¡Hasta luego!

¡Hola again! I’ve got another week of Spain to catch up on, so I’ll get started.

Last Wednesday and Thursday were pretty calm and relaxed days in Pamplona. Wednesday, Pete and I again walked around Lo Viejo. I purchased some cute flats, as the rough cobble-stoned roads of London killed many of my shoes this semester. Also, Spanish people don’t really wear flip-flops and look at you weirdly if you do. So I felt obligated to acquiesce to their fashion….and the shoes were cute. Justification enough, right?


A cool pic of a street in Pamplona.

We spent some more time in Parque Taconera, where all the wild things are. And by wild things I mean some birds and some pretty calm deer and goats. The animal-lover in me was very happy.


A peacock trying to impress the ladies.


This picture is dedicated to my mother, Carol Schaefer, friend of the goats.

Wednesday night Pete took me out for pinchos (which are what tapas are called in northern Spain) hopping. We went to a couple of bars, grabbing a couple of pinchos at each. Pete and I both love the concept of pinchos/tapas. It’s such a healthy way of going about it because the portions are small and when you hop from bar to bar you often eat standing up. And you stretch your meal out, therefore eating less. I really enjoy the huge variety of pinchos they have too. I found a good website on tapas that you can check out if you’re interested: http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/indexin.html The concept is just so different from anything in the States that I really feel I’m getting a genuine cultural experience. Yes, of course this is once again related to food, but I still feel that’s ok.

Thursday we had originally planned on a taking a day-trip to San Sebastian, a small city on the Atlantic. However, we later rationalized that since we were taking a 10-hour night bus Thursday night to Alicante for the weekend, that we’d hold off and relax and shop for our weekend instead. It turns out Thursday was Labor Day in Spain, so most of our shopping destinations were closed. However, we had a good day of again walking around and buying the things we could in preparation. We ate dinner Thursday night with Ernesto at Café Bar Iruña, Hemingway’s hangout back in the day. They had a great set menu for cheap, so we were all pretty satisfied.

The ten-hour ride to Alicante Thursday was just as anyone would imagine it—tight, uncomfortable and long. Unfortunately, there was a lady snoring unusually loudly behind me too, so Pete and I didn’t get a ton of sleep. Needless to say, naps were a first priority when we arrived in Alicante and checked into our hotel. We actually did not stay in Alicante, but north a bit on Playa San Juan. It was a great area. Not terribly crowded, but a really nice beach. Our hotel was about 50 meters from the beach, if that, so we were pumped for the great location.

I can pretty much sum up Friday, Saturday and Sunday together, as we did essentially the same thing every day: Woke up, bought food and drinks for the beach and beached it all day. It was literally the first time this entire semester where I have done absolutely nothing for a couple days straight. It was absolutely wonderful and refreshing. Pete and I had a great time every day just talking, napping, listening to music and attempting to tan. Key word is attempting. I was really smart with the sunscreen this go around, so no crazy sunburns and lines this time. Originally we had said we’d hit up some clubs and stay out late a night or two, but the sun was so draining during the day that we settled for late dinners and strolls on the beach before calling it a night. Pete treated me to a great beachfront restaurant on our first night where I had spaghetti con mariscos (seafood), which was filled with shrimp, mussels, clams, calamari, etc. I was really happy. The second night I treated us to a nice pizza place.


The view from my balcony.


People out on Playa San Juan.


A happy beach-goer.


The boardwalk on Playa San Juan.

Sunday evening we ventured back down to Alicante and caught our 10-hour bus home to Pamplona. The way back was actually less comfortable than the way down, unfortunately. A couple of Pete’s friends who are also exchange students in Pamplona ended up on the same bus going back, so it was cool to meet and chat with them. We got in pretty early on Monday morning and went right back to sleep until the afternoon.

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Pete, Ernesto, Angela, her friend Danny and I decided to throw our own little party. Spain does not celebrate this holiday, only Mexico, and Americans wanting an excuse to party. We, of course, are such Americans. We all headed over to Ernesto’s piso (apartment) to enjoy some good ol’ Tex-Mex burritos and margaritas in celebration. It ended up being a pretty fun and chill night just sitting around, talking and listening to music. Unfortunately, had to keep the noise level down as Ernesto’s neighbor, who obviously was not celebrating the holiday and instead celebrated her sleep time, knocked on the wall to quiet us. Regardless, a good time had by all. I’m so happy that Pete has made these friends over here. He has a bunch of other friends, both exchange students and Spanish students, but Ernesto and Angela and him are probably the tightest. They’re very cool, and since Angela goes to MU, I’m sure I’ll see her a bunch next year.

Today we actually made it out to San Sebastian. It’s a short bus ride away, and is absolutely gorgeous. It’s nestled at the base of some mountains, right on a bay off the Atlantic. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life. Check out these pictures and please take a look at my Facebook album for more: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2257708&l=30576&id=15921830


The beach with the tide out.


Town Hall with the mountain and statue of Jesus in the background.


Turtle Island in the middle of the bay.

We spent the majority of the morning climbing up a mountain toward a giant statue of Jesus. The mountain offered gorgeous views of the city, bay and ocean, so I had to stop every couple of feet for a photo op. Pete’s amazing with how patient he is with me. We enjoyed the slow climb and loved stopping here and there just to take the whole thing in.


Taking a break on the way up the mountain.


We made it up to Jesus!

After our descent, we spent some time wading in the waves on the beach and then sunning ourselves. I was bad and forgot the sunscreen, so I have a bit of a tomato thing going on right now. Luckily, this is even-ing out those crazy tan lines on my arms that I mentioned in my last post that I got during our picnic at La Cuidadela last week. Post basking/baking in the sun, we grabbed some pinchos at Pete’s favorite pincho bar he’s found in Spain, and headed back on the bus. It was a pretty short trip, about 5 or 6 hours, but entirely worth it.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have experienced all these places in Spain and Europe with Pete. I know most couples don’t get this opportunity, and I guess fate just played in our favor, since we’d both decided to study abroad this semester prior to even dating. All my experiences have been enhanced by sharing it with my best friend and best travel buddy. It’s cool that we’ll be able to go back and be able to share pictures and all our stories with everyone. I know he and I are both ready to go home at this point and do just that. I’ll be home late Friday night and Pete is back in the first week of June. We’ve both got a fun summer in Atlanta together to look forward to, which we’re both beyond excited about. Internships will keep us busy during the week, but we’ve got some good nights and weekends planned with his friends, as well as a trip to St. Louis for my cousin’s wedding (yay!) and a possible NYC roadtrip to visit all our friends who are working there this summer.

