Lindsay in Europe and Beyond

Summer 2007 part 2

2008-02-27T20:51:00.002Z

CANADA'S WONDERLAND!!!!
I had not gone to Canada's Wonderland in years so Denise and I decided to go one day over the summer break because we both wanted to go. It was a great day, the weather was gorgeous and we only almost got into 2 car accidents getting there because we got turned around....LOL....overall a great day. It was the first time I ever went on an upside down rollercoaster.... I had always been too scared to go on but it was actually a lot of fun and I will definitely go on another one!!! A beautiful shot in front of the big waterfall at the beginning of out day....
During the summer we also had a nice birthday party for my Grandpa. It was a lot of fun seeing most of my family and I was able to get some good photos!!! Here is a great photo of my mom, Grandpa, and aunt Elenore.
Smile parents!!! I am happy that this photo turned out so well!!!
Time with the cousins was great because I do not get to see them very often but when I do it is great because they are so cute and smart. It was nice to catch up with them!

As the summer was coming to a close I was getting sad to leave everyone again because I had been home for so long that I really wanted to stay and make a life in Canada, I think I could have been happy to stay but I made a commitment to come back to England and I am looking forward to spending another year in Europe and there are going to be many more adventures to come because there are still many places I want to be able to go and see this year.....so keep checking back to see how I am getting along in Europe!!!

Summer 2007 part 1

2008-02-27T20:31:00.003Z

Coming back to Canada was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and friends because I know that I am only here for a matter of weeks and I want to make the most out of my time at home that I can! I am working at the pool with Brie, one of my friends who is also a lifeguard so it will be a chilled out summer. I am going on a girls weekend with some of my friends from uni which I am looking forward to and I am going to be just taking it easy!!!!

Here are a couple pics of the girls weekend in Grand Bend!!! LOTS and LOTS of fun!!! We only were able to spend a few nights there but it was quality and I was soooo happy that I was able to see the girls again!

This is the girls getting ready to go out on night number 1!!!! Lets go out and have some fun in the Bend!!!

Dinner on the last day at the Bend...the sunset this night was amazing so we decided to eat on the patio...it was not very nice during the day so we didn't actually get to to go the beach a lot but we still managed to have a lot of fun and it was overall and amazing weekend which will be repeated again next year!!!!

The last night in the Bend sure had some crazy times and I do not know how this picture was taken but it is classic and I am so happy that it is part of my collection!!!

Tamara's brithday was right after I got home and we went out to Cowboys to have a great night out...it was a country good time and the singer was very hot!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMARA!!!!

My first little while at home was amazing but I know there are going to be many more good times had by all....keep tuning in to see how everything goes down in the remainder of the summer months!!!

Final Times in Canterbury June 2007!!!

2008-02-27T19:57:00.004Z

These are some of the pics that will highlight the last month of my PGCE year!!!!Katy and Elaine having a great night!

Clare and I getting ready to go out and you can see by my eyes that I am already feeling very happy!!!

Lucy....this was one of my bestest over the year in Canterbury and I am so happy that we are going to be able to hang out again next year!!!! Good times ahead.

Kate, Wid and I in Alberrys...some good times were had there and I am sad to say that they will not be in Canterbury next year and I am going to miss them a lot but I wish them all the best in their new lives in Spain and Bermuda!!!!

Elaine, Katy and I on one of the last nights out in the city.

So my final few weeks in Canterbury were amazing...and actually not the final weeks at all because it turns out the I was offered a job here and I am going to take it so that I will be here another year. I am kind of nervous about the job but it will be all ok and I am sure that it is the right thing to do. So with that being said the only thing to do was have a great time with the people I have met here because I may not see them all again in a very long time, some I will since we will be in Canterbury together still but not all of them so spending time with them was the right thing to do!!!

I am not going to write a lot about my last few weeks except to say that they were amazing and I met some of the best people of my life this past year. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make my time in Canterbury worthwhile!!!

Granada

2007-02-19T19:30:00.006Z

Granada was the last leg of my spanish adventure! I took a bus from Seville to Granada and spent 2 full days there. My journey was strange...it took about 3 hours on the bus which wasn't bad and then when I got to the bus station I had to make my way to the hostel which was a little hard to find but eventually it was found and was really cool. There was a great roof-top patio which is where the bar and kitchen were. I got to meet some good people there and I ended up going out with them for a tapas tour the first night.

This is the cathedral in the middle of the city. I took an open bus top tour around the city like I had in a few cities (I am growing quite fond of these bus tours) so I was able to see a lot of the sights in the city and then I could decide what I wanted to go and get a better look at. First of all I decided that I should go to the Alhambra because I studied a lot about this at school and it was one of the cannot miss things to do when you are there....

I am posing in front of a canon inside the grounds of the Alhambra, which is like a little city because there were houses, stores, a church, pretty much everything you could have ever needed in a city...

The alhambra was absolutely gorgeous!!! I could not believe the views from around all of Granada. The white houses you can see in the background of this picture were breath-taking.

The architecture in the Alhambra was magnificent...there is so much history there that it is unbelievable. I was really looking forward to seeing the Patio of the Lions when I was there because it is one of the most famous parts of the Alhmabra....but to my disappointment it was being re-finished....of course.....like everything in europe, so I couldn't actually see it. For those that do not know what it is, there is this patio with a fountain in the middle of a courtyard which has the basin resting on the heads of 12 lions. Even though you could not see the lions it was still amazing to see all the little details that were put into this magnificent structure!

This is the last photo I took in the Alhambra which I feel is one of the best. I wish that it was a little straighter but that is ok because I love the reflection of the building in the water!

Overall my time in Granada was great. I enjoyed it a lot and I was able to see a lot of the sights but I did spend the majority of my time in the Alhambra and I would tell everyone to go and see it if they get the chance because it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen!

Seville

2007-02-19T19:30:00.003Z

Seville was probably my FAVORITE place in Spain! I loved this city and I want to go back soon!!! I arrive in Seville around 12pm and then walked around to find my hostel. I was happy to find my hostel and meet some people. I dropped my things off at my hostel and then went out to explore. This was one of my must see cities on my trip and there was so much I wanted to see. I will try to do this magnificent city justice!

This is the entrance to my hostel. The hostel was located around the corner in an ally way but it was great inside with a great patio on the roof!
My first day in Seville was jam packed with things to do. I went into the Cathedral and the Giralda. This is the entrance to the Cathedral. Can you see all the detail which has been put into this, it is unbelievable.

