Hobnob

Hobnobs are cookies (biscuits) here in London...haven't tried one yet but I like the word! Also I've tried to start saying I need to use the loo (or toilet) rather than the bathroom. Bloke is just an average guy. Smarties are smaller M&Ms....and Oreo McFlurry's are even better here! haha (we were really craving ice cream and the only thing open at 12:30 was of course American fast food) Oh also Illy's ice cream is amazing..: )

Per Adrienne's request...for breakfast we eat it at our hostel since it's free...and I just have corn flakes with some milk...two bowls actually. Breakfast is served in the basement and it's interesting to see what all the different foreigners eat for breakfast..not that there is much to choose from but many people like to eat white toast with Nutella!

One of my complaints so far...MY HAIR! I couldn't bring a straightener over here because American straighteners are too strong so now my hair is a complete mess. We are showering at night here so we can just get up and go in the mornings so I usually go to bed with wet hair and wake up in the morning with a lovely bedhead surprise. My bangs are horrible, my hair is wavy in every wrong direction and my hair feels dry. Gotta love it...NOT! So when I show you all my pictures from this trip....forgive me on my silly hair.

So I almost got ran over the other day because I forgot the cars drive on the left side of the street here...and they do NOT yield! I don't know who has the right of way...but it definitely wasn't me!

hmmmmm what else...oh I LOVE the tube station. Not only is it beyond easy to get anywhere in downtown London within 15 minutes but they come so often! Unlike bart which I always have to wait 15 minutes for...and every Underground line is a different color with maps everywhere for us people who aren't the best with direction. Jen (a girl I'm traveling with) is super good at directions so I just hand her the map and say have at it!

That's all for now....: )

Old Timer

I am only 21 and the two girls I am traveling with are around the same age....and we are EXHAUSTED from traveling!! We get up and out of the hostel around 9:30 in the morning and don't return until about 11pm. I wore my pedometer the past few days and yesterday we walked 26,000 steps and today we walked 19,000! Today after getting back from the Tower of London, we knocked out on our beds and didn't wake up until 10pm and decided we should go get some dinner. Since I am such a picky eater, I've been having some rough times with the different types of food but I'm managing.

Yesterday we went to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, Parliament buildings and the London Eye!!! What a day! St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey were my favorites by far of the day. They were such elaborate and gorgeous buildings and the tours we received were so detailed. London Eye was a very touristy spot (very crowded) and it was sooooo hot in there!!! I got lots of pretty pictures though so I can't wait to upload those when I get home. It's crazy to me how ancient the city of London is and how much history is within these buildings. Within Westminster Abbey, I saw the tombs of Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Edward the Confessor and his Coronation Chair, Queen Mary and her sister Anne, and Queen Elizabeth. Shakespeare and other poets were honored there but not buried there. It was so touching to be near all those ancient people and artifacts. The coronation chair is used for every single coronation since the 1600s or so.




Today was a bit more chill since we went to fewer places but were still exhausted. We started the day at Kensington Palace, which is where many royalty have lived as well as Princess Diana's gowns are kept. It was so great to see the place where the kings and queens lived as well as the dresses of Diana. Afterwards we got lost in Hyde Park trying to find the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. After finally finding it...I was somewhat disappointed because it was just a circular litle mote type thing that all the kids were playing in...but then I remembered that she loved kids so it turned out perfect!




We had lunch in a typical English pub...but of course I was too chicken to have "fish and chips" or "sausage and mash" so I had a veggie burger. Of course it didn't taste the same as ours but it was somewhat edible. After lunch we headed to Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Wow....it was HUGE! We were exhausted by this point but we had to go in. The Jewels house was by far my favorite part...who doesn't love diamonds?! Also the bloody tower was interesting because within the walls were carvings from prisoners.

Tomorrow we are going to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and then off to a few museums!!

Hello London!

I am already exhausted from my 2nd day in London! Today we went on a tour bus to a few places...and it was amazing! First stop was Windsor Castle and it was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. It is so crazy to see such detailed architecture and have the buildings be so ancient. Each place we went to had an audio guide tour...meaning you have to hold up a remote control looking thing up to your ear and press buttons at each stop along the way. I can't upload pictures until I get home but here is a picture...

Next stop was the Roman Baths. There was a chief priest there and he gave us a blessing...he was dressed up in character in order to give the real feel of the times the baths were used. The water is super hot but we weren't allowed to feel it. Most of the original structures have fallen but it was still amazing to see the pillars that were still standing.

Last stop of the night was Stonehenge! We were exhausted from the long day (we left at 8am and this was about 5) but it was so worth it. It was very calming to just relax and listen to the history of the stones after such a long day. Ok well this is my friends computer so I have to get off....having a blast though!

Picnic Day

Picnic is basically a HUUUUUUUUGE open house for UC Davis as well as an excuse for thousands of people to be drunk all day long. I had a dance competition at night (see below) so I actually remember the day compared to my fellow students. There were a few exhibits I really wanted to see so Chris and I got there pretty early...well I guess not early enough. Chemistry magic show tickets were given out at 10 for the later shows...we got there at 10:15 and they were already all given out...fail 1.

So we decided to go try and do the lazer maze...but by the time we got there, it was an hour wait...fail 2.

So we milked a cow instead! Chris was practicing in line the entire time, so funny. After that we just walked around, spent way too much money on food and then I watched the Weiner Dog Races with my friend.

The night ended with an amazing win and a funnnnn night! : )

Finally

For the past few weeks, my dance team has been practicing like crazy in order to get ready for this huge competition that is held every year on Picnic Day. All of the dance teams from Davis compete for the grand prize of $1000!

