I think that’s Sarah Over There…

After tea we decided to wander around Covent Garden area a little bit. It was a Friday late afternoon so super crowded and after a couple hours of walking around and shopping we started to head to the metro to go back to my place and I heard someone shouting my name. I ignored it at first because it was a Friday late afternoon in one of the most crowded areas of London but when I heard my name again I turned around and started looking around and saw Sarah! It’s funny how you can bump into friends no matter where you are! We grabbed a drink with her and made plans to meet up on Saturday.

To say Saturday was a full day is an understatement. We met up with Sarah around 10:45 to head to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards ceremony where we met another friend from Catholic who graduated last year, Lauren. On the way over we stopped in Trafalgar Square and walked from there. Unfortunately there was no changing of the guards ceremony but it was a gorgeous day so no one minded the walk! It was a good learning experience though- check the website to see if the ceremony is taking place or not before walking over! After hanging out around the palace for a while we walked to the tube and headed to the other side of the city for brunch at this really cool restaurant called The Refinery. It was really good and a really cool restaurant, which always makes the meal more enjoyable.

After brunch we walked over to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was the first time I had been over there, it is such a gorgeous cathedral. Unfortunately it costs about 17,000,000,000 pounds just to go in and look around! We decided to admire it from the outside and move on to the next destination. But we did sneak some pictures while we were inside checking just how much it would cost.

After St Pauls we started walking in the direction of Harrods. We walked past the Royal Courts of Justice which were absolutely gorgeous buildings and stopped in at the Twinings Tea Store before getting pretty exhausted and hopping on a bus to finish the journey. Everyone was very excited to see Harrods, we went in and wandered around, headed to the gift shop and ended up at what is in my opinion the only reason to go to Harrods- The Ice Cream Parlour.

We sat down and ordered delicious ice cream sundays and smoothies and relaxed for a little while. It was so much fun. After that we got on the tube ride from hell, where we got separated in 2 groups because it was so crowded. MaryKate and I didn’t even make it on a tube, we ended up just walking from Harrods to home. It was a complete nightmare. We finished out an awesome day at my favorite restaurant- Lupita for some margaritas and fantastic Mexican food! Unfortunately the girls all left the next morning but we had so much fun traipsing all around the city while they were here and after their visit I think I can definitely be considered a tour guide since I have now done all the major tourist stuff!

Afternoon Tea

While the girls were visiting we decided we had to participate in traditional English Afternoon Tea so we got all dressed up and headed to the Waldorf for tea.

It was a lot of fun, super girly and relaxing. We walked in to the tea room and were seated at a beautiful little table. First we ordered tea (and coffee for MaryKate) and were served delicious little finger sandwiches. After a while they brought us some scones with jam and clotted cream. And then at the end we got some little deserts. It was so so delicious. If you come to London you have to do it. Pretty much all the hotels in London offer an afternoon tea, I had such an hard time choosing which one we were going to go to. Thankfully I knew my mum was coming to visit so I got to go again with her!

If you are visiting London definitely look into a traditional afternoon tea somewhere! It’s a really fun activity to do while you are here. Plus it’s an excuse to dress up a little and eat lots of sweets :]

The Month of March

March has been pretty insane for me. I’ve had back to back visitors and trips pretty much all month so sorry for not updating in quite a while. Get ready to be inundated!

The first week of March was so great, two great friends from Catholic came and spent their spring break with me in London!

MaryKate spent the whole week with me and Erin headed to Ireland for the part of the trip. It was overall a really great visit, we did and saw so much. Oxford, Cambridge, and all the major spots in London.

In the middle of the week we had two more visitors, James and one of his best friends from Oregon came to spend a few days in London. I gave them a tour of Parliament, we walked around a ton- exploring Picadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Oxford and Bond Street and Leicester Square. We ended up going to Cambridge which was a really great time. Cambridge is gorgeous, it’s like a smaller version of Oxford so I loved it. We went to a really cool pub the first night called The Eagle. There are 2 pretty historic parts of this pub, the first is a room where the walls and ceiling are covered with ‘grafiti’ from WWII airmen. It’s really cool to see all their signatures and messages all over the walls. The second part of the pub is the section where Watson and Crick interrupted lunchtime in 1953 to announce they have discovered the secret of life. The next day we walked around a bit and saw Kings College and the city itself a little bit. Unfortunately I had to leave the group early to go back to work.

