Oh look - another one of the boring England posts! Hooray!

Hey y'all! So sorry I've not been doing well with this thing recently. Things have been pretty stinkin' busy over the past almost two weeks. I've not gotten time to sit down and write anything. BUT...now is as good a time as any to tell y'all what I have been up to.

So, once again, let us start our adventure where we left off. That would be....ah, yes. The 8th of October (oh that was a good day).

08 October 2007 - A bird's Eye view
So, of course we had classes today - it was a Monday. yay.... BUT, we went on a field trip (yay field trip!). We met at our designated time and set out, riding on the Tube to our stop, gettin separated several times and winding up on a street that granted a magnificent view of...The London Eye. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I rode the London Eye. For someone who does not appreciate heights as others do, I had a fantastic time. The Eye was built in 2000, so it is fairly new. It's VERY big and white, but, oh, so much fun to ride! After waiting for our group to get together again, we set off, up the ramp, past the security guards (who only asked if you had dangerous items on you....) and into the moving pod. This part was interesting - not only was the pod moving very slowly in a circle to ensure the riders do not ride upside down, the wheel was also moving, which granted a fun lurch for a split second. And then I was on. Our whole group was able to fit in one pod (which shows you how big they are - we have almost 30 people). I saw some of the coolest things from a bird's eye perspective. I saw Big Ben and Westminster Palace, the long Thames River, Buckingham Palace, and Paris! No, not really...but that would have been cool. I did see an Eiffel Tower, though, but not the real one. Apparantly, London has one at the very end of the city (some probably 40 miles away). I would definately do it again. It was more than worth the £13 spent. Oh, and just to clear things up - it is not a ferris wheel. So it looks like it, I don't think Londoners would get a kick out of any American calling the Eye a ferris wheel - it's like calling Mount Rushmore a slab of rock - there is to much more to the Eye than meets the eye :-) I had a great time and I got many pictures. Good thing it wasn't raining....

The London Eye!


Wesstminter Palace from the London Eye


Looking up the Thames from the Eye

09 October 2007: We Shall Never Surrender....to Tolkien
So, it's Tuesday. That means field trip!! We do not have classes on Tuesday, in case you were not aware. We use Tuesdays to travel around England and see many different things. Today was our Blenheim Palace and Oxford day. Wahoo! I am not exactly sure where Blenheim Palace is (we never know where we are....) but it definately was beautiful. Blenheim Palace is home to the Duke of Marlborough and has been since it was built about 300 years ago. This was also the place Winston Churchill was born. I saw the bed he was born in, the room, his first outfit, and locks of his childhood hair! It was so cool! I also learned that every one of Winston Churchill's names was a family name. The first Duke was a Churchill, and the names Winston and Spencer (his middle name) were names of former Dukes or their wives families. Winston was actually the cousin of the Duke at the time he was born, and, if I am not mistaken, lived at the palace for several years. His pride and joy were his toy soldiers of Napoleon's army. They are on display in the palace and were a gift to the Palace from him because Winston wanted everyone to enjoy them as much as he did. There are over 400 pieces and are so beautiful!! I loved Blenheim Palace - very, very intersting and jam packed with history. At one point, it was a school and a hospital during the wars. It even has its own organ! The present Duke and his family live there still and this Duke-dom is the only line in which the oldest daughter can become Duchess if her brothers are dead. I thought that was cool :-)


Blenheim Palace!


The lake in front of Blenheim Palace
*******************************************
After Blenheim, we went to Oxford. Now, you might be thinking - Oh, cool! You got to see Oxford University! But in fact, there is no Oxford University campus. Yeah, I know! Shock and surprise! Oxford University, as well as Cambridge, is actually a compilation of over 36 other colleges under one umbrella called Oxford Univeristy. Wherever the British have land, there is an Oxford Univeristy campus. 36 spread out around the world - you can even go to Australia and study!! There were two colleges in the town, but I never really got a definate answer if they were part of the university or not. I did get some cool Oxford wear, though. I do plan on going back, by the way, because one of my favorite movies was partly filmed there, but I am not going to get anyone's hopes up just yet, in case I don't get to go back. I liked Oxford - but not as much as I had liked York or Edinburgh. It just felt different, not that it was bad or anything, cause it wasn't. Oh, and for those of you who are J.R.R. Tolkien fans or C.S. Lewis fans, the pub where those two went all the time and wrote at is in Oxford - The Eagle and Child. I did not have time to go to it, but if I go back, that will be another thing I will take the time to do. Most everything you want to do in Oxford you can do in about a day. We only spent 2 hours there and most of that was a walking tour so not much free time. But totally want to go back.


This is part of Oxford Church, where a movie was recently filmed. If I go back, I can tell you what movie, but not yet....


