FAIL

I just realized I never updated this thing. If anyone out there still wants to know what happened the last month of my trip, leave a comment and I'll finish up the update! Thank you!

UPDATE COMING SOON

I know I haven't updated in a while but by the end of this week there will be a huge update which will include:

• my last months at Regent's 
• The Royal Wedding
• my European adventure to Sweden, Germany, Italy and Spain
• a funny story about how I almost didn't get to go in to St. Peter's Basilica
• a crazy story about the Trevi Fountain
• my experience at a concentration camp
• my last day in London
• and much more!

Check back soon!

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

So here it is...what you've been waiting for (hopefully), my adventures in Dublin Ireland! Yay! But first, I have to cover what happened before Ireland because I've been slacking sorry!
So when I left off, it was the middle of spring break and I was lonely, blah blah blah. But then Jon and Kyle came to visit me! I was so excited that it took me forever to go to bed the night before I was supposed to pick them up from the airport. Brianna and I ended up leaving later than we should have and got to Heathrow airport about an hour late...oops. Luckily Jon wore a bright neon orange and green jacket so I could spot him right away! I won't go through all the details but it was so much fun having them around for a week! I had missed Jon so much and now Kyle and I are biffles...bahahahah he will never admit that.

I showed them as many places as I could like Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, The London Eye (Jon payed for my ticket, THANKS JON), local bars, Regent's Park, The National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of London (which was so cool!), etc. They also had a couple of mini adventures on their own while I attended classes, they even went to Oxford! When they left I was so sad, they were like my children, wahhh. Also, while they were here we found a beautiful goose that I named Norma. He was lovely (yes he), and he couldn't really walk but I will always love him. Kyle and Jon joke that Norma drowned and died...but I don't believe them...he's alive in my heart.

 Anyway! So last weekend Caroline, Lindsey, Lindsey, Nick, and I went to Dublin. It was my first time flying out of London and I was so excited but nervous too. Our flight was early, round 6am so we took a bus to the airport round 2am and chilled at the airport for an hour and a half or so. The flight was cheap...like 22 pounds round trip (roughly 40 US dollars) but it was cheap for good reason. We used RyanAir, and let me first start off by saying that I don't really like flying  but I can deal, but this was ridiculous. I won't go into much detail but let me just say that the take off, flying, and landing was rough. I was so scared I almost held the the guy sitting next to me's hand...but I didn't. Th good thing was that the flight only took an hour so we were there in no time. We got through customs and found a bus for cheap to take us to central Dublin. The ride was so pretty! Dublin's more of a city so it wasn't green everywhere but the ride into central Dublin shows the transition between the greener part and the city and it's so beautiful. Once we got into the city we walked to our hostel which was actually pretty nice for what we paid (11 euros per night!!) and we set down our stuff and then we went to lunch at Eddie's Rocket. It's kind of like a 50's diner and it was so cool and the food was YUM, ugh so good I want it now. I had a beautiful veggie burger that was dripping with guacamole, special sauce, and onions...it was so good.

After that Nick, Lindsey M., Caroline, and I went on a three hour free tour. Oh, you're wondering about the other Lindsey? She stayed at the hostel. No comment.

The tour was fun though, our tour guide was really enthusiastic and funny and we got to see all the main spots without having to get lost, and for free! Some sites include: Trinity College, City Hall (and the back story behind Ireland's fight for Independence), and some other cool stuff that came with lovely stories and historical background. We also saw the forty steps and the door of the house where Jonathan Swift was born (he wrote Gulliver's Travels). So this whole time during the tour we all had been waiting to sit down and finally a little bit before the tour is over  we get to sit down by this archeology museum, so I sit down la la la not paying attention and then we move on to the last location. I start walking and then Caroline notices there's something on the back of my shirt....it's bird poop. I sat in bird poop.I quickly zipped up my jacket, and slid down my shirt without anyone noticing. I was so embarrassed because apparently it was a HUGE poop spot on the back of my shirt by my bum...I didn't know how long it had been there. I must have looked like an ass walking around Dublin with poop on my bum. I threw away the shirt (obviously I wasn't going to walked around with a pooped shirt in my hand) and then asked if there was anything on the back of my jeans...there was. There was only a spot but I tried rubbing it off with napkins as much as I could. It looked horrid but I just waited to get to the hostel...I wasn't going to take my pants off too! Don't worry once we got to the hostel I put on a shirt, put on my pj's and washed my pooped jeans in the bathroom. We had a right laugh about it that night once we were all happy from our drinks. I'm not embarrassed anymore about what happened, shit happens. Ha ha, get it? Bahahah, it's one for the books that's for sure!

