Paris!

I spent a little under 36 hours or so in Paris.  The city I never thought I would actually get a chance to see.  For some reason I picture myself everywhere but Paris when in Europe.  This could be because I have missed two chances to go, once in between Sophomore and Junior year of hs...didn't have enough guts to ask my parents for the money and I was even more afraid of flying then.  And the second time was last year when my sister went for 10 days in June.  She left during our finals week and I couldn't miss a final...lame city.

But I made it there and it was exhausting, tiring, beautiful, silly, ridiculous, disgusting, and fabulous all at the same time. 

I'll update with pictures and stories sometime soon.  Hopefully tonights.

xoxo,

britt

Picture Blog II

 My goat cheese wrap in Avebury at the Black Lion.  Apparently it is one of the most haunted places.  
  We were all super soaked and drunky after the pub.  It was raining so we couldn't see the town very much.  
  His name is Nandi.  He is a statue that resided in a temple of one of the Hindu Divinities.  He's adorable and in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
  The British attempt at a grilled cheese.  It had onions on it, which I didn't order, and butter on the inside.  It was alright for only 2 pounds.
  Bring on Pride London Parade!  This was July 5th.
  The giant rainbow flag.  It went on forever!  They had to have it specially repaired for this year's parade because the weather was so bad last year that it was all torn apart and stained.  
 The Amy Winehouse drag queens were my favorite.  There were at least 6 of them...all different shapes and sizes.
  A super, fabulous, tall, strawed skirt drag queen.
 The epic or really not so epic Stonehenge.
 Elodie is super cute in this picture.
 The things you can find in a Stonehenge gift shop.  I stole a postcard from there too!

 There are cute signs like this everywhere.  This was in Hyde Park near the Serpentine.  I wish it was nicer here lately.  It's my favorite place to chill out on mornings I don't have class.
View from the London Eye.  Just behind Parliament (Big Ben) you can see Westminster Abbey.
Me and Benny Boy.

Elodie, Me, Jenn, Liz, and Rachel on the London Eye.  You can see Ben too!On the bridge back to the Underground stop.  Gorgeous isn't it?!

We went to Abbey Road!  Liz, Els, and I attempted to recreate the picture.  We at least got an intersection with the big stripes to use.  I don't think it was the right one, though.
A Hindu Temple in Neasdon we had class at one day.  
  Taking care of my candy fix.  These starbursts are so much better than ones at home.  Although, I miss pink!
  Tuesday morning we had our studio class in the Natural History Museum.  This is what you see when first entering, Little Foot!  This building looked like a palace.
Our time was spent in the mammal section, sketching them.  Hippo mouth!
I drew a pretty bomb ass portrait of this elephant.
I thought it was an alpaca but it wasn't.  I forget what the name of this animal was.
It's Hayden!
The difference between a cow (left) and camel's (right) droppings.  Obviously water loss is an issue for cows.
Huge polar bear!  BTW all of these animals were actual skins.  They were all faded and there was a sign saying that the museum is no longer collecting animal skins to stuff.
So you see things like faded panda bears.
  Just chillin' with my friend, Simba.
Channeling Timothy Treadwell.
They had a huge dinosaur section.  But no raptors!  I was pissed, to say the least.
  My Pimms and Lemonade in Brighton at the Sussex.  Best drink ever with fresh strawberries!
Kaitlin, Els, and Jenn at the Sussex.  It was too rainy to walk around and enjoy the beachy feel of Brighton.
 Dawn, Liz, Rachel, and Me.  Probably the worst pic of all of this minus Liz's awesome face.

  The wonderful pub we hung out at.
It was cold and rainy and I think Elodie snapped this candid pic.
 The pasty pirate stop.  Got some super delicious coffee from there this morning.  This is in Wimbledon.
The gorgeous Buddhist Temple.  It was so nice to sit outside here.  You see it was sunny today in Wimbledon!
The entrance.
A back walk way to a little creek area.
Rawr!

Looking at these pictures makes me appreciate being here 100%, even if the end of today was kind of awful.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

britt

Another day in London

I have felt fine all day but tonight my stomach hurts like crazy. I ate a little bread and pb to try and get something in my stomach but I attempted to eat some dinner...huge mistake. It was gross to begin with but the taste just isn't sitting well for me.

I'm super behind on my homework for Duane's class. I mean I feel a little guilty about it but I don't have the motivation to sit in my room and work on it all hours. I mean I know I should since I am paying for this education and experience but it's such an after thought to me when it comes to my days here. I feel like such a little brat because I'm tired, ill, and cranky at the moment. And my parents NEVER answer the phone. It is the most annoying thing trying to get ahold of them. My Britrail pass has yet to show up and if it isn't here by tomorrow I'm going to have to end up spending X amount of dollars to buy tickets to the places we are going on top of my wasted $273 for that thing. It should have been here literally days ago now.

