It seems like the end has crept up on us. After 9 months, I am finally going home. Back to Wisconsin, back to work, back to school.
It feels so weird. After panicking for the past few weeks, I'm at the point where I can't cry anymore and can't really believe that I'm leaving. I just go through the motions and tick the items off my to-do list.
I don't want to leave the people I've met, the friends I've made, and the place I've grown to love.
I will be back. Mark my words.
Monday, June 7
Saturday, May 29
Portobello Road
Today, Richard and I took a trip to the Portobello Road Market. Though it was rainy and unpredictable, it was pretty nice.
Lots of weird little things, lots of clocks, and jewelry.
The Notting Hill area was really nice ($$).
And the fresh strawberries were amazing.
Tomorrow is my last trip to Greenwich. How completely depressing. It's become my getaway from London, in London. Quiet, green, and lots of history, I have come to love it. The St. Alfege Choir has especially made me sad to leave. Thursday drinks after choir practice is something I have always looked forward to... I will certainly miss them all.
Wednesday, May 26
My Birthday!
As with all young adults, turning 21 is a big deal. At least with us Americans.
Well, today is my 21st birthday!
I feel like this is probably the most anticlimactic 21st birthday a person can have, considering that I will continue drinking as I have been for the past year. Woo hoo?
Today I slept in and then walked around Oxford Street with Katie. I bought myself a pair of sandals (sorry Mom). After searching for some new sandals, I went to Selfridges to buy some macaroons... they didn't have any. Major disappointment. I'll try again tomorrow, I neeeed them. Then I went to meet Richard for dinner and drinks. We went to Mr. Kongs in Chinatown, really tasty place. Richard got some sherry like the classy old woman he is. Then I got my taro bubble tea and we walked down to Gordon's wine bar next to Charing Cross. Gordon's has been around since the 1890s and is a wine cellar (photo below from this blog), and dingy little place. Good wine, and a nice atmosphere, but really pricey.
Now we're off to the bar for some drinks to celebrate with friends, but the big party is on Friday night. This week it's Richard and my's birthdays, and our friends Aly and Valeria's too! So it's a joint party at the bar, I'm pretty excited for it.
Note: 2 exams and 2 weeks to go. Lame.
Tuesday, May 18
Yeah, whatever.
Okay so I had a Spain post started, but I can't be bothered with it, it would end up being far too long. Let's just say Spain was good, really good. Pictures are here. Just ask me when you see me and I'll tell you all about it. I can say that there was a Taco Bell in Madrid and it was the happiest moment of my year. Okay, well it was a really good moment.
Since then, school has finished. Projects and papers have been handed in. Exams have started.
Katie and I went to see Foals on the 10th and it was amazingggg. They've been one of my favorite bands for the past 2 years and it was a mission of mine to see them while we were here, since most English bands have a habit of never touring to the States. It was so worth it. They played for an hour and 15 minutes (a long time by concert standards), and the encore was the best I've seen any band do. I hope I can see them again soon!
The weather is getting better. It rained last week more than usual, but the temperature has been so nice lately, and it's supposed to get up to 75 this weekend! Epic. I hope it's that warm in Milwaukee when I get back.
I've been doing the internship thing still. It's been good, I enjoy the people I work with a lot and it's really laid back. We had a ball last week, the May Ball, which I got to help out with. It was pretty tiring for my feet, but good fun for all involved. Tomorrow I'm helping out with another gig that my boss Stu is running, an American guy named Jamie Lidell. It sold out already, so he should be good, right? I look forward to experiencing how a show works at a real venue.
Other UK occurrences - the Prime Minister resigned and within 15 minutes the government went from Labour to Conservative. That was an interesting half hour. Good for me because I hear that they're going to make it even harder for international students and foreigners to get into the country... as if it could be any harder than it already is!
I'm home in 3 weeks from tomorrow. I can't believe it, it scares me every day. Where did the time go? What happened to the last 8 months? Eek! Anyhow, at this point of being here, I have created a list of things to do before we leave that we have managed to put off. These things include (but are not limited to): getting a group of friends together and doing the Jack the Ripper Walk, going to services in Westminster Abbey and St. Pauls, seeing a play at the Globe Theatre, Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, Spitalfields Market, a trip to London's oldest pub, National Portrait Gallery, British Musem and Library, etc. Not a bad collection of things.
Saturday, March 6
Blog Fail Parts 6-53.
Yes, I know. Not even gonna go there.
So Katie and I's trip to Edinburgh proved successful... well mostly. Our trip up to Scotland was unforgettable. We were supposed to leave at 9, got delayed until 11, sat on the bus with no stops until 7, when we got stuck on a tiny road in the middle of nowhere due to a overturned semi, two hours later we were on our way, arriving in Edinburgh at 11pm. FOURTEEN HOURS after we were supposed to leave and nearly five hours late. One epic fail thanks to MegaBus later, we were there. (Note: we were later refunded for our trip there.) On the plus side, we met a really nice Australian couple who were on the bus with us, and who later ended up staying in our hostel, and on the same bus back to London. Weird, right?
