Day 8

Day 8

What I will miss: Running through St. James's Park, Green Park and Hyde Park

The wide open green space in London is wonderful. My favorite running route is through Hyde Park, around the small lake there. I will definitely not miss running in the rain, but sometimes the views were worth the damp cold.

What I am excited for: Walking places and knowing where I am going

It is amazing how turned around I still get in London. There are so many streets I haven't been on or places I haven't seen. Although this has been fun, it will be great to find places without looking at a map.

Day 9

Day 9

What I will miss: Vandon's cleaners who change my bed sheets every Wednesday

I have been very spoiled, I know, but I do greatly appreciate the cleanliness. Perhaps I will have to take this responsibility up myself once I am back home.


What I am excited for: NO EXCHANGE RATE to deal with! YES YES YES!

Although the exchange rate is far better than last year at this time, I still cannot wait to buy an item for $8 and know that it will only be $8. Life is going to be so much cheaper... and easier since I will not have to figure out exchange conversions in my head.

Countdown to the End

As of today, I have 10 days left.

I can't believe it.

Right now I am supposed to be working on my final paper for my Contemporary British Society class. It is due on Friday, and I haven't started typing yet...

This week is busy with classes and review sessions, preparing for our academic grand finale: finals this Friday.

Since most of our learning has been outside of the classroom, I am finding it more difficult than usual to sit down and write a paper. It's torture, actually.

Instead of working on my paper... I have decided to start a little project.

For the rest of the 10 days, I will write about two things everyday.

1) What I will miss about London and
2) What I am excited for back home

(I will try not to base every entry around food.)

Day 10

What I will miss: English Breakfast tea with milk (no skim, please) and a small amount of sugar.

I love it. I love it. I love it. I have at least two - three cups a day. I think I have drank so much tea since I have been here my teeth have become slightly yellow. Yesterday I stopped and bought some teeth whitening rinse.

I know I will be able to drink tea once I am back home, and this is comforting. I will always get to have a little taste of London.

What I am excited for: McDonald's Iced Coffee (or even my homemade iced coffee, either works)

The coffee here... eehhh... it's okay. I have been craving iced coffee for a couple months now, and summer will officially start once my tastebuds say 'Mmm... this is tasty iced coffee'.


And the countdown continues...

Scotland

This past weekend, I went on my last trip. Kathryn, Allie, Jill and I bought cheap tickets on an overnight bus to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Thursday night we boarded the bus at 11 pm. We arrived in Edinburgh around 8:30 am. There was not a lot of leg room on the bus. I won't go into details about my sleepless night.

Friday morning we had to wait to check into our hostel, so to kill time we hung around the castle. The castle is striking, sitting on top of cliff-like hills in the middle of the city. We slept on some park benches in the near-by park.

Eventually we met up with one of Allie's friends who had lived in Edinburgh for a year and was back to visit. Her and her fiance showed us around the Old Town area, and they took us to get the greasiest fish and chips I have ever seen. Even I cringed when I saw it... then you know it's bad. But it tasted delicious.

We walked through an old graveyard with them before venturing out on our own.

We walked down the Royal Mile - starts with the castle and then ends where the Queen stays on her visits to Edinburgh.

Down in that area is the Scottish Parliament, and next to that was a large hill. We climbed up that even though we were so sore from our bus ride the previous night...

We walked, and walked, and walked some more (which is really a theme of my study abroad experience) and admired all the beautiful old architecture that surrounded us. All of the buildings were similar in architectural style since we generally stayed in the Old Town area. Very quaint.

On our way back to our hostel, we picked up some dinner at a local grocery store.

That night we sat around a cute table, looking out a bay window of our hostel as we ate burnt popcorn. We drank some tea and then went to bed at an embarrassingly early time of night. It was so great to sleep in a bed - I didn't even care that the springs were coming out of the mattress.

The next morning we went on a coach tour through the Lower Highlands. It was beautiful to see the countryside.

We stopped in Scotland's largest city - Glasgow - before heading to Loch Lomand. This lake is Britain's largest expanse of water. We took an hour boat ride on the lake, taking lots of pictures while shivering in the cold.

