Emily Featherston

Hello Collegiettes!

My whirlwind weeks of travel are in full spin right now as I am in the four day break before I leave for Florence on Friday, and Barcelona immediately after on Monday. This is also the last week of my internship, and a week where I am seeing two plays for my class, so there is no shortage of busyness for sure.

As I mentioned last time, over the weekend I went to Paris with my friend Maria from Fordham! We preceded the visit with a re-viewing of a classic Parisian film, well at least to any former 90s tween girl: Passport to Paris, the Mary-Kate and Ashley movie. This set us up with a mind full of quotes and mottos to live the weekend by, and we had an absolutely amazing experience. We arrived Friday night, and the first thing we did, after eating of course, was take the Metro to see the Eiffel Tower. It was honestly one of the most magical moments. I often have delayed reactions when I visit cities-- it happened for me in London, and with some of the places I have traveled, that I don’t really realize that I am there until after I have left—but when I turned the corner to see the beautifully glowing tower in front of us, there was no doubt where I was, and I instantly fell in love with the city.

Hello Collegiettes!

Just over a month is left here in London, and it is all becoming extremely bittersweet. While I do miss my friends and family from home and from Fordham a lot, I also have fallen in love with London and it is going to be terribly hard to leave.  But I am still here, leaving a bucket list full of things I still need to see, and spontaneous experiences waiting to happen!

This past weekend I did a day trip to Bath and Avebury. The Jane Austen lover in me squealed as we passed through rolling green hills, and Victorian mansions that conjure perfect images for my fantasy life complete with my very own Mr. Darcy… This fantasy was only solidified as our tour guide point out Jane Austen’s home in Bath as we made our way to the center of the city. Back in reality, Bath is one of the most incredibly beautiful cities I have ever seen. I would honestly spend my whole life there if I could. We started our day by touring the famous Roman baths that were built over 2,000 years ago. After seeing the Baths and touring the museum, My friends and I ventured to explore this architectural gem of a city. We got some ham and brie sandwiches at a local deli and walked to beautiful park on the river that was flooded with people enjoying the sunshine and the vibrant flowers that had abundantly started to blossom.  After lunch we walked around the city a little more and toured the old Victorian market that lies at its center.  To end our stay we got some fudge for the road and made our way to Avebury.

Hello Collegiettes!

I have successfully completed the first week of my internship. YAY! So now that my internship basically controls my life I figured this week I would tell you a little bit about it, why I am so excited, and what I have done so far.

As I mentioned last week I am working at Nueluxe. It is an online magazine focused on sustainable luxury that is about to launch by late Spring. In case you aren’t familiar with sustainable luxury, it is a growing trend in the luxury industry to be both environmental and socially conscious. The Nueluxe website will focus on categories from hotels and resorts to fashion and makeup, to ease the consumer in finding socially and environmentally responsible businesses, while also telling the consumer some of the background behind that venture.

So that is a little background as to what the magazine is about and what it hopes to do—I have come in at a really exciting point in the process, just because there is so much to be done. My boss, Nina Rennie, who is the founder of the company, is giving me really hands-on opportunities to write as well as be involved with the PR leading up to the website launch. I have also just been doing a lot of research on sustainability, because honestly before this internship my knowledge was fairly limited.

Hello Collegiettes!

I honestly can’t believe it’s already Tuesday again! This week flew by and I am still trying to recover and settle back in!

First Edinburgh was amazing. I got to see my roommate from Fordham, Emily, and she accompanied my brother and me on our tourist excursions around the city. On an extremely windy day, we toured Edinburgh castle, which is the center of the town. At the castle we not only took in some incredible views, but also got to see the Scottish Crown Jewels. After the castle the three of us went to Elephant House. Now I referenced on my last post that I am a fairly large (extremely large) Harry Potter fan, so Elephant House was the somewhat Holy Grail of my trip. If you are possibly not the big Harry Potter nerd I am, Elephant House is the café in which J.K Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone in America). I honestly can’t put into words how it felt to sit where she sit, it is still an experience I am trying to comprehend.

In Edinburgh, my brother and I stayed in an adorable Bed and Breakfast called Priestville Guest House.  It is run but a husband and wife, Colin and Trina. They were so kind and wonderful to my brother and I. At breakfast we tried the traditional haggis! We both liked it, when we didn’t think about what was in it… We also visited the National Museum of Scotland, which is huge. Dolly the sheep rests here, amongst countless other exhibits. My favorite was a modern Scottish history exhibit. The exhibit concluded with a section dedicated to Scottish identity, and how Scottish people identify themselves based on nationality, character, food, language, stereotypes, and so on. It was extremely relevant to some of my studies about British identity in London, so I found it really interesting.