Food, glorious food.

Hey yo!

Today's post is all about food.
Historically speaking, London has never been known for their food, and my first week here I really learned why. Everything is fried and dipped and smothered in so much fat that grease drips from virtually everything you eat. The fish and chips are amazing, sure, but it's just fat fat fat fat fat. Same with the burgers, which are also kind of suspect because of that whole Mad Cow thing from back in the 90s. Yes, I know it's silly to still be concerned...but I am.
Anyways, upon attempting to eat a lot healthier this week, I have discovered a beautiful, amazing thing: the market. There are SO many fresh markets here! Fresh fruits, veggies, bakery, meats, even hot dishes and drinks to go. Candies, mixed nuts, fudge, you name it, it's going to be there. This afternoon Kayla, Michele, and myself wandered over to Borough Market over in Southwark to have a gander, and everything looked amazing! The three of us shared a spinach and ricotta empanada, a plate of amazing cheese, potatoes, and pickles, and some delicious vietnamese chicken curry. Also had sangria and a "summer spritzer," whatever that was. It was all so delicious!
...and in case you aren't hungry (I know it's coming up on lunch time, you wisconsinites) here are some pictures of the delectable delicacies!

indeed :)

Also, here is your daily picture of Peter: 

Hooray! Ta-ta for now :)

Second post in one day?! SAY WHAT?

I know you're all super pumped....well get even more excited because you're about to see some less-than-mediocre pictures from my phone of the views from 6 mile run tonight :) It's not bragging, I swear...

The backside of Parliament.

Westminster Abbey :)

Obviously the best street in London....

Entrance to Buckingham Palace

The London Eye from St. James' Park

Oh heyyyy Big Ben!

and again...

London Eye and Big Ben :)

View from the Golden Jubilee Bridge!

Like I said, it's definitely not bragging.....

'ello!!

This week has been (so far) much more easy going than last. I've had more time to myself to do normal things like cook, read, and workout, which has been fabulous. I've seen a lot more museums and walked a LOT, so my legs are exhausted. But,  I've also learned some valuable lessons and had time to actually think about things, which is great. Here are some nifty things to know if you want to study somewhere for a long period of time:

1. Don't go out to eat every day. You might be tempted by the oodles and oodles of new, exciting foods, but it gets expensive. Why spend £5 on a panini, when you could spend £11 on bagels, crisps, pasta, pesto sauce, peanut butter, salad, and fruit, thus giving you at least a weeks worth of solid meals? Plus, eating food from restaurants and fast food places (even if they're disguised by seemingly healthy sandwiches from places like Pret or Eat) will inevitably slow you down and leave you feeling less energized.
2. Do as many free things as you can, especially in a city like London. Museums here are FREE, people! It's so awesome that you can just wander in to a museum like the National Gallery and stare at some Degas for as long as your heart desires...so do it! While some of the paid attractions, such as the Tower of London or the War Rooms, are definitely worth a visit, don't forget all the free stuff, too. Especially the parks. Gorgeous!
3. Do.not.shop. It's so difficult to resist the urge to buy new London fashion, but chances are when you go home you won't feel comfortable enough with this "new look" to wear them there anyways....plus people will look at you like you're from another planet. Admit it, when you go home, you're going back to your Old Navy flip flops and Northface jackets, so why spend a ton of money here on something you probably won't wear often? 
4. Get enough sleep! Nothing worse than feeling lethargic as you're walking through  museums filled with awesome stuff you should be super excited about, but you're too sleepy to keep your eyes open. Sleep a good 7 hours a night, and try to limit going out to at most, wait for it, three nights a week. When you're in a new city with tons of awesome people you just met, that may seem like a ridiculous request. But trust me, going "cray-cray" 4-5 nights a week will eventually leave you exhausted. And broke. Did you know that they charge you upwards of £5 for a mixed drink with exactly one shot poured into it? We aren't at the nitty anymore, folks, and it's costing us. Big time.
5. Get used to PDA. In America, we find ourselves oftentimes disgusted at the sight of a couple so much as holding hands, let alone full-blown making out in public. Well, here, PDA is like the new black. Or iPod or Jimmy John's or...well, you get the point. It's everywhere! People making out on escalators, in the tube, in restaurants, while waiting in a queue... and there's nothing you can do, so just get used to it. Think of it this way, at least they're getting their frustrations out in a normal manner, instead of secretly reading 50 Shades of Grey on their Nook whilst sitting on the tube...not that I've been doing that, or anything.