It's been super rainy here for a week straight. No real break until today. I guess that could be negatively affecting my mood right now too. Yesterday we headed south to Brighton. It reminds me a lot of a beach city in California but much more classic than that. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day we were there. We went and saw King George IV (I think the IV)'s 'pleasure palace.' It is a giant mansion/pavilion that was built first as a farm house. Fucking gorgeous! I loved every moment in that place. Afterwards we took shelter in a local pub, the Sussex to drink a fabulous amount of Pimm's and Lemonade. Best drink ever. It is Pimms alcohol with lemonade, tonic, mint leaves, and fresh berries. SO good.

Other than being behind in homework life is still the same here. Going to Paris on Saturday with Liz. Well be an adventure for sure. Hopefully an upload of pics will be soon too.

xoxo,
britt

Free Writing

I was having trouble trying to concentrate enough to start on my final draft of this english paper. I mean it's pretty much written...needs to edited quite a bit, though but still should be easy but I couldn't concentrate or get myself to do it. Instead my time has been spent talking to Sean on the phone for almost 2 hours if not 2 hours, facebooking an incredible amount, and going on a candy run. I had an intense craving for some sour patch kids but I have not seen any whatsoever since being here. I am an intense sour patch kidaholic. It's kind of ridiculous that it got to a point freshman year my lovely Sarah made a food guide pyramid for me and my bottom was not my complex carbs but was made mostly of sour patch kids a simple sugar. Needless to say I've learned since taken a nutrition class or two and quit that dirty habit like a Will Miller..hehe. (That should make sense to the Johnstown people and my family.) So I just went on a candy run to Somerfield, which is a 5 minute walk or so to get some candy. I set out to just get one thing but walking into a grocery store I cannot be stopped. I think I'm addicted to grocery shopping. I love reading labels and checking prices and what not. I mean that's not weird is it? But in the candy isle I found some starbursts buy 1 get 1 free and some sour looking candies called Tangfastics. They are super tangfastic and hard to chew but pretty delicious. The Starbursts are super bizarre because they taste like juice and the flavors are made up of orange, lime, strawberry, and blackcurrant (a favorite here in Britian). The orange ones taste like fucking orange juice. It blows my mind. I'm bringing home a bag to do some cross testing.

A side note to this random entry is that I forgot to write about seeing my first theatre production here. It was a musical...and it was the Lord of the Rings. I mean come on, of course it is going to be bad. I didn't expect anything else...but what I did expect was a fucking good laugh. But it was basically a condensed 2.5 hour version of all 3 movies with some thrown in acrobatic tricks alongside dancing hobbits and super metal ballads. Ok no metal ballads, that would've ruled, though, but still the songs were long and whiney. If you youtube Lord of the Rings Musical London you'll get some slideshows with the music. Here is one for your pleasure:

So great, right?

And on an end note here is a fantastic performance from So You Think You Can Dance:

I think that dance gives me chills.
By far my favorite couple!

Now that I've successfully avoided homework for another half hour or so I guess I'll get to it.

xoxo,
Brittface

Elodie's Mother is Adorable

Dear Brittany,

I hope you are enjoying yourself in London. Here are a few suggestions for your week-end in Paris.

If you want to go to a museum I recommend Le Musée d'Orsay

If you want to go shopping I recommend Le Printemps. I believe that there is a nice H&M next to it or really close. (Don't eat in that area, food and drinks are very expensive).

If you want to go to a park I recommend Le Jardin du Luxembourg. Go to the park and then walk down the Boulevard St Michel all the way to the river. From there, you can walk to Notre Dame.

Of course another must see is the Eiffel Tower. Montmartre is a fun but touristy spot to walk around at night. You also get a very nice view of Paris from the steps of the Sacré-Coeur.

You HAVE to walk into a pastry shop "Boulangerie, Patisserie" and try at least a couple of pastries. I will be mad at you if you don't! You can also get some bread (they sell half loaves) and then get some cheese (camembert) for a tasty sandwich- Really good especially if you have a glass of red wine with it. Sorry, that's the French coming out of me.

The cheapest, quickest and easiest way to get around Paris is the Metro. They sell books of 10 tickets. That will probably be what you and your friend will want to get. You can start by splitting one. I believe the trains run until 1 or 2 am.

I am not sure were you are staying but make sure you find out if they have a curfew. If you get locked out of your dorm you can always sleep under a bridge, that's the popular place for most bums- you will have to make sure you have a cheap litter of wine with you to share. Another alternative place to sleep is the Metro benches- again, wine is a must- a gun wouldn't hurt either :~)

Let me know if you have any questions. Expect to do a lot of walking. Wear comfortable shoes. Keep your money in a safe place and yes, the water is safe to drink.

C'est tout!

Liliane AKA Elodie's mom.

I'm Not Gonna Teach Him How to Dance With You

The new Black Kids album is being advertised all over this city. They are also playing a boat load of shows around these here parts too..thus the song being stuck in my head.

I've been super lazy on the updates, my apologies. Things are just hectic around here. On the go most of the day and trying to rest or soak up the awesomeness of some of these people at all other times. I'm also very behind on my homework. I have to do a couple of journal entries for my Asian Art History course but they will consist of things that I liked and disliked about each class day. Easy as pie. I also am only 1 sketchbook behind as opposed to 3, which I was about an hour ago.

