cheerio & farewell.

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged
to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."
-Nelson Mandela

Now that I have been home for almost two weeks, I have decided that it is finally time to lay this blog to rest. Thanks to a bit of debt and my parents' refusal to fund my travel addiction any longer, it will probably be quite some time before I make it out of the country again; therefore the idea of a travel blog is rendered useless. But before I leave, I'll give you one last post of rambling thoughts, random pictures and altogether pointless statements. =)

First of all, I'll share a few pictures that I have stolen from Morgan. (On a side note, I took my camera to Radio Shack today. They thought my camera looked suspiciously like it had been dropped, but I'm crossing my fingers that they'll fix it anyway. I'm not too hopeful.) Anyway, here are some of the better pictures. For the more amusing (ridiculous looking) pictures, you'll have to find them on facebook. And believe me, there are plenty.






So, home. Everyone likes to ask how it feels to be back in central NY. In truth? No different than usual. Sure, it seems a bit more boring than the excitement of living outside of London, but I adjust to places well. Moving to London didn't affect me much, and moving home was the same way. I must admit that it was nice to sleep in my own bed again though. And oh how my piano had missed me! =)

I only had one day off before I was thrown into the usual theater-filled summer, as rehearsals for Once Upon a Mattress started last Tuesday. The cast is pretty good, and it's so beyond corny that it's fun. I think Summerstage keeps me sane during summers where I would otherwise be bored out of my mind. And I read through the script of Curtains today (the August show). I had forgotten how hilarious that musical is, and the cast is looking to be fantastic, so it should be a good summer of spending every evening in a musty old theater. Since I decided to do both shows again this year, I'll only have one free week all summer, right before I return to Albany. Ah, the life!

My last two weeks have been consumed with unpacking (which still isn't quite done), a bit of laundry, and a lot of job applications. I knew it would be tough to find a job when I was getting home so much later than the other college kids, but I hadn't been counting on the terrible economy and the lack of places wanting to hire this summer. But after a week and a half of hearing "we're not hiring" or "we can't take any more temp people", I finally found a job! It's at a little store called Scandinavian Design. I should be working around 35 hours a week, and they aren't open at night, so I don't have to worry about rehearsal conflicts. And I start Monday, yay!

In between the new job and rehearsal every night, I have my work cut out for me in starting to work on Circle K reports and planning for conventions. Our first board meeting is in July in Queens, and I have a whole list of things that need to be done before that weekend. I'm excited to get move involved with such a great club, and hopefully I'll find some time to get community service hours in this summer to get me a head start for next fall. I also have to spend some time on choreography ideas for my tap dances with Allison for next year, so if anyone drives by my house and sees me dancing outside with a garbage can, do not be alarmed! Oh, and I just created a list of books I want to read in the near future...I have a feeling I won't get through them all this summer. Last year I made it through 32 books, but I was also able to read at my job. But maybe I'll reach that number again? I'm also hoping to make it down to the city before Blithe Spirit closes, so I can see Angela Lansbury's Tony award-winning performance. In case you can't tell, it's going to be another busy summer! (What is it that I have against down time and relaxation?)

On a completely unrelated topic, the president of CK posted this video on her blog yesterday. I thought it deserved to be passed on:



Anyway, for those of you who have made it this far in reading my nonsense (both in this post and in general), I applaud you. Or I laugh at the incredible boredom that must exist in your life for you to waste your time here. But in all seriousness, I'm honored that you thought my traveling adventures were worthy of your attention. I hope that something in these posts at one point made you smile or laugh, brightened your day, or maybe encouraged you to travel in the future. Studying abroad was truly the experience of a lifetime, and if any of you are considering it, don't let yourself pass it up and forever regret it. I know I would have.

To London, you are an absolutely beautiful city. I have no doubt in my mind that I will return to you someday, whether for an extended period of time or just a few days of fish 'n chips, cider and West End shows. To the wonderful people I met there, you helped make it a fantastic semester, and I will never forget our wonderful traveling and chemistry adventures (failures). It's amazing how quickly you helped to make Kingston equate with the word home. To the friends and family that I'm returning to, Utica may not compare to London, but it's good to be home. And to my faithful readers, you're nuts. I thank you anyway.

I don't know where I shall travel to next, or if I'll again have the patience to keep track of my adventures for you all to read (or laugh at). Therefore, I bid my dear blog goodbye. It's been a wonderful journey. You all know how to contact me, so I expect you all to keep in touch this summer.

For now, cheerio & farewell. It's been grand.

last minute thoughts: reprise.

"Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again..."
-John Denver

I'm about to sleep in my Kingston bed for the last time. I just finished packing up the last of my things, and managed to fit everything I've bought on my shopping spree in the past few days! (Well, almost. I did put a few things in one of Morgan's suitcases). The flight reservations are confirmed, a taxi is scheduled to pick us up tomorrow morning, and everything is all set for my return to the states. Oh, bittersweet. I don't feel ready to leave this wonderful country, but it will be nice to see my family. I wish I could just have a week at home to visit and get some American food before heading back here for another semester or year.

At least I've had a fantastic week here to end the semester. Our last two days were full of adventures! Yesterday we made it to Buckingham Palace just in time for the Changing of the Guards. There were zillions of people there, so it was hard to see, but eventually we squeezed our way into a spot. It was similar to the ceremony that I saw at Windsor Castle, but obviously on a larger scale. We then headed over to Leicester Square to buy tickets for one last West End show, and then off to Hard Rock Cafe for some lunch. London's Hard Rock was the first ever to be opened. It actually started off as a fluke, when Eric Clapton insisted on having a table saved for him at his favorite restaurant, so they hung one of his guitars over the table. Another rock legend (I forget the name) walked into the restaurant, saw the guitar, and sent in his own with a note saying "mine's as good as his!". Interesting tidbit of information for you. We went over to the wax museum after lunch, but the line was so long that we decided not to bother, and went straight to the London Eye instead. The eye was fun, and the views over the city were pretty good despite the overcast weather. Did I mention that we had warmth and sunshine all week long until yesterday? Pretty impressive stretch of good weather for London. Last night we met up with Kaitlin at the King's Tun for a few drinks, and then Morgan and I went across the street to Oceana. I thought she needed to experience the neon colored tutus that are always out in abundance there. It was a fun time, and we met two adorable English girls that we spent a lot of the night with.

Today we went into London for the last time. This morning we went on an interactive tour of Drury Theatre, the first West End theatre dating back to the 17th century. It was a bit cheesy, but informative and fun. We walked through Covent Garden market to waste some time, and I finally found a couple of small London paintings to add to my collection. I plan on having a kickass wall in my room next year with the paintings I've gotten from all over Europe and my football scarves. Then we went to see another musical: We Will Rock You! I'm not even sure how to describe the show. In one word: bizarre. It was the most "far out" musical I've ever seen, and parts of it were so campy that I couldn't believe I was enjoying it, but the music was so amazing that it was impossible not to have fun. Take Queen songs, fantastic arrangements, and a few leads that rocked out with spectacular voices, and the ludicrous storyline didn't get in the way of a few standing ovations and the entire audience singing and clapping along to the last few songs. Sure, it was no Jersey Boys, but it was a lot of fun. After a bit of souveneir shopping, we hopped on the train back to Kingston and met Kaitlin and Maggie at Tops for one last pizza night before I had to say goodbye.

As it was in January when I was getting ready to leave the states, it hasn't actually hit me that I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Therefore I really have nothing else to write about at the moment, because I feel like tomorrow is just another day in foggy Kingston. Maybe I'll waste some time on the plane with another post if it actually clicks in my mind that I'm on my way home.

Until then, I'm going to dream away my last night in England. Tomorrow, it's time to puddle hop. Farewell, my dear Londontown.

three, two, one?

"Save tonight, and fight the break of dawn,
Come tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be gone..."
-Eagle Eyed Cherry

Sunday continues to inch its way closer, and this last week has been a whirlwind of adventures in trying to live up my last few days here. Thankfully, I haven't had any more chemistry to worry about. The exam was difficult, but at least it's over and I've been exploring London and northern England instead of stuck in the library!

To celebrate the end of the semester, Maggie and I grabbed some pizza and cider and had a movie night at my house. We watched Billy Madison, one of the most pointless movies I've ever seen, but I couldn't help but laugh anyways. On Friday morning, I headed back over to Heathrow airport to pick up Morgan. She arrived safely, but her luggage didn't. Apparently it's the usual luck that accompanies her and her family on trips? Luckily she had packed some clothes into her carry-on, so it wasn't a major catastrophe. We spent the day around Kingston while I finished up some things at uni and she tried to beat the jet lag. We also cooked delicious chicken riggies for dinner, to give me a taste of good 'ol Utica cooking. Yum!

