Mike Ro Comes to London

For the past four days one of my friends from AU Mike came from Spain to visit me in London :) He arrived Saturday night. I picked him up from the metro, we dropped his stuff off at my apartment and then went out to the Rocket my favorite pub in London. Alyssia my roommate came with us and we met Mike's friend and his friend who are both studying in London this semester. We got there around 10:00 and stayed till 2:00 AM when it closed. It was a TON of fun and a nice way to end my last weekend in London. Sunday Alyssia, Mike, and I went to Camden Market so that Mike could see it and so that Alyssia and I could buy the last of our Christmas Presents for people. Afterwords we went to the Tower of London and then to a Sunday Roast at a pub near the Tower. Alyssia and I had been to the pub before when we visited the Tower but we were not there to experience the Sunday roast which I am glad we did. They give you half a chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, Yorkshire pudding which is a kind of bread, stuffing, and a drink. It was delicious!! After our late lunch we went back to the apartment to lay down for awhile. Monday I took Mike to see everything that is touristy & we walked the entire trip. We started off at my apartment, walked through Soho, China Town, Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Piccadilly Circus. It was a beautiful sunny day out which was really nice and it was also nice to see the sights one last time before I leave. Later that night Mike, Alyssia and I went out to a pub that I had never been to before. It was near my apartment but tuck into a little corner. There were two other couples in the room and it was quiet and quaint. It was a typical old time English pub it was cool. After we had a drink there Alyssia went home and Mike and I went to The Court which is a pub mostly full of UCL students. We had another drink and sat down and talked for awhile. Tuesday I was not feeling very well so Mike and I just went to Harrods and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Harrods was AMAZING! You can buy ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING there! Cars, houses, food, candy, socks, clothes, pets, Christmas tree...ect. It was really cool and I wanted to buy a million and one things but I ended up purchasing nothing which is probably good for my bank account :). Then we went to Winter Wonderland which I talked about in another blog post. It is in Hyde Park and it has rides, a Christmas market, food, and drinks. We left as it started to get really cold outside. And today Wednesday Mike left for Amsterdam. AND I leave for Arizona in 3 days! I can not believe that abroad is this close to being over. It feels like I have not been here for 3 1/2 months...I have had an AMAZING and unbelievable time in London and in my travels :)

Thanksgiving & the start of the Christmas season

Sorry to all my avid readers for my absence in writing blog posts. I have been busy writing papers which has been very stressful but I only have two more and then I am done! Thanksgiving in London turned out to be quite a success! Alyssia and I went to Marks and Spencers after school on Thursday and bought a chicken that was already marinated, a large bread roll, cranberry sauce thanks to my mom and dad, wine, homemade cinnamon applesauce made my Alyssia and I, and a HOMEMADE pumpkin chiffon pie made by yours truly :) My parents sent me some of the ingredients that would have been very hard to find in the UK and I made it in our tinny tiny kitchen and it turned out great! It's odd but making this pie made me feel like a real family member I made a dish that has been in my family for a long time and I made it on my own! It was awesome and I did it without a lot of the appliances and kitchen utensils that you needed to make it, it was kind of funny. So after Alyssia and I spent the whole day in the kitchen our friend Mimi came over for dinner. Since we do not have a kitchen table I cleared off my desk and moved it to the center of my room and we ate there. It was small but it was better than eating on the floor or on a bed. We had a great time talking about London, our homes, and what we were thankful for. It overall was a great Thanksgiving, one of the best I have had yet. :) Now forwarding to today Alyssia and I went to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Trafalgar square. Every year since 1941 Norway has given London a Christmas Tree as a symbol of the "close and warm" relationship between the people of Norway and the people of Britain. The reason they do this is because in 1940 Norway was invaded and the king of Norway Haakon VII sought refuge in Britain and the Norwegian government was established in London. The ceremony started at 6:10 and the Salvation Army Band played Christmas songs before and during the ceremony. The Lord Mayor of Westminster and the Governing Mayor of Oslo ( a city in Norway) gave a speech. Then the tree lights were lit and the water fountains turned on. It was beautiful I just wish it had not been so cold and that there had not been so many people. It was extra pretty because it has been snowing in London not a lot of snow but it covered the ground a little and tiny specks of snow were falling from the sky and it is really pretty and makes it feel like Christmas time. More updates to come later, can't believe I go home in two weeks abroad has flown by!

Beatlemania!!

