Girl Trip Day One

In honor of celebrating my 25th birthday I headed to London with my four best friends- Ashly, Andrea, Brigitte, and Cynthia. Due to the minor fact that I live in France, I really don’t get to hangout with my girls quite like I used to. (That whole distance thing can be a bit of an obstacle.) But, because I have the best friends in the world that a girl could ever ask for (and I can say that cause I am on the other side of the world so I know it’s really true) Ashly and Andrea pitched in to buy me a ticket to see Britney in London, and when Brigitte and Cynthia saw Britney in Anaheim, Ca they kept me in their sprits and photo shopped me into their pictures. (I told you they were the best.)

Can you believe they get even better than just buying tickets and photo shopping??? Well trust me they do, and here is the proof: They even came with me on my trip to London! I was so excited to have my friends with me touring around London. It was the best reunion and way I could have ever spent celebrating my 25th!

Below you will find day one of our three days worth of London adventures, excursions, and fun!

The girls first met me in Paris where we then together flew over to London- here we are waiting for our flight to board.

Once on the plane it was time to get all buckeled up.





When we arrived at Luton airport we had to take a bus into the city- turns out London is very green and the girls enjoyed looking out the window as we leisurely drove into the center of the city.





We had a bit of time to kill before we could check into our hostel so we had our priorities- first eat! And second tour. We took the tube to the Notting hill station and found the cutest little resturant to rest and eat some food. This resturant served lots of fresh salads, tartines, quiches, soups, and beautifufl desserts.



After placing our order we sat around and chatted for a little bit catching up on all the time we have missed. We loved the wooden tables and the beautiful fresh flowers on our table. It was so refreshing to be in a calm environment catching up with my best girls.



Oh la la our food has arrived. Yum! toast with Camenbaret walnuts and pears. Delish! Loved the pretty presentation.



After resting up a bit and enjoying our lunch we headed into Notting Hill. My favorite movie is Notting Hill so this was a must see for me while in London. Portobello Road is exactly how Hugh Grant describes it in the movie. There are tons of great antique shops, there are some great clothes stores, and our favorite store front was the extreem hair and makeup center. We were not brave enough to go in and get makeovers. The best part of this street was that all of the store fronts on this street were painted different colors bringing each store to life in an orignial and vibrant way.







After enjoying the lovely Portobello Rd, we decided we were tired of being turtles and carrying our backpacks around and decided to go check in at our hostel. We stayed at a hostel called "The Generator". The Generator is basically a state school college dorm. Filled with Bright colors and around 800 travelers staying at one time. It was insane how many people were continually coming and going. But you can't beat a room for 15 a night so we were sold on this deal. We were upgraded from a 10 girls room to a 4 girls room and stayed with two girls traveling from the U.S. and another girl from Australia who just finished a 4 week tour of all of Europe.



My favorite part of checking in was that the Generator held the Golden ticket. Better known as my Britney Spears ticket!!! I was very nervous about my Britney ticket because 4 days before the concert I still had no ticket in hand even though I had ordered it two months previously. I was hoping it would have been delievered by the time I arrived at the hostel and it happened to arrive one hour before we did. phew.

Brigitte and Cynthia's favorite part of check in was the Happy Hour sign.



Ashly and Andrea's favorite part of check in was getting the chance to lay down and rest for a few moments before I made them trek the remaining day around London.



After getting settled in, we headed to the Westminster Abby area to just walk around and get adjusted to the city. We absoultly loved the Tube system. It is very easy to learn, work, and fun to ride. The best part was how polite the tube was. Everytime you approached a stop a recording would come on and say, "Please Mind the Gap," in a wonderful British accent. And rather than having exit signs, there would be signs saying "Way Out" to direct you to the exit.




Once exiting the metro we were standing face to face with the Amazing Big Ben! This clock was amazing to see. It is so large and beautiful filling this busy block with life, authenticity, and history.





Then we walked down the street and took a gander at Westmister Abby where you can visit the tombs of the deceased royalty and many others. Along with where the coronations of Kings and Queens take place. Inside the structure and architecture is exquisite. There are some of the best stained glasses I have yet to see in Europe and there is a ton of detail throughout all the halls within this strucutre.



After hanging out at Westminster Abby we crosseed the street to take a look at Parlament. When crossing the streets in London they provide the pedistrian with directions on which way to look before crossing the street. If you were to ever be hit by a car- I would say it would happen in London- I am pretty sure when they see pedistrians in the road they speed up. They must take the points game a little too seriously.





This is Parlament. The sky's were so bright and blue today it makes this shot almost look fake.



