The Adventure Ends...in a long post!!!!

My home :)

The center!

 Sorry for not posting every day anymore. I kinda stayed up way to late enjoying my last few days. So I just realized that I have not told you anything about this week so we are starting with Tuesday...even though I have no pictures to represent that day. So, Tuesday, I went to Buckinham Palace! Which if you didn't know that is the home of the Queen in London. Since I was visiting she wasn't in London. So I wasn't able to take any pictures in the palace but it was so cool! We only went through the state rooms so I didn't actually see the Queen's living quarters but that is totally ok. There was a special exhibit this year because of the Diamond Jubilee. So the diamond scepter in the Tower of London (532 carats!) apparently was part of an even larger diamond! This diamond was cut into 7 diamonds that are all part of the royal jewelry. The other diamonds are not as huge but they are still gorgeous! It was amazing seeing the jewelry! It only consisted of diamonds because it was the diamond jubilee and it was just wonderful! After Buckingham I escorted two ladies in our group to the Making of Harry Potter. I did this because I wanted to shop some more. It was totally awesome. Then I went back to the house and studied for my finals.

Wednesday was a really boring day...all I did was study and pack. All day. That's it. I am not kidding. I only left the center to go and get lunch.

Thursday was D-day. We had to take our finals. I was so incredibly stressed but I did it! They are over!!!!!! After I finished the exams Kristina, Kim and I went for some shopping therapy. We went to Camden Market. I bought a new belt and a London hoodie. It was so fun. Then we returned to the center for our last group dinner. After dinner we went to see Julius Caesar. This production changed the setting and placed the Shakespearean play in Africa. It was actually a great set change. It placed this play into modern times in a situation that is not unusual. Especially since Julius Caesar is the story of differing political ideals. It was a wonderful production and I enjoyed it! After the show Megan, Jace, Aubrey and I walked around London. We headed toward Leicester Square. Our final destination was Piccadilly Circus. On the way we stopped by the M&M world where we took pictures with the London icons made M&M style. We also did a little bit of shopping for our touristy souvenirs. Then we headed home to get some sleep after the stressful finals day.

Julius Caesar: my last show in London

Elementary my dear Watson

 Friday was my last day in London. The first few hours that I was awake I was totally depressed. I didn't want this adventure to end, but I had to get over that so I could enjoy my day. Kristina and I headed to Oxford street to do some shopping. Our first stop? Primark the Forever 21 of England. Its a crazy place. Then we went to the Disney store so I could get a present and then headed back to the center. I went to lunch at Nandos with a large group of people and then headed off on my own to the British Museum. This is a place I definitely need to return to this museum I didn't even see half of it. Then I started one of the longest walks of my life. I rode the tube to Tower hill. I took one last walk around the Tower of London, crossed Tower Bridge and then I headed down the Thames. I walked for two and a half hours all the way to the Globe theater. It was a wonderful way for me to say goodbye to this city that had been my home. I also found 10 Wenlocks (Olympic mascot) around the city. Then I went on a walk with Jace, Emilee and Sarah. We walked through Kensington Gardens all the way to Hyde park as the sun set. It was beautiful. Then I went with Christina to meet Aubrey and Kristina outside Parliament. For the Olympics they were projecting a 15 minutes movie on the side of Parliament! So we stood across the river and just watched it happen. It was amazing. Then we walked to the bridge between Waterloo and Embankment. We ran into Lauren who started crying because we were at her favorite spot in London. Then we returned to the center to finish packing. I was up until 2 a.m. in the morning. We finally took a roommate picture at 2 am and then it was over...

Last meal at Nandos. Thanks Jace

Sun setting on the Serpentine

Christina, Aubrey and Kristina with Parliament in the background

Me, Megan, Sarah, Kim, Emilee and Kristina. My roommates!

Saturday I woke up at 6 am. I carried my things downstairs and said my goodbyes. Kim and Emilee were very sluggish because I woke them up enough just so they could hug me goodbye. Megan almost started crying and so she almost made me cry. Nothing was harder though then saying goodbye to Kristina. She was my best friend on this trip. We were both fine until we walked out the front door together. Then we both almost started crying but managed to not get to full fledged sobbing. Then I walked away... I hailed a taxi and drove to Paddington station. Then I got on the express train to the airport. There I got my last traditional English breakfast and I boarded a plane for the next ten hours. So ended my wonderful, amazing, stressful, exhausting, exhilarating adventure.

