Singing cockles and mussels alive alive-o!

Ireland was awesome! It was great to see dad and I loved Dublin! I didn't realize how much smaller the population in Dublin (1 million) is than London (15 million) but there was still so much to do.

My plane ride there was interesting. I met some Brazilian boys who became very interested in me once I spoke in my American accent. They asked if they could sit by me on the plane and were fascinated in learning how we say things in the US and were complimenting me the whole trip saying that I was the American dream because of my blonde hair and blue eyes. It was rather flattering but also very interesting.

I landed in Dublin at about 10:30 pm. Dad came to get me and we jetted off to the hotel. It was so good to see him because it had been a long time since i had seen or talked to him. We got up early in the morning and had an Irish breakfast and then set out on the Dublin tour bus. We went to Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Kilmainham Goal (jail) and we saw many churches and other sites, like Molly Malone. We took a walk down O'Connell street and Grafton St. which were awesome! The street entertainment was fabulous and someone was playing music every couple yards. We saw some beautiful churches and got to hear some amazing Irish accents. We ate lunch on the top of a pub and I got the best fish chowder i think i have ever had! We ended the day with a few pubs in Temple Bar. The pub scene in Dublin is so fun. They have live music in most of them as well as beer gardens. I thought that was soo cool! We went to the Temple Bar and then the Arlington Hotel and watched some Irish dancing.

After getting woken up a few times in the night from drunk people leaving the clubs we started out site seeing again. We figured we could use our tickets for the bus tour for 24 hours we ended up using it all day the next day..haha they never checked our tickets. We went to the Christ Church Cathedral and the Guinness Factory (sooo cool!) We got to go to the Gravity Bar which is at the top of the Guinness that looks out over the entire city and we had our complimentary Guinness. Guinness is everywhere in Dublin. They advertise it like crazy! Its about as common to see a Guinness ad as it is to see a colored door (which i loved by the way). Later on we decided to go to the the ocean so we headed out to Bray on the train. It was beautiful and so much fun. I loved getting to see the ocean after being in the city so much.

Dad bought me a Claddagh ring..and the man who sold it to us said if you where this out of Ireland it means you will come back some day. So guess what I did? :) Someday I'll be back! I love it!

these are the moments, these are the times, lets make the most out of our lives...

Wow so much has happened since I last wrote. London is still amazing me every single day. I love getting to experience something new all the time. I have been on a few great trips too where I have met some really fun girls. The sad thing is that most of them leave after 5 weeks. I couldn't even imagine only being here for 5 weeks. It seems so short! Time is flying by because it is so much fun!!!! But, I have been to Windsor, Oxford and York. Windsor was so cool. The castle was really cool to go into. I had to get an Oxford sweatshirt in Oxford and definitely saw where Harry Potter was filmed...the great hall, grand staircase, courtyard, where they play quidditch..etc. It was awesome! In York it rained the whole day really hard so it was hard to tour the city comfortably but we managed and found a cream tea shop where we sat and chatted for quite a while. We have gotten cream tea in every city now. Its so fun because each place has different china and each place serves different types of scones and buns with their tea. I've fallen in love with the tea houses here.

I have been to the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and a few photography galleries. We usually go for class. I am going to Jersey Boys tonight with my theatre class and this weekend I saw Romeo and Juliet in the Shakespeares Globe Theatre.

Im really excited for tomorrow because I am going to Dublin to see dad! I already know its going to be so much fun! :) I can't wait!!!!!!!

London Lovin'

Wow, I love London. I wouldn't mind living here for a few years! The city is so full of life and different cultures. It is definitely one giant melting pot. I love listening to the British accent and all the different words they say than us.

Here are some words that are said quite a bit here and I have added the way we say it back in the US.

Britian U.S.
rubbish trash

bin trashcan

thats rubbish thats shit

queing standing in a line

lift elevator (in the elevator underground they say 'the lift on the left will be the next lift.' it sounds so funny!

tube subway

hob stovetop

wanker worst word to call someone

naughty they just say it often & its funny

cheers thank you and goodbye

give way yield

take away getting food to go

toilets bathrooms/restrooms

crisps potato chips

fit good looking

-They think that drinking out of a water bottle without pouring it into a glass is 'low class'

-Everytime you are about to cross the street it is best to look down because it always says which way to look in big bold letters and an arrow. "LOOK LEFT <--------"

-I have heard the phrase "That's brilliant" quite a bit. I love it.

