I just wanted to say a quick hello and promise that more blogginess is coming! I can't even describe how crazy it has been coming home to America after living abroad for so long...let's just say reverse culture shock is a real thing. I've got a lot going on at the moment (ie the increasingly real need to fund my shopping addiction with a JOB) but I must not let my readers suffer because of this! I may not be globetrotting anymore, but let's face it, I'm still pretty damn interesting. :) Well, maybe we'll see about that.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Animal Farm
One of our last days in the UK was Cassie's birthday and, to properly celebrate this momentous occasion, we headed to the nearest petting zoo. We didn't quite make it to the Highland Cows of Scotland, nor did we successfully pet any "wild" sheep or Shetland ponies, so this seemed like the next best option. I hope to spend my 31st birthday in just as cute a fashion. Happy Birthday Cassie!
Exhibit A: I am positive I've now seen the cutest horse in existence. Enter baby miniature Shetland pony.
I can't even handle this level of cuteness!
Exhibit B: Highland Cow!
Exhibit C: ALPACAS! I've pretty much decided I need one...or 3.
Cutey Patootey. Also, doesn't the close-up of the white one look like Falkor from Neverending Story? I'm pretty sure he does.
Exhibit D: Llama time. Cute, but nowhere near alpaca status (sorry, llama).
Exhibit E: Funny Donkeys
Exhibit F: Sheepies
Sigh, if only all days could be so cute!
Plenty more animal faces here.
Exhibit A: I am positive I've now seen the cutest horse in existence. Enter baby miniature Shetland pony.
I can't even handle this level of cuteness!
Exhibit B: Highland Cow!
Exhibit C: ALPACAS! I've pretty much decided I need one...or 3.
Cutey Patootey. Also, doesn't the close-up of the white one look like Falkor from Neverending Story? I'm pretty sure he does.
Exhibit D: Llama time. Cute, but nowhere near alpaca status (sorry, llama).
Exhibit E: Funny Donkeys
Exhibit F: Sheepies
Sigh, if only all days could be so cute!
Plenty more animal faces here.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Scotland Road Trip
Last Monday we set out on a grand tour of northern England and Scotland. We packed up the car with tents, sleeping bags, plenty of extra blankets, and a load of groceries to sustain ourselves during outdoor adventures. I hadn't gone camping in many years and was only slightly wary... I guess I'm a city girl, after all.
The first stop of the road trip was Alnwick Castle, ie HOGWARTS!
We were lucky with the weather at first. Lovely day to explore a castle, I say.
Pretending to model for the new LL Bean catalogue in my new sweater.
100% lambswool XS-XL just $39.95. Get yours today!
Next stop was Bamburgh, where we climbed through sand dunes to make our way along the beach to another castle.
I love the photos I got there - it was amazing looking and very much worth the gale force winds we endured to check it out.
Freezing cold beach - we're not in Thailand anymore!
By the castle.
Flowers & Castle
Jayne and Cassie in the dunes.
Me too!
Now onto SCOTLAND!
Just a little excited :)
First stop across the border: St. Abb's, a small fishing village that was super cute, quaint, and good for even more photo ops.
You know it's all about the photos.
After a couple more hours of driving, we made it to our digs for the night: Linwood Campgrounds near Edinburgh. Little did I know this would be absolute luxury compared with the next night.
The A-Frame timber tent, all for us! It was better than sleeping outside, but not exactly comfortable... I basically punched a wall every time I moved.
Cassie expertly prepared a dinner of barbecued sausages, potatoes and carrots. It's good to have a girl scout around.
We hit the sack early that night and set out to explore Edinburgh the next day. The Fringe Festival was going on at the time (a huge arts festival) so there was plenty to see and do. We only had a few hours in the city, but it was enough to get a good feeling of the place and take some photos.
In the spirit!
Edinburgh Assembly Rooms
The Elephant House, the cafe where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. Can you tell that this trip has only been slightly influenced by the truest love of them all, Harry Potter?!
Now that's a Scottish piper.
William Wallace sighting!
Professor Quirrell look-a-like with Edinburgh Castle in the background.
We moved westward that afternoon past Glasgow to our next destination: Loch Lomond, a very huge, very lovely lake.
Birdies in the Loch
It was so beautiful there. Shame the weather didn't allow us to visit the most famous Loch of all - Loch Ness (and Nessie!)