Sunday and Monday

 

Sunday was a very long day. We drove all the way from Edinburgh to London in just one day. We only had two stops. The first stop was in Duram where we attending an Anglican service. It was basically Catholic except it wasn’t a Catholic church. I wish I could explain it more in depth to you but I really cannot. It was a traditional mass with the same Communion service so as far as I understand the biggest difference is that they are not affiliated with the Pope. Anyway, so we attended their lovely church service in the Cathedral. Our second stop was in Kibworth! This city has actually been the center of study in our history class! So that was pretty sweet to actually go there. We had a brief tour of some of the sites we read about and then we had a traditional English Sunday dinner of roast, potatoes and vegetables. It was delicious! That is honestly all that I did yesterday.

Today, I had class this morning. Last day of classes and then we have finals on Thursday. I can’t believe that my time here is almost up. After class Kristina and I went to 221B Baker Street and Speedy’s! For those who don’t know: Speedy’s is a café right next to the 221B Baker Street that exists in the new BBC version of Sherlock Holmes. Inside they have pictures with the actors and it was pretty sweet. At actual 221 B there is a Sherlock museum and gift shop. We didn’t actually go inside the museum but we did go and enjoy the gift shop. Unfortunately homework has been calling our name so we couldn’t spend hours there. Plus, we are a little museumed out so we would rather pay to enjoy it when we have the mental strength to really enjoy it! So obviously I just have to come back! Which I plan to do…probably 10 years from now. It was really nice to get out of the center and ride the tube again! I am just really glad that  I don’t have any more coach rides to do.

 

After Sherlock Holmes I went back to the center and worked on homework until 6:30 when I went to the Bayswater Tube Stop. There I found Victoria!!! She is a friend from Indiana and she is here on a totally different program but I am so glad we got to see each other in LONDON! Moments like this are really unreal because you don't really expect to meet people that you see back at home overseas. Even though we planned to meet here since we knew that both of us were going that did not matter. So I took her to Tazas and she had lamb for the first time. Then we walked to Kensington Gardens and the security guard actually escorted us through the Princess Diana Memorial Park (its for children only and you aren't supposed to be able to get inside without children unless you go from 9:30-10) so that was super cool! She hadn't been to Kensington yet so I showed her the palace and then we walked to Gelato Mio where I bought her an ice cream cone! No, I did not tell her that she could only have the small one. I just surprised her by buying it for her. I am so glad I found her! That is basically everything that I have done today. Have a wonderful night, I love you all! 

Edinburgh Festival and Royal Tattoo

 

Saturday was an unbelievable day in Edinburgh. We started off the day by taking a tour of the Edinburgh castle. Surprisingly, this castle was entirely different from every other castle I have been to on this trip. This castle is a series of buildings that gradually get higher and higher as you walk around the dormant volcano. Yes, it is built on a dormant volcano. So, if you were going to try and invade this castle you would have a lot more buildings to conquer before you can call it yours. This castle houses Scotland’s Crown Jewels which are, sadly, no longer worn. This is because England and Scotland share their monarch and so they use the fancier crown jewels in London. However, there is a piece of granite called the rock of destiny that does travel to London for every coronation. This is because it was stolen from the Scottish as a war prize and when James II, who was already king of Scotland, became the rightful king of England the stone was used for every monarch. It actually wasn’t until 1996 when the stone was allowed to return to Scotland. So that was pretty cool. The castle also houses Scotland’s shrine to its fallen soldiers. It still an active shrine so the name of every soldier who dies abroad is added to this shrine. It was quite humbling to walk through.

Edinburgh Castle

After we (Chelsea, Aubry, Kristina, Celeste and I) finished exploring the Castle we started shopping. Well, sort of. Our first stop was a woolen mill that was supposed to have an exhibition of how wool is made into clothe. Basically, it had the different machines set up but with not plaques or order to view them to get you deep into the shop so you will buy stuff. It was still fun anyway. We then slowly made our way down the Royal Mile. I say slowly because the street was packed with a million people and performers. It felt like a whole new city. We were actually making our way down the mile to head towards a free fringe show called Austentatious, but more about that in like 2 sentences. So, while we were heading there we stopped at a Tesco for some cheap lunch. Then we tried to find the venue where this show was showing. We got lost for a bit, but we found it!

