kate middleton's dress and van morrison

...and everything in between. It has been 20 days since my last post. I know I said I was the worst blogger a few weeks ago...well now I really am...I am sure I have lost some followings in the past 20 days but I know I can make a comeback so here goes...

Since my last post, life in Oxford had been crazy. Clearly, crazy enough for me to be unable to blog for my ever so loyal followers.  I went on several pub crawls, wrote history papers and ventured to London to see Kate Middleton's dress. Needless to say, I have been living the life for the past three weeks.

Disclaimer: neither my brother nor my dad are in Europe with me
...although i WISH they were

The Friday after we returned from Dublin, we had an all day excursion to the Globe Theatre in London.  The production of Much Ado About Nothing was not due to start until around 2 pm that day. So, instead of sleep until 8:30, a small group of us decided to head to London early to tour the Buckingham Palace state rooms and the exclusive showing of Kate Middleton's beautiful wedding dress.  This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for many people mostly because the dress was only being shown until October 3.  We saw the dress on a scheduled tour at 9:30 am.  The dress was being kept in a net casing in a huge ballroom so the humongous room made Kate Middleton's 0 waist size look like it was made for my barbie doll. However, it was still beautiful and they played little recaps of the wedding throughout the ballroom. 

Liz Mason...this is for you!

Lizzie and I at the concert

Ok...so let's fast forward a few weeks to Colston Hall in Bristol, England. It was a 2 hour train trip each way to see the best concert ever. I went to a Van Morrison concert, it was absolutely amazing. He sung for 90 minutes straight and he started off with Moondance and ended with Gloria. It was the greatest concert I have ever been to and Lizzie, Caitlin and I had a great time. I was expecting him to just walk off the stage 20 minutes into the concert but fortunately he did not. I can't really say enough about the concert but i can confirm that it was a great night and instead of catching the 4 am train back to Oxford we caught the 10:30 pm out of Bristol and back home!

Van the Man!

gettin' lucky in Dublin, Ireland...

snappin' artsy shots with lizzie's camera

Okay...not really, but Lizzie got serenaded to by a bunch of Irish men...I realize I promised I would blog everyday after not blogging for a week and I realize I am already down on my game...so far, i've only missed a day, so we are getting somewhere. This being my second big trip within the Oxford portion of European Studies...it is very necessary to blog about...

After our third High Table dinner, I decided to stay in a write a paper seeing as how our wake up call was coming at 4 AM the next morning...well, were to meet at 4 am so the wake up call was coming at 3:30 am, much too early for me to be a functioning human let alone with a healthy dose of spirits inside of me...we left promptly for London-Heathrow at 4:23 am.  We arrived at Heathrow around 5:45 for our 6:45 departure from London to Dublin, got checked in and OBVIOUSLY got stuck in security because I tried to hide my liquids from them. Let's just say Heathrow is WAY stricter than Raleigh-Durham International Airport...after that 20 minute problem, I walked 10 minutes to the gate. We flew an airline by the name of BMI and there were maybe 4 people other than our group of 30 on the plane and that instantly made me nervous, why did it make me nervous? ask my mom.

our first GUINNESS at 10:30... 

We made it to Dublin at an early 8:05 am and we were lucky enough to go on a BUS TOUR of the city as opposed to a WALKING TOUR...I was rather happy about that choice.  Our first stop came around 10:30 at the GUINNESS FACTORY, nothing like a dark dark beer to wake you up! The museum was really cool and we made our way up to the Gravity Bar which is at the top of the factory/museum.  I had my first guinness which was pretty decent but i won't be ordering another anytime soon...after the museum/factory/guinness drinking we went to Trinity College, located in the center of Dublin City, where we would be staying for the next two nights.  We all had singles and the beds were cozy, I suppose it was good enough. We grabbed a bite to eat at Subway....ugh and then took a nap.




Waking up 2 hours later was a rude awakening...we got ready and headed to a 'smart' restaurant by the name of Dobbins Wine Bar and had a WONDERFUL 3 course meal. I chose a goat cheese and red onion tart, the leg of lamb and then for dessert I chose sticky toffee pudding...not too shabby.  One glass of wine later, dinner was finished and I had to retire to Trinity College for a long night's sleep to be rested for the next day on the city.


After a great night's sleep, we woke up at 11 am and went to the Book of Kells, a 1200 year old illuminated celtic manuscript which is housed in the Trinity College Library. Then, we made our way to the National Gallery of Ireland and saw some Caravaggio and van Gogh. So far, I am loving the art on this trip. After the gallery, we walked around Dublin looking for clothes and i did a bit of shopping at H&M, I HAD TO...not too much, just a litttlleeeee bitttt.