After that we were back on the bus to our next stop: the village of Aberfoyle. This is a small village just on the edge of the Trossachs. We ate a quick sack lunch here before heading to our next stop.

Next were the Trossachs. These mountains were filled with valleys and lakes (or as the Scottish call them - glens and lochs). I loved the scenery of the heather covered mountains as we drove along the mountain pass. The ride was very curvy, however, and poor Kathryn had to close her eyes most of the time because of carsickness.

We drove by the castle that was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail on our way to our final stop: Sterling Castle.

We decided not to pay to go inside the castle. Instead we enjoyed a nearby graveyard (I know, a little morbid) with great views of the country side. We walked around the area and commended ourselves for spending the extra money to see the countryside.

It was a great taste of the highlands, and it left me wanting to go further north to see more. So many places, so little time... How unfortunate.

We arrived back in Edinburgh around 6 pm, but our bus didn't leave until 10. We enjoyed a local McDonald's for most of our night.

Yes, the ride home was far worse than the ride to Edinburgh... but we survived beautifully. :)

Back in London -- WITH FAMILY!

After a wonderful holiday in Italy for nine days, it was back to London.

I came back to such a treat though. My brother Jeremy and sister-in-law Heather arrived the next day in London. They came over because Jeremy had some work to do across the pond.

I loved, loved, loved seeing familiar faces, and my stomach enjoyed all the food they so graciously provided me with.

I think I ate out at more restaurants in the two and half days that they were here than the entire semester combined.

I love my older, wiser siblings. They take such great care of me.

But seriously. It really was great to sit and talk to family. It made me excited for my return home and seeing the rest of the clan as well.

They left London and are now visiting Paris and parts of Italy. They will be back again this Thursday, as their return flight to the States leaves from London. It will be great to see them one more time and hear about their vacation!

And perhaps I will get another great meal... ;)

My Favorite Place in Italy

Thursday 16th & Friday 17th of April

These next two days were wonderful, and it was well worth the night of awful travel to be in such a beautiful place.

The Cinque Terre is made up of five small towns on the west coast of Italy - part of the Italian Riviera. We stayed in the second small town of Manarola.

The Cinque Terre area is considered a national park in Italy, so we had to pay to hike the paths that connected the small towns. It was definitely the best five euros I spent all semester.

The area was breathtaking, even with the weather resembling London's typical gloominess. The cliffs were decorated by many farms, and the colorful bright buildings of the villages turned me into such a giddy girl saying, "This place is SSSSSOOOOOO cute! Seriously. Just so cute."

Our first hike from Manarola to Corniglia was fairly easy. It was walking along this path, cliffs to my right, sea on my left, that I was overwhelmed with gratitude. In my heart, I was thanking everyone who had nudged me to study abroad and told me to go out to see the world. The Cinque Terre is my favorite place of the small list of places I have seen.

The paths between the next towns became harder - more and more steps with the path narrowing around every turn. On our way to the last town, Monterosso, we had to huddle underneath a group of trees as heavy rain turned into hail. The path became muddy after this. At first I tried my best to dance my way through the path - I didn't want mud on my clean tennis shoes! Five minutes later, Splash-clomp-Splash! - I gave in.

The path could only fit one person at a time at this point, and unfortunately we were stuck behind what seemed like an entire school of first graders. The Canadians behind us referred to their teacher as 'Big Bertha'. She did slow us down by quite a bit. With the help of our new Northern campanions we were able to dodge past the kids and Big Bertha, giving a nice hello but really wanting to say, "You are seven years old! Bertha, what kind of field trip is this?"

At each small town Kathryn and I loved exploring all the cute shops. Jewelry shops were our favorite. I think Kathryn got quite annoyed because I would always find something I really fancied and would debate it for the longest time. After weighing the pros and cons, then repeating those steps a couple times, I would always end up placing everything back where it came from. (Yes, I inserted this part of my Cinque Terre story to let my parents know that I am trying my best to be smart with my money... ;) )

Vernazza - the fourth small town in - is the home of pesto. YUM YUM YUM. I love pesto, and Kathryn and I lived off of pesto and bread for the two days we were there. I think Blake stuck with the margherita pizza. (Sick.)

