Stonehenge Rocks!

I know, I know, I haven't written in a while... but I have so many stories! I did a lot of exploring this weekend. We got up at 5 in the morning on Friday and got on the bus to Avebury, Glastonbury, Wells and Bath. In Wells, we walked up an ENORMOUS hill (really a mountain, I'd say) up to the Tor, which is a tower-like structure from the time of Henry VIII. It was incredibly windy up there! We took loads of pictures pretending to be flying and whatnot; Lauren and I did a broadcast from the top, Adam was our on site reporter- it was great.

After Wells we took off for Bath, where we explored a little and then went to bed. In the morning, we took a tour of the Roman Baths, which are situated on the only natural hot springs in the entire UK. The water is not treated at all, so technically tourists aren't supposed to touch it? But I was too curious so I touched it anyways... it was so hot! There was steam coming off the water and the entire system of pipes and whatnot was very interesting. We got these phone-like things (looked like mobile phones from the 80's) that talked to us as we walked around, which was pretty interesting. I have so many new fun facts!

After Bath, we headed over towards Stonehenge. Honestly, I was definitely expecting it to be HUGE. I mean, they were big but I think my expectations were bigger. The whole thing was so breathtaking, however. It is mind blowing to think about how it was possibly made. We learned that it could very possibly be a ritual site or astrological site, but there is still speculation.

Back to work for the week, possibly starting writing a story! I got another credit the other day on a story from Berlin about Bentley! It was pretty exciting.

Ireland in four days!

Cheers!

Hampton Court!

Today, we went on an adventure! For our British Art and Architecture class we have been exploring different areas of London for the art and architecture. Who would've thought.

We went to Hampton Court Palace to explore the difference in architecture between the original building and the parts that have been knocked down and remodeled. The palace is absolutely beautiful! The entrance has four pillars with large stone statues on the top with armour. My favorite statue was of a unicorn. It had a shield, pretty bad ass. Through the entrance is a long stone driveway that leads up to the grand entrance with more stone statues. The front of the palace was a garish orange color, and our guide explained to us that it was not the original stone, but was in the process of being restored.

Something I learned today: did you know that most statues (you know, all the famous ones you can think of from Rome and whatnot?) were actually painted with bright, overwhelming, usually very ugly colors originally? All the statues that we picture today are plain stone, but were actually once all very colorful! Incredible! But I digress...

Inside the palace was absolutely amazing. The walls were covered in tapestries that, if they were made and bought today, would cost as much as a United States Navy warship. Each. The palace was turned over to Henry VIII, who owned 2,000 tapestries! He was very rich. He was also the king. In case you didn't know.

The walls were painted with ornate and wonderfully detailed murals and in one room there was a digital demonstration of what a tapestry used to look like. It was projected onto a tapestry, and it was amazing to see what it was supposed to look like and what it looks like today.

I love that I am getting to explore so many areas of London through my classes. One thing that I have noticed is that every professor and guide that I have had know SO MUCH about everything that they are talking about. They never need notes or anything. It is incredibly impressive. I have only been here one month and already I have learned so much!

Off to the AP tomorrow, I am excited to see what I get to do next...maybe fashion week!?

Miss you all!

Cheers!

Too Much Excitement to Handle

Yesterday was a day of days.

I got up at 8, which is early here ( apparently people in the UK don't go into work until 10?) and made my way down to Westminster. I wandered around until I found a throng of people gathered around in front of Westminster Cathedral. There was a giant television screen and something like 2500 children sitting on the ground in front, apparently waiting for the pope to address them. Apparently, you needed tickets to get into the actual mass, so there were just hundreds upon hundreds of people in front of the Cathedral to watch mass on TV. I wandered for a bit, talked to some fanatics, it was great. I must say that I was quite disappointed by the fact that I did not get to see the Popemobile (and yes, that is the official name of it), but I did see the man himself very briefly which was pretty exciting.

