Olympics: USWNT vs Korea - Old Trafford

Tuesday was awesome. The highlight of my time here in London! To be honest, I didn’t sleep well on Monday. I was WAY too pumped for my journey to Manchester to see the USWNT take on the N. Koreans at…. Old Trafford. This is one special pitch! Over 100 years old (102 I think) this is the home of the infamous Manchester United Squad. Honestly that was half of the reason that I was so excited!

I could sleep in some which would be nice on any other morning, but I was so excited that I wasn’t sleeping anyways! I got ready early, donned my USA gear and went to pack a lunch. I opened the bag and my bread was green. Gah. It made me a little nervous considering that I had eaten that bread the day before. Ewww….. So instead I headed to Sainsburys and got the 3 pound lunch deal (sandwich, crisps, and coke) and got on the tube. I got to Euston without a problem, got to the train without a problem, found my coach and my seat and at 11:20 we were off!

It was a train of Americans which was fun. I sat behind a family that were going to the game. The ride went really fast (it was a 2 hour ride) and before I knew it we were in Manchester. I had bought a ticket for Legoland so instead of heading to Old Trafford I needed to go to Piccadilly Gardens to catch a bus. I found the metro link really easily and bought my one pound ticket. I LOVE trams. They are so fun! I looked at the city on the way to the next stop. It was kinda weird because I felt like I was in Europe, not the UK. I think the tram had something to do with that!

I got off and found the bus stop easily. I saw that the 250 was coming in 5 minutes and the X50 in 15 so I took the 250 when it came. I had looked at the route map and noticed that Old Trafford was the halfway stop. We were riding along and it was taking forever. We stopped at the stadium and while we were pulling away I looked at my watch… 2:30. Crap. It had taken 30 mins to get this far, so if I got to Legoland at 3, I would be there for 30 mins. It wasn’t worth the stress. So I got off the bus at the next stop and walked back to the stadium.

I have to admit…. From the outside it isn’t all that impressive. Wembley beats it in that regard! I wandered and took some pictures. The doors hadn’t opened yet so I hung out and waited. Then I realized that the bag check people were starting so I went over to a table and got it searched. Then they zip-tied it closed in a plastic bag and sent us on our merry way. I found my section entrance and waited for them to open the turnstile.

When they opened I got patted down, and was the second one through. It was epic. I went over to my block and no one was following. I walked up the steps and through the tunnel and then the stadium got impressive. I don’t think I have ever seen a pitch so green. I wanted to leap the barrier and touch it! (there was a security guy in my way though!) It was so awesome to be the first one in my section. I took a lot of pictures (some of which are on facebook) and then went down to my seat in the FRONT. ROW. I found my seat and it was ONE seat in from the aisle. (That is the hardest word in English to spell). I was so pumped. I had an hour and a half until the game so I hung out, stalked a nice woman who took my picture, took pictures, chatted with the security man and people watched. A girl came and sat on the other side of me. Then the awesome started to happened! Alex Morgan’s mom and another mom (don’t know whose mom she is) came down and said hi and that we had great seats. They snuck by us to get a picture of themselves in Old Trafford with their banner. One their way out the mom I didn’t know talked to Carli Lloyds. It was kinda awkward because I was basically in the middle of their conversation.

Eventually a girl sat on the other side of me and the team came out to practice. Pia was goofying around and scoring goals. I had fun being so close to Abby’s warm up group. It was so awesome being that close! Then they went away and 15 minutes later they came back out for the anthem. My section was ALL USA supporters (I think the majority of the stadium was actually) We chanted, did the wave and everyone as ready to go!

It was a good game. SO fun. The USA didn’t play the whole 90 minutes, but they pulled off the win. I was SO close to the action when it came on my side of the field. There was a throw in that happened RIGHT in front of me. Epic. We won (woo!) and after the team came over and said hi. Literally. Rampone came and talked to her family who were 2 rows up from us, and the best…. Carli Lloyd jumped the barrier to get pictures with her family! She was 10 inches away from me. I told her I would see her in Wembley and she smile and said yup. WOOOO!!!! It took everything in my power to not touch her… :)

I wanted to stay and get autographs after when they came out but I had the last train out of Manchester and I didn’t want to miss it. They had a great system of free shuttle buses that went to the train station. It was really well organized and done! I got there without a problem and grabbed some Burger King food for dinner. Right when I was done eating my train was boarding so I hopped on and settled in for the ride back.

Just as I was closing my eyes the guy across the aisle asked where I was from. We started chatting (him and his 3 buddies) and they were from D.C. We talked about Olympic tickets and how I wanted in to the aquatics center to see Michael and Ryan. Then the guy said that his two friends used to swim with Ryan Locthe! (cant spell his name) The guy (guy number 2) was from Ithaca and that is how they swam together. I didt get the other guys story. We talked for a bit then didn’t, and then with about 15 minutes to go they started playing a card game and they were being crazy so we started talking again. It was fun, and they 2 of the 3 knew Ryan!

After that crazy awesome day I came home and was wide awake! I couldn’t fall asleep. After posting pictures and chilling I think I went to bed around 2:30am. And I had to get up the next morning for beach volleyball!!

P.S One Olympic day blog down, two to go. Ill post at least Wed. tomorrow but will try to get both done. It just depends how my thesis goes too!

Everything but the Thesis

Today turned out to be busier than it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be home all day writing. BUT I had bought the new Olympic tickets and needed to go print off my confirmation emails so I could pick up my tickets. I don’t have a printer so it was off to Christies for me. Sigh. The tube was fine really. Nice and quiet like it always is in the afternoon. I have to admit though I wasn’t in central London or on the Central Line! (but I don’t ever take the central line. Ever) I got into school without a problem or any hassle. I tried to log into my account on the compy and couldn’t get it to work. I asked Traci if she had problems logging on. Apparently all the passwords got deleted so I had to go to the front desk and wait while the lady emailed IT. She told me it would take some time so I should go do something. Awesome. I had nothing I had to do so I wandered around and looked at books. Finally the IT emailed her back and I could get on the compy!

I printed out all of my stuff and headed out. Then I got to thinking that I should pick up my tickets since I was out. I ahd some options.. Horse Guard, Earls Court, and Wembley. I picked Horse Guards but when I got to the tube platform the next train was a Metropolitan line right to Wembley so I decided to go up there. The ticket office was easy to find and while I was standing in line I realized that I didn’t have my wallet with me which meant no official id. Crap. I decided to try it anyways and used my student id. It worked! Phew :)

I headed home and picked up my flat some because I couldn’t take it. I worked for two hours and got a good chunk done. I was so hungry so I made some rice and turned on the men’s gymnastics. Team GB hadn’t place in like 100 years and it came down to the last scores. When the coached started crying and they were more happy with their bronze than the Chinese were with their gold, I got all weepy and wasn’t paying attention. I had turned on the burner for the rice, but must had hit the other switch accidently too. I had a lid on the other hot thing and by the time I realized that I smelled something the Lid was on fire and the handle was melted off. Cool.

Tomorrow is the big day. Olympic event number one! Im off to Manchester to see the USAWNT play Korea. Im excited. I don’t know when Ill get to blog because ill be home at midnight, look at pictures and then the next day Im up and headed to Beach Vollyball all day! Phew! EXCITING! Look for me on tv! :)

P.S The picture is my collection of Olympic tickets!

So Much New Stuff

Ok so I just realized that it has been ages since I have written! Sorry!! I think it is because I spend all day typing (or supposed to be anyways) that at the end of the night I don’t want to do anymore of it!

A LOT has happened since I have last posted. First the Olympics have STARTED! Oh my goodness how lucky am I? I pinch myself daily. I am so lucky to be here and I am hoping to make every second count. I stalk the ticketing website and have been pretty successful! Lets start at the beginning…..

