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!