This is the Giralda which is the tower of the cathedral. I climbed all the way up this to see the view from the top which was great. You could see so far away. The weird thing about climbing up the tower was that there were no stairs, only ramps. The ramps went around the outer sides of the tower so you were constantly going around in circles and there were numbers on each full circle of the tower. I think there were something like 47 entire circles, therefore 188 ramps. It was ok, and it didn't take that long. After the Cathedral I continued to the Real Alcazar, which was once a kings palace. The scenery was gorgeous and I am sorry that I cannot include photos on here but I can show you some if you let me know you want to see some.

I decided to do these two things on my own because there were certain things I wanted to see and do and sometimes when you have other people around you cannot always do what you want, plus I was on a limited time schedule. I arrived back at the hostel around 6pm and met some of the people on the rooftop. I met two girls from Oakville who were travelling around, as well as a guy from Australia, and some girls from the US. We all decided to go and get tapas and then go see a Flamenco show.

We went and got some great tapas, with chorizo!!! and then even were tempted into tasting some orange wine which was an experience. It was really strong but it was good. Then we were wandering around trying to find the bar which had the flamenco show. We went in and saw the dancing. It was a nice small bar and the entertainment was great. We had a great night and ended up back at the hostel late at night!

The next day I decided to take one of those open top double decker bus tours around to see all the sights and decide what I wanted to spend my last full day doing. I decided it was going to be a super full day! I took the bus around a whole loop and then got off at the Plaza de Espana. It was funny because I went alone again and said I would meet up with the girls from the hostel later in the day. BUT...I found everyone at the Plaza. Here is a picture of some of us! Me, Lauren (canadian), Tristan (australian) and Rula (american), Jaclyn (canadian) was not in the photo because she was taking it but she was there as well.

We spent some time walking around and then walked back into the city. Since they had not seen the cathedral they were going to go there and I decided that I was going to go see the bull ring and then the house of Pontius Pilot. Here I am in the bull ring.
After my busy day we had another great night getting tapas and relaxing. I loved Seville and I wish I could have stayed there longer. I left Seville early the next morning to head to Granada which was my next stop on my adventure.

Muchas gracias Sevilla por todo!!!!

Cordoba

2007-02-19T19:30:00.001Z

Well this had to be the hardest part of my trek around southern Spain. I was alone, I was not too sure where I was going, and to add to everything it was raining and gross. I arrived around midday and I was not in the mood to go and do anything. I arrived to what I thought was a hostel looking forward to meeting some people to hang out with and do something with since I was a little down...to my surprise when I arrived at the hotel (which was an actual hotel) I got a room to myself. Weird...I had the worst feeling that this 24 hours in Cordoba was going to be the worst...
Eventually I decided, after calling home to Canada to go out and see the things that I came here to see, since I do not know if I will ever be coming back!

My first stop was at the Mezquita. It was gorgeous. It was raining on and off the whole day and it was not the best to walk around in but it was ok. I met a group of four people, two couples, who were travelling around. They were really sweet and I was able to go around with them for a little bit so that I wasn't all alone the whole day!
This is the passageway into the grounds of the Mezquita! It was beautiful with all the orange trees! I didn't try to eat any even thought they are edible because the locals told me that they were not ready yet and they were still too bitter. After seeing a girl try one I was happy I didn't. She had the most sour face. It was funny!!!
This is a picture of me (if you can find me) in front of the fountain in the Mezquita grounds.
After going through the Mezquita for about an hour I decided to walk about the city. The Mezquita was the only big thing to see in Cordoba but the city was so pretty I walked around for a few hours just taking in the sights! This is a fountain near the middle of the city. I am sure that these pictures would have given this city more justice.
When I was walking around I found this nice park which had some built in ponds with shelters for animals and birds. I thought this was a gorgeous picture showing some of the birds and the trees in this area.
Overall my trip to Cordoba was worth it and I enjoyed every minute. I am going to make sure that I am staying in hostels from now on so I will not feel so alone. I would definitely do this trip again if I had to go back in time. This was probably the city where I learned the most about myself over my travels alone.

Madrid

2007-02-19T19:29:00.000Z

This was the most rewarding and exciting trip I have ever taken. I was able to go on my own and I survived...well I did better than that! I had an amazing time, a time I will never forget. I left on my 9 day adventure Friday February 9th at 9pm. I took a bus from Canterbury to Gatwick airport and spent the night there. I slept on these two chairs. What a great start. The flight to Madrid left at 7:25am on Saturday!

When we got into Madrid I had to take the metro to my hostel, which was a little hard to find but I got there eventually after asking a couple people for derections. My hostel was on the 4th floor of a building so that is why it was hard to find.

This is the symbol of Madrid...a bear picking something out of a tree!?!?!? There is this symbol everywhere around the city!

As soon as I got into the hostel there was a group of people who invited me to go for a pic-nic with them. We went to el Cotes Ingles, this huge department store which has a grocery store in it as well and then we walked to the main park (Buen RetiroPark) in Madrid and sat on the grass and had a lovely pic-nic. The weather was so nice, it was a beautiful spring day and we were able to enjoy the weather. This is a picture of me by the big pond (I don't remember what the name or importance was but it was gorgeous!)

Once we finished in the part there was still some light so I decided to walk around the city a little more to make the most of the time I had there. I was only there for a couple days and there was so much to see that I didn't want to waste anytime there. I walked to the Royal Palace and then walked to the catherdral. It was too late to go in but I was able to walk around which was nice! I was really worried when I had this couple taking this picture for me because they kept walking backwards to get the whole thing in the picture and I was worried they were going to try to run off with my camera...it was the last time I had other people take the pictures for me. It turned out the be a good picture though.

That I also visited the Plaza Mayor which is one the main sights in Madrid. I DO have pictures but since these posts arent very big I cannot upload all the pictures so I will show people if they ask for more pics!

That night there was a big group of us that decided to go out and we got free entry into this AMAZING club! Normally the entry was 20euro but since we befriended one of the spanish guys they gave us these free cards which was amazing, the drinks were still a little expensive 10euro each! The club was so nice, it looked like a palace inside...there was gold trim everywhere with really high ceilings!!! Every room there was a differnet DJ with different type of music which was so nice. We danced salsa for a while which was nice and then we went into a more mainstream room. The one thing I couldn't adjust to quickly was the time because the spanish would go out at midnight and then come home around 7am, which is so different from the UK. We had such a good time and ended up back at the hostel "early" around 4am.

The next morning I decided to get up fairly early so that I could jam a lot into my day. It was not the nicest day out but it was ok. I went to the bullring in the morning but I couldn't go in because there was a circus in town and they were performing in the ring so there was no way I could get in, unless I wanted to go see the circus and I passed on that one!!!

