"There are only two kinds of people in the world, The Irish and those who wish they were."

Here's an update on how Ireland was as I take a break from the insanity which is my life. (When I say insanity, I mean it's finals week.) Needless to say, stress is a thing. Luckily, Caitlyn, Zoe, and I enjoyed a break and went to Ireland for two days! We left at about 6AM Friday morning and made it back home around 10 or 11 Saturday night. Going through security was easy on the way there, but apparently my headband has metal in it (who knew?) and I left some water in my water bottle, so I enjoyed a full body pat down [airport security style] experience (which was difficult since I'm ticklish almost everywhere). 

They had these straighteners you could use in the airport bathrooms. 

It was hilarious.

What's more hilarious than that?

Probably watching me try to take the above picture with my phone while drying my hands and trying to be super discreet. 

We began by walking over to Trinity. 

Very nice school. 

Beautiful.

We didn't go check out the famous stuff there because we were travelling on a budget. Obviously.

We did, however, cheat the system a bit by standing within earshot of a couple of tours as they walked around the campus. 

We walked on down to St. Stephen's Green.

Lovely.

Apparently framing my face in pictures is a thing again.

Saw some purple and gold (HSU represent!).

At one point we realized that we hadn't really eaten anything but a granola bar.

So we stopped and Zoe and I had the most amazing apple pie with cream.

It looked almost as good as it tasted.

Just looking at it is making my mouth water.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love food?

We stopped by St. Patrick's Cathedral. The park outside of it was lovely.

Not sure if they just call churches cathedrals in Ireland or what.

But it looked nice.

And then we headed over to Christ's Church Cathedral.

And proceeded on inside to do a little self guided tour.

The floors were nice.

After visiting almost a million churches, cathedrals, and chapels this semester, I began noticing things that normal people wouldn't notice.

Like the zig zag design on the arches? That doesn't happen in most places.

And if I remember correctly the pointy-ness at the top of the arch 

is an indication of it being from the Gothic era.

(just checked on google to make sure--I was right)

I never saw "The Tudors" but maybe you did? 

Apparently they filmed a good bit of it at Christ Church's.

And they had the costumes but I didn't take any pictures of that.

After that, we tried to go to Dublin Castle, but there was some "EU Presidency Event" shenanigans, so normal people weren't allowed.

If you know me well, you know I love a good play on words.

Like Shakespeare, that's why he's great.

There were a bunch of bridges, very pretty.

That night we went down to the Temple Bar area.

Tons of people were out and and some of the crowd even danced along with the music, Irish-style.
These guys (both in the picture above and below) were very very talented. I was impressed.

After dinner we went to a pub. The live music was so much fun!

Upstairs these guys were playing.

We came back downstairs after awhile, and they were playing songs that we knew, so we were really excited to be able to join the sing-a-long.

Another bridge.

Me on a bridge.

The next day we happened to run into a Socialist Party protest. 

It was very exciting and fun to watch and discuss the merits of the protest.

The gathering was huge!

We went to the Leprechaun Museum
(yes, it's real)
That picture above is a tube we walked in that made us shrink down to leprechaun size.
It's magic.

We really enjoyed the tour.

Irish folklore is fascinating, actually. 

Check it out sometime if you're bored or looking for something to read.

The weather was very gross, cold, and wet. 

So we came to this mall place for sanctuary.

We each bought a cupcake and sat on the floor in a little nook like homeless people to eat them.

[it's starting to become a bit of a habit to eat in weird/homeless-esque places]

Another bridge picture.
Except way more awesome than all the others.

We went to a little cafe,
where Zoe lined up and balanced one of each type of coin in the euro currency.
Our waiter made fun of us.
But I guess we earned it.
You know those super high maintenance people in restaurants?
That was us.
Silly Americans.

A great time with these two wonderful ladies!!
Ireland was more like Texas than anything I've experienced in the past three months. The culture felt kind of like home, with similar music (some Irish music sounds country-ish, except ten times better), their accents were hardly noticeable compared to what I expected, and the people were very friendly!
I was so sad to leave, hopefully I'll find a way to go back someday.

Also: 3 days till I leave London.

