Welcome back! I apologise for being so slack with my updates, but I've passed the halfway point of my time here & I will definitely be writing more regularly now!! For the Easter Holidays ('Spring Break' according to all of my American friends) Hannah, Maeve, Sydney & I ventured to Italy to enjoy the warm Tuscan sunshine.
Sydney & I have both been to Italy before & it was wonderful to be back! I forgot how great gelato is & how bad the streets of Florence could smell. We arrived in Pisa on Sunday the 6th of April & caught a bus to Florence where we spent a wonderful three nights in a beautiful apartment we found via Airbnb.
We loved every minute in Florence (except for the ones spent hungover after a night out with Limoncello...)! Every day we explored the city on foot, almost got run over crossing the street, & of course ate plenty of pasta, pizza & gelati! The four of us got through a few bottles of wine at lunch each day, & then a couple more at dinner & thoroughly enjoyed all of the markets we could find! I bought some gifts for friends & family back home... & found some for myself too.
Does Dwayne Wade get dwunk at the Duomo??
Next we headed to Rome on the train & loved seeing some of the Tuscan countryside on the way. In Rome we stayed at an even more beautiful Airbnb apartment, complete with an entirely glass loft! After all of the stairs in Florence to the top of the Duomo & back, we took on the steps of the St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City for more stunning views.
551 Stairs... ONE WAY!!
Needless to say we spent the short amount of time we had in Rome visiting all of the most tourist-y places possible & making Lizzie McGuire references at least 5 times a day. It was great to hear (& speak a bit of) the language again & I was surprised at how much of the cities I remembered. I found the hotel, Pensione Pendini, in Florence that I stayed at 6 years ago on a school trip! Even on the last day in Rome I spotted the tiny little gelateria that Mr Parry insisted was the best in Italy. We all enjoyed that thoroughly!
By the end of the adventure Sydney & I both got a little sunburnt on our faces, something I doubt would happen back here in London! Here is the Italy vlog ~ Enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Currently listening to John Legend's 2013 album Love in the Future ♬ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before the Easter holidays, the gang & I went on a few missions to some of London's famous green spaces. I can't say I've missed 'the outback' but I have missed seeing expanses of green grass & trees. AND animals! Hannah, my American roommate had 2 friends visiting from home, so we thought we should get out & do some more sightseeing.
Firstly, we ventured to Kensington Gardens to watch the sunset. It is so pretty & green and such a nice breath of fresh air from the city. I captured some great footage of us hanging around & having a laugh.
And here is us walking into the sunset like a scene from a badass action movie.
The next place we knew we had to check out was Primrose Hill. It confirmed our expectations (& also how unfit we have become). We packed a picnic & got some great shots of the London skyline. It was another beautiful day, with plenty of fellow picnic-ers & their puppies.
Today is Easter Sunday though, & I am relaxing with some chocolate after setting up a bowl of mixed goodies for the whole flat. :) HAPPY EASTER to everyone who celebrates it! Enjoy the day however you wish. Tonight Hannah, Sydney & I are going out to dinner together, but until then I just plan to chill out. Also Happy 4/20 to all of you Londoners braving the weather in Hyde Park this arvo. x
P.S. Thanks to Sydney for taking me to my very first manicure! Haha, so many new experiences.
...(some of whom may not have 'nothing but fake friends')
I'm sitting in my kitchen writing up this blog post, my quiet, clean kitchen!! It's the second week of the Easter holidays here at UEL, & I am thoroughly enjoying the solitude! A couple of weeks ago now, (I know, it's been a while!) my friend Sydney & I spent a day exploring North London. It's an interesting area, both geographically & historically & there are many areas which have been redeveloped into luxurious apartments for the 1%. From the tube stop, we took a wrong turn (of course) & stumbled upon a beautiful cafe with cheap brekky & tea. After a reorientation pit-stop we continued (still going the wrong way) & wandered amongst the pretty hillside houses until we finally discovered our end point.
Princess Park Manor.
Originally named Colney Hatch Mental Asylum, then changed to Friern Hospital due to introduced Anti-Discrimination Laws, this estate was commissioned in 1849 & opened to patients in 1851. This particular asylum was very interesting for its time, so I'm going to give you a short history lesson...
Colney Hatch was the most expensively built asylum of it's time & was the largest & most modern in all of Europe. To walk all of its wards would have taken five hours. Colney Hatch had it's own water supply, well, cemetery, chapel & a 75 acre estate. In 1903 there was a serious fire in a temporary building that was erected as one of the many additions to house more patients & 52 patients & nurses were killed. It is also said that many of the patients housed there escaped as some remains were not found & patients were not accounted for. During the Second World War 12 wards were requisitioned for use as a temporary war hospital & during the bombing of London four separate villas were destroyed killing civilians, patients & staff.
These days the estate is much smaller & some wings of the building could not be salvaged during the restoration, but it is still one of the most impressive castle-like structures I have ever seen! Friern Hospital only officially closed in 1993 & was abandoned for a few years before the estate was purchased by Comer Homes, a redeveloping & real estate company owned by two wealthy Irish brothers with an interesting history of their own. They transformed Friern Hospital into one of the most expensive & beautiful places to live in London, Princess Park Manor. Some current occupants include the five lovely lads of One Direction!!
Enjoy! I will be writing more, & more often hopefully as I have a fair bit to catch everyone up on! xo
Currently listening to & loving Ed Sheeran's new single SING ♪ I have also pre-ordered his CD album, 'Multiply' & a copy of the vinyl, to be released June 23rd.
