Adventure 1: Ciren Pub Crawl

Ondine and I were at Cirencester two weeks before classes were suppose to resume and I had absolutely nothing to do really.  I actually worked on and finished coursework during those to weeks (that was due the week after classes started).  Basically Ondine and I would work/ride (Ondine has horses) during the day, go to dinner, then sit in her room and watch TV or movies.  We watched a lot of comedy specials and I got her addicted to Russell Howard’s Good News.

However, there was one exciting night.  We decided one Saturday to make our way through some of the local Cirencester Pubs. We ended up running into these guys at the first pub who (given that they were the only other people in the pub besides us) could easily be overheard talking about sexual deviant acts (mainly involving one’s pooper shooter).  Then at the end of the night when we were at the last pub we ran into them again and went to Ondine (slightly louder than I should have) ‘Look! It’s the anal guys!’  To which the then turned around and recognized us as the girls from the first pub.

Adventure 2: Canterbury, Kent

Another classic Ondine/Dana adventure.  Ondine was returning home to Canterbury to get her horses shod (have shoes put on) and I went along to explore a legendary city and its cathedral.  On the way however we had some excellent banter. Ondine managed to hit a bird with her car, then pointed to some cows and told me to look at the sheep.  Some days I think she is more blonde then me, and then I remember all the stupid things I do that don’t make it to this blog (and some of the ones that do e.g. Adventure 1) and I realize I’m much worse.

Anyway besides riding in a horse lorry (semi-truck like contraption), meeting Ondine’s mother for lunch, and making friends with a truck driver in a different lorry I did something cultural and went to see the Canterbury Cathedral.  It was absolutely stunning and being the complete nerd that I am (and I apply the term nerd with love for it is the only way to be) I kept thinking ‘OMG ITS LIKE HOGWARTS!’ It is exactly what any [in]sane Harry Potter devotee would have thought.

Adventure 3: The Ballet

This is one of the things that I am actually most excited that I got to do, and it is not an Ondine/Dana adventure.  It’s a Dana and the Main Building Crew (James, Nick, and Emily) adventure.  Basically James and Nick were in London for the weekend (it happened to be a bank holiday weekend meaning no classes/work on Monday) and on Monday Emily and I took a train and joined them for the day.  We did a bit of shopping went to Harrods’s (one of the few things on my London list I hadn’t done yet) and went to dinner at this AMAZING Indian restaurant which is James’ favourite restaurant.

We then went to Covent Garden to get our tickets from the Royal Opera House to see the ballet Cinderella, and guess what?  We had our own private box.  Sure it cost a pretty penny but it was most definitely worth it.  The show itself was quite moving and then we caught a London Taxi (another thing on my London to-do list) to the train station back to Ciren. Some days it still feels like a dream how prefect that day was. Even the bad parts (not being able to check our bags before the show) seemed wonderful.

Adventure 4: Summer Sun

So this isn’t really an adventure, but more a summation of what has been happening at the RAC before Adventure 5. We had a bbq one night out on the lawn with Pimm’s and raspberries.  Pimm’s have quickly become my favourite drink and I’ve been trying to do research to see if they are available back home because if not (even if so) I’m bring some back with me. But the best part has been soaking up the sun and learning how to juggle.  And the evening spent watching the sunset with the Main Building Crew with our Pimm’s and lemonade was one of those moments I’ll never forget.

Oh there was also an Election that went on and Ondine and I spent our Thursday nights in the Tythe watching the first televised Prime Ministerial Debates in British history. As well as the election coverage of what has been a historic election.  In case you live in a box or don’t pay attention to the news the Conservative and the Liberal Democratic parties have formed a coalition as no party (including Labour) had an outright majority meaning that there is currently a hung parliament. The coalition basically means the Lib-Dems are working with the Conservative party and that David Cameron, the leader of the Conservatives, is the new Prime Minister.

