Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Stairways to Heaven

Having spent a couple of hours during the semester planning our adventure, we had a route in mind for day 2 that lead us from St. Paul Cathedral to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The tube is so convenient, and I am NOT a public transit kind of person. I like my space bubble. But the tube has not bothered me at all. It’s clean and people are generally friendly. Even during commute time, which we had to travel during since we got such an early start, was not bad. It’s odd to notice thought, how bundled up people are in their jackets, and everyone wears scarves. The weather for the day was supposed t be sunny and 60s but I saw a number of parkas and fur coats.

St. Paul Cathedral was so beautiful, I got goose-bumps multiple times!!! The outside was a pretty cream colored brick with a large dome at the top. The grounds were actually a main pass-through for commuters. We opted for the audio tour of the cathedral so we could move long at our own pace. The ceiling was so stunning, I could have sat and admired in awe for hours. The mosaics were glittering depicting each of the stages of creation, including Adam and Eve and the creation of the planets. It’s a shame pictures were not allowed because I would have loved to frame and display the images from the mosaics. The planets were interesting because the church made a conscious decision to include them as a bridge between theology and science. There were also statures of historic figures and war heroes. The structure of the cathedral was impressive with the high Dome on top of the seating area. The mosaic ceilings were over the Quire, where the choirs composed of men and boys would be located during services. The sanctuary was the most interesting simply because of the world war two memorial dedication to the American Soldiers. There was a large book that held the names of every fallen American Soldier, and the page was turned every day.  After we had sufficiently toured the first level, we climbed 256 stairs to the Wispering Gallery. The Whisperung Gllery is the inside of the large Dome covered in stunning paintingsdepicting the life of St. Paul. It is 300 ft across—in diameter—and was so quiet that if you were directly across the gallery from one another, you could whisper and be heard like you were sitting right next to each other. The large group of German students made it impossible to test since they were so loud. We decided to head up another 100 or so steps to the stone gallery. It was outside the great dome, on the top f the cathedral. It yieded  a 360 degree view of London through the bars of the gallery. It was a beutiul day with sunshine and clear views. The pictures turned out great! From the Stone Galery, we ventured the 152 more steps up a winding grate stair case that was incredibly steep. I waited at the bottom for the rest of my group initially to let the German class pass.  The amount if disapproving looks from the leaders, judgemental comments from the girls, and snickers of apporvals of the boys about my outfit choices was crazy! The best part was that I could catch what most of them were saying! (Thank you German Minor!!) Once we got to the Golden Gallery, we surrounded the top spire of the dome and were greeted with a far reqching view of the city. I was terrified!! I hate hights but it was a once in a lifetime trip, no excuses. The pictures show the city stretching for miles and miles in all directions. It was unbelieveable. The pictures are perfect, mind the few that are a bit shaky from my trembling hands.  Next was the crypt, in the basement of the Cathedrl. We descended the 500+ stairs to another two flights into the crypt. There were people buried everywhere! Plaques hung on the walls and were sealed in the floor. There were all sha0pes and sized, some gilded and some just carved. There were status ad devoted memorials for almost everything. One of the most interesting was the small chapel that was dedicated to the parish of St. Faith. It was a small parish that was overtaken by the remodel of the cathedral after it was bombed in World War 2. There was also a memorial for Admiral Nelson and another prominent war hero. The exit gates in the crypt were erected as a memorial to Churchill.

Leaving the cathedral, we ventured along our pre-determined path across the millennium bridge toward the Borough Market for lunch. The Borough market did not disappoint. It was rather large and had anything you could think of. We stopped at one of the little stands that had a whole hog on a roasting spit that they were carving for the sandwiches. The hog was marinated in rosemary and the sandwich was assembled with a smear of a fennel apple gravy—for lack of a better explanation—and a handful of mixed greens. The cracklings were salty and crunchy and made the sandwich that much better!! We ate in a sunny church yard with all the business men.

