encounters with awesome people.

Today I met my favorite Youtube vlogger, Charlie McDonnell also called charlieissocoollike.

My friend Kalee and I met up around 11 to head into London, when we found out that the trains running from Surbiton station were shut down. So instead we had to take a bus to Clapham Junction and get a train from there to Waterloo. Then we had to navigate the Tube to get to the Youtube gathering. The process of getting there took longer than expected, so we arrived late to the event and were in the back of a very, very long line. And we had to stay in that line for 4 hours before I was able to meet Charlie, his lovely girlfriend and fellow vlogger Bryaryl Bishop and another of my favorite vloggers, Michael Aranda.

After meeting them, I couldn't wipe this crazy grin off my face despite the fact that I was cold, stiff, and very hungry.

I had put "Meet Charlie McDonnell" on my list of things I wanted to do while I was in England. Honestly, I thought that would be one of the things I would never get to do. It feels unbelievable that I can! :)

Here's one of Charlie's videos if you're curious why I would spend four hours in the cold to meet this British vlogger.

Stonehenge and Bath.

Yesterday, I visited this beautiful historical landmark. 

With the GORGEOUS weather we had yesterday, I was slightly in awe of Stonehenge. I know some people find it to be just a bunch of rocks, but this is the most important pre-historic monument in Britain. It's older than the Pyramids in Egypt. It's still a mystery how the ancient peoples even got the stones to the site. There have been modern attempts to do so and they all failed. If that's not remarkable, then I don't know what is. 

After the short visit we traveled to Bath, which is my second favorite city I've been to yet. After London, of course. Bath was literally stunning. All of the buildings in the city are made of the same kind of limestone, so when you enter it you see the remarkable view of these offwhite buildings glistening in the sunlight. Unfortunately I didn't snap a picture of that, but here's an example of the buildings around the city. 

When we arrived, we had an hour for lunch. We went to a cafe where I ordered a pie that had potatoes, onions, peas and cheese. It was sooo yummy. After lunch we did a walking tour of Bath. We saw the most important locations in just over an hour, so we were moving around! Then we did a tour of the ancient Roman Baths.

We were able to move through the museum at our own pace. I enjoyed listening to the audio guide that was provided and seeing the remains of the once great temple and bath built by the ancient Romans. I could definitely see how grand and beautiful it once was and I really enjoyed the tour. 

Then, we had to stop and buy some real Italian ice cream to end the day :)

call me crazy but...

The thing I miss most about home (besides my loving family and crazy friends) is the food.

So, I am just starting my fourth week here in the good ol' UK and I'm starting to miss certain things like crazy. While I love the city, the pubs, my classes (not the school so much, but that's a rant for another time), and the people... I miss the greasy American fast food I'm used to.
Sure, they have McDonalds, Burger King, and Pizza Hut over here. But it's not the same.

I miss Menna's and Rallys. I miss Mountain Dew icees. I miss Spanky's pizza and breadsticks.

But they do have top notch chips (fries) over here that I eat all the time. Really healthy, I know. But I walk everywhere so I've actually lost weight since being here. So ha!

But yea, this was basically a blog stating how much I miss fattening food.

And my friends and family. Because I really do miss you guys a lot. <3

first day.

Well, that wasn't so bad.

I only had one class (Early Modern Britain and Europe) from one to three today. It seems like it will be an enjoyable class, especially since I have technically already studied Early Modern Europe through a couple different courses at Central.
The only thing I might have a hard time with is that the UK university system is based more on personal study, rather than assessment. I'm not going to take one test or quiz this semester, or really even have homework to turn in. My grades are based around a combination of a paper, portfolio, and a presentation. It's a little daunting, but I'm fairly confident in my paper writing abilities!

After class I had to wait a couple hours for my first Feminist Society meeting! It went well, they basically discussed what they hope to do during the next school year and all the events they have planned so far. It seems like a great society and I'm looking forward to being a part of it!

Tomorrow, I have two classes and then we're going to the London Premiere of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.
If I see Emma Watson, I might cry.

a night out, greenwich, and more!

