Saturday December 10, 2011
So it is my last night in London and I am sitting in my room looking at two packed suitcases. I feel like I just unpacked them to start my journey here. These past three and half months have been truly amazing and this experience has been an absolute blessing. I am so glad I was able to have this opportunity. I leave this beautiful city with tons of stories, and pictures that I cannot wait to share with everyone. The memories and friends I have made will last me a lifetime.
Thank you to my parents who were there to listen to hear me cry when I was homesick, and for being my support system even from 3,000 miles away. Thank you to everyone who read this blog and followed me on my adventures this semester.
See ya later UK...Hello USA
Liz (:
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Hampton Court Palace, Ice Bar, and Mom’s Visit!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Hampton Court Palace
My friend from home, Anna came to visit me for a few days. While she was here we went to Hampton Court Palace where King Henry the 8th lived. Anna is fascinated by King Henry and his wives so she really enjoyed it. We walked all around the palace grounds, it was quite confusing…we got lost a few times. My favorite parts were the gardens; all of the trees, the fountains, and the flowers were so pretty. We went to Hampton Court right when it opened so we wouldn’t have to wait in long lines. The weather was a bit overcast and cold so not many people were there. However there were about 5 or 6 school field trips going on; there were kids running around all over the place. It was funny to think not so long ago I was that young going on field trips and now I am 21 getting ready to come home after living in London for 3 months. Crazy. We headed home to relax before the Ice Bar that night.
Ice Bar
On Monday night there was a group of about 20 of us ready to go to Ice Bar. Ice Bar is exactly what it sounds like, a bar fully made of ice. It is a very popular attraction in London; we had to make reservations a few days in advance. When we walked in they gave us these big blue cloaks with furry hoods. The cloaks also had gloves attached to them; even the glasses they gave you to drink out of were made of ice. You are only allowed to stay in the bar for about 45 minutes because it is so cold!! It was so much fun, the concept is really cool. We all felt and looked like Eskimos.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Mom’s Arrival
I was SO excited to see my mom. I see her on Skype at least 2-3 times a week but seeing her in person was so great after 3 months! We had a very busy 4 days ahead of us so we got started right away. We shopped a bit on Wednesday, and then went into the National Portrait Gallery. Wednesday night we went to dinner and then saw The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in Covent Garden. Seeing The Lion King on stage was amazing. It was unlike anything I had ever seen; it gave me the chills. I highly recommend it to men and women of all ages, you will not be disappointed.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday morning we went to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye. The London Eye was very cool. It is like a large enclosed ferris wheel where you can see the whole city of London for miles. After seeing those sights we headed back to the hotel, we had to get ready to catch our train to Paris. We got to Paris at about 7:00 pm. After we checked into our hotel we went straight to the Champs Elysee. It was so gorgeous; the entire street was lit up for Christmas. Every tree had 3 rings of neon colored lights; they looked like they were floating around the tree trunk. We ate dinner which unfortunately was not Turkey; but we were in Paris so I am not complaining!
The weather was overcast Thursday and Friday, the fog was so thick that we couldn’t even see the top of the Eiffel Tower!! Friday we went to the Musee D’Orsay which houses Renoir, and Monet. My mom was in heaven at this museum. We then went to Notre Dame which was absolutely gorgeous. Then we went on the hunt for Longchamp bags (my main mission in Paris). Two train rides and 45 minutes later we found the store where we waited in line for what seemed like for ev er.
After we got the bags we were happy and hungry campers. We took the train back to our hotel and sat down to grab lunch. Unfortunately we had misread our train tickets and it left 2 hours earlier than we thought. We sat down to eat at 2, our train was at 3. We cancelled our order, panicked a little bit, and then grabbed a cab to the train station. We made our train about ten minutes before it left!! As my mom says “God was on our side that day.”
Saturday November 26, 2011
We decided to do a Hop on Hop off bus tour; it’s the easiest way to see all the sights in London. We went to the Winston Churchill War Rooms which is now my favorite museum that I have ever been to. It was my second time there because I had gone with my history class. It has so much to see and do. I have a newfound obsession with Winston Churchill. I was also really excited for my mom to see the Tower of London which has the Crown Jewels. There happened to be a guided tour starting right as we arrived at the Tower. Our tour guide was extremely informative and very funny! I had been there before, but it was my first time taking a tour. After the Tower we headed to Buckingham Palace and then to Harrods.
It was a jam packed few days but we had a blast!! It was so great to show her what has been my home for the past 3 months. As of Thursday December 1, I am done with classes and finals! I come home in less than 2 weeks and I still can’t believe it.
More adventures coming soon (:
Liz
 |
| Everyone at Ice Bar..chilly |
 |
| Harrods lit up! |
 |
| Tucked into the Gardens at Hamptpn Court Palace |
 |
| Hampton Court Palace |
 |
| Caitlin and I with Harrods Bear |
Friday, November 4, 2011
Passport to Paris
Friday October 28
“The Eiffel Tower”
After our two hour ride on the Euro Star (the Euro Star is the train that goes all over Europe) we had finally arrived in Paris. We checked into the Hotel de Paris aka Hotel from Hell. This was literally the most disgusting hotel I have ever seen. Our room smelled awful, there was no shower curtain, and the sheets were stained. I could go on forever, but I won’t bore you with the details. Lisa, Caitlin, Johnny and I shared a room. We wanted to get out of there the moment we arrived. So we dropped our bags and headed to the Eiffel Tower. It is so amazing to look at in real life; all the pictures and images you see on television do not do it justice. Caitlin and I kept thinking about the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen twins’ movie “Passport to Paris.” We quoted it most of the weekend. It was around 4:30 5ish when we got in line to climb to the top. All of us wanted to say we climbed to the stop so we opted for the stairs instead of the 2 minute elevator ride (not to mention it was cheaper to take the stairs too). We waited in line for about a half an hour, and then began our trek up the stairs. 700 stairs to be exact; at about 200 we took a break and walked around and watched the sunset. It was definitely one of the best sunsets I have ever seen for sure. As the sun sets you see all of the buildings and streets start to light up it was so pretty!! The sun set and we continued up 500 more steps. Once you reach 700 you can’t take any more stairs; you must take an elevator up, it is about a 20 second ride. When we reached the very top, we were all speechless…it was an amazing view of the city. City of Lights is absolutely the right name for Paris because the lights were so pretty and they were all twinkling, especially from so high up. After about 20 minutes of ooing and ahhing at the view, we were starving and dreading our 700 step walk down. As we neared the bottom our legs began to feel like Jell-o. We walked to the closest restaurant and had a much needed long sit at dinner. Then we headed back to the hotel to relax and rest up for Saturday.
Saturday October 29
“The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees”
I really thought the line at the Louvre was going to be really long, and that we would be waiting there for hours. We waited in line for a total of five minutes and did not have to pay since we are students studying in Europe which was a nice surprise. The museum is SO big; there are so many wings and hallways, and exhibits. You definitely need a full day if you wanted to go all over the museum. We basically just wanted to see the Mona Lisa, which isn’t even that great in person (sorry art lovers). It was really small, and the area around it was so crowded that it wasn’t even really enjoyable to look at. We walked around for about an hour, and then decided it was time to go.