I suppose I’ll wrap it up by telling you what’s coming up these next couple of days. I am taking an early bus Thursday morning to Madrid to catch my flight to London. I am staying a night in London in possibly my flat and then am catching my flight home on Friday afternoon. It lands in Chicago, so I have to connect to a flight to KC, but I should be home about 10 p.m. on Friday night. I am very very excited to see my family at the airport. I talked to Mom and Dad on the phone the other day and I could tell they were so excited that I was returning in a week. It’ll be great to see home again, the pets, my bed, visit my grandma, drive my car, eat a well-made hamburger….the list continues. I guess I’m an American girl through and through, even though this experience has impacted me beyond my expectations. I feel so lucky to have had it.

I don’t know if this will be my final blog post. Tomorrow will be full of repacking, seeing my lasts of Pamplona, going to a party with Pete’s friends and of course, spending quality time with Pete. (Yeah, I’m going to miss him quite a bit.) And I can’t foresee if I’ll be able to write from London, not that there will be a ton to tell you at that point, as it mostly will be comprised of traveling.


In case this is the final post of “A SAMple of London” I want to say thanks for keeping up with my travels and experiences. I’ve gotten so many e-mails, comments to my blog, Facebook messages and even hand-written letters (thank you, Jenna King) from friends and family, and it’s been so wonderful reading them and keeping in touch with everyone. It’s been fun knowing that you’ve enjoyed what I’ve shared. And it’s cool to know that this blog is something I’ll always have to look back and remember what I’ve experienced. I was initially hesitant to become another blogger out there in the cybersphere, but I’m so glad I did. It was worth every minute of tedious uploads and computer malfunctions. I don’t like good-byes, and I’ve had to say far too many of them in the last couple of weeks, so I’m going to end by again thanking you and telling you to stay tuned for future blogs of Samantha Schaefer. I anticipate some more European excursions in the next couple of years, so this girl is not done yet.

It wouldn't be a proper post without links to my Facebook photo albums. I've included all the European ones just in case you don't want to go back through searching for the links. They're pretty much in order from most recent to least:

Pelirrojita does España: Parte Uno: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2255784&l=beb5b&id=15921830
Pelirrojita does España: Parte Dos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2257708&l=30576&id=15921830
About Londontown: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2252393&l=cd82c&id=15921830
London Ladies: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254366&l=342e6&id=15921830
A Few of My Favourite Things: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2246066&l=c4ded&id=15921830
A Bray Escape: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2250098&l=eb891&id=15921830
Momas Weekend and Others: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2243803&l=795f7&id=15921830
Be Very Wary of the Gypsies while in Paris: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2240382&l=f51e8&id=15921830
If you tilt it sideways, it becomes art: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2240239&l=b104c&id=1592183
Rome if you want to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241844&l=f9a27&id=15921830
Roman Holiday: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241749&l=1f049&id=15921830
Pieces of London/My Royal Premiere!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2238051&l=d8b55&id=15921830
A sunny day in Londontown/I'm going to Hogwarts!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2235155&l=3c830&id=15921830
Hooray for English Countryside!: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2234313&l=707ec&id=15921830
Peter does London: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2234309&l=2bae2&id=15921830
Stonehenge: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230967&l=663bf&id=15921830
Cardiff Castles and Coasts: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2230961&l=535b3&id=15921830
Bashing Around London: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2227248&l=018c0&id=15921830

¡Hola from España!

I knew I was in for a great two weeks just flying into Spain. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, even from the plane. Rich, green fields interspersed with semi-arid desert and trees in patterns on flattened hilltops created a storybook picture as the plane descended down to Madrid.

Pete met me at the airport. It was so exciting finally being here with him, something we had both looked forward to the entire semester. We lugged my HUGE suitcase from the airport to our hostel in central Madrid. Because I had to pack everything up in my flat before I left for Spain, I decided to take the suitcase with all the clothes, shoes and toiletries to Spain and leave the other one locked up in a spare flat in London until I can pick it up before I fly out of London to the US. The other one is full of souvenirs and winter clothes, but the one I brought is still ridiculously heavy. There was no way of getting around it unfortunately. Pete was amazing in handling it for me. I don’t know what I’d do without him.

Our hostel in Madrid was in an extremely old building, circa 1400s, I think. No air conditioning, big windows, balconies overlooking the narrow city streets, high ceilings, crown molding—perfect. After checking in, Pete and I headed out to explore the city, walking through some of the hot bar and restaurant areas en route to El Parque del Buen Retiro. It is absolutely gorgeous, which of course was even enhanced by the perfect weather—mid 70’s. For the first time since November, I could walk around comfortably in a t-shirt. For the first time since October, I could comfortably wear a skirt. We spent a while walking around the park and Paseo del Prado a main road near the big art museums in town.


Pete and I in Parque del Buen Retiro.

We went back to rest and siesta before going out to a late dinner. In Spain, people don’t eat dinner until 10 or 11 at night, and don’t really start going out to party until 1 or so in the morning. It’s a total time difference for me, but it’s fun to be experiencing something so culturally different from what I’ve experienced thus far from someone like Pete who’s lived here and understands the culture. We ate some amazing paella, which is this delicious Spanish dish of rice and in our case, veggies, sausage and chicken. Afterwards, we hit up a nearby bar for some cañas (beer) before calling it a quasi-early night.

Saturday we started our day with the famous café con leche (coffee with milk) at a nearby cafetería. Yeah, it’s just coffee, milk and sugar in an espresso-sized cup, but I like to think the taste was totally enhanced by just being in Madrid. We then walked around a bit, exploring the major spots in town, from Plaza del Sol to Gran Vía, the main road cutting through the city. Pete loved reliving his experiences that he had with his friends when he traveled here about 4 years ago. We wound up at a Parque del Oeste, where there was an Egyptian temple dating from 200 B.C. given to Spain in as a gift in return for Spanish architects working to save some of its other temples. The park also offered great views of Madrid and the nearby Spanish palace.


