Glasgow

Scotland was one of my favorite adventures. We woke up and rode our tour bus. We did some 
touristy shopping and found the most delicious shortbread cookies of which we ate tons. We found some souvenirs for the fam back at home and some fun scarves really made in Scotland! And of course, we took some pictures with the famous kilts. It is such a fun city, so quaint and charming. After shopping a bit, we had to hurry back to check out and make our train. It was ca-razy! Half of our trip we are scurrying to the next thing because we are trying to see it all! I would say we're doing a pretty good job of that. We got to our new town of Glasgow and checked in our hotel. Then we tried to shop but everything closes so early since the locals love getting drunk. So we ended up going to see Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging (Julie Dyer) in the tallest movie theater in the world!  It had six stories and our movie was on the fifth.

Tiffany

This funny sign talks about 

a guy saving a seat for 

his lamp at the 

movies

nicole picole

On friday we arrived at Edinburgh. Everyone says it different. in Edinburgh they call it Edinbra. In Glassgow they called it Edinburro (yeah like a bean burro... Chris Daughtry Lives!) and i say it like the typical american edinburgh... i mean come on say it like its spelt and we wouldnt have these complications.



When we stepped off the train we could hear bag pipes playing! it was sooooo cool! and i totally saw some dudes in kilts! the whole city is gray because overtime the sandstone sucked up all the pollution.i know sick i need to wash my hands just thinking about it..... the castle was on a high hill it was soooo beautiful! unlike anything ive ever seen! seriously make your next vacation scotland.

We took a bus tour and found out the story of dr jekyll and mr hyde was actually based on some robber or something it was cool to hear about but as you can tell not to important cause i already dont remember the story!



There was a huge statue of king george and we learned georgie porgie pudding and pie was based of off him.When king george was asked pudding or pie for dessert he would say both!!!! i was like that sounds a little to familiar... oh wait! thats what ive been doing this whole trip! and then i vowed to not eat another treat until i get home (as i was stuffing a cookie in my mouth) i could just see it now... nicole picole cookies and cream.... and a huge statue of me with my mouth full and three hundred pounds over weight.... and then i wont finish school because of embarrassment so ill just dodge into allies when someone i know comes walking up until one day ill just disapear... and then they will find me in an apartment me fallin and not being able to get up because of my largness and cats everywhere...

alright on that note haha we stayed at the marriot because our friend kendra has got serious connections. i mean serious!!! we got to stay in £400 rooms £ not $! for £40 i know amazing! and we got access to the executive lounge.... she denies it but we all know its because she got her flirt on! the next time you decide to stay at a marriot try to get in because it is so choice




nic

Chatsworth

Chatsworth was amazing!  It was the place where they filmed the newest, Pride and Prejudice.  We saw the statue room on the movie and took pictures with the statue of Mr. Darcy.  We toured the old house and then went outside to explore the gardens.  They were beautiful!  We found old trails and a dark tunnel to wander through and a waterfall to play in!

Tiffany

Ghetto ville USA..... uh england

After London we had to come back to Nottingham for three more days of school. We had absolutely no food. There is a store called testco we usually go to because it was on the way home from school. But since we were already at “the mother ship” we decided to go to one just up the street. When we walked in we noticed a creepy man and was like ok lets hurry fast and get out of here. We quickly grabbed food and checked out. The bag that she gave to us had a picture of Santa clause and said merry Christmas and a happy new year…. I know wtc. I guess they really celebrate christmas in july here.

We walked out side and I whisper to tiffany we are seriously in the ghetto. I guess it took us three weeks of being mesmerized to finally realize that we lived in the hood. Now every time we walk down the street and we see something sketchy one of us will start singing “in the ghetto”. Tiffany usually sings the Elvis Presley version and I sing Taylor hicks remember him? he won American Idol over Chris daughtry… I know hugest mistake in american history… that’s including Watergate and trying to close off the Mexican border (hey I like my bean burritos)

Every year before school starts I usually cut my hair but since the day I get home I leave to school we decided to cut it in England. I guess im going to have to learn some more spice girl songs because I don’t think my public will only be satisfied with “wannabe”

nic

Buckingham Palace

Today was a super fun day. We tried to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, but it was cancelled because of the rain. It ended up being the sunniest day yet! We did get to see them ride by on their horses though. Then we went to the Queen’s gallery and looked at some amazing jewelry, furniture, and paintings. After this, we were starving, so we found Pizza Express and ate some lunch. Then we went to St. Paul’s catheral. We looked around inside for a while and decided to climb to the top. We walked about 200 stairs to the Whispering Room, where we could look down at the Cathedral. Then we walked the rest of the 330 stairs up to the very, tippy, top. I got a little nervous when the steps started winding and the spaces got smaller, but the view was incredible! That night, we ended up getting some dinner with our fun friends and called it a night early.
Tiffany

The Golden Coronation Carriage!


