I'm Still Alive.

Hello out there. First off I want to send my apologies because it seems like it has been an ETERNITY since I blogged to share my life for you all to read. The only excuse I can attempt to drag out of my back pocket is that I was spending a fun filled week with my lovely family and there was absolutely no time to sit on my computer...even though they might have left almost a week ago! Oh well. So as stated, my family was here last week and well it wouldn't be a trip I was invloved in if there wasn't a complication. Yes they even had a flight problem getting here. So originally supposed to be arriving in London two Saturdays ago at noon, they did not actually get here until the next morning at 7:00. Well fun fact for everyone out there: the tube has different hours on Sundays then they do any other day of the week. Yes. Good old me got up at 5:00 and quickly got ready to tube over to the airport so that I could greet them at the gate when I approached a very dark and closed Russell Square Station. Luckily there was a quite friendly cab driver sitting outside of the tube station waiting for some dummy like me to think she could take the tube...PERFECT. After this man informed me that I wouldn't be able to get to the airport via the tub until about 9:00am (two hours after my family's arrival) I proceeded to get into his cab, of course I made sure that it wasn't going to cost me a full arm and a leg. So we rode to Heathrow, well he drove and I rode. But boy was this an experience. Although we had very nice conversations I couldn't help but wonder if at any point he was going to drive me to some random place and kill me...extreme I know but do you guys watch movies? I DO! But I kept reassuring myself that I had no other choice and I had to get to the airport so this was a logical decision...plus it was a black cab so that is always a positive. Anyways...long story short I got there, waited a bit, drank a hot chocolate and then found my family! We hugged and hugged and walked and talked and hugged again and had a lovely time touring London like one happy family. They learned a lot and I think have a better understanding of my lifestyle now, or the one I have gained anyways. It was great, dandy and way too fast. I sent them off on Friday (after Thanksgiving) and then headed to work because I needed to make up a missed day. And let me tell you...working on Fridays is stinky!! I know rough life I had to work one Friday but it was awful, thinking about how much I could be doing in the city but I was stuck in the office all day. I did survive though! Saturday after they left I literally slept the whole day, like the whole day! I got up once or twice to shower and use the toilet but literally didn't eat or move really until I wandered across the street to the pub and then back to bed. Pathetic at its finest but let me tell you being a tour guide takes a lot out of a person! Then Sunday Kallie and I ventured over to Windsor Castle...only the Queen's FAVORITE HOME!! Yes it was quite an honor for her to invite us inside. And we of course took some very highly disapproved pictures of some of the most beautiful rooms in there! My excuse: if you have a sign that says no photography then you shouldn't leave the room empty for us to take them! I mean they are just asking for it in my opinion! But the castle was beautiful and Kallie and I even thought about faking a pass out hoping that maybe we would have to be carried back into her room to get taken care of. The worst part? Right after we discussed this evil plan a lady actually fell to the ground and security was everywhere, she was onto our plan and totally stole!!

As for this week...mainly normal just in panic mode as the days are swiftly drawing to an end. I attended my first football (soccer) game here on Tuesday. We watched Queens Park play against Bournemouth at Queens Park. And QPR won 3-0, but the game was so so so exciting! The fans are OUTRAGEOUS! It is seriously like the most entertaining thing I have been to. Chants and cheers from one fan section to the other constantly and trust me they are not nice things either. They actually have to separate the sections of where the fans sit because of the violence that is anticipated at the games. But it was loads of fun and free so WAY FUN! Wednesday Paige and I spent a total of 5 hours trying to track down her parents who were roaming the streets of London, alone and lost. It was quite the experience but we finally found them just in time to share a lovely dinner and a few too many drinks at the pub. Funny thing about when I say "the pub"..there are like thousands so I don't know why people here say that but they do, so then I do and then its confusing because its like wait which pub? Just a little though of my own! But as for today and this weekend? I am jumping in the shower so that I can catch my plane off to Ireland! This will be my first (planned) flight alone in the UK and I have a bit of anxiety about it but I'm sure it will be great. I am off to Gallway to see the beautiful Mary Carnes, sister of the brilliant Sarah Carnes!! So that is me for now. The countdown is officially on...20 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! haha You thought I was going to say something about coming home. Well nope not yet, we don't speak of that day on December 21st. Too many feelings to keep straight so for now I am living in London and loving it! Thats all.

Love you all and miss your beautiful faces tons!!
Cheers!
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

P.S. Want to see pictures of my family's time in London? Start harassing Dorothy R Schulenberg about that one because I do too! You would think of all people she would already have them up!

Simply Skegness

This week I was recovering from a nasty cold. Hoping it goes away quick, but I think it is finally drawing to an end. So not much has happened other than work, coughing, class, coughing, working out and coughing and then a little bit of souvenir shopping with a side of coughing. These souvenirs? Of course they are not for me! They are for you guys, so get excited I have found some great stuff! To make up for the slow week I have some great stories and adventures from my weekend. I was away on my HOST visit in Skegness. Now to sort this out early on, the reason that I write it as HOST in all capitalized letters is because that is how the company that I went through does…I am not screaming at you guys so don’t get nervous! But the jist of it is that you sign up and fill out an application and then a family chooses to adopt (host) you for a weekend depending on if the schedules meet up or not. So I applied way back when in August and this is the only free weekend I had at the time, so this was the one that worked for my host family. Of course I had been anticipating this for quite some time. I have always wanted to be an exchange student so this was the closest thing that I could find, so I was all in!

Finally Friday morning came…very early Friday morning. I got up and hit the gym quickly for my workout and then it was shower and off to the train station for my commute out. Now this was the first thing I did wrong about the trip. I arrived to the station almost an hour early for my train to leave. Yeah you don’t need to do this. Rarely will your platform even be announced half an hour before let alone an hour. So I stood in front of the large board and stared at the orange letters and numbers hoping that my trip’s platform would hurry up and announce. The train was leaving at 10:08 on Friday morning, and when was the platform finally announced? Oh at about 09:58. So that is when I made my way over to platform 1 where I would board and ride. The ride was split up because I would have to get off and then board a second and smaller train to make my way to Skegness, since it is such a small area. The first ride was about an hour and fifteen minutes, but I snoozed for most of that…although there was a rather annoying bunch of business people by me who would not shut up. Now they weren’t your average business group…I think they might have been on their way to a video game convention or something, you get what I’m saying though, not the average group on business trip. I got off the train at a stop called Grantham where I literally walked to the other side of the track and boarded my next train a minute later that would be an hour and a half to Skegness. My host family was there waiting on me bright eyed and smiley when I got off the train, and this is where my weekend began.

Tony and Sue is the couple who I stayed with in Skegness…a town on the east coast of England (3 hours from London). They have a dog Ace and a black cat named Snowy (clever I know). They also have Sue’s mother, June, living with them in her own part of the home on the side. Their daughter, Amber is married to Anthony and they have a five-year-old named Isaac. Tony and Sue also have a son named John and he lives not too far away with his girlfriend Toni. Another fun fact about the family? THEY HAVE A SNAKE! Yes. When I first arrived and settled my things, I walked into the kitchen and Tony said “do you want to see a snake?” I immediately froze in my tracks, wide-eyed and thought he can NOT be serious. If you know me then you know my fear of snakes at the zoo or in the woods, yeah try staying in the same house as one!! I swallowed my fear though and said “Oh…um..sure!” I looked at the snake and that was it…well I mean I kept my eye on it for most of the weekend as it’s cage is in the family room where we watched TV and ate…so there is that! But what did we do this weekend other than share great stories, eat amazing food and site see around the small towns on the east coast? LOTS!

