Greetings from Las Vegas!

Greetings from Las Vegas!

I know that is has been over two weeks since I've last updated the blog. 

From packing and getting ready to move to driving across the country, something had to be cut off the to-do list! But, never fear...I'll this back up and running this week!

First up are re-caps of my days driving across the United States!

Stay tuned!!

Last Remaining Days in London: Photo Edition

Apart from my surge of day trips, I spent my last few days in London running around.

On Saturday, while this isn't technically London, I took a day-trip up to Lockerbie. I met up with my friend, Claire, to tour the memorials for the Pan Am 103 Bombing as well as see the town and meet her family.

This past Sunday, the Pi Phi Alumnae Club had a brunch at the Bread Street Kitchen. It has stunning views of St. Paul's which we took in post eating!

Delicious

Pi Phi UK Alumnae Club

Executive Board!

The brunch was my last event that I planned as part of my position on the executive club. It will be so strange to leave these sisters, but I recently joined the Pi Phi Alumnae Club for Las Vegas.

From Sunday to mid-day Tuesday, I spent a lot of time packing, cleaning, and shipping. Thank goodness for DVDs and coffee! 

On Monday evening, a few of my friends and I met up for drinks. I needed one more night at a pub to grab some traditional fare and a pint!

And, on Tuesday, I took a leisurely walk through London. I started at Harrods then walked through Hyde Park up into Green Park to Buckingham Palace. From there, I cut through St. James' Park to Trafalger Square.  I popped into the Crypt Cafe at St. Martins' to grab one more cream tea before taking a bus ride through Piccadilly Circus and up Oxford Street. I got to see some of my favorite sites once more before leaving. 

Buckingham Palace

Routemaster

Goodbye, London

Father-Daughter Eurotrip: Day Four

On our last day in London, we took it kind of easy as we had done almost everything that we wanted to do the days before. Our first stop of the day was at Granger & Co. for breakfast. It had been on my list of places to try for weeks, but sadly, I had not had a chance to do it yet! It's tucked into my neighborhood which was convenient for the next two stops after. 

Both Dad and I had the famous ricotta hotcakes complete with bananas and honeycomb syrup. It filled us up to get started with the sightseeing of the day!

From there, we hopped on my bus (#23) and headed down to Kensal Road. I wanted to show my Dad where I lived as well as the neighborhood! Dad enjoyed seeing the building I live in as well as my flat. 

Since we were close by, we stopped by to see the famous Portobello Road as well. It was a Thursday, so not that much was happening, but Dad still got the experience by seeing some of the stalls and antique stores. (*cue song*)

Dad on Portobello Road

Our afternoon activity consisted of high tea at Harrods! High tea is one of my favorite things to do in London, and doing it at Harrods has been on my list for quite some time. Dad has become quite the tea drinker on this trip, so we were both looking forward to listening to some classical music (including the Downton Abbey soundtrack) while eating the luxurious treats!

Pinkies Up!

Dad enjoying his tea!

While we took a break in the afternoon to pack and rest, we ended our evening with dinner at Bumpkin Notting Hill. Think traditional British food with a flair! It was a perfect ending to the four days spent together in the UK. 

Traditional British Cow Pie

Prague Recap: Day One

Over the weekend, Jenny and I traveled to Prague for some early birthday celebrations! It's been a city I've dreamed of visiting for more years than I can remember. Full of history, color, culture, and food, I was not disappointed. 

We were able to grab an Expedia deal that allowed us to get BA flights out of Heathrow and a four star hotel within our student budget. Not too shabby, eh?  

To start our Friday, we headed out from our hotel to catch a view of Prague Castle from the river bank. We were within a two minute walk to the famous Charles Bridge.  While the city was foggy (good old London fog following us...), the views were still incredible. We got our first taste of the amazing city, and were ready to keep exploring. But, first lunch!

Our first lunch was traditional Czech food full of Pilsners! 

I settled for Czech goulash and bread dumplings. 

Once our bellies were full, we wandered around the Old Town Square to see the Astronomical Clock, the colorful buildings, and the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn.

