Fare well!

I just wanted to make one last blog post for you guys!

I have settled back into being home. I am enjoying the free time, warm weather and time with my family.

Reflecting on my time abroad, I have realized that I loved it. It was difficult for me- not being able to take a break from the city and venture out into the country, as well as being away from my family and friends. However, I grew a great deal as a person, and was given priceless memories from my endless experiences. Today, I miss London and Europe immensely and cannot wait to go back. I made solid friendships that will last me for years to come, and I look forward to see them all again.

Thank you for spending time here at my little blog! I enjoyed writing it for you and recounting my experiences!

Until next time,
Kelsey Elizabeth

Kew Palace and Gardens

Hello Friends! I accomplished Part 2 of Part 3, and made it to Kew Palace and Gardens! This was the second place my aunt wanted me to visit, and so this Saturday (Friday? finals are destroying my brain...) I went! It was extremely beautiful. I wish I had discovered it earlier so I could have made more trips. Regardless, here is the video I made you!

Kew Palace was home to George the 3rd (who lost the colonies) and his wife, Charlotte. It seems sort of silly that Britain lost what I would consider seemingly "weak" colonies, but as I gained a deeper understanding into George's life, I started to understand why. He and Charlotte had 15 children together and were quite happy when he was not troubled by his psychiatric illness. They spent a lot of time at Kew Palace living a "simple" life and walking around the gardens. Supposedly, they would see local folk on their walks and treated them as neighbors. They were very family oriented, and wanted to live a simple life. I see how George could have shut himself away from what was happening for the countryside. After seeing the gardens and the surrounding land, I couldn't really blame him.

Until next time,
Kelsey Elizabeth

Hampton Court Palace

Hello Friends!

So today I went on a very exciting journey! I couldn't wait to make a video, and upload it for you until tomorrow- so here it is tonight! I didn't have any classes today, so I took a train out to Hampton Court Palace and spend the day there! HCP isn't one of the most popular sites, but it is definitely one of the prettiest. It was the palace of King Henry the 8th ("Henry) and Anne Boelyn. In time, William and Mary added Baroque wings on to the Tudor style palace. They were followed by George II and his wife Caroline, who created embellished the palace in the Georgian style. While the building was not uniform, it was very interesting and exciting to walk through periods of history as they happened.

The main reason I documented my journey through videos was because I wanted my "aunt" to get the full experience! She came a few months ago, but we didn't have time to see HCP, so I made this video for her!

I few side notes... I am sick and quite sniffly through this video, so please excuse me. Also, I'm not the best camera women so the footage is a little shaky, but I thought it would be fun and better than just pictures! This was not helped by the fact that I was unsure if I was allowed to take pictures or not, so I took a lot of "sneaky" pictures incase they told me I had to turn my camera off! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! I had quite a fun time editing and uploading this video.

Click on HamptonCourtPalace.mov to open it in YouTube and view it a bigger window!

This is only Part 1 of 3 places I am determined to go see before I leave... check back in later, and hopefully I will have made the other two. Not sharing what they are just yet! :)

Until next time,
Kelsey Elizabeth

Stockholm: The Most Beautiful Place On Earth

Hello friends!

Over this past weekend, I went to Stockholm to visit my Dad. Considering I haven't seen him in a few months, I was very excited to see him. I have been to Stockholm a handful of times, and the beauty of the city and the country as a whole never ceases to take my breath away. Stockholm's beauty, and gorgeous weather, was probably intensified by the fact that it had rained for the entire week in London before I went. Nevertheless, Stockholm is a beautiful city, and I couldn't help but snap a few pictures!

Taken from the Arlanda Express, which took me into Stockholm City. 

This was at a park next to our hotel. The pink trees are cherry blossoms, and they seemed to never stop. They look a bit greyed here, but in person they are a vibrant pink. 

This was taken as I was walking back from the park. I thought the vibrant yellow and blue was amazing.

