The Terrible Two Invade London!

The woman who birthed me (aka my mama) came to London on Thursday with her friend Pattie!!!! We were counting down the days, minutes, hours until she got here! I was SO excited. They went to Paris for a few days first, and then took the train to London Thursday morning. I met them at the hotel and cried with joy with my mom in the sidewalk because the day had finally came! Their room wasn't quite ready so we quickly began our journey throughout Kensington.

It was absolutely gorgeous outside (didn't even have a jacket!) so we walked down to my dorm, got yummy cupcakes at Buttercup, past the buildings I have class in, made a pit stop in the enormous Whole Foods, and walked through Kensington Gardens. There were people everywhere, walking and laying in the grass. This is rare to see on any given day, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. After walking through the park, we went down past Royal Albert Hall to head back to Gloucester Road for a visit to the pub. Seven hours later, we left and headed back to the hotel......

Friday morning, we got all ready to go to Victoria Train Station to head to Stonehenge only to find that the tickets weren't coming up that we ordered the night before...not in the best state of mind I guess? We later found out that I booked bus tickets, not train tickets...oops! Anyways, we found the hop-on-hop-off bus tour that they signed up for so we took that around and got off at Westminster. They got to see Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, but were a little disappointed that Ben wasn't bigger...sorry guys! haha

We had ordered tickets for the London Eye that day too which was perfect. The views were amazing in daylight and it was the best day to go! We went to McDonald's for lunch of course, since they had to go at some point! They were pleasantly surprised to see Cadbury Egg flavored McFlurrys! We hopped back on the bus that took us to the Tower of London. We walked through that which was nice, stopped by Starbucks for a coffee, and took the tube back to Knightsbridge to see the famous Harrod's. They had a glorious time shopping in there, and finally got their paddington bears, but sadly we had to leave behind a couple pairs of fabulous shoes :-(

That night we went to delicious Da Mario's for dinner (a cute Italian place on the corner of Gloucester Road and Queens Gate Terrace). I've been there plenty of times, and it never fails. We took an early night Friday for our much needed shopping day on Saturday!!

Little did we know there would be over 100,000 protesters parading through the streets of Central London on Saturday, but did that stop us from shopping? HELL NO! We made our way to Oxford Circus for millions of stores to choose from. It was lovely. We kept running into the protesters and policemen that were absolutely everywhere complaining about money cuts or something. They were even throwing stink bombs at the police. Trafalgar Square was packed with them! But on the bright side, there was a market set up in one area with a nice little man selling dolls that Pattie just loveddd. He was explaining the story of the dolls to my mom and Pattie turned away. My mom said she didn't need one and said goodbye, as he replies 'yes, and you should probably get your friend home, she seems tired of listening to me...' Then all hell broke loose and Pattie went yelling back at him. It was great! haha I love them...Then we made our way back to Gloucester Arms for dinner and a couple pints

Sunday morning was the changing of the guards. We got there at 10:45am and the ceremony started at 11:30. The place was already packed! Luckily we found a good spot near the gate as thousands more people flooded in behind us. Once it started, everyone's cameras were up in the air and you could hear the band marching in behind us. It was my first time seeing it too, so it was a good experience. When the second band came in, though, they set up music stands in the middle of the area. Pattie joked that they'd start playing Lady Gaga, to which my mother responds that we should shut up with such a serious procession going on. Next thing we knew, they started jammin' out with YMCA by the village people. I was cracking up. I absolutely could not believe it!!! Of course I started doing the motions...but I was the only one so I stopped. They followed it up with 'You Look Wonderful Tonight' by Eric Clapton as the head guard went through and fixed everyone's poofy hats.....they looked pretty wonderful to me hahaha

After the ceremony finished (about 45 minutes later) we walked through St. James's Park to Westminster and attempted to get to Notting Hill for Portobello Market. It took forever to get there though because the two lines that go there were closed so we had to take a bus. Once we got there, we found the best cupcakes (so says Pattie who knows her cupcakes) and burgers (so says all of us who REALLY know our burgers). It was a great afternoon with great weather, and even better people :-)

Sunday was our last day together since they left Monday morning around 6:30am. We spent our last night the queen mother in their hotel bar. Well, not really, but she seemed pretty sassy and too proper so thats what we called her. A few White Russians and Vodka/Cranberries later...it was time for our final goodbyes....

I had the most amazing weekend with those ladies and I will never ever forget it! Thank you girls so much for coming out here and your great company. I can't wait to see you when I get home!!! xoxoxox
love you!!

Leesh and Pattie being silly at Kensington Palace

Me and Leesh at the Italian Fountains

Becca, Leesh, and Me at Gloucester Arms

Pattie, Leesh, and Ben

McDonald's!

