Spring is Finally Here!!!

As you can tell by my title, spring has arrived :).  Be prepared to see a lot of photos of flowers blooming and leaves growing!  Last time I left you, I just got back from Germany, wow was that already two weeks ago?!?  As the time is coming closer to the day I depart to come back to the States, it is going faster and faster.  I wish it would just take a pause, or I wish I could go back to when we first got here.  It's funny, I was talking with Ashley this week and we were discussing how we should all plan trip next summer to come back here after we graduate.  We haven't even left yet, but we all know that we are going to miss it so much.  Anyways, let me share with you how the last couple of weeks have been.

After coming back sleep deprived from Germany, I of course had a long day of work and classes; it was about an eleven hour day...  For my internship I started a SketchUp model of an exterior of a building that they are building an addition to.  I have never really created the outside of a building, so it was beneficial to learn this and I also learned little tips and tricks along the way.  As for my British Art and Architecture class, we visited Kenwood House which is in Hampstead, London.  The landscape of the house was absolutely gorgeous.  At the back of the house is a giant hill, and if you look really close, you can see the skyline of the city.  As for my Shakespeare class, we read Macbeth.  I had already read this in High school, so it was a review for me, just like a couple of the other plays we have read. 

To take a little relaxing break before our Shakespeare class on Thursday, Taylor and I decided to go take a walk through Regents Park, since it is literally our "backyard."  I have been wanting to walk through this park, but every time I want to it is either rainy or chilly.  This morning was perfect; it was warm and the sun was shining.  The park is so beautiful and their are birds everywhere!!! There is so much to see here.  For lunch we decided to try the market that we always pass walking through Birkbeck University.  We both got a hog roll that had apple sauce and stuffing, it was so delicious!

 

 

 At after this very long week, it was finally a much needed weekend.  On Friday a group of us went to get brunch at a place called the Riding House Café.  I had found this the day before, and the pancakes I got were some of the best pancakes I had ever eaten.  We are deciding to make this a thing and get brunch at a new place every Friday morning.  It will help us discover more of the city before we leave.

  

 

 

On Saturday we left early to go see the changing of the guards.  When we got there, there were so many people and we ended up leaving, because there was no way we were going to see anything anyways.  We then had a nice relaxing day.  We walked through Hyde Park, saw where Ashley interned, and then Ashley and I went to go see the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum.  As soon as we walked in, it was like we were kids again.  One of the first things we saw was a three-horn, and then there was a little model next to it.  Both Ashley and I said to each other, "look it's a baby!"  As we were walking away we heard a little girl say the same thing we did, and then her father corrected her and said "no honey, it is just a model of how the dinosaur would look with it's skin on."  Both of us then looked at each other again and said, "Oooh" at about the same time.  The dad then looked at us and laughed, it was pretty funny.  There were a lot of cool things in this exhibit and it was definitely worth waiting in line.  Before going to the museum, we also went to Café Vienna again and I got spinach dumplings in a mushroom sauce with a apple pie for dessert.  So good!  And then before heading home we got ice cream at a neat little ice cream truck.  The ice cream must have been some kind of traditional English ice cream, because it was very think and rich; interesting, but still good.  After a long day of walking, we headed home.

On Sunday, we decided to go explore Covent Garden Market.  It was located in a neat building that had a lot of shops and restaurants.  Our first mission was to find a place that had brunch.  We happened to find a creperie, I think we ware a little obsessed with crepes haha.  Anyways I got a crepe called 'Rumble in the Crumple,' it had apples with cinnamon crumble and I also got a berry smoothie.  it was so good and definitely satisfied our hunger.  Then we deiced to walk around the market.  As we were about to leave I saw a group of guys that were all starting to put on bright yellow blazers.  I joking said to Ashley and Taylor that they look like an acapella group, and sure enough they were!  And to make it even better they were from Rochester, New York!  What are the odds???  They are called the Yellow Jackets.  They were very entertaining and of course we had to stop and watch.  That was a very good end to a good day.

