Wow, before I even know it, a week has gone by since I last wrote. It's been one crazy week, with filled with many different adventures, adventures that I could talk for days, or at least hours, about. But I won't. So here's the abridged version:
Wednesday, March 18
- Went to class, then Maria and I went to lunch at O'Neills
- Took a train to London in the early afternoon
- Went to the Tower of London, which was much cooler than I thought it would be! And the crowned jewels are pretty spectacular, too...
- Maria and I attempted to go to King's Cross Platform 9 3/4 (from Harry Potter) but we couldn't figure out how to get to the platform without having to buy a ticket, which was sad
- Left for Paris at 8:30 pm... via bus. Again.
Thursday, March 19
- Arrived in Paris at 6 am
- Went to Notre Dame and then St. Chapelle
- Went to our hotel (the same hotel I stayed in last time I went to Paris) and took a catnap
- Musee O'rsay - saw some Monet!
- We ate at a scrumptioius French cafe/restaurant for dinner, and had mousse chocolate for dessert - Mmm!
- Mickey D'd it for some interenet to check e-mail, then went to bed early
Friday, March 20
~ DISNEYLAND PARIS (where Maria and I met up with my Jess - it was fab.u.lous!
Saturday, March 21
- More Paris, this time with Jess included... Notre Dame, the Louvre, Champs Elysees, Arc D'Triumphe, Eiffel Tower...
- Left at 11pm for London
Sunday, March 22
- Arrived in London at 6am
- Wondered around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens for a few hours, it was a beautiful day for that! While there, we saw the Princess Di Memoraial.
- Went to Westminster Abby (which was closed) and the Houses of Parliament
- Went to Buckingham Palace, and wandered through a park to get there, which was really cool
- Saw the Rosetta Stone at the British Musuem
- Took the train back to Winch at 3 pm, and just hung out in Winch
Monday, March 23
- Class
- Went to the city centre with Maria - a trip that included Shake-Away for some nutella (!) shakes, Sainsburys, and some chocolate shoppes...
- Walked with Maria to the bus stop that would take her to Heathrow - it started raining, the first time it rained while Maria was here. Cray-zee. We said good-bye in the rain, it was epic.
- Went back to Uni and worked on essays and other things, such as spring break plans
Tuesday, March 24
- Classes
- Spring Break Planning
- Cell Group, which went really well. I'm enjoying being back in a bible study; I can tell it has been missing in my life.
Today
- Class
- Finished packing all my stuff - students on campus are required to completely move out of their rooms over spring break. Hannah and I lugged all our belongings to Charlotte's, who was generous enough to let us keep our stuff there over break - for free.
- More spring break planning and preparing
And tomorrow... tomorrow I leave for Easter Break. First Stop: Barcelona! Bring on the adventure, I'm ready!
-
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
In London, then Winch
So, here's just a quick update on what's been happening the last few days...
Saturday:
Maria and I went on a double-decker bus tour of London, it was fabulous! We also did a tour of the Tower Bridge, which provided us with some beautiful views of the city. A few hours were spent just walking along the river and enjoying the mass amount of random street perfmormers - perhaps one of my favorite passtimes! Then we continued on the bus tour. That evening we ventured back to the river walk and went on the London Eye - spectacular view of London at night, with pretty sparkly lights. Pictures from it did not turn out quite so spectacular, but it was definately an awesome experience! We then went back to the hotel and tried to go to bed early.
Sunday:
Maria sneaked out of the hotel before I checked out, since technically I had a single room. After I checked out, I met her at a little market, then she and I went on the entire bus tour again because our ticked was good for 24 hours. We were going to take time to go to Westminster and do some other things, but we began to worry about the time crunch, so we decided to do Westminster and other things when we go back to London to leave for Paris, which is actually tomorrow. After we went on the entire tour route, Maria and I got off the bus and just wondered around Hyde Park and the Kensington Gardens before collecting our luggage from the hotel and going to Victoria Coach Station. At 4:30, we left the Coach Station for Winchester. At 6:15, we were back in Winch and had to walk 25 mins with all Maria's luggage plus my weekend bag to campus. It was a long walk. When we got back, we just hung out in my room for the rest of the night, talking, eating tootsie rolls, and attempting to watch "27 Dresses." We then went to bed early.
