home?

So since I've returned from Scotland I've just fallen more in love with this city. It's perfect. The weather is getting nicer which provides for many walks through Kensington Gardens. Class was canceled one day so we walked to Hyde Park for lunch. On our way we saw some nice chairs and decided to take a seat. Little did we know you have you pay 1 pound 50 to sit for an hour. Needless to say that was a bit ridiculous. So warning if you ever see some green and white lawn chairs in Hyde Park. We had lunch at the Serpentine restaurant. There was delicious Pizza and a view of the lake. It was a perfect day.
There was a day trip to Brighton last friday. It's on the South coast of England and only about an hour away from London. It was a beautiful day on the pier. We had traditional fish and chips and ice cream with flake.

Platform 9 3/4
Took a quick trip to Hogwarts

Kensington Gardens

St. Patricks day festival in Trafalgar Square

The Obliteration Room at Tate Modern

Titanic 3D premier

I leave London in less than 2 weeks. I am so sad I have to leave. I will look for any way to return as soon as possible. This city is spectacular. Chelsea FC are winning once again, the sun is out, class is winding down, and I feel like a Londoner.

Scotland

This past weekend I went to Scotland with school. We went to Edinburgh, the Isle of Skye, and Loch Ness, plus many places in between. It was amazing and so beautiful.

on my birthday

We climbed down to a waterfall. This was the view

My shoes got a little muddy.

This is the place that ruined my shoes. It is also supposedly magical. If you climb to the top, wash your hands, take a drink, then take another drink but don't swallow and climb back down, then touch a special rock and swallow while you make a wish it will come true.

This river is also magical. If you stick your face in for 7 seconds you will be blessed with eternal youth and beauty. Skye really is the magical Isle.

This is a little summer house that Queen Victoria apparently used to visit on occasion.

Hey look! I found Nessie!

This was our tour bus. truth.

Passage grave. There were 3 of these that lined up with Orions belt.

Crazy cantilever rail bridge outside Edinburgh. It's 101 years old and 98 people died while building it.

Loch Ness

They say this loch looks like Scotland. I can't remember the name but it was on the way to Skye.

It's just beautiful up there. My camera cannot do it justice.

Hamish the Highland cow. How does he see?

The view from the William Wallace monument. The guy who Mel Gibson made Braveheart about which was very freely adapted. Seriously, look up the real story.

This castle was in Maid of Honor. I've never seen that movie but it was still incredible.

So our tour guide pretty much drove us everywhere and whenever he would see something pretty or worthwhile he would pull over and we would all pile out of the bus and take pictures. Scotland is an amazing country with a long history. They were an independent country until 1749 when the Jacobites lost the Battle of Culloden and they became a member of the United Kingdom. There is much talk about regaining their independence and apparently there is going to be a vote in 2014. We'll see what happens. It's going to be in the news a lot in the future I expect.
Another great part of this weekend was my 21st birthday. We were in Loch Ness for the night and everybody in the bar sang to me. It was a fantastic way to spend my birthday and quite out of the norm for an American 21st. But I'm honestly not too sad about missing that tradition.

I'm so sad I only have a month left in London. If I could stay here forever I would.

My internet is still incredibly shotty but will hopefully be more reliable soon and I'll be able to update this with more ease.
Until then,
See ya later!

Sorry about the lack of posts. My internet has just started working again. So here's an update with pictures from the last two weeks.

I found the underpass from A Clockwork Orange. It was a little sketchy and in this odd roundabout south of the Thames. There was supposed to be a marker that showed which underpass it was but i'm assuming someone stole it. Because that's what I would do to get a piece of Clockwork Orange memorabilia.

I'm a droog

On the way back we stopped by Stamford Bridge to hit up the Chelsea megastore. I was in heaven. I bought a new jersey and some gifts for fellow Chelsea fans back home.

The Bridge aka my home

Then it was back to classes for the week. We went to the Globe Theatre for British Life and Culture. It was very interesting and after our tour we had an acting workshop with one of the actors there. Let's just say I won't be changing careers anytime soon.

On Friday we had a day-trip to Bath and Stonehenge. I'd been to both before so in Bath I skipped out on seeing the Roman Baths and met up with my moms friend Peter for lunch in a pub. It was delicious and very British. We then left for Stonehenge. It was windy as you can see from my hair.

