30 November 2012

photo walk

Today was one of those days.  Nothing on the agenda, but I knew I'd be mad at myself if I didn't do anything and just sat in my room in my sweatpants all day.  So I sighed, put on some real pants, grabbed my camera and a big winter jacket (because it's near freezing here now), and went for a walk.  Armed with a gingerbread latte, I had a couple ideas of destinations and where I could go, but I couldn't decide, so I ended up doing neither and just going where my feet took me.

That turned out to be around the Outer Circle of Regents Park and down along the Camden locks - a good three or four miles total, I think.  It was a really pleasant walk.  Not really eventful or anything, but a nice bit of alone time without feeling like I wasn't being productive.  Though of course now I'm home, I'm back on my bed in my sweatpants and ready to indulge in Netflix and this lovely Snickers bar.

28 November 2012

it's starting to look a lot like Christmas

Last week, before I left for Scotland, my friend Kelly (who takes my outfit photos!) and I went to Covent Garden to walk around and get some dessert while admiring all the beautiful Christmas decorations.  It's weird because it doesn't really feel like Christmas necessarily, because Thanksgiving was so half-hearted over here.  By that, I mean our school dining hall did Thanksgiving food for lunch for those American students studying abroad, but otherwise, it wasn't celebrated.  {Obvious I know, as I am in England.}

But because it wasn't the traditional Thanksgiving, and I didn't get to participate in Black Friday like I always do, it doesn't quite feel as Christmassy as it normally would for me.  I guess it'll just take some getting used to...  we'll get there!

Blast the Christmas music non-stop, please!

By the way, I found a Ladurée in Covent Garden and may have splurged on macarons out of joy...

P.S.  This is my 200th post!  Hard to believe!

27 November 2012

edinburgh, scotland

 On Friday I hopped on a train with some people from my school for a weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland!  One of the great things about Regents College is that they offer these weekend trips, so of course I had to take advantage.  And I'm so glad I did because Scotland was absolutely beautiful!

On our first night there, we did a took part in a pub crawl, which was quite a fun way to jump headfirst into Scottish culture.  ;)  We went right to bed after that and spent all of Saturday exploring the city.  We did a three hour walking tour which was by far one of the best parts of the weekend - the tour was fantastic, and during a quick break in the middle, we popped into a cafe where I had a, wait for it.... honey & cinnamon hot chocolate!  I had dreams about it, it was so delicious!
After the walking tour, we grabbed some dinner at a pub and walked along the Royal Mile before going on a ghost tour that night.  The ghost tour was decent, though not as scary as I would have liked.  I'm a fan of the scary.

Our final day, Sunday, was spent in the rain touring Edinburgh Castle.  Because much of the castle is outdoors, the rain was a bit of a bummer, but the castle was still impressive nonetheless, and the exhibits very informative and entertaining.  We ate our last meal in Edinburgh at The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling sat and wrote the first two Harry Potter books!  Seeing the views out the back windows, where she got her inspiration was quite cool, and the food was good.  I had a brie, apple, and mango chutney panini that was to die for.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend in Scotland!

P.S.  I feel like I've been so neglectful of this blog lately, what with traveling and schoolwork, but I'm hoping to get back into a consistent routine in the next week, once I've finished some big projects and papers for school.  It's getting down to the wire, which is not only depressing, but means finals are right around the corner.  Oi vey. 
Pin It button on image hover