Monday:
I had class from 9-11, then Maria and I had lunch together. Then I worked on essays and travel arrangements for a few hours while Maria wandered around Winch. We met back up and had dinner together in the Game Room, then went on an hour long walk down High Street in the City Center while we waited for "27 Dresses" to load online. It didn't, so we ended up once again just watching another tv show and talking, which was nice and relaxing.
Today:
Class, lunch with Maria, worked on essays. In 30 mins I have another class, at which I have to present the research on my essay topic, Children's Struggle for Mental Health Care in the United States. Does that topic come as a surprise to anyone? haha. I will finish class at 5, then work some more on essays. Then Maria and I will go eat dinner, I'll do some laundray before Paris, and then we'll probably just chill out and get ready for Paris tomorrow! It's going to be a busy rest of the week!
I can't wait!
Saturday:
Maria and I went on a double-decker bus tour of London, it was fabulous! We also did a tour of the Tower Bridge, which provided us with some beautiful views of the city. A few hours were spent just walking along the river and enjoying the mass amount of random street perfmormers - perhaps one of my favorite passtimes! Then we continued on the bus tour. That evening we ventured back to the river walk and went on the London Eye - spectacular view of London at night, with pretty sparkly lights. Pictures from it did not turn out quite so spectacular, but it was definately an awesome experience! We then went back to the hotel and tried to go to bed early.
Sunday:
Maria sneaked out of the hotel before I checked out, since technically I had a single room. After I checked out, I met her at a little market, then she and I went on the entire bus tour again because our ticked was good for 24 hours. We were going to take time to go to Westminster and do some other things, but we began to worry about the time crunch, so we decided to do Westminster and other things when we go back to London to leave for Paris, which is actually tomorrow. After we went on the entire tour route, Maria and I got off the bus and just wondered around Hyde Park and the Kensington Gardens before collecting our luggage from the hotel and going to Victoria Coach Station. At 4:30, we left the Coach Station for Winchester. At 6:15, we were back in Winch and had to walk 25 mins with all Maria's luggage plus my weekend bag to campus. It was a long walk. When we got back, we just hung out in my room for the rest of the night, talking, eating tootsie rolls, and attempting to watch "27 Dresses." We then went to bed early.
Monday:
I had class from 9-11, then Maria and I had lunch together. Then I worked on essays and travel arrangements for a few hours while Maria wandered around Winch. We met back up and had dinner together in the Game Room, then went on an hour long walk down High Street in the City Center while we waited for "27 Dresses" to load online. It didn't, so we ended up once again just watching another tv show and talking, which was nice and relaxing.
Today:
Class, lunch with Maria, worked on essays. In 30 mins I have another class, at which I have to present the research on my essay topic, Children's Struggle for Mental Health Care in the United States. Does that topic come as a surprise to anyone? haha. I will finish class at 5, then work some more on essays. Then Maria and I will go eat dinner, I'll do some laundray before Paris, and then we'll probably just chill out and get ready for Paris tomorrow! It's going to be a busy rest of the week!
I can't wait!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
A WiCkEd Weekend [insert heart here]
This weekend has barely started, and already it's great! Yesterday evening, Laura, Kristin, Whitney, and I went to see Wicked. I had never seen the show before, but have heard constantly for the past few years about how wonderiful it was and how I must go. So yesterday, I went. I love saying I saw Wicked... in London! It was a.ma.zing! Loved, loved, loved it! And if you haven't been, do go see it! During the show, all I could think was that I wish my life were a musical... so if you hear me singing a lot when I get back to the states, that's just me trying to make a reality out of my dreams.
This morning, I woke up in London at 6:15 am, and left for Heathrow Airport to meet Maria, my good friend from Neenah. By 8:00, I was rushing through terminal 5 trying to find her because I was running late because of metro delays... and there she was! We met up without a hitch - ah, success! Now, we are back at the hotel, and I am blogging while she takes a quick nap after a long flight. And then we'll be off to explore London - a first for both of us, since I have not spent a weekend, or even a day, in London until now!
So, we'll just have to see what this weekend brings us... whatever it is, I know it will be WiCkEd!
Peace out :)
This morning, I woke up in London at 6:15 am, and left for Heathrow Airport to meet Maria, my good friend from Neenah. By 8:00, I was rushing through terminal 5 trying to find her because I was running late because of metro delays... and there she was! We met up without a hitch - ah, success! Now, we are back at the hotel, and I am blogging while she takes a quick nap after a long flight. And then we'll be off to explore London - a first for both of us, since I have not spent a weekend, or even a day, in London until now!