On top of having all of my friends visiting, there were 2 people from Catholic on a ‘factfinding’ mission to learn more about the program and they were coming to meet with Raluca and I to hear about how I was doing as an intern. I felt like I was sitting at a parent teacher meeting but it was good, I was able to talk to them about what I think could improve this already amazing program and they were able to see what we actually do over here. Since there isn’t any CUA staff here to be with us I think it was good for the school to actually see what we do.

Erin, James and MaryKate all got back to London on Thursday night and our already crazy week just got crazier from there. More later! And keep checking for pictures I’ll put them up in batches :]

I’m Back

Sorry for the radio silence the last week… I had a very eventful week with a few visitors in and out of London. I have lots of updates for you all so they will have to come in bits and pieces. There is just too much to write about all at once. I will try and get them all up with some pictures for you all as soon as possible!

Thursday Thoughts

This weeks words are a little late hence “Thursday Thoughts” but they are inspired by Relay for Life. Every year my sorority participates in Catholic’s Relay for life, for the months leading up to the event we raise money to support the American Cancer Society. I have posted a button that you can access my page to donate or you can click here to go to my profile. It is a great cause so please give what you can and enjoy this weeks words of inspiration…

Sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast” -Alice and Wonderland

via

The following quotes are all from cancer survivors:

“Getting cancer can become the beginning of living. The search for one’s own being, the discovery of the life one needs to live, can be one of the strongest weapons against disease.” By Lawrence Leshan

“For those of us who have been diagnosed with cancer, time is a precious commodity. The time and distance from the scientist’s lab bench to the patient’s bedside must be shortened.” By Larry Lucchino

via

Did You Know?

Do you know why we add an extra day to February every 4 years? It’s because the world doesn’t take exactly 365 days to orbit the sun its actually about 365.242 days. So every 4 years we add a day to account for the shift that would take place in our calendars otherwise.

There are some cool traditions that take place on Leap Day. One is International Rare Disease Day, which is an event to raise awareness of the less common diseases and health conditions.

Another tradition I was informed of at work this morning by my office managers friend Alice. This tradition is according to an old Irish legend that says St Bridget struck a deal with St Patrick in the 5th century that allows women to propose to their men on just February 29th, because she thought it was unfair that women had to wait so long for their men to propose. The most interesting part of this tradition is the law that came with it stating if the man refused the proposal he was fined. The fine could range from a kiss to £1 to a silk dress to 12 pairs of gloves in Denmark or fabrics for a skirt in Finland.

In Greece, it is considered unlucky to get married on February 29th.

So that’s February 29th, to all you leapers or leaplings Happy Birthday and I hope everyone enjoys this Leap Day!

via

Battle of the Suitcases

My style can pretty much be summed up in one word: preppy. I love all things nautical, pink and green and navy blue and yellow are my absolute favorite color combinations, Kate Spade and Lilly Pulitzer are my favorite and I love to layer.

Traveling is my favorite hobby, and has become a major part of my life. With traveling comes packing a bag which is never easy with my wardrobe. I tend to way overpack every time I go somewhere. When I say overpack I mean bring enough clothes on a 5 day trip for a month. This semester has been really difficult with all of my trips being on low cost airlines. I can’t check a bag without paying a ridiculous fee and the carry on restrictions are really small, which leaves me with the options of my Longchamp bag or backpack for a 4 day trip.

So here are some tips I have learned when trying to pack light, something we could all probably do a little more of, myself included…

• First pull out everything you want to bring
• Then put away half of it
• Jeans and shorts can be worn more than once so limit how many you pack
• Always make sure you have a top you can wear with your jeans to dress them up for a club or bar
• I usually bring one sundress or skirt if its warm because I can’t resist but I also try and make it one that can double as a cover up if I’m going to the beach.
• Pick only 1 cardigan in a neutral color so it will match everything. I like this one in navy, white or black.
• 1 bathing suit for beach trips. You do not need 12
• Layering can be avoided, if you really want to add a layer or 2 for some color I usually pack a couple of tank tops to wear under sweaters. My favorite is this one, I have it in every color I think.

Makeup:

• When you’re packing your makeup, use a smaller bag and only bring: mascara, blush and/or bronzer, cover up and a brush. You do not need your entire make up collection

Accessories:

• You do not need a bow for every single outfit
• You do not need different jewelry for every day
• Don’t pack anything you have a big attachment to or anything valuable in case it gets lost
• Wear one necklace, one ring, bracelet/small stack and pair of earrings that will match everything for the weekend
• I usually wear silver, since it’s so versatile, and no earrings because I always lose them

Next time your packing for a trip give this a shot. Take it from me it’s much nicer carrying a small light bag that has everything I need than lugging a huge suitcase from place to place! Happy packing!