Astronomical Clock  

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn 

Jenny and I had decided to purchase Hop On-Hop Off bus tickets. So, we started our 48 hour pass on that afternoon as well. I'm a huge advocate of the Hop On-Hop Off busses because you get more facts about the city, get to see things that you often would not see, and transport throughout the city. We were able to see sights such as the building used for the Bourne Identity, the Strahov Stadium, and the older buildings in Prague that are now used for the government and hospitals that we normally would not have had time to see (or find)! 

Strahov Stadium 

Once we rode around once, we hopped off to wander the bridges and the area around our hotel. We had booked a dinner river cruise for the evening, so we headed back to the hotel to get ready for that. 

The dinner cruise celebrated Czech heritage. Complete with Pilsners, a live band, and traditional food, Jenny and I had a great time on board. We were also able to grab numerous photos of Prague at night! 

Charles Bridge at Night

It was truly a great first night in Prague! Stay tuned for updates about the second and third day!

Emerald Isle Visit!

This past weekend, I went to Dublin for my friend, Arielle's Birthday!

My return to the Emerald Isle after a year two-year hiatus ended when Arielle, Jenny, and I touched down Thursday evening. We had quite the journey to the London Stansted airport. The three of us met up at 5pm on Thursday to catch an EasyBus to London Stansted. For those of you who do not know, London Stansted is out of the city, and much harder to get to than Gatwick or Heathrow. We were scheduled on the 5:30pm bus. Yet, it got to be 5:40pm, and there was still no bus.  When I gave the customer service phone number a call, it was automated with no option of talking to a human. Finally, when it got to be 6pm, and we were concerned about missing our flight, we bought a ticket on a National Express bus to Stansted. We thought our troubles were over, but that was just the beginning. 

As the National Express bus started whisking us out of central London, we suddenly stopped at the Golders Green Station. The bus driver kindly informed us that there had been a major accident, and that the main road to Stansted was closed. As we realized that we would most likely miss our flight, we figured that we would get to the airport and buy another single flight to Dublin. Since we were flying a budget airline, it costs more to change a flight than normal airlines.  

We made it to the airport with roughly 30 minutes to spare to get our passports checked, make it through security, and to our gate. Needless to say, we were sprinting for those 30 minutes. But, we made it with time to spare! After I kindly told a Ryanair employee he was wrong about the cabin baggage policies, we boarded, and we were on our way! 

The Birthday Girl!

The first night, the four of went out to grab some quick food before checking out the Temple Bar area. Lots of memories from 2010! We listened to some live music at one pub before belting out classic songs such as "Sweet Caroline" at the final pub of the evening! 

On Friday, Emma arrived right after we got an early lunch. From there, we headed off to the Guinness Factory for the tour. Don't worry, we mastered the pouring of a proper Guinness at the Guinness Factory!

Making Walpoles Proud since 1990

Post Guinness, we headed down to the Jameson Factory. I was super excited about this one because I never got a chance to do it in 2010. The tour was quite interesting with a taste test at the end. The five of us volunteered to choose what our favorite whiskey was. I was the only one in the person to choose Jack Daniels over Jameson!

Friday evening, we went out to get traditional Irish food. A meal of potato and leek soup and bangers and mash held us over as we headed out to the Temple Bar area again! Live music and lots of laugh for the rest of the evening.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Saturday, Arielle, Jenny, and I decided to make our own walking tour of the city. We started on Grafton Street, made our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church, and then stumbled across a market in the Temple Bar area. On our walk, we came across a free concert by the band, Key West! I had never heard of them before, but their CD has officially been bought! 

Key West

Traditional Fish and Chips

On Sunday, we booked a day trip out to the Wicklow Mountains and Glenadough. While the tour guide and the tour itself was not the greatest by any standard, we got to see some amazing sights before our flight back to London and reality.  

Wicklow Mountains 

Glenadough 

Overall, the weekend was worth it. Arielle got to have an awesome birthday experience. And, I'm looking forward to seeing more of the countryside of Ireland next month with my Dad. 

#101in1001 Update!

As most of you who follow this blog regularly, I am participating in the 101 things in 1001 days. My list has to be completed by May 22nd, 2015. Check it out here: #101in1001.

