Art Journal...

I spent all of the day working on my Art Journal, plus a few other assignments. I'm not sure where the day went today! Natalie and I cooked chicken quesadillas and corn. It was delicious! Afterwords, we watched Dead Poets Society, which was a great movie. Tomorrow is Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle for the day! I am so excited!

Dinosaurs!!!

Sorry I didn't post this yesterday, but the day flew by and then I was just exhausted. Around 11, Sam, Zane, and I went out to find the Natural History Museum. It was so cool! I was super excited for Zane because he is the science guy of our group. We saw so many neat things.. the Dinosaur room was probably the best. I was really impressed with this museum in comparison to what I have been seeing. After the dinosaurs, we went to the Human Biology room where you got to see things like cells and how babies are created. I don't think that there would ever be that much information and diagrams about babies being created in the states.. it was very blunt. The coolest part about that room was that you could walk into this little room.. I like to call it the Womb Room haha.. but you can hear the noises that the baby would hear, such as the heart beat and when you talk it sounds echoish and muffled. After exploring more about humans, we went and saw mammals, water mammals (which in included manatees!!! :)), birds, and insects. We an ant colony working up a storm in that exhibit. Around this time, my attention span was leaving me and I was getting a bit hungry, so the end of the exhibit didn't excite me as much as it should have so I will need to go back to see these things. But towards the end, we saw rooms about earth. Such as volcanoes, rocks, and such. They were actually really interesting, but I was just out of it at this point.

When we left, Sam decided he would take us to this great little Chinese place he found the other week at Piccadilly Circus. It was better than I imagined. Then we went to Lily Whites. This store sells sporting goods and sporting clothing for really good prices. Apparently this is where you come to get the football (soccer) jerseys. I found one that I really liked for Manchester United, but I decided to think about it before I buy it. I did find a light black rain jacket for cheap that I really like. After Lily Whites, we came back to the flat and I worked on my Art Journal even more. It is so fun, but so tedious! I don't know what I am doing today yet, but I know I have a lot of work to get done because tomorrow Natalie and I have our day trip to Stratford and Warwick Castle!! I will be sure to post again tonight.

Cute Stump Children

Today felt like the longest day ever! We left the flats at 8:30 to go to Greenwich again with our GST class. We had to do other group's tour guides, so it was pretty interesting. We went to the Painted Chapel and the Royal Observatory and saw some really neat things there. The Painted Chapel was gorgeous! Unfortunately, it was much colder than I expected it to be and it was really windy. After our tours were completed, we went to sit in this maze garden to eat our packed lunches. There were several young children running around that were so bundled up in their coats that they looked just as wide as they were tall. It was super cute!! We took a boat from Greenwich to Westminster, so it was great to see the sights from the river.

We decided a few days ago that we would do our 4 mile walk for GST today, and we decided to stay with it even though the weather wasn't that great. The walk started out pretty neat once we got there. We saw some really interesting places and then got to go through a park. We saw so many cats along our path and most of them were really sweet. :) Once we got closer to the end of the path, the path got really sketchy because it was going through parts of the city that made us a bit uncomfortable. It was worth it though because now it is over! I am so glad that there are no classes tomorrow!! Zane and I are going to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum tomorrow, so that should be really fun!

Wapping

Today was Art History and a play at the National Theatre. We didn't have to leave for class until 1:00, so I just worked on some homework and had lunch. We were meeting at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, which has been transformed into a modern art gallery. It was so awesome.. the power house was built in 1890 and was the last one of its kind in the world to close in the 1970s. The couple that own it bought it in 1993 and created their gallery. They made sure that all the original architecture and machinery were kept in the building. It was incredble to see modern art in the midst of such old machinery in a really cool building. It is so fun to have class outside the classroom because experiencing these places moves me in a way that cannot be done just by reading about it.

After Wapping, Natalie and I cooked spaghetti for each other.. it even had meat in it! We were treating ourselves, but there were some challenges along the way. :) Then we had to leave by 8 to get to the National Theatre in time to see the play, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. It was an excellent play, although I did not understand some of it's deeper meanings. There was also an orchestra incorporated with the production that was absolutely brilliant. The best part was seeing and hearing Alan Rickman, who plays Snape in Harry Potter!! I was standing right next to him, but unfortunately, I didn't get his autograph or picture. It is still so exciting to have been in his presence! After the play, we just went back to the flats and are getting ready for a HUGE day tomorrow. At least after all that is done tomorrow, it will be the weekend for us!

