First of all, where the heck have the last three months gone? I cannot believe I am packed and getting ready to go to bed and wake up for the last time in London… for now! I have no regrets from this trip. I experienced each of the places I visited and the place I called home as I think I should at this age. Sure there are things I didn’t get to, never had high tea, never made it to a jazz concert, and didn’t travel everywhere on my list, but there is always next time. Overall, no regrets.

I don’t want to mope about how sad I am to be leaving, so I’ll leave it like this… here are my top 10 memories from this semester abroad, in no particular order (since there were all unique and fabulous in their own way):

1. Seeing my name in print on CNBC.com
2. Hiking the Atlas Mountains and overlooking the Ouzoud Waterfalls in Morocco
3. Standing in both the East and West at one time in Greenwich
4. Salsa dancing at a nightclub in Madrid, Spain
5. Climbing the more than 500 steps to look out over London from St. Paul’s Cathedral
6. Seeing Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey in the flesh and still being amazing three months later
7. Visiting 25 pubs in one day, and finishing at pub #26 for my last meal in London
8. Riding a camel in Morocco
9. Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night
10. Watching Jim Carrey turn the Christmas lights on along Oxford Street

Keeping with the theme… as London was my home for the last three months, I must share my top 10 favorite places in London (again, in no particular order!):

1. Carnaby Street near Oxford Circus
2. Westminster area
3. The Thames River
4. The Tower Bridge
5. Greenwich
6. Brick Lane and Spitalfields
7. Covent Garden
8. Warwick Avenue (HOME!)
9. Oxford Circus
10. Piccadilly Circus

I know I am leaving something out, but I think that is a pretty good representation about what I will cherish most from this experience, along with the relationships I created and the new perspective I have. Everyone talks about how different people are, but I found out that at the core, people just want to be helpful (for the most part) and the number of people that helped me along the way pleasantly surprised me.

Firstly, Halloween in London was surprisingly a blast. I had heard that it wasn’t as big a deal in London, and that was true, but for someone my age, it was just enough. Sure there weren’t any adorable trick-or-treaters ringing the doorbell, but I hear they weren’t really out in the states either because of swine flu concerns… live a little people! Anyways, for Halloween, we went to two London nightclubs Mayfair and Jalouse. I went as a flapper because I had recently bought a flapper-style dress on Brick Lane, and Shea went as Audrey Hepburn, being the classy lady that she is. The first club we went to, Mayfair, is actually a gentlemen’s club during the week, so we were a bit worried about what we would find, but the bar was beautiful and we had a great time. I signed up for this membership to a pr company in London that gets us into all the hot London nightclubs and their promoter was at Mayfair that night, so there was free alcohol. As a poor college student in one of the most expensive cities, that was certainly a plus! After gulping down some Belvidere vodka and dancing a bit, our group of girls headed out of Mayfair and walked to Jalouse, which was a surprisingly far walk especially in heels.

Jalouse was beautiful. Really, beautiful. The entire ceiling was covered in diamond-shaped lights that changed colors. They almost looked like giant stars creating a really cool and swank feel. Jalouse was super ritzy and wouldn’t allow girls in without heels, so luckily both my friend and I had dressed appropriately. The club isn’t normally as crowded as it was, but as it was Halloween, it was certainly packed. There was of course more Belvidere vodka being poured and I wasn’t at all complaining, but the highlight had to be the dress of the bouncers at the club.

They were all in fancy dress (aka costumes) and one, dressed as the grim reaper, was standing next to a wood block with an axe in hand. Of course, I had to take a picture of my head getting chopped off, although I looked a little too excited for the event… who knows!

Okay, so that was Halloween… next was the excitement of the Christmas lights being turned on all across London. There were three events, one on Regents Street, one at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and one on Oxford Street. Celebrities were at every site promoting the world premier of “A Christmas Carol,” and Jim Carrey was set to turn the lights on at Oxford Street.

Of course, we had to see Jim Carrey, so Jessica, Shea, and I bundled up and headed to Oxford Street 2 hours before the event was set to start. …Yes, 2 hours! Sure we could have showed up later, but we had such an amazing spot that we could actually see Jim Carrey in the flesh as opposed to on one of the many big screens throughout the square. Before the big light turn-on, there was a performance by the cast of Sister Act the musical, and some famous UK pop artists… I still don’t know there names which was really surprising to the British girls standing in front of us.

After Jim Carrey turned the lights on, we headed off to Piccadilly Circus to hop on the tube station. We seriously couldn’t have planned it better because as we were walking down Regents Street, fireworks started

shooting up into the sky. It was such a magical moment and one of those times that I just went, “Ah, I’m in London… life is good!” I’ve actually had a lot of those moments recently where I just find myself overwhelmed with excitement walking down the street. It is such an odd feeling to be in a foreign place, but not feel foreign. I am starting to know this city and connecting the dots of my mental map that it is hard to imagine leaving this place in just 2 weeks. Sudden urge to cry… deep breathe!

