Prague!

So, in Europe, they have this rule where they give all people a massive amount of vacation days; and while we are allowed to roll them over into the new year, we must use them by the end of January. This, combined with the fact that is was one of my collegue’s birthdays (Alex Tam) made us decide to go to Prague! I took a long weekend (Thurs to Tuesday) off and hopped on a plane for my weekend adventure!

Since I was using my vacation days, I arrived a day earlier and left a day later than my travel companions (They arrived Fri to Sun, while I was Thurs to Mon). Here is a day by day breakdown of my experiences there:

THURSDAY – I had an afternoon flight out of London, so arrived at the airport around 10:00 for my 1:00PM flight. It was a short two hours to Prague and I hit down on the ground a little after 4:00 and was checked into my hostel by 5:30! I was a little worried about being there alone my first night because I did not speak any Czech, but I should have guessed, everyone knew English! I made my way to small street vendor and helped my self to a Sausage on a stick! It was tasty. I then made my way to a bar in the city centre, where they tell many Americans to stop at first. I made my way there, and soon realized that while Prague is a fun city on the weekends, it virtually is asleep on other nights. As I made my way to the bar I was excited to have an authentic Czech beer, Pilsner Urquell! Yes, you might have had it in America, as it is popular there, but unlike Australian Fosters, this beer is as synonymous with Czech as Guinness is with Dublin. To top it all off, the beer cost around $1! I was in total shock, but in a very good way. I now know why Prague is labelled one of the top Stag (Bachelor) and Hen (Bachelorette) party destinations in central Europe! The bartender was also great, he told me where I should go on Friday and Saturday. It was also at this time I saw two people at the bar who looked like they could be fun. I wanted to make the best of the night so I introduced myself and asked if they knew of any other fun places to go. They told me of course, and invited me to tag along. Score! Locals who agreed to take me out my first night. Three Czech pubs later, I arrived back to my hostel fully happy with the first night I had (Thanks Jye and Gabreal).

FRIDAY – The second day I had to check out of the hostel, to move to the hotel that we were all staying at, courtesy of Alex Tams girlfriend, Amy Troung (Thank you Amy!). Once they arrived, we used the first day to do some basic exploring. We first went to a really cool building called ‘THE WALKING BUILDING’. If you go to Prague, you should definitely check it out. We then decided to grab some food and randomly found this authentic looking Czech restaurant. Once inside, we were yet again taken aback at how cheap the items on the menu were. We ordered, and soon our meals, or should I say meat, arrived the table. I happened to order Marinated Pork Ribs, with a chilli oil. These massive ribs came out on a metal spike and were stacked one-on-top of the other, and boy were they juicy and delicious! Once stuffed, we made our way over Charles Bridge to the Prague Castle and Cathedral on the other side of the river. After some amazing sightseeing, and a very long uphill track, we were ready for a quick beer at a local pub. We went into the first one we saw, which also happened to look closed, and it turned out to be one of Prague’s oldest pubs. The staff still wore garbs (clothes) from the 1900’s, and the inside really looked like it was the set from a movie. It was one of the coolest finds on our trip. Later that night we met up with one of Leanne’s friends friend, Tomas (pronounces To-Mash), who took us out for a very interesting night. One that ended with us trying Absinth (with Wormwood and Thujone).

SATURDAY – We all woke up bright and early (at 10:00) and made our way to the city centre for the 3-hour walking tour, which started off right by the Prague Clock. Now for those of you who have not been to Prague, this clock attracts people from all over the world. For those of you who have been to Prague, you will also know that this was rated the second most upsetting tourist attraction (right after Stonehenge). Well, the walking tour took us all around the city, and we were even able to see the old Jewish town and the Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was probably 50 feet high because they only gave the Jews a small area of land for their dead back in the day. Further, since Jews do not believe in cremation or above ground burials, they had to improvise, but placing tombs, over tombs, over tombs. It was pretty interesting to see, since there were so many tombstones over the top of the mound. After many hours of walking around, we wandered back to the hotel to rest before our big night out for Alex’s birthday. I had managed to get us Discount Entry cards to the largest club in Central Europe, Kaze Lane. It was a pretty fun club, with low ceilings not made for tall people dancing (which I learned the hard way). They had a variety of floors, each playing it’s own music. This night was a lot of fun as well!

