Today we had a pizza party with the study abroad group and Belle, our professor/director, wrote a letter to us all about how she would describe her experience with us. (Beautiful)
It's sad to be leaving everyone, but I have made some great friends that I will keep in touch with and I still have two more weeks to look forward to.
A few of us went out to a pub tonight and talked a bit about our experiences on the trip and ironically, it was 3 girls I haven't hung out with the entire trip.. but I will definitely keep in touch with them when I go home.
I also finished a ten page paper (that ended up being 12 pages) that is due in a few weeks. It was hard to park myself at my desk with Scotland outside my front door, but I did it... and I'll be smiling in two weeks when everyone else is stressing about getting it in on time and I'm site seeing with the boy :-D
Very bittersweet night tonight!
SO ready for tomorrow and to have more memories in Europe!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Slacker.....
I am a blogging procrastinator. So sorry!! I guess it just means I'm having a great time :)
The last day of Ireland we all took a trip to the Guinness Factory. It was really cool to see the entire process and get a guided tour. I also ran into someone completely random- my best friend Krista's boyfriend, Jason. He lives in Tucson! I was walking down the stairs and there he was. Small world!
Scotland is beautiful. The view from my window is the best out of the three places I've stayed at, and the town is small and quaint. We're in Edinbourgh (pronounced Ed-in-borro) and we're staying at Pollock Hall University. The people are very different than Ireland- I can't decide if they're more uptight or just very real. I feel like I get scolded a lot y the locals lol But like everywhere else... I'm learning a lot.
We hiked Arthur's Seat which is the mountain right behind campus. Hiking will never be the same after that. I can't even say how green it was- and even though I took a lot of pictures, none of them will turn out as vibrant as it really is.
A few days later our group went to Edinbourgh Castle. It's at the top of a hill so you really get to see the city with the best view. The Scottish jewels are there as well as other random royal artifacts.
Almost every pub here has live music, and I found a pub called "Bank Bar" that might be my favorite. There's a guy that plays on thursday's that is really good, and he sings mostly American songs from the 90's on. We also went to a bar called Frankenstein's and it is designed to look like Frankenstein's laboratory. All the good shopping and pubs are on a street called the Royal Mile, and it's all cobblestone roads.
I had my Happiness Installation Project this past tuesday, and after that our group was supposed to do a scavenger hunt around Scotland, but it was pouring rain. So instead our professors created Scottish pictionary. I had a blast! And our group won- $20 (pounds).
Last night the whole group went to a pub called the Montague, and played Scottish trivia with our professors. Drinking with your professor is different... but so much fun!
Tonight some of the girls and I are going on a Scottish Ghost tour, which is highly reccommended by both locals and our professors. A few people went the other night and said it was very worth it- so I'm excited! (And a little nervous.. I don't do scary). It is supposedly under ground and there is a lot of 'paranormal activity'. I don't really believe in that stuff... but I don't really feel like being proven wrong either. :)
Scotland has had a lot more studying involved than the other countries, so I've seen a lot of my dorm room. (But at least it's a nice view!) I have a 10 page paper due, and then monday we fly into London before I part ways with everyone.
Less than 3 days Brett!!!!!!!
The last day of Ireland we all took a trip to the Guinness Factory. It was really cool to see the entire process and get a guided tour. I also ran into someone completely random- my best friend Krista's boyfriend, Jason. He lives in Tucson! I was walking down the stairs and there he was. Small world!
Scotland is beautiful. The view from my window is the best out of the three places I've stayed at, and the town is small and quaint. We're in Edinbourgh (pronounced Ed-in-borro) and we're staying at Pollock Hall University. The people are very different than Ireland- I can't decide if they're more uptight or just very real. I feel like I get scolded a lot y the locals lol But like everywhere else... I'm learning a lot.
We hiked Arthur's Seat which is the mountain right behind campus. Hiking will never be the same after that. I can't even say how green it was- and even though I took a lot of pictures, none of them will turn out as vibrant as it really is.
A few days later our group went to Edinbourgh Castle. It's at the top of a hill so you really get to see the city with the best view. The Scottish jewels are there as well as other random royal artifacts.
Almost every pub here has live music, and I found a pub called "Bank Bar" that might be my favorite. There's a guy that plays on thursday's that is really good, and he sings mostly American songs from the 90's on. We also went to a bar called Frankenstein's and it is designed to look like Frankenstein's laboratory. All the good shopping and pubs are on a street called the Royal Mile, and it's all cobblestone roads.
