College Reunion

This past weekend, I got to be reunited with some of my close friends from Syracuse.  I hadn't seen two of them in a year and a half, and the other I hadn't seen since we graduated in May 2012. It's crazy how time flies by. What was awesome about the entire weekend was as if we just picked up where we left off. Yes, we talk via iMessage, FaceTime, Facebook, etc., but sometimes you just want to see the friends you've called friends for five years in person.

On Friday, I took a bus down to Scranton. One of my best friends and my first friend at Syracuse, Ashlie picked me up from the bus station. We then ventured down to Hershey to reunite with our other two friends, Jordan and Tracey, for dinner and laughs.

When in Hershey...

The girls

I had never been to Hershey before so we did take the free ride to understand how Hershey chocolate is made. Our friend, Jordan, drove back to DC that evening with the rest of us heading back to Ashlie's home for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday, Tracey, Ashlie, and I went out for lunch before we cheered on Syracuse in the game against Villanova! In the evening, Ashlie's family held their annual Christmas party.  It was tons of fun, and I was able to see a few other old friends.

Jill and Me

Ryan and Me

Tracey and Me 

Friends for 5 Years and Counting!

It was a super-fun weekend being with old friends and catching up!

Happy Christmas!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Bristol, UK

As part of my goal to see more of the UK before I graduate in the new year, I've been trying to get ahead of my to-see list! Last Sunday, my friend Allison and I took a train to Bristol!  Allison is a first-year on the MPA programme.

The train ride from Paddington took a little less than two hours.  We loaded our bags up with coffee and snacks to begin our girls mini-weekend.

When we got to Bristol, it was raining- typical England. We quickly dropped our bags at our hotel  before we set off to explore the city. We had chosen to stay over night in order to get a full day in as well as have time Monday morning.

Our hotel was located only a ten-minute walk from the old city centre and five minutes from the train station. The old city centre was where we found Bristol Cathedral and College Green- the location of the present-day City Hall!

Bristol Cathedral

On our casual walk up towards the Senate House and the University of Bristol, we came across one of the three Banksy paintings that are located in Bristol. We never found the other two given time constraints, but we did find the "Window Lovers."

Window Lovers

Stopping for another coffee refill, we soon hopped on a city bus tour to learn more about the city's history and to see many sights that we didn't have time to visit. We learned about famous residents of Bristol including the man who invented self-rising flour, Henry Cabot, and even Blackbeard!

On our city tour, we got to see the SS Brunel. The SS Brunel was the first modern steamship in the world.

SS Brunel

Next to the museum that is now at the SS Brunel is the building for Aardman Animations. Not familiar with the name Aardman Animations? Familiar with "Wallace and Gromit?" They are the creators of the iconic show and characters. Unfortunately, the studio was not open for tours, and the Gromit statues had been auctioned off for charity.

Cold from the rain (oh, England), we stopped in to a pub for some ale and a serving of Sunday Roast.

Refueled, we embraced the cold and rain to go see the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Allison and me

View of Bristol from the Bridge

As we made our way back to the city centre and our hotel, the weather took a turn for the worse. A storm brewed with strong winds that forced us to camp out in our hotel room for the evening. It was a girl's weekend after all, so we turned on the X-Factor Finale, ordered some wine, and caught up.

Monday morning before our train left, we wandered over to Broadmead to view the German Christmas Market and grab some breakfast.

Before hopping on the train, we stopped quickly to view St. Mary Redcliffe Cathedral where William Penn is buried!

All in all, it was an awesome mini trip to Bristol. It's not at the top of many people's lists when visiting places outside of London, but I would say that it needs to be! Would love to go back in the Spring! 

Holiday Parties!

It's that time of the year again! 

The holiday season has officially taken over all aspects of my life. From the small decorations I have in my flat to the Christmas lights twinkling around London, you can't escape the feeling!  I had three different holiday parties this week as well as the LSE Christmas Concert!

Tuesday, some of the girls and I grabbed tickets to see the LSE Christmas Concert. There was both a choir and an orchestra!

Earlier in the day, my office had a Christmas Luncheon! Last week was my last week at the US Embassy for the internship, so it was great getting to have one more outing with the friends and mentors that I've gained!

Thursday evening, I had two holiday parties to hop to. But of course, what is a holiday party without an ugly Christmas sweater! This year, I went for the sweater inspired by the movie, 'Home Alone 2.' The slogan? "Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal!"

The first party on Thursday was the Pi Phi UK Alumnae Holiday Party! We tried out a new bar in the Holborn area. It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones!

Maryann and me

Later in the evening, I headed over to Islington for the MPA Christmas Party! It was great to see a lot of people before we head off for a four-week break!

Capstone Partners 

Alyssa, Susannah, and me!

How many holiday parties are on your calendar this year? Any great Ugly Christmas Sweaters?

