First post back in Canada!

The family & I
L to R:  Me, Georgina, Isabella, Jane, Chris and Francesca

As you can tell by the title I have forgotten to do a last post in England and for that I apologize! Plans and getting last minute things got the best of me so sorry once again for not doing a last post in England.

On the Sunday before I left the new Au Pair was there as well so as a welcome to her and as a goodbye to me we had a massive Roast Dinner with the family and some of the families friends that I had come to know over the year.

But now onto my first post being back in Canada!!!

There and Back Again: A Canadian's Tale by Allison Steven

What can I say? It's like I never left! Pretty much everything is the same as when I left over a year ago. I wasn't expecting everything to change dramatically but it's funny coming back and still knowing exactly where everything is - well almost everything.

This morning I had to call my mom on her cell phone because I had forgotten where the tea bags were... yes I did that, no judging please.

Saw a rainbow while leaving Iceland!

In the matter of four full days since I've arrived home I have unpacked everything, reorganized my room, attempted to catch up on my sleep and also had an interview for the daycare in town (which I use to work at as a call-in before leaving to go to England.) And as of today I am a full-time employee of the daycare and once I get my full schedule I will be running my own School Age Class for an After School Program! And I also start on Monday, five days off with no work is long enough for me!

Everything will come together in time but for now I need to catch up on my sleep!

This will be my last post on my blog and I would like to thank everyone who read it while I was away. It was the easiest way of staying in contact with you all so I hope that the blog provided a bit of what I experienced while I was away.

Thank you all once again!!!

Second Last England Post

Well I'm back right where I started...in the "Blue Room" (the guest room of the house). It's been a bittersweet last two weeks and I just can't believe that in 4 days I will be on my way home. It's all becoming real now and it's sad but also exciting. Now that's an odd sentence but it's true.

It's sad because obviously I have been here for more than a year, have a relationship with the family, packing everything up and shipping out and leaving my friends behind.

It's exciting because obviously I missed Canada, my family and friends and will get to see them when I get back. I'm excited to see what each day brings me and what new adventures I will be onto next.

This past week has been hectic thats for sure! Cleaning up the new room for the new au pair, trying to pack up a year and a bit of my life into two large suitcases and a carry on and having one last week with the girls before I finished being their Au Pair.

We played lots of card games, went swimming, played Monopoly! and pretended we were Harry Potter characters and battled it out with wand duels. The games these kids come up with I tell ya. Overall it has been a great last week to have with them and they have so many things coming up once I'm gone that they said they will keep me updated with emails and iMessage.

I want to say thank you to everyone who has been following along with the blog, those who have seen my articles in the newspaper and those who have been hearing about me from my family and friends.

I have one more post to do before I leave, which I will do Monday night before going to bed to document my last weekend in England and then hope to do one once I'm settled in back in Canada.

A Guest and Counting Down The Days!

So literally the day after I get back from my eleven day holiday my sister comes on her holiday! No rest for the wicked as they say. The next five days were jammed packed with showing her around and even me going to new places.

On Wednesday (13th) Caitlin and I made our way into London for me to show her around to all of my favourite places. We started out by going to the fake Baker Street (where they actually film the new "Sherlock") and took pictures by the 221b apartment and "Speedy's" cafe. Next we headed over to King's Cross Station so that Caitlin could get her photo with the trolley and Platform 9 & 3/4, sadly the line up was over 45mins-one hour long of a wait so we just had a quick look and went on our way. Lots of walking that day but we made out way over to Piccadilly Circus and all around the area, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Westminister Abbey and the Parliament buildings. We finished off the day with seeing "Matilda the Musical!" (my second time but I knew that she would love it and I really wanted to see it again.)

On the Thursday (14th) we went to the Tower of London and explored that area all day. Currently at the Tower they are filling the moats with ceramic poppies to represent all of the fallen soldiers from WW1. 

On the Friday (15th) we made our way to Watford to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. I went last October with some friends but wanted to go again and since Caitlin loves Harry Potter I thought she'd enjoy herself as well. It wasn't as busy as the last time I went so I actually got to enjoy it more and take better photos.

On the Saturday (16th) we went to Windsor Castle for the entire day. We were lucky to have good weather and did lots of walking around and inside the castle. It's so beautiful there, I couldn't imagine living in a castle, way to big for me. Maybe if I didn't have to clean it I'd reconsider. 

On the Sunday (17th) Caitlin and I did our own separate activities, she went to Buckingham Palace and the surrounding area and I went on my Downton Abbey tour. On the way to the village where they film some of the shows we got to watch some of the first season episodes, since being back home I have continued re-watching the show and am now starting season three. The village scenes all take place within a one km stretch of the village. After the village we went to Highclere Castle, which I was so excited about. The castle is just amazing and the rooms are a lot smaller than what they appear to be on TV.

The last couple of days when Caitlin was here I was with the girls. Now I currently have about a week left until I am back in Canada. Plans that I have until then include Notting Hill Carnival, packing, spending time with the girls, more packing, cleaning up my room and having one last weekend in London. 

I have been so grateful for the amount of places I have gotten to see and the amount of activities I have gotten to do since arriving in England last August. 

It has truly been an amazing adventure and would not change any of it for the world! I have been through a lot since being over here but it has only made me stronger and a better person.

I will miss my host family but may excited to see my family when I get back. Mom remember to bring the tissues to the airport.  

:)

Europe Express!

Being able to travel to France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium all within 11days...how could I say no?

First off I need to say that Topdeck Travel is an amazing group to book with! My tour guide, Alex, was amazing! She showed us so many neat and interesting places in all of the countries we went to. Would not have seen half of the stuff that I did if it were not for this trip so if you are in need of a Europe fix then I suggest this trip.

Right, let's get onto it!

