Hello readers...if we have any : ) It has been a while since we last posted. This is because we have been SO busy doing crazy fun things. Last Friday we took a tour of Kensington Palace which was really cool. Kind of erie to be in the same house as Princess Diana and even earlier Kings and Queens of England dating back hundreds of years ago. In the Kings room they had a card game with a man dressed up leadning it. On the table were cards A-9 and two dice. The player would roll the dice and add the numbers together. Then the player had to flip over corresponding cards. For example if the player rolled a two an a four that sum would be six. Therefore, the player could flip over the card six, or both cards two and four, or cards 2, 3, and A (ace). The player wanted to get the lowest amount of points....
When it came time for Em to go the man asked what she wanted to bet. Apparently the player before us did not win and she gave up half of Jerusalem!! There were a few three legged hourses and other things, but we ended up betting Liz...yes Liz my sister. I was very hopeful that we would win. :) However, we did not......
We continued our tour and saw dresses of Queen Elizabeth, her sister Margaret, and Princess Di. In addition, we went through Queen Victoria's room as well as the area in which William and Mary (the Kind and Queen who had 17 miscarriages and no children) would have hung out. As we were walking through this dad and his daughter kept looking at us. After a few glances back to them they said, "I think you owe us your sister." I laughed and told them I would ship her right away! Haha, so Liz you are going to another country, but not sure which one, but I got a good picture of your new owner...a girl about your age.
This past weekend was great, too. The University sent us to northern England to a town called York. We toured the Minster which is one of the biggest Cathedrals in all of England. The choir was practicing there and Maria got a few good videos to show her mom. After checking into the hotel we dropped our bags and went to mass. The mass was the shortest mass we have both ever been to....and we have experienced some short masses...it was 40 minutes in total. After mass we walked around the town and realized it was not the vibe we were looking for that night. The people out and about/drinking the most/falling in the streets were middle age plus people. It was scary to see women that look like grandmothers in short dresses....
After realizing a night on the town was not in our best interest we went back to the hostil (which was very nice!) and played cards. In the morning we went to Yorkshire where we visted a really old Abbey built by Catholic munks, but eventually was somewhat taken over/detroyed by Henry VIII.
After a two hour bus ride from Yorkshire we made it to another place were King Henry VIII daughter lived. This was the same building that was used as Malfoy Manner in one of the Harry Potter films, so naturally we found some sticks and took a dual picture. :) Lots a things planned for this week so keep reading!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
And it's only day five.....
Today was interesting. We may have done a few things that should be the LAST resort, even avoided altogether on a trip to Europe.....
After class we went back to our flat to put away some things and eat lunch. For lunch we ate.....frozen pizza....!! We caved and it's only day five! Cooking is just something one does not want to do when they have a full day of adventure ahead of them.
After lunch we made our way to the British Museum. We spent some time in there, but it wasn't long before we realized that both of us were just not getting into the place. Most of the artifacts were small and were only replicas. We eventually ditched and went outside to look at Maria's London book.
Maria wants to thank her mom and dad for the London book they got her at Christmas time. It has given us a lot of ideas on things to do. With the book we found out how to get to Parliament near Westminster Abbey to see the House of Commons in action and best of all....it was FREE! That's a four letter word we like to hear especially since three small bags of groceries costed us Emilies arm and half of her leg.
Parliament was cool, they were discussing amendments about people with disabilities and terrorism.
Dying of thirst we went to South Bank got a drink and headed to the Jubilee gardens. All of a sudden, while sitting there this boy dives on the grass and lands right next to Emily. He lifts his head and said, "Hello." While still in pure shock, Emily and I look up to see the boy and his friend with a video camera in the distance. We talked with him slightly, but not much because we were a little creeped out. Even with little conversation he continued to lay there next to Em putting his head up and then down fave first in the grass. He asked where we were from and we found out he was from Germany...he does not know Moe Shoots. After he left we became immedietly intrigued. This kid was walking around the park trying to prank people. He dove next to moms, sat down next to random strangers, and eventually threw pennies on our heads when we were not looking!! This kid was a NUT!!
We were freezing in the garden so we started to head back to the subway. Unfortunately we made the poor decision in getting......McDonalds for dinner. It felt like a crime eating our Burger and nuggets with Big Ben in the distance and we definitely could NOT say that "This tastes better in London" because it was sick!! Well that's all for now, we are fagged (meaning exhausted in English lingo!).
After class we went back to our flat to put away some things and eat lunch. For lunch we ate.....frozen pizza....!! We caved and it's only day five! Cooking is just something one does not want to do when they have a full day of adventure ahead of them.
After lunch we made our way to the British Museum. We spent some time in there, but it wasn't long before we realized that both of us were just not getting into the place. Most of the artifacts were small and were only replicas. We eventually ditched and went outside to look at Maria's London book.
