March 31, 2012

Today was good. I got up before my alarm which was nice since I got plenty of sleep. At 10 though I went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards! Getting there went pretty well though took a bit of time since it was so busy. Once there, I found a spot close to the main gate. While waiting I met a nice couple (I believe they said from South Africa) and they were really sweet. They were both a bit taller than me and when people were moving around to get a better view of inside the gates they said oh come over this way you can see better. They were so nice and I was so happy I met them. Although I could barely see anything happening within the gate, I did get to see the parade of people passing by. The part I found pretty surprising was the Irish Guard had an Irish Wolfhound with them which was kind of funny. The police were really funny keeping the crowds under control, one was very witty dealing with one person and another time the woman caught a young adult who went outside the barrier to get ahead and scolded him. It was funny.

The beginning of the changing of the guards

Irish Wolfhound!

The Horses!

The Old Guard leaving

Once the changing of the guard was over I had lunch and then met up with a couple of people to go to the Science Museum. It was pretty cool, though my favorite part was an interactive area (mainly aimed at kids). It was really fun because we like built a bridge and did all sorts of fun stuff. We spent some time in the gift shop and ended up waiting for the Science Museum group to finish and returned to Nido with them on the very very crowded Tube. After being back at Nido I got some dinner then relaxed for the night.

A Piece of the Moon

Model T Ford

Vestiphobia - Fear of clothing

March 30, 2012

This morning I woke up about 7:45, took a quick shower, changed, and had breakfast, For breakfast I had yogurt and a chocolate crescent and apple juice. The crescent was okay, but I heated it up in the microwave which made it even better. After eating I listened to some music while getting ready for work, then head downstairs. We all were there a bit early so we left a bit early, getting to Farringdon with plenty of time. Clearly after working out yesterday, my breakfast, and me listening to music I had way to much energy cause I was dancing around a bit. Once the train came we got on and continues our commute.

We got to work early which was good, and read through out methodology and literature review. We then reviewed for the focus group. Our focus group had about 5 people, not great but enough for what we needed. It was very useful and we got a lot of information from it. After the focus group we had lunch in the cafe (we missed fish and chips :( ). After lunch we thought about our deliverables and what we wanted on them. We decided to leave a bit early (we didn't have much to do) and caught an earlier train than normal which was nice.

Once back I talked to Kate and asked her if she wanted to go the British Museum for an hour with me, she did so we went at about 7:00 to the British Museum and got there about 7:30. It was pretty cool and really big, we mainly saw the Egyptian section where I saw the mummy of Cleopatra, and the Rosetta Stone! It was really cool to see them and I'll probably head back a different time to see more of the museum.

Mummy of Cleopatra

Rosetta Stone

March 29, 2012

Today I was thinking of going for a run when I got up, but didn't feel great so decided to sleep more. Once actually awake I showered, changed, and ate breakfast. At 9 my group met to head to the Liverpool Street Station. At the station there were no trains on the sign (which say the next trains and how long until they will be there) so we waited a few minutes until finally one was on the sign and arrived. We did go to our normal stop, got to the train station and were a bit concerned because 3 trains normally coming before ours were pretty delayed and though ours was originally listed as on time, it changed to being late since they had the trains com ein order. Ours eventually came though and we finished our normal commute.

Once at work we didn't have too much to do and only really had to work on our methodology and do a quick interview. So we did, we had breakfast for lunch (the lunch club was having liver). It was good and when done we went to our workroom and waited to do our interview. We did the interview a little late and then pretty much ran out of stuff to do, so we left a bit early and got back around 4:00 which was nice. I stopped at Tesco to get some food, then Boots to get some face scrub. After that I relaxed a bit and talked to Bryan.

