I'm home now. I got in to San Francisco at 8:30 last night. My flight from Houston to San Francisco was delayed a few hours because it was raining in Texas.
I am happy to be home but I really miss England. I wasn't ready to leave yet. I had enough money to last me another month! hahahaha
I still have 13 pounds in my wallet. I need to get that changed!
My last week in the UK went by too fast....
Thursday:
I was late for my Econ final because I got lost in the building where the final was being held. I'm kinda iffy about my final. I think I did OK. I finished in 35 minutes [multiple choice test with 50 minute time limit] but I didnt want to be the first one to turn in so I played games on my calculator [hahaha nerd].
We left for London around 1ish or something like that. On the way to the train station, I got a lamb shawarma.... mmmm lamb.
We went to Oxford Street [it's a major shopping street in London] and did some window shopping. I wanted to buy something from TopShop but CANNOT AFFORD! and the stuff on sale is just weird.
We finally had our afternoon tea [not cream tea, that's different] at Marks and Spencers. SO MUCH FOOD.
Ice Bar
the experience was worth it! The cover charge comes with a thermal parka with a hood [that makes everyone look good], gloves and a drink. Everything was made of ice except for the floor [that would be bad...]. I understand why there is a 40 minute limit to the bar...it's freakin' cold [-5 degress celcius] but it doesnt feel that cold because of the body heat from the other people and the bar is pretty small, so they cant shove as many people in there without melting the ice. The glass they gave us is pretty much a giant ice cube that's hollowed out. The bar is owned by Absolut so all the alcoholic drinks are vodka drinks.
I got this drink called Lazuli...sooooo GOOOD! Tastes like lychee!
I finally got my Wicked program signed! YAY! I have the entire main cast except for the actor who plays Fiyero [sad].
It really started hitting me that we were leaving when I was saying good-bye to Christina and Aurora. I started getting a little teary-eyed, but refused to cry.
Friday:
Our last Brighton day! Jeany, Margaret, Ruhi, Carolyn, Emily and I spent the entire day at Brighton. We walked around the North Laines and got our fudge....mmm.... best fudge ever! I dont know how I'm going to look at other fudge anymore.
I bought 3 books at Borders. I'm gonna buy more when I get home. [I still have books I havent finished at home!!!] I know, it's a problem...but I love books! YOU CAN'T STOP ME! hahaha
Besides, I like the UK covers better...US covers suck! OK, I'm gonna stop before this turns into a full-blown rant.
I got scarves for Mary and Jamie and Primark...I would post pictures but then it wouldn't be a surprise! haha
We finally had our time at the beach. We bought sandwiches at Marks and Spencers and broght them to the beach. HELLA PEOPLE! It was a really nice day though. The sun was out, very light breeze. After eating, we just laid out. I fell asleep hahahha!
The rocks at the beach were actually really comfortable. It's better than getting sand everywhere LOL.
We went to Donatello's for dinner. It's the place we all ate our first night out in Brighton. It was like a full circle kind of thing. I ordered the exact thing I had our first night.
Saturday:
I went to sleep at 2:30 and woke up at 4:00. Not fun. I couldn't go back to sleep so I started cleaning up my room and stuff.
Checked out around 6:00. Jeany and I got to Gatwick around 7ish and we had the hardest time finding our terminals. Someone who worked for Continental took me to the Continental counter.
My luggage was over-weight by 2 kilos [idk what that is in pounds hahaha], but the lady at the counter let it slide! She's so nice :D
My carry-on luggage was killing me...The plates I bought were all in there because I didnt want my check-in to be too heavy.
It felt weird being in a car again. I think I'm going to miss really efficient public transportation, but I am excited to drive again :D
I had Pho and boba for dinner after my dad picked me up from the airport. BEST FIRST MEAL EVER.
I am now doing laundry because I am out of clean clothes.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
At The End of the Day There's Another One Dawning
one of my life goals is now complete: I have finally seen LES MISERABLES!!!
IT WAS ...omg...beyond AMAZING! The cast is really really good. I really like the actor playing Valjean...he sounds Colm Wilkinson, the actor who played Valjean in the original London and Broadway cast and Anniversary Concert,but with a bit of an Irish accent [but his last name doesnt seem Irish]...and OMG! The actor playing Marius is really good and HOT!!! hahaha He's not Michael Ball, but he has a really amazing voice. Enjolras is hot too!
Pretty much the actors playing the students are all hot! The lead actresses are really good as well...Fantine could have been a little been stronger, but she's still really good. I have high expectactions for Eponine and Fantine because of Lea Salonga...but I was not disappointed...YAY! The actress playing Eponine is cute hahaha.
Yes I did cry. OF COURSE I CRIED! hahahaha I started crying at "I Dreamed a Dream" and the water works were pretty much on and off the entire show haha. It's not the "tears running down my cheek" type of crying; it was more of a "tear drops falling" type of crying.
The set was really cool! The set rotates ...it's kinda hard to describe on a blog hahaha
It makes it seem like the actors are moving place to place with the rotating set, instead of pretending that they are moving from place to place.
I also liked how before explosions, jumping off bridges, etc. the actors movements are in slow motion...then goes into normal speed...it's REALLY COOOL!
The music is already amazing, but hearing it live is sooooo much better! I got shivers down my spine...especially when they sang "One Day More". I really loved Eponine's death scene...I didn't really know how to picture it in my head from listening to "A Little Fall of Rain" but now I can see it in my head and it makes it so much more sad. Fantine's death was just heart-breaking.
We sat in the very front row...literally [and only cost us 25 pounds each]. So we were right next to the orcestra pit [specifically, the drums]. The drummer was cute hahaha.
It was pretty cool being that close to the stage because you can see EVERYTHING! I know where the actors have their mics [it's on their heads, near the hair line and it's very small and blends with the make-up]...you can see them spit while they sing! It was great.
After the show, we [Ruhi, Margaret and I...I forgot to mention who I went with] went to the stage door to get autographs. Since it's a HUGE cast, we didnt get everyone, but we got the actors playing Eponine, Fantine, Cosette, Marius and Valjean [and those are ones I really wanted haha]. When we were getting autographs, I mentioned we were sitting in the very front, and the actor playing Marius asked me it I was the one singing along [YES I WAS!...well, lip syncing]
TEEHEEEHEEEE. He's really cute.
AHHH! SOOOOO HAPPPY!!!
IT WAS ...omg...beyond AMAZING! The cast is really really good. I really like the actor playing Valjean...he sounds Colm Wilkinson, the actor who played Valjean in the original London and Broadway cast and Anniversary Concert,but with a bit of an Irish accent [but his last name doesnt seem Irish]...and OMG! The actor playing Marius is really good and HOT!!! hahaha He's not Michael Ball, but he has a really amazing voice. Enjolras is hot too!
Pretty much the actors playing the students are all hot! The lead actresses are really good as well...Fantine could have been a little been stronger, but she's still really good. I have high expectactions for Eponine and Fantine because of Lea Salonga...but I was not disappointed...YAY! The actress playing Eponine is cute hahaha.
Yes I did cry. OF COURSE I CRIED! hahahaha I started crying at "I Dreamed a Dream" and the water works were pretty much on and off the entire show haha. It's not the "tears running down my cheek" type of crying; it was more of a "tear drops falling" type of crying.
The set was really cool! The set rotates ...it's kinda hard to describe on a blog hahaha
It makes it seem like the actors are moving place to place with the rotating set, instead of pretending that they are moving from place to place.
I also liked how before explosions, jumping off bridges, etc. the actors movements are in slow motion...then goes into normal speed...it's REALLY COOOL!
The music is already amazing, but hearing it live is sooooo much better! I got shivers down my spine...especially when they sang "One Day More". I really loved Eponine's death scene...I didn't really know how to picture it in my head from listening to "A Little Fall of Rain" but now I can see it in my head and it makes it so much more sad. Fantine's death was just heart-breaking.
We sat in the very front row...literally [and only cost us 25 pounds each]. So we were right next to the orcestra pit [specifically, the drums]. The drummer was cute hahaha.
It was pretty cool being that close to the stage because you can see EVERYTHING! I know where the actors have their mics [it's on their heads, near the hair line and it's very small and blends with the make-up]...you can see them spit while they sing! It was great.
After the show, we [Ruhi, Margaret and I...I forgot to mention who I went with] went to the stage door to get autographs. Since it's a HUGE cast, we didnt get everyone, but we got the actors playing Eponine, Fantine, Cosette, Marius and Valjean [and those are ones I really wanted haha]. When we were getting autographs, I mentioned we were sitting in the very front, and the actor playing Marius asked me it I was the one singing along [YES I WAS!...well, lip syncing]
TEEHEEEHEEEE. He's really cute.
AHHH! SOOOOO HAPPPY!!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Scotland
I spend last week-end in Scotland...it was really pretty and green in Scotland even if it was raining.
Carolyn, Emily, Margaret, Ruhi, Tiffanie and I all booked our Scotland trip with Discovery Tours. It was great because transportation and accommodations was already taken care of and we didnt have to plan the rest of our day.
The deal with Discovery Tours is that they drive you around the city showing you places of interest and then letting you have free time in the city to explore, etc.
We stayed Glasgow so we didnt get to experience Edinburgh nightlife. Our accommodations were the dorms at the University of Glasgow...it's very nice and cozy and clean!
Edinburgh:
I loved Edinburgh..especially because the Edinburgh festival was going on, so there was a lot of people and there was a lot to see and do! It was very lively. I definitely want to come back during the festival so I can watch the shows at night.
We went to the Edinburgh Castle...it reminded me of the Tower of London but since the castle is at the highest point of Edinburgh, there were great views of the city below. I mean, the castle was built there for strategical purposes. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels...they're OK, but they are the oldest crown jewels in England so I guess it was worth seeing.
I really their Prisons of War exhibit...it was really cool how they used the senses to let you "experience" how prisoners lived in the castle.
The place we ate at had free samples of haggis [it is a traditional Scottish dish made of : sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock]. I tried it out of curiosity because I've heard about it from travel shows that I watch. So anyway, it had a mushy consistency, but it didnt taste bad...it tasted very peppery.
Glasgow:
After Edinburgh, we went out to the pubs in Glasgow with our tour guide, Rich. He's real cool. He's 22 and is a music major at Uni. of Sussex. Anyway, the first pub we went to, Ruhi, Carolyn, Tiffanie and I got free drinks. Some guy bought us all 1/2 a pint of Strongbow [cider]. I love free drinks. We went to a different pub looking for karaoke...but the one we found was WEIRD. All the people in the pub was at least over 35. We moved to the pub next door coz it seemed a little more our age-group...dont i sound age-ist? hahaha
That pub was fun because they had a DJ playing music and people dancing.
I have always been curious of SOURZ...they have cool bottles and pretty colors, so I tried 2 of their flavors: cherry and apple.
I had an apple and lemonade[sprite]...YUUUM! Tasted like apple soda. It had a nice tinge of apple green. Cherry and diet coke tastes like a sherley temple [but with alcohol! hahaha but you can't taste the alcohol].
After our day driving around the Highlands, we decided to buy drinks and just have drinking games at the kitchen of the dorms. We just bought bottles of strongbow and played flip cup and kings cup with Rich and a few other guys who go to summer school with us. Fun times! It was my first time playing flip cup and learned that I am not that bad! YAY!
We didnt have a deck of cards, so we just cut up paper and made our deck for kings cup. Fun times!
Highlands:
That tour pretty much consisted of driving around the highlands of Scotland and showing us the landscape...the lochs[lake], beins[mountains], etc. It was really really pretty. It was raining, but it was still really pretty. There was a lot of sheep and cows. We actually got to go see a highland bull...they are CUUTTEEE!!!
Carolyn, Emily, Margaret, Ruhi, Tiffanie and I all booked our Scotland trip with Discovery Tours. It was great because transportation and accommodations was already taken care of and we didnt have to plan the rest of our day.
The deal with Discovery Tours is that they drive you around the city showing you places of interest and then letting you have free time in the city to explore, etc.
We stayed Glasgow so we didnt get to experience Edinburgh nightlife. Our accommodations were the dorms at the University of Glasgow...it's very nice and cozy and clean!
Edinburgh:
I loved Edinburgh..especially because the Edinburgh festival was going on, so there was a lot of people and there was a lot to see and do! It was very lively. I definitely want to come back during the festival so I can watch the shows at night.
We went to the Edinburgh Castle...it reminded me of the Tower of London but since the castle is at the highest point of Edinburgh, there were great views of the city below. I mean, the castle was built there for strategical purposes. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels...they're OK, but they are the oldest crown jewels in England so I guess it was worth seeing.
I really their Prisons of War exhibit...it was really cool how they used the senses to let you "experience" how prisoners lived in the castle.
The place we ate at had free samples of haggis [it is a traditional Scottish dish made of : sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock]. I tried it out of curiosity because I've heard about it from travel shows that I watch. So anyway, it had a mushy consistency, but it didnt taste bad...it tasted very peppery.
Glasgow:
After Edinburgh, we went out to the pubs in Glasgow with our tour guide, Rich. He's real cool. He's 22 and is a music major at Uni. of Sussex. Anyway, the first pub we went to, Ruhi, Carolyn, Tiffanie and I got free drinks. Some guy bought us all 1/2 a pint of Strongbow [cider]. I love free drinks. We went to a different pub looking for karaoke...but the one we found was WEIRD. All the people in the pub was at least over 35. We moved to the pub next door coz it seemed a little more our age-group...dont i sound age-ist? hahaha
That pub was fun because they had a DJ playing music and people dancing.
I have always been curious of SOURZ...they have cool bottles and pretty colors, so I tried 2 of their flavors: cherry and apple.
I had an apple and lemonade[sprite]...YUUUM! Tasted like apple soda. It had a nice tinge of apple green. Cherry and diet coke tastes like a sherley temple [but with alcohol! hahaha but you can't taste the alcohol].
After our day driving around the Highlands, we decided to buy drinks and just have drinking games at the kitchen of the dorms. We just bought bottles of strongbow and played flip cup and kings cup with Rich and a few other guys who go to summer school with us. Fun times! It was my first time playing flip cup and learned that I am not that bad! YAY!
We didnt have a deck of cards, so we just cut up paper and made our deck for kings cup. Fun times!
Highlands:
That tour pretty much consisted of driving around the highlands of Scotland and showing us the landscape...the lochs[lake], beins[mountains], etc. It was really really pretty. It was raining, but it was still really pretty. There was a lot of sheep and cows. We actually got to go see a highland bull...they are CUUTTEEE!!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
It's Thursday
I can't believe I will be leaving in a week. Sad.
Wall-E
really cuuute! WALL-E! EVE-AH!
It has a [political] message and it was very explicit about it:
we should should do something to save the planet...we can't just do nothing.
I agree.
Tuesday:
Margaret, Jeany and I went to the King and Queen for our last karaoke night at the pub.
I am never getting a martini ever again. I got a Blue Martini [it's pretty], but it was just PURE ALCOHOL! I felt like I drank 3 shots of different spirits. So yea, martinis are not going to happen again.
Wednesday:
Margaret and I spent the day in London. We mostly spent it at Harrods. HARRODS IS AMAZING! very expensive, but I do love the free samples of food :D
The lady working there kept giving me free samples of marzipan...VERY GOOD! She said it's to be eaten after dinner with coffee.
I wanted Christian Dior sunglasses, but I didnt buy it because I wasn't sure how much money I had on my debit card. I should have bought them because I had enough money. BALLS.
I finally got to see the Paddington Bear statue at Paddington Station and Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross. YAY me!
When we got back, we went to a jazz club with Ruhi, Jeany, Emily and Carolyn called Casablanca. It was pretty fun...there was a live band that played good music. The lead singer was HAWTTT!