I had my Happiness Installation Project this past tuesday, and after that our group was supposed to do a scavenger hunt around Scotland, but it was pouring rain. So instead our professors created Scottish pictionary. I had a blast! And our group won- $20 (pounds).
Last night the whole group went to a pub called the Montague, and played Scottish trivia with our professors. Drinking with your professor is different... but so much fun!
Tonight some of the girls and I are going on a Scottish Ghost tour, which is highly reccommended by both locals and our professors. A few people went the other night and said it was very worth it- so I'm excited! (And a little nervous.. I don't do scary). It is supposedly under ground and there is a lot of 'paranormal activity'. I don't really believe in that stuff... but I don't really feel like being proven wrong either. :)
Scotland has had a lot more studying involved than the other countries, so I've seen a lot of my dorm room. (But at least it's a nice view!) I have a 10 page paper due, and then monday we fly into London before I part ways with everyone.
Less than 3 days Brett!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Updates London/Ireland
I'm having so much fun here!!
June 3rd- Went to Portobello Market, which is like an outdoor swap meet. There was good music and great people everywhere. Later on a friend and I went to the Science Museum down the street from our building and saw an IMAX film called "Wild Ocean 3d."
June 4th- Awesome day! Went to Buckingham Palace and saw the Changing of the Guards in the morning/afternoon and walked around a lot. It was my mission to find a Beefeater (the palace soldiers with the awesome bearskin hats) and take a picture with one. Apparently that's a myth because they are guarding the royal family while policemen are guarding them. But after we spotted one we walked over to get some closer pictures of their uniforms when out comes Prince William in a nice car.
June 5th- Ran my first 5k charity race with my happiness professor. Great experience! I need to work on my running skills but it was completely worth it. Got a medal and everything :)
June 6th- Last day in London :( Went to Kensington Palace and saw Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain in Hyde park. A friend and I went to a really nice restaurant (unintentionally) but ended up having a great time!
June 7th- Day 1 of Ireland!! Met Alice Cooper at Heathrow airport before boarding. Nicest guy-- a little ironic that he lives in Arizona but we run into him in London!
Our dorm facilities are 10x better than London's-- I get my own room and fresh towels every day. I feel spoiled.
Temple Bar is a town that's basically Old Town Scottsdale but minus the faux-rich people. Irish bars are a lot of fun-- almost every pub has live music and traditional Irish songs.
June 10th- A group of us decided to go on a 3 day tour to the west coast of Ireland and it is by far my favorite experience so far on this trip. I can't even explain how pretty it is here. I was a little worried after seeing Dublin-- it's not anything impressive. But having a local tour guide show us the most beautiful places in Ireland definitely made up for it.
Oh, and the weather is crazy here. It rains more than Seattle. My favorite thing our tourguide said was, "Sometimes you have 4 seasons in one day, and sometimes you get 4 seasons in one hour."
Totally true.
We stopped in a town called Cong and saw Ashwood Castle. The town is where the movie "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne was filmed and we saw the hotel he stayed in.
Then we went to Kylemore Abbey which is a beautiful castle in the middle of nowhere. We also passed Eirann Island, which is the Irish way to spell my name :)
Also, stayed in my very first hostel. Not as scary as I thought it would be.
June 11th- Went to Claire. BEAUTIFUL. Got to see my new favorite place called the Moher Cliffs. We only got to stay an hour but oh my gosh was it amazing. That night we stayed in Killarney and ate at the Lough Inn restaurant.
June12th- I kissed the Blarney Stone!! My impression of the stone was just a big wall and people run up and kiss it and call it a day. Nope. You climb to the very top of the Blarney Castle, sit down with your back to the wall, and a guy holds you by your waist while you kiss the stone upside down (and there is nothing between you and the long fall you'd have to the ground) lol So much fun!
On the way home we passed the battlefield where 'Braveheart' was filmed as well as 'Saving Private Ryan.'
Today is my last day in Ireland :( It went by WAY too fast... but tomorrow it's off to Scotland!
**A few words/phrases I learned in Ireland**
"Criac" (pronounced 'crack') means 'good times'. I was a little caught off guard when people kept saying 'This is some good criac!' (There is also a beer called the 'Galway Hooker'... so in a pub you have good criac and hookers...)
"Pog Mo Thoin" is heard A LOT... it means 'Kiss my ass'
The way people say the number 3 is pronounced "tree" and when someone has a really thick accent I can't understand a word they're saying.
