In September of 2010 I had the opportunity to go to London, UK to learn from Mark Rehkamper and his graduate students. They taught me the method they had developed for measuring cadmium isotopes in seawater, so that I could set up the same system in Santa Cruz for my Ph.D. research.

I'll let the photos tell the story:



First, Mr. Ambassador and I packed up and headed to London. We arrived to find the impressive Imperial College Sci & Tech building, which is as fancy on the inside (winding marble staircase!) as it is on the outside.




Myriam, a graduate student of Mark's, showed me the chemistry procedures and taught me most of what I know about that portion of my work. Then she let me work on a few of my own samples.

Of course it wasn't all work. I found time to meet the guard, climb into a phone booth...






see Big Ben, and grab drinks with my new friends (Marion & Fiona).









Oh, and laundry is really expensive in Europe! So I did mine by hand in the tub. =)






Conveniently, there was a Geotraces workshop in Nice, France while I was in Europe. So I packed up my bags











(Yes, I did look this ridiculous for all 5 weeks)










and upon arrival, I joined my colleague Celine in a cute city on the Mediterranean coast. Despite long days of science planning, everyone found time to go out at night. It's an unspoken "right of passage" to be at a meeting with Bill Landing, who is known for providing entertainment, even if it isn't his club, or his band.

After Nice, I caught the train along the coast through Monaco & Tuscany
















where I met up with family!

Laura and I hung out in Firenze (Florence), and yes Mr. Ambassador got to participate in his first protest/mob scene. Quite exciting!








And that was my Fall 2010 trip!