He looked like Orlando Bloom's brother.
AAAHHHHH! I'm going to Scotland tonight! I gotta pack.
OMGGG! I'm going to watch LES MISERABLES on monday! WHOOOOHOOOO!
ugh...school. I dont like econ.
Wall-E
really cuuute! WALL-E! EVE-AH!
It has a [political] message and it was very explicit about it:
we should should do something to save the planet...we can't just do nothing.
I agree.
Tuesday:
Margaret, Jeany and I went to the King and Queen for our last karaoke night at the pub.
I am never getting a martini ever again. I got a Blue Martini [it's pretty], but it was just PURE ALCOHOL! I felt like I drank 3 shots of different spirits. So yea, martinis are not going to happen again.
Wednesday:
Margaret and I spent the day in London. We mostly spent it at Harrods. HARRODS IS AMAZING! very expensive, but I do love the free samples of food :D
The lady working there kept giving me free samples of marzipan...VERY GOOD! She said it's to be eaten after dinner with coffee.
I wanted Christian Dior sunglasses, but I didnt buy it because I wasn't sure how much money I had on my debit card. I should have bought them because I had enough money. BALLS.
I finally got to see the Paddington Bear statue at Paddington Station and Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross. YAY me!
When we got back, we went to a jazz club with Ruhi, Jeany, Emily and Carolyn called Casablanca. It was pretty fun...there was a live band that played good music. The lead singer was HAWTTT!
He looked like Orlando Bloom's brother.
AAAHHHHH! I'm going to Scotland tonight! I gotta pack.
OMGGG! I'm going to watch LES MISERABLES on monday! WHOOOOHOOOO!
ugh...school. I dont like econ.
Monday, August 4, 2008
JE T'AIME PARIS!
I got back from Paris Monday around 1 AM. I am still tired and sore.
Paris was amazing! Too much for one week-end. Definitely must come back.
July 31:
We arrive at Paris at 10:30ish PM. Since didnt know how to get to our hotel via public transportation, we took a taxi from the train station [Gare du Nord]. Our taxi was a MERCEDES-BENZ!!! We all think he ripped us off because it cost 24 EUROS for the ride! WTF!?!?!? First of all, he took the long way because he showed us the Opera House, Arc de Triumphe and Champs-Elysees. He charged extra for having 4 people [all taxis apparantly do that in France] and for luggage. Maybe if I kept talking to him in my VERY BROKEN French, we would have been ok.
Hotel:
is in the suburbs of Paris called Suresnes. It's near the La Defence quarter [La Defense is the major financial district]. Our room is a triple, but tiny as hell! Instead of 3 single beds pushed together, there is a bunk bed. No closet. The bathroom is the size of a walk-in closet. At least it was clean. If we stuck our heads out the window, we could see the Eiffel Tower.
August 1
First Paris meal: Mushroom Quiche, Flan and orange Fanta. 5 Euros. Hahaha
We bought it in a cafe outside of the Louvre. Then we got it to go and we ate outside the Louvre.
BEST QUICHE I HAVE HAD IN ALL MY LIFE. The crust was not hard--it was nice and buttery and flaky [but not too flaky]. French flan is more like a slice of egg-custard pie, but the custard is not a custard consistency [like leche flan] but more pie-like.
Le Louvre:
I knew that the louvre is HUGE and it would take all day to see everything. I was surprised that it took us at the most, 3 hours to see [almost] everything. We saw the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo [the 2 most famous things inside the louvre].
People have said the Mona Lisa is TINY...it's not. It is very small compared to the rest of the paintings in the louvre, but the painting itself isnt very small. The size of the woman in the painting is a little bigger than life size.
Notre Dame:
is BEAUTIFUL. The line to get in was long, but at least it went by quickly. The nave and the choir were roped off because there was service going on [strange why they would let tourists in during service...]I only found 3 of the 6 rose stained-glass windows. I thought the flying buttresses would be enormous, but they weren't as big as I imagined them to be.
Seine River Cruise:
very relaxing. I liked being able to see a lot of historical buildings without having to walk there! LOL. I like the view of things from the river, especially being able to the see the bridges on the river.
Arc de Triumphe:
we had to walk a 200-step [about] spiral stair case to get to the top. [NO ELEVATOR]. It was worth the climb! the views are great! We got to watch the Eiffel Tower light up :D
August 2:
Champs-Elysees:
I have never felt so poor in my life! They had very posh stores and it was nice to window shop [or pretend you can afford things hahaha]. Louis Vuitton is 3 stories tall... very expensive. A keychain is 100+ euros. I liked walking up and down Champs-Elysees for the purpose of people watching...hahaha
Montmartre:
Is located in the only hill[?] in Paris. It's how I imagined France to be--narrow, cobblestone streets with side-walk cafes and patisseries galore! We didn't really go to the Moulin Rouge area because we were headed to Sacre Couer. I really liked all the street art that were displayed on the side walk. I bought 4! I had really really good
Sacre Couer:
it means "sacred heart" in French. It's really pretty. It's a byzantine-style cathedral. It's all white and it's on top of a hill overlooking Paris. I couldn't take pictures inside because it's not allowed. It was definitely more quiet that Notre Dame and less people going inside. Lots of mosaics.
Dinner at Chez Clement:
a restaurant at Champs-Elysees...apparantly it's the cheapest on Champs-Elysees. I got duck magret with grilled peach and french mac and cheese [they seasoned it with fennel, which made it taste like licorice] and creme brulee for desert.
Duck magret is the duck breast of a duck that has produced foie gras. [SAAAD I DIDNT GET FOIE GRAS...IT WAS EXPENSIVE!]
Anyway, it was very, very goood and tender. YUUUUUM. Best non-asian duck i have had!
The restaurant's portion of creme brulee is HUUUUGGGEEEE. The ones I make are little babies compared to theirs. It was good...better than mine.
August 3:
We checked out early to get to the Eiffel tower, but our train didn't leave until later on that evening so we were walking around Paris with our luggage.
My shoulders still hurt.
Tour Eiffel:
I was pretty miserable with all my stuff, so I wasn't exactly very happy. However, it was still a nice experience being at the very top of the Eiffel Tower...I didnt realize how high we were until it got cloudy and cold [it was nice and sunny at the lower levels]. There was a lot of people and children [very loud children]...didn't like the children.
La Madeleine:
It's a church that looks like a grecian temple. Behind the altar, there is the sculpture of Mary Magdelene Ascending into Heaven. The church was very quiet and empty. I guess it's not as much of a tourist spot as Sacre Couer or Notre Dame.
I'm looking over my pocket guide book and we didn't look hard enough for the market!
[JEANY THE MARKET DOES EXIST BUT IT'S BEHIND THE CHURCH]
The rest of the day was spend people watching/eating crepes.
Jeany and I had a chorizo crepe at this cafe called Evangelista. SOO GOOOD.
French Eclaires are sooo much better that any other eclairs. The inside isn't pure chocolate, but chocolate mousse!
I think studying Paris architecture changed the way I experienced Paris. I think it's because I know a little bit of history with particular buildings, so to me, it's more than a pretty building...I know how it was built, or why it was built and it's purpose[or original purpose]. It also made me want to see more of Paris.
I definitely want to go back to Paris and spend more time there. There's still so much I want to see and do.
Paris was amazing! Too much for one week-end. Definitely must come back.
July 31:
We arrive at Paris at 10:30ish PM. Since didnt know how to get to our hotel via public transportation, we took a taxi from the train station [Gare du Nord]. Our taxi was a MERCEDES-BENZ!!! We all think he ripped us off because it cost 24 EUROS for the ride! WTF!?!?!? First of all, he took the long way because he showed us the Opera House, Arc de Triumphe and Champs-Elysees. He charged extra for having 4 people [all taxis apparantly do that in France] and for luggage. Maybe if I kept talking to him in my VERY BROKEN French, we would have been ok.
Hotel:
is in the suburbs of Paris called Suresnes. It's near the La Defence quarter [La Defense is the major financial district]. Our room is a triple, but tiny as hell! Instead of 3 single beds pushed together, there is a bunk bed. No closet. The bathroom is the size of a walk-in closet. At least it was clean. If we stuck our heads out the window, we could see the Eiffel Tower.
August 1
First Paris meal: Mushroom Quiche, Flan and orange Fanta. 5 Euros. Hahaha
We bought it in a cafe outside of the Louvre. Then we got it to go and we ate outside the Louvre.
BEST QUICHE I HAVE HAD IN ALL MY LIFE. The crust was not hard--it was nice and buttery and flaky [but not too flaky]. French flan is more like a slice of egg-custard pie, but the custard is not a custard consistency [like leche flan] but more pie-like.
Le Louvre:
I knew that the louvre is HUGE and it would take all day to see everything. I was surprised that it took us at the most, 3 hours to see [almost] everything. We saw the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo [the 2 most famous things inside the louvre].
People have said the Mona Lisa is TINY...it's not. It is very small compared to the rest of the paintings in the louvre, but the painting itself isnt very small. The size of the woman in the painting is a little bigger than life size.
Notre Dame:
is BEAUTIFUL. The line to get in was long, but at least it went by quickly. The nave and the choir were roped off because there was service going on [strange why they would let tourists in during service...]I only found 3 of the 6 rose stained-glass windows. I thought the flying buttresses would be enormous, but they weren't as big as I imagined them to be.
Seine River Cruise:
very relaxing. I liked being able to see a lot of historical buildings without having to walk there! LOL. I like the view of things from the river, especially being able to the see the bridges on the river.
Arc de Triumphe:
we had to walk a 200-step [about] spiral stair case to get to the top. [NO ELEVATOR]. It was worth the climb! the views are great! We got to watch the Eiffel Tower light up :D
August 2:
Champs-Elysees:
I have never felt so poor in my life! They had very posh stores and it was nice to window shop [or pretend you can afford things hahaha]. Louis Vuitton is 3 stories tall... very expensive. A keychain is 100+ euros. I liked walking up and down Champs-Elysees for the purpose of people watching...hahaha
Montmartre:
Is located in the only hill[?] in Paris. It's how I imagined France to be--narrow, cobblestone streets with side-walk cafes and patisseries galore! We didn't really go to the Moulin Rouge area because we were headed to Sacre Couer. I really liked all the street art that were displayed on the side walk. I bought 4! I had really really good
Sacre Couer:
it means "sacred heart" in French. It's really pretty. It's a byzantine-style cathedral. It's all white and it's on top of a hill overlooking Paris. I couldn't take pictures inside because it's not allowed. It was definitely more quiet that Notre Dame and less people going inside. Lots of mosaics.
Dinner at Chez Clement:
a restaurant at Champs-Elysees...apparantly it's the cheapest on Champs-Elysees. I got duck magret with grilled peach and french mac and cheese [they seasoned it with fennel, which made it taste like licorice] and creme brulee for desert.
Duck magret is the duck breast of a duck that has produced foie gras. [SAAAD I DIDNT GET FOIE GRAS...IT WAS EXPENSIVE!]
Anyway, it was very, very goood and tender. YUUUUUM. Best non-asian duck i have had!
The restaurant's portion of creme brulee is HUUUUGGGEEEE. The ones I make are little babies compared to theirs. It was good...better than mine.
August 3:
We checked out early to get to the Eiffel tower, but our train didn't leave until later on that evening so we were walking around Paris with our luggage.
My shoulders still hurt.
Tour Eiffel:
I was pretty miserable with all my stuff, so I wasn't exactly very happy. However, it was still a nice experience being at the very top of the Eiffel Tower...I didnt realize how high we were until it got cloudy and cold [it was nice and sunny at the lower levels]. There was a lot of people and children [very loud children]...didn't like the children.
La Madeleine:
It's a church that looks like a grecian temple. Behind the altar, there is the sculpture of Mary Magdelene Ascending into Heaven. The church was very quiet and empty. I guess it's not as much of a tourist spot as Sacre Couer or Notre Dame.
I'm looking over my pocket guide book and we didn't look hard enough for the market!
[JEANY THE MARKET DOES EXIST BUT IT'S BEHIND THE CHURCH]
The rest of the day was spend people watching/eating crepes.
Jeany and I had a chorizo crepe at this cafe called Evangelista. SOO GOOOD.
French Eclaires are sooo much better that any other eclairs. The inside isn't pure chocolate, but chocolate mousse!
I think studying Paris architecture changed the way I experienced Paris. I think it's because I know a little bit of history with particular buildings, so to me, it's more than a pretty building...I know how it was built, or why it was built and it's purpose[or original purpose]. It also made me want to see more of Paris.
I definitely want to go back to Paris and spend more time there. There's still so much I want to see and do.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED AT THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
2 musicals in 2 days. BEST TWO DAYS EVER!!!
The Phantom of the Opera:
OMG it was BEAUTIFUL. I already love the music, but it's so much more powerful live! I cried twice! hahaha! First time was during "All I Ask of You" [favorite song!] and then I cried again at the last song "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer"
We sat the last row of the balcony, literally! But even from there, we could see the stage [we did use the binoculars they offered to see the faces of the actors].
The set was amazing! The stage looked smaller from high above, but it looked really pretty. I really love what they did with the pyrotechnics and fog machines and the speakers making you think that the phantom is everywhere!
The actors did very well, especially the Phantom and Raoul. I liked the girls playing Christine and Meg, but there very shrill voices kind of annoyed me a little bit [but it didn't really take away from anything...I think I'm just used to the movie soundtrack]
After the show, we went to the stage door really fast to get autographs! I got the lead actors' autographs! YAY ME!!! The actor playing Raoul is really really cute! hahaha...this is his West End debut and he's only 25! The actor playing the Phantom is good looking, too. He smelled like sexy man [like acqua di gio by armani].
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA = LOVE.
Wicked:
I've never read the book, but I have listened to the original broadway cast soundtrack and it's really good. I didn't really know much coming into the show, but I did know that it's another take of the Wizard of Oz.
THE SHOW WAS FANTASTIC! The cast was really great! The set was ...WOW! I loved how they used lighting and the giant puppets like the dragon and the "wizard"of oz. The flying monkeys looked creapy.
Again, I cried twice. I cried sometime in the first half...I forgot when [I think it was during "Defying Gravity"] and then again in the 2nd act during "For Good".
I cannot stress how AMAZING this show is! I wanna watch it again!
The Phantom of the Opera:
OMG it was BEAUTIFUL. I already love the music, but it's so much more powerful live! I cried twice! hahaha! First time was during "All I Ask of You" [favorite song!] and then I cried again at the last song "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer"
We sat the last row of the balcony, literally! But even from there, we could see the stage [we did use the binoculars they offered to see the faces of the actors].
The set was amazing! The stage looked smaller from high above, but it looked really pretty. I really love what they did with the pyrotechnics and fog machines and the speakers making you think that the phantom is everywhere!
The actors did very well, especially the Phantom and Raoul. I liked the girls playing Christine and Meg, but there very shrill voices kind of annoyed me a little bit [but it didn't really take away from anything...I think I'm just used to the movie soundtrack]
After the show, we went to the stage door really fast to get autographs! I got the lead actors' autographs! YAY ME!!! The actor playing Raoul is really really cute! hahaha...this is his West End debut and he's only 25! The actor playing the Phantom is good looking, too. He smelled like sexy man [like acqua di gio by armani].
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA = LOVE.
Wicked:
I've never read the book, but I have listened to the original broadway cast soundtrack and it's really good. I didn't really know much coming into the show, but I did know that it's another take of the Wizard of Oz.
THE SHOW WAS FANTASTIC! The cast was really great! The set was ...WOW! I loved how they used lighting and the giant puppets like the dragon and the "wizard"of oz. The flying monkeys looked creapy.
