Last day in London.

Please return to:

London this time around has been much less touristy and yet just as fun as previous trips. I have been staying with friends in North London and haven't done one of the typical things to do in London until today. Last time I was here I made sure to go see Big Ben, take pictures in a phone booth, go to the Cathedrals and all of that. This time I have been grocery shopping, out dancing, meeting up for tea and coffee and shopping for supplies. And yet it has been plenty of fun on it's own. The first night I got here I went out with Louise and the housemates for her 20th birthday and had a surefire way to get home if anything were to happen ^. We went out to Roxy night club and took a London cab back. Not too many photos this time around but I did grab a few.

I was able to meet up with a friend from San Diego State on her last day in town. Marta was a transfer student who spent her year abroad in San Diego. She left for Poland the next day so I was very glad to have had the chance to catch up.

 Lastly, today I got cheap student tickets for 10 pounds to go see "Singin' in the Rain," one of my favorite musicals from when I was a child. The seats were so high up they felt like the original nosebleeds. It was very funny hearing these English actors American accents from the twenties. They almost put it on too much and the women all sounded very nasally. They even gave Lina Lamont a song which was particularly painful to listen to but it was quite a fun way to spend my last day in London. For now.

Inside the Palace Theater (Nosebleed view)

The roof (which I was quite close to)

London, Lewes, New Haven, Brighton

Time to work backwards. It's been a while since my last post and I have done so much but have had little ability to write about it. So I am going to work backwards, from today the 22nd to last week. I am currently sitting in a house in London staying with a friend from home who is studying fashion photography in London. I arrived on a train from Brighton around one and our friend Louise came to pick me up. After I had dropped my stuff off we went shopping at Harrods and TopShop, well Lizzie went shopping and I went people watching. Harrods was such a odd experience, it was very similar to Sacs fifth in New York but it had many more people to watch. Prior to this trip I made a budget and did not factor in money for the occasional swimsuit I just had to have.... I may have to readjust my budget...

The day before I was back in Brighton staying with fellow nanny Lucy (lots of L's...) who wanted to show me the best view in Brighton. We hopped in the car and drove up to the Devils Dyke and the video below show give a good representation of what that was like...

Working backwards still, I found myself going along with Gaby on a train to Lewes, a small town with goats, sheep, pubs, and swimming pools older than my state. We met up with Gaby's high school mate Chloe who showed us around her home town. We started off by going swimming in a pool built 200 years ago, apparently the oldest pool in the country where we convinced the two life guards to take pity on me and give  me the local deal. 

We took plenty of pictures and it felt so good to just swim again and get some proper exercise. We left the pool in shambles and went up to the local pub to get a half pint and watch all the old locals who regularly come in for an afternoon pint. Chloe then took us through town to grab a meal deal and have a picnic in this beautiful old park and grab a tea. 

We came home from Lewes and skyped with Corinne about going to Bordeaux with the family in July. Which is a prospect that I am very excited about!

Going back further....

The day before I went on a run/walk throughout Brighton, sent a few postcards and hung out on the beach. I met up with Gaby and Chloe and we went over to the Seven Sisters which is just like the White Cliffs of Dover but closer to Brighton. 

Back in Brighton! As this technically is the first post on a new blog I will give a slight recap. My name is Mo, it's short for Monica, I blog about my travels mostly through photos and recaps of my adventures. It's been nine months since I left my "second home" of Paris, France and have returned for a short visit with old friends.

I have been staying with one of my dearest friends in Cardiff, Wales. After the nicest transcontinental flight I have ever been on I hopped on a coach and took a sleepy two hour bus ride to meet up with Gaby. We spent the entire night catching up and talking about our schools and our lives and the next few days we spent visiting castles, going clubbing at indie bars, taking boat rides into town and having Gaby try red velvet cake for the first time. 

Cardiff is also where they film Torchwood, an odd spin off from Doctor Who. Not too shabby.

Futhermore, if you would like to see photos or blog posts from my year in Paris:

http://moaupair.blogspot.co.uk/