SUNDAY – Leanne left early in the morning. Alex, Amy and I wandered around for a bit before they had to leave and I was left to entertaining myself for one more day. What to do, what to do? I wandered back to the hostel to check in and saw someone in the lobby looking just as lost as me. We started talking and decided to find a fun place to go out to. We had a couple drinks at the hostel (they had a really great bar built in) and made our way to grab a bite to eat. It was kinda funny because when we finally ended up at a bar, I ran into people I met the first and the second nights. My friend was like ‘Are you sure you don’t live here!’ It was funny that I already ran into people after only being in the city for a weekend. But I will say it was a fun weekend.

Prague has definitely been my favourite European city to visit thus far, with a great historical story, great pubs, cheap beer, fun and nice people, and a place you can get by only knowing English! I don’t know what European city is next for me, but I will be going to Leeds to visit my friend Ollie with my other friend Andrew (both Monash University Alumni buddies), later this month. It should be a great time. Also later this month, is the second Marquette University Alumni Event, celebrating InterNational Marquette Day on January 29th! It should be a great event, and we already have 16 people registered, that is more than some National clubs do in the US. I say our club is getting off to a great start!

Well, I hope you are all well back home and, as usual, thanks for reading. I am back to work tomorrow and am actually looking forward to it.

Christmas in London!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in the US! It was nice entering the new year before all of you… Just kidding, it was funny to call my parents back home saying ‘Happy New Year’ only to have them tell me it was only 6PM and still very much 2010 there.

This year was both a good and a sad Christmas for me. Good because I was able to experience a Christmas in London, but sad because it was my first Christmas away from the folks. I am in a destination wedding coming up in March (Manzanillo, Mexico) and since I am from Texas, will be spending a week with my parents around that time too. As such, I felt it would be nice (and cost effective) to spend Christmas in London. Luckily, one of my friends in London invited me back to spend Christmas with his family in North Devon, UK. Yes, the countryside, just like Chronicles of Narnia. Specifically, the first one where it was cold and snowy.

After a four hour train ride, and an hour car ride we arrived in a quant little town of Barnstaple, UK. When we were at his parent’s house, I definitely felt like we were in the country side with fields of white. When we went to the city, I mean town, I felt like I was in a medieval kingdom. It was pretty amazing to see churches that were built in the 1500’s, streets that were made of cobblestone, and cemeteries with tombstones you could no longer read. It truly puts things in perspective when you realize that our lives are only a ‘blip’ on the radar of life. It also made me realize that we live to love and be loved. I love you so much mom and dad. I love you Avita and Cicely. I love my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents as well. You were all missed this Christmas.

One of the shocking aspects of the city was when we walked by the butcher shop and I saw some freshly caught bunnies hanging outside the shop to air out. I knew I was no longer in a city. One thing I did learn while staying with a British family is their level of sarcasm, also called ‘Taking the piss out of someone’. I truly do not get it, but the British like to make snide comments to each other and it is completely accepted, even part of the norm here. In America, things that might offend are justified here because they are intended only in jest. I think it will take me more time to get used to this one, but if you come to visit, be warned! (You can ask Leanne Eberle about this one too www.cubangalinlondon.blogspot.com!)

Overall, my Christmas in Devon was amazing. My friend’s family was extremely nice, and they even got me some gifts! I know, it was an unexpected surprise! His mother made me feel so welcome, and she always had some sort of food she was offering. His dad was a pleasant gent as well and even got me a Christmas card and a bottle of wine. I truly enjoyed the experience and it was nice to be around a family (even it was not mine) for the Holidays.

