Winning London- Week with Suze!

Monday 3/1-Friday 3/5- This is the week before Susan is coming for her Spring Break! So, I didn’t do too much around London because I was preparing for mid-terms I had the next week and when Susan was going to be here.

Friday, Cleo and I went out to a place called Café De Paris with her boyfriend’s sister and her friends. It was a fun night out. If you type in the name of the place, celebs come up on google. Apparently, they like the place. I thought it was only okay and there was an expensive cover charge. We had fun though! Good thing they played some great music!

Saturday 3/6- Today starts a whole different life in London……SUSAN BEING HERE!

She is scheduled to arrive at about 12:30. I told her when she gets to Edgeware station (4 blocks form my flat), to meet me at Starbucks. As I’m enjoying my hot chocolate, I hear “ALICE.” This is the start of our wonderful week in London together. Suze was exhausted from being up all night and wanted to take a quick nap, so she did just that as I studied a bit for mid-terms on Monday and Tuesday. After her nap, I showed her my neighborhood and walked around for a while.

For the evening, I surprised her with tickets for the show, “Havana Rakatan” because I had seen posters all over London for it…it’s a Cuban dance/music show that ended up being sooooo good! We are both into that style and culture! After that, we headed to a Brazilian club but ended up not going in there but another one close by…it had a sweet atmosphere of a mix of people, music, and styles.

Sunday 3/7- Today, we headed straight to Camden market (I had never been, and heard its best to go on Sunday mornings). We love markets, and this one is one of the biggest and well-known. There is everything there including clothes, bags, coats, art stuff, and of course, food stalls. We headed there for lunch and got fajitas! After walking around, enjoying the sun, exploring the markets, and of course getting chocolate fondue, we headed to Trafalgar Square to starts our journey of the major sites and landmarks in London. We stepped inside the National Gallery, St. Martins in the Fields church, and then headed towards Buckingham palace, which then lead us to the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and all the other “Westminster” sites of London.

We then headed over to the Soho section of London, full of trendy cafes, restaurants, bars and boutiques. We found a great café to relax and drink some tea. After being in that area for a little longer, we headed back to my flat to make dinner. We then went to the section of London called Piccadilly Circus (almost like the Times Square of New york, but better and classier) to see where the night would lead us.

We came across this spot, Be@1 with buy one get one free cocktails. We loved the milkshake ones with cookies n cream and baileys…….yum! There, we met people from all over the world including Greece, Poland, and italy. It was a funnnnn night!!!!!

*Me and Suze with our choc fondue at Camden Market

*In the middle of London streets being ourselves

Monday 3/8- I had a mid-term for biology at 11 AM, so Suze walked to Regents with me so she could see my walk to school everyday, campus, and meet some friends. We ate in the refractory (campus caf), explored Regents park a bit, and headed off for a full day in London. Our first spot was the Tower Bridge. We walked around that area and across the bridge, then went to The Monument. You climb up 300 something steps in a small spiral staircase and then there is a view of London…its was soooo cool!! Each person that makes it up gets a certificate of achievement. We then went to St Paul’s Cathedral and paid to view the galleries and climb to the top, which was another amazing view of London! This cathedral felt magical to be in it and was cool knowing my mom and grandma did the same thing when they were here. We went back to Piccadilly area to a salsa club, and didnt stay to long because the people there were amazingggg and we just knew the basics. Hopefully ill be back there to take the salsa lessons, as its my dream!!!!!

*Tower bridge

*View from the Monument

*View form the Monument

Tuesday 3/9

**MEETING JACK BLACK!**

- Today, Suze met me at campus for lunch because I had a mid term in the morning. I also had another at 2-3:20. After, i decided to take her to Oxford Street (the Mag Mile in Chicago times a million). We shopped a bit, then headed to a night out with Imran. We met at one of London’s supposedly best spots for cocktails. It was okay....the place as nice inside. We chatted there for a while,then decided to go to another place. We then headed to a really classy, lounge/bar and Japanese restaurant recommended by someone at the previous place. Ill just say.....we felt a little out of place…everyone was wearing Louis and Dolce. Let me explain: you walk in the door to the place and there were 3 snooty girls who then proceeded to greet us and click the elevator button FOR US to go on the elevator to upstairs to the bar and restaurant in another room. It was pretty intense. lol.