This is the 800 year old pub I want to go back and eat in

10 October 2007: O, Canada!
So, today was comprised mostly of classes and me doing homework. But that evening, we had a lovely dinner compliments of Jason (one of our 4 boys). He is Canadian, and in the spirit of true Canadianism, he had Thanksgiving....for 30 people. The holiday was actually two days before that, but he didn't know on Monday if he was going to celebrate it. But he decided to and it was absolutely wonderful! We had turkey legs, boiled potatoes, veggies, bread, and dessert. We played games and just had a really great time being together as a group since we do not do it very much - or hardly at all. It was so much fun! I gave massages and put people to sleep. It was an awesome night. Thank you, Jason!! Thank you, Canada!!

11 October 2007: War gives us the most interesting places....
So today, Dr. Hopper, the International Programs administrator, spent a coupld of days with us in London before departing for Africa and Italy to visit the other international programs. We had class as usual and then Dr. H took us to the Imperial War Museum where we had lunch and spent as much time as we wanted to perusing the many artifacts in the museum. We did spend some time in the Camouflage exhibition they were having. That was SOO neat! I learned so much. I had no idea that ships were painted in camouflage while on the water. Seems pretty pointless to me but I guess it worked.....They were not painted in the usual colors of brown, dark green, beige, and black. Nope, these ships had bright blue, pink, and even purple. That doesn't sound like it would help anything would it? But the exhibit was very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot. After that, I went and explored the submarines, and went into the Holocaust exhibit (cause, ya know, I like history and World War II is one of my favorites). That was heart-breaking. I did not get to spend as much time there as I had wanted because I had homework to finish, but I can always go back. It doesn't cost anything to go, so it would be a really good day-trip. This is the kind of museum that would entertain anyone from any age and I highly recommend it - just FYI in case you were making a trip to London soon :-)

*Imperial War Museum


*Missile gun in Camo in War Museum


*Me! In a sub!!


*Me! In another sub!!

Then I went back and did massive homework time....

12 October 2007: Free day!
This whole weekend was devoted to the doing of homework. I had a science test Monday that I had thought was the following week, so I had 5 chapters to read and take quizzes on and study as well as my Bible assignment and paper due Sunday afternoon. The good thing was that I did finish all my homework and I made an A on my test. Wahoo! Saturday, though, Kaity and I went down Oxford Street (THE shopping street in London) looking for one store. We didn't find it, but we did find other things, like a 3 foot tall chocolate cake and a cheap place to have high tea. Oxford street is so cool!


*This is the chocolate cake we saw in the shop window. Doens't it look wonderful?!

That was the extent of my weekend. Homework and a few hours of Oxford Street. Too much studying, not enough social time. Seems like the summing up of my life in just two days, doesn't it?

14 October 2007: Just another manic Sunday!!
Yeah, it was just classes. They were an hour later because of a festival the Tullos' wanted to go to. They are the trip leaders and some of the coolest people I've ever met. We all love them to pieces, and their son Ian, too.

But class....and then more studying for me - a Brit Lit test and a Science test....oh boy.

15 October 2007: Double classes....yikes!
But it really wasn't that bad because NOBODY had double classes. It was great. I made A's on both of my tests and spent the rest of the night relaxing and reveling in the thought that I did not have to do homework until the weekend. It was so nice to just sit and do nothing for a while. I watched a movie, ate junk food and went to bed a little early. Yay! It was so nice to be with myself and nothingness.

16 October 2007: It's Tuesday, again!
What does that mean?! FIELD TRIP!!! Today was the field trip that I had been looking forward to for a very, very, very long time. Today, we were going to Stonehenge!!

This is a place shrouded in mystery and a country deep in superstition. Crop circles are fairly common in this area, which gives all the farmers a really good reason to be uber superstitious, which they are. The area is also surrounded by burial mounds, which the farmers do NOT touch. I like that. Disturbing the dead just sounds....disturbing.

But really, Stonehenge was so cool!! I had been warned that it was small, don't expect much, but it was actually larger than I had pictured, which was a nice surprise. We are not allowed to walk on it anymore. See, there is this highway that forks on either side of Stonehenge and it has been there for quite a while (the highway). Over the years, the vibrations from the highway have worked its way to the foundation of Stonehenge, which is RIGHT NEXT to the highway, and started making it unstable and start sinking. I don't blame the earth. If I had 50 ton rocks just standing on for 2000 years, I'd give way eventually, too. There is talk of moving the highway, but I don't know how definate that is right now. I wish they would. It would make the countryside so much less interrupted. But I really enjoyed it. It was very windy and cold and rainy, but that did not take away from the magnificence of the place. I took quite a few pictures, and some of them I am in :-) but I had a really great time. I also bought stuff for my classroom, which made me excited. I honestly can't wait to be a teacher and share all of my experiences with my students. I only wish I had had teachers like that in high school. Learning history from the point of view of someone who has been there and seen it is so much better than reading about it in a textbook. Personal pictures are so much more entertaining. Yay for my major!!!


*This is my first look at Stonehenge!!


*This is what it used to look like...


*This is me!


