Wales

Mel, Lo & I

Saturday afternoon I was off to Wales! It was about a 3hour bus ride from London. I have a couple really good girl friends that live there and I went visit them for nice a weekend-getaway! The bus ride wasn’t too bad at all we drove through the country areas of England & I have to say it was one of the most beautiful parts of London that I have seen so far. Rolling grasses, old country houses with farm animals scattered around the lawn.

My weekend in Cardiff was amazing. I arrived Saturday afternoon around 5:30 and Mel was awaiting my arrival at the bus stop. When I got to Cardiff she took me around and I got to see a good bit of the town and we went out to a popular nightclub unlike any that I had ever been to that night! We had so much fun getting to visit with one another, & I experienced crumpets, which are the British version of American English muffins but better!! My self and a few other girls grabbed lunch at a popular pub on Sunday and went to the “cinemas” also known as the movie theatre. I had such a wonderful weekend getaway

Crumpets! 

Jo, Mel, & I

Starting to fit the mold

Friday we had our usual British cultural class which was about the economic times of the UK…sounds just as exciting as it was sitting there listening to it. Our field trip was right after the class to The Museum of London, which was actually kind of interesting. It had artifacts from back during the A.D times and then continued through the times all the way until current times in The United Kingdom. After the field trip and class was over, a couple girls and my friend JJ all went to this “Secret Sample Sale” one of the coolest experiences that I have ever experienced. A sample sale is all of the big designer names put into a big warehouse marked down to as much as 90% off! JJ’s internship is with a fashion designer so he gets all the scoop of when these sales happen. So we will definitely be finding more of those while we are here in London!

Friday a big group of us went to a really cool bar called Waxy O’Connor’s, it was an awesome wooden like bar. Everything in the bar was made of wood & wax, with old trees as part of the walls. As you can kind of tell in the photos below.

Artifacts in the museum

Waxy O'Connor  

Solo day in London

Futbol in The Nike Store

Today was just my kinda day, while everyone else went to their Internships I had a day off. So what did I do? Shop of course! I went to an area in London called Oxford Circus. It is a strip of stores lining the roads, ranging from all of the top stores in the UK to your average Gap. What a great way to spend my off day! I stopped in the Nike Store, as I walk in I hear a crowd of kids yelling. So of course I wander over to see what is going on and there is a small box with 2 people in at a time playing 1vs1 soccer or should I say futbol. Words can't explain how tempted I was to jump in there and play but I held back and let the  young boys play. My day continued with just exploring around London solo which I'm not complaining about one bit. When I arrived back home everyone had returned from their hard day of work, how unfortunate :) A few of us went to the nearby grocery and got some stuff to make dinner & came back to our massive kitchen that consists of a mini fridge and microwave. But when you wanna save money ya do what ya gotta do! The night has finally come to an end with a daily update of my blog, and a relaxed night. Tomorrow we have our oh so fun British culture class & followed by a field trip to The Museum of London, City Gallery.

Humpday

The Three's A Crowd office

Today Wednesday has finally arrived! Which means I made it through half of my first work week in London...but lucky me it's actually the weekend! My boss and co-workers have an event in Bristol tomorrow that they have to attend, and asked me if I was okay with just staying home for the day...DUH! Friday's we have our British cultural class, & Monday is a holiday, so happy weekend to me! My first week at my Internship I would say went well, I definitely will have to get adjusted to being in a completely different environment. Living in a new environment is totally different from working in a new environment. Different cultural ways of working, management, and even just the different people. Although I am lucky to say I really think I am going to like the group I am working with, they all seem very laid back and every other word out of their mouths is a cuss word. I think thats just a British thing! But overall this week has been a good one, we started the planning for the event coming up in June, the Leukemia fundraiser. Today I spent most of my day sending out invites to all of the celebrities, most I had never heard of but that is what google is for! Some of the celebs invited were a few well-known British rugby players, male and female actors, even the British version of an Erin Andrews the well known sports broadcaster, and many others. I am really looking forward & honored to be being able to help out with this event!