I really thought the line at the Louvre was going to be really long, and that we would be waiting there for hours. We waited in line for a total of five minutes and did not have to pay since we are students studying in Europe which was a nice surprise. The museum is SO big; there are so many wings and hallways, and exhibits. You definitely need a full day if you wanted to go all over the museum. We basically just wanted to see the Mona Lisa, which isn’t even that great in person (sorry art lovers). It was really small, and the area around it was so crowded that it wasn’t even really enjoyable to look at. We walked around for about an hour, and then decided it was time to go.
The Champs Elysees was really cool, there were so many shops that Caitlin and I couldn’t afford but loved looking at such as the Louis Vuitton store. However Caitlin, Johnny, and I relived our childhood and hung out in the Disney store for a while…it’s the same in every country in case you were wondering. We also dragged Johnny into the biggest Sephora store Caitlin and I had ever seen he was a trooper. Finally we made it all the way to the end of the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Again pictures and television don’t do it justice. It was such a unique structure and the ceiling of it was like looking at an optical illusion. We headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. Caitlin and I enjoyed dinner very much because they put gummy bears and glow sticks in our cocktails, it was so weird but awesome at the same time.
Sunday October 30
“Notre Dame”
Notre Dame was gorgeous inside and out. Disney did a fabulous job of depicting it in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip because the moment after I asked “Where’s Quasimodo?!” the bells started to ring, it was so funny. The stained glass windows were the prettiest windows ever. It was easy to tell what the stories were depicting because the pictures were very detailed. We took the Euro Star back to London Sunday night and crashed, we were exhausted. Caitlin and I then watched Passport to Paris and said oh we've been there and there we are such little girls.
Overall my trip to Paris was so much fun. I can’t wait to back at Thanksgiving with my mom! Staying in London this weekend….My friends and I have a few day trips in England that we are planning for the rest of the semester. It is coming to an end very quickly, so bittersweet!!
More adventures coming soon!
Liz (:
 |
| In front of the Eiffel Towe |
 |
| Caitlin and I in front of The Louvre |
 |
| Caitlin, Johnny, and I in front of the Arc de Triomphe |
 |
| Notre Dame |
 |
| Eiffel Tower by night |
 |
| Wishing I was 5 years old again so I could have bought this in the Disney Store |
Monday, October 24, 2011
Ciao Bella!! Fall Break in Italy Part Three
Thursday October 20
“Rome”
Another train ride and we were in Rome. Our hotel was 2 blocks from the main train station Termini which was very convenient. We got to our hotel and wasted no time. We did another Hop on Hop off tour of Rome. We “hopped off” at the Trevi Fountain; I am in love with this fountain. I could sit there all day. It was absolutely amazing. We got back on the bus and just kind of familiarized ourselves with the area. We saw all the major sites on the bus and planned to get off the bus to do more sightseeing on Friday.
Thursday night we did a pub crawl which was so much fun!! It was 15 Euro for open bar for the first hour and a half. You also got a free t-shirt!! If you know me well; you know my love for t shirts…so excited. It was tons of fun and all of the people on the pub crawl were Americans which was cool. Most were studying in Rome and then there were a bunch of boys from the US Air Force that were on vacation in Italy who happened to be stationed in London, one boy was from North Reading, MA….small world.
Friday October 21
“Sightseeing”
We bought this thing called the Roma Pass which is good for three days and it gets you free use of public transportation and entrance to 2 museums for FREE. SO worth it, if you ever go to Rome get it, only 25 Euro.
Arielle and I went to the Capitoline museum. It is the museum that houses the famous She Wolf statue. It was a really cool museum; there were so many outdoor courtyards, and hidden hallways and rooms to go in. The other statue that Arielle was happy to see was of Marcus Aurelius on his horse. The statue was originally all Gold. The legend is that once all of the Gold chips off the statue…Rome will fall. So they moved the original into the museum, and where it used to be in center entrance, there is now a replica. The original has minimal amounts of Gold left, but I am pretty sure Rome will be around even if it chips.
We were then off to the Colosseum . It was closed to go inside which was unfortunate, but it was still amazing to look at from the outside. There were so many men dressed as Trojans it was really funny. We took a bunch of pictures and then went back to my favorite place….the Trevi Fountain. We grabbed lunch and then headed back to the capital building. We ended up back in front of the capital building and we went and looked at the sunset over the Roman ruins which were really pretty. Then it was time for our adventure….we didn’t know which bus to take so we kind of rode a bunch of buses until we got to where wanted to be.
We stayed in Friday night because we had a big day Saturday.
Saturday October 22
“Vatican City”
We signed up for a full day tour of the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. Our tour guides name was Stefano. He was very intelligent; he had his PhD in Art History. He was extremely informative and really nice. The Vatican museums were filled with amazing sculptures, paintings, tapestries etc. It was kind of overwhelming, yet completely amazing at the same time. It is said that if you want to stop and look at every single piece of art in the Vatican it would take you a full 8 months. Everything was art, the floor was all marble mosaics, and the ceilings were painted with the prettiest pictures I have ever seen.
Stefano likes to say the Recycling began in Rome because a majority of the floors were recycled marble from ancient Roman homes and palaces. The museums were great, but the thing that Arielle, Andrea and I were most excited about was the Sistine Chapel. Words cannot even describe it, and pictures do not do it justice. I still can’t believe I had the amazing opportunity to see it. There were guards making sure no one was taking pictures, which didn’t stop people. And if it got to loud they would tell people to be quiet, it is still an active place of worship for the Pope. We were in there for a good half hour while Stefano pointed out important parts of the masterpiece. Arielle, Andrea, and I want to go back with beach chairs and just lay and look up at it for a whole day. Our necks started to hurt, there is just so much to see! It is so amazing.
After the chapel we went to St. Peter’s Basilica. Another gorgeous site, the marble was so pretty. The altar was one of the prettiest things I have ever seen. Clearly I have seen a lot of pretty things this trip haha. We then went outside where we got a great view of the Pope’s Palace. Stefano pointed out which room was his bedroom. We also saw the chimney that blows the smoke when they are electing a new Pope.
My trip to the Vatican was definitely one of the highlights in my life never mind this semester. We were dead tired by the end of the tour. It was a total of about 6 hours and 4 miles. It was amazing, still in shock.
That night we had planned to go to the Hard Rock Café but it was too long of a wait so we went this cute little place called Pepperoni’s. We happened to be only a few blocks from the Trevi Fountain. I was SO excited….we went and ate gelato by the fountain when it was all lit up. Gelato and the Trevi Fountain was a fabulous way to end a fabulous week.
I have a new love for art after traveling with art history lovers all week. It was one of the best vacations of my life. The food, the people, the history, and all the sights…simply amazing.
Off to Paris this weekend….rough life right?
More adventures coming soon! (:
Liz*
 |
| Duomo de Milano |
 |
| 468 steps up to see the amazing view of Florence |
 |
| Gelato=Heaven in your mouth |
 |
| Just hanging out at the Colosseum |
 |
| In front of St. Peter's Basilica |
 |
| Vatican Courtyard |
 |
| Trevi Fountain by night |
 |
| In front of the Trevi Fountain |
Ciao Bella!! Fall Break in Italy Part Two
Tuesday October 18
"Florence"
We took the train from Milan to Florence. All 3 of us were super excited because we all have heard how beautiful it is. Well we heard right. From the moment we walked out of the train station we had smiles, all the buildings and restaurants were SO cute and pretty. The hotel was only about a ten minute walk from the train station. Our hotel was so fabulous. The concierge man was a gem. He was so welcoming and gave us directions and sights to see in Florence right when we got there and he booked us two musesum visits within 20 minutes of being there. We made reservations at the Academia Gallery and the Ufizzi. Reserving tickets is much easier...skipping the lines was fabulous. We had a lot of time to kill before we went the Academia Gallery so we decided to climb the dome of the Duomo in Florence.