Adventure 5: The May Ball

Now I’m sure you probably want lots of details as to what it was like and what went on and I’m not going to lie to you.  I don’t really remember much. We had a bit of bubbly before the ball and the MBC boys went to their dinner while the girls chillaxed. Everyone looked stunning and yes I managed to make it through the whole 11 hours of the party for the survivors’ photo at 7AM.  But other than that you’d have to experience it for yourself.  It was however amazing to have most of the people that I’ve met here at the RAC in one place.

Right so that is 5 adventures I’ve had since Ireland.  Hope you enjoyed and I can’t say there will be too many more blog post from England as my time here is rapidly drawing to a close.

So I arrived at the airport by plane from Copenhagen late evening and met Ondine and Erin there. My plane in Copenhagen had been delayed and that was irritating, but it worked out for the best because all three of us arrived at the same time. We spent the night in Stanstead airport and didn’t really do much sleeping. Fairly certain we were keeping everyone else up as well. Morning finally came though and we had our delicious (sarcasm) airport breakfast and watched a Stag party (Bachelor Party for Americans) start their pre drinks at 5 AM.

Eventually we were on the plane and were off for an amazing 10 day adventure in the land of the Leprechauns. Our first day was spent in Dublin and we toured Phoenix Park, the Guinness Storehouse, and the Jameson Irish Whiskey distillery. Erin was selected on the Jameson tour to be a ‘whiskey taster,’ so she got to compare Jameson with two other whiskeys (a Scotch Reserve Whisky and Jack Daniels). We then went to the hostel had a nap made some dinner and made our way to Temple Bar for an extremely overpriced drinks where we were hit on buy some rather old men on a stag night.

We then headed to Cork City. Our hostel there was amazing and if you are ever in Cork stay at the Arran House Tourist Hostel. The lady who runs it is so sweet she gave us directions to Blarney and the bus station and gave us some restaurant recommendations. And there was a dog! Anyway while in Cork we headed over to the Blarney Castle. Stunning! And I kissed the Blarney stone which was scary as…as…well I can’t think of a metaphor right now so just make one up for yourself.

Returned to Cork and then went out to some clubs. Ondine proceed to chat up the bouncer and get us free entry into two night clubs. At one night club she then had all these body builders chasing after her. The body builders then decided that it would be a good idea to win Ondine’s love by seeing who could pick her up and hold her for longer. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) for Ondine, while the body builders were discussing who one a new guy came in and took her away. Erin and I stood there and laughed.

The next day we headed to a small village in the country side called Inchigeelagh. Our hostel was actually about 5 km outside of the village and a nice woman gave us a lift there. It was so gorgeous there and we went for a walk on the first day and made some dinner then watched TV. We ended up watching a show in Gaelic on American Country-Western music.

Day two in Inchigeelagh consisted of an epic 70 km bike right through a mountain pass and back by a different route which was not any less steep. We’d originally planned on having a short bike ride to explore the area. Then we saw a castle on a map and though…’let’s bike there and have a picnic, its not to far.’ We got there just fine, but on the way back we managed to get lost. We did eventually make it back at 10 that evening and I was so sore that I couldn’t stand up straight or sit down properly.

We went to bed after a meal of leftover spaghetti and Irish soda bread then awoke bright and shiny (well sore and in pain) without realizing that while we were sleeping the time had changed. So we left thinking we still had two hours to get to the bus station. And did I mention it was absolutely pouring buckets? Luckily a nice man gave us a lift to the bus stop so we made it there in time. However the bus driver was a jerkface and yelled at us for getting the tickets wet. Clearly he hadn’t noticed it was raining.

We headed to the Aran Islands via Cork City, Galway, and Rossaveal (where we caught our ferry). The Islands were amazing. We stayed at the Kilronan hostel and if you stay anywhere else on the Inishmore you are an idiot. The people who run it are friendly and breakfast is provided. They have a bike hire and plenty of books to read and movies to watch and games to play in the evening. We went out for meal and discovered the brilliance that is hot whiskey and hot port after being out in the freezing rain. Oh and I apparently waddle like a penguin when I’m cold and soaked.

