Hairspray!

I've been a bad blogger. So here are some updates! Before spring break some of my friends and I went to go see Hairspray the musical. I love all things musical and so I was really excited to see Hairspray. Some of my friends went the day we saw the play to get tickets. We ended up with front row seats! I’m still not sure how that happened. So we go to the show and we are literally in the front row. It was so cool. We were all so excited and once Hairspray began it didn't disappoint. Hairspray is such a feel good, joyful musical and it’s so fun to watch. We were so close to the actors that we could make eye contact with them. The play is very interactive and the audience claps along and definitely has a role in the show. At one point one of the characters came out into the audience and tapped my friend Amelia on the shoulder and asked her to get out of the way so she could get back on stage. The character then proceeded to make all my friends and I get up as she walked past us back up to the stage. It was hilarious! Then at the end of the show the audience stands up and dances with the characters and so many of the characters were pointing to us and smiling. Since we were pretty sure we were now friends with the cast, we waited outside the stage door after the play. We met the actors that play Tracy, Link, Seaweed and Penny. They were all so nice and posed for pictures with us. They all said how they knew we were Americans because we knew all the words, had nice teeth and nice hair! They knew from the very beginning! We sang Hairspray songs the rest of the way home. This was my favorite night in London so far! 

  This is the actor who played Link. He was attractive! 

Seaweed!

Penny!

Friends :)

 

St. Paul's Cathedral

Yesterday I ventured out into London on my own, which I love doing. There is something so empowering about walking around London by myself and just exploring. I love it! Yesterday I visited St. Paul’s. You have to pay to tour around the whole church but it’s definitely worth it. Saying it’s beautiful just isn’t enough. The inside of the church is so intricate and detailed; you could stare at it for 20 minutes and not pick up on everything. There are beautiful statues and plaques in the basement of the church dedicated to people who have lost their lives in war. You can also climb 300 stairs and there is an outside viewing deck. I did that and by the time I got to the top I was so winded. But the views of London were amazing and I kept telling myself over and over again how much I loved London. It is truly the greatest city. The weirdest thing happened when I was in St. Paul's. As I was walking around I wandered if people ever got married in the church. Literally 2 seconds later, I turned around and there was a bride, a groom and two bridesmaids standing in the distance. So weird! I watched them for a bit and nothing was happening so I moved on. Then when I walked out to leave...the entire wedding party was on the steps of St. Paul's posing for pictures! This huge crowd had gathered to watch and take pictures of the wedding party so I joined in and took a few. It was really cool! 

St. Paul's from the side!

View after climbing many steps...see the london eye?

The inside...you're not supposed to take pictures but I live on the edge

St. Paul's from the front!

The wedding I felt a part of

Reunited in Ireland!

Last weekend was a weekend I had been looking forward to for SO long! It was my first trip outside London and I got to see one of my best friends at Elon, Jill. Jill is studying abroad in Dublin and I hadn’t seen her since before Christmas. It had been way to long. Courtney, one of my friends in London, also came to Dublin. So after some minor airport issues (Courtney getting into a fight with a security guard and us nearly missing the plane) we arrived in Dublin! I was so excited to see Jill and when I walked around the corner and saw her, we just ran to each other and started screaming. She cried. It was just so great to see her. I had missed her so much. So after we calmed down a bit, we were off sight seeing in Dublin.

We saw the oldest pub in Ireland and then Christ Church, which was so beautiful. We ate at this yummy place called Queen of Tarts and then walked around Trinity University and St. Stephen’s Green, a park. The next day we ate crepes and then saw the Spire, this tall pointy famous thing in Dublin. It’s so random! Jill and I went to dinner at this really cool place called Church. It’s a restaurant in what used to be a church. We laughed so hard because we felt like such adults, drinking wine and dining together. Then we saw “He’s Just Not That Into You.” It was so good.

On Saturday we went to one of Dublin’s most famous sites, The Guinness Factory! It was really fun, we got to go on a really long informative tour around the factory and then got to go to the top and get a complimentary pint of Guinness. Guinness is so disgusting! We both had one sip of ours and then gave it away. But at the top were amazing views of Dublin, so even though Guinness was gross the views were amazing. Then Jill and I went out to dinner at this ridiculously American restaurant called Thunder Road, where we watched the England vs. Ireland rugby game. Rugby is insane. They just beat the crap out of each other. So crazy! Then we went to a pub where a band was playing and had Strawberry Beer. I don’t like beer but this was good! We went to another pub after and watched another band. I loved all the live music. It was all Irish and so wonderful.

On Sunday we walked around a few parks, I love all the greenery in Dublin. It’s a nice changed of pace from London. We walked into this clothing store called TopShop, and I saw a girl shopping there who is a really famous supermodel named Agyness Deyn. I noticed her from seeing her picture plastered everywhere after London Fashion Week. She’s the most popular model in London right now. So I went up to her and said, “Sorry to bother you, but are you a supermodel?” She kind of looked at me and then was like, “Yeah.” So I introduced myself and told her I worked at the Momo fashion show and she thought that was cool. Then I took a picture with her and then we left because I think I blew her cover. But it was really cool meeting her. She was very nice!

But the best part of the weekend was just being with Jill. She’s the best and we always have so much fun together. She comes to London to visit me in April and I cannot wait! Here are a few pictures...