A British Christmas is nice though and very similar/different to a US one in the following respects:

Similarities:

• · They have Christmas Trees too
• · They open presents like we do
• · We both celebrate with our family and loved ones
• · We both have mashed potatoes, cranberries, rolls, gravy
• · We both drink wine

Differences:

• · We celebrate Christmas Eve, they celebrate Boxing Day (they don’t even get the 24^th off!)
• · We have fruit cake, they have Christmas Pudding (which I realize I do not like)
• · They have bacon wrapped sausages as part of their meal
• · They always have Turkey, we traditionally have a variety of meats (I think this one is because they don’t have Turkey at Thanksgiving so it is their only holiday to cook the bird)
• · They have these little things called ‘crackers’ which are placed at the table where you are sitting. Each person gets one and you and the person next to you grab on to each end (similar to what you would do with a wishbone) and pull. >POP<>
• · They have this stuff called Bread Pudding, it is a gravy like substance and pretty good
• · I literally drank 5 cups of tea a day (I never realized they really liked it this much!)

On the 27^th, I headed back to London to meet my friend Maria Gencev who was visiting me for Christmas. She is currently living in Madrid and is actually in the destination wedding as well, so she stayed in Europe over Christmas like me. As such, I wanted to show her a good time during her visit. The first night we went out dancing, and had a great time. We went to a very large venue and actually got lost for a bit, but then found each other again. The second day, after we finally woke up, we ventured into Central London to see the sights, including Trafalgar square, Camden markets, Big Ben, the London Eye, Soho, China town and Leicester Square. I had a couple co-workers over that night (Ryan and Dani) and we tried to go to a place called the Roxy. While it sounded fun inside, the hour queue (line) and the amount of 18 year olds in line prompted us to choose another venue. We found a small venue called ‘The Bar’ which was nice, and we heard a funny story about ‘Yumma Yumma’! (Only Maria will get this one). It is really nice to be able to show my friends around London, but I think I am going to have so many pictures of Big Ben by the end of my two years here. For some reason, every time I go I end up taking a picture.

Well, Happy New Year all and thanks for reading. I am actually headed to Prague for a long weekend (Thursday through Monday) so I will be sure to write again soon about my experiences there. Talk to you all later!

Belton

Early Birthday Notice:

Also, Trista and I are starting to plan for our 30^th birthday now! If you are reading this, then you are definitely invited. We will be going to Ibiza for our birthdays the weekend of August 4 – 7^th! If you are adventurous, you can even come to London for July 29 to August 4, then Ibiza from August 4 – 7^th, then Back to the US on the 7^th! This would be a weeklong trip of fun. Plus, the ticket from London to Ibiza is only £50! I really want to get a large group to go and rent out a large apartment there. For those of you who have not heard of Ibiza, just google it!

PS. Congrats Meghan and George on your wedding! I can’t wait to see you guys in Mexico!!!

Ireland and Thanksgiving!!!!

So, sorry all for taking so long in writing another blog entry and thanks to all of you who actually mentioned how much you enjoy reading them (especially Jenna Lara and Kathy Zdarstek). I will make this one a little bit longer and combine the past two I was going to write. This month I will be writing about my recent trip to Ireland, as well as my first Thanksgiving abroad!

Before discussing those items, I want to give everyone a brief update on me. First, things are going extremely well in London. I am finally starting to feel like this is my home and I am able to get around on the tube now. It was great having two friends visit so far (Suzie and Ellen) and I know one more is scheduled for December (Alright Chelsea!!!). Be on the lookout for an entry blog from Suzie, who is currently writing one about her experiences in London!

One thing that recently hit me was my first wave of true homesickness. I am what you call a ‘mama’s boy’ where I need to talk to my mom at least once a week. Since coming abroad, I just find it harder to call home as much as I want, and given the time differences, finding a time that is convenient for all. It is weird being in a country where you sometimes are walking around with your cellphone in your pocket, and you realize the only people you can call you have known less than six months (for the most part). I am just so happy to have a family back home who is so supportive and who genuinely cares about me and who are happy that I am experiencing new things. I love you all and miss you!