Allie, Becky, and me and Stonehenge.

Last Saturday was possibly the best day of my life. I finally got to see my Blues play live at Stamford Bridge. Krista came with as she is a fellow football fan. We wore our blue and sang along with the fans. The game was against Bolton Wanderers. Chelsea won 3-0 thanks to beautiful goals from David Luiz (my big hair bud), Didier Drogba (my birthday bud), and Frank Lampard (who is just amazing). After Lampard scored the stands erupted in their song for him. It goes "super, super Frank. super, super Frank. super, super Frank. super Frankie Lampard." It was spectacular. If I had enough money I would be at all their games.

The Shed end before the game.
The banners read "super Frankie Lampard" and
"JT Captain, Leader, Legend"

The teams heading out to start the match.

Me and Krista at the game

This weekend is spring break. Instead of going to another country we decided to just stick around London and explore more. We made a list of all the things we want to do and have been checking them off. Last night was Indian food in the East End. So delicious and a bit sketchy. Today I went to Camden. I love it there. I would probably want to live there if I ever get to move here permanently. Tonight we are going to get dinner at Tate Modern as the dining room offers spectacular views of London and the Thames.

I'll keep you all updated on the rest of the break. Next weekend is my birthday and also the trip to Scotland. I get to turn 21 at Loch Ness. I think i'm ok with that.

hello everyone!

sorry about the lack of posts. The internet in my flat has been down since last friday.

so, updates.
I've found the Clockwork Orange underpass and been to Stamford Bridge. Today is the game against Bolton. I'm so excited! hopefully my internet will be fixed soon so I can upload pictures.
Other than that, classes have been going good. We went to the Globe Theater on wednesday. Yesterday we had a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge. It was a bit chilly but the sun is out today and it's so wonderful. The game should be fantastic. I'm wearing my new jersey and supporting my Blues.

When the internet is back up expect more posts.

see ya later.

I love this city!

sorry about the lack of posts all. The internet in my apartment is pretty touch and go and I wanted to have some good stories and pictures.

So this past week has been filled with classes and more exploring. We learned about the Parliamentary system on the UK in British Life and Culture and watched some of the Questions to the Prime Minister. This was exciting, something I never would have expected from government. It involves a weekly slot of time in which members of parliament can ask and debate with the prime minister. They banter back and forth and are quite clever in their attacks. But then the pm comes back and magnificently unravels the argument just thrown in his face. If I have the chance I would like to go to Parliament and see this in action.

On saturday I went to my first Premier League game! Fulham vs Stoke City.

Craven Cottege before the match

The teams walking out of the tunnel to start the match.

Clint Dempsey from the US mens national team plays for Fulham and is one of their best players. All of us from AIFS were cheering for him. He scored the second goal for Fulham which turned out to be vitally important to keep them on top of the match. I am still eagerly anticipating the Chelsea match on February 25th.

The Orangerie in Kensington Gardens

We went here for tea on Friday. It's part of the Kensington Palace. It was so beautiful and the food was delicious. Though I'm still on the lookout for a place for cream tea.

continued

Here's the other photos I meant to put in the last post.

Leeds Castle, Kent

Portobello Market, Notting Hill

This week went by very fast. Classes were good. On monday for my art history class we went to the British Museum for the Grayson Parry exhibition The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman. It was amazing. I've never really gotten into modern art but his pieces focus on social commentary of the modern world. It was very thought provoking. I would recommend looking him up. He is quite the character.

This weekend might see my first visit to Stamford Bridge. The hallowed ground of Chelsea Football Club. Or possibly recreating a scene from A Clockwork Orange. Let's just say that I love London.

dreams do come true

My dream to see Chelsea fc live at Stamford Bridge has come true! This morning I got tickets to the February 25th game against Bolton Wanderers.

Sometimes I'm a super tourist...

In other news the first week of classes ended well. We had the first cultural excursion on friday to Canterbury and Leeds Castle.
The Cathedral in Canterbury was spectacular. There was a graduation ceremony going on inside while we were going through. How lucky are they that graduation takes place in this beautiful, historic building?

Well apparently I am not able to upload any more pictures at this time because my internet is slow but I will post more about Leeds Castle and my saturday at Portobello market soon.