Looking out on Palacio Real.


Me and the Templo de Debod.

Around mid-day, we stopped at a café for some cañas and tapas. Tapas are small, appetizer-sized dishes that Spanish bars have sitting out on the counters and customers buy the piece. People often will have a couple for a meal. We then met Pete’s friends from Pamplona, Angela and Ernesto, who came to Madrid for the night. Angela is another MU student studying abroad and Pete has told me tons of stories about both, so it was great finally meeting them. We all went out to Plaza Mayor, a huge and beautiful area in town where Angela and Ernesto had some paella. Pete and I shared another small tapa and some of the famous Spanish sangria.

Afterwards, we went to the Prado museum, one of, if not the largest museums of purely paintings in the world. We saw some famous works by Velasquez and a wonderful whole exhibit of Goya’s work. To any art buffs, I recommend you Google both.

Pete and I continued on to La Reina Sofia, the other huge art museum in Madrid just down the road from the Prado. It consists of more modern pieces, and Pete and I were particularly there to see the Salvador Dali’s and Picasso’s. I was absolutely floored by being in the presence of the Dali works—I’ve been a fan of his art for years. It’s so trippy and there are many things about the works that I have yet to really comprehend (as I’m sure few have), but it’s still so interesting to view. The Picassos were all in a huge exhibit, which was slightly overwhelming, but cool to see such a large collection.


Enigma by Dali was at the La Reina Sophia.

After our museum afternoon, we spent early evening in the Parque del Buen Retiro, hanging out and enjoying the once again beautiful weather. We met up with Angela and Ernesto later in the evening to out for dinner and drinks. Dinner was at Cocina del Desierto, an amazing middle-eastern place in the college area of Madrid. It was such a chill atmosphere, with people sitting on pillows and eating off of big gold trays. Hummus and falafels, my new craving, were on the menu for me, as well as some great Spanish wine. We walked around town drinking and ducking into a few bars here and there before calling it a late night. Of course, Madrid was still very much alive at the time, but I guess I’m not that immersed into Spanish culture that I can stay out until 7 in the morning. Not yet anyway.

Sunday, Pete, Angela and I hit up El Rastro, an absolutely HUGE outdoor market held every Sunday in the south central Madrid. My time in London made me a big fan of the markets, so I had fun finding some good deals and admiring the wide variety of stuff for sale. Everything from antique doors to shark jaws to hookahs were on sale.

Pete, Angela and I caught the 2 pm bus back to Pamplona. The ride was absolutely gorgeous, winding through semi-desert, through bright green fields, miles of hills and some forests. In retrospect, I wish I’d taken pictures, since it was some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in Europe. I ended up falling asleep here and there, so unfortunately, I’m sure I missed the majority of the pretty ride. Once we hit Pamplona and got settled at Pete’s place, I was pretty much out for the count until the following morning.

Monday was a little cloudy and cold, but Pete still took me out on a great tour of Pamplona. We walked through Lo Viejo, the old part of the city, along the path where the bulls run during San Fermin in the summer. It’s a beautiful old city, full of colorful buildings and narrow streets. It’s so cool walking through the city that Hemingway made famous through his adventures and debauchery described in The Sun Also Rises. It brings it all to life actually seeing it in person. In homage to Hemingway, we ducked into the Café Bar Iruña, one of the main settings in the aforementioned novel. Pete treated me to some amazing churros con chocolate. Yes, that is churros dipped in a cup of chocolate. Yes, it was delicious and terribly unhealthy. We also found a statue of Hemingway there and staged a photo shoot.


Pete and Ernest.


Plaza del Toros, where the bulls end up after their run.

We spent the rest of the morning walking around before hitting up a bocadilla (sandwich) place for lunch, and then later meeting up with Angela so she and Pete could work on a class project. I got to walk them to class and see Univerisity of Navarre campus, which is nestled in a beautiful valley with the unnamed mountains in the background. It’s so pretty. While they were in class, I did some grocery shopping for Pete’s chili he was making for dinner that night and returned to his apartment. I met his roommates, Jesus, Enrique and David, all who are really nice. Unfortunately, I suck at Español, so my dialogue with them was pretty short. I felt so bad about it—I mean, I spoke a few sentences and did my best to understand, but there were a lot of “¿como?” (what?) parts in the sentence. I’ve told Pete that I want him to start helping me become better at Spanish. My college classes and books are a good base, but I want him to use his experiences to help me with conversational Spanish. Pete made a delicious half Tex-Mex, half Spanish chili complete with chorizo sausage for dinner, which I ate far too much of. We later met up with Ernesto for a couple of late-night cañas on the town before heading home.

I slept in today, enjoying the slow pace of Spain and finally capitalizing on my ability to take it equally slow with no work or class in my schedule. We arranged to meet Ernesto, Angela and Angela’s roommate, Christine at the La Ciudadela, an old fort turned park in the center of the city. It was a beautiful day, so we picnicked out there all afternoon with some sandwiches and sangria, just taking it all in. I had a great time talking with everyone. The only downside was a wretched sunburn on my arms in a really embarrassing pattern since I just used a sunscreen stick the size of glue stick for sun protection. No bueno. The great day was totally worth it though.

Tonight I’m going out to an international students party with Pete and everyone. It should be a fun night, getting to meet all the people Pete has told me about. And thank god I’ll be able to get by using minimal Spanish. The next couple days looks to be really fun. Tomorrow I’m exploring more of downtown, maybe go out for a run, while Pete’s in class. Thursday Pete and I are going out to San Sebastian, a town on the Atlantic known for its gorgeous beaches and mountains. We’re hopping on a bus again late Thursday night to take an all-night ride to Alicante for a weekend on the Mediterranean. So very beach-filled next couple of days. I’m very excited, to say the least. Stay tuned for further pictures and updates.

I leave you with a pretty sight and a link to my newest Facebook album.
Pellirojita does España: Parte Uno: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2255784&l=cda83&id=15921830


Looking out onto Lo Viejo from Pete's apartment.

