Okay so here's the deal...
Spring Break was so long and so much happened!!! So I've pretty much given up on this whole blogging thing. I'm blaming it on laziness because it would take me forever to remember everything that happened and write it all down in separate entries. So here's a quick summary...I spent my first week in Italy. I was in Milan for a day, Venice for two days, Florence for two days, and Rome for three days. While I was there I saw Rialto Bridge, watched the sunset from Piazza Michelangelo, I saw Michelangelo's David, The Colosseum, The Palatine/Roman Forum, St. Peter's Basilica, The Sistine Chapel, and I ended the week with a candlelit ceremony of the stations of the Cross with thousands of people in front of the Colosseum...and I got to see the Pope. I'd say week one was a huge success and I loved it!!! Week two consisted of a trip to Paris and Chateau Chantilly with Deanne and her family. That was from Monday to Wednesday. Then I met up with my dad on Thursday night and on Friday we went to Luxembourg/Germany. We stayed in a little village called Nittel because that was where our friends live. So I got to catch up with Lea and Nina Berndorfer over the weekend because we hadn't seen eachother since I lived in El Paso TX...and that was a long time ago. I absolutely loved the rich German culture that I was exposed to, and have decided that I have to go back there again sometime. Week three started on Monday when I met up with the group of girls I was traveling with in Barcelona Spain. We spent two days in Barcelona and the rest of the week in Valencia. I walked down Las Ramblas, saw Sagrada Familia, one of the Gaudi houses, walked through Parc Guell, and swam in the Mediterranean...which was absolutely freezing!!! But I loved it. The end of Break was a bit stressful because of the volcano that erupted in Iceland grounding all air traffic in Europe. So I spend a good thirty hours on the road trying to get back to the UK...which included a 20 hour bus ride, a 2 hour taxi ride, a ferry ride, and two more bus rides...that was an adventure in and of itself. I was extremely relieved to get back to my room and just crash because I was exhausted. It had been a long three weeks but it was totally amazing and I loved just about every second of it. So if you want more details to my Spring Break just ask me about it and I'll gladly give you more details. It's just too much to write out.
So I go home in sixteen days! How crazy is that. I still feel like I just got here and it should not be over yet! I'm going to miss this place so incredibly much. I've fallen in love with England and it's going to be so hard to go home. Thank goodness I still have sixteen days to party it up in England!!! :)
Friday 30 April 2010
Sunday 4 April 2010
27 March 2010: Saturday
Today was an early start to the day. We all woke up at around seven and got ready to go. We were heading off to Venice that morning. We were out of our hostel by seven thirty and on our way to the train station. Once we got our tickets for the train, we had about half an hour before we had to board, so we went to find some food. We found a place that had pastries, so we all got croissants...mine was filled with chocolate. Then we went back to the train station and got onto our train. It took a few minutes to figure out which coach we were on and our seat numbers, but once we were settled, everything was fine. The train ride was about two and a half hours. We we were on the train, we got to travel through the Italian countryside and the Alps were in the background. The Alps were gorgeous and I so wish I could have fit them into my Spring Break. Anyways, we got to Venice just before noon. Then we had to go through the process of finding out hotel again. We had to walk a good bit, but it wasn't too bad. We were staying in an actual hotel, so it was much nicer than the hostel in Milan, and it was in a nice part of town. Once we checked into our room, we went up and freshened up a bit. Then Jess, Bethany, and I went to a supermarket a few blocks away to get some food for lunch. Deanne stayed at the hotel because she had a bit of a headache and wanted to try to get it to go away. We got yogurts, baguettes, and some fruit for lunch. We came back to the hotel and ate, and then it was time to go into Venice...you know, the part with the canals and such. We caught a bus that took us into Venice, and when we got off...wow...Venice is so gorgeous!!!!! Everything is so colorful. The sun was out and the sky was blue and the buildings were different colors and the boats were in the water and there were gondolas and the water was turquoise and the canals weaved in between all the buildings...it was lovely. Instead of following a set plan, we just wandered around Venice, without a map. We found a little church with tons of paintings inside. It also had a really pretty organ with carvings of angels and musical instruments. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to take pictures, but there wasn't any sign telling us we couldn't, so I did. But after a few minutes, someone came and yelled at us for taking pictures. But it was okay because we were done there. We got some gelato...I had nutella flavored...and it was amazing!!!!! Probably one of the best things I bought in Italy...nutella gellato. There were so many shops. We discovered that masks are huge in Venice. We haven't figured out why just yet, but they are so cool and have tons of different kinds. I'm definitely getting myself one before I leave here. We walked around for quite a while...got a bit lost in the process...but we eventually made our way back to the bus station and were back at our hotel at around five thirty. We dropped off our stuff in the room, then went to find a place to eat dinner. We found a restaurant that was cheap, but there was a private party there until six thirty. So we went back to the hotel room and napped for a while. Then we went and had dinner. The rest of the night has been pretty relaxed. We've just been lounging around and watching Italian MTV. But it'll be time for bed soon because we have another day here in Venice tomorrow.