We loved going to a little grocery store just down the street from our bed and breakfast in Manarola to get bread, pesto, yogurt and Coca-Cola Lights. We ate outside on a cute little patio outside our place and enjoyed the view.

The owner of the place would walk by, smiling at us as he said, "Perfecto!"

We thought so too.

In the mornings, we had a cute breakfast set up for us in the reading/dining room area. It was a simple breakfast of croissants, bread, jam, coffee and yogurt. What made it so special was the thought that was put into it. Every item was in its proper place, arranged with care over the dainty tablecloth. I especially appreciated how the curtains were pulled back so we could enjoy the view outside.

I have always been a big fan of details. The little things make the largest of impressions.

On our last morning, I hated to leave the cute place we stayed at. I wrote in the guestbook about how I hoped to come back someday.

Everytime I talk about the Cinque Terre here is what will happen: I will let out a small sigh, pull my hands to my heart, my eyebrows will raise, and I will say, "Oohhh.... I llloooooovee the Cinque Terre... definitely my favorite place."

The scenery, the people and the food in Cinque Terre made it the perfect ending to our whirlwind trip in Italy.

Sailing and A Traveling Nightmare

Wednesday 15th of April

We woke up before five o'clock so we could get ready to take a train two and a half hours north to a town called Follonica. It was there that we met up with a couple who we had arranged to take us sailing.

We found out that they were Scottish and had just moved to Italy recently. We had a lot to talk about with them on their beautiful 42-foot sailboat.

The morning was not very windy, but eventually we were able to turn off the engine and rely solely on the wind and sails.

The water was beautiful, and we enjoyed baking in the warm sun.

Three hours and 22 nautical miles later we were in a small bay of the island of Elba. It was a very pretty place.

We stopped for lunch here, which the couple had put together for us. It was definitely our best meal in Italy. We anchored for a little while longer before heading back to the marina in Follonica.

The entire day was absolutely relaxing. It was such a treat after all the running around we did in Venice, Florence and Rome.

We got back in to the main center of Follonica around 7:30 pm. We found an interesting place to eat, complete with a large and friendly Italian man. He talked us into getting the lobster ravioli with artichoke sauce.

It was surprisingly tasty.

We inhaled our entire meal in less than ten minutes.

After we were done re-fueling, we went to the train station. It was here where the group of six was splitting up: Nick and Jill to France, Billy to Greece and Blake, Kathryn and myself to Cinque Terre.

The first to go was Nick and Jill. We waved good-bye.

An hour later came Billy. See you later.

Then finally, at 12:10 am, it was our turn to hop on a train.

The first train was only about a half hour long. After that ride, we waited almost two hours in a train station on cold marble benches before our next train came around 2:30am. The anticipation to get on the next train was intense. The 2:30am train would last for two and a half hours giving us a good amount of time to sleep. We were so excited.

Then.

2:30am rolled around. Our train pulled up. We were still all smiles at this point.

We walked on the train, and every space was full of people. It was a cabin train, and all the cabins were full. No seats - not even in the two-foot aisle. And yes, we did have reservations for this train.

We squeezed past the crowd in the aisle to get to the other side of the car, all the while knocking people out with our many bags.

We took a seat by a door. Kathryn and I sank into what little space was left of the floor.

We stared at each other. And laughed.

"Is this seriously happening right now?"

To our right there was a man using the bathroom as his seat. He thought it was great fun to play peek-a-boo with us.

We were not amused.

The next two and a half hours dragged by. We slept standing up until the last twenty minutes when we managed to get a seat. I sat next to a couple girls from San Diego. They were also not having a great night.

We reached the next train station a little after 4:30 am. There were no benches in this train station, so we made our camp right next to the homeless people staying there for the night. They were smarter than us - they had sleeping bags.

I have developed a great system of sleeping on cold train station floors. Here it is:

1. Use a daybag or purse as your pillow.
2. Lay on your side.
3. Use your book bag to rest your legs on. This will save your legs from the cold, evil floor.
4. Wrap your scarf around your body like a blanket.
5. Use your coat as a blanket as well. (I couldn't do this one... remember? No more coat!)