-More often than not boys on the street will whistle, purr, say "ooo bella", "sexy", or "damn you are so fit." Most of the time its really gross. Once a group of guys yelled out 'kittykitty.' Us girls were like what the heck? did they just say kitty kitty? haha

-The main fashion here is long leggings down to the ankle with flats and a baggy shirt on top. Gladiators are really in as well as the flip flop sandles. Headbands of all types are popular. Especially the ones with a flower or bow on the side and the hippy looking kind. Empire waists are popular with flower printed skirts, a tank top and a clasped belt that latches in the front. Many girls wear purses with the long straps and can cross over your chest. I can't even believe how many different kinds of places to shop there is. There are about a million markets that sell vintage clothing and then there is Oxford St. which is beyond amazing

Kels and I went to Madame Tussauds the other day and loved it. Its probably something I won't do again but something im glad I got to experience at least once. The next day I got to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre during class. It was awesome to see in real life because I have studied a lot about it! Its located on the South Bank so we got to cross the River Thames. We also got tickets to Romeo and Juliet for this Sunday. They are standing tickets so we will doing what the Elizabethans had to do when they had to be groundlings in Shakespeares play. That same night I got a student stand-by ticket to Phantom of the Opera! Oh my it was AMAZING! We saw it in Her Majestys theatre which was spectacular! I got my ticket for cheaper because they had some extras. There are so many plays I want to see I hope I don't run out of money all on West End theatre! I made a list of shows I want to go to and its long but in my theatre class we are going to The Lion King, Jersey Boys, Romeo and Juliet, and We Will Rock You. I also want to see Jude Law in Hamlet but we'll see about that..haha

Obama for yo mama The Phantom of the Opera Shakespeares Globe Theatre

I also made my first stop into the Tate Modern. It was gigantic with amazing modern art. I love how the museums here are free. I even went to the British Museum again today for another class of mine.

This weekend I am headed to Windsor and Oxford on Friday and then York on Saturday. I can't wait!

I got a call about an interview for a company today. The lady in charge got me an interview with a company called MYLA. Its like a high end Victoria's Secret of Europe. She said they are in all the top department stores like Harrods, Selfridges, etc. She said i would be doing e-marketing for them which I think will be really neat. Soooo once its said in stone I will notify everyone! I am excited though

Well its time for bed!

Cheers!

The Queen of Englands Birthday! Trooping the Colour

I saw the Queen of England!!!! What more is there to say?? Oh yeah! I also saw Prince William and Harry! It was definitely a highlight of my trip so far! We knew that there was a parade for the Queens birthday called Trouping the Colour but we didn't think we would see her or anyone else. All of the sudden there I was watching the parade and down comes the buggys with the royal family and there she comes down the street! It was absolutely amazing. The parade was mostly guards and horses and then the family came down. After the parade we left and walked around Westminster. We then found out that the parade was going by again so we headed back to Buckingham so we got to see them all again! That was amazing! But there is more! We followed the huge crowd walking toward Buckingham Palace and had no idea why everyone was gathering. We almost decided to leave because we didn't know what we were waiting for. Then we found out that they were all going to come up to the balcony of Buckingham Palace. We were really really close! I couldn't believe it! It was definitely one of my favorite days. I have many more pictures on my picassa website posted on the right too!

The rest of the day we toured around Westminster and saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, River Thames and the London Bridge. We are going back to Buckingham Palace in July because it is actually open to the public for only two months out of the year which is July and August. So, we are hoping to get a glimpse of the inside. We are also going to tour inside Westminster Abbey on another day. I loved everything about the day!

At night we met up with a club promoter who got us VIP into 2 celebrity clubs. One was Funky Buddha and the other was OPAL. Everything was really fancy and I could tell everyone there was extremely wealthy. It was awesome! There was a long line outside of Funky Buddha but we got the rope moved and didn't have to wait in line!

