Spring Break

We have decided what to do for spring break (well we havent officially booked it yet, but we are tonight). We are going to fly from London to Geneva, Switzerland, take a train from Geneva to Montreux, then fly from Geneva to Venice, Italy. Then I will fly home to London on Wednesday so I can pick my best friends up at the airport the next morning.
This is the first trip that made me absolutely ecstatic. I was almost going to cry when we were looking it up because it is a completely plausible trip. I thought it would be out of this world expensive, but for the three flights, it only comes out to be £77. Once we add hostels and other random expenses, it'll probably end up costing about £300, but you know what, to go to  two different countries for under $600 is incredible, especially considering I spent more than that on my four day Disney vacation last year.
I shall update everyone once I have booked it!!

Shopping

Julie and I were planning our spring break and were getting very confused as to where cities were located within certain countries and within Europe so I asked her to come with me to go find a map of Europe at a bookstore. First, we had to find a bookstore, then we had to find a map. We didnt end up finding a map, but I found my new favorite bookstore. It looked to be about one store wide, but after walking in, I fell in love. It was three stories and had that European city bookstore feel about it. I could definitely see myself grabbing a coffee and spending hours there. I did miss not having Barnes and Noble because I miss walking around a bookstore, but this is a nice replacement.

Daunt Books

This store was on a street called Marylebone High Street and farther down there was a store called Cath Kidston. It was a better version of Vera Bradley, and I had to really hold myself back from buying everything in there. It was exactly the type of quirky stuff I like; patterns of trains and cowboys on horses and pirate ships. I couldn't help but thinking about how I want to buy the fabric they have there and re-do my room again, but I am 99% sure my mother would shoot me for that. I decided that I would eventually buy myself something before I leave London to remind me of my time here, but I can't afford to spend £55 on a train pattern dress right now. I did end up buying myself the train passport holder because, well, I just couldn't stop myself.

And after all of this, I didn't find my map. I bought a map of the London Underground to hang on my wall at home, but not the map we went out for. I asked the RA in the lobby and he told us exactly where to go, so I'll save that for another day. 

Typical

I am locked out of my room for the first time. I'm actually surprised that it hasn't happened sooner. I forget something every time I try to leave and end up having to go back in. I was not paying attention this morning. Now I sit on the stairs hoping for my roomie to come up.

What a way to start off my day. It's going to be a good one.

Bars

It is really strange that people are counting down to their 21st birthdays on Facebook so they can go out to bars and drink, and I can go up to any bar here and get in. I feel old and important, but then I remember I am not old, and I feel great about it.

Trips

My friends and I booked most of our trips this week!!

Dublin: 21 Feb to 23 Feb

Amsterdam: 21 Mar to 24 Mar with my two best friends

Paris: 4 April to 6 April

We are also looking into going to Liverpool, Edinburgh, the Swiss Alps, Italy, Morocco, and Portugal. We still need to decide what to do for spring break though, too bad we couldn't do all of that in a week. 

Tardis

I finally found my Tardis this weekend. We had to take two different trains to get there, but we found it. I gave it a hug and a kiss, of course.
Then I watched the premiere of the new season of Top Gear. In England. This made me so unbelievably happy, you have no idea. Its such a simple thing, to watch television, but just the fact that I have been watching the show for years and now I am finally in England watching it on BBC Two, not BBC America put a smile on my face. And that I wasn't the only random person sitting in the lobby watching a car show.

#2

If you open up your heart, you'll know what I mean. We've been polluted so long, now here's a way for you to get clean.

George Harrison

Accident

I had my first Creative Writing Non Fiction assignment due today. We had to write about a profound experience within the last year and describe it in detail. I chose my car accident. It was the first event that popped into my head, despite the crappy 2012 I had. So it took me 15 minutes to write the assignment, and in all honesty, I thought it was not good at all. I thought I used too many verbs and descriptions and it was overkill. So, today when I went to class, first she made us switch our stories with a partner, then as she got the class' attention, she asked me to read mine aloud because she loved it. Not only did I not want to share that story with one partner, or two, I certainly did not want to share with the entire class. But I said to myself, how will you improve if you don't let people hear your work? So I read it, trembling voice and all. She praised almost every sentence in that story. It did feel good to be recognized for something so personal, and it helped me not be so afraid to share.

Then, of course, as if today was strictly meant to only revolve around my accident, I was at the student bar and a kid decided to open up his conversation with asking me about my scar. So, I will tell everyone now, I do feel a little bad ass with this massive scar on my arm. To me, it shows that I went through something absolutely traumatizing, but I handled it like a champion. So he asked me how I got it and then I had to retell the entire ordeal. Its not that I mind talking about it, I sort of like it because it is a pretty interesting story, but I also feel like I don't want to tell everyone everything about it because I don't want to seem like I want the attention. It is a screwed up theory in my mind, I know, but I can't help it. I tend to just breeze over it, leaving out major details that usually cause peoples' eyes to bulge or to gasp.

So the moral of the story? My scar is a conversation starter, I guess.

Stonehenge & Bath

I paid £26 for a tour to Stonehenge and Bath. First of all, our bus had hardwood floors. Second, Bath was absolutely beautiful. Stonehenge was a bit overrated and at one point, Lisangi and I just said "We are all just getting excited over a bunch of rocks in a field". Its something you have to do while in England though, so I didn't mind.

The Roman Baths were really amazing. The Romans came to England around AD 43. Those baths were almost 2000 years old and we were walking on the original floors and touching the original walls. History like that just completely blows my mind.

Its been a while

It has been a long time since my last post, and I apologize. A lot has happened since.

Last night, we went to this super cool bar called O'Neills. It was three floors packed with people and each floor had different music. When we first got there, there was a pretty good band playing The White Stripes, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, really awesome music. So we danced a bit then I went and ordered my first beer. Budweiser on tap. It was not as bad as beer I've tasted in the past, but it wasn't apple juice either. I drank about half of it and started feeling my eyes getting heavy and my head getting fuzzy so I gave that beer away as fast as I could. I do not like not having control and if I finished that beer, I would not have been in control. I had such an amazing time. The music was great, the people were great, my friends were great. I want to go back to O'Neills every Thursday night.

Today, we went to see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. It was completely surreal to be walking through a park after getting off the tube and seeing the palace behind some trees. Then walking up the Mall, it just didn't really seem like it was happening. Its been over a week since we arrived in London and I feel like there are so many things I have accomplished and learned about myself. Last night at the bar was the first time I realized how different I am. Back in NJ, I never would have went to a bar, danced, talked to guys, and gotten a drink, but London brings out the best in me (or the worst). I am coming out of my shell in this city.

This photo makes me feel like I can accomplish
anything. IM IN LONDON!!! Crazy