I ate pasta for dinner and had chocolate and grapes. While Bryan had class I went upstairs and used the elliptical for 30 minutes. I listened to music while I used it which was nice. After that I showered and talked to a couple people and asked if they were up to doing something. They were busy so I decided to go to the Parliament Building and take some pictures! I started at Westminster Abbey and took a couple pictures there, then took some of the Parliament Building from the Abbey area, then wen about halfway across the bridge to get more pictures. Then crossed to get some of the London Eye.  I didn't stay too long but it was nice to see the area at night.

Westminster Abbey

The London Eye

Parliament Building

London Eye behind Parliament Building

March 28, 2012

Today I woke up a lot less exhausted than I have been which was nice, showered, ate yogurt for breakfast, had hot chocolate, and got dressed for work.  We were supposed to leave about 9, and Kate was a bit later…again, though not quite as much, and Jared said if she wasn’t there by 9:05 he would leave without her, luckily she was there by then.  We caught the tube and the train, which was running slightly early luckily.

Once at work we did a few things we wanted to get done before lunch, then went to lunch. I had my breakfast of bacon, eggs, beans, and toast and everyone opted for the lunch club. I got my food, and ate, and relaxed. And then the other’s got their food. After that we had a meeting with Naomi and our advisers, and picked a date for our final presentation! After that we had an interview with someone, and it went really well and we got some good information. Once the interview was over we didn’t have much to do, though we did ask a couple staff members if we could see their home (it’s a really awkward question by the way). Once done we waited a bit before packing up and heading back to Nido.

Since we were done early we were thinking of taking a different way back, though it was shot down. Unfortunately we got to Eastfields station and our train was delayed then cancelled. While we were waiting I did see a fox by the side of the tracks though! We ended up taking the bus again to Colliers Wood then the Tube back to Nido.

Once back to Nido the first thing I did was take off my heels, because they were so sore. My feet hurt quite badly, especially my little toe. Once my shoes were off, I took my coat off and got my laptop out.  Then I skyped with Bryan and made dinner, I had pasta, then grapes, then a salad. I didn’t run because I wasn’t at all in the mood.

March 27, 2012

Today I woke up still a bit tired but feeling better than Monday. I got up and got and got ready for work, we were leaving at 9. I got down a couple minutes early and at 9 got a text from Kate saying she was running a bit late. 10-15 minutes later we left and took a different route since we didn’t want to risk missing the train. We took the Central line to Bank, then the Northern line out to Colliers Wood, and a bus. We would have been there about 10:15, but we missed the bus that got there right as we arrived.  We got on the next one which stopped to switch driver a few stops away. We had to wait about 5-8 minutes for them to switch, and then continued and got to work at 10:29.

Once at work we didn’t have much to do, but had a bit. The main thing was writing our methodology form the outline. So we finished that, set up and interview for tomorrow, and did a few other things. Lunch was good. We had roast pork, potatoes, and carrots. For our “pudding” we had sponge cake around ice cream. It did have some raspberry flavored stuff around the edge in some spots but I just ate around it. We left about 2:50 PM we left so that we could get to Bishopsgate on time (which was 4:30 PM), so we waited for the bus, and took it to the station. We then waited for the train, took it to Farringdon, then took the tube to Liverpool Street Station. We got there early (about 30 minutes early) so Will got some sushi for dinner and we waited outside of the hall until 4:25, then went in to put some pressure on. It failed. Our meeting started about 10 minutes late. It was useless as always.

After that meeting we went back to Nido and I finished off my giant chocolate bar. It was delicious. I talked to Bryan and tried to plan my weekend (unsuccessfully). At 8:00 I met with Erin to look at a trip to Oxford, Bath, Bibury, and Stonehenge! We’ll be going April 6-7^th over Easter break! She also said she and someone were thinking of going to church Easter Sunday and I suggested going o Westminster Abbey, so hopefully that works out! After that I talked to Bryan more, finished up blogging about Baris, and got ready for bed. 

