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. 

Busy Friday

Friday I went to Harrods and rode on the fancy Egyptian Escalator. It was pretty cool I must admit. Then we found the Harry Potter shop, where I purchased a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I can't wait to read it and see all the British words. I even got a free poster of Harry and Voldemort. I loved the Harry Potter shop it was just so cool, and they had a monster book to play with. I really wanted to get a M.o.M. keychain, but didn't. We went to Accessorize as well and I bought myself some things to remind me of London. Then We went to Yum Cha in Camden and I bought tea. I also bought other tea at the souvenir shop there. After our afternoon of shopping we came back to get Alyssa and then we went out to eat Indian food one last time. It was really good food and I ate way too much. On the way back we took a wrong bus and ended up having to walk quite a ways, but at least we were not lost too long.

Getting things ready to leave the flat next week

Yesterday and Today I have mostly just been doing some last minute things and homework.  I slept in on Wednesday and then i went to Asda to get stuff, but of course they didn't even have what I went to get.  Oh well, I got some other stuff instead, like a Dr. Who Advent calender.  I had lots of fun getting back. 

Today I went to the post office this morning and bought a newspaper.  Then I went on a lovely walk around the block and took pictures of the canal, and some of the rest of the neighborhood.  I am going to miss this place.  It seemed like I was saying goodbye.  Then I went to Lord's Cricket Pitch with my Philosophy of Sport Class.   It was really cool.  Our tour guide looked and talked a bit like Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter.  The tour was cool, we saw the ashes, and the stadium.  We even got to go up in the media building.  I am so glad we went.  Lord's is a venue for the 2012 Olympic archery competition, so I might get to see it on TV next summer. 

Just another thing, I saw a 5-year-old version of Arthur Weasley today.  He was wearing a silly hat and carrying two sticks.  It was so strange.  By the way, most older British guys look like Arthur Weasley, and the ladies look like Molly. 

The last terrible Tuesday not so bad I guess.

Last night I stayed up late studying for my Child development test this morning.  It was not very hard, I just hope I wrote down the right stuff.  We had to write a few pages in answer to two out of eight questions discussed throughout the semester.  I chose Language Development and Piaget.  I think I did fine, but I have to wait and see how it effects my grade.  In my Aesthetics class we watched another movie about wine.  After class Amanda Debbie and I managed to cook our own version of Indian tofuhelper.  It was pretty good.  We even had Naan with it. 

I can't wait for classes to be done, and I think I am actually ready to go back to the United States.  I will probably not feel the same way after I have been back for a week.  Maybe Christmas will keep the inevitable depression at bay for a while.  I hope it won't be too bad, but I know it will be hard getting used to life in the United States again.   Well I know my family wants me back, my mom keeps reminding me how many days left on facebook.  Sometimes multiple times in one day; miss you too mom.  I don't know if anybody else even knows I've been gone, or cares, but I am glad to be going back to my crazy family.  See everybody soon. 

Two weeks left

Time is running out to do all this stuff I have to do before I go back home.  Today we did our group presentation for Understanding Modern Britain class.  I think it was fine, and the class was happy with our mars bars we brought.  After Class I went to Wagamama with Amanda and Debbie and had some Ramen.  It was good and I ate too much probably.  Then I went to Oxford street and bought a suitcase.  It was sort of expensive, but probably as cheap as I could get it.  I went in another store earlier and this really creepy guy kept trying to get me to give him my number and go dancing with him.  Creepy, and I ran away as fast as I could.  Well it was also weird taking my suitcase back to the flat empty.  It kept bouncing off of everything since it weighed basically nothing.  Now I am trying to study for my test tomorrow, but it is going very slowly. 

St. Paul's

This morning Debbie and I went to St. Paul's for church.  It was nice, but there were not very many people there.  Most of the singing I couldn't understand, but it sounded pretty.  The sermon was interesting and I found out that the British say Isiah really weird.  After the service we went to Leicester Square to get some chopping done, and now I only have two things I have to get before I leave.  Maybe some extras if I still have money and space in my suitcase. 

Cambridge

Today I went to Cambridge with my Understanding modern Britain class.  We went on the train and took a bus from the train station to the city center.  We then went to Kings College.  It was a very nice church that we saw with amazing ceiling and stained glass windows.  After that, we went out and saw the lawn, but it was cold, so we then went to find lunch.  I had a chicken kebab with some chili sauce and yucky white goo.  Well it was good except for the white goo.  We even got a discount because we were students.  Well after lunch we walked around looked in various shops.  We even saw a shop selling American food like Kraft mac and cheese and lucky charms.  I really wanted the Swiss Miss but wasn't going to pay that ridiculous amount when I am going home in like two weeks.  Eventually we headed back to the train because it was just cold and we were tired.  We got right on the train and went back to London King's Cross Station.  Now we are back and supposed to be doing homework, but I really don't want to.  I only have one test, and 4 papers to do before I am finished with the semester. 

There are a few places I would like to go before I leave.  I think I want to go back to the British Museum, the Imperial War Museum, and Maybe Westminster.  I know there are some other things, but I don't remember right now.  I might end up at the British Library sometime, but I am not too sure.  I might try to go to burough market. 

For now it seems like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it and sleep. 

The Doctor Who Experience

Yesterday was fun, but crazy.  I went to the Dr. Who Experience, but had a lot of trouble getting there, between the stupid tube, waiting for the bus, missing my stop, getting back on the tube, walking to the next tube station, and deciding to just take the tube to hammersmith and walking ten minutes to the actual place, I was only an hour and a half late.  Luckily it didn't matter what time I got there since they were not busy.  So first I walked through these few displays from the vampires of Venice and The Hungry Earth episodes.  Then I waited for a while for the show to start.  First I went into a room that had a few benches and a movie screen.  The screen had a crack through it and it looked like someone had done something to the screen.  We  it started with Matt Smith talking about how he was stuck in the pandorica again.  So us "shoppers" had to rescue him.  So the video stops and the screen opens up and we walk through into the starship UK library. 

Another video plays and tells us to go through into the tardis.  So the tardis appears and we walk through the doors.  It was like the actual set there.  Of course it was the new tardis.  So Matt Smith comes on again and says that we have to fly the tardis somewhere, so we do.  we actually got to play with some controls, and while it was flying the floor moved and it was awesome.  We landed somewhere, and had to get out quickly.  He kept saying to keep going and don't touch the walls.  Then we came out into this room and the daleks appeared.  They tried to exterminate us, but The Doctor fought them off I guess.  the light and sound effects were pretty cool at that point.  Then we went through another passage filled with weeping angels and tried not to blink.  We finally ended up outside the pandorica and let the Doctor out.  It was just so cool, like as close as I would ever get to being in an actual episode of Dr. Who. 

Then I walked through the displays part and took lots of pictures of the previous doctors, companions, and monsters.   Then of course I took a picture of the tardis next to the Christmas tree.  I bought the book and some button badges at the shop.  I left just in time, because there was a herd of kids behind me making a lot of noise.  I decided to take a bus to Paddington, and while I was there I did some shopping and got Starbucks.  I also looked at some suitcase prices while I was there.  I think I know where I will buy one, but I am still looking for a better price.  I also need to get just a few more items before I leave. 

I got back to the flat, ate lunch, sat for a while, then I went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.  Basically it is a lot of stalls with food, crafts, and jewelry.  I bought a few things.  Debbie and I went to Lush before that and I did some Christmas shopping there too.  We didn't stay long because there were a lot of people and it was cold.  I think I might go back some afternoon if I have time, and don't forget.  Just a few more things and my Christmas shopping will be done.