Like any girl, I adore shopping, and when in London, there is no better place to shop than the world famous Harrod’s department store. More like small country… this place was

HUGE! I knew it was going to be big, but I had no idea that it would be quite this large. It was not even real… kind of like Disney World for the rich shopper, which I am not, but oh well. They had everything you would expect to find in a regular department store including cosmetics and clothing, plus an amazing toy land with demonstrations of all the hot Christmas items, $3,000 dollhouses, and beautiful princess costumes. There was even a market with anything and everything edible. There were bars set up around each type of food for wine and food, much classier than your standard food court set up. My favorite room had to be the Christmas World that was covered in everything Christmas. I held back the urge to shop like crazy and settled for a gift for someone special (I’m not telling who) and a Harrod’s teddy bear for myself… so necessary.

Another thing that is so necessary is finding American comfort food as I am missing our food so, so much! Shea and I were able to find this 50s styled diner in Camdentown called “The Diner” (clever, I know) and we dipped in for some serious calories and a much-needed reminder of home. I opted for my favorite all-

American meal, the Monte Cristo, which was just as it was meant to be with only one slight error. With all the Monte Cristos I have ever had in my life, it has been served with raspberry jelly, yet this dish was served with fresh blue berries… but on the plus side, it was also served with warm maple syrup that went surprisingly well

with the sandwich. Of course, no American meal would be complete without a root beer float, and I was not about to miss out… It was so incredibly good and was just what my homesick spirit needed. On top of that, Shea got a chocolate milkshake that was WAY too big for one, so I got to snag a couple sips of her tastey dessert, too. To any American studying in London… go to “The Diner,” I was all smiles!!

The last two weeks will certainly be epic and I will be sure to blog about them as soon as I get a moment… it is getting harder and harder to blog because of how busy I am with finals, so I apologize for not posting more. Cheers!

Jumping for joy at the thought of a perfect trip

Overall, fall break was incredible, but if I were to spill out all of my amazing experiences during those 10 days, it would never end. I doubt you want to read a short book and, honestly, I don’t want to write one. So here is the abridge version of the most perfect vacation of my life. Mind you… it is still 5-pages, single-spaced in a word document, so go ahead and get settled, take a potty break and enjoy!

Madrid 2009: “It Ain’t No Bull…”

So we landed in Madrid on Friday at about noon after the most incredible flight on British Airways. Let me tell you… British Airways knows how to fly. I have never had so much room and such a comfy seat, the luxury of flying commercial carriers. Well, we got off the flight, reclaimed our baggage, and hobbled to the metro in hopes of finding our hostel. Little did we know it would be an HOUR long metro ride to our beloved hostel. Luckily, the area we were in was absolutely amazing, surrounded by great shopping and great sites (just walking distance from the Palacio Real and the Plaza Mayor.)

Friday we really just took the time to explore our area and get our bearings for the rest of the week. I have come to realize that without any plan, I tend to stumble upon interesting and exciting things; this is very unlike me, but spontaneity might be fun sometimes. While wandering we stumbled upon the Palacio Real, the Plaza Mayor, and some tiny side streets with great shops. While we didn’t have time on Friday to go inside the Palacio Real, we decided to come back when we had more time.

Street performer in the Plaza Mayor

The Plaza Mayor was a great time and while Friday was our first visit, it certainly wouldn’t be our last. In the Plaza Mayor, there were some of the most interesting street performers. There was a table with three scary faces on it… two plastic on either end and one actually person in the middle. Whenever someone would pay him, he’d scream to scare the payee away. I clearly fell into his trap and paid just to get the reaction I so desperate wanted. The sad part… even though I was expecting it, I still jumped like a giant baby. Way to go scary man!

Creepy newspaper man in Madrid

The journalist inside me had to love the man dressed in suit made entirely of newspaper, yet his performance was slightly underwhelming and he was a complete creep. Maybe he was playing the part rather well…

After playing in the Plaza Mayor, we headed to the one sight we knew we had to see while we had perfect weather: The Retiro Park. Let me tell you, this place was absolutely stunning and huge. There were so many fountains, a lake with paddle boats, the changing leaves, and a crazy statue that I just had to try and climb. The park was just so peaceful and in a way reminded me of Central Park in NYC. Love, love, love.

Although we didn’t have time for the palace on Friday, we were able to make the time on Saturday to go in and check it out. Having seen three palaces previously, yes, I am so cultured right now; I can honestly say that the Palacio Real in Madrid brought a whole new element to it. There was such an interesting cultural influence in not only the design, but also the ceilings. While Versaille, Buckingham, and Windsor all had painted ceilings, Palacio Real one-upped them with 3D carvings and gods coming from the ceiling. It was pretty magnificent and pretty pretentious at the same time, but I guess it’s a palace so that’s the point, right?

While the Palacio Real was incredible, my highlight on Saturday had to be our evening out on the town. We started the evening back at the Plaza Mayor for some traditional Spanish Paella and it just so happened that there was a dance show going on outside at the same time. Paella is kind of like a stir-fry with Spanish rice, veggies, and meat. It was really tasty, but because everything was cooked in the same spices, it kind of tasted the same after a while.

Flamenco dance show in Madrid

After filling up on Paella, Shea and I headed to this swank little club for a flamenco dance show. It was such a neat place and not what I was expecting at all for a show. The restaurant was filled with tables and people eating and carrying on. There was a small simple stage in the center of the restaurant and high tables surrounding it for those there just for a drink and some great music and dancing. After the service was done, the lights dimmed and three gorgeous dancers stepped onto the stage. The live flamenco band started strumming and singing and the first dancer stood up to perform. Each dancer performed twice and then a man walked onto the stage to perform. Flamenco was even more passionate than I had thought and it was still so rhythmic like a more passionate version of tap dancing. It was a great evening and a great way to experience Madrid.

