Day 10 - You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Dear all,

Thanks to anyone who's actually taken the time to read this. I liked writing it, so you'd know what I was up to, but it's also a nice memento to help us remember our trip :)

Today, we woke up at 4:45 for our big trip to Liverpool. The first thing I thought waking up was "it's 11:45 pm back home...I bet you guys haven't even gone to bed yet" haha. Dad and I headed to Liverpool for a day of Beatles festivities, while Grandma kicked around the hotel, taking in a day of relaxation.

Our day started off on a bit of a stressful note, because we got to the station we were supposed to be at, and at the correct time, but no one was there for us. Luckily, a girl with a clipboard showed up 10 minutes later, telling us where to be and what to do for the day.

We hopped a train to Liverpool and then went to the exhibition "A Beatles Story," where we did an audio tour about the Beatles' history. It was awesome. I saw John's glasses, their old original mohair suits, their real instruments throughout the years, etc. Really cool stuff!



Then, we hopped on the...wait for it... "Magical Mystery Tour" bus for the second part of our Beatles extravaganza. That was my favorite part. We rode around Liverpool, and our tour guide took us to awesome landmarks, not excluding Penny Lane (complete with the banker's and barber shop), Strawberry Fields, the church where John met Paul, each of their houses growing up, the Cavern Club (where they got their start playing as a band), etc. Amazing!



This is Paul McCartney's house growing up. A lot of Lennon/McCartney hits were written in its basement:



The tour ended at the Cavern Club, and dad and I stayed there for a bit to explore the original location for the Beatles' first gigs. We got to hear a John Lennon impersonator sing and entertain, and he was actually great (not like those Elvis guys in Vegas). He announced that he had just been given a job in Hollywood. Dad requested a couple of songs. :)

The ride to Liverpool was full of anxiety, excitement, and adrenaline. The ride back to London, however, was just the opposite. The lack of sleep was catching up to us, and we were doing all we could just to get on the trains/subways we were supposed to be on. We made it back to the hotel, though. It was a really amazing day.

Now, I've got to pack and get some sleep, but I'll catcha tomorrow, America!

It's been a great trip, but I'm ready to come home :)

Sleep tight!

With Love From me to You, (haha)

Kelly

Day 9 - The Queen Wasn't Home

Well, I've done got beeehind agin'. Sorry bout that. It wasn't my fault though - the hotel wireless was being funky.

Anyways, here's what went down yesterday (Monday, May 31st):

It was Memorial Day back home, but it was Bank Day here, so all the bank/insurance/other professions working directly with money had the day off. Global holidays!

We woke up fairly early and enjoyed the breakfast buffet downstairs. Your standard "English breakfast" nation-wide: eggs over medium, sausages, bacon, beans, stewed tomatoes, and sometimes sauteed mushrooms.

Then, we went over to Buckingham Palace (the Queen wasn't there, though - her flag wasn't flying) in hopes of seeings the changing of the guards. Unfortunately, we waited an hour to find out that they weren't doing it yesterday. It was a disappointment, but I'm grateful I was able to see it last summer. And the trip wasn't in vain - we met a really nice Australian couple who had just taken a 3-week Mediterranean cruise (it's a tough life). They told me I was welcome in Australia anytime haha. I hope they realized I took that seriously.



Grandma wanted to go back to the hotel and rest a bit, so Dad and I set out to explore on our own. We tooled around on the Tube (the Underground system here), going to see the London Eye and Big Ben again, as well as the Tower of London.

Here's Dad with the Tower Bridge:



We went back to pick up Grandma and the 3 of us went to Piccadilly Circus for dinner and Les Miserables. We ate at a Scottish restaurant right next to the theater. It was pretty good. But the PLAY- my goodness, that was AMAZING! And, we even went around to the stage door afterward and got to meet/photograph some of the actors!

Then we trekked back to the hotel. I tried to get on the internet with no luck and crashed into my bed. :)

Love,

KK

Day 8 - London Calling

Well hey!

Dang, as I'm sitting here writing this, I'm finding it super hard to believe that I woke up in Bath. A lot has happened since then!