"Slinte"= 'cheers' when having a drink
Irish people are by far the nicest people in the world. I love them.
June 3rd- Went to Portobello Market, which is like an outdoor swap meet. There was good music and great people everywhere. Later on a friend and I went to the Science Museum down the street from our building and saw an IMAX film called "Wild Ocean 3d."
June 4th- Awesome day! Went to Buckingham Palace and saw the Changing of the Guards in the morning/afternoon and walked around a lot. It was my mission to find a Beefeater (the palace soldiers with the awesome bearskin hats) and take a picture with one. Apparently that's a myth because they are guarding the royal family while policemen are guarding them. But after we spotted one we walked over to get some closer pictures of their uniforms when out comes Prince William in a nice car.
June 5th- Ran my first 5k charity race with my happiness professor. Great experience! I need to work on my running skills but it was completely worth it. Got a medal and everything :)
June 6th- Last day in London :( Went to Kensington Palace and saw Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain in Hyde park. A friend and I went to a really nice restaurant (unintentionally) but ended up having a great time!
June 7th- Day 1 of Ireland!! Met Alice Cooper at Heathrow airport before boarding. Nicest guy-- a little ironic that he lives in Arizona but we run into him in London!
Our dorm facilities are 10x better than London's-- I get my own room and fresh towels every day. I feel spoiled.
Temple Bar is a town that's basically Old Town Scottsdale but minus the faux-rich people. Irish bars are a lot of fun-- almost every pub has live music and traditional Irish songs.
June 10th- A group of us decided to go on a 3 day tour to the west coast of Ireland and it is by far my favorite experience so far on this trip. I can't even explain how pretty it is here. I was a little worried after seeing Dublin-- it's not anything impressive. But having a local tour guide show us the most beautiful places in Ireland definitely made up for it.
Oh, and the weather is crazy here. It rains more than Seattle. My favorite thing our tourguide said was, "Sometimes you have 4 seasons in one day, and sometimes you get 4 seasons in one hour."
Totally true.
We stopped in a town called Cong and saw Ashwood Castle. The town is where the movie "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne was filmed and we saw the hotel he stayed in.
Then we went to Kylemore Abbey which is a beautiful castle in the middle of nowhere. We also passed Eirann Island, which is the Irish way to spell my name :)
Also, stayed in my very first hostel. Not as scary as I thought it would be.
June 11th- Went to Claire. BEAUTIFUL. Got to see my new favorite place called the Moher Cliffs. We only got to stay an hour but oh my gosh was it amazing. That night we stayed in Killarney and ate at the Lough Inn restaurant.
June12th- I kissed the Blarney Stone!! My impression of the stone was just a big wall and people run up and kiss it and call it a day. Nope. You climb to the very top of the Blarney Castle, sit down with your back to the wall, and a guy holds you by your waist while you kiss the stone upside down (and there is nothing between you and the long fall you'd have to the ground) lol So much fun!
On the way home we passed the battlefield where 'Braveheart' was filmed as well as 'Saving Private Ryan.'
Today is my last day in Ireland :( It went by WAY too fast... but tomorrow it's off to Scotland!
**A few words/phrases I learned in Ireland**
"Criac" (pronounced 'crack') means 'good times'. I was a little caught off guard when people kept saying 'This is some good criac!' (There is also a beer called the 'Galway Hooker'... so in a pub you have good criac and hookers...)
"Pog Mo Thoin" is heard A LOT... it means 'Kiss my ass'
The way people say the number 3 is pronounced "tree" and when someone has a really thick accent I can't understand a word they're saying.
"Slinte"= 'cheers' when having a drink
Irish people are by far the nicest people in the world. I love them.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Olymic Stadium
Yesterday we had the opportunity to see the 2012 Olymic Stadium in progress. I posted pictures on Facebook-- the entire neighborhood is changing and our tour guide said it should transform from the poorest town in London to a relatively large tourist attraction. It'll be cool to see the buildings finished and see them on tv next year!
Today a group of us are going to Abbey Road and then going to Hyde Park. I can't believe it's our last weekend in London already!
Today a group of us are going to Abbey Road and then going to Hyde Park. I can't believe it's our last weekend in London already!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day Weekend
Saw Stonehenge and Salisbury Catherdral a few days ago. Incredible. Got some great pictures of the country. Stonehenge was a little smaller than expected and it was blocked off once you reached a certain point, but our guide (Russell from the British Museum) said if you make plans and call ahead of time you can visit and actually be in the center of Stonehenge and watch the sunrise (which is about 4:30am)... I may have to look into that.
