THE BEST TWO DAYS EVER!!!

This week has been such a great week and its only going to get better!

Tuesday night some of my friends and I went to Ministry of Sound, one of the most famous clubs in London (and in the world). I had such an amazing time. I was with all my favorite people here and we just had so much fun dressing up and dancing the whole night away. The club has multiple levels and dance floors, each playing different types of music. It was my first club experience, being that I'm not 21 yet (FOUR DAYS!!!) and probably one of the best nights I have had.

Lisanne, Me, and Stephanie before Ministry of Sound

The gang inside Ministry of Sound

We got back at four in the morning from the club but we couldn't let ourselves sleep in because we wanted to go to the James Bond Premiere in London. I just have to say that I would never be a dorky fan that goes to a premiere in Los Angeles but I heard that the princes were going to attend this premiere so I HAD to go. We got there a couple of hours early and waited and waited until the stars arrived. It was freezing cold but I was literally a foot away from all the stars so it was totally worth it. I saw a couple of Bond girls, Robbie Coltrain (who plays Hagrid in Harry Potter), Daniel Craig (James Bond), Judy Dench (but she wasn't very nice and didn't come up to us) and THE PRINCES!!! The Princes came at the very very end. They came right up to us and made conversation and asked us how we were; they were so so so so nice...and handsome!! I think its the only time I have been star struck because I was so shocked that I couldn't even put out my hand to shake theirs. And now I want to kick myself because I was this close to touching royalty and I froze! haha. But it was still a really great night.

The princes finally arrive!

Prince William

Prince Harry


Daniel Craig

Tomorrow is Halloween and I am so excited. I wanted to dress up but I don't have a costume here. So after the James Bond premiere we were in a James Bond frenzy and we decided that my friend Ryan would be James Bond and my best friends Stephanie and Lisanne and I would be bond girls. :) So that should be fun too.

I just got back from a panel discussion here at Royal Holloway regarding the U.S. presidential election. It was really really interesting and fun. And so many international people turned up. I'm addicted to the election. Its almost at the point of being unhealthy. haha. Hopefully, I will find a TV so that I will be able to watch it Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Fingers crossed!!

Well as you can see I'm still having a blast here. And hoepfully there are more adventures and more fun on the way. Miss you all!

In the land of plaid

This weekend I was in Scotland! It was freezing cold but it was absolutely beautiful and a lot of fun.

Friday morning I took the train from Kings Cross Station in London to Edinburgh, Scotland. It took about six hours. There was a bit of confusion with train delays and seat reservations so I ended up standing for part of train ride but I made a lot of friends who were all under the age of 7. I've decided that I want all my children to have English accents because it is absolutely adorable. Ill just have to figure out how to make that happen without actually having to live in England. haha.

Once we arrived in Edinburgh we met our tour guide, Michael. He was quite a character. He wore a kilt the whole weekend, despite the cold. He had long curly hair and was very burly and manly. He kind of looked like Mel Gibson in Braveheart. And he was quite proud to be Scottish. Michael gave us a tour of Edinburgh and then we had the rest of the evening and night to ourselves. So first we got some dinner at a local pub. One of my friends tried hagus (I did NOT) and said it was actually really good. And for dessert we went to the cafe (the Elephant House) where J.K. Rowling wrote most of Harry Potter. Edinburgh has the more pubs per capita than any other city in the world so after dessert we went to one of their many pubs. The stereotype that Scottish people love to drink is very true. We encountered drunks of every age but they were all very friendly. I learned that a long time ago the drinking water in Scotland was so polluted that the only way to drink it was to turn it into alcohol. So this is where part of their drinking culture stems from. Afterward the pub, we went on a Ghost Tour. It was so scary. Edinburgh was one of the first cities to have "skyscrapers". But when they could not build higher because they lacked the technology they dug under the city. The poorest of the poor would live in what they called the underground city. The ghost tour took us into these underground alleys and caverns. It was so creepy and I was SO scared. But it was really fun and a good way to end our stay in Edinburgh.

On Saturday we hopped on the tour bus and headed to the Highlands. On the way to and through the Highlands we stopped at various places to check out the sights. The Highlands were absolutely gorgeous. It was a mixture of mountains, lakes (lochs), rivers, and forests. And the fall colors were so vivid. There are rail tracks that go along the main road through the Highlands and this is actually where the filmed the scenes of the Hogwarts Express for Harry Potter. One of our stops was to see a "Arry Coo". I had no idea what the tour guide was talking about when he said that. It turns out Arry Coo is a Hairy Cow. Just one example of how hard it is to understand the Scottish accent. haha. Anyways, I met the most famous hairy cow in Scotland; his name is Hamish. He might be one of the cutest animals I have ever seen. One of my friends told me he looks like Louis but with horns. We also stopped at Loch Ness right at dusk. I didn't see Nessie but our tour guide assured us she was there.

