From London with Love

The End Draws Near

2010-05-15T02:11:00.000-07:00

Ok this blog will be boring; just a random update of the nonsense I have been up to lately. I'm warning you to stop reading now.... this blog will not be witty or exciting..... Ok - your loss.

So since my parents have left, my life has been non-stop nonsense.

I feel like I have done so much; but not really. It has just been so busy; I mean school winding down, trying to fit in the last of London, Spain (I'll save that for another blog), and just keeping busy.

I will try to sum it up and make it quick: but how to do such a thing... Let's begin to the Saturday after my parents left....

Saturday April 24, 2010
OXFORD. yep today we went to Oxford. Long story short, we saw the library from Harry Potter, grabbed lunch, sat on a hill after paying one pound, and missed our bus home. It was a fun day :)

Then there were a couple lazy days inbetween of catching up on homework, until we thought it to be a great idea to go eat at one of our favorite restaurants... DESPERADO'S. (We soon became regulars here. Probably the best food in all of London)

But then on Wednesday April 28, 2010 - we saw a circus show called PSY. This was unreal. PSY may not be Cirque Soleil; but it was breath taking to say the least. It consisted of a "Cast" if you will of roughly 9 people who would each play a different persona inflicted with some dort of disorder like narcolepsy, scizophrenia, etc. and would then each get their own "scene" that they acted out their disorder while doing ridiculous stunts. It incorporated humor, music, and the impossible. If you ever come here and this show is still running - - - SEE IT.

A couple more days of shenanigans pass by before it arrives... Wednesday, May 5, aka Cinco De Mayo. And what better way to celebrate then to go to our favorite mexi restaurant.... DESPERADO'S! It's here we celebrate with margaritas and friends. It was nights like these that just helped make this expereince that much better. Just hanging out all together and meeting new people. Amazing. But then we decide to head home... it's now when I decide that I forgot how to walk and roll my ankle doing nothing. I now have a Cankle the size of an orange. Awesome. This paired with the magical bruises that appeared on my body definately made me a sight for soar eyes. Mom and Pops must be so proud.

A couple more days go by... including turning in my 23 page marketing report, a 59 page advertising report as well as presentation, and a couple exams. Busy busy.

Throughout this time we also saw "The Prince of Persia" movie premier where Jake Gyllenhal, Gemma Arterton, Sir Ben Kingsley, and a couple other famous people showed up. Apparently one of the largest movie premiers in the world; it was really neat to actually experience this! They had stunts, music, movies, celebrities, and just soooo many people.

Otherwise my time left here consisted of hanging out and becoming closer with all the people out here. Spent a night at the London Eye of course, had a guitar hero contest, visited the biggest tourist trap in London - The London Dungeon (which was actually a lot of fun and worth the money. Informative, scary, and interactive all in one!)

Then we left for Spain. Prepare for that blog. It is definately one for the books. But after Spain Staci Maloney came and visited! This was an adventure in itself. After catching up on life, we went out to dinner at the Roadhouse where we were treated to a fishbowl and live band and just a good time. One for the books to say the least. We also went and visited Portobello Market, Covent Garden, and of course - DESPERADO'S. So nice to have one final visitor; but she left early Sunday morning...

and now it is my time to leave. I am writing this Monday May 24, 2010. The day of my departure. When I get back I will write about all the crazy feelings and thoughts running through me... but this is it. The End of an era. The end of one of the craziest chapters of my life...

Mum and Pops are in Londontown!

2010-05-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

So as I arrive home from my 16 day Spring Break Extravaganza at 11pm on a Monday Evening; Ma and Pa Walt arrive in London-Town!

Since it was so late, we decided it would be better to just wait and meet up the next day; But I could not wait! I mean ok... here I sit anticipating seeing my parents... What has London done to me?! But to give me credit; it is J-Dubbs and C-Dazzle we are talking about here... and it has been almost 3 months! Right - so Parents, anticipation, excitement - Moving on....

TUESDAY
Today is THE day! I get to see my parents! So I try to keep myself busy by actually going to class, and then I just about sprint to meet my parents at their hotel; The Charing Cross Hotel. Now let me first begin with this hotel - BEAUTIFUL. It is right next to Trafalgar Square (big hotspot with the National Gallery), and when you walk in; you just feel like someone important. It was amazing...

But as I begin to walk in; anxious and almost nervous for some reason, I see him. My dad! AHHHH! I got so excited and wanted to run into his arms; but this place didn't really seem like that would be appropriate... so at a brisk walk I went over and hugged my dad for the first time in three months. Even if he may hold our hugs a little too awkwardly long, it felt good. Then we walked a little bit before I see my mom! Oh wow, this is crazy weird. It feels like I haven't seen them in years!

*On a side note, my family is really awkward sometimes. From here on out, just read without judgement. We are who we are... The Walt's don't live by any rhyme or reason...

Ok so there is an awkward hug, an awkward "Hey, How's it going?" stupid, irrelevant questions... But I wanted the good stuff... like, "Where is all the food and clothes I asked you to bring me!?" Clearly my priorities are straight... But this was not even needed to be asked since I basically felt like it was Christmas all over again!

We go to their huge room with a TV (it's the little things in life...) and they have a WHOLE DUFFEL of goodies for me! They brought me shoes, summer clothes, snacks, but most importantly roughly 13 pounds of Mrs. Grass Chicken Noodle Soup Packets! I am just near tears when they surprise me with even more... Lion King Broadway Tickets for that night! Can life get any better?!

So I pack up all of my stuff before heading out to dinner... FOR FREE. Yes. things could get better! We end up eating at a great place called the Mermaid Tail and just caught up with one another. I gave them the rundown of London and they gave me the rundown of Wisconsin. It was so nice, a little taste of home... Skype doesn't do justice to actually having them in person.

But I think the best part was watching them interact within London. They are so funny because first they have to learn how to use the tubes and their "oyster cards," and then get used to the cars on the wrong side of the road, as well as getting accustomed to London's fast-paced lifestyle where everyone always appears to be in a hurry to get to nowhere, and finally the stand-offish attitude it seems many "Londoners" have. Have to give them credit; they did pretty well... I forgot how lost I thought I was when I first arrived... and now I just laugh at what I think to be simple questions (whoops!).

But we finish off dinner before seeing The Lion King which topped off the perfect day! Amazing. So then we head our seperate ways, right after I reassure my mom I can travel home by myself hahaha

WEDNESDAY
Today I thought I would show my parents the shopping district after my classes, so I took them over to Regent and Oxford Street with all the high end shops. We didn't go in many because I am not used to such nice things, and I think I was torturing my dad, but no worries because Lunch made up for it!

After being squished into a back corner of a restaurant down some alley off Oxford Street Called "Burgers, etc." we had an amazing meal yet again (they keep lucking out with all the restaurants we choose). Another free meal... oh life is good. It's from there that we explore different parts of London, show them around town, before they take me grocery shopping and then I bring them back to my housing; NIDO.

Well I think it was everything they expected... four walls and a bed. So I did some laundry for them, being the good daughter I am, while we just continued catching up, before having an Italian feast at the restaurant below NIDO, and then we parted ways... this part frightened me a little since they are not 100% sure of themselves and using the tube to get home... Luckily they made it back and life is good.

THURSDAY
Well to keep things short and simple - my parents went to visit some of my Dad's work friends in another area of London where they got to stay in a castle... as condolence to TK and myself, they gave us their hotel room for a night and bought us dinner at a Mexican Cantina style restaurant! So TK and I grabbed dinner before heading back to the room and watching roughly 13 episodes of friends... TV is a luxury you know... and then we were surprised to find out that when we awoke - we got BREAKFAST! and not just bread and tomatoes... No, my dad set it up where we got VIP seating on the balcony and had a full breakfast buffet with bacon, oatmeal, eggs, potatoes, cereal, 14153 different juices, and so much more! Clearly we took advantage of this before going back and sitting in the room for some more TV time.

Eventually we headed back to NIDO, which surprisingly seemed a lot worse after staying in their hotel room for one night haha. But later, I went to meet up with my parents and their friends across town for a couple drinks on a river bank where the water was literally touching the tip of the restaurant, and then we had another delicious Italian meal with my parents friends, the Brunero's, before heading back home.

SATURDAY
Today is the day I take my parents to the infamous Portobello Market... This was a "bittersweet" idea if you will... You see my mom LOVES things like this; antiques, home furnishings, other useless objects one doesn't require; while my dad goes for novelty "toys" and just kind of hangs out for the ride. Well sure enough my mom goes straight for the doorknobs... Yes doorknobs. After doorknobs comes the toast holders, followed by little tea spoons. Oh it may be a long 2 miles of shopping. But eventually we make it through after all the pushing and shoving, and I think they really enjoyed the experience. It's sad because the novelty wears off; but it was good in the end because my mom found her favorite drink - Fresh squeezed Lemonade! and the weather was more then anyone could ask for! Just beautiful.

After Portobello, we head back to the hotel where I doze off to Back to the Future 2on TV, while my parents went to explore Tower Castle and the crown jewels. When they arrived back we grabbed dinner at a Angus Steak House before I showed them my favorite part of London: Covent Garden. It was later and a bit chilly now, so we didn't stay long; we just shopped around a bit while watching a couple street performers before heading off for dessert at a local pastry place. Grabbed some cakes and pastries and then feasted in the hotel room while watching more Friends... Did this show just arrive out here or what?! But then I headed back home yet again... sad that everything is going so well... I wish my parents could stay longer. Only two days to go (or so I think)...

SUNDAY
Homework day. So I am technically here for school; so I decided to stay in while my parents went off exploring so I could get some things done. Needless to say I was not put into the best mood by this, but no worries, we planned to meet up later to see another musical, Jersey Boys. This is based on the life of Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons. Really funny and good! I personally feel a lot of people in my age category couldn't really appreciate it; but since I grew up listening to only oldies - this was right up my alley!

Afterwards we grabbed a bite in China town and then I took my bad attitude and myself home to finish up some more school work. Booo.

MONDAY
Last day before my parents were supposed to leave and I am stuck at school and working on group projects. This clearly made me really unhappy; but thankfully some Volcanoes in Iceland decided to erupt, therefore causing all air travel to be at a standstill for almost 6 days! Good for me (more free meals), bad for my parents (buying Caitlin more meals)!

But we decide to catch up in Covent Garden again where we grab yet another Italian meal (as if Spring Break wasn't enough) for lunch, before we met up for dinner with TK at a mexican restaurant called Chiquito's. Oh this was just delicious, and it was a lot of fun. Got to hear my mom and dad make their awkward comments about life... oh how it made me miss home...

TUESDAY
So today my parents were supposed to leave, but are stuck here till Friday because of the volcano crisis. YES. So yet again I have this thing called school getting in the way of my social life, but I eventually meet up with them at guess where... Yep. Covent Garden. But this time they introduced me to something - Ben's Cookies... AKA the most delicious thing I have had since my arrival. You buy a cookie by how much it weighs and they have so many kinds: white chocolate, double chocolate, coconut, peanut butter and so many more! Oh so good. But I had to go back for more school work so I couldn't really hang out with my parents for that long unfortunately (never thought I would say that haha).

WEDNESDAY
Today my parents and I decided to check out "Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese," the oldest pub in London. The food was definately pub food, but it was a neat little restaurant.. Luckily we got in, cause normally you are apparently supposed to have reservations?... even though we were the only ones there? No worries... Yet another free meal... How many is that now? (It's at this point I think my parents may believe I am using them for food.... I am ok with this).

THURSDAY
More homework. Yuck. And today was the day my friend Kevin Schleicher was supposed to arrive from Germany to visit, but due to the Volcanoes, his flight was also cancelled. It was really sad too since we planned a wine tasting at a place called Vinopolis with him... Atleast we got to use his extra tickets for ourselves (sorry Kevin)!

So after our tasting, TK, Kelley, and myself met up with Ma and Pa Walt for one last meal... It's really unfortunate that this last meal occurred at a restaurant called Garfunkel's. This was horrible. We each got a different dish; yet they all tasted the same... well actually I would like to think water had more of a taste then the food. But it was ok, cause we went over to Chiquito's afterwards for some dessert before my parents surprised me with a box of Ben's Cookies and all of their left over British Pounds! Free meals and money?! I could get used to this...

So then we did our awkward hugs... knowing it will be another 1 1/2 months before they get to see my face again. It was actually quite sad... This was probably the most time I have spent with my parents in as long as I can remember; and I had them all to myself! It was an amazing week and a half. I mean how lucky can one be? Getting treated to the luxuries out here in London, and having my parents come and visit? I can't even begin to express how happy and grateful I was to have them here. I feel as though they catered more to my needs then their own, even though it was their vacation!

But if London has taught me anything, it's this - I am a homebody. I never thought I would say that I miss Wisconsin and my family and everybody else at home... but being here truly helped me appreciate how lucky I am to have such a perfect life with an amazing family.

Dear Mom and Dad - I hoped you enjoy coming out here as much as I enjoyed spending this time with you. I love and miss you guys, and look forward to coming home. You may miss me now; but be prepared and appreciate the quiet while you still can! Love you

Greece: Living on a dream of Gyros and Crepes

2010-04-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 7,2010, we say Ciao to our amazing, unforgettable experience of living in a tent in Rome, and say Yahsu to Greece!