The evening then lead us to an Italian restaurant that Imran found on a quick google search of “the best Italian food in London.” Little did we know, JACK BLACK WOULD BE THERE. Yes, you read correctly. Jack Black, the actor and singer, was at the table right next to ours. The waiter politely brought us to our table, and he was right thereee! Imran was trying sooo hard not to freak out b/c he's a fan of his music (which me and susan hadnt heard). We tried our best not to stare at him...Susan had the best view because she was directly facing him the whole meal. I thought it was interesting that everybody at the restaurant was sitting there nice and calm…until him and his 3 friends were done eating, drinking wine, and having dessert. That’s when me, suze and imran, as well as some other people got up and followed him to the front door of the restaurant to take pics and meet him. He was a litte….ill just say…different in real life. He didn’t seem that happy, but then again he was probably so sick of people taking pics with him. So thats it, thats the story of meeting my first celebrity. We had a great time at the restaurant, in general!

As far as the restaurant, it was a neat smaller place with a friendly atmosphere. I would go again, especially after knowing celebs go there! We left feeling full from their yummmmy food, and giddy after meeting a celeb, and headed to our last spot for the evening, dont remember the name, which had an excellent atmosphere (if you hadn’t realized, I like good atmospheres in places).

*Suze, Jack Black!!!!, Imran, and Alice

Wednesday 3/10- Suze wanted to go on a “day-trip” and wanted to see a castle during her visit here, so we decided upon Hampton Court Palace and Gardens, in Richmond in Southwest London. We had to take a train, about 45 minutes. The Palace was lived by the British Royal Family in the 18^th century including Anne Boleyn, one of King Henrys VIII wife (the famous story of his 6 wives…divorced, executed, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. We had fun saying that all day. LOL)

We liked this palace because of the history and stories behind it. The palace’s styles are brick, symmetrical, and low wings. The gardens were even more beautiful. There were trees that were shaped in triangles symmetrical in a long line. Almost felt like we were in a fairytale. After exploring the inside and outside of the castle and learning about the different stories that went down during the good-ol-days, we went to the gardens, walked around, sat, relaxed and took pics.

Early afternoon, we decided to head back to London to eat lunch. After, we went to Covent Garden and came across the most adorable green & pink café that served sweets. We had fun exploring the markets and surrounding area of London. This whole area is very us…lol. We had a blast!!!

For the evening, we knew we wanted to see a show (duh, in London!) so we headed to Picadilly Circus to find day-of cheap student tickets. We had our choices of what we wanted to see, and ended up with a great deal to see Mama Mia (in honor of our mom J Test to see if she reads this….haha) We headed back to my flat to eat dinner real quick and get ready for the show! Suze and I had seen the movie and enjoyed it and our mom & dad saw the show in Chicago and liked it, so we knew we would enjoy it. It’s a fun, lively, and some-what tacky show that leaves you feeling happy & wanting to dance! Although, we were exhausted and headed straight home when it was finished.

*Hampton Court Palace

*Unique trees

*Me and Suze at fountain in Gardens at Hampton court palace

Thursday 3/11- Our last full day in London! SADDDD! We hadn’t been to any museums yet, so we decided to use this morning for some museum-hopping. We went to the Victoria & Albert museum, the worlds largest museum for decorative arts & design…perfect for us! There, we hit the fashion gallery, a collection of outfits from 4 centuries ago. It’s the most comprehensive fashion gallery in Britain, so Suze was pretty much in Heaven! We also went to the Jewellery collection, photography (my favorite!), and contemporary. After, we went to the Science museum, where we explored the “energy”, “measuring time”, “plasticity”, “the secret life of the home” (our fav!), and “things.”

When we were all museumed-out, we met imran for lunch and had amazing curry!!! We went back to Oxford street for more shopping and walked around for our last moments in London. That night was pretty low key as I had to pack for Ireland and wake up at 3:45 AM!!!

*eating curry!

Reflection:

Overall, the week was amazing!!! Some glimses:

Looking forward to most: Showing her my neighborhood and school!

