fit for a Queen

day number two here in london started off with a tribute to one of the best bands of all time: the beatles. not only are they a music icon they are one of my personal favorites. so naturally, our first trip of the day had to be abbey road. made famous by the beatles' album.

not too shabby eh? we took about a million of these haha

after that it was back underground and off to start our checklist of all the places we still needed to hit! the girls split apart from us, while mike and i headed to buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards ceremony. once again, it was so crowded! i couldn't believe how many people come to watch this every single day! it was definitely worth it to see though, although i was a bit dissapointed when i found out it's a myth you can go up to the guards and try to make them laugh. they're actually guarding the castle from the inside of the gates. oh well.

loving the england sunshine.

buckingham palace gates.

changing of the royal guard.

statue on top of the fountain at the palace. massive!

after buckingham it was off to see the london bridge and the tower of london, with a quick stop for some lunch. we had an interesting run-in with a giant ghoul trying to get us to take a tour through the "london bridge experience" apparently england's best haunted attraction. no thank you, but hey at least the tall man was a pleasant, quite witty chat. after i tripped and almost fell on the london bridge (and broke one my favorite pairs of shoes might i add!) we stopped for a lunch break. on our way to the tower bridge we found a small inside gallery of shops and resturants, very nice area.

it didn't fall down! that was just me...

the queen's walk. perfect for us :)

the london tower bridge is the one most people think of when they think "london bridge" it's the older of the two bridges and definitely the more ornate. if you walk across you are welcomed almost instantly by the tower of london, now turned into a museum and tourist attraction. inside you can see the crown jewels (completete with their own set of royal guards, apparently the most secure part of all london), the bloody tower, and even a reinactment. in addition, we got to witness a few guest arriving for a wedding occuring that afternoon as well! can you imagine? they must have been important. i almost couldn't believe all the history london has to offer, hundreds of years of royal families, allies, wars, etc. it's almost too much to keep track!

london tower bridge!

inside the tower of london, right before seeing all the crown jewels. sad we couldn't take pics in there but they were so gorgeous!

London baby!

yes! the land of the Queen, the Beatles, and double decker red busses, that's where i spent my last weekend. after no sleep on thursday night (having to catch an airport bus at 3 am!) and one of the busiest weekends ive ever had by the time we got back to dublin we were exhausted! but needless to say it was a wonderful trip.

friday, mike and i arrived at our hostel (after some mis-leading direction mayhem) we stored our stuff in the luggage shed and hit the town. we took the tube, the underground, etc. into westminster street. now, if anyone tells you london is huge! they're not lying. it's not the kind of city you can just walk around in one day, so naturally a transportation pass was needed. but after only a few hours we were pros, even giving a few people directions haha.

when we popped up at our stop we walked out into the sunshine and what did we see...big ben! parliament! the london eye! in all directions. not to mention a giant statue of a irish mythological warrior we learned about in lit. class haha. it was crazy, there were people everywhere! i almost forgot what country i was in because there were so many languages being spoken.

after site-seeing around on our own. a trip to the london film museum. and a quick bite to eat, mike and i met up with a few of our friends from the gvsu art dept. who are studying at kingston university. it was so nice to see a familiar face and we spent the rest of the day walking around with them. riding into piccadilly circus, going to harrods (the most fabulous shopping you will ever see. i kid you not!) and seeing the theatre district. they had dinner plans already so we said our goodbyes, had some dinner, and finished off our night with the national museum. once again-mind blowing. so many famous works and artists, it was exciting seeing so many greats all in one spot.

finally we headed back to hostel, and the first thing we see are bree, melissa, and lisa! three girls from our dublin group that came for the weekend as well. even though we were so exhausted from being up over 24 hours we forced ourselves out for a walk, some ice cream, and planned the next day.

hostel!

jubilee line, our best friend that weekend

yummmthe london eye and city pier

big ben!parliament buildings

the royal parks :)westminster abbey. it was so big it was difficult to take a picture of the entire building, this close up is amazing though!

aw gotta love our gvsu familyyes yes yes yes yes.

day one= success.

thoughts.

this past weekend i went to London for the weekend. it was a crazy busy, no sleep weekend but it was really worth it. the city was so packed and had a great vibe. my favorite parts were the little things about the culture, the design of everything is leagues above the US in a lot of ways. made me appreciate being a designer and an artist. i just finished putting all the pictures on facebook and plan on blogging them in small bits since there are so many.