While we were riding through the Highlands our tour guide would tell us about all the famous battles between the Scottish and the English and about all the famous Scottish class and just a lot of cool cttish history. I learned that the current head of the Stuart House actually has a stronger claim to the throne than the current queen of England, which I thought was really interesting. It was kind of fun to hear all these battle stories from the Scottish perspective because it was so blatantly biased. haha. The gift shops in Scotland sell scarves and ties and kilts of all the clans in Scotland. So I bought a plaid scarf only to realize later that it was a from the Campbell clan, which is the most hated clan in all of Scotland. Apparently, they murdered another clan or something and there are some hotels in Scotland that will refuse to serve anyone with that last name. I'm going to wear it anyways. haha.

Sunday we drove back from the Highlands on a different route. The weather was much nicer and the sun actually came out so there were rainbows all across the fields and mountains. Right before lunch we stopped at a Whiskey Distillery and learned how they make whiskey in Scotland. And then we caught the train back to London.

Michael, our burly Scottish tour guide

In front of the castle at Loch Ness

In a field where the English killed a bunch of the Scottish

Hamish, the Hairy Cow

Here are some pictures of the Scottish countryside and Highlands. The weather wasn't that great so some of my pictures didn't come out as good as I would have hoped. But hopefully you can get an idea of how beautiful it is.

Weekend in Paris

I went to Paris this weekend and I absolutely fell in love with the city.

My roommate, Stephanie, and I arrived Thursday night on the Eurostar (we went through the chunnel). We were absolutely exhausted from the trip so we dropped off our stuff at our hotel which was about a five minute walk from the Eiffel Tower and we went for a midnight stroll. Walking around Paris at night put us in the best mood ever. The Eiffel Tower was lit up with bronze lights and we saw the light show there too. We fell in love and had to force ourselves to go back to the hotel so we could get a good night sleep for the next day.

Friday morning we woke up early to start our first day in Paris. We got chocolate croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast. Obviously, I was in heaven. I love any place where you can have chocolate for breakfast. Then we WALKED over to the Lourve, which took about an hour. We basically walked everywhere in Paris. I think we took the metro like once or twice. All the walking was pretty painful but it was totally worth it because I saw all of Paris. And the weather was amazing. It was perfect fall weather. The skies were so blue it looked like a Hollywood movie set because it was too perfect to be real. At the Lourve I saw the glass pyramids like in the DaVinci Code (haha). I also got to see the Mona Lisa, which was so so so cool. We probably spent three hours in the Lourve, had lunch there, and then walked over to Notre Dame. I could not believe that Notre Dame was built over 600 years ago. It was amazing. and I loved the gargoyles. I don't think it was as extravagant as Westminister Abbey but it had a presence that is unmatched by any other church I have been in. Then we walked down the Champs Elysee, which is the major shopping street. We walked all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe, which commemorates soldiers who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and has an unknown soldier from WWI buried underneath it.

Me trying to do the "I know something you don't know" Mona Lisa smile

DaVinci Code moment at the Lourve

Notre Dame

Then we went back to the hotel so we could get ready for Moulin Rouge!!! Our feet were killing us by then. We had insane blisters but we were determined to look cute for the Moulin Rouge and wore heels anyways :) I'm so glad I got to go to Moulin Rouge. It was so much fun. They served us dinner and wine before the show and had live music playing. The actual show was a mix of topless dancing and variety acts. The costumes were ridiculous and amazing. There was a woman that swam in a tank full of snakes, a ventriloquist, and guy who played the drums with a ping pong ball, some contortionists, and mini horses (which i loved...a mini horse would be an acceptable replacement for the pony you owe me, uncle chris). It was a great way to end one of the best days of my life.

In front of the Moulin Rouge

Saturday we started the day with chocolate croissants again :) and then headed out to Versialles. The Hall of Mirrors was amazing to walk through. I felt like I was part of Louis' court. The gardens were my favorite part. They were even larger than I expected and had dozens of fountains. It was another beautiful day and the water from the fountains made rainbows all over the gardens. We had the best mozarella and tomato sandwiches (which I could eat everyday) at Versialles. After lunch we went to the Musee d'Orsay, which houses all the impressionist artists. The museum itself is pretty cool too. It was a train station that they converted into a museum. I saw dozens of works by Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanne, and Renior. Afterwards, we went to dinner in the Latin Quarter. On our walk home we stopped at the Eiffel Tower, which was lit up blue, and took the elevator to the top. It was so cool to see all the sights we had just seen all lit up at night. It was a great night to do it too because there was an orange moon, which made the view even more special.

