Well, we made it back to London...somehow. This morning was an adventure for sure. Our bus from Amalfi to Salerno was actually early so Jordan and I were able to jump on an earlier train to Naples which we thought would be a grand plan...WRONG. Even though the train left earlier it had more stops and so it actually got us in about 30 minutes after our original train would have. We were getting worried so we sprinted out of the train station and chased down a shuttle bus to the airport (looking back on it, we probably looked pretty funny). There was some traffic so when the bus stopped at the airport terminal we shot out of the back doors and ran to the check in desk all flustered. The lady was very nice, she told us to calm down, we still had four minutes. Our flight back, however, was not nearly as awesome as the flight over. Instead of being filled with pirates there was a group of rowdy, loud, obnoxious Italian teenagers. But once we boarded the plane Jordan and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
We're now sitting back in our flat, enjoying some quiet time. It will hopefully be a boring weekend because classes this week are going to be quite busy. I've posted some pictures of spring break on facebook here are the links if you want to check em out:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007640&id=1401300102&l=7f3e75c603
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007789&id=1401300102&l=f516e707b5
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A great ending to an AMAZING vacation.
Wow. Its hard to beleive that spring break is over, but it has been incredible. Spending a week perched on an Italian cliff side, climbing volcanoes, seeing ancient ruins, eating the best food of my life including gelatto every day! Life simply could not have been better. This vacation was different than we had expected, but that's okay because a lot of things turned out better than we could have hoped and we learned so much. It was an experience, as we like to say, and a great one.
For our last day we had planned on heading over to one of the closer towns and taking a boat into a cave that glows green; however, the seas were too rough and it was closed. We spent a moment being sad over that and then decided to continue into the next town, Positano, which is known for its beautiful houses and beaches. The morning was perfect, we caught all of our buses on time with little to no wait. We walked down a windy road in Positano, peeking into some of the clothing stores, and got to the beach before 12. That hasn't happend for us yet so we were happy. We hiked up our pant legs and headed to the ocean, which was freezing, but we didn't care because it was the Medditeranean (well not exactly, more like the Tyrrenian sea, but close enough). We took some pictures then found some rocks to sit on and soak up the sun for a bit. It was so relaxing to soak up the sun and listen to the waves. Aaah, so great. After a while we started getting hungrey and decided to head back to Amalfi for the afternoon. We hiked up a bunch of really steep steps and walked along the winding road to the bus stop, right as it pulled up. In London, thats not really a big deal but here...it was a miracle. We did have to wait a while in Priano for a bus to Amalfi, but the sun was shining so it was okay.
Our afternoon in Amalfi was fabulous. We ate a delicious lunch of pasta, salad and bread at this really great little restaurant where eating isn't just about the food its also about the atmosphere. We finished up our souvenir shopping and then found the perfect gelatto for our last day, and even upgraded to the big size because its vacation! We ate our gelatto by the water and then sat just watching the waves crash until it started raining. The rain shower only lasted a few minutes and when we came back outside we saw a fabulous double rainbow landing in the water. It was a beautiful way to end our time in Amalfi. Now we're spending a relaxing night here in the B&B because tomorrow will be an earlier morning so we can make sure and get to the airport in time.
I will miss Italy incredibly, but I know I will welcome the familiarity of London. The two places are so different and so this was a good amount of time away from London to remind me of why I love it so I can fully appreciate the little time I have left. We have a little over a month left in London! It seems like just yesterday I was getting on the plane and now its almost time to come home. As Pino would say in his Italian accent, "its incrediible, just incrediible."
For our last day we had planned on heading over to one of the closer towns and taking a boat into a cave that glows green; however, the seas were too rough and it was closed. We spent a moment being sad over that and then decided to continue into the next town, Positano, which is known for its beautiful houses and beaches. The morning was perfect, we caught all of our buses on time with little to no wait. We walked down a windy road in Positano, peeking into some of the clothing stores, and got to the beach before 12. That hasn't happend for us yet so we were happy. We hiked up our pant legs and headed to the ocean, which was freezing, but we didn't care because it was the Medditeranean (well not exactly, more like the Tyrrenian sea, but close enough). We took some pictures then found some rocks to sit on and soak up the sun for a bit. It was so relaxing to soak up the sun and listen to the waves. Aaah, so great. After a while we started getting hungrey and decided to head back to Amalfi for the afternoon. We hiked up a bunch of really steep steps and walked along the winding road to the bus stop, right as it pulled up. In London, thats not really a big deal but here...it was a miracle. We did have to wait a while in Priano for a bus to Amalfi, but the sun was shining so it was okay.
Our afternoon in Amalfi was fabulous. We ate a delicious lunch of pasta, salad and bread at this really great little restaurant where eating isn't just about the food its also about the atmosphere. We finished up our souvenir shopping and then found the perfect gelatto for our last day, and even upgraded to the big size because its vacation! We ate our gelatto by the water and then sat just watching the waves crash until it started raining. The rain shower only lasted a few minutes and when we came back outside we saw a fabulous double rainbow landing in the water. It was a beautiful way to end our time in Amalfi. Now we're spending a relaxing night here in the B&B because tomorrow will be an earlier morning so we can make sure and get to the airport in time.
I will miss Italy incredibly, but I know I will welcome the familiarity of London. The two places are so different and so this was a good amount of time away from London to remind me of why I love it so I can fully appreciate the little time I have left. We have a little over a month left in London! It seems like just yesterday I was getting on the plane and now its almost time to come home. As Pino would say in his Italian accent, "its incrediible, just incrediible."