National Pancake Day!

This morning started out in complete chaos and as the day went on, it became much more chill. On our way to classes this morning, our line on the Tube terminated due to a faulty train ahead of us. We had to get off the exit and figure out an alternate route, which worked out eventually, but we were late to class. Luckily, there were only 2 other people there because the line messed everyone up getting to GST. I had GST and Theatre today. Neither was very exciting. In Theatre we talked about Twelfth Night, the play that we went to last week. Tomorrow we are going to Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, which should be pretty good, but I don’t know anything about it yet. I also have Art History tomorrow and we are going to another gallery, so I am really excited about that.

After classes, I decided to come back and take a nap and work on my Art Journal and other homework that I have. It was really nice to just relax tonight. I booked a trip with Natalie too. We are going to Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare is from, and Warwick Castle, the best medieval castle in England, on Sunday. I am so excited! Tonight the flat all joined in and celebrated National Pancake Day. We had pancakes, hash browns, and scrambled eggs for dinner. It was delicious. I am going to work on work for the rest of the night and luckily I get to sleep in for a little bit tomorrow morning! ☺

"Teacher Strength" Coffee

Today was the first day for us in the schools. I knew that it would be different than anything I would imagine, so I didn’t really have any expectations of what I would end up experiencing today, but I did not think that my school would be what it was. I am at Hurlingham and Chelsea Secondary, where they have students from ages 11 to 16. It is considered a very diverse school with high poverty and high behavioral issues. I also didn’t know that 3 years ago, the government tried to close this school down due to poor performance, but the community rallied against this and succeeded. Ever since, the school has performed better and has improved its attendance. Luckily Megan and I are put together at the school, so we don’t have to be alone.

When we arrived, we were taken into the staff lounge where they have complimentary coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. We met a teacher who was very pleasant and offered us “teacher strength” coffee! ☺ The head teacher (principal) took us into the assembly where the 500 students met before starting their day. I was put into a classroom with Keith Matthews, who is probably about 25 and looks like a smaller Paul Rudd. He teaches all years, but on Mondays I only see Year 7,8,9, and 11. Year 7 students are 11-12 year olds and Year 11 students are about 15-16. I was overwhelmed in the beginning of the day because the students were so incredible rowdy. I felt like I was in the opening scene of one of those motivational teacher movies, but the students just spoke in British accents. At first I didn’t know how I felt about how misbehaving the students, but after a while I began to get really excited about what I would see in the school. Mr. Matthews seems to be a great teacher and he really wants to help me while I am there. We are already planning on doing a team lesson together, but in one of the calmer classes.

This school is going to be so different than anything I have ever experienced before and I am really excited to see how the British schools compare to American schools. Today was more about getting my bearings on the school and getting introduced to the classes, so next week I think I will feel better about getting more involved in the classes. The students were enthralled with my American accent and loved to hear me talk. I don’t think that most of the students are interested in history, but I don’t want to make a complete judgment since I have only been with them one day. I’m so excited to see what comes next!!

Canterbury

Canterbury is one of those places that I had always heard about, but never really knew too much about. I knew that there was a great cathedral and that Thomas Beckett was murdered there. I read the Canterbury Tales in junior AP English, but other than that I didn’t know too much town itself. I definitely did not expect it to be as wonderful as it turned out to be. We left our flats at 7:45 and were off at 8:30 on the coach.

Once we arrived, we figured out where we were and what we needed to see. We passed through the bell tower of a church were Christopher Marlowe, the playwright, was baptized. We found the cathedral, which was absolutely breathtaking. I saw that the crypt did not open until 1:00, so decided to go to the Roman Museum first. The museum was really neat and it had a floor of a corridor that was found during an archeological dig. It still even had the mosaics that made up the floor. After we left there, we decided to walk along the Roman Wall and passed by the Dane John Mound, park, and gardens, but we went back through it, so I will talk about it later.