Maria wants to thank her mom and dad for the London book they got her at Christmas time. It has given us a lot of ideas on things to do. With the book we found out how to get to Parliament near Westminster Abbey to see the House of Commons in action and best of all....it was FREE! That's a four letter word we like to hear especially since three small bags of groceries costed us Emilies arm and half of her leg.
Parliament was cool, they were discussing amendments about people with disabilities and terrorism.
Dying of thirst we went to South Bank got a drink and headed to the Jubilee gardens. All of a sudden, while sitting there this boy dives on the grass and lands right next to Emily. He lifts his head and said, "Hello." While still in pure shock, Emily and I look up to see the boy and his friend with a video camera in the distance. We talked with him slightly, but not much because we were a little creeped out. Even with little conversation he continued to lay there next to Em putting his head up and then down fave first in the grass. He asked where we were from and we found out he was from Germany...he does not know Moe Shoots. After he left we became immedietly intrigued. This kid was walking around the park trying to prank people. He dove next to moms, sat down next to random strangers, and eventually threw pennies on our heads when we were not looking!! This kid was a NUT!!
We were freezing in the garden so we started to head back to the subway. Unfortunately we made the poor decision in getting......McDonalds for dinner. It felt like a crime eating our Burger and nuggets with Big Ben in the distance and we definitely could NOT say that "This tastes better in London" because it was sick!! Well that's all for now, we are fagged (meaning exhausted in English lingo!).
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Dodgie day? No way
Today was a long, but great day!!! (Tuesday July 9th? 2013)
Agenda:
-Class (merrr)
-Street Art tour (not like anything we have in Flint, though ;)
-Dinner at Bella Italia (Em got gelatto for dessert and Ria got this massive thing called the Godfather "What does that boy have over there"
-Walked around the shopping district- The Apple Store looks like a castle!
-Found a dodgie place to buy postcards
-Maria took us to Buckingham Palace even though Em had no trust in her to show them the way. They only had to ask one person and by that point it was literally a two minute walk away
-Saw the Queen!!!!!! Not really...a light was on in the palace window though, it MUST have been her there lingering by the window ; )
-Walked down a brick road surrounded by British flags and beautiful trees
-Saw the National Gallery and asked these two girls to take our photo. It just so happens that one of the girls has a friend that lives in Lansing even though they are locals! We talked with them for about five minutes and wrote down all of their suggestions. It was during this conversation where we learned the work dodgie (used above) meaning sketchy. These girls were awesome and so fun to talk to. We left this conversation spazing and talking in British accents (at least attemping...we are pretty much fake Brits)
-Found the subway attempted to find the place we needed to be, but somehow ended up on a bridge....brilliant mistake because it gave us a beautiful view of the Big Ben, St. Paul's, basically both the City of Westminster an the City of London.
Agenda:
-Class (merrr)
-Street Art tour (not like anything we have in Flint, though ;)
-Dinner at Bella Italia (Em got gelatto for dessert and Ria got this massive thing called the Godfather "What does that boy have over there"
-Walked around the shopping district- The Apple Store looks like a castle!
-Found a dodgie place to buy postcards
-Maria took us to Buckingham Palace even though Em had no trust in her to show them the way. They only had to ask one person and by that point it was literally a two minute walk away
-Saw the Queen!!!!!! Not really...a light was on in the palace window though, it MUST have been her there lingering by the window ; )
-Walked down a brick road surrounded by British flags and beautiful trees
-Saw the National Gallery and asked these two girls to take our photo. It just so happens that one of the girls has a friend that lives in Lansing even though they are locals! We talked with them for about five minutes and wrote down all of their suggestions. It was during this conversation where we learned the work dodgie (used above) meaning sketchy. These girls were awesome and so fun to talk to. We left this conversation spazing and talking in British accents (at least attemping...we are pretty much fake Brits)
-Found the subway attempted to find the place we needed to be, but somehow ended up on a bridge....brilliant mistake because it gave us a beautiful view of the Big Ben, St. Paul's, basically both the City of Westminster an the City of London.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Diana's memorial is quite....memorable.
Today was our first day of class. Before class we had orientation. I was so tired that I slept through some of it, but Emily filled me in. They fed us lunch and an amazing dessert. The dessert were these chewy candies called randoms. Each candy is a completely different object. Emily had a saxophone in hers and I had a paintbrush in mine...they were completely random! I liked them so much that I snatch another out of one of the uneatten lunch bags sitting on the table before class.
Class was different. There are a total of seven people in our buisness communications class. Only one students is from London and the rest are international students (weird to think I'm an interantional student). Our grade is based off one test and one presentation...eek!
