Amsterdam and the Final Days

After Italy we only had a 24 hour layover to repack a bag and get ready for Amsterdam the next day. This time I was lucky enough to have some girl company thanks to the lovely Olivia. I also have her to thank for planning the trip (transportation, directions, activities, etc.) since I knew almost nothing about Amsterdam before going.

Embarrassing story: Our first day of getting to Amsterdam was mostly focused around flying there and then getting to our hostel. When we got to the hostel I made a very American mistake when we were greeted by a young Italian guy. He saw my last name on the reservation and asked if I was Italian. I've always been very proud of being Italian so I answered, yes of course! To which he started asking me if I spoke Italian and where I was from in Italy. After explaining that I didn't speak Italian, only knew the general region where my family was from, and that I studied in America he started to realize that I was not from Italy. It was about this point that I also realized he did not consider me to be Italian and that to him I was American (duh). So, I meekly told him that my great-grandparents had lived in Italy and I was from America as I tried to finish the paperwork as fast as possible. Luckily I didn't see him the rest of our stay.

Our trip wasn't very long but we got to see the famous Red Light District (of course) and learned the difference between a cafe and a coffee shop. We also went to see Anne Frank's house where her and her family hid from the Nazis during World War II. Unfortunately, the palace and churches were closed to prepare for the coronation of the new king which was happening later that week but we still got to explore the city and Olivia and I went to the Rijksmuseum while the boys did the Heineken experience. Overall, I found Amsterdam to be a beautiful city and it definitely exceeded my expectations so I was happy we went.

Derek and CJ in front of one of the many canals

Olivia and I in front of the Rijksmuseum 

One of my favorite things: Whipped cream with a bit of waffle

After Amsterdam we headed back to England for the start of finals. Just by luck, I didn't have any actual exams and only had to do final papers. Unfortunately, this also meant that I had weeks of nothing to do while everyone else was busy studying and taking tests. So, I decided that I wanted to surprise everyone (especially my mom) and come back early.

My last days in England were spent seeing London a few last times and soaking in my whole experience. And, of course, for my last meal I had to go to a pub and have the best steak and ale pie I'll probably ever have. Then the day arrived for me to say goodbye to the place I had called home for 4 months and return to the U.S.

I planned it with my dad that he would tell my mom he was working late and come get me from the airport then I would sneak into the house and surprise her. When we got home, she was upstairs on the phone and when my dad told her he needed her downstairs she told him to wait. I hid for about 10 minutes until she finally came down. Here's the soon to be infamous reaction- fair warning, it will be loud: 

  

The time I spent in England was an experience I will never forget and I am so grateful for every second. I got to spend 4 months abroad, visit 3 other countries, and make countless memories. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to go and supported me through the ups and downs, because there are downs even if you don't expect there to be. I still plan to write at least one or two more posts about what I learned and some advice for anyone going in the future but for now I am home and happily reminiscing about my fabulous time abroad. All I have to say is I will definitely be going back one day. Until then, cheers London! I'll miss you!

Stephanie's Euro Trip, Part One

As I mentioned two weeks ago, my sister, Stephanie, came to visit for a week during her spring break last week. We had such a great time and did so much! Because it was such a big trip I had to split it into two parts so without further adieu here is part 1.

The first day Steph got here, Friday, I went to meet her at the airport nice and early (hello 6 a.m., haven't seen you in a while). We came back to Royal Holloway and relaxed for a little bit and then got ready to head out to the Warner Bros. Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour.

In case the name doesn't give it away, it's a 3-hour tour of the studio where they filmed many of the Harry Potter movies which has now been turned into an exhibition of the props, sets, costumes, etc. I've been dying to go since the second I got here but knew that I would appreciate it a thousand times more with my die-hard Potterhead sister by my side. Unfortunately getting there wasn't very easy either. All in all, I probably spent over 6 hours traveling that day but it was definitely worth it.

