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!

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.

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.

shopping is bad...but feels sooo gooooood!

Primark jacket: 13 pounds
Primark sandals: 2 pounds
Primark flats: 4 pounds
MKOne mary janes: 7 pounds
Total 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...

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.

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.

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

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 homeCoal Oil Point Beach, Santa Barbara 2007

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!

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

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.