468 steps later we made it to the top. It was so worth the pain in our legs and feet though; the view was breath taking. You could see all of Florence all the way up to the mountains. We sat up there for about 45 minutes just taking it all in, admiring the view and taking pictures. When were making our way to the stairs to leave the funny/scariest thing happened. There was a line to go down the stairs because people are coming up so its basically the patient game; waiting until theres a break in people to head down. This little boy had to be about 6 or 7 comes up the stairs and sees the view at the top step and just screams "THIS IS AWESOME!" His parents were still at the bottom, all of us around him were laughing hysterically it was so funny. THEN he goes to like climb the poles that are seperating the dome platform from the roof. 10 people must have screamed stop because we all thought he was going to go right over the fence and plunge to his death. His parents came running up and he still had the biggest smile on his face.
After we made the climb down the stairs our legs were shaking a little bit. Then we made our way over to the Academia Gallery. The museum was really cool, the ultimate reason we went there was to see the famous Michel Angelo's Statue of David. It is HUGE in real life, I didn't realize how big it actually was. Arielle and Andrea both have taken art history courses so they were in heaven. I thought Arielle was going to faint. It was a pretty amazing sculpture though, I would definitely go back and see it again.
That night we went to dinner and once again had amazing food. I don't think it is possible to have a bad meal in Italy seriously. After that we went to this bar called Astor. It is the bar where they filmed Jersey Shore. It was 2 for 1 Tuesdays which was fabulous. The drinks were good and so was the music. It was a great way to end our first night in Florence.
Wednesday October 19
"Festival de Gelato"
Wednesday we walked all around the city. Florence is fairly small so you can get to almost everywhere by foot. We went to these really pretty gardens where there sculptures, and statues all over the place. It was really pretty; there were a lot of students there with sketch books drawing. The view from the upper part of the gardens was also really pretty. My knees were throbbing still from the hike up the 468 stairs. The girls went in to the Ufizzi museum and I opted out and sat by the model of the sculpture of David and people watched. It was very entertaining actually. We headed back to the hotel to rest before we went to dinner. After dinner we went to the Festival de Gelato, it was just a Gelato place but it had every flavor known to man. It was SO good, I could eat it all day long.
Florence was a gorgeous city. There were a lot of Americans there too. The University of Florence is a big study abroad destination, we saw several American college students. I loved Florence I would go back in a heartbeat. It was so much fun and there was so many things to see and do.
Our next and final stop was Rome...
"Florence"
We took the train from Milan to Florence. All 3 of us were super excited because we all have heard how beautiful it is. Well we heard right. From the moment we walked out of the train station we had smiles, all the buildings and restaurants were SO cute and pretty. The hotel was only about a ten minute walk from the train station. Our hotel was so fabulous. The concierge man was a gem. He was so welcoming and gave us directions and sights to see in Florence right when we got there and he booked us two musesum visits within 20 minutes of being there. We made reservations at the Academia Gallery and the Ufizzi. Reserving tickets is much easier...skipping the lines was fabulous. We had a lot of time to kill before we went the Academia Gallery so we decided to climb the dome of the Duomo in Florence.
468 steps later we made it to the top. It was so worth the pain in our legs and feet though; the view was breath taking. You could see all of Florence all the way up to the mountains. We sat up there for about 45 minutes just taking it all in, admiring the view and taking pictures. When were making our way to the stairs to leave the funny/scariest thing happened. There was a line to go down the stairs because people are coming up so its basically the patient game; waiting until theres a break in people to head down. This little boy had to be about 6 or 7 comes up the stairs and sees the view at the top step and just screams "THIS IS AWESOME!" His parents were still at the bottom, all of us around him were laughing hysterically it was so funny. THEN he goes to like climb the poles that are seperating the dome platform from the roof. 10 people must have screamed stop because we all thought he was going to go right over the fence and plunge to his death. His parents came running up and he still had the biggest smile on his face.
After we made the climb down the stairs our legs were shaking a little bit. Then we made our way over to the Academia Gallery. The museum was really cool, the ultimate reason we went there was to see the famous Michel Angelo's Statue of David. It is HUGE in real life, I didn't realize how big it actually was. Arielle and Andrea both have taken art history courses so they were in heaven. I thought Arielle was going to faint. It was a pretty amazing sculpture though, I would definitely go back and see it again.
That night we went to dinner and once again had amazing food. I don't think it is possible to have a bad meal in Italy seriously. After that we went to this bar called Astor. It is the bar where they filmed Jersey Shore. It was 2 for 1 Tuesdays which was fabulous. The drinks were good and so was the music. It was a great way to end our first night in Florence.
Wednesday October 19
"Festival de Gelato"
Wednesday we walked all around the city. Florence is fairly small so you can get to almost everywhere by foot. We went to these really pretty gardens where there sculptures, and statues all over the place. It was really pretty; there were a lot of students there with sketch books drawing. The view from the upper part of the gardens was also really pretty. My knees were throbbing still from the hike up the 468 stairs. The girls went in to the Ufizzi museum and I opted out and sat by the model of the sculpture of David and people watched. It was very entertaining actually. We headed back to the hotel to rest before we went to dinner. After dinner we went to the Festival de Gelato, it was just a Gelato place but it had every flavor known to man. It was SO good, I could eat it all day long.
Florence was a gorgeous city. There were a lot of Americans there too. The University of Florence is a big study abroad destination, we saw several American college students. I loved Florence I would go back in a heartbeat. It was so much fun and there was so many things to see and do.
Our next and final stop was Rome...
Ciao Bella!! Fall Break in Italy Part One
Sunday October 16
"Milan"
Waking up was a struggle but I slowly but surely got my stuff together and caught a 3:30AM bus to the airport. After waiting in the airport for a few hours, boarded my flight to Milan. I slept most of the way, until this baby woke up the whole plane and would not stop crying (there should be an age limit for kids on flights, just saying.) Landed in Milan and waited for Andrea and Arielle for about 3 hours, they were coming from Prauge. We took the bus from the airport to the train station, where we then got a taxi to our hotel.
I was beyond tired so I took a nap when we got to our hotel. The rooms in European hotels are so different than in the states. A double room is two twin beds. However the beds in Milan were the most comfortable out of all three cities. They were more comfortable than my bed in my dorm at Regents in London. That night we went down town to get dinner; all of the restaurants along this one strip had a really cool concept. You buy one drink whether its alcohol or soda and it's 8 Euro...then there is this huge buffet set up and you can get all the food you want. But the way it was set up was like you were at a cookout. There were paper plates, plastic utensils etc. Then at 10:00pm they start charging you for meals and the buffet is taken away. It was cool, and the food was really good.
