Oxford

Elise and I in front of Blenheim Palace

This past Sunday, I went on a tour of beautiful Oxford and it was truly beautiful!! Before arriving in the city though, we stopped by Blenheim Palace and the grave of Winston Churchill. Blenheim Palace was built in the 1700s as a gift to the First Duke of Marlborough from Queen Anne. The first duke was John Churchill, who Winston Churchill was a descendent of. The Palace is closed in the Winter, but we walked the grounds for an hour and it was magnificent! The palace grounds have a column of victory (dedicated to the duke), a maze, a secret garden, a temple, a grand bridge, and whole lot of sheep!! It was nice to be able to walk in the country air for awhile and enjoy all the sights!

After touring the grounds, our tourguide then took us to have some tea and visit Winston Churchill's gravesite. It was neat because we just happened to go on the anniversary of his death, so there were flowers everywhere! Churchill is quite unique cause he is one of the few to be born at Blenheim palace and buried in that same town.

And now Oxford.......

The building/school that inspired Harry Potter!!

Hogwart's Dining Hall!!!

Stairwell where Professor McGonagall meets Harry for the first time!

After our visit, we then made our way to Oxford! The city of dreaming spires- England's oldest university town, Prime ministers, Nobel Prize winners, Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter have all attended Oxford in one way or another! On our tour we got to see the lamp post that inspired the Chronicles of Narnia, the building that inspired Harry Potter, and many old schools that have tons of history!!

My favorite place of the day was Christ Church, the school that has the dining hall, the main staircase, and the courtyard where Harrry recieves the trophy(all from Harry Potter!!). It also has the most beautiful cathedral that holds tombs and beautiful stories dating back from the time when Henry VIII founded the school!

This pic should look familiar: the hall where Hogwarts students walk through!!

On Tuesday I had my first field trip for my European Government and Politics class. We traveled to the Imperial War Museum and the exhibits were amazing and very heart-wrenching. They have one of the very few Holocaust exhibits and it was really powerful. They have so many objects, videos, diaries, and letters that made it through all of the events. The museum also had a huge WWI and II exhibit along with a spy section. I also got to walk through some old planes and tanks!!

These past two days have been flying by and I have yet another jammed packed week lined up. Tomorrow I go on the Jack the Ripper Walking tour, Saturday I go to my first Football match, and Sunday I go to Brighton (to have legit fish and chips!!). It is also Lucy, my roomates, 21st birthday!! So I am sure fun adventures lie ahead!

Stonehenge, Bath, and Madame Tussauds

Wow, have I explored a lot in the last two days!! Yesterday, Friday, I went on a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. It was beautiful and amazing!! We stopped at Stonehenge first and the view from the bus showed lots of green and lots of sheep! The view of the rocks almost looked fake because it was positioned right in the middle of a field. We entered the trail (they have it roped off now in order to keep people from touching the stones) and the view was spectacular!It was raining hard too, so it added an eerie sense to the place.

After seeing Stonehenge, our bus headed off to Bath. In 60-70 AD, the Romans began to build intricate baths and a temple. Throughout the years, Bath began to expand and Queen Elizabeth 1 gave it the seal of approval in AD 1574. Since then, the elite and wealthy began to travel to bath in order to swim in the healing waters. Famous visitors to Bath include Jane Austen, King Louis XVIII of Frane, Charles Dickens, and many others. All of the buildings located in the city are inspired by Roman architecture, but are very English in their own ways.

When we arrived we went and ate lunch at a very good Mexican place and had a few Coronas with some nachos!! (so good cause I've been missing my chips and salsa!!) After that, we had a walking tour and we saw the keypoints of Bath; The baths, the Circle and Royal Crescent, the Gravel Path from Jane Austen's Persuasion, and the Assembly Room where all the elite came for entertainment, such as balls and tea. After the walking tour we were able to go into the Roman Baths and the architecture was sooo beautiful and the water was really warm. It was really neat to read all the history involved with the place. Lucy and I then went into Bath Abby and it is one of the most beautiful churches. It has so many windows and the light depicts different stories throughout the church.

Today, Lucy and I visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum! It was so cool!! I got to get my picture taken with Prince William, The Obamas, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and many others. Along with all the wax figures we also got to go into a horror haunted house and a little taxi ride that took us through the history of London. It was a great trip for the day and Lucy and I had a lot of fun posing with all the different characters!