Again, I cried twice. I cried sometime in the first half...I forgot when [I think it was during "Defying Gravity"] and then again in the 2nd act during "For Good".
I cannot stress how AMAZING this show is! I wanna watch it again!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Hamlet at Stratford-Upon-Avon
I HAD THE MOST AMAZING ADVENTURE EVER!
Mary [not room mate mary], Jeany, Kathie and I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet starring Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. We were trying to get the 4 of the 10 stand-by tickets they had available.
I did not realize how far it was from Brighton...it's pretty much in the middle of the country [it's located Warwickshire]. So, it took 4 hours to get there by train.
Once we got there, we went straight to the hotel to nap because we were all pretty tired from the train ride.
We had dinner at The Dirty Duck pub. It's located vert close to the Courtyard Theater [where the RSC is holding their production]. I had the chicken breast smothered in goat cheese. REALLY REALLY GOOD. After dinner, we went to the grocery store to stock up on snacks and caffeinated drinks to help us stay up all night.
Once we got to the Courtyard theater, we talked to the ladies that were working at the box office to ask them what time they open, etc. We told them our plans and were either a). impressed, b). thought we insane or c). both. They also told us that the actors come out the stage door to sign autographs.
We got some brochures, flyers, etc. from the theater for the actors to sign. We got there pretty early before the show ended so were first in line. The first person to come out was PATRICK STEWART! He's a very sweet man. He signed autographs [couldn't get a picture with him because there was a lot of people who were in line for autographs as well] and went back in. Then, David Tennant came out [loud screams from girls] and he signed out stuff too!
DAVID TENNANT CONVERSATION:
me [i think it was me]: David, we came all the way from California to see you!
[someone else in our group, I can't remember who]: We're going to wait all night to get tickets for tomorrow.
David [in his Scottish accent]: Now why would you do that??
We also met another member of the cast, his name is David Ajala..he plays Raynaldo[he's also in The Dark Knight]. He's really cuuuuuuute! Really pretty eyes hahahaha. We told him about our plans of camping out to get tickets. He gave us a copy of the program, in which he signed "U GIRLS ROCK! I HOPE YOU GET YOUR TICKETS!"
While waiting outside the box offfice of the Courtyard Theater, we met 2 girls from London [who apparantly are big on youtube] and 2 girls from Ireland [I think...well one of them was Irish] and a guy, Tom, who was camping out like us. We all just hung out and talked until around 3 AM before the girls had to leave to catch their bus back to London.
Tom was very nice...he let Kathie and Mary borrow his clean socks to keep their feet warm, and he also let Kathie borrow his sweater hahaha. He's 23 and is getting his MASTERS IN CAMBRIDGE IN ENGINEERING and is writing his disertation on Bio-fuels. He's kinda cute too hahaha!
So, camping out without "camping" stuff is...an experience. It got really cold betwee 3-5 AM and I was in and out of sleep in those times. It was also kinda scary because the building lights were all off and the only lights we had were our cell phones and the street lights.
Bathroom = the woods.
Dont worry, we took toilet paper from the pub before we left and I had kleenex wipes with me.
People didn't really start showing up to the box office until 8:30, so we [Kathie, Jeany, Mary, Tom and I] were the first ones in line! Once the box office opened, the lines were split between the 10 16-25 year old stand-by tickets [5 pounds each] and the return tickets [that cost A WHOLE LOT MORE ...about 50-100 pounds].
After we got our tickets, the girls and I went back to the hotel and SLEPT!
After we woke up, we watched the original British versions of "Deal or No Deal" and "Don't Forget the Lyrics." They are soo much better than the American ones...the shows here had more heart.
Before the performance, we also met Canadian girls that were as excited as we were.
THE SHOW:
IT WAS AMAZING....FANTASTIC! David Tennant was a really great HAMLET! David and I made eye contact for 2 seconds! hahahahaha
I really really loved his performance! Especially the scenes where he was pretending to be crazy [or is Hamlet really crazy? hahahaha English essay question]...you can see the madness in his eyes...I loved how he used his entire body to capture your attention. I cried a little in the scene when they were burying Ophelia and he discovers that the dead person was Ophelia, and Hamlet's death scene.
and Patrick Stewart as Claudius and the ghost of Old Hamlet was astonishing! He was SO GOOOOD!!!
The entire cast was just FABULOUS! I can't even describe how freakin fantastic the show was! It just captures your attentions right from the beginning and does not let go! The most amazing Shakespeare experience of my life!!!!
IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH THE WAITING IN THE COLD AND LACK OF SLEEP!!!
Intermission:
During intermission, we met Tom and his friend, David. David kinda looks like John Lennon.
One of the Canadian girls, Jessica, found us and dragged us to show us where Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes sat.
So when we got back to our seats before the 2nd half started, we just stared at Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes. She sat further away from us. She's so pretty in real life! I wanted to approach her after the show, but we wanted to get our programs signed by the actors.
After the show:
Got our programs signed by Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, David Ajala and the actor who played Horatio.
We got drinks at The Dirty Duck with the Canadian girls,Tom and David. We saw the actress who played Gertrude and the actor who played Horatio at the pub.
BEST WEEK-END EVER.
Mary [not room mate mary], Jeany, Kathie and I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet starring Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. We were trying to get the 4 of the 10 stand-by tickets they had available.
I did not realize how far it was from Brighton...it's pretty much in the middle of the country [it's located Warwickshire]. So, it took 4 hours to get there by train.
Once we got there, we went straight to the hotel to nap because we were all pretty tired from the train ride.
We had dinner at The Dirty Duck pub. It's located vert close to the Courtyard Theater [where the RSC is holding their production]. I had the chicken breast smothered in goat cheese. REALLY REALLY GOOD. After dinner, we went to the grocery store to stock up on snacks and caffeinated drinks to help us stay up all night.
Once we got to the Courtyard theater, we talked to the ladies that were working at the box office to ask them what time they open, etc. We told them our plans and were either a). impressed, b). thought we insane or c). both. They also told us that the actors come out the stage door to sign autographs.
We got some brochures, flyers, etc. from the theater for the actors to sign. We got there pretty early before the show ended so were first in line. The first person to come out was PATRICK STEWART! He's a very sweet man. He signed autographs [couldn't get a picture with him because there was a lot of people who were in line for autographs as well] and went back in. Then, David Tennant came out [loud screams from girls] and he signed out stuff too!
DAVID TENNANT CONVERSATION:
me [i think it was me]: David, we came all the way from California to see you!
[someone else in our group, I can't remember who]: We're going to wait all night to get tickets for tomorrow.
David [in his Scottish accent]: Now why would you do that??
We also met another member of the cast, his name is David Ajala..he plays Raynaldo[he's also in The Dark Knight]. He's really cuuuuuuute! Really pretty eyes hahahaha. We told him about our plans of camping out to get tickets. He gave us a copy of the program, in which he signed "U GIRLS ROCK! I HOPE YOU GET YOUR TICKETS!"
While waiting outside the box offfice of the Courtyard Theater, we met 2 girls from London [who apparantly are big on youtube] and 2 girls from Ireland [I think...well one of them was Irish] and a guy, Tom, who was camping out like us. We all just hung out and talked until around 3 AM before the girls had to leave to catch their bus back to London.
Tom was very nice...he let Kathie and Mary borrow his clean socks to keep their feet warm, and he also let Kathie borrow his sweater hahaha. He's 23 and is getting his MASTERS IN CAMBRIDGE IN ENGINEERING and is writing his disertation on Bio-fuels. He's kinda cute too hahaha!
So, camping out without "camping" stuff is...an experience. It got really cold betwee 3-5 AM and I was in and out of sleep in those times. It was also kinda scary because the building lights were all off and the only lights we had were our cell phones and the street lights.
Bathroom = the woods.
Dont worry, we took toilet paper from the pub before we left and I had kleenex wipes with me.
People didn't really start showing up to the box office until 8:30, so we [Kathie, Jeany, Mary, Tom and I] were the first ones in line! Once the box office opened, the lines were split between the 10 16-25 year old stand-by tickets [5 pounds each] and the return tickets [that cost A WHOLE LOT MORE ...about 50-100 pounds].
After we got our tickets, the girls and I went back to the hotel and SLEPT!
After we woke up, we watched the original British versions of "Deal or No Deal" and "Don't Forget the Lyrics." They are soo much better than the American ones...the shows here had more heart.
Before the performance, we also met Canadian girls that were as excited as we were.
THE SHOW:
IT WAS AMAZING....FANTASTIC! David Tennant was a really great HAMLET! David and I made eye contact for 2 seconds! hahahahaha
I really really loved his performance! Especially the scenes where he was pretending to be crazy [or is Hamlet really crazy? hahahaha English essay question]...you can see the madness in his eyes...I loved how he used his entire body to capture your attention. I cried a little in the scene when they were burying Ophelia and he discovers that the dead person was Ophelia, and Hamlet's death scene.
and Patrick Stewart as Claudius and the ghost of Old Hamlet was astonishing! He was SO GOOOOD!!!
The entire cast was just FABULOUS! I can't even describe how freakin fantastic the show was! It just captures your attentions right from the beginning and does not let go! The most amazing Shakespeare experience of my life!!!!
IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH THE WAITING IN THE COLD AND LACK OF SLEEP!!!
Intermission:
During intermission, we met Tom and his friend, David. David kinda looks like John Lennon.
One of the Canadian girls, Jessica, found us and dragged us to show us where Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes sat.
So when we got back to our seats before the 2nd half started, we just stared at Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes. She sat further away from us. She's so pretty in real life! I wanted to approach her after the show, but we wanted to get our programs signed by the actors.
After the show:
Got our programs signed by Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, David Ajala and the actor who played Horatio.
We got drinks at The Dirty Duck with the Canadian girls,Tom and David. We saw the actress who played Gertrude and the actor who played Horatio at the pub.
BEST WEEK-END EVER.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wednesday afternoon ramblings
It's 1:35 PM and I pretty much just woke up. I'm catching up on all the sleep I've lost/and will lose in the following days.
I am very frustrated with WaMu right now. Everytime I play with something on my card here in the UK, there are double charges! Well, not really. The charge will show up as being paid for, and there is another pending charge for the same payment. It's really annoying.
Since I only have 3 1/2 more weeks in the UK, there are so much more that I want to do while I am here ( I wish I could stay longer, but my parents would kill me). I want to go see more museums in London. Maybe I should go to the TATE, although I don't really know who is in the TATE that I am interested in. KING'S CROSS DAMN IT! I want to take a picture with the statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington station. I'm also quite upset that the Paddington Bear I bought at the Tower of London costs more than the one I saw at a toy store in Brighton...and it's bigger! I think I shall get that one too. But my Paddington Bear has the wellies and the suit case! AHHH! I don't know. We'll see. I think I want to bring home Paddington Bear books too. And not for my little cousins, for me! I don't know if they'll appreciate Paddington Bear like I did.
I still want to go up the London Eye, go to Harrods [I won't buy anything because I can't afford it].
UK grading system is confusing. They grade 70 as an A. So, according to their grading system, I got a B- on my paper. That's good, since I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER on what I was writing.
I have no class today, but I think I shall be a good student and do all my work today.
I am very frustrated with WaMu right now. Everytime I play with something on my card here in the UK, there are double charges! Well, not really. The charge will show up as being paid for, and there is another pending charge for the same payment. It's really annoying.
Since I only have 3 1/2 more weeks in the UK, there are so much more that I want to do while I am here ( I wish I could stay longer, but my parents would kill me). I want to go see more museums in London. Maybe I should go to the TATE, although I don't really know who is in the TATE that I am interested in. KING'S CROSS DAMN IT! I want to take a picture with the statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington station. I'm also quite upset that the Paddington Bear I bought at the Tower of London costs more than the one I saw at a toy store in Brighton...and it's bigger! I think I shall get that one too. But my Paddington Bear has the wellies and the suit case! AHHH! I don't know. We'll see. I think I want to bring home Paddington Bear books too. And not for my little cousins, for me! I don't know if they'll appreciate Paddington Bear like I did.
I still want to go up the London Eye, go to Harrods [I won't buy anything because I can't afford it].
UK grading system is confusing. They grade 70 as an A. So, according to their grading system, I got a B- on my paper. That's good, since I have NO IDEA WHATSOEVER on what I was writing.
I have no class today, but I think I shall be a good student and do all my work today.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
shopping is bad...but feels sooo gooooood!
Primark jacket: 13 pounds
Primark sandals: 2 pounds
Primark flats: 4 pounds
MKOne mary janes: 7 poundsTotal damage: 27 pounds!
Not bad at all!
I loooooooove shoes. It's a problem. There's another pair of shoes that I want at MKOne [they're only 8 pounds]. They are black, closed-toe, 4 inch slingbacks. I think I shall get them next time...maybe before I got to Paris. Je regarderai très très à la mode à Paris.
I really like my new jacket because a) it's not black b) it's not a sweater c)it's not too thick so it wont be heavy when I have to carry it around when it's not cold d) it's thick enough to keep me warm e)it's cuuute!
Primark is bad. I'm spending money there. Buuuuuuut, it's sooooo cheap! And nice quality! It's a good place to buy basics.
I want to buy an outfit in Paris....I already know I'm going to feel like a fat cow in Paris...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 29
So tired. Session 1 is over. Let Session 2 begin.
I finished my paper [which was due on thursday at 4pm] at 2:30 am that day. Thank goodness I am done with that class because I don't know how I could handle any more philosophy. I AM DONE WITH PHILOSOPHY!
Friday:
Tiffanie and I went to Winchester. We missed our first train, but our tickets were open-ended so we just took the next train. Winchester is very nice. It's how I imagined smaller English cities to be...it felt like we stepped into a book. There were not very many tourists so Tiffanie and I were able to just walk around and explore. We went to Wolvesey Castle...it's not really a castle anymore...it's more like a castle ruin. The guide book says its a Norman castle ruin. That was really fun! No one was really there so Tiffanie and I were just running around the castle!
best part of the trip....
VISIT TO JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE!!!!!! We took the bus to Chawton, a village outside of Winchester, where Jane Austen lived her last years. She rewrote Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility here. She also wrote the last of her books here. It's not a very big house. She lived there with her mother, sister and her brother and his family. It reminds me of the Collins' house in Pride and Prejudice. I can imagine Mr. Collins working in the garden while Charlotte stays inside the drawing room. I bought 2 books: Tea with Jane Austen and Being Elizabeth Bennett Create Your Own Jane Austen Novel [it's like a create your own adventure books but involving all of Jane Austen's books]
Saturday:
Jeany, Carolyn, Ruhi, Margaret, Tiffanie, Emily, and I all went to Bath. LONGEST TRAIN RIDE EVER! ok...not really, but it did take about 3 hours. I slept most of the way...but there were girls behind us that were very loud at 9 AM. We went to see the Roman Baths. It was pretty cool. The water in the baths was green...kinda gross. I liked how the museum gave us giant cellphone looking things that was part of the audio tour so you could listen to a tour guide without having to crowd around a tour guide. Apparently, the hot springs have curative properties. In the 17th century it became fashionable to drink water from the springs. The Pump Room opened and drinking the spa water is now kinda like a thing to try when you go to the Roman Baths.
It was gross. It was pretty much drinking warm mineral water [and yes, the do filter the water].
We headed over to Sally Lunn's for Tea. It's the oldest house in Bath. Sally Lunn was a baker in Bath and made really good buns and bread. IT IS THE BEST BUN I HAVE EVER HAD! The bun is HUGE [it's as big as my face]. Anyway, I had the Jane Austen Cream Tea [Jane Austen lived in Bath for a while--she hated it, but her last 2 books involved being in Bath]. It was half a bun with raspberry jam and clotted cream and a pot of tea. The bun was so soft, and perfectly toasted...the jam was just right, not too sweet, not to tart.
