Shall we live through some photos?

I'm making this post short because I have been going through my photos and I am dying to share some. I might be reliving every moment and I am quite okay with it. Little update for my hiatus: 1) jetlag...yeah it is the pits 2) my beloved dell miss pinky finally passed on to a better life and I have been without a computer since I got home. I am planning to do a big post hopefully before the end of the weekend. Several of my sorority sisters and I are heading to AL for a fellow sisters wedding, so expect a fun post and my final thoughts on my trip, which is still so fresh. I can already tell my life and outlook is forever changed. Well, I hope you all enjoy the photos and look for more ahead. Enjoy!

With love from Paris and London and Heathrow

Last post and a quick one I'm about to head to the airport and jet home. Can't believe it's over, I really can't. I have so many things left to share, my posts have just begun. We had an amazing time in Paris, I was holding on for dear life, I wasn't on top of my health game and I was afraid I'd be sick. Saw and conquered Paris, don't know if I will ever go back but I will London. The most underrated place. It's simply amazing. Well have to run but please continue reading for more posts about London and my life in general, it never gets boring. From Paris and London with love. See you all back in the states.

...and it sets in

Exhaustion. One word describes it all. I am utterly, completely exhausted. We went on  a cross country adventure which included Windsor Castle, Oxford, and Stonehenge...I'm pretty sure I am so tired I just called it Stonehedge, yeah I think it is safe to say I need sleep. Nevertheless, the sights were amazing, but we spent the majority of the day on the bus with an awfully annoying tour guide who's jokes were aimed at the category of 70+. Okay, enough of my sarcasm.
Other adventures include bike riding around town, yes bike riding, I don't believe I have been on a bike in about 8 years and I really wished they made those bad boys in a kiddie size, your girl can't reach the ground and needs some training wheels. I am also embarrassed to report that I may or may not have run over an older lady in front of the British Museum because I couldn't get my breaks to work. I'm happy to report she is doing alright, I will probably never live this down, and it has caused lots of laughs. We also went to an ice bar, what an awesome experience and being in this amazing city made all the more better. Tomorrow we have another business visit, so I am off to bed, clearly I need to be. Here's to bumps, bruises, and memories galore. I have a whole list to fill everyone in on, hope to get some more time soon.  As promised a few pictures :)

P.S. No Queen spotting yet, but hope is still in the air!

Welcome to the work week

I come only with an update for now, I promise to try make the next post mostly pictures because I have taken tons, but wifi is a little touchy. Speaking of WiFi, they treat it so different over here. You have to sign in and give silly info, hard to explain, but completely frustrating. Part of the group is convinced every time we ask for directions, we are sent in a completely different direction than we needed, we have resulted in getting ourselves places on our own. If you know me, this isn't a hard task.
Being so off on time I completely forgot today was Monday, but was quickly reminded when we jumped aboard the tube and I barely had room to breathe. Quite an exhausting ride. Also, note to anyone planning a trip across the pond, better speed walk the British are always in a hurry. Also, stick to the right side of the escalator for the safety of yourself, otherwise you might get knocked down. This floored me since I remember an individual in Georgia getting arrested for running up and down an escalator, not here my friends, not in the slightest. The tube is like a scene out of Harry Potter, except the trains don't magically appear they just roll right up to you. The well-known slogan of the tube is "Mind the Gap" most entertaining three words I have heard. I will leave you to guess the meaning good luck. Oh and by the way the tube is similar to MARTA, except 20 times bigger, with all types of tunnels and routes.
I will say I miss a few things from home. The food hasn't been too bad, but the university food isn't the greatest. They do have an instant pizza machine, I might be in trouble. Also, converters are from Hades (not sure if I spelled that correctly), one girl blew hers in 5 mins flat. Our hair is looking better by the day. Also, I am re-entering the world of shared bathrooms, quite hilarious let me tell you. Oh and the best kept secret in there is the hand dryer, which also doubles as my hair dryer... ingenious right?!?! Finally, we have no AC which really isn't a bother here since it's around 60 degrees, but we do open our windows at night for fresh air. A girlfriend of mine, who also happened to be one of my sorority sisters is next door to me and we like to have nightly "window chats" where we lean our head out and go over the day, yes very strange, but we enjoy the sights and sounds while we are at it.
Walking around the city has been wonderful, I feel in some ways like I have been here for years. I have a core group of girls that I travel with and we have navigated ourselves pretty darn well. Today was our first two business visits. Traveling as a big group was interesting, I am almost positive the locals pick us out quickly, the looks are very interesting. Sidenote: the dress is somewhat bland her, I am not saying there aren't different styles, but the brights are few and far between. Anywho back to the programming, we visited with small online marketing and pr firm this morning and discussed search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC) two very well-known things in the online marketing world. I love hearing a fresh perspective on it and comparing it with that of the U.S. The company actually had a client out of Alabama which I thought was quite interesting. Our second stop was Fuller's Brewery, some of you may know the brand, it is sold in America, we also provide a lot of the hops that go into their beer. It was interesting to learn the process and growth of the business.
Lunch and the afternoon was spent in Hammersmith, a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. We had lunch at an old eclectic pub, which had beautiful views and horrible food, I stuck to the garden and rustic chip (side salad and french fries), yeah this is the only thing that seemed appetizing, otherwise it was gazpacho..yuck! After my awful time with Spanish, I am just glad I remembered what it was. I think that's it for now....can't wait to post photos, although they barely do this city justice.