The trip was lovely. We spent our time visiting Edinburgh Castle, which was really nice. It's on a hill that overlooks the city and the view is wonderful, you can even see the Firth of Forth (sweet name, right?). We did a lot of walking, we visited the Royal Mile area a few times, and on our last day we hiked up Holyrood Hill (more like a mountain). I made it probably 3/4 of the way up before I was too scared of dying, so I went back down - but Katie made it all the way up. Kudos you! (Note: Katie later admitted to being afraid of dying during the process as well.)
Since the trip, school has resumed. I'm taking Spanish 3, Marketing, International Marketing, and International Economics. It's all relatively boring, but I do enjoy Spanish. I have the same professor as last semester and he's really good.
I've also been interviewing for internships. I had an interview at Tommy Hilfiger for a PR position, but it didn't work out. I recently got a internship at ISH (where I live), working for the events office. It's really laid back, and pretty fun so far. I've been doing a lot of work on an event coming up called Le Beat Bespoke, mailing out tickets and keeping track of all things to keep it organized. It's not so bad even though I'm not getting paid.
Basically this is what my life currently consists of: I go to school Monday and Tuesday from 10 until 5, and then I work at ISH from Wednesday until Friday from 12-6. Thursday night at ISHbar for karaoke, and Friday for the dancing. Odd weekends include a trip to Greenwich, which is always nice.
The weather has been getting really nice lately, and I'm quite excited about it. It's been in the 50s for the past week or so. It's great, pretty much always sunny. I was working on a project in Chalk Farm last night and I had the nicest walk home through Primrose Hill and Regents Park. The sun was setting and the weather was gorgeous. It was definitely one of those perfect nights.
My last addition is that Katie and I will be going to Spain in one week! We just bought our tickets yesterday and we will be flying into Madrid, heading to Sevilla, and then up to Barcelona. It should be amazing! It's supposed to be 73 in Sevilla on Thursday so I'm hoping it stays that nice when we're there. I can't wait for some nice warm weather and to cure my craving for Spanish food. I'm so so so excited about this trip. I have been dying to go to Spain for years (basically since my last trip somehow excluded Spain, how awful!). It will be one week of pure bliss. Once we get back to London I'll have a few days to intern, then I'll be off to Chelmsford again to spend Easter with Richard's family. Should be a nice and relaxing Easter break.
I feel like that's mostly it... I promise to post after Spain. Katie when you read this, force me to... I'm counting on you.
So Katie and I's trip to Edinburgh proved successful... well mostly. Our trip up to Scotland was unforgettable. We were supposed to leave at 9, got delayed until 11, sat on the bus with no stops until 7, when we got stuck on a tiny road in the middle of nowhere due to a overturned semi, two hours later we were on our way, arriving in Edinburgh at 11pm. FOURTEEN HOURS after we were supposed to leave and nearly five hours late. One epic fail thanks to MegaBus later, we were there. (Note: we were later refunded for our trip there.) On the plus side, we met a really nice Australian couple who were on the bus with us, and who later ended up staying in our hostel, and on the same bus back to London. Weird, right?
The trip was lovely. We spent our time visiting Edinburgh Castle, which was really nice. It's on a hill that overlooks the city and the view is wonderful, you can even see the Firth of Forth (sweet name, right?). We did a lot of walking, we visited the Royal Mile area a few times, and on our last day we hiked up Holyrood Hill (more like a mountain). I made it probably 3/4 of the way up before I was too scared of dying, so I went back down - but Katie made it all the way up. Kudos you! (Note: Katie later admitted to being afraid of dying during the process as well.)
Since the trip, school has resumed. I'm taking Spanish 3, Marketing, International Marketing, and International Economics. It's all relatively boring, but I do enjoy Spanish. I have the same professor as last semester and he's really good.
I've also been interviewing for internships. I had an interview at Tommy Hilfiger for a PR position, but it didn't work out. I recently got a internship at ISH (where I live), working for the events office. It's really laid back, and pretty fun so far. I've been doing a lot of work on an event coming up called Le Beat Bespoke, mailing out tickets and keeping track of all things to keep it organized. It's not so bad even though I'm not getting paid.
Basically this is what my life currently consists of: I go to school Monday and Tuesday from 10 until 5, and then I work at ISH from Wednesday until Friday from 12-6. Thursday night at ISHbar for karaoke, and Friday for the dancing. Odd weekends include a trip to Greenwich, which is always nice.
The weather has been getting really nice lately, and I'm quite excited about it. It's been in the 50s for the past week or so. It's great, pretty much always sunny. I was working on a project in Chalk Farm last night and I had the nicest walk home through Primrose Hill and Regents Park. The sun was setting and the weather was gorgeous. It was definitely one of those perfect nights.
