Today is a gloomy day in Manchester. Its so cold I can see my breath still and that is 3pm in the evening. I guess it is snowing in some areas a little more north than us. I had International Marketing class today and it was soooo hard to get up! My bed was warm and I reset my alarm like fifty times until I got up. I went to class only to find out that he decided not to show up for class that day and didn't tell faculty...quality. This class has been a little frustrating there has been five weeks and only two lectures because this professor has no idea what he is doing!
Anyways I have been working on my paper all day and I thought I would take a break and let you know whats going on this next week in Italy!
Thursday October 30th: Leaving for Milan at 7:30pm and meeting up with Jenny and Danielle. There is absolutely no transport between midnight and 5:30am so we have to sleep in the airport. Jenny was like "Don't worry I found a good place to sleep... it has carpet!"
Friday October 31st: We arrive in Rome at 7:30am. Drop off our stuff at The Yellow Hostel and explore Rome! Our appointment to see the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel is at 2:30pm. In the evening we will go see Trivi Fountain. That night is Halloween so we will probably go out to a bar or something all dressed up. I am going to be a football player and Brianne is going to be a mouse...I don't know about the others.
Saturday November 1st: Wake up at 6am and meet our tour guides in central Rome for our Pompeii and Naples Day Excursion.
Sunday November 2nd: Visit the Colosseum, Pantheon and other classic Roman sites. We leave for Florence this evening by train.
Monday November 3rd: Explore Florence with the girls. See The David in the evening.
Tuesday November 4th: Wake up at 6am to meet our tour guides in central Florence. Get on a bus to go to the Cinque de Terre. This is the 5 Lands and is about 2 hours away from Florence. It is a national park and consists of beach towns right on the cliffs over the water. I am so excited to see it because I heard its incredible! That evening the tour brings us back to Florence and then we head off to Venice by train.
Wednesday November 5th: Explore Venice! We have a four hour walking tour as well...Half by foot and half by boat.
Thursday November 6th: Leave for Milan early in the morning and meet up with Jenny once again. Eat lots of Gelatto and Pizza and go up to the top of the Duomo. We leave at 5pm that evening.
Friday November 7th: Sleep all day maybe some homework.
Saturday November 8th: Leave at 8am for Stonehenge and Bath trip with the International Society.
WOW this is going to be exhausting but awesome!!!
Natalie
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
London Photos
Click on the photo to see more from my London trip. The photos are on the right hand side listed under "London."
London and The 20 Black Balloons
I just got back from London at midnight and it was amazing. I definitely have a greater appreciation for London now that I am older. Being there brought back a lot of memories of when I went back in the 8th grade. It truly is an amazing city.
We left our dorms at 5am on Friday to catch the megabus. The megabus took four and half hours to get there and unfortuneatly only one of us got any sleep. I started to laugh when I saw how far back the seats tilted back... a whole quarter inch!!!! wow! The good news is that megabus is only 18 pounds round trip to London whereas the train is about 50! The only reason it is so expensive is because it is London...thats it.
Took us awhile to figure out how to use the Tube...but we purchased an Oyster card for 13 pounds that works as a prepaid card for the rails. They can only charge you a maximum of five pounds per day so it ends up being good if you are travelling around a lot. The tube system really is great it is so easy to understand. If you look at the map as a big picture it looks terrifying but if you look at it as stop to stop its very easy. We were staying in South Kensington, Gloucester Road. We found the street our hostel was on but couldn't find the building. We walked back and forward back and forward and finally walked into a small Italian Restuarant to ask. The man laughed and pointed to the door directly next to us. Above the door was a small sign that said Astor Kensington Hostel upstairs. It was literally soooo small! This really was our first REAL hostel experience since the International Society hooked us up with the Edinburgh one, it was really clean. The boys that ran the hostel were 'stoner' like and really chill/whatever. The lights in a lot of the rooms flickered a lot but at least the beds were clean. Well my sheet had blood stains but I just took it off. The room consisted of 10 beds...7 smelly boys and us three girls. (I forgot to mention I travelled with the UW girls, Stephanie and Brianne.
After settling in we headed to the London Eye. This was really fun but just something I wanted to do once in my life. It takes thirty minutes to go around and you get to see all of London on it. Supposedly on a really really clear day you can see all the way to Windsor Castle! We really lucked out on weather it was clear skies both Friday and Saturday and rained Sunday. Right next to the London Eye are a lot of people that paint themselves up and look like statues...kind of creepy. There is also this random House of Terror and people are hired to run around and scare people. There was a girl in a cage just screaming and then a man running around. I didn't see anyone near me and suddenly this bloody man cornered me by the fence and kept asking for the time. I'm so weird I just like stod there laughing because he really freaked me out!!!!
That evening we went to the Mexicana Loca for dinner because it was near our show and it was decently cheap. The men there were crazy and immediately gave us all sombreros to wear. I ordered the nachos that were made out of Dorito Cooler Ranch chips... weird. We then went to the show Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. The show was absolutely amazing I would easily pay 50 pounds again to see it over again. The girl who played Alphabe, the wicked witch, had an incredibly voice! I definitely recommend the show!
The next morning we had our All Day London Experience. Our tour guide was this really cute grandpa/brittish guy. He had a floor length trench coat, a cute Santa belly, a bow tie and an adorable accent. Our first stop was the St. Paul's cathedral. I saw the Light of the World painting that hangs in our living room at home. I love that cathedral I think it is so incredibly beautiful. We didn't have time to go to the Whispering Dome this time because they had to get ready for a wedding. Princess Diana got married in this cathedral. And the steps of the cathedral is where that old lady from Mary Poppins sang that song to the Pidgeons.
Next stop was Buckingham Palace. Again we couldn't see the changing of the guards for some reason. But we were able to harass some guards and Brianne pretending to grab one's butt...poor guy. I really do feel bad for them... but I took my picture anyways! The Palace was gorgeous, so many tourists it was insane!!! I would have loved to tour the inside but it is only open in the spring time along with Parliament. This palace is where Prince Charles and Camilla live. Supposedly no one really likes Camilla?
Lunch, Gringots Bank from Harry Potter, Trafalgar Square, then our boat tour. We got to tour the river and see the sights from that on the way to the London Tower. In the London Tower we saw the execution sight where many famous people were killed like some of King Henry the Eigths wives and others. We saw the place that the Boleyn Girl was held before she was killed. I cannot remember which girl it was where they had to chop at her head like 40 times before it came off... they were ask her to move her head left to right until it finally came off ... HORRIBLE! We also saw the ravens. The Brittish have this thing that there has to be six ravens held here at all times or else the London Tower and Bridge will fall. The raven caretaker has to be in the Brittish army for 25 years before taking care of the ravens. Once he does take care of the ravens he can go see the Queen at any time with just a snap of the fingers. We also saw the crown of jewels. I found my favorite ring there.
While visiting London I definitely realized that it is a 'city experience.' We had many crazy encounters. When walking to our early morning tour a man in a bagel shop ordered an egg bagel and the man who worked there pulled out a 8 inch long butcher knife, jumped over the counter and held it to his heart yelling "YOU WANT EGG!!!?" I don't know what this was all about apparently you should never order egg bagels in London. Also while at the Westminster Abbey Station an emo girl dressed in all black and hot pink had twenty black balloons. Obviously tripped out on some insane drug shown by the crazy smile on her face. She would run run run as fast as she could with the balloons flaling behind her and then do crazy twists and turns with her arms and legs like a modern dance. People were laughing and video camering her. I thought it was hilarious until I got on the escalator and she stod right behind me with her balloons. It was then that I became terrified! Lastly, we went shopping on Oxford Street for awhile and someone that morning and shattered all the windows to the Rolex store and stolen pretty much everything eeee.
Sunday we went to Abbey Road, ate lunch at a pub by the London Bridge with my friend Jenny. Then we all went to Harrods. I was so glad we went since I had not seen it last time and it is incredible. Each room has its own theme and its decked out. A chocolate room, tea room, christmas room, ice cream room, Versace Room, Chanel Room...etc etc. Jenny, Brianne and I split the Sundae for 10 pounds and it was huge and gorgeous!! not to mention delicious.
Overall my trip was incredible. I feel rejuvenated from seeing my friend Jenny (she is studying in Milan and will be my roommate when I come back). I leave for my week long trip to Italy on Thursday night and I am so excited!!
