Some Family Comes to London | April 13 - April 21

***I would like to preface this by apologizing because this post is long overdue.  When I got back from London, I quickly jumped back into life and started working.  Then I went back to school for a little while for Spring Weekend and then drove to my friend's school to watch her play Lacrosse.  Basically, these two weeks have been busy, but I'm back!  So here we go...

My Study Abroad program officially ended on April 14, but I stayed in London for an extra week because my mom and sister flew over to see the city.  I didn't film this week because I already had a video that I had to wait to upload and I didn't want to deal with two.  I did kinda regret this by about Tuesday, but then it was too late, so you only have the written word for this part.

Friday, April 13
I was able to meet up with my mother and sister on Friday because all of my finals were done by Wednesday night.  It took me three buses to get to them which was very interesting with a giant suitcase, a carry on suitcase, and a backpack.  When I got there and got settled, we decided to go out and get something to eat and then we walked to a Poundland.  When we got back to the Airbnb, we watched Baywatch.

Saturday, April 14
We spent today at Camden Market, walking around, doing a little bit of shopping.  And then we went to Primrose Hill and walked up it to see the city views of London.  We then walked past the London Zoo before grabbing some food and heading back to the Airbnb, where we watched The House.

Sunday, April 15
When I was at my internship someone told me about the Shoreditch Flower Market, so we decided to check it out.  And it was crazy.  There were so many people I don't know how you're supposed to be able to enjoy the flowers.  The ones I did see - through gaps between people's heads - were very pretty and smelt amazing.  We walked through it once, and then I said, "Let's go to this cool place called Borough Market" which we did, only to realize that Borough Market is closed on Sundays.  So we grabbed a late lunch and then made our way back towards our house.  We watched Hidden Figures, which I would definitely recommend to anyone.

Monday, April 16
Can one visit London and not go to high tea?  I'm pretty sure the country immediately deports you if you try.  I'm kidding of course, but my sister wanted to go to tea, and she found a really cool one.  It was by a company called B Bakery, and it took place on a double-decker bus, so you get to be chauffeured around the city while you eat finger sandwiches and mini cakes.  I personally, don't drink tea, but they had hot chocolate so I was good to go.  It was a very cute experience and I was glad we did it.  When we got off of the bus, we walked to Buckingham Palace and after taking pictures, we tried again to go to Borough Market.  This time it was a success, and I bought a meat pie and some fudge.

Tuesday, April 17
Today was exciting as we went down to Brighton and spent time at the beach!  We walked along the pier and then walked around the Lanes.  We got some food and had a nice day in the sun.

Wednesday, April 18
This morning started off slow because we were waiting for my second cousin and her mom flew in and they were making their way to the Airbnb.  Once they got in and had some time to get settled we made our way into Central London.  We walked around Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and then made the journey to Harrods.  By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted from travel and walking.

Thursday, April 19
Today started early...like, 4am early.  We had to be at the train station by 6am because we were headed to Paris for the day.  However, when we got to the station, our train was canceled, which caused some minor panic for a minute, but we were able to get on the next one which was only 50 minutes later.  Once we got to Paris, we walked to Notre Dame before grabbing a bite to eat.  We decided to do a Hop On Hop Off bus tour because we only had a limited amount of time and didn't want to spend all of it walking from one place to another.  I really enjoyed the bus because they had headphone jacks that gave you the history of all of the things we drove past, so we got to see more than we planned.  We got off the bus near the Eiffel Tower and contemplated walking up it before deciding the line was too long, so we went to a park in front of it and took pictures with it instead.  We also went to a perfume factory and a Longchamp bag store.  It was a fun, jam-packed day.

Friday, April 20
This morning we went to Sky Garden, which was one of my favorite places in the city.  The views were amazing, and it's a nice place to sit and have a drink.  From there we went down the street to the Tower of London, where we got a Beefeater Tour and saw the Crowned Jewels.  By the time we did those two things, everyone was ready for lunch.  Personally, I thought we should have stayed a little longer and seen more things, but I was outvoted, and I had already been there twice before, so I've seen pretty much everything there.  We got pizza from Zizzi's before making our way towards St. Paul's Cathedral.  However, we ended up getting sidetracked by a bar because it was such a beautiful day and everyone was out and about.  We also got to meet up with a friend of my cousin's who she met a couple summers ago.  We walked around with her, finally made it to St. Paul's and then went to another bar where we met some people and hung out for a while.