After going to the bullring, I went back to the hostel and got some of the other girls who wanted to walk around. We went walking around the city. We went to el Museo del Prado, which is one of the best museums in the world. The line was sooo long that we decided to come back but somehow never got back there. We did walk around and found the statue that I had been looking for. This is a picture of the only statue of the devil in the world. Something unique and something I didn't think I would ever have the opportunity to see again in my life.
After a long day of walking aorund the girls and I went back to the hostel and made the most unique and weird meal ever. It was not very good and I will never ever try to make it again but it was a good idea in theory! After a little break we started getting ready to go out on the pubcrawl which runs every wednesday and sunday night in Madrid. All I am going to say is that it was an amazing time with a lot of tequilla!!! YAY....

I loved Madrid!!! it was such a fun and busy city but now onto more cultural cities...Cordoba is the next stop!

Superbowl night in the UK!?

2007-02-19T19:28:00.000Z

The Superbowl!!! Many uker's do not know what this is and therefore it was hard for us to find a place to go and watch the game...We ended up going to this pub...The PennyTheatre...and we paid £5 to watch the game. It was a good night....here is Kellyann, Heather and I at the beginning of the night! Sitting around having a couple drinks, waiting for the game to begin!
Awww....look at us, Thor, Heather and I ....
This is some of the american gang watching the screens intently to see what is going to happen with the game...
Jesse and Kellyann....yes you are caught on camera!!!
It was a good night and a good game! We all had a lot of fun and at 3am on school night I was walking home to get some sleep!!!

Chris' 23rd Birthday!

2007-02-19T18:56:00.000Z

The beginning of the night. This was sure to be a night to remember as we all sat around the table at Chris' house to play a nice, quiet sophisticated game called...21! It was the best game ever and if you have not tried it then I suggest you start right now because it can be the funniest game! Let just say at the end of the game we had drank two bottles of gin, some wine and some other stuff...good times. There were only 8 of us so that means that we all had rather a lot to drink before heading out.

In celebration of Chris' birthday he had to chug this whole beer...looks like it could be a rather hard thing to accommplish. BUT...he did it! Lucy is so excited, she was the best coach ever. The whole way through, she would never let him give up. It is his day and he needs to complete the tasks asked of him! YAY for Chris!
The girls! We are waiting outside for the boys...who waits for boys? I don't know but they were taking a long time to get ready. Don't we look magnificent!
Our first stop of the night was West Bar. It is a quiet bar which is not always that busy, but the drinks are cheap so it makes it a perfect spot to start the night! Here is a group shot of the guys after doing a couple shots at the bar.
The night progressed very well! We were not permitted to stay in WestBar for too long because we were too loud. They told us at 11pm that they were closing the bar and that we had to leave. But then they let others come in...weird since we were the ONLY people in the bar so that means we were the only ones buying any drinks....ah well....that didn't last long (as in we were told to leave around 10:30) and we were off to another bar. HAHAs!!! yes you read right. The bar we went to next was HaHa's!

We met up with some other friends there and had some more to drink. I don't really remember a lot but I can say it was only 10:30pm and we were all in rough shape. We sat at the very high table and the boys were having drinking contest...I think at one point Chris and Buster were chugging 3 or 4 drinks at a time...InSAnE!!!

Here is Katy and I posing at HaHa's. The jonsey has come out!!! The night was still young as we decided to go somewhere else to finish the night...

Right across the street from HaHa's...literally!!! This time we went to Alberry's, which is a nice place...but the downstairs is like a cave...fun times though and the music is usually ok!

When you go to Alberry's you pay £4 to get in and then you get a free shot at the bar of sambuca or something else...but I don't like the something else so I always get the sambuca. By that time in the night we were beginning to get a little ridiculous! The night ended well...short a few people since some people couldn't make it out the whole night...but we ended the night on a good note!!! Everyone had an amazing time!

My 23rd Birthday!!!

2006-12-14T23:21:00.000Z

Happy Birthday to me!!! It was a great birthday even though I could not spend it with most of my good friends. I will be there soon and we will all be able to celebrate again. Thank you for the calls and all the good wishes on my birthday, they were very much appreciated!

We started of the celebrationg at Pizza Express for dinner. I went to dinner with Elizabeth and Stephanie (tow of my roomates-canadian and german) as well as one of the other canadian girls, Emily. It was a lot of fun and the food was great. If anyone comes over the visit me I will take you there. It doesnt sound very amusing but I assure you that it is! After dinner we headed off to The Cuban which is a bar in town. I was very excited because I had wanted to go since it opened (end of Oct) so I thought my birthday would be perfect to go!!!

A lot of people came out for my birthday which was nice. I do not have pictures of all of them on here but it does not mean you aren't important! Thanks to the American guys that came out. It was great!

This is a picture of myself, Angela and Nina. Three Canadian girls out in the city. It was good times!!!

Tequilla does not always go down the best!?!? Overall the night was amazing....thank you everyone for making it an unforgetable night!!!! I love you all, and for those who did not get to see me I will see you soon and thanks for all the birthday wishes!!! You are all the best!

Venice - December 2-3,2006 -#2

2006-12-11T20:54:00.000Z

Day 2 in Venice...what a great place to wake up in the morning. We had a nice breakfast in the hostel and then checked out of the room. We left our stuff locked in a bag room for the day so we would not have to carry everything around and then we decided to visit the islands, Murano and Burano so we could soak up some more of the culture. Scotland came along with us for the day since he had never been to the islands so the three of us set out on our adventure to get to the islands. We had to get a water taxi to get to the islands. It was cold on the boat. I know that we went in December but when you are on a boat going across water it gets cold. Hence looking at the picture below you can see how red my face was from the boat.

It was still a lot of fun. It took us about 40 minutes to get from San Marco square to Murano on the boat. This is a picture of me at the bus(boast) station on Murano. This island is famous for its glass. We were able to see a demonstration of glass blowing which was fun. I had never seen this is person before so it was cool.

This guy made a flower vase out of this piece of glass and then he also made a glass fish out of the remaining glass which he broke off the vase. It was cool to see how easy it was to mold and shape the glass.

Of course the boats need gasoline to run so why not have gas stations on the water. I know that it is not a hard concept to understand but it was still weird to see a gas station floating on the water.

We did not spend a lot of time on Murano since the only thing there was glass and since the demonstrations were all the same there was no point in going to see more than one. We wandered around some shops and I bought a few small souvenirs and then we were on our way back to the boat stop to catch the boat to Burano. This was such a beautiful island with all the colours.

