Europe Trip D3- A Couple Pints, See the Sights

This was my first day waking up in London, England.  I was excited to see Emma that morning because the day before I hadn't really had a chance to spend much time with her.  Unfortunately, she had to work that day, so as she got ready for work I chatted with her and it felt like the old days back in Korea.
I wasn't exactly feeling at the top of my game in the morning, so it was nice to have a slow start and drink coffee without being rushed into doing too many things.  As Pam was getting ready that morning, I looked out the window into the back garden behind here house which looked just as charming as if it were a movie set. The thing that really shocked me the most was that on a nearby rooftop there was an orange fuzzy little animal sleeping in the sun.  In Korea, I am used to seeing all the street cats sunning themselves, but I have rarely seen any other animals. So when I saw this furry little creature and realized it was a FOX!!! WHAT THE FOX?!?! hahaha I was completely shocked and excited. Of course, Pam was used to seeing the cute, furry little guys and explained to me that its really normal to see them, and in the Spring it is even more exciting because sometimes you can spot a glimpse of them along with their babies.

After we got ready, Pam had planned my first day for me, so it was nice to not have to worry about making a schedule. Our first stop for the day was walking around the Brixton area and checking out these cute markets with international vendors and sellers from all around the world. The markets were filled with cafes spilling on the road and an abundant selection of bars and restaurants to relax at and grab a drink.

On this day though we were going to meet her boyfriend for lunch and do some site seeing, so we hopped on the tube and went down to the busy upper class part of town.  We excited the subway outside of green park and were given a breathtaking view of tall old trees, lining the streets surrounding the outstretched park. Old buildings were framing the scene, and it was all as picturesque as people in business suits chatted, and fit runners made their way around the park.

Our first stop for the day was to meet Pams boyfriend and have a nice lunch along with a pint. For our lunch, we entered a typical British pub which was surrounded outside by tall men in suits smoking. Upon entering the pub, it was also a pleasant surprise to see the crowd inside was very representative  of the crowd outside- MEN! So many refined business men in suits enjoying a pint on their lunch break making this a place where any girl would feel like a kid in a candy store.  But we didn't get a chance to chat with any of these men because we were too busy catching up and telling Pams boyfriend and telling him all about our crazy times in Korea.

After leaving, I realized that the 2 pints I had in the afternoon had made me quite tipsy, we grabbed a coffee in an attempt to sober/wake up a bit and headed to Buckingham Palace to begin our day as true tourists.  The palace and surrounding area was very beautiful and had a calm prestigious  vibe to it.  I had seen these places on tv but in real life you definitely feel the power and historical importance as you peer through the tall gates to see the guarded fortress.  I expected there would be more people outside of the area, but actually it was fairly calm on this cloudy afternoon giving us a great opportunity to get photos without having to deal with too many other tourists.

We walked to a few more places and I exchanged me money and got a sim card at a shop where the worker was a quirky guy from Manchester who wanted to take me out for a drink.  I had made the mistake of only exchanging my money to Euros instead of to pounds, so I needed to change some money and also I wanted to have a sim card so I could have contact with the world while I traveled.

Before going back to Pam and Emma's place we stopped by the supermarket to buy food and things to eat for the next days breakfast.  The supermarket was really similar to the ones in USA, but I think the difference may be that portions are smaller and they have alot of Cadbury chocolate.

The rest of the evening went a bit different than we planned.  Originally, we were going to go out for the night and grab some drinks but once we were at home and got settled we decided to stay in and watch tv because we were all tired and couldn't be bothered.

So first full day in England was finished and I am very pleased with the beauty and sophistication of this classic city!

Europe Trip Day 2- Traveling from Shanghai to London

Waking up in the big soft bed in my beautiful hotel room was a nice way to start the day, but it did make me lazy and I changed my plans from getting up and going site seeing to laying in bed right up until it was time for me to go.

