Two Week Update

As I promised here is an epic update about my time with my Mom and Libby on their vacation to London.

Monday: My mom flew into london early in the morning while I was at my internship. Because I couldn't leave my TFF she had to get herself to the hotel all by herself. In all honesty I was a little nervous that she would get lost or that the airplane would have problems but, to my surprise she made it to the Grover Hotel (near the Paddington Station) in one piece. After my internship I hurried over to meet her in the lobby of the hotel. While she was waiting for me she struck up a friendship with the desk worker. Libby and I referrer to him as her "bff" because she didn't know his real name. Her "bff" let her into the room early and even gave her an upgrade because we were going to be staying so long. He also carried up her bag...up 59 flights of stairs (yes she counted) and while waiting for me she found out some interesting information about his sexual past...all I'm going to say is that it involved an animal....

I met her at the hotel and we proceeded to walk through Hyde Park to my flat and our dinner destination. That night we ate at Da Mario, a little italian restaurant down the street from my flat. The restaurant is know for the excellent bread and they serve a pizza at the weekends which is named after Princess Diana, who used to visit often with her children. My mom is very proud that she took her child where the Princess took her children.

Tuesday: I went to my internship by Libby flew in early and met my mom at the hotel at 9:15ish. After libby took a short nap, they went out to get an oyster card to allow them to travel on the underground. The funny thing about this was when I got back to the hotel she told me proudly that she got a "clam card" all by herself. Thus it turned into a joke for the rest of the trip. They visited around the city and for dinner we went to the Gloucester Arm's pub (also

near my flat) and all had fish and chips and strongbows. After a lovely meal we walked back to the hotel while I was anticipating sharing with them my love of

Big Brother. The t.v. was just starting when I decided that my phone needed to get charged because the battery was getting low. So, I plugged the charger in and we saw a white light and heard a pop...I blew a fuse we had no power for the rest of the night.

Wednesday: I went to my internship in the morning and met the ladies in the afternoon for some shopping and afternoon tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. Getting to tea proved more difficult that it should have been. We got stuck in a lift and libby had to push the emergency button and I had to talk to the underground workers, after 20 minutes we were all thrilled for fresh air (but not the 127+ stairs we had to climb up). That night I also formally introduced them to Big Brother, because the hotel got our power working again...they mocked my addiction.

Thursday: I had to go to class in the morning. For my British Life and Culture Class we had the opportunity to get a guided tour of Parliament. I was very impressed by the whole experience and the building in general. From the outside the building looks extensive and I guess I was a little taken back by how small it was from the inside. I know that we didn't get a tour of the entire building the differences were quite shocking to me. Anyways while I was in class my mom bravely entered the city (all by herself) to get us tickets to a show for the evening. After both of my classes I met the ladies at the V & A and then went to enjoy some cupcakes. We then proceeded to go to dinner at a small Italian place before going to see Oliver. It was an amazing performance and I was quite impressed with the entire performance from the singing, costumes and most of all the sets. It was by far the best choice my mom could have made for a show!

Friday: Started out early with a ride on the London Eye. It was an amazing experience and my mom and I were both amazed at the size of London. The ride gave me an entirely new perspective on the city and its sheer size. It didn't hit me until then how big and impressive it truly is. After our trip on the London Eye, Libby went to a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theater while my mom and I went to Fuller's Griffin Brewery and got a tour. We went though the brewery and learned the materials they use to make their various beers and the long process that they go through. the best part was at the end we got a tasting of some of their products. After our individual adventures Libby and I ventured out into the city to go on a "Blood and Tears" walk. The walk features Jack the Ripper and other london serial killers, grave-robbers, witches and whatnot. Overall it was really interesting and I learned a lot of random (and creepy) facts.

Saturday: We went to Portabello Road and did some shopping in the morning and then went our separate ways for lunch. Libby went to the park and read some Harry Potter while my mom and I went out to pizza. Overall it was an enjoyable afternoon with great weather, we couldn't have asked for anything more. That night was all about libby and we went to eat at her favorite restaurant (Aladin) at Brick Lane for Indian Food.

