Start of Summer, End of School

The last month of school flew by, thankfully! July started off by a trip to Brighton. I'd never been and since the weather was warming up and it was a gorgeous day we decided to spend the afternoon there.

We went on the Brighton wheel which had a great view of the beach

The last week of school I was lucky enough to get to go with 120 Year 6 children to Adventure Island in South-end. Taking the tube, the train and walking through South-end with that many children was quite stressful but it was such a fun day. The last few days of school were inset days (no children were there) it was just spend cleaning up and we all went for drinks after, and did some karaoke.

To celebrate getting through our first year of teaching, me and two of my housemates had a girls spa day and got out makeup and hair done then went out in Hackney.

Mrs Browns Boys

If you haven't heard of Mrs. Browns Boys then you are missing out. It is my Nana's favourite show and I have to agree that it is pretty hilarious. In short, it's an Irish sitcom starring Brendan Carrol who (in drag) plays the main character Agnes Brown and the rest of the cast is made up of his real life family and friends.

The show is very popular in the UK, and was touring around playing several live shows in London so Marcel and I got some last minute tickets as he was back working in London. We also took the Emirates Air Line cable car which goes across the River Thames to the O2.

I wasn't allowed to take any pictures during the show, but it was fantastic! It was a story from one of their Christmas specials, so Marcel said he knew the storyline, but they added in some improv to make it a little unique.

Abbey Road and £5 Matilda Tickets

I have probably said this a million times, but I love that there is an endless list of things to do in London. While it is very expensive to live in London, luckily there are some cheap options. Kirsten and I decided to get up super early on a Saturday and line up at 8:00 am to try and get £5.00 Matilda tickets as they hand them out to the first few people. We had to wait in line for a few hours, and maybe it seems a bit crazy, but it was worth it to get cheap tickets!

Something I had been meaning to do since being in London is visit Abbey Road to see the famous Abbey Road Studios and the scene of the Beatles album cover. While we had some time to kill before the matinee for Matilda started, we made a stop at Abbey Road. After having done it, I would not recommend anyone else try and get a picture on Abbey Road - it was just a frustrating experience.

What I was stupidly unaware of is that the road is quite busy, and it took a solid half hour for Kirsten and I to even get a picture of us without being run over by a car or having other tourists in it. I was ready to give up but we came all that way - we had to get a photo. You also weren't able to go into the recording studio as it is still used today, but there was a tiny Beatles memorabilia shop beside the tube station.

After Abbey Road, we got some lunch - something I had been craving since I was back in Canada - steak! I also tried an Aussie/Kiwi dessert - pavlova which was pretty tasty.

The set was incredible and I couldn't believe how young the children in the show were and how unbelievably talented they are. But Miss Trunchbull was the obvious stand out, absolutely hilarious! The only negative thing was that I had some trouble understanding them throughout parts of the show. You would think that after almost a year of living in England I would be able to fully understand someone with a British accent. Overall, a great day of indulging in some of the many great things London has to offer for someone on a tight budget.

Catching Up - Somewhat

Life has been busier than normal lately. My summer was full of travel, and I ended up moving (again!) I really did like my old place, but living with seven people can be a bit much, so I made the decision to move in with someone special :)

I have really been neglecting this blog, so will try my best to keep updating it regularly and try and catch up with what's been going on in my life. This post is just some pictures and descriptions on some minor things I did on weekends after coming back from Canada.


We went to the aquarium in London - I don't remember ever actually going to an aquarium. My favourite part was the jellyfish changing colours.

Katy, Lauren and I attended Gelato festival in Spitalfields Market. There was a deal where you could sample 5 cups of gelato and then you would vote on the winner, there were some unusual flavours. My favourite was actually the mango sherbet. I had to stop after my third bowl, I was stuffed!

I wouldn't say I'm overly patriotic, but living in the UK has made me really appreciate Canada and show my love for my country. For Canada I decided to make brownies for my housemates and decorate it as the Canadian flag. I thought it turned out pretty decent!

Marcel had been working in Liverpool for the past month, so I took the train there for the weekend. Then we drove up to Blackpool for Saturday night, which is a beach town known for their nightlife, it actually reminded me of Niagara Falls with all of the mini golf and arcade type of attractions.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

After almost six months of not seeing my family, I flew back with Holly from London to be with my family and friends for the remainder of my half term break. It was nice catching up with everyone, especially now that two of my good friends are engaged and planning their weddings along with Holly!

The Rocky Road to Dublin

Holly and I were off to Dublin to see my boyfriend who was working there during my last half term break until the end of the school year. Since it was a week off for the kids, flight prices always are jacked up, so unfortunately our cheapest option there was the Rail and Sail so we had to take the train from London Euston to Holyhead in Wales and then take the Ferry to Dublin where we would meet Marcel. 

It was one of the most frustrating days for me, because the day did not go at all to plan. Our first problem of the day started when we arrived at the train station and were told we weren't booked on our original ferry, so then rebooked to a later train and ferry. The only thing was, it wasn't direct and we had to transfer to a different train. After thinking we were all set I saw that our train was ready to depart and we got on, but I had an uneasy feeling and then we heard that the train was indeed not going to where we wanted. Of course I was so dramatic and frustrated but luckily a lady on the train helped us and sorted out a way to get to Holyhead (which included more train transfers) but we had to stick closely to the schedule and would have 4 minutes from getting off the train in Holyhead to getting on the ferry and through customs. I was glad to have Holly with me to help calm me down and reassure me and there were about 5 other people who were in the same situation as us. Somehow in the end (maybe with some Irish luck) we ended up making our ferry, and I couldn't have been more relieved. Moral of the story - things go wrong in travel, but it can turn out ok and you can even meet some interesting people along the way. 

While waiting for one of our transfers I thought what better time to paint my nails.  

What was really special was the date that we were in Dublin, as it was the day after voters made history in the gay marriage referendum and voted YES to gay marriage! There were celebrations going all around the city with rainbow flags everywhere, and people wearing "VOTE YES" buttons. It was truly a great day to be in Ireland! We went out to a pub and gave Holly a taste of Irish culture.

Equal Rights For All!! 

They meet for the first time

The next day we went outside of Dublin to an interesting place called Newgrange which is a World Heritage Site and dates back to 3200 BC making it older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. At first I didn't really think much of it, other than it had a cool shape but once the tour guide explained more about it and we went inside it was really incredible. They did a demonstration which happens during Winter Solstice where the light hits the rocks and can act as a time-telling device.

I think that this Historic site is definitely overlooked and not as known or appreciated as others such as Stonehenge and I recommend seeing it if you are in Ireland! Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside the tomb which I found even better than the outside.

Still today they are unsure about what the carvings on the stone mean

The next day Holly and I got to explore more of Dublin and it was nice that I could somehow show her around from the last time I was there. This time we went to the Jameson Distillery for a tour and my favourite, the Leprechaun Museum.

At the end of the tour we could draw a post card, this was mine, it was even framed!

Ginger Ale and Jameson - so good!

Holly tried Black Pudding

Our last day in Dublin was spent driving along the Wicklow Mountains, which was nice to show Holly the Irish countryside. There was even a trail where you could see where the movie Braveheart was filmed. That night Holly and I flew out (stress free) back to London.