COSMOS

That night, we were on our own for dinner so we chose a rather expensive but AMAZING restaurant called FIRE. We dined on very non-authentic Irish food including a meat and cheese plate, moroccan spiced lamb skewers and a goat cheese flatbread and plenty of red wine. It was GREAT. We finished off the meal with 2 cosmos, 1 margarita and 1 weirdo Toblerone drink (cool Meg) and no, those drinks were not all finished by me, just the ONE cosmo. Because we had to split up to go to dinner, we all met back up at the Storehouse in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. We listened to live Irish music and decent covers of American music and then we headed to some club I will forever not know the name of. After a long night on the town it was time to head in because we had a rather early departure from the college in the morning.

Glendalough, Ireland

Our next stop in Ireland was the countryside, Glendalough, it was composed of 2 lakes and a monastic village. It was raining and sort of unpleasant but I enjoyed it for the most part. After walking around in the rain for an hour, we headed to a beautiful hotel and had ANOTHER 3 course meal consisting of cream of vegetable soup, spinach and goat cheese tortellini and finishing with Bailey's cheesecake, needless to say we ate pretty well in Ireland, surprisingly enough. After lunch we had one more stop. The Powerscourt House and Garden, a home that burned to the ground after a renovation by the Slazenger family.  A while back, the house was bought by Ritz Carlton and they transformed it into a resort with shops and a beautiful botanic garden. The sun came out and we romped around the garden for awhile before we had to get back 
on the bus to the airport.

Obviously, our flight was delayed...I cannot remember the last time I travelled and my flight home was NOT delayed...better luck next time?? Oh and I had to eat Burger King for dinner...never again.  All in all, Dublin was a success--minus the BK.

the end of a great weekend!

yes, yes--i know...

I am still the worst blogger ever. It's been almost a week and a half since my last post and I have been to TWO different places to which I had to fly...laying in bed last night, I vowed that I would not let a day go by that I do not post (unless I don't have internet).  Even if I have absolutely nothing to blog about, I WILL write something...Like I said before, I have been to two places in the last week, I am only going to blog about one for two reasons...1) i have only uploaded pictures from one trip and 2) i need something to blog about tomorrow...so here goes...

alleghany alums in Madrid! 

sangria in the Plaza Mayor

Last Friday morning, after a night out, I got up at 5:30 and walked in the rain with a suitcase to the bus station.  After a short bus ride to London-Heathrow, I hopped off the bus and immediately got sick due to a bit of "motion sickness" WHAT A WAY TO START OFF AN INTERNATIONAL TRIP, AM I RIGHT? After recovering from this incident, it was time for the next one, go to security and my friend Ben the TSA officer thought it would be fun to a) pat me down and b) take EVERYTHING out of my bag only to re-scan my duffle bag, one shoe and my underwear...Ben...i have a question for you...WHAT WERE YOU LOOKING FOR?? After getting through security hell, everything started to look up. I grabbed some ben and jerry's from a vending machine and I was on my way to the gate.  The flight was hassle free, a bit bumpy but nothing I can't handle.  (Oh by the way, I didn't tell you...my final destination was MADRID) Arriving in Madrid, we did not check bags (which is GREAT by the way) my cousin came to pick us up at the airport.  We taxied into the riving metropolis that is Madrid, checked into our hotel and immediately asked to be pointed in the direction of a restaurant.  We chose a spot by the name of 'The Cheese Bar'--hmmm.  We split a cheese plate and I had a pizza...yummm. 

HAM and red wine!!!

Because we were so exhausted we proceeded to our hotel. Attempted to take a siesta and then got ready to embark on a LATE LATE night. The spanish eat lunch at 3 pm and then dinner anywhere from 10-12:00 at night. Much too late for my liking but I was determined to give it a try.  We met my cousin for dinner at a tapas restaurant called Mercado de la Reina.  We drank red wine and ate lots and lots of cured ham. It was a perfect dinner, we left the restaurant somewhere between the hours of 12:30 and 1 am...we gathered for more drinks and then finished the night at a club/bar, we danced to american music and darted past the smelly european men.  It was the perfect spanish night, granted we came in at 3 am and things were JUST getting started. We all felt pretty lame.