So, we'll just have to see what this weekend brings us... whatever it is, I know it will be WiCkEd!
Peace out :)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tales from Ireland and Other Bits from Life in General...
Alrighty, it's been awhile since I've last blogged, so I'm going to attempt to highlight what has been going on over the past week, just my experiences in Ireland and my activities in Winchester. Still, it could be a long read, so maybe you'll want to grab a cup of coffee, or perhaps a spot of tea before settling in to read...
DUBLIN, IRELAND... with Hannah, Laura, and Lauren
Thursday, March 5
- Leave for DUBLIN, IRELAND - 3 methods of transportation to get there: train, coach, plane
- Arrived at hostel, Jacobs Inn, mid-afternoon. There could be a seperate blog on the tales of what would happen there over one weekend, but basically the hostel featured a random butcher knife on the floor of a room, 4 missing passports and wallets, an unintelligent thief, and two crazy sisters who lived there...
- Pub, The Boar's Head, for dinner - quite the tasty food
- Nap
- Pubs for a ridiculously expensive drink and live music - but what else is there to do there?
Friday, March 6
- Wild Wicklow Tour, a day-long coach tour that took a group of about 30 people on a tour of the Wicklow Mountains and country-side.
- Saw the P.S. I LOVE YOU bridge!!!
- Met some other exchange students from the U.S. and Canada who are studying in France
- Met up with those students in the evening for some live music at Porterhouse
Saturday, March 7
- Wandered around in the morning until we found THE Guinness factory, which we then toured - I had a soda at the top, because I can't drink beer... which is ok, because I'm told that it's nasty
- Toured the Dublin Castle, not quite what it was cracked up to be, but neat nontheless
- Shopping
- Hung out at the hostel (night of the "big heist")
- Super-market supper and a movie at the hostel
Sunday, March 8
- Ate breakfast, checked out of Jacobs Inn... happy day
- Reverse travel back to Winchester: plane, coach, train
- Plane was literally struck by lightening, but nothing severe occurred because of it
- Back in Winchester, safe and sound
Monday - Wednesday, the 9th-the 11th
- Worked on essays, which are extremely difficult to focus on
- More planning for spring break - am no longer stuck in Malta or Greece
- Got the song "Something Beautiful" stuck in my head - amazing song, major revelation to me, listen to it if you have the chance, or if you have never heard it before... it's by Newsboys
- Went to cell group, or bible study... it was good to finally feel connected in fellowship and in the word with other students
And that has been my week. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks will bring, especially as I have to finish my first round of essays while travelling and visiting with dear friends. Even more importantly, I can't wait to learn more about what God has in store for me, the beginnings He's going to give me...
DUBLIN, IRELAND... with Hannah, Laura, and Lauren
Thursday, March 5
- Leave for DUBLIN, IRELAND - 3 methods of transportation to get there: train, coach, plane
- Arrived at hostel, Jacobs Inn, mid-afternoon. There could be a seperate blog on the tales of what would happen there over one weekend, but basically the hostel featured a random butcher knife on the floor of a room, 4 missing passports and wallets, an unintelligent thief, and two crazy sisters who lived there...
- Pub, The Boar's Head, for dinner - quite the tasty food
- Nap
- Pubs for a ridiculously expensive drink and live music - but what else is there to do there?
Friday, March 6
- Wild Wicklow Tour, a day-long coach tour that took a group of about 30 people on a tour of the Wicklow Mountains and country-side.
- Saw the P.S. I LOVE YOU bridge!!!
- Met some other exchange students from the U.S. and Canada who are studying in France
- Met up with those students in the evening for some live music at Porterhouse
Saturday, March 7
- Wandered around in the morning until we found THE Guinness factory, which we then toured - I had a soda at the top, because I can't drink beer... which is ok, because I'm told that it's nasty
- Toured the Dublin Castle, not quite what it was cracked up to be, but neat nontheless
- Shopping
- Hung out at the hostel (night of the "big heist")
- Super-market supper and a movie at the hostel
Sunday, March 8
- Ate breakfast, checked out of Jacobs Inn... happy day
- Reverse travel back to Winchester: plane, coach, train
- Plane was literally struck by lightening, but nothing severe occurred because of it
- Back in Winchester, safe and sound
Monday - Wednesday, the 9th-the 11th
- Worked on essays, which are extremely difficult to focus on
- More planning for spring break - am no longer stuck in Malta or Greece
- Got the song "Something Beautiful" stuck in my head - amazing song, major revelation to me, listen to it if you have the chance, or if you have never heard it before... it's by Newsboys
- Went to cell group, or bible study... it was good to finally feel connected in fellowship and in the word with other students
And that has been my week. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks will bring, especially as I have to finish my first round of essays while travelling and visiting with dear friends. Even more importantly, I can't wait to learn more about what God has in store for me, the beginnings He's going to give me...