How about that opening ceremony??!! Very British (which made it good) but I wasn’t blown away by it. The best part… the Queen “jumping” out of a helicopter. I love her. She had the Queen Elizabeth II twinkle in her eye when she walked out on the stage. I would love to get to know her! Otherwise it was ok… Really surprised that the Spice girls didn’t make an appearance! Oh and the USA outfit…. Ugly. I don’t think Ralph Lauren nailed it. I loved Denmark’s, Jamaica’s and India’s though! I had a chance to go to the Opening Ceremony and regretted it leading up to the start, but glad I didn’t spend the money after seeing it. Being in the stadium for McCartney’s Hey Jude would have been fun though! The torch… best ever. Having kids light it?? A good message and idea but at the end of the day Redgrave got the shaft.

This happens to the year that I cry through everything. I don’t know whats up with me. I have choked up SO many times already and it is only day two. Some highlights was Michael Phelps not showing up at all to that race against Ryan. Don’t know what happened there. USAWNT have a place in the quarters. They haven’t missed the final since womens soccer has been an Olympic sport. I hope they don’t pick this year to not make it! Im hoping for a USA vs GB final, but have a feeling that Brazil will put up a fight!

Today Becky Adlington got the bronze in the 400 free. She was the reigning gold medalist but was crying for joy that she got the bronze. I THINK that was only time I cried today! :) It always gets me when the athlete starts crying in the interview. Gah! The USA mens lost their relay… got the silver instead of the gold. Phelps had the team way out in front too!

Enough overview, time for my Olympic excitement. I realized that the only way to get into the Olympic Park complex was to have a ticket to one of the venues. How can I be at the London 2012 Olympics and not go to Olympic park?? I spent all day on the site. I kept thinking I got the Aquatics centre tickets (something I desperately want) but was too slow every time. I finally got field hockey tickets for Thursday at 7pm. Im going to go at noon and stalk all the news anchors and athletes. Im not even kidding. I want to find Ryan, Michael, Nastia (a news anchor now), Lester Holt and of course…. David Beckham. I doubt any of that will happen but hey… you never know!

My biggest excitement was tonight. I was writing my thesis and realized that it was 10:30. I had gotten the hockey tickets around that time last night so I decided to check out the site really fast. The unthinkable happened. I saw a ticket available. I didn’t believe that it really was because so many times have I clicked on a ticket, requested it, and then have it be gone. I clicked on it anyways and while it was loading checked facebook and my email. I go back and its in my cart. I have 2 minutes to buy it. I still don’t believe it. I clicked on my saved visa card and wait. Then the payment goes through and Im on the “congrats” page. This is the moment I literally start jumping up and down. I have to say I was shouting OMG the entire time. I have one of the hottest tickets in town. Beach Volleyball. To make it better its Misty May and Kerri Walsh. I LOVE them. (sorry if that was a complete let down!) Gymnastics and swimming would be awesome but the tickets are going for too much now!

Besides the Olympics I have been writing my thesis. Slowly. I wasn’t on the email list apparently (after 3 emails to the admin throughout the year to tell them that my HWS email was shut down) with all this extremely important info about my thesis. Thankfully Isabel was awesome and forwarded it to me (lifesaver!) My thesis is due Sept. 19th. Oh and Andrew said that it had to be in their hands on the 19th… according to the official email it has to be post marked by the date. I wish they could all get on the same page. There are TWO tutors for the Master program and the admin office… how hard can it be to all have the same information?? So glad that I am almost down with their lack of communication!

I have had to take apart my sink twice in an attempt to unclog it. The first round went to the sink, but the second went to me! It finally works again. I was really super close to throwing up the first time, but thanks to my sisters safety gear ideas I only gagged a little the second time!

Well its midnight and I am 300 words under my goal for today so I need to go attempt to crank it out. Ill be better at blogging now! I have THREE Olympic events this coming week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) so be sure to check in every now and then. Ill have them posts asap!

Pre-Olympic Excitement!

Tomorrow the Olympics start. To say that I am excited is a bit of an undestatment!!! The football (soccer) competition has already started (along with archery) to let the athletes rest between matches. The USA had a ROUGH 15 minutes (2 goals by France… I call that rough!) They came back and won 4-2 though so that was good! They haven’t missed a gold medal match since the women’s tournament was added to the Games in 1996! It was gold in 1996, silver in 2000, gold in 2004 and 2008! They cant let me down this year!!!

I got the Olympic fever this morning and since it was 88 and sunny I decided that I needed to get out and head into central London. It was so fun! I was a complete tourist! First I took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and wandered around to see the flags and such. Then I walked to Trafalgar Square to see the Olympic clock countdown for the last time!! Then I had a dumb idea to go see the Mall decorated… I forgot that it was all blocked off. I was hoping at some point that there would be a crossway to get to St James. Nope. They had us go behind on the parallel street and that took forever. I finally got up the Victoria statue to cross. I was in the process of taking a picture when the army guy told me to keep walking. I took it really fast and decided to listen. The policemen only have batons, but the army dudes have guns. Grrr. I did so much walking for nothing! St James park was a maze of places that we could walk and couldn’t. That was the only frustrating part… blocked walkways. I got to Westminster somehow! I went down to the river and started to head to Tower hill. I got lazy and decided at Embankment to go in and take the tube.

All I hear is the complaining about how horrible the tube is going to be during the Olympics. It was fine all day today! I got a seat on every train I rode and some had extras even! I got off at Tower Hill and went towards the river (the long way because they blocked off a crosswalk. Grr..) I got to the river and the rings were down on the bridge. Lame! I was planning to walk across and get a close up of them. I decided to go anyways. It was such a nice day and the breeze was amazing. As I walked around I kept noticing people with the big Olympic ids on. There were so many! I think I saw some Canadian athletes. They had different ids and Canadian shirts with the ring on it! Anyways.. I was walking across the bridge taking pictures of the rings and such when people were starting to be blocked off from crossing the middle part. That’s weird… They closed the gates and the bridge went up!!! Cool! That is why the rings were up! I was pumped that I had amazing timing and that was right there when the bridge went up! I waited for it to go down, and then watched the rings drop over the bridge. It was fun!

I walked along the river once I crossed the bridge. I realized that the rings that I though were silver, were actually colored! I got some good pictures and continued to walk around and look at the decorations. It wasn’t too crowded at all. Even the area around Big Ben wasn’t too bad. I don’t know why everyone is complaining about! Im excited. I think I am going to go check out the Olympic park on Saturday or Sunday. I cant go in, but I can walk around the area. I think anyways!!

This is going to sound corny, but you really can feel the excitement walking around. I cant wait for the Games to start. I don’t know how Im going to get any work done! And it wasn’t all that busy today. Im so excited for July 31st!!!

I really need to go work! More Olympic adventures to come! (hopefully I spot someone cool on Sunday at the Olympic park!)

Windsor

I wasn’t ready for my alarm to go off this morning! Things I do for adventures! After slamming my alarm clock snooze button for 20 minutes, I finally got up and dressed. It was supposed to be 80 degrees and SUNNY today! I was so excited. I put on a sundress and it started to feel like it was the end of July and not April! I made it to the tube, switched at Baker street for the Bakerloo line, and got off at Paddington! I felt like Paddington bear (except I was leaving, not arriving, and I wasn’t lost). Well actually I was kinda lost because I thought that the first off-peak train to Windsor was at 9:21 but that train didn’t say anything about stopping at Windsor or Eton. Great…. So I had to be a tourist and ask. I had to take the train to Slough and then change trains. Ohh…. Awesome. So I headed to platform 10 where I came face to face with a tourist mob. The train went to Oxford. Oh great.