*Oh, look! A good picture of Stonehenge

After that, we headed to Bath - home of the Roman Baths, which I did not see. Instead, I went to the Fashion Museum, which was actually pretty interesting. Of course, many of the things on display were ridiculous, like today, but none-the-less interesting to see how fashion has changed over the decades. I would have gone to visit Jane Austin's house, but I did not have time. Instead, I went to the Rugby store and bought a Rugby ball. Yay!! This was one of the few items on my "have to get this in London" list, just to be able to say that I had bought it there. I found it pretty exciting. It smells good - like new. That was the extent of the day. We got back about 6:30 that evening and us girls spent the rest of the night hanging out and talking. I love the girls in my flat. It's always so nice to be able to spend time with them all.


*This is the oldest bridge in England that still has shops going across it


*This is the river that runs through Bath

17 October 2007: Mmm...Free travel
Today was the day that marked the first day of the first 4-day free travel. Since I had not planned on going anywhere, I and the rest of my flat, stayed and had a good time. Wednesday and Thursday were spent hanging out in the flat, watching movies, and relaxing. This was much needed. Rejuvination time is awesome!! That means no classes for 4 days. Wahoo!! Several people did go out of town, but not many. But yes, nice to relax and enjoy being in grand ole London towne. Hah!

18 October 2007: Mmm...Free travel
Still free traveling people abroad and me still hanging out. BUT!!! I did go somewhere. I went to Her Majesty's Theatre and saw The Phantom of the Opera. That was really good. Not the best I have ever seen, but not terrible. It could have been better, but I am not complaining. The set was fantastic and whoever did the costumes was amazing. The acting was...in my humble opinion, mediocre and the singing could have been much better. Still, I enjoyed my night with Her Majesty and the girls from Flat 5 (that's my flat, in case you didn't know). After that, we took a short walk to Westminter Palace because I wanted to get some pictures of Big Ben at night. Oh my goodness, I got some really good ones. I was super excited and proudly braved the cold for Ben. I even heard him bong!! It was the most beautiful sound I've heard in a long time. *sigh* I love Ben. I always enjoy seeing him.


*Her Majesty's Theatre where Phantom of the Opera was playing. Pretty isn't it?


*This is me and Kaity (a little blurry) after the show


*The Eye across the Thames


*The ever famous Parliament and Clock Tower picture from across the Thames river


*Big Ben just before he bonged!

19 October 2007: Drinking a cuppa
Early this morning, Kaity, Jordan, and I got up early and went to the National Portrait Gallery off of Trafalgar Square. This was for one of our assignments for Humanities 270. I actually enjoyed it. The finding the picture part was not fun, but looking at all of the different pictures of famous people, kings, queens, writers, composers, etc. was a very nice ride. I saw Handel, and George Washington (like, first president of the United States), and Oliver Cromwell, and Jonne Donne, and Milton and many others. And that was all only on one floor. There are still three other floors to explore. Yay!! After we did that, Kaity, Chris and I went a-walking - to find Twinings tea shop. It is the oldest shop in London and still in the same location it has always been in. It was small, quaint, and easy to miss if you weren't looking for it. Seriously, I didn't see it the first or the second time. I had to take a triple take before I saw it. Yes, very small. We looked for about 30 minutes and all came out with tea. i bought several tea bags of different flavors to try so I know what to get the next time I go there. It was not expensive at all. You'd think that it would be since it is being sold in the actual store instead of some place like ASDA or Sainsbury or TESCO. But cheap is good. One bag for 15 pence is really good!! And it is so worth it. I've already tried one bag of tea and it was SOOO SOO SOOO good!! I have GOT to get some of it.

So, now I am sitting in the flat relaxing again but needing to do homework. Oh well, I love London and everything it has to offer. I am so happy here.

I got to talk to my parents for the first time since I have been in Europe and it was nice to hear their voices. They were so excited to talk to me! Yay! I really am having the time of my life here.

No one fear
I love being here :-)

Cheers!

So I love London!!

I suppose I should start with where I left off, shouldn't I?

I think....yes, September 28.
*Note: This post will be considerable shorter than the last one and probably not many pictures since I still have to put some on my computer. Sorry guys....but I will put them up when I get a chance to get them on my computer.

28 September 2007: Orientation and settling in

So today was the day we were talked through stuff pertaining to the FSU flats and how they run and stuff. It was uber boring, but very important all the same. We also got grocery money so that meant, of course, the grocery store so we could all eat - which is very important in the long run. I greatly suggest it. :-) Other than that, today was pretty much - "Hey, lets get to know London and finish unpacking and settling in". Not too terribly exciting....

29 September 2007: All classes

Yeah, so we had ALL of our classes on a Saturday. That was not very much fun. I suddenly had MOUNTAINS of homework and became very stressed very quickly with all that I am being expected to accomplish this semester. Let's see, that's: Do homework, do well in class by doing homework, explore London, do everything I want to do in London, have fun on mini free travels, and still do well in class without falling asleep, etc. So much is expected of us. It feels like we are having to cram in so much stuff in the middle because we've missed a month of classes so it just is not a good day.....The rest of the day was devoted to getting a head start on my homework. I don't think I got very far, but I sure made the attempt to - cause that's what counts, right? Right!

