Thursday, February 27, 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

NANDO'S!

FINALLY,  I can say that I have been to Nando's (the one in Cardiff)! For those of you who don't know, it is a chicken food chain in Britain. A lot of the British shows, singers, and actors mention it and I have been wanting to go to one since I got here! 

It was exactly what I had imagined. It was an Eat n Park of England in a way. It felt comfortable and the people were more relaxed than some of the other places I have gone. I can't wait to go back!!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Shoe style!



Dinner in Chelsea!

As you can see from my previous posts, I have been spending a decent amount of time in Chelsea (as planned)! But recently I ate my first dinner there...it was AMAZING! 

A coworker suggested this place called The Big Easy  and after looking into it, I realized I had to go there! It is so popular that celebrities frequent the place and is known for their margaritas and lobster! Being that I have never had lobster, I figured why not? They had a special that included lobster, salad, chips, and a margarita for a discounted price so it was perfect! And my recently founded seafood love now includes lobster! 

Not only was the food amazing but the atmosphere was fantastic! There was live music playing, great decor, and cosy tables!

Monday, February 24, 2014

This weekend I:

Watched: a London Fashion Weekend catwalk show from the second row 
Listened: to dogs bark in Regents Park 
Learned: that crazy shoes always rock 
Ate: corn soup at Fashion Weekend and felt like Anne Hathaway from 'The Devil Wears Prada'
Read: Mrs. Dalloway 
Drank: 7up free because it was on sale for a pound 
Thought: holy crap, it has been over a year since I arrived in Rome 
Wished: I had my family and friends here for my 21st birthday which is tomorrow 
Realized: that sometimes you just have to be yourself and things will work out 
Bought: amazing, gold shoes from London Fashion Weekend at half price 

Street Style of London Fashion Week!

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to be in London during Fashion Week! To make the most of it, I stood outside of a few shows on Sunday and Monday! The shows included Topshop, Vivian Westwood, and Burberry! It was amazing! I have never been around so much fashion at one time. So many different styles and unique pieces (some of them were probably worth my semester here in London!).  Plus, as I said in my previous post, I got to meet some amazing celebrities while there! 

These are some of the shots I got outside of the Burberry show:








Sunday, February 23, 2014

My first curry.

My first curry is something I won't forget! I didn't have a clue what to expect when I walked into the Sheraz restaurant on Brick Lane. It was another one of my program's student activities and it was one of the best. I honestly wouldn't have realized to go to this part of the London for such a great meal. 


We had two courses but I can't tell you what the first one was...not because I forget but because as I ate it I had no idea. Hahah! All I know is that it was delicious! 


 For my main course I got mild chicken curry with spinach, potatoes, and naan bread on the side!The mild curry was a lot sweeter than I expected but on the chicken it was so good! Talk about a big meal! 


Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Sounds about right.

I went to the Doctor Who Experience...alone...on Valentine's Day.


And it was perfect and fantastic (see what I did there, Doctor Who fans?)!!! 

So, to explain the experience's set up (because I was a bit confused before going), it is half museum and half interactive guided tour. Since I got there early, I went to the museum part first. As you walk in you see number Ten's Tardis set first thing. I was a bit star struck to be honest. This is going to sound nerdy but honestly I have had so many memories in that Tardis and to see the real set in person was surreal. 

Next, I looked around at all the costumes of the characters (including all 12 Doctors)! I got photos of nearly everything (check out my Facebook for more)! About half way through I realized that I wasn't in any of my photos and this made me really sad (and I missed my brother-in-law who loves Doctor Who). But then I just asked a member of staff to take one of me....and she took a photo of me in front of almost everything in the area she was looking over! I couldn't believe how nice she was, and in every room that I went to the other employees were the same! Doctor Who fans really are the nicest, I've got to say.


After looking at all the costumes and accessories, I went upstairs to find all of the Doctor's most popular enemies. Cybermen, scarecrows, Zygons, weeping angels, and my favourites, the Silence (pictured below) and Daleks (pictured above)! It was amazing but a little scary, too. I have watched episode after episode of these things being horrible and then I had to just walk along and take photos of them all in one room (wow, my nerdy-ness is really showing in this post).



After the museum section, I had my guided tour at 2:30pm so I came out early to get in line. At this point I still wasn't too sure what I was waiting for. After a few minutes the line was super long and there were people of all ages. Families, college students, couples...everyone!

I don't want to give too much away in case someone wants to visit, but let me just say that the interactive 'experience' was phenomenal! Matt Smith guides you through an adventure that feels almost real (if you ignore the other 25 people on the same adventure, haha).