Wrapping up London

¡Hola from Spain! My London journey has ended and I am now enjoying my two week stay in Spain with Pete. Today has been my second full day in Pamplona, where Pete lives, but Friday-Sunday, we were in Madrid. I am going to focus this post on wrapping up my London tales, just to break it up a bit, as we know I write novels, so stay tuned for my post on España.

I guess my last post was from last Monday. Tuesday I traveled out to Feltham, a suburb in southwest London, where I presented my final project for class to the charity that I’d based the project on. As you may recall, my idea for my project was to find a small London charity and create an advertising campaign for it that would help it to meet its needs. A couple weeks back, I went out to my selected charity called Storehouse, out in Feltham. It’s a great little place that offers food, children’s clothing and toys to needy families in the area. I talked with Doris, the wonderful Project Manager at Storehouse, about the needs of the charity and discussed my aims and means of approaching the campaign. Then using the information Doris gave me combined with some of my own research, I spent the last couple of weeks developing a fairly thorough fundraising plan and corresponding advertising campaign that would help Storehouse meet some of its goals. I was a little nervous going back at how it would be received, but Doris was really impressed by some of the insight and said that she could see my plan being implemented in the future. She also offered to drop my name around to other non-profits and businesses she knew and tell them about my skills and service, which was extremely exciting and flattering. Who knows? Maybe there’s a career to be made in this?

After coming back from Feltham, I went into work. Lillian and I had a great last lunch together with just the two of us. We went to an absolutely amazing Thai restaurant in Soho called Patara, where I enjoyed way to much food. But again, it was worth it. I had a great time with Lillian. I feel as if I’ve found a true friend in her, and she has served as an incredible role model and guide since I started work with her in January. I told her about how my Storehouse presentation went, and already having seen the work, she encouraged that I maybe pursue some sort of independent consulting career. Hearing this from Lillian, a woman I respect so much, was so exciting. It’s really opened my eyes to where I want to head in these next couple of years. And it’s great knowing that I have an incredible ally on my side who can offer insight and support like Lillian. Overall, a great lunch and great couple of months working with her. I was truly blessed to have had this internship.


Tuesday night, my flat and the ladies from the flat two floors up all went out to a pizza dinner and then to K-box, a karaoke place that we’d rented for the night. We all sang our hearts out. I shouldn’t have sang since I have laryngitis, but either the alcohol or fun of it all inspired me to sing far too much. Consequently, my throat has gotten much worse since then. Oops! However, it was such a great final night with all the girls. Surprisingly no tears, as we’d all hypothesized, but I don’t think the shock of actually leaving had hit us yet.


Singing our hearts out to "Sweet Caroline"


The audience enjoying the show.

Wednesday was the day that Sarah, Alex and I were treated to our surprise that our supervisors had given us as a good-bye gift. Lillian had put together an amazing day at Top Shop, a HUGE women’s clothing store on Oxford Street. The day was complete with a big gift card for each of us as well as a free manicure and professional hairstyling. We also had a tab built up for us at a nearby bar called Match. We were all floored when we found out about it at work on Tuesday. Again, our bosses’ generosity surpassed all expectations—they are amazing! So Wednesday was a great day of shopping. I ended up with a great dress for Spain, a nice fashionable London-style top, some bracelets and a nice belt. I was extremely nervous about the manicure, since I’d never had one before. I’m a nail-biter and really self-conscious about my hands. I ended up loving it and got over my fear. In fact, it has become my new way I’ve decided to deal with my bad habit, since I haven’t bit the nails since I got the manicure. I can totally budget for it, if that’s the effect it will have.

Match was a ton of fun, and we all heavily cheered our success in London and our amazing bosses. Sarah, Alex and I got so close working together and really had a great dynamic going. I know I’ve made some great friends in them, and am so excited that I get to go back and see them in the fall at MU.


The ladies post-makeovers, ready to go out on the town.

Thursday was the last London day. I was inevitably stressed, trying to pack up all my last things and get motivated to say all my good-byes. Generous as always, our bosses took us out for a great last lunch at our favorite, Century Club. That’s where we all had our first company lunch, so it seemed fitting to be our last. It was such a nice note to finish everything on. I am able to leave work with such experience, and I have tangible and intangible things to show for it. I feel I’ve grown so much this semester on both a professional and personal level, and I have my amazing work colleagues to thank for it. Saying good-bye to Lillian was of course the hardest part. I wrote her a really nice letter, have her a framed picture of us, and made her a really funny t-shirt with a picture of Camilla (Prince Charles’ wife) and the word “Homewrecker” beneath it. It’s an inside joke we had this semester, and I know she’s going to have fun in the future teasing Alex’s boss Denise, who’s a Camilla supporter. Denise is a great sport about it all. The gifts added some levity to what was a potentially sad day. However, I know that I’ll be keeping in touch with everyone, especially Lillian. It’s all just life, I guess.

Thursday night was all just packing up and preparing for my flight to Madrid the following morning. I said my good-byes to everyone Friday morning, which was a little hard. But like I’ve said, Flat 2 reunions are in store in the fall.

I guess that brings us to an end of all my London excursions. I return for a one-night layover on May 8, before I catch my flight home on the 9th. But essentially, I’m just there for a couple of hours to sleep and repack stuff. It’s weird to think that it’s all over—something that I’ve envisioned myself doing since freshman year. I’m sad, but proud. I’ve spent an entire semester relying on public transportation, traveling to the popular and obscure (Bratislava) destinations in Europe and budgeting my money perfectly so that I didn’t get eaten alive by the pound system yet could still go out and enjoy London. I’ve seen so many parks, historical sights, churches, plays/musicals and picturesque pieces of London that I can’t possibly pick my favorites. I’ve balanced classwork, a job, and a social life. I’ve figured out how to co-exist in tight quarters with 6 girls and how to manage without a dishwasher and washer/dryer. I’ve seen Royalty in person and become the “Official Creeper to Lily Allen and Scarlett Johannson.” I’ve run a major immersion project for the UK’s largest advertising spender, and through a smaller personal project, gained some insight into what I want to do in life. I maintained an amazing, healthy relationship with Pete that will continue once we get home, and I’ve established some lasting friendships while I’ve been over here. I would not go back and do one thing differently. Living in London was one of the most fun and influential experiences of my life, and though I’m ready to move on into new things, it’s something that I will always look to and reflect fondly upon.