30 September 2007: Church and guided bus tour of London

We went to church today, which is like a 20 minute Tube ride from our flat - that equals like 10 miles.....its REALLY far. So yeah, that meant that I got to ride the Tube, which is one of my favorite things to do. It's dirty, but it's so much fun. So yeah, church. Afterwards, we went to London Wal-Mart - I am not kidding. It's called ASDA and it's two floors with an escalator for the baskets. It's way cool!! We had lunch there in the cafe and that was really good. Then, Tony (remember our awesome bus driver who really knew his stuff? yeah, he showed up again!!) picked us up for our bus tour of London. I was stupid and didn't bring my camera to church so I didn't get ANY pictures of our tour....I wanted to cry. But our tour took us ALL around London. I saw London Bridge and the Tower Bridge. I saw where Diagon Alley and Gringotts Bank are (for those Harry Potter fans in the audience). I saw the Millenium Bridge (a.k.a. the Wobbley Bridge cause when it was first put up in 2000, it shook so bad they had to close it and fix it) and soOOmany places to shop - like Chocolate stores and clothes stores and, well, just about anything!!! It took about 4 hours to get around the city. We stopped at St. Paul's Cathedral, which is where John Donne gave his last sermon - the no man is an island sermon about the tolling of the bells, if you know what I'm talking about - that was also where parts of My Fair Lady and the bank in Mary Poppins were filmed. It's so beautiful!! So yeah, we did that and then we made it back to the flats where we had a party for all the September, rather the one September birthday, we had in the group. It was a blast! I gave about 6 people massages and almost put one guy to sleep....I'm glad he was happy. Then from there I did more homework (can you see a pattern developing here? free time = homework right now until I can get enough ahead) and went to bed. Ahh, wonderful sleep!

01 October 2007: Class

This was pretty much the only thing I did that day. We had classes and I spent the rest of the afternoon doing more homework becasue I'm so worried that I won't have everything done in time - and trust me, they're asking a lot of us in such a short period of time....it's crazy!! That was that....not exciting at all I'm afraid.

02 October 2007: Class and field trip!!

So yes, we had class. And after class we had about an hour until we went on a field trip. And guess what we did?! We saw the Merchant of Venice...IN THE GLOBE THEATRE!!! The play SOo GOOD! I was so very impressed. I got the actual experience of being a groundling in the Globe. It was a neat experience. The groundlings are part of the play - literally. The cast comes through and interacts with them, pushes through them, and really involves them in whatever play they do. Even though I stood for three hours, it was SOO worth it! The actors were so funny. I must admit, Shakespeare really comes alive when you see it how it was supposed to be done. I had such a great time!!

So we did that (and I did get pictures of that, but they've not made it onto my computer yet...but you will see pics when I get to them) and then I went back to the flat and hung out. I decided that homework was over-rated and just did nothing for a while....until it finally got to me and I did some...better to be prepared, I suppose.

03 October 2007: Class

Most days, Sunday afternoon through Thursday, will be consisting of class. If anything else of note comes up, I will let you know. Actually, something of great note happened today....I went to the Odeon at Leischter Square with a group of girls at 12:30 (this is important....sort of). We took the Tube and found several people standing near the entrance - so we stood with them. This was NOT by chance. We knew exactly what we were doing. If you don't know, The Odeon is the cinema in London at which all the movie premieres happen. If you haven't guessed, we went to a movie premiere!! I know! Exciting stuff, isn't it?!??! Oh yeah, the movie was Stardust. The one with Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfiffer, Sienna Miller, Robert DeNero, and Ricky Gervais. Yeah, we got there at 12:30 and STOOD until 8 pm....yeah...I think I sat down for....5 minutes...? Something like that. But we got a front row action view right at the entrance to the theatre. It was SUCH a good spot! So we watched all the people set up the stuff - and they had a green carpet, but it looked really good with all the decorations they put up. It looked like the woods in the middle of London - it was pretty sweet. So yeah. People started showing up at about 6 and we were there ready with our paper and cameras. Charlie Cox was the first one we saw. I got his autograph, his picture, AND he touched my hand! He is so cute and really, REALLY nice. He came up and talked to our group for a second before he made his way down the rest of the excited crowd. He was the ONLY person who signed autographs for EVERYONE. Yeah...then Michelle Pfiffer showed up. She didn't sign any autographs, which was a bummer, but at least I can say I've seen her in person. Sienna Miller also made an appearance. She signed autographs for one of the girls in our group, but had talked too long with the press to get many in. She was really nice, but in a very big hurry....oh well. I really liked her dress. Ricky Gervais showed up and signed some, but I didn't get his either. I did get several pictures of them all. It was a great night and we (the Americans) got interviewed like 8 times by different people. I got a camera stuck in my face a lot and it was pretty intimidating to say the least. but it was fun and now there's a video of us screaming somewhere on the internet. Metro.co.uk - somewhere on that website we are there.....and probably other places, too. good times. I also got a poster from the premiere that i intend to hang in my room at home (its pretty big....like 5 x 3). Ahhh...good times, good times. Then we took the tube back and we got some interesting looks, but it was all worth it. yay!!!

