| It's been a big couple days, but not because I've done anything really big...just because. It's nice to take my own pace, I'm able to sleep till 9am...get up for breakfast, get ready, go check e-mail and internet and then head out into the city. The first couple nights I was back at the hostel quite early, around 7 or so, but the last couple nights I've gotten back around 11-12. I'm in a room with all girls, and it's mostly new people each night, who are just there for one night before they head to the airport or a Topdeck tour around Europe, and at 11 they are all asleep, so that makes the getting ready for bed part quite challenging. Trying to be quiet while pulling bags and plastic bags that are noisy at the touch out of a locker. It's all good though. It's been nice to have a base place and move around in one place...as for the next while, i'll be moving more frequently...well i think. I've walked around Piccadilly Circus and Leistier Square(spelling I know!), then down to Trafalgar Square, and back up to Covent Garden. I've gone to Covent garden's a few times and killed time while watching the street performers. I've eaten lunch in chinatown twice, and went to the National Gallery. I've done a hell of a lot of walking, so my feet are starting to hurt earlier and earlier in the days. I'm wearing different shoes...each day, in hopes to wear different parts out, so the others feel better. Yesterday I walked around from Piccadilly Circus and Leistier Square up Regent Street and up and down Oxford Street, the shopping mecca. If I didn't know I was in London, I'd of thought I'd warped back to the 80's! Everyone, especially the younger girls are all 80's up, and all the clothes in the stores are very 80's...which makes it hard for me to shop, when I like very little of it! I walked around Oxford street with everyone else and their dog for 6 or so hours yesterday and bought one pair of ballet flats...as they are also all the rage, and everyone is wearing them...gotta try to be somewhat in fashion you know! HA! I had been told of a really cheap store, Primark...yea, and it took me almost 5 hours to find it, meanwhile I'd seen 6-8 H&M's *my favorite store*, 3 huge departments stores, 4 Clark's shoe stores *where I got my shoes* and multiples of just about every other store...and billions of people with Primark shopping bags, but no store. Turns out I walked the wrong way, then went back to the center and walked the other way, but it was clear on the other side of it! Crazy! Tuesday night was good, I got to meet up with Liv and Shireen, both I lived with in Wantage Hall in Reading. We all lived on the same floor, Shireen lived right across the hall, and Liv just down the hall. It was so nice to see them. We met at Liverpool street station, which looks on the tube map to me that it's in the NE side of the city, but NO! It's in the center of the financial district! Shireen worked and lived hear there, so she knew where to go and off we went to grab a drink then get dinner and catch up. I even had Dim Sum....A new experience, a good one, but new! It was really nice to see them, and hopefully i will see both of them again before I leave. I'm going to see Liv up north where she lives and Shireen is moving back to Reading, which is where I'll be in a few weeks. Last night after walking for 7 hours...I finally made it to the Apollo Victoria Theater to see Wicked! I got pretty decent priced tickets, in the back, but only £24...so that was ok with me! I had a clear view and didn't spend 80 dollars! Wicked is an awesome musical! The singer/actress that was the wicked witch was WONDERUFL! Her voice was so beautiful! A good night, I'm glad I went! Tonight I'm meeting up with Olivia in Covent Garden...and then we'll see what happens...since I don't know really anything around, I'm letting her plan something. Then tomorrow I'm going to Greenwich...home of Greenwich Mean Time...GMT, Z or whatever you want to call it. I'm going with a Met major that i knew in Reading. It shall be a good time! I'm looking forward to it. Then up much earlier, and off to Iceland on Saturday morning! I'm quite excited to see Elin and the lot! It will be so wonderful!!! So far the trip alone is going well! Today marks my being gone from Raleigh 4 weeks, I can't quite believe that! It seems like time's stopped, yet I know when looking and hearing from friends that it hasn't. Still 4 weeks to go and it seems like an eternity, again I know it will fly by! I'll be back to England in a week's time and then off to the south to begin my travels to see friends. Not sure what course that will take, but it will all work out! I'm sure! I best go, I hope all are well, wishing you all good starts to the school year if that's where you are, if not, I hope everyone has a great Labor day weekend! I miss everyone so much! Love |
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The big ol' city of London
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Back to London
I arrived back into London yesterday and am now alone to travel around for the next 5 and a half weeks. I'm spending the first 5 days in London, then I'm heading over to Iceland to see my wonderful friend Elin! I'm very excited to see her! And the not so new little one she has!
Ireland was absolutely wonderful. I mastered driving stick shift, and even driving on the other side of the road, even in rush hour traffic and on fairly steep hills! Can't say I want one when I get home, but I now have the skill of driving one which is nice. I drove around the Ring of Kerry in the southwest part of the island, and I even got to kiss the blarney stone! Kissing the blarney stone at Blarney Castle gives you the give of eloquence. Yea!
