Backpacking adventures Days 1-5

Well first with regard to many of your thoughts of disbelief, yes I am actually backpacking for two weeks across Europe, taking trains or walking everywhere,and staying in hostels.

Day 1-2 Amsterdam

We left London bright and early at around 6am to get to the train station for the ferry to Amsterdam. If you are at all unfamiliar, from London there is about a 45 minute train ride to the port where the ferry docks. The boats are so nice! They are basically the equivalent to a small cruise ship in the US. We all took spots in the dining area with tables for the 7 hour ride to Holland. It was a nice time for me to get a great chunk of my paper done. (Yes I am still working on it but I do have 11.5 pages done) I also fell asleep for a few hours on my backpack, which has been such a fantastic pillow. I am already relishing the thought of having to giving it back to Alex when I get back to London. I may beg him to let me keep it haha. Once we arrived in Holland it took two trains for us to get into the city. It was quite a trek that added another 2 hours to get into the heart of Amsterdam. Once we arrived we went to our hostel, checked in, then ventured around the city. One thing that everyone recommends are the sex shows, and I can tell you that i did not enjoy it. It was very creepy, but other than that we had a wonderful breakfast overlooking one of the canals and also I went on an adventure to see the Anne Frank House. It had a 2 hour wait, but it was definitely worth it for me, especially with the amount that I have read about her and the Holocaust. It was a very moving museum and the annex was just as I had pictured it.

Day 3-4 Berlin

We arrived in Berlin by train around 4pm and headed to our hostel and it was so much nicer than the one in Amsterdam thank goodness. I befriended an Australian man in the hostel with Dan who definitely thought we were lame because we couldn't stay out as long as him. Overall, Berlin was not my favorite city. I don't care if I ever go back to be honest. We do a tour in many of the cities called Free Europe and that was interesting to see the Holocaust memorial, the Berlin Wall,the Brandenburg gate, and the area where Hitler's bunker used to be, but overall the city itself does not have much to offer. The history of course is interesting, but being so recently developed it just doesn't have that European beauty. Plus, it is very spread out with terrible public transportation systems. One cool area we found was actually near our hostel and great cafes and bars. On our last night we had a lovely dinner at a little sidewalk cafe where we sat outside and just enjoyed. It was the highlight of Berlin in terms of outings and neat neighborhoods. The actual highlight for me was the bratwurst and pretzel we had for lunch before our walking tour. They were fantastic!!!

Day 5 Prague

Today we arrived in Prague around 4pm which came after a bit of delay because of train cancellations. We hoped to take an 8:30am train today, but it was canceled. Lucky for us we arrived at 7am for the train and then did not get on a train until 10:30. Lucky for me I just laid down on my beloved bag on the platform and slept. On the train it was so crowded, which was completely unexpected. I was lucky to get a seat for the first 2 hours, but many people reserve seats and I lost mine to someone who had reserved it. Lucky me... I then got to sit on the floor in the aisle for the next 3 hours. The only highlight is that I got through a large amount of Lord Mandelson's memoirs. Once we arrived in Prague, we came to our hostel, also where I am currently writing from and it is fantastic. It is so nice, brand new, and resembles a very nice hotel. I love the Mosaic House. We then showered and went to dinner at a great restaurant called U Ceskych Panu (The Czech Lords Restaurant) for a traditional Czech dinner. It was awesome! Then Cait and I wandered around the city a bit, got lost, and attempted to ask for directions. Neither of us know a word of Czech which made it interesting, but it was light out and early so eventually we got home and met some cool California kids and hung out around the hostel which was fun. Tomorrow we are getting up early for breakfast then to the Free Europe tour for Prague. I cannot wait to see the city's sites!!

Well, I had my last day of work on Thursday and I was very sad to go. My MP Louise took the office out for a wonderful lunch at the Adjournment Dining Room, which is actually for members only so it was a treat. After work we had drinks on the Terrace then headed to karaoke in the Sports and Social. It was such a fun night. Chris and Alex even bought a bottle of champagne, which they know is my favorite drink. It was so incredibly nice of them!

