Cambridge, my Future Home?

On Wednesday we took a relaxing trip to Cambridge. Only about a 30 minute drive we parked at a park and ride and took the bus into town. There just so happened to be a market going on when we got there, so there were many booths set up with various goodies to purchase. We walked through the booths and found a Thai food place to pick up some food. Like I said before, it must be custom to "cut in line" as this happened once again to me. Like before, I patiently waited for the rude man to place his order until it was "my turn". After a quick lunch, and a brief attack by bees, we made our way into the town.

We walked down a little back ally where there was a sign written on the wall that said 'To River'. We followed the narrow road in between very tall, ancient buildings until we reached Kings College as well as Clare College, both apart of University of Cambridge. Kings College is absolutely huge and gorgeous, however we opted going through this college as it was a little to much money to get in. Rather, we went through Clare College which was only 2 Pounds per person.

We walked into a beautiful court yard and proceeded to the gardens. As we made our way through, we came to a bridge where people were able to get gondola rides. The river looked packed as boat after boat floated by. However, the romantic appeal was lost when a group of tourists from China floated by yelling and screaming. Unaware of British custom of soft spoken words and the fact that they were actually at a functioning college, it quickly became quite irritating. However, we followed a garden path to the back of the college and found the most beautiful flowers and waterfalls. The perfect place to "Zen out".

After the tour of Clare College we continued our walk through the city. Most buildings on the roads seem to be the dorms for the students while the court yards lay behind them. The further we walked the more colleges we passed, each for a specific trait or department. Quite the college town. Although, because it is University of Cambridge, it is very unlike the college towns we would find in the states. Cambridge is all business!

By the end of the day, the only souvenir that was a must for me, was a University of Cambridge sweater. As I would give anything to one day be able to attend or teach at either Cambridge or Oxford, it would have been shameful to not be willing to represent!

This city is ancient and beautiful and close together. Not nearly as busy as London, as I actually felt comfortable crossing the streets because throughout the who day, maybe 3 cars passed me. Walkers and bikers could be seen at every angle. Maybe one day, we will see myself sitting in one of the college court yards studying for my next class. We can only hope.

As for the next 3 days, we are taking a weekend trip to see Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford and Warwick. Posts may be limited as I am unsure of internet access that will be available. But once I am able, you will hear and see all about it!

A few Videos From the Trip so far

The password for all of the videos is: London

I finally landed and was in the car on the way to Rachelle's house:

Car Ride Home, Finally! from Megan on Vimeo.

This was when we got off the tube and were eating lunch in Trafalgar Square:

Trafalgar Square lunch from Megan on Vimeo.

This was when we were on our way to Big Ben and there was some guards on horses. You will notice that he yells at someone who is video recording him. He must not have seen me, which is probably a good thing because more tears would have poured out! These guards are pretty serious no matter how young they look:

London Guard from Megan on Vimeo.

It was the end of the day, after dinner we did a little shopping and were walking around Piccadilly Circus:

Piccadilly Circus from Megan on Vimeo.

All of London... In One Day!

Early Tuesday morning I was woken up to being a long, exciting day of London. We wanted to get an early start so we could see as much as possible in just one day.

We drove into Epping to park and take the tube (subway) into London. An all day pass is 7.50 Pounds, which was well worth the money. As we sat on the first stop on the tube it was fairly empty and relaxing. We took off and made about 15 other stops until we finally arrived at ours which brought us into the heart of London. Each stop on the tube we made, it got fuller and less relaxing. However, once we arrived, the fun began.

We stopped at a little bakery and got some sandwiches and made our way to Trafalgar Square. Once we arrived, there were waterfalls, extremely tall monuments and in the distance we could see Big Ben. After lunch on the stairs, we walked in the center and let the nearly 2 year old of the group run around and chase the birds. Once we finished taking typical touristy pictures, we proceeded to Parliament to see Big Ben.

Crowds of people pushed and cut you off as you casually walked on the sidewalk. You soon realized, you couldn't be so casual and relaxed. I found myself constantly looking at the street ground before we crossed to find out which way to look for on coming cars. Before every crosswalk it is written on the street 'Look Left' or 'Look Right'. I would have been lost without those signs.

We walked all around London and hit up all the major sites such as Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, and of course Buckingham Palace. Learning all about the type of people British folks really are as we jumped from location to location.

I learned one very important thing when I stood in line to buy a cup of coffee. Please make sure you stand literally on top of the person in front of you so that the people behind you know that you are really the next one in line. However, even invading other peoples bubbles still isn't enough of a sign to show that you are the next one in line. A woman came and slid right in front of me to order her drink, just like we used to do in middle school. However, I refrained from opening my mouth and getting angry. Instead I let her order and waited even longer. I got my coffee and all was well again. This "cutting in line" is something fairly typical in England. Unless you are pushy and step forward, people will step forward for you.

At the end of the day we ate at a pizza place called Pizza Express. The service was slow, but this again is a typical custom, I believe, in most European countries. They were in no rush to get us out of there. The pizza is thin and very large, thin enough that a whole pizza is for only one person. I would have to say this was one of the best pizza's I've had. To pay with your visa they bring a portable card swiper to your table, give you the copy to write the tip in, and stand there waiting for you to add the tip. I guess I'm okay with that, as they give you the final, total receipt so you know they took the correct amount off your card.