04 October 2007: Class

Yeah class, and I went to the British museum for the first time for my Bible class. If you EVER go to London, you have to spend like three days in the museum. No joke. It would take anyone three days to really appreciate all the stuff in there. I'm glad I get to spend two months in it. There is SOO much to see and learn about!! yay!

05 October 2007: Free day and a play

We didn't have classes today so I slept late (this is a friday) - by late I mean 11:15. Then I did MORE homework - but this was good. I needed to. Speech, test, reading, etc. Yay....
Kaity, Jordan and I also went to a play. We saw Holding Fire in the (guess where) Globe Theatre!! It's not a Shakespeare play, but it was the same cast as the Merchant of Venice which made it better - it felt familiar. We were once again groundlings and once again, we were interacted with. I even had my standing space interrupted for the first half by a wagon - it was just pushed and tied where i was standing....it got kind of annoying, but still - i had a great time. This was the last night for this play because the season was ending. i got to see the play with the playwright and the director. it was just too cool! This play was also astounding. It would be kind of hard to explain, but it's during a revolution in the early 1900's in England about getting voting rights. It was sad, exciting, happy, funny, and everything in between. the only thing I wish i had been able to do would be to meet the cast, but they didnt come out and i just didnt ask cause it was getting late, and cold, and we needed to get back to the flat. but i still enjoyed it. once in a lifetime chance perhaps that i got to do twice. the globe is SOO COOL!!

06 October 2007: Free day....so I had fun!

Yeah, I slept late again, but not as late. got up about 10, did a small bit of homework and then got ready for a day of outings. Kaity, Jordan and I went to King's Cross Station to see Platform 9 and 3/4. Honestly, not a big deal but i did get to see it, touch it, and walk around the Station. It's very old looking/feeling but I thought it was pretty amazing. Then we went to Hyde Park. I saw the statue of Peter Pan, played around with the birds, and was able to really relax for the first time in a while. We walked around for almost 4 hours and we still did NOT cover half of the park - it is just entirely too big. I didnt even make it to Kensington gardens at the bottom of Hyde park (from the entrance). It took kaity and i almost an hour to find Peter Pan....but it was a nice leisure walk. Afterwards, we went to the ORIGINAL Hard Rock Cafe just down the street from Hyde Park. The food was AMAZING!!! i didnt buy anything at the store....at least i havent yet. i dont really feel like dishing out $40 for a shirt....it jsut doesnt seeem right...but i do have to go back there because theres a bookstore i really want to check out. sounds like fun so im going ... sometime in the very near future. but we did that and made our way back home where i stayed up late doing nothing important except SOME, not lots of, homework and went to bed. ahh, sleep.....

07 October 2007: Church and...nothing else special.

Went to church of course and came back, had about an hour to finish an assignment before class this afternoon because it was due. I did write a speech due at 10:30 in the morning and its still too long....but im sure its going to be ok. Im really not that worried.

So there you go. you are ALL caught up with the events of my life in London. Let me just say right now that I love this city. I've always told myself that i want to live in a small city, but im loving HUGE city life. i wouldnt have to buy a car cause i could get ANYWHERE using the Tube (which is one of my favorite things to do!) and the people are super nice. i also like the fact that if you cant take the Tube, you can walk. its great exercise. i would be ok with not having to drive EVERYWHERE all the time. the downside to London though is that it's the dirtiest city i have ever seen. if i put on here some of the things ive seen while walking, you'd get sick...so I wont, but trust me, it can be nasty!!

This is where I leave you until next time. Love you all and I WELCOME any comments you have to make. email them, facebook me, whatever. I wish you all well this week. until next time, friends!!

in Him,
Aimee

It's about time I told you what I was up to!!

So for those of you who read this, I AM SOO SORRY I'VE NOT BEEN UPDATING!! Things around here have been hectic and busy and I've barely had time to do my studies, attempt to explore London, go to class, eat and sleep. It's been an exciting but very tiring week and I have so much to talk about! I really should tell y'all what I've been doing since I got here. I've already talked about the first day in Dublin, so I'll skip that day, but there is so much more to tell you! Are you ready? Here goes nothing:

18 September 2007:


Here are Kaity and I in Dublin about 20 minutes after having gotten off the plane into Ireland. Don't we look happy?! Don't we look gross....

I've already told you about the first day. Skipping to the next.

