Trip Planning | Top 5

Trip planning is in full swing.

We're really just waiting for Tom to get a few days

off in a row so we can head off.

We will get ahold of Tom's work schedule

and if it's good we will buy our flights and book a place to stay.

So we have up until then to figure out where to go.

It's quite complicated choosing where to go on a short holiday.

Especially when Europe is at our fingertips.

We could go anywhere.

The world is our oyster...

or Europe is anyways ;)

here's a few of my top picks.

I've listed a few countries and one city.

I LOVE the idea of going to some of these 

countries but i haven't pinned down a specific city.

And then Prague has always looked so beautiful.

I would be happy going there as well...

Norway would be absolutely gorgeous

especially during the winter months...

But with winter comes the cold,

and i think Norway might put an English winter to shame...

brrrr

I've always wanted to go to Germany.

I think it's a gorgeous country.

Tom's been here so this one will 

probably be somewhere we will go in the future.

Portugal looks magical.

I haven't looked into Portugal too much

but i feel like it would be such a romantical place

to explore with Tom.

Prague looks dreamy.

It's the only city i've really picked out specifically

that i would really like to go visit.

Italy has been the most serious of inquiries.

I don't feel like you can go wrong with Italy.

We're looking into Florence and the surrounding areas.

I mean what girl would say no to exploring tuscany with her stud crumpet??

Not this girl ;)

- The plan -

Tom's parents gave us a little weekend holiday for Christmas.

All we have to do is pick the destination.

Which is proving to be difficult with all of the options.

What do you think of my picks?

-Em

Homesickness

My first week in England with Tom has been amazing.

It's gone by so fast and so slow all at the same time.

While on one hand i'm loving where my life is right now,

on the other hand i'm missing my people back home.

homesickness has only been a problem once.

I was lying awake one night missing my little family.

Homesickness is weird because it doesn't mean your not happy where you are.

I think mine means that i wish i could have everyone in one place.

That being said, i haven't been too homesick because i've done this before.

I've lived away from home for most of the past 5 years.

I think out of those five years i may have spent approximately one year at home

if you include summer breaks and holidays.

Plus skype is not only a means for keeping in contact with a british boy.

It's also a way to call your momma while she's on her lunch.

Or a nice way to keep up with the fam on weekends.

Which i still need to do..

I'm living in Tom's parents house with Tom his mum and dad,

sister Holly and grandad Billy.

They are hilarious, and loving and wonderful

which makes this transition that much easier for me.

Tom and I haven't really done much this week.

Other than go to the movies two days in a row...

and eat WAY too much pizza..

I've spent the week settling into life here.

I've figured out the bus system to town

which makes me feel like a local.

I've just bought a GO phone yesterday,

his name is Gregory...

He was only three pound.

Then I just have to top him up for ten pound a month

to keep him living and breathing.

So i now have my very own UK phone number.

Which makes me all giddy inside.

Today Tom is working till 6.

I'm heading back to the bus on my own 

and going to Town for a little window shopping...

or maybe some real shopping..who knows.

I'm also going to take this opportunity to explore a little more.

And now i feel like i can explore more because i have a phone to keep 

me connected in case of emergencies.

Plus mom, if you're reading this, i'll be fine.

I'm only going to be in like a shopping mall area.

So when i say get to know the city center better

i really mean get to know the shopping area better.

Are we all that surprised??

I don't think so ;)

I'm off for now.

Have a wonderful weekend.

-Em

Bus local

I rode the bus to town by myself yesterday.

When i say 'to town' it makes me giggle...

It makes me feel like i jumped in my horse and buggy

and headed off into the sunrise towards town to buy eggs ;)

The bus was my buggy and pizza express was my eggs...

I was being sneaky while taking this photo...

I didn't want the kids up front to think i was weird...

And then just as i snapped it the sound went off and they 

both turned around and looked at me and then began whispering

about how creepy i was being...

I feel like every time i've taken a creeper shot

either the flash has gone off or the camera sound goes off...

It's awkward..but i'm really good at acting like nothing happened.

Just like i did on the bus last night ;)

I met Tom after work and we went to see American Hustle.

It was good but i fell asleep during some of it and so it's all a little hazy.

The theaters here do a special on wednesdays.

Buy one get one free...yes please.

Then we found out that pizza express does the special too.