But before we get there, we had to get to the Rome Airport. This was an adventure in itself: we booked a cab to pick us up bright and early, and a little station wagon pulls up.

Welcome to the Cab Ride of Death...

So we manage to squeeze ourselves in with all of our luggage and we are off. Well I am pretty sure our cab driver used to race in NASCAR, because I have never experienced a car ride such as this.

First, our Cab driver decided to leave his left turn signal on the ENTIRE cab ride; mind you we only took right turns? Then we would be driving and he would decide to not follow his GPS and would suddenly take an off ramp; therefore cutting off all the cars behind us. One car got fed up with this, and decided to show us a couple "choice" gestures. Our cab driver decided to retaliate by making a gun shape with his hand and then pointed to his head in reference to the other driver and mumbled under his breath. Oh god.

From there we started increasing our speed, and before I know it my knuckles are white from gripping the side of the car so hard... I looked over at the speedometer which then read that we were going just over 160 Kilometers Per Hour.... roughly 100mph.

Well, needless to say with speeds such as those, we were at the airport in no time! (Thank god.)

Ok, so we arrive in Athens, and I could not be any happier!!! We begin our amazing time here by being upgraded by our hostel to an apartment suite. This is a wonderful surprise and boy what an upgrade! Our new hostel was actually an apartment that came with a kitchen, bar, seperate bed and bathroom, and living room with a couch, TV, and so much more! This place was amazing! Even if it was only for one night; we definately lucked out!

So we finally drug ourselves away from the TV and just grabbed a bite to eat, explored the shopping scene, and then explored a hill we found that overlooked all of Greece. Beautiful sights from every angle! It was amazing to be up there, but soooo dangerous because the rocks were so slippery for some reason! After another photo shoot, we opted to go back to our suite and enjoy some TV before our 4am wake up call to head to Mykonos!!

Ok so here begins the journey to Mykonos -

We grab a taxi at 5am to take us down to the ferries; where we then have to wait for our tickets, walk to the wrong port, and then eventually find our ship. HUGE. But nice; would have appreciated it more if it weren't for the fact it was 6 in the morning, we were exhausted, and we had a five hour trip ahead of us. No worries, a couple hour nap and an amazing Flocachino (frozen caramel coffee drink) later, we arrive!

So we get off the boat where we are greeted by typical Greece. I mean honestly it is exactly like something you see in a movie: houses of pur white with blue trim outlining the coast coming out at every angle. So beautiful! And then we look for our shuttle who also happened to be the owner of our guesthouse we were staying in.

We find him and are taken to our Guesthouse! Yes! Not even a hostel, a GUESTHOUSE. and what a place - a cute little building where we got a full bedroom with four seperate beds and our own bathroom and it included air conditioning, a fridge, decorations, and it was just picturesque. Love Love Love! And our window opened up to overlook the famous Mykonos windmills and the ocean... life cannot be more perfect.

So we settle in and then head out to explore what Mykonos has to offer! We walked through the "steets" which are basically alleys covered in hanging flowers and vines, sops, bars, restaurants, houses and so much more! It is adorable. I am in love and want to live here.

But then we realized we were hungry and here begins our Love of Gyros. The cheapest, and most delicious food yet! For only 2 euros, you get a full gyro filled with meat, fries, onions, peppers, and tazitki sauce - pure heaven.... (sorry guys, in case you haven't noticed... I like food. A lot.)

But we grew tired and decided to blend in with the rest of Europe and take a siesta before going out later that night....

Wow. well the Greeks know how to party. We didn't even leave till almost 1am and people were just beginning to go out! It was crazy! and I don't know how they do it because one drink was almost $16 us dollars. Unreal. But it didn't matter because it was SO MUCH FUN!

We mainly stayed at a place called Semeli's where we made friends and just danced all night. And we met so many people - and we realized that Greek people are the nicest people in the world! They are constantly looking to please others and just go out of their way to be friendly. Yep, this is definately my future home.

Well after an amazing night, we head back, but not before grabbing yet another gyro (better start keeping count...).

So we wake up today and decide to really enjoy this amazing weather by going to Paradise Beach! After a crazy bus ride where we met more people from Chicago, London, Spain, and California - we finally arrive to a beautiful beach! Well, since it wasn't tourist season yet in Greece, it was relatively quiet, but was so relaxing. and since we made friends; we just talked all day while getting the first glimpse of sun in months!

So after a couple sandcastles and a pink panther drink that came in a watering can and meant for roughly 7 people; we head back for yet another siesta before going out that night with our new friends from California.

We began at Semeli's again, stopped in Mykonos bar and a place called Caprice's before we eventually ended at a place called Jackie-O's.....

Well Jackie-O's is not your typical bar. We go in and are greeted by ratio of roughly 13 guys to every 1 girl.... and it wasn't until we passed by a 6'5" man in drag that it dawned on us that we were in a gay bar.... Whoops.

No worries; ended up being an amazing night! We just danced on tables and made more friends who were very "generous" to us hahaha But 4am rolls around again and we decide to get our nightly gyro before bed yet again....

Well it is now Saturday, April 10, 2010, and we have to sadly leave Mykonos today... We pack up, grab some crepes and a gyro, and eventually head out of the most amazing place in the world.... So sad to leave, but thankfully we were still going back to Athens!

And here begins our 5.5 hour ferry ride yet again... atleast this time we met some guys and just made some conversation while playing some card games. Helped pass the time for sure.... Especially since when we tried to sleep, we were rudely awoken by a man who jumped on the ship to sell his youghurt nougats? yeah. and he didn't want to just sell them... no he felt the need to scream the same phrase over and over again in Greek roughly 4 feet from us. Wouldn't have mattered if he were farther away though I guess seeing he was THAT loud. Very tempting to trip him every time he walked by, but I resisted.

Well we dock yet again and we head to our hostel, still hoping we have an upgrade, but are unfortunately put in a 6 bed room where we find out it is a mixed dorm. Our roommate was a man from Australia who was just so uncomfortably awkward. Just kind of stared and wouldn't talk. Awkward.

Luckily we weren't there that much since we went out for dinner for some more gyros where we then meet a couple restaurant owners/workers. They let us sit at their place since it costs money to sit down and eat, and we made friends... again.

It was funny too cause later TK and I decide to see Athens nightlife, and end up meeting up with one of those restaurant workers from Plaka, Mario. He helped us and showed us around to the night scene. After walking for what seemed like miles of no one in sight, we eventually find streets lined with people!

Now this was an interesting experience since it was just TK, myself, and Mario. Well in Greece, blondes are apparently in short supply because EVERYONE was making comments to Mario... for example, "You my friend are a lucky man with those two!" Hahahahahha Mario responds, "Yes I know!".... well that didn't make things awkward!Haha especially since after those comments his stance changed, as if he were a "big, tough man" with Tk and I at his side.

But we go to a couple bars and clubs and had a great time! Made friends with the DJ, other awkward Greek men "getting their groove on," and so forth. A good night all in all until we had to walk home and my feet could not handle it anymore.... Oh the pain....

But we eventally make it home and go to bed at roughly 5am.

Well going out was a good/bad idea. Oh well, we head to our "free" breakfast which consisted of a toaster, a piece of bread and a tomato??? We made due though before our $8 walking tour where we saw the parthenon & Acropolis, 2004 olympic stadium, temple of Zeus, parliament, changing of the guard, and an amazing flea market/shopping area... Also had 2 more gyros. YUM.

But after the tour, we went on yet another shopping spree and got some more gelato, crepes, and gyros. Wow. But during all of this we were stopped a couple times by some Greek vendors, where one goes, "Where are you girls from? you are soo..... pale?" Hahahahaha everywhere we go, everyone knows we are Americans... not that it is necessarily a bad thing; but just weird? Oh well...

Then we walk around Plaka again where we run into the same restaurant owners and workers, including Mario. Well he comes and greets us as we eat yet another gyro, and he decides to treat us to some shots... well ok these weren't just shots... no they were basically poison. Tk could barely take hers down and I think Mario felt bad, so he shyed away hahaha

But we finished up, and headed back to get a good night of sleep in before our last day in Greece... Sad...

So it is our last day and our plans include: gyros (of course), gelato, shopping and the beach. Well, we technically did accomplish all of this... but the beach kind of turned out to be a bust since all the chairs were stacked, it got cold, and it was empty.... so we stayed a bit before heading back to Athens where we ended up seeing the restaurant workers YET AGAIN. Wow. we need to find a new part of Greece to explore or something hahaha

But we grabbed our final gyro and gelato before we said our goodbyes and headed for the airport.

So there it is - the most expensive, yet memorable 16 days of not only my experience studying abroad, but my life!

Now its back to the "Real World" where I get to go back to London and spend over a week with my parents!!

Goodbye Spring Break 2010, and hello last month and a half in London!

Roma: "Hey Look it's The Colloseum!"

2010-04-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

Rome! Well we figure out transportation pretty easily before we arrive at our next hostel at 11pm.... A Tent. Yes. We are staying in a tent for the next three nights. and when I say tent, I literally mean four fabric walls with a zipper window.

It consisted of a linoleum floor and a bunk bed with two little lights attached to the wall, and one blanket and pillow each...

Now this would be fine if it was over 50 degrees out and/or not rainy... one could only dream for such weather though.... So we head to our tent in the freezing cold while the rain starts to drizzle.... This is going to be a very... "unique" experience to say the least.

But we drop our things off before grabbing a bite to eat at the campground restaurant before heading over to the campground bar. Here we just hung out when all of a sudden mobs of people come in dressed in either togas or as Oompa Loompas. Literally. This was, well.... it was weird. I mean oompa loompas? what is going on. But then the ooompa loompas started grabbing people and dying them orange from all the paint on their bodies... Me included in this category. One came up from behind and started rubbing my face. I just stood there in shock not sure of what was really going on....

But what made the night even more interesting was when the owner of the place turned off the music and turned on the lights suddenly and started yelling at the mobs of drunken teenagers... But then all of a sudden he stops yelling, grabs a girl onto the bar and starts dancing and the music starts again?! What?!!!! oh well...

So we knew we had a big day ahead of us, so we headed back to our tent where I was nervous I wasn't going to wake up due to hypothermia. I slept with 2 pairs of socks on, 4 layers of tops, 2 pairs of pants and leggings, and a scarf. Even then I could still see my breath and woke up not able to feel half my limbs... The running joke of this was whenwe went to bed, I look at TK and say, "shut the tent, you're letting all the hot air out." Now this obviously was a joke since it was probably warmer outside of the tent...

But it's Easter!!! Off to the Vatican of course! Now you think Easter, and you're supposed to think Spring. With Spring you think nice weather with the breeze blowing, sun shining, birds chirping.... well our day consisted of pouring rain, mobs of people trying to push into the vatican, umbrellas nearly poking out our eyes from every direction, and freezing cold... but we survived and made it!

We were in the Vatican where we saw Easter mass and saw Pope Benedict! A once in a lifetime opportunity. So cool to actually experience... but then mass ended so we went to wait for our bus home... and we waited, and waited, and waited some more in the freezing cold pouring rain... the bus never showed though? We became very hopeful with every passing bus, but never did ours come... This is where Kelley pronounced, "I love the feeling of rejection." Yes.

So we then hop on a tube and another bus to get back to our campground for lunch only to discover the chef had just quit and there would be no more food. Oh this sucks. So back out we go, where we grab a bite at a McDonalds seeing everything else was on Ciesta... again.

But the day started to improve - we went and found the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain where we made our wishes, grabbed some dinner and then came back to our... Tent. Here we all just hung out and tried to think of anything to help keep us occupied... including camping games. wow.

Ok So Monday, April 5, 2010. The weather has improved~! We saw the sun atleast today!! Although there was a lot of overcast, a huge improvement from the past couple days! So today we continued our adventures by going to the Colloseum, the Roman Forum, and Capital Hill.

Now the Colloseum. Ok it is a big circle with arches. Yep thats it.

Ok. It was cooler then that, lets be real... its the Colloseum! It was enormous and just to think about how old it is and how they managed to build it and how well it's "preserved" so neat... But like the Eiffel Tower, it appeared everywhere!

I know Rome and the Colloseum are synonymous with one another, but come on. Every street corner we would turn around and there it would be! So the running joke of the trip then became, "Hey guys did you see the Colloseum???" Because it is near Impossible to miss.

So after we saw the Colloseum from EVERY angle possible, in and out, we headed across the way to the Roman Forum where we are given a free tour by famous actor, Aaron Eckhart (2-Face from The Dark Knight). Ok well it wasn't him, but might have well been!! and he gave a nice, short, sketchy tour where he repeated, "This is a free tour if anyone wants to join..." 15 times. Literally. We counted.

Then it started raining. again. Ugh this has got to stop. So we go back to our campsite... again. Another night of feeble attempt at entertainment in our tents before bed...

Today must have been a day for the Gods! SUN, WARMTH, HAPPINESS. So with this, we head over to the Vatican Museum where we waited fr 2.5 hours, kicked a person out of line, and paid way too much to get in. But we made it, so we walk around, explore all the statues, artifacts, etc. and then decide to head for the Sistine Chapel...

