the big 2-0!

i'm taking a break from my Europe photos to share another big event that took place this summer! I'm like three weeks behind on life pretty much right now.  But on July 24th I turned 20! 

And I pretty much had the best birthday in the world.

 ^^My two gorgeous friends threw me a birthday party in NYC.  I have no clue where I would be without these guys.  

^^ The next day Zoe shared my crown because she turned one around the same time I turned 20!  Happy birthday baby girl! 

 ^^ My birthday involved lots of sweet treats....

^^ Oh and it also involved BEYONCE.  Back in February my friends and I bought tickets for a Beyonce concert the day after my birthday.  Can I just say my life peaked at that moment when Beyonce sang Single Ladies? Cause it did.  It was perfect. 

Thank you to my amazing friends and family for the most amazing birthday in the world!  I am a very lucky girl indeed.  xo

Paris, France

Halfway through my summer in London, my mom, sister, and grandma came to visit. I am so lucky that they were able to because I missed them terribly and if I learned anything during my summer abroad it's that I don't think I can move far away from my family.

The weekend that they came we all went to Paris.  I went to Paris my Junior year in high school and it remains my favorite city to this day.  There is something just so magical about the entire city.  I don't know what it is.

No one else had been to Paris, so they went two days before me since I had my internship and they explored some of the tourist sites.  When I came that Friday night, we spent the weekend shopping, eating, eating, eating, and well, eating. 

 ^^The view from our hotel room.

 ^^No trip to Paris is complete without Angelina's famous hot chocolate.

 ^^ A rose eclair 

 ^^ For some reason, the eiffel tower is my favorite landmark.  Big Ben is a close second.  

 ^^It has been my dream to go to the Lock Bridge.  I'm absolutely in love with it.  

^^Like I said, this trip was NOT about dieting.  

London Part Four {Some rocks, an ice bar, and an obsession with panoramic photos}

 ^^ I know I joke about it being "some rocks", but seeing Stonehenge in person was hands down one of the coolest parts of my trip.  We were able to go on a tour at sunset and it was absolutely incredible.  When I was little my dad set my Microsoft PC computer background to the Stonehenge background and I've been fascinated by it ever sense. 

^^One night we went to an ice bar in London.  You're only allowed to stay in for 45 minutes and I honestly would not do it again, but it was really cool to do at least once.  

London Part Three {and where I've been}

i know, i know, i have been mia again the last few weeks.  sometimes life throws you in a million directions and it leaves blogging and sharing adventures pretty impossible.  see, first my laptop broke, which meant a trip to apple and a nice hefty chunk of money for that.   so no blogging.  then my grandma got super sick in florida and i flew down to take care of her.  (she's doing wonderfully now though).  so being a nurse means no blogging.  and well then i took another little adventure down to bermuda, sans laptop, so again, no blogging.

i'm back now!  to speed up these london posts i'll be grouping a lot of events into one post.  i mean, i still have all of europe, my birthday, and bermuda to share with you guys!

^^ One day we took a trip over to Bath (about an hour from london), and saw the Roman baths.  Is it bad that I was more excited by the fancy park then the baths?  I am not cut out for city life, you guys.   I missed grass.  

^^Another day we went on over to Westminster Abbey.  The place is gorgeous.  I am a HUGE Kate and William fan and it was really awesome that I got to literally stand where they got married.  The inside pic I took is totally illegal (no cameras inside) so shhhh don't tell.

 ^^ Big Ben.  Just because.  I literally love that clock.

^^ Tower bridge is my favorite bridge.  I mean what could live up to that?

Edinburgh, Scotland

I am currently re-capping my two months abroad, which include the time I spent living in London.  Please bear with me as I share all of my adventures with you! xo

Oh Scotland.  Edinburgh was the first out of the country place we visited, and I never will forget my 48 hours there.  I was obsessed with for one, because it was the birth place of one of my favorite series, Harry Potter.  However, I loved it's culture, charm, and beauty.  

While there, we did Sandman's New Walking Tours.  If you are ever in Edinburgh and want to do an AMAZING tour, check out this.  Best part?  It's totally free.

On the tour we saw everything from the graveyard where Tom Riddle is buried to the Edinburgh Castle.  I could tell you so much history about this city, it's not even funny.

That night we did their pub crawl, and let me say this:

What happens in Edinburgh on the pub crawl stays in Edinburgh on the pub crawl.

It was a ton of fun, I will say that.

If you're in England and want to get out of the city, Edinburgh is so easy.  We chose to fly and we went from London to the Edinburgh airport in under an hour!  xo

Buckingham Palace and Tower of London

I am currently re-capping my two months abroad, which include the time I spent living in London.  Please bear with me as I share all of my adventures with you! xo

 It was a rainy day when we went to see the palace, and unfortunately changing of the guards was cancelled so I never did get to see that.  I still found it really magnificent to be able to see the palace where the Queen lives.  I actually began to wonder if she ever peers out one of those windows to watch the guard change or to see the people gather....

The day we went to Tower of London was equally as rainy (notice a trend here?), but it was really cool to see.  If you ever go to London, definitely check out the Crown of Jewels, which are currently housed here.  I couldn't take a picture of them, but they were magnificent in person.