Hi everyone :)

Sorry its been so long since my last blog entry! After London I was so exhausted and classes this week for school were kind of crazy as well. I guess I forgot that the whole reason I am here is for school and not just to travel!

London was great! I absolutely loved it! It's a big city but is very clean and still has quite a bit of green space. It seems like a place I wouldn't mind living in for a while. On the downside, it did rain everyday we were there and the city is so expensive due to our exchange rate! Everytime we went to purchase something we had to keep in mind that we were actually paying double what the ticket price said. Because of this, it was nice that the school already had so many things planned and prepaid for us. We tried to take advantage of as much as possible.

Our first day in London we had afternoon tea at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens. It was the perfect welcoming to the city. We had tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones, and a special Orangery cake. (Aunt TyTy, I know how you love cake, and you would have LOVED this cake! haha) After experiencing afternoon tea I have become a firm believer that it should be incorporated as a daily meal. Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, and Dinner. I think that would be "lovely" (as they would say in London). After the Tea we took a tour of Kensington Palace. The palace is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles lived while they were married. Because of that, they always have an exhibit dedicated to Diana running. This exhibit included some of her beautiful gowns. It was a very nice afternoon.

That night we visited a cute little pub down the street from our hotel and then made it an early night because we had a big day planned for the following day.

The next day we started out with a bus tour around the city. Our tour guide could not have been better! He was so knowledgable and so entertaining to listen to that it really made the bus tour a great experience. He pointed out everything from the historical marks to the best places to shop. In addition to this, all of us on the bus tour made a stop at Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. Our tour guide, Nigel, knew the BEST area's to watch it from in order to see all of it. I was able to take some video of it, so make sure to check out the video section of the website where I have uploaded it. After the tour concluded we took a tour of the V&A. It is a large museum that holds several exhibits dedicated to fashion. We took a general tour and then had tickets to see the exhibition about Fashion and Sport. The exhibit showed some of the technological advances in textile fabrics that have helped to increase the effectiveness of athletic wear. One of the things on display was the new Speedo suits that were just recently worn in the 2008 Olympics. Apparently the suits support the wearer in such a way that keeps the swimmers body in the correct form while swimming. The suits keep the swimmer from loosing their correct form as they tire and keeps them swimming to the best of their ability. It was very interesting, and although we weren't allowed to touch the swimsuits it was very cool to see it up close.

After our tour of the V&A we all went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner and then Wicked! Wicked was really great! I wouldn't call it my favorite musical, I think Hairspray still has it beat, but it was definitely entertaining and worthwhile. The story line is about the lives of the Good witch and the Bad witch from the Wizard of Oz and how they came to be both good and bad. Their costumes were amazing and the two leads were both very talented. After the show was over we called it a night in order to be ready for yet another early morning.

The next day Jill and I woke up early to go shopping a fabulous store called TopShop. They are actually opening the first one in the US in Soho. It is sort of a mix between Forever 21 and H&M but is much larger. The store was three stories and had everything from shoes to vintage dresses. After visiting TopShop, we went to meet up with the KSU group at Liberty of London. It is a beautiful department store that carries a variety of luxury and one of a kind goods. We took a private tour of the entire store and had the opportunity to speak with one of the personal shoppers of the store.

To end out the day with the KSU group we visited Zandra Rhodes design studio. Zandra Rhodes is a big designer in the UK market. We had the chance to meet her, and actually she is kind of crazy. Her hair was pink and to be honest I didn't even like her designs that much! haha. Someone must like her things if she's still in business, I guess?

That night was our night out on the town in London! We started out going to the Absolut Ice Bar. The Ice Bar is exactly what it says it is, a bar made completely of ice! We had to make a reservation and each group is only allowed in for 40 minutes because of how cold it is inside. Before entering they give you these ugly blue cape to wear and gloves for your hands. Everything is ice, including the glasses that our drinks are in! It was a fun experience but probably one that I won't due again. It seems like one of those things that once you do it once, you don't need to do it again. It was worth it though and we got some fun pictures! After the Ice Bar, myself and two of my other friends continued to venture the London nightlife. We ended up meeting a promoter who took us into this really nice exclusive club and getting us our own private table. We didn't realize it at the time, but the place normally costs sixty dollars just to get in, and in order to sit at the table we were at it costs upward of six hundred dollars! Haha, I guess we were in the right place at the right time when we met this guy! We had a lot of fun and danced with a lot of people. Dancing in London is much different than dancing at home, but we still had a lot of fun!

The following morning we woke up and did a lot of sight seeing on out own. This day is where most of my pictures came from! Caitlin and I also took a tour inside Buckingham Palace. It was beautiful! We got to see the ballroom where the State Dinners occur and how the palace prepares for such events. Unfortunately, we didn't bump into any royalty... although Prince Harry was in town all weekend!

The following day we visited Windosr Castle which is the Queens second residence. It reminded me much of Buckingham Palace, just smaller and a bit more rustic since it is placed on the countryside. Following the tour of Windsor Castle, Jill and I finished out England experience with one more serving of afternoon tea and then departed back for Italy!

Like I said, London was amazing! I'm so thankful that the school planned it for us. It would not have been the same had we planned it on our own! And no, Aunt TyTy and Uncle John I didn't notice any bad teeth! But I had heard that rumor!

This weekend I am spending at home in Florence. I am using it to get organized for school, see some sights around the city, and just relax. I constantly feel like I'm on the go, and although I have loved every moment, I'm trying to slow down a bit. A lot of the fashion girls have been sick this week because of the temperature change from London to here. In London it was about 50 degrees. Here, it is about 90! I'm keeping my fingers crossed and washing my hands every hour hoping I don't catch anything.

Mom, Dad, Aunt Rosaria, and Uncle Jimmy- I am getting very excited for your visit! It's about a month away! We are going to have so much fun!

Miss you and love you all!

Ciao for now,

Carrie :)