The Theatre, Tea, The Eye, and More!

Birthday Weekend in Coleford!

Mary Poppins, Oxford, and Blenheim Palace

Weekend in Paris!

Wicked, Windsor, Work, and a Surprise!

Hello everyone! The pictures in the above slideshow are from the week of June 25th to July 1st. It was another fabulous week that went by way too fast! Tyler and I got to see Wicked on Wednesday night and it was just as amazing the second time. On Friday, my group had a free day so I rode a train to Windsor to meet up with Tyler. He had been working over there and I really wanted to go into Windsor Castle. The Queen was in Scotland, so we were able to go in! There is so much history there and the castle was so beautiful. Within those fun activities I also worked at Queens College Prep all week. It was so much fun and I learned so many crazy things. The first day I got to work with a variety of age groups doing a lot of different things. I helped the teachers with marking (grading), read a lot of books, helped them with their reading and maths, did a lot of disciplining, took them to the park, and helped with the preparation of the art exhibition. One of the upper kindergarten teachers was on holiday for two days, so I basically took her place. The girls were mostly age 5 and were a lot of work. I was completely exhausted after working with them, but they were so cute! Although they were the hardest to work with, they were my favourite. I asked one little girl, Freya, how old she thought I was and she said eleven. This other little girl, Sasha, would tell me every time that she saw me that she liked everything on me. They said some funny stuff and I loved getting to know them and learn about their nanny's and where they would be traveling this holiday. One of the best parts about working at that school was the tea and biscuit (cookie) break that I got every day and the fabulous food they had at lunch. I really enjoyed talking with the other teachers and learning about their school system. As many of you know, Tyler and I had our one year on Sunday the 1st. I did not know what we were going to be doing, so I was very surprised! We had dinner on this river boat along the Thames River and it was so much fun! That area of London is my favourite and it was so cool to see it from the water. We had such a great time. Hope everyone is doing well and having a great summer!

Day Trips and Nights at the Shows

Well, it has been a while since I have updated everyone on life in London, so here it goes...

Since my last post, life has been going just great! As you can see from the pictures I have been quite busy. On Tuesday June 19th, some friends and I went to Leicster Square and got Wicked tickets for only 19 pounds! (=$38) We were so excited! That day we also went to the changing of the guards, which I would not recommend to anyone! Haha. I also set off a second smoke alarm that day. These Brits are super careful after the Great Fire and like to put smoke detectors right above the stove. Anyways, I am really enjoying cooking, which is good because food is extremely expensive. Wicked was better than I could ever imagined! I am a little obsessed! Wednesday we had lecture at Parliament which was exciting...took about an hour just to get through security! That night we saw Billy Elliot which I did not like. The little kids cussed a lot and it contained a lot of British humour. Not really my cup of tea. We had lecture Thursday and at night Tyler and I hung out on the river (my favourite spot!) Friday was the day trip to Bath, which was really cool. About a 3 hour bus ride. I got to see the Roman Baths of course as well as where Jane Austen lived for a little while. Saturday Tyler and I went to Cambridge for the day. I really liked Cambridge a lot, totally worth the trip. We took a bus ride there and spent the day going into the amazing colleges (Harry Potter was filmed in one of them, and Prince Charles attended one as well). After lunch we went punting down the river which was beautiful and relaxing. Cambridge is such a cool town with so many colleges and the streets are filled with bikes! I go to Oxford soon and I am very interested to see how it compares!

Harods made me feel like I lived in a trailer...

