Rome

This was the last part of the journey of studying abroad. We got to Rome at 4 the first day and we literally saw Rome in 8 hours. We saw the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, St. Peter's, the Coliseum, and we even saw the President of Italy! We were worn out after that day!

The next day we started out at St. Peter's Basilica. We went inside the beautiful church and we got to see the Pope. We spent half of the day there. Then we made our way to the Vatican, which is right beside St. Peter's. This is a museum filled with A LOT of statues and paintings. This is also where the Sistine Chapel is.

Friday we went to the Forum, which is a bunch of Roman ruins. There was so much history there! Then we went inside the Coliseum. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be on the inside. That day we also went to Circus Maximus, where the Romans had their chariot races, and we also walked along the river. I had a really great time in Italy, but I was really ready to get home!

Florence

After Venice we left for Florence to spend 2 1/2 days there. Florence was a bigger, busier city than Venice. The main thing to do there was shop, and there were a lot of street vendors and markets selling sunglasses and purses. I got a purse from here. The guys in Florence were not shy, and some girls and I got followed by 2 Italian guys.

I also got to see the Duermo, which is a very beautiful church on the outside; the inside wasn't impressive. I also got to see the David Statue by Michelangelo.

After the first 1 1/2 days in Florence I had done everything there was to do in Florence, so a group of people and I decided to go to Pisa the last day we were there. We took a train there and got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is amazing how much it is leaning, but is still standing!

Venice

Venice was our first stop of a week long trip to Italy. Venice was exactly what I expected. It was peaceful and beautiful. I went on a gondola boat ride but there weren't a lot of things that we had to see as tourists so we mainly just walked around and enjoyed what we stumbled upon. The main thing to do there was to shop, and we did plenty of that. The main thing Venice is known for is their Murano glass; all of it was so pretty that I wanted to buy all of it! We had gelato (ice cream) everyday and some really good Italian food for the 1 1/2 days that we were there. Venice was very relaxing and fun.

Easter in Paris

I left for Paris this past Wednesday afternoon. I went on the school trip so about 100 of us rode down to London and got on the EuroStar to go to Paris. We were all excited that we got to ride on the EuroStar because it goes under the English Channel. However, we were pretty disappointed because we couldn't tell when we went under the English Channel. We got to Paris at 11 that night.

Thursday morning we got up early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed towards the Eiffel Tower. This was an interesting experience because there were 12 of us that were walking around together. We rode the Metro, which is like a subway in New York, and you can imagine us trying to figure out were we were trying to go and trying to get 12 people on the same train close to each other. I'm sure it was a sight to see. We finally got to the right part of Paris, and when we saw the Eiffel Tower we were all awestruck. It was so pretty. There were tons of people waiting to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but the line moved pretty quickly. The view from the top was amazing. There were blue skys and you could see everything.

We left the Eiffel Tower at about 12 and headed to L'Arc de Triomphe. It was also a sight to see. We couldn't go inside because there was a civil servant strike in Paris that day. A lot of the museums and tourist attractions were closed. Just our luck, but luckily most everything opened back up on Friday. We also walked down the Champs Elysees, which is a street that has a lot of high priced stores like Gucci, Chanel, etc. Needless to say, we walked down another street to do some shopping. After some shopping we explored Notre Dame. It was very pretty. The group of 12 had split up when we left the Eiffel Tower, but we all meet back up at the hotel that night to eat dinner together. By the time we all got back to the hotel after dinner we were worn out after walking all day.

Friday the 12 of us met up again to go to Versailles, the palace were Marie Antoinette lived. This is on the outskirts of Paris, and we had to take a train to get there. This was also an adventure. We didn't know how the trains worked and met a pretty funny French guy on the way, but we finally made it. Versailles wasn't as impressive on the outside as I thought it would be, but the inside was very extravagant. The gardens were also very pretty and while we were in the gardens we got caught in a rainstorm, which was pretty funny. I think 3 umbrellas were ruined because of it. I also met a guy from Texas at Versailles that had seen WKU's basketball team play in the Sun Belt conference, and I saw him the next day in a totally different part of Paris. Is it a small world or what?

Friday night we all went to the Louvre. We didn't go for very long, but I got to see the Mona Lisa and I even got to take a picture of it! On the way back from to our hotel we got crepes, which are really thin pancakes that have fillings in them. They were so good.

