Friends and Travels

Three weeks have passed since my last blog, and per usual there is lots to mention!  I'll try to note the more memorial moments. 

-- The weekdays have been filled with school and work.  The end of term was last Friday the 28th, so I am now officially done with class!  Wahoo! Though, now comes the more difficult part of the semester: finals.  I finally got my dates for my three (three hour, three essay question, 100% of my grade) finals.  May 8th, 20th, and 23rd.  Lots of studying to do, but after the 23rd I am free until my departure date from the UK on June 14th.  

-- Sunday the 16th, there was a huge St. Patrick's Day celebration in Trafalgar Square.  With the sun shining, Irish dancing, food stands, and Irish music, it was a perfect Sunday before finishing up my final essay for the term.  March 17th was St. Patty's Day and also the day that I decided to just chop most of my hair off.  It was on a whim, impulsive, and needed!  A change was due and I'm a fan so far.  We celebrated that night at our union pub with Guinness and a free Guinness t-shirt!

--  That weekend, my friend Chris who is studying in Grenada came to London.  It was great to see him and show him around the town with Rachel.  Saturday morning Rachel's friend Tara also came to town all the way from Champaign.  We spent the sunny day walking around Big Ben, Westminster, etc, while waiting for my best friends from school, Jess and Mel, to show up!  Their flights were delayed and changed so many times, they ended up arriving in London about 8 hours passed their original arrival time.  But, they finally got in to King's Cross, bags flew, girls ran and screamed, and we were all reunited at last.  Mel was staying with her friend from home along with another one of my friends from school, Elsa.  It was going to be a crazy week. 

Chris and I!

-- Sunday, we went to Camden Market and just looked at all the shops and food stands.  Monday, I had class while Jess walked around with her friend from home, Alisha, who was also visiting London that week.  We met up with Rachel and Tara, and all five of us took the tube and shuttle to Warner Bros Studios to see the sets and costumes from the Harry Potter movies.  All being huge fans, we were in awe of what was actually in front of us.  It was fantastic!  Definitely worth the price of the ticket.  Monday night, we went to a club in London called Mahiki.  It was a nice club, so having the opportunity to dress up was fun for all of us.  It was a night full of memories that none of us will forget!  Tuesday, I had more class and Jess and Alisha did more touristy stops.  We met Rachel and Tara for dinner, then headed to bed after a long day and night. 

The Great Hall

Gryffindor Dormitory

 

Hogwarts

Rachel, Jess, and I before Mahiki.  Room 4 reunited!

-- Wednesday, Jess and I had the opportunity to take the train two hours north to Huddersfield, England where her Granddad lives!  Jess' mom also grew up there.  I was really excited to see a regular English town and Jess loved being able to see the house again since she visited a lot as a child.  Her Granddad took us out to lunch, made us tea, showed us around his town, had a light dinner, and took us back to the train station.  It was really nice to get out of the busy Londontown and see a quieter way of living.  He has lived in that house for 50 years and grew up not too far away.  It is so different from my own lifestyle, but it seems like a wonderful one!  Wednesday night, I took Jess and Alisha to Loop, a club that students here frequent on Wednesday nights.  It was packed because it was the last week of classes, but so much fun. 

Jess and I in Heddersfield

-- Thursday, I walked around with Jess and Alisha in the morning then headed to class while they continued to venture around London.  Class was very much in the way for me that week, but I was happy Jess and Alisha could walk around together.  We bought tickets to see Jersey Boys in Piccadilly Circus that night, but before went to MEATliquor for dinner, a fabulous burger and drink place off of Oxford Street.  Our tummies happy, we all walked towards the theater, took our seats and listened to the wonderful voices of the performers.  The music was wonderful, and I did not know anything about the musical beforehand, so it was really enjoyable.  That night, we met up with Mel, Elsa, and their friend Thea at an Irish pub called O'Neills in Chinatown.  I have been there a couple times and each night they have a live band on the top floor.  We had a blast dancing to the classic rock songs that the band plays each night.  

-- Friday, I had class in the morning, then met the crew at Borough Market for lunch.  I got some delicious mulled wine and goat cheese ice cream (I've been eating really healthy since being here...)  We walked across Millennium Bridge towards St. Paul's Cathedral which we walked in.  It really is a beautiful cathedral.  We headed back home, to get ready for a delicious Indian dinner.  I have really grown to be a fan of Indian food while being in London.  I hadn't really had it before, but now I crave it frequently.  After dinner, we headed to Marlborough Arms, a pub that Jess' dad went to when he went to London School of Economics.  Turns out, I walk passed that pub everyday on my way to class.  We then headed back to my dorm for a "Ramsay Hall Party" in our common room.  I guess UCL paid for alcohol for the party to celebrate the end of the term.  (how different from the US?!)  It was cool to introduce Jess and Alisha to friends that I have met in my dorm.  Another fun night down in the books! 