Light at the End of the Tube

It's crunch time here, but awesome things still happen. Like this:

[from an ad in the tube]

In addition to that, I have some amazing friends both here and at home. People who love me and encourage me even more than I deserve. 

And back to the grind of paper writing I go, with a lighter heart and a will to keep on keeping on. The end, though distant, is lighting up the end of this very long tunnel.

A Ten Minute Update

[A Ten Minute Update: because I gave myself a ten minute break to do this post, not because that's how long it takes to read. Probably.]

Because of the many papers and tests which my professors have graciously scheduled for us these last two weeks, I must postpone my updates for a few days. Living in London is wonderful, but frustrating when there are so many things on my plate, keeping me from fully experiencing and enjoying this glorious city here at the very end. I am excited to go visit Ireland next Friday and Saturday though!!!

Quick update of things I've done/seen lately:

Wednesday: saw The Misanthrope. Enjoyed it immensely.

Friday: enjoyed the London Dungeon and the London Eye with some lovely views of the city at night!

Saturday: Windsor Castle-the Queen was there, and although we didn't see her we all enjoyed a nice morning at the castle. And the sun was out!! (That's kind of a big deal around here.)
The rest of the time: working on papers and writing haiku's when I get too overwhelmed.

Here's a fun picture of America which isn't totally politically correct but made me laugh with some things I'm excited about below:

Reasons I'm excited to be back in Texas/America:

• sunshine (you can't possibly understand how much I've missed it)
• family (obviously)
• heat (it's cold here...so cold. Coldest spring in 25 years, just my luck!!)
• friends (for obvious reasons)
• baseball: go Rangers! (not a thing in this country)
• school will be OVER for four months!!!! (I'm particularly looking forward to that one right now. Keep me in your prayers please.)
• no more laundry in the bathtub and/or paying around $15 bucks to wash/dry one load
• sweet tea
• unlimited spotify (they only gave me 10 hours here free)
• chick-fl-a
• free refills
• short sleeved shirts/shorts/sandals/sunshine/everything summer entails

Also, here's a nice video talking about what people would do if they had an extra day. Which is totally relevant because I feel like I'm frantically running out of time-both with my school deadlines and with the remainder of my time here.

Easter (and a visit from my favorite dad and brother!)

Ignore the atrociously drab title of this post.
You guys, the best thing happened. Dad and Zeb came to town! Crazy.

So let's just backtrack to Thursday. For lunch, I met up with my old friend Emily and her friend Lydia (which got rather confusing at Starbucks when they called names-her name, which was also my name- and I didn't order that coffee...needless to say, I enjoy my moderately unique name). Unfortunately, we only had about fifteen minutes, so we just shared about our travels. They were both thrilled to be in an English speaking country again, after studying in Spain for the past couple months! I scarfed down my sandwich as we caught up (Emily and I literally hadn't seen each other-and have barley even Facebook messaged-since graduation almost two years ago!) before scurrying off to class at the Victoria & Albert. We saw a variety of wonderful exhibits for class, and (thank you V&A for your free wifi!!) dad and Zeb messaged me until they found our little class just before we all parted ways. Their stomachs begged for a sacrifice, so we quickly walked through the Theatre exhibit before setting off to find food at the Ship's Tavern for some yummy fish and chips!

(disclaimer: this picture isn't actually from the Ship's Tavern)

The following morning we set off for Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. Dad and Zeb sought a better view, since they could see above some of the crowd, while I climbed up and perched myself on a wall nearby. I actually enjoyed a nice view; it was incredible how many languages I heard floating around me! It was hilarious to watch: just as the show began, suddenly a herd of children floated slightly above the rest of the crowd on their parents shoulders. Those who didn't have children with them held their cameras up, and I even saw a couple iPads floating above the masses. After the horses rode off to the arch, we headed over to Trafalgar Square, where a large production of the Easter story took place! Compared to the West End theatre productions I've enjoyed, the acting was by no means phenomenal, but they did very well and did an excellent job portraying the story to such a large and diverse audience. Unfortunately, we needed to thaw out, so we scooted on over to Cafe in the Crypt (at St. Martin in the Fields Church right there on the square) for a scrumptious lunch before enjoying the lovely artwork of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery! Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus came next, just a short walk away, where Dad and Zeb did some souvenir shopping.

