2012 in Review

This year has been absolutely incredible for so many reasons. Before we ring in the New Year tomorrow, I wanted to reflect on my 2012 year. The first major highlight was meeting Lady Antebellum at their Staples Center Concert in Los Angeles!

The second major event was my Senior Fashion show in May!

My next major event was graduating with a Double Major in Textiles & Fashion Design, as well as Fashion Merchandising from California State University, Long Beach! I was so proud of myself for graduating Summa Cum Laude as well!

The next highlight was earning my first full-time job as a Costume Assistant with GLEE! After interning with the Costume Department for the first three seasons while in college Here is a photo I took with the cast back in Season 1!

Attending the London 2012 Olympics and traveling to Edinburgh, Scotland was the next major event!! Including going to the Closing Ceremony and seeing the Spice Girls! As well as a trip to THE Downton Abbey castle, aka Highclere Castle

I also had the pleasure of working at the Emmy awards and escorting and chatting with such people as Hugh Bonneville, aka Lord Grantham on Downton Abbey!!
The Brad Paisley concert with my Mom at the Hollywood Bowl was amazing as well:

I also attended the MLS Cup Championship to see the LA Galaxy win and David Beckham play in his final Galaxy game!

Most recently, I went to a great concert by Josh Kelley and met him for the 2nd time, along with meeting his wife, Katherine Heigl!

That was a very brief re-cap of my 2012 year, but all the memories I have are too grand to put into words or even pictures. Thank you for taking a trip with my down memory lane!! I absolutely cannot wait to see what is in store for me in 2013!! Cheers!! Happy New Year!!

Cheers,

andrea ♥

London Olympics: Day 15: Visit to Downton Abbey

Thursday, August 9, 2012:

From my travel memories of my trip to the London 2012 Olympics, the day I visited Highclere Castle is without a doubt one of the highlights! Prior to traveling to England, I started watching the television show, ‘Downton Abbey,’ and instantly fell in love! I had my mom watch it as well, and she loved it just as much. When we were planning what to do in England besides the Olympics, visiting the castle that IS Downton Abbey was high on our list.

My mom and I traveled to the castle via a train to Newbury, and then took a cab to the castle itself. The ride was about 45 minutes through gorgeous England. Our cab ride was wonderful as well, because the driver was from the area, and told us a great deal of interesting information. Something exciting happened on the train ride though that started off the day perfectly. I decided to send a message via twitter to one of the actors telling him we were on our way to the castle. His name is Hugh Bonneville, and he plays Lord Grantham. I didn’t expect any response really, but to my surprise, shortly after I sent the message, he sent me this hilarious reply:

I don’t think I could have asked for a better reply from him, haha. Also, this September, I worked at the Primetime Emmy Awards, and had the pleasure of escorting him and his wife backstage. I had the chance to talk to him about that message he sent me, and he remembered the exact tweet he sent. We then proceeded to have a good 5 minute chat about the Olympics and my previous study abroad experience in London! He and his wife were so sweet, and it was great to speak to him in person!

Back to the castle, as we pulled up in our cab, my breath was taken away by the beauty of Highclere Castle and the vast amount of land surrounding it. We stepped out of the cab, and walked down the road to the castle entrance. It was truly surreal to see the massive castle in person. This was my view looking down the road:

We first explored the outside of the castle, including the gardens. The amount of open land and flowers surrounding the castle was astonishing. After exploring for about an hour or so, we then took a tour inside! Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside, but I made sure to take many mental pictures. We walked through the main entrance, and walked the same steps as the Crawleys do when they enter Downton Abbey. This is the first room we saw, as seen in the television show, the door in the back of the photo is where we entered:

We first took a tour upstairs, inside of each bedroom. In each room that is used in the television show was a sign, stating the character it belonged to, and a little biography on them. The most well-known room on the show, aka the “Red Room,” was definitely the most buzzed about amongst the tourists. As we moved through the sitting rooms and library downstairs, there were workers there to answer any questions we had. It was interesting to see all the real life family photos of the people who actually own Highclere Castle. Seen in many of the photos were members of the Royal Family, including Her Majesty, the Queen, as well as Princess Diana. Overall, the house was divine, and it was fun to stand in the rooms and the gardens seen on the show. After our tour, my mom and I went to the cafe, and had tea, scones, and clotted cream! I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to spend the day at Downton Abbey

Here are the photos I took that day!

Cheers! andrea ♥

London Olympics: Day 14: Athletics

August 8, 2012:

The day after my mom and I returned from our side trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, we attended an athletics, aka “track and field,” event in Olympic Stadium. It was our first time being able to actually get into Olympic Park, because in order to visit the park, you had to have a ticket to one of the venues inside. Those venues included sports such as swimming, water polo, basketball, cycling, field hockey, and athletics. This day, we exited the tube at West Ham station, and took a 20 – 30 minute walk to Olympic Stadium. We were sporting our Ralph Lauren, Team USA shirts, along with our USA scarves and flags. Finally making it into the Olympic park was such a thrill, after watching thousands of spectators enjoying it on TV from our hotel room.

We literally spent all day there, with our first stop being our Athletics event, which was from 10am to about 1:30pm. Our seats were incredible! We were on the lower level, right along the track, near where most of the races started. At times, it was hard to focus on one event, because multiple events were happening at the same time, such as races, pole vaulting, long jump, and the hammer throw. I also remember it being extremely hot! But it was all well worth it, because being in that stadium for one of the biggest Olympic events is something I will never forget.

After watching Athletics, my mom and I headed over near the basketball arena to find The Today Show!! We made a sign to say CHEERS to my Dad & Grandma back home in California, and it made it on TV!! As did glimpses of my mom and I! I got some great pictures of Matt Lauer and the rest of the Today Show anchors as well.