And per usual, here are some Facebook albums for you to check out the pictures:

About Londontown: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2252393&l=3fd96&id=15921830
London Ladies: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2254366&l=86085&id=15921830
A Few of my Favourite Things: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2246066&l=be0d7&id=15921830

Lasts of London

Oh goodness. Three days left in London. How do I start about that? It was weird. I came here and I remember walking up Hogarth Road toward my flat one evening and thinking to myself how far away April seemed. I imagined then what it would feel like walking up to 40 Hogarth at the end of four months here. How knowledgeable, how comfortable, how, well, London, I’d feel. And now I actually feel that way. It’s strange, seeing yourself undergo that sort of transformation. It’s all sort of bittersweet.

Ok, I’ll get sentimental another time. None of that now. I’ll catch you up on how the last London week has gone.

I guess I last left off on Wednesday. Thursday, had a great lunch with Sarah and Alex at our favorite brasserie, Maison Malinowsky, right across from work. We all are obsessed with salmon, brie and tomato paninis at this place. It was the first place we ate when we started work, and it seemed fitting that our last group intern lunch was at the same place. Monday and Tuesday we also ate lunch out at some spectacular local areas. Monday, we found a stand that gave you literally a 3-pound tub of delicious Greek salad and food for only £3.50. And Tuesday, I had my first amazing Neil’s Yard experience. Literally 100 yards away from work is this colorful oasis of vegetarian heaven, nestled right in the middle of some buildings. We had a great lunch comprised of a veggie casserole, a organic roll and some freshly made juice all pretty reasonably priced.


Neil's Yard. So rainbow, so hippy, so wonderul. So surprisingly under my nose this entire time.

Yes, I enjoy talking about food. No, eating is not all I’ve done in London. I have come to the conclusion that enjoying the whole dining experience and trying new original stuff is definitely one of the highlights of travel. I think my flatmates really taught me how to appreciate that. And given that it was my last week in London to do so, appreciate I did.

I’ll continue on this gastrointestinal tour shortly, but first must tell you about Thursday night’s experiences. We planned a pub crawl around the Covent Garden, Leicester Square area that took place right after work. It was cool to meet up with all the girls and some of Alex’s friends that I hadn’t met yet. I only enjoyed a couple pints before a few of us met up with a big group from class to see Spamalot. It is probably one of the funniest shows I have seen, taken right from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But it’s so much better. Great score, hilarious acting, same beloved storyline. Our group seats sucked…we were higher than God in the play. But still, great show.


Out on the pub crawl.


Spamlot, but not the London cast.


Here's some of the London cast. Lady of the Lake (Gwenivere) and Sir Gallahad.

I’m continuing with the aforementioned tour. Friday morning the interns were treated to a full-English breakfast at Simpson’s, a British institution. We had the infamous “10 Deadly Sins”—a 10-part plate, full of everything from sausage and baked beans to black pudding and liver. It was all amazingly delicious (minus the liver and kidneys), and I of course, loved the whole ‘quintessentially English’ experience.

Friday night Pam and I went to the Troubador, a bar down the road that I’ve been trying to hit up all semester. It’s got a great concert room down in the basement that’s pretty famous. It was where Bob Dylan had his first British concert, for example. It was folk night Friday, so we got to enjoy some pretty crazy instrumental stuff. An amazing saxophonist was the highlight.

It was nice going into the weekend because I had already accomplished most of what I’d wanted to do while in London. So there was a lot less pressure to do a ton of stuff and see everything. Pam and I had a late brunch at a local café that my flat mates love, then headed out to Oxford Circus to explore the world’s most intimidating female clothing store—Top Shop. The one on Oxford Street is absolutely huge. It was fun looking through everything, but no purchases. Wasn’t in the shopping mood I guess. I’m more looking forward to haggling cheap shops in an outdoor market in Madrid this weekend. We also explored Carnaby Street, a really famous shopping street in the area. It was the hot-spot in the 60s (the opening scene in the first Austin Power’s movie is shot there), and it’s having a newer revival today. It was fun, but again, not in the shopping mood. Still in the non-shopping mood, we of course went to another shopping destination, an old and pretty iconic department store called Liberty. It’s totally a Tudor-style building, and absolutely fabulous wooden interior. It was fun walking through and looking at everything, though I again did not buy anything. Shock.


The famous Liberty department store.

Pam and I had been wanting to check out a British comedy show the entire semester, and fate would have it that before our last weekend, we just happened to be handed free comedy show tickets walking down the street the other day. We hit up the spot in east London on Saturday, and it was absolutely hilarious. Inevitably, we got picked on as the Americans, and Pam was singled out and asked a lot of questions, of which of course turned to good-humored ridicule. At this point, it’s great because we can totally take the semi-insults. We’re used to how Americans are seen over here, even though there’s still a lot more acceptance and like of Americans than I anticipated. They don’t agree with our war and President, but they seem to like us in person. So though they may call us fundamental Christian war-mongrels, it’s all in good fun. One of the comedians made the point that Brits marched right beside us into Iraq. Overall, hilarious show—all the comedians were great, and being in London for so long, I got a lot more of the jokes than I would have in the beginning. I understood the references to certain parts of London and the UK and reputations of celebs, etc. It probably wouldn’t have been as funny to me in February.

Sunday was another relaxed day. I spent a good portion of the morning starting to pack. I think I’m able to fit all the souvenirs and stuff back in my bags, so no extra shipping costs should be incurred….at least I don’t think so. Right now, I just basically have some clothes and toiletries to throw in, and I’m good to leave. It’s crazy….I don’t want to think about it quite yet.

In the afternoon, I attended a Sunday roast with Pam for a feature article she’s writing on local restaurants’ Sunday roasts. It’s a really traditional concept over here, but as this restaurant was a little more posh than the typical roast location, I don’t think I got the traditional experience. I’m not complaining though—it was absolutely delicious. I got some great Pollock and Hake dishes and a delicious almond and blood orange tart. Best part—totally free. Journalism has its perks.

