Well it has been a long time and as per request of my father, here is a new blog to fill everyone in on my life in Colorado. It's been exactly two weeks since my last blog, but no earth shattering events have happened, especially during the week compared to the activity level I had while in London. Life is a lot slower here and days are a lot longer at the clinical. I sure miss the 35 hr work week they had over the pond!
I spent the week after Loveland pretty much trying to get unsore and preparing for my trip to Breckenridge with Anna and Meghan. I made dinner twice that week for the fam and spent evenings watching American Idol and studying for new things I would experience at clinical the next day. As Friday came in, I was so excited for my weekend in Breckenridge. I was actually able to sneak out of work about 5 whole minutes early in order to make it to the airport on time. I went inside to pick them up and we headed out for our journey to Breck. It was a long drive, but nice to have some time to really catch up. We got into Breck and headed to the Breckenridge Brewery for a sampler before bed :) It was nice and we all slept well in preparation for skiing the next day. The next morning we were in no rush, headed to a great breakfast at the Blue Moose Cafe (great place if you're ever there!), and then went to get our ski rentals and hit the slopes. Anna has only skiied once before, so we took things pretty slowly until lunch, and then she decided to retire for the day. Meghan and I then hit the green trails a little bit more (and a little faster) before also heading in. We all went back to the hotel, took naps and showers, and then strolled down main street Breckenridge. We ended the stroll at a great Mexican place for dinner and drinks, to ease the stiffness from skiing of course. As it was St. Patty's Day the next week, we went to the local Irish pub, I had a Guinness, but we called it an early night again since we would ski again Sunday. Skiing Sunday was great and Anna started to get comfortable, until we took her on a more challenging green and she got mad. The weather was amazing both days with abundant sunshine and good snow conditions. We had a great second day skiing and then had to head back to Evergreen for the evening. We took it easy as we were pretty worn out once we got back and hit the sack early, as I had to get up for clinical the next morning too.
Meghan and Anna took me to clinical Monday and then decided to venture out around the area...exploring Red Rocks (a natural amphitheatre with concerts in the summer), the Coors brewery, and even attempting a hike up a mountain to Buffalo Bill's grave (but I think they stopped halfway up). They seemed to enjoy the day and it was sad when they picked me up from clinical and I drove them to the airport. It was a great weekend and great to see them for sure. Breckenridge is a great town with easy slopes for those who haven't skiied much before (so I guess this is my little plug for Breck).
This past week, clinical was kinda scary on Monday as I found out I would be working full-time with the "annoying/evil" CI. The one plus is she works 4 longer days, but no work on most Tuesdays! Fortunately as the week went on, she got less uptight and more cordial, and even less quizzing in front of patients. The days have been even longer than expected because she likes to chat and finish paperwork for about 1-2 hours after we're scheduled to be there. This happenend Friday night, so as I was leaving the clinic around 7:20, I decided to stay down the mountain and catch dinner and movie. I went to a little Mexican restaurant and then saw "I Love You, Man." Both were ok, but it was nice to have some activity outside of clinical (and it was great knowing it was Friday and I had 2 days off).
Yesterday, Mrs. Lise made a big breakfast and then we went on a little excursion around our area. We drove a scenic route along a creek that took us through a canyon between 2 huge mountains. I saw rock climbers, people fly fishing, and even crazy people hang-gliding. It was a beautiful drive and we got out at a couple of spots to take some photos (so maybe I'll post those at some point). We then drove on through Golden (home of Coors brewery and a great western style town), and then the backroads to Boulder. Boulder was a very cute town, home of CU, but was filled with "interesting" people. Doesn't seem like a place I would necessarily fit in, but a great earthly and hippie atmosphere. We grabbed a crepe for late lunch and the headed back to Evergreen. Last night was low key, as I watched basketball, did some stuff for clinical, and hit the sack early. Today will most likely be the same as it's really windy and a supposed snow storm is approaching, so I will take this weekend off from skiing. Hopefully the snow does come and either Tuesday or next weekend with be great for another time out on the slopes. Hope all is well for everyone and I'll be in touch again soon!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Life in Colorado
Hi!
The first week in Colorado has been nice. Dad arrived Tuesday afternoon with my car and thankfully I was off work at 3. We came back up to the house and then hopped in the car with Mrs. Lise and Noah and headed out for a short trip around the mountain and through Evergreen so Dad could see the sites. Unfortunately, still no snow on the ground so it looks a lot like a desert, but it remains beautiful. We stopped for dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the lake in Evergreen. It was a wonderful meal and once I got home, I crashed from exhaustion. On Wednesday, I had a full day of work and Dad went exploring. We went to grab pizza with the family at a great place here in Evergreen. The London time must have still been getting to me b/c I fell right asleep when I got home. I woke up the next morning and took Dad to the airport and then went into work. This was my first day with my other CI and it was quite eventful.
She thrives on quizzing me, even in front of patients, so it's very aggrivating. I understand I'm not overly confident in outpatient orthopedics b/c I've had little experience since starting school, but she didn't care and kept quizzing me throughout the day. I know I have more to learn and get good at, but it was a little intense on the first day with her. Thursday and Friday were more the same and she began to truly drive me crazy. As I came home Friday, I was so excited to be out of the place for 2 days. Hopefully things will get better, but this is the first CI I really can't stand. She informed me at the end of the day Friday that I've done well in my first week and she believes I need just a little push and motivation and I'll be great! UHH!!! Thankfully she's gone until Wednesday :)
To let my frustations out, Mrs. Lise, Hunter, and I went to see a great band I saw the last time I was here in Evergreen, The Jakarta Band. It is a group of 10 or so people who play soul/funk stuff. They are a great band and this, along with a few Coors Lights, helped ease the nerves from my first week. Saturday I finished unpacking, drove through snow into town to go to wal-mart, and did some studying/reviewing of my school stuff. The day was nice and relaxed and Mrs. Lise and I had a "quiche-off" to see who could make the best quiche. They were both great and was awesome since we watched "French Kiss" on TV. Another early night to bed b/c I was planning on getting up today to ski.
This morning I headed out around 9 and went down to Loveland to ski. It was only 45 minutes from the house so that was very nice. It was very sunny and kinda warm, so it made for great weather. Skiing came back pretty naturally from last year when I went, but I have a feeling I'll be pretty sore tomorrow. Hopefully this will prepare me for next weekend when Meghan and Anna come to town and we spend the weekend in Breckenridge. Hopefully this week at work will be better and I'll learn some more info...that I should already know!
Hope to blog again soon :)
The first week in Colorado has been nice. Dad arrived Tuesday afternoon with my car and thankfully I was off work at 3. We came back up to the house and then hopped in the car with Mrs. Lise and Noah and headed out for a short trip around the mountain and through Evergreen so Dad could see the sites. Unfortunately, still no snow on the ground so it looks a lot like a desert, but it remains beautiful. We stopped for dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the lake in Evergreen. It was a wonderful meal and once I got home, I crashed from exhaustion. On Wednesday, I had a full day of work and Dad went exploring. We went to grab pizza with the family at a great place here in Evergreen. The London time must have still been getting to me b/c I fell right asleep when I got home. I woke up the next morning and took Dad to the airport and then went into work. This was my first day with my other CI and it was quite eventful.
She thrives on quizzing me, even in front of patients, so it's very aggrivating. I understand I'm not overly confident in outpatient orthopedics b/c I've had little experience since starting school, but she didn't care and kept quizzing me throughout the day. I know I have more to learn and get good at, but it was a little intense on the first day with her. Thursday and Friday were more the same and she began to truly drive me crazy. As I came home Friday, I was so excited to be out of the place for 2 days. Hopefully things will get better, but this is the first CI I really can't stand. She informed me at the end of the day Friday that I've done well in my first week and she believes I need just a little push and motivation and I'll be great! UHH!!! Thankfully she's gone until Wednesday :)
To let my frustations out, Mrs. Lise, Hunter, and I went to see a great band I saw the last time I was here in Evergreen, The Jakarta Band. It is a group of 10 or so people who play soul/funk stuff. They are a great band and this, along with a few Coors Lights, helped ease the nerves from my first week. Saturday I finished unpacking, drove through snow into town to go to wal-mart, and did some studying/reviewing of my school stuff. The day was nice and relaxed and Mrs. Lise and I had a "quiche-off" to see who could make the best quiche. They were both great and was awesome since we watched "French Kiss" on TV. Another early night to bed b/c I was planning on getting up today to ski.
This morning I headed out around 9 and went down to Loveland to ski. It was only 45 minutes from the house so that was very nice. It was very sunny and kinda warm, so it made for great weather. Skiing came back pretty naturally from last year when I went, but I have a feeling I'll be pretty sore tomorrow. Hopefully this will prepare me for next weekend when Meghan and Anna come to town and we spend the weekend in Breckenridge. Hopefully this week at work will be better and I'll learn some more info...that I should already know!
Hope to blog again soon :)
Monday, March 2, 2009
Back in the USA
Hi from lovely (and non-snowy Colorado),
The rest of my time in London was very nice. Wednesday, we ventured out for oure last excursion to Topshop (a great store in London, similar to H&M) and then had a great experience at our first Indian restaurant. The food and service were great and I'll definitely make more trips to Indian restaurants as I stumble upon them. Jenna and I had a nice evening at our leaving drinks last Thursday, my review and final day on Friday went great, and Saturday morning came so quickly. The flight from London was alright. My first seat had the tv malfunction, so I moved onto the first row, middle section, which had no one else on the row. Unfortunately, the arm rests don't go up there, so I was still stuck sitting straight up, but nice to have no one next to me. The flight went rather quickly as I watched some movies, listened to music, etc. Once in Atlanta, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Chili's (amazing since I had been away for so long) and got on the flight to Denver. The flight seemed to drag on as I was getting more tired as it rolled into "after midnight" London time. Once in Denver, Ms. Lise picked me up and I was practically a zombie on the way home. I stayed up until 8 and then crashed for the evening until 9:15 the next morning. Didn't feel so great b/c I was hungry, still tired, most likely dehydrated, etc. Sunday was very uneventful as I spent most of the time on the couch watching basketball. I went to bed early again last night and prepared for my first day of clinical.
My clinical is at an outpatient orthopedic facility here in Evergreen. My CI seems very nice, but very enthusiastic about Pilates and had me try a bunch of it today. I am obviously not in great shape b/c I'm pretty sore already. The hours will be long on some days, but it seems she will be a great teacher and I will learn a lot. Dad gets here tomorrow with my car, so it will be nice to see him and test out my driving skills, since I haven't driven since Christmas! Suprisingly there is no snow out here and has been a very dry winter so far in Colorado. That may predict a brutal spring, but we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that things don't get too bad. My blogs may not be as frequent or eventful, but keep reading and I'll fill everyone in on life in Colorado!
The rest of my time in London was very nice. Wednesday, we ventured out for oure last excursion to Topshop (a great store in London, similar to H&M) and then had a great experience at our first Indian restaurant. The food and service were great and I'll definitely make more trips to Indian restaurants as I stumble upon them. Jenna and I had a nice evening at our leaving drinks last Thursday, my review and final day on Friday went great, and Saturday morning came so quickly. The flight from London was alright. My first seat had the tv malfunction, so I moved onto the first row, middle section, which had no one else on the row. Unfortunately, the arm rests don't go up there, so I was still stuck sitting straight up, but nice to have no one next to me. The flight went rather quickly as I watched some movies, listened to music, etc. Once in Atlanta, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Chili's (amazing since I had been away for so long) and got on the flight to Denver. The flight seemed to drag on as I was getting more tired as it rolled into "after midnight" London time. Once in Denver, Ms. Lise picked me up and I was practically a zombie on the way home. I stayed up until 8 and then crashed for the evening until 9:15 the next morning. Didn't feel so great b/c I was hungry, still tired, most likely dehydrated, etc. Sunday was very uneventful as I spent most of the time on the couch watching basketball. I went to bed early again last night and prepared for my first day of clinical.