The tour was amazing and I easily could have spent way more than 3 hours there. There was so much to see and do. Steph got to try Butterbeer for the first time, which she loved. It's only sold in two places in the world (the studio tour and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando) and I've tried both which is pretty cool! However, my favorite part of the tour, hands down, was at the end where you turn this corner and are greeted by an exact replica of Hogwarts. It was a dream come true for any Potter fan.

The next day we went into London in the afternoon and showed Steph some of the major tourist sites like Big Ben, House of Parliament, the London Eye and Westminster Abbey and took pictures in front of each of them. Then we killed time until 9:30pm when we boarded a bus to Paris!

While the bus was extremely cheap, I can definitely see that it wasn't the most comfortable way to travel. It would have been fine if we were just driving straight all night but unfortunately we had to keep stopping and even had to get off for an hour and a half to take a ferry across the English Channel (which they definitely did not mention beforehand). Regardless, we got a little sleep and arrived in Paris at 7:30am. 

Obviously I haven't experienced this as much since I've been studying in an English speaking country but the language barrier hits you like a ton of bricks. The two years of French I took in middle school didn't come back to me as easily as I expect. However, after wandering around for well over an hour we found our hostel. 

As far as hostels go, the one we stayed at was very nice. They were so helpful and kept giving us maps and marking how to get where in the city. We had a private room for 4 with two bunk beds and a private bathroom so it was much nicer than sharing a dorm with other strangers. We couldn't check in until 3pm though so we dropped off our bags and hit the city. 

We decided to spend the day at the Palace of Versailles because, for some reason, it and a lot of other attractions were closed on Monday. Even though the wait was horrible the palace itself was incredible. After seeing how big the palaces in England are you think you'll never see anything as extravagant but this beat all the other ones by miles. We spent a few hours exploring there and only left out of sheer exhaustion. 

That night we had our first proper French dinner which was out of this world! I tried steak tartar, which as you can see in picture below, is literally raw meat. The only difficult part was trying to understand the menus and ordering the food but luckily our waiter was helpful and together we bridged the language barrier to have a very good first dinner. 

Well, that's it for this post! Don't worry, there will be more pictures of delicious food to come. Until then, au revoir!

Not Enough Hours in the Day

Well, it has definitely been busy this past week to say the least so I'll try to catch you all up.

Last Saturday CJ and I decided to head into London and go see Kensington Palace. This is where Queen Victoria, the longest reigning British Monarch and patron of our college, lived for most of her life. Unfortunately not a whole lot of it was open for public viewing but we did get to go through all the exhibits they had open. My favorite was the one that focused on the life of Victoria herself and her children. We had a great time but finished quickly and didn't want to head back just yet so we decided to indulge our American cravings.

Not having American food or fast food for almost 2 months we decided that it would be the perfect day since we were in London where it is all so close. So for me we had Burger King (honestly, it was the best burger I've had here which really says something about England's burgers) and for CJ we went to his beloved Chipotle. Finally we also decided to make a pit stop at King's Cross station and for any of you Harry Potter fans out there you better know what this means...Platform 9 and 3/4!!! While it wasn't exactly what I expected--they made it a bit touristy, of course--it was still a lot of fun and I got to be nerdy and wear the HP glasses and scarf and everything. And of course I chose Slytherin as my house. ;-)

The next day Olivia and I went on a school sponsored trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, aka the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway (his wife) and his family. We had read the guidebook and already determined that Shakespeare's birthplace was very touristy and not worth the money so instead Olivia and I made the mile hike out to Anne Hathaway's cottage. It was definitely worth the trip as it was very authentic to the time period. I was amazed that it was still standing to be honest but it was so adorable and we had a great time.

Then after a hike back into town and a quick lunch we went on a 2-hour walking tour through the town. While it was freezing and we were past numb by the time we were done the tour was really interesting and it was amazing to find out how old the town is and how much history is there. It made me realize how new all of the US is compared to England.

    Anne Hathaway's Cottage 

                                         

Shakespeare's Courting Chair where he courted Anne Hathaway

 

Shakespeare's Grave

This house was so old you can see how crooked it is.