First Day of December.

Today I went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.  I got there early enough so I was in the second row of people near the middle.  I saw most of everything, and got some good pictures without the bars of the fence being in the way.  The band was cool, and I think they might have played a Beetles song.  After the ceremony, I took some pictures of the monument/fountain in front of the palace.  Then I tried to go back got distracted by band guys in cool hats, and police on horses and ended up getting lost.  I ran into a policeman wandering around, apparently I was not supposed to be there.  He gave me directions back to where I should have been.  So I then went to Leicester Square to see about discount ticket prices.  I didn't find any super good deals, so I wandered around and found a McDonald's for lunch.  After lunch I looked in some shops and went to CAPA for class.  In my sports class, we watched some movie about  cricket that was boring.  Next week we are supposed to go to Lords cricket museum.  After class I went to Trafalgar Square for the Christmas tree lighting.  It rained and it was miserable.  Remind me that tree lighting ceremonies are sucky, especially in the rain. 

A very fun two days of Christmasness

Yesterday was really busy.  First I had my Child Development class.  It was our last actual lecture class, because next week is our final exam.  Then I had my Aesthetics class.  We talked about wine for a while and then we watched the movie Sideways.  It was a pretty good movie about wine.  After Class Debbie and I went to the Pantomime performance of Cinderella.  It was really good and worth the crazy long tube ride to get there and back.  It was mostly like the basic story of Cinderella, but set in modernish London, specifically Hackney, and the stepmother was from Bethnal Green.  It was fabulous, there was crossdressing, singing, dancing, audience participation, and just silliness.  Towards the end they all sang Firework and it was the best version ever.  I know Elizabeth Mabe would love it, she already knows the dances.  Anyways, It was so cool and I recommend everyone to see a panto if they ever come to London.  It is great for everyone, kids and adults alike. 

Today I got up and went to Camden to do some Christmas shopping.  I got a lot done, and am very happy.  I had some really good Chinese food for lunch and green tea.  On the way I stopped and got a Christmas tree doughnut for breakfast.  It was such a good day full of christmasness.  Later when I returned, our flat discussed our group presentation that we are doing on Monday.  Somehow I was motivated to provide the flat a Christmas tree.  It started out with me drawing one on a post it, but then it proceeded to me making a huge  tree out of postits.  It turned out spectacular, considering we had no tape or scissors.  I even made a star for the top.  I guess I am practicing for the bulletin boards I will end up making as a teacher.  Pictures of the tree will end up on Facebook soon, don't worry.  We also decided it would be nice to leave quotes from the movie Elf on the doors of the other flats.  It was great.  Amanda went and checked a little while ago, and someone took them all and put them on the flat M door.  I wander who did that and what their motives were. 

I can't believe it is already December.  How the time flies sometimes.  I think I am ready to go home, I just don't want to forget anything.  less than twenty days before I go home.  

Stressful weekend

The past few days have not quite turned out like I expected.  Friday, I went to Harrods to look around.  Harrods is a giant department store with everything you could imagine for sale.  I spent three hours in there and then I went to primark.  I bought some clothes at primark, probably more than I should have.  I also got a gift as well.  I decided to get some groceries before I came back to the flat, so I went on to Kilburn Park to go to the grocery store.  I got plenty of stuff, but when I tried to get back on the tube I found it was closed so I had to go walk around forever before I found a bus that would take me to the right place.  Sometimes I wish people wouldn't throw themselves in front of the trains. 

Saturday Debbie, Amanda, and myself got up early to go to Oxford.   We managed to miss our train, and it was going to be too expensive to buy a ticket for the next one, so we decided just to use the day to go to portobello road market and take a nap.  Portobello road was nice.  There were a lot of antiques and crafty things there in addition to the touristy shops.  My nap was marvelous though.  I went back to sleep for probably four hours.  I then proceeded to write my sports paper and sent it in. 

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to Bristol with Amanda and Debbie.  We were going to take the tube to victoria to meet the coach, but it was closed.  So, we had to walk back the other direction and find the right buss stop to get on a bus 18 to victoria station.  We didn't have much time and the bus usually takes forever, so we were panicking.  Eventually the bus came and we made it to the coach station with six minutes to spare, that is with some fast paced walking and the running across streets in front of cars.  It was alright once we got on the bus though, and we relaxed for the 3 hour trip there. 

We had a nice time walking around and doing some Christmas shopping.  We had lunch at a pub and then went back for a pint before dinner.  I might have been slightly drunk when we left, but it is ok, at least I could walk on my own.  We had dinner at a pizza place and the pizza was really good I thought.  Then we sat and talked about stuff for a while and eventually went back to the coach station.  I slept for most of the 3 hour ride back even though people were talking loudly and had lights on.  I apparently didn't care.  We got back to the flat around midnight or a little after. 

Today I went to the London Mosque for my Understanding Modern Britain class.  We sat and listened to the history of the mosque, and learned a lot about Islam.  After our chat in the Mosque, we went and ate.  We had Indian food and it was really good.  There was chicken, veggies, rice, and even ice cream for desert.  It was really cool to learn about their religion, and they seem to be very generous with information and food.  Now I am back and am thinking about taking another nap or working on my final for class.  What to do?

The beginning of the end.

This week seems to be the beginning of the rush at the end of the semester.  I have a lot of stuff planned for the next three weekends, and other stuff that I have to find time for.  This week, on Monday I went to class and then went to Westfield Mall for a while.  It is a huge mall, much bigger than anything I have ever been to before.  It had over 230 stores and 4000 parking spaces.  On

Tuesday I had my trip to the Freud Museum for my child development class.  The Freud house was really cool.  There were artifacts, books, paintings, rugs, and cool furniture.  I learned a lot more about the guy and his family while I was there.  Then, for my Aesthetics class we made some instant cups of Ramen, and tried them before going to Wagamama for real Ramen.  I had chicken ramen and iced peach tea.  It was an amazing meal, and I must say that I am getting good at using chop sticks, surprisingly. 

Wednesday I went to the British Museum with Debbie.  We looked at most of the stuff on the ground floor.  I saw the stuff from the Parthenon, the Rosetta stone, and lots of other stuff.  I need to go back there once more before I leave to look at the stuff on the top floor.  After the museum, we went to chipotle and then we shopped around a little before heading to the Globe.  We watched some students perform Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale.  I think they did a good job, but it was really cold sitting outside for that long.  It was really nice coming back to the flat and making a nice cup of tea. 

Today was Thanksgiving of course.  I went with Alyssa to St. Paul's cathedral for the Thanksgiving day service.  It was really cool,  we sang songs that reminded me of home.  I have been thinking about America all day.  After the service, I went to CAPA and waited until my Philosophy of sport class.  We had a guest who gave a lecture on cricket and played a video for us to see some part of the game.  Class finished early, so I was able to go to the Pantomime lecture.  A pantomime performance is like a crazy mass of crossdressing crazy silly stuff.  I think it sounds amazing.  We got free tickets to a pantomime Cinderella on Tuesday evening. 