After the mass, I called in my "vox pops" which are pretty much just quick quotes from the people that I had talked to, and made my way down to Hyde Park, where a giant "Protest the Pope" rally was taking place. I walked with them for a little bit, but mostly ran up and down along the march talking to people and figuring out why they were protesting. I kid you not when I say that there 12,000 people! The march stretched all the way from Hyde Park to Westminster. I know that doesn't sound far, but go check out a map. It's ridiculous.

So I hung out with the protesters and called in some quotes, then hung around for the rally. There were a lot of people from the States, which was pretty cool. Some of what they were saying I could understand, but some of it was just too intense for me and I thought they might have crossed the line a bit, but overall it was a really exciting and rewarding experience.

And the best news of all! My quotes were used in two stories on Yahoo! and my byline is right at the bottom!! Apparently the story was also picked up in the States and in Australia!!

Today we went to the Victoria and Albert museum to check out the Raphael Tapestries and Cartoons exhibition, which was pretty cool. Now I just have a bunch of catching up on work to do, so I should be getting on...

Cheers!

I Don't Know If You've Heard? The Pope Is Coming.

Today was ALL about the Pope. I got into work at 10 and everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the plane to touch down so that we could be the first report that the Pope was in the UK. There were four different television stations on in the office and everyone was glued to the coverage to see when the plane touched down. The editor had the press release already written up and was waiting with her finger poised about the send key for the second the Pope was officially here.

So exciting!

I got my itinerary for the weekend today. On Saturday I am going to mass at West Minster Cathedral ( oh man) and then off to a "Protest the Pope" march and rally. It should be a very interesting day!

We had a meeting with the executive editor today. We discussed strategies to expand our coverage to Eastern Europe and what not. So much of what she was talking about I recognized from things that I had learned in class, which was so exciting.

I am learning so much here :)

Cheerio!

If you are really determined...

Back to classes today. We watched a great movie in Comedy, called "Carry-on: down the Khyber." It was absolutely hilarious. This one was in color, and was about the British army occupying Indian territory. It was crude and brash but absolutely wonderful. It is a great class.

For art and architecture, we had a field trip to West Minster Abbey. It is absolutely beautiful! We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the outside is absolutely beautiful. I never realized just how big it is- it is massive. The inside is marble, and highly decorated and gilded. It is mind blowing to think that people built it from the ground up, without the technology that we have now, and put so much detail into it. I learned that there are actually three sections of the church and the decoration changes as the buildings do, because it took so long to finish it that styles of buildings changed.

After class, Lauren, Adam and I discovered that the Script, one of my favorite bands, was playing a huge concert two Tube stops down. We decided it was worth a shot to go down and see if anyone was scalping tickets- we had nothing to lose. So down we went, walked around for about 30 seconds, found a man with tickets, talked him down to 30 pounds and BAM. Script concert for us:) It was an incredible concert, quite possibly my favorite concert by far. They are from Ireland, and I could listen to them talk forever. I may or may not be in love right now...

Well I am off to bed Cheers!

Thames River Festival

Today was an absolutely beautiful day! It was one of those very confusing fall days, where the sun is very hot so you think "wow I should've worn a dress" but the shade is very chilly so you think "wow, why didn't I bring a sweatshirt?". Very bipolar. But nonetheless beautiful.

It was the Thames River Festival today. All along the river, from the West Minster Bridge to the Tower Bridge, shops opened up their doors, artisans set up tents, boats cruised up and down the river, and bands played familiar music. At one point, I even heard the Ghostbusters song!

The festival lasted all day, and culminated with a mile long parade up and across the river. There were bands, drums, loud speakers, and so many costumes. I wish I knew exactly how you could get into the parade, because it looked like they were having so much fun. It turned into another dance party in the streets. We made our way down along the river towards the West Minster bridge, where we watched fireworks! Apparently these are referred to as the Olympics of fireworks, because they are so skilled at timing everything. They do fireworks very different in the UK. In America, fireworks can last FOREVER, with only one firework being set off at a time and then everything left over at the end. Here, they time it up so it only lasts about 15 minutes and are all coordinated with when they will explode and what not. It was beautiful.