PARIS

Day one started in London as we made our way to Paris. No traffic thank goodness, unlike last time I went to Paris. A funny comment I got while going through border patrol was that the man checking my passport told me he knew the Sarnia Sting... was not expecting that! We got to the hostel in the afternoon and had dinner with the entire group, our lovely chefs brought out this amazing dish called...Escargot! Yes I ate a snail and yes I actually did quite like it. Now if I were asked to eat another one I would say "No thanks I've already tried this."

Day Two we got to explore the city! Started by driving by the Moulin Rouge! (another thing off the bucket list) and then once dropped off in town we got the whole day to explore. My friends (Gill, Naomi and Gurtej) made our way to the Louvre and thanks to some lovely backpackers Gill and I met the night before we got to use their Museum Pass and go into the Louvre for free! The "Mona Lisa" was a celebrity that day, or felt like it anyways - had to go on my tippy toes and hold my camera up just to see her, she is quite beautiful though. The rest of the day we walked along the River Seine and made our way to Notre Dame (another things off the bucket list) and looked around inside.

For dinner that night we got to try another thing France is known for...frog's legs! I ate them as well and liked them as well but yet again if asked I would say "No thanks I've tried it already."

An early morning as we then made out way onto.....

SWITZERLAND

Ten hours on the bus! Way too long but so worth it! While in Switzerland I finally got to see the thing I've been missing most, snow :) On our second day in Switzerland I took a train to "The Top of Europe" a mountain called Jungfrau. It took two hours to get there by an old fashion looking train but the sights along the way were just beautiful. When we got to the top we explore the station they have which included a "Lindt" chocolate store, food court, shopping area, ice palace, viewing deck and an area called "Snow Fun" where we got to go out onto the mountain and walk in the snow. Of course we had a snowball fight and made a snowman.

On the bus again we went too....

VENICE

Going from the cold to the heat was such a funny feeling. It was ridiculously hot in Venice when we went to explore. Our tour guide warned us that if you don't get lost in Venice then you are doing something wrong. So for once, since being away, I put away my map of an area I knew nothing about and made my way around the town.
We went on a gondola ride through all of the canals and got to see the city from another angle. Afterwards we walked around and explored the city for all of it's many wonders. Such a beautiful city with very elegant architecture, just amazing to see with my own eyes and just try to understand out people can come up with buildings that look like this.

MUNICH & RHINE VALLEY


We only stayed in Munich and Rhine Valley one night for each place but we did well with our time. In Munich we went to the Hofbrauhaus (pronounced Hopera House - by our tour guide anyways) for a stein and some German sausage, such a delicious meal!

In Rhine Valley we got to go on a river cruise and were shown demonstrations of Coco Clocks and Steins. Lots of green areas in Rhine Valley and filled with old houses, churches and castles!

AMSTERDAM & BURGG

Finally our last two stops! While in Amsterdam I got to go to the "Anne Frank Museum". My friends (Chloe, Drue and Steph) and I got up at 6am in order to be at the museum before it opened, and good thing we got there when we did! We arrived around 7:45am and it opened at 9am. By time it was 8am the line up was starting to curve around the block. Once we left the museum the line up was 3hours long and around two blocks and part of a building! If you are ever in Amsterdam and can make it to the "Anne Frank Museum" do it! Even if you do not know her story that well, it is still worth seeing and being in place where History took place.

That evening we had a farewell dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then off to the River Cruise!

On the last day of the tour we made an hour stop in Burgg to eat chocolate and have waffles.

Sorry these descriptions are not in very much detail but I have pointed out my favourite parts of the trip and shared my favourite photos from it. If you do have any questions or want to know more stories just comment on the post and I'll reply back.

Next post will be about my sister visiting, which she is at this very moment, and then a finally farewell England post the day before I return home - September 2nd. Hope you all enjoyed reading about my travels.

Paris, Swiss Alps, Venice, Germany, Amsterdam! Say What?!?!

 AHH!! That's how I feel at the moment, not that you can hear that sound come out of my mouth but it's a good AHH not a bad one. In exactly 2 days I will be on my away across Europe! I don't know how long I've been wanting to go to Europe but now that it's finally happening I am just too excited about it!

The last time I was in Paris, can't believe I can say that now, I didn't get a lot of time to actually explore the city so I'm really happy that on our second day there we get to go around Paris as much as we want. I'm really hoping to see "The Moulin Rouge" and Notre Dame - the only places I didn't see via the coach bus last time.

Just cannot believe it's here already! And that it will be August in 3 days AND that I will be home within a month and a couple of days.

The time here has just gone and left me hasn't it? Looking over my photos and posts from the past year it still surprises me of all the events and activities I've gotten myself into.

I am hoping to do at least two more blog posts before I leave London. One about my Europe Adventures and the other about my final two weeks in England. We'll see how that goes...

I know this is sort but now I am off to pack and get organized for Europe :)

More of London and More for Me to See

Well we're getting down to it! The girls finish school this Wednesday (July 23rd) and then we have a week off before we each go on our own holidays :) I'm so excited for Europe! I've made my packing list but now it's the hard part - the actually packing, but don't need to worry about that right now, that's for Sunday.

This weekend I went into London to hang out with my friend Lina and explore more of London. Last week I was looking at the photos I've taken since being here and realized that I hardly have any of me and places around London so Lina and I were tourists on the weekend, taking pictures of everything!

There was a 90% chance of rain that day, yeah for us, but luckily enough no rain but it was quite warm - thank goodness for the breeze. We ended up walking around London for a couple of hours exploring new places and taking many photos, it was a great day. We went to Tesco's and got some sandwiches and treats for dinner and had a picnic in Leicester Square. It wasn't very busy in the park but all around us outside of it was! I still cannot get over how busy London is, and if I haven't gotten use to it by now then I never will.