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Why I believe in karma
What a few days it has been. Sorry for no update yesterday (for those of you vigilantly following this exciting blog) but it was a long and sort of frustrating day. It started like any other day, a long bus ride down the mountain and then a walk to the train station. This time we were helped by these four Italian school girls who are learning English in school but only know "hello" and "what is your name," so they like listening to us. We got on a metro in Castllemare headed to Pompeii and we got there just fine. But we somehow missed the map station so we wandered from one end of Pompeii to the other getting completley lost before finding another entrance that had a map, which didn't really help very much. Pompeii is amazing, don't get me wrong, but its not signed very well and so we didn't have much of a clue what we were seeing. So, for future reference, pay a little extra and do the tour. After spending a few hours wandering the ruins and being amazed by how cool the preservation is, we had a nice lunch of pasta and then started the epic journey home. I'm not sure if I want to relive every detail, so to summarize: we walked forever to find tickets and then waited over an hour for a bus that never came so we had to find a train station to take us to an out of the way city so we could take a bus to get us to a city near here (Amalfi). Once we got to Amalfi we called Pino and he came and picked us up and that was so incredibly nice. Throughout all our troubles I must say that everyone has been so very helpful and friendly.
Today, however, was so much better! Our plan was to go to Capri, a beautiful island. To get there you must take a ferry from Sorrento; but of course we underestimated the time it would take to get to Sorrento because of a road closure. When we got the ferry port we realized that if we got on the next boat we'd only have an hour or so in Capri and that wasn't worth it, so we scrapped that plan and decided to spend the afternoon in Sorrento. Best decision ever. We shopped, ate some incredible pizza, shopped some more. We found a little shop that made custom-fit sandals in 5 minutes, so of course we got some! Then we went and found the best gelato yet and went to catch our bus back here. The bus could only take us as far as Priano because of the road construction, and then we were going to have to wait an hour before another bus to Amalfi was going to come. There was a couple from San Fransisco there in the same boat and we decided just to walk and see where the bus caught up with us. It was really nice walking along the cliff road with the sun setting at our backs and the beautiful water below. We talked to this couple and found out they have been backpacking around Europe since mid-Feburary and are getting ready to move into an apartment in Italy...how cool! So today was a really good day, which made up for the less than stellar ending to yesterday.
Okay one more story then I promise I'm done. The other day we were waiting for a bus (surprise surprise) and this man started talking to us. He was Italian but had been in London for some time years ago etc etc. This morning we actually saw him again and he helped us figure out what bus to get on. Then tonight we were hanging out in the little snack shop opposite the bus parking lot and he came in again! We talked to him some more and it was such a nice way to pass the time. Italians are so friendly and its nice to see a friendly and familiar face in a place like Amalfi. I will miss that when we go back to London.
Today, however, was so much better! Our plan was to go to Capri, a beautiful island. To get there you must take a ferry from Sorrento; but of course we underestimated the time it would take to get to Sorrento because of a road closure. When we got the ferry port we realized that if we got on the next boat we'd only have an hour or so in Capri and that wasn't worth it, so we scrapped that plan and decided to spend the afternoon in Sorrento. Best decision ever. We shopped, ate some incredible pizza, shopped some more. We found a little shop that made custom-fit sandals in 5 minutes, so of course we got some! Then we went and found the best gelato yet and went to catch our bus back here. The bus could only take us as far as Priano because of the road construction, and then we were going to have to wait an hour before another bus to Amalfi was going to come. There was a couple from San Fransisco there in the same boat and we decided just to walk and see where the bus caught up with us. It was really nice walking along the cliff road with the sun setting at our backs and the beautiful water below. We talked to this couple and found out they have been backpacking around Europe since mid-Feburary and are getting ready to move into an apartment in Italy...how cool! So today was a really good day, which made up for the less than stellar ending to yesterday.
Okay one more story then I promise I'm done. The other day we were waiting for a bus (surprise surprise) and this man started talking to us. He was Italian but had been in London for some time years ago etc etc. This morning we actually saw him again and he helped us figure out what bus to get on. Then tonight we were hanging out in the little snack shop opposite the bus parking lot and he came in again! We talked to him some more and it was such a nice way to pass the time. Italians are so friendly and its nice to see a friendly and familiar face in a place like Amalfi. I will miss that when we go back to London.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sometimes the journey is just as awesome as the destination
Well today has been another great day, but a different one. Jordan and I got up earlyish and had another fabulous breakfast (I know I mention this everyday, but its just the best way to start your day. two warm pastries, some citrus juice and a cappuccino! so good). Today instead of catching the bus in Amalfi, which is done by the coast we went up the mountain to Agerola to get our bus to Naples. Agerola is much different from Amalfi or Furore because you can't see the water and so its more of a mountain community than a coastal one, or at least thats what I gathered as Jordan and I sat at the bus stop. The bus ride to Naples took about an hour and a half, down the curvy mountain roads; but we got some different yet equally incredible views of snow capped mountains in the distance and the cute towns we passed through. We arrived in Naples and caught a metro that took us to Vesuvius...or so we thought.
Before going to Mt. Vesuvius we thought that we would spend the day hiking around some trails and get to the top. We knew it was going to be a workout but we were excited about this. However, we, probably stupidly, completley underestimated the enormity of this mountain. Holy crap it is steep and tall and massive. So we caught a shuttle up close to the crater and then hiked the 800 meters to the top. This was enough of a workout for me! As we slowly huffed our way to the top we could see the city of Naples sprawled out and the water and some more cliffs, but when we finally arrived at the top we then focused on the crater. It was just so cool to walk around it and peer in it. At one point we got off the trail and climbed up a little rock wall to get a better view, which was equally scary and amazing. It was just so weird to stand on top of this volcano and peer down at Pompeii in the distance and think that this large rock we were sitting on caused so much damage so far away. Because really thats all Mt. Vesuvius is, a big 'ol massively huge rock that seems quite harmless. We couldn't spend much time up on Mt. Vesuvius itself because we had to catch our shuttle back, but it was really fun to do and we had a good time.