My clinical is at an outpatient orthopedic facility here in Evergreen. My CI seems very nice, but very enthusiastic about Pilates and had me try a bunch of it today. I am obviously not in great shape b/c I'm pretty sore already. The hours will be long on some days, but it seems she will be a great teacher and I will learn a lot. Dad gets here tomorrow with my car, so it will be nice to see him and test out my driving skills, since I haven't driven since Christmas! Suprisingly there is no snow out here and has been a very dry winter so far in Colorado. That may predict a brutal spring, but we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that things don't get too bad. My blogs may not be as frequent or eventful, but keep reading and I'll fill everyone in on life in Colorado!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Final Blog
Last week was nice with more activities with Jenna's family. Wednesday we had tapas and Thursday we went to a Mexican restaurant that I had been to the previous weekend. On Friday night, Jenna and I had a quick dinner and then stumbled upon an interesting Australian pub. They had rugby on TV and we couldn't believe how the sport is still legal. With no pads or helmets, I can't believe most of the people walk off the field intact each night. Jenna then headed to her mom's hotel to get ready for their early flight. I went to sleep early as I had decided to venture to Oxford on Saturday and meet up with Gina, a girl from the Physio department at RHN, and her friend.
The trip to Oxford was a very easy train ride and it was a beautiful day when I arrived. We decided to do the hop on/hop off bus to take us around the loop of the city so we could learn some and get oriented. We then got off at the "Christ Church" stop and ventured into the Church and college grounds. The dining hall and stairs were used as inspiration for Harry Potter movies, so I was very excited about that. We then walked to St Mary the Virgin's church, which has an interesting balcony 120 stairs up, that proved to be wide enough for a small child. It wasn't very easy to move around the other people and was quite scary! It did have great views of Oxford, so definitely worth it. We then moved on to a pub recommended by Gina's friend, called the Turf Tavern that was down a narrow alley and would never be found by tourists. It was a really cool pub and great for my last weekend here in the UK. After the pub we went to Jamie's Kitchen, Jamie Oliver's new "chain" of fabulous restaurants he's opened up in the UK. Tons of food and drink later, we had fallen in love with Jamie's! I got back on the train after that and made my journey back to London.
Sunday morning I wasn't feeling very energized after my crazy fun day in Oxford, so I decided to lay around until around noon. I eventually got motivated and went into London to see a few more museums (Victoria & Albert's, History, and Science Museums), but nothing was catching my attention. I think I was officially museumed out! I had planned on catching an afternoon tea, so I made my way, but was sidetracked by seeing Harrod's. It wasn't in my plan to step into this "posh" department store, but felt it was something to see since I was right there. It was very cool and very ritzy, but the "food hall" was something I've never experienced before. It had a special room for teas and chocolates, butcher area, fresh fish with an area to dine, prepared meals, sushi, everything you could imagine. For me as a "foody" I loved this. It alone was worth my 1/2 hour inside. I carried on to the hotel for afternoon tea and it was all I could've imagined. They first came out with my choice of teas, then followed with a selection of crustless sandwiches. How cool! I then had my sweet selection of home-made scones with cream, tarts, etc. I was stuffed at the end and was so happy that I fit this in at the end of my trip. I ventured back to the dorms and had to call it a weekend after this.
This week has been a little sad, as I've been counting down my final things here in London. Yesterday, Jenna and I went to a nice Mexican place (Crazy Homies) we first encountered a while back near Notting Hill. Also, I had my final session in hydrotherapy with one of my main patients and did my final load of laundry in the dorm facilities. Also, we had to present an inservice to the entire department so it was great to get it over and done with, but proved that the time is coming to a close. Tonight we are here at The Station, posting our final blogs. It's amazing how quickly 8 weeks can go by! We will do farewell drinks, at the Station again, on Thursday with some people from the hospital and get ready to head out for the States early Saturday morning. I will continue the blog through my clinicals in Colorado and Birmingham, but I'm afraid they might not be as interesting, but stay tuned. Thanks for all the love and prayers while I've been abroad!!!
The trip to Oxford was a very easy train ride and it was a beautiful day when I arrived. We decided to do the hop on/hop off bus to take us around the loop of the city so we could learn some and get oriented. We then got off at the "Christ Church" stop and ventured into the Church and college grounds. The dining hall and stairs were used as inspiration for Harry Potter movies, so I was very excited about that. We then walked to St Mary the Virgin's church, which has an interesting balcony 120 stairs up, that proved to be wide enough for a small child. It wasn't very easy to move around the other people and was quite scary! It did have great views of Oxford, so definitely worth it. We then moved on to a pub recommended by Gina's friend, called the Turf Tavern that was down a narrow alley and would never be found by tourists. It was a really cool pub and great for my last weekend here in the UK. After the pub we went to Jamie's Kitchen, Jamie Oliver's new "chain" of fabulous restaurants he's opened up in the UK. Tons of food and drink later, we had fallen in love with Jamie's! I got back on the train after that and made my journey back to London.
Sunday morning I wasn't feeling very energized after my crazy fun day in Oxford, so I decided to lay around until around noon. I eventually got motivated and went into London to see a few more museums (Victoria & Albert's, History, and Science Museums), but nothing was catching my attention. I think I was officially museumed out! I had planned on catching an afternoon tea, so I made my way, but was sidetracked by seeing Harrod's. It wasn't in my plan to step into this "posh" department store, but felt it was something to see since I was right there. It was very cool and very ritzy, but the "food hall" was something I've never experienced before. It had a special room for teas and chocolates, butcher area, fresh fish with an area to dine, prepared meals, sushi, everything you could imagine. For me as a "foody" I loved this. It alone was worth my 1/2 hour inside. I carried on to the hotel for afternoon tea and it was all I could've imagined. They first came out with my choice of teas, then followed with a selection of crustless sandwiches. How cool! I then had my sweet selection of home-made scones with cream, tarts, etc. I was stuffed at the end and was so happy that I fit this in at the end of my trip. I ventured back to the dorms and had to call it a weekend after this.
This week has been a little sad, as I've been counting down my final things here in London. Yesterday, Jenna and I went to a nice Mexican place (Crazy Homies) we first encountered a while back near Notting Hill. Also, I had my final session in hydrotherapy with one of my main patients and did my final load of laundry in the dorm facilities. Also, we had to present an inservice to the entire department so it was great to get it over and done with, but proved that the time is coming to a close. Tonight we are here at The Station, posting our final blogs. It's amazing how quickly 8 weeks can go by! We will do farewell drinks, at the Station again, on Thursday with some people from the hospital and get ready to head out for the States early Saturday morning. I will continue the blog through my clinicals in Colorado and Birmingham, but I'm afraid they might not be as interesting, but stay tuned. Thanks for all the love and prayers while I've been abroad!!!
Barcelona Pictures
-The stadium used for the 1992 Olympics, now home of a soccer team
-Overlooking Barcelona
-Beer on the beach in Barcelona
-Barcelona marina
-View of the city from Parc Guell
-Barcelona with ocean in the distance
-Parc overlooking with city in background
-Parc Guell, inspired by Gaudi's architecture
-Segrada De Familia Cathedral
-Segrada De Familia Cathedral
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
So little time left in foggy London-town!
Hi!
After last Friday's post, Jenna and I headed back to the dorms for a "quiet party," which is all they will allow in our rooms out of respect for other people on the hall. We met up with Gina, a girl our age from New Zealand who works in the PT department, and the party quickly became non-quiet. After a two bottles of wine and hours of complaints about our hospital, The NHS, English ways, etc. we decided to call it a night. With a tiny headache, I arose the next morning and Jenna and I headed to the Paddington train station for a day in Windsor. Home of Windsor Castle, occasional weekend residence of the Queen, but little else, we knew we could fit all things in during one day. We arrived after a short train ride and met up with Laura, who only lives about 10 minutes away and she was home for the weekend. We walked around the town for a little bit. I was so excited because I finally found some black knee-high boots I've been searching all over Europe for and a kelly green scarf I was also looking for. It was a great shopping trip for me, finally! We called it quits after that and headed up to the Castle for our tour. Jenna was highly impressed b/c this was her first castle of Europe and it was huge. We took the tour and got to see the grounds and inside the castle apartments. I didn't remember this, but supposedly there was a huge fire in 1992 that destroyed lots of the castle and some of the really old stuff. Overall, the castle survived and all the rooms have been refurbished since. It was a beautiful place, but unfortunately we didn't get to take any pictures inside.
After the tour, Laura headed back home and Jenna and I had tapas in Windsor, then headed back to London. The day was filled with just enough activity and we crashed early on Valentine's Day as Jenna was getting up early to meet her mom at the airport and I was just naturally sleepy. Sunday morning I woke up and decided I would have a day to myself to browse around London and catch the last few things I needed to see before my time is up. I started with hopping on the tube to the "Westminster area" where The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey are. Tourists aren't allowed in the church on Sunday, but I was just in time for a service, so I was holy and went in. It was a beautiful church to just sit, stare, and of course, pray in. It was a great experience I wasn't expecting, but definitely cherished. I moved on to see No. 10 Downing St. (home of the Prime Minister), The Horses Guard Parade (where the knights keep watch over the royal horses), and St. James's Park. All were very interesting and I was glad I was able to fit these extra things in. I walked on to Trafalgar Square and grabbed some souvenirs and lunch in the area. I went to a great Tex-Mex place called Texas Embassy Cantina, recommended by the guidebook and Leigh Ann! It was a great escape from English food and I definitely recommend it for anyone traveling over here that needs bottomless chips and salsa, a nice cold beer, and great fajitas. I walked on and went to The British Museum, mostly because I was in the area. I did see a couple of cool things, including The Rosetta Stone, real mummies, parts of the original Parthenon, and lots of other artifacts from Asia, Africa, etc. It didn't include much "art" so it was a nice escape from the many other museums I have been to. I called it a night early and got ready for my week.
This week has been ok so far. Last night I met up with Jenna, her mom, and the other 3 ladies here with her mom. We enjoyed Fish & Chips from The Golden Hind again, which were better than the previous visit. It was nice to get out, especially because the weather has been mild (around 50 during the day). Tonight I've just come to The Station to blog, check emails, and do some research about where I shall journey to on my final weekend. I've thought about catching a boat on the Thames to Greenwich, heading to Oxford, or going somewhere crazy like the French wine country! Where in the world is Melissa?! I'll be blogging again soon, hopefully with pictures from Barcelona, but I've yet to add them to my computer so far. Take care and continue to prepare for my arrival back to the U.S.
After last Friday's post, Jenna and I headed back to the dorms for a "quiet party," which is all they will allow in our rooms out of respect for other people on the hall. We met up with Gina, a girl our age from New Zealand who works in the PT department, and the party quickly became non-quiet. After a two bottles of wine and hours of complaints about our hospital, The NHS, English ways, etc. we decided to call it a night. With a tiny headache, I arose the next morning and Jenna and I headed to the Paddington train station for a day in Windsor. Home of Windsor Castle, occasional weekend residence of the Queen, but little else, we knew we could fit all things in during one day. We arrived after a short train ride and met up with Laura, who only lives about 10 minutes away and she was home for the weekend. We walked around the town for a little bit. I was so excited because I finally found some black knee-high boots I've been searching all over Europe for and a kelly green scarf I was also looking for. It was a great shopping trip for me, finally! We called it quits after that and headed up to the Castle for our tour. Jenna was highly impressed b/c this was her first castle of Europe and it was huge. We took the tour and got to see the grounds and inside the castle apartments. I didn't remember this, but supposedly there was a huge fire in 1992 that destroyed lots of the castle and some of the really old stuff. Overall, the castle survived and all the rooms have been refurbished since. It was a beautiful place, but unfortunately we didn't get to take any pictures inside.