Since many of the things on my list deal with traveling and doing new things, I figured it was time for an update even though I have only been in London for around three weeks now.

-Live in a Foreign Country for a Year

-I think I've already got a big head start on this one! 

-Master the Art of Packing

-I think I'm getting better at this one especially after the big move across the pond. 

-Meet one of my Inspirations

I got to meet Kofi Annan on October 4th. 

Day 2 and 3

(As this is a scheduled post, please ignore the writing phrases, "yesterday" and "today." It was written on the 20th, and posted on the 21st). 

Yesterday, I took off to set up my bank account. That was a fun task. I stopped at one HSBC, and was told I had to wait two weeks. Not the most ideal situation. Eventually, I stopped at the one near the Notting Hill Gate tube station, and was able to make an appointment this Saturday at 2pm. I know my loan check won't be released to me until October 11th, but I would like to be able to switch to a normal phone plan as well as put money into it to use the debit card payments in the stores. Having a US card without a chip is a hassle.

My other errands and adventures of the day included buying a few more things for my apartment-storage container, desk lamp, sticky tack to hang photos, and toiletries. I took the main bus route that I've been using farther down yesterday and found that it stopped at the end of Queensgate. In 2010, I lived on Queensgate, so there were quite  a few sentimental moments as I headed into the neighborhood of South Kensington.  I eventually got off at Hyde Park, and also found myself exploring Covent Garden. Being able to re-expereince two of my favorite parts of London on my second day was great.

And, yesterday, I got lost. I somehow managed to get on the wrong bus, go the wrong direction on the tube, and get on the wrong bus for the second time in the matter of an hour. It was interesting, to say the least. I found a pretty sketchy tube station when I was trying to get back in the correct direction, and was glad when a train came right away. I did eventually make it home- in one piece.

Last night, we had an informal happy hour for first year MPA students. It was great finally meeting some people that I've been talking to on Facebook all summer in person as well as a lot of others embarking on the program. I was able to have Magners and Bulmers, both of which I've been severely missing since 2010. You can usually find Magners at Wegmans, but I hadn't had much luck in the past six months or so. Everyone that I met has an interesting past that makes me so much more excited to get started with the program and get to know everyone more!

Today, I had an interview for an internship. After that, I finally got the last things I needed to finish my flat! It's been a long few days lugging things from Sainsburys. This evening, I was able to meet up with my friend, Nicole, for dinner. She just graduated from Syracuse this past May as well. We actually met when we were both abroad in 2010 and did the Encompass program together. It was great catching up, hearing about her program, and how much we have planned to do over the next year!

Nicole and I celebrating my 21st birthday in March of 2011.

Hello Governour!

Cheers from across the pond! I've been in London for three days now, and I honestly cannot express how much I am so happy to be back! From taking the bus to the tube within the first few hours to eating at Pret and EAT to having a glass of Ribena, it was memories all over from 2010.

At the moment, I'm currently sitting in my now sparkling flat and have finished unpacking! It's been three days of scrubbing, unpacking, and organizing. But, more on the flat later...

As for my journey, it was quite smooth despite some minor disturbances. Mom and Dad took me to Syracuse where I thankfully was able to check my bags all the way through to London. Only two of them were essentially overweight, so I considered that a job well done. Yet, as soon as we all said goodbye (with some tears), and I made my way through security, there was a delay right away. Supposedly, the plane arriving from JFK was late, but eventually it "arrived," and we were on our way!   At JFK, I quickly managed to jump over to the international terminal and upgraded my economy seat to economy with extra leg room. It's the difference of almost another half seat, and I must say it is needed on the longer flights. Once I got through security once more, I exchanged some money, and before you knew it, we were boarding.

