Last full day in London! : (

this is going to be short..... still need to do more studying!
last full day in london - i CAN'T BELIEVE IT!
this morning - had a class discussion. very good, but very long.
afternoon.... made lots of pasta (had to finish it off), did some work, talked to mom and peter, walked with amanda to virgin records - got DVDs there, came home, worked on the movie, burned pictures onto DVDs (made backups... just in case. i'm paranoid!) did more work
went to dinner at cadogan's with the entire group - kind of a farewell london thing. had pasta and brocollie parmasean - very VERY good (two for one meal! woot!)
went to tesco to buy two last cookies (amanda and i decided that 'last' is relative! hahah)
came home
packed
worked
packed
laundry
packed
worked
need to study a bit more....
tomorrow, we have our final in the morning
grabbing a quick bite to eat
then leaving for the airport around 3
flight at 7:30
PARIS BY TOMORROW NIGHT!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!
hehehehehe
i'm soooo thrilled
said to say goodbye for now to london
but.... it's just for now.

Last Day of Official Class, Private Tour and O'Neil's

so.... today was our last official class. tomorrow, we're doing presentations (aka talking in a big group) about our experiences and observations in london. it was actually really sad that we don't have any more movies to watch at 9am.... esp. since today's was so bad (Once Upon a Time In China..... looooong and very very kung fu-y.... blah) but.... we made it through and had the entire day off to do whatev.
now, maybe i should have stayed in and studied.... but i REALLY didn't want to. everyone was kind of doing their own thing so i had the GENIUS idea to go and walk around.... me, myself and i. i stopped at partridges, got a baguette and made my way downtown.... i ate the entire loaf while sitting on the steps across from the london eye and then i made a movie.... a movie of me, taking 'everyone' around london... to see what i see and to get better perspective on where things are and such.... it was so much fun! i spent 5 hours just wandering around a shooting little clips here and there (people looked at me like i was NUTS) but it was soooo worth it..... looking at the clips now (and i'm going to make a full movie of it eventually), i'm definitely going to appreciate having it.
after my wanderings, i came back here and studied for a little bit of a while.... not long, but.... that's okay. i wasn't planning on going out at all tonight (after a decently long day of walking).... but everyone was going and i'm really not going to want to go tomorrow (will definitely need to study then) so i decided to get dressed up, pull myself together and go out - when you force yourself to do it, suddenly it's not that horrible
we took the bus to picadilly circus and headed ot o'neil's..... i'm FINALLY learning my way around here. today was a big help - being by myself and just exploring. we stayed there for about an hour and a half (jess, katie, amanda, leo, steve and i.... jon, tim and jenna joined a bit later).... then, around 11, amanda, leo and i decided to head home.... we all wanted to get back to get some good rest. i was soooo hungry, we stopped at a convenience type place, but nothing looked all that appetizing to me..... i guess i'll go without.
it doesn't seem like today was all that action packed and fun-filled..... but it was honestly a really very good day. made me sooo happy to walk around by myself. i felt so independent and... aware of things. it's weird, but it was genuinely an amazing feeling. i love this city!!!! i can't believe it's almost over already..... but paris and rome are going to be thrilling, so it's okay!

Dim Sum - our last class activity! (so SAD!)