Monday marked another beginning to another week and we were going to go visit the Somerset House for our British Art and Architecture class.  I was excited to go here, because I had written my essay on it, and just like the photos it was beautiful.  For Shakespeare we read the Tempest, and I actually really enjoyed this play.  It had to do a lot with magic and was 'cooky' as Taylor would say.  As for my internship, I continued to work in SketchUp and I learned how to make windows very easily.  I will for sure be using the techniques I learned for projects I do in the future.

Thursday, we took another adventure before class, but this time we went to the British Museum.  We of course had to go here to see the iconic lobby.  It was so pretty.  We also had to go and see the mummies.  Again, we got lunch at the little market, I got a venison burger for the first time, and I really enjoyed it!  We also got brownie sundaes before heading to class.

As for the weekend, on Friday we went to get our weekly brunch at a place called the diner.  It kind of reminded me of George Webbs and I loved it!  I got banana pancakes with butterscotch syrup and a coconut and pistachio shake.  We all looked at each other, and said we should definitely come back before we leave.

On Saturday we took another trip to Spitalfields Market and ate at a cute little Mexican restaurant.  We split nachos, fish tacos, and turkey empanadas and for dessert we got churros with a dulce de leche dipping sauce.  After we were finish looking around for about an hour or two, we went to Patisserie Valerie to get a slice of cake.  I of course had to get the tiramisu that also had chocolate mousse in the middle; very good.  We then sat down and tried to find something else to do for the rest of the day.  We ended up going to the Museum of London and on the way we happened to see the old wall of London.  At the museum it was interesting see all of London's history and on the way out we popped into a room, because it had dim lighting and we were curious as to what was in there.  It turned out to be the cauldron that was at the 2012 Summer Olympics.  It was very large and very beautiful.

At finally I will tell you what I was up to today.  In London they celebrated St. Patrick's Day.  We went to the parade that was held near Trafalgar Square.  It was very cold and all throughout the parade we were waiting for it to rain, it finally did start to pour near the end.  The parade was kind of cool, I still think we have better parades in the States.  But I liked seeing all of the people dressed up and in cheery moods.  For lunch...we got Chinese haha.  It was very good, I do kind of wish we got Irish food, but oh well, we can get some on the 17th.

Wow, okay I believe I am done with this post.  We are almost at the one month left mark, I don't want to leave.  Don't get me wrong, I do want to see everyone, but I sure will miss being able to do something different everyday.  As for next weekend I am going to Amsterdam!  I am very excited and I cant wait to eat some traditional Dutch food.  Until then, cheers! -Heather

Jeder Tag ist ein Geschenk

Hallo! Wie geht es Ihnen?" Yes, I know that almost everyone who is reading this blog post probably doesn't understand what I just said, but I thought it was only appropriate to post in German since I went there this weekend, and it was absolutely amazing!!!  I had studied the German language for four years in High school and ever since then I was intrigued by the country and have wanted to visit.  Well that dream has come true and it definitely lived up to everything I thought it would be and even more, besides some very irritating hiccups...

Now let me dive into the details of my trip.  Vianna and met up and left for the train station at 3am on Friday.  I had only got an hour of sleep beforehand, because for some reason I thought completing a puzzle was more important than sleep...oops.  Anyways we stumbled to the train station to only find out that train don't go out until 5 or 6am...then how were we able to buy tickets for 3:45 is beyond me.  At this point we are both panicking a little because we don't know how we are going to get to the airport.  We decided to bother the gentleman that was working front desk to see if he could help us and he ended up pretty much saving our lives.  He told us how to get to the bus that would take us to the airport, and then we were on our way.  We got to the airport about 30 minutes before we were supposed to get on our plane and of course security was going super slow.  I don't know how we did it, but by 7:45 we were safely on our flight to Cologne, Germany!