After the tour, Laura headed back home and Jenna and I had tapas in Windsor, then headed back to London. The day was filled with just enough activity and we crashed early on Valentine's Day as Jenna was getting up early to meet her mom at the airport and I was just naturally sleepy. Sunday morning I woke up and decided I would have a day to myself to browse around London and catch the last few things I needed to see before my time is up. I started with hopping on the tube to the "Westminster area" where The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey are. Tourists aren't allowed in the church on Sunday, but I was just in time for a service, so I was holy and went in. It was a beautiful church to just sit, stare, and of course, pray in. It was a great experience I wasn't expecting, but definitely cherished. I moved on to see No. 10 Downing St. (home of the Prime Minister), The Horses Guard Parade (where the knights keep watch over the royal horses), and St. James's Park. All were very interesting and I was glad I was able to fit these extra things in. I walked on to Trafalgar Square and grabbed some souvenirs and lunch in the area. I went to a great Tex-Mex place called Texas Embassy Cantina, recommended by the guidebook and Leigh Ann! It was a great escape from English food and I definitely recommend it for anyone traveling over here that needs bottomless chips and salsa, a nice cold beer, and great fajitas. I walked on and went to The British Museum, mostly because I was in the area. I did see a couple of cool things, including The Rosetta Stone, real mummies, parts of the original Parthenon, and lots of other artifacts from Asia, Africa, etc. It didn't include much "art" so it was a nice escape from the many other museums I have been to. I called it a night early and got ready for my week.
This week has been ok so far. Last night I met up with Jenna, her mom, and the other 3 ladies here with her mom. We enjoyed Fish & Chips from The Golden Hind again, which were better than the previous visit. It was nice to get out, especially because the weather has been mild (around 50 during the day). Tonight I've just come to The Station to blog, check emails, and do some research about where I shall journey to on my final weekend. I've thought about catching a boat on the Thames to Greenwich, heading to Oxford, or going somewhere crazy like the French wine country! Where in the world is Melissa?! I'll be blogging again soon, hopefully with pictures from Barcelona, but I've yet to add them to my computer so far. Take care and continue to prepare for my arrival back to the U.S.
Friday, February 13, 2009
-Ankle deep in snow at the hospital
-The morning after our disasterous trip home from Dublin. Outside our hotel at the Earl's Court tube stop.
-Jenna and I with the street leprechaun in Dublin
-Our souvenirs from Dublin and our horrified friend, Georgia, in the background
-Gravity Bar at The Guinness Storehouse with Georgia, Laura, Jenna, and Me
2 more weeks of London-town!
Greetings,
Not an overly eventful week, but I thought I would blog to keep up with what has been going on. After our evening here last Monday, we settled into a pretty normal week. Tuesday I went on my weekly ASDA run with Laura and did laundry. Wednesday, Jenna and I went out to see a movie b/c with our phone service here, you can get 2-for-1 movie tickets on Wednesday. Since we had been to Barcelona the weekend before, we went to see Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was about Vicky and Christina in Barcelona...imagine that! Had lots of great Barcelona scenery, but the plot line was a little odd. Glad we got the 2-4-1 tickets for sure! Last night, Thursday, we decided to head over to the theatre showing "Thriller," the new show based on Michael Jackson's music. We got so lucky and got 2nd row tickets for 20 pounds, compared to 60 pounds that they would normally be. Compared to other shows, it had no real story line, but mostly just singing and amazing dancing. The show was really great and even better with our close-up cheap seats! Tonight we are here blogging at The Station before going out for some drinks and possibly plan a day trip for tomorrow. We are thinking possibly Oxford, but I'll be sure to fill you in on the next blog. Jenna's mom arrives Sunday with Jenna'a aunt and some of her mom's friends, so who knows what the rest of the weekend and next week will hold. I may try to post some pictures from our last few outings. Blog soon!!
Melissa
Not an overly eventful week, but I thought I would blog to keep up with what has been going on. After our evening here last Monday, we settled into a pretty normal week. Tuesday I went on my weekly ASDA run with Laura and did laundry. Wednesday, Jenna and I went out to see a movie b/c with our phone service here, you can get 2-for-1 movie tickets on Wednesday. Since we had been to Barcelona the weekend before, we went to see Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was about Vicky and Christina in Barcelona...imagine that! Had lots of great Barcelona scenery, but the plot line was a little odd. Glad we got the 2-4-1 tickets for sure! Last night, Thursday, we decided to head over to the theatre showing "Thriller," the new show based on Michael Jackson's music. We got so lucky and got 2nd row tickets for 20 pounds, compared to 60 pounds that they would normally be. Compared to other shows, it had no real story line, but mostly just singing and amazing dancing. The show was really great and even better with our close-up cheap seats! Tonight we are here blogging at The Station before going out for some drinks and possibly plan a day trip for tomorrow. We are thinking possibly Oxford, but I'll be sure to fill you in on the next blog. Jenna's mom arrives Sunday with Jenna'a aunt and some of her mom's friends, so who knows what the rest of the weekend and next week will hold. I may try to post some pictures from our last few outings. Blog soon!!
Melissa
Monday, February 9, 2009
What a difference one weekend can make!
Hola!
Since my last blog, we unfortunately watched the snow melt in London. The sidewalks stayed pretty icy for a few days b/c the temperature was still getting cold at night, but now all evidence of snow is gone. Last week we rested up from the crazy weekend before and also tried to get some energy for our trip to Barcelona. Wednesday we relaxed and Thursday we went to a huge mall with Laura and Georgia. It is one of the biggest malls in Europe and definitely the biggest in the UK. It has multiple stories and each story has a ton of shops on it. It was nice to walk around, but like it typically is, I didn't find anything but dinner! It was a great dinner of a burrito from a place similar to Moe's, so it definitely was appreciated.
On Friday, I woke up to a heavy amount of snow falling, but thankfully none sticking to the ground. It was a quick snow shower, but one to definitely put fear inside me. Throughout the day there were rain showers, snow showers, and sleet all mixed in. The day went quickly, and Jenna and I escaped around 3 to head to Heathrow for our flight. As we walked, the precipitation kept changing from rain to sleet and we could only expect the worst. Thankfully...it was the absolute opposite! We arrived at Heathrow with time to spare and got bumped up to an earlier flight. We grab a quickly sandwich and headed to our terminal, and after an uneventful flight, arrived in Barcelona over an hour earlier than we expected. We enjoyed the sights and unseasonably warm weather as we walked along La Rambla (as Trey describes it, The French Quarter of Barcelona...but I didn't think it was nearly as dirty as that). We checked into our hostel after walking down what seemed to be the Islamic hangout of Barcelona. The hostel was more like a hotel b/c we had our own room and bathroom and things were clean and nice. We headed out onto La Rambla again and ducked into a tapas bar, where we ate dinner around 11:30 and had a huge beer stein of Sangria! We also met a nice couple from outside London who kept the conversation going. We headed in around 1 am and crashed from the long day.
Saturday morning we woke up to blue skies and warm weather. We headed down La Rambla towards to Mediterranean Sea, saw the monument dedicated to Columbus pointing to the Sea, and bought tickets for a hop on/hop off bus tour. This was great b/c the city is very spread out and we could have spent lots of time underground on the metro if we would've wanted to see everything. We rode along throughout the city and our first sight was the Segrada Familia, designed by the architect Gaudi. If you have a chance, Google the name Gaudi and take a look at his work in Barcelona. Very innovative and amazing. Jenna and I both fell in love! The Segrada was an awesome cathedral that looked like a dripping sandcastle and it is still unfinished. We got back on the bus and headed to Park Guell, that is again inspired by Gaudi. It was a nice, calm area to walk around with some great views of the city and the ocean. We got back on the bus, it began to get a little cold, so we finished the bus tour and headed back to the hotel to rest before dinner. We ventured out around 10 pm (local time for dinner) to a place recognized as the best deal for paella in Barcelona. Something must have been good b/c there was a line of about 25 people waiting to get in. Since we only had 2 people, it only took about 30 minutes. The sangria was awesome, paella was more traditional but not great, and service was terrible. Overall, we enjoyed the experience and were ready to sleep after the long day.
Sunday morning, we were again greeted with great sunny skies. We walked down towards the beach area, and stopped off to listen to a great street band performing. They had gathered a large crowd and even sang some Bob Marley. This was one of the coolest things I had seen all weekend. The people here are just very free spirited and seem to love life and the greatness the city brings to them. We continued walking to the beach and loved the site as we got to the waters edge. We decided to be a little atypical and got some chinese food to eat, then sat on the beach enjoying a beer. I was so excited to touch the Mediterranean and enjoy having my boots and socks off for even a short time. We then hopped on the bus again and went along the South route and saw more sites, including the area where the 1992 Olympics were held. Again, we got off at a stop with great views of the city from above. The city really had it all-mountains, ocean, and city life. It is somewhere I'd love to visit again, especially in the Spring or early Summer when things aren't too crowded but you could take advantage of more outdoor activities. At the end of the day we grabbed a snack (2nd of the trip), which was a doner kebab. It is a chicken shwarma, with toppings and sauce all in a pita. I have officially fallen in love and am destined to find these things back in The States! We sat on the ground in a square, enjoyed our snack, and then headed to get our luggage and back to the airport. Our flight was very bumpy and had lots of turbulance, but no other issues. We made it home nice and safe and with no snow slowing us down. Unfortunately, that was my last big trip while I'm here, but I have enjoyed them all so far. My next two weekends will be filled with seeing the last few things in London and maybe taking a day trip to someone near here...any suggestions???
Hope all is well back home and get ready b/c Melissa will be back home soon!
Since my last blog, we unfortunately watched the snow melt in London. The sidewalks stayed pretty icy for a few days b/c the temperature was still getting cold at night, but now all evidence of snow is gone. Last week we rested up from the crazy weekend before and also tried to get some energy for our trip to Barcelona. Wednesday we relaxed and Thursday we went to a huge mall with Laura and Georgia. It is one of the biggest malls in Europe and definitely the biggest in the UK. It has multiple stories and each story has a ton of shops on it. It was nice to walk around, but like it typically is, I didn't find anything but dinner! It was a great dinner of a burrito from a place similar to Moe's, so it definitely was appreciated.
On Friday, I woke up to a heavy amount of snow falling, but thankfully none sticking to the ground. It was a quick snow shower, but one to definitely put fear inside me. Throughout the day there were rain showers, snow showers, and sleet all mixed in. The day went quickly, and Jenna and I escaped around 3 to head to Heathrow for our flight. As we walked, the precipitation kept changing from rain to sleet and we could only expect the worst. Thankfully...it was the absolute opposite! We arrived at Heathrow with time to spare and got bumped up to an earlier flight. We grab a quickly sandwich and headed to our terminal, and after an uneventful flight, arrived in Barcelona over an hour earlier than we expected. We enjoyed the sights and unseasonably warm weather as we walked along La Rambla (as Trey describes it, The French Quarter of Barcelona...but I didn't think it was nearly as dirty as that). We checked into our hostel after walking down what seemed to be the Islamic hangout of Barcelona. The hostel was more like a hotel b/c we had our own room and bathroom and things were clean and nice. We headed out onto La Rambla again and ducked into a tapas bar, where we ate dinner around 11:30 and had a huge beer stein of Sangria! We also met a nice couple from outside London who kept the conversation going. We headed in around 1 am and crashed from the long day.
Saturday morning we woke up to blue skies and warm weather. We headed down La Rambla towards to Mediterranean Sea, saw the monument dedicated to Columbus pointing to the Sea, and bought tickets for a hop on/hop off bus tour. This was great b/c the city is very spread out and we could have spent lots of time underground on the metro if we would've wanted to see everything. We rode along throughout the city and our first sight was the Segrada Familia, designed by the architect Gaudi. If you have a chance, Google the name Gaudi and take a look at his work in Barcelona. Very innovative and amazing. Jenna and I both fell in love! The Segrada was an awesome cathedral that looked like a dripping sandcastle and it is still unfinished. We got back on the bus and headed to Park Guell, that is again inspired by Gaudi. It was a nice, calm area to walk around with some great views of the city and the ocean. We got back on the bus, it began to get a little cold, so we finished the bus tour and headed back to the hotel to rest before dinner. We ventured out around 10 pm (local time for dinner) to a place recognized as the best deal for paella in Barcelona. Something must have been good b/c there was a line of about 25 people waiting to get in. Since we only had 2 people, it only took about 30 minutes. The sangria was awesome, paella was more traditional but not great, and service was terrible. Overall, we enjoyed the experience and were ready to sleep after the long day.
