Let the Race Begin

On Saturday I took a break from my two term papers and spent the day waiting to watch a rowing competition.

At noon my flatmates and I headed towards Barnes to watch the traditional Oxford v. Cambridge boat race. We got supplies for a picnic and took the Circle line all the way to Hammersmith. Next we jumped on the 190 bus and stayed on it until we saw the river.

We arrived at the finish line of the race at about 2 p.m. and the race was supposed to start at 5 p.m. Of coarse it was really cold on Saturday, the one day I had planned on going outside. There were food trucks but not many people along the river when we first arrived.

It was pretty cold so we all went to a pub that was along the riverside to wait until the race started. There was a DJ, for radio Jackie there and a lot of people inside the pub. The pub was warm and really fun to hang out in. While waiting in the ridiculously long queue for the restroom the DJ handed out free things and I got a mug and a set of cards, very exciting.

By the time we were out of the line it was time for the race to start. We left the bar only to be stuck in a mass of people who had shown up while we were inside and taken over the side of the river.

I was barely able to see because of all of the people but I did manage to see someone rowing to the finish line. Oxford won the race and I honestly was not even able to see when Cambridge came in to see how close it actually was.

It was a really fun day and very cool to take part in an English tradition. Overall, I am glad that Oxford won, because I have actually been there and also because they said there color was dark blue and it was. Cambridge on the other hand claimed its color was light blue but all of the gear was clearly mint green...very odd.

Football is better than rowing,
Johnni Z

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

After a very hectic and fun St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, it was really nice to be back in London and just relax.

However, I did not get to sleep in on Saturday because I had to see too many people! On Saturday morning I woke up early-ish and started my journey down to Barnes.

I met up with Maddie, Meghan, Melanie and Miranda(who was visiting from Paris) for brunch at the Lay house. It was really nice to be able to see all the girls before they headed back to USC to finish the semester. I loved seeing Miranda because I missed her when I went to Paris.

A little later, Jen stopped by who I had not seen since the first week I was here and I love her so that was a nice surprise.

Around 3 p.m. I jumped back on the tube to meet Jeff Palmer and Lindsay Palmer at a pub near Liverpool St. station. The pub of coarse was right in front of me yet I walked around for 20 minutes trying to find it...not fun.

I was so excited to see them and feel like a piece of home was with me in London. After the pub we decided to go to the London Eye. The line was way too long so we had a change of plans and went to Green Park...Jeff's favorite stop for some reason and went to the bar right across the street.

The rest of the night we just caught up and hung out...perfect day in London. On Sunday I went on a jog...I even impressed myself with that one and then did absolutely nothing the rest of the day.

This week is my last week of classes, which is super exciting and Today's classes got cancelled because of a teacher's strike...nice! One more week of too many papers and then my Dad comes...March is getting better and better, can't wait!

Sunny Days Ahead,
Johnni Z

Land of the Leprechauns

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day and a huge party in Dublin. We woke up pretty early and set out into the heart of the city.

The first thing I saw was the giant St. Patrick's Day parade that was taking place on O'Connell street in the center of town. The streets were so crowded and I could barley see anything. There were people everywhere decked out head to toe in green.

The parade was really interesting once I could actually see what was going on. There were circus performers and musicians as well as giant floats and creepy skeletons and dog puppets.

After we got bored with the parade we went into a pub along the parade route to start celebrating St. Patty's Day the Dublin way. The pub we went into was really crowded with all kinds of people including parents and there really young children.

We met up with Sami Lee, my sorority sister at the pub and then went to our next destination. We went to an old church that is now a bar. It was my favorite place that we went to that day. The bar was really nice and had traditional Irish dancing and music playing. There was also fresh food and potatoes that Rebecca and I split...very tasty...and we ended up getting it for free, which was an added bonus.

After we were done eating, we walked to the other side of town and explored the Temple Bar area. This area was full of younger people who were celebrating all day and night in the streets as well as the bars and pubs.

One of the bars we went into was not very nice but we just wanted to use their restroom. While we were waiting for everyone I ran into Natalie Nassau, who I have known since the first grade, it was so crazy running into her in Dublin at a small, not very crowded place.

Next we went to the actual Temple Bar, which was really cool and fun. It had an outside area that had lights everywhere. Not too soon after we went to this pub did we start to head back to our hotel. We were out all day so we went back to our hotel and watched a lot of TV before falling asleep.

On Friday we woke up and went out to lunch at a really cool place that looked like an underground cellar. After that we went shopping and got a couple of souvenirs to bring back with us. We also toured Trinity College and sat in the sun for a little while.

Our flight was later that night and I was really excited to be going back to London and sleeping in my own bed! Dublin was really fun and I am really happy that I got to experience it especially during all the St. Patrick's Day festivities.

St. Patty's Day,
Johnni Z

Galway Getaway

On Wednesday I stayed up until 3 a.m. in order to catch a bus to the train station and then get on another bus to the airport, all before a 6:30 a.m. flight to Dublin.