Saturday me and 4 other girls went to the part of Paris called Montmartre. This is an artisty part of town. While we were there we went to the Sacre Clure, a very pretty cathedral, and we also went shopping. I got a really pretty painting of the Eiffel Tower. We also went by the Opera house where the Phantom of the Opera originated, and we got to see Moulin Rouge, a cabaret. After we were finished with Montmartre, we went to the Musee d'Orsay, a museum with paintings of Monet, Degas, and others. Saturday was one of my friend's birthday so all 12 of us went out for her birthday dinner and got some more crepes. After eating crepes we headed to the Eiffel Tower. We got there at 10 just in time to see it sparkle. It was soooo pretty!! It was cold too so we didn't stay for too long.

Sunday we got up really early. We wanted to got to Easter mass at Notre Dame, which started at 8:30. We figured there would be a huge line to get in so we got there at 7. There was no one there! It was pretty funny. So we went to a cafe and had coffee until the doors were opened to Notre Dame. The service was neat, but it was in French so I didn't understand it. We left to go back to England that afternoon.

I loved Paris and it has been one of my favorite trips so far. I learned some french, and contrary to popular belief, the people there were so nice and helpful. I didn't want to leave!

London & Cadbury World

Friday everyone in the school went to London for a field trip. We went to the National Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery first. I had already been to these museums, but of course I hadn't seen everything. The weather was so nice that I didn't even have to wear a coat, and we ate our lunches in front of these museums.

That afternoon we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. This is such a neat church. We went on a tour of the main floor and the tombs in the bottom floor. After the tour was over I climbed 500 steps to get to the top of the building. It was a really great view of the city from up there. After the cathedral, I went with my theatre class to watch a play called Major Barbara. It was a pretty good play. We didn't get back to the manor until 2 this morning, and I was sore and tired.

Then I had to be ready to leave at 8 this morning to go to Cadbury World. I was so excited about this because I LOVE chocolate. We went on a tour of the history of chocolate and how they make their chocolate. I always thought that Cadbury only made the chocolate eggs at Easter but they make all kinds of chocolate. The main chocolate distributor in England is Cadbury, and their chocolate is sooooo good!! We got free chocolate bars during the tour and bought a lot of chocolate at the gift store.

We left Cadbury World at 1 and then went to Birmingham. This is a big shopping city. It was neat but not some place I would want to go again. I was glad when we got back on the bus so I could have a 2 hour nap and sit down. I am so tired now!

Edinburgh, Scotland

Sorry that I haven't written in a while. The school work has definitely picked up lately.

This weekend me and three of my friends went to Scotland. We left early on Friday morning and took a train to Durham, England first. While we were there we saw the Durham Cathedral, the castle, and went in some shops. That is a really neat town. Then we caught another train to go to Edinburgh, Scotland.

We didn't get to Scotland until 2 in the afternoon so Friday, we mainly walked around, shopped, and went to the Scottish Museum. There were people wearing kilts everywhere we went. However, Edinburgh is a very diverse town, and there were a lot of people from the US, Australia, and Canada there. That night we ate a restaurant called "The Elephant House." This was the restaurant where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. From the restaurant there is a great view of the Edinburgh castle, which I'm sure was an inspiration for the book.

Saturday we got up and made our way to a mountain called Arthur's Seat. We made it about halfway up before the wind started to blow so hard that it literally almost blew us down. We decided not to climb to the top because we didn't want to die that day. It was a good thing we came down because after that it started pouring rain. The weather there was so unpredictable. You could see the fronts moving in and out, and one minute it would be so sunny and the next it would be gray and raining. After that we did some more shopping on "Princes Street" where the major department stores are. Then we went on a ghost/historical tour of Mary King's Close. This was a series of underground roads that the modern city was built on top of. It was really neat.

Sunday we went to the Edinburgh Castle. It was huge, and there was a lot to see here. I got to see the Royal Crown Jewels, a tribute to the soldiers in WWI and WWII, and the prisons that were once used. It was one of the best castles I have seen so far, and I have seen A LOT of castles! The rest of the day we shopped just to kill some time before our train left. It was a really good weekend, but now it's back to school work.

