Issue to Print, Some Rocks, Bath & the Sniffles

Fourth of July was the beginning of the end for me -- in terms of feeling like my normal self. After going out for the 4th (in combination with my tiring weekend), I ended up coming down with a cold. Perfect! Exactly what you want when you only have 8 weeks to explore a new city and take in everything that you can in your spare time. So of course, that was depressing in and of itself, and also a new obstacle that I'd have to attempt to overcome so that I could maximize potential fun for the upcoming weekend. I tried my best to take it easy during the week -- coming home right after work and relaxing, staying in on Friday night with my roomie having a "How I Met Your Mother" marathon -- but here I am, almost a week later, and I still have a cough and the sniffles.

Don't worry though. I am soldiering on. This past week was an important one at work. Our issue was going to print so we had to do a lot of proof-reading and last minute tweaking to make sure that everything would look good and read well once published. While I had the luxury of going home at a normal time (ah, the life of an unpaid and sick intern), my co-workers stayed in the office late to make sure everything was ready. On Friday, we awaited to hear the public response to what we had produced. Seeing as though our magazine is for BA employees and is pretty much BA's magazine, many of the employees and people involved have something to say about the issue. Nevertheless, by Friday, we were all relieved that we had put out the issue and to celebrate, went out for lunch just our little staff.

We went to a Mexican tapas restaurant, apparently opened by one of the winners of Masterchef here in London. Even though I am not a die-hard Mexican food fanatic, I enjoyed the food and especially the fact that I got to spend some time out of the office with my co-workers. It certainly was an amusing lunch with our crew.

Friday night, like I said, I stayed in with my roommate to take it easy. We both weren't feeling that great and the following day, we had a group excursion to Stonehenge and Bath so we wanted to be well-rested and prepared -- especially seeing as though we had to be up and out of the Nido by 7:45AM (that's earlier than I have to leave for work...) Because of our night-in though, we woke up fairly refreshed and excited about leaving the city for the day.

Stonehenge! (Left to right: Matt, me, Kathryn and Dan)

It took about two hours to get to Stonehenge, and as the bus approached, we were told that we could already catch a glimpse of the famous landmark. I looked out the window and was a bit disappointed. "Wait, that's it?" It was a lot smaller than I had expected. You hear so much about Stonehenge and its mystery and you're expecting this larger-than-life arrangement of stones, and then when you actually get out and walk over to them, it doesn't seem as overwhelming as pictures would suggest. Don't get me wrong -- I am glad that I got to see it because I think it's one of those things where you have to go just to say you did. But to be honest, we really didn't need the alotted hour to walk around and take some photos. Most of us just hung out on the grass and were discussing how the ramifications of running through Stonehenge (it's roped off so you can't get too close) probably wouldn't be too bad considering there were more of us than guards and they might not be able to keep up with us. Of course, none of us were brave enough to test out our theory.

Jessie touching one of the amazing rocks at Stonehenge

Me and Stonehenge. BFFs

Stonehenge and some ominous clouds

After Stonehenge, we headed to Bath -- a stop on the trip that I was more excited about. I loved Bath. We had nice weather and as soon as we got off the bus, we went in search of food. I had lunch with some of the other interns outside. Afterwards, we strolled over to the park and hung out, eating ice cream and really just relaxing. It was so simple, yet so satisfying. Later, we checked out the Roman baths before heading back home again. It sounds like we didn't do that much, but truthfully, we spent the afternoon taking it easy. I found it to be a really nice way to spend the day. Sometimes running from tourist attraction to museum to the next tourist attraction lets you see the tourist attractions, yes, but doesn't let you see the city or town or whatever location you're in. Sometimes you just need to take it in at your own pace, doing things that you want to do, regardless of whether or not Rick Steve or Frommers thinks its a good idea.

At lunch in Bath. (Left to right: Dan, Jessie, Parker, Kathryn, Dan and me!)

The park at Bath, so picturesque!

Enjoying the park at Bath. Dan's enjoying the park too much.

Roman baths... at Bath

Roman baths

Kathryn commented that Bath makes her really feel like she's in Europe. It's because the Romans were there. Once again, another reason why Italians are so great. Making pretty cities (and people) all over the world.

Saturday night wasn't very eventful...I actually did go out, but I went home early because I am still trying to kick this cold. As of right now, I still have a cough...but hopefully that will disappear soon so I can move on and go back to doing fun things without feeling as though one of my internal organs is trying to escape.
Sunday was another good day. I spent the morning wandering around on my own near Oxford Street. I was in search of a dress for tea because later that night I would be going to the Ritz with a few of the other interns for high tea! After finding a dress that channeled a bit of Carrie Bradshaw and a bit of trophy wife, I headed back to the Nido and met up with my friend, Kathryn. We weren't sure what to do with the rest of our afternoon so we  both thought it would probably be a good idea to check out the National Portrait Gallery considering 1.) we were bored 2.) it's one of those things you need to see and the most important reason, 3.) it's free! A lot of the museums here in London are free, so that definitely makes being cultured a bit easier.

Kathryn and I at the National Portrait Gallery
with Trafalgar Square behind us.

We headed to Trafalgar Square where the National Portrait Gallery is located, walked around and checked out the paintings. Our favorites were the Van Gogh paintings and the Impressionists. After feeling like hoity-toity-museum-goers, we walked around Trafalgar Square and then towards Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We both remarked about how we have been in London for about a month now and yet, we never see Big Ben or never really truly feel like we're in London sometimes because we're surrounded by buildings without any English personality or hint at the fact that we're in a place of culture and history. So we enjoyed our little aimless walk before heading back to the Nido, and grabbing some groceries at Tesco.

Big Ben! My British boyfriend.

I had to get back though because I had to get ready for tea! I went to the Ritz for high tea with three other interns -- Jessie, Matt and Jason. We put on our Sunday finest and felt like classy people. In our cab ride there, we went over all of the etiquette rules and were laughing because we were trying to figure out which one of us would be the one to spill or make a mess (Jason did that -- within the first five minutes...) Once we got there, we were glad that we splurged. It was expensive (40 British pounds which is roughly $60 give or take), but honestly, it was 100% worth it. It was unlimited top-ups so we got as much food as we wanted and as much tea as we wanted. And even though I don't drink tea (not really a fan), it was so delicious. It was a great experience, and with great people, it was even better. There was a harpist and it seemed like he was listening to our table because we joked and said that it would be great if he played "A Whole New World," and shortly after, he started playing it. Even though you would think high tea at the Ritz would be all quiet and snobby, we were laughing and having a ton of fun. Definitely the highlight of my weekend.

The Ritz! Where we had tea... So pretty!

Classy people at tea. (Left to right: Jason, Jessie, me and Matt)

In front of the Ritz. (Left to right: Jason, me, Matt and Jessie)

And now back to work! Today, I finally got to see the July issue of Up to Speed in print! It was exciting to see my name in the credits of the magazine and to see all of our hard work right in my hands. This week has the potential to be pretty great -- I have another trip to Heathrow coming up AND I finally get to see Harry Potter at midnight! Five hours before you folks in the US... Yes, be jealous.