Things I Love Thursday

This week I love:

Harry Potter - Which is, of course, obvious. But I am talking more specifically about the Harry Potter locations which I have visited. Platform 9 3/4, disappointing as it may have been, was worth going too. And I am in London, where Harry spends much time. And even if it doesn’t really count, Oxford was full of movie filming sights. I have stood on the same staircase the line them up for sorting on, I have walked through the Great Hall, gazed in on the Infirmary, and looked up at the owlery. This all makes me and my not-so-inner dork insanely gleeful. My heart gets all happy. You can see this plainly in my pictures.

This is the Great Hall.

Oxford - And not only because it is so beautiful to my Potter-nerd self. Nope. It is beautiful all on its own. The colleges are of course stunning (and I really, really, really want to go there), and the town is adorable. Plus, I had the most delicious chicken pesto panini. Like, I am hungry just thinking about it. Good school + fun town + yumyum food = I could so live there.

At Oxford.

Stonehenge - Which I have already flailed about, but which still deserves mention. Things do not become one of The Seven Wonder of the Medieval World for nothing now, do they?

Leaping for joy.

The Tube System - Because I have finally figured it out and it saves my feet. Plus, I still don’t like or clearly understand the bus system.

Thai food - I am about to go eat my leftovers from yesterday’s lunch. Excitement is me.

There are, of course, many other things I could list. But these are the creme of the crop, so they get the attention. One week left! I am looking forward to the remainder of my adventures, but I am also looking forward to seeing my family and friends for more than a week!

don't drink the water (STONEHENGE!)

7/19/10

Today, we went to Stonehenge!

It was insanely cool. Totally worth the 2.5 hour bus drive. I will show you pictures (of which I took a ton), but know this: It really is as amazing as everyone says.

Afterwards, we headed to the old Roman Baths. They were also pretty insanely awesome. Being somewhere with that much history, that is so unfathomably old is pretty intense. Again, the pictures are pretty good at illustrating this.

One bad thing: When we had finished walking around, I went to buy a glass of the water, which the pump up from the natural hot spring and will sell you in a glass to drink for about the equivalent of USD75 cents. I figured, hey! It’s history. Sure, I’ll drink it.

Bad choice.

It tasted like blood. That’s about the most accurate description I have for it. It was hot, smelled like rotten eggs, and was disgustingly metallic. But did I drink it? YES. I paid for it, afterall.

In conclusion: Go to Stonehenge. Go to the Baths. But don’t drink the water.

Dublin in Pictures

More from Dublin! I came back on Saturday night (or Sunday morning, if you want to get technical), safe and in one piece. Saturday Kevin and I walked around the City Centre some more and meandered our way over to the Guinness Storehouse. The pictures above tell the story, but for the record: Even when poured properly, and drank at the bar on top of the storehouse, beer? Is gross.

DUBLIN!

For the record: Dublin is awesome.

Reasons why it is vastly superior to London are as follows:

• The streets are prettier. They are cute and bustling and just more appealing.
• The people are absolute awesome. No less than four individuals were independently involved in helping me to find/get on/get off the right bus at the right time.
• The weather is amazing. I know that this is not the case all year, but today was perfect; cool, bright, breezy. LOVE.
• There are little pubs with names like O’Donoghue’s that serve real live shepherd's pies.

There are other reasons too, I just can’t think of them at this second. My brain has been awake for too many hours to really work. But that’s ok, because Dublin was worth the 5am morning.

things i love thursday

Julia and I attempting to break through Platform 9.

After making it to the center of the maze (same one they filmed the Harry Potter movie in!), I was traumatized.

At Hampton Court with Julia & Rylie.

King's Cross! I am holding a mop. I am four seconds away from trying to fly away on it.

First rainy day in London. Look at my cute rain umbrella! And the London Eye in the background.

I am a copycat. I once read this article about how to make it big on blogs and it linked to this one girl’s blog and she had a “Things I Love Thursday.” I am going to copy her, because London is too busy and too fun to write everything that has been going down. Ready? Ready!