After the lecture we waited at CAPA for a while then headed over to the Holiday Inn where our Thanksgiving meal would be served.  Debbie, Amanda, and I split a pitcher of Russian Punch.  It was really good.  Our first course consisted of a butternut squash soup and bread.  It was pretty good, but of course I had to make a mess, dripping it on the table.  Then we got our main course buffet style.  I had some apple something salad, turkey, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, dressing, corn, broccoli, and more bread.  It was all really good and I ate way too much.  Then for desert I had apple pie with cream.  In general the food was pretty good.  After our meal we had a pub quiz.   It was basically questions about British culture and such.  Our table didn't do too good, but we at least didn't get  last place. 

When I got back to the flat i skyped with my parents, siblings, granny, and great aunt Sherry.  It was nice to see everybody after thinking about home all day.  I wish I could have been there, but I will be for Christmas and I guess that is soon enough and not at the same time.  I feel like I am complaining about being here, but I really am thankful that I have had the chance to experience the world.  I wouldn't change a thing, but sometimes I miss those back in Missouri. 

Last day in Paris

This morning I went to the Louvre.  We walked past the glass pyramid and saw some arc thing I don't remember the name.  At the actual museum I went and saw the Mona Lisa first, then I walked around and saw a bunch of other stuff.  I saw the statue of Aphrodite and some other thing by Michelangelo.  It was a nice museum, but very confusing.  I ran into another Capa student while I was there.  What are the odds?  After the Louvre  we got on the bus to come back to London.  The ferry and everything was basically the same.  I listened to some Christmas music on the bus, and stayed awake for most of the trip back. 

I really liked Paris, but I don't think I had enough time to really see it like I should.  I want to go back some time, maybe when it is warmer. 

Paris: not quite as great as the movies portray, but still good

Well I woke up at eight this morning, made it downstairs for breakfast at nine and thirty minutes later we were on the bus headed to Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is a fancy looking catholic church that sits on the top of this hill. It was like the Spanish steps all over again, but it smelled worse. I didn't actually go in the church. We walked around to the square and had an hour of free time to do whatever. First I went to a little church and it was really pretty inside.

I was walking around and some street artist asked me if I wanted my portrait made. I said ok after negotiating the price, it was still high, but hey, how many times am I going to be in Paris. Well it took about 10 minutes, and I really don't know if it looks like me at all. I didn't get a great look at it before he rolled it up with the wax paper stuff. Well I guess I will be surprised when I actually get to look at it when I get home. Well after that I walked around some more and saw all of the street artists. There were so many people there it was crazy. I also bought a tube to put my portrait in. I still had time so I ventured further out and looked in some of the gift shops, got a few postcards, then just looked around until it was time to leave. Next we walked down to Moulin Rouge.

Then we got back on the bus and went to Notre Dame. It was amazing. I remember watching the movie and reading the book, but I still wasn't prepared. It was not really a happy looking place inside. There were stained glass windows, and flying buttresses. I bought a guide book there before I left. Then I tried looking around for an ATM so I could get some money for lunch, but when I did find one it rejected my card because I had a hold on my account. Yeah, thanks Bank of America, because of you I missed lunch.

After Notre Dame I went on the optional trip to the Palace of Versailles. It was cool I guess, but the palace wasn't my favorite, I kept comparing it to the British places and it loses. Anyhow, I really liked the garden area. It was huge. I walked for like 12 minutes and didn't really even get to the end of it. Well we got back on the bus and made it back to Paris.

The bus dropped those of us who had not seen the Eiffel Tower yet at the tower. We all stayed together at first and I talked to an older couple from Malaysia. They had their god kids with them and it was nice to talk to people who spoke English so well. So I went to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. It is so cool to see all of the lights of Paris at night. You can't really see much when it is dark, but it is really pretty just all the lights and the occasional landmark. After the tower, I wandered around until I found a metro station. It was harder than I ever would have imagined. Then I figured out how to buy my tickets, and actually get where I needed to be.

I went to the Christmas Market on Champs Elysees. There were tons and tons of stalls selling stuff mostly food. That may be why I feel sick now. Well I had some potato thing for dinner. It was very similar to the hash brown casserole, but without the cheese. It was really good. I also got some churros before I left. I didn't leave until eleven, and the party was still going. I wonder what time they actually close down stuff, it must be late. Well now I am back in my hotel room writing this and trying to get rid of this very specific headache I have had all day. Well tomorrow we are going to the Louvre for a few hours then heading back to London.

Paris

It has been a very long day already, and I even lost an hour. I got up at 4 this morning to make sure I would have plenty of time to make it to meet my coach. I had to take 2 different busses to get there, but I got there plenty early, and was about to panic when there was nobody there by 6 when the official pick up time was 6:05. Then the bus came and I got on and took a nap on the way to Dover.

At Dover, we took a ferry across to France. The ferry was huge, everyone on the 6 car decks had to leave their cars and go to the top 2 levels for the hour and a half it took to go twenty some miles. I almost fell asleep on the ferry but managed to stay awake. They had a bunch of cafes and a mini mall as well. Well eventually I looked out the window and was like "Oh, there's France?" Anyway, after the ferry, it was another 4 hours to Paris. We took a break at some service station, and I got a cheeseburger from a Belgian fast food chain called Quality Burger Restaurant. Somehow I find this silly.
Well we finally made it to Paris and went on a short panoramic tour before our boat cruise down the Seine. On the tour, we saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and a lot of other places I don't remember the names of. On the boat ride, we went past the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and a lot of other stuff. While waiting in line for the boat, I got some decent pictures of the Eiffel Tower. After the boat, we continued our panoramic tour and saw stuff in the dark. It was cool to see everything all lighted up. I even got to see the tower sparkle. We drove down this street that had a huge Christmas market. I hope to get a chance to go tomorrow night before the Eiffel Tower. After the tour we checked into our hotel. I am so glad it is not a hostel. Then we walked down to this village area that is now shops and eateries that have been built from the old wine warehouses. It was nice, but everything was expensive, so I got a Panini on the way back to my room. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day, but I am ready.

The last semi boring week for a while.

I was just going to post my Paris stuff, and realized I had written nothing about the previous week. I am slacking a bit I guess. Well, Monday was a Monday, I went to class and I think that was about it. Tuesday I had two classes, and they were both alright I guess. In my aesthetics class we watched a disturbing movie about ramen, and just a normal lecture in child development. Wednesday I was going to do some shopping, but was lazy and didn't even go anywhere. Thursday I went to class and we watched Bend it like Beckham. It was a good movie actually. Then I went to get some groceries and did some Christmas shopping while I was there. I managed to find time before class to go to the ATM and exchange some money at the Post office as well. When I got back to the flat I managed to get my stuff packed for Paris, eat, and whatever all before eleven when I went to sleep.

Wales and Sunday Roast

It has been an interesting weekend so far.  Friday Morning I went to CAPA with Debbie to use the Internet.  We stayed till almost five then we got some groceries at sainsbury's for our group meal on Saturday.  When we all got back to the flat, we decided to go get sushi for dinner.  We went to some place near Notting Hill called Feng Sushi.  I got miso soup, and deluxe California maki.  The miso soup was really good.  It was like some sort of broth with tofu, onions, and other stuffs in there.  The sushi was a little strange.  At first I just kept looking at it, but eventually I put my chopsticks to use and ate a piece.  I had four pieces, but they all tasted different even though they contained the same stuff.  The one I got had semi-cooked crab.  Some pieces were really good, and some were barely edible, but I ate all of it.  Afterwards, we went to Starbucks and I got some hot chocolate.  It was OK, definitely not the best.  When we got back to the flat we ordered our train tickets to Oxford.  We are going there on Nov. 26.  Afterwards, I was thinking about my Wales trip and looked up the date.  It turned out to be the next day.  Somehow I was thinking it was in December.  Lucky I looked when I did.   So I got my stuff done for the next day and went to sleep. 