Charles Dickens also visited Sally Lunn's.
Sunday:
We went to London. We went to the Covent Garden market. It sold a lot of crafts stuff. I thought it would be more like a market market--with fresh fruits and veggies, food, arts and crafts--that sort of thing.
We split up and Ruhi, Margaret, Jeany and I went to the Tower of London. That was really fun! The tower is just a tower. It used to be a town in the middle ages, which became a prison and fort. Narrow, stone, spiral steps in towers are great exercise! [and can make you feel very claustrophobic] We also got to see the torture devices they used on their prisoners--like manacles, the rack, scavenger's daughter and something used for quartering and drawing.
The Crown Jewels. I..yea...WOW.
We got to take a picture with one of the Queen's Guards...he was off duty and was just walking around when Ruhi asked if we can have a picture with him. He was kinda cute....hahaha
I need to do laundy. Very tired.
I finished my paper [which was due on thursday at 4pm] at 2:30 am that day. Thank goodness I am done with that class because I don't know how I could handle any more philosophy. I AM DONE WITH PHILOSOPHY!
Friday:
Tiffanie and I went to Winchester. We missed our first train, but our tickets were open-ended so we just took the next train. Winchester is very nice. It's how I imagined smaller English cities to be...it felt like we stepped into a book. There were not very many tourists so Tiffanie and I were able to just walk around and explore. We went to Wolvesey Castle...it's not really a castle anymore...it's more like a castle ruin. The guide book says its a Norman castle ruin. That was really fun! No one was really there so Tiffanie and I were just running around the castle!
best part of the trip....
VISIT TO JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE!!!!!! We took the bus to Chawton, a village outside of Winchester, where Jane Austen lived her last years. She rewrote Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility here. She also wrote the last of her books here. It's not a very big house. She lived there with her mother, sister and her brother and his family. It reminds me of the Collins' house in Pride and Prejudice. I can imagine Mr. Collins working in the garden while Charlotte stays inside the drawing room. I bought 2 books: Tea with Jane Austen and Being Elizabeth Bennett Create Your Own Jane Austen Novel [it's like a create your own adventure books but involving all of Jane Austen's books]
Saturday:
Jeany, Carolyn, Ruhi, Margaret, Tiffanie, Emily, and I all went to Bath. LONGEST TRAIN RIDE EVER! ok...not really, but it did take about 3 hours. I slept most of the way...but there were girls behind us that were very loud at 9 AM. We went to see the Roman Baths. It was pretty cool. The water in the baths was green...kinda gross. I liked how the museum gave us giant cellphone looking things that was part of the audio tour so you could listen to a tour guide without having to crowd around a tour guide. Apparently, the hot springs have curative properties. In the 17th century it became fashionable to drink water from the springs. The Pump Room opened and drinking the spa water is now kinda like a thing to try when you go to the Roman Baths.
It was gross. It was pretty much drinking warm mineral water [and yes, the do filter the water].
We headed over to Sally Lunn's for Tea. It's the oldest house in Bath. Sally Lunn was a baker in Bath and made really good buns and bread. IT IS THE BEST BUN I HAVE EVER HAD! The bun is HUGE [it's as big as my face]. Anyway, I had the Jane Austen Cream Tea [Jane Austen lived in Bath for a while--she hated it, but her last 2 books involved being in Bath]. It was half a bun with raspberry jam and clotted cream and a pot of tea. The bun was so soft, and perfectly toasted...the jam was just right, not too sweet, not to tart.
Charles Dickens also visited Sally Lunn's.
Sunday:
We went to London. We went to the Covent Garden market. It sold a lot of crafts stuff. I thought it would be more like a market market--with fresh fruits and veggies, food, arts and crafts--that sort of thing.
We split up and Ruhi, Margaret, Jeany and I went to the Tower of London. That was really fun! The tower is just a tower. It used to be a town in the middle ages, which became a prison and fort. Narrow, stone, spiral steps in towers are great exercise! [and can make you feel very claustrophobic] We also got to see the torture devices they used on their prisoners--like manacles, the rack, scavenger's daughter and something used for quartering and drawing.
The Crown Jewels. I..yea...WOW.
We got to take a picture with one of the Queen's Guards...he was off duty and was just walking around when Ruhi asked if we can have a picture with him. He was kinda cute....hahaha
I need to do laundy. Very tired.
Monday, July 14, 2008
adobo
Sainsbury's was having a sale on chicken. Buy one get one free for a pack of drumsticks and thighs [which only cost me 3 pounds]. I gave in! I wanted real food soooo badly! I bought some vinegar, soy sauce, onion and garlic and made the best adobo I have ever had! It hit the spot. :D
Greetings from England! Day ....uh..start of week 4
Week-end:
On Saturday, Jeany and I went to London via Coach. We have been craving Asian food really bad, so we decided to find Chinatown. It's not very big compared to the Chinatowns in major cities in the US. It's just like one block or something like that...food was pricey. If you changed the pound sterling sign to dollar signs, they'd still be pricey. Anyway, Jeany and I got dimsum [SOOO GOOD AFTER BEING DEPRIVED OF ASIAN FOOD FOR WEEKS]. ...felt like we were being judge [Jeany felt it more that I did]. We wandered around Chinatown in their grocery stores [I bought more instant pancit canton because it was only 20p]. We also bought some pastries that we ate in front of the British Museum.
British Museum is HUGE. [also free :D] It's overwhelming how much stuff they have! We were in there for at least 3 hours and I don't think we finished the entire museum! I think we saw most of it, but we didnt get to finish looking at the some of the exhibitions. They have several rooms and floors dedicated to their Egyptian collection. It was kinda creepy being in the same room as real dead people [even if they're mummified]. The terra cotta warriors went back to China :( But, GOOD LORD! Their majority of their Asian collection had something to do with BUDDHA! THERE ARE SO MANY BUDDHA STATUES!
So, while booking our coach tickets, I printed out the wrong page. When we got back to the coach station, the bus driver wouldn't let me on the coach because the page I printed did not have the ticket number [even if the other bus driver did]. So, I had to cross the street to the other terminal to use the internet to check my email. By the time I was able to check my email, the coach already left. I WAS STRANDED IN LONDON! Hahaha! No worries. It gets kinda funny.
So, apparently I didn't finishing booking my coach ticket because I didn't have the ticket number in my email or any form of email from the coach company. So, I got to go to London for free!
I just bought a one-way ticket back to Brighton at the station and I left an hour later.
Once I got back to Brighton, I barely missed the bus going back to the Universities, I wasn't that worried, there was another one coming in 15 minutes...THAT ONE NEVER CAME! So I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus. That was not fun. I was hungry and cold.
Yesterday, we went back to Primark. I bought 3 camis for 1 pound each and 2 more necklaces for 2.50 pounds each. They even gave me the hangers! We didn't know there was a parade going on so it was kind of hard navigating our way through the crowds.
We made it to Mock Turtle to have cream tea...I figured out the difference between Cream Tea and Afternoon Tea [ok wiki told me] ...both usually take place in the afternoon [between 3-5 pm]
Afternoon Tea: a pot of tea with milk and sugar, served with various sandwiches, scones and cakes
Cream Tea: a pot of tea with milk and sugar, served with scones [with clotted cream and jam]
I love tea time! I really want to learn how to make the Mock Turtle Scones and I want to bring home clotted cream [I'll milk a cow and learn how to make it myself if I have to!]
My final paper is due on Thursday. I have an outline, but I don't have a thesis. It's an opinion/philosophy paper on "must 'good' architecture be beautiful". UGH. I DON'T KNOW.
On Saturday, Jeany and I went to London via Coach. We have been craving Asian food really bad, so we decided to find Chinatown. It's not very big compared to the Chinatowns in major cities in the US. It's just like one block or something like that...food was pricey. If you changed the pound sterling sign to dollar signs, they'd still be pricey. Anyway, Jeany and I got dimsum [SOOO GOOD AFTER BEING DEPRIVED OF ASIAN FOOD FOR WEEKS]. ...felt like we were being judge [Jeany felt it more that I did]. We wandered around Chinatown in their grocery stores [I bought more instant pancit canton because it was only 20p]. We also bought some pastries that we ate in front of the British Museum.
British Museum is HUGE. [also free :D] It's overwhelming how much stuff they have! We were in there for at least 3 hours and I don't think we finished the entire museum! I think we saw most of it, but we didnt get to finish looking at the some of the exhibitions. They have several rooms and floors dedicated to their Egyptian collection. It was kinda creepy being in the same room as real dead people [even if they're mummified]. The terra cotta warriors went back to China :( But, GOOD LORD! Their majority of their Asian collection had something to do with BUDDHA! THERE ARE SO MANY BUDDHA STATUES!
So, while booking our coach tickets, I printed out the wrong page. When we got back to the coach station, the bus driver wouldn't let me on the coach because the page I printed did not have the ticket number [even if the other bus driver did]. So, I had to cross the street to the other terminal to use the internet to check my email. By the time I was able to check my email, the coach already left. I WAS STRANDED IN LONDON! Hahaha! No worries. It gets kinda funny.
So, apparently I didn't finishing booking my coach ticket because I didn't have the ticket number in my email or any form of email from the coach company. So, I got to go to London for free!
I just bought a one-way ticket back to Brighton at the station and I left an hour later.
Once I got back to Brighton, I barely missed the bus going back to the Universities, I wasn't that worried, there was another one coming in 15 minutes...THAT ONE NEVER CAME! So I had to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus. That was not fun. I was hungry and cold.
Yesterday, we went back to Primark. I bought 3 camis for 1 pound each and 2 more necklaces for 2.50 pounds each. They even gave me the hangers! We didn't know there was a parade going on so it was kind of hard navigating our way through the crowds.
We made it to Mock Turtle to have cream tea...I figured out the difference between Cream Tea and Afternoon Tea [ok wiki told me] ...both usually take place in the afternoon [between 3-5 pm]
Afternoon Tea: a pot of tea with milk and sugar, served with various sandwiches, scones and cakes
Cream Tea: a pot of tea with milk and sugar, served with scones [with clotted cream and jam]
I love tea time! I really want to learn how to make the Mock Turtle Scones and I want to bring home clotted cream [I'll milk a cow and learn how to make it myself if I have to!]
My final paper is due on Thursday. I have an outline, but I don't have a thesis. It's an opinion/philosophy paper on "must 'good' architecture be beautiful". UGH. I DON'T KNOW.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 19
So session 1 ends on Thursday and I really want to go on a long week-end and planning is really hard and it's stressful. Everything is becoming too pricey!!! DAMNNN IT! I think i talked myself into wanting to go to Edinburgh. DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. EDINBURGH CASTLE. Food?
Or go to Dublin. I really don't know what I would do in Ireland...hahaha. Those 2 places are the closest "far places" to go to...but DAMN IT! It's getting expensive....looking for a place to stay is hard...There's just so much I want to do, but can't.
We went to a tea room today called The Tea Cosy. It was an intense experience. You HAD TO FOLLOW ETIQUETTE or else be kicked out. The owners LOVE the Royal Family. The menu is based on the Royal Family. The decor of the place is covered with memorabilia of the Royal Family. We were pretty quiet for fear of being kicked out. The tea was good. Some of the biscuits[cookies] tastes weird. The scones already had clotted cream and jam on it, but it was still very good. I don't think we'll be going back to that place... http://www.theteacosy.co.uk/
Then we went shopping at this place called Primark. It's pretty much a favorite! The clothes are soooooooo cheap and really nice quality!
So here's the damage: 22 pounds for one pair of jeans, one top, 3 scarves, 2 leggings, one pack of tights [3 in one pack], 1 necklace, 1 pair of earrings.
I think I might come back with a new wardrobe from shopping here. Their basics are very cheap...it's like 1 pound! Target doesn't sell basics for that cheap!!!
I also bought The Fellowship of The Ring! It's part of my LOTR set!!! yay! I couldnt find this version in the States [and it cost too much online]. My LOTR set is now complete :D [my cousin lost FOTR in Germany].
Wednesday:
My class went to an abandoned cement factory for a field trip [topic of discussion for the next class was decay and ruins]. It was kinda creepy at first because we were in a big abandoned place next to the motorway! It was like the setting for a gruesome murder! But it was kinda interesting seeing the inside of cement factory. Parts below ground were filled with water...but it wasn't murky, the water was really clear. Apparently, it's not that abandoned! The building itself was abandoned, but there are still people working in the that site. Long story short, we got kicked out of a cement factory. And the guy made sure we got out by driving VERY SLOWLY BEHIND US AS WE WALKED TO THE EXIT. I think that is the highlight of my class.
Thursday:
I presented in class today. Not that fun. OH WELL. IT'S OVER.
It was our friend Tiffanie's birthday yesterday. We bought her a bake in a box cake from the store. It turned out really good. 4 girls, one chocolate cake...that cake was destroyed!
We went gay clubbing as a social event with the school. WHOOOT!!! We pretty much took over one bus. The place we went to was called Charles Street. It's a bar downstairs and the club is upstairs. They were having drinks specials that night. Pretty much majority of the drinks were no more that 1.50 pounds. It was .... WOW. We took a birthday shot for Tiffanie with Samuco [it tastes like licorice, and goes down VERY SMOOTHLY] and we also had shots to Tequila Rose, which pretty much tastes like a strawberry smoothie [that can be a good or bad thing].
The club played techno all night...eh, TECHNO DANCE PARTY!
Got my ass grabbed twice. First time I thought it was one of the lesbians that were behind us, it ended up being my friend [she admitted it at the end of the night while I was freaking out about it]. The second time I was telling this gay guy at the bar about the ass grab and he grabbed my ass too! He's cute...and slightly pissed [drunk]. He also told me that if he were a lesbian, he'd totally hit on me... a good thing? But all-in-all, it was a good night: music, dancing, friends, alcohol. hehehe
Or go to Dublin. I really don't know what I would do in Ireland...hahaha. Those 2 places are the closest "far places" to go to...but DAMN IT! It's getting expensive....looking for a place to stay is hard...There's just so much I want to do, but can't.
We went to a tea room today called The Tea Cosy. It was an intense experience. You HAD TO FOLLOW ETIQUETTE or else be kicked out. The owners LOVE the Royal Family. The menu is based on the Royal Family. The decor of the place is covered with memorabilia of the Royal Family. We were pretty quiet for fear of being kicked out. The tea was good. Some of the biscuits[cookies] tastes weird. The scones already had clotted cream and jam on it, but it was still very good. I don't think we'll be going back to that place... http://www.theteacosy.co.uk/
Then we went shopping at this place called Primark. It's pretty much a favorite! The clothes are soooooooo cheap and really nice quality!
So here's the damage: 22 pounds for one pair of jeans, one top, 3 scarves, 2 leggings, one pack of tights [3 in one pack], 1 necklace, 1 pair of earrings.I think I might come back with a new wardrobe from shopping here. Their basics are very cheap...it's like 1 pound! Target doesn't sell basics for that cheap!!!
I also bought The Fellowship of The Ring! It's part of my LOTR set!!! yay! I couldnt find this version in the States [and it cost too much online]. My LOTR set is now complete :D [my cousin lost FOTR in Germany].
Wednesday:
My class went to an abandoned cement factory for a field trip [topic of discussion for the next class was decay and ruins]. It was kinda creepy at first because we were in a big abandoned place next to the motorway! It was like the setting for a gruesome murder! But it was kinda interesting seeing the inside of cement factory. Parts below ground were filled with water...but it wasn't murky, the water was really clear. Apparently, it's not that abandoned! The building itself was abandoned, but there are still people working in the that site. Long story short, we got kicked out of a cement factory. And the guy made sure we got out by driving VERY SLOWLY BEHIND US AS WE WALKED TO THE EXIT. I think that is the highlight of my class.
