And All You See Is Where Else You Could Be

London, Long Island, Providence

all in the next three weeks. so scared, so nervous, so happy, so excited.

I'm trying my best to soak up everything about London this next week but it's all happening way too quickly.

Nothing Left to Lose

My friends have been shmeriously slacking on updating their blogs. I win. Anyways, we went to Amsterdam this weekend. It's really different than any other city we've visited. I was glad this weekend to take a little bit of a break from hardcore sightseeing like the fanny pack-wearing tourists we are. We did get to see Anne Frank's house which was sad but so interesting. We also got to play all over the plastic playground and sweet tourist attraction that is the "I Am Amsterdam" sign. You have to! Sure, I thought it was going to be all legal prostitutes and drugs all over the place, too. But Amsterdam was really beautiful and was the most European-looking city I've seen. The atmosphere was really unique. Also, there are so many bikes. Everyone in the city must own at least three for that many bikes to be possible.

7:25 am - tray tables will not lock in place.

On another note, my left ankle is reah-ally swollen and since I've been walking on it for a week, my knee is joining in on the Pain Parade. It really hurts to walk and surprisingly enough, limping is frowned upon in the London Underground system. It doesn't make for an easy commute.

I'm having such a hard time believing that this is my last weekend in London with my friends. We booked a trip to Corfu, Greece for after the program ends which is going to be fabulous. I also can't believe this is the last week of my internship. It's all coming to an end so fast and I am just. not. ready. I don't have much planned as of yet for my last two weeks in London but cramming in everything we still want to do and want to do again. I'll keep ya posted. (see what I did there?) posted. yep...

Your Eyes Must do Some Raining if You're Ever Gonna Grow

Guten Tag. That means hello in German. Impressed? Thought so. We're just back from another long weekend away. We started in Berlin and left from Paris. I should be using my pictures to help me write but I'm at work pretending to be a good intern so that will have to wait. Friday morning we woke up at the lovely hour of 3 am so get our little butts to Gatwick. The Gatwick Express zoomed along and we made it in perfect timing for our 6:50 flight to Berlin. We made our way to our hostel which, although offering a confusing and deceptive lighting system, was really nice.

We headed out into the large dust lot which was our local area and found our way through the German rail system to get lunch and take a boat tour. Unfortunately, it was pretty chilly but it was sunny. The boat tour was good but I didn't learn much about what I was seeing. After that, we headed back for a nap and got ready to go to dinner. Megan navigated the underground like a champ and got us to Orangesomethingorother. It was a super-cool area and we found a great Thai place. After that, we hung out at a couple of places and headed over to Watergate. SO COOL. This club, which is actually really hard to get into, was right on the river and had amazing views. Once we made a pitstop for schwarma (a miracle?) we were in bed around 5 am.

Day two we got ourselves to the train and headed to some other stop I can't pronounce to get a free walking tour. It was three and a half hours and it was so great. Our tour guide, Ben, was really fun, really nice, and knew everything about Berlin. It's such an interesting city. It's still really underpopulated and there's so many remnants from the war. It's recent history compared to everything else we've been learning about. We did a bit more walking around and headed back to our hostel before we boarded the night train.

We boarded the train two minutes before it left. Even though we had booked an all female car, there was one guy already with his bag on one of the beds in our room. And when I say room, I mean closet. And when I say closet, I mean crawlspace. The room had six beds stacked three high on the walls and approximately one foot by one foot wide space inbetween. You couldn't sit up straight on a bed. So once the nice German man was kind enough to switch rooms, we felt more comfortable and settled in for a bit. By settling in, I mean contorting our bodies into spaces which felt midly comfortable for an hour. We got ready for bed, popped a couple sleeping pills and said goodbye to Berlin.

peace out berlin.

hello paris.

When we woke up, we were an hour from Paris. We did our best to get ready in the small space and finished up right on time. We found our way to our hotel which was actually quite out of the way from all the sights. After grabbing our first Parisian croissants, we made our way to the Metro. The Paris Metro made me love the tube even more than I already do. Frankly, it was dirty, smelled like pee and body odor and was filled with dudes who just looked sketchy. We headed to the Louvre but the line was insane, being it was Easter Sunday and all. We went to Notre Dame after that which was amazing because we were allowed in during Easter mass. My favorite part was the choir. The music was so beautiful. We got lunch and headed to Champs Elyees to see l'Arc de Triumph. It proceeded to hail and then pour rain, so we ducked into Laduree for some macaroons and the most amazing hot chocolate in the world. Once the skies had clearer and Allie tried to convince us that you had to run across the most dangerous traffic circle in the world to get to the arc, we found the pedestrian subway and made our climb up. The views were amazing.

We headed back to our hotel, showered and got ready for dinner. Megan had looked up a few good places to go and once we had walked all over trying to find out, it looked like it had been abandoned for years. We also noticed that we were the only girls in the area, because we had stumbled upon a gay district. Well, we also found a great restaurant in the gay district. We had an amazing meal with veal, escargo, cheese plates and other delicious things I cannot pronounce. On the way out, an overly friendly Frenchman hailed us a cab that we didn't ask him for and it ended up being a blessing in disguise because we met one of the coolest cab drivers in Paris. He listens to Michael Jackson and that was all we needed to know.

We settled in for a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, Allie woke up with food poisoning. Presumably from one of the snails she ate the night before. After trying to print our boarding passes and making sure Allie was okay to stay in bed, Megan, Alex and I went to the Louvre. It was really cool to see what we did in there, but it's such a big place. We left and got on the bus to the Eiffel Tower. The lines there were too long for us because we didn't have time to climb it, but it was good to get that close. We met up with Allie and tried to get to the top of another hill but we didn't have the time. We headed to the hotel and got a van to the airport. It was nice to take an earlier flight because we were all so exhausted from the weekend. As much as I love visiting other cities, none of them even compare to London for me. I was really happy to get home.