For the most part we stayed near Killarney the first 3 days, it was a nice area to be based out of and we had a wonderful B&B. We moved on to outside of Cork on Wednesday after visiting Blarney, we went to Kinsale which is on the very south, south of Cork..we took a harbour cruise tour, which was wonderful, of course, I forgot my camera in the car as we were in a rush to get to the departure point in time. It has some wonderful postcard views as I call them.
Then Thursday morning was not so great...I woke up feeling awful and I'll leave it up to your imagination..I was sick. I couldn't walk very far without being dizzy and nauseous. Luckily we got to another B&B near Waterford which is where we were going to stay and got some medicine and I slept most of the afternoon and evening. I felt better the next morning and we were back on our way. We went into Waterford and went to the Waterford Crystal Factory...it was really neat to see them make the crystal.
Leaving the Crystal factory we headed to south of Dublin where we stayed friday night. Saturday we flew out, no damages to the rental car and it was definitely brought back with an empty tank..which was requested, 33 km left to drive on the estimate gauge. We got back into London, made it to our hotel and this morning I took my parents to the airport and they should be home in a few hours. I'm back at the hostel in London and I've done my wash!!! (VERY EXCITING!) and now checking internet for cheap! I've missed it greatly! Who knows what's in store for this week...still to be determined!
I'll write about my other places on the cruise at some point. Miss you all.
Love.
Ireland was absolutely wonderful. I mastered driving stick shift, and even driving on the other side of the road, even in rush hour traffic and on fairly steep hills! Can't say I want one when I get home, but I now have the skill of driving one which is nice. I drove around the Ring of Kerry in the southwest part of the island, and I even got to kiss the blarney stone! Kissing the blarney stone at Blarney Castle gives you the give of eloquence. Yea!
For the most part we stayed near Killarney the first 3 days, it was a nice area to be based out of and we had a wonderful B&B. We moved on to outside of Cork on Wednesday after visiting Blarney, we went to Kinsale which is on the very south, south of Cork..we took a harbour cruise tour, which was wonderful, of course, I forgot my camera in the car as we were in a rush to get to the departure point in time. It has some wonderful postcard views as I call them.
Then Thursday morning was not so great...I woke up feeling awful and I'll leave it up to your imagination..I was sick. I couldn't walk very far without being dizzy and nauseous. Luckily we got to another B&B near Waterford which is where we were going to stay and got some medicine and I slept most of the afternoon and evening. I felt better the next morning and we were back on our way. We went into Waterford and went to the Waterford Crystal Factory...it was really neat to see them make the crystal.
Leaving the Crystal factory we headed to south of Dublin where we stayed friday night. Saturday we flew out, no damages to the rental car and it was definitely brought back with an empty tank..which was requested, 33 km left to drive on the estimate gauge. We got back into London, made it to our hotel and this morning I took my parents to the airport and they should be home in a few hours. I'm back at the hostel in London and I've done my wash!!! (VERY EXCITING!) and now checking internet for cheap! I've missed it greatly! Who knows what's in store for this week...still to be determined!
I'll write about my other places on the cruise at some point. Miss you all.
Love.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
I've reached Ireland
Well I know I haven't posted since Russia, and I will get back to the remaining countries and the cruise soon...but today I'm in Ireland!
We reached Ireland last night and much to my surprise...driving on the other side of the road in a manual car (which I have not really driven before) isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had a rough start, but we are getting the hang of it and it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Of course it's because of Adam's Wonderful driving lesson a few weeks ago. This would have been terrible without that! But it's going well, only a few hiccups.
Moving south from Shannon and Limerick to Killarney this afternoon...I will write more later, miss you all!
Love
We reached Ireland last night and much to my surprise...driving on the other side of the road in a manual car (which I have not really driven before) isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had a rough start, but we are getting the hang of it and it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Of course it's because of Adam's Wonderful driving lesson a few weeks ago. This would have been terrible without that! But it's going well, only a few hiccups.
Moving south from Shannon and Limerick to Killarney this afternoon...I will write more later, miss you all!
Love
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Russia and Estonia!
Wow, is about all I can say for my time in the former USSR. Russia was just amazing! The buildings were so facinating...I can't say I want to live there, but a must to visit and experience if you ever have the chance!
Russia is full of a solid line of buildings, it's hard to describe...hopefully pictures when I have them will help explain, I comented that I couldn't see the city from our ship...I said it looked like a big wall, and that is basically what each street looks like. Very interesting. The palaces were amazing, exactly what I wanted to go see. And can you believe that I never had to get Russian roubles...everything can be paid for in US dollars...crazy!