I lead Pam on one of my infamous death marches through Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park between our late lunch and dinner. During my runs through the park, I’ve discovered some cool places, like the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Peter Pan statue and the Italian Fountains. Of course, I don’t carry my camera on me then, so I was hoping to capitalize on the semi-sunny weather to get a few good shots. Of course, it was cloudy and starting to drizzle by the time we hit the sights, but it was still great to get one good last stroll (or march) through the park. I think Pam enjoyed it too. We definitely burned off our lunch in the process.


Me and the Diana Memorial Fountain. It's so unique.


It's Peter Pan!


The Italian Fountains.

Sunday, my flat decided to have a potluck dinner to celebrate our time together. We all made our own dishes and had a great night reminiscing and joking around. We made a soundtrack for the night of our favorite songs while London and even read goofy poems. It was a really good night and it made me really see how close I’ve gotten with these girls. They are amazing girls, and I know that next semester has some Flat 2 reunions in store.

Today, pretty slow. A great day at work and a nice relaxing night. I got sick over the weekend so I stayed in and have just chilled all night, drinking tea and praying to be good for my last few days and upcoming Spain excursion. This is likely to be my last post while in London. Tomorrow is a girls night with our flat and another flat in the building. All 12 of us are going out for a night of wine and karaoke. It should be absolutely ridiculous. Inevitable hilarity and probably some tears. Wine will do that to you.

Wednesday is a special surprise from our bosses to the interns. They’ve been all clandestine about it, whispering to each other in corners of the office the last couple of days, glancing our direction. I’m REALLY excited to see what they have planned. Honestly, I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been working with them this semester. I feel like a family with them. If I could take anything back home with me, it would be the company, without a doubt.

And Thursday is my final day at work and then an evening of packing and cleaning. It’s all so brief and final. What a strange reality it is. But it’s life. I’m not going to be upset about it yet. I think I’m a little lucky in that directly following my departure from London is an amazing two weeks in Spain with Pete. Words cannot describe how excited I am to see him and spend that time with him.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from London that I took from Alex's facebook. Also, check out my facebook album for more updated pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2252393&l=3fd96&id=15921830


Alex and I at the premier of Flashbacks of a Fool.


Yes, that is Daniel Craig's backside. Still handsome.


There's Claudia Schiffer. She had no role in the movie, but she was there in all her gloriousness. And yes, she is just as pretty in person.


A couple of weeks ago we caught the celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the British Airforce. We went to the Waterloo Bridge during our lunch break. Exactly at 1 pm, the jets flew over the London Eye. I felt very patriotic seeing the red, white and blue...wrong country, but still patriotic.


Thanks for the great pictures, Alex!

I am the walrus

Hi, all! I apologize for not writing in the last week. As things are winding down in terms of school and work, time speeds up. Funny how that happens. Blogging is obviously not the top of my priorities as I’m scrambling around the city, making sure I see everything and enjoy my “last of London” experiences.

OK, so here’s a fill in. Cannes was beautiful. A little rainy for most of it, but had a good hour or so of sun to take some pictures. I was only there less than a day, so it was a quick trip with nothing much to tell. It’s better to see instead.


Looking down on Cannes from a hill.


Pretty lilac bushes.


An artsy picture.

On Friday back in London, I went out with a big group to a great club called Abacus. Clubs still really aren’t my thing, but I had a great night dancing. It was a pretty swanky venue, so it’s nice to get exposure to that sort of thing, since it’s something I don’t do as much. Plus, my friends are wonderful, so more time with them, the better.

In preparation to turn in our final projects on Monday, most of my weekend and that of pretty much all other MU kids was consumed with staying in and working. I took a break on Saturday and used a free ticket that Grace, one of my flatmates, had to the Design Museum. It was a really, really cool museum, located near some surprisingly posh wharfs out in East London. The museum had two floors, one of which was dedicated to French designer and architect Jean Pouvre. He was highly influential in many French buildings and industrial design throughout the 20th century. Having never heard of him before, it was cool learning a bit in this subject that I don’t have much knowledge on. The second floor was the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Awards exhibition, which showcased the top designs in transportation, technology, furniture, graphic design, clothing, etc. from across the world in the last year. Features ranged from the Nintendo Wii to a new type font family. I absolutely loved this portion, and am amazed by some of the creativity out there.

On the way back from the Design Museum, I got caught in a freak rain/wind storm right as I was crossing Tower Bridge over the Thames. Of course this is the day that I emerged from the flat anticipating warm weather, wearing a skirt with tights and a light sweater. And I had a brain-lapse and forgot my umbrella. My pashamina served as a makeshift hood, but overall, outcome was bad. I was a little like a wet rat by the time I made it to the Tube station. This misadventure is an example of a trend lately—the schizophrenic London weather. In the last week, we’ve had days where it will be warm and sunny, then five minutes later start to rain, sleet or hail. No snow, but definitely ice. As it is mid-April, I was hoping for some more spring-like weather. Guess I’ll have to wait for Spain next week. Oh well. Hopefully, if you’ve learned anything from my blog, it’s to come prepared for sporadic rainy weather when you visit London. Love the city, but you never know what the forecast is going to bring.


There's the bridge as the infamous storm approaches...

Sunday night Alex invited me to the premier and after party of Flashbacks of a Fool, starring Daniel Craig. Yes, I did see him on the red carpet and during the after party. And yes, he is just as good looking in person, since I know this is what the ladies will inquire. I also walked in nearby Claudia Schiffer, who wasn't in the movie, but along for the show. At the after party, we brushed shoulders with many of the stars without realizing it, since most were stars on the British screen. The movie was really good and pretty thought-provoking, and the after party was wonderful and at one of the coolest venues in London called Sketch. So architecturally edgy--for example, in the bathrooms, each of the individual stalls was shaped like an egg. So you walk into this room and there's all these large eggs scattered about. No joke. I was thrown off too. I wasn't as overwhelmed and giddy about this premier, mostly because I'd been through the entire experience before with The Other Boleyn Girl. But it was still a great time and another fun thing to add to the overall London experience.


The cast of the movie. Daniel Craig is the blur on the far right.

My camera messed up on the red carpet, so Alex got some great pics of us as well as one of Daniel and one of Claudia.

Monday I actually presented my project in class, and it went over really well. I think I did a pretty thorough job coming up with a mock campaign that the charity I chose could actually use to fundraise. I’m actually going back to the charity next Tuesday to present my idea to them, so I’m going to still try to improve it a bit. I’m hoping they’ll like it, whether they use it or not. I’ll let you know how that meeting goes.