I walked to the end of the train and decided just to try a car. (it was only 3 carriages btw. WHY??) End of long story… there wasn’t any seats so everyone else had to stand. It wasn’t a big deal though because it was only a 15 minute ride! The train pulled into Slough and I was grateful to be getting off! Platform 1 for Windsor was right there and about 10 minutes later I was on the train! It was a really quick (7 min) ride to Windsor and I was there by 10. The town was really cute… lots of little shops and such. I had a tour appt at 10:45 so I just walked straight up to the castle.

I found the admissions centre really easily, got my ticket and walked right up to the xray machines. I didn’t have to wait at all! How awesome! I got my free audio guide, and started to wander around to get my bearings and see stuff. I took some pictures and realized that I had 20 minutes until my tour so I headed to St. George’s chapel to fill in the time.

I understand why churches and chapels don’t want photography, but I really REALLY wish that I could have taken pictures. It was so pretty. I wandered around the chapel for 15 minutes and then decided to head over to my tour group. As I was leaving I realized how inappropriately dressed I was for the chapel! I should have put my sweater on over my little spaghetti straps. I wouldn’t have been even allowed in like that if I was in Italy!!

I found the tour spot without a problem and hung out by the sign with a family from the Czech Republic. Finally we were on our way! I was really pumped to see the royal kitchen We were taken behind the scenes and shown some rooms and talked to, but FINALLY we got to the kitchen. I walked in AND….. it was completely disappointing. It looked like a normal industrial kitchen. Yeah it was 3 times the size of Bellinger hall, but it had the same stuff in it. It was just like the one at the Royal Pavilion. Gah. It was a lame tour.

After that disappointing 40 mintues, I came back outside and headed to the state apartments. First was Queen Mary’s doll house. OMG I want one. It make all other doll houses look pathetic. It was seriously about 11 feet high and had EVERYTHING. I cant even explain it! The garage was even complete with a fleet of rolls royces. It was awesome. The next room housed Princess Elizabeth (the present queen) and her sisters dolls that they each got when they went to France. American girl needs to step it up. The clothes were made by top designers. They were beautiful. I wanted all of that stuff too! (the dolls were slightly creepy though!)

Next were the state apartments. Don’t get me wrong they were awesome BUT…. I like Buckingham’s better. The outside of Windsor is cooler (Buckingham IS just UGLY!) but the state rooms weren’t as cool. The Grand reception room was the prettiest room I have ever seen, and the St George Hall was impressive! (where they have state dinners) I am glad that I saw it, I was just more in awe at Buckingham.

After the state apartments I wandered around the town some. It was cute, but it was all stores and I have to money to spend so it wasn’t a whole bunch of fun. I decided to head back to London slowly. Of course when you aren’t in a hurry everything works out so well! I got to the train station and had to wait 3 minutes for a train to Slough. At slough it was only a ten minute wait until the London train came. If I was in a hurry that never would have happened! I sat near an American family and just chuckled at their American-ness. First they had southern accents, but if that wouldn’t have given them away the Hollister clothes, saying they had a coupon for something (not a voucher), and the kid asking to go to Subway for lunch was a dead give away!

I got home quickly and then realized I was supposed to have gone grocery shopping. I headed back out to do that and then came home to crash. I want to write the Queen and asks what she keeps in her purse, but I don’t think that would be appropriate. Seriously though… what does she have in there?? I HIGHLY doubt she needs id, she doenst need cash, and she certainly doenst need an oyster card! What, besides perhaps a lipstick, would she need to carry around with her? Im curious.

I surfed the internet when I came home and teared up watching Nastia Luikin fall of the uneven bars. I miss NBC!! I find things out a lot later over here and I love their Olympic coverage. NBS IS the Olympics! Her career is over I guess and she is going to NYU. I felt badly for her though. What a rough way to go out.

Well that’s it for today. Ill say Im going to work on my thesis, but that probably wont happen! I most likely will not blog tomorrow as I am sitting around and writing all day! A week from today is my Olympic adventure! Im so excited!!

Thesis, etc.

Nothing has happened really in my world since getting back from Dover on Friday. Saturday I sat around and started work on my thesis again. I wrote the first chapter and was feeling good about. Alex left at 4pm for his crazy stupid 12 hour bus ride to Ireland. Don’t ask me why he didn’t just fly… I kept working on my thesis and went to bed around 11. I told you…. Boring!

Today was the same old thing. I got up, went to the post office quickly (wore my sandals, dress and sunglasses. It was 79 out today!) and then came home to write. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted. Only 1400 of the 2000 word goal, and I didn’t finish my carriage chapter. It was just one of those days. I really had ADD!

Tomorrow Im off to Windsor which should be fun! Its supposed to be 80 and sunny so I am looking forward to wearing a sundress and being outside in the sun! Ill post pictures tomorrow but probably wont write my blog about it until Wednesday (unless I get home early and am motivated!)

Dover

Ahhh blogging. Something that I HAVE to do (other my sister will fly over here and beat me up!) but also an excuse for not doing real work. I have come to love it! It’s a ritual in my life now, and I cant write a post without a pot of the Queen’s Jubliee tea from Fortnam and Mason. Worth every pence that I paid for it. (oh wait… that was mom! Thanks mom!!!) Im a bit sentimental today. Not really sure why. Perhaps its because the weather is once again rainy with grey skies (the kind that make you curl up inside and be thankful that you have nowhere to go!) Or maybe its because I looked in the corner of my computer and saw the date 20/07/2012. My adventure is coming to an end and quickly. I have only one more month in the small but great country and Im not too happy about it. If someone would have told me on Sept 26 2011 that I wouldn’t want to leave I wouldn’t have believed you at all! That first night was horrible (the first 2-3 weeks actually!) and I tried everything to convince my parents to let me come home! (what would you know… crying via skype doenst work. Since when are parents immune to tears??!) I guess parents know best when stranding their daughter in a foreign land and having her live in a dragon’s lair because it all ended well. What an amazing year I have had!!!

Ok enough with that for today but continuing on the amazing part… Dover was the best adventure that I have had this year (on this island!) My alarm went off at 8am and, like always, I had that 30 second thought of “lets just stay in bed”! I didn’t though and got up, dressed and packed. Alex and I were off at 9 and got the Victoria coach without a problem! We found the gate really easily too and hung out for about 20 minutes until our bus loaded!

Our bus was really nice… leather seats!! It was only a 2.5 hour bus ride there. It took us 50 minutes to get out of the city!! Alex and I talked most of the way there, and I ate my lunch and read Rick Steves. Right at 1pm we arrived and realized how big of a port Dover is! (Rick Steves told us that it is UK’s busiest port!) It was impressive! We saw our first white cliffs and I think we were both a bit disappointed. They seemed smaller and greyer than what we were expecting! The bus stopped at the city center, which was nice, and we decided to check out the castle first. Alex stopped and grabbed lunch at the grocery store and we were off!

The castle was really well marked (thankfully!) and the uphill hike was only a 5 minute climb so it wasn’t too bad! We bought entry tickets and wandered up to the site. We saw a tour getting ready to leave for the underground hospital tunnels so we hopped in on it. It was really cool! The tunnels were made for the 2nd World War and inside was one of Dover’s hospitals. I am so thankful that I did not have to spend the war in those tunnels! The tour was only about 15 minutes long which was the perfect amount of time for it! We headed back out in the sunlight and tried to get our bearing. The views from hill were stunning and the weather was perfect as it wasn’t too hot or cold, and the breeze felt good! We looked at the map (which the wind made more difficult than it should have been) and started up to the main castle! (Mom is it a CASTLE not a fort!!!) We walked around the battlements and took in the view. It took quite awhile to make it to the castle because the views were so awesome. I was walking on a hill and noticed a chimney ahead of me, and then realized that the “hill” had a point! I was strolling on a roof of the gunpowder hold!!

