Hello USA

So it has been about 2 weeks since I've been back in the States. The last 3 weeks of my trip were amazing! Kendra and I went to Ireland and France. In Ireland we went to Dublin, Galway, Cork, and Killarney. Some of the highlights of Ireland were kissing the Blarney Stone and horseback riding in Killarney. Ireland was absolutely beautiful! I miss how green everything was.
France was also awesome. We only went to Paris, but Paris was very cool. We did all of the touristy things. We even went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view from the top was amazing! You could see all of Paris. We also got see the Mona Lisa; it was much smaller than I thought it would be. And the room that it was in was very crowded. The rest of The Louvre was cool too.
Then Kendra and I tried to get to Italy, but we couldn't. All of the trains from Paris to Florence were booked. We tried to get to Rome, then Madrid, and all of those trains were booked as well. So we decided to go back to London for one full week.
Our last week in London was a lot of fun as well. Overall, it was a great trip. I learned so much about myself. I have become more independent and confident in everything I do. This trip really showed me that I can do anything I put my mind to. I realized that if it is something I really want, I can get it. This is something that I will never forget. I will never forget the people I met, the places I went, or the friends that I made. I loved this trip!!!!!!

Goodbye London

Tomorrow I leave for Ireland with my wonderful cousin Kendra. I am so excited for this new adventure of backpacking around Europe, but I am also very sad to be leaving London and all of the amazing people that I've met. This month has been one of the best months of my life. I've done things I never thought I'd do and made some amazing friends. I also feel in love with a beautiful city and can't wait to come back. London has stolen my heart.

As for the next 3 weeks, Kendra and I will be traveling in Ireland, France, Italy, and then back to London for a few days. These next 3 weeks are going to be so much fun!

Also for the next 3 weeks, I will not have Skype, Facebook, email, or be able to update my blog. I am going to try and find some internet cafe's to hop into and update my blog, but I can't make any promises.

London and all of the amazing people I've met, thank you for everything. You've taught me so much about myself. I can't wait to see you again!

London

I have done so much since I have last updated, I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll start with field trips that I did for class. For class we got to go to Stonehenge and Bath. The history/mystery behind Stonehenge amazes me. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't get close to the stones, but then my pictures would have been full of people I didn't know instead of the rocks. After Stonehenge we went to Bath. I got to see the Roman Baths, which was really cool. The water though, was gross! It looked moldy and green. Not something I would want to take a bath in. But we did get to try some of the natural spring water. We were told that it is good for us because it has so many minerals in it. It had a metallic taste to it. I didn't like it very much, but it wasn't too bad. Then another day we went to Parliament, Greenwich, and got to see a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theater. At the theater we were groundlings and stood for the whole play. We saw Comedy of Errors; it was really good!! That's about it for class.

Other than class, I have been exploring London. London is amazing! I can't believe that I will be leaving on Saturday. This month has been absolutely incredible. I have grown and experienced a new culture. I feel more independent. I can't wait to start the next leg of my journey, but I will miss London and all of the people at Seething Wells.

Scotland!!

In Oxford, outside of the dining hall that was the inspiration for the one in the Harry Potter films

Edinburgh Castle

View from the top of a hill in Edinburgh

Lock Ness

One of the many mountains in the Highlands of Scotland

The famous cow Hamish

One of our hostels

On the train at Kings Cross, ready to go to Scotland

I left for Scotland on Friday and returned on Monday. It is so pretty. I went to Edinburgh and up through the Highlands to Inverness (which means the end of Ness, because it is located at the end of the Ness river or Lock or something).

Friday I had to get up super early to get to the train station so that we could start to make our journey to Scotland. It is only a 4 and 1/2 hour train ride to Edinburgh from Scotland. I still managed to fall asleep on the train. I managed to fall asleep on the bus as well, I guess any mode of transportation I can fall asleep on. There were 39 of us who were on the trip from Kingston. When we got to the train station in Edinburgh, we met our tour guide. His name was Mike and he wore a kilt everyday! He was not a very nice man at times. He was super sarcastic. I like sarcastic comments, but he took it to the extreme. But the trip was still really nice.