Jammed Recap

The end of another semester results in a constant flurry of events, extra coffee, and a lack of sleep. I'm adding a lack of consistent blog posts to this list as well.  In this post, I'm trying to essentially recap a bunch of things I've been doing on and off over the past two weeks in order to be back in the present!

About two weeks ago, I heard Alec Ross (@AlecJRoss) speak at LSE on power in the information age. Alec Ross formerly worked on the Obama 2008 campaign and was Senior Advisor on Innovation for Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. 

I've had  a  bunch of Pi Phi Alumnae events and meet ups over the past few weeks as well. One was a farewell as my friend, Michelle, and her family moved back to the States. Michelle was the first Pi Phi that I met in the UK. She and I met randomly on the streets of London near Holborn in 2010, and from there, we both found out we were Pi Phis! 

Michelle and me

The Pi Phi Alumnae Club also hosted a small Thanksgiving potluck the weekend after turkey day!

Other events over the past few weeks included the MPASA pub quiz (2nd place team!), a UK Panhellenic Alumnae Club Luncheon, a few holiday parties, enjoying the West End, and plenty of Christmas themed treks around London! 

1st Winter Wonderland Trip of the Year

Sorry again for the lengthy catch-up post! More frequent posts are coming to an blog reader/email inbox soon!

Munich Day One

*Apologies for such an overdue post*

 Last weekend for Thanksgiving, my friend, Nicola, and I went over to Munich to visit the Christmas markets and tour the castles of "Romantic Road." While I had class and a group meeting on Thanksgiving, it was so lovely to escape London for the weekend with a fellow American missing the turkey and cranberry sauce!

We had an early flight out of London Gatwick via Easyjet. For once, I have to applaud Easyjet for being a friendlier budget airline! The flight was about an hour and a half followed by an hour train ride into the Central Station in Munich. We were luckily staying at a hotel right next to the station, so we dropped out bags and set out to explore!

The concierge at the hotel suggested we do the hop-on-hop-off tour in order to see some of the attractions outside the main city centre since we had limited time. We're so glad we did as we were able to see the BMW Museum/HQ and the location of the 1972 Olympics.

BMW Museum

Location of the 1972 Olympics

After the tour of the city, we set off to explore a few things on our own. We stumbled upon the famous Opera House,Marienplatz, the Royal Gardens, and the Church St. Peter, to name a few.

The Royal Gardens

At Marienplatz, we discovered the largest Christmas market. Fun Fact: Munich has over 60 Christmas markets including a medieval one…that we never did find.  The markets sell everything from wood crafts to ornaments to mulled wine to bratwurst to candy. The list goes on and on for the variety of items that the different stalls sell.  It can be a bit overwhelmingly to decide what to even eat!

Mulled Wine

Merry Christmas!

In the evening, we took off for traditional beer and food! While it was a bit cheesy and a tourist destination, we knew we needed something authentic!

Cheers!

Stay tuned for another overdue post about the day trip we took to see the famous castles!

A HUGE Recap

Well, my goal of becoming a better blogger lagged off again this past week.

It's been a busy couple of weeks in jolly ole England. After Romania, I was swamped with a bunch of schoolwork dealings with my capstone project, my internship, tourist activities, and getting over a stomach bug. The stomach bug aside, despite the workload with school, the last two weeks have been full of laughs and memories as usual!

Last Thursday, I had dinner with two of the first years in my program. One is my first year buddy who as I've mentioned before has a CNY connection. The three of us went out to Wahaca for margaritas and some Mexican food!

The Wahaca location that we went to was in Covent Garden which has been decorated for Christmas. You just have to love London getting in the holiday spirit as soon as possible!

Last Friday, four of my friends in my programme hosted their house-warming party as they had just moved in together. As always, MPA parties are a ton of fun.

Saturday, I took myself to see Fantasia: Live in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.  Believe it or not, that was the first time I had ever set foot inside the Royal Albert Hall. Even back in 2010 when I lived a street away, I had only explored the outside of the building. While I couldn't take photos during the performance, I did snap a few shots beforehand! And, don't worry…I was tapping my foot to the music the entire time!

The Royal Albert Hall

At this point, I'm sure you are wondering when I do my homework…I swear, I do!

Last Sunday, I explored part of my neighborhood that I rarely get a chance to go to. What's cool about living in Ladbroke Grove/Notting Hill is the ability to see the clash between old and new. There are a ton of the famous Notting Hill colorful homes, the new building that I live in, and the old council housing buildings that were built in the 1950s/1960s.  I plan to write a post in the future on the history of my road, alone, but here's a sneak peak now!

Old v. New on Kensal Road

Sunday evening, my friend Emma invited a bunch of us out for Indian food and to meet her Mom!

Emma and her Mom!

And, on this past Tuesday, there was a Levo League event for the London club about dressing for success. It was great to hear some tips about professional wardrobes as well as catching up with old friends.

How has your week been? Have you done anything exciting?