The flight went pretty well, and my ears actually popped this time haha.  We then went on to figure out how we are going to get to our hostile.  We got some help from the travel center and hopped on a train.  The transportation system is kind of confusing, especially since it is all in a different language.  Again, some how we figured it all out.  Cologne is absolutely beautiful.  The little part of the town that our hostile was located in was very cute and all of the houses we painted a different color.  We couldn't check into our hostile until 5pm, so we went and walked around and shopped.  We also got lunch at a little restaurant/bar called Bella Vita.  I ordered a calzone that had mushrooms, ham, and after eating a little bit of it I discovered that it also had egg....ewww.  Well besides that it was delicious.   After we were done eating, our waitress asked us if we wanted a German pudding dessert, we looked at each other and said might as well.  It turned out to be very good!

After finding and getting situated into our hostile, we decided to travel and see the famous Cologne Cathedral.  We arrived at the Cologne Central Station and decided to ask someone who was working at a souvenir shop where it was.  She just told us to go left, we looked at each other kind of confused.  But after leaving the station we soon discovered that the cathedral was literally right outside, it towered over us and was enormous.  I definitely understand why it is so famous, it is absolutely stunning!  After seeing the cathedral we decided to head back to the hostile, seeing as though we had to get up at 12:30am to catch a train to Berlin.  Here's to not getting sleep this weekend, but it was all worth it.

After getting about two hours of sleep we were off again.  We got on our train without a hitch and it was nice not having to stress out about traveling.  I got a nice nap on the train, but as soon as I fell into a deeper sleep we had to transfer trains...awesome.  We transferred in Hamburg, and it was freezing.  I was literally shaking like a leaf.  The train came and we were finally on our way to Berlin!  I was so excited that I gave up napping and just gazed out the window.  From what I had seen thus far, Germany is beautiful and I love it!  I just couldn't wait until we got to the capital!

We arrived to the Berlin Central Station at about 10am.  The station was huge and it felt like a mall.  There were a lot of stores and many restaurants.  We ended up staying there for about two hours because we couldn't check into our hostel until 1pm.  I decided to get a pretzel, because that was on my list of foods to get while in Germany.  Then, we ventured out to find our hostile.  It turns out that where we were staying was bam smack in the middle of everything!  It was perfect and the first thing I noticed was how modern it was decorated...of course.  We then sat down and made an itinerary of everything we wanted to see.  We walked around the area of our hostile ad stumbled up on Brandenburg Gate.  It was very massive and of course we had to stop and take pictures.  Germany is so picturesque and it was definitely easy for me to snap a beautiful photograph.  We then continued to walk around and found some monuments, the Berlin Dome, and Alexanderplatz.  Our plan for the night was to go to the Topography of Terror which was a museum about the Holocaust.  It was very interesting.  We then went to go see the Berlin Mall, it was gigantic!  You could easily spend a day in there but we only had a couple hours, because we discovered that it closed at 9pm.  We got dinner at Wienerwald and I finally got my schnitzel!  It was so good and I think I found my favorite food in Germany.  After a long couple of days we headed home for a good nights sleep.

The next morning we had so much planned, but the weather was not really cooperating with us.  It was very cold and rainy, but we trudged on.  The first stop was a visit to the Berlin Wall, because when in Berlin you have to see the wall!  It was so cool being able to see this historic monument and I even got to touch it even though you are not supposed to...shush...After having wet feet and being extremely cold, we decided to start heading back.  We had to go back to the Berlin Central Station and I mad it my main mission to get a bratwurst and I did!  It was so good.  As we waited for our train back to Cologne, we just relaxed. 

