So yesterday was a much needed break from the craziness that is tourism. I mostly sat around all day. Me and my cousin went and got some random snack food from the corner market which is soo much more exciting than you would think it is! They have so many weird types of chips! After that 2 more cousins came over and we had an awesome dinner. We had 3 different types of delivery! We had pizza, chinese, and indian. Not a ton happened, just general family bonding type stuff.
Till next time!
Ciao
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Uncles are EVIL!!! or England Part 3
So this is another one of those posts that I meant to post earlier but I didn't get back to my uncles house until about 1am last night so I went straight to bed. This first part was written about 6pm after the first part of the day.
Oh Gosh I'm so tired right now I can't even think straight! (Note that I was so out of it I used gosh). So me and my Uncle headed towards Haworth today to score some major grandma points. (Love you Grandma!) We hiked all the way out to Top Withers to take pictures of it. For those of you who have never heard of the place, that's where they think Wuthering Heights was about. It's this little farm house in the middle of nowhere, literally!
From Haworth its a 3.5 mile hike out to Top Withers and on the way there it was all up and down difficult hiking. Of course 200 yards before Top Withers our path combines with a much easier path that's basically the same length. It took us about 2 hours to hike out there and only 1.25 to 1.5 hours to get back. Either way a 7 mile hike was way too much!
The real kicker is that there was a place we passed on the way back where we could have parked so that our hike would have only been 3 miles roundtrip. Plus we didn't have a good path to follow on the way back so I'm pretty sure that we went farther than 7 miles. This is why Uncles are EVIL!
After that traumatic experience we went to the pub in Haworth where Bronwell Bronte drank himself to death. Again if you're unfamiliar with Wuthering Heights it was written by Emily Bronte who is the sister of Bronwell. Apparently all the Bronte sisters died young, like around 30 or so, and after all his sisters died Bronwell just basically decided to drink himself to death. I might have even sat in the same spot he died! Morbid but kind of cool.
Once we had recuperated from our hike set off to go pick up my cousin and her friend from VFest. One long car ride later and I'm back home around 1am and totally exhausted.
We've been taking it easy so far today but we'll see what happens later. Two things to leave you with. If you want to see more of my pictures I'm posting all of them on Facebook but of course under my real name so if you're a total stranger you're out of luck. The other is that you can post comments on what I write. Ask questions or whatever and I'll answer.
Until next time!
Ciao
Oh Gosh I'm so tired right now I can't even think straight! (Note that I was so out of it I used gosh). So me and my Uncle headed towards Haworth today to score some major grandma points. (Love you Grandma!) We hiked all the way out to Top Withers to take pictures of it. For those of you who have never heard of the place, that's where they think Wuthering Heights was about. It's this little farm house in the middle of nowhere, literally!
From Haworth its a 3.5 mile hike out to Top Withers and on the way there it was all up and down difficult hiking. Of course 200 yards before Top Withers our path combines with a much easier path that's basically the same length. It took us about 2 hours to hike out there and only 1.25 to 1.5 hours to get back. Either way a 7 mile hike was way too much!
The real kicker is that there was a place we passed on the way back where we could have parked so that our hike would have only been 3 miles roundtrip. Plus we didn't have a good path to follow on the way back so I'm pretty sure that we went farther than 7 miles. This is why Uncles are EVIL!
After that traumatic experience we went to the pub in Haworth where Bronwell Bronte drank himself to death. Again if you're unfamiliar with Wuthering Heights it was written by Emily Bronte who is the sister of Bronwell. Apparently all the Bronte sisters died young, like around 30 or so, and after all his sisters died Bronwell just basically decided to drink himself to death. I might have even sat in the same spot he died! Morbid but kind of cool.
Once we had recuperated from our hike set off to go pick up my cousin and her friend from VFest. One long car ride later and I'm back home around 1am and totally exhausted.
We've been taking it easy so far today but we'll see what happens later. Two things to leave you with. If you want to see more of my pictures I'm posting all of them on Facebook but of course under my real name so if you're a total stranger you're out of luck. The other is that you can post comments on what I write. Ask questions or whatever and I'll answer.
Until next time!
Ciao
Saturday, August 20, 2011
England Part 2
So today we stayed pretty close to my Uncle's house today. We started off the day with a trip to the supermarket. Now that sounds pretty boring but its so different that every aisle we went down has something strange in it. I'm pretty sure we spent more than an hour there and we didn't even buy much. We put our groceries away and afterwards we headed out for some sightseeing.
The first place we went was Ripley Castle where we had ice cream. Supposedly its world famous but I didn't think it was all that amazing. It was good sure but I've had better. While we were eating our ice cream we went for a stroll to check out the area around the castle. Here's a couple pictures of the castle.