today we watched a jackie chan movie in class...... NOT good. i don't know how dad watches these things! i fell asleep for part of it.... it's just not interesting AT ALL! i had two cups of tea this morning (i've felt kind of blah all day, but tea seemed to help) we had a discussion after class and then immediately left for dim sum (our last class activity! i can't believe it!!!!)
now..... my taste in chinese food is limited to sweet and sour chicken (just ask peter and torrey... it's all i get!) so, the idea of going to a chinese restraunt and NOT getting my usual was not at all appealing. steve and i chatted the whole way there about how nice it would be to have italian food.... or mac and cheese! mmmmm!!! we even passed an italian restraunt on the way and had to drag each other away from the doors (it smelled sooooo good) the dim sum restraunt was on canary warf down by the dockyards. we had not been there before (katie had talked about going there, but we never made it down).... it's in a really business-y section of town, so there wasn't too too much to see other than office buildings.... but the restraunt was right on the river so that was very cool
surprsingly, i really really enjoyed the meal! there was this huge lazy susan in the middle of our table (10 of us around the table - including prof and mrs. prof!!! YAY!) steve, leo, dave, katie battes, prof, mrs. prof, jon, jenna, tim and i. we had prof and mrs. prof order for us since none of us had ANY idea what to order. they ordered a variety of things (everything from fired dumpling seafoody things to noodles to interesting 'bread' things) i tried a decent amount of food and actually really really liked a lot of it! the bread and noodles were exactly what peter and i had when we went to NYC for spring awakening.... i didn't really like it then (i think because i was expecting something completely different that day) but today, it tasted sooo good! - and i sounded like i knew what i was talking about - having experience this. other good stuff included the bright green bread thing with sauce - almost tasted like a cinnamon bun without the cinnamon and with a chinese flare...... i also really liked the fried seafood dumpling. it had corriander in it (didn't know i liked that!) and shrimp inside a pocket of fried-ness..... all in all, i was pleasantly surprised!
after the dinner (about 13 pounds per person for the record).... katie and i ran to the movies. we thought we were going to be late (again) but got there just after they started it..... this movie was, in a word, stressful. "Two Nights in Paris"..... the main characters argued through the entire thing - bickering about this that and everything else, there was a fairy and a rabit head.... it was WEIRD and... really didn't tell a story. i dunno, maybe we just didn't get it but neither of us liked it and both of us found it decently stressful.
after the movie, we came home (around 7ish).... i wasn't feeling that great so i came up to the room to bum around (decided to not go out even if asked) i watched an episode of will and grace while i ate pita with butter and strawberry jelly. then, i did the final reading for tomorrow (our last class tomorrow! oh no!)
steve and amanda messaged me around 8:50 to see if i wanted to go out for hot chocolate with them..... i can't pass up hot chocolate. ever. we ended up hitting up the stock pot (down across from cadogan's). amanda and i had very very good hot chocolate (i've tried sooo many over here - i'm becoming the expert! and will definitely be trying more in france and italy as they are apparently even more amazing there - according to shoochen) anyway..... we got those and steve got spaghetti and salad (he's such a guy about food - anytime, anyplace!) we had a nice little time just chatting and eating/drinking
then... i came home, put on pj's and did a bit of studying in the common room.
now.... it's to bed. still not feeling up to par so i'm hoping to kick this before it actually turns into anything!

PUB TOUR along the Thames!