EARTHQUAKE!!! & Belvoir Castle

Well I knew that I would experience a lot of new things while I was over here in England, but I didn't predict that I would experience my first EARTHQUAKE!! At exactly 1 am this morning an earthquake woke me and everyone else up. The shaking and loud rumbling sound lasted for about 10 seconds . There was no damage in my room, but in other rooms pictures were knocked off the walls. It was a strange experience! The epicenter of the earthquake was in Lincolnshire, which is the county that I am living in, and it was a 5.2 on the Richter Scale. It has been the biggest earthquake in England since the 80's. Pretty crazy!

Today we went on a field trip to Belvoir Castle (pronounced Beaver Castle). It was a really pretty place and the weather was gorgeous. We just learned the history of the castle, but I did get some pretty pictures. Enjoy!

Lazy Weekend

This weekend I didn't have any travel planned so my friends and I just stayed at the manor. We also have a 8 page research paper due tomorrow so we needed to get that done too. It was a really nice weekend just staying here, working on homework, and watching movies. This is my last free weekend until I leave so I am grateful for the time to relax!

I do have one really neat story. I meet this woman today at church, and when she was 24 she lived in California. She was the nanny for a director's children. I didn't recognize the director's name, but evidently he was the director of The Parent Trap and Pollyanna!! That is so cool! The woman said that back then it was very popular for Americans to have English nannies, and so she got the job and moved to California. I was blown away by it!

Saturday in Bath

Yesterday I went to Bath, England to see Sam and Sharon Kent. They were over here visiting their son and daughter-in-law for the week. This was my first trip by myself, but I made it to Bath and back to Grantham safe and sound. I was pretty proud of myself.

My day started pretty early because my train was supposed to leave at 6:15 am. When I got to the train station, my train ended up being 1 hour late. This threw off my whole schedule with the next train I had to catch. I ended up getting to Bath 1 hour later than planned, but at least I made it.

When I got to Bath Mr. Kent and I went on a tour of the Roman Baths. It was really neat to see because they are so old, and I've always heard about them. After that we met up with the rest of the gang (Mrs. Kent, Daniel, and Lynn) and looked for a place to eat. I know I always ramble on about how great the food is over here, but I had a really good sandwich with slices of mozzarella cheese, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes. Yum!

After we ate we went to tour a house in Bath from the 1700's. It was really pretty. We also went to see some scenic views of the city. Then we went to Bath Abbey and looked around it for a while.

I got to see Daniel and Lynn's flat before I left, and it is right in the city a floor above where the shops are. Their flat is really cute and I had some really great coffee while I was there. My train left from Bath at 5:15, and I got back to the college at around 9:30. I had a really great time while I was in Bath; everything was so pretty. It was really good to see the Kents, and I kinda just wanted to fly back to Scottsville with them, but I know there is still much to see over here.

IRELAND!

Well I fell in love this weekend...with Ireland! It was so beautiful and the people there are so nice and have a great accent. Much better than England!

We left on Wednesday afternoon and rode about 6 hours on the coach bus. Then we rode the ferry for 4 hours to get to Ireland. That was about 2:30 in the morning so I slept, but the water must have been really rough because the ferry, which was the size of a cruise boat, kept rocking back and forth. After we got off the ferry we drove for about 4 more hours to Blarney. While we were there we went to Blarney Castle. It was a neat castle but the coolest thing to do was kiss the Blarney Stone. Supposedly everyone who kisses it gains eloquence. You had to hang upside down to kiss it, and there is a person there to hold you so you won't fall out of the castle!
We also went to Rock Close which is filled with mystical things. There were steps that if you walked up and down them with your eyes closed you would be granted a wish and other fun things like that.

After a couple of hours in Blarney we left for Killarney. The hotel we stayed at in Killarney was so nice. That night we went out to eat and walked around the town area. We were all very tired after riding a bus for practically the whole day so we didn't stay out very late, and plus everything was closed.

Friday morning we had an Irish breakfast, which consisted of bacon (like country ham), sausage links (best I've ever had), and eggs. Then we went on a tour of The Ring of Kerry. This is where a lot of my scenic pictures came from. We drove around this 150 mile loop and stopped at various places to take pictures. At one stop we went into this pub and there were 3 older Irish guys there. They started singing songs, and it was just like something you would see out of a movie. They were sitting next to the door, and when I was leaving the guy on the end grabbed my hand gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, "You are the prettiest of the bunch!" It was so funny! That night we went back to Killarney and had a good last night at Killarney.

