London Calling

So after 2 canceled flights, 2 days, lost reservation in a hostel and a tour being canceled cause of my flight I finally had arrived in London Gatwick on August 18, 2011! After an easy transfer on the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station and catching the tube from there to Gloucester Rd. I got off and sally forth on a 10 minute walk to my hostel with my huge and heavy luggage! I stayed at the Astor Kensington it looked shady on the outside but was lovely inside. Helpful guys at the front desk led me to the right directions for good/cheap food and fun night spots!

I headed first to Westminster Abbey:

Westminster Abbey

Inside the Gardens of Westminster Abbey

Yummy caramelized Cashews

After the incredible sights of the Abbey I walked around the River Thames on my way to The London Dungeon!

The London Eye and Parliament

Me and The London Eye in backdrop

Later on that night I went on Nutz Club Crawl (http://www.facebook.com/nutspubcrawl) in Leicester Square it was a lot of fun! 2 French guys ran it. I met a few Argentianans, 2 Swiss girls and 2 American guys! Many good times. After which the tube stopped running and I was stranded waiting outside the tube station for 1.5 hrs for it to start running again at 5:30am IT WAS FREEZING lol

We had too much fun

Dancing with the pub crawl group

The 2 French Guys who run the Club Crawl

I had an early start the next morning (August 19,2011) to go on my England In One Day trip! Which consisted of:
Stonehenge:

Stonehenge. We were lucky to get beautiful weather

Hello Mom!!!

Next stop Bath:

The Roman Baths (Thermal, I tasted them)

Bath Abbey and Bath Park

Stratford-Upon-Avon (William Shakespeare's (The Bard) Birthplace:

David (Tour Guide) and I at Shakespeare's House

City of Stratford-Upon-Avon

Little trivia for you. When the city says "blank-upon-blank" that means the city is upon a river! So in this case Stratford is the town and it is Upon the river Avon!

A vist to the North

I am leaving in 4 hours to visit some new and interesting places! Our first stop is Cleveland, Ohio. We are only there for one night and then picking up the rental car to drive to our timeshare in Toronto. I am very excited about this stopover though for 4 reasons:

1. One of my good friends from Disney lives in the area and we are having dinner, Cole Conway:

Myself and Cole in Animal Kingdom 2-16-2010

2. We are going to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!!!!!!!

Entrance to this Mecca of Music

3. They filmed A Christmas Story here and they have the house/museum.

A Christmas Story house

4. Eat at Melt Bar and Grilled (Where Adam Richman did a challenge and the owner, Matt Fish, has been voted as one of the Most interesting men in 2010.

Yummy Yummy in my Tummy

Our next stop is Buffalo, NY. Home of the original American wings! This I am going to try and convince my Uncle Gene to let us go and try. Anchor Bar is claimed to be Home of the Original Chicken Wing!!! I very much want to try this!

Mmmmmm Chicken

Then we drive up through the border into Ontario, Canada! My first time ever in the country! We are staying in Toronto and visiting Niagara Falls (Canadian side) one of the days. Here is a list of some sights I want to see:

Casa Loma

CN Tower (World's Largest Tower - Bucket List)

High Park (Zoo, Playgrounds, Sports Facilities, Gardens AMAZING)

Niagara Falls and Horseshoe Falls (Bucket List)

Eat at Medieval Times (Bucket List)

These are the main things I would like to see and do! When we get back from our holiday then I will post pictures and mention what we actually ended up doing. Now I did get ahead of myself so let me backtrack on the packing/planning side of the trip. So my cousin Brianna and I (as most of you know) are going on a 4 month, 27 country, European Adventure next summer. We both became members at REI and did some gear shopping, which we are both going to test out on this trip.

