Fakesgiving!

I nearly forgot about our Thanksgiving feast! Or should I say Fakesgiving, since the holiday isn't really legit in this country.... Anyway we had a wonderful feast! We had a big group, of about 12 I believe! John (of London), Tom (of DC), Zack, Bouquette, and Jale (of Zurich), Marie and Jerry (of Paris), Daniel (of Dalton), and of course us Londoners (I'm going to include myself in that group haha). It was great fun! There was probably 50 pounds of stuffing, 2 turkeys, mushy peas (actually quite good!) and other wonderful concoctions. I baked 2 pies all by myself, homemade crusts and all! I was very nervous. I've never made a pie all on my own before. They turned out well, though :) There were of course enough left overs so I could take some back to school with me. I think they fed me for about 2 days haha! Anyway, I think a good time was had by all. I know I did. Just wanted to share my Turkey day experience with you. Thanks for reading - again... ;)

Lots of Stuff

Hello everyone. I know, I know... Where have I been?! It's been forever since I last wrote. Life has been cRaZY for a while. Near the end of term and all the work I haven't done is suddenly in my lap. I'm not doing too badly, though. I'm even turning a paper in one day early! That's a first! haha

Lets me see if I can begin to account for all I've done since I wrote last. Shopping in Picadilly Circus, getting stuck in climate change protests, lots of paper writing, shopping on Portobello Road and having my first Churro, going to the Winter Wonderland German Christmas Fair in Hyde Park - So much fun! Hot chocolate, hot dogs, finding 10 pounds on the ground! Good times :)

The other evening I had my first London (well Clapham Junction, but hey it's still London..lol) club experience. My friend Clarissa and I decided since it was the last one of the term, why not! So, Monday evening we went to The Grand, and of course the theme was Christmas. Lots of fun! Free Santa hats and a sit-in Santa Clause for pictures! Fun stuff!

This term I joined a choir (well 3 actually...) and over the last couple weeks we had several performances. Campus church services and such, with lots of little after parties. We did pretty well :) My college, Digby Stuart College, had a little Christmas dinner and then of course an after party at the Belfry Bar on campus! I will miss the Belfry....

Yesterday it snowed big fat flakes here in London! I was lovely. It didn't stick, but I don't care. I love snow :)

Today it will be paper writing, and tonight I have a farewell dinner with my two closest friends here in London, Sam and Clarissa. Then we are off to a Christmas party on Sam's floor. Tomorrow, I will turn in my paper -early! :D- and then I help Clarissa to the airport so she can go home to Ohio :( ... I am excited to perhaps be able to see one of my English friends from school last year while he is home for Christmas break! Other than that, I will be doing my final London activities in the next few days.

Hope this has not bored you to tears haha. Just wanted to catch you up to speed a bit. Thanks for reading :)

Yodel-lay-e-hoo!

Hello everybody :) I apologize for not updating, again, as much as I should. It's been a bit crazy.

The week before last was reading week at Roehampton. Yes I did do a bit of reading, not enough, but some. Anyway, my friend Clarissa and I decided to take a long weekend and to make a little visit to our friend Noemi in Zurich. We left from London Gatwick on Thursday evening and arrived in Zurich about an hour later. Noemi, being the wonderful hostess she is, picked us up from the airport and let us stay at her apartment during our visit.

Seeing that we arrived Thursday evening, we didn't really do anything (except watch episodes of our favorite show Chuck on dvd that Clarissa had brought with her). Waking up the next morning, in Switzerland, was amazing. You see, Noemi has a nice apartment on Lake Zurich with a gorgeous view of the mountains. After breakfast on our fist day in Zurich, Noemi had to work so Clarissa an I walked allllllll around Zurich alllllll day long. We visited the Swiss Museum - very cool! I couldn't read about half of what I saw but I still feel like I learned something. We walked along the cobbled back streets and along the river. We saw beautiful architecture and very high priced menus (we searched everywhere for some place to have lunch, but everything was so expensive! We ended up going to Starbucks and having coffee for 7 Swiss Francs. And, even though the Swiss Franc is about even with the dollar, everything was doubled in price. Crazy, crazy Swiss...). Because we couldn't afford anything else, Clarissa and I bought chocolate - something that we weren't going to leave without getting. Finally we met Noemi for dinner. After, we returned home, snacked on chocolate and Swiss Christmas cookies in our pjs, and watched more Chuck :)