Saturday we were up and ready to leave for Dublin. We had to drive another 6 hours there, and we got to Dublin at 3 that afternoon. We went sightseeing and we shopped till we didn't have any money left!! Then we went to this really good Italian Restaurant to eat, and after we had eaten the main course we went to a gelato place. I got a little bit of chocolate, caramel, and pistachio gelato. That was the best ice cream that I have ever had in my life! I can't imagine how good it will be when I actually go to Italy! After that we walked around Dublin for a few hours, and it is a really cool city at night. There is music everywhere!

Sunday we got up bright and early to leave. We got to ride the ferry again and we even stopped at the town with the longest name in Europe. Its name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllaantysiliogogogoch. What a name!! We got back to school at 5:30 and even though I loved Ireland I was ready to be back home because I was exhausted!!

Weekend at the Manor

This weekend I am not traveling anywhere because we had only had a two day weekend. However, Friday night my Meet-a-Family picked my friend Beth and me up and we went bowling. It was pretty fun, and I learned that I wear a size 4 shoe in the UK. After bowling we went back to their house and had sausage and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes). It was really good to have a home cooked meal; that was my first one in a month! For dessert we had Christmas pudding, which was a chocolate cake with fruit in it with pudding topping. We drank tea of course.

This morning our english family picked us up and we went shopping at a huge store that had everything you could imagine! Then we went to a really good restaurant for lunch. It was kind of like a buffet but you could only go through one time. I am becoming less of a picky eater, and I am eating vegtables for once in my life! We drove around looking at the countryside after lunch, and then we went back to their house. We sat around and talked then Angela and Dorrien taught Beth and me how to knit. I think that I like to crochet better though.

You Can Leave a Comment Now!

I had heard that a lot of people are having trouble posting comments. I figured out the problem, and I changed it to where you don't have to become a member of Google to post a comment. Now all you have to do is just write you comment and below that click the "nickname" box, put your name in the nickname box and submit it! Hopefully this will work better! Sorry that you couldn't leave comments before.

A Weekend in Germany and Amsterdam

My friends, Beth and Brittany, and I set out for Germany on Thursday afternoon. We went to Grantham train station and went by train to London Stansted Airport. From London we flew to Munster, Germany.

We arrived at Munster and were picked up by one of Brittany's old teachers and her husband, Jenny and Jorg (pronounced Yorg). We went to their house, which is in Rheine (pronounced Rhina), and we stayed there the whole weekend.

Friday we went back into Munster, and while Jenny worked all three of us were taken around the city by Jorg. He was so nice, especially since he was hanging around 3 American college students, who wanted to take a lot of pictures. We walked around Munster, ate at a hot dog stand (it was the best hot dog I have ever had in my life), and went shopping. Then at 4 we left Munster and headed back to Rheine. On our way back we stopped at an American Roadhouse to eat. It was really good, and I finally got some GOOD American food. It was just what I needed. Then we went to the supermarket to buy some cookie mix. There were only 2 boxes of cookie mix left, and they don't have the pre-maid cookie dough. Lazy Americans.

Saturday we left early to drive 2 hours to Amsterdam. All 5 of us walked around Amsterdam and just took everything in. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, and went to the Van Gogh Museum. Then we went to the Anne Frank House, which is where Anne Frank and her family hid during WWII; that was really neat. That night we headed back to Rheine and on our way back we ate at a Turkish restaurant and had deuners, which is like a gyro.

Sunday we went to a castle which was near Rheine. It was really neat because a count still lives in it but he opens part of his home for people to come and see it. Not many things are open in Germany on Sundays so we didn't do much else. We went back to the airport that night and flew back into London then rode a train to Grantham. We got back to the college at 11 last night. I had such a great time in Germany and Amsterdam!!

Meet A Family

Tonight was the Meet-A-Family reception. This is were students are paired up with a family from Grantham. My friend Beth and I are in the same family, and tonight we got to meet our family and have dinner with them.


