Piictures

I did get my pictures printed and put in albums so if anybody wants to look at them it would be easy now.  It took forever and cost a fortune.  I printed over four hundred pictures.   I might put those ones on facebook later.  Well if anybody wants to look at pictures come on over and I will make you some tea. 

This is the official end of my blog.  I will add another bit to my honors college blog page, but this is my last actual blog post.  It was fun writing, then it got tedious like homework, but I managed to keep up with it.  I'm glad I did, because it helped when I was putting my pictures in order.  Thanks everybody who has read my blog. 

The End. 

Back in Missouri

It has been nice being back.  I don't miss London all that much yet.  I think it is because I still don't believe I actually went there.  It seems almost like a dream, but I know its real.  Christmas was great I got to see a lot of family on Christmas day, my grandma and Sherry on the 26th, and my friends on the 27th.  I still haven't seen everyone, but I did get to see new baby Rachel the other day. 

I managed to get some tacos from Taco Bell, some American Chinese, and lots of Mom's cooking.  I really missed all the home cooked stuff most of all.  I still haven't gotten any fried chicken, but I figure I will before I go back to school. 

My computer died at the airport in DC.  I shocked it and it is now being turned into an external hard drive.  I miss it, but I have got a new computer already and a kindle fire too.  I love the kindle fire and my new computer is good too.  It's different than my other one and has a pretty good battery I think.  Hopefully it will last until I graduate.  My other one had a good run of two and a half years.  And It was probably being used 90% of the time I had it.  The keyboard was broken, and it was starting to get pretty slow and it overheated a lot. 

Well I guess I am done with this blog now.  I might have do something different if there is a next time.  My dad is trying to get me to do another study away program.  I just might do it, it would be easier to do it now when I don't have a job, or any other obligations. 

Finishing up my story

Well this is a little late, but I figured I should finish the story 

Well I ate some Wendy's and sat and listened to people snoring for a while, then I finally got on the plane.  I fell asleep easily and slept for almost the whole flight.  When I did wake up I realized that my right foot and leg were freezing.  I had a window seat and it was cold.  Well I arrived in St. Louis and worked my way out of the secure area, and found my family waiting for me at security.  I got lots of hugs and Emily got down on her knee and gave me a penguin ring.  We got my bags finally and headed to the car.  The boys carried took my suitcases and my someone else had my backpack and purse.  It was nice to be back.  I think I slept most of the way home and by the time we made it in the house it was like 3 am.   Poor dad who had to drive the whole way back.  I think that was the longest day ever. 

Going Home!

Today started out great.  I woke up got ready and maneged to get my stuff to the Gloucester underground station.  It wasn't bad getting to the platform.  I got on a Piccadilly line train but after I was on it realized it was the northern branch, so I got off at Actin Town and got on the next train.  I made it to the airport with no big trouble to speak of.  I'm glad I didn't waste money on a cab, and technically I didn't pay for my tube trip either. 

I got my bags checked with no problem, I don't think she even weighed them, good.  She told me there that my original flight was canceled, I already knew that thanks to parents checking flight status.  She said that the flight I was rebooked on was delayed and they were supposed to make up time in the air so I wouldn't miss my connecting flight.  She also said I could get some compensation for having my flight cancelled. 

I got through security and was ready to get on the plane at 10, but my flight wasn't until 12 and then it was delayed 50 minutes, so basically I sat in a chair for two hours waiting for a gate assignment, then I went to the gate and sat for another hour.  Then when I went to board the plane it turned out that they changed my seat.  It was a good change, but freaked me out a bit when the scanner wouldn't accept my boarding pass because of the seat change.  I ended up with an isle seat instead of a middle seat. 

So the plane takes off, then about an hour later they serve lunch.  It was a really good chicken dish, kind of like the kebabs chicken, and some pasta shells which were amazing.  I also got salad, a roll, and some cake stuff.  Then I slept slash listened to music for like six hours.  I didn't really get much sleep.  Well then we got a snack of a sandwich, crisps or well chips, and a twix.  Then we finally landed at Washington DC and I basically knew that I had already missed my connecting flight. 

It took a little while to get through the boarder, and customs.  I had to get my bags and take them through customs with me, then recheck them.  Hopefully they didn't go to St. Louis without me.  Then security took a lot longer than I wanted.  Stupid US security makes you take everything off: coat, jacket, and shoes.  By the time I got to where I could see a departure board, it said the flight was already closed.  So then I waited to talk to the information guy and he directed me to the gate where my flight should have been.  So I went to the gate, and the guy there checked me in for the next flight to St. Louis at 10.  At least I don't have to wait until tomorrow morning like the KC people had to. 

Now I am just sitting here with my laptop trying to keep myself entertained until I can go to the gate. 

Last day in London

For my last day in London, I went to Westminster Abbey for their 11:15 service.  It was really nice and seemed completely different from St. Paul's.  At Westminster, the priests and such were right in front of us.  There was not the separation like at St. Paul's.  Also, at Westminster, the people actually seemed more involved.  We said more stuff, and could actually understand what the choir was singing.  I really liked this service better.  Even though I had been to St. Paul's, I still felt pretty touristy not knowing what was going on.  Of course there had to be some really enthusiastic guy right beside me who was like praying every time he got a chance.   The sermon was nice, and I actually understood most of it considering it was about David in the Old Testament, then talking about how Jesus would establish the house of David forever.  It was the last Sunday of Advent at Westminster.  I have surprised myself by attending church service three times since thanksgiving. 

