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!