Start of Spring Break!!

Lucy and I head out for Spring Break today at 2:30 via the Eurostar!! We will be traveling to Brussels, Belgium and stay there for 2 days. We will then get on another train and head to Maastricht, which is in the Netherlands. We will be visiting one of Lucy's family friends there for 2 days and then head off to Amsterdam for a day and a half! After we had some fun there, we will be heading to Berlin to finish off our remaining 3 days. It should be an amazing trip and I can not wait to eat some Belgium waffles and chocolate!!! It will also be cool to try the different beers from around the world (in order to prep me for my 21st!!!)

We will arrive at Heathrow Airport on Saturday the 6th, five minutes after my sister, Katie, arrives! We will pick her up and Megan will arrive the following day. This will start our sister adventures together!! I am really excited that they will be here for my birthday too, should be some "good times"!! Well thats it for now, I will try to update, but it might not be until after my trip!

Aquarium and Chinese New Year

Me being a fishy!!

My favorite stingray- leopard!

Sunday was another day jammed pack with adventure. Lucy and I headed to the Aquarium early on Sunday and got to see a whole bunch of fish! For being the city's major aquarium, it was really small! Pittsburgh's is definitely bigger. My favorite section was the aquarium of fish from the River Thames. It reminded me a lot of the island river, but they were a bit cleaner!

After the aquarium, we headed over to Leicester Square, which was hosting the Chinese New Year celebrations!! We tried dumplings, dragon beard candy, pogo sticks, and got coupons for free year of the tiger beer! It was a fun atmosphere and I am glad we got the chance to witness it!

Lucy and I in front of the Chinese Supermarket

The Dragon Beard Candy!!

Me in front of one of the side streets

Weekend of Adventure

Jordan and I in front of the Eye

Sorry about not posting a whole lot this past week. Our internet in our flat acts up a lot and prevents me from updating all of you! It is very aggravating, but the company refuses to answer our calls!

This past weekend was action packed and Saturday started out with Jordan, Elise, and I heading off to the London Eye. We couldn't of picked a better day, the sun was shining and it was really warm out. We ended up purchasing fast track tickets and got to by pass the two hour line and only waited 5 minutes! Definitely a smart move, if you ever go to see it. The eye (picture a huge ferris wheel) takes you around for an hour and gives you a great view of London. Since it was a beautiful day, we got to see everything clearly!! There was Westminster Palace (where I went the previous day),Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, all of the parks, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and many more sights! It was beautiful and of course we were the typical tourists taking pictures of everything!!

Me with Big Ben in the back

St. Paul's Cathedral

Buckingham Palace

The River Thames

After we got off the Eye, we had to wait for Lucy (my other roomate) in order to head into the aquarium. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to go to a cafe and have some drinks!! Kumar, the bar manager instantly became our best friend and decided that he would like to be our tour guide for the rest of the day. We told him we were headed to the aquarium, but he said it just closed for a private event! We were disappointed because we waited about an hour and a half for Lucy to get there for nothing!! Kumar quickly made up for this though and took us into all the backstage areas of the Eye. We got to see 4D videos, meet employees, and take some fun, amazing pictures!! He even got us some free food from all of the concession stands!! It was really fun, but we had to get going to go meet our friends at another pub! It was a nice laid back way to end our night and big adventure!

Jordan, Elise, and Me in front of the Eye

Us Again!!

Roomies in front of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Again in front of the Eye

Going into the 4D movie with Kumar

Field Trips: Brand Museum and The Houses of Parliament

Pictures of Big Ben and Westminster Palace/ Houses of Parliament

So this past weekend was probably the best and most jammed packed one I had thus far!! It started out by having a field trip on Friday and that brings me to this post about my past two trips I had. Last Thursday I went to the Museum of Brands, Packaging, and Advertising in Notting Hill for my Marketing class. It was pretty small, but it had over 12,ooo original items from the past; covering the Victorian era til today. The exhibits reflect how daily lives have changed over the years, the unimaginable revolution in shopping habits and the things we buy. There was stuff from the star wars era and of course the Spice girl items and Ninja Turtle products were on display too!! It was interesting to think that a guy started collecting these items twenty years ago and has created a museum with it. It makes you think that you can really collect and do anything with it! (not that I'm endorsing becoming a pack rat) After the museum visit, my friend Leandra and I decided to go shopping!!! We went to a bunch of boutiques and then to the best store in all of London.....Primark!! It is the most inexpensive good store ever. Think about combining the cheapness of Gabes, but the products of JC Penny, it was that amazing!! I managed to buy about 8 different things for about 40 lbs!! I will definitely be going back in the future!

