Basildon Park

Last Friday, I took a day trip up to Basildon Park. 

I started off the day bright and early at Paddington Station to catch a commuter train to Goring.  I had to grab an early train as once I arrived in Goring, I had to catch the 11am bus to the estate. As it is a small town, there are irregular bus services. Thankfully, everything worked fine, and I got to the estate a bit before 11:30am.

Before I continue, Basildon Park has been used for numerous films and television shows.  The house, itself, has a cool history. But, part of the reason I went was to take the film tour at 11:30am. Most recently, Basildon Park was used in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and the 2013 Christmas Special of Downton Abbey (season four).

The film tour provided an overview of how the house was transformed for the Downton Abbey episode that was shot there. The insides of the house were used for the Crowley's Hyde Park home with the front lawn being the setting for the Hyde Park scenes. It was fun exploring each room where a still was set up to help recall what was shot in each room.

Carson!

Mrs. Crowley

Room used as the ballroom for Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice 

Library

Following the tour, I explored the upper part of the house which showcased how the house had been modernized from the 1950s. 

While some of the grounds were shut down for maintenance, I did grab a few shots of the backyard.

Just a tiny backyard, huh?

Following a quick lunch, I ended up walking back to Goring as the bus schedule wasn't conforming to my schedule. I did get lost for a bit, but it helped me discover a few other small towns along the way!

Done with LSE!

I finished grad school this week!!

(Let's out screams of woo!!)

I finished my last exam on Wednesday, shortly before noon. As soon as I put my pen down, it hit me. After going to school for 21 years, I am finally done. It's been quite a long time. 

Pre-school, primary school, secondary school, undergrad, and grad school...

I love to learn, and I will always be a lifetime learner. But, the fact I no longer have to write papers or take an exam is a huge relief. I know in no time, I will most likely miss the assignments. I know I say I'm done with school forever, but since the future is unknown, I may end up back in a classroom someday! 

As for now, I'm enjoying my last few days in London while I begin packing.  

It still hasn't hit me that I'm done. Grades will begin to come with all of them being released in July. 

But, now...onward thinking to Las Vegas! 

Sofia, Bulgaria

Last Sunday through Tuesday, I my last solo trip for a bit to Bulgaria. Not a country on most people's bucket list, but for me...it was. Having been a history major in college, I've been wanting to see Sofia for years, and I knew I needed to make it happen before departing in June. 

I took an early flight out of Heathrow airport. 

Can I just say how thankful I am to Starbucks for being open that early? 

Although, I could do without getting my name misspelled, for once.

I stayed at the Hilton in Sofia which ended up being fairly close to everything including being across the street from the National Palace of Culture. Around the building of the National Palace of Culture were numerous monuments and memorials remembering the time the country was under Communist rule. 

National Palace of Culture

Old Guard Post from the Communist Period 

Gas Masks

The majority of my first day in Bulgaria was spent exploring the city. I did get lost at one point.

Streets of Bulgaria

Taste of America

I eventually stumbled upon the government area and got to see where the Prime Minister resides, the National Bank, and many government buildings that were built during the Communist period.

Apart from the government corridor, I was also able to view the famous Russian Church as well as the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. I wondered inside the Cathedral, and as it was built during the Ottoman Empire period, it reminded me of the Hagia Sophia (Turkey) in many ways. I could have looked at the frescos all day.

The Russian Church

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Finally, through my exploration and getting a tad lost, I discovered the old Roman ruins as well as what was an old public bath house.

Old Roman Ruins

Public Bath House

Stay tuned for the blog post recapping my day trip to the Bulgarian countryside!

Stockholm Recap: Part 2

On my second day in Stockholm, I was still a tad full from my dinner the night before. I just had to try the Swedish meatballs when in Stockholm!

On Sunday, I headed off to the Central Train Station to grab some Starbucks (had to!). If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been in a never-ending battle around London at Starbucks locations to spell, "Katie," correctly. Even the Starbucks that know me cannot spell my name. Usually it's Kitty. But, my friends, Stockholm got it correct!

Coffee in hand, I took a city tour to get a grasp of the history and more areas that I had no time to see. 

Neighborhood where Greta Garbo grew up

Before I left Stockholm, I knew I had to make a pit-stop at the Abba Museum.

It was a fun museum, and I'm fairly sure my foot was tapping to the beat the entire time!

From there, I headed by the Royal Palace and the other Swedish government buildings.

Parliament

Royal Palace

And, finally, before I headed back to London...I stopped in to one of the subway stations. Stockholm's subway stations are famous for being works of art. And, the one I chose to venture into was not without art!

