Peacocks!

So I have found a running buddy on tour which is AMAZING! Her name is Charlotte and she's from Sweden. She is actually only here for another 5 weeks because then she is going back home to do her last year of med school. I'm so sad that as soon as I found someone to run with I am losing her. But it nice for a little while at least! This week we ran twice at the Arboreum, which is this little park nearby. It is quite hilly here so we got quite the workout.

Today Adrienne and I took an excursion out of the the city to see the Newstead Abbey. Our bus ride was quite amusing because every other person who got on was elderly and they all knew each other and were gabbing away. We ate some food at the one restaurant nearby called the Hutt and then walked about a mile to get to the grounds. There are 8 different gardens on the premises. My favorite was the Spanish Garden which reminded me of Alice in Wonderland! We spent a good chunk of the time also admiring the wild peacocks that were strolling around. None of them would open up their wingspan for us though but even without seeing that they were still very beautiful creature. There feather are some of the most vibrant colors! It was kind of a gloomy day out and it was misting for a good chunk of the time we were there but this is standard for the UK. It rains A LOT here.

Monkeying around is my job

This show is such a blast to skate in! It's such a change from last year’s which consisted of marching in a marshmallow suit. Opening night was amazing! This year my show track includes playing a monkey in the Jungle Book, a ghost in the Haunted Mansion, Dale as in Chip-n-Dale, a guard in Syndrome’s army, and I am inside the Africa float in Small World. The show flies by so fast. I feel like as soon as we start it, it is done which is really nice

The crowd on Opening night was so awesome and so responsive! In the Monkey number, I come out early and get to play with the audience before we start. I went over to these two kids and they practically jumped out of their seat; it was so hilarious and got me really pumped up. The Haunted Mansion number is quite the sight to see. We all are wearing ball gown, masks, and wigs that glow under black lights and they dim the lights and have smoke on the ice. It is really effective! When I first saw the dress I thought it was horrid. It just looked wrong in so many ways being frilly and lacy and also having neon colors on it but when they put a black light on it, it looks pretty neat! It is really exciting for me to be doing this number because never in my life have a skated ice dancing with a pair or done any lifts. We do three lifts in the number and I still am working on making the landing more graceful but in time I'll get it. We also do this really neat thing called a Kiss Spin where I am flying through the air! Inside Dale I have trouble seeing because his eyes are so far apart so I basically only look out of one in order to navigate where I am going. During the first dress rehearsal Donald Duck and I had a run in and I splattered on the ice. I haven’t had any casualties since then but I am constantly bumping off of people. haha

After the show, we had our opening night party at bar called, the Lizard’s lounge. After that everyone headed to ND2 a gay club and danced the night away. It was a really good time. Thanks to Alex, we got in for free because he loves throwing out the Disney card to get any perks possible. When I said everyone went I mean basically everyone! Even the director, financial controller, and promoter came! I have a feeling with this group of people there are going to be frequent visits to gay bars!

I'm in Europe

This is the start of my European adventure. I will periodically being documenting my travels so enjoy. My overall impression of Europe thus far is that everything looks so cool and quaint, they have the best cars that all resemble my small little hatchback, and their accents are amazing! I am shocked at how many American stores and fast food places are over here. It slightly bothers me because I want to see different European places. Actually it would be nice to see some familiar places that I like but all I'm see here are McDonalds, Pizza Huts, or the Gap!


I am currently in Nottingham, England where Robin Hood took place. I spent my days off with new found friends, Mauricio from Mexico, Joelle from Switzerland, Adrienne of course, and Brittany another former Monster. We got to see a statue of him and then found out it is totally a made up story so that was quite the let down! I really like it here in Nottingham. It resembles more of a quaint town than a city but everything is so close and there is lots to do There are caves underneath the town that were carved into the sandstone by hand many centuries ago. We went to see part of it that was under a bar called Salutation Inn. Legend has it is that there is a ghost down there named Rosie who is about 7 years old but we didn't see her.

We also walked around the Castle grounds. The gatehouse is all that remains but it is still quite pretty. Inside was an exhibit on a new Robin Hood movie. It was so dumb and such a waste of a pretty building. Nearby is the oldest pub in England called “Trip to Jerusalem" There is a model ship inside that they say if you touch it you will die so nobody has touched it in a million years aka it is really dirty.

When waiting in line to use the bathroom at a Starbucks a man asked if I was from the area. He said he thought I looked like I was from there and didn't look American, I guess by the way I was dressed. I was quite pleased! I had on a sweater with big sleeves, a scarf, jeans, and flats. Yay for blending in!