That evening Lina and I went to the Prince Charles Cinema to go to a  "Frozen - Sing Along" event. There were people dressed up, a lot of Elisa's and there was a Sven and someone dressed up as the Shopkeeper too, and we each got a party bag when we arrived. There were certain objects we had to use at different times during the movie and we could yelled or cheer at the screen as much as we wanted to. So for instance near the end of the movie we got to use a party popper to celebrate the party they have, we also had a grey balloon to act as the trolls and whenever they were on screen we had to put the balloon on our head and make it dance around. It was so cool!

I have had such an amazing experience since being here in London. I've gotten to do some many things on my Bucket List, and a bit more too. I'll make a full post of how I'm feeling about all of this before I come home but for now I'll leave it there.

I hope to do another blog post before I go to Europe - August 1st, but if not it will be after I get back on the 11th. Caitlin will be here on the 12th to the 21st and then it's only two weeks until I'm home :)
It's becoming all to real!!!

A Palace and A Chenoweth

 I just have to say with the weather we have been having I couldn't of asked for a better day to visit Kensington Palace and spend the afternoon in the park while I waited for the Kristin Chenoweth concert to start. It was a glorious day! Sunny, warm and just a bit of a breeze so I wasn't boiling all day, just prefect weather (for England anyways.)


Kensington Palace is so beautiful! The part where people can visit still has the same fixtures as it did when it was last used as a home, believe that was in the 1800's. The part where current Royals live is blocked off however, this part and the part where people can visit is not connected what so ever but it is on the same lot.

They have an exhibit on at the moment of some of the famous dresses/fashion items Queen Victoria and Princess Diana use to wear. They were so pretty up close, I think that would be the only thing I'd like about being royalty. It's to much pressure, but they sure do look amazing while under it.

Between here and Hampton Court I gotta say that the ceilings are so well detailed that all I really wanted to do was lie down and just stare up at them for the afternoon. Each room has different paintings, this one is located in the stairwell that leads up to the King's Apartments/Suite. Apparently some of the people in the painting were real life people (people who worked for the Royals).

Not only did they keep their ceilings in check but they were also big fans of their gardens. When Queen Anne and King George moved into the Palace (it wasn't a palace to begin with, just a structure) they paid around £20,000 to buy it, and after many years Queen Anne spent more than £11,000 on the garden along! She ended up passing away before it was completed sadly. This Palace is so full of history that I absolutely loved it! I learned so much when I was there, and glad I have a "Royal Historic Palaces Pass" so I can get into it for free and go as many times as I like.

In the evening I spent it with the lovely Kristin Chenoweth. I got to The Royal Albert Hall on time and when I went to go to my seat, which was located at the very top of the seating area and had a Restricted View because of the safety bars, I was told that I could be reseated if I wanted to. I was puzzled at first but then asked why and where I would be seated instead. Turns out that some of the stalls seats had not been filled and they wanted to fill them up first, so first come first serve got a better seat.

Where I was seated instead was just off to the right of the stage and maybe like 15ft away from the stage! The ticket I know had was more double, maybe more, than what I had originally paid for. Lucky me :)

She was purely amazing! I had really only known her for "Glee" and "Wicked" but throughout the night I got to see the other side of her, her upbringing and faith. Kristin is such a funny person and has a great sense of life. She put on a great show and I would pay to see her again!

Well we're down to it. I have one more free weekend before I go on my trip (I'm watching the girls the last weekend of July) and then BAM it's August and 30days until I come home! I will post another entry next Sunday or Monday and then that may be it for a while anyways. I will try to post one when I get back from my trip but my sister comes the next day so I guess we'll see how my sea legs are holding up.

TTFN!

Another Item Off The Bucket List!

Yet another early morning for me, 7am came to soon yesterday but the day was well worth it. I hate traveling on Sundays, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do. Anyhow, yesterday I went on the London Eye with my Canadian friend Lindsay. Totally forgot about my fear of heights but this actually wasn't to bad. The view was amazing! We had great weather as well, no rain, sunny and only a couple of clouds. 

Near the top I saw out all the way to Wembley Stadium, which is only like twenty minutes away from where I live. It really puts it into perspective of how close everything is in Central London. I was looking at the other places I always go to (Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Westminster Abbey) and to see how close everything actually is to one another is just crazy. 

Mind you it may take a bit to walk everywhere but from up there it didn't feel like it. If only it were that easy right?

After the London Eye, Lindsay and I walked along the Southbank up to Tower Bridge. I hadn't walked that area in a long time so it was nice to revisit it and enjoy it with someone who hadn't walked it before. I showed her all the little market areas around there and the shops that I like to go to, there is a Christmas store along there but sadly is closed on Sundays so we couldn't go inside. 

We walked across Tower Bridge and eventually made our way back to Leicester Square. For our special "Canada Day" Day out we decided to go to The Maple Leaf for lunch and was I in for a surprise! Nothing as fancy as meeting someone famous but lately I've been missing the little things at home and when we walked into the pub they had "Canadian Club" - a Canadian whisky - at the pub!!! I haven't had that in ages so of course Lindsay and I each got one to enjoy with our lunch.

Other than the little rain on and off in the afternoon it was a great day out. As of today, June 30th 2014, I have two months and two days left in England, I have one month and one day until my tour across Europe and I have one month and eighteen days until my Downton Abbey tour!!

July is going to be super busy so I bet the weeks will fly by. Lots of historic places to visit, a concert, Brighton Pier, the girls will be done school at the end of the month and traveling around with them before they head off to Italy for two weeks! Just craziness! 

No Rain on my Parade!

I love the West End! If I could I would spend all of my money just to go and see the musicals that preform in this area, thank goodness I didn't have to.