Last night, Pam and I went to History Boys, a Tony-winning play in the UK. As all I've seen is musicals, seeing a play was really a nice change of pace. It was extremely well acted, about a group of Oxford/Cambridge-bound boys at a prep school and their interactions with their highly influential professors. It was a lot more interesting than I just made it sound, and the underlying themes of the play were so complex that I'm still figuring it all out today. I enjoy that kind of show.

Work’s been winding down, and I’m just finishing up a few minor projects for Lillian before my last day next week. It’s really sad that the end is already so close. You look forward to this experience for years, and it’s a weird realization that you’re done with it. I mean, it’s great that I made it happen, but it’s sad that it’s something in my life that I can’t look forward to. I know I’ll come back to Europe and London in the future, though probably not in the same capacity. Everyone keeps saying that what we want is to go home for a couple of weeks and see everyone and then come back. In some sense, I understand that, but I really am excited to get back into the groove of things in the US. I love the Brits, but I’m not one, which is fine with me. My heart is always going to be in America.

OK, moving away from the overly sentimental…

Knowing that we’re leaving in 8 days from now (for me at least), Pam and my flat mates and I have created some oh-so-efficient Excel documents outlining what we’re doing, where we’re eating, etc. each day for the rest of our time here. So basically, a computer nerd’s day planner. We’re scrambling to get all our favorite restaurants in one more time and see some of the stuff we’ve not yet seen. Today, Pam and I accomplished a good chunk of that. We started out with a class trip to the Tower of London. Since I’d been there recently, Pam and I kind of took an abbreviated tour of the things we wanted to see then left for a good lunch at The Hung Drawn and Quartered pub nearby. Obviously, it stuck with the theme of the famous executions done nearby at the Tower by having a noose hanging over the bar and portraits of some of Britain’s most famous execution victims on the wall. We had a good lunch there before heading up one last time to Camden Market to see parts we hadn’t seen and finish up souvenir shopping. Camden’s so big that it really does take a couple of trips to do it all.

The highlight of the day was hitting up my last must-see in London: Abbey Road. Pam and I of course took the stereotypical picture walking across the zebra crossing. We couldn’t take it from the right angle because we’d be in oncoming traffic. It’s actually a pretty busy road. But it was cool to do nonetheless. And there were TONS of tourists like us doing the same thing. Frequent drivers down the road have to be tempted to hit us—there’s no way they wouldn’t. We also made our mark on a wall in front of Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded. People write their Beatles sentiments all over it. It’s cool to see what everyone’s written and where everyone is from. We wrote some of our own in a little corner, wanting to be a piece of the history (at least until they whitewash the wall next).


Abbey Road.


Trying to channel Paul, John, Ringo and George. I wish I'd taken off my shoes.


Doing grafitti.

And now, I’m exhausted. Good, long day, and many more good, long days to come as we continue to finish everything up here and then start the packing. So bittersweet… As sad and weird as it all is, I am beyond excited that in just over a week, I’ll be heading to Madrid for my two-week romp around Spain with Pete. I can’t even begin to fathom the fun I’m going to have with him. We’ve got places arranged for Madrid and then a weekend in Alicante along the Mediterranean, so I’m already starting to imagine the warm beaches.

That’s all for now. More to come.

Check out these albums for more photos:

Some ramblings

It really hit me today. I have just over two weeks left in London. The time has literally flown by, especially this last month. I feel every time I talk to someone in my program, we give each other the usual poll about our feelings, how quick it went, are we ready to leave or digging our nails into the London curbsides? For the most part it’s a mixture of both. Everyone’s going to miss London, but most are ready to leave. To go home and spread out. To not live in mice-infested flats (yes, 40 Hogarth does have a serious mice problem). To go back where the US dollar is worth something. I definitely have all these feelings too.

We had our last British Life & Culture lecture tonight, which proved to be the most entertaining one of the semester. Save the best for last, I guess. Our speaker discussed Brit pop culture, and focused a lot on British vs. American trends and customs. It’s interesting because I realized that a lot of the things I thought were so weird when I came over here I now find absolutely normal, and in fact really like it. I get the weird British humor and sarcasm for the most part. I’ll never be a fan of the soft porn topless girls they have in regularly published and distributed newspapers and magazines, but I do appreciate the kind of liberal outlook the Brits as a whole have. I say chips instead of fries without much thought. It’s all the little things that make me feel like I’m legitimately British. But I know that within two weeks of being back in the States, I’ll start saying fries again and probably switch gears and pick up a Southern accent for the summer. And this is just how it is. And I’m ok with that.

Here’s a little brief update on everything. My big project that I’d been working on all semester at my internship went off very well last Thursday. We had members of our largest client come in and listen to presentations from our company’s magazine editors, heads of media departments and leading executives. We treated them to great food and drinks and gave them opportunities to interact with some of our innovative products and services. I had my hand in almost every aspect of the project, acting as the main liaison and one of the head coordinators, so seeing it all go off smoothly was such a relief and gave me such a good feeling of accomplishment. Lillian told me today that the client’s have already given her a ton of positive feedback from the day, and our head of marketing said that the template I helped to develop will be the one we use for future client immersion days. I’ve heard we may already have a business lead as a result. So all this is just amazing affirmation that the hard work was effective.

I got the day off on Monday, so I spent the day catching up on schoolwork and other things. It was so nice for a change being in the flat when no one else was there. I finally felt like I had a little space to myself. It was amazing. Went on a brief trip to the V&A Museum so I could write a brief paper for one of my classes and spent most of the day working on my final project for my journalism class. I’m working on developing an advertising campaign proposal for a small London charity. It’s all hypothetical work, but I’m giving it to the charity to perhaps reference in the future. Plus, it’s a really good way to put together all that I’ve learned during work this semester. I’m not as concerned about the grade as I am about making it a good proposal that my client would actually consider. I’m to present it next Monday in class, so I’m working on just getting it all together at the moment. A little stressful, but I’ll be alright.