After we settled and I had some crackers with cheese, Tony and Sue took me on a nice walk around their home area and parts of Skegness. They actually live about 8 miles outside of Skegness but it is beautiful where they live. I bundled up and borrowed a pair of their Wellies (rainboots, but way cooler) for this rather muddy walk. By the way, need ideas for gift giving this year? Wellies are WAY COOL! I wore Toni’s pair which feet me perfectly and they were a hunter-ish green color, gosh I loved them! So we took their lab, Ace, on the walk with us and we walked and walked and talked and of course did some ice breaking along the way. Something else that is so amazing about the life here…the dogs just wander with their owners and are so well behaved they don’t even wear leashes! It just amazes me how great they are around people and other animals. After our long walk Tony took me out to his shed to show me his new (old) car that he is renovating and then we played some nice table tennis for a bit. We watched some Rugby on the Tele (TV) and then headed to town for some walking and food. Since Skegness is on the coast it is a shore-side town with a lovely beach. Tony and Sue took me walking along the beach (even though it was freezing outside) and we saw some of the Christmas lights which are already put up in town. We then headed out to a neighboring town for proper Fish and Chips served in PAPER!! FINALLY. I have been waiting my whole time here to eat fish out of paper and it happened there in that town and in the back of their car I nibbled away on this great dinner. After that we drove back to the house to watch a benefit show and enjoy some Gin and Tonics to drink with some peanuts. Then off to bed it was for me as we were having an early start in the morning.

Gosh you are all probably thinking that I am just rambling about each and everything we did but it was so lovely to experience this. I felt like I was just traveling around for a weekend with two family members, I felt so at home and this was great for me! Some “family time” was much needed. Anyways, day 2…well day number two (Saturday) was a lot and so much fun at the same time. We got up at a decent time to head out to Lincoln which was about an hour drive. Now I forgot to mention earlier in my blog that this trip was my first experience in a car in England. Okay just in case some of you are living under a rock, they drive on the wrong side of the car AND road here. Frightening is the right word I believe, especially on the windy back roads which I am still convinced that two cars WILL NOT fit on at the same time. So off we went to see the Lincoln Cathedral and walk around a bit. This Cathedral was FULL of stained glass windows and beautiful architecture…the pillars and carvings were just breath taking. We spent about an hour and a half walking around before our stomachs were screaming at us. Then we wandered to the market where we sat in a Tea Shop and had tea with scones and clotted cream…TO DIE FOR. I can’t even try to explain clotted cream because words can’t do it justice, you just have to try it!! We grabbed a brownie from  the sweet stand and then were back on the road to Skegness. We got a call that Isaac (their grandson) needed to be picked up from Rugby practice and taken to swimming lessons. Yes you did read earlier that this child is only five but he is the most sophisticated five-year-old I have ever met…Rugby, swimming, horse riding, speaking in French, he literally does it all, and he has mastered the English language better than I have! So we got back to the home just in time for Tony and I to throw our Wellies on again and head out to do some beating. What’s beating? Well dad you and Anthony would be so proud of me. Beating is not what you think. Or not what I thought of anyways. We rummaged through the woods making all kinds of noise and scaring the pheasant up so that the men in the field could shoot them. Yes! I participated in a form of hunting. Gosh the things you will try in England. After the adventure was over we got back into the car, grabbed Isaac and off we went to swimming. Sue lent me one of her swim suits and we swam while Isaac got his lesson. This child is already doing the back stroke while I just sink in the water. We spent quite some time in the water after Isaac’s lesson just playing around before we dropped him at home and got back to a wonderful chicken stew that Sue had prepared. Gosh it was just so decadent and delicious…potatoes, celery and carrots with large chunks of chicken and an amazingly salty broth, and a large side dinner roll for dipping. I was stuffed! After dinner Tony and Sue put on some different Rugby matches and they explained the rules rather well…Tony played Rugby his whole life and actually was still playing for a club at age 50, so they are experienced! I am no expert but I do have a better understanding of the game. But all this game watching and driving and swimming wore me down so at about 10:00 I gave in and hit the bed for a rest before another early morning of church.

Sunday morning was quite early as we headed to church at 7:45. Before the service began I had the honor of ringing the bell, which I might add is a much more difficult duty than it appears to be. I got quite the arm workout in, at church too! The church in Skegness was jam packed with me making it a total of seven guests. Although this may sound comical, it was a great service and had a lovely message. After a half hour in town we went back to the home for a large porridge breakfast…wow was it great! Have I mentioned the food was to die for? Oh it was!! Tony and I then headed out for some baseball in the yard. I mentioned to him several times that I did not hit but I don’t think he got the point until I whiffed the first three. After that though? I was smashing the ball. Gosh coach would have been so proud of me…I just won’t tell him that it was a child’s bat and a tennis ball. I am a hitter now! Then it was off to the beach to see the motocross races on the sand. There were tons of hills and dips in the sand that these racers had to race through…let’s just say that many of the men took a few minutes to just get past the first hill. My weekend ended with a large, traditional, English dinner consisting of meat, potatoes and vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Gosh it all just melted in my mouth. And to top it off we finished with apple crumble and custard. Yes I am still drooling, are you yet? Let’s just say I slept soundly on the train ride back to London Sunday night.

So what can top my lovely weekend away with a nice family? Ummmmm…maybe a weekend with my real family beginning THIS SATURDAY!! They arrive Saturday at noon. Can you tell that the countdown is on? Well it is! There will be plenty of stories to come once mom, dad and Bailey arrive in London! For now I am off to wish my father a very Happy Happy Birthday! Yes, we will be skyping soon. But until then another special birthday shout-out goes to my big, fat, mean, ugly, bird head (uh-huh) dad!...don't worry I'm not being mean that is what he calls himself. :) Okay love you dad and everyone else who is reading out there!

Good night from London. 

Mind that Gap!

The Site-Seeing Softball Player

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Well it seems like forever since I blogged...maybe because it has been? But I have had what seems like a very hectic week here in London. There has been so much to do and I am starting to feel like so little time. So what do I do? Run around like a chicken with my head cut off! Anyways...the week began with my internship as usual, Monday and Tuesday. This week was a bit unique because Sarah, my boss, was out on holiday in Berlin. Of course when she told me of her plans to Berlin all I could think? YES, I'll get the week off! Well welcome to reality Mallory. Just because your boss goes on holiday does not mean that you get holiday as well. Oh and just a fun fact for all of you out there...when I say holiday I am referring to what we Americans call vacation. Here in the UK they call it holiday, so sophisticated I know. Which also reminds me...you know the movie The Holiday? The one with Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, Kate Winslet...ringing a bell? Okay well part of this movie takes place in London right? Yes! And you know the real reason for the movie title? Yep. Now you're on my flow. She goes on holiday for the holidays. So this makes everyone happy...the Americans think that she is celebrating for holidays and the Brits know that she is on holiday. Gosh isn't it great to finally understand English in a whole new way? Well it is for me and I am slowly helping you to as well. But back to the week I had. So I went in on Monday and Tuesday and worked for George, the girl who sits across from me, gathering materials for some sessions she had planned later on in the week. It was pretty smooth without Sarah, except when I broke the binding machine and then fixed it again oh and ran the printer out of paper a solid eight times because of all the printing I had to do, but like I said...rather good two days at DBA.