At first it was a little awkward trying to find things to talk about, but after about 30 minutes we had all warmed up to one another. From the left is Steve, Angela, Dorrien, Me, and Beth. Angela and Steve are married and their neighbor, Dorrien, is widowed. They have been neighbors for 40 years and they were all very nice. We ate dinner and then Beth and I showed them our rooms. We have already planned to go bowling with them next Friday, and then the day after that we are going to Nottingham with them to see all the Robin Hood stuff. Later on we may go ballroom dancing, learn how to cross-stitch, and go to the sea shore.


Tomorrow I am leaving for Germany and I won't be back until late on Sunday night. I'll try to have pictures up on Monday though!

Night in Stratford

Last night I went to see Richard II in Stratford with my theatre class. It was really cool to see a play written by Shakespeare in Shakespeare's hometown. We got there 1 hour early so my friends and I got to walk around, even though everything was closed. We did find a coffee shop open so we went in and got some hot chocolate. The people working at the coffee shop asked where I was from. I said that I was from Kentucky, and then the girl behind the counter said, "Oh, like Kentucky Fried Chicken?" I cracked up! Then we headed back to the theatre. On our way back we passed by a fountain that commemorated Stratford's 800th Anniversary. That is VERY old!

The play was very good, even though it was hard to understand because I had never read the play before and it was Shakespeare. The theatre itself was very neat because no person was more than 10 meters away from the stage. There wasn't a bad seat in the house. The play lasted 3 hours and we didn't get back to Harlaxton until 12:30 this morning. It was so neat though!

Field Trip to Lincoln

Today everyone left the manor at 8:30 to go to Lincoln for a field trip. The whole day was rainy, cloudy, and windy. My group went to the Lincoln Cathedral first and had a tour of the whole place. It was so beautiful. I took so many pictures but I probably could have taken 100 more. There was so much history there and parts of the cathedral have been around since 1072. John Wesley even preached there!

Next we did the "Roman Walk." We walked around the city where there used to be a huge wall surrounding Lincoln that was built by the Romans. We could even see some remains of the walls. They were very, very old.

My friends and I then had time for lunch and to just walk around the Lincoln. They have a lot of cute shops, and I bought 3 scarves. My favorite thing to do when I go to a new place is just walk around, go in shops, and take everything in.

Finally, my group took a tour of the castle in Lincoln. It was pretty cool and we got to see a lot of the prison that was housed in the castle. By this time we were all cold, wet, and tired and I was glad to get back on the bus and take a nap. Even though the weather was bad, I still had a great time in Lincoln. I may even go back and do some more shopping!!

Update

This week has flown by. Tomorrow I have the last classes of the week, and I can't believe it. Monday I saw a play, Dick Whittington, with my theatre class, and it was a pantomime play. It was completely different from what I thought it would be, but it was so funny! I don't know how to even describe it. It was VERY British, and they make fun of us Americans.

Tuesday was a pretty relaxed day. Today I had class, and then my friends and I went into Grantham to get train tickets to London for next weekend when we go to Germany. We also went shopping at Morrisons, which is kind of like Food Lion. Tonight I went on a tour of the manor, and I got to see all the secret passages and learn a little bit of the history of where I am living.

That is about all for now. I guess I need to get back to reading. It really hard to stay focused when you're thinking about the places you are going to travel to.

Weekend in London

I had a great time in London this weekend! I am about dead now from walking all day for three days straight! Friday my friends, Beth and Brittany, and I just walked around London trying to get a feel for the city and find our way around. We also went to see the play RENT, which was pretty good. We enjoyed walking around and going to different shops, and we went to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery.

Saturday we woke up early to slowly make our way to Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guard. On our way we saw Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, and Westminster Abby. We got to Buckingham Palace just in time to get right behind the gate so we could see Changing of the Guard. After that we went to Hyde Park, Hard Rock Cafe, we walked to the Thames River, and ate at a really good Italian Restaurant. We then made our way to Millennium Bridge and Tower Bridge. We were so tired by the end of this day!

Sunday we got up even earlier to go to St. Paul's Cathedral. This is where all the royalty get married. After that we had to leave London and go to Hampton Court Palace an hour outside of London. We ate at the cutest little restaurant. All the locals ate there and you were even allowed to bring your dog inside to eat with you! The palace was very neat and very old. At about 3 we started on our way back to the manor. I really enjoyed the 3 hour nap that I got on the bus. London was so much fun! I loved every minute of it!