For the evening activites last minute Ashly, Andrea, and I decided to go see Wicked while Brigitte and Cynthia decided to go out for the night. We were able to get half price tickets at a kisok in one of the metros and loved having the ability to go see Wicked in London. It was a fabulous show and I thought it was the best Alphaba voice I have yet to hear play the role.







After a long day of traveling and roaming all around London, it was time to get some sleep, we had another big day ahead of us planned for tomorrow.



Sweet Dreams!

Welcome to the Circus!

After ten years of anticipating, six albums of great hits, and countless hours of dancing and singing along the time has finally come- The Circus has come to town and the ring leader is The One, The Only, Mrs. Britney Spears.



Britney has a total of eight shows in London. The original tour schedule, had her stage set up at the “02 Arena” in London for two days before calling the show finished and the Circus tour complete. After those two shows were booked solid instantly and fans continued to plead for more shows and tickets more days were added to her program. It was apparent Britney was in high demand in the UK, but the rest of Eurpoe continued to cry, “Britney come to Dublin, come to Paris, come to Berlin, come, come, come.” In April three months after her tour was announced and a month into her show being on the road in the U.S. Britney’s tour would now include 21shows all across Europe.



On Friday June 5th, the morning after Britney’s first show in London Britney’s concert was an advertising tag for a full review to be found on page three, in all the major papers. All around the streets, girls were grabbing the papers to flip through what the reviews had to say about the show. With initial appearances of hope and excitement faces changed to disappointment. The eager readers would find disappointing words about the show- mocking her “lip synced routine”, and “lack of luster dancing” throughout the show. The reviews initiated a stream of apprehension and nervousness through those who had plans to see her show in the upcoming days.



When walking up to the “02 Arena,” the crowds flocked in with jovial excitement and after approaching the arena, the crowds immediately knew that this would be a show like none other. The entire arena had been entirely transformed into a circus. There were girls on platforms performing acrobatics, vendors selling popcorn with the boxes displaying the name and face of Britney Spears, Jugglers, carnival rides, and blasts of Circus music setting the tone of the evening. Once inside the arena the themes of the night continued to be displayed throughout all the details.



Each girl (and boy) came to this concert dressed to impress. Some were wearing outfits to match some of Britney’s most famous music videos, while others looked like they were dressed for the biggest night in the best of towns. Over the top high heels of all fashions, tons of bright pink and black out outfits, and makeup that would have put any of these girls right up on the stage. Each person had come ready to join in the circus fun.



While talking to several people before the show the topic of lip syncing continually came up and each Britney follower had the same reaction. It was unanimous, clear and apparent- not a single person cared whether or not Britney would lip sync her way through the night. Britney was “awesome” and that was all that mattered. To each fan, Britney performs at a higher caliber than others on the pop scene and cannot simply be expected to sing every song while running the stage and dancing to the quality her show requires. In reality, if Britney had cut back the dancing and promenades across all three rings and four sides of the arena to sing each lyric, there would have been vast disappointment from the crowd in regards to the show. The show and performance of Britney is why each fan has gathered. It was the performance they paid for not the voice, they came for the show only Britney is able to put on.



In the restaurant/bar of the “02 arena” many people gathered to spend their time before the show. This restaurant continued to set the stage and boost up the excitement by playing a mix of all of Britney’s big time hits. Customers gathered around tables talking among one another and singing hit after hit energized for the night to come. The drink special of the night was called a Britney cocktail and was ordered continuously as then girls would snap pictures of them holding the drink next to the sign that advertised the Britney cocktail. The buzz of excitement continued to climax as the time drew closer to the show, cameras continuously flashed to capture the moment, girls began to dance, and continuous squeals of, “I am so excited” rang through the room.



After an opening performance by Ciara and an acrobatic Circus routine filled with talented advanced jugglers and acrobatics of all kinds, the room grew dark and a red curtain fell around the center circular stage. A large screen came down that encompassed the stage. A fanfare of trumpets played as lights flashed all around the room and the screen lit up displaying light bulbs of the word, “CIRCUS” as the fanfare peaked, static took over the screen and on came Perez Hilton dressed as the queen of England doing a three minute intro the show with slightly psychotic clowns, men of great strength, and circus music blasted in the background as the words come out, “Enter one, Enter all, the circus of the Bazaar. The greatest show on earth, Welcome to the Circus!”



Instantly the veil is lifted and Britney is revealed standing in a red, blue, and black ringleader costume. Cheers are silenced as Britney begins, “There’s only two types of people in the world,” pause “The ones that entertain and the ones that observe” followed by a slashing whip held by the ringleader, the fans go wild and a night full of screams and dancing is set ablaze amongst the crowd. For the rest of the evening Britney will continue to have possession of the center stage and dance floor.