After class Em and I went back to our flat, grabbed some food and headed to Kensington gardens. I got to see the Peter Pan statue that was filmed in the Mary-Kate and Ashley film, Winning London! Em and I also took a chance on the Diana memorial. The memorial is a pool that flows in a circle. The sign encourages visitors to take off their shoes and dip their feet in. The sign also says to be respectful and not walk around the pool.... However, you tell people to dip their feet in and they practically get naked. There were people in bathing suits, topless kids going underwater, people walking all around the place...guess they missed that part of the sign.
After walking around the rest of the gardens we headed back to our residence. Tomorrow we will have more time to do things since we only have class from 10-1 and not orientation.
Class was different. There are a total of seven people in our buisness communications class. Only one students is from London and the rest are international students (weird to think I'm an interantional student). Our grade is based off one test and one presentation...eek!
After class Em and I went back to our flat, grabbed some food and headed to Kensington gardens. I got to see the Peter Pan statue that was filmed in the Mary-Kate and Ashley film, Winning London! Em and I also took a chance on the Diana memorial. The memorial is a pool that flows in a circle. The sign encourages visitors to take off their shoes and dip their feet in. The sign also says to be respectful and not walk around the pool.... However, you tell people to dip their feet in and they practically get naked. There were people in bathing suits, topless kids going underwater, people walking all around the place...guess they missed that part of the sign.
After walking around the rest of the gardens we headed back to our residence. Tomorrow we will have more time to do things since we only have class from 10-1 and not orientation.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
I can't believe its NOT butter
These past few days have been jam packed with adventure! We arrived at our residence to find that we are living in a flat with flat mates. It is like a small dorm hallway where everyone gets their own room, but we share a bathroom and a kitchen. Our first night was a bit rough. We both had trouble sleeping and had to get up early for mass. Mass was at St. Monica- literally a two minute walk from our residence! The music was not like I'm used to- how could anyone compare to my mom anyway?? There was no organ or piano at all. The majority of the parishioners were African, but the priest was a white guy with a British accent.
Sunday July 7th
Today was GREAT!
We met up with our site coordinator Jeff whom I call gee-off. He showed us around the tube (or the subway). It is such a trilling experience. The thing goes 90...(probably more, but I said that because 90MPH in my family means really fast). After walking around central London or the "City of Westminster" we had lunch with gee-off and the other girl in our program named Mia. I had a simple club sandwich, but it was legit...as Em and I now say, "Everything is better in London." ; )
After lunch we went to the London eye. Our program (Panrimo) is part of a larger social program through the University of Westminster. Therefore, when we go on our planned excursions about 100 other students come along. It seemed that many of the other students had already made friends so Em and I decided to be social and introduce ourselves to two girls named Erin and Robyn; sisters from St. Lois. We went on the eye with both of them. The eye was amazing, we could see miles and miles of London. After that, we went on a walking tour with the group. In the middle of it the lady said we had 25 minutes of free time. While practically everyone went to the pub for a beer, Em and I decided to save our 10 pounds (or 10 million dollars because the American exchange rate is so bad...thanks Obama :p) and explore the train station. What caught our eye was the solar power panels on the top of it. Apparently, 50% of the stations energy comes from those panels...sweet!
The end of our walking tour was a pub. The pub was crazy because Murray took it in Wimboldon. We got to pick out anything on draft so Em and I both went with a Cider. We sat and talked with our new friends from St. Lois.
After Em and I left the pub we were determined to conquer the tube on our own. With only a few major slip ups we out the tube and got to the stop where we needed to be. However, when walking back to our place we went a good half mile out of the way...hey I guess it helped us loose a few calories because we needed it for dinner....
Instead of being social and going out to the pubs with the rest of the students from the program I decided to make Mac and Cheese that I brought from home. Before doing so Em and I went to the store. Em thought Mac and Cheese sounded good, but when I asked the worker if they had it, he was really confused. "You know, noodles and cheese." He proceeded to show us some Ramon noodles. Not what we were looking for, but could be useful information in the future seeing as they were only 50 pence.
As you might be able to tell, I'm a little bit of a penny pusher. Therefore, when I Em and I decided we needed butter I grabbed the cheapest one....the kind that was not in a box or container, but just wrapper in plastic. After that we went back to our flat and back to our flat and I made the Mac and Cheese with the newly bought butter. I scooped some out for Em and she said, "This tastes different." I was a little bummed because I wanted to go with the "Everything tastes better in London" quote, even for my Mac and Cheese. After tasting it I realized it did taste a little different, sweeter. Em walked over to the butter and said, "Maria this is not butter, it's Lard." Welp folks, I can now say I have eaten Mac and Cheese with Lard.
Sunday July 7th
Today was GREAT!