On Friday I had my last day of class with Sue. Then I headed to Covent Garden to meetin Samantha for drinks and dinner before she headed to Amsterdam. It was so great to see her and catch up, especially since I hadn't seen her in over a year. I then went home and lounged around with the guys in the flat and had a fairly early night.

Today, I actually went to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see their fashion exhibit and especially the Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibit which was absolutely fantastic! I think I spent about 3 hours in the museum and I felt like I didn't even get through half of it. After, I walked to the Natural History Museum and roamed around it for an hour as well. I am so sad to leave because it feels like I still have so much to see and do here!! Basically, I will just have to come back very soon and live here for a time so I can do and see everything that London has to offer. Tomorrow is our farewell party and we are all going out for a nice dinner in Shoreditch which should be a lot of fun! Then on Tuesday morning at about 5:00am I embark on my 2 week Euro adventure with Cait, Marty, Dan, and Kuntz! Cannot wait for the experience. It should be a once in a lifetime trip for me traveling completely by train and moving from hostel to hostel. We all feel so lucky to be doing thing and cannot wait to cram as much as we can into the days. The one thing i better invest in are good pair of cute walking shoes! haha

I have once again been slacking off on the blogging because of how busy I've been. This past weekend I went to Dublin,Ireland and explored with Dan, Marty, and Cait. We stayed in a hostel with a great location to many of the tourist things. We flew on Ryanair on Friday afternoon and got into Dublin around 7pm. The first thing we did was attempt to find an Irish bar with music and the guys wanted Irish beer. We then headed out for the night to a place called Temple Bar which is filled with pubs and the main area of nightlife in Dublin. The bars we were at also served Irish coffee with whiskey and cream which were so tasty. It was so cool all around and I had the highlight of my weekend when an Irish band played the Pogues songs that are in two of my favorite shows and movies. It was so great!!! On Saturday we woke up and headed to the Guinness Storehouse to tour it and get the best views in Dublin. It has a 360 degree room at the top of the factory, which is shaped like a pint glass ironic enough. I also had my first fresh Guinness, which I must say tasted quite good! After the tour, we decided to get a tour of the main sights of Dublin with a guide. We went to Christ Church, Trinity College, Temple Bar area, and a few places that U2 and other famous musicians congregated. The cool story that stuck out in my mind was regarding the Clarence Hotel. It was close to the studio where U2 used to record and when they received their first record deal they attempted to go get celebratory pints and the Clarence. The manager turned them away and Bono said that one day he would own that hotel and never turn people away. Now he does own it! I really got a kick out of that. After the tour we decided to roam around and look for some souvenirs. I got a really cute and cheap necklace with an Irish celtic knot on it.

Saturday night we went on a tour pub crawl with the same tour group to get a better feel for some of the pubs that Ireland is so famous for. It was very fun and we met some really great people from all over the world. I even was chatting with a guy from Liverpool who lives in my MP's constituency! I was of course way too excited about that. On Sunday we woke up to fly back to London and I went to bed at about 8pm that night. I was so exhausted from the weekend. Also, I forgot to mention that the entire time I was in Dublin it was raining really hard... I mean the entire time. I have decided that I will need to invest in a comfy pair of cute tennies before I leave for two weeks, because sandals in the rain are not so great for your feet. I am in desperate need of a pedicure now.

This week at work has been great once again. We have had some young 15 year old kids for their work experience program which has been fun. Also, its my last week which is so sad. I absolutely love it here so much. I would stay if I wouldnt get deported. I would love to come back, live, and work in London. The people are great. The fashion in phenomenal, and the accents never get old. Plus I have met some great people through work who I will really miss. Overall, I still love everything here and tomorrow we celebrate my last day with drinks overlooking the Thames and then a night of karaoke. The only decision now is to decided what Malin and I will sing. Last time we sung Milkshake, which I added a dance for. This time it must be better. Tiny Dancer, Billie Jean, or You Shook Me All Night Long.