El Rastro Sunday Market in Madrid

Sunday was all about the market, and although I consider myself a shopping pro, even I was exhausted by the size of this intense market, El Rastro. This market must have spanned 10 blocks at least and was four booths wide. They sold everything from knickknacks, jewelry, and clothes, to household items, animal cages, and toiletries. After a while, everything just started to blur together until both Shea and I were too exhausted to shop anymore… hard to believe, I know!

Procession for bull fight at the Plaza de Toros in Madrid

Later that evening, we ventured to the Plaza De Toros for a bull-fighting event. Turns out it was actually the last fight of the season, so we got lucky… or did we? Bull fighting was certainly an international experience and one that I’m not sure I’ll be able to stomach again. I didn’t realize this until after I got the tickets that these are fights to the death for the bull. It was barbaric and cruel and I was extremely queasy after the first fight, but Shea and I decided that we needed to stick it out. The entire evening there were eight bulls set to die, but luckily two were allowed to live because they were decided to be too weak to fight a proper fight. That was obviously my favorite part because I was rooting for the poor bull the entire time. But at the same time, I wasn’t rooting for the bull, because I would feel horrible if someone else got hurt… not a fun position to be in. But, I made it out in one piece and wasn’t too scarred from the whole experience. Safe to say, I won’t be eating any bull anytime soon though.

Monday was our day out of Madrid and we decided to visit Toledo, Spain, which still has the original Roman wall surrounding the city. While this was a lovely attraction, it made it so hard to get in and out of the city because there were only a few ways of entry into the

View from Toledo, Spain

city. On top of that, the town was built on a series of hills making it an exhausting day of walking, but offering incredible views of the surrounding area. Safe to say, we took a ton of incredible view pictures and our legs were pretty shot the next morning. Toledo was a neat area because it saw the mixing of three major religions in one city… Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. You could definitely see the influence of these groups. Toledo is also known for its ironwork, so we enjoyed going into the many little shops and looking at intricate swords and stunning jewelry. Toledo was more of a town to walk around in though rather than a collection of sights to see. After a long day of walking and exploring, we hopped back on our train to get back to Madrid.

We thought it would be a quiet night in following a long day, but a few people we met

Learning to salsa dance in Madrid

at the hostel were going to a salsa club for the night, and I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to dance the night away. I was a little nervous about the whole salsa thing though because I didn’t know how to and it was more of a local spot, so we would definitely be out of place, but the locals were so welcoming and were happy to teach us how to dance properly. I can’t say I’m a pro, but I definitely think I did well and remembered enough to teach anyone lucky enough for a class.

On Tuesday, we had hoped to go back to the Retiro Park for relaxation, but our first bad day of weather had to come. It literally rained all day so we basically just walked around from shop to shop picking up some last minute gifts for friends and family. To close off a successful trip to Madrid, we headed to one of the many Chocolaterias for some Churros and chocolate. Yes, it was fantastic and the perfect way to finished our adventures in Spain. It was early to bed then for our flight to Marrakech, Morocco.

Go ahead and take a quick break… adventures in Morocco coming up!

Marrakech 2009: “…We Had a Humpin’ Good Time!”

Hotel Sherazade in Marrakech, Morocco

It was an early morning flight to Marrakech, but because of the time change, we lost no time. Our flight left Madrid at 9:50am and arrived in Marrakech at 9:55am… two-hour flight, two-hour time change. Gotta love that kind of travel. As our plane was ready to land, Shea and I got our first view of Morocco. It was a tightly constructed landscape of clay colored buildings and I wondered if I had made a mistake as to where we should have traveled. Luckily when we got on the ground and made our way into the city, these simply buildings turned into gems of a beautiful area with fantastic décor and hospitality. As we stepped foot into our hotel, I knew Marrakech would be a city I would come to love. Our hotel was open in the center with hotels surrounding a center courtyard. The fresh plants, running water, and colorful tiles made it the picture perfect Moroccan hideaway in the heart of the busy Medina.

With the day ahead of us, we wandered around shops getting hollered at from all around and just smiling and continuing on our way, we headed over to an old Palace for a quick look-see. Sadly, the palace was closed and wouldn’t reopen for another hour, but how lucky we were that these friendly locals would welcome us into their spice

Spice shop in Marrakech, Morocco

shop for an hour-long tutorial on Moroccan spices and their uses. We smelled everything… were massaged by a local, and even drank our first Moroccan tea with locals. Don’t worry, it certainly wouldn’t be the last. After a fun time in the spice shop, we headed over to the palace for its reopening. This was not the Palace I was expecting as all the furniture was removed making it simply empty rooms with their decorative flair with tiled walls and ceilings. Now, this isn’t the palace that the king lives in, just an older palace… just to make that clear. After the palace tour, we decided to flag down a horse drawn carriage for a tour of the city in style. We went all around the Medina and then went outside the walls to the touristic area of Marrakech. It was such a neat overview of the city, and our driver dropped us in the main square, which we hadn’t even planned on seeing at that point.

It was chaos and a touristic nightmare in the square with money-hungry locals

Kisses from the monkeys in Marrakech

throwing things all over you to get money. First there were opportunities for henna, which we successfully turned down, but then the snakes came along. We were so entranced by the real live snake charmers, that we hardly noticed the men approaching us with snakes in hand ready to string around our necks. I went along with it and got a picture, but then the men asked for 200 dihram (about 20 euros) Nice try, but no… we gave then a few dihram and ran before they could bug us again. As we were headed out, a few other guys approached with monkeys on leashes. I couldn’t resist the adorable monkeys, but after the previous experience, we knew to decide upon a price before letting the monkeys crawl on top of us. While I wasn’t crazy about the snake thing, the monkeys were rather sweet, and I even got a kiss from one.

The animal adventures in Africa continued on Thursday, as it was time for our much-

Trying to safely get down off the camel. They go down with their front legs first making it a pretty scary process.

anticipated camel trek. After arriving at this tiny ranch with camels just chilling, our guide comes out with these scarves. Oh no, what is going on now? He then proceeds to wrap them around our heads covering our hair and by the end up in, my eyes. I’m not sure if it was just for the flair or had a real purpose, but I didn’t care, I was ready to own it like my own. I actually think I looked pretty fly after a while. Our camel trek lasted an hour and half and there is only one word to describe the experience… undulation. Sounds dirty, but that is the best way to describe the movement atop a camel. The next morning, I woke up so sore with inner leg and lower back pains. Thank you Sophie the camel… thank you!

Thursday night was a rather eventful evening as we went to this ritzy restaurant, we only later learned that Alfred Hitchcock went to back in the day, for a meal, some live entertainment, and some unexpected laughs. The food was good. I had the Moroccan soup to start, and Shea got assorted salads which weren’t your average leafy green plate, instead they were mashed up veggies and fruits with a certain seasoning all separated on different plates. I felt like I was eating garnishes rather than a salad. For the main course, I got the chicken and vegetables and Shea went for the couscous with lamb and

Moroccan meal. Shea's lamb couscous on the left and my chicken on the right

vegetables. The chicken was cooked to perfection and was so tender… mmm. I also tried a bit of Shea’s dish and found the texture of couscous a bit odd (If you don’t already know, I’m a texture eater and only like certain textures.) After our main course, we enjoyed some fresh fruit… literally, with the stem and leaves still on it, and this flakey and creamy pastry, which was pretty tasty. The interesting part was the live entertainment and the fact that the entire restaurant was packed with the exception of our table for 10 that only Shea and I were sitting at. Literally, every other booth was seated to the brim with the mixing of a few different parties, but Shea and I were isolated from the rest… I promise, we showered!

Dancing with Olga in Morocco

So the fact that we were alone was awkward enough, but it made matters worse when the first belly dancer, which we like to call Olga for her rough around the edges flair, came out and notices how lonely Shea and I were. She proceeded to dance with us… would this be a highlight or a lowlight? Who is to say… Olga was sassy though and she wore a tray of candles on her head that she enjoyed lifting up and down to prove they weren’t secure. She was such a pro with the whole balancing this that she even went to the ground and showed her flexibility in the splits… yes, please! If Olga wasn’t good enough, our next belly dancer, Veronica with her stripper flair, came out and gravitated toward the men in the room who enjoyed Veronica’s boobs in their face… mind you this is in a culture where most women wear burkas. I was even a bit offended…

A long day Thursday and a longer day Friday as we were up bright an early for a day trip

Ouzoud Waterfalls in Morocco

to the Ouzoud waterfalls. The waterfalls drop 110 meters, which is about 360 feet, and are the tallest in Morocco. The waterfalls were beautiful, but the panoramic view of the Atlas Mountains was just as breathtaking. Our guide, Mohamed, took us all round and challenged us with some great hiking to get the best view of the area. The highlight for me was first the view that was so incredible that I just wanted to soak it all in… probably why I took literally 100 pictures of just the landscape… and also the wild monkeys that live in the area. We were walking to the overlook point right next to the falls and the monkeys were playing on the sidewalk. There were tons and they were acting like we didn’t even exist. I think it was just a nice change to see wild animals allowed to stay wild and not get caged up. We also took a little wooden boat right up to the falls and got seriously wet from the extreme force of the water. After a busy day of exploring, we slept during the three-hour drive back to Marrakech and got back to the hotel and slept some more.

Last day in Morocco was all about the relaxation.

Saturday was our day of relaxation for our last day of vacation as we moved outside of the medina to the touristic area into a resort with an amazing pool. We put on our swimsuits and just laid out all day. This is the way to finish a busy week and a half of travel and I would recommend it to anyone. It was also nice to have a TV for once and I indulged for a bit watching Oprah, yes Oprah is just as powerful in Africa, and this ridiculous talent show in French. I could only understand bits and pieces, but the talent itself was so entertaining… there were cirque de soleil-style acrobats, a horrible comedian, and a levitating woman. Yes, random!

Overall, fall break was incredible, and a trip I will not soon forget. I would definitely suggest Madrid and Marrakech to anyone looking for an adventure, and I will be back soon. I thought going into this trip that it may be my only time in Africa, but now I know it won’t be. The people were so kind and welcoming, the children were adorable, and the area was absolutely stunning. Hooray for a successful break. Cheers!

To see additional photos from my trip, check out my facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=119168&id=501502443&l=32d73f07db

The Apollo Victoria Theatre Presents Wicked in the London West End (Courtesy Shea Northcut)

This time last week, I was in the stalls seeing Wicked at the West End. It was my first time seeing Wicked and I must say it was more than I had imagined it to be. Glinda had the cutest voice and was everything I love. She was girly and emotional… fashionable and friendly… and oh yes, BLONDE! If I was granted with the gift of a good voice, which I certainly was not, this would have been my dream role, only second to that of Elle Woods. I actually hadn’t even planned on seeing the show last week, but a group decided to go, so my friend Sam and I ran out in a frantic search for the cheapest tickets we could find at one of the cheap ticket counters. Not only did they have seats still available for the show that was only an hour away, but also they were in the stalls, which is basically the mezzanine in American theatre. Just downloaded the Wicked soundtrack and will memorize it shortly. Don’t you worry.

The rest of the week was pretty chill until our Saturday excursion. Shea and I went to our travel agent to discuss Spain and Morocco and let me tell you, I cannot wait for this trip. We are going to have such an amazing time and our currency actually does well over there. Such a nice change. The Moroccan Dirham is equal to 13 cents. YES!

Brick Lane... London's Best Shopping Street! (Courtesy Google Images)

Then we headed to Brick Lane, which let me tell you is London’s best-kept secret, although it is becoming more and more touristy. When we first got onto the street, it is a bunch of “street vendors.” (Explanation: the reason I put this in quotes is because they were hardly street vendors, rather people that gathered a bunch of random crap from their homes and sell it for completely random prices.) One guy was just selling a bunch of different car chargers… wonder where he got those! Only bought one thing… I got a Mitch an adorable _____ (didn’t think I’d actually spoil the surprise did you!) Anyways, farther down there was a curry festival in full swing and the amazing scent of authentic Indian cuisine filled the air… AHHH! Holding out and not buying any food, we continued down the road only to discover the god of all thrift stores. It was literally four blocks of road that you just zigzagged down going from thrift store to thrift store. And not only were there so many of them, but they were high-end thrift stores with amazing merchandise. I stumbled upon the most amazing black and brown leather sling back pumps, and if it can possibly get any better, they were Manolo Blahnik’s and only 40 pounds. Normally I would have snagged them as soon as possible, but they were about two sizes too big. I still have two months for another rich European vixen to decide her size 6 Manolo’s are so old that she drops them off on Brick Lane. Please cross your fingers for me. Kthanks!

An article published that I wrote at my internship

Sunday, I didn’t leave the flat because I was completely bogged down with work, and on Monday I had another great day at my internship and published my third article to the website. I never thought I would be able to do so much so soon and am really enjoying the experience overall. I could really see myself living in London for a couple years, sorry mom!

Today was just another day at school, but I got a lovely care package from my dear mother with candy, “adult” mad libs, and $30 to iTunes. My first purchase? The Wicked soundtrack, should have known! The highlight of the day was my first experience at a sushi restaurant. My friend Barrett and I headed over to this local sushi restaurant in Maida Vale for an amazing assortment of sushi. I got really adventurous and tried the following: fried tofu, edamame, eel and cucumber hand roll, hamachi (seabass) roll, fried salmon skin roll, and sea urchin roll.

If you see this... run! Sea urchin sushi isn't good! (Courtesy Google Images)

All amazing, minus the sea urchin. It looked nasty, and looks did not deceive in this case. Barrett talked me into just putting it all in my mouth at once and seeing what happened. Mistake number one. Mistake number two was not spitting it out, contrary to my normal behavior whenever I taste something I detest. I tried to hold in my face of complete horror and hold back the natural gag reflex that inevitably kicked in as to not make a scene in the swanky restaurant. Washing it down successfully with water and just took in the moment. I thought it tasted like fishy ink, but I think Barrett described it best as fishy gasoline. We decided on a mix of the two… either way, not good. My favorite however was the fried salmon skin rolls, and I was able to take home three of them for enjoyment tomorrow at my internship.

This upcoming week will be absolutely amazing as well. Shea and I will be Italy bound early Friday morning. We are spending one night in Siena and then another night in Rome. We’re kind of just going to let things come to us, but we are both excited to experience a true Tuscany wine tasting. They sound absolutely amazing and not only will we taste wine, but some of the most amazing olive oil (or EVOO as Rachel Ray would say.) I will certainly be “changed for good” after that experience. (Little shout out to Wicked if you didn’t catch that reference.)

Then of course, this time next week, I’ll be 21… not like it really matters here in London, but I’m still pretty excited at the idea of being able to have a glass of wine with dinner once I get back stateside.

Miss you all. Cheers!

Well, here is the abridged version of my first trip to Paris: (Roll, Cue, Take)

Outside of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, France.

We took a REALLY and I mean REALLY early train ride Friday morning getting into Paris at about 10am. After a quick run by the hostel (which was actually really nice!) we made our way to the Moulin Rouge. I had already been forewarned that the Moulin Rouge isn’t as big as you’d expect it to be, and trust me had I not been warned I’d of been pretty disappointed, but with that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised. Sure it’s not as stunning as the movie makes it out to be, but honestly what is? It was definitely the Moulin Rouge and there was no questioning that and when we glanced inside the theatre and saw pictures of the nearly topless girls, I knew we were home. Don’t worry, I didn’t audition for any of the shows, although I probably should have… oh well, there’s always tomorrow!

After our trip to the Moulin Rouge we walked around for a bit to just get a sense of the city. When our feet were just about to fall off, we hopped back onto the Metro and headed to the Sacre Coeur. Can you say stunning? At the time I couldn’t

Sacre Coeur in Paris, France

because it was just that amazing. Nestled on a hill with the most spectacular view of Paris, this HUGE white Cathedral was the perfect scene. One of the most exciting parts was our carousel ride at the sight. I seriously felt like I was about ten years old again… YES! Then we made the trek to the top of the hill only to be greeted by one of the best views in all of Paris, seriously! There was even a mime on the steps making it a true French experience (only after the show did we realize he was from NYC)!

After we were just about ready to crash, we headed back to our hostel for a brief break. After a quick nap and some research, we were back in action and headed to a small French restaurant for our first official French meal. The restaurant was called L’Encrier and lived up to the hype completely. I got a sea scallops dish and despite the generalization that French restaurants serve teeny portions, this restaurant delivered in a big way, literally. I was just about to burst leaving no room for dessert. One funny thing was how they served wine. It wasn’t sold by the glass, rather in ¼ or ½ bottles. I went for the ¼ bottle option and it was brought out to me in a mini teapot. It was absolutely precious and the wine was great. It was just the house white but it was definitely worth every euro cent… that’s what they call their coins! ☺

The Eiffel Tour all lit up on Friday night

Finally we left, all of us completely stuffed, and made our way to the image of Paris… the Eiffel Tower (or Tour d’Eiffel if you say it in French!) The Moulin Rouge was smaller than expected, but the Eiffel Tower was huge beyond belief. Never did I guess that it would be so big, but it was even more stunning in person. By this time it was getting pretty dark so it was all lit up. It shined gold making it an easy landmark to find. As we were walking under it, it started its hourly sparkle (I didn’t know what sparkle meant either, but basically there are strobe lights all over the tower and every hour they light up like crazy.) It was amazing. Too bad we didn’t make it to the top of the overlook area to see it… Oh well, there’s always Saturday night.

Saturday morning came quick, and we were back in action headed to Versailles. Can I just say that Versailles made Buckingham Palace look like a suburban house. Seriously! Louis XIV had this issue with blank spaces and would allow for it, so literally each room is covered in tapestry wallpaper, elaborate paintings, and impressive furniture. Even with all this, he still required that the ceiling also be painted to ensure that it wasn’t seen as average. Seriously… he did not miss a thing! While I loved walking the halls of Versailles, the highlight of the visit was the elaborate gardens of Versailles. Not only was there a flower

Part of the tree garden at Versailles in Paris, France

garden, there was also a tree garden with a huge pond, a large fountain with a show on Saturday from 3:30-5:00, two smaller flower gardens with fountains, two large think forests that have been trimmed into mazes, and another large pond open for people to use paddle boats.

After Versailles, we were off to the Seine River for an afternoon cruise. As we waited patiently for our boat to arrive, we stopped over in a small crepe show and had our first Parisian crepes filled with Nutella. And when I say Nutella, I don’t mean a generous scoop, I mean an entire container inside a thin pancake… yes! Actually, while on the subject of Nutella, after this

"Crepe de chocolat" is translated into "Crepe drenched in Nutella."

weekend I think the sight of Nutella will make me vomit. For breakfast at the hostel, they served cereal and baguettes with Nutella… so I had probably a year’s supply of Nutella in two days… really! The cruise was finally ready to take off and we had a great time. The weather was perfect, so traveling down the Seine was exactly what we needed. We got to see the Louvre… which is way bigger than I’d would have ever imagined and the building that the White House was modeled after. There was even a statue of the flame atop the Statue of Liberty. Shout out to the USA!

Cruise was great and then it was off to the Eiffel Tower to make it to the top. Long lines… not good, but when we finally got up there it was spectacular. We planned it absolutely perfect because we started at about 7:30 so we saw the sunset, but were up there when all the lights in the city turned on making for a perfect view. I swear I could have probably seen the states from the view. We were on top when the hourly sparkle at 9pm started, and we made it to the overlook point for the sparkle at 10pm. That had to be the highlight of my trip as it was just such a magical experience. I recommend it to anyone headed to Paris. The only thing missing was a handsome man to hold me tight (I sadly left him in Burlington, VT!)

The Arch de Triomphe and the finish line for the Tour de France as Mitch told me

Anyways… after the Eiffel Tower, it was off to bed and before we headed to the train station back to London, we made it to a flea market for some bargain shopping and finished the trip with a visit to the Arch de Triomphe and a stroll down the Champs d’Elysee. There’s Paris in a nutshell… sigh!

Dear Man in the Navy Blue Suit... (Courtesy Google Images)

Please do not walk so slowly and block me in at the tube station… I feel like there is always a man in a navy blue suit slowin’ me down. I can’t tell you what he looks like mostly because I’m always stuck behind him, but regardless, he is everywhere and he has a need to slow me down. Alright… I’m getting off my soapbox. Man in the navy blue suit, I hope you are reading this.