The next day we road bikes again! This time it couldn’t possibly be as bad as it was in Cork because the island was only 17 km. We toured the island on our bikes, got caught in the rain, went to the Seven Churches, had a picnic lunch in a pasture, and saw lots and lots of rocks. We had an early night were Ondine made toad in the hole and Erin made putin (cheesy fries and gravy). Which all the food made me feel really sick…so Ondine made faerie cakes…basically cake with chocolate chunks. TOOO MUCH GOODNESS! We did some more touring the next day before we said good bye to the Islands. If I get the chance I will definitely be going back.

Galway was the final stop in our trip before heading back to Dublin to catch our planes to Bristol for Ondine and I and Glasgow for Erin. We had an early night because we had spent most of the day on the islands and wanted to go out the next night. In the morning we did a bit of shopping, had a light brunch, and chatted with the guy running the hostel about the best pubs to go to for a pub crawl. That night we went to five different pubs, heard live bands in all but one, met some interesting characters who asked us to meet them later and promised to bring sheep, embraced a pear, sat in a throne, and convinced one band to play some Johnny Cash, because nobody does it better than the man in black.

Morning came and we were a bit sluggish from the night before. But we managed to make it to the bus station on time. We stopped at Supermac’s (an Irish fast food chain) and had a quick bite to eat and most importantly ice cream in a hot choco-chip muffin. Then it was time to return to England, but not before some jerk bus driver drove off to the airport without Ondine or Erin on board.

I was slightly ashamed of how I passed what can be considered one of the biggest drinking holidays in the States. St. Paddy’s day was uneventful as far as the typical RAC culture goes. I went to an Indian restaurant to celebrate my friend Emily’s 19th birthday, it was meant to be a surprise but certain boys named James are not very good at keeping secrets for very long. The night however was amazing, good food, good company, and good conversation, even if we did cover all the taboo dinner topics (Money, Religion, Politics, and Sex).

I was then forced (AND I DO MEAN FORCED) to attend the final night at the Rock. Normally, as I’m sure anyone who has read this blog before will know I’m quite up to spend the night at the Rock, however I’ve recently given up on the Rock. It’s kinda a dump and I was quite miserable there.

Thursday marked the day of voting for the new Student Union who’d been campaigning all week. The highlight was of course the hastings which involved the candidates standing on a platform and having food, irons, fake eggs, and pretty much anything that was sticky, smelly, and nasty. I have pictures, but my computer has died and there are only two words that can possibly describe my distress at this…sweet life. Thursday was also the day I left for the airport to make my 7 am flight the following morning. I had a 4 hour wait in London and in that time consumed 5 cups of tea, watched the sun rise, witnessed a fight on a double decker London bus (a true bus indeed), managed to get off the bus at the right stop, sat in a McDonalds until the train station opened.

I was from the time I left Cirencester constantly traveling. 3 Trains 1 Plane 1 Bus 2 car rides. And the train I took from Copenhagen to Arhus (Basically travelling the whole of the country) took 4 hours…needless to say I fell asleep. I did finally arrive in Arhus where I was picked up by one of the son’s of the people I was staying with. We went to pick up his girlfriend then went to his apartment where I was offered a traditional Danish Christmas beer…and it was delicious. We (one of his brothers and his parents joined us for dinner) had venison for dinner and it was oh so good! We then finished the evening off with some fine Scotch Whisky…I think I may be in love with my family in Denmark.

I was then taken to Aunning where I was going to be staying for the weekend. I had a lovely time and then we woke up and went to visit the third and final brother in Sunds for lunch. We went and saw this strange art sculpture and I was shown around the college where the 3rd brother went to university. We then went to visit Thorkild’s (the person I was staying with) brother who has a farm. And as I’ve mentioned it was a hog farm. It was very similar to a typical Iowan hog farm and he only focused on farrowing not finishing.