-- Saturday was departure day for Jess :(  We met Rachel for breakfast and walked her to the tube which she would take to Heathrow.  I slept for most of the day after that, did laundry, then packed up to leave for Dublin, Ireland the next morning.  It was a rush of non-stop activity!

-- 6:15 AM Sunday morning, I was at the tube stop to take it to Rachel and Katie to then take an hour bus to the airport for our 9:55 AM flight.  Only to find out the tube wasn't open yet on a Sunday that early, I had to rush to a cab.  It was an expensive and stressful morning for me.  Not to mention, I was very overtired from 1) Jess just leaving and 2) losing an hour of sleep because of daylight savings.  But, we made our flight just fine, and after some coffee and naps, were ready to take on Dublin.  We walked around the town and found St. Patrick's Cathedral where we went to their 3:15 mass for the fourth Sunday of Lent.  After mass, we walked through St. Stephen's Gardens and found some great entertainment in three ducks that really did not mind how close we got.  Seriously, we probably looked like we had never seen a duck before.  Dublin reminded me a lot of London, just on a much smaller scale.  We went out to dinner that night, then returned to our friend Erica and Bridget's house where they live with four other abroad students.  It was great to be in an actual house set up rather than a dorm.  What a delicacy to sit on a couch and watch TV!  They took us to a pub that night that was in the movie P.S. I Love You, which I have not seen, but will in the near future.  Being reunited with some more Chi Omegas across the pond was great as well.  I love having friends in so many different areas of the world! 

St. Patrick's Cathedral 

-- Monday, Rachel, Katie, and I took a bus to the Wicklow mountains.  There were trails that you could walk around and a huge lake.  It was a nice day, and I was in the mood for some physical activity.  We got to actually climb up the large hills, straying away from the walking path, because who wants to take the easy route?  I was having the best time.  The lake was gorgeous with the mountains in the background.  A perfect spot for some great pictures, of course.  We returned to the city, made some pasta in their kitchen, then headed out to three different pubs around the town.  The last one had a live Irish band, which I really enjoyed.  I hadn't heard much Irish music before, but I am now a fan.  Galway Girl was played I think at least twice when we were there and each time the audience went wild.  I can understand why students love studying in Dublin so much because their culture is very strong in the night life, while England can seem very much American a lot of the time.   

Erica and I -- Friends reunited again!

-- Tuesday, we took a day trip with a company called Paddywagon towards the Cliffs of Moher.  Because it was such a nice, sunny, not windy day, our driver took us to the mini cliffs as well which at first we thought were huge, but then seeing the actual cliffs, they were very small.  I had seen a million pictures of the Cliffs of Moher from other people studying abroad, but they were even more breathtaking than I had thought.  Because of the sun, the ocean was a dark turquoise color in which I had never seen before.  After the obligatory pictures of sitting on the edge of the cliff, we just sat back and enjoyed the views.  We got back to Dublin around 7:00 that night, made more pasta, and headed to a pub just for another Guinness before bed.  The weeks were catching up to us, and we needed some sleep!

Cliffs of Moher

-- Wednesday, we walked to the Guinness Storehouse for the tour (it was about a 40 minute walk in the pouring rain, but we were too lazy to figure out the bus schedule...because that makes sense)  I absolutely loved the Guinness tour.  It was well worth the money (and journey)!  They showed the ingredients and how it was made with lots of interactive components.  There was a taste test room where you got a little glass of it.  Our instructor said you must stand in a confident stance, lift your elbow, then take a sip of the beer to fully appreciate it.  Then, you got the chance to properly pour your own.  Who knew there was such an art?  119.5 seconds later, the Guinness was settled enough and we got to each enjoy our pint.  We had lunch at the storehouse which consisted of pulled pork and another Guinness of course!  Walking back, we wanted to visit Trinity College, but we ran out of time, so we got our bags and headed towards the bus stop that would take us to the airport.  But, we didn't know exactly where the stop was, so we ended up running around the city after any AirCoach bus that we thought might be our bus.  We got on a 4:30 rather than 4:00 bus, but still had plenty of time to get to our 6:50 PM flight.  I got back to my dorm around 11:00pm, unpacked, and passed out.  What a couple weeks it has been!

Katie, me, and Rachel 

Poured the Perfect Pint

-- The plan now is to hang out, rejuvenate  and study before my FAMILY comes on April 11th!!  I would love to run more, eat healthier, and enjoy the spring weather that London is giving me.  I can't believe it is already April, but I am happy that I will still be here until June 14th.  Most of the people in my program are going home early, but I figure, why not stay?  When will I ever be living in London again?  

That's all for now.  Thought I should get everything down while it is still semi-fresh in my head!  If you read this all the way to the end, three cheers for you :)