The rest of our day was spent traveling back here. We caught the metro to Naples and then had to wait for a while in Naples for a bus. The bus that did come took us a different way back; OVER A MOUNTAIN. The mountains here aren't like the little ones we have in N.C. either...they are taller and steeper and the roads are so much curvier. But we did it, and it was incredibly scary and exhilarating. Jordan and I were talking about how much time we spend traveling and realized that, while it might seem annoying because proportionally we do much more traveling than we do actual sight-seeing. But it provides for the much needed down-time and keeps us from being completley exhausted because, after all this is our break!
Before going to Mt. Vesuvius we thought that we would spend the day hiking around some trails and get to the top. We knew it was going to be a workout but we were excited about this. However, we, probably stupidly, completley underestimated the enormity of this mountain. Holy crap it is steep and tall and massive. So we caught a shuttle up close to the crater and then hiked the 800 meters to the top. This was enough of a workout for me! As we slowly huffed our way to the top we could see the city of Naples sprawled out and the water and some more cliffs, but when we finally arrived at the top we then focused on the crater. It was just so cool to walk around it and peer in it. At one point we got off the trail and climbed up a little rock wall to get a better view, which was equally scary and amazing. It was just so weird to stand on top of this volcano and peer down at Pompeii in the distance and think that this large rock we were sitting on caused so much damage so far away. Because really thats all Mt. Vesuvius is, a big 'ol massively huge rock that seems quite harmless. We couldn't spend much time up on Mt. Vesuvius itself because we had to catch our shuttle back, but it was really fun to do and we had a good time.
The rest of our day was spent traveling back here. We caught the metro to Naples and then had to wait for a while in Naples for a bus. The bus that did come took us a different way back; OVER A MOUNTAIN. The mountains here aren't like the little ones we have in N.C. either...they are taller and steeper and the roads are so much curvier. But we did it, and it was incredibly scary and exhilarating. Jordan and I were talking about how much time we spend traveling and realized that, while it might seem annoying because proportionally we do much more traveling than we do actual sight-seeing. But it provides for the much needed down-time and keeps us from being completley exhausted because, after all this is our break!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Whats that? I dunno, lets check it out.
Today we had another low-key but awesome day. I woke up before Jordan and spent a few minutes sitting on our balcony, taking in all the sights. Its still hard to beleive how incredible this place is. I was talking to my friend Michelle tonight and she summed up the beauty of Italy perfectly. She said, "I think God potentially made Italy just so He could be like "yeah heaven's better than this" and we could be like: "showoff." haha I love her and Italy.
Pino took us down to Amalfi again this morning after another fabulous breakfast; he got us there in perfect time to because right after he pulled away the bus to Ravello was getting ready to leave. Ravello is a town that is famous for music festivals in the summer and is apparently where all the rich people live. However, since it was a Sunday in the off-season it was fairly quiet. Jordan and I spent some time wandering around the streets. Actually it was more like climbing up and down the streets because everything is so steep. But we found some really cool things and got some fun views. We also found a pottery shop that had some cute plates and so we each bought one, and I'm really excited about them! After getting some gelato we then caught the bus back down to Amalfi, spent some more time collecting rocks on the beach before grabbing some pizza and talking to a nice man while we waited for the bus.
We got back here and had a planning session for Vesuvius tomorrow with our "big brother," or "good friend," Pino. He really is the nicest man ever. After we went back to our room he had to call us back for some paper work or whatever and he brought us some strawberry sherbet something that was delicious! How cool is it that we got to eat bread and oil (we picked some up earlier) and sherbet on our bed in Italy! Tomorrow we're going to hike up Mt. Vesuvius and I'm so excited! Its going to be an epic adventure I'm sure.
Pino took us down to Amalfi again this morning after another fabulous breakfast; he got us there in perfect time to because right after he pulled away the bus to Ravello was getting ready to leave. Ravello is a town that is famous for music festivals in the summer and is apparently where all the rich people live. However, since it was a Sunday in the off-season it was fairly quiet. Jordan and I spent some time wandering around the streets. Actually it was more like climbing up and down the streets because everything is so steep. But we found some really cool things and got some fun views. We also found a pottery shop that had some cute plates and so we each bought one, and I'm really excited about them! After getting some gelato we then caught the bus back down to Amalfi, spent some more time collecting rocks on the beach before grabbing some pizza and talking to a nice man while we waited for the bus.
We got back here and had a planning session for Vesuvius tomorrow with our "big brother," or "good friend," Pino. He really is the nicest man ever. After we went back to our room he had to call us back for some paper work or whatever and he brought us some strawberry sherbet something that was delicious! How cool is it that we got to eat bread and oil (we picked some up earlier) and sherbet on our bed in Italy! Tomorrow we're going to hike up Mt. Vesuvius and I'm so excited! Its going to be an epic adventure I'm sure.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Its Amalfi, nothing's impossible
Jordan and I have had a fabulous day in a fabulous place. We went to bed last night around 9:30 and didn't get up today until around 9:30, yeah I looove sleep. We had an amazing breakfast of a lemon pastry and chocolate pastry with orange juice and a cappuccino. The owner of our bed and breakfast, Pino, is probably the nicest, most hospitable person I've ever met. This morning when Jordan and I mentioned that we wanted to go to Amalfi, a 'nearby' town and asked him how to get there he gave us bus passes and then offered to take us there in his car (so we used the bus passes coming home).