It was so incredible to be standing in front of Parliament watching fireworks over the Thames! It seems that there are a lot of festivals here, something that you do not see often in America. It so much fun to get out of the house and see everything. I do not think that there has been a day yet where I haven't seen something new or explored a new area.

Alright well off to sleep...I actually have class tomorrow?

Cheers!

The Pope is Coming?

So I have an excuse for not blogging yesterday...I have come down with a mild but persistent cold (well ACTUALLY our friend Tomasz gave it to TJ, who then spread it to the whole flat...) and I succumbed to a much needed early night.

I had a lot of fun at the AP yesterday. I was sent out to the train station to ask people how they felt about the pope's coming. Only two people said they didn't want to talk to me, unheard of! I think it was because I was wearing my new Associated Press badge :) I then found a friar. Like Robin Hood-full garb- bible in hand friar. So I HAD to talk to him, obviously...

Other than that, hmm what else has been happening?

We are headed out to St. Paul's tomorrow and then to a soccer game! Excuse me, football. Very exciting!

Well i'm off to finish watching Good Will Hunting...

Cheerio!~

GUEST POST!

Hello to all you Gillian enthusiasts! This is Gillian's favorite flatmate (and person overall) Lauren. I may have been mentioned at some point. I'm kind of a big deal.

I kid.

From what I understand, Gillian rediscovered her passion for journalism today, but I'll let her share that gem. I'm not surprised she landed an internship with the Associated Press. She is very talented, but I'm sure you knew that already.

In other news, we have been having a great time here. It's so great to get to share this amazing experience with close friends. :) It's such a great jumpstart to our future careers. I'm starting to sound like an after school special so I suppose I should say my goodbyes. Gillian and I are going out dancing tonight - it's about time. It's a big day when the nerds let loose - on a Wednesday no less! Pigs must be in flight somewhere...

That's all the intrusion I deserve. Cheers!

Yeah Tube Strike? Really?

Today was a day of days.

The Tube workers decided that they don't like how much they are being paid, and decided a strike was necessary. On my first day at the Associated Press. Basically, they shut down the entire underground system. Awful. In order to get to my internship, excuse me, "work placement," I had to get on a bus at 8, travel half an hour, tranfer buses, travel another hour, and sit squished like a sardine the whole time. Just to get to work on time at 10.

That's not even the worst of it! My first assignment? Go down to the bus station and ask people how they feel about having their commute interrupted. How do you THINK they feel? So that was fun.

AND THEN. It took me THREE HOURS to get home because the buses were all switched around and decided to switch routes in the middle of the road? Awesome. Longest day ever.

We are going to a soccer game this weekend, which will be wicked fun!

Off to bed! Cheers!

Mind. Blown.

Today, my mind was blown. Let me enlighten you.

I may or may not have discovered one of the largest malls in all of Europe, and quite possibly the world. I am not exaggerating. It is actually one of the largest in the world. It is Westfield London Shopping Centre and it is absolutely mind blowing. There are 3 floors that quite literally never end. You keep thinking you are at the end and then BAM around the corner another mile of shops! We definitely went in for a practical reason- we needed laptop bags for our internships (which we found quite cheaply, I might add) but we couldn't resist wandering around for a while taking in the absolute enormity of it all. There might have been a box of cookies, a giant pink cupcake and double chocolate ice cream involved...

Here's the kicker.

Apparently, it is quite acceptable for the Tube workers to go on strike at various times during the week and completely shut down the city. I kid you not. Starting tonight, the Underground and Tube trains will not be traveling along certain lines because the workers feel they need more money. They are shutting down the city! I am getting a crash course in the bus system tomorrow in order to get to my internship... it is mind blowing how much power they have! Apparently this happens every couple of weeks or so...

