I guess this is my last blog. It's my last blog for this experience anyways. And what an experience it was. I can't believe it's over. I can't believe three and a half months flew by the way they did. I have such a weird feeling about everything now. It's almost like it never happened... like it was a dream. I'm back? Already? Boo.
Most of the last ten days, I spent with my family. I'm so glad they came over. Yes, we had some interesting times... but overall, I think it went wonderfully.
I spent Friday with my friends. I woke up to a beautiful snowy day. The ground was completely white so Cathrin, Sam, and I went outside and built snowmen. It was so much fun :) Then I said goodbye to Cathrin (she was leaving to go to London that afternoon) and went back home.
Around 2, I went into town with Amy and Demi. We Christmas shopped and ran a few errands. Afterwards we got some dinner and headed back. When I got back, I packed up for my parents' arrival and headed back over to Amy's to say goodbye. Only Amy, Karina, and Sarah were there. We hugged and said we'd see each other soon :) I went home and Sam came over. We watched movies and hung out 'til really late then I had another sad goodbye and went to bed.
I woke up at 5:00AM the next day, ice-skated into town with my suitcase, and took a bus into London. I met my family at Heathrow around 11:00 and we made our way back into the city. We got settled in to our beautiful hotel (Linda and I had a kick-ass suite!!!) then went out for some lunch. Afterwards we walked to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye area. And of course everyone whined a great amount because of the cold. Wimps.
Then Dad and I went on the London Eye while Mom and Linda waited for us. Then we cabbed it back to the hotel and took a nap. Afterwards Linda, Mom, and I woke up and went down to Oxford Street, shopped in the wonderful Christmas market down there, and grabbed some dinner at Garfunkels. Then we went back, Linda got sick, and threw up until 5 in the morning. Lovely.
The next morning, Dad and I went to Wimbledon (Mom and Linda stayed at the hotel). We had a nice tour of the grounds and strolled around the museum for a while. He really, really enjoyed it. Unfortunately it took up most of the day though and by the time we got back, it was already almost 4.
Then Mom and Dad took a taxi to the Tower of London, while Linda and I stayed at the hotel. They got there too late though and missed the last entry. Boo. When they got home, Dad and I went out to Trafalgar Square and ate dinner at the Texas Embassy. Then we walked to Piccadilly Circus and headed back.
Then Mom and I went out to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland. It was so much fun! They had rides, live music, Christmas stands, Carnival Games... everything. We had some mulled wine and hot pretzels and walked around for a bit. It really got us in the Christmas spirit! Then we took the metro back to Piccadilly Circus and walked to Leister Square. That's such a fun area at night :) Then we made our way back to the hotel and passed out.
Monday was a day full of travelling. We took a taxi to Heathrow, rented a car (which took FOREVER), experienced an absolutely terrifying ride to Dover, took the ferry to France, then had another near-death experience with a ride to Bayeux. JK Dad :) We didn't get there 'til late, and once we did, we just grabbed pizza and went to bed.
Tuesday we took an amazing tour of all the D-Day spots. We went to all of the beaches where the American Navy invaded, the German and American Cemeteries, and a few of the towns that were first to regain their freedom after the American invasion. My grandpas would've loved it!
My highlights: the town where an American parachuter had fallen right on the steeple of the Cathedral, survived, got shot, survived AGAIN and played dead, got captured and was held captive by German soldiers, survived once more, and was finally released. Great story, eh? Another highlight was when Linda and I folded the American flag in the US cemetery as the sun was setting. Right after they played taps. It was really, very moving.
That night we got dinner at a fabulous French restaurant. Everyone agreed: it was some of the best food we'd had in our lives!
Wednesday, we went to Mount Saint Michal, an absolutely breath-taking castle on the coast of the English Channel. Words cannot begin to describe the beauty of this place, so I won't even attempt to portray it. Google Image Mount Saint-Michal and you'll understand.
So we climbed to the top and looked around, and went into a few of the shops on the way down.
Then we drove to Paris. Not a fun drive, let me tell you. But we finally made it there around 6, dropped off our junk at the hotel, and went down to the Eiffel Tower. Dad and I went to the top level and Linda and Mom went to the middle level. Everyone liked it except for Mom. You know how crazy that woman is, with her panic attacks and everything :)
Afterwards we got dinner at a pretty nice restaurant then headed back to the hotel.
Thursday, we went to the Palace of Versailles. I was happy to see how much Linda liked it there. It really is a cool place.
Then we went back to the hotel and drove to our villa by Paris Disneyland. Once we got settled in, we went to the grocery store, stocked up on great food, and headed back to relax for a bit.
That night, Mom, Linda, and I took a train into Paris and caught the end of the Christmas Eve Mass at the Notre Dame. Wow :)
Friday was Christmas! We woke up, and Linda and I went to Disneyland. Mom and Dad went to the Arc de Triomphe, the Sacre Couer, and the Cemetery where Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison are buried. Linda and I had a great time at the Magic Kingdom. Disney really is a magical place at Christmas :)
Our highlights were Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. We got along really well and had a wonderful time! Afterwards we walked through the Disney Village and had some confusion with meeting Mom and Dad, but they finally picked us up around 8. We headed home, exchanged a few Christmas presents :) ate an interesting dinner, and skyped with family from Charlotte and family from Wisconsin. I really did have a superb Christmas.
Saturday we left really early. We drove to Calais, took the ferry, then drove to Canterbury. We got to my campus, dropped off my junk, then headed to the House of Agnes. We had an interesting time parking, considering the alley-way to the lot was meant for horse and carriages :) But we managed. Kind of. Then we walked around the city for a while, got lunch at Tacos Locos, and shopped.
That night we ate at the Old Buttermarket, one of my favorite restaurants in town. We got completely stuffed with some good English food and cider, then Linda and I took a taxi up to my house and hit the sack.
Sunday, Linda and I walked into town, went to a morning mass at the Cathedral with Mom, shopped a bit more, and went back up to my house to pack. Then they left for the Airport hotel around 3. I'm so glad they got to see Canterbury :) I think they really understand why I love it so much now.
After they left, I went back into town, got some dinner, took one last walk around, and took a bus back to campus. Ollie came over around 8 and we hung out and watched movies for a while. Then I said my last goodbye and went to bed :(
Monday, I woke up, dropped off my keys, walked to Keynes bus stop, took a bus to town, took a bus to London, took a bus to Heathrow, went through the ridiculous, newly-enforced airport security, took an eight and a half hour flight to Minneapolis, went through customs, took another two and a half hour flight to Charlotte, got my bags, waited for my parents, and finally drove to Aunt Linda's. Geez, whatta day. I socialized with the family for a bit and finally went to bed around 1 Eastern time... aka 6AM English time. Almost a 24-hour travel day!
And that's the end. I sit here now, back in Columbia, feeling very confused. It's so bittersweet to be home. I love seeing my family again. I love things familiar. But I want to go back. And a big part of me feels like I'm going back in a few days. But I'm not. I guess it'll take a while to adjust.
Anyways, I'm going to try not to dwell on my depression and this reverse culture-shock. Instead, I'm going to do my best to focus on the positive. I'm so incredibly lucky to have experienced my last three and a half months. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: they were by far, the best months of my life. I've gained such a wonderful perspective and I feel as if I've really grown as a person. Thank you Mom and Dad for making my trip possible. I'm so grateful and I'm really glad you came to Europe :)
So anywayyyys, I'm not saying goodbye to Europe or more specifically Canterbury. I'm not saying goodbye to the wonderful friend I've made over the last few months. I'm not even saying goodbye to this silly blog. Instead I'm saying "See you soon", cause I truly believe that I'll be back. It might take a few years, but I'm going back regardless. Corny, I know. But maybe that's the mindset I'll need to re-adjust to my old lifestyle :)
So, see you soon.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Days 90-96: My Last Week on Campus
I can’t believe it’s really ending. This semester went by way too quickly. There’s suddenly snow on the ground and my parents will be here tomorrow? It seems like I just got here yesterday. I’ve said way too many goodbyes… and I know many of them are goodbyes forever. Not okay.
It was a wonderful final week.
Friday, I woke up and did HW for a while. At night, I went to Sarah’s party :) She came and picked me up and I stayed for a few hours. When I left, I walked home. She lives about 2 miles off campus… I got pretty lost but I eventually found my way back.
Then I watched the American office and the British office with my friend for a while. Great night :)
Saturday was pretty uneventful. I went on a hike, did some HW, and went into town. I got dinner and bought some Christmas stuff, then had a nice evening in.
Sunday, I hung around the house and did more HW. At night, I went to see Men Who Stare at Goats with Amy, Karina, and Laura. Interesting movie…
Monday, I worked on my Med History Essay and studied for Spanish all dayyyy.
Tuesday, I had my Spanish exams, came home for dinner, then went to the Christmas Carol Service in the Cathedral with all of my friends. The service was truly breath-taking. Half of the time, the church was lit by only candles. And of course, the music was amazing. It really, really got me in the Christmas spirit. Afterwards we grabbed some dinner and headed home. IT WAS FREEZING OUTSIDE TOO!
Then my friend Sam and I went to Origins and got a few drinks. We played pool… I got dominated, of course. Then we came back and watched some TV.
Wednesday, I went to the library for a few hours to work on my essay. And at night, Lauren, Chloe, Cathrin, and I went to the Venue. We had so much fun. We got there at 9 and didn’t leave ‘til 2. When we got back, we ordered pizza, ate way too much, then hit the sack.
Thursday, I finished my Med History essay. Then Didier and I had our last coffee together. I HATE GOODBYES. I’m so happy that I got to know him.
I had my last Spanish exam at 4… which was so easy, then I said goodbye to my two good friends in the class, Karla and Yumi :( This sucks!!! I DON’T WAN T TO LEAVE.
At night, I went over to Amy’s to play dreidel drinking games :) then we went out to eat at Marlowes in town. Such a wonderful evening. But, once again, way too many goodbyes.
So I just woke up and I feel physically ill. I’m not getting sick or anything, but this depression of leaving a wonderful life behind, just hit me like a brick. Embrace the future, I know. But why, when the past was so great?
It was a wonderful final week.
Friday, I woke up and did HW for a while. At night, I went to Sarah’s party :) She came and picked me up and I stayed for a few hours. When I left, I walked home. She lives about 2 miles off campus… I got pretty lost but I eventually found my way back.
Then I watched the American office and the British office with my friend for a while. Great night :)
Saturday was pretty uneventful. I went on a hike, did some HW, and went into town. I got dinner and bought some Christmas stuff, then had a nice evening in.
Sunday, I hung around the house and did more HW. At night, I went to see Men Who Stare at Goats with Amy, Karina, and Laura. Interesting movie…
Monday, I worked on my Med History Essay and studied for Spanish all dayyyy.
Tuesday, I had my Spanish exams, came home for dinner, then went to the Christmas Carol Service in the Cathedral with all of my friends. The service was truly breath-taking. Half of the time, the church was lit by only candles. And of course, the music was amazing. It really, really got me in the Christmas spirit. Afterwards we grabbed some dinner and headed home. IT WAS FREEZING OUTSIDE TOO!
Then my friend Sam and I went to Origins and got a few drinks. We played pool… I got dominated, of course. Then we came back and watched some TV.
Wednesday, I went to the library for a few hours to work on my essay. And at night, Lauren, Chloe, Cathrin, and I went to the Venue. We had so much fun. We got there at 9 and didn’t leave ‘til 2. When we got back, we ordered pizza, ate way too much, then hit the sack.
Thursday, I finished my Med History essay. Then Didier and I had our last coffee together. I HATE GOODBYES. I’m so happy that I got to know him.
I had my last Spanish exam at 4… which was so easy, then I said goodbye to my two good friends in the class, Karla and Yumi :( This sucks!!! I DON’T WAN T TO LEAVE.
At night, I went over to Amy’s to play dreidel drinking games :) then we went out to eat at Marlowes in town. Such a wonderful evening. But, once again, way too many goodbyes.
So I just woke up and I feel physically ill. I’m not getting sick or anything, but this depression of leaving a wonderful life behind, just hit me like a brick. Embrace the future, I know. But why, when the past was so great?
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Days 81-89: BARCELONA and My Last Few Weeks in Canterbury :(
SO I’m trying to take my mom’s advice. I shouldn’t be sad I’m leaving… I should be happy that I’ve had such a wonderful time here. She’s totally and completely right. So now, when I get sad, I look up ways that I can come back/get a job abroad. My time here has really shown me what makes me happy in life… travelling. And there are so many opportunities that involve travel. I just can’t wait to graduate so I can take advantage of them.
Now how have I been spending my time?
I left you on Wednesday, right? Well like I said, after Marty left, I was a bit down. So Wednesday was pretty uneventful. I went to class from 10-11, which just so happened to be my last medieval history lecture… probably one of my favorite classes in all of college. Definitely the best professor I’ve ever had. I learned so much AND it was actually interesting. Not to mention I made a really great friend in the class- Sam, one of my few British friends. He ALWAYS filled me in when I didn’t do the reading. I REALLY hope I keep in touch with him.
Afterwards I went on a hike with Cathrin… but it started raining halfway through so we had to turn around… boo. And I stayed in that night to save money and do HW.
Thursday wasn’t exciting either. I had class from 12-1 and 4-5 then I went to the library, got some books, and went into town to Starbucks to read. After about an hour, I headed home and packed for BARCELONA… WOOT WOOT :)
I spent pretty much all day Friday travelling. I woke up, went to the library to print off my travel stuff and started my long day of transportation. Now get this. The first bus I took was at 10:10 AM. I took a bus from campus to town, a bus from town to London, a bus from London to the Airport, a flight from London to Barcelona, another bus from the airport in Barcelona to the city, then took two subway rides to get to our hostel. Arrival time at the hostel: 10PM. We lost an hour, but that’s still an 11 hour travel day!!! Whew.
But once we got there, it was wonderful. We went out for Mexican food that night and then went out into town. Stephanie saw an advertisement for an ice bar (a bar COMPLETELY made of ice), so we went there. That entire area was SOOOOOO cool. Tons of clubs right along the beach… it was so pretty! The ice bar was fun but we could only stay there about 20 minutes cause it was so damn cold. So we headed to a few more nightclubs, spent a great deal of money, then headed back to our hostel around 3AM. Fun night :)
Saturday, we woke up and went on a really fun bike tour around Barcelona. I’m a firm believe that the best way to see a city, is by bike. You can stop so easily and it’s the perfect pace to see the basic architecture of the town. We first went around the area by the cathedral, then we went to a bull-fighting area, then another BEAUTIFUL cathedral, then to the beach area. We stopped there and had a delicious lunch at a restaurant with outdoor seating. Then we made our way back to the main part of town. The tour itself lasted about 4 hours and was only 20 euros. I’m so glad we did it!
After the tour, we just wandered around town for a few hours. We shopped, strolled through their big outdoor market, and grabbed some ice cream. Then we went back to the hostel to rest and shower for the evening.
That night we went out to dinner to this place called the travel bar. Karina and Laura had gone to Barca a few weeks beforehand and recommended it to us. They have one euro meals.. woohoo! So we ate and drank some sangria then went on a bar crawl with them. It was a good, cheap night. The bars they took us to were pretty dumpy, but we meet some nice aussies. I love Barcelona.
Sunday, we woke up kind of late, so we only had time to go back and see the insides of the main cathedral. Afterwards we made our long trek BACK to Canterbury. Another 11 hour day. We didn’t get home until 10:30, and when we did, I watched some tv and passed out.
I woke up Monday, and did HW all day long. I wrote my boring Jesuits paper then headed to Amy’s for Stephanie’s good bye dinner. It was really sad for me to see her leave. She’s the person that I’ve travelled EVERYWHERE with. It was like the first major goodbye… But the dinner was really fun and we all pigged out on some great food. We all stayed until 12ish then said our goodbyes and went home. :(
Tuesday, I went to class from 11-1 and 3-5, doing hw in between. Then I went into town, ran some errands, and went back to Amy’s for their Christmas party. Everyone was being lame and didn’t feel like drinking so we just sat around and talked for a few hours. Even though nothing exciting happened, we all had a great time :) I love these people!
Wednesday, I slacked off pretty much ALL DAY. I lounged around, watching TV. Then at night, we all walked to this GREAT pub for dinner. It was the cutest place ever… exactly what you’d think of when you think of an English pub. I’m sure going to miss places like that… We ate, went home, and got ready to go out. Then we went out to the venue for drinking and dancing. Best part- I managed to spend less than 5 pounds all night!!! WOOHOO!
Today, I had class from 12-1 and 4-5, then I met with some girls in my Spanish class to get ready for our exam. Came home, ate dinner, did hw, now I’m writing this blog. This weekend should be really good- after all… it’s my last official one in Canterbury :(
Now how have I been spending my time?
I left you on Wednesday, right? Well like I said, after Marty left, I was a bit down. So Wednesday was pretty uneventful. I went to class from 10-11, which just so happened to be my last medieval history lecture… probably one of my favorite classes in all of college. Definitely the best professor I’ve ever had. I learned so much AND it was actually interesting. Not to mention I made a really great friend in the class- Sam, one of my few British friends. He ALWAYS filled me in when I didn’t do the reading. I REALLY hope I keep in touch with him.
Afterwards I went on a hike with Cathrin… but it started raining halfway through so we had to turn around… boo. And I stayed in that night to save money and do HW.
Thursday wasn’t exciting either. I had class from 12-1 and 4-5 then I went to the library, got some books, and went into town to Starbucks to read. After about an hour, I headed home and packed for BARCELONA… WOOT WOOT :)
I spent pretty much all day Friday travelling. I woke up, went to the library to print off my travel stuff and started my long day of transportation. Now get this. The first bus I took was at 10:10 AM. I took a bus from campus to town, a bus from town to London, a bus from London to the Airport, a flight from London to Barcelona, another bus from the airport in Barcelona to the city, then took two subway rides to get to our hostel. Arrival time at the hostel: 10PM. We lost an hour, but that’s still an 11 hour travel day!!! Whew.
But once we got there, it was wonderful. We went out for Mexican food that night and then went out into town. Stephanie saw an advertisement for an ice bar (a bar COMPLETELY made of ice), so we went there. That entire area was SOOOOOO cool. Tons of clubs right along the beach… it was so pretty! The ice bar was fun but we could only stay there about 20 minutes cause it was so damn cold. So we headed to a few more nightclubs, spent a great deal of money, then headed back to our hostel around 3AM. Fun night :)
Saturday, we woke up and went on a really fun bike tour around Barcelona. I’m a firm believe that the best way to see a city, is by bike. You can stop so easily and it’s the perfect pace to see the basic architecture of the town. We first went around the area by the cathedral, then we went to a bull-fighting area, then another BEAUTIFUL cathedral, then to the beach area. We stopped there and had a delicious lunch at a restaurant with outdoor seating. Then we made our way back to the main part of town. The tour itself lasted about 4 hours and was only 20 euros. I’m so glad we did it!
After the tour, we just wandered around town for a few hours. We shopped, strolled through their big outdoor market, and grabbed some ice cream. Then we went back to the hostel to rest and shower for the evening.
That night we went out to dinner to this place called the travel bar. Karina and Laura had gone to Barca a few weeks beforehand and recommended it to us. They have one euro meals.. woohoo! So we ate and drank some sangria then went on a bar crawl with them. It was a good, cheap night. The bars they took us to were pretty dumpy, but we meet some nice aussies. I love Barcelona.
Sunday, we woke up kind of late, so we only had time to go back and see the insides of the main cathedral. Afterwards we made our long trek BACK to Canterbury. Another 11 hour day. We didn’t get home until 10:30, and when we did, I watched some tv and passed out.
I woke up Monday, and did HW all day long. I wrote my boring Jesuits paper then headed to Amy’s for Stephanie’s good bye dinner. It was really sad for me to see her leave. She’s the person that I’ve travelled EVERYWHERE with. It was like the first major goodbye… But the dinner was really fun and we all pigged out on some great food. We all stayed until 12ish then said our goodbyes and went home. :(
Tuesday, I went to class from 11-1 and 3-5, doing hw in between. Then I went into town, ran some errands, and went back to Amy’s for their Christmas party. Everyone was being lame and didn’t feel like drinking so we just sat around and talked for a few hours. Even though nothing exciting happened, we all had a great time :) I love these people!