Sunday morning, we were again greeted with great sunny skies. We walked down towards the beach area, and stopped off to listen to a great street band performing. They had gathered a large crowd and even sang some Bob Marley. This was one of the coolest things I had seen all weekend. The people here are just very free spirited and seem to love life and the greatness the city brings to them. We continued walking to the beach and loved the site as we got to the waters edge. We decided to be a little atypical and got some chinese food to eat, then sat on the beach enjoying a beer. I was so excited to touch the Mediterranean and enjoy having my boots and socks off for even a short time. We then hopped on the bus again and went along the South route and saw more sites, including the area where the 1992 Olympics were held. Again, we got off at a stop with great views of the city from above. The city really had it all-mountains, ocean, and city life. It is somewhere I'd love to visit again, especially in the Spring or early Summer when things aren't too crowded but you could take advantage of more outdoor activities. At the end of the day we grabbed a snack (2nd of the trip), which was a doner kebab. It is a chicken shwarma, with toppings and sauce all in a pita. I have officially fallen in love and am destined to find these things back in The States! We sat on the ground in a square, enjoyed our snack, and then headed to get our luggage and back to the airport. Our flight was very bumpy and had lots of turbulance, but no other issues. We made it home nice and safe and with no snow slowing us down. Unfortunately, that was my last big trip while I'm here, but I have enjoyed them all so far. My next two weekends will be filled with seeing the last few things in London and maybe taking a day trip to someone near here...any suggestions???
Hope all is well back home and get ready b/c Melissa will be back home soon!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Will I ever make it home!
So where I left off was after a nice Sunday in Dublin. We caught our bus back to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Once through security and near our gate, we heard the weather was a little bad in London and saw we would be delayed. Well the delay kept getting worse, and was eventually pushed back to 1 1/2 hours delayed. Another flight into London had been cancelled, so we began to get awfully worried we would be stranded in Dublin. We had heard from people in London that there was tons of snow falling and didn't seem like it would lighten up. Around 9 they began to board our flight and we were in the air close to 10. We felt good as the plane safely landed and we were on the ground, but were now worried we wouldn't make all our tube connections in order to get home.
We caught the 2nd to last tube from Heathrow on the Picadilly line and discovered quickly that the weather was awful. Our tube struggled to make it down the tracks as it was covered in snow. The electricity plus snow didn't mix well and as we were in the last car, we saw a fireworks like display of sparks on the majority of the trip. It was extremely scary at first because we didn't know if the car would catch fire, we'd get electrocuted or if the train would be able to carry on. About 5 stops from our final destination, the train began to coast and then came to a halt. The driver came on the loudspeaker and informed us we would be holding there for a little bit as the train in front of us wasn't going...and oh yeah, we had lost the electrical current and would be there "for a long time." So now we're on a full tube, in the middle of nowhere, above ground, thankfully, watching the snow fall and the scared expressions on the majority of peoples' faces. We feared he wouldn't be able to get things started again and we'd have to walk in the dark and snow to find help. Thankfully, after an hour, things came back on and we began the slow scary trek again. With more sparks than ever, it looked like a strobe light outside the car as he began to accelerate. One of the craziest, funniest, scariest things I have ever experienced. Approximately 2 hours after leaving Heathrow we made it to the Earl's Court stop and knew we had missed our connection onto the District line to return to Putney.
As no more tubes were going that evening, all public bus service had been cancelled, and taxis couldn't be found or called to come, panic struck us again. We thought we would wait things out until the morning in the station and catch the earliest train. The snow was really coming down and about 15 people were hovering inside the station until the worst thing could happen...the station had to close. They literally threw us out into the cold, snowy darkness with no remorse. People looked stunned and we were at a loss for what to do. Too far to walk, no public/private transport available...thankfully Jenna sparked the idea of us having to get a hotel. The lightbulb went off and I remembered the hotel I stayed in while Mom and Dad were hear was only 2 streets away from the tube station. By the grace of God, we walked through the snow to the hotel and a nice man was sitting at the front desk. He understood our crazy story and gave us 2 rooms for the evening, even at a discounted rate! We got into the room around 1:30 am and wanted to crash, but watched about 30 minutes of the Super Bowl. Go Steelers!!
The next morning we realized we weren't going to be able to get into work on time and tried to call the hospital. As no one answered in the PT department, Speech Dept (where Laura works) or Pharmacy (where Georgia works), we knew things couldn't be good. We left messages at each place, and headed downstairs for a nice breakfast. After that, Jenna and I walked to the station and found out our line, District to Wimbledon, had just been opened. We hurried back, checked out of the hotel, got the girls and caught the tube. As we approached our stop, East Putney, the driver slowed the tube some, but then carried on. After a minute he informed us that stop and the next one was closed. We were again in a bind. With no other public transportation working (no buses, few overground trains, no taxis), we were lost for what to do. We took the tube into Wimbledon, jumped on the next train back towards our station and stopped at one past, which is on the otherside of the River Thames. From there, we got out and prepared for the longest worst walk ever. We crossed the bridge, which was covered in ice and snow. Thankfully my great luggage from REI has straps and can be carried like a backpack, but everyone else had to drag their luggage through the snow. After 1 1/2 hours of walking with a quick stop into a coffee shop, we showed up at the hospital with luggage in hand. Things were crazy there as most people did not show up at work and the physios, dieticians, etc were acting like nurses to ensure all patients got bathed, fed, and changed for the day. They allowed us to go home and take the day off. Once in the nurses home, I relaxed for a bit, did some laundry, then took a nap.
Today, things were nearly back to normal, but I was so exhausted from the day before I had to return to the nurses home from 9-11 and take a nap. My mentor wasn't there and I could hardly keep my eyes open so they allowed me to go home. I returned for the afternoon and felt much better. Now I'm hear to fill you all in and then will go home and crash. Hopefully you heard about the drama here in London with the snow and now you've heard our real life experiences too. The area we're in had about 6-8 inches of snow and it kept coming down all day yesterday. No more snow today, but things are slowly getting back to normal. Most of the streets are cleared as people are driving now, but many of the sidewalks are covered with frozen, icy slush. The forecast is calling for more snow Thursday and Friday, so we're unsure about our trip to Barcelona this weekend. We'll keep our fingers crossed! Hope to blog again soon!
We caught the 2nd to last tube from Heathrow on the Picadilly line and discovered quickly that the weather was awful. Our tube struggled to make it down the tracks as it was covered in snow. The electricity plus snow didn't mix well and as we were in the last car, we saw a fireworks like display of sparks on the majority of the trip. It was extremely scary at first because we didn't know if the car would catch fire, we'd get electrocuted or if the train would be able to carry on. About 5 stops from our final destination, the train began to coast and then came to a halt. The driver came on the loudspeaker and informed us we would be holding there for a little bit as the train in front of us wasn't going...and oh yeah, we had lost the electrical current and would be there "for a long time." So now we're on a full tube, in the middle of nowhere, above ground, thankfully, watching the snow fall and the scared expressions on the majority of peoples' faces. We feared he wouldn't be able to get things started again and we'd have to walk in the dark and snow to find help. Thankfully, after an hour, things came back on and we began the slow scary trek again. With more sparks than ever, it looked like a strobe light outside the car as he began to accelerate. One of the craziest, funniest, scariest things I have ever experienced. Approximately 2 hours after leaving Heathrow we made it to the Earl's Court stop and knew we had missed our connection onto the District line to return to Putney.
As no more tubes were going that evening, all public bus service had been cancelled, and taxis couldn't be found or called to come, panic struck us again. We thought we would wait things out until the morning in the station and catch the earliest train. The snow was really coming down and about 15 people were hovering inside the station until the worst thing could happen...the station had to close. They literally threw us out into the cold, snowy darkness with no remorse. People looked stunned and we were at a loss for what to do. Too far to walk, no public/private transport available...thankfully Jenna sparked the idea of us having to get a hotel. The lightbulb went off and I remembered the hotel I stayed in while Mom and Dad were hear was only 2 streets away from the tube station. By the grace of God, we walked through the snow to the hotel and a nice man was sitting at the front desk. He understood our crazy story and gave us 2 rooms for the evening, even at a discounted rate! We got into the room around 1:30 am and wanted to crash, but watched about 30 minutes of the Super Bowl. Go Steelers!!
The next morning we realized we weren't going to be able to get into work on time and tried to call the hospital. As no one answered in the PT department, Speech Dept (where Laura works) or Pharmacy (where Georgia works), we knew things couldn't be good. We left messages at each place, and headed downstairs for a nice breakfast. After that, Jenna and I walked to the station and found out our line, District to Wimbledon, had just been opened. We hurried back, checked out of the hotel, got the girls and caught the tube. As we approached our stop, East Putney, the driver slowed the tube some, but then carried on. After a minute he informed us that stop and the next one was closed. We were again in a bind. With no other public transportation working (no buses, few overground trains, no taxis), we were lost for what to do. We took the tube into Wimbledon, jumped on the next train back towards our station and stopped at one past, which is on the otherside of the River Thames. From there, we got out and prepared for the longest worst walk ever. We crossed the bridge, which was covered in ice and snow. Thankfully my great luggage from REI has straps and can be carried like a backpack, but everyone else had to drag their luggage through the snow. After 1 1/2 hours of walking with a quick stop into a coffee shop, we showed up at the hospital with luggage in hand. Things were crazy there as most people did not show up at work and the physios, dieticians, etc were acting like nurses to ensure all patients got bathed, fed, and changed for the day. They allowed us to go home and take the day off. Once in the nurses home, I relaxed for a bit, did some laundry, then took a nap.
Today, things were nearly back to normal, but I was so exhausted from the day before I had to return to the nurses home from 9-11 and take a nap. My mentor wasn't there and I could hardly keep my eyes open so they allowed me to go home. I returned for the afternoon and felt much better. Now I'm hear to fill you all in and then will go home and crash. Hopefully you heard about the drama here in London with the snow and now you've heard our real life experiences too. The area we're in had about 6-8 inches of snow and it kept coming down all day yesterday. No more snow today, but things are slowly getting back to normal. Most of the streets are cleared as people are driving now, but many of the sidewalks are covered with frozen, icy slush. The forecast is calling for more snow Thursday and Friday, so we're unsure about our trip to Barcelona this weekend. We'll keep our fingers crossed! Hope to blog again soon!
Week in Putney and Dublin
My last blog (Sunday 1/25) seems like so long ago that it's hard for me to remember last week much. Monday and Tuesday we laid low and tried to rest up for our weekend in Dublin. Wednesday we went to ASDA which is so much fun b/c they have loud music and it almost seems like a party in a Wal-mart. The food here is so different and interesting and we stumbled upon a few things. First, these people love their crisps (which are potato chips back home) and one company had a contest for the next new flavor of chips. Some of the flavors included: Fish & Chips, Chili & Chocolate, Crispy duck with Hoisin sauce, Cajun Squirrel, and Builder's Breakfast. So crazy!! So we decided to buy a bag of Cajun Squirrel and see how that goes. We have yet to try it, but I'm sure they will be some info in the next blog about how it tastes. There was also an interesting frozen entree called Mr. Brain's pork faggots. Not quite sure about this one either, but I hope everyone can now understand these people are not typical about their food. Thursday we ventured out to Oxford Street which has a good shopping area as I really want to find some black boots (but still has been unsuccesful) and went to a famous Fish & Chips place as recommended by one of my travel guides. The place had a line outside for a table, which is always a good sign. Once inside, we found out it was BYOB so Jenna ran down the street to pick up a bottle of wine (after seeing someone else venture out for wine). The fish and chips were nice, but just not very flavorful. I can now say I've had them, but don't feel inclined to eat more. We took it easy on Friday night and had dinner with Georgia and Laura before going back to the dorm since we had to get up early.