We then proceeded to eat! We had pizza at one of the food stands, and I had my very favorite No. 1 Pimms fruit cup, which was all the rage at the Olympic events, especially when we went to Wimbledon for Tennis! We then took photos underneath the Olympic rings, which was incredible!

We next visited the London 2012 Megastore, which was absolute insanity inside!! Another shopping pit stop we took inside Olympic Park was to the Coca-Cola store, where we were allowed to hold a real Olympic torch!

Later in the evening, we grabbed some more food and watched events that were happening in the park on a large screen, while sitting on a hill with hundreds of other Olympic spectators. We were in the same vicinity as Kate Middleton, as she was attending field hockey next to the park we were sitting in. We also happily caught the Women’s Beach Volleyball final on the big screen, which was Team USA v. Team USA!! I was so happy that Misty-May Treanor and Kerry Walsh won the gold again!! Especially since my mom, friend Hallie, and I saw them play live a week before! Also, because Misty-May is a fellow alumni of CSULB! Go Beach While watching them win the gold, it was great to hear our US national anthem play, despite the fact that we were the only Americans really there watching the big screen, haha.
After the excitement of watching Team USA bring home another gold, we called it a night, and headed back on the tube to Gloucester Road, where we exited for our 2nd London hotel, the Ashburn Hotel, in gorgeous South Kensington. The following day was by far one of my favorites, as we visited THE castle that is DOWNTON ABBEY!! More on that later!

 

Cheers,

andrea ♥

Edinburgh, Scotland

I have now been back in the States for a few weeks, and thanks to this glorious three-day holiday weekend, I can catch up on some blogging!! To start where I left off, from day 9 to 13 of my UK/London/Olympic trip, I spent my first time visiting Edinburgh, Scotland with my mom. It was more gorgeous and green than I ever imagined. Our hotel location was superb, overlooking the Grassmarket, which is an area with wonderful restaurants and pubs. We also had a great view of the Edinburgh Castle.

On our first full day, Saturday, August 4th, we took a bus trip through the Highlands and to Loch Ness. Yes, THE infamous Loch Ness where the tale of the Loch Ness monster is set. We took a boat cruise down the river, and I have to admit, I was a bit nervous, haha. The landscapes we saw during the bus and boat trip were simply breathtaking.
On Sunday, August 5th, my mom and I visited the Edinburgh castle. It was a very rainy day, but I suppose we were treated to an authentic Scottish experience. Speaking of experiencing the culture, that evening, my mom and I attended a Scottish dinner show called “Taste of Scotland,” featuring Scottish music, singing, and dancing.

On Monday, August 6th, we visited Queen Elizabeth II’s Scottish residence known as the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is quite an old, dreary looking palace on the inside, but the center courtyard was lovely, as was the abbey outside. Later that evening, my mom and I attended the Royal Military Tattoo at the Edinburgh Castle, which showcases military bands from around the world, along with dancers. Throughout the show, unique lights and images were projected onto the castle, and the show concluded with a fireworks show. The very fireworks show we saw each night prior from our hotel. The Tattoo was a great way to conclude our time in Scotland. The following day, we headed back to London for more Olympic events! But more on that later.

The Highlands of Scotland

Loch Ness

On Loch Ness with the monster :)

Bag piper!

Olympic rings in Edinburgh

Fireworks from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Edinburgh Castle!

Scottish Parliament

Fringe Festival in Edinburgh

Olympic display in Edinburgh

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Show

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Zara Phillips

Church where Zara Phillips was married!

Taste of Scotland Show

Haggis!

Olympic Rings in Edinburgh!

 

Cheers!

andrea ♥

London Olympic Football Final

Today was an incredible day at Wembley Stadium in London! I attended the men’s football final, where México took home the gold against Brasil. Viva México! I’m half Mexican. One of the players, Peralta, stole the game with an amazing goal within the first 30 seconds of the match!! It was even more exciting to see him play, because my mom, who was with me, has the maiden name Peralta!! The energy was electric in the stadium, and I was so happy to attend such an anticipated event!! And I of course had to show some LA love for our Galaxy player, David Beckham!!! Cheers! Andrea

London Olympics Trip: Day 8

On Thursday, August 2, 2012, I visited the Tower of London with my mom and friend, Hallie. While living in London 2 years ago, I always wanted to make it over to the Tower, but somehow didn’t manage to. I was excited to finally have the opportunity to tour such a historic site in London, and see the Royal Crown Jewels! Sadly, no photos were allowed in the Crown Jewels exhibit, but just imagine diamonds and gold sparkling all throughout the rooms.

After the tour inside and around the Tower of London, we again were able to get a great view of the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge! The sight is simply breathtaking. I literally could stare at them for hours. My first sighting of the rings truly gave me the chills!

After admiring the rings over the River Thames, we headed over to the gorgeous Savoy Hotel for traditional afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer room. We chose the Olympic Tea option, which included pastries made to be the colors of the Olympic rings. The tea room was stunning, and the pianist set the mood for a lovely afternoon tea experience. The waiters were dressed in coat tails and made us feel like royalty.

At night, Hallie and I headed to a couple of pubs in Leicester Square to celebrate a fantastic week together in London! I’m so happy I got to share the Olympic experience with her. On Friday, she departed back to America, and my mom and I headed to Edinburgh, Scotland, where I currently am. We had a great day exploring the Highlands and visiting the Loch Ness monster But more on that in a following post to come.

Here are some highlights from my 8th day in London:

 

cheers! andrea ♥