Witch spotted on Thames River

On Friday Rachel and I took the bus into London for a boat party that goes up and down Thames River. It was fun but not the greatest. Actually the night was kind of a bust. Does anyone ever go out to have fun but the night is just ends up meh? That was our Friday night. It was refreshing to realize that no matter where you are in the world you are not going to have a blast every time you go out. That being said, we did have a lot of fun on our trip! It was amazing going by Big Ben, the London Bridge and other touristy spots from a totally different angle.

 Drinking on the balcony of our hostel (Smart Hyde Park)  

Am I a witch or a gr.9 emo?

I think we both agree that the best part of the night was the ride on the tube to the bar. Somehow we were the only ones dressed up in costume which was very amusing to two children. They were very cute- asking their mom if I was a real witch and making faces of terror every time Rachel and I looked over. We moved so that the family could sit together and the young girl decided that I was a good witch. Bless her soul. 

The next day we woke up, hung out at Starbucks to get some free wifi, went to the American store to buy KD and pickles and then went to check out abbey road. I looked for my name that I had signed back in 2011 but it wasn't there. Not that I thought it would be but, it would be so cool if it was! I signed my name again in gold because I am a baller. At this time of the day I had been rolling my tiny suitcase all around London so Rachel and I had a joke that my suitcase made me a very important person and that when I walked across Abbey Road I would jump and take a really lame picture with the suitcase so I hope that explains my pose in most of these photos. Two guys took a photo for us and then we took a photo of them in which they posed the same way I did. It was all pretty funny. 

Me in 2011 

Me in 2013

Rachel 2013 

"Excuse me, I have a suitcase" 

                                               

My name is in gold on the "E"

Famous recording studio 

We went to Buckingham palace and people watched until we were hungry. We threw Canadian quarters into the fountain and made a wish. I think the Royal Family grants the wishes. Either that or they collect the coins and make a profit. I didn't meet the queen but I did take a selfie in front of the fountain.

 We went to London for a party but had the most fun adventuring around the city.

This is where I live

Hello friends and family! As requested here is a tour of the flat. Unedited because I am lazy. Maybe that's why I can't find a job.

    

Why I love being unemployed

"Wow Audie it's so cool that you are in the UK, what have you been up to?"
 Well fictional person I made up just so I could pretend that someone had actually asked me that question the answer is uhhhh, nothing. I've been in Liverpool for one full week and have accomplished very little, but you know what? I don't care. I love that I can sleep in and do whatever I want whenever I want. Even if what I want to do is lay in my hostel room and do various activities that don't involve moving. To be honest I am kind of at a standstill because I am waiting to move into a flat and don't have a job. Once I move in I will have a place to keep all of this junk I brought with me from Canada and then I will be free to visit Dublin (in the works, yayayay) without a giant suitcase. It is nice just doing nothing and I don't feel guilty about it. Not one bit.

That being said, Rachel and I have left the hostel in search of things like food, cider and conditioner and because of that I have some stories I can share with you. That reminds me, Aunty J, if you are reading this I know you totally ignored my last text. Also drink a cup of tea for me at thanksgiving supper! Back to the subject of Liverpool. Rachel and I have found a favorite pub called Flanagans Apple and the bartender already knows our order of Strongbow which is an amazing accomplishment. Unfortunately drinking a lot of cider has taken its toll on my esophagus so I guess I will have to switch over to beer ughhhhhh. Going to this pub has put us into some weird situations while also providing extreme entertainment that I wish to share with you! I have three main things to share so here we go:

1) People here talk to you and it's totally not weird. Like in Regina if some guys approached a group of girls they'd be like "omg creepy" or "omg gonna make out with his/her face" but here people are so nice and they just genuinely have conversations with you and I love it! It's especially great because if the person is awful then you only have to know them for a while but if the person is totally cool you can exchange contact info. Networking, bitch! (Read that like Jesse from Breaking Bad).

2) Speaking of bitches, I would like to share with you my WORST HOSTEL EXPERIENCE so far. The first time I have ever experience a hostel was three weeks ago but after three weeks I feel like I know how hostels work. These bitches do not. So Rachel and I return to the hostel after supper to discover we have roommates but they have already gone out and left the bathroom destroyed. Makeup smears everywhere. How did they do that? And the sink was full of hair including tiny little hairs that looked like pubes but I don't know could be some chin hairs they had to pluck? We go to bed around midnight and I wake up at four to get some water and notice none of the girls have returned so I'm thinking they went home with some dudes and wouldn't be back until morning. I was so wrong. At four thirty they start banging on the door and I reluctantly wake up to open it. The girls exclaim
"We live here too"
So I glare at them and lay back down but I was obviously kidding myself with the thought of sleep. These girls brought a whole group of guys back to the hostel and they proceed to talk really loud and hang out with these guys they had just met at the bar. Anyway, to get to the point, the guys finally left except for two of them who decided it would be okay to have sex with two of the girls in the Hostel room. Rachel and I were not interested in listening to strangers have sex so we left and hung out in the lobby until seven in the morning. We return to the room, give the guys instructions on how to leave the hostel and then try to sleep. Except the girls spend the next few hours puking. They finally left but the room was in horrible condition complete with fake eyelashes and nails on the floor. Whatever man, maybe they're nice girls.

3) I will leave you with a less harsh story that takes place last night at our favorite Irish pub. There is this tiny little man and I think he was on some crazy drugs but he was walking around the pub and decides to stop at the table we are sitting at and stare at us for a couple of seconds and then leave. He does this to a few people. He then proceeds to dance like no one was watching which is very admirable. At one point he tried to take his pants off but some guy at the bar stopped him. Oh by the way this whole time he has a little foam mustache from his beer. Best guy but was he funnier than the guy that was so drunk his bare butt was hanging out? I can't make a solid decision.

That's what I have been up to. Next goal will be to get a job.
Cheers.

Hungover bus ride to Liverpool, not fun.

Best be getting used to them I suppose. We arrived in Liverpool on Sunday the 6th and checked into our hostel, Hoax. This is luxury. I mean, free wifi that you can access everywhere, city center, clean bathrooms and the water in the showers is hot and lasts longer than six seconds. If anyone needs to stay in Liverpool I recommend Hoax because you can't stay with me. Ha!

Sunday was rough. "Let's drink all the beer & cider" should have been Saturdays theme but the real theme was a Monopoly pub challenge! Basically you were given a team and a mini monopoly board and were suppose to do some challenges and take pictures and stuff, I don't know. Our team lost but we had fun so did we lose, really ? Our first challenge was to chug a pint in a game called a boat race which is essentially standing in a line and when the person in front of you is done chugging you must chug it!!!! (or skull it as the Aussies say).  Our team lost because Rachel sucks. I suck too but Rachel was worse. I mean this in the most loving way! Everyone we met was awesome and included two fellow Canadians!

        Canadian bar- no Pil :( 

I should probably also add there was also a superhero/villain theme 

The next day we were off to Liverpool! We have been here ever since looking for flats and jobs and such. We had a very strange experience while looking at a flat and 8pm the other night. First of all, we took a cab and asked the driver what he though of the area. He was very against it which should have been our first clue but the house looked so beautiful we had to give it a look. The man renting it out had the thickest accent imaginable. I don't even know if I understood what he was saying so there was lots of nodding and smiling involved. He was also very strange. The house was gorgeous and I wish we could be renting it but we got a bad vibe. That house is haunted to the extreme ladies and gentlemen. There was little dolls and children toys everywhere which didn't help the cause. The whole situation was so awkward and weird we could not wait to get out of there. 

I don't really have any other news at the moment. I finally finished watching Breaking Bad. 

I also have a restaurant recommendation for Liverpool! It is a vegan/ vegetarian restaurant called the Egg. So delicious. 

Future tip: If the server asks you and your friend if you would like to share always say yes no matter how hungry you are. 

One week without poutine makes one weak.

Another title for this post was going to be "Homeless and jobless- living the life".

It's been a little over a week since I have been gone from Canada which is nothing to brag about, I know. Rachel and I have been looking at flats but everything in our price range is horrid and we don't want to increase our price range because our main focus is to travel, not pay rent! So we have made the decision to try a smaller city out and our decision is Liverpool! The rent is half the price and about 500% nicer. For now we are still in London and starting to blow out black snot. Give it a google, it happens to everyone.
   
     How is London Life? It's pretty great. I mean, I am starting to feel like the queen of the underground, I don't want to sound snobby but I sure know how to navigate my way around. At first we tried to stay away from the touristy things because we thought we would have a lot of time to complete those but once we decided to move out of the city we went pretty hardcore. Obviously we will take time to come back into London as much as we can because there is still so much to see and do. Here are some of the things we have been up to in the last few days.

British Museum- We looked around, it was huge but also free. Heck yes!

Big Ben & West Minister Abbey- The West Minister was hella expensive so we skipped this and the London Eye and opted to walk around instead.

The shadows on the Bridge look a little sexual 

We went on a 3 hour walking tour with the same company I mentioned before and it was very informative. My favorite part was the bit about Churchill and his war bunker which still exists and is available for viewing at a price of course. We also visited platform 9 3/4 which is in Kings cross station, right near our hostel. 

The next day we visited The Natural History Museum. Dinosaurs, yay! Then the Science Museum which was boring, not what I was expecting. Then my favorite visit of the day, The National Gallery! Guess what I saw in real life. Like up close, face to face. SUNFLOWERS by Vincent van Gogh. I was so excited I almost wept. Then I bought this little gaffer in the gift shop. All the museums are free!!!

