I took a haitus...

ALLLLL of the available apologies. These past few days have been a blur of workouts, studying, classes & homework. All of that typical end of semester type of things - all coming at once! 

But here I am, finally writing to you, as I do not have anything to do URGENTLY. 

So what have I been up to these past few days? you ask. Well, let me get right to informing you!

The answer? Nothing truly amazing. Just work & lots of it. I've honestly just been going to class, cooking, eating, & doing work. It has been some of those typical college days. 

But here's my day today! 

I went to the Tate Modern - the most visited modern art museum in the world - for class today. It was a really cool museum & we went to see the Rothko artwork. I'm not a huge fan of modern art but we did get to see a few Picasso pieces!

It was pouring rain on my way there - but I stopped to take this pretty picture. 

& this one

The turbine hall

I had a delicious lunch today from a cute little stand up the street. It was delicious! 

SO GOOD 

This sight was beautiful on the way back from the gym. I'll miss seeing the Shard & Saint Paul's every day. 

SO here I am, about ready to go to bed. & it's almost May! 

Happy Hump Day!

Sunday....?

I wish I had more to tell you about my Sunday but let's be honest, it was the same ole.

I woke up this morning & went to Hillsong London, as I always do. I will truly miss that fantastic church once I head home. It has been inspirational, thought provoking, & has felt like home for the past few months. I will really miss the music & people who you meet, where their mantra is "Welcome Home." I LOVE that!

I then headed home... for some homework. Sounds like a thrilling day, right? 

I'm now just finishing, as I am a terrible procrastinator & get distracted incredibly easily. I probably could have been done hours ago, had I only focused! But now here I am, writing to you as I prepare for bed. 

Only 4 more days of class left! How insane is that... I remember just getting here & falling in love with my classes. Now they are almost over. To say I'm sad describes only one side of the story... On the other hand, I'm ready to be done with school work, as I am at the conclusion of every semester. After this week, there's a few papers & a few finals that stand in my way of coming home!

So here goes nothing. Here's to completing the semester strongly! 

Because.. why not?

Studying Abroad... The time of your life to explore everything, eat new things & go see different places. Well, for me, rugby was never really my thing. I never had the desire to go watch a bunch of grown men tackle each other without pads. 

Yesterday, a few classmates & myself went to the Richmond Athletic Grounds & watched a rugby match. It was a high scoring game, as you can see below, but was well worth it. Ad mission was cheap & we got to watch some good tackles! 

After this, we just went & hung out as friends. I'm thoroughly content with how I spent one of my last Saturdays here!

Cause I wanna be a princess...

I've always wanted to be a princess. In fact, when Kate & William got engaged, I may or may not have googled "bachelor princes." && tried to find myself one. Clearly unsuccessful but one has to dream, right? 

Well, today I visited what felt like a REAL castle. Windsor Castle is about half an hour train ride away from London, perfect distance for a day trip but did not allow me to have my customary train ride nap. Boo!

Windsor itself is an adorable city. Not really much to do or see there besides pubs, the castle, & shopping but well worth the trip! Our goal was to see the Castle & we accomplished that!

Here's the first views of the town we saw:

CASTLES. 

I really wish America had castles. 

I have a thing for taking pictures of ceilings when I'm not supposed to! Here's an AMAZING ceiling in the State Apartments. 

THAT is the section where the Queen stays when she visits. This is considered to be her weekend home. I can only imagine how the inside of her apartment is decorated... probably pristine! 

We happened to walk upon the changing of the guards. I may have not seen it at Buckingham Palace (oops) but I promise I'll head there in the next 2 weeks! 

It's so funny to watch their facial expressions & how seriously they take their jobs. 

The Castle was SO worth seeing. I sadly don't have any pictures from inside, as they were forbidden. But feel free to Google! 

Happy Weekend!

Thursday Adventures

Yesterday, Jake & I headed to the Science Museum. It wasn't as exciting as I expected, considering I'm not 5... it was very interactive & well designed but nothing I hadn't seen before. 

I found it funny that they had a bunch of information regarding Americans in the Space exhibit.

They also had an exhibit asking "who am i?" It's not that exciting of an exhibit... I thought it was gonna be more fun but here's a picture of "who I am." 

So last night, I had the pleasure of attending Wicked! WOW. I've been dying to see this musical forever & it lived up to every single one of my expectations. It was THAT good. The set, costumes, everything was spot on & the story line was much better than I expected. I've seen 2 great plays since being here. 

Since its Thursday, I'm thankful for great musicals & my impending trip to a castle tomorrow. No complaints! 

Happy Almost Weekend! 