The last few days have been filled with class and such. A lot of not much else has been happening. Friday after my studio class at the National Portrait Gallery Els and I had lunch with a couple classmates and our professor in front of the National Gallery. It was the first moment that I realized I love this city. I know that sounds silly but it was just the perfect day and moment all wrapped up. I was eating some cutsie yogurt from Pret a Manger and sitting in the grass, watching all the people go by and I just had a revelation of how much I appreciate being here. It is not that I hadn't had those moments before it was just the first time I felt in my element. I think I am finally comfortable here. Getting over the homesickness is the hardest part but that usually only bothers me at night when I have down time to talk to people at home. Kisses to you all!

My dad finally got a web cam and figured out skype for the first time the other day. It's cute because for some reason my mom can't pronounce it and my dad always calls it sky p-e. It's silly. I miss all my animals and I got to see them all on camera. So cute! Poor Arthur is a sick boy, though.

To celebrate my great country of Amerricah the ladies plus Matt had a little fest in Els room filled with funny conversations and Peach Schnapps, which as on sale for 5 pounds 53 at Somerfield last night. Holler! I mean that's still like a little more than $10 but hey that's a deal in this city! After our little get together Matt led us to a pub that was having a 4th of July party with sparklers and Budweiser. The Bud was expensive as hell, the sparklers were only given out at dinner, and pubs close at 11 pm here. So basically we were there for a little less than an hour before heading back to drink more at our dorm. It was an alright time filled with dancing to Bruce Springsteen in the dark...bah dom cha! But I did the silly dance for everyone. I did get some decorations of the American style, though to add to my shrine of postcards and all things British. I needed a little America in my life. When I get home the first thing I am doing is lighting a sparkler to post-celebrate the 4th since I didn't get to do that here. I'm not a big fan of fireworks but I missed them so badly yesterday. I didn't realize how much I love the states and the 4th till being here. But it was still a good time.

Today I felt super ill after waking up and eating breakfast so I napped till 11 or so then got ready to go with Els to Trafalgar Square to see the Pride Parade. By far the best part was the dragqueen Amy Winehouses. They were all different sizes and totally hilarious. We came back here to have some dinner, which was pizza! But weird tasting pizza. Then I napped for 3 hours and have just been bumming on the inets and catching up on my sketchbooks. Life isn't always that exciting here...

I miss you all and only 26 days till I get back to rage with you. Postcards will be sent out soon soon too!

xoxo,
brittface

A few days behind

I haven't updated about my life in this here city for a couple days so I'll just do a quick recap of my life.

Things are starting to become routine with going to class and riding the tube.  The tube is 100% easy to navigate.  The only downsides to this form of public transportation are the heat and stuffiness when you are down there.  It's unreal the temperature!  I sweat just standing there waiting.  I've been doing a lot of walking and wandering by myself since I haven't had class in the mornings and Elodie did.  But now she is free and I think tomorrow we are going to spend some time shopping since all the sales have now started in London.  I guess July is sale month for all clothing stores.  Holler at that, right?

Monday morning when I didn't have class I walked around Hyde Park trying to find some people to sketch.  I found a lovely couple but they were sitting right next to me on the park bench and that would just be too awkward.  I tried to draw this little boy scaring away pigeons but he was too fast!  He's the fastest kid alive.  After that I headed over to the National Gallery to have a look see but only had 20 minutes or so to run around before I headed to the British Museum.  During AH in Asia we focused on Asian sculptures.  It was quite the boring class but Gary always has the most interesting stories to tell about sculptures.  After class we all had to hurry back to the dorms to get ready for dinner and then run over to the London Eye afterwards.  The group of ladies I was with ended up being about 45 minutes late because of the damn circle line aka tourist line.  But we got to go with the professors and that was kind of fantastic since we got to have them take as many pictures of us as we want.  I haven't uploaded them yet but soon soon.  The night ended with ice cream and full tummies.

Tuesday for studio we had our class in the Tate Modern.  I wasn't very excited about a lot of the pieces I saw just more the names than anything.  I'm pumped about going back to explore on my own time.  We saw a Paul McCarthy piece of naked men and manginas and I really couldn't get past that mangina.  I mean google him...it's weird stuff.  English class was spent in a couple of galleries on the East End.  Again, nothing too exciting but I wrote a ton of notes on the painting I picked for my paper so that'll be easy to write.  I mean I should probably do that now but I'm a graduate and homework doesn't really make sense to me anymore.  

Tuesday night (last night) was spent napping and then watching youtube videos in Dawn's room.  Here are a couple for your enjoyment.

I hope you enjoyed that!

Today was Stonehenge. The only two things that keep coming to mind for me are a couple movies: National Lampoons European Vacation and Spinaltap. Let's youtube those too!



God I love those movies.

After Stonehenge we headed over to Avebury. Unfortunately, it was raining and we were unable to walk around and see the little village but we spent our time in the pub having drinks, good food, and good conversation. It was quite the lovely time. Bought myself a mood ring and Ashleysexface a present. So many more gifts to buy for people.

xoxo,
britt