Well 34 rooms later, we finally get to it! When you get in though, they yell at you to be quiet, no pictures, and to move quickly. So it was really neat to see, it was big; but not the size I was expecting I guess? Still amazing to see one of the most famous paintings in the world!

So we are rushed out and explore the rest of Rome... Headed over to St. Mark's Basillica, hung out in the middle of Vatican City, and then grabbed some more food and some more gelato.. surprise surprise.

But we ended up heading over to see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi, the Colloseum, and the Pantheon because of their fame for how they look at night... Well the Spanish Steps looked the same, The Trevi was awesome, and the Pantheon was under construction.... Wow. We fail at this whole timing issue.

But after the most walking we have done this trip,going for roughly 14 hours. Wowza... No worries because tomorrow we head out to Greece!

Cannot wait for sunshine and gyros!

Florence

2010-04-26T02:42:00.000-07:00

After another dreary day of travel, we arrive in Florence, Italy! We set off to meet up with Kelley at our hostel; and after trudging through the rain, we arrive! What a nice hostel it seems, too! It comes with free internet, towels, sheets, and seems very legit. The only part that was unfortunate was that we had to take roughly 41 different secret stair cases to just get to our room. No worries. We made it!

So we catch up with Kelley before we eventually head out. We end up finding Piazza San Signorina Square where it has replicas of all the famous statues~ an outdoor museum if you will. But on the way we stopped at yet another gelato shop! (Of course) and this has to be the best gelato yet!! The choices were endless, and the gelato itself was stacked roughly 2 feet high in the cases! It was unreal!! and the owner was really nice... Gave us a back massage HA. Not sure why seeing we don't speak Italian, but after that awkard moment we finished our gelato and continued to explore before grabbing some dinner.

Well dinner was good, minus the fact I doused my pizza and pasta with too many chili spices and couldn't eat my food without tears welling up in my eyes. Sad.

But now the weather was finally clearing up as the sun was setting, and we went to see the church where Gallileo and Michaelangelo were buried... Five pounds and ten minute later, we left. It was interesting; but probably not worth the money in my eyes...

So the next day was April 2, (I realize I am very far behind...) and that means its JAY WALT'S Birthday!! Happy Birthday Dad... J-Dubbs... J-Dizzle Nizzle! Now since I wasn't able to see or talk to him; I decided to celebrate on his behalf with a Tuscany Day Tour. What a good daughter I am, right???

This was fantastic - started at 8:30am where we met up with our tourguide Sandra pronounced - S-aooonn-dddrrr-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. and our bus driver Emeliano pronounced - Eeeeee-meal-eeee-aaaahhh-nooooooo

But the tour started in Sienna where it is just beautiful! We explored a town square and probably my favorite church yet (even though I don't even know the name of it...), then we headed off to a vineyard for some lunch and a wine tour.

Wow. what a lunch - Everything they gave us was homemade and organic from their own farm/vineyard. We even got to see some of the cows that we were eating for lunch hahaha but lunch itself was unreal...
It came with -
Bruschetta, bread with oil and parmesan cheese, pasta carbonnara, ham, salami, an assortment of cheeses, biscotti, and 4 different bottles... yes bottles, of wines - chianti, chivellis, pinot, and a sweet dessert wine that tasted like another mix of tequila and vodka mix. uck.

Besides the dessert wine-lunch was amazing! The view outside was amazing as well... The place where we had lunch overlooked acres of the vineyards as far as the eye could see. It was breathtaking. It was like what you would see on a postcard... Too bad we had to head out yet again...

Then we arrive at San Gimignano - adorable. It was a little town that apparently had the "world's best gelato" (although I personally didn't enjoy this gelato as much, it has won numerous awards). But we go exploring and found a little castle that overlooked more fields and vineyards above the rest of the city.

How can one place be so beautiful?! Everywhere you look is just another image you never want to forget. The way this place is "put together," it's just...perfect. No other word can really come to mind how to describe it. The way the Italians preserve the history in their architecture; mixed with the welcoming ways of the people, and the ways in which they live such a simple, fulfilled life... it's almost too perfect!

Again, it's time to leave yet again to head out on our last leg of our tour - Pisa!

Well Pisa is what you think it is... a tower that is leaning and people from all over the world trying to get a picture "holding" it up. Basically that is all Pisa has to offer outside of hundreds of men attempting to sell you knock-offs of anything and everything! Purses, watches, sunglasses, etc.

So we did the typical tourist thing attempting to "push" the tower straight again before we headed out back home. A long and tiring day to say the least; we just wanted a time to relax... but this didn't happen.

We get to the hostel and are sitting in a common area when we are shortly greeted by a large group of French guys... we begin attempting to converse with one another; but obviously I speak only a little french, and although they all spoke atleast a little English, only one, Frederic, spoke almost fluent English. This was quite entertaining to say the least. But we made friends and after a bit of convincing; we all head out to a club...

But before TK and I headed out, we ran upstairs to change, when we were greeted by a French woman who started yelling at us threatening to call the "policia." Not exactly sure why this came about since we weren't even talking and although we attempted to tell her we don't speak French and had NO idea AT all wht she was saying... she continued getting mad at us for standing there? No worries... time to leave.

So we head out and get a little lost, get a little beat box session from one of the French guys with braids, and then rougly an hour later we arrive at the club. Seemed like a fun place; good music, fun crowd, and interesting atmosphere.

But TK and I kindof just go off in our own little world trying to just have fun. I think the best part of the night was when we were trying to "get away" from the group of French guys and took safety on top of a speaker! The guys tried to join us up there, but were quickly pushed away by bouncers. Oh life is good! and to make things better; we saw our friends yet again from LAX who are studying in London again!! But thank goodness we did because we basically used them as an excuse to get away from the French and ran to them for safety Ha. Thanks Steve and Ben! The French guys didn't really enjoy this; and all headed out except one who we made the long trek home with us. Too bad he spoke the least amount of english...

After roughly 4 hours of sleep, we were up again to go do some final exploring of Florence... We first went o Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David before we went over to a hill over looking all of Florence and found an amazing view. We also lucked out with some "nicer" weather. While up there, I got free lunch, we saw roughly 53 chinese weddings, and the most beautiful Ferrari ever. Future car for sure.

Another decent day, and only a few complications when trying to get our train to Rome. Thankfully everything eventually worked out and we said Ciao to Florence, and Bonjourno to Rome!

Cinque Terre: Hike of a Lifetime

2010-04-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

Moving on from Venice, we had high hopes for our next city: Cinque Terre. I had never heard much about this place before, so wasn't exactly sure what to expect... But after our travels through the pouring rain, getting fined for not "stamping" our ticket correctly, and being cramped on a train, we arrive to Cinque Terre five hours later... Almost.

Ok... so Cinque Terre means "The Five Lands" and comprises itself of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We were staying in Riomaggiore, so after much confusion we eventually grab another train to take us there. Well these trains were not the most informative and we had no clue which stop was ours and ended up passing it.... Not a good start to finding this place. So then we get on a train going BACK the other way hoping for the best but got off a stop too soon. We realized this just in time and ran to get back on the train. Marie and myself made it... TK was not so lucky... Fortunately someone saw TK's distressed look on her face and let her back on in the first train. So now we are seperated and don't know where we are going. This was frightening since we didn't have any tickets either, and did not want to receive any more fines. But we made it. No more fines, no more rain, and no more travel for another day!!

So in Riomaggiore we walk up the one street in the village that led to what we thought was our hostel. Ok... when I say street I mean MOUNTAIN. it was basically walking up a 90 degree angle. it was intense with all of our bags... but it was good because we were greeted by the friendliest little Italian man. Had nothing but a smile on his face.

So he took us to our place which ended up being a little apartment down the alley through a couple back alleys and eventually right on the edge of the sea. It had two bathrooms, 3 bunks, a full bed, and a full kitchen all covered by a warm coral color on the walls with beautiful Italian oil paintings. So nice!

But we were exhausted at this point and just wanted to grab a bite to eat before bed; too bad we arrived during siesta, and everyone was napping. No worries, we grabbed some gelato before grabbing some pizza and then met some australians before hitting the sack. (I swear I have met more people from Australia than England!)

Ok so today we wake up bright and early to get a move on what Cinque Terre is famous for: hiking the five villages. Now I am sure many of you think of hiking as walking a couple miles through a forest, etc.... But you could not be more wrong. Because of our lack of research we basically started the hike backwards. Many begin in the other town, Manarola, and work their way back to Riomaggiore because then you work from hardest to easiest. We did it opposite. bad idea.

But we begin and it is absolutely breath taking. We had amazing weather and began our walk on the edges of the Cliffs over looking the Mediterranean. There is no way one could put into words the scenery. The paths started with flowers growing from the cliffs of every color, surrounded by different graffiti of all the passerbys throughout the years. And as you continued on; this scenery began to continually change.

The nice smooth walks turned into walking uphill, both ways, across boulders portruding in the middle of the "paths" which were barely big enough to fit one person. Wow. It was intense. It was roughly 9KM long, but felt like longer through the rocky terrain. Many times we thought it was never going to end. It literally took us all day... roughly 8 hours?

We had a couple close calls a few times as well. VERY intense because whether it was up or downhill, the rocks were sharp, jagged, narrow, slippery, and the paths were so sketch and small. Crazy experience.

Along the way though, we discovered a little outlet to the Sea with the waves crashing 15ft. in the air, different old "villages," a couple little street vendors, fishermen hanging off a cliff, playgrounds, and some old abandoned buildings. It was beautiful. But what made it really neat was to stop in every village and see the different surroundings.

Although they all seemed similiar with their rustic Italian architecture of houses built on top of one another, scattered about the cliffs, made in every shape and color; each had its own personality. They also had their own tastes in gelato! (We decided to do a tour de gelato with our hike. We deserved it. Don't judge us.)

In one of the villages, Corniglia, we stopped to eat at a classic italian restaurant which had amazing gnocchi, and while we were checking out, the owner presumably, stopped us. Although, this was uncomfortable since he didn't speak english. The only thing we got out of it was that he liked TK's blue eyes and thought I was cute? But then he offered us some champagne...

Note to everyone: NEVER take champagne from an Italian. It is NOT champagne; more-so a bitter mix of tequila and everclear. Ouch.

Needless to say, we left with a bitter taste in our mouth (YES. Play on words!)

So we continued our hike, and after 3 more gelatos, one point at which we had to climb 386 steps, and finding a beach; we headed home on the train where we then passed out, preparing to meet up in Florence with Kelley the next day!

Cinque Terre - breathtaking. What can Italy offer next?

Venice: The Beginning of 16 days in Paradise

2010-04-18T02:08:00.000-07:00

As Arthur Symons wrote, "A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him."

Words so true. This place.... it is beyond words. Everywhere you look you are mesmerized by what is before you. The streets, the canals, the architecture; no comparison to anywhere else in the world. No matter how grand and beautiful you picture it in your head, it will never do true justice.

But beyond that, lets get to the beginning of my 16 day Spring Break Journey across Italy and Greece!

So obviously, we began in Venice. We arrived there pretty late on a Sunday night and grabbed the last bus into "town" where we were supposed to then get on a water bus to our hostel. Yes. Everything literally is transported in this city by boat or donkeys. Ambulances, police, ice cream vendors, taxis: everything is done on boats via the canals! Unreal.

Well we didn't seem to think our hostel would be that far away and didn't know how to work the water boat maps so we decided to just walk. Well everyone.... welcome to the most confusing city in the world. Everywhere leads to a dead end or another canal. I am pretty sure at one point I was just getting sea sick from walking all around and over all this water. It was intense. and their lack of street signs proved another difficulty for us to find out hostel; A Venice Museum.

Eventually we began to give up hope because it is almost midnight and we end up right back where we started.... Oh no. This must have been very apparent because we were stopped by 4 different people in attempts to help us. The first was a couple from California who led us to an Italian man that only knew the word for bridge, who then led us to a couple who were probably just as lost as us, who evenually led us to man with not a single hair on his head, but a beard bushier than that of Santa's and his blonde... "lady friend." Thankfully they were the winning ticket and led us straight to our hostel!!! Thank goodness!!

So we ring the bell and all of a sudden hear a voice from above... a girl no older then I greeted us and buzzed us in... Hmmmm this could be interesting. So we walk up to the hostel itself and are greeted by an obnoxiously loud group of people all just hanging out and having a good time. This place seems pretty fun already!

So we are checked in by a guy, Matt, who probably was not in the right state of mind to be working at computer and money exchanges, but not to worry - everything got settled and he led us to our room of 10 other girls and 1 bathroom. Oh that was not enjoyable. Constantly a race in the morning to get in there... Besides that he hands us our sheets.... well, not sheets... I would say more so a weak excuse for a dish clothe. And each blanket was different; as if they went and raided a Goodwill bin... Later we find out this might have been the case because it turned out the place had bed bugs.

Now I know I am making it sound like a horrible place to sleep and stay; but this hostel was probably one of my favorites! We met so many people and made so many friends and just hung out with everyone there. We were like a small family... we even all ate together some of the most amazing food from all the trip - a homemade potato gnocci with meat sauce paired with a freshly baked cake filled with a raspberry jelly and to top it off homemade sangria. The food was out of this world; and the hostel was in a great location! Turns out we were right across the canal from Brad and Angelina Jolie's apartment they are currently residing in. Although we didn't see them, we kept our eyes peeled.

