Living room from the front door.
Living room from the Kitchen
My Kitchen
My Kitchen
My Bathroom
My Office
My Bedroom
Saturday, August 20, 2011
New Place
Living room from the front door.
Living room from the Kitchen
My Kitchen
My Kitchen
My Bathroom
My Office
My Bedroom
Friday, August 12, 2011
The End (but not really)
Sorry it's taken so long for me to write this last post, and of course because of that it'll be kind of long. :)
So my last few days at Cambridge were spent mostly studying, but it paid off. I've gotten 2 of 3 grades back and they are an A and a B+. Wednesday after our last final I went and packed up my room. The general goal was just to get everything in suitcases, which of course made my big suitcase quite heavy. :) That afternoon I met up with Jesse and we grabbed a few beers/ciders and a magazine and headed to the park to soak up the beautiful weather (75 and sunny). It was a great afternoon. That evening was the farewell dinner. It was pretty good actually. Both Czarnetsky (Ole Miss prof) and Hopkins (Cambridge prof) made speeches. All the professors and their families were there. It was a good time all around. After dinner we headed to the college bar for last night of frivolity, and many of the professors joined us which was fun. And when that closed we hit the town in Cambridge. It was a good way to end our stay there.
Thursday we had to be out of our rooms by noon, and a few of us caught the train to London together, and separated once we were there. While pulling my suitcase along the streets of London though I discovered that not only was my suit case broken, but one of the wheels was broken as well, which made it much more like dragging than pulling. Kevin was kind enough to pull my ridiculously heavy bag to the hostel for me. I stayed at Queen Mary, a University of London Campus in East London. It was really nice actually. That afternoon, Kevin and I went to the Great Britain Beer Festival. We had a lot of fun doing that. After dinner, Kevin headed to the airport where he was staying because he had an early flight in the morning.
Friday I got up and did quite a few things. I went to the Cabinet War Rooms where Churchill ran WWII from. It was amazing. It is pretty much exactly as it was left. It looks as though on the last day they left, and the next day, the museum people came and put glass up and it became a museum. After that, I walked down to Buckingham Palace because I was near there, and then back towards Big Ben. For lunch I went to one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. It wasn't one of his more famous ones. It is called York & Albany. It was still really good food though. After lunch I walked through Regent's Park because it was another gorgeous day. After that I went to M&M World, which is actually just a big M&M Store, but it's still pretty cool. That night I met some friends for dinner in Covent Garden.
Saturday I went to Dover for the day. I went and saw the white cliffs and the castle. It was also very interesting. It was very cloudy and started raining as I walked back to the train station later that afternoon, but other than that it was nice. I saw the underground tunnels used in WWII, a lot of old guns and tanks, and then of course the castle. I went in the castle and up to the top. I enjoyed it quite a bit. After that I headed back into London, and went to the Globe to get tickets for whatever show was playing that night. It ended up being a show called The Globe Mysteries. It was a play that took people through Bible from creation to Judgment Day. It was written in Old English, and a lot of the costumes were modern (it was kind of like watching Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio). It was really good though, and very well performed. There were some humorous parts in it, which made it that much more enjoyable to watch. I was just going to pay 5 pounds and stand, but the weather had said it was supposed to rain, and although it didn't look like rain, I didn't want to risk it. And it did rain while the show was performed.
On Sunday I got up and was supposed to meet some friends that afternoon to go to Camden Market, but we ended up not being able to, so I went shopping on Oxford Circus that afternoon. It rained a lot on Sunday, but luckily it only rained when I was in the shops looking around. :) I went to dinner at a pub that night (I figured it'd be my last time for a while), and after that headed back to my room so I could repack everything for tomorrow. I had to be out of my room by 7:30/7:45 that morning because they were going to begin refurbishing the room I was staying in. I was supposed to be in a different room on the 4th floor, but as there were no elevators and my suitcases were heavy and one was broken, I asked to be moved, and that was the condition of my moving, which was fine with me.
So on Monday I got up early, and put my luggage in storage and headed out for the day. I went to Windsor Castle that day. I figured I'd spend 2 hours there (tops) and be done; then I could get back into town and get out to my hotel with lots of time to relax. Yeah... about that... :) I ended up spending 4 hours there. I did the audio tour, as well as a guided tour (the guided tour was actually a private one because I was the only one who showed up for that time). I went into the State Apartments and those were gorgeous. Then I went up to the top of the Round Tower and got some great views of the area. After that I went and looked around St. George's Chapel before heading back to London. I ended up not getting back to the luggage storage until after 4.
I had decided that instead of taking my suitcase down 50 some odd stairs to the tube, I would take the bus to King's Cross and catch the tube out to Heathrow from there (there's elevators at that tube station). I figured out the bus I needed stopped right outside the Queen Mary, so it worked out perfectly. I did not anticipate a 1 hour bus ride, or having to stand in line for a half hour at King's Cross to get a tube ticket. So I finally got on the tube, got to Heathrow and took the shuttle from there to my hotel. I ended up not even getting to my room until after 8. I still had to repack everything and take a shower. I had to be up at 6 the next morning too, so I was trying to get to bed early (that didn't happen). So I finally climbed into bed sometime after 11.
Tuesday I got up early and headed to the airport. I was determined to get there 3 hours early because it's Heathrow and you never know what's going to happen. It's a good thing I did too, because I ended up at the wrong terminal. My first flight was supposedly with BMI (which is terminal 1), but I had to go check in with Continental (in terminal 4). And then of course I had to stand in line for an hour or so to check in and go through security. Once through I had about an hour and a half to kill, so I grabbed some breakfast. Got on the plane, and had a smooth trip to Newark. However, when I got to Newark, I found out my flight at 4:29 to Memphis had been cancelled (noooooooooo!!!!!!). So I had to go to the transfer desk and get a new flight so they put me on a flight to Chicago at 4, and then I was to catch a flight to Memphis from there. So I was like, well, at least I'll get home today. While in Newark I found out that one of my cousins was there on a layover waiting for his flight as well, in the same concourse even! Go figure. So we met up for a few. I ended up getting home about 2 hours later than planned, and by the time I went to bed I had been up for over 22 hours (go me).