This week should go quickly. I've got a lot coming up with registration, papers and internships so I'll be busy. I'm really looking forward to Amsterdam this weekend!

We Were Halfway There When the Rain Came Down

maybe that's just growing up. when you're young, you tell yourself things like "well, if it didn't work out, it wasn't meant to be.' as if that actually meant something just because it sounds like it does. i think you can say something like that so blithely because you expect to stumble onto something else just as wonderful just around the next bend in the road. but people are rare, perfect, unique things and just because everyone really does live a life full of farewells doesn't mean you should at least realize what it really means to say goodbye to something that meant everything. just because you will survive and get over it doesn't mean you should let it go. - adam duritz

that's been one of my favorite quotes for such a long time now. if there's anything i've learned since i've been here, it's that life really is full of goodbyes. it's not something that i can say i'm okay with. but it's proven to be true. someone who you consider a best friend for some time may not hold that title later on. and you never consider that a possibility at the time. but it happens. because you're not there. you're off with other best friends. sometimes i just want to push pause. like, all the time actually. but anyways.

i had a great weekend, sneaking off to scotland on friday and not returning to the real world until monday afternoon. it was so good to get out of the city and breathe the fresh air and see the ocean again.

tomorrow morning we leave for berlin and sunday and monday we'll be in paris. my feet feel like they're breaking but so i'll need to assess my footwear situation. i wish it would get warmer out. my weekends left in london are numbered. to about two. which is horribly depressing. but i got a free pair of oakley's at work today. score! also, my mom and dad booked their flights and i cannot wait to show them around where i've been living. we booked amsterdam for the weekend after next and are looking into going somewhere in greece for the weekend after finals. so many good things to look forward to...

We'll Weave Our Days Together Like Waves

I think this blog needs a little color. And that's exactly what I'm going to give it. This week, London got a little color. It came in the form of modern art, Sunday afternoon tea, banana leaves and cheery sweaters.

This week at work was more of the usual. Friday we turned the office into an art studio of sorts to spray paint 320 leaves with the logo of the club they're opening next week. It was actually really fun and a little bit messy but we got some Coronas and chips and listened to music. It was the best day in the office by far. This weekend we checked out the Tate Modern. Sometimes I have a problem with modern art. Maybe it’s lost on me but much of it just doesn’t seem to show any talent or inspiration or bother to impress me at all. Some of the pieces in Tate Modern are amazing, though. We went back with my class today after a lovely walk on Southbank and did one of the “interactive” exhibits that’s basically a big black box. It’s difficult to describe but it was pretty awesome.

Saturday night we went to Notting Hill –which is such a cool area- to Allie’s friend Katie’s flat where her dad lives when he comes to London for business. The place was amazing and it was so nice to hang out in a real house. We ordered Thai and got some Strongbow. And of course two types of cheese to have with crackers and a baguette. We had all intentions of going out but after our feast we hit the couch and our minds were made up for us. Mostly because The Departed was on. It was such a fun night because we just got to relax and laugh.

Yesterday was beautiful and sunny day. We had tea at Kensington Palace in the Orangery where Princess Diana used to live. It was a perfect afternoon. We walked just through Hyde Park across the street and sat in an airy room to enjoy the most delicious tea, scones, tarts, eclairs and finger sandwiches. And of course a couple of casual cheese plates.

If there’s anything I love, it’s the change of seasons. I’ve been able to open my window a crack this week and there’s nothing like fresh air and being able to smell the slightest bit of spring. Even though it’s only a bit warmer and sunnier than usual, everyone comes outside and smiles and looks happier. It makes everything and everyone more pleasant. I can’t wait until there are more days like Sunday where I can walk through the park without a jacket. And days when I can wear a yellow cardigan and red flats. Maybe I’ll even get to wear a springy dress? I guess anything’s possible. Dream Big.

I Just Need a Compass and a Willing Accomplice

Not much to report from Londontown. I'm pretty settled into my internship now. I'm comfortable and when I'm not performing arduous tasks like making hundreds of phone calls and doing event listings online, I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing. There have been a couple of projects where I feel really involved and like I'm contributing, so that is a great feeling. Alex and I made family dinner this week, I made chili and she made lemon cake. Despite a little bit of stress, three extra cans of beefstock and lemon pie filling as a substitute, everything came out great. The weekend was quiet and it may have been just what I needed. Today my class went on a walk through Chelsea which is so close to Kensington but I really didn't know much about it. We were looking at housing and got to see some really cool places. Then we went to the Royal Hospital where veterans can go to live if they don't have anywhere else to go. All the men who live there were so pleasant and kind. It was really cool. Then we went to the Saatchi Gallery where they house all sorts of art from around the world that might never be seen because it's created by artists who aren't famous and don't get any recognition. Some of it was really amazing. By the way, I'm trying to take more pictures. I think I just need to make it a habit. To take pictures of anything and everything. All the time. Just a thought ...

Saatchi Gallery

hand drawn sketches of all the service men and women who have died in Iraq



erased album covers

Last night I had kind of a reality check that my time here is going to eventually come to an end. And I can't believe how quickly its going. And how much I still want to see and do. I'm a little disappointed we haven't done more traveling. But there is so much to do in London that I can't really complain. I know we're going to see more places but I still feel like I've wasted some time here. There is an enormous amount of pressure put on us to make the most of our study abroad time. I suppose I should make a list to make sure I get everything done. If only I could afford to stay longer. I know I'll be back. That's all for now.