After that we went up to Ripon Cathedral. One of the things that was cool about it was that you could see where they changed their minds as to how to build it half way through.
The way to tell is that the front main arch is rounded while the back arch is pointed. On top of that on the front rounded arch the two columns are different heights.
Afterwards we went to check out Knaresborough where we also saw the ruins of another castle. Plus the city was very picturous in general so here's a couple pictures of that too.
The first place we went was Ripley Castle where we had ice cream. Supposedly its world famous but I didn't think it was all that amazing. It was good sure but I've had better. While we were eating our ice cream we went for a stroll to check out the area around the castle. Here's a couple pictures of the castle.
After that we went up to Ripon Cathedral. One of the things that was cool about it was that you could see where they changed their minds as to how to build it half way through.
The way to tell is that the front main arch is rounded while the back arch is pointed. On top of that on the front rounded arch the two columns are different heights.
Afterwards we went to check out Knaresborough where we also saw the ruins of another castle. Plus the city was very picturous in general so here's a couple pictures of that too.
This is a river that flows below the Knaresborough castle ruins.
A picture of the city overlooking the river
A picture of the train tracks that goes across the river and into Knaresborough
Some of the Knaresborough Castle ruins
A train crossing the bridge.
I love the picture windows!
Doesn't everyone just need to stop in the middle of a set of train tracks and take a picture or two?
How does one go about redeeming time?
I found a thatched roof!
So that's about it for today. Nothing super exciting but here's to keeping you all updated!
Friday, August 19, 2011
England Part 1
Alert! There were 2 posts made right after each other. The one displayed is what happened second so go back a post and read that one first!!!
Alright! So starting from where I left off. I got off the train in York, nothing exciting there. They even had an elevator! From there I found a pay phone and called my cousin who was going to meet me. Of course as with all plans, something went wrong. There was a miscommunication so she wasn't there but since I have a BritRail pass and no phone, it was much easier for me to hop on the next train to Harrogate and meet her there then it was for her to get to York and have to try and find her then.
So I got onto a new train and in roughly 45 minutes got to Harrogate. Well, after waiting for like 45 minutes for the train to arrive. Once in Harrogate I found my cousin quite quickly and we walked a little bit to get a taxi to bring my stuff back to my Uncle's house.
We sat around for a bit then decided to go eat. We ate fish and chips which was kind of exciting since it was real British fish and chips. After eating we decided to go for a walk to the city center and boy did it end up being a long walk! Afterwards we went back to my Uncle's and watched a couple movies so nothing crazy. I went to sleep about 10:30pm.
Then comes the morning of the 19th. I woke about 8:30am so score! No jet lag! Or at least I think so we'll have to see how I sleep tonight. Our plan for today was to drive my cousin and her friend to VFest. The distance would mean that normally it would take about 2.5 hours to drive there but it took us about 4 to 5 hours to get there.
Part of the reason it took us so long to get there was because a car caught fire on the road and they stopped all traffic on both sides of the road for at least half and hour though I'm not sure the total time we were stopped. But me and my Uncle did decide to try and walk up to the front to see how much longer it would take before we would move again.
This is a picture of all the random people who got out of their cars to try and look farther down the road by going onto the oncoming traffic lanes. Obviously I was one of them based on the angle of the picture.
Here's a picture of the opposite side of the road all stopped and waiting for the all clear to start driving again. I believe they were stopped because of the smoke. Plus the car that was on fire was in the center lane...
When the cars were given the all clear to start driving again they were lead by a police car or something and forced to go slow since there were still a lot of people walking around on the wrong side of the road and they had to make sure that they were given enough time to get back to their cars.
After dropping my cousin and her friend off we decided to find a new way back since the freeway had stop and go traffic on the way back. The route we took back lead us by Chester where we decided to stop to eat and walk around some.
This is a picture of the city center with it's cool old buildings and such.
We ate at a McDonalds, nothing special but food is food. It was raining when we first got there but stopped during our walk so we decided to put the umbrella back in the car then go drink a pint along the canal. I asked my Uncle for a suggestion of a real British beer but he said he didn't really know which was good but thought that tap was the way to go. Luckily a random guy at the bar had a suggestion for us so we both got the Bombadier. Or at least I think it was called that, if not it was something really close to that.
Nothing special after that. We drove home, watched a movie, I updated my blog and answered emails and that's the end of that. Stay tuned for England Part 2 or whatever awesome name I can come up with for it...
Airport Woes Part 2
This was written about a day and a half ago around 11am English time and everything is written as such.