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Hello before Goodbye
Hi everyone!
Just a quick hello before I leave for IRELAND in an hour! I know it's been awhile since I last blogged, with the exception of my prayer request post, so I thought I would just give a quick summary of how things have been here...
Things have been good here, which has not been mirrored in the weather, as there have been random bursts of bad storms and hail the last few days. Papers are still a struggle to complete, but my classes are enjoyable and the content; interesting. There hasn't been anything really new to relay, but I have been working on planning spring break with Hannah and Laura, the Eau Claire ladies I will be travelling with. So far we know we will go to Barcelona, Spain, the first weekend, then fly to Malta on a Tuesday. We already have tickets booked for those two places, and we know where we want to go after Malta, but we are having difficulties getting OUT of Malta! Oh, well, it will all work out. Gotta keep the faith!
Living arrangements have been made for next year, which for me, is a major stress-reliever as I was completely beffudled by how to go about signing up for a room and with my roomie and all that jazz. But apparently, I was one step ahead of myself and filled out the forms prior to leaving for study abroad. Go me. As you all know, I didn't get an RA position that I had applied for last fall, but out of perceived bad things come good things... wonderful things. I'll get to spend another semester on my friend Lindsay's wing (great friend and RA! yay!), room with my friend Jess (double yay!) and be joined by our friend Aimee and some other really amazing people (triple yay!). So, yeah, a lot of yays, but that completely describes next fall. I'm excited at the prospect of going back to the States and Eau Claire and being surrounded by good friends. That's one of the things I dislike the most about Winch Uni - haivng a single room and not being near friends. Next year is going to be awesome.
Well, friends, now that I have shared pretty much everything that is going on here, it is time for me to say goodbye and finish getting ready to leave for Ireland... so...
Goodbye! Ciao! I'll be back in a few days with more tales of travel adventure to tell... this time of the Irish sort :)
Just a quick hello before I leave for IRELAND in an hour! I know it's been awhile since I last blogged, with the exception of my prayer request post, so I thought I would just give a quick summary of how things have been here...
Things have been good here, which has not been mirrored in the weather, as there have been random bursts of bad storms and hail the last few days. Papers are still a struggle to complete, but my classes are enjoyable and the content; interesting. There hasn't been anything really new to relay, but I have been working on planning spring break with Hannah and Laura, the Eau Claire ladies I will be travelling with. So far we know we will go to Barcelona, Spain, the first weekend, then fly to Malta on a Tuesday. We already have tickets booked for those two places, and we know where we want to go after Malta, but we are having difficulties getting OUT of Malta! Oh, well, it will all work out. Gotta keep the faith!
Living arrangements have been made for next year, which for me, is a major stress-reliever as I was completely beffudled by how to go about signing up for a room and with my roomie and all that jazz. But apparently, I was one step ahead of myself and filled out the forms prior to leaving for study abroad. Go me. As you all know, I didn't get an RA position that I had applied for last fall, but out of perceived bad things come good things... wonderful things. I'll get to spend another semester on my friend Lindsay's wing (great friend and RA! yay!), room with my friend Jess (double yay!) and be joined by our friend Aimee and some other really amazing people (triple yay!). So, yeah, a lot of yays, but that completely describes next fall. I'm excited at the prospect of going back to the States and Eau Claire and being surrounded by good friends. That's one of the things I dislike the most about Winch Uni - haivng a single room and not being near friends. Next year is going to be awesome.
Well, friends, now that I have shared pretty much everything that is going on here, it is time for me to say goodbye and finish getting ready to leave for Ireland... so...
Goodbye! Ciao! I'll be back in a few days with more tales of travel adventure to tell... this time of the Irish sort :)
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