The Canterbury Castle was amazing, especially on such a gorgeous day. We saw the ruins of an old Norman castle that was built around 1200. We walked around it before going in. Once we were inside, we were even allowed to walk up the stairs to the 2nd floor. Although it was only the ruins, I was really excited to see the castle in the condition that it was in. I even saw the ruins of old stairs on one of the walls. It is hard to imagine being in such an old place and all the history that occurred there in comparison to what I have seen in the states. Once we went back through the gardens, we saw a lot of pretty things and also a WWII bomb shelter! It was really exciting and Sam even got a picture of me running to it. Before going to the cathedral, we decided to eat something truly American, so we went to Subway! ☺ We were even allowed to get soda refills!!

I knew that the cathedral was going to be amazing, but I didn’t realize how breathtaking it was actually going to be. While walking through, I came to the verge of tears multiple times because everything was so beautiful. To top it all off, the choir was practicing as we were walking through. In the back of the cathedral, was the memorial for St. Thomas. When Henry VIII was king, he ordered the shines of all 6 saints were destroyed in Canterbury, so in it’s place, they placed a single candle. We also saw the spot were St. Thomas was murdered and one of the men came to tell us the story. It was incredible to be in that spot and to watch where the 4 knights came in to kill him as he was in prayer in 1170. We also saw a lot of great gardens and took a ton of pictures.

After the cathedral, we went to the Canterbury Tales Visitor Attraction. It tells Chaucer’s story as we walk through the re-creation. It was much more entertaining than it was when we were trying to read it in Junior English. We also kept walking around and seeing some of the neat sights. We ended up going into a used bookstore and I found the neatest book! It is an illustrated edition of Longfellow’s poetry that is in great condition, but the best part is that it is addressed to “Jessie from her mother – May 9th, 1887.” How amazing!!! Then we went to eat at a pub, and unfortunately, everything closes early in Canterbury, so we waited at the bus station for about an hour until our coach came at 8:30. After the longest day, we were finally on our way back to London. It was such an amazing trip and I cannot wait to go back one day!!

Apologies

We just got back from Canterbury and it was the most amazing day. I cannot believe all the things that we saw and experienced today, and I really want to give you a good description of it, but I am completely exhausted. I will upload my pictures tonight, so I will be able to write about it and put pictures together. Canterbury will definitely be on my list of favorite places I went to while in London, and I already can't wait to go back! :)

Lots of Chocolate

Today began with a visit to Primark with Sam, Chelsey, and Megan, which is a very cheap, but great clothing store. We all have grown to love the visits there. I am looking for a light, black jacket, but couldn't find one. In the meantime, I found a super cute dress. :) You need to understand that this is a pretty nice store that is 2 stories, so that you can fully understand what I am about to tell you. As we are walking through the shoe section, which is upstairs, Chelsey stops and gasps. We look back at her wide eyes... she steped in poop! In the middle of a store! It was so funny.. Sam, Megan, and I just had to walk away from her to go downstairs. After Primark, we grabbed some crepes from this little place before getting back on the Tube.

Once I got back to the flats, I decided that I needed to stay in for the night. I worked on my art journal, which is actually turning out to be really nice. Then, we all just hung out and had a nice, relaxing night. I know that tomorrow will be a busy day, so I just wanted to get some rest. I also ended up eating a lot of chocolate (thanks Dad and Laurie :)).We are leaving tomorrow morning at 7:30 for Canterbury. I am so excited to see the cathedral and the Roman museum!! We won't be back until like 11 at least, so it will be a later blog post. Hopefully I will be motivated enough to upload some pictures to put with it.

I am really loving London. I can't believe that we have been here 2 weeks. It feels like we have been for so long, but it really has flown by. Thanks for keeping up with me! I'm working really hard to make sure I update this everyday, so I hope you are enjoying it. :)

Some Randoms

Well, there are some things that I think are important to note about London that tend to be completely random and they don't exactly fit in with my daily blogs. But here are some things that I have learned or noticed since being here...

