London, Day 2

Well, today was kindof boring but also kindof relaxing.

I got up early and grabbed the tube to Abbey Road, where I snapped a few pics and got a yummy latte.  It was the most anticlimactic moment of my life when I saw it.  It looks nothing like the album cover and there's nothing of note anywhere except for a fence in front of one house that's covered in Beatles graffiti.

Then I wandered back to the tube and went to the Tower of London.  I'm not sure if it was worth the 14.50 to get in (with a student discount) but it was cool to see the jewels.  The towers were also cool and the museums (if you really want to call them that) were not bad.

They had a cafe in the Tower, so I grabbed lunch there.  Delicious onion soup (I forget what they called it - but definitely not French) with spicy croutons (not hot) and a huge slice of bread.  Along with a bottle of water and a slice of treacle tart, it was my least expensive meal out in two months.  I was super excited about treacle tart, as I had only ever heard of it, mostly in Harry Potter, but in other British books, too.  It was really good.  It reminded me of a really thick and dense rice krispy treat in a pie shell.

Then I did a little shopping, went back to Marks and Spenser's and then wandered around near my hostel for a good while.  I was looking for a clock because I left mine on my bed (with one other person in the room having left and checked out before I left for the day) and the cleaning crew disposed of it.  Normally they don't clean and make the beds until you check out, but they've done mine every day. I'm not sure why, and neither is the girl I talked to in reception, but now I don't have a clock.  I really liked my clock.  It was small and had the temperature and the date and an alarm and a snooze and it was digital, which was nice for the changing time zones.  And it's not on RadioShack's website for me to order a new one.... I got a lot of funny looks today when I asked for a digital travel clock and they're just so much more convenient.

I also got lemon sherberts (HP1, anyone? Dumbledore's favorite candy), peppermint humbugs and a selection of tea.   And some other stuff, but I can't ruin all the surprise. =P

After wandering, I came back to the hostel, talked with the receptionist for a bit about Harry Potter and Douglas Adams and the Beatles, discovered the British like anything and everything American more than their own.  I find it interesting, because I much prefer European literature to American and like the Beatles more than Lynyrd Skynyrd, who's surprisingly popular here. Then I logged on, posted photos to facebook and watched Psych, Criminal Minds, White Collar and NCIS. Now I won't have anything to do to kill time all week, but I'm sure I'll manage.

Tomorrow is an early morning - finish packing, grab a Krispy Kreme donut (or a dozen?) and catch my train back to Brussels.  Class at 12:15, I think, which should be fun.

Oh, and here's an updated list in order of favorite places (yeah, I know they're all different, even the old standing, but this is it with reflection strictly on places I like to visit):

Howth > Dublin > Venice > Charleston > Barcelona > London > Madrid > Zurich > Rockland > New York City > New Orleans/Baton Rouge > Cologne > Bruge > Toledo >Dusseldorf > Brussels

Ok, let me rephrase this. Here's a list in order of where I'd like to live (based on where I've been):

Howth > Dublin > Charleston > Madrid > Rockland > Venice > Barcelona > Zurich > Toledo > New Orleans/Baton Rouge > Bruge > Dusseldorf > Cologne > London > New York City > Brussels

Goodnight, world.

London

So you know how I wrote this in my blog a few days back?:

In London, I'm going to Westminister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Science museum (if time), Greenwich, Big Ben, London Eye, My Little Eye, Kings Cross, Tower Bridge, and Abbey Road.  My train leaves at 7:30 AM on Monday.

Well, it's at least 12 Pounds to get into any of these.  Tomorrow I am going to Tower of London (I want to see the Crown Jewels) but I'm not sure about the rest.  But first, my day.

This morning I slept in for a good long while (8:30 or so) before eating.  The hostel website lied and I didn't get free breakfast, but I knew so I bought stuff last night.  I also grabbed a croissant or two on the way to Hyde Park.  On the way, I also stopped at Harrod's (Mom's suggestion) which was awesome.  I have never been so amazed by a department store.  It was huge and so expensive.  There were brands I'd only ever heard of being sold.  I did get a little teddy bear key chain that has a bow that says Harrod's on it, but I don't think I could afford anything else. 