Day highlights: Camdem market, Climbing up the Monument & view, St. Pauls Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace (sorry couldn’t chose just one)

Night highlights: Havana Rakatan, Be@1 in Piccadilly Circus, night out with Imran, Mamma Mia

What Suze thought was different: Curry served everywhere and the street cross-walks

What Suze thought was interesting: The longgggggg escalator in the tube system and all the people standing on the right and people walk up on the left. Americans DO NOT do this! She thought it was hilarious!

What Suze loved about London: Tube system, restaurants/cafes, shopping, overall atmosphere

Didn’t have a chance to do: Go out with all my roommates, which I wanted, but its okay. We all hung out a bit in the flat.

Luck of the three Americans in Ireland!

Friday 2/26- Day 1 Ireland: (sorry about the under lined...i could not figure out how to get rid of it)

We were exhausted as we had to wake up at 3AM to catch a bus to Luton airport to make a flight to Dublin!! It was all worth it, though. First, ill give daily summaries, then my thoughts and reactions of each day.

We ended up arriving at our hostel at about 10 AM, checked in, and got to have their free breakfast they have every morning consisting of toast, cereal, eggs, coffee, tea, and juice. Having this breakfast was great because 1) didn’t have to buy it 2) kept us energized until lunch. Our hostel was a big one with staff that knew the city really well. They provided guide books, maps, and any info we needed. We decided to do a free walking tour of the main part of Dublin at 1PM. So, we had some time to wonder around our hostel and took our time walking to where the tour met. The tour was one of the highlights of the trip. We had an amazing tour guide who was totally Irish with her red hair and accent!

The tour consisted of stopping at some major places and she informed us of the history and other information about it. It lasted until about half past 3. The tour took us through temple bar (a really cool part of Dublin with the cobblestone streets, tons of irish pubs, and traditional irish food), across the famous Ha’Penny bridge, and ending in St Stephens green, a really pretty park in Dublin.

After the tour, we needed to rest a bit, so after a good recommendation by the tour guide, we headed to Grafton street to the café. We enjoyed hot chocolate and scones, and then headed to the Temple bar section to experience the Irish culture, walk around, eat their food, and enjoy life! We found a restaurant that had an “early bird saving” deal where you get soup, a main entre, and dessert for 10 euros. So, we did just that. Sonya & Chelsey got trad’t Irish stew and I got a garlic and cashew chicken stir-fry (wasn’t too fond of the stew).

After dinner, exploring the night life of Dublin, and heading in some shops, we were off for our first train ride to attend a traditional irish music dancing and music experience. It was at this place called Comhaltas…it was real Irish people singing, playing music and dancing traditional irish! It was really sweet to experience and be involved with their culture. It was an adventure finding the place, though! It took us about 1 ½ hours to find it, so we didn’t have too much time at the place. This was another highlight of the trip. We headed back to town and experienced our first night in a hostel full of other backpackers and students traveling.

REFLECTION ON DUBLIN-

My first thought of Dublin was that it is smaller than London and more laid back. this is something I will experience in any other city because London is one of the world's biggest cities. Dublin was a nice city, although I can't see myself living there. What I loved was the countryside, mountains, and seaside of Ireland!!! Those caught my breath away and makes me want to visit Ireland again...not for Dublin. Dublin also has a terrible transportation system. I guess I am spoiled by London's underground tube system. Dublin also had a lot of graffiti everywhere on teh buildings and a little more trash than London. On a good note, Dublin is known for its "doors." It has cute colorful doors on its' buildings everywhere. It makes the city more colorful and vibrant.

*our sweet tour guide for the free walking tour!

*the actual Temple Bar - traditional irish pub in Dublin

*Grafton street at night

Saturday 2/27- Day 2 Ireland:

After getting the recommendation from Jeanette to go to Glendalough (part of the Wicklow mountains…..it is known as the fairy tale land) and seeing pictures, we made sure to include this in our itinerary! We had an option to either go on our own, walk and explore by ourselves, or do a tour that would drive us through the mountains and end in Glendalogh to explore there. The thing was that we had already booked a hostel in Glendalough, so if we did the tour, we would not go back with them. We chose the tour and LOVED IT SO MUCH. Our tour guide, Paul, was hysterical and every minute was worth the price. It was in a small bus with some other students visiting Dublin, and we rode along the mountains and stopped at various places to view the SPECTACULAR scenery. Ill go through the stops:

1) overlooking the city of Dublin. This was really neat to see. I love seeing cities from above.