Anyways, I'm aware that most of those posts are about money, but there are so many ways to spend over here! One awesome piece of advice that I will give that disregards spending...go visit other places! I plan on going to at least Paris (booked my ticket today!) and Italy while I'm abroad, regardless of cost, simply because I have no idea when I'll be here next. So think of all those money saving tips as your huge jar for collecting funds for other destinations. It'll be worth it...I promise. 

Until next time! 

Hey everyone!!


Today is the first day since forever that I've just had free time to catch up with myself - do laundry, go grocery shopping, make myself dinner, go for a run....and it's been lovely! While I love doing all the touristy stuff, just being able to keep up with MY personal time is so fantastic.

Anyways, this weekend we went to Wales. It was so cool! We went inside castles and old, abandoned abbeys, as well as cave diving and staying in a hotel with a COMFORTABLE bed. I know, such a crazy thought! I'd have to say out of everything I've seen [new] thus far, Tinton Abbey has definitely been my favorite. It's just so gorgeous, plus I love churches, so it was just perfect! I went a little crazy taking pictures of it, and there's one below so you can check it out!

It was also suuuuper fun and exciting to go out there on Saturday night, who knew Wales could party - dare I say it - harder than Madison. I know, I know, you probably don't believe me, but I'm being serious. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. However, it didn't come soooome mishaps. My wallet was stolen, straight up out of my purse. I had a huuuuge panic attack (okay, maybe not, but inside I think I lost a good 15 years off my life), and immediately started cancelling my cards. However, while I was doing that, someone called the hotel I was staying at and said they had found my wallet on the street!! Nothing was missing, although apparently there was one fraudulent attempt on my debit. Anyways, with my sanity back in store, we went to bed and woke up to go home. Needless to say, it was one crazy night. My shoe got a hole in it, the button on my black jeans fell off, and my belt broke all in that weekend, too. Definitely a story for the ages.

Besides the weekend, everything's been going well. One problem though...I've been having a hard time NOT spending money. I know, none of you are shocked, at all, but it's really a problem here. It's hard to just go grocery shopping and make yourself food when everyone wants to go out all the time. Plus we hardly have any time just to relax and cook for ourselves, so we end up spending at least £5 on a meal...and that add's up quickly, at least £70 a week! So today I went ACTUAL grocery shopping, as in bread, biscuits (or crackers), crisps (chips), butter, cheese (brie and cheddar), and some soup, so I can make myself sandwiches, soup, snacks, etc. That way I will, hopefully, quit spending so much dang money.

I've also decided that I'm going to actually try to run 4-5 times a week. I've been slacking with that, since I've had so much other things to do, but it makes me feel so much better about myself and I actually eat less on days I run, so I figure it'll help me save money too. I found a great ~3 mile run that loops by the London Eye, up the Golden Jubilee Bridge, past Westminster and Big Ben, and back down the Lambeth bridge to bring me back home. It's perfect because they aren't any major streets and a lot of runners use the path, too. I've discovered that running on sidewalks here gets you some nasty looks, so I've had to be creative. I plan on hopefully heading to a park tomorrow to do my run, probably Hyde park, so that'll be great sightseeing while exercising :)

Anyways, I need to run to grab my laundry and then actually go on that run I was talking about earlier. Catch you on the flip siiiiiide! :)

Tinton Abbey! So beautiful! :)

makin friendzzz ;) 

Oh heyyyy Wisco!

Helllllo again!