When we finally made it to the castle we went through the rooms and exhibits. The furniture was a bit ridiculous. I highly doubt (and my Christies education told me) that the furniture was as crazy as was in the castle. The furniture may have been painted, but not to look like it came from pottery barn kids!! Anyways it was cool and a LOT beiger than I thought I was going to be! Not too shabby for the 12th century and I walked through rooms that Richard the Lionhearted would have been in. That is epic. (Henry VIII and Elizabeth visited the castle too!) We continued to climb the stairs and came out on the roof and the view was even better here! It sprinkled for 30 seconds, but it didn’t matter. The storm clouds added to the ambience!!

After a bit we headed back down, I bought a magnet from the store and we headed over to the Roman lighthouse and the 12th century church (there had been a church there since 1000 A.D!) We wandered around the shell of the lighthouse and Alex and I both made sure to touch it because a person living in the 2nd century AD touched the same stones! Cool! :) (it made me feel better that Al was just as big as a nerd as I am!) We went in to check out the church and that was really pretty! It had been renovated in the 19th century (and is still in use) but it was nice inside and so English! I loved the ceiling and banners hanging from the rafters!

We spotted people walking along the cliffs in the distance when we came out from the church and decided to skip the bronze age boat in the town’s museum (it was a HIKE to get there!) and decided to walk the cliffs instead. We headed back down the hill and asked a really nice man the best way to get there. He gave us directions and we were off! This is when the adventure got a bit more dangerous and adventurous. The quickest way to get there was to follow the road instead of going all the way into the town to pick up the pedestrian trail. We didn’t mind until we got to the road and read the sign that said “No Footpath for ¾ of a mile”. Ok…. We start walking and realized that it was like 474, 55 miles an hour and it was CURVY. There wasn’t any room between the pavement and the dropoff that went into the woods. Alex and I were convinced we were going to get hit. We had to keep crossing the road because of the tight curves (Alex did this reluctantly. I didn’t want to die though so I made him). Somehow we walked on the edge of the highway as cars flew past. Lets just say we were grateful when we made it to the top of the twisting hill.

Ill admit it, by this time we had been hiking up hills for 2.5 hours and I was getting tired. Thankfully the path went down to the cliffs and once they came into view I forgot my jelly legs! The cliffs were stunning and every time we thought we had seen the best of it, we would go a bit farther and would be blown away again! It is one of those places that pictures don’t do it justice. You need the wind, sun and smells to make it awesome. We spent a good 2 hours hiking up the coast and taking in the views. At 4:45 we decided we should head back to the town centre (is that the Brit way of spelling it? I think it may be…. Sorry!) to make the bus. We had been walking up and down hills for 4 hours now and I was really tired. There was no way I was telling Al though!! :) We went back on the trail away from the cliffs this time because the path didn’t go up and down so much. I am glad that we did because the horse fields were there and we got to walk with the horses! We also went in the wheat field, just to say that we had been in one!

We got back to the base of the cliff that we had come in at. Alex saw that there was a path going straight and thought we should try it. I didn’t think it went through to the city centre, but he thought it did and I didn’t want to climb the cliff so I followed him. We got to the end and got mad that it ended but I noticed that it turned and went through some brush. We kept going, turned another corner and saw a thick thicket of trees. Hmmm…. We kept going. I noticed garbage and thought of the bike path in Ashville. Around every corner I was expecting to meet a druggie or something. We didn’t thankfully! I went around the corner and stopped. Crap. Alex wanted to know what was up and I didn’t want to tell him that I was face to face to a cliff about 10 feet tall.

He caught up with me and I was trying to scale it. I stopped, came back down and we seriously debated climbing. We decided to try and Alex went first. He said no and I really wanted to climb it because I didn’t want to go all the back and walk up the cliff. He refused to go up though and I couldn’t go if he wouldn’t. So we headed back. The path was slippery and my Coach trainers were not all terrain footwear and I slipped a little. It wasn’t bad (my legs didn’t hit the ground) and I put my hand down to catch myself. There happened to be a thorn bush the size of the ones in Sleeping Beauty that Philip has to hack through (ok maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration!) but it was BIG. I just thought ow and kept going. When I was out of the thicket and back in the open in the grass path I looked down and saw that there was a thorn in my hand. I pulled it out and kept walking. Then I felt water on my hand and looked down and I was bleeding. My adventure battle wound!

To make a long story short we climbed up the cliff path and I didn’t think I would ever make it. Then we found the real path to the town and followed it down. Down was hard because my legs were jelly!! We made it to the town, found the bus stop and were 15 minutes early for the bus. Score!! I must have bad luck with buses because our bus was 45 minutes late. (the bus to Oxford was late when I went with my parents!). It must just be me! It did come though and we got back to London without any problems. We got to Willesden and Alex stopped to get dinner at a chicken place, and I got Chinese for dinner. I posted photos and went to bed! It was such a fun day!!

Today I need to do work, but this blog post has taken me forever! Im going to sit and do work tonight, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday! Alex leaves on Sunday and I am going to Windsor on Tuesday. Busy Busy!

Recruitment Day

Im so tired. So so tired. This morning I got up at 8 and was out the door at 8:40 in my dress and heels. I was off to go to Recruitment day for the CSP Olympic job and I thought that I should look somewhat presentable! I got off the tube at Wembley and headed in the general direction of the stadium. I knew that the Hilton was on the right side, but when I got to the street there was construction everywhere! (Dear construction men, there is only 9 days until the Olympics come to town. You may want to get a move on it. Love, Anna) I couldn’t go left, so I went right. I walked down the block and then wanted to go left… more construction. Gah. I walked up to the man in the green vest that was guarding the road and asked if I could walk through. He didn’t know (it was his first day) so he went to ask someone else. Apparently I could!! Sweet! I walked through and saw the Hilton! Score! 10 minutes early and everything.

I walk into the Hilton, go the reception (like my email had said) and asked where to go. The man had never heard of it. Ok then…. The concierge came up and told me it was at the other Hilton… the Wembley park one (Let me just point out that this Hilton had Wembley across the side of its building! Just saying!) He was incredibly nice and gave me directions to the other hotel. It was up the road, around the corner, and down that road. I found it and walked in and noticed right away that this was not nearly as nice as the other Hilton. That was probably why we were here!! I heard another girl ask where the CSP was so I followed her up the stairs. The table was right there so I checked in and went to sit down. I had to fill out a interview sheet with the dumbest questions on it, and then was called after 3minutes into the interview room.

I met with a really nice lady who read my answers to the interview questions, asked if I knew a language and then said (and I quote) “We call people that we want in 24 hours. You look smart so you will be getting a call”. Ok…. I guess being the best dressed one there helped! So I got a job in 45 seconds and then she sent me on my merry way. I walked out of the hotel’s door at 9:32am… like 10 minutes after I walked in! I expected to be there the entire morning! I headed home and went inside as quietly as I could. Its always fun when you have been out and about and your flat mate is still sleeping. Jealous!

I ate lunch and talked to Al when he got up. Then I headed back out to print off our bus tickets for tomorrow. This week has been so busy. Friday and Saturday will have to be work days I think!

I have thought of lots more words that I have forgotten. Here are some

Nappies are diapers
You go on a holiday not on a vacation
People use vouchers not coupons
Notes are bills (as in dollar bills)
Packages are dispatched, not shipped or delivered
A courier brings mail, not a mailman
You are keen on something if you like it
And proper is used all the time!!!