A show is the exact thing that Britney has perfected since the young age of 17. She has the “it factor” that grabs a crowd and keeps them engaged. Whether in a cage, dancing in a picture frame that was hanging in air, or dancing with her amazingly diverse and talented back up dancers she kept the entire arena high energy, on their feet, and screaming or singing along. She worked the stage with her dancers while never missing a beat. She transitioned smoothly and stunts of disappearing acts, dancing in rings of fire or being lifted and twirled around by two other acrobatics in air, left the crowd wanting more. Each of her dance moves were hard hitting and the show continued to display show parallel to none other, but to be best described as a Cirque du soleil goes Moulin Rouge in pop culture fashion. The festive masquerade was verified as each fan who bought a program was given a free mask souvenir.



While keeping up the pace of each song and while working the stage of circus acts and transitioning, Britney went through numerous extraordinary and fabulous costume changes to fit each act accordingly. Outfits varied from being a ring master, wearing sparkly diamond encrusted bustieres and corsets, and even going back to her style a few years ago when she wore lose pasts and a black and white cropped top and a top hat as she performed the much loved song "Toxic." Each of these outfits naturally came accessorized with either knee high laced up boots or mile high stilettos, and fabulous jewelry to match.



The best outfit of the night was actually the one that kept Britney the most covered up. Britney came out in a turquoise and gold Arabian Princess costume adorned with jewelry and a matching head piece to perform a Bollywood version of “In the Zone.” The following song was the most engaging part of the evening. Britney’s microphone was audibly turned on as she greeted her London basted fans. She then sat on a large gold and turquoise fantasy dream like umbrella, where she was then taken to float in the air and around the stage as she sang her ballad “Everytime.”



While the rest of the show was very up tempo, fun, and very Britneyesque- “Everytime” brought in a new part of Britney for the night, a part that hopefully will be seen more of in the future. During “Everytime” you could hear the sweet, and by this time breathless, voice of Britney. But even more in her voice you could hear, her openness and vulnerability. Most of the show and most of Britney today tends to be oversexed. Britney is beautiful and sexy but that is not who she is. In her search for love, trust and affection it would be a great demise if it were all lost in the sea, of only finding her identity in being a sex symbol. This Britney singing a song that captivated and silenced the audience was a representation of a more unadulterated, soft, and honest side to a girl who is still growing in the midst of the real life circus she lives daily. As “Everytime” came to a close, Britney softly descended below stage and once again re-appeared as the world claims her identity to be- sexy.



After five years of waiting from Britney’s last appearance and performance of her “Onyx Hotel Tour,” London had throngs of people cheering for the pop princess’s performance. The entire evening had consisted of all her mega hits and additionally singles from her last two albums. The shows finale Britney’s first hit “Baby one more time” and ended with Britney standing in a shower of sparkling lights all around the stage as the crowd burst out in approval.



To introduce the encore the large screen splashed in a chaotic rhythmic pattern of pictures and scenes of Britney’s great performances of the past. For her encore performance, the Circus evening was fulfilled, with one final number one hit, “Womanizer,” followed by an instrumental version of “Circus” while Britney and team took their bows.



As the sea of people exited the area, ecstatic reviews were shared amongst one another. When asking if the show was what they had expected, the response would be, “and so much more!” For those who are fans of Britney not just journalist for the local area paper- the show was exactly what they came for and what they expected. The show’s success is due to seeing Britney once again rise to the top. There is adoration for the entire production, where not a single detail was missing. From beginning to end it was one fantastic charade to the next.



Each fan had come to see what they loved so much- Britney. What mattered to each fan was seeing Britney be back to life, to be back on stage, and back in the light. The best part for each adoring fan was simply seeing Britney be Britney once again.

LONDON!!!

Is Amazing!

I'll give you a verb

Last night I worked on my much neglected French homework. After an hour of conjugating verbs I was left with one very large headache. I like learning the French language. Mostly because I like to be able to understand and speak to the people who are around me. But I have an issue I would like to bring up and it is … Verb conjugation. My question is: why does every person who is addressed in a sentence need to have a verb adjusted to a corresponding ending. Why can’t they all be the same. I run, we run, they run. Easy peasy! Your option: Je cours, Tu cours, Il/elle court, Nous courons, vous courez, ils/ells courent. And this is only for the present tense on a regular verb. I am exhausted and I didn’t actually even run anywhere.