Ok back to Venice itself; the second day we went off exploring. We really had no clear sight of where to go outside of seeing the Riolto Bridge, St. Mark's Basillica, the Grand Canal, and whatever else we stumbled upon. Lucky for us we had amazing weather! Sunny and warm with the perfect breeze blowing. Ahhhhh Heaven. So we walked and walked and just tried to take everything in. The architecture was unreal... just like the food. We stopped for some gelato of course (the first of our 16 day gelato binge), and pizza twice as big as my face. YUM.

After lunch we continue exploring when all of a sudden I hear my name being called out.... Turns out our friends also studying in London were in Venice and we just "happened" to bump into them? Small world... but we continue our journey and head into a couple shops and fall in love. Venice is known for their glass and their masks for Carnaval.

It's no wonder cause never have I seen anything like this before. Each mask was handmade and different from the last and each one was so beautiful!!! It would have been amazing to see them actually in use during Carnaval, but just seeing them everywhere you turned was unreal. The shapes, colors, designs, embellishments; amazing. Of course the prices reflected these, but so worth it!

With this we found ourselves exhausted and decided it was time to head back for dinner. A good day all in all. Throughout the night we just made new friends and then we said our goodbyes before heading out to Cinque Terre... Goodbye Venice... You will be missed.

Ole Ole Ole Oleeeeeee: Welcome To Dublin

2010-03-25T13:06:00.001-07:00

So it is St. Patrick's Day and Kelly and I have arrived in Dublin to the roaring crowds singing "Ole Ole Ole Oleeeeeeeee!" What a greeting! So here we stand unsure of where to go and what to do in a sea of drunken locals covered from head to toe in Green singing some old Gaelic songs. Oh it feels good to know how my ancestors used to live :)

But we eventually find our bed & breakfast along the back streets that were covered in a substance one can only guess were the remains of someone's dinner from before.... No worries - we arrived to a cute little old man straight out of the movies to help check us in. Then we climb up four flights of stairs with way too much luggage and reach our room. Such a nice little room with a double bed and a TV. Oh god. Such a heavenly site; and attached was a little bathroom. This looked so nice! But looks can be deceiving as we quickly found out the next morning... I'll come back to that...

So we drop off our things and head out to join in the festivities and start next door at the local pub. We are quickly thrown into the mix; being grabbed left and right to either dance or cheers with our neighbors. I love Ireland. But we decide to check out another place and just wandered until we stumbled into another small random pub playing journey. This must be good. This is were we met a group of Germans and proceeded to hang out with them all night... This was not as easy as it sounds for the sheer fact they spoke little english except for one. So as he translated for the group; St. Patty's Day turned out to be a great success! So we head back and head to bed because we had to be up bright and early for the Guinness Factory Tour!!

Ok we wake up... 7am. Booo. But no worries - yet. So we hop in the shower.... and this is where things go awry... The shower decides it doesn't want to work and drips roughly six drop of water out at a time... Hmmm. Well we make do and head out anyways. So we fgure out the transportation after being stopped by a ...."woman" dressed in silver sequin pants and a tube top with a pink trucker hat and 4 teeth who proceeded to ask us for money. ooohhhh. this is awkward, so we just turn the other way. hahaha

Well we eventually find The Guinness Factory and begin the tour! This was a lot of fun!!! Similiar to the Heineken experience, but yet different. 6 levels of Interactive games/stories/activities.... Love Love Love! But then we finally reached the top after dawdling around for a bit and we each get a Guinness.... Boooo. Ok so this beer is quite a beer. I mean the pour, the color, the head.... everything about it is tempting... except the taste. But I promised myself I would finish a full pint. A pint! That is all!!! And yet it still took me roughly 20 minutes of pure displeasure to drink this glass of what I would say consisted of a taste similar to ground up dirt mixed with a musky cologne and moldy bread. Not enjoyable to say the least...

But afterwards we stopped at a typical Irish Pub and this helped mask the taste! So good! I got an Irish stew of mashed potatoes with carrots and beef and so much more. It was DELICIOUS. Kelly got a chicken dish that had a kick to it! A Spicy, non-indian food dish?! Are we in America?!

Well so after we decided to just continue exploring and ended up at Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, and a few other places before we headed back for a nap. Afterwards we went out to dinner to a restaurant titled, "From Mexico To Rome." Well this is clearly legit and we stop in... We come to find it literally is a restaurant split down the middle with one side having bright lanterns covering the walls and colorful templates representing Mexico, and the other side consisted of blue and white shades with greek gods painted on the walls. Wow. Couldn't help but laugh - but after another amazing meal we head back yet again where we are stopped on the street by a couple guys. They were nice but one was a bit.... "tipsy" and we just had a nice chat before being stopped by a gentlemen that sat next to us on the flight out there!! What a small world. It was unreal. But we finally say our goodbyes and head to bed for be had to wake up at 5am for an epic day in Cork and Blarney.

Well we wake up hoping our shower problems would be fixed; but unfortunately they just got worse. The water not only barely came on, but it was freezing cold, and turned off in the middle of the shower 4 times. We made due again by finding some cups and pouring water from the sink to shower. Wow. But we head out again and this is where everything is a rush. Literally.

We walk over to the tram to take us to the train station and miss it by 1 minute. We wait and wait and wait, and finally another one comes so we hope on and reach the train station. Our train departs at 7 and it is 6:51 right now - so we rush to pick up our tickets and it turns out we have the wrong tickets. So we spring to the ticket counter and pay an extra fee and then make a mad dash for the train. It is now 6:57am. 3 minutes to spare and it just so happened the only gate left open was at the OPPOSITE end of the track. Wow. Well, we made it. Barely and then just relaxed for we had a 3 hour train ride ahead of us. Caught a little shut eye as we passed through the most gorgeous countryside! Rolling hills, sheep everywhere, and GREEN. I missed seeing grass and shrubery as sad as that sounds.

But we arrive and look for the next bus to Blarney and go exploring while waiting. We find a cute shopping area, but then the time came for our bus so we headed over. Well it turned out our bus was late, the driver was nowhere to be seen, and the line appearred as if everyone wasn't going to fit! So Kelly and I pushed our way to the front when the bus finally arrived to ensure a place and took the twenty minute journey through the winding little streets to Blarney. This is where we caught a bite to eat before finding the castle.

Well the weather wasn't ideal, but no worries! We eventually find it and begin exploring. Ok let me tell you something - if you are obese, hate stairs, are afraid of the dark, or don't enjoy uneven walking grounds - don't go here. I personally loved it! The history, the architecture; everything! But it was literally an old castle with tiny walkways, steep twisting stairwells, and dark back dungeon rooms and what not. But regardless, after a couple close calls walking up the steps we make it to the Blarney Stone. Ok let me just tell you the Blarney Stone is actually hard to reach. I mean you lay upside down while a "helper" holds you and pushes you upside down towards the stone where you hold onto some railings so you don't fall. Quite a scary feeling actually. So I went first and.... ok I am going to be honest... I didn't kiss it. For two reasons - Number One - I couldn't reach it!! My neck can only stretch so far!!! Number Two - as one Irish local proceeded to point out... it would be like kissing the world's biggest whore.... This got me thinking so I was a bit weary to begin with. Sorry! Guess I didn't get the luck of the Irish :)

But then Kelly went and did she ever kiss the stone! Wow quite the moment ;) So after an epic journey here, we stop in another irish store for some more shopping; grab a couple souvenirs and decide to head back so we can catch our 3 1/2 hour train ride home. Well then the rain set it and it became freezing cold, our bags were not waterproof and broke and ripped and everything was falling everywhere, and the wind decided to pick up. But we finally made it; a bit crabby, and soaking wet; but the train was here. We were almost home!

So we get on the train where we meet the two people across from us, a mother and her son. They were interesting to say the least. The son was 13 years old and knew more about everything then I bet most highschoolers. It was unreal the analogies and references he would make. Not sure if this was because his mother sends him to boarding school; or if its his backaground in speaking fluent gaelic and spanish. Regardless I was stunned. and the mother.... well she was quite the character as well. Seemed very... proper. Wanted things her way and seemed like she forcuses more on school/things then time with family. At one point she made the comment to move on from home and basically said it is pointless to keep touch with them. Her persona was almost snooty I would say; but no worries. It was company and it was nice to have someone to talk too; even if they thought they were better then us hahaha

Well we arrive home yet again and basically pass out after eating some Subway (so Irish I know). The next day was our last day and we decided to keep it low key and basically find what we find. So we went and explored Trinity College and then discovered this adorable shopping center and park. It was called St. Stephen's Green and I think this place was probably my favorite in all of Dublin. It helped that we had an amazingly beautiful day to spend there, but then after a couple pictures with some scottish men in kilts; we headed out to catch our plane.

So we arrive at the airport quite early, but no worries... it felt nice to just sit and relax. Poor Kelly had to deal with me being crabby from being over tired, but no worries cause we finally boarded and reached home. Oh London. How I missed thee. Kindof.... hahaha

But Kelly stayed a couple days later and soon left on Tuesday. During this time though we went and saw Avenue Q (amazing as always... though interesting to see them do an American Play and change the jokes to suit the British), visited St. Jame's Park where we fed the wildlife, visited Abbey Road (mind you this was so difficult because this is actually a really busy road and we had to wait for an opportunity, quick run out in the middle of the road, take a picture and run back), and just hung out. A good last couple days; minus Sunday where we sat like lazy bums all day.

It's crazy how fast 12 days with her went, but it was nice. She treated me to so much; food, plays, treats, shows, gifts, and so much more! But we said our tearful goodbyes at the train station, as I won't see her for another two months, and we are back to two. I didn't realize how spacious our prison cell was until we had three people in it at one point hahaha

But here we are; SPRING BREAK! We begin our tour of Italy and Greece for the next 16 days and I cannot wait. Hopefully the weather will be in our favor, and my skin may actually see some sun!!

The Walt Seesters Take Over London

2010-03-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am 2 months in and I finally got a visitor! My seester is here!!!!

She arrived here on a Thursday after flight delays, transfers, cancellations and so much more. Very unlucky - but one would not be a Walt if we travelled with no such problems. So being the good student and sister I am, I skip class to meet her at the airport.

Well after an hour long tube ride next to probably the smelliest man in the world and 2 transfers later, I arrive in full throttle at the airport.

I stood at the gate - so excited - a familiar face from home - I cannot wait!
But wait I did... But eventually I see a girl walk through the gates with more luggage then she can handle and a very confused look on her face that I often find myself making as well... must be SEESTER! So I yell her name and she turns the other way. Yep. She completely ignores me.

But not really, just bad hearing (it's a Walt thing?) and so instead of yelling her name again I decide to run and almost knock her and all the luggage over in the biggest hug. Wish there could have been a film crew there... I mean this was straight out of a movie where two loved ones are reunited for the first time in a long time and they share a long embrace and... ok well ours was really just like "Hey seester - stop walking away from me" kind of a hug but eh... you get the point. (I am trying to make this sound more sentimental then it really was)

So then we decide to take a Taxi home seeing the tube would be very difficult with all that luggage and what not and how expensive could it really be?... Well $100 american dollars later we finally arrive at my housing, NIDO. Welcome to Prison :)

But everything was good - we head upstairs and attempt to make room in this cell and eventually kind-of find places for all the bags and what not before I am surprised with all these goodies from home she brought me! Mrs. Grass Soup, Charleston Chew Bars, Candy Foam Saucers, Hair Products, and More Underwear! Yes! Now I can wait even longer to do laundry :) (sorry if that is too much information?)

But I rush her to hurry up before we head out and do some shopping before dinner and a couple drinks. So nice to catch up in person and just hear from home. But the next day was epic. We walked and walked and walked and walked all over London and eventually found the big monuments and had a classic English Lunch and just hung out. It was chilly, but very nice. And we eventually ended up at the most famous store, Harrod's where we discovered the most delicious piece of artistry since StroopWafels.... Whoopies!! They are almost like a mini-cake sawed in half and filled with a creamy substance. They come in all different flavors and are so beautifully decorated. We went for the red velvet (my personal favorite), cherry, and classic whoopie. I officially am in love with Whoopies. Unreal.

3 Whoopies Later, I decide to show Kelly some of the London Nightlife and take her to the club Tiger Tiger. So after some negotiating we get in and just kind of hang out before being ambushed by dirty 40 year old somethings... as usual. So we quickly walk away and discover some new friends - Mark (a well groomed middle aged man dressed in suit and tie) and Tyson (a caribbean involved in architecture)...interesting mix, but whatever.

So we had a good night overall, caught a cab home for really cheap cause I am too lazy to try to figure out the night buses and we hit the sack.

Then the next day I stayed in in the morning doing some homework (believe it or not) while Kelly went and explored Portobello Market before we went and saw Chicago (amazing by the way), and then I took her to visit Covent Garden and a few other places before we rested up before heading out.

Well we weren't feeling that ambitious so we headed to a pub called Miller's just down the street. It was interesting because we walked in and we were the only two females out of maybe forty men in the whole bar.... Oh no... is this one of "those" places we kept asking ourselves... but eventually we made friends and had one of the cheapest nights yet! Amazing!

So Sunday again I was stuck here doing homework all day while my sister went and explored. Sad day. But we got a lot done before we headed out to dinner at a chinese restaurant that was so cheap and delicious!!