We then went on a walk around Aunning the next day as it was my final day before going to Copenhagen where I would be staying with Thorkild’s nephew. It was a lovely walk and we visited Emil (on of Thorkild’s sons) and played Wii and Guitar Hero…except my guitar had low batteries or I would have kicked Emil’s butt.

The next day I was to get on a train in the morning and it was my Birthday. Thorkild and Grethe were very sweet and got me a chocolate Easter egg and a card. I then was back in Copenhagen where Jeppe (Thorkild’s nephew) took me around on a walk and showed me some of the sights of the city. Did you know that there are no tall buildings allowed in the city center? It gave the city this kind of old world charm while still being quite modern. My first full day in Copenhagen and I went to the Royal Theatre museum and the Carlsberg Brewery. And I had sushi for dinner! Yum yum.

My last day in Denmark and I went to see the Crown Prince’s future home and the little mermaid. And then it was time for me to leave Denmark. I hade a most amazing time

Yeah, this will probably be a very short blog because we are alreayd on to point two. Mr. Methane. And yes it is once again it is exactly as it sounds. Mr. Methane is a professional… farter? Is that the correct term? Well anyway first their was a comidean, with a tattoo of Ron Burgundy. Then we had Mr. Methane. And I was a bit skeptical at first but it was actually qutie interesting. Finally there was a live band, and they were quite good.

And finally what I’m doing for break. I’m currently in Denmark (hence the horrible spelling and possible typos from using a Danish keyboard) visiting family. And today we are going to visit a hog farm! Then from here I’ll be flying back to Ireland with Ondine and my Canadian friend Erin for a Shamrocking adventure through out the countryside.

Until next time

What did I do on my own in London? Well I’ll tell you. Sunday I went to the West End, Trafalger Square, Leichester Square, China Town, Oxford Street, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and the National Portait Gallery. I went for a walk along the Thames and ended up in the suburbs for awhile away from the tourist traps of Big Ben and Buckingham. Eventually I made my way back into the heart of London and caught the Underground back to Hendon, where my hostel was.

I’m finding it hard to keep this blog exciting and still tell you what I did. I feel like its starting to become like (or may always have been like) I did this and then I did this and then I did this. Is it that way to you Blog Lovers?

Anyway, Monday I was going to visit the Globe Theatre (I know you can hardly control your excitement) BUT I got there around 1:30 and the next tour didn’t start until 4 so I went and did something else. I decided to go and visit Big Ben again walk along the Thames some more. I ended up going to the London Film Musuem and getting an amazing deal, they let me in as a child instead of as a student. Pretty much it was a whole bunch of sets and costumes and props from different movies and then history on British studios, actors, actresses, directors, ect. It was quite interesting. They had an exhibit on the new Sherlock Holmes movies, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and…DOCTOR WHO! I got to see the TARDIS and some Daleks (I was excited even if you aren’t excited for me).

Finally on Tuesday I went to the Globe, and it was amazing. Since I had to get up extremely early the next morning (we’re talking 4 AM) so that I could be on a train by 5 AM so I could be at the airport by 7 AM for a 9 AM flight I called it a day quite early. To be honest it was kinda a miserable day. It just rained and rained and rained. And I wasn’t excatly out of the rain on my tour of the Globe as it’s not an indoor theatre.

I spent quite a bit of the day in the hostel keeping dry and warm-ish. And I actually met some people. Of course it was the last night I was staying there and two American girls arrived and were staying in the same room as I was. It was nice to get some human contact that spoke “American”.