Monday October 17
"Hop on Hop off Milano"
We didn't really know what was in Milan, us being typical girls just knew that it was the Fashion Capital of the world. We decided to do a Hop on Hop Off tour; you get on the bus and listen to headphones about the history and sites about the city. You can then get on and off at any stops you want to. We got off at the Duomo de Milan; it was this absolutely gorgeous cathedral. It was so big, and the architecture was amazing. Inside was just as pretty. Outside of the Duomo was this big open area with a bunch of people and pigeons. Literally there were so many pigeons, these men were walking around with bird seed in their hands asking if we wanted to feed them! Ummm no? It was so gross...little kids would take the bird seed and have literally 2 pigeons on each arm, who would let their kid do that? Then there were these other guys giving away little string bracelets. They look like friendship bracelets, and they are supposed to bring you luck. The men that were giving them out were from Africa and asked where we were from and when we said the US they would High Five us and say OBAMA! It was so funny. Then they would ask you for a donation. The bracelets are cute though, I got two but didn't donate....sorry.
After doing the bus tour all day we went back to our hotel and relaxed a bit before grabbing a late dinner. We went to this small place by our hotel, literally had the best pizza EVER. The best sauce and cheese omg I am hungry just thinking about it as I write this. Overall Milan was good, there was graffiti all over the city though, more than the typical amount you would expect to see. It was really dirty and I don't know if I would plan a trip back there. I mean it was nice but Florence and Rome were so much better.
I am breaking this into 3 parts...1 for each city (:
"Milan"
Waking up was a struggle but I slowly but surely got my stuff together and caught a 3:30AM bus to the airport. After waiting in the airport for a few hours, boarded my flight to Milan. I slept most of the way, until this baby woke up the whole plane and would not stop crying (there should be an age limit for kids on flights, just saying.) Landed in Milan and waited for Andrea and Arielle for about 3 hours, they were coming from Prauge. We took the bus from the airport to the train station, where we then got a taxi to our hotel.
I was beyond tired so I took a nap when we got to our hotel. The rooms in European hotels are so different than in the states. A double room is two twin beds. However the beds in Milan were the most comfortable out of all three cities. They were more comfortable than my bed in my dorm at Regents in London. That night we went down town to get dinner; all of the restaurants along this one strip had a really cool concept. You buy one drink whether its alcohol or soda and it's 8 Euro...then there is this huge buffet set up and you can get all the food you want. But the way it was set up was like you were at a cookout. There were paper plates, plastic utensils etc. Then at 10:00pm they start charging you for meals and the buffet is taken away. It was cool, and the food was really good.
Monday October 17
"Hop on Hop off Milano"
We didn't really know what was in Milan, us being typical girls just knew that it was the Fashion Capital of the world. We decided to do a Hop on Hop Off tour; you get on the bus and listen to headphones about the history and sites about the city. You can then get on and off at any stops you want to. We got off at the Duomo de Milan; it was this absolutely gorgeous cathedral. It was so big, and the architecture was amazing. Inside was just as pretty. Outside of the Duomo was this big open area with a bunch of people and pigeons. Literally there were so many pigeons, these men were walking around with bird seed in their hands asking if we wanted to feed them! Ummm no? It was so gross...little kids would take the bird seed and have literally 2 pigeons on each arm, who would let their kid do that? Then there were these other guys giving away little string bracelets. They look like friendship bracelets, and they are supposed to bring you luck. The men that were giving them out were from Africa and asked where we were from and when we said the US they would High Five us and say OBAMA! It was so funny. Then they would ask you for a donation. The bracelets are cute though, I got two but didn't donate....sorry.
After doing the bus tour all day we went back to our hotel and relaxed a bit before grabbing a late dinner. We went to this small place by our hotel, literally had the best pizza EVER. The best sauce and cheese omg I am hungry just thinking about it as I write this. Overall Milan was good, there was graffiti all over the city though, more than the typical amount you would expect to see. It was really dirty and I don't know if I would plan a trip back there. I mean it was nice but Florence and Rome were so much better.
I am breaking this into 3 parts...1 for each city (:
Monday, September 26, 2011
St. Paul's Cathedral & Stonehenge
Tuesday September 19
"St. Paul's Cathedral"
Saturday Septemeber 26
"Stonehenge and Salisbury"
More adventures coming soon (:
Liz*
"St. Paul's Cathedral"
Another place where I wish they would let you take pictures.
St. Paul's Cathedral has been my favorite field trip with my history class so far. Our tour guide was named Peter; He was the cutest little old man! He loved talking with us about the cathedral and all of it's history. Peter was so informative and didn't leave anything out. He also informed us that he is traveling to the US in a few weeks to go to Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire to see some friends. He was so funny; Peter kept asking the girl from Maine if she had been to this small Chinese restaurant called TinTin, it was what he looked forward to every year. Our group couldn't help but laugh because he got the biggest smile on his face when she said she had been there!!
St. Paul's is the most beautiful church I have ever been in in my entire life. Every statue, and carving had such gorgeous intriquite detail. Sir Christopher Wren was the architect who designed and built the cathedral from 1675-1710. He is buried in the Crypt of the cathedral today. My favorite part of the tour was sitting in the Quire area. This is where the Bishop and choir sits. The murals on the ceiling of this section were aboslutely amazing. There were three huge circles; the first one depicted the fish in the ocean, the second one depicted the birds in the sky, and the third was of exotic animals from all over the world. These mosaics were breathtaking; The artist who painted them was Sir William Richmond.
Still in shock that I walked down the aisle Princess Diana walked down on her wedding day. We were told that Prince Charles loved St. Paul's so much that he insisted that they get married there instead of Westminster Abbey. I literally got goosebumps when walking down the aisle as did some of my friends.
"Stonehenge and Salisbury"
Now I can say I have been to one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Stonehenge was really cool. We were there for about 45 minutes to an hour. There were tons of people taking pictures and the stones were blocked off by ropes. We all wanted someone to jump over the ropes just to see what would happen to them haha!! The reason why Stonehenge is such a popular tourist attraction is because there is really no evidence of how the stones got there.
"Was Stonehenge a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar? How did our ancestors manage to carry the mighty stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure? "
After Stonehenge we went to the medieval town of Salisbury. We walked around and went into the Salisbury Cathedral and learned about the Magna carta. After that we went into a pub and I finally ordered fish&chips. It was pretty delicious. The rest of the time we just walked around, went into some shops and waited for our bus to come. It was a pretty relaxing day with some history and edcuation thrown in there.
Liz*
 |
| So I couldn't take pictures of my own...but I stole this off the website Quire area (my fav!) |
 |
| Stonehenge |
 |
| Salisbury Cathedral...Pretty arches (: |
Monday, September 19, 2011
Kiss Me I'm Irish...weekend trip to Dublin
Friday September 16:
"The scene from Home Alone"
Our flight was at 6:40 am, however the airport is over an hour away so we booked a bus to pick us up at 4:15. We get to the bus stop and the bus is not only late, but the driver says he has no more seats!! 6 girls with no coffee in their system yet at 4:30 in the morning is not a pretty sight...especially when we think we are going to miss our flight. We freaked out for about 5 minutes and then a van cab was driving by and we chased it down. We told him to drive as fast as he could, he laughed and then stepped on the gas. Luckily we made it to the airport in one piece. After checking into our flight, we looked at the security line and began to panic because it was so long. It was moving quickly though, as we finish going through security we hear our flight being paged that it is boarding. All 6 of us start sprinting!! By the time we got to the gate we were panting and out of breath. We looked like the family from Home Alone no joke.