Then came Monday where there was supposed to be a lunch scheduled with Chancellor Gow from La Crosse! One can only dream! So we got Kelly in and I got to shake Joe Gow's hand in London. Be jealous. Oh it was amazing. and after that we went out to explore the happiest place on earth outside of Disney world - Hamley's Toy Store! Oh goodness - five floors of pure heaven. We went up and down exploring and playing with anything touchable!!

This was all before another night of going out. Yes we went out on a monday, but no worries - a good night none the less before Tuesday when we decide to kind of hang low and get our hair chopped off. Very interesting and random, but change is good? Oh well, we got bored and so that is what good sisters do... make bad decisions.

But later we decide to go to a small comedy act performing at some pub and it actually turned out to be very funny. It was 3 gentlemen who stood on a tiny stage upstairs in a pub and performed random skits they created. Our favorite skit was either the one I got pulled on stage and they did a little mini-version of the full monty to make me uncomfortable and we also enjoyed the "Uncle Party Skit," where a man who has lost everything creeps over to his sister's to find a party and bring some jellies and "Boooooo's" everything that is a debbie downer. Hard to explain, hilarious to watch!

So then comes Wednesday - St. Patty's Day!!!!!! Well here begins an all day drink-a-thon beginning with mimosas after class, moving onto vodka redbulls and beers on the train before the plane to Ireland, and ending with Germans and way too much beer and some Journey "Don't stop believin" played in the background.
An epic day for sure in Ireland, but I will get to Ireland in a seperate blog...

So we arrive back to London yesterday after an amazing time in Ireland with my sister visiting our roots, and decide we need to go out atleast one more time. Well we had all the intentions of finding a fun club, but the rain set in and us being really smart and not bring umbrellas threw our coats on our heads and ran to the closest pub - Millers. I mean last time wasn't so bad, right?

Well sure enough we are the only girls yet again, but no worries... we eventually met some preteens who treated us to free drinks all night! Thanks a bunch guys :) but then when we wanted to leave and head to another pub, they followed us. Ugh. We were over them at this point and they didn't really catch on; but they were nice so whatever... but we get to the other pub where we find ourselves immersed in a hot bed of 200 sweaty drunk college students all packed in this place like a tin of sardines. Ohhhh it feels like home once again! But soon we were over this fact too and head out before being chased around by a couple of guys dressed as smurfs that turned our skin blue! Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

But the adventure is winding down with seester heading out soon, but no worries because I will be going to Italy and Greece for a 16 day spring break in a week and then my parents are visiting as well! The days are flying by! 75 Days till Departure....

J'adore Paris!

2010-03-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

I don't even know where to begin with this.... PARIS.

Unbelievable to say the least... But it didn't start out that way...

Let me begin with my story on Thursday Night...

A typical Thursday... There I sit studying my life away (no really - I actually do homework out here), when I decide that instead of getting a good nights sleep before my epic weekend in France, I should just stay up all night.

Well this was a good idea at the time. Our bus left at 6 am, so I would have to be up at 4:30 anyways and I thought I could just sleep on the bus....

I was severely mistaken...

We get to a bus stop to take a bus to our other bus stop (did you follow all that?). Well, after the bus doesn't show up on schedule we became a little worried since we didn't leave much room for error in travel time.

Thank goodness we finally see the 205 coming with 8 minutes before we are supposed to leave! So we hop on and we are off! But who would have thought the buses are so crowded at 5:52am. Honestly! There was one man who got on at another stop on the way with a pulley full of boxes, who then asked me to move, and me being confused just moved over, and the man proceeded to stand in my spot. Mind you, this left me standing in the middle of the bus with nothing to hold onto and falling all over everyone else. Awesome. I had no idea what just happened. WHO DOES THAT?!

Well, whatever... nothing can really get me down because I am going to Paris.... Or so I think.

So we finally make it to our bus and are greeted by our tour guide Billy Ray Cyrus. Well not actually Billy Ray, but his twin to say the least! It was fantastic. I was praying for the moment he would break out with "don't break my heart... my achy breaky heart..." in an english accent... no such luck.

But here we arrive. at our bus. aka our new home for the weekend. Our home without a restroom on it. Ouch, this can't be good for a ten hour ride. Honestly. Spent almost more time on the bus then in France itself; but beggars can't be choosers...

So we begin driving and we drive into the sunrise. There goes any chance of sleep. But who could sleep at a time like this! So we decided to admire the beautiful ghetto of England as we drove over to our ferry that will take us across the english channel.

2 1/2 hours later we finally arrive to the port and find ourselves enveloped by the cliffs of Dover. GORGEOUS. Huge, white hills following the shore line. So beautiful. But no time to waste - we had to run over to the food stop and grab a coffee and some breakfast and use a restroom while we had the chance.

So we get inside and find a burger king and one coffee shop. We just had sooo many choices but chose to opt for burger king breakfast. I was starving, so I went for something called a bacon butty. Turned out to be a couple shreds of bacon between a bun with roughly 6 hashbrown nuggets. Well $8 later, and still a very hungry Caitlin, we set sail.

So we drive up onto the ship and climb up the decks. Find a nice seat in front of the windows and immediately regret this decision. Ok, so coming from a background of basically living on a lake my whole life, one would think I could handle a few waves... well never have I felt more sea sick. It was unbelievable. So there goes any chance of catching some shut eye here either....

But we eventually reach France. And guess what... They drive on the right side of the road!! Amazing! Just like home again! So we continue on our journey and drive through the beautiful country side of France. Billy Ray compared it to Illinois. Ew. Who does he think he is. But it did remind me of home :)

Regardless, we drive and drive and DRIVE... and finally get into the city of Paris! So here we sit thinking... "Thank god. We made it. FINALLY. I cannot stand this bus anymore..." but this was false hope... Turns out some people missed the bus and we had to find them in the middle of France somewhere... In the middle of what would be their "rush hour." Horrendous....

Well Billy Ray randomly gets off the bus without saying anything and we begin to drive around... this is not good. But sure enough a short time later we found him! and he even had the 2 missing people! Yayyyy!

So we are off... again.... This time on the way to the hotel which we eventually get to, or so we think. So we all unload off the bus, grab our bags and head into the lobby where Billy Ray then tells us, "Oops... sorry guys we don't have rooms here. we are at the wrong hotel. No worries we only have to walk 4 blocks to get to the real hotel."

No worries? We have sat on a bus and boat for the past 9 hours and you tell us NO WORRIES?! I am standing there ready to fall over from exhaustion and now I was told to lug my bags 4 blocks to our "real" hotel? Oh goodness....

But we made it, and not a moment to soon at 6pm. 12 hours after our departure time...
But thankfully our hotel was amazing! It was huge and had 2 big beds and 2 bathrooms and a jacuzzi tub and the most amazing sink, and a blowdryer, and a TV!!! TV! TV! TV! And boy did we ever watch it with our surround sound. Scrubs has never sounded so good, except for the fact it was in French... Oh well.

But we only had a few minutes to clean up before we headed out to a river cruise on La Seine. Breathtaking. It started right outside the Eiffel Tower where we departed on the hour; at the same time the Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkled! On the hour, Every Hour. Such an amazing sight. The horrible day of travel immediately flew out of my mind, and I fell in love with the city.

I just stood there trying to take everything in. My life is like a dream. I am standing on a boat drinking the best hot chocolate of my life, while being surrounded by the Eiffel Tower, L'arc De Triomphe, Notre Dame, and so much more! It was so beautiful... Nothing could bring me down, not even the freezing cold... The music, the lights, the surroundings... there is no way that this was all really happening...

But the cruise comes to an end where we quickly run off to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower! After a short que, we grab our tickets and go! This is when I remember my fear of heights. But who could pass this up, a once in a lifetime adventure! So we head up the elevator packed to the brim with people so everyone is roughly touching 13 other people at once, and eventually make it to the top.

The first steps onto the top honestly took my breath away. Not sure if it was from the cold or the view; but regardless. I was standing on top of the Eiffel Tower. Wow. You could see for miles! It was beyond words. Everything was lit up and the streets and the monuments and the structures and everything! Paris was at my fingertips: literally. Amazing. And through all of this we met some girls also on the trip from California and Massachusetts. So after a couple HUNDRED pictures and some fooling around, we decide we should to leave and grab a bite to eat....

Well we forgot we are not French, nor speak French outside of my 2 years of highschool classes, and do not know how to travel France. So we go on an adventure of trying to find our way home while trying to find somewhere we can afford to eat. We flag down a few cabs; but quickly realize 5 is a bad number for cabs. So we try the metro. Surprisingly enough, it was actually quite easy to use!

So we head home and grab a bite and fall asleep to the soothing sounds of french Tv...

We are up bright and early the next morning where we are greeted by a FREE breakfast buffet! I know. Amazing. and they say there is no such thing as a free meal... But being the poor, starving college students we are... we begin to hoard our food. We stole croissants, jam jars, nutella packets... anything and everything that could last... delicious!

So after we stuff our faces and our bags, we head out for Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur. We get there and I am stunned once again by the beauty. It may have helped that it was a gorgeous sunny day, but this basillica sits atop a hill looking over all of France. How could one not fall in love?!

And to make things better, there was s little town square with a handful of artists selling the most beautiful paintings and sketches. Gorgeous! Along with that, French sketch artists were everywhere trying to draw everyones pictures.... oh no.

Well, I am bad at saying "No" when approached by people to buy something because I hate letting them down, and before I could say anything, a gentlemen started drawing my picture. awkward. No turning back now I guess? And sure he enough he just "happened" to have a "friend" ready to draw TK.

So we awkwardly stood there as these gentlemen drew pictures of us, and once they were done, well... then it was uncomfortable. I looked at the drawing, then looked at the artist and without thinking, blurt out, "I have a lazy eye?!" Oops.... But regardless, I had to buy it. Oh well. But atleast mine somewhat looks like me. TK on the other hand was not so lucky.

TK kind of came out looking like a young Nun; veil and all. Hahahaha. Fail. And what do you do with a picture of yourself?! I mean it's creepy enough to randomly hang a picture of yourself... I think I know what I look like. and I am pretty sure my family is sick of seeing my face everywhere as is, they don't need a poorly drawn picture of me with a lazy eye to be reminded of my times in France... but no worries... TK is hanging on my wall so I can wake up to her every morning, even when she isn't here.

Well after spending way too much money on some paintings and what not, we head off to walk around Paris. We discovered something similiar to a red light district, Moulin Rouge, a couple windmills, and so much more! Eventually we ended up at Notre Dame where we set off apart from our Tour Group. And Notre Dame has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Honestly.

The church is on a seperate little island and has a massive courtyard setting in the front just bustling with people and pigeons and peddlers and anything else you could imagine. It's an experience in itself.

So we walk around in the most beautiful weather since arrival, and just take it all in. Then we decided to try and find the Catacombs... Well an hour later we finally stumble upon it after a couple of poorly translated french directions, and find the line to be around the block. Sad. We didn't have time for this since we still wanted to see L'arc de triomphe, Champs Elysees, a couple other places, and still had to get to dinner... We definately packed in a full day.

So we hop on the metro and end up at the Eiffel Tower again. It's a whole new perspective during the day. My recommendation for anyone who may visit France: visit the tower at night. So much better. I mean it was still amazing, but just lost some of its luster.

From there we pushed through the hundreds of people trying to sell stupid eiffel tower trinkets and eventually stumble upon L'arc De Triomphe! Much bigger then I ever imagined. It honestly was huge and just sits in the middle of an enormous roundabout! Well this posed a problem... How do we get there??? Are we going to have to play a little Frogger?? Well, this would have been bad.... But thankfully we found an underground passage and made our way over.

It was neat to just be there and look in every direction and see another road, another site, another face... just so much to look at. I could only imagine what the view is at night or from the top! But we decided it was time to head back to give ourselves some time for an epic dinner...

So we were told to visit a restaurant called Des Refuge Des Fondus. If you ever go to France - Do this. Such an experience! It is a tiny little restaurant hidden off on a side street, but so worth the search!! You get there and look into the giant glass window with a poorly painted clown on it, and see a room that you wouldn't imagine could fit more then 2 tables. And that literally was just it. 2 Tables that stretched all the way down on both sides of the place. Each table could probably seat 15 on both sides and then there was one tiny alley inbetween the tables that the 2 servers navigated between.

When we first arrived we apparently were "late" and ended up having to wait because it was beyond crowded. But no worries, we made friends at the bar next door where the server said he would come and find us 45 minutes later.... well sure enough time flies by and we are summoned over.

When we walk over, we are just engulfed by an enormous line waiting to get in. Good thing we got there when we did! Needless to say, the people still waiting were not happy we got seated first, but oh well! C'est La Vie ... or something like that.

So we get there where TK is then forced to climb over the table to her spot where we make friends seeing everyone is almost sitting on top of one another in this graffiti covered cell of a restaurant. Yes. Tonight will be a good night because from there we are greeted with an appetizer sampler and an opening drink. Similar to a sangria, and so delicious! And once that was gone you are served wine... but glasses are too classy for this place, so our wine came to us in Baby Bottles. Yes. Baby Bottles. I think this was for safety and spill proof reasons seeing towards the end of the dinner it can get kind of sloppy!