It almost felt magical walking around this island. However by the time we arrived there we were all a little hungry and getting a little moody so we decided to go and get some lunch and all agreed on this little family run pizza parlour which looked nice. The restaurant was very nice and cozy. The food was amazing. I was a little thrown back when my friend Angela asked for some ketchup to put on her pizza? Who puts ketchup on pizza, and especially when they are travelling to a place where they specialize in a type of food. I told her she should just eat it the way she got it but no. The lady gave her a really weird look. Angela even tried to tell me that all Italians put ketchup on their pizza!? I don't think so...

Anyways...the remainder of our time on the island was great and we were able to see some real cultural stuff in. Burano is famous for their lace. It was gorgeous but I didn't think I would find a use for most of it so I did not purchase any of it.

This is a photo of me on the boat on the way back from Burano. The sun was setting and it was a gorgeous night. I was getting sad because it was almost time for Angela and I to head to the airport. But we got back into San Marcos square with enough time to run around and do some more cool stuff.

We bought some corn and fed the pigeons in the square which was an adventure all in itself. I was very worried that I was going to get messy with all the birds on me but it all worked out nicely and I am alive and clean still! In the picture you can see how one of the birds in on my shoulder so I could not stand up straight. I was not impressed at the time but it was fun to do and I don't think I will ever do it again!

Finally it was the end of our time in Venice and we had to take the boat back to the bus station so that we could catch the bus back to the airport. We passed through the grand canal and the rialtto bridge on the way back. It was all very gorgeous at night. I will be going back at some point in my life. I am just not too sure when that will be!

Venice - December 2-3, 2006 -#1

2006-12-11T16:42:00.000Z

Where to begin. As soon as we arrived at the airport we had to take a coach to the city, which took approximately 45min. It was a quick drive so that went well. When we started to cross the water to the city I couldn't believe it. I don't think I have ever seen something as beautiful before! Once got off the coach we had to find our hostel...that was an adventure. We took the water taxi around the city, down the grand canal and looking around it was amazing. I loved that there were no cars...I loved having to take a boat everywhere!!!

This is a picture of me in front of one canal as we were walking around trying to find our hostel. The search...finding the place was not very hard because Angela printed out the directions when she booked the room. However there was a little adventure...yes, it could not be a complete trip if there wasn't one thing that happened. The hostel was under construction and was not there. The workmen who were renovating the hostel told us we had to go to Hotel Astoria, BUT we were not told how to get there. There was another girl there from Russia who was looking for the same hotel because she had booked in the hostel as well so the workmen called the manager and he came and brought us to the new hotel. This hotel was in an even better location than before!

There is about a 2 minute walk from our hotel to the plaza de san marco. I knew that it was supposed to be huge but walking around there was cool. We went into the Basilica and we went up to the roof where we could see the whole plaza from a different view. I am standing on the top of the basilica!!! We also went through the museum which was in the basilica and learnt about the history which was cool.

After walking around the basilica, we walked next door and went into the Palazzo Ducale (Doges' Palace). This was built starting in the 14th century. Look at how gorgeous this building is from the outside.

Next stop was ... Rialto Bridge which crossed the Grand Canal. You can't really tell by the picture but the bridge is huge! You can get such a great view when you stand on the top of the bridge. One other thing which I have totally fallen in love with is the gondolas! I think this photo is great because you can see the bridge as well as the gondola! We didn't take a gondola anywhere because of a few reasons, which I am not going to get into, but I am definitely going back here on my honeymoon!!!

We walked around all of Venice and saw more historical places as well as visited many cathedrals which were all gorgeous. It was a lot of walking but everything was amazing that I didn't even realize the time was going by quickly. After walking around all day we were really hungry so we stop at a nice little sweet shop...yeah I know really healthy but when you look at the next picture you will see why this shop caught our eyes and we wanted to try the sweets!!!

I think that is the biggest meringue ever!!! It was delicious but I couldnt eat the whole thing because it was way too sweet. I am sure my dentist would be happy about me eating that meringue. Angela and I decided we need to go back to the hotel and have a nap since we had been going for over 36 hours with not a lot of sleep. We had a nap for a few hours and when we woke up one of the guys staying in our room was back. His name is John and he is from Scotland and he was really cool. The three of us decided to go out for a nice pasta dinner. As we were walking to find somewhere we had to walk by this scenery...yes it was torture!!! How gorgeous!

Finally the night came to an end around 12:30am. We had to be back at the hotel at 1am or the doors get locked and we wouldn't be able to get in. As we were walking back we had to pass through palazzo de san marco which is so gorgeous at night!!!

After a long filled day we ended day one of our time in Venice!!

Paris - Part DEUX!

2006-12-10T23:26:00.000Z

The adventure continues...

This is a photo of Rebecca, Jordan and me in front of Sacre Coeur. Look how beautiful it is!!!

When we were walking around by the cathedral there was this woman who was playing this fun instrument which plays a book of music and she was singing along to the music. It was typical French and it was great. Such atmosphere around the cathedral. It was really nice to experience this part of the French culture because it is so unique and fun.

Jordan and I posing for a photo. We both look like we haven't slept in forever but that's ok because we were in Paris. What else can you ask for. I can't wait to go back there...I am not sure when that will be but I know I will be going again so stay posted for some more adventures!!!

Our day of adventures continued when we decided to go to the cemetery...yes you read that right!!! Cemetiere du Pere-Lachaise. This is the cemetery where many notable people are buried. We posed for some continuous shots in front of this really cool tomb. There were stairs going up to it and then a place to kneel and pray inside. This is very common for the cemetery and the tombs are amazing. I was able to see Moliere, Voltaire, Balzac and Chopin...the first three most people might now know who they are but there were very important French writers so I loved seeing that history!

The one tomb which everyone wants to see when they visit the cemetery - Jim Morrison. Yes, yes, yes! Here is it!!!
After the cemetery it was unfortunately time for me to go back to Canterbury but I promise there will be more sites and more stories the next time I am in good ol' Paris!!!

Where to next!?!? VENICE!

Paris - Part UN

2006-12-10T23:24:00.000Z

What a beautiful city!!! I went to Paris for the day with some friends November 18th. Yes I only went for one day. I know that seems a little crazy but it is so close that it was good to go for the day. I had to meet my friends in the morning because they did not have classes on Friday so they were able to go on Thursday night. Since I am an adult I had to teach lessons on the friday so I had to wait until Friday night to leave Canterbury to go to PARIS. I took the overnight bus and met a couple of really nice girls who we on the bus with me. I arrived in Paris at 6:30 and by the time I took the Metro into the city it was 7am. I got off the metro at the opera station and walked out and saw this wonderful building. It is gorgeous. I was happy that I got to Paris so early because I was able to take a picture of the opera with the lights on. It is amazing!!!