Natalie
We left our dorms at 5am on Friday to catch the megabus. The megabus took four and half hours to get there and unfortuneatly only one of us got any sleep. I started to laugh when I saw how far back the seats tilted back... a whole quarter inch!!!! wow! The good news is that megabus is only 18 pounds round trip to London whereas the train is about 50! The only reason it is so expensive is because it is London...thats it.
Took us awhile to figure out how to use the Tube...but we purchased an Oyster card for 13 pounds that works as a prepaid card for the rails. They can only charge you a maximum of five pounds per day so it ends up being good if you are travelling around a lot. The tube system really is great it is so easy to understand. If you look at the map as a big picture it looks terrifying but if you look at it as stop to stop its very easy. We were staying in South Kensington, Gloucester Road. We found the street our hostel was on but couldn't find the building. We walked back and forward back and forward and finally walked into a small Italian Restuarant to ask. The man laughed and pointed to the door directly next to us. Above the door was a small sign that said Astor Kensington Hostel upstairs. It was literally soooo small! This really was our first REAL hostel experience since the International Society hooked us up with the Edinburgh one, it was really clean. The boys that ran the hostel were 'stoner' like and really chill/whatever. The lights in a lot of the rooms flickered a lot but at least the beds were clean. Well my sheet had blood stains but I just took it off. The room consisted of 10 beds...7 smelly boys and us three girls. (I forgot to mention I travelled with the UW girls, Stephanie and Brianne.
After settling in we headed to the London Eye. This was really fun but just something I wanted to do once in my life. It takes thirty minutes to go around and you get to see all of London on it. Supposedly on a really really clear day you can see all the way to Windsor Castle! We really lucked out on weather it was clear skies both Friday and Saturday and rained Sunday. Right next to the London Eye are a lot of people that paint themselves up and look like statues...kind of creepy. There is also this random House of Terror and people are hired to run around and scare people. There was a girl in a cage just screaming and then a man running around. I didn't see anyone near me and suddenly this bloody man cornered me by the fence and kept asking for the time. I'm so weird I just like stod there laughing because he really freaked me out!!!!
That evening we went to the Mexicana Loca for dinner because it was near our show and it was decently cheap. The men there were crazy and immediately gave us all sombreros to wear. I ordered the nachos that were made out of Dorito Cooler Ranch chips... weird. We then went to the show Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. The show was absolutely amazing I would easily pay 50 pounds again to see it over again. The girl who played Alphabe, the wicked witch, had an incredibly voice! I definitely recommend the show!
The next morning we had our All Day London Experience. Our tour guide was this really cute grandpa/brittish guy. He had a floor length trench coat, a cute Santa belly, a bow tie and an adorable accent. Our first stop was the St. Paul's cathedral. I saw the Light of the World painting that hangs in our living room at home. I love that cathedral I think it is so incredibly beautiful. We didn't have time to go to the Whispering Dome this time because they had to get ready for a wedding. Princess Diana got married in this cathedral. And the steps of the cathedral is where that old lady from Mary Poppins sang that song to the Pidgeons.
Next stop was Buckingham Palace. Again we couldn't see the changing of the guards for some reason. But we were able to harass some guards and Brianne pretending to grab one's butt...poor guy. I really do feel bad for them... but I took my picture anyways! The Palace was gorgeous, so many tourists it was insane!!! I would have loved to tour the inside but it is only open in the spring time along with Parliament. This palace is where Prince Charles and Camilla live. Supposedly no one really likes Camilla?
Lunch, Gringots Bank from Harry Potter, Trafalgar Square, then our boat tour. We got to tour the river and see the sights from that on the way to the London Tower. In the London Tower we saw the execution sight where many famous people were killed like some of King Henry the Eigths wives and others. We saw the place that the Boleyn Girl was held before she was killed. I cannot remember which girl it was where they had to chop at her head like 40 times before it came off... they were ask her to move her head left to right until it finally came off ... HORRIBLE! We also saw the ravens. The Brittish have this thing that there has to be six ravens held here at all times or else the London Tower and Bridge will fall. The raven caretaker has to be in the Brittish army for 25 years before taking care of the ravens. Once he does take care of the ravens he can go see the Queen at any time with just a snap of the fingers. We also saw the crown of jewels. I found my favorite ring there.
While visiting London I definitely realized that it is a 'city experience.' We had many crazy encounters. When walking to our early morning tour a man in a bagel shop ordered an egg bagel and the man who worked there pulled out a 8 inch long butcher knife, jumped over the counter and held it to his heart yelling "YOU WANT EGG!!!?" I don't know what this was all about apparently you should never order egg bagels in London. Also while at the Westminster Abbey Station an emo girl dressed in all black and hot pink had twenty black balloons. Obviously tripped out on some insane drug shown by the crazy smile on her face. She would run run run as fast as she could with the balloons flaling behind her and then do crazy twists and turns with her arms and legs like a modern dance. People were laughing and video camering her. I thought it was hilarious until I got on the escalator and she stod right behind me with her balloons. It was then that I became terrified! Lastly, we went shopping on Oxford Street for awhile and someone that morning and shattered all the windows to the Rolex store and stolen pretty much everything eeee.
Sunday we went to Abbey Road, ate lunch at a pub by the London Bridge with my friend Jenny. Then we all went to Harrods. I was so glad we went since I had not seen it last time and it is incredible. Each room has its own theme and its decked out. A chocolate room, tea room, christmas room, ice cream room, Versace Room, Chanel Room...etc etc. Jenny, Brianne and I split the Sundae for 10 pounds and it was huge and gorgeous!! not to mention delicious.
Overall my trip was incredible. I feel rejuvenated from seeing my friend Jenny (she is studying in Milan and will be my roommate when I come back). I leave for my week long trip to Italy on Thursday night and I am so excited!!
Natalie
Monday, October 20, 2008
Be Proud... I Tried Haggis
I really did! The first night we ate at the Elephant House (the place that JK Rowling wrote all the Harry Potter books) and Stephanie ordered the Haggis. I was like great thats just going to ruin my meal having it sit there next to me. We all tried the Haggis and I thought it was absolutely horrible. Everyone else thought it had a nice flavor. I ate the bite then threw in some nacho chips in my mouth as fast as possible. For those of you who don't have the pleasure of knowing what this meal is it is all the organs of a sheep, including stomache, heart, liver, etc. blended together for one big lump of grey nastiness.
Despite the Haggis Scotland was absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed the trip even though it was far too short. I like Scotland a whole lot better than Ireland which really surprised me! I traveled with the International Society by coach to get to Edinburgh and it was a five hour ride buuuuH!. That was pretty rush considering my legs barely fit in the seats. We arrived in Ediburgh at 3pm on Saturday and had the day to do whatever we wanted. Helen, Brianne, Stephanie and I headed to Holyrood Palace first. I was so proud of myself because I led the way with a map from our Hostel to the Palace with no troubles at all... and it wasn't anywhere close. I don't really understand why all of the sudden I am able to read a map... I am just so clutch!!
Holyrood Palace was my favorite part of the whole trip. This is the equivalent of Buckingham Palace only the place for the Queen in Scotland. It is definitely nothing like Buckingham in looks but it is still beautiful. The palace sits right underneath King Arthurs Seat which is a large hill/mountain. We got the audio tours and I wish I got audio tours for more things in the past because you get so much more appreciation for what your looking at when you knooooow what you are looking at. I learned all about Mary Queen of Scots and her very tragic life. The history was fascinating so much that it inspired me to read more about her story later. After going through the inside of the palace we went out to the Abbey. This abbey was ruined by some rebels that hated the Catholics and it was burned down. Only the ruins are left in the yard of the palace. The ruins are very pretty and you can only imagine how massive this abbey must have been. Then we went through the gardens and learned about the Parties the Queen throws once a year. Supposedly no one likes these parties because every time it happens it brings the worst weather of the year!