Tomorrow I visit Oxford with Elise and Jordan!!! It is a weekend packed with exploring England!!

First few days of classes

School has officially started... I knew vacation could not last this long! I have to admit though, my classes seem a lot more fun then the ones in the U.S! The classes I am taking while abroad are Intro to Shakespeare, International Marketing, European Gov't and Politics, and an Internship Class. I have my first class of marketing tomorrow, but the other ones are really cool! The way the classes are set up at CAPA (the school I am attending) is that you have each class once a week for three hours. On top of that, I have to complete 20 intern hours a week and take an internship class that is an hour and a half. This class is used to start creating your professional portfolio and get you to understand the differences of working in the UK compared to the US. My European Gov't and Politics class seems really interesting. We will be taking a lot of field trips to places that include The Imperial War Museum, the Palace of Westminster, The UK Office of the European Parliament, and the Instituto Cervantes. Field trips seem to be a common thing will all of my classes because I also get to see a play and attend a workshop at the Globe Theater for my Shakespeare class!

Last night three of my roomates and I went to the Sports Cafe, which is a very American bar. We got there pretty early, so we were able to watch the big soccer, or should I say football, match! It was very exciting and I really want to catch up on my football facts! To start, I signed up to go to football match with CAPA!! After the game, the Londoners cleared out and the Americans poured in. It was insane on how many people were there! That could be due to the fact that it was pound pint night though! It was really funny to see how easily you could pick the Americans out of the crowd...they were the ones fist pumping!!! (very sad to say!) Luckily we found a table and all the British boys still left found their way over to us! We learned a lot about local hang outs and where we should go! And yes, to those of you who may seem surprised, I am making British friends!!! (It must be a miracle right? haha nope just my charming American personality...and my ability to not find the urge to fist pump!!!)

Well I have an early day tomorrow with my Internship and class, so I am going to turn in for the night on my newly made up bed!! (Our maid service is amazing!!) Night!!

Internship

Well the bus tour was amazing! It was three hours and we were able to see all of the tourist hot spots located around London. This included Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral and various parks. We were not able to view them extensively, but we plan on taking tours of them on dates soon to come!

Yesterday, Elise and I located our internship locations. We got lost trying to find Elise's, which is located by Vauxhall, and had to take a taxi to mine. My internship is located in a huge corporate building with a security desk and is surrounded by a very busy atmosphere. (Details below) After we found our locations, we were craving good American food, so we found a McDonalds!!! We looked like the typical Americans buying our Big Macs with fries. We then headed home to prepare for our interviews, which we had this morning.

My workplace, called TNS Global, is sooo cool!! If you ever heard of the Googleplex, it kind of reminds me of that!! When you walk off the elevator, there are all sorts of colored funky chairs and colors everywhere. You then proceed through different doors and you see different conference rooms that line the walls. Each conference room is a different theme; some have been bag chairs, some have special designs, there are big ones and small ones. The company has many social events, which includes a free bar on Fridays at five o'clock!! (hopefully I will be able to participate in all the different events) My supervisor, Louise, is young and very friendly! My desk is right by hers and she gave me the low down on all that I will be working on. My accounts include Kellogg's, Cadbury, Unilever, and United Biscuits. I am in the consumer department of TNS Global and what this means is that I will be formatting product tests, advertisements, report checking, presenting, and development processes. It all sounds very interesting and I plan to learn a lot from this experience! Tomorrow is my first official day and I will get my security name card and start on my projects!

Night Out

So the last two days, my roomates and I sat through orientations that were very helpful on figuring out London! Did you know that if you cary mace, it is considered a firearm and you will be arrested? We also had a welcoming afternoon tea reception where we learned the history of tea and were able to sample common tea items, like cucumber sandwiches and scones. The tea was really good and all the girls in my flat are already addicted to making it. (Since we don't have coffee)

I live with four other people in my flat. Two are from Pitt and two are from Arizona State. The two from ASU are Jordan and Elise and the two from Pitt are Gwen and Lucy. Jordan has ben dating a guy who lives in London and he decided to take us out on the town. We went to this exclusive club called Movida. We drank Dom Perignon and it was a very classy place! Below, you will find details about the club.