I have been so incredibly busy, it's virtually unbelievable. Since Monday, I've been to the British Museum, walked the South Bank, visited the Clink, visited the Olympic grounds (which are surprisingly NOT pretty at all), went to the Museum of London, saw original Roman amphitheaters and walls of the city of London, bought about 3 bags of groceries for under £15, went to St. Paul's cathedral, went to St. Bartholomew's (where Four Weddings and a Funeral was filmed, amongst others) , a bunch of random places around there, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, St. James' Park.....SO MANY THINGS TO DO HERE.
Needless to say, I'm absolutely exhausted. But also having the time of my life...so I'd say it's a fair trade. Tonight myself and some people are going to a club where there's a pool, apparently? Don't know how safe that is, but I guess we will find out! Then I'm meeting a friend at the airport during his layover in the morning. It'll be so nice to see someone from home...even though I've hardly been gone a week!
This weekend we are going to Wales! I'm super pumped to see some castles, and get out and explore outside of London. Next Thursday/Friday I believe we are going to Dublin as well, then Venice and Paris in July. It's going to be insane 6 weeks, but I am so excited to be here and loving everyone I've met. We all get along really well and I think it's going to be such a great experience.

Ta ta for now!

Peter and a bust.

Flowers in our hair by a nasty barge. ;)

Olympic park? Not as nice as I thought....

Inside some important building. Don't really remember.

Hello all!!

I am officially writing you for the first time FROM LONDON! Sorry it's been a few days, I'm not even all settled in yet (need hangers and a bowl still...), but I have some down time so I figured I'd update this thaaang.
Everything has been going super well! Our first day here was obviously super long due to some serious jet lag, and we had to cart all our luggage around London until 2:00 (or 14:00, if I want to stay true to my location), and that was a major pain in the arse. We were all ridiculously over tired and giggled every time the tube...lady? said "cockfosters." But in the end, we all made it to our respective living quarters and proceeded to unpack and such.
My room is nice, it was originally supposed to be a double so I have two beds of which I turned into a double bed. Don't really need the extra space but it is nice to be able to sprawl after a long day of walking EVERYWHERE. Linens were all provided and we actually have housekeeping that comes by once a week, so that is awesome. I'll post some pictures of my room at the end of this :) It's looking messy in those pictures and there aren't any photographs on the wall like there will be by the end of the day, but you'll get the right idea.
Communicating with folks back home hasn't been too bad. I suspended service with verizon so I don't even have my old number currently active, but I did bring my phone and use wifi and a couple of apps (TextFree and GrooVe IP) to text/call people when I have active internet connection, which is basically whenever I'm in my room or on campus. Or in a starbucks. I'm also trying to stay logged in on skype as much as I can so people can video call me, too. So, if you have skype and would like to chat, hit me up at allisonkristyne! (no exclamation mark)
Today we had our first day of "class." My class is called Londinium to the Blitz, and we basically never meet in the classroom and just go to museums for the next three weeks...so it's awesome. Really, really awesome. And I get to do a report that I can channel back to babies and the blitz, and we all know how much I like that topic. In case you don't, it was enough to write 32 pages about it. So that will be really cool! I also know a lot of people in my class so that's always nice.

Anyways, this post is long. Ta ta for now!

all of us being obnoxious tourists on the tube...

my makeshift double bed :)

desk/window (with shoes on ledge - just like madison!)

the view of the Eye while walking to our tube stop,
Lambeth North.

Leaving!

For those of you who are obviously anxiously awaiting my first post from London....sorry, this ain't it.

I leave tomorrow! Actually, in precisely 20.5 hours I will be taking off in Chicago. I'm not entirely packed yet....but that's a minor detail and not what this post is about.
This is about the realization that I have the best friends in the world. Really, though. I mean, I've always known that I have awesome friends, but the past twenty-four hours has proved that even more to me. Last night, a good group of friends and myself went out in celebration of my last night in Madison. It was easily one of my favorite nights in Madison thus far, and it was such a random group of people from different parts of my life but they're all so awesome that it just worked perfectly. Each one of them said their own goodbye to me, too. It really meant the world to me, and I had the time of my life.
Today I got to say goodbye to those who weren't with me last night, and it made me realize once again that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. While I get to experience going abroad without the terrifying feeling of leaving a boyfriend and/or significant other behind, and I really really really love that, I am really going to miss my friends. The fact that going away for seven weeks has brought each of them to be sure to say goodbye to me says so much.