After the Palace we walked up the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is a mile and a half and at one end is Holyrood Palace and at the other end is Ediburgh Castle. The street is all cobblestone and we kept having to wonder how this must be so damaging to the cars tires despite how pretty it may look. Edinburgh is so pleasant because everything matches. All of the buildings are of the same style. The oldest buildings have gotten pretty black because they used to be heated with coal and the people have either not gotten around to or cannot afford to power wash some of it off. Even with the coal darken buildings it is still beautiful. The Royal Mile is filled with little kilt shops, celtic jewelry shops, touristy stuff, and Scottish food. We ate at the Elephant House for dinner and I was so stoked. It was great because the cafe really did stay true to its roots and haven't jacked up the prices or made it touristy after JK Rowling. It was good food, I got out with a nine pound dinner and dessert and a bite of Haggis. I now see how JK Rowling came up with some of her Hogwarts ideas because the cafe looks over the Ediburgh Castle up on the volcano...soooo gorgeous.
That night we went on a Ghost Tour. Scotland is full of haunted stories and history. I really wanted to go down into Mary Kings Close but unfortuneatly they were sold out. So we went on a different tour that went throughout Edinburgh and then up to the Carlton Hill where there is a cemetary. I really enjoyed this tour because it wasn't stupid ghost stories they were actually real historic events that had happened and some of the artifacts from the stories were in the Scottish National Museum that we could see. At the beginning of the tour we were all give mini flash lights...which in Scotland they call torches. By the time we reached the cemetery I was like are we reallllly going up there??? There was a iron gate and really steep stairs that led up to the graves. The moon was almost full and it was so dark....very surreal. When we went up it was not so scary because the tour was so big. We learned so much!
The term 'saved by the bell' comes from this. In the 1800s Edinburgh had a lot of issues with disease especially leopardsy. People would just fall over in the middle of the street and no one would be able to tell if they were dead or alive. So they would lay them down for three days and attach a piece of string to their finger. If by chance they were to wake up they could ring the bell and someone would come get them. If they didn't wake up then they would bury them.
Grave digging was a big issue in Edinburgh because they didn't have enough body donations to the medical research centers. So people would go dig up someone to get their bodies not so much interested in their jewelries. At one point a lady was buried not all the way and her hand stuck out of the ground. Some grave diggers came along and tried to cut off her hand to make some money. As they did that her arm started to moved around and she was screaming from underground. The men dug up the grave and found that she was still alive. The good point is that they saved her life where the bad point is they were caught for grave digging and had a life sentence in jail. Burying people alive was common mistake because of the coma states these people went into.
That night we went back to our Hostel. Which was very clean and I was very impressed. I hope that some of our other hostels are like this as well...probably shouldn't count on it.
The next morning we went to Edinburgh Castle. The view was awesome from the top. I still can't believe this was built on top of a volcano! We saw the crown of jewels, the royal apartments, the church and some other places. These castle grounds were massive and there was so much to see but the history just was not as interesting as Holyrood.
So that is my trip in a nutshell. I've got to get to dinner so maybe I will blog more about my trip later. I have three days until I leave for London for three days!
Natalie
Despite the Haggis Scotland was absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed the trip even though it was far too short. I like Scotland a whole lot better than Ireland which really surprised me! I traveled with the International Society by coach to get to Edinburgh and it was a five hour ride buuuuH!. That was pretty rush considering my legs barely fit in the seats. We arrived in Ediburgh at 3pm on Saturday and had the day to do whatever we wanted. Helen, Brianne, Stephanie and I headed to Holyrood Palace first. I was so proud of myself because I led the way with a map from our Hostel to the Palace with no troubles at all... and it wasn't anywhere close. I don't really understand why all of the sudden I am able to read a map... I am just so clutch!!
Holyrood Palace was my favorite part of the whole trip. This is the equivalent of Buckingham Palace only the place for the Queen in Scotland. It is definitely nothing like Buckingham in looks but it is still beautiful. The palace sits right underneath King Arthurs Seat which is a large hill/mountain. We got the audio tours and I wish I got audio tours for more things in the past because you get so much more appreciation for what your looking at when you knooooow what you are looking at. I learned all about Mary Queen of Scots and her very tragic life. The history was fascinating so much that it inspired me to read more about her story later. After going through the inside of the palace we went out to the Abbey. This abbey was ruined by some rebels that hated the Catholics and it was burned down. Only the ruins are left in the yard of the palace. The ruins are very pretty and you can only imagine how massive this abbey must have been. Then we went through the gardens and learned about the Parties the Queen throws once a year. Supposedly no one likes these parties because every time it happens it brings the worst weather of the year!
After the Palace we walked up the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is a mile and a half and at one end is Holyrood Palace and at the other end is Ediburgh Castle. The street is all cobblestone and we kept having to wonder how this must be so damaging to the cars tires despite how pretty it may look. Edinburgh is so pleasant because everything matches. All of the buildings are of the same style. The oldest buildings have gotten pretty black because they used to be heated with coal and the people have either not gotten around to or cannot afford to power wash some of it off. Even with the coal darken buildings it is still beautiful. The Royal Mile is filled with little kilt shops, celtic jewelry shops, touristy stuff, and Scottish food. We ate at the Elephant House for dinner and I was so stoked. It was great because the cafe really did stay true to its roots and haven't jacked up the prices or made it touristy after JK Rowling. It was good food, I got out with a nine pound dinner and dessert and a bite of Haggis. I now see how JK Rowling came up with some of her Hogwarts ideas because the cafe looks over the Ediburgh Castle up on the volcano...soooo gorgeous.
That night we went on a Ghost Tour. Scotland is full of haunted stories and history. I really wanted to go down into Mary Kings Close but unfortuneatly they were sold out. So we went on a different tour that went throughout Edinburgh and then up to the Carlton Hill where there is a cemetary. I really enjoyed this tour because it wasn't stupid ghost stories they were actually real historic events that had happened and some of the artifacts from the stories were in the Scottish National Museum that we could see. At the beginning of the tour we were all give mini flash lights...which in Scotland they call torches. By the time we reached the cemetery I was like are we reallllly going up there??? There was a iron gate and really steep stairs that led up to the graves. The moon was almost full and it was so dark....very surreal. When we went up it was not so scary because the tour was so big. We learned so much!
The term 'saved by the bell' comes from this. In the 1800s Edinburgh had a lot of issues with disease especially leopardsy. People would just fall over in the middle of the street and no one would be able to tell if they were dead or alive. So they would lay them down for three days and attach a piece of string to their finger. If by chance they were to wake up they could ring the bell and someone would come get them. If they didn't wake up then they would bury them.
Grave digging was a big issue in Edinburgh because they didn't have enough body donations to the medical research centers. So people would go dig up someone to get their bodies not so much interested in their jewelries. At one point a lady was buried not all the way and her hand stuck out of the ground. Some grave diggers came along and tried to cut off her hand to make some money. As they did that her arm started to moved around and she was screaming from underground. The men dug up the grave and found that she was still alive. The good point is that they saved her life where the bad point is they were caught for grave digging and had a life sentence in jail. Burying people alive was common mistake because of the coma states these people went into.
That night we went back to our Hostel. Which was very clean and I was very impressed. I hope that some of our other hostels are like this as well...probably shouldn't count on it.
The next morning we went to Edinburgh Castle. The view was awesome from the top. I still can't believe this was built on top of a volcano! We saw the crown of jewels, the royal apartments, the church and some other places. These castle grounds were massive and there was so much to see but the history just was not as interesting as Holyrood.
So that is my trip in a nutshell. I've got to get to dinner so maybe I will blog more about my trip later. I have three days until I leave for London for three days!
Natalie
Friday, October 17, 2008
WalkAbout Austrailian Bar
Last night I went out with some girlfriends to WalkAbout Bar in Deansgate. The bar was supposed to be Australian themed but my Australian friend, Penny says that there is definitely nothing authentic about it (kind of like our Outback steak house). Nevertheless it was a good time.
The point of going to this place was they were going to try and break the record of jaegerbombs taken. I'm not sure if they did... All the music was techno but I have warmed up to some of the techno tunes. Every once and awhile an American song will come on and then they have to turn it into techno...noooooo. One boy came up to me that night and probably gave me the most original line that I have heard yet... He said that I was the most attractive six feet he had ever seen in his life. You got to give him credit... not bad haha.