Sunday: We were suppose to go on a boat tour of the Tames but we were unable to because of boat technical difficulties. Instead we went and got some of the world's greatest cookies at Ben's Cookies before walking to Harrods. At 3:30 we attended a service at Westminster Abby. My blog previously stated a certain opinion about the church and I can say that after the service it was severely changed. We had another pub dinner sunday evening and of course watched more Big Brother, and at this point they were both addicted.

Monday: I had my internship in the morning while the ladies spent the day shopping. That evening I met Libby at Pizza Express before making our way over to see Phantom of the Opera. The show was a "graduation" present (for libby and a "pre-graduation" present for me) from my mom. Honestly she knew that it was something that I had always wanted to see but would have never spent the money to see it in London. We had quite an experience and it was a fabulous show, with only a few exceptions. While we were at the show my mom had a chat with her "bff" he wanted more info on libby and I and our availability because he was interested in obtaining a green card. Thanks to my mother her "bff" thinks that libby is her step daughter and I am "practically engaged"...for the rest of the trip libby and I then proceeded to seek out possible "green card" candidates.

Tuesday: While I was at my internship my mom and libby went to see the state rooms at Buckingham Palace. Now, my mom is hard to please when it comes to museums and whatnot so I was very surprise to hear how much she enjoyed the tour. I met the ladies for dinner and afterwards we walked through the park and I took them to get gelato at my favorite place. Before returning to our hotel for the night libby and I stopped at "The Swan" to have a drink.

Wednesday: This was the last official vacation day. Instead of going to my internship this morning, opting to go in on thursday instead, we went on our "boat tour" of the Thames. For the most part when you look on the river you see the tour cruises and that what I expected to be going on. WRONG. We were on a 12 person speedboat that went at the highest possible speeds. I doubted libby at first and overall really had a great time for it was a once in a life time experience. We had a quick lunch and then I was off to watch the Queen for class while they went to Tate Modern before meeting up for a steak dinner and a night of Big Brother watching.

Overall I had an amazing time with my ladies. it is safe to say that we all had many first experiences and enjoyed the weather, city, attractions and company of one another. With them safely back in WI (I just called my mom) I now officially have less than two weeks left. Boy does time fly.

GUEST BLOG ENTRY

I once again apologize for the lack of blogging but for the past week my mom and good friend libby have been on a "gay-cation" here with me in London. While I have been staying with them in a hotel, I have not had access to internet and thus could not add any entries. So, as soon as I return to my flat I will have a full update on the last week. Until then enjoy the thoughts of my guest bloger...

LIBBY’S FREAKING AWESOME GUEST BLOG ENTRY

So as an avid reader of this blog, when emily asked me to write a wee update on my visit, I obviouslyyyy said yes. This is my third visit to London, as I was lucky enough to study abroad here during my sophomore and junior years. However, this has been one of my best trips by far. London is an incredible city any time of the year, but during the summer it is truly exceptional. Seeing all the parks and gardens in full bloom is really amazing. Even though I have previously spent quite a bit of time in London I still had several “firsts” on this trip. I saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time (something I have always wanted to do), I got trapped in a lift (elevator) for the first time, saw Romeo and Juliet in the Globe theatre, saw Sweeny Todd’s pie shop and most importantly I finally, FINALLY started to understand the appeal of Big Brother. We have been spending a lot of time walking around the city, shopping, going up stairs, catching up, drinking strongbow and EATING. I have basically dragged emily and mrs. mohr on a tour of libby’s favorite London restaurants.

There has really only been one tiny little glitch, and that is what I affectionately call Snorefest 2009. We were all a bit surprised to realize that mrs. mohr snores like a bulldozer when she is really tired. Luckily Boots (my favorite pharmacy) sells cheap earplugs.