We relaxed for a bit at my flat, and several friends came by to say hi and chat. Dad kept trying to get some dirt on me, but his efforts proved unsuccessful. After a bit, we kicked everyone out and headed on over to The Mousetrap-the longest running show in the world! A few days ago when I volunteered at Bloomsbury Baptist Church, some older men told me that they'd seen The Mousetrap in the 1950's! Crazy. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I believe that dad and Zeb did as well.

Saturday morning, the men set off for the Tower of London while I stayed here at the flat to work on papers and shenanigans. I have a ton to do these past couple weeks, and it's overwhelming when I think about it too much. Despite the amount of whelm I have going on in relation to school, I managed to apply for a ton of jobs online, so hopefully that will yield some good results for this summer! [Sidenote: if you or someone you know owns an awesome business and is looking to hire in the Dallas area for the summer, hmu.] We enjoyed the 8:00 service at Westminster Abbey that night in the chilly but lovely church. And I don't really remember what else we did after that, except some walking around and taking pictures, so let's just move right along.

Sunday morning Tim, Elizabeth, and I left at 5:20 AM for St. Paul's sunrise service. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the Tube wasn't open yet, so we power walked the whole way there (1.8) miles in about twenty minutes. Dad, Zeb, and I met up, enjoyed a delicious breakfast at their hotel, and headed to St. Paul's for their Easter service!!! It was packed with people from all sides, which made getting in quite difficult and made the service less personal in general, but it was great to be back in that gorgeous building.

Following that, we got some coffee to warm up a bit, checked out St. Bride's Church, went to the South Bank (where we split a slice of cheesecake and looked around at the fantastic book fair!!) before heading out to Zone 2 for the big rowing race between Oxford and Cambridge. The air around us was full of vibrant energy-everyone was so excited, I enjoyed all the energy around me. After watching the boats take off, we headed back toward the tube, but stopped by a pub packed with people watching the race on the TV screens inside. I was lucky enough to stick half of my head in the doorway and watch Oxford win!

I hope Dad and Zeb enjoyed their time here, because it was very nice to get to spend some time with them! After they left it was back to the grind, where I attempted to be super productive, but actually have a lot of work yet to do. Only 17 days (now 16 technically since it's past midnight) till I return to Texas! I'm not sure if I'm excited or devastated.

Less Miserable in Spamalot

Last Friday we enjoyed an extremely cold outing to Greenwich! I'm not entirely sure who the weather thinks she is, but it's supposed to be spring, right? There's been far too little sunshine and quite enough days of thirty to forty degree weather (75 degrees sounds warm and delightful).

Anyway, we hopped on a boat and sped down the river. Sometimes the watercraft would sound like an airplane about to take off, and we all enjoyed gazing out the cloudy windows at the now familiar sights. Catching a glimpse at St. Paul's was like seeing an old friend; I got excited, looked forward to returning to visit, and it looked lovelier than ever.

Once we arrived, we began a bit of a walking tour with Professor Rumbelow. He poked fun at us, as we are all wimps in the cold and the wind was blowing cold through us where we stood. The town was nice, and we were all delighted to discover that something really incredible happened right where we were standing. See if you notice anything about these two pictures:

 This was taken by my friend Caitlyn in Greenwich.

And this is from Les Miserables (the recent movie)

Needless to say, we all freaked out a little bit.

Another picture from the filming of Les Mis. We were right there!!

This trip was also great because we got to check out the observatory, where they figured out latitude, where the Prime Meridian is, and is the location of the most accurate time.

Although the telescope itself was not real, I did get a glimpse of the planet Uranus!

And there's my feet straddling two hemispheres!!

Since then, it's just been a lot of school shenanigans and Spamalot, which we saw Tuesday night. The show was spectacular, exceeding my already high expectations. If you have ever seen Monty Python or studied about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, you'll certainly enjoy this show. Almost the entire thing is a joke, with much political incorrectness and even some breaks on the part of the actors (which actually added to the show rather than make for an awkward moment like it would in many other plays!). The costumes were all bright colors and would be straight up tacky if it weren't for the hilarious nature of the show. We laughed almost the entire time and the cast did a splendid job!