After walking around the opera for a little while I started to walk towards the Louvre because that is where I was going to meet my friends. I walked until I got to the Palace Royal where I decided I had enough time to go and walk around. I got to walk around the grounds and they are gorgeous, and so spacious. It was really nice to walk around that early in the morning before all the people were around. There were so many pieces or art around the grounds which added to the mood around the Palace. A fun experience was walking to the end of the gardens and noticing that there was a film being filmed there. All the lights were up and they were starting to get the scene set. I took one picture but I didn't want to take a lot. I am not too sure what film it was but it was an old film, most likely based on French History! Here is an example of the art around the grounds.

Next stop was the Louvre. Even though I tried to take my time I arrived at the Louvre at 8am so I had time to walk around and take in the size and architecture. I even took a walk down through les jardins des toulleries. It was such a surreal moment because I have been learning about Paris and all the landmarks for so long and being there was amazing. I loved every minute of it and I can't wait to go back!!!

Here is the typical photo of the Louvre that everyone needs to take!!!

Eventually Rebecca and I met at 9 and walked around and went to have breakfast at a nice french cafe. We both had crepes and coffee. It was a really sweet cafe which only had 5 tables but the food was really good! At 10am we had to meet the other girls to start the day of exploring. We had decided that we were going to go up to Sacre Coeur, one of the main cathedrals in Paris, the other is Notre Dame. There were so many little shops around so we took our time to look around and a few of us even got our portraits drawn. I got mine done, but I am not too sure about it still. It is good, I am just not too sure it looks a lot like me...I will have to get some opinions when I get home. We spent a lot of time around Sacre Coeur and then we walked around this little painter fair that is located near the cathedral. There were so many beautiful paintings and if I was rich I would have bought some but they were quite expensive for my budget!!!

The adventures of Paris will be continued...

Heineken Experience

2006-12-10T22:40:00.000Z

What can I say except, I love you Heineken!!! This museusm is so cool. There was the whole history part where you got to learn about everything but then the best part...3 free beers!!! Thats so cool, and it was only 10 euros to go in! It took a few hours to get through the whole thing and there was always something to do and see...I have a video message which I can show you which I emailed to myself! It was pretty funny!

I couldn't get much closer to this huge can! When I wrapped my hands around it I had no idea that there was a part cut out where you could get your photo taken and emailed out and I accidently grab some womans hair!? oops?!

We walked around the old factory which was fun, we got to see all the old machinery and even play with some of it. Of course I didn't break any of it! That would not have been cool! It is all still there and it was cool to look inside all the machines and see what happens to make the beer.

Now...the best part...sharing a beer. It tastes so good when you don't have to pay a lot. There were three different types of bars set up in this museum where you get your free drinks. You need to get tokens at the chasier and then you pay with the tokens...therefore, you don't even think you are paying which is even better than my last statement!!!

CHEERS!!!
Lastly we ended the tour looking in the store and also in this TV room where you can sit in the
coolest chairs and watch old Heineken commercials...I can say that was thoroughly enjoyed by Angela and myself since neither of us have a TV right now, so anything we can get we are happy to indulge!!! Hope you enjoyed the quick tour...

Next stop...PARIS!!!

Amsterdam Nov 11-12, part 2

2006-11-29T15:33:00.000Z

Our bus tour continued and we went to visit this windmill. It was really old and nice. It was so big. I knew they were big but this was insane, and this wasn't even a really big one! The tour went all around Amsterdam and there was so much to see...too much to include on here but I can assure you that it is gorgeous. I loved going here!

Angela and I had a lot more time after the bus tour which ended at 12 (noon). We walked around a little bit and we decided to visit the Heineken Museum ( the post will come after this) which was a lot of fun. Then we walked around Amsterdam a little more. The buidlings are all so big here. After the Heineken Experience we went to the Anne Frank museum, which is in the house where she lived and wrote her famous diary. There was a chilling feeling when you walked through the house and saw how and where she stayed. It was a changing experience.

There was time for some more tourist fun after the Anne Frank museum before we had to meet my friend Brie for the night. We wandered around some fun stores and ate a good meal at this gorgeous restaurant. I have never travelled with only th bag on my back and I felt a little under-dressed and messy going to this restaurant but the food was really good and I had a good time.

This sign says it all!!! These were everywhere along with the XXX sign. (which is the city's logo).
This is the royal palace which is located in the centre of the Dam square. It is huge and gorgeous! The architecture is amazing and it's sometimes hard to comprehend that this was all built so long ago.
NowI know you have all been waiting for the Heineken Experience to begin so I can assure you it will have been worth the wait!!! Enjoy!

Amsterdam Nov 11-12, part 1

2006-11-24T11:17:00.000Z

This trip was interesting to say the least!!! SOoooooo many different adventures and it was so much fun. Angela and I left for our Amsterdam adventure at 9pm Friday night after school. We took an overnight coach so we had to get on the ferry from Dover, UK to Calais, France. The ferry ride is 1 1/2 hours so it is not too bad but getting there we were both so tired and I slept the whole way across the English Channel.

Angela seemed to have a little more energy than I did at the moment so she took some pictures of what was going on. Little did you know, she too feel asleep a few moments after I did. I woke up when we were docking and got Ang up so we could go back to the coach and get on the bus for another few hours. Back on the coach the bus driver asked me a question, he asked if I had any other luggage (other than my backpack) and I answered No. Which is not weird at all. Well Angela, and the man behind me both looked bewildered. I guess the bus driver had spoken Dutch to me and I answered his question. I found that cool that I understood what he was asking me, even though I don't speak Dutch...maybe I should learn that language next!?

The bus was supposed to arrive in Amsterdam at 8:30am, which would have been wonderful except that it arrived at 6:30am!?!? What were we supposed to do so early. We had hoped to get a little more sleep on the bus but that didn't happen. We went into the bus station where they had the most UNCOMFOTABLE benches in the world. I luckily did get back to sleep crunched into a little ball on one of the benches until a man came over and lifted my scarf off my face to ask if I was going to Barcelona. What?? Then I had to go to the washroom (which you have to pay for!!!) and I asked Angela to watch my stuff...DO NOT FREAK OUT BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS OK!!! When I was in the washroom, a man walked by and Ang saw him take something out of my bag...it was my wallet...which had EVERYTHING in it. She went after him and he threw it back at her...I HAVE ALL MY STUFF...but it was the scariest thing in the world...I was not impressed. But that is over now and I am never NEVER going to have someone else watch my stuff again.