Wednesday, I slacked off pretty much ALL DAY. I lounged around, watching TV. Then at night, we all walked to this GREAT pub for dinner. It was the cutest place ever… exactly what you’d think of when you think of an English pub. I’m sure going to miss places like that… We ate, went home, and got ready to go out. Then we went out to the venue for drinking and dancing. Best part- I managed to spend less than 5 pounds all night!!! WOOHOO!
Today, I had class from 12-1 and 4-5, then I met with some girls in my Spanish class to get ready for our exam. Came home, ate dinner, did hw, now I’m writing this blog. This weekend should be really good- after all… it’s my last official one in Canterbury :(
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Days 66-80: Amsterdam and Marty Invades England :)
So I’m not going to lie. I’m really, really down right now. I only have a few weeks left. And I can’t imagine leaving. If I had the chance to redo this experience, I’d sign up for the year. Or all of college. I can’t imagine its coming to an end. I can’t say goodbye to England or my newfound friends. I just can’t.
The last few weeks have really been great. I know I haven’t updated in forever, but I’ll do my best to summarize each day.
Wednesday- Class from 10-11; did HW and wrote my essay all day long.. boo. And skyped with the fam.
Thursday- Class 12-1; Library; Class 4-5; Came home and FINISHED MY ESSAY… whew. Turned it in then packed for Amsterdam.
Friday- We walked to the bus station around 6:30 and left by 7. It was a really long ride, but I was with Stephanie, Sonja, Amy, Cathrin and the rest of Kent Uni… so it was actually fun. We stopped a few times along the way to get food and watched Little Miss Sunshine and a cheesy British Movie.
We got to Amsterdam around 6, settled into our hostel then headed out. Amsterdam is stunning. It really is like a town directly out of a Christmas snow globe. There are canals everywhere and the architecture is just so cute. We walked around town for a while and then headed over to the Red Light District. I always pictured this to be a disgusting area with nasty hookers and drug pushers everywhere… but its not. Sure there are prostitutes in a few windows.. but the rest of it is actually really nice.
We then went to a coffee shop and smoked a few joints :) Then we grabbed dinner at a nice restaurant to fulfill our munchies.
By the time we got home it was really late, so we all just kind of passed out.
Saturday- We woke up around 10 and went to breakfast downstairs. Then we walked over to Mike’s Bikes Tours for our countryside “Cheese, Clog, and Windmill” bike-ride tour. Amy had been super excited about this and had talked of nothing for weeks beforehand… lol. And she was right- it was so much fun. We rode to a cool windmill then we went to a farm that makes cheese and clogs. I love Dutch people. We also got to see the hotel where John Lennon and Yoko stayed at on their honeymoon. “The Ballard of John and Yoko” was apparently written there.
When we got back we walked over to the side of town where the Anne Frank House was and ate some lunch. I got a sandwich with goat cheese, honey and walnuts…delicious! Then we went to the Anne Frank House.. which was really, really moving.
Afterwards we went to another coffee shop and smoked some hash… Sonja got high! LOL :) Then we went back and napped for a bit.
We went out that night to a couple great bars in the main part of town. We went to a place called Bourbon Street that had live Hispanic music. The lead singer was a Hispanic Orlando Bloom…no joke.
Sunday- We woke up and thought we had the whole day in Amsterdam. But surprise- the group leaders decided to go to Bruges instead. Before we got on the bus, Stephanie and I decided to each eat a Space Cake. Worst decision of my life. I have never felt that way and I never want to again. I was out of my mind and I remember nothing of Belgium.
The bits that I do remember include: trying to order lunch but stumbling my words around a whole bit, walking in the pouring rain, and then Cathrin freaking out about a rainbow.
But seriously this is what happened: the bus pulled over on the highway; the leaders said “Okay, we’re here. Be back at half five.” Seriously?! LOL.. we were all waiting to be on America’s funniest home videos.
When we got back to Canterbury, I was still high. Great. So I went home, pigged out, then passed out.
Monday- I woke up, still feeling lousy. And pretty much took the whole day to recover from losing my mind. I skyped for a while with my parents and Marty and did some HW. And that’s about it!
Tuesday- I had the day off of classes for Reading Week, so I went to the library with Cathrin to catch up on school work and had coffee with my French friend, Didier :)
Wednesday- I had class from 10-12, went to an Economic Experiment where I got paid 14 Pounds… WOOWOO!! And that night I went to see New Moon with Amy in town. Such a great movie. I love the twilight series so much. I’ll admit it! After the movie- Karina, Amy, and I went out. We first went to Thomas Ingleberry’s (I think that’s the name of it…) and then we went to the nightclub, Chill. We had so much fun dancing and hanging out. I love going out here.
Thursday- THANKSGIVING! I woke up and was actually really sad that I wasn’t home for the holiday. But I definitely made the most of my day :) I went to my lecture from 12-1 then came home and skyped with my family for a while. It was also a beautiful day outside, so I decided to go on a short hike. There’s a path right my house that leads all the way to Whitsable. It goes through some great farmland… it’s a beautiful walk. I walked about 2 miles into it then turned around. When I got home, I watched Christmas movies and got ready for our Thanksgiving dinner.
Dinner was actually great. I went with all of my best friends and ate the delicious food that they had prepared for us. My only problem with it: the stuffing. They definitely screwed the stuffing up. But everything else was good :) After dinner, we walked to Woody’s and watched some American football… tradition! Then I headed home and packed for London. Cathrin came over for a bit and we hung out with Theo’s friends for his birthday. Then I hit the sack.
Friday- I woke up early and walked into town. Caught my bus to Victoria then got on a subway to Heathrow. I met Marty there.. YAY! It was so wonderful to see him. We jumped on the tube back to central London and dropped off our stuff at the hostel.
We then walked to Buckingham Palace then to Westminster Abbey then to Big Ben and Parliament, then across the river to the London Eye. We ate hot dogs and ice cream then went on our ride overlooking London. The Eye really is such a cool thing.
Afterwards we walked along the river, through some great Christmas markets then made our way to Shakespeare’s Globe. We crossed the Millennium Bridge then went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Afterwards we jumped on the tube and headed to Oxford Street. We shopped for a bit and ate dinner at a great English restaurant. The Christmas lights are up on Oxford… it looks beautiful and really got us in the Christmas spirit!
We then headed back to our hostel, showered and rested for a few minutes, then headed back out to Somerset House for ice skating. I loved it there! Somerset House is so pretty and it was such a great atmosphere but ice skating was sold out :( boo! So we had some hot chocolate and watched the skaters from the warm café.
We then left and walked around Trafalgar’s Square then had some dinner at the Texas Embassy which was a lot of fun. Then we walked to Piccadilly Circus and Leister Square. This is such a great area of London!
Saturday- we woke up and ate a small breakfast (or I did anyways) then we took the tube to Victoria. BUT the main underground lines were closed for reparations so WE MISSED OUR BUS TO CAMBRIDGE. Boo! But we just bought more tickets and took a later one. It was so cold and grey outside and Marty and I were NOT dressed warm- so we spent most of Cambridge inside the Arcade and at this great pub called the Eagle. But from what we did see, we loved! It’s very comparable to Canterbury, but bigger and newer.
We ate lunch at pizza hut, walked around for a few hours then got drinks and food at the Eagle. :)
Afterwards we headed back to London, showered and hung out at the hostel for a bit. We played a game of pool.. and I almost won!!! Almost. Haha. Then we headed out in London. Once again, it was cold and rainy so it wasn’t good “going out” weather. But we still had a great time. We stopped at KFC on the way and I got the worst heartburn ever though… so that put a damper on the night. Then we got home around 2 and hit the sack.
Sunday- We woke up and ate another light breakfast then took the tube to the Tower of London. We also made a few stops along the way, looking for Jack the Ripper’s killing spots but unfortunately we couldn’t find them. The tower of London was really, really cool. You could easily spend the whole day there… but we only had about an hour. There’s just so much history to it- I can’t wait for my Dad to see it.
Afterwards we went to Harrod’s… but we were running low on time and we didn’t want to miss another bus… so we only spent a few minutes there. But it was so cool! Once again, you could EASILY spend the whole day there. Afterwards we got a really quick lunch at McDonald’s then headed back to our hostel to get our stuff.
We barely made our bus back to Canterbury, whew… but we did! And when we got back, we headed right up to campus for Marty to unpack his things. After we got settled, we walked around campus and then took the UNIbus into town. We ate dinner and played quiz night at the Penny. I think Marty really liked it! YAY! :) We had a lot of fun.
Monday- I had class from 11-12 and then we headed to Whitsable! I love this seaside town so much but it was rainy, windy, and cold so we didn’t stay long. We ate lunch along the water and then headed into Canterbury. We shopped for a while and walked around so Marty could get a feel for the town. Then we went to an Eveningsong service at the Cathedral. It was amazing. I’ve never heard a choir so good!
After the service we got dinner at the Buttermarket, a WONDERFUL pub across from the Cathedral. We both got British meals and hung out for a while.
Then we headed back to campus, showered, and got ready for the evening. We went to Mungos and Rutherford Bar on campus and then we met everyone at the Works. We had so much fun, drinking and dancing. I’m so glad Marty was there for it. :) But I got way to drunk that night, threw up all my guts and ruined my Tuesday as a result. Lol, oh well! Still a great day.
Tuesday- As I said, I was super hungover. So I woke up, went to class then came back and had spaghetti with Marty Mar. Then he went into town and I went back to class. After class I met him in town for dinner. We went to Café Des Amis, one of my favorites. It was really nice- we had a table right by the canal. And of course, the food was delicious.
After dinner we went home, and I laid down for a while. I was so tired and hungover still! I now feel bad, cause I know it was Marty’s last night. Marty, I’m sorry if I was tired and cranky… I wish I could have a redo! We then went to Woody’s, drank a bit, then went to Amy’s flat for her December Party.
It was a fun night, but I wish I was in a better mood for it. We went to bed around 2 cause Marty’s taxi was getting here at 4:40.
He left this morning and now I’m so sad. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I feel like I’m saying goodbye to two huge things in my life… Canterbury and Marty. I don’t want either to leave.
You know, I really wish life had a rewind button. There are so many experiences I wish I could relive. I know I can always come back, but it won’t be the same. It’s so scary to me that this experience is coming to an end. And then I graduate college in May. These are the best years of my life- and these months in Canterbury have been the best months of my life… God, please can I have a remote control?
The last few weeks have really been great. I know I haven’t updated in forever, but I’ll do my best to summarize each day.
Wednesday- Class from 10-11; did HW and wrote my essay all day long.. boo. And skyped with the fam.
Thursday- Class 12-1; Library; Class 4-5; Came home and FINISHED MY ESSAY… whew. Turned it in then packed for Amsterdam.
Friday- We walked to the bus station around 6:30 and left by 7. It was a really long ride, but I was with Stephanie, Sonja, Amy, Cathrin and the rest of Kent Uni… so it was actually fun. We stopped a few times along the way to get food and watched Little Miss Sunshine and a cheesy British Movie.
We got to Amsterdam around 6, settled into our hostel then headed out. Amsterdam is stunning. It really is like a town directly out of a Christmas snow globe. There are canals everywhere and the architecture is just so cute. We walked around town for a while and then headed over to the Red Light District. I always pictured this to be a disgusting area with nasty hookers and drug pushers everywhere… but its not. Sure there are prostitutes in a few windows.. but the rest of it is actually really nice.
We then went to a coffee shop and smoked a few joints :) Then we grabbed dinner at a nice restaurant to fulfill our munchies.
By the time we got home it was really late, so we all just kind of passed out.
Saturday- We woke up around 10 and went to breakfast downstairs. Then we walked over to Mike’s Bikes Tours for our countryside “Cheese, Clog, and Windmill” bike-ride tour. Amy had been super excited about this and had talked of nothing for weeks beforehand… lol. And she was right- it was so much fun. We rode to a cool windmill then we went to a farm that makes cheese and clogs. I love Dutch people. We also got to see the hotel where John Lennon and Yoko stayed at on their honeymoon. “The Ballard of John and Yoko” was apparently written there.
When we got back we walked over to the side of town where the Anne Frank House was and ate some lunch. I got a sandwich with goat cheese, honey and walnuts…delicious! Then we went to the Anne Frank House.. which was really, really moving.
Afterwards we went to another coffee shop and smoked some hash… Sonja got high! LOL :) Then we went back and napped for a bit.
We went out that night to a couple great bars in the main part of town. We went to a place called Bourbon Street that had live Hispanic music. The lead singer was a Hispanic Orlando Bloom…no joke.
Sunday- We woke up and thought we had the whole day in Amsterdam. But surprise- the group leaders decided to go to Bruges instead. Before we got on the bus, Stephanie and I decided to each eat a Space Cake. Worst decision of my life. I have never felt that way and I never want to again. I was out of my mind and I remember nothing of Belgium.
The bits that I do remember include: trying to order lunch but stumbling my words around a whole bit, walking in the pouring rain, and then Cathrin freaking out about a rainbow.
But seriously this is what happened: the bus pulled over on the highway; the leaders said “Okay, we’re here. Be back at half five.” Seriously?! LOL.. we were all waiting to be on America’s funniest home videos.
When we got back to Canterbury, I was still high. Great. So I went home, pigged out, then passed out.
Monday- I woke up, still feeling lousy. And pretty much took the whole day to recover from losing my mind. I skyped for a while with my parents and Marty and did some HW. And that’s about it!
Tuesday- I had the day off of classes for Reading Week, so I went to the library with Cathrin to catch up on school work and had coffee with my French friend, Didier :)
Wednesday- I had class from 10-12, went to an Economic Experiment where I got paid 14 Pounds… WOOWOO!! And that night I went to see New Moon with Amy in town. Such a great movie. I love the twilight series so much. I’ll admit it! After the movie- Karina, Amy, and I went out. We first went to Thomas Ingleberry’s (I think that’s the name of it…) and then we went to the nightclub, Chill. We had so much fun dancing and hanging out. I love going out here.
Thursday- THANKSGIVING! I woke up and was actually really sad that I wasn’t home for the holiday. But I definitely made the most of my day :) I went to my lecture from 12-1 then came home and skyped with my family for a while. It was also a beautiful day outside, so I decided to go on a short hike. There’s a path right my house that leads all the way to Whitsable. It goes through some great farmland… it’s a beautiful walk. I walked about 2 miles into it then turned around. When I got home, I watched Christmas movies and got ready for our Thanksgiving dinner.
Dinner was actually great. I went with all of my best friends and ate the delicious food that they had prepared for us. My only problem with it: the stuffing. They definitely screwed the stuffing up. But everything else was good :) After dinner, we walked to Woody’s and watched some American football… tradition! Then I headed home and packed for London. Cathrin came over for a bit and we hung out with Theo’s friends for his birthday. Then I hit the sack.
Friday- I woke up early and walked into town. Caught my bus to Victoria then got on a subway to Heathrow. I met Marty there.. YAY! It was so wonderful to see him. We jumped on the tube back to central London and dropped off our stuff at the hostel.
We then walked to Buckingham Palace then to Westminster Abbey then to Big Ben and Parliament, then across the river to the London Eye. We ate hot dogs and ice cream then went on our ride overlooking London. The Eye really is such a cool thing.
Afterwards we walked along the river, through some great Christmas markets then made our way to Shakespeare’s Globe. We crossed the Millennium Bridge then went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Afterwards we jumped on the tube and headed to Oxford Street. We shopped for a bit and ate dinner at a great English restaurant. The Christmas lights are up on Oxford… it looks beautiful and really got us in the Christmas spirit!
We then headed back to our hostel, showered and rested for a few minutes, then headed back out to Somerset House for ice skating. I loved it there! Somerset House is so pretty and it was such a great atmosphere but ice skating was sold out :( boo! So we had some hot chocolate and watched the skaters from the warm café.
We then left and walked around Trafalgar’s Square then had some dinner at the Texas Embassy which was a lot of fun. Then we walked to Piccadilly Circus and Leister Square. This is such a great area of London!
Saturday- we woke up and ate a small breakfast (or I did anyways) then we took the tube to Victoria. BUT the main underground lines were closed for reparations so WE MISSED OUR BUS TO CAMBRIDGE. Boo! But we just bought more tickets and took a later one. It was so cold and grey outside and Marty and I were NOT dressed warm- so we spent most of Cambridge inside the Arcade and at this great pub called the Eagle. But from what we did see, we loved! It’s very comparable to Canterbury, but bigger and newer.
We ate lunch at pizza hut, walked around for a few hours then got drinks and food at the Eagle. :)
Afterwards we headed back to London, showered and hung out at the hostel for a bit. We played a game of pool.. and I almost won!!! Almost. Haha. Then we headed out in London. Once again, it was cold and rainy so it wasn’t good “going out” weather. But we still had a great time. We stopped at KFC on the way and I got the worst heartburn ever though… so that put a damper on the night. Then we got home around 2 and hit the sack.
Sunday- We woke up and ate another light breakfast then took the tube to the Tower of London. We also made a few stops along the way, looking for Jack the Ripper’s killing spots but unfortunately we couldn’t find them. The tower of London was really, really cool. You could easily spend the whole day there… but we only had about an hour. There’s just so much history to it- I can’t wait for my Dad to see it.
Afterwards we went to Harrod’s… but we were running low on time and we didn’t want to miss another bus… so we only spent a few minutes there. But it was so cool! Once again, you could EASILY spend the whole day there. Afterwards we got a really quick lunch at McDonald’s then headed back to our hostel to get our stuff.
We barely made our bus back to Canterbury, whew… but we did! And when we got back, we headed right up to campus for Marty to unpack his things. After we got settled, we walked around campus and then took the UNIbus into town. We ate dinner and played quiz night at the Penny. I think Marty really liked it! YAY! :) We had a lot of fun.
Monday- I had class from 11-12 and then we headed to Whitsable! I love this seaside town so much but it was rainy, windy, and cold so we didn’t stay long. We ate lunch along the water and then headed into Canterbury. We shopped for a while and walked around so Marty could get a feel for the town. Then we went to an Eveningsong service at the Cathedral. It was amazing. I’ve never heard a choir so good!
After the service we got dinner at the Buttermarket, a WONDERFUL pub across from the Cathedral. We both got British meals and hung out for a while.
Then we headed back to campus, showered, and got ready for the evening. We went to Mungos and Rutherford Bar on campus and then we met everyone at the Works. We had so much fun, drinking and dancing. I’m so glad Marty was there for it. :) But I got way to drunk that night, threw up all my guts and ruined my Tuesday as a result. Lol, oh well! Still a great day.
Tuesday- As I said, I was super hungover. So I woke up, went to class then came back and had spaghetti with Marty Mar. Then he went into town and I went back to class. After class I met him in town for dinner. We went to Café Des Amis, one of my favorites. It was really nice- we had a table right by the canal. And of course, the food was delicious.
After dinner we went home, and I laid down for a while. I was so tired and hungover still! I now feel bad, cause I know it was Marty’s last night. Marty, I’m sorry if I was tired and cranky… I wish I could have a redo! We then went to Woody’s, drank a bit, then went to Amy’s flat for her December Party.
It was a fun night, but I wish I was in a better mood for it. We went to bed around 2 cause Marty’s taxi was getting here at 4:40.
He left this morning and now I’m so sad. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I feel like I’m saying goodbye to two huge things in my life… Canterbury and Marty. I don’t want either to leave.
You know, I really wish life had a rewind button. There are so many experiences I wish I could relive. I know I can always come back, but it won’t be the same. It’s so scary to me that this experience is coming to an end. And then I graduate college in May. These are the best years of my life- and these months in Canterbury have been the best months of my life… God, please can I have a remote control?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Days 59-65: DUBLIN! And a bit more…
I’m becoming slack at updating. I just have so much work to do. Boo. But I had an absolutely wonderful weekend. The Irish are just so damn nice.
Now what have I been up to? Let’s see…
Wednesday: Class from 10-12 of course, Library, HW… you know the gist. And at night I went to Woody’s (the parkwood pub) with Cathrin, Alex, Sonja, Lucy, Jackaby, and some of Alex’s friends. We just had a few drinks and they headed off to the Venue. I’m broke so I headed home… boo. But it was a good night. I really wish we had pubs in Columbia- not the disgusting bars we have in Five Points.
Thursday: Class from 11-12, came home and packed and got ready for the weekend and caught the bus into town around 3. Went to the Post Office to exchange money to Euros then headed to McDonald’s for a quick bit to eat. Took the bus to London around 4:30 and got to our hostel around 7.