March 26, 2012

Today was exhausting. We got back at about 5:30 AM at the Victoria Coach Station, and then took the Tube to the Liverpool Street Station. We ended up at Nido at about 6:00 AM, and I unpacked quickly, cleared off my bed from all the laundry, emailed Bryan and my parents, and went to sleep. I got up at about 7:45 AM for work, quickly skyped with Bryan and showered, ate, changes, and head off to work.

Work wasn’t too bad, we had a bit to do but finished everything before the end of the day. For lunch I had a delicious breakfast of and egg, bacon, sausage, beans, and toast with butter, It was really good, especially since I was so hungry. After lunch we continued our work until it was time to leave.

The ride home was exhausting (maybe just because I hadn’t had much sleep) so I feel asleep. I went to the grocery store and got lots of really healthy stuff. Once back I had a dinner date with Bryan and told him all about Paris. After talking to him I talked to me dad and told him all about Paris. I then talked to Bryan again and cleaned up my clothes, then talked to my mom (and of course told her all about Paris). I then talked to Bryan again until it was bedtime for me (and I was really tired) and really enjoyed sleeping in my Nido bed. 

Paris! Part 2

Day 2 of Paris was as amazing as the first, though a bit different. I woke up after a surprisingly good night sleep in a rather not great bed. We left the hostel and went to find a gluten free bakery for Julie. It was not too bad to find and I was glad she got the food she could eat. I didn’t get anything, but only cause they didn’t have chocolate croissants. After the food was eaten and relaxing there we left and took the Metro to Notre Dame, and wandered around that area until we found a little café to have brunch. I had a crepe with chocolate and chocolate milk (chocolat froid)! It was really good! After eating we, took some pictures at the Notre Dame (only the outside since the line was really long). We then took the Metro to the Louvre, got there about 1:00 PM and decided to meet up at 4:30 PM under the glass pyramid. Admission for the Louvre is surprisingly not too expensive, only 10 euros.

My chocolat crepe

Chocolat froid

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

The Louvre was magnificent! We went to the Mona Lisa first, and it was busy as I anticipated. As people moved aside we moved forward, and eventually we could see it pretty well. After the Mona Lisa we moved around that area more and saw some other paintings, very beautiful. It was amazing how many are religion-inspired. One room we found was beautiful and had gold all over. It had paintings of sculptures and King Louis XV and XIV. My favorite part of the room was in the back, where there were a couple crowns that were originally Louis XV’s! It was really cool to see!

Sphynx in Egypt section!

Louis XV crowns!

Mona Lisa

Easter Island Head

The Louvre was really cool and really big. My favorite part (tied with the Mona Lisa) was the giant Egyptian exhibit. They had a lot of amazing artifacts which I was really happy to see. After getting lost in the Egyptian section, we sat outside by the fountains near the glass pyramid.  It was nice to sit and relax in front of one of the most famous museums in the world. At 4:30 we met up with our group of about 6, and walked down the street a bit, where we ran into a ride of motorcycles of some sort. There were at least several hundred and had a police escort and everything. It was really random but really cool that we ran into it. We then took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, where we met up with the rest of the group. Once meeting up with them I had a good dinner (Steake Grille avec frites) steak and fries.

Motorcycle Ride

Afterwards one of the people really wanted to see the Moulin Rouge so a couple of us went with him.It was not quite my favorite area but it was an experience. We didn’t stay long and we left to go to the coach station to travel home!

Moulin Rouge

We made our way back to the coach station and met the group, before heading back on the long ride home. We left at 9:30, meaning I wasn’t tired yet, therefore I talked to a couple people on the way to the channel, where we actually got to take a ferry across! Customs was a pain, cause they asked questions again and I was nervous. Back on the bus to get to the ferry we were taking across the channel, we were talking to a couple girls, one from New Zealand, one from Ireland, and we were joking about things that would make them turn us away. They will probably remember us as the students who are working for the government. The ferry was huge, it was neat cause we sat in the lounge area and I got a snack of potato chips and apple juice (which was really good!) After the ferry rise I fell asleep and woke up back in London. We arrived back at 5:30 AM, and took the Tube back to Nido.