Yesterday in Trafalgar Square they had an event called "West End Live!". It was the 10th anniversary this year and at it they have the West End Musicals preform for 10-20minutes throughout the day. It started at 11am but I was there around 9:30am - so I could get a good spot in line and a decent sitting or standing spot inside. A lot of people had the same idea as I did, some where there since 7am from what I heard. I'm not sure of the exact number that were there but I want to say at least over a thousand, maybe even more.



Saturdays events ran from 11am-6pm and Sundays events run from 12pm-6pm (I didn't go today because I saw all that I wanted to see and I think about 7hours of walking around and just standing is enough for my legs this weekend.

Now I saw "No Rain on my Parade" because this is the first time in the ten years they have had this event that it didn't call for rain! Instead it was the hottest day London has seen in a year (it was about 25-28 degrees, which Canada wise it's hot hot, but not having a hot/warm day in over two weeks it hit me hard). Don't worry I drank lots of water and had sunscreen on...forgot to reapply it to my face however so I kind of look like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at the moment, but oh well lessoned learned - sunscreen is on my to buy list.

This event is amazing! I cannot believe the amount of support the West End gets, well I could I just didn't think it was THIS much!

I watched at least fourteen different musicals preform - and have added a new musical to my list that I really want to see. Out of the fourteen I saw "Wicked", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Phantom of the Opera", "Matilda the Musical", "Les Miserables", "Mamma Mia" and the new one that I really want to see now "Jersey Boys". The guys playing Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were AMAZING! There was an older lady standing beside me when they came on and she was just singing and dancing away to the songs they were singing.

Next weekend I will be joining my friend Lindsay to go on The London Eye! I'm very excited about that! And after the London Eye it'll be July and then holy moly it'll be August, WHAT?!?! Just crazy!

Family ♥

First thing first, I want to wish my Dad a "Happy Father's Day!" :) To a Dad who believes in me, encourages me to achieve my dreams, makes jokes that only make me laugh, and is usually the only one to laugh at mine because he honestly thinks they are funny. You have taught me so many great life lessons and are so supportive of the decision I make in my life. Happy Fathers Day Dad! I love you!

I want to dedicate this blog post to the most important people in my life, my family ♥ .

They are the entire reason behind who I am today. They keep me grounded and believe in me no matter what crazy ideas I come up with, like going to England for a year.

Being away from home for as long as I have I've realized that life doesn't just stop for the other people around me. Life events happen everyday, good or bad, and it can change so suddenly. Sorry folks but it's about to get real emotional in here. About two years ago now is when I signed up with Scotia Personnel, I had only told my immediate family and was planning on telling my Grandparents and Aunt & Uncle at Thanksgiving this news. Before dinner my Poppa and I were talking about nothing in particular when he mentioned about ideas he had for me when I completed school in April. He had said that when I apply for jobs with the school board it would be better if I knew French, that way I could apply for more positions and be higher on the qualifying list.

He also told me that he found a program that would be best for me and was just waiting on the information package to be sent to his house. After dinner I told the family of my plan on being an Au Pair in England after I graduated from my program. To be honest I can't quite remember Poppa's reaction, out of everyone I knew he's mattered the most because he usually knew what was best for me school and career wise - once I talked him into being passionate about working with children anyways.

I think it was a mixed reaction but he I am pretty sure he was excited about me traveling to England and would want to discuss it further. Unfortunately we never got to, but I think back on it now and it probably would have been many upon many mini history lessons, list upon lists of places to see and places to go while I was hear and him telling me he would want weekly reports of everything I did while over here.

This past year has added onto the pain of not being at home, my Grandpa past away as well as my Great Uncle. Before I left I got to speak with both of them and telling them all about my work and plans I had when getting here. My Grandpa thought I was crazy for wanting to look after three little girls and going to England but he was very happy for me. Grandma told me that he kept asking for updates every now and then when she saw him so I am thankful to her for telling him all about the activities I got myself into.

The thing about being away from home is that you forget that life can still happen, at least that's how I personally find it. I have had so many wonderful experiences here that I would not change it for the world. Being away has made me grow up and realize that no matter where I am or what I am doing my family is still there for me through thick and thin. They support me and care for me just as much, and maybe even a bit more, since being over here.

Sorry for the sappy/sad post but I truly appreciate everything my family has done for me. I am excited to go home and see everyone but right now I am in the bittersweet stage of it. I have done a lot with the time I have had here and if possible would only change one thing - more traveling outside of London. I know I have more than two months left here but they are jammed packed with more traveling, concerts and events that will come and go just like that.

When I get home it will be a new adventure even, and I am happy to see where it will take me then.

So once again, thank you to my extremely amazing family (Mom, Dad, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents) for being so supportive of me. I love you all!

'Cause I've got a Golden Ticket!

What can I say, I love the theatre! It's the greatest place to go to get your mind off of the problems and little things in your life that are bugging you and just absorb the story and the set hundreds of people have worked on. Just amazing!

Yesterday I saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with my friend Lindsay. Had a giggle because the theatre is on Drury Lane (Do you know the Muffin Man?) but anywho, it was a beautiful day in London, finally, and where did we spend it? Inside in an air conditioned theatre with about a thousand other people. It was well worth it though.

The story is exactly like the one I read when I was younger, a poor selfless boy makes an impression on this wealthy Chocolatier and in the end he gets what he deserves, all the wonders in the world really, he gets to own the Chocolate Factory.

The sets were absolutely brilliant! Very grey and dark - for when we are meeting the Bucket family and then very colourful and amazing when they get a tour of the factory.

Each actor/actress played their role so well. I was actually quite annoyed with Vercua Salt and glad she went down the chute with her dad, little brat. Augustus was quite fat and hungry ALL THE TIME, he was so funny as well. Mike TeeVee was a horrible little child, and it was quite neat how they made him TV size - but I won't give that away - his mom was hilarious (She did love her "Mommy Water"). And of course Violet loved her gum, and was quite famous for it so of course she got what she deserved.