- Carbonated Lemonade is the best drink ever, plus it is really cheap
- I'm not sure who hates on the weather here, but it actually is pretty amazing.. I hope I don't jinx it, but we haven't had that much rain and it isn't very cold
- You know you are living in London when you blow your nose and the snot is black because of the car exhaust (it happens to everyone, don't worry)
- The free newspapers that you are given before getting on the Tube are really nice to look at
- A person can only eat so much pasta... we are currently looking for alternates
- Everything sounds better when a Brit says it.. and I mean everything!

I'm sure I will think of other random things that I will want to share with you as I am here, so I will try to make note of them. Also, a funny story... We were out the other night and this man asked me where we were from. I said North Carolina in the States and then he asked me if we had sharks. I said yes.. then he asked me, "Do you get eaten?" haha.. just imagine that in the British accent and it makes it even better. :)

Riding on the Tube

I feel like today was spent entirely on the Tube! It was such a long day, but it was really good. We started out by going to Greenwich and seeing the Royal Observatory and the Maritime Museum. It was really neat to see places and things that we read about in Longitude. Afterwards, we went to eat lunch at Cafe Sol which is an AMAZING Mexican restaurant!! We had such a great time being able to eat something that we recognized. :) I can't wait to go back later. Greenwich had a lot of great places to eat, so we are definitely going back. After Greenwich, I went to the school and got my amazing package!! Then, Megan and I went out to search for our school that we are going to on Monday. I am really excited to go back on Monday. Luckily, it is not as far away as it could have been, but we will still have to leave an hour early to get there on time.

Finally, after all the traveling, we were able to hang out in the flats. Katie P made dinner for us tonight and it was great! I was so happy to have real food that wasn't pasta :) We also booked our day trip to Canterbury on Saturday. As far as I know, it is Katie, Katie, Chelsey, Megan, and me going. I am really excited and we are going to be there all day. Tomorrow should be a pretty relaxing day because I am so tired after this week!

The "Temple of Art"

Today our Art History class went to the National Gallery to see some great works of art that we are learning about in class. Prior to meeting at 2:15, Natalie and I left a bit early from the flat and was able to walk around Trafalgar's Square. We saw a lot of restaurants, bought some postcards, and even found a tourist information center that had cheap theatre tickets (we are going back there!). Throughout the very brief tour of the museum, we cued in on several works of art that embodied the art movements that we are studying. It was so great to see pieces that I have learned about in history classes in person. For example, we saw work by da Vinci, Van Eyck, Rembrandt, Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh. Personally, I love the Impressionism movement because of the colors and themes of the pieces, so I really enjoyed seeing Monet and Manet. I was astounded by how much art was in this building and how we only zoomed in on like 30 paintings. Although I do not know as much about art as I would like to, I know that I will definitely need to go back and spend more time wandering through the gallery. I've been to a large gallery before, but it was so fascinating to hear all the different languages spoken around me and to remember that there is no language barriers with art, so it is one of those things that is able to bring us all together, no matter where we come from.
After dinner, Katie, Katie, Rebecca, Natalie, and I decided to go to Little Frankie's, which is an American Italian Restaurant. We decided we just needed a big meal and it was great! We haven't eaten out in so long, so it was well deserved. We all even got chocolate milkshakes with our dinner. :)
We are going to Greenwich tomorrow with the GST class, so I am really excited about that! I've heard that it is beautiful, so I will be sure to put up pictures tomorrow!

A Busy Tuesday

Tuesdays are definitely going to be one of my busier school days while in London. I have Traveling Along the Thames and British Theatre. At least I am finished with my classes by 12:30. After class, I came back to the flat to work on my art homework and journal. I am really excited about that class. Tomorrow we will meet at the National Gallery to see a lot of great artwork. Around 6:30, we left the flat to go to the theatre to see Twelfth Night. It was actually a lot better than I expected because I was slightly nervous to see Shakespeare. It was done really well and turned out to be very funny. Tomorrow should be a much more laid back day!

Paris Planning

We booked our trip to Paris today! I am so excited because, although it is a good amount of money, the train times are perfect and the location of the bed and breakfast is pretty close to the city. The tour group that we are going with provides the transportation from London to Paris, 2 nights at the B&B, and a coach tour of the city. Otherwise, we have Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday until 6 to explore the city and do whatever we want. A small group of us is going, which is great. It is Katie M., Katie P., Chelsey, Sam, and me.