We got up super early (around 5) to get walking to the tube station, caught the tube and ended up at Heathrow with plenty of time. Unfortunately, our plane was delayed and we all realized we could have slept in, but made the best of our time. We heard from Nic, the guy from my ward who went with us, as he got an earlier flight into Dublin and he informed us it was windy and raining. Once we got into town, it had lightened up but the day was still dreary. They were having a Trad Fest that celebrated the traditional Irish music, so we were able to hear that as we walked around when we got there. We checked into our hotel, which was nice and realatively close to all the good areas. We walked to see Trinity College and then hoped onto a Tour Bus to the Guinness factory. It was loads of fun and full of info as it was 7 stories tall. Also, this year is 250 years of Guinness and there was a special floor opened up that day to commemorate this milestone. We got to the top, The Gravity Bar, and had our free pint and a look at the city from above. As it was cloudy, the view wasn't great, but still enjoyable. We went back to the Temple Bar and Grafton Street area, browsed/shopped for souvenirs and headed back to the hotel to get ready. Unfortunately after dinner my stomach was giving me problems, so I called it a night early and let everyone else go out and party. They weren't out late as the Irish get pretty intoxicated and become quite annoying. Thankfully I didn't miss out!
Sunday morning we slept in a little, grabbed some breakfast, met up with Nic and headed to an old famous jail to find out we had missed the next tour. We then went to get back on the tour bus and found it was broken down (this should've been our sign that the rest of the day would be filled with drama). Another bus came and we hopped of at Ryan's Victoria bar stop to have a pint where George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton have both had drinks in the past. The pub was nice and we then carried on the tour bus to another pub and had lunch and watched some soccer. At this point, it was already time to head back to the hotel and get to the airport. Overall, Dublin was a little too hectic for me. Some parts even reminded me of the dirtier places of New Orleans. Nice city, but a little to busy for me. I will continue on with my journey home in another blog. Cheers!
We got up super early (around 5) to get walking to the tube station, caught the tube and ended up at Heathrow with plenty of time. Unfortunately, our plane was delayed and we all realized we could have slept in, but made the best of our time. We heard from Nic, the guy from my ward who went with us, as he got an earlier flight into Dublin and he informed us it was windy and raining. Once we got into town, it had lightened up but the day was still dreary. They were having a Trad Fest that celebrated the traditional Irish music, so we were able to hear that as we walked around when we got there. We checked into our hotel, which was nice and realatively close to all the good areas. We walked to see Trinity College and then hoped onto a Tour Bus to the Guinness factory. It was loads of fun and full of info as it was 7 stories tall. Also, this year is 250 years of Guinness and there was a special floor opened up that day to commemorate this milestone. We got to the top, The Gravity Bar, and had our free pint and a look at the city from above. As it was cloudy, the view wasn't great, but still enjoyable. We went back to the Temple Bar and Grafton Street area, browsed/shopped for souvenirs and headed back to the hotel to get ready. Unfortunately after dinner my stomach was giving me problems, so I called it a night early and let everyone else go out and party. They weren't out late as the Irish get pretty intoxicated and become quite annoying. Thankfully I didn't miss out!
Sunday morning we slept in a little, grabbed some breakfast, met up with Nic and headed to an old famous jail to find out we had missed the next tour. We then went to get back on the tour bus and found it was broken down (this should've been our sign that the rest of the day would be filled with drama). Another bus came and we hopped of at Ryan's Victoria bar stop to have a pint where George Bush Sr and Bill Clinton have both had drinks in the past. The pub was nice and we then carried on the tour bus to another pub and had lunch and watched some soccer. At this point, it was already time to head back to the hotel and get to the airport. Overall, Dublin was a little too hectic for me. Some parts even reminded me of the dirtier places of New Orleans. Nice city, but a little to busy for me. I will continue on with my journey home in another blog. Cheers!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Life in Putney...Continued!
Greetings,
Looks like my posts are getting less and less frequent. We keep spending time doing other fun activities instead of coming to the restaurant and blogging. Last week when we were here, Tuesday, we planned our trip to Dublin, Ireland for next weekend (1/31-2/1). Jenna and I will be going with two girls we met in orientation and a guy that works on my ward that has never been to Dublin and has made a New Year's resolution to travel more. So we will have tons of people to enjoy Dublin with! We will do things similiar to Bath, and leave Saturday morning around 8 and then get to Dublin around 10 am and have the whole day and most of the day Sunday (we leave around 7pm on Sunday evening). We plan on definitely doing the Guiness factory, but no other places for sure yet. Any recommendations welcome if you've been!
After spending Monday out for Dirty Dancing and Tuesday night at the Putney Station, we took it easy on Wednesday evening and did laundry and relaxed in our rooms. It is nice to just lay around sometimes, but you can't do it too much b/c there is no tv or common room so things get boring quickly in the small bedroom. Things with clinical have been going well. I enjoy all the people I work with and have been learning a few things along the way. Like I've said earlier, the pace is awfully slow compared to back home, but I think this has a lot to do with the patients' conditions. I have acquired a few patients that I'm leading treatment sessions with and getting more involved altogether. It has been a good learning experience, but I have mostly been watching a variety of patients and even OT and Speech therapies. I feel there is so much to see in this setting that I will be watching and putting my input in more than I will be leading large amounts of treatment sessions (which is a little odd for one of my last 3 rotations). But, I'm learning some and mostly spending my time having a blast enjoying Europe!
On Thursday, Jenna and I went out with Laura and Georgia (the 2 girls who will be coming to Dublin) and had a nice dinner and a drinks. It is so fun to go out with people from here because you always hear new things or learn things about their culture that we never knew. They learn tons from us too! We stayed out later than we should've on a "school night" but managed to get out of bed on Friday and make it through the day. Friday night, Jenna and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire which was a great independent film. I believe it is out in the states too, so if you get a chance, check it out. A little harsh to watch during some scenes, but overall a good flick to see. Our dinner before the movie was at TGI Fridays...which was amazing b/c we had boneless buffalo wings and I had a caesar salad (two things it's been very hard to find around here). It amazing how quickly you can get tired of certain things and really start to crave the things you're used to.
Saturday morning we slept in a little then headed out to Borough market, which is known as a great eclectic food market near central London. Unfortunately, much of the tube line we use and many of the ones towards the market were closed, so it was a long out-of-the-way trip, but proved to be well worth it. The market had butcher stands, fresh produce, bread, specialty items, coffee, sweets, grills and stands making food, everything! The best part was that the majority of the stands were giving samples of things, so we ate tons for free. Jenna and I were in love and we found a few things to buy and take home including feta dip, cheese with cumin seeds (taste like chili), fresh mozarella, and garden fresh tomatoes. After the filling time at the market, we walked along the Thames and saw the reconstructed Globe theatre (where Shakespeare did plays), did a quick trip inside the Tate Modern museum (Jenna and I both can't appreciate modern art and were making jokes about the works so we quickly came and went), crossed the Millenium bridge over the Thames (a modern looking steel bridge constructed in 2000 and had to be repaired early b/c it swayed too much), and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married and it holds the crypts of The Duke of Wellington, Christopher Wren [designed the cathedral], and Andrew Fleming [founder of penicillin] including others). Despite the busy day so far, we started to walk some more and found the Bank of England, stumbled upon Chinatown and Soho, and saw The Ivy where all the stars go to eat when in London. We kept on from there and saw the theatre where "We Will Rock You" is running right now (the play featuring songs of Queen)...we decided to be spontaneous and found they had standing room only tickets for the evening's show for only 15 pounds! We bought them, headed off for a great tapas dinner that was recommended in one of our guide books, and then went back to the show. It was an amazing rendition of all the songs and the storyline was decent too. We enjoyed standing in the back, most of the time, because the view of the stage was great and there weren't any heads to block our view. It's a show I would definitely recommend to any one wanting to see something lively and fun while in London. After the exhausting day filled with 12 hours of walking, we came back home and crashed!
This morning, we slept some and decided we would take the Tube down to Wimbledon to see the area. As you may expect, right as we went to leave, it started to pour! We waited things out, caught the tube and began another day filled with walking. After about a 15 minute walk from the station, we got to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the stadium/area that holds the Wimbledon Championships each summer). We decided not to take the tour, but ventured in the shop and at least can now say we've been to Wimbledon. We found a nice lunch spot and from that have come to the conclusion that the only thing we like to each here is Mexican or Spanish tapas..which aren't always easy to find. During the time in Wimbledon, we got lost a few times b/c we were without a map, but enjoyed the trip for Sunday. Now we have made it to our destination here at the Putney Station and will start another week tomorrow.
No big plans for this week, except preparing for our trip to Dublin. Hope all is well back home!!!
P.S. Suzette...yes the bathrooms are community. Get ready for the fun!!
P.S. Angie...I'm so jealous of your warm trip to Puerto Rico! Tell Adriane hello and that I hope she feels better soon. Also, the respect for "physios" here seems to be generally good .
Looks like my posts are getting less and less frequent. We keep spending time doing other fun activities instead of coming to the restaurant and blogging. Last week when we were here, Tuesday, we planned our trip to Dublin, Ireland for next weekend (1/31-2/1). Jenna and I will be going with two girls we met in orientation and a guy that works on my ward that has never been to Dublin and has made a New Year's resolution to travel more. So we will have tons of people to enjoy Dublin with! We will do things similiar to Bath, and leave Saturday morning around 8 and then get to Dublin around 10 am and have the whole day and most of the day Sunday (we leave around 7pm on Sunday evening). We plan on definitely doing the Guiness factory, but no other places for sure yet. Any recommendations welcome if you've been!
After spending Monday out for Dirty Dancing and Tuesday night at the Putney Station, we took it easy on Wednesday evening and did laundry and relaxed in our rooms. It is nice to just lay around sometimes, but you can't do it too much b/c there is no tv or common room so things get boring quickly in the small bedroom. Things with clinical have been going well. I enjoy all the people I work with and have been learning a few things along the way. Like I've said earlier, the pace is awfully slow compared to back home, but I think this has a lot to do with the patients' conditions. I have acquired a few patients that I'm leading treatment sessions with and getting more involved altogether. It has been a good learning experience, but I have mostly been watching a variety of patients and even OT and Speech therapies. I feel there is so much to see in this setting that I will be watching and putting my input in more than I will be leading large amounts of treatment sessions (which is a little odd for one of my last 3 rotations). But, I'm learning some and mostly spending my time having a blast enjoying Europe!
On Thursday, Jenna and I went out with Laura and Georgia (the 2 girls who will be coming to Dublin) and had a nice dinner and a drinks. It is so fun to go out with people from here because you always hear new things or learn things about their culture that we never knew. They learn tons from us too! We stayed out later than we should've on a "school night" but managed to get out of bed on Friday and make it through the day. Friday night, Jenna and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire which was a great independent film. I believe it is out in the states too, so if you get a chance, check it out. A little harsh to watch during some scenes, but overall a good flick to see. Our dinner before the movie was at TGI Fridays...which was amazing b/c we had boneless buffalo wings and I had a caesar salad (two things it's been very hard to find around here). It amazing how quickly you can get tired of certain things and really start to crave the things you're used to.
