Sunday, July 31, 2011

Finally....

Today I had breakfast with my bunkmates from the hostel before everyone exchanged information and we all parted ways. Afterwards  I bought a rail pass and then made my way down to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is so beautiful and I loved just relaxing and drinking a soda while sitting in the courtyard after viewing all of the sculptures, jewelry, and everything.
With Nikolai and his friends
At 3 o'clock I got off the tube at Oxford Circus to meet Nikolai and his friends for drinks at a local pub. As a side note I thought I'd mention that I didnt get lost in the city, but I did get lost trying to find my way out of the tube station... i would... haha) It was a really nice 'afternoon' and I wish we had more time together. Hopefully we'll see each other again.
Now I have finally made it to Emma's apartment. My only setback has been losing my rail card and having to buy another one, which sucked, but other than that everything has been good. I sat down to pizza with her and two of her friends. Now I write this and then I think I will go to bed since my eyes feel heavy even as I type.
Tomorrow I may meet someone in the city center for lunch, but other than that I have no plans. It will be my last day before I leave on my European tour. I know that I need to top up my phone card because I am running out of minutes, and I need to figure out how to lighten my suitcase (it is really heavy!) I think I may also try to find a way to make biscuits and gravy for Emma and her friends as a way of thanking them for letting me stay here. It may be difficult though since they dont have biscuits here, or at least not the American version of biscuits. I dont know if they have the same kind of sausage either... hopefully I can pull this off...
I guess we'll see tomorrow

Well, I think it is time for bed now.

<3 Allie

Cambridge to London -- one way ticket :(

Rosalie and I are so sad :(


I write this as I sit on a train from Cambridge to London's King Cross and I feel exhausted from the lack of sleep and the rollercoaster of emotions that I've felt in the last couple days. I feel relieved at having finished my schoolwork, excited for the next leg of my journey through Europe, nervous to be travelling to London by myself, and of course sad to have to leave the place that has been my home for the past month. I know I will see some people once I return to Irvine, others I hope that, regardless of where they live, I know I will stay in touch with. It is such a bittersweet feeling of having to leave everyone; I just wish we weren't so far apart. I'm going to miss walking around town, through fields to have tea, midnight movies and dance parties, formal hall dinners, and just about a million other things...

Break (I had to get off the train)

Nick was trying not to cry ;p
After a ten+ minute walk, half of which was spent in a state of anxiety and confusion, I made it to the Clink  78 hostel. Now I am sitting on my top bunk, in my co-ed 12 person room, and just resting for a bit. I have already made quick friends with the three other girls in the room who are around my age (from brazil and australia); which reminds me of one of my favorite parts of travelling; meeting people from all over the world. Tomorrow morning I have to store my luggage and hope that it will be in the luggage room when i get back. I then have nothing to do until 3, when I am meeting with my Aunt's friend's son (Nikolai) in the center of London. After that I will jump back on the tube, get my luggage and then go to meet my Aunt's friend's niece (Emma) in East London. It is a bit weird to be meeting and staying with people that I have never met, but I'm sure it will be fine. I am so grateful that I have a place to stay that I dont have to pay for or where flip flops in the shower.
There were quotes all around the hostel and I really liked this one from the main room
Well, I just checked the time and it is way too late. It is definitely time for bed!
night!

Allie

Sunday, July 24, 2011

My last weekend in Cambridge :(


Playing frisbee in the park

It is nearly midnight of my final weekend in Cambridge, and what a fine weekend it was. The highlight of Saturday included watching He's Just Not That Into You and then spinning and dancing around the room (pictures/video to come). Today I played various sports in the park, ate ice cream, and just hung out with some of the most awesome people you could ever meet. I have to say, I am going to miss it here so much, I cant even put into words how much; I don't want to leave!!! Every day I meet more people and become even closer with the ones I knew. I am surprised by how much I really care about everyone and how much I wish I could just stay here and hang out with them in this bubble of existence. The only thing I wish I could skip would be exams and papers next week. (I actually just finished a paper for one of my classes, and now I just have 4000 more words to write for my other class; I think I will hold off on that until tomorrow). With that being said, I think it's about time for me to go to bed. I have quite a bit to do tomorrow, and it is made even harder for the reason that I dont want to miss out on anything by doing work. I have been here for almost a month and I still feel like there is so much I need to do. I am going to have to try my hardest to fit in as much as I possibly can in the next five days. The end is too near!

in Grantchester, where we had tea and then frolicked in the fields :)

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Procrastination

Right now I should be doing homework (I have like 4 assignments, blah) but I'm just procrastinating, though I promise to actually start something tonight.