When we got into Edinburgh we did a walking tour of the new town and old town. Personally I like the old town better. After that we had some free time to go around. Two of the guys on the trip decided that they needed kilts, so they went out a bought some. Then decided that they should wear them out to the pubs. It was quite hilarious to see the reactions that the locals had.

Then we had to get up on Saturday for breakfast which included yogurt, sliced deli ham with cheese, small baguettes, and cereal. It was quite the combination of breakfast items. But we boarded a bus at 9 am for our big trip up to the Highlands. We stopped at the Braveheart memorial, we saw a famous cow named Hamish, stopped for lunch, and the three sister (which were 3 amazing mountains that were right by each other), then again at Lock Ness. Sadly I did not get to see the monster, but the water in the lock is really dark. I've never seen water that was so dark. It was really creepy. After Lock Ness we got to Inverness around 7 that night. We stayed in another hostel. The hostels were 8 people in one room (girls and guys were separated) with one bathroom. 8 girls and one bathroom went better than I expected. It did help that the bathrooms weren't the best or cleanest. I am glad that I'm a little bit of a germ freak and brought flip flops to wear in the shower. That night we went out and got some dinner and watched a little of one of the world cup games.

Sunday we had to be on the bus 9 again. Our first stop this time was at a battlefield that commemorated a battle that occurred between the Highlanders and the government. We stopped again at rock formations that were 1000 years older than Stonehenge (which I am visiting on Thursday), we then went to a Whisky Distillery. I got a free sample of Whisky and it was gross!!! It burned on the way down and I only took a little sip. But I couldn't leave without buying something. So one of my flatmates and I went in and bought some whisky truffles. The taste was masked by the chocolate, so they were really good! After that we stopped at a Blair castle and made our final journey to Edinburgh. We arrived around 4:30 or 5 that afternoon. Some of the girls and I decided that we wanted to climb a hill that was close to our hostel. We had heard that you can see all of Edinburgh and you get an amazing view from the top. When we made it, what we had heard was right. The view was amazing!!!!! You could see really far. And of course later that night we watched a little of the world cup game.

Then Monday we got up and headed to Edinburgh castle. I really like the castle. It was all made of stone and you had to go outside to get to the other buildings. Some of the exhibits were really cool. I liked one that was about the prisoners of the castle. They had re-done what the prison would have looked like and explained what it was like to be a prisoner in the castle. I also liked the crown jewels and the stone of destiny. After the castle I did some shopping and then we all got back on the train to head back into London. We got back to our dorms around 8 that night. It was a really long and busy weekend, but Scotland is amazing. It is so beautiful. I am much more of a Highlands girl though. There were towns that were right by the mountains on a river and I decided that I could have a house there and just stare at the incredible mountains.

Yesterday my class went to Oxford. Not the university (because the University is actually made of of about 38 different colleges), but the city. The city is very cute. It is small with a lot of pubs and history. Our tour guide was really good and told us a lot about the city and showed us an amazing cookie place. After the tour I had to go get a cookie, and it was one of the best cookies I have ever had. It was still warm and the chocolate was still all melty. It was really good. Then Thursday we are going to Stonehenge and Bath. I'm super excited to see both.

That is what I have been up to since the last time I updated. And today marks 2 weeks in England. I can't believe the it has already been 2 weeks. Only 2 more and then I start my backpacking adventure with my wonderful cousin Kendra.

**Please refer to Facebook for more pictures of my Scotland trip and for pictures of London**

Royalty

So these past few days have been jam packed with awesome things in London and beyond. I've been to Hampton Court Palace, which was incredible. My class got to take a boat to the palace, just like Henry would have. I liked that we got to travel the way that they did. It just added to the effect that the palace had. I thought it was really cool to walk where Henry the 8th did. And to see where he spent his time. I love history, especially good ol' Henry! Oh, an interesting fact is that the trees where cut in a triangle shape to influence the hierarchy of the time. As was fruit on a tray. Just subtle ways to express the hierarchy.
Then today I got to go to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was truly amazing and incredible and beautiful! I was so shocked by the beauty of the ceilings. They were overwhelming. I had heard that the Church was really pretty, but I never expected it to be that pretty. Then I climbed the spiral staircase (which made me incredible dizzy!) to get to the top where you can look out on all of London. The view was amazing and definitely worth the dizziness and all of the steps that it took to get there. I also was able to say a prayer and light a candle for Grandma Singer. I was really happy that I was able to do that.
Anyway, tomorrow I leave for Scotland for 4 days. I really hope that I can catch a glimpse of the Lock Ness Monster!