Well soon we get served our fondue - a cheese sauce where you are given a huge bowl of bread to dip. Probably one of the most amazing things I have ever had! And through all of this you meet/make so many friends! The french group next to us was celebating their friend, Patrice's, 40 Birthday and it became a celebration for all eventually! So much fun!

But then to top it all off, we had this chocolate mousse dessert served in a vanilla creme sauce. Yum!!!! Oh my goodness... I don't know if it was the 3 baby bottles that helped make this one of the best experiences yet, or just the atmosphere itself... Regardless - amazing. Go Out Of Your Way and Do This! Just be careful because those baby bottles pack a strong punch, and can definately catch up with you!(Sorry mom and dad... just living the dream!)

Well after dinner we headed back to the bar where we proceeded to annoy the bartender by asking to hold his "veche," aka a glass cow, he had mounted on his bar. Well we succeeded, and then everything kind of runs together... To sum it up - we continued the birthday celebration with Patrice and his brother Alex and the rest of their family, made new friends, fell down the stairs in the metro, got a couple new bruises, and had one of the craziest nights since arrival overseas! Yes.

Since we had such an "interesting" night, we clearly had to pay for it the next day... So we stumble out of bed in the morning, not feeling the greatest for some reason... and head down to breakfast. Well, after hoarding 10 more jars of jelly, 3 croissants, and 8 nutella packets, we check out and head for the louvre!

HUGE. That is basically the only word that comes to mind to describe this place. So large and so much! Everywhere you go it's different. It ranged in art from egyptian relics, to post european royalty, to greek architecture. So much to look at, but we only had a limited time so we hit up the big things: Napoleon's "apartments," the Mona Lisa, Venus Di Milo, etc etc... And then to top it off, we headed to the glass pyramid structure outside. Well even though it was another beautiful sunny day, it didn't help that it was freezing temperatures (literally), and we didn't have coats. Bad call.

So we quickly take a couple pictures and head back for the bus... Ugh. Well this sucked. Here we are stuck on a bus, overtired, over-exhausted, and soooo over the bus itself. Well no worries, after another sea sick boat ride and 10 hours later, we finally arrive home at 10:30pm. Wow.

So France: J'adore. Everything about it was breathtaking. I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

Can't wait for my next adventure with my sister in Ireland. Things just keep getting better and better!

Hallo From Amsterdam!

2010-02-28T13:48:00.001-08:00

It's finally time! A blog about my first "Real Adventure" outside of London!

AMSTERDAM

Ok so first, I am sorry for tricking you all in the last post cause I never actually talked about my adventures in Amsterdam, but this is for real now.

So it starts with our train ride in the pouring rain to London Gatwick. When we arrive we come to find our plane is non-existent. Yep. No gate, no terminal, no time: Nothing. Oh no. But finally we come to discover it was delayed... 4 hours. Ouch. So with this in mind we grabbed a bit to eat at an over-priced airport restaurant. Then we went to go sit and wait... Well all of a sudden it said our plane was boarding!

What is going on?! It said four hour delay ten minutes ago and now we are boarding?! This could be bad....

So we make our journey through the airport... and finally find our gate. But it wasn't really our gate. It was a bus! What?!

So we get on this mystery bus which takes us to a totally different part of the airport where we get off in the pouring rain and walk through some random terminals before walking back down and outside to a "new plane?" Very confusing indeed, but we made it to the plane. So Far So Good.

After a very rocky take-off and a couple doodles 45 minutres later; we land in Amsterdam! How crazy is that?! In another country in less than an hour! Amazing.

Upon arrival we are lost. What to do where to go??? But then we found another trai we needed to take, but weren't exactly sure if it was the right one. Anyone out there speak fluent Dutch? Yeah, us neither. But we shoved on the train and found it to be PACKED! So we just kept walking through the train till we finally found a car with a couple seats to sit down. Soon enough we really made it to Amsterdam! (or atleast the part we wanted to be in)

Wow what a sight. We walk out of Centraal Station to an amazing view of the canals all lit up with a church in the distance, and Centraal Station in itself is an amazing piece of architecture! So beautiful! And you are immediately surrounded by cobble stone streets and a city full of history. I couldn't get enough! There was just so much to see and discover! But then reality hit and we realized we had to actually go find our Hostel.

So we take off in a random direction hoping for the best and now we had to read directions that contained street names like Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and Eerste Bloemdwarsstraat. All while avoiding the bikes. Yes bikes... Not cars.

Where to begin on these. Uhm well there are more bikes then people out there I like to believe. It was unreal! And they basically have more right of way then the cars! It was so hard too cause you never know where to look on the streets. They drive normally, but they have lanes going every direction! There are trams, and cars, and mopeds, and I swear I may or may not have seen a bike with a bike on top of it. It was insane.

But thankfully some man on the street recognized us being lost and pointed us in the right direction of our hostel and 20 minutes later we finally arrived!

Our hosel was called Shelter Jordan and it was a Christian Hostel. We walked in, a little weary of what our first hostel experience was going to be like, but it turned out amazing! The people were so friendly and it had a place to lock our luggage up if we didn't want to use our huge lockers, and we opted for an 18 person girl dorm which ended up not even being that full the first night!

So we walk in to find our bunk beds, and are greeted by a cheery face. Turns out another girl from UW La Crosse who is studying abroad in Spain was staying in the beds next to us! What an amazingly small world!!!

So we unpack and get settled in and set off for something to do. Mind you we have no idea where we are going or what we are going to do, but we ended up at a place called Tetra Bar and Cafe. It was a really unique setting. Very dark but immersed in lights of different reds and blues and yellows and oranges with no set theme to the decorations that rangedfrom a Light Up Titanic poster to a cat. Yes a cat. But it turns out Cat's are a good thing! They mean that the place didn't have rats. Very good piece of information for future reference.

So we head home to get some sleep because on Friday we had a big day ahead of us!

In the morning we wake up and head downstairs to the Hostels' Breakfast. Oh my goodness it was so delicious! We got hot pancakes with this Dutch Syrup. It was heaven in my mouth. A mix between nutella and maple syrup. So good!

After breakfast we hit the streets, literally, and went on a 3 hour walking tour. It was so much fun and really informative, but was really unfortunate how cold it was. I lost all feeling throughout my body... but no worries. Our tour guide Bernard (pronounced Burr-nerd) kept my interest.

It began in Dam Centaar. Where we then headed on over to the Red Light District. This was....interesting to say the least.... Learned all about the "women" (not always), in the windows, what they do and how they do it. Very uncomfortable. Some would draw their curtains as we walked pass while others really began to flaunt it. Gross. But no pictures allowed. They apparently get extremely upset and will throw ammonia on you as well as smash your camera.... Crazy.

But after that we continued walked and learned all about "pissoir's" which are public places for men to "relieve themselves" and the we learned all about the architecture of the city.

It is so interesting because all the buildings and houses lean out. The higher you get on the building, the more it leans! and because of all the canals and flooding all the buildings are pemanantely crooked because in Amsterdam you can only own a house for 25 years before you have to buy it back again. So most people just adjusted to their houses becoming crooked and put in crooked windows and doors and what not instead of actually fixing it since they may or may not always own that property!

Ok so I am sorry I am giving you all a history lesson, but it is really interesting if you see it in person!

A brief summary of all the other stops on the tour included Blood Road next to the Weighing House, one of five Catholic Churches in all of Amsterdam, highest spot in Amsterdam,the world's largest floating flower market, and so much more!

It was amazing! and during the middle of it all we got to stop at a coffee shop (a real coffee shop with coffee), and grab a snack/drink. I tried a new drink called Funkey Monkey and it is the most delicious thing I have ever had in my life... next to StroopWafels! Holy Heaven! They are two wafers with caramel syrup inbetween that you can either eat alone or dip in hot cocoa or coffee. Regardless, it is a litle slice of heaven everytime I eat one!

During this time I also wanted to live the dream and run into a flock of pigeons and watch as they would all fly off into the sunset in synchronization. Yeah well note to all you dreamers out there: Pigeons don't move. I ran and ran and ran. and I think one may have even jumped AT me. It was unbelievable. Not a single one even flinched. What are they doing to their birds out there?! Well, regardless there I stood in a flock of pigeons having half of Amsterdam stare at me in the Dam Centaar after I just epically ran into a flock of unmoved birds. Stupid American Girl.

But after the tour we decided to travel on and explore and ended up at the Anne Frank Huis Museum. Very interesting and sad. Crazy to think I walked through their secret bookcase and stood in her bedroom where she slept and all of that. It was really almost eerie...

But after a long day of freezing in the cold where the wind blows backwards, and not being able to use umbrellas because they are useless in the hurricane strength winds, we headed to dinner. and what a dinner.

We stopped at a little Italian restaurant on a corner and it was the most Delicious Pizza I have ever had in my life! I don't know if I am just not used to good food anymore because London doesn't have any, or if I am just more appreciative now that there is good food, or if Amsterdam really just hit it spot on with their food; but Amsterdam=great success for any meal!

So we order some garlic bread and within 1 minute of arriving at the table it was gone. But then the pizza came and it was out of this world. I just don't know how anyone could ever top it. We demolished the food. I am pretty sure the server thought we hadn't eaten in 5 days. But it was just that good!

Then we went and took a little break back at the Hostel before we headed out again. Ended up visiting some "special" coffee shops. Hard not to when they are more common then a Starbucks in New York!

So we stop at one with Bob Marley on the sign. This must be legit. So we just hang out for a little while there before heading off in search of another new adventure. We get a little lost and end up in the Red Light District again where we see a couple deals about to take place. Seems like the place we want to be. But quickly we find ourselves on the main drag again and to better be safe then sorry, end up going to the same bar from the night before. But this time we wanted to try something new.

Absinthe.

Yes we tried it, and I would like to let everyone know there was no "little green man." If you don't know what that means: i.e. mom, dad, & grandma... don't worry about it :)

But Absinthe, it turns out, is not good. I mean really... it is actually quite terrible. Similar to black licorice except worse. But it was really neat because the bartender brought it over and poured it and then went through this whole process to serve it. He began with a sugar cube and put it on a metal slitted spoon. He then set it on fire to carmalize it and let it dissolve in the absinthe. Not exactly sure why he did this, but it was really fun to watch regardless.

So yes within one day of being in Amsterdam I did the most typical American things. But you only live once, right?

So after those epic adventures, there is only one thing left to do for Saturday... The HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE(Sorry for the Caps Lock... Trying to make it sound exciting). But it was amazing! If you ever go to Amsterdam, this will easily pay for itself... well ok maybe not for you, but you'll find out shortly how we got our money's worth...

So it begins with the history and a little canvas backdrop where you can have a little photoshoot while everyone else stares impatiently waiting because we are crazy americans. But then you head into the old brewing room where you find the giant vats that were used to brew all the beer and you even get to sample like a "pre-brew" mix of hops and water. Not delicious. At all.

But then you walk past the Heineken horses and get to a sampling room. Everyone gets a beer, and they then inform you of the different and unique qualities to Heineken. And if you were the first to finsih, you get another free beer! Great Motivation!

You then proceed to an area where you get on a motion simulator ride where you are "brewed." This was cute... the ground would shake and twist and turn you while you would get squirted with water and get air blown at you, and it was actually a fun little experience.

Following that was an area where you could make your own personal music video, but it is all in Dutch... (It's on my email if anyone is just dying to see how talented we are at singing in dutch). And following that you go into a personal little capsule where you can watch a history of Heineken commercials. I am not kidding, this was a playground for grown ups!

Goodness - there was just so much to do and see and play with!

and at the end you get two free beers, cold or Extra Cold. Amazing because it is just a giant bar where everyone is hanging out. And soon a group of men come up to us. Turns out they speak very little english. They are from Italy and their names consist of Chilo 1, Chilo 2, Luca, Jen (but not like the girl as he pointed out), and Salvadore.

One of their first lines to me was, "I am a playgirl. Luca is playgirl (as he pointed to himself)" Unreal. But it was ok because they got extra free tabs for more free beer and even the bartender, Vouter, was giving us two for every one. Well seeing it was two o'clock and we had to board a plane soon, we decided it be in our best interest to get out of there before we it was too late.

The Italians didn't enjoy this because they were sad to see us go... Luca goes "But I love she! (pointing at me)" while TK was overwhelmed by Chilo and Jen trying to take seductive pictures with her. Very entertaining to say the least. And this is how we definately got our money's worth for the experience! So fun!

And to top off our day headed off to the most American Restaurant of them all, The Hard Rock Cafe, where again the meal was so amazing!

Well, it eventually became the time we had to leave and we illegaly boarded the tram with more people then accounted for in the tickets. Whoops. But no worries, we made it to the station and airport to find our flight was delayed.... again. Thanks a lot easyjet. you suck at life. Especially since they yelled at us first for having a bag and a purse, and then I was stuck next to a man who snored the whole time when he wasn't trying to explain to me how he works with "old people." All this while a bunch of rowdy kids were screaming and yelling the whole flight. Turns out they also had to take the 1 1/2 hour bus ride with us to our tube station, where they proceeded to blast their music.

Mind you the bus was overfilled and I got the last available seat. No bueno. We later got kicked off the bus for accidentaly getting off at the wrong stop and then not being allowed back on. Fortunately we found a tube station, but half the lines were down. Eventually we finally made it home...