Buy one pizza get one free...double yes please!!

It was all pretty incredible really.

I'm just glad i can get the bus on my own now.

It makes it easier to meet up with Tom and go out and 

do some shopping if i need to :)

I'm like a local now :)

It's pretty awesome.

Have a great Thursday! 

-Em

We steal broken umbrellas...

Yesterday was a great day.

It was Tom's first full day off work

since i got here last Friday.

We headed to town for a nice day out.

We went to Liverpool's world museum and

saw everything from live fishies to mummies to dinos.

Then we headed out for a pizza slice and a coke for lunch.

Got some US dollaahhs converted over to pounds...

which means i got my money cut in half...

Our plan for the day was to go see a movie

so we had about an hour and a half before Walter Mitty started...

which if you haven't seen it...you should...

We spent some time at this coffee place called Costa.

I got this hot apple drink, this strong and spicy apple drink.

After people watching for a bit we headed over to the movie.

It was a really good film.

All about acting on your dreams instead of just daydreaming about them.

Pretty inspirational and if I wasn't already traveling, it would make me want to.

After the movie we were headed over to this place called Byron

for burgers and onion rings and mac and cheese and comfort food galore.

When we got there we saw that there were people inside

so we walked to the doors and pulled on them awkwardly

until we realized they were locked and then we

just giggled and ran away before we embarrassed ourselves even more ;)

We ended up in a Pizza Hut.

Which Tom thought was pretty magical

because of their all you can eat Salad Bar...

And i thought it was pretty magical because of their

all you can eat Ice cream self serve...

You can obviously see who's healthier ;)

It had been raining off and on all day

and we were without an umbrella....

If only there was an umbrella for us to use...

That's when Tom reached under the table and VOILA...

he found an umbrella that had been left behind.

Who's lucky? We're lucky...

Since this obviously abandoned umbrella was without a home,

i suggested that we take it with us and use it.

So we took it...is that stealing???

If it is it was for a good cause...to keep a nice couple dry...

Anyways...

So we leave Pizza Hut and head towards the bus stop for our ride home.

Once we get to the bus stop we decide to pop open that new umbrella of ours.

Spoiler Alert...It was broken.

That's probably why it was left in the first place.

So we hopped on our bus and gazed out the window 

staring at the little black umbrella that we left snuggled 

under a seat at the bus stop.

Our hope is that someone else finds it...

and it brightens their day a little...

and they take it with them until they find out that it's broken...

And then they leave it for someone else to find...

A little broken umbrella adventure.

Oh did i mention that Tom got me a Panda onesie for my graduation present??

Because he did...and it's the best thing i've ever seen.

 Basically i'm having a blast :)

Now i'm just waiting for Tom to get off work

so we can go see another movie.

And maybe find another homeless broken umbrella..

Have a wonderful day!!

-Em

Back to school, wait....

So i guess they weren't kidding when 

they said they were going to keep school running

even though i wasn't there...

weird..

I'm not really that self centered ;)

But it does seem surreal that my Alma Mater {that's weird too}

is starting school today after their Christmas Break...

And i won't be there.

It hasn't really sunk in until now..

that i'm graduated and done with school.

Or at least done with undergrad.

I still miss all my people.

My student friends and faculty friends

and the people that i'd much rather call family.

It's strange, and a bit scary not to be back.

But i'm happy with where i am ;)

And i know i'll be back there shortly since

my little bro will be attending the same school in the fall.

Can't wait to see how he handles it...

Goth child number 2?? I hope not...

Annyyywwaaayyysss...

I'm still in England...with Tom...not leaving anytime soon...

and so far...it's been incredible, which is pretty obvious.

We haven't done much of anything over the weekend,

that's due to the fact that Tom still has to work.

He got a pretty crummy work schedule for the weekend,

he worked most of Saturday and Sunday.

womp .. womp

But he's off at one today and he's off tomorrow

so you'll be seeing more of us in the next two days :)

Hope you're all having a wonderful monday...lolz

And i hope everyone has a great first day back at school!!

-Em

Hello from England

Is it possible for your eyes to weigh a million pounds??

Because it feels like mine do...

I left my house around 9am on Thursday and

got to Tom's house at around 9am on Friday.

Which means i traveled non stop for around 18 hours 

with no sleep because the lady next to me on the big plane

wouldn't stop flopping around and hitting me in the side.