So I'm moving back to Oxford on Monday, so this week is basically being spent running errands and getting everything done that I need to get done. Woo hoo. :)
So that's all from here. It was a great summer. I hope y'all enjoyed reading about it as much I enjoyed experiencing it. :) I'll update again sometime soon.
So my last few days at Cambridge were spent mostly studying, but it paid off. I've gotten 2 of 3 grades back and they are an A and a B+. Wednesday after our last final I went and packed up my room. The general goal was just to get everything in suitcases, which of course made my big suitcase quite heavy. :) That afternoon I met up with Jesse and we grabbed a few beers/ciders and a magazine and headed to the park to soak up the beautiful weather (75 and sunny). It was a great afternoon. That evening was the farewell dinner. It was pretty good actually. Both Czarnetsky (Ole Miss prof) and Hopkins (Cambridge prof) made speeches. All the professors and their families were there. It was a good time all around. After dinner we headed to the college bar for last night of frivolity, and many of the professors joined us which was fun. And when that closed we hit the town in Cambridge. It was a good way to end our stay there.
Thursday we had to be out of our rooms by noon, and a few of us caught the train to London together, and separated once we were there. While pulling my suitcase along the streets of London though I discovered that not only was my suit case broken, but one of the wheels was broken as well, which made it much more like dragging than pulling. Kevin was kind enough to pull my ridiculously heavy bag to the hostel for me. I stayed at Queen Mary, a University of London Campus in East London. It was really nice actually. That afternoon, Kevin and I went to the Great Britain Beer Festival. We had a lot of fun doing that. After dinner, Kevin headed to the airport where he was staying because he had an early flight in the morning.
Friday I got up and did quite a few things. I went to the Cabinet War Rooms where Churchill ran WWII from. It was amazing. It is pretty much exactly as it was left. It looks as though on the last day they left, and the next day, the museum people came and put glass up and it became a museum. After that, I walked down to Buckingham Palace because I was near there, and then back towards Big Ben. For lunch I went to one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. It wasn't one of his more famous ones. It is called York & Albany. It was still really good food though. After lunch I walked through Regent's Park because it was another gorgeous day. After that I went to M&M World, which is actually just a big M&M Store, but it's still pretty cool. That night I met some friends for dinner in Covent Garden.
Saturday I went to Dover for the day. I went and saw the white cliffs and the castle. It was also very interesting. It was very cloudy and started raining as I walked back to the train station later that afternoon, but other than that it was nice. I saw the underground tunnels used in WWII, a lot of old guns and tanks, and then of course the castle. I went in the castle and up to the top. I enjoyed it quite a bit. After that I headed back into London, and went to the Globe to get tickets for whatever show was playing that night. It ended up being a show called The Globe Mysteries. It was a play that took people through Bible from creation to Judgment Day. It was written in Old English, and a lot of the costumes were modern (it was kind of like watching Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio). It was really good though, and very well performed. There were some humorous parts in it, which made it that much more enjoyable to watch. I was just going to pay 5 pounds and stand, but the weather had said it was supposed to rain, and although it didn't look like rain, I didn't want to risk it. And it did rain while the show was performed.
On Sunday I got up and was supposed to meet some friends that afternoon to go to Camden Market, but we ended up not being able to, so I went shopping on Oxford Circus that afternoon. It rained a lot on Sunday, but luckily it only rained when I was in the shops looking around. :) I went to dinner at a pub that night (I figured it'd be my last time for a while), and after that headed back to my room so I could repack everything for tomorrow. I had to be out of my room by 7:30/7:45 that morning because they were going to begin refurbishing the room I was staying in. I was supposed to be in a different room on the 4th floor, but as there were no elevators and my suitcases were heavy and one was broken, I asked to be moved, and that was the condition of my moving, which was fine with me.
So on Monday I got up early, and put my luggage in storage and headed out for the day. I went to Windsor Castle that day. I figured I'd spend 2 hours there (tops) and be done; then I could get back into town and get out to my hotel with lots of time to relax. Yeah... about that... :) I ended up spending 4 hours there. I did the audio tour, as well as a guided tour (the guided tour was actually a private one because I was the only one who showed up for that time). I went into the State Apartments and those were gorgeous. Then I went up to the top of the Round Tower and got some great views of the area. After that I went and looked around St. George's Chapel before heading back to London. I ended up not getting back to the luggage storage until after 4.
I had decided that instead of taking my suitcase down 50 some odd stairs to the tube, I would take the bus to King's Cross and catch the tube out to Heathrow from there (there's elevators at that tube station). I figured out the bus I needed stopped right outside the Queen Mary, so it worked out perfectly. I did not anticipate a 1 hour bus ride, or having to stand in line for a half hour at King's Cross to get a tube ticket. So I finally got on the tube, got to Heathrow and took the shuttle from there to my hotel. I ended up not even getting to my room until after 8. I still had to repack everything and take a shower. I had to be up at 6 the next morning too, so I was trying to get to bed early (that didn't happen). So I finally climbed into bed sometime after 11.
Tuesday I got up early and headed to the airport. I was determined to get there 3 hours early because it's Heathrow and you never know what's going to happen. It's a good thing I did too, because I ended up at the wrong terminal. My first flight was supposedly with BMI (which is terminal 1), but I had to go check in with Continental (in terminal 4). And then of course I had to stand in line for an hour or so to check in and go through security. Once through I had about an hour and a half to kill, so I grabbed some breakfast. Got on the plane, and had a smooth trip to Newark. However, when I got to Newark, I found out my flight at 4:29 to Memphis had been cancelled (noooooooooo!!!!!!). So I had to go to the transfer desk and get a new flight so they put me on a flight to Chicago at 4, and then I was to catch a flight to Memphis from there. So I was like, well, at least I'll get home today. While in Newark I found out that one of my cousins was there on a layover waiting for his flight as well, in the same concourse even! Go figure. So we met up for a few. I ended up getting home about 2 hours later than planned, and by the time I went to bed I had been up for over 22 hours (go me).
So I'm moving back to Oxford on Monday, so this week is basically being spent running errands and getting everything done that I need to get done. Woo hoo. :)
So that's all from here. It was a great summer. I hope y'all enjoyed reading about it as much I enjoyed experiencing it. :) I'll update again sometime soon.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Last full week in Cambridge :(
So, my time here is rapidly coming to a close (I am not too happy about this). Everyone's trying to get in things they haven't had a chance to do. For me that includes punting in the Cam and maybe a Shakespeare Festival play. For others it means jumping into the Cam and streaking across Downing College's lawn. :) I am sad to see it end.