I didn't have to be at Earls Court until nine, so I got up at seven and left around eight.  It is a good thing I left early because the circle line was closed so I had to go the long way around.  I still got there a little early, so I went to the ATM first and got some monies.  I still waited a while for the bus to get there.  sometime after nine, I got on the bus and there were only about fifteen of us total, so it was a small bus.  Our driver was nice, talked a bit, then we left.  At like 11:30 or so, we stopped at a service station, which is like a mini mall on the freeway.  Anyhow, after 45 mins we headed out again.  Sometime around 1:30 we made it to Cardiff and went on a tour of the city on the bus.  I saw Cardiff bay and torchwood tower, along with the theater and dome.  We got off of the bus near Cardiff Castle, and had an hour of free time.  I walked into the city shopping center and looked around at some stores.  I saw actual licorice wands, and a store that just sells buttons. 

We got back on the bus and went about half an hour more to the Caerphilly Castle.  It is a lovely Renaissance castle.  It wasn't all touristy like the Tower of London.  It is supposed to be the third biggest castle in the UK.  We went and listened to our guide for a while, then we had thirty minutes to wander around on our own.  I would have liked to spend all day there, but I did go back to the bus.  One of my favorite parts was climbing up on this fort like thing with this giant crossbow like thing.  It was great, but I don't think I was actually supposed to go up there, but I did it anyway.  I got some really pretty pictures of the castle looking over the water.  Most of my other pics were kinda bad because the sun was getting lower, so everything looks so dark.  So too soon we got back on the bus to leave.  after two hours, we stopped at the services again for thirty minutes.  It took so long to get home. 

Finally at like 8:45 I made it back to the flat.  We had planned to cook a meal together yesterday, but I forgot about my Wales trip, so they waited for me to get back so we could cook.  I made potatoes with onion and peppers.  Alysa made pancakes.  Debbie made vegan baccon and scrambled tofu.  Amanda made french toast.  We made a lot of food, and somehow most of it disappeared.  It was all really good. 

this morning, or afternoon, we all went to our Sunday Roast at the pub.  It was a really nice pub, not too many old men.  Well, I ordered the roast lamb instead of the beef.  It was really good.  It tasted a lot like venison and it was really tender.  That may be due to the fact that everything was covered in gravy or sauce, but it was good.  We also got potatoes, veggies, and a Yorkshire pudding.  I managed to eat most of it.  Then we all came back to the flat and I took a nap.  It was a nice nap, but now I have a headache, and I also have to write a paper that is due tomorrow. 

Birthday week

Tuesday I had class.  I turned in my Child Development paper, and was bored the rest of the lecture because I already knew that stuff from my ed psych class.  Aesthetics wasn't much better.  We talked about food for a little while, then we watched this dutch movie about food.  It was all subtitles and I was so bored I have no Idea really what happened. 

Wednesday was my birthday.  I slept late, kind of, then I made an omelet.  It was pretty amazing for my first attempt at making an omelet.  I then went to tesco, got some cupcakes, ice cream, and cider.  I wasn't even carded for the cider.  I felt so old.  Well then I watched Doctor Who for a while and skyped with my parents later. 

Today I went to philosophy of sports class.  We talked about nessiness  and such before we watched this boring movie about a guy named Senna who was a Formula 1 driver.  I tried to stay awake with little success.  Anyhow, it is the weekend again and I am excited for three days of no class. 

I got two cards from my family today, and one from my roomies on Wednesday.  Thanks guys. 

Too Drunk!

Well last night was interesting.  I had six shots of Bacardi, and there were consequences.  Well, at least I am a silly, very talkative, drunk.  I spent a lot of time on the floor, and managed to get to my bed and sleep sometime after two.  All I have to say is that it is a good thing that Amanda was there to tell me a bedtime story and give me pretty ibuprofen and make me drink two glasses of water.  I don't remember exactly all of the silly stuff I did, but we all have great stories now.  This morning I woke up with a headache, but it wasn't too bad.  I took a shower and realized that I had a sore spot on my head where I must have hit it on something.  I am still not sure what.  Anyhow, I also ended up with some carpet burn on my knees.  I went to class still, but I have felt sick all day.  I did make sure to take extra medicine, and I managed not to vomit.  This was the first official time I was drunk, and I think it appropriate that it was just a few days before my 21st birthday.  I think it would be wise not to drink so much in the future.  On another note, I am an expert at shooting rum now. 

Weekend

Friday I went to the Victoria and Alber museum and looked around on the first two floors and saw a lot of metal stuff, sculptures, and jusst stuff from Asia.  I also went to the Natural History Museum and went to the Darwin Exibit.  I saw a lot af stuff about science and specimens in jars, including the head of an elephant fetus.  I bought the book and a brain cell. 

Saturday I went to the Harrods Christmas Parade.  It was at 8:00 am.  We saw some dancers, got some free Jafa Cakes, then saw Father Christmas.  Debbie and I also went in the store and looked around at the christmas stuff.  I got back to the flat around 11 and went back to sleep for a few hours.  Later around six or seven they set off fireworks for Guy Fawkes day.  There were fireworks going off for several hous.  We watched soem from the window.  Then I traded music with Debbie. 

Today I went to ASDA and got some groceries, including my sherbet lemons.  I also got starbucks pepermint mocha.  I love the christmas cups.  Now I watched Debbie drink all of her alcohol, so I went with Amanda to get some rum.  I just had two shots, so now I am gonna stop before...

New Professor

Well this week has been fun.  I got back from Scotland and my legs hurts so bad.  Well it is better now.  On Tuesday my early Child Development class was canceled.  Then in my Aesthetics class I had my new professor.  He actually lectured, and I learned something.  He talked a little about philosophy and wine and food.  It was really interesting.  After class I went to Burger King and got a cheeseburger.  It had been over 2 months since I last had one. 

On Wednesday, I did basically nothing.  It was nice to sleep till noon, and not go anywhere all day.  I did do some reading for a paper I need to write. 

Today I woke up a little early took a long shower and had time to do the readings before I went to my Philosophy of Sport class.  It was the first class with Professor Gale, and it was so different.  Again, he actually taught us something.  We learned about the history of philosophy.  I felt a little overwhelmed with all of these philosophical ideas, like do things really exist, can they exist, and can there be an actual definition.  I went and got some peppers and onions after class, and came back to the flat.  Fresh peppers make the best quesadilla ever. 

Now I have to figure out what to do with my weekend.   Well on Saturday I know I am going to the Christmas parade, and then bonfire night for Guy Fawkes day.  "Remember Remember the fifth of November"

Scotland

Well it has been a long time since my last blog post.  I think that I wrote about Wednesday, so Thursday I mostly just finished packing and cleaning.  Friday morning I woke up early and met my tour group at King’s Cross Station.  I got on the train and sat next to Katie who was also from CAPA.  We had a nice chat about everything nerdy, and she really reminds me of Sarah from high school.  After four and a half hours, we arrived in Edinburgh.  We met our Scottish guide, Richard, at the train platform.  We walked to the hostel and dumped our bags so we could go walk around town.  We went to the Royal Mile, basically the really old stuff of Edinburgh.  We saw Edinburgh Castle, and then we walked down to the Giles Cathedral.  We saw some more stuff that I took pictures of, but don’t remember the names exactly.  After our walk, we went back to the hostel and checked into our rooms.  I went out and got some fish and chips take away for dinner.  The hostel was very modern and like a hotel mostly, just eight beds crammed into one room. 