Plus it was a really flipping fun night.

TOMORROW!

Hello all (or few who read this)!

As many of you may know, I am studying abroad in London for seven weeks over the course of the summer. I leave on Friday night (sdkfdslkjasdas), and return on Thursday, August 2nd. This is where I am going to actually commit to writing about all  (most) of my experiences while I'm there. AND, since I plan on having the time of my life and doing everything possible out of my comfort zone (which shouldn't be too difficult - anywhere out of my bed is pretty much out of my comfort zone), it should be a good read.
I thought I'd start with a little diddy on how ridiculously stressed out I am about packing. Historically, I tend to be a "last-minute" kind of gal (with the logic that I will stress more over a long period of time than if I just take one massive do-everything-you-need-to-day), hence I decided that doing my packing the day before my trip would be best. Unfortunately, this has backfired a bit, and I am currently way more stressed out about this than I would be had I started earlier. Oh well, it always gets done...right? Plus side, I did pack my things that I will be taking with me from Madison. Negative side, by "pack" I mean folded my clothes and put them on my futon with no means of transport for them between my apartment and my car. Oh well, at least I'll get my exercise.
Another issue? My loan hasn't come through yet. That's right, the money that I plan on living off of when I get there has not arrived. Did I mention I leave the day after tomorrow? Stress.
On top of all of this, I made the brillllliant decision to stay up until 3:00 last night. Foresight? YOLO.* Hindsight? Dumb as shit. Not only am  I exhausted, but I'm at work until 5:30 and then have plans tonight. Glass half full: my nap this evening will be kick ass. I am excited for tonight though, it's kind of my last-hurrah in Madison until August, and it involves the weirdest conglomeration of my friends I think that has ever existed in one place at one time. Also karaoke. I haven't done much math since high school, but I do know that adds up to be one hell of a night. I apologize for the corny language. Did I mention I'm tired?
Anyways, let's make a list of things I plan to accomplish whilst in London.

1. Acquire a British accent. I'm not kidding. I will sound like the queen by the time I get back here, mark my words. If not, I will at least fake it until it's convincing. Or until I can annoy my friends...which should take all of thirty seconds. I have impatient friends.
2. Acquire more patient friends.
3. Successfully learn and USE British slang that is actually in practice. Not like the typical things you hear in movies, unless those are real...they might be, but I've been to London before and have never heard them. Anyways, words like "quid" instead of  "bucks" (as in money, not like a 10 point deer or something). 
4. Become much more proficient at knowing what coins are what. I know my way around British currency already (actually found a few pounds worth in my bag from last year -win!), but I would like to not look like a total American asshole that is holding everyone up because she can't figure out the difference between a 5 p and 10 p.
5. Convince the United States' Treasury Department/Mint that we need to make a usable one dollar and two dollar coin. IT'S SO USEFUL.
6. This is a serious one - train for my half marathon. I ran 6.5 miles last night, so I'm ahead of schedule, but I'm actually concerned about the air quality in London and it affecting how I run. Either way, I have to get to at least 12 miles by August 18th - 65 days. Leggggggo. 
7. Learn how long a km is compared to a mile. Also really learn how to use the metric system. I'm dumb and American, and even though it's based on tens instead of random ass numbers like 12 and 5,260, I still can't figure it out. Also, wtf is a stone?!
8. Visit Paris and Ireland. And Venice, since my boss at Loft told me I would be fired if I didn't get there. 
9. Drink British tea. This is probably a bit cliche and maybe outdated, but my love of old people and hot drinks makes this a no-brainer. 
10. For when I get back home - profusely confuse my friends with my use of words like lift, loo, pants, rubber, etc. 

That's all I got for now. I'm sure this list will get longer as I get there and such. 

Anyways, thanks for sticking with me. That'll do for now.

Cheerio! (Sorry - I had to)

*any use of the word YOLO is strictly sarcastic/not really because it usually actually applies. But I still think it's dumb.