I got up around 7:30, showered, and packed my suitcase. Then, I met Grandma downstairs for breakfast. Dad showed up a bit later haha. Grandma went to the Bath Abbey courtyard with me, b/c I told Brynn I'd sit on her favorite bench and I wanted to capture the moment on film.

Here I am sitting on Brynn's favorite bench! (it was a bit sunny out):



Then, I went back to the room to chill a bit before heading out to catch the train to London. However, we had a rude awakening when we realized that the train tickets were for 8:58 am and it was already past 9!! Whoops. To make matters more interesting, our hotel was quaint and charming but not super modern. Only one person + his/her suitcase could fit in the elevator at a time. So, trying to hurry, we went down one by one and then booked it to the train station. Luckily, the next train was just a little after 10, so we didn't have to wait that long, and our tickets carried over since we hadn't used them. Phew. So, it all worked out.

We got to London around 11:45 and then took a taxi to our hotel, which is near Buckingham Palace. Then, we grabbed lunch at the hotel restaurant and set out to explore the city a bit.



We briefly saw Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. I loved it when Big Ben sounded off 6 o'clock and Grandma said "Was that Ben?!" haha. Then, we grabbed dinner at a pub called The Shakespeare. Touristy, I know. We ended the night watching Friends and the Tonight Show in Grandma's and my room hahaha.



Tomorrow night we see Les Mis. I can't wait!!

Cheers!

Love,

Kelly

Day 7 - Goodbye to Bath

Today was our last full day in Bath. We're catching the train to London tomorrow morning.

I made it to breakfast for the 2nd time - hooray! Then, we went outside to brace the cold, rainy day that it was. We did some last minute shopping. I bought a dress and an England rugby shirt just because.

I knew Dad and Grandma had to see the Royal Crescent and Circus at some point this week, and we decided to save them for today b/c we'd already booked tickets to see the play The Tempest at Victoria Park (which is right below the Crescent).

Here is Dad outside Nicholas Cage's House:



Here is Dad outside Johnny Depp's House:



Yep, we were big-time creepers today haha. We eventually found the botanical gardens, which is where the Lord Chamberlain's Men (a traveling theater troupe) were supposed to put on the Tempest. We had to leave when they took a rain break though, unfortunately, b/c the theater was outside and we were sitting on the ground, getting soaked.



We came back to the hotel and took hot showers and changed. Then, we went to 5:45 mass at St. John's tonight, since we're getting up and going to London tomorrow morning. After mass, we had a delicious dinner at the hotel, and now here I am typing this!

The next time I post will be from London-

Night night,

Kelly :)

Day 6 - Max it Out!

This morning, we decided to go to Prior Park - a beautiful park on the other side of the Bath Spa train station, that I visited last summer and loved. I'd forgotten that the walk up to Prior Park is extremely steep and long, so I felt bad for Grandma having to hike that far. She was a trooper though, that's for sure.

Once we arrived, we took a leisurely stroll around the nature paths, looking at the beautiful mansion, which remains a Catholic high school, the covered bridge (there are only 3 others like it in the world!), the overlooks, and the swans and ducks. We had a nice lunch at the tea kiosk by the lake.



Then, we trekked back to central Bath and got some gelato and crepes. After that, we were all ready for a mid-day nap, so we went back to the hotel for a bit haha.

I forgot to mention that the Bath music festival is going on all week, so after resting a bit, we went down to the gazebo area in Parades Park and listed to local musicians play.

Next, we met up with Andy! It was so great to see him again and for Dad and Grandma to meet him. We all went out to the Pig and Fiddle Pub to listen to music and hang out for a bit. It was really great to catch up, and he kindly went out of his way to meet up with us!

Grandma headed back to bed, and Dad and I hit up the Real Italian Pizza Company. He got a pizza called La Bella Vita (it was chock-full of meat) and I got the Quattro Formaggio pizza.

Now, I'm definitely ready to call it a night.

Goodnight, everyone :)

Love,

Kelly

Day 5 - May 27th - "Divide and Conquer"

Sorry for getting behind again! I've been so exhausted every night. By the time I get back to the hotel, all I want to do is collapse into my cushion-y bed.

