Road Trip Day #5

On day five of the road trip, Nicola departed back to Cleveland for other plans. I got to drive the 11 hours to St. George, Utah on my own. Before we get to my solo driving day...

We first had breakfast in downtown Denver with some friends. I got to see my friend, Nicole, who if you are a regular reader, will recall our trips to Italy and Amsterdam .  She did a one year masters in London during my first year at LSE. Nicola and I also got to be reunited by a fellow former intern friend from London.  We all had brunch at a place that was themed around the disco. 

Nothing like a disco ball going on a Sunday morning at 9am!

Anyone surprised?

Nicole and me

London Reunion 

Best Road Trip Co-Pilot! 

After breakfast and goodbyes, I snapped a few photos of downtown Denver before heading off into the Rockies! 

Leaving Denver around 10am, I hit Utah a bit before 2pm. There was quite  a few zones of construction in the Rocky Mountains. Plus, I was not used to the windy roads and the elevation! My ears popped enough for an entire year!

Perfect Music

Such amusement

Rockies

Rockies

For lunch, I stopped in Grand Junction to check out the Colorado National Monument. I had 30 minutes to spare, so I went in through an entrance and drove around for literally 30 minutes. The roads were nerve wracking, but the views were well worth that brush with death!

Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument

The longest stretch of my solo drive was in Utah.

Everyone had told me to fill up my gas tank as much as possible once I got into the state until I hit the larger cities. They weren't kidding. The state doesn't kid either. I passed a sign that said, "No Service Area for 100 Miles." I stopped and filled up my tank even with 3/4 left.

To make my trip more enjoyable getting through Utah, I took time to get off at the scenic outlook spots as I was coming through the canyons and desert.

Utah

Utah

Utah

Ghost Rock, Utah

I was puttering out as I got out of the canyons. Thank goodness for coffee! And, when Las Vegas started to show up on the signs, I got a lot more energy!

I stayed in St. George, Utah, that night. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to spend exploring the city. Thankfully, it's only two hours away from Las Vegas! 

O-Town Concert

Back in my elementary and middle school years, boy bands were the trend. 

NSYNC was my favorite followed by the Backstreet Boys. I'm fairly sure I made my Mom and Dad take me to the CD store at the mall to buy new cds the day they came out. 

I was devastated when NSYNC stepped aside as a group. Love ya, Justin Timberlake...but get the band back together! 

Anyways, I was also a fan of O-Town. Again, another band that fell to the wayside following a few hits and albums.  But, as of this year, they have reunited! They are without one member, but they still got it. 

Chelsea Football Club

Last Friday, Susannah and I went to the Under the Bridge venue at Chelsea Football Club to see them perform for the first time in a decade! 

It was a flashback to our years of middle school. Both opening acts were boy bands, and they played the major hits of our youth during the breaks. Although, we both agreed that being adults now made the evening better with a pint or two! 

O-Town performed several of their hits, talked about getting back together, and played their new song!

Well worth the trip down to Fulham to see them perform! Be sure to check out their new song, 'Skyfall!'

Viva Las Vegas

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I creeped over to the United States last weekend.

I went to Las Vegas for four days, primarily for business (more on that, later). Yet, I also got to have some fun.

I got in late Thursday night, and I chose to stay at a hotel farther up the Strip. I actually had a view of the famous Stratosphere from my room.

Stratosphere

On Friday morning, I tended to some business. But, I then found myself by the pool. 

Cheers!

My brother, Ben, lives in California. He came in to spend the day with me for some sibling bonding! 

We soaked up the sunshine before heading out to see the casinos. We rode the roller coaster at New York, New York...which I do believe I passed out due to being so afraid.  We took in the Dueling Pianos Bar, caught the fountain show at the Bellagio, and just had a lot of fun catching up! 

Ben and Me

Ben left the next morning which meant I got to decide how to spend my last full day in Nevada. I started out by grabbing a pedicure. Post traveling around Europe, it was much needed.

From there, I went on a Hoover Dam Tour! I have always wanted to see the Hoover Dam in person being a history nerd. It was an incredible tour, and I don't say that lightly. One of the best day tours that combined the normal tour of the generators inside the Dam. 

Lake Mead

At the Hoover Dam

Generators 

Hoover Dam

Returning to Las Vegas, I took a night-time tour to see all the light shows, casinos lit up, and to learn more about the history of the City. 

We started at the famous Las Vegas sign!

Viva Las Vegas

Then, we stopped at the Golden Nugget and Freemont Street! What an experience!

Golden Nugget

Freemont Street

World's Largest Golden Nugget

And, finally, we got to see the volcano show at the Mirage and the fountain show at the Bellagio! 

Volcano Show at the Mirage

Bellagio Water Show 

I left fairly early on Sunday for the airport as I had a 10 hour flight back to London. It was a quick, fun, and exciting weekend! I hadn't been to Vegas in 10 years, so it was nice to go back.

And, stay tuned...I'll let you in on another secret on why I was in Las Vegas! 

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! 

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?