We had a really early start on Friday so we wanted to head to bed early and have a quiet night. So we went to this beef pasta buffet at our hostel with yummy garlic bread and sangria (which was absolutely delicious). We met a nice girl from Brazil who had travel plans that matched ours… almost identically. Weird! She had just come from Dublin (which was where we were going.) And she’s going to be in Amsterdam and Barcelona the same weekends we’ll be there. That’s pretty odd! Haha, anyways… Steph and I went upstairs and played card games for a while and had an intense argument with our moron roommate about probability. Then we went to bed.
I was woken up RIGHT away by a French man snoring in our room. Gross. BTW this was SUPPOSED to be a Youth Hostel (meaning it’s for travelers under 35…) this guy was mid 40’s. So I didn’t get too much sleep. And we had to leave our hostel by 4:45 to catch our bus to Stansted Airport.
Our flight ran smoothly and everything. When we got in, we took the bus into Dublin and got off at a stop WAY after we were supposed to. So we had to get on another bus and ask more directions… But we eventually got there. Haha. Our hostel was really really nice. But they charged for luggage storage, so we had to hold on to our stuff until check-in.
We took the Dublin tram down to the AWESOME old jail on the sketchy part of town. It was really interesting. There was so much history there- with the emergence of the Republic of Ireland. The Political Leaders from the Republican side were all held at the jail and executed there. (Keep in mind, it was also Friday the 13th, so this was realllllly spooky.)
Afterwards we got lunch at a cute little Irish pub. Then we headed to the Guinness Factory. The museum was AWESOME. I think it was about 11 stories high. We learned all about the history of the beer, how to brew it, pretty much everything you’d want to know about Guinness. We even got samples! We ended up on the top story- which was a really cool bar that had glass windows in every direction- allowing you to see ALL of Dublin. We cashed in on our free beer and relaxed up there for a while. I could’ve stayed there all night.
When we left it was raining (boo…). We jumped back on the tram and made a quick stop at the Jameson Factory (so Stephanie could mail some Whiskey back to her dad). Then we headed back to our hostel and showered and got ready for the evening.
We ate dinner at our hostel (a beer and a burger for 5 Euros) then we made some friends with a bunch of Aussies and some Irish boys and we played drinking games with them for a while. Then we all headed out to the Temple Bar (the amazing Dublin nightlife area) and went to a great Irish pub with live music. It was so much fun but so damn expensive. The cheapest beer they had was 6 Euros (that’s about 10 US dollars). Afterwards we went to an even more expensive place- a 5 story nightclub with the cheapest drink being 8 Euros. Great… But it was still so much fun!
We left around 2 and made a few pit stops to fast food places on the way home. My junior whopper from BK was 4 Euros…. About $6.50 for a JR WHOPPER!!! WHAT THE HECK?! Apparently Dublin is in the top three of the most expensive cities in Europe.
We woke up Saturday and went down to our free breakfast of toast and OJ then started Day#2. We walked over to Trinity College, which has an impressive list of alumni. The campus was so pretty… Stephanie said it’s a lot like Harvard. Afterwards we went to see Temple Bar during the day. We walked and shopped there for a while… it’s such a cute area. Then we ate lunch at this Italian/Mexican Place… haha. I got a steak with potatoes and garlic bread for an appetizer…. Weird combo but delicious!
After lunch we went to see Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, which is stunning from the outside. But the inside was closed for a service, so we weren’t able to go inside. Then we walked to the castle and took a great tour of the inside. Unlike other castles we’ve seen, the modern part is still in use at least 2 times a week. Then we went underground to the ancient remains of the older castle. That was my favorite part… it was really spooky down there.
We left the castle and walked back to our hostel for a nice two-hour nap. When we woke up around 7, we went to dinner at a great Irish Pub. There was a huge football game on that night between Ireland and France so the place was PACKED. It was a really fun atmosphere. Plus the food was to-die-for. I got a bowl of Irish stew… yumyumyum!
After dinner, we went back to the hostel, played a few more card games and then headed out again. This time we went to a huge pub off the main street in Dublin. Once again, it was a really fun night!
We had to wake up really early on Sunday to catch our flight. We left our hostel around 6 and didn’t get home to Canterbury til around 2. A long day of travelling… When we got home we went to the grocery store and picked up stuff for the week.
Then I went home and relaxed. I got caught up on all of my favorite American TV shows and skyped with my parents then passed out.
Monday I had class from 11-12, went to the library, did HW… ate. Blah blah. That night I went on a really fun bar crawl with Amy and Sonja and the sailing society… lol. I’m so glad I went cause we went to all of these great bars in Canterbury that I’d never even seen before. Man, I don’t want to leave this place. Then we met up with Alexis and ended the night at the works. Wonderful evening.
Tuesday I had class from 11-1, went home and ate lunch, went to the library for a while then walked into town with Cathrin and Lauren. We ate our great meal deal again at Café Des Amis then walked home.
I’m so sad that I’m on the downward spiral towards going home. It’s going to fly by too. This weekend Amsterdam. Next- Marty’ll be here. Next- Barcelona. Next- Last weekend in Canterbury. Next- parents will be here. I love this place. Mom, can I please stay?!
Now what have I been up to? Let’s see…
Wednesday: Class from 10-12 of course, Library, HW… you know the gist. And at night I went to Woody’s (the parkwood pub) with Cathrin, Alex, Sonja, Lucy, Jackaby, and some of Alex’s friends. We just had a few drinks and they headed off to the Venue. I’m broke so I headed home… boo. But it was a good night. I really wish we had pubs in Columbia- not the disgusting bars we have in Five Points.
Thursday: Class from 11-12, came home and packed and got ready for the weekend and caught the bus into town around 3. Went to the Post Office to exchange money to Euros then headed to McDonald’s for a quick bit to eat. Took the bus to London around 4:30 and got to our hostel around 7.
We had a really early start on Friday so we wanted to head to bed early and have a quiet night. So we went to this beef pasta buffet at our hostel with yummy garlic bread and sangria (which was absolutely delicious). We met a nice girl from Brazil who had travel plans that matched ours… almost identically. Weird! She had just come from Dublin (which was where we were going.) And she’s going to be in Amsterdam and Barcelona the same weekends we’ll be there. That’s pretty odd! Haha, anyways… Steph and I went upstairs and played card games for a while and had an intense argument with our moron roommate about probability. Then we went to bed.
I was woken up RIGHT away by a French man snoring in our room. Gross. BTW this was SUPPOSED to be a Youth Hostel (meaning it’s for travelers under 35…) this guy was mid 40’s. So I didn’t get too much sleep. And we had to leave our hostel by 4:45 to catch our bus to Stansted Airport.
Our flight ran smoothly and everything. When we got in, we took the bus into Dublin and got off at a stop WAY after we were supposed to. So we had to get on another bus and ask more directions… But we eventually got there. Haha. Our hostel was really really nice. But they charged for luggage storage, so we had to hold on to our stuff until check-in.
We took the Dublin tram down to the AWESOME old jail on the sketchy part of town. It was really interesting. There was so much history there- with the emergence of the Republic of Ireland. The Political Leaders from the Republican side were all held at the jail and executed there. (Keep in mind, it was also Friday the 13th, so this was realllllly spooky.)
Afterwards we got lunch at a cute little Irish pub. Then we headed to the Guinness Factory. The museum was AWESOME. I think it was about 11 stories high. We learned all about the history of the beer, how to brew it, pretty much everything you’d want to know about Guinness. We even got samples! We ended up on the top story- which was a really cool bar that had glass windows in every direction- allowing you to see ALL of Dublin. We cashed in on our free beer and relaxed up there for a while. I could’ve stayed there all night.
When we left it was raining (boo…). We jumped back on the tram and made a quick stop at the Jameson Factory (so Stephanie could mail some Whiskey back to her dad). Then we headed back to our hostel and showered and got ready for the evening.
We ate dinner at our hostel (a beer and a burger for 5 Euros) then we made some friends with a bunch of Aussies and some Irish boys and we played drinking games with them for a while. Then we all headed out to the Temple Bar (the amazing Dublin nightlife area) and went to a great Irish pub with live music. It was so much fun but so damn expensive. The cheapest beer they had was 6 Euros (that’s about 10 US dollars). Afterwards we went to an even more expensive place- a 5 story nightclub with the cheapest drink being 8 Euros. Great… But it was still so much fun!
We left around 2 and made a few pit stops to fast food places on the way home. My junior whopper from BK was 4 Euros…. About $6.50 for a JR WHOPPER!!! WHAT THE HECK?! Apparently Dublin is in the top three of the most expensive cities in Europe.
We woke up Saturday and went down to our free breakfast of toast and OJ then started Day#2. We walked over to Trinity College, which has an impressive list of alumni. The campus was so pretty… Stephanie said it’s a lot like Harvard. Afterwards we went to see Temple Bar during the day. We walked and shopped there for a while… it’s such a cute area. Then we ate lunch at this Italian/Mexican Place… haha. I got a steak with potatoes and garlic bread for an appetizer…. Weird combo but delicious!
After lunch we went to see Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, which is stunning from the outside. But the inside was closed for a service, so we weren’t able to go inside. Then we walked to the castle and took a great tour of the inside. Unlike other castles we’ve seen, the modern part is still in use at least 2 times a week. Then we went underground to the ancient remains of the older castle. That was my favorite part… it was really spooky down there.
We left the castle and walked back to our hostel for a nice two-hour nap. When we woke up around 7, we went to dinner at a great Irish Pub. There was a huge football game on that night between Ireland and France so the place was PACKED. It was a really fun atmosphere. Plus the food was to-die-for. I got a bowl of Irish stew… yumyumyum!
After dinner, we went back to the hostel, played a few more card games and then headed out again. This time we went to a huge pub off the main street in Dublin. Once again, it was a really fun night!
We had to wake up really early on Sunday to catch our flight. We left our hostel around 6 and didn’t get home to Canterbury til around 2. A long day of travelling… When we got home we went to the grocery store and picked up stuff for the week.
Then I went home and relaxed. I got caught up on all of my favorite American TV shows and skyped with my parents then passed out.
Monday I had class from 11-12, went to the library, did HW… ate. Blah blah. That night I went on a really fun bar crawl with Amy and Sonja and the sailing society… lol. I’m so glad I went cause we went to all of these great bars in Canterbury that I’d never even seen before. Man, I don’t want to leave this place. Then we met up with Alexis and ended the night at the works. Wonderful evening.
Tuesday I had class from 11-1, went home and ate lunch, went to the library for a while then walked into town with Cathrin and Lauren. We ate our great meal deal again at Café Des Amis then walked home.
I’m so sad that I’m on the downward spiral towards going home. It’s going to fly by too. This weekend Amsterdam. Next- Marty’ll be here. Next- Barcelona. Next- Last weekend in Canterbury. Next- parents will be here. I love this place. Mom, can I please stay?!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The Rest of 54 and 55-58
Hello to my Nonexistent Blog-Follows! I bet you’re anxious to know what Kimmy Walt has been up to, right? Not too much has happened since I left you. Fun days… but don’t get too excited.
Friday night was so much fun. Alex had a Halloween/Birthday Party. I dressed up as a Policewoman, meaning I bought an 8pound cop hat and wore all black. Original, I know. We played American drinking games again and I must say that it was a tad frustrating being the dealer when ¾ of the players are foreign… Meaning that none of them know how to play. But whatever, it was still fun!
Saturday I went to the zoo right outside Canterbury and saw all of the gorillas and tigers and elephants. It was a beautiful day. And the zoo was so different from the Columbia zoo. Everything was spread out and the whole thing was just in the middle of all of this farmland. It was really cool.
When I got home, I relaxed for a while and then met up with Steph, Cathrin, and Lauren to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. I officially love this holiday. And I want it to come to America. Really. The whole town goes to this huge bonfire and then they have a great fireworks display. We only caught the last thirty minutes or so, but it was so much fun. I want to come back to England every year just for this day. We went home early that night to save money.
Sunday I relaxed and did more HW… boo. Then at night I went to “Dorian Gray” on campus with the girls. Sorry, but I hate this movie. I don’t like dark, depressing stuff like that. No matter how cute the lead actor is.
Monday I had my IR class then I went home and worked on my Spanish Portfolio for about 3 hours. Boring. Then I skyped and caught up on my American TV shows. I had homemade pasta for dinner. Hey, it’s a step-up from Ramen!
Tuesday I had class from 11-1 and 3-5. Then I went to the library for about an hour to catch up on some reading. Afterwards I went into town to have dinner with Cathrin and Lauren. We went to Café Des Amis, an adorable little Mexican Restaurant with absolutely delicious food. They had a 2 for 1 deal, so we split two entrées between the three of us and still got stuffed. We had feta and spinach tacos and a vegetable tostado. AND we only spent 5 pounds!
Afterwards we walked to Tacos Locos for Ladies Night. We each got three delicious cocktails and shared a Mexican Pie Dessert. We had such a great time.
When we got back to campus, we intended to go back home.. but we ran into my friend on the way that said Origins was the place to be. So we decided to continue our night. And I’m so glad we did. They were playing great music, so we danced until around 1 then headed home. Wonderful evening. Only 2 days til I leave for Dublin and I CAN’T WAIT!!!
Friday night was so much fun. Alex had a Halloween/Birthday Party. I dressed up as a Policewoman, meaning I bought an 8pound cop hat and wore all black. Original, I know. We played American drinking games again and I must say that it was a tad frustrating being the dealer when ¾ of the players are foreign… Meaning that none of them know how to play. But whatever, it was still fun!
Saturday I went to the zoo right outside Canterbury and saw all of the gorillas and tigers and elephants. It was a beautiful day. And the zoo was so different from the Columbia zoo. Everything was spread out and the whole thing was just in the middle of all of this farmland. It was really cool.
When I got home, I relaxed for a while and then met up with Steph, Cathrin, and Lauren to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. I officially love this holiday. And I want it to come to America. Really. The whole town goes to this huge bonfire and then they have a great fireworks display. We only caught the last thirty minutes or so, but it was so much fun. I want to come back to England every year just for this day. We went home early that night to save money.
Sunday I relaxed and did more HW… boo. Then at night I went to “Dorian Gray” on campus with the girls. Sorry, but I hate this movie. I don’t like dark, depressing stuff like that. No matter how cute the lead actor is.
Monday I had my IR class then I went home and worked on my Spanish Portfolio for about 3 hours. Boring. Then I skyped and caught up on my American TV shows. I had homemade pasta for dinner. Hey, it’s a step-up from Ramen!
Tuesday I had class from 11-1 and 3-5. Then I went to the library for about an hour to catch up on some reading. Afterwards I went into town to have dinner with Cathrin and Lauren. We went to Café Des Amis, an adorable little Mexican Restaurant with absolutely delicious food. They had a 2 for 1 deal, so we split two entrées between the three of us and still got stuffed. We had feta and spinach tacos and a vegetable tostado. AND we only spent 5 pounds!
Afterwards we walked to Tacos Locos for Ladies Night. We each got three delicious cocktails and shared a Mexican Pie Dessert. We had such a great time.
When we got back to campus, we intended to go back home.. but we ran into my friend on the way that said Origins was the place to be. So we decided to continue our night. And I’m so glad we did. They were playing great music, so we danced until around 1 then headed home. Wonderful evening. Only 2 days til I leave for Dublin and I CAN’T WAIT!!!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Days 49-54: More Work, Boo.
Once again, after a fabulous weekend… I really needed to catch up on work and save money. So my week wasn’t too exciting.
Monday: Got home at 9, completely exhausted from Italy. Read before class. Class from 11-12. Went home, worked on my Spanish project. Skyped with family. Nothing to exciting…
Tuesday: Class from 11-1, worked on my Span project. Presentation from 3-4 (it went pretty well), then class again from 4-5. Stephanie came over for dinner. We had frozen pizza and booked hostels for Dublin (WOOHOO!) She left. I skyped with Marty and did MORE HW.
Wednesday: Woke up, did HW. Went into town with Stephanie to run errands: i.e. topped up my phone, went grocery shopping… Went over to Amy’s for dinner and struggled making baked potatoes. It seriously takes an hour and a half to bake four potatoes?! Really?
Thursday: Class 12-1, lunch with Cathrin at Woody’s. I got Pita and Hummus and Cheesy Chips. Yum!! Went to Spanish from 4-5 then headed home to eat a small dinner. Went over to Amy’s around 9 and pregamed with Steph, Amy, Laura, and Alex, then headed out to KBar for drinks.
Today: Woke up, watched Gossip Girl. Went into town with Cathrin to buy Halloween costumes. Tonight’s Alex’s Birthday/Halloween Party. Should be a good time!!!
Looking forward to an exciting weekend in Canterbury! <3
Monday: Got home at 9, completely exhausted from Italy. Read before class. Class from 11-12. Went home, worked on my Spanish project. Skyped with family. Nothing to exciting…
Tuesday: Class from 11-1, worked on my Span project. Presentation from 3-4 (it went pretty well), then class again from 4-5. Stephanie came over for dinner. We had frozen pizza and booked hostels for Dublin (WOOHOO!) She left. I skyped with Marty and did MORE HW.
Wednesday: Woke up, did HW. Went into town with Stephanie to run errands: i.e. topped up my phone, went grocery shopping… Went over to Amy’s for dinner and struggled making baked potatoes. It seriously takes an hour and a half to bake four potatoes?! Really?
Thursday: Class 12-1, lunch with Cathrin at Woody’s. I got Pita and Hummus and Cheesy Chips. Yum!! Went to Spanish from 4-5 then headed home to eat a small dinner. Went over to Amy’s around 9 and pregamed with Steph, Amy, Laura, and Alex, then headed out to KBar for drinks.
Today: Woke up, watched Gossip Girl. Went into town with Cathrin to buy Halloween costumes. Tonight’s Alex’s Birthday/Halloween Party. Should be a good time!!!
Looking forward to an exciting weekend in Canterbury! <3
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Days 44-48: LONDON, ROME, MILAN
Wednesday I woke up and went to class from 10-12, stopped by the library to print off bus/plane/train tickets, then raced home and shoved some Ramen down my throat. At 1, I took the bus into town and caught the 2 O’clock bus into LONDON! We got there around 3:30 and shopped off Oxford street for a while. Then we grabbed a delicious happy hour dinner at pizza hut and wandered around the city.
I absolutely love London at night. We walked to Trafalgar’s Square then to Big Ben and Parliament then across the London Bridge and down by the river. Then we headed over to St Paul’s Cathedral, (which is still stunning), then over the millennium bridge. After wandering around for a good 3 hours, we took the Metro back to Victoria, grabbed a small snack, then jumped on a bus to our hotel. We stayed at the Marriott by Gatwick and got a total of 4 hours of sleep… we had to leave for the airport at 4:30AM!
Woke up bright and early, walked our way to the airport, checked in… everything went really smoothly. We got into Rome around 10:30 AM (cause of the time difference) and took the train into the city.
I simply cannot describe how beautiful Rome is. For some reason, I wasn’t too excited about it… but it’s absolutely fantastic. There’s so much history EVERYWHERE you look.
When we got there, we checked into our hostel, (Alessandro’s Palace- and what a palace it is!), then walked throughout the streets in search of some tasty Italian food. We found a self-serve place, and got mozzarella and potato pizza, and a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Haha… both were pretty good.
After lunch, we walked over to the Spanish Steps, which at the top, provide an amazing view of the city. (But I was wearing shorts because of the 75degree weather, so I wasn’t allowed to go in the church… boo.) Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain- which is seriously THE KING of all fountains. Really, you’ve gotta see this thing. And afterwards we walked down to Ancient Rome, where all of the ruins are still standing. This area was absolutely breath-taking. It felt like I was taken back thousands of years in time. The architecture for that time, the marble, the fact that its still standing. It truly is remarkable.
Then we went to the Colosseum and walked around- right as the sun was setting. Amazing.
We then made our way back to our hostel and took a nap for about an hour. At 8:30 they had free pizza for us, and at 8:32 it was gone. But we stocked up on it and managed to get a few slices in. We also shared a bottled of wine and drank a bit at our hostel bar. There we met our fellow hostelers- Jimmy (from Sydney), and Rob (from Edinburgh). Both were so much fun that we decided to invite them out into town with us.
We went to the cheapest place we could find and met… AMY, who was also in Rome! It was a very interesting/entertaining/hilarious night. But it was great. MOST OF US walked back- taking a route right by the Colosseum at night, which believe it or not- provides an even more amazing view when its all lit up.
