It's not goodbye, it's see you later

On my last day in the Sip, me, Hillary and her mum had planned a fun day out together. 

We visited the Museum of Agriculture which housed loads of really old houses, shops and vehicles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

The general store held all kinds of old artefacts and I was amazed at just how much of everything they had access to. We got talking to the manager of the store for a while and she was kind enough to give a private tour of one the buildings that Hillary and her mum had never been inside before, despite visiting the museum for years.

Inside was this really cool post office section and then we went and looked into the doctors office which had cabinets full of old medicine bottles.

One of the most interesting parts for me was seeing this cotton mill which is still in working condition and is the oldest one in America. Pretty cool right.

After the museum we went and got this amazing pizza for lunch, not forgetting the beers, and had a chance to tell eachother stories which differentiate the UK from the US!

Later on, Hillary's dad offered to give us a tour of the Supreme Court of Mississippi and wow this place was cool. The halls were covered in portraits of the judges and judicials and we saw huge court rooms and the security system in the office where her dad works.

That night we went to the best Mexican place in town with all the family and family friends. It was so much fun. Starting off with frozen margaritas, I ordered a chimichanga and i spent the whole meal time giggling with Hillary and her sisters and taking silly photos.

It really was so much fun and I really appreciated being involved with their family so much. I have enjoyed being "England Emily" so much these past few days, Hillary really does have the sweetest family.

That night we went to the airport at 3am, ready for me to start the next part of my adventure. I'm so sad to be leaving Mississippi again, but I know I'll be back. However, I am so excited to see what California has to offer.

How cute are we!

As always, you'll hear from me soon!

Em x

An Ole Miss Reunion

Ole Miss. Home of the Rebs. Birth place of Em and Hill: #friendshipgoals. One of the only places in the world that I will always be attached to. It's as true as the sticker in my bedroom says, "Ole Miss. Never Graduate."

Forever special to me, I wanted to take it all in, in the most touristy way possible.

We got to Oxford just after 11am and had to get the bus (like old times) onto campus where we went straight to the student union and met up with a familiar face.

The union was so packed so we decided to get lunch at south depot in the square.

We followed this with some independent book shops. Since I haven't really seen much of the square in daylight- heyo Oxford bars- I got to really take in the cool boutiques and quirky shops. With the 3 of us being English majors, conversation soon turned to books and Hayden could not stop talking about this one book he said we had to read some day. He went and asked if Square books had a copy while Hillary and I spent ages picking up all kinds of different books.

We then went to Oxford books which had kind of more nick nacks and some really funny stuff. I liked this poster since I love maps and I specialised my degree in American novels.

After, Hayden took us to a really cool coffee shop I hadn't heard of called The Shelter. I think it's new but he said they serve the best coffee and also beer and often have live jazz sets!

We sat and drank our coffee while catching up some more and sharing more stories when we realised the parking meter had run out and headed back to campus.

Hillary took one final picture of me and Hayden outside his fraternity house and he produced a copy of the book we had been talking about and handed it to me. Thanks Hayden!!

We continued to take in the campus and I even stopped by the exchange office to let them know I couldn't leave Ole Miss for long without having to return!

We wandered down the walk of champions, checked out the snapchat filters and then decided to start getting on our way home.

After one last stop at Rebel Rags, which has had a fantastic renovation and extension btw, we actually started the journey back. We were just talking when Hillary mentioned she had clocked on to Hayden's little book gift idea in the book shop. Oblivious Em strikes again as I genuinely didn't have a clue about any of this. Then she reminded me he had gone out onto the balcony of the store and as she expected, and to my disbelief, I opened the book to find this

We haven't stopped raving about what a great day we have had in Oxford again. So chilled, no plans and we just went with flow all day.

Sorry to anyone I didn't get to see (Malloy, Bobby, Jesse, Paige!), although we knew we would be making this trip, we didn't really make any solid plans. But you know you always have a place to stay with me if you're ever in the UK! 

Thank you again to Hayden for a great catch up and for the book, and to Hillary for reminiscing the beginning of our friendship with me and for enduring the long drive so that we could come back!

Hotty Toddy!!

Em x

Sweet Home Mississippi

First of all, sorry if I've got the song stuck in your head now.

Location: Atlanta airport. (The biggest airport in the world)

I've completed my first solo flight of the trip and I'm sitting here, and I can't help but think about how far I've come in the two years that have passed since I was last waiting here for my flight to start my life at Ole Miss. It's all very nostalgic.