Tomorrow we’re attending the Globe Theater (where Shakespeare performed in his days). I’m probably going to make a stop at the Design Museum, which I’ve heard is fabulous, and spend the evening packing for Cannes and going to a movie screening for work. Then it’s an early morning flight to Cannes Thursday, returning Friday around noon. Should be a bit of a whirlwind, but I’m excited. I probably won’t write until my return.

Hope all is well with everyone!

I-rish I could afford drinks in Dublin

First of all, I apologize for the ridiculously cheesy and terrible title. That being said, I returned from my Dublin weekend with Pete a couple of nights ago, but have been busy per usual with class stuff and a lot of other things I’ve put off for far too long, like e-mailing my wonderful relatives who’ve been so great about keeping in touch while I’m over here.

I’ll go ahead and fill you in on how the weekend went and what’s been going on the London front.

Friday I caught a mid-morning flight that arrived just about the same time as Pete’s flight. We had an oh-so-romantic meeting by the luggage carousel before navigating our way to the hostel to check in. After a quick lunch, we trekked across town to the Jameson Whiskey Distillery, a highly recommended sight by some of my classmates who’ve been to Dublin this semester. Though it was interesting learning about the whiskey distilling process from a highly humorous Irish tour guide, the best part was observing a whiskey taste-testing session between a panel of volunteers. Sadly, Pete and I were not part of this panel, which was fine for me, as I’m not a huge whiskey fan. The volunteers got to sample three different kinds of Irish whiskey, a Scotch whiskey and American whiskey (likely Jack Daniels). They all voted that the Jameson was their favorite overall, though I think the glaring eye of the guide may have influenced their opinion. Everyone on the tour got a sample of Jameson or a Jameson cocktail, so it was a nice little refreshment.


Me and a cask turned bench.

We spent the remainder of our evening doing a little shopping and exploring the area “north of the Liffey,” the river that cuts through the city center. I had a delicious Irish steakburger for dinner at restaurant called O’Shea’s, where there ended up being a good Irish band playing some Van Morrison and other Irish covers. I was very happy about this. We hung out listening for a bit before heading to Temple Bar, which is not one bar, but a whole area of town filled with bars. They were all packed pretty tight and many had great live music. However, we made the terrible discover that Dublin’s beer prices are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. Like, more than London. I know, I couldn’t believe it either. We enjoyed a pint and left, a little more distraught than when we arrived, but still optimistic about the trip as a whole.

As I’ve already been to Ireland, I assured Pete that Dublin is in fact not representative of Irish culture and experience at all. It is in fact, my least favorite place in Ireland, but you can’t get cheap travel to any of the other parts. With both of us determined to return to the homeland, we decided that Dublin was better than nothing. But to give Pete a taste of true Ireland, which is small towns and countryside, I made us take a train out to a seaside town called Bray, about a 40 minute train ride east from Dublin, right where the ocean meets the bay. Though it was absolutely freezing and windy, we had an incredible afternoon taking in the beautiful scenery. It rests at he base of some nearby mountains, right along the coast. One of the mountain’s called Bray’s head, juts out into the sea, and after hanging out on the beach for a while, we decided to make the climb.


The beach at Bray looking toward Bray's Head.




Taking a break on the mountain side.


Looking down on the beach from the mountain.

Before our ascent, I bought some new batteries for my camera. When we got to a very picturesque part of our climb, I came to the terrifying discovery that my camera was acting very strange and would not take photos. My usual response was to freak out that I no longer had a working camera for my time abroad. Pete’s usual response was to talk me down from the ledge (Figuratively of course…don’t want to give you the wrong impression since I was on a mountain), and he calmly made the discovery that the batteries were the trouble, not the camera. In an act of defiance and pure catharsis, I chucked a battery into the sea. Not the most environmentally friendly response, but it felt good. We hung out on the mountain for a while, taking the whole thing in, before heading back down to town for an early dinner at a seaside pub. We enjoyed great food and great conversation, as usual.

Sunday was my last day, but since my flight was late at night, I had the entire day to finish our sightseeing. Before we could begin, we hit up a great souvenir store in search of a magnet. A new hobby we have is collecting magnets of all the places we go together. Besides the magnet, Pete made a prized purchase: an Irish penny whistle, which he played throughout the day as we walked down the streets. Photo ops were abundant, as were the interesting looks people gave us.


Pete, a statue of James Joyce and the famous penny whistle.


Playing a farewell tune to Dublin.

We both wanted to see the James Joyce Cultural Center, since Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is one of our favorite novels. Overall, probably not worth the 4 euro admission, but still cool to walk through and learn a few additional facts about the author’s life.


One of the best quotes from the novel.

We then trekked across town to the Guinness Brewery, a must-see for all visiting Dublin. It’s a really cool museum that goes into great deal about the brewing process. I’ve been before, but it was fun sharing the experience again with Pete. At the end of the tour you get a free pint on the 7th floor Gravity Bar, which offers a great panoramic view of Dublin and sweet 80’s soft rock (which we decided was appropriate music for the atmosphere). Post-Guinness, we had a great Irish dinner at Quay’s Restaurant in Temple Bar. I tried the potato and lentil soup, which was delicious. I love not being a picky eater—I feel it enhances my cultural experiences. And it probably is making me fat. Oh well. Worries for another day.


In the Guinness Brewery, with the rushing waters, an essential element to perfect Guinness, behind us.


A good pint of Guinness should always have a shamrock.


Looking out over Dublin from the Gravity Bar.

I caught a smooth late night flight home and still managed to catch the tube back from Heathrow Airport before it closed. Sadly, Pete’s journey was not so smooth, as a delayed flight the following the morning caused him to miss his connecting flight in Paris. Once he finally got to Bilbao, Spain last night, the bus service to Pamplona had ended. Poor guy had to walk the entire city before finally crashing at a hotel and catching a bus this morning. I guess given his luck, it’s good Dublin was his last inter-Europe trip. I think he’s happy to stick with travel is Spain now.

Despite all his travel problems, I can’t stop reminding myself how lucky I am to have him as a travel buddy this semester. It’s so rare for a couple our age to be able to do this, and I don’t let myself forget that. We have so much fun wherever we go, and I feel like my experiences are even more enhanced with by his company.

I’ve got some other London stuff to discuss, but I’ll save that for another post. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures. Check out this link to see the lovely photos of Bray: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=38183844&l=d9b6e&id=15921830