Thursday:
I presented in class today. Not that fun. OH WELL. IT'S OVER.
It was our friend Tiffanie's birthday yesterday. We bought her a bake in a box cake from the store. It turned out really good. 4 girls, one chocolate cake...that cake was destroyed!
We went gay clubbing as a social event with the school. WHOOOT!!! We pretty much took over one bus. The place we went to was called Charles Street. It's a bar downstairs and the club is upstairs. They were having drinks specials that night. Pretty much majority of the drinks were no more that 1.50 pounds. It was .... WOW. We took a birthday shot for Tiffanie with Samuco [it tastes like licorice, and goes down VERY SMOOTHLY] and we also had shots to Tequila Rose, which pretty much tastes like a strawberry smoothie [that can be a good or bad thing].
The club played techno all night...eh, TECHNO DANCE PARTY!
Got my ass grabbed twice. First time I thought it was one of the lesbians that were behind us, it ended up being my friend [she admitted it at the end of the night while I was freaking out about it]. The second time I was telling this gay guy at the bar about the ass grab and he grabbed my ass too! He's cute...and slightly pissed [drunk]. He also told me that if he were a lesbian, he'd totally hit on me... a good thing? But all-in-all, it was a good night: music, dancing, friends, alcohol. hehehe
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
I miss my Mika
Bleh! yea...that's how she is :D
my sunglasses.
RAWR!
sad...this was after she was bit by a pit bull....
pensive.
This is from when we first brought her home
Coal Oil Point Beach, Santa Barbara 2007
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 17
I'm currently looking for a cheap hotel room in Paris. The cheaper ones are a further to the city center of Paris. That's ok, right? UGH. Whatever, it's giving me a headache.
GAH! RIP IN PANTS! DAMN IT!
Oxford and Cambridge:
I did my college week-end. I got myself a sweater and a decorative plate from each university. The 2 oldest universities in the English-speaking world [ I don't need to say how super prestigious these schools are]. 2 that I can never, ever get accepted to [I didn't even pass the criteria for EAP hahahaha]....even if I did get accepted, I don't think I can afford to go to these schools.
They're both kinda like the UC system...each college is independent of each other, but has a central governing system.
Architecturally speaking, they are very similar. One can definitely confuse one place to the next....
Anyway, I had a great time just being there. A lot of history happened in those collective 60+ colleges...
Oxford:
It took almost 3 hours to get to Oxford by train. First stop was Christ Church college. A lot of Hogwarts scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed here...I was very temped to scream SORTING HAT in the halls. We also saw the Dining Hall with portraits of famous [or historical] alumni of Christ Church...including John Locke, William Penn [the guy who founded Pennsylvania] and Charles Dodgson [Lewis Carroll]
Christ Church and Alice in Wonderland:
-Alice is based on a read person, Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean.
-The White Rabbit is based on Alice's father.
We also went to the Christ Church Cathedral...according to the pamphlet, it is one of the smallest Anglican cathedrals in England.
We also went to Alice's Store...it's the store where Alice Liddell used to buy her candy...it's now a store that sells all kinds of Alice in Wonderland/ Through the Looking Glass memorabilia. They also sell the candy that Alice used to buy...it didnt look good.
We walked outside and we ended up at Merton College where J.R.R. Tolkien taught.
DSHAKJSHKJFA!!! OMG TOLKIEN! yea....I had a freak out...I also saw one of the houses Tolkien lived at..it was on Merton Street...It was the last house he lived in before he died. Tolkien studied at Exeter College [it's too far from the main streets in Oxford] and he started teaching at Pembroke College...but he got offered a job at Merton and he stayed there. While grading a paper he wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit," the opening to The Hobbit.
We also saw Magdalen College where C.S. Lewis taught. He's buddies with Tolkein. We also stopped by the Oxford Botanical Garden where the fountain was the inspiration for where Lyra meets [I forgot who] in The Golden Compass.
There are many sites in Oxford that inspired literature. [Warning: the stuff I will be talking about will be Tolkien]
Exeter College: Tolkien invented Quenya, which is based on Finnish. He also wrote part of The Silmarillion here.
The Eagle and Child Pub: named after Zeus, as an eagle, kidnaps Ganymede. It's where The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia were first read aloud by the Inkling Society.
Le Eurobar used to be called The Welsh Pony: the inspiration for The Prancing Pony
Radcliffe Camera: the inspiration for Sauron's temple to Morgoth on Numenor.
HAD CHINESE FOOD! DUCK FRIED RICE AND HOME MADE NOODLES! We ate at a restaurant called Shanghai 30...the interior is very 1930s China...very Lust, Caution.
Cambridge:
Rainy day in Cambridge. The first thing we did was go Punting on the River Cam. The person who was punting looked like Peter Pan, except she is a girl...she's still in high school. Yea...she looks like Peter Pan.
It was a very relaxing ride...except when it started to rain...YAY FOR THE UMBRELLAS THAT CAME WITH THE PUNT!
Had waffles for lunch. I had one that was called Fitzwilliam [and yes, I only got it because Fitzwilliam is Mr. Darcy's first name]. The waffle is topped with lots of fresh fruit and whipped cream on the side. I also had another one called Trinity..it's pretty much like having really beefy spaghetti sauce on my waffle. Strange, but really good.
We had a walking tour of Cambridge by a very nice, old gentleman. We went inside King's College Chapel [which is more like a cathedral! it's sooo big!]. It took about 100 years to build. It was started by Henry VI and Henry VIII was the one who finished it. Inside the chapel, the initials of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn can be found on the organ. The stain-glass windows depict both old and new testament.
We also saw other colleges, such as Gonville and Caius [Stephen Hawking teaches there], St. John's [which they call Wedding Cake because it's so ornate], Queen's College, Corpus Christi and Trinity College [where Prince Charles went to college and where a certain Newton saw falling apples].
I satisfied my craving for ice cream! I got a double scoop from the ice cream man on Honeycomb Meringue and Raspberry swirl with a stick of flake [flakes of cadbury chocolate compressed into a stick].
Midsummer's Night Dream:
At 1 PM, I get a phone call from my friend, Karla, selling me her tickets to Midsummer's Night Dream at the Globe. Jeany bargained it down to 30 pounds....that was funny shit! Karla started screaming "fucking asian bargainers" on the phone! LOL
Anyway, I was really happy we got tickets because I really wanted to see Midsummer's Night Dream, but it's been sold out. The gods were smiling down upon me yesterday. The Globe theater is actually not as big as I imagined it to be. ...very open to the elements. Thank goodness we weren't groundlings because I didn't feel like watching the show in the rain! The guy who played Demetrius was "in disposed" and he did not have an understudy, so one of the guys who plays one of the fairies took his part. He was very good considering he only got that part that day. After intermission, he had the script with him on stage [but he didn't really read it...]
Had greek food for dinner...it was REALLY GOOD! It made me like egg-plant [in form of hummus]. Because of our lolly-gagging, we were the last people to get on the bus...it's OK coz we got pictures!
GAH! RIP IN PANTS! DAMN IT!
Oxford and Cambridge:
I did my college week-end. I got myself a sweater and a decorative plate from each university. The 2 oldest universities in the English-speaking world [ I don't need to say how super prestigious these schools are]. 2 that I can never, ever get accepted to [I didn't even pass the criteria for EAP hahahaha]....even if I did get accepted, I don't think I can afford to go to these schools.
They're both kinda like the UC system...each college is independent of each other, but has a central governing system.
Architecturally speaking, they are very similar. One can definitely confuse one place to the next....
Anyway, I had a great time just being there. A lot of history happened in those collective 60+ colleges...
Oxford:
It took almost 3 hours to get to Oxford by train. First stop was Christ Church college. A lot of Hogwarts scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed here...I was very temped to scream SORTING HAT in the halls. We also saw the Dining Hall with portraits of famous [or historical] alumni of Christ Church...including John Locke, William Penn [the guy who founded Pennsylvania] and Charles Dodgson [Lewis Carroll]
Christ Church and Alice in Wonderland:
-Alice is based on a read person, Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean.
-The White Rabbit is based on Alice's father.
We also went to the Christ Church Cathedral...according to the pamphlet, it is one of the smallest Anglican cathedrals in England.
We also went to Alice's Store...it's the store where Alice Liddell used to buy her candy...it's now a store that sells all kinds of Alice in Wonderland/ Through the Looking Glass memorabilia. They also sell the candy that Alice used to buy...it didnt look good.
We walked outside and we ended up at Merton College where J.R.R. Tolkien taught.
DSHAKJSHKJFA!!! OMG TOLKIEN! yea....I had a freak out...I also saw one of the houses Tolkien lived at..it was on Merton Street...It was the last house he lived in before he died. Tolkien studied at Exeter College [it's too far from the main streets in Oxford] and he started teaching at Pembroke College...but he got offered a job at Merton and he stayed there. While grading a paper he wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit," the opening to The Hobbit.
We also saw Magdalen College where C.S. Lewis taught. He's buddies with Tolkein. We also stopped by the Oxford Botanical Garden where the fountain was the inspiration for where Lyra meets [I forgot who] in The Golden Compass.
There are many sites in Oxford that inspired literature. [Warning: the stuff I will be talking about will be Tolkien]
Exeter College: Tolkien invented Quenya, which is based on Finnish. He also wrote part of The Silmarillion here.
The Eagle and Child Pub: named after Zeus, as an eagle, kidnaps Ganymede. It's where The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia were first read aloud by the Inkling Society.
Le Eurobar used to be called The Welsh Pony: the inspiration for The Prancing Pony
Radcliffe Camera: the inspiration for Sauron's temple to Morgoth on Numenor.
HAD CHINESE FOOD! DUCK FRIED RICE AND HOME MADE NOODLES! We ate at a restaurant called Shanghai 30...the interior is very 1930s China...very Lust, Caution.
Cambridge:
Rainy day in Cambridge. The first thing we did was go Punting on the River Cam. The person who was punting looked like Peter Pan, except she is a girl...she's still in high school. Yea...she looks like Peter Pan.
It was a very relaxing ride...except when it started to rain...YAY FOR THE UMBRELLAS THAT CAME WITH THE PUNT!
Had waffles for lunch. I had one that was called Fitzwilliam [and yes, I only got it because Fitzwilliam is Mr. Darcy's first name]. The waffle is topped with lots of fresh fruit and whipped cream on the side. I also had another one called Trinity..it's pretty much like having really beefy spaghetti sauce on my waffle. Strange, but really good.
We had a walking tour of Cambridge by a very nice, old gentleman. We went inside King's College Chapel [which is more like a cathedral! it's sooo big!]. It took about 100 years to build. It was started by Henry VI and Henry VIII was the one who finished it. Inside the chapel, the initials of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn can be found on the organ. The stain-glass windows depict both old and new testament.
We also saw other colleges, such as Gonville and Caius [Stephen Hawking teaches there], St. John's [which they call Wedding Cake because it's so ornate], Queen's College, Corpus Christi and Trinity College [where Prince Charles went to college and where a certain Newton saw falling apples].
I satisfied my craving for ice cream! I got a double scoop from the ice cream man on Honeycomb Meringue and Raspberry swirl with a stick of flake [flakes of cadbury chocolate compressed into a stick].
Midsummer's Night Dream:
At 1 PM, I get a phone call from my friend, Karla, selling me her tickets to Midsummer's Night Dream at the Globe. Jeany bargained it down to 30 pounds....that was funny shit! Karla started screaming "fucking asian bargainers" on the phone! LOL
Anyway, I was really happy we got tickets because I really wanted to see Midsummer's Night Dream, but it's been sold out. The gods were smiling down upon me yesterday. The Globe theater is actually not as big as I imagined it to be. ...very open to the elements. Thank goodness we weren't groundlings because I didn't feel like watching the show in the rain! The guy who played Demetrius was "in disposed" and he did not have an understudy, so one of the guys who plays one of the fairies took his part. He was very good considering he only got that part that day. After intermission, he had the script with him on stage [but he didn't really read it...]
Had greek food for dinner...it was REALLY GOOD! It made me like egg-plant [in form of hummus]. Because of our lolly-gagging, we were the last people to get on the bus...it's OK coz we got pictures!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
some random pictures
i actually walked next to cows on a hike...
my tutor
most amazing scones ever!
Bangers and Mash
me and Prince William?
outside All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club..the site of the Wimbledon Championships
To view the rest of my pictues, click on my pictures link. :D
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 10
Holy crap! It's day 10!?!?!?! It feels like we've been here longer than that....
Yesterday:
We had class under a tree. It was kind of nice because it was hot indoors. I started a new korean drama called "Marrying a Millionaire." Premise: Joe Millionaire-type tv show. Girl ends up on the show because her step-sister got her in. Girl also knows Boy is not really a millionaire...he was her first love...I've only seen the first episode. It's ok so far...
We went to the Brighton Pier in the late afternoon. FRESH DOUGHNUTS ARE SOOOO GOOOOD! KRISPY CREME GOT NOTHIN'!We bought three for 1.65 pounds [they didn't sell them individually]. They were warm, and soft....sooo goood! I also had a BELGIAN WAFFLE on a STICK with vanilla icing. I can't eat any other kind of waffle anymore...IT WAS FRESHLY MADE...WARM....SOFT...NO CRUNCHY EDGES....they icing was not too sweet...dare I say it--better than a funnel cake?
So, the pier is kinda like a boardwalk, except it's actually a wharf that goes into the ocean and the rides are actually over the ocean. There are gaps between boards they used for the floor, so if you look down, you can see the Atlantic Ocean! Tiffanie dropped 50p and it fell into the ocean. After that I clutched everything for dear life! RIDES ARE EXPENSIVE! it's like 1pound per token and the good rights are 4 tokens each...THAT'S 8 DOLLARS! THE MOST EXPENSIVE RIDE AT SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK is 4 DOLLARS! But I really wanted to try one of their rides, so Tiffanie and I rode this ride that looked like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, except on crack! It was really bumpy and there was one part that just kept dropping us and it kinda made me feel a little queazy. But...it was still kinda fun.
We ate at a Pub called Varsity. Women's bathroom sold assorted vibrators for 3 pounds...interesting.
I finally had an ENGLISH BREAKFAST! SO MUCH FOOD! Contains toast, hash browns, egg, grilled tomato, ham[or bacon], fried mushrooms, sausage and baked beans. The baked beans taste like the pork and beans beans. SAUSAGE IS SOOO GOOOD! According to wiki, it's either pork or beef [but it takes like chicken] with herbs and spices. Man...it was hard finishing that much food!
Later on, we went to Campus Karaoke at the East Slope Bar on campus. I still can't get over the fact that there is full bar on campus! hahaha
There were A LOT of people there and it got really hot inside. I finally had Pimms because I saw everyone drinking at Wimbledon but didn't want to spend more money hahaha....[makes me kind of sad because it's the staple drink at Wimbledon aside from Champagne]. IT'S REALLY GOOD! Pimm's is made of gin and a secret mix of spices [according to wiki]. The drink is made with one part pimms and 3 parts "lemonade" [tonic, or sprite] with orange, lime and lemon slices. It's soooooooooo gooooooood!!! Can't even taste the alcohol. They don't sell it at home because it's not found outside UK or the Commonwealth.
The karaoke they were using was MAGIC MIC! A part of me felt like I was at a Filipino party! I was looking through the song list and there were tagalog songs! LOL! Even the background was the Philippines! It didn't have the duet mic though...
Some people should not sing songs they do not know....there was a couple who sang the Diana Ross/Supremes version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and it was AWFUL! I mean, it was just bad. Only time I actually thought people were awful singing karaoke.