I got to Hyde Park and walked around for a bit before walking over to Wellington Monument to start a free tour.  It was run by the same people as the one I went on in Dublin and our guide was pretty cool but also kindof odd.  We saw Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, St. Mark's Palace, the war square, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, 10 Downing Street, Horseguards (where beach volleyball will take place for the Olympics 2012), the House of Parliament, Churchill's War Rooms, Nelson's Column, The National Gallery, Whitehall, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting.  Then we had lunch at an awesome restaurant called Verve which was inexpensive and had fantastic fish and chips. 

The best part about this tour was that there were six girls from Brasil there.  They were all speaking Portuguese and, though I teared up and missing home, I recognized some of it and was able to speak a little bit.  Three of them just spent twenty days touring Europe, staying in seven countries or something, and are going home tomorrow.  It was a lot of fun and it made me happy that I could talk with them, but also sad because I don't get to hear it every day anymore.

After lunch, I went on another three hour walking tour, also by the same company but this one costing a bit, that toured "The City" or the old part of London.  It was also a lot of fun and we saw all the various bridges, The Monument, the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Covent Garden, Globe Theatre, Church of the Knights Templar, Mansion House, the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange, HMS Belfast, RAF Church and some other things.  It was a lot of fun and there were a couple of other Americans I talked to - one of which was from Alabama who is working in Dublin for her final semester in primary education.  We talked the whole trip, shared a love of Tolkien, Harry Potter and Douglas Adams and had fun annoying our tour guide, who didn't know or didn't like any of the three.

I really like the walking tours because it tells me where I need to go back to and give a lot of history... not to mention they're really inexpensive compared to actually going in all these places.  We don't actually get to go in all these places, but here in London, that wasn't as much of an issue.  Entrance fees into all the places would total well over 100 pounds, but you get a history and how to get your money's worth (like the fact that they tell you when and how to get into services so you don't have to pay to get into the churches and stuff). I enjoy them.

Afterwards, Emily (the girl I met) and I headed to King's Cross together.  We took pictures at Platform 9 and 3/4, which, due to renovations, was actually between platforms 8 and 9... if you considered platform 9 to actually be there (it's shut down for the next several months).  We thought it was funny, but we still got our pics. 

We split up and I went over to Marks and Spencer's (Marks and Sparks, according to the locals) and got myself a couple towels (sold in sets of six...) and dinner.  For some reason I thought it was a hotel, but it's actually a department store with a grocery store.  It's interesting. Totally psyched about my towel.  (If you don't know why it makes me so happy, I suggest you read the best book in the whole world, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.  Ford Prefect, the roving reporter for The Guide carries a "largish bath towel from Marks and Spencer's" and discusses the importance of the towel, which you can learn about here.  Enjoy.)

I got microwavable dinner from the frozen foods section, and hopped back on the tube to my hostel.  I made a few phone calls from the station and then came back and made dinner, logged on, checked email and wrote this blog.

Now, going back to my list...

Westminster Abbey - too expensive, but saw outside
Buckingham Palace - 22 Pounds for 17 rooms out of more than 700? No, thanks
Tower of London - will go tomorrow - must see Crown Jewels
Science museum (if time) - haha "if time" - will have to go next time
Greenwich - don't know how or why this got on my list - unimpressive and not worth the time
Big Ben - saw - pretty cool
London Eye - way too expensive but saw from across the river and other places
My Little Eye - unfindable and closed on Sunday - next time?
Kings Cross - saw, unimpressive because of construction and got platform pic
Tower Bridge - too expensive and really boring museum, apparently
Abbey Road - tomorrow - but apparently not worth it

So, tomorrow, Tower of London, which takes a good half-day or so, and then Abbey Road and then whatever suits my fancy.  I have some requests for London items (tea and glasses, mostly) but let me know if you want something.  Here's your one and only chance to ask me for something specific.  =P

I'm not sure why, but I've been having a lot of trouble missing home while I've been here.  Maybe it's because everyone speaks English or because there's a Starbucks, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut or KFC on every block, sometimes all right next to each other.  I'm not sure.  They do have Krispy Kreme and Ritz and Oreos and a ton of American brands in the grocery stores and corner shops here, which is awesome (I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to take stuff back to Brussels with me...) but it just makes me miss home so much.  I love everyone back home and I miss you all lots. 

Goodnight, world.

Birmingham and London

Whew. What a day. 