This week I had fewer classes each day, which is another sign that not only is it coming to an end, but now I have finals (or as a friend back in the States put it, an annoying period that puts a damper on our socializing and drinking). Monday I had 3 classes, Tuesday I had 2, Wednesday 1, and Thursday none. I did however, put that extra time to good use. I got all my notes organized (since two of my three exams are open note/open book) and got them printed off so I don't have to drag my laptop with me when I want to study.
Tuesday night I did a whiskey tasting. We had 10 different ones for 15 pounds. Not too bad. It was a lot of fun, but I still don't like whiskey (sorry dad). I'm sure the guys around me enjoyed the faces I was making, lol. However, I drank them all neat (no water for this chick) so I consider that an accomplishment on my end.
Wednesday night I went out with Jesse and we studied international law over a few pints. It was actually a really good study tactic because we were a little more relaxed. :)
Thursday it was absolutely gorgeous here. I mean, 72 degrees, the sun was shining! Definitely not a day you want to be stuck inside on. So Kevin, Jesse, and I went and got a picnic lunch (sandwich, crisps, and a drink for 3 pounds) and then headed to the river to go punting. We went on a guided tour instead of trying to figure it out for ourselves though. I think it was worth it. Then, since it was gorgeous, we went and hung out in one of the many many parks here in Cambridge for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun. I was supposed to do a wine tasting that night, but since I hadn't really studied, and had been out the previous two nights I went ahead and gave up my spot.
Friday the weather was back to cloudy and 65 (really cold for England this time of the year) so I did my studying at Starbucks for the afternoon. That night a bunch of us went out to a really nice meal at a restaurant around the corner. It was one of those 2 hour affairs. It was fun getting dressed up and going out though. I think everyone had fun. :) After dinner we all headed to the college bar and continued our fun evening there. It was a great evening all around.
Overall, it has been a good week. About half studying, half fun. I'll be sad to see it be done. I will say I'm looking forward to a few things when I get back to the States (and the heat is not one of them). Finals start on Monday. I have one each day M, T, W. The farewell dinner is on Wed night, and then it'll be off to London for a long weekend. I found out last night that there's a beer festival going on in London this week, Tuesday - Sunday, so I'm sure Kevin and I will make a stop there on Thursday before he heads to the airport to go home.
As for me, I plan to hit up a show or two, go to M&M World and the Churchill War Rooms. I'd also like to go to Camden Market, and maybe back to Greenwich. We'll see.
Anyways, that's all for now. I'll try and update sometime next week, but if I don't, I'll update when I get back to the States! Have a good week everyone!
This week I had fewer classes each day, which is another sign that not only is it coming to an end, but now I have finals (or as a friend back in the States put it, an annoying period that puts a damper on our socializing and drinking). Monday I had 3 classes, Tuesday I had 2, Wednesday 1, and Thursday none. I did however, put that extra time to good use. I got all my notes organized (since two of my three exams are open note/open book) and got them printed off so I don't have to drag my laptop with me when I want to study.
Tuesday night I did a whiskey tasting. We had 10 different ones for 15 pounds. Not too bad. It was a lot of fun, but I still don't like whiskey (sorry dad). I'm sure the guys around me enjoyed the faces I was making, lol. However, I drank them all neat (no water for this chick) so I consider that an accomplishment on my end.
Wednesday night I went out with Jesse and we studied international law over a few pints. It was actually a really good study tactic because we were a little more relaxed. :)
Thursday it was absolutely gorgeous here. I mean, 72 degrees, the sun was shining! Definitely not a day you want to be stuck inside on. So Kevin, Jesse, and I went and got a picnic lunch (sandwich, crisps, and a drink for 3 pounds) and then headed to the river to go punting. We went on a guided tour instead of trying to figure it out for ourselves though. I think it was worth it. Then, since it was gorgeous, we went and hung out in one of the many many parks here in Cambridge for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun. I was supposed to do a wine tasting that night, but since I hadn't really studied, and had been out the previous two nights I went ahead and gave up my spot.
Friday the weather was back to cloudy and 65 (really cold for England this time of the year) so I did my studying at Starbucks for the afternoon. That night a bunch of us went out to a really nice meal at a restaurant around the corner. It was one of those 2 hour affairs. It was fun getting dressed up and going out though. I think everyone had fun. :) After dinner we all headed to the college bar and continued our fun evening there. It was a great evening all around.
Overall, it has been a good week. About half studying, half fun. I'll be sad to see it be done. I will say I'm looking forward to a few things when I get back to the States (and the heat is not one of them). Finals start on Monday. I have one each day M, T, W. The farewell dinner is on Wed night, and then it'll be off to London for a long weekend. I found out last night that there's a beer festival going on in London this week, Tuesday - Sunday, so I'm sure Kevin and I will make a stop there on Thursday before he heads to the airport to go home.
As for me, I plan to hit up a show or two, go to M&M World and the Churchill War Rooms. I'd also like to go to Camden Market, and maybe back to Greenwich. We'll see.
Anyways, that's all for now. I'll try and update sometime next week, but if I don't, I'll update when I get back to the States! Have a good week everyone!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Awesome Birthday Weekend
So not much out of the ordinary happened last week. For the most part it was pretty low key: school, study, dinner, hang out, sleep, repeat. :)
On Wednesday night almost everyone went to the college bar, and after that, most of us headed off to a club to go dancing, but there was such confusion as to what we were doing and where we were going that a few of us left before anyone actually made up their mind (apparently everyone ended up at a foam party until about 2am, I'm kind of glad I left). When I got back I went by Kevin's room (he's not really into dancing in small spaces w/ lots of people, but then again, I don't know too many guys who are into that) because he had my key so he could go pick up his laundry while we went out. Since it was midnight he gave my birthday present. It is a silver necklace w/ a ruby pendant (my birth stone). It's beautiful, and I absolutely love it. :)
So obviously, Thursday was my birthday. I didn't really advertise it though b/c I didn't want it to be a big thing. I just wanted it to be pretty low key. Most people looked on facebook and saw, and it was nice to get so many "happy birthdays" on my wall and in class. :) Like I said, I wanted a pretty low key evening, so I just invited about 8 people out for dinner and drinks. The cider festival is going on at Wetherspoons around England, and so we ate there for the cider, cheap food, and cheap drinks. Plus it was curry night, and pretty much everyone I know beside me likes curry. Lol. We chilled there for about 2 hours and then headed to another local pub called The Free Press and had a few drinks there. Oh, but before we left Wetherspoons, my friend Jesse grabbed some of the balloons that were everywhere and tied them to my wrist. It made me smile. :) At The Free Press, it was again very chill, we just hung out talked, and a few drinks. We left about 10:30 because we all had to be up the next morning for a bus ride to London (another reason i didn't want it to be a crazy night). As we left, two of my 3 balloons were drained by my friends for their helium, and the third one I used as my "birthday candle" and I released it and made a wish. We'll see if it comes true.