I slept well until 6 am.

Then we got up, drank some coffee and took our next train to our last stop: Manarola of the Cinque Terre.

Once in Manarola, it started raining with strong winds attacking us.

We could not check into our place we were staying at until 11:30, so we slept in the visitor center while we waited. We also searched for an ATM. (It was at this ATM in Italy where I lost roughly $70. Thank you, ITALY!)

Eventually we checked into our room, and the owner of the place was the most welcoming and hospitable Italian we had met.

Once we were in our room, we took a three hour nap.

Our night of dreadful traveling was over. Thank goodness.

Throughout our taste-of-hell (that's how you would describe it too if you were there... trust me) traveling experience, I actually had a positive attitude. "I will never do this again. This is only a one time thing. I will never do this again in my life..."

After my nap, however, I looked back and thought 'Oh my gosh, that really was not fun. That stunk.'

Then I called my parents and told them how much I missed them and how homesick I was.

Roma

Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th April

After Florence we took an early train to Rome, and once we arrived, we immediately went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. It was amazing to be in a place with such deep history.

At the Colosseum, Billy and I even took his two loaves of bread and used them for our very own gladiator fight. I won.

We gawked and marveled at the Colosseum and Roman Forum for over five hours - even though half the time at the Roman Forum we had no idea what we were looking at it. It was impressive ancient rubble.

We stopped for a picnic lunch by the Colosseum only to be interrupted by Italian men from Naples. They asked us many questions in their best version of English.

Billy thought it would be a great idea to tell them our friend Nick was gay, so of course, they got a kick out of that.

Then Billy pointed at me and said, "Five euro. Five euro."

Thank you, Billy, for trying to sell me to creepy Italian men. And just for the record, I am worth more than five euro.

They eventually left. Thank goodness.

After our five hour exploration, we headed back to our hostel to check in and take a quick nap. Soon after, we were back to sightseeing.

We stopped for dinner at a small restaurant, and we had a special trick for finding cheap places to eat. We would always look at the margherita pizza price, and if that looked cheap (usually five euros) we would dine there. Ah, life as a college student.

Needless to say, by the time we left Rome I never wanted to see margherita pizza again.

At night we stopped at the Spanish steps on our way to the Trevi Fountain. We sat by fountain while eating gelato - four scoops in a chocolate nut cone. YES, please.

We continued our night tour to the Palazzo Chigi... then the Tempio Adriano... and the Ignazio di Loyola. If you were to ask me what these three were, I could not tell you. I have been meaning to google them to find out more. They were all really pretty and probably were very important in some way or another.

The next day we stopped at a piazza and climbed to the top of Pincio, where we had a great view of the city. We stopped here for photos as the sun beat down on us.

After that we walked to Vatican City and entered St. Peter's Square. It was crowded with people, and I was more than impressed with my surroundings. We stood in a random line, not sure at first what we were going to see. Eventually we found out that we were climbing to the top of St. Peter's Basilica.

We climbed, and climbed... and climbed. As we got closer to the top of the dome, the walls around us started to curve in on us.

The scene from the top was stunning, with a picturesque view of St. Peter's Square down below. It was crammed full of people all wanting to take pictures of Roma. We managed to get our own group photos and then climbed down. My legs were shaking, and I felt quite dizzy!

Next we went into the basilica, and the only word I can use to describe it is 'WOW'. It was grand.

Our next stop was the Vatican museum. The Sistine Chapel was the dramatic finish to this intense museum's displays. As we walked quickly through the museum (please, we just really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel...) I could not help but think how much money all the goodies must be worth. Paintings and sculptures and anything else that looked important...

We finally reached the Sistine Chapel. It wasn't like what I pictured in my mind. It was amazing, though, to stand with my head looking straight up - stretching my neck back as far as it would let me. I stayed like this for a long time, as if it would help me to absorb the images. It was quite the experience.

We left the Sistine Chapel, and I overheard Kathryn calling her dad to thank him for letting her experience places like the Sistine Chapel.

I could not have agreed more.

After our day at the Vatican we went to more sights, including the Pantheon.

