May 16 - Romans and Rocks

Today was amazing! But I have been in tears for the past hour about it. My camera is a (excuse my french) peice of shit and decided to erase every picture I have taken--and I had almost 200. I am so upset about the whole thing... I don't know what I am going to do.

We went to Bath to see the spa's the Roman's built back in BC time. They were so cool to look at.
I had some really neat pictures of the baths, and me standing under an old aquaduct. But they are gone.

We then went to Jane Austen's house. I felt so priviledged to stand in her bedroom where she wrote most of her books.
I had a picture of her room. I had a picture of me standing next to this man in period costume. They are gone.

Next we went to Stonehenge.
I got a picture of me standing right next to stonehenge, along with many other pictures of the rocks. Gone.

Me at Piccadilly Circus--gone.
Me wearing a corset and hoop skirt--gone.

Parliament - Gone.
Me and Big Ben - Gone.
All the english country side - Gone.
Windsor Castle - Gone.

Everything is gone.

If you excuse me, I am going to go back to my room and contine to cry now. I don't feel like writing about anything else.

Goodnight.

May 15 - Swollen Feet

Photo 1 = "The Blondes" outside the House of Parliament

Photo 2 = Big Ben

Photo 3 = Me outside of Westminster Abbey (and I look like a goon!)

Alright, the computer situation has been figured out. We are all good and ready to go. I am no longer panicking.

Today was a blast, but my feet are killing me and I am sooo tired. I wonder if I will ever get used to this time zone, or if I will have jet lag for a month.

I still haven’t eaten blood pudding Dad. I did, however, have a Cornish Pasty (or is it Pastie?), and it was divine!! I also think I am finally starting to figure out the tube, but I still have no idea what direction is what yet here.

People really do not like us here. As soon as they hear my accent, realize I am American, and ask what state I am from, they brush me off. I think it’s really interesting they do that. Also people were camping outside the House of Parliament today protesting Bush and the War in Iraq. I laughed about that—even in England they protest Bush!!

The first thing we did today we go to Westminster Abbey. Once again, you can’t take pictures inside. I really wish I could have though. It is gorgeous outside, but as soon as you walk inside it’s a completely different feeling. It’s breath-taking. It’s a cathedral too, so there are glass-stained windows everywhere. It’s also full of marble statues carved right into the walls. And the tombs… oh my goodness, they are amazing!!

It’s a really eerie feeling to be surrounded by so many dead people. It was so strange, the air in there has a different feel to it and it’s hard to breath. That may be because there were a thousand other people in there—but I think the thought that it’s from all the history and dead you are surrounded by is a cooler explanation. Every corner and every nook is packed with either a coffin, or statue remembering someone. Even people are buried under you, so the floors are covered with “under here lays so-and-so”.

Some tombs are written in such old english, it is impossible to read who is laying there.

To think how old some of those coffins were (some were from 1000’s), and how many people were buried there—it’s so hard to fathom. I am so curious if there are spirits there. I have no doubt you can see many, many ghosts in that place. I was tempted to ask one of the clergymen that were floating around if they ever see spirits of kings or queens.

My favorite tombs/coffins:
Queen Elizabeth I
Mary Queen of Scots
Edward the Confessor
Jane Austen
Charles Darwin

Next we went to the House of Parliament. We didn’t get to see anything with the House of Lords; for some reason they wouldn’t let us. We did sit in on a debate with the House of Commons about Anti-Semitism. Honestly I was bored and I didn’t understand what was going on.

Sadly since I am American and cannot be trusted, I only got to see the front hall inside Parliament. That front hall was boring, empty, and only consisted of stone walls, a little tourist shop, and a line to wait in. I wish I could have seen more inside the building.

After that we could do as we pleased. So, of course, Nykole, Jana, Jessica and I went shopping! We figured out how to get to Piccadilly Circus via the tube. We went everywhere! My favorite store we went to was H&M. I bought me the cutest dress there; I can’t wait until I can get home and show it off.

Everyone in London wears silk scarves with their outfits. It’s a trend that hasn’t made it to the US yet, and I love it. I stopped at this little stand and bought me a few cute scarves (and a few for gifts as well). That way I can be ahead when I get home. :)

May - 14 Wild, Wild London

Today was great. And once again, computer problems so please excuse the typos. I am using my teacher's computer and I want to hurry while using it.



We got to sleep in today, I didn't get up until 11:00 am. It felt great, although I am still jet-lagging. It's weird, I feel dizzy and sorta out of wack. I hope I will get used to this soon.



First we went to the London Museum. It was really cool. It basically was the history of London and had a lot of amazing artifacts. I got to see some suits of armor, coffins, and even Henry VIII's bed! That was pretty sweet. They were pretty short back then...



Outside of the museum was an actual wall the Roman's built. I took a ton of pictures. The wall was gorgeous, you could tell it is thousand's of years old. My favorite part about it (and for all of London basically) is the contrast between buildings. That roman wall was in the center of all these new, very modern looking office buildings. Gorgeous contrast.



Next we went to Bartholomew's Hospital. For those of you who don't know, it is the oldest running hospital in the history of the world. It was also the place that mainly took care of people durng the Black Plague.