Day Five

Me and some of my flatmates in Kingston

Me and Big Ben

Big Ben!

The London Eye

These last few days have been incredibly busy! Which is good. I've been to London twice now, and loved it. It is such a busy place, but amazing. So far, I've seen Big Ben and the London Eye, and I've gone shopping! I've also taken a train, the tube, and a double decker bus. I think I'm am getting the hang of the tube. It can be very confusing at times.

Besides London, I went to my first class, British culture and society. I think I'm really going to like the class! We get to go on a lot of field trips. On Tuesday we are going to Hampton Court Palace. My professor said that we are going to take a boat there so we know what it was like when Henry the 8th traveled.

I've also been to some pubs and a club. The pubs here are great! The atmosphere is so cool. You can just chill and watch some football (or in our case soccer) and laugh at all the crazy football fans. Last night my flatmates and I went to a club called Oceana in Kingston. This club had three levels and each was different. First we hung out on the disco level and then made our way up to a more modern level. It was so much fun!

Today, I need to go shopping for some food! And I need to find a blow drier. I did buy a flat iron, which I was super excited about! But so far, I am so excited to be here and I am having a wonderful time. I've met some really cool people. It's nice to step out of my comfort zone and meet all of these people and talk with the locals and learn some of the slang (and accepting an offer for them to buy you a drink :) ). I love it here!

First Day

Our Kitchen


My room

Seething Wells (the dorms I'm staying in)

The River Thames (pronounced Tems)

A cool street in the town (heck every street is cool!)

Today was my first day in the UK. And it was wonderful!!! I love it here. The houses are small and very cute, and the shops by where I'm staying are also small and adorable.

So when I arrived in England I was about 2 hours late because the plane was having some issues back in Detroit, but they got it all fixed (which was good!!). Overall, the plane ride was good. The food was not good, but the ride was. The worst part for me is the descending/landing part. It makes my head and stomach feel all weird. After I got off the plane, I headed to customs where the guy in front of me was visibly wasted. He had bought a bottle of Captain before he boarded the plane and drank almost the whole thing on the way to England. He asked me about three times where I was going and each time he said, "Me too!". Well...customs did not like that so they put him in a waiting area. I don't know if he ever did make it to Kingston. From customs I went to pick up my luggage and meet fellow Kingston students. Then we all hopped on a bus that took us from the airport to our dorms.

We arrived at Kingston, checked in, got our room keys, and were showed what building we were in and what flat we would be staying in. I also got to meet my roomies, who are all very nice. My room is pretty nice. I have a bed and a desk and my very own bathroom. The only problem I have with the room is that it does not have ac :( In fact when I walked around the town the only place that had air was the grocery store. But besides my room being a little stuffy, I like it.

After unpacking I went on a walking tour of the town and got some groceries. And there is a 99 pence store, which is like a dollar store (kind of exciting). Other than walking around I didn't do much but soak in all the culture and try to remember to look the correct way when crossing the street. For now, I am headed to bed to get some rest for orientation tomorrow.

Partay!

This past week has been filled with fun and goodbyes. I had a party at work filled with all sorts of good desserts and lots of laughs. I'm going to miss all of my work peeps. Then yesterday I got together with some of my girls and we got manicures and did facials. I then had a party with my friends. We got all dolled up and went out to dinner then out to Grand Haven. It was a wonderful night spent with great friends all having a good time :)
These next few days will be all about packing and getting prepared for my journey to the wonderful continent of Europe. I will be spending 4 weeks in England, right outside of London in a town called Kingston Upon Thames. During that 4 weeks, I'm going to head up to Scotland for a weekend and hopefully catch a glimpse of the Lock Ness Monster. After that I will head to the Emerald Isle with my cousin (can't wait cousin!!!) for a week. Then to France for 1 week and to Italy for 1 week. I will admit that I am getting a little nervous for these next 2 months, but I know that this is a great experience and I can't wait to get to London and meet all of my fellow study abroaders.