Terrible Two find Harrod's

My mama and I in St. James's Park

Leesh, Me...and Shan!

Czech it out...

After we successfully made it through Berlin, Germany, we found the bus station and made our way to Prague, Czech Republic. It was a 5 hour bus ride that passed by fairly quickly despite the constant bumps on the highway. After a while, all you could do was laugh about it because it was so loud and everyone was bouncing up and down! It was quite hilarious...

We arrived in Prague around 8pm and were greeted by my friend Barča. Originally from Czech Republic, she worked with me at Canton McDonald's last summer while she was visiting her cousin in the states. Since being back and me being in London, we kept trying to meet up somehow so finally it happened! It was so nice to be able to see her, especially in Prague! She knew exactly where to go for our first stop - McDonald's :-)


After that we went to meet up with her friend, Kristýna, and then made our way to our hostel which was even more fantastic than the one in Berlin! We really lucked out with hostels this trip. It was very close to everything too, and no matter where you were, you could find a tram or train to take you to where you needed to go. 


The first night, we went to a cute pub with dirty comics on the wall which was kind of funny...although we couldn't read any of them and their humor is a bit different than ours, haha. I did have a tasty Czech beer though, Kozel, and I really hope they have that in the states...for cheap. We got there just before close so we had to finish up fast and head out again. But it was a beautiful night out so we were happy to stroll around the cute Prague streets. It really reminded me of Epcot in Disney World with the cobblestone and architecture with your typical European city. Ugh it was beautiful...and I can't wait to go back.


The next morning, we got up bright and early for our tour of Prague. We were all woken up by a warning going off in our hostel announcing that there were technical difficulties and that everyone needed to evacuate. Luckily it was nothing serious, just kind of obnoxious....but a couple hours later Barča and Kristýna met us in front of our hotel to take us around. It was absolutely wonderful having them help us. We didn't have to worry about the language barrier, the directions, or even figuring out what we wanted to see! Before going there, I had no idea what they had to offer or what the main sites were. It cut out on a lot of time so we were able to see so much more than anywhere else.

We started off going up Petřín Hill where there was a tower that looked like a mini Eiffel tower that you could go up to get the most beautiful view of the whole city. There were other buildings up there too including a mirror maze called Zrcadlové Bludiště which was silly. It reminded me of a fun house haha. But then we went up the tower. I think it was 299 steps up a spiral staircase but it was well worth it! The white buildings with the red roofs were everywhere. I absolutely loved it! I wish the sky was blue, but it was gorgeous anyways.


When we walked back down, we went through more narrow cobblestone streets toward Prague Castle. This castle is the largest in the world, but probably the windiest too! Once you go inside, theres a bunch of other buildings and it must create a wind tunnel or something because it was so cold too! Anyways, inside there was a beautiful cathedral, St. Vitus, that reminded me of Notre Dame. We went inside, and it was even more cold in there! We could even see our breath. Kristýna told us that the walls were 2 meters thick so no wonder! Besides the cathedral, we also went into Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of St. George, and other places that I don't remember the names to. We then got to see the changing of the guards which was nice, since I still haven't seen it in London!!!


We were starving by this point, so we went to a traditional pub and got traditional Czech food. I got goulash which was delicious! It was pork with gravy, bread dumplings and onions. Yum! My friend Becca got something similar, called svíčková, which was beef with gravy, bread dumplings, whipped cream and cranberries on top! Quite unique, I'd say...


THEN we went to see these sculptures that were huge babies without faces. It was so odd. I have never seen anything like it! This one boy wanted to take a picture with them so he was screaming and trying to get on top of one while spanking it! It was hilarious!!! Nearby was the Lennon wall which was a huge wall of graffiti dedicated to John Lennon with lyrics and drawings. It was beautiful and so colorful. Perfect for us Beatles fans :-)


This took us to Charles bridge, which is the oldest, most famous bridge in Prague with artists and kiosks with jewelry and paintings. The views were great on either side of the bridge but it was so crowded! We went there the first night to see the lights and be at peace without everyone else around though which was nice. At the end of the bridge there was a big area for shopping, etc.


We went to the Astronomical Clock, too, which was a big site to see of Prague. On every hour it dings and the windows open at the top where little statues go around inside and then a man is all dressed up at the top with a trumpet playing a tune. Everyone was so into it and it seemed like a big part of their culture. It was so cute seeing everyone walking around this square. The city was so quaint and picturesque with a mini fair in the center too! They had food, sweets, and souvenirs for people to buy which, again, reminded me of Disney. 


It looked like such a perfect little city and I really can't put it into words. I would really love to go back there. It was my favorite place to go to thus far and I would love to see my friend Barča (and Kristýna) again!

