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!

Things I Love About Bath:

     Because I had a virus this past week, I couldn't travel this weekend because I didn't feel well enough. I was disappointed at first because I really wanted to go to the Dover Cliffs and see more of England. But, today I had the best day! I slept in, woke up feeling a little better, and took a wonderful 2 hour walk around the city! I walked up the hill further than I ever had before and I felt like I was discovering new corners everywhere I went.
     The fact that this can happen after living in a city for almost two months was a great feeling! So I kept walking down towards the shopping center, and the city was buzzing...I realized it was a Rugby day so everyone drinks beer and cider on the street waiting for the game to start. It's pretty fun to watch! Then, I bought new shoes, and got Starbucks which was such a treat and the Toffee Nut Latte was delicious.  Perhaps the funniest thing about my day was that I left my house with a mission to write one of my papers at Nelson House which is a 20 minute walk from here, yet I kept getting distracted because of all the places I wanted to explore and 2 hours later...I still hadn't made it to school. Oh well! I had a productive day in other ways.
     Also, I love that Christmas is in full swing here because all of the decorations and lights are up. Because Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here, the Christmas season starts at the beginning of November! It's makes the town very fun because everyones out Christmas shopping and it's just very exciting. With that being said, it's a little weird to hear carols already and see Christmas specials up on advertisements.
     So even though I was upset about not being able to travel, I feel grateful that I got to explore even more of the city. And it's been a relaxing weekend which is probably good considering I have so much to do this weekend.

Important English Holidays:

     Over the past two weeks, there have been some really important days in England that define the British culture. The first day was November 5, also known as Guy Fawkes Day aka Bonfire Day. Ignorantly enough, coming to the UK I only knew the expression remember remember the 5th of November bur had no idea what it was really about. Now I know the story so I can share it with you!
     Basically in the 16th century at the time of the reformation of the church under King Henry VIII, the church of England dominated English life. Catholicism was completely shunned, Catholics couldn't vote, they couldn't hold office and they were seen very negatively to the rest of England. And Guy Fawkes, a rebel who was raised Catholic wanted to change this by blowing up Parliament. His thought was that blowing up Parliament meant overthrowing the government and the church. After creating a well devised plan and gaining a lot of covert support, the eve of the project came. Here's where it gets complicated, he was betrayed and everyone involved was hung on November 5th the day the explosion was supposed to happen.
     Now, why do English people celebrate the slaughter of Catholics? I've concluded that it's not so much who the rebels were, it's more what they represented which was chaos and rebellion. So with killing them first, England was able to remain stable and for the first time in centuries, the rebels didn't destroy all order in the UK. The celebration can be compared to our July 4th because there are great firework displays all over England, Scotland, and Wales. But it's different because instead of an organization setting off fireworks, it's everyone setting off individual fireworks! Quite chaotic...haha So there you have it, the story of Guy Fawkes, if you didn't understand how I said it, you should watch V for Vendetta, because it's about Guy Fawkes.

Burning the effigy of Guy Fawkes:

     The next holiday is one that we also celebrate in America except in Britain it's a little different. November 11-Veterans Day/Remembrance Day. Here to show their support most people start wearing red poppy's a week into November and everyday more and more people wear them. I never really thought as Veterans day as a somber day, but I've also never lived in a town that was heavily bombed in both World Wars. In World War II, Bath- being one of the most historic places in England was targeted to demoralize the British people and a lot of my street, the Royal Crescent and the town center was destroyed. So even though Veterans Day is a day of appreciation and remembrance, here it's more about remembering the devastation that occurred all over the innocent British countryside. I guess being here has made me really thankful that because of our families actions in past and present wars, we can live relatively peacefully without the constant fear of being bombed. With that being said, Happy Veterans Day! For everyone that's ever served for America, I truly appreciate your courage and dedication to our country.

A Picture of Bath after raids in 1942. 417 people died in these. 

The Royal Crescent after raids in WWII. 1942

Pictures From Prague:

Fall in Prague

From the top of the mini Eiffel Tower

Old Town Square: So fairy tale ish!

The three people that made my trip so amazing!!!! :)

View of Prague castle from the Charles Bridge

Pretty building in Old Town Square

Chalre Bridge

Charles Bridge at night

Me and my Mom!!! Sorry bout the random person in the background...