The next field trip I had was this past Friday to the Palace of Westminster/Houses of Parliament and Big Ben for my European Government and Politics class. The Palace of Westminster is the home of the United Kingdom Parliament. It has been a royal palace for around 1000 years and home to Parliament for nearly 500. It was granted to the politicians as a permanent home in 1550. It was a special trip because they don't do tours in the winter and you have to be invited to come visit. Luckily our professor has some connections and he got the whole class in to visit. When you arrive, you have to have your picture taken and go through security. It is really intense, but my picture is my little souvenir!! After that, you are taken into Westminster Hall to meet your tour guide. The Hall was built in 1099 and it is the only building to survive the fire that burnt down the rest of the old Houses of Parliament in 1834. It was once used for feasts and entertaining but has recently been used for coronation banquets, ceremonial events, and a place for monarchs to lie in state here after their death

s. It is a beautiful place to see and the structure is very ornate with intricate beams and and angel statues. Here are some pictures:

Sadly, I could not take pictures of the rest of the Palace, but believe me, it was spectacular. You were able to see how it developed over the centuries and were given the background of every room by the tour guide. We already knew a lot about it, because we have been studying the history of it the past few weeks, so it was interesting to see it all in person. We saw the Central Lobby, St. Stephen's Hall, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords. My favorite part was the House of Lords. It was covered in gold and there is a huge throne chair where the present king/queen gives the yearly address to Parliament. It is a huge ceremony in November when the monarch comes to give the address and I hope I get to see it take place one year! After the tour was finished, we briefed on our tour and then went out to see Big Ben by ourselves! It is a very packed touristy area, which made it even more exciting!

Overall, the field trips have been amazing and I still have a lot more to look forward to! I have the Globe Theater visit, UK office of the European Union, and a few others. Stay tuned to hear about the rest of my weekend tomorrow!

National Pancake Day

O and Happy Pancake Day to you too!!!

It is national pancake day here and my roommates and I made pancakes with Nutella this morning and they were delicious!! (very diff from the U.S. though)

Camden Markets

On Sunday, Lucy and I went on a visit to Camden Markets!! It is this huge place right by Camden locks that has at least 500 stands of pictures, clothes, jewelry, purses, and anything else you could think of. My favorite stand was the one with Belgium chocolates, they were soooo good! There was this one, called a champagne ball, and it had a bubbly champagne filling covered in milk chocolate!! I can not wait to go to Belgium for spring break in a week in a half! Speaking of spring break, I officially booked all my flights, trains, and rooms for the dates between February 26- March 6!! Lucy and I will spend two and a half days in Brussels, 3 in Amsterdam, and 3 in Berlin. We are working on our itinerary this week and hopefully it will be an action packed week! This next month is going to be so exciting because with my countdown I have:

10 days until Spring Break (February 26-March 6)

18 days until Megan and Katie come to visit (March 6-March 16)

AND, the big one...

20 days until I am LEGAL in the states!!!! (March 8)

I am so excited and this next week will be hard to get through!

London Dungeons

This weekend has been full of exploring London. Yesterday Lucy and I went to a place called the London Dungeons, which is an amusement-like park right by where I work. It takes you through the history of London in 2-3 hours and adds a scary aspect to it. All of the workers are dressed up and have funny little parts. You start off your tour during the Plague and then on to a surgeon who picks a lucky audience member to dissect! You then go through to see Madame Torturer, who shows you a various amount of weapons used in the past. After you are "tortured", you move on to get tried in court. You're immediately sentenced to death and move on to a boat ride. It takes you backwards and places you in the hands of Sweeney Todd!! This is one of the scariest parts because they sit you down and turn off the lights and his voice immediately fills the silence. As he talks, it feels like someone is running their fingers through your hair and its really creepy. The lights then turn on and you are escorted into the history of Jack the Ripper. You visit a pub and an actor tells you all about it until the lights start to flicker. All of a sudden, Jack rushes out with a knife and slashes it around! I never jumped so high until he came out! Everyone was screaming and my heart was really racing! After the scare, you are taken to visit Queen Mary and another audience member is burned on the stake. After you witness his death (he starts facing forward and then is turned to show a burned skeleton!) you are escorted to the platform to be hanged. The platform is a free-fall ride (kind of like the Pitt fall but smaller) They take your picture right when you fall, and ours was hysterical!! Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Phantom of the Opera

Last night Lucy and I went to see the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theater! The show has been playing at this theater for the past 24 years! It was a great show and I have to rank it in my top three favorites. I kept on getting goose bumps from all the singing and still have all the songs stuck in my head!