My last addition is that Katie and I will be going to Spain in one week! We just bought our tickets yesterday and we will be flying into Madrid, heading to Sevilla, and then up to Barcelona. It should be amazing! It's supposed to be 73 in Sevilla on Thursday so I'm hoping it stays that nice when we're there. I can't wait for some nice warm weather and to cure my craving for Spanish food. I'm so so so excited about this trip. I have been dying to go to Spain for years (basically since my last trip somehow excluded Spain, how awful!). It will be one week of pure bliss. Once we get back to London I'll have a few days to intern, then I'll be off to Chelmsford again to spend Easter with Richard's family. Should be a nice and relaxing Easter break.
I feel like that's mostly it... I promise to post after Spain. Katie when you read this, force me to... I'm counting on you.
Sunday, January 3
Blog Fail Parts 3, 4, and 5.
Yes, so I'm just getting really bad at this. Anyhow, since my last post lots has happened: multiple papers, the end of semester, Christmas, and New Years.
After finishing my dreaded economics papers to the best of my extent, I went to Greenwich with my friend Tiago to help set up and see Richard perform with St. Alfege's choir in Handel's Messiah. It was great, filled with lots of talented singers and musicians.
The rest of my time before Christmas was spent writing an additional paper for my Theatre class and taking a Spanish exam. Jealous?
After I finished all my exams and papers, I spent my time relaxing with friends before they left for their respective home countries. Our university had a free dinner and trip on the London Eye for the international students that Katie and I took advantage of. It was good and free, the only problem was that we went on the London Eye at 8pm... when it was dark. So while we could identify buildings, it's hard to show in pictures what's what. Hopefully when Mom and Dad come to visit, we can go during the day.
Another thing that has happened is that London finally got snow! While it's not a lot, it's still very exciting. It doesn't last long, and people freak out about it (the tube/roads). It's entertaining how people can't handle the smallest amount of snow. When it does snow, the snowflakes are huge and it looks glorious.
Chris graduated from UWM on the 20th, without me present... thanks Chris for graduating a semester late.
I spent my Christmas holidays with Richard's family in Chelmsford. Had Christmas dinner, went to the Imperial War Museum, and celebrated Richard's brother Martin's birthday. It was a nice, relaxing week out of London and I enjoyed it a lot. A very entertaining family with very large dogs.
For New Years, Richard and I went to Greenwich and celebrated with the choir group from St. Alfege's. After the clock hit 12, we walked outside to find snow and fireworks! It was pretty amazing, not a bad way to start the New Year. Not to mention in the morning Andrew's wife Elaine, who we stayed with, made American pancakes with real maple syrup, not the crepe-style things the British call pancakes with "golden syrup". They were great.
Since New Years things have been pretty calm. The Academy students are back to school, while Katie and I enjoy the perks of attending a public university by having another month off.
I'm currently in Edinburgh with Katie on a mini-vacation before we go back for my two exams. After that we're hoping to see Dublin, but nothing planned yet. Edinburgh will be another post once I get back to London though, maybe after my exams.
Cheers!
After finishing my dreaded economics papers to the best of my extent, I went to Greenwich with my friend Tiago to help set up and see Richard perform with St. Alfege's choir in Handel's Messiah. It was great, filled with lots of talented singers and musicians.
The rest of my time before Christmas was spent writing an additional paper for my Theatre class and taking a Spanish exam. Jealous?
After I finished all my exams and papers, I spent my time relaxing with friends before they left for their respective home countries. Our university had a free dinner and trip on the London Eye for the international students that Katie and I took advantage of. It was good and free, the only problem was that we went on the London Eye at 8pm... when it was dark. So while we could identify buildings, it's hard to show in pictures what's what. Hopefully when Mom and Dad come to visit, we can go during the day.
Another thing that has happened is that London finally got snow! While it's not a lot, it's still very exciting. It doesn't last long, and people freak out about it (the tube/roads). It's entertaining how people can't handle the smallest amount of snow. When it does snow, the snowflakes are huge and it looks glorious.
Chris graduated from UWM on the 20th, without me present... thanks Chris for graduating a semester late.
I spent my Christmas holidays with Richard's family in Chelmsford. Had Christmas dinner, went to the Imperial War Museum, and celebrated Richard's brother Martin's birthday. It was a nice, relaxing week out of London and I enjoyed it a lot. A very entertaining family with very large dogs.
For New Years, Richard and I went to Greenwich and celebrated with the choir group from St. Alfege's. After the clock hit 12, we walked outside to find snow and fireworks! It was pretty amazing, not a bad way to start the New Year. Not to mention in the morning Andrew's wife Elaine, who we stayed with, made American pancakes with real maple syrup, not the crepe-style things the British call pancakes with "golden syrup". They were great.
Since New Years things have been pretty calm. The Academy students are back to school, while Katie and I enjoy the perks of attending a public university by having another month off.
I'm currently in Edinburgh with Katie on a mini-vacation before we go back for my two exams. After that we're hoping to see Dublin, but nothing planned yet. Edinburgh will be another post once I get back to London though, maybe after my exams.
Cheers!
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