Fun in the Sun

I’m writing this post from the balcony of my hotel in Faro, Portugal, where it is a chilly 70 degrees with not a cloud in sight. It’s so gorgeous here, and a perfect getaway from the cold, wind and rain in London. The town itself is really small, like really small. It only took about a half hour-45 minutes to walk around and see everything.

Old Town was really cool, it was a little walled town with a monastery in the middle. We toured the monastery called Fabrica do Cabido da Se de Faro, and the church and got to climb to the bell “tower” and we could see out over the entire city pretty much. It was so gorgeous. Almost all the buildings in the city are bright white and it is right on the water, with these beautiful marshlands surrounding it protecting it from the Atlantic. We spent most of Friday exploring and just walking around, there were orange trees EVERYWHERE, and so we figured lets pick one and try it because really what’s better than fresh oranges? Well I took one bite and pretty much EVERYTHING is better than these oranges. They were so bad it was so upsetting. Because the town was right on the water we grabbed dinner outside at a little restaurant on the harbor and had some delicious seafood and watched the sunset over the water.

Saturday we got up early and went to the grocery store to get a few things, and walked around a little bit. We were pretty much the only ones out at 8 am on a Saturday. With the exception of a few old men sitting on benches. There are benches all over the city and the old men that live there get up early and walk down to the town pedestrian area and park themselves on a bench for the day. Sometimes you’ll see a group of them talking or playing cards. But for the most part they just sit and watch. Every time I passed them all I could think of was my great grandfather heading down to T Wharf and sitting on the bench at the very end to watch the boats. They all wear the same hat and everything!

My favorite part by far was our boat trip. We took a boat tour of the marshlands, it was cool but I felt like I was back in Essex so I wasn’t too excited by it. The tour ended at a deserted island called Ilha Deserta. It’s 7 km I believe, of just beautiful pristine beach with no one in sight. It was amazing. The back side of the island was great too, a little more sheltered from the wind and the water was a lot calmer. The water was great! A little too cold for swimming with the wind but nice to sit with my feet in it for a little while. It was a perfect way to spend the day!

Sunday was a relaxing day, as we had seen the entire city- more than once- and it was Sunday so everything was closed, we just took it easy and wandered around and sat in a cafe for a little while where we had the most amazing cookies ever! Then we headed to lunch at another outdoor restaurant where I had the most amazing salmon that I have ever eaten! It was so good.

It was a ton of fun, not a lot to do this time of year but I would definitely go back or recommend it to anyone going to Portugal. Plus you really can’t beat 70 degrees and sunny in the middle of February!

The World of Harry Potter: Part 1

Harry Potter has been part of my life since third grade when my mom suggested we start reading the books together. Since then I guess you can categorize me as a total Harry Potter geek. I have read all the books, more than once, and bought most of them at midnight the night they came out and then reading non-stop until I had finished them. I also have attended the midnight premiers for all 8 of the movies. So needless to say I love Harry Potter, which makes living in the UK extra cool as so many different places surrounding me were used in the movies.

The Great Hall is located in one of the colleges of Oxford, Christ Church, for a small fee you can enter the college and explore the grounds, cathedral or the most popular part of the college, the dining hall which was used for the Great Hall in Hogwarts.

The college itself is so pretty, with gorgeous grounds and a massive, beautiful quad as well as a gorgeous cathedral. As the line to get into the great hall was pretty long we started there.

The College

The Quad

Me in front of the Altar

The Altar

The Cathedral was small but beautiful, ornate but not overdone. My favorite part was the stained glass windows, What was interesting was that most of the glass was actually not stained but painted. It was amazing.

Then of course we moved onto the Great Hall, because what kind of Harry Potter fan would I be if I didn’t visit. It was crowded and we stood in line for about 20 minutes. It was really cool but so small, in the movies they make it look massive but it really isn’t too big at all. What I thought was really cool was that it is actually used by the college students every day they were even setting up for dinner while we were there.

The Line

Do these steps look familiar?

In the Great Hall

As I am in lovely Faro Portugal where it is about 65 degrees and sunny I am going to go do some more exploring. More updates will come soon and there will be more pictures under the photos tab!

Wednesday Words

via