad that I got the chance to watch the Super Bowl last night even though it didn't get over until around 3 am London time.  I didn't quite make it to the end but I was impressed that I was able to stay awake until the 4th quarter.  It was a little disappointing though because there were no commercials!  BBC 1 would show the exact broadcast but then when they would take a commercial break, BBC would stay on the air to answer questions about football and explain what had happened during the past few minutes.  It was a little strange to watch.  I have been able to you tube some of the commercials though and it looks like I missed some pretty funny ones.  In the past couple of days I made it out to the Natural History Museum.  It was a lot of fun but we only made it through about half of the place.  It's free though, so hopefully we make it back to finish looking at everything.  I also went to the Chinese New Year celebration in Trafalgar Square and Chinatown.  It was cool to see all of the people, they mentioned on the news that half a million people attended the event, but it was hard to see or do much there with all of the people.

Cambridge

Yesterday the whole group went on a day trip to Cambridge.  It was stunning and I absolutely loved it.  We got to take a train there, my second train after the historic train rides in Boone, and I decided that I love traveling by train.  It was so quick and easy and it was a nice change of pace to be able to see where we were going.  Don't get me wrong, I love taking the tube, but when you're on the underground you have no idea where you actually are.  Once we got to Cambridge I was a little disappointed at first. Then Mark, our program director, told us that Cambridge was actually in the middle of the town and the train station was out on the outskirts.  We walked in towards the campus and the buildings were absolutely gorgeous.  We got to look around at the different colleges and even see some of their chapels.  Kings College Chapel is by far the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my whole life.  There are 26 stained glass windows and the ceiling was gorgeous.  It really made you wonder how people built extraordinary buildings like this back when there was no machinery.  After our chapel tour we went out to The Eagle.  It is a famous pub for several reasons.  First, Watson and Crick announced their discovery of the structure of DNA from a booth that we were sitting right next to.  And secondly because in the second World War, American airmen and women would go to this pub a lot.  They signed the ceiling of the pub so it was a cool place to visit as an American, and the food was really good.
After the pub we got talked into punting.  Punting is when you sit in a small boat and a punting chauffeur uses a giant pole to push the boat up and down the river.  It was a great way to see more of the colleges because a lot of them have giant walls that block your view from the front, but when you are on the river in the back you can see so much more.  Our tour guide was a hoot to and told us a ton of fun stories.  The weather was a little sketchy  yesterday, no rain but a ton of wind, so our poor punter had to work twice as hard to push us around the river.  It was a blast though and I'm so glad that I got the chance to go punting.  Today, I'm off to the Tower of London which I hear is amazing.  I heard a rumor that some of the Crown Jewels are in the Tower so I'm hoping we get the chance to see them!

Cambridge

King's College Chapel Interior

Kings College Chapel

Internship

I just got back from the first week of my internship and I have to say that it is exhausting.  It seems so weird that I have to commute to get to work.  I'm so used to driving 10 minutes into West Branch that it seems so crazy that I have to leave an hour early to get there on time.  Other than the traveling I'm really liking it so far.  I'm learning to get over my phobia of calling random people on the phone which is a good thing.  Today, I was repeatedly told that my accent was fun and exciting by the people that I was calling.  I never thought of an American accent but it seems strange that we are the minority now.  The other night I went to my first play in London for my theatre class.  It was called Once Bitten.  It took place at a small theatre in Richmond where there were 3 rows of seats surrounding a tiny stage.  It was really funny so now I'm even more excited for the other plays that I'm going to get to see. Tomorrow I have the rest of my classes, only 2 actually so I will be done for the week by noon on a Thursday...rough life I know.  On Friday the group is taking a day trip to Cambridge and I'm excited to explore more of England than just London.  Cheers!

Flowers

Today, after a little bit of confusion, I found the Colombia Market.  It is a large market full of flowers, bulbs and seeds.  It smelled so good! I ended up buying a cheap vase and some pink daisies which really brightened up our hotel style room.  It was super fun and I think that I'm going to have to make my way back to this market a few more times.
Yesterday, I was writing about our group tour and I completely forgot to mention the funniest part.  We were walking down this alley way and learning about bear bating, which is super gross by the way, when all of the sudden we look up and see a man standing in a window with only his underwear on making his bed.  We all started cracking up and then he finally noticed us, chuckled and then went about his business.  It definitely made the tour a little more interesting.  Anyways, thats about it.  Classes start tomorrow so maybe this semester will start to seem a little more like school and a little less like a giant vacation.  Cheers!

More Adventures

Today was full of even more new sights and sounds of London.  The group headed off on another tour with our tour guide named Shaughan.  He is definitely the best tour guide ever!  We started off by taking a double decker bus to St. Paul's Cathedral.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  I've been to the St. Paul's in Minneapolis but this building was even more breath taking.  I think that I am going to have to make it back there for a tour of the inside and maybe even a mass.  Next we headed across the Millennium Bridge, which I learned was featured in the 5th Harry Potter movie.  From there we saw Shakespeare Globe Theatre and wandered along the River Thames.  We saw a lot of really cool looking Pubs and an art museum that I would like to go back to as well.  We also walked through the Borough Market.  There was tons of fruits, veggies and sweets to buy.  Some day I'm going to have to find my way back and then maybe I can make a nice dinner for everyone.  There were so many people in this market though that it was almost a little scary.  After the tour, the fun part of the day started.