I woke up early today to talk to Aaron on skype and then grab some breakfast. I really like English breakfast now. It consists of baked beans, fried eggs, hash browns, tomatoes, and chocolate crossiants. Of course I don't have all of that on my plate at one time but I do always get the beans. When I come back to the states I think I am going to continue having baked beans and hash browns for breakfast at least on the weekends ..mmmmm
Today I am meeting up with my Operations Management team to work on our project. This will not be very fun but afterwards I am meeting with my Paris group to plan Paris... this on the other hand will be good. Brianne and I have already booked our concert tickets for the last night in Paris for Deathcab for Cutie... an alternative band that is very popular back home (I am pretty excited to see them in Paris!) I still have not decided if I want to splurge on going to a show at Moulin Rouge. Supposedly the show playing now is very good but its 100 euro!!!!!! I'm thinking I am probably just going to go take a picture outside of it instead of spending that much.
Tomorrow I leave for Scotland...can't wait to see another country! Supposedly the Edinburgh accent is really crazy.
Natalie
The point of going to this place was they were going to try and break the record of jaegerbombs taken. I'm not sure if they did... All the music was techno but I have warmed up to some of the techno tunes. Every once and awhile an American song will come on and then they have to turn it into techno...noooooo. One boy came up to me that night and probably gave me the most original line that I have heard yet... He said that I was the most attractive six feet he had ever seen in his life. You got to give him credit... not bad haha.
I woke up early today to talk to Aaron on skype and then grab some breakfast. I really like English breakfast now. It consists of baked beans, fried eggs, hash browns, tomatoes, and chocolate crossiants. Of course I don't have all of that on my plate at one time but I do always get the beans. When I come back to the states I think I am going to continue having baked beans and hash browns for breakfast at least on the weekends ..mmmmm
Today I am meeting up with my Operations Management team to work on our project. This will not be very fun but afterwards I am meeting with my Paris group to plan Paris... this on the other hand will be good. Brianne and I have already booked our concert tickets for the last night in Paris for Deathcab for Cutie... an alternative band that is very popular back home (I am pretty excited to see them in Paris!) I still have not decided if I want to splurge on going to a show at Moulin Rouge. Supposedly the show playing now is very good but its 100 euro!!!!!! I'm thinking I am probably just going to go take a picture outside of it instead of spending that much.
Tomorrow I leave for Scotland...can't wait to see another country! Supposedly the Edinburgh accent is really crazy.
Natalie
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I Miss American Phad Thai
Today for lunch I went to this noodle bar called Umani. It is on Oxford Road a little past main campus and is quite popular with a lot of students. Its a little hard to find because it is down in the basement of the building but once you get there its nice. Its set up like picnic tables so you could end up sitting at a table with a bunch of random people. I ordered the Phad Thai and it was really good. This is the second time I've had Phad Thai in England now and it just isn't the same as back home...it is a completely different tasting noodle. Phad Thai here is very sweet and mixed with a lot of different veggies esp. onions. Still tasty... but in a different way.
My course load as picked up a little bit and I have been doing a lot of reading lately. My favorite classes are International Marketing and Language: The Individual and Society. I enjoy the Marketing class because it talks about so many cultural differences that I am learning first hand over here. One thing I noticed in England is that the people talk much closer to your face than back in the states. When I first met my mentor we were talking and I kept moving back a little because he was so close to my face...it just was kind of weird. By the end of the hour we had moved across the entire room because I kept moving back a little and he kept moving forward HA! In my Marketing class there was a chapter that talked about this exact phenomenon and how Americans tend to stay further away and Europeans closer! How amazing!! I have been enjoying my Language class because it has so many psychology aspects in it. Today the lecture was on child language acquisition. We learned about feral children, like kids raised by wolves or isolated and under what circumstances were they able to produce speech later in life. This depends on two things: 1. How early were they exposed to language? 2. Were they in a loving environment? In Helen Kellers case she was exposed to language up until she got her illness at 10 months. Even though she became blind and deaf she was soon able to produce and comprehend language even though she couldn't hear herself! amazing!!
Tonight I am considering going out with some girlfriends to Deansgate. Its raining out (as usual during the night time) and I'm not really in the mood but I may force myself because I haven't gone out in Manchester for like 2 weeks...maybe more. It's time to do a little socializing.
Lately, I have been getting used to Manchester food and haven't been noticing the nastiness as much. This week for desserts we had cheesecake, rhubarb pie and chocolate ice cream all which had either the milk pitcher or custard bowl next to it in order to submerge the dessert properly...I prefer my desserts as is.
Saturday morning I leave for Edinburgh, Scotland with the International Society. Edinburgh is pronounced "Ed-in-brah" here. Supposedly the city is supposed to be awesome!
Natalie
My course load as picked up a little bit and I have been doing a lot of reading lately. My favorite classes are International Marketing and Language: The Individual and Society. I enjoy the Marketing class because it talks about so many cultural differences that I am learning first hand over here. One thing I noticed in England is that the people talk much closer to your face than back in the states. When I first met my mentor we were talking and I kept moving back a little because he was so close to my face...it just was kind of weird. By the end of the hour we had moved across the entire room because I kept moving back a little and he kept moving forward HA! In my Marketing class there was a chapter that talked about this exact phenomenon and how Americans tend to stay further away and Europeans closer! How amazing!! I have been enjoying my Language class because it has so many psychology aspects in it. Today the lecture was on child language acquisition. We learned about feral children, like kids raised by wolves or isolated and under what circumstances were they able to produce speech later in life. This depends on two things: 1. How early were they exposed to language? 2. Were they in a loving environment? In Helen Kellers case she was exposed to language up until she got her illness at 10 months. Even though she became blind and deaf she was soon able to produce and comprehend language even though she couldn't hear herself! amazing!!
Tonight I am considering going out with some girlfriends to Deansgate. Its raining out (as usual during the night time) and I'm not really in the mood but I may force myself because I haven't gone out in Manchester for like 2 weeks...maybe more. It's time to do a little socializing.
Lately, I have been getting used to Manchester food and haven't been noticing the nastiness as much. This week for desserts we had cheesecake, rhubarb pie and chocolate ice cream all which had either the milk pitcher or custard bowl next to it in order to submerge the dessert properly...I prefer my desserts as is.
Saturday morning I leave for Edinburgh, Scotland with the International Society. Edinburgh is pronounced "Ed-in-brah" here. Supposedly the city is supposed to be awesome!
Natalie
Monday, October 13, 2008
School: A Way to Pass the Time Until I Can Travel Again
More Observations from Dublin:
-The noise to cross the street sounds like a laser and then a bomb ticking unlike Manchester which just sounds like a heart monitor is failing
-The Irish are much more friendly and helpful
-The lamp street lights are all clover designed and silver
-The mailboxes look the same as Manchesters only Green
-EVERYTHING IS GREEN... more people wear green, green signs, really green grass... just anything you can think of is green
-There are no four leaf clovers in Ireland... only three
-Cost of living for Dublin is higher than Manchester
-There are a lot of homeless people... even children
-The streets are very clean and put together with greenery (trees and hanging flower pots) not at all like Manchester
-They are really friendly to tourists!
Their bus system is not nearly as great as Manchester
-Guinness is HUGE more huge than you can imagine in Dublin
So some updates on whats going on. I have booked many many trips and do not have a free weekend until end of November (thats how I like it). And I would still like to book my trip to Amsterdam I am just waiting to see how my finances are doing. The main thing I would like to see in Amsterdam is The Anne Frank House (her hiding house) and also the Van Gough Museum, Amsterdam Info Center, Red Light District and much more. Locals here say that is amazing and nothing like any other city in Europe. We will see....
Here is my Schedule this far:
-This weekend: Edinbrough, Scotland : Hollyrood Palace and Edinbrough Castle
-Next: London: London Eye, Wicked, Whole Day London Tour, Market Places
-Reading Week: Italy: Rome, Florence, Cinque de Terre, Venice and Milan (NOTE: I am so incredibly excited I found a tour to Cinque de Terre it is so beautiful ... google image it!) Then Bath and Stonehenge for a weekend.
-November 11th: Manchester United Game
-Barcelona, Spain
-Paris, France: Opera House, Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe, Le Louvre, up to the top of Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Versailles... and much more
And that is it for now!!
I have already started a map of all the places in Europe I have gone to/ will go to and all the places I want to go to when I come back. When I get back to Seattle I want to buy a larger map of the world and pin these places according to a color key. Places I want to visit in the future are Prague, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Galway, Belfast, Brussels, Munich, all over Greece, Portugal and Ibiza.