NOW...at about 8:30am Ang and I decided to take a metro into the city, since the bus station is on the outskirts. We arrived at the Centraal Station, which is HUGE and gorgeous!!! (see below). We bought this special card to take the metro and trams and trains...but we had no idea how to use it, so we ended up not getting to card stamped to the city. Not that bad, we didn't get caught and we saved some money!!! Good times! We walked down the street opposite the centraal station which had a lot of tourist shops and bus/boat tour operators. We signed up for a bus tour which started at 10am so we had some time to kill. We were both really hungry so we went to find somewhere to eat and then did some shopping.

During the time before the tour we walked down a lot of side streets and around the main part of Amsterdam and we came across many of these contraptions.

Do you know what they are??? They are "toilets"...weird. They are in place for men so they don't pee anywhere. It's so strange but the strangest part is that men use them ALL the time. We even saw two men chatting and using them at the same time. Different culture. I guess it is good in a sense that they are not going all over the street.

Our bus tour started beside this canal. Amsterdam is gorgeous and has various canals around it. Before beginning the bus tour the woman giving the tour asked a question to everyone on the bus. The same thing happened that happened on the coach. I answered another question which was asked in Dutch...I really think I should learn the language seeing as I can understand some of it anyways.

Good times in Canterbury!!!

2006-11-10T17:41:00.000Z

Steph's Birthday!!! We had a good celebration on Tuesday November 7. We sang happy birthday day and had some cake. Then we played Balderdash...yes!!! I know....it was so much fun! We played for hours and much fun was had by all.

We decided that we would be cool and see how long we could keep the pens between out nose and upper lip, lets say it was a funny sight...I love Brian's hair in this picture. HILARIOUS, is all I can say about this picture!

Brian ~Calgary~ stole Steph's birthday har...but he loved it so we couldn't take it away from him. Plus...the Balderdash game was only for people wearing hats so he had to get in on the action!

Night out at BaaBars!!!
Rebecca and I inside the top floor of BaaBars which is the big night club in my city. There are 3 floors so it is a lot of fun, usually a different type of music on each floor. Every wednesday night is Studen Night so it is a lot of fun!!!

Jordan, Cailtin and Jake out one night at a pub. We always have a good time in the pub!!

These are some snap shots of what has been going on over here. IT has been a blast and I am having a good time. :-)!!!

Cuba - Reading week!?!?

2006-11-05T14:07:00.002Z

So... I will start off by saying I am sorry that this will be a very blah post because I have no pictures to put on. I "left" my camera in Cuba...which was not on purpose. I thought I had it with me and then I discovered on the bus ride back to Havana that I had no camera. If any of you know me well you will be very surprised that I would misplace my camera because I love taking pictures and when I travel my camera is a lot like my child...so I was freaking out on the bus and until I found out that Maikel had my camera because I left it in his dad's car.

So now I can tell you my adventures...and there were many!!!

Getting to Holguin was an adeventure on its own because I had to take one flight to Havana and then connect on the national plane to Holguin...well I got to the national terminal and found out that my flight reservation had been cancelled and no one could tell me how. It took me almost an hour to find out that it has been cancelled which was no fun. Then I was the only non-cuban in the airport and I had to get some more money to pay for the new flight, since mine no longer existed....which was $100 but my card was not working in the machine and I could not take money out....I only had a limited amount of money with me cause I hate travelling with money but luckily I had enough to pay for the flight....so I eventually got there, expect it was 3 hours earlier then I told Maikel I would get in which was the second problem....

Maikel was going to be picking me up from the airport, so I tried to call his neighbours house to tell him that I was going to earlier, but he was not at home so I left a message, and then I tried to call again when I landed in Holguin....eventually I was so tired from travelling all day that I decided to take a taxi to the hotel....after a few hours maikel showep up at the hotel because he went to the airport to look for me since he did not get the message about me being early......but it all turned out ok and things were going well....

I was able to meet his whole family which was a great experience and I love them all because they were so nice and welcoming...this was one of the most magical weeks of my life and I wish I could relive it again....I miss Holguin and Maikel a lot but I will never forget the experiences I had there!!!!

Te extreno mucho!!!!
(again, I am sorry about no photos...never got the memory card :-()

Bath

2006-11-05T14:07:00.000Z

On the same day that we went to Stonehenge we were also able to go to the city of Bath. This city is gorgeous. It was so nice. The buildings are amazing. You feel like you are walking in the past when you are there. We had a really great time in Bath but I would have like to spend some more time there since we were only there for a very short time. We had a guided tour for a couple hours through the city to point out some of the important buildings and areas then we were given almost 2 hours to wander around and explore on our own.

This is the entrance to the Roman Baths (what the city is famous for). This is where people used to come from all over to have baths in the natural hot springs. They are/were the only springs in England and when to Romans were situated here they created this atmosphere where people wanted to come. It was said that the springs had healing powers so people who were sick would come here for weeks and even months at a time. They would spend their whole days in the baths for healing purposes. People would rent out houses in Bath when they were there using the springs so people brought their whole families along. It was the popular thing to do back in the day!

This is probably one of the most famous views in Bath. It shows the river going through with the bridge. I thought it looked beautiful. It was not the nicest day out but it was still gorgeous!

This is a row of houses which is where all the rich people would live. It is still known as the richest property in Bath. If you wanted to buy one of these lots it would be about £5 million!?!? AND...that's when one becomes available. Most of these houses have been turned into appartments so they have been divided up but there still are a few which are still whole houses.

Here is the cathedral in Bath. You can see how much detail there is on the stone work. I am still blown away at how much detail goes into everything around here. It's so gorgeous!!! The architect even put his mark on the cathedral by carving his name into the side of the cathedral at the front where he put his name as symbols. There is also something to note about the front of this cathedral, however it is not easy to see on this photo. There are angels climbing up the lattice on the side. I love all the detail!!!

Last but not least...another view of one of the old baths. This was the side where there is now a new spa where people can once again bathe in the baths. Until recently people could not bathe in the water because it was really polluted however you can now go to the city of Bath and bathe in the waters, the natural springs. I would love to try it sometime because it is said to be very good for you, but that will have to wait until the next time I get a chance to go since we ran out of time.
I hope that you all had a good look into Bath. It is an amazing city and I urge everyone to get there is they can because it is worth seeing!!!

Stonehenge

2006-10-16T00:36:00.000+01:00

STONEHENGE!!!
I want to start off by saying that for those people who told me this was not as impressive in person was lying! Yeah, it is only a bunch of really big old rocks but I thought it was amazing. I loved every minute (60 to be exact) that I was there looking at it.

I went on a trip with a bunch of other international students from my university and I was able to meet a lot of really great people!! Some from the states who are here for a semester, (until christmas) and then one other CANADIAN!! He is from Calgary and he is really cool. The other thing that is really nice is that he lives with some of the americans and they live on my street, and we have never met so we are going to be able to hang out together a lot more which will be exciting!