So my first flight sucked. Small seats, less leg room and no individual tv. On a 5 hour flight I really think individual tv's are needed, mostly cause I looked up at the tv screen once and saw pasty face. For those who don't know pasty face is Robert Pattinson, the guy who plays Edward in Twilight.
Since the movie was ruined with pasty face in it and I was really tired I decided to sleep through most of the flight. Unfortunately that backfired since I could only sleep for about an hour or two during my second flight but oat least the second flight had personal tv;s and like 40 movies to choose from.
The best thing about both flights was that I had a window seat. Actually I saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time today as I was landing in Newark, New Jersey. The other cool thing is that during my second flight the middle person was missing so I didn't have to worry about crowding anyone and bumping into them a ton.
I don't actually have anything to complain about at the Newark airport, probably cause I didn't have to deal with my two big suitcases...
Now London. Oh my God London! Have you heard of this new invention called an elevator? The airport was fine other than a small scare where I thought one of my suitcases got lost, but it turns out it just fell off the conveyer belt around the corner where I couldn't see it. They had elevators but this annoying gap between the trains and the platform. lets do some quick calculations shall we? Two suitcases that are just over 50 pounds each and 1 girl. Now I'm strong but that's hard to do, especially when rushed since everyone else wants to get off the train too.
Anyway, from the airport I took the Heathrow Express to Paddington station. This first part was awesome since I got it for free as part of my BritRail pass. What that is, is unlimited above ground train rides for eight days in England. So that means I still have to pay for the London underground but since I'm not hanging out in London its the smart way to go. For instance I got the Heathrow Express as part of it and others have to pay 20 pounds one way! 20 pounds one way, 37 pounds round trip, that's almost 80 dollars right there and I only paid about 200 dollars for my pass. Smart way to go? I think so!
Moving on, from Paddington station I had to take the underground to Kings Cross. Here's the main area where they need elevators. I've got to say I hate stairs and friendly helpful random passerby's. Without them I probably would not have made it on the train I'm on right now!
Before I move on though I want you all to know I paid 4 pounds for the little stint I did in the underground, 8 dollars for like 5 stops! And I thought Caltrain was expensive!
Now this next part is also really annoying. Since I have a BritRail pass I can just hop on any train but they have assigned seating for those that reserve their spots early. I had to search and I mean really search for a place to sit. I ended up finding a pretty awesome spot though since my luggage is right next to me where I can keep an eye on it.
I'm going to stop here and continue in a separate post of what I've done since then.
So my first flight sucked. Small seats, less leg room and no individual tv. On a 5 hour flight I really think individual tv's are needed, mostly cause I looked up at the tv screen once and saw pasty face. For those who don't know pasty face is Robert Pattinson, the guy who plays Edward in Twilight.
Since the movie was ruined with pasty face in it and I was really tired I decided to sleep through most of the flight. Unfortunately that backfired since I could only sleep for about an hour or two during my second flight but oat least the second flight had personal tv;s and like 40 movies to choose from.
The best thing about both flights was that I had a window seat. Actually I saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time today as I was landing in Newark, New Jersey. The other cool thing is that during my second flight the middle person was missing so I didn't have to worry about crowding anyone and bumping into them a ton.
I don't actually have anything to complain about at the Newark airport, probably cause I didn't have to deal with my two big suitcases...
Now London. Oh my God London! Have you heard of this new invention called an elevator? The airport was fine other than a small scare where I thought one of my suitcases got lost, but it turns out it just fell off the conveyer belt around the corner where I couldn't see it. They had elevators but this annoying gap between the trains and the platform. lets do some quick calculations shall we? Two suitcases that are just over 50 pounds each and 1 girl. Now I'm strong but that's hard to do, especially when rushed since everyone else wants to get off the train too.
Anyway, from the airport I took the Heathrow Express to Paddington station. This first part was awesome since I got it for free as part of my BritRail pass. What that is, is unlimited above ground train rides for eight days in England. So that means I still have to pay for the London underground but since I'm not hanging out in London its the smart way to go. For instance I got the Heathrow Express as part of it and others have to pay 20 pounds one way! 20 pounds one way, 37 pounds round trip, that's almost 80 dollars right there and I only paid about 200 dollars for my pass. Smart way to go? I think so!
Moving on, from Paddington station I had to take the underground to Kings Cross. Here's the main area where they need elevators. I've got to say I hate stairs and friendly helpful random passerby's. Without them I probably would not have made it on the train I'm on right now!
Before I move on though I want you all to know I paid 4 pounds for the little stint I did in the underground, 8 dollars for like 5 stops! And I thought Caltrain was expensive!