Rome was busy but fun. Our map was our best friend, and we marked off all the major sights in two days. We were proud.

Before I went to bed on my last night in Rome, I had to say good-bye to my faithful brown boots. They had holes on every side, and I thought it would be better for my feet if I said farewell. They have been through so much with me: months of wear in London and visits to Ireland - twice, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Florence and their last stop - Rome.

I took a picture before tossing them in the trash. I can be quite sentimental.

Florence

Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th of April

On our train to Florence, there was a heatwave in the car our seats were in. No air-conditioning for us! In order to breathe we had to play musical chairs the rest of the way to Florence. Pick a seat... a new passenger gets on... they tell you, "I'm in seat 86."... pick a new seat... a new passenger gets on... you get the idea.

Once we made it to our campground in Florence, I made everyone play the game called What Did Jenon Forget on the Train?

Passport? No. (THANK GOODNESS!)
Money? No.
Waterbottle? No. (Already lost that, remember?)

Long pause.....

My North Face coat.

I just laughed about it, which came as a surprise - especially to me - considering how I handled the waterbottle situation a couple weeks ago. Apparently I value hydration over warmth.

My coat - and my London Underground pass - is somewhere in Naples, Italy. I think.

So Florence started off coat-less, but I didn't need it anyways. The weather was beautiful, and our view of the Florence and the surrounding Tuscany region was brilliant from the campground where we were staying.

We relaxed our first night and took in the scenery around us while eating delicious gelato.

We stayed in house tents, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to sleep for cheap. It had nice fake wood floors, and a bed with sheets for each person in it. And two lights. Yes, it did get chilly during the night, but we grabbed two blankets and bundled up. (It was just like cold airs at good ol' AGD, so I felt like a pro when I went to bed.)

The next morning Billy, Kathryn and I woke up early to go on a run. It was very calm and gave us a great chance to get our bearings of the city before heading out for the day with the rest of the group.

This day was Easter, so we headed to the city's cathedral for a Catholic Easter Mass in Italian. We spent over three hours there, and during the middle of the service, they lit a dove on fire to set off fireworks.

We had no idea what was going on.

We walked around Florence most of the day after that, the streets buzzing with hoards of people.

At night we drank Tuscany wine and once again enjoyed the view that made us all fall in love with Italy.

I think Florence reminded me that things don't always go perfectly - I am sure I will lose another coat or two in my lifetime.

Florence made me relax.

It was definitely the type of relaxation where I would let out a deep sigh, all the while smiling because I knew how blessed I was to be in such a beautiful place.

Venice was great, but Florence made me realize how much I was beginning to fall in love with Italy.

And not just for its gelato.

I am still alive.

It has been such a long time since I have been able to blog. We have lots of catching up to do.

"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start."

Friday 11th of April

Blake, Kathryn and I flew to Venice early in the morning and arrived midday. Although we have gained valuable travel smarts over the semester, our performance was sub par in Venice. If we were seen on Amazing Race, you would have been making fun of us.

Why?

We went to the completely wrong train station where we were trying to find bus 15 in the completely wrong bus parking lot. (We were even told that bus 15 didn't exist. This may have been a warning sign that we were in the wrong place and had missed something in our directions. It only took us about two hours to figure this out.)

I got stuck on a bus for two stops longer than planned because I couldn't push and shove past the crowd of Italians - and tourists - fast enough. Part of me blames it on the fact that I am from Iowa. And we are nice people.

To find our hostel, we walked... and walked... and then turned around and walked... then went back the way we were originally going... and walked... And then finally called for urgent help. (Turns out we didn't walk far enough in the first place. Who knew? NOT US!)

Needless to say, we finally found our hostel and met up with Billy, Jill and Nick after a three hour adventure. I was hot because I thought it was completely necessary to bundle up when leaving London. (I have never claimed to be a pro at this traveling gig.)

I am most convinced that seeing the great sights of the world does not guarantee individual growth. Yes, it is great to see and experience world-reknown places, but at the end of the day... it's just another place, only different. And I can't change who I am just because I have seen the waterbuses in Venice. Throughout this entire experience, I have learned the most about myself just trying to get from Point A to Point B. Seriously.