This is the Canadian, his name is Brian, and he was in the middle of doing the egyptian because he thought he was really cool!! But he is a lot of fun to hang out with. He is in his 3rd year doing a year over here so he will be here the whole year with me so that should be fun! We are planning a couple weekend trips together to go and see some of Europe...more news to come!!

These are some of the biggest rocks I have ever seen in my life! Here are some fun and interesting facts!!! Did you know that stonehenge was constructed in three phases, by three different cultures; Windmill, First Wessex and the Beakers. They are still not sure how it was built, maybe it will always be a mystery?!?!? As of 1978 you cannot go close to the stones. There are ropes that have been placed there to help perserve the stones from further damage, which is understandable but it kind of sucks because there is a rope blocking off where you can and cannot go around it. BUT...as with all rules there is one exception, (not too sure what it is) but there are some times when you can walk between the stones but they do not publish that kind of information.

There are speculations about why this was built, and why in this spot. These speculations have a very wide range from human sacrifice to astronomy.

Angela and I, can you tell that we are so excited?! It was so much colder there than it was when we left from Canterbury in the morning. I do not understand the weather here, it is crazy insane!!
One last great shot! I am standing in front of stonehenge. I think I look pretty cool with my handset audio tour of stonehenge. It was fun to listen to for a while but my hands were cold because I didn't have any mittens.

Even though it took us 3 hours to get there this was an amazing trip!!! Now it is onto Bath for the remainder of the day! Look for the post to come in the next few days!!!

Dover Castle

2006-10-16T00:09:00.000+01:00

Sunday October 8th, my friend Emily and I decided to go to Dover Castle and see something interesting since we were not getting a good Canadian Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed going through this castle. This castle is so old. Some of the buildings and parts of the castle date back to 2000 years ago, which is crazy to think about?! This is the entrance to castle when we went in. Dover castle is known as 'the key of England' since it is in Dover, and is the peak of England's coast.

William the conqueror strengthened this already present English fortress in 1066. The history before this is somewhat unknown. Henry II and Henry VII both added onto the castle what they felt necessary to help create this wonderful piece of work. This helps to illustrate the rich history in this country and it is so amazing that I can experience this!

This is the lighthouse that was built cerca to the 1st century AD. There are parts that were rebuilt around 1400 so help strenghten the lighthouse. It is a gorgeous masterpiece that is still standing close to 2000 years later.

Look at the English Channel. If you look really hard you can see France at the very far side of the channel. It was a little windy that day but it was nice and sunny out and such a nice day.

We made it all the way to the top of the castle and were able to look out to see the front of the fortress and see actually how big this castle is. Here is some interesting history for you to think about!!! Medieval England: the norman castle was transformed by Henry II during the 1170-80s, and he helped to create this then unparalleled fortress. Henry VII also had a lot to do with this fortress and helped to fortify Dover castle as well as two other castles in close proximity, Deal Castle, and Walmer Castle. There are so many artifacts from the ages that you cannot helped but be amazed when you go there.

One other important thing that I cannot forget to mention is that we were able to go into the King's Jake (his toilet). He travelled between his castles and palaces whenever the smell got too bad. I am trying to think how bad it had to get because you can still smell the toilet when you are walking into it. Such a nice aroma!!!

I had a great day. I did miss out on the turkey dinner but I think it was all worth it!!

Wetherspoons & Bar Eleven

2006-10-07T21:28:00.000+01:00

What a great night out!! It all started at the student union bar after classes friday! A bunch of people from my professional studies class got together to have a night out on the town. It was a lot of fun! Lucy, Laura and I posing for a pic, which was taken upside down!!! How good am I at taking photos?

The night was great. A couple pints at the student union then we all headed down to Wetherspoons, a great student bar. Really cheap drinks, however there is not much of an atmosphere. But it's a good place to start the night off!

Chris...can you keep your tongue in your mouth??? I don't think that would be possible.

The girls are trying to pull a charlie's angles pose but for some reason it didn't work out right. Maybe that is because there were four of us!? That's ok. There was great old school hits playing the background...lots of fun!

It was getting a little late...can you tell by the expressions on our face? We are having a great time!!!
Near the end of the night everyone was getting a little insane!? Making "scary" faces and such. It was a night of great new friends who have all made my time here amazing!

Overall the night was amazing. Hanging out with new friends is a great way to spend a friday night! I will keep you posted on the good times to come in my life!!!

UK living!?

2006-10-02T20:23:00.000+01:00

Canterbury Christ Church University!!!
This is my new university! I enjoy that there are buildings that are this cool. These are the old front gates of the university. They are not used very often now but they are open during the day and you can usually go in and eat your lunch or hang out in the courtyard as long as you have your student card to prove that you are studying at the university!

The buildings for the university are all over the city since there is no longer enough space in the univeristy itself. It is a pretty small campus so it is nice and homey! This is a pool to tell you where the building you are looking for is located. It's nice to have a sign post to make sure you are going in the right direction. There is one thing that makes finding the right room a little bit of a challenge. Here the call the ground floor-first floor and the first floor (in Canada) is the second floor so everything is a little mixed up. I am not sure if that makes any sense but it didn't at first for me, but now I have it under control.

This is the refractory (or the cafeteria) where we can get really cheap and GOOD meals. I am surprised how good the food is here. There is nothing like pita pit or anything but there are chefs there making hot meals all day and they are delicious!!!

The student union building. Not as exciting as the UCC at Western, which I miss! But it is nice. The drinks are usually pretty cheap and it is a chillin' place to come with friends after a day of classes.

The university wall!!! This is a part of an old wall that you can see from some of the classroom windows. It's really nice. You will look to one side and see a very modern building then you will turn your head the other direction and there will be an old city wall or building there. I love all the culture and the history that is surrounding me here!!! I hope you can all come and visit!!!

This is my new home! I hope that you enjoyed it. It is slowly beginning to feel like home, even though nothing will take the Western out of me!!! I am still and always will be PURPLE AND PROUD!!!

Lille, France

2006-09-23T10:33:00.000+01:00

SO....on Thursday Sept 21 I was able to go to Lille France with my class on the Eurostar. It was my first time on the Eurostar and I really enjoyed it. The only bad thing was we had to get to Ashford (which is 1/2 an hour from my city) by 7am, so it was a very early morning. This trip was ok getting to the eurostar station because there were 6 other people on the train from Canterbury so it was nice to chat with them on the way.