So what is Austentatious? Well, it is an improv comedy troupe that specializes in Jane Austen. This means that they asked the audience members to make up names of Austen books and place then in a basket. I made up the name “Eccentric and Egotistical”.  So the show started off with a single actor picking out a couple names out of the basket and explaining to us what the plot of the book was about. Then, she picked a final one for all of them to perform for us. It was basically called “What your momma gave you”, it had a slightly longer title that I no longer remember. It was absolutely hilarious! It was a great show, entirely clean and kid friendly. We laughed so hard at all of the jokes and the situations. I loved it. As we left the show a guy was handing out fliers for a stand up show featuring one of the girls from Austentatious. So we went to Paris and Dowler know what they are doing. It was good, but not nearly as funny. That’s mostly because we aren’t British. Her partner did impressions and the only one I knew was Alan Rickman who sang Adele. Which was pretty amusing. Thankfully though it was dirty comedy, it stayed pretty clean. Then I went and bought my kilt!!!!! I am so excited for this piece of clothing you have no idea!

The cast of Austentatious sans two characters

Then I went on a wild goose chase to try and find a Disney store. I totally found where a Disney store used to be but it has now moved to a new location that was about 2 hours to walk to, so no Edinburgh Disney mug for me, but that is ok. I HAVE A KILT!!! After my goose chase we dropped off our purchased items at the hostel and set out to the Mosque Kitchen to get some dinner. While we were headed there we were given a flier for a free magic show that started at 8:30. So we totally planned on going. The food at Mosque kitchen was really good and cheap which is my favorite. Then we headed off to a bar to see the magic show. This was the first time I have ever been carded in Europe. So they carded us all to let us in the bar. The magic show was called “Totally Ninja” and it was so great! It was done by a ginger and he blew my mind. At one point he was doing a card trick and Jace was holding the card. It was one card when he put it up to his chest and entirely different card when he took it away to look at it again! About halfway through the show he wrote something on a pad of paper and threw it into the audience. It got passed around for a bit and mostly forgotten. Then towards the end he asked 4 people to write down a ten digit number and had then add it up. It was the exact number he had written on the piece of paper 20 minutes earlier! Not only that but it was his cell phone number! It was just so cool.  We actually pooled together 10 pounds to give to this guy.

Then we headed off to the Royal Tattoo and it was as amazing as my mother said It would be. IT was a bunch of different military bands from Scotland, England, Canada, Australia, US, and Norway. It was so cool! They would march in formations, and the music they played was beautiful. They had Scottish dancers and used an incredibly powerful projectors on the Edinburgh Castle. It was phenomenal. I cannot accurately describe with words what made it so amazing but trust me, it was amazing. Our military band performed super hero music; Batman, Spiderman, Superman and they even played Popeye the sailor man. I know he isn’t a super hero but it was so funny. The Scottish band actually played music from Brave and the composer was in the audience!!!! I can’t wait to see that movie! It was a wonderful close to such a great trip! I love you all and I hope you have had a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

Pictures from people in the Royal Tattoo! (Me and Christina)

Edinburgh Castle turned into Gotham City for the U.S. band

Went to the Olympics...No big deal

 So today, I have done the hardest hike of this entire trip. We climbed to Arthur's seat which is entirely uphill. It is one of the 7 hills around Edinburgh and it was a super cool view but my body was not happy. I figured that each hike we had done before would prepare me...I was wrong. I started in the first 5 people climbing the hill and ended in the last 5 but I made it! The view was spectacular. I loved it and I recited part III of the "Lady of Shallot" which was super cool. Then we headed back down to the coach so we could head out to Glasgow and the Olympics!

The view from Arthur's seat. Me and Lauren :)

So we showed up a little late. Traffic was horrendous because of the Edinburgh Festival but we only missed like 10 minutes of the game. It was so much fun! Most of the audience were actually younger kids. We cheered for Sweden and the entire audience sent the wave around the stadium like 5 times. It was really exciting and I am so glad that I actually got to see an Olympic event in the flesh! Thank you Michael for finding the tickets! It was a marvelous opportunity that I will never forget. Even though Sweden lost. It is ok because it was a really good game. After the game ended we got close to the field to take some pictures. Then we headed back to Edinburgh for the festival.