After that was completed, we went to get groceries and hang out at the flat until we needed to leave for class. We had our second education seminar where we learned about the National Curriculum of England and Wales. I am getting really excited to visit my school. Our first day is on Monday! Tonight Chelsey is cooking tacos for a few of us, so we finally get to eat something besides pasta! :)

Lazy Sunday

I didn't want you to think that I forgot about my blog today, but I literally didn't do anything today. I got up pretty early and did homework all day, and started planning the Paris weekend and Spring Break. I'm getting really excited, but a little stressed out! The Paris weekend is from March 6-8 and Spring Break is March 19-29 and we are going throughout Italy. It should be a great time :)

The Tower

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today was a really great day! We spent the whole day at the Tower of London, which is one of the most historical locations in all of London. We had a great tour guide in the beginning of the visit. He was really funny and even said that he had been to Boone before to eat ice cream. We saw the Bloody Tower, where the 2 princes were murdered and the White Tower, which was the oldest part of the Tower of London. It is amazing to think about the royalty that walked through those rooms and all the history that happened throughout it!! We also got to see the Crown Jewels. I have never seen so many diamonds in my life. The largest diamond in the world was in there, along with a lot of the expensive items from previous kings and queens. Tonight we are just going to hang out in the flats and watch a movie. Tomorrow should be a relaxing day, with a lot of homework.

Guards, the Thames, and Fun

Today was such a fun-filled day! We left at about 10 to go to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards. It was so awesome! We listened to Britt's advice and stayed by the light post. It was such a great location to be able to see everything that was going on without being tromped on. Afterwards, we went to Westminster to eat lunch and begin our walk along the Thames. Our group has to do 5 walks total, and it was such a gorgeous day to do the first one! We saw a lot of great sights and monuments. I took so many pictures! After the walk was over, the Katies and I went to King's Cross to see Platform 9 3/4 to see the little monument for Harry Potter. It was a really neat train station (over 150 years old)! Tonight should be a lot of fun. I think that we are going out somewhere around Oxford Street. Tomorrow we are going to the Tower of London! I am loving these 3 day weekends!

Rosetta!

Today has been pretty relaxing. I started out with my Thames class, which was pretty good. We just talked about the book that we were supposed to read before coming to London, Longitude. With our groups, Jimmie let us go a block to the right and visit the British Museum. I have never seen such an amazing museum! I was completely overwhelmed by the greatness of this place, so I know that I will be going back several times before leaving the city. Better yet, admission is completely free! Our assignment was to pick an area or artifact of interest to do a short presentation on, so we chose the Rosetta Stone due to it’s enormous impact on understanding Egyptian history and culture. I cannot believe that I was just in the presence of such incredible history that I have heard and read so much about. There are so many rooms throughout the museum that are dedicated to history around the world, but due to it’s vastness, I wasn’t able to every room on this trip. We did venture about the Egyptian rooms for a long time and saw a lot of mummies! We also saw parts of the Book of the Dead and other funerary objects that they were placed with. I am really excited to go back when I have more time to walk slowly through the exhibits.
Tonight should be a pretty relaxed night since we don’t have classes tomorrow. I think some friends and I may go out and hang out in the city. I’m not too sure what the plans are yet. Tomorrow will be a full day because we are seeing the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and taking our group walk along the Thames. I will let you know how all that goes tomorrow!

Classic Play and Rock Music

Today was a fantastic day. It began with our cleaning lady coming to the flat to clean, so we started off refreshed. Natalie and I left around noon to run some errands and such before class. Today was the first day of our Art History class. When I signed up for this class, I was nervous about this class because I am not too good at art, but after seeing what this class has in store, I am really excited. I finally have a chance to be creative in a way that most classes won’t allow me. We are going to go see a lot of art museums and exhibitions throughout London. After class, Katie, Katie, Natalie, Rebecca, and I went out to Hammersmith so that we would be close to Lyric, where the play was held.