Wednesday was the longest day ever seeing as I did not get any sleep the night before. The flight to Dublin was pretty easy although Ryanair is not the best airline I have ever been on...they sell smoke-less cigarettes on the flight...enough said.

Once we all arrived in Dublin, Rebecca, Taylor, Matt and I all headed to another bus that took us to Galway, which was a four hour drive. We spent all of Wednesday in Galway exploring and basking in the sunshine.

Galway was really pretty, there was green everywhere and a lot of water. The Galway Bay was my favorite part of the city, with gorgeous waters and cute homes all along the bay.

We saw all of the Latin quarter, which was a ton of shops that we all pretty unique. We also saw the Spanish arch that was built in 1584...a very long time ago. This was located next to a museum that was anything but impressive.

After exploring the city we went to a church that was very pretty and appeared to be built a long time ago. It was actually built in the 60s, but it was very beautiful and something cool to see.

Once we were ready to leave we went to catch our bus back to Dublin and our hotel. Once we got on the bus all of us had to use the restroom, which posed a problem since there was no restroom on the bus and it was a four hour drive until we got back to the airport. We decided to get off at the next stop and wait for the next bus, which was supposed to come within the hour.

The bus did not come in the next hour and we thought we were going to be stranded in the middle of Galway with no way back to Dublin. Lucky for us two hours or so later another bus finally stopped and had just enough room for all of us to hop on.

We eventually made it back to Dublin and took a taxi to our hotel where we spent the rest of the night relaxing from our long and semi-stressful journey.

Stranded in Galway,
Johnni Z

ADPi Girls Invade London

On Saturday, after Cami left, I made my way down to Barnes to stay with the Lay family for the weekend. This time however, we had a surprise for them...Maddie was coming home!!!

Maddie, Meghan, Peggy and Melanie all flew from USC to Barnes to surprise the Lay family and stay for spring break. It was so exciting to see them even though I knew they were coming I still did not believe it until I saw them in person.

That night we celebrated one of the Lay's friends' birthday at the Lay house with the Chitticks. It was a really fun night with a lot of catching up. Maggie and I even made the chocolate frosting to put on the cake that Mrs. Lay had made earlier.

After dessert we all watched "Take Me Out," the best British dating show on TV. The girls then left to stay at the Chittick's house while I stayed and watched three episodes of Friends with Maggie before going to bed.

On Sunday we all had breakfast at the Chittick's house and then went to Westfields to shop and get some lunch. We then had to get a SNOG because you can't go to the mall and not visit Top Shop and then get a frozen yogurt especially when you are with Maddie and Meghan who are both obsessed with fro yo.

Sunday night we went to dinner at the Red Lion, my favorite pub in all of England, because it was my first British meal when I got here. Dinner ended with Sheridan, Maggie and I making up new names for each other and agreeing that we needed to watch CSI before calling it a night.

Monday we woke up fairly early and went to Abbey Road, which Meghan and I had been counting down to since December! We met up with my roommates and proceeded to take way too many pictures and annoy a lot of people in the process. We had multiple combinations and three or four different cameras...you do the math.

It was really cool to actually walk where the Beatles had once walked and see where they recorded the majority of there famous songs. It was also a sunny and warm day in London so it was absolutely perfect...plus as Melanie said my feet touched Paul's feet...because I went barefoot(obviously) to be just like Paul, since he is my favorite.

We ended our day with Buckingham Palace...yet again. This time we entered through the park which was really pretty and we took the scenic bus back to Exmouth Market. We all got lunch at the market then walked to my flat to eat and talk some more.

Before the girls left we managed to take door block pictures and get some interesting looks from the workers in my area. It was a very successful weekend if I do say so myself!

Barefoot Beatles,
Johnni Z

Card Games and Cami

This week has been a lot of fun because I have been lucky enough to see some of my best friends from home!!!

On Thursday Cami arrived in Londontown and stayed for two days. Rebecca and I took the tube all the way to Heathrow to pick her up! It was so weird actually seeing Cami in London, it was like we had never been apart yet I had not seen her in two months.

Cami had flown with Andrea, another one of my great sorority sisters, so I got to see her too! The tube ride back was long but fun because we got to catch up and gossip(which is what girls do way more than we should-something I remembered this week).

Once we were back at our flat, we took Cami to Dollar to buy her first legal drink at the Martini bar and have dinner. We had a ridiculous waiter who could not really speak English very well and did not understand the concept of pomegranate.

After dinner we all went out to O'Neills in Piccadilly to listen to the live music, which is really good. By the time we got there anyone from USC who was visiting friends in London was in the bar. The band was really good and we danced a lot. Cami even had her first "snakebite" at the bar.

On Friday we decided to be tourists in order to show Cami as much of London as we could in one day. We hit Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace after Borough Market.

Borough Market was really fun because I haven't been there before and it was something different. There are a lot of markets in London, but this market was huge and had everything you could ever want. Even with it being Friday, which meant no meat and lent...where I gave up bread and candy, I was able to find a very tasty gnocchi that was freshly made at the market to have for lunch.