I am sure that em will give a full update of all the trouble we have been causing, pints we have been stealing and men we have become “practically engaged to” but I just wanted to tell everyone what a women of the world emily has turned into. She navigates the tube and the streets of London like a pro. I can’t believe how much she has accomplished and how much she has grown up living here. I am so proud of her for coming here and making her own way. I am also quite glad that she is here in my favorite city in the world so I can come visit and see her lovely face.

cheers!!!

love,

libby

p.s. THIS IS A MESSAGE FOR TUNA WOLB

ERG: T!!! just wanted to write you a little note to tell you that I have begun a little project that I like to call “where in the world is tuna’s jacket.” don’t even worry, it has not only accompanied me to Bloomington, but it also made the trip across the pond. it is really thriving here in London. it went on the London eye, went on a boat tour on the thames, and met several celebrities…

I suppose you can finally have it back once I get home. eventually.

p.p.s. HI SMAITSY! I LOVEEE YOU.

the streets of london

one of the may reasons I have learned to love london is because you can walk down the street and always find something fun or entertaining (or somethings that make you miss home)...

and yes those are ghostbusters....

A week in retrospect

It's been awhile sorry...

This past Sunday my roommate, her boyfriend and I went on a day sightseeing trip to  Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonhenge. We started at the castle and took a tour of the state rooms and the general estate. Unfortunately we went on a Sunday so we weren't allowed inside the church (which I think would have been amazing to see).

Between Windsor Castle and Bath we had a two hour bus ride. I was very fortunate that no one on the bus was sitting next to me so needlessly to say I fell asleep immediately and slept for about an hour. Upon arriving at Bath we took a walking tour of the city with our guide. We walked through the city and saw the house in which Jane Austin grew up and did her writing. We got to walk across the Pulteney Bridge and visited the Royal Crescent and its surrounding gardens. Lastly we visited the Roman Baths. The baths use the natural resource of a hot spring from the waters of the surrounding hills and in its prime it served as a spa attraction for the aristocrats. 

After another bus ride we made our way to Stonhenge. In short Stonehenge speaks for itself. While it was a long day it was truly epic and enjoyable. Overall it was nice to see different places of Europe and I think the best part of my day was just the drive through the country. It was such a nice day (weather wise) to get out of city and see some grassy fields and rolling landscapes. 

This week at my internship I had the opportunity to spend most of it out of the office, which was quite enjoyable. On Tuesday I traveled to the Jewish Cultural Center in Golders Green. In the morning I sat in on two different presentations one on general "street safety" and the other on generational changes.  In the afternoon 3ff hosted two programs one on how to deal with dialogue and the other on Beauty, Modesty and Image. I was lucky enough to be a speaker in the secession, overall it went really well and I learned a lot throughout the entire day. On Wednesday I attended a drama workshop at George Green School in Isle of Dogs. The presenters work for a non-profit organization which used drama, improve and comedy to deal with, talk about and resolve conflict. I was there mostly as a spy for 3ff but overall really enjoyed the day and watching the different interactions between the kids. 

I had class on Thursday and today (Friday) I spent a great deal of my day on busses. The weather for this weekend is just rain but I still wanted to go and explore the city and this was the best way to do it. I really enjoy riding on busses (especially double-decker ones) because it allows you to travel and still gives you the opportunity to people watch. Right now I'm watching Big Brother, I'm a little addicted. 

Since I have arrived in London I have received a shit ton of letters and cards from my father and my grandparents, in all honesty my mailbox is rarely empty (and for this I am so grateful). But today when I went to do my laundry I also picked up my mail and was quite surprised to find a letter from my good friends white and kocher from lu. Literally it made my day because I miss my lu ladies so much and while they have both now graduated (which breaks my heart) I am fully anticipating the visit of kocher (along with my MOM) to LONDON next week. Overall I am adjusting better than suspected and enjoying some alone time this weekend (with out my roommates) and looking forward to the next two weeks here.  

Mid trip-Mid week

Every Wednesday I only have a half a day at my internship, which is great because it gives me the opportunity to explore the city for the other half of the day. After a quick lunch I decided to make my way over to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery. The National Gallery displays one of the finest and most comprehensive collection of European paintings. Currently at the gallery is a display called Corot to Monet. This display was of mostly oil painting by 19th century men of natural landscapes of various areas throughout Europe and it was by far my favorite part of the gallery. Outside in Traflagar Square a lot of events were going on. Right outside of the gallery was on open area in

 which individuals could draw/write with chalk on the ground. Overa

ll, some of the things created were quite interesting. Many RIP's to MJ, so-in-so loves so-in-so for ever, flags, animals and inspirational quotes my favorite being pictured on this page! 

