Catch up day...

Ok so we have been out of internet since Saturday, so I have a bit of cathcing up to do. I wrote what I would have posted in a word document and then I am cutting and pasteing them in order. Here you go...

Fabulous Saturday...July 12, 2008

So I decided that today would be a day of things I wanted to do and I would just go off and do them by myself and enjoy the lovely day!! I slept in as long as I could…which was about 1030…and got up and ate breakfast and just messed around awhile on the internet checking emails and booking my Eurostar ticket to Paris. Finally Ii decided to get in the shower and make my way into London! My original plan was to go to Madame Tussauds, but when I got there the queue 2 hours long. I decided that waiting for 2 hours to pay 20 pounds was not in my best interest so I decided to wander around the theatre district and see what was on for shows that evening. I wandered into the Avenue Q box office and asked the people there about tickets for the 5pm showing. I had found out earlier in the week that there were 10 pound tickets available with a restricted view but the guy told me that it wasn’t worth it because the view was rubbish. I asked him what the next cheapest tickets were and he said there were seats in the back row of the upper balcony for 20 pounds. But then he stopped himself and asked me if I was a student and then proceeded to tell me about the student deal they have. For students they offer a flat rate of 20 pounds for the best seat available in the house that night. Well it just so happened that front row center of the royal balcony was free for one seat, and it took me less than 1 second to jump on that! Those tickets are normally 55 or 60 pounds! What a DEAL! Anyways, I poked around the west end and decided to head over to the National Gallery. I saw some amazing paintings by DaVinci, Van Gogh, and Michelangelo. My favorite though was one by DaVinci, and I must have stood and stared at it for at least 20 minutes studying its every detail. It was just a simple sketching but it was so captivating. When I got up close to it, I realized that it was just a piece of canvas or paper that they had to slip into a frame for protection but the crude edges could still be seen within the frame. I illegally took a picture of it because I didn’t realize there was no photography until after I took the picture. Oh well, I didn’t take anymore.

After that I kicked it around the west end until 430, when I made my way to the theatre to get my seat. I talked to the guy in the seat next to me for a while who was also by himself. He is a member of the Royal Navy and was from Liverpool, which meant that his accent was so thick that I could barely understand him. Quib is a slang word for pound, and he actually called me a Yank! Anyway, the show was absolutely amazing! It was the first time that I had nothing negative to say about any of the actors’ talent. They were all absolutely outstanding and I would have to say that it was one of the best musicals I have ever seen in my entire life. I can’t wait to see another show again. I am hoping to see Phantom of the Opera!!

Well after that, I made my way back to my flat and had a Mexican fiesta with Rachel, Rachel, Sammy, and Sue. It was delicious! Oh how I miss Mexican food! Anyways, we just sat around and played cards, listened to music and chatted, and then headed off to bed because I have to get up kind of early to pick up Oscar at Liverpool Street train station tomorrow morning at 9am! Silly kid couldn’t wait to get here so he is leaving Sweden at 6 in the morning!! I am very excited to see him though!

Until Next Time, Cheers!

xoxo Jackie



Oscar is here...July 13, 2008

Today I woke up very early to meet Oscar at the train station! I actually left the first time without my cell phone, which I needed when he got here. So I ran back home and then ended up running to the train station to catch the train or I would have to wait another 20 minutes! I made it just as the doors were about to close…phew!!

It was so wonderful to see his smiling face though! I guess I kind of missed him a little bit…When he got there we bought him a train ticket for the week and headed back home to Surbiton! Unfortunately, the lady gave us the wrong ticket which was only good in Zones 1 and 2, and I live in Zone 6! We will sort it out tomorrow! We stopped at the grocery store because I had no food left in the fridge besides 2 slices of bread, some cereal and some peanut butter and jelly! We went home and crashed! I guess getting up at 3am makes a young lad tired! Same with a young lady getting up at 7am I guess. We woke up around 2 and decided to go for a walk to Kingston along the Thames. We walked around a bit and found a Kebab place and got 2 Kebabs and sat outside and had a little picnic. We found our way back to the river and took a little break to sit on the benches by the river and relax. There was actually a rowing competition going on while we were there so we had some free entertainment! Man can those kids move those boats fast! We walked back home and are just hanging out and waiting to make dinner a bit later! Chicken Fajitas!! Yuuuummmmy! My flatmates and I are starting to make dinners together and it does work out nicely! Maybe I can talk Oscar into making us dinner this week?? He is quite a good cook so I think maybe we should test his skills! Anyways, that’s all for today since the internet is still broken! I can’t even do research for a paper that I have to have done by Tuesday! They said it would be fixed tomorrow though….crossing my fingers! Off to class in the morning…but only a few more days of lecture because I have a four day weekend!! Time sure is flying by!

Cheers,

xoxo Jackie

PS: We ended up playing Plump! For those of you who don’t know it’s a Swedish card game that’s a lot like O Heck. It got pretty intense but it was so much fun!! Oh yeah, and I won, by 5 points over Oscar!! Hehe!!



Stonehenge and Bath Trip...July 15, 2008

Today we got up really early and left for Stonehenge, which is about 2 hours away from London. Once we got there we had about 45 minutes to do our picture taking and walk around the site...but that was pretty much it. Although I am so grateful to have this oppurtunity to see such an immportant piece of history, it was pretty much what I expected and nothing more...all of the pictures you have seen over the years give you a pretty good idea of what it is all about. Unless it had been part of my trip, I don't know if I would have gone because it is very difficult to get too and is pretty expensive once you include transportation and the ticket to get in....none the less it was cool to see and think about how those rocks really did get there.....

After our short visit to Stonehenge, we headed off to Bath, which was another 45 minutes away. On the way there we really started to get into the Roman countryside, which was really breathtaking! I really loved all of the rolling hills and houses built right into them. Once we got there we had 45 minutes to walk around if we wanted and to grab some lunch. Oscar and I wandered around until he found a sandwich place and then we headed back to the Bath Abbey to meet our tour guide. He took us on a walking tour of the city of Bath, and it was by far, the best tour I have been on! the tour guide was very knowledgeable and very funny and could answer every question we had for him. Did you know that Bath is the only place in England with natural hot springs? It comes up at 46 degrees Celcius/ 117 degrees Farenheit, and is still used today in modern bathhouses for medicinal purposes!! cool eh? Our guide took us to the royal cresent were apartments run for up to 5 million pounds for an 8 bedroom apartment ( a one bedroom can set you back a nice 1 million pounds though if you on a budget). He showed us where Nicolas Cage just bought a house, and told us that he was home if the shutters were open...which they were...we didn't bump into him though, shame. He also showed us places that Jane Austen wrote about in her novels such as the gravel road...if anyone knows her work....and also her place of short residence where she wrote her most famous works like Pride and Prejudice. After his tour was over, he dropped us off in front of the Roman Bath Houses. That was SO COOL! I was originally excited about going to Stonehenge but the Roman Baths stole the show. It took Oscar and I over an hour to walk through the site! We ended the tour with a little drink from the baths of the warm mineral water....no, not warm, HOT water. It tasted kind of funky, but the Romans strongly believed that the Baths had a healing power and both rich and poor, healthy and sick, men and women would gather in the Baths. Many believe that the baths were the only palce were class and position and society were left at the door and everyone was the same status. All for a swimming pool!!! :)

anywho, we got home late and made some dinner and headed to bed....it was definalty a LOOONG day, but well worth it. Back to class for 2 more days then its a nice long weekend!! YAY!

Cheers,

xoxo Jackie