Ringing in 2008 London Style

On the morning of New Year's Eve, us girls went for tea at the Ritz! It was the picture of elegance, and we only mildly tried to measure up! We drank champagne, gallons of tea, and ate lots of tiny sandwiches, crumpets and desserts. There was a realllly cute boy there that we kept trying to sneak glances at. We assume he was with his sister.

After, we went on a shopping spree at Harrod's! They have a huge sale in January, and so it was even more packed than usual. I bought myself a couple of birthday presents with the birthday money I've received. It was really fun!

The Harrod's building lit up at night

That evening we returned the hotel, rested, and got ready to go out for New Year's! We went to a club across from Victoria station that was really cool...and arrived just as the clock struck midnight!

Happy New Year, everyone!
Best wishes for health and happiness.

Faith's flight was early New Year's Day, but Brittany's and my train wasn't until 9 pm so we spent yet another day wandering London! We wanted to see a play, but there wasn't anything that struck our fancy playing that day. So instead, we went to watch a bit of the parade, visited Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, got German sausages in Hyde Park, and finally froze outside Buckingham Palace.

Hyde Park Corner, our hotel's tube station

New Year's Day Parade

Westminster Abbey

St. Paul's

Friendship bracelets made out of chocolate snowman ornaments.

Buckingham Palace

Then we just hung out in a pub (onion rings!) to get out of the cold until it was time to collect our baggage and catch the train. We were leaving from King's Cross Station, which means...

When asked if Harry Potter influenced Brittany's decision to study in England, she responded that The Holiday was probably her biggest influence. Unfortunately, she hasn't run into Jude Law yet. Or Prince William, for that matter.

Twenty-one and in LONDON!

After many hours and many modes of transportation, I finally found myself to the hotel in London, took a shower, and ordered room service. Ah, what a life. Brittany and Faith came home from the Lion King show after a few hours, while I was kicking back eating chocolate and watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It was so nice to see them again! We exchanged Christmas/birthday presents, caught up a bit, and got some sleep!

The next day was my infamous, however anti-climactic when spent in Europe, twenty-first birthday! We slept in and then went for breakfast and champagne on the club level (hoo hoo) of the hotel. Here's some engagement photos of me and Britt from that morning (note the special birthday beads from Cheryl):


We went to Hampton Court Palace for the day, looking at the gardens, the kitchens, and the grounds. There was a small event happening in the Great Hall that afternoon called 'gift-giving' for Christmas. There were all these characters from back then, including the audience in their act. Towards the end, they decided to have a Christmas dance, which we all participated in. One of the actors, Sir Thomas Cottonpeppersomething, asked me to dance and took me to the front of the line near the Queen especially because it was my birthday :). Then we danced in a line with all the others and he was super flirtatious (as his character was supposed to be) and said sweet things such as, ''I've never had the pleasure of dancing with such a lovely gentlewoman'' or complimentary things such as, 'your gown flares just beautifully as you twirl' or hilarious things such as (to the Queen), ''It's Kelly's birthday, but I don't think I'll have the pleasure of seeing her in her birthday suit'' or naughty things such as, "If only I were able to do a different dance with her later" !!! It was too funny. Pretty sure I blushed the whole time.


That evening, Faith joined us for dinner and a drink in Soho and then decided to return to the hotel. Brittany and I spent the next few hours wandering London most constructively. We went from Soho to Picadilly Circus to Leicester Square to Trafalgar Square to The Thames to Big Ben! We got this one cooky but harmless guy asking us how many curly-haired people we know. He was stressing to us that they were a 'dying breed' and thus he started a facebook group titled, 'Curly of Hair, Whirly of Mind' in order to 'raise awareness'. Later, we looked it up and it doesn't exist. Too bad! Hehe...Anyways, it was a lovely tour of London at night on foot! After Big Ben we finally grabbed a taxi home and got off our feet! Here's the pics:

In front of some horse statue

I like this one because it looks like the tree is growing out of her head!

With the London Eye

Me and the Benjamin

This morning Faith's cousin, Andi, and her family came into London to meet up with us. Before they arrived, we stopped into Harrod's for a moment, but since it was just when they were opening, we had to push our way in through a throng of people!

Attempting to enter Harrod's

After we met up with the fam, we spent the rest of the day more or less wandering again. We went through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, rode the London Eye, and walked over the Tower Bridge. Tonight we are going to relax in the hotel--I'm pooped! And here's the pics of today's grand tour:

In Kensington Gardens

On our way to the Eye
Here follows a few pictures from the ride:


In front of tower bridge, annoying me again

A more normal pic with the bridge

Andi and family

While on the bridge, they had to lift if for a boat...
it was really neat to watch from up close.

