Glencoe - "The Valley of Weeping"

Edinburgh, Scotland is unbelievable, particularly the architecture and history of the area; there are castles everywhere! I can't say that Scotland was high on my list of places to visit in Europe, but I am so grateful I did. 

Thursday Evening, after a long 9hr bus ride, we finally made it to Edinburgh! Navigating the city was a task as we tried to locate our hostel, but after a few wrong turns we soon became settled. I was a tad nervous being it was my first experience in a hostel, but it wasn't bad at all! Across the street from our hostel was a quaint Scottish Pub, Ghillie Dhu, where we had wine and some delicious Fish & Chips! Live Music is quite the popular thing in Edinburgh, or at least I assume it is, because we saw a local band play both Thursday and Friday night. The band at Ghillie Dhu was a cover band; not exactly what I expected in a Scottish Pub, but lovely none the less. 

Friday Morning we embarked on a guided tour of the Scottish Highlands, particularly that of Glencoe and Loch Ness. I learned quite a bit from our driver Patrick - I swear every area of the Scottish Highlands starts with Loch, Strat, or Glen. The tour lasted about 10 hours with a few stops along the way. The longest stop was in Loch Ness - Home of Nessie the Loch Ness Monster! We were able to take a boat out onto the loch and that was by far my favorite experience in Scotland. We returned after the tour and went to another Scottish Pub, Ensign Ewart, and had a few drinks and listened to good old Scottish Jigs played by a few locals. 

All in all it was a great and beautiful experience, one I won't soon forget! I decided to head out earlier than my friends and left Saturday morning to head back to London; I had a few assignments that needed done, I assumed London would be a circus on Sunday for the NFL game in town, and I didn't want to miss the Chelsea/Man U Match. 

I was attempting to multi-task by working on my assignment and Live Streaming the Match (Go Chelsea!), but due to the intensity the match took precedence; a draw is better than a loss? However before I put all of my attention into my assignment,  I wanted to share with you an update of my experience in lovely Scotland. I depart on my next journey Friday Morning and I beyond excited - Stay Tuned! xx

Somewhere in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, England Along The Drive

 Our Hostel/Scottish Pounds; Although they look different, they are still the same as English Pounds.

Music and Wine at Ghillie Duh

A Local Edinburgh Cathedral

The Tour Bus We Took to The Highlands

 First Stop In The Beautiful Scottish Highlands

 Glencoe - The Valley of Weeping.

Loch Ness

One of the Tour Boats on Loch Ness

I Couldn't Help Myself...

Local Scottish Band Playing A Few Jigs at The Ensign Ewart!

“I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me.”

Birmingham, England (not Alabama)

Ah Monday - back to reality, back to class. Although, this reality isn't so bad at all. I've had a relatively uneventful week from the last post, aside from my little English adventure yesterday! It was lovely spending the day in Birmingham, England with my old friend/neighbor Anna. It's amazing to think how drastically my life has changed in the past year; to be living in Phoenix at this time last year, with a US move in between then, to now living in London chasing my dreams?! I don't think it gets much better than this folks...

Quick little update before my Women, Gender, and Human Rights course this evening. Stay tuned for this weekends update: Edinburgh, Scotland here I come! 

A few pictures from Birmingham, England: 

Anna and I at a local Pub.

The JFK Mosaic in the Irish Quarter of Birmingham <3

A little excerpt from the book I'm reading "Shampoo Planet" by Douglas Coupland

“Our journey is not measured in how many miles we’ve traveled, it’s measured in how much we’ve changed.”

"And to your left is the Village of Pennsylvania..."

About 2 hours outside of London, deep in the English Countryside is where you will find Stonehenge.  These peculiar stones placed thousands of years ago, brought about by many conspiracy theories, are absolutely fascinating. I couldn't help but laugh and think of the National Lampoons European Vacation Movie, but don't worry there's a chain blocking your way to actually be in the stones! For those of you that haven't seen this awesome movie [click here]. We spent roughly about 1.5 hours visiting the sight before we headed to our next destination. The tour guide, David, was an absolute howl; his knowledge, sense of humor, and ability to peak everyone's interest made today an absolute treat! Premium Tours UK needs to make him employee of the month or something, because he was fantastic. 

Let's fast forward about an hour, once we departed from Stonehenge and entered one of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL places I have ever been in my life. Bath, England is a small valley in the English Countryside with deep rooted british history, architecture, and some delicious fudge (judge me). We had 3 hours to spend in this lovely city - exploring and capturing all the beauty it had to offer! 