After the tour we were so exhausted that we took a short nap at the hostel, and woke up just in time for dinner. For dinner we went to this restaurant/pub called Flannigan's or Finnegan's, ha ha I can't remember but they had yummy tuna cakes mmm. The waiter was super nice too although he kept making fun of me for ordering a tiny dinner, a coke instead of a beer, and a water bahaha. After that we went to this bar/club called The Purty Kitchen (by the way both the restaurant and the club were in Temple Bar...look it up very well known) and it was pretty cool they had three floors and cocktails for 5 euros which is pretty good, and the bartenders were nice too ;).

The next day we ate lunch at La Pizza, it wasn't too bad and it was in close proximity to our hostel. After that we started walking just to look around and we notice that the streets are a bit more filled....well we were there just in time for the riots! There a couple of different riots, one was protesting what was happening in Libya and the other was protesting the British queen coming to visit Ireland in May. We did not utter the words London, British, England, that day for fear of getting anyone angry. I hadn't realized how hostile the Irish and the British are towards each other! But thanks to my trip I know why, don't
worry, I won't bore you with history, although it is thrilling!
Most of the day was spent shopping for souvenirs and taking a nice walk to the ferris wheel off in the distance. I was able to get some awesome pictures and a really good iced caramel latte at this coffee shop on our walk. It ended up being like Dublin's equivalent to the London Eye but I didn't go in it, Nick and Lindsey M. did though. After that we were too lazy to walk back to central London so we took the tram back. It was so cool! And cheap! And so sleek and modern! AND the automatic announcer on the train spoke in English and Gaelic! It was real cool.

We went out again that night but we couldn't go big because we had a 6am flight back to London and the bus to catch to the airport at 2am .We went back to The Purty Kitchen, there was a band playing old 80's songs, I didn't drink (because I was broke wahh) but I belted out all the songs I knew, GOOD TIMES WERE HAD.

All in all I was so sad to leave Dublin, honestly it's such an amazing place and I really want to go back there in the future and see more especially the greener parts of Ireland. Ah, I just love Dublin so much.
But we must all move on, and next weekend I'll be going to Paris, France. YES! AND, it's with the school which happened to book a hotel. YES! AND I get to use my French and eat croissants by the Eiffel Tower. WINNING. But that's not until next weekend and in the meantime I have loads of "end of the term papers" to write... dude you don't even want to know how much I have on my plate right now.

So, TA-TA, I must go procrastinate some more! But before I go, I will leave you with this: in the past week, I've jumped the gate to get within school grounds (the gate closes at a specific hour and has been closing earlier than it's supposed to) twice! The gate has spikes and all sorts of scary things that try to make you think twice before you jump it. BUT I am happy to say that I've successfully jumped it twice without hurting myself. Let's hope I don't have to jump it anymore.

I'll try to update this as soon as I get back from France so you get more details and what not. Hope you enjoyed this!

à tout à l'heure!

s'laters!

xx

Strawberry Yogurt

Hello everyone! The title has nothing to do with anything, it just happens to be what I'm eating at the moment. So here's a quick update!

• It's Spring Break and everyone has left me wahhh D: but it's okay because the dorm's almost completely empty and it's nice and quiet.
• I think most people got my postcards.
• If you haven't received one you will soon. I'm sending them out in batches.
• I've booked my trip to Ireland, will be there April 1!
• I will also be going to France in April as well!
• &&& I've also booked my flights for after the semester ends. We'll be having an adventure in Sweden, Germany, Spain, and Italy! Shenanigans.
• We were originally going to include Greece but they're having riots over there so we thought it best not to do that.
• I went to The Den during their Full Moon theme and put on loads of glow paint on and glow sticks.
• I've been here almost 2 months! Which means I'm half way done :'(
• I saw Paul last night, it was awesome sauce!
• Jon and Kyle will be visiting on Friday!!! I'm super duper excited to have some familiar faces.
• My friend Brianna accidently got me hooked on The Sims, if anyone has it and would be kind and gracious enough to mail it to me so that I can play all the time, I would love you forever and ever. Ahem, Jess...
• I saw an opera the other day, Lucrezia Borgia, it was in English and well let's just say I've seen better. It also had a film prologue that played during the opera which included mild porn scenes...and this was for a class.
• I also saw the musical Company in this really cool theater. Would love to perform it at school but I don't think that's possible :( you know because of the nearly naked girls and simulated sex scenes, but mainly because we don't have enough people to perform it.

Well I think that's all for now. A bit boring I know but once April arrives it should be loads of fun! I also do apologize for making you guys wait nearly a month! I hadn't realized I hadn't updated for that long. I promise to update soon!

à tout à l'heure!

s'laters!

xx

Postcards

This week was full of awesomeness I must say. Packed with tap dancing, violins, Lady Gaga, Jamaican beer and loads of snogging; this week was one to remember.