19 September2007: Dublin Walking tour.

As the title suggests, we went on a walking tour of Dublin. It took about an hour and we passed the Hard Rock, which had just recently opened. We also went to Dublin Castle and looked around a bit. It was not as exciting...But we did get to eat dinner and hang out in Temple Bar which was the area of town we were situated in and happens to be a very important and historic part of town, but I never really got the run-down as to why, but that was ok with me. I was in DUBLIN! Who cared?! That night several friends and I went to a pub just to hang out. We watched Rugby and Football (and for all you uneducated Americans, that's Soccer - and it was Manchester United!) and that was fun! We also listed to an Irish man play a his guitar. He also taught us a song, but don't ask me to sing it because I honestly don't remember how it goes....


Taking a walking tour of Dublin!!

20 September 2007: Waterford and Glendalough

This was the day we (as a group) went to the Waterford Crystal factory in Waterford, Ireland (which is about three hours drive south from Dublin, but NOT as the crow flies...). This was a great experience. I was able to actually SEE Waterford Crystal being made. For those of you who do not know, Waterford Crystal is one of the most prestigious crystal factories in the world - this is the factory that makes all the beautiful trophies for Tennis, Racing, Sailing, Golf, and several other sports. Tiger Woods has been awarded one of these crystal trophies. It was very interesting and well worth the trip. I was very impressed. And just an interesting piece of information: I know all of you have probably seen the crystal ball in NYC that drops on New Years Eve. That ball was made at the Waterford Factory in Ireland. Cool!


Nascar Racing Trophey from the Waterford Factory in Ireland

After that and lunch, we departed for Glendalough (pronounced Glen-da-lock). Glendalough is a place in Ireland that is home to a very old tower, cathedral and church. All remains of the presence of Christianity in Ireland. The tower, which was 103 feet high is the 4th tallest in all of Ireland and housed many a precious materials. With the door being 12 feet off the ground, valuables were safe from robbers, small animals such as mice and rats, and moisture from the ground. Towers also served as homing beacons so the monks would know when they were close to home. The Cathedral is old, but still one of the newer ones since it contains some evidence of Roman architecture. The little church there is barely larger than a small bedroom. Worship faces the east - which is Jerusalem. Those buried in the surrounding graveyard are also buried pointing towards the east owning to the belief that when Christ returns, all the dead will already be facing Jerusalem. This place was very peaceful and I would have spent hours just sitting by the lake and exporing the scenery but we did not have much time. I had time enough to run to the lake, take pictures and hasten to the bus for our departue back to Dublin. In all, that day was very fun, tiring, but very interesting at the same time - not to mention gorgeous. Some of my best pictures were taken at Glendalough. I fell in love with it.


This is Glendalough. Beautiful isn't it?


This is the oldest gravestone that as been found in the Glendalough graveyard. It is thought to be the grave of a monk - can you see the cross crudely etched on the stone? It is thought that this grave is from about 1600.

21 September 2007: Depart for Wales, Caernarfon Castle, and Snowdonia

This was the day we left Ireland for Wales via ferry across the Irish Sea. Needless to say, that was a lot of fun. It was also very relaxing. No bus, just water. It was a little cloudy but the water was calm and cold. From the ferry, I was able to see my first glimpse of Wales (which wasn't much at first, but it got MUCH better the longer we were in Wales, which was only a day...). After exiting the ferry, we got on a bus (with Tony, our awesome driver who REALLY knew his stuff) and left for Caernarfon Castle. On the way, I took many pictures of the landscape, but they do Wales no justice. It is just too beautiful to be seen in pictures - it HAS to be done in person. The castle is one of several in the Snowdonia area around Wales. We were able to explore the castle almost to our hearts desire. The views from the towers were incredible - endless beauty and really nice people. After trapsing around for a while, I decided that being a princess in an old stone castle was NOT something I wanted to be anymore. Castles were dark, dank, narrow, steep, and just plain scary. There was no light except for the natural light coming in from the very tiny windows, which didn't make much difference and probably didn't have to be there in the first place. But it was beautiful. Because of this castle, and what we did immediately afterwards, made me fall totally and completely in love with Wales. But first, a few pictures cause I know you're dying to see these places :-)


This is us leaving Ireland on the Irish Sea in the ferry and heading to Wales. Fun stuff!!



Look! Wales!


Caernarfon Caslte, Gwynedd, Wales - isn't it beautiful?

After the castle, we drove through Snowdonia. This was a part of the trip that was spur of the moment just becasue we had time. Our trip leader had never been there before, and he's been to Europe several times. It was great! We drove through the Snowdonia Mountain range which was breath-takingly gorgeous! That's all we had to do to get me to fall in love with Wales. Besides the wonderful people, the scenery is the best I have ever seen! Following are some pictures of Snowdonia - and trust me, they DO NOT do Snowdonia any justice. Take a look for yourself...


Snowdonia


Snowdonia


Snowdonia

That was pretty much the extent of that day. Oh yeah, that same night we arrived in England and none of us knew it.