Stockholm was a great weekend away! I know I've added it my list to cities to explore again in the future as well as the rest of the country! 

The "Last" Last Paper

19 years later...technically 21 if you count preschool, I submitted my last academic paper this week.

I'm not sure how many papers I actually wrote over my academic career. There were some that I hated.  There were some that I finished minutes before they were do. There were some that I love. And, of course, there were some that I wish I could go back and keep working on. 

My last two weeks have been paper writing hell. I've spent more times at the 24 hour Starbucks in London than I needed to. The library and I are not on speaking terms anymore. But, I'm done!

My last two academic assignments are two exams in June! For now, I'm switching to job applications and mini assignments, here and there. I've got freedom for a week or so before I start studying!

First Week Back

Last Saturday, I got back into Londontown in the evening. 

One week later, I've survived one of the hardest weeks of graduate school, yet. 

This week has been crazy with academic assignments, meetings, and trying to fit in a social life! 

On Sunday, jet-lagged and all, I headed over to my friend, Maryann's house to celebrate Founder's Day for Pi Beta Phi with some of my fellow sisters! It's one of the last few events I'll help plan and attend with the UK alumnae club! 

Monday was my last first day of school, ever. It's been a long-time coming! We also got access to the new MPA Lounge, finally. It will definitely be a great study space for the last months.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday, a 48 hour tube strike started. It's a struggle to get anywhere when the tube strikes happen. I walked home one day due to traffic jams. Thankfully, my walk home was fairly scenic...

Buckingham Palace

Italian Gardens

Suffering through the tube strike, I managed to complete two final papers. The first was my policy paper that was about MOOCs and public diplomacy. The second dealt with polarization in Congress. It was a week of late nights, coffee, and good iTunes playlists.

And, yesterday to cap off the week, I spent the evening with some of my friends catching up about breaks, talking about summer plans/post-graduation plans, and just relaxing! 

How was your week?

Five on Friday

It's been quite some time since I participated in the blog round up for Five on Friday! Being on spring break, I've been able to structure my time during the week to get prepared to begin regularly blogging, again, and I knew this is something that I wanted to start doing again.

1.  Everyone knows I've had my Starbucks Gold card for years, and I'm coming no where close to never not being a gold member. The other day I was in Target, and I finally found the Starbucks Discoveries for the area! I've picked up the vanilla latte, and I love it! Has anyone else tried these?

2.  I've gotten wanderlust this past week. I'm still home in the States for another week or so before heading back to school for my last term. But, that hasn't stopped me from looking into a trip to Morocco and Hungary before I graduate!

Source

3.  The new lines at Target for spring have gotten me snatching up dresses left and right! I just picked up this gem for an evening with the girls!

Source

4. Did anyone else watch the Scandal season finale last night? I'm still coping with the last five minutes!

5.  And, this is just hilarious for all my fellow Beyonce fans.

Source 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

A Whole Lot of Work...

My last post was 10 days ago. 

I have finally finished the last assignment in what could be called a midterm period at LSE. Except...none of my essays, presentations, or assignments in the last two weeks were graded. They are all formative assignments. So, I'll get feedback in terms of writing, preparation for the final summative papers, and general comments of my understanding of the course load. But, let's just say...phew! I'm tired!

Last week, I had a paper due in my media policy class. I wrote a short analysis about the increasing access to broadband in the United States and how educational policies aimed at teachers in secondary schools needs to change. It was actually a lot more interesting that I thought it would be! It might be a topic for my final essay. I also had a paper due in my US legislative politics class last week. That one was about the electoral connection! 

This week...I had an outline due for my final paper in my information systems for the public sector class. I'm writing on the organizational structures of two different web councils in the US federal agency structure and how those organizations effect the delivery of digital services to citizens. The graded essay is due in April (bit early), so I'm looking forward to getting that feedback right away! 

And, tomorrow, I have a presentation about the deliberation process in Congress for my US legislative politics class. 

Can we say "Katie needs coffee?" 

If you're wondering how everything else is going at school...

Our capstone project final presentation has been set for March 18th. It's the day after my birthday, so double the celebrations! We're aiming to have the entire 15,000 word report written by the end of this weekend. 

As for my policy paper, I changed my topic and focus, but I like my new idea much better. Plus, I think it will be much more feasible to write about. 

LSE is pushing me to the extreme, again. But, I am still glad that I chose the rigor of my program and the school. I know it's all going to be worth it once I finish in a few months!

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!