Guy Fawkes Day

HELLO!! I am so sorry that it has been so long since the last time I posted. I would like to say that my life has been so hectic and crazy and I have been WAY too busy to post, but in all honesty I just haven't gotten around to it. However, I have been doing tons of fun, adventurous things since I last posted so sit tight and I will fill you in. As some of you may already know, I went to Florence, Italy for my fall break to visit my best friend LAURSIE!! I was there from the 18th to the 25th of October. I'm telling you, everyone must go there within their lifetime, it was so so so beautiful and fun there! It was so great to see Lauren and we got to spend some quality time roaming around Firenze (as you can see I picked up some Italian words, I can count to 10 and I even had a semi conversation with an Italian man at the airport who didn't speak a word of English!). We climbed to the top of the Duomo which was 463 steps (that's where we took the picture that I posted), we climbed up a huge mountain/hill- it felt like a mountain- called St. Miniata which also had a great view, and ate more gelato that most people do in 5 lifetimes. We spent a lot of time just hanging around her cool apartment and browsing through outdoor markets, one of which supplied us with the BEST GRAPES KNOWN TO MAN!! Mmmmm they were straight of the vine and could not have been any more tasty! Then, sadly, my trip in Italy came to an end but fortunately London's not so bad.....

So life went back to normal upon my return to da UK. Since I am now past midterms, I am nearing the "home stretch" period (ahh so sad!) and I have realized that up until now, I have had little to no homework. But alas, I have several papers and oral presentations to prepare now, so that fills my days with endless hours of joy and excitement. But the good news is, my friends and I have been doing some really fun things to distract us from our boring work! Yesterday we went and saw the musical Les Miserables. It was REALLY good, and very heart wrenching. I'm hoping to go see at least one other play within the next few weeks, but I am for sure going to see Spamalot with my mom and Sandy when they come!! I am so excited!! That will be a very fun way to end my long extended vacation in London. Oh yeah, and yesterday was also Guy Fawkes day which is kind of like independence day is in the USA. There are fireworks and bonfires and tons of parties everywhere. Who is Guy Fawkes you may (or may not) be asking? Oh he is just the Catholic revolutionary who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Why is this day so joyously celebrated? Despite my attempts to become a local, I am a little bit mystified by this holiday. But hey, "When in Rome"! Have a lovely day.... Cheers!