But most of all Charlie, just amazing! As I said about "Matilda" I would not have had the courage those kids did to preform on a stage at that end let along the West End. The songs were brilliant as well, so catchy and the dancing for it as well was just great. All of the little tricks they did for the Oompaa Loompa and sizing wise was very cleaver as well.

I think my favourite part was the Glass Elevator near the end, Charlie and Mr. Wonka sang "Pure Imagination" during this, it brought a tear to my eye. It was so beautifully done and you just get into the moment and feel it all. Just great!

The musical was just amazing overall. So know that I am through with my musicals (I guess for now) it's time for my list.

Yes I did get a Wonka bar for the show :)

Top Musicals I've Seen in London, UK

1) The Book of Mormon

2) Les Miserables

3) Matilda

4) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

5) The Lion King

6) Once

7) The Phantom of the Opera

8) Wicked

9) Dirty Dancing

Something "Wicked" This Way Comes

This past week was something else. The girls were on their last half term before getting out of school for the summer, July 23rd is the last day, so we had a fun week. Jane and Chris were also home so I had some days off and others I spent hanging out with the entire family. It was fun, I haven;t done that in awhile so it was nice to hangout with everyone and do activities with them.

On Wednesday the family went and saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" while I made my way over to see "Wicked", I'm seeing "Charlie" on June 7th with my friend Lindsay. If you are a fan of "The Wizard of Oz" then you will love "Wicked"! Don't go into it with the same storyline in your head though, it is very different than the way Dorothy tells the story in Oz. I recognized a couple of the songs, because of Glee, but I was happy I didn't know the entire story before going in. That way I could enjoy it more and try and figure out the different plot lines. 

The rest of the week was spent swimming with the girls, going to see "Maleficent" with the family and then out to dinner and sometime to myself to organize my other plans for the rest of the time that I'm here. As of tomorrow I only have three months left so I have to make them count!

I only have a little bit to pay on my August Trip and then that will be all covered. I keep reading about all the activities I get to do while on that trip and it's just so amazing. I am so excited for it. Before that trip though I will be seeing "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", Kristen Chenoweth live, going on the London Eye, going to Brighton Pier and any other little bits and bobs I can fit in there before August. 

Once August comes the days are just going to fly by. I have my trip, then Caitlin is coming over right after I get back and we have lots of things planned (more on that when the time comes), I'm going on my Downton Abbey trip and then after will hopefully go and see "War Horse" with Lindsay as my last play in London before I leave. Just crazy!!

Hope all is well with everyone :)

100 Days Left...really?

Yes you did read that right...I just can't believe it.

Know I now you all are probably tired of me saying stuff about time, how it's to fast and that it's speeding by for me. Well I'm going to mention it more and more because that's how I feel right now.

This time last year I was just finishing school and getting ready for summer vacation. I was slowly getting my visa and other documentation done as well I just can't believe that all this all happened a year ago!

Time is going by to fast for all of us. My friend's son just turned four years old the other day, come this Fall he will be in Kindergarten! My little sister is graduating from Grade Eight in less than a month and will be going to high school the day I make my way home. My brother has just bought his first car and is completing an awesome co-op to do with his college program and my older sister is completing a summer job working in a law firm and then going into her third year of law school.

SAY WHAT!?!?

I know right?

So lets talk about something else today, other than time.

I agree with this quote 100%. If you knew me when I was a teenager and I told you I was going across the ocean to work for a year you would have said, "Yeah right, and pigs can fly!" And I would have laughed because it would have been a joke all along. Yes it is true that for the majority of my life I could not imagine leaving my little country town and thought all I needed was within a 50km distance.

But the funny thing with that is the changes I had in my life. Leaving high school, and still unsure of everything, I went to College - for the first time but not the only. Leaving home really made me think hard about my life and the choices I had made and where I was going. With this fact, and other events in my life, I chose a different path - and look where it got me! The idea of leaving home didn't scare me as much, to begin with. When I first applied to the agency - Scotia Personnel Ltd. - I really applied to see if they would hire me, which they did, and didn't think twice about it. I love working with kids and I've always wanted to go to England so I thought why not do both, and this thought didn't even scare me.

I was matched up with families and interviewed with some as well, which still didn't scare me - I was nervous but not scared. It wasn't until I actually sat down with my mom and dad and asked them what they thought of this whole process that I got scared. Why you ask? Why after all this time? It was because of what they said.

No they personally didn't scare me, it was in what they said. They both told me how brave I was for doing this, how courageous I had become in the last three years and that they were both happy and excited for me and my new adventure.

Now why did this scare me? Because they were the first ones who said this to me. How does being brave have anything to do with this I thought. And then that's what scared me... the fact that I hadn't given two senses thought about this. The fact that I applied for this job overseas and it didn't faze me, that scared me. The fact that when people called me brave for doing this and it didn't faze me, that scared me.

What was I actually getting myself into? What if the family was horrible to me? What if I had the worst experience possible and had no money to get home? All these thoughts went through my head for four months before I left. But you know what I realized after it all? The fact that no matter what happened, good or bad, it was an experience altogether and that I would be going to England!

When I left my family at the airport I was scared - traveling by myself, not seeing them for a year (or more), not being at home for certain events - all these things scared me. But then I thought of where I was going, what I would be doing, what I would be seeing and the excitement came back.

So if you ever come across anything that may scare you and excite you at the same time, take it. You never know when you will get the chance again.

England Baby!

As of this date, May 17th 2014, I have been in England for NINE MONTHS! Nine months people! Do you know the things you can do in nine months??

A woman can carry a baby full term and give birth by this time!
You can grow 4.5 inches of hair in nine months!
You can watch The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (the Extended Editions) 532 times in nine months!
You can also read the Harry Potter series 168 times (on average of 1.5 weeks per read through of the series).