2) overlooking Wicklow mountains…gorgeous greenery and some snow atop the mountains

3) overlooking more mountains and hillside. This was the stop with a hidden lake…we had to walk a little bit to get there. It felt magical! This was my favorite!! Something that has stuck with me is the driver said to us when we got back to the bus, “Wow, all your eyes are just in awe and gleaming!”…which was true.

4) overlooking where “the braveheart” was filmed…pretty much a valley with mountains in the background

5) where “PS I love you” was filmed. The exact bridge Hilary Swank is on in the opening shot of Ireland in the movie. We all took snapshots reading a mpa how she does it in the movie

6) overlooking a gorgeous lake surrounded by mountains (once again) and trees. The lake is known for looking like a puddle of Guiness.

7) overlooking a huge waterfall! Then, the bus driver rode down the road so we got to walk along the street. One of the best walks o my life!!!!

8) lunch in small village

9) Glendalough. We walked through the historical parts of it, and then the others got to explore the other parts. Us three went off on our own to hike through the mountains and such before it got dark in about 3 hours. We went to the small lake and then the upper lake. They were both gorgeous.

We then went back to our hostel, freshened up and went to one of the three spots for dinner. after enjoying our dinner, we were exhausted and went to bed pretty early.

I now understand why people call this place the “fairly tale” mountains. It feels so magical, looks magical, and feels like your in a different world when you’re here. There was one point when I wanted to just jump into the forest because it looked fake!...(and I ended up running through it). Glendalough and wicklow mountains so far is one of my favorite places in the world.

Having the awesome tour guide that we did made it especially better. He made us laugh hysterically, told stories, and gave so much information about what we were seeing and driving around.

*me, Sonya and Chelsey at the second over look of the Wicklow mountains

*the hidden lake at one of the stops. this was gorgeous.

*"PS i love you" film spot

*our sweet tour bus!

Sunday 2/28- Day 3 Ireland:

After catching an early bus back to Dublin, we decided to go to a real Dublin flea market that was recommended by our hostel staff. This was a great Irish cultural experience because there were no tourists and all locals (I bough a hat). After this, we took the train for another day trip from Dublin to the town of Howth. This was a sea side village, on the coast of Ireland about 30 minutes from Dublin. We all loved it so much..the atmosphere was small, quaint, and like a sea side village. When we first arrived, there was a market going on, so we took some time tasting samples of amazing curry, sweets, and cheeses. (markets are one of my fav things to do in other cities) We then explored the town a little bit, which consisted on a lighthouse, pier, promenade, restaurants, cafes, shops, homes, a big tower, AND OF COURSE THE SEA AND CLIFFS!

This was another remarkable experience…being on the coast was amazing. There was one point when we all sat on the pier really close to the water overlooking cliffs when we were all amazed and in awe of our surrounding beauty!!! Before it got dark, we decided to walk around some more and see more of the “local” side of town.

As were were walking, we came across this secret pathway that lead us to an amazing spot overlooking Dublin and was surrounded by green bushes. It felt like we were in a movie. We layed in the grass and watched the sun set over Dublin. This was definitely another highlight of the trip!! (there seems to be a lot of highlights for this trip).

After watching the sunset over Dublin with surrounding mountains and the ocean around us, we headed for another traditional irish eating experience. We found this awesome restaurant that had live jazz music, so we enjoyed that a while before we ate. The restaurant had a deal where you get any entrée for 10 euro, including steak!...so I got it, and it was delicious!

We headed back to Dublin and experienced our last Dublin adventure by going to “Irelands oldest pub,” called Brazenhead. It was a great night to end an amazing weekend!!! We had to wake up super early again to catch a flight Monday morning back to London!

*the secret spot we found overlooking Dublin at sunset

*at Brazenhead, the oldest Pub in Ireland

A little more reflection:

This was the first time I felt "home-sick" for London. CRAZY -- i never thought I would have that feeling, although I did. When I came back to london, I had never felt more at "home" in London! It was sweeeet!

