London for the Day

On Thursday, I went to London for the day to hang out with the Mississippi College girls before they head home for good. Their semester officially ended on Thursday! I'm gonna miss having them only two hours away! The train tickets from Stratford to London are pretty cheap, and I REALLY like taking the train! Even though the trip is a little over two hours, all I have to do is sit...no worrying about whether or not I'm going the right way, no paying attention to the road...I can listen to my iPod, read, even sleep! When I got to London Marylebone train station, I hopped on the Tube and headed to Southwark to get coffee at my favorite coffee shop - Monmouth Cafe. It's in the area of London where "Bridget Jones's Diary" was filmed, and it's about half a mile from the London Bridge. Once you leave the Tube station, you have to walk through a HUGE food market called Borough Market...it's pretty famous, and you can find just about anything...fruit, veggies, fish, poultry, even food from different parts of the world. It's really neat to walk though. I think the atmosphere at Monmouth is what makes me like it so much...it's very open, and they serve coffee from all over the world. My favorite coffee is from Guatemala. You can sit at a big table and eat bread with butter and jam, or sit on a stool by the window and look out onto the market. There's also a flower market a few stores down, which is gorgeous! Jeannie and I just happened to stumble upon Monmouth Cafe during a walking tour of the South Bank when we spent a month living in London. We definitely became hooked! The employees are really nice, too...the guy who made my coffee told me that my earrings were "groovy." :) After I had coffee, I walked across the London Bridge (it's hard to beat the view of London from the River Thames) and took the Tube to Covent Garden to look around. I browsed though a few shops but sadly, didn't buy anything. Then I met up with Mallory, LeeAnn, and Emily Rankin in their hotel near Russell Square. We hung out in their room for awhile, and then went to eat at Wagamama's, an absolutely delicious noodle bar. We tried to find the one closest to their hotel, but ended up walking to Leicester Square (the restaurant is a popular chain). You eat cafeteria style - long tables with stools. The service is pretty good! I think Wagamama's is definitely my favorite restaurant in all of Europe! After Wagamama's, we went to Haagen Daz for ice cream, on the other side of Leicester Square. The Haagen Daz in London isn't just a little ice cream store...it's an actual restaurant, and a pretty nice one at that! But it serves one thing only - ice cream! After we stuffed ourselves full, we hung out for a little bit, and then it was time for me to head back to Stratford-upon-Avon. On the train ride back, I had to switch trains in Hatton. Well, our train got a little delayed, so the conductor called the connecting train that I was supposed to catch, and they waited for me! That's one awesome thing about the National Rail in England...if you buy a ticket, they WILL get you to where you're going, no matter what. When I took the train to the airport on the morning that I flew back home, one of my trains never showed. So they called a cab for me, and I rode forty minutes in a cab to the airport...paid for by the National Rail! Although customer service in restaurants, shops, and banks is seriously lacking in the UK, at least the railroad company does it right! :) On Friday night, I went to a Rotary frog racing contest (it was for charity, and we didn't use actual frogs!), but I'll write about that in a later post. Have a great weekend!

Spring weather!

Well, after 12 hours of sleep last night, I awoke this morning (well, early afternoon) jet-lag free! Hooray! I lounged around for awhile, then met Hannah and Michelle at Costa for some coffee and catching up. Michelle and I stopped by New Look to see if they've gotten any new clothes, and then I made a quick trip to the gym. Tonight, I had to speak at my host Rotary club. I usually don't get nervous before my speeches, since I don't know ANYONE at the Rotary clubs I speak to, but I kinda got a little nervous about this speech, since I know everyone in the club! I think it went well, though. We actually had a buffet dinner, so no carrots or potatos for me, thank goodness! The weather really has improved since I've been gone. Today I was able to wear a short sleeved shirt and light jacket, and right before I left I was wearing two pair of pants at night! I love the drive from Stratford to the Rotary club in Coventry...England is just so beautiful! I'm ALMOST completely done with school...only one paper left! My friends, however, are working on their dissertations, so I'm going to try not to rub it in their faces that I'm through while they're still in the library doing research. :) Oh, well...I'm going to try to enjoy my break before I begin THREE more year of school in law school! While I was home, Ash and I found an apartment to live in next year...I'm so excited! We'll be living in Laurel Park, which is right off of Lakeland Drive in Flowood. We move in a few days after I get back from England. During the rest of my time in England, I'm planning on taking some fun day trips to see parts of the country that I haven't seen yet such as Wales and southern England. And of course, many trips to London! I'm actually going to London tomorrow to visit the Mississippi College crew one last time before they head home. Marfo will be back from Greece tomorrow, too, and I'm excited about seeing her! On Friday night, my Rotary club is having a Frog Jumping Party...I'm a little confused about what that is, but I do know that it does NOT involve actual frogs. Should be interesting! Tonight, my host counselor Mike told me about a popular game called snooker, which I've never heard of, and I'm pretty sure we don't have it in the U.S. It's like pool, but it's played on a table three times the size of a normal pool table. Also, cricket season began this weekend, which is pretty popular in England. I found out that I missed Shakespeare's birthday celebration in Stratford...it was this past Saturday! It's a HUGE event in Stratford...Prince Charles and the Archbishop of Canterbury came! They have a big parade, and a ceremony. When I got back in town yesterday, there were flag poles lining the streets, and the cab driver told me it was for Shakespeare's birthday. I'm sad that I missed seeing Prince Charles! Oh, well. Since I'm back, I'm going to try to update my blog everyday or every other day. I hope everyone enjoys it!

