sherlock

yesterday was sherlock day! now if you know me, i have a little obsession with the new bbc sherlock. is it b/c its sherlock holmes? no. its b/c i love benedict cumberbatch as sherlock. but nonetheless - we had to go to baker st!

it was pretty cool. and to finish off our day, we watched an episode of sherlock with trevor and clare! i took a pic of benedict on the tv screen but i forgot my cord to download it off my phone. so you will have to do without for now. bummer for you! :)

we traveled all day today by train and ferry. made it to ireland. we are staying in dublin for a few nights. so far its been a bit of a culture shock. we went from staying with the amazing trevor and clare, where we came home every day to a nice flat where we felt at home. now we are in a loud, crowded hostel full of mostly college kids from around the world. hayley is probably doing better with it than i am. my introvert is screaming right now - so is my 38 yr old self. i am not in college. that feels so very evident right now. but tomorrow is a new day! excited to see things in the light of day!

a proper weekend

hayley and i had a proper weekend. as i mentioned in my last post, it started out on friday night with proper beer and proper football. i am happy to report that england won the match against montenegro 4-1. God save the queen! side note: the american song "my country tis of thee" is to the same tune as "God save the queen" so we didn't get rid of everything british apparently. and what the heck does my country tis of thee mean anyway?

proper beer - i only tasted them. i don't like beer. 

on saturday we had a proper jaunt to london with our proper londoner friends, trevor and clare. hayley and i went into town early to see a few more things and they met us later. we walked the london bridge, saw shakespeare's globe theater and the tate modern art gallery. when we met up with t & c we walked along the south bank of the thames river. they also took us to covent garden - such a fun area of london!!! and we went for proper burgers at byron's hamburgers. the waiter told me "well done!" when i said something with a british accent. i'm just going to receive that as a gift! :)

proper london bridge

proper london skyline

proper london skyline at night

proper british wedding!!! we came around a corner and there they were! check out the hats! :)

proper burgers! instead of fries we got "skin on chips" so much cooler!

on sunday we went to church with t & c. they go to church at a church of england church - so proper church! :) it was a wonderful service - talked about psalm 42 and what do we do with the longings of our hearts. after they took us on a drive out to the countryside. so beautiful. we stopped at a proper pub and had a sunday afternoon pub lunch. roasted meat, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, yorkshire puddings. yum!!! there were even sheep in the field across the street! :)

proper pub entrance - notice the sheep on the hill in the background

trevor, clare and i infront of our proper pub

clare made hayley and i honorary proper british people on sunday. basically my life is complete now. 

mind the gap

this is one of my fav british things. we hear it all day long as we ride on the tube. its much more proper than us english. we would say "hey - look out for that big hole" "mind the gap" sounds better.

it is raining in london. we got a bit wet today. still trying to warm up. but all of the proper british tea is helping with that.

went to the tower of london and saw the crown jewels. impressive.

we saw the ravens at the tower. the superstition says that if the ravens ever leave the tower of london that the crown will fall and britain with it. i am happy to report that all is still well with the crown and britain. since they clip the wings of the ravens they probably don't have to worry too much.

the tower bridge is amazing.

then there is big ben. hello big ben! and the london eye. and a red double decker bus!

and the westminster abbey.

we also saw st. paul's cathedral. i didn't take any pics though. we walked around london city proper which is all these small side streets with pubs and small shops.

and tonight is going to be epic! we are watching proper football! for you crazy people on the other side of the big lake - that would be soccer. england is playing montenegro. go england! God save the queen! we are also drinking proper beer. so much properness - love it!!

when in london do as the londoners do

guess who is here!!!!!

hayley got here yesterday morning. i got up before the crack of dawn and rode the tube out to the airport to get her. i pretended that i was a londoner going to work. i would have fit in except i was wearing my chacos. it gave me away. that and my all around americanness. so great to have her here!!!

we spent yesterday just chillin' in my friends' flat. that is an apartment in case you don't know your british english. we are working on our vocab while here. rubbish instead of trash. trousers - not pants! that is an important one - b/c pants are underwear here. :) brilliant! cheers! "do you fancy" instead of "would you like". crisps not chips. chips not french fries. now if we could just get the accent down! we did venture across the street to get some proper fish and chips. yum!!

today we headed into the city. london is fantastic! we road the tube in and got off at piccadilly circus station. you come out from underground and into a different world! its amazing! we walked over to trafalgar square.

big ben from trafalgar square

we toured the national gallery. so much beautiful art. my favorites were the paintings by monet and cezanne. i like the impressionists apparently.

the national gallery

then we went to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!! IN LONDON.

it was SO good. phantom. in london. i wanted to break out in song on the tube on the way home - but hayley wasn't so keen on that idea. i don't understand why? :)

tomorrow we are going on another adventure into the city. haven't decided where yet - but that is the beauty of it. we are on holiday!!!!! :)

back in the homeland

okay so i'm not really from london - but i wish! b/c a lot of my favorite people live here. benedict. adele. william. kate. george. the queen. i am like 1/16 english.

my two fav british people tho are trevor and clare! and i actually know them. :) (i promise a pic soon!) trev came and got me at the airport today. i suppose its just like going to dia to pick someone up - but when you drive on the other side of the road AND the other side of the car somehow that seems like a bigger deal.

speaking of being on the other side...so i go to get in the car and trev says, "um liz - you need to get in the other side." ha!!! rookie mistake! come on liz! trev was gracious and only laughed at me a little bit.

its great to be here. in the morning hayley greeno comes!!! whoot whoot!!!

until another day - cheers!!!

ps. i've already had 3 cups of proper english tea. i'm in heaven!