Beautiful Fuschia Flowers, Burford, Cotswolds, England, United Kingdom

My oh my! It has been a while! When my family came to visit me in Europe, they started their trip in the UK. We went to visit the beautiful Cotswolds and were very lucky that it was a nice sunny day. On a small stop on our day trip from London, we stopped in the quaint, small town of Burford. Here, I came across these beautiful flowers - I'd say they are the prettiest ones I've seen in my life! 

Murals of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Belfast is a very interesting city, the capital of Northern Ireland, a group of 6 counties on the island of Ireland, but a part of the United Kingdom. It's a city affected by decades of "the Troubles" and a still present divide between nationalists and unionists, between Protestants and Catholics. We took a black cab tour around to the murals and came across this quote by Bill Clinton, who wrote this on the wall some years before. Due to weather and preservation reasons, it was permanently engraved onto this metal arch piece. It was so interesting hearing about all the murals!

Penny Lane, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

 Gosh, it has been a while since I've last blogged! This past weekend I visited Manchester and Liverpool. I love the Beatles, so a day trip to Liverpool sounded like a great idea. We visited the Beatles Story museum, and took the Magical Mystery tour around Liverpool to places like childhood homes and schools. One of our stops was THE Penny Lane from the song. Exciting!!

Brighton Beach as the Sun Sets, Brighton, England, United Kingdom

We had a social on the beach as the sun was setting. Love the colors.

Burnt Brighton West Pier at Sunset, Brighton, United Kingdom

Goodness it has been a while! Sorry. So many changes! I am now living in the UK, doing a graduate program at the University of Sussex. I will try to update more and put up more pictures of my surroundings. The city of Brighton is a lovely place. The weather is finally cooling down, but ever since I got here it has been really warm and sunny. Love the view from my flat (this picture was taken from my room).

[163/365] Wimbledon Championships from Henman Hill, All England Club, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom

About a year ago today, I was on vacation in London. We headed to the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon to watch the Men's singles match between Andy Roddick and Andy Murray outside on the screen on Henman Hill. The very next day, I was in a room of fans watching the intense final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. I can't believe it has already been a year. Both Roddick and Federer are surprisingly out already, so let's see who takes it this year!

[63/365] London Eye & Big Ben, London, United Kingdom

Last summer, I was in London for the first time since my study abroad back in 2005. It was great revisiting and seeing London as a woman in the working world (and with a better camera!). I think it made me realize that while I'm older, I'm still the same person that loves exploring the world. I don't think that will ever go away. :)

Anyway, thank you for the suggestions on photo ideas...keep 'em coming! Comment on my previous post to suggest ideas!

[23/365] Brighton Train Station, Brighton, United Kingdom

Sometimes I ask myself why I do this - I've had many hobbies and collections in my lifetime, but committment hasn't been my strongest point. I started this photo diary on April 12, 2009, and amazingly, I am still going - nearly a photo a day - a few misses here and there. I'm actually proud of myself for still keeping up with this. I think its the love of art and beautiful things. Photography is an art form that captures a moment in reality. I make an effort to get out there and see new sights in the world - I think it is the best form of memory I can find.

What started my love of cameras and photography? Maybe my parents instilled this in me - I was photographed many, many, many times since birth - I have albums upon albums at home of each year of my childhood. I got my own film camera sometime in high school and my freshman year in college brought me my greatest gift of all - my first digital camera. Several digital cameras later and I'm still at it. :)

Keeping a daily photo blog keeps me interested in new developments in the photography world and challenges me to find new camera accessories and new destinations - it has certainly been an expensive hobby, but thank goodness for my full time job. It's been fun and I hope to be doing it for a while to come. I'm trying to expand my horizons and dive into fashion photography and portraits. Hopefully you have enjoyed following me on my journey... I like to think this is my own personal mission, and even though having a ton of readers isn't my main goal, it sure helps motivate me to continue. Thank you for reading!

With that said, this is a photo from last summer. I went to visit my friend, Kristin Espanola, in Brighton, UK and I took this photo of the trains as I was leaving to go back to London. I can't say it enough, the rail system in Europe is amazing!

Window, Liverpool Train Station, London, United Kingdom

From within the Liverpool Train Station, the wide glass windows brought views of downtown buildings. That day, I walked around the station, taking photos of the tourists exploring the area and the locals on their way to work. The design of this window stood out.

Houses along the way to Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom

:) Don't feel like writing much today, except to say that these were some of the cute, quaint houses we passed as we walked to Wimbledon!

Cool Quote, London, United Kingdom

I thought this was a cool quote!

Interior of the LSE Library, London, United Kingdom

Through the doors of the library at the London School of Economics are floors and floors of books and studying students. I was even able to get a visitor library ID card while I was there (ID with my picture and everything!). Going through the center of the library is the circular architecture of stairs. It was my chance to be a pretend student for a bit, although all I did was take pictures...

Wimbledon Tennis Courts, London, United Kingdom

This was another photo from the beautiful grounds of Wimbledon right after the Andy Murray vs. Andy Roddick game ended. Spectators cleared Henmen Hill and dispersed into the Wimbledon store and off of the grounds. As we descended from the Hill, we could see one of the tennis courts used during the championships.