Well, it has been a fantastic week overall and it’s only Tuesday. Very promising!

It started on Sunday with fireworks for the Mayor Thames Festival. It was completely surreal standing on the Waterloo Bridge overlooking the London Bridge with fireworks shooting into the sky. Definitely my best night in London so far! And the best is yet to come… hard to believe! This was a moment that I realized I’m in another country and I am so in love with London. Sorry, mom and dad! Don’t think I’ll be coming home.

Monday, I finally met my internship supervisor who just got back from a business trip to Singapore and brought back chopsticks so I now have my first authentic asian chopsticks. Another gift I just got was a T-shirt for the web department. When I sat down at my cubicle, I noticed the T-shirt neatly folded, but I just assumed it was for someone else. Luckily, my supervisor told me that the shirt was for me and I was super excited. Don’t be shocked if you see me wearing it everywhere from now on. I also got to taste chocolate made with camel’s milk. Wouldn’t have guessed it was camel’s milk if I hadn’t been told. You really should try it.

My experience continued yesterday when I went back in time to the Globe Theatre to watch Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” We were in the standing section in the front, and while it was hard to stand for two and a half hours, it was such an exciting experience. The show was so funny and the characters really interacted with the audience unlike anything I’ve seen. The one thing that kept me from fully buying into the plot was the lighting. The Globe is fully lit imitating natural light from Shakespearean times. The lighting allowed for actors to see the audience members making me so much more conscious of what I was doing and how I appeared to the actors. Kind of kept me out of the performance.

Fireworks at the Major of the Thames Festival (Courtesy Shea Northcut)

Tonight I had my first taste of Indian cuisine. My professor Kirstin Ringelberg took a group of us to a local Indian restaurant, Akash, and we had such a great time. Since none of us had had Indian before, with the exception of our professor, the restaurant manager took our menus without having us order and set up the most amazing spread of food. I can’t remember everything, but there were chicken dishes of every variety with the tasty dipping sauces. My favorite was this spicy mint chutney. I will definitely be returning to this restaurant in the near future. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for some good Indian food without an extremely high price.

Well, I have to wake up bright and early to be at my internship by 8am, so I’m headed to bed. Something to look forward to in the near future is the play we are going to see tomorrow. It is called “Mother Courage and Her Children.” We will be seeing the production at the National Theatre and I cannot wait to see another show. I haven’t heard great things, but I am hoping it will be fun. Well, until next time, cheers!

Sparkling Eiffel Tour (Courtesy Google Images)

This weekend: Paris with 4 of my flatmates

First weekend in October: Siena and Rome, Italy with Shea

Second week in October: Mom and dad come to visit. hooray!

The for 10 days at the end of October: Spain and Morocco with Shea

Basically I’ll be visiting 5 countries and 2 continents! I probably won’t have any other vacations just because of end of the semester papers and chaos. The trip I am most excited about is Spain and Morocco. We will fly into Madrid and spend 4 nights there. Then we will head down to Algeciras, Spain and take a short bus over to Gibraltar for the day to check out the Rock of Gibraltar. Then it is early to bed to take the ferry over to Morocco where we will spend 4 nights. We decided to go with a package deal booked through STA travel where we will get to trek into the waterfalls and spend a day there. Supposedly there are a lot of apes in the area. We will also go on a camel trek through the desert and have a Moroccan tea ceremony with locals. We also plan to hit up the local markets and do tons of the shopping. One place he dollar is actually doing well! Whoo hoo!

Camel Trek in Morocco (Courtesy Google Images)

Please, if you have any suggestions for places to see while in any of the places I’m visiting, let me know. I’ve never been to any of them and want to have the best experience.

Sadly today won’t be too terribly exciting because I have lots of homework to do. We will be going to see fireworks for the Thames Festival so that’ll be fun. Also a highlight for tomorrow, through the theatre class, we will be going to the Globe Theatre to see Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” Should be interesting because you have to stand to watch the performance and it’ll be like 3-hours long. I’ll definitely be wearing my most comfortable shoes!

Love and miss you all, cheers!

Strongbow and black courant at the Warwick Castle

Wednesday night pub crawl with our local boys from last week took place and we enjoyed a fruity array of drinks… literally! First we went to the Warwick Castle which has the most beautiful ambience. Not to sound like an advertisement for the pub or anything, it was just a ton of fun and so “British!” There I had my first Strongbow with black courant. It was so tasty, but I somewhat felt like I was cheating. The next pub we went to was the Canal Cafe Theatre… doesn’t sound like much of a pub, but, “oh well, we should trust the locals.” It turned out to be my favorite of the night and I ended up going back last night. The had the most amazing strawberry beer, Fruli. I don’t exactly know how it was made, but the best way to describe it is the strawberry topping on a belgium waffle with alcohol. Someone described it as a melted daquiri, who knows! Another fun night out and about with the girls and Jeremy and Loie.