Today was our trip to the Stonehenge and Bath. Both were great. Bath is so beautiful! The cobblestone on the roads and bath stone on every building made the city incredibley gorgeous. I got a ton of pretty pictures. We had tea and a bun at Sally Lunn's Bun shop which is really famous and the oldest house in Bath that dates back to the 1600's. We then walked down the cobblestone streets to Jane Austen's museum and took a road up to the Royal Crescent. We also got a tour of the Roman Baths..so cool! It was a great day and super sunny. It was nice to see such green countryside, thatched rooves, and cobblestone. It took my breath away....Sally Lunn's Buns and Cream TeaThe Royal Crescent

Two nights at the theatre and a day of fashion

The other night was my first time going to an "off-broadway" show also known here as the "fringe theatre." My class and I or should I say classmate and I met our teacher at Hamstead Heath. It is a borrough of London with an awesome homey feel, quant shops, and friendly people. We got off the bus really lost but luckily found an older lady to help us find our way. She told us we could take the bus or walk with her. We decided to walk with her and on the way she took us on a detour to see the John Keats house (the romantic poet). We then met with our professor and headed to the theatre. It was really cute inside and the building was from the early 1800's. The room the theatre was in used to be a billiard room where guests could hang out. We watched Heartbreak House an old British play that was pretty interesting.Last night a bunch of us AIU girls went to WICKED. I reallly really liked it! It was fun to dress up and go. Afterward we went out to get something to eat and once again we were offered free drinks from the owner of the restaurant-- probably because of our American accents. I cannot believe how much there is to do here! Today we woke up early to go to the Portabello market with awesome vintage things. They have so many markets here in London! Its so crazy! I have already been to 4. After that we went to the Wallace Collection (a museum) and saw some of Henry the VIII's army along with many other warriers armor. It was a gorgeous house!

Leather jackets, cancelled class, and a tube ride adventure

I've found myself loving the transport system and all the different people I get to watch get on and off the buses and tubes. My roomates and I just recently figured out how the tubes work and luckily they are easy to navigate. Yesterday, Kate and I didn't have class until 2:00pm and the ATM ate her bank card so we decided to go on an adventure to find the Bank of America in London. We took the tube to a new place we hadn't been. We ended up in the business district filled with modern glass skyscrapers. I LOVED IT! The inside of her bank was incredible. I will definitely be working around there someday! ;) It was called Canary Wharf and was right next to the water. We definitely looked of place because of our leather jackets and jeans but it was so much fun! My only class yesterday was my theatre class and we took a tour of the British Museum. I got to see the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Greek goddess Athena & more. It was nice to have my teacher there to tell us all about everything. He told us how the Greeks invented working out and the marathon and how the word 'gymnasium' or 'gym' means 'working out naked.' My teacher is a crazy, head in the clouds, awkward teacher but I like him and he seems excited to teach us (even tho there is only 2 of us).

There is a tube strike going on right now and should last until Friday. We had class cancelled today! YIPPEE! But, and the streets are congested with people so it is really hard to get around and each bus that passed by us was overly full. I went to Camden Market again and found that the other day we didn't even cover half of it. It is massive with about a million awesome things. I wish I could buy everything! Tonight I have my first play for my class. It is a British fring-theatre play called Heartbreak House and we get to meet the actors afterward. Im excited for it!

There definitely hasn't been a day here where my feet didn't hurt. I have been walking around so much but thats a good thing!

Camden Market

It was another glorious day in London yesterday. My roomies and I decided to get up early and head down the "Camden Market" which is very famous in London. We live in Camden Town which is an awesome place and have spent a nice chunk of time exploring it. However, we had only explored one end of the street so this was a new adventure for us. As we started walking the crowd of people started getting bigger and bigger. We were not expecting this at all. Soon we came upon crowds and crowds of people lining the streets coming in and out of shops while the music was blaring. It was so exciting and lively.

We then came to a huge sign that said Camden Market-it is a large area of old horse stables filled with vendors who sell AMAZING vintage clothing. Things you wish you could find in the states but will never find...ever. It was all very cheap...well london cheap. I ended up buying a black leather jacket from a guy who said "35 pounds for you." I said ummm how about "20 pounds...just for me" haha and he said ok! yay thats about $32 dollars! :) We kept walking and came upon a bridge, river, mini resturants (had our first fish and chips--the fish was GIANT), and tiny little 'playhouse' size boutiques with aspiring fashion designers clothing. This are is known as Camden Lock. It was one of my most exciting Sundays! Later on we decided to go on an adventure to find Mari's internship building and place she was going to interview in the morning. We definitely got lost over and over about 10 times but we finally found it after walking through "sketchyville" as Mari likes to call the street we walked on filled with Arab shops and boys yelling out "SEXY" to us as we pass by. Talk about creepy! haha but we got back safe and sound.