Saturday, April 21
After almost four months, today was the day I was heading back to the USA.  We really only had time to get breakfast and then make our way to the airport.  My cousin and her mom were leaving from Gatwick, and me, my sister, and my mom were leaving from Heathrow, but they were in Terminal 5, and I was leaving from Terminal 3.  Somehow I ended up in a priority economy seat, which was amazing.  It's incredible what a little bit of extra leg room will do on a long distance flight.  I have no idea how I got the seat, either.  The girl sitting next to me was my age, also coming back from study abroad, but she said she paid extra and chose the seat.  There is no way I would have paid extra money for a plane ticket, at least not on purpose, so I don't know what happened, but I'm not complaining.  When I landed at the airport, I hung out with my dad as we waited for my mom and sister's flight landed.  I bought myself a Coolatta from Dunkin Donuts to welcome myself back into the country.

And that's that.  Like I said, I'm back working and hanging out with my dog for the summer.  I think that because this last week was with some family and had a more vacation feel to it I was able to adjust back to being home easier.

Studying Abroad: The Last 2 Weeks

I WISH THIS WASN'T THE END! But I am also very excited to head back to Massachusetts, so this is a very bittersweet time for me.
If you're new here and want to read about my time studying abroad, click the names to read about Month 1, Month 2, or Month 3

For the most part, the past two weeks have been full of writing final papers, studying for a final exam, packing, and watching YouTube videos in bed, but I did manage to a have a few eventful days thrown in there as well.

Thursday, April 5: Dickens Day
About a week and a half ago, a friend and I tried to have a Charles Dickens Day, but it was Monday, and the Dickens Museum was closed, so we rescheduled to today.  The day started off normal.  We went to the museum, which was very exciting to see how Charles Dickens lived and where he wrote his novels.  We hung out in the safe for a while before heading to Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, which is the Pub that Sydney Carton takes Charles Darnay after he wins his trial.  This is where things got weird.  My friend and I sat for a while, got a drink and some french fries and then decided to walk to Harrods for a sandwich because the food on the pub menu was expensive and not really our taste. As we were walking out, the bartender said something to my friend that I didn't hear as I was so focused on getting to a bathroom.  However, next thing I know we're walking past the bathroom and up to some sectioned off function room.  The bartender disappears as we're left staring at a bunch of stuff that bars collect: old photographs and accounts of funny things that happened there.  It was interesting, but I had zero idea what was going on.  So we're in a room and all of a sudden we hear the bartender say, "Don't jump, there's a story of a girl who jumped from this window because she was being chased by someone with a knife.  Kinda like the knife I was using."
HOW DOES SOMEONE RESPOND TO THAT?!?!?!?! For the record: he meant a paring knife he was using to cut lemons or something.  Awkward laughs ensued, and then we were led to another room downstairs where an eighth edition of A Tale of Two Cities was opened to the page were Carton and Darnay were in the pub.  That was actually really cool since it was the main reason we were there, but the whole situation was just so bizarre.  Finally, he shows us some weird article about a bird, named Polly, who died in a pneumonia epidemic a long time ago.  He went back down to the bar he was originally at, and we got out of there as fast as we could.  Meanwhile, I still had to go the bathroom but didn't want to in the pub, so we went to a McDonalds close by and then headed to Harrods.  One of the funniest parts was that on our way to Harrods we were talking about what just happened and talking about what we would have done if something serious happened.  As we were talking about knives, a man walking in front of us looked back, pretending to be looking down the street but he was definitely looking back to see who we were and why we were talking about being stabbed in a pub.
In the end, we decided that the bartender was probably just trying to be nice and there was no point where either of us was really scared for our safety, but the whole event was ridiculous.  We rewarded ourselves with some Harrods cake so all was well.