I'm BACK!

Well, I'm officially back in England. I have to admit, after a wonderful month at home, it was hard to get on that plane. I had a great time visiting friends and family, going to/being in weddings, eating at my favorite restaurants, and just enjoying the great U.S.A.! But I'm back in England until June 7, and it's nice to be back. On Monday afternoon, I flew to Atlanta, then caught a connecting flight to Paris. I think Paris is an absolutely beautiful city, but the people are my least favorite of any place I've ever visited. The rumors about French people being rude AREN'T just rumors. Of course, there ARE lots of nice people, but the rude people make you forget about the nice ones. After a looooong flight, we landed at Charles DeGaulle International Airport in Paris. I've heard stories about how confusing that airport is, and after visiting Paris twice (by train), I had no doubt that the stories were probably accurate. The airport is just outside of the city, and it's HUGE! But also extremely confusing. There are 5 main terminals...A, B, F, E, C...in that order. Obviously the French do not order things alphabetically. It took me about an hour and a half to get from Terminal C to Terminal F, get my boarding pass, and go through security. The security agent who checked my bag said "Gracias" to me after she finished...maybe I look Spanish? Airport security is so strict that it's almost annoying - not just in Paris, but also in the U.S. and England. I finally caught my flight to Birmingham, and arrived about 1 p.m. I made my way to the train station with two suitcases (although one only had a coat in it, since I left a lot of stuff at home), my laptop backpack, and a carry on bag. A couple of guys actually helped me along the way, which is rare in England...most people just walk on by when they see girls carrying heavy suitcases. I think the idea of the English gentleman is definitely extinct in England. I took the train to Leamington Spa, where I would catch another train to Stratford. At the train station in Leamington Spa, they told me that they next train to Stratford-upon-Avon would be in TWO hours, so they recommended that I take the bus. However, their ATM was broken, so I couldn't get cash for bus fare. The guy behind the counter suggested that I lug my 2 suitcases and 2 bags two blocks down the road to the nearest ATM (or cash point, as they're called in England). I had no choice but to trudge through Leamington Spa with my luggage. Luckily I've visited that town quite a few times, so I knew where the bus stop was and what time the buses came. I hopped on the bus and spent my forty minute bus ride enjoying the scenery. Spring has definitely arrived in England! The landscape is just unbelievable! The trees and flowers are blooming, the grass is even greener, and the sun set at 8:45 p.m. tonight! The flowers are just gorgeous...I'm going to have to take some pictures and post them soon! The weather was pretty nice...probably in the mid-60s and sunny. When I got back, I dropped off my luggage and went to the grocery store to get some food. Then, I went to get pizza with Cat, Hannah, Powder, and Andy. I just love the pizza at A Hole in the Wall! We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Now, I'm trying to stay awake until a decent hour so that I won't have jet lag! Before I left for the U.S., I hid my now contraband heater on the top shelf of my closet so that Jeremy and Junko wouldn't find it. Well, guess what...when I came back, it was missing! So I went downstairs and told Jeremy that my heater was missing. I fibbed a little and said that I don't use it anymore (well, I haven't used it in a month!), but I want it because I paid for it. I think he also felt guilty because I busted him for taking MY heater out of the room that I pay for. They did have to do some work on the floor in mine and Marfo's room, so they moved some stuff into my closet, where I guess they saw the heater. But still! I only use it at night or in the morning, and always put it up when I leave the room. It felt nice today, but once the sun went down, it got COLD! They just keep it TOO cold in the house for me not to have a heater...it's almost miserable! (Tooley, if you're reading this, I know you understand!) The big stink about me having a heater is that it supposedly violates some housing code, and qualifies as a fire hazard under the super-strict Socialist government. Christmas lights are also a fire hazard, and also contraband...very strange. But, hopefully the weather will warm up a little and I won't need the heater, which also doubles as a fan. Anyway, I had a nice, safe flight, and England is beautiful! But as much as I love England, there's no place like home. :)