It's Not Goodbye... It's See You Later :)

It seemed like just yesterday that I arrived in London, not knowing what to expect, scared to be so far from home.  But in reality, I only have eight days left over here in this country.  Who knew that time could pass so quickly?!  The experiences that I have encountered while being here have been a chance of a lifetime.  From just being able to come to London to traveling to Poland, Gibraltar, Bath, Stonehenge, Brighton and Wales, this has been one insane and memorable journey!  Who would have thought that I would be going home with a broken nose and deviated septum?  Not me, that’s for sure!  I can definitely say that Wales was by far the most exciting and I guess you could say “dangerous” trip I went on.  I suggest everyone goes there!  Being able to experience another country at such a young age has changed me in so many ways.  I have never been so grateful for what I have at home until coming here.  That makes it sound like this place stinks but that’s not the case.  Being away from home for almost four months has opened my eyes and made me realize how much I actually have.  It is nice to be going home in eight days because I am more than ready but I know that I will miss certain aspects of this country.  The food is not one of them. J  I know I will miss being able to go out and have a drink when I want to, after all who wouldn’t like to do that?  Especially after a stressful week with school.  I will also miss the public transportation.  Coming from a town that doesn’t have public transportation, it was a huge difference to me.  It was nice to not have to drive anywhere or pay for my gas.  And I will miss the people I have met – they’ve been very helpful and warm.  All in all, this journey has been one of a lifetime and will always be a memory.  Hopefully someday I will come back to this exciting place called London.

What a Wonderland!

We are now down to our last week of classes. It is crazy how fast these three months have flown by. This has been a fantastic learning and traveling experience for all of us. There have been those who traveled to Italy, France, Spain, Scotland, and Wales and more trips to come during our last week here. As our time in London comes to an end many of us are getting anxious to go home to see our friends and family. But out time here is not quite done. I feel there is still so much to do and see and not much time left to do it. Christmas is coming fast and the decorations are going up. I am so happy we get to see a taste of how they celebrate Christmas here. In Hyde Park they have sent up Winter Wonderland. It is quite incredible. Winter Wonderland is a giant Christmas Carnival with everything anyone could want. There are crazy rides unlike any that I have ever seen at amusement parks back home, let alone at a temporary carnival. Everywhere you look there is some sort of treat to be had, whether sweet or savory. (The picture shows just one of the many places to satisfy a sweet tooth.) The Winter Wonderland has so many little craft tents set up so Christmas shopping can be done right there. There is also an ice skating rink and a circus! I thought that people in the States enjoyed Christmas, but here they celebrate it on a whole new level from anything that I have ever seen before. Winter Wonderland is just one of the many wonderful experiences I have had since I have been in England. I have learned so much from friends, professors, and experiences, things I would have never known if I had not come to England. Now is the time to really take advantage of our last moments here.

Seeing my Cousin in London

A few months ago I was told that I was going to be having a visitor come to see me in London in the midst of my study abroad experience. It turned out that my cousin was visiting London for the better part of a week for her birthday. She was staying in the Savoy Hotel with her boyfriend. The Savoy is across from the London Eye, and is only a 20 minuet walk from Tower Bridge. We made plans to meet with each other on the third day that they were in london, once they had gotten over the jet lag. I was more than happy to make the trip out to Central London to meet with my visitors to explore around the area that they were staying in.

We decided to meet in from of the Tate Modern Museum at noon to begin our day together. I went out on my own without a map or plan on how to get to the museum because I wanted to be able to navigate around by learning the way myself. I eventually made it to the Tate Museum and found my cousin and her boyfriend. We decided to started walking towards the Tower Bridge in search of a place to have lunch. We found nice place that was built in an old tube station. We had a delicious lunch along with a very fine bottle of wine which was delicious. Once we left the restaurant we noticed that there was a lot of people out on this day. We started to follow some of the crowds of people which led to a huge open air market full of fresh food and drinks. I was amazed by the number of people who were outside walking around and spending their time in the city, instead of in their homes.

This experience of being out with my cousin showed me how alive the city of London is, and how active its patrons can be.

My Weekend in Paris

This past weekend I went to Paris along with another WNE student, Brett, as well as my roommate here at Richmond University, Jeremy. The three of us left for Paris on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Paris around 8pm. We were so excited to be in this amazing city we didn’t know what to do first. We ended up walking from the hostel we were staying at all the way to the other side of the city to go see the Eiffel Tower, and along the way made many different stops at the cool places we found. By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower it was almost mid-night, but the long walk was well worth the amazing sight of the Eiffel Tower all lit up. The two days we went all over the city and visited many of the major attractions including the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Louvre just to name a few. These were all really cool things to see, but nothing topped climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The three of us decided that it would be the most fun to climb the 674 stairs to the second floor, where from there we could take an elevator to the top. After a long climb up the stairs and a quick elevator ride we reached the top of the tower; and I can honestly say it was well worth every single one of those 674 to the top. The view was one of the most of things I have ever seen. Another thing I enjoyed was the French food that we throughout the weekend. My roommate who is French recommended many French dishes for me to try. These included a dish I had for dinner called beef bourguignon and then for breakfast I tried many different things from the French bakeries including baguettes, croissants, and pain au chocolat. Overall the weekend was a very memorable one. The three of us shared many laughs along the way and saw many of the most famous attractions in Paris.

A Nontraditional Thanksgiving

Although I was away from family this thanksgiving I was still able to get a sense of home with my mom coming to visit. She has never been outside of the United States so instead of spending her full week around London, we also planned part of her week in Scotland. The first few days I showed her around Richmond, Piccadilly Circus and all of the normal tourist spots such as Westminster, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. The Friday after thanksgiving we got onto a train and left for Edinburgh, Scotland. Even though I have been in the United Kingdom for about three months I still have not been able to see the country side. I was so excited about seeing different scenery that I spent most of our four hour train ride with my nose pressed up against the window looking at the pretty landscapes of lush green farms and ocean views. Once we got into Edinburgh, we dropped our stuff at the hotel and started to explore. Down the street from where we were staying was a mini winter carnival that had rides, games, and a beautiful ferris wheel. From the mini carnival we were able to get an amazing view of the Edinburgh Castle that sat at the top of the mountain. Wanting to get a closer look, we trekked up the steep cobble stone roads to the entrance of the castle. Once we got inside the castle we got to see an amazing panoramic view of the city and other mountains that were close by. By the time we were done touring the castle it was dark out and we decided to make our way back down the mountain. On our way back we took a different route and found a small German flee market. It was packed with people eating food, listening to music and having a great time. We were having so much fun that we forgot about our traditional Thanksgiving plans and had fun enjoying our own special nontraditional Thanksgiving. I would recommend a trip to Scotland to anyone traveling in the U.K.