John Lennon Wall: I wish I could capture all the colors

Me and Lara day 7 and still friends!! 

Prague Caste from above, sorry about the fog

Jewish Cemetery

One Week Later: PRAGUE

     So most of you know that I've been traveling around and I got back from Prague last week. I was tired and busy that I didn't have time to blog about it! Prague was amazing! I was so happy to see my family and it was such a different place.
     First, Lara and I took the train from Vienna to Prague and we were exhausted so both of us slept most of the time but we had the most enlightening experience at one of the stops. When the train slowed down and we could see the surrounding town, we experienced the scariest thing-a language that we have NEVER seen before! So in the state of tiredness and confusion we looked at each other and almost laughed because of how overwhelmed we were by seeing new accents and letters that seemed completely different from anything we learned in foreign language. Nothing could have prepared us for this new experience.
     Reaching Prague, I was very worried about finding the apartment for a few reasons. 1. we didn't know the address, 2. everything was SO CONFUSING! After getting lost during our previous trips, Lara and I were very good at finding our way by finding a place to get food, eating and then restarting our journey in happiness. With that being said, Prague was no different and after some Starbucks and email time, we were confident we would make it. Somehow, we did make it and to this moment I still don't know how! The winding cobblestone streets and lack of signs couldn't phase us European travelers. haha
     I was so happy to see my Mom, auntie Alison and Terri! It was just so nice to see familiar people after so long and it made me realize how much I missed everyone from home. For the rest of that day we just hung out and walked around the Old Town and near the river. The next morning, we saw Prague Castle and because it was a holiday, there was a Military parade there! It was really cool and Prague Castle was beautiful, especially St. Vitus, an old gothic church that had really pretty stained glass. Climbing the South Tower was a workout but it gave us a huge panoramic view of the city. After trying some sweet bread and glue wien (yum) we walked to this pizza place on the water and got an amazing view of Charles Bridge!
     That afternoon, we took a trip to the Jewish Museum and we learned all about the oppression and horror the Jewish faced in Prague because of the tension between Christianity and Judaism that dated back to the 13th century. I felt ignorant because I never knew that there was a constant struggle for the Jewish people. Seeing the cemetery with bodies piled 10 people high under gravestones was pretty incredible considering how many Jewish people lived and died in the old city.
     After a long day, we had a great dinner right down stairs from our place and it was awesome to have real food after eating so much bread and cheese the rest of the week! Definitely a happy night and I was so mad at that point because we only had one day left in such a fairy tale city.
     The next morning we went to this hill that overlooks the city where we hiked up and got a great view from this pseudo Eiffel Tower! I loved overlooking all of the different buildings in the city especially St. Nicolas Church which has a really pretty green dome. Next, walked around and ate lunch at this waffle stand which was delicious and I didn't know they had good waffles in Prague so that was a yummy treat! We spent the rest of the day shopping around and hanging out and it was great just to walk around some more. As the conclusion of our trip approached I was so thankful that Lara and I had a such a wonderful experience traveling to all of these different places. Prague was a fairy tale and I was so lucky to be in the best company for the weekend!
     Our trip also gave me a newfound appreciation for all of the world backpackers who are on the road for 3 months. Everywhere I go, I meet people who are traveling on a gap year (very European thing to do) and it seems crazy that they stay in hostels and cities for that long. I was exhausted after one week! Now only one question about our Prague trip remains...Who Is Myra?!
--------->>>Myra will always be a mystery for those of you who have even heard of him in the first place...  ;)
Pictures will follow I promise!

Before I blog about Prague:

     I'm too tired to finish my entry about Prague, so I will do that tomorrow. But, Bath in the fall is beautiful and I feel so thankful that I get to live here! So this first photo is of the River Avon from the bridge and it reminds me of New England in the fall. The second one however shows the five day forecast for Bath...

As you can see, my stereotype of it raining all the time is coming true...