We woke up around 9, packed, ate our free breakfast, said our goodbyes to our new friends, then checked out of our amazing hostel.
We headed over to the Vatican, waited in line for about 45 minutes in the beautiful square, then walked around inside. It was so cool in there… so much history with all of the popes. We wandered inside for about an hour then went out and got some lunch. We ate at this really cute outdoor café. I got a great pasta dish.. and paid $4.50 for a sitting fee. Lovely.
Then we went to the Roman Museum, which is massive. And walked straight through until we got to the Sistine Chapel. Cathrin is an art history major so she almost had a heart attack. I can’t believe that he painted that within four years… it was absolutely amazing.
Afterwards, we sat outside and soaked up the sunshine and then met Amy for gelato. And to be honest, gelato is probably my favorite thing in Italy. IT IS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.
We all then walked towards the Pantheon, which in my opinion, is one of the coolest places in Rome. It was built around 75BC… and its dome is still one of the biggest in the world. It was originally a pagan church but its now a Christian church. The inside of the building is absolutely remarkable.
We then walked back to our hostel, got our bags, and headed for the train station. We had 3 hours to kill, but we were all so tired… we just wanted to sit. We got on board at 11PM and headed to our disgusting seats. The Italian boys were all cat-calling to us and chain-smoking the entire ride. 8 hours of torture.
So when we got into Milan around 7AM that morning, we were all dead on our feet. Having slept VERY little, we took the metro straight to the Marriott and passed out until 3PM. I know, I know… sleeping that much in Milan?! But we would not have had any fun in the state we were in.
When we got up at 3, we got some lunch at…. McDonalds (hey, we’re broke okay?!) then hopped on the metro. We went to an area with a beautiful cathedral, walked inside, then walked around in that area. (By far- my favorite area in Milan.) We saw the famous opera house and walked through a really cute park. Then we went to a Milanese grocery store, stocked up on candy, dinner, and alcohol, and headed back to our hotel.
We hung out in the room, flipping through the Italian TV when… WE FOUND CONAN ON!!! Seriously, made my day. So we watched Conan, played drinking games, and pre-gamed for a good 2 hours then headed back out. It was Halloween, so we were excited to spend a night out in Milan!
We went to the area where all the nightclubs are, only to find each one charging a ridiculous cover of 35 EUROS!!! Boo! But we were all desperate to pee, so we went to this nasty little sketch-bar to use their bathroom. The toilet consisted of a hole in the floor that you were supposed to squat over. I will never complain about the bathrooms in five points again.
We then made our way over to a cute non-sketch bar that had no cover-charge and ordered a few drinks. I had a Halloween margarita, which was delicious. And there we met some very nice German boys and we hung out with them for the rest of our evening.
We took a taxi home around 2AM and slept in until 10:30. Yay for comfy Marriott beds.
When we got up, we headed downstairs for the spectacular Marriott breakfast. It normally costs about 20 Euros a person, but they had a special for associates… 5 EUROS. WOOHOO! We stuffed our stomachs as much as humanly possible, then went back upstairs and packed up.
We checked out, took the metro to a pretty huge castle, then walked over to the church where the Last Supper is painted. Unfortunately to see it, you have to get tickets a year in advance. Oh well.
We then shopped in the high-end area. Not buying anything… boo for being broke.
Then we went for dinner over by the canal. We got a 15Euro Special: bottled water, bread, a wonderful Italian chicken dish with salad, dessert, and coffee. Not a bad deal for Milanese prices… Not to mention, our extremely attractive waiters provided excellent landscape. LOL.
After dinner, we headed back to the Marriott, got our stuff, and took a bus to the airport. Our flight ran smoothly. We didn’t crash. And we landed in Stansted around 11:00PM. BUT… there were no buses, so we had to spend the night in the airport. Can’t be that bad right? Wrong.
First off, there’s no carpet in stansted so we had to sleep on the linoleum floor. Boo. Secondly, they turn off the heat at night. Put those two together= WE FROZE OUR ASSES OFF. Seriously, I maybe got an hour of sleep… Then I shivered my way to tears the other four hours.
We took a bus to London at 5 and then one back to Canterbury at 7. And I passed out on each ride. Thank God, cause I had class at 11AM!
Although we had some interesting sleeping arrangements, our trip was utterly fantastic. I love Italy, especially Rome. And I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK. Hint hint, Mom. <3
I absolutely love London at night. We walked to Trafalgar’s Square then to Big Ben and Parliament then across the London Bridge and down by the river. Then we headed over to St Paul’s Cathedral, (which is still stunning), then over the millennium bridge. After wandering around for a good 3 hours, we took the Metro back to Victoria, grabbed a small snack, then jumped on a bus to our hotel. We stayed at the Marriott by Gatwick and got a total of 4 hours of sleep… we had to leave for the airport at 4:30AM!
Woke up bright and early, walked our way to the airport, checked in… everything went really smoothly. We got into Rome around 10:30 AM (cause of the time difference) and took the train into the city.
I simply cannot describe how beautiful Rome is. For some reason, I wasn’t too excited about it… but it’s absolutely fantastic. There’s so much history EVERYWHERE you look.
When we got there, we checked into our hostel, (Alessandro’s Palace- and what a palace it is!), then walked throughout the streets in search of some tasty Italian food. We found a self-serve place, and got mozzarella and potato pizza, and a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Haha… both were pretty good.
After lunch, we walked over to the Spanish Steps, which at the top, provide an amazing view of the city. (But I was wearing shorts because of the 75degree weather, so I wasn’t allowed to go in the church… boo.) Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain- which is seriously THE KING of all fountains. Really, you’ve gotta see this thing. And afterwards we walked down to Ancient Rome, where all of the ruins are still standing. This area was absolutely breath-taking. It felt like I was taken back thousands of years in time. The architecture for that time, the marble, the fact that its still standing. It truly is remarkable.
Then we went to the Colosseum and walked around- right as the sun was setting. Amazing.
We then made our way back to our hostel and took a nap for about an hour. At 8:30 they had free pizza for us, and at 8:32 it was gone. But we stocked up on it and managed to get a few slices in. We also shared a bottled of wine and drank a bit at our hostel bar. There we met our fellow hostelers- Jimmy (from Sydney), and Rob (from Edinburgh). Both were so much fun that we decided to invite them out into town with us.
We went to the cheapest place we could find and met… AMY, who was also in Rome! It was a very interesting/entertaining/hilarious night. But it was great. MOST OF US walked back- taking a route right by the Colosseum at night, which believe it or not- provides an even more amazing view when its all lit up.
We woke up around 9, packed, ate our free breakfast, said our goodbyes to our new friends, then checked out of our amazing hostel.
We headed over to the Vatican, waited in line for about 45 minutes in the beautiful square, then walked around inside. It was so cool in there… so much history with all of the popes. We wandered inside for about an hour then went out and got some lunch. We ate at this really cute outdoor café. I got a great pasta dish.. and paid $4.50 for a sitting fee. Lovely.
Then we went to the Roman Museum, which is massive. And walked straight through until we got to the Sistine Chapel. Cathrin is an art history major so she almost had a heart attack. I can’t believe that he painted that within four years… it was absolutely amazing.
Afterwards, we sat outside and soaked up the sunshine and then met Amy for gelato. And to be honest, gelato is probably my favorite thing in Italy. IT IS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS.
We all then walked towards the Pantheon, which in my opinion, is one of the coolest places in Rome. It was built around 75BC… and its dome is still one of the biggest in the world. It was originally a pagan church but its now a Christian church. The inside of the building is absolutely remarkable.
We then walked back to our hostel, got our bags, and headed for the train station. We had 3 hours to kill, but we were all so tired… we just wanted to sit. We got on board at 11PM and headed to our disgusting seats. The Italian boys were all cat-calling to us and chain-smoking the entire ride. 8 hours of torture.
So when we got into Milan around 7AM that morning, we were all dead on our feet. Having slept VERY little, we took the metro straight to the Marriott and passed out until 3PM. I know, I know… sleeping that much in Milan?! But we would not have had any fun in the state we were in.
When we got up at 3, we got some lunch at…. McDonalds (hey, we’re broke okay?!) then hopped on the metro. We went to an area with a beautiful cathedral, walked inside, then walked around in that area. (By far- my favorite area in Milan.) We saw the famous opera house and walked through a really cute park. Then we went to a Milanese grocery store, stocked up on candy, dinner, and alcohol, and headed back to our hotel.
We hung out in the room, flipping through the Italian TV when… WE FOUND CONAN ON!!! Seriously, made my day. So we watched Conan, played drinking games, and pre-gamed for a good 2 hours then headed back out. It was Halloween, so we were excited to spend a night out in Milan!
We went to the area where all the nightclubs are, only to find each one charging a ridiculous cover of 35 EUROS!!! Boo! But we were all desperate to pee, so we went to this nasty little sketch-bar to use their bathroom. The toilet consisted of a hole in the floor that you were supposed to squat over. I will never complain about the bathrooms in five points again.
We then made our way over to a cute non-sketch bar that had no cover-charge and ordered a few drinks. I had a Halloween margarita, which was delicious. And there we met some very nice German boys and we hung out with them for the rest of our evening.
We took a taxi home around 2AM and slept in until 10:30. Yay for comfy Marriott beds.
When we got up, we headed downstairs for the spectacular Marriott breakfast. It normally costs about 20 Euros a person, but they had a special for associates… 5 EUROS. WOOHOO! We stuffed our stomachs as much as humanly possible, then went back upstairs and packed up.
We checked out, took the metro to a pretty huge castle, then walked over to the church where the Last Supper is painted. Unfortunately to see it, you have to get tickets a year in advance. Oh well.
We then shopped in the high-end area. Not buying anything… boo for being broke.
Then we went for dinner over by the canal. We got a 15Euro Special: bottled water, bread, a wonderful Italian chicken dish with salad, dessert, and coffee. Not a bad deal for Milanese prices… Not to mention, our extremely attractive waiters provided excellent landscape. LOL.
After dinner, we headed back to the Marriott, got our stuff, and took a bus to the airport. Our flight ran smoothly. We didn’t crash. And we landed in Stansted around 11:00PM. BUT… there were no buses, so we had to spend the night in the airport. Can’t be that bad right? Wrong.
First off, there’s no carpet in stansted so we had to sleep on the linoleum floor. Boo. Secondly, they turn off the heat at night. Put those two together= WE FROZE OUR ASSES OFF. Seriously, I maybe got an hour of sleep… Then I shivered my way to tears the other four hours.
We took a bus to London at 5 and then one back to Canterbury at 7. And I passed out on each ride. Thank God, cause I had class at 11AM!
Although we had some interesting sleeping arrangements, our trip was utterly fantastic. I love Italy, especially Rome. And I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK. Hint hint, Mom. <3
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Days 39-43: Another Weekend in Canterbury
I left you on Friday afternoon. I was about to go get dinner, right? Yes. Stephanie and I went into town and ate at that great Mexican Restaurant, Tacos Locos. Good food. But still expensive. I got a glass of Sangria and a cheese quesadilla.
Afterwards we went back up to campus and got ready for an evening out. We ended up going to the Venue with Cathrin and Lauren, meeting Sarah and the other Brits there. It was a wonderful/late night of dancing and drinking with friends. Fun fun fun!
Saturday, I slept in late and lounged around my house until late morning- catching up on Gossip Girl and relaxation. It was rainy outside, so I had very little desire to leave my cozy room. But I did. I went into town with Lauren and Steph and shopped. I allowed myself to buy a cute pair of black wedge boots for 32P. I do realize I’m broke but… Whatever, I’ve been looking for a pair for FOREVER.
I went over to Lauren and Cat’s for an absolutely fabulous dinner that night. Stuffed green peppers with rice and homemade apple pie. DELICIOUS. And because we all need to save money, we decided to spend a quiet night IN.
Sunday I woke up early to go to London. Steph and I walked to Canterbury and got on the bus around 10. We were there by noon and went shopping off Oxford Street. This was absolute torture. I went into H&M and tried on 10 things that looked perfect on…. But was unable to buy them. Money makes the world go round. After shopping, we ate lunch at Subway and took the underground to Westminster. Stephanie had never seen Big Ben, so we went there and Parliament, and walked past the Westminster Abbey.
Afterwards, we went to King’s Cross and took a picture by platform 9 and ¾. Haha! But we were disappointed when we weren’t pulled through the wall… Boo.
We made our bus back at 5:30, arriving back into Canterbury around 7:00. We ate a quick, cheap meal at McDonalds then headed to the Penny Theatre for Quiz Night. I love that place. And we actually had a chance with this quiz. But the STUPID BARTENDERS WOULDN’T SERVE ANYONE WHO DIDN’T HAVE A BRITISTH DRIVERS LISCENSE OR A PASSPORT. Once again, I don’t want to carry my passport around and neither do my friends. So no one was served. We still had a good time though. We went home around 11:00 for an early night in.
Monday was a day full of laziness. Slept in, relaxed until around noon, did some HW then went to French with Didier. Afterwards I went to the library and studied some more.
Stephanie came over for dinner. We had AMAZING omelets with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and tomatoes. But the best part of our meal was our surprise to its success. Seriously, you won’t find worse cooks than Steph and I, but it was somehow edible. More than edible… Delicious! After dinner I relaxed some more and watched Gossip Girl.
Tuesday I slept in late… again. When I woke up, I relaxed SOME MORE and did a bit more HW. I went into town around 2 and got coffee with Cathrin and Lauren and did a bit of shopping. Went home around 6, made a delicious meal of Mac&Cheese, then headed to Alex’s for a birthday celebration. Only stayed there til around 10, came home and packed for Italy. LEAVING TOMORROW AND CAN’T WAIT!!! I’ll update when I get home!!
Afterwards we went back up to campus and got ready for an evening out. We ended up going to the Venue with Cathrin and Lauren, meeting Sarah and the other Brits there. It was a wonderful/late night of dancing and drinking with friends. Fun fun fun!
Saturday, I slept in late and lounged around my house until late morning- catching up on Gossip Girl and relaxation. It was rainy outside, so I had very little desire to leave my cozy room. But I did. I went into town with Lauren and Steph and shopped. I allowed myself to buy a cute pair of black wedge boots for 32P. I do realize I’m broke but… Whatever, I’ve been looking for a pair for FOREVER.
I went over to Lauren and Cat’s for an absolutely fabulous dinner that night. Stuffed green peppers with rice and homemade apple pie. DELICIOUS. And because we all need to save money, we decided to spend a quiet night IN.
Sunday I woke up early to go to London. Steph and I walked to Canterbury and got on the bus around 10. We were there by noon and went shopping off Oxford Street. This was absolute torture. I went into H&M and tried on 10 things that looked perfect on…. But was unable to buy them. Money makes the world go round. After shopping, we ate lunch at Subway and took the underground to Westminster. Stephanie had never seen Big Ben, so we went there and Parliament, and walked past the Westminster Abbey.
Afterwards, we went to King’s Cross and took a picture by platform 9 and ¾. Haha! But we were disappointed when we weren’t pulled through the wall… Boo.
We made our bus back at 5:30, arriving back into Canterbury around 7:00. We ate a quick, cheap meal at McDonalds then headed to the Penny Theatre for Quiz Night. I love that place. And we actually had a chance with this quiz. But the STUPID BARTENDERS WOULDN’T SERVE ANYONE WHO DIDN’T HAVE A BRITISTH DRIVERS LISCENSE OR A PASSPORT. Once again, I don’t want to carry my passport around and neither do my friends. So no one was served. We still had a good time though. We went home around 11:00 for an early night in.
Monday was a day full of laziness. Slept in, relaxed until around noon, did some HW then went to French with Didier. Afterwards I went to the library and studied some more.
Stephanie came over for dinner. We had AMAZING omelets with mozzarella and cheddar cheese, sautéed peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and tomatoes. But the best part of our meal was our surprise to its success. Seriously, you won’t find worse cooks than Steph and I, but it was somehow edible. More than edible… Delicious! After dinner I relaxed some more and watched Gossip Girl.
Tuesday I slept in late… again. When I woke up, I relaxed SOME MORE and did a bit more HW. I went into town around 2 and got coffee with Cathrin and Lauren and did a bit of shopping. Went home around 6, made a delicious meal of Mac&Cheese, then headed to Alex’s for a birthday celebration. Only stayed there til around 10, came home and packed for Italy. LEAVING TOMORROW AND CAN’T WAIT!!! I’ll update when I get home!!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Days 35-38: Some time here must be devoted to work... PSH.
After a fabulous weekend, I knew I would have to take a break from fun and start on my homework. Ugh. So this week has pretty much been essay-writing and textbook-reading, with some highlights sprinkled in here and there.
Monday- woke up and went to class, and decided to do a load of laundry. Now being the frugal person that I am (HA HA- more like broke person), I somehow thought that I would be able to fill 2 and a half weeks worth of laundry in one load. Yeah right… So when I got all my stuff out of the drier, not only was it still completely wet, it had the smell of an old wet towel. Greattttt. I’m just so domestic you guys.
Afterwards I went into town with Amy and ran errands (and bought a bunch of Fabreeze). We ordered her cake for her b-day party and then I headed to the Penny Theatre for dinner with Lauren and Cat. Their grille was broken, so I ordered chili. Not too bad…. Just more money than I had hoped to spend. After dinner, I grocery shopped and went home and skyped with Mom and Marty.
Tuesday was pretty much devoted to work. Woke up, went to library, had class from 10-11, did HW, went back to class from 3-5, then had French with Didier. But Cat and Steph came over for dinner and we made a wonderful meal of pasta, salad, and sautéed veggies. YUMMMMM. Then we booked our hostels for Italy and I did MORE HW.
I had class on Wednesday from 10-11 then I headed to the library for a little bit. Went home and started working on my essays; then headed into town with Stephanie. We looked for a birthday present for Amy and got High-School-Musical Themed cups and plates for her party. HAHA. Then we took our class fieldtrip to St. Augustine’s Abbey, which would have been enjoyable if it hadn’t been pouring down rain.
Then we met up with Amy in town to buy drinks for her party. So we’re leaving Tesco with 2 24-packs of Carlsberg and 2 10-packs of Fosters (REALLY HEAVY), Amy and Steph are in one line buying this stuff and I’m in A COMPLETLEY different line buying Sprite, when THEIR cashier, asks me for MY ID. Because I don’t feel comfortable carrying my passport with me everywhere, I only had my KentCard. And apparently that’s not acceptable, so we couldn’t even buy it. It was pretty ridiculous and the argument got pretty heated. We might be banned from Tesco from now on… haha. But the stupid thing is, I CAN DRINK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD LEGALLY and their dumb cashier said, “Oh, I know you’re buying it for that underage girl.” She was a witch with a capital B.
So we went to off-license liquor store and bought stuff for double the price. And lugged it back in the rain all the way to campus. When we got back, we booked our trips for the rest of the year. Dublin and Barcelona, here we come!!
After I left Amy’s, I went home, ate a pot-pie, and showered. Michael was having people over for ice cream, so I joined them for a few minutes, and got ready to go out. We went to the Venue and it turned out to be a really good night!
Thursday I woke up at 7:30 and worked on my essays. Worked straight until 11:30, then went to class from 12-1. Came back and continued my writing and research (what great fun, eh?), then went BACK to class from 4-5. After class, I went home and changed, then headed over to Amy’s to blow up balloons and get ready for her PARTAY. We ordered pizza and played American drinking games all night, it was so much fun!!! Afterwards, some of us went to the Venue, saw that it was dead, ate food from The Kitchen and called it a night. WOOHOO beer pong and Circle of Death!
Today, I woke up, finished my essays and turned them in, and have been lounging around catching up on my network TV. Heading into town for dinner in a few minutes and hope to have a good night out.
Even though this week was all work, it was still great. I love Canterbury!
Monday- woke up and went to class, and decided to do a load of laundry. Now being the frugal person that I am (HA HA- more like broke person), I somehow thought that I would be able to fill 2 and a half weeks worth of laundry in one load. Yeah right… So when I got all my stuff out of the drier, not only was it still completely wet, it had the smell of an old wet towel. Greattttt. I’m just so domestic you guys.
Afterwards I went into town with Amy and ran errands (and bought a bunch of Fabreeze). We ordered her cake for her b-day party and then I headed to the Penny Theatre for dinner with Lauren and Cat. Their grille was broken, so I ordered chili. Not too bad…. Just more money than I had hoped to spend. After dinner, I grocery shopped and went home and skyped with Mom and Marty.