But there it is. An amazing experience to say the least. A couple things went awry here and there, but regardless I am in Love. Amsterdam is amazing. It is beautiful, there is an endless amount of things to do and see, the people are more then friendly, and the food is to die for.

I miss it already, but am looking forward to my weekend getaway in France this coming week, and then a visit from my sister!

Vaarwel for now!

What Celebrity Do We Look Like?

2010-02-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

So again, here I sit with people asking me... "Caitlin, when are you going to post your next blog?!"

Regardless if they are just trying to be nice or not, for those of you who pretend to like to read From London With Love: an update has arrived!

I just arrived "home" from Amsterdam, and wow. That is all I have to say about that!

Ok I will say more in a little bit, but let me get you up to date with my life before our adventures in Amsterdam.

Last blog I focused on my classes, teachers, and group members. A boring subject indeed. Let me now refocus our attention on my social life.

I will begin with some recent adventures. This will include an epic night at "Club De Fromage," and "Roadhouse" and rounding off our week with a performance at the Circle Theatre titled "Warhorse."

"Club De Fromage" (translates to "The Cheese Club")

Quite a night to say the least! We overheard about this club through word of mouth and proceeded to do some research online. Turns out it is basically a giant theme party held every weekend. The weekend we went turned out to be 80's night! I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming when I heard this!

So we grabbed our leather spandex, leg warmers and gaudy sunglasses and hit the streets. After what felt like walking for 33.56 miles in heels and a Stella in hand, we find ourselves...lost. Yep no club to be found. Thankfully we found some very "confused" guys on the street who pointed us in the right direction planning to meet up with us later. Meet up with us they did. But first let me tell you about our friends we met once inside the club.

There were 3 older gentlemen (big surprise), who came up and the first thing said to us was, "what celebrities do we look like." Oh nooo. This cannot end well because one was on the heftier side, while one looked like he may have had one too many coffees that day, and the third having a blank stare on his face that screamed I am near unconsciousness. But we wanted to humor them and proceeded to tell them they looked like George Clooney (coffee man), David Beckham (Hefty Man), and Johnny Depp (unconscious man). They seemed to enjoy this compliment and our next set of drinks was on them! Perfect.

Well as we were jamming to some Queen, Poison, and Madonna; our friends from the street showed up. They were fun to hang around, but soon turned extremely awkward when one of them turned to TK and goes, "You smell like chicken." he proceeds to "nibble" her neck and goes, "You taste like Chicken too!" (turns to me) "Your friend tastes like chicken!" Needless to say we made new best friends.

Mind you while all of this was going on, the club owner was on stage dancing with a pillow tucked into his business suit with Tom Cruise Risky Business sunglasses in place. His backup dancers stood behind him... they consisted of a dressed up tranny, neon dressed "asian" man in a leotard, and a girl named peppermill who were jumping through hoops and playing air guitars. Epic.

So eventually we left and made the trek home, and by Trek home I mean I could not walk due to the blister growing on my blister on my foot and we took the night buses. Fantastic.

"Roadhouse"

Well we heard about this place on our pub crawl and decided to venture out to Covent Garden again to check it out. We were planning on getting a fishbowl but soon discovered that we arrived too late for this. Oh nooooo. But no worries, they had a live band! AND I discovered the most fantastic invention of my life! It was a sink, soap dispenser, and hand dryer all in one! Talk about Amazing! Heaven forbid I wash my hands, add my own soap, and grab a paper towel or two, but no. I kid you not, I was amazed beyond belief.

After overcoming my happiness of finding the most amazing thing since sliced bread, we hit the dance floor... aka the "try to not get lost in the massive crowd of people all trying to dance in a space much to small for all of us to do our thing" dance floor. But it turned out just fine because the band played cover songs ranging from the Beatles to Kings of Leon!

Well, the band decided to take a break and so did we, so we went and made friends at the bar. Again, ranging in ages roughly 25-30 years of age. They turned out to be extremely nice though! One was a short little bald man named Jason. Another was a very large, almost giant-esque man who had a liking for TK. His name was Sam. Sam enjoyed wearing see through V-necks and poorly gelled man bangs. Needless to say getting a nice view of his nipples all night made the night fantastic in itself. Finally though we had Aiden; cute little quiet Aiden. Very kind indeed, but I think that is only because he said 6 words the whole night. No worries, Drinks were on them yet again!

Always good to make friends too, because after our break we went back on the floor where we found ourselves quickly immersed by a bunch of boys from Argentina. Man oh man Argentina. They sure can dance. Wow. But soon it became a little too much... Thankfully we had V-Neck man and bald man with wingman Aiden to come and save us.

Again another fantastic night! But soon we headed out and took the night buses where a man turned around in his seat and goes, "Americans? I can hear the accent." Hmmm good or bad? Well regardless we had a fantastic conversation with him and an invitation to meet up with him sometime for some drinks. Why people are so intrigued by Americans is beyond me? But it is so wonderful to have so many people be so welcoming!

Only one more topic now before I get to Amsterdam! How Excited are you?! Well settle. This next one is pretty lame, I will be the first to admit... but an experience none the less!

"Warhorse"

A play about a boy and his love for his horse Joey. Yep that is it. I know right? Pretty Lame. But hey, I gave you forewarning.

But I will go a little deeper for you... in case any of you really care.

So it begins with a boy and a man singing to his violin. But don't be fooled; he actually has no part in the play itself. Just a random man who came on stage during transitions and sang a little tune. But moving on, the boy's father was a drunk who accidentally bought a horse with money he didn't have. Well the boy decided he loved the horse and would raise it. Turns out though that the father trades in the horse to the Army to be used in War for money. This is unfortunate for the boy to say the least. So he illegaly joins the army since he was only "16" and goes on a quest to find his horse.

Throughout the play we see two stories; one of Joey (the horse), and one of the boy looking for the horse. Spoiler alert: the boy finds the horse and saves Joey from a near execution through the use of his secret whistle that only Joey knew and responded too. All while the boy was blind and partially deaf due to tear gas. A tear jerker to say the least!

The most intriguing part of the play was the horse itself. It was as giant puppet! I know you are all sitting there thinking... "Caitlin. How can you have a giant puppet horse? What kind of puppet, like Snuffalufagus from Sesame Street kind of puppet?" But no... it was a "puppet" manned by three people where one worked the head, one had the feet, and the other had the rear. All three worked to control this giant piece of "machinery," and I have never seen something that seemed so real! The mannerisms were all there, along with all the noises of a horse, and the movements. They had this down to a science! It was unbelievable!! So all in all, I did enjoy "Warhorse" being the drama nerd that I am.

Well this post is getting long... and I also realized I may have used "quotations" a bit too often. Well no worries. They are all put to good use as emphasis.

But be prepared because I will actually write about Amsterdam in my next blog! Get ready! It's a doozy!

The Cheeseheads

2010-02-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

'Ello All

So I know... I have been slacking. I'm sure you have all been doing nothing but waiting on the edge of your seats for the next one of these blogs. Well here it is. You can stop waiting... I know I know... most of you are probably thinking, "Thank god. It's about time!" Well... Prepare yourself. Sit Back, Relax, and Enjoy...

First I need to say two things.

1.Happy Belated Valentine's Day! Missed everyone from home, but got a Beautiful rose bouquet and Belgian chocolates sent to me! So Happy! Best Surprise Yet :)

2.The sun does exist! Yes. I saw the sun today. It was amazing. I literally walked outside, stopped, looked up and just stood there smiling. I'm sure I got quite a few stares from strangers.... but what a glorious sight! You wouldn't believe how much you begin to appreciate what you don't have until it's gone!

Ok I'm sorry... I just needed to share my happiness with all of you. Let's move on.

Ok so the last time I spoke with you I believe I was just beginning classes. Well here we are on week two. All four classes. One day a week each for roughly 2 hours. I'm sure you are thinking, "Wow what a life. Seems pretty easy." Well I just need to let you know... You're right. It is almost a joke as of right now. I hear they are harsh graders on the one project and final report we do have though.

As for classes I have International Marketing, Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behavior, Retail Marketing, and Advertising. I love it, all these topics are so interesting. A lot of it overlaps, but no worries.

Let's go a little further though and break down these classes, shall we?

International Marketing - My teacher is from Romania and hates Americans. Pefect seeing I am the ONLY american in the class. She seems very harsh and strict, but I will win her over... I hope. But it will be hard seeing she is supposed to be neutral towards all countries seeing she teaches "International Marketing..." but he will stand there and talk about how good everywhere else is, and once America comes up... she goes, "yes well such a very "big and important" country. Always taking advantage of everyone else." etc. etc. This should be interesting.

Consumer Psychology and Buyer Behavior - Ugh. My teacher is so boring. I mean he stands up there and repeats the slides. That is all. and everything he has "taught" so far seems very redundant and basic. Oh well.

Retail Marketing - Love Love Love! My teacher is from Italy, a very small, round man with a BIG attitude. I love it. Today a girl walked in 15 minutes late to our class and she was in the wrong class and he goes, "what are you doing here? Quit wasting my time and get out!" very sarcastic, yet serious at the same time. I enjoy his seminar sections. I am just doing my best to stay on his good side. Being Italian his anger flairs up quite easily and he has little tolerance, but on the upside he is very funny and pleasant to be around when he is happy. It's funny as well because in his seminars he always looks to me, again the only American, and asks to see what it is like in America or how we are different/similar. Today he asked if we had trains and if we all travel on "coaches." This meaning coach buses. Hahaha I said we mainly drive everywhere and they were all so amused by this concept.

Advertising - Again a very interestin class. The first day we sat there, listened to him talk a little bit, and then just watched roughly 16 TV commercials. Yes. This is just one long lecture as opposed to my other classes which are broken into a short lecture and a short seminar. But it's ok in this class because my teacher is very amusing. He is the typical British Man. I don't know how else to explain him. He is straight out of a Monty Python Movie. I can't wait for the day when he begins to walk across the stage with a silly walk from the Ministry of Silly Walks. (Yes I understand most of you won't get this reference except for my dad... but I am trying to cater to everyone, ok?) And he always tells us to buy his textbook because his daughter "needs a new pair of shoes." Awesome.

As for being in my classes; I have group projects in every single one. And the craziest part are my groupmates. They all seem very intelligent, welcoming, and nice. I think I lucked out. Or else they just feel sorry for me. Either way, I'll take it. And it's so interesting cause they are all from another country. They are from everywhere incluing Hungary, Siberia, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Ecuador... just to name a few. To say this is a cultural landfill is a BIG understatement.

Otherwise life has gone on... This past weekend we went and saw a Magic Show in a tiny little basement of a pub in nowhere's land. It was adorable though! We even went on a pub crawl! It was like 12 pounds and we got to go to five bars where we would either get a "free" drink, shot, or both. So that was nice to visit different places of where we may visit again in the future.

Besides that, we went out and were jumped by promoters again, but got ripped off this week. Booo. They took us to a really empty "club" after paying a five pound cover and there we found overselves in a whirlwind of awkwardness. There was a woman dancing by herself in the middle of the club basically doing a modified "woman on drugs line dance." Very interesting to say the least. While she was doing this, to the right of us (cause to the left was an open door letting in the bitter cold, only to our table mind you), we found ourselves in the middle of three people enjoying one another's company way too much in public. So with that we found it to be just the right time to leave and move on.

Then we found a club called Tiger Tiger. Love Love Love this place! You are supposed to be 21, pay an entrance fee, wait in a queue, and all of these things... Well we took our chances and walked up and walked right in! It was awesome. They enjoy Americans in their clubs for some reason haha. So we get into this really posh club that is two stories and head upstairs where we meet some Scottish men probably in their mid-fifties attempting to dance with us.

Clearly we were only entertained by this notion for a short while. We moved on....

We then met a pair of gentlemen celebrating a Birthday. We start to talk and one of them decided it would be a great idea to buy a bottle of Don Perignon Rose Champagne. I have no complaints! $150.00 later, we have a fun night, but head on home where we make friends from all over on the night buses. Probably one of our better nights thus far!

Well there is it. That's it. Was it worth it? Hope so... But prepare yourselves because within the next month I will be traveling to Amsterdam, France, Ireland (with my seester!), Italy, and Greece! Crazy Stuff!

Miss you all and have a "Splendid" Day!

"Oh, You're From America..."

2010-02-09T09:31:00.001-08:00

So it has arrived... My one week anniversary of being in London! Wow. That is unbelievable. I mean it still feels like a Vacation... Just a little more extended. A whole week. Saying it makes it sound like forever, but short all at the same time.

So much has changed since coming here. Whether it be not seeing any familiar faces, besides my roommate TK of course, to travel (I have not sat in a car in over a week!), and adjusting to time, food, and climate.

Well I will begin with familiar faces... Although I haven't seen too many of these, I have met quite a few people since arrival. On weekly outings to different pubs/bars/clubs we have met quite the mix of people. Whether they are from Wales or Singapore, or raised in Germany but Greek Heritage, they have been nothing but nice.... except for one exception...My international Marketing teacher does not care for America nor anyone from there. Kind of ironic huh, being an International Marketing teacher and all.... Oh well.