So Friday, as I said, we all had to be up for a bus ride to London. We did something called "Legal London" and it was pretty awesome. So we loaded the bus and left about 9, getting into London by 11. We unloaded, and headed to Middle Temple. London has 4 Inns of Courts: Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. We saw 3 of them. I'm going to try and explain this as best I can, so bear with me. When you practice law in England, you either become a barrister or solicitor, and if you become a barrister, you have to join one of the Inns. You do this after you complete your undergrad (I believe) and before you do any more education. The Inn you join helps pay for your education, and you have to dues. As a student you're also required to attend 12 dinners within the year. Each Inn has their own dining halls, and a lot of barristers have their offices there, and it's literally just down the street from the Royal Courts of Justice. I'm sure I've left something out, but you get the gist.
So the first thing we did upon arriving at Middle Temple was to get a tour of Temple Church, and for any of you who have read the Da Vinici Code, this will be familiar, If you're not, check out this page for some back history: . It was a pretty cool church, and it is shared by Middle and Inner temple. The church was built by the Knights Templar too. In 1608, after many years of renting the land from the monarchy, King James I gave the land out right to the two temples forever in return for their loyalty. After a tour of the church, we got a tour of Middle Temple, and then attended a reception looking down into the dining hall (I had sherry for the first time at this reception. Not something I plan on drinking again). After the reception we were led down to the dining hall and served a 3 course meal (I had cold tomato and basil soup, trout w/ vegetables (although the trout looked like salmon), and strawberries and cream and coffee for dessert. It was all pretty good). I'm just going to say it, the ABA, needs to have something similar to these Inns of Court, b/c they're amazing. Even though the normal members didn't get served, it was still just an amazing room and an amazing opportunity. It would take entirely too long to explain everything about this system to you though, so I won't. :) After lunch we took a "Legal tour" of London. We saw two more Inns, the Royal Courts of Justice (we even got to peak into a few of the court rooms and see everyone in their robes and wigs), and then we went past a shop that actually makes the official robes and wigs for judges and barristers. Yes, judges and barristers still where the robes and wigs, although, now it's just in the Criminal courts, they have been done away with (mostly) in the Civil courts.
After that, we were free to go our own way, or get back on the bus and come back to Cambridge. I think only two or three people came back to Cambridge. Jesse, Kevin, and I had booked a hostel near King's Cross so we went there, checked in, and changed out of our suits. After that we went down to Saint Paul's, walked across Millennium Bridge, and then down along the Thames. For dinner we grabbed some of the stand food and some ice cream, and then we headed to the London Eye. We got Fast Track passes (which was totally worth the extra 10 pounds b/c the line was ridiculous even at 8pm) and basically got on in about 10 minutes as opposed to over an hour. After that we went to the other side of the Thames and went on a boat/bar. I had some pumpkin soup (which tastes nothing like any pumpkin I've had before, but I think that's b/c when I have pumpkin, it's been sweetened), and hung out there until about 11 and then headed back to the hostel. We ended up being split up into two rooms, I was not happy about this considering I had booked us all together, which kind of sucked, but we were only there for sleeping, so it wasn't too bad. Also, the hostel was in the middle of London, literally a block away from Kings Cross, so it was kind of noisy. Oh well. You pay for convenience sometimes.
Saturday we got up and had breakfast at the hostel (it was free, so why not), and then headed to Greenwich Park. Part of the park is going to be used for the Olympics, so they had a big chunk blocked off, but it was still very pretty. We went up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Prime Meridian, and looked in the free museums up there and then headed back into town. They're rebuilding the Cutty Sark (which was badly damaged by a fire a few years ago) and it should be open next year sometime. We went into an old sweet shop and got some chocolate. Then we went to Greenwich market. We ended up eating there because they had so many food stands, and it wasn't just fish and chips. They had crepes, Thai food, Mexican, Ethiopian, and specialty stands. I ended up with some red sausages in ciabatta bread w/ green leaves (it wasn't lettuce) and to drink I had some Horchata (which is kind of like rice milk, but w/ a hazelnut flavor). Kevin got Thai food, and Jesse got essentially a Philly Cheese Steak. After lunch we headed back into London and went to the Imperial War Museum. P.S. This museum used to be an Insane Asylum and the Victorian people (I'm pretty sure that's when this was) used to get dressed up and go there, peer into the cells of the insane people, and watch them in there; it was their entertainment. It is now a museum though, and a pretty interesting one at that. Although, there's not much in there from before WWI which seems kind of strange.
After the museum, we went back to the hostel, where we had left our bags, got changed for the theater that night, went to Kings Cross to store our bags for another few hours, and then headed to Piccadilly Circus. We grabbed dinner at a pub just off Haymarket St and then headed to Her Majesty's Theater to see The Phantom of the Opera. When I was looking for tickets about a week and a half ago, a lot of the shows for Saturday night had already sold out, or the three of us would not be sitting together. Both Jesse and Kevin wanted to see Phantom, and I loved it so much last summer, I had no qualms w/ seeing it again. We sat pretty much at the very back of the balcony, but it was still pretty cool. I know they both enjoyed it a lot. After the show, we had to hustle back to King's Cross, b/c the luggage storage place closed at 11, and the show ended at 10. We were leaving nothing to chance. So we were rude Americans and ducked out as the curtain went down before they all came to take their bows. We got to the store about 10:30, and after we grabbed our bags went to go get our train tickets back to Cambridge. We ended up catching the "Express" train, or rather, the one that doesn't make 50 stops, but goes via Cambridge. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. There was standing room only on that train. Luckily, we all got seats so we didn't have to stand for the 45 min ride back to Cambridge.