Today was the first day of school! It was so long! My fashion styling teacher is amazing. He has worked for Vogue and with many famous people and magazines. He has also interviewed Andy Warhol and many others! Here in London they "use London as a classroom" so we took the tube to Covent Gardens to a marketplace which was like a bunch of mini garage sales of wonderful jewelry. I then went to my next class after i grabbed an amazing baguette turkey sandwich. My second class is History of British Theatre. There is 1 other girl in the class. So there is a total of 2 students and the teacher. It was weird but it will be fun because we get to do some fun stuff! Tomorrow we are going to the British Museum to see the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone and much more! As of now I am exhausted from the long day but am looking forward to some eventful classes!
Cheers!

Exploring

Wow it has been an amazing past couple of days! I can barely explain how much fun I have had already. Kelsi and I were extremely excited to meet our new roomates. Kate and Mary from Boston and New York. We clicked automatically and have already have made plans to visit one another back in the states!

Yesterday we went to Marylebone High St. where our AIU campus is located. There we had orientation, ate lunch, and toured our campus. The classrooms are amazing and we found out that the winner of Project Runway (Christian) went to school there! That was very exciting to hear. We got familiar with the bus system and it is so easy to navigate (thank god). It was fun to meet different people from all over.

The nightlife in London is incredible! It is so lively at night and what is great is that this city feels so safe. Last night we went to a pub called World's End which was exciting. The London boys really do LOVE American girls and they offered to buy us drinks left and right. We then went to a night club called KOKO which was crazy! They dance and listen to much different things than we do in the US. It reminded me of my trip to Canada. It was so fun though!
KOKO

Today was a much more low key day but just as exciting. We went to Oxford St. where all the main shopping is. Wow, they have everything! We also found an amazing side street full of every kind of food you could ever want in a ton of little resteraunts. We passed by them and landed on one called SeaBass. The owner came out to us and said in an Italian accent "free bottle of wine for you beautiful girls on the house." We ended up eating there and I had the most amazing meal. The owner and the servers loved us but the owner especially loved Mary (he loved her red hair) so he gave us dessert for free as well. What a wonderful day! Here we are with the owner of SeaBass

I am definitely where I am supposed to be! :)

Finally here in London!

I am finally here in London after a long day of traveling. It is so exciting to be here after all of this planning and preparation! I have come to school to take two classes in Fashion Styling and History of British Theatre along with an internship. I will be here for 10 weeks! I am so excited for the adventures that await me!

Here are some things I have noticed already since I have been here....

The Underground. fish and chips. black checker cabs. pounds. small cars. hybrid cars.skinny jeans. brick buildings. row houses. driving on the right. leggings. Camden Town. double decker buses. British accents. parks. children school uniforms. flats. trousers. rubbish bin. new confused skittles. rape alley. small shower. small elevators. flats (apartments). flats (shoes). a horse pasture in the city. Royal Vet College. roundabouts. Boots drugstore.


On the airplane ride to the London--Heathrow airport the plane was only half full so Kelsi and I both got a full row of 3 seats to sleep on. We scored! The flight was long but well worth it.My first actual London experience was at the airport when I decide to get a coffee. Behind me was a British lady speaking really fast. I couldn't understand a single word she was saying. The only thing I could understand was when she said "carport" but even then I don't know what that is. (a garage?) I then went up to get my coffee. The lady asked me if I would like whipcream. I said "nope" and she laughed really hard and smiled huge. She said "I love how you say nope." I said, haha thanks?

We took a taxi cab to our flat and people greeted us once we got here. It turns out that Kelsi and I are living together in a flat and are still awaiting 3 other roomates. The rooms are nice and spacious but its going to take some getting used to. We signed up for a walking tour at 1:30 and decided to take a nap at 12:30. We ended up sleeping until 4:30 so we missed the walking tour. I was so sad! But, we will figure it out in no time. As for now...

Cheers! :)