It is bridal shower season. The beautiful Devery is getting married in a week!

So Heather and I are not close to marriage but we are the new proud owners of gangsta Brooklyn hats that were purchased for $2.50. Almost as cool right?

 While we waited for our table at Red Robin we had some fun at the mall.

Food, friends, and March Madness. What more do you need. Good group, good group. 

Shelley and I are pretty good shoppers. Maybe too good. 

 Trying to find a hammock. 

 Found a new fish too, welcome Kuzco!

Hammock success. Walmart was too good to us tonight. 

Sunshine in London? That's new.

   Westminster Abbey was our first stop this morning. This is where Prince William and Kate were married. It was pretty. As always. I have seen a lot of cathedrals and Abbey's and they are all kind of blending together. Though, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, and lots of royalty were buried there. We then had the day to explore London. So we did! In the sun too! Jessica, Anne, and I did a little bit of shopping off the Covent Garden tube station. That little area was so cute. Maybe it was extra adorable because it was sunny. Obviously, I love the sun. We managed to fit in a little bit of studying. Kind of. Later, we had a nice flatmate dinner and took a walk in Hyde Park. It was a beautiful day. 

 Westminster Abbey.

 Covent Garden.

 Studying. Eh. If you could call it that.

Hyde Park. 

History 101

   In school, you grow up learning and hearing about all these scholars and geniuses who all seem far away and in a distant land. To see actual works from them, many of them with their handwriting, doodles and notes, brings it to life. Today at the British Library in the Sr. John Rirblat Gallery I saw many treasures of history. I saw manuscripts and journals from Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Mozart there was the earliest version of Handel's Messiah,  Beethoven's tuning fork and works, an autographed manuscript of Mendelssohn Wedding March, Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks and notes or arithmetic and lastly, the Magna Carta. Can you believe it? All it one exhibit. It was amazing to walk around and see all these pieces from the historical heroes. 
   After exploring this wonderful exhibit we made our way to the Tower Bridge. It was all decked out with the Olympic rings and everything! It is a lot different than what I expected. Which is weird because it is so iconic. But it had painted railings and it was just a lot bigger than I expected. And fancy. We walked across the bridge to the other side and walked along the river a bit. After that stop we made our way to Camden Market! It was so fun. Minus the fact it started raining. (I knew the sun wouldn't last!) This market has a fun vibe. And if you go at a good time the food vendors often offer free samples. How could you say no to free! The day was ended with a cupcake from Hummingbird Bakery. Yum yum yum. I got the flavor of the day which was a Jelly Jammer cupcake. It was a vanilla cupcake with strawberry filling. It is based off some cookie they have here. It was delicious. I have had cupcakes in many famous places and this one was right up there with the big dogs. 
   We are all now sitting here in our kitchen, typing away on our computers, watching American TV, and listening to the rain outside our window. I love my life.  

 Entering the British Library.

Part of the group with our two wonderful professors!

 Exploring the fun features of the library.

 Huge sundial at Tower Hill. 

 Walking around the Tower Bridge.

 Camden Market

What would a blog post be without some dessert?

Strolling Through the Market

    We have class on Saturdays too. That is how my morning began. I shouldn't complain about having them though because we only have 18 or so days of class. And we are given a few days off so we can go to Paris. I guess class on Saturdays is worth going to France.
   After class and a trip to a the grocery store we went to explore Portobello Market. It was busy and packed and I loved it. My wallet my not have survived but I had a great time exploring the different shops and vendors. The closest thing I can relate it to is Portland's Saturday market or Pike's Place in Seattle. They had many antiques. Which were great to look at. From old maps to vintage books and sewing machines. I could have spent even more time there just looking at all the little gadgets they had and taking pictures of it all.

    I think my best purchase of the day was a ring with an amber stone. When my sister went to London on a study abroad she brought me back amber earrings and a ring. I was in love with the ring. I loved it so much I put it on right away and went to a Christmas party to show all my friends. Unfortunately, I lost it in the snow. I was so disappointed that I had lost it on the first day I wore it! We even went back to my friends house with a metal detector to look for it. Never did find it. This made me determined to find one again while I was here. After getting the price down a few pounds I purchased the perfect one. I am currently wearing it right now too so that means it has lasted longer than the first. I must go back to Portobello before I leave. The place was huge and we did not even make it to the food part of the markets. Homemade Belgian waffles? A must. 

Portobello Road.

Street performers. 

Antique books.

My new amber ring.

Wilderness to Uptown Girl

   It is crazy that by the end of the day I don't even know where to begin my posts. I can't even remember what I did just a few hours earlier! I always go back and look at our agenda so I can keep track of the newest adventures! The day started off with us heading to Dublin! We went to Glendalough which is up in the mountains on the east side of Ireland. The scenery was a lot different than what we had been seeing. More rocks and evergreen trees. I know I say this a lot, but it was simply gorgeous. I think this rivals for the most beautiful stop we have made. On the way to St. Kevin's monastery from the 7th century we took some pictures off the side of the road. I literally jumped out of the coach, looked at the stream and ran up the hill to the ruins of an old home or church. It felt so good to get out and move after sitting in the coach for so long. Plus, the air was fresh and the mountain seemed to be calling my name! Can you believe there are these beautiful ruins just off the side of the road here in Ireland? No signs telling you not to climb on the rocks or walk on the grass. Just free space to enjoy.
   Once we made it to our real destination we walked along the pathway to find the monarch city which is where St. Kevin came to build his monastery. We strolled through the woods to the lower lake where we stopped to skip some rocks and take some pictures. There was a large round bell tower sitting in the middle of the site. It reminded me a lot of Tangled. Though, no princess lives there now. The cemetery was a different kind of beautiful. A bit Gothic and untouched. There were slanting tomb stones and ivy crawling up the side. 
   We ended the day with some free time in Dublin! The city is big and pretty. I didn't realize until halfway through our visit why the city felt a little different than all the other cities I have been to. There are no sky scrapers. Everything else had the city vibe. The busy streets, people walking, talking, shopping. The tallest building was probably five stories tall. I obviously did not explore the whole city but from what I noticed it was the most quaint city I had ever been in. If that even works to describe a city. We walked around and enjoyed the sites and did a little shopping. There is a problem though. I bought clothes! It has started. I think that once I start to notice cute things to buy I won't be able to stop! I mean, how fun is it to say that you bought it in Dublin. But I am sure I will be able to manage my money just fine. Clothes over food right? I can live on baguettes the rest of the trip...

 A stop off the side of the rode to Glendalough.

 Bell tower and cemetery at St. Kevin's monastery.  

 The Lower Lake.

 Dublin, Ireland. 

 Locks to represent love on a bridge in Dublin.

   Part of the group shopping in Dublin.