I have decided that school is just a way to pass my time until I can travel again. I do some homework, go to class, work out, rest up and do it all over again... it is a pretty sweet life.
I miss you all!
Natalie
-The noise to cross the street sounds like a laser and then a bomb ticking unlike Manchester which just sounds like a heart monitor is failing
-The Irish are much more friendly and helpful
-The lamp street lights are all clover designed and silver
-The mailboxes look the same as Manchesters only Green
-EVERYTHING IS GREEN... more people wear green, green signs, really green grass... just anything you can think of is green
-There are no four leaf clovers in Ireland... only three
-Cost of living for Dublin is higher than Manchester
-There are a lot of homeless people... even children
-The streets are very clean and put together with greenery (trees and hanging flower pots) not at all like Manchester
-They are really friendly to tourists!
Their bus system is not nearly as great as Manchester
-Guinness is HUGE more huge than you can imagine in Dublin
So some updates on whats going on. I have booked many many trips and do not have a free weekend until end of November (thats how I like it). And I would still like to book my trip to Amsterdam I am just waiting to see how my finances are doing. The main thing I would like to see in Amsterdam is The Anne Frank House (her hiding house) and also the Van Gough Museum, Amsterdam Info Center, Red Light District and much more. Locals here say that is amazing and nothing like any other city in Europe. We will see....
Here is my Schedule this far:
-This weekend: Edinbrough, Scotland : Hollyrood Palace and Edinbrough Castle
-Next: London: London Eye, Wicked, Whole Day London Tour, Market Places
-Reading Week: Italy: Rome, Florence, Cinque de Terre, Venice and Milan (NOTE: I am so incredibly excited I found a tour to Cinque de Terre it is so beautiful ... google image it!) Then Bath and Stonehenge for a weekend.
-November 11th: Manchester United Game
-Barcelona, Spain
-Paris, France: Opera House, Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe, Le Louvre, up to the top of Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Versailles... and much more
And that is it for now!!
I have already started a map of all the places in Europe I have gone to/ will go to and all the places I want to go to when I come back. When I get back to Seattle I want to buy a larger map of the world and pin these places according to a color key. Places I want to visit in the future are Prague, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Galway, Belfast, Brussels, Munich, all over Greece, Portugal and Ibiza.
I have decided that school is just a way to pass my time until I can travel again. I do some homework, go to class, work out, rest up and do it all over again... it is a pretty sweet life.
I miss you all!
Natalie
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Doors of Dublin
I just returned last night from three nights and three days in Dublin, Ireland and it was a lot of fun! The best part about Dublin is all the house's doors. Back during one of their many revolutions the government told the people that they had to paint their doors black. The Irish being very rebellious people refused and instead shoved it in their face by painting their doors colors of red, green, blue and bright yellow. All of the houses in Dublin are like Townhouses so they are just blocks and blocks of three story brick buildings...which extremely bright doors. I thought it was awesome...when I grow up I want to have a Dublin Door.
Night One:
We had plans to arrive early to the airport just to be safe...be unfortuneatly made it very late. The bus and the train took far too long and before we knew it we were running down Terminals of Manchester Airport. People here complain about American Airports...well I complain about airports in the UK and EU because they are sooooo spread out. It took forever to get from gate to gate! Luckily we made it on! The flight was only a half hour which was great. When we arrived at 10:30pm we all decided to go out. We were staying at Lauren's friends house who was studying abroad in Dublin...which was a HUGE savings. We went to the largest club in Dublin and saw Coolio. Coolio was a famous rap artist from when I was in junior high. I am lucky to be in Manchester because even though they use Euros everything is much more expensive in Dublin. A got one cider at it was 5 euro!!!
Day One:
This day we went to the Guinness Storehouse Factory. I was pretty excited to see it because it is considered the most popular tourist site in Ireland...everyone just raves about it. When we arrived I couldn't believe how awesome it was...probably one of the best museums I've been to in my life. The storehouse was 8 stories high and was shaped like a pint glass. Each floor was so informative one floor was about ingredients, tasting lab, advertising, etc. I had no idea that Guinness was such a huge part of Ireland. They do so much harvesting at 2/3 of their barely that they crop goes straight to Ireland Guinness. Arthur Guinness was the first to bring beer to Ireland.
The very top of the museum is called the Gravity Bar. It is a 360 view of Dublin, the highest point in Dublin. There you get a complimentary pint of Guinness. I had tried Guinness before and didn't like it from the can... its so dark. But when trying it fresh from the Storehouse it was pretty good. The top is so creamy that it feels like you need to grab a spoon and eat it as a dessert. We sat at the Gravity Bar and looked at the scenery for about and hour then headed out.
That evening we ate at a place called the Cellar Bar. It was way down low in the ground and only had four things on the menu (two being different kinds of burgers). We all had the cheeseburgers which were absolutely amazing. They use Chiabatta bread, Spinach, Mozerella cheese, mayo and really really deep cooked meat....mmmmm. I did notice that in all restuarants whether they be bars or sit down places...the menus are very limited compared to back home or in Manchester.
Day Two:
We went on the Malahide Castle and Dublin Bay tour. Malahide was a gorgeous castle in the middle of a huge field. As we approached the castle we noticed that there was a full on rainbow right above it (you can faintly see it in one of my photos). The castle was not as pretty as the Wale's one (that one being so intricate with amazing waterfront views) but still pretty. This castle was haunted by a ghost named Puck who has his own small door in the dining room. He is only four feet tall and comes out whenever something is being done to the castle that he doesn't like. His last appearance was in 1975 when original pieces of the Castle were being auctioned off.
Next we went by Dublin Bay which was so beautiful. If I ever get a chance to go back to Dublin I would love to take a boat out to Ireland Eye. This is a island that has a cathedral and lighthouse that you can see faintly out in the distance...it looks beautiful. The weather was rainy and windy but us Manchester people are pretty used to it by now.
After the tours we at a classic Irish Pub. I had the BLT which was amazing.
Day Three:
Our Hop On Hop Off Tour. This tour takes you to 18 famous spots in Dublin... you can choose to get off at any of them it just continues on the route for 24 hours. We stopped at Dublin Castle, Church of Christ Cathedral, Dublina, St Patricks Cathedral, and Dublin Jail. We paid to tour St Pattys Cathedral and the Dublin Jail. St Patricks was extremely beautiful but a little smaller than Westminster Abbey. The Dublin Jail was very interesting to learn about the different revolutions that have gone on in Ireland. The Irish always point out their flag and the meanings of the four colors. Its a little humorous because they always point out the white which is for peace between "Ireland and Northern Ireland...who have decided to stay with the UK ... but they should be with us...but there is peace between us." hahaha right.
So that is my trip in a nutshell. If I could change anything I would have like to done some more planning as far as how to get places and fit more things into each day. But this is my first big trip and I was a guest so now I know how to prepare myself for the next ones. If I go back I really want to go to Galway and Belfast. When I come back to the US I am planning on getting a large map of the world for my wall...I want to mark each place I have visited and each place I need to still see (there is so much to see!!)
PS- I have decided that the Irish are far more friendly than the English. The bus drivers were so helpful and people we constantly stop to help me when they saw I had a map out... without even asking! The humor here is much easier to understand since the English humor is much more dry and sarcastic. I love the Irish!!!
I have 6 days in Manchester for school and then I leave for Edinburgh, Scotland. I plan on seeing Edinburgh Castle and Hollyrood Palace.
Words US to UK:
-vaccum -hoover
-bathroom -a place to take a bath
Natalie
Night One:
We had plans to arrive early to the airport just to be safe...be unfortuneatly made it very late. The bus and the train took far too long and before we knew it we were running down Terminals of Manchester Airport. People here complain about American Airports...well I complain about airports in the UK and EU because they are sooooo spread out. It took forever to get from gate to gate! Luckily we made it on! The flight was only a half hour which was great. When we arrived at 10:30pm we all decided to go out. We were staying at Lauren's friends house who was studying abroad in Dublin...which was a HUGE savings. We went to the largest club in Dublin and saw Coolio. Coolio was a famous rap artist from when I was in junior high. I am lucky to be in Manchester because even though they use Euros everything is much more expensive in Dublin. A got one cider at it was 5 euro!!!