Saturday morning we slept in a little then headed out to Borough market, which is known as a great eclectic food market near central London. Unfortunately, much of the tube line we use and many of the ones towards the market were closed, so it was a long out-of-the-way trip, but proved to be well worth it. The market had butcher stands, fresh produce, bread, specialty items, coffee, sweets, grills and stands making food, everything! The best part was that the majority of the stands were giving samples of things, so we ate tons for free. Jenna and I were in love and we found a few things to buy and take home including feta dip, cheese with cumin seeds (taste like chili), fresh mozarella, and garden fresh tomatoes. After the filling time at the market, we walked along the Thames and saw the reconstructed Globe theatre (where Shakespeare did plays), did a quick trip inside the Tate Modern museum (Jenna and I both can't appreciate modern art and were making jokes about the works so we quickly came and went), crossed the Millenium bridge over the Thames (a modern looking steel bridge constructed in 2000 and had to be repaired early b/c it swayed too much), and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married and it holds the crypts of The Duke of Wellington, Christopher Wren [designed the cathedral], and Andrew Fleming [founder of penicillin] including others). Despite the busy day so far, we started to walk some more and found the Bank of England, stumbled upon Chinatown and Soho, and saw The Ivy where all the stars go to eat when in London. We kept on from there and saw the theatre where "We Will Rock You" is running right now (the play featuring songs of Queen)...we decided to be spontaneous and found they had standing room only tickets for the evening's show for only 15 pounds! We bought them, headed off for a great tapas dinner that was recommended in one of our guide books, and then went back to the show. It was an amazing rendition of all the songs and the storyline was decent too. We enjoyed standing in the back, most of the time, because the view of the stage was great and there weren't any heads to block our view. It's a show I would definitely recommend to any one wanting to see something lively and fun while in London. After the exhausting day filled with 12 hours of walking, we came back home and crashed!
This morning, we slept some and decided we would take the Tube down to Wimbledon to see the area. As you may expect, right as we went to leave, it started to pour! We waited things out, caught the tube and began another day filled with walking. After about a 15 minute walk from the station, we got to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the stadium/area that holds the Wimbledon Championships each summer). We decided not to take the tour, but ventured in the shop and at least can now say we've been to Wimbledon. We found a nice lunch spot and from that have come to the conclusion that the only thing we like to each here is Mexican or Spanish tapas..which aren't always easy to find. During the time in Wimbledon, we got lost a few times b/c we were without a map, but enjoyed the trip for Sunday. Now we have made it to our destination here at the Putney Station and will start another week tomorrow.
No big plans for this week, except preparing for our trip to Dublin. Hope all is well back home!!!
P.S. Suzette...yes the bathrooms are community. Get ready for the fun!!
P.S. Angie...I'm so jealous of your warm trip to Puerto Rico! Tell Adriane hello and that I hope she feels better soon. Also, the respect for "physios" here seems to be generally good .
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Life in Putney
Hi!
Sorry it's been so long since the last blog, but we weren't able to make it back to the restaurant with internet after last Tuesday and we went to Bath this past weekend.
Jenna and I ventured out last Thursday to the "Fulham Broadway" tube stop which is a little more city-like than Putney to walk around, see some new sites, and find some dinner. We stumbled upon a very nice Spanish tapas restaurant that had some of the best food we've had so far. It was great to have things with a little spice in it! Friday we had a "going-away" party for a girl who was leaving the Physio department and taking a new job. We went to the same restaurant we come for internet and had lots of fun (and a few too many drinks for some more than others). I was pretty well behaved, but had more to drink than I should have b/c we had to take the train the next morning.
Saturday morning arrived and we were up and out of bed around 5:45 in order to pack and leave to catch our train to Bath for 8:30. As we walked out the door, we saw it was pouring down rain and we didn't have time to wait around for it to clear up. Therefore, we walked 15 minutes in the storm to the tube station...needless to stay it put a damper on the beginning of the trip. We got to the train station, boarded the train, and pulled away to see lots of sunshine in the distance. The ride was an easy 1 1/2 hours and we were in Bath and ready to explore. We hoped off the train and my expression was "Now what?" b/c we had no idea what to really see in the city or where to stay that evening. Our first priority was to find a place to stay (which wasn't very hard b/c it's not a big time for travel this time of year) and we negotiated the price down by 20 pounds and our hotel included breakfast! What a steal! We took a map and headed out for exploring the city. Bath is known for the Roman Baths that were discovered thousands of years ago and continue to bubble away, a Fashion History museum, and a long drag of shops. We stopped at all these places our first day, stopped for lunch at a chinese buffet (haha b/c we wanted something different) and got caught in another rainstorm walking to dinner. We loved our hotel room as it had a great music channel, Magic, that played awesome countdowns including Top 50 Love Songs of the 90s! It was hard to pull ourselves away and we decided to call it a night early.
We slept in some Sunday morning, had a great filling breakfast, and headed to the modern Thermae Bath Spa, which has steam rooms, warm pools, and even a rooftop heated pool. We decided to go for a 2 hour spa session and tried all these things out and they were amazing! Definitely what we needed after our first full week of clinicals! After the spa, we did a little more shopping (mostly Jenna did shopping b/c I only bought 1 shirt all weekend) and grabbed some nachos (which are everywhere here!!) and a beer, then boarded our train back to London. The weekend was great, despite the little bit of rain and I would definitely recommend a trip to Bath for anyone heading this direction. It's an easy day trip from London and you can easily fit most things in if you have all day.
Yesterday...I was so delighted to make it to the showing of "Dirty Dancing" on stage. It was a great show, but so hard to compare to the movie. They were able to fit almost all the scenes in the play and I was so grateful to just be able to see one of my favorite movies on stage!!! It was a late night, especially after the weekend trip, so we're now here at the restaurant blogging and will head back to the dorm early. We will be planning a few more trips (probably Dublin and Barcelona), so if you have any tips on these places, feel free to post in the comments! Hope all is well at home and I'll be in touch!
-Melissa
P.S. Socrates, I will already be back in the States on March 4th, but thanks so much for offering to bring me something from home. Just a note, if there is anything you can't live without while you're traveling over here...be sure to bring it along b/c many things are hard to come by!
Sorry it's been so long since the last blog, but we weren't able to make it back to the restaurant with internet after last Tuesday and we went to Bath this past weekend.
Jenna and I ventured out last Thursday to the "Fulham Broadway" tube stop which is a little more city-like than Putney to walk around, see some new sites, and find some dinner. We stumbled upon a very nice Spanish tapas restaurant that had some of the best food we've had so far. It was great to have things with a little spice in it! Friday we had a "going-away" party for a girl who was leaving the Physio department and taking a new job. We went to the same restaurant we come for internet and had lots of fun (and a few too many drinks for some more than others). I was pretty well behaved, but had more to drink than I should have b/c we had to take the train the next morning.
Saturday morning arrived and we were up and out of bed around 5:45 in order to pack and leave to catch our train to Bath for 8:30. As we walked out the door, we saw it was pouring down rain and we didn't have time to wait around for it to clear up. Therefore, we walked 15 minutes in the storm to the tube station...needless to stay it put a damper on the beginning of the trip. We got to the train station, boarded the train, and pulled away to see lots of sunshine in the distance. The ride was an easy 1 1/2 hours and we were in Bath and ready to explore. We hoped off the train and my expression was "Now what?" b/c we had no idea what to really see in the city or where to stay that evening. Our first priority was to find a place to stay (which wasn't very hard b/c it's not a big time for travel this time of year) and we negotiated the price down by 20 pounds and our hotel included breakfast! What a steal! We took a map and headed out for exploring the city. Bath is known for the Roman Baths that were discovered thousands of years ago and continue to bubble away, a Fashion History museum, and a long drag of shops. We stopped at all these places our first day, stopped for lunch at a chinese buffet (haha b/c we wanted something different) and got caught in another rainstorm walking to dinner. We loved our hotel room as it had a great music channel, Magic, that played awesome countdowns including Top 50 Love Songs of the 90s! It was hard to pull ourselves away and we decided to call it a night early.
We slept in some Sunday morning, had a great filling breakfast, and headed to the modern Thermae Bath Spa, which has steam rooms, warm pools, and even a rooftop heated pool. We decided to go for a 2 hour spa session and tried all these things out and they were amazing! Definitely what we needed after our first full week of clinicals! After the spa, we did a little more shopping (mostly Jenna did shopping b/c I only bought 1 shirt all weekend) and grabbed some nachos (which are everywhere here!!) and a beer, then boarded our train back to London. The weekend was great, despite the little bit of rain and I would definitely recommend a trip to Bath for anyone heading this direction. It's an easy day trip from London and you can easily fit most things in if you have all day.
Yesterday...I was so delighted to make it to the showing of "Dirty Dancing" on stage. It was a great show, but so hard to compare to the movie. They were able to fit almost all the scenes in the play and I was so grateful to just be able to see one of my favorite movies on stage!!! It was a late night, especially after the weekend trip, so we're now here at the restaurant blogging and will head back to the dorm early. We will be planning a few more trips (probably Dublin and Barcelona), so if you have any tips on these places, feel free to post in the comments! Hope all is well at home and I'll be in touch!
-Melissa
P.S. Socrates, I will already be back in the States on March 4th, but thanks so much for offering to bring me something from home. Just a note, if there is anything you can't live without while you're traveling over here...be sure to bring it along b/c many things are hard to come by!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Weekend 1
Greetings!
After my last written post (not the pictures), Jenna and I went to see Bride Wars which was very cute, very predictable, and pretty funny. It was nice to hear things spoken in all American accents, so it was hard for us to exit the theatre and realize we were still in London.
Saturday morning Jenna and I finally slept in some and then headed over to Notting Hill to exlpore the charming neighborhood. Thankfully, they had a large street market and lots to see in the area. Unfortuntely it was very very cold (even a few snow flurries) while we walked around so it was a little uncomfortable and we headed for the warm shelter of a Mexican restaurant we read about in our guidebook. It was a great relief to have options besides Fish & Chips, Shephard's Pie, Bangers & Mash... The food here has been an overall letdown, so it was nice to get some chips and salsa and quesadillas. The people were very nice and Jenna and I vowed we would definitely go back soon. After that we planned on heading back home, but jumped off the tube at the same stop where I stayed with Mom & Dad before they left and hit a few pubs. Jenna and I called it our own mini-pub crawl and thoroughly enjoyed it. We headed home and prepared for another day in Lonon.
Sunday, we went to "London's Best Bloody Mary" stop called The Grenadier, which is near Hyde Park. The Bloody's were very good and we enjoyed the tiny pub and headed on our way. By the way, I had a great ham and cheese sandwhich with chutney, so it was 2 great lunches in a row! We headed out to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to do some leisurely walking as it was actually about 50 degrees and sunny. The area was very nice, but not as beautifully if in the spring with flowers/leaves on trees/etc. We then walked on to Princess Diana's memorial fountain and Kensington Palace where she lived. Very quaint and nice, but nothing huge and elaborate. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the dorms.
This week has started off nice and I have seen tons of different patients. The pace is much slower as I've seen approx 2-3 patients PER DAY, which is so different to things back in the US. These patients are very severly injured and require lots more time, but still the pace is much different. They hoist all patients in and out of bed, in/out of wheelchairs, etc. so those in the medical field can imagine the time it takes for this. I feel I will see a lot on this clinical, but things are very very different. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with patients and see what I can learn from this system here. Jenna and I, and possibly our friend Laura from Windsor, England that we met in orientation, may go to Bath this weekend. Keep tuned for more updates!
-Melissa
After my last written post (not the pictures), Jenna and I went to see Bride Wars which was very cute, very predictable, and pretty funny. It was nice to hear things spoken in all American accents, so it was hard for us to exit the theatre and realize we were still in London.
Saturday morning Jenna and I finally slept in some and then headed over to Notting Hill to exlpore the charming neighborhood. Thankfully, they had a large street market and lots to see in the area. Unfortuntely it was very very cold (even a few snow flurries) while we walked around so it was a little uncomfortable and we headed for the warm shelter of a Mexican restaurant we read about in our guidebook. It was a great relief to have options besides Fish & Chips, Shephard's Pie, Bangers & Mash... The food here has been an overall letdown, so it was nice to get some chips and salsa and quesadillas. The people were very nice and Jenna and I vowed we would definitely go back soon. After that we planned on heading back home, but jumped off the tube at the same stop where I stayed with Mom & Dad before they left and hit a few pubs. Jenna and I called it our own mini-pub crawl and thoroughly enjoyed it. We headed home and prepared for another day in Lonon.