The British are ever so co-operative here. The Underground shuts down, and they're just like "well, what are you gonna do mate?" and decide its a nice day for a walk to work. AMAZING.

Also, my internship starts tomorrow! I am wicked excited but also super nervous. Wish me luck!

Cheers!

A Trip Back In Time

This weekend we journeyed out to Oxford and Stratford. We set out at 7 in the morning on a coach and made it to Oxford in about an hour. We walked through Christ Church, which was absolutely amazing.

DID YOU KNOW: the dining hall in Christ Church is the one that is filmed for the dining hall at Hogwarts? I have walked through the great hall at Hogwarts! Let me tell you, they have to do some pretty funky computer generation and what not.

Anywho, we went by the college and then headed out to Stratford. We went to see the Royal Shakespeare Company performance of Julius Caesar. While it's not one of my favorites, it was certainly interesting and... theatrical.

We stayed at a cute B&B, went for a lovely walk around Stratford, and sent most of the day eating the best sandwich ever- turkey and cranberry- and took a nap on the river.

All in all it was a great trip, Adam surely had a great time. Lauren and I got celtic bracelets, which was very exciting, and we ate a lot of good food.

Back to classes tomorrow and internship Tuesday!

Cheerio!

The London Eye Sees All

Did you know that Big Ben is not actually that huge tower you always see in pictures of Parliament? That huge tower is simply called Parliament Clock Tower. Big Ben is the bell inside! So when you visit London, you will never actually SEE Big Ben! Crazy!

I found this out today whist on a Big Bus Sightseeing Tour. It was an incredible day. We started out going round Marble Arch and made our way through Queensway, Soho, Leicester Square and past where the Beetles played their last concert together. We made it the Thames, and hopped off to get some lunch and go on the London Eye. For those of you who don't know what the London Eye is, it is the second largest ferris wheel in the world! It takes a total of 35 minutes to go around, and there isn't a bad seat in the place! about 15 people can fit in it and walk around comfortably in order to get a full view of the entire city.

I bet you didn't know that the city of London is actually the smallest in the world? It is a grand total of 1 square mile. What you refer to as London is actually Greater London. So much new trivia!

After our adventures there we took a river tour down to the Tower Bridge, saw the actually London Bridge (you know, the one with the nursery rhyme?) and made our way back onto the bus and to Buckingham Palace! There were no guards out front to annoy, unfortunately, but we did see them through the gates... I wonder if their hats are really heavy and annoying?

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Stratford. We are going to the Globe Theatre to see Julius Caesar. Adam is out of his mind excited.

Having a bit of a nod before an early morning!

Cheerio!

Officially an Intern!

Today was a very exciting day! But I should probably start from the beginning.

Yesterday I had my interview the Associated Press! My internship coordinator gave me directions from google maps to the place. Lauren and I had gone on Monday to our respective internship locations to make sure that we could easily get to them on Tuesday. We were fully prepared, and the places were relatively easy to find. On Tuesday, we left an hour before my interview. Took the underground with no problem, and arrived at my interview place 15 minutes early. Perfect.

Except not. I had noticed the day before that it seemed a little abandoned, but I figured since it was the Bank holiday, that they were just out and about and hadn't come to work. Tuesday, it didn't seem anymore open. Keep in mind that the internet in our flat had died on Monday, so we were unable to check any directions to make sure it was the right place. I asked a random person where the front door was and he said " As far as I know, that place is scheduled to be demolished this week. Sorry, love." Instant panic.

I ran back to the Mcdonalds that Lauren was using the internet at, and asked her to look up the phone for the AP. Turns out, they had moved 3 years ago and google maps never updated. Long story shot, instead of being 15 mintues early, I was 30 minutes late.

Even through all of that.... I start my internship next Tuesday at 10 am!

Off to Hyde Park with Lauren to do some reading!

Cheerio!