            We had to be on the bus by nine on Saturday, so I got ready and went down to breakfast early.  I had porridge, mandarin yogurt, ham, and bread with apricot jam.  So we managed to get on the bus, and went to Stirling Castle.  The castle was small, but it was pretty cool, because the inside was decorated with tapestries and such.  There was also a museum, and you could walk out on the walls for an amazing view.  Apparently, both Stirling, and Edinburgh Castles were built on what used to be volcanoes, so they would have good defensive positions above the surrounding lands.  So, we all got on the bus to leave, but we didn’t get very far before the bus air bag broke and we had to wait for that to be fixed.  We went back into town to eat lunch and shop or whatever.  After a few hours, another bus showed up and we took it and continued our trip. 

            Now we actually got to the highland region of Scotland.  The mountains were pretty cool and the clouds hid the tops from view.  It rained a lot while we were driving, but stopped before we stopped at Glencoe.  Glencoe is a very pretty place with rivers and mountains and such.  We got out and Richard wanted to take a “wee walk.”  I didn’t know that this walk would include me risking my life about every second just to look at a river at the base of the mountain.  First we had to jump over little streams across the path, and then we had to make it down a hill walking on slippery jagged rocks.  Next we climbed on over and around these giant rocks and such, while trying not to fall thirty or more feet into a river.  There was a set of steps, which basically included boards stuck on the rocks every foot or so.  There was actually a bridge in the bottom to cross the river.  I went and saw the river took some pictures, and got out of there.  The trip back up was a lot easier, but I think my legs didn’t enjoy it, because they still hurt really badly. 

            After Glencoe, we got on the bus and headed for the hostel.  It was nice and right on the Locke Ness.  The rooms had cool names like Braveheart, Locke Ness, William Wallace, and Robert the Bruce.  It was such a nice homey, authentic place.  They offered to cook us food, and it was chicken and haggis.  I bought my food, and a bunch of us sat down to eat together and chat about royalty and the titanic.  So the food actually consisted of a piece of chicken stuffed with haggis.  I am not going to spell out what exactly haggis is, but it is a very authentic Scottish dish.  I tried it, and it was actually pretty good.  I ate most of it.  It mostly just tasted peppery and was very wet like the consistency of oatmeal.  I also had to try the Irn Bru.  It is soda that tastes a bit like melted gummy bears and cream soda.  After dinner, I went to the bar in the hostel and got some cranberry and vodka.  Then they brought out the karaoke and we all sang and watched.  It was fun. 

            Sunday started late, since we set our clocks back for daylight savings time ending.  We had a quick breakfast of cereal, and then hit the bus again.  Before we left, we went for a walk to see the Locke Ness.  It was huge, and our tour guide told us all how Nessie must be real, but we didn’t get to see her, except for two plastic ones outside shops.  After a few hours on the bus, we made it to Culloden to see the last battlefield in Europe, and the museum.  They had a movie thing that was sort of like IMAX.  It was like we were right in the middle of the battle with soldiers running and shooting at us from all sides.  It was pretty cool to see all of the swords, shields, and guns that they used then. 

After Culloden we went to the Birnam Wood.  This was supposedly where parts of Macbeth took place.  Basically it is a really old forest with a river and waterfalls.  It was pretty and nice to just walk around with the trees all changing colour.  Then we made it back to Edinburgh in time to do some shopping then catch the train back to London.  That train ride was the longest one ever.  I was so bored since it was dark and I couldn’t just look out the window.  Finally we made it back, and I got back to the flat.  I talked to mom and dad on skype for a little while, and then I still stayed awake way too long.  I am extremely tired today, and my legs protest any movement I make.  I guess I got used to not having any hills anywhere. 

Today I went to class and stayed after to use the internet.  I also did some grocery shopping, and ordered pizza.  The pizza was good, and now I want to sleep, but I have to do my homework first, so goodnight all. 

Midterm break!

Well this week is my midterm break.  It started with my trip to Rome.  I came back from Rome yesterday afternoon.  I managed to make it on the bus, then on the plane, then on the other bus, and back to the flat.  I was so glad to be back.  Since all four of us were here last night, we decided to order pizza from domino's.  We even had it delivered.  It was really good pizza, and only cost us 5 pounds each.  We watched a movie called, "An Education."  It was decent, better than I thought it would be.  It was nice to just relax after running around for four days in Rome.  

Today I didn't do much.  I slept late, and played a computer game some.  Now we are watching X-Men on TV, what a great day.  Now I just have to put my stuff away and then pack again for my trip to Scotland on Friday. 

Well, I am getting sort of annoyed at the fire alarm.  It went off, because he "lit a piece of bread on fire in the microwave."  Stupid boys. 

Goodbye cruel Rome, it was...fun!

Nah, not really, it wasn't that bad. I am sorry to say goodbye tomorrow though. At first I was disappointed, but I got over it, and now I want a few more days to see more stuff. Who doesn't like walking around all day looking for really old stuff? Anyhow, Today I started off with a nice breakfast at the BAR downstairs. Then I managed to get myself to the coliseum.

It was amazing. I walked around the whole think like twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I took a lot of pictures, and I hope they turned out good. I bought a book guide to archeological sites in Rome.

I think it will be cool to read. I then decided to go to the Vatican Museum. It was pretty cool looking at the different paintings and statues. Basically the whole place is just painted, the halls, the ceilings, and stuff. I saw the Sistine Chapel, and it was cool. I took some pictures there too. When I first got there I didn't take any pictures, but then I saw a staff person holding a sign that said no flash, so like everybody else, I took some pictures. Then this woman, who apparently thought she was the camera police, told me I wasn't supposed to take pictures. She was just a tourist as well. I was like, "they had a sign that said just no flash." She then begins to argue with me and so I walk away and resume my picture taking. Whatever. So after that, I went and did something, but it is a surprise.

I finished looking at the museum, and then I went to the Spanish Steps. It wasn't hard to find. Supposedly, the largest staircase in Europe. I don't remember how many steps, but I climbed half way up then took a break to sit and eat my pizza that I bought on the way. I will miss the pizza here. Well I did make it all the way to the tippy top, then I took a picture, and then I went back down, yay.
I looked at some souvenir shops and stuff, and then I went back to my hostel. I actually decided to stop downstairs and actually have a nice meal. I had a glass of red wine with my fettuccini alla Bolognese. I also got some still water and the bread stuff again. The pasta was really good. It was sort of like beef pasta hamburger helper, but about one hundred times better. The wine was weird. It was the first time I have actually drunk a glass of wine, and I think I figured out how to drink it without wincing. Well since it was my last night here, I decided to have desert. I got tiramisu. I liked it, but it did taste a little like coconut. It was really nice, especially since I sat outside, and the waiter was really nice to me. He reduced my wine price since I only had one glass, and technically they sell it by the half liter. Anyhow, I didn't feel quite as foolish as the last time I went there.

I guess I am headed back to London tomorrow morning. Maybe I will get some breakfast at McDonald's before I go. There are at least two in the train station.

Rome is full of stuff.