26 March 2010: Friday
Today was day one of our Spring Break. Bethany, Deanne, Jess, and I all left early this morning...at 2 am...and took a taxi to Eastmidlands airport. The drive there was just over two hours, so I ended up sleeping for a little while. We got to the airport and checked at around four in the morning. After going through security, we all just sat in a little cafe because our flight wasn't boarding for another hour. The boarding for our flight started at around six. Once I sat down in the plane, I pretty much passed out. I was super tired because I had only taken a two hour nap earlier that night. But I did wake up at one point during our flight and we were flying over Zurich, Germany and it was really really pretty. I had a nice view of the mountains. We landed and got through customs...we had to answer random questions about America that the Italian security guards thought would be fun to ask us, the questions were based on the pictures in our passport books, like the picture of Mt. Rushmore for example. From the airport we took a bus to the city center...oh we were in Milan, Italy. After getting off the bus, we got onto the subway and took that to our hostel. Then we had to climb 97 stairs...yes we counted...up to the floor that our hostel was on. Once we got up there, we encountered some confusions and for a few minutes it seemed that we would have no where to stay for the night. But thankfully, things worked out and we got a room. So we left our stuff in the hostel and went back down the 97 stairs to find something to eat. We found a little grocery store down the street, so we had baguettes and nutella for lunch. Once we were done eating, we were bored because we didn't know what to do. So I went back to the hostel to get my camera and to get the map and list of what to do, because it had been my job to look up things to see in Milan. We got on the subway and went to the Piazza del Duomo. Once we got off the subway, we started getting excited because there was a giant Cathedral in the piazza and the piazza itself was really cool. It looked more along the lines of what we had expected to see while traveling in Italy. So the first thing we did was go into the Cathedral, which is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe. The outside of the cathedral was really cool and had lots of carvings on it. And then we went inside. It was so huge in there. The ceilings and arches were really high. And all the stained glass was very bright and not faded at all which was great. I was especially excited because everyone was taking pictures even though there had been a sign outside that had said not pictures. So I got some nice pictures of the inside of the cathedral. Oh and while we were inside it, the bells started chiming, so you could hear the reverberation of the bells in the cathedral, which was super cool. We all wandered around the cathedral for a while and took pictures, then we went back outside. We walked around the Piazza...oh piazza means square in English. We walked in the Gallaria Vittorio Emanuele II, which was basically an enclosed plaza...the roof was glass...that had lots of cafes and high end shops, like Prada. After wandering around there for a while, we wandered up the street to the Castle Sforesco. When we got there, there were a bunch of soldiers marching down the street. We think there might have been something going on, but we didn't really stick around to find out because we were all kind of worn down by that point because none of us had really slept any the night before. So we went back to the hostel and ended up taking a two to three hour nap. After we woke up, it was time for dinner. So we wandered around the neighborhood and ended up finding a cute Italian...obviously...restaurant to eat at. I had a margarita pizza. After dinner, it was back to the hostel. We all just chilled for a while, and ended up going to bed kind of early. We were pretty tired.
My Spring Break
Yikes...I haven't written in about a month. Well up until about ten days ago nothing really happened. I wrote some papers and was actually a good student. My Spring Break started on the 26th of March, which is where I'm going to start. So here's how this is going to work. I'm going to write one entry for each of the days I was traveling and I'll put the date and day of the week in the heading of my entry. It's going to be rather long, just so you know. But a lot happened and it was amazing. Fasten your seatbelts and dive into my Spring Break.
Sunday 7 March 2010
Day one with Laura and Tara...
So to start the week...
