July 4th

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Drained Reflecting Pool

Crumbs Bake Shop

July 4th is easily my third favorite holiday of the year (following Christmas and Thanksgiving) so I'm so thankful I was able to spend it with family this year. Friday morning my parents and I drove to North Virginia to see my sister and brother-in-law. We got to their house around dinner-time Friday night so we changed and went to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. Saturday we went into Washington DC for the day. After an AMAZING lunch at a Mexican restaurant (Rosa Mexicana), we grabbed a taxi to go to the Lincoln Memorial. The last time I was in this area I was 12 so I don't really remember much of what I saw. I've always wanted to see that typical Washington view from the Lincoln Memorial of the reflecting pool and the WWII memorial in the distance. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be this time. The reflecting pool had been drained for maintenance and won't be filled back up until later this year! Hopefully I'll be up to DC again in the future to see this view! After grabbing a few cupcakes at Crumbs Bake Shop, we spent a relaxing night at my sister's house Saturday night while my dad and brother-in-law watched the Nascar race.

Great Falls

Sunday my sister, brother-in-law, dad and I went to Great Falls Park for a hike. It was beautiful! A little hot but not too bad for the 3 mile hike we did. After a bit of rest we went into downtown Leesburg for dinner. Monday, July 4th started with some outlet shopping and continued on with a drive to Alexandria, VA (beautiful!) to catch a river cruise to see the fireworks over the Lincoln Memorial. Talk about amazing views! Cruising down the Potomac was beautiful - we saw a lot of sights along with the people lining the river to catch a view of the fireworks. Our boat dropped anchor right in front of the Lincoln Memorial and we watched the 20 minute firework display from the top of the boat. After the fireworks display our Captain got on the microphone, recited the Declaration of Independence and got us all to sing some patriotic songs like "God Bless America." The atmosphere really encouraged a love and appreciation for our country and all that is great about it.

View from the boat

Lincoln Memorial

The trip to visit family was a great way to celebrate July 4th. I'm so thankful for my family and our great visits! I'm definitely looking forward to my next visit to North Virginia and Washington DC!

One Last Update!

Tomorrow I have an early flight out of London so I thought I'd do one last update.

The Cam

The Mathematical Bridge

The Mitre - lunch spot!

Trinity College

Penhaligon's in Cambridge

This past weekend was full of outings! I spent most of the day Saturday in Cambridge. Dina (the teaching assistant for the UGA study abroad program) and I got passes for the Hop On/Hop Off tour of Cambridge since we hadn't done much research and didn't know a lot about the city. It was a good choice as we got to see a lot within a short period of time. Unfortunately Trinity College wasn't open so we could only see the outside. It was still beautiful! I also managed to go into Penhaligon's but didn't buy anything because I can order their candles back home. We got back to London around 5pm and I met up with two girls, Katy and Emma, in Parsons Green for dinner and then to the White Horse (aka the Sloanie Pony) for a drink. It was a great, albeit brief, night out! 

 Katy and I

 View from Bench in Regents Park (same view from 2007 which my Nana painted a picture for me off of)

Flowers in Regents Park

On Sunday I woke up early to meet Katy for coffee and a scone nearby. I then headed to the Museum of London, grabbed lunch at Benugo (a local sandwich shop), ate in the gardens of St. Paul's Cathedral, headed over to the Tate Modern to see the Joan Miro exhibit, headed to the Courtauld Gallery to see the Toulouse Lautrec exhibit and then to Regents Park for some reading/to enjoy the mid-80s weather. Regents Park was packed!! After a few hours there I came back to my hotel, freshened up, and headed to dinner at Wagamama on High Street Kensington with Dina. While walking to dinner I passed Hyde Park and it was also crowded because of the nice weather. Later that night Katy and I took a run in Hyde Park to further enjoy the great weather. It was great to go for a run here - we did about 2.5 miles and it was very different than back home. With better weather, no humidity and flat land I felt great!

 V&A logo

 Front Entrance of the V&A

Bridge in Hyde Park

Today was my last day at the V&A and I spent most of it conducting interviews for my thesis. My time at the V&A has been great and I feel so lucky to have worked with the curators there. Tomorrow is my flight out but I'll be sure to keep writing on the blog! I'm headed to North Virginia/Washington DC on Friday so that'll be another trip to write about!

Past Two Days

The V&A

Hello again! Just thought I'd give an update on the last two days here in London.

Yesterday I went into work a little late as Sonnet had a meeting in the morning. I ended up heading out once I got to the V&A to deliver a dress (which isn't owned by the museum yet) to a Fashion PR company called Relative MO in Shoreditch so a celebrity (they wouldn't tell us who!) could wear it to the Serpentine Gallery event this upcoming Tuesday. According to Sonnet the event is the biggest social event of the year so I'll be interested to see who ended up wearing it! I then got lunch at Pret-A-Manger, a quick sandwich spot which has a shop in South Kensington, then headed back to the offices to meet Sonnet. After lunch we went to the Blythe House, which is the off-site storage for the V&A and a few other museums. At the Blythe House we fixed a few problems with some garments. Around 3:30 I headed back to South Kensington and spent some time at the V&A Reading Rooms which was really nice. I relaxed a little with my latte, biscuits and a few books. I then headed to Kings Road to do some shopping - this is where Kate Middleton has been spotted shopping. I went into all the British stores I wanted to - LK Bennett, Jigsaw, Reiss, Orla Kiely - and even went into the Anthropologie. I ended up going back to Anthropologie today to buy a purse (which isn't available in the US - I had them check...) by a British brand called Mimi. After shopping on Kings Road I met a few friends for dinner at our local Nandos - they have unlimited refills which is a big draw for Americans! After Nandos we headed to the Stanhope Arms for a drink and I was home by 10:30 which was nice since I went into work earlier this morning.