Javi, Dorsey (my cousin) and I at post-dinner cocktails

  

Spanish like to go out late but they also like to sleep in, which I am okay with. We slept to a leisurely 12 pm but only because I set my alarm to 11 am and forgot about the one hour time difference. We ate breakfast, they eat ham and tomatoes for breakfast...after breakfast, I mastered the metro station of Madrid. It's like a puzzle, you get to figure out where to get off, how to switch lines...it's SO fun, and I am not even joking.  We took the metro to the Grand Via where we went shopping until our 3:30 lunch reservation at La Barraca where we had paella.  Paella is a traditional spanish dish made with rice and meat and usually seafood like prawns, crawfish, etc. It was SO good, that was the recurring theme of the trip, "THAT MEAL WAS SOOO GOOD." After that fabulous lunch, we made our way down to the Prado where we saw Velázquez's Las Meninas and Ruben's 'Rape of Europa' (which is one of my favorites) The Prado is a fabulous museum and it's beautiful but rather overwhelming and we only gave ourselves about an hour which is not nearly enough time to cover enough ground to be satisfied in the Prado.  I'll need at least 10 more trips to be truly satisfied.  After our trip the Prado we got back on the metro and stopped at a place for churros.  Churros are long cinnamon sticks that are dipped in chocolate. Mmmm, yummm.  

mastering the metro station!!

paella..with crawfish, mussels and prawns...yummm

playing with my food...

We started getting ready for our next night out.  We went to dinner around 10:30 pm at a place called Lateral.  We sat downstairs in a corner and it took 5 minutes for us to be seated and about 45 minutes for a waiter to take our order...Europe neeeeeds to start tipping because I am getting frustrated because I need to set aside at least 2 hours for meals.  Nonetheless, I was surrounded by close friends and good food so by the end of dinner everyone was happy.  And because no one over here has heard of split checks, we all just threw in our credit cards and made it easy.  We ventured to another place for drinks where I ordered a yummy mojito. Unfortunately, I was feeling a bit under the weather so I was forced to turn in early but for the most part I think I experienced Madrid in a big way.  On Sunday we made our way to the Museo Reina Sofia where we saw Picasso's "Guernica" which is truly awesome. It's HUGE and next to the exhibit there is a montage of photos that shows the transformation of the painting.  We also saw some Dali.  We met my cousin for lunch at a pizza place, we were about to overdose on ham and cheese. After lunch we made our way to the last museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza where I saw works by Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Fra Angelico, Kirchner, Dix and Degas.  A wide variety of paintings throughout a broad span of time.  

churros dipped in chocolate sauce...

tapas dinner on saturday!

We made it to the airport and naturally our flight was delayed. We missed our bus back to Oxford so we payed 80 GBP for a cab back to Lincoln...all in all, it was a fabulous trip!! 

I am going to back up a little bit to show everyone a few pictures from our 2nd High Table and our Pimm's reception with Dr. Catto! Better late than never, right? 

worst blogger ever....

Clearly it has been a while since my last post...sorry to all of my diligent followers. I am sure you all have a sinking feeling in your hearts when you see I have yet to post the newest update in my life across the pond and for that I am genuinely apologetic. Forgive me? 

Anyway...Oxford is actually the greatest place in the world. It's bustling with people all the time and there is always something to do, plus the drinking age being 18 isn't so bad either.  I've been drinking like an adult, ie: i went to a pub after dinner and had an "after dinner drink"--pretty sophisticated if you ask me...A few days ago, I got a fish pedicure...what is a fish pedicure?? it's when these tiny fish EAT THE DEAD SKIN OFF OF YOUR FEET...obviously i had to try it!! It was the weirdest feeling and looking back at it now, I am kind of grossed out, but I suppose it was an experience...did i mention it took place in the middle of a mall?? similar to a Claire's ear piercing...Life has been progressing nicely in Oxford, finally falling into a routine and realizing I am here to learn and study...

little fishies sucking on my feet...SICK

Front of "The Eagle and Child"

I recently bought a black and white poster entitled 'The Definitive Oxford Pub Crawl'--it displays the 68 "definitive" pubs of Oxford that every person coming through Oxford should have a drink or five in...So far I have been to six of them, i've got a long way to go.  Last Saturday, we decided to go on a pub crawl.  We originally had planned to go to 11 pubs, we really went to three...Many of the "definitive" pubs in Oxford have a long history to them and many were established as early as the 17th century.  We went to one pub called "The Eagle and Child"--it's claim to fame is that it was where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and other literary figures met to discuss a range of topics...needless to say, this particular pub has a good amount of history within it's walls...

the crawling group in front of "the Eagle and Child"

I can't believe we already halfway into our first three week session at Lincoln College in Oxford...time flies when you are having fun at school!! Celebrity news...our friends saw Emma Watson at Ben's Cookies...very jealous, i must keep my eyes peeled at all times in case this opportunity arises again, i do NOT want to miss it...she is studying a short a walk away from Lincoln, so i may stalk...