Civita Day Pack (Rick Steves' Personal Choice)

I like these day packs because you can hold so much more than a purse (obviously) and it makes a great carry on choice for your electronics, clothes, makeup, and many other things you might need in case your checked baggage doesn't make it with you :-( This is a cheap and necessary purchase:
 http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=8&id=40

REI Tech Tour 60 Women's Travel Pack (inside main compartment)

REI does carry this for men as well the only difference is it's a 65 Liter not a 60. Bri and I bought these for Europe it came recommended by the man in the store and it was also the cheapest one!!! We will be using these for the first time on this trip. http://www.rei.com/product/video/809154?12NHYwMjpedC68uzzEZBX8BLBd99uXrb#ooid=12NHYwMjpedC68uzzEZBX8BLBd99uXrb

To buy this pack go to: http://www.rei.com/product/809154/rei-tech-tour-60-travel-pack-womens

Nice cover to convert into a duffle bag for checking

Rick Steves' Flat Pack 3-Pack (space saver bags - roll out air)

Brianna bought her and I a bunch of the vacuum ones which worked great when I left for 6 months to work at Walt Disney World in Florida. But since our travels to Europe and other areas won't always have a hosed vacuum at our disposal I bought us these roll out ones. Which are working great so far!
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=122&id=160

Rick Steves' Classic Toiletries Kit

Kit Closed

This Organizer holds a lot actually. I have a full size shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, mini body wash, face wash, toner, revitalizer, razor, perfume and ibuprofen. So it does hold quite a bit.
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=150&id=402

Everything in it's right place

With my bag all packed I'm ready to go! A few things extra I bought worth mentioning:

Marmot Rain Jacket

I bought this nice jacket at REI as well. Not much insulation mainly just a slicker. 
http://www.rei.com/product/804387/marmot-precip-rain-jacket-womens

An important part of any trip is planning for the unexpected; so I like to pack a travel umbrella along with the jacket and keep the umbrella, at all times, in my day pack. When traveling always wear your heaviest clothing so you don't have excess weight in your checked baggage. Wear your heaviest shoes, sweater, coat whatever it may be. Also make sure to check the weather ahead of time so you can be better prepared. Trust me when our luggage didn't show up, until the 4th day in Germany, and I was stuck in my pj's the entire time in the rain and cold...I wished I had known then what I know now.
http://www.weather.com/

These purchases help out as well:

Compact binoculars

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=126&id=367

Money Pouch (Neck or waist)

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=124&id=157

European Universal Adapter

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=126&id=423

And lastly a TSA approved lock for your backpack or luggage (especially if you are traveling by train)
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=124&id=328

I hope this gave you some idea as to what to pack for a short trip. Mine is from today May 27th thru June 4th. Then it's off to Las Vegas...that will be a different packing post! Cheers :-)

Buckety Bucket

Bucket list time continues with:

44. Volunteer at The Elephant Sanctuary in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka

45. Take Samba lesson in Rio de Janeiro

46. Learn to Tango in Buenos Aires

47. Practice Yoga @ the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in  Pune, Maharashtra, India

48. Take an Alaskan Cruise

49. Travel the Silk Road

50. Ride on a Vespa in Rome (hopefully with a good looking Italian Man)

51. Hike the Milford Track in New Zealand

52. Volunteer with the tortoises in the Galapagos Islands

53. Moai at Easter Island

54. Visit the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin Zoo) in Beerwah, QSD, Australia

55. Eat BBQ in Memphis, Tennessee

56. Visit Grey's Lake/Glacier in Patagonia, Chile

57. Walk to and stay the night at Mont St Michel in France

58. Hike the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru

59. Visit Hobbiton in New Zealand

60. Look for Nessie in Loch Ness in Scotland

61. Swim in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland

62. See Glow Worms in the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand

63. Swim in an Infinity Pool

64. Attend Comic Con in San Diego, CA

65. Go Dog Mushing on Sunlit Glacier in Skagway, Alaska

66. Ride a Donkey in Santorini, Greece

67. Go Bobsledding in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

68. Petra, Jordan

69. New Year's Eve at the Edge of Time in Sydney, Australia

70. Walk The Great Wall of China in Beijing

71. Visit the D-Day Beaches and Cemetery's in Normandy, France

72. Visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia