Sunday, August 31, 2008

Photos Uploaded... finally!

Finally was able to upload photos from the trip!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023383&l=8d56c&id=65802167

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023494&l=6244e&id=65802167


Just made two albums on Facebook... seems to work best for the uploading.... enjoy!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

London!!

Okay… so internet is definitely tricky to get over here! That is, if you don’t want to pay about $20 at the hotel (yeah right!). So really quick… this week has been full of travel and a little too much time on the bus! Leaving Edinburgh on Monday morning, we visited the Minster and Railway Museum in York before stopping there for the night.

The next morning it was off again, but this time getting to spend some time at Coventry Cathedral and Warwick Castle. The cathedral(s) at Coventry are both incredible in their own right (the old bombed out shell of the original cathedral is actually right next to the large, modern cathedral). The place as well as the memorials there, such as the A-bomb memorial and exhibit, were very moving. On the other hand, while Warwick castle was an amazing palace, it has been turned into more of a tourist attraction than anything. The climax of our time there was the reenactment of a trebuchet launch where they shot an impressive fireball at a tree (the best part of which was Dr. Kihlstrom’s hilarious commentary – making fun of the entire thing).

Also, in Stratford we have seen a lot of Shakespeare… stuff…. And the beautiful town surrounding the Avon river! We’ve been in London for a few days now, but traveling to towns around it every day because we have the bus until tomorrow. So we’ve been to Stonehenge, Bletchley Park, a bunch of towns around here, and British Museum, Chinatown… and loads of other places of course ☺

But Hanna and I are currently in the corner of a rather sketchy cafĂ© in London and our internet time is about up… so gotta run, hope you all are well, be sure to write and tell me how things are back in the US!

Love and miss you loads!!!

Cheers! ☺

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Edinburgh!

Well we arrived safely in Edinburgh yesterday afternoon (after a long day and a half of airports, security, and flights)! Of course it wasn't until this morning that our luggage finally caught up with us : ). Luckily, I had packed my tennis shoes, a spare set of clothes, etc. in my backpack so I was all set! Good a had a jacket, because it has been cloudy the entire time we've been here, and raining a good part of that time too... I know, you can't believe it! Rain? In Scotland??

Thus far, classes haven't even been thought about (they start tomorrow morning) and we've just been adventuring around and exploring this amazing city! Arthur's Seat and the Lions Head are cliffs/mountains that loom above the city (plans for a long hike are underway already). The Fringe Festival is going on right now and all along the Royal Mile there are street performers (magicians, musicians, strange acts, anything you can imagine!). We've been spending a lot of time down in that part of town and just wandering around the beautiful and old streets here.

Of course, today we went by the Gallery as well as the National Museum of Scotland and both were very interesting and fun. Lots of original art work and an absolutely incredible view of the entire city of Edinburgh from the roof of the Museum! Oh, and p.s. lots of men wandering around town in those (in)famous plaid kilts for the Festival... even some playing the bagpipes!

Just too much! And with the homework/hanging out/trying to get organized/being in Edinburgh... yep better get working. But hey, pictures will hopefully be uploaded soon! Till then, I love and miss you all soooooo much!!! Hope all is well back in the US and, as they say... cheerio!

Monday, August 18, 2008

Ready or not.... here we go!

So... 13 countries in 3 1/2 months... 

Constant travel? You got it.
Missing home? Hahaha... Europe baby!
Incredible and different places, cultures, languages, and people? Yes and super excited!!
Learning, homework, bonding, new experiences, etc? Oh, tons!
Tiring? I bet.
A lot to take in? Yup.
Possible? Entirely. 
Crazy? Necessarily so!
Loads of fun to be had? For sure.
Experience? Life-changing.
Adventures? EPIC!
Europe? Ready or not... here we come!

It's almost 3am on the 18th of August, the morning of departure.....ohhhh my gosh I can't believe it's almost time. In less than 12 hours we will be meeting at LAX and the adventures of Europe Semester 2008 will begin! 

Provided that internet access is available of course, I look forward to sharing with you some of our experiences in Europe and I'll hopefully be able to update this blog throughout the semester. But, light at the end of the tunnel of packing is in sight and so is the incredibly long flight tomorrow.... so, goodnight! For now, thanks for your support, I'll miss you all, would love to hear from you, and can't wait to tell you all about the trip!

Goodbye and God bless!