My advice: eat banana, not wild berries in the forrest.

Written on Tuesday October 30, 2007

So we are in Birmingham now and it feels amazing to be a) downtown and b) not in the Ibis Hotel! The Jury’s Inn has one of the best continental breakfasts too because of a few key ingredients: eggs and bananas (not to be eaten together!) Protein is just harder to get on the road and fruit is just awesome and good to take it for later!

Today I went running along the canal which was so cute. It has those really skinny boats in it. This walkway is actually how we will be walking to the building here and it is probably the cutest walk to work EVER! After my lovely run I went to the Warwick Castle with Adrienne, Joelle, Mauricio, and Todd. It was a great day. Now that I have gone to numerous castles they are slightly blending together. This one was quite cool and enjoyable but as far as describing it I don’t have much to say. There were peacocks around the perimeter. I find it so weird to see all these wild peacocks gallivanting around here. I guess I really enjoy chasing animals because I ended up chasing after one of them for amusement. As we walked through the grounds there were some trees with berries on them. Joelle proceeded to pick and eat them. She claims she does it at home (in Switzerland) all the time but I was slightly freaked. In my eyes, you don't eat wild berries! But she hasn't gone crazy yet so I guess the berries didn't get the best of her!

All the flowers would have very extra special powers

Written on Monday October 29, 2007

I spent the whole day in Oxford with good old Colby! I was quite excited to see the town especially because it was where the real Alice in Wonderland was from! We went to Lewis Carroll’s Old Sheep Shop and bought some little Alice trinkets including my favorite, a gold chocolate coin that reads “EAT ME!”

We toured the Bodleian Library as well as Christ Church College. Both were sites where they filmed some of Harry Potter which Adrienne was quite thrilled about! In the dining hall at the college one of the Stain Glass windows had Alice and the other character from Wonderland in it! There was also a painting of Charles Ludwidge Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll. Now I thought Durham was a crazy place to go to college but Oxford was an even more extreme case and we saw student around. It would just be so wild to be living and having classes in these buildings!

I got to see Colby’s “flat” which was very cute and she fed me which is always nice. I also ate some delic mango ice cream from G & D Oxford’s Own Ice Cream Shop which was conveniently right across from Christ Church College and a few shops down from the sheep shop.

Sugar......most important food group.

Blog:

Written on Saturday October 27,2007

So how crazy is this. Igor got really sick and went to the doctor and turns out he has developed an allergy to sugar! Corrie, his roommate, claims he ate like crap and was basically on a strict sugar diet. So this allergy developed from having such mass quantities! I hope I don’t develop such a thing!!

He was out for two days and came back yesterday but was so weak he had to step out mid-show. It blows my mind. I thought a gluten allergy was the worst sounding thing but this might win the prize! I feel like everything has sugar! Even bread does! I don’t know how Mr. Sweet tooth is going to deal! He is suppose to have no sugar for a year and a half! All I have to say is, Good Luck Igor!

I want cool things.

So I fell for real for the first time on Wednesday. I was doing a hitch-kick in monkeys and I apparently was attempting to make it the biggest hitch-kick of my life. It ended in my sliding on my bum away from the circle I was suppose to be in. All the other monkeys got to see the spectacle and boy did they enjoy it. Mauricio especially loved it; he won't stop talking about it!

I have decided that when I return to the states I am probably going to go crazy with buying things because after living with the crazy prices of the UK everything at home is going to seem dirt cheap! I went shopping the past two days before the shows and have been quite unsuccessful. And I really wanted to leave London with some "cool things!" One of the nights Jeff was visiting I blurted out "I really want cool things!" and he thought it was hilarious and made fun of me for it the rest of his visit.........But it is true!

I do really want some cool things! Maybe I will have some luck in Birmingham?

On one of my unsuccessful shopping trips I got to visit Camden Market which was neat. I really enjoyed looking around in the stores in that area. There was lots of gothic/punk looking stores as well as this crazy place called Cyber Dog. I tried to take a picture in the store but got yelled at! WOOPS! Anyways, I’m pretty sure this is where Zenon the Girl of the 21^st Century and Jane Jetson must have shopped! It was all this futurist looking attire like dresses that had foam rings on the bottom of the skirt making them stick out and lots of fluorescent colors.

I only made two purchases while at the market. One being sunglasses, solely because I needed them for work. In between shows I have been stuck in the arena because if you want to leave you must where sunglasses so people can’t see your makeup. I have never been a sunglass wearer so of course I didn’t have any with me. I really feel like a tool wearing them indoors and when it is dark out. My first time wearing them on the train I felt like everyone was looking at me wondering what I was thinking. I suppose it makes me very Dior and posh.

