Warm weather

After suffering through 3 or 4 weeks of high of 67 degree weather, the temperatures at hitting 80 F this week. Even though it's not quite as warm as a Cincinnati summer, I am excited to feel a little bit closer. Silly to say, but that's one thing I regret about skipping off to London for the summer-- is missing the summer weather I adore. Over in London, it's always springtime/fall. And usually raining. How unfortunate.

So.. glad I just updated to share my thoughts on the local weather.

Mamma Mia-- oh we CAN resist you......

The following is a short bit of my reviewing techniques I have learned in my Reporting the Arts class. It's not a complete review at all. We had to go see the movie for class discusion.

Mamma mia... Oh I can let you go..

The lyrics, the musical, the dancing, but then.. there was the movie.

Mamma Mia follows Sophie, the girl who has been raised 20 years without a father. Then she finds out she may have 3 possible fathers. It's a comedy, it's supposed to be in Greece, and it has a lot of substantial actors.

But they weren't in this film.

With an all star cast like Meryl Streep, Pierce Bronsnan, and Colin Firth you would expect great things from this musical made film. The trouble was these actors had to act as if they were in musical theatre. They were expected to sing, which was their biggest flaw. Bronsnan needs to stick to playing James Bond. His voice made me cringe instantly. Then made me as well as the rest of the audience hysterically laugh. It was one of those moments where we were laughing at them, not with them.

Meryl Streep may be the only plus to the show-- errr film. She can play any part. She can be the villain like in Devil Wears Prada or the fun, spontaneous mother as she is in Mamma Mia. She was made to play any role thrown at her. Her vocal talents are much better than any other actor within the film.

The problem with the film was that it was over the top-- it was over dramatized. It had to be, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

If you want to laugh the entire 1 hour and 49 minutes, go see Mamma Mia. But if you're a true Mamma Mia fan and don't want to be offended, I would skip it and stick with the musical.

there's no place like London..

London isn't always alive. Maybe in Picadilly Circus or Leicester Square- where the shows are and the dance clubs always have people coming in til the early hours. It's impossible to get a cab at 2 in the morning. It's not New York City life. You don't feel quite as safe walking home in the middle of the night.

It's comparable to New York on some levels. The West End here is the booming theatre district like New York's broadway. You watch a different show any night of the week. London's streets are not gridlike, which makes New York easy. But the streets make London interesting. They're historical. Each street tells a different story. In some ways, it's like New York. The beggars, street vendors, parks, the river, the bridges, and the markets.. It's a city thing. It's the feeling of being crowded at Oxford Circus in London, much like Herald's Square. It's so crowded, you can't push through the lost tourists. You can't even think about going in a popular story without being bombarded by people that push and shove you and rarely say excuse me. That's when it feels like New York. There's an abundance of people crammed together on an island.

Oh but still there's no place like New York City.

But that's because London has its own attributes.

notting hill area

Bonjour Paris!

July 11-13 weekend

So we took the bus for 8 hours to Paris.. had to cross the English Channel on a Ferry as well. It was quite the experience... We met some interesting characters as well.

Let me tell you now. From the moment we arrived in Paris, it was love at first sight. I am in love with the atmosphere and the scenery and everything.. And we saw everything there was to see in those 3 days. We stayed near the Bastille, so that was the first sight, but also Champs Elysess, Arc de Triumph, Eiffel Tower, the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed, Galleries Lafayette, Luxenberg Gardens, Monte Marte, Moulin Rouge, Louvre- including the Mona Lisa, Museo deorsay, the Seine River, Notre Dome Cathedral, the Latin Quarter, and Paul-- the famous French bakery.

The French culture is so different. Here are some things I noticed: There isn't breakfast. It's espresso and a crossiant only. The French don't love Americans. Well at least the women don't. Cabbies will rip you off. Shopping is amazing. Taxes are high. Walking is amazing. The subways are the best here. Monte Marte is the best-- the best view of the city as well as the fact that it's coined as Old Paris. The people are friendly and lively. The exchange rate is much better here than in London.

It really has been the best time since I have been here. Everything was enjoyable. If I knew French, I would love to live there. It's just perfect.