That night, we set up camp in a little clearing off the side of the road. I'm not really sure how it works in the States, but in Scotland you can camp anywhere, as long as it's not private land. We found a nice little area, near a bubbling brook even, and settled down with some takeaway fish and chips and a few pitchers of cider. Camping wasn't bad at all at this point. We went to bed wrapped up in sleeping bags and extra duvets (the UK is cold!) and I got to sleep without a problem. Then it started raining in the night. Getting up to pee really sucks in the pouring rain. Waking up in a rain puddle is even worse. It kept raining so much throughout the night that the tent soaked through. Lovely. Not to mention the pitter patter all night kept me awake thinking of all kinds of horror movie scenarios. In the morning, I lied awake for a while hoping in vain the rain would suddenly stop and I wouldn't have to deal with packing everything up. No such luck. We all just had to man up, throw everything in the car soaking wet, and get the hell out of dodge.
To add to the experience, Cassie even had 2 tick visitors, one of whom was very reluctant to leave her calf. Yummy. One public restroom "shower" later and my uneasiness at the thought of camping had been solidified into outright dislike. No more camping for me.
Due to general misery, we decided to call the rest of the road trip off. Unfortunate yes, but I think we all enjoyed an extra couple of days relaxing and hanging at Jayne's house rather than suffering through 2 more nights of sogginess.
Jayne & Cassie walking towards Hadrian's Wall, ruins of a great wall built by the Romans. We stopped here on the way back to Jayne's place.
sheep chaser!
All in all, it was definitely an experience. I would have liked to seen a bit more, but I'm glad we cut the trip short due to nasty conditions. I got a nice little taste of Scotland and a reason to come back again! I'm coming for you, Nessie...
Check out the rest of the photos here.
We were lucky with the weather at first. Lovely day to explore a castle, I say.
Pretending to model for the new LL Bean catalogue in my new sweater.
100% lambswool XS-XL just $39.95. Get yours today!
Next stop was Bamburgh, where we climbed through sand dunes to make our way along the beach to another castle.
I love the photos I got there - it was amazing looking and very much worth the gale force winds we endured to check it out.
Freezing cold beach - we're not in Thailand anymore!
By the castle.
Flowers & Castle
Jayne and Cassie in the dunes.
Me too!
Now onto SCOTLAND!
Just a little excited :)
First stop across the border: St. Abb's, a small fishing village that was super cute, quaint, and good for even more photo ops.
You know it's all about the photos.
After a couple more hours of driving, we made it to our digs for the night: Linwood Campgrounds near Edinburgh. Little did I know this would be absolute luxury compared with the next night.
The A-Frame timber tent, all for us! It was better than sleeping outside, but not exactly comfortable... I basically punched a wall every time I moved.
Cassie expertly prepared a dinner of barbecued sausages, potatoes and carrots. It's good to have a girl scout around.
We hit the sack early that night and set out to explore Edinburgh the next day. The Fringe Festival was going on at the time (a huge arts festival) so there was plenty to see and do. We only had a few hours in the city, but it was enough to get a good feeling of the place and take some photos.
In the spirit!
Edinburgh Assembly Rooms
The Elephant House, the cafe where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. Can you tell that this trip has only been slightly influenced by the truest love of them all, Harry Potter?!
Now that's a Scottish piper.
William Wallace sighting!
Professor Quirrell look-a-like with Edinburgh Castle in the background.
We moved westward that afternoon past Glasgow to our next destination: Loch Lomond, a very huge, very lovely lake.
Birdies in the Loch
It was so beautiful there. Shame the weather didn't allow us to visit the most famous Loch of all - Loch Ness (and Nessie!)
That night, we set up camp in a little clearing off the side of the road. I'm not really sure how it works in the States, but in Scotland you can camp anywhere, as long as it's not private land. We found a nice little area, near a bubbling brook even, and settled down with some takeaway fish and chips and a few pitchers of cider. Camping wasn't bad at all at this point. We went to bed wrapped up in sleeping bags and extra duvets (the UK is cold!) and I got to sleep without a problem. Then it started raining in the night. Getting up to pee really sucks in the pouring rain. Waking up in a rain puddle is even worse. It kept raining so much throughout the night that the tent soaked through. Lovely. Not to mention the pitter patter all night kept me awake thinking of all kinds of horror movie scenarios. In the morning, I lied awake for a while hoping in vain the rain would suddenly stop and I wouldn't have to deal with packing everything up. No such luck. We all just had to man up, throw everything in the car soaking wet, and get the hell out of dodge.
