Mamma Mia is like Mary Poppins and so Wicked...

well... I finished school, packed up my stuff and hit the road with mom and dad... So much fun!! I absolutely love traveling with these two. Some might think traveling with your parents would NOT be fun, but I am here to tell you that it is quite the opposite, especially when traveling with my parents!!!! As you can guess from the title, while we were in London, we took time out of our very busy schedule to go and see a few musicals. Mom and Dad had never seen Wicked and I was so enchanted by it the first time that I was an eager beaver to go back for round two. Our seats were slightly better than mine the first time and the musical was great... Mom and Dad loved it as well. All day Thursday, we did our own little walking tour of London and saw quite a bit. Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and the people practicing for the Opening ceremonies for the Tour de France at Trafalgar Square, altogether a very interesting experience and then later that night we went to the very kid friendly Mary Poppins, also exceptionally well done and enjoyed by all. Our seats weren't as nice as the ones from the previous night, but still great none the less. Friday, we devoted all day to sightseeing. We did a city bus tour (SO cheesy, but well worth it!) We went all around the city and got off the bus at The Tower of London which wasn't my favorite... Except for the Crown Jewels. It hardly seems fair that there are some really really expensive crowns in a case just sitting there when someone could be wearing them and getting some great use out of them!!! Just kidding... from there we did a little boat cruise and got back on our bus tour. It was an eventful day especially when Mom decided that she wanted to go to Trafalgar Square to watch the opening ceremony which was exceptional but crowded and not for the claustrophobic. From there we ate dinner at the Texas Embassy which is a restaurant that felt just like home, especially for Dad because Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was playing across the restaurant and he was still quoting it as if he could hear all the words. And then to Mamma Mia, which was different but i LOVED it!!! It had all the energy that I enjoy and it was just fun to watch!

And now today, as I am typing this I am in Scotland. We got here this afternoon and I was exhausted so I took a little nap after watching Venus Williams win Wimbledon and some of the timed trial for the Tour de France. Altogether a very low key week, but looking very forward to the beautiful sights that I will see in and around Edinburgh!

We Won!!! and I'm Done!!!!

ok... long story short... for the past two weeks the class that I've been taking (International Business) has been in the form of a real life consulting project. This non-profit organization called Oxfam had us come on and try to figure out a way to add technology to all of their 750 shops. And.... drum roll please.... WE WON! my group and another group won. And I kind of feel bad because we didn't really care if we won and other groups did... But none the less I'm still so very excited. We just got back from Oxfam this morning and we presented our ideas and the client loved them!!! I presented as well as this guy named Tyler Lewis. You might be wondering to yourself... self? why is that important? And the answer is in the fact that I'm not a business student at all and I presented Business information to a multi million dollar corporation!!!! So that is that... and oh!! we are done with school!!! I am officially done with school until August 28th!!!! Now I can really get my summer started!

Fairly Uneventful

Well... another week under my belt and I'm only 13 days away from coming home. Things around 9 Canterbury have been fairly uneventful and boring, except for a few things. Last Tuesday we had meetings with our professors and just tried to get back into the swing of things from Ibiza and to recover from the worst sunburn of my life. Wednesday, we took a day trip into London and went to Lloyd's which is the world's largest insurance market. Its a really neat organization in one of the coolest buildings I've ever seen. After our tour, we decided to check out Harrod's and perused there for awhile before getting a train back to Oxford. Thursday... uh nothing happened on Thursday except for more group work. Friday... well most everyone heard about it, but there was a bomb threat in London so we kind of just stuck around Oxford as well as continuing our group work. Saturday... we went to Wimbledon ALL DAY... and it rained ALL DAY... but it was sooo much fun to just get to go to a place that you have watched on t.v. countless number of times. Sunday... another just relaxed day here. Went to a movie and worked on more group stuff. Very uneventful I'm telling you. Except for the bomb threats which are really rather scary especially considering the fact that exactly one week ago I was sitting in the Ibiza airport waiting for my flight. That one hit a little to close to home and I think I'm going to be a lot more cautious around airports for awhile.

But as I sit here and type, I'm going to miss it more than I think. There is really only two more days left and I can't believe that its gone so quickly. It feels like just yesterday we got here with our jet lag and horrible fake British accents. I think I'm sure ready to be home, but I'm glad I still have a little more time with my parents to explore. I am so thankful that I have taken part in this though because I have met some amazing people who I will forever call friends and really broadened my horizons by making me consider maybe getting a degree in business. So much has happened that I am so thankful for and I have absolutely not one regret from this experience.

My one recommendation for anyone who ever gets this opportunity.... TAKE IT!!!!!

Crash and Burned... literally....

Well we returned from Ibiza safely, but just barely!!! We got out of London perfectly fine and had such a wonderful time there... except for the fact that we didn't buy any sunscreen until after we had laid out for a full day without it. Needless to say, we were toasted!!! Long story short, we miss read our flight information and missed our flight by about 12 hours... did you know there is a difference between 2:40 in the morning and 2:40 in the afternoon according to military time? So we waited in the airport for about.... hmm... nine hours and finally made it back last night/this morning at 4 o clock. We had such a fun time and I don't want to type it all out instead I'll let the pictures talk. Isn't it true that a picture is worth 1000 words?