Traveling. Wow. I will miss this when I come home for sure! I mean it is not the cheapest way to get around, but I can travel the city on the underground and feel comfortable that I know where I'm going! It only took me a week, but it is really an amazing feeling to know that I can get from point A to point B in a foreign country!

Time. The time difference is no fun.... I wish it were more convenient for me to talk to those from home. With a 6 hour time difference, it is not very ideal. I speak with my family generally around lunch time here, when they are just getting up for work looking their very best.... Morning Hair and all :) and as for my friends... outside of email, Facebook and skype are my life. I can call anyone from my skype account or just look online and see all my friends from home procrastinating on facebook. Perfect timing for me to catch up with them and the home life. But with time, I still feel my sleep schedule is getting adjusted. Not sleeping very well, but to justify - there is constantly something going on, so sleep is not put into priority as much.

Food. Ok I was forewarned that everything here is bland. No flavor. No substance. and not a lot of it. Being a big lover of food, hearing things like this made me very nervous. But surprisingly enough, not too bad! A couple meals could do with some more seasonings or flavor... but I have yet to have a bad meal. And all their food is so fresh here! You must eat things quickly because otherwise they expire within rouhly 4.1415 hours... Yeah Iknow(slightly exaggerrated...). I have gone to the grocery store more times than I can remember already. This also includes having to constantly buy water and drinks because their water is not suitable to drink. Not good. Besides being a girl with a big appetite; my thirst is equal in strength. Atleast it is quite a nice workout for the arms carrying back all the groceries everyday!

Climate. Well it sure beats Wisconsin! We just had a small snowfall, so that was unfortunate... but much better than the piles of snow home just received. Besides that, it is Grey. That basically sums it up. If the sun does come out, it is just a teaser and the temperature generally drops 10 degrees when it does appear for all of the 13 minutes. Otherwise it has been around 40 and cloudy since arrival. Atleast not a lot of rain!

Otherwise things are calming down over here. Classes have begun and seem overwhelming at first, but will only improve with time I'm sure... Going to try to see more sights including more museums and shopping! But we are going to kick it all off with going to the Absolut Ice Bar tonight where everything is made out of ice! Cannot Wait!

Cheers!

God Save the Queen!

2010-02-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

Alright so we are on day 4? Day 5? Eh... close enough either way... But what a couple of days. As the time flies by, I find myself becoming happier over here. It took a little adjusting... ok A LOT of adjusting, but we're good now. I mean now we have all the things to get us by, something I like to call FITT: Food, Internet, Towels, and Toilet Paper.... We are set!

Beyond that, things are calming down. I have had meetings and orientations and activities and tours... Constantly doing something. Needless to say it is exhausing. On Wednesday TK and I took a night off after sleeping through our original plans, and decided watching a movie and going to bed was a much better idea than actually leaving the comfort of our jailcell... bedroom.

But it's nice because we have explored much more of the city now! We went on a bus tour taking us all over where we would pass by the main sights like the London Eye, Big Ben, the Globe Theatre, the millenium bridge from Harry Potter... You know all the important sights. Went on some more famous roads like Oxford St. and Regent St. and even stopped by to see Sweeney Todd at Fleet Street. And then we had a boat cruise along the Thames River. It was nice to see everything, a little cold and grey, but a nice day all in all.

We grabbed dinner in a pub after taking a picture with a soldier who can't move or smile or any of that good stuff. Poor guy probably hates that... but the good news is his cologne smelled amazing! I guess he plans ahead for all the ignorant tourists who I'm sure constantly take pictures with him. But once we hit the pub this is where our American Stupidity kicks in. We weren't, and are still, unsure of their customs here. Do we seat ourselves? Do we pay at the table? Do we always have to ask for our check? Did we go to a place that isn't our kind of crowd? I mean there are just so many things that are different. Let's be real here, who is to say we will even eat there! A lot of the food, personally, sounds like the leftovers of the animals. Liver and Kidney and Brains oh my. Not my cup o' tea personally

We have the tube figured out now, too. So easy. Buses not so much... not yet atleast. But last night we had to use both. We decided to go to a club called Zoo Bar. It was just a short tube ride away and as soon as we got off the tube the night began. We were ambushed by a group of men trying to get us to go to their promotions and their clubs. Very overwhelming at first, but entertaining to watch them yell at one another... "They're club are all gay men. Not for you." "Well his club sucks. No one goes there. All stupid People." Very mature to say the least.

We finally settled on the guy for Zoo Bar with the promise of getting to skip the line, get free cover, and a free shot. We'll take it! A very neat bar/club to say the least. A very fun, chic upbeat vibe to the bar. Playing songs from home, it seemed like a good time. It was neat too because it was two floors, the top just a real chill lounge and the bottom being a dance party. It was crazy packed but a lot of fun. Met a ton of people but eventually we were told that we should probably headout and we were taken out a secret door that magically appeared, I swear it could not have been there before. Thankfully my new friend, Kelley, found us the right bus to take us home.

The best part of this whole adventure though was waking up this morning realizing that the whole time the night before I attempted a British Accent. I don't know if you know this or not, but I am not British, nor have a British Accent. I guess You win some, you Lose some. Potato, Potato... (that doesn't really work unless someone actually says it. Eh, you get the point.)

As for today, after a little more grocery shopping, we wanted to head over to Oxford Street again to do some shopping. Well we didn't plan this out and were just going to hope for the best. Turns out we accidentally found Buckingham Palace instead. Yeah basically became best friends with the Queen. But on this adventure through St. Jame's Park, after basically being mauled by the rabid squirrels and pigeons that make you walk around them, we found Pelicans. Yes, Pelicans. And not just any kind of Pelicans....5 FOOT TALL PELICANS that like the taste of Human Blood. Very Frightening, I know. We managed to get by and just walked around London a little more... and here we are. Sitting, relaxing, trying to decide if we should go explore the city again tonight.... hmm decisions decisions....

Well so long for now. Back to coloring.... This whole "no TV" thing may become the death of me!

Brilliant!

2010-02-03T01:45:00.000-08:00

Alright... so I have arrived... and all in one piece!!! To get here was not the most ideal trip though. Saying goodbye in the airport to my sister, parents and boyfriend is not something I enjoy doing. With one last hug to all of them, I bid them farewell and went through security. This is when it really set in. I am on my own. I have to suck it up and be an adult... Put on my big girl jeans and take on the world. This scared me... a lot. So I sat in the terminal and made a couple phone calls. This did not help the situation. Just kept reminding me how scared I truly was and how much I will miss home and everyone there...

After all the phone calls the gentleman next to me, a man from New Delhi, India, Kamal decided to befriend a red eyed, scared little girl. He was nice and just someone nice to talk too. But than we boarded the plane... here goes nothing. Goodbye america, Hello London!

The first flight went well, got an upgraded seat where eventually I got three seats to myself to spread out upon! So nice, and as soon as I boarded I was out. Slept for a couple hours and was soon woken up to Kamal... He came and spoke with me randomly throughout the flight. Very nice, but kind of became awkward at times. He ended up giving me a bracelet of his from India since we became new friends!

Than I arrived in Amsterdam where I parted ways with Kamal and ran across the largest airport I have ever come across. It was also very frightening because a snow storm fell upon us and no one really spoke english there. Reality hit. But again, everything went smoothly, Kamal managed to find my terminal and say goodbye and I than boarded the plane... Of course with my turn of luck, I was seated between a man who was roughly 6'5" and another man pushing 250-300lbs. Awesome. I also slept through breakfast, even though the stewardesses were only two seats down from me... oh well life goes on.

So I finally make it to the airport. Get stopped at customs and interegated from top to bottom as to why I was in London, but than I thought it was smooth sailing from there. I got my bags, no problem, and found my ride to the school... but I ended up having to wait at the airport for 3 hours for a couple other flights with students before I was taken to school. That was fine though because our "guide," Phil spoke with me about how much he hates winters and how "Brilliant!" being a white water raft instructor in Colorado was... He was a good start to being in London.

So finally we arrive at my housing accomodations, NIDO. We walk in to a really nice lobby setting where they then proceed to tell me they don't have the paperwork for my school that everyone else received and that I don't have an ID card.... They soon found the ID card, but still no school information... oh stress.

But luckily I than find TK and we go up to our room. Man what a room. Or closet... however you measure these kinds of things. But really it's not so bad. It seemed a lot smaller before we unpacked. But now it seems just fine. You walk in and to the right there is a mini kitchen. It as a mini fridge, microwave, cupboards, counters and a little stove top. On our left is our own personal restroom. It's a very tight squeeze and barely fits a person between the toilet on the left, sink in the middle, shower on the right, with a giant mirror across the wall. Past the kitchen and bathroom we have our storage space. Two tiny closets with a couple shelves and cupboards that no one can reach without a ladder. Interesting... Beyond that, you get into the main room, where we find our beds and desks. The beds are just two twin beds that come all inclusive with straw like sheets and a pillow suitable for an airplane in a really dark and ominous blue tone. Our desks are against the walls and we have a small window looking out onto Pentonville Road... and finally we have one light fixture in the main room that gives the ever present appearance of a prison cell glow. It's nice....

But really its not so bad. Making it sound worse than it is, but definately takes me back to the golden days of living in the dorms...

So after we settle in, so does my homesickness. Thank goodness I have such an amazing roommate to help me see the brighter side. Everything at first was just so stressful. No towels = no shower. No ethernet cord = no internet. No phone = no contact, No food = very grumpy Caitlin. So we went on a hunt. Walked all around this side of London trying to find things like I just listed, but just found ourselves being surrounded by a million little cafe's and noticed that we were becoming very poor very fast. I knew things were more expensive over here, but wow.

So after sleeping for twelve hours, TK and I decide to explore the city more... this isn't so bad. We find a couple more necessities and things are becoming better. So far the weather is better as well.... yesterday was 46 and partly cloudy... not too bad. But after walking around all day we had a couple orientations and figured out the "tube" system here. Easier than expected once you get an oyster card for traveling.

And through all this, we have met a few people here and there. Found some other students from La Crosse and went out to a couple pubs last night. Fantastic night scene. Just really relaxed and fun settings. Met a man named Warren at a pub who introduced himself through asking where I get my hair done. I don't think he was expecting me to say Wisconsin, but than again... what kind of question is that? He seemed very friendly and we had a pleasant conversation until he started complaining about our healthcare... I just tried to smile politely and not egg the conversation on. Quite funny actually :)

Today was just another long day. Getting ready for a nap before hopefully another epic night on the town. Finally figuring out where things are and how to use things, so everyday is a better day and the city is beginning to grow on me. I'm still missing everything about home, but am going to enjoy this while I can!

Well that is all for now.... as they say here, "Cheers!"

Pre-Departure

2010-01-28T15:20:00.001-08:00

So I am counting down the hours now. It seems like just yesterday that this was just a dream. It's a really crazy feeling to be leaving the country for four months. London isn't going to know what hit it once I get there.

But preparing to leave I have thought about a couple things. First, packing... How on earth am I supposed to pack my life away in two suitcases weighing less than 50lbs! I need clothes to travel in, and clothes to go out in, and clothes to just have in case, and so much more! And then shoes. I need different ones for different outfits! And what am I supposed to do without jewlery??? But who could forget the essentials... underwear, socks, bras... and then there is books, money, purses, computer, food, school supplies, toiletries, and pictures and so much more... This is just becoming overwhelming.... oh goodness.

Besides packing comes the emotional baggage. Leaving home for four months. FOUR months. Ok now that I say that on here, it really doesn't seem so bad... but really that is a long time. The next time I will be home, it will already be summer! So crazy to think about. And not seeing anyone in that time from home.... Crazy stuff. I will miss so many people... One of my best friends is going to Australia, and then there are my roommates and all my friends up at school, all my friends from home, Badgerland, coworkers, and of course my family.

That will be the hardest part I think. I love meeting new people and making new friends but it has never been easy for me to say goodbye... or see you later in this sense. I have never been apart from those that I love for so long. Before it was just a short drive if I ever needed a little lovin' from home, but now it's only a hop, skip, and a plane ride across the great big blue.

It really is a bittersweet feeling right now. Everyone is asking me questions about how I feel about leaving and it is such a difficult question to answer. I mean I am excited, but I am venturing unknown territory. I am leaving everything that I know and starting a new life in a new country with new people. The unknown is a scary thought. It doesn't really help when everyone is coming up to you telling you, "look out for pick pockets. Look out for people who hate americans. watch where you are going. Never travel alone. Have you heard about the girl who died. careful of terrorists. Don't talk to strangers. have you seen the movie taken..." the list goes on. I appreciate the help and tips, but right now comments like this are just scaring me. I understand that I need to be careful and watch out for myself, but don't you have to be like that anywhere?! Let's be real... I wouldn't go home with strangers whether it be here in Wisconsin or in London... I am not that stupid.

On the opposing hand, I have had people tell me that I am going to have the time of my life. I am going to live the dream... sure I will have a little bit of school, but live it up. This is a once in a lifetime experience. People would kill to be in my shoes and I will never have a chance to do this again. At the end of it, you probably won't even want to come home! This is so relieving to hear.

So I am not sure what to really think right now... Excited and nervous. Scared but happy. Intrigued, but reserved. There is no turning back now... Sunday is doomsday. Bring it on. I can do this and I will love every minute. Lookout London....