Here's a re-cap of yesterday:

Well, mission accomplished. I actually made it to breakfast for the first time all trip. After that, we tooled around the inside of Bath Abbey, looking at all of the stained glass and old architecture and piddling around the gift shop. I bought the book Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis.



Dad and Grandma wanted to see Stonehenge, but I didn't really feel the need to go back (I wasn't super impressed the first time - I thought it was going to be bigger haha). So, they got tickets and were gone from 1 pm - 5 pm, while I did some serious shopping. I got some new clothes, a pair of shoes, and 3 swimsuits (unnecessary, I know). But, I still have pounds left over!

I gave Dad my digital camera, since I figured we'd rather document Stonehenge than my shopping expedition, so he returned it to me with a big lit-up screen saying "battery exhausted." That's the Papa Key we all know and love.



They really enjoyed their trip and they apparently went to a village where Harry Potter was filmed!

We decided to have our fancy-shmancy dinner out last night, so we went to the classy Jamie's Italian (owned by Jamie Oliver). It's insanely modern and high-end, and it was a pretty cool treat. I went last summer once too, but I was seriously trying to save money at the time, since it was my last night in Bath and I was essentially broke.

After that, we decided to go to the Met to check out karaoke night. Dad had been brainstorming songs he could embarrass me with all day. When we got there, though, they were having technical difficulties, and, after hanging out for an hour and half, we decided to call it a night.

THEN, we came back into Grandma's and my room to a chilled bottle of champagne and 3 glasses with a note from our travel agent saying congratulations on my graduation!!! It was an awesome surprise :)

Till next time, then. (which will be in a few short moments, as I'm frantically trying to get caught up on the blog...)

Love,

Kelly

Day 4 - Familiar Faces!

Today was especially exciting! I got to see just about everyone at Nelson House (our academic building) from the study abroad program last summer. Minus Andy...but we're meeting up with him on Friday night. I got to visit with Jonathan, Barbara, Claire, and Su though. Dad and Grandma met them and we all enjoyed some tea and chocolates. They also got me a beautiful rose glass necklace for helping out with the study abroad events at school!

Even before meeting up with them though...I literally RAN to the post office to mail all my postcards and rushed back. I felt kind of dumb, because, since you have to lick the stamps here, I also thought you had to lick the "royal air mail" stickers. So I tried licking them and sticking them on the post cards for a good little while before realizing you could just peel them off and stick them on. One girl was looking at me a bit confusedly. Oh well.

After the tea, we decided to go to the Crystal Palace for lunch. The sign outside said "best fish and chips in Bath." I'd been there before, but only for tea and dessert, so we decided to see if the sign was correct. Unfortunately, it was not. Not only was Garfunkel's fish and chips much better, but the fish and chips at the Crystal Palace also had tons of little bones in it. No good. But, you live and learn.



We then headed to the local theater to see Robin Hood. I've gotta admit, it was pretty cool going to the movies in a foreign country. I felt like a huge tourist, but I had to take a picture of the movie theater haha. It was the biggest theater I've ever seen. The only key difference in food was that they had waaay more candy options, and, instead of asking if you want buttered popcorn or plain, they ask if you want salted or sweet.

I really enjoyed the movie! Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott have done it again! If you haven't already seen it, I would definitely recommend going.



Let's see. After the movie, we shopped around for a bit. Grandma has been wanting to find a cute little painted tea cup to bring home, and it has been amazingly hard to find one! She found the perfect shop today, though. Tomorrow is our big shopping day - I've been saving up all my pounds for some good British fashion. haha

For dinner, we went to Thai Balcony. It was the best Thai food I've ever had! Period. It was amazing. I'd been wanting to go there since last summer, but I hadn't had the opportunity until today. It was really great.

After that, it started drizzling for the first time since we've been in the Uk. Up until then, we'd been having truly amazing weather for England in May. It's still pretty nice though :)

It's only 10 pm, but I think I'm gonna curl up in bed and do some reading. I still haven't opened the "beach read"-type book I'd bought for the plane ride. Plus, I'd like to get up early tomorrow and actually make it to breakfast downstairs, which I haven't done once this whole trip...

Sweet dreams, America!!

Love,

Kelly