My other purchase was some homemade donuts which were very tasty. It reminded me of apple picking with Neana. I so long to go apple picking; I adore going! When we used to go we would get these apple donuts from the orchard in case you were wondering how donut correlated to apple picking.

ICE is cold

I had my first fall in the show, but it wasn’t really my fault. In Haunted Mansion we make a maze to trap the Incredibles in. After Helen enters I put my arm up so she can’t escape but when she leaned close to me our blades got connected and I ended up on my butt! I got right back up just in the nick of time to not miss a step and my partner Richard didn’t even notice I had fallen! I also made a little girl scream and throw her French fries in the air during monkeys! Hahhahahahaa

In between shows Adrienne and I went up to the main level of the O2 Arena to investigate finding some food. This lady was basically pulling us into her restaurant telling us the whole menu was ½ price because they just opened and are trying to bring in business so we decided to give it a try. It was called Raas and it was Indian food but the place may have been one of the nicest restaurant I’ve ever been to. It was one of those places that makes you feel uncomfortable because of how nice it was. I over course got the table cloth dirty! Class, class class! They had two wine glasses set up at each placement and these really big plush seats. Adrienne and I were the only ones sitting in there! They still need to get there act together because our food took forever!

After the show we went to the Absolut Ice Bar London. It was really awesome! The room is totally made of ice and you get drinks served in glasses made of ice. They also give you these huge blue parkas to wear with White Fur trimmed hoods. You are only allowed to stay in there for 45 minutes because it is just that cold. My glass was melting from the warmth of my mouth causing me to drool quite a bit. It was quite the experience and I’m so glad we got to go! After Adrienne and Brittany were on a hunt to find some soup and there was no soup to be found. We went to numerous places until we finally found a little kebab place that served lentil soup. Brittany proceeded to ask them 20 questions making them describe to her in full detail this so called soup. Then they told her it was 3.50 pounds and she went on a rant that that was absurdly overpriced! EEEEK Boy did I want to leave right then and there!

A Spoon Full of Sugar..........

Written on Monday October 22, 2007

So we were planning on going to see Mary Poppins the musical tonight but turns out it is a school holiday this week so they weren’t giving any discounted tickets away. We didn’t want to pay the full price so we didn’t end up getting them. It was quite a bummer esp. since it was my last opportunity to see a show.

So on my last free day in London I first went to see Hyde Park. It really wasn’t a pretty park at all. The grass was overgrown and looked more like fields than nice park land and many of the trees were small and newly planted. Then we went to Notting Hill which is such a cute area. You can tell the houses are newer but architecture used has such class I feel. Lots of them were painted with really cool pastel color which you don’t see everyday. Then we looked around Portobello Market which I didn’t really find anything at. I really wanted to get some good shopping in today because it was our last day off but I had no such luck. Maybe I’m just too picky! I did make one purchase today which I am highly pleased with. It is a little red ceramic Volkswagen Vanigen and has a candle inside it! We ate some yummy pasty from Cornwall Cornish Pastry Co. in Covent Garden. They were very tasty and maybe of a high caliber to Gregg’s but 4 times the price………………….so I am still a fan of Gregg’s!

I am soooo Couture.

Written on Friday, October 19, 2007

I woke up early today and took on some museums. I went to the Victoria Albert Museum basically because I heard they had a special exhibit, The Golden Age of Couture. It was wicked awesome. I spent two hours on the one exhibit! I forgot to bring my notebook so I ended up picking up a bunch of brochure and doodled on the blank white areas. They had old video footage of fashion models and had some sketches and fashion photos on display as well as tons of garments. There was lots of Dior and a Mme Gres like I learned how to make in Paris! It was a great start to my day and really put me in a good mood.

Next I went to the Tate Modern. Modern art is not really my bag of chips but I had to stop in to make Neana proud. When you first walk in there is a huge crack in the floor. It is an installation by Doris Salcedo Shibboleth and it blows my mind how it was done exactly. It is cut out of the actual floor and look as if there was an earthquake and it happened naturally. I perused two of the floor but did not find it quite as exhilarating as the fashion exhibit.

After that I did a lot of walking around and really tuckered myself out. This whole week I’ve done so much walking!

No whispering for me.