22 September 2007: Dove Cottage and Hilltop Farm

This was the day we visited Beaxtrix Potter's house and William Wordsworth's house. For those of you who are not familiar with the name Beatrix Potter, she's the author of the Peter Rabbit books and made children's books in line of Peter Rabbit very affordable for families with children. She also bought much of the land around her house in order to preserve it. And preserve it she did. Several of the pictures in her books are of places in her house or what she saw right outside her windows. Hilltop Farm (the Potter house) was so cute! Following are some pictures of where she lived - I was no allowed to take any of the inside, but it's worth visiting if you get the chance.



Beatrix Potter's garden path


Hilltop Farm (The Beatrix Potter House)


See this picture? See the road? Yeah, it's in one of her books. Pretty isn't it?

So after that, we went to Dove Cottage - the home of the poet William Wordsworth. That too was interesting. Apparantly, before it was a house, Dove Cottage was a pub at the edge of town on the main street. Then it became a home and that of Willam Wordsworth for 8 years before it became too small to accomodate his growing family and frequent visitors. Following are some pictures from the village, the garden, and the surrounding areas of Dove Cottage.


This is near Grasmere Village where Dove Cottage is located. With the exception of my friend's head, isn't it pretty? We were actually looking for a mountain to climb at the time.


Another just outside of Grasmere Village


Dove Cottage - cute isn't it?


This is a group of some of the girls that were there. We are at a lake in Grasmere Village just across the street from Dove Cottage. It looks out onto a beautiful mountain and we just had to take this. Good times :-)


From Dove Cottage garden looking down onto the cottage

That was pretty much the extent of the day, besides winding roads and a whole lot of countryside (which was all gorgeous). Better keep moving forward because there is still so much to learn about!

23 September 2007: Housestead Fort and Hadrian's Wall

This was "Roman" day. The hostel we stayed at was just across the road from Hadrian's Wall, which was really cool. But this day, we saw the wall and a fort that had been built on the wall - both by the Romans of course who had control over England in about the 100's AD. Yeah, the things we saw were a good almost 2000 years old and still standing, or in ruins as is the case for the fort. We didn't spend a lot of time at the wall (which made me really upset) because it was so windy as you will see soon enough. But we did spend a lot of time at the fort. There was so much to see and take pictures of. My roomie Kaity and I went picture crazy and did just about everything we could to get good pics. It was pretty stinkin' fun! So...the pictures...I know that's all you're here for :-) jk. I hope by now you're getting a good glimpse into my life for about a week - hectic but unforgettable. Just check these out!


While we were relaxing and exploring, I snapped several pictures near Hadrian's Wall. This is just one of the many.


This is me and roomie Kaity at Hadrian's Wall. See? It was very windy and foggy which was just a gross combination but nevertheless a great experiance.


Climbed a steep hill and got this for you. Isn't Hadrian's Wall country pretty in the fog?


Strutting some stuff on Housestead's Fort


This is Kaity on Housestead's Fort overlooking the valley


Me at Housestead's Fort - it was very windy as you can tell


Conquering Housestead's Fort!


Hehee...I like this picture


Doing push-ups in the Graneries of Housestead


Whoah!! I can jump really high!!

After that, made our way to Scotland, specifically Edinburgh and that was another great highlight of my "before London" expedition.


Me and Kaity with Scotland in the background

24 September 2007: Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, and Holyroodhouse

So, after our awesome "Roman day", we did a cool "Scotland day". We went to Edinburgh castle and saw the biggest cannon in the world - Mons Meg. There will be pictures showing how big this thing actually is...cause it's a monster. After that, we walked down the Royal Mile which is a whole bunch of tourist shops, eateries, coffee shops, and the like - not forgetting the best kilt makers in the world. After walking down, we went to Holyroodhouse. For those of you who do not know what Holyroodhouse is, this is the house that the Queen stays in when she visits Edinburgh, as well as any other member of the royal family. I walked where she walked, saw where she sat, and walked through her gardens. To be completely honest, I don't think I would like staying in Holyroodhouse because it is not a homey place. It's too stiff and cold feeling - not temperature-wise, but just the decorations and furniture. It didn't feel like home, which is what I would have thought it would have looked like, at least a little bit. But it was pretty. I will say that the Queen's chambers were MUCH more comfortable-feeling. Her bed was behind a glass wall, but I didn't really get a good explanation as to why - it could have been because her bed spread was worth 400,000 pounds (quid - however you want to say it) or her bed itself is like 200 years old. I'm not really sure. But that was a great experience. Afterwards, we were allowed to wander wherever we wanted to until midnight. I did go by Harry Potter's birthplace - The Elephant House - for those who are interested in that. It was cute, and you could see Edinburgh Castle from the window. That made me happy. For those of you who also know anything about Greyfriar's Bobby, we saw his grave as well. It is directly behind The Elephant House and is gorgeous in the evening cause I went...twice. So enough words, right? Where are the pictures? Have at it:

*So my pictures aren't loading at the moment. So I will have to come back and put them up later. I'm sorry for the disappointment!*