To add to the experience, Cassie even had 2 tick visitors, one of whom was very reluctant to leave her calf. Yummy. One public restroom "shower" later and my uneasiness at the thought of camping had been solidified into outright dislike. No more camping for me.
Due to general misery, we decided to call the rest of the road trip off. Unfortunate yes, but I think we all enjoyed an extra couple of days relaxing and hanging at Jayne's house rather than suffering through 2 more nights of sogginess.
Jayne & Cassie walking towards Hadrian's Wall, ruins of a great wall built by the Romans. We stopped here on the way back to Jayne's place.
sheep chaser!
All in all, it was definitely an experience. I would have liked to seen a bit more, but I'm glad we cut the trip short due to nasty conditions. I got a nice little taste of Scotland and a reason to come back again! I'm coming for you, Nessie...
Check out the rest of the photos here.
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Monday, August 8, 2011
Dubliners
Like the Asia portion of this trip, my time in the UK so far has been quite the whirlwind. We got back super early yesterday morning from a short trip to Dublin. Now, most people know Ireland as one of the best places to drink and be merry. Let's just say we did not fail to keep with tradition on this point.
After arriving, we started off the afternoon with a pint at The Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub.
In front of Temple Bar, the most popular bar area. And let me tell you, I was quite popular as well that night!
Pints of Guiness, had to be done in Dublin.
We found this lovely black wig...it went a little too well with Cassie's hair :P
That wig got around.
Because the internet really needed more pictures of me drinking beer.
SO there you go...yes, it's true...we mainly just drank a lot in Dublin. But it was such a grand time! Today we set off on a little road trip through Scotland. I'll be away from the computer for the rest of the week, but when I get back hopefully I'll have lots of lovely photos to post. Ta!
After arriving, we started off the afternoon with a pint at The Brazen Head, Ireland's oldest pub.
In front of Temple Bar, the most popular bar area. And let me tell you, I was quite popular as well that night!
Pints of Guiness, had to be done in Dublin.
We found this lovely black wig...it went a little too well with Cassie's hair :P
That wig got around.
Because the internet really needed more pictures of me drinking beer.
SO there you go...yes, it's true...we mainly just drank a lot in Dublin. But it was such a grand time! Today we set off on a little road trip through Scotland. I'll be away from the computer for the rest of the week, but when I get back hopefully I'll have lots of lovely photos to post. Ta!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Hogwarts Express
Before heading off on the train to Jayne's house, Cassie and I got a few pictures at Platform 9 and 3/4 at KIng's Cross station. I WANT TO GO TO HOGWARTS! Now that I'm in England, it shouldn't be this hard...
King's Cross Station - that's St. Pancras in the back
Best to go at a bit of a run!
First trip to Hogwarts!
We had a nice meal with Jayne's family last night, and I think we all enjoyed being at "home", even if wasn't our own. Finally did some laundry and slept in a comfortable bed, how wonderful! Now we're off to Dublin...UK 2011 tour continues!
King's Cross Station - that's St. Pancras in the back
Best to go at a bit of a run!
First trip to Hogwarts!
We had a nice meal with Jayne's family last night, and I think we all enjoyed being at "home", even if wasn't our own. Finally did some laundry and slept in a comfortable bed, how wonderful! Now we're off to Dublin...UK 2011 tour continues!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
London Calling
I've been hanging out in London the past few days and, well, I effing LOVE it here! You know I love Asia in its way (otherwise the past 3 years would have been completely miserable) but I've gotta say it's pretty wonderful being back in the western world, especially Europe. I visited London for a week when I was 15 and fell in love with European culture, and then studied for a year in Heidelberg, Germany when I was 20. I absolutely loved my year abroad and I think it did wonders for my sense of self and all that jazz. So returning to Europe with 2 great friends (one of whom is a born and bred, real life Brit!) has been a lot of fun. We're staying at a hostel in Russel Square, which is in central London, really close to a tube stop, and a great springboard for galavanting around the city.