2 years ago, I had been held up at customs due to a long queue, no other reason, and had to watch 2 flights to Memphis take off without me. One was my original connecting flight and the other was the next flight out that I was meant to be on but there were no seats left for me. Since then I've had a pretty terrible impression of this place but right now, I sit here, in front of the screen displaying "DESTINATION: JACKSON, MS", listening to the southern drawl of my surrounding passengers and welcomed by true southern hospitality that I can already recognise from everyone around me. 

I truly feel like I am beginning my life-changing adventure again, I feel so comforted here despite this now being the beginning of my solo adventure. In a couple of hours I'll be back in the place that stole my heart, something I never thought I would be able to do when I left Mississippi. I'll be sure to catch you up when I arrive!

Location: North Jackson, MS

I made it! And I wish I could have captured the moment I caught sight of Hillary and her dad waiting for me at the airport, holding a sign saying "welcome home!" Me and Hillary have been anticipating this day for so long and we are reunited! We spent last night having a long overdue catch up, getting Taco Bell and having the earliest night. 

Today, I was taken on the grand tour of downtown Jackson, starting off with Cups, hands down my favourite coffee place in the world and 70% of the reason I have come back to Mississippi.

Then we went to the office Hillary works at which was pretty fancy and very dead on a Sunday.

Then we got pancakes at IHOP and had a quick stop at Target before we having to go back to the house for a potential nap!

Tonight we got Sonic, (read back and notice this is mine and Hillary's tradition) and went to go see her mom, step dad and 3 sisters.

We watched old home videos and reminisced their childhood whilst in absolute hysterics! It was such a funny night. They call me "England Emily" and despite only meeting them once before, I actually feel like part of the family.

It's so good to be back, I can't believe it's really been 2 years! 

Tomorrow we both get to go back to Ole Miss, which is going to be so weird! 

Speak soon

Em x

Where dreams came true

I can't lie, I was incredibly sad to be leaving Florida. For 3 weeks we have maintained a routine of early starts in the theme parks, pre-planning fast passes, eating at surprisingly decent diners, resting in the heat of the day to avoid long wait times and heading back out to the firework shows in the evenings. As tiring as it might have been at times, it was a routine that really suited all of us. I can't explain how many times we have visited all the parks, ridden all the rides and seen all the shows but I wouldn't have it any other way. I honestly have enjoyed every minute here and everything was even better than I remember it from 3 years ago.

Highlights include:

- the safari at Animal Kingdom, experienced a total of 5 times

- the carousel at Magic Kingdom

- evenings at Epcot riding Test Track and seeing the fireworks

- unlimited fastpasses at Universal Studios

- the entire experience of Discovery Cove

- eating copious amounts of pancakes

- the night time parade and fireworks at Magic Kingdom

I'm so thankful I got to do this with my family. They're on their way back to London now and I already feel like a part of me is missing! Lucky for Ben I'll be seeing him in LA in a few days, crazy life of the Barneses.

I have more updates coming soon!

Florida, it's been great. On to the next adventure!

Speak soon, 

Em x

Orlando Tales vs Gator Tails

Since last time, we have done a few more parks, a lot more rides, some firework shows and a trip to Gatorland.

Starting off the week in Magic Kingdom, we also hit up the Florida Mall and the Orlando Premium Outlets where me and Ben bought some Yankee Candles on sale. I also ate this huge pizza slice.

We also watched the Fantasmic night show at Hollywood studios and the Star Wars fireworks that followed.

Another night we went to Epcot via the Disney Boardwalk resort. We fastpassed ontoTest Track where we each designed our own car and tested it out on the ride. This is my masterpiece, in a gorgeous copper colour of course.

I came in 2nd after Ben who is studying engineering so he should have won! Before watching the fireworks on this night, I grabbed an iced coffee which I had been craving for days!

Another day, we ate at this really cool tavern in Celebration and watched the Leicester City game and the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics while we ate.

After a hectic few days and nights we had a complete change of scene and went to Gatorland.

This crazy gator wrestler (?) held its mouth open with his chin. Odd.

However there was plenty of other alligators and other animals to see including goats, wild birds, parrots, giant tortoises, Jaguars, Bobcats and emus.

I also found this weather rock kind of funny.

But my favourite part was going into the real life swamp and walking on the decking just a few centimetres above all the plants and wildlife.

Gatorland felt like the hottest day here because the humidity in the swamp and there was nothing indoors so no air con! But probably one of the only places I would see all of this cool stuff.

A very cool few days.

Speak soon as always!

Em x