I got back from Madrid Sunday night and the next morning (Monday) I went to Liverpool to see everything about the Beatles. I went with Alyssia my roommate and her cousin Lynn and her cousins friend Diane. We took a train from Euston Station at 9:00. It was only a two hour train ride and then we arrived in Liverpool Lime Street Station. When we got there we went to the information center so we could figure out how to get to everything. We first went to The Beatles Story which is a HUGE Beatles museum. They have clothes, guitars, and random things owned by the Beatles members and tons of information and replicas about their lives. Too see the stuff look at my pictures on Facebook. :) After the museum we went to lunch at a pub near the museum which had great food! I got a pot of tea (because it was SUPER cold outside), winter bean soup and chips. YUM YUM YUM! We sat there for awhile because we were not in a rush because our train home left at 8:45PM. After lunch we went to another part of the Beatles museum which is in another area. They had all the records given to the Beatles for selling over 1 million copies of songs and albums. It was really cool. Then Alyssia and I saw the 4D Beatles movie which was short and funny. After that museum we went to Matthew street to see Cavern pub which is the first pub the Beatles played at and they played there many times afterwords. They also have a John Lennon statue. Down that street is Lennon's bar, the Grapes (which was the Beatles favorite place to get a drink), and a statue of Eleanore Rigby. After that we got on a bus to go see Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. This turned out to be very difficult because there were no signs for what stop was next and it was dark out so it was hard to see road signs. But we found our stop with the help of this nice lady and we saw Penny Lane which was not very interesting but still cool to have gone there. Then we walked to Strawberry Fields which is now just a gate. After that we got back on the bus and went to a Christmas store and then went shopping in Urban Outfitters, H&M, and Primemark but I restrained myself and did not buy anything!!! Then it was time to go home so we bought some food to take on the train home. The weird thing was is that the train home was 4 hours instead of 2 like on the way there. But we all had a good time talking and laughing. Lynn and Diane are super great and funny and I had such a good day spending time with them and Alyssia! We got home around 12:45 and I passed out because I had not slept in or well for 5 days straight. I think I am done with going on trips and now I need to focus on papers because due dates are coming up soon!! AHHH

Madrid SPAIN!

Hola! 

This past weekend I went to Madrid to visit Christina Goggin, Mike Ro, and Jill Molina. AND I HAD THE BEST TIME! I went with Sam and Veronica who are studying in Edinburgh who I visited three weeks before. We met up at the airport and took the metro to our hostel. The metro was actually easy to navigate the only strange thing that happened is we were waiting for our final train to come and this man comes onto the platform and yells something and everyone moves up against the wall so we all do too and he storms past everyone and everyone looked scared. But we had NO idea what he said but he did not hurt anyone so that was good. :) We got to our hostel which was located in Tirso de Molina which is near Sol the center of Madrid. We stayed at the WAY hostel which was GREAT! It was super clean and we shared a room with three other girls. They had a living room and a kitchen but we did not use either. The beds were super comfy and hard to get out of after naps and in the morning. After getting ourselves situated Jill met us at our hostel to take us to lunch because we were so hungry. Oddly enough we went to eat at a Mexican restaurant (yes I know you are judging me for eating Mexican food in Spain but it was delicious!!!)  The place was called La Mordida de Larra  in Bilbao, Madrid. I had vegetarian enchiladas and a piña colada which were both amazing. After lunch Sam and Veronica went back to the hostel to take a nap and Jill and I went down Calle Fuencarral, which is a big shopping street in Madrid with both boutiques and chain stores. I bought a shirt at Mango which is a chain store in Europe. After shopping for awhile and walking around I went back to my hostel as well and took a short nap. Later that night we met Jill and Jill's friend Jessica for dinner.  We ate at a Cien Montaditos, which is a big chain in Spain specializing in cheap tapas. To drink I had tinto de veranos, which is red wine mixed with fanta. It was delicious. The restaurant was  on Calle de La Montera (aka Whore Street). We ate outside and there were prostitutes walking down the sidewalk trying to get guys to go down the ally with them. There were about 8 of them and it was sad but interesting to watch because I had never seen something like that before out in the open and in a public area. Prostituting is illegal in Spain but the police don't do anything about it they actually do not enforce anything. After dinner we met up with MIKE RO and went to the cave bar which was called El Chapandaz in Moncloa, Madrid. They are famous for their "Leche de Pantera" which was that giant drink mixed with milk / rum and some other things and it was DELICIOUS!!! It tasted like candy so it was a perfect drink for me :). After the bar Sam, Veronica, and I went back to our hostel and went to bed. The next morning we met up with CHRISTINA GOGGIN and her friend Melissa. They took us on a walking tour of Madrid. We first went to Sol then to Plaza Mayor where the mayor lives, walked to la Latina, then we metroed to el retiro and ate at VIPS which is a restaurant that serves more American food. I got cheese quesdillas. After lunch we went to Retrio park which was beautiful!!! Melissa, Goggin, Sam, Veronica, Mike, and I sat outside by the lake for over an hour and just chatted and soaked in the sun :) After the park we all went back to our homes to take a siesta which was much needed. Then we met everyone in Sol to pregame for the club we were going to. We drank box wine which was only a euro and was super delish for cheap wine. Then we took the metro to the club called la riviera karsouel but we got lost and we needed to be there before 1:00 AM so that we could get in for free. But since we got lost we got there after 1 :/ But luckily this bouncer guy they knew gave us free entry plus VIP access to another area. The club was HUGE and super fun and they played DYNAMITE!!! Goggin and I did the family dance :) The club was like any other American club until I saw that they had naked/half naked people dancing on the stage. They were employees paid to dance by themselves it was super weird but funny. We stayed there until 3:30 and then Sam, Veronica, and I went back to our hostel to get some sleep because we had to be out of the room by 11:30. Sam left earlier because she had a flight at 1:00 and Veronica and I did not have a flight till 5:00. So the next morning we met Christina in Sol and we ate breakfast . Then we metroed to la latina for el rastro market which is kind of like Camden market but not as good. I bought some bracelets and then we just walked around the market for an hour. Around 1:30 Veronica and I got a cab and sadly said goodbye to Goggin :( I am sad I do not get to see Goggin again till I go back to AU but Mike is coming to London in December!! Overall GREAT WEEEKEND!!!