Some of the instruments they used for operation are so scary looking. Thank goodness for modern medicine!



Next we went to St. Paul's Cathedral for Evensong (evening worship). No offence, but the Catholic religion is really sorta weird in some aspects. It was truly amazing though! An all men's choir sang during the sermon. They gave me goosebumps. The little boys were so cute too.

It is simply breath taking in their as well. Unfortunately they do not allow you to take pictures, so I reccommend you to google what it looks ike inside. Every corner has a marble statue, and every inch of the ceiling was painted in gorgeous murals. The stained-glass windows illuminated off the walls and made the whole place sparkle. It was magical, I wish you could have been there to see it with me.



The men here are divine too. Most have good teeth, but they definitely are not white. What makes them so gorgeous is how gentlemanly they are. And their clothes... oh man! Every grungy, American man needs to come over here and take a lesson from a british man. Then perhaps they would have better success with girls! ;)



Four of the girls in our group will not do anything with the rest of us. I am getting really annoyed with them. Whatever we do they only sit there and complain, and every chance they get they run off. I'm alright because Hillary, Kim, Jana, Jessica, Nykole, and I have a blast together. I just hate how some people are so stuck up and are so closed minded. I want to smack them upside the head.



Alright, sleeping now. Please leave me some loving, I need it. I am starting to get homesick. And girls! My lovely sisters! Leave me some comments, I want to hear from you!



Loves

May 13 - Jet Lag to the Max

Sorry guys, no pictures today. I am having problems I wish I had thought of before hand. And while I am on that subject, Mom I have an assigment for you. My laptop plug has 3 prongs, my converter only 2 prongs. See the problem here? Would you do me the favor and look around for one asap with 3 prongs? I will look here as well. My laptop is totally dead and I am using the £2 worth of internet time they gave me.

I would appreciate that.

If not my south african friend has one he told me I can borrow.

And in light of the situation I am sad that I will have to hurry and type all my thoughts down. Please disregard the vague details and typos. I will do my best. :)

So, a few things about London. You only see really nice, luxury cars on the roads. The reason is London is so expensive, only the rich can afford them. I have only see one Chrysler town and country van, they do not have any sort of truck, and you see tons of yaris's (although the body is a little different) and malibus. They also don't have speed limit signs anywhere, and cars whiz by. They also do not yeild to pedestrians or stop at red lights. I will be lucky if I get out of London not being squashed like a pancake! I get so confused and I look the wrong way before I cross the street too. They even have signs that say "Look Left" or "Look Right", but I... I dunno... I'm retarded.

Dad, don't worry about the strangers. And I haven't seen that red-headed boy again. Calm down. :)

They have this crazy thing here called CCTV. I don't know what it stands for exactly, but it basically means there are camera's everywhere. The police are always watching you, and it's a little creepy.

Today I did some really fun things. First we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum (I think that's what it's called, it says V&A everywhere...). It is basically a huge art museum. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE!! It is inside an old castle, so you can imagine how big it is. I hurried and saw as much as I could. It was amazing! It was so cool to actually see prints from the medieval times I have only seen in text books.

I also got to see some Knight's Armour and dresses actual Queens wore. They also had all these roman statues everywhere. I was in heaven.

Next we went to the Natural History Museum. It's honeslty not as exciting and looks like every other natural history museum in the US. The only difference were, the museum only had dinosaur bones from the europe area (no raptors or triceratops). I honestly had more fun watching all the school groups with kid's in their cute little unifroms walking around following their instructor. They are soooo cute!! I want to try and take a picture of a school group, but I don't want a lawsuit showing up.

We then went to the Science Museum. I wasn't to interested either. They mainly had models of old trains and cars. They did have the first correct model built of DNA there (I forget the scientist's name, but I am sure you know rebecca). I took pictures. :)

Next we went to..... HARRODS!!!

Oh my holy cow, I wish I had a million pounds to go spend there. They have all the designers, and the most gorgeous clothes. I bought me the cheapest thing I could find there (I will show you when I get home), but my friend Kim found a Peter Rabbit doll there for £19.95, and I am tempted to go back and get me one too if I can't find a cheaper one when we go to the Beatrix Potter museum in a few days.

The most expensive items I found:
Prada shoes = £650 (about $1500) - they were ugly too
Chanel Sequin Dress (in rainbow colors!!) = £1500 ($3000)

The bathrooms in Harrods are crazy!! My friends and I waited to go to the bathroom until we got there. We were curious. They are huge, and way nice. They have a lady standing there to direct you to the next available toilet. She then watches you wash your hands, hands you a towel, and then waits for a tip. Then they put a silver platter infront of you with a variety of designer perfumes, and sprays the one of your choice on you. You are then rewarded with a ice-cold cup of water. And all that just to go to the bathroom!

They also have a shrine for Princess Diana in the ladies department. No kidding. I took pictures and laughed hysterically about it all.

After that we walked back to the hostel. We were all pooped. Major jet lag.