This week I love:

The Old City; big buildings that are older than our country; St Paul’s Cathedral; visiting Fleet Street (!!); the financial district and its Starbuck’s every ten feet; Oystercards; becoming semi-literate so far as the tube system is concerned (!!); the people in the paleopathology department of the Museum of London; the Tower of London; meeting old friends at the Tower of London and planning trips to Ireland with them (Kevin!!); impromptu photoshoots; visiting old castles; looking at old art; running through the same maze they filmed Goblet of Fire in; walking so much I don’t feel guilty about eating Milka (!!!) chocolate; standing under Big Ben as the quarter-hour strikes; Westminster Abbey in all its splendor (!!!!!!); KING’S CROSS TRAIN STATION, even though it was not like it was supposed to be and there was no wall between 9 &10, only train track, and even though it was inside and not like the movie and even though I definitely didn’t get to go to Hogwarts; the fact that tomorrow morning I take off for Ireland!!!!!!!!

Yay!

two days in quick review

Kevin and I with the Tower Bridge in the background. And, yes, we think our pose is awesome.

The Chichester Cathedral.

The statue showed me the pose. Outside of Chichester Cathedral.

Because these last two days? Have been super busy but also super awesome.

7/11/10

Chichester; London

· Early, early morning. 7:30 does not equal fun

· Met Angie, our walking tour-guide. She is old and perky and very English. Altogether adorable.

· Rode the train! Not King’s Cross, but still worthy. Went to Chichester:

o Two hours on a train; saw castles on the way.

o Beautiful little city, with buildings that were built in the 14^th, 16^th centuries. So amazing, so insane. So not-Arizona.

o There were these streets with shops on both side, cobblestone paths, and bubble-blowers sending orbs to the rainbow streamers. Insanely adorable.

o Beautiful, huge cathedral. Stunning.

o Hospital that has been around for 1200 years. They take care of the poor old. Amazing garden, awesome mission, sweet, bubbly lady. I wish I could live there!

· World Cup Final! Spain vs Holland. I cheered for Spain at Prince Albert’s Pub (so crowded I was pushing through the crowd to the table that Riley’s friend had for us; so many people). Ate chocolate and booed at appropriate moments. Also read our textbook, like the dork I am. Spain (and thus me) won. We walked home to people singing, dancing, high-fiving, and honking in the streets. Kind of magical.

· Panicked over the lack of ticket-booking for Dublin. This became a theme.

7/12/10

The City of London: Tower of London; Tower Bridge

First, fact: There is a square mile in London called The City of London. It is not the same as London. The Queen has no jurisdiction over it, but the Grand Mayor (?) does. I never knew this. Had no clue.

Today, I:

walked to the point of extreme, whine-inducing foot pain; tramped through the Old City, where there are buildings that are so old and beautiful that I have trouble believing they are real; saw St. Paul’s cathedral and was no disappointed with its grandeur; walked through narrow little allies reminiscent of the past by infinitely more adorable; brushed shoulders with the extremely well-dressed financial men; took way too many pictures; had yummy Japanese lunch; met with Kevin (!!!); went to the Tower of London; saw the White Tower, the Royal Jewels, and a few devices of torture; goofed around with the camera in a 13^th century building; walked over a pretty, very old bridge; almost-napped in a not-quite park; ate Ben & Jerry’s to fuel my journey home (!!); perfected my tubing (ha); vegged; booked tickets to Dublin, after much stress, angst, and general Marie-ness (!!!!!!!!!!!).

Anyway.

This is still fun!

country the fourth

GUESS WHAT?

I’m in London.

Country the fourth, check.

I’ve only been here about ten hours, but I’m already loving the city. Not that it has quite hit me that I’m in London - home of history and Harry Potter - because, quite honestly, my brain is just, “Oh. Jet-lag and another foreign city. We’re used to this.” Not to say I’m not so excited. Because I am. Very much so.

What am I most excited about this first day?

the Mars Bar I ate in the airport; the fact that you can drink the tap water (!!); my room (because it is my room - bed, sink, chair, desk and shower); our Turkish dinner; the old buildings; the warm weather; the super-fast internet; the fact that the sun doesn’t set until 9:45pm; and knowing that tomorrow, I will be on the London Eye.

More updates to come.