OK, now on to the fun!

Ireland

A couple of weeks ago I saw a special come to my inbox with a £28 return plane ticket to Dublin, Ireland (called round trip in the US). I could not pass it up, as I have always wanted to travel there, and I immediately hit purchase. One reason I was so excited is because my very good friend Kate Judd and her family are all from there. Kate is my friend in Chicago who I have spent the past ten Thanksgivings with, since I was so far from my home in Houston, Texas. I recall going to her Thanksgivings and hearing those with an Irish accent, as well as hearing about her visits to the land of the leprechauns! So, I had all the reason to go and I do say it was worth it.

This happened to be the first trip I have ever taken alone. I originally had a friend who purchased a ticket with me, but she had to drop out at the last minute due to personal reasons. I said, well I am not wasting this chance and decided to still go. From my study-abroad experiences in Australia, I realized that hostels are really NOT like the movie ‘The Hostel’. Further, I am getting to that age where hostels should no longer be considered an option when travelling… Well, I do not care yet. I still think they are fun, and the best way to travel if you are travelling alone. As such, I booked one in Central Dublin, crossed my fingers I would not have to stay in a room with Stinky and Stanky (Reference Madrid Blog Entry)! I arrived on a Friday evening around 18:00 (yeah, get used to the time being shown like that. I HATE IT, but am getting to it). I actually ended up booking a shuttle which took me to the airport at 14:30, instead of 4:30 for my 6:30 flight. Yeah, I was upset, but at least I was reading the Millennium trilogy and that definitely kept me entertained. Anyway, back to my story. I arrived at the hostel and was pleasantly surprised at how central and clean it was. Also, it was just three blocks from Temple Bar (which is not really a bar, but the fun area of the city). So, it was clean, cheap, and close to downtown, what more could I want… Oh yea, good roommates. I arrive to my room and am immediately welcomed by a French guy who barely speaks English. We tried to communicate and he told me how he had been travelling for the past 4 weeks and was finally headed home. He told me the fun places to go, and I got my map and went out to get some dinner and a beverage (another good thing about staying in hostels is you can cook yourself). I went to the store and bought some rice, mushrooms, chicken, and some Irish beer. I made some chicken risotto while enjoying authentic Irish beer in the hostel. While sitting in the lobby, I was approached by a group of foreigners. I actually cannot remember where they were from, but I do know one was Polish. We talked for a bit and they invited me out with them for the night. It turns out they had met each other the night before. Wow, what luck! We went to a couple bars in Temple bar, before arriving at some dance bar that was 3 stories. The night was well, except the price of a beer out was 5.80 Euro (equivalent to 7 dollars!).

The day, I ventured to the city centre to take the free city tour. If you ever are in Dublin, DO THE FREE TOUR. While they ask for tips at the end, you are MORE than willing to comply. We were able to see so many things, including Trinity College (where the library used in the new Star Wars Films is) the Dublin Castle, many pubs, the King’s garden, and many more sites. It was also exciting to hear true Irish history and their relationship to the British… (No comment). Lastly, I knew what I needed to do, go to the Guinness tour! It is a self guided tour, and it was amazing. It was an 8 story building, and on the top floor was a dome which overlooked the entire city. It was definitely the highlight of my trip. I have to say, thank you Dublin for showing me such a great time.

Thanksgiving!

First on a side note, if any of you are Vegetarians or Vegans, check out my sister’s blog (www.veganpeace.blogspot.com). Yes, blogging runs in my family, but she does great recipes for every holiday!

