Bridges, Shakespeare, and old friends: A Weekend in London

Hello Friends! It's been a while since I posted, hasn't it? Last week was not too eventful besides some pubbing, a 19th birthday celebration (Pauline, one of the scholars), and other Cambridge-y things. However, this past Friday, Nika, Anna, and I took a train to Richmond and stayed with Amie, an old family friend (not saying she's old, just an old friend. :D) with her husband Damien and their two adorable kids Oliver and Georgia. They were so wonderfully accommodating and it was very nice to have home-cooked meals and sleep in a house for once. Plus they helped us plan our weekend trip, so we saw a lot in the space of two days. Plus we couldn't have asked for better weather! So without further ado, here are some pics from my lovely weekend in London:


Here's Amie's house. Just kidding, I'm in front of the Tower of London. Call me crazy, but I had been expecting something much...taller. Still it was a very large castle, and totally cool to see as everything castle-wise that I had seen already was ruins. The inside was very beautiful, and I have more detailed pics in my FB album. Plus the crown jewels were amazing!
Meeting the invisible man. He beckoned me over and then started stroking my hand, and of course, I could only think one thing. Anti-bacterializer! Luckily I had some in my bag, courtesy of Bath and Body Works.
I love this picture because it displays the gorgeous blue sky we experienced on Saturday. The Tower Bridge is truly breathtaking. There are so many bridges in England: Tower, London, Blackfriars, Millennium, and, you can walk across every one of them which I'd never done on any bridge in the US. That was really convenient.
In front of the Thames. The architecture in London was so cool!
This is city hall. I KNOW RIGHT?

In front of the National Theater there was random grass furniture, so of course we had a photo op.
The stage at the Globe Theater!!! I think this was my favorite part of the whole trip. We had meant to go on a tour on Saturday, but were too tired so we decided to go on Sunday. However, when we got there Sunday we found out there were no tours because of the matinee!! I was so disappointed, so Nika suggested we just buy standing room tickets and see the show! We did, and I'm so glad, because it's something I will never forget.
The outside of the Globe.
I was a bit wary at first of seeing Troilus and Cressida, because I'd never even heard of the show, much less knew the story. However, I was able to follow the story with no difficulty! It was one of the romances, but apparently The Globe is known for putting a comic edge on a lot of its shows, so it ended up being very funny. There were songs and dances in it, and the acting and costumes were great. When I get back to the States, I definitely want to see as much Shakespeare as possible.
Anyone recognize this piece of architecture? It's the Millennium Bridge, shown in HP6...
...And then the Death Eaters showed up and attacked the bridge!!! AAAHHHHH!!!
(ok the picture was Nika's idea, so don't blame me for being the lame one)
Trafalgar Square...this lion was SO slippery and it was drizzling rain, it was quite a feat to get up there.
And so we took a LOT of pics.

Big Ben was pretty breathtaking in person. At first I was like, big whoop, it's a giant clock, but the detailing on it is just beautiful. And it was kind of a grey afternoon, so the picture is dark, but its color is a lot more brilliant then that.
Westminster Abbey. Funny story, I spent a good deal of time trying to find Abbey Road (like from the Beatles album) and was so disappointed when I couldn't. And then when we got back to Richmond, Amie informed me that it was actually located in Finchley! durrr...
By the London Eye, which we decided not to go on, because really, who wants to spend an hour on a giant ferris wheel? Not me.
With Amie before we left. I can't say enough about how awesome she and the Tibble family were to us. The room we stayed in (and the beds! And the shower!) were fantastic and SO welcome after 5-7 hours of walking around London, and her kids are so well-behaved and cute (even though poor Georgia was running a fever)! It was so great to catch up with her too since I hadn't seen her for over 10 years!
Funny story. I had written the directions from King's Cross to her house on a piece of paper, including trains to catch, and walking directions from Richmond to her home. I folded the paper and stuck it in my pocket as we got off the train at King's Cross to board the Underground, and sometime between then and when we got in line to buy tickets, the paper fell out of my pocket. Luckily I had read the paper and I remembered the names of the stops, and her home address, but we spent 2 hours walking from Richmond station to try to find their street!! There was a lot of construction going on so all the directions people gave us were really confusing. It was quite a harrowing ordeal, and a huge relief when we finally got there (it's actually only a ten minute walk!!)
And here I am heading off to Hogwarts.
And later Nika insulted me so I challenged her to a duel. And the woman in the center got most of the blast. (who the heck is she anyway?)

Anyway, it was a wonderful weekend, and I can hardly believe I only have about 4 days left in Cambridge before we begin our Eurotrip. July 31 we leave in the morning for Venice! i will try to get to the internet at hostels to blog about it, but pictures will probably have to wait until I get home. Love you all, miss you all! Cheers!