I mentioned before that we are staying on cliff, which makes for incredible views but sort of scary, long drives. Furore (where we are) is only around 4 miles from Amalfi as the crow flies. But to drive there you have to go along these windy roads on the edge of the cliff. Pino is a great driver though so we had no problem getting there. He dropped us off in the city center and we ventured under an archway into the town square to start our day. We ducked into a few shops before realizing there was a massive cathedral in front of us so we climbed the billion stairs up to it and went in. There appeared to be a service going on but from where we were in the back we couldn't see what was going on so we kept going forward until we realized that we had just walked in on a wedding! Yeah, Jordan and I are the ultimate wedding crashers. We left the cathedral and bust out laughing and then continued our day.
Most of our day was spent shopping around, looking at all sorts of souvenirs and pottery and jewelery and all sorts of fun stuff. After a bit we went down to the beach and started looking around at the rocks. Jordan discovered a bit of green sea glass, and then some more and for the next hour or so we walked along a small stretch of beach collecting enough rocks and sea glass to fill our pockets. We later bought some decorative bottles that we're going to fill the rocks with, yay art project!
We stopped into a small, cute little restaurant for lunch/dinner. It was fabulous. The owner was such a charmer and we met this really nice couple from America and talked to them about traveling and the sorts. We were discussing the area and how everything is built up on cliffs and that is where the blog title comes from; the lady said she had talked to a hotel owner who said that and it really does say a lot about these people's lifestyle. I just can't imagine living like this, but somehow so many people do.
After lunch we bought some souvenirs, ate some gelato and then made our way back up to the B&B. We had started planning for the next week and went to ask Pino some questions and he is going to be such a great help! Its going to be a full week, but we're getting some rest and seeing some really great and different things. Tomorrow we're off to Rovello, a historic town where all the rich people live but first "you must sleep in," says Pino so that we will do.
I mentioned before that we are staying on cliff, which makes for incredible views but sort of scary, long drives. Furore (where we are) is only around 4 miles from Amalfi as the crow flies. But to drive there you have to go along these windy roads on the edge of the cliff. Pino is a great driver though so we had no problem getting there. He dropped us off in the city center and we ventured under an archway into the town square to start our day. We ducked into a few shops before realizing there was a massive cathedral in front of us so we climbed the billion stairs up to it and went in. There appeared to be a service going on but from where we were in the back we couldn't see what was going on so we kept going forward until we realized that we had just walked in on a wedding! Yeah, Jordan and I are the ultimate wedding crashers. We left the cathedral and bust out laughing and then continued our day.
Most of our day was spent shopping around, looking at all sorts of souvenirs and pottery and jewelery and all sorts of fun stuff. After a bit we went down to the beach and started looking around at the rocks. Jordan discovered a bit of green sea glass, and then some more and for the next hour or so we walked along a small stretch of beach collecting enough rocks and sea glass to fill our pockets. We later bought some decorative bottles that we're going to fill the rocks with, yay art project!
We stopped into a small, cute little restaurant for lunch/dinner. It was fabulous. The owner was such a charmer and we met this really nice couple from America and talked to them about traveling and the sorts. We were discussing the area and how everything is built up on cliffs and that is where the blog title comes from; the lady said she had talked to a hotel owner who said that and it really does say a lot about these people's lifestyle. I just can't imagine living like this, but somehow so many people do.
After lunch we bought some souvenirs, ate some gelato and then made our way back up to the B&B. We had started planning for the next week and went to ask Pino some questions and he is going to be such a great help! Its going to be a full week, but we're getting some rest and seeing some really great and different things. Tomorrow we're off to Rovello, a historic town where all the rich people live but first "you must sleep in," says Pino so that we will do.
Friday, March 20, 2009
A journey that began with pirates
Bonjourno from Italy! I'm not sure how we did it, but Jordan and I are currently sitting in our B&B in Furore Italy. We were overlooking the cliff that leads down to the water but its dark now and the wind is blowing really hard so we closed our blinds, but thats the end of the story, it all began at...
4 this morning. We took two different buses to Victoria station where we caught a train to Gatwick so we could get on our plane to Naples. All was going well, until it got better because we realized that our flight was full of pirates! Thats right, pirates. Around 30 men were dressed up as pirates. Some of them had fake parrots, some had hats with hair attached to them, and all of them were AWESOME. Seriously, it was the coolest flight ever. We figured after a morning of travel that we were well on our way..oohhh we were wrong.
We arrived in Naples around 12 and found a tourism information desk where we asked when the next bus to Salerno would be and when we found out it wasn't until 2:45 we decided to ask for an alternate route. The very nice Italian lady told us that we could take a bus to the train station in Naples and then we could get a train to Salerno, easy enough. On the bus we talked to some really nice Americans who are working in Naples and they helped us find the train station. We found the ticket counter, bought our ticket to Salerno and then wandered the train station looking for our gate. After a while we asked for help from some very nice Italian people who got us on the right train. The train ride was nice, I slept through most of it and when we got off in Salerno we were looking for a bus to Amalfi. Some very nice Italian travel agent pointed us in the right direction and we got on our bus to Amalfi. I didn't know much about Amalfi before coming here, and maybe you don't either so let me tell you that Amalfi is on a mountain, that leads to the water. Driving on a road on a cliff is a...different...experience but we got some fabulous views of the water. We got to Amalfi and went to purchase our tickets for our last bus to Furore, where our B&B is. The very nice Italian people on the bus told us that they would signal us when to get off and so that is how we made it here!
This place seems amazing. Right now the weather isn't so good (cold and windy) but Pino (the owner of the B&B and our new best friend) assures us that it will be sunny soon. But either way we are here, we are safe and we are warm! Its going to be a great spring break!!