You know just some random facts for you. But what have I done?

Well...

I've started working as an au pair.
I've gone to London, England.
I've seen the London Eye and The Queen's Tower (Big Ben).
I've met three celebrities, two of them from Harry Potter.
I've seen eight musicals/plays.
I've been to Oxford University.
I've been to the Roman Baths.
I've been to Stonehenge.
I've been to Paris.
I've climbed to the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
I've been to the third level of the Eiffel Tower.
I've been to Disneyland Paris.
I've met Mickey Mouse.
I've been to the sea.
I've met so many new and interesting people.
I've drank at a traditional English Pun while watching a hockey game.
I've seen many historical sites involving England's history and royalty.
I've seen my all time favourite band live in an amazing concert.


AND I still have no much more to do!

This is still so crazy!

My friend Lindsay asked me the other day "Do you still get days where you cannot believe that you're in England?" and I do! I wake up and will think "Oh yeah just another day" but then it hits me, I am in London, England. I have been dreaming about this since I was a teenager and it still blows my mind that I am here!

I have gotten so much out of this whole experience it's insane the amount of opportunities I have been given since getting here. I am very lucky to have such a warming and kind host family to now call my England family and that they live in such an awesome town to have this adventure in.

Well everyone, only 107 days until I am home now....Canada you are just around the corner!

'Cause it's nine in the afternoon

Well it could be, somewhere anyways. Maybe not on Earth but maybe somewhere like Mars? They would be the ones to have that sort time wouldn't they?

Anyways, that leads into my Friday evening. I went to the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre to see Panic! At The Disco, my all time favourite band, and two opening bands - MT and King Charles. Those two bands each did a thirty-minute show with about fifteen minutes inbetween to set up for the next band.

So I left my place at about 5:30pm and got to the Apollo Theatre at around 6:30pm, the doors didn't open until 7pm so I had plenty of time- and I had a seated seat so I didn't have to worry about being there early in order to get a good spot to stand. Man oh man was is busy though! When I got there I had to ask one of the security guards where the line ended so that I didn't cut in front of anyone....he pointed at least a kilometre down the road!!!

I stood in line for about ten minutes and then it took thirty minutes to actually get into the Theatre with walking and stopping in between. Once I got in I figured I should go to the merchandise stand before the show ended and then would have to wait like an hour to get something (and they may not even have my size by then). I got the official Tour T-Shirt >>

Found my seat finally and sat down to enjoy the concert. The first two bands I could sit for the entire thing but as soon as P!ATD came out everyone was on their feet and it was amazing! I knew all of the songs they played and sang to each one of them (except for two that I didn't know all of the lyrics too).

They put on an amazing concert and I am so happy that I finally got to see them live.

So there is two more things off of my "Bucket List", go to a concert while in England and see my favourite band/singer live. Now I just have to see Michael Buble live and I've crossed that one off completely.

Next weekend I am hanging out with my new Canadian friend Lindsay, she's coming to Uxbridge so I can show her around and we can hang out more.

And in the last week of May I will be going to see Wicked! So excited for that!

TTFN everyone :)

Somewhere beyond the sea...

Weather conflict yet again, oh weather - why do you lie to me?

When planning this weekend I kept the weather in mind and with it saying there was 90% chance of rain on Saturday I decided to postpone my trip to Stratford-upon-Avon....it rained a bit in the morning and then for maybe four minutes in the afternoon and that was it! It was a tad cool so I think I'll wait until Summer weather arrives to enjoy Stratford.

Any who! I decided to go to the London Aquarium instead, and man was that place cool!

There was 5 levels of all different types of fish, sea life, turtles, frogs and penguins(my favourite)!
I spent a good two hours in there, it wasn't packed (thank goodness) so it was a very lovely time well spent.

At each place they had information about the creature and little facts that you may not have known. Like did you know that you are more likely to be attacked by a dog, vending machine or win the lottery than get attacked by a shark?

Did you also know that sharks have been around since before the dinosaurs?!?!

That place was crawling with sharks! There were about four different types I believe, sorry that I do not remember the names of them all, and in the shark tank they had sting rays and little fish too. They had this big area near the end of the aquarium with a big plated glass window and a ledge in front of it. I spent a good half-hour just sitting there and watching the Sharks swim by, it was very peaceful and relaxing.




After the aquarium I took a walk up to Piccadilly Circus and this is the first time I have ever seen it not as busy as it usually is, and this was in the afternoon as well. After the little rain shower I decided to take the tube to Regent Park and check it out. I hadn't been there yet and really wanted to see what all the fuss was about....the fuss was these amazing and beautiful gardens that were shattered all over the park. The London Zoo is also in Regent Park as well as the Open Air Theatre - both I plan on visiting before I leave.


It was a Saturday well spent.

As you can see I've added some countdowns to my blog, mostly to remind me on what's going on but to also let you know as well. Hope all are well and will see you in about four months Canada :)

Let's do some Math!

Shall we?

As of today, April 17th 2014, I have been in England as an Au Pair for exactly 8 months! That's about 243 days!
Now in 3 months and 14 days I go on my awesome tour across Eastern Europe.
In 3 months and 26 days my sister, Caitlin, will be coming to visit me for 8 days.
In 4 months exactly I will be making my way to Highclere Castle for my Downton Abbey trip
AND in 4 months and 15 days I will be on my way to Gatwick Airport to make my way back to Canada.

Now what does all of this equal up to?

Come on math genius I know you got this!

And the answer is .... one very lucky Canadian girl getting to cross many upon many items off of her bucket list :)

See, math can be fun sometimes.