Christ Church

Jill and me :)

This photo represents the Guinness Factory

Supermodel Agyness Deyn. Google her. 

One of the beautiful parks in Ireland!

21 in London

I can’t really think of a cooler place to turn 21 than in London! I was sad to be away from all my friends and family in the states on this monumental occasion but being in London made it feel a little better. I got a lot of cards from home and friends so thanks so much for making me feel so loved on my birthday. Normally I would have my internship on Wednesdays but because I worked at the fashion show on Tuesday, I got my birthday off! My birthday celebration started Tuesday evening. My flat mates got me a card, which was really sweet and then we were off to one of our favorite spots, Sports Café. All my closest London friends were there which was really special for me. I spent the evening doing what most people do on their 21^st birthdays! My friend Courtney told the DJ it was my birthday, without me knowing. He stopped the music and called me out and wished me a happy birthday. I was really embarrassed. The rest of the night people kept coming up to me and wishing me happy birthday! One guy even picked me up and spun me around! Then at midnight we all screamed and laughed because I was officially 21! I slept in on my birthday and then my roommate Amelia and I went to the Tower of London. It was touristy, but very fun. We saw the Crown Jewels and just walked around the grounds. On the evening of my birthday we went to see a play for my theatre class. Someone else who was there to see the play was none other than a man named Alan Rickman, aka SNAPE from Harry Potter! After the play I saw him and asked if we could take a picture and he said we couldn’t take a picture in the theatre and then walked away. Oh well. Here are some pictures of my birthday festivities...

Courtney and I!

Enjoying a drink

Amelia, me and Katie...2 of my flat mates

Lauren toasting to me

 At the Bridge! 

Momo Fashion Show

On Feb. 24, I experienced two firsts. I rode in a black taxicab in London and I went/worked at a fashion show. I felt like Lauren and Whitney! Fearnhurst PR, the place where I intern, helped put on the Momo show at London Fashion Week. Momo is an African label, and it was the only African label shown at fashion week, so there was some buzz about it! On the 24^th, I arrived at the venue at 9 am. I walked upstairs to a sea of models, outfits and people with black headsets running around. For about three hours the other intern and I stuffed 500 gift bags that were to be placed on each seat at the fashion show. Literally 500, I’m not making that up. While we were stuffing the bags, models were getting ready, outfits were being prepared and the people with black headsets were still running around. Also, I was surprised to see a catering area. Models…eating? But they all ate! Who would have thought? It was so weird.

 So after we finished stuffing the bags, we got to go see where the show was taking place.  It was so cool to walk into the venue and see the runway; it kind of took my breath away! It was so beautiful. My moment of joy was quickly crushed by the weight of my next task. We had to get the 500 bags into the venue. Sounds so easy. Well the venue was four, yes four, flights of stairs away from where we stuffed the bags. Oh and you have to push through like 5 doors too. And I was wearing a tight dress. It was a little disconcerting. So for the next hour I had bags hanging from every part of my body, trying to carry as many as I could at once. It was the most physical activity I’ve had in a loonnng time. I thought getting more bags at once was better than making more trips but then I realized walking was difficult when I was basically carrying my weight in gift bags. While we were getting the gift bags in place and perfectly lined up, they did a run through of the show. Two famous models named Alex Wek and Jordan Dunn walked in the show, which was a big deal. Apparently they are both quite the divas though. 

My duties when people started showing up to be seated for the show basically consisted of me running around and asking everyone I knew if they needed help. Whenever I would ask someone that, they would tell me to go ask someone else. So all I did while people were being seated for the show was walk around and ask if any one needed help. Oh, I also told people they were walking the right direction toward the venue. Very helpful. It was so cool to see how a fashion show comes together. Backstage at a fashion show is everything I thought it would be, so chaotic! It’s literally insane. But then the lights go out and it’s show time. I got to sit down and actually watch the show that we’d worked so hard preparing for. The show was only about 15 minutes long, which is hilarious when you think about how much preparation it took. The show was amazing; the dresses were beautiful and would look awful on anyone who has an ounce of fat. After the show, I got to keep a gift bag! Then the designer of Momo threw an after party at an exclusive bar in Mayfair, a really ritzy area in London. So I got to hang out with my coworkers and have champagne on some body else’s dime. Not bad! Overall the day was amazing and I’m so lucky to have gotten to work a fashion show at London Fashion Week. 

This is after we lovingly placed all the bags in their rows!

Once the people got there...it filled up quickly!

The finale of the show...all the models wore those black things on their heads. No idea what they are!

My gift bag!

After party with Ella and Leora, two Fearnhurst girls

More pictures....

This is Regent's Park, where I took a walk with some friends the other day. London has so many beautiful parks and it's really nice to just take some time and walk around in them!

These are my roomates Amelia on the left and Lily on the right. Yesterday we went and walked around The Big Ben/Westminster Abbey area. It was sunny yesterday so it was great to walk around!
This is a painting in the National Gallery. The National Gallery is in Trafalgar Square and it's HUGE! I spent a few hours in the gallery and didn't even see half of it. This was my favorite painting though...I think it's so beautiful. 
This is the view outside of the National Gallery looking at Trafalgar Square. I love this picture.
 So I found Nemo when I went to the London Aquarium. The aquarium wasn't as cool as I thought it would be. They were doing so much renovation which caused a lot of the exhibits to be closed. But I love water and sea creatures so it was still pretty cool.

Walking around London...