16 June 2008

The changing of the guards was interesting.  There were tons of people there and I was standing in all the wrong places to get the pictures I wanted, but now I know for next time.  The royal band played the theme song from Indiana Jones... which inspired Dan and me to go see the movie that night.

Met with Kristine and that went well.  She was so much fun to hang out with!  She even invited for me to go with her to a Bon Jovi concert.  Yaaaa hoooooo!!!!  She works in the fashion industry and said I could come to the next photo shoot her company holds, which is in the first week or two of July.  Looking forward to seeing what that will be like.  I imagine it being rather large with lots of models and clothes and people and lights.  That'll be exciting.  Aside from that, I can tell we're going to be good friends.

When we met up, we went to a Tex-Mex place here.  Have I ranted on about Tex-Mex in London yet?  Well, it sucks... to be quite blunt.  BUT, it's challenging to find a place that has a good burrito.  Dan and I are constantly on the hunt for London's best burrito.  So far, the place Kristine and I went to was the best burrito I have had in the city.  It still wasn't fabulous, but as the Tex-Mex phenomena continues to grow in London, I'm sure the burritos will too.  Dan and I have found 2 other places to check out.  Can't wait to see how they stand up to one another!  It seems as though I did something similar in Jacksonville when I was trying to find the best fajitas... and Chicago with the best tapas... and now London with the best burritos.

I'm starting to get in to a weekly routine.  Monday and Thursday nights are aqua aerobics classes, Wednesdays are pilates classes,  and sometimes Tuesdays will be my cardio day, but usually I'll leave that open for a fun night out.  This Tuesday, Dan and his friends from Oz, Julie and Damien, and myself are going out for a Comedy Camp night out.  Dan and I went to this for Anti-Valentine's Day and we loved it!  I hope it lives up to it's reputation!

Also, this past week I have secured tickets (I love tickets!) to go see Radiohead in concert at Victoria Park!  I have also secured tickets for my first ever music festival where the Counting Crows will perform.  I figured I'm in the land of music festivals, it has to be something that is experienced!  I'm really looking forward to all of the concerts coming up!  I can count on my fingers how many concerts I have gone to... not good for a 31 year-old.  I decided.

OH!  Before I go.  You know how it always takes about 6 months to get in to your groove when you move to a new city?  Well, my 6 months are up and I'm in my groove.  I met some wonderful French ladies who all love to play tennis, so on Saturday mornings now, we're all getting together for some doubles.  It's so wonderful!  I have missed tennis!  And now that I have met Kristine and Karalynn and Kelly (WOW!  Didn't realize until now their names all start with a "K" until now!), I feel like a have a nice little female friend base that I can do fun girlie things with.  

FINALLY!!!!

06 June 2008

Well, I have finally moved out of the dorms. Last night, a lovely lady, Ana, came by to pick up a lot of the stuff I was giving away. She was such a sweet lady! She brought her 11 month old son who was adorable, Matthew.

Leaving the dorms was kind of bittersweet. It's kind of weird too. I have been so independent for so many years and now I feel like I have become co-dependent. Yes, co-dependent on Dan for letting me stay at his house, but also co-dependent on female friends to help fill that void that Dan can't fill, co-dependent on my job to provide me the means of living here and in Chicago over the next several months, etc. This girl has turned from little miss independent to demurely co-dependent.


Tonight, I'm meeting up with a lady by the name of Kristin. I've never met her face-to-face before, but I did meet a long-time friend of hers at a conference I went to a couple of weeks ago, Rod. She seems really nice and spunky and I'm looking forward to meeting another friend. She is also from America, and has been living here for 2 years. Rod thinks she can help me find a job, so I'm co-dependent on her to help me find one. ha. Kidding!

Later on tonight, Dan, a couple of his friends from Oz, and myself may go see a movie outdoors by the river. It's free and they're showing The Usual Suspects! Thought that would be something different to do.

This weekend, I know that I want to go watch the changing of the guards and take a look at the paintings along Hyde Park on Sunday. Who knows what the rest of the weekend has in store for me! Hope something exciting will happen!!!

3 June 2008

Since my last posting, my exams are completed.  Siggggghhhhhhhhh...  What a relief THAT was!  I was so happy when I turned in the last exam, that I nearly jumped for joy and said to myself, "Now what?!"  Kidding.  I went to meet up with Dan after work, but since I was done about an hour before he got off of work, I went to the bar next door to where he works for a little celebratory drink.  I ended up meeting a new girlfriend.  Her name is Claudia and she's originally from Mexico (Dan came downstairs really quickly to say hello and he introduces me to her).  She's the bartender and she was so much fun to talk to!  Also met a local man, Ben, who gave me some interesting stories about his travels.  He has never been to the US, so I gave him a few ideas of what I thought would be the best to see.  NYC was #1 on my list.  Everybody who comes to America must go to NYC!