We were so thankful when we arrived in Dublin! The Guinness Storehouse Factory was the first thing on our list of things to do. It was really fun, and wicked interesting to learn about how this famous beer is brewed and how the company came to be etc. At the end of the tour everyone ends up at the Gravity Bar. It is on the top floor where you see an amazing view of Dublin. You can see the whole city, it was awesome. And of course the free pint of Guinness they give you is an added bonus (:
After the tour we went to a small pub for lunch and headed back to our hostel to get some rest. Our hostel was really nice...very modern. The only thing that had all of us scratching our heads was the Anime mural on our wall in our room. We still are questioning it today.
My friend Alena and I headed out a little earlier because we wanted to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and Dublin Castle. Everything was in walking distance from our hostel which was so nice, and saved us money! St. Patrick's Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous. It was just about dusk when we headed out, so the way it looked against the changing sky was amazing.
Dublin Castle was closed off because they were shooting a movie!! They wouldn't even let us take pictures. It was a famous Indian actor, apparently he was a big Bollywood star. The castle looked so pretty lit up at night. We stood and acted like tourists for a few minutes and then headed to the pub.
Saturday September 17
Trinity College and St. Stephen's Green
Walking through the arch at Trinity College was so pretty. We walked in and there was a wedding party coming out and taking pictures. It was really funny for them because they walked out and all these strangers were staring at them. They cheered and thanked the crowd. The architecture at Trinity was so pretty the campus was very welcoming. We headed over to St. Stephen's Green after leaving Trinity; it started to rain though so we ducked in to the National Gallery of Ireland for a few minutes to stay dry. It ended up being free so we walked around the European Painters exhibit. When the rain stopped we headed back out. St. Stephen's Green was a very picturesque park, there was a statue of Oscar Wilde laid back on a rock. People wanted a picture with it but no one was brave enough to climb up the rock except for me. They were looking at me in shock as to how I made it up there...it really wasn't that hard.
After a long day of sightseeing we went to the Porterhouse Brewing Co. Pub. The food and beer were so delicious. Everyone is preparing for Arthur's Day on September 22. It is Arthur Guinness's Birthday so there is a celebration in about every pub in Ireland. There were signs everywhere, banners, coasters, and billboards promoting this event. People said that it is almost as big as St. Patrick's Day.
Overall my trip to Ireland was a success and I will definitely go back!! My goal is to make it there at some point in my life on St. Patrick's Day.
More adventures coming soon (:
Liz
"The scene from Home Alone"
Our flight was at 6:40 am, however the airport is over an hour away so we booked a bus to pick us up at 4:15. We get to the bus stop and the bus is not only late, but the driver says he has no more seats!! 6 girls with no coffee in their system yet at 4:30 in the morning is not a pretty sight...especially when we think we are going to miss our flight. We freaked out for about 5 minutes and then a van cab was driving by and we chased it down. We told him to drive as fast as he could, he laughed and then stepped on the gas. Luckily we made it to the airport in one piece. After checking into our flight, we looked at the security line and began to panic because it was so long. It was moving quickly though, as we finish going through security we hear our flight being paged that it is boarding. All 6 of us start sprinting!! By the time we got to the gate we were panting and out of breath. We looked like the family from Home Alone no joke.
We were so thankful when we arrived in Dublin! The Guinness Storehouse Factory was the first thing on our list of things to do. It was really fun, and wicked interesting to learn about how this famous beer is brewed and how the company came to be etc. At the end of the tour everyone ends up at the Gravity Bar. It is on the top floor where you see an amazing view of Dublin. You can see the whole city, it was awesome. And of course the free pint of Guinness they give you is an added bonus (:
After the tour we went to a small pub for lunch and headed back to our hostel to get some rest. Our hostel was really nice...very modern. The only thing that had all of us scratching our heads was the Anime mural on our wall in our room. We still are questioning it today.
My friend Alena and I headed out a little earlier because we wanted to see St. Patrick's Cathedral and Dublin Castle. Everything was in walking distance from our hostel which was so nice, and saved us money! St. Patrick's Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous. It was just about dusk when we headed out, so the way it looked against the changing sky was amazing.
Dublin Castle was closed off because they were shooting a movie!! They wouldn't even let us take pictures. It was a famous Indian actor, apparently he was a big Bollywood star. The castle looked so pretty lit up at night. We stood and acted like tourists for a few minutes and then headed to the pub.
Saturday September 17
Trinity College and St. Stephen's Green
Walking through the arch at Trinity College was so pretty. We walked in and there was a wedding party coming out and taking pictures. It was really funny for them because they walked out and all these strangers were staring at them. They cheered and thanked the crowd. The architecture at Trinity was so pretty the campus was very welcoming. We headed over to St. Stephen's Green after leaving Trinity; it started to rain though so we ducked in to the National Gallery of Ireland for a few minutes to stay dry. It ended up being free so we walked around the European Painters exhibit. When the rain stopped we headed back out. St. Stephen's Green was a very picturesque park, there was a statue of Oscar Wilde laid back on a rock. People wanted a picture with it but no one was brave enough to climb up the rock except for me. They were looking at me in shock as to how I made it up there...it really wasn't that hard.
After a long day of sightseeing we went to the Porterhouse Brewing Co. Pub. The food and beer were so delicious. Everyone is preparing for Arthur's Day on September 22. It is Arthur Guinness's Birthday so there is a celebration in about every pub in Ireland. There were signs everywhere, banners, coasters, and billboards promoting this event. People said that it is almost as big as St. Patrick's Day.
Overall my trip to Ireland was a success and I will definitely go back!! My goal is to make it there at some point in my life on St. Patrick's Day.
More adventures coming soon (:
Liz
 |
| Free Guinness...I'll take it |
 |
| View of Dublin the from the Gravity Bar |
 |
| Trinity College |
 |
| St. Partick's Cathedral |
 |
| Oscar Wilde and myself |
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Tower of London and Changing of the Guards
Tuesday September 6th:
"Tower of London"
This week my Social History of London class took a field trip to the Tower of London. I knew it as the place that holds the Crown Jewels. However there is so much more that went on there. It was built in the 1800s as a fortress by William the Conqueror. Since then it has been used as a palace, and a prison. Walking in the entrance was fabulous because there was an amazing view of the Tower Bridge. Our professor gave us a little history lesson and then she "let us loose." Caitlin and I exlplored the armory buildings and the torture chambers first. There were so many suits of armor lining the walls; they had some pretty short knights and kings back then.
The torture chamber was also pretty cool. We went into what was called "The Bloody Tower." I would not want to have been a prisoner in the 1800's. They had this device that literally folded up your entire body into a pretzel. It was so complex and would have been so incredibly painful. Finally we were on to what I was dying to see...THE CROWN JEWELS.
Luckily it was not that crowded, so we were able to go right in with no wait. There were several guards making sure no one was taking pictures (unfortunately). We stepped onto a slow moving sidewalk...you get about 15 seconds to look at each crown. The amount of diamonds and jems in these crowns and tiaras was mind boggling. SO MUCH BLING!! My favorite was the Imperial State Crown; It is made up of 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies. They were absolutely gorgeous head pieces, I am so glad that I was able to see them.