On day two we made a quick trip to the store, made some sandwiches, and headed to Luzern for the day. We tried to go to the top of a mountain but the lift was REALLY expensive :( So we resorted to having our little picnic near a lake with the beautiful mountains in the background. Really breathtaking.... Of course, afterward, we found a bakery and had dessert. Then we found a factory and museum where they made glass. Apparently that area is famous for it. We watched them make the glass: they pour the molten glass-stuff into a mold, shape it, blow it, and other stuff but that's what I remember most lol. Anyway, it was very cool. Next we made our way to Luzern. We walked, and walked, and walked, until we finally crashed in Starbucks and took a little power nap. We woke ourselves up, got some caffine, and after a bit met up with a friend of Noemis. We went out for dinner to a little Italian place. Very good. After dinner, we decided to go out. First we went to this American style bar (What are the odds. I go to Europe to get away from America, and end up in an American bar haha...) called Road House. We had a drink and talked for quite a bit, but Noemi and her friend wanted to dance and the music at Road House wasn't very good so we moved on. Next we went to Black sheep, a fun little club that was absolutely packed. I've never seen so many people in one space before! We were probably breaking some kind of fire code there were so many lol. We danced the night away and finally got back home at like 2:30 or 3. Fun night :)

Day 3: We definitely slept in.... We took our time with breakfast, at about noon, and finished our season of Chuck. Finally we got dressed, and Noemi took us to this lovely vineyard near by. The grounds were beautiful. The fall colors were still hanging on and were gorgeous. We walked all around. Some parts of it reminded me of the mountains back in GA in the fall. So lovely. When we finished we returned home for an early dinner of fondu... MmMmMmMm :) Brad and melty cheese with white whine - what could be better?! Following dinner we got our things together and headed to downtown Zurich to hang out for a bit while we waited for our flight.

I loved Switzerland! It was so beautiful. I could not stop staring at those snow capped mountains and clear clean water of massive Lake Zurich. If everything hadn't been so expensive, it would have been a perfect place :) And that is the story of my trip to Switzerland.

The End

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned.

Night at the Opera

Yesterday was a good day. After much confusion, mom and I finally met in Trafalgar Square and walked over to Leicester Square. There we bought theater tickets - after mom confused by the number of 1/2 price ticket stalls and thinking we should be selective in choosing one - for The Phantom of the Opera that evening! So excited. But, seeing the show was at 7:30 and it was about 2:00, we had some time to wander about a bit.

With our extra time I thought it might be nice to show mom Fortnum and Mason, the lovely kind of department store in Picadilly Circus. She loved it of course - the teas, chocolates, pastries, dishes, Christmas stuff, etc, etc, etc. We wandered from floor to floor and had a lovely time. By the time we left it was about dinner time, so we stopped at an Italian cafe for pizza and beer. Good times :) Next we went to Uni Clo! Love that store.

Finally it was time for the show. We get to the theater - Her Majesty's Theater - and find our seats. But, of course, I was sent after some pre-show cocktails :) The show was wonderful. I've always wanted to see it on stage! I enjoyed it so much. I definitely cried a tiny bit once or twice. It's probably my favorite show.

Seeing it was late and dark, I thought it might be best to escort my mom home to Beth's.

That's my latest adventure. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading :)

Granpa Dan and Granma Charlotte's visit to see the Little Prince

For the past week, I've pretty much been living at Beth and Josh's house and it's been great fun. The parents and I have done lots of fun stuff together, like the British Museum, seeing The Mousetrap, going on a Shakespeare and Dickens London walking tour, and lots and lots of great food :) and in that I of course include Josh's infamous macaroni and cheese..Mmmmmm.

The main event, though, of course, has been baby watching. Baby Xavier has been the center of attention. We've all been bonding with him. I didn't think it was possible but he gets cuter and cuter each day. He's a great little guy :)

Today I've finally returned to the real world; back to the dorm and having no food and actually having to do some school work. Oh well. I'll probably go back in a couple days and have some more great fun :)

Playing Catch Up!

Hello! So sorry it's been so long since my last post! I'll try not to leave anything out.

Let's see... The friday after my birthday some friends and I attended the weekly BOP - this weeks theme being cowboys and indians :) Big fun! haha

Last Sunday I attended the Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park. It was so amazing! Frieze is an annual fair that houses about 180 or more different small galleries, and displays the work of even more artists! It is a lot to take in. I didn't even get to see everything. I am so glad I got to go. There was tons of very cool art, some different art, and then some down right strange art haha. I guess those were above my artistic understanding....

Nothing really the week following Frieze, although I did have my very first piano lesson! I am excited to be finally taking lessons!