Mirror Maze

Prague

Kristyna, Barca, and Me at the top of the Tower

Prague Castle

Becca, Me, and Jackie all dressed up!

Goulash and a beer. om nom

babies!

Jackie, Becca, and Me at the Lennon wall

Fair in Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock

Berlin, Deutschland - first siting of a Dunkin' Donuts since January!

After getting back from Ireland on Saturday, we had a few days in London, and then Jackie, Becca, and I left for Berlin on Tuesday around 2:30am. Needless to say, we didn't get any sleep that night, but by the time we got to Germany, we were too excited about the sun and the area around us to nap! (well that and we had about 4 hours to kill until we could check in to our hostel).

So we dropped off our bags in the luggage room, and took the train into Hauptbahnhof, the main area of Berlin. Once we got there, we were very tired, and hungry, so we looked around for food. Surprisingly, it was a Burger King we saw before a McDonald's....but then, as we went down the escalator, the bright Orange and Pink sign glowed above us. It was a Dunkin' Donuts. We screamed with joy and ran to go get our coffee. Yumm! We grabbed a sandwich and spent a good amount of time relaxing in the train station until we decided to find a tourist center to help us figure out where we wanted to go. In no time we were outside on another beautiful day and made our way to the lawn in front of the Reichstag, or German parliament. With the TV tower in the distance, we really felt like we were in Berlin now. We continued to walk past the Brandenburg Gate and into Unter Den Linden. Everything was so gorgeous and the architecture was amazing...even though we had no clue what anything was. The next day we would take a bus tour around the city to figure that all out...

After a nice walk around, we headed back to our hostel to check in. This place was AMAZING! It had a pool and a huge bar, and our room was purple with two bathrooms! Although the TVs in the lobby kept playing old 80s/90s music videos...I feel like we were stuck in the late 80s the whole time we were there with the music and style...

After checking in, we took a much needed cat nap and met up with Marty's cousin, Franzi, at Kauf Bar, not too far from where we were staying. This was the best night in Berlin! To be able to talk with a local (who spoke English) eat delicious food, drink delicious beer, and be able to relate with someone who knew people from back home. She was so nice and took us to another bar before heading back where we all got white russians, yummm...It was so sad to say goodbye so soon, but it was the highlight of our trip in Berlin by far :-)

The next day, we went to Alexanderplatz (another main area in Berlin) where we were going to pick up our tour bus. After another delicious breakfast for only €2 we found the bus that took us through the city, much of what we already saw the day before. We got off at the Judisches Museum Berlin (the Jewish Museum) where we spent a good hour or two learning and seeing a lot of artifacts and such about the Jewish people in Germany, especially during the Holocaust. The setup was very unique where there were few windows and it zig-zagged like a maze. There was even one part where you could go through a door and it slammed behind you. You were in a cold dark room with really tall ceilings and a tiny window at the top. It was extremely eerie in there and made me feel very uncomfortable. It must have been the goal, but it seriously gave me the chills. Once we walked back out, there were other people in there screaming to hear their echo which made it even more scary. It was quite effective. Once we went to the other part of the museum, it was more general about the typical Jewish life throughout the years but it was interesting and very interactive which was nice.


When we were done with the museum, we wanted to catch the bus again, but little did we know, the tour stopped running at 4pm. lame. So we walked around in the direction of the train to head back, found some curry-worst and bratwurst, and really tasty donut type things and then went back to the hostel to change for the night. 


We went to the bar at the hostel just to check it out, and it was the best bar I've seen in a hostel. The bartenders were so nice and the drinks were deliciousss. After that, one of the bartenders gave us free entry cards to get into the club down the street, Matrix. Supposedly the 14 year olds are there until 10, the 16 year olds leave at midnight, and then its normal....we got there a little early so it was completely dead once we got there, but that only means no wait! We got 3 drinks, and 3 for free, so of course we got piña coladas. Again, though, we were caught in the 90's with the Spice Girls, N'Sync, Michael Jackson, and the Macarena playing. It was so much fun!


The next day we made our way to the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie to do the true Berlin touristy stuff. It was very cool seeing these, but kind of weird to see people acting out the guards at Checkpoint Charlie...I was surprised. After a little souvenir shopping, it was time to head to the bus station to go to Prague. We luckily made it JUST in time to get a few snacks and hop on. After just five hours and the bumpiest ride of my life, we were greeted by Barča in the beautiful Czech Republic.