Upon returning to Cologne, we thought we would have ample time to get to the airport, but it turns out that we were pushing it.  We had asked someone for directions, but they weren't completely right, because they never told us that we had to transfer trains.  We got to the airport again 30 minutes before our flight, and security was a major pain.  I though it would be easy because it was easy when we were leaving London...nope!  I was getting so frustrated because we were getting the run around and the people were so rude.  I just took a deep breathe and got through it.  We then found out that our flight was delayed 20 minutes, just another thing to happen to us this weekend.  After finally getting on the plane, we were on our way back to London.  This flight back was a lot worse then the flight to Germany.  It reminded me a lot of the flight from Chicago.  My ears would not pop and I got a major headache, maybe it is something to do with flying at night?  Anyways we got back home around midnight. 

This weekend was pretty jam packed, and I loved every minute of it, even the stressful parts because they made great stories.  While in Germany there were a few things I noticed. 

1. Every where you look, Germany is beautiful. 
2. Transportation is free, well if you don't get caught.  There isn't anyone monitoring if you get tickets, and it is wonderful.
3. Cologne doesn't get a lot of tourists.  Whenever Vianna and I would talk, we would get starred at, it was really strange.
4. Berlin is full of horse-drawn carriages, maybe that explains the smell...
5. The food is delicious.  Schnitzel is definitely my new favorite thing.
6. I think I was supposed to live in Germany, just kidding.  But really I enjoyed it so much and it felt like home for some reason.  I can't wait to go back.

Okay, I think I am done, I told you that would be a long one.  I hope to post again on Sunday, but If I don't I hope you all have a great week and fun weekend! Tschüss! - Heather

Another New Year

Hello there!  Hope you all are doing well :).  I am a little behind in posting, so I will do my best to bring you to the present.  As you can tell by the title the Chinese New Year was last Sunday.  A group of us ventured down to Chinatown to see the parade.  We waited for about a half an hour and it was freezing!!!  Well okay, maybe not freezing, seeing as though it was about 35 degrees...let's just say I have adapted to this warm weather very quickly.  Anyways, after waiting for that long the parade finally started, and it only lasted for about five minutes...it was kind of not worth it but still neat to see the floats and dragons.  Walking through Chinatown was cool, because it was all decorated.  For lunch we of course had to go and eat at a Chinese restaurant, and besides the food at Camden it was the best Chinese I have had here, I got sweet and sour chicken.  After experiencing the Chinese New Year we decided to just take a relaxing Saturday and work on some homework. 

As for classes last week, for my British Art and Architecture class we went to The Victoria and Albert Museum.  I already been there the weekend previously, so I have pretty much seen a majority of the museum.  For Shakespeare, we continued to study Othello and I had to do a little ten minute presentation on it.  We then went to go see the play performed at the Rose Theatre.  They did a very modern take on it and it was set in the city of  London.  I really enjoyed it, but it seemed really short.  I did pretty much the same things this week for my internship.  I just helped out and thought of some more ideas for the current project.  I also made some charts in InDesign which was actually kind of fun, seeing as though I am a weirdo and love organizing and making charts haahah.

Well I am posting a little blog without talking about last weekend, because I went to Germany!!! Be prepared for a pretty lengthy post, because it was absolutely amazing and I hope I get to go back some day.  Well I will end this for right now and I promise to post about Germany very soon.  Cheers!! -Heather

Half Way Point

I can't believe that we have already been in England for almost two months.  Its crazy!  And I absolutely love it!!!  As you can probably see I have been incredibly busy and have been trying to soak up as much of London as I possibly can.  I have only so much time here and I want to spend every moment to its fullest.  Well after that little explosion of emotions, I will finally get onto the interesting stuff and tell you how I've been and spent these past two weeks :).

The last time I posted, I had just gotten back from Paris; wow does that feel like awhile ago.  Anyways, the Monday following, we visited Tate Britain for my Art & Architecture class.  Before going in, one of the first things I noticed was the little rose bush that was starting to bloom.  This made me think about all of the people who are suffering in the Wisco weather right now...suckers ;).  Anyways, this is the first time that I have gone to this museum and it is very large.  Throughout the class we only focused on a few sets of paintings which spread across only a few rooms.  Its a good thing that we will being going back to this museum in the next couple weeks because there is so much to see.  After Tate Britain we went back to the National Portrait Gallery.  As for my Shakespeare class we read Cybeline.  I have never read or even heard about this play and I actually really enjoyed reading it.