Today I visited St. Paul's Cathedral. It was yet another lovely structure. I think I enjoyed Durham Cathedral more but this one had such an amazing view from the top of London. My legs struggled a lot more during this 400 something step hike to the top. The staircase in Durham was much nicer and looked like the original stairs. This staircase was not such a pretty one. It look much newer and some parts were metal.

The climb was broke up into sections. After the first set of stairs we ended up in the Whispering Hall. Adrienne and I were totally oblivious to the story behind this room. We thought people were just acting plain weird while we were on this floor. I saw a whole family leaning against the walling looking all in the same direction. After we descended back down we were informed if you went on the opposite side of the room and whispered something your friend could hear you on the other side! I wish we had known! hahaha But we were not climbing all the way back up to whisper at each other!

"What a lovely chocolate wrapper you have!"

Written on Wednesday 10.17.2007

Yesterday I saw Colby who I haven’t seen in so long! We spent a couple hours together and she showed me around Soho and Strand Street where her school, Kings College is. After I went back to our boring hotel and ended up taking a nap which I NEVER do! It was freaky! Everyone was at Canadian Thanksgiving dinner so nobody was around.

Today I went to the Tower of London. It was a lot colder out than I had anticipated so I was quite cold! Other than having the shivers it is was a lovely day. I was disappointed that the “Beefeaters” were not dressed in their usual red outfit like you always see depicted. We did a tour and our guide was quite funny. It was hard to hear him though because the group was so large. The highlight of the trips would have to be seeing the crown jewels! Also they had all their gold on display and we saw this ridiculous "Grand Punch Bowl and Ladle" that was probably the largest punch bowl EVER! It was big enough for me to bathe in! I passed this group of school children and overheard this one girl say to her friend in her cute British accent "What a lovely chocolate wrapper you have!" I don't know why but it amused the hell out of me! The kids here sound so smart. There is just something about the accent!

After we had an unfortunately poor meal. I had been having such good luck with finding good deals and yummy food but not today. We ate at Davy's restaurant right near the Tower of London basically in desparation because of hunger and being cold. It was overpriced and not so tasty :( But Adrienne finally got to try a treacle tart! She had been on a mad search to find this dessert because it is Harry Potter's favorite (She's obsessed!) Anyways, she has asked many people where she could find these treat and they all gave her weird looks and said they didn't know of it.......So we finally found out she has been pronouncing it all wrong. She had been saying "terry-acle" Hahahahaha pretty funny. But Harry is not so good at recommending desserts. It was kinda blah in my book.

This week we are playing at the O2 arena which resembles some sort of blue glowing sea urchin on the outside. It is a really nice building and seat a lot more than last weeks old and moly Metro Radio Arena BUT the crowd stunk! They were so many empty seat and those that were there were not so loud. I guess there are just too many good things to see in London! I hope the audiences improve in the coming days!

Big B at Big Ben

Written on Monday October 15, 2007

I <3>London!

Today I got my first taste of the streets and sights of London! It was the perfect day out; Look at the sky in my pictures! We walked around and saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. I was quite amused by the guards in their furry hats and the way they stomp with such conviction. In Trafalgar Square we decided to take pictures on this big statue of a lion and Adrienne had such a struggle to get up on it; so funny! Then we walked through Covent Garden where we ran into a brass man that pretends to be a statue. We watched him for probably a half hour because it was quite amusing. He would tap people on the shoulder as they walked by and freak them out! It was so funny seeing people’s shocked reactions. We ate some yummy pies for dinner at the Greyhound embracing the English cuisine.

I wish we were staying right downtown. The Ibis Hotel is quite under par in my book. The rooms are so prefabricated and our bathroom resembles that of an airplane complete with plastic walls and door. And it takes me 5 flushed to get the toilet to work! We also have foam mattresses. Too bad they don’t have Doubletrees over here in Europe with their comfy beds and warm homemade cookies! But lots of the hotels have jumped on the cookie wagon over here. We usually get cookies by the coffeemaker in the room. Actually I take that back we get biscuits……or sometimes if we are lucky shortbread. So I am definitely getting lots of cookies over here for sure!

Chasing Sheep.

Today we went on an adventure to see Hadrian’s Wall. There were limited bus times that would take us there so we rented a car! That in itself was an adventure because of the whole driving on the other side of the road deal. Jeff did all the driving but I wish I could have tried it. If the car was automatic, I so would have! As we drove we were getting into Middle of Nowhere, England. All around us was rolling hills filled with sheep.