This was the first day at Cala Bassa. It was gorgeous!

All the girls after dinner on Saturday night!

This was the second day at Cala Tarida. Equally as gorgeous, crystal clear water. Incredible.

Girls at the sunset in Ibiza. We ate dinner at this restaurant right off the beach and watched the sunset. Yet again, AMAZING!

We got friendship bracelets to commemorate our time on this trip.

Right outside our hotel before we went to the airport.

homesick? NO I'M NOT!

well another week is almost behind me... we started our challenge this past week which was somewhat of a challenge! And we have been diligently working on our presentations all week. I went today and presented for our group which I might add that I was the only non-business major which had the privilege to do so!!!! and now i'm packed and ready to go... off to Ibiza that is. Laying on the beach and coming back to Oxford with a beautiful tan!

I think if someone gave me the option to come home tomorrow I might take it. You know when you get to the point where you just want to be in your bed, eating the same food you always eat, and with the same people your always with... well I think I'm at that point. I'm very grateful for where I am, but I'm also a little restless for home or something from there... only a few more days till mom and dad come and then it will be like home in the United Kingdom and I'm alright with that.

Well until then, I'll keep praying that I can make it until July 16th!!!

"Lest I Forget Thy Love For Me..."

long time, no blog!!! This past week was spent in France and Boy oh Boy!! i have a lot to share....

Tuesday: Ashley and I (my roommate) decided that we would stay up late and then wake up on Tuesday morning and get ready (shower, shave, and all pretty for our travel day)... I woke up to our alarm and turned it off... I woke up again and realized it was 7:05 and that we had to be on the bus for France at 7:15!!!!!! thats right! so we freak out and just do what we can to get ready as fast as possible. We weren't the last ones on the bus though! so we take the one hour bus trip to London and get to the train station and see Dee Snider from Twisted Sister ("We're Not Gonna Take It") which was cool and he was on our train to Paris. We took the chunnel to Paris which took approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. Got to Paris just to board a bus to Bayeaux which was 3 hours long and was HORRIBLE!!!! our bus driver did not know how to drive and instead of taking time during our breaks to learn how to all he did was smoke. We get to our Hostel in Bayeaux... thats right a HOSTEL!!! and it was gorgeous!!! The outside was beautiful. The inside however was like a child's play land. The large room that we stayed in was named the Peter Pan room. Peter, Wendy, John, Michael, Tinkerbell, Captain Hook, and the Lost Boys were painted all over the room... weird isn't even a good word to describe it!! We did a little walking through Bayeaux and saw this gorgeous cathedral that is featured below....


Wednesday: This day was fully devoted to explore the beaches of Normandy and all of the beaches that were a part of D-day (June 6, 1944: 63rd anniversary was one week ago!!) It was very intriguing. Our tour guide was packed full of knowledge about what happened. However, it became a little hard to understand him because of his thick Dutch accent. We went to Arromanches, the American Cemetery (pictured below), Utah Beach, a small church that was used as a make-shift hospital (its in Band of Brothers), German Bunker field that was bombed and Utah Beach. It was so neat to be a part of such a big day in history and hear it from a man who has made it his life to inform people of the truth of that day and as well as connect real life stories to the horrific events of D-day and the aftermath.

This picture is from the American Cemetery . The Statue that you see was made and the meaning is that the American Youth is rising up from the aftermath of D-day.

Thursday: We decided to sleep in. And it rained while we had to walk 30 minutes to the cathedral that is above and I of course did not have my umbrella. So i walked all the way with a sweater on my head and a towel around my shoulders. We took the 3 hour bus back to Paris and went straight to the Arc De Triumphe. We shopped awhile and just to get a literal taste of America we went and ate at Planet Hollywood. We started back for the train and all the way around the Arc de Triumphe was 4,000 Parisians all dressed in white having their annual Parisian White Picnic and I wish I had pictures because it was a mad house. Then we got back to our hotel and went straight to bed because we were ZONKED!!!

I just LOVED this picture!!!!

Friday: We got up so early and went straight to Versailles and spent about um.... 4 hours? That sounds about right. It was beautiful though!!! We toured the entire Palace, the gardens and Marie Antoinette's House. It was gorgeous. From there we went to the Eiffel Tower. I have a recommendation for those going to the Eiffel Tower anytime soon: wait in the line for the elevators!!!! DON'T TAKE THE STAIRS!!!! Thats right... Elle, Lauren, Neil, Ryan and myself all walked up to the second level of the Eiffel Tower and once we got there bought the ticket to the top but those stairs are BRUTAL!!! but it was worth it once we got to the top. Its incredible to see all of Paris from the top of the tower. From there we went on a boat tour. Which was great. THen went back and went to bed because yet again... we were EXHAUSTED.