After the two day work week we decided to go out and celebrate one of London's unique holidays...Guy Fawkes Night. This took place on Tuesday night and was a giant firework show, unlike any that I have experienced in the states. The reason for this light filled holiday? Well it happens every single Novermber 5th and a fun reason to remember this day? There is a little saying the Brits use..."Remember, remember the 5th of November." This day/night commemorates a man named Guy Fawkes and his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but why would they celebrate this? Great Britain celebrates his failed attempt to do so and the thanksgiving of this. The fireworks were in a huge park called Brockwell Park and it was like any ordinary fair but times a million! There were food, drinks, rides, everywhere! Even a lady throwing fire! And the fireworks? Put the 4th of July to shame. They had the themes of seasons and matched the music to the fireworks, so sophisticated and super pretty.

Wednesday and Thursday were like any other normal day...but Friday was quite exciting. We had another day trip with the program planned. This time we ventured to Greenwich for the day. Now just a side note about this place...although many would think this place is pronounced Green-which it is not at all what it looks like. Here they call it Gren-itch. Super confusing I know. But off to Greenwich we were for the day. In order to get there we took a nice ferry boat along the Thames River which was beautiful. Another word that they try to trick us with over here. The Thames Rive is actually pronounced Tames rather than Th-ames, tricksters with their words though. So we got a nice tour along the water with a rather hilarious tour guide, cracking jokes left and right he was, we even got some nice rain for the day. Yes, every single time we take a day trip with the program we get rained on, its lovely. But while in Greenwich I got to stand on two different sides of the Meridian at once which was awesome...I didn't really feel any different but it was still pretty darn cool so there was that. We toured the museum and then headed out for some leaf playing. Yes, we threw around, jumped in and tossed many leaves because why? IT'S FALL! Who doesn't do this in the fall because if you said yourself you are lying! After we worked up an appetite leaf throwing we made our way to the Cafe Sol for some Mexican food and a birthday celebration. Emily Moore, one of the girls in my program, was celebrating her 20th birthday and we did it Mexican style. It was fun and the food was delicious. After this we stopped into a museum and then a market for some browsing. We took the DLR line back, which supposedly is the only tube line ran by mechanics alone rather than a driver, but I totally saw a dude running it so that is a lie! And then back to Woburn Place we were for some relaxation, Grey's Anatomy catch up and Twilight marathon, just to prepare for Emily's real birthday party that night.

Saturday? Oh Saturday! I loved Saturday! We headed down to Regent's Street where we prepared ourselves for the Christmas lighting of the street. This was great. We got down there early enough to join in all the celebrations and made our way awfully close to the stage. Who did this stage hold? Well folks I was among many who got to see the reuniting of two of THE Spice Girls...yes Baby and Sporty Spice performed a nice song for us to start the night off right, and then headed out because Sporty needed to run to Germany (no big deal). We saw a few other smaller bands perform and then to finish the night, Leona Lewis sang a few songs that melted the crowd's heart to say the least. But Leona Lewis was the least of my concerns...yep someone better was there! Someone who can make you laugh on your worst days. A man that I just began my relationship with two short years ago. A guy who everyone hopes their husband turns out like. Yes ladies and gentlemen you guessed right....PHIL DUNPHY FROM MODERN FAMILY. Yep. Ty Burrell himself was here in London to flip the switch for the lighting of Regent Street. You know that annoying girl jumping up and down about 20 rows from the stage screaming "I LOVE YOU PHIL DUNPHY"? Yes you bet that was me!! ha So I took some pictures of Phil and then saw the beautiful lights appear after a false alarm by the crew...I think it was planned. There were fireworks and mad dashes of people everywhere but gosh you guys...It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!!! Especially due to their lack of Thanksgiving here, gosh the stores are filled with Christmas and everyone is so cheerful. But anyways...I could talk about Christmas for hours on here so not to bore you!

Things are really flying by here...the weeks are dwindling away and things are picking up in pace to the extreme. I love living here and can't think about my time ending, but that is good because I still have so much to do. Gosh I have my HOST visit, and then get to host my family for their visit, and then Ireland and I think a last minute trip to see Shan in Wales...so much to do in so little time! As for now? Getting rid of this nasty cold I have, lets just hope the medicine I got is really non-drowsy like it said or I am out of luck here!

Love you all tons and miss your beautiful faces!
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

P.S. sorry for the lack of pictures...for some reason my blog is being stubborn and won't let me upload any for the time being, I'm working on it though.

Very Venezia!

Friday morning came...way too quickly...and we were back to the train station and off to Venice! This trip was already more exciting (on the train) because we would be traveling from Florence to Venice, but not just to Venice itself but the island of Venice! So halfway through the trip we began to be surrounded by water...it was beautiful! On the train? I was sitting with a very nice Italian family that consisted of a husband, wife and grandma. Well I think they were nice, but they kept trying to speak to me in Italian...yeah didn't work! A few Italian conversations later and we were in Venice, well at the train station! From there? Off to find the hotel we were staying in for the night. Yes mom and dad you read that right! We got a HOTEL for Venice, not a HOSTEL. Woooo-Hoooo! (so we thought) We get to this "hotel" and the man at the counter was quite grumpy, but we dealt with it because WE WERE ON AN ISLAND! Checked in, dropped our backpacks and straight to the food! Gosh how could we not eat right when we arrived? Our bodies were already so used to the amazing food that we just naturally flocked to it in Venice....and the gelato, oh the gelato! Goodness you guys! I don't know how I will ever eat another piece of pizza or another thing of ice cream again. So maybe the over-consumption of gelato that week did end up having a positive benefit? I will forever be unhappy with the ice cream in America...NOT. (unrealistic). Anyways, we got really lost in all of the canals within Venice, like HOLY CANALS! They were EVERYWHERE! Pictures of each one? Of course! And then we found more....walking around among water all over the place, it was perfection! Later on in the night we found a rather fancy restaurant for our last night of dinner in Italy (tear). They began our meal with a free "orange drink," that we believe was a sangria of some sort but it was very alcoholic to say the least. But they didn't tell us about this before we ordered a bottle of wine...so yep we were a smidge "polluted" as grandma would say! But the food did help this. Lexi and Phipps spotted their dream man while we were having dinner so there was that and then we were off to the hotel, but not before a late night serving of gelato! Our last day in Italy was spent walking around, being tired, stuffing our faces with more food and gelato, and of course getting lost! We made it to the shuttle which took us to the airport where we sat for four hours waiting on our flight back to reality (London). Italy was dreamy, beautiful, full of great food and somewhere I want to go back to for sure! If any of you have the chance to visit the land of the Italians...DO IT!

As for now? Well last week was the craziest week I have had since I arrived. Phipps was still here until Wednesday so we had three people living in a room that is maybe big enough for one. Also? The largest paper I have had was due. Want to know why this was so stressful? Because it was the only paper we have had! haha worth half of the grade in the class. Then we had Halloween to prepare for...a ZOMBIE PUB CRAWL! It was so fun and super exciting...lots of blood and paint everywhere and of course free drinks! Yesterday we checked out the second largest mall in the UK. Originally this was the largest mall, built specifically for the Olympics but France had to go and ruin that one! After shopping? Relaxation and movie time! Today? Another paper, grocery shopping and some lovely catch and throwing at the park...we will have to bundle up because its getting really Iowa-like (weather) here! Hope all is going well with everyone back home or wherever you are reading this from. I'll try to get the pictures back up and running soon, but until then just check my Facebook page...unless you are Kelsey and then in that case just paint the pictures in your head my love!! Miss you all but the time is drawing close to an end so not too much! :)

Mind the Gap, Keep Calm and Carry On, Cheers!!
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

Forever in Florence.