4 this morning. We took two different buses to Victoria station where we caught a train to Gatwick so we could get on our plane to Naples. All was going well, until it got better because we realized that our flight was full of pirates! Thats right, pirates. Around 30 men were dressed up as pirates. Some of them had fake parrots, some had hats with hair attached to them, and all of them were AWESOME. Seriously, it was the coolest flight ever. We figured after a morning of travel that we were well on our way..oohhh we were wrong.
We arrived in Naples around 12 and found a tourism information desk where we asked when the next bus to Salerno would be and when we found out it wasn't until 2:45 we decided to ask for an alternate route. The very nice Italian lady told us that we could take a bus to the train station in Naples and then we could get a train to Salerno, easy enough. On the bus we talked to some really nice Americans who are working in Naples and they helped us find the train station. We found the ticket counter, bought our ticket to Salerno and then wandered the train station looking for our gate. After a while we asked for help from some very nice Italian people who got us on the right train. The train ride was nice, I slept through most of it and when we got off in Salerno we were looking for a bus to Amalfi. Some very nice Italian travel agent pointed us in the right direction and we got on our bus to Amalfi. I didn't know much about Amalfi before coming here, and maybe you don't either so let me tell you that Amalfi is on a mountain, that leads to the water. Driving on a road on a cliff is a...different...experience but we got some fabulous views of the water. We got to Amalfi and went to purchase our tickets for our last bus to Furore, where our B&B is. The very nice Italian people on the bus told us that they would signal us when to get off and so that is how we made it here!
This place seems amazing. Right now the weather isn't so good (cold and windy) but Pino (the owner of the B&B and our new best friend) assures us that it will be sunny soon. But either way we are here, we are safe and we are warm! Its going to be a great spring break!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
:) Here we go again : )
Oh goodness, today has been a day.
I went to practicum this morning, the second time this week. I love being in the school but it makes for an earlier morning than I would like, but that's being a teacher for ya. My class was a bit rowdy in the morning and so when the teacher was gone in the afternoon and there was a supply (substitute) teacher they were crazy. It was a trying few hours, but a good experience to have as a future teacher. I came back and had a bit of down time before we ventured out to Picadilly Circus to see Mama Mia!!
We (Jordan, Amanda, Natalie, Kinsey and I) picked up our tickets and then went in search of dinner. We saw a Mexican place in the distance, but had trouble getting to it because we had to walk around a movie premiere! It was called The Damned United and we saw the red carpet and after dinner (which was fabulous) we saw some famous person being interviewed. We don't know who he was, but he was famous and that makes it cool.
The show itself was AMAZING! The energy was high and most of the characters were hilarious. There were a bit of technical difficulties that stopped the show in the middle of a song though; apparently the keyboard crashed or something. It was just so unexpected and comical watching the actresses stop and say "oh well, we're having some difficulties, be back in a minute," and run off stage. After that the rest of the show was really fun. Then in the end they did a little mini concert that was SO great. It really made the whole show.
After having such a fun evening we went to find some ice cream and then made some freinds with the French group on the tube : ) It was such a great time out, and some great bonding time before we all part ways for SPRING BREAK! We leave at 4 a.m. on Friday. Yeah, 4 in the morning...and I'm still super excited so I know its going to be good!! Hopefully we can update from the hotel in Italy, but if not look out for an epic blog post in a week. Talk to you all soon!
I went to practicum this morning, the second time this week. I love being in the school but it makes for an earlier morning than I would like, but that's being a teacher for ya. My class was a bit rowdy in the morning and so when the teacher was gone in the afternoon and there was a supply (substitute) teacher they were crazy. It was a trying few hours, but a good experience to have as a future teacher. I came back and had a bit of down time before we ventured out to Picadilly Circus to see Mama Mia!!
We (Jordan, Amanda, Natalie, Kinsey and I) picked up our tickets and then went in search of dinner. We saw a Mexican place in the distance, but had trouble getting to it because we had to walk around a movie premiere! It was called The Damned United and we saw the red carpet and after dinner (which was fabulous) we saw some famous person being interviewed. We don't know who he was, but he was famous and that makes it cool.
The show itself was AMAZING! The energy was high and most of the characters were hilarious. There were a bit of technical difficulties that stopped the show in the middle of a song though; apparently the keyboard crashed or something. It was just so unexpected and comical watching the actresses stop and say "oh well, we're having some difficulties, be back in a minute," and run off stage. After that the rest of the show was really fun. Then in the end they did a little mini concert that was SO great. It really made the whole show.
After having such a fun evening we went to find some ice cream and then made some freinds with the French group on the tube : ) It was such a great time out, and some great bonding time before we all part ways for SPRING BREAK! We leave at 4 a.m. on Friday. Yeah, 4 in the morning...and I'm still super excited so I know its going to be good!! Hopefully we can update from the hotel in Italy, but if not look out for an epic blog post in a week. Talk to you all soon!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
McElwee Cookies...In LONDON!
My mommy has been visiting this weekend and its been awesome. We were really busy and were exhausted every night, but I think that's this sign of a successful visit.
Friday I showed her around my practicum school and our class building and then we went to the British Museum. It was extra fun because Friday was "Red Nose Day," an event sponsored by an organization that raises money for families in Africa and asks people to "do something funny for money." And so many of the school groups wandering around had their hair spray painted red or were wearing clown wigs. We then spent the afternoon getting lost at Harrods, 5 floors of amazingness. I love shopping with my mommy, especially when we know that we can't actually buy anything 'cause we end up just wandering and having fun. We then met up with my cousin Kenny and spent some time catching up on family stuff, which is always fun. Then we had dinner with some of our friends, Greg and Amanda, before they showed us around the town at night..