This weekend a couple friends and I took a trip to Ireland! We left Friday afternoon, and in about an hour we were in Ireland...love that! We got to our hostel, settled in, and then hit the town. We walked to Temple Bar and had dinner at a great little cafe. Great food! After we went just across the street to the famous Temple Bar for a (half pint of) Guinness, which I actually like now! Not wanting to head home yet we wandered about for a bit and found another bar to sit down a bit and have a pint. Headed back after that one, for it was getting rather late and cold.

Saturday: We spent all day exploring Dublin. We visited beautiful Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Viking and Medieval Museum, and last but not least, the Guinness Distillery, where we got free pints of Guinness! For dinner we went to O'Shea's Restaurant/Hotel/Bar. It was lovely :)

Sunday: Took the train (only 4 euros and 25 minutes) to the fisherman's village of Howth. It was absolutely stunning.... We walked along the pier and into the town; we walked around the ruins of a very old church and graveyard; we walked to the top of a nearby hill and enjoyed the view; we visited a market that had gorgeous and delicious looking pies and cakes and cookies and cupcakes... It was wonderful. We watched the seals, from the marina, begging for us to toss some food their way. We had fish and chips, and bought cupcakes. Just as we were finishing our fish and chips and getting ready to head to the train station, it began to rain. It was cold and windy, but I didn't mind.... I was in Ireland! :D We got back to Dublin and got ourselves to the airport, very early, so to pass the time we had our cupcakes and a final drink.

One more important thing to mention, that of course the day I leave for Ireland - just about to board my flight actually - I get the call that my nephew was born :) I met him today, and he is the cutest baby ever. I can't wait to see him again tomorrow :)

My Birthday

My birthday was a good one :) It really started on the night of the 14th for me. I met my flat mates (hall mates) at the Belfry bar. We sat around, had a drink or two, and then headed back to our kitchen to hang out some more. We waited for midnight and they sang to me. When it was time to go to bed, they all followed me to my door, only for me to find that they had decorated it with banners and balloons. It was a nice evening :)

On the actual day, I met up with Betty and we went to the Tate Britain museum. Saw some Turner and Sargent. It's very nice and I'd love to go back. Following that we had lunch in Beth's cute little neighborhood. I had a croque madame....yummy :} (I know I often talk about food. Sorry I can't help it haha. I'm a big fan of it).

When I returned home I rested for a bit. That evening I met friends and we rode the bus to Putney to have dinner at this neat Thai restaurant. I'd never had it before, but I really liked it! After dinner my friends and I went to a bar near by. We danced and drank and had a good ole time. I think a good time was had by all. When I got back to my flat, my flat mates came to my door with a cake, all lit up, and they sang to me. Plus they had gotten the whole flat to sign a card for me. They are a great bunch :)

Some Other Events at Random

Lets see.... Sunday a couple friends and I wanted to go to Spitalfields Market, but we had left too late, so we decided to spend the rainy afternoon in Richmond and wander around, and of course do some shopping. After that we cooked a nice little Italian dinner of pasta marinara; we had wine and veggies, and of course a tiny little chocolate cake for dessert. It was lovely.

Yesterday we ventured to Camden Town. It's a crazy area that kind of catches you off guard at first. The atmosphere is kind of punkish haha. There are tons of shops and tattoo parlors. It's cool though. You continue on and there are like market-style stalls where you can barter - it's so fun! Acting like you don't care is the key hahaha :) - Just a tip.... It was a very neat place and I would like to go back some time. Getting home was not a fun task. The tube wasn't that full surprisingly, but the bus.... we were stuck in traffic forever.

The tough trip home was counteracted though, I'm happy to say, because when we got back we met up with my friend Sam and ....... WE BOOKED A TRIP TO IRELAND!!! :D We are going not this weekend but the next!!! I'm so excited!!!

Well, that's all the excitement for now. Tune in next time for more stories of my adventures in London :)

Trip to the Sea

This past Saturday the Roehampton student union planned a trip to Brighton - the city by the sea. We met about 9, left by bus about 9:30, and arrived at 11 so it really isn't that far away at all. The weather, although early it seemed like it was going to be a gloomy day, was perfect. The sun was shining and it wasn't too cold.

I found a group of really nice girls - one from Japan, another from India, and another from the Virgin Islands - to spend the day with. We had a blast. One of the main attractions in Brighton is the pier. It's like a mini amusement park with some rides and old school style carnival-type games. Of course we did the bumper cars, and then the octopus (tons of arms goes around and up and down...haha), and also played some arcade games with 2ps (2 pence). I couldn't help but have some fish and chips since I was right there at the beach! I also influenced my Japanese friend to try it, and she loved it! :)

We basically just spent the day walking around Brighton and along the beach, and of course on the pier. It was a lovely day :) I would really like to go back and explore it a bit more.

