Current State:

Here is a photo about that explains how I can't seem to pack effectively right now. I have probably only a few more hours to go, but I simply don't want to pack! haha I've become increasingly more disorganized since coming to England...

Cool Pictures of People Jumping...

My friends and I got into a habit the first week when we were in England to jump in all of these crazy places! So enjoy...

Northampton St in front of Stonehenge... Let the jumping fun begin

On top of a mountain in Wales!

If you don't recognize this location, then you don't deserve to know!

Roman Forum, so anthropological...

Schunbrunn Palace Gardens: Vienna

This is cool, near St. Vitus church in Prague Castle.

Copenhagen!

Shakespeare's birthplace, haha 

Lara jumping in Vienna! I love this!

A Beautiful Sunset:

When Sam was here, we watched the sunset right on the hill above me. It was beautiful so here are some pictures I took. Unfortunately, I dropped my camera this weekend, and now it's completely broken! AHHH I'm so mad but I'm lucky that this happened at the very end of the semester. Grrrrr, I'm still bitter though. haha well here are some pictures!

A Great weekend in Bath:

     This weekend Sam came to visit Bath! It was so much fun! We walked around and went to the Christmas market, and did some British things, like going to pubs... I felt bad because I have to say, I was tired all weekend because of the traveling I've done recently and I just haven't had a lot of time to rest but I was so excited that Sam came to visit!
     Another cool part of the weekend was that we had an ASE house-crawl, where each night we went to someone's house and had a themed party. Thursday was Christmas and Pirates themed, Friday was Fratty themed, and Saturday we crawled to two houses. It was so fun getting together as an entire group and just hanging out. Because some of us live about 30 minutes away, it's not always convenient to get together. But it was so worth it because we had a great time!
     My house was themed Harry Potter (obviously) and it was AMAZING! We decorated everything in house colors and dressed like it was Christmas at Hogwarts. Ironically enough, the house across from us was American themed so it was like we went from England to America! We also made butterbeer, the yummiest drink ever. We used ice cream, butterscotch candy and cream soda topped off with caramel liqueur. I will have to make this recipe again once I get home. Across the street we drank apple pie shots with whipped cream and cinnamon!
      With that being said, I'm so sad that I only have one week left. It's flown by and I'm not sure I'm ready to return to the U.S. Of course there are things I'm looking forward to like seeing my friends and going back to school and Christmas and driving. But I've learned so much here and it's going to be hard readapting to American life.
Here are some awesome pictures from the weekend!

My favorite view of Bath.

The Abbey at Christmas!

Ravenclaw girls!

house picture: Gabby is the death eater and Allison is Professor Trawleny. She looks amazing!

Sam and I in our living room!

America! Or should I say, Murica?

Best drinks ever!

Alison and Gabby together!

Stratford on Avon: learning Shakespeare makes me feel so smart.

     Last week, as a reward for finishing our classes, we went on a program trip to Shakespeare land! It was certainly.... interesting. I have to say, I was upset that we had to leave Bath because I didn't want to leave my home so close to the end of the semester. But, it was a fun journey!
     The first day, we went to a lecture about the play we were going to see later that night called Written On the Heart. It's about the language of the bible and how this translator became a martyr doing this and years later, they are still trying to figure out how to solve different interpretations. It was pretty dry and I didn't like it. haha But, we did get to see another play the next night that I liked a lot better!
     The second day, we went to a lecture, then walked to see Shakespeare landmarks like Hall's Croft, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shakespeare's birthplace, and his grave site. That was a lot of fun and it made me realize how different our world would've been without him. Literature would be so different! So I definitely came to appreciate his influence from seeing all of these sites.

We saw Measure for Measure the second night about the scandalous life in Vienna, where a man was going to be killed for impregnating a girl he wasn't married to. However, He intended to marry her, and as the story unfolds, you learn about all of the characters relationships and how they plot to save this man. It was set in a pseudo modern setting and I actually really liked that. The acting was great and even though it was in Shakespeare language, I understood it all because of the way they acted! So I really enjoyed this play and it was a fun night. 

     Because we were staying at B and B's, we had to get up early and by I was really tired by Thursday night. But the castle we went to, Warwick Castle, was pretty cool! It was beautiful despite the rain, and I enjoyed seeing one last castle on my English trip. Overall, it was a successful journey and I'm glad we got to go to such a historic town. 