3 more cards done!

Before I left DC this summer to go home to AZ one of my friends Nirvana who had studied abroad at UCL in fall 2009 gave me 30 London guided walks. Alyssia and my goal is to do every one of them which is starting to become difficult as our time in London decreases. We have 11 left after we completed three cards today! :) We first went to the Royal Courts of Justice which you can actually go in. We went inside but the security man told us that everyone was out to lunch because it was 1:00 so there was nothing exciting going on. But it was a beautiful building and it was sad that I could not take pictures to show y'all. After that we walked a long ways to the TATE which is the modern art museum in London. I enjoy some modern art but for the most part I don't get it. I don't understand what is so amazing about three black lines on a piece of paper...I could do that. Or when something is so abstract no one is going to understand what you are trying to portray. The great thing about art is creating something amazing that most of the world could not create. Many of the paintings looked like paintings the children I babysit for make in school. However some modern art is great like Andy Warhol. :) After the TATE we walked to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Shakespeare himself staged many of his classic plays in the original round wooden theater there. Now a days Shakespeare plays are presented exactly as they would have been performed 400 years ago. There are no set changes, no spotlighting, and the standing only area is outside. It would be cool to go to a play there because we only got to see the outside of the theater but sadly I know I will not get around to it. I have too much to do and so little time! I can not believe I will be going home in about 4 weeks. Off to Madrid on Friday!!! Can't wait to see Christina, Mike, and Jill!

Veronica and Helen in London!

Like I said in my blog posts before my friends Veronica and Helen visited London this weekend :) On Friday I met up with Veronica around 1:30 and we went to lunch at Chipotle because she wanted to eat Mexican food and that is the only place in London that I know serves Mexican food. We sat there for awhile and caught up on each others lives. Then we walked through China Town, Soho, Trafalgar square, past the horse guards parade, to Westminster, Big Ben, and Parliament. Afterwords it was getting cold and rainy so we got on the tube and went back to South Kensington where she was staying with her boyfriend Nate. We went to a French Cafe and I got hot coco and she got ice cream haha she was craving it even though it was 40 degrees outside. Then her boyfriend Nate got out of his internship early and met us at the cafe. After finishing out food and drink I left and went home and planned to meet them later at a pub. Around 9:30 I met them at the Rocket which is my favorite pub in London. We also met Helen one of our friends who is studying abroad in Germany. It was SO great to see her because I had not seen her since the Spring semester!! She brought along friends from her program who were also really nice. We hung out for 2 hours and drank. Veronica, Nate, and I had the disco ball drink again, and a pitcher of Woo Woo. Around 1:00 I went back to my apartment because I was tired and needed sleep. The next day (Saturday) Alyssia and I went to a cookie party hosted by Alyssia's best friend Camille's cousin Nadine. Alyssia has met her multiple times before and I had met her once when we went to her apartment to pick up some things. Her cookie party was a lot of fun. Everyone brings a different kind of cookie and when you leave you grab a bag and take one of each cookie to take home with you. We met a couple people and had a really nice time just talking and eating little snacks. After the party we went home for about 20 minutes and then got back on the bus to meet our friend Genna for dinner with two of her friends from home who were visiting. We went to a Chinese restaurant that we had been to before called the Hare and Tortoise. We ended up eating with 8 people because Genna's friends friends came too. We had a great dinner and then we went back to Genna's house and hung out. Then Alyssia and I again got on the bus for the 23437 time that day and went home. Normally our bus rides are pretty uneventful but this time these two men from Italy sat down next to us even though every other bus seat was empty. They tried to talk to us and we ignored them. Even when we would ignore them they would still continue to say things to us. After we did not respond for awhile one of the guys hit me. I ignored it but then the next time he tried to hold my hand so I told him to stop but he kept trying so I yelled stop three more times before I got up and moved seats. Then he continued to say things to us even though we were not near him. Getting harassed by guys is getting very annoying. I did not think it would be like this in London but it is. Everywhere you go whether it be across the street, to school, grocery store, pub, restaurant, bus, what ever it is you are harassed and it is 100 times worse when they find out you are American. Sorry for the rant it has just been bothering me a lot especially after last night. But I had a great weekend with all my friends and I wish I could have seen Helen more! I would say the same about Veronica but I am going to Spain with her next weekend!!! :)

Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford

This week my friend and sorority sister Jill Molina came to visit me in London! She got in Tuesday night and then Wednesday we woke up at 6:00 in the morning to go on a bus tour of Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford. We had arranged the bus to pick us up at the Holiday Inn on Kings Cross Road which was the closest pick up stop to my apartment. The bus was supposed to pick us up at 7:45 and we got there about twenty minutes early. We waited around and when it did not come at 7:45 we called the bus company Evan Evan's bus tours and they told us to wait inside the hotel for our driver. So we went inside and waited 15 minutes past 7:45 and then we called again. They then told us that the bus was behind schedule and would not be able to pick us up so we were then told to take a cab to Victoria Station and they would reimburse us. So we got in cab with a VERY nice cab driver that told us different facts about London. & we got to drive past Buckingham Palace which was nice for Jill to see. We then got to Victoria Station and found where our bus was leaving from. Then Jill went to go get some food and while she was gone our driver came and told everyone to follow him to the bus so I had to go run and find Jill and then we had to search through all the buses to find the right bus. we finally found it and got on the RIGHT bus :) While we were driving up to Windsor our first stop, our driver went over the rules and one of the rules was if you are not back at the bus at the time he says then they will leave you behind. Then he told us how many people he had left behind this past year which was a scary amount of people. This made me very nervous because with my bad luck I figured I would be left behind at some point. haha. Once we got to Windsor we walked to the castle and took pictures and then walked around the town. We bought some candy at a little candy shop in the village and then went in and out of little stores. Lastly we went to the Drury House which is Windsors Oldest restaurant. It was built during the reign of King Charles I in 1645. It was originally built to house staff from Windsor Castle until it became the home of Nell Gwyn, Charles II's favorite mistress. A tunnel was built between the Drury House and the castle so the king could sneak over and have secret rendezvous with his mistress. But the tunnel is now closed for security reasons. The Drury House restaurant is so kute!! It has a homey feel and there was a fire going in the fire place and a little old man was running the restaurant. Jill and I had tea and scones for lunch and they were both amazing!! I recommend this place to anyone who travels to Windsor! After Windsor we drove an hour to Stonehenge. We were very lucky that the whole day it was sunny and blue skies instead of gray and rainy. I took a billion pictures at Stonehenge and it was just as interesting as I had remembered it. The only thing that is annoying about Stonehenge is that you get an audio tour guide but the whole time all the people are saying is no one knows why or how Stonehenge was built it is a mystery...so there is really no point to the audio tour guide. haha. After Stonehenge we went to Oxford. Our tour guide gave us a tour around Oxford and the different colleges in the area. We saw the place where Roweling picked what Harry Potter's scar would look like. She was walking around Oxford and was by the building where Oxford student's graduate. She looked down and there was a lightening bolt. This was the trademark for the architect for the building and she decided that is what Harry Potter's scar would be. It was cool. After the tour we had 40 minutes until we had to be back on the bus so Jill and I decided to go to the pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien used to talk and drink. We both got a beer and then sat in their favorite room and just hung out for a little while it was a really cool place! Then we got back to the bus && guess what!! We left two girls behind :( The driver and tour guide waited an extra five minutes for these two Chinese girls who were around Jill and my age and then left them in Oxford it was really scary and I am glad it did not happen to me! I hope they are okay and found a way to get back to London!! Then we drove back to London and the bus dropped us off at Euston train station and we walked back to my apartment. Jill and I cleaned up and then went to the Golden Hind for fish and chips and we met one of Jill's friends Luke who goes to AU and is studying in Brussels. After that we went to a pub in the area and had some brothers cider and hung out and talked. Around 11:00 we went back to my apartment because Jill had to wake up at 5:00 AM to catch her bus to the airport! It was a super fun week and tomorrow Veronica and Helen come to London!! So it should be a great rest of the week and weekend!!