I sang "Wake Me Up [Before You Go Go]" by Wham. It's always a fun song to sing...especially with drunk people! hahaha. Ended up with the highest score of the night...97! whoooo! Jeany sang "Final Countdown".It was great coz everybody sang along too!
Today:
I woke up feeling like crap. I started hacking and coughing all morning! At least my throat isn't as swollen anymore.
My class had a field trip to the Chattri War Memorial for the Indian Soldiers who fought for the British during WWI and WWII. GOOD LORD! THAT WAS A TREK! From the bus stop at this village called Patcham, we walked 2.5 miles uphill...this normally wouldnt bother me as much, but we weren't walking on a trail ,but we weren't! WE WERE WALKING ON THE SLOPE OF THE HILL!!!IT WAS RAINING!!! COWS AND THEIR POOP!!! I WAS GETTING REALLY WARM IN MY SWEATER AND WANTED TO TAKE IT OFF! I just hope I don't get any sicker.
The war memorial is really nice. It's on top of the hill looking over Brighton and is surrounded by green. It's really peaceful up there. It's far away from the noise of the highway and the city. You can hear birds [and occasional shot gun firing from the firing range at the bottom of the hill]. The memorial site was where they cremated the bodies of Indian soldiers who died in the war hospitals in Brighton. The architecture is very Hindi and made of very nice imported marble from India. The trip down the hill was MUCH EASIER and the sun came out :D
I met up with Jeany, Margaret and Kathie in Brighton for some AFTERNOON TEA at the Mock Turtle. It's a really cute shop...the interior had a cottage-feel to it, with decorative plates all over the walls. Our tea was very very good [and hot]. Very good with milk. We loved how the milk mixed with the tea...it looks so cool! It mixed so smoothly. I loved watching how the white of the milk and dark brown of the tea mixed...it was like watching smoke swirl and disappear.
THE SCONES WERE DELICIOUS! I can never had scones at starbucks ever again! The top and the bottom were kinda hard but the middle was soooo flaky and soft. We had our scones with butter, whipped cream and strawberry jam. It was like the trifecta of pastry spreads! IT WAS HEAVEN! Their butter was very creamy and unsalted. The whipped cream was very light and fluffy. Their cream just tastes like cream. Not sweet at all. AND THE JAM! It was home-made!
<3 We each had one scone, and we finished the butter, whipped cream and jam! WE FELT LIKE FATTIES! SOO SOOO GOOOD!
I bought a bottle of Pimms for 10 pounds to take home. I think i'll share with my dad while we watch the US open together. TEEHEE.
Yesterday:
We had class under a tree. It was kind of nice because it was hot indoors. I started a new korean drama called "Marrying a Millionaire." Premise: Joe Millionaire-type tv show. Girl ends up on the show because her step-sister got her in. Girl also knows Boy is not really a millionaire...he was her first love...I've only seen the first episode. It's ok so far...
We went to the Brighton Pier in the late afternoon. FRESH DOUGHNUTS ARE SOOOO GOOOOD! KRISPY CREME GOT NOTHIN'!We bought three for 1.65 pounds [they didn't sell them individually]. They were warm, and soft....sooo goood! I also had a BELGIAN WAFFLE on a STICK with vanilla icing. I can't eat any other kind of waffle anymore...IT WAS FRESHLY MADE...WARM....SOFT...NO CRUNCHY EDGES....they icing was not too sweet...dare I say it--better than a funnel cake?
So, the pier is kinda like a boardwalk, except it's actually a wharf that goes into the ocean and the rides are actually over the ocean. There are gaps between boards they used for the floor, so if you look down, you can see the Atlantic Ocean! Tiffanie dropped 50p and it fell into the ocean. After that I clutched everything for dear life! RIDES ARE EXPENSIVE! it's like 1pound per token and the good rights are 4 tokens each...THAT'S 8 DOLLARS! THE MOST EXPENSIVE RIDE AT SANTA CRUZ BOARDWALK is 4 DOLLARS! But I really wanted to try one of their rides, so Tiffanie and I rode this ride that looked like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, except on crack! It was really bumpy and there was one part that just kept dropping us and it kinda made me feel a little queazy. But...it was still kinda fun.
We ate at a Pub called Varsity. Women's bathroom sold assorted vibrators for 3 pounds...interesting.
I finally had an ENGLISH BREAKFAST! SO MUCH FOOD! Contains toast, hash browns, egg, grilled tomato, ham[or bacon], fried mushrooms, sausage and baked beans. The baked beans taste like the pork and beans beans. SAUSAGE IS SOOO GOOOD! According to wiki, it's either pork or beef [but it takes like chicken] with herbs and spices. Man...it was hard finishing that much food!
Later on, we went to Campus Karaoke at the East Slope Bar on campus. I still can't get over the fact that there is full bar on campus! hahaha
There were A LOT of people there and it got really hot inside. I finally had Pimms because I saw everyone drinking at Wimbledon but didn't want to spend more money hahaha....[makes me kind of sad because it's the staple drink at Wimbledon aside from Champagne]. IT'S REALLY GOOD! Pimm's is made of gin and a secret mix of spices [according to wiki]. The drink is made with one part pimms and 3 parts "lemonade" [tonic, or sprite] with orange, lime and lemon slices. It's soooooooooo gooooooood!!! Can't even taste the alcohol. They don't sell it at home because it's not found outside UK or the Commonwealth.
The karaoke they were using was MAGIC MIC! A part of me felt like I was at a Filipino party! I was looking through the song list and there were tagalog songs! LOL! Even the background was the Philippines! It didn't have the duet mic though...
Some people should not sing songs they do not know....there was a couple who sang the Diana Ross/Supremes version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and it was AWFUL! I mean, it was just bad. Only time I actually thought people were awful singing karaoke.
I sang "Wake Me Up [Before You Go Go]" by Wham. It's always a fun song to sing...especially with drunk people! hahaha. Ended up with the highest score of the night...97! whoooo! Jeany sang "Final Countdown".It was great coz everybody sang along too!
Today:
I woke up feeling like crap. I started hacking and coughing all morning! At least my throat isn't as swollen anymore.
My class had a field trip to the Chattri War Memorial for the Indian Soldiers who fought for the British during WWI and WWII. GOOD LORD! THAT WAS A TREK! From the bus stop at this village called Patcham, we walked 2.5 miles uphill...this normally wouldnt bother me as much, but we weren't walking on a trail ,but we weren't! WE WERE WALKING ON THE SLOPE OF THE HILL!!!IT WAS RAINING!!! COWS AND THEIR POOP!!! I WAS GETTING REALLY WARM IN MY SWEATER AND WANTED TO TAKE IT OFF! I just hope I don't get any sicker.
The war memorial is really nice. It's on top of the hill looking over Brighton and is surrounded by green. It's really peaceful up there. It's far away from the noise of the highway and the city. You can hear birds [and occasional shot gun firing from the firing range at the bottom of the hill]. The memorial site was where they cremated the bodies of Indian soldiers who died in the war hospitals in Brighton. The architecture is very Hindi and made of very nice imported marble from India. The trip down the hill was MUCH EASIER and the sun came out :D
I met up with Jeany, Margaret and Kathie in Brighton for some AFTERNOON TEA at the Mock Turtle. It's a really cute shop...the interior had a cottage-feel to it, with decorative plates all over the walls. Our tea was very very good [and hot]. Very good with milk. We loved how the milk mixed with the tea...it looks so cool! It mixed so smoothly. I loved watching how the white of the milk and dark brown of the tea mixed...it was like watching smoke swirl and disappear.
THE SCONES WERE DELICIOUS! I can never had scones at starbucks ever again! The top and the bottom were kinda hard but the middle was soooo flaky and soft. We had our scones with butter, whipped cream and strawberry jam. It was like the trifecta of pastry spreads! IT WAS HEAVEN! Their butter was very creamy and unsalted. The whipped cream was very light and fluffy. Their cream just tastes like cream. Not sweet at all. AND THE JAM! It was home-made!
<3 We each had one scone, and we finished the butter, whipped cream and jam! WE FELT LIKE FATTIES! SOO SOOO GOOOD!
I bought a bottle of Pimms for 10 pounds to take home. I think i'll share with my dad while we watch the US open together. TEEHEE.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 8
I had one of the most amazing days in my life today.
WIMBLEDON!!!!
My friend Margaret and I went to London [Wimbledon Village] to watch The Championships at Wimbledon and it was AMAZING! This was the first time I actually freaked out in UK! hahaha
I was really really excited. It took forever to plan, and I thought things weren't going to follow through...BUT IT DIDNT! We planned on leaving by 7:00 but Margaret didnt wake up in time so we left at 8:30. It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the Wimbledon Station ...but it didnt seem that way. Once we got out of the station, we weren't exactly sure where to go, but luckily, we found the bus that was going to take us to the Wimbledon grounds. It took FOREVER to find the parking lot to join "the queue" for buying tickets that day...it was probably about 20 minute walk.
One of the "official stewards" told us that we'd be in line ALL DAY [and i started to freak out in my head...]. Thankfully it didn't take all day--it took 2 hours, which again didn't seem like 2 hours. The line was very organized and CLEAN. The staff had people line up and broke them up in different sections and they would move the line section by section. I learned a catching game while waiting in line:
you have a group of people and you throw a spherical object [those people were using a grapefruit]...if you drop it once, you get down on one knee...if you drop it twice, you drop down on both knees...if you drop it 3x, you sit on your knees...etc. it looked kinda fun.
Margaret and I only waited for 2 hours...then we got to the turnstiles and HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT IM IN WIMBLEDON! Grounds tickets cost 20 pounds and you can watch all the games except for Centre Court, Court 1 and 2 [which have reserved seating and cost more].
First thing we did was buy food[and we were craving hot dogs]....we got the closest thing: a "duchee"--it's sausage with onion marmalade on a baguette...it's not as weird as it sounds...it's actually pretty good. the marmalade tastes like denny's syrup...hahaha
we watched several tennis matches...Zheng vs. Szavay, Ancic vs. Verdasco, the beginning of Rederer vs. Hewitt, the beginning of Petrova vs. Kudyavetseva...I got to see Centre Court [evevn if it was just for a minute] and take a few pictures :D
A very nice lady gave me and Margaret her court 1 tickets, so we got to see Nadal vs. Youzhny and Safin vs. Wawrinka [but got really bored and left to watch the Murray vs. Gasquet match...Andy Murray lost].
Souvenirs were EXPENSIVE! I only bought 2 things because I was charging them to my credit card[which my dad is paying for so I dont use it]...I got my dad a wimbledon shirt and i got myself a shot glass. IT'S PRETTY. im not sharing. special occasions only[with expensive alcohol]. All-in-all, I still can't believe that I got to watch a day at Wimbledon. It feels like a dream...BUT IT'S NOT! happiness.
WIMBLEDON!!!!
My friend Margaret and I went to London [Wimbledon Village] to watch The Championships at Wimbledon and it was AMAZING! This was the first time I actually freaked out in UK! hahaha
I was really really excited. It took forever to plan, and I thought things weren't going to follow through...BUT IT DIDNT! We planned on leaving by 7:00 but Margaret didnt wake up in time so we left at 8:30. It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the Wimbledon Station ...but it didnt seem that way. Once we got out of the station, we weren't exactly sure where to go, but luckily, we found the bus that was going to take us to the Wimbledon grounds. It took FOREVER to find the parking lot to join "the queue" for buying tickets that day...it was probably about 20 minute walk.
One of the "official stewards" told us that we'd be in line ALL DAY [and i started to freak out in my head...]. Thankfully it didn't take all day--it took 2 hours, which again didn't seem like 2 hours. The line was very organized and CLEAN. The staff had people line up and broke them up in different sections and they would move the line section by section. I learned a catching game while waiting in line:
you have a group of people and you throw a spherical object [those people were using a grapefruit]...if you drop it once, you get down on one knee...if you drop it twice, you drop down on both knees...if you drop it 3x, you sit on your knees...etc. it looked kinda fun.
Margaret and I only waited for 2 hours...then we got to the turnstiles and HOLY FREAKIN' SHIT IM IN WIMBLEDON! Grounds tickets cost 20 pounds and you can watch all the games except for Centre Court, Court 1 and 2 [which have reserved seating and cost more].
First thing we did was buy food[and we were craving hot dogs]....we got the closest thing: a "duchee"--it's sausage with onion marmalade on a baguette...it's not as weird as it sounds...it's actually pretty good. the marmalade tastes like denny's syrup...hahaha
we watched several tennis matches...Zheng vs. Szavay, Ancic vs. Verdasco, the beginning of Rederer vs. Hewitt, the beginning of Petrova vs. Kudyavetseva...I got to see Centre Court [evevn if it was just for a minute] and take a few pictures :D
A very nice lady gave me and Margaret her court 1 tickets, so we got to see Nadal vs. Youzhny and Safin vs. Wawrinka [but got really bored and left to watch the Murray vs. Gasquet match...Andy Murray lost].
Souvenirs were EXPENSIVE! I only bought 2 things because I was charging them to my credit card[which my dad is paying for so I dont use it]...I got my dad a wimbledon shirt and i got myself a shot glass. IT'S PRETTY. im not sharing. special occasions only[with expensive alcohol]. All-in-all, I still can't believe that I got to watch a day at Wimbledon. It feels like a dream...BUT IT'S NOT! happiness.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 7
I am tired. I possibly have a cough/cold.
Groceries:
majority of British groceries are "all natural" or at least don't have preservatives and so you have to keep buying food. They don't buy in bulk like we do in America.
Metric system much, much smaller than imperial system. I'm almost done with one litre of orange juice that i bought last thursday.
I miss rice.
British coins:
the coins vary in color and size depending on the denomination. While that's all good and dandy, it can still be confusing sometimes. 10p is bigger than 20p. 5p and 20p are roughly the same size, except different shape [20p is septagonal]. 2pound coins are the same size as 2p coins...however, 2pound coins are silver in the middle and gold on the outside. 1pound coins feel like tokens.
Cell phone:
i love my phone because it's unlocked and i can use any sim card from any country, BUT DAMN IT! the sim card i bought from platform 3000[it's an american company that caters to students abroad] suuuucks ass! it's t-mobile UK...but i don't really get reception indoors or my room. I got service from my at&t sim card from the states, but that's HELLA EXPENSIVE. i didnt set my phone to international roaming. oh well, whatever.
Cravings:
i really want asian food! hahaha...i dont want to make it myself because i dont want to buy ingredients myself...i'm scared to try the asian take-out places here. this is want when i get back to the states...when i get back to california, we have to stop at pho house at san jose and get the meatest pho there is! [size small...]
Internet:
my internet here is much slower that it is at home. it's not dial-up...but it makes my facebook act weird and everything is just slower...make me a little sad.
Yesterday:
we went to LONDON!!!! AHHH!!! on the way to the bus, i tripped, hurt my ankle and broke my shoe[eh...it was 5 pounds...i'll live]. We did a walking of London starting from London Dungeon to the House of Parliament [about 7miles!]. I was very,very trigger happy in London. I just took lots of pictures of interesting things, mostly architecture. London has no exact architecture style...it's like a hodge-podge of different architecture styles: neo-gothic, tudor, victorian, modernist, industrial...
We saw lot's of major tourist spots [but not all! haha]: Buckingham Palace, Trafalger's Square, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament and Big Ben, and other stuff... hahaha
The river cruise was really relaxing. It was great to sit down and not walk everywhere. One of the staff[who was acting like a tour guide] had a cockney accent...i was kinda excited coz I havent heard it since I've been here. LOL NERD.
By the end of the day, everyone was really tired. We ended the river cruise at Greenwich...I had no idea it was near London at all...hahaha. I wanted to go see the meridian line...but that was not on the tour agenda. oh well...maybe one day.