This morning's breakfast was nice. I got a cappuccino and lemon poppy seed bread this time. I sat with Haddie and we chatted for a while. I finally looked over my guide book, and made my plans for today, well, I at least had an idea of some things I could do.

Well today I went to St. Peter's and looked around and took a lot of pictures. I got there early, and saw part of the Sunday morning service, or whatever they call it. I think I might have seen the pope, not sure since he was quite a ways away. Well I got a little book at the shop, and some postcards. It was very hot in the sun, and super cold in the shade. The guard guys there were very silly looking in their striped uniforms and such. On another note, I saw a gun for the first time in two months. The actual Italian police carry guns. The Vatican Museum was closed today, but I think I might go tomorrow morning.

After that I went to the Piazza del Popolo. I took some pictures there, and then headed for the Parthenon. On the way I picked up a piece of pizza from a pizzeria/gelateria. It was amazingly fresh, and dripping with grease. All I can say is yum. They even fold your slab of pizza in half and wrap it in paper so it is easy to hold and eat, since they don't have tables. So I sat and ate my pizza on the front steps of the Parthenon. Now who can say that? Well the Parthenon was really cool, I went inside and took some pictures and almost left without taking pictures from the outside. By the way, there are tons and tons of fountains in Rome, once I even saw a guy drink out of one.

Next I went to the Piazza Navona. It was pretty cool. There were outside dining areas all around, and three fountains. I saw some performers that were supposed to look like statues, one was a cowboy, and the other was the statue of liberty. I walked around there for a bit, and then I decided to get some gelato and walk to the Tiber River. The gelato was excellent, but the Themes makes the Tiber look like a creek. Sorry Tiber, but I wasn't impressed.

I think I am cursed and should probably not be allowed outside after dark. The past three days, every time it starts to get dark I manage to get lost. I don't know what the deal is, but I have made it back to the hostel every time. I tried to get some money from the ATM, but it wouldn't work, I really need to get some cash, because I think I have like 7 Euros left.

Well now I am back in my bed and don't intend to leave for a very long time. 6 or more hours of almost continuous walking for three days makes me want to cut off my legs. I basically limped back to the hostel tonight, and I'm not sure if my little toe made it or not. On another note, I seriously almost got run over by a car while walking on the sidewalk. Beware Romans with cars, or vespas, because they just go wherever they want whenever they want. I guess I am getting braver, and crossing when I probably shouldn't, but I still almost run across the road instead of shuffle like the others.

I just want to say thanks for reading my stuff and leaving comments. Ta for now.

When in Rome...

Today was my second day in Rome. Even though I am on holiday, I got up at 8:30 and got ready to leave for a long day of sightseeing. That and I didn't want to miss my free breakfast. I went to the corner BAR for my free cappuccino and croissant. It was a very nice breakfast, and a good start to my day. Well after breakfast I went to Circe Maximums station and headed for the Roman Forum. I waited in line for over an hour, but when I finally got in it was amazing. I went on this outer path first and it was so cool because there were not a lot of other people, just me and the old Roman stuff. Later it got really crowded, but I climbed up on all the tall things and took some pretty cool pictures of the city.

Trevi fountain, as we would say

After the Roman Forum and Palatine, I went and got some Gelato from a cart. I had strawberry and it was amazing. It had real strawberries and tasted more like yogurt or something than ice cream. I must get some more before I leave. I then headed for the Trevi Fountain. I found it finally, but also found the Triton Fontana and took a picture or two. So the Trevi fountain had so many people, I'm surprised that I actually got the pictures I did. It was way crowded. Well after that I was going to go to the pantheon, but got lost and ended up somewhere else. I ended up at the Piazza del Popolo, almost where I was last night when I got lost. Anyhow I saw the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II as well. I saw a lot of other random ruins as well.

Eventually I decided to head back since it was getting dark, so on the way back, I took some pictures of the Coliseum. I also browsed through some souvenir shops. I finally made it back to my street and found this little cafe downstairs was open, so I went in and ordered a pizza. It was really good, and I might have to get some more of that before I leave. They also gave me some bread stuff with butter on it, and some little cookie things with my bill. It was nice to sit and eat pizza with a fork and a napkin in my lap, not to mention the coke in the wine glass. It has been a pretty good day; I wish I knew what to do tomorrow, maybe the Vatican.

I have learned so much about Rome and Romans lately that it is impossible to remember it all.  One thing that stands out is all the honking, but its more like beeping.  They do it all the time, and ti is starting to get on my nerves.  Oh, I ended up with a top bunk, and I just kicked my camera off the bed. 

Rome

Well today has been a very long day already. I woke up at 1:30a.m. UK time. I managed to get my stuff together and then got the call from the taxi service. I think it was called ComCab or something. It is so weird to actually sit in a car that is driving on the left side of the road. So I got to the bus stop almost 30 minutes early. I waited and finally this little van thing shows up, and I get on. Well I think I might have fallen asleep for a few minutes on the bus before it was time to get off. Stanstead airport is crazy. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't find anybody to ask, so eventually I just waited in the RyanAir bag check line, even though I didn't have any bags. Turns out that that’s what I was supposed to do to get my passport stamped. So I made it through security alright, and after almost freaking out because I didn't see my flight on the list, I finally saw it. I headed for gate 48 and after a while I got on the plane.

I was pretty close to the front of the line, so I picked myself a window seat. RyanAir is crazy. It really felt like a roller coaster when it took off. The other planes I had been on were not so bad. One kid even screamed or something. Well it was dark when I got on the plane, and the runway lights were really cool. I saw part of the sunrise before I took a little nap. It was really really orange. My flight ended up lasting about 2 hours; we arrived 20 minutes early. When I got off the airplane I went through the boarder thing and got my passport stamped. Then I managed to get a bus ticket and on the bus to Termini. I think I dozed on that bus ride too, and I'm still tired.

Well, it is kind of sad, but the first thing I noticed about Rome, is that it isn't as awesome as London. Well it is kind of strange to see people on the right side of the road again, but they drive like crazy people. I probably have almost got run over about a hundred times just today. I think the locals are used to dodging cars, so I just follow them now mostly. I feel like I am playing a very serious froger game. Another thing about the roads is that there may be clearly two lanes, but there can be three rows of cars in the two lanes. They all have tiny cars or vespas, so they just go where they want and don't care. There are very few stop lights, and no buttons to push to cross the few actual crosswalks.

After getting off the bus I wandered around until I found my hostel. It was very hard to find, I walked past it probably 6 times or more, then finally I saw this little sign and so I went up the two flights of stairs to check in. I got my free breakfast coupons, a map, keys, instructions, and got a towel. Then I unloaded my crap and headed back to the metro. I intended to go to the Coliseum, but missed the stop twice and finally realized it wasn't open. Good job Rome Metro at keeping people informed. Another thing, I hate the metro system here. There are entrances and exits, and they are not even close to being in the same spot. Oh, and if you accidentally go too far, and need to go back you have to leave the station and come back through the entrance. This is stupid. I miss the tube. Basically the Metro is the dirtiest place I have ever been in. There is trash everywhere, and it smells horrible. The seats don't have cushions, but that’s probably a good thing.

So, after I got done being lost on the metro, I decided to go to the Capitoline Museums. I saw a lot of statues. There were pieces from this colossal statue of Constantine, and they were huge. I also saw the famous wolf statue with Remus and Romulus. There were a lot of other cool things too, although the staff there was not very nice, and there are literally no directions as to what to do, then they yell at you for not checking your bag. Oh well, it was cool, tomorrow morning I hope to go back to that area and see the Coliseum and the Roman Forum and Palatine. I got some pretty cool pictures of the city from the third floor of the museum. I also saw the place where they used to race chariots. Now it just mostly looks like two gravel roads between two hills.