Cannot wait to see all of you!!!!!

I cannot even believe it has been a full week since I have blogged. So much has happened! The first of which is that I got to go to Prime Minister's Questions last Wednesday, which quite possibly may have been the coolest thing I have done so far. Having the opportunity to sit in the House of Commons while it was full of MPs and the entire cabinet was something I will never forget. After PMQs, I was heading back from the chamber to portcullis and walked right next to David Cameron's Jag. In case you are unfamiliar, every Prime minister has had a jag for as long as I can remember for security reasons. All I could think about was that I would never have been able to get that close to any of Obama's cars ever! The best part is that this was not all for that day! While waiting for my coworkers to come to lunch I waited by the escalator and Nick Clegg walked right by me. I mean right next to me!! It is so crazy that the Deputy Prime Minister just strolls around.

After that, I did not think it was possible for things to get any cooler, but yesterday definitely gained an advantage. I was heading down the escalator in Portcullis and I look to my right and on the opposing escalator from me, not even 4 feet away, and was David Cameron and his entourage of security along with George Osborne the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I was so giddy in a way that only a complete political nerd could be after the weeks and sightings I have experienced.

Now on to my weekend in Edinburgh. By the way, it is officially pronounced Ed-in-bra (one of the many cool things I learned this weekend).I had the opportunity on the first day to really explore the city with its beautiful old town and massive amounts of green and hills before dinner. Our hostel was very nice, but it was a bit of a walk from the city center. On the second day, Friday, we woke up to have a tour of the Scottish Parliament. If you did not know, it was reinstated in the mid 90s and commissioned an entire new complex, which is very modern. Look at my pictures on facebook, or papa and mimi have tesser show you! After that, we decided to climb Arthur's seat to see above the entire city. It was quite a hike but so worth it with the amazing views. I took so many pictures highlighting the landscape, the water, and the height we were at. After we climbed the first hill which took about an hour we decided to be very adventurous and climb the much bigger mountain behind it. Did I mention I was wearing Sperrys, a dress, and luckily, spandex shorts because Edinburgh is very windy. It took about 3.5 hours and was straight up. At one point, we actually had to climb a rock, but the views were amazing. Once again, see my facebook pictures. It was such an amazing day, but after I was so exhausted. I decided to venture from the group once we got back to old town so I could buy an ornament for our Christmas tree. My goal is to get one from every city I visit. On my way home, I was a bit turned around, actually about 2.5 hours of walking to get home turned around, and ended up near the water. I was then officially exhausted but I could say I really explored the entire city. One of the guys started laughing when I walked in the hostel because I looked so dead and he knew I must have been lost. We had a good laugh before I went up and passed out.

On Saturday, we toured Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the queen’s official residence in Scotland. Both were very cool and well worth the cost and crowds. After, each of us decided we had to try a local favorite called haggis. It is actually Sheep heart liver and lungs minced and served with spices in a sheep’s stomach. It sounds lovely I know... but actually, it was quite good. I decided I would just take a bite of Adams and order a grilled chicken sandwich for myself. I got a bite of his haggis and he got my fries. On Saturday night, we all went to dinner at Elephant House, which for those who do not know is where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. The coolest thing this that out the back window you can see Edinburgh castle and the grandstand with flags for when the queen visits and it actually looks like Hogwarts with its quiddich field. It was the inspiration, but seeing it was so incredibly cool. In addition, another interesting fact is that the ceiling of Westminster Hall , the oldest part of the Palace at Westminster where I work actually inspired the ceiling for the Great Hall at Hogwarts in the movies.

It was such a great weekend overall and the train was not bad at all. We took it both there and back for 4 hours each way, but the train went along the coast, which was completely breathtaking to see such uninhabited coastline with beautiful fields, cliffs, and waterfront beaches.