My flight from Shanghai to London was leaving at 1 so that meant I needed to be at the airport by 1130 or so I headed to the airport, which took about an hour to get there from my hotel (The Bund Riverside Hotel. I walked to Nanjing Rode station and got on line 2 metro and headed to Longyang Road station and then I transferred on o the high speed rail line. The high speed train only goes a short distance and costs 80 yuan for a round trip ticket but it was cool to ride on it and check out the high speed. (about 300km an hour)

The Pudong International Airport was really nice and easy to get around. My flight was through China Eastern Airline, and I had never flown with them  so I was expecting the worst but I was really impressed! First of all, my seat was in the perfect location! I was in the first row of the economy section which meant I had tons of leg room and could put my legs up on the wall in front of me. Also, honestly the food and beverages were pretty good! For my 12 hour flight they served two meals, one of which was rice and chicken and the other was beef and noodles. In addition, I had some beer, wine and juice so I was really satisfied.

One of my favorite parts about traveling is watching movies during my flights, so I watched 6 movies. I don't normally watch movies, but when I do I always get sappy and if there is even something remotely sad I am a TOTAL sap! So my first choice was a japanese documentary about rescuing cats and dogs called, "A Dog Without a Name", which caused me to cry like a baby for the entire 2 hours (probably not the best movie to watch on a plane).

Arriving at Heathrow airport felt so unreal. Literally as I got off the plane, I felt the moist London air hit my face and heard the accents of British chatter all around me making me feel like I was in a dream.  Everything, went  smoothly and quicker than I expected so within 20 minutes I was walking out to meet my friend Pam who I had not seem in 6 years!
Pam and I met while working at Kids College (an academy in South Korea), and she has been living in London since she left Korea.  She greeted me with a smile and a much needed americano, and as we made our way to her flat we tried to fill each other in on our loves, losses, and current situations while talking a million miles an hour on the tube(aka subway).

Pam lives with my other good friend Emma in a 2 bedroom flat in the neighborhood of Brixton. I didn't really have any pre conceived ideas about what  London would be like but as we walked out of the tube and headed to her flat I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty and charm of the city.  The building had beautiful white molding lining the windows, the streets were lined with beautiful tall trees, and people of all races, sizes and shapes were bustling around the roads.

After walking the short walk to their place and dropping off bags we went to a nearby pub to have a couple pints. Before coming to London, I had thought that British people weren't usually the most attractive....but I was pleasantly surprised to see many people who weren't half bad. The crowd was mainly 20-30 something young professionals sitting around having wine and beer in the relaxed atmosphere. Pam and I had 6 years of catching up to do, so while we sipped on our beer we soon lost track of time and 1 beer soon turned to 4. We finally decided we had to go, but on our walk home there was a this alluring aroma or street food that pulled us in to a nearby bar. The bar charged a small cover and inside had live reggae bands playing, while outside the food vendor was selling jerk chicken.  Another pint there along with some of the best jerk chicken I have ever had and we headed back to call it a night for my first day in Europe.

GRAND CANYON/LV Trip 2011 Day 4

I woke up before the wake up call and was anticipating being late and missing the prepaid trip to the Grand Canyon, but we woke up and everything was fine.  We made it down to the hotel bus pick up area by 615 and loaded a big double decker charter bus that drove us to the company that ran the trip.  For each person it was $130 or so, and that was a little bit more expensive than the other trip we could have booked.  The other trip was cheaper but it took longer and was supposedly more crowded.

Once we got to the company they convinced us into buying a ticket to the sky walk which is a glass platform you can walk on over the Grand Canyon.  They told us that if we bought the tickets at the company we wouldn't have to wait in lines and that it would be worth it.  So we shelled out the extra $35 a person and bought sky walk tickets. 

Then we were fed a granola bar and a juice and loaded into regular charter buses that sent us on our way.  We drove for about 2 hours or so and stopped at a rest stop to use bathrooms and get snacks.  It was already feeling pretty cool driving around into the desert.

We arrived at an area that let us go to 3 different points along the Grand Canyon.  We just had to chose which one to go to first.  We had bracelets that let us board the buses to any of the places.

Once we got to the Grand Canyon I was really amazed!  It definitely is something worth seeing in your life, but while I was actually looking at it I felt like I was just watching National Geographic or something.  I think that since I have seen it sooo many times on TV, in magazines, and in books that it felt really familiar but at the same time like seeing a unicorn in real life or something.  I couldn't actually believe I was standing there at the ACTUAL Grand Canyon.  Also it is one scary place!  I didn't expect to be able to walk right up to edge and snap pictures, but there weren't any rails stopping us which was cool.

GRAND  CANYON!