Getting back to my hostel was another story, I couldn't find the metro stop, so I had to get on a bus to termini and go from there. At least I did get back, and found it with little trouble, well after I got going in the right direction. Now I am going to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my trip, well at least tomorrow.

So Ready for Midterm Break

Today was fun.  I went to my Child Development class, pretended to learn stuff about attachment theory, managed not to fall asleep, booked it like a crazy lady to London bridge station just to realize I had 30 minutes before I actually had to be at the glass galery.  Silly me, oh well.   We got to watch a guy making a blown glass thing.  The process is pretty cool, and the other guy explained it as it was happening.  much better than as SDC.  Here we were like right there where they were working.  We also got to look around at the stuff they had already made, and had displayed.  It was really nice.  Then of course we went to the White Cube gallery to see some art.  There were several cool pieces and they had a real flute rigged to play by itself with some pipes and such.  Our new professor joined us today, and after the White Cube place, we went to a pub and chatted a bit. 

Now I am finishing my laundry and tomorrow I have to pack my stuff.  I am glad it is going to be warmer in Rome than it is here.  It was way to cold today. 

I just got cleared to register for my classes, when registration opens next Friday.  I also checked my prospective professors on rate my professor, and they all had really good ratings.  Also, if I get the classes I want, I won't have class on Monday or Friday again. 

Getting Ready for Rome

Today I had my Understanding Modern Britain class.  It was cool, we talked about news, homeless people and politics.  We are supposed to have some homeless lady come talk to our class in two weeks.  I have to finish up my paper tonight or tomorrow so I can turn it in before Friday. 

After class I went to use the work computers at CAPA to print off my travel information.  I printed my bus tickets to stanstead airport, my boarding pass for the flight, and my hostel reservation.  I also got instructions on how to get to the hostel from the airport, and how to get to baker street to meet my bus to the airport.  Why must everything be so confusing.  Somehow I convinced myself that it would be ok to make my flight for 6:10 a.m.  What was I thinking?  Now I have to either take the night bus to baker street, walk, or take a cab.  I"m not sure what to do yet.  No mater what I have to leave the flat before 2:00 a.m. 

Yesterday I started reading my travel guide for Rome.  I am getting pretty excited. 

While I was at CAPA I printed the other information for my Paris, Wales, Scotland, and Switzerland trips.  It is going to be amazing.  Apparently I also get a free trip to Cambridge for my UMB class.  We are supposed to go to Wimbleton on Thursday for my philosophy of Sports class.  

Sunday

Yesterday I managed to finish my paper for my Understanding Modern Britain class.  I wrote about how money and customer service are different here.  I wrote it all in just a few hours.  I also wrote my blog post for the honors college, I will upload it to my blog page sometime. 

This morning I woke up and went to Selfridges to visit the Museum of Everything.  I had to go look at the art for extra credit in my Aesthetics class.  Now I just have to write the paper.  After Selfridges, I looked around the stores and went on to Queensway.  I went to the Oriental store and bought Meiji Hello Panda Chocolate Biscuits and a fizzy drink with the marble.  I also got the stuff I went there for: spring rolls and dumplings.  I also went to Sainsbury and used my nectar card. 

While I was walking around this guy asked me if they had men's scarves because I was looking at some women's scarves.  He then asked the storekeeper and he said no.  So this guy comes back to talk to me and asks me where I am from, I tell him as I start walking again.  He then asks if he can walk with me.  I said he could, he didn't seem especially creepy, just silly.  So I walked a bit further along the street then crossed the street and walked back down the other side, the whole time he talked to me about London and such.  He said that most people are not very friendly and talkative, but some are.  I laughed and said yeah.  Eventually we came to the Oriental store and I told him I was going to go in here.  He asked if he should wait for me, I told him no it might be a while.  So yes dad, I did have a British guy following me around today. 

Now we are getting ready to cook dinner.  I am very excited, it is gonna be awesome.

Update:  Our dinner was amazing, and the dumplings were surprisingly good.  I ate tofu as well.  It was pretty good, I can see how some people could be vegetarians if they eat like that. 

Curry Night

Yesterday's Philosophy of Sport class wasn't too bad.  We watched a documentary about a football game(s).  The guy who directed it came in to talk about the making of these documentaries.  Basically only one full week before midterm break. 
Last night we went to the Sheraz Bangla Lounge in Brick Lane.  When we first got there, it looked like a very nice place, with wine glasses and fancy napkins, but the 2 litters of coke on the tables was funny.  We drank coke from our wine glasses.  Then after a while we got a starter dish with some fried vegetable stuffs, a piece of chicken, and some salad.  I had chicken with korma for the main course along with rice and bombay aloo.  It was interesting.  This was the first official curry that I have had, and I was a little surprised.  The Korma was very sweet, but it was good.  The texture is a little weird, and it was hard to eat very much of it.  The potatoes, or bombay aloo, were really spicy and amazing.  The rice was good too.  They gave everybody a huge plate and then brought each item out in a separate dish.  I had a plate, rice plate, bowl with chicken korma, and bowl with the bombay aloo.  The table was so crowded with plates and such we couldn't hardly move.  I think I ate too much, and still didn't eat all that I got.  It was nice of CAPA to buy us dinner. 
Today I decided to go do something while the maid was here, so I went to the bookstores near tottenham court road.  First I went to Forbidden Planet, and bought some Dr. Who toys.  Then I went to the Foyles book store and bought two travel guides for Rome and Paris, a map of Rome, and a Europe phrase book.   I am starting to get nervous and excited about my trip to Rome in exactly a week.  I got some take away from Chipotle since it was just across the street. 

Honors College Blog

About a month ago, I agreed to help write a blog for the honors college.  I just now received my first assignment and I don't quite know what to do.  I am supposed to write a few paragraphs about either preparing for study away or adjusting to a different culture.  I think I will write about the adjusting because I think it is a bit late to write about preparing.  I am still thinking about what to do.  I could use some feedback about how good, bad, or boring my writing has been so far.  Any suggestions or comments would be helpful.  Thanks in advance. 

The Tower of London

Today I went to the Tower of London.  I won two free tickets from the travel fair and I decided to go today and took Debbie along since we both have free Wednesdays.  First we decided to go find the TARDIS at Earl's Court.  It was so cool to just see a police box sitting there like it almost belonged.  We took our pictures with it and felt like touristy nerds.  It was funny because it wasn't a very touristy area. 
After the TARDIS, we wen to CAPA to print the voucher.  It took a while to get there on the tube, but I got really excited when we first saw the castle.   They call it the Tower of London, but mostly it is just the castle that was built for ancient kings and queens to live in.  There are two walls and 13 towers, and I don't think that includes the White tower which is like the residence of the monarchs.  We went on a guided tour and learned a bit about the history and how the place was built and why.  Our tour guide was very funny, and it was a great tour. 
After that we ended up in the White Tower palace area, so we decided to go on another tour of that since it started reasonably soon.  It was a great tour, we sat in the Chapel that is in the White Tower.  We got a history lesson of many things that happened right there in that very chapel.  It was almost unreal, realizing that this chapel was built before 1100AD.  Our guide was great, she showed us the fireplace and loo that would have been part of the royal apartments.  I really enjoyed the tour, and after that we walked through the rest of the palace and looked at the swords, armour, shields, guns, cannons, and other such things.  It was pretty cool, I felt like I could have been in LOTR. 
After the White Tower, we went and walked around on the inner wall through the towers and up and down winding staircases.  The outer wall and path between were also cool.  There were so many winding stairs, some were normal enough, but others were very tricky, and one in particular was not much wider than my shoulders, and it had very small steps.  I really wanted to grab a bow or sword, run to the top of the wall and shoot some Orcs or push some ladders away from the walls. 
After the Tower of London, we went and walked across the Tower Bridge and back.  We saw the crack where it opens, but we didn't get to see it open.  I think I have walked across most of the bridges now.  We also took some pretty cool pictures of almost everything. 

