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
Friday, February 13, 2009
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
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