Day One:
This day we went to the Guinness Storehouse Factory. I was pretty excited to see it because it is considered the most popular tourist site in Ireland...everyone just raves about it. When we arrived I couldn't believe how awesome it was...probably one of the best museums I've been to in my life. The storehouse was 8 stories high and was shaped like a pint glass. Each floor was so informative one floor was about ingredients, tasting lab, advertising, etc. I had no idea that Guinness was such a huge part of Ireland. They do so much harvesting at 2/3 of their barely that they crop goes straight to Ireland Guinness. Arthur Guinness was the first to bring beer to Ireland.
The very top of the museum is called the Gravity Bar. It is a 360 view of Dublin, the highest point in Dublin. There you get a complimentary pint of Guinness. I had tried Guinness before and didn't like it from the can... its so dark. But when trying it fresh from the Storehouse it was pretty good. The top is so creamy that it feels like you need to grab a spoon and eat it as a dessert. We sat at the Gravity Bar and looked at the scenery for about and hour then headed out.
That evening we ate at a place called the Cellar Bar. It was way down low in the ground and only had four things on the menu (two being different kinds of burgers). We all had the cheeseburgers which were absolutely amazing. They use Chiabatta bread, Spinach, Mozerella cheese, mayo and really really deep cooked meat....mmmmm. I did notice that in all restuarants whether they be bars or sit down places...the menus are very limited compared to back home or in Manchester.
Day Two:
We went on the Malahide Castle and Dublin Bay tour. Malahide was a gorgeous castle in the middle of a huge field. As we approached the castle we noticed that there was a full on rainbow right above it (you can faintly see it in one of my photos). The castle was not as pretty as the Wale's one (that one being so intricate with amazing waterfront views) but still pretty. This castle was haunted by a ghost named Puck who has his own small door in the dining room. He is only four feet tall and comes out whenever something is being done to the castle that he doesn't like. His last appearance was in 1975 when original pieces of the Castle were being auctioned off.
Next we went by Dublin Bay which was so beautiful. If I ever get a chance to go back to Dublin I would love to take a boat out to Ireland Eye. This is a island that has a cathedral and lighthouse that you can see faintly out in the distance...it looks beautiful. The weather was rainy and windy but us Manchester people are pretty used to it by now.
After the tours we at a classic Irish Pub. I had the BLT which was amazing.
Day Three:
Our Hop On Hop Off Tour. This tour takes you to 18 famous spots in Dublin... you can choose to get off at any of them it just continues on the route for 24 hours. We stopped at Dublin Castle, Church of Christ Cathedral, Dublina, St Patricks Cathedral, and Dublin Jail. We paid to tour St Pattys Cathedral and the Dublin Jail. St Patricks was extremely beautiful but a little smaller than Westminster Abbey. The Dublin Jail was very interesting to learn about the different revolutions that have gone on in Ireland. The Irish always point out their flag and the meanings of the four colors. Its a little humorous because they always point out the white which is for peace between "Ireland and Northern Ireland...who have decided to stay with the UK ... but they should be with us...but there is peace between us." hahaha right.
So that is my trip in a nutshell. If I could change anything I would have like to done some more planning as far as how to get places and fit more things into each day. But this is my first big trip and I was a guest so now I know how to prepare myself for the next ones. If I go back I really want to go to Galway and Belfast. When I come back to the US I am planning on getting a large map of the world for my wall...I want to mark each place I have visited and each place I need to still see (there is so much to see!!)
PS- I have decided that the Irish are far more friendly than the English. The bus drivers were so helpful and people we constantly stop to help me when they saw I had a map out... without even asking! The humor here is much easier to understand since the English humor is much more dry and sarcastic. I love the Irish!!!
I have 6 days in Manchester for school and then I leave for Edinburgh, Scotland. I plan on seeing Edinburgh Castle and Hollyrood Palace.
Words US to UK:
-vaccum -hoover
-bathroom -a place to take a bath
Natalie
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Just an Update
General Observations of Manchester:
-No one wears flares... its all about the skinny jeans
-Girls Fad: Black Tights not to be confused with Black Leggings
-They have a big problem with littering
-There is always a line of 5-6 people for use of an ATM
-They don't make travel sized anything
-Not taking the exchange rate into consideration things are generally cheaper for locals
-Chocolate Crossiants are amazing
-Generally only boys weight lift... Girls do cardio
-Many think Americans are all very overweight... fat american jokes are very popular
-They are so punctual when it comes to time!
-Yet so disorganzied when it comes to everything else!
-The Bus system is so much better than ours
-Curry is the #1 food in the UK because of all the Middle Eastern people here
-They out-drink Americans times a million
-Even professors act surprised when I say that 'no I am not going to go out tonight'
-They like to make fun of Wales and their obsession with sheep
-Boys are into messy hair and faux hawks with v-neck tees
-Cider is way better than beer (in my opinion)
-You don't see homeless people
-Shops/Restuarants are closed or closed early on Sundays
On Sunday I went to the ManCity vs. Liverpool game and it was pretty fun. I was under the impression that people in the UK were CRAAAZY about football but they definitely were much more tame than American fans. Not may people dressed in the ManCity colors but Harry Potter type scarves are very popular. They are navy and light blue thick striped and very warm...with the ManCity crest on the bottom. Their mascot is named Moochester and Kaite asked what animal it was. They were very confused and we found out that mascots aren't really animals here they are just 'mascots.' Moochester looked like a cross between a cow and and an alien...not so cute.
People sit at the game and only cheer when a point is made. Liverpool fans chant the whole time. The first half ManCity was killing Liverpool 2-0 the other half Liverpool beat us 3-2. O well. The traffic was horrible getting back it took about an hour to get back whereas it should have been about 10 minutes. We weren't sure how to walk back because there are a lot of turns to get back to Piccadilly.
Yesterday was my Operations Management class and it was just okay...like any other boring class. My work load as far as reading has gotten heavier so my free time is spent reading, working out or planning trips. I leave for Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday night and I am very excited!!! We are going to do a college bar hop, tour the Guiness Factory and go on a day long scenic tour. I would love to see some Castles but I am not the one planning this trip for once and it is a nice break.
Words US to UK:
-boy -chap
-elevators -lifts
-levels -decks
-bucks -quid (Can I borrow five bucks? would be 'Can I borrow five quid?'
Natalie
-No one wears flares... its all about the skinny jeans
-Girls Fad: Black Tights not to be confused with Black Leggings
-They have a big problem with littering
-There is always a line of 5-6 people for use of an ATM
-They don't make travel sized anything
-Not taking the exchange rate into consideration things are generally cheaper for locals
-Chocolate Crossiants are amazing
-Generally only boys weight lift... Girls do cardio
-Many think Americans are all very overweight... fat american jokes are very popular
-They are so punctual when it comes to time!
-Yet so disorganzied when it comes to everything else!
-The Bus system is so much better than ours
-Curry is the #1 food in the UK because of all the Middle Eastern people here
-They out-drink Americans times a million
-Even professors act surprised when I say that 'no I am not going to go out tonight'
-They like to make fun of Wales and their obsession with sheep
-Boys are into messy hair and faux hawks with v-neck tees
-Cider is way better than beer (in my opinion)
-You don't see homeless people
-Shops/Restuarants are closed or closed early on Sundays
On Sunday I went to the ManCity vs. Liverpool game and it was pretty fun. I was under the impression that people in the UK were CRAAAZY about football but they definitely were much more tame than American fans. Not may people dressed in the ManCity colors but Harry Potter type scarves are very popular. They are navy and light blue thick striped and very warm...with the ManCity crest on the bottom. Their mascot is named Moochester and Kaite asked what animal it was. They were very confused and we found out that mascots aren't really animals here they are just 'mascots.' Moochester looked like a cross between a cow and and an alien...not so cute.
People sit at the game and only cheer when a point is made. Liverpool fans chant the whole time. The first half ManCity was killing Liverpool 2-0 the other half Liverpool beat us 3-2. O well. The traffic was horrible getting back it took about an hour to get back whereas it should have been about 10 minutes. We weren't sure how to walk back because there are a lot of turns to get back to Piccadilly.