Buckingham Palace

Yesterday was definitely my best day in London so far. It was a bit touristy, a bit educational, but overall loads of fun. We started at the Buckingham Palace and I am so glad that we were able to go before it closed at the end of September. Our visit allowed us into the staterooms and into a special exhibit of the queen’s world travels during her reign. It was pretty much the American History display of the first lady gowns, but a million times more amazing. She was itty bitty! My favorite part of the palace was the fabric covered walls with the high ceilings and columns. When you notice the columns, they appear to be made of pure stone, turns out it’s just a painting finished applied to look like stone… either way, it was absolutely stunning!

Next we headed to the National Gallery to meet up with our Elon faculty abroad, Kirstin Ringelberg. She was kind enough to visit the museum with us and explain the artwork to us. She’s an art history major, so her information really focused on the evolution of art overtime. It was so neat to see how contemporary styles of art were not appreciated in the 1800s. One example is the unfinished artwork. One of my favorite pieces at the museum was a portrait of two young girls and their cat. The artist never finished the painting so there was a blank part of the canvas at the bottom corner and only an outline of the cat. Kirstin was explaining how unfinished art would never be sold or show in public, but by the time Impressionism came around during the time of Degas, unfinished art was appreciated because it matched the artists impression of the scene at the time. I have a new found appreciation for art and will probably go back to the museum, plus it’s free.

Mounting feline...

While there is no historical significance or need for this… we decided to climb on the lions at Trafalgar Square after the museum. It looked easy at first, but no it was not! The slippery curves of the lion prevented us from easily climbing, so Shea and I got to know one another pretty well. We struggled for probably a good 15-minutes, but I only got part of the way up. FAIL! Even worse, when we got down and swapped belongings with our other two friends they decided to just climb up the front of the lion. Much more successful! Shea and eventually figured it out. NOT FAIL!

Today is travel planning day and I am so excited. We’ve already booked Paris for next weekend and Siena and Rome for the first weekend in October. Today we are planning our Moroccan adventure for fall break. I am so excited! More on that later today, if there’s time. Love and miss you all, cheers!

On the tube ready for a great day

Good news… today was our first free day in London, and I really needed it. I finally got to sleep in past 8am… and didn’t rise till nearly 11am. After finally getting out of bed, we headed to Oxford Circus to do a little shopping. Starting in the West End area, we made our way completely randomly through London making turns whenever we saw an adorable boutique we just had to hit up. While some wanted to use their free day to sightsee and enjoy touristy things, I really wanted to feel like I lived in London, and on a lazy Sunday in D.C. I’d go shopping. So in that spirit my friends Shea, Barrett, and I started shopping. My shopping goals for this trip: find great gifts for all my friends and family back home, buy adorable ankle boots with heels (I’m thinking in the color emerald), buy a floppy knit hat, and find a couple surprises along the way that inspire me.

While we were downtown, we visited a great thrift store. Lots of great retro shoes and clothes… love! I’ll definitely have to keep checking the local thrifts to see if I can make any great grabs. I held back the urge to buy everything in sight for the simple fact that I’ll be here for three months and will likely find something better later on and wish I could take the earlier trip back. That isn’t to say I didn’t buy anything, as I certainly found some awesome snags. I got my floppy hat and an adorable plaid headband with bow. At a small boutique I also found a great black top. The entire back is just lace so it is completely open. Enough about clothes.

The famous red telephone booth!

Walking around London just excites me. Every step is a photo opportunity. And I took the opportunity to get my photo taken in the famous red telephone booth. It was surprisingly hard to find one that was useable though. Many we passed were full of trash or pornography, so sad! But luckily as we walked in the Covent Garden area we stumbled upon this perfect telephone booth and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to turn into complete tourists and go for it.

My first London fish and chips

The highlight of the day was my first taste of London’s fish and chips. I was determined to find a restaurant with this classic dish and drug my friends around for a block or two in search of the perfect restaurant. The result was definitely worth the struggle as I ate my first beer-battered fish and chips swallowing down with a pint of Strongbow. I can’t figure out if it tastes more like beer, or wine; regardless, its really tasty! What I enjoyed most about dinner was the fact that London meals are so much more relaxed than American ones. I was so content not being rushed out of the restaurant. It was great to just sit and watch people out of the window and not have to leave until we were ready. While the British aren’t known for good service, I love that they don’t deliver the check until you are ready for it, just a lot less pressure.

Barrett attaching Shea outside of the Fleet St. Barbershop

After dinner, we just walked around Central London aimlessly going from street to street depending on which way we wanted to. Without any care in the world, we realized that we were on Fleet St. The best part was that by the time we realized we were on Fleet St. we were right next to the site of Sweeney Todd’s Barbershop. WOW! A photo opportunity ensued with Barrett almost killing Shea… lovely!

After our fun encounter with Fleet St. Barrett decided we were close to Parliament and Big Ben. Being completely unaware, we went along with it and by the time my feet were completely exhausted, I pulled out my “Mini A to Z,” and searched for Big Ben. Well, we weren’t close… we were actually pretty far and traveling in the wrong direction for that matter. Go us!

Big Ben... I actually took this photo! How perfect?

Determined to see what we decided we could, we hoped on the tube after exploring St. John’s Cathedral and made our way to Parliament. It was a day full of shopping, eating, and exploration. Hooray! Well, time to get ready for my first day interning at CNBC tomorrow. I’ll be sure to post all about my first day tomorrow. Cheers!