I flew Virgin Atlantic as I did the last time I flew to London, and I'm happy once again that I did. The extra leg room was a plus as well as not fighting for a blanket or a pillow. A quick dinner, dessert, and hot chocolate, and I settled in to watch "The Hunger Games." I finally fell asleep for a few hours to the "Lucky One" (guess that could say something about the movie?). I woke up just as breakfast was being served, and before you knew it, we landed. However, once we taxied to the gate, we had a bit of a delay.  Sleepy-eyed, I was wide awake as soon as five police officers came on board and escorted a man off.  At what was 3am Eastern time, that was quite the entertainment. The stewardess near us said that usually that only happens when someone is trying to enter the country when they are no longer allowed.

Groggy-eyed, I made my way to the immigration line to only find a two-hour wait. A nightmare, it was. When I finally got to the an agent, even with a visa, I had to produce all my financial documents and acceptance letter. But, I got into the country! After grabbing my suitcases and navigating a very heavy luggage through a sea of people, I found the usual, pleasant taxi cab waiting for me. Talking with the cab driver as we navigated through Central London, just got me more and more excited to be back.

After arriving in Notting Hill, I was able to check in to my accommodation, but couldn't get to my room yet.  So, I stored my bags, and took off to get something to eat.  I stopped quickly to buy an oyster card at a convenience store, topped it up with five pounds, and hopped on a bus to Notting Hill Gate tube stop. From there, I took the Central line to Holborn- an area I know very well due to the Syracuse building being there. I stopped at Pret for a bit to eat, and then set up a basic phone plan at O2. Unfortunately, I can't have a "real" phone plan until my bank account is all set up, so I have to wait a bit. I managed to get a 20 pound deal that includes texting, phone calls, and web (more on the web situation in a future post). After that, I headed down to Starbucks, stopped to buy some housewares at Argos (think Target), and unpacked for the rest of the evening.

 It was not such an eventful day as I was trying to get settled in as well as deal with jet lag. I went to bed at 9pm (UK time) that evening-that's how tired I was!

Tomorrow is orientation, but I'll have a scheduled post to get you all up-to-date till tonight! Look out for a post about my flat this weekend! CHEERS!

You Gonna Fly...

This one isn’t really about London, but the man certainly is: My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters. 

- Boris Johnson 

As this is a scheduled post, at this approximate time, I'm about to board my first plane on my journey back across the pond. I'll land at JFK in under an hour and have a brief layover. From there, I'll board my overnight flight to London, landing at Heathrow around 8am (London time). 

My suitcases are packed, most likely overweight as both my parents and I predicted. I've got the travel documents and books that I pre-read for my courses. Life is about to change...and so, here we go.

Bon Voyage. 

The next time I'll be writing, I'll be living in Notting Hill. 

(title of post taken from "You Gonna Fly" by Keith Urban)

Essentials of Packing....Katie Style.

I have had a disease known as over packing since I was allowed to pack my suitcase for vacations on my own.  Over packing has been a consistent family joke since I was young. In the dictionary, my name is listed as over packing. WebMD defines over packing as Katie.

My disease had become so severe that a weekend away at our lake house requires extra clothes, just in case. Keeping in mind, our lake house is less than an hour away from our home, and I have clothes there as well.

College was an entirely different case. I had a moving truck, and I'm proud of it.

Believe me, over packing for college paid off every semester. You'd be surprised at the random things I needed (crayons, a hammer, sleeping bag, etc.).

As I've noted several times before, when I went abroad for the four months in college, I packed lightly. I came home with more, but I worked very hard to keep both suitcases underweight for that adventure. It paid off as I was more comfortable packing for weekends away and had more room for souvenirs.

This time around, I will be checking three very large suitcases. I'll also have a carry-on and a backpack as well.  About a week ago, I took over the guest bedroom with the start of the packing process. I decided that rather than spend time packing by ripping my closet apart, I'd pre-fold everything that I would like to take. Creating outfits based upon a variety of different clothing pieces was essential when doing this. Usually, whenever I moved to Syracuse, I could take just about everything I wanted to. If I only wore a sweater once in a while, it was fine. This time, it's different.

My piles were of basics (socks, etc.) in addition to scarves (most purchased from the last time I was abroad) to my peacoat. Thus, today, when I started packing, I was able to move throughout the room looking at what I had pulled. No need to rush back and forth between my closet.

Piles Prepared the Week Prior...