So my days of Rome came and went quickly, but boy did I not even have a clue what was waiting for me in Florence?! We left Rome early on that Thursday morning to catch our train to Florence. So we got there and off we went, just site seeing through Italy like professional travelers...but on a train! The whole time all I kept thinking was "I am in ITALY training through just on an average Thursday!" Gosh I love trains...and Italy! So we were on the train for about an hour and a half when we arrived in Florence. We took the ten minute walk to our hostel where I was blown off my feet. Okay I was blown off my feet for more than one reason...number one was that our hostel had really fancy gated doors (but it wasn't fancy), number two we climbed three flights of stairs to get to the hostel (not easy!) and number three: this was THE MOST ADORABLE thing I had ever seen in my life...besides my grandma! Yes, this was like hostel and a really nice perfect cottage had a baby, that was where we were staying! The room was so cute and cuddly with three twin beds in a row by each other and gosh I was in love! Almost to the point of not wanting to even leave the hostel...extreme I know but that was how gosh darn fantastic this hostel was! And the view from our hostel? Goodness it was to die for! But once I got over this hostel and its perfection (or tried to) we decided to venture out and explore Florence since we were only there for the day. How did we begin our day? MARKET SHOPPING!...well after we had gelato of course! The markets were so great, and so many of them with the best souvenirs you could find, most of you will be seeing that sooner than later! So we walked up and down and up and down and then up again for shopping, shopping and more shopping...ate some lunch and were off to see the famous David. We entered the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze, went through the metal scanner thingy and then onto see this hunk of a man. The best part about seeing David? There weren't any falsely advertised signs like the Sistine Chapel, better yet there weren't any signs at all. So yes we were just walking along in the museum and BAM there he was! Standing there...well posing there for us just waiting for us to come and see him. The worst part? He was screaming TAKE MY PICTURE which wouldn't be awful if there wasn't a huge sign reading..."Picture taking is FORBIDDEN!" So what did we do? TRY TO TAKE A PICTURE! So we schemed a plot to get this oh so forbidden picture of this large naked man...yeah not sure why we wanted it but we did. We ventured around to the back side of Davey boy  and sat down to "take it all in." Now I should clarify that when I say "we" I mean Lexi and I because Phipps wanted nothing to do with this forbidden picture, she was not being part of this plan. So we are sitting there and I am feeling pretty darn courageous when the body guard just keeps eyeing me left and right, I got pretty panicked and decided to hand the camera off to Lexi to do the dirty work while I was on look out. She perched the camera behind her wallet and had it at the right angle and everything, went to take the picture and then it happened. I accidentally left the flash on and we were goners...so we thought! Lexi threw the camera in my lap and sprinted away leaving me there blinded by the light. So I played it off cool and kept staring at this giant figures butt, seemed right at the time? haha Well yes guys we freaked for no reason, nobody saw the flash and we were left with a well captured picture of David....FROM THE WAIST DOWN! Yep. She didn't even look to see if she got him, just went snapping away. It makes for a good story right? Just not the best evidence that we were there...but that's what Google images are for! After this adrenaline rush we exited the gallery as Phipps was shunning us the whole time saying she was highly disappointed in us...mainly because we didn't get the whole body shot! Off we went to explore more beautiful buildings and venture our way to THE food heaven. We ate at a restaurant that was suggested by a friend of Lexi's and gosh it was the best suggestion I have ever had...I could eat there every single day! And that my folks is when I discovered my new favorite food...gnocchi. AHHHHH. If you haven't had it go running to the nearest old Italian woman and beg her to make it for you. The noodles are made out of potatoes and it has the richest and creamiest cheese sauce on top that is topped with a crunch. AMAZING! What did we do after this forced food coma? Well we decided to check out this "super fun" club-ish bar thing that someone who stayed in the hostel before said was their favorite part of Florence...plus the flyer said that international students get a free glass of champagne....I'M IN. We get there and yep. We were the only three people in there for the whole time we stayed. Oops! Oh well, free drink and then off to bed for the next adventure! So it might not have sounded super eventful but if I could re-do any trip it would be Florence in a heart beat! I fell in love and want to return soon someday. The food was to die for and the people were great...even the creepily straight forward Italian men making inappropriate comments. Sorry the blog doesn't contain pictures of the trip...apparently Google Blogs doesn't want me to rub it in too bad because it wont allow me to upload this time! Stay tuned for Venice! Love you all and can't wait to keep sharing my stories with you. Cheers!

The Site- Seeing Softball Player

When In Rome!

When you are a poor college student (and living in London) who wants to travel to Italy for a week you have to get desperate. My disparity? Budget airlines! So when I was planning my trip to Italy I went for the cheapest flights possible...duh right? So when I came across the flight leaving London on Tuesday at 6:00am for $19 I HAD to take it. Sounds like a good deal right? Well I forgot to mention that public transportation doesn't open in London until 5:30am. Yeah I didn't just forget to mention that to you right here and right now...I forgot to remember that when I went through with the flights and bought them. Would you pass up that cheap of a flight to Rome? DIDN'T THINK SO. So Monday came around and at about 10:00pm we began our commute to the London Standsted Airport for the night. We made it there and found ourselves a nice corner right outside the bathroom where we would begin our attempt to sleep the night in the airport. Might sound crazy to you people at home but let me tell you this place was CROWDED, we weren't the only ones with the brilliant idea! Tuesday morning (4:00am) came quickly enough and we began our trip through security and to our gate. Now if you have been keeping up with me at all you know that I have had THE WORST travel experiences when it comes to flying. Well this time I got through no problem at all. But Phipps on the other hand? Her boarding pass wouldn't scan. We had a few minor panic attacks but finally got her on the same side of the gate as us and through security we went. Just three short hours later we were landed in Rome!! Yes you read that right!! ROME! This is what I saw when I got off the flight...

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So we drug our tired bums to customs where we easily got into Italy...no problem at all. After we got through customs? A blank room with not an ATM in sight. Now this proposed a problem because us Londoners had no euros on us for the bus ticket we were supposed to purchase to make our way to the hostel we would call home for the night. So we pulled out the plastic and bada-boom we had bus tickets. Out the door we went and literally got shoved on to a bus that was about to leave...three spots left and three girls? PERFECTION. Once we made it to our hostel we got all checked in and ditched the backpacks for a nice visit to the Vatican Museums. Now this wasn't exactly the trip that I was expecting. Don't get me wrong it was super pretty and the information was ideal but not for someone who was running on two hours of sleep and impatiently waiting for the Sistine Chapel. Yeah so just a side note to all of you that are interested in seeing the Sistine Chapel, don't get your hopes up when you see it listed on the signs. Literally saw it about 25 times before I actually entered the place. And the worst part? When you get in there you can't take any pictures and they rush you out so quickly, yelling and stuff. But the picture I did get? 

That my friends is proof that I did see the Sistine Chapel and go through it pretty darn quickly. And after that? We bee lined it to the closest gelato place to eat our heart out in the first of many gelato trips for the week. The best part about gelato in Rome? They always give you free cream on the top and it is so rich and creamy! Amazing! If your mouth isn't watering yet then you don't have good taste at all. Then it was straight to the hostel for a nap, or bedtime...at 4:30pm. Woke up once for a pizza at 6:00pm and back to bed until the morning. Best night sleep of my life in a room with the two other girls I traveled with and a rando male roomie who didn't say a word to us. I'm sure he was a nice man.