The wall was built around 120 AD and a much of it is still standing! We parked near the Homestead Fort and did some hiking along the wall. The ground was so moist and squishy and the grass was so soft and fluffy under our feet probably do it was abundance of rain they get here. There were so many sheep around and I really wanted to pet one. I kept trying to sneak up to one but they always spotted me and would run away as I approached. So then I started chasing them! I was having such a ball cracking up at myself. Adrienne and Jeff were pretty amused at me too. I never got to pet one though :(

In show news, yesterday our transformer blew so in the middle of the opening number they stopped the show! We started back up but without all the power so most of the lights weren’t on. It was so lame and I felt really bad for the audience. It felt like we weren’t even skating a show because all the house lights were on and there were no specialty lights or spotlights. It was real bad! Today we had two shows and right before the first one it blew again! This time they tried to use a little more of the lighting but it didn’t go so well either. Instead of having way too much lighting there was not enough at all. Haunted Mansion was horrible. I literally couldn’t see anybody out on the ice! That number in general is dark but this was out of hand; I feel like the audience probably couldn’t see a thing! They got everything back running for the second show, so that was good. Hopefully it was staying up and running because this weekend is our first 6 pack!

Visit to Durham, my new fave!

Today we went on an excursion to Durham which is by far my favorite visit I have had yet! It was just a short train ride away from Newcastle. It worked out that we didn’t go on Tuesday because today was an unbelievable day. The sun was shining and it wasn’t too cold out!

Durham is such a nice place. All the building are old and well kept and there was no speck of litter to be found. The cathedral was amazing. We climbed up the tower which was so worth the 3 pounds! To get up we had to climb the skinniest spiral staircase ever. I was definitely feeling the burn! The view was so glorious from the top. The castle was closed today so we couldn’t go in but I feel it would not have lived up to the awesomeness that was the cathedral anyways. It is now used as part of the University of Durham, probably the prettiest school ever! We then walked along the river on this path that would have been such a great run. We walked by the Old Fulling Mill and took lots of pictures.

Newcastle, UK not Delaware!

I am now in Newcastle! Our hotel is quite tight quarters. They are really into small compact-ness here, whether it be itty bitty cars or the tight rooms. Of the rooms we have had thus far only one was standard. All the others have had either: two single beds, one double and a single, or one double and a pull out couch.

Yesterday Jeff came in to visit Adrienne so she is quite stoked. I went out to eat with them at Flatbread Café. We found it down this small alley. Jeff has a theory that restaurants down alleys are always good bets because in order to survive in an obscure alley you have got to be good! His theory held true in this case. It had dishes from all different country like Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, etc. You got different things and shared them with flat bread. It was a really neat place that had plush pink and aqua seat cushion and a really nice ambiance. It was very different food for me so I was quite proud!

We had plans to go on a trip to Durham Castle today but it ended up being rainy and really crummy weather so we are going to be another day. So instead, we walked around Newcastle which I hadn’t really explored yet so that was good. We saw the St. Nicholas Cathedral which was really pretty. I am still quite impressed with all the cathedrals. I am sure they may get old a few months down the road but for now they are still all shiny. All the buildings here are just so old and worn! We also checked out the Black Gate and Castle Keep. There was so many winding staircases in the castle. The view from the top was pretty cool and you could appreciate the seven bridges that Newcastle has to offer!

Manchester = Nice for running

I got a note yesterday that Chip and Dale were very cute in finale, so YAY! Also I talked to my performance director about my back and he is letting me and my partner slightly fake the spin for the time being to let it heal a little. Smac, my PD, is amazing. What a pleasant change it is to have a PD that is approachable and caring. And thank god he is letting us fake the spin because it seemed to be getting worse as the week went on and at that rate it was never going to heal!

In Sunday's first show my usual partner Tilley was doing Buzz Lightyear so I had the pleasure of having Alex as my partner. I went to tell him that we needed to fake the kiss spin and he informed me that we wouldn't be doing any of the lifts. Hahaha He is basically the same height as me so it would have been a toss up as to who would lift who anyways. So I'm out there on the ice and I hear Alex letting out these little screams of anxiety because he didn't know ANY of the steps. It was hilarious! I just dying inside and I tried to lead him but it wasn't quite working. It was so entertaining though!

The one reason I am sad to be leaving Manchester is because there are so many trails to run on here. Over the course of the week I stumbled upon three different sets of trails! It was amazing to get off the roads and get some mud on my shoes. I showed Charlotte the trails one day and another day Joelle also joined us. It is nice not running by myself all the time as I did last year. Yay for running buddies!

Kiss spins are slowly killing me!

