Late Post and a Little Update

Hello All,

So sorry we didn't get the chance to update you on the rest of our trip to London and Morocco. Below are some pictures that will hopefully make up for it.

City streets of Morocco

View from our hike

Camel Rides!

I think the camels are more photogenic than us....

And finally Thanksgiving dinner in Morocco cooked by our lovely host

Also, now that Abby and Grace are back, it's my turn to study abroad. Here's a link to my blog! http://plungedownunder.blogspot.com

Cheers to one month with my best friends before I leave!

xoxo,

Christine

GAC is back!

Greetings!

As you all know Grace and Abby have been living it up studying abroad. Before our trio was split, we decided that during their time abroad I would come visit them during the week of Thanksgiving. We were split for almost 90 days, 3 months. And let me tell you it was rough. During the days leading up to my flight I was so excited and nervous, mostly because I had never traveled alone before. 

The trip for me lasted a full week, November 20th to the 27th. I hopped on a plane at approximately 7:30pm USA time and arrived in London at approximately 7:30am, which was 2am in USA. So I tried my best to sleep on the plane and luckly had no one sitting in the two seats next to me. The trip consisted of Abby and I exploring London for Monday, and Tuesday. Tuesday night Grace flew into London and the next morning the trio hopped on a plane to Morocco, Africa where we spend Thanksgiving. We were there until Friday when we flew back to London, and then proceeded to stay there until Sunday when Abby and I headed to the US and Grace was sent back to Scotland. 

Now that you have an idea of the trip, let's get to the details...

Monday November 21st

When I arrived in London I took the subway (aka the London tube) to meet Abby. I was super scared because Abby was originally supposed to get me at the airport, but I was a big girl and did it! When I arrived Abby and I talked for about 3 hours straight catching up on all the gossip of the past 3 months. After that we went exploring. Here are some pictures...

Tuesday November 22nd

The next day we headed out with Abby's study abroad roommate Isabelle. If you didn't know, during our time in Philly Abby and I have been asked if we were twins over 10 times. And being that the Parent Trap was filmed at a house in London, and happens to be Abby's favorite movie, we decided that we needed to get a picture in front of the house. We ended up having the butler of the house pop his head out and wave at us while we were taking pictures and trying to learn the famous Parent Trap handshake. 

After the pictures were complete, we headed to Harrods, a famous department store in London. Abby and I spent quite a bit of time there. Mostly in the baby section, because who doesn't like tiny designer clothing? 

Later that evening we awaited Grace's arrival with some legal drinks. That night we FaceTimed with our favorite Philly friend, Josh, and it was quite the reunion. We stayed up till about 2 am when we decided we needed to be up around 4:30am for our Morocco departure, so at that point, what was the point of going to bed. 

Stay tuned for Part two of our trip in Morocco!

xoxo, 

Christine

Scotland Update!

Hello friends and family,

So, as many of you know I am spending the quarter studying abroad in Scotland! I originally planned on not keeping a blog, but what can I say...it runs in my blood.

Anyway you can read all about my very eventful first day in Scotland at:
http://ghoffmanabroad.blogspot.co.uk/

xoxo,
Grace

Pre-London Update

Hi there!

I just wanted to say a quick hello and give everyone a quick update on my few days before I leave the country. The last few days have been interesting to say the least.
I had a few appointments to go to before I leave for London including getting my hair cut and to have a few highlights put in and a doctors appointment. My hair appointment did not go as well as I had planned and I was devastated. I am too embarrassed to show you what it actually looked like but here is something that gives you a pretty good idea.

An example of what my hair looked like...

So obviously I came home to my mother in full rage saying, "I CAN'T GO TO LONDON LOOKING LIKE THIS. I LOOK LIKE A FREAK" She calmly told me that she would try to make me an appointment with her fancy hair dresser man and he would "fix you right up". I have been to him before and he does a very good time so it calmed me down for a while.
I then started packing and realized that I could check two suitcases for my flight. I assumed as in most domestic flights my bags could weigh 50 lbs. But no. They had to be 20 kg or lighter. (by the way 20 kg is 44.0925 lbs.) I promptly freaked out for the 100th time. After eliminating a sweater here and a pair of jeans there I finally got my bags to be under 44.0925 lbs.
While checking to see how heavy my suitcases could be, I realized I booked my return ticket for the wrong date... so I had to fix that.
Sunday rolled around and it was time for my second hair appointment and I was excited. He said he was going to bring some of my natural color through and it would look incredible. Being the trusting person I am, I let it happen. Approximately 2 hours later he was blowdrying my hair and it was brown. Not dark blonde. Brown. Freakout #107 started (and has not really stopped yet.) Maybe later I will be willing to share a picture of it, but at the moment, I am still in shock. My mother thinks it is a way for me to reinvent myself and all this stuff... but I'm still flipping out. (Sorry mom).
Anyway, it is the day before I embark on a crazy adventure and I have calmed down and now I am excited. I look forward to keeping you all updated!

xoxo,
Abby

P.S. Shout out to the best friends in the world (Grace and Christine) for not only helping me move out my mountains of stuff from our apartment, but also for calming me down and keeping me excited and confident about my journey. Love you guys!!!