Day 2 in Rome was a lot more eventful than day one. We saw a lot of beautiful sites and stayed up past 8:30 so that was an accomplishment in itself. Here are some pictures of what we saw along the way!

We checked out of our hostel to head onto a new area of Rome for our second day adventures. As we were approaching the Metro station one of the girls I was with was beginning to get very antsy about missing the Papal Audience, since it was Wednesday in Rome! So after a ten minute discussion while watching thousands of people pass us on their way to do the same thing we decided to turn around to witness this blessing. Not only did we make it back in time, but I was able to capture this wonderful picture of the Pope himself roaming the crowds. He sent a blessing out to everyone in the audience plus their families and friends...and anything else that we wanted blessed. So yes folks my backpack is blessed by the Pope himself and if you're reading this you have a blessing being sent your way! You're welcome mom and dad! :)

 Although we didn't go inside, St. Peter's Basilica was BEAUTIFUL and the weather in Rome was perfect for the day that we chose. Such a gorgeous place to spend a Wednesday morning, we got inside the furthest away gate somehow and that was me inside with the nice scene behind.

 All that Pope business got us rather hungry so we ventured to our new hostel where we checked in and grabbed a bite to eat. That pizza was so tasty and yes I devoured it all by myself with ease! The food in Rome was so decadent and delicious. The pizza tastes a lot different than pizza from home, the crust has a lot less sugar and is so rich, plus all the ingredients are super fresh so that is a positive!

 After lunch? Off to the Trevi Fountain where every girl's dreams come true!...LITERALLY. That is me throwing my coin into the fountain while making a wish. What did I wish for? NOT TELLING SILLIES. But when it comes true I guess I can let you know that it did. :) There were so many tourists there...naturally...and tons of Asian folks taking selfies down by the fountain, but I managed to get a few shots on my own. Such a pretty place for a stroll along!

Lastly we went and saw this beauty! The Colosseum. It was under some construction and we were not able to actually go inside but it was so moving to see. Such an old and antique looking piece up for so long was great to see in person! Rome was a lot different than I expected but well worth the trip to get there. Not my favorite place in Italy but definitely glad that I went to do the whole Catholic thing. What's up next? My absolute favorite! FLORENCE! So more to come on my week spent in Italy, but for now I must keep you on your toes a little longer...plus I need to finish a few papers this week! Love you all and can't wait to share more stories about my experiences over seas! Keep looking out for Italy endeavors!

Grazie.
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

Jet Lag? No Time!

So yes I just got back from an extravagant week in Italy...no big deal right? haha But lets just go back in time to the Thursday before this amazing trip. Thursday, October 17th to be exact. I'm sure most of you already knew but in case you didn't this was the day that I was flying home (yes to the states) for my best friend's wedding! So Wednesday night came along...bags packed for a week now...and I was wide awake throughout the whole night. I mean could you sleep knowing that in 24 short hours you will be reunited with friends, family and US soil? Didn't think so! Thursday morning, 4:45am finally came and my alarm woke me from the lightest sleep of my life because today was finally THE DAY! I hopped down from my lofted bed and onto the ground I go, headed straight to the shower. Came out to find my roomie, Karlee, and neighbor Paige in the room excited to take me to the airport at 5:00 IN THE MORNING. haha so we head to Russell Square to catch the first tube ride of the morning. And to our surprise? It was really crowded!! Anyways we rode the tube to Heathrow where they took me all the way to security and we said our goodbyes. A (long) 7.5 hour ride to Toronto and then a short 2 hour ride to Kansas City was all I had in between my dad, four teammates and I reuniting at the Kansas City Airport. I survived them and yes we hugged and screamed and had  a great time! Want some proof? Look at how cute we are!!

So Thursday night I spent with my amazing teammates who came to see me...PRICELESS...and my lovely family, plus a little surprise from Ant. I could not have been more happy to have my friends in Kansas City with me for the short time I was home, we talked each others' ears off and then some. And want to know something funny? I stayed awake for about 26 hours straight! Yeah not even mad about it, love these girls to the moon and back! Friday morning I was sad to see them head back to Iowa, but I had family time to suck up and lots of wedding stuff to do!!

Friday was nails, nails and prepping the bride for her big day!...which if you know Kelsey at all consisted of nothing! haha talk about the worlds most calm bride! So we took it easy and relaxed, making sure she had things finished but wasn't stressing! Friday night was the rehersal and dinner and then back to my house for some family socializing. I GOT TO SEE GRANDMA! It was great to fill my grandma in on everything that I have done lately in the UK. Also got some great time in with Lisa and Dale and of course the good old Jeff! But off to bed early for me because Saturday was the big day!

Here are some pictures of the most perfect, wonderful, amazing, love-filled and adorable wedding in the world! Hands down the happiest bride and groom I have witnessed...SO HAPPY FOR YOU TWO!!

Getting ready for her big day. Can't believe I have been best friends with this beauty for so long and I got to witness her walk down the isle to the man of her dreams!!  

 The most flawless bride I have ever seen in the world! Even when her husband wiped cake icing all over her face at the reception! :) I love you to the moon and back Kelsey, your wedding was nothing but perfect!!

 My amazing family and support system! So lucky to call such a good looking group my family! They are amazing and I can't wait to be home and with them for the holidays!

So what happened after the wedding? Well we went home, full of alcohol and everything! haha The next morning I said my goodbyes to Grandma and Jeff as they headed back to Omaha. And then a few hours later goodbye to Anthony...but something I have learned is that it isn't goodbye but just until next time! So I will see this lovely bunch soon and it will be amazing! That afternoon I arrived at the airport with mom and dad where I was denied to board my first flight to Toronto where I was supposed to meet Phipps. YES IT HAPPENED AGAIN! After many tears, screaming and some flight rearranging I made it to Heathrow Airport at 12:00noon on Monday to meet Ashley Phipps for a week adventure in London/Italy! Now what about Italy? Well I have to keep you all on your toes for a bit longer because work is calling and Starbucks is kicking me out for the day! I promise Italy pictures and stories are on their way! Love you all and can't wait to share my adventures with you!!

The Site-Seeing Softball Player

Don't have a title...

What in the world have I been doing here in London? Running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Yeah I know that is extreme for London, but yes I am doing it! This week flew by and I can't even figure out where it went. It is now Sunday evening-ish and I am about to chat with my lovely family. But Sunday evening Mallory? What happened to Monday-Saturday? That is my question! Monday and Tuesday were rather normal at my internship except, wait! I have some breaking news: I received my first official call at DBA....yes someone called the Design Business Association FOR ME! The receptionist phoned over to me to inform me that I had a call waiting and I just started at it. I was thinking am I supposed to answer that? Then I looked at her and she nodded so I picked up the phone to say hello but before I could talk, think or even better hear what she was saying she had transferred me over to the person calling. Who was I talking to and why did they call for me?! But then it hit me, I sent out emails to companies who need to get stuff in and they were from me personally so yes I got about eight more phone calls that day and every single one was just as terrifying! Brits are REALLY hard to understand over the phone, like REALLY HARD. Tuesday I also attended my first DBA event as a staff member which was interesting (Brits hate when you say interesting btw). I say interesting because I have not a better adjective for this event. It was great to be a part of something so official but I was sort of just a fly on the wall. But hey if you need any advice on how to make money at a large corporation, hit me up!! Wednesday and Thursday are pretty irrelevant as I just had class and class again but my professor on Wednesday was HILARIOUS. He was cracking jokes left and right and it just makes it even better that he is about 60 and just adorable...comes into class every time huffing and puffing with a full coat and jacket/tie with his glasses about to fall off, I think the stairs just do him in every time. But he is fun and super posh! Friday is a whole nother story! I went to a CASTLE! We took a trip with our program to Dover and Canterbury which was about an hour and a half commute out of London. Here are some great moments captured by me, myself and I...and some nice guy from Colorado!