We met up with our site coordinator Jeff whom I call gee-off. He showed us around the tube (or the subway). It is such a trilling experience. The thing goes 90...(probably more, but I said that because 90MPH in my family means really fast). After walking around central London or the "City of Westminster" we had lunch with gee-off and the other girl in our program named Mia. I had a simple club sandwich, but it was legit...as Em and I now say, "Everything is better in London." ; )
After lunch we went to the London eye. Our program (Panrimo) is part of a larger social program through the University of Westminster. Therefore, when we go on our planned excursions about 100 other students come along. It seemed that many of the other students had already made friends so Em and I decided to be social and introduce ourselves to two girls named Erin and Robyn; sisters from St. Lois. We went on the eye with both of them. The eye was amazing, we could see miles and miles of London. After that, we went on a walking tour with the group. In the middle of it the lady said we had 25 minutes of free time. While practically everyone went to the pub for a beer, Em and I decided to save our 10 pounds (or 10 million dollars because the American exchange rate is so bad...thanks Obama :p) and explore the train station. What caught our eye was the solar power panels on the top of it. Apparently, 50% of the stations energy comes from those panels...sweet!
The end of our walking tour was a pub. The pub was crazy because Murray took it in Wimboldon. We got to pick out anything on draft so Em and I both went with a Cider. We sat and talked with our new friends from St. Lois.
After Em and I left the pub we were determined to conquer the tube on our own. With only a few major slip ups we out the tube and got to the stop where we needed to be. However, when walking back to our place we went a good half mile out of the way...hey I guess it helped us loose a few calories because we needed it for dinner....
Instead of being social and going out to the pubs with the rest of the students from the program I decided to make Mac and Cheese that I brought from home. Before doing so Em and I went to the store. Em thought Mac and Cheese sounded good, but when I asked the worker if they had it, he was really confused. "You know, noodles and cheese." He proceeded to show us some Ramon noodles. Not what we were looking for, but could be useful information in the future seeing as they were only 50 pence.
As you might be able to tell, I'm a little bit of a penny pusher. Therefore, when I Em and I decided we needed butter I grabbed the cheapest one....the kind that was not in a box or container, but just wrapper in plastic. After that we went back to our flat and back to our flat and I made the Mac and Cheese with the newly bought butter. I scooped some out for Em and she said, "This tastes different." I was a little bummed because I wanted to go with the "Everything tastes better in London" quote, even for my Mac and Cheese. After tasting it I realized it did taste a little different, sweeter. Em walked over to the butter and said, "Maria this is not butter, it's Lard." Welp folks, I can now say I have eaten Mac and Cheese with Lard.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Plane ride
Welp, we are in the air now on our European adventure. Originally we were suppose to be sitting alone, but after boarding we asked if we could be switched. At first, Em was sitting by two old ladies. After she received a puzzled look after saying "hi," Em realized quickly they did not share the same language.
Maria was sitting in my aisle alone until two young and very attractive males asked me to kindly move so they could fill the seats. She quickly allowed them to do so. Right away this lady with some sort of international accent said the the stewardist "Mam, if you have three seats in a row those are my children right there(pointing to the dudes in my row). Only if you have room, mam." After sitting down to introduce herself she learned that the boys were in fact not her children. She told them they could use that to their advantage and put their food on her tab.
A few minutes later the sterwrdist said I could move to have a seat with Emily. I reluctantly left the boys to do so ( kidding Nathan!!!!)
They put us in the emergency row with a guy with long red hair, full out beard, and an eye piercing. Lesson: never be quick to judge. When I saw him I said, "Em you want the middle?" in a soft hesitant whisper. She firmly says to me, "Sit down." He ended up being a cheery fellow on his way back home to Sweden. He told us that we could go on the beach in Barcelona, find a random crowd to hang with and then party with them....I don't think we will take his advice on that one.
After take-off we could not help but smell something funky. After looking down we noticed that our bearded friend had his shoes off. This was part of the problem, but within a matter of minutes the smell grew worse and more intense. It just so happened that these smells came when beard man started to put his foot up. Maria gave Em a look and she just laughed.
Thinking the smell might be some sort of nasty food, Maria turned to our new friend and this followed:
Maria: Are they going to feed us? (Because this is something she would be concerned about)
Beard man: Oh, yes!
Maria: Oh, so there's like a meal?
Beard man: Oh, I don't know
Maria: I thought you just said yes
Beard Man: I know what fajitas are....
Fortunetly, most of the stench was from food that was probably served to 1st class because we did not receive anything, but a drink. They did not even offer us a bag of pretzels! Good thing I had my peanut butter and tortilla ready to go (Maria speaking).
With little sleep and no way to recline our seat because of the emergency section we made it to Iceland; where a hotdog stand his the most popular restaurant. Seriously, we look out of the plane window and see nothing!! Temperature: 40 degrees. Energy Level: -39
**comment below if you know how to spell stewardist and your favorite plane memory
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