Today I rolled out of bed and grabbed my cleaning supplies, because my bathroom was in desperate need of cleaning and I wanted it to be clean when Laura and Tara got here. It ended up taking a bit longer than I thought to get it cleaned up, so I had to rush a bit to get ready because me and Deanne were leaving at two to meet them at the bus station. But I managed to be ready on time. We got to the bus station and Laura and Tara were already there waiting for us...so we ran across the street...we were just that excited. They looked rather tired and worn down...which I expected because I was the same exact way when I first got here. So we took them to Regency and put their stuff in our rooms. We just kind of chatted for a little while...not entirely sure what to do...but we eventually decided to go to Tesco so they could get some breakfast and lunch foods for the next few days, since me and Deanne would have class and they would have to fend for themselves. After putting the groceries away, we just all hung out in Deanne's room and chatted...which was really nice. Sometime after five we all joined Suzie in the kitchen because she was cooking dinner...baked potato pizza...it was a bit rushed because me and Deanne were going to church at six so it wasn't completely cooked, but it was still yummy. After dinner, me, Deanne, and Bethany went to Trinity Church. It was a very interesting service and I encountered a lot of things that I never have before. They are big believers in gifts of the Spirit...like speaking on tongues, healings, dreams/visions, miracles...that sort of thing. At one point the entire congregation was on their knees praying...and it was intense...the most intense praying I have ever seen...people were lifting their hands up, putting their hands on people around them, crying, kneeling with their faces to the ground, speaking in tongues. They were praying for healing for different things that people were suffering from. It was definitely not something I'm going to forget...it made me really think about what I believe about things like that, and that it's not just something we read about in the Bible but is something encountered today. It was very interesting and thought provoking. After church we came back and found Laura and Tara both barely awake so we decided that for tonight they would just sleep in Deanne's room since they both wanted to go to bed...and me and Deanne were not even close to being tired...so Deanne moved into my room and is sleeping on an air mattress!!! It's been really fun having a roommate again. We just chilled and chatted...hung out in the kitchen with Suzie at one point...and now we're getting ready to go to sleep. Nighty night.
Today I rolled out of bed and grabbed my cleaning supplies, because my bathroom was in desperate need of cleaning and I wanted it to be clean when Laura and Tara got here. It ended up taking a bit longer than I thought to get it cleaned up, so I had to rush a bit to get ready because me and Deanne were leaving at two to meet them at the bus station. But I managed to be ready on time. We got to the bus station and Laura and Tara were already there waiting for us...so we ran across the street...we were just that excited. They looked rather tired and worn down...which I expected because I was the same exact way when I first got here. So we took them to Regency and put their stuff in our rooms. We just kind of chatted for a little while...not entirely sure what to do...but we eventually decided to go to Tesco so they could get some breakfast and lunch foods for the next few days, since me and Deanne would have class and they would have to fend for themselves. After putting the groceries away, we just all hung out in Deanne's room and chatted...which was really nice. Sometime after five we all joined Suzie in the kitchen because she was cooking dinner...baked potato pizza...it was a bit rushed because me and Deanne were going to church at six so it wasn't completely cooked, but it was still yummy. After dinner, me, Deanne, and Bethany went to Trinity Church. It was a very interesting service and I encountered a lot of things that I never have before. They are big believers in gifts of the Spirit...like speaking on tongues, healings, dreams/visions, miracles...that sort of thing. At one point the entire congregation was on their knees praying...and it was intense...the most intense praying I have ever seen...people were lifting their hands up, putting their hands on people around them, crying, kneeling with their faces to the ground, speaking in tongues. They were praying for healing for different things that people were suffering from. It was definitely not something I'm going to forget...it made me really think about what I believe about things like that, and that it's not just something we read about in the Bible but is something encountered today. It was very interesting and thought provoking. After church we came back and found Laura and Tara both barely awake so we decided that for tonight they would just sleep in Deanne's room since they both wanted to go to bed...and me and Deanne were not even close to being tired...so Deanne moved into my room and is sleeping on an air mattress!!! It's been really fun having a roommate again. We just chilled and chatted...hung out in the kitchen with Suzie at one point...and now we're getting ready to go to sleep. Nighty night.
Saturday 6 March 2010
Weekend...
Let me backtrack to yesterday...