Hour 1 - Lunch: I hadn't eaten all day, so some local pizza and wine warmed the body up after a chilly morning at Stonehenge. The only con of this lovely lunch was that children were EVERYWHERE in the small restaurant. Shrieking yells and cries quickly reminded me how much I enjoy this lifestyle of mine, because unlike many of you strong young mother's out there - that is not my cup of tea. Call me selfish or what have you but we all make our own decisions. I enjoy my life, my decisions thus far, both good and bad; I am unapologetically me and I am proud of who I am. Plus servers in Europe do not make tips!? No way could you pay me to deal with those bad kids on minimum wage...

Anyway....

Hour 2 - The Roman Baths: I won't sit here and give a history lesson because this is not wikipedia, but I will tell you the experience in unreal. To touch this hot spring, to see 2,000+ years old  architecture, to be in the presence of something held to such a high standard in both British and Roman cultures, is truly breathtaking. You're instructed "not to touch the water in the bath" but at the end drink the filtered water from said bath. Well, I touched the water, yes although rather dirty, my hand is still intact and I drank the filtered water, which has a taste I would describe as if you were drinking blood or water from a rusty pipe; hideous. Aside from that part - the museum and all it had to offer were amazing!

Hour 3 - Exploring: We spent the last hour after the baths walking around Bath. We stumbled into this quaint little fudge shoppe as the were making a fresh batch, and let me tell you it was delicious. 4 slices of 4 different flavors of fudge later, we found ourselves sitting down by the river that runs through Bath in this beautiful garden area enjoying said fudge. 

Time flew by, and although it sounds like food was the best part of this day via my blog, I promise it was not. I cannot find the words to put the experiences I had at these two places today into perspective! If you know me, you know I am the biggest history nerd (mainly for The Kennedy's, but I digress) and to see such important pieces of history not only in British culture, but many other cultures was unbelievable and I am truly so fortunate. I wish everyone could experience this at least once in their life, but for those who can't please enjoy the pictures below. My next English adventure outside of London: Birmingham, England next weekend to visit a friend! 

2 fun facts I learned today that I will share before I go:
1:The English Countryside is so regulated that there are 0 billboards outside of city limits. One billboard we saw posted and the man who put it up was recently fined 10,000 Pounds for doing so! That's roughly $17,000 USD.

2: and some of you may have already known this, but all European Churches are built facing the same direction; All are built to face the Holy City of Jerusalem. 


I arrived home around 8 this evening, booked a few more European adventures, and now I realize 1:00AM is quickly approaching here in London, so goodnight!

Stonehenge

Our Ticket For Admission to Stonehenge

Our Scrumptious Lunch!

Gothic Cathedral in Bath, England

 Entrance to The Roman Baths

Cathedral View From The Bath

 Touching the very warm, yet terribly dirty water.

"Is It Socially Acceptable to Take a Dip?"

 

Along the Bath (Steam Was Everywhere!)

Pillar/Statue Overlooking the Bath

 Aerial View of The Main Bath

 Entrance Coin for The Roman Baths

 Pathway in Bath, England

 Prince Charles' Organic Farm in The English CountrySide

“Moments are precious; sometimes they linger and other times they’re fleeting, and yet so much could be done in them; you could change a mind, you could save a life and you could even fall in love.”   

District Line to Mansion House

I have officially been in London for 1 week as of today and I am in LOVE. Every street, every alley, every nook, every cranny - I just can't get enough. Today's post will be rather short, as I am getting up early tomorrow to do some very touristy things (which you can expect another post about FYI), but I just wanted to post to say THANK YOU.

Friends, Family, Friends of Family, etc. your support is so beautiful, so encouraging; it keeps me going day to day. Seeing your faces on video chat or a simple Facebook hello/pep talk - it makes this transition unbelievably easier! This was not easy to do, as much as I made it seem so, but I am so very happy I did. I am so grateful for my beautiful parents and sisters. Words cannot express how much I miss them every day, but who can honestly say that their family is behind every single one of their decisions 100%, no matter how crazy/impulsive they may be? I can and I cannot express how lucky I am for the four of them. 

So you all know, my classes have been spectacular, the beautiful friends I've made have already made such an impact on my life here, and I can't wait to see what more is to come! Goodnight, post soon xoxo 

Enjoy some pictures from my saturday night out in Londontown with my new friend, Malakeh:

Myself and Malakeh

View From Dinner at The Real Greek Bankside

 We Met at Mansion House and Walked the South Bank

 That Pesky Gap That Must Be Minded...

 I Just Couldn't Help Myself...