After church I got some food from Burger King since it was on the way back to my hotel.  Then I took a nap as I watched Jack Frost, and the chocolate factory movie, the old one.  It was a nice nap.  Then I went out and leisurely walked around London for the last time.  I stopped at McDonald's on the way back and had 9 chicken nuggets for the last time.  On another note, coke in a can is better here, but the fountain drinks are terribly yucky.  Maybe I'm just not used to the carbonation anymore.  I technically still don't really drink soda, but here the soda is different so I have to try it. 

In about 24 hours, I will be arriving in the US at Chicago.  It seems so close now, but still so far away.  Tomorrow is going to be horrible.  I will be traveling for almost 24 hours, depending on how fast I can get out of the airport at St. Louis.  At least I can make the boys take care of my suitcases at St. Louis.  Well I guess I better go downstairs and ask about the checkout procedures before I go to sleep since I have to leave at 5:30 in the morning. 

Two days left

Well today was pretty busy.  First I went to go get Debbie at her hotel and we went to the Leicester Square Odeon.  They were not actually playing the right movie like they said on the Internet, or anything else good, so we decided to watch My Week With Marylin at the Covent Garden Odeon.  We did a little shopping and got some McDonald's to sneak into the movie.  I had a very interesting McChicken sandwich.  Not even sure that's what it was, because it was dark and it tasted a little weird.   Well the movie was pretty good.  I even got to use my Odeon rewards points to get a free popcorn.  It was great. 

After the movie we went to Hamley's toy store.  It was so crowded so we didn't stay long, but I did get a paddington bear book.  I am pretty excited about it.  Then we went to Sainsbury and got some stuff and parted ways.  It makes me sad to see everybody leaving.  I don't think it will be easy for me to leave either.  I have decided that I am just going to suck it up and take the tube to the airport.  If I go to gloucester, I can take the lift down to the Piccadilly line and it should be easy enough from there.  I did go through my suitcases last night and took a bag of stuff to the trash this morning.  I may go through it again though.  I am so ready to be done traveling for a while.

Then when I came back to the hotel I found that Harry Potter was on the tv.  I was so happy I got to see half of number five.  Last night I saw some other pretty cool show about books and reading in general.  It talked about ebooks, printed books, the new interactive books.  I guess this makes me sound like a nerd, but it's ok, I am a nerd.

Moving Day

So today they kicked us out of the flat.  We woke up early, basically threw away all the food in the cabinets, washed the dishes, packed the rest of our stuff, and chatted for a while until the cleaning ladies made us get out.  Luckily it had stopped raining and snowing by that time, but it was still difficult getting all of our suitcases out of the building, to the tube stop, down the stairs, down the escalator, onto the tube, off the tube, up an escalator, across the station, up stairs, down more stairs, onto the tube again, off the tube, to the lift, then out of the station, to the hotel and up the stairs.  My arms felt like they were going to fall off, and I almost lost a shoe in the gap between the train and the platform.  I did manage to get some help from a few different guys who happened to be there and willing to help.  The the hotel desk guy carried my big suitcase up the stairs for me.  My room is decent.  I get a full bed to myself, and a kitchen area including a microwave, kettle, sink, and some stove type burner thing.  Apparently I don't understand what to do to make the outlet in the kitchen thing work, oh well.  The bathroom is interesting, I still don't exactly know how the shower is supposed to work, but I guess I can figure that out in the morning.  The one thing I would really complain about is the temperature.  It gets pretty cold in here and I obviously cant get the heat to work right.  Good thing I have a few jumpers and sweatpants. 

After I checked into my room I helped Debbie take her stuff to capa for a while and wait until she could check in at her hotel.  I also got my card from Aunt Lola.  Tonight I made an excellent cup of Swiss Miss hot chocolate in my hotel room.  So we hung around at capa for a while then I helped her take her stuff to her hotel and came back to my room to relax for a little while before dinner.  Then at like four, we went to Wagamama to have one last bowl of Ramen.  That was the best Ramen ever, and I am going to say I won.  I ate pretty much all of it except for a little soup and some onions floating around.  I will miss that Ramen in the US.  Then we came back to my room and watched TV and made plans for tomorrow.  We are going to watch Arthur Christmas at Leicester Square then do some shopping and maybe eat at a pub for the last time.  I still don't know what I will do on Sunday.  Maybe I will just nap all day, because that just sounds awesome. 

Packing Day

So today I got up early.  Debbie and I helped Amanda get all her suitcases on the heathrow connect at paddington.  It wasn''t too bad, but I did end up with a battle wound.  When getting her suitcase off the tube, I guess I didn't move my foot fast enough and it kind of fell on my ankle and scratched it up pretty bad.  It still hurts.  Well we got back to the flat, I started some laundry and went back to sleep.  I got up later and did some more laundry, then went to Capa to print some information.  On the way I stopped at my hotel and got some information from them.  It isn't hard to find, and not very far from the tube stop either.  The guy at the desk seemed nice enough.  So I guess I can go check in at one tomorrow.  I decided that I am just going to take the Piccadilly tube to the airport.  I should have plenty of time if I get up early enough. 

