Visitors! Again!

Well this past week I have been accompanied by my friend Rachel (famous blog reader) who I used to work with at National City Bank like eh 4-5ish years ago!  We haven't seen each other in about 2 years I would guess and she and I have kept in touch via phone, email, and most recently facebook and my blog!  She was super intrigued in me in all of my travels since I moved to the UK and she practically had her ticket booked during my first couple of weeks living abroad!  Needless to say that was like back in April and now she is finally here and it's September.  All in all, I'm having a FAB time with her and her friend Kate.  We started out the venture on Friday - when they landed in LHR in the morning.  I gave them very specific directions to get to my flat and needless to say after a little bit of waiting at the train station, they were rolling their suitcases down the bridge to the gates!  YAY!  I gave them the 2 minute tour of my flat and then we caught up for a bit.  Rach & Kate then took a nap and I finished up work and went out to get some food.  I woke them up for showers and then we headed to London Victoria station to catch the overnight coach to Edinburgh!

The coach experience wasn't super great for them - probably because they were already super jet lagged and then also as they couldn't sleep period because they were on a bus.  I felt bad, but we must carry on!  We had a splendid day in Edinburgh on Saturday.  The weather was just lovely and I actually saw quite a few things that I didn't get to see my first time that I was there.  We got lunch at a cute pub and where they enjoyed their first PIE!.  After all this maddness we ventured to our QUAINT hotel/apartment which is in a different part of town and reached it by dusk walking about 25 minutes from city centre.  We checked in and started drinking some wine and snacking.  Then we went out to eat at a nearby pub which had spectacular food!  I enjoyed a Stella and they were totally into the cidars!

Sunday we ventured out for a day trip to  the highlands and to see some castles!  The weather was needless to say a complete 180 from Saturday so unfortunately it was rain rain rain.  The views were still spactacular and it was nice to just get out and see.  My umbrella took a turn for the worse up in the high hills of the highlands.  Had to buy a new cheap 2 quid one to get me through the rest of the journey.  Sunday night, we took the coach back to London and arrived into Victoria coach station around 7am.

I worked from home on Monday and then later in the afternoon we ventured into London!  We took a 3 hour bus tour with a live guide who was so awesome!  I really enjoyed this tour so much and I actually learned a lot even though I had been on a lot of London tours.  I also saw a few new sights aswell.  We then went to dinner and I had some rubbish fish and chips!  Not good - but I will try them again some time.  It was then dark and we walked from Buckingham Palace, through Trafalgar Square, and down the pedistrian bridge to Waterloo station.  Rachel got some amazing pictures of Big Ben & London Eye by night!

Tuesday & Wednesday - needless to say I've had to be at boring work!  But the girls are enjoying themselves and I'm currently waiting for them to return as I write this so that I can hear about their day yesterday and today and also see all of their pictures from the concert, show, and Windsor Castle!

Who wants to visit me next??  I promise a good time

10 years ago....

Well 10 years ago - I was sitting in Advanced Algebra class enjoying myself thinking nothing of it - and Principal Harris's face came upon the TV stating that there was a huge accident that happened in New York City.  Ha - why should I care, since I was in Michigan very far from NY.  Well the next day, all over the news - this tragic accident was still being broadcasted.  What really happened?  What did this mean?  Well at 15 years old, I didn't understand a lot of politics (still don't get a lot of them at 25) however, it finally clicked that there was a very bad group of people who very badly wanted to hurt Americans and try to make the world fall apart (basically in my 15 year old mind).  Did we ever think 10 years ago how much this would change our LIFE?  Needless to say, I'm sure that this attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11/01 was the worst thing to ever happen and has definitive caused a lot of drama over the past 10 years.  The economy has been up and down the stock market aswell, and American troops have been in the middle east now for about 8 years fighting over what?  Well this is my version of what September 11th really means and I'm sure to others it means a lot more.  Its sure changed the ways of the American life and thoughts and makes me so proud to say that I'm AMERICAN and I'm from the best country in the world.

Let freedom Ring!

Megan Visits the UK!

I had a lovely visit from my Milwaukee friend, Megan (who no longer lives in Milwaukee)!  She and her boyfriend came to the UK for about 9 days!  They stayed in London for the most part and then went north to Norfolk country and then came and stayed the last two nights with me.  They just left this morning.  During their visit - we went to the markets in London last weekend.  We hit of Portebello rd, Camden rd, and Borough Markets.  Then yesterday we went to Bath!  Round 2!  It was really nice to have a friend here and actually communicate with people (americans)!!

St. Petersburg & Helsinki

Last weekend was the UK's version of Labor day weekend - as we had monday off as a bank Holiday.  3 Day weekend - of course I'm going somewhere really cool!  I flew to Helsinki and met up with a long lost friend from HighSchool who is from there, Leena.  She was a foreign exchange student when I was a junior in HS.  She showed me the sights which was SO NICE of her.  Then Saturday night I took the overnight ferry to St. Petersburg from Helsinki.  This ferry was much nicer then I thought and was so convenient to go to Russia; in regards you don't need a VISA!  The Russians are very strict when it comes to needing a visa there - so of course I was game for this deal. I had one day just in St. Petersburg but it turned out to be lovely and just enough to get a taste of the Hermitage and the surrounding areas!   I walked very fast throughout the city trying to take in as much as I possibly could in the 7 or so hours I had in the USSR.  After that - I jumped back on the overnight ferry back to Helsinki and arrived Monday night and then flew back to London in the afternoon!  All in all it was a jam packed weekend (like all my trips) but it was well worth all the hype and turned out to have great weather and an amazing time!