Friday, April 6: Golden Tours Trip
The next day was much calmer.  The same friend, a few other friends, and I had booked a Golden Tours trip way back in February to Leeds, Dover, Canterbury, and Greenwich.  We got to explore the Leeds Castle and try Mead, walk onto a beach under the cliffs of Dover, explore a cathedral in Canterbury, and take a boat ride across the river from Greenwich.  The day was so fun and filled with laughs.  The five of us were the only people who were under the age of thirty who weren't with their parents and the tour guide deemed us "The Famous Five" which made me feel like a US Olympic Gymnast.  We also all ate fish and chips while we were in Canterbury, which was a first for me and I have to admit it was pretty good.  I mean who can go wrong with fried food and ketchup?
Once the tour was over, we got ice cream and walked through Hyde Park for a little bit before heading back to our housing.

Thursday, April 12: Wimbledon & Goodbye
This morning two friends and I went to Wimbledon Tennis Museum, which I was really excited for because I played tennis in high school and I figured if you go to London you have to see Wimbledon - even if you do wait until the last possible day.  We went to the museum which ended up being a lot better than I expected.  There were interactive parts and movies and reading all of the little blurbs were really informative.  We also did a virtual reality exhibit that taught you about the history of Wimbledon and also showed you 360 views of the 2016 matches.  With our museum pass, we were able to go to center court and see where the final matches are played.  We also got to ask the worker who took us into the court a bunch of questions about how to get a ticket, which is a lottery system.  We were out there for a couple hours because Wimbledon is kinda a hike from where we're staying, but I am so glad we decided to make the trip.
Tonight was also a send-off party hosted by the school I've been studying at.  I went with a couple friends for a little while - mostly to get the free food - and it was nice to see some people one last time before leaving.

And that's it!  Friday morning I woke up and headed off to meet my mother and sister at our Airbnb that we'll be staying in for the next week.  Studying abroad has been an amazing experience that I would recommend to everyone, whether you go for a full semester or a couple weeks over the summer.

Freefall by Tess Oliver | Book Review

Reading Group: M for Mature

Synopses: After leaving high school, with a hard won diploma and the title of most likely to break hearts, Alexander “Nix” Pierce has left his wild, out of control years mostly behind him. A small inheritance from his grandfather has given him the funds to open up his tattoo shop, Freefall, and he has started to pull his life together. Aside from trying to keep his best friend, Dray, from killing himself in the fight ring, and his slight obsession with a pin-up model he’s never met, Nix’s life is going smoothly . . . until Scotlyn James, the object of his obsession, walks into his shop.

Ever since a tragic accident killed her family and left her alone in the world, Scotlyn James hasn’t spoken one word. Up until now she didn’t care that she had no way of talking to people. Her awful aunt would never have listened, and Lincoln Hammond the arrogant, selfish man who pulled her from the streets of Los Angeles wouldn’t hear her words if she could speak. But when Lincoln insists she get a tattoo to cover up a scar on her side, Scotlyn meets the artist, Nix Pierce. And now she longs for her voice. Now she has found someone who will hear her.

Cover: I hate covers like this.  In general I don't like when people are on covers of books because I like to imagine my own person and I can't really do that if the cover says, "THIS IS WHAT THIS PERSON LOOKS LIKE!!!"  Also, I don't like covers that so blatantly say Romance Novel.  I would probably never buy this book as a physical version.  

My Review: As with most of the books I download for free on iBooks, I picked it because it seemed like a quick read.  I did enjoy this book as well, but it didn't have any surprises in it and I don't have a lot to say about it.  Girl is in bad relationship; girl meets new boy, who just so happens to already know her; boy saves her from bad situation; couple fight scenes; happily ever after.  Don't get me wrong though because I am all for stories like this, especially to read right before bed.  And yes, I did need to force myself to put my phone down so that I didn't stay up all night finishing it in one go.  I appreciated the humor throughout this story, especially between Nix and his friends.  And as cheesy as it is I love the concept that Nix was the one who could hear Scotlyn when no one else could.  It was a little bit of a fate/coincidence thing where he's been holding on to her photo for a long time and then she actually comes into his life.  I mean what are the chances of something like this actually happening?  Maybe that's why it's so fun to read.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for something to read quick.  Plus, it's free on iBooks!  The only issue now is whether or not I pay for the rest of the series...