You can pull his velcro ear off

Today we went to Warner Bro's Studios and took the Harry Potter tour. It was magical duhhhhhh it's Harry Potter so of course it was. There was so many things to look at we ended up spending almost three hours there. I drank some Butterbeer which tastes like cream soda and the foam tastes like caramel ice cream if that makes sense. Anyway, there is no alcoholic content so they should probably do something about that. Like an option to add a shot of schnapps or something. 

Ron Weasley 

\

You can't tell but I am wearing a cloak and about to ride a broom stick 

Butter Beer

Scale model of Hogwarts 

That's all folks! Only a few more nights in this shitty hostel.Hallelujah.

Oktoberfest 2013, my first few days out of the country.

I am officially  a foreigner to a new country. Out with the old and in with the new is what I always say! Wait, no it's not, and Europe isn't even something new. 

This experience of leaving my house, family, and friends behind to pursue living a life in London, which is something I have always wanted to do, is something new and a little bit surreal. I will admit I have no idea what I'm doing. Looking for flats, jobs, and getting all that important stuff set up is pretty hard work but I knew it would be and I know it will all pay off soon. So I will go over my first week with y'all. This will probably be a long post and I am sure my aunty and mom will be happy about that. 

    Rachel and I left Regina at 6 a.m. on the 25th of September. We had a full day of travel in front of us like literally almost 24 hours between all the missed flights and layovers (yes, we managed to miss two flights but I swear it wasn't our fault). When we got to our hostel in Munich it was only a two minute walk to Oktoberfest. So we checked in and immediately went to walk around the festival. It was huge, the best way I think I can describe it to the people back in Regina is that it was like the exhibition but better, like everything you wanted the ex to be. Scary rides, great smelling food, and giant beer tents. We walked through a few tents which I wouldn't even consider a tent because it was so big and well built, and then went to bed. 

    The next day we took a three hour walking tour around Munich and it was fantastic. We learnt about the history of Oktoberfest, Nazi Germany, and even got to drink beer while we walked in the streets. Yeah, I know, pretty cool and it was totally legal. The company we went through is called Sandeman's tours  and I would defiantly recommend them. Rachel and I wished we could have had another day to check out another tour offered where they visit Dachau -one of the first concentration camps.

    Hallo Oktoberfest! We bought drindles on ebay before we left so we put those on and headed to Oktoberfest. By the time we got there the tents were packed and it was impossible to find a seat. So we had some food and went on a couple of crazy rides (not necessarily in that order). By this time the cheap zipper on my dress broke which I was very angry about but whatever I'm over it. Bring on the fat jokes!

Me eating a giant pretzel 

Drindles 

We went back to the Hostel, changed into our regular clothes and went out determined to find a seat. And we did! Our waiter, Marcus,  brought us a liter of beer and we drank it. And then we drank another one. And then we stood up on our tables because that's what everyone was doing and because we were drunk after two liters of beer. And then we Cheered with some Germans and exclaimed "Prost!" and made eye contact because apparently if you don't that is seven years of bad sex.

 Prost! 

    That was our day in Munich. It was an experience and definitely worth leaving Regina a few days earlier. If we did it again we would love to go on a tour or with a bigger group. 

    We have been in London since the 25th. I will write a post about London life in the near future. P.S. I have a ton more pictures of Munich that I didn't upload because my camera is dead in my suitcase and I am lazy. If anyone wants me to post them let me know and I will!   

London Trip Bucket List

I have made a list of attractions and events I would like to see while venturing to London. I know not all of the points on here are found in London, but who would want to travel to a new continent just to stay in one place? Certainly not I.

- Wear a Drindle at Oktoberfest
- Rent a flat with Rachel in London (Liverpool)
- Attend a Blitz party
- Pour a perfect Guinness at the Guinness Storehouse
- Visit Stonehenge preferably for the Summer Solstice but that doesn't happen until the 20th of June 2013 so we will see if that works out.
- Go to a coffee shop in Amsterdam
- Attend King's day in Amsterdam which is April 26th, 2013
- Find the restaurant in London where I ate delicious Shepard's Pie
- Have a drink at the Ten Bells Pub which has history concerning Jack the Ripper
- Take a Harry Potter Tour
- Go on a hike in Scotland
- Get a tattoo from Miss Juliet
- See a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Preferably during the winter and standing to get the full effect.
- Visit The Doctor Who Experience
- Get a British accent down packed
- Visit the London Dungeons
- Visit Abbey Road to see if my name is still on the wall
- Get a picture at platform 9 3/4 at King's cross Station
- Travel Europe as much as possible. I'm not going to write any specific destinations except for Portugal and Amsterdam.

That is what I have so far. I am sure I will be adding on to the list as days go by and I am also certain that I will be doing a lot more amazing things that I hadn't even know about prior to my trip. I am getting extremely excited and very nervous for this trip. Count down is on- 15 days!