Last weeks in England

Can you believe I only have 6 days left of school! I can't!!!

Been doing homework as much as possible lately, wanting to get everything done before next week. I have even started packing. That will be a process....

The weather has been amazing and I have tried to get out and enjoy it as much as possible. Spring is definitely here. 

My mom comes a week from Thursday and I am beyond excited to see her and travel around France. I hope we luck out on good weather as well. 

18 days until America! Where has the time gone? 

Excited for a summer of fun, friends and family! A big thanks to Abby and Casey for helping me find a job this summer. I am so excited to spend everyday working with little ones. 

Although I will be sad to leave England and Europe, I will be happy to see America, Minnesota, Wisconsin and everyone in it!

I have a feeling this will be a great summer! I know I will look back on this experience everyday and remember all my adventures and how lucky I am. Love my life and can't complain. 

Now back to homework! :)

Pictures of recent life hanging around Winchester

Studying outside with friends and enjoying the weather

Dessert with the girls.... in an American diner. We are so British ;)

Breaks from studying for finals=drinks on the patio. Not a bad life

Picnic in town. So beautiful. I will definitely miss Winchester

Spring. So beautiful and blooming all over campus

The strangest place on earth....

March  15th through 18th

Although Amsterdam was by far the strangest place I have ever been, it was also one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to! The canal streets are beautiful and all the building are so old and interesting. This was an all girls trip and it was 8 girls from my study abroad group. We had our own hostel room which was such a luxury. I would say some of the girls enjoyed and took advantage the "culture" more than I did. What I enjoyed most was the Anne Frank house, the friendly people, and walking along the canals.

Got in on Thursday evening. Went for a walk around our hostel and then got dinner and drinks after. Great timing to see the sun setting behind that canals.  Fun fact: Amsterdam has more canals that Venice! 

Canal streets at night. So beautiful when they are all lit up. We wanted to do a boat cruise but we never got the time. 

Friday we woke up early and went to the Anne Frank house. It was so interesting and there were so many original artifacts! It was mind blowing to be in the same place that she and her family once hid. Especially hit home since we went to the concentration camp a few weeks earlier. Could not take pictures inside but there was even original tics on the wall that Otto Frank marked to measure his children's growth! 

More canals. I was obsessed :)

Showing how beautiful the buildings are. I could walk around in the city all day long! 

Not sure if you can tell but Amsterdam really loves bikes. There is easily 1,000 bikes on the bridge. There are by far more bikers that people in cars. It is kind of dangerous as a pedestrian! 

Jamie and I finally found a beer that was a pint not a half pint! The dutch hate warm beer so they usually only drink half pints at at time. This is not something we were used to after living in England for 2 months ;) 

Friday night we took a tour of the red light district. It was actually very interesting and even got to talk to an ex-prostitute. It gave me a whole new insight into the profession and the women in the window. It was definitely still very strange to walk around and see window after window of prostitutes. It is surprisingly a fun place to go out at night though, there a lot of nice bars. Most would be surprised to know that it is the safest neighborhood in Amsterdam because of the police to protect the girls. It is also the most expensive neighborhood to live in because it is the historic district of Amsterdam. 

This was the only legal picture you could take in the Red Light district. Can you spot all the red lights?  

Gorgeous church and canal lit up at night. Clearly obsessed :)

Amsterdam also loves St. Patrick's day! It was surprising and made me very happy. We also had to get pancakes because it is a dutch tradition. 

Yum.... a 5 year olds' dream breakfast. 

Found a market with food and flowers. So many flower venders, they are beautiful. 

Saturday we took a tour of the Heineken brewery. It was a blast and a great activity for St. Pattys! 

Yum

Made it to the end!

The famous I AMsterdam sign was right by the brewery so we got to snap a few pictures. Kind of hard with all the people. 

Too hard to all stick together with 8 girls so Jamie, her friend from home and I went out for St. Patrick's day. We even found some Irish pubs!

Even got my guinness :)

Overall, Amsterdam was a great trip and an incredibly beautiful city! It has a very different culture than ours but it was interesting to see. 

I can't wait for my next trip to France with my mom! I am soo excited to see her! 

Hard to believe I have less than a month left and only 2 and a half weeks left of school! Coming up so fast.

Happy to be spending these last few weekends in Winchester. Gives me a chance to finish all of my final assignments and really appreciate this amazing city I have been living in for the past two and a half months.