Estonia is a mid-evil sort of town...I toured around the "old city" today..walking tour, was very nice. I saw so many interesting buildings...different from Russia, but you could see the presence of the former USSR. I found many souviners from Estonia...said I helped their economy. I can't wait until I can post pictures to show you, it's so hard to describe in words.
I'm loving every minute of this trip...and it's still so early! I hope you all are doing well and miss each and everyone of you!
Lots of Love!!
Russia is full of a solid line of buildings, it's hard to describe...hopefully pictures when I have them will help explain, I comented that I couldn't see the city from our ship...I said it looked like a big wall, and that is basically what each street looks like. Very interesting. The palaces were amazing, exactly what I wanted to go see. And can you believe that I never had to get Russian roubles...everything can be paid for in US dollars...crazy!
Estonia is a mid-evil sort of town...I toured around the "old city" today..walking tour, was very nice. I saw so many interesting buildings...different from Russia, but you could see the presence of the former USSR. I found many souviners from Estonia...said I helped their economy. I can't wait until I can post pictures to show you, it's so hard to describe in words.
I'm loving every minute of this trip...and it's still so early! I hope you all are doing well and miss each and everyone of you!
Lots of Love!!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Quick message from the Baltic
Hello everyone, not much time as the internet is very expensive on board the ship! I miss my high speed, cheap internet!
I've been to Sweden, Germany (Berlin) and Finland thus far, it's all been amazing! Tomorrow we are docking in St. Petersburg, Russia for two days. The immigration is very tight, so not much I can do if I'm not on the tour. I'm hoping to get some neat souviners. Sweden was gorgous. In Germany we went to a concentration camp and then saw the sights around Berlin. I love Germany! Today we stopped off in Helsinki, Finland...again a beautiful country. Loads to tell...but not much time...I will write more when I get back to the UK.
The ship and cruise are amazing! The 5 star dinners and treatment we get is just amazing...I'm going to miss it when we leave. I can't believe it's almost half over! I've seen some wonderful shows...met some fun people, but with the tours, we are worn out! Sleeping is a minimum...which isn't so good!
Love to all....Till next time!
P.S. Love you my little one!!!
I've been to Sweden, Germany (Berlin) and Finland thus far, it's all been amazing! Tomorrow we are docking in St. Petersburg, Russia for two days. The immigration is very tight, so not much I can do if I'm not on the tour. I'm hoping to get some neat souviners. Sweden was gorgous. In Germany we went to a concentration camp and then saw the sights around Berlin. I love Germany! Today we stopped off in Helsinki, Finland...again a beautiful country. Loads to tell...but not much time...I will write more when I get back to the UK.
The ship and cruise are amazing! The 5 star dinners and treatment we get is just amazing...I'm going to miss it when we leave. I can't believe it's almost half over! I've seen some wonderful shows...met some fun people, but with the tours, we are worn out! Sleeping is a minimum...which isn't so good!
Love to all....Till next time!
P.S. Love you my little one!!!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
On Board and set sail
Hey from the north sea!
I made my way yesterday from London to Dover where I set sail on my cruise. The ship is just HUGE!!! I boarded and found my parents sleeping in the room...they had arrived a couple hours earlier and were jet lagged and very tired. After our Muster drill (like a fire drill) to practice getting off the ship in case of an emergency...we organized our small (but big for a ship) room. There is tons of storage, and we've got everything put away like we live there.
We had our first dinner last night with our table. 11 people at our small table...fun, all british except us. So that made for a fun night! We finished up dinner around 11pm and walked back stopping to listen to some music before heading back and to bed..still jet lagged (my parents).
Today we slept till 1pm...well we lost an hour, so it was really noon. Then got ready and went to lunch...and then to a presentation over the Baltic States...hard to understand the guy..he jumped around a lot.
Tonight is a formal dinner event, I will go get ready for it soon! Then who knows what...so much to do..so little time! Tomorrow we will arrive in Helsingborg, Sweden for a day of sightseeing! More about that later
Not much time on the expensive internet...so posts will remain somewhat short! Love to all and miss you!
Love
I made my way yesterday from London to Dover where I set sail on my cruise. The ship is just HUGE!!! I boarded and found my parents sleeping in the room...they had arrived a couple hours earlier and were jet lagged and very tired. After our Muster drill (like a fire drill) to practice getting off the ship in case of an emergency...we organized our small (but big for a ship) room. There is tons of storage, and we've got everything put away like we live there.
We had our first dinner last night with our table. 11 people at our small table...fun, all british except us. So that made for a fun night! We finished up dinner around 11pm and walked back stopping to listen to some music before heading back and to bed..still jet lagged (my parents).
Today we slept till 1pm...well we lost an hour, so it was really noon. Then got ready and went to lunch...and then to a presentation over the Baltic States...hard to understand the guy..he jumped around a lot.
Tonight is a formal dinner event, I will go get ready for it soon! Then who knows what...so much to do..so little time! Tomorrow we will arrive in Helsingborg, Sweden for a day of sightseeing! More about that later
Not much time on the expensive internet...so posts will remain somewhat short! Love to all and miss you!
Love
Friday, August 3, 2007
London
I arrived in London at 9:30pm last night, got through customs and got my luggage without any problem. I took the underground to my hostel which was quite an adventure with 3 rolling suitcases, being female in London at 11:30 at night. But it all worked out well. I put my big pieces of luggage into luggage storage, which was quite an ordeal...seeing as I had to carry my 3 pieces of luggage up and down stairs...not easy. Then it was SOOO hot...not hot when I stopped moving, but no air conditioning..they really don't need it, but I was sweating like none other! Got all my liquids that I couldn't have on the plane transferred over to my carry on, so that I had a small piece of luggage with me and found my room.
My hostel is pretty nice, the best I've stayed in. I'm in a dorm area with 6 beds, 5 other girls filled it up last night, but I believe any sex can stay in the rooms..not sure though. Talked with a few of them this morning, traveling around and are from Germany. I got up and ate breakfast...I was STARVING! Really no dinner last night. Then went back up and laid down for a little while longer. I didn't have any need to get going early. I've been to London many times, so the main touristy sights aren't as big a deal, especially when I'm coming back for a few days at the end of the month.
When I finally left, I hopped on the tube...tried to be Londonish...not touristy. Only having my purse and trying to know where I was going. Fun! I went into Victoria station, a national rail link. I want to get a young persons rail card which would save me 30% on travel, now I need to figure out a local address, since you have to list one...eeeh! Then I went and got a mobile phone. Went to the Orange store, picked out a phone...and on my way I went.
From there I walked down the street to Buckingham Palace.....I realized at this time..that maybe it would have been nice to grab a map..I didn't really know where I was, just had an idea from when I've been there before. I figured out where I was and headed to Big Ben and the Parliament. Oh while in St. James Park...I played with and set up my new phone. I hope I'm good to go! Then walked around, making my way around across the Thames and to Waterloo station, where I hopped back on the tube and am now back at my hostel.
Had a scare...thought my debit cards weren't working (my only way of money really), but I tried them both and should be good to go...talk about dangerous! AH
Tomorrow I head to Dover to board the Cruise. Hopefully I'll be able to find my parents without to much trouble...but who knows. Could be interesting..I'll have my 3 pieces of luggage yet again! Yuck! Oh well can't wait till they are not being used.
Much love to all...Missing everyone! Don't know when I'll blog next, but will as soon as I can!
My hostel is pretty nice, the best I've stayed in. I'm in a dorm area with 6 beds, 5 other girls filled it up last night, but I believe any sex can stay in the rooms..not sure though. Talked with a few of them this morning, traveling around and are from Germany. I got up and ate breakfast...I was STARVING! Really no dinner last night. Then went back up and laid down for a little while longer. I didn't have any need to get going early. I've been to London many times, so the main touristy sights aren't as big a deal, especially when I'm coming back for a few days at the end of the month.
When I finally left, I hopped on the tube...tried to be Londonish...not touristy. Only having my purse and trying to know where I was going. Fun! I went into Victoria station, a national rail link. I want to get a young persons rail card which would save me 30% on travel, now I need to figure out a local address, since you have to list one...eeeh! Then I went and got a mobile phone. Went to the Orange store, picked out a phone...and on my way I went.
From there I walked down the street to Buckingham Palace.....I realized at this time..that maybe it would have been nice to grab a map..I didn't really know where I was, just had an idea from when I've been there before. I figured out where I was and headed to Big Ben and the Parliament. Oh while in St. James Park...I played with and set up my new phone. I hope I'm good to go! Then walked around, making my way around across the Thames and to Waterloo station, where I hopped back on the tube and am now back at my hostel.
Had a scare...thought my debit cards weren't working (my only way of money really), but I tried them both and should be good to go...talk about dangerous! AH
Tomorrow I head to Dover to board the Cruise. Hopefully I'll be able to find my parents without to much trouble...but who knows. Could be interesting..I'll have my 3 pieces of luggage yet again! Yuck! Oh well can't wait till they are not being used.
Much love to all...Missing everyone! Don't know when I'll blog next, but will as soon as I can!