Today:
have done NOTHING ALL DAY! well i did do my readings for class :D...then took a nap.
i absolutely want more meringue cookies[nest]! They are delicious! it's just egg whites and sugar! even though andy roddick isnt playing at wimbledon anymore...IM GOING TO WIMBLEDON TOMORROW!!!
Groceries:
majority of British groceries are "all natural" or at least don't have preservatives and so you have to keep buying food. They don't buy in bulk like we do in America.
Metric system much, much smaller than imperial system. I'm almost done with one litre of orange juice that i bought last thursday.
I miss rice.
British coins:
the coins vary in color and size depending on the denomination. While that's all good and dandy, it can still be confusing sometimes. 10p is bigger than 20p. 5p and 20p are roughly the same size, except different shape [20p is septagonal]. 2pound coins are the same size as 2p coins...however, 2pound coins are silver in the middle and gold on the outside. 1pound coins feel like tokens.
Cell phone:
i love my phone because it's unlocked and i can use any sim card from any country, BUT DAMN IT! the sim card i bought from platform 3000[it's an american company that caters to students abroad] suuuucks ass! it's t-mobile UK...but i don't really get reception indoors or my room. I got service from my at&t sim card from the states, but that's HELLA EXPENSIVE. i didnt set my phone to international roaming. oh well, whatever.
Cravings:
i really want asian food! hahaha...i dont want to make it myself because i dont want to buy ingredients myself...i'm scared to try the asian take-out places here. this is want when i get back to the states...when i get back to california, we have to stop at pho house at san jose and get the meatest pho there is! [size small...]
Internet:
my internet here is much slower that it is at home. it's not dial-up...but it makes my facebook act weird and everything is just slower...make me a little sad.
Yesterday:
we went to LONDON!!!! AHHH!!! on the way to the bus, i tripped, hurt my ankle and broke my shoe[eh...it was 5 pounds...i'll live]. We did a walking of London starting from London Dungeon to the House of Parliament [about 7miles!]. I was very,very trigger happy in London. I just took lots of pictures of interesting things, mostly architecture. London has no exact architecture style...it's like a hodge-podge of different architecture styles: neo-gothic, tudor, victorian, modernist, industrial...
We saw lot's of major tourist spots [but not all! haha]: Buckingham Palace, Trafalger's Square, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament and Big Ben, and other stuff... hahaha
The river cruise was really relaxing. It was great to sit down and not walk everywhere. One of the staff[who was acting like a tour guide] had a cockney accent...i was kinda excited coz I havent heard it since I've been here. LOL NERD.
By the end of the day, everyone was really tired. We ended the river cruise at Greenwich...I had no idea it was near London at all...hahaha. I wanted to go see the meridian line...but that was not on the tour agenda. oh well...maybe one day.
Today:
have done NOTHING ALL DAY! well i did do my readings for class :D...then took a nap.
i absolutely want more meringue cookies[nest]! They are delicious! it's just egg whites and sugar! even though andy roddick isnt playing at wimbledon anymore...IM GOING TO WIMBLEDON TOMORROW!!!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 5
Current Time: 6:49 PM
The weather today is what my mom would call "a typical English day". I woke up and it was sunny but windy, then when I got to class it was cloudy, then it cleared up, got cloudy and windy, and is not currently starting to clear up. At least it hasnt rained yet...
I'M TIRED.
Yesterday:
I woke up to the house cleaning ladies pounding at my door around 9 in the morning. I stayed in bed until 11. I had a class field trip to the Thistle Hotel in Brighton, near the marina. We talked about how a hotel lobby can be a "non-place", how we identify with a place and in turn, the place is identifying us. After class, i finally got my other adapter! YES! Walked around and had lunch with girls in my class.
On custard tart: it tasted good at the first few bites...but then it started to taste like fake sugar. It has a flaky crust...I think it would be better if it has a graham cracker crust. Also, it has the the same consistency as jello. yeah.
Jeany, Kathie and I missed the first group bus to the "Big, Bad Pub Crawl" but luckily we met up with friends who missed the bus as well and we all took the train together. It was kinda frustrating because the guy who knew which pub we were going to[his friend was in the first group...the one we missed and he was communicating with that person] didnt know where the pub was so we were just walking around in circles. But thankfully, we found our group with people we know. They said the 1st pub wasn't that great.
OH WELL. The second pub we went to was called The Globe. They gave me a business card that has discounts on drinks! WHOOOT! I got a Tanqueray and Splash [gin and tonic]. I think I like gin now. It doesnt hit you as hard a vodka, I guess. At any rate, it's really good. I learned that Strongbow is a cider beer! It's good. This pub has a very chill atmosphere. They have comfy couches downstairs with coffee tables. They also have boardgames and stuff. It was kinda dim so I was starting to fall asleep.
The next club we went to was really nice. I forgot what it was called [Water something...] It had a very sleek, modern look to it. Leather booths and low tables. There was also house music, so that was great. I went to the bar to got vodka and cranberry juice and turned around NO ONE WAS MY TABLE! I had a milli-second freakout until I found them at the next table with another group. They were really cool. The guy[Kyle] was kinda cute[I agree Jeany...he does look like the guy from Across the Universe]. A bunch of guys played a drinking race, where there were 2 lines of guys and the lined that finished their pints of beer first wins. That is some insane game! Those guys all chugged their beers! There were girls that played too, but they drank 1/2 pints. That is INSANE! I can't chug a beer...the bubbles would go to my head and I'd throw up.
We finally went to the club. We got in free because the school had a deal going on with that club or something. THAT CLUB IS HUGE! It had 2 floors, several lounge areas and 2 dance floors. The lounge areas were separate from the dance floor rooms[although the dance floor rooms do have lounge areas]. Each room was a different theme. The Ski Lodge [ASPEN] was reserved for ISS students only!We had a bouncer in front of that lounge room and everything! That room was very log-cabin-in-the-winter feel.Played alot of American rock music. There was the Boudoir [PARIS]. It's very Moulin Rouge type of room. Most comfortable sitting area EVER! Instead of booths, they had beds [with tables in the middle for drinks] with pillows. Elevator music. Very chill, relaxing. The Tiki Room was closed :(. Then there was the Monte Carlo Lounge [Monte Carlo]...very upscale casino/club type of feel. Very bling bling.
The 2 dance floors: I love Disco [New York in 1970s]. This room was how I imagined Studioi 54 to be..it's very Saturday Night Fever...complete with the disco ball and light up dance floor! Very very fun! I don't know if the other dance floor had a name, but the theme was kinda like a winter wonderland...everything in the room was either white, silver or crystal [except for the floors...they were black]. They played a lot of different music from hip-hop/rnb to techno and whatever's in between. They projected the music videos [or just videos] on the walls surround the dance floor. It was really fun until it got really crowded and people started getting pushy, grabby and then violent. Some guy w as trying to dance up on Jeany all night and I tried to stop him, but he was very persistent! We moved to a different spot and he found us again! Then there were a bunch of guys who were trying to mosh to Mr. Brightside and one guy was trying to start a fight. Thank goodness for those 2 older guys[who I pressume are gay because they were all up on each other] for protecting us! They made the creeper go away and got us off the dance floor without getting hurt! They had cheap drinks at the club! 2 pound drinks!! WHOOOT! I had this drink called VK Vodka Blue...if blue had a taste, it would taste like that drink! I also had a Malibu and OJ...it had a weird after taste because it was coconut Malibu...but it was still good nonetheless.
I have noticed in mixed drinks, they don't put too much alcohol, so you dont get messed up as quickly...yay for trained professionals!
At the end of the night, it was very sausage fest at the dance floor. There were lots of guys dancing together in groups. LOL. At the end of the night, I was tired and hungry, but had LOTS OF FUN! there will be a repeat.
Today:
I woke up early to do my readings for class that I thought was going to take awhile but didnt! After finishing my readings, I went back to sleep until 12! hahaha The fire alam went off because my flatmate burned the chicken she was making. Kathie freaked out! hahaha
Went to the grocery store ...took freakin' forever because there was traffic!
I need rice. I live on rice.DAMMNN ITT! I can't even make rice in the pot because it doesnt have a lid. I resorted to microwavable rice...eh. I'm just going to stay home and do my readings for next week so I don't have to worry about it.
Random note: today I hate 442 kJoules of cookies! hehehehe [it says it on the nutrition facts]
MERINGUE COOKIES ARE AMAZING.IMUSTHAVEMORE!
The weather today is what my mom would call "a typical English day". I woke up and it was sunny but windy, then when I got to class it was cloudy, then it cleared up, got cloudy and windy, and is not currently starting to clear up. At least it hasnt rained yet...
I'M TIRED.
Yesterday:
I woke up to the house cleaning ladies pounding at my door around 9 in the morning. I stayed in bed until 11. I had a class field trip to the Thistle Hotel in Brighton, near the marina. We talked about how a hotel lobby can be a "non-place", how we identify with a place and in turn, the place is identifying us. After class, i finally got my other adapter! YES! Walked around and had lunch with girls in my class.
On custard tart: it tasted good at the first few bites...but then it started to taste like fake sugar. It has a flaky crust...I think it would be better if it has a graham cracker crust. Also, it has the the same consistency as jello. yeah.
Jeany, Kathie and I missed the first group bus to the "Big, Bad Pub Crawl" but luckily we met up with friends who missed the bus as well and we all took the train together. It was kinda frustrating because the guy who knew which pub we were going to[his friend was in the first group...the one we missed and he was communicating with that person] didnt know where the pub was so we were just walking around in circles. But thankfully, we found our group with people we know. They said the 1st pub wasn't that great.
OH WELL. The second pub we went to was called The Globe. They gave me a business card that has discounts on drinks! WHOOOT! I got a Tanqueray and Splash [gin and tonic]. I think I like gin now. It doesnt hit you as hard a vodka, I guess. At any rate, it's really good. I learned that Strongbow is a cider beer! It's good. This pub has a very chill atmosphere. They have comfy couches downstairs with coffee tables. They also have boardgames and stuff. It was kinda dim so I was starting to fall asleep.
The next club we went to was really nice. I forgot what it was called [Water something...] It had a very sleek, modern look to it. Leather booths and low tables. There was also house music, so that was great. I went to the bar to got vodka and cranberry juice and turned around NO ONE WAS MY TABLE! I had a milli-second freakout until I found them at the next table with another group. They were really cool. The guy[Kyle] was kinda cute[I agree Jeany...he does look like the guy from Across the Universe]. A bunch of guys played a drinking race, where there were 2 lines of guys and the lined that finished their pints of beer first wins. That is some insane game! Those guys all chugged their beers! There were girls that played too, but they drank 1/2 pints. That is INSANE! I can't chug a beer...the bubbles would go to my head and I'd throw up.
We finally went to the club. We got in free because the school had a deal going on with that club or something. THAT CLUB IS HUGE! It had 2 floors, several lounge areas and 2 dance floors. The lounge areas were separate from the dance floor rooms[although the dance floor rooms do have lounge areas]. Each room was a different theme. The Ski Lodge [ASPEN] was reserved for ISS students only!We had a bouncer in front of that lounge room and everything! That room was very log-cabin-in-the-winter feel.Played alot of American rock music. There was the Boudoir [PARIS]. It's very Moulin Rouge type of room. Most comfortable sitting area EVER! Instead of booths, they had beds [with tables in the middle for drinks] with pillows. Elevator music. Very chill, relaxing. The Tiki Room was closed :(. Then there was the Monte Carlo Lounge [Monte Carlo]...very upscale casino/club type of feel. Very bling bling.
The 2 dance floors: I love Disco [New York in 1970s]. This room was how I imagined Studioi 54 to be..it's very Saturday Night Fever...complete with the disco ball and light up dance floor! Very very fun! I don't know if the other dance floor had a name, but the theme was kinda like a winter wonderland...everything in the room was either white, silver or crystal [except for the floors...they were black]. They played a lot of different music from hip-hop/rnb to techno and whatever's in between. They projected the music videos [or just videos] on the walls surround the dance floor. It was really fun until it got really crowded and people started getting pushy, grabby and then violent. Some guy w as trying to dance up on Jeany all night and I tried to stop him, but he was very persistent! We moved to a different spot and he found us again! Then there were a bunch of guys who were trying to mosh to Mr. Brightside and one guy was trying to start a fight. Thank goodness for those 2 older guys[who I pressume are gay because they were all up on each other] for protecting us! They made the creeper go away and got us off the dance floor without getting hurt! They had cheap drinks at the club! 2 pound drinks!! WHOOOT! I had this drink called VK Vodka Blue...if blue had a taste, it would taste like that drink! I also had a Malibu and OJ...it had a weird after taste because it was coconut Malibu...but it was still good nonetheless.
I have noticed in mixed drinks, they don't put too much alcohol, so you dont get messed up as quickly...yay for trained professionals!
At the end of the night, it was very sausage fest at the dance floor. There were lots of guys dancing together in groups. LOL. At the end of the night, I was tired and hungry, but had LOTS OF FUN! there will be a repeat.
Today:
I woke up early to do my readings for class that I thought was going to take awhile but didnt! After finishing my readings, I went back to sleep until 12! hahaha The fire alam went off because my flatmate burned the chicken she was making. Kathie freaked out! hahaha
Went to the grocery store ...took freakin' forever because there was traffic!
I need rice. I live on rice.DAMMNN ITT! I can't even make rice in the pot because it doesnt have a lid. I resorted to microwavable rice...eh. I'm just going to stay home and do my readings for next week so I don't have to worry about it.
Random note: today I hate 442 kJoules of cookies! hehehehe [it says it on the nutrition facts]
MERINGUE COOKIES ARE AMAZING.IMUSTHAVEMORE!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 2
technically today is day 3.
current time: 4:03 PM
Yesterday:
Orientation was like any other school orientation...welcome...have fun...ACADEMICS IS IMPORTANT...have fun...stay safe...useful info...IT stuff...have fun...welcome.
I also learned that many places [aside from the grocery store] give student discounts...all you have to do is ask.
After orientation, we went to the Student Union store to get dibs on merch because they don't get new stock of clothing until the next school year. YAY ME! i got a sweater! Also got ONE adaptor, I need 2 more for the external hard drive and my chargers. So, I've been hearing that US hair driers get messed up in the UK, so I havent even tried using it. Kathie, Jeany and I met up with other girls to go get ID cards. Freakin' A! T'was a journey up several sets of stairs, then a hill, then more stairs! It took a while, but it's ok...my ID is cute! hahahaha [again...pictures later]
speaking of cute...there were cute british boys getting their ID's too...well, actually, they were getting replacement IDs.
Got a pay-as-you-go SIM card. 10 bucks! not pounds, dollars! yay! it's T-mobile and it kinda sucks. I don't get reception in my room or in some places in campus. I'm kinda upset about that, but it's ok. Incoming calls are free and text messages aren't that bad...I'm going to text the way I do in the US. Anyway, having my crappy SIM card is better than using my SIM from home. Over here, I've been able to get roaming via Orange, O2-UK, and Vodafone-UK networks, but I bet that was hella expensive. It was just so that my parents could call me...but it's ok, now my parents can call me[and it would be free for me] and I can have it for emergencies and keeping in touch with people I made plans with.
We went on a walking tour of Brighton with the ISS staff. It was really nice. The weather was great. NO RAIN. nice breeze. We got to see, I guess, "Downtown Brighton" where the majority of restaurants, pubs, and shops were located. We saw the mall[H&M and Borders] at Churchill Square, and the stores and pubs in The Lanes[it's kinda like a maze of buildings and the alleyways get very narrow], and all the other pubs and stores in the area. We went to the Royal Pavilion. It is a former royal residence. It was built in the 1800s by George IV. It was his seaside retreat [apparently, the seawater in Brighton is good for the health]. It was also his getaway from the Royal Court in London and he was able to "visit" his mistress, Mrs. Fitzherbert. It's really pretty. The architecture style is so different from the rest of Brighton.
