Ok, so I'm sure my mom was never expecting me to write another entry after almost a month of nothing. Well here it is. Since I couldn't possibly write about all that has been going on since my last post, I thought I would continue my tradition (can it be considered a tradition if you've only done it once?) of writing a top 10 list of all the highlights from the past few weeks (again, in no particular order...just the order they come out of my head; because I'm real--like J-Lo).
1. Wales--Ok, well this one is bitter-sweet. Wales was gorgeous; the landscapes were unreal (albeit mostly seen from the windows of a bus), we survived our first night in a hostel (and minus the blood stains on my pillow...it was quite nice; or nicer than I had expected at least), we got to stay at an amazing hotel right by the beach--one that Queen Victoria had stayed in...so you know it's legit, and we visited this castle (now let me explain the castle...we had driven for hours and hours, wondering where the bus was taking us in Wales that could be SO important for this hellish treck. Upon pulling up to the side of the castle, its appearance pretty mediocre really, we got pissed. Haha, we walked around the castle moat thinking, "why in the crap did they drag us 6 hours for this?" and I know, you're probably thinking we were the biggest brats...but regardless...we entered the castle and started to hear this music. Singing. Like an echoing choir somewhere within the castle walls. We soon realized that they were singing hymns. We began to venture through winding passages to find these voices, and finally we came to a stone chamber. It was cold and dark and there were several girls from our group standing in a circle, singing together. Without even thinking about it, we joined them in A Child's Prayer. The circle began to grow and stretch while more and more continued to trickle in. Before we knew it, the room was filled with nearly 40 girls, singing hymns together in a giant circle for over an hour. Now, I know you're probably thinking, "come on, this is the most corny EFY-y thing I've ever heard"....and that's ok because I may have said the same thing. But all I can say is that that castle, the one we whined and griped about, turned out to be the most memorable place we've stopped at...and for all the right reasons. I'm sure you understand :) Ok, now for the bitter: you may think I am going to mention the blood stains again. But no, the blood stains were a welcome surprise compared to what happened. And yes, I know I'm whining...worse could happen. But doesn't losing your ipod/headphones (well, Scott's ipod actually...sorry bro) as well as your tube pass in a Wales movie theater entitle me to some whining? Yes, that happened. And the other disappointment from Wales was that we were not able to find an adequate place to buy love spoons before we left. Love spoons are a Welch tradition; they are wood-carved spoons that were given to someone as a symbol of their love. SO...I know that this #1 was about as long as an entire blog entry should be, but come on, it's Wales; it needed proper attention.
2. SNOW!!! You might have already heard that a few weeks ago London received the heaviest snowfall it had seen in 18 years. As someone who loves the snow (even when surrounded by killjoys who hate it) you can imagine how happy I was to be here for it. It was absolutely gorgeous. Everyone went crazy; adults, children, and dogs swarmed the parks. Definitely one of the prettiest snowfalls I've ever seen.
3. Tower of London--I must say the highlight was when we went through the room that held all the crown jewels. I literally was one foot away from the largest diamond in the world (it was like 500-something karats) I want to be royalty.
4. OH...this should've been number one: the BAFTA'S!!! The BAFTA'S are like the British equivalent of the Academy Awards. And since they take place in London, naturally, we wanted to get a front row sight of all the celebs. Many were scheduled to attend (just like the Soapies :) My friends Sarah and Jenna and I waited around in this pub right next to the red carpet where their cars would be dropping them off. One by one they started coming. It was unreal. I don't know what gene it is that makes us go crazy when we get near a celebrity, but it is safe to say that the three of us all have it. Anything to get closer to them, we pretty much did....climbed over chairs, tables, people, etc. Limbs everywhere. But oh was it worth it. We saw on the red carpet, up close and personal, Brad and Angelina, Meril Streep, Daniel Craig, Hermione, Goldie Hahn, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet, Shia Lebuff (I didn't see him, but Sarah did). We were twitterpated for the rest of the evening and still to this day actually.
5. Valentine's Day--First of all, it's just a great holiday in general. 2ndly, when you get flowers and chocolates sent to you from someone you love all the way across the ocean, it makes it even better. But there are other reasons why Valentine's was great this year. A few girls and I went with some locals out to dinner (Indian food...yum) oddly on the same street where our Jack the Ripper tour took place. Then later that night all 40 girls had a Valentine's party. It was 40's themed so everyone dressed up and did their hair "Notebook style" complete with bright red lipstick. It was an adorable party and we had treats, dancing, and a secret Valentine gift exchange. The night ended with us getting down and dirty in the servery, me in shorts, tights, and my new boots...yeah, I may have looked a little stripper-esque...then making a drink/treat run with Sarah and Jenna. Perfect ending if you ask me.
Ok, I know this was supposed to be a top 10 list, but 5 will just have to do...I've written enough for one post :) Love you all; I promise I won't wait so long to write again!
Friday, February 20, 2009
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