Friday started out with a meeting with Sandy at one about our planning for Spring Break...which went relatively well. We basically just told her what we had planned. After that, me, Deanne, and Suzie decided to go for a walk to Starbucks...it was really really nice out...nice enough for me to go out just wearing a sweater instead of a coat. We walked to Starbucks and all got frappachinos. We sat there for a while just chatting, then we decided to walk across the street to Cult cause it looked really cool and had some nice clothes. Their clothes were kinda pricey, so we went straight to the clearance rack...which is where I found my mermaid dress. Its completely covered in green sequins, therefore making me look like a mermaid. I think it's really fun...so now I have an outfit for the next time I go out. Then we went to Primark because Deanne was looking for a fun going out sort of shirt. While she looked around I tried one some bathing suits...they were really cheap and I need a new one, especially when we go to the beach over spring break...but I didn't really like any of them, so I left there empty handed. Then we had to make a quick run to Tesco for food for dinner. Then we came back to Regency, had dinner, and then I just chilled for the remainder of the night. I did do some drawing...I finished one of my drawings actually, which was nice.
Today I got up kind of late, but that's okay...it's Saturday. Around three thirty, Me, Deanne, Bethany, and Suzie headed to the Brewery because we had to buy tickets for Alice in Wonderland which we were going to go see tonight. After we got out tickets...and 3D glasses...Suzie went to Tesco while Me, Deanne, and Bethany went to Madalans...Deanne was still looking for a shirt because she hadn't found one yesterday. I just kind of looked around...I had already decided that I wasn't going to buy anything there. We didn't stay there very long. After that we went to High Street and I stopped at Poundland to look for something that would unclog my shower drain...it's annoying to take a shower in a good inch of water every morning cause I'm always afraid it's going to overflow. Thankfully I found some and now my shower is draining properly. I also got some silver glitter eyeliner at Poundland, just for fun. Then we went to Primark....again...Bethany just wanted to get something really quick. Then we went to Accessorize...which is the main reason I went with them to go shopping...because I wanted a flower clip for my hair...its really in over here and it looks totally adorable. I ended up getting a pair of lilies...they're smaller, but I liked them the best. Then we headed back to Regency. I ended up taking a nap until dinner. After dinner I only had about an hour until we were going to leave for the theatre. At nine, we all left. It was Me, Deanne, Jess, Suzie, Bethany, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, and a friend of Rachel's...basically our whole flat minus the other Hannah and Jamie. The movie turned out to be really good...and it was really cool in 3D. I had never seen anything in 3D before...it was slightly disorienting at first, but once I got used to it, it was really great. The movie itself was great in my opinion...I really liked Johnny Depp/the Mad Hatter...I was kinda sad when Alice left him in Wonderland. But I highly recommend seeing it. Now I'm back in my room and I figured I should do some blogging. Oh and tomorrow Laura and Tara come to visit!!!!!! So the next few days are going to be super fun!!!
Friday started out with a meeting with Sandy at one about our planning for Spring Break...which went relatively well. We basically just told her what we had planned. After that, me, Deanne, and Suzie decided to go for a walk to Starbucks...it was really really nice out...nice enough for me to go out just wearing a sweater instead of a coat. We walked to Starbucks and all got frappachinos. We sat there for a while just chatting, then we decided to walk across the street to Cult cause it looked really cool and had some nice clothes. Their clothes were kinda pricey, so we went straight to the clearance rack...which is where I found my mermaid dress. Its completely covered in green sequins, therefore making me look like a mermaid. I think it's really fun...so now I have an outfit for the next time I go out. Then we went to Primark because Deanne was looking for a fun going out sort of shirt. While she looked around I tried one some bathing suits...they were really cheap and I need a new one, especially when we go to the beach over spring break...but I didn't really like any of them, so I left there empty handed. Then we had to make a quick run to Tesco for food for dinner. Then we came back to Regency, had dinner, and then I just chilled for the remainder of the night. I did do some drawing...I finished one of my drawings actually, which was nice.