Me and Lara outside Shakespeare's house.

Anne's Cottage! (Shakespeare's wife)

The church where Shakespeare is buried. 

Cozy little pub dinner with some great friends!

The inside of Warwick Castle.

I shall miss these girls! :(

A nice view of the castle. 

Gabby and Jamie! 

    

Copenhagen:The world's happiest city!

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to make my final Eurotrip to Copenhagen. It was amazing! I had the best weekend with Margaret and Meimei and we shared many funny moments.

Friday night, I arrived at about 815, and we took the train to the city to get a drink at this little pub. I had delicious Christmas beer and we all caught up on stories about our travels. Then, Meimei and I went to her house in the suburbs! Her house is in the cutest little Danish village called Ganlose, and you have to take a bus and a train to get there. I didn’t mind the commute at all but I can imagine Meimei must get tired sometimes from the hour-long commute everyday! Arriving at her house, my first impression was that it was SO COOL! Its triangle shaped, and bright yellow! After waking up the entire family because their dog-Maggie barked at me for so long, I got to meet Claus, Meimei’s host dad who was so welcoming! We had a really pleasant sleep that night and we woke up nice and early ready for a day of sightseeing in Copenhagen.

Haha we had many funny times on Saturday, the first being missing our bus to get to the train station! So while we were waiting, we walked all around the little village and saw the store, the library, and the windmill…basically the whole town. It reminded me a little of Holland and I loved it so much. After finally making it to meet Margaret, we went to see the Opera House, New Hau, Parliament, the Marble Church, Copenhagen Cathedral and the changing of the guard ceremony. I loved seeing everything despite the Hurricane weather that we endured! The colors at Nyhavn were amazing, and the canal was full of little riverboats. Also, the Marble church was cool because it looked so much like the Pantheon in Rome.

One of the craziest moments occurred during the guard ceremony in front of the whole crowd. We were watching the ceremony in the first row and we were all standing. Because of the hurricane winds that were insane, as well as the buckets of rain, we were all very cold, kind of hungry, and all wondering if it was a mistake to sightsee in such conditions. BUT- then, my umbrella snapped in half, flew like 15 yards away to a huge opening where the guards were walking towards. Although we were in a crowd, my umbrella flew just beyond it, making me run to pick it up before it flew away again or the guards walked there. I felt so lucky when I caught it with little problem but, as I was reaching for it, I slipped backwards and fell in front of everyone….You are probably thinking….classic Lauren moment right there. Haha it was so funny that me and Margaret and Meimei were laughing hysterically and it wasn’t even embarrassing. So that made our moods a lot lighter and it was a great morning. That afternoon we did what girls do best, shop at H and M and other stores on the main shopping street! I loved that and it reminded me of when Margaret and I went to the huge forever 21 last summer in NYC.

When the day ended, we all went to Meimei’s house for a home cooked dinner by her host parents! It was the best dinner party ever! We had pork, cheesy potatoes and a yummy salad accompanied by a few bottles of wine. Yummmmmy! I loved talking to her host parents and getting to know about their Danish lives and culture. I feel like I learned so much just over that one dinner and it made me appreciate my weekend in Denmark even more. And I just loved sitting with two of my best friends for the whole night!

The next day, we went to see the old castle ruins under the most amazing palace where the royal family lives! The ruins were very impressive (I love castles/archeology) so it was a wicked cool Viking history lesson. Meimei and I walked around some more and explored Copenhagen by shopping at the Christmas market! It was also a really nice day out so we went back to Nyhavn to take more pictures J

This was such a great weekend and I’m so thankful that I was able to take one more trip and see one more country. Between two great friends, two cups of Baresso coffee (the most delicious coffee in the world) and so many fun times, this trip was well worth it!

With that being said, right now I’m traveling as well and I’m actually on a bus going to a castle after our trip to Stratford (Shakespeare land). I have one week left here and I don’t know what to do! It’s like an amazing dream that I’m trying not to wake up from so I keep pressing snooze on my alarm clock….

We are almost at the castle but I will post about this trip when I get back tonight!

here are some pictures!

A really pretty windmill in Ganlose! 

Royal Palace? haha it's so big!

Me and Margaret bearing the rain at Nyhavn!

Me and Meimei at Nyhavn take two in the sun!

Danish guards looking good....

Me in front of the harbor!