GAC Loses One

Yesterday was a sad day for GAC :(. Abby has left Philadelphia to spend a week at home before fleeing the country to London!

Christine and I are so happy for Abby as she is following her dreams and studying abroad in London, but we will miss her bunches and bunches.

But come Thanksgiving week GAC will be reunited! First in London and then of to Morocco!

You can follow Abby's adventures abroad at https://abbysabroadblog.wordpress.com/


xoxo,
Grace

Pringle Test by A and C

Hello everyone!

The other day Abby and I took our final grocery run together. While at the grocery store we stumbled down the Pringles isle. Since Grace did not accompany us we knew that we could get away with buying them. We have wanted to taste all the flavors for awhile, but decided that we need to narrow the flavors we try. We decided to pick up three flavors. Those flavors were Buffalo Ranch, Cheese Burger and Kickin' Chicken Taco.

The Pringle Spread

We sent a picture like this one to all of our friends to see which they thought would be the winner. Most of them voted for Kickin' Chicken Taco and Buffalo Ranch.

After doing a taste test we decided that Kickin' Chicken Taco was pretty good, and Buffalo Ranch was pretty average, but that Cheese Burger tasted exactly like a cheeseburger from McDonalds. You can taste the pickles, mustard, and ketchup too (Grace's favorite)! After a few more tests (because we couldn't stop eating them) we decided that Kickin' Chicken was way too seasoned for our liking and that Cheese Burger was definitely #1.

We hope that if you stumble down the Pringle aisle anytime in the future that you let us know about your favorites and we suggest that you try cheeseburger, you won't be disappointed!

xoxo,
Christine

Grace's Birthday Surprise!

Hello all,

Saturday, as you may know, was Grace's 20th birthday. Abby and I had quite an adventurous day planned for her. 

Saturday morning Abby and I drug ourselves out of bed from an exciting night before to make Grace funfetti pancakes with her favorite food, bacon. We brought it to her in bed with her present which included a card. The card stated, "Grace- Get ready for your Great Adventure. Be dressed by 9:40 wearing cool clothes and tennis shoes." This was set up just like a date card from the Bachelor(ette), our favorite show. Grace enjoyed her breakfast, got dressed and we headed out the door. On our way out we met up with our friend Alex who came with us for the ride. 

We got in Abby's car, set the GPS for a mystery location and headed on our way. Half way there Grace decided to guess where we were going from her hint in her date card. We went to Six Flags, and met three other friends from freshman year there!

The Six Flags Crew!

Grace had no idea they were going to be there. Six Flags was a blast until it rained but we had plenty more surprises coming Grace's way. We headed to Wawa for a quick bite and got ready for our 7 o'clock dinner reservation. 

The restaurant we went to was Jones, a Steven Starr restaurant serving up some lovely comfort food. In the meantime, there was a surprise party in the works at our friends, Sarah and John's house. As the meal came to a close Abby and I were frantically checking our phones to make sure all of the guests had arrived and everything was set up. We got in the Uber to go "visit Sarah since she couldn't come to dinner." Once we were there, Sarah opened the door and the crowd yelled out a huge "SURPRISE!" Grace was so surprised. 

Grace and all her friends...

Once everyone said hello and they all settled down we played a little slideshow that Abby and I put together for Grace. Everyone loved it. A little while later we gave Grace her birthday cakes. One was chocolate and the other was made by Abby and I. They were both pretty tasty, especially the chocolate one which I went fork deep into by the end of the night. 

The crazy colorful cake

The night was so great and went way better than planned! It was so nice to have the entire gang back together for a very special day.

I'd just like to now take a moment to say that I have two of the greatest friends. I wouldn't trade them for the world. Although this year is not over yet it has been quite a ride (haha, get it?) and I wouldn't have had anyone else by my side . Love you two to pieces. 

GAC cheesing up a storm

Oh and happy birthday Grace! Here's to Vegas next year for your 21st!

xoxo, 

Christine

P.s. I would like to thank Josh for ditching the party. I hope you had major fomo.