i've seen london, i've seen france..

no mom, i haven't seen any underpants.. :)


Now with less than 2 months left of my study abroad experience I can cross off the city I was most excited about, LONDON! Loved, loved, LOVED London. Must go back, numerous times. But before I discuss London, I must finish Spainnnn!

BARCELONA

I never imagined I'd make it down to Spain this round of being abroad, but I'm a luck girl. Barcelona was simply amazingggg. Every where you looked there was something beautiful. But, being in a group of just girls is not exactly the safest in Spain. Luckily, we made it with all our belongings and just gained a few lame attempts of being hit on. Somehow we did this without speaking the language! They don't primarily speak Spanish in Barcelona, they speak Catalan. Weird, I know. But when you were able to speak Spanish, you did it with a lisp.. as in Bar-th-elona. Thanks high school Spanish, you helped so much.. NOT.

Our first site in Barcelona was Park Güell. It was a truly beautiful place. A sort of outdoor modern art exhibit designed by Antoni Gaudi. Being a fan of more historical and traditional art, I'd never heard of Park Güell or Gaudi but it was an amazing place. You see Gaudi's works allllll over Barcelona, no joke. We spent a few hours exploring the many oddities all over Park Güell and enjoying the magnificent views from the park.

The Sagrada Familia. One giant, thrown together, modern art basilica. I have seen my fair share of cathedrals, basilicas and abbeys at this point but NOTHING compares to the Sagrada Familia, nothing. Another "quirky" design by Gaudi, it's been under construction for the past 100 years & it's projected finish year is 2020.. I mean really, chop chop! As stated earlier, I'm not big on modern, but I was still amazed and stunned. Everyone needs to pay a visit, srsly. My pictures do NO justice.

The.Most.Traumatizing.Meal.Of.My.Life. Not jokinggggg. Seafood Paella, they aren't joking about the seafood part. ew ew ew ew. It still makes me sick to think about it. They literally boil some clams, shrimp and some other sea creature & then plop them down WHOLE on some rice. ugh. Really guys, ew.

My life, what a tough one. I get to be in these amazing places seeing amazing things and I'll never forget to count my blessings. But, nothing has made me appreciate home more than being abroad. 

LONDON

Oh, London. It was the one and only place I've been sad to leave. I was obsessed with London, I NEED to live there one day. We'll see.. :)

Can't get much more London than Westminster Abbey. THE site of the Royal Wedding, where everything royal related occurs, and where just about every person you've ever heard about is buried, but really. Couldn't take pictures inside, sad day I know, but the outside is just as amazing.

It's the Londonnnn crew. We had an amazing, sleepless, hysterical time. This photo was taken outside of The British Museum by a friendly photography man, thanksss for not running off with my camera. :) Inside the museum I got to see basically EVERYTHING I learned about in art history, ha.

AHHHHHHHHH! PLATFORM 9 & 3/4. Oh how I love me some Harry Potter. But, not as exciting as I needed it to be.. hey, at least I got to see it. Unfortunately, Kings Cross was under construction.. Oh well, another reason to go back to London. :)

Oh hiiiiiii Queen. It's Buckingham Palace! I got to be present for the Changing of the Guard, really not that cool but I get to say I was there. HA. My obsession with royalty is now about 10x worse after walking in all these places that they have, not healthy. 

St. Paul's Cathedral. Personally, I liked it better than Westminster. We didn't get to go inside, but something about it just clicked with me. That is why I don't mind Will & Kate taking Westminster, Harry and I can just marry here. :) Speaking of marriage in St Paul's, this is where Diana & Charles were married.

Since I am such a fatty, my blog wouldn't be complete if I didn't include a picture of food from everyyy single place I've been. This meal is SO brit. A pastry thingy with veggies, gravy and yorkshire pudding. Like I said, BRITISH. It was absolutely delicious. I put on about 10 pounds and clogged an artery or two by eating it.