The Tube ride home from the Tower of London was also pretty eventful. It is supposed to be on average a 15 minute ride. However there was a signal problem, so we were on the tube for about an hour. Of course it was rush hour so the train was super crowded. Luckily we got seats. The conductor kept coming on the intercom and making announcements. Everyone was chatting so no one could really hear what he was saying. Apparently one lady really needed to hear the announcements, "Shut up!! they are making an announcement and I would like to hear what he is saying!!" There were a bunch of college aged boys at the other end of the train car and they just started laughing at her and siging quite loudly. The lady was not pleased at all; It was quite hysterical though. After the boys stopped singing it went silent. A final announcement was made that the problem was fixed; one of the singing boys then said "Did everyone hear that?!" The car uproared in laughter. Overall the hour went by fast with all of the commotion.
Saturday September 10th:
"Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guards"
The Changing of the Guards is a ceremony that happens everyday at 11:30am. It is a highly attended event, especially on a Saturday. There is tons of police on horses patrolling the area, telling people to move, and giving advice to the crowd. The police officer that was in front of us told us to "Beware of pickpockets and thieves." He told us in three different languages. The ceremony began with the royal palace gaurds marching in behind the royal palace guard band. It lasted about a half an hour; however the best part was when the band played "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie. My friends and I were so excited to hear this song. A lot of people in the crowd began to sing along with the band; everyone cheered when they finished playing. It was very entertaining and fun to watch! I was patiently waiting for Prince William and Kate to come out and greet us, but they must have been busy.
More adventures coming soon (:
Liz*
"Tower of London"
This week my Social History of London class took a field trip to the Tower of London. I knew it as the place that holds the Crown Jewels. However there is so much more that went on there. It was built in the 1800s as a fortress by William the Conqueror. Since then it has been used as a palace, and a prison. Walking in the entrance was fabulous because there was an amazing view of the Tower Bridge. Our professor gave us a little history lesson and then she "let us loose." Caitlin and I exlplored the armory buildings and the torture chambers first. There were so many suits of armor lining the walls; they had some pretty short knights and kings back then.
The torture chamber was also pretty cool. We went into what was called "The Bloody Tower." I would not want to have been a prisoner in the 1800's. They had this device that literally folded up your entire body into a pretzel. It was so complex and would have been so incredibly painful. Finally we were on to what I was dying to see...THE CROWN JEWELS.
Luckily it was not that crowded, so we were able to go right in with no wait. There were several guards making sure no one was taking pictures (unfortunately). We stepped onto a slow moving sidewalk...you get about 15 seconds to look at each crown. The amount of diamonds and jems in these crowns and tiaras was mind boggling. SO MUCH BLING!! My favorite was the Imperial State Crown; It is made up of 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies. They were absolutely gorgeous head pieces, I am so glad that I was able to see them.
The Tube ride home from the Tower of London was also pretty eventful. It is supposed to be on average a 15 minute ride. However there was a signal problem, so we were on the tube for about an hour. Of course it was rush hour so the train was super crowded. Luckily we got seats. The conductor kept coming on the intercom and making announcements. Everyone was chatting so no one could really hear what he was saying. Apparently one lady really needed to hear the announcements, "Shut up!! they are making an announcement and I would like to hear what he is saying!!" There were a bunch of college aged boys at the other end of the train car and they just started laughing at her and siging quite loudly. The lady was not pleased at all; It was quite hysterical though. After the boys stopped singing it went silent. A final announcement was made that the problem was fixed; one of the singing boys then said "Did everyone hear that?!" The car uproared in laughter. Overall the hour went by fast with all of the commotion.
Saturday September 10th:
"Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guards"
The Changing of the Guards is a ceremony that happens everyday at 11:30am. It is a highly attended event, especially on a Saturday. There is tons of police on horses patrolling the area, telling people to move, and giving advice to the crowd. The police officer that was in front of us told us to "Beware of pickpockets and thieves." He told us in three different languages. The ceremony began with the royal palace gaurds marching in behind the royal palace guard band. It lasted about a half an hour; however the best part was when the band played "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie. My friends and I were so excited to hear this song. A lot of people in the crowd began to sing along with the band; everyone cheered when they finished playing. It was very entertaining and fun to watch! I was patiently waiting for Prince William and Kate to come out and greet us, but they must have been busy.
More adventures coming soon (:
Liz*
 |
| Me in front of the Tower Bridge |
 |
| King Edward became king at 9 years old....his armor is so little!! |
 |
| Torture machine that folds you up |
 |
| Oldest section of the Tower of London |
 |
| Buckingham Palace |
 |
| Royal palace gaurds band |
 |
| Love their hats!! |
 |
| Me in front of Buckingham Palace |
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Drama in Picadilly, The Museum of London & Windsor Castle
Thursday September 1st:
"O'Neals Evacuation!"
The weekend had officially begun for all of us since we don't have Friday classes. Everyone here at Regent's had talked about heading to O'Neals (in Picadilly Circus) that night. It is a big Regen'ts hangout, kind of like going to Sinni's in Dudley (but so much better). We had been there for about an hour or two, we got there early so we wouldn't have to pay the cover charge. At around 11 security guards were everywhere telling us all to "evacuate for safety." All of us were so confused, the pub wasn't closing yet "What is going on?" we all thought. As we walked out the doors we saw police cars, an ambulance and a huge crowd of people. We were informed that someone was stabbed and killed inside of O'Neals. It was now considered a crime scene. It was kind of scary, but we were just glad that we all made it out together safely.
Friday September 2nd:
"Museum of London"
My roommate and I are taking a class called the Social History of London. It is really interesting because we are learning all about the making of London. We had no idea that London was originally a Roman colony called Londinium...did you know that? The best part is that we get to go on field trips to sights around the city for free! We are going to the Tower of London on Tuesday. Our professor Lady Sophie Laws is awesome, she gave us a bunch of free musesums to go to on our down time. Caitlin and I decided to go to the first one on the list...Museum of London. There were a lot of cool ancient artifacts such as clothing, and jewels that made it through the Great London Fire in 1666. There was a short film that we decided to watch, we sat next to this family with two little boys who were no older than 5 and 6. The 5 year old was fascinated by The Great London Fire, and he kept repeating the narrators words; It was so funny. Caitlin and I came to the conclusion that it was only funny because he had the cutest litte accent!! If we were in America we probably would just want him to be quiet. There was a really interesting exhibit on London street photogpraphy. That was my favorite part of the museum, the pictures ranged over 200 years.
Saturday September 3rd:
"Windsor Castle"
Woke up early to catch the train to Windsor with Andrea and Arielle. This is Andrea's 6th time in London, and her second time studying at Regent's. She knows the tube and bus system really well, so she planned the trip to Windsor Castle. I was like a child on Christmas morning on the train ride there. I was going to see where the Queen lives!! Walking up the hill to the Castle was like something out of a fairytale that you read about in books, and see in movies. It was HUGE, well that's an understatement. We had some time to kill before we took the Great Kitchen tour so we walked around and took everything in. Like typical tourists we went up to the guard, you know the ones who are not supposed to talk and keep a straight face. Well our guard was not so typical...we asked a couple behind us to take our picture with him and they kindly said "Yes of course if you will take one of us too." So they took our picture, and then when it was time for us to take theirs, they went up and did a funny pose with the guard. As we are leaving the guy turns around and says "Tag ya on Facebook mate!" The guard cracked a smile and we all burst out laughing because it's basically against the rules for him to do that. It was hilarious!!
We headed up to St. Georges Chapel where several royals are buried. It was such a peaceful place, the architecture and the detail in the chapel was gorgeous. The Choir room was the best part for me, the stained glass windows and the high ceilings were breath taking. The detail carved into the woodowork is truly amazing, considering it was done centuries ago. After leaving the chapel, it was time for us to go on the Great Kitchen tour.