Saying goodbye to Castrovillari

This is mostly a placemarker because I don't want to forget to write more about my last days in Castrovillari. I had the hardest time leaving. Right now I'm in London for my birthday spending it with Brittany and her mom, Faith. We're having a great time so far! I'll write asap!

The last couple days in Castrovillari were far more laid back since we were all recovering from Christmas. I lunched with Federica's family, went out with the friends to see some of the various locales Castrovillari has to offer, went to the beach in a town nearby, stopped by Silvia's birthday party with her friends, and finally went out to dinner on the last night for a mind-boggling meal with a stop at the Devil's Bridge!

At the beach...it was SO cold!
That's a castle in the background.

The siblings at Silvia's birthday party

The restaurant



Shawn and me looking super awkward.
I absolutely love this picture!

So Alessandro decided we should all order the main appetizer and share because it gives a great sampling of the best of Calabria's fine foods. We each received a plate with prociutto and one of the best cheeses I've ever tried. I was satisfied just with that, but then the waiter proceeded to bring out about 8 or more platters with dried and oiled tomatoes and eggplant, different types of sausage and pancetta, ricotta, frittatas, olives, and more! It was beyond anything I had ever imagined as an appetizer in my life! And so good...and then after we each had still ordered a main course (!) which was completely unnecessary, but completely delicious of course. I had tagliatelle with fresh picked mushrooms. Mmm...I just don't understand how they can make food taste so good. They're like magicians. After, we went to Il Ponte di Diavolo:

You can't see the background very well, but it was surrounded by cliffs with a big river raging below. I couldn't even see the river, I could only hear it! It was super creepy at night but really beautiful...and the air was amazingly crisp and refreshing.

The next day I had to get up super early for my ridiculous day of travel. It was so sad saying good-bye to Silvia and Mama. Silvia through a fit and said that Azzurra had been unfair always stealing me away so she couldn't spend any time with me. It was cute. In the morning, mama packed me sandwiches and then drove me to the station and waited with me for the bus. She always called me "joya" which I presume means joy, and she told me what a pleasure it had been and that I was welcomed anytime. Other than my own, I don't think I could have been with a better family for Christmas. My time in Castrovillari, Calabria was unlike anything I've ever experienced in my life. It cast a spell on me and created the most wonderful memories that will stay with me forever. The best (and unfortunately the most corny) way I can describe it is that my heart was full while I was there.

Christmas out on the towns

I was fortunate enough to get another shot at internet so soon! I'm at Federica's house, where we just ate another huge lunch for Santo Stefano. Seriously, that's all we do, is eat huge lunches. You have no idea. But ooooo, honey, is it yummy. Here's some pictures from yesterday's Christmas lunch:

The girls, hungry and ready to eat!

Mmm...the second course!

So yesterday after lunch Azzurra's uncle took Azzurra and me for a ride around the countryside. We saw more of Lungra, the town where he and the grandparents live, including the Greek Bizantine church (circa 1300) and a view of the whole town from the top of the hill.

After, we went to a town about 30 minutes away, Altomonte, which was sooo old and sooo beautiful. We had to get out of the car and walk through the cobblestone passageways. I have so many beautiful photos (none of which accurately portray the true beauty of seeing it in person, unfortunately)...here's a couple:

After, we went back to Lungra to visit Azzurra's great aunt's house, where everyone had reconvened. Her house was very antique, very particular. I took pics of that too because I knew my mom would love to see it! To be honest, I've taken pics of just about everything!

Azzurra with her great aunt and uncle

How cute is he?

In the evening, we returned to Castrovillari, and the 'young ones' got ready to go out again, because the Italians party all day and night for these holidays. I was exhausted from eating, exploring, and speaking Italian all day, but I didn't want to miss out, and I'm so glad I went! So Alessandro picked us up and we went to meet our other friends at a bar.

Shawn and me at the cute little bar in Castrovillari

Outside the bar, a natural photo op...
The branches look like a cobweb!

After, the three of us plus Shawn (who's also here staying with his roommate for Christmas) went to a town called Murano which is spectacular. We went up to the ancient castle in the dark, where it was completely silent and the fog was rolling in. We explored the castle a bit, walked around the town, and popped a bottle of champagne. It was simply magical.

You can just make out the castle in the background

After we crawled into the castle...the view out the window!

It looks surreal, doesn't it?

The lights shining through the champagne bottle

My-sized door!

That's Murano in the background.
And for comparison....

Here's what it looks like during the day

After, we did another quick tour of San Basile (where Alessandro lives, and which we had a quick tour because San Basile is smaller than a pin) and finally returned home. The pictures don't even do it justice...but it was a wonderful, magical night I'll never forget!