Above are my favourite two pictures of the day! The top one is all of River Song's belongings including her Tardis diary. She is my favourite character and I might even go as far as being a role model because she is just so strong (and sassy)! Below is a photo of me in Ten's Tardis! I just kept walking back to it throughout my time in the museum and staring at it.

All in all, it was an experience I will never forget and I now understand why they call it the 'Doctor Who Experience' because that is the only way to describe it...quite an experience!



Cardiff on a rainy, windy day.

Even with the gray weather, Cardiff, the capital of Wales, was beautiful! Not only that, but it was nice and spacious! As my friends and I walked through the main shopping area around lunch time, we realized how much we missed having our own personal space to walk. On Oxford Street in London (the main shopping street) and in our neighborhood (a business area), it seems like everyone is always walking on top of each other. 

I was surprised to see how much the Welsh language is still a part of everyday life in Wales. Every street sign and advertisement was printed in both languages! It was crazy and really fun to try and pronounce the use of double ff and double tt at the beginning of words. 

Here are some of the key sites that my friends and I saw in Cardiff (minus the Doctor Who Experience Tour...check that out here):



They Bay! 



A gorgeous church overlooking the Bay

More of the Bay





Some of the street art in Cardiff

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Celeb of the week?

Recently my friend Abby, a contributor to the website Her Campus, interviewed me about both my study abroad experiences!

Now a few weeks later...I am the campus celeb of the week!!

Check out the article and tell me what you think :)

Once you go gold, you never want to go back.

The last time I was on the Megabus, I rode back to Pittsburgh from NYC in January...without heat. Needless to say, I didn't have very high expectations for our 3 1/2 hour ride to Cardiff. 


As my friends and I walked out of the station to the bus...we thought it was a mistake since we assumed we would be on a regular old Megabus. On the side it said 'MEGABUS GOLD' in huge letters. Inside, there were nice leather seats surrounding a table with tons of leg room. Before taking a nap, a worker came around with chilled apple juice and granola bars for us to enjoy...it was divine :) 


After our naps, we woke up to homemade shortbread and then after about an hour or so we arrived in Cardiff, close to the city center. 


On the way back we were not so lucky and had a normal Megabus...but it was only 8 pounds, each, round trip so not bad!

It's time for a field trip!!

For my European political science class we got to walk around Canary Wharf and Greenwich. Both areas were very different from what I am used to in London. I cannot wait to go explore more because we didn't have much time there. 


We spent the majority of the morning in the National Maritime Museum looking at Britain's maritime history. 


Afterwards we got to explore the courtyard across the street where these beautiful buildings were! 


It was a very, very cold windy day so next time I am going to try to visit on a sunny day! It was beautiful but a blue sky in the background would be even better! 


Untitled #124

Monday, February 17, 2014

Burberry show at London Fashion Week!

Check out my Instagram for my view of some of London Fashion Week! Plus I'll blog more details of my experience soon!!


The Charles Dickens Museum

 I, like most people, usually think of Charles Dickens  bearded  and old but when he lived here, he was just becoming that man. Seeing the place that he lived when he was just becoming famous was a very cool experience. It was crazy to think that a young Dickens walked those halls and looked out those windows.


"You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read" -Great Expectations


“The sun,--the bright sun, that brings back, not light alone, but new life, and hope, and freshness to man--burst upon the crowded city in clear and radiant glory." -Oliver Twist 


“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.” -A Tale of Two Cities 




This weekend I:

Watched: Jessie J leave the Vivian Westwood show at London Fashion Week with my own two eyes! 
Listened: to my room mate, Tiff, freak out about me being on Jessie J's instagram
Learned: that communication is key 
Ate: less chips (new goal of mine) 
Read: Welsh adverts in Cardiff 
Drank: A raspberry fizz  
Thought: maybe, I like London more than I thought initially
Wished: I could have gone to the Topshop London Fashion Week show
Realized: writing 3,000 words for a marketing class is horrible and hard
Bought: tons of nerdy doctor who stuff from Cardiff 

Sunday, February 16, 2014

The best show ever.

Wow, just wow! I can't believe how talented children can be! If you are familiar with the storyline and characters of Billy Elliot then you will understand why Michael was my favourite! He and Billy smash the gender roles of that time throughout the show with ease! 


I want to see this show over and over again! The young actor who played Billy Elliot sang, acted, and danced brilliantly! Not only that but the rest of the cast and crew were unbelievable! 


 It is fantastic how popular this show is when the message of being yourself is uniquely and powerfully portrayed in it.