I didn't mind not sleeping too much.

I mean by the time i started getting sleepy

we were getting our breakfast on the plane

and preparing to land in Manchester.

Plus there was free movies so i was pretty happy.

Once we landed I was feeling some serious claustrophobia 

after being on that plane for so long.

I wanted off but the lady next to me, bless her, was taking her time.

Which was all fine and dandy until I finally got off and saw the customs line.

All of those lovely people we let go ahead of us were now in front of us.

It took about 20 minutes to get through the line.

All the while i was really nervous.

I wasn't sure what the protocol was for staying in a country for 5 months...

So when i got to my customs lady she asked me all of the customary customs questions

and then as we were finishing up our conversation she threw in

"so how long will you be staying"

gulp...5 months I replied...

"WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU STAYING THAT LONG?"

Whooaaaaa...because i'm in Love ;)

She then rolled her eyes a bit and stamped me through.

I did a little jump for joy while passing through the doors.

OH and while we were in line this man and woman were

being escorted out by the police.

They were British and the man just kept saying...

"I can't wait to get out of this awful country, away from these

awful people and these awful tourists. OH the tourists are the worst,

i hate them, i hate them so much, i hate this country."

He said all of that while standing next to our line

full of people who are just visiting the UK...aka the awful tourists..

It was actually pretty hilarious ;)

One i got to Tom's house i fought sleep for a little while

and then it just took over, i don't even remember half of yesterday.

I know that's not the way to do it, you should wait to sleep until it's night...

But like i said before, my eyes were like a million pounds and i couldn't resist.

I'm starting to wake up now though, and it's such a cool feeling being back.

It really feels as though i never left, i mean i was only here a few weeks ago.

I of course already miss everyone back home, mom, dad, the sibs, the whole fam.

I wish i could pack you up and bring you with me.

I love being back with Tom.

I am so so happy that this is all happening.

I love that i can go without seeing him in person for a while

and then when i see him we just pick up like we've been together forever.

It's all pretty perfect! :)

After a looooonnngggg day of traveling, and a long day of lazing

It's time to unpack, do some reading, go grocery shopping with Tom's mum

and wait for Tom to get off work :)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

-Em

England bound & Customs humor

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

I'm all packed, and ready to go.

I think i deserve an award for getting

5 months of clothes/shoes/other necessities 

into a medium suitcase a carry on and a backpack.

Go me!!

I am so so excited to be reunited with this guy :) :) :) :)

One thing i'm not excited about is going through customs.

They scare me, like real bad.

I know for a fact that i have ALL of the info

that i need for them to let me pass but I'm still scared of them.

Not that i have reason to be, they're just intimidating.

Also it kind of hurts my feelings

how uninterested they are in my reason for traveling.

Here's an example of my customs experience.

C = Customs

E= Emily

C - Passport please

E - Oh yes, here you go.

C - Why are you traveling to the UK?

E - {giggly} This is where my boyfriend lives.

C - How did you meet?

E - ahem...we met...online...

C - Have you met before?

E - {giggle} yes, yes we have, he spent 3 magical 

weeks with me in Texas last summer and i came here

at Thanksgiving break for a week, it was wonderful. {giggle}

C - How long have you known him?

E - oh, it will be 14 months in february, oh how sweet is that,

14 months in february is so magical, because you know,

the 14th is Valentines day and we're in love and we've

known each other 14 months...sighhh

C - {rolls eyes} how long will you be here, when is your flight back,

do you plan on working while your here???

E - {thinks to myself, why doesn't C care about my relationship??}

I leave June 9th and no i won't be working.

C - Don't you have a job? Or aren't you a student?

How can you take off this long?

E - I graduated in december and since 

we've been dating long distance we decided

that this would be a great opportunity to spend 

a few magical and romantic months together...

you know, young love {giggle}

C - {rolls eyes, stamps passport}

NEXT...

hmph...

I guess i'm a little too obsessed with our story ;)

I think it will all go really well tomorrow!

I am so excited :)

I can't wait to start this adventure, and begin

blogging from across the pond for a few months.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday.

Big day of traveling ahead of me, but have no fear

I have insurgent and Allegiant to keep me company.

Divergent was amazing, i can't wait to read the others.

Here I go...eeep

-Emily