Football in Warwick

The pitch we played on in Warwick was perfect, and very picturesque. The sky was dynamic and the sun was just setting near the end of our game.

Pregame shenanigans.

Warwick was the most competition we've seen. The first 20 minutes of the game were fairly equal, and the ball moved from one end to the other. They scored the first goal, which made me nervous. We possessed the ball most of the first half, and got two in before halftime. There was a definite shift after that, as we gained momentum and they became demoralized. In the second half it was clear we were the stronger team, and we scored six more goals. Final score: 8-1. Our closest game so far...

National Gallery Favorites

From the National Gallery in London, these were my favorites by Monet.

The Gare St-Lazre

Bathers at La Grenouillère


The Museum at la Havre

The Thames at Westminster

When I first saw this painting, I was struck by its subtle use of contrast, and how beautifully Monet captured a foggy morning. It wasn't until later, after I had been there, when I was looking at the postcards of these paintings, that I realized it was Big Ben and Parliament and the Westminster Bridge. Now I love it even more.

Camille Pissarro
The Boulevard Montmarte at Night

London!

I really did have an incredible time in London. It was better than I imagined it could be. But it made me really miss Jeffery, and long for March. There were times in London when I questioned my adventuresome spirit. Like when we first got there we wandered around for hours not knowing where we were, we couldn't decipher our map, we had no landmarks to go off of, and then it started to rain. We had been up since 4 am, because we caught a 5:30 train, and so when we got there, nothing was open yet and we were exhausted at the start. And I thought, "this is not fun. My feet hurt already, my back hurts...." and I started to think I wasn't cut out for traveling. It was the first time I have been in a new city on foot without my parents. But then as the day progressed, we became more decisive. There was a definite learning curve, and as we figured out the tube system (absolutely amazing!) and the street maps, it became so enjoyable. It was really rewarding figuring it out. And now I feel like I know London and could get around no problem. My favorite part of the trip was the National Gallery, where there was a Monet exhibition, but I couldn't take any photos. I just loved all of the parks and museums. It reminded me of Paris. I love that walking around and taking photos doesn't cost anything. The Tower of London was the only thing that we paid for.

The London Eye

Big Ben and Parliament

I think people were afraid of the little bit of rain we got, because there were no crowds on a Saturday. Sunday was so beautiful that all of the museums were packed, but we covered so much ground on Saturday that we really had a leisurely day Sunday, and spent most of it in the Kensington Gardens/Hyde park area.

St. James's Park

Buckingham Palace

Green Park

The funniest moment came about because I had to pee incessantly. Finding a bathroom was always a problem. I was delirious from walking all day, and I told Alex, "I've had to pee a lot since I got here. I think it's the minerals in the water building up on the inside of my urethra" and we had a good laugh. Alex was a really good traveling companion. He relinquished the role of map holder to me early on, and I enjoyed navigating.

Kensington Gardens


Royal Albert Hall

Part of the Albert Memorial

Natural History Museum

Hyde Park

Eaton Park

This is Eaton Park, a five minute walk from campus. I scheduled a "kick about" here with the football girls a couple weeks ago. It is so nice to have accessible a group of girls who enjoy kicking the ball around. I have never before seen a park with so many football pitches. ♥