Our tour guide's name was Jackie and you could totally tell she was one of those people who loves her job. She was so enthusiastic about the castle it was quite comical. We started the tour in the special guest entrance of the castle. The room where President Obama first entered the castle is where we stood. It was room with swords and weapons all over the walls, and there was armor in glass cases everywhere. Jackie said it is meant to give off an intimidating vibe when you first walk in; it lets people know not pull any funny buisness because all the weapons can still be used today. There was this one sword that caught my eye because it was all diamonds. It was the prettiest weapon I'd ever seen. We walked downstairs and went into this big open room that had been used for several of the royal children's 21st birthday parties. The Wine Cooler in the basement holds over 5,000 bottles of wine and alcohol. I tried to have my 21st birthday there but they were booked.
Finally we made it to the Great Kitchen. It is the oldest functioning kitchen in Europe; it has been used since the 1300's. Although all the equipment was modern, the walls and the decorative copper pots and pan lining them were all orignal. There was a giant wisk that could wisk 200 eggs at one time!! Imagine the size of that cake. Jackie informed us that the head chef at Windsor Castle, Matthew likes a calm kitchen. While they are preparing meals for state dinners of 160 guests, he is calm with his staff of 20 chefs. He never raises his voice and he checks every single dish before it is sent upstairs to the people who will be eating it. Our tour with Jackie ended, and we were off to my favorite part of the castle...Queen Mary's Dollhouse.
Every girl has a dollhouse growing up, as did I. This is the dollhouse girls can only dream of. First of all it is the largest in the world, given to Queen Mary by King George V. It was absolutely amazing; the furniture, the room setup, the props. You could spend hours just looking at all of the things that were in it. It was opened up so we could see all the rooms in the house, but it has the ability to close. The house can come down over the rooms; that way it just looks like a normal house (castle). It was honestly spectacular. They would not let us take pictures unfortunately. However here's the kink so you can see it on the website. I did not want to leave this exhibit at all. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/queenmarysdollshouse/home.html
We walked around the rest of the castle and saw the typical things that a castle has such as a ball room, a drawing room, bedrooms etc. Oh and Chandeliers are the equivalent to ceiling fans. They are in almost every room.
It was so amazing to literally walk around a piece of history all day long. If you are ever booking a trip to Windsor make sure you call ahead to see if the castle is open. As you all know it is still in use and is often closed to the public when Her Magesty the Queen is on the grounds. We were told that she is typically there Thursday-Monday for the weekends. But this month she is in Scotland so I didn't get to see her...yet.
More adventures coming soon!!!
Liz (:
"O'Neals Evacuation!"
The weekend had officially begun for all of us since we don't have Friday classes. Everyone here at Regent's had talked about heading to O'Neals (in Picadilly Circus) that night. It is a big Regen'ts hangout, kind of like going to Sinni's in Dudley (but so much better). We had been there for about an hour or two, we got there early so we wouldn't have to pay the cover charge. At around 11 security guards were everywhere telling us all to "evacuate for safety." All of us were so confused, the pub wasn't closing yet "What is going on?" we all thought. As we walked out the doors we saw police cars, an ambulance and a huge crowd of people. We were informed that someone was stabbed and killed inside of O'Neals. It was now considered a crime scene. It was kind of scary, but we were just glad that we all made it out together safely.
Friday September 2nd:
"Museum of London"
My roommate and I are taking a class called the Social History of London. It is really interesting because we are learning all about the making of London. We had no idea that London was originally a Roman colony called Londinium...did you know that? The best part is that we get to go on field trips to sights around the city for free! We are going to the Tower of London on Tuesday. Our professor Lady Sophie Laws is awesome, she gave us a bunch of free musesums to go to on our down time. Caitlin and I decided to go to the first one on the list...Museum of London. There were a lot of cool ancient artifacts such as clothing, and jewels that made it through the Great London Fire in 1666. There was a short film that we decided to watch, we sat next to this family with two little boys who were no older than 5 and 6. The 5 year old was fascinated by The Great London Fire, and he kept repeating the narrators words; It was so funny. Caitlin and I came to the conclusion that it was only funny because he had the cutest litte accent!! If we were in America we probably would just want him to be quiet. There was a really interesting exhibit on London street photogpraphy. That was my favorite part of the museum, the pictures ranged over 200 years.
Saturday September 3rd:
"Windsor Castle"
Woke up early to catch the train to Windsor with Andrea and Arielle. This is Andrea's 6th time in London, and her second time studying at Regent's. She knows the tube and bus system really well, so she planned the trip to Windsor Castle. I was like a child on Christmas morning on the train ride there. I was going to see where the Queen lives!! Walking up the hill to the Castle was like something out of a fairytale that you read about in books, and see in movies. It was HUGE, well that's an understatement. We had some time to kill before we took the Great Kitchen tour so we walked around and took everything in. Like typical tourists we went up to the guard, you know the ones who are not supposed to talk and keep a straight face. Well our guard was not so typical...we asked a couple behind us to take our picture with him and they kindly said "Yes of course if you will take one of us too." So they took our picture, and then when it was time for us to take theirs, they went up and did a funny pose with the guard. As we are leaving the guy turns around and says "Tag ya on Facebook mate!" The guard cracked a smile and we all burst out laughing because it's basically against the rules for him to do that. It was hilarious!!
We headed up to St. Georges Chapel where several royals are buried. It was such a peaceful place, the architecture and the detail in the chapel was gorgeous. The Choir room was the best part for me, the stained glass windows and the high ceilings were breath taking. The detail carved into the woodowork is truly amazing, considering it was done centuries ago. After leaving the chapel, it was time for us to go on the Great Kitchen tour.
Our tour guide's name was Jackie and you could totally tell she was one of those people who loves her job. She was so enthusiastic about the castle it was quite comical. We started the tour in the special guest entrance of the castle. The room where President Obama first entered the castle is where we stood. It was room with swords and weapons all over the walls, and there was armor in glass cases everywhere. Jackie said it is meant to give off an intimidating vibe when you first walk in; it lets people know not pull any funny buisness because all the weapons can still be used today. There was this one sword that caught my eye because it was all diamonds. It was the prettiest weapon I'd ever seen. We walked downstairs and went into this big open room that had been used for several of the royal children's 21st birthday parties. The Wine Cooler in the basement holds over 5,000 bottles of wine and alcohol. I tried to have my 21st birthday there but they were booked.
Finally we made it to the Great Kitchen. It is the oldest functioning kitchen in Europe; it has been used since the 1300's. Although all the equipment was modern, the walls and the decorative copper pots and pan lining them were all orignal. There was a giant wisk that could wisk 200 eggs at one time!! Imagine the size of that cake. Jackie informed us that the head chef at Windsor Castle, Matthew likes a calm kitchen. While they are preparing meals for state dinners of 160 guests, he is calm with his staff of 20 chefs. He never raises his voice and he checks every single dish before it is sent upstairs to the people who will be eating it. Our tour with Jackie ended, and we were off to my favorite part of the castle...Queen Mary's Dollhouse.