I woke up and took a shower this morning.  It was interesting... Not the actual showering part, but the way you turned water on and off.  It was electric with a big button with the power symbol on it and two dials.  One had three settings - a snowflake, two steam vapors and three steam vapors - and the other had degrees one through ten.  It was interesting hopping in and out of the shower spray because it was too hot and then too cold then too hot then too cold.  I eventually did get clean and repacked and went to breakfast downstairs. 

They had authentic English tea and I paired it with apricot jam on toast and a banana.  Nothing opens in Birmingham until 10, so I hung out and watched some British movie that was... interesting... before going to the bus station.  I got info on how to get to London (18 Pounds vs 80 from the train station) and then went to the train station to go to Cadbury World.  Oh, my was it worth it. 

It was awesome.  They had really detailed sets for the first part, then interactive quizzes and fun stuff and then videos and holograms before going into the plant itself.  It was cool to see the pipes and everything.  Then you went on a ride like the kiddie rides at Disney and saw all the cartoon animals and chocolate eggs and everything.  The best part, I think, was the "Essence" part at the very end.  You went through, heard a little history and then went to the "experiment" room where you could choose a sweet or something (wine gums, gummy bears, rice crispies, toffee popcorn, biscuit bits, and a fair number of others) and then you mixed it into melted milk chocolate.  I got toffee popcorn and it was delicious.  I ate it on the way back to the train.

By the way, if you hadn't noticed, I've gone to every chocolate factory/museum that I could so far... Cologne, Barcelona and now Birmingham.  And Cadbury World was by far the best.

When I got back to Birmingham, I went to this place called the Bull Ring.  It's basically a giant shopping mall and then next to it is a flea market and a fresh foods market.  I wandered around for a bit and noticed signs for "CSI: The Experience."  Having decided I wanted to go into forensics, I was super psyched and went in.  Basically you went through basic training in crime scene investigation (very basic and only partially realistic) and you had to look at and solve three crimes.  One was a car running into a wall, one was a dead waitress in an alley and one was a skeleton found in the desert. 

You went through, diagramming the crime scene and then going through toxicology and DNA analysis, electronic retrieval and ballistics science and all the different areas needed to solve the crimes.  There were interviews with real crime scene specialists and the actors from CSI also played a big role in the videos.  Also, they had information on how all the science works and everything.  It was really cool.  I won't give any solutions away, but I scored perfectly when I had to relay what I had found to my "supervisor" Gil Grissom (via computer programming) and was went an email with my very own CSI diploma. 

Then I went back to shopping a bit before going back to the hostel to repack and go to the bus station.

I just want to say that I've spent a lot here, but I've also gotten a lot of stuff.  I went to Dublin with my purse fitting in my bookbag and still having it only half full.  Now, I have a gigantic purse (that I got at Penney's) and my bookbag both fully packed and my purse separate.  I'm not sure how much more I can get, but I like what I've gotten, and I hope everyone likes what I got for them. 

So I took a bus from Birmingham to London.  I sat in the very front row and had a great view.  I slept for a bit and watched the countryside. It's interesting because the speeds are in kilometers per hour but the distances are in miles.  I think. It was rather confusing. 

London is dirty and no one is helpful.  Even asking for directions or help, no one pays attention.  They have a McDonald's, Burger King and Subway on literally every corner and many American foods on the shelves in the grocery store.  They have internet cafes that don't have phone services and can't tell you where you can find somewhere that does.  They do have Krispy Kreme in the main train/bus station, and, though I started crying when I saw it, I had to get one.  I had forgotten how good they were. 

I'm not looking forward to London except for the fact that there's an awful lot to do.  Hopefully I can do all of them and be home before dark because it's not a very nice place.  I am in an upscale neighborhood, by the looks of it, but I'm also by myself and no one is helpful.  I have two full days before starting new classes. 

Oh, and why is it I ALWAYS get top bunk? Except for when I want it? Or when it doesn't matter? Top bunk never has any place to put their stuff or a table or floor to put glasses/water/alarm clock on.  It's annoying.  Only times I got bottom bunk were in Venice, when top bunk had a shelf and a person who kept me up all night and in Birmingham, where it didn't matter because you were in a pod and you honestly couldn't tell if you had top or bottom bunk once you were in it.  Anyways, I'm off to another rickety top bunk.

Goodnight, world.

Traveling, Traveling

Wow. What a day.