Wednesdays & Happy News

It is truly beginning to hit me -how fast life honestly flies by. Sometimes I just sit here & think about how I've dreamed of being in this place for so long. && how short of a time I have left here. How weird is to be in a place you've always dreamed of. These dreams are no longer dreams but instead a reality. 

But here's the problem. After the first few weeks, that magical, mystical feeling starts to slip away. We melt into the routines of life & rarely step out of our comfort zone/ routine. In my last few days here, I am trying to make sure I appreciate the beauty that is around me. Today's post doesn't really feature a verse or theme I've been studying. Instead, it's the realization that God's beauty is all around us... yet we rarely stop to appreciate it. 

So recently, I've been trying to do so. Lots of kids here are sneaking in their last minute clubbing adventures, restaurants, & parks. But instead, I'm attempting to cherish the small things. The budding trees down the street, the "Mind the Gap" every time I get on the train, or the Costa coffees I get. I've also been trying to step out of my routine & cherish our nights watching football, sitting on a park bench or walking down the street. Maybe getting out of your routine is what you need in your life to appreciate the beauty that is all around us... just a thought. 

Enough inspirational musings. 

Today's happy news?

So in December of 1988, 35 students were headed home from the Syracuse University London Abroad program. Suddenly, not too long after take off, their plane exploded over Lockerbie Scotland, killing 270 individuals: 259 on the plane & 11 on the ground. This was considered a terrorist attack & the University strives to remember this students still to this day. 

As a result of this tragedy, scholarships were established in memory of the students whose lives were lost. Every year, 35 seniors are selected as Remembrance Scholars. These students are chosen to Look Back & Act Forward, in memory of the student they represent. Students apply & are interviewed for such a prestigious position. It is one of the highest honors at Syracuse University. I am beyond humbled & honored to announce that I was chosen as one of the 2015-2016 Remembrance Scholars. It is an unbelievable honor. 

Thanks for all of your prayers & see you all on American soil in 16 days!

Too Early Tuesday

Today was one of those days... & sadly, I didn't stay in bed. This was especially sad because my first class got cancelled! After I was already awake & almost ready to leave... So instead, I headed to the gym for a workout & then ran some errands. Oh & finished some Netflix episodes. I guess I really have nothing to complain about. 

After my workout, I walked around the corner to sit in a "square." (a little area of green grass. park. whatever you wish to call it). & I just sat & listened to music. It was peaceful & really beautiful! The leaves & flowers are in blossom here. London is livening up! 

My attempts to grocery shop led me to a taxi strike. I'm not quite sure the purpose but they were certainly accomplishing their goal of disrupting! They parked their taxis all over the busiest shopping street in London. Smart but super annoying for me! It just meant a lot more people were on the Tube compared to normal. 

But on the way to the Tube, I saw this pretty tree. So I guess God throws out little blessings when you need them! 

So now, here I am working on homework. The semester is about to come swiftly to an end & I am thoroughly not prepared! I have 2 papers, 2 presentations, & 4 tests left to go... all in the next 17 days. So there's that. All happy thoughts & prayers would be GREATLY appreciated. 

But in all honesty, & I will post more on this soon, I am conflicted as to whether or not I am ready to go home. For certain reasons, like the people I love ALL being at home, I am ready to go in an instant but then on bright, blue skied days, I realize I am really going to miss this place when I leave. 

So, here I am soaking up the sunshine & last moments in this gorgeous city. All while trying to do schoolwork... boo! I guess that counts for the STUDY part of study abroad. 

Happy Tuesday!

-hannah-

Kempton Races

Happy Monday! Here's to 2 more weeks of class (7 days... but I'm not counting). 

Today, my morning class was spent discussing art. At around noon, I secured tickets to Wicked for Thursday for a great price! I'm always a fan of cheap tickets. Especially when it's a show I've wanted to see forever! I wish you could see the set here - it's incredible! 

But this afternoon, I went to class... at the Kempton Park Course! We went to the horse races! 

This was special for me, as a little girl my dad & I would always watch the Triple Crown together. My bedtime story even consisted of horses. So it was neat to FINALLY see a horse race in person! 

Here are the stands:

The parade area. They walk the horses around this area to warm them up. They then walk in a circle so you can inspect them before betting. 

Here are the horses head to the gates!

Horses & jockeys/saddles get weighed before racing - to make sure the racing is fair!

You can watch on the screen when the horses are far away - on the other side of the track

Here they come!

Gorgeous view over the railroad tracks on the way home

The track was about an hour from our flat but well worth the trip! It was a warm day, with lots of sunlight so no complaints here! I absolutely love my sport class because it allows me to see things & visit places I would never have known about, had it not been for this class! 

So it was a great day overall. && now I'm off to bed! Class in the morning! Happy Monday all! 

