"When in Rome"

The girls and I loaded up our backpacks, hopped on a plane and headed to ROMA! With a map in hand and adventure on the mind, we weaved through the streets of Italy and found our weekend landing pad-- Hotel Christina. Sami rang the buzzer... (seemed like the logical thing to do) in a matter of seconds the little speaker was shouting at us in angry Italian telling us to open the door. We decided to avoid the questionable looking elevator and hiked our giant backpacks up the endless spiral staircase. We followed the echo of the still shouting Italian man where we found the reception desk and our room key... fabulous. Oh the room, quite the little gem if you ask me. Someone put a whole lot of effort and even more wallpaper into decorating it. We're all convinced it used to be a dining room at one point in time. It worked out just fine, bunk beds and all! 

Beautiful chandelier right? 

At least the bunk beds match the wall paper 

We spent our days walking around and sightseeing-- we managed to do everything on foot and avoided buying a bus pass, woo go us! We ate endless amounts of pizza and gelato, visited tons of historical sights, and of course took a whole bunch of pictures... enjoy! 

Rome was both beautiful and historic. Surprisingly smaller than I was expecting, but compared to London everywhere seems small. The majority of the locals we encountered struggled with English but they were all pretty determined to carry out a conversation with us... Italian is a much prettier language. 

The weather was in the 70's with lots of much needed sunshine during our daytime adventures. We encountered a big thunder storm the last night of our stay-- it was SO loud! My favorite memory in Rome was taking a bottle of wine (or two) to the Trevi Fountain for some people watching, tossing coins while making wishes, and just loving life. 

Busy Busy!

Time to take a big step back and share what we've been up to the past few weeks! 

Face paint and fútbol! 

Cheering for Chelsea-- they won 5-0 whoop whoop

Took a day trip to Bath where we treated ourselves to a much needed spa day... it was amazing! 

The steam rooms-- cured my sore throat! 

Mineral Pool 

Awesome rooftop heated pool-- my favorite part 

Enjoying our free time at markets and watching street performers... perfect for the weekends! 

Too funny not to share 

We celebrated the spooky holiday on a Halloween boat cruise... what a night! 

Went to the Britney Spears concert!

It's safe to say October was a fun filled month... time is FLYING! 

A little box with a lotta love

After class today on my way out the door, I spotted a package on the reception desk which instantly caught my attention. Even from a few feet away I spotted my mom's handwriting :) I made an overly excited squeal and announced that the package was for me. The man behind the desk imitated my little squeal and handed me the clipboard to sign... holy cow mom this thing was HEAVY! I felt like I was carrying a large baby on my long journey home. I successfully got it onto two underground trains, the bus, up two flights of stairs and finally onto my desk. 

Don't be fooled by it's size... 

My tiny scissors were successful!  

She sure knows her little college student well 

Perfect timing for some airborne, pb&j's, normal Ramen flavors, easy mac, ranch dressing and some chocolate frosting... It's silly the things we crave from home that are impossible to find here. Definitely made my day, thanks Momma!  

A Day at Court

Our adventure to the Hampton Court Palace started off much quicker than we had anticipated. We arrived at the Waterloo train station, purchased our tickets and then quickly asked which platform was ours. The rail station assistant looked at our tickets and then at his watch and said "platform 2 leaves in two minutes, you're going to miss it". These trains wait for no one and leave on the dot. The three of us broke into a dead sprint to the opposite end of the station headed for platform 2. The second we approached the doors the train started to whistle, we jumped in, the doors closed and we were off! After we caught our breath and stopped laughing, we found our seats and ventured out of the city and into Hampton Court.

The Hampton Court Palace was home to the legendary King Henry VIII. Besides his six marriages, he is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. A Palace known for famous scandals, fascinating royalty and preserved history... we had to see it for ourselves!  

King Henry VIII's numerous attempts of producing a male heir 

Anne Boleyn- ended the marriage between the King and  the well loved Queen Catherine 

Enjoyably lost in the famous Maze 

The Palace is absolutely GIGANTIC! There is so much to look at, read about and admire. The outdoor gardens were equally as stunning as the detailed interiors. We were lucky enough to have clear weather to walk around and enjoy the beautiful gardens, 60 acres to be exact! As we passed through King Henry's royal kitchens, we stopped for our first 'afternoon tea' it was simply scrumptious! We then tested our sense of memory and direction in the magnificent Maze which originated in the late 17th century. 

The Hampton Court Palace housed a number of celebrated royal families along with centuries of history and memorable events of England. Spending a 'day at court' was a lovely learning experience for all! 

Fun Little Facts

We've been here for a week already, time is flying by! We're starting to pick up on how they do things around here (slowly but surely) we are on our way to becoming "Londoners". Here are a few things I've noticed that are new to me...

-They walk A LOT. Not at a normal pace either, more like a speed walking marathon tempo. American shoes are definitely not designed for the intensity. I think it's safe to say we'd all kill for a foot rub right about now! 

-Cobblestone should be renamed 'wobblestone' no sympathy for the uncoordinated

I upgraded from my flats & found some versatile tennis shoes
(be sure to notice the shoe size I wear over here, size 39! Ogre feet?) 

-In school the professors are referred to as 'tutors'

-The tutors use swear words on a regular basis, so do the little kids here

-Garbage is called 'litter'

-It's normal and acceptable to leave your litter on the ground 

-The bathroom is known as the 'toilet' direct and to the point 

-'Cheers' is often used for thank you and is also said when greeting/dismissing someone 

-Tips are already included when you receive the bill

-An unpleasant number of people haven't quite committed to deodorant 

-They have no idea what ranch dressing is!

-The majority of the time you 'stay to the left'

-When something is on sale it says it's on 'offer'

-When you want take-out you really want 'takeaway'

-Europeans sound much more sophisticated when they say anything at all

-They have ROYALTY! 

Buckingham Palace! 

-We pay in British Pounds

-According to them, we're the ones with the accents

-The Robert Pattinson hair-do is totally in

-Pretty much everyone here smokes 

-The bars close around 4-6 in the morning 

-Double decker buses are like riding a roller coaster 

Everything is fast paced here, you have to give yourself a minute to take it all in and be sure to appreciate all of the beauty and history around you. 

Well, there's my viewpoint as a 'London Eye' Cheers!