Mussels in Brussels...

Ej and I got into Brussles late on Wednesday night and took a taxi to our hostel. Our taxi driver wore a full suit--how classy!!

Unfortunately, we only had the day in Brussels, so we had to check out of our hostel on Thursday morning and carry our packs again for the day.

We walked into the town. Burssels was notically less touristic than London and Isle of Wight. People kind of looked at us like we were crazy.

We found a square that was beautiful! Each side of it was a different building that was extremely detailed and gothic style.

We discovered a neighborhood of resturantes on very small cobblestone streets. We decided to try some Mussels while we were in Brussels. I found out that I do not like mussels at all! They taste like the smell of a sewer river and I digested some sand that was in the mussels also. Not good-- but I tried them!!

Here is a picture of me and all I own in one of the gothic style buildings in Burussels.

Oh yeah, and we saw the peeing boy which Burssels is so proud of-- they make postcards, chocolate figures, and lace napkins out of him. Turns out hes tiny.... EJ and I walked right past him and missed it the first time...

LONDON # 2

I visited London for a second time from Monday May 19-21st. the train from Winchester to London was exactly one hour. EJ and I navigated the tubes--the underground subway system in London--without a problem. We found it to be quite fun and like a game!! We got to our hostel, which was about 15-20 minutes from downtown London, dropped our stuff on our bunkbed--pictured below__ and went back into London. We toured Westminster Abby and the Tower of London that day. __Westminster Abby is pictured here on the left__

Tuesday, we walked town and visited the squares-- Leicester and Piccadilly Circus. __Below is EJ and I with a lion in Leicester square. Our sororities mascot of the lion, so we,ve decided to take pictures of ourselves with all the lions we see during our trip in hopes of getting in our national magazine!! We feel like we have a good chance since we,re both cute :) and EJ is our Philanthropy chair and in President--well see!!__We also went into the London Musuem of Art and saw some Monte and Rembrandt pieces. We caught a part of the changing of the guardes at Buckingham Palace and then ate PB&J in St. James Park. Just to give you an idea of how expensive London is, you have to pay £2-- 4 dollars-- for a lawn chair in the park! Everything costs money! Tuesday night, EJ and I met up with Ian and Judith--the flat mates of Kailas sister when Kaila and I over took their flat two years ago in London for 21 days. They took us out to a couple of bars and it was great to get a taste of what the locals do and go in London. They were so fun and we all had a great ime--thanks again for everything!!

Wednesday, EJ and I checked out of our hostel and had to carry our packs with us for the day. We attempted to climb Parliment hill for a view of the city, but we gave up--my back was killing me and we had been walking for maybe 15 minutes DOWNhill... We resported to a park near our train station. We read, peopled watched, and had some more PB&J for lunch. We caught a train out of London and to Brussels, Belgium at 7pm.

GOODBYE LONDON!!

ISLE of WIGHT

Sarah planned an exciting dqy trip for EJ, Emily, and myself on Sunday May 18th.

Isle of Wight is an island off the southern coast of England. We took a train to the coast and then a big yellow catamaran across the channel.

We spent most of our time in a village called Sundown. We began by walking the cobblestone streets and looking at their brightly colored houses and shops. We ate lunch on the beach and then Sarah and I went into the zoo.

The zoo houses lots of Lemers from Madagacsar and big cats. They have a white tiger and I learned that there are only about 150 left in the world!! Unfortunately, mr white tiger was being shy and Sarah and I only caught a bit of his white fur through some bushes. I also discovered that my new camera has a great zoom, as you can tell by the picture of the lion here.

After the zoo, we stopped by the Driftwood bar for a drink and listened to Derek-- a reggae artist and; apparntly, a living legend on the Isle...

We took a train back to Winchester for our last night there. Sarah and Emily were so good to EJ and I. They were patient with us and really took the time to explain to us how the trains and tubes work, traveling tips, and they helped us book our hostels for Belgium and Burssels! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING GIRLS!! LOVE YOU!

A NEW country!!

Sarah planned a weekend in Wales for EJ and myself, and a friend of hers--Emily-- came too! We left Thursday May 15th in the morning. It takes about 5 or 6 hours to get to southern Wales. We had to change trains a couple of times and take a bus for an hour due to construction on the tracks. We arrived in Carmarthen, Wales but still needed to get to our hostel. We grabbed a taxi and my life flashed before my eyes as our driver was race-car-like through the busy, tiny, and extremely curvy roads. We arrived at a place called Pant ya thro, which turned out to be the neghborhood of our hostel. Our hostel--my first one ever!!- welcomed us with a sigh that read Welcome to Mexico...interesting. The owner was Ken and he was so great. He was laid back and geninuly hospitable and interested in us. The placed was decorated with pieces of where Ken had traveled.

Wales was chilly and damp and I was cold, as usual. We took off that afternoon down the two way road only to discover it did not have a sidewalk. We ended up walking next to some cows and eventually got to the waterside. We worked our way up to Llansteff Castle. This castle was very different than the others Ive seen. It was completly open to the public-- no restrictions or even an employee there to monitor or give you a mini tour. Mostly the walls were standing and everthing else had disappeared. We walked along the beach and caught a bus back to our hostel--which was also on top of a large hill, like Sarahs dorm. Sarah made us speghetti and then we went to bed.

The next day we went to a city Ken reccomened called Temby. We had a great day there and the sun was out! Yet, I still ended up buying a sweatshirt that day. We wondered the city which was filled with lots of shops and cobblestone streets. We had delicious fish&chips, too! __The picture to the right is Sarah and Emily with their fish and ketsup!__ We got to the beach and found a HUGE jellyfish! There was also this great castle sitting ontop of a huge rock/island. You couldnt go up to the castle, but we walked through a passage in the rock and you could hear the mussles--which compltely covered 6-7 feet of the rock-- making noise.

Oh!! And I discovered a shoe in Temby that fits everything my mother looks for in a shoe--its practical, black, has a heel, and best of all its a CROC!! LOVE YOU MOMMA!

p.s. The keyboareds in Belgium are different than ours, so I apologize for my typos and lack of apostryphys-- i cant figure out how t put i them in!--or how to spell it ;)

Reunion in Winchester, England

EJ and I arrived in London at 6 am on Tuesday May 13th. We took a bus to Winchester, where my best friend, Sarah, and I reunited for the first time since February!! Sarah led us up a hill, up another hill, and then one more until we arrived at her dorm at the University of Winchester. I was definitely feeling the jet lag for a couple of days and it was not a fun feeling!

Sarah was the by far the best hostess and I am so thankful that she allowed us to take over her for a few days. She gave us a tour of Winchester, which was once the capital of England. It is exactly what you would expect from an English city. We went up a castle, visited their large cathedral, King Arthers round table, and climbed up a St: Catherines Hill--I think that is what it was called-- and there was a perfect view of all of Winchester.

EJ and I are having a bit of trouble setting up our mobile phones, which we bought from two of our sorority sisters. Hopefully when we get into Madrid someone there can hook us up!

The Begining

My Amazing Race begins on May 12th with a flight to Toronto to meet a sorority sister, EJ, and then we're onto London, England. We'll arrive at 6 AM and take a bus to a city called Winchester. My Best friend Sarah has spent the last semester attending Winchester University, so EJ and I will spend a couple of days there (free place to sleep-yay!). We'll embarke on a weekend excursion with Sarah to Wales at sunrise on May 15th.

Here is a photo of EJ and I on our first adventure together this past spring break 2008 on the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park. We spent a week in a canoe together, slaloming between rocks and rapids and sleeping in Mexico! We were professionals... well, we didn't tip our canoe at least.