V&A Reading Rooms

Will & Kate hotspot in South Kensington

Anthropologie on Kings Road

Today I spent some time at work even though Sonnet wasn't in. Because I've ended up cutting my trip short because I got my interviews completed, I felt like I needed to come in and do some work for Sonnet even though she wasn't present. I changed my flight and will be heading home this upcoming Tuesday - I'm excited to go home but wishing I had a bit more time to do everything I wanted! Hopefully I'll be coming again next year though!

After work I went and bought the purse from Anthropologie, came back to my flat to change and relax for a bit, and then headed out to Westminster/Houses of Parliament/Trafalgar Square. I always like seeing the big monuments when I'm here because they're so beautiful. I ended up going back to the National Gallery because I didn't get to see everything I wanted to when I was there two days ago. I ended up coming home early because it started to rain so my plans to try to listen to the Killers concert in Hyde Park fell through. It's kind of nice to have more down-time tonight!

 Countdown to London Olympics

 The London Eye

 The London Eye and Big Ben

 Houses of Parliament

Big Ben

Tomorrow I'm headed to Cambridge for the day which I'm looking forward to since I've never been there! I'm trying to fit in as much London goodness as possible in my few remaining days!

Update

It's been a hectic few days and I'm just now getting a chance to sit down at a computer for more than 10 minutes! I got to London early Monday morning, made it safely to my flat, freshened up and headed out to meet a friend for lunch and shopping. We ended up going shopping on High Street Kensington - where I purchased a phone - and in Harrods which was a mad house! We then walked back towards my flat and had dinner at a local Italian restaurant. After dinner we had a drink at a local pub, the Stanhope Arms, and met another friend who's living nearby!

 St. Paul's Cathedral

View of St. Paul's from across the river over the Millennium Bridge

Tuesday I went over to St. Paul's and Tate Modern to enjoy the scenery - mainly the river. I then met up with my sister's friend Stephanie, her sister and Aunt and spent the day with them. It was really nice to see more familiar faces! We spent the day in Camden at the Camden Market, headed to Hampstead and have lunch then went to tour the Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath. It was nice to see things I haven't seen before. After the Kenwood House we split up for a bit, I came back to my flat and had dinner and then headed out again to meet Stephanie, her sister and Aunt for a Jack the Ripper tour. This is where things get exciting. I ended up meeting The Killers! They randomly ended up on our Jack the Ripper tour (The Killers...on a Jack the Ripper tour...haha) and by the end I had worked up the nerve to ask for a photograph - I'm so glad I did! I wanted one with the whole band but three of the members had scurried away to go to a pub so I got one with the lead singer, Brandon Flowers, and Dave Keuning (the lead guitarist).

Myself, Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning

Camden Market

 Camden Market

 The Kenwood House

The London Bridge

Today I headed into work at the V&A and spent some time catching up with Sonnet, viewing the current exhibits, and helping Sonnet with a cataloging project. After work I headed to Trafalgar Square to go to the National Gallery, which I love, with a friend. We only got to spend about an hour in the museum because they closed at 5:55pm. After the museum we went to dinner at Wagamama, an oriental restaurant, in Leicester Square, went on a brief walk through Leicester Square and Piccadilly, then had some ice cream at Haagan Daaz. Tomorrow I'll be at work again until 4/5pm then I'll be headed to the V&A Reading Rooms and dinner with a group of girls at Nando's!

So far the weather has been really nice, not too much rain which has been great. I'm loving the cooler weather (mid-60s)! Definitely not looking forward to going back to the high-90s.

Wedding Weekend

Last weekend one of my best friends McKinsey got married and I was a proud member of the bridal party. It was a beautiful weekend so I'll let the photos do the talking!

Rehearsal Dinner

The girls with the groom

The beautiful bride

Bridesmaids - Christie, Nora and Katie and I

On Sunday, I drove to Atlanta to stay with my friend Kristin before we headed to the Mumford & Sons concert at the Fox Theater. I was a little nervous about making the drive from Charlotte after a full weekend of wedding activities but I made it safely and got my second wind before Kristin and I headed to dinner at an Italian restaurant near the Fox, Baraonda, which was delicious. After taking our time (we didn't care too much about the opening acts) we headed to the Fox to take our seats in Row Z, which were pretty good! It was definitely worth the trip to see Mumford & Sons live - it had been a nearly year and a half quest so I'm glad I got to do it. The next day Kristin and I headed to Athens, Georgia to reminisce about our college days - it was great to be in Athens without school work to do! Last weekend was a time for celebration and fun and I'm so glad I got to spend it with those nearest to me. 

The Fox Theater

Mumford & Sons

Kristin and I at the concert

In about 48 hours I'll be boarding my plane to London and getting ready for the experience. I actually know two people, who I met at McKinsey's wedding, who will be on my flight so I'm looking forward to having friendly faces nearby!

Travel Reminders

The other day in the mail I received this beautiful paintings from my Nana. She's been an artist her entire life, and in her mid-70s, I'd say she's pretty good! I'm so thankful to have such an artistic person in my life, and it's been amazing to grow up surrounded by her work. I can't wait to cover the walls of my own home one day with all her beautiful artwork. 

This painting is really special to me because it's based off a photograph I took on my last day in London in 2007. On my last day, I spent a few hours in Regent's Park sitting on a bench reading the final Harry Potter book, and this was my view. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to spend it so peacefully. My Nana rarely does commissioned work so I'm very lucky to have this painting as a reminder of my first time abroad alone!

I'll be doing a big update soon on this past weekend as one of my best friends, McKinsey, got married and I traveled to Atlanta/Athens for a few days for the Mumford & Sons concert (which I'm also trying to go to in London!) and some quality time with my friend Kristin!