i did want to post this picture though that I took while we saw a peace sit-in going on. it was amazing to see so many people group together for a cause. also, a lot of people from our group went to belfast for the weekend and hearing about all the conflict going on really got to me. it's trips like studing abroad that open your eyes to the way people can be towards one another, whether it be good or bad. ive learned about the hate that still goes on here today, the conflict between people only due to religion. and then at the same time, i sat at my home-stay families kitchen table, and despite cultural and language barriers, played cards for hours with 5 very different people, from 4 different countries. it goes to show you that as a human race we're very much the same, you and me. i wish everyone would stop and realize that once in a while.

this statement holds true in so many ways.

the next posts will be happier i promise. just been doing a lot of thinking lately.

de-stress

so after school today i was feeling slightly overwhelmed with our trip to london this weekend. since mike and i sort of are winging everything, managing to hop on a bus at 3 am to get to the airport and all that stuff was making me a bit uneasy. i decided to head into dun laoghaire with a few friends, have a little snack, and check out a few shops. the weather wasnt super nice today but just walking around and a little me time with my headphones and the bus on the way home helped.

ive found yet another amazing bakery :)

im now going to take a short 3 hour nap then our adventure begins! cheers dublin, london here we come!

small reminders

today we had our mini excursion day in dublin, as all wednesdays are. after waiting in a bit of a downpour we made it into town and headed for the film institute, to see a private screening of the commitments. if you've never seen it, its one i highly suggest! (and def. one of the films i plan on buying once i get back to the states)



it reminded me of a mix between the blues brothers and empire records. growing up listening to motown cds on repeat, i obviously fell in love immediately. it also made me miss my friends (and my saxaphone!), mainly my roommates, and our frequent sing-along nights. the constant reminders of home seemed to be a theme for today.

our next stop was lunch at a restaurant recommended to us by one of the host families, and you know what! it was an irish hard-rock cafe (of sorts?) called Captain America. haha who says you cant get a burger and a milkshake in ireland?

captain america, steakhouse and bar dublin.splitsies?

our last stop was to the Leinster House which is the ireland's parliament building. needless to say nothing too American about that except for a few constant reminders of JFK, whom they love here by the way, absolutely adored him. when i finally got home, i was welcomed by a few wonderful messages from some people i've been missing. there's going to be so many hugs flying around when i return it'll be a love overload.

now off to write a paper for the night. might sneak down to the kitchen for some coffee while i work. cheers!

wilderness weekend

this past weekend we had another busy few days over in ireland. as a whole group this time, we made another trip to the west side of the country, to connemara. we had stopped there very briefly on our first trip, but im glad we got to go again. our hostel was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but i didnt mind a whole lot. it was nice to see the outdoors so up close, ive never seen countryside the way i see it here, it is truly breathtaking (besides, the 20 something of us are perfectly able to make our own fun for two days. and did we ever) despite the copius amounts of rain and a few bedbug bites the weekend was a success.

our first stop on friday was in galway for a quick visit. we had a bite of lunch and paroused the shops, didnt buy anything though. then on to the hostel, where we proceeded to (with bulmers in hand!) climb fences, mountains, and bogs in the pouring rain. chasing sheep, catching frogs, and enjoying every single minute of it. now our clothes and shoes took a beating but it was completely worth it.

so many street performers in galway. (ps. we stopped in galway on sunday for lunch and this little sand dog had puppies :))

home of the claddagh ring.

original "white o' morning" cottage from the Quiet Man

the closest thing ive gotten to american diner food :)

have i mentioned i am in love with sheep yet?

picture perfect.

on saturday we went to kylemore abbey, which is an actual working abbey at the moment which used to be a finishing school for girls. in fact their last two students finished a few months ago. the lower part was open for us to tour around. it was truly an emotional visit, one that i almost couldn't quite handle. after a lot of tears, hugs, and prayers sent around the group of us experienced one of the most humbling and touching days of our lives. as we sat in that church we all fell completely silent..everyone sitting, standing, and just soaking it all in, in their own special way. it was life-changing to say the least, which is how im starting to feel about everything in this trip. ireland has this aura about it for me..something i dont think ill ever quite be able to explain.

half the group in front of the abbey

kylemore abbey entrance.

so many gorgeous things.

the beautiful church.

kylemore abbey gardens.

hunting for 4-leaf clovers?

connemara national park.

profs. and kids included :)

after we left the abbey we went to connemara national park, filled with even more gorgeous scenery. and some of the boys even made it all the way to the highest peak! (quite impressive :)) after a quick stop for dinner in cong, and an reinacment of the Quiet Man at the museum there we headed back for the night, filled with more card games, a few sips of wine, and a game of pictionary. i feel so close to everyone after this weekend, it is funny how you can be so connected to a group of people you have almost just met. these places and people will have such a huge part in my life forever.