It's got an Indo-Chinese [not Indo-China] influence. The outside looks Indian, and the interior is Chinese and Indian. This called the "Regency Style."We also visited the Brighton seafront. The beach here is very different. It's not sandy, it's very pebbly--and not small pebbles that can fit in your shoe type of pebbles, but the kind you use to skip rocks with. We also saw the Brighton Pier [it's got a boardwalk thing going on, but it's very small]. There are actually 2 piers, but the other one is burned down and they can't take it out because it's a historical landmark.
After all that walking, my group was REALLY HUNGRY. So we followed the ISS staff because they said they were going to a pub to eat. Go to the pub it was 8:30. To our dismay, the pub stopped serving food at 8! WTF! The only other food places that were open to serve food were Italian restaurants, and fast food. We wanted to go to the Fish and Chips shop we passed but we forgot which way it was. We ended up at The Lanes and tried to find out way to the chip shop, but we found 2 restaurants that were still serving so we decided to check them out.
First restaurant served "home cooked British food" ...they didnt have very many in their selection and we were looking for something more familiar [less bangers and mash]. So we ended up at an Italian Restaurant called Donatello. It was a really nice and cheap restaurant. Their antipasti, pasta and pizza were very reasonably priced. They ranged from 3 to about 8 pounds. The pricier dishes were the seafood and meat dishes. I had a pizza Donatello. It had cheese, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, shrimp, italian sausage and anchioves. IT WAS THE BEST PIZZA EVER! I don't think I can look at another pizza the same way ever again. The crust was very thin and perfectly cooked. The toppings didnt fall off the pizza. OMG. IT WAS JUST AMAZING. Half of us got cocktails. A few girls got Pina Coladas. Their Pina Coladas are different...they're not slushy-like....its more of a Pina Colada on the rocks hahaha. Jeany got a Sex on the Beach. GOOD CHOICE! I got a Boozie Suzie...I've never heard of that drink before...could be a British thing? It had gin, appletiser(sparkling apple juice) and grenadine...really good. Tasted very light. hehe...very pink. I think Italians ran the place. Our server was Italian, by the way. Jeany thought he was cute but was not feeling the Italian accent. I thought the accent was cute. HAHAHA. Who would have thought that my first meal outside the campus would be at an Italian restaurant.
Today:
School started today. I didnt finish my reading [UH-OH!]....good thing about a philosophy class is that you can bull shit your way out :D hahaha. My teacher ?[he's a grad. student, but not a teaching assistant] is cute! hahahaha. ACCENT <3...in words that end ing -ing, be doesnt pronounce the "g"...he kinda reminds me of Colin Firth but he doesnt look like him. He's got curly hair and he's scruffy and dresses well...hehehehe.
After class, Kathie and I went to Brighton to go shopping. I got Maddie's present and I got something cute for Mary. We went to the mall so that Kathie can buy some clubbing clothes because she didnt bring any. We got to Brighton around 5 so we didnt get to explore many of the shops because a lot of them were closing. We found a 1 pound store and a 99p store. We finally had FISH AND CHIPS for dinner. It was really good...the fish was really fresh and it was HUGE [we ordered a medium]...their chips were kinda weird because the potato was not white on the inside like American fries, they were yellow on the inside too.
We went exploring after...just for a little bit. We went back to the pavilion to take nicer pictures. We also learned that the Brighton Museum is free [coming back for that one]. Then we went to Karaoke Night at Ye Ole King and Queen Pub at Brighton with ISS. That pub was how I imagined pubs to look like...historic looking [the pub is historic....something about it being an old farm house and royalty or something like that] and kinda dark...it sorta looked like the Green Dragon from Lord of the Rings [minus the hobbits]! Drinks: 2 for 6 pound cocktails...Kathie: Cosmo, Ann: Screaming Orgasm. Our RA sang SEX BOMB...funny shit! Kathie and I didnt stay that long....we were getting really tired so we caught the 11 PM train at the train station and went home.
I WANNA GO TO WIMBLEDON! I'LL GO BY MYSELF IF I HAVE TO!
current time: 4:03 PM
Yesterday:
Orientation was like any other school orientation...welcome...have fun...ACADEMICS IS IMPORTANT...have fun...stay safe...useful info...IT stuff...have fun...welcome.
I also learned that many places [aside from the grocery store] give student discounts...all you have to do is ask.
After orientation, we went to the Student Union store to get dibs on merch because they don't get new stock of clothing until the next school year. YAY ME! i got a sweater! Also got ONE adaptor, I need 2 more for the external hard drive and my chargers. So, I've been hearing that US hair driers get messed up in the UK, so I havent even tried using it. Kathie, Jeany and I met up with other girls to go get ID cards. Freakin' A! T'was a journey up several sets of stairs, then a hill, then more stairs! It took a while, but it's ok...my ID is cute! hahahaha [again...pictures later]
speaking of cute...there were cute british boys getting their ID's too...well, actually, they were getting replacement IDs.
Got a pay-as-you-go SIM card. 10 bucks! not pounds, dollars! yay! it's T-mobile and it kinda sucks. I don't get reception in my room or in some places in campus. I'm kinda upset about that, but it's ok. Incoming calls are free and text messages aren't that bad...I'm going to text the way I do in the US. Anyway, having my crappy SIM card is better than using my SIM from home. Over here, I've been able to get roaming via Orange, O2-UK, and Vodafone-UK networks, but I bet that was hella expensive. It was just so that my parents could call me...but it's ok, now my parents can call me[and it would be free for me] and I can have it for emergencies and keeping in touch with people I made plans with.
We went on a walking tour of Brighton with the ISS staff. It was really nice. The weather was great. NO RAIN. nice breeze. We got to see, I guess, "Downtown Brighton" where the majority of restaurants, pubs, and shops were located. We saw the mall[H&M and Borders] at Churchill Square, and the stores and pubs in The Lanes[it's kinda like a maze of buildings and the alleyways get very narrow], and all the other pubs and stores in the area. We went to the Royal Pavilion. It is a former royal residence. It was built in the 1800s by George IV. It was his seaside retreat [apparently, the seawater in Brighton is good for the health]. It was also his getaway from the Royal Court in London and he was able to "visit" his mistress, Mrs. Fitzherbert. It's really pretty. The architecture style is so different from the rest of Brighton.
It's got an Indo-Chinese [not Indo-China] influence. The outside looks Indian, and the interior is Chinese and Indian. This called the "Regency Style."We also visited the Brighton seafront. The beach here is very different. It's not sandy, it's very pebbly--and not small pebbles that can fit in your shoe type of pebbles, but the kind you use to skip rocks with. We also saw the Brighton Pier [it's got a boardwalk thing going on, but it's very small]. There are actually 2 piers, but the other one is burned down and they can't take it out because it's a historical landmark.
After all that walking, my group was REALLY HUNGRY. So we followed the ISS staff because they said they were going to a pub to eat. Go to the pub it was 8:30. To our dismay, the pub stopped serving food at 8! WTF! The only other food places that were open to serve food were Italian restaurants, and fast food. We wanted to go to the Fish and Chips shop we passed but we forgot which way it was. We ended up at The Lanes and tried to find out way to the chip shop, but we found 2 restaurants that were still serving so we decided to check them out.
First restaurant served "home cooked British food" ...they didnt have very many in their selection and we were looking for something more familiar [less bangers and mash]. So we ended up at an Italian Restaurant called Donatello. It was a really nice and cheap restaurant. Their antipasti, pasta and pizza were very reasonably priced. They ranged from 3 to about 8 pounds. The pricier dishes were the seafood and meat dishes. I had a pizza Donatello. It had cheese, mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, shrimp, italian sausage and anchioves. IT WAS THE BEST PIZZA EVER! I don't think I can look at another pizza the same way ever again. The crust was very thin and perfectly cooked. The toppings didnt fall off the pizza. OMG. IT WAS JUST AMAZING. Half of us got cocktails. A few girls got Pina Coladas. Their Pina Coladas are different...they're not slushy-like....its more of a Pina Colada on the rocks hahaha. Jeany got a Sex on the Beach. GOOD CHOICE! I got a Boozie Suzie...I've never heard of that drink before...could be a British thing? It had gin, appletiser(sparkling apple juice) and grenadine...really good. Tasted very light. hehe...very pink. I think Italians ran the place. Our server was Italian, by the way. Jeany thought he was cute but was not feeling the Italian accent. I thought the accent was cute. HAHAHA. Who would have thought that my first meal outside the campus would be at an Italian restaurant.
Today:
School started today. I didnt finish my reading [UH-OH!]....good thing about a philosophy class is that you can bull shit your way out :D hahaha. My teacher ?[he's a grad. student, but not a teaching assistant] is cute! hahahaha. ACCENT <3...in words that end ing -ing, be doesnt pronounce the "g"...he kinda reminds me of Colin Firth but he doesnt look like him. He's got curly hair and he's scruffy and dresses well...hehehehe.
After class, Kathie and I went to Brighton to go shopping. I got Maddie's present and I got something cute for Mary. We went to the mall so that Kathie can buy some clubbing clothes because she didnt bring any. We got to Brighton around 5 so we didnt get to explore many of the shops because a lot of them were closing. We found a 1 pound store and a 99p store. We finally had FISH AND CHIPS for dinner. It was really good...the fish was really fresh and it was HUGE [we ordered a medium]...their chips were kinda weird because the potato was not white on the inside like American fries, they were yellow on the inside too.
We went exploring after...just for a little bit. We went back to the pavilion to take nicer pictures. We also learned that the Brighton Museum is free [coming back for that one]. Then we went to Karaoke Night at Ye Ole King and Queen Pub at Brighton with ISS. That pub was how I imagined pubs to look like...historic looking [the pub is historic....something about it being an old farm house and royalty or something like that] and kinda dark...it sorta looked like the Green Dragon from Lord of the Rings [minus the hobbits]! Drinks: 2 for 6 pound cocktails...Kathie: Cosmo, Ann: Screaming Orgasm. Our RA sang SEX BOMB...funny shit! Kathie and I didnt stay that long....we were getting really tired so we caught the 11 PM train at the train station and went home.
I WANNA GO TO WIMBLEDON! I'LL GO BY MYSELF IF I HAVE TO!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Greetings from England! Day 1 cont.
It's 7:51 AM. I have orientation at 9 so I'll make this quick.
Trying to set up the internet took FOREVER! I had to configure my network card and it was kinda confusing. No wireless in the flats.
I got my welcome pack with the schedule of activities, campus and brighton maps and my class reader[class reader was FREE!]
We have our own kitchen//lounge area. It's really cute. The freezer hates us. It's very temperamental...sometimes the door will open, sometimes it won't.
There was a welcome party from 6-9 PM with lots of finger foods and drinks[alcoholic and non-alcoholic]. I tried 2 of the beers: Carlsberg and Carling Extra Cold. I liked Carling better because the taste was lighter than Carlsberg . The beer cans are way bigger than the beer cans in the US. I think volume-wise, the beer cans here have the same amount as a beer bottle in the US.
Finished unpacking, then figured out the internet, started reading for class and crashed.
Trying to set up the internet took FOREVER! I had to configure my network card and it was kinda confusing. No wireless in the flats.
I got my welcome pack with the schedule of activities, campus and brighton maps and my class reader[class reader was FREE!]
We have our own kitchen//lounge area. It's really cute. The freezer hates us. It's very temperamental...sometimes the door will open, sometimes it won't.
There was a welcome party from 6-9 PM with lots of finger foods and drinks[alcoholic and non-alcoholic]. I tried 2 of the beers: Carlsberg and Carling Extra Cold. I liked Carling better because the taste was lighter than Carlsberg . The beer cans are way bigger than the beer cans in the US. I think volume-wise, the beer cans here have the same amount as a beer bottle in the US.
Finished unpacking, then figured out the internet, started reading for class and crashed.
Greetings from England! Day 1
Current date and time: June 22, 2002 11:08 PM
After over 14 hours of flying, I'm finally in ENGLAND!
It didn't really hit me that I'm in the UK until I got out of the Gatwick Airport and onto the train going to Brighton. I wasn't that excited leaving the US because I was super tired from few days before I left.
I almost missed my flight from Newark to London because the wrong gate was printed on my boarding pass. Good thing I checked the screen!
I like Continental Airlines now. First of all, they fed us breakfast [not a snack] of egg and cheese bagels, fruit yogurt, and fruit on a DOMESTIC FLIGHT [SFO to Newark). They fed us dinner and breakfast going to London. Most importantly, they did not lose my luggage.
I got to London around 7 AM. No problems with immigration, that's a plus. I waited for Kathie and Jeany for about 1-2 hours because we were gonna go to school together. We made new friends from the airport since a lot of us were all going to the same place. We pretty much took over the trains going to Brighton with our giant amounts of luggage.
My "flat" is not exactly on campus...it's near the entrance, but it's right behind the train station and right in front of a bus stop. Jeany, Kathie and I ended up being flatmates! hahahah RANDOM! Our rooms are all right next to each other too. Our flat is on the ground floor [not 1st floor...that's the floor after ground]. We got lost trying to get out because all the hallways look alike hahaha.
The campus is nice...everything is built with brick from the 1960s. Lots of trees [and evil sea gulls!] It's way smaller than UCSB...the walk from my apartment to the end of campus is like 10 minutes.
On public transportation: the train going from Brighton to Falmer [the stop for the school] is really nice...there are tables in the train. The seats in the trains in general all face each other.
Brighton still uses the double decker buses. They are DANGEROUS! hahahah It's hard trying to get down the steps in a hurry because the steps are steep.
Lots of things happened today but I can't write them right now because I'm really tired and I have to wake up early for orientation.
Pictures to come!
After over 14 hours of flying, I'm finally in ENGLAND!
It didn't really hit me that I'm in the UK until I got out of the Gatwick Airport and onto the train going to Brighton. I wasn't that excited leaving the US because I was super tired from few days before I left.
I almost missed my flight from Newark to London because the wrong gate was printed on my boarding pass. Good thing I checked the screen!
I like Continental Airlines now. First of all, they fed us breakfast [not a snack] of egg and cheese bagels, fruit yogurt, and fruit on a DOMESTIC FLIGHT [SFO to Newark). They fed us dinner and breakfast going to London. Most importantly, they did not lose my luggage.
I got to London around 7 AM. No problems with immigration, that's a plus. I waited for Kathie and Jeany for about 1-2 hours because we were gonna go to school together. We made new friends from the airport since a lot of us were all going to the same place. We pretty much took over the trains going to Brighton with our giant amounts of luggage.
My "flat" is not exactly on campus...it's near the entrance, but it's right behind the train station and right in front of a bus stop. Jeany, Kathie and I ended up being flatmates! hahahah RANDOM! Our rooms are all right next to each other too. Our flat is on the ground floor [not 1st floor...that's the floor after ground]. We got lost trying to get out because all the hallways look alike hahaha.
The campus is nice...everything is built with brick from the 1960s. Lots of trees [and evil sea gulls!] It's way smaller than UCSB...the walk from my apartment to the end of campus is like 10 minutes.
On public transportation: the train going from Brighton to Falmer [the stop for the school] is really nice...there are tables in the train. The seats in the trains in general all face each other.
Brighton still uses the double decker buses. They are DANGEROUS! hahahah It's hard trying to get down the steps in a hurry because the steps are steep.
Lots of things happened today but I can't write them right now because I'm really tired and I have to wake up early for orientation.
Pictures to come!
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