I'm having such an amazing time abroad. I leave for Portugal Thursday and that's where I'll be spending Easter break, nbd. After that, I'll be hitting up beautiful Scotland.. now that it's kinda warm and a tiny bit sunny. :) BUT in one month and 18 days I'll be in AMERICA. Way too beyond excited to come home. To prove it, I made a list of some things I miss the most..

tea.driving.ranchbythebottle.japanese.khakishorts.sundresses.sunshine.southernaccents.
americanaccents.easterntime.mtde.myblackberry.fastfood.flipflops.burnett's.sandals.sushi.mexicanfood. barefootmascato.myotherclothes.texting.television.and all you crazy, wonderful, amazing people.


And I think of more every minute. See you in no time! :)




Lots of Love

spring break in spain

Okay, okay, okay. I've had two papers and a test that I've been working on foreverrrr. But, as of thirty minutes ago, ALL DONE! :):):) Now I should be packing for London but since Teresa and Drew kindly pointed out, I haven't blogged in years. Promise, maybe, to get better? 

Since my last blogged I've knocked two places off my extensive must see list & visited a place I had no clue existed. I had a very interesting weekend in Paris about three weeks ago. It was.. kinda traumatizing. But of course it was PARIS, so it was amazing. It is a truly great story though and a trip I will never ever forget. And then for spring break, España! I got to spend a whole 8 days in Spain, 3 in Palma de Mallorca and 5 in Barcelona! Oh my life. :)

PARIS

Paris seems like yearssss ago. It was such an old and beautiful city. Exactly what I expected it to be, including the super rude French people. Two days were no where near enough time to explore all there is in Paris, but I fit a lot in. Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre and so much more that you don't even realize is there. BUT one day I must go back with more money and more time. Not to mention someone to make out with.. that is ALL those people do! One of my "favorite" parts of the trip was being on the metro with a couple kissing in my face.. I could have joined. NOT OKAY.

Although I must, must go back, Paris was not a city I fell in love with. I loved the history and the beauty, but I'm good with a little vacation to go back. I will not be a long term resident of Paris.

PALMA DE MALLORCA

I have no clue what the proper name to address this place is but I will hereby be referring to it as Palma. It's an island off the coast of Spain, close to Barcelona. It was simply BEAUTIFUL. A perfect place to start a spring break in the sun. Now, I absolutely adore Scotland.. but it was time to lay on a beach. And that is what we did, lay on the beach all morning and site see all afternoon. Perfect system. And at night..

we were very tired, a little burnt, and a forty of beer cost 1.10 euro. So what did we do.. lay in bed, drink our very cheap beer and watch Lord of the Rings. THAT is what I call a vacation. Seriously, nothing exciting or out of the ordinary occurred in Palma and I LOVED it. 

  

Honorable mention to one of the funnier moments goes toooo.. THE AMERICAN COUNTRY. Yes, The American Country. On the last night we decided to get Tex-Mex at the most American restaurant on the dang island and is was DELICIOUS. Highlight of my night, they had an NC license plate. Can't wait to see those everywhere again. :)

BARCELONA

Okay.. I don't time for Barcelona.. I really MUST go pack. Next week I have nooo papers or test or ANYTHING to do. So, I'll blog about Barcelona and London, PROMISE.

ps this wil have grammar errors and misspelling all over, sorry 'bout it. i'm rushed! :)

lots of love! 

     

inverness & buh bye honeymoon.

I would first like to thank EVERYONE who has listened to me bitch, complain and whine for the past week. They aren't lying when they say that you will eventually have a down time. Silly me thought I was going to avoid that whole sad, miserable stage, WRONG. It took a month, but eventually it caught up with me. No worries folks, I've improved. Largely thanks to my wonderful mother Karennn and the two most amazing girls ever, Lindsay & Maggie. You are all great and I apologize for not shutting up. LOVE YA. :)



Anywho, on to more exciting things. My latest trip was to Inverness. It wasn't my favorite trip to be perfectly honest.. but I am definitely glad I went. A little about Inverness: it's called the capital of the Highlands and is Scotland's fastest growing city, there is a castle (surprise, surprise), it's close to LOCH NESS andddd that's all I've got. When I checked the weather a week before we went Inverness was suppose to have decent weather when we were going. But I'm in Scotland, you can't predict the weather. Due to the day being snowy and miserable, I didn't get to see much or take many pictures. BUT here are a few.