Let's start off with Wednesday. On Wednesday Lindsey M. and I had to attend a production of By Jeeves for our Musical Theater class. It was the first ever show I saw in London and it was flipping amazing. I didn't even know what it was about when we got there, but oh gosh was it good. First off the theater, Landor Theater, was situated above a pub, so it's already cooler than usual theaters. Because it was in a pub it was extremely tiny but that worked out well because the audience was a part of the show and the characters even gave me a triangle sandwich. We sat front row and it was so cool having the characters slightly interact with us. Not to mention the dancing was the best! There was a tiny bit of ballet but most of it was tap dancing and it totally made me want to tap dance. Especially considering the attractive actors tap dancing away in front of me. Honestly, it was probably one of the funniest and most innovative musicals I've ever seen (although I haven't seen that many musicals) and I totally recommend it.

The next day, Thursday, Megan and I had to attend an orchestra concert type thing for our Classical Music in London class. It was held at the Barbican Centre which has to be one of the coolest buildings I've seen because it's a theater, a concert hall, a library, etc., and it has a really cool balcony outside with an amazing view. When we got there, we got there at least 30 minutes before the show started and we searched frantically for our professor who had warned us to get there at least 15 minutes before the show started but she actually ended up showing up roughly 10 minutes before the show started...hypocrite. The show itself was really good, the best part b

eing the pianist, but it made me too relaxed and sleepy. Afterwards we met everyone at a pub, Angel in the Field but by the time everyone got there the bar had closed and so McDonald's it was! You'll be surprised to know that the fast food here is different than back home. For instance the McDonald's here serves wedges, onion rings, veggie burgers , and different mcflurries. Also, the Pizza Hut here is fancy enough that you need a reservation...or so I've heard.

On Friday we went on a scavenger hunt around London, answering questions for money. It was really fun and Megan and I made a new friend whose name is Domenic and is German. He was our teammate and he was quite helpful and friendly...unfortunately our lovely team came in third and we didn't get anything. :(

Later that night I had a date. Yes, a legit date with a very nice British guy named Stephen. It was very lovely date that started with a pub and progressed to The Den for a very packed club that was full of dancing. Don't worry, he was a complete gentleman, who paid for everything and also was a right laugh!

Other things that happened this week:

• bought a cow patterned clothes hamper
• received a glorious HP postcard from Jess (miss you!) that I loved and totally enjoyed reading
• bought new green sneakers that only cost me £​2.50 (!!!)
• changed my phone number so that I could get a better service for less money
• tried the McDonald's veggie burger (which was surprisingly good)
• got an A on my Fiddler on the Roof paper :D
• got my itinerary for Paris (!!!)
• bought postcards and stamps! So hopefully, you'll be expecting one!

Well, that's all for now. Will update soon!

à tout à l'heure!

s'laters!

xx

MMMBOP!

So on Tuesday Megan, Lindsey M., and I went down to the 100 Club because we had heard that Hanson was playing a free show in London. When we got there the line was a down from the club, a bit, and around the corner! I was hopeful that we would get in but after hearing the club only held roughly 300 people I started to get a little worried. We waited about an hour and we basically just made the cut! The venue was small but that's good because no matter where you stood you could still get a good view of thestage.

Now, I didn't know how excited I actually was until they stepped on stage, and oh my gosh was I excited! They were amazing and they belted out some lovely oldies (not just from the 90's) and it was just fucking fantastic! Not to mention they played Mmmbop, and it got me all riled up! Now, my childhood is complete, and also Zac is gorgey in person!

After that, we went to meet up with everyone else at Oxygen for Sam's 21st birthday! It was a nice bar with good music and even a stripper pole in the corner! Plus, we got free shots and the cocktails were cheap and tasty! But then we left because we were on the guestlist for Storm, a club just a minute away from Oxygen, but it wasn't as great as it sounds. We did get loads of exercise but it was mainly just us dancing, everyone else just sat there and drank, so we left.

Thursday was even more fun (minus the free Hanson !!!), we went to The Rocket for some drinks, yum but then two of our friends (I won't mention any names, let's just say one starts with an L and the other with a C) got kicked out of bar. After putting the party poopers on a bus back home Nick, Carol (totally not the C I referred to before), some other chick, and I decided to check out The Den. We hopped on the bus and made two lovely french friends by the names of Julian and Adele...Julian was very good looking by the way. But once we got to our stop I realized I needed a bathroom and quick. So I searched and asked and searched and finally found a nice little bar/gig place whatever you want to call it that was nice enough to let me pee for free. They were a very nice lot of people. We eventually did make it to The Den probably around 1AM or so--it was a dark club with strobe lights, glow sticks littering the floor, and speaking of floor, IT WAS SO COMPLETELY SLIPPERY! I swear they probably do that on purpose, and needless to say both Nick and I did fall that night on that floor! But it was so much fun and they played loads of great music--dubstep, disco-ish, and a lot of stuff like Rihanna and Gaga, and we completely danced the night away, literally! We ended up leaving around 4AM, walked half way and took a bus for the remainder distance. By the time I got back to my room it was close to 5AM and oh my it was so much fun! The Den, along with Oxygen are two places that I absolutely have to go back to!

