#55 Make a London Guard Smile

   Obvious to say that I did not succeed in this attempt, but the effort is what counts. Apparently Brits do not think that 'The Office' type humor is entertaining, which is quite a disappointment considering how hilarious I find it to be. I feel like being the Queens guard would be such a horrible job, having to stand in one place for hours on end without moving, while bratty kids call out to you and there is some sort of woodland creature that has made a home on the top of your head.
   I went to London right before going to Salzburg for study abroad. I was there for just a couple of days but managed to see everything that I wanted too. Except for the Globe Theater, I asked dozens of people including a lot of natives and none of them had any idea as to where it was located....I bet old Shakespeare would be broken hearted to find out that his fan club is shrinking a bit.
  My biggest disappointment while in London was that I did not get the full affect of the city given that it only rained for about a minute. I wanted to walk down the street in a trench coat and umbrella-which being from Washington State I don't think I have ever actually used before-but I was forced to break out the sunglasses and summer clothes. It sure makes travelling a lot easier when you are not drenched head to toe, but London without rain is like Washington without Vampires...It just doesn't happen.

#54 Gladiator Picture in the Colosseum

#54 Gladiator Picture in the Colosseum 

  When in Rome there is always one picture that any good tourist has to take; and that is at the Colosseum pretending to be a gladiator. The actual city of Rome is not a place that I was a big fan of. There are so many people and during the hotter months of the year it is very muggy and it makes you feel gross the majority of the time, especially when you have an extra 30 lbs attached to your back. But when you ignore all that, you get to experience a city that has so much history and culture that it is impossible to take  it all in and get a good feeling of the city in just a couple of days. 

If you do not have much of a interest in those kinds of things then there is always food which can easily take up all of your time. If I didn't have to walk so much during my stay there I would have easily racked on the pounds, but when you are eating something so amazing it is hard to even care.

Just remember to take a lot of showers and don't be afraid to loosen your belt a bit!  

#20: Study Abroad

   

This year in college-my junior year- I decided to fulfill one of my biggest bucket list items and study abroad. I ended up choosing Salzburg, Austria for 3 reasons:

1) It was the cheapest program in Europe.

2) I had not been to Austria yet.

3) And I am a theater junkie I absolutely adore 'The Sound of Music'

My only doubts in choosing this country?

1) The only German I know is from the movie 'Cool Runnings' and 'Inglorious Bastards'

I arrived here at the beginning of September and will stay here until the end of December. Thankfully they also have us enrolled in German language courses for the first two weeks and then we have the option of continuing on as the actual semester starts. 

These first two weeks have been filled with excursions to castles, mountains and hidden towns through out the country side. I have not even been here a week and I am already in awe of how beautiful it is; every day I can walk along a different street and discover shops and scenes that are completely stunning. Everywhere you walk in town you have a beautiful view of the castle on the hill that makes you feel like you are living in a fairy tale.