My next adventure begins on Friday morning at 6 am on a bus to Heathrow Airport, I am traveling to Madrid, Spain so I will be much more dedicated to posting when I have more pictures to post...Tomorrow night is the 2nd High Table...then out to the clubs, i suppose??

picture from first High Table...little bear and me.

ARRIVED IN OXFORD!!

the view from my window at college

Finally out of the ruins that are Durham, England and on to Oxford, already I know it is the greatest place in the world and I am really in for a treat for the next 6 weeks.  We arrived on Sunday afternoon after a loooooong bus ride from Durham.  The trip was not complete without a trip to Malfoy Manor aka Hardwick Hall...

We had a guided tour of all of Oxford and we went to several places where Harry Potter was filmed. pretty neat! then we had a great lunch...there is no comparison between the food in Durham and the food at Lincoln College, finally a well balanced meal!!! Our first High Table was last night...(the faculty sits at a 'high table' like where Dumbledore chills...) and plenty of us were overserved (not important) we ventured on into the bustling nightlife that is Oxford (ON A MONDAY-the club was poppin'--very scared to see it on a Friday) our destination was a club/bar called The Bridge...we danced and had a fabulous time...

harry potter set...

first High Table

Then reality sank in and we got up for classes...but who really wants to hear about that??? All in all, the classes are going to be great! gotta get back in the swing of things and remember i am in SCHOOL. weird.

to SUM it all up, i know i am in for a real treat and i can't wait to share my adventures with everyone!

breakin' it down in the club with some
british guy...just kidding--it's just Duds

livin' in Bede's world...again.

This is Bede working hard on his Ecclesiastical
History of the English people

We are nearing the end of our stay in Durham, England...as charming as the town is, we all might be ready to get to Oxford. Today we took a tour of the Durham Cathedral and then the treasury of the Cathedral.  We even saw Bede's remains...you'll remember Bede from the ever so exciting Bede's World.  After the Cathedral we went to Pizza Express.  Disclaimer: There is nothing 'express' about Pizza Express.  Following lunch, I'm not completely sure where we were or what we talked about, medieval defense maybe?? Sorry for the foggy memory--even though it happened today.  On another note, the dinner tonight was much improved, we had pasta which is pretty difficult to mess up.  Now we are off to yet another seminar on the VENERABLE BEDE...  

knockin' on the door to Durham Cathedral

recognize this? harry potter hallway...just call me hermione

lovin' durham!

Durham...

Durham Cathedral

Our new home (for the week) is Durham...no, not Durham, North Carolina.  It's a small town in north eastern England and it is centered around the University of Durham and the beautiful Durham Cathedral. Now, Durham is beautiful but everything closes at 5 pm...literally everything shuts down...it's a ghost town, i feel like i'm back in Pinehurst.  We started the week off with a tour of Saint Mary's College which is part of the University of Durham, and then we trekked into town.  It really is beautiful and extremely charming.  However, the food is less than welcoming. Our first night the meal was mushroom stroganoff and i opted for that...i HATE mushrooms but it was the most appetizing thing on the menu....that's saying a lot. 

mmmm....yum--mushroom stroganoff and peas...

on Hadrian's Wall, pretty NEAT!!

Durham is a time before Oxford where are travel around Northern England going from place to place having to do with British and European history.  It's loads of fun, starting at 8:30 am and ending at 5:30 pm...in other words long long days.  My personal favorite excursion was to Hadrian's Wall, separating the Roman Empire from the Barbarians...

Charlotte and I at the beach...

Around Durham we have been spending a lot of time at the beach and in castles... actually not in...

but around. And then we have gourmet awful 

packed lunches everyday. Since I am pretty behind on blogging about Durham, after our excursion to Hadrian's Wall we went to a place called Bede's World, sounds like an amusement park, am i right? Well, it's not...Bede is a monk...BUT Bede's World did have a petting zoo with 12th century animals in it...so that was also neat...

That's all for now...Durham's nightlife isn't much to brag about but we will be gracing the doors of the Love Shack tomorrow night, so more on that tomorrow...

lovin' sheep in England...and my fur boots...

they love their royals...LIZ MASON this is my dedication to you

havin'  rockin' time at Bede's World

more rockin' times at Bede's World

cowhead cow with a bucket on his head at Bede's World...hehe

nachos

my first meal in Europe was nachos...gross...i've learned my lesson about nachos--they are NOT good in the EU or the UK...the sour cream is weird...i just had to update the states on that...

nachos are NOT a delicacy of Scotland or anywhere that I will be touring in the upcoming months... 

XO