Three's A Crowd

Today was the first day of my Internship, I was placed with a company called Three's A Crowd. It is a private event planning company here in London, only about a 30 minute walk from where I am staying! I arrived this morning around 10:00 I met all of my new "co-workers," and I even got my own desk. I wouldn't say its the nicest office space, it's about the size of a dorm room with 5 different desks in one room. So I'm definitely getting close & comfortable with these people! Everyone seems really nice and friendly, they have welcomed me with open arms. I sat down with my boss today and we went over a few of the upcoming events that I will get the opportunity to help out with. One of the main events is called Leuka Mini Masters, it is a celebrity charity fundraiser for Leukemia research. The event is held on a local well-known golf course, and UK celebrities from all over participate. I am not familiar with any of the local celebrities but some are athletes, actors & a few singers AND one actor in particular that I do know that will be attending is Keanu Reeves!! I think this event sounds like so much fun, and I am really excited to have the opportunity to help out & get some really great experience.

Hugh Grant attended Mini Masters last year

Haggling with the London locals

Baaaaah

I have never been much for a haggler when it comes to shopping on the streets with local venders. But yesterday that all changed. There is a local market in London, called Portobello Market it is similar to a farmers market but imagine it 10 times bigger! It had things ranging from old vintage clothing, knock-off purses, jewelry, shoes, sunglasses, food, you name it I am sure it was in the market somewhere. It was just a day of walking up and down Portobello Road looking at everything they had to offer. I think I got the best deal out of everyone, I found an old vintage fur vest for ONLY 5 pounds, which in the States would be somewhere around $7!! If that's not a deal, I don't know what is. The group of us that went had such a great time & so much fun experiencing a London local favorite. After a long day of shopping on the streets, the night was followed by what was our first real night out in London as a group. We went to a bar called The Rocket, it was an absolute blast. It
wasn't much of a club but more so a bar with a dance floor, for those of you in MS picture the middle part of the library but a London version! The night consisted of what I would say was a workout like no other, the entire night a couple of us danced our butts off. We had so much fun finally getting to open up & get to see each others personalities. It could not have been a better ending to a wonderful day!

Portobello Market

Mimi & I

The infamous fur 

Lacking a good sense of direction...

Tate Britain Art Gallery

Today in London the weather was beyond wonderful. It was cool, sunny, just perfect for a day spent outside. I started my morning off with a run that turned into a little longer than expected...I kind of got lost on the way back but with the help of a few locals I made it back. When I asked them how far away I was from where I was staying, they looked at me like I was crazy & responded with "You are planning on running there?!?" That is when I knew I definitely made a wrong turn, but I eventually made it back in one piece! The rest of the day consisted with what they call a "British cultural class," in order to work over in the UK the British Government requires that we partake in a class. The course consists of everything and anything about Britain. The class was followed by a field trip to Tate Britain which is a well-known art gallery in London. Art is not really my cup of tea but it was interesting to walk around and see the pieces of work painted as early as the 1800's. The night ended with dinner plans planned by me...but didn't go quite how I wanted them. I googled a restaurant around where we are staying,  a Japanese restaurant stood out it had great reviews and sounded like a ton of fun. You go in take your shoes off at the door, and sit at a ground level table PLUS it even had karaoke on Friday & Saturday nights. So I thought it would be perfect for a group of us to try out! Well, we got on The Tube rode it down to where I thought was the right direction, finally got off the train after sitting through about 12 stops, began walking to what I thought would be a short easy walk...turned into more of a 25-30 minute walk. Well, we finally get closer to the address but there is no Japanese place in sight. I got on the phone called the restaurant and he followed by saying what turned out to be exactly what we did not want to hear, "You are no where near us, you need to get back on the train..." When I had to break the news to the group of course it followed by receiving a I want to kill you look. So we x-ed out those plans and ended up at a restaurant near by, which was not too bad! Moral of the story was, never depend on me for directions. Oops...