Now this next part is also really annoying. Since I have a BritRail pass I can just hop on any train but they have assigned seating for those that reserve their spots early. I had to search and I mean really search for a place to sit. I ended up finding a pretty awesome spot though since my luggage is right next to me where I can keep an eye on it.
I'm going to stop here and continue in a separate post of what I've done since then.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Airport Woes Part 1
Sometimes I love airports and other times I wonder why I even bother. Do I really need to leave the country? So far today has been one of the worse days. I'm tired already since I stayed up all night and even though I've been all over the world I've never actually flown alone. On top of that it just hit me at airport security that I'm not gonna see my family for a year. Let me tell you I'm disgusted with myself. Stop crying Anna stop it!
When me and my mom got to the airport we parked in the international short term parking but of course all continental flights fly out of domestic so we had to walk a ways to get there. We also managed to get to the line in the middle of a rush of people because it was not long before the 6am flight and so of course all the last minute people were only just getting there.
When I finally get up to the kiosk to get my boarding pass I get hit with a $50 fee for my second suitcase. Though I was expecting it, it still sucks. Then the machine asks me if any of my bags are over 50 pounds and I confidently hit no since I weighed them earlier when I was mostly done packing and they were at about 30 pounds each. So of course both my bags are over 50 pounds with my first being at about 52 and my second at about 57.
The guy ignores the first bag but he stops at the second one and says that since its over 50 pounds I would get charged with a $200 fine! $200!!!!! Holy #$%^! So of course we asked right away if we could move stuff around but since my other suitcase is at 52 I can't put anything in there which leaves me with my carry on.
I pulled out a pair of shoes and asked the guy to check again to see if it was light enough yet. The display came up at 55 and I'm thinking shoot I'm gonna need to pull out more stuff but they guy asked if I was going to school. I answered with a kind of since I'll be working but technically I'll be taking a class online too so I'm kind of going to school. Either way the guy decides to let me through without the $200 fine and having only lost one pair of shoes.
That was a huge relief! I'm still kind of shaking. Luckily since my mom was there she just took the shoes home but man that scared me!
At this point my first flight is just starting to board so I'm logging off! Til the next airport!
When me and my mom got to the airport we parked in the international short term parking but of course all continental flights fly out of domestic so we had to walk a ways to get there. We also managed to get to the line in the middle of a rush of people because it was not long before the 6am flight and so of course all the last minute people were only just getting there.
When I finally get up to the kiosk to get my boarding pass I get hit with a $50 fee for my second suitcase. Though I was expecting it, it still sucks. Then the machine asks me if any of my bags are over 50 pounds and I confidently hit no since I weighed them earlier when I was mostly done packing and they were at about 30 pounds each. So of course both my bags are over 50 pounds with my first being at about 52 and my second at about 57.
The guy ignores the first bag but he stops at the second one and says that since its over 50 pounds I would get charged with a $200 fine! $200!!!!! Holy #$%^! So of course we asked right away if we could move stuff around but since my other suitcase is at 52 I can't put anything in there which leaves me with my carry on.
I pulled out a pair of shoes and asked the guy to check again to see if it was light enough yet. The display came up at 55 and I'm thinking shoot I'm gonna need to pull out more stuff but they guy asked if I was going to school. I answered with a kind of since I'll be working but technically I'll be taking a class online too so I'm kind of going to school. Either way the guy decides to let me through without the $200 fine and having only lost one pair of shoes.
That was a huge relief! I'm still kind of shaking. Luckily since my mom was there she just took the shoes home but man that scared me!
At this point my first flight is just starting to board so I'm logging off! Til the next airport!
Traveling
So its 12:15am here and I'm staying up all night before my flight tomorrow morning. Now that might seem like a stupid idea but I have a reason!
My flight leaves the airport at 7:10am which means that I'm supposed to be at the airport somewhere around 5am. Since it takes about an hour to get there that means that I have to leave my house by 4am. So I'd have to be up by 3:30am at the latest and I don't know about you but I have the worst time waking up in the morning so that makes me somewhat fearful of missing my flight but since I hate being late I figure I would have made it anyway out of sheer stubbornness.
The real problem comes not from when my flight takes off though but from when it arrives. With a 3 hour layover in New Jersey I arrive in London at 6:45am local time. Now personally the way I get over jet lag is by not sleeping on the plane and then staying up to normal bedtime hours locally and then crashing. Since I'm normally exhausted by then I sleep through the night and then I'm set! No more jet lag!