The trip from Ashford, UK to Lille, France only took an hour so it was a nice ride. I didn't even think we had been on the train that long by the time we got there. When we arrived I was amazed by the sites and everything around me. The buildings were so old and huge, and gorgeous.

The funny thing is that the buildings are so old, yet the shops in them are very modern and it looks a little strange but cool at the same time. I was very surprised and happy to see that they had one of my favorite stores!!!

BUT...they do not carry the make-up I use!? What is the point of having a Sephora nearby, if I cant get the make-up I use. I was still happy to be able to go in and look around.

One of the girls in my class, Katy and I, stayed together the whole day and did some sight seeing and had a good time looking in a lot of different stores and boutiques. Oh yes, we did go on this trip to France for educational purposes, to find some good authentic French resources we could use in lessons for school. So during our time looking around we were able to find some good resources that will make good use of some important topics in classes.

This was a beautiful buidling. It used to be the city hall but now it is used a commercial building and there are many shops all around.

Elephant!!! We were walking down the street and we walked into an elephant. Who puts an elephant in the middle of a street? The fence! I though it was neat because you don't usually see a statue of an elephant and this one was HUGE!!! I am standing beside the elephant in the picture!

The opera hall. I thought that the architecture on this building was amazing. There is so much culture in Europe and I am happy that I am getting to experience it. There is also the clock tower that you can see at the left hand side of this picture which is one of the landmarks for this city.

The Eurostar station in Lille. These flowers were so cool that I couldn't help but take a picture because they seem a little out of place. It is funny to look at the new modern part of the city, the eurostar station, then turn around 180 degrees and you see these old buildings dating back to the 1600's.

Overall this trip was a lot of fun. I was exhausted after we got home, which wasn't that late, around 5pm but still it was a long day of traveling and walking and taking everything new in so it really tired me out.

Oxford UK

2006-09-16T23:16:00.000+01:00

Saturday Sept 16 I went to Oxford with some of the other girls from school to see the sights as well as shop a little bit. Yes, I mean a little bit, I only bought a pair of shoes and a t-shirt. It was really nice to see this beautiful city. We had a tour of Oxford university and I was surprised how old this university was. The earliest written proof it was an educational institute was in the early 11th century. There are over 20 colleges that make up the university itself and we visited Christ Church College, which is the biggest and also where some of the filming took place for Hogwarts (in the Harry Potter films) took place. We were able to see the dining hall which was used as the idea for the dining hall in the movie, as well as the courtyard that was used for filming as well as the staircase where the first years met Prof McGonagall.

We also were able to walk around the city was well which is beautiful. I am loving seeing the new and old architecture mixed together. We were only in Oxford for a limited amount of time so I am sure I missed a lot and I would love to go back to see the things I was not able to see this time.

My new home...

2006-09-16T23:01:00.000+01:00

Canterbury is such a beautiful place. I can't believe that I am living here still. It is gorgeous and all the old buildings and everything. I still feel like it is a dream sometimes walking down the street.

This is the Cathedral in the centre of the city. It is gorgeous and you can see it from everywhere in the city. It is massive and beautiful. Walking down any street almost feels like you are being transported into another time. I could sit at an outside cafe all day just looking at the architecture around the city. It is amazing to see how much detail is in every part of this city. Just so you all don't think there are only old buildings (which there are for the majority) there is also modern architecture mixed in, as well as other staples from our culture such as Starbucks and H&M.

Some of the girls decided to take a boat tour around Canterbury a little bit and it was very interesting to know some more about the history about our new home. The boat tour was just a short ride with a tour guide Adam who had to row the boat around and there were 12 people in the boat. It was a lot of work. Here are some of the more scenic pictures.

Canterbury

2006-09-16T22:41:00.000+01:00

So my new home is starting to actually feel like home now. I am getting adjusted well to everything here. It is so different than at home but yet it is the same thing?! Kind of weird but I am finally starting to feel like less of a tourist, which is a good thing. For all my UWO peeps the campus is nothing like home and I am missing the atmosphere from home. The one good thing is that classes are usually in the same room all day and the campus is super small!

Here is my room. It is not like my room at home but I am trying to make it as much like home as possible. It is nice and cozy, those of you planning on coming over will get to see how cozy it is!

Last week there was a Japanese night at the student union and some of the Canadians decided to go and check it out. It was actually a lot of fun. We ate some japanese food and played some games. It was nice meeting some other people from school.

This week was the first week of classes so it was nice to start getting in a routine because up until now Monday it felt more like a vacation than my new life. Classes are really good and my tutors are really nice. I have two groups for school, which means only two classes. It's nice except they are all day, usually from 9am-4pm. One group is professional studies which focuses more on general teaching strategies and there are people there who are going to teach all different subjects. Then I have a subject studies group with focuses on MFL (Modern Foreign Languages). Both my groups are really good. The people are great and the classes are really good. They are taught through activities and discussion so it is nicer because no one is lecturing to you.

Leeds Castle

2006-09-09T09:38:00.000+01:00

On Saturday Sept 2 my mom and I went to visit Leeds Castle which is close to where I am and it is where the Queens used to live after their husbands had died. It was a gorgeous Castle. We had a lot of fun. There were 6 queens that had lived there but the decortations that were still in the castle are from Mrs.Baillie who was the last person to live there. She lived there with her two daughters and then sold the house to the conservation of English Castles.

We both really enjoyed our time at the Castle, even if it was raining the whole time. Good ol' English weather which I can look forward to until the end if June next year!!! It wasn't that bad though, but an umbrella did come in handy!

Uk with my MOM

2006-09-09T09:17:00.000+01:00

My mom and I arrived in London on Tuesday morning and then went to our hotel so we could rest, shower and change before going into London. We took the undergroung all the way to Picadilly Circus and walked around there for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun and I loved the way everything looked! Not like Canada at all!!!

Then on Wednesday there was little problem with our alarm clock so we missed our taxi to Canterbury and I had to call them and beg for another one. It was not a very good morning but we managed to get another cab down to Canterbury and we arrived there by 5:30pm. I met one of my roomates and the three of us had a good time going out for dinner. My first week in Canterbury consisted of a lot of running around but it was really nice. Canterbury is such a nice city. I love it because we don't have history like that in Canada so it was nice to walk around and look at everything.

Then on the weekend all the Canadians...9 in total...went out to a few pubs and it was a lot of fun getting to know everyone. The weekend was nice and relaxed because the school told us that we were not going to be starting anything until the following Thursady, instead of the Monday so we had another couple days to get organized.

Getting Ready!!!

2006-07-31T01:24:00.000+01:00

This is going to be where everyone will be able to read about what I have been doing over in the UK. I hope that you all enjoy it!!! Wishin you all the best in whatever you are doing!