We crossed the London Bridge to catch the tube at Monument. Which is named for a stature called “the Monument” in the middle of the city. So random. The tube dropped us right off at Tower Hill where we managed to catch a Yeoman tour right away! Steve was his name and he was funny! Beefeaters have to have been in service for 2 years, received an award and had an exemplary record. Steve showed us the traitors gate bloddy tower, the wihite tower. We were also granted access to a state church housing the burial locations of Anne Boleyn, Henry the VIII’s second wife and Catherine, Henry’s 5th wife, after they were beheaded on the green. I* wandered away from the group at one point to take pictures of the gaurds surrounding the building with the crown jewels, and got yelled at by a beefeater when my tour group entered the chapel. We wandered through the crown jewels, saw the largest diamond in the world in the scepter and all the crowns worn by royalty. From the crown jewels we went through the white tower, where the block on which Anne and Catherine were executed. We also saw the armor worn during war by the kings and princes. Queens never wore armor. The bloody tower had a small display of the torture devices, we stopped in before we took off to the tower bridge. We dint go into the bridge but we did get the view from the bridge. London as a city foes very well mixing old and new structures.

Running back to the hostel for some extra layers and a quick nap, we headed out for the photo ops!! We ventured to Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster and to Buckingham Palace. Chelsea managed to snap a photo of me that is typical tourist London. Big Ben, red phone booth, and a double decker bus… YAY!!!!!!!  We dined at a small pizza and cocktail place called Maverick, and turned in for the night.

Day 3 brought us an early morning and a beautiful train ride to the wild and wonderful Scotland.

Pond Jumnping

Just a hop, a skip, a 45 min flight with a 2 hour layover and an 8 hour plane ride later I arrived in London!! Hello first passport stamp!
Its so crazy to think that just 36 hours ago, I  graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Chemical Engineering. My lovely family, both immediate and extended, joined me for the ceremony!!! Then an unfortunately brief mothers day celebration was had before my journey would begin. Now I would have loved to have spent more time with my mom, auntie neezy and crazy on mothers day since it was the first one we have had together since 1992, but they were all there to see me off to the airport where Chelsea and I met up with Brandon to head to London!!!!
The flights were and Virgin Airlines is fantastic about service. The gave little care bags with a sleep mask and socks and even tooth brush and tooth paste! Plus alcohol and food was free! We met up with Adam at the airport after I made it through customs and collected my baggage.

Upon leaving the Airport, oyster cards in hand, we hopped in the underground to Queensway, where our Hostel was located. We stayed at the Queensway Astor Hostel which was surprisingly nice! We had a room to ourselves with 4 beds so we didn’t have to share. The shower and sink were in our room but the toilet were a flight down. The only truly inconvenient thing was the five flights of stairs up and down with our luggage.

We decided to be ambitious and cover quite bit a ground our first day, 10.3 miles of ground to be exact! We wandered all through Kensington Gardens, the Kensington Palace and some of the Princess Diana memorial walk since it was so near to our hostel. It was absolutely stunning!!! The gardens were by far my favorite. The shrubs were nicely trimmed plus bright green while the flowers were in full bloom! The trees were so large and there were plenty of people just hanging out on the lawn. The Palace was rather large and had really cool exhibits. We wandered through the kings rooms with and interactive “smell” map, complete with lovely scratch and sniff spots. We saw the fashion of royalty, including some of Princess Diana’s signature gowns. The beading and patterns on h gown were so beautiful. My favorite part of the palace however was the reveling of Queen Victoria and King Albert’s love story. There were quotes all through their estate that showed they has such a strong, deep love. It was inspiring!!! The memorial walk was along the water where there were plenty of birds around. They made the place feel alive and exciting! But, maybe that was because I kept trying to dodge the pigeons.

After a quick stop off at the Hostel, we headed back out to Piccadilly Circus and Convent Gardens for diner and an evening stroll. We ate at a recommended pub for traditional fish and chips. The whole place was wood paneled making it cozy and warm. Each room had a theme: cottage, lodge-ish, and the church room. We ate down in the church room. The booth has high backs that were pointed like a gothic church and there were strange faces hanging on the wall. Everywhere you looked there was something different! I had an English Lager called Carling with dinner that was excellent. All four of us got the fish and chips. The fish was crunchy and obviously fresh. I added malt vinegar to the top, as tradition dictates, and it added a certain something special to the already delicious dish. The chips were crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. They were the best dipped I their house Tartar Sauce. I don’t traditionally eat tartar sauce because it’s so mayo-ey, but this one was so good, I cleared the dish and almost asked for more! It was tangier than the US and it was a little thinner, almost like ketchup consistency. After dinner we wandered the streets of London looking at the closed shops and letting the streets guide us. We ended up in Covenant Gardens, but most everything was closed. We were serenaded on the way back to the tube by a man singing into a traffic cone, such musical talent.