Right outside the stadium where an OLYMPIC soccer match was going on

France = blue, Sweden = Yellow

Me and the whole Christianson clan!

 Back in Edinburgh we headed to St. Giles church. It is very pretty but we were itching to go out to find a show during the festival for the evening. Plus, I was starving because I had not eaten anything substantial since breakfast. So Taylor, Chelsea, Michael, Matthew and I headed out to look for some food. We ended up in a cute cafe where I got some yummy lentil soup. Then we headed to go see Knee Deep which is an Australian circus act. It was sooo good! The acrobats had a 12x12 stage to work from and it was 3 boys and 1 girl. The girl was a beast! They used every part of their body to balance. They used the back of their knees to launch each other into flips over their heads or to get them up on their shoulders. The girl started the show by walking on 6 eggs in their carton without breaking them. They balanced 3 people on their shoulders without a net or cushion below them. They even balanced three people with the top person perched on the head of the other person. Yes, I said head. Then they even had silks, trapeze and the bars contortionists use. It was so cool. I loved it! It was a great way to spend the night!

St. Giles

Holy Cow...I am in Scotland!!!!!!!

 

Can I just say I am so glad bars have free wifi! It makes it so much easier to keep track of everyone and just let them know how much fun I am having! I am still so blessed to have been given the opportunity to be here and I am loving every moment.

So, today we have left York and we are heading ever closer to Scotland. Our first stop was Fountain Abbey. This ruin of an abbey is HUGE and still very beautiful! I always stand in awe of the fallen grandeur. It is about three times the size of Tintern Abbey which I visited on the west trip. However, both of these abbeys housed the same group of Monks! That is pretty cool. There was a little museum that talked about the abbey and had a reconstruction of what it would look like if the roof was still on. It also had COSTUMES! So, I got to be a monk for about 5 minutes and it was awesome! I love when places allow me to dress in the fashion of the times. 

Maddy and I as Monks!

Fountain Abbey

We then headed out to Hadrians Wall…where we all acted like 5 year olds! So Hadrians wall is a really long wall. We started at a ruined Roman fort and climbed all over the thing. At first we climbed because we had to, a few of us were trying to get to the fort to realize that there wasn’t a gap in the wall any where close by. So we climbed over the wall to get in.Then we were climbing all over it because we could. People were showing off their gymnastic skills, Paul showed off his amazing capability to balance and leap from rock to rock. I just climbed to view the layout of the fort. I honestly did not learn a single thing but I loved every moment we were on that fort! Then we took one of our first group photos!!!! Almost everyone from the study abroad is in the photo. Frank and his wife Stacey (wonderful people who I love dearly!) have been taking kissing photos all over the UK. So we decided to give them some love as we stood on the wall of the granary. Michael bought an American flag shortly after the Olympics started so in case we forgot what country its from we added it to the picture!

Almost all of us as we cheer on the Christiansons! They are some of my favorite people!

After this lovely photo we started a hike along the wall! It was super fun. I think I am getting better at this hiking thing. We were about 30 miles away from Scotland and we hiked about 3 miles I think. Parts of the hike were actually on top of Hadrians wall. I am still in awe of the beauty of the countryside. At one point we stopped to let people catch up because we weren't sure which direction we should go. Wade said to follow the wall...so we did. It took us about 200 feet to realize we were on the wrong side of the wall and in some poor sheep herders field. Instead of going back we managed to climb under the barbed wire and over the stone fence. It was a little tricky but we got it! A little later I was falling behind the front runners. We made it to a rather flat part so I decided to run and catch up. Then they started running. I did eventually catch up and Kim told me my run was dainty. We finished the hike and then headed toward Scotland!

The last of the Celtic nations that I needed to visit!!!

We made it! We are staying in a super nice hostel (I didn't know there was such a thing). We have our own bathroom and shower! HURRAY!!! Then we went on a tour of the city given by Brian who is a PHD student here and has worked with Frank. So we saw the castle and the royal mile. Then he took us to the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter! THEN, he showed us the real grave of Tom Riddle AND the school that inspired Hogwarts! It was a great tour! I am excited to be in Scotland!