EEK! BOO!

Birmingham, England, UK

Double, double, toil and trouble

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. – William Shakespeare

If you couldn’t guess it by now, it was Halloween this week or well for us at least!  We celebrated a bit early, but it was definitely worth it.  The night was filled with lots of yummy food, laughs and shrieks of terror just like any Halloween gathering should be.  The lights and fog filled the room sending us all for a whirl.  Fake statues stood just around the corners.  And the candy waited for us once we returned. 

And if we didn’t get enough of the holiday at the party, we were even able to dress up for class!  All that was missing was the costume parade that we always did every Halloween in elementary school.  Sometimes, I think that we enjoy the holidays more now than what we did when we were younger. 

With all this dressing up and holiday festivities it was amazing that we were even able to find time to do anything else, but we did. 

We made it all the way to Stonehenge and the Roman city of Bath.  At first we were all a little shocked of the size of the stones at Stonehenge because from a distance they didn’t appear to very large.  Then, of course once you got up close, the size was more apparent.  The stones were set in place to be in alignment with the movements of the sun as well as serve as a burial ground.  For 500 years this monument stood untouched in a circular formation until about 4,500 years ago when stones weighing more than 30 tons each were raised creating a new shape for the monument. 

While this fascination is not the only one of its kind, it still has speculations about it.  However, now I can actually say that I was there! 

Our journey did not end there.  We were off to the Roman city of Bath where the hot springs are still present to this day.  However, after being used then covered by new reigning groups and now to be discovered again, these baths are still sacred waters.  And even though we weren’t allowed to take a dip in them, we did drink the water and steal a little touch.  To confirm, it feels like bath or hot tub water, that’s how warm it is and the architecture of the bath house is exquisite.   

To live during those times…

Anyhow, I am just blessed to be able to see the sights that I am seeing and be able to say that I was there!  I would have never imagined in my lifetime that I would be seeing the things that I am or even be this far away from home, but here I am.  One thing is for sure though, I definitely won’t be doing any driving over here.  Not only do they drive solely on the opposite side of the road, but all the cars are manuals instead of automatics.  Also, the road signs are slightly different.  For detours, the sign reads “Diversion Route” and as for yield signs, well they say “Give way.”  I think I will stick to having someone else drive or just walk, but like any foreigner from America, I still look to the left first.  I guess it is true that for most of the time, you can take the girl away from home, but you can’t take home away from the girl. 

Missing home as usual, but loving every minute over here.  Off to Ireland we go to see if we can bring back some luck of the Irish!

Upon the Tyne

Newcastle UK

Well, we survived our first travel day in the UK via bus and it may have been a late night, but we made it.  Having to go all the way around the city due to road closures, but we made it.

Upon arriving in the city there were still lots of people out on the town even at 2:30 AM on a Sunday night.  This definitely gave it the college-town feel and we were staying basically in the middle of the campus neighboring the Tyne River.  Ah, it kind of felt like home in the slightest way and maybe that’s just because it was Homecoming week at The Rock too.

Anyways, with only one day off we were bound to see something.  And just like Europe promised, there were cathedrals after cathedrals from Saint Mary’s to St. Nicholas to even the Newcastle Castle; which gave the town its name and served as burial grounds from even before 1080 when the castle was constructed. 

There’s so much history in all of these towns and while some are easy to find and others are not, lately we have just been stumbling up on them during our walks through the city.  Grey Street, Eldon Square along with a hidden Arcade were places just as such and lead to more and more shopping.  There are certain stores that you can find basically anywhere for your necessities.  If you need an appliance or every day cosmetics or basically anything there the stores to go to are Boots or Argos and as for groceries, there are Sainsbury’s or even Greggs.

And yes there is a bit of a language difference here.  For example, when someone asks you, “How are you doing?” instead of saying “Hello,” that’s what it is taken for.  Just as when someone says “Cheers,” they are not referring to drinking, but instead it’s their way of saying “Thanks!” or even “Thank you.”

There are old-school taxis and double decker buses and brick and cobblestone streets; some aren’t even wide enough for two cars to go up and down on. 

Oh, and we also got the joy of experiencing a UK fire drill; at 5:30 in the morning!  Ya, they are just the same everywhere. 

But just like that, it was time to move to the next city.  It’s crazy to think that we are already heading into week three of being here and with a full day of sightseeing ahead, it was time to get some much needed sleep before embarking on our journey to Stonehenge and the Roman city of Bath while we resided in Birmingham.    

European Soil

Manchester, England UK

Back at it again.  That break was so nice and of course like any other, we always wish it was longer.  However, it was great to catch up with everyone that I was able to and for some it had been way too long.  To those I was not able to see I know there will come another time soon…like Spring 2017!  So, until then I will be seeing you from the other side of the World!

And, I must admit that even though the goodbyes still don’t get any easier, I was feeling a little more at ease heading into a country where for at least the first three months I will be in English speaking countries.  Yes, I know some of the accents may make things a little more difficult and some words and phrases may take some getting used to, but hey, I made it through Japan; I feel like that says a lot right there.  I am not by any means saying that it was easy, but now I feel like that may be the hardest and most culture-shocking part of the tour this year.  I am ready to see everything that Europe has to offer!

It was a quick turn around with only 10 days at home and then stepping off the plane and getting back to business with one full day of rehearsals and a dress run then stepping right back into “show-mode” that night. 

And while we weren’t at the building we were trying to soak in all of what this first city for the European Tour had to offer. 

For most of us, this was our first time in this part of the country so getting acquainted to things was the first task at hand.  So far, the traffic is reversed as to what the norm is in the states, but just like on busy roads with lots of stop lights, people still like to run the red lights.  Time to cross the street via foot seems quite short too if you ask me.  Also, power voltage is different and if you do not have a converter and adapter either you won’t have any power flowing to your device or you will have too much and will learn that the hard way.  The British Pound is also decreasing in strength, so it is going to help us Americans out over here when we spend money since its value is slowly getting closer to the American dollar.  Which is always good to know when we are out shopping at the Arndale Mall or out for a bite to eat at the Botanist or some fun at Tiger Tiger.  And if you are really lucky, you may even run into Stan; a very friendly fellow who was not shy in asking any lady to dance and quite a regular who was liable to make anyone smile. 

Sometimes you never know who you are going to meet or run into and I was graciously thankful to see a friendly face all the way away from home!  We were finally reunited while I was still on tour after tour was where we were first introduced and it was lovely!

So, city number one is complete and we off to Newcastle and just like that we are back to the grind of this World Premier.