If you don't know what the musical is about, here is a quick synopsis:
The legendary, unforgettable musical, The Phantom of the Opera traces the tragic love story of a beautiful opera singer and a young composer shamed by his physical appearnce into a shadowy existence beneath the majestic Paris Opera House. A newyl installed state ot the ar digital sound system now makes Andrew Lloyd Webber's spintingling score sound better than ever. The combination of opulent sets and costumes, and fabulous special effects creates a theatrical experience not to be missed!

One of the coolest parts to the night was at interval, or intermission, when we met a fellow Alpha Delta Pi sister! She saw my necklace and asked me about it! She went to Arizona University and has been visiting London for the past week with her husband. It was really cool to meet her and I kept on thinking what a small world it is!

Pics from day two in Paris

Me touching the point of the glass triangle at the Louvre!

The Mona Lisa- so small!

View of the Eiffel Tower from Sacre Coeur

The Louvre

Me on the freezing boat cruise!

Paris- Day Two

Sacre Coeur

Sunday we woke up bright and early and made our way to Bateaux Mouches, which is a boat cruise on the Seine! It was really cold, but I am glad I went because it gave you a different perspective of seeing the landmarks from the river. Our boat was called La Galere and it took us past the Hotel des Invalides, Palais Bourbon, Institut de France, Place de la Concorde, the Palais de Chaillot, and a lot more around the bank of the Seine.

After our boat trip, a few of us joined our tour guide to head up Montmarte (the highest point in Paris) and to the Sacre Coeur. This is by far my favorite part of the trip!! After the steep hike up the steps, it was beautiful. The view was amazing, the entertainment was exciting, and the church was a perfect back drop for the scene. We then went around a corner and there was a square full of artists. Each one of them had there easels up and were ready to sell there goods. After a lot of negotiation, I bought a beautiful ink drawing of the river with the Eiffel tower in the background. I can not wait to get it framed and hang it up! My four friends and I then went to grab lunch at a little French Cafe. I had French Onion Soup and Roasted Salmon, which was delicious(like all the food!). We then headed back to the church to walk through it and I wish I could have taken pictures because it was just as beautiful as the outside. Sadly we weren't allowed though.

We then made our way to the Louvre. All I can say is that it is enormous!! We were there for two and a half hours and we only got through two floor wings! (thats only about 1/8 of the museum, if that!) I was able to see the Mona Lisa, the statue of Ramses, Aphrodite, the winged Victory of Samothrace, and other various works. I was really excited we were there on the first Sunday of the month, because we got in free!! Because of this though, it was a little crowded. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though, because we were there towards the end of the day. After browsing for awhile, we then headed outside and had a blast taking funny pictures! We then found our way to the tube and made our way back to the hotel to take a little break.

After we were refreshed, we went back to the Latin Quarter to eat some dinner. It is full of small streets where all the owners just haggle you to come in to their restaurant. You talk to them for awhile a look uninterested and eventually they will give you a deal. We went into one where you got three courses for just 10 euros! I got a tomato and mozzarella salad, a half a chicken (they actually just cut it down the middle!) and a crepe with nutella and ice cream. I even tried escargot at this meal and, truth me told, I really like it! We then hung out for awhile and went into a bunch of little stores.

We were all really tired, so we went back to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep before we had to be up to catch our train. We woke up at 6 and made our way to the bus. After sitting on it for about ten minutes, the bus driver was ready to take us to the station. Only one little problem...the bus wouldn't start! After trying for about 15 minutes to get it working, our tour guide announced that we had to get on the metro with all our stuff! It was a mad house since it was early on a workday, but thankfully we all made it to the station! We then boarded the train and I was back 'home' in London!!!