Backpack Runners

 Me, being the runner that I am, I have found it so odd that the people here run with backpacks. I mentioned it in a previous post but I had to post some pictures so you all could see for yourself

Learning the culture

Girls from Wake Forest University
Me, Amanda, Francie, Anu, & Mimi

I had my interview for my internship yesterday, not much of an interview just a kinda "put a face to a name" interview. You may not believe this but, I walked there ALL by myself! It was about a 30-40 minute walk from where I am living which is not a bad walk at all, but when you are new to the city it can be a bit stressful. But I made it, just a map in hand and..well a little help from the locals! I finally began to feel as if I was starting to fit into their culture of life, cars that will run you over, pushy mean locals, but I can't leave out the helpful locals that helped get me to my destination. After my interview was over I went to meet up with a group of people Mimi and I have gotten to know OH and I rode the tube all by myself! Before our internship starts next week we have a little orientation week, and yesterday we had to do a scavenger hunt around the city. So we wandered around taking pictures & getting a chance to see more of London. After that, the night was just about to get started we had to be at a welcoming party for all of the Interns. It was held at a local, well-known bar called The Foundation. We had a great time, met some interesting people from all over the world. This journey in Europe just continues to get better & better

A lesson a day

Today in London was unreal, I started off my morning with a run around town, coming to find out London locals are not the nicest people in the world. I tried to give them the nice southern hello & a little wave but I got nothing except a mean glare. I guess they don't know a friendly gesture when they see one! I also learned this is not much of a pedestrian friendly kinda place, drivers here will run you over if you step in their way with no hesitation. A funny thing I noticed today while running was, the runners here run with back packs, it's the oddest thing! But besides that my day has been wonderful, we had an orientation this morning and I met lots of other students from SMU, Auburn, Alabama, UNC, Wake Forest, and other schools. The students were very friendly, & it was nice to finally hear familiar accents. After the orientation we had the privilege of taking a walking tour around London. We saw Big Ben, THE location of The Royal Wedding which might I add was awesome! We saw The London Bridge, The location of where the Prime Minister works and lives, I could go on for days. It was a great experience to say the least and for those who know me, my camera was out the entire time. I was known as the photographer of the tour a name of which I have been known for! All in all my second day in the UK was wonderful :)

Queen Elizabeth's Guard

Big Ben

                   

Arriving Safe & Sound

Pre-departure to London, UK

Last night at approximately 10:00 p.m. I took my first flight over seas, arriving in London this morning around 12:00 p.m./ 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. US time. The flight was smooth, comfortable at times but I was able to sleep a good 6 of the 8 hours which was nice. We finally landed in London around noon, grabbed a taxi to King's Cross where we will be living the next couple of months. Mimi and I moved our luggage into the room, which was not the easiest task to do. I definitely looked like a tourist, with the help of a sweet Chinese girl we were able to drag my bags up the stairs. We got settled in, and began exploring. Our cell phones currently do not have service, so we walked around to find a cheap go-phone to get a hold of our parents to inform them we made it! We explored, grabbed some lunch, and did a little shopping. I definitely can say I got my exercise in for the day, Mimi and I learned our lesson to stay on the right side of the sidewalk...those locals are not afraid to move you out of the way if you don't move for them. So far things have been wonderful, the weather is warmer than expected, & the sun was out today which was nice. So it was a wonderful welcome to London.

We were given the advice by a few locals to stay awake as long as we can just to fight off the jet-lag that is to come. So far Mimi and I are still kickin' & hopefully it remains that way for a little bit longer! We have an orientation tonight around 9:30 to inform us of what is to come, but the remainder of the night we are free to do whatever we would like! 

More updates to come

The time has almost arrived...

Well London is closer than I had ever imagined it being. It is now 5 days away, I have received many pre-departure emails about what's on our agenda for when we arrive, what to expect, and the best of all...where we will be living. This place exceeds my expectations by a long shot. I had imagined an old dorm style living area, in the middle of nowhere, but its complete opposite. The place is called Nido's King Cross, located in downtown London, and just a little over a MILE from my internship. How cool is that! Here is the website with some photos: http://www.nidostudentliving.com/london/kings-cross/photo-gallery.php 
I am truly looking forward to the trip, anxious but so excited for what is to come. With a count down going from when my parents arrive in 2 days, graduation 4 days, and the UK departure 5 days, it is a lot to take in but going to be such a memorable experience!

London Awaits

I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel to London this entire summer. I will be Interning with a company called Three A's Crowd, an event planning company in downtown London. I leave May 15th, the day after I graduate from The University of Mississippi. I didn't realize how fast it would go by, but with a trip like this to look forward to, in a way I am happy it has. I will embark on this journey in a couple days, traveling with my friend Mimi. We will be living in the heart of downtown London, with access to shops, restaurants, and bars right next door. I will continue updating the blog with our everyday excitements, and the journey of a lifetime.