Off to Dover tomorrow. I hope it will be fun. Its supposed to rain so we shall see!

P.S the picture is of my new hat that I bought for a whopping 3 pounds! Its for when I go to visit my sister in VA and hit up the beach. This way I hope I dont burst into flames!

Wedgwood!

Today was my adventure day! I didn’t sleep very well the night before, and I didn’t fall asleep until midnight, so when my alarm went off at 5:45 I was not a happy camper. There is always that 30 seconds that I think about turning off my alarm and going back to sleep! I didn’t though and I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to go. Thankfully I had gotten out my clothes the night before so I just had to pull them on in my half-awake stupor!

I left on time and headed towards Willesden Green tube. I hopped on the train, arrived at Euston square, walked to Euston station, and was there 30 minutes earlier. Perfect. I love the feeling of standing with the crowd of commuters and watching the screens for my platform to pop up. I feel like a Londoner every time! I guy my age came up next to me and started talking to me. He thought I was crazy for being at the station at 7:30am to go to the Wedgwood Museum. After I told him where I was had been studying he said it was a little bit more understandable, but not much. He was really nice and we walked to our train together and chatted. He had two coffees… both for him because he had been at a wedding the night before and had gotten home at 1am. That makes for a rough Monday!

I sat down on the train and pulled out the ipod. The two and a half hours went by quickly with my Game of Thrones book and my pod!!! It is so weird how British the British country side looks with its green GREEN grass, sheep, and stone walls. I absolutely love it. I arrived at Stoke-On-Trent in the rain. I am getting used to the rain. I found the bus stop and realized that I had 40 minutes to wait so I went back in the train station so I could wait and stay dry! At 11:00 I went back out to the bus stop and caught the X1 to Wedgwood. I get on the bus and show the driver my plusbus pass (I bought it with my train tickets and it said any route!) He said no and asked where I was going. I said Wedgwood and he told me to just take a seat and that it didn’t matter. Nicest man ever! I said thank you and sat down.

I was riding along and realized that the bus wasn’t stopping unless someone hit the button that they wanted to get off. Uh-Oh. I was getting all worried that I was going to miss my stop when the uber nice bus man yelled “Wedgwood”! Phew. I get off the bus and realize that Im in the middle of nowhere. An old man gets off with me and then turns to ask the bus driver where to go. He point straight ahead so the old man and I start in that direction. We chat and both decide that this is the worst marked place ever. It was pouring. The old man told me to go on without him and to leave the weak and slow behind! I didn’t! I had an umbrella so we could find it together. We did eventually. At the store we parted ways. It took me awhile to figure out where the visitors center was, but I found it and went in to buy my “complete experience pass!”

It was 11:45 so the woman put me on the noon tour. I looked around the museum shop quickly and at noon went on the tour with only 4 other people!!! (2 elderly couples!) The tour was worth every penny that I spent on the entire experience pass! It was EPIC. I saw the clay, then the slip, the molds, the people scrapping the mold lines off, and then the kilns. That was all cool but the BEST part was after the kilns. I saw how the painting, gilding, and clay figures were made/applied. People make everything by hand. No wonder Wedgwood is so expensive! Then the best part was the end where we saw a man making a trial piece by hand. It’s a new tea set… it was exquisite! AND I touched it while it was still in the beginning process. So cool! The worst part was at the very very end. There was a shelf labeled “smash”. On the shelf was a couple of my very favorite teapot that sells for 175 pounds in stores (150 in the Wedgwood store!). They looked normal but they had been rejected so they would literally be smashed because Wedgwood doesn’t allow non-perfect items into the market. I wanted to rescue one of those teapots SO badly.

After the tour I went back to the visitors center and went through the museum. It was really cool but I knew a lot about Wedgwood already (I know that sounds conceited but I had an hour and a half lecture about him and his life so I had it all in my brain already!) It was fun to see the pottery develop though. At the end I was a little sick of seeing china!

After the museum I went across the car park (parking lot) to the Outlet Store!! I had been waiting for this! I walk in and the space is probably half of Sams Club and it is ALL dishes. My jaw dropped. I had the most fun shopping in there than I have EVER had in my life. (Yes that beat Black Friday) I was piling my basket with goodies. Then I looked down and decided that I had to weed through and pick things! I ended up with 3 little plates, a cup and saucer (the second to last blue on that they had!) and a large beautiful bowl that was 75% off of the 250 pound price tag. The only thing that was wrong with the stuff in the factory store was that it was LAST SEASON’S!!! Are you kidding me! Since when does jasper ware have a season?? While I was at the till I told the cashier that I wish I had worn willies and realized that I had left that out of my blog. Wellies are rain boots!

I walked out with a huge smile on my face and my bag full of Wedgwood. Then I remembered that I should take some pictures! (We weren’t allowed in the factory or the museum) I snapped some shots and decided to head to the bus stop so I would make my bus! (if I missed it I would miss my train!) I hiked back to the bus stop (it was quite a ways!) and found the one I had gotten off at. The sign said that the opposite side of the road was the bus going to the city center (duh I got that!) but there was just a curb on the other side. No sign. After freaking out slightly I looked at the timetable and noticed that the bus going the opposite way would arrive before the bus going the way I wanted to. So I stood on the wrong side to make sure that bus would stop. I didn’t notice the bus pull up, but the door opened and the bus drive said “you look lost”. I laughed and said I was and asked if I literally stood on the other side of the road or if there was a stop around the corner that I needed to stand at. He chuckled and said just stand on the other side. I thanked him and crossed the street to wait. My bus came a short while later and I get on and it’s the same driver that I had coming out!! I laughed and went up to him to pay my fare. He says “You were waiting on the wrong side of the road weren’t you?” I said “yes… how did you know?”… apparently the other bus driver had flagged him down and TOLD him that I was on the wrong side. Oh goodness. The entire bus was chuckling. He told me not to pay and I sat down in the front row, slightly embarrassed!

The rest of the journey is boring… just a train ride home! A London midland train was pulling in the station as my bus got in. It was the earlier train that I wasn’t planning on making, but I did and got into London at 6:50 (and hour earlier!) That was nice! It was a long but fun day!

P.S the first picture is of the Josiah Wedgwood statue! The second my bowl, and the third a funny sign that i saw on the way to the bus!

Pumped About the Upcoming Weeks!

Sorry for not blogging until now. My mom scolded me for my lack of posts so I decided to write one. A lot has happened since Wednesday in some regard, but my life hasn’t been all too exciting. (hence the slacking on the blog). All of the days are running together in my boring life. I read, read, and then do some more reading. I do have a detailed outline made and hopefully this coming weekend Ill start writing. Tuesday will have to be a library day. Woo.

Ok the more exciting stuff… I remember what day it was (Wed night maybe?) I received email from a company that is in charge of foot traffic in the Olympics. I basically got a job offer. To make a long, boring short I am going to go to Wembley on Wednesday for recruitment day and see what it is all about. Perhaps I will work at the Olympics after all!! I looked at the interview questions and one of them is “describe an experience with a difficult customer and how you dealt with it.” Hahaha which experience should I pick??? Chautauqua gave me so many of those experiences! Ill have to blog about everything Wednesday afternoon!

This week’s blog should be semi interesting because tomorrow Im off on an adventure! I am going to Stoke-On-Trent to go to the Wedgwood factory/museum. Al was too lame to go so Im flying solo. It should be a blast. Im so excited! Im hoping for a rejected Urn that has something tiny wrong with it that no one will notice!! My sister is so smart to remember that they may ship to the US of A!!! :) Way to think sis!