Well, boy was I lucky this year. I was not only able to have turkey on Thanksgiving; I was able to go to a Thanksgiving dinner. On the actual day of thanksgiving, the London office decided to have ‘office drinks’ at a local watering hole. Many of the American’s were happy we were doing something other than just sitting at home on a day that is traditionally considered very family. Toward the end of the night, my co-worker Melissa Ferri mentioned how she really wanted turkey and knew some places featuring it for Thanksgiving… She went on to tell me how she would really like to go, but I interrupted her and said ‘Where is your coat, we are leaving!’ We could not even wait to walk there and immediately called a cab to take us. We arrived and were ushered downstairs where we saw people eating everything we could hope for. We looked at the menu and decided to stay, it consisted of:

· Soup/Salad starter

· Turkey Meat

· Turkey Leg

· Stuffing

· Mashed Potatoes

· Green Beans

· Cranberry Sauce

· Corn

· Choice or cobbler or pumpkin pie

Wow, we were in heaven! We sit down and are about to tell the server what we want, then he simply tells us they are only serving the thanksgiving dinner downstairs and asks if we want it. Of course we quickly replied. Little did we know that the meal in fact, included ALL of the above items on a massive platter. So yes, we go the Turkey leg AND the turkey meat. We got the stuffing AND the mashed potatoes. We were in heaven.

Earlier in the week I was asked by some of my new friends out here, Athena and Dan, to their Staysgiving celebration on Sunday. She is Leann Eberle’s friend from gradeschool and the reconnected when Leanne relocated to London. Well, when I got my invite, I received the following invite in the mail:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0ByB0Y9XxlhzYZDE0ZTEyOWEtNTQ4MC00MTgzLWE4M2ItYTY5ODA4ODdiMDdh&hl=en&authkey=CLrUwYIB&pli=1 (copy and paste entire link in browser—you can tell I work in IT when I upload a document to the internet just to share it on my blog).

Wow is all I could say. The menu was amazing and I did not have to cook, awesome! To make matters better, it was not a simple dinner party, but quite a fancy event, with a full set table, an entire turkey, great company and 18 bottles of wine… Don’t worry, there were 12 of us J. Athena and Kim had been cooking all day (and Athena even had a time schedule she made in excel detailing when to start which item) and Dan was in charge of the music. Apparently Dan is the better cook in their relationship, but he allowed her to cook this one time… It was a fantastic evening, and it really made me miss home more. I missed home so much; I left to call my mom in the middle of dinner to say happy thanksgiving again! My older sister was sick as well so I was not able to talk with her, but I did send her a Hoops and Yoyo Thanksgiving card J. Just joking Athena, Dan did concede that Athena’s cooking skills outshined his on this occasion.

Overall, my first Thanksgiving in London was a smashing success! I also like all the new people I have met in London (Olivia, Katie) and all the new people I have reconnected with (Ollie, Andrew, Ali, Sara). It has been great!

Anyway, thanks all for reading my blog again and I will talk to you all soon!

PS. Leave a comment if you read this! My counter keeps going up, but not my number of comments :)

Happy Halloween! - From London

Hey all,

I hope all is well with you guys. Sorry it has taken so long to write but I have some good stories to tell, including:

http://marquettetribune.org/2010/10/19/news/reunion-mg1-az2-dac3-alumni-reunite-overseas/

Happy Halloween!

For many of you, you know that I have chosen some of the worst Halloween costumes in recent years. I even had what I thought was the bright idea of dressing up as a ‘Box Spring’ one year. This entailed wrapping a box in aluminium foil and, well… Let’s just leave it at that. Well, this year one of my American co-workers decided to bring a little of our culture to London and thrown an American style Halloween party. Now, don’t get me wrong, the Londoners do like to have costume parties here, but they are called ‘fancy dress’ parties. Mainly because costume refers to ‘swimming costume’, which refers to the American swimsuit. Well, this year I found a much better costume, as you can see!