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Baby Daddy by Kendall Ryan | Book Review

Reading Group: M for Mature

Synopses: We met in a trapped elevator. Emmett was on his way to work, sophisticated and handsome in his tailored suit and tie. I was on my way to the sperm bank. Awkward, right? At thirty-five, my life hadn’t taken the path I thought it would and I was tired of waiting—I wanted a baby. And I was ready to take matters into my own hands to make it happen. After our ill-fated elevator encounter, Emmett insisted on taking me to dinner—he also insisted on something else—that I ditch my plan involving a turkey baster and let him do the job. He would be my baby daddy. He was a wealthy and powerful CEO with little interest in diapers or playdates. And since he didn’t want kids, I’d be on my own once his bun was in my oven, free to go my own way. But once his baby was inside me, it was like a switch had been flipped, and I got a whole lot more than I ever bargained for. 

Cover: This is one of those books that I would never buy the paperback version of because I'm too self conscious to risk being seen with it. I love a good romance novel, but I don't need the strangers around me to know what I'm reading.  

My Review: I downloaded this book onto my phone because I have the app Book+Main where authors post samples of their work and I read some pieces on there and really enjoyed it.  I read it before bed over the course of two nights and I really enjoyed it.  It's a simple story really: Girl asks boy to have a no strings attached relationship because she wants a kind, strings get very much attached, happily ever after.  I'm such a sucker for books like this because they're easy and enjoyable to read.  Perfect for ending a day spent writing papers and working on presentations.  I really liked how Jenna knew what she wanted and was going to go for it no matter.  Then, of course, Emmett comes in and shakes up her plans a little bit, but her end goal is still the same as it always was.  It's Emmett who really needs to reevaluate his future and decide what he wants out of his life.  He's afraid of settling down because he watched his own parents fail at marriage and doesn't want to do that to someone else.  It takes some convincing from the people around him to make him realize that he isn't the carbon copy of his father and there are things he can do differently to have a happier life.  The interesting twist is that Jenna is pregnant with his baby, so he has to be either all in or all out. 

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Studying Abroad: 3 Month Update

How is it possible that it's April?  That by the end of this month I will be back in the USA?  That's absolutely crazy to me!

If you're new here and want to read about the other two months I've been in London, you can read about Month 1 here and Month 2 here!

The beginning of March was spent in Dublin, Ireland which you can read all about here!

Saturday, March 10th was spent doing homework, but I did get outside on Sunday, March 11th.  I decided to go souvenir shopping for some family and friends, which I will have to wait to tell you about in case some of them are reading.

Saturday, March 17th was another homework day, but I did get the chance to go out with some friends at night.  We wanted to go to an Irish Pub, but because it was St. Patrick's Day the lines were out the door and around the corner so we ended up at BrewDog, but we still had a lot of fun.

On Sunday, March 18th I met up with some friends I met when I went to Berlin last month and watched the parade.  The London St. Patrick's Day parade was not like the parades I've seen back home: no one was cheering or clapping or jumping around.  Naturally, the girl I was with and I were doing these things and it resulted in someone next to us asking where we were from.  When we said America he said, "Yeah I figure."  He was Canadian though so he also realized that this parade was a little lacking.  The rest of the day was spent in a bar with a musician taking requests.  We were responsible for some Britney Spears and Stacey's Mom being played.

Friday, March 23rd was the last day of my internship, which I was very sad to walk away from.  I had such a blast being a Publicity Intern at Simon & Schuster UK.  The people were amazing and I learned a lot about the publishing world.  The fact that it ended also reminded me that my time here in London is almost over.  My best friend, who is studying in Italy, was in London too so we were able to get dinner and hang out for a couple hours.  It was great to see her and made me excited for all of my friends to be home over the summer.

Saturday and Sunday I was in Nice, France with my roommate which you can read about here!



Since I no longer have to go to my internship, a friend and I were going to have a Charles Dickens Day on Monday, March 26th, but the Dickens Museum isn't open on Mondays so we ended up rescheduling that and going to Harrods to get lunch and cake instead.  On our way there we also stopped inside a bookstore, which we said would result in no book buying.  But then we started talking to a sales associate and both ended up buying a book.

Thursday, March 29 was really exciting because I met up with a friend I haven't seen since Junior Year of High School.  She was a foreign exchange student and now she's studing in England.  She has some time off so she came down to London and we saw Wicked, which was amazing!  I had chills throughout the entire thing.