this is probably going to be a short post because i'm tired and today wasn't too too eventful......
got up this morning, made tea! (so good) and went to class
we watched Bride and Prejudice today - i absolutely loved it..... this is such a peter movie. we have to watch it when we get back! after the movie, we had a good discussion on blending cultures and whether or not a 'pudding' is good or bad - it was an excellent discussion and prof actually made fun of us! i love him!!! he's getting to know us and what we're like so he's having fun tooo! yay!
after class, came upstairs and chatted with peter for a long while and mom and uncle ken on video chat for a bit. i ate lunch (pita bread, butter and jelly and cheeeese! mmm) then i did a touch of work (on the double major and on readings for tomorrow). i was soooo hungry for chocolate, so before we were to meet to leave i ran to tesco for chocolate chip cookies - i'm addicted. i admit!
we left here around 5:45 to get to the blackfriars stop - easy - straight on the circle line. we met prof and mrs. prof there... our tourguide, adam, arrived shortly after 6:30 - he was absolutely FANTASTIC! - scottish accent and just an all around cool guy. fav. quotes of his - "this tour is a wonderful blend of history and...... alcohol." and "the thames is a vital source for england. it is pertinent for a very important aspect of english society...... beer." he was SO fun! he took us all along the south bank between blackfriars bridge and (almost) london bridge. we stopped at 3 total pubs (founder's pub - aka the jim udden pub since he took us there after the globe, the anchor (location of a scene from mission impossible) and, finally, the george (named after the patron saint) located just off of london bridge) it was a blast! we all had a good time..... first stop, i tried a southern comfort lemonade (upon bartender recommendation), second stop i got a hot chocolate (it was so cold!) and third stop i got a screwdriver (even though the bartender had no idea what that was and i had to explain it to her)
we all hung out at the last pub (that's where adam left us) for a little while... just goofing off and having much fun! - prof and mrs. prof stayed for quite a while and then left. steve, amanda, dave, the four girls and i left around 10:30ish
we headed back to south kensington and.... after discussing on the tube that steve amanda and i were all hungry for sweets, we ran.... i mean RAN to tesco (we thought it closed at 11.... turns out, it closes at 12... huh.) and all got cookies of different sorts (me, a chocolate chip and a white chocolate chip.... steve, a chocolate chip and a chocolate muffin.... amanda, a roll of tea biscuit cookies)..... we ate them on the way home and had lovely conversation. just fun and light...
and it started to drizzle!
my first england rain!..... kind of..... barely a rain..... more like a spritz. but it was still wet precipitation! i can officially say that i experienced some sort of rain while here! yay!
now... it's to bed. tomorrow is class, dim sum and a movie!
we're getting too close to the end..... i don't want this to be over!

Day 20 - Sleeping in, pancakes and FIREWORKS!

tonight was probably one of the best nights of my LIFE!.... will get to that later....
first - this morning - got to sleep in (i love sundays!)... i slept until about 11/11:30ish, did some paper reading (read all the lancaster stuff - going to be SO much fun!) in bed and then got up/showered/dressed. we headed to the pancake house across the street (My Old Dutch Pancake House)..... it was SO delicious! i got a waffle with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. it wasn't what i expected - it was better. the waffle was a lot denser/heavier than ours at home - almost like a donut. ice cream tasted soooo good! haven't had it in forever. and the chocolate syrup.... was.... to die for. not hershey's - oh no.... this was thick belgian goodness in a bowl. mmmmmmm
after the pancake house, we came back to IES and i did a bit of work (my readings and work on the double major) and then took a half hour nap - i think sleeping in makes me MORE tired.
around 7, steve, katie, amanda, jess, dave and i met downstairs and headed for the thames festival. now, i was thinking this would be something little with some cute stands and whatever..... but, we got off the tube at blackfriars and on the bridge there was this massive parade... colors EVERYWHERE! everything moving, lots of people (LOTS) and music... basically like no parade i've ever been to before! we watched that for about a half hour and then kept going - wanted to see other things! we walked all along the south bank between blackfriars and the london tower bridge... there were pretty many stands (i'm guessing there were more yesterday/today during the day) but still a good amount - food, clothing, jewelry etc etc etc ... we walked down pretty far and then turned around to head back for the fireworks.... amanda and i bought cookies on the way back (they were reduced to 1L!), katie and jess got potatoes, steve and dave got hamburgers.... a good food night! hehe
now, as if this wasn't all good enough..... we headed back to see the fireworks. we had NO idea where they were going to be put off or where to stand (there were sooo many people - mostly on the blackfriars bridge looking over the thames to the west) so we headed there. we decided to stand along the bank wall, but... as we got closer, i saw a gate to go down to the beach (this 'beach' is covered by the thames at high tide.... but at night, low tide, it's about 20ish yards from the wall to the water).... seeing a few people down there, i suggested we go down - best thought EVER..... we ended up standing right next to the water and practically directly under the fireworks (turns out they were shooting them off from barges on the water).... we could not have asked for a more perfect view!!!! the display was FANTASTIC - about 20ish minutes of non-stop fireworks (i took video and pictures!) it was beautiful!!!
after they were over, we walked back along the river and made our way to the tube and home...
it was a pretty simple day, not too too packed with things..... but, this was probably one of the most memorable for me. standing under fireworks, along the thames river, IN LONDON!!!!.... i don't know how i'm going to go home. it's going to be sooo hard!

so..... glad i didn't go to bed right away.
just had a fire alarm.... it's 2:15am
ooof
now
to bed.