On another note, my University is starting to develop a stronger presence in London. When I left Chicago, I was sitting on the National Alumni Board of Directors of Marquette University and when I stepped down to move to London, I told them I was going to reach out to Alumni in London when I arrived, and I am happy to say I did. Right when I landed Martha Moore, Alumni specialist from Marquette, reached out to me to assist with the planning of an event here in London. As it turns out, we have approx. 50 alumni in the London area alone, and an additional 30-40 in the rest of Europe! It was exciting planning the event, but nothing was better that actually participating in it. We also invited the London parents of students who were studying abroad at Marquette in Milwaukee, as well as the students from Marquette who were studying abroad in London. It was a sensational event, and all the Marquette Alumni who attended mentioned how excited they were for the next event.

I am excited for this month because not only does my friend Suzie Rotter have plans to come visit me, but I have plans to visit Dublin, Ireland next weekend! Hopefully more of you follow suit and come visit me soon!

Also, thanks for preparing the care package Meghan! I am actually really excited for it, and it will be the first one I have received since being here.

Belton

Ellen's European Adventure!

This blog is updated 2x a month...

Hi all, another installment of the blog! This time it comes with a twist. It is going to be written by my Cousin Ellen who just came up for a visit! I hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to LEAVE A COMMENT!

Ellen's Experience in London(Belton's Cousin)

After finally booking my ticket to come to London for my Birthday and visit with my AMAZING cousin BT, it just didn’t feel like Septemeber 29th would ever come, and then it did. A bit concerned with such a long flight, 2 meals, 3 movies, and a few snacks later, I’m actually looking forward to doing it again.

When I first touched down, I will admit, I was ready and tired. Going through customs was quite the experience. I went from being an American to “All Others.” Europeans now took precedence. I’d heard mixed remarks about the way people are in London. I heard it all from “You’ll love London and the people” to “They hate Americans.” My first impression was more like the latter. The woman at the customs counter gave me such a hard time and refused to smile, warning that she could hold me for hours in questioning all because I didn’t know my cousins address. Then, she decided to let me through because she is nice? I couldn’t help but to wonder, if this is nice… Thankfully on the Tube, the locals changed my mind. I was warned not to disturb anyone as everyone sticks to themselves, but that didn’t last to long. I met lots of nice people on the tube. It was a good thing too because I’d no idea where I was going.

Finally, I’d arrived at the Embankment exit, lugged all my stuff up, and called my cousin. It brought a tear to my eyes when I saw him. He looks AMAZING by the way. From the plane to a nice wine greeting, I must say it was a nice welcome indeed. Everyone was so nice.
The next morning (4:45 AM to be exact) we were up and at it again, and heading for Madrid, Spain. Madrid was Fun!!! While London was so cold, Madrid was so hot. The trip would not have been the same had it not of been for Maria, a friend of BT’s and now mine. One thing of I’ve learned about BT is that he knows at least one person where ever he goes (even if it’s out of the country), and leaves knowing even more.

This was my first time in a Hostel and it was an interesting but cool experience. We hoped we’d end up with fun room mates we could go out with, but ended up with two men from Russia whom BT appropriately named “Stinky & Stanky.” They were nice and gave us nice beers to try, but they smelled as though they hadn’t showered their entire trip. Even when they left the next morning, they just rolled out of bed and left.

Day one of exploring was fun but day two was much better because we had Maria to show us everything and she did just that. El Prado, The Egyptian Monument, The park where we went boat riding…I can’t even remember everywhere we went. Thankfully, there are pictures. I love how eating early and beating the dinner rush meant arriving at 10:30 PM. Spain is ALIVE. I mean by 4 AM they are still going with ease which made catching our early flight Sunday morning a breeze because we just stayed up. Sleep wasn’t really a part of the plan this trip, and as for the food…well…let’s just say that I’ve nothing to boast about when it comes to the food.

My birthday was one of the best ever. We had a great Thai dinner that also made great drinks in an area just past Picadilli Square. After dinner, Leanne(Belton’s good friend and now my friend), and I went to see the London Broadway show 39 Steps. BT was kind enough to give me his ticket, and I loved the play. After that we went out for drinks and dancing and I had an absolute blast. I mean, I couldn’t imagine it being any better. Even with the tube strike which made lots of people stay home, there were just enough people out. Additionally, terrorist alerts were issued shortly after our return from Madrid Sunday Morning, and the most concerning part is that there’s actual validity to it all.