Additionally for 100 days londoners are having the opportunity to stand on the fourth plinth in the square. Traditionally the fourth plinth on the northwest corner of the square (which was built in 1841) has remained emptied (due to insufficient funds at the time 

it was built) but, now 2,400 people have the opportunity to change this. While I was in the square two people took the plinth both spending their hour quite differently and that's what I like most about this event. It allows all participants to spend their hour however they like. One individual spoke out against smoking, a stay-at-home mother spoke out, the director of the National gallery sketched london from the plinth and some are up their just to perform.

After a rainy bus ride back to my flat some of my roommates decided to go out shopping for a birthday outfit (we were going to celebrate a 21st birthday that night and of course they both wanted new outfits). So we ended up shopping for an hour and a half and i ended up getting nothing but a swollen knee. Being the clumsy that I am I ended up hitting a bench/end table 

and it absolutely killed my knee (and still had to walk home and hobble up a million flights of stairs...) and unfortunately did not even get to go out and celebrate.

Today (thursday) started out bright and early with another class field trip to Westminster Abbey. While I was extremely impressed by the church in its entirety, I guess I was a little disappointed overall. The Abbey is a working church with a daily

 cycle of prayer and worship but in my opinion the tombs and monuments made the building seem more like a museum than a holy place of worship. 

Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed learning about the history of London (through the changes in religion and rulers) I had different expectations for our visit than what actually occurred and hope that will the time I still have left here I can attend one of their services (and hopefully find a more religious feeling). One of the most impressive things about the building is its sheer size and its architectural design and with each new century something "new" is added to the building. In general, I had an amazing time at the Abbey and am so grateful to have gotten a private guided tour. The rest of the day did not live up to the morning with another FIE class to go to (it is truly the bane on my existence). Today for the first time did I step far out of my comfort zone and attended a book signing and Q&A hosted by the World Congress of Faiths. While I was the youngest person in the crowd, I really enjoyed what the authors had to say about their books and the inspirations behind them. The rest of the night was spent in the company of my roommates and some badly inspired british tv (which I hate to say it but I actually enjoy).

Day....

I have recently be informed that I have not been blogging enough. sorry. I would like to say that it because of some epic reason but that would just be a lie (and right now I don't think I could fabricate one).

Anyways these past few days have been filled with watching Wimbledon finals (men's and women's (singles and doubles)) and am very proud to be an American after watching the greats play their best. While we all knew that the W-sisters would go all the way...I can only say that the best play I saw on the court did not win (yes its Andy Roddick). In my opinion, he played with all of his heart and got robbed at the end but more important than his playing was his post playing speech. He was gracious and humble, which is so refreshing to see on T.V. I truly hope that one day he will join the greats and win Wimbledon (or any other grand slam).

My days here have been filled with rain, walking, walking in the rain (sorry no singing to report), my internship, Big Brother (the version here sucks compared to the American one(but it is hilarious)), gelato, reading and bus rides.

My internship yesterday was uneventful but today it went by very quickly. I've been working on researching Muslim girls Schools in and around London, so that the leader of the project can contact them to pitch the Faith and fashion project to them. Thus far she has been unsuccessful because many of the schools are out and aren't planing events for next year yet...not my problem. Then six of us (three interns and three 3ff staff members) went out to eat to celebrate one of the interns birthday. This may have been the best part of my time here. While it was nice to relax and just chill out, I continue to find that when people who are all invested in one subject come together, they can't stop talking about that subject. Over pizza I talked with the program director and the birthday boy about religious differences and what is happening to change them, cultural differences that we have/are facing (due to the fact that none of us are British) and the difference between the areas we have lived in and the education and religious backgrounds we have had. I honestly had a blast. After getting back to the office I was asked to call individuals working on a Muslim/Jewish group to find a meeting time to set up a "working group" while I have NO clue what that is, calling individuals was quite a task that I was unprepared for (but still managed to pull off). At the end of the day I was given an interesting task to work on. I was asked to go through the May 1st 2008 House of Lords Debate (on interfaith dialogue) and while I didn't get very far into it, it seems pretty interesting thus far. 