Friday night I panicked when I saw how much free time I have before my flight home to the middle of nowhere. So I bought train tickets to Windsor! I have always wanted to see the castle and right now they have a special available! For 5 extra pounds Im touring the royal kitchens!!! Im excited!! After I booked my tour, tickets and train I went searching for another adventure and I found one! For EIGHT pounds roundtrip Im going to go to the Seven Sisters Park and walk around for the day and see the famous chalk cliffs. I couldn’t believe how cheap the train tickets were. America needs to get herself some trains!!!! To end the adventures I bought one more ticket last night. I have a lot of time to kill before my game in Manchester on the 31st, so I bought a ticket to see the Lego factory and Miniland!! Im going to learn how Legos are made! And Miniland is a what it sounds like… a crazy Lego creation! I wanted to go to the Old Trafford Museum and tour but both were closed because of the Olympic game. Sigh.

So I have an exciting month coming up! I love being in London and not having class. The thesis is a bit of a damper, but if I work hard most days I can take a day here and there for adventures!

I do not want to go home, but I do need to get out of this country soon. I am having trouble talking. The British English is starting to wear off on me. Some words that I can no long say properly…. (the American is first, the British is the second)

Uninal: Ur-in-al= ur-I-nal (the stress is on the i)
Britannia: Bri-tan-nia= Bri-ton-nia (the ton is like the ton in baton)
Inventory: InvenTORY= INVENT-tory
Convert: con-vert = CON-vert
A freight train is a Fright train
There were more that I thought of… Ill think!

Phrases that I now use:
Something is on special, not on sale
You go to the till, not the checkout
You order for take away, not take out
Football is Soccer, the NFL is American football
Athletes where kits, not uniforms
Football players wear boots, not cleats
A reading pass is a library card
You wear trousers, not pants
I take the tube, not the subway. A subway is a underpass, not a train
“how can I help” instead of “how can I help you”
A sweater is a jumper
Cheers, not bye
It is a pram, not a stroller (I haven’t gotten that one yet though. I still call them strollers!)
Chips are fries. (I don’t say that chips are crisps though)
I live in a flat, not an apartment
I am letting the flat, not renting it
Things cost pounds (or quid) and pence instead of dollars and cents.
A pound is a coin, not a dollar bill. (its not weird to have 9 pounds in change!)
A timetable is a calendar.
I have tutors, not professors
Terms are semesters
You alight not get off
You mind things, not watch out (mind the gap, mind that car, etc…)
And people queue, not stand in line!

I am also drinking tea by the gallon, eat biscuits, take my umbrella everywhere, and I am used to (and beginning to like) the rain. I just wish it was a little warmer over here!! The rain though doesn’t bother me. It feels good! I am used to my 2 ring binder, and my four ring one. A4 paper is becoming the normal instead of the weird 8x11 stuff we have at home!! And Im used to the traffic and the steering wheel on the right side of the car. I may die when I go home and look to the left first instead of the right. Good think I don’t walk across many roads in Ashville! I am more used to riding in trains and coaches then a car. I haven’t been in a car since Woburn (may) and before that it was in January!

Im just being corrupt left and right! If I see you in August and say a word funny its just my British corruption! One thing I wont miss is the Brits saying Schedule. I cant type how they say it, but I cringe everytime. (watch Mary Poppins…. The father says it when he comes home. Its not as strong as it is, but its there.

The other night I read that first month of my Rome blog. What a young and ignorant thing I was back then!!! I laughed reading it, and was embarrassed that I was so worried about missing American Idol while I was in Italy. Really?? That was my main concern?? It has been fun to read and remember all the things that I had forgotten! I hope that I can have fun reading this blog sometime too. The first posts are funny now that I haven’t seen the Dragon Lady for 9 months. I still got a knot in my stomach though…. What I rough month. I look back and wonder how I made it. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger though right??? :)

Ok I need to go do work instead of rambling on about stuff to avoid the thesis! You are all probably asleep by this point anyways!!!! Ill blog tomorrow to tell you about the best pottery ever in existence. (Sevre may tied though…. Hmmm. And Meissen. Ok maybe ONE of the best!)

P.S I forgot.... the picture is of the famous Abbey Road crosswalk that the Beatles walked across for their album cover. It was so lame. That crosswalk was the only thing there. Oh besides the studio that you couldnt even go in the driveway of. It was lame.

Is it Over Yet???

I love to read. I really do, but today I read 194 pages on early tourism and 26 on turnpikes. All I do is READ! I think my eyes are going to start bleeding or something. Gah. Anyways Ill start at the beginning….

Yesterday I bought tickets to go to the Wedgwood museum in Stoke-On-Trent on Monday. Alex didn’t want to go (he is absolutely crazy) and since he is going to be in Leeds I decided to just do it and go! There is a museum, factory (that you can tour) and perhaps best of all….. a factory shop!! (complete with rejects! If they have a reject vase that would be awesome!) I am very excited! The trip will spice up my life and my blog!

This morning I was wide awake at 9 so I decided to finish my movie that I had started last night… Mary Poppins. Has anyone watched that recently?? It was WAY better than I ever remembered it being and I didn’t make the connection that it was filmed in London!! I picked up so much more than I did when I was little, and I got the English jokes and spotted English things!! I had such a fun time watching it. To make everything even better it was a free movie! Awesome.

The buzzer rang at 10 and scared me half to death! It was my books arriving from Amazon! I REALLY needed both of them so it was a nice surprise this morning. Then I got dressed and headed off to Chrisites to print stuff. That is getting so old… a 20 minute tube ride + a walk to print things. I saw Andrew in front of me so I held back until he went inside. Then I hurried to the door and ran downstairs to the library. I printed my stuff and walked out of the computer room and… ran into Andrew. You have got to be kidding me. Why am I so incredibly horrible at avoiding people???? GAH! I said hi and kinda kept shuffling along. He just opened his mouth to be annoying when someone ran up to him and started to ask him a question. That is when I snuck away!! Phew.

Since it was SUNNY outside I decided to walk down to Rymans and buy more highlighters, more paper, and more post-its. This thesis is getting expensive. (I also had to put 10 pounds on my printing credits this week) Then I kept walking to Oxford street to catch the bus home and take advantage of the sun. That is when I walked by United Colors of Benetton and saw the big yellow signs that said “70% off”!!! For those of you who don’t know… I love this store. I discovered it the first time I went to Rome with my uncle, went there all the time when I lived in Rome, always have to stop in NYC, and really didn’t have any hope of buying anything in the one here because of the exchange rate. 70% evened it out though!!! WOO! Lets just say I have a new dress (for that kick butt job Im going to find when I come home!) and I had to put so many things back. I wanted everything. If only money grew on trees….

I eventually caught the 98 home and came back. I put things away, made tea and started reading. That basically sums up my afternoon… reading. Is this over yet???

P.S the picture is of one of the many trees that the Queen owns with Buckingham in the background

THESIS THESIS THESIS!

I don’t know how many of you are Winnie the Pooh fans but there is a part in the one of the movies (or the only movie. To be honest I just watched whatever mom put in the vcr so Im not really sure) where Pooh and little Piglet are walking in the snow and Piglet thinks that they had been by a tree before. Before long they see footprints and long story short… they have been walking in circles. That is how I feel in terms of my thesis. I keep finding sources to read (which is GREAT don’t get me wrong!) but then I find a nugget of information that gets me thinking an eventually I go around in a circle and I end up near where I started and nothing has really changed except for Im all confused and have to untangle brain/thoughts. (which usually causes me to think about one thing which leads to another and the circle is starting all over again!)

I haven’t written in a day or two. Sorry! Nothing is really all that new. (Alex and I are still both alive. That’s good!) I had gone to the library yesterday to print lots of stuff so I could read. After the library though I didn’t want to go back and sit in my flat so I headed down to the river to see the Olympic rings (see facebook). Then I came 2ish and read 5 articles, skimmed 3 (they weren’t all that helpful) and started to organize my sources before falling into bed completely out of it!