Unfortunately, with the start of March that also means that I've realized I only have 2 weeks until most of my assignments are due in my classes which means I actually have to do work while abroad. However, Olivia and I did take some time off yesterday to go to the mall. Yes, believe it or not, they do have malls here. They're just very very hard to get to. We spent 2 hours traveling there but in the end it was worth it to get to the Stratford Westfield Mall. And yes, it is just like the Westfield malls that we all know and love in the States. It was so much fun because it cured a little bit of my homesickness since I felt like I was back at my home mall. Not to mention I also got a ton of new clothes for really cheap (thank you Primark!).

Today I am locking myself inside and working but tomorrow it's supposed to be around 60 and sunny so I'll be heading to Hampton Court which is something I've been dying to see since I got here so expect another post soon. Until then, Happy Monday!

Les Miserables

Valentine's Day came early for me this year. On Saturday, CJ and I went into London to go see Les Mis performed at the Queen's Theatre. CJ got me the tickets as a Christmas/birthday gift and we had amazing seats. We were in the Stalls which is the bottom level only about 10 rows back. I love musicals and Broadway so I was so excited to get to see Les Mis performed on a London stage where it originated.

We also decided to celebrate Valentine's Day early by going out to a steakhouse in Piccadilly Circus nearby the theatre. While we had a great time we did, unfortunately, find out that England can't do steak as good as America does. But I also guess that we both have very high standards when it comes to our steak. However, we definitely made up for it when we had my favorite champagne at the theatre. Did I mention I love being able to order alcohol? All in all we had a great time and I loved my Christmas present!!!

That's about all for now. I'll post again soon but until then...Cheers!

Lovely London

Hi all! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've actually had to be a student (Translation: I've been watching hours upon hours of Gossip Girl). However, I have finally reached a point where I could stop for a little while to write a post about what I've been doing when I'm not pretending I'm an upper-east side socialite.

Wednesday I went on a Jack the Ripper walking tour of London which the school provided for all us study abroad students free of charge. My bank account was very happy to have a night out and a dinner without having to pay for it. It was really cool and I had a great time despite having to walk for 90 minutes in the cold.

For those of you who are not familiar, Jack the Ripper is one of the most infamous serial killers of England, not only because his identity was never revealed but also because of the vicious way he killed his victims. I was really surprised to find out he only killed 5 (confirmed) women but it was still horrible to hear about the way he killed them but also interesting to hear the history and what they know about him while trying to guess who he was. Personally I lean towards the Royal conspiracy theory but that could have to do with my love for drama.

Then on Saturday Olivia and I headed into London for a girls day of shopping and exploring the city. Luckily, it was a rare sunny and warm-ish days so we enjoyed our time outside. First we went to Harrods which is easily the biggest and more luxurious/expensive stores I've ever been in. We had so much fun spending hours scouring the many floors trying to see everything. The clothes were all gorgeous and I almost feel in love when I saw the shoes. However, I think my favorite section was the Disney room which was a princess room to put even most Disney stores to shame. I easily could have stayed in there forever. While I'm sure we didn't see the whole store we decided to take a break and head out to lunch.

The Entrance to Harrods

After lunch we decided to enjoy the sun and explore the parks as we headed to Kensington Palace in the hopes of spotting Kate Middleton. It took us forever to find the palace as we had to walk through both Hype Park and Kensington Gardens. Unfortunately we did not succeed in our mission to find her though we did find out that she had been at a lot of the places we saw the day before so we now know where to go (or stalk).

Kensington Palace where William and Kate live

That night we also celebrated Derek's 21st birthday. While he technically wasn't turning 21 until Sunday we planned a surprise party for him and then went to the on campus bar, Medicine, afterwards. It was so much fun and everyone had a great time!

Olivia and I in our mandatory party hats

Well, that's about it for this week. Oh, I also mentioned that I would be starting another blog which I officially launched last week. It's devoted solely to fashion and style that I observe while abroad and how it relates to fashion back home. Here's the link so feel free to check it out: Foreign Fashionista. Also, as always, if you have any questions or just want to tell me what you love (or hate) about my blog feel free to leave a comment below! Cheers!