Over the weekend was cool cause we traveled to 4 different time zones: London, Paris, Paris daylight savings, London daylight savings. Talk about confusing time zones!

For more pictures, check out: https://plus.google.com/photos/115063920962953808568/albums/5724296888495795297?authkey=COmT_tmht5eIqQE

Paris! Part 1

Paris was incredible! The weather was perfect, warm but not too warm, clear blue sky…just gorgeous.

Getting to the London Victoria Coach Station was itself a challenge with the 17 of us traveling via bus. With so many people everything gets complicated because people don’t like staying together well. We checked in (with our 17 passports) and went to find our bus.  After a couple minutes we could go on. The English part of the drive was okay, we were in London for awhile and then I fell asleep on and off to customs. Customs and the Chunnel just did not go well. Customs went fine, though I didn’t get a stamp L. To get through the Chunnel was a pain. For those (like me) who didn’t know, you don’t drive through the Chunnel, you get put on what is essentially a covered flatbed truck and then it starts moving eventually. It was really boring. And it took us forever to get on, we were constantly waiting. After the Chunnel started moving I just went to sleep. I slept the whole Chunnel rise which was nice. Once across the channel it was still boring Chunnel stuff, so I slept more on and off until I started seeing some light. At one point I got up and it was very nice. There was a heavy fog, and little light, but there was field after field or crops and grass and it was very nice. I went to napping again while we moved towards Paris, and eventually we got off the bus at the Gallieni bus terminal.

Once off the bus we began our adventure in Paris, France! We began with finding the Metro stop within the station, and found it, then got 2 day passes for zones 1-3. We were smart to get these because they paid for themselves very quickly. They were so little though so I was a bit afraid of using it. We eventually got on where we needed, transferred, and ended up at the right stop, the Gare De Lyon. While some people went to take money, one of the other people and I who happen to be good with finding places went on a quick adventure to find the hostel, which with a stroke of luck we found! It was a little sketchy, but it was very cheap. We eventually figured out how we could check in (the person who booked it traveled separately and we couldn’t contact him) and found out we could between 3 and 5 PM. Some people dropped their stuff off (I kept all of mine with me) and we went and got our French breakfast! We stopped at a little place, and I got a chocolate crescent and fresh orange juice (au pain du chocolate et jus d’orange). It was very good and a very good start to my Paris adventure.

Me with my delicious breakfast!

Yummy!

Once we had our French breakfast we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) and took some pictures before splitting the group up. I decided I wanted to climb it. We got our tickets and began the 670 step journey to the 2^nd floor of the tower.

 After about 270 steps though, we got a well deserved break at the first floor.  Even from the first floor it was an amazing site. 

  After spending some time on the first floor we continued our journey to the 2^nd, where we decided to continue going up with the lift to the top (no stairs to get there). After a shirt line we got into the little lift and went to the top floor. Me with my lovely fear of heights did surprisingly well, only panicking internally a tiny bit. But we got up there and got out, and it was incredible! I couldn’t imagine a better view of the city. I could see the Louvre and the glass pyramid, the Arc De Triomphe, and there was even a hot air balloon! It was an absolutely amazing view. Eventually we head back down the lift to the second floor, checked out the souvenir shops, then climbed down the stairs to the bottom. It was exhausting, but 100% worth it.

Once down we got some food, I had a margarita pizza, and it was delicious. It was a pizza (duh!) with cheese (maybe mozzarella?) with oregano and 4 olives. It was so good though. When finished eating we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe, where after taking some pictures from far away we went under the street and go to go right up to it. It was very beautiful, a very beautifully built and very intricate.