Venice was beautiful though, just as picturesque in real life as it was in my mind.

There were loads of American tourists there. We especially found entertainment from one couple who darted around the Venice islands through narrow alley ways and canals, all the while in an aggressive argument.

"My family? You want to talk about MY family? I can't even BEGIN with YOUR family!!" (Yes, I am fully aware that I was part stalker. And I am very proud that I remembered that quote word-for-word.)

At one point, the man even ripped up a sheet of paper and shot all the tiny pieces right in his lover's face. Perhaps this was too far - even for my entertainment-loving self.

I wonder how they came out on a dream vacation in beautiful Venice.

We walked around and, of course, consumed our fair share of gelato. My usual was tiramisu, caramel and dark chocolate. In a cone. It was well worth the stomach ache.

We took water buses everywhere we went, and hopped on and off different islands. At night we sat by the water with our feet dangling near the water. We chatted and laughed, taking in the calm of the water with gorgeous, whethered buildings behind us.

The next day we went to the island of Murano, known for its glass making. We walked in many shops, gawked at the fancy glass shapes, looked at their prices, realized how poor we were and eventually sat by the water again. It was lovely.

Italy's first stop was warm and welcoming, and after taking in the romance and antiquey feel of Venice, it was off to the train station for our ride to Florence.

An Italian Spring Break

I am just hours away from taking a flight to Venice, Italy.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of my spring break, and I have chosen to spend eight days in Italy. The itinerary is as follows:

1 day Venice

2 days Florence

2 days Rome

1 day sailing (I forget where... but it's on a boat.)

2 days in the Cinque Terre

It should be a great time and definitely a trip full of adventure.

We had all of our hostels booked and ready to go, but two days ago we received an e-mail from the management of our Florence hostel... and it basically said, "Sorry! Find new place. We overbooked."

So now we are camping. Yes, camping in a house tent. With no electricity for two days. Hmm..... this should be interesting. No worries, Mother, the house tent locks. And we have a flashlight. What more could we need?

I am trying not to cringe.

And yes, Jaci. I know you are laughing and making fun of me right now, but I can be a wilderness girl... I really can! And just for the record, the camping was my idea.

I can't wait until I can afford a hotel. Is that bad?

I have quite a sore throat, so hopefully I can manage to stay healthy on this trip. This shall forever be remembered as my semester living as an ill-stricken zombie. (My mom even notices my dark circles when we Skype...)

I have packed my book bag and one other bag to their brims. I am leaving my new waterbottle at Vandon this time, however. Even though it only cost a measly two pounds... I don't want to risk it.

Katherine has her GPS navigator all ready to go, so we will not be completely lost in Italy... I hope.

When I am back, expect a full update - I will even throw in some pictures (I have been such a slacker in this area, I know...).

Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge

Yesterday the gals - Allie, Kathryn, Erin and I - went on a whirlwind daytrip to tour Windsor Castle, the Roman baths at Bath and Stonehenge. We had three tag-alongs on our trip - our friends Cody, Austin and Ryan came with us.

Being girls, we were very prepared and arrived at our coach 15 minutes before we were supposed to board. Minor problem: the guys were nowhere in sight. We waited... and waited... and waited for them to come. Finally Austin showed up and then said, "We lost Cody! We don't know where he is!"

Boys will be boys, right?

Thankfully we all got on the same coach - just in time!

First stop: Windsor Castle

We only had two hours at this place, but it was enough time to see all the grandeur inside. We got to go through the State Rooms, which still hold momentous events such as a fancy dinner for a Royal birthday or a state visit from abroad.

We also went into St. George's Chapel - this is where Henry VIII and his wife (one of them anyways) Jane Seymour are buried.

After taking in the castle history, we were back on the coach.

Next stop: Bath

This fashionable town is often described in Jane Austen novels and deservedly so. The views were absolutely stunning. The Romans built Bath on hills so that there were great views of the town itself and the English countryside all around.

Bath has the only natural hot spring in England - and the Romans used this to make their baths here. We quick whizzed through the museum and made our way to sit by the water. The architecture was fabulous - the more columns the better, right??