Our cute friends Angela, Kendra, and Abby.  We're so buff after climbing 530 stairs!

Nicole at the top of St. Paul's

hard core hotties

On the second day in london we woke up and went to the tour of london. Our tour guide was pretty funny but lets just say if we battled he would go home crying to his mama. one of the things he said when we were all admiring the castle was is anyone american? and some hollered and others raised a hand. then he sighed and said all this could have been yours.

we next went to henry the eighth house and the six billion chicks he married. despite the fact that satan had corrupted that house it had the most AMAZING gardens. i thought newstead abbey had great gardens but boy no one can do it like a king!!!!

after ye olde playboy mansion we went to the original hard rock cafe and waited two bloody hours (yeah i say bloody now that i live here) in the rain. that whole time we kept looking at things and thinking mark would love this (cause after all he is the most hard core person we know). here me and tiffany both got our own meals.
 
we share everything here makeup, hair stuff, and even food. most people gain wieght when they come to london but surprisingly im loosing. well im not jared and probably couldnt get sponsored by subway but still. that night i laughed sooooo hard. the girls we play with in enlgand are so funny.

Before we left for london tiffany decided to spend money on a step counter. i made a bet that she wouldnt use it more than three times. the TWO times she has used it was in london and we found out we walk about ten miles a day! no wonder i have blisters up the wa-zoo.

alright you are all hott and i miss you

word to the not so wise- you could be wearing a trash bag and as long as you are confident everyone will be like dang girl where can i get one.!

nic

A foggy day in London Town

Well we just got back from our weekend in London with our whole study abroad group. On the first day. . . we rode the bus three hours into London. We stayed in a little hostel which sounds scary, but wasn’t all that bad. After we got checked in, we went with our little group we hang out with to a shopping district called Covent Garden. We ate dinner on Drury Lane, like where the muffin man lives, at a little pub.





Then we walked across the way to a little shop and it was like a London Blossom (Jodi) cute little boutique. We shopped around at some fun sales and then went into a store called Soccer Scene where I tried to find out what was cool for the guys in my life. It was pretty confusing. A little further down the road we found a little outdoor market, pretty much equivalent to the Orange County Swap meet. We found some fun soccer stuff to bring back for prizes and some tourist-y London sweatshirts, of which we have worn every day since! We didn’t know it was like winter here and have been freezing the whole time!
After the market, we walked across a bridge into the heart of London. I told Nicole, “Oh my gosh! We are so winning London!” which is the name of our blog, which comes from, what else, but a Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie, of course.



We got ice cream cones and hung out on the grass, enjoying the weather, until it was time to ride the London Eye. It is the tallest, “Observation wheel,” in the world! It was pretty much a Ferris wheel shaped like an egg. We decided the Disneyland one that Travis and Jill and practically me cried on was way scarier. The view was so awesome! We rode up right as the sun was setting and so we could see all the lights of London town. It pretty much looked like what Peter Pan would have seen.
After the ride, we went and looked at Big Ben. We were there right as the clock struck ten and then we walked by the parliament building.




The view from inside the London Eye!

Tiffany

green eggs and naps

today we went to Newstead abbey sooooo pretty we went on tons of adventures and i found some of ralbbys mates (not mate mate but friend mate thats how you say it in the land of the not so free) peacocks and swans just roamed all over and waddle right on up to you.there was gardens upon gardens upon gardens. there was little trails that would lead off to waterfalls and little houses and some of the most amazing roses.
the house belong to byron who we studied in school. when we got there it was closed because of a strike (which i witnessed). so we got our own private tour. they probably confused me with posh spice... i get that all the time...  it usually starts out with no i promise im not her and ends with  "yo ill tell you what i want what i really really want"

one thing you have to understand about me and tiffanys that is different is she can nap anywhere and i need to be in a bed. so when im ready to go to bed she has already taken like seventy million naps that day but she still wants me to stay up with her. so i decided to redo green eggs and ham of places she has napped so far this trip.

She likes to nap in a bus. 

She likes to nap without a fuss.

She likes to nap here and there.

She likes to nap everywhere.

She would she could on a boat.

She would she could she's devote.

She would she could in the grass.

She would she could in the class.

Yes she would could on a bus.

Yes in a car. Or without fuss.

Yes in the rain. Or on a plane.