Hall of Mirrors

Part of the gardens at Versailles

Fountain at Versailles complete with rainbow

Blue Eiffel Tower

Sunday was our last day in Paris. We only had a couple of hours before we had to catch our train back to london. So we had a lazy sunday morning breakfast of crepes, which were delicious. Then we headed over to the Hotel de Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb). I am really fascinated by the story of Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte so I really liked going there. And I'm glad we were able to squeeze it into our busy weekend.

I really can't describe how Paris made me feel. It was incredible. I still can't believe that I spent the weekend there and I am so happy and thankful that I was able to visit such amazing places. I miss you all and wish you could have been there with me.

stupid technology

Hi everyone!
I am having a lot of problems with my laptop so unfortunately I won't be able to update pictures for awhile and my blogs might be kind of short. I am going to Paris on Thursday and I am so excited I can barely sleep. Hopefully, when I get back my computer will be fixed.

This weekend I went on a BC sponsored trip to the English countryside. It was a lot of fun. I met a lot of BC kids that I might not have met otherwise and I can't wait to hang out with them when I get back to the states.

Today I received my absentee ballot for the november election and I was so happy. I'm so excited to finally be able to vote in a presidential election. I think all my international friends were kind of jealous. They all have such strong opinions but at the end of the day I'm the only one that can actually vote.

Please send me good technology vibes.
and GO DODGERS!!!!!

stonehenge!!!

Today I went to Stonehenge with my friends Ryan and Stephanie. A lot of people told us not to go because they thought it was disappointing but we went anyways. And it was REALLY fun. It was the perfect day to go--sunny and clear skies. It is about two hours away on the train. So four hours of traveling total, which is quite a bit but we had a so much fun talking on the train and admiring the beautiful English countryside. On the way back we stopped in Salisbury and visited the cathedral there, which is 750 years old and gorgeous!! And they had one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta so that was really cool to see. I love being in the presence of things with such great historical meaning. And I feel like I get to do that everyday here. I LOVE IT!!! It makes me want to be a tour guide for a museum or something. Its been a long day so I think I'll eat my dominos pizza, watch the presidential debates, and call it a night.

before i go here are some pictures from today.

Some of these rocks weigh 44 tons!!

Outisde Salisbury Cathedral.

I love them.

PICTURES!!

I've been having some computer issues so my updates may be a little sporadic.
But here are some pictures for those of you who don't have facebook.

The Gardens at Hampton Court Palace. The gardens were beautiful. And they had a maze made out of hedges, which was so much fun to run through.


Inside the maze.

My friends Claire and Hilary from BC running through the maze at Hampton Court Palace.


Hampton Court Palace was Henry VIII's palace. Some of his wives still haunt the place.

See you at Hogwartz!
Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station

Outside Westminister Abbey: MY FAVORITE PLACE

The London Eye

Guards outside Windsor Castle

My best friends here: Stephanie (from Canada) on the left and Lisanne (from Holland) in the middle

My friends from France and New Zealand. We taught them what awkward turtle meant. They loved it! haha

Thats it for now. Hopefully I can sort out my computer problems soon.
I miss you all.

I <3 England

I thought I would try this blogging thing. It seems it will be easier than a mass email. So here it goes....

I have been in England for about three weeks now. And I absolutely love it. Royal Holloway is like something straight out of a fairy tale. I literally live in a castle (see the picture on the left). We all feel like princesses.

I love all the people I am meeting. Everyone is so interesting and fun and international. My group of friends consists of me, my roommate Stephanie from Canada, two girls from Holland, a boy from New Zealand, a British boy, and a group of four from France. We love learning about each others' language, culture, politics, etc. I am trying to make a point of asking everyone I meet about their political situation and system because they all seem to know so much about mine.

I also absolutely love London. I have seen most of the major sites there. My favorite is Westminister Abbey. I think its my favorite place in the world so far. Another of my favorite things I've done is Abbey Road. I dragged a couple of my friends there last weekend and we took pictures like the Beatles album cover. I'm pretty sure we held up traffic but it was totally worth it!! I got to be Paul McCartney in the pictures so I crossed the street barefoot (see picture). haha.

Some of the other places I've been are: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace (see the picture below), the Tower of London, the London Eye, the British Museum, the National Gallery, Platform 9 3/4, Notting Hill Market, Oxford Street, and Harrods.

I've only had one week of classes. But my classes seem fun. I'm taking Democracy in Britain, which will basically allow me to learn all the specifics of and issues in the British political system. I am also taking British History Henry VII to Elizabeth I and Globalizing Capital: Britain and the World 1846-1913, which talks a lot about the United States replacing Britain as the economic super power.

Ill try to update this as much as I can. I can't wait to talk to you all in person!!