All the best,

Ashton

P.S. They don't really do the tipping thing at meals and bars here and they look at you funny when you do. Also, they interpret the word thank you differently and the response is priceless :)

Whirlwind of a day

Cheerio!
 I'm popping in for a quick update. Today the girls and I explored Kensington and we were able to tour our first palace! If you know how much I love the royal family, this was exciting for me! We loved Kensington and are hoping to get more free time for exploring. :) I have found a group if four girls to travel with. Some I know others are new friends, but new are having a blast keeping up with one another. Tonight on our way back to the dorms we enjoyed being serenaded by the "London mariachi band" as we call them on the subway.

Plain,trains, and automobiles

Carrie Bradshaw lied when she made riding a plane across the world look glamorous. Try again sister. Let's give the honest view: a two person seating area barely big enough to fit you alone and let's not even count the person next to you that now becomes your bff and snuggle buddy (thank goodness I at least knew her) Sleeping on planes is far from easy but I managed to get a few hours in. Delta Airlines pleasantly surprised me with the individual screens on the back of each seat, that allowed each of us to watch and listen to pretty much anything and everything and kept us updated on the flights progress, that however is not a free service to those who are flying in the continental US. The food was less than mediocre, but hey its food right, it could be so much worse. We arrived at Heathrow at about 10:30 am this morning, and I am positive my loved ones loved my wake up call to them since it was 5:30 am their time. We were then picked up by charter bus and brought to the University and our journey began. Just today we have made friends with the tube (London's term for subway), celebrated the Queen's Birthday, caught up on time with Big Ben, saw the lovely Abbey where the most recent Royal Wedding was held, and ultimately met up with the Queen again at her humble abode. I am sad to report we were unable to have tea and crumpets with her this afternoon, she was otherwise engaged. We are also enjoying the sounds of the different dialects and we have learned that they ask many more questions and are much more detail oriented than many Americans when it comes to getting orders correctly. We also learned about the english tipping system and got some interesting stares at a  local pub, I believe our attire is a little more flashy than that of the locals. Anyways, just a little update from across the pond. Here's to better weather and hair days tomorrow, oh and cross your fingers we don't fry our hair tools :) I'll leave you with a few photos!

XOXO

Ashton

So the story goes

I'm back in the game, the blogging game. I probably have next to no readers after my almost year and a half hiatus, but I am hoping to build my readership back up. So where have I been you might ask? Well let's just say we have a lot of catching up to do everyone. I'd been toying with the idea of coming back to blogging for a while, but I think now more than ever is the perfect time to jump back. I am beginning a new chapter in my life... life after college. Yikes! It scares me just saying it, but hey the first step is admitting it. I'm finding this new chapter in an otherwise not great economy a little disheartening, but with the support of great friends and family, I am trying to remain positive. For now I am taking my next adventure across the pond and spending eight days in London and one day in Paris, I am wishing it to be the trip of a lifetime. I along with twenty plus other students will begin our journey tomorrow and I invite you to enjoy the ride with us. So welcome back to my world or if your new then jump on board and prepare yourself for a wild ride. I have decided my url won't change, but not the same may go for my page. It needs a little face lift and that includes my name. While I will always remain Just a small town girl, I now find myself trying to find my place in this world.

Blessings,

Ashton