After an overnight flight from Bangkok via Mumbai (the airport from hell btw), the very first thing we did after touching down in London town was go shopping. Yaaaayyy shopping!! Now this might sound a little strange...why must we shop right away, you say? Is it really that big a priority? Well, yes it is! After nearly three months spent backpacking around southeast Asia in the same few tank tops and shorts, we all felt really out of place (and cold!) in a normal city where people don't walk around in Aladdin pants. We all needed some new jeans, a few tops, and a sweater for the non-100+ degree, humid as hell Asian weather, so shopping we went. I didn't go overboard at all with the shopping mission....nope, not at all. Of course I needed that all of those tops and 4 pairs of jeans. London is cool, even in August! Besides, only the buzz I get from buying clothes could counter the effects of jet lag. Right? Right.
We started sightseeing the next day and got quite a few good pics. We headed to Buckingham Palace first and coincidentally caught a special changing of the guard ceremony that included a performance by the Coldstream Guards, those chaps in the ginormous black, bearskin hats. There were about a billion people all crammed together trying to take pictures, but I managed to get a video of some of the march.
Here are some more photos from around the Palace, and general touristy things...
so many people!
mounted guard
marching out
Us in front of Buckingham Palace. This is where William and Kate had their famous kiss.
climbing statues
Cassie and Jayne by the Victoria Memorial fountain
My new long hair is a pain in the ass, but I do enjoy it.
RED PHONE BOX!
Oh, London :)
Westminster Abbey
St. Pancras Station - When Harry Potter scenes set at King's Cross Station were filmed, they actually used this station for the outside view because it's much more attractive. Only the indoor scenes are really filmed at King's Cross Station. We'll be going there tomorrow and I'm DEFINITELY getting pics at platform 9 and 3/4.
St. Paul's Cathedral
Tower Bridge on the River Thames
Big Ben
Trafalgar Square
Love you, London!
Tomorrow we're taking the train to Newcastle, Jayne's hometown. I'm pretty damn excited to see what geordies are all about. From what I've heard, a night out in Newcastle is an experience to remember, or not as the case may be. I'll check in again soon! ♥
More London pics here.
After an overnight flight from Bangkok via Mumbai (the airport from hell btw), the very first thing we did after touching down in London town was go shopping. Yaaaayyy shopping!! Now this might sound a little strange...why must we shop right away, you say? Is it really that big a priority? Well, yes it is! After nearly three months spent backpacking around southeast Asia in the same few tank tops and shorts, we all felt really out of place (and cold!) in a normal city where people don't walk around in Aladdin pants. We all needed some new jeans, a few tops, and a sweater for the non-100+ degree, humid as hell Asian weather, so shopping we went. I didn't go overboard at all with the shopping mission....nope, not at all. Of course I needed that all of those tops and 4 pairs of jeans. London is cool, even in August! Besides, only the buzz I get from buying clothes could counter the effects of jet lag. Right? Right.
We started sightseeing the next day and got quite a few good pics. We headed to Buckingham Palace first and coincidentally caught a special changing of the guard ceremony that included a performance by the Coldstream Guards, those chaps in the ginormous black, bearskin hats. There were about a billion people all crammed together trying to take pictures, but I managed to get a video of some of the march.
Here are some more photos from around the Palace, and general touristy things...
so many people!
mounted guard
marching out
Us in front of Buckingham Palace. This is where William and Kate had their famous kiss.
climbing statues
Cassie and Jayne by the Victoria Memorial fountain
My new long hair is a pain in the ass, but I do enjoy it.
RED PHONE BOX!
Oh, London :)
Westminster Abbey
St. Pancras Station - When Harry Potter scenes set at King's Cross Station were filmed, they actually used this station for the outside view because it's much more attractive. Only the indoor scenes are really filmed at King's Cross Station. We'll be going there tomorrow and I'm DEFINITELY getting pics at platform 9 and 3/4.
St. Paul's Cathedral
Tower Bridge on the River Thames
Big Ben
Trafalgar Square
Love you, London!
Tomorrow we're taking the train to Newcastle, Jayne's hometown. I'm pretty damn excited to see what geordies are all about. From what I've heard, a night out in Newcastle is an experience to remember, or not as the case may be. I'll check in again soon! ♥
More London pics here.
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