Today I got up kind of late, but that's okay...it's Saturday. Around three thirty, Me, Deanne, Bethany, and Suzie headed to the Brewery because we had to buy tickets for Alice in Wonderland which we were going to go see tonight. After we got out tickets...and 3D glasses...Suzie went to Tesco while Me, Deanne, and Bethany went to Madalans...Deanne was still looking for a shirt because she hadn't found one yesterday. I just kind of looked around...I had already decided that I wasn't going to buy anything there. We didn't stay there very long. After that we went to High Street and I stopped at Poundland to look for something that would unclog my shower drain...it's annoying to take a shower in a good inch of water every morning cause I'm always afraid it's going to overflow. Thankfully I found some and now my shower is draining properly. I also got some silver glitter eyeliner at Poundland, just for fun. Then we went to Primark....again...Bethany just wanted to get something really quick. Then we went to Accessorize...which is the main reason I went with them to go shopping...because I wanted a flower clip for my hair...its really in over here and it looks totally adorable. I ended up getting a pair of lilies...they're smaller, but I liked them the best. Then we headed back to Regency. I ended up taking a nap until dinner. After dinner I only had about an hour until we were going to leave for the theatre. At nine, we all left. It was Me, Deanne, Jess, Suzie, Bethany, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, and a friend of Rachel's...basically our whole flat minus the other Hannah and Jamie. The movie turned out to be really good...and it was really cool in 3D. I had never seen anything in 3D before...it was slightly disorienting at first, but once I got used to it, it was really great. The movie itself was great in my opinion...I really liked Johnny Depp/the Mad Hatter...I was kinda sad when Alice left him in Wonderland. But I highly recommend seeing it. Now I'm back in my room and I figured I should do some blogging. Oh and tomorrow Laura and Tara come to visit!!!!!! So the next few days are going to be super fun!!!
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Trip to the Port...and back again...
I can't put off writing again...
This past weekend, BCA had planned a trip for us to go to Stonehenge and Portsmouth. We left at around eight thirty on Saturday morning, and our first stop was Stonehenge. We got there sometime between ten and eleven and then had a good forty-five minutes to see Stonehenge. Forty-five minutes was way too long. Stonehenge is literally a bunch of over-sized stones placed next to each other in the middle of a field that is in the middle of nowhere. Sure it may have some historical significance, but no one really knows what it was used for...they just guess. You can't even get close to the stones...everything is roped off and you have to walk around it...I don't think we came within a hundred yards of the stones. It just was not very exciting...sure it's cool to be able to say that I've been to Stonehenge, but I will most likely not be going there again. So after a rather long forty-five minutes we made our way back to the bus. We made a quick stop in the town of Salisbury for lunch...but we had a good hour and a half to kill. So Deanne, Bethany, and I wandered around town for a while just looking around. We walked through a market, then made our way over to a cathedral...but none of us really felt like going inside...oh and we listened to a singer on the street. He was actually pretty good, so we bought his CD. By that time we were running out of time, so we went to Tesco and bought a baguette and cheese for our lunch and just ate it on the bus. Then we were on our way to Portsmouth, so I ended up taking a nap. When I woke up we were stopping and getting off the bus...we were going walking on the beach. So I grabbed my camera and followed everyone off the bus. It was really windy and chilly, so we didn't stay too long...but everyone took lots of pictures. Then it was finally time to check in at our hotel. I was in a room with Deanne and Bethany. We got to our room and instantly collapsed onto the beds. It was so nice to stretch out on the bed after being in the bus for so long. We were just chilling in our room when Suzie called and wanted to know if we wanted to go wander around town with her and Jess...we had been told that there were alot of shops around that area of town. So we all went out. We window shopped for a while which was fun...then eventually we found a place to get dinner. We ate at Pizza express...which was delicious. We were all very pleased with our restaurant decision. On the way back to the hotel a few of us ended up making a quick stop at Tesco for some dessert. I got chocolate brownie cheesecake. So we bought our desserts and then went back to the hotel. We decided to all gather in Me, Deanne, and Bethany's room to have a dessert eating party in our pajamas and watch the Olympics. It was great. Everyone eventually left our room by about tenish and by ten thirty our lights were out. We were all super tired...but none of us could figure out why because we hadn't really done a whole lot that day. Oh well...we got a pretty good amount of sleep that night. I got up the next morning at about eight thirty to shower and get ready for the day. The three of us went to breakfast at around nine...and the breakfast was pretty good...they had a lot of different things you could choose from. Afterward, we went back to the room to gather all our stuff and then went to meet up with everyone in the reception area. Once we were all checked out of the hotel, it was back onto the bus...but not for very long...only a few minutes. We were going to the oldest