If you were in the Palace looking outside this is what you would see. Its an absolutely gorgeous place!!!!

The Eiffel Tower at night was better than during the day... but thats my personal opinion!

SATURDAY: We hit the ground running and didn't look back. We got up and went straight to Sacre Cour in Montmatre. Its incredibly beautiful but you can't take pictures inside but its worth the trip out there to see it!!!! Then we went to Notre Dame Cathedral and it was still as beautiful as it was 8 years ago when I saw it. Then to the Louvre and saw the 3 things we wanted to see there (Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, and The Winged Victory) From there we roamed and I don't know how but we ended up at the Galleries Lafayette, WOOPS! We spent only an hour and a half in there and had to come back to Oxford. The trip wasn't so bad this time. I kind of enjoy taking a train, its a nice change of pace from a plane.

Sacre Cour... breathtaking! A pain to get to but absolutely breathtaking!

This was my favorite by far and away. There was a service going on when we went in. It was just really neat to see such an old church still being used to this very day.

And my pictures of the Louvre weren't that great so I choose not to post them! I'll show them but only by request!

Sunday: we woke up and went to the Church of Christ here in Oxford. Four members make up the church so with the group that went we more than tripled the church. It was so neat to know that there are people in the United Kingdom praising the Lord the same way we do in Texas. I think I always knew that people did but just never really got to experience it. It was a wonderful experience and I hope we get to go back in a couple of weeks (we can't next weekend because we will be travelling on our long weekend to Spain!!!) We sang some of my favorite songs (hence the title for my blog... Lead Me To Calvary) we also sang Holy, Holy, Holy. Our professors talked to us about how uplifting it would be for the congregation if we went and I didn't believe him until I set on the front row and looked at the preacher's glowing face as he looked out and saw almost a full church building. He was beaming. I think he may have been a little nervous too, but who knows. All I know is that if ever in Oxford and looking for a church, you won't find a more humble congregation to praise with.

So that is all I have from our week away in France!

I thought about it and there is a million and one things to say about each day but I narrowed it down so that my blog wouldn't be a mile long. Also, I add the pictures because I feel like it validates what I say as well as proving that I actually went to these historical landmarks :)

"Never is an awfully long time...."

WELL.... as previously mentioned in my earlier post I went to London this past weekend... my oh my! what an experience. First of all, Elle, Ashley, Mendy and myself were so enamored by the fact that we were going to London that we forgot to do a couple of things that were vital to us moving in and about London. For example: knowing how to get to our hostel from the train station.... knowing how to get anywhere from the train station for that matter!!!!! Thankfully, a guy that is in our program and has been to London before was able to direct us and from there on out it was smooth sailing. We located our hostel... words don't describe my feelings about hostels but just know that tears were shed! Pretty much if you want to feel unsafe and dirty... GO TO A HOSTEL. and you see while most people know that fact, I did not! Thank you friends and family for not making me aware!!!! Anyways, Friday was just low key night of getting settled in and find our bearings in foggy London-town.

Saturday we woke up to realize that if we wanted to take a shower that we had to trek down the long corridor of the hostel to the community shower. very similar to freshman dorms at ACU but a longer walk. Once we showered and got ready we decided to take the train to the Apollo Victoria Theater and to get our tickets for Wicked so that we could sight-see before the show.

One of the guys from our trip proposed to his girlfriend in this park on Saturday!!!

It was the most surreal feeling ever to be standing in London looking up at Big Ben having seen in dozens of movies and always feeling like I would never come that close. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. British people are very into detail. The very details on the gates around everything was enough for me to marvel at not to mention the architecture of it all. It was absolutely amazing!!! Then we made it back in time to get to our seats at Wicked.... now I'm not complaining by any stretch of the imagination because our tickets were a steal of a deal, but our seats were the VERY LAST ROW. It finally became clear why they call it the "nose bleed section." But... it was worth even sitting in the very back row. Wicked is AMAZING!!!! the performers were excellent and the wicked witch of the west was PHENOMENAL!!!! I highly recommend it and I would even go see it again.

After Wicked, we just shopped around by our hostel and then did our own walking tour of Leicester Square which was like New York City with better accents. We got blisters so we called it an early night and went back to the hostel.

Sunday we were so ready to be back that we didn't tour anything and got on an early bus back to Oxford so we could have time to study for our brutal finals today.

ALL IN ALL... it wasn't what I expected but it wasn't a huge disappointment. I will say something that I'm learning is that there is a HUGE/COLOSSAL difference between traveling with school and parents. And I'm loving the time with my friends, but I'm going to love traveling with Mom and Dad and NOT staying in hostels!!!

i felt like i just typed a lot, but with all the stories and funny comments that's only the tip of the iceberg from this weekend!!!!

oh and I feel as if the pictures are self-explanatory!!! except for the minute detail that Elle and Ashley match (white shirts, jeans, and coach purses!)