I'm really thrilled because Dad and Zeb will be here very soon!!! I can't wait to see them and spend the weekend together! I'm also getting lunch with an old friend who is in London just for today and has been studying this semester in Spain!

London for Dummies: Spark-notes Edition

I'm really thrilled because my dad and brother are coming later this week to visit me!!! Hopefully it'll finally warm up here in time for all of us to have a lovely Easter weekend! As I've been back in the city, I keep noting certain things that used to be completely foreign to me but now have simply become a way of life. Here's a couple last minute travel tips before leaving the country just for fun as well.

As far as getting around in London, getting a tube/underground or bus pass is really the best thing; cabs can be really expensive and if you're hitting up all the major sights of London you can really just walk to a good amount of them as long as you're in decent shape. The city's transportation systems are excellent. (I promise, it's not nearly as complicated as it seems!)

Where to eat: pubs are really a nice atmosphere and they're not super overpriced. This is just something we don't have a ton of at home so take advantage of it while you're visiting! There's one here in Bloomsbury called Shakespeare's Head which has great prices that we all enjoy quite a bit. If you enjoy pub puns, go ahead and try out the Royal Gorge. If you're a One Direction fan (or just like chicken, lots of flavors, and a fun atmosphere) you should definitely check out Nando's! In addition, there's lots of variety here in London, so try new things! Indian, Chinese, Turkish, French, Lebanese, Italian, African, you name it! My friend just introduced me to an inexpensive Chinese restaurant today! So get brave and give your taste buds some culture.

Places to go and things to see:

Buckingham Palace: it's fun to see the changing of the guard or just check out the palace and surrounding gardens, it's all lovely.

Tower of London and Tower Bridge: the bridge is quite beautiful and the tower itself is fun to see. I definitely wouldn't go and pay to get in (unless it's ten pounds or less) unless you just have cash burning a hole in your pocket. Go ahead and stroll across the bridge and enjoy the nice views.

Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey: they're all just right there so definitely go for it! All three are iconic parts of London with photogenic views from any angle.

While you're in the area just meander down and across the river. On the south bank of the Thames there's a ton of street performers on the weekends (look out for the bubble guy-featured here, he's my favorite), but be careful, because once they snag you you may end up paying two pounds (around three dollars) for a simple bracelet made from string. Continue down (to the west) on Sundays and you'll hit a book fair with lots of very cool old books, new books, and even drawings.

The British Museum: this was literally two blocks away from where I lived at the beginning of the semester and within its walls is a wealth of history, including the Rosetta Stone and lots of mummies!
Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens: They're lovely and if it ever gets decently warm it will be gorgeous. While you're there check out the Peter Pan statue!

Covent Garden: this is just a fun area that's my go to when I don't know what to do to myself. There's always some street performers, places to eat, and fun shops! You also have to try Ben's Cookies, they're delicious.

Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square: just go to all of these while you're here. In Leicester Square/Piccadilly Circus area, you've got tons of touristy shops, M&M world, the West End shows (which I highly recommend), and China Town. I love Trafalgar Square because it's a beautiful area with fountains, stone lions, St. Martin in the Fields church and delicious restaurant in the crypt, the National Gallery (a MUST see if you like art at all), and the National Portrait Gallery (which includes the famous new portrait of Princess Kate).

St. Paul's Cathedral: it's gorgeous and I really enjoyed attending the service there one Sunday. The surrounding area is a lot of fun depending on what mood you're in, and it's in the single square mile which is the City of London.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is another excellent way to spend your time. If you have tons of cash burning a hole in your pocket (feel free to give it to me) hit up Harrods, where if you can't afford anything you can at least enjoy gawking at the prices or enjoying all the fun sections.

Go see a show!! I loved Les Miserables and, of course, The Lion King.

If you're into stalking people, go ahead and wait in a crowd to see Will and Kate (a couple of my friends were only a few feet away from the lovely couple) or enjoy lunch at Speedy's (a cafe featured in the wonderful TV series Sherlock, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman!!) and desperately hope that they're filming while you're there. If all else fails, you can go see Macbeth and wait outside after the show to see James McAvoy.