A couple of us girls decided that we wanted to find H&M to find some fun new clothes for London.  Since a couple of the tube lines were closed today we decided to hope on a double decker bus.  We took the first bus to Oxford Circe (Piccadilly Market area) but that bus ended up being on the end of it's route and we ended up at the terminating point of the bus, about 45 minutes away.  We then hopped right back on the bus and ended up finding H&M.  We then caught another bus after some shopping to head back to Vandon House.  This ended up being a not so great idea.  There was a demonstration going on in the middle of town about tuition hikes for students in the UK.  It took us about 30 minutes to get back but it was still worth it.  We were able to see a couple different sides of London from the bus and I'm starting to learn how the bus system works over here.  Instead of heading out for my first Saturday night here I think I'm going to stay in and lay low.  I think the jet lag is still getting the better of me and I'm hoping that after a good night's sleep I'll be prepared for a fun new week in London!

Scavenger Hunt

Today we had a scavenger hunt throughout all of London and I am officially exhausted.  We had to get a picture with a police officer, take photos in the red phone booths, visit Trafalgar Square and even buy toys from a huge toy shop and go to a market.  I saw so much in one day and am really starting to feel like I am fitting in.  I even got asked for directions by 2 families today!  I could only really help one of them and the other women only spoke French so I couldn't really understand anything she was saying.  Cheers from London!

Another Great Day!

Wow...everyday London just keeps getting better.  Today, I found my internship again (all by myself) and had my first meeting with my supervisor.  I think I'm really going to love it there.  After my meeting came the shopping!  We found a great store called Primark.  They have a ton of clothes, hand bags and shoes for super cheap.  It would be so easy to spend an entire day inside so I'll have to try and control myself.  After shopping I had my first pasty.  A pasty is a pastry shell filled with pretty much anything you can think of.  My first pasty was filled with potato, mushroom and chicken and it was delicious!  After pasty's came Wicked!  It was absolutely amazing!  The show flew by and I kept wishing that it would never end.  After seeing one show, I think I'm going to have to start hitting up a few more.
I also decided today that I am becoming a real Londoner.  I'm becoming more and more confident on the tube and can pretty much get anywhere I need to go.  I'm also getting much better at crossing the street and now I only get honked at on rare occasions.  Adjusting to the traffic coming at you from the other directions is taking a lot of getting used to.  I'm also getting better at fighting through the crowds.  In America, I really cherished my personal space, but when I'm getting on a tube filled with people, I've had to learn to be a little uncomfortable.  I think I have also found my weakness in London...Maltesers.  They are a honey comb dipped in chocolate and they are so good!  I'm definitely going to have to bring a stash of them home in a few months because I don't think I can part with them just yet.  Cheers!

Australia Day

So today I learned that Australia Day (January 26th) is the day the the Australians first landed in Australia.  On this day every year, all the Australians in London celebrate.  Tonight a group of us went out to a pub called Waxy O'Connors.  It was a blast.  There was loud and fun music, tons of fun people and I got a pretty awesome Australian hat!  I met a couple of guys, Nigel and Julian who gave me all sorts of good advice on living in London.  They told me about places I should visit, restaurants I should go to and different places around Europe that would be fun for me to travel to.  They also helped me to realize how lucky I am to be living here for these few months.  Cheers!

Day 3!

Another day and more adventures!  Today, a group of us went out wandering around London and stumbled upon Buckingham Palace!  We saw a group of guards gathering across the road and decided to stay and see what they were up to.  Turns out they were preparing for the changing of the guards.  We watched as they marched down the street and into the gates and then listened as the band played some great songs, including an Aretha Franklin song and Elton John Medley-complete with Crocodile Rock!).  I was also able to find my internship today.  It takes about an hour by tube to get there, so I plan on taking plenty of reading for my commute.  Today is Australia Day so I think we are planning to head out and celebrate tonight.  It should be fun! Cheers!

Finally Here!

I finally made it and today marks day 2 in London!  It feels so crazy to actually be in London.  I was able to get a flight out the next day and arrived in London at 7:30 the next morning.  I was immediately thrown into the mix when I had to get on the tube (the underground) at rush hour on a Monday morning.  I'm sure our group looked a little ridiculous with all of our luggage wandering around London, but we found our new home for the next few months pretty easy.  After that we went to orientation and then headed out on a walking tour of London.  We saw the London Eye, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge (London Bridge), Big Ben and more things that I'm sure I'm forgetting.  It was so much fun!  So far there have only been a few things that I think are really going to take some getting used to.  First, the cars coming at you from the opposite direction, which makes crossing the street quite an ordeal for now, and second, all of the doors that look like they should pull open actually push open.  Theres been a few embarrassing moments with glass doors but I think I'm starting to figure it out.  Today, Emily (another girl from Central on our trip) and I decided to go out exploring.  We found Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben and we managed not to get too lost.  Hope all is well with everyone reading this!

A Rough Start

Hello everyone!  This is my first attempt at a blog so you all are going to have to bear with me.  The semester in London got off to a bit of a rough start today.  I arrived at the airport this morning all ready to go and then our flight was delayed by an hour...then 2 hours...then 3 hours and then it was cancelled.  Even though today was a little shaky, I'm excited for tomorrow when we are scheduled to fly out again.  Heres hoping!

A little mad at the airport