"Are you going to the disco?"

I am getting so many new passport stamps.

Prague was a really neat city. Not only is everything super cheap (Minus the hotel, I spent less than $100 on stuff throughout the weekend) but it is very medieval with pretty sweet architecture. The night life is also pretty stellar.

We awoke early on Friday, per usual, and got into Prague around 11am. After a longer than usual line to get through immigration, we met up with Allison's friend Caitlin who is studying abroad in Prague, and she very nicely showed us exactly where to go and what transportation tickets to buy, ideal. We got into the city center and made our way to the hotel. Prague also has a very efficient public transportation system, with an underground train as well as an overground tram. We ended up taking the tram pretty much everywhere, and we just bought 24 hour passes so you don't have to swipe your ticket every time which was very convenient. Our hotel was quite nice and it was refreshing to stay somewhere that actually has towels and a TV for a change. It was also a hilarious third wheel room with Zack and I sharing a bed and Allie on a cot on the other side of the room, classic.

We met back up with Allison, Katie and Caitlin and walked around the city center, got some sausages and explored. Turns out the food in Prague is completely made up of fat and salt, awesome. We walked across the Charles Bridge which has beautiful views and a lot of street performers and art vendors on it. It turned out to be pretty cold in Prague (in the 30s and 40s) but it was sunny almost the entire weekend. We then crossed the bridge and found this precious area with all these locks where married couples "lock" in their love. We also checked out this giant graffiti wall that apparently used to be a John Lennon tribute. By this point, we were pretty sleepy so we went back to the hotel for a little siesta. Later on we all met back up at a pizza place that had delicious food and drank some Czech beer. We picked up some champagne at the grocery store and went to Caitlin's apartment to hang out before going out.

Charles Bridge

So many locks!

Around midnight, we headed to Lucerna which is a "80s and 90s theme video nightclub" - ideal to say the least. They basically played a bunch of Whitney and Backstreet Boys and other epic jams along with the music videos. Only downfall of the night is when Zack purchased absinthe shots and I contemplated death after taking one. I literally can no longer drink absinthe, my body rejects it! Something weird about the clubs in Prague is everyone smokes inside of them, same with all of the bars and pubs and everywhere. I had to do some serious laundry post-Prague to prevent smelling like a chimney.

Saturday morning, we woke up and ate some free hotel breakfast before doing some sight seeing. We went back to the main city center/clock tower to watch the hourly show that goes on atop the tower. Turns out the show consists of a few figurines poking their heads out the window and a bell ringing, quite anticlimactic. We found a glorious hot chocolate stand in the center which had some of the best hot chocolate I have ever had! We went back twice in one day and the lady working there recognized us and laughed. Zack, Allie and I started making our way towards the Prague Castle where we found a bunch of other ND kids. We hung out for a while and eventually ditched them (nicely) and the three of us checked out the castle. It was quite an uphill climb but we made it. The basilica of the castle was gorgeous, both inside and outside. We then kept walking towards this mini-Eiffel tower looking structure further up the hill. We walked through some picturesque leaves and trees and it reminded me of fall at ND! We paid a bit to climb to the top of this tower and took in a view of all of Prague, so cool.

The church at the Prague Castle

Panorama at the top of the tower

After walking about all day, it was time for another siesta. We napped and relaxed they got up and went back to the city center after getting lost for a solid 30 minutes. Then we proceeded to eat all of the food at the markets in the center (chicken kebabs and these interesting fries were the highlights) and get more hot chocolate. We found this one Czech pub that apparently Bill Clinton went to, so it's really famous, but it was clearly too popular and too packed to stay at. We found another pub that sold Czech Budweiser, which we tried, along with fried cheese, which we bought because it is a local thing. We stopped at one more bar and had a drink before Allie luckily managed to procure some discount tickets to the club (As in this random store owner looked at her and asked "Are you going to disco" to which she responded yes... clearly we look like party people). It was a 5 story club with different floors ranging from oldies to electronic to popular music. We waited in line with some British guys from Manchester who were really funny. Eventually we got inside, and it was a wild time even though there were only three of us that ended up going. Allie came away with a new French boyfriend (not really) and the electronic floor was bumping. We went home at 3 or 4am and all went to sleep immediately once we got back to the hotel.

Sunday morning, we checked out and picked up a few souvenirs before heading home a bit earlier in the day. I definitely enjoyed Prague. Everyone there speaks English, just like everywhere else in the world. It was also really fun to go out on the town both nights.

This week in London has also been ideal!

Monday, I went to this auction place called Christie's to interview some people for NBC. They were holding an auction and selling memorabilia from John Lennon and Paul McCartney among others. This letter from Paul was projected to sell for at least 10,000 pounds! The camera man shot a bunch of clips for the piece and we talked to the auction experts. A good day at work overall.

Tuesday, I saw Reasons To Be Pretty at the Almedia Theatre. To be honest, it was a dud. Not nearly as good as the last couple of plays I have seen. They can't all be winners!

Wednesday, I survived transcribing some interviews on Syria at NBC before getting ready for Skrillex at Fabric! Basically, there was this after party with Skrillex as DJ at Fabric, the current #1 club in the world. I find it funny that I went there on a Wednesday night. Anyways, it was crazy! It was probably the loudest place I have ever been in with lights and smoke everywhere. Also, when Skrillex proceeded to drop the bass, the crowd proceeded to mosh pit! I feared for my life a couple of times, but luckily a huge group of NDers were there so we had some protection. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I'm glad I went. We got home a little after 3am and got a solid 5 hours of sleep in before class on Thursday morning, haha.

Skrillex at Fabric

Thursday, the Skrillex crew survived class and then I went on a couple of errands with Zack. We popped into Whole Foods and then found this cool market in Soho. We checked that out and then came across a Chipotle-esque burrito stand where I got a debilitating urge for a burrito, haha. We ate them in a nearby park and they were delicious. It was also a beautiful day in London, sunny and mid 50s which is ideal. Later on Thursday, I rehearsed more at the Globe, and things are really starting to come together. I have a bunch of lines to memorize for this week! I always have so much fun during that class it's just awesome. We also took a break during class to set up our schedule for next semester back at school, and I got most of the classes I wanted, with no classes on Friday once again, woohoo! Thursday night, Allie and I went to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn. Yes, I am embarrassed but no, I did not hate it. Also London movie theaters are funny because you have assigned seats (which actually makes a lot of sense) and they show regular television commercials before the previews. It made for a good, chill night.

Yesterday, Friday, I traveled a bit out of the way to pick up the keys for my family's apartment. That afternoon, Allie and I took the tube to this giant mall called Westfield. I went absolutely wild buying both things for myself and Christmas gifts, someone should have put me on a leash. I made purchases from Next, a beauty store, Zara, Topshop, River Island, the Nike store and H&M. It was so fun and I hadn't actually been shopping for a long time so I don't feel so bad. Plus I definitely need to come back with some stellar Christmas gifts from London! Allie and I were at the mall for about 5 hours (a gratuitous amount of time) and literally shopped until we dropped. I stayed in on Friday night which was a good decision.

Tonight, Allie and I are going to attempt to get some student standby tickets for Phantom of the Opera, so hopefully that works out. If not, it looks like my night may lead me to Tiger Tiger, which is a club we've never been to before. And the Taylor family arrives in London tomorrow! AHHH things are about to get crazy!