After the Arc we took the Metro to the hostel for a well deserved nap. The hostel, again, was a bit sketchy, not one I would necessarily ever go to again, but it had a bed which was the main thing we needed. Pretty much everyone took a nap, and we hung out in our rooms and just relaxed and slept. After waking up we had dinner, mine not too exciting (I had chicken with fries), but good. After dinner I talked to a couple people about what they wanted to do in the evening and a group of 6 of us travelled the sights at night. My original plan was Eiffel Tour -> Arc ->Champs Elysee -> Louvre/Glass Pyramid -> Notre Dame. But we ended up mixing it up and doing Louvre to Arc to Eiffel Tower. It was a good call. We began with the Glass Pyramid, and it was really cool. There were fountains and pool things, but they were off so the pools were very still and peaceful. After some picture taking we traveled to the Arc, where we took some pictures from far away, then continued on to the Eiffel Tower.

A little pyramid

The glass pyramid

Arc De Triomphe

Seeing the Eiffel Tower was just the perfect end to a great day in Paris. I had wanted to go to Paris for years so it was an amazing trip. The Eiffel Tower was amazing. It was impressive during the day, but breathtaking at night. It’s just so beautiful. We got there at about 10:45 PM, and sat on the grass to take it in, then at 11 the strobe lights on it were going off and it sparkled! It was so cool and just an amazing end to the day. We left soon after and made it back to the hostel to sleep.

Glittery Eiffel Tower!

Also glittery Eiffel Tower!

March 23, 2012

Today was a good day overall! We did surveys for work at an event, I’m heading to Paris tonight (!), and… I’m going to the Harry Potter exhibit!!! I am so excited for that and am glad I am able to go! This morning I woke up and none of my clothes were dry from laundry the night before, so I re-laid them out on my bed to dry more (I hoped). But I got up, got breakfast and got ready for the day!

We left for Morden (a much shorter commute which is nice) and got there and talked to someone who we needed to interview. While talking there was a cute cat who came over and meowed a couple of times and brushed up against all our legs, it was really cute! Eventually people got there to set up for the event so we helped set up. It wasn’t too hard which is nice, and after that Kate and I got some food for lunch, then worked on surveying people as they left. Unfortunately it was not very well attended so we didn’t get a ton of surveys, but what we got will help.

While surveying I talked to our sponsor  about possibly seeing the Harry Potter exhibit, and she said we could, so I emailed my advisors, and they said we could! So once back I booked tickets for the Harry Potter Exhibit, April 19^th!!!! So excited!!!!

Once back at Nido I again fixed how my clothes were and began packing for my weekend in Paris! I hope I have a lot of fun!

March 22, 2012

Today was a busy day at work and frustrating out of work. I got up at 7:30, then slept in until 8:10, since we weren’t planning on leaving until 9:45, though an email was sent at 11 last night after I went to sleep saying we’re meeting at 9 to do some stuff. As expected as I was a bit annoyed, since I had to rush to get ready.

So I met the group to get work done and we got a couple things done. At 9:40 we left for Morden. I do like that commute, as it takes a lot less time to get there. Once there and in, we started surveying the mothers there. A couple people  I talked to had younger babies and they were really funny because they were grabbing at my clipboard while I was surveying them. They were cute!

After surveying we went to Commonside and had some lunch. I had breakfast for lunch and I had eggs, bacon, beans, and toast. It was all really delicious! After lunch we worked n all sorts of different stuff. At 3:15 we get ready to leave, since we didn’t have to meet with our advisor’s (we got a call in the morning saying we didn’t need to come in). Once back at Nido I put money on my card to do laundry and then did some laundry, unfortunately the system is stupid and it took the 3^rd time to get it to work, losing 4 pounds in the process. I went to the desk since I figured they might refund it, they were jerks and didn’t though. After that I went for an elliptical and run on the treadmill. I ended up only doing about 15 minutes (so no too much) but it’s good to begin a routine.

Laundry Day!

After that I got laundry and layed it around my room to dry. Then I was sitting and talking to Bryan…when my professor emailed out saying we can maybe go to Harry Potter if we have an argument to do so!!!! I’m on it!