Arcade/Casino on the Brighton Pier, Brighton, United Kingdom

It was a very hot day when we visited the Brighton Pier, and as we came upon this domed amusement arcade, we went in for refuge from the heat. It was odd because there were arcade games for all ages, but along the side, there were slot machines with age restrictions. Through the arcade and out the back doors were fairground rides and even a haunted house ride. Along the pier, you could see families lying out on the beach and playing in the water. It seemed as if everyone in Brighton was out and enjoying the sunny day!

The Seagull & the Remains of the West Pier, Brighton, United Kingdom

As Kristin and I walked along the beach, she mentioned to me the history of the West Pier (seen behind the seagull). After a series of unfortunate events, the pier is in its present condition, the framework for what was once a pier with a concert hall on it extending to land. It was built in 1866, but by 1975, it was officially closed for renovation. In 2002, the weather caused part of it to collapse and this damage was further exacerbated by a fire in 2003, followed by yet another fire just 2 months later that completely destructed the concert hall. In 2004, strong winds completely collapsed the middle of the pier and in 2005, the white hut collapsed. Fast forward to 2009, and this is what it currently looks like. Talk about a string of bad luck...

[day 6] Liverpool Street Train Station, London, United Kingdom

Europe is known for their elaborate train stations and this one was no exception. I've always been impressed by the excellent rail system that connects most points throughout Europe. This was a station close by Wendy's new flat that was a hub for both the Underground and the long distance trains. This Liverpool Street station is the third busiest station in London. It was built on the original site of the Bethlem Royal Hospital and became operational in February of 1874, replacing the original terminal, Bishopsgate. There were a mix of business professionals rushing to work as well as travelers with their luggage. Signs were everywhere directing you where to go.

Since this was my second time around for London (I was there 4 years ago for study abroad), I got to experience it less rushed and less with a need to see all the most famous tourist destinations that I had already seen in the past. It was more about exploring new areas and living as a Londoner. I stayed with Wendy and met a lot of her friends and I was able to get a feel for how it is living there. The weather was great the whole time I was there, and there was a lot going on throughout the city!

[day 5] London by Night, London, United Kingdon

No trip to London can be complete without a stroll through the city by night. The sights in London light up and create reflections in the River Thames, the second longest river in the United Kingdom. In this photo, you can see the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel, as well as the Houses of Parliament with the clock tower, the Big Ben. The moon was full and was shining bright that night.

[day 4] Michael Jackson Memorial, London, United Kingdom

In London, where Michael Jackson's 50 concert tour dates was set to begin soon, news of his death rippled throughout the city. At the Lyric Theatre, the Thriller Live show was originally created and performed to celebrate the accomplishments and musical influence of Michael Jackson, and it has now become a tribute to his life. The executive producer was a long time associate of Michael and the show still went on, even with the tragic news of his death. As expected, many Londoners likely had tickets to go see him at the O2 arena and this theatre was a fitting memorial site for fans to leave flowers, photos, notes and newspaper articles.

I never realized how much a fan I was of the man and his music, but with the shocking news of his death, I went to my itunes and played his songs and remembered just how much of an impact it had in my life. I can remember listening to it ever since I was young, and listening to the music really made me realize just how great it was. Saddened that he can't continue to make music and make the comeback that was all planned out for him. Despite all the controversy surrounding his life, nothing can take away from his music and his impact worldwide. RIP Michael Jackson.

[day 3] Henman Hill, Wimbledon Tennis Championships, London, United Kingdom

Since I'm back in the states now, I'm going to still chronicle my trip, day by day. Lots of catching up to do!

We were lucky enough to be in the UK during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. We paid for admission to the tennis grounds which were located in a suburb of London, where we were surrounded by courts, and the prestigious Centre Court that the actual men's singles semi final between Andy Roddick and Andy Murray was going on at. Even though we were watching on a big screen TV, it was still exciting to be there amongst tennis enthusiasts on Henman Hill, officially named the Aorangi Terrance. It is popularly known Henman Hill because it was named after the British tennis player, Tim Henman. Viewers were sitting on the hill, many with picnics prepared and sheets to relax out in the sunny London day. Roddick went on to beat Murray, the British player, unfortunately for most of the crowd who were fittingly rooting for Murray.

The Wimbledon grounds were beautiful with green structures and purple flowers throughout. Exciting time to be in London!

[day 2] Brighton Gardens, Brighton, United Kingdom

I haven't had time to update - finally doing it now!

On my second day in the UK, I took a train in the morning to visit Kristin and to visit the beach city of Brighton! I haven't seen her in a long time so it was great catching up. It was a sunny day and great weather (although it did get a bit too hot at a point), and I enjoyed it very much. The gardens have flowers throughout in a mixture of pastel colors and I couldn't stop admiring their color combinations. The area had architecture similar to the one in this picture, as well as the Royal Pavilion right around the corner. It was unexpected design, but fit in nicely with the garden.

After walking around this area, we walked to the beach and the pier. The pier was full of rides and ice cream and little shops, and there was even an arcade that not only had games for kids, but gambling for adults. I'm not sure why they'd put both in the same location where kids could easily confuse them. Anyway, we then walked around some more and then headed to Kristin's flat. It was a cute little place and there, we watched some TV and napped since the weather outside was so hot.

Left her place, walked around some more, headed back to the train station and I was on my way back to London!

Nightlife in the city of London - thanks to some connections (or maybe Wendy paying for everything haha) we got in VIP status to Vendome, an exclusive club in London. It was a lot of fun! They played lots of the usuals you'd hear in clubs in the US, and of course, they had to play some Michael Jackson!