Guess what came in the mail today..

Lots of awesome things actually! I got an adorable package from my family with lots of goodies..

Including some christmas cheer!


And a disco ball! Haha I adore my family more then anything.


And finally..


MY EURAIL PASS!

This is my train ticket to all over Europe over the Christmas break! I am getting so excited for this trip and feel so lucky to have an opportunity like this. So far here are my plans for the holidays. I will be flying to Scotland with my good friend Alex to visit our friend Jenni (for those of you who don't know these are two of my friends I met in Africa over the summer). We are going to spend the weekend exploring Scotland and celebrating the end of the semester! From there I am taking the train (and a ferry) down to Paris where I will meet up with some fellow international students. We are planning to spend 3 or 4 days exploring Paris then head down to Rome for Christmas! We will likely stay a week or so exploring Italy maybe even stay for New Years! Then I am going to Amsterdam on the 1st of January to meet up with my dad!! SO excited to see him! We are going to stay there a few days then head to Berlin on the 3rd! After a few days there we will fly back to London for a night or two before finally heading back to Exeter! So if I don't already have your address please send it to me so that I can mail everyone postcards :)

PS. It just started SNOWING! I don't know if today could possibly get any better!!

Blanket Forts.

This is what we do on Friday nights after the pub closes, but really, you're never too old for a blanket fort.

Glee.

Yeah, another post about glee, its just so good! It may be unhealthy how much I love this show..but if you didn't watch it this week, do it right now it was to good to miss.

Ps. Kurt transfers schools?! Sob!!

Exeter Christmas Parade + Harry Potter.

I had a great Saturday! We got up early and went into the City Center to do some window shopping and get good seats for the Christmas Parade, which was excellent by the way! Exeter seems to really go all out for Christmas, last week they had a huge ceremony in the City Center with fireworks and everything for the first lighting of the christmas lights and trees that have taken over the city. It was very exciting and the parade was so much fun, Santa was even pulled on a sleigh by real reindeer! After the parade we headed to the theatre for Harry Potter of course! Which was phenomenal, I have never been a huge fan of the movies because they just can't compare to the books but this one was so much better then I expected! Plus it was very cool to see it in the city J.K. Rowling first created Harry Potter in! Now I am anxiously awaiting the final part. Check back here in the next few days because I will be posting some pictures of campus and other exciting things! Heres a picture of Santa with one of his adorable reindeer, hope everyone is having a great Tuesday afternoon!

Gorillaz Live in London.

Tuesday night I took a coach to London with a few friends to see the Gorillaz in concert. For as long as I can remember I have always LOVED them and dreamt of seeing them live. Well it was definitely worth the wait! It was unlike any other concert I have ever been too!! They put on such an amazing visual show, everything about them is so unique. The concert was part of their new "Escape to Plastic Beach" tour, they will be heading to North America soon and I really encourage everyone to check out dates and see them if you can! SO worth it. I didn't take my camera along because I was in the standing section, but here are a couple pictures from the show a friend in seats took.



Sorry I know they aren't the greatest. And here is one of my favorite songs off their new album. Its a lot different then their older stuff but a nice change. Hope everyone is having a good Thursday! :)

"We need more guts."

I really like zombies, okay I kind of love them. While some people are into vampires and werewolves I have (and will) always love zombies. Which is why I am so incredibly happy someone finally created an awesome TV series about a zombie apocalypse. I have tried many times to watch True Blood or even The Vampire Diaries but I have never been able to get into them. Finally there is a solution for all you fellow zombie lovers out there The Walking Dead is an amazing new TV show based on an American comic book series and if you like zombies or even a good horror flick you need to check this show out. Well worth it.

Diana.

I got a new toy today!


A Diana F+ camera!!! I have been wanting one forever but always had more important things to use my very limited funds for! But I finally had enough wiggle room in my budget so I went for it! (Don't worry Dad they are actually pretty cheap haha) The reason they are so cheap is because they are actually considered a toy camera as they are plastic. They were invented in to 60's to take 'psychedelic, dream like photos'. Here are some very cool examples.






I can't wait to take it out for a spin :) Happy Monday!

Happiness.

Today I am so happy.
I am happy to have such a supportive and loving group of people back in Canada waiting for me.
I am happy for all the new friends I have made from all over the world.
I am happy to have the opportunity to see and experience the world.
And I am happy for so many other small things, like endless cups of tea on rainy days, and trips to the pub with new friends, and planning weekends away. I hope that everyone has as many things to feel happy about today as I do.

Rain, Rain and more Rain.

Well the past few days it has been very cold and very rainy so this is how I spent the majority of my time.


Except I was mostly reading textbooks with the occasional break to read a chapter of The Long Way Round or eat some soup. The good news is I got caught up on a lot of readings which means today I have time to go out and play in the sun! It looks like today is going to be our only sunny day this week and I plan to take full advantage! Hope everyones week is going well.

Ps. Check out my ugly curtains! Now you understand why I don't post pictures of my room.

Happy Monday!

Lately I have had this song on repeat and it just so happens to have an awesome stop-motion music video that I can't get enough of so I thought I would share with everyone. Happy Monday!

Remember Remember the 5th of November.

November 5th, commonly known as Bonfire Night is a big deal here in the UK and last night I had the privilege of attending a very interesting celebration. Every year thousands of people gather in Ottery St Mary to watch the towns people carry tar barrels set on fire throughout the street. Its a tradition that dates back hundreds of years yet everyone gives you a different reason for what started such a strange celebration. Regardless of the origin it was a very memorable night. Here are some pictures and if your interested in seeing more there are tons of different videos on youtube! Also if anyone can tell me more about the origins of tar barrel burning of even the significance of the 5th of November I would love to hear it!!

It's a beautiful thing.

Well it's official, the holiday season is upon us! Today I had my first gingerbread latte in a lovely Starbucks christmas cup! This was actually the first time I have been into Starbucks in the UK because there is a cute little cafe much closer to where I live that I have fallen in love with. But when I saw gingerbread lattes AND christmas cups were back I couldn't resist.

I can't wait for lights and christmas displays to start popping up everywhere!

Exeter City Center.

Exeter city center has a little bit of everything. It is full of beautiful old architecture as well as very modern shops and restaurants. It has everything from very high end boutiques to tiny little ally-way shops you wouldn't find anywhere else in the world, along with tons of pubs, restaurants and specialty bakeries. And apparently J.K. Rowling based Diagon Ally after some of the ally-way shops in Exeter city center..cool! Here are some pictures, enjoy!