Picture time:

Moulin Rouge!!
ballerinas by Degas
i love this river.
Liz modeling the Louvre map.
the streets by the cafe in the latin quarter
all of us at the Eiffel tower!
Woo!
Luxenberg Gardens
We tried ESCARGO!

view from Monte Marte
Us in front of the Louvre
the Mona Lisa.
In front of the Arch. -- similar to NYUs
Champs Elysess

boats on the Seine
Hanging out
Flatmates in front of the the Notre Dome
Megan & I- Louvre
Perfect views.

New Baby!

I am officially the aunt of five children now!

at 7:50 this morning (EST) Robyn and Brad's new son was born. Soloman Reign (I think but the phone died) Snyder.. weighing 5 pounds and 8 ounces.


Of course there are no pictures. Hopefully the family will send some.

Wish I could be there to see him!

The Photo Post: Bath & Stonehenge

Some friends and I at Stonehenge
Stonehenge from afar..
That's me .. in front of a Cathedral in Bath

Circles of Homes in Bath
Two of my flatmates Liz & Megan at the Roman Baths
The Baths.
Apparently that's Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice
the Jane Austen Museum & she lived here once..
In Bath, they seem to have the same pig theme at Cincinnati.
the streets of Bath, gorgeous
Statue telling people to drink Water instead

Regarding Robyn's Baby!

My sister Robyn is due any moment now. My mom just emailed me in the middle of the night to tell me that Robyn was having contractions. So it might be today! I'm so upset I won't be there. But I am excited to meet my new nephew in August.

Bonjour

I haven't posted more pictures yet I am sorry!
I went to Pygmalion tonight, it's the play version of My Fair Lady. It was interesting, but not that amazing.

TOMORROW we're taking a LONG bus to Paris. I AM SO EXCITED.

Unfortunately I don't speak French, but my flatmate Dana is a French Major. Thank God!

I Will have plenty of Pics and stuff when I return from PARIS :)

Love.

Rub a dub dub taking a BATH..

Sooo we went to bath && stonehenge today-- A long bus ride. It was a lot of fun though to bond with the Jlism kids.

I took a bunch of pictures, but I have to upload those still.

Bath was much more fun-- Jane Austen's hometown. We saw places she lived. Stonehenge was a bore. We did get caught in rain. The bus ride home took like 3 hours. I am basically spouting out random things about all this..

Anyway, I have a lot of work. We're booking a trip to Paris. And I lack sleep.

So cheerio mate.

It's not too easy to Blog afterall.

I am really struggling to Keep up here! London is just preoccupying all of my time. Occasionally I waste money and call people in the states, but that is rare and costly.

Being here is a freedom many people can't understand unless they have been out of the country on their own. It's a great opportunity I recommend. It's nice to be on my own and independent. I'm okay with walking around alone or with my new flatmates. I have made some great friends already. They're different from those at NYU, but just as equally cool.

I have been to two shows in the West End already because I have to review them for Reporting the Arts. They're a bit pricey. The first was "That Face" by Polly Stenham. It was interesting I suppose, but definitely not what I had hoped for. It's supposebly going to be a movie and perhaps come to the US so I can always say I have seen it London. The girl who wrote it actually when to school with someone in one of my classes, which is pretty cool as well.

The show I saw earlier today was an Opera- Candide, and it was amazing. Simply amazing. It's an English opera. It was modernized, which made it better. It had a lot of references to Americans, which the British woman beside me thought was hilarious. It really was good though. I recommend it.

Last night was the FOURTH OF JULY. It was awkward being here. We were red white and blue and acted like Americans. We went to Sticky Fingers- had a 22 pound (44 USD) 3 course meal- made of American food and bonded over 4th of july stories.. and well other high school stories. It was in Kensington, which is a really nice part of London. The stores are high class and the homes are as well. I want to head back.

We also went to Borough Market yesterday and tried samples of all of this English food: candy, jams, meat, drinks, fruits.. etc. One man was selling different types of Olives and when we tasted them he picked which one we should try based on our zodiac sign. Let's just say I hate Olives (And most other foods). The Jam was FABULOUS. I bought two jars of Strawberry & Vanilla, which may be a bit costly. Oh.. man have I spent massive amounts of money in only FOUR days.

I am going to Bath & Stonehenge tomorrow. I am pretty excited to see stuff outside of the city. I have a lot of work for my classes though, so I am a bit nervous about all of that. I definitely can't wait to see on a tour bus and read and write and listen to my Ipod.

I hope that was a good enough Update. And Pics. :) Of course there are MANY more..