Friday we took a bus to Brighton for the day.  We then took another bus to the Seven Sisters and walked around there.  However, it was raining and cold, so we ended being absolutely soaked and pretty miserable.  But we made the most of it and still had a good day.

Saturday, March 31 we slept in and then headed to Chinatown for some food before my friend had to leave.  We actually had to wait until noon for the place we wanted to eat lunch to open so we got ice cream at about 11:30am.  It was great.

Only a few weeks left for me here in London.  I look forward sharing with you what I get up to during that time...

A Weekend in Nice, France

A couple of weeks ago my roommate and I decided we wanted to go somewhere warm.  So after a little bit of googling and flight searching, we decided to go to Nice, France.

We had to leave by 2:30am on Saturday morning, and I almost overslept.  But I didn't, and we made it to the bus that took us to the airport.  The first thing we did when we got to Nice was made our way to our hostel.  We were able to drop our bags off, but our beds weren't going to be ready until 3:00pm, so we decided to find some food.  We then walked up Castle Hill and got to see some amazing views of the ocean.  We also walked around Cimetière du Château (Castle Cemetary) for a little while, which has huge gravestones.  At 3:00pm we went back to the hostel and took a nap since both of us only got about an hour of sleep the night before.  When we got up, around, we found some dinner and then sat outside of a bar for a while because we wanted to stay up late enough that we wouldn't wake up too early the next morning.  We went back to the hostel at 11:00pm, and I was surprised to find that we were the last people back to the shared dorm we were in.

The next day we checked out of the hostel around 10:00am and walked around a flower market for a little bit before taking a bus to Monaco.  Once there we walked into the famous Casino (Only the parts we could get into free).  Then we went and sat on the beach for a while.  We walked into the water, which was cold, but we felt we had to since we had gone through so much effort to see the sea.  We looked at all of the Yachts in the harbor and then went up to the Prince's Palace before returning to Nice.  We grabbed dinner and then took a bus back to the airport.

The weekend was fantastic to get away and be somewhere where the sun was shining.  In fact, we both ended up getting sunburnt.  We spent most of our time simply walking around and looking at the ocean.  I am not a beach person, so I was wicked surprised to find how excited I was to see salt water.

Are any of you ready for Spring to fully arrive?  Or do you want to fast forward straight to summer?

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw | Book Review

Reading Group: High School+

Synopses: Two centuries ago, in small, isolated Sparrow, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery and drowned in the waters surrounding the town. Now, each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three girls and seeking revenge by dragging boys to their watery deaths.

Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the town's fate. Then, on the eve of the sisters' return, Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into or the fact that his arrival will change everything... 

Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters. 

But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

Cover: I find the cover of this book to be very pretty with the shades of green, blue, and purple, with a pop of orange.  There are also a few illustrations throughout the waves: crows, a skull, and a sinking hand that I think work to help with the quote that says, "Secrets that lurk beneath the surface..." 

My Review: I grabbed this book from my internship because I thought it sounded really interesting, but I was afraid that it was going to be a little young for me.  Although I do think this book is appropriate for people a little younger than me, I didn't feel like I was too old to enjoy it and actually I really liked it.  I love magical books like this that incorporate some type of love story.  However, this love story was a little bit tragic for Bo because he fell in love with a girl and then, in a way, had to re-fall in love with her, which I was very happy he was able to.  There is a slight twist in this story that you might be able to guess, but if you don't you'll be stunned.  
This book has the storyline that says love can change pretty much anything, which some people may think is cliche, but I think I would be completely happy reading books with only this storyline for the rest of my life.  Love can change your entire outlook, but it can also make you selfless, which is what happens in this story.  When something has been the way it is for two hundred years it takes someone brave to change it while understanding that the consequences may end badly for them.  This story is about a town that still thrives off of a curse from the past, but when a new outsider comes to town, everything gets turned around and now it's up to Penny to decide what happens next.
On Amazon, it says "Hocus Pocus meets Practical Magic", but I'm afraid the people targeted for this book are too young for those movies.  I've seen Hocus Pocus, but I've never seen Practical Magic and I feel like I'm on the older end of the audience target, but I do agree.  I was explaining the plot to someone and she immediately said, 'Oh, like a darker Hocus Pocus!'  Three sisters accused of being witches and killed for it...Sanderson...Swan...it's all the same really.  

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