So we were up to Tuesday when last I wrote (stupid internet connections). Naomi and I went on a boat tour to see the sights, only someone (NOT ME!) didn’t get up until 1 in the afternoon and we didn’t even leave for Paris until about 3:30. We had planned on taking the tour in the day so I’d have a better view of the sights, but by the time we’d gotten their the next boat didn’t leave until 8 PM, so we went on a night tour. Unfortunately for us however, it was only 5 so we had a bit of a wait. So we walked around the city for a bit and I did a bit of tourist shopping (although I didn’t actually buy anything for myself in Paris) and then most importantly of all we got crepes. I had a delicious chocolate, banana, and whip cream crepe…YUM!

We finally got on the boat tour but we had yet another misfortune. I wasn’t able to take pictures because without the flash it was way to blurry to actually see anything but if I had the flash on then all that you could see was the reflection of the people behind me. They happened to be American and I can honestly say that they made me feel very embarassed to be an American. They complained the whole trip about every little thing, now I know not all Americans are like that, but to disassociate myself with them I started talking with a British accent (although several people asked me if I was Russian that so maybe I should have gone with a Russian accent). They were just in general rude and pushy, which leads me to a tourist tip!

TIP #3: If you have made the decision to travel to a foreign country, especially if you are going to were you do not speak the language, DO NOT ASSUME YOU ARE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE. As Americans we tend to have this image that we are awesome and everyone pretty much wants to be us. This makes the local look down upon us and judge everything we do by how our tourists act, and obviously we are not all rude, stuck up, whiney tourists like the ones who were seated behind me on the boat tour, but thats how most people see Americans.

Anyway, Wednesday I went to the Versailles. Naomi and I went to the Palace and we attempted to go to a horse museum, but that was closed (luckily). I was impressed with the Palace, but Naomi, having seen it several times before, was bored and not afraid to show it. Towards the end I was quite sick of my audio guide. 1) It made you look stupid no matter what you did or who you were and 2) while it was sometimes entertaining it was for the most part tiresome.

Christmas Eve was finally here. My family celebrates most of Christmas on this day, but I went to the Louvre and spent some quality time with Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa. Naomi had “stayed home to do coursework” (aka sleeping, facebook, and TV) so Bethany and I went to the Louvre ourselves. We went to Bougival train station and quite literally just as we finished buying our tickets the train to Paris left and we had to wait for an hour until the next one came. We finally made it to the Louvre and when we came out we went to grab some lunch, where I noticed that I didn’t have my wallet. I started freaking out, everything (except my passport) was in that wallet. But once again being the genius that I am I’d left it back at Naomi’s house.

That night we went to a friend of Naomi’s parents for dinner. We had a good time, despite Naomi’s warnings of extreme boredum and tedious conversation. Roast pork and venison and 2 helpings of dessert..once again YUM! We ended the night with some trivia and racing reindeer. Nothing like the oyster stew and chili my family should have been eating (they had prime rib instead of our traditional christmas soups and snacks) but none the less delicious if not better than my mothers cooking.

Finally it’s Christmas day. All over the world children are waking up at unreasonable hours to see what Santa brought them. Suprisingly, Santa did find me in Paris and he left the tradition British satsuma in the bottom of my stocking. Most people leave the satsuma until its no longer edible, I ate mine for breakfast. Church was next on the agenda, once everyone was up that is (certain people, mainly Naomi, thought they could sleep in). After church came presents and then the traditional UK Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sprouts, carrots, peas, roast potatoes and parsnips, and Christmas pudding. That over with everyone sat in front of the TV and fell asleep. Sounds a lot like Thanksgiving? that’s because it is. You stuff your face full of food and then settle in front of the TV until you fall in to a turkey coma. I even got to see part of my Doctor Who Christmas special. I didn’t get to see all of it because we were watching James Bond (which is apparently a Christmas tradition in England).

Boxing day, now contray to the belief of my family boxing day does not mean you punch everyone you see. It’s really not anything special, but a lot of sales start on boxing day…making it even more like Thanksgiving. We traveled from Paris back to England, and while I enjoyed Paris it felt like coming back home, even though I was heading towards a hostel in London and not back to the RAC.