We woke up this morning and went to Howth.  It's now my favorite place and I LOVED it.  It was gorgeous.  Just 30 minutes by train outside of Dublin, we walked around the marina and up some of the cliffs.  I can't wait to go back.  On the way back, before getting on the train, we got fish and chips.  Oh, my goodness.  Salt and vinegar and heaven in my mouth.  It was light and crispy and delicious.

When we got back, we took the tram to get the ferry, which was not marked and there was no pubic transport all the way.  We walked for at least a half hour and asked a couple of people for directions.  One old guy who was riding a Tasmanian Devil (cartoon) bike.  He gave us directions and then chased us down when they were wrong and then checked and basically led us half the way there.  Then we asked this business guy how long to get there (it was about 2 and our ferry left at 2:30) and he said 30/45 minutes.  I freaked out and he offered us a ride.  We gladly accepted and he drove us down to the ferry, so I got to ride in a funny car, which was cool.  We left him a tip, and went inside, but as we were boarding, he chased us down (through security) to give it back to us.  We both officially love Ireland.

So we took the ferry and we both took naps.  When we landed in Holyhead, we split up, with James staying a while before going to York and I immediately took a train to Birmingham (where I am now).  There was a family that had been on the ferry with us. Mom, little Killian who's 2, Stacy who's 7, Lindsey who was almost my age, I guess, and Shane who was 12/13.  They were really nice and Killian was adorable and singing and playing and making everyone laugh.  They got off and I started talking to this guy from Wales.  We both changed at Shrewsberry and took the train to Birmingham.  We talked for a long while and he was pretty cool. 

When I got to Birmingham, I got some funny money (they use Pounds and not Euros) and grabbed a sandwich and drink.  It was so cheap compared to Brussels.  Everything is so much cheaper than Brussels.  No where is as expensive. 

Walking to the hostel was kindof sketch, but I did get here and it's very colorful.  It's a really chill pub downstairs and everything looks like unicorns vomited on it.  (EVERYTHING is rainbow or bright or colored or shiny.)  The beds are pods (I'll put up pictures soon - I don't have the cord with me) and are eight to a room, four on top and four on bottom - basically giant cubbies like you have in elementary school.  We'll see how it sleeps.

I came back downstairs and started talking to this guy from New Zealand who is living in Portugal.  They do have a very different accent than the Brazilian Portuguese, and I have the most trouble understanding the New Zealand accent...  There were a whole bunch of guys (ok, maybe five) all playing GTA Liberty City - which is what Gabe plays, and I thought that I was home.  I was saying the other day that I miss watching it being played.  Anyway, I grabbed some soup from the kitchen and sat down with my comp. I checked my email at midnight yesterday, and when I logged on I had over twenty-five new emails. 

Tomorrow I don't know what I'm doing.  I can't go to Stratford-on-Avon because then it would be pointless to have come to Birmingham.  So, I think I'm going to Cadbury world, the Royal Air Force Museum and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter before going to London tomorrow night. 

Time to socialize and then shower before bed.

Goodnight, world.

Dublin

Is awesome.

This morning I woke up and had a tasty breakfast before going down to Penney's and going shopping.  I got two awesome pairs of shoes (turquoise patent leather and cheetah print), seven shirts, two bathing suits and a dress.  Then I walked around and saw a cute little market and got some adorable egg cups. 

At 11 we met at City Hall for a free tour.  It was cool but disappointing because we didn't actually go in anywhere.  We saw City Hall, Dublin Castle, the 40 steps, Trinity College, some church, Temple Bar, I had a bagel (missed them!), and Saint Stephen's Square.  It was nearly three hours and our tour guide was really good. 

Then we went back to Trinity College, stopping along the way to get stuff.  James saw the Book of Kell and I didn't want to pay to get into a library, and they wouldn't let me in the non-touristy one so I went to the wax museum - a much better use of my time and money, if you ask me.  It was really cool, with the history of Ireland (learned a lot of that on the tour, too) and then cartoon figures and fairy tales and famous people and scary monsters and everything.  There was also this awesome science room in the museum with a whole bunch of contributions by the Irish.  I never realized how much of an influence they had in science - Boyle and the guy who found the electron and named it.  It was a lot of fun.

Afterwards, I met James at the Guinness factory, where we took a tour and I discovered I don't like Guinness beer.  But the bar had fantastic views of the city.