March 21, 2012

Today was not the best day, I got up at 7:30 and got ready, and had yogurt and hot chocolate. At 9 we left for work, and the first tube was so packed we couldn’t get on, so we waited for the next one a minute behind. It was still a bit crowded but far less so. Once we got at work we got down to business and I made a list of everything we needed to get done and we began looking at the background section. After the background, we worked on a presentation we will be doing tomorrow. After that we worked on following up with people and getting more meetings and interviews. After that we switched rooms before lunch since they needed our room for something.

For lunch we had roast beef, potatoes, and carrots (and cabbage but I won’t eat that). It was really good, the potatoes are still my favorite. After lunch we worked on a couple things then our professor showed up for our weekly meeting with our sponsor and the advisers. It was good but we didn’t get much feedback from our adviser.

After our meeting I worked on exit interview stuff for an event Friday, and then assigned stuff to different people to make sure everyone was busy. We worked on everything until it was time to leave. The ride home was peaceful, I feel asleep on the tube, so got a nice nap. Once back to Nido I made food and signed up for the gym induction so I can relieve some stress. I did do the induction and it was about 2 minutes long and really dumb. After that I changed and went for a short run (about a mile), but am planning to get in the habit of doing it every day. After that I showered and talked to Bryan until I went to sleep.

March 20, 2012

Today was okay, I got up at 8:00 but didn’t have to leave until 9:30 because we were going to a different location so we could hand out fliers and survey people. Getting there was easy, it was nicer than normal because we had like 1 tube stop and then took a line all the way out.  Surveying was interesting because they were all really old and were very sweet., though not really the most helpful. To get back to Commonside one of the staff drove us, it was very interesting driving on the left side of the road, mainly when turning and everything. It’s also very different than how drivers in America drive.

At Commonside we set up in our normal room and then got lunch. Unfortunately we missed the lunch club so ate at the café…but all they have for lunch food is sandwiches, so I had a BLT, ate a quarter of it and then ate the B and T (it was Canadian Bacon). After lunch we worked on stuff for advisors. After work I got a newspaper and it had a picture of the queen speaking. It was cool cause I could see where I was standing the day before!

March 19, 2012

Today was a good day. I got up and started working on my project with my team until noon, and then at about 1:15 we met up to go to some place…the Parliament building! It was really cool. We got there and went through security and then sat around until 2:30. We were supposed to be meeting with an MP (Member of Parliament) but I guess something came up so we met with a couple of her assistants instead. They were very helpful and really nice. After meeting with them we asked if they would mind taking us around the building and they did!

Parliament Building after our trip!

We were in the Portcullis House, which is where the MPs offices are. They said that the building wasn't too excited, so we took the tunnel under the street to the Parliament Building and walked around there a bit! We walked around the back where there are open areas for drop-offs for different things in the building, and eventually we made it to the more main parts of the building. Unfortunately the houses were in session so we weren’t able to see the chambers, so we just walked in the main areas. It was really a beautiful building; some of the things on the walls were just so beautiful and breathtaking. I really enjoyed it.

Outside looking at the side of the House of Lords

Windows in the big hall in Parliament

My favorite part that I was about 15 feet from where the Queen will be the 21^st (tomorrow!) when she will be presented with a stained glass window by Parliament to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. It’s really cool that we were able to see it all set up and everything, even though we couldn’t walk around that area. The area though was really cool because it’s so old. It was actually around when Henry VIII was Kind and he had events and stuff in it. Another cool fact we learned is that MPs have 8 minutes after a vote is called to vote, and it’s done in an old fashioned way so people go to either a yay or no, and then the door is shut and people are counted.  Because of this, when a vote is called bells go off around all the government buildings in that area, and while we were talking in one part three men ran by and we were like they must be MPs.

Me close to where the Queen will be the next day!

After a walk around we headed back to Nido and relaxed after a unique day at the Parliament Building!