So I have an achy brakey back thanks to the kiss spin. I hope it heals soon because it is cramping my style. Everytime I do that spin it hurts again which stinks :( Anyways, I have been working on learning the Alice number. I just adore it and it is so my style of skating. I have to present it next Wednesday so hopefully that’ll go good! I also am trying to learn, Edna, the fashion designer, because she is awesome and it is a fitting role I feel! Melissa is the girl who does both those characters so basically she has the most amazing show track ever in my opinion. She is extremely nice and came in early to help me which is incredible!

Friday afternoon I hung out with Mere our wardrobe guru and we explored Manchester a little more. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry which had an exhibit on the history of the textile industry in Manchester. They held a large role in the cotton industry back in the day. That was kinda neat but the rest of the museum was not so entertaining and was geared towards 5 year olds. We also walked through Albert Square and that is where the lovely pic is from above! It was really warm and sunny out which was so refreshing. We have been having so many gloomy days over here so it was a nice change!

Here are some other food discoveries I have made: First off black currant is such a popular flavor over here and I really dig it. They have candies, gum, jam, and dessert always in black currant. I also love how they call cookies, biscuits and they call candy, confections! Hob Nobs are to die for! Neana had told me all about them and it is so true: "one nibble and you're nobbled!" They are so glorious: Basically oatmeal cookies and some are dipped in chocolate. Oh and they also make Cadbury cream eggs in a bar-form which is such a tremendous idea!

I was pooped on!

On average everyone gets pooped on by a bird 3 times in their lifetime. After 23 poop-less years my time finally came!

Adrienne and I went on another excursion yesterday to Liverpool. We wanted to go on the Beatles tour and see all that. We were mildly unsuccessful as far as planning goes though. We had to take a bus to then catch a train and when we arrived in Liverpool, we had just missed the tour time by a half hour! So we ended up just walked around on our own, took some pictures, and did get to see the Cavern Club where it all started for the Beatles and the bartender told us the tour was lame and a rip off so that made us feel better.

I like skating for a G-Rated show!

Written on Monday, October 1, 2007

We now reside in one of those grand locations that is outside the city and has hardly anything around. We went on an adventure to do laundry today which was way too expensive but what do you do. I am rooming with Brittany Montgomery this week. It is weird being apart from Adrienne and may start experience withdrawal symptoms! But no, she is right across the hall with Tasha and we keep our doors open and visit frequently so I think we will survive! Brittany is from Denver and was on Nemo the past three years.

The company organized for us to go see the Hot Ice Show which is a stationary show in Black Pool at a creepy amusement park. Maybe in the summer it is not quite as eerie but in October it is pretty deserted around there and I just can’t imagine those skaters being stuck there! It was something else and can basically be summed up as Las Vegas Show Girls put on ice. Let me just say I am glad I am entertaining kids on my show! The costumes were over the top complete with feather head dresses and thong body suits. Some of the numbers were cool like one where they used these silk strips of fabric hanging from the ceiling and swung on them, very cirque-esque. But there were also instances were I got the retard tingle such as when the music had a monologue saying “Prepare for the divas on ice to take over!” There was good quality in the skating though and all and all I was entertained, I’m just glad I skate with Disney!

Chipmunk fun

I have been internet deprived so this is me catching up!

Written on Sunday September 30, 2007

So I successfully survived my first week of performances. It is just the beginning but I am really digging the show. I am starting to have more fun with the numbers. I’m getting into Dale and my partner Camilla who does Chip and I have been playing a lot more. We have dance offs, play hand games, etc.

I have a new obsession. It is Gregg’s a chain bakery in the UK. They have these amazing pastys that I now purchase whenever I get the chance. There was one on the walk to the arena in Nottingham last week and I didn’t try it until Saturday and was mad I had not discovered this glorious place until the end of the week but luckily they are everywhere so I will have many more Gregg experiences! They have savory pastries that are so tasty and cheap and filling so basically you can’t go wrong wit Gregg’s!

Today I had one of the funniest company meals ever. This innocent waitress was trying to clear all the plates and made the mistake of taking Brittany’s plate before she was finished. Brittany almost struck her with her fork and said no so forcefully. The poor girl was so shocked as well as me and the other on lookers then we were just dying laughing at the episode that went down. After that she came up to me and asked if I was done in such a scared voice.

On Saturday night Adrienne and I accompanied Mauricio, Alex, and Skylar to the gay bar ND1. We wanted to do something and they were literally the only one doing anything so we said gay bar it is. We had a lot of fun dancing with them. Alex was being hilarious all night.