Saturday we spent the day market shopping, running into all sorts of interesting characters and looking at all sorts of interesting trinkets. We again didn't buy anything (see Dad we can be good!) but it was fun to see everything. After a little rest at the hotel, we went to Piccadilly Circus for dinner at a little pizza shack and some serious souvenir shopping. After more wandering and picture taking we went back to the hotel with the hopes of watching some British T.V. but ended up tuning into NCIS and CSI: NY, gotta love the Brits.
We woke up this morning to beautiful blue skies and a warm sunshine...yay! It was perfect weather for us to go watch changing of the guards. It was pretty much the same as last time, and my mom really enjoyed it so that was fun. We spent the rest of the day walking. We walked by St. James' park down by Big Ben and Parliment and then we started walking by the Thames. We stopped and had lunch a little past the London Eye and then continued on too see a great view of St. Paul's, the Gherkin, London Brige, Tower Bridge and we finally ended at the Tower of London. It was a looong walk but a beautiful day and we had a great time talking and seeing the sights and everything.
Then tonight we thought it would be fun to make cookies in the flat. My mom wanted to do something for the flatmates, and I really missed cookies so we figured it was a grand idea! The cookies aren't exactly the same because brown sugar here is lighter, but they were still fabulous and everyone loved em which makes my mommy and me very happy : ) It was a great weekend, and I was sad to see her leave, but the time until I see her and the rest of my family and friends back home is going to FLY by. We leave for Spring Break this week!!!
Friday I showed her around my practicum school and our class building and then we went to the British Museum. It was extra fun because Friday was "Red Nose Day," an event sponsored by an organization that raises money for families in Africa and asks people to "do something funny for money." And so many of the school groups wandering around had their hair spray painted red or were wearing clown wigs. We then spent the afternoon getting lost at Harrods, 5 floors of amazingness. I love shopping with my mommy, especially when we know that we can't actually buy anything 'cause we end up just wandering and having fun. We then met up with my cousin Kenny and spent some time catching up on family stuff, which is always fun. Then we had dinner with some of our friends, Greg and Amanda, before they showed us around the town at night..
Saturday we spent the day market shopping, running into all sorts of interesting characters and looking at all sorts of interesting trinkets. We again didn't buy anything (see Dad we can be good!) but it was fun to see everything. After a little rest at the hotel, we went to Piccadilly Circus for dinner at a little pizza shack and some serious souvenir shopping. After more wandering and picture taking we went back to the hotel with the hopes of watching some British T.V. but ended up tuning into NCIS and CSI: NY, gotta love the Brits.
We woke up this morning to beautiful blue skies and a warm sunshine...yay! It was perfect weather for us to go watch changing of the guards. It was pretty much the same as last time, and my mom really enjoyed it so that was fun. We spent the rest of the day walking. We walked by St. James' park down by Big Ben and Parliment and then we started walking by the Thames. We stopped and had lunch a little past the London Eye and then continued on too see a great view of St. Paul's, the Gherkin, London Brige, Tower Bridge and we finally ended at the Tower of London. It was a looong walk but a beautiful day and we had a great time talking and seeing the sights and everything.
Then tonight we thought it would be fun to make cookies in the flat. My mom wanted to do something for the flatmates, and I really missed cookies so we figured it was a grand idea! The cookies aren't exactly the same because brown sugar here is lighter, but they were still fabulous and everyone loved em which makes my mommy and me very happy : ) It was a great weekend, and I was sad to see her leave, but the time until I see her and the rest of my family and friends back home is going to FLY by. We leave for Spring Break this week!!!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Out of my comfort zone
This has been a pretty busy week with lots of school work starting to pile up. To be completely honest we’re still trying to catch up on sleep from Paris, but we’ve had some new experiences this week that I feel are worth writing about.
Thursday we went to a play called Over There for theater class; it was about twin brothers living in Germany during the Cold War. Their parents have divorced and one lives in East and one in West Germany. For the first bit of the play they must visit each other but then the wall fall and they live together for a bit. The storyline is simple enough, but the author of this play is famous for doing scandalous and over the top things so I was interested to see what happened. I was not disappointed. The actors (who were twins in real life) were phenomenal; they were funny and made the audience feel very comfortable. However, the play was just so…weird. One of the brothers has a child, played by a sponge and they enjoy talking to it in German and Russian. For most of the play the brothers are either wearing these ridiculous metallic like suits, either that or just their underwear. And in the final scene one of the brothers gets angry and covers himself in juice, chocolate sauce, flour and some canned cheese, I think. I thought the play was brilliant but it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in my life and I don’t know if I’ll ever see anything like it again, but I did enjoy it while I was there.
Then today my sociology class visited a Hindu Temple. It was INCREDIBLE. The temple itself is absolutely gorgeous; the marble pieces that make up the outside were carved in India then shipped here and reassembled. The detail on the outside is incredible, and it matches the detail of the woodwork on the inside. We went in, took of our shoes, and were ushered upstairs to the worship area of the temple. There were three of us that got there early and so we were by ourselves, and completely clueless. We walked up into a space with some columns where people were sitting around facing three doors. A security guard saw how lost we were and told us to sit because the doors would be opening soon. When they did we saw several statues ornately decorated and the people there started bowing down to them and performing their own rituals. It wasn’t until we went downstairs into the “Understanding Hinduism” exhibition that we understood what was going on. I’m still not sure I completely understand it, but the statues are religious idols that, when the temple opened, were blessed and a religious leader brought the spirit of God into them. So now Hindus come to the temple to show their devotion to God and to meditate etc. The exhibition was really great and taught me a lot about a religion I previously knew nothing about. Although being in the actual temple was a bit out of my comfort zone, I am so glad that we did it. Hinduism is a fascinating religion and I can’t wait to learn more about it now.