I had a blast this birthday. It could be one of my favorites that's for sure. Somehow, I don't think next year's will be quite as exciting, but it will be on a Saturday, so we'll see. :) I can't believe that my time here is almost up. My birthday has always signaled the end of summer, so it's a little bitter-sweet, but this time it also signals that it's time to go home. I've got two more full weeks here. This week is the last week of classes, and then next week is finals and the farewell dinner. We have to be out of our rooms by noon on the 4th of August, and most people are leaving on the 5th. :( I'll be around until the 9th in London. I've already got my hostel booked, and I've already made mental notes of things I'd like to do while I'm there (such as eating at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants). There will still be a few people around, so I'm going to top up my phone (it's a month by month phone) so I'll still be able to get a hold of people, and hang out with them some and do my own thing a little as well. I've stayed under budget very well this summer, so I'll have a little bit of wiggle room while I'm in London, so I might take a day trip or two, we'll see. Anyways. That's it from here. Hope you all are well.
On Wednesday night almost everyone went to the college bar, and after that, most of us headed off to a club to go dancing, but there was such confusion as to what we were doing and where we were going that a few of us left before anyone actually made up their mind (apparently everyone ended up at a foam party until about 2am, I'm kind of glad I left). When I got back I went by Kevin's room (he's not really into dancing in small spaces w/ lots of people, but then again, I don't know too many guys who are into that) because he had my key so he could go pick up his laundry while we went out. Since it was midnight he gave my birthday present. It is a silver necklace w/ a ruby pendant (my birth stone). It's beautiful, and I absolutely love it. :)
So obviously, Thursday was my birthday. I didn't really advertise it though b/c I didn't want it to be a big thing. I just wanted it to be pretty low key. Most people looked on facebook and saw, and it was nice to get so many "happy birthdays" on my wall and in class. :) Like I said, I wanted a pretty low key evening, so I just invited about 8 people out for dinner and drinks. The cider festival is going on at Wetherspoons around England, and so we ate there for the cider, cheap food, and cheap drinks. Plus it was curry night, and pretty much everyone I know beside me likes curry. Lol. We chilled there for about 2 hours and then headed to another local pub called The Free Press and had a few drinks there. Oh, but before we left Wetherspoons, my friend Jesse grabbed some of the balloons that were everywhere and tied them to my wrist. It made me smile. :) At The Free Press, it was again very chill, we just hung out talked, and a few drinks. We left about 10:30 because we all had to be up the next morning for a bus ride to London (another reason i didn't want it to be a crazy night). As we left, two of my 3 balloons were drained by my friends for their helium, and the third one I used as my "birthday candle" and I released it and made a wish. We'll see if it comes true.
So Friday, as I said, we all had to be up for a bus ride to London. We did something called "Legal London" and it was pretty awesome. So we loaded the bus and left about 9, getting into London by 11. We unloaded, and headed to Middle Temple. London has 4 Inns of Courts: Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. We saw 3 of them. I'm going to try and explain this as best I can, so bear with me. When you practice law in England, you either become a barrister or solicitor, and if you become a barrister, you have to join one of the Inns. You do this after you complete your undergrad (I believe) and before you do any more education. The Inn you join helps pay for your education, and you have to dues. As a student you're also required to attend 12 dinners within the year. Each Inn has their own dining halls, and a lot of barristers have their offices there, and it's literally just down the street from the Royal Courts of Justice. I'm sure I've left something out, but you get the gist.
So the first thing we did upon arriving at Middle Temple was to get a tour of Temple Church, and for any of you who have read the Da Vinici Code, this will be familiar, If you're not, check out this page for some back history: . It was a pretty cool church, and it is shared by Middle and Inner temple. The church was built by the Knights Templar too. In 1608, after many years of renting the land from the monarchy, King James I gave the land out right to the two temples forever in return for their loyalty. After a tour of the church, we got a tour of Middle Temple, and then attended a reception looking down into the dining hall (I had sherry for the first time at this reception. Not something I plan on drinking again). After the reception we were led down to the dining hall and served a 3 course meal (I had cold tomato and basil soup, trout w/ vegetables (although the trout looked like salmon), and strawberries and cream and coffee for dessert. It was all pretty good). I'm just going to say it, the ABA, needs to have something similar to these Inns of Court, b/c they're amazing. Even though the normal members didn't get served, it was still just an amazing room and an amazing opportunity. It would take entirely too long to explain everything about this system to you though, so I won't. :) After lunch we took a "Legal tour" of London. We saw two more Inns, the Royal Courts of Justice (we even got to peak into a few of the court rooms and see everyone in their robes and wigs), and then we went past a shop that actually makes the official robes and wigs for judges and barristers. Yes, judges and barristers still where the robes and wigs, although, now it's just in the Criminal courts, they have been done away with (mostly) in the Civil courts.
After that, we were free to go our own way, or get back on the bus and come back to Cambridge. I think only two or three people came back to Cambridge. Jesse, Kevin, and I had booked a hostel near King's Cross so we went there, checked in, and changed out of our suits. After that we went down to Saint Paul's, walked across Millennium Bridge, and then down along the Thames. For dinner we grabbed some of the stand food and some ice cream, and then we headed to the London Eye. We got Fast Track passes (which was totally worth the extra 10 pounds b/c the line was ridiculous even at 8pm) and basically got on in about 10 minutes as opposed to over an hour. After that we went to the other side of the Thames and went on a boat/bar. I had some pumpkin soup (which tastes nothing like any pumpkin I've had before, but I think that's b/c when I have pumpkin, it's been sweetened), and hung out there until about 11 and then headed back to the hostel. We ended up being split up into two rooms, I was not happy about this considering I had booked us all together, which kind of sucked, but we were only there for sleeping, so it wasn't too bad. Also, the hostel was in the middle of London, literally a block away from Kings Cross, so it was kind of noisy. Oh well. You pay for convenience sometimes.