Finally Catching Up: Vienna

     Sorry for not posting sooner, it's been a weird week trying to get readjusted to life in Bath and not living out of a backpack! Last week, I was in Vienna from Monday night to Thursday. Here were my favorite things:
1. Seeing my friend Lexi who I go to Gettysburg with in Vienna! Prior to my trip, I told Lexi I was going to Vienna and it was such a great time hanging out with her and her friends for a few days! I loved seeing someone who reminded me of the burg, and she made us feel right at home, cooking us dinner and watching Hocus Pocus with us. It was also amazing to have a personal tour guide who knew so much about all of the buildings we were passing!
2. Schonbrunn Palace- This was the home of the Austrian royalty during the summer months. Wow-I've seen many country houses this year and some pretty incredible gardens but Schonbrunn was so big! I found it fascinating that such a powerful family- the Habsburg family who ruled Austria and Hungry controlled so much of the world because of their ties to Rome and France! We did the guided tour of the Palace and it was well worth it because each room was so overwhelming we got to see so much. Because it's fall, I loved walking around the gardens too and seeing all of the trees turn colors! :D
3. Because the center of Vienna isn't too large, it's very accessible by foot which is my number three on this list goes to walking around the city with Lexi and Lara. Walking around we got to see the Natural History as well as Art History Museums and they are huge buildings that are symmetrically in a courtyard with a huge statue of Marie Therese in the middle! We also saw the Opera House, the Parliament and State Buildings which were beautiful.
4.Perhaps one of the prettiest we saw was St. Stephans Cathedral or (Stephansdom) that's gothic architecture makes it look out of a fairytale. The inside was really cool too and it was full of tourists but the stained glass was beautiful and I loved some of the statues.
5. St. Charles Church was totally different but equally as beautiful compared to St. Stephans. With a green dome, and huge "plague pillars" to ward off the plague in the 18th century, the building was a great place for some serious photos...people probably thought we were crazy.
6. Celebrating a national holiday-Austrian Independence day! I can't believe we were in two cities that celebrated their independence while we were traveling! To celebrate, there was a huge parade and a military festival with all sorts of cool vendors and stands. I loved the candy market...but i resisted! Instead we got a classic meal of kaiserkraner which is basically a hot dog with cheese in the middle, except better because it was like a real sausage. haha I would've never tried this concoction but Lexi convinced me to and I loved it! Also, I tried glue vin, or hot wine, which was delicious! Even if the taste was hard to get used to, it warmed me up and I was thankful for that because it was pretty cold out.
7. Wombats City Hostel- We knew going to Vienna that our hostel was going to be wild...but we didn't know we would receive a free drink voucher when we got there or that the hostel could hold at least 300 people! It was like a hotel designed for partying! haha needless to say, we enjoyed it and the people were so nice. We also met this awesome girl in our room named Kelsey who ended up coming to Schonbrunn with us and I loved hearing her stories. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience to stay at this hostel as long as you remind yourself that it's not supposed to be a five star hotel.

 Overall Vienna was amazing! After the craziness of Rome, I think both Lara and I were ready for a quieter and more relaxing city so Vienna seemed to fit! I loved having Lexi there as well because she made us feel so at home even when we were traveling so much. Besides the cold- the city was so fun and I really hope I can go back there someday! To find a comparison, it kind of reminded me of Zurich which I liked because it had a great street for shopping as well as a large outdoor market but also a feeling of history and old architecture that made it seem so European!

Here are some photos!

The view from the back of the house near the gardens.

  

Me in front of Schonbrunn Palace: It's so big!

Classic jumping photo...

The Habsburg Palace in Vienna. The old Austrian Royalty residence. 

Me and Lexi in front of St. Charles!

Lara and Lexi eating their kaiserkraner!!! yummm

The front of the Opera House: Vienna loves their music...

Parliament building, near the festival. This reminds me of the building in Munich that looked just like this!