Haggis, Harry Potter, and Other Scottish Things

Photo Blog #2! Adventures in Edinburgh

We had to actually find out what Neeps and Tatties where from a children's book in a tourist shop (they're turnips and potatoes). Then on Saturday night I tried Haggis and it was amazing. Just don't think about how it's made.
I heard more bagpipe playing this past weekend than in my whole life.
Some Edinburgh shots
That is the statue of Hume. Whom, do you ask? Yeah I don't know either.
Tickling him haha...ok shut up.
Yeah, I know the feet jokes were getting old.
This train is from the second Harry Potter movie, it's the actual set and it's in the middle of the Highlands of Scotland. We drove by and I had to get a shot. It's from when Harry and Ron are chasing the train in Ron's flying car. Cool right?
I wanted a shot with sheep in the background. There are 5 million people in Scotland and 38 million sheep...we saw a lot.
Gorgeous right? This was a battlefield known as Glencoe.
Swordfight at Urquehart Castle
The clear winner...
Picturesque...The Loch Ness is in the Background
Some more fun in the castle ruins
Sarah of the North...or the East Coast
On the Loch!
Feeling Nautical
After the cruise on the Loch. It had begun to rain. What else is new?
Our tour lasted 13 HOURS! We covered so much ground and I really wasn't bored because there was so much to see plus our tour guide was a historian and had a hilarious Scottish sense of humor.
With our tour guide, Alan. He called me Little Miss Perfect since I refused to try Blood Pudding.
Edinburgh Castle at night. We saw this every time we walked to our hostel because it was right next to it.
Edinburgh....such a beautiful city.
Where JK Rowling apparently sat for hours writing the Harry Potter series, because she was too poor to afford heat in her own home. Talk about your rags to riches story.
Recognize any names? Rowling got McGonagall from this graveyard
Creepy right? She also got Voldemort's "muggle name" from the graveyard as well. It was a huge and beautiful old graveyard, and Nika, Steph, and I split up to see if we could find the name, because someone in our hostel mentioned it was there. I found it, pretty far in. :)
Some pictures from the hostel. They painted that place like crazy!
The view from my window. Just kidding it's more hostel art.
The last shots of Edinburgh. No blue sky on Friday or Saturday, but FINALLY on Sunday.
Sleeping on the ride home.

The End of Week 2 Already?

Well, what can I say? (I mean besides this blog entry) It's been a pretty fun week. From clubbing to punting to last minute topic changing and rewriting reflection papers (just finished, phew!), it has been a pretty packed week.
Highlights of the past 6 days;
Saturday night I went clubbing for the first time in Cambridge. It was a lot of fun! We must have danced for a few hours, and when we finally left, it was POURING outside. Unfortunately, I had given all my stuff (including my jacket and umbrella) to the scholar girls who left an hour before us so that I didn't have to worry about watching it at the club, but then I ended up walking home in a dress and sandals in the rain. Didn't dampen my spirits though. I know now that I ALWAYS need an umbrella.

Sunday was a work day. We had a bit of a laundry mishap. We finished loading it all in, put in the money, turned on the washer (which locked)...and realized we had forgotten to put in any detergent! :P Luckily there were some soap tablets nearby that we threw into the top part of the machine, and our clothes weren't too worse for wear (although we felt pretty dumb).

Monday I got to see a live Shakespeare performance in the gardens of Robinson College. Nika, Stephanie, and I grabbed some Cabernet Sauvignon and sat outside in the gorgeous weather (I was in shock. It didn't rain) and watched the Cambridge Shakespeare Company perform a very funny Merchant of Venice. The coolest part about it was the fact that I had been studying and analyzing the story and characters for the last week, so it was great to see onstage what I had been picturing in my mind (or not). I can't wait to get back home and read some more Shakespeare and maybe take another class or two on it.

Tuesday afternoon, I'm walking back to Cripps Court to drop off my stuff before dinner, and who should I see on the lawn but Carolyn! We then headed out to a pub to grab a bite and catch up on her adventures in Wales. It was very nice to see a familiar face. I also received a couple of letters in the mail from family, which I loved and now have hanging on the bulletin board in my room.

Wednesday was HARRY POTTER! After C block almost all the scholars headed over to the movie theater for the 5pm showing of the sixth movie. My opinion on the movie? Ok, I cried at the end, what can I say? But I felt the rest of the movie was slow-going, filled with gaps in the plot, cheesy at times, and overall a bit disappointing. I will probably buy it though. I'm only human.

Today was spent running around trying to figure out train tickets to Edinburgh (we got em), hostel reservations and tour reservations (now booked), and what to write for my first reflection paper of the summer semester where I had to compare and contrast a part of British newspapers with American newspapers (umm, what else, harry potter reviews?). Also, since it was such a sunny day, Nika, Carolyn, and I purchased fresh strawberries from the outdoor market and a couple bottles of Sangria (it was 2 for £6 at Mark & Spencer's!) and went punting on the river Cam!! We took the 45 minute tour and then afterward, the rower let us each try our hand at rowing ourselves. It was fun and a beautiful way to spend the afternoon. I say goodbye to Carolyn tomorrow morning as she heads back to Wales and Stephanie, Nika, and I head over to Scotland!

So all in all, a very fun week. I thought I'd end this post by making a new type of list.
Little things I miss about MD:
1. Sidewalks (who would have thought I would miss those big slabs of cement, but let me tell you, I trip and catch myself SEVERAL times every day with the cobblestones that try to murder you when you walk on them)
2. Veggie/Boca burgers (People here like their meat! Especially pork and sausage and bacon and ugh)
3. Texting (Man, you don't realize how convenient something is til it's gone. Changes of plans are frowned upon because there's no way to contact the person quickly to let them know)
4. And of course, my family and friends and the familiarity of my own bed. Miss and love you all! Cheers!