Tuesday was pretty much devoted to work. Woke up, went to library, had class from 10-11, did HW, went back to class from 3-5, then had French with Didier. But Cat and Steph came over for dinner and we made a wonderful meal of pasta, salad, and sautéed veggies. YUMMMMM. Then we booked our hostels for Italy and I did MORE HW.
I had class on Wednesday from 10-11 then I headed to the library for a little bit. Went home and started working on my essays; then headed into town with Stephanie. We looked for a birthday present for Amy and got High-School-Musical Themed cups and plates for her party. HAHA. Then we took our class fieldtrip to St. Augustine’s Abbey, which would have been enjoyable if it hadn’t been pouring down rain.
Then we met up with Amy in town to buy drinks for her party. So we’re leaving Tesco with 2 24-packs of Carlsberg and 2 10-packs of Fosters (REALLY HEAVY), Amy and Steph are in one line buying this stuff and I’m in A COMPLETLEY different line buying Sprite, when THEIR cashier, asks me for MY ID. Because I don’t feel comfortable carrying my passport with me everywhere, I only had my KentCard. And apparently that’s not acceptable, so we couldn’t even buy it. It was pretty ridiculous and the argument got pretty heated. We might be banned from Tesco from now on… haha. But the stupid thing is, I CAN DRINK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD LEGALLY and their dumb cashier said, “Oh, I know you’re buying it for that underage girl.” She was a witch with a capital B.
So we went to off-license liquor store and bought stuff for double the price. And lugged it back in the rain all the way to campus. When we got back, we booked our trips for the rest of the year. Dublin and Barcelona, here we come!!
After I left Amy’s, I went home, ate a pot-pie, and showered. Michael was having people over for ice cream, so I joined them for a few minutes, and got ready to go out. We went to the Venue and it turned out to be a really good night!
Thursday I woke up at 7:30 and worked on my essays. Worked straight until 11:30, then went to class from 12-1. Came back and continued my writing and research (what great fun, eh?), then went BACK to class from 4-5. After class, I went home and changed, then headed over to Amy’s to blow up balloons and get ready for her PARTAY. We ordered pizza and played American drinking games all night, it was so much fun!!! Afterwards, some of us went to the Venue, saw that it was dead, ate food from The Kitchen and called it a night. WOOHOO beer pong and Circle of Death!
Today, I woke up, finished my essays and turned them in, and have been lounging around catching up on my network TV. Heading into town for dinner in a few minutes and hope to have a good night out.
Even though this week was all work, it was still great. I love Canterbury!
Monday, October 19, 2009
CARDIFF, WALES!!! Days 32-34
Another fabulous weekend. But I’ve come to realize that what makes these trips so great are the people I’m going with. We get along so well together. We have so much fun and laugh so hard. Sure, Cardiff is a great city, but the true credit to my happiness goes to my travel companions.
I got up at 4:30AM on Friday and met everyone at Amy’s flat to catch a taxi into town. We got on the bus to London, (AND YAY! WE EACH HAD A SEAT TO OURSELVES!), and arrived around 7:30AM. Grabbed a small breakfast then got back on a bus to Cardiff. Once again, the bus was empty, so we were all able to sleep for the four-hour trip.
Once we arrived (around 12:30), we wanted to find our hostel to check in and drop off our stuff. We wandered through the city and made our way to a starbucks to ask for directions. Just imagine, you’re sitting in starbucks and 7 people come strolling through the store with their rolly suitcases, asking the cashier for information. Haha, we got some looks.
So after a ten minute walk, we made it to brightly colored building. Now this was the first time I’d ever actually stayed in a hostel, and to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive of the cleanliness and safety that it would provide. But I loved it. The staff was great; the rooms were clean; and most importantly, it was cheap!
So we settled in and then headed back to the front desk to ask about local attractions. We bought this great package from our hostel directly for 23 Pounds. It included: entry to the castle, a Cardiff Double-Decker Bus tour, a tour of the monstrous rugby stadium, a hostel T-shirt, and a drink in the hostel’s bar. So we pretty much scored.
We were starving, so we went to this great tapas bar for dinner. We all shared a meal-deal where we could each pick out three different items from the menu. I got fried brie, mozzarella and tomato salad, and some potato thing. SO GOOD.
After our fabulous meal, we took the tour of the huge rugby stadium. It’s the biggest in the world and it was pretty darn cool. Venues like that are really intriguing to me. After our tour, we went shopping then headed back to the hostel to take a quick nap.
We rested for about an hour and a half, and then decided to begin our epic evening. We played drinking games upstairs in our room to pregame and save money. So much fun. Then we headed to the sister hostel’s bar and used our free drink coupon and met some other travelers.
Then we walked in the freezing cold to the first nightclub of the evening. Only stayed for about 25 minutes but had a great time. Then we went to Oceana, a beautiful club with five different dance areas, each playing different music. We danced for hours. It was the perfect night.
We finished it by grabbing some cheesy chips (FF) and jumping into a taxi back to the hostel. No really, our night could not have been better.
Saturday, we didn’t actually wake up until 11ish. Ate our free breakfast, then headed out to the castle. (We made a detour to subway on the way.) The castle was really nice, but pretty small. The fortress was the best part of it. The stairs were so steep; I have no idea how people don’t slip and fall to their death there every day. But we survived. And jumped on the bus to Cardiff Bay.
We sat on the top and attempted to listen to the bus tour guide speak about Cardiff and the sights we were going by. But his thick Welsh accent and his old-man mumbling made it virtually impossible. Not to mention the rushing wind distracting us, by threatening to give us frost bite. I’m not kidding; it was so stinking cold, my upper-body was completely numb. But it was still worth it, as Cardiff Bay was lovely. Tons of restaurants, unfortunately not as much shopping; but we walked around outside for about an hour then caught the bus back.
We shopped in Cardiff instead and then headed to an Irish restaurant for dinner. I got a Rump Steak and half a rack of BBQ ribs for only 5.99! My steak was awful, but the ribs were delicious. And the atmosphere there was a lot of fun.
After dinner, we went back to the hostel for another nap. We rested for about an hour or so, then went down to our hostel bar for a few drinks. Our bartender, Huw, was wonderful. He played the guitar and sang old 90’s songs for us while we met our fellow hostel travelers. We met this crazy, hilarious guy named Brad from Australia. I loved Brad, but he was probably on something… While having a nice conversation with Amy, he suddenly asked, “Hey… umm, will you still be here if I take a 5 minute walk real quick?” Haha… then he darted away. Whatever he was on, they were definitely uppers.
So Brad, Alex, Amy, Stephanie, Laura, Lucy, and I went out to this really fancy bar and Demi headed up to bed. And this bar was awesome. Sure the cover was 5P, but it was worth it. We shared a bottle of wine, danced a bit, then, because of our exhaustion, we headed home.
Sunday, we went to a great pebble-stone beach about 20 minutes outside of Cardiff. It was in a town called Panerth(sp?). We walked around on the pier and ate a delicious meal of cheesy chips and cheesy pizza. And ice cream for dessert of course. It was the perfect day.
When we got back, we were really tired of walking, so we went and saw the movie, Couples Retreat. The movie itself wasn’t all that great, but the movie theatre was awesome. It was a five-story, sky-scraper movie theatre. Cool huh?
Afterwards, we got our luggage, said bye to Huw, then caught our 6:30 bus back to London. We had an hour lay-over and grabbed food at the rail station right by our bus. I had a three-course meal from McDonalds for 3Pounds. Woo! Then we got back on the bus to Canterbury and got home around 1:30AM. What a wonderful weekend!
I got up at 4:30AM on Friday and met everyone at Amy’s flat to catch a taxi into town. We got on the bus to London, (AND YAY! WE EACH HAD A SEAT TO OURSELVES!), and arrived around 7:30AM. Grabbed a small breakfast then got back on a bus to Cardiff. Once again, the bus was empty, so we were all able to sleep for the four-hour trip.
Once we arrived (around 12:30), we wanted to find our hostel to check in and drop off our stuff. We wandered through the city and made our way to a starbucks to ask for directions. Just imagine, you’re sitting in starbucks and 7 people come strolling through the store with their rolly suitcases, asking the cashier for information. Haha, we got some looks.
So after a ten minute walk, we made it to brightly colored building. Now this was the first time I’d ever actually stayed in a hostel, and to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive of the cleanliness and safety that it would provide. But I loved it. The staff was great; the rooms were clean; and most importantly, it was cheap!
So we settled in and then headed back to the front desk to ask about local attractions. We bought this great package from our hostel directly for 23 Pounds. It included: entry to the castle, a Cardiff Double-Decker Bus tour, a tour of the monstrous rugby stadium, a hostel T-shirt, and a drink in the hostel’s bar. So we pretty much scored.
We were starving, so we went to this great tapas bar for dinner. We all shared a meal-deal where we could each pick out three different items from the menu. I got fried brie, mozzarella and tomato salad, and some potato thing. SO GOOD.
After our fabulous meal, we took the tour of the huge rugby stadium. It’s the biggest in the world and it was pretty darn cool. Venues like that are really intriguing to me. After our tour, we went shopping then headed back to the hostel to take a quick nap.
We rested for about an hour and a half, and then decided to begin our epic evening. We played drinking games upstairs in our room to pregame and save money. So much fun. Then we headed to the sister hostel’s bar and used our free drink coupon and met some other travelers.
Then we walked in the freezing cold to the first nightclub of the evening. Only stayed for about 25 minutes but had a great time. Then we went to Oceana, a beautiful club with five different dance areas, each playing different music. We danced for hours. It was the perfect night.
We finished it by grabbing some cheesy chips (FF) and jumping into a taxi back to the hostel. No really, our night could not have been better.
Saturday, we didn’t actually wake up until 11ish. Ate our free breakfast, then headed out to the castle. (We made a detour to subway on the way.) The castle was really nice, but pretty small. The fortress was the best part of it. The stairs were so steep; I have no idea how people don’t slip and fall to their death there every day. But we survived. And jumped on the bus to Cardiff Bay.
We sat on the top and attempted to listen to the bus tour guide speak about Cardiff and the sights we were going by. But his thick Welsh accent and his old-man mumbling made it virtually impossible. Not to mention the rushing wind distracting us, by threatening to give us frost bite. I’m not kidding; it was so stinking cold, my upper-body was completely numb. But it was still worth it, as Cardiff Bay was lovely. Tons of restaurants, unfortunately not as much shopping; but we walked around outside for about an hour then caught the bus back.
We shopped in Cardiff instead and then headed to an Irish restaurant for dinner. I got a Rump Steak and half a rack of BBQ ribs for only 5.99! My steak was awful, but the ribs were delicious. And the atmosphere there was a lot of fun.
After dinner, we went back to the hostel for another nap. We rested for about an hour or so, then went down to our hostel bar for a few drinks. Our bartender, Huw, was wonderful. He played the guitar and sang old 90’s songs for us while we met our fellow hostel travelers. We met this crazy, hilarious guy named Brad from Australia. I loved Brad, but he was probably on something… While having a nice conversation with Amy, he suddenly asked, “Hey… umm, will you still be here if I take a 5 minute walk real quick?” Haha… then he darted away. Whatever he was on, they were definitely uppers.
So Brad, Alex, Amy, Stephanie, Laura, Lucy, and I went out to this really fancy bar and Demi headed up to bed. And this bar was awesome. Sure the cover was 5P, but it was worth it. We shared a bottle of wine, danced a bit, then, because of our exhaustion, we headed home.
Sunday, we went to a great pebble-stone beach about 20 minutes outside of Cardiff. It was in a town called Panerth(sp?). We walked around on the pier and ate a delicious meal of cheesy chips and cheesy pizza. And ice cream for dessert of course. It was the perfect day.
When we got back, we were really tired of walking, so we went and saw the movie, Couples Retreat. The movie itself wasn’t all that great, but the movie theatre was awesome. It was a five-story, sky-scraper movie theatre. Cool huh?
Afterwards, we got our luggage, said bye to Huw, then caught our 6:30 bus back to London. We had an hour lay-over and grabbed food at the rail station right by our bus. I had a three-course meal from McDonalds for 3Pounds. Woo! Then we got back on the bus to Canterbury and got home around 1:30AM. What a wonderful weekend!
The rest of 27 and days 28-31
The rest of Sunday was really good. Stephanie and I met Lauren and Cat in town for dinner at this really cute pub. I got the cheapest thing on the menu, a jacket potato for 1.95 with cheese. Guess how much cheese costs here? APPARENTLY 2 FREAKING POUNDS, because I ended up paying double for my cheap little meal. Boo. That was my tip money- sorry bad waitress.
After dinner, we met up with Amy, Sonja, and Alex for Quiz Night at the Unicorn. It was really fun, but once again, we received the fail prize. Sorry I know don’t “football” stuff!!! And this time the other bar-goers didn’t laugh with us about our lack of knowledge. Much worse, they pitied us. WE WILL DO BETTER BEFORE THE TERM IS UP. But hey, we got M&M’s as the fail prize. Beat that second-placers. What’d YOU get?!
Monday was a decent day. I had my IR seminar from 11-12 then I walked into town with Cathrin. It was a beautiful day, so we sat out in this adorable park in town, reading and doing HW. Well she was. I had to catch up on Harry Potter of course. It was freezing out though, so were only there about an hour.
We decided to do Pasta for dinner. Chloe, Lauren, Cat, Sarah, and I had spaghetti, bread and butter, and strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream for dessert. And then Sarah made her famous British tea afterwards. Haha, we’re so English. After dinner, Sarah came over and we had girl talk for a while. It ended up being a very good/cheap night!
Tuesday’s are my long days. I had Spanish Lang from 11-1, then came home and did HW, then went back to Span Culture from 3-5. Afterwards I had my one-on-one French lessons with Didier. Once again, pretty embarrassing. But this time it was a little better. I’m making progress, just at an extremely slow pace!!! When I get my debit card back, I’m going to buy a cheap French computer program that should help…
I went home around 7 and had a delicious dinner of cereal and crackers. Then around 9, Steph and I got drinks at K-Bar. Good times, but the DUMB bar shut down at 11PM. Why?!?!?! We were too lazy to walk anywhere else, so we just headed home for an early night.
Wednesday, I had Medieval History(FAVORITE CLASS!) from 10-12.
After class, I went to Dolce Vita, a cute little café on campus, for lunch with Stephanie, Lauren, Chloe, and Cathrin. I had a Spanish Fritatta (sp?), which is an omlet filled with broccoli and potatoes. Now any form of potato normally wins me over… but not this. ALL OMLETS SHOULD HAVE CHEESE IN THEM. NO EXCEPTIONS.
After lunch, we went into town and shopped at my favorite stores on earth. Man, I wish I had money!!! Then we headed to this ADORABLE boutique restaurant for dessert and coffee. I had cheesecake and a cappuccino. SO GOOD!
Shopped some more and headed back to campus. Steph and I were determined to have a cheap dinner, so she came over with a can opener and peppers, we opened my ravioli (GROSS), and sautéed the veggies (YUM). Somewhat of a decent meal…
That night we went out to The Venue, which was jammed pack of the school’s Sports Society Members. We were having a great time, but after a while we decided to head into town. Took the bus to Canterbury, walked around, went to a few pubs, but realized we’d still have more fun at the Venue, so we took a cab back.
Now keep in mind, we’ve already BEEN in the venue. Our hands are stamped and everything. But when we walked up, the bouncers wanted to charge us each 5 Pounds for re-entry. WHAT?! Amy didn’t like this. So she got into a very intense, 20-minute long, argument with the security guard, (during which the whole time Stephanie and I are trying not to giggle). We finally made a run for it when a cop started heading our way. Its one of those “you had to be there” moments… but it was hilarious.
So we gave up and walked home. But as we all were completely starving, we ordered a monster pizza and garlic bread from “Pizza Time”(haha) and ate the entire thing. No really, that’s disguisting! 4 slices and a piece of garlic bread each… gross. We have the most unhealthy lifestyle ever.
Thursday, I had class at what I thought was 11AM; walked all the way there, only to remember… it was at 12. Oh well. Walked back and watched some of The Office, went BACK to class, then had lunch with Steph at the Gulbenkian.
Went home and hung out; Hw, TVshack.net, ate some cereal (dinner), then went to the Penny Theatre with Lauren and Cathrin. It was packed inside and drinks were only 1.25! We humiliated ourselves playing a game of pool then hid at a table with our cider. I had to be up at 4:30 the next morning so we made it an early evening.
I'm just having so much fun.
After dinner, we met up with Amy, Sonja, and Alex for Quiz Night at the Unicorn. It was really fun, but once again, we received the fail prize. Sorry I know don’t “football” stuff!!! And this time the other bar-goers didn’t laugh with us about our lack of knowledge. Much worse, they pitied us. WE WILL DO BETTER BEFORE THE TERM IS UP. But hey, we got M&M’s as the fail prize. Beat that second-placers. What’d YOU get?!
Monday was a decent day. I had my IR seminar from 11-12 then I walked into town with Cathrin. It was a beautiful day, so we sat out in this adorable park in town, reading and doing HW. Well she was. I had to catch up on Harry Potter of course. It was freezing out though, so were only there about an hour.
We decided to do Pasta for dinner. Chloe, Lauren, Cat, Sarah, and I had spaghetti, bread and butter, and strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream for dessert. And then Sarah made her famous British tea afterwards. Haha, we’re so English. After dinner, Sarah came over and we had girl talk for a while. It ended up being a very good/cheap night!
Tuesday’s are my long days. I had Spanish Lang from 11-1, then came home and did HW, then went back to Span Culture from 3-5. Afterwards I had my one-on-one French lessons with Didier. Once again, pretty embarrassing. But this time it was a little better. I’m making progress, just at an extremely slow pace!!! When I get my debit card back, I’m going to buy a cheap French computer program that should help…
I went home around 7 and had a delicious dinner of cereal and crackers. Then around 9, Steph and I got drinks at K-Bar. Good times, but the DUMB bar shut down at 11PM. Why?!?!?! We were too lazy to walk anywhere else, so we just headed home for an early night.
Wednesday, I had Medieval History(FAVORITE CLASS!) from 10-12.
After class, I went to Dolce Vita, a cute little café on campus, for lunch with Stephanie, Lauren, Chloe, and Cathrin. I had a Spanish Fritatta (sp?), which is an omlet filled with broccoli and potatoes. Now any form of potato normally wins me over… but not this. ALL OMLETS SHOULD HAVE CHEESE IN THEM. NO EXCEPTIONS.
After lunch, we went into town and shopped at my favorite stores on earth. Man, I wish I had money!!! Then we headed to this ADORABLE boutique restaurant for dessert and coffee. I had cheesecake and a cappuccino. SO GOOD!
Shopped some more and headed back to campus. Steph and I were determined to have a cheap dinner, so she came over with a can opener and peppers, we opened my ravioli (GROSS), and sautéed the veggies (YUM). Somewhat of a decent meal…
That night we went out to The Venue, which was jammed pack of the school’s Sports Society Members. We were having a great time, but after a while we decided to head into town. Took the bus to Canterbury, walked around, went to a few pubs, but realized we’d still have more fun at the Venue, so we took a cab back.
Now keep in mind, we’ve already BEEN in the venue. Our hands are stamped and everything. But when we walked up, the bouncers wanted to charge us each 5 Pounds for re-entry. WHAT?! Amy didn’t like this. So she got into a very intense, 20-minute long, argument with the security guard, (during which the whole time Stephanie and I are trying not to giggle). We finally made a run for it when a cop started heading our way. Its one of those “you had to be there” moments… but it was hilarious.
So we gave up and walked home. But as we all were completely starving, we ordered a monster pizza and garlic bread from “Pizza Time”(haha) and ate the entire thing. No really, that’s disguisting! 4 slices and a piece of garlic bread each… gross. We have the most unhealthy lifestyle ever.
Thursday, I had class at what I thought was 11AM; walked all the way there, only to remember… it was at 12. Oh well. Walked back and watched some of The Office, went BACK to class, then had lunch with Steph at the Gulbenkian.
Went home and hung out; Hw, TVshack.net, ate some cereal (dinner), then went to the Penny Theatre with Lauren and Cathrin. It was packed inside and drinks were only 1.25! We humiliated ourselves playing a game of pool then hid at a table with our cider. I had to be up at 4:30 the next morning so we made it an early evening.