 Dover Castle was the first place we visited. Of course while we were there good old Mother Nature decided to pour down on us, but we made the most of it. The castle was so beautiful and rustic, definitely nothing like in the Disney princess movies but that is a-okay with me! The castle had so many old underground tunnels and interesting things you could scavenge through, it was very fun!

And then we went on over to Canterbury to see the Cathedral there. We were supposed to take another trip to the White Cliffs of Dover, but due to the excessive amount of rain we had to cancel this from our agenda...what did we get in return? A free pint of alcoholic beverage on Central College. I swear they replace anything bad here with alcohol, but are any of us complaining? NOPE. So we toured the Cathedral, got some great fish and chips and then headed for our free alc. This was the end of a very long, cold and wet day but we got some great sight seeing in and lots of picture taking!

So what is on my schedule for this week? Well folks this is the week! Yes, I will be heading back home to the great USA for a short visit with friends, lots of catch-up with family and oh the main reason? MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING! You know there will be tons of blogging about that. And then what after I return to the UK? One day in London and FIVE in ITALY!!! Get ready for some master blogging about some of the best experiences of my life. Buckle your seat belts and hold on tight to your mouse because I am about to take on the world...as if I haven't been already! Thanks for reading this cheesy thing.

Love you all.
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

Third Times The Charm.

So yes I went to Paris this weekend...wait did you read that right? YES I WENT TO PARIS THIS WEEKEND!! But lets just rewind to the morning of Thursday...departure day. I went to class like normal and that lasted to 1:00 then I ran a few errands, had to mail a few letters and grab some snacks for the big trip. Finally I ventured back to Woburn to finish preparing for the 9 hour bus ride that was waiting for me that night. So I get to the door, get out my card and scan myself into the building. Walking past the front desk I looked straight ahead at the table that sits right in front of the stairs and I mentally noted that the girl sitting at the table was FOR SURE American. (Our program director always tells us that he can recognize Americans from a mile away, I'm starting to understand what he means, its a sixth sense). Then reality hit me in the face when I realized the American looking girl sitting at the table was a girl named Ciera that goes to CENTRAL. Then I really started putting the pieces together when it hit me again, she is studying in Wales this semester, the same program that one of my good friends Shannon is in, so what did I do? Look over to see who she was sitting at the table with. Yep. I look and guess who I saw? SHANNON COULSON! Yes. I screamed! And then she screamed, and then I screamed again and she did and this happened back and forth with a lot of hugging for a solid seven minutes! Then there were tears and more hugging and more screaming...basically people walking by were thinking "damn Americans." But it was so so so so amazing!! So we talked and talked and looked into each others eyes and talked some more and then later on had a cheeseburger and shake and talked some more! Then I handed over my room key to her and a friend so they could have a free stay in a full furnished room...I mean what hotel comes with two beds, sheets, towels (okay hotels have that stuff), two closets full of clothes, lap tops and best thing for London...RAIN COATS! They landed a good one huh? Yep!! And off to the bus station we went...Paris bound and super giddy! I mean seeing a dear friend and heading to Paris, what more could a girl want? Well I am about to tell you what I got!!

So just to put our trip in perspective...we left London on Thursday night at 9:30 and would arrive in Paris on Friday morning at 7:30. But how would we get there? Yep here is the kicker folks. We rode the bus for three hours, got woken up to go through customs, then another hour, then woken up to board a ferry for another hour and then back to the bus for another four hours to Paris. The ferry? Pretty darn sweet, until my head met the table and I was out cold! What about customs you ask? Well let me just tell you according to the people of customs and everyone in France and England Mallory Danielle Schulenberg of the United States never entered or left France...yep I was the only one without a stamp or paperwork either way. Yikes! No idea how this happened, but it did. Below is a picture of myself in the ferry and then the nice MegaBus we took. Seriously first class folks!

 Kind of reminded me of a cruise ship...or I guess a giant bus holder in the water which was what it was in reality!

This picture was taken at approximately 7:50 in the morning right after a ten minute giggle fest because we were in PARIS!! So what did we do when we got there?

DAY 1:
We arrived in Paris and like I said, had a giant giggle fest...we even saw a moving building. See the thing is, is that we all thought the building was moving and it was really funny when we got there, probably because we were so sleep deprived! So we decided to venture towards our hostel...that was a little over a hour of a walk. Well we had to start somewhere, so we did. Reading the maps that appeared every now and then we thought we knew what was going on, so we walked and walked and walked some more. Then we ran into this beauty:

In case you aren't familiar with this marvelous thing, it is the Arc de Triomphe. Have you ever watched the Tour de France? Yep light bulb, that's where you saw it! So we took some pictures here! And then kept walking to our hostel. Well we walked for another hour or so when we finally gave up, we were going the completely wrong way and were giving up. Like giving up to the point of making a group decision we would pitch in for a Taxi. So me being me decided to hail the Taxi for the group. It was cake. I got the dude and he pulled over and we showed him the address of where we needed to go, then it happened...he put the car into drive and sped off, no words, nothing, just left us! Hmmmm, okay? So I got another, showed him where and we got a little further, he asked how many. So I told him we had four girls, and yep it happened again, the car went into drive and sped off. And that is when we made the group choice to become Canadian for the weekend....and get Starbucks. We got Starbucks and a two day Metro pass because we were done with the mean taxis and worthless walking.

 After finding our hostel we ventured over to Notre Dame to see the beautiful place and all it had to offer, it was so amazing and worth all the sleep deprivation and walking that we had done.

 We also went to the Bridge of Secrets. This is a bridge that people bring locks to and lock their love (or whatever they want) onto it, then throw the key over into the canal. It was so fantastic and awesome to read all of the locks that had been put on there in the past.

 And we spotted the Eiffel Tower...just slightly, but we promised ourselves that we would go back later after we ate dinner. So we found a little Italian restaurant and had some dinner. That is when we decided that we were way too tired and nasty to go back and take pictures in that state of mind, so we waited until later on in the night.

We checked into our hostel and took a nice nap until our tour guide showed up to take us around Paris. Brandon is a guy from Central who is studying in Paris so he met us to show us a few of his favorite spots in Paris and hang out for a bit. And he took us to the Sacred Heart Basilica which is the highest spot in Paris, yep pretty much the most beautiful view in the world! Pictures: oh and by the way, we had to walk a ton of stairs to get to the top, yes we are getting our conditioning in but just in case we aren't, we walk millions of stairs a day!

 And after we did all of the walking and touring, we went back to the Eiffel Tower again, but just wait the third time we went is the money maker! Oh and this picture is sparkly in case you were wondering! The Eiffel Tower sparkles for ten minutes on every hour...this was at 8:00pm!

And we said goodbye to our great friend and amazing host for the night, he was awesome and we could really tell that he loves the place! Paris is perfect for him! Off to bed for us, since we never really even slept the day before!