My team is one of the best on campus and we have never won first place, and last year we didn't place...which was all major BS! But anyways...we stayed up till 3am every night for the past few weeks and it finally paid off because we won first place on Saturday!!!

Here is the video for your viewing pleasure...

Miss Britney

Concerts are one of my favorite things to do. Expensive, but so worth it. I haven't been to a concert since last May and have been trying to save money for my Europe trip this summer. My old roomie Anna had two extra tickets to the Britney Spears concert...and there was no way I could turn them down!

My friend Ericka who I dance with, Anna and I got read together, ate an entire Papa Murphy's pizza and then headed to the concert. It was at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, which is nice cause any seats in the stadium give you a good view. We had seats on the first row on the second level, not bad for $50! Pussycat Dolls opened and they were amazing. They are amazing performers and can really SING. Britney's theme was a "Circus" like her new album, and it literally was. No animals but full on circus acts and weird/crazy stuff like Britney usually does. She lip sang the entire time but still put on a really good show!

Maybe I can go to a concert in Italy? haha

Disneyland!

For my spring break trip, my family and I went down to Disneyland for 4 days! Tradition in our family when you turn 21 is to go on a trip. My sister chose Vegas and my brother chose Hawaii, obviously I wanted Hawaii also! But....the economy sucks and our family grew so we couldn't quite afford Hawaii...but Disneyland was a great 2nd choice!

My friend Ferdilyn came with us as well as my entire immediate family. It was great to all be on a vacation together, especially in the Happiest Place on Earth! I could go to Disneyland every year and never get sick of it, so hopefully this becomes a tradition of ours!

21 and Over

I finally turned 21! I know that I am HORRIBLE at keeping up to date on this blog thingy so here it goes!

My birthday was on the 14th of March, the weekend before finals...talk about bad timing! During my actual birthday weekend, I went out to dinner with friends Thursday night to a Italian restaurant in Davis. Friday Chris took me out to fondue and we had our own private room, very fun! Later that night, I had some of my friends over for a a little get together with a hometown theme so people had to dress up like their home town....I was a hippie of course! Saturday I had lunch with my mom in Sacramento and my friend Danielle surprised me! She drove 6 hours to have lunch with me...such a great friend : )







Later we walked around the mall but didn't buy anything since Chris bought me shoes the day before : ) I got a pedicure in the afternoon and then had dinner with my entire family! My sister was supposed to work but she surprised me! It was really nice being able to be with my entire family on my birthday, thanks everyone! After dinner I went to the bars in downtown Davis with a few of my girlfriends and Chris...had a little too much fun but it was a greaaaaaaaat birthday!!!

March Already

How the heck is it March 1 already? Time is flying by and this quarter is almost over! This quarter has been crazy but amazing at the same time. I'm not dancing and have more time to focus on classes, even though I'm still worked a lot and interning. My internship is amazing and I hope I can do it again next quarter. I'm working in the Metabolic Kitchen at a USDA funded Nutrition Research Center on my campus....amazing experience not to mention hopefully an amazing recommendation letter?

Last night I performed with my dance group at the 25 year Anniversary reception for my best friend on the team. It was a full on reception! The food was good and I'm sure the cake was too...although I didn't get to eat it since I gave up all sweets for lent. I am dyinggggg without my daily overdose of sugar but I know this is good for me..but it is hard!

School is rough, midterms are over and finals are only in a few weeks! Also....my 21st birthday is comingggg...so excited! It is the weekend before finals, which is horrible timing, but then I get to go to Disneyland with my family for spring break!!!

Here are some pics from last night:




After I got back into town, I stopped by Chris' house to say hi and he was all dressed up from a birthday dinner....even though we didn't go out together, we look cute!

Ice Skating

I have been HORRIBLE about posting on here, not that anyone even really reads it anyways! Xmas was good, New Years fun..and school has started up again! I'm not dancing this quarter because once again I have 8am classes EVERY DAY, working about 18 hours a week and studying! It's nice to have a break and be getting to sleep at a decent hour each night, but I do miss all my friends and dancing a lot. Sunday was my 6 months with Chris but we celebrated Saturday with a girl I dance with and her boyfriend.

First, we went ice skating in Vacaville. Ericka used to figure skate when she was little so she was definitely showing all of us up! It was supppppper scary at first but then I got the hang of it after a few painful falls! Afterwards we went to BJ's Brewery for dinner...I made the mistake of ordering a salad instead of a delicious pasta but we all shared so it was okay. Then we played Blokus (an amazzzzing game, kinda like Tetris) and then watched Love Actually! Things with Chris and I are super good, except for the fact that we are super busy but luckily we can budget our time well!

Veteran's day

Yesterday was such a fun and relaxing day! Adrienne, Steve and Mason drove up to Davis for lunch and took Chris and I out. Even though I saw my family this past weekend, I always want to see them more and more! We went out to this burger joint called Habit Burger...so so so good. I got a grilled chicken sandwich with LOTS of BBQ sauce and I think this place is my new favorite. Afterwards we were super full but walked over to Yogurt Shack and got frozen yogurt...and I got a little bit too much. Mason is walking now so it was good to see him take his little steps...as well as throw some tantrums..haha.

I had majorrrr food coma after all of that but I wanted to watch a movie, rather than study, so Chris and I watched Crash. I always fall asleep when watching movies at home and we started to watch it like a month ago but I fell asleep, and I stayed awake the whole time this time! Haha...I really like that movie and it is pretty surprising that prejudices like that still exist. Afterwards I took a 2 hour nap and then finally studied. My dinner was two chocolate chip cookies that my sister brought me...healthy day huh?

I will post pictures when I get home from school...: )