Saturday we got up and had breakfast at the hostel (it was free, so why not), and then headed to Greenwich Park. Part of the park is going to be used for the Olympics, so they had a big chunk blocked off, but it was still very pretty. We went up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Prime Meridian, and looked in the free museums up there and then headed back into town. They're rebuilding the Cutty Sark (which was badly damaged by a fire a few years ago) and it should be open next year sometime. We went into an old sweet shop and got some chocolate. Then we went to Greenwich market. We ended up eating there because they had so many food stands, and it wasn't just fish and chips. They had crepes, Thai food, Mexican, Ethiopian, and specialty stands. I ended up with some red sausages in ciabatta bread w/ green leaves (it wasn't lettuce) and to drink I had some Horchata (which is kind of like rice milk, but w/ a hazelnut flavor). Kevin got Thai food, and Jesse got essentially a Philly Cheese Steak. After lunch we headed back into London and went to the Imperial War Museum. P.S. This museum used to be an Insane Asylum and the Victorian people (I'm pretty sure that's when this was) used to get dressed up and go there, peer into the cells of the insane people, and watch them in there; it was their entertainment. It is now a museum though, and a pretty interesting one at that. Although, there's not much in there from before WWI which seems kind of strange.
After the museum, we went back to the hostel, where we had left our bags, got changed for the theater that night, went to Kings Cross to store our bags for another few hours, and then headed to Piccadilly Circus. We grabbed dinner at a pub just off Haymarket St and then headed to Her Majesty's Theater to see The Phantom of the Opera. When I was looking for tickets about a week and a half ago, a lot of the shows for Saturday night had already sold out, or the three of us would not be sitting together. Both Jesse and Kevin wanted to see Phantom, and I loved it so much last summer, I had no qualms w/ seeing it again. We sat pretty much at the very back of the balcony, but it was still pretty cool. I know they both enjoyed it a lot. After the show, we had to hustle back to King's Cross, b/c the luggage storage place closed at 11, and the show ended at 10. We were leaving nothing to chance. So we were rude Americans and ducked out as the curtain went down before they all came to take their bows. We got to the store about 10:30, and after we grabbed our bags went to go get our train tickets back to Cambridge. We ended up catching the "Express" train, or rather, the one that doesn't make 50 stops, but goes via Cambridge. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. There was standing room only on that train. Luckily, we all got seats so we didn't have to stand for the 45 min ride back to Cambridge.
I had a blast this birthday. It could be one of my favorites that's for sure. Somehow, I don't think next year's will be quite as exciting, but it will be on a Saturday, so we'll see. :) I can't believe that my time here is almost up. My birthday has always signaled the end of summer, so it's a little bitter-sweet, but this time it also signals that it's time to go home. I've got two more full weeks here. This week is the last week of classes, and then next week is finals and the farewell dinner. We have to be out of our rooms by noon on the 4th of August, and most people are leaving on the 5th. :( I'll be around until the 9th in London. I've already got my hostel booked, and I've already made mental notes of things I'd like to do while I'm there (such as eating at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants). There will still be a few people around, so I'm going to top up my phone (it's a month by month phone) so I'll still be able to get a hold of people, and hang out with them some and do my own thing a little as well. I've stayed under budget very well this summer, so I'll have a little bit of wiggle room while I'm in London, so I might take a day trip or two, we'll see. Anyways. That's it from here. Hope you all are well.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Pics from Switzerland
Swiss country side
View from our room Friday night
Awesome lake
me and the Alps :)
The Alps
Another awesome lake
The Alps
Snowy Alps
Waterfall that turned into river
Lunch in Tirano, Italy
Alps from the Italian border
Lugano, Switzerland. This lake was beautiful.
Kevin and I by the lake
Across the lake at night
The boat that took us to Lucern
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Mountains, Water, and Vineyards oh my!
Again, I apologize for the long post, but I get so excited sharing these things w/ y’all. And I probably go into way too much detail, but oh well. Enjoy!
So Thursday we headed off to Gatwick, and got there and got on the plane, AND got to Zurich w/o any problems. It was amazing! When we got off the plane, Kevin’s friend Claudio was waiting for us. He took us to dinner at this fondue restaurant. Apparently the Swiss are really big into fondue. It was really good! Kevin and I split a 4 cheese, bacon, and plum brandy sauce fondue pot. We just dipped bread in it, but it was still really good. After that we headed back to Claudio’s place where we stayed the night. He has a really nice apartment.
Now, before I go any further, I want to say that Claudio is in a wheelchair and has deformed hands. So he has something called a Swiss-Track that attaches to the wheelchair and pulls him so he doesn’t have to push himself everywhere. For all of those who ever complained that the US isn’t very handicapped accessible and people are closed minded, you need to come to Switzerland. It’s ridiculous! I’m thankful that my big brother Sam was rehabilitated in the best place possible and hasn’t had too many difficulties getting around (I know he’s had some). On Friday we got up and headed to the train station to head to Claudio’s parents’ house and we had to change lines at one point. Well one guy was so mad that we made the train 2 minutes late he basically told Claudio that if he couldn’t handle the equipment then he needed to stop being so lazy and push himself. What the heck?!?!?! Who says that?!?!?! People are idiots! It is such a pain for him to get around almost anywhere as well. Only half the places we went were handicapped accessible. Switzerland needs to step it up! *steps of soapbox*
Anyways, so on Friday we headed to a small town in Switzerland nestled in the Alps where Claudio grew up and where his parents still live. We got there around 1 and headed to his house where his mom had made us a 3-course meal for lunch! I kid you not. We had homemade vegetable soup first, a traditional Swiss meal called canus (pronounced ka-noose) and salad, and then for dessert we had chocolate mousse. After that very filling lunch we headed off to a small town called Flims where they have a microbrewery. We started with a walk somewhat into/near the Alps. It was almost like we were walking right between them. We walked about an hour in and out to a platform where we got some breath-taking views (b/c the ones we saw on the way up weren’t enough). Afterwards, we went to the brewery and tasted the local brew. It was very good. After that, we came back and Claudio’s mom had cooked us this huge dinner. His dad grilled some meat too. So we had a vegetable medley, potatoes, rice, and about 3 types of meat. They kept giving us more food! And for dessert we had flan. It was amazing. So good! Then we turned in early because on Saturday we had to be up at 6 in order to catch a 7am train!