I went to a bar called Experimental Cocktails where you tell them what you like and they create something for you. It was a pretty cool experience. Afterwards we went to a lounge/club called Home House and it was litterally in a mansion in the middle of a neighborhood. PS (mom)...It was an actual club, in a nice area, nothing sketchy, and I didn't walk anywhere alone. :) I guess clubs in house-like settings are common here.
Yesterday I went to Camden which is a huge market full of shopping. I got a few dresses and some other fun stuff. Borough and Portabello are two more markets I want to go to that the locals recommend
Today a group of us took a trip to Hampton Palace. It was gorgeous and took half the day to walk through. It was a little far, but it ended up being in Surrey (from the Holiday) so I was pretty stoked! Across the street was a food festival so we walked around there and I had a wild boar burger. It was actually really good! We cut it short when it started raining- it's been raining a lot the past few days, but I love it!
Happy Memorial Day! :)
I went to a bar called Experimental Cocktails where you tell them what you like and they create something for you. It was a pretty cool experience. Afterwards we went to a lounge/club called Home House and it was litterally in a mansion in the middle of a neighborhood. PS (mom)...It was an actual club, in a nice area, nothing sketchy, and I didn't walk anywhere alone. :) I guess clubs in house-like settings are common here.
Yesterday I went to Camden which is a huge market full of shopping. I got a few dresses and some other fun stuff. Borough and Portabello are two more markets I want to go to that the locals recommend
Today a group of us took a trip to Hampton Palace. It was gorgeous and took half the day to walk through. It was a little far, but it ended up being in Surrey (from the Holiday) so I was pretty stoked! Across the street was a food festival so we walked around there and I had a wild boar burger. It was actually really good! We cut it short when it started raining- it's been raining a lot the past few days, but I love it!
Happy Memorial Day! :)
Friday, May 27, 2011
May 27, 2011
Today was packed with amazingness! That's not a word... but it was incredible.
This morning a friend and I went to the Tower of London, which is this breath-taking castle that's been around since 1078. Walking around it took over 2 hours, and it went by so fast. The majority of the Crown Jewels are on display there (which are ridiculous) As well as random artifacts from Kings that lived there at one point or another. This building has gone from royal palace to a prison; torture chambers and execution; to a royal mint and a zoo. Crazy.
Afterwards we got tickets to do the Thames River boat tour and got a great view of the buildings and learned some cool facts. Daniel Radcliffe went to school in a building we passed, we saw where the original Globe Theatre was first built, and the first place (fish factory) that Michael Cane worked. Our tour guide was great, made a lot of subtle jokes... I guess I'm catching on ;)
We stopped and ate at a little Greek Restaurant then ran (literally) to catch the London Eye before it closed. The London Eye is a ferris wheel (but they get mad if you call it that) that takes 30 minutes to go around and you get an awesome view of the city. Well worth it.
Tomorrow we're taking a day trip to Stonehenge, wooo!
This morning a friend and I went to the Tower of London, which is this breath-taking castle that's been around since 1078. Walking around it took over 2 hours, and it went by so fast. The majority of the Crown Jewels are on display there (which are ridiculous) As well as random artifacts from Kings that lived there at one point or another. This building has gone from royal palace to a prison; torture chambers and execution; to a royal mint and a zoo. Crazy.
Afterwards we got tickets to do the Thames River boat tour and got a great view of the buildings and learned some cool facts. Daniel Radcliffe went to school in a building we passed, we saw where the original Globe Theatre was first built, and the first place (fish factory) that Michael Cane worked. Our tour guide was great, made a lot of subtle jokes... I guess I'm catching on ;)
We stopped and ate at a little Greek Restaurant then ran (literally) to catch the London Eye before it closed. The London Eye is a ferris wheel (but they get mad if you call it that) that takes 30 minutes to go around and you get an awesome view of the city. Well worth it.
Tomorrow we're taking a day trip to Stonehenge, wooo!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
May 26, 2011
Phantom of the Opera was great!
It's been pouring all day today-- a few of us went to Blackbird pub for a bit and the plan was to walk to a museum or go shopping after.. but it started hailing so now it's back to studying.
It's been pouring all day today-- a few of us went to Blackbird pub for a bit and the plan was to walk to a museum or go shopping after.. but it started hailing so now it's back to studying.
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