Another thing to note about London: there are unicorns everywhere.

When crossing the street, watch out because it's more your fault than the drivers. Also, jaywalking is not frowned upon in this country. Just make sure you look in the right direction.
When riding escalators, stand on the right hand side and walk on the left.
No free refills! I think I've been to two places (one was advertised as being an American diner) that actually have free refills and know what they are.
Layer up. I know I sound like a mom right now but trust me, if you're planning on being outside at all you won't regret it.
Wanna save some cash? At many cafes and small restaurants you can pay less by ordering "take away". It's the Chinese take out method of eating your food somewhere else which can save you a few pounds (both in currency and by burning some fat having to walk to another location).
You think Texas weather is bipolar? I used to be one of you. Then I came here. In addition, it doesn't always get warmer as the day goes by (like at home). In fact, sometimes it actually gets colder as the day progresses, which is one of the least awesome things to happen to me, ever.

There's probably a million things I've forgotten, but I need to stop not reading for class.

Turkish Delights

Tuesday evening I met up with the lovely Bailey for another food related adventure! Due to some bad planning on my part (between using a new tube station since we just moved and forgetting the insanity which is rush hour on the tube, which may have led to a bit more walking-which is great) I was a bit late. The wonderful thing is that Bailey had slightly overslept during her nap, so it worked out exceptionally well! We set off to find a sushi place that Bailey had recommended and we had both looked up online. We tromped around a bit, and after walking several blocks (on the right street, I might add) we came to the conclusion that we should just go ahead and pick another place because we either missed it or the restaurant relocated. We began meandering back toward Oxford street, stopping at almost every establishment to check the menu, judging each place based on the menu's content, price, ambiance, and the amount of people in the restaurant (because if there's no one in there, the food obviously must not be that good). We finally ended up at an adorable Turkish place filled with excellent ambiance and scrumptious food.

They had all these fun lights hanging up, carpets on the wall, and the coolest utensils.

 We got this fabulous balloon bread!

 There's sweet Bailey with her super awesome spoon and apple tea!

 They made my straw all swirly too!

Last night we went to see a show (Rutherford and Son) which involved a lot of upset people and could be very emotionally exhausting for audience members. Afterward (to add to the emotional exhaustion) we had minor stress getting back, as not everyone had a return ticket since there was much confusion prior to the show (luckily we all made it back no problem).

I enjoyed a relaxing morning today, including a quick jaunt with a friend to Covent Gardens to check out some adventure stores (think Patagonia, Chacos, North Face, Nalgene, etc) and the most upscale hipster store known to man before a nice lunch and scurrying off to my art class. We met at the Royal Academy of Art, where we enjoyed an excellent variety of George Bellows' works. 

Try everything that can be done. Be deliberate. Be spontaneous. 

Be thoughtful and painstaking. Be abandoned and impulsive. 

Learn your own possibilities.

-George Bellows 1920

We had some extra time after the Bellows exhibit, so we walked a couple blocks away to some private art galleries (we were in a fancy part of town, with the Ritz right down the street), which I really enjoyed. Definitely something to go back and see. One of my favorites from those galleries was Marc Chagall, a Russian avant garde artist. After the class ended, Zoe and I looked around at a couple of the other galleries. We walked into one gallery which we both agreed was-without a doubt-our favorite. The pieces all featured lovely girls with everyday items. I can't even begin to describe it, so here's a link to the artist's site and a picture of a couple of his works below (yes, photography was allowed).

Dominoes, like who thinks of that? Awesome artists, that's who.

This picture does not do the paintings any justice at all.

Following class, I joined my lovely friend Renee for a delicious burger, fries, and coke at an American diner outside our tube station. I can't remember, but that may have been my first burger in the past two months, and we were thrilled because we got free refills!!! [In case you weren't aware, free refills is a totally foreign concept to most people here. One of my friends here explained to a server-since he didn't know-what free refills are and he just laughed incredulously.]
Then tonight we enjoyed a couple of movies ( Anastasia and Hercules) in some of my friends living room area! Tomorrow we're off to Greenwich, so that should be exciting!