previously posted on my blog Abroad in London
as a weekly update for family and friends

Staying Busy & Summer Updates

Goodness I didn’t realize how long it has been since I’ve written. My sincerest apologies but I’ve just been crazy busy doing a lot of stuff for work and in/around London. I’ll give you a brief rundown of my activities in August, since Amsterdam, but I promise to elaborate more when I have some free time.

Edinburgh: Aug 10 -12

I was very lucky to get to spend the weekend with some family. My American Aunt and Uncle were in Scotland participating in a week of Orienteering meets. Then I got to spend time with them, and my cousins, in Edinburgh for the weekend. On Friday I flew in because trains were too hard to book and I got to stay with Elizabeth and have a girl’s night in with her daughters Sophia and Athena. The next day we were joined by the rest of the family – Chris, Nicholas and Eleni – as well as my Aunt and Uncle. I got a wonderful tour of the city and lunch with the girls and was able to spend the morning and afternoon getting to know my Scottish cousins better. At night we were taken to dinner by Elizabeth and Chris to an amazing place in Edinburgh. Chris followed dinner up by taking us to his club for a drink. Edinburgh was crazy that weekend due to the festival so I’m excited to get an opportunity to see the city without it being overcrowded with festival goers. Then on Sunday I got to see the sites with my aunt and uncle – we took an open top bus tour of the city, visited Edinburgh castle, and followed up with dinner in a great pub. It was a wonderful weekend and experience! Unfortunately I haven’t had the time to sort through and upload the photos yet but they’re on my long list of things to do.

Gisele Visits: Aug 23 – 28

My good friend from the States, Gisele, visited me at the end of August. The timing was perfect because it was the summer bank holiday so I already had a 3 day weekend and then I took Friday off to make it a 4 day weekend. We were a whirlwind of activity and saw more in those 4 days than I’d seen in 2 months.

•  Friday we did an open top bus tour of London, a walking tour of Royal London
  including viewing the changing of the Horse Guard, then we visited the Tower of
  London, followed by a trip up to Tower Bridge, and finished Friday off with a
  cruise down the River Thames. That night we went to dinner with Kate and
  Leigh-Anne at Pizza Express.
• Saturday we (and my friend Ainura) took a bus trip out to Stonehenge and then to
  Bath. We decided to ditch the bus group in Bath after they told us we’d only have
  2 hours to view the amazing city. We ended up staying until 8pm and took a train
  back into London. That same night we joined my flatmates out for a drink in a
  pub.
• Sunday was another busy day but we took it a bit slower. We visited Hampton
  Court Palace – the maze and the gardens. Then when we returned to the city we
  went to Camden Markets. That night we finished off with dinner in a pub and
  going out to see the Harry Potter movie with Leigh-Anne and Kate.
• Monday, our last day, we kept busy tidying up the loose ends that we’d made. We
  participated in our own planned walking tour of the city that involved buying
  souvenirs for her brothers and sisters and visit some of the more fun areas –
  Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, etc. We followed up our day
  with a spin on the London Eye, dinner and a movie – Bourne Ultimatum at the
  Leicester Square Odeon theatre – which is where I originally saw Harry Potter.

Brighton: Sep 1

This past weekend I joined my roommates and my friend Elizabeth in a trip down to the south coast of England to Brighton. We got to enjoy a cloudy day on a pebble beach.
Then we toured the city a little by walking through it after lunch and returned to the beach. Elizabeth and I enjoyed the Brighton Pier (partook in a little gambling with 10p
pieces and a carousel ride) before we rejoined the boys. Chris and I, brave individuals that we are, chose to swim in the ocean. It was deceptively warm after a few minutes and we enjoyed the chance to swim.

Scrum in the Park: Sep 2

Yesterday, Sunday, I joined my friend Kate for “Scrum in the Park”. This is an open event where the England Rugby team participates in events with their fans before they leave for a game and the stretch before the World Cup. It was real fun to see all the different Rugby players and how much England is into this sport.