Sunday, we went to "London's Best Bloody Mary" stop called The Grenadier, which is near Hyde Park. The Bloody's were very good and we enjoyed the tiny pub and headed on our way. By the way, I had a great ham and cheese sandwhich with chutney, so it was 2 great lunches in a row! We headed out to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to do some leisurely walking as it was actually about 50 degrees and sunny. The area was very nice, but not as beautifully if in the spring with flowers/leaves on trees/etc. We then walked on to Princess Diana's memorial fountain and Kensington Palace where she lived. Very quaint and nice, but nothing huge and elaborate. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the dorms.
This week has started off nice and I have seen tons of different patients. The pace is much slower as I've seen approx 2-3 patients PER DAY, which is so different to things back in the US. These patients are very severly injured and require lots more time, but still the pace is much different. They hoist all patients in and out of bed, in/out of wheelchairs, etc. so those in the medical field can imagine the time it takes for this. I feel I will see a lot on this clinical, but things are very very different. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with patients and see what I can learn from this system here. Jenna and I, and possibly our friend Laura from Windsor, England that we met in orientation, may go to Bath this weekend. Keep tuned for more updates!
-Melissa
Pictures from the end of exploration
Here are some more pictures from Paris and Frankfurt:
-The Mona Lisa
-Family picture in front of the Eiffel Tower
-The Eiffel Tower at sunset from The Arc de Triomphe
-French Onion Soup with tons of cheese
-Rhine River tour in Frankfurt, Germany
-The Mona Lisa
-Family picture in front of the Eiffel Tower
-The Eiffel Tower at sunset from The Arc de Triomphe
-French Onion Soup with tons of cheese
-Rhine River tour in Frankfurt, Germany
Friday, January 9, 2009
Lots of time away!
So...
It's been awhile since my last blog for many reasons. 1) No internet access in our dorm rooms or anywhere on the hospital campus (for fear of someone hacking into the network). 2) We have been dealing with "Jenna drama" most of the week as her bag (also known as purse in the US) got stolen with everything inside...wallet with credit cards/ID/debit cards, passport, phone charger, checkbook, cash, etc. Therefore, you must know understand why I have been distant.
This past week:
-After 4 days of orientation to the hospital, Jenna and I felt like we knew more about this place than we ever wanted to know. Also, these people are completely paranoid about fires and we spent almost 1 of the 4 days talking about what to do if there is a fire. We also spent time going over more needless information, but according to Sue Hall (our clinical director) it was mandatory.
-I encourage you to read Jenna's blog (jennaandnapesineurope@blogspot.com) under the section, "The Sunnier Side of London", to hear more about the hospital. She has filled in lots of info about what the hospital is like, why it is what it is, etc.
-We spent Monday at the "lovely" restaurant where Jenna's purse got stolen and then later at the police station (after riding in the Police van), Tuesday I went to ASDA (UK Walmart) to stock up on groceries, Wednesday we came to check some emails and got Subway but I began to get a cold and went home early to rest, Thursday we went to The US Embassy to get Jenna's new passport, Friday (today) was our first day working with patients.
-The hospital experience today was very nice and I will be working on the wards with very involved patients that have had traumatic brain injuries. This ranges from people who have been in car accidents, had strokes, or crazy illnesses that have led them to be completely debilitated and dependent on others. The system is very different here compared to the US so many people stay for months or even years. Hopefully I can make an impact during my short time and I'm very much looking forward to the experience.
I encourage y'all to ask any questions about things because I'm sure you're curious and I may not respond to everything. Leave them in my comments and I'll be sure to tackle the questions in the next post. Like I said, internet access isn't very easy to come by, so I'll respond as quickly as possible, but unless you don't hear from me for weeks...don't be scared!
Take care, pray for Jenna and I to stay safe and sane!!!
Melissa
It's been awhile since my last blog for many reasons. 1) No internet access in our dorm rooms or anywhere on the hospital campus (for fear of someone hacking into the network). 2) We have been dealing with "Jenna drama" most of the week as her bag (also known as purse in the US) got stolen with everything inside...wallet with credit cards/ID/debit cards, passport, phone charger, checkbook, cash, etc. Therefore, you must know understand why I have been distant.
This past week:
-After 4 days of orientation to the hospital, Jenna and I felt like we knew more about this place than we ever wanted to know. Also, these people are completely paranoid about fires and we spent almost 1 of the 4 days talking about what to do if there is a fire. We also spent time going over more needless information, but according to Sue Hall (our clinical director) it was mandatory.
-I encourage you to read Jenna's blog (jennaandnapesineurope@blogspot.com) under the section, "The Sunnier Side of London", to hear more about the hospital. She has filled in lots of info about what the hospital is like, why it is what it is, etc.
-We spent Monday at the "lovely" restaurant where Jenna's purse got stolen and then later at the police station (after riding in the Police van), Tuesday I went to ASDA (UK Walmart) to stock up on groceries, Wednesday we came to check some emails and got Subway but I began to get a cold and went home early to rest, Thursday we went to The US Embassy to get Jenna's new passport, Friday (today) was our first day working with patients.
-The hospital experience today was very nice and I will be working on the wards with very involved patients that have had traumatic brain injuries. This ranges from people who have been in car accidents, had strokes, or crazy illnesses that have led them to be completely debilitated and dependent on others. The system is very different here compared to the US so many people stay for months or even years. Hopefully I can make an impact during my short time and I'm very much looking forward to the experience.
I encourage y'all to ask any questions about things because I'm sure you're curious and I may not respond to everything. Leave them in my comments and I'll be sure to tackle the questions in the next post. Like I said, internet access isn't very easy to come by, so I'll respond as quickly as possible, but unless you don't hear from me for weeks...don't be scared!
Take care, pray for Jenna and I to stay safe and sane!!!
Melissa
Monday, January 5, 2009
Clinical Day 1
Hi,
I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday b/c time went by quickly. Therefore, I don't have any pictures to put up. We went to a local market yesterday morning outside London and walked across the real London Bridge. Mom got quite chilly walking around so she decided to go back to the room, and Dad and I went to Tower of London (where many famous people got beheaded and the Crown Jewels are stored). We went back to the hotel, packed my stuff up and headed to Putney to move me in. I was about 15 minutes to walk to Hospital from the nearest tube station, so it was quite cold. I got moved in into my tiny dorm room and we headed out with Jenna and her friend for dinner. After 3 bottles of wine between 5 people, the walk in the cold wasnt nearly as bad.
Jenna and I started orientation this morning and we have tons more stories to tell about this. Now we're at dinner (with a girl from our orientation too), sitting next to a crazy drunk woman who is talking to herself by the way, so I need to eat. Hopefully we'll find some more free wi-fi soon so we can tell more about our early experiences. Cheers!
Melissa
I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday b/c time went by quickly. Therefore, I don't have any pictures to put up. We went to a local market yesterday morning outside London and walked across the real London Bridge. Mom got quite chilly walking around so she decided to go back to the room, and Dad and I went to Tower of London (where many famous people got beheaded and the Crown Jewels are stored). We went back to the hotel, packed my stuff up and headed to Putney to move me in. I was about 15 minutes to walk to Hospital from the nearest tube station, so it was quite cold. I got moved in into my tiny dorm room and we headed out with Jenna and her friend for dinner. After 3 bottles of wine between 5 people, the walk in the cold wasnt nearly as bad.
Jenna and I started orientation this morning and we have tons more stories to tell about this. Now we're at dinner (with a girl from our orientation too), sitting next to a crazy drunk woman who is talking to herself by the way, so I need to eat. Hopefully we'll find some more free wi-fi soon so we can tell more about our early experiences. Cheers!
Melissa
Sunday, January 4, 2009
My home for 2 months
Greetings from Foggy London town (except it's not foggy right now),
We had such an easy trip out of Paris yesterday morning b/c we decided to go for a taxi and avoid the metro. This was the best money we've spent by far b/c we had no problems with luggage and made it very quickly to the station. This train was very different b/c in order to get into London, you had to have your passport checked, baggage scanned, and check in. I was interrogated by the passport control b/c I was staying in London for so long but didn't not have an address to give them. This made me quite nervous, but they finally let me through. Our seats were in 1st class and we got a big breakfast once we got on (despite us already eating breakfast at the hotel). The train ride was very smooth and going through the Chunnel was nothing but going through a very dark tunnel for about 40 minutes. I did meet a very nice lady on the train that gave me here number here in London and told me I should ring her sometime and she would take Jenna and I around to some neat areas. She also gave me a list of some local things I must do while here. It was really nice.
Once off the train, the station we arrived at was very nice with no graffiti, but was very busy. Dad and I waited in line to get my Oyster (subway pass) card b/c I will need that for the next 2 months to travel around. We all got our tickets and easily rode one line to our stop in Earl's Court. Today was really a breeze! Our room was not ready so we headed down our street and found a local pub and had some beers while waiting. Mom was in heaven while drinking in a real English pub! We went back to the room, changed our clothes for the evening, and headed out to do some sightseeing before dinner and Wicked. We were able to see The Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, ride the London eye (big ferris wheel thing), and walk and see Buckingham Palace. It was great how much we could knock out in one day. We went to our dinner (which had the worst/slowest service so far) and then to Wicked. The show was awesome...a little technical glitch caused the show to stop for about 15 minutes, but who cares! We also saw Jenna and her friend b/c they got tickets to the same show. It was great to see other people we knew. We planned on getting a drink after, but it was getting late and they had to try and figure out which tube was still running to their stop. We called it a night and hit the sack.
This morning we are planning on going to a local market, see London Bridge, and possibly some other sites before heading to Putney to move me into the dorm. I don't know about internet access at the dorms, so I don't know how frewquently I will blog after today. I will come back and post some pictures hopefully before I head out.
Melissa
We had such an easy trip out of Paris yesterday morning b/c we decided to go for a taxi and avoid the metro. This was the best money we've spent by far b/c we had no problems with luggage and made it very quickly to the station. This train was very different b/c in order to get into London, you had to have your passport checked, baggage scanned, and check in. I was interrogated by the passport control b/c I was staying in London for so long but didn't not have an address to give them. This made me quite nervous, but they finally let me through. Our seats were in 1st class and we got a big breakfast once we got on (despite us already eating breakfast at the hotel). The train ride was very smooth and going through the Chunnel was nothing but going through a very dark tunnel for about 40 minutes. I did meet a very nice lady on the train that gave me here number here in London and told me I should ring her sometime and she would take Jenna and I around to some neat areas. She also gave me a list of some local things I must do while here. It was really nice.
Once off the train, the station we arrived at was very nice with no graffiti, but was very busy. Dad and I waited in line to get my Oyster (subway pass) card b/c I will need that for the next 2 months to travel around. We all got our tickets and easily rode one line to our stop in Earl's Court. Today was really a breeze! Our room was not ready so we headed down our street and found a local pub and had some beers while waiting. Mom was in heaven while drinking in a real English pub! We went back to the room, changed our clothes for the evening, and headed out to do some sightseeing before dinner and Wicked. We were able to see The Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, ride the London eye (big ferris wheel thing), and walk and see Buckingham Palace. It was great how much we could knock out in one day. We went to our dinner (which had the worst/slowest service so far) and then to Wicked. The show was awesome...a little technical glitch caused the show to stop for about 15 minutes, but who cares! We also saw Jenna and her friend b/c they got tickets to the same show. It was great to see other people we knew. We planned on getting a drink after, but it was getting late and they had to try and figure out which tube was still running to their stop. We called it a night and hit the sack.
This morning we are planning on going to a local market, see London Bridge, and possibly some other sites before heading to Putney to move me into the dorm. I don't know about internet access at the dorms, so I don't know how frewquently I will blog after today. I will come back and post some pictures hopefully before I head out.