I’ve seen and done so much in both London and Madrid that I can’t even begin to say it all nor do I want to. You’ll have to go and experience it for yourselves. I feel like I was able to do the touristy stuff, and get engrossed in the cultures, so I got the best of both worlds. My one suggestion would be, don’t pack so much. I made that mistake and it was a big one, huge even. Try everything and embrace the experience with an open mind. Be fearless but vigilant, hey, there were terrorist threats after all. Oh, and above all, hopefully if you are reading this, you know my cousin BT and will be coming to see him when you visit because he is the best tour guide and the experience just wouldn’t be the same without him. Mine sure wasn’t.

Finally, a new post! September 12

This blog is updated once a week.

Hey All,

I knew this would happen eventually where I miss a whole week of posting. In order to make it up to you, I am going to try to have two posts this week. One thing I am extremely excited about is that my cousin Ellen is coming in just 3 weeks now! I am extremely excited for her to come and I am ready to show her what London is all about. She arrives on a Thursday, we fly to Madrid, Spain the following day returning on Sunday. So much fun. As for my working out, I am happy to say that I have fit into shirts and jeans that I could not when I arrived, as such I am on the right track. I have lost more weight and am now at 107 KG (about 135LBS). Not as much as before, but that is because I went to a couple of happy hours. Although, for example, my meals on Tuesday consisted of: Breakfast – Blackberries, carrots and grapes, snack – kiwi, lunch – salmon on veggies, snack – blackberries, dinner avocado, grape, and tomato salad. Yep, if I can keep eating like that I will keep on the right track!
As for other activities this week, I went to see Oliver on Thursday with my friend Leanne. We had front row tickets and we got a DEAL on the prices. Has anyone ever heard of www.groupon.com? Well, they have it here and we signed up for it. We purchased FIVE tickets to any five West End Broadway shows for 75 pounds. Well, this was the first of our five shows, and the value of the tickets we received were 62.50 each! That means we essentially got buy one, get four free! Next week we are seeing Billy Elliott. I was not too excited to see Oliver at first because I heard it was not that good. However, after the first song and seeing to many talented kids on stage doing their choreographed dances so well, I knew it would be an enjoyable show. And it was!

Another day this week, I broke one of the rules my personal trainer gave me…. No Cheese. For those of you who know me, my favourite foods before I moved to London were Nachos and Pizza, as well as a good bottle of wine and some nice cheeses. Well, there is this really nice place by my office (Gordon’s wine bar) that offers a great selection of wine, as well as some of their gourmet cheeses. A co-worker and I, Alex Tam, decided to go there after work one day for an after work cocktail. When I saw the selection of European cheeses, I could not but help order a taster place. We enjoyed a great bottle of Opal Syrah, with some brie and smoked gouda. Two of our other cowokers, Melissa and DIa, came to meet us for some wine and we ended up closing the bar! The good thing is that most pub’s in London close at 11PM, and you have to go to a late night pub to drink later than that. Meaning, it is easy to close a bar and still be in bed before Midnight. And since we start work at 9AM here, I can still get a full 8 hours of sleep, I love it!

Right now it is Sunday and I am writing my blog from Hyde Park, a beautiful park in London. I am sitting in a nice lawn chair in the sun, people watching and writing. Every day I spend in London I fall more in love with it. I really hope so stay here quite some time. I really cannot wait until March though. One thing about distance, is it makes you miss things back home so much and I have been missing my family so much lately. I love you all!