But now the weekend is here and so is my mommy!! That’s right my mom is here for a long weekend visit. We’re going to do the touristy things and hang out and have a great time. I’m so excited that she’s here : )
Thursday we went to a play called Over There for theater class; it was about twin brothers living in Germany during the Cold War. Their parents have divorced and one lives in East and one in West Germany. For the first bit of the play they must visit each other but then the wall fall and they live together for a bit. The storyline is simple enough, but the author of this play is famous for doing scandalous and over the top things so I was interested to see what happened. I was not disappointed. The actors (who were twins in real life) were phenomenal; they were funny and made the audience feel very comfortable. However, the play was just so…weird. One of the brothers has a child, played by a sponge and they enjoy talking to it in German and Russian. For most of the play the brothers are either wearing these ridiculous metallic like suits, either that or just their underwear. And in the final scene one of the brothers gets angry and covers himself in juice, chocolate sauce, flour and some canned cheese, I think. I thought the play was brilliant but it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in my life and I don’t know if I’ll ever see anything like it again, but I did enjoy it while I was there.
Then today my sociology class visited a Hindu Temple. It was INCREDIBLE. The temple itself is absolutely gorgeous; the marble pieces that make up the outside were carved in India then shipped here and reassembled. The detail on the outside is incredible, and it matches the detail of the woodwork on the inside. We went in, took of our shoes, and were ushered upstairs to the worship area of the temple. There were three of us that got there early and so we were by ourselves, and completely clueless. We walked up into a space with some columns where people were sitting around facing three doors. A security guard saw how lost we were and told us to sit because the doors would be opening soon. When they did we saw several statues ornately decorated and the people there started bowing down to them and performing their own rituals. It wasn’t until we went downstairs into the “Understanding Hinduism” exhibition that we understood what was going on. I’m still not sure I completely understand it, but the statues are religious idols that, when the temple opened, were blessed and a religious leader brought the spirit of God into them. So now Hindus come to the temple to show their devotion to God and to meditate etc. The exhibition was really great and taught me a lot about a religion I previously knew nothing about. Although being in the actual temple was a bit out of my comfort zone, I am so glad that we did it. Hinduism is a fascinating religion and I can’t wait to learn more about it now.
But now the weekend is here and so is my mommy!! That’s right my mom is here for a long weekend visit. We’re going to do the touristy things and hang out and have a great time. I’m so excited that she’s here : )
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Paris...I fell in love again.
Quick synopsis of Paris since I"m sure this is going to be a long one: Paris was INCREDIBLE!We did so much in a short period of time and had so much fun. We saw lots of historical sites, beautiful views and ate the best food I've ever had in my life. We spent an evening trying to see as much as we could in the Louvre, climbed up the Eiffel Tower, stood in awe inside Notre Dame, climbed up a hill to the highest point in Paris, walked along the Champs de Elyse to hang out at the Arc de Triumph and finally took a boat cruise along the Seine. If you don't have 7 hours of your life to waste reading all this and want to look at pictures here's a link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006859&id=1401300102&l=9e6f4 The days were long, we are still sort of recovering from exhaustion, but it was all so worth it. It all started on...
Friday: We (Kinsey, Sam, Katie Mac and Katie) caught the Eurostar train early in the morning. Thats the train that goes under the chunnel and goes really really fast. It only took us a little over 2 hours, just enough time to come up with a game plan. We went with a tour group so when we arrived in Paris we first got on a bus and took a tour of the city. It was great to see lots of different things and get some tips from our tour guide. We checked into our hotel which was pretty nice before heading off on a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. It was a different part of Paris that I would have never thought of going to explore so that was fun. After the tour we rushed over the Louvre because apparently on the first Friday of the month it stays open late and under 26 year olds get in free. Awesome. I'm not a big art person, but I absolutely loved the Louvre. We saw the Mona Lisa, and I don't care what other people say I think it was really cool to see. We saw tons of other pieces of art and history (Hammarabi's code is there...how cool!) but the highlight for me was Napoleon III"s apartments. They were so lavish and beautiful. After the Louvre we went back to the hotel to crash.
Saturday: Another very full day. We got up early, ate a giganticly awesome breakfast and then headed off to the Eiffel Tower. When my family was in Paris a few years ago we climbed up the tower instead of going on the lift, and when we looked at prices we decided that was the best plan for us (it cost us around 4 euro). We hiked up the 668 steps which was a serious workout, but it was so worth it. The view is more amazing than I could ever describe so I won't try....We hiked back down and walked over to the Hospital Invalid where Napoleon is buried. We didn't go in but the architecture of the building was awesome to look at. We then took the metro to Notre Dame (sidenote, I am so proud of us figuring out the metro system so fast and well). It is one of my favorite places in the world I've decided. It is a beautiful building, the inside is so peaceful even with all the people around. We left Notre Dame and headed off to Moulin Rouge for a walking tour of the red light district/art district/highest point in Paris. Again I was really glad we did this because it showed me parts of Paris I had never considered going to but absolutely loved. We ended up at a church at a top of a hill that had an amazing mosaic of Jesus with outstretched arms inside and a fabulous view of the city on the outside. By the time we were done here it was dinner time and we headed back into the city in search of french onion soup. We found a cute little cafe right outside the Eiffel Tower where the soup was ridiculously overpriced, but it was an experience that I think was worth it. After dinner we ran to the Eiffel Tower to be there on the hour so that we could see it sparkle!! It was so cool, almost as cool as the chocolate crepe I ate afterward. Life was good. We went back to the hotel and crashed; it was a great, but very long day.