Every girl has a dollhouse growing up, as did I. This is the dollhouse girls can only dream of. First of all it is the largest in the world, given to Queen Mary by King George V. It was absolutely amazing; the furniture, the room setup, the props. You could spend hours just looking at all of the things that were in it. It was opened up so we could see all the rooms in the house, but it has the ability to close. The house can come down over the rooms; that way it just looks like a normal house (castle). It was honestly spectacular. They would not let us take pictures unfortunately. However here's the kink so you can see it on the website. I did not want to leave this exhibit at all. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/queenmarysdollshouse/home.html
We walked around the rest of the castle and saw the typical things that a castle has such as a ball room, a drawing room, bedrooms etc. Oh and Chandeliers are the equivalent to ceiling fans. They are in almost every room.
It was so amazing to literally walk around a piece of history all day long. If you are ever booking a trip to Windsor make sure you call ahead to see if the castle is open. As you all know it is still in use and is often closed to the public when Her Magesty the Queen is on the grounds. We were told that she is typically there Thursday-Monday for the weekends. But this month she is in Scotland so I didn't get to see her...yet.
More adventures coming soon!!!
Liz (:
 |
| Love the street signs here! |
 |
| The guard that craked a smile |
 |
| Windsor Castle visitor entrance |
 |
| Even the lanterns have crowns on them! |
 |
| Windsor Castle |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
First Few Days and I'm already in Love with this place
Wednesday night August 24th:
Hugged and kissed my parents and sister goodbye at the security gate at Logan airport in Boston and prepared myself for the adventure of a lifetime. I met 5 students that were going into the same program as me at Regent's College. It was very comforting to know that I wasn't totally alone on the flight, it definitely eased my nerves. My flight was at 10:50pm, it is still so crazy to me that I went to sleep in the US and woke up in the UK!!
Thursday Morning August 25th:
Got off the plane and went through customs which did not take as long as I thought it would. Grabbed my luggage and met Mare. We shared a cab to school and were still in shock that we were actually here. Pulling up to school was incredible, it is an absolutley goregous campus in the middle of Regent's Park. The park is filled with runners, gorgeous flowers, ponds, paddle boats, and the cutest cafe I have ever seen! It is a great place to get fresh air and exercise and has fabulous scenery.
When I arrived to room, I met my roommate Caitlin. We clicked right away which we are both thankful for because it was one of our biggest worries that we wouldn't like our roommates. Luckily that is not the case (: Thursday night they had a "Bar Night" for all the new students to mingle and get to know eachother. It was really funny because when you walked into the bar there were British flags everywhere, strobe lights, and loud music; everyone was standing around like it was a middle school dance!! But after a few drinks people began to get more comfortable and chat it up with their fellow classmates.
Friday August 26th:
Had my first Tube experience with all the girls. The escalators here are SO long and steep!! Didn't realize how far underground the train actually was! We went to Picadilly Circus and went to this Irish Pub called O'Neals. It is so random because it is an Irish Bar in Chinatown in London. It was a ton of fun though, the location a bit questionable, it looked like it was misplaced when you are looking at it.
Saturday August 27th:
"Club Night at Tiger Tiger"
Hugged and kissed my parents and sister goodbye at the security gate at Logan airport in Boston and prepared myself for the adventure of a lifetime. I met 5 students that were going into the same program as me at Regent's College. It was very comforting to know that I wasn't totally alone on the flight, it definitely eased my nerves. My flight was at 10:50pm, it is still so crazy to me that I went to sleep in the US and woke up in the UK!!
Thursday Morning August 25th:
Got off the plane and went through customs which did not take as long as I thought it would. Grabbed my luggage and met Mare. We shared a cab to school and were still in shock that we were actually here. Pulling up to school was incredible, it is an absolutley goregous campus in the middle of Regent's Park. The park is filled with runners, gorgeous flowers, ponds, paddle boats, and the cutest cafe I have ever seen! It is a great place to get fresh air and exercise and has fabulous scenery.
When I arrived to room, I met my roommate Caitlin. We clicked right away which we are both thankful for because it was one of our biggest worries that we wouldn't like our roommates. Luckily that is not the case (: Thursday night they had a "Bar Night" for all the new students to mingle and get to know eachother. It was really funny because when you walked into the bar there were British flags everywhere, strobe lights, and loud music; everyone was standing around like it was a middle school dance!! But after a few drinks people began to get more comfortable and chat it up with their fellow classmates.
Friday August 26th:
Had my first Tube experience with all the girls. The escalators here are SO long and steep!! Didn't realize how far underground the train actually was! We went to Picadilly Circus and went to this Irish Pub called O'Neals. It is so random because it is an Irish Bar in Chinatown in London. It was a ton of fun though, the location a bit questionable, it looked like it was misplaced when you are looking at it.
Saturday August 27th:
"Club Night at Tiger Tiger"
Tiger Tiger is the biggest club I have ever been to. It had 4 or 5 floors, and every floor was different music. The bottom floor was "Groovy Wonderland" which was hysterical. It was 70's theme with a color changing dance floor and 70's music. We stayed on the floor where it was more modern, they played a lot of techno which was pretty cool because I wasn't really into that kind of music when I came here. But I am learning to like it.
Sunday August 28th:
Kensington Gardens and Notting Hill
Went exploring to Notting Hill to get ourselves familiar with the area. We also went to the Kensington Gardens which were gorgeous, we are going to go back and see Princess Diana's memorial but we just did a quick run through so we would know where it was. The park was so pretty; they also had a mini carousel which we had no shame in going on! Granted we were the oldest girls on it but we did not care (: It was a lot of fun, we all felt like little kids again!
Monday August 28th:
"NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL"
Went exploring to Notting Hill to get ourselves familiar with the area. We also went to the Kensington Gardens which were gorgeous, we are going to go back and see Princess Diana's memorial but we just did a quick run through so we would know where it was. The park was so pretty; they also had a mini carousel which we had no shame in going on! Granted we were the oldest girls on it but we did not care (: It was a lot of fun, we all felt like little kids again!
Monday August 28th:
"NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL"
Carnival is this huge 3 day festival that takes place in Notting Hill. It was AMAZING!!!! It was a Jamaican themed festival with tons of music, parades, and food. It is one of the largest fetivals in Europe. We woke up at 7 so we would get there early enough to see the parades. There were thousands of people all over the streets, it was one huge party. The fashion here is unbelievable. People wear the most outrageous things but still manage to make it look awesome. Some of the things people wear here would definitely get some odd looks back at home, but that is why I love it here...no one cares about that kind of stuff.
Tuesday August 29th:
"First Day of School"
Normal first day of school things. Professors handed out the syllabus and classes didn't run the full period. The grading system is wicked different though!! A 70-100% is considered an A. Between a 50-80% is considered a B. At least I know I will do well in all my classes this semester!! That's all for now more adventures coming soon (:
liz (:
Tuesday August 29th:
"First Day of School"
Normal first day of school things. Professors handed out the syllabus and classes didn't run the full period. The grading system is wicked different though!! A 70-100% is considered an A. Between a 50-80% is considered a B. At least I know I will do well in all my classes this semester!! That's all for now more adventures coming soon (:
liz (:
 |
| Coach taxi cab!!! |
 |
| Caitlin and I at "Tiger Tiger" club |
 |
| Chelsea, Mare, Carnival girl, Court, Me....We loved her Patriotic colors |
 |
| Carnival Parade Girl....LOVE the colors in her costume |
 |
| Girls at Bar Night...Court, Mare, Me, Caitlin (my roomie) |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)