Afternoon with Betty

Today was fine day. It didn't go quite to my devised plan, but it was a lovely day, indeed.

I had planned to get up early, go for a lovely walk about campus, do some homework, and finally meet Beth for lunch later on like we'd planned. Well.... I woke up at 11:30 and had to dash to get ready so I could leave by 12ish to meet Beth by 1! :0

I finally met Beth in Picadilly Circus, and she treated me to a lovely lunch - I tried Welsh Rarebit for the first time! It was rather tasty. We took our time and had some tea as well. Next, she took me to get my birthday present. We walked a bit and arrived at this very neat, very cool old hat shop, where I picked out a very neat little hat to wear about :) Next we ventured around Oxford Street, and areas surrounding. We peeked into Liberty - a very cool and neat department store, in a building that's in the tudor style. Next we wet to this very old and nice umbrella shop. I think I'll have to go back for one of those :)

I got back to campus and attempted to go to a Tai Chi class I'd been looking forward to, but i arrived at the listed location and no one was there, so that was disappointing.... After I tried to order in some food, but couldn't - didn't order enough for delivery, and I wasn't about to go and get it haha. Finally went to Belfrey Bar and grabbed a mini pizza and a Becks, and that has been my evening thus far. The rest will be devoted to homework and such tasks....fun fun, I know. have a lovely one :)

All The World's A Stage

Yesterday, actually, was a pretty busy day! Ballet class, like I said in the previous post, was great! We got out a bit late so I got a late start on my errands - primarily my much needed trip to ASDA. Anyway, I ended up not getting back until half four - which was 45 minutes before I needed to meet Clarissa!

Earlier in the day she and I decided to just go to Globe and see if we could get tickets for that night's performance of "As You Like It". Well, after a long trek there and waiting in line for a bit, we got tickets! They were standing room, mind you, but nonetheless we got them! And they were only 5 pounds! The show was so wonderful. I enjoyed every minute. The acting was superb, and since we had standing room (we considered it getting in touch with our peasant roots..) we were right in front of the stage. It was a wonderful evening.

By the second act we were sufficiently freezing and starving, so after the show we went in search of food and warmth. After a few failed attempts, we stumbled upon a little Italian place by the Thames that would feed us dinner at 10:15 at night. And that, my friends, was my adventure of last night!

Hooray! Ballet!

Good day. I have Mondays off, but I signed up for the dance society (it allows me to take all kinds of classes) and today they began with a beginners ballet class! I feel great and it was fun! I didn't realize how much I missed it, I suppose. I'm not going to feel so great tomorrow since I've been out of practice, but it will have been worth it! :)

The rest of my day is not going to be particularly exciting - getting the mail, laundry, a trip to ASDA (UK's version of Walmart), and little things like that. Just had to make a quick post to display my excitement about starting dance again haha :) Have a lovely day!

All These Things That I've Done

Greetings everyone :) Well, my first week of school is done and I'm trying to decide whether to drop a class or not. I'm taking a pretty hefty load and am already worried about being able to get it all done. I actually like all my classes and can't decide on which one I'd drop!

It's been a pretty good weekend. I've actually done some homework (not enough, but some nonetheless..) and had some fun as well. Friday my friend Clarissa and I journeyed (the journey consists of about a ten minute bus ride, but whatever) to Putney and hung out in a brand new bar for bit. Afterward we headed back to campus for The Bop - basically a weekly dance that's themed and has a bar. It felt very much like a high school dance haha but it was fun.

On Saturday I was good and started some reading. In the evening Beth and Josh took Clarissa and I to a rugby match! It was the premier league, which is the top league! We had hot dogs and beer and good ole time. We got to see the Harlequins beat Bath Rugby in the very last play of the game! Very fun!

Today I decided to go to Richmond on my own. I'd never been there, I heard it was nice, and it's really just a short bus ride from me so why not, right? I of course got off at the wrong stop but it made for a nice long walk through a nice area. It was very quaint for a while, with a few little restaurants and lovely homes, but as I got farther in it got more urban. I finally found myself in the down town area I suppose. There were tons of shops and such, and of course I popped into one or two. I kept on walking though until I reached the Thames. That was lovely! There were neat old boat by the shore, neat restaurants near the pier, and a lovely little grassy area to sit and have some ice cream and watch the boats. I finally stopped for lunch and ate outside near the water. Then I walked and walked all over, seeing what I could see. Seeing as though my lunch was rather light, I of course stopped for some tea and pastry. I wanted to rest for a while and write and do some reading, but it got rather chilly and I was sitting outside. So after I finished my tea and eclair I headed home.

Hope all of you are well, hope I'm not boring you haha, and I hope you like the blog!