Weather is starting to get really nice as well which leads to walks through the city. (Not as nice as Wisconsin's 80's but still pretty warm)

Can't believe it is almost over. Leaving will be bittersweet but so excited to see everyone from home :)

A weekend in London

"The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page."

Went to London last weekend with Hannah and Jamie. Their friends from home came to town so we picked them up from the airport and showed them the city. Great to see all of the tourist sites again and got lots of pictures like usual :)

Trafalgar Square at night. Beautiful

Finally got the stereotypical London photo booth picture. Not a bad background I'd say! 

Buckingham Palace

The girls and their friends from home :)

Big Ben and the London Eye. 

House of Parliament

Love this picture. Big Ben and The House of Parliament with the sun setting behind it.

Natural History Museum 

Sunday I went to Arsenal Stadium. Andy's favorite football team :)

We also walked along the river bank and went to see Tower Bridge

Monday night out with the best friend :)

Can't get over how lucky I am! Sitting in Trafalgar square at night, walking through London on a gorgeous afternoon, eating lunch at outdoor cafes? I truly am living the dream and I am sooooooo very blessed!! So thankful for this experience! 

Off to the Netherlands for St. Patrick's day! Last big trip before France with my Mom. 

One month from tomorrow I will be back in America. So bittersweet and can't believe how fast my time here has gone! 

Favorite parts so far have been:

Going for long runs in the beautiful English countryside

Traveling almost every weekend

The Bavarian Alps 

Cliffs of Moher

Going to pubs with new friends that I will have for a lifetime

Learning new things everyday

Experiencing new things everyday

So blessed :)

Ireland and One Only Month Left?!?

February 29th - March 5th (Ireland)

A great long weekend in a great country right before the reality of school began. This last month is crunch time with many many essays to write. Ireland was a great way to escape from that for a few days. Saw beautiful countryside, enjoyed the great nightlife, and celebrated my best friends 21st birthday! 

This trip was only Jamie and I. It is a very relaxing trip and we had a lot of time to do and see everything we wanted to.

We got in late on Wednesday so we did a little shopping before dinner and then headed down to the Temple Bar district for dinner and drinks. We ate dinner at The Temple Bar, they have over 100 sandwiches on their menu, very delicious! Hopped around to a few other pubs, most of which have live music every night. Very fun atmosphere! 

The Temple Bar

Crazy decoration and clearly a stacked bar. 

First drink in Ireland, of course a Guinness! 

The following day consisted of wandering the streets of Dublin, the Guinness Brewery tour, Trinity College and celebrating Megan's 21st! 

Completely lucked out on weather. 50's and sunny all weekend! 

Took this same picture 4 years ago at the Guinness Factory with my mom. My how times have changed! 

View from the top of the brewery. Gorgeous day and gorgeous views of Dublin. 

Great beer, great view, great company :)

Jamie and me

Trinity College. The oldest and most prestigious college in Ireland. Beautiful old campus. 

Went to the oldest pub in Dublin for dinner on Thusday. Delicious Irish strew...can you believe I enjoyed lamb??

Friday: Day trip to the Blarney Stone

It was about a 3 hour drive so we took a few stops on the way.

First stop was the Rock of Cashel. Beautiful Irish countryside. This is what I love about this country! 

Sun shinning down on us :)

Next stop Blarney Castle! 

Kissed the Stone! Not as easy as it looks but a great experience. 

Finally returned to Dublin around 7 on Friday night. After a tasty dinner, we met up with Megan and her girlfriends to rein in her 21st at midnight! 

Saturday: Day trip to the Cliffs of Moher!

Most beautiful coastline. Pictures do not even do it justice. Although I'll admit, I could not stop taking pictures! 

Thats as close as I got to the edge, don't worry Dad it looks closer than I actually was ;) 

Jamie and me enjoying the amazing scenery. 

Returned to Dublin around 7:30 on Saturday just in time for round two of Megan's birthday! Great night experiencing the town of Dublin. 

Sunday morning we woke up early to fit in a few last things before our flight home. Got a few souvenirs for the family and the went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. 

Gorgeous on the outside and inside!

More unbelievable stained glass. 

Amazing architecture and detail

Live music in most of the pubs! Thought you guys might like a little listen :)

I can't believe how fast my time has gone here and everything that I have done. Looking back at my earlier blog posts my life does not seem real to me. I am so lucky and fortunate for this experience! It is something I will never forget. 

Only one month left of school and things are starting to get crazy! 5 essays to write and a presentation, Oh Man! Update as soon as possible and don't forget to keep in touch :)

Miss you all!