Day 1 was a success and utterly exhausting. Day 2 proved to be just as full of London sites.

 

Friday, March 27, 2015

Through another's eyes

So its been quite a while since I last posted and I have some definite adventures to tell you about!
Last week was Spring Break and I took Chelsea to San Francisco, California to meet my extended family! I haven't been out for a couple years and it's been forever since  I've played tourist in a town that feels like a second home.


The first day we arrived in San Francisco.my grandmother, Nama, and Auntie Karen picked us up from the airport and surprised us with a trip down to Fisherman's Wharf! We went to Scoma's for their famous Crab Louie. The dungeness crab is so fresh that its even sweet! Needless to say we need a walk around Pier 39. It was sunny and gorgeous!!  We saw the fat sea lions and booked our tickets to Alcatraz, that was our Friday adventure. I had an Irish coffee in celebration of St. Patrick's day at Bubba Gumps since it was too far to make it to Buena Vista Cafe where it was invented.  Then we took Chels across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was  bright and beautiful with limited traffic and no fog! Unheard of for this time of year!






















The second day we traveled to Fairfield, Califonia to tour the Jelly Belly Factory. I only eat Jelly Belly Jelly Beans and loved the factory when I was a kid! I used to sit on my grandfather's shoulders during the tour and haven't been back since he passed away. We meet up with my great aunt and had a great time! It takes about 4 days to make a batch of jelly beans. We even managed to try their newest flavor, champagne! As if Jelly Beans were not exciting enough we chilled out at a subsidiarity winery of Vezer called Blue Victorian, where my Aunt Sandra meet us for a lunch of wine tasting and in-n-out burgers. What can I say, my family likes to keep it classy! The wine was delicious and the burgers we just right. Chels and I shifted around the table to soak up all that wonderful sunshine!!It was a divine day with a delightful visit with my family.





The third day had a relaxing start of homework that was assigned because of the recent snow days. Then we headed to my other grandmother's house, Nammy,  to have dinner with her and Auntie Karen before watching the UK game. After the game we headed to the city with Auntie Karen to a dueling piano bar in the basement of Johnny Foley's. It was fantastic! The two pianists were funny and played exceptionally well! They found out we were from Kentucky and thought Chelsea said her name was Tootsie!! I will never let her live that one down!

The final day was an epic marathon. After the piano bar we left early the next morning via BART, the subway system back to Pier 39 for our Alcatraz visit! It was a brisk morning but almost completely clear! We got so lucky with the weather! We toured the island prison with the self guided tour and were able to go at our own pace. I even made Chels get in the solitary lock-up cell. She wasn't too happy. We had lunch at the Boudin Sourdough bakery. The food was exceptional! Chels tried the clam chowder and the chicken salad. Both were excellent but not as good as my pesto chicken sandwich! Then we wandered through Ghirardelli Square before hopping on the cable car to the closest BART station. We arrived home without a hitch. Our last meal was of the one and only Ricky's Chicken with my great Uncle Dave, who is also my godfather and his family.




I missed my family so much and it was fantastic for  me to introduce Chelsea to them. Family is important to me and one of my greatest joys. Welcome to the Family Chels!



Thursday, March 5, 2015

Snowy Spare time

Thanks to snow storm Thor, I have had some extra time to spend on myself!

I started planning my trip with Chelsea to London and Edinburgh! We officially have a list of places to see and a general plan on what we will see in which order. Next step is to figure out Edinburgh and where we will stay.

We also started planning our trip to California to see my family! I'm so excited to bring her to my family. Its strange though, this will be the first time I've ever had anyone come with me to California. She's met my Crazy but that's it! I love my family and can't wait for her to meet every one else!