My First Day of Uni

Today I finally began my classes! It's just felt like a vacation really until now. Today I had my beginning latin course and my Rise of the Avant Garde. I was a bit scared, tell the truth, because I really didn't know what to expect, you know? I'm sure it's going to be challenging, but for some reason I had this idea in my head that I was going to be way in over my head. I may be speaking too soon, but so far it seems that it will be manageable.

I liked my professors very much and the classes seem as though they are going to be fun (I wasn't sure that I was going to like my Avant Garde class - again I may be getting ahead of myself - but I think I'm going to!). Now I have the rest of the day off, so I think I'll be a good little student and get started on some studying and homework :)

My friends and I are planning to go to the Globe theater next week to see "As You Like It". I'm very excited for that! I'll keep you updated. Thanks for reading!

London Markets

I know I'm a bit behind with my posts, but I'll do my best to catch you up to speed. This weekend has been a pretty good one! Saturday afternoon I met up with Beth and we walked to the Portobello Road Market in Nottinghill. The street was lined with stands of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the smell of food cooking was in the air. As we moved farther down, there were shops and stands filled with antiques and vintage clothing. It seemed to go on forever! I loved it! There was just so much to take in and see and smell. So for a good while Beth and I strolled all around snacking on pretzels, and before leaving we picked up some fruits and veggies to go with dinner that night. We had a lovely evening as well. Josh made burgers and his famous mac and cheese.

On Sunday Beth took me to East side of London that is considered the more artsy part of town. We walked over to Columbia Road where every Sunday there is a beautiful flower market. The flower stands are all lined up along the curb, and behind them are some very cool shops - vintage clothes, cupcakes (and of course we got some!), antiques, etc. Before leaving we got some flowers, which have really helped to make my room seem more like home. I really enjoyed this market!

After Columbia Road market, we walked over to Spitalfield's market. This one was very cool as well. There were hundreds of stands with great clothes and antiques. I think I'll be going back again next weekend to go shopping! For a while it seems like a big garage sale, with people sitting on the sidewalk with all their things to sell. Then it transitions to a covered market full of stands. I think this area is also known for it's Bangladeshi food and restaurants. It all looked really good! Oh, and I learned later that Spitalfields is the area where some of Jack the Ripper's victims were killed! Good little piece of history for you.

I think that the markets are one of my favorite things about this city. Every weekend you can visit these markets and have such a great time. There's so much to take in! You can get your groceries, get lunch, hear music, see and buy original art or some antiques ALL in the same place. It's a great way to get out and do something fun without stress. However, if you're a bit claustrophobic then prepare yourself because the crowds can be rather large. Anyway, I love London markets!

Well now we've finished our weekend of market hopping, and I'm back at the dorm just chilling out. Some friends and I plan to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate the fact that classes are FINALLY starting tomorrow!

More later. Take care :)

The Beginning

I've been here one week today! It's been hard. It's been fun. It's been a lot of things...

This past Saturday, Roehampton hosted an even for international students called Photo Frenzy. We all gathered in the morning and formed into groups of 8 or 9. We were given a list of questions about famous landmarks in and about London and we were to take pictures of the answers.

My group consisted of about 6 other American girls and 2 German girls. It was such a fun, and long, day!!! I think I saw everything I'd seen in a week when I visited here last, in one day this time! It was exhausting but a very fun time. My group was great. We got along great. We were also given a free transportation pass so getting ALL around London didn't cost us a fortune! We we finally finished, some of us retired in a little Italian restaurant for wine and pizza. It was such a fun day! If you would like to see some pictures, I could post some on here. However, if you have Facebook just take a look there :)

I Have Arrived!

Greetings everyone from London town! I'm not really sure how to do this blog thing, but it's been strongly suggested that I create one. Therefore, here it goes... I suppose...

Today, this 22nd day of September in 2009, is my 6th day in England. Tomorrow will be the 1 week marker of my stay. I must admit that the beginning was harder than I expected it would be. I had a bit of a rough time adjusting and meeting new people. Not to worry, though. It's getting better and easier all the time.

For those of you that may need an update, I'm in my 3rd year of college now and this fall I am studying at Roehampton University in London. There are, I want to say, about 100 of us international students (ha it's strange to think of myself as an international student). I've met some very cool people from all over the world, and I can tell already that it is going to be a fantastic experience.

I have not yet started my classes. In fact my classes don't start for another week - strange I know. However, there have been a lot of events and such to keep us all busy. The fact that each college on campus has it's own bar is a contributing factor, I believe. I know I'm a bit behind on relaying all my activities and adventures, but that is soon to come so stay tuned :)