Yesterday was my Operations Management class and it was just okay...like any other boring class. My work load as far as reading has gotten heavier so my free time is spent reading, working out or planning trips. I leave for Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday night and I am very excited!!! We are going to do a college bar hop, tour the Guiness Factory and go on a day long scenic tour. I would love to see some Castles but I am not the one planning this trip for once and it is a nice break.
Words US to UK:
-boy -chap
-elevators -lifts
-levels -decks
-bucks -quid (Can I borrow five bucks? would be 'Can I borrow five quid?'
Natalie
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Today I Explored Two Castles
Today was the day of Wales and it was so incredibly beautiful. I had no idea that this country differed so much from England. I was really tired from waking up so early so the minute I got on the bus I fell asleep. I woke up two hours later and found myself on coast of Wales. There was little Welsh homes lining the water and lots of sheep! I guess Wales gets a lot of crap for caring so much about there sheep. It just had such a good vibe though...it was like Cape Cod with a little different feel. I suddenly felt so excited about the UK and my travels when seeing such beautiful scenery.
The bus first dropped us off at Caernarfon to see the castle. The weather was absolutely horrible...extremely windy and rainy and it was impossible to use an umbrella. It Wales they call umbrellas "umbrellies". The castle is pronouned Care-na-vin Castle...which we would never have found out on our own because it certainly is not spelled like that. It was overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the best view was from the watch towers. There were so many floors that you would explore one by one that by the time it was time to walk down you got a little scared because you didn't realize you had climbed so far. The stairs curl around and around and are very narrow. In one bedroom there were bats. I did not go in there because I could hear them screeching my name...it was gross he was sitting up in the rafters looking down at me.
After exploring that castle we went to have lunch at a cafe called Caffi Celi. There they had pretty decently priced meals like 4-5 pounds and they were real food. I had the scampi and chips. I think I need to take a serious break from fried food because its so awful for you. I also found out that English food rots so fast! My friend Traci was telling me about how when she opens a pack of ham it must be eaten in three days and milk only lasts four to five days there! We just have so much preservatives in everything!
The bus then took us to a second castle about half an hour away. This castle was named Penrhyn Castle. It was more than just a stone castle with nothing in it. This castle had all furnishings and it was so elaborate. The Celts are known for their designs that look like there is no beginning and end. Well every ceiling had a pattern like this. Every doorway had three to five archways...so pretty. The view from this castle was so pretty its hard to put into words. Even though the weather was horrible you could still see the hills, trees and view of the ocean. What was amazing to me was to think that they didn't have electricity then. Walking down a lot of the hallways it was a bit dark and I can only imagine what it was like in the winter with just a view candles....and how cold it would have been!!!
We got back on the bus at 5pm and were extremely cold and wet. I passed out the minute I sat in my chair and I think I embarrassed myself pretty bad. I heard some girls laughing and I kind of fifty percent woke up and I think I might have been leaning in a little to far by the girl next to me....oops. I said I was sorry and turned away but I barely remember this. I was too tired to be embarrassed but looking back I'm like wow.
Two Blonde Moments of the Day:
-I did not know there was a language in Wales called Welsh.
-I have been having a really hard time figuring out the 24 hour days on the clocks. Every time I try and calculate it I go 13 is 1, 14 is 2, 15 is 3 etc. My friend Katie informed me that all you have to do is subtract 12... oops.
US words to UK:
-pancakes -flapjacks
-french fries -chips
-chips -crisps
-cool -proper
Tomorrow is the ManCity Game I really hope it isn't raining...but I am excited either way. I leave for Ireland in 3 days!!!
Natalie
The bus first dropped us off at Caernarfon to see the castle. The weather was absolutely horrible...extremely windy and rainy and it was impossible to use an umbrella. It Wales they call umbrellas "umbrellies". The castle is pronouned Care-na-vin Castle...which we would never have found out on our own because it certainly is not spelled like that. It was overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the best view was from the watch towers. There were so many floors that you would explore one by one that by the time it was time to walk down you got a little scared because you didn't realize you had climbed so far. The stairs curl around and around and are very narrow. In one bedroom there were bats. I did not go in there because I could hear them screeching my name...it was gross he was sitting up in the rafters looking down at me.
After exploring that castle we went to have lunch at a cafe called Caffi Celi. There they had pretty decently priced meals like 4-5 pounds and they were real food. I had the scampi and chips. I think I need to take a serious break from fried food because its so awful for you. I also found out that English food rots so fast! My friend Traci was telling me about how when she opens a pack of ham it must be eaten in three days and milk only lasts four to five days there! We just have so much preservatives in everything!
The bus then took us to a second castle about half an hour away. This castle was named Penrhyn Castle. It was more than just a stone castle with nothing in it. This castle had all furnishings and it was so elaborate. The Celts are known for their designs that look like there is no beginning and end. Well every ceiling had a pattern like this. Every doorway had three to five archways...so pretty. The view from this castle was so pretty its hard to put into words. Even though the weather was horrible you could still see the hills, trees and view of the ocean. What was amazing to me was to think that they didn't have electricity then. Walking down a lot of the hallways it was a bit dark and I can only imagine what it was like in the winter with just a view candles....and how cold it would have been!!!
We got back on the bus at 5pm and were extremely cold and wet. I passed out the minute I sat in my chair and I think I embarrassed myself pretty bad. I heard some girls laughing and I kind of fifty percent woke up and I think I might have been leaning in a little to far by the girl next to me....oops. I said I was sorry and turned away but I barely remember this. I was too tired to be embarrassed but looking back I'm like wow.
Two Blonde Moments of the Day:
-I did not know there was a language in Wales called Welsh.
-I have been having a really hard time figuring out the 24 hour days on the clocks. Every time I try and calculate it I go 13 is 1, 14 is 2, 15 is 3 etc. My friend Katie informed me that all you have to do is subtract 12... oops.
US words to UK:
-pancakes -flapjacks
-french fries -chips
-chips -crisps
-cool -proper
Tomorrow is the ManCity Game I really hope it isn't raining...but I am excited either way. I leave for Ireland in 3 days!!!
Natalie
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Crazed Lady
Remember how I told you about that crazy Indian lady that yelled at us on the bus about some kind of political stuff? Ya well I found out today that she is actually a regular. We stopped at the same stop today and she came right up to the bus driver and gave him her speigl. It was exactly the same as last time something like... "Whats happening in Gettysberg...You cannot deny it... your daughters and sons are making not the best choice but the worst choice"...thats all I could pick up but it definitely is a speech she repeats. She always look so angry!
I was so excited because I made it to the City Centre John Rylands Library today downtown all by myself. Found the chapter I needed to read for psycholinguistics all by myself. Got back on the bus and went from there to Piccadilly Gardens to go shopping all by myself and managed to make it back home all by myself. I WAS REALLY EXCITED!!! Seriously using those maps can be scary. At the library the same lady was there yelling at the check out guy... its beginning to get a little funny but sad at the same time.
I have now booked my Paris flight that came to a big whooping 10 pounds which is awesome! I have been doing a lot of finance work on my trips and its just so scary! Like I always end up okay but its like you are estimating so many costs that it could be totally off!
I leave for Wales tomorrow at like 7:30am and hopefully will get some reading done on the way there. I have been terribly bad at doing work here because I get distracted with looking up flights, train tickets, tours and just basically not focusing on school. I am definitely not behind because I feel like none of the locals ever really study or read anyways...so its all good.
Words US to UK:
- the letter 'z' -"zed" (I needed a code to get into the bathroom at the bookstore the other day and he said it was "6789 zed" so I typed 6-7-8-9-z-e-d over and over again and it wouldn't work. A british girl came over and typed it for me...I then learned z is said as zed here...I am an idiot)
natalie
Natalie
I was so excited because I made it to the City Centre John Rylands Library today downtown all by myself. Found the chapter I needed to read for psycholinguistics all by myself. Got back on the bus and went from there to Piccadilly Gardens to go shopping all by myself and managed to make it back home all by myself. I WAS REALLY EXCITED!!! Seriously using those maps can be scary. At the library the same lady was there yelling at the check out guy... its beginning to get a little funny but sad at the same time.
I have now booked my Paris flight that came to a big whooping 10 pounds which is awesome! I have been doing a lot of finance work on my trips and its just so scary! Like I always end up okay but its like you are estimating so many costs that it could be totally off!