Hello again! Well, Sunday and Monday were great days! Sunday I went to a really cool church called Hillsong United with Tyler, Sally, and two other girls in the group. It was such a neat experience and the worship music was fantastic. Then we took a little trip to good ole Harods. Oh my gosh, insane. I have never been around so much designer stuff in my life. And honestly, the only thing I wanted to buy was from the confections section. Some of the clothes didn't have price tags...never a good sign. It was fun to look at everything, but I don't think I will be picking up any gifts for anyone there...sorry Anna Lynn. You would have loved the Jimmy Choo shoes, though! Then Tyler went with me and Linsey, a girl from my program also working at Queens College Prep School, to find the building. Today I had my interview and it went so well! The woman in charge basically wanted us to start today. The little girls are PRECIOUS. The ages range from 3 to about 11, so basically no middle or high school. The prices for one term range between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds (aka $6,000 or $8,000). Lunch will be provided for me, which will save me some money! I start next Monday and my hours are fabulous...only 9 to 3! Some of these girls' parents are famous painters and so the girls have body guards. The current Queen's mum founded this school, and the Queen has visited before. The school is about 30 minute tube ride away (on a good day) and is on an extremely old street. The school is within two old houses, dating back to 1785. Some of the rooms have grand marble fire places, which are insured for 7,000 pounds each! It is very exclusive and the girls are very polite. They wear cute little dresses and sweaters. Well, after the successful interview, most of my group went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It had a lot of cool things about fashion and textiles. Off to bed now, cheerio!

lovin london

Well, as you can see from the slideshow above, my group has arrived and we are now all settled in. My roommate, Sally and I are having a blast! The photos are correct representations of the size of our room. I think that the pictures make it seem bigger actually. I live in Bayswater, which is a step down from the beautiful posh South Kensington where Tyler is. My flat does have some benefits, however, such as air conditioning, wireless internet, a small balcony, and a close tube station. Thursday night Tyler, Sally, and myself went to this really cool club/restaurant for a cheap hamburger and chips (fries), and then we listened to the local musicians in Covent Gardens. Friday I had lecture about working in Britain which was very interesting and helpful. There are so many differences over here and I sometimes need a translator, the language is so different! Saturday was a fabulous day filled with the parade for the Queen's birthday and a visit to the amazing British Museum. The amount of things in the museum really showed the power that this country used to have. My favourite things were the mummys, the Enlightenment exhibit, and the Rosetta Stone. More later. Cheers!

so many sights to see!

yay pictures!

Monday was a crazy day! I got to sleep in which was nice, however I seemed to have had an off day. I woke up startled to the routine fire alarm check, not knowing where the heck I was...Then I tried to dry my hair and set off a smoke detector. I locked one of the residents of the flats out, and I got lost for 45 minutes trying to meet Tyler for lunch. It was pretty comical. Last night Tyler and I walked around Hyde Park and saw Kensington Palace. It was a beautiful evening. Today I was very adventurous and rode the tube all by myself to Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus. I went into many stores, made a purchase at the Gap, and relaxed in a park. It was glorious, and a much less stressful day!

Check out my Slide Show!

Hello from London, I am finally here! I got in on Sunday around 7:30 AM. Had a bit of trouble at the Gatwick airport, but I caught a cabbie and arrived at Tyler's flat for the big surprise around 10 AM. Oh gosh, he was totally surprised! I rang the door bell and he came to open it and almost shut the door in my face he was so shocked! I wish I had a video camera to have captured the look on his face! After the initial shock started to wear off, we headed to All Souls Church. It was amazing! After church we did some exploring, and I got to see so much! I saw Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leicster Square, Covent Gardens, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and The London Eye, just to name a few! The city is gorgeous, I am in love with the architectual detail on these old buildings. It's a lot like New York, but way cooler! Everything is backwards, which confuses me greatly. Tyler and I celebrated his birthday at the Texas Embassy (which he loved). The cuisine was Mexican (of course) which was a little taste of home for him. My feet were killing me after all that walking! A lot packed in to my first day in London :)

my home for six weeks!

Here are some pictures of the flat that I will be living in this summer. Tyler checked it out for me and took these pictures. The flat is called Cleveland Gardens and is located in Bayswater. I am getting very excited about this adventure!

I leave for London June 9th, arrive the 10th and will be working somewhere for six weeks. I will also be traveling to Paris and Rome :)