The Reichstag

The Brandenburg Gate

TV Tower

Berlin Cathedral

Jewish Museum

Berlin Wall

Checkpoint Charlie

Irish I Were Drunk-er

Last weekend was the first weekend of Spring Break. On Thursday, I left for Cork, Ireland with my friends Becca, Mary, and Jackie. We flew into Shannon (no, not my sister, but the city...) and took a bus down to Cork. It was at this point that I realized my camera was almost dead and I didn't bring my changer. Damn. On the bright side, our hostel was so cute, and right across the street from the train station which was nice. That night, we walked around downtown Cork which was nice, except everything closed so early!! (except for the pubs/bars which was most important). We went to a delicious burger place for dinner. In London, they simply don't know how to cook their meat, it's always so dry. It makes me miss Plan B but Ireland did a decent job. Then we went to a pub that consisted of one older couple in the back, a group of Asians, and your typical drunk, old Irishman at the bar. His words sounded like gibberish as he insisted we were from Knightsbridge...

That night we got a good nights rest and woke up bright and early for our Paddywagon Tour at 8am Friday morning. C'mon, who could turn down a tour that was called a paddywagon!? It started just a short walking distance away from our hostel and took us to Limerick where we got to see King John's Castle, the Cliffs of Moher with O'Brien's Tower, Galway Bay, Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, Bunratty Castle and Durty Nelly's. And of course in between we got to see the picturesque, little Irish villages which were so cute! Although I don't think I would be able to get any pictures on the way even if I had a charged battery since our insane bus driver was going SO fast down the little windy roads. Yikes!

The Cliffs of Moher were absolutely beautiful. We caught them on the most fantastic day with the sky blue and the sun shining. Plus, I was still able to get some amazing pictures despite the little battery I had. The bus stopped for about an hour and a half until we had to leave for our next stop, but I could have easily spent all day there! The views were absolutely breathtaking. We stopped at a pub for lunch after that in Doolin which was nice. The food was set up cafeteria style oddly enough, but it was quite delicious.

Our next stop was Galway Bay. On the way there, the road was so narrow and close to the water that if you looked out the window it was as if you were driving on the water! It was gorgeous though. We were able to get off, and walk along the rock which was amazing. I wish you all were there to witness it with me!

Then we got back on the bus though and all this one girl wanted to listen to was traditional Irish music, that the driver said he didn't have besides the slow classical, Gaelic stuff. So then she kept asking to play Enya. God help me...oy

Now on our way to the Poulnabrone Portal Tomb. I had never heard of it, but it was pretty cool. It kind of reminded me of Stonehenge with the slab-like stones on top of each other.

Durty Nelly's was the next pub we stopped at, just in case we wanted a drink, but we were too tired...sadly. It was a cool pub though, with fireman and police badges covering the walls. It was right next to Bunratty Castle where you could go in for a Medieval dinner, but we only had 20 minutes so we had to skip out on that one.

All in all, the tour was pretty good. I just wish we had more time to spend in Ireland to truly enjoy its beauty and culture. But, then again, there's always next time!!

I got a tattoo that night though! Of a celtic knot on my left hip. I am so happy with it! And then I casually met up with the others at dinner at a Johnny Rockets type place, but it was called Eddie Rockets, nice. We went to a pub after that and then had another early night so we could wake up to take the train early to Dublin. Again, I wish we had more time there. It was such a cute city. A bit bigger than Cork which was nice, since I'm now used to the city life. We got a litttttlee lost getting to where we needed to go, but we ended up figuring it out like always :-)

This is where we did our souvenir shopping and went to the Guinness Factory. Still not a fan of Guinness but I drank most of the free pint anyways...And at that point it was time to head to the airport to go back to London. I'm disappointed that we only had Thurs-Sat in Ireland. With all the extra travel time you need to get from one site to the next, you would need at least a week to fully enjoy it. I DEFINITELY plan on going back at some point in my life. So let me know who wants to join!!

Mary, Me, Jackie, and Becca at the Guinness Factory!

Cliffs of Moher

O'Brien's Castle

Galway Bay

Paddywagon Tour Bus!

Poulnabrone Portal Tomb

Bunratty Castle

Celtic Knot Tattoo!

This has gotta be the good life.

Woke up in London yesterday
Found myself in the city near Piccadilly
Don’t really know how I got here
I got some pictures on my phone

New names and numbers that I don’t know
Address to places like Abbey Road
Day turns to night
Night turns to whatever we want
We’re young enough to say

Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life

Say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

To my friends in New York, I say hello
My friends in L.A. they don’t know
Where I’ve been for the past few years or so
Paris to China to Colorado

Sometimes there’s airplanes I can’t jump out
Sometimes there’s bullshit that don’t work now
We are god of stories but please tell me
What there is to complain about

When you’re happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in

Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life

Say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

Hopelessly
I feel like there might be something that I’ll miss
Hopelessly
I feel like the window closes oh so quick
Hopelessly
I’m taking a mental picture of you now
‘Cuz hopelessly
The hope is we have so much to feel good about

Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life

Say oh, got this feeling that you can’t fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life