Well, I am off to the Tate Modern now to look at some artwork and enjoy the rest of my Sunday afternoon (and hopefully spend no money). The best thing about London, is that all the museums are FREE! Man, before I moved here I had so many bored days. You know, when you wake up and don’t know what to do… Or you wake up and want to do something, but don’t want to spend money… Well, that is not the case in London. There are so many free activities and so many people, that you literally don’t have time to be bored, the perfect environment for me. I hope everyone is well and talk with you all soon. Also, I have included a picture from the Great Britain Beer Festival! All the people in the pic are from my office in London!

PS.

- Kate and Trista, I love the email you guys sent! I miss you both as well.
- Kate and Ally, I hope you are ready to have fun in a couple weeks when Jeff and Christina visit!
- Jeff and Christina, I hope you have a blast in South Korea with Kate and your sister. How about a side trip to London on your way home??
- Cicely, we need to plan a Skype call soon, it has been awhile since we talked last, love you!
- Ellen, the countdown has begun! See you in a couple of weeks
- Tim, so, what’s the status on your passport!
- Sarah K, So, I need more recommendations from you regarding my Madrid trip!!!
- Avita, I got your wish list and I am on it!

And lastly some Wedding Congratulations!!

- Congrats Courtney Tisius!!! I still cannot believe you chose the year I left to get married!!
- Congrats to Stacy Biddle!! You have to tell me how he proposed, I am sure it will be a great story!
- Congrats to Brett Smith! I am happy you have found the one. I know from living with this guy that after one month after meeting his girl, he was smitten. He said he was going to marry her at that time and he was right!

Also, if any of you want to add me on Skype, feel free: AussieBelton!

Time for Belton to get FIT!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Belton, and I am writing about my experiences as I live in London for the next two years (possibly longer). I plan on updating this blog every week (I will try my best) so be sure to check for updates frequently.

31 August, 2010

Hey all,

So, I hope all I well with you all. As many of you know, I started working out with my personal trainer this week. The first meeting was pretty intense and I hope I can do it. I started working out in early March at Wicker Park Fitness in Chicago after about a two year hiatus. I think I am going to start tracking my weight on this blog as well so you all fan follow me and give me additional support. I have done a generally good job this year.

When I started working out in March, I weighed in at around 265 (120 Kilograms) with a 42 size waist. Since then, I have slightly changed my diet and been working at the gym doing cardio and random machines each time I go. Eating healthier and the basic workout has helped me get down to 237 (108 Kilograms) pounds now (a size 39 waist). Now that I have moved to London, it seems everyone is ‘FIT’ which means ‘In Shape’. As such, I am going to work hard to get ‘FIT’ in time for my good friends wedding in Mexico in March 2010 (Congrats George and Meghan!!). I am going to start each of my future blog posts with my weight, so you can track my progress as well. Wish me luck!

Here are the Rules from my personal trainer:
1) Eat six times a day
2) No Cheese!
3) No Sugar
4) Cardio 2x a week
5) Cardio & Weights 3x a week
6) Protein for Breakfast
7) Only drink a maximum of 2 days a week
8) Drink plenty of water
9) No chips, crisps, or fries!

Also as part of this entry, I am going to tell you all about my weekend. This weekend was my first holiday weekend and on Friday I went to an Austrian beer hall and had a couple Litre’s of beet. Saturday I rested and then on Sunday we went to a festival called ‘Notting Hill Festival’ with some of my coworkers (Leanne, Melissa, Alex Tam, and others). It is a Caribbean festival, and I got to see a lot of different cultures there. For those of you who don’t know, my mom was born in Trinidad, and raised in Venezuela. That means I am ½ Venezuelan! I love you Mom!

The festival was a lot of fun and I was even able to see a Trinidadian float (which I immediately took a picture of to post on here for my mom). So far London has been a great experience for me. It has given me the chance to take a step back from life and to re-evaluate where I see myself heading in the future. Right now it is exciting to be here and experiencing all the different cultures, and I am very excited for all the European travel that awaits me ahead.

Well, that’s all for now so wish me good luck in working out. Maybe I will make enough progress by Christmas to post a picture… Well, we will just have to wait and see about that one!