commissioned ship in the Royal Navy. This was probably the coolest part of the trip. The ship reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean, cause that's what it looked like. It was really pretty. Once we were aboard, we were allowed to wander around at our own pace and take pictures. It was really cool to see all the different levels and rooms...and the amount of ropes that were on the ship...it was slightly overwhelming and I was very glad to not be the person that would have to deal with any of those ropes and have to know which rope goes to what. Well after we finished wandering around the ship, we went to see two museums. I honestly was not all that thrilled at spending time at a museum when I could be doing other things, but oh well...it was paid for so I went. The first museum was not at all interesting, so I just kind of wandered around. We didn't stay at that museum for more than half and hour...it was really small. Then we went to the Mary Rose Museum...that one was more interesting then the last one. It was about a ship that had been found at the bottom of the ocean somewhere near Portsmouth and had been brought up. It was from the era of King Henry VIII and there were a lot of cool artifacts that had been uncovered and were now on display. The ship itself was in the process of restoration/preservation, so no one could see it. We didn't really stay there too terribly long, because it was nearly lunch time and a bunch of us were hungry. So we split into groups and wandered off to find somewhere to eat. Me, Deanne, Bethany, and Jess ended up going to this cafe that was run by cute little old man and his wife...he was the waiter and she was the cook...the were absolutely adorable together!!! So we all very much enjoyed eating there...not only was the food delicious, but there was classical music playing in the background which was very nice. After we ate it was time to go home...so it was back on the bus for a few hours...I managed to take a nap which was really nice. We got back to Cheltenham around five so me and Deanne decided that we would still go to church since it didn't start until six. Church was really good...we got back at around eight thirty and I was super tired. I just chilled in my room until I decided to go to bed. On Monday, I went to my English class and afterward I went to Tesco to get a baguette...of course...but I also got Gouda cheese to go with it...which turned out to be very delicious. At around one thirty I suddenly got really really tired and literally couldn't keep my eyes open so I climbed into bed and instantly fell asleep...and slept until dinner which was at five. Then at five thirty me, Deanne, and Jess walked to FCH for our BCA class...which was about health care...not the most exciting topic in the world...but oh well. I actually went to bed at an early hour....like eleven...which was really nice. I think my body needed some extra sleep because I had been sick lately and I was trying to recover. Today I had my writing class...we discussed short stories and different types of short stories which was interesting. On my way back home I stopped at the store to pick up a light bulb because I desperately needed one for my room. While I was there I discovered the art aisle...so I wandered down it and found some charcoal pencils and a sketch pad for like two pounds...so I got them. Then I spend the rest of the day...and a good portion of the night...drawing. I did take a short break for dinner and then another break for dessert...Jess, Suzie, Deanne, and I went to Weatherspoons for some of their delicious chocolate cake which was really exciting. I came back from that and wanted to finish one of the sketches I was working on...which ended up taking four hours...but it looks pretty good. Then I decided to catch up on my blog because it was something I had been neglecting and needed to get caught up with. Now it's late...but that's okay because I don't have class tomorrow...and it's time to sleep.
This past weekend, BCA had planned a trip for us to go to Stonehenge and Portsmouth. We left at around eight thirty on Saturday morning, and our first stop was Stonehenge. We got there sometime between ten and eleven and then had a good forty-five minutes to see Stonehenge. Forty-five minutes was way too long. Stonehenge is literally a bunch of over-sized stones placed next to each other in the middle of a field that is in the middle of nowhere. Sure it may have some historical significance, but no one really knows what it was used for...they just guess. You can't even get close to the stones...everything is roped off and you have to walk around it...I don't think we came within a hundred yards of the stones. It just was not very exciting...sure it's cool to be able to say that I've been to Stonehenge, but I will most likely not be going there again. So after a rather long forty-five minutes we made our way back to the bus. We made a quick stop in the town of Salisbury for lunch...but we had a good hour and a half to kill. So Deanne, Bethany, and I wandered around town for a while just looking around. We walked through a market, then made our way over to a cathedral...but none of us really felt like going inside...oh and we listened to a singer on the street. He was actually pretty good, so we bought his CD. By that time we were running out of time, so we went to Tesco and bought a baguette and cheese for our lunch and just ate it on the bus. Then we were on our way to Portsmouth, so I ended up taking a nap. When I woke up we were stopping and getting off the bus...we were going walking on the beach. So I grabbed my camera and followed everyone off the bus. It was really windy and chilly, so we didn't stay too long...but everyone took lots of pictures. Then