I'm just having so much fun.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Days 25, 26, and 27.5
I woke up on Friday with every intention of studying all day long. But after sitting at my desk and watching old episodes of desperate housewives and grey’s anatomy for two hours I realized I wasn’t making much progress. Then came the rationale, why should I be studying on a FRIDAY? Hmm…
So I called up Stephanie, (who was also supposed to be studying but had a similar rationale), and we decided to go shopping in town. (FYI- this kind of shopping includes trying on clothes and shoes, desperately wishing you could purchase them, and realizing you’re absolutely broke.) We went to all of the amazing stores in town and I could have easily bought have of the items that I tried on. But I’m a strong person, despite what my father believes, and resisted my Shopaholic urges.
Afterwards we went to Pizza Hut for an amazing Happy Hour Deal Lunch. One personal pan pizza, (which is HUGE), garlic bread, and a soda for only 4Pounds. Score! BTW, the fast food restaurants here have much more class than those in the states… Even McDonalds has fancy furniture.
After more torturous shopping, we went back to campus, where I consumed my usual meal of Ramen Noodles, and got ready for the evening.
We went over to Amy’s flat and pre-gamed with her roommates. I love all of them! They’re all so much fun; I wish my roommates and I got along as well as they did. Amy’s neighbors were having a party, which looked somewhat unsuccessful, so we took pity on them and took the fun to their flat. We politely stayed for about 20 minutes, then hurried to the Venue to get in before 10PM (free entry before 10… WooHoo!)
The Venue was a blast. We met up with Sarah and her friends, so we had quite the party going. We stayed until close and then hurried up to get drunk food before the Kitchen closed. Greasy burgers for 2Pounds… Yummmm.
Saturday, I woke up feeling like crap. (No, not hung over. Ill.) But we had plans to go to Dover, so I stuck it out. After a frustrating wait for the bus, we finally got our start to the seaside town. Once we got there, we walked up to the beautiful castle, hoping to wander the insides. 12 Pounds? No thanks.
So we walked over to the White Cliffs. And geez louise, were they gorgeous. It was quite a hike, we probably walked over 5 miles, but it was well worth it. And the best part? There were wild horses roaming in certain areas of our walk. And they came right up to us! So pretty.
Oh yeah, another aspect of nature. The seagulls there are AT LEAST three times bigger than the ones at home. When I first saw one, I thought it was an owl. Not cool big. CREEPY BIG.
After our perfect day in Dover, we took the bus back to campus. I stopped at the Parkwood grocery store on the way back to pick up something OTHER than ramen noodles for dinner. I was thrilled to see they had Ravioli for only 58pence!!!! I went home, ready to heat it up, so excited. No can opener. Ramen again. I can’t take much more of it.
That night, because I wasn’t feeling good, I decided to stay in. Stephanie and Cathrin came over around 8:30 and we made a cheap little frozen pie and ate it with vanilla ice cream. MMM MMM MMMMMMM. We then went up and booked ITALY! Yay! We’re officially going to Rome on Thursday, October 29th, and flying back from Milan on Sunday, November 1st.
After the girls left, I talked to my fam and Marty, read Harry Potter, and drifted off to sleep.
Today, (Sunday), I woke up and MADE myself go to the stinking library to study. I had 3 different books to read JUST for my IR class. All of them, (and each had about 5 different copies), were checked out. Great. So I did other HW and got the rest of the books I needed for my other classes.
And as I was leaving, I checked one more time for my IR books. Yay, one was in! I hurried to grab it, took it upstairs in a quiet area to read, and….. almost killed myself while trying to do so. This is the most boring crap I have ever tried to read in my ENTIRE life. No seriously. I just couldn’t do it. I tried my hardest, but if I had seen one more aspect of the “Neo-Realism Theory” in war, it would’ve pushed me over the edge.
So after staring blankly at that stupid document for 30 minutes, I retired from the library. Went home. Ate a really crappy, microwavable Mac N’ Cheese lunch, and here I am. Writing to you. Now I’m going to read Harry Potter and get dinner with the girls around 6. Quiz night at the Unicorn tonight- Can’t wait!
So I called up Stephanie, (who was also supposed to be studying but had a similar rationale), and we decided to go shopping in town. (FYI- this kind of shopping includes trying on clothes and shoes, desperately wishing you could purchase them, and realizing you’re absolutely broke.) We went to all of the amazing stores in town and I could have easily bought have of the items that I tried on. But I’m a strong person, despite what my father believes, and resisted my Shopaholic urges.
Afterwards we went to Pizza Hut for an amazing Happy Hour Deal Lunch. One personal pan pizza, (which is HUGE), garlic bread, and a soda for only 4Pounds. Score! BTW, the fast food restaurants here have much more class than those in the states… Even McDonalds has fancy furniture.
After more torturous shopping, we went back to campus, where I consumed my usual meal of Ramen Noodles, and got ready for the evening.
We went over to Amy’s flat and pre-gamed with her roommates. I love all of them! They’re all so much fun; I wish my roommates and I got along as well as they did. Amy’s neighbors were having a party, which looked somewhat unsuccessful, so we took pity on them and took the fun to their flat. We politely stayed for about 20 minutes, then hurried to the Venue to get in before 10PM (free entry before 10… WooHoo!)
The Venue was a blast. We met up with Sarah and her friends, so we had quite the party going. We stayed until close and then hurried up to get drunk food before the Kitchen closed. Greasy burgers for 2Pounds… Yummmm.
Saturday, I woke up feeling like crap. (No, not hung over. Ill.) But we had plans to go to Dover, so I stuck it out. After a frustrating wait for the bus, we finally got our start to the seaside town. Once we got there, we walked up to the beautiful castle, hoping to wander the insides. 12 Pounds? No thanks.
So we walked over to the White Cliffs. And geez louise, were they gorgeous. It was quite a hike, we probably walked over 5 miles, but it was well worth it. And the best part? There were wild horses roaming in certain areas of our walk. And they came right up to us! So pretty.
Oh yeah, another aspect of nature. The seagulls there are AT LEAST three times bigger than the ones at home. When I first saw one, I thought it was an owl. Not cool big. CREEPY BIG.
After our perfect day in Dover, we took the bus back to campus. I stopped at the Parkwood grocery store on the way back to pick up something OTHER than ramen noodles for dinner. I was thrilled to see they had Ravioli for only 58pence!!!! I went home, ready to heat it up, so excited. No can opener. Ramen again. I can’t take much more of it.
That night, because I wasn’t feeling good, I decided to stay in. Stephanie and Cathrin came over around 8:30 and we made a cheap little frozen pie and ate it with vanilla ice cream. MMM MMM MMMMMMM. We then went up and booked ITALY! Yay! We’re officially going to Rome on Thursday, October 29th, and flying back from Milan on Sunday, November 1st.
After the girls left, I talked to my fam and Marty, read Harry Potter, and drifted off to sleep.
Today, (Sunday), I woke up and MADE myself go to the stinking library to study. I had 3 different books to read JUST for my IR class. All of them, (and each had about 5 different copies), were checked out. Great. So I did other HW and got the rest of the books I needed for my other classes.
And as I was leaving, I checked one more time for my IR books. Yay, one was in! I hurried to grab it, took it upstairs in a quiet area to read, and….. almost killed myself while trying to do so. This is the most boring crap I have ever tried to read in my ENTIRE life. No seriously. I just couldn’t do it. I tried my hardest, but if I had seen one more aspect of the “Neo-Realism Theory” in war, it would’ve pushed me over the edge.
So after staring blankly at that stupid document for 30 minutes, I retired from the library. Went home. Ate a really crappy, microwavable Mac N’ Cheese lunch, and here I am. Writing to you. Now I’m going to read Harry Potter and get dinner with the girls around 6. Quiz night at the Unicorn tonight- Can’t wait!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Day 24: Happy Birthday Linda!
Linda, I wish I could’ve been home for your birthday today. Birthdays at home are some of my favorite days of the year. You’re sending me left-overs from Bonefish right?
But I had a pretty decent day in Canterbury as well. I had class from 12-1- International History with International Relations. We discussed causes of wars and how the causes can be classified into different levels. Now this could be interesting… That is, if my professor didn’t talk as though he was speaking right out of an English Textbook. Like using words such as, Denazification. Instead of just saying, The removal of the Nazis.
After class, I met Cathrin and Steph for lunch at Origins, a tex-mex restaurant on campus. We continued our discussion of travel plans for the semester and went to the library and booked our trip to Cardiff!
Then I went to Spanish again from 4-5. My teacher claimed that Spanish adjectives go BEFORE the noun. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the usually go after… That’s what it says on our handout anyways. If I want to learn any Spanish at all this semester, it’ll be by teaching myself.
Right after Spanish, I met my new friend Didier for my first French lesson. And how incredibly embarrassing. The pronunciation is just so much more difficult than English and Spanish. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the R sound down. So we worked on the basics for about an hour, (which I did NOT get down.), then I headed home.
At home, I had a wonderful dinner of cereal and bread, and got ready to go out. Stephanie and I headed to the Penny Theatre in town for a Pound for Pint night. See Mom, I am on a money diet. We were supposed to meet Sarah there, but for the first time since I’ve been to the UK, I was actually CARDED to get in. Of course this would happen after my wallet was stolen. The bouncer took no pity on me, so Stephanie and I went to a quaint little pub with live music and hung out there instead.
We only stayed for about an hour, making sure we got back to the bus station for the last run of the evening. I guess we read the sign wrong because we were about 15 minutes late. Walk or taxi? Stephanie voted on taxi, so we paid 6 pounds each, just to get home.
So not a bad night. Not a great night. A few setbacks, but we still had fun. Today, I’m studying in the library until 2ish, and then probably heading into town. Cheers!
But I had a pretty decent day in Canterbury as well. I had class from 12-1- International History with International Relations. We discussed causes of wars and how the causes can be classified into different levels. Now this could be interesting… That is, if my professor didn’t talk as though he was speaking right out of an English Textbook. Like using words such as, Denazification. Instead of just saying, The removal of the Nazis.
After class, I met Cathrin and Steph for lunch at Origins, a tex-mex restaurant on campus. We continued our discussion of travel plans for the semester and went to the library and booked our trip to Cardiff!
Then I went to Spanish again from 4-5. My teacher claimed that Spanish adjectives go BEFORE the noun. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the usually go after… That’s what it says on our handout anyways. If I want to learn any Spanish at all this semester, it’ll be by teaching myself.
Right after Spanish, I met my new friend Didier for my first French lesson. And how incredibly embarrassing. The pronunciation is just so much more difficult than English and Spanish. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the R sound down. So we worked on the basics for about an hour, (which I did NOT get down.), then I headed home.
At home, I had a wonderful dinner of cereal and bread, and got ready to go out. Stephanie and I headed to the Penny Theatre in town for a Pound for Pint night. See Mom, I am on a money diet. We were supposed to meet Sarah there, but for the first time since I’ve been to the UK, I was actually CARDED to get in. Of course this would happen after my wallet was stolen. The bouncer took no pity on me, so Stephanie and I went to a quaint little pub with live music and hung out there instead.
We only stayed for about an hour, making sure we got back to the bus station for the last run of the evening. I guess we read the sign wrong because we were about 15 minutes late. Walk or taxi? Stephanie voted on taxi, so we paid 6 pounds each, just to get home.
So not a bad night. Not a great night. A few setbacks, but we still had fun. Today, I’m studying in the library until 2ish, and then probably heading into town. Cheers!
Days 20-23: Life with no Money
When I got home from Paris (at 5:30AM), I had to cancel all of my credit/debit cards. 10 minute phone conversation? Ohhhhhnooooo. I didn’t go to bed until 7:15AM and I had an 11AM class. And here’s all the junk that I lost:
Driver’s License- $25 replacement fee
Carolina Card- some ridiculous replacement fee
KentOne Card- 10Pound replacement fee
Debit Card- no money for 2 weeks
Credit card- see above
STAtravel Card- 9Pound replacement fee
Bus Pass- 25Pounds for a new one
Check Book- closure of bank account
Rail Pass to London- value=25Pounds
Wallet itself- 10Pounds
Money in my wallet- 10Euros
AND ALL OF MY STUFF THAT I HAD COLLECTED EVER SINCE I STARTED CARRYING A WALLET TO BEGIN WITH. Including a free beezers sub and a free ice cream cone from marble slab for my unwavering loyalty.
I hate thieves so much. Anyways…. Monday was not a good day.
I went to my 11AM seminar. Ran errands. Did HW. Cleaned. Unpacked. Ate 2 servings of Ramen Noodles. Yep.
Tuesday was much better. I had my 11-1 Spanish Language Class. Sorry, but this is the worst teacher ever. I’ll probably write that every time I mention her on here. Because she JUST STINKS AS A TEACHER. Went home and ate lunch. Then went back to my Spanish Culture class from 3-5.
After class, I went home, got organized, and got READY TO GO TO LONDON!!!!
We were supposed to all meet at Woody’s for a dinner before we left, but the Woody’s chef didn’t show up. So they referred us to Rutherford. Rutherford wasn’t serving food. They referred us to Mungos. MUNGOS WASN’T SERVING FOOD EITHER so THEY REFERRED US TO ORIGINS. Are you kidding me? People really shut everything down so early to start drinking here.
So we ended up going to the campus grocery store to stock up on junk food. Healthy and nutritious meal of course.
We were supposed to meet to take the bus at Mungos at 8PM. While waiting to get on the bus, we were reminded that we should have some form of ID to get in the club in London. That’s a bit difficult WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A WALLET. So we were told that we’d better go get our passports. Now keep in mind, the bus should be leaving any minute, its pouring rain outside, we’re in high heels, and our houses are about a mile away. So we ask, "Can we have 30 minutes?" And we’re told, "You can have 10." AHHH!!!
So we sprint back. Barefoot. In the rain. In puddles. And make it back, just in time. Really 2 minutes later, and the bus would’ve left us. Not a great start to our night. But we started drinking quickly, (maybe a little too quickly), and finally got to the nightclub in London.
This place is called Pacha and its by far the classiest nightclub I’ve ever been in. We all had so much fun dancing all night. And the whole trip was only 18Pounds. Whatta deal! But the bus didn’t leave until 3:30AM, meaning I didn’t get home until 5:30AM. And I had a class at 10AM.
And get this…. I lost my cell phone on the bus. First wallet, now cell phone!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! So I had no way of setting my alarm clock to wake up.
But miraculously I woke up at 8:30. VERY VERY HUNGOVER. But at least I got up.
Went to class from 10-12, went back home and ate lunch, went to Steph’s looking for my phone. She didn’t have it. CRAP!
But we called it, and this really nice guy answered and said we could come get it in town (he found it on the bus). So Steph and I went into town in the pouring rain, (without rain coats and umbrellas), got my phone, went to H&M and tortured myself by not shopping, and ate a Big Mac and McFlurry at McDonalds. Yum yum yum. AND I HAD MY PHONE!! YAY!!!
After town, I went home and took a solid nap for two hours. Woke up and went to Stephanie’s and ate dinner with she and Cat. We also mapped out our travel plans for the rest of the semester. We’re booking stuff tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Well I’m bored writing. And I’m sure you’re bored reading. BYE! Update soooonnnn.
Driver’s License- $25 replacement fee
Carolina Card- some ridiculous replacement fee
KentOne Card- 10Pound replacement fee
Debit Card- no money for 2 weeks
Credit card- see above
STAtravel Card- 9Pound replacement fee
Bus Pass- 25Pounds for a new one
Check Book- closure of bank account
Rail Pass to London- value=25Pounds
Wallet itself- 10Pounds
Money in my wallet- 10Euros
AND ALL OF MY STUFF THAT I HAD COLLECTED EVER SINCE I STARTED CARRYING A WALLET TO BEGIN WITH. Including a free beezers sub and a free ice cream cone from marble slab for my unwavering loyalty.
I hate thieves so much. Anyways…. Monday was not a good day.
I went to my 11AM seminar. Ran errands. Did HW. Cleaned. Unpacked. Ate 2 servings of Ramen Noodles. Yep.
Tuesday was much better. I had my 11-1 Spanish Language Class. Sorry, but this is the worst teacher ever. I’ll probably write that every time I mention her on here. Because she JUST STINKS AS A TEACHER. Went home and ate lunch. Then went back to my Spanish Culture class from 3-5.
After class, I went home, got organized, and got READY TO GO TO LONDON!!!!
We were supposed to all meet at Woody’s for a dinner before we left, but the Woody’s chef didn’t show up. So they referred us to Rutherford. Rutherford wasn’t serving food. They referred us to Mungos. MUNGOS WASN’T SERVING FOOD EITHER so THEY REFERRED US TO ORIGINS. Are you kidding me? People really shut everything down so early to start drinking here.
So we ended up going to the campus grocery store to stock up on junk food. Healthy and nutritious meal of course.
We were supposed to meet to take the bus at Mungos at 8PM. While waiting to get on the bus, we were reminded that we should have some form of ID to get in the club in London. That’s a bit difficult WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A WALLET. So we were told that we’d better go get our passports. Now keep in mind, the bus should be leaving any minute, its pouring rain outside, we’re in high heels, and our houses are about a mile away. So we ask, "Can we have 30 minutes?" And we’re told, "You can have 10." AHHH!!!
So we sprint back. Barefoot. In the rain. In puddles. And make it back, just in time. Really 2 minutes later, and the bus would’ve left us. Not a great start to our night. But we started drinking quickly, (maybe a little too quickly), and finally got to the nightclub in London.
This place is called Pacha and its by far the classiest nightclub I’ve ever been in. We all had so much fun dancing all night. And the whole trip was only 18Pounds. Whatta deal! But the bus didn’t leave until 3:30AM, meaning I didn’t get home until 5:30AM. And I had a class at 10AM.
And get this…. I lost my cell phone on the bus. First wallet, now cell phone!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! So I had no way of setting my alarm clock to wake up.
But miraculously I woke up at 8:30. VERY VERY HUNGOVER. But at least I got up.
Went to class from 10-12, went back home and ate lunch, went to Steph’s looking for my phone. She didn’t have it. CRAP!
But we called it, and this really nice guy answered and said we could come get it in town (he found it on the bus). So Steph and I went into town in the pouring rain, (without rain coats and umbrellas), got my phone, went to H&M and tortured myself by not shopping, and ate a Big Mac and McFlurry at McDonalds. Yum yum yum. AND I HAD MY PHONE!! YAY!!!
After town, I went home and took a solid nap for two hours. Woke up and went to Stephanie’s and ate dinner with she and Cat. We also mapped out our travel plans for the rest of the semester. We’re booking stuff tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Well I’m bored writing. And I’m sure you’re bored reading. BYE! Update soooonnnn.
Days 17-19: Paris!
Paris has exceeded my expectations immensely. I’ve heard that it’s a dirty city and that the French are rude. While the latter may be true, Paris is absolutely beautiful. It is so comparable to Washington DC, except its better. And older. My trip was wonderful.
Amy (Maryland), Stephanie (Vermont, Upstate NY), Cathrin (Indiana), Sonja (Finland), and I took the overnight bus from Canterbury to Paris on Thursday night, arriving Friday morning around 6:30 AM. Instead of travelling through the Chunnel, as I thought we would, we took the ferry across from Dover. Side note- the white cliffs of Dover are breath-taking. Planning a day-trip there ASAP. And the ferry was really cool too. I expected some big plain boat, maybe with a couple of bathrooms. But we’re talking a mini-cruise-ship. Dining halls, duty-free liquor stores, the works. The bad part about the ferry: we got very little sleep for a full-day of sight-seeing.
When we finally got into the city, we bought 3-day subway passes and headed in the direction of our hotel. Low point- its freezing cold out, its 6:30 AM, and no one’s around to point us into the direction of the hotel. But after about 15 minutes of groggy wandering, we found it. High point- we were able to check in, (even though check-in wasn’t until 4ish), and go to sleep for a few hours.
Around 11:30 we met my good friend Anthony, a true Parisian, who graciously showed us around the city. We walked to the Eiffel Tower and took the elevator up to the middle area. What an amazing view! Afterwards, we wandered the streets and took the metro to a wonderful area called St Michel. There, we found a café with 3 course meals for 8.80 Euros. Holy cow, whatta deal. I got (and I wish I could remember this in French), a cheese crepe for an appetizer, roast chicken with salad and chips (that’s FF for all of Europe), and a chocolate crepe for desert. And it was DELICIOUS.