Then we came back to drop off stuff before going out for dinner.  We walked to two different restaurants on opposite sides of the city, only to have them both be closed.  We finally decided on a restaurant where I had delicious fried mushrooms, very tasty bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) and Bailey's ice cream.  Then we came back and I got out my computer.  It's late and I'm tired from walking all day.

Tomorrow we're going to Howthe to see the cliffs and and get fish and chips before catching the ferry to England.  I'm going to be in Birmingham and I don't think James has figured out his plans yet.  I'm looking forward to seeing Stratford-on-Avon on Friday and going to London.  I'm not sure about going to Cadbury world, but maybe. 

Goodnight, world.

Off to Dublin

I'm leaving after this presentation - going to Dublin, then Birmingham, then London.  This morning I woke up early, went to the post office, got some stuff for my trip, finished packing, had lunch and presented my marketing presentation.

Last night Sarah and I made dinner for our marketing group while we worked on the project.  I made corn flake crusted chicken and Sarah made some broccoli and cajun potatoes, which were very good.

We worked on the project for a long time and then I talked to people for a while.  I really miss being home and I'm getting sick of traveling.  Just this trip, then Paris in two weeks, then Israel two weeks after that and then two more weekend before I'm home.  Wow, time is flying fast.

For those of you who want to know, my plans for the next week are as follows:

My plans in Dublin are to see the Old Library and Trinity College and Chester Beatty Library before going shopping on O'Connell Street on Wednesday, followed up by the Guiness tour at 5. 

Then go to Howthe on Thursday morning before catching a ferry/train to Birmingham.  Thursday afternoon, I'd like to go to Cadbury world and then Friday morning see Stratford-on-Avon on the way to London. 

In London, I'm going to Westminister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Science museum (if time), Greenwich, Big Ben, London Eye, My Little Eye, Kings Cross, Tower Bridge, and Abbey Road.  My train leaves at 7:30 AM on Monday.

Time to pay attention.

Chao, world.

Update:

It's 11 Brussels time, 10 Dublin time.  The flight was uneventful and we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow.  Breakfast at 8, then I'm going shopping (whoo-hoo!) before a walking tour at 11.  Then wax museum followed up by Guinness tour.  I'm excited. 

We don't know what we're doing Thursday.  We'll probably go back to see some places again before heading over to the UK. I'm going to Birmingham at least for the night and James is going somewhere else - he doesn't want to go to London.  We'll see.  We also want to see the coast a bit. 

We're off to get some Bailey's. 

Goodnight, world.

Sunday and Monday

I know, I'm getting really boring when it comes to blog titles.

Yesterday I didn't even get out of my pajamas.  I watched Criminal Minds and Harry Potter and had problems with my internet.  Seeing as that just took two sentences, I didn't blog.... Not that I actually could.

I did talk to John for a long time yesterday.  He's a friend that knows computers inside and out.  He diagnosed and nearly fixed my computer problems here in Belgium from the campus of Carnegie Mellon.  Some port was blocked so I couldn't access anything except https:// sites, which was really annoying.  The tech guys here are working on fixing it, last I heard.

Today I woke up, printed my stuff for my trip, did not much then went to the grocery store.  And now it's time to make dinner. I'll finish this later.

Goodnight world.

Saturday

Uhm, well, I've been having problems with my internet recently.  If anyone wants to explain why I can use MSN messenger, Google Talk and Skype, but cannot open any page in Mozilla or Internet Explorer, I'm all ears.  I don't know if it's good or bad because I get to talk to people but I'm left without a way to kill time.

Anyways.  Yesterday I woke up sortof late, did nothing, tried to make brigadieru with evaporated instead of condensed milk (the can said leit condenso) and worked on our group project for marketing - the topic of which is beer.  It's actually an interesting project, and we're doing a taste test when we present.  I think it will be fun.

I've recently started watching season five of Criminal Minds to kill time.  It's really good and, though it doesn't actually have forensics in it, it's helping solidify my new goals of being a criminal investigator and working in forensic science.

I can't tell you how much time I spend doing absolutely nothing.  Week after next I'll have classes Monday through Thursday every afternoon, which I can't say I'm looking forward to, but will kill more time.  I have traveled a lot, and it was good to have a rest, but I'm excited to go to Dublin, Birmingham and London next week. 

I'll write an update for today later tonight; hopefully I'll have internet.