Wooops, sorry I stopped blogging for a while! (Leeds Castle, Chinese NY, planning Ireland)

Sunday 2/14- Still sick. I swear I have mono or something. I woke up at 3pm!!! The latest I have ever woken up in my entire life! I did nothing all day, but watch movies. I could not get out of bed, even when I tried in the morning to go to church.

PS I love it here, I don’t want to leave!!!!!

Monday 2/15- I am feeling a little better. My throat does not feel like a fricken knife is going thru it every time I swallow...

Tuesday 2/16- Today, me and Chelsey and Sonya booked Ireland hostels and planned some stuff to do. Still sick....of course. Nothing else is new....but still the fact I LOVE IT HERE!

Wednesday 2/17- Today is gorgeous outside! The city feels like a whole different life when the sun is out…its interesting. Today is the first day I am actually doing school work….so far this had felt like a vacation…no work at all! (also because of the fact that I dont have a job which I am used to…)

Thursday 2/18- Instead of going out (as we have every other Thursday night so far) we decided to stay in the boys flat (Andrew, Zach, Dave, Rainey, Bri, Steph) We had a fun night that consisted of much laughter!

Saturday 2/20- Today was the last day trip organized by Regents to Leeds castle and the town of Canterbury. It was a very pleasant day exploring a gorgeous castle and gardens and the little town of Canterbury (famous for the Canterbury tales you might have read when younger). Overall, I liked this one better than Warrick castle…it might have been the sun outside. Plus, this castle was prettier and less “castle-like.” Me, Stephanie, Louis and Hemalihad a great time exploring the inside and outside of the castle. There was a river around it with gorgeous greenery and scenery all around (look at pics). There is also a maze, numerous gardens to enjoy, and a bird sanctuary. A high-lite of the experience at the castle was seeing the gorgeous peacocks, which I think are amazing! The colors are brilliant and the bird looks amazing when it opens their feathers. Peacocks feathers have always been a favorite of mine, which makes sense because of the bright colors…aqua, green, blue!

The town of Canterbury was pretty cute, but we didn’t have much time to explore. A group of us girls sat down in a café, ordered food and talked. We walked around and shopped a bit. There was a sweet cooking store there, where I wanted to buy everythingggg because of my love and passion for cooking! Overall, the day was enjoyable and would recommend anyone visiting London to take a trip to Leeds castle.

*the group

*Leeds castle! beautiful!

*entrance to the castle

*the remarkable pea cock!!!!

*the town of Canterbury

Sunday 2/21- Little did I know I would be celebrating Chinese new year in London, yet alone there was a big Chinese community here. Apparently, there is. So, me, Sonya, Chelsey, Lauren and Alysha headed over to the daily festivities starting in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the Chinese New Year! There were hundreds of people watching a traditional Chinese dance to music on a stage for all to watch. It was really interesting.

After we saw enough Chinese dancing, people and crowds, we headed over to London’s Chinese town for more activity. There were vendors and stalls everywhere selling little knick-knacks. We decided to eat our first official Chinese meal in London in a restaurant in China town. I ordered the typical Kung Poi chicken, which was only decent…ive had better. I figured out I love musabi (sp?) peas (the little green spicy things). They are delicious! We headed back to our London apartment to relax the rest of the Sunday evening.

Monday 2/22- The next week is going to be pretty chill because I have the trip to Ireland coming up. I am loving London even more every day!

Tuesday 2/23- Finally after three previous weeks of talking about it, me and Cleo finally went to Sports Café, the Americanized bar/club where mostly study abroad students go. It didn’t appeal to me (why would I want to go to a place where its mostly Americans in London?!?!?!) but I wanted to go and see what all the good hype was about. So, we went and it was a very interesting night. The atmosphere was loud and pretty crazy. They played good music until the later part of the night, and left. I won’t be going back there. But, i had a FUN night out with Cleo!!!!!

Wednesday 2/24- Cleo and I went out to meet a friend, Imran, she met her previous semester studying here. After the Metropolitan pub (not too far from Regents), the night lead us to a karaoke bar…and I did karaoke for the first time!!! Us three all sang “We will rock you.” It was up on a stage with eyes all on us! The whole evening was a blast, and will definitely go back for more karaoke! I was very proud of myself for singing loudly in front of an audience!