My Jump Shot

YB's Jump Shot

After we had fun taking pictures and jumping all over the Grand Canyon, we went on the sky walk.  The sky walk was the $35 a person glass platform over the canyon that we had already paid for.  It was a complete rip off!  When we got on it they wouldn't even let us bring our cameras or electronic devices so we couldn't take pictures.  Then they had a photographer shooting photos and charging $30 for one, or a package of 4 for $100.  Anyway, the sky walk was cool but I think the actual value of it is maybe $10 a person.

For the rest of the trip we got to travel to 3 different look out points and one of them had a ranch with some things to do as well.  It was cool because we got to go on a wagon ride for free and a cowboy gave us some history about the area.

Riding the Wagon

Giving the Horses Kisses

After the long day traveling to the Grand Canyon, we made a final stop and got to see Hoover Dam.  It was really impressive too, but definitely nothing I would make a trip to see without it being incorporated into the package.

Hoover Dam- Hard to snap a picture, but you get the idea

We made it back to the Vegas Strip around 7 which was about an hour or 2 later than we were originally told, but overall I thought the Grand Canyon tour was great, except the sky walk was over priced.  We had to swith hotels from Excalibur to a room at the Monte Carlo.  We were very lucky, and we got upgraded to a LUXURY suite facing the Vegas strip with a jacuzzi tub in front of the window and a private bar.  I was in LOVE!!!!  The only problem was we were super tired from traveling all day and it was hard to actually enjoy our room.  We both basically just wanted to sleep, but I forced YB to rally for a bit because I hadn't really gotten dressed up the whole trip and I really wanted to put on something nice and feel a bit glam for at least one night in our suite.

Blurry view of the Strip out of our window

Wearing my sunglasses at night at our bar

Our Jacuzzi where we can view the Vegas Strip

It was a fabulous way to relax after a great day at the Grand Canyon!

Vegas Trip 2011 Day 3

Today was the last day for all of the girls that came for Colleens bachlorette party, so everyone was getting ready to head back to their homes.  Some of the crew were looking pretty rough from the night before and in immediate need of hangover curing greasy food, so we headed to a restaurant called Dicks in the Excalibur.  The restaurant is supposed to be famous for having terrible service.  The waiters take your order and try to make fun of you by saying stupid things, so I was worried that my friends were going to not take it so well in their hungover state.  Fortunately, we learned that the restuarant doesn't start doing the whole "rude service" bit until later in the afternoon so we were safe.

After we had all eaten we went back to our room and started in on one of the great "hangover" gossip sessions that used to make every drunken night worth it the next day.  It felt just like old times as everyone lounged around telling old stories and making fun of one another.

After the hangover session was complete and everyone was heading home, YB and I headed out to explore the Vegas Strip despite the heat. 

YB and I in front of Bellagio

YB and Vegas Showgirl

We basically just walked around and saw the sites, but then decided we were going to do a little gambling.  I always try to go down to the center of the strip near places like the Riviera because they are so much cheaper than the other hotels for drinks and food.  Once we started on the slots we found a really fun game we both loved!  It was actually called "Get Hooked", but we called it"Catch the Big One" since it is a fishing game that lets you do a bonus round where you catch the fish on the screen above.  That day we got really lucky and I ended up winning over $70 on the game, which led us to be addicted to that game for the rest of the trip!

Me Winning Big on the Slots

After we had our fun gambling, we continued to walk all the way to the end of the strip in search of a cheap dinner.  I think we ended up at Circus Circus or somewhere close by that had $10 steak and shrimp.  YB was in love!

YB and I walking the Strip

YB's first steak in America

Time flew by, and we thought it was around 10 pm when we made it back to the Excalibur, but it was nearly 1am.  Oh Vegas, how I love you!  Normally, I wouldn't call 1am a night in Vegas but we had to be up at 5 to get ready to head to the Grand Canyon.  Good night Vegas!