After our late lunch, Anthony went home to study and Sonja went back to the hotel to nap. The rest of us walked over to the Notre Dame, went inside awestruck, and then walked over towards the Pantheon. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside… but we did discover a gorgeous cathedral right next to it, (and I should know the name of it), that was even more amazing than the Notre Dame. The inside of the church was absolutely stunning.
We then wandered around back towards the subway, passing a beautiful park, and some great candy shops, (and yes, we did stop), bought 3 bottles of wine, and headed back to the hotel. We all showered and freshened up then started playing drinking games and chugging are extremely cheap wine. After we all obtained a good buzz, we went back to St Michel and met Anthony again for a night out in Paris.
The Subway ride was so much fun. Some guy got off the subway, turned and stood towards the window, flicking all of us off as the train pulled away. When we asked Anthony about it later, he said, “Well you are all pretty girls. That’s why he did that.” Ummm?????
When we got there, we bar-hopped for a few solid hours- dancing salsa, drinking extravagantly, having a blast. When we were done drinking, we got some Drunk French Food, (some delicious crepes and baguettes), and almost stole a monster container of Nutella. Fun times!!!
Problem: Subway closed. 35 minutes from hotel. 30 Euros of taxi ride. Solution: Follow Anthony to train and hope to God it goes in our direction. Depart from our tour guide. Somehow jump on a completely random bus that ended up dropping us off RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR HOTEL. Without paying one dime. Highlight of bus ride: Amy talking to some random guy. I text her, “Taken”. (Movie reference). The guy somehow sees and says, “Oh no reason to fear.” HAHA. Amy replies, “Oh I know. My huge football player boyfriend would brutally kill anyone that touched me.” You really had to be there.
Saturday morning we woke up, and Amy, Stephanie, and I headed for Versailles. (Cathrin wanted extra time at the Louvre and Sonja wanted to sleep later.) With Amy’s aggressive attitude, we were able to get in for absolutely free and skip the 45 minute line. (We just showed our Kent Cards and she said, “Everyone’s letting us in with that. Come on, you should too!” But, Versailles was amazing. The gold woven into the architecture was so pretty and each room’s design had such intricate detail- truly stunning. I could’ve easily spent the entire day there.
But we had so much to see! So we took the train back and met Cat and Sonja at The Louvre. We only stayed in there for about 30 minutes. We saw the Mona Lisa and da Vinci’s other artwork and headed for the exit. Once again, could’ve spent the entire day there. The Louvre is HUGE. But we were starving so we had to find lunch ASAP.
So we went back to St Michel and got some quick lunch. I had this monstrous gyro filled with chicken and the usual stuff and…. French Fries. HAHA weird. After lunch, we went back to the hotel to shower, and get ready for the evening.
We met Anthony again that night at my favorite spot in Paris, La Basilique de Sacre Couer, a beautiful white church that sits up on this huge hill. The view from the top is breath-taking. If you look one way, you can see the landscape of Paris and if you turn around, you look up at this amazing church. I love it there so much.
We then walked down to the Moulin Rouge, which I was not a fan of. This is probably the dirtiest part of Paris that we saw. Sex stores everywhere, strip clubs, not a classy place. But we found a nice Irish Pub and sat down to dinner and drinks. I had a club sandwich and a couple pints of Strongbow.
Afterwards, Amy and Sonja headed back to the hotel cause they weren’t feeling well, and the rest of us walked down to this ridiculous karaoke bar. It was entertaining but somewhat painful to listen. And drinks were really pricy, so after a little while, we went to another bar with a great atmosphere. There was live indie music and good drink prices. We ended the night there.
Sunday, we packed up our stuff, checked out, and headed to the Notre Dame for an international church service. This was so cool. I love going to church in huge cathedrals, especially THE NOTRE DAME! But it was a bit annoying, having all the parishioners taking pictures during the service. Manners, please….
After church, we went to the Arc de Triomphe to see how the rich people live. (This is the great, but super expensive shopping area of Paris.) I wish I could shop there. But I can’t. So we went to where the poor people shop on the other side of town (H&M and stores like it). But for some weird reason, these stores are closed on Sundays. And this area is also where the homeless people like to gather their mattresses. Uncomfortable….
So we went to this cemetery instead, where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. And that place was MASSIVE. We walked around forever and never found their tombs. But as weird as this sounds, I actually really liked it there… There was such great grandeur; now that’s how you pay respect to the dead!
Afterwards, we went back to the area where the La Basilique de Sacre Couer is, and shopped in touristy stores. I got a really cute hat and a pair of kick-butt sunglasses for 10 Euros… I had to do at least SOME shopping in Paris. And we got dinner at another wonderful restaurant. I got vegetable potage and roast chicken pasta for only 10Euros. And I really thought Parisian food would be outrageously expensive!
After dinner, we shopped a bit more and headed back to the hotel to get our luggage. Got it. Took our last subway ride to the bus station. Got on. Got my wallet stolen. Had a panic attack. Living nightmare. Don’t take Eurolines ever. Don’t sleep on sketchy buses. Don’t keep all your important stuff together in one place. Just don’t do it.
Really though, besides my ridiculously stressful end to the trip, Paris couldn’t have been better. I loved every single minute of it and I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.
Amy (Maryland), Stephanie (Vermont, Upstate NY), Cathrin (Indiana), Sonja (Finland), and I took the overnight bus from Canterbury to Paris on Thursday night, arriving Friday morning around 6:30 AM. Instead of travelling through the Chunnel, as I thought we would, we took the ferry across from Dover. Side note- the white cliffs of Dover are breath-taking. Planning a day-trip there ASAP. And the ferry was really cool too. I expected some big plain boat, maybe with a couple of bathrooms. But we’re talking a mini-cruise-ship. Dining halls, duty-free liquor stores, the works. The bad part about the ferry: we got very little sleep for a full-day of sight-seeing.
When we finally got into the city, we bought 3-day subway passes and headed in the direction of our hotel. Low point- its freezing cold out, its 6:30 AM, and no one’s around to point us into the direction of the hotel. But after about 15 minutes of groggy wandering, we found it. High point- we were able to check in, (even though check-in wasn’t until 4ish), and go to sleep for a few hours.
Around 11:30 we met my good friend Anthony, a true Parisian, who graciously showed us around the city. We walked to the Eiffel Tower and took the elevator up to the middle area. What an amazing view! Afterwards, we wandered the streets and took the metro to a wonderful area called St Michel. There, we found a café with 3 course meals for 8.80 Euros. Holy cow, whatta deal. I got (and I wish I could remember this in French), a cheese crepe for an appetizer, roast chicken with salad and chips (that’s FF for all of Europe), and a chocolate crepe for desert. And it was DELICIOUS.
After our late lunch, Anthony went home to study and Sonja went back to the hotel to nap. The rest of us walked over to the Notre Dame, went inside awestruck, and then walked over towards the Pantheon. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside… but we did discover a gorgeous cathedral right next to it, (and I should know the name of it), that was even more amazing than the Notre Dame. The inside of the church was absolutely stunning.
We then wandered around back towards the subway, passing a beautiful park, and some great candy shops, (and yes, we did stop), bought 3 bottles of wine, and headed back to the hotel. We all showered and freshened up then started playing drinking games and chugging are extremely cheap wine. After we all obtained a good buzz, we went back to St Michel and met Anthony again for a night out in Paris.
The Subway ride was so much fun. Some guy got off the subway, turned and stood towards the window, flicking all of us off as the train pulled away. When we asked Anthony about it later, he said, “Well you are all pretty girls. That’s why he did that.” Ummm?????
When we got there, we bar-hopped for a few solid hours- dancing salsa, drinking extravagantly, having a blast. When we were done drinking, we got some Drunk French Food, (some delicious crepes and baguettes), and almost stole a monster container of Nutella. Fun times!!!
Problem: Subway closed. 35 minutes from hotel. 30 Euros of taxi ride. Solution: Follow Anthony to train and hope to God it goes in our direction. Depart from our tour guide. Somehow jump on a completely random bus that ended up dropping us off RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR HOTEL. Without paying one dime. Highlight of bus ride: Amy talking to some random guy. I text her, “Taken”. (Movie reference). The guy somehow sees and says, “Oh no reason to fear.” HAHA. Amy replies, “Oh I know. My huge football player boyfriend would brutally kill anyone that touched me.” You really had to be there.
Saturday morning we woke up, and Amy, Stephanie, and I headed for Versailles. (Cathrin wanted extra time at the Louvre and Sonja wanted to sleep later.) With Amy’s aggressive attitude, we were able to get in for absolutely free and skip the 45 minute line. (We just showed our Kent Cards and she said, “Everyone’s letting us in with that. Come on, you should too!” But, Versailles was amazing. The gold woven into the architecture was so pretty and each room’s design had such intricate detail- truly stunning. I could’ve easily spent the entire day there.
But we had so much to see! So we took the train back and met Cat and Sonja at The Louvre. We only stayed in there for about 30 minutes. We saw the Mona Lisa and da Vinci’s other artwork and headed for the exit. Once again, could’ve spent the entire day there. The Louvre is HUGE. But we were starving so we had to find lunch ASAP.
So we went back to St Michel and got some quick lunch. I had this monstrous gyro filled with chicken and the usual stuff and…. French Fries. HAHA weird. After lunch, we went back to the hotel to shower, and get ready for the evening.
We met Anthony again that night at my favorite spot in Paris, La Basilique de Sacre Couer, a beautiful white church that sits up on this huge hill. The view from the top is breath-taking. If you look one way, you can see the landscape of Paris and if you turn around, you look up at this amazing church. I love it there so much.
We then walked down to the Moulin Rouge, which I was not a fan of. This is probably the dirtiest part of Paris that we saw. Sex stores everywhere, strip clubs, not a classy place. But we found a nice Irish Pub and sat down to dinner and drinks. I had a club sandwich and a couple pints of Strongbow.
Afterwards, Amy and Sonja headed back to the hotel cause they weren’t feeling well, and the rest of us walked down to this ridiculous karaoke bar. It was entertaining but somewhat painful to listen. And drinks were really pricy, so after a little while, we went to another bar with a great atmosphere. There was live indie music and good drink prices. We ended the night there.
Sunday, we packed up our stuff, checked out, and headed to the Notre Dame for an international church service. This was so cool. I love going to church in huge cathedrals, especially THE NOTRE DAME! But it was a bit annoying, having all the parishioners taking pictures during the service. Manners, please….
After church, we went to the Arc de Triomphe to see how the rich people live. (This is the great, but super expensive shopping area of Paris.) I wish I could shop there. But I can’t. So we went to where the poor people shop on the other side of town (H&M and stores like it). But for some weird reason, these stores are closed on Sundays. And this area is also where the homeless people like to gather their mattresses. Uncomfortable….
So we went to this cemetery instead, where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. And that place was MASSIVE. We walked around forever and never found their tombs. But as weird as this sounds, I actually really liked it there… There was such great grandeur; now that’s how you pay respect to the dead!
Afterwards, we went back to the area where the La Basilique de Sacre Couer is, and shopped in touristy stores. I got a really cute hat and a pair of kick-butt sunglasses for 10 Euros… I had to do at least SOME shopping in Paris. And we got dinner at another wonderful restaurant. I got vegetable potage and roast chicken pasta for only 10Euros. And I really thought Parisian food would be outrageously expensive!
After dinner, we shopped a bit more and headed back to the hotel to get our luggage. Got it. Took our last subway ride to the bus station. Got on. Got my wallet stolen. Had a panic attack. Living nightmare. Don’t take Eurolines ever. Don’t sleep on sketchy buses. Don’t keep all your important stuff together in one place. Just don’t do it.
Really though, besides my ridiculously stressful end to the trip, Paris couldn’t have been better. I loved every single minute of it and I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Days 13-16
I’ve been doing a bad job updating… I’m forgetting things I did, OH NO!
I’ll do my best to remember…
Monday was supposed to be my first day of class, however I wanted to switch out of French and change my Spanish class, (so I wouldn’t have class on Fridays). This seems relatively simple right? I mean, at home it’s a 2 second computer process. Here…. Living nightmare. I began these tasks at 9AM and finished around Noon. Sounds like fun right?
Afterwards I took a nap…. I think… Grocery shopped, and went over to the girls for a wonderful Lasagna dinner. Red wine, tons of cheese, and bread and butter. MMMMM MMMMM MMMMMMM. We then took the bus to The Works, waited in line for an eternity, and finally got inside. Once we got drinking, it was pretty fun. The Works has 4 levels. Bottom is bathrooms and coat-checks, ground level plays rock music, 1st level plays beachy music, top level plays rap and techno. Whatever you’re in the mood for, they got it! Except for cold air. I guess they’re going for a sauna type feel… Geez is it hot in there!
Tuesday ended up being my first real day of classes. I had Spanish language from 11-1. This class was so easy, despite my awful teacher that speaks very little English. Then I had my Spanish culture class from 3-5. Once again, easy. But interesting too… My teacher’s really passionate about the history of Spain.
Afterwards I went back home for a breather then went and ate pizza with the girls at KBAR and headed to Salsa Night at Mungos. Drinks were cheap. I tried a delicious Cuban… kind of like rum and coke, but with a ton of lime juice. Highlight of the night: The Macarena.. (sp?). Had an early class in the morning, so I got home around 11. Only to hear incredibly awful news. Don’t want to talk/think about it.
Also, on Tuesday in the laundry room, I met a very nice French Teacher that offered to give me free weekly French lessons in exchange with me helping him with English. FREE!
Wednesday I went to History of Medieval Europe at 10 AM. And I must say, the professor that teaches it, is the best professor I’ve had thus far in college. She really makes the material interesting. This is the class I’m looking most forward to.
After class, I went into town with Cat to cash in our free subs. We ate, read, studied in starbucks, grocery shopped, ya know… Fun Fun Fun. When we got back, I went over to her place and ate a wonderful pasta/sautéed vegetables dinner with her, Chloe, and Lauren. Then later, we went to see 500 days of summer in town with a girl named Stephanie (Upstate NY/Vermont). For the movie, we had the choice of buying premium or standard seats… weird huh?!
On Thursday, I had my first International History and International Relations class. Now this one’s gonna be hard. EIGHT required text books, boring lectures, individual presentations that don’t even count for a grade. I wish I could drop out of it! After class, I went home for a quick lunch and then headed back to my espanol class. This teacher is just awful. Really. So I think I’m going to switch into a different seminar. I feel so bad for all of the students that have no Spanish background. They won’t learn a thing in this class!
After Spanish, I went to a Mountaineering meeting with Chloe. This looks like so much fun! And weekend trips are only 20-25PP for the whole trip. That’s gas, accommodation, food, everything. I’d probably spend less money if I join, than if I just stayed in Canterbury! After the meeting, I ran home, packed, and LEFT FOR PARIS!!!!!!! While waiting for our bus, we decided to get a quick bite to eat at McDonalds. There I met another guy from USC. I had no idea that there was anyone else from my school here. And of all the places for Americans to meet, McDonalds. That’s a tad bit embarrassing.
I’ll update on Paris later tonight. WONDERFUL weekend. TERRIBLE ending.
I’ll do my best to remember…
Monday was supposed to be my first day of class, however I wanted to switch out of French and change my Spanish class, (so I wouldn’t have class on Fridays). This seems relatively simple right? I mean, at home it’s a 2 second computer process. Here…. Living nightmare. I began these tasks at 9AM and finished around Noon. Sounds like fun right?
Afterwards I took a nap…. I think… Grocery shopped, and went over to the girls for a wonderful Lasagna dinner. Red wine, tons of cheese, and bread and butter. MMMMM MMMMM MMMMMMM. We then took the bus to The Works, waited in line for an eternity, and finally got inside. Once we got drinking, it was pretty fun. The Works has 4 levels. Bottom is bathrooms and coat-checks, ground level plays rock music, 1st level plays beachy music, top level plays rap and techno. Whatever you’re in the mood for, they got it! Except for cold air. I guess they’re going for a sauna type feel… Geez is it hot in there!
Tuesday ended up being my first real day of classes. I had Spanish language from 11-1. This class was so easy, despite my awful teacher that speaks very little English. Then I had my Spanish culture class from 3-5. Once again, easy. But interesting too… My teacher’s really passionate about the history of Spain.
Afterwards I went back home for a breather then went and ate pizza with the girls at KBAR and headed to Salsa Night at Mungos. Drinks were cheap. I tried a delicious Cuban… kind of like rum and coke, but with a ton of lime juice. Highlight of the night: The Macarena.. (sp?). Had an early class in the morning, so I got home around 11. Only to hear incredibly awful news. Don’t want to talk/think about it.
Also, on Tuesday in the laundry room, I met a very nice French Teacher that offered to give me free weekly French lessons in exchange with me helping him with English. FREE!
Wednesday I went to History of Medieval Europe at 10 AM. And I must say, the professor that teaches it, is the best professor I’ve had thus far in college. She really makes the material interesting. This is the class I’m looking most forward to.
After class, I went into town with Cat to cash in our free subs. We ate, read, studied in starbucks, grocery shopped, ya know… Fun Fun Fun. When we got back, I went over to her place and ate a wonderful pasta/sautéed vegetables dinner with her, Chloe, and Lauren. Then later, we went to see 500 days of summer in town with a girl named Stephanie (Upstate NY/Vermont). For the movie, we had the choice of buying premium or standard seats… weird huh?!
On Thursday, I had my first International History and International Relations class. Now this one’s gonna be hard. EIGHT required text books, boring lectures, individual presentations that don’t even count for a grade. I wish I could drop out of it! After class, I went home for a quick lunch and then headed back to my espanol class. This teacher is just awful. Really. So I think I’m going to switch into a different seminar. I feel so bad for all of the students that have no Spanish background. They won’t learn a thing in this class!
After Spanish, I went to a Mountaineering meeting with Chloe. This looks like so much fun! And weekend trips are only 20-25PP for the whole trip. That’s gas, accommodation, food, everything. I’d probably spend less money if I join, than if I just stayed in Canterbury! After the meeting, I ran home, packed, and LEFT FOR PARIS!!!!!!! While waiting for our bus, we decided to get a quick bite to eat at McDonalds. There I met another guy from USC. I had no idea that there was anyone else from my school here. And of all the places for Americans to meet, McDonalds. That’s a tad bit embarrassing.
I’ll update on Paris later tonight. WONDERFUL weekend. TERRIBLE ending.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Days 9 through 12: Weekend Life
First of all, UMMMMMM HOW IS SOUTH CAROLINA NOT RANKED? Sorry, just had to get that out there. After an amazing win against NUMBER 4 team Ole Miss, we’re somehow not ranked. AP Poll, I no longer respect you.
K, back to Canterbury. Life’s good. I’m tired, so I just want to give a quick update of how the weekend went before I forget it all.
Thurs – Societies Fair with the girls. Don’t laugh… but I signed up for the Musical Theatre Society, American Society, and Rambling Society. Rambling is hiking!!!! Hahaha I love British Lingo.
Afterwards I went into town with the girls for some errands and then headed to Whitsable with Cathrin. OMG I absolutely love Whitsable… almost as much as I love Canterbury. It’s this quaint little seaside town that has a wonderful walkway all along the ocean. There seem to be some great restaurants and pubs right overlooking the water. Girls night out there soon? Cat and I walked for a bit and sat on this big pier relaxing and enjoying the scenery.
Later, Em, Cat, Lauren and I went back to Canterbury for Mexican and drinks. Food was good but it was ridiculously expensive. I’ll probably go broke by the end of Oct if I keep this up! After dinner, we walked around town, saw the movie theatre and bowling alley, got groceries, and headed back to campus.
Fri- Phone wasn’t working ALREADY so I had to make an annoying stop to T-Mobile. Yeah, they’re pretty stupid there. Oh well, its fixed finally. Then Amy, Cat, and I went to Margate, (which was about a 45 minute bus ride), and shopped at PriMart. Amazing deals. Unfortunately I wanted to buy the entire store, but I settled on a great blazer, a belt, some headbands, and some tights for only 17 pounds. Score!
Headed back to campus for the end of the Sports Societies Fair, but we missed it… Darn. I want to join the club where you go watch American Football together! Oh well. So Em and I headed to town to pick up some liquor and start the night.
We decided to have a Baked Potato night at Cat’s… YAY favorite food! Em, Cat, Lauren, Me, and their new roommate Chloe, (WHO I JUST LOVE), ate salads and potatoes, and drank wine and rum. Then Em and I went back and pre-gamed at her place and got ready to go out.