25 September 2007: Edinburgh (Free day)

So just like it says, we had a free day in Edinburgh. Went shopping ALL day long. We also climbed Arthur's Seat at the edge of Edinburgh. There is a legend that says that King Arthur once sat on the hill, but that is pure speculation. But the view was spectacular and I took lots of pictures. I think all of those are on Facebook - I'd have to check and make sure. Going down the Seat we saw a rainbow and that just made me happy. After that, a couple of friends and I went back up the Royal Mile and visited Greyfriar Bobby's grave and the graveyard - J.K. Rowling walked in that graveyard and several of her characters are named from the people there (Tom Riddle, Hermione, McGonngall, and several more I can't remember). I think we spent about an hour and a half just walking around, taking pictures and having a great time just being with ourselves. I really needed it. Chris and I had a good heart to heart talk because I was being girly and emotional at the time. Boys are nice to talk to when you're feeling a bit down. In all honesty, I was very upset that we were leaving Edinburgh the next day. I had completely fallen in love with it. The other part was that, growing up, I honestly never ever thought that I would ever get the chance to go to Europe. I guess Edinburgh was when it really hit me that I was actually there, living a dream I had never thought possible - so it made me cry and Chris made it better. Yay boys!!

*So my pictures still are not loading. I will put them on later when they will load. Still so sorry for the inconvenience*

26 September 2007: Jedburgh and York

This was another long trip on the bus day. We traveled from Edinburgh to Jedburgh about 2 or 3 hours away. Here we stopped at the wool mill and bought lunch/cheap wool stuff like kilts (yep, I bought I kilt, but it's not for me so don't ask me to wear it). Then we were back on the way to York, where we spent less than a day. But honestly, most of the day was spent riding a bus. We got to York in the late afternoon/early evening. We took a tour around it - which didn't take long because it's so incredibly small. After hanging out in our awesome hotel rooms, we were getting ready for our night on the town - specifically Evensong at York Minster Abbey - when one of the girls in my room gets a text message from back home (home meaning Searcy). The text plainly said "Jan Jones died this morning". To inform you if you don't know, Jan Jones was the accompanist for the musicals at Harding. She was a wonderful lady (and a GREAT cook) with such a wonderful heart. She had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer earlier in the year, so the diagnosis was not good from the start. She had been getting progressively worse and Courtney had actually earlier in the day told me that the Jones family had hospice come and had given her two weeks - but she died early that morning. Since several theatre people are on the trip (and I suppose I can count myself one of them), this hit pretty hard. After Evensong at York Minster, Kaity, Jordan and I all lit a candle for Mrs. Jan in her honor and memory and said a prayer for her family. The next day, in commemoration of her, I wore my Fiddler shirt, because that was the last musical she had been able to really take part in. But a night on the town was just what was needed for our sad eyes. York Minster is gorgeous and all the stain-glass is from the Middle Ages. It is the largest collection of Middle Age stained-glass in the world. I found it breath-taking! Afterwards was dinner and then bed time.

*Pictures still are not loading. Still will try another time to put them up. Sorry again, for the disappointment*

27 September 2007: York and London

This was the day that I had been waiting for for a long time. I was actually going to get to see London!! Yay!! But before that, we had to leave York. We spent a couple hours perusing the York shops but mostly enjoying the cool air and the small-town life. It was very cute. London was still quite a ways off, so we got back on the bus with awesome bus driver Tony (who really knows his stuff) and went off to London! Quite an uneventful ride to say the least, but exciting at the same time. All of us were SOO glad we were going to be in a place for more than a night, that we could do laundry, and BUY FOOD to keep in a fridge! Yay!! So we arrive in London after a long days travels. I don't see much that I recognize from pictures - why? Because all that stuff is only a 10 minute walk from my flat right down Tottendam Court Road, past Trafalgar Square, and right smack-dab into Westminster Palace - commonly known as the Parliament Building. Oh yeah, and I saw Big Ben!! Yay!! But not until the next day, which I will get to in a minute. That Thursday went by that evening with most of us unpacking since none of us had our Tube passes yet so we couldnt go very far. Some went shopping for groceries, some went to bed, but we were all happy that we had a home now - at least for two months. yay!!

Ok so honestly, I'm going to stop right there and continue at a decent hour. Since then, not too much has happened. I went on a tour of Parliament, saw Big Ben and Trafalgar Square, rode on the Tube, and went to Harrod's. Oh and I started classes. So there you go. My life until right now at 1 in the morning. I have class tomorrow (and we're going to the British Museum. yay!!) so I have to get up early - .....joy joy joy....yuck! I honestly will TRY my hardest to keep this up to date on what's been going on. Things have been quite busy and I finally had some time to sit and write. Granted, I've been working on this since abuot 8 and it's 1....slow internet + lots of pictures = long time coming.

Please keep in touch! I would love to hear suggestions for things. Please also keep me updated on things going on at home. I don't want to be too out of the loop when I get back. I love you all! If I didn't, this wouldn't be here. I hope you have enjoyed this little trip as much as I have. There is so much that I left out and I will talk about it when I get home. but now is time to sleep.

Love to you all!!

In Him,

Aimee