Us at Meimei's house with Maggie- the dog! haha us three had to make a Christmas card, this would be it...

My Last Weekend In London:

     Last weekend, after a big turkey dinner provided by my program, I was lucky enough to take the train back to London and spend the weekend with my family and one of my best friends, Kelsey. Friday morning, I had to wake up and finish a paper...I didn't like that since I couldn't visit the tower of London, but I sat in Starbucks and everything was so Christmasy and cozy. So I can't really complain, because even though I had work to finish, it was a beautiful morning! 

     I was so excited to see Kelsey! She is studying abroad in Grenada Spain and I hadn't seen her in almost 6 months! So Friday afternoon was great because we got to catch up and shop and walk around and it was so nice to see someone from the burg! The rest of the weekend my sister and me and Kelsey just walked around and our parents took us to this amazing restaurant called Hush. Yummmm. Friday night one of the finniest things was that we wanted to find a chill pub to go to because we didn't want to go crazy at a nightclub. So it was maybe..1030 and we thought we had plenty of time. BUT Apparently, pubs close at 11! I thought that was crazy and then we couldn't go out anymore! It's okay because we were really tired and we ended up catching a good sleep.
     Saturday, we shopped more and spent the afternoon at Harrods! Harrods is absolutely wild...There is no better way to describe it because it's so overwhelming. We had a great afternoon snack and then we wandered around for a few minutes and ended up in the evening gown section which was insane. I felt like I was on a fashion runway and you can imagine how out of place I felt in my bright blue northface. But, we also found the Harry Potter section! Now that was amazing and they had wands, and cloaks, and brooms, and dresses! It made me feel like a little kid on Christmas morning and my sister and Kelsey both loved it too.
     Basically, we all had an amazing weekend and I was a little sad to see Kelsey and my family go home. But it's also insane to think that in just 3 weeks, I will be home with everyone. This next weekend will be my last weekend traveling and I'm going to Copenhagen to see Margaret and Meimei! I'm so excited for my last trip and to go Denmark! After that, I'm only in Bath for a week and a half and then shipping off to Boston!
Here are pictures of our family trip and a weekend in London with Kelsey!

Haha My dad posing with...Charlie Chaplain?

The London Eye from the River...Beautiful

The Tower Bridge! 

Kelsey and I on a shopping mission.

In front of Trafalgar Square

This should be our Christmas card!

Having too much fun with some Harry Potter brooms.

Haha Courtney and I dressed up in sorting hats and cloaks.

She's a Knight! Haha well that's what her shirt says at least.

Taken in front of Buckingham Palace!

3 Weeks

TIME IN BATH IS GOING BY TOO QUICKLY! I HAVE 3 WEEKS LEFT AND IT'S LEFT MY FRIENDS AND I IN A PANIC IF YOU CANNOT TELL BY MY CAPS LOCKS! I love this place and I don't want to leave!
But I still have this horribly difficult paper due tomorrow and it's making me really frustrated so I will feel so much better once it's finished :)
Here is a photo that says why I love Bath so much.

My first view of the Bath Abbey from inside the Roman Baths. This was taken in August when I visited Bath with my Dad. I am so luck to live here and for the purpose of connecting this to my Middle Ages paper, the Abbey was constructed in the thirteenth century! SO OLD! But of course it was under construction for 300 years... 

Thanksgiving:

      Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have to say my family and I miss our family at home today, and it certainly feels strange to break the tradition of having a relaxing day with all of our family. But here in England, it's not so bad either! My parents and sister are here which makes me so happy, and it's been great to see them :)
      They are going to London right now so that they can see Billy Elliot! Although I wish I didn't have school today, I've already seen the show so I don't mind missing it too much. And I did get to take a field trip around Bath to learn about what women did in the 18th century here. So I appreciated that excursion because of the holiday. Another awesome thing about today is that ASE is holding a Thanksgiving feast tonight at a fancy restaurant! We are having an "American Thanksgiving" and the Bath University culinary students are cooking it for us as a test. I think it will be really yummy and in a way, I will have my new family there...I've been some really close friends this year and we have become great friends but I would consider some of them more like my family while I'm here in England.
     With that being said, I'm so thankful to have my family here and I know how lucky I am that they could be here for the holiday. I am feeling homesick for my friends on my program that don't have their families here today and it makes me so appreciate that Mom and Dad and Courtney are all here.
     So far, our week has been awesome! We've done so much around Bath and I think they really like this cute city! Mom and I took a really long walk all around the park near my house and we got to eat at this AWESOME italian restaurant. yummy. Also, Dad and Mom got to see the Roman Baths and the Bath Abbey which are all really important historical places in Bath. I think my Mom was impressed with the Roman Baths, at least for me, it was hard to grasp how incredible it was until I had seen everything there. Other than that, Courtney and I went to a pub with our friends and it was great for everyone to meet her! They loved her of course! My parents were so nice to my friends and they took us out for cider and beer at a pub last night! My friends were thankful to have a few free pints and it was nice that my parents got to meet everyone! :)
     This week has flown by and although I'm looking forward to going back to London, I wish my family had more time in Bath. It's just a great place and I wish they had a little longer to see some of the hidden beauties of the city. But this weekend, I get to see Margaret and Kelsey in London! It will be great to see my good friends from the Burg and I can't wait!
     So for now, I have to go write a paper...But Happy Thanksgiving! I miss everyone at home my friends and my family, so I hope you all have a wonderful day. I'm so thankful to have you in my life!
     As we say here in England as a sign of thanks...CHEERS!

Bath Rugby:

     So tonight I went to my first ever Rugby game! After a pint in the Huntsman pub, that our professor bought for us, we walked over to the stadium to see the Bath Rugby team play the London Wasps. The reason it was free was because it was the B teams playing each other so they were the rookies, the injured and the old players who practicing for their chance to move up to the A team.
      Wow, I've never seen such a violent game before! OMG!!! Guys were tackling each other like them hitting 300 pounds of muscle wouldn't hurt. Most guys even ran into the tackles and I thought it was INSANE to witness. I kept asking Andrew Butterworth (our professor) if the players would get hurt from all of the "scrumming" and hitting and he told me that they were really tough and so only one or two guys would get taken out because of head injuries...per game!
     So I fully enjoyed the Rugby culture, the game was thrilling even though it was very complicated to watch and the fans seemed to be into it. And I have come to the conclusion that Rugby is actually one on the toughest sports out there because there are no pads or helmets and people kill each other all the same.

Go Bath Rugby! So fierce...

Scotland!

     Last weekend, not this past one but the weekend before, I went to Edinburgh! It was an amazing city, I loved that it was on a hill between two volcanoes... The hills and mountains were beautiful, and the castle gave the whole city this medieval feel to it. My friend Shannon and I went on an amazing walking tour and got to the see the city (for free) from such a cool and different perspective. Along with the tour, we went on a wicked fun pub crawl and met some awesome people- one from Arkansas, one from Germany and they made our night such a blast. Because I have a lot to do, I'm going to just post pictures for now and maybe later I will post stories.
     Oh! One story that I can't forget though...We arrived in Edinburgh early in the morning and by 10am we were walking around. My two friends who I met in Dublin were going to be there but I didn't suspect I would find them because we weren't staying at the same hostel. But, at 10am, as me and Shannon were walking up the stair, I saw Angela and Kim!!! It was one of those crazy moments where I was like, is this really happening!? Did I really manage to find my new friends from Dublin in another country!? It was fun, so we went on the walking tour with them and I was happy we got to hang out! Ok here are some pictures:

A beautiful fall morning in Edinburgh!

In the new town looking up towards the Royal Mile

Ok! This is for you Harry Potter fans, this is the coffee shop J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter while she was poor and living in Scotland! With a view of the castle, I could see how she created Hogwarts, and the coffee shop was really cozy and lovely to eat breakfast in. I loved seeing all the inspiring graffiti message to her all over the wood tabled and chairs. 

Me, standing in the Royal Mile. It was cold out!

This is where the queen stays when she comes up to Scotland for six days a year.

I really wanted to hike this mountain but we didn't have time! It's the mountain that looks over the city, and it's a volcano!!!

You guys won't believe I actually ate this but I will tell you anyways...This is haggis: ground sheep...don't worry they cant use organs in this anymore. haha and it's all boiled in sheep stomach but then removed and served on top of potatoes. It honestly tasted like shepherds pie...I wouldn't eat it again but hey, When in Rome!

A view of the castle, on the hill from across the bridge! It felt so magical.

Me and Shannon inside the castle early on Sunday morning. I wish you could see the view behind us better because it was so amazing!