Thursday 2/25- Today, I packed for Ireland and did some research on some places to see/visit there. Im going with Sonya and Chelsey (2 of my flatmates) Im sooooo soooo excited for Ireland because….

1) my first weekend trip away from my new home (London)

2) Ireland is gorgeous, as I have heard and seen in pictures

3) we are going to Glendalough, one of the most pretty places in Ireland recommended by Jeanette! (my oldest sister) THANKS!

4) I’m curious to explore and see a new city…to see their culture and how they live…food, way of life…etc.

5) one of my best friends, Jillian, practically lives there. HAHA only kidding. She goes there a lot for Irish dance!

6) I saw the movie “Leap Year” before coming to London, and most of it is filmed in Ireland, where we will be going in the Wicklow mountains and Glendalough. (also, “PS, I love you” was filmed in that area)

A Daytrip to Greenwich

Saturday 2/13- Sonya, Chelsey, and I had a daytrip to Greenwich planned for a few days, so today we did just that. We woke mighty early to get on the tube and then bus ride to Greenwich, a little town and past residence of Queen Elizabeth. (**Also, where the prime meridian is, 0 degrees latitude & longitude) We had a full day ahead of us.

We first headed to the National Meritime Museum, covering everything about seafaring history. A lot of the museum is hands-on, interactive, with videos and displays. We saw a ship used to transport a queen down the Thames river, an old lighthouse, and a gallery of sea pictures. I enjoyed this museum a lot.

We then headed to the Queens House, which housed old portraits and other artwork. Inside, was a really awesome spiral staircase that was the first one made in Britain without middle support, or something like that. We weren’t supposed to take pics of it, but I managed to snap one. There was a really pretty room with black and white tiles that people can rent out for venues and parties. Cost: 10,000 pounds. WOAH! Costs a lot to hold a party in an old famous Queens house.

*outside the Queens house, front entrance

*looking at the backyard of the Queens house

We finished in time to head over to the Greenwich markets to eat and shop a little, which I was excited for! the markets have food and clothing, jewelry, scarf’s, paintings, ceramics, and other neat stuff. As far as the food stalls, there was one for every country imaginable, from ethipia, morocco, and thai, which I got b/c it had been 3 weeks since I had thai and was craving it. My meal was delicious! Some cashew and ginger chicken, yellow curry, some beef and veggies, noodles, and rice. YUMMM! For dessert, we headed strait to the fondue stall, where the guy dips in strawberries or bananas in milk or dark chocolate, and adds toppings of your fancy. I got marshmallows and some nuts. Again, it had been 3 weeks since I had marshmallows (they don’t have them here…and I just had to have them, and they were divineee!) I bought some bracelets and other little stuff from the stalls. Being in the market felt like I was in a different country; it was really sweet.

*thai food stall..delic!

*me with my chocolate, marshmallow & nuts strawberry fondue

After the markets, we walked up a big hill which consisted of a gorgeous view of London, to the National Observatory, which is known as being the spot of the Prime Meridian. It was soooo awesome to be at two places (and times) at once, the Eastern & Western hemisphere…. 0 degrees lat/long. We were very giddy & excited when we arrived. After taking pics on the meridian, we tried to see an astronomy show, but didn’t realize it cost, so walked around the time museum a whilewhich I loved, b/c as you all know, I am a very time oriented person. We got to see how watched have transformed since thousands of years ago.

*me on the Prime Meridian!!!

When we got back to apartments, we were exhausted & planned for a “girls night in,” so we went and got brownie mix to make brownies in and watched a movie.

World art & artifact: day at the British Museum & Orchestra concert

Friday 2/12- A full day ahead of us in gorgeous London, with slight rain in the forecast, lead us to the British museum, founded in 1753. The building itself is magnificent; I could sit in the lobby and people watch for hours. We left after lunch and headed our way to the museum. It carries world art and artifacts; It’s organized by continents and has everything from Roman statues, 17^th century jewelry, pottery and ceramics, mummies, medieval stuff, and tons tons more. The museum is gigantic, it would be impossible to go through every wing in a day and take it all in. We did, however, manage to trot thru most of it in a full afternoon.