Well I got back, packed up everything, and now I just hope that it ends up under the weight limit.  I really don't want to pay an overweight fee.  I got some snacks for the plane and got the rest of my food stuffs together.  I have a bag of snacks to take to the hotel with me.  I wish I could just go home tomorrow, but I can wait till Monday.  I think I am going to watch a movie some time this weekend, probably My Week With Marylin, or Another Earth.   Then I can use my rewards points and get a free popcorn or drink. 

Liverpool

So on Wednesday, Debbie Amanda and I went to Liverpool, the home of the beetles.  It took us five and a half hours to get there and we only had 4 hours to spend in Liverpool, but It was worth it.  It was a bigger town than I expected, and not terribly excited about the beetles at all.  We walked forever before seeing anything beetles related.  Finally we just happened to come to the Cavern club.  We took pictures of everything that was semi beetles related.  I don't know a lot about the beetles, but I felt excited anyway.  It was just so cool to be there.  I went to through away my coffee cup in a rubbish bin, and the thing starting singing to me "thank you very much, thank you very very much."  It scared the crap out of me.  I thought it was Oscar from Sesame Street.  It was so weird.  Well we then walked around and bought some crepes with nutella.  I think nutella is pretty good, just basically like chocolate.  Then we also got some chips and stopped at Costa again.  We made it to the coach station early and waited for a little bit.  Then we had a five and a half hour drive back to London. 

Then when we got back, we realized Alyssa was missing and so we went to look for her next door where there was a lot of noise.  Turns out there was a party going on in there and our Alyssa was partying it up.  Well it was nice seeing everybody one last time, and they seemed a lot less annoying when drunk.  I had a shot of gin and another of wine.  Then I drank almost half a beer.  It was fun and cheered Amanda up.  Then we decided to leave so we could get stuff done. 

Last day of Class

For my last Aesthetics class, we had a wine tasting.  It was fun and a totally new experience for me.  I learned a lot about the elements that make wines different.  I also learned that I like the white wines a lot more than reds.  Somehow I felt a little tipsy or maybe it was just my headache, but really I didn't drink that much wine.  After class, I went and finished my shopping pretty much, then I got some dumplings for dinner.  It was nice just to have one more normal day in London. 

Last Monday of School

Well I got up a little early this morning and went to Capa to print my paper to turn in for my Understanding Modern Britain class.  Class started a little over an hour late and lasted for like twenty minutes.  Then we all went to a farewell lunch.  I had pizza and it was really good with desert and tea.  The tea was a little strange.  There were a few speeches, so it felt like graduation or something.  It was sad thinking that we were saying goodbye to each other and to London.  Sometimes I just want this week to be over, but then again I don't feel like I want to leave yet.  It is going to be a hard week, getting ready to leave, and actually leaving will be so sad I really don't want to think about it. 

Cardiff again

So Yesterday I went back to Cardiff for a second time.  It was still lovely.  We walked around saw a lot of stuff including the national museum that they firmed Doctor Who at.  It rained a lot, but at least it wasn't as cold as Saturday.  I looked for the Dalek again but didn't find it.  Then we hid in the Queen's Arcade while it was raining.  My umbrella sure got a workout anyway.  We stopped in at a nice cafe called BBs and had some good tea.  It was such a cute place and the cupcakes smelled really good.  Then we went out into the open and walked by the Christmas market stalls and looked at all the pretty lights.  Then we stopped at Wagamama for some miso soup and some jasmine flowering tea.  The soup was good and so was the tea, but it didn't flower like it was supposed to.  It was a dud, kinda, or just a failure.  After Wagamama we went to the coach station and managed to get on the earlier bus back.  We got back almost a whole hour early, yay.  Then I did my Aesthetics paper and went to sleep.  

Stratford-upon-Avon

So on Saturday I went with  Debbie and Amanda to Stratford-upon-Avon.  We took the train and had no trouble getting on the first train, but we almost missed our connecting train and had to run across the platform to make sure we got on it.  We did make it on the train and to Stratford-upon-Avon.  We walked around looked at all the stores and tried to stay warm.  It was just above freezing when we were there and everything had frost on it.  It was quite pretty I think.  We went to see the birthplace of Shakespeare, and then we went to the bookshop.  I got some postcards, but really wanted the complete works.  I restrained myself.  We went to a really cute pub for lunch.  It was called The Thatch Tavern.  We sat next to the fire and it was really nice.  I had a thatch burger, chips, and side salad.  The burger was really good, except for the caramelized onion chutney, it was just a little too weird.  We looked around in some more shops, and just tried to stay warm.  We even saw some reindeer.  It was really nice, and we had fun walking around and looking for imaginary things.  The train ride back was nice because we didn't have to switch trains.  It was a cute little village, not really very big at all but amazing because of it.