September 30, 2009

Today Devin and I have been together for three years. He came home from class and surprised me with three roses and a beautiful tropical plant! We got ready and he took me out on the town for a surprise day in London!


We then got on the tube and headed to a surprise destination! Devin took me to Abbey Road! We walked around the street and saw the Apple Studio - my mom says The Beetles played their last concert on the roof - We then took our picture in the same place that the Beetles did! It was really hard to get a perfect one because the street is a busy street and there is quite a bit of traffic and there are tons of tourists all trying to walk and get the perfect picture!! It was a good day!

September 27, 2009

Today is the Regent Street Festival! We had no idea what all was going on so we decided to go and check it out!
We walked down the street and listened to live music, drank a few drinks, and ate some food!

We were looking in the little information book and we realized that Newton Faulkner was going to be playing! We did not buy wristbands in advance so we had to watch from a big screen but we could hear it and it was a good time!

September 26, 2009

Today we got up early to meet at the school to go on a day trip to Blenheim Palace. This palace is the home to the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, offers a memorable day out. Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the exquisite Baroque Palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake. Blenheim Palace is a unique example of English Baroque architecture. Inside, the scale of the Palace is beautifully balanced by the intricate detail and delicacy of the carvings, the hand painted ceilings and the amazing porcelain collections, tapestries and paintings displayed in each room. On the first floor 'Blenheim Palace: The Untold Story' brings to life enticing tales from the last 300 years. Situated in Woodstock, just 8 miles from Oxford, the Palace was created a World Heritage site in 1987. This was so pretty too bad no pictures were allowed in the palace. We went on a tour and saw all the different rooms of the palace and the exact room where Winston Churchill was born!

The gardens were amazing it looked like something in a movie or in a book! It was a perfect day to relax in the garden and to have a cup of tea!! We had a really good time.

Our next stop is Oxford! We had some free time here where we ate a delicious pastry! When we walked by this little store there was a huge line so we figured they must be good! Then we joined the rest of the group for a tour of Oxford University!

When I think of Oxford University I think of a huge campus with amazing grounds with tons of buildings all together. It was not like this at all... the university was spread throughout the entire town. There are 38 colleges of the University of Oxford and 6 Permanent Private Halls, each with its own internal structure and activities. It is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back as the 11th century. We got to tour the college where Harry Potter was filmed in the dining room. The strange thing is that when the students go to dinner each night they are not allowed to get up from dinner they are served all their needs and they must wear their degree gown to the table.



The entire campus of the buildings that we saw were all just amazing. I love the way they look and the feel while walking in the buildings makes me want to go there. The students are not allowed to have a car and must walk or ride a bike. It was a good day trip!

September 24, 2009

Today was the 250th birthday of Guinness!! So in honor of that we went to a local Irish pub and had dinner out with Devin. Devin had a Guinness and I had a Bulmers! It was a fun night!

This was the add from the pub:
"Celebrate Arthurs Day at O'Neills London pubs, as the popular bar chain toasts the founder of Guinness. 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of Arthur Guinness establishing the brewery that makes the famous and much loved black stuff, and O'Neills is putting on a mini St Patrick's Day style celebration to say happy birthday in style."

September 23, 2009

Finished book number three since I have lived in London!!
Today I finished that terrible book. LOL. I hate to leave a book in the middle so I had to finish it, but I will let you know that I will not be reading anymore of Katie Price's books! I am starting a new book today - the other hand by Chris Cleve.
I hope that this will be better than the last.
I had a workout on Monday with a personal trainer at my gym and today is the first day that I can move!! I have never been so sore in my entire life. I went to the gym and got a good run and workout in and it felt good!!

September 21, 2009

Today I wanted to get out of the flat so I decided to go shopping. I was on a mission to get a new purse. I headed down to Oxford Street on the tube and started walking around. This week is fashion week in London so the window displays are fabulous! I looked around for a hour and so and then made it to Longchamp. This is where I got my purse. Its not exactly what I wanted to buy on my trip to London but it will due for now. It is big enough to hold all my stuff plus my new camera for my photography class!

September 20, 2009

Ok so I finished my book today, The Time Traveler's Wife and now can not wait to see the movie!! So on to my next book. I am going to read Jordan by Katie Price.
For all of those who don't know Katie Price also known as Jordan, is a former English glamour model, television personality and businesswoman. Her personal life is regularly featured in British tabloids and celebrity-based magazine. I love the reality show she is on so I figured that I would read it and see what it is like. I would never take this book on the train or to the park with my, its just for at home. LOL. Above is her book cover and she is a very pretty woman she no longer looks like this. Here is a more recent picture of her at her newest book signing.

I am going to finish this book but I do not think I will find myself reading the remanding of her books. I thought this was funny and thought I would post it and share! Let me know if anyone wants to read it after me!!