I snapped this pic from the train. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY. Thankfully it wasn't sticking in Inverness, but it still majorly sucked.

This is Inverness Castle. Just like every other castle in Scotland. I never ever thought these words would ever come from me, but I'm kinda over castles. Unless I get to live in one, than I am totally back on the castle bus.

THE Loch Ness. I have watched countless programs on this place and dreamed of coming here. It was a little exciting, I'm not going to lie. We took a cruise on the Loch and smoked cigars.. on the top deck.. in the snow. It was certainly an experience. No monster sighting though. :(

Andddd finally, another castle. This particular one is Urquhart Castle. It's actually a ruin of a castle, changing things up a bit. We didn't get to explore it because it was way to miserable outside. But I braved to elements for a quick shot of it just for you guys.

Alright, not my most exciting blog post. I apologize. The next one will be riveting, PROMISE. It will include all the juicy details of St. Patrick's Day and my trip to PARIS. So ya betta keep reading!

Lots of Love!

a few weeks in scotland

Okay, so I pretty much suck at this blog mess. I've been in Scotland for 26 days and this is only my third?! I promise I'm doing way more than 3 blogs worth. School is in full swing now, which is absolutely no fun. I have to start thinking about papers? But no one cares about school. Here's a quick summary of my time in Scotland:

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. It is a truly beautiful city. You can just feel how old and historical it is when you walk through the city. There is, of course, a castle. I'm pretty convinced that every town in Scotland has a castle, not that I'm complaining. There are also cathedrals, monuments, and statues everywhereeee. We just spent a day there, but I would definitely like to do a return visit. 

My first train ticket. <3 Being the queen of motion sickness, I was a bit concerned about the train ride. But, I survived! Tunnels are way claustrophobic, but I actually enjoys trains. The US should invest.

Proof that I am in Scotland, a Bagpiper! Anddd, he's in a Kilt. :)

Okay, I may be living here for a few months but I'm not afraid to go tourist. Now I just need to hit up a red telephone booth in London. Oh, I've already done the double decker thing. Not a fan.

THE coffee shop where JK Rowling began writing the best thing that ever happened to me, Harry Potter. Definitely the best random find of the day. 

DOWN TIME

Sometimes I forget I'm even in another country. Until I hear someone speak.. But I still spend my time avoiding school, hanging with friends, buying unnecessary things.. the usual. 

Hot Pink Hunter Wellingtons. Pretty much the reason I came to the UK. :) I'm obsessed with them. And, they weren't a completely pointless buy.. I can wear them in Wilmington when it Monsoons. Pus, the wool sock come in handy over here in cold Scotland. Ahhh.. they're just perfect.

These girls are awesome. We have too much fun, but that's alright. We have trips planed all over the continent and I CAN'T wait. Meanwhile, we show Scotland how it's done in the U S of A.

DUMYAT HILL

The so called "Hill" is the littleee peak in the background. It took two hours to get to the top and it was a vertical climb. All of you who know me well know I don't do outside. I'm proud to say I did it, but I will never ever do it again. :)  Some fun facts about Dumyat Hill: It is the western most hill of the Ochil Hills.  It is technically not that tall, whatever. It's a major part of the scenery of Stirling. Andddd.. that's about it.

The mountain side is covered by sheep. I always imagined sheep as cute little white cotton balls. This is false. They are pretty much ugly and creepy. The above shot is of the one that would NOT stop staring. I dubbed him Creeper Sheep.

The "I Made It" picture. I made sure to get a pic at the top so people would actually believe I did it.

MY NEW PET. I wish. This might be the cutest thing I've seen in Scotland. I'm bringing it back to the States. Wish I could inform you all of what it is, but I have no idea.