I just thought I'd share a picture or two with everyone though :)

 This is from the trip to Ely that we took this past week. It was pouring, we got splashed from a car driving by, and then walked a few blocks more, but ended up at this quaint little teashop called the Peacock. So, the girls and I stopped in to dry ourselves and have a traditional English tea

Today We took a walking trip to Grantchester where we sat and had a snack in an orchard and then took lots of random pictures of us jumping around. This picture though is from the walk to the place, which was almost an hour I believe, and we walked through open fields, along the river, and past quite a few cows. It just so happened that when I went to take this picture the cow looked up at me at the exact same time which made for this funny/cute photo. There are tons of pictures from today, but I thought this would be the best one to share

I hope everyone enjoys it, and is doing well back at home

Now it's time for me to do some work!

<3 Allie

Monday, July 18, 2011

The good life

I dont have access to a laptop at the moment, so I am just going to share with everyone a really good song by an awesome band :) plus it mentions london/picadilly, which is where I was last weekend, so fitting I suppose.
Everything is going well here in England.
I saw the final installment of Harry Potter on friday, which signalled the end of my childhood (kinda, haha) It is hard to believe though that is has been like 10 years since it came out!
The weather has been a bit gloomy for the past few days. I went to Ely (ee-lee), a small town about 15 minute train ride away, and it was raining pretty bad. By the time I walked into a cute little teashop I was soaked through.
Yesterday it fluctuated between cloudy, dark, sunny for 5 minutes, rain, and then more cloudyness. Definitely makes me slightly jealous of everyone's facebook status's from back home talking about how hot it is and going to the pool/beach.
Still, I will definitely miss it here once I leave in two weeks (so weird that that's all the time I have left!!!)
I have a lot of work to do, so it wont all be enjoyable, but for the most part I am loving it here and will be sad to leave. I guess I'll just have to come back and visit once I graduate ;p

<3 Allie

Sunday, July 10, 2011

London Adventures

Hello Hello!

So, it has been quite a weekend. I must have walked at least ten miles, and my feet are sore and tired, but London was amazing. I got to see Big Ben (not as big as I imagined), the Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Abbey Road, and so much more.
The hostel was interesting, and by that I mean thoroughly creepy. lol. but it is still an experience that I'm happy to have had. I feel more worldly already ;p

Here is us at the hostel, being scared in our room
 Bangers and mash! yum!

 hand hug!
 The London Eye
 self explanatory....
 While in London we got to see Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Globe Theatre and we were the peasants or "groundlings"
 Harry Pottering it....
 I walked like 3 miles and then took a cab for the last two to take this picture... so i hope everyone truly appreciates it ;p
There is an M&M world in London and it was amazing!


So as you see this is a taste of what I did in just 2 days in London. I feel like I didnt even see close to enough things and I will definitely need to go back. I didnt actually have time to go up in the London Eye, so that will definitely still be on my to-do list.

For now though it is really nice to just be sitting down back in Pembroke and not have to worry about walking ten miles through the city tomorrow haha

Friday, July 8, 2011

London Calling!!

Sooooo
The past few days I have felt down in the dumps and just stressed and angry and lots more adjectives, but tonight we are leaving for London and hopefully this will mark a turn around.
I got to talk to a few people from back home who reminded me that people actually care, and most importantly I got to talk to my dad.
I just need to be a little more carefree and go with the flow, ignore the people and things that bring me down.

So heres to a new beginning!

Love you all

Be back on monday! :)

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

 I finally got the camera thing figured out so here's some more photo's.... at the airport...
 we were excited by the coolness of the plane


 the college im studying at



 best friends! haha "i think i lost some of my manhood" - Abraham





 such an awkward running shot













 a silver man!


 seeing the queen!







 bacon chips!