Oh I did forget…. Sunday I went to Marks and Spencer’s to do my weekly shopping because I had received a gift card when my bought my piece-o-crap phone after my poor droid got stolen. Sigh. Anyways so I went to Swiss Cottage because that is where the closest one to home is at. As soon as I come up the stairs from the tube it starts POURING. Thankfully it wasn’t a long walk and I had google mapped it before I left, but nonetheless I was a drowned rat when I walked in. To make it even better I was completely underdressed for this shopping establishment. I was the only person in jeans. Apparently I should have pulled out the pencil shirt, blouse, pearls, and had a large rock on my finger. I felt so out of place! Everything was more expensive than at Sainsburys too, but I knew that was going ot be the case because I had been in a M&S on Oxford Street. I got my groceries, checked out (my basket of nothing was 20 pounds! Thankfully my gift card covered 16.50!) and headed back to the tube in the SUN. Seriously London?? I did get a (almost) free week’s worth of food though!

Speaking of food I made risotto last night with my yummy ingredients from M&S. Since all they had was organic I had organic carrots, peas, and crazy high end parm cheese. The risotto was SO good though! And I made it from memory because I had deleted the recipe from my computer. I was so proud of myself!

That is all that is new here. Today I am sitting inside AGAIN reading, making lists, and organizing my horrible mess of sources. I don’t know how they all got so out of hand!! That’s my day. At least it is gloomy out again so it feels all cozy inside while I read. Oh and I drink tea by the gallon. Its my new coffee I guess and it helps me to stay awake and focus. I don’t know what the Boston Tea Party men were thinking…. Tea is yummy stuff!!! (ok I know WHY they did it.. I’m just saying it was a waste to throw it into the water and not be able to drink it!) Speaking of the Revolution, it really helps my thesis that it happened because it caused nationalism in England and that, along with the French Revolution that made it impossible to go on their Grand Tour, inspired the tourism and travel in England. BooYah!

Ok I really need to go work!

A Break Through

I slept in for a long time today. I had one of those weird half dreams when you are trying really hard to wake up but you cant. Mine was mom yelling at me to get out of bed and do something or other!! I was very confused when I finally pried my eyes open to see my London flat! It took a minute to realize that I wasn’t in Ashville and mom was not in fact yelling at me. It was win-win on both realizations!!

Anyways I got up and headed to the post-office. I tried to exchange Al’s Bulgarian money for him but they wouldn’t. I chatted with my post office guy (I have a Sainsburys one and a Post Office one) He wanted to know if I was ready to go home yet. I told him no and that I had too much to do. He also wanted to know how my trip to Bulgaria was and if I liked it. I had to explain a few times that I didn’t go and that I was exchanging my friend’s money. I think he got it eventually!

After the post office I decided that I felt like a walk so I walked to the tube station and went to Sainsburys where…. You guessed it… I found more lego men. Oops.

I also found Olympic stickers and a really cool Britain’s top 100 historical sites to see. (when I read it I tripled my bucket list!!! The only reason that all 100 didn’t make it on the list was because I needed a car to go see them!) In line I was in front of the cutest old lady who told me her hands were really cold and then TOUCHED my bare ar. They were epically cold!! Mom I think that they may have beat yours! Her hands were only white though… they hadn’t started to turn frostbite black like yours does…! After she touched me she said “Oooo Im so sorry. That was probably a bit chilly on your arm!” A BIT?? I just laughed and said a little. She was cute.

I eventually found my way back home. Alex was up and dressed at that point and was deciding what he wanted to do. He eventually headed off to Hampton Court and I settled in to work on my thesis. I finished a book, read a chapter in another and I HAD A BREAK THROUGH! Its about time! I am going to look at the phenomena of traveling for pleasure and what allowed it (better road, carriages and the development of the middle class) and why they traveled (picturesque, nationalism, romanticism) and where (abbeys, country houses, and ruins). I only have 12,000 words including the catalog entries so I may have to narrow that down some! The picturesque may go along with the abbeys. We shall see what I dig up though while Im researching!

After that light bulb moment I skyped my parents which turned into an hour+ conversation! I then went back to work and found a ton of articles! That was basically my day. I finished my tacos tonight and I don’t want to eat one for a very long time. Oh I Robin Hood after to chill (the one with Russell Crowe) and it was eh. The only good thing about it was Russell Crowe. The movie ended with where I thought it was going to start!

Now it is time for Game of Thrones. I have been ignoring it because the characters in this book aren’t my favorite and after reading for my thesis all day I don’t want to read as much for fun!

Discovering Im Crazy On A Visit to a Crazy Persons House

I was looking back through my blog today and realized that I have posted over 200 times and basically everything is documented (I am mad at myself for not keeping up with the blog over breaks. Sigh) I cant believe how well I have kept up with this OR how many people are reading. According to my stats I had 50 pageviews today. I know that isn’t 50 people per say, but still… I didn’t know I had that large of an audience!!!

Today wasn’t all that special. I woke up at 10:30 or so and somehow dragged myself out of bed!!! I ate a cookie, made Alex decide what he wanted to do, and was off to Christies to print/make copies. We got there without any trouble and I did what I had to do while Alex basically read everything in the library. I picked out a few books while he was browsing and it was at that point that I realized how dumb I was for going to the library first. Now I had to carry 6 books around with me for the rest of our outing. Smart move.

After Chrisites we headed to the Freud Museum in Finchely Road. It was on my bucket list and Al was interested so we stopped there on the way back home. It was in a beautiful part of Finchely road with LARGE brick houses, large leafy trees and patches of grass. We found the museum and went inside. It was pretty cool. Everything was how he left it when he died which was fun. The study was the best part by far! We saw the famous couch, all of his rugs and his antiquities. It is scary though… it seems like every crazy person has a collection. His was antiquities… it was an obsession apparently. That does not bode well for me who on the way home from the museum stopped at the Sainsburys with the Lego men and bought more. (The swimmer was the only new one out of the bunch) I love having similarities to Freud and other crazy people….

After Sainsburys we headed home and ate lunch. Then I needed to read and did so for about an hour and a half. Then at 5 (well 5:03 because she was late) I FINALLY got to skype the sister!! Her trip sounded amazing and we ended up talking for a little over 2 and a half hours!! If you haven’t seen her Hawaii pictures go stalk her on facebook! They are pretty amazing!!

That was my day! Busy, but not very exciting when it comes to writing a blog post about it!!

P.S The picture is of freuds couch. I didnt take it though because photography wasnt allowed :( Oh and you can see some of his collection on the mantle. Picture 2... my collection with the new member... the swimmer! Dont you love his little speedo and cap!!!???

A Thursday

Today it was back to waking up without an alarm! I slept blissfully until 10:15, got up and folded my laundry so I could get dressed. (It’s a long story but the basics are the laundry rack didn’t fit in the living room with the couch unfolded so I stuck it in my room and it was in front of my dresser.) Then I got dressed and went out to see what Al was up to. I ate a cookie for breakfast and headed to the package claiming center to get my…. OLYMPIC TICKETS for the USA vs Korea game! WOO! I ripped them open while I was waiting for the bus. I saw that I was in row AA and hoped that was a good time.

I came home and looked up the seating chart for Old Trafford. My tier was the closest one to the field, my seating block was the one dead center, and my row… THE FIRST! I think skipping class for football tickets was the best thing that I ever did! I am front row and dead center for this game too AND the best part is that Abby Wambach and co will DEF be there for this game!