it was finally time to check in at our hotel. I was in a room with Deanne and Bethany. We got to our room and instantly collapsed onto the beds. It was so nice to stretch out on the bed after being in the bus for so long. We were just chilling in our room when Suzie called and wanted to know if we wanted to go wander around town with her and Jess...we had been told that there were alot of shops around that area of town. So we all went out. We window shopped for a while which was fun...then eventually we found a place to get dinner. We ate at Pizza express...which was delicious. We were all very pleased with our restaurant decision. On the way back to the hotel a few of us ended up making a quick stop at Tesco for some dessert. I got chocolate brownie cheesecake. So we bought our desserts and then went back to the hotel. We decided to all gather in Me, Deanne, and Bethany's room to have a dessert eating party in our pajamas and watch the Olympics. It was great. Everyone eventually left our room by about tenish and by ten thirty our lights were out. We were all super tired...but none of us could figure out why because we hadn't really done a whole lot that day. Oh well...we got a pretty good amount of sleep that night. I got up the next morning at about eight thirty to shower and get ready for the day. The three of us went to breakfast at around nine...and the breakfast was pretty good...they had a lot of different things you could choose from. Afterward, we went back to the room to gather all our stuff and then went to meet up with everyone in the reception area. Once we were all checked out of the hotel, it was back onto the bus...but not for very long...only a few minutes. We were going to the oldest commissioned ship in the Royal Navy. This was probably the coolest part of the trip. The ship reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean, cause that's what it looked like. It was really pretty. Once we were aboard, we were allowed to wander around at our own pace and take pictures. It was really cool to see all the different levels and rooms...and the amount of ropes that were on the ship...it was slightly overwhelming and I was very glad to not be the person that would have to deal with any of those ropes and have to know which rope goes to what. Well after we finished wandering around the ship, we went to see two museums. I honestly was not all that thrilled at spending time at a museum when I could be doing other things, but oh well...it was paid for so I went. The first museum was not at all interesting, so I just kind of wandered around. We didn't stay at that museum for more than half and hour...it was really small. Then we went to the Mary Rose Museum...that one was more interesting then the last one. It was about a ship that had been found at the bottom of the ocean somewhere near Portsmouth and had been brought up. It was from the era of King Henry VIII and there were a lot of cool artifacts that had been uncovered and were now on display. The ship itself was in the process of restoration/preservation, so no one could see it. We didn't really stay there too terribly long, because it was nearly lunch time and a bunch of us were hungry. So we split into groups and wandered off to find somewhere to eat. Me, Deanne, Bethany, and Jess ended up going to this cafe that was run by cute little old man and his wife...he was the waiter and she was the cook...the were absolutely adorable together!!! So we all very much enjoyed eating there...not only was the food delicious, but there was classical music playing in the background which was very nice. After we ate it was time to go home...so it was back on the bus for a few hours...I managed to take a nap which was really nice. We got back to Cheltenham around five so me and Deanne decided that we would still go to church since it didn't start until six. Church was really good...we got back at around eight thirty and I was super tired. I just chilled in my room until I decided to go to bed. On Monday, I went to my English class and afterward I went to Tesco to get a baguette...of course...but I also got Gouda cheese to go with it...which turned out to be very delicious. At around one thirty I suddenly got really really tired and literally couldn't keep my eyes open so I climbed into bed and instantly fell asleep...and slept until dinner which was at five. Then at five thirty me, Deanne, and Jess walked to FCH for our BCA class...which was about health care...not the most exciting topic in the world...but oh well. I actually went to bed at an early hour....like eleven...which was really nice. I think my body needed some extra sleep because I had been sick lately and I was trying to recover. Today I had my writing class...we discussed short stories and different types of short stories which was interesting. On my way back home I stopped at the store to pick up a light bulb because I desperately needed one for my room. While I was there I discovered the art aisle...so I wandered down it and found some charcoal pencils and a sketch pad for like two pounds...so I got them. Then I spend the rest of the day...and a good portion of the night...drawing. I did take a short break for dinner and then another break for dessert...Jess, Suzie, Deanne, and I went to Weatherspoons for some of their delicious chocolate cake which was really exciting. I came back from that and wanted to finish one of the sketches I was working on...which ended up taking four hours...but it looks pretty good. Then I decided to catch up on my blog because it was something I had been neglecting and needed to get caught up with. Now it's late...but that's okay because I don't have class tomorrow...and it's time to sleep.
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