Vegas Trip 2011 Day 2

Since the night before we had gone to bed around 9pm, I ended up waking up around 430am.  It was a beautiful morning, and I was really enjoying the view from our beautiful room at MGM, but YB was still sound asleep so I decided to take a morning jog on the strip.  That was WEIRD!  I mean who actually wakes up that early in Vegas??? I am usually one of the ones stumbling back to my hotel at that hour, so it was hilarious watching drunk guys spill out of casinos and girls walking barefoot carrying their heels from the night before.
When I got back to the hotel, I was greeted by an interesting suprize.  YB had woken up and got all dressed up in his new Vegas "dandy" style as he calls it, and was ready to hit the strip.  I thought it was hilarious because it was only 930am at this time and we were going to be spending the whole day at the pool anyway.  He said he was just doing "M Life".  I was really confused as to what "M Life" was, but then I turned and looked at the TV and saw Carrot Top advertising for guests to "Live the M Life" and get an MGM credit card so you can spend money and live the luxury life in Vegas.  Well, for the rest of the trip our theme was "M Life"!

Anyway, post "M Life" photo shoot, we headed down to the pool to enjoy the afternoon with the girls.  Best friends+cocktails+lazy river= PERFECT AFTERNOON!  We spent most of it floating along the lazy river through the MGM pool area.  The only annoying thing was tubes cost $14 and they wouldn't let me bring my own intertube.  I was really annoyed by that when they confiscated my tube when I tried sneaking it in.  Anyway, that didn't stop the fun! 

Jenni, Katie, Oonagh, YB, Myself, and Marissa Lazy River Style

Some of the Surviving Single Members of the Terrible Ten

 Jecca mastering Korean after an afternoon of Mojitos

Roo and I (I am rocking a fab bikini that Jenni got me!LOVE my friends!!!!)

Pool time was fabulous, and a totally memorable day!  It made me really grateful for all the fantastic girls I have met along the way.  I am really lucky to have such a great group of friends surrounding me.  I felt really proud introducing YB to everyone... and he was in love with all my friends too!

After pooltime we rallied and went to dinner at a sushi restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, YB and I forgot our ID's and we had already switched over to the Excalibur hotel for the night, so we had to go back and get them.  We missed most of dinner, but I wasn't bothered because Excalibur has a Dairy Queen downstairs.  I got a much needed blizzard to keep me going, and we headed back to MGM to meet everyone.

YB and the ladies at dinner

I was dying, and in no mood to go out but rallied to the best of my ability and made it out tothe club Moon at The Palms with the girls.  Unfortunately, YB couldn't get in because he wasn't following dress code.  I still went up to the club and danced a bit before heading back down to meet YB.  All in all it was a successful day in Vegas, with no major injuries or deaths.

Vegas Trip 2011 Day 1

Of course my travels and my life never work out in a "normal" manner.  No matter how prepared and ready I think I am, something always happens to pop up and make for a hectic/strange/unexpected adventure, which later turns out to be a good story.
So on this adventure, Young Bum and I had thought we were all set for our big trip to america.  Plane tickets, passports, bags, cash....... everything was ready.  Our itinery was going to be a long and crazy one though. Seoul-Japan-LA-Vegas.  Also, we had to leave early so we decided to stay up ALL NIGHT the night before departing in order to be able to sleep on our long flights.
As we headed to ICN airport we were having a great time navigating the subway in our delirious state of mind.  I was cracking up when Young Bum was pushing past the old lady ajumas with my giant suitcase and korean girls were giving him death stares when he shoved them over.  But we were soooo tired that we didn't care who we shoved over... we just wanted to get to the plane.  Thats where are problems got started.  We got on the express subway line heading AWAY from the airport!  This lead us to be about 30 minutes later than expected, but whatever.
We finally made it into the airport, and checked in for the flight.  The girl at the Delta counter asked Young Bum for his visa to america.  Ummmm slight problem.... Young Bum had no idea he needed a visa to go to america, and so he didn't have one.  The attendant told YB that it was available online for koreans to get within one week of their flight and that if he hurried he could go down to one of the internet kiosks in ICN and get it taken care of.  That made me worried.  Yes, I am sure I could go get it taken care of, but my boyfriend is "special" and things like this are definitely not his cup of tea.  Anyway, I kept waiting anxiously for YB to come back to the counter, but he never came.  The attendant was assuring me that even a child could figure out how to do it, and I assured I believed her a child could do it, but I was worried YB could do it.
Summarizing the story, I nearly left for Vegas by myself and had YB come and meet me in Vegas, but then I realized he would never make it on his own.  So we missed our flight.  Yes, this is the 3rd flight I have missed in my life, but this one wasn't my fault.  I didn't wake up in Itaewon after a night of drinking, or happen to be at Burger King like in times before.