So Saturday we got up quite early, and Claudio’s mom was already up and had bread, cheese, ham, butter, jam, tea, and juice out for us to eat. Claudio’s dad had worked from 8pm to 4am, but he too was up and ready to take us to the train station. They were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I had so much fun there. So we caught the early train into Chur, and then from there boarded a panoramic train (the windows were literally from about 3 ft off the ground all the way up the side of the train and onto the roof) which took us through the Alps from the middle of Switzerland down to Tirano, Italy. It was a beautiful train ride. I have so many pictures it is ridiculous. We went to about 2,253 meters above sea level at one point. We had about an hour in Italy. So, of course, we ate pasta, pizza, and gelato!!! :-D
After lunch we boarded a bus from Tirano, Italy to Lagano, Switzerland. It was a nice bus ride, and this time, instead of mountains, we saw several vineyards. When we got to Lagano we went and checked into our hotel (which Claudio’s parents put us up in as a thanks to Kevin for all he did while Claudio was at Georgia). It was a beautiful hotel as well. Lagano is on a lake, and this hotel was literally, step out of it and there’s the lake. That night we went and had more pizza and pasta for dinner. Switzerland has 4 official languages: German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. So where Claudio’s parents are it’s the later, and in Lagano it was Italian (hence the Pasta and pizza for dinner). I think in the west it’s probably French, and pretty much everywhere else is German. I was happy that I got to break out my rusty Italian/Spanish. Also, things in Switzerland = SOOOOO EXPENSIVE!!!!! Anyways, after dinner we went for a walk along the water, and then headed back to the hotel for somewhat of an early evening since Sunday was going to be a long day.
So Sunday we got up and had a great continental breakfast: eggs, bacon (the real kind), sausage, fruit, croissants, bread, cheese, meet, cereal, juice, tea, coffee, etc… That was about 8am, and then we headed to the train station to wait for our train. So we took a train from Lagano to another Swiss town where we switched to a train with those same panoramic windows. We took that train to another Swiss town (I can’t pronounce let alone spell any of these places) where we caught a boat across a lake to Luzern. It was another beautiful ride. The water was so blue! We got lunch on the boat, and that was really good. The bad thing was it started raining when we left Lagano, and it didn’t stop until we were back in Zurich. So instead of walking around Luzern, we just grabbed the next train back to Zurich and went back to Claudio’s apartment where we chilled for about 3 hours before heading to the airport. We grabbed one last meal w/ him before we checked our bags and headed through security. By the way, I think I had the most expensive McDonald’s meal ever (12.50 chf)!
Surprisingly, everything went fairly smooth at the airport (minus the family in front of us that obviously could not read or follow directions!) and the flight was fairly smooth as well. We weren’t delayed at all! It’s amazing. We got in, got through customs (I will never understand why it takes the UK custom people 20 minutes to come to their stations and help the lines move quicker), got our bags, and got to the train station w/ 20 minutes to spare! It was awesome. We grabbed the train into London where we switched to King’s Cross and headed out to Cambridge. That’s where I am now as I write this. Mainly so I don’t have to tomorrow. :) I think we should get in around 1:30, which is the earliest we could have arrived given our schedule, but we’ll see. This train is making a lot of stops.
So Thursday we headed off to Gatwick, and got there and got on the plane, AND got to Zurich w/o any problems. It was amazing! When we got off the plane, Kevin’s friend Claudio was waiting for us. He took us to dinner at this fondue restaurant. Apparently the Swiss are really big into fondue. It was really good! Kevin and I split a 4 cheese, bacon, and plum brandy sauce fondue pot. We just dipped bread in it, but it was still really good. After that we headed back to Claudio’s place where we stayed the night. He has a really nice apartment.
Now, before I go any further, I want to say that Claudio is in a wheelchair and has deformed hands. So he has something called a Swiss-Track that attaches to the wheelchair and pulls him so he doesn’t have to push himself everywhere. For all of those who ever complained that the US isn’t very handicapped accessible and people are closed minded, you need to come to Switzerland. It’s ridiculous! I’m thankful that my big brother Sam was rehabilitated in the best place possible and hasn’t had too many difficulties getting around (I know he’s had some). On Friday we got up and headed to the train station to head to Claudio’s parents’ house and we had to change lines at one point. Well one guy was so mad that we made the train 2 minutes late he basically told Claudio that if he couldn’t handle the equipment then he needed to stop being so lazy and push himself. What the heck?!?!?! Who says that?!?!?! People are idiots! It is such a pain for him to get around almost anywhere as well. Only half the places we went were handicapped accessible. Switzerland needs to step it up! *steps of soapbox*
Anyways, so on Friday we headed to a small town in Switzerland nestled in the Alps where Claudio grew up and where his parents still live. We got there around 1 and headed to his house where his mom had made us a 3-course meal for lunch! I kid you not. We had homemade vegetable soup first, a traditional Swiss meal called canus (pronounced ka-noose) and salad, and then for dessert we had chocolate mousse. After that very filling lunch we headed off to a small town called Flims where they have a microbrewery. We started with a walk somewhat into/near the Alps. It was almost like we were walking right between them. We walked about an hour in and out to a platform where we got some breath-taking views (b/c the ones we saw on the way up weren’t enough). Afterwards, we went to the brewery and tasted the local brew. It was very good. After that, we came back and Claudio’s mom had cooked us this huge dinner. His dad grilled some meat too. So we had a vegetable medley, potatoes, rice, and about 3 types of meat. They kept giving us more food! And for dessert we had flan. It was amazing. So good! Then we turned in early because on Saturday we had to be up at 6 in order to catch a 7am train!
So Saturday we got up quite early, and Claudio’s mom was already up and had bread, cheese, ham, butter, jam, tea, and juice out for us to eat. Claudio’s dad had worked from 8pm to 4am, but he too was up and ready to take us to the train station. They were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I had so much fun there. So we caught the early train into Chur, and then from there boarded a panoramic train (the windows were literally from about 3 ft off the ground all the way up the side of the train and onto the roof) which took us through the Alps from the middle of Switzerland down to Tirano, Italy. It was a beautiful train ride. I have so many pictures it is ridiculous. We went to about 2,253 meters above sea level at one point. We had about an hour in Italy. So, of course, we ate pasta, pizza, and gelato!!! :-D
After lunch we boarded a bus from Tirano, Italy to Lagano, Switzerland. It was a nice bus ride, and this time, instead of mountains, we saw several vineyards. When we got to Lagano we went and checked into our hotel (which Claudio’s parents put us up in as a thanks to Kevin for all he did while Claudio was at Georgia). It was a beautiful hotel as well. Lagano is on a lake, and this hotel was literally, step out of it and there’s the lake. That night we went and had more pizza and pasta for dinner. Switzerland has 4 official languages: German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. So where Claudio’s parents are it’s the later, and in Lagano it was Italian (hence the Pasta and pizza for dinner). I think in the west it’s probably French, and pretty much everywhere else is German. I was happy that I got to break out my rusty Italian/Spanish. Also, things in Switzerland = SOOOOO EXPENSIVE!!!!! Anyways, after dinner we went for a walk along the water, and then headed back to the hotel for somewhat of an early evening since Sunday was going to be a long day.