Soooo that's just a little snap shot of my days in Scotland. It's been an amazing 26 days so far. And to fill up the rest of the time I have trips planned to Inverness, Paris, Spain, and Amsterdam. Of course, I'll be hitting up London, Dublin, and manyyy other places. I promise I'll be better about blogging about all those amazing adventures. Pardon the many errors, I had to beast this out in between my studies. :)

Love & Miss You All!

exploring stirling

I've now been in Scotland for a whole TEN days and it has been simply amazing. Class really started today and after ten weeks of sitting on my butt, it's weird. But I am so excited for a routine anddd to kick off my travels. I didn't make it on my Saturday trip this weekend, I had too much fun Friday. But, Sunday I got to walk around the city of Stirling and up to the castle. It was a beautiful day.. by Scotland standards.

The city of Stirling is a BEAUTIFUL place. It had played a significant role in Scottish history and is a major back drop in the stories of William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson in Braveheart) and Robert the Bruce. It is called the Heart of Scotland because of it's historical importance. Stirling did not become a city until 2002 when The Queen granted it city status as part of her Golden Jubilee (see Mom, I pay attention on tours).

Stirling is a city that keeps going up and up until you reach the castle. I took this shot from high up in the cemetery that lies below Stirling Castle. This picture does no justice to the amazing views of the distant mountains. On clear days, like this one, you can see mountain upon mountain that is normally hidden by the clouds and fog. The dates on the tombstones will also blow your mind. You realize how old the city is.

Stirling Castle! Just a tiny portion of it, of course. The castle and it's views are a dynamic combination. We spent and hour and a half walking through the castle and along it's walls. Walking where kings and queens once walked is crazy!

I have dubbed these the Mayan Mounds of Scotland. They are really of no importance except that they thoroughly entertain me. Next, I would like to see a crop circle. 

After spending a whole day walking around Stirling where do a couple of Americans go? A pub, of course. The City Walls was the name and the food was gooood.. or I was just really hungry. Food prices are no joke in this country and eating at pubs seems to be a bit more economical and college finance friendly. 

I'm having a blast in Scotland. I've met some great people, planned some great trips, ate some amazinggg food (still no haggis), and I am VERY excited for the next few months of my life.

Love till next time.

my first week in scotland.

I'm new at this blog mess. Give me some time, by then end of my trip I'll be a pro.


I've been is Scotland for a week. A whole WEEK. I feel like I've been here forever but the time is flying by. Adjusting took a few days and I'm still working at it. So far I have only had one rough day, my first one. But I was jet-lagged as hell, it was to be expected. You can feel pretty isolated from friends and family with the 5 hour time difference and all. But I'm slowly realizing that I don't need to be in constant communication with home. With that said, I LOVE hearing from you all back home. I don't want to be forgotten! Facebook, BBM Pin = 3262A636, Skype = ekburr! 

Lucky me, I got off the plane with some great girls. Having people around you that are going through the same exact thing definitely eases the stress. They're also just as eager to get out and explore as I am. We've had lots of fun exploring this new world. We've been to Stirling, the city nearby, several times. Some things I learned in town: mall = shopping center and driving here = SCARY. The driver being on the wrong side of the car and the car being on the wrong side of the road is down right nauseating. But there is an H&M is town, so the trip is worth it. Tomorrow we plan to go a little further than Stirling. I'll be taking my first TRAIN. We still haven't decided where we will be going, but definitely in Scotland. Living for the moment is new to me, I like it. I did pre-book a flight to PARIS in March, though. I am SO excited. I'm finally going to places I spent years reading about. 

So much has happened that I can't possibly type it all! Here are a few key points:

- The currency is SO hard to adjust to. Coins are worth something and they are   heavy. WEIRD.

- Minging = disgusting. This is not something you want to be called.

- The Scottish accent is practically impossible to  understand. The British one is   cute.

- Girls do not care what the weather is like, they will walk around half naked.     all day, everyday 

- The grass is green because of the rain and rabbit crap. :)

- You don't need the sun to survive.

- Fish & Chips are amazing but will kill you.

- The beef taste way different. Good, but different.

- BBQ Rib Crisp do NOT equal BBQ potato chips.

- I have not used a flat iron once. The air is a saturated mess.

- Sharing a kitchen with boys is awful. Dear my future husband, you will clean!

I promise pictures and lots of details in the future. Miss you all! See you in JUNE! :)