Friday night was a night out on the town! We got dressed up and headed out to The King's Tun for an evening of dancing! It was a lot of fun to just let loose and experience the nightlife of Kingston! We all made it safely home too, which is always a good thing! :)

Saturday we went to Greenwich! Greenwich is a city located down the Thames from London. King Henry VIII held his court for twenty years there during his reign and his daughters were born there! (I love Henry and his daughter Elizabeth, so this was so cool to me.) Unfortunately, the palace of Greenwich was destroyed during the Civil War so I wasn't able to see where Henry, Elizabeth, Mary, and their contemporaries lived. But I was able to visit The Queen's House, which was built for James I wife. Now, it's an naval art museum. We also visited the Greenwich Market, which was really, really cool. It had a lot of different retail and food vendors set up, and it was bustling with people. We ate lunch at a local burger joint, which had the BEST burgers so far. It was almost like being home! We also got free cake and tea from Kingston, which we enjoyed while sitting underneath a statue near the Maritime Museum. I actually liked the tea too, which was surprising!

One of my favorite parts of the trip though was the boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich, because one of the crew members gave some historical commentary and pointed out important buildings and landmarks. It was really awesome to see The Globe Theatre, The Tower of London and rest of the city from the river. While going down the river, it was almost like seeing an abandoned city. You couldn't hear or see the city life which was really quite strange.

And today, it rained. A lot.
I had signed up for Photo Frenzy, a photo scavenger hunt in Central London for this afternoon. It would have been a lot more fun if the weather had been nicer, but we got to eat at Planet Hollywood afterwards and the food was really good! And then we made a trip to Primark, because I was in desperate need of rain boots...

Classes start tomorrow! But luckily I don't have Monday classes... so I get to sleep in! :)

BRIGHTON.

I spent today in the beautiful coastal town of Brighton!
Kingston took a group of international students down in a double decker coach (which was super cool) and we were able to walk around the city, eat lunch, and tour the Royal Pavilion.

So, when we first arrived Cat, Kelly, Kalee, Kelsey, and I went straight to the pier. We all really wanted to see the ocean and the coast, which didn't disappoint at all.

The pier had a lot of snack shops and two huge arcades, with some carnival rides as well. We bought a "flaky cone" at one of the ice cream stands, because my best friend Meagan told me I had to try one while I was here. It's basically vanilla ice cream (which does taste different than vanilla ice cream in the States), with a soft chocolate stick inserted in it. AND IT WAS DELICIOUS. We headed out to lunch then and stopped at the All Bar One restaurant. Thank GOD we did, because there was an Adam Levine look-a-like waiter working there. Not kidding, he was so attractive. 

Next was the tour of The Royal Pavilion! The Royal Pavilion was King George IV's "party palace". Up until last century, Brighton didn't have the best reputation in England. So, naturally for the notoriously over-indulgent George, he chose Brighton as a place he wanted to have a home. So he bought a little house when he was young and as soon as he had the money to build, he began to build this beauty.

The Royal Pavilion is said to be one of the most exotic places to visit, because of the clash of cultures. The exterior was greatly influenced by Indian architecture, but the inside was influenced by the Chinese. However, since none of the people working on it had ever BEEN to China... they failed on some of the details. Regardless, this is still the most beautiful building I have ever seen. We weren't allowed to take pictures, and I can't even begin to describe the beauty of the interior. So many colors, so much gold, so many chandeliers, so many dragons, so many details... it's absolutely stunning. As a history major and British history fanatic... this was one of the coolest things I've done so far in England. 

After the tour we walked around for a bit more and then ended up sitting on the pebble beach, which was quite different than Lake Michigan beaches, but still very beautiful. Actually, the pebbles were much dirtier than I thought they would be! 

We headed home afterwards, which was fine until I realized that the girls sitting behind Kalee and I were the definition of a vapid American girl. It was really frustrating (and almost insulting) to listen to them discuss their sex lives, drug and alcohol use, and how daddy pays for everything!

Not too much planned for the next couple of days but I'm visiting Greenwich on Saturday so expect a blog then! :) 

Hello, my name is HPG.

Today, I went on a Harry Potter themed tour of London.

Oh my.
I stood where Emma, Rupert, Dan, and Jo stood at the Deathly Hallows part 2 premiere.
I stood where they filmed some of the scenes for different movies.
I was at Platform 9 3/4.
I geeked out.

It was kinda hectic tour, because we went on the Underground and I was not familiar with the tube at all. Without our tour guide, we would have been SOO lost.
There's a couple other stops I'd like to visit before I leave London, like Millenium Bridge (and obviously Leavesden Studios!!) but I really enjoyed the tour!

Tomorrow, Kingston is taking all of the international students to BRIGHTON for the day! I'm excited to see more of this beautiful country! :D