Sunday Sunday

As always, my Sunday started off with a trip to Hillsong London. I was so sad, sitting there today & realizing I only get to attend 2 more times. It has truly been such a cool experience to attend church at Hillsong & makes me wish we had one closer to home! In two weeks, my sermon will be taught by either Beth Moore or Joyce Myers, as they have a large women's conference here in 2 weeks. That should prove to be an awesome service. 

So I headed home after my weekly chat with mama bear. Then Arielle & I decided to head off to the Cereal Killer Cafe. The Shoreditch restaurant (if you can even call it that) brags to have basically any form of cereal you can think of. You can add toppings, pick a certain type of milk, or even add candy. It's pretty inexpensive, as I paid just over 3 pounds for my bowl. Not to bad - considering I got to have Cocoa Pebbles with strawberries on top. Yum! 

I was not too thrilled with the Shoreditch area. It felt a little unsafe & I will honestly not be returning there before heading home. This was the only place I wanted to see in that area & I am glad I did, though! 

Here's the place. Check it out:

Look how many varieties of Chex. NUTS!

The menu (Sorry it's a bit blurry)

& more

my delicious bowl, with fresh fruit. Attempting to offset all of the sugar & calories. Worth the effort, right? 

They had tvs playing classic shows & cartoons. With all of the VHS boxes of Friends on top. 

Added in some milk

So sad when it was done!

Eclectic little place

Collection of toys out of cereal boxes

After this delicious trip, I headed to the gym, in an attempt to burn off those Cocoa Pebbles. & now here I am, contemplating heading to bed ASAP. 

Sorry for the infrequent updates, schoolwork has been picking up & I am trying squeeze everything into my last days here. 19 more days! 

Saturday Updates

Let's be real for a second. I only have 2 more Saturdays here.... How? Where exactly did the time go? If anyone knows, can you let me know? K thanks. 

So yesterday (sorry for the late update) Jake, Kelley & I headed to the markets for some lunch. We had fresh pasta at Borough Market. This market is more for picking up your groceries: such as cheese, fresh meats, drinks etc. Camden Market is for getting lunch! But we luckily found a stall service some food. No complaints here - I had my mulled wine again. (If Blogger let me use emojis, there'd be the smiley face with hearts for eyes here). 

The Eye looks gorgeous right now with the blossoms! Such a difference, compared to when I was here a few months ago. Weird to think I went on the Eye over 2 months ago! But Kelley & I decided - we were blessed that we did it at dusk. It let you see London in both night & day. Perfect!

SO MANY BLUE SKIES THIS WEEK 

Then, we decided to head to the aquarium. Here's a picture of Nemo & Dory. (I wish!) It was a really well done aquarium, which focused A LOT on conservation & rescue. It was a bit much sometimes... but well decorated & enjoyed by all of us 21 year olds. 

After, the flatmates wanted to head to the Designer Outlets just north of London. Turns out, they're right next to Wembley Stadium (used in the 2012 Olympics). There was a Semi-Final game for the FA Cup & fans were everywhere. I do love the spirit they have for football - it felt just like a Syracuse game at home!  

Again, the stadium

After that, Jake & I headed to a pub at night to meet up with a friend & her sister. We headed home & off to bed, after a few Netflix episodes. Homeland is a FANTASTIC show, by the way. However, a few scenes per episode which they could of left out & you should skip. But the story line? Excellent. 

Arsenal Tour

Now I'll add some words to this collection of gorgeous photos. I know you were all chomping at the bit to find out some information regarding my Arsenal Tour & Afternoon Tea Date with my favorite, Kelley. 

Her brother studied abroad in Bath, United Kingdom a few years ago. He was an Arsenal fan & really wanted his sister to experience the Emirates Stadium. This 60,000 seat stadium is only a few stops away from me & we went to visit it on Friday. 

I previously toured Chelsea & this was nothing like that. First of all, it was build in the last 10 years & Chelsea's stadium has been around for a while. This was the first view of the stadium we had. 

I'm not an Arsenal fan but this stadium was AWESOME to see! It felt more like an American stadium, compared to some of the others we have seen here. 

This is the suite areas. This isn't the most expensive area... wow. 

I'd love to spend a game here - maybe someday?

View from the Diamond Club - the most expensive & prestigious section 

The tunnel

Up close

Imagine how it would feel to be standing on this pitch. Nuts!

Another view for you! 

Then Kelley & I went for tea at Inn the Park. It's a cute little restaurant in St. James' Park. We got to sit outside & had a view of the gorgeous fountain/pond. 

We got cute antique teapots! 

Overall, it was a great day! The scones were perfect at tea but the sandwiches were not as good as I had with Mom & Aunt. But ya know, you win some & ya lose some.