Luckily, we got a FABULOUS deal!  The nice people at Delta took us to their office and got Young Bum a visa (one Delta girl actually put it on her credit card and we paid her cash since we didn't have credit cards on us.)  Once, YB got his visa taken care of we did our best to charm the delta staff, and it paid off!  They booked us on flights that would only put us in Vegas 2 hours later than our original flights had been scheduled for.  WOOO HOO! More benefits- we would be flying to LA then Vegas, so it cut out one of the connections, and we were flying Korean Air*One of my favorites! (I am secretly obsessed with their hairpins).

Anyway, after the drama of the morning YB and I took advantage of our time at the airport and headed straight to duty free shopping.  South Korea's ICN airport is AWESOME!  I have been to many airports, and I rate it among the best.  First of all, duty free shopping is much more fun because you can sample the booze.  We spent about 2 hours walking around to all the different shops and pretending like we were going to buy expensive whiskey and new vodkas and got to sample everything.  It was great!  Then I stumbled across this cultural center in the airport where you can do free arts and crafts as long as you have time before your flight.  I felt bad because YB couldn't participate, because it was only for foreigners, so I let him help me paint.

After our fun morning of drinking, painting, and getting YB a visa we eventually boarded the plane and headed to USA! I actually LOVE long flights over the pacific now.  I have probably made at least 10 or 15 of them across the Pacific, and with the personal video/gaming consoles combined w/ free wine, I am a happy traveler.

We made it to LA, and it was YB's first time in America.  He was hilarious to watch.  He was amazed at how different everyone looked. Tall, short, fat, thin, light skinned, dark skinned, you name it.  Soooo different from Korea where practically everyone looks like they were cut from the same cookie cutter for the most part. 

After, our beer and pizza in LA, we boarded the connection and made it to VEGAS!!! The reason we were going to Vegas was to see my friend Colleen for her bachlorette and nearly 20 girls from my sorority.  So, we knew the minute we got to the MGM Grand we needed to change into our swimwear and get our butts down to the pool.

We made it down to the pool just before everyone was heading back to get ready to go get ready for the night of partying ahead.  It was great to see everyone, but we were fully jet-lagged and there was no possible way for us to rally.  We managed to shove our faces with Mexican food and then passed out in the most comfortable bed in our suite room overlooking the Vegas strip.

Vegas Preparations! CLOTHING

This blog hasn't gotten any love in a long time! Sad!!! I love traveling, and it is one of  my passions in life, but unfortunately I also need to pursue other hobbies and goals in life- education, work, etc.

Anyway, my next trip will be a LONG flight from Seoul-Tokyo-LA-VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!! I absolutely can't wait!  The only thing I am a bit nervous about is my clothing.  I haven't been to Vegas in about 5 years now, so I am in desperate need of some new clothes to wear for the trip.  Unfortunately, I am living in South Korea right now, and the style here is just a bit different.  So, today I went on a little bit of a shopping spree to Forever 21 in Myeongdong, Seoul, and got some cute clothes that will work for the Vegas trip.

Here are some of my Vegas Fashion Ideas for Summer 2011 *^^*

First are some daytime outfits

DAYTIME-Cute flowy floral tank w/ crocheted back paired with white shorts
VISION- Walking strip and light shopping while carrying a giant margarita

DAYTIME-Fun bright print dress w/keyhole back paired w/ chunky belt ***will wear w/diff shoes
VISION- Post pool throw on this dress and head to dinner and the slot machines

DAYTIME-Classy black and white striped dress w/ tie back
VISION- Classy hotel meal (Bellagio) and then playing cards at the Wynn

NIGHT- Black backless halter paired with blue and black tight zebra print skirt

VISION- Tequila shots and dancing on tables *any club(Tao, Pure, etc)

NIGHT- B&W Pattern top high waist dress **** I may get this altered shorter, but it is classy and sexy

VISION- Show with the boyfriend and then go to Ghost Bar for a cocktail

NIGHT- Super tight and fun bright blue party time dress

VISION- Clubbing and bachlorette fun with the girls

 

NIGHT- Cute tight dress with empire waist and ruffle design top with spaghetti strap

VISION- This is a really comfortable and versatile dress that could go from hot vegas club to a night at the casino

Anyway, Vegas is only a week away so here is a sneak peak into the fashion I will be rocking! *^^*