We got hot sitting next to the water with the sun beaming in our eyes, so we decided to go try our very own glass of warm spring mineral water. It didn't taste good - a lot of sulfur and iron, but when in Bath...

We walked along the streets of Bath and stopped in a fudge kitchen (free samples!), then back to the coach we went.

Last stop: Stonehenge

Everyone had warned us that this place is not exciting. This makes sense since it it's just a bunch of stones in the countryside. But if you know the history about it, Stonehenge is quite a fascinating mystery.

No one knows for sure why ancient people brought stones all the way from distanced areas in Wales to shape them, look after them and continually rearrange them.

I was intrigued just by its old age. It was an ancient structure even when the Romans came to the area. Not that the Romans paid any attention to it - they were probably too busy bathing.

I was the only one of the group who listened to the audio tour at Stonehenge, and I tried to pick up on what I could... but we were all having so much fun trying to take ridiculous pictures with the large structure as our backdrop. We jumped and posed and laughed while the fierce wind was making our hair continually slap our faces.

Out of all the tourists at Stonehenge, I think we had the most fun.

After our 45 minute Stonehenge visit, it was back to the coach one last time for our return home.

Windsor? Check.
Bath? Check.
Stonehenge? Check.

NEEXXXTTTT!

Trying to fit everything in...

It scares me how fast time is flying, especially now that I am so comfortable in my London surroundings. There are still so many things I want to see and do, but time is running out! From today, the countdown is at FIVE weeks.

I cannot even remember certain things about home. I don't remember what Skippy or Jif peanut butter tastes like. I am so used to the all-natural stuff here. And when I forget what it's like to eat a spoonful of Reduced-fat Jif peanut butter? You know it's a big deal.

Last night I was able to go to a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concert, which was great. While listening to the concert I thought, "I kind of miss playing my french horn."

BAHAHAHAH!

After the concert a lot of the people on the program went out for karaoke. It was such a great time to be with everyone, and it's amazing to think of how close our friendships have grown. We have definitely had a lot of laughs. And bonded over the days of homesickness.

Today I went on a London East End walk before eating an authentic Indian lunch. It was good, but I felt a little queasy after it. I don't think it helped that I just had Mexican for dinner either. It's quite a weird combination.

Today we also went on an official tour of the Houses of Parliament. I just love all the history, and I hope to read more books about British history - even when I am back in the States.

Tomorrow I am going on a day trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath.

The days are dwindling just like the figures in my bank account...

The Prez

On Wednesday I woke up to read in the paper about what Michelle Obama wore when she arrived at Standsted Airport in London. Then on my short walk to work, I was surprised that there were not a lot of people walking about. Instead the streets were full of police. This makes sense since New Scotland Yard is just down the street, but the added protections were for the protests and the fact that President Obama was in the neighborhood visiting the prime minister at 10 Downing Street.

At work I was able to watch the live news conference with Obama and Gordon Brown. We also watched coverage on the protests, and I had yet another, "Wow, I am really a small town Iowa girl" moment because I could have sat in front of the television for hours watching the G20 protests and news unfold.

"Ohh... dear! Oh, my... Oh DEAR!" I kept on saying. Part of me just couldn't believe I was in the same city as what was going on.

After work that day I went on a nice run through the area and went by Buckingham Palace to see the media and spectators lined up to witness Obama enter and exit the palace for tea with the Queen.

I ran back to Vandon, met up with a few friends, and then we headed back to the palace where we sat and watched the scene unfold.

There were police and security people everywhere, and I took many pictures of the snipers on top of the palace. (This was my first time seeing snipers!)

We waited... and waited some more, watching important, fancy vehicles leaving the palace gates. And then... it came... THE BEAST, aka Obama's limo.

We had climbed up to sit on a high railing, so we took pictures from there and then quick had to jump down to get close to the street to see the vehicle drive by. I was scared to jump, so I may or may not have stood there for a couple seconds thinking, "I don't want to jump. I don't want to jump. I really want to see him. I don't want to jump."

I jumped.

And then I waved to our president from about 15 feet away.

Thank you, London, for giving me a little piece of home.