Being cooped up means I can only watch so much Netflix. So I tested my housewife skills! I managed to scrape together homemade pretzels nuggets and dumplings.


These little nuggets were easy enough to make with a recipe found on Pinterest. (I might be a bit of an addict when in comes to Pinterest.) "Sally's Baking Addiction" helped me whip up these nice little surprises to bring home to my Dad and sister. You can find it HERE.
I had just enough yeast but I didn't use an egg wash to get the golden brown color. Butter, actually. What can be bad topped with a little butter? I also used a little bit of olive oil for the ones in the white bowl. They didn't get quite as crunchy but they had great flavor! I also used some rock sea salt on half of them. I also tossed them in some sugar and cinnamon, which was an excellent Idea. I popped what was left in the freezer to make sure they stay fresh until I make it home. Fingers crossed they travel well!


My next adventure was inspired by my Mom! She doesn't fail a cooking endeavor but dumplings were one of those rare failures. Her last attempt left her with one giant dumpling than lots of little ones. Her latest attempt was loads more successful! Dad even said they were good! Yay for inspiration! I looked up the same recipe HERE, and tried my hand at it. I added my own spin on things. I didnt have any chicken stock so i used chicken gravy and I didn't have enough milk to make both the dumplings and the broth so I used pureed cauliflower. The puree gave it an interesting texture but it tasted good! It was creamy and had great flavor. Lets see how it reheats and how the extra dumplings last in the freezer.

So my snow day was nice and productive! Hopefully yours was too!

~A

Thursday, February 26, 2015

The one and only Me!

Hello World!
I cant believe I'm finally setting up a blog. I've only been talking about it since high school. Which wasn't all that long ago (2010). But with a little convincing from my closest and dearest friends, and some traveling in my future, I decided to open up. Not that I have any problems talking to anyone at all- even the walls like to chit chat- but revealing my personality through words is another story. There's something freely romantic yet oddly terrifying about writing. But here to stand up to the plate, is the one and only Me.

I am a 23 year old  female college student (for 73 more days) studying Chemical Engineering with a minor in German Language. I proudly belong to the Big Blue Nation and love my Cats, just don't ask me about the rules of basketball. I'm a football and hockey kinda girl.

I have a strange obsession with paint. Which if you ask my family, is an understatement. But hey, my nails are always done and I have a job after graduation in the paint industry.

I enjoy sports and love the summer weather. I've played softball since I was little. I caught for 8+ years and now settle for cheering on my sister who plays in college. I love to swim but you won't catch me dead in a bikini. No one has strong enough sunglasses for my pale skin. I hate, no loathe the snow. I can't stand to be cold. But just hand me a cup of good strong coffee and I feel fabulous again!

I keep my hair big and crazy curly. I am currently a red-head but have always been a blonde. (catching onto my personality yet?) I have a slight flair for the dramatic, especially when it comes to the wings on my signature cat eyes. I have a bar-no-holds frame of mind and prefer to be totally honest. Which is a blessing and a curse, depending on who you're asking. I'm fun, loud- most people can hear me before they see me- and fiery. I like tattoos and cussing but can dress up/ class up for the night- but only if I wear red lipstick with my pearls. I've recently gotten into weight lifting. Guess brute strength can be sexy. (Muscles and Mascara, bitches! :) )

Nothing means more to me than my family. I'm a lucky girl to have both my mom and dad that support me in every choice I make, or like to hear me say "you were right all along". My dad is an industrial engineer and my mom is a dental assistant. My sister, Pam, is a junior in college studying athletic training and pre-physical therapy. She's still playing softball and works her ass off. She's my little hero and one of my best friends.
My two besties, Chelsea and Rachel, could practically be my sisters for how well we get along. They are always there to keep me in check and call me on any BS I throw out. Chelsea is a civil engineer, MBA and Rachel is a mechanical engineer. Thank the BBN and Phi Sigma Rho sorority for these two treasures, I would not have survived college without them.

In a nutshell, a very large nut shell (maybe a coconut), that's me. If you like, stay tuned for the adventures Lord knows I'll have. If you don't... welp I just don't care.

~A