I leave for Wales tomorrow at like 7:30am and hopefully will get some reading done on the way there. I have been terribly bad at doing work here because I get distracted with looking up flights, train tickets, tours and just basically not focusing on school. I am definitely not behind because I feel like none of the locals ever really study or read anyways...so its all good.
Words US to UK:
- the letter 'z' -"zed" (I needed a code to get into the bathroom at the bookstore the other day and he said it was "6789 zed" so I typed 6-7-8-9-z-e-d over and over again and it wouldn't work. A british girl came over and typed it for me...I then learned z is said as zed here...I am an idiot)
natalie
Natalie
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Submerging of Desserts
I have decided that the British really are obsessed with submerging their desserts. I first noticed this with the custard. Sitting next to every dessert there is always a big bowl of custard and they all drown their cake, spotted dick, pretty much anything with custard. I tried the custard with the spotted dick and it was no good... I don't like either of them. Yesterday, there was cherry pie for dessert...the pie was not bad. Obviously it was cafeteria cherry pie so the cherry goo looked like it came from a can but I liked the crust. One of my NY friends leaned over and said...'You know whats funny is they like pour the milk on top of their cherry pie.' I was like NO WAY...like they SUBMERGE their cherry pie in MILK??? I saw the milk next to the pie but I assumed it was for drinking. But noooo it then occured to me that all the British had poured milk over their cherry pie... no just a little milk but the cherry pie was barely visible. How weird! I tried so hard not to laugh but every time someone walked by with a submerged pie I had to laugh.
Last night was my friend, Catie's, 21st birthday. It wasn't as big deal as you would think because 1. We are in England and anyone can drink here and 2. She's Canadian so she was able to go to bars since she was 19. But a bunch of exchange students went to Trof's Bar (really hippie/alternative bar) and then to Brara Bar. It was definitely a good time and I got to know a lot more exchange students...particularly a few from Sweden. It is just such a different atmosphere in clubs here because the music is generally techno. So girls don't dance with boys and everyone is just kind of jumping around and 'raving' in a way. I feel like an idiot trying to dance like them...but at least I'm with a whole group of Americans/Canadians that look like idiots too!
Today I had my last class of the week which is Language: The Individual and Society. It is my only non Business class I am taking and I really like it this far. Today the lecture was about Animal Communication. We learned about a bunch of studies with chimps being raised with children and trying to get them to speak like us. It really amazed me that some chimps can say some words but they cannot use them creatively to make new words like us.
Tomorrow I am doing some reading, meeting with an adviser and doing some more planning. Planning for trips really is pretty stressful and hard work!
I know I learned some more words but I always forget them when I come online BUH!
Love,
Natalie
Last night was my friend, Catie's, 21st birthday. It wasn't as big deal as you would think because 1. We are in England and anyone can drink here and 2. She's Canadian so she was able to go to bars since she was 19. But a bunch of exchange students went to Trof's Bar (really hippie/alternative bar) and then to Brara Bar. It was definitely a good time and I got to know a lot more exchange students...particularly a few from Sweden. It is just such a different atmosphere in clubs here because the music is generally techno. So girls don't dance with boys and everyone is just kind of jumping around and 'raving' in a way. I feel like an idiot trying to dance like them...but at least I'm with a whole group of Americans/Canadians that look like idiots too!
Today I had my last class of the week which is Language: The Individual and Society. It is my only non Business class I am taking and I really like it this far. Today the lecture was about Animal Communication. We learned about a bunch of studies with chimps being raised with children and trying to get them to speak like us. It really amazed me that some chimps can say some words but they cannot use them creatively to make new words like us.
Tomorrow I am doing some reading, meeting with an adviser and doing some more planning. Planning for trips really is pretty stressful and hard work!
I know I learned some more words but I always forget them when I come online BUH!
Love,
Natalie
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Look Left Before Right
I am getting quite good at riding the bus I have only missed my stop once this week. Although I still am having trouble crossing the street on a daily basis. Everything is opposite so when crossing you need to look left before right...many times I look both ways and think I am okay but then nearly get run over!!! Lately I have been waiting until locals cross and cross like within one foot behind them because I figure they know better than I. Don't worry if I get run over it won't happen on weekends because its right before left all throughout Europe...the UK just likes to be different.
I had my Retail Marketing class today and its my only class that I am really worried about. It seems extremely easy just like all the others but the Professor was so rude to be I couldn't believe it. I don't know if its the whole American thing or the whole international student thing but its really getting old. I asked about the final assessment since it was the only class that wasn't posted for us and listed as TBA. She said she didn't know and didn't know when she would know either.. I said o ok and said I had one more question and she rolled her eyes and turned her back on me!!! What??? She was the one that said she would be happy to answer questions after class?! Whatever...
Today I met up with some random British Grad Student who was selling his old books I got my 50 pound Finance book for only 10 pounds which I was so excited about. So far I have three out of five of my books and it has cost 80 pounds...not to shabby considering I usually spend over 200 dollars a quarter on used books.
Right now I am busy booking my London Tours. We are all booking them at the same time with the same pick up spot but with different payments so I'm really hoping that we are all on the same tour? I'm not sure so I will try calling in an hour but none of us can afford to book everyones ticket and get paid back next month...especially since we would have like 1000 pounds to carry around and no where to put it.
Here is what we are doing on our London Trip in October:
-Friday: Arrive at 11:30am Get some Lunch, Go on the London Eye, Dinner, Wicked
-Saturday: 8:45am get picked up for all day London experience...see where the Bond Movie was filmed, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalga Square, Buckingham Palace changing of the guards, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower of London, Crown of Jewels and a bunch more places that I cannot remember. The tour was on a special for 9 hours its 60 dollars which isn't bad at all.
-Sunday: We are going to spend wandering and going to Roe Market and leave at 5:30pm
So it is a real quick trip but we want to go again in early December for the Christmas Markets and maybe see Hampton Court ( I really really want to go there it was where King Henry the VIII lived) and Kensington Palace.
Yesterday I got a really good work out in and I was the ONLY GIRL working out in the weights area. I don't know if thats how it is normally but the guys kept giving me odd looks! HA! Sure I hear new fat American jokes everyday (in fact I heard one today in Retail Marketing) but hey at least we know how to work it off!
Words US to UK:
-volleyball -net ball
Natalie
I had my Retail Marketing class today and its my only class that I am really worried about. It seems extremely easy just like all the others but the Professor was so rude to be I couldn't believe it. I don't know if its the whole American thing or the whole international student thing but its really getting old. I asked about the final assessment since it was the only class that wasn't posted for us and listed as TBA. She said she didn't know and didn't know when she would know either.. I said o ok and said I had one more question and she rolled her eyes and turned her back on me!!! What??? She was the one that said she would be happy to answer questions after class?! Whatever...
Today I met up with some random British Grad Student who was selling his old books I got my 50 pound Finance book for only 10 pounds which I was so excited about. So far I have three out of five of my books and it has cost 80 pounds...not to shabby considering I usually spend over 200 dollars a quarter on used books.
Right now I am busy booking my London Tours. We are all booking them at the same time with the same pick up spot but with different payments so I'm really hoping that we are all on the same tour? I'm not sure so I will try calling in an hour but none of us can afford to book everyones ticket and get paid back next month...especially since we would have like 1000 pounds to carry around and no where to put it.
Here is what we are doing on our London Trip in October:
-Friday: Arrive at 11:30am Get some Lunch, Go on the London Eye, Dinner, Wicked
-Saturday: 8:45am get picked up for all day London experience...see where the Bond Movie was filmed, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalga Square, Buckingham Palace changing of the guards, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower of London, Crown of Jewels and a bunch more places that I cannot remember. The tour was on a special for 9 hours its 60 dollars which isn't bad at all.
-Sunday: We are going to spend wandering and going to Roe Market and leave at 5:30pm
So it is a real quick trip but we want to go again in early December for the Christmas Markets and maybe see Hampton Court ( I really really want to go there it was where King Henry the VIII lived) and Kensington Palace.
Yesterday I got a really good work out in and I was the ONLY GIRL working out in the weights area. I don't know if thats how it is normally but the guys kept giving me odd looks! HA! Sure I hear new fat American jokes everyday (in fact I heard one today in Retail Marketing) but hey at least we know how to work it off!
Words US to UK:
-volleyball -net ball
Natalie
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