I will say learning new words is quite fun. My new favorite word is Bissos. I love this word and sign it at the end of many of my emails to friends and family. Thankfully Bissos doesn’t require me to conjugate the word. It just is. And that might be the whole appeal of the word- it stands fabulously on its own. Bissos are little kisses or commonly seen as the greetings the French have replaced with the American hug. I love bissos and I love the word bissos. So sweet, caring and endearing.

I will keep learning my verb conjugation but I do not have to like it. For the Frenchies out there, please forgive me if I use the improper tense while speaking to you. I hope you are not horribly offended if the “tu” tense comes out when I should be referring to you in the “vous.” It does not mean that I lack respect for you- just that I currently lack the ability to hold 15 different endings for one word. But I promise you I will keep on working on it and hopefully, eventually, fully get there.

Bissos!

Note- after writing this I discovered that Bissos actually IS changed from Bizou- sigh… someday.

Delicious Paris

Last week when my friend Alyssa arrived she came with three intentions- First to eat good food. Second to relax, and third to eat good food. So I snapped a few pictures of the good food we ate last week for all those out there who love food as much as Alyssa and I do.

Warning: Images below may not be suitable for the diabetic or lactose intolerant, please use discretion.

My favorite meal that we partook in was the cheese fondu. I seriously think it is the best thing I have ever had in my life. Hot, gooey, melted cheese with fresh herbs and spices, ooooh I am just salivating thinking about how delicious this meal was.



A few evenings I attempted the French cusine and made food for us at home. I officially made my first quiche and it was… AMAZING! I think I will be making another one quite shortly. I was very unsure of how my quiche would turn out, but I don’t think it could have tasted any better than it did. Suffice to say, I was quite pleased with my experiment. For dessert this night, we had a strawberry and chocolate tarts from a local Patiserie.





Time for a cheese and dessert party! I invited a few people to come over and help Alyssa and I eat the seven cheeses we had for our cheese party- I thought I had a picture of them all, but turns out I only got a picture of one of the cheeses. But, it’s the prettiest cheese, so in my book it’s okay. The cheeses we had to sample at our cheese party were: Tome, Camembert, Brie, warm goat cheese, Coeur de Bray (pictured below) and a few others. From this night I discovered that my favorite combination is bread with warm goat cheese and a bit of honey on top. C’est magnifique!









And the last shot I have of some delicious discoveries with Alyysa, is my new favorite salad. The salad was topped with pieces of toast that which were covered in fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and Basil. It smelled sumptuously and tasted magnificent! It was at this little cafe I discovered two months ago and even better than their food is their service. The people here take time to speak with you, joke around and are very down to earth. I love them and want to stop by regularly to get to know them more. And having good food to eat isn't a bad incentive either.



Other than everything pictured above, there were lots of fresh sandwiches and Paninis consumed, a few crapes, some cafes along and of course French wine. I think Alyssa must have accomplished her goals of eating good food while she was in Paris. While Alyssa was eating one of her last meals, she turned to me and said, “I think I may have eaten too much cheese.” The French would reply, "Impossible!"

the day has arrived

It’s funny how one day can make you feel so sentimental about not being at home. Before leaving for Paris I always concerned and worried about missing my friend’s birthdays- it never even dawned on me that I would be sad to not have my friends there with me for mine. This last week I would occasionally be hit with feelings of homesickness, I was wishing I could be at home with my friends and family for just this one simple day.

Today has shown me that though I am thousands of miles away- it just shows that love knows no boarders and can travel to all places. This birthday while I am afar, I feel loved as if I were still sitting in my own home with each person right there with me. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with so many great people who love me and take the time to show me that love.

This weekend a few girls from my work threw me a So. Cal birthday party- complete with San Diego monuments, home made surfboards, and umbrella’s to block out the sun. The party helped boost my mood and brought me back to being centered not the warmth of sunshine but the warmth of kindness and love. My favorite part of the day was they Skyped in my mom and nephew and for a few minutes I was able to talk to my mom and see and talk to my nephew who I miss sooooo stinking much.







My mom in all her kindness and creativity along with my Best friends put together a blog just for people to leave me birthday wishes. This was so much fun to read and go through today. There were so many funny, kind, and special messages left for me. If you want to get a good laugh you should check out the three videos my mom and her sisters made- you can check it out here. My mom and her sisters are a crack up. My favorite one is the third video but you have to watch the first two, to get it.

Today I am officially twenty-five and what a great way for it to start- feeling one hundred percent loved and so thankful to have so many great friends. No matter how far apart I am from everyone I adore, I have really felt loved and they have touched my heart. Thank you to each one of you who have taken the time to make me feel so special on this day. I love you all!