Friday night Carol, Lindsey L. and I went out to find a club and ended up at Waxy O'Connors. It was a really cool place, completely packed, free, and we met wonderful locals who danced with us through all the great hits that were playing. Unfortunately, they left early and we didn't even get their names! Wahhh D: but I'm sure we'll see them again at Waxy's.

I was supposed to go out tonight as in Saturday night for our friend EJ's birthday (she's also turning 21!) but I didn't have enough money and so I stayed in, watched The Breakfast Club and Burn After Reading, and did two loads of laundry. Doesn't sound like much fun does it? But, I'm really glad I finally washed all my clothes, so actually it was a fun night bahahah. Oh! I also finally went to Primark today, and boy was it packed and hectic and crazy! But their stuff is cheap. Like I said, I didn't have a lot of money so I actually didn't buy anything but I'm supposed to be going back tomorrow (as in actually today bahaha) so maybe I'll pick something up.

Well that's it for now, but I'm sure I'll have loads more to write about in the upcoming week.

à tout à l'heure!

s'laters!

xx

SLACK: Installment Four

Gosh, I'm really crap at this whole thing.

Wednesday 19/1/11: We discovered Somerfield! A supermarket that's cheap but unfortunately the people are a bit rude. :( Also, no classes on Wednesday! So it was lovely to do nothing all day!

Thursday 20/1/11:

Our plan was to go to a club called Arcadia, and I got all dressed up so lovely with beautiful heels. BUT Arcadia decided to be closed, so when we got there we had to turn right back around. [Club:1 Me:0] Instead we went to The Volunteer.

Friday 21/1/11: Lindsey, Lindsey, Caroline, and I took a nice adventure. We saw Big Ben,

Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and The

London Eye. They were all so lovely! Also, the WiFi went down, this was day one of four. You can probably imagine how frantic everybody was!

Saturday 22/1/11: We went to Bath and saw where all the Romans bathed back in their day. The museum was alright, but wicked redundant, and after about twenty minutes we all just wanted to get out of there. Bath itself is very lovely though. We had amazing pizza, ate gelato, watched a man juggle fire and use a unicycle with an eight year old on his shoulders, and took loads of pictures.

We were also apparently close to Bristol (where Skins is filmed), I was able to get a picture of th

e road sign

(!!!). Later that night, once we got back of course, Lindsey, Nick, Colleen, and I thought it'd be nice to go to Heaven. So we pre-gamed, which was lovely, and then we set off! I must say Colleen is extremely funny when she's drunk! Anyway, we got to Heaven but it was so busy that they ended up making it priority only and kicked us out of the line :( [Club:2 Me:0]. So then we tried another club, but we didn't want to pay the ten pounds, and to be perfectly honest we were a bit under-dressed compared to the people in the queue, [Club: 3 Me:0]. So we tried the third club and queued up, but again it was priority only, they didn't kick us out of the queue though so we waited. The bad thing was that Lindsey and I needed to pee really bad, and the it would be awhile until we would be able to go inside. Nick had met up with an old pal, so us three girls decided to just go back home. By the time we would have been able to go inside we would have only had two hours and it just wasn't worth the money [Club:4 Me:0]. So we walked to the bus stop, but our bus didn't stop for us. It didn't stop, not once, not twice, but three times. By this time our bladder was killing us, so we popped into Burger King, used their toilet, and headed off walking. Colleen had sobered up by now and turned on her "mom" mode. She asked for directions left and right. After a half hour of walking Lindsey and I noticed something we recognized from our adventure with Martin (see Installment Three) on Tuesday and knew we going the right way. Another half hour later we finally got back to school! It took us an hour to get back but we'll never forget that night. Three girls walking around at 1-2 o'clock in the morning without jackets, and with no way of knowing how to get back to school is quite a story, but I am so proud of ourselves! And now we know our way back like the back of our hand.

Sunday 23/1/11: We played Monopoly (the exciting lives we lead....) Lindsey M. won. Booooo.

Well I finally finished that damn week in review!

This week I:

• learned how to play Tourette's
• booked my ticket for Paris
• got sick
• excelled in Philosophy (or at least got better at it)
• discovered the Foodler of London; it's called Just Eat
• watched Blow, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Black Swan, Gypsy, and the new season premier of Skins
• discovered how rude some of the students here are
• got the WiFi back (!!!)
• discovered the Dance Studio here
• talked to my parents a few times
• uploaded all the pictures on Facebook (so go check them out!)

Ugh, that's all for now. Will have more as soon I have more to talk about bahahah.

à tout à l'heure!

s'laters!

xx