Tomorrow is APRIL!!!

This has been a crazy couple of weeks!  Sorry for taking so long to write a new post, things have been so hectic!  This past Saturday we went with Keele International on a trip to Bath.  It was INCREDIBLE!  Bath was so gorgeous and like nothing I had ever seen before.  While there we went to the famous Roman Baths.  They were so pretty and the architecture around them was amazing.  While there we also went to the Jane Austen Museum.  When they lived in the country, the Austen family used to visit Bath on a pretty regular basis.  Jane liked visiting the city but was ultimately a country girl, so when her father retired and moved there she was not too happy.  She hated living in the city and went back to the country as soon as possible.  It was interesting to hear about her family and their time in Bath. 

After the museum we explored the city a bit and went to The Crest, a big building shaped like a crest (hence the name) with a big open field and park in front of it.  It was a gorgeous day outside so people were playing games and eating picnics in the park, and it was the first time it really seemed like spring.  There were also a bunch of flowers in bloom and it was nice to just walk around and see the beautiful town.

This week I got very excited because I finally finished all of my essays and I just have one group project to do tomorrow morning, and then I can finally enter vacation mode!  I feel so incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to travel for an entire month throughout Europe.  It seems like ages ago that Ellen and I were booking our trip and just starting to talk about it, and now it’s here!  We are going to have such an amazing time and see some of the most famous places in the world.  Here is the rough itinerary for April.  On the 6 I fly over to Madrid to spend a few days with Ann.  The on the 9 I fly back to London and meet up with Sarah and Ellen.  We spend the night there, and on the 10 we meet up with the rest of our group and head over to Paris.  Then over the course of the next 20 days start in Paris and go to Beaujolais, Barcelona, the French Riviera, Venice, Florence, Corfu (an island in Greece) and Athens.  On the 30 we fly back home.  I am so overwhelmed with excitement about the fact that I will be getting to see some of the most amazing and famous places in the world, like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Monte Carlo, Verona, St. Mark’s Square, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and much more!!!  I am so thankful for my parents allowing me to have this experience.

Whelp I suppose this will be my last blog post until May, so goodbye, au revoir, adios, arrivederci and antío sas!!!  Next time you hear from me I will be a cultured women with many stories of my European adventure J

You say it's your birthday... :)

I was a very spoiled girl this year for my birthday.  Although I was sad to not be able to see my family when I turned 20, my amazing friends here took good care of me and I had an absolute blast.  On Thursday night my friend Ellen asked to me to come over to talk because she was upset about something, but I should have known it was a trick because when I got there she and my friend Sarah surprised me with a cake.  The next morning I went to get English breakfast with them and a couple of my other friends, which was delicious!  Then my friends Becca, Chelsea and Hannah made me home made mac and cheese for dinner which was amazing. 

On Saturday Becca and I went to the Stoke City vs. Newcastle United football match.  IT WAS AWESOME!!! I love seeing sports in person and it was a really great game.  We were also in the very front row, so we were SO CLOSE to the players!  It was unbelievable and a really amazing experience.  Saturday night a big group of us went to dinner at Sneyd’s and then out to an awesome club in Hanley called Liquid.  We danced the night away and had an extremely amazing time.  It was honestly one of the best birthday’s I have ever had, and I felt so fortunate to have wonderful friends who would help me do it up right over here in England J

Love you all and hope you had a great week!  TTFN!


xoxo Steph :)

Studying my life away!

So I know I have been MIA as far as the blogging goes lately, but things have been pretty hectic.  March definitely snuck up on me…this semester has moved so fast!  Back in February I had much more down time than I do this month.  I am very glad that we planned a good deal of our trips for February, because if we hadn’t I would probably be extremely stressed right now.  I know this may come as a shock to those of you who think I have done nothing but travel since I have been here, but I actually have A LOT of homework for the past couple of weeks lol.  There is definitely a different dynamic throughout the entire university the past month.  People seem to be focusing a bit less on leisure and waaay more on work.  At the beginning of the semester our tutors (that’s what they call professors here) gave us a list of what the grades in the class would come from.  All of mine have one group presentation worth 20% of our grade and one final essay worth 80%...talk about nerve-wracking!  It is scary to think that two assignments determine everything, but luckily they give you a ton of time to work on them.  I actually only have one due before Easter Holiday, and the rest are due the week we get back but I (along with most of the study abroad students) am trying to finish all of it before break so that I won’t be stressed about it while travelling.  I have spent countless hours in the library lately doing research and putting everything together. Hopefully I will finish them within the next two weeks, and then I will be free to focus on Madrid and the Contiki tour J  Although I still have 3 weeks I am starting to get soooo excited for them!  I guess I better continue working hard, because April will be here before I know it! 

Love and miss you all! xoxo

...You May Say I'm a Dreamer, but I'm Not the Only One.

Today we went to Liverpool, which was our last day trip for awhile but a good one.  For those who don’t know, Liverpool is home to the Beatles, one of the most iconic bands in history.  While we were there we went to the Beatles Story museum which was really cool.  It was fun to see how they got their start.  While we were there I learned some interesting fact about the Beatles, such as the fact that Ringo Star was not added to the band for quite some time after they started out, and that although they produced hundreds of songs they were only together a total of 8 years.  I had forgotten how many of their songs I loved and the entire bus ride home I listened to them.

While in Liverpool we also took a “Yellow Duckmarine” Tour, Anfield and saw the Liverpool Cathedral.  The Duckmarine tour went all around the city and showed us the sights, such as the Chinese Arch, Town Hall, the port, and the Four Courts.  After going around the town we went into the water and saw all of the docks.  Our tour guide and driver were both hilarious and we all had a good time on the tour. 

We also stopped at Anfield, which is home to the Liverpool Football Club.  The Liverpool FC is considered one of the most successful in England, although this season they are not doing as well as in the past.  Outside of Anfield there is a memorial to the 96 fans that died at HIllborough on April 15, 1989.  The stadium collapsed killing 96 fans and injuring over 700.  It was interesting to find out that the club had such a history.

The cathedral in Liverpool, as usual, was AMAZING.  It is the largest cathedral in the UK and one of the largest in the world.  It is extremely beautiful on the inside and out.  Outside of the cathedral is a beautiful yet creepy graveyard.  At night it probably would have been very scary, but during the day it was very cool. 

Overall Liverpool was a very successful day and I’m glad I went.  I’m sorry to say that my posts may be even less frequent from now on seeing as I do not have too many more trips until April and I am going to be swamped with writing essays in order to finish them before Easter Holiday.  Love you all!!