Today I got lost in the big city world of fashion. I was graced with an afternoon of fabulous weather and one heck of a fabulous friend to have as my shopping partner in crime. We went to Abbey Road first and took the traditional, Beatles, “Abbey Road” picture. I had my doubts but it really did live up to my expectations of just feeling fabulous being there. We signed the wall in front of Abbey Road Studios, which was pretty incredible. My friend’s name is Lucy so she signed it Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds, which I thought was hilarious. We then went to Picadilly Circus which Lucy called the Times Square of London because it had the big, moving billboards like Times Square in New York City. It was a lot of fun and boy did we do a lot of shopping! We went into the second largest toy store in the world next to FAO Schwarts, I would say the name but I can’t recall. We had way too much fun in the toy store. We then proceeded to TopShop which is a dangerous store for me because it included everything I could ever want and for good prices (in pounds). I keep forgetting about this whole pound to dollar conversion price and according to some man we met on the street today, the dollar may even go down in value more tomorrow because tomorrow is the day for the U.S. to make a decision about the economy, we may all be greatly affected which was scary to hear, especially being over here I don’t have as much of an idea as what’s been going on in the news. We finished the day in Camden town and went to a Pub with Goblins in the name so you know it was pretty different. It was Halloween themed and had the best music that any pub has had so far that I’ve been to. They played my classic rock favorites: Led Zeppelin, Queen, they even played Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds which was so ironic because of what went on earlier in the day. Overall, I had a fantastic day and I hope this weather keeps up and I never have to use my umbrella while I’m here again (knocking on wood..).

This week was a very hectic week so far me.  I was running around like crazy and had a big weekend in Scotland ahead of me. In class, we had the chance to go to Wimbledon and I was amazed by it. The atmosphere was overwhelming, just to be in such a top notch well known place.  After that we got to go to Regents Park and it was beautiful.  Over all the day was one of the best days I have had in London.  The only bad thing about the day was I was feeling sick for most of it.  But when I got to the park I felt a little better because I was outside and it just was gorgeous!

The rest of my week was really boring and not too exciting.  I got to go on a ghost walk for my one other class which was cool, and then went to class all week.  My friends and I didn’t go out much either and I was happy about that. I’m trying to conserve as much money as possible.  However, when I went to Scotland this weekend I definitely blew a lot of money.  Yet, it was worth it because Scotland was the best time I have had on this trip.  The town was comfortable, and homey.  The people in the town were so friendly, a lot friendlier than Londoners.  Everywhere we went, we made friends and had a great time.  Some of the big things we did there were: climb Arthur’s seat, toured Edinburg castle, walked the town, toured Sir Walter Scott’s house, and went to the Abbey.  I am so happy I decided to go to Scotland and am anxious for next weekend to come when I am in Paris!

Overall, this week was great.  Being here keeps getting better and better every day that goes by.  I cannot believe we are half way done with this trip. I am a little homesick but I do not want to go back to PA. I wish I could bring my family here.  However, after my weekend trip, I am definitely considering applying to University of Edinburg for graduate school next year.

Besides the more walking I have been doing since I’ve been here compared to at home,  I hadn’t gotten to get a good work out in since I’d been here until Wednesday. It felt so good to get to work out and mix it up. The only thing that was sore for me the first couple of days was my feet so although I know was working more than my feet it’s nice to be able to feel my other muscles have been worked as well. I made a very good friend who lives only an hour away from my home town so I’m excited about that because I’ll be able to visit her a lot next year when we get back to the States. Also, she has a serious boyfriend like I do and we can bond over that rather than wanting to go out and meet boys here. I have been shopping for fun on my free time but I shop just for fun not to buy. I’ve been trying to been frugal with my money so I went to the grocery to get food that will last but I went a little overboard and have been a few times so I now have food that is starting to pile up and I haven’t eaten it so I’m not letting myself buy any more food until I finish what I have. My friend Heather and I tried meeting people at the British museum but we ended up at the National Art Gallery so we decided to stay and explore there because it started down pouring outside. My stay here so far has been good but I want to learn as much as I can while I’m here so I think the fashion frenzy culture shock has already hit me and is starting to leave and now I’m more open for some educational experience.