Dad and I went on a  3 hour boat tour of the beautiful archipelago. I actually took this photo during the summer, but the weather was just as beautiful and all of the boats were out.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures! I only have three weeks left before I head back home, and have a few more day trips planned! I will be sure to upload some pictures and tell you all how it went! While I am excited to see what I can in these last few weeks, I am quite ready to go home and see my family! 

Until next time, 

Kelsey Elizabeth

I'm back! Spring Break 2012

Hello friends!
I'm so happy to be back and tell you all about my spring break on the continent! The cities I visited were absolutely gorgeous and exceeded my expectations. I'm so happy and appreciative I got the chance to see a small section of Europe over two weeks! Below I have posted the best photos from my trip. First, my friend and I met up with our friend in Paris, then we traveled to Barcelona on our own, stayed in Madrid for a few days, and then I flew to visit my friend in Florence. The pictures hardly do the sites justice, but I did my best to capture them!

The Eiffel Tour, Paris, France.

This was a wonderful restaurant/cafe that our Parisian friend took us to. The food was the best I have ever had. It was a "Sunday Brunch" breakfast. On the bottom left you can see scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh squeezed orange juice. On the right you can see the best hot chocolate I've ever had, which I dipped the croissants (on the left) into (they told me to!). All the food I've had abroad is wonderful, and I've documented it all. (If you want to see a post about the food in Europe let me know!) Paris.

The beach in Barcelona...  I brought my bathing suit thinking I was going to get a nice tan... but it was extremely cold. I only wore shorts a few times! Barcelona.

A Gaudi building... I didn't know if I liked him at first or not, but I quickly fell in love with his style, and coloring. Barcelona. 

There were these "magic fountains" that danced to music that was played. We went on a beautiful day and it seemed like a popular attraction... there were hundreds of people there. Barcelona.

The campus in Florence: they were gifted a villa. Probably one of the prettiest places I have seen.  My Florence pictures were done the least justice, but you can get the idea here. Sigh. Florence.

They had a "lemon garden". I really wanted to pick one, but couldn't because it was a museum! A friend told me that during a certain day they had a "festival there" and made Limoncello, and lemon cookies... yum! Florence.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. I certainly had a great time looking back at them, and remembering the past few weeks. These are only a few of many pictures, so if you would like a second blog post of just pictures, let me know, and I will post another one. I have planned for my next spring break post to be on traveling (boy, do I have recommendations for you!). I had such a wonderful time, and I am just so thankful I got to see all of these places. This is definitely not the last time I will be visiting Europe. There is so much to see and do, and multiple times, that I can't wait to get back!
So glad to be back with you all!
Until next time,
Kelsey Elizabeth

Visiting Abbey Road: I did it!

Mates! I did it!


While Mom and Diane were here, we visited the spot where one of my favorite bands have traveled... across Abbey Road. The street is quite busy with tourists with the same idea we had, and cars trying to get to work. Despite the fact that it is a zebra crossing where cars have to stop, they were quite impatient and almost ran Mom over! Here are a few pictures we snapped!

We made it!

Mrs. Reed and I

The three of us! (Many people had the same idea!)

They even had a coffee shop at the tube station with souvenirs!

I'm so glad I got the change walk across there! Will have one more blog post up for you guys before I head out! 

Until next time, 

Kelsey Elizabeth

PS. I want to give a shout out to friends at TPS who found my blog! :)

Scotland

This weekend I visited my Aunt and family in Glasgow, Scotland. I have visited them once before, but was lucky enough this trip to spend some time out in the countryside. It is very beautiful, and I would ideally like to spend a summer there in a cottage, hiking, camping and the like. I was fortunate enough to have beautiful weather while I was in Scotland, so we visited many gardens as well! Enjoy!

This is the Pollock House.

The grounds are vast and include these little guys... highland cattle! 

The river and bridge in front of the house. 

We also got the chance to stop by these falls. They were extensive, and beautiful! 

I still need to put up the pictures from my run a few weeks ago. I also have a very special post coming up before I leave. Leave where? you ask. I will be traveling on the continent for the next two weeks starting Friday for our spring holiday, but unfortunately won't be able to post. Don't worry, when I get back I will tell you all about it!

Until next time,
Kelsey Elizabeth