Made more brownies, making it a great end to the tonight.

Day Fifteen -Brownies

After a sluggish start to the morning, I decided to go and explore a new area of the city St. John's Wood. For the most part I had hoped to visit some religious sites and talk to various people to loved or worshiped there. I first went to the Christian church in the town which was named after the saint and got to have a peak inside the building but, was unable to find anyone to chat with. The church was decorated meekly compared to some of the other churches I have visited here but the gardens (and cemetery) were truly amazing. Moving on I walked towards the London Central Mosque but it was quite obvious before I even got there that I was going to be unable to go in at that time. The number of Muslims on the street had increased numerously coming to the mosque on foot, from taxis and the bus because it was the day of gathering (a Friday) when Muslims of the mosque come together to pray and hear a sermon. Due to my terrible timing, and security was being very particular to who was even on that block, their was no way that I could get anywhere close to the building (sad day). I next moved on to find the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, which is suppose to be a short walk away. To my surprise it was quite a hard building to find for,  it blended into the residential and business area that surrounded it. These religious building were all in a relatively close area (it was only a 10 min walk from the furthest buildings) also, when i was their it was unlike other areas that I went to as their seemed to be no religious affiliation of the particular town (for example, on tuesday when I went to the Catholic School it was quite evident that it didn't belong in the highly Jewish community) which was quite interesting. Also in the area were many restaurants, hotels and the Lord's Cricket Ground which was another interesting place to visit. 

I spent a good part of the afternoon watching Wimbledon mens single tennis (with an epic win by Andy Roddick) and I made some brownies. The brownie making was inspired by the picture here on my page (taken from my sophomore year when my girls lived in soundboard house (one night we decided to cook for dinner and had brownies for dessert and while some chocolate ended on my face the bekster decided it was a good idea to lick it off...)). Prior to leaving the states I went to walgreens and printed off various pictures of my friends and I and each day I change pictures and this was the one to come up today (thus why I made brownies). While as many of you know chocolate isn't one of my favorite things to eat, this small pan of warm delicious brownies just made my day!

Later that night some of us from the FIE program went to see Avenue Q (and coincidentally sat in row Q). This was my first time seeing the theater production and to be frank, I had an amazing time. The music was great and some of the scenes were just hilarious and it was the perfect end to the night.

Day Thirteen

Things I am learning to love while in London...

-Cooking

This is the first time that I have really had to fend for myself when it comes to making food. While downer never had the best meals available (and always had cold bread) they were always prepared for you. In the past during summers I either had the opportunity to eat at work, go out with the family or have food cooked by my parents. As most of you know I have never been a culinary chief (and will never claim to be) but during my time here I am certainly learning and trying new things.

-Stairs

I have no choice, I have to walk up six flights anyways so I may as well learn to love them.

-Gelato

While back at home I am very partial to raspberry shakes or strawberry sundaes I have found that the best alternative to them is going out for gelato. There is a cute little shop that sells a variety of flavors (which changes all the time) that is across the park from us. One of my roommates and I went on a stroll to get some...today I chose strawberry and vanilla (in a dish) so I could get both flavors in each scoop!

-Flats

I have an obsession with my Birkenstocks. But, it seems like that it isn't the appropriate footwear for skirts or dresses so I have begun to wear flats. While they do not give me the support that I usually enjoy, they are quite cute and did not take much room up in my suitcase. 

-Phone calls

Talking on the phone has never been one of my favorite forms of communications it is the only thing that is keeping me close to my friends and family. While I love getting to work and having a full email box, what I have begun to enjoy more is the fact that I get to come home after "work" and talk to my mom or my toppers lover or my palindrome (happy 21st to hannah). 

-Blogging

Imagine that.