Then on Saturday, the whirlwind began. I'm not going to go into much detail, because it's already well past midnight and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. But here's a bit about what we've done:

Saturday was Morgan's first day in London, so we walked around central for her to see the major sites (Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, etc.). We were walking over to Westminster Abbey just as a Choral Evensong service was about to start, so we headed in. Last time, it had only been the Lay Vicars singing, but this time the choir boys were in attendance as well, and the music was amazing. I think I will always be fascinated by that church.

Sunday we hit up the Natural History museum for a bit of educational fun. Plenty of animals and birds, a bit of human biology, a few gems, and a pass on the insects made it a fun afternoon. Then it was off to the first of the shows, STOMP! The concept of the show is people using random objects to make sounds, rhythms and music, and it was incredible. Everything from brooms, trash cans, lighters, newspapers and even kitchen sinks were used. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go look up a youtube video, because it's quite interesting.

We headed off early on Monday morning to Manchester! The train station was a bit chaotic. Most trains were delayed or canceled because of a "fatality" earlier that morning. (It turned out that the guy had apparently alerted emergency services before trying to jump in front of a train, but they managed to save him. Yet it was still reported as a fatality?) The earlier train to Manchester had been canceled as well, so people on our train were arguing about seats and it was hectic in most of the cars. Luckily we found a car that was quiet (we were in first class!) and settled in for a peaceful ride. In Manchester, we rode their "eye", went to the cathedral, and did some shopping in their giant mall. The hostel ended up being pretty nice, we met a couple of nice Canadians who liked to say "right on!", and went to a comedy show that night. It was fun, but Manchester felt too much like a mini New York City, so it wasn't really my cup of tea.

I ended up liking York much better, which we went to on Tuesday. We started off with a bus tour around the city, which was beautiful. An old Roman wall goes around most of the central area, and York Minster is the largest Gothic cathedral in all of northern Europe. We climbed up hundreds of stairs to reach the top, and the view was definitely worth the exhaustion and sore muscles. We also went over to the JORVIK Viking Centre, which ended up being a ride through a re-creation of a Viking town. It was strange. But the city itself was cute, it sort of reminded me of Oxford or Bath in the architecture and setup. We took a train back to London that evening, and failed at finding Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters at King's Cross. I may be the only huge Harry Potter fan who spends five months in London without visiting Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. I guess I'll just have to return someday!

Wednesday was another day in London! We started off with a guided tour of the infamous Tower of London. It has a very interesting history, full of blood, torture and executions. It also holds the crowned jewels, which are the most lavish I've ever seen. I guess I haven't seen too many countries' crowned jewels though, hm? I got another picture with Tower Bridge, my favorite site in the city. After a quick lunch we went to the Science Museum. After a ride on the motion simulator, we bought tickets for the Dinosaurs IMAX movie. Of course, it was only after we bought the tickets that I realized it was 3D, one of my newly discovered fears. I survived though, probably because it was educational, and 3D dinosaur fossils aren't nearly as frightening as things popping out of the screen and talking to me. Finally, we met up with Laura back in Kingston for dinner, because she went to high school with Morgan. (Small world?)

And today was yet another busy day. We walked the stairs to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral, which outshined Westminster and York Minster in its lavish ceilings. One of the upper levels is called the "Whispering Gallery", so I heard Morgan whisper my name from across the dome. We walked across Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theatre, but no tours are currently going on because it's show season. So instead of a tour, we had ice-cream. Typical. Then we returned to the Science Museum, as we hadn't had time to explore it much before it closed yesterday. The interactive rooms were a lot of fun, despite being overrun by school kids. I always love a good science museum. And then after dinner it was off to our second show: Jersey Boys! It was absolutely positively amazing! First of all, we bought cheap tickets for the upper circle, but the upper circle was closed tonight, so we were upgraded to box seats! We had our own private room with a perfect view of the stage for only twenty pounds! (In NYC, this show is one of the most expensive musicals currently on Broadway.) And being the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, the music was so much fun that during the curtain call, the entire audience was on their feet clapping and dancing. I loved the entire show, and I can't wait to go buy a Frankie Valli album, or see the show again!

Tomorrow we've got a full day planned, including the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, Hard Rock Cafe, the Wax Museum, the London Eye, and a night out. Saturday may be just as busy, with a tour of Drury Theatre, and hopefully one last musical (or two!). I might as well take advantage of cheap West End tickets while I can, right? Morgan and I have been documenting our entire trip on her camera and her video camera, so hopefully I'll be able to steal all of her pictures and get a copy of our edited video. It's been an awesome week so far, and I can't wait to enjoy these next two days in London!

If only they weren't my last two...

See you soon, NY.