Melissa
Friday, January 2, 2009
Paris Day 2
Bon Soir (good evening in French),
We have had another great day on our journey. We spent our 10 hour day walking and riding the bus around town to see the amazing sites of France as quickly as possible. The first amazing thing was that we woke up to it SNOWING this morning. According to the locals, this is quite rare b/c the temperature hardly ever reaches the freezing level. It quickly melted, but to look out our window this morning and see snow falling and the Eiffel Tower in the distance was just incredible. We walked to the Rodin musuem and saw The Thinker (outside with snow), The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell, which are just a few of his great sculptures. We were heading to The Louvre, but then detoured to the Musee d'Orsay b/c it was supposed to hold the famous Van Gogh painting Starry Night. But as luck would have it, the painting we saw was another version of starry night, not the more famous one. We did see other great paintings of his including his self portrait. We then headed to the Louvre, which was an incredibly amazing, confusing, and large museum. This was the busiest tourist spot we've seen so far; therefore, we fit in the main things (The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Raft of Medusa) and flew past other works of art. We walked on to the Cathedral Notre Dame, which wasn't nearly as impressive as St Peter's Basilica or Basilica of St Mark, but still great to see with lots of beautiful stained glass.
Next we caught our tour bus to the Arc de Triomphe and walked to get some lunch. After lunch we caught the metro to Montmarte (Bohemian area) so mom could walk around as it was one of the places she most wanted to visit and also to see the famous Moulin Rouge. It was just like you'd expect with the big red windmill and all! It was a great stop but the area was more crowded and dirty compared to the rest of Paris. We hopped back on the metro and went back to the Arc de Triomphe, hiked the 250+ stairs to the top, and I saw one of the most amazing views of the trip. The sun was setting over the city and the Eiffel Tower was beautifully placed amongst the sunset. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip!. I highly recommend taking the time to travel up the stairs of the Arc if you ever make it to Paris. After seeing such a great view of the city, long lines, and freezing temperatures, we decided to forgo riding up in the Eiffel Tower. We all agreeded the day was so perfect and we appreciated the views of the Tower from afar, we didn't want to ruin things by standing in line all night and freezing our tails off. We made a quick stop into a pastry shop and came back to the hotel to prepare for the trip tomorrow.
We will leave Paris in the morning and take our "1st class" train to London (We don't know how we got first class!). We will have a short bit of time for sightseeing before our dinner and show of Wicked, which we're so excited about. By coincidence, Jenna let me know that her and her friend also have tickets to the same show tomorrow, so hopefully we can meet up. Hope all is well and depending on the day tomorrow and availability of internet at the next hotel, I hope to blog soon. We will spend Saturday and Sunday in London and move me into my dorm Sunday evening. Mom and Dad fly out Monday morning and I will begin my clinical rotation the same day (January 5th). Hope all is well and hope to blog again soon.
-Melissa
We have had another great day on our journey. We spent our 10 hour day walking and riding the bus around town to see the amazing sites of France as quickly as possible. The first amazing thing was that we woke up to it SNOWING this morning. According to the locals, this is quite rare b/c the temperature hardly ever reaches the freezing level. It quickly melted, but to look out our window this morning and see snow falling and the Eiffel Tower in the distance was just incredible. We walked to the Rodin musuem and saw The Thinker (outside with snow), The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell, which are just a few of his great sculptures. We were heading to The Louvre, but then detoured to the Musee d'Orsay b/c it was supposed to hold the famous Van Gogh painting Starry Night. But as luck would have it, the painting we saw was another version of starry night, not the more famous one. We did see other great paintings of his including his self portrait. We then headed to the Louvre, which was an incredibly amazing, confusing, and large museum. This was the busiest tourist spot we've seen so far; therefore, we fit in the main things (The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Raft of Medusa) and flew past other works of art. We walked on to the Cathedral Notre Dame, which wasn't nearly as impressive as St Peter's Basilica or Basilica of St Mark, but still great to see with lots of beautiful stained glass.
Next we caught our tour bus to the Arc de Triomphe and walked to get some lunch. After lunch we caught the metro to Montmarte (Bohemian area) so mom could walk around as it was one of the places she most wanted to visit and also to see the famous Moulin Rouge. It was just like you'd expect with the big red windmill and all! It was a great stop but the area was more crowded and dirty compared to the rest of Paris. We hopped back on the metro and went back to the Arc de Triomphe, hiked the 250+ stairs to the top, and I saw one of the most amazing views of the trip. The sun was setting over the city and the Eiffel Tower was beautifully placed amongst the sunset. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip!. I highly recommend taking the time to travel up the stairs of the Arc if you ever make it to Paris. After seeing such a great view of the city, long lines, and freezing temperatures, we decided to forgo riding up in the Eiffel Tower. We all agreeded the day was so perfect and we appreciated the views of the Tower from afar, we didn't want to ruin things by standing in line all night and freezing our tails off. We made a quick stop into a pastry shop and came back to the hotel to prepare for the trip tomorrow.
We will leave Paris in the morning and take our "1st class" train to London (We don't know how we got first class!). We will have a short bit of time for sightseeing before our dinner and show of Wicked, which we're so excited about. By coincidence, Jenna let me know that her and her friend also have tickets to the same show tomorrow, so hopefully we can meet up. Hope all is well and depending on the day tomorrow and availability of internet at the next hotel, I hope to blog soon. We will spend Saturday and Sunday in London and move me into my dorm Sunday evening. Mom and Dad fly out Monday morning and I will begin my clinical rotation the same day (January 5th). Hope all is well and hope to blog again soon.
-Melissa
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year
Bonjour!
I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. We spent New Year's Eve in Frankfurt and have spent today, New Year's Day, in Paris. First about our 2nd day in Frankfurt. Thankfully after the plane delay and long day touring the castle, we were able to sleep in a little and eat a casual breakfast before heading out for our Rhine River tour. We were on a small bus for this tour (about 18 people total) and the day was pretty nice and very cold. We saw a beautiful statue outside the city, saw many vineyards and were very entertained by our tour guide on the bus. We then stopped for lunch in a small German town and we had lunch with all kinds of people at our table (even Asians!). The food was not very typical German (baked chicken, french fries, and some cabbage slaw), but still it was very good. We then went next door for a short wine tasting b/c the area we were in is famous for their wine (including red wine and a special variety called Ice Wine). The story behind ice wine is very cool...On the night of the first "real" freeze (-7 degrees Celsius), people storm from their homes around 1 or 2 in the morning to pick the frozen grapes and immediately press them to make the ice wine. Because the grapes are naturally frozen, it gives it a super concentrated flavor but requires lots of grapes for only a few bottles; therefore, it is very expensive. The guide said places in Canada, upstate New York, and even New Zealand have tried to copy the act, but nothing compares to "true" ice wine from Germany. Glad we got to try this for sure!
After the wine tasting, we got on the bus ago for the actual river tour. Unfortunately, the tour lasted only 1 hour and it was raining most of the time so we dind't have great views, but it was still very enjoyable. Once off the river, we drove to a small town where people could get out and do some quick shopping, but since it had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped, the streets were covered in ice. Two people from our tour fell while getting off the bus, so we were hesitant to leave, but we strolled into a small restaurant and ordered 3 bratwurst to go (hehe go Daniel family). Once back on the bus, we ate, took naps and headed back into the city.
We went back to the hotel and prepared for our New Years Eve celebration...although we didn't have plans yet. We headed to one area recommended by the front desk man at the hotel which he said was more "local" but everything was closed. We then went into Old Towne, which looks less like a big city and more like typical Germany. There we found a very crowded, very hectic German restaurant and decided to wait amongst the chaos for a table. After almost an hour, we sat down to huge steins of beer and a large platter of German sausages, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Needless to say, we were all very happy by the end of the dinner. We got done around 11:35 and decided to head back to the hotel room since we would be up early this morning, but made sure to stop and get some bubbly on the way back. We opened the bottle on the public transportation, started drinking and rang in the New Year.
This morning we woke up to a cold Frankfurt and headed to the train station. This time we were more prepared for the experience, and the train was very much nicer than the previous ride. We were able to relax and cruised into Paris on time and ready to see the city. It required 3 metro line changes to reach our hotel (disasterous with all our luggage), but once here it was amazing. You can see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel window!!! We got onto a bus that we are allowed to use to tour for the next 2 days and started to ride around the city. We hopped off at the Notre Dome stop and walked to find some late lunch/early dinner and as luck has it, found an awesome place. The waiter was very kind and accepting of us Americans and the food was very nice. We enjoyed everything, got back on the bus to our hotel while seeing the Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Elysses street, and the Eiffel Tower up close. What a great way to end our first day in Paris. We plan to go into most of the sites tomorrow (as all were closed today) and hit as much as possible in one day. Again, Happy New Year!!!
-Melissa
I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. We spent New Year's Eve in Frankfurt and have spent today, New Year's Day, in Paris. First about our 2nd day in Frankfurt. Thankfully after the plane delay and long day touring the castle, we were able to sleep in a little and eat a casual breakfast before heading out for our Rhine River tour. We were on a small bus for this tour (about 18 people total) and the day was pretty nice and very cold. We saw a beautiful statue outside the city, saw many vineyards and were very entertained by our tour guide on the bus. We then stopped for lunch in a small German town and we had lunch with all kinds of people at our table (even Asians!). The food was not very typical German (baked chicken, french fries, and some cabbage slaw), but still it was very good. We then went next door for a short wine tasting b/c the area we were in is famous for their wine (including red wine and a special variety called Ice Wine). The story behind ice wine is very cool...On the night of the first "real" freeze (-7 degrees Celsius), people storm from their homes around 1 or 2 in the morning to pick the frozen grapes and immediately press them to make the ice wine. Because the grapes are naturally frozen, it gives it a super concentrated flavor but requires lots of grapes for only a few bottles; therefore, it is very expensive. The guide said places in Canada, upstate New York, and even New Zealand have tried to copy the act, but nothing compares to "true" ice wine from Germany. Glad we got to try this for sure!
After the wine tasting, we got on the bus ago for the actual river tour. Unfortunately, the tour lasted only 1 hour and it was raining most of the time so we dind't have great views, but it was still very enjoyable. Once off the river, we drove to a small town where people could get out and do some quick shopping, but since it had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped, the streets were covered in ice. Two people from our tour fell while getting off the bus, so we were hesitant to leave, but we strolled into a small restaurant and ordered 3 bratwurst to go (hehe go Daniel family). Once back on the bus, we ate, took naps and headed back into the city.
We went back to the hotel and prepared for our New Years Eve celebration...although we didn't have plans yet. We headed to one area recommended by the front desk man at the hotel which he said was more "local" but everything was closed. We then went into Old Towne, which looks less like a big city and more like typical Germany. There we found a very crowded, very hectic German restaurant and decided to wait amongst the chaos for a table. After almost an hour, we sat down to huge steins of beer and a large platter of German sausages, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Needless to say, we were all very happy by the end of the dinner. We got done around 11:35 and decided to head back to the hotel room since we would be up early this morning, but made sure to stop and get some bubbly on the way back. We opened the bottle on the public transportation, started drinking and rang in the New Year.
This morning we woke up to a cold Frankfurt and headed to the train station. This time we were more prepared for the experience, and the train was very much nicer than the previous ride. We were able to relax and cruised into Paris on time and ready to see the city. It required 3 metro line changes to reach our hotel (disasterous with all our luggage), but once here it was amazing. You can see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel window!!! We got onto a bus that we are allowed to use to tour for the next 2 days and started to ride around the city. We hopped off at the Notre Dome stop and walked to find some late lunch/early dinner and as luck has it, found an awesome place. The waiter was very kind and accepting of us Americans and the food was very nice. We enjoyed everything, got back on the bus to our hotel while seeing the Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Elysses street, and the Eiffel Tower up close. What a great way to end our first day in Paris. We plan to go into most of the sites tomorrow (as all were closed today) and hit as much as possible in one day. Again, Happy New Year!!!
-Melissa
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