Now as a short list I'll tell you what I have crossed off my list since being in England:

1) Go to England
2) Go to Paris
3) See Big Ben (The Queen's Tower but everyone knows it as Big Ben)
4) See a musical/play (I have way over done this one)
5) Take a bus (many times)
6) Take the tube (many times!)
7) Take a train
8) Go to Platform 9 & 3/4
9) Go to Stonehenge
10) Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower

There are lots more but as I said I'd keep it short for you.

These past two weeks the girls have been on their April Half-Term/Easter Break. It involved lots of park visits, a trip to Westfield Mall - just outside of London, LOTS of swimming and last Friday we had a movie afternoon with some treats and popcorn. Obviously it was different having the girls home from school but they do enjoy the break...for about three or four days and then they get bored and when they get bored fights happen - like with any trio of siblings of course.

Jane, Chris and I are for sure happy that school starts again soon and that they will be back to their regular activities but we also enjoyed the time with the girls. Jane and I took the girls shopping this past Wednesday for new spring/summer clothes and if you know me well enough you know that I love to shop/window shop so it was fun picking out different items for the girls to try on.

Now that Easter Weekend is tomorrow the family is going away for the weekend to visit family and have Easter dinner and such. While I get to finish up my laundry, go out for a friends Birthday dinner and talk to friends from back home as well (finally!).

Next weekend I am planning on going to Stratford-Upon-Avon for Shakespeare's birthday celebrations! I have planned to spend the whole day there so the weather better be good next weekend.

After that my Panic! At The Disco is shortly after and soon we are almost at the middle of May! Time is a funny thing isn't it?

Another half-term?!?!

Yes as the title gives away the girls are on yet another half-term from school, this one is until after Easter Monday so they get a nice two week break off of school.

I hope to post at the end of this coming week to tell about all the activities we will be getting ourselves up to but for now I guess it's more updates about myself.

This past week I have gone to the Cinema more times than I usually do in one month! I saw "Muppets Most Wanted" last Wednesday - hilarious movie! The soundtrack is amazing and the little cameos are awesome! - "Divergent" on Friday night - won't say anything about that right now as my little Sister is currently reading the book and doesn't want me to spoil it for her, so I'll be nice this time - and today I saw "Captain America: The Winter Solider" - so awesome! I love the Marvel franchise and Captain America is one of my favourites so this did not disappoint!

Also this past week I experienced something else new, one of my Au Pair friends named Lina has gone back home :( She lives in Germany, in a small town much smaller than Forest - she showed me pictures the one time and it looks so beautiful there. If I do get time, and the money I hope to visit her but she is hoping to visit me before I leave England so I have that to look forward too.

My Canadian friend Erin is going back Easter Weekend and then she's hoping to be back in England in September or so, which is when I'll be back home anyways so I may see her before she leaves Canada in the Fall.

I cannot believe it is April now! I know you all must be getting sick of me saying that but it's true! As of April 2nd I have five months left in England and on the 17th of April I will be here for eight months. Time is just going by way to fast!

Um...so if I don't mention this now I may get into trouble. I do have someone coming to visit me before I leave - and she chooses right before I leave to do so (only joking).

My older sister, Caitlin, will be visiting me in August!! From August 12th-21st she will be her and I will be her official tour guide to London :) We are starting to plan our days together and have ideas in motion but until she is done her exams we're not going to set anything in stone - so that she can enjoy the planning instead of getting stressed about it.

Hope all is well back in Canada and that Spring has finally arrived for you all :)

Matilda, Mormon and St. Paul's...oh my!

What can I say, this past weekend was pretty great. I got to hang out with my friend Erin before she goes back to Canada for the summer for work and my luck even rubbed off on her.

On Friday I met Erin in London so that we could go and see "Matilda the Musical", and for £25 for our tickets we got some pretty decent seats. To bad that we had two tall people in front of us, had to lean a couple of times but other than that we had a really good view of the stage.

The musical was AMAZING! It was based off of the book rather than the 90's movie, which I'm quite happy about because, of course, the book is always better. I have to say the children that play Matilda and the other student characters have a lot of courage! I would not have been able to do that at age 8 or 9. It was crazy how talented they were!


The soundtrack is very catchy as well, I have a jumble of it stuck in my head at the moment. If it ever comes to Toronto, or if it is still in New York it should be on everyones to do list! Here's a clip of it from the Tony's last year:

On Saturday I showed Erin around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. We went to M&M World, and of course bought M&M's, and walked around Leicester Square for a bit. They had a "Divergent" Fan Event in the Square where you could take a test to see which Fraction you belonged in and then could do activities afterwards. It was really packed so I didn't do any of the events.

When we first go to the Square we went over to The Prince of Wales Theatre to enter in for "The Book of Mormon" lottery draw. Well the time came for the tickets to be called AND Erin won two of them!! Needless to say it was so much funnier the second time around, and yes I am bragging a bit here but winning cheap tickets is something to brag about :)

Zeus and I

Finally on Sunday we went to the British Museum in the morning. It was quite packed so we couldn't enjoy the museum like we would have liked to but at least the museums here are free so that I can go back and see the things I didn't get to. 

The weather was beautiful this weekend so after the museum we went down to St. Paul's for a walk along the Thames. It was a nice walk and I got to show Erin more on London along the way.

We went into Primark later in the afternoon and I have to say that is one of my new favourite stores. Very decent clothes for a responsible price, cannot beat that!

Erin had to go back to Swansea after that so we made our way back to the tube station to go our separate ways. It was a great weekend overall! 

The next couple of weekend are pretty basic for me, nothing really big planned anyways. As of April 2nd, 2014 it will be 5 months until I am back in Canada! I cannot believe it came up that fast! The next thing I know I'll be packing up my room and getting ready to go home. It's crazy how long I have been here, it doesn't feel like this long at all!

British Museum

Abbey Road & Notting Hill

"Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly"

Well, I finally did it! I crossed the cross walk at Abbey Road. It may not seem as high and mighty of an accomplishment but due to the fact that it took about two months to finally do this Lina and I were both quite happy.