She could nap here or there.

Yes she could nap anywhere.

i also do another rendition of one fish two fish red fish blue fish but only for birthdays. you can see me live at tiffany and scott reception aug 27th were i will be performing a version of how the grinch stole christmas. i do except checks make sure they go out to Dr. Suess's O.G.O. (thats oh great one)

 

nic

Paris holds the key to our hearts

Paris holds the key to my heart is the song Nicole and I were humming almost the entire time in Paris. It's from Anastasia. Sorry you have to hear from us two times in a row, but Paris was simply too amazing to not talk about. We left Stratford upon Avon and got on the train with our little group of seven girls and were so excited! I have always wanted to ride a train and it was awesome! When we got off the train, and stepped into the light above the metro, we couldn't believe we made it! We walked a little ways to our luxurious hotel and checked in.
We were all starving by this point, so we walked the picturesque cobble stone street to a little cafe. We tried so hard to pick something we wouldn't eat at home, but we were just too starved to risk it. Half of us ordered omlettes, and the other half ham and cheese sandwiches. Then we walked by the river and began to see all the classic sights of Paris! It was so exciting! We took a boat tour of all the classic sights. Then we walked to the Arch de Triumph and down Chantz de Leon. We went in the most massive Sephora cosmetics store on the face of the Earth! The M.A.C. counter was huge and they were doing make-overs right in the store. I was in heaven! After that, we found a little pizza restaurant for dessert and ate creme brule in Paris!
The next day we woke up early and went to the Eiffel Tower. We stood in a long line to ride the elevator to the top and it turned out to be for the stairs. I am totally afraid of heights, but I just decided to do it anyway. We walked to the second floor and the view was amazing. Our little group walked inside and ate breakfast at the Eiffel Tower!
Some of the group wanted to go all the way to the top, so Nicole and I went back down and it began to rain. We opened our umbrella and walked around the park below. About twenty minutes later, the sun came out and we relaxed while we waited for our group to come down. Then we went to Notre Dame. It was amazing, but we didn't find Quasimodo. We went back to our hotel for a little rest and then got ready, took some pictures, and ate dinner at the hotel restaurant.


The next day we slept in and then went to the Louvre. We were so tired, but knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we toughed it out. It was amazing to see all the famous paintings and sculptures, but our favorite was by far Napolean III's apartment. The chandeliers were humongous and the banquet hall was set as if royalty was really coming to dinner.

The trip ended too soon and we had to rush to make our train home. Of course we did nearly kill each other on this journey, but it was well worth the fun and the memories!

tiffany

ralphert

hey all you loyal readers of our one blog post!  sorry its taken so long to write but i want to make it extra good! (but really its cause i dont have time). classes are sooooo easy i get done in seriously two point five seconds each day. for everyone who is counting down we have eight days left in Nottingham, four in london, three in scotland, two in ireland, and one day for the plane ride home! *cough* Scott *cough*. incase anyone did the math, yes we are other places more than nottingham (school) and yes i am brilliant enough to convince mom and dad to have paid for this trip. we went to Stratford Upon Avon aka the birthplace of shakespeare. one word boo ty li cious. flowers everywhere and great food. instead of going to anne hathaways cottage (no she was not in get smart "were you thinking holy holy a swordfish almost went through my  head? because if you are then we are on the same page." <-- great part and she is not to be confused with alyssa calaway played by ashley olsen in the classic it takes two.) we stopped by a river and i found i duck and named him ralphert (i started to say ralph and then i wanted to say robert.) you can call him ralbby for short (ralph/bobby). yesterday we got back from paris which we planned in less than 72 hours thank you very much. and for those who havent voted yet i would vote kent will be broke :) kidding. vote for me getting married to a british man instead that would be TIGHT! Paris was amazing and 100% worth the tears and stress. i think i cried more in those three days then any other in my life... but i also laughed and was more amazed then ever in paris. i miss you all! holla back! (seriously holler back we want comments people i get bored)

nic

"Your behavior is very rude."

Well we made it here alive, almost!   I didn't get much sleep because the man behind me on the plane was kicking my seat the whole time!  And got super feisty and told me I was rude.  Nine hours later. . . the bus broke down on the way to our flat and we had to switch to a different bus.   We got all settled into our flat and our roommates  A cute little Japanese lady and a very entertaining girl (to say the least).  Today we woke up and took the tram into town and saw the stop we need to get off for school. . . Oh right, we're going to school while we're here.  It was a rainy, cold day and then warmed up later.  We met some new friends who we're hanging out with right now in a little cafe.  Everything here is so little and cute.

-Tiffany