Yesterday we ventured into China Town to grab some lunch and the food was amazing!!!! We shopped a little and then went back on the tube to go to CAPA (the school I am attending). After that, we went to Sainsbury's (a grocery store) where we bought duvet covers and pillows. The beds here are soooo uncomfortable, so we had to add some cushion! Now we are about to go on a Panoramic bus tour and view the heart of London!! Shall be a fetching good time!

Cheerio for now

Movida 7-8 Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF Fred Moss and Marc Merran, together with Samy Sass of Monaco's Sass Café fame, have created the most significant and exquisite club venue in London - MO*VIDA. MO*VIDA is built amidst the vaults of the London Palladium Theatre, and will initially be open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm till 3.30am for members or via invited guest-lists. Internationally acclaimed French designer, Samy Chams of Prospect Design, whose breath-taking interior design portfolio includes the VIP room in St Tropez and Baoli in Cannes, was commissioned to design MO*VIDA. With raw brick arches and original features meticulously restored, Chams has created a timeless and elegant international atmosphere, breaking away from the traditional approach of themed club venues

First ADVENTURE on the Tube

O man, where to start.....Right now I am sitting in my new room in my flat and it is AMAZING!!! We have a full kitchen stocked with all amenities we may need, a toilet room, a wash room (yeah the two are separate), three bedrooms and a family room with a kitchen table, couches, and a nice size tv. I thought it was going to be really small, but its huge, Ill post pictures soon! I am sharing my room with Lucy, my close friend from Pitt, who I lived with Sophomore year and have been traveling with since meeting up at JFK.

The suite is beautiful, but I can not say the same for getting to the place, called the Johnson House. First it started out at the airport where we got off the plane at Heathrow around 6:30 (1:30 PA time). We got our bags, made it through customs quickly and went to find a cheap way to the flat. THIS is where all the problems start. Wanting to save money, we decided to get on the tube which only cost us 4lbs (a taxi would have cost us 60 lbs). We had printed out directions and they seemed easy enough....wrong. Imagine 2 girls carrying 4 bags, 2 bookbags, and 2 purses on the subway system......we probably looked hilarious. Needless to say we had to carry the bags down stairs to get to the first tube and take an escalator up, this is where Lucy fell backwards and then proceeded to trip up the stairs. We got on and rode in silence (it's considered rude if talk) for 45 minutes. At first it was not very full, but as the ride went on it began to get packed and soon we were trapped inside. Our stop was coming up and you have to get out very quickly, needless to say I wound up with a bruised knee. We then proceeded to go to our next tube, which was located up a huge flight of stairs (my bags way about 50lbs each)...... After having a heart attack with our first bags, and gentleman helped us out and we were set to board again. While waiting outside for the tube, a bird decided it would be an opportune moment to swoop down and nearly take off my head (me being logical decided to duck, causing the cute Brit next to me to break into hilarious laughter)...salt in the wound.

We then got safely on and off (because we stood right by the door) and found out that we then had to proceed to walk ten minutes in a blizzard. Everything was covered and slushy and if you have ever been to London, you will notice that street signs are in non-obvious locations. We eventually found our way and my suitcases decided they would be helpful and shovel everyone's walkways. Every minute I had to stop and kick out snow in order to start back up. After 20 minutes, we found our residence and had everything set up in an hour!!!

After a long morning (it was not even eleven yet), we decided to go get our first cider at a pub right on the corner from us!! It was delicious and I was legal!!! We then had to wait for the kitchen to open and I had my first taste of London Fish and Chips. The pub even had Heinz ketchup!!! I will definitely be frequenting that place more in the future.

Last Day in the States!!!

I can not believe that I leave for London tomorrow!! I feel like I just filled out all my applications and started to gather everything together for my visa.....wow, time flies. Right now I have everything laid out and ready to go and all I have to do is put it in the suitcase. I know I should have done this already, but as you probably all know, I am the biggest procrastinator in the world! I cant believe I had to pack up stuff that I will need for the next four months in two suitcases. Usually I go to school with a truck bed full of stuff and can easily go home for more! My parents, especially my dad, were impressed with how little I packed!

My flight for JFK leaves tomorrow at 12:45 pm from Pittsburgh and I can not wait to see that last look of Pittsburgh before I drive through the tunnels. After living in Pittsburgh my whole life and going to school here as well, I am blessed to be able to live in London for a short time. Who knows what is to come in my adventures in London, but stay tuned to find out!!!