Today, if you cannot tell already, was the day I packed. I started out putting the toiletries in all three suitcases (double bagging, of course). From there, rather than pack just one, I moved throughout the room adding in things to all of them.  One of the things that I have picked up on from traveling is too stuff shoes (including boots) full of smaller items. It seems obvious to do this, but it can be often overlooked. I laid in my peacoat towards the bottom of one suitcase and proceeded to stuff the sleeves. I did the same for my leather coat. With several of my dresses and silk blouses, I did the roll-method, but was able to place a few smaller shirts between them before the roll.

Starting to Pack

Overall, I was able to get just about everything that I wanted to take with me. A combination of relaxation clothes (new pjs!), clothes for classes, and business attire was packed. One of the nice things is that I'll be able to rotate any clothes at Christmas, if I get tired of them.  I packed the essentials- practical for the weather, comfy clothes, and, fashionable as well for London.

Finished Product

The only things left to pack are my carry-on and my backpack. My rain boots snuck into my carry-on suitcase as they weigh a bit too much. Yet, I'm stuffing them full. I've got the majority of the carry-on suitcase done with just a few minor things left to add in.  Moving into the final week, I can make sure that I have everything that I absoltuely need and make sure I did not forget something!

Final Preparations!

Tomorrow is the first of September!! 

It's hard to believe that London is less than three weeks away. I remember when I got accepted to my first university for graduate school back in December that the time to depart would never arrive. I even said that at the beginning of summer when I graduated. Yet, time flies, and here, I am, approx. 17 days away!

As a recap for the summer, I worked for my parents, interned remotely for Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, and took two road trips. When I had other free time, I spent time reading for pleasure, swimming and kayaking, and actually watching television. The television bit is more of a foreign experience to me as I hardly ever have had time to sit and watch a series that wasn't recorded on a DVD.  These last few weeks have been the most relaxing as I finished yet another successful internship, made some money, and completed my preparations.

Besides packing, my preparations are done. I have my visa stamped in my passport, my loans set, housing paid for up through February, and confirmation of my flight. New suitcases, some new clothes, jewelry repair completed, and iPhone 3 (unlocked) in my possession. My bank account will be open in the first week that I'm in London once I show proof of US residence and citizenship. I'll hopefully set up my phone, order my student oyster card, and order student discount cards during my first day.

One of the things that I am thankful for with my housing is that it comes with new sheets, a new bathroom pack, and kitchen utensils. Because of the price covering those items, I'll only be left with buying a few things here and there and not having to lug housewares across Central London.

I'm glad that I was able to have all my preparations completed by the first of September. I'll be able to take my time packing these last few weeks without a fear of forgetting something, not having something bought, etc.

Stay tuned for my packing list and my plans for my first week in London

Preparing for London: In Photos

New Planner 

The Packing Begins

New Notebooks 

Approaching the Final Month!

It's hard to believe that it's almost the final month before I move to London!!

I've got lists everywhere.  And, I mean, everywhere.  

Random thoughts pop into my head at certain times. These random thoughts include packing ideas, things I still need to buy, and just general excitement and planning for my new adventure.

One of my biggest concerns as the final month approaches is packing! I've actually created a Pinterest board specifically devoted to the art of packing.  Over the years, I've always struggled with packing too much.  Weekends at the lake to a week-long vacation have always resulted in my concern for needing more than I actually need.

Lists don't help. I seem to stick extra things in no matter what. Space bags, don't help me either.

My overpacking disease, if you may, improved slightly when I did study abroad in London before. Both suitcases before heading across the pond were underweight, and most weekends away, I packed very lightly to leave room for souvenirs. However, at the end of my semester abroad, I had way too much to bring home!

Nevertheless, my goal is to pack for what I need in the first few months that I am in London. I'll be home for Christmas in December, so naturally, I could take back anything that I need to London as well as bring home anything I found myself not actually wearing. It will, of course, be a struggle as to pack for weather that could actually be warm at certain points. I take exams at the end of June, so packing for a spring season in December could become a possibility.

Lists will continue as I begin the packing process! Prepare for any tips that I may figure out during my developing crisis!