Because I have to get up so early to get to my first flight I'll be tired to start with and then since I'm traveling for about 15 or so hours I'll be exhausted when I arrive if I don't sleep on the plane. Once I get to London I'm planning on taking a train up to York to hang out with a cousin and a 2 hour train trip should never be mixed with an exhausted foreigner so I'm switching up my normal routine hence the staying awake all night!
My new plan is to be really tired when I get to the airport so that I will sleep better on the airplane. I'll get lots of rest on the plane so I should be good to go for a day of touristing when I get to England. Then after my awesome day of playing tourist I'll get to my uncles house and by exhausted again so that I'll sleep through the night! Thereby eliminating my jet lag! Anna, you're brilliant!
Well it's now about 12:30, I'm done packing and I'm not totally sure what to do with myself for the next 3 hours. I suppose I should clean my room like I told my mom I would but eh, I think I'll put it off til like 2am and play games instead...
By the way, here's my entire life in 2 suitcases and a backpack. The only things not packed right now are my camera, it's cord, and my computer.
My flight leaves the airport at 7:10am which means that I'm supposed to be at the airport somewhere around 5am. Since it takes about an hour to get there that means that I have to leave my house by 4am. So I'd have to be up by 3:30am at the latest and I don't know about you but I have the worst time waking up in the morning so that makes me somewhat fearful of missing my flight but since I hate being late I figure I would have made it anyway out of sheer stubbornness.
The real problem comes not from when my flight takes off though but from when it arrives. With a 3 hour layover in New Jersey I arrive in London at 6:45am local time. Now personally the way I get over jet lag is by not sleeping on the plane and then staying up to normal bedtime hours locally and then crashing. Since I'm normally exhausted by then I sleep through the night and then I'm set! No more jet lag!
Because I have to get up so early to get to my first flight I'll be tired to start with and then since I'm traveling for about 15 or so hours I'll be exhausted when I arrive if I don't sleep on the plane. Once I get to London I'm planning on taking a train up to York to hang out with a cousin and a 2 hour train trip should never be mixed with an exhausted foreigner so I'm switching up my normal routine hence the staying awake all night!
My new plan is to be really tired when I get to the airport so that I will sleep better on the airplane. I'll get lots of rest on the plane so I should be good to go for a day of touristing when I get to England. Then after my awesome day of playing tourist I'll get to my uncles house and by exhausted again so that I'll sleep through the night! Thereby eliminating my jet lag! Anna, you're brilliant!
Well it's now about 12:30, I'm done packing and I'm not totally sure what to do with myself for the next 3 hours. I suppose I should clean my room like I told my mom I would but eh, I think I'll put it off til like 2am and play games instead...
By the way, here's my entire life in 2 suitcases and a backpack. The only things not packed right now are my camera, it's cord, and my computer.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Intro
Hey so this post is for those of you out there who are like Anna's leaving? She'll be gone for a year? What?!?
So first off Anna's not my name but it is what I'll be going by here. If you're curious how I came up with the name I'm using I've got one word for you, anagram. Back to the original point, I'm going to be working as an Au Pair for a year in Germany. Some of you out there are thinking to yourselves why, well I'll tell you why!
I've just about finished my AA (I've got one online class left to take) so the next step is to transfer to the 4 year and get my bachelors degree but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm honest enough with myself to know I won't study enough to get amazing grades at this point in my life and I'm frugal enough to not waste money on something that I won't get the most value out of.
I've always wanted to go off on an adventure so I figure this is a good time to do that. Go off, mature a bit, and come back into college a new woman who knows what she wants to study and is willing to study hard. For those of you who didn't know I've changed majors roughly 10 times and it goes from one end of the spectrum to the other so again, why spend a ton of money on something that I'm not even sure I really want.
So to reiterate I'll be in Germany for a year as an Au Pair and this blog is about my life during that year.
So first off Anna's not my name but it is what I'll be going by here. If you're curious how I came up with the name I'm using I've got one word for you, anagram. Back to the original point, I'm going to be working as an Au Pair for a year in Germany. Some of you out there are thinking to yourselves why, well I'll tell you why!
I've just about finished my AA (I've got one online class left to take) so the next step is to transfer to the 4 year and get my bachelors degree but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm honest enough with myself to know I won't study enough to get amazing grades at this point in my life and I'm frugal enough to not waste money on something that I won't get the most value out of.
I've always wanted to go off on an adventure so I figure this is a good time to do that. Go off, mature a bit, and come back into college a new woman who knows what she wants to study and is willing to study hard. For those of you who didn't know I've changed majors roughly 10 times and it goes from one end of the spectrum to the other so again, why spend a ton of money on something that I'm not even sure I really want.
So to reiterate I'll be in Germany for a year as an Au Pair and this blog is about my life during that year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)