Wondering why it took so long? Well Abbey Road is located outside of Central London - meaning that you need to take a tube ride or a very long and expensive bus ride to get to Abbey Road. Every weekend that Lina and I wanted to go the tube line was always being worked on and via bus it would take about 3hrs to get there. So that's why it took so long.

Part of the brick wall at Abbey Road Studios

Now when you get to Abbey Road the first thing you're going to see is tourists, lots and LOTS of tourists! This crosswalk doesn't have stoplights so it's basically people standing on the sidewalk until the coast is clear or literally stopping cars just to take a picture. There was a guy there organizing pictures as well, that's how Lina and I got ours done - wish it was more of the crosswalk but you get what you get when the road is super busy haha

Right beside Abbey Road it Abbey Road Studios and I gotta say that the fence posts and brick walls around the parking lot to that building is covered in signatures and Beatles lyrics. I added in my own and signed my name and the date. We noticed after that we could read some writing that had been painted over so I'm not sure how long my message will be there but I hope people get to see it. I wrote part of the lyrics from the top in case you were wondering.

After Abbey Road we made our way to Notting Hill, which I gotta say is probably the most beautifulness town I have seen since being here that is located in the city, The Cotswolds don't count here. All of the houses are painted different colours with different coloured doors as well, it's so neat. Was hoping for more of the trees to be blooming but not this time I guess, I'll have to go back in the Spring/Summer.

This weekend was the last weekend that I got to hangout with Lina, she;s going back home on April 4th and next weekend is when Erin is coming to visit, so we crossed off almost all of Lina's to do list and then went our separate ways. She's hoping to visit again before I go home, hopefully in July so I'll get to see her then :) 

A street in Notting Hill

Hope all is well with everyone back home. 162 days until I'm back in Canada, cannot believe it! Time is going by to fast!!

Up To Great Heights!

"What did I tell ya? There's the whole world at your feet. And who gets to see it but the birds, the stars, and the chimney sweeps."


What a day! Yesterday my friend Lina and I got to go to the very top of The Shard (the tallest building in London) to enjoy the view and take some lovely photos of London as well. It was a beautiful day overall! The weather these past couple of weeks has been amazing, sorry for rubbing it in again Canada, sun and warm breezes - it's amazing.

Before going to The Shard though we took a walk down South Bank and looked in the different shops along the River Thames.

Cherry Blossom trees are over populated in this area. I forgot how much I loved them when they bloomed. As London usually is the streets and sidewalks were packed! 

When I first got here, and would reference my tour book more than once a day, it said that tourists usually come more between March and November...this is a lie! Tourists come ALL THE TIME! I have not had a trip into London where it involved me taking my time and not pushing past people who stop in the middle of the way to look at a map. London will never be like this...it's London.

Now finally we got to go to The Shard, and as I mentioned before it is the tallest building in London. We booked our time for right around the sunset so that we could get day and night photos of London. I have to say seeing the sunset over London and then seeing all the nightlife come to life is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen, I only wish my camera took better photos to capture it all.


To be honest I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that it is MARCH already and that it's almost gone. I have defiantly been keeping myself busy enough to not notice all the time that's been going by and I still have lots more planned. Next weekend Lina and I are finally going to Abbey Road and then spending the rest of the day in Notting Hill. The weekend after that my friend Erin is coming down for the weekend and we're going to see Matilda and do little tours of London as well.

I've also added another play to my list before I go home, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! (That's not until June though) and I will be going to see Panic! At The Disco in May :)

A fun couple of weeks ahead for me! TTFN

Hello March, come so soon?

          AH! Cannot believe it is March already! Where is the time going!?!?!

          Was talking to my Mom about it the other day and since I have already booked my flight home it is now less than 6months until I am back in Canada and on the 17^th of March I will have been in England for 7months!

          I remember being in school last year and the time going by so slowly, so I guess that saying is true. Time files when you’re having fun!

Neat lights on Canterbury St. in London

          The weather here has been beautiful this past week, highs of 12 everyday, no rain and just a touch of wind. I actually wore my spring jacket into town and wasn’t cold after leaving the theatre last night, which is a first since September. Anyways let me fill you in on my week.

          On March 6^th all around England (maybe other places as well but I’ve recently just heard about this) was “World Book Day” where the school kids and teachers dress up as their favourite character from any book genre.
          Isabella dressed up as Hermonie from the Harry Potter Series, Georgina dressed up as Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Francesca dressed up as Matilda. They all looked so cute! Fran didn’t want her picture taken so just Izy and Georgie are in the picture with me.

          Yesterday, the 8^th, Lina and I went to see “The Lion King”. It was so amazing! The way that they portrayed the animals was so neat. They had a little girl as a baby elephant and they way they made her costume around her was like a wooden silhouette elephant, it was so pretty.

          The giraffe was my second favourite, they had a person on stilts for the legs and used their hands and stilts for the front legs with an attachment for the head. It was beautiful how each thing was made, and really gun hoe to the movie so Lina and I were singing along to all the songs. 

          The play was really well done and the acting done by young Simba and Nala was amazing! They looked like they were just about 10 years old but the confidence they had and their acting was just amazingly well done.

          "The Lion King" is number 7 on my list of "Plays/Musicals I've seen since being here". Honestly it's one of my favourite things to spend my money on. I love going to the theatre and being apart of the story and reacting with an audience, it's a great feeling.

          At the end of the month I will be adding number 8 to the list, Matilda! And because the girls saw it with their StageCoach group back in November I hear the soundtrack all the time so I'll know all of the songs even before I see it!

          Hope all is well back home and that the snow starts to melt away soon! I'm really glad I missed this winter, even though I've had my fair share of rainy and crummy days nothing beats snow.