All in all it took us about 8 hours to see all the sites. Although we didn't actually enter any of the buildings (by choice), which would have made the day much longer, it was amazing to see the outside of just about everything there is to see in London. It is one of the busiest cities I've ever been too. Business men and women speed walking past all the tourists in full 3 piece suites and the women in heals. It's just another day for them. But for myself and all the other tourists, it was a day full of memories I will never forget.

The worst is over... Hopefully

I guess at some point in every person's life there comes a time to say "that was the flight from Hell". I never thought though that such a statement would be coming from my mouth at such a young age. All started well when we left Phoenix and took off for Philadelphia. Bright, excited smiles filled the seats of the plane. I was however a little disappointed when I found that my seat was directly next to the "the lou" but nothing could get me down, or so I thought.

After four and a half hours, the pilot chimes in and begins rambling. I let my headphones continue playing as I ignorantly assumed he was announcing we would be landing soon. I did however turn it down as he continued to blab. Turned out, there was bad news. I missed the reason why, but we were unable to land in Philly, so we were circling around until we were able to land. The problem was that we did not have enough gas to circle for much longer. It was a possibility that we would have to land in Baltimore and fill up with fuel, if we couldn't land in the next 20 minutes. Well turn possibility into most definitely. Fuel ran low, so we headed to Baltimore. As we landed and sat to wait to take off, angry people walked and ran up and down the isle. Most decided to gather around the lou, which forget not, is right next to me.

Finally, after shouting a few angry words to annoying bystanders, we were filled up and ready to take off, again. We were in the air at 9:30pm for a 30 minute flight, and my next flight was scheduled to leave at 10:40pm. My anxiety was at an all time high, and most people around me knew it. However, once we landed, I ran off the plane and asked a woman working behind the counter where my gate was and how to get there. Mind you, the Philadelphia airport is ridiculously enormous. Two very large terminals away, I began my hike.

I met a girl who was on her way back home to The Netherlands and she asked that I stay with her because she had missed her flight and didn't know what to do. Maybe a couple years younger than me, she was scared to death. Me being the nice girl I am, took on the task of helping her to get on my same flight. Half way to our gate, she frantically says "I forgot I have to go to baggage claim to get my bags!" I proceeded to explain that I didn't have the time to help her with that. She begged me not to leave her, so I decided to at least take her to baggage claim. We walked down the baggage claim isle and I stopped next to a very large, very mean looking security guard and yelled out to her that I could not go on any further. She came back and asked why. I started to walk back up the hall and explained to her that I needed to get to my gate. Mr. Scary security guard did not approve this move of mine. He told me I could not go back. I explained that I had a flight to catch and specifically stopped and stood next to him so that he knew I was not going anywhere, or was not a terrorist! After 5 unsuccessful minutes of begging him to just let me walk back, he got angry and called extra security to come and get rid of me. I burst into tears and ran into baggage claim yelling "I don't even know where to go!!" I was forced to go all the way back through security. 20 minutes later, I begin to make my way back to the gate, again. If anything was learned, it was not to help random, scared people. I'm sorry, but I wont be doing it again.

As I arrive to my gate I was informed that my flight was delayed and now expected to take off after MIDNIGHT. All the stress and darting through the airport for nothing. Two very long, very emotional hours later they make the announcement that we could board.

I began to feel good that all the worries were over and that I was really on my way to England. My ticket was scanned, and the good feelings were gone. The man told me to go to a different women behind the counter to fix my ticket. Fix my ticket?!!!? Well what in the world is wrong with it? Can something else really possibly go wrong!! Yes, it can, and it did. I was informed that when I checked in online my seat did not save. Resulting in it being sold to someone else. Meaning, I'm seatless. More tears, more anger, more stress. In the end, I still got a seat, and an isle seat like I wanted. God decided to be on my side, for once. However, when I asked if there was any compensation that could be done for this, I was told "Your compensation is that we are getting you out there." You be the judge of how to react to that. Mine? I walked away.

On the bright side, my first meal of the day and some sleeping pills later, I was passed out. When I awoke, I heard the pilot announce "We are scheduled to land in approximately 20 min" Wow, this was great news!

I arrived, and my bags were of the first few to come out. I made my way out of the airport and into a new culture. I have arrived, finally.

Better Early than a Missed Flight

Pre-flight gitters are worse than labor pains. Figuring out if you have everything packed, making sure your bags weigh less than the max allowed, double checking, then tripple checking the house is in order before you abandon it for a month. And of course if you're me, downloading last minute music on your ipod for a 16 hour travel extravaganza. After completing last minute shopping and another $80.00 blown, my night finally ended at 2AM.

Six and a half hours later my alarm screams and I realize, there's no turning back. Sky Harbor Airport here I come! After backwashing the pool because of a should-have-been predictable storm last night, I am finally able to sit down and wipe the sweat off my face. Is another shower required? Not if you're going to Europe. Time to adjust.

The doorbell rings with my ride to the airport. After an entertaining drive with my hilarious family we successfully arrive to US Airways terminal 4. I was very please to discover that no fee was required for my bags. Wasn't it a new rule that you have to pay for all luggage? I guess when you're as sweet and good looking as me, all unnecessary fees are waived. A breeze through security, a few grumpy guards avoided and I have successfully arrived at my gate. Now the wait.

Is it rude to sit at your gate and talk on your phone? I know I've done it, and I probably will continue to do it. Maybe it's my security blanket as I prepare myself for the thought that this huge aircraft could plumage into a sea of no return. But alas, I brave myself for all nightmarish thoughts, and sit patiently, silently, and excitedly.

Next stop, Philly.