Last week for my internship, I got to help out with a project that they have been working on.  I was tasked with finding inspirational images on design elements that they could use.  I never realized how the company that I am working for likes to really think out of the box and its forcing me to rethink designs that I have done in the past and how I could improve them.

On Thursday, one of the coolest things happened to me, I got to go to a taping of Britain's Got Talent!  That's right, I got to see THE Simon Cowell.  It was really interesting being behind the scenes and seeing how they actually tape the show.  What made this even better was that the tickets were completely free and we ended up getting fourth row!  It will definitely be something that I will remember forever and hey I might even see my self on TV!  How cool would that be?!?

As for the weekend it was Valentine's Day.  Bridget, Jenna, and I went to a masquerade party on Friday night.  It was located at the Coronet Theatre.  It was actually really fun and interesting.  The coolest part of the night was when we went to the area were they had reptiles and you were allowed to hold them.  They had all sorts of lizards, a couple snakes...and a tarantula.  I really wanted to hold one of the lizards and I did!  It was so neat, and definitely makes me want to get a lizard as a pet.  Bridget went and held the snake, but gave it back after it was starting to coil around her neck a little too tightly...

For Valentine's Day we decided to go to the National Gallery.  I had already been here for class, so a little bit of it was familiar to me.  We then decided to get lunch in China Town at Wang Kei.  I got fried udon noodles that had different types of seafood in it.  I didn't know what half of it was, but it was really good.  On Sunday we travelled to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  This was my first time going here and it is by far my favorite museum!  There were so many interesting exhibits here and the way things wee set up it made it feel interactive.  The main exhibit they had up was the history and development of the wedding dress.  I later found out that we weren't supposed to take pictures...oops.  For lunch we stopped at a place called Café Vienna.  It was a cute little restaurant and the food was cheap and really satisfying. 

 

 

Now let me take you to this past week.  As for classes we visited The National Gallery and Tate Britain for the Second time.  I really like that we get to go to all of the museums and that they are free to the public.  It allows everyone to learn and I definitely want to take advantage of it more so.  For Shakespeare we are reading Othello.  The only background I have on this play was from watching the modern day movie 'O' starring Julia Stiles.  I really enjoyed this movie and I'm excited to go and watch the play next weekend. 

Now let me fast forward you to this weekend.  Thursday was Bridget's Birthday and we all got dolled up and went out to a bar called Mahiki.  The interior made you feel like you were in the Bahamas, it was so tropical feeling.  We got a lot of free stuff due to it being her birthday and it was nice to let go and take a break from stressing about all of the homework we have to get done in the next couple weeks. 

On Friday we visited Camden Market for the second time.  We discovered a different part of the market, which we all really enjoyed.  They had a lot of cool local artist's work there and jewelry.  We then got food there, and you guessed it, it was Chinese and it was the best that I have had here.  And it was cheap.  Talking about cheap, we decided to visit Poundland which is the dollar store here.  We are still broke college students after all.  Today, Saturday, we all just took a chill day and went to a cheap make-up store that we found that is located in the Brunswick shopping centre which is located near Russell Square.  We discovered that they had food tents set up in the middle and I got a Polish sausage on a baguette.  It was one of the best things that I have eaten here.  We then went back and worked on some homework.

Tomorrow we are going to watch the Chinese New Year parade and I can't wait.  There are a lot of events going on in China Town, so I will post on that as soon as I get the chance.  I am also going to Germany next weekend, so I will definitely have a lot of stories and pictures to share, be prepared.  I hope you all have a great Sunday and week! -Heather