Cami bought a delicious raspberry meringue at one of the sweet stands that I ate way too much of and was very intrigued with. We road the Double-Decker bus and made her sit in the front in order to get the full experience on the way home.

That night we relaxed at home and ordered Mexican food to be delivered...interesting choice. The Mexican food was not very good and oddly spicy, the kind of spicy that you would not expect... it is probably safe to say we will not be doing that again anytime soon. We stayed up late, making Cami try a couple of Strongbows while playing games with our new deck of cards that have London sites on them.

The next day Cami met up with her friend Sam and they headed off to Paris while I headed to Barnes to give the Lay family a  really great surprise!

Visitors Welcome,
Johnni Z

Bikes and Beer: Amsterdam

On Saturday we woke up in the early afternoon and decided  to go to the wharf. The only way to get to the wharf is by ferry, and we all know how much I like ferries. Dori even used the phrase, "it's like Balboa" to describe how we were getting there and I was sold.

The only difference is in Amsterdam the ferry takes you to a wharf that has a giant flea market and it is freezing on the water. The market was really cool and I found an awesome book there for a great price. We tried these mini pancakes while we were there and had frites(one of my way too many servings of fries throughout the weekend...hence why it is part of my Lenten promise to give them up).

After the wharf, the three of us set out to find the Heineken brewery and take part in the Heineken Experience. We took a ton of pictures and got to see how beer is made, we were even in a 4D, "brew you" ride that took us throughout the process. There were even horses, not Budweiser horses like you are thinking, but Heineken horses.

At the end of the tour we were given tokens to try the beer and supposedly convert us into becoming huge Heineken fans...Dori, working her charm managed to get us extra tokens and the three of us had a great time! Even with the tokens I am still a Coors Light fan...just like my dad, I am daddy's little girl after all.

That night Dori made me pasta and I dinked for the first time (dinking is when you ride on the back of someone's bike...terrifying). After this great dinner, Drew(who is amazing) dinked me to "5 Days Off" a music festival thing that we were all going to that night.

Because I was staying with Skye that night I ended up staying at the show until 5 a.m., which I am very proud of and so was everyone else haha. Skye and I had a fun night catching up and dancing!

On Saturday we met back up with Dori and went to a dance show called, "gravity" that was super cool and had a lot of very interesting dances within the program. After that we were all exhausted so we went to a really tasty Italian place for dinner and called it an early night.

I went back to Dori's place and got to meet her roommate, who had been gone all weekend and we all hung out and ordered dessert and had a fun girls night in on my last night!

It was an amazing trip and I loved every second of it. The moment I woke up...at 6 am to head back to London I began to miss Dori and Skye and the beautiful city of Amsterdam. So far it is my second favorite place in Europe...London being my number one.

Missing my best friends,
Johnni Z

Amazed by Amsterdam

Sorry for the delayed post...but I have been a bit busy. After a week full of homework I left for Amsterdam on Thursday and took a break!

I went to Amsterdam to see Dori and Skye, which was absolutely amazing and much needed. When I arrived in Amsterdam, I met Dori at the train station and was already in love with the city. The train from the airport to the station was so pretty and there was sun.

On Thursday night we met up with Skye and went to dinner at the Burger Bar (for some reason American food was all we ate that weekend). After that we walked around a little and went to get ready. Later that night I met all of their friends at Skye's place, which was really cool and I liked all the people that I met.

Before the night was over, we went to a bar where a group of guys tried to convince Dori to eat a "toastie" or a grilled cheese that looked like bread crumbs that they had found on the floor. Since it was a long day and we had a lot of things planned for the next day, Dori and I headed home and of coarse talked a lot and stayed up later than was actually necessary.

Friday was jam-packed and full of things that we somehow finished at a reasonable time. Our day began with waffles, crepes and smoothies, much better than the smoothies in London. We walked around so I could see more of the city and shopped around for a little bit. In the center of the town we saw creepy people dressed up in scary monster masks...the only part of Amsterdam that I really did not like to be honest.

The first big thing on the agenda was to take a canal cruise since Amsterdam is full of so many canals and boats. It was a really unique way to look at the city and made me feel at home and wanting to go to the harbor in Dana Point. The sun was slowly coming out and it was nice to be in a warm boat and sitting for a change.

After the cruise we regrouped and headed out to conquer as many museums as possible. We went to the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh museum. The Anne Frank House was shocking and eye-opening. Being able to actually see where she and her family hid from the Nazis and the secret bookcase as well as her small room and the markings of how tall all the children were was moving and very touching.

The Van Gogh museum on the other hand was really nice and pretty. We went during the wine night portion and chatted while having a glass of wine before looking at all the art. I also convinced Dori and Skye to take multiple pictures of me and with me at the "I AMsterdam" sign before the day was over.

We ended the second night in Amsterdam by meeting up with all of their friends and going out to dinner at Barney's and just relaxing after all of our walking earlier that day.

A Piece of Home,
Johnni Z