Pics from day one in Paris

Eiffel Tower at Night!

Crepe Place in the Latin Quater

Notre Dame

Where Napoleon's tomb is: St. Jerome's

Arch of Triumph

First day in Paris!!!

Bonjour!!!

I just got back from Paris today, and it was an amazing city! I set off on Saturday morning at 9:12 on the Eurostar and made my way through the chunnel. The total time the trip took was about 2 hrs and 15 min, but in reality it took 3 because of the time difference! We arrived at the train station in Paris and we were immediately bombarded by gypsies for money...you really have to watch your belongings because pick pocketing is not uncommon in France. Other then the gypsies though, the city was beautiful! It really hit me that I was in a country where I didn't speak the language right away. We stopped in a French bakery and I ordered just fine, by pointing to what I wanted, but the girl behind me took some time and got an attitude in return! I got a chocolate croissant, and let's just say- it was just the start of all of the amazing food that I ate!!! I can definitely say that the food in Paris was better then London's, and I probably ate my weight in croissants and baguettes!

We then made our way to our tour bus which took us on a Panoramic tour of the city for three hours. It was really beautiful and I could not believe that I was able to see all of these famous landmarks. I saw the Arch of Triumph, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Place de L'Opera, the Grand Palais, and many, many others! The tour guide was very knowledgeable and told us all what we needed to know when we got out to see the sights at stops. Right before we got out at the Palais De Chaillot, an area right across from the Eiffel Tower, he warned us of the guys trying to sell cheap goods. I wasn't really concerned at that at first because I was so caught up with being a tourist, but as soon as I stepped out of the bus they swarmed us! There were about 50 guys trying to sell cheap Eiffel tower keychains and statues in a tiny square! It was nuts and we had to keep telling them to move in order to get out of our pictures.

After the tour was over, we made our way over to Notre Dame and we were able to tour inside. It is one of the most magnificent churches and it was really awe inspiring. We were there right when the sun was setting too, so it looked even more gothic. A service was also going on when we were inside and the music and atmosphere added to the atmosphere. After we were done walking around the church, we made our way over to the Latin Quarter. This is full of small shops, food stands, bars, and entertainment. It was full of life and we had about an hour to get something to eat. My group stopped at a crepe place and I got the bacon, egg and cheese (lots and lots of fresh french cheese!) It was delicious and I was tempted to get another!

After everyone ate, there were about 25 of us on this trip, we made our way over to the Eiffel Tower! It was all lit up and it was very surreal. We got there right at 8 o'clock and at every hour, the tower twinkles with lights! We made our way to the 2nd viewing deck (the top was closed for construction) and the sight was breathtaking! The city was all lit up and you could pick out the places that we saw earlier very easily! We stayed up there for about an hour and then made our way down the stairs! It was cold and little wet and going down the stairs was a little scary! It was beautiful though, and it offered amazing views. After we made our way down, the guys again approached us with their Eiffel Tower keychains! After awhile you just get used to it and don't even acknowledge them. One guy was funny to watch though, because he was selling flowers and he would just go in between couples making out or taking pictures! What a way to ruin a romantic moment! We stayed and watched the Eiffel Tower twinkle once again and made our way to the metro.

The metro.......very dirty and all in a different language! It is similiar to the London tube though, so we all figured it out quickly enough. Unlike London though, you can talk and do whatever you please! People would just sneak in without tickets by pushing against you when you went through the turn-tiles. They were very pushy and again you had to watch your pockets!

We headed back to our hotel and headed out to bars in our area. We ended up going to a bar called Partie de Campagne and got some more dinner! We got seated and were given menus and it was all in French. I did not know a word of French, but made best with what I could figure out! I ended up ordering a Salmon sandwich and it was heaven in my mouth!! I also got a nice glass of red wine and a baked apple crisp. We ended up closing the place up and headed back to our hotel.

It was a long, amazing day and I am so glad I won this trip!! Stay tuned to hear about day two tomorrow!

My Flat!!

I know some people were asking for my mailing address, so this blog is all about my flat and my post address!

If you would like to send me some mail, you have to send it to my school address which is:

Abigail Painter

C/O CAPA International Education

146 Cromwell Road

London

SW7 4EF

United Kingdom

They will make sure I get it and thanks in advance if you send me anything!!!