My favorite was looking at the jewelry from the 17^th century; it looks similar to jewelry now, and its neat thinking the designs of jewelry I wear now are reminiscence of jewelry from thousands of years ago. One of the pieces most memorable to me was an artwork that consisted of a lifetimes worth of prescription pills from an average British persons life. The table with the pills was huge; there were tons! It made me think about what we put in our bodies and the medical field.

After the museum, we ate a great meal at Regents (PS, I am loving the food at campus more every day…its delicious) and then me and Bri accompanied Andrew to the an Orchestra performance at the Royal Academy of Music, which is a two minute walk from our campus. The Orchestra consisted of the students from the academy and a professional lady, which was delightful. They were really good, and it was refreshing to listen to an orchestra. It was a nice evening of listening to a great orchestra and hanging with friends.

*the outside of the British Museum
*the inside of the British museum

Super Jazzzy jazzzy jazz club!

Thursday 2/11- Wow, do weekends come fast. Another one, already?!?!? With Rainey, Steph, and Dave gone in Amsterdam, there was a small group of us left. We decided not to do our usual Thursday night of cooking, but did a “bring your own meal.” After we said goodbye to the three giddily headed for Amsterdam, me, Bri, Andrew, and Zach hung in “the penthouse” for a while. I mentioned we should go to a jazz club, instead that turned into going to a piano bar. (also, with my flatmate, Sonya) We all brought out our handy laptops, and started to search for one. I found Piano Bar & Restaurant, and after we read good reviews posted about it, we decided to go there. I was really excited 1) I had been in sick for the previous 3 days 2) I have always wanted to go to a piano bar!!!

After a quick tube ride, we hopped off and literally walked about 20 yards to the place. We headed up a narrow stairway and entered. To the right was the bar, and the left was the seating. In the back, was the piano. The lighting was dim, candles on the tables, and a sexy vibe overall made this place a place we ended up loving. The singer/player was mediocre, I liked him better when he started to play more “jazz” style. The luring of the music, candles, and atmosphere may have been a reason why we were surrounded with couples. (Great date spot, PS) Overall, we all enjoyed the place and I plan to go back.

*the outside of the place...doesn't look like much from the outside
*me, Zach, Sonya, and Andrew (Bri took pic)

*some of the interior and the guy playing at the piano in the back

Sickness in London...whatatt?!?! :(

Sunday 2/7- Ew. Woke up feeling sick with an achy body, sore throat and a headache, so I could not go with the others to our usual Sunday church hopping experience; today was St. Martins in the Fields. I relaxed all day which was much needed after these very busy past two weeks! I managed to go for a walk to get some fresh air and went grocery shopping…I got ingredients to make fajitas and stir-fry, my favorite foods, which I am very excited to cook!

I am seriously loving London. Every day, I experience something different about London, learn something new, or see something in a new light. The thought of me moving here has definitely come across my mind a few times…………..

Monday 2/8- Wednesday 2/10- I am still trying to recover my sickness… I did not do much at all but try to recover and go to sleep early. Being sick gave me a lot of time to relax and re-cooperate from the busy, busy previous weeks I have had!

I am loving London!!!!!!

Shakespeare's Birthplace & Warwick Castle

Saturday 2/6- Waking up early was bittersweet- the excitement of our first day trip, about a 2 hour coach drive away, and my tiredness! The agenda: Stratford Upon Avon and Warwick Castle. To inform ya’ll…Stratford upon Avon is William Shakespeare’s birth and homeplace. ROMEO & JULIET IS MY FAVORITE LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME, so it was sweet bring there!

It’s a market, shopping, and leisure town dating back to 800 years ago with buildings that are still alive today. I saw Shakespeare’s birthplace, as well as his mom’s.

It cost too much money to do the tours of the houses, so I didn’t decide to do that. Louis (met her in my bio class) and I had a fun time exploring the town. When we first got there, we ate at “The Food for Love,” (line form Twelfth Night) in which we had yummy paninis.

*Me and Louis in the streets of the town

We then headed another half hour to Warwick Castle, a medieval castle in Warwickshire, that is right beside the River Avon. It was built by William the Conqueror in 1068. It was really neat exploring the outside and inside of the castle. We had 3 hours there, which was too much, so Louis & I sat and talked in the restaurant of the castle.

I think only pictures can explain the beauty of the castle…