After Dan got off work, we went back to his house.  There was where a couple of his friends who flew in from Australia were.  He had been talking about them so much, it was great to finally meet them.  They had decided they wanted to go out for dinner at this Punjabi place called Tayyabs.  It was probably, by far, the best dining experience I have had since I got here!  Other people who have been there are those like Tina Turner, Gordon Ramsey, Sade, Cher, etc.  Yummm!  It was a great celebratory dinner!

The next day was the first day the new Sex and the City movie was out.  My friend from work, Karalynn, and I purchased tickets a few days in advance.  Before the movie, we went to this really cool little wine shop for dinner.  It was called Vinoteca.  Unfortunately, we had bad service, but it was still good.  She has been there many times and never had bad service.  I think it was just our luck of the draw.

The movie was PACKED!  Sold out, actually.  I couldn't get tickets together with Karalynn, but we were on the same row making hand gestures to one another.  ha.  Kidding.  When the credits were starting to roll, the entire theater clapped.  It was funny!  Reminded me of when I arrived in Miami from a long journey from Argentina.  Everybody was so happy to be there!  Well, I have to admit, I was jumping in my seat as I could not WAIT to see what was next for Carrie Bradshaw and the girls.  Afterwards, I was so happy with what I had seen (aside from a few minor cheesy phrases).  It definitely didn't leave me disappointed...  Can't wait to see what happens next, if they do decide to film a sequel.

On Friday night, Karalynn met up with Dan and I at a wine bar for a couple of drinks.  After the bar, we met up with Weijer and a couple of his Dutch friends that were in town.  We hit the town!  It was so fun!  I haven't gone out like that since I have moved here and missed it so much!  I wasn't prepared to go out properly as I had just gone to the gym and was in my Friday work clothes (usually jeans and a not so cute top).  Ah well.  Still had a great time!  Weijer's friends were very interesting to talk to.  Marcell works for a large pharmaceutical company, conducting research on new forms of medicine... animal testing.  I had a lot of questions to ask him, as they test on rodents and dogs.  But, after speaking to him, I felt a little better.

Saturday, Dan and I went to Stonehenge.  If you haven't heard of Stonehenge, it's just some UFO circle in the middle of England with a few rocks that were placed upright over 5,000 years ago.  I just made it sound like it's not a big deal, but it really is amazing to see the massive rocks and then stand there trying to understand why they put them there in the first place.  What does all of that mean?  Scientists have continuously tried to figure out the puzzle for many years and have come to a somewhat satisfactory resolution.  If you're interested in learning more about Stonehenge, check it out on Wikipedia.org!

Sunday was very laid back.  I went shopping at TK Maxx... ha.  Why did they have to change the J to a K?  I don't get it.  Or a K to a J... not sure which was where first.  Anyway, I didn't mention this before, but I am moving in with Dan until I return back to the US in August.  So, I wanted to find a couple of baskets where I can put some of my clothes in them.  Dan doesn't have any room for me... he doesn't even have a closet!  So, I have to try to make myself as invisible as possible, which may be very difficult to do.

Monday, I went to an Aqua Aerobics class and I LOVED it!  It was so much fun!  I can't wait to go back!!!  I think they have another class on Thursday evening with a different instructor, so it should be interesting.  Can't wait!

At this very moment, I am packing up my dorm.  Dan is driving over on Thursday, so I have to have everything in order and ready to go before then.  At the moment, I'm trying to sell all of my bedding and kitchenware in hopes of recooperating SOME of the money I spent.  So far, I'm not having too much luck, but I did just post the ads online this morning.

Lastly, my most exciting news is that I'm going on a European vacation!  I need to leave the country on the 16th of July, as my visa expires on the 15th.  Originally, I thought I would go to Turkey for a couple of weeks to visit Elcin, but she said her Grandma is sick, so she wasn't sure of what her schedule was going to be like.  Instead, I will be traveling from London to Amsterdam to Copenhagen to Oslo to Stockholm to Hamburg to Prague to Salzburg to Bern to Paris and back to London.  I'm SOOOO excited!  It's going to be by train, so I will get to see the countryside.  I'm planning on taking late train rides so I can sleep at night, but Dan told me to take a train during the day from Salzburg to Bern.  He says it's so amazing!  Salzburg is where the Sound of Music was filmed, so as you can imagine... the HILLS ARE ALIVE!  It's going to be so great!  And I'm going to have so many pictures to show you when it's all said and done. :)

Until next time...