DAY 2:
We woke up, ate and off to the Eiffel Tower. Gotta be first in line for pictures...too bad everyone in Paris goes to the Eiffel Tower every single day!! Here are some of mine:

What do you do when you are in France? Take millions of pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower! Well we did that and then some. Yes the last one is me having a romantic kiss in front of the most romantic piece of art in the world...with myself!! After that we ventured over to see the Moulin Rouge Windmill, home of the can-can dance. Then to the Luve where we didn't actually see Mona Lisa but were in the presence of her home! Good enough right? Day two went a lot quicker than day one but overall the trip was brilliant! Would I go back? Maybe not, but it was way worth the weekend trip! I don't want to spend another weekend pretending to be from Alberta, Canada in my life. I'm proud to be an American and I will flaunt it so take that Frenchies!!! Okay well that was it, Paris came and went and we experienced much more than I can put into words. There are some pretty hilarious stories that can be told in person, but for the record...I spent enough time in front of the Eiffel Tower for all of you out there reading!

Love you all.
XOXO
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

Is This Real Life?

I am posting to let you all know that my life has officially turned into a fairy-tale. Tomorrow (Thursday, October 3, 2013) I will fall asleep in London, on a bus in case you were wondering, and wake up on Friday in...wait for it...PARIS!!! Yes folks it's really happening! I might have already planned to visit the Eiffel Tower at every hour of the day. I mean don't judge me, I want as many pictures in front of it as possible and duh I need different angles of the sunlight! Yes I am excited to say the least. I will be roaming the land of love and dreaming about love, love and more love! I also have very high expectations that I will meet a random and super weird dude with black hair who will be wearing a white button down and red art hat with a super super super French mustache and the only words he will say? Bonjour! Yep. Okay I am totally being a tourist but hey that's my job right? Totally! Anyways I am going to Paris and am ecstatic about it but am done rubbing it in...for now, once the trip is over all bets are off!

So how did I focus throughout this week knowing that Paris was waiting for me? I DIDN'T! This week at my internship and class was a bit of a struggle but I made it through. I had a lot of work again at the DBA but continue to learn more and more each day and got invited to my very first event next Tuesday as part of the staff! Eeeeeek! So there's that and let me tell you about another experience we had here in lovely London. We (my three teammates and I) were able to get ourselves kicked out of yet another area in which we visioned ourselves throwing and (them) hitting this semester. Yep. The perfect place, about 45 seconds from our room doors and still on the property of Woburn Place was turned to mush in less than two hours. (Let me paint a picture for you...this is right out the back door of our student lounge, through the designated smoking section, up a small flight of stairs and right there! Down from this glorious location? The rubbish area. Yes our brilliant and new softball field was a tunnel surrounded by brick walls and cement, to the right was a fence and above the "tunnel-like" strip sat an overhead of glass. Perfect location right? Well at least I couldn't throw any wild pitches! They would kill something.) Here's what happened...we headed out to this new location that Paige and I discovered one Wednesday when we were throwing. This was yesterday evening after we all had a long day at our internships, what better to soothe stress than some nice catch and pitching with three teammates? So out we go and things were rolling great until it happened. A ball flew over the brick wall in slow motion, it was like one of those shit is this really happening? moments. But then nothing happened! We were good! So Kallie went to retrieve the ball while I began to pitch to Paige. After a solid 40 minutes of pitching our world came crashing down. Out came one of the front desk girls and in went us, gloves and all. Apparently there had been noise complaints from students living in Woburn Place. Now my argument? Who complains about noise at 6:00pm? LAME-Os!!! So our next attempt? Regent's Park where we know that ball play is acceptable! Wish us luck!

Okay well I need to go finish packing for PARIS!!! Love you all and thanks for reading, hope you are as excited to hear about Paris as I am to live through it.

The Site-Seeing Softball Player

Eye Love Ben

Well it's been a while since I last documented my life so I figured I should update you all on what I have been doing that is more important than sitting at my computer and blogging about my every move in London. My internship is still going great and I am getting more and more responsibilities with that, they even let me proof read important documents...I know scary right? The girls that I work with are just so cute and bubbly in their own ways and I love being around them, it gives me a great idea of what actually working in London would be like...fantastic! But I still haven't been convinced that is it great enough to move here forever, you're welcome mom and dad (and B). By the end of Tuesday I think it was a general feeling that everyone in the program had worked so hard during our two day work week (pathetic I know) we all needed to grab a drink or two. But wait! We had something much more important to do before alcohol could enter the picture. I'm not sure if any of you have ridden a ferris wheel or ever seen one? But I experienced a ferris wheel on drugs!! Yes folks I am referring to The London Eye!! 438 feet (give or take) high of pure beauty and a little bit of body odor. Yep. I got stuck inside of a box for forty-five minutes with a dude who could have used a few sticks of deodorant to put a dent in what was steaming from his arm pits! But the ride? SO.MUCH.FUN. The best part of the whole thing was snapping billions of pictures of good old Big Ben! I think that might be the main reason people ride the darn thing, to take pictures and pictures and more pictures. Actually I think that is the sole reason that people do most things in London, so they can take a picture and post it and tell everyone that they were there, I mean I do the same thing! So let me show you a few pictures that I took when I rode the Eye!

 This was the Eye when we approached it from a distance, so so so pretty! Doesn't look as big as it actually is trust me. The box things that people ride in have two benches and fit up to like 20 people!

 A night shot of the one and only Ben himself. Which just in case you were wondering because many people (Londoners included) don't even know that neither the tower or the clock are Ben. Big Ben is actually the name of the bell that is inside of the thing, so technically nobody has seen Big Ben, or at least I haven't, I'm not going up in there!

 And yet another snap of Big Ben, just this time it has me in it too! BONUS. This was captured after a long day of internshiip, walking, tubing through London to find the Eye and scarfing some McDs on the way to the Eye-so don't judge my messy pony and glasses!

So what about the rest of the week? Wouldn't you want to know! Well folks I am about to tell you about a week/weekend that will go down in history as one of my favorites while in London! I hosted my first visitor this weekend and it was the best thing in the world. Who might this visitor be? Well it was (traveling all the way from Kansas City!) Miss Mary Carnes...eldest sister of my very favorite Sarah Carnes!! Okay, she is studying in Ireland but it was still pretty cool to have a visitor from home and we did EVERYTHING! Saying as the trip began with us planning MY trip to Ireland in December, we seriously had the world at our fingertips and we took full advantage!! Let me just explain this weekend in a nutshell via pictures because who doesn't love seeing pictures of two girls wondering around London?!

 We went to a place called Drink Shop Do which was recommended by the Sarah Carnes. This place was adorable, you could literally drink, shop and do! Well I am still a little curious as to what the doing was but the drinking and shopping was brilliant. Above and below is my hot chocolate that was magnificent and so so so rich! I loved it and yes that came with a little refill mug thing! It was so perfect. The best picture ever!

 After that we ventured to the fabulous Buckingham Palace! Yes we braved the crowds on a Friday morning for the changing of the guard. Just a suggestion, when people who have been there before tell you to get there at 10...THEY AREN'T KIDDING. We got there around 10:15 and it didn't begin until 11:30, yes we should have been there at 9:30. But we made our way to the front with our American ways and saw the whole thing up close and personal with all of the other tourists. No joke I guarantee that at least 3/4 of the people were non-Londoners! But the changing was really cool, I mean it took them forever to change out the poor guy but it happened and we witnessed it all.