Hillary and I decided we wanted some good, wholesome food, so we walked down to the Sansburys supermarket and bought stuff for hamburgers. And yes, believe it or not, I helped! (I sliced the tomatoes and onions and cooked the corn on the cob). I also found "American Style Cookies" and bought me some. :) Their cookies here are more like a hard biscuit.

They also have flap jacks everywhere. They aren't pancakes though, they are almost like a rice crispy treat made from oats. They do put syrup on them though, and i habe seen some with whipped cream.

They don't have garbage cans anywhere on the streets because people but bombs in them. If you need to throw something away you have to go inside somewhere and ask for their "litter basket". They also won't know what you are talking about if you ask for the bathroom. You have to ask for the "water closet".

When we sat down to eat our hamburgers the other british kids in the kitchen were laughing at us and our "typical american meal". According to them we should eat their food. They may be right, but I am sticking to as much american as I can get away with. Everyone here is cordial to us, but we all know they hate us. They also tease us ruthlessly and we are frequently looked at as if we are freaks. It's a fake sort of cordial, and I honestly don't blame them. We are spoiled. 2 days in and I already can see how spoiled we are.

I love our hostel. It's a freaking maze though! I always get lost! They have a community kitchen that everyone can use. Thankfully it is basically clean, and everyone has to do their own dishes. The enviroment here is so chill, i love it. The walls are adorned with pictures of The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Bob Marley, and other stuff along those lines. Think The Pie as a hostel, and there you have Astor Kensington (minus that much writing on the walls-although it is getting close).

Tomorrow we are going to the giant British Museum and I can't wait for that.

Please see if you can find anything for my laptop. I am really disappointed about it. I will keep my eyes open too, there are little tourist shops everywhere over here.

Well it is 10 pm here now and I am beat and still need to shower, so I am going to go take my meds and try to get some sleep. I am not excited for that public shower...

And P.S. my shoulders kill. I am going to need one major massage when I get home, just to warn y'all. Anyone who is willing?

Hugs and loves, goodnight!

May 11 - May 12 Flight Extravaganza

The first thing I saw in London... The bathroom The view from my window

I decided a few things about airplanes.

1. Flight Attendants are rude and don’t listen to you
2. Gross airplane food + high altitudes = bad, bad heartburn for Corissa
3. American men wear grungy sweats on planes, British men wear button down shirts, slacks, and matching oxford shoes (and manage to not gain one wrinkle on their finely-pressed shirts while sleeping on a 10 hour flight).
4. Corissa and airplanes do not mix. Period.

The first flight from SLC to Denver was easy breezy, although a little crowded. It was only about an hour long. We then waited for 2 more hours to board our London-Heathrow plane. Everyone decided to get something to eat, but all I wanted was some ice cream. I found a place, and got some cookie dough ice cream with hot fudge. MMMMM :)

The only problem is I… sorta spilled half of it on my seat and wallet…

I was so excited to finally get on the plane. And I tell you… that plane was huge! And first class is crazy! They have freaking lazy boy chairs with as many alcohol drinks your heart desires. I was so jealous. I got stuck in stinky economy class; I was the dirt’s dirt.

They did have these sweet movie screens though, and we got to choose between a number of movies. I tried to read at first, but my excitement kept distracting me. So in order to get my mind off my anxieties I choose to watch a movie. Bucket List was the only movie that worked at my TV. It was a really funny movie—but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It was funny, but it lacked in plot.

Anyway, away from that movie critique before I get too into it. During the movie we were served a nice dinner of manicotti, salad, a roll, and a brownie. Wow… I cannot eat on planes. When I stuck my fork into my pasta the plane went through a bad wind or something. The plane became really bouncy. And, of course, my fork flipped through the air and got spaghetti sauce all down my shirt. I panicked, cried out, and reached for the spill on my shirt. In my clumsiness I knocked over my apple juice in the process. I was so tired I started to laugh. Then the lady sitting next to me started laughing as well, reached over, and asked, “You are American, aren’t you?”

I wanted to stick my tongue out at her.

I couldn’t sleep on the plane either. I tried so hard, but once I finally got comfy and I was about to really fall asleep, the plane would bounce.

One of the TV stations showed a map of the world, and had a little airplane flying over the Atlantic Ocean. I got so sick of not being able to sleep, I finally succumbed to watching that little plane inch across the screen.

By the way Rebecca, I didn’t get any pictures of the Atlantic. I would have, but it was bright outside while everyone was sleeping.

When we finally landed I was thrilled. And oh my word… it is gorgeous here!! It actually reminds me a lot of San Francisco. The architecture is similar, and it is that same dirty feeling of an inner city. Now I know what it’s like to be stared at like you are out of place. We went to the supermarket, and everyone starred at me.

I’ve made a friend at the youth hostel. He is Scottish and has bright red hair. How did we become friends? Well… When I was sitting in the common room of the youth hostel waiting for Carma to check us in, he walked up to me, slapped me across the head, and said “Welcome to the UK, you little blondie American.” Yah… Weird, I know… but he’s cool. I also have another friend from south Africa. He is was cool, and all big and buff. Their accents are beautiful.

Anyway, I am having some major jet lag right now. I need sleep badly. I will update tomorrow. We are going to a lot of cool museums!

Love you all, sweet dreams.