Slice of India and Cadogan's

today was a blast! we woke up early (boo, especially since it's saturday) - 7:20am. had to leave around 8:30am.... we left and headed for paddington station. once we got there, we hung around, waiting for prof. he finally got there, got our tickets and told us that we had LOTS of time (turns out, the train ride was only 12 minutes and we had allotted 1.5 hours!!! (gracious udden! hehe) so.... katie and i walked around the station for a while and got hot beverages (mmm hot chocolate. delicious!) finally, around 10:15ish we all met up again in the middle of the station (there's a paddington bear statue!!! steve took my picture! hehe) we got on the train and took the short train ride to the station just past ealing broadway. once there... we still had a half hour before the tour started, so we all hung out outside the station in the sunshine (it was kind of chilly today, so sunshine was good!)
the tour started at 11:15am - our tour guide was like wicked famous (apparently she judged on iron chef?) and does basically everything (dancing, cooking, touring... lots!) this weekend is like a huge london appreciation kind of weekend - Thames festival, open house, london walks, etc. - so all the tours today were free. we had 35 people in our tour! (large number after being so used to just the 15 of us) we saw the first bar to sell alcohol for ruppees, a grocery store (they had weird exotic fruits and looooots of indian food - allong with pillsbury flour in HUGE bags and in hindi. interesting), a jewlery store, a fabric store, a desert store, an after desert store (tried foods from both of these.... nasty.) then we went shopping - i bought pita bread at the grocery store (yay!), pashminas (for me and for gifts - only ONE POUND! amazing!) and some jewelry (1 pound necklace and earrings - can't go wrong!)
after shopping around for a bit, we headed back to the station and got on the train. we ended up being a liiiiitle bit late for our lunch/dinner reservations, but we still got there! it was a place called soho india (right off of picadilly circus) - very posh, we were the only people there (granted, it was like... 3 and who eats then?!) i ordered the velvety chicken tiki.... it was pieces of chicken with this green goop on them (turned out to be decently spicey). it came with rice cakes and mango sauce for appetizer, spicey rice and black lentl soup with the meal and naan - the best flat bread i've ever eaten in my entire life! all in all, it was an experience.
after the restraunt, prof and mrs. prof took us to camden markets. from here, they let us go do whatever and went their own way. this market was SOO different from the portobello rd one (i like the notting hill market better, personally).... this had some pretty wild things (most of it was decently punky.... chains, black, corsets, etc.)... but it was interesting to see nonetheless.
katie, steve, amanda and i ended up kind of breaking away from the group..... went our own way for a while and then decided we were done. we took the picadilly home - - sooooo packed. i was pressed against the door. not fun. but we made it!
once back, i was exhaaaaaaausted, but we decided to head out anyway (got to sit down for about a half hour!)... got dressed and we headed to cadogan's for the ireland vs. georgia rugby game. (not sure who won.... wasn't really paying attention) dave, steve, leo, jess, katie and i got a table and all sat around drinking (mmmm sex on the beach and smirnoff ice). it was a fun time. some sketchy old men came over and started talking to us and eating our food (not cool) but they left and leo did too eventually...... yeah...... anyway...... jon and his girlfriend (visiting for the weekend) met up with us and sat at our table. we stayed there until 11 (got there around 8ish) when they closed.... from there, jess, katie, steve and i decided to see what was happening at babushkas.... i stayed for maybe all of 15 minutes (danced for a little, but just wasn't in to it at all).... steve and i left and came back to my room. we made some crazy music videos (basically, us attempting to sing - steve was soooo drunk, and i was a bit tipsie) it was much fun! steve went to bed, i talked to the family (they're leaving to go home tomorrow from the beach) and now.... i'm to bed
lying in tomorrow like CRAZY!!!!