 Above is the dude getting changed out after a 30 minute ceremony leading up to it. And then we followed them as they walked out and (below) I got a picture with the guards! Does anybody wonder how they keep the hats on their heads? Because that is all I could think about the whole time I watched! Also the hats are NOT the same size, some are shorter and fatter while others are skinny and tall. It's so strange. I think I could write a report on the guards and their lives! Probably not, I'm just rambling about nonsense because I am SO HAPPY!!

 And then we got a picture of the whole scene! Like just stare at it for a minute...pure beauty! Just ignore that I am taking up a chunk of the building but seriously such a pretty picture. If only the little, baby, perfection in a blanket of George was actually in that building it would be a million times better BUT I will just pretend that he is!

 Then we stumbled across the St.James Place and the fabulous guards that we harassed for quite some time. We realized that you can no longer get close enough to take a picture next to a guard so we had to stand there for a while and time it so that we could have a picture right next to the guards! It was quite a rush and super fun to plan out, everyone around us was cracking up at us but totally worth it! And then we accidentally ran right into the horses changing of the guard! We waited forever to see the human changing of the guard and then literally almost got ran over by the horses while they were changing! It was great. So we took a picture with the guy guard the horse stables and the whole dealio!

 After a bunch of Royal business we ventured over to the super touristy sites so that Mary could see what London is all about! So we walked past Parliament and Big Ben and of course saw Westminster Abbey. But needed a better angle on the view for pictures of course. So we crossed through an adorable little park area so we could cross a bridge that pictured the perfect snap! Above we have everything with me photo-shopped into the picture! Just kidding, but that is what it seems to look like huh? And then another picture of what London is all about, Parliament and the ever so famous Ben!

 We hit up Trafalgar Square again and had to be pictured with the famous lions! Then after such a long day of walking we caught the tube and headed back to Russell Square for some food and relaxation. The next morning we hit up some great markets with some decadent food and a few cheap buys! We sat down to enjoy a giant fruit kabob that was smothered in chocolate and candy...DELICIOUS! And then to the Tower Bridge of London! Beauty.

 The Tower Bridge was so beautiful and perfect. Like look at the top picture...now pick your jaw up off the floor because you have to be in awe!! Seriously I should go into the post card business because these pictures will blow people's minds in the states!

So I guess you could say that this weekend was a success! I mean yes it was a complete and utter success in so many ways...best weekend ever! I was the ultimate tour guide even though some of the questions I was not super confident in my answers I was so excited to tour around a great traveler! We had a blast, ate some great food, witnessed some hilarious selfies being taken...speaking of selfies, oh my goodness! People here don't understand that if you own an iPhone you can turn the camera around and see the picture you are taking...better yet you can also ask someone to take it for you! Gosh it was great to see all of them trying though, super great! Okay well there is my weekend in a nutshell and a little extra rambling to go with! I had a great time and still can't believe I am living in London permenantely but it is getting more normal. Thank you for reading if you got this far you are a true fan!!

Until next time (which will be a lot sooner than this I promise) love you all and miss you tons!
The Site-Seeing Softball Player

P.S. I threw this week for all of you softball players/fans out there...in an alley and it was great! Paige caught for me and I would say it was super successful, felt like I was in Kuyper again pitching like nothing changed. Just in case you all were wondering!

Cadbury World-Chocolatey Chaos

Whew! I have finally survived my first self-planned road trip in Europe. Wow does that feel nice to say/hear/read/type. Birmingham, UK was definitely not somewhere I will pin on the map to return...EVER. We left Friday morning from the Victoria Coah Station, a bus station, to head two and a half hours out of town to Birmingham for some chocolately goodness of a weekend. Now when I say we I mean myself and ten other girls who are in my program. Yes I was dumb enough to not only agree to go on a trip with eleven girls included but to PLAN the trip for us girls. Why did I ever think this trip was going to run smoothly? That is a great question! But we all survived...I am still trying to figure out how though. So about the trip? Yes, we got to Birmingham Station around 11:30 on Friday morning and headed to our hostel which was about a thirty minute walk from the station, not so bad after all. (I have already accomplished my goal of going on a trip taking ONLY my backpack. YAY!) Checked into the hostel around 12:15 and began our mad dash to Cadbury World for our tour at 1:30. Cadbury World is located in a neighboring area named Bournville so we hopped onto the train and off to the chocolate heaven we were. Once arriving at the Cadbury World we did a virtual tour of how the company got started and the history behind the "Dairy Milk" chocolate. This tour ended with each of us able to create our very own chocolate creation and then EAT IT!

Yes, this is me with my "creation" of Cadbury chocolate and rice krispies...not too bad actually! The chocolate was unlike anything you could ever dream of tasting, so rich and creamy and warm and tasty and definitely not something that you should eat more than once a year. But I had it twice in one day...OOPS. No worries, the tour was so long that I definitely walked off all of the free samples I had during it, which was quite a few! The tour was three hours of chocolate perfumed rooms filled with Cadbury history and goodness, we even got to go on a little ride/tour of some more history about how the chocolate beans were and still are made.

That is myself, Karlee and Jess on our ride through the chocolate bean world. After the ride, chocolate drawing, picture rooms and more tasting we made our way to the souvenir/chocolate shop. BAD IDEA. As the guy at the register said when we were checking out, "Yeah. Chocolate is cheap here." Well if chocolate is cheap why not buy some?! I got three different kinds to take back with me which were Whole Nut, Nutty Caramel and Toffee Popcorn. I may have nibbled a bite out of each already, just to test whether or not they were worth the 1.50 pounds I paid for each! But surprisingly chocolate alone was not enough to fill our empty bellies up for the day, so back to Birmingham we went for some real food. There we ate at the Handmade Burger place that had all organic and fresh ingredients for any item on their menu. It was so delicious and just what each of us needed after a long day of travel and chocolate binging. When we finally made it back to our hostel we joined in on a free pub crawl to a few local pubs and had a marvelous night sleep in beds that were arguably more comfortable than our own back at Woburn.

We had two rooms with six beds each and a HUGE bathroom per room, it felt like paradise for a night. The next day was awfully different for me to say the least. I woke up and showered for the day. After eating breakfast at the hostel and checking out for a day of touring backpackers style we were off to explore Birmingham first hand. A few hours into our day I was suddenly feeling very under the weather, deciding to sit out in a coffee shop to sip on some water and relax. I still have no clue what I ate that made my body this upset, but I was down for the count. My body was not willing to cooperate whatsoever, so I ended up catching a much earlier bus ride back to London alone to get home and sleep this bug off. The funny thing about the bus ride? I was literally the only white person on the bus and couldn't tell you the ethnicities of some of these people...lets just say when I fell asleep on that ride I was clenching my purse hard in my arms! I arrived back to Woburn at about 5:45 Saturday night, took a hot shower and slept straight until 9:30 this morning. Birmingham wanted to make sure I never came back and they succeeded.

After sleeping "it" off for 15 hours I felt great and ready to go! Today I have made it to a nice market in Camden Town and am off to buy some groceries for the week. This week I have a lot on the schedule and can't wait to tell you all about it, detail for detail. Until then, stay American and enjoy your week! Love you all and can't wait to see your beautiful faces when I do!

The Site-Seeing Softball Player

P.S. Here are a few more pictures from the weekend, mainly for Dad and Kelsey since they don't have the luxury of facebook creeping!

 A giant chocolate bar! And some of the many other candy bars to choose from at the candy store!

 I got to write my name in chocolate! And then eat some of that chocolate which was DELICIOUS!

The whole group for the weekend, 11 girls out wandering the factory of fantastic and decadent chocolate!