Rome

      Although I didn't post this until I returned from my week long adventures, I am writing this while I'm in Rome! My friend Lara and I have been away from Bath for four days and it's already gone by so fast and we are already tired. But, Rome is amazing! Here are some highlights:
1. The Vatican. Vatican City was one of the most overwhelming and beautiful places I've ever been. St. Peter's Basilica nearly brought me to tears because of how amazing it was. I appreciated being able to see all of the buried Popes and I was shocked at the size of the basilica. Since I've been abroad, Ive seen some intense churches, abbeys, and cathedrals and I didn't think this basilica was going to be any different. I quickly realized that this church trumps every other place or building I've ever seen. I also loved seeing the Sistine Chapel, I never imagined how amazing it would look up close!
2. The Colesseo and Foro Romano. When you think of Rome, these are the places you think of, the ruins of the ancient city and the insanely large and old colesseum, that can hold up to 70,000 people! Lara and I spent a good two hours in the Forum with our audio headsets trying to make sense and visualize how Rome was at the beginning of the millennium and it was so cool to see all of the old temples and ruins that completely defined ancient Rome. I felt like I stepped into the past and it was amazing trying to make sense of how old everything in the forum is. On that note, seeing the city walls of people who lived in 300 B.C made my own life seem so insignificant! Not in a depressing way, more just that I can't believe that my life will be so short in the span of history.
3. Plaza di Novano. This plaza was so artsy and posh! There were performers and artists and vendors and the sun was shining! With this combination, it was such a peaceful place where there was so much happiness and tranquility in the atmosphere. Basically, this plaza was exactly what you picture when you think of Rome! Perhaps the coolest part was that to get from campo di fiori to plaza di Novano you have to walk through these little side streets that were wicked cute! They all had little shops and cheap stores and coffee shops and gelato so it reminded me of the Lizzie Maguire Movie when Lizzie is driving through the streets on a scooter. So this plaza along with campo di fiori and exploring the city center was certainly a highlight from our trip.
4. Trevi Fountain. Obviously this is one of the most special and touristy places you can go in Rome. I thought it was funny that people from all over the world were doing the same thing...taking pictures, saying how beautiful it was, then walking to the water...fumbling for lose change EVERYONE turns around, smiles, and throws the change over their right shoulder. I loved watching that...for some reason everyone looked so happy!
5. Spanish Steps. So the story here is that we were walking around looking for the trevi fountain and we stumbled upon the spanish steps! At first Jamie, Lara and I were like...oh this is cool but where are we? After figuring out we were at the steps, it was beautiful and we got a great view of the city. Lara and I vetured back there at night for Gelato and it was fun because so many people were just hanging out on the steps. This was a cool group of people you could tell.
6. Piazza de Popaolo. We heard the sunsets here were quite nice, and we went there to see for ourselves! It was true! The sunset right over St. Peters and it was amazing to see the city streets with the ancient ruins in the distance surrounded by the purples and blues of the setting sun. I love a good sunset and this is one of the best I've seen over a city!
7. The Pantheon. The rare combination of Paganism and Christianity influenced the art inside this ancient building...basically, it was an old church. But nonetheless, it was awesome to see and it was made sometime around the 200 B.C. Apparently it's one of the best preserved ancient buildings because it never stopped being used by the Romans. So, it was a quality building!
8. Papaya Hostel...Yes this is the hostel we stayed in because Deanna recommended it to me and said it was cute. It was awesome! |I was relieved to have a quieter, more relaxing atmosphere with all girls before we venture to a very social hostel in Vienna. We made so many friends and it was such a happy place! Last night we had a girls night and got to know everyone else staying in our hostel! Also, the breakfast was amazing because we got a cappicino and a pastry from the bakery next store! How special!!! So it was surely a good experience.
9. Even though the metro closes at 9 (seems crazy) we managed to go out to a bar Friday night! We went to Scholars, a bar where my friends Shannon and Michelle told me to go. I have to admit, although it was a bit Americanized, I loved hearing Sweet Caroline playing as well as watching some American football. This made for a fun night!
10. Overall, I loved Rome. It was overwhelming of course...But it was totally worth the exhaustion and confusion we often faced trying to find our way around the city. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to return someday! Here are some photos:

St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Vatican City

Trevi Fountain, so magical!

From the bottom of the Spanish Steps at sunset. 

Top of the Spanish Steps at sunset. St.Peter's dome in the background.

View of the forum from a lookout. I can't believe you can still see every individual building in the old city

I forget the name of this! But it might be the capital. It'w where the tomb of the unknown solider is. 

Another view of the forum! One of the amazing temples that's survived over  3000 years.

Me infront of the colosseum! 

The amazing market of Papalo di Novano! I love this view!