September 19, 2009

So I love it when Devin is looking in the fridge for something to eat and he says... "I will just eat all the leftovers." So he fixed his dinner and I knew my mom would be so proud so I took a picture of it. It is rice, baked beans, hot sauce, pasta with zucchini, topped with french onion soup!! Sick but he ate ever bit of it.

September 18, 2009

Well I have been reading a bunch in my spare time and I remembered a author that I loved when I was younger. Roald Dahl. I looked online and I found something that I want on my wish-list!!

September 17, 2009

So Devin bought me a new camera and I am taking a class but it does not start for a few more weeks so I am on my own until then. Here is a few of my pictures that I have taken.

September 16, 2009

Today I got a gym membership at a local gym!! I need something to do and stay in shape and it is getting cold and will not be able to run outside for that much longer. After the gym Devin and I watched a movie and relaxed most of the day. I have been reading my book every chance I get.. it is getting good. We did some laundry and decided to go out to eat for dinner and I know this will shock everyone but we went to McDonald's. I know I know not healthy but it had been so long since we had been there and it sounded good. Then on our way home we bought some fresh fruit and made a fruit salad and rented another movie. This time we rented "Burn After Reading". It was a strange movie.

I guess since I have talked about renting movies so much on this post I can tell you about our movie store we rent from. It is this tiny little one room store just down the street from our flat called Film Fare. The man that runs the store is a small oriental man, he is precious. He calls us Mr. and Mrs. Black even though we have told him many times we are not married. LOL. Every movie that we rent he asks if we have read the book and then tells us it is a good film!! He loves all of the movies in his store. Since the store is so small he has books with the covers of DVD's in them to flip through to find a movie to rent. When we pay and leave he tells us stay warm, peace, and happiness!! Then when we walk out he gives us a peace sign with his hand!! So funny!! I guess when you love your job you show it!!

SURPRISE!!

So Devin went to run an errand and he would not let me go. I thought he was going to buy this purse that I have been annoying him about but no he shows up and has bought be a Nikon 5000 camera and tells me that I get to go to a photography class!! I am so excited... I cry of course.. then I call my dad and tell him all about the camera!!

September 14, 2009

Today I got ready and was really missing home this morning. After getting ready I left the flat and walked to meet Devin for lunch while he had a break from his classes. While I was walking I was thinking that it is getting cold here. I had on jeans with my black flats with socks and a sweatshirt, I am going to have to buy me a warm jacket! The wind makes it really cool. It was a really good lunch with fresh hummus and olives! After lunch I headed to Russell Square park to relax and read my book, The Time Travelers Wife! While it was reading it started to get really cloudy and started to sprinkle, so I headed home to miss the rain! I looked into a gym membership here today and I think that it might be a good thing while I am here!!! I rented a movie to watch tonight, 39 steps - then we are going to try and go see the broadway while we are here in London! Going to be a relaxing rainy rest of the evening!

Where to mail packages!!

Devin Black
Stetson college of Law
FSU Center 99-103 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3LA

September 12, 2009

Today we got up early to head to our Children's Society walk! We left with just enough time to get to register and start the walk! Little did I know several of the tube stations were closed so we got to the Tate Modern museum forty-five minutes late. We registered and got our t-shirts and headed on our walk!


We had planned to do the 5 mile walk but due to us being late we did the 1/5 mile walk. It was a good time and a beautiful day!

When we finished and received our medals we headed to the Thames Festival that was going on at the same time. We walked up and down the river looking at booths and at people. We headed home and went to diner with Devin. Jessica was leaving early in the morning so she packed and we watched some TV and went to bed.

September 11, 2009

WOW! I can not believe that is is 9/11 it seems like only yesterday. We got up this morning and headed to Hyde Park. This park is huge! We walked around looking at the people laying reading or eating a picnic. We found the Peter Pan Sculpture that has been in Hyde Park since 1912! Next we headed to see the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. This was so peaceful and pretty. It was given to the park by the Queen in May 2004. We walked along the fountain and stuck my feet in... it was freezing!!
Next we headed to the other side of the park to see Kensington Palace. We walked around the palace went through the gardens and then had some fresh mint tea and a desert in the Orangery on the royal grounds. We walked around the park for about five hours and our legs were tired so we headed home!

September 10, 2009

Today was the UK parliament tour, during the Summer Opening visitors can buy tickets to tour Parliament. It is arranged during the summer recess, when Parliament does not sit and Members work away from Westminster. Parliament examines what the Government is doing, makes new laws, holds the power to set taxes and debates the issues of the day. The House of Commons and House of Lords each play an important role in Parliament's work.
This was a fun tour and was exciting to see inside of UK parliament. We were only allowed to take pictures in Westminster Hall so that was a bummer. During the tour we were not allowed to sit on any of the furniture or seats while we were taking the tour. This was from damage in the past. To get into the tour we had to have a ticket and then take out picture on our temporary badge. After we finished the tour we headed to see Westminster Abbey. We could not go in the Abbey due to a service being held but we did see the huge outside. I could not believe how big it was in person!
My favorite thing is Big Ben! I think that it is such a beautiful building!!