We ended up going BACK to town and went to a great place called the Cuban with Salsa music and dancing. Love the atmosphere, hate the drink prices. So because we all knew we couldn’t blow our money on 5 pound drinks, we headed back to campus to go to The Venue. Saw Sarah and the other British girls there, and we ended up dancing until verrry late. Great night!
Saturday- Woke up incredibly hungover. Walked around on campus with Cat, got lunch and ran errands. Then we went to this beautiful park in town, and I read some Harry Potter. What a dork, eh? Afterwards, Cat and I went to Subway and got dinner. Highlight of the day: Subway has this promotion right now, where if you role 2 sixes, you get a free six-inch sub. Guess who rolled 2 sixes?! BOTH CAT AND I DID!!!! After a long, serious discussion on how incredibly broke we were, God decided to send us some free food! Thanks God :)
So that night we were all undecided about what we wanted to do. After drinking 6 days in a row, did we really want to go out again? But it was the last Saturday before school started… so OF COURSE! We ended up going to a bar on campus called the KBar. We drank as cheaply as possible, sharing cocktail pitchers and dancing out to headbanger music. GOTH PARTY…. Sorry but you people with dread-locks really need some sort of deodorant for your hair. Worst BO around. Another great night.
Sunday- Woke up early, went to Leeds Castle with all the international students. Absolutely beautiful. I’ve decided I’ll probably move there when I’m older. The grounds are actually worth seeing more than the inside of the castle itself. Landscaper Heaven.
Got home, napped, went into town with the girls to a cheap pub for dinner. Afterwards we went to another adorable pub called The Unicorn for Quiz Night, (side note, Orlando Bloom was at this pub last Friday… WO WOOO!). Although we kind of lost our pride, Quiz Night ended up being so much fun. We lost miserably. But out group, “Chloe and the Americans”, got M&M’s for failing so badly. There was one question that made my night: What US State has Columbia as a capital? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! WOOO WOOO!!!! We plan on going back every Sunday and recruiting some really smart Britts that know their pop culture. We’ll be holding interviews to join our team this week. Contact me if you’d like to apply. HAHA… classes start tomorrow. Off to bed for me.
K, back to Canterbury. Life’s good. I’m tired, so I just want to give a quick update of how the weekend went before I forget it all.
Thurs – Societies Fair with the girls. Don’t laugh… but I signed up for the Musical Theatre Society, American Society, and Rambling Society. Rambling is hiking!!!! Hahaha I love British Lingo.
Afterwards I went into town with the girls for some errands and then headed to Whitsable with Cathrin. OMG I absolutely love Whitsable… almost as much as I love Canterbury. It’s this quaint little seaside town that has a wonderful walkway all along the ocean. There seem to be some great restaurants and pubs right overlooking the water. Girls night out there soon? Cat and I walked for a bit and sat on this big pier relaxing and enjoying the scenery.
Later, Em, Cat, Lauren and I went back to Canterbury for Mexican and drinks. Food was good but it was ridiculously expensive. I’ll probably go broke by the end of Oct if I keep this up! After dinner, we walked around town, saw the movie theatre and bowling alley, got groceries, and headed back to campus.
Fri- Phone wasn’t working ALREADY so I had to make an annoying stop to T-Mobile. Yeah, they’re pretty stupid there. Oh well, its fixed finally. Then Amy, Cat, and I went to Margate, (which was about a 45 minute bus ride), and shopped at PriMart. Amazing deals. Unfortunately I wanted to buy the entire store, but I settled on a great blazer, a belt, some headbands, and some tights for only 17 pounds. Score!
Headed back to campus for the end of the Sports Societies Fair, but we missed it… Darn. I want to join the club where you go watch American Football together! Oh well. So Em and I headed to town to pick up some liquor and start the night.
We decided to have a Baked Potato night at Cat’s… YAY favorite food! Em, Cat, Lauren, Me, and their new roommate Chloe, (WHO I JUST LOVE), ate salads and potatoes, and drank wine and rum. Then Em and I went back and pre-gamed at her place and got ready to go out.
We ended up going BACK to town and went to a great place called the Cuban with Salsa music and dancing. Love the atmosphere, hate the drink prices. So because we all knew we couldn’t blow our money on 5 pound drinks, we headed back to campus to go to The Venue. Saw Sarah and the other British girls there, and we ended up dancing until verrry late. Great night!
Saturday- Woke up incredibly hungover. Walked around on campus with Cat, got lunch and ran errands. Then we went to this beautiful park in town, and I read some Harry Potter. What a dork, eh? Afterwards, Cat and I went to Subway and got dinner. Highlight of the day: Subway has this promotion right now, where if you role 2 sixes, you get a free six-inch sub. Guess who rolled 2 sixes?! BOTH CAT AND I DID!!!! After a long, serious discussion on how incredibly broke we were, God decided to send us some free food! Thanks God :)
So that night we were all undecided about what we wanted to do. After drinking 6 days in a row, did we really want to go out again? But it was the last Saturday before school started… so OF COURSE! We ended up going to a bar on campus called the KBar. We drank as cheaply as possible, sharing cocktail pitchers and dancing out to headbanger music. GOTH PARTY…. Sorry but you people with dread-locks really need some sort of deodorant for your hair. Worst BO around. Another great night.
Sunday- Woke up early, went to Leeds Castle with all the international students. Absolutely beautiful. I’ve decided I’ll probably move there when I’m older. The grounds are actually worth seeing more than the inside of the castle itself. Landscaper Heaven.
Got home, napped, went into town with the girls to a cheap pub for dinner. Afterwards we went to another adorable pub called The Unicorn for Quiz Night, (side note, Orlando Bloom was at this pub last Friday… WO WOOO!). Although we kind of lost our pride, Quiz Night ended up being so much fun. We lost miserably. But out group, “Chloe and the Americans”, got M&M’s for failing so badly. There was one question that made my night: What US State has Columbia as a capital? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! WOOO WOOO!!!! We plan on going back every Sunday and recruiting some really smart Britts that know their pop culture. We’ll be holding interviews to join our team this week. Contact me if you’d like to apply. HAHA… classes start tomorrow. Off to bed for me.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Day 8
Hello to my non-existent readers! I’m still loving it here… but I’m starting to feel a bit homesick. I miss my family and friends. Like today is my Dad’s birthday. At home, we’d probably be having cake and presents and stuff… and then I’d get to watch the Gamecocks play. It’d be a great day at home! But it’ll hopefully be a great day here too.
Yesterday, I went with Cathrin and Lauren to the Cathedral. It was the most amazing building I have ever been in. And so much history! I know my Dad’s going to absolutely love it. The coolest part was about Thomas Beckett, he was murdered in the Cathedral when he was Archbishop. (BTW all of this stuff dates back to the 900’s… wow.)
After we left, we went to a wonderful hole-in the wall pub and shared a pitcher of Strongbow. My new favorite, cheap, alcoholic drink. Its like a beer-cider, but better. They got fish and chips and I got a steak sandwich. The meat was SO raw (and I normally like my medium rare)… so it wasn’t too edible. But I enjoyed the FF and salad that came along with it. But the best part about our dining experience was our waitress/bartender. She was the friendliest server I’ve ever had!! She noticed that I didn’t like my sandwich and took the entire thing off the bill…. That’s what I call good service.
Afterwards, we went shopping for a bit, but all the stores were closing. So we went back up to campus. We had plans to meet up with my friend Amy from Maryland for a Potluck dinner, but we were all stuffed.
So Sarah had told us about a themed event at a bar on campus, called Massive Mungos. Everyone was supposed to dress up in their old school uniforms (like the slutty school girl costumes). We were all out of luck, considering we had somehow forgotten to pack our slutty knee-highs and neck ties in our already limited suitcases, but we pulled some stuff together and looked pretty cute. Went to Woody’s and looked nothing at all like everyone else. Haha, oh well. These people go ALL OUT on costumes… On a side note, I was a little creeped out to find many guys dressed up as school girls (tights, skirts, make, up, the works). At first we figured that these were drag queens? But apparently, its just a fun thing to do… even if you’re completely straight. Right……
We finally made it to Mungos, only to have a fire-alarm go off right away. SO we walked to Rutherford Bar, and guess what? Someone pulled a fire alarm there too. GEEZ. So went back to Mungos, danced, had fun for about 45 minutes. When SOMEONE ELSE PULLED ANOTHER DAMN FIRE ALARM. Is this funny or something? So considering it was now after midnight, we just walked home.
But it really was a great day. Today, I’m going to a societies fair and then heading back into town with the girls. I’ll update later!
Yesterday, I went with Cathrin and Lauren to the Cathedral. It was the most amazing building I have ever been in. And so much history! I know my Dad’s going to absolutely love it. The coolest part was about Thomas Beckett, he was murdered in the Cathedral when he was Archbishop. (BTW all of this stuff dates back to the 900’s… wow.)
After we left, we went to a wonderful hole-in the wall pub and shared a pitcher of Strongbow. My new favorite, cheap, alcoholic drink. Its like a beer-cider, but better. They got fish and chips and I got a steak sandwich. The meat was SO raw (and I normally like my medium rare)… so it wasn’t too edible. But I enjoyed the FF and salad that came along with it. But the best part about our dining experience was our waitress/bartender. She was the friendliest server I’ve ever had!! She noticed that I didn’t like my sandwich and took the entire thing off the bill…. That’s what I call good service.
Afterwards, we went shopping for a bit, but all the stores were closing. So we went back up to campus. We had plans to meet up with my friend Amy from Maryland for a Potluck dinner, but we were all stuffed.
So Sarah had told us about a themed event at a bar on campus, called Massive Mungos. Everyone was supposed to dress up in their old school uniforms (like the slutty school girl costumes). We were all out of luck, considering we had somehow forgotten to pack our slutty knee-highs and neck ties in our already limited suitcases, but we pulled some stuff together and looked pretty cute. Went to Woody’s and looked nothing at all like everyone else. Haha, oh well. These people go ALL OUT on costumes… On a side note, I was a little creeped out to find many guys dressed up as school girls (tights, skirts, make, up, the works). At first we figured that these were drag queens? But apparently, its just a fun thing to do… even if you’re completely straight. Right……
We finally made it to Mungos, only to have a fire-alarm go off right away. SO we walked to Rutherford Bar, and guess what? Someone pulled a fire alarm there too. GEEZ. So went back to Mungos, danced, had fun for about 45 minutes. When SOMEONE ELSE PULLED ANOTHER DAMN FIRE ALARM. Is this funny or something? So considering it was now after midnight, we just walked home.
But it really was a great day. Today, I’m going to a societies fair and then heading back into town with the girls. I’ll update later!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Days 5-7: Campus Life
Let me start by saying that I just had a surprise visit from three GIANT spiders. So I’m really shaky right now… that may affect my writing skills. Sorry in advance if this blog sucks.
I left you on Saturday evening right? Ahh its more difficult to remember all this stuff if I wait too long to write. Let’s see… Sunday morning I woke up with absolutely no clue of what to do. Hadn’t met hardly anybody and I had no commitments for the full day. So my roommate, Johanna, (who is the sweetest girl I’ve ever met), took me into town on the UNIbus for groceries. My internet in my room STILL wasn’t working so when we got back, we headed off to the library to check email and stuff.
Mid-afternoon I decided I desperately needed WI-FI for my computer and needed to buy a cell phone so I could actually have a life here.. So I went back into town hoping to get free wireless at starbucks with the purchase of a tasty, over-expensive drink. Get there, go to each cell phone store only to find that ALL of them close at 4PM on Sundays. Its 4:04. DAMN! So I go to starbucks, buy my pricey drink and inquire about the internet. Oh guess what? There isn’t WI-FI there!!!! WHAT?!
So at this point, I’m a tad bit frustrated. I can’t really get in touch with anyone back home and I can’t make new friends because I have no way of getting in contact with them! Starting to feel a bit homesick without communication..
So on my bus-ride home, (as I’m feeling pretty down), I overhear some girls talking with American accents. So, I introduced myself. One’s from Charlotte. One’s from Indiana. One’s from Ottawa. And they’re really nice! So we made plans to go out on campus and bar-hop at 8ish.
Go home, grab dinner, get changed AND meet 2 new roomies. Both are from Cali and they seem so nice! (So that’s one girl from Austria, one guy from France, one guy from the Czech Republic, and the rest of us are from The States.)
Going out with the girls was pretty fun but a bit too expensive. Went to a pub on campus close to our student village but it was jammed packed. So we decided to go out to The Venue, the college nightclub. 6PP to get in and all drinks were at least 2PP. Geez! It’s a really cool place though. Once again, everyone’s so friendly.
Monday, I woke up and went into town with Cathrin, the girl from Indiana, and my roomie, Johanna. We both bought cell phones, hair driers, and all the basic essentials. YAY- now I can have a life!!! We got back, grabbed dinner, and met up with Emily, (the girl from Ottawa). My friend Sarah, (exchange student that was at USC last year), invited us to a house party off campus. We hopped in a taxi and were on our way. Sarah and her friends, (really the first Britts I’ve hung out with so far), were SO much fun! I hope I hang out with them a lot this semester.
After drinking for a while at the party, we all then went to a nightclub in town called, The Works. It was very different than Columbia, or shall I say, way classier? 4 stories, cheap drinks, fun crowd- def the place to go on a Monday night. However, I drank WAY too much and came home to a planned skype session with the parents… Sorry Mom and Dad : ) Oh yeah, PS. I fell on my butt going down the stairs. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. How nice, eh?
Today I was completely hung-over, so that put a damper on the day’s activities. But the weather was perfect out. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and high 70’s. I actually wore shorts!
So, I went to a pointless welcome meeting for international students, went into town with the girls for clothes shopping, (which was torturous, as I’m completely broke), and came back to an international student’s dinner. That was actually pretty fun. I sat next to Michael, my roommate from The Czech Republic, who’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I met a new girl, Sarah, who’s from Maryland. Dinner was pretty good too, and the best part- it was FREE. We had salads, rolls, chicken, green beans, potatoes, ice cream, wine… yum yum yum.
Afterwards, Cathrin, Sarah (Maryland), some of Sarah’s friends, and I went out to some campus bars. Giddy again, but I love them! We went to Mungos, which was hosting a quiz night and Rutherford which had karaoke. Both were packed and had a great atmosphere.
But because of my incredible hang-over and my longing for a sober conversation with my mom and dad and marty, I had an early night and headed home around 11PM.
While I was on the computer, the GIANT spider came crawling on the wall right by my head. He ran down the wall, and I went down to kill it and THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. SO I’m freaking out, especially since I CANNOT kill bugs, and there’s no one here to do it for me. But I did it. AND TEN MINUTES LATER, A BIGGER ONE CAME OUT OF NO WHERE AND STARTED BUZZING AROUND MY HEAD. This time, I started yelling rather loudly. My loudness woke Michael up, who knocked on the door to see if everything was okay. He then helped me look for him for about 5 minutes, but he was nowhere to be seen. I SWEAR I SAW HIM OKAY?!
So I’m on the verge of a panic attack, that’s how much I hate spiders, (NOT TO MENTION GIANT ONES). There’s a huge one on the loose in my room, and I’m about to go to bed?! I don’t think so…. So Johanna popped into my room and I told her about my immense fear, and as we’re talking, the evil creature decided to make an appearance again. She calmly squashed it with a broom and told me that if I ever needed anyone to kill a spider to knock on her door, (Michael also made this offer). How sweet are my roommates?!
So I feel a tad bit better now, as its been about 30 minutes and I haven’t seen another one yet. Wish me luck that they don’t attack me in my sleep.
Canterbury Cathedral tomorrow! Can’t wait : )
I left you on Saturday evening right? Ahh its more difficult to remember all this stuff if I wait too long to write. Let’s see… Sunday morning I woke up with absolutely no clue of what to do. Hadn’t met hardly anybody and I had no commitments for the full day. So my roommate, Johanna, (who is the sweetest girl I’ve ever met), took me into town on the UNIbus for groceries. My internet in my room STILL wasn’t working so when we got back, we headed off to the library to check email and stuff.
Mid-afternoon I decided I desperately needed WI-FI for my computer and needed to buy a cell phone so I could actually have a life here.. So I went back into town hoping to get free wireless at starbucks with the purchase of a tasty, over-expensive drink. Get there, go to each cell phone store only to find that ALL of them close at 4PM on Sundays. Its 4:04. DAMN! So I go to starbucks, buy my pricey drink and inquire about the internet. Oh guess what? There isn’t WI-FI there!!!! WHAT?!
So at this point, I’m a tad bit frustrated. I can’t really get in touch with anyone back home and I can’t make new friends because I have no way of getting in contact with them! Starting to feel a bit homesick without communication..
So on my bus-ride home, (as I’m feeling pretty down), I overhear some girls talking with American accents. So, I introduced myself. One’s from Charlotte. One’s from Indiana. One’s from Ottawa. And they’re really nice! So we made plans to go out on campus and bar-hop at 8ish.
Go home, grab dinner, get changed AND meet 2 new roomies. Both are from Cali and they seem so nice! (So that’s one girl from Austria, one guy from France, one guy from the Czech Republic, and the rest of us are from The States.)
Going out with the girls was pretty fun but a bit too expensive. Went to a pub on campus close to our student village but it was jammed packed. So we decided to go out to The Venue, the college nightclub. 6PP to get in and all drinks were at least 2PP. Geez! It’s a really cool place though. Once again, everyone’s so friendly.
Monday, I woke up and went into town with Cathrin, the girl from Indiana, and my roomie, Johanna. We both bought cell phones, hair driers, and all the basic essentials. YAY- now I can have a life!!! We got back, grabbed dinner, and met up with Emily, (the girl from Ottawa). My friend Sarah, (exchange student that was at USC last year), invited us to a house party off campus. We hopped in a taxi and were on our way. Sarah and her friends, (really the first Britts I’ve hung out with so far), were SO much fun! I hope I hang out with them a lot this semester.
After drinking for a while at the party, we all then went to a nightclub in town called, The Works. It was very different than Columbia, or shall I say, way classier? 4 stories, cheap drinks, fun crowd- def the place to go on a Monday night. However, I drank WAY too much and came home to a planned skype session with the parents… Sorry Mom and Dad : ) Oh yeah, PS. I fell on my butt going down the stairs. IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. How nice, eh?
Today I was completely hung-over, so that put a damper on the day’s activities. But the weather was perfect out. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and high 70’s. I actually wore shorts!
So, I went to a pointless welcome meeting for international students, went into town with the girls for clothes shopping, (which was torturous, as I’m completely broke), and came back to an international student’s dinner. That was actually pretty fun. I sat next to Michael, my roommate from The Czech Republic, who’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I met a new girl, Sarah, who’s from Maryland. Dinner was pretty good too, and the best part- it was FREE. We had salads, rolls, chicken, green beans, potatoes, ice cream, wine… yum yum yum.
Afterwards, Cathrin, Sarah (Maryland), some of Sarah’s friends, and I went out to some campus bars. Giddy again, but I love them! We went to Mungos, which was hosting a quiz night and Rutherford which had karaoke. Both were packed and had a great atmosphere.
But because of my incredible hang-over and my longing for a sober conversation with my mom and dad and marty, I had an early night and headed home around 11PM.
While I was on the computer, the GIANT spider came crawling on the wall right by my head. He ran down the wall, and I went down to kill it and THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. SO I’m freaking out, especially since I CANNOT kill bugs, and there’s no one here to do it for me. But I did it. AND TEN MINUTES LATER, A BIGGER ONE CAME OUT OF NO WHERE AND STARTED BUZZING AROUND MY HEAD. This time, I started yelling rather loudly. My loudness woke Michael up, who knocked on the door to see if everything was okay. He then helped me look for him for about 5 minutes, but he was nowhere to be seen. I SWEAR I SAW HIM OKAY?!
So I’m on the verge of a panic attack, that’s how much I hate spiders, (NOT TO MENTION GIANT ONES). There’s a huge one on the loose in my room, and I’m about to go to bed?! I don’t think so…. So Johanna popped into my room and I told her about my immense fear, and as we’re talking, the evil creature decided to make an appearance again. She calmly squashed it with a broom and told me that if I ever needed anyone to kill a spider to knock on her door, (Michael also made this offer). How sweet are my roommates?!
So I feel a tad bit better now, as its been about 30 minutes and I haven’t seen another one yet. Wish me luck that they don’t attack me in my sleep.
Canterbury Cathedral tomorrow! Can’t wait : )
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