Newspaper Cricket

Well it has been an uneventful week so far.  On Sunday, I just hung around the flat recovering from the trip to Brighton.  Monday, I went to my Understanding Modern Britain Class and we actually went to the classroom.  We talked about how polite the British people are supposedly.  We also talked about difference in sports between the UK and the US.  We played a game of cricket with newspaper equipment.  I supplied the newspaper for the ball.  Apparently the person who throws the ball is called the bowler, and the batter should not drop the bat.  It was rather funny to watch.  We are supposed to write a paper for the midterm that is due on Oct 21.  After class I went to Sainsbury's to get some cheese and I ended up getting a lot of stuff including rice, fish, chips, and a strawberry Swiss role.  Oh, I got all of the weird kinds of crisps, otherwise known in America as chips.  I got smoky bacon, roast chicken, and prawn cocktail. 

Today I watched the movie "Angela's Ashes," in my Child Dev. class.  It was a pretty sad movie but it was very interesting.  Now that I have seen the movie I want to read the book.  After that class I had to renew my travel card on my Oyster card.  I was a little late for my Aesthetics class, but found them easily in the Tate Modern.  We looked at lots of modern art and took a guided tour of some art just made out of stuff from the 1960s.  We say a picture of Andy Warhol, and some more sculpture stuff.  After class I came back to the flat, and fixed some fish and chips.  I guess it wasn't such a terrible Tuesday. 

I think I may be going to the Tower of London tomorrow.  I will have to see if it works out. 

Brighton

Yesterday was a very long and cold day.  I woke up at 5 and we got on the train at 7:42.  It took a little over an hour to get there.  Once we got there, we headed straight for the water.  We could see it from quite a distance.  The water is so cool.  It was pretty windy and there were a lot of waves.  We decided to take off our shoes and wade in the water.  It might have been nice if it was warm, but at this point it was only about 55 degrees.  The water was cold, and by the time they took my picture, I got pretty wet.  My toes were so red; the water was so cold.  We walked along the beach for a while, and I figured out that it is really hard to walk on a rock beach.  There were a lot of sea gulls around everywhere.  We walked by the pier and decided to go see what was in the shopping center area since it was indoors, and we were wet and cold. 

The mall was cool; it had three floors and not a bad size.  It was nice to sit in the Costa for a while and warm up.  We walked around a bit in the cultural center which was kind of like a market.  We went to a pub for lunch and I had ham, eggs, and chips with a cranberry and vodka.  It was pretty good,  After sitting for a bit, we went to find the museum.  It was a rather small one, but it had some cool stuff.  I really liked the Indian and Egyptian areas.  After looking around the museum for a while, we went to see the movie, "Midnight in Paris."  It was pretty good and I want to watch it again sometime when I have Google available.  I got to use my rewards card. 

It was starting to get dark when the movie got out, so we headed to the pier.  It was like a carnival on the water.  It wasn't very big or anything, but had a lot of lights.  We sat down and had a pint, or well a half, and enjoyed the sunset.  We went down and took pictures by the pier and more of the water and sunset. 

After it got dark, we had two and a half hours left before we got on the train to leave.  We were going to go back to the shopping center but it was closed, so we found a McDonald's and ate some fries while we were waiting.  We ended up being at the train station like really early so we set outside the barriers and froze.  It was so cold, by the time we got back we were all pretty much frozen.  That was the latest I had ever been on the tube.  When we got back, I pretty much went straight to sleep.  I was so tired I didn't set an alarm and woke up this morning at 11:30 after going to sleep at like 12:15.  

Hyde Park

Today I went to Hyde park on the bus.  I went and walked around a bit, mostly in an unintentional circle.  Then I saw a rent a cycle station and so I tried to rent a cycle, but it wouldn't take my card.  I gave up and just continued my walk.  I saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.  Then I walked along the Serpentine for a while until I saw another Barclay's rent a cycle station.  I tried it again and it worked that time.  So I got my code to unlock a bike, and I go to the bike.  I had to read the instructions on how to put in the code, I didn't see any buttons on there anywhere, then I figured out that the thee spots that looked like stickers were buttons, so I got my bike unlocked and pushed it out to the road part.  The seat was a little high, but I didn't want to mess with it unless I had too.  I managed to get on the bike but when I went to pedal it veered to the side really fast and I sort of ran into the fence.  I couldn't stop because I couldn't touch the ground and the brakes didn't work all that great.  I think the reason was because it was on speed 3 and took a lot of effort on my part to pedal it so I got kind of off balanced.  Well I did lower the seat, and fix the speed.  I was able to ride around the park for about thirty minutes before my legs felt so much like jelly that I almost fell down.  It was fun and a nice change.  I took a picture of the bike, It is the worst excuse fro a bicycle  that I have ever seen, lots of bulky plastic.  Oh well, it was a cheap source of entertainment and exercise. 

The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre

Today was good and bad, but mostly good.  I watched a documentary about cricket in my Philosophy of sport class.  I think I know a little about the sport now, but still not enough to completely understand it.  We got out of class an hour early, but between the tube being delayed, and locking myself out, I didn't have a lot of time before I had to leave for the theatre. 

I must say spoiler alert here for those who have not seen the Lion King Musical.  You have been warned. 

I got out of the tube stop and finally found where I was supposed to be just in time for the show to start.  I watched The Lion King at the Lyceum theatre.  it was amazing and would recommend it to everyone.  At first there are all of these people singing the African songs and such and it is pretty much awesome.  Rafiki was a woman, but it was good and she had a very good voice for the part.  All the animals came out to dance including the Giraffe, zebra, birds, and elephant.  I loved every second of it.  They even added some extra scenes and changed a few phrases, for example Timon says "dress in drag and do the Charleston."  They added a bit more modern music for the extra songs.  There was a part where Timon gets washed down the river and waterfall, and another where scar tries to get Nala to be his queen.  I rally liked all of the actors, except adult simba who sounded funny sometimes.  One of my favorite parts was the Hyenas.  They were so funny and the 'be prepared" song was really good too.  I was really happy that the song "Can you Feel The Love Tonight" had some extra lyrics from Elton John's own version where he sings it.  The sets were amazing as well.  Pride Rock was a spiral type staircase that slowly rose from under the stage.  They even made it part of the elephants grave yard by adding rib bones.  The tree that Rafiki draws Simba on is cool too.  It was just 2d byt it came down from the top.  They did an amazing job with the lighting and the sun parts during the circle of life song and just the rest of the time as well.  I could talk about it forever, but I will stop here and say that I wish they sold it on DVD.   I am really glad I went, even if it was expensive but I got a seat in the front row of the grand circle.  I bought the program too.