 White Wine = My Weakness (@ Gordon's Wine Bar)

“Let today be the day you stop being haunted by the ghost of yesterday.”

"Please, Mind The Gap"

Day 2 of 3 #COMPLETE. As I said, I am studying for a Masters in International Human Rights and Social Justice. I am required to take 3 20-Credit Courses in the fall and again in the spring, followed by my dissertation in summer worth 60 Credits. Unfortunately, because of my visa issues, I missed week 1 of class but so far it hasn't caused me any problems. I have my first day of Module 3 tomorrow evening - wish me luck!. My autumn modules consist of the following -

Module 1: Women, Gender, and Human Rights

Module 2: History and Theory of Human Rights

Module 3: Social Research; Principles, Practice, and Concepts 

In all truthfulness, yesterday was a tough day. I don't do well with chaos and with the UK banking systems sending me back and forth between branches repeatedly, the registering for classes on the last day of enrollment, and then having to go to my first class clear across the city on a different campus - I was a mess! It's moments like that I'm pretty thankful for my support system at home (Mum and Pop, you are LIFESAVERS), because they were able to calm me down and talk me through it. 

Today = Complete 180. Finally, Barclay's was able to help me with my UK Bank account (Fatima E. at the High Street Kensington Branch, you are FANTASTIC). All my modules appeared on my "WebLearn" so I can now see my syllabi and I even met a few ladies tonight who are following the same program as me. Things are finally starting to settle down and I'm finally getting the time to appreciate where I am.....LONDON. I can't wait until I am familiar with my surroundings and I know soon it will feel quite like "home"; minus the family and plus the accents/impeccably stylish men (I've never seen so many tailored suits on young attractive men in one place) This is very Fashion-Forward city!

From across the Atlantic, goodnight my beautiful family and friends; it's 10:30PM here in London! 

I look forward to seeing you over the holiday's - I promise, I have myself a little countdown going <3

“Good-doing is incumbent upon you, for it is the best cultivation and the most profitable commodity.”

Not All Lines Lead to Hammersmith -

I can now say I've been in London for over 24hrs and I'm in love. Hardly 5 minutes outside of London Heathrow, I already made my first "American" move; My transport from the airport arrived and as I went to enter the "passenger side" I quickly realized, I am NOT the drive of this car #tourist.

I live in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, located in West London (or Zone 2).  A quaint and tiny flat located right by the Hammersmith Tube Station; unbelievably convenient. I settled into my flat, unpacked, and tried to fight off the beast that is jetlag long enough to walk to the supermarket and pick up some groceries. Tesco, the supermarket, is only a block away! 7:30PM local time (2:30 EST) and I was done - hit the pillows and was out for a solid 8 hours. However, when I was wide awake at 4:30AM, I wasn't quite sure what to do.

Fast Forward to Sunday afternoon, I decided to be a typical London Tourist; partially to understand the Underground Tube and Changing Trains, so that when I needed to do it in the future I wouldn't have to second guess myself. 

• Stop 1: Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus on the Piccadilly Line. Piccadilly Circus is almost like Times Square, minus the obnoxious, overdone LED lighting. PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE - street performers, pop up gift shops, you name it. I made my way to Apple store to pick up a European MacBook Chord and headed on my way. 
• Stop 2: Westminster. Most would know this area for the House of Parliament, Big Ben, and Right Around the Corner is the London Eye; Not too far from St. James Park and Buckingham Palace either! I took a few pictures, grabbed some postcards to write home and headed back down to the tube. 
• Stop 3 (By Luck/Accident): Stamford Bridge. I was in a bit of a hurry to get home and stream the Chelsea/Arsenal match, when I realized I was on the wrong train. However, 2 stops ahead was Fulham Broadway, or the stop one might get off to say GO TO STAMFORD BRIDGE. Lets chalk this up to fate, because I stayed on that train and exited to Fulham Rd. where I was surrounded by Chelsea Fans galore.

It's roughly 4:30PM locally and I'm beyond exhausted. I literally walked a hole into my shoes today! Time to make some dinner and prepare for my first day at university tomorrow. London, I love you and can't wait to explore more of you! 

Here's a few pictures I took of my adventures today, hope you enjoy:

Entrance to Westminster Underground Station

 Big Ben (or Elizabeth Tower)

 A little taste of America in Leicester Square

A Glimpse of Piccadilly Circus

 Buckingham Palace from the base of the London Eye

 House of Parliament in Westminster

STAMFORD BRIDGE

Rumor has it the 2014 VS Fashion Show is being filmed in Earl's Court soon...

"You’ll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing..."