Sunday: We decided that, since this was our last day and we had class on Monday, we would have a sort of chill day. We started off by walking down the Champs de Elyse. It was fun being on this really famous street and we probably would have spent more time wandering around the gardens but it was raining. A lot. Not like pouring down, but the kind of drizzling mist that gets you soaking wet all the way through. Usually this would have gotten me really down, but I was in Paris!! So there. We went into a couple of shops along the Champs de Elyse and poked around in an attempt to keep sort of dry (we failed). Eventually we reached the Arc de Triumph and hung out there for a bit, taking it all in. Then we headed down to the Siene where we were going to pick up a boat cruise. I was so excited about this because we were going to see more of Paris aaand we had planned on having a picnic with bread and cheese and chocolate. We found real baugettes, the long ones that stick out of the bag and we had cheese from the hotel breakfast and we found some cheap candy bars it was just generally awesome. The cruise was so relaxing and we got to see Paris from a different angle, it was a great way to end the trip.
Wow. If you stuck through reading all this, bravo. It really was an incredible weekend and we did so much and saw so much and came out alive. Now that I've been bit by the travel bug I can't wait for spring break! Italy better look out....
Friday: We (Kinsey, Sam, Katie Mac and Katie) caught the Eurostar train early in the morning. Thats the train that goes under the chunnel and goes really really fast. It only took us a little over 2 hours, just enough time to come up with a game plan. We went with a tour group so when we arrived in Paris we first got on a bus and took a tour of the city. It was great to see lots of different things and get some tips from our tour guide. We checked into our hotel which was pretty nice before heading off on a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. It was a different part of Paris that I would have never thought of going to explore so that was fun. After the tour we rushed over the Louvre because apparently on the first Friday of the month it stays open late and under 26 year olds get in free. Awesome. I'm not a big art person, but I absolutely loved the Louvre. We saw the Mona Lisa, and I don't care what other people say I think it was really cool to see. We saw tons of other pieces of art and history (Hammarabi's code is there...how cool!) but the highlight for me was Napoleon III"s apartments. They were so lavish and beautiful. After the Louvre we went back to the hotel to crash.
Saturday: Another very full day. We got up early, ate a giganticly awesome breakfast and then headed off to the Eiffel Tower. When my family was in Paris a few years ago we climbed up the tower instead of going on the lift, and when we looked at prices we decided that was the best plan for us (it cost us around 4 euro). We hiked up the 668 steps which was a serious workout, but it was so worth it. The view is more amazing than I could ever describe so I won't try....We hiked back down and walked over to the Hospital Invalid where Napoleon is buried. We didn't go in but the architecture of the building was awesome to look at. We then took the metro to Notre Dame (sidenote, I am so proud of us figuring out the metro system so fast and well). It is one of my favorite places in the world I've decided. It is a beautiful building, the inside is so peaceful even with all the people around. We left Notre Dame and headed off to Moulin Rouge for a walking tour of the red light district/art district/highest point in Paris. Again I was really glad we did this because it showed me parts of Paris I had never considered going to but absolutely loved. We ended up at a church at a top of a hill that had an amazing mosaic of Jesus with outstretched arms inside and a fabulous view of the city on the outside. By the time we were done here it was dinner time and we headed back into the city in search of french onion soup. We found a cute little cafe right outside the Eiffel Tower where the soup was ridiculously overpriced, but it was an experience that I think was worth it. After dinner we ran to the Eiffel Tower to be there on the hour so that we could see it sparkle!! It was so cool, almost as cool as the chocolate crepe I ate afterward. Life was good. We went back to the hotel and crashed; it was a great, but very long day.
Sunday: We decided that, since this was our last day and we had class on Monday, we would have a sort of chill day. We started off by walking down the Champs de Elyse. It was fun being on this really famous street and we probably would have spent more time wandering around the gardens but it was raining. A lot. Not like pouring down, but the kind of drizzling mist that gets you soaking wet all the way through. Usually this would have gotten me really down, but I was in Paris!! So there. We went into a couple of shops along the Champs de Elyse and poked around in an attempt to keep sort of dry (we failed). Eventually we reached the Arc de Triumph and hung out there for a bit, taking it all in. Then we headed down to the Siene where we were going to pick up a boat cruise. I was so excited about this because we were going to see more of Paris aaand we had planned on having a picnic with bread and cheese and chocolate. We found real baugettes, the long ones that stick out of the bag and we had cheese from the hotel breakfast and we found some cheap candy bars it was just generally awesome. The cruise was so relaxing and we got to see Paris from a different angle, it was a great way to end the trip.
Wow. If you stuck through reading all this, bravo. It really was an incredible weekend and we did so much and saw so much and came out alive. Now that I've been bit by the travel bug I can't wait for spring break! Italy better look out....
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
You take the good, you take the bad...
So its been an interesting week. Monday I went to practicum for the 2nd time. It was a great day, I'm really getting to know my class and feel like I'm helping out and I'm learning a lot so its really great. One of the students asked me if I went home at the end of the day and I told her, well yes kind of, first I have to go to school. Her eyes got really wide and she said, "so you do work and school? That must be a right long day for you." It was so cute, but so true, Mondays are quite long. Tuesday was a full day of class, the kind of day that makes me think I would enjoy study abroad much more if they took out the 'study' part. But that's okay I really do like my classes because we do a lot of interesting and different things, just not on Tuesdays. However, last night I went to see Avenue Q!! I thought it was funny that I came to London to see a musical about New York City, but it was incredible. It was funny, the singing was amazing, and I laughed a lot. I think my favorite part though was listening to the Brits trying to do American accents. It actually took me a few minutes to realize they were talking funny...which was interesting because I now hear American accents as different. But it was exciting nevertheless, a really fun evening. Today has been lazy. I've been trying to get all my homework done because this weekend I'M GOING TO PARIS! So excited!!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