So Sunday we got up and had a great continental breakfast: eggs, bacon (the real kind), sausage, fruit, croissants, bread, cheese, meet, cereal, juice, tea, coffee, etc… That was about 8am, and then we headed to the train station to wait for our train. So we took a train from Lagano to another Swiss town where we switched to a train with those same panoramic windows. We took that train to another Swiss town (I can’t pronounce let alone spell any of these places) where we caught a boat across a lake to Luzern. It was another beautiful ride. The water was so blue! We got lunch on the boat, and that was really good. The bad thing was it started raining when we left Lagano, and it didn’t stop until we were back in Zurich. So instead of walking around Luzern, we just grabbed the next train back to Zurich and went back to Claudio’s apartment where we chilled for about 3 hours before heading to the airport. We grabbed one last meal w/ him before we checked our bags and headed through security. By the way, I think I had the most expensive McDonald’s meal ever (12.50 chf)!
Surprisingly, everything went fairly smooth at the airport (minus the family in front of us that obviously could not read or follow directions!) and the flight was fairly smooth as well. We weren’t delayed at all! It’s amazing. We got in, got through customs (I will never understand why it takes the UK custom people 20 minutes to come to their stations and help the lines move quicker), got our bags, and got to the train station w/ 20 minutes to spare! It was awesome. We grabbed the train into London where we switched to King’s Cross and headed out to Cambridge. That’s where I am now as I write this. Mainly so I don’t have to tomorrow. :) I think we should get in around 1:30, which is the earliest we could have arrived given our schedule, but we’ll see. This train is making a lot of stops.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Quick week
I'm surprised this week went by so fast, but I'm somewhere b/t happy and sad about that.
I should start off w/ a note on my last post. Just so y'all know, Kevin was essentially our translator while we were in Germany. He did pretty good in all, although there was definitely some times when it was a little crazy. :)
So this week. Very quick, but very nice. Monday morning, I was up for class, and actually made it the whole day without a nap (go figure). We even had an auxiliary class that night for Comparative law. It was awesome. People showed up who weren't even in our class. Lol. Our teacher brought 8 bottles of wine for the 20 + people and we sat outside and had class. It was great. Tuesday was pretty bland. That night me and a couple of the girls went out to dinner though, and that was nice (I like girl time).
Yesterday, we found out that our middle class of the day (International Law) would be cancelled, and so one of the students went up to our Comparative law teacher and was like "we don't have int'l law tomorrow, and so you probably will be missing about half of us from class tomorrow, so you might want to cancel class." So he did. So today we only had one class, which would have been nice if we hadn't already booked our flight for 6pm tonight. Oh well. Yesterday night the college bar was open for the first time and so most of us went there for the evening. It was a great place to hang out. Very chill.
So today I went to class, packed, and am now waiting to go to the train station. Not much going on. :) We leave here about 6 and get into Zurich about 8 local time. We're meeting w/ Kevin's friend and heading back to his place. Tomorrow we're going the the friend's parent's house which is apparently in a beautiful part of the country. Then on Saturday we're taking a train through the Alps down to Lugano and staying the night there, and then Sunday we'll head back up. At some point on the train we'll go through Italy, but I'm not sure we'll be able to get off (I hope so though). Anyways, Sunday we leave at 9 local time and get back about 9:45 UK time. Hopefully we won't be delayed again, but either way, it'll be another late night for us. We'll be back sometime b/t 1:30am and 5:30am depending on the train/bus we end up catching. Should be interesting on Monday considering we're having 2 auxiliary classes for comparative law now (one already planned, and one to make up for today).
Have a good weekend everyone!
I should start off w/ a note on my last post. Just so y'all know, Kevin was essentially our translator while we were in Germany. He did pretty good in all, although there was definitely some times when it was a little crazy. :)
So this week. Very quick, but very nice. Monday morning, I was up for class, and actually made it the whole day without a nap (go figure). We even had an auxiliary class that night for Comparative law. It was awesome. People showed up who weren't even in our class. Lol. Our teacher brought 8 bottles of wine for the 20 + people and we sat outside and had class. It was great. Tuesday was pretty bland. That night me and a couple of the girls went out to dinner though, and that was nice (I like girl time).
Yesterday, we found out that our middle class of the day (International Law) would be cancelled, and so one of the students went up to our Comparative law teacher and was like "we don't have int'l law tomorrow, and so you probably will be missing about half of us from class tomorrow, so you might want to cancel class." So he did. So today we only had one class, which would have been nice if we hadn't already booked our flight for 6pm tonight. Oh well. Yesterday night the college bar was open for the first time and so most of us went there for the evening. It was a great place to hang out. Very chill.
So today I went to class, packed, and am now waiting to go to the train station. Not much going on. :) We leave here about 6 and get into Zurich about 8 local time. We're meeting w/ Kevin's friend and heading back to his place. Tomorrow we're going the the friend's parent's house which is apparently in a beautiful part of the country. Then on Saturday we're taking a train through the Alps down to Lugano and staying the night there, and then Sunday we'll head back up. At some point on the train we'll go through Italy, but I'm not sure we'll be able to get off (I hope so though). Anyways, Sunday we leave at 9 local time and get back about 9:45 UK time. Hopefully we won't be delayed again, but either way, it'll be another late night for us. We'll be back sometime b/t 1:30am and 5:30am depending on the train/bus we end up catching. Should be interesting on Monday considering we're having 2 auxiliary classes for comparative law now (one already planned, and one to make up for today).
Have a good weekend everyone!
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