After I got over that excitement I headed down to the post office and Al came with me. I mailed dads package (his pipe from that post forever go that I had to pick up) and two surprise packages. Then we headed to Sainsburys and I got the toilet paper that I had meant to get last night (I forgot in yesterdays post to mention I went to sainsburys to get toilet paper and instead came home with chocolate and no toilet paper!) He did his shopping and got the strangest assortment of items! We then headed home and I have been reading for my thesis.

I think I am narrowing down the subject and closing in on a topic. Now I am on the travel for leisure but looking at the picturesque/county houses/landscape of Britain. We shall see!

That was my afternoon. Al just opened a CAN of mac and cheese for dinner. I was very skeptical but it looks good actually and Al says that he may even get it again. I need to make dinner (tacos) and probably do some more work tonight so I can go print/copy stuff tomorrow!

I forgot… Sunday I when I went grocery shopping (with my wallet this time thankfully!) I got swarmed by people wanting things! The homeless guy who is always there wanted me to give him money (he is so nice and polite…. I should give him a pound sometime.), some other guy was handing out flyers, a girl shoved a spa flyer at me and then inside the food shelter gave me a list of food items that they accept and that I could buy and give them on the way out. GAH! I did get a bag of rice for the food shelter and ignored everyone else. On the way out a guy bombarded me and gave me a folder with the Olympic emblem on it. I have to say… I am glad I got it and I am really impressed with the Olympic committee! The folder was stuffed with travel tips for the Olympics, both for London and Brent! (Brent is my “borough”) It is really nice, informative and helpful. No one can complain about the transportation when they spell it out so clearly!

Well that’s all that is new here!

P.S Picture one is my Olympic ticket! and Picture two is a treat i got myself at Sainsburys... raspberries and double cream. YUM!

Happy Fourth of July!

This will probably be my most unpatriotic Fourth of July celebration that I will ever have. It is also one of the best I have ever had. It beats sitting at CHQ until 11pm listening to the fireworks go off in Mayville, which seems to have been my latest Fourth celebrations! This year I was celebrating by going to the State Rooms of the monarchy that we gained our Independence from! I had a blast!

My alarm went off at 8 and I wasn’t too pleased. I kept telling myself that it was worth it and dragged myself out of bed which was pathetic because 8am isn’t THAT early!! I got dressed and ate my cereal… Wheaties in milk are gross. I end up having to choke them down halfway through my bowl. I don’t even know why I try. I was out the door at 9:10 and ready for my great adventure!! I get to the Palace and walk along the front so I can go around the far side. There was barely anyone that at all. It would have been a perfect day to see the changing of the guards! I found the entrance, stood in line for 5 minutes or so, went through security, got my audio guide and WahLah… stunning!

The State Rooms were awesome. All of them! My favorite was the blue drawing room with blue silk damask wall coverings and gold columns. I literally was cataloging everything. What a great place to do it though because everything was the top of the line!! There was a free audio guide that was really good but I checked out the furniture, ceramics and the other objects. I don’t even know how to explain it to you guys. It was overwhelmingly awesome. I would have paid double the admission price to be able to see it! After the State rooms you exit through the back and onto the gardens. That was a little disappointing! I was expecting something like Kew with flowers, or hedges or something. Nope. It was the typical English garden (without flowers though!) and it was sprinkling as I was walking out so I didn’t linger! I left the grounds and had to get back to Green Park. That was when I did a very stupid thing…. I walked back through the front of the palace. It was noon…. The guard was changing. How stupid am I?! I did manage to fight my way through the crowd and actually for a changing of the guard crowd it was a meager one!! I had a pretty good view of the entire thing as I was walking through the crowd! Where was everyone?

I did have to make a stop on the way home. I have a collecting problem (admitting it is the first step right???!!!) and I had one lego man out of 9. I needed to fix that. (yes needed to. I told you… I have a problem!) I got to Sainsburys and went to the spot where I had got it. There weren’t any left. Gasp! So I turned around to the Olympic display and searched. I found another strip of them (they were hanging from that white plastic strip on the shelving) and they had four. I bought them all. I got home and ripped them open (the only reason I waited that long was because I didn’t want to lose any precious pieces on the tube!)and I didn’t get a duplicate! I was SO lucky! I got the equestrian (who I really wanted!!) the boxing dude, the karate type of thing girl, and the sprinter to add y weightlifter too! SWEET! They came out July 1st and they were already gone on the 4th. I hope Sainsburys gets more in!

After that excitement (and it was excitement!) I straightened up my flat and cleaned a bit while I waited for Alex. He showed up at 6:45 and then I watched him decide if he wanted to go meet a friend for an hour. (everything about my high school/college years made sense to me after that hour) He did decide to go and I read some and watched Shonda Rhimes new show Scandal to see if it was good. SO far it was ok so I may try another episode if I have some down time sometime! Then I went to bed and that was my fourth of July!

P.S The picture.. a crazy lady wanted hers taken so she offered to take mine for me. She wanted to take it in front of the Queen’s Gardens… basically it’s a lawn. A nice lawn, but a lawn nonetheless!

Oops I forgot to Blog!

Sorry! Nothing really exciting has happened but both Monday and Tuesday had something more than just sitting and reading all day! Ill start with Monday….

After a weekend of sitting in my flat and tearing out my hair, I decided that I needed to get out and see the world so I would stay sane! (Well as sane and I can be at least!!) I thought I would cross something off of my London Bucket List. The V&A (sister and parents never remember so Ill just remind everyone that the V&A is the Victoria and Albert Museum) had just opened their new fashion galleries and I wanted to check them out! They are actually really well done. Kudos to the designer!! Its funny how I would wear certain things from the 20’s-40’s but as soon as you touch the 50’s-80’s…. ewww. Actually everything after the 60s (including the 90’s and the turn of the century were really interesting… not in a good way!) I saw Mr. Darcy clothes, Flapper dresses, prewar dresses, AND wool bathing suits! The style of the suits were actually ok… just the thoughts of wearing wool swimming. Doesn’t it get all soggy and saggy?? I would think so anyways!

The main exhibit of the permanent collection was free and was I wasn’t going to go to the Ball gown exhibit (it was 7 pounds) but when I was wandering through the clothes I was in the mood and decided to get a ticket. The exhibit was just ok mainly because the dress were…. eh. For me the bigger the skirt the better (that’s the fun part after all!! And it’s a BALL dress!) They were showing all different types (the horror!) There were SOME awesome ones, a few good ones and a whole lot of ugly ones. I did the clutch purse and shoe windows though! Upstairs was really awesome in terms of design and display. The dresses were up on these bubble things and dated from 2000 and onwards. They were the worst ones! What has happened to fashion??? Geez!

That was basically it for Monday! Yesterday (Tuesday) wasn’t all that exciting. I cleaned EVERYTHING, did the laundry, cleaned myself, and vacuumed. That actually took a lot of the day up! What really took the majority of the day was shopping for flights. Oh my goodness. It is NOT easy! All those “cheap” sites (expedia, cheapoair, kayak, skyscanner and holiday genie) were more expensive than the actual carrier sites. (except for Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines. Their prices were just CRAZY!) It was down to the 17th or the 21st. THEN I went to Aer Lingus (the Irish) One Last Time and ended up getting a flight cheaper to Boston and then a uber cheap (half the price of NYC-Buffalo) JetBlue flight. SO after all of that Ill be in Buffalo at 8pm on August 20th. Im so excited and Im so not!

That was pretty much all you missed Monday and Tuesday. I told you my life is boring! Oh and no email about a due date yet for my thesis. Why would they tell us something as insignificant as that??

P.S The photo is of the wool bathing suits! More on facebook for those who are interested (but none of the ballgowns are there because photos werent allowed)