View from outside my bedroom window... the one brown house on the far left is where Beethoven composed his first symphony!!

Our dining table, complete with fresh flowers!!

Our family room

My kitchen with our tiny laundry machine that takes 6 hrs to do wash
My bed and bedroom!

Brighton Pics

View of the Brighton Pier from the Beach!!!

Brighton Pier
Brighton Royal Pavilion (the building we toured)
Me standing at one of the entrances to the Royal Pavilion
Jordan, me and Elise standing by one of the infamous Brighton doughnut statues!!!

Brighton!!

Brighton is def. a place I need to go back to!!! With the beach, the shops, and the great fish and chips, it is an amazing place!

Brighton is known for the Royal Pavillion, the first aquarium, and of course the Brighton Pier. We started out the day by taking a train (which only took an hour) and met our tour guide. He was hysterical and he just kept on warning us against the seagulls. He was attacked by them the last time he was there by eating doughnuts and will never forget it! Brighton is known for its doughnuts and they even have doughnut statues everywhere. (I'll post pics later). He showed us all the little sides that Brighton has to offer and he made you want to walk into every store! Brighton is known to be a gay community hot spot, so it was very eclectic and clean. There was a bunch of stuff that Jordan, Elise and I wanted to explore!! After he showed us around for a bit, we then got to seperate for lunch. We went to seafood place and I got to try legit fish and chips!! It was AMAZING!!!! Think of the best you ever had and that is what it tasted like!

We then met back up for a tour of the Royal Pavillion. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, but I wish I could have. It was so stunning with all the different rooms and decorations. The historical society is doing a really great job with the place and all the rooms looked exactly like the old pictures! My favorite room was the dining area, where dragons took over!! There was a one ton chandelier!! Another great room was the Kitchen. It had to be so modern during its day. Mom, you would have loved it!!! It was huge and had so much room and open windows. It was a really cool place to see and I could only imagine being invited to stay there!!! It was said to put some women into faints because it was so breathtaking!!

Overall, it was an amazing day and I am really glad I got the chance to go. Hopefully I will be able to stop by again while I am here!

Observations I've made in London So Far...

1. I must always look both ways when crossing the road....they drive on the WRONG side!! and I forgot that the first day, haven't made that mistake since!

2. TV, media, announcements are very blunt and open in what they say/ show. If the tube stops running, they're not afraid to tell you the truth. For instance- if someone jumps in front of the train.

3. The Brits have so many coins!! There is a pence, a 2 pence, a 5 pence, a 10 pence, a 20 pence, a 50 pence, a pound, and a 2 pound piece!! They are hard to learn at first, but after weighing down my purse, I learned quickly!

4. When you say cheers at a bar, you must look at who your are having the drink with in the eye. It is considered rude if you don't.

5. Brits hate lawyers and they think America is littered with them. I've had atleast fifty conversations on the topic of why do we have so many?!

6. Tea is now running through my veins instead of blood! I drink about 3-4 cups a day now and I love it!! We have it at work, at home, while eating, and sometimes after we go out! I love tea breaks and this is the one thing I WILL bring back to America!!

7. All of the young students who go to school wear uniforms. They are so cute and it is always in the school color. When I say uniform, I mean shoes, socks, tights, skirt/slacks, shirt, vest, jacket, hat, and book bag. All of the kids match and the uniforms look so sharp on all of the 5 year olds!!! (although all age groups wear them)

8. Brits are very up on fashion, but not really on hair. Due to the weather, you just kind of let your hair go natural. You see it up a lot and wavy, which is very unique compared to America (where the average girl owns 5 different irons/straighteners!) Its a nice break...

9. The tube system is the best thing invented!!! You can get everywhere and anywhere and it is so convenient! It doesn't take a long time and it is really simple to use!! I wish we had one of these in Pittsburgh! (our school also pays for us to use it, so its free!!)

10.Last, but not least, is the food....you miss out on a lot of the stuff you are used to, but its really not bad. Thanks to my mom who sent over my beloved peanut butter by the barrel!!! And yes, do not worry, they have heinz ketchup as well!! I have yet to have a real English breakfast, but I am sure that will happen soon! My favorite thing here so far is mash and of course the fish and chips! I have yet to explore more though, and I am sure my favorites will change!

Stay tuned to hear about my trip to Brighton tomorrow!