While in Hammersmith, we ate at a great little pub right off the Tube. We wandered around for a while and then made our way to Spring Awakening. I was completely blown away with the show!!! It was such an amazing performance and the music was beyond fantastic. I think that it was really well done and I would love to see it again. The nudity was very brief, and it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think they did a great combination of the classical 1891 play and rock music. I can’t wait to see another musical while in London!

Jimmie and Jinnie

Today was our first day of classes. Unlike at Elon, instead of leaving 5 minutes before class to get there on time, we left an hour. The Tube was outrageously packed, so it was quite an adventure to get to school. Once we arrived, the day began with my GST, which is Traveling Through Time Along the Thames. This should be a great class, and it involves a lot of work outside of class, such as visiting Greenwich and several other museums. We are also in groups to work on projects with, as well as take walks along the Thames and document our findings with pictures. After the introduction to this class, I had my British Theatre class. This should be a fabulous class, and our first play is tomorrow. It is called Spring Awakening and it is supposed to be about adolescent sexual and intellectual awakening, so I will be sure to write about it tomorrow night. My teacher's names are Jimmie and Jinnie, so I need to practice getting the names straight. I am really excited about these 2 classes and my first day of the Art History class is tomorrow.

After classes, Katie P., Katie M., and I went out to find the books that we need for the theatre class in used bookstores, but we had such a hard time finding the plays that we needed. We searched for hours, and it actually turned into a lot of fun, plus I love going into bookstores. Eventually, we found what we needed and made our way towards the flats to call it a night.

Just a Rainy Monday...

I don't really have too much to write with this one. It was rainy all day today, but Zane and I did some exploring before school today and made some pretty neat finds. Everything seems a bit worse when it is cold and rainy :). I did have my teaching fellows orientation and I found out that I am placed at Hurlingham and Chelsea Secondary School, which should be a great time. Tomorrow is the first day of classes, so I will definitely have more to say then!

A Great Sunday

Today was a very relaxed day, but we got a lot done at the same time. We started out later than usual, around 2:00. We got lunch and then took the Tube to get to Spitalfields Market, which had a great variety of vendors. I finally found a black bag that I can carry my books and computer in! I have been looking for one since I got here, so I am really excited about that! After walking through the market, we went to Oxford Street to get the cheap boots Katie Mac and I saw a few nights ago. I also got a few school supplies to get ready for classes that start on Tuesday. We are cooking dinner here and just hanging out, so it should be a great night. Tonight my goal is to figure out the places I want to see while I am here because there are so many!

Bath and Stonehenge

Today was one of the greatest days that I think could occur while I am studying abroad. We started out the day by getting on the coach bus on our way to Stonehenge and Bath. It was a 2 hour ride and we slept some of the way, so that was nice. Once we got to Stonehenge, we got into groups of 9 and went towards the stones. I was dumbfounded by how large the stones were and have no idea how any of them were able to be brought together to create the monument. Some of the walkway was closed because of the weather, but it was amazing to see Stonehenge with snow on the ground. I was also amazed at how Stonehenge came out of nowhere. We were driving along and all of a sudden, I looked to the right and there was a monument that dates back to around 3100 BC.

After seeing Stonehenge, we got back on the coach to go on the Bath. I was already excited to see the Roman Bath, but I didn't know what to expect of the city. Once we started to enter the city, I knew that it was going to be so much better than I could have ever imagined. We pulled up beside Bath Abbey to get out of the coach to prepare for our tours, and I just fell in love. It was a bustling city, but it still retained a quaint character. The Roman Baths were so so fascinating... it was incredible to be in the midst of such history. It is hard to believe how many people enjoyed the hot springs in the Bath. Throughout the city tour, we saw great little shops and houses that made me love it even more. We also stopped by the Jane Austen Museum, but we will have to go back and go through the actual museum. There really isn't enough words to describe how wonderful this place was. I cannot wait to go back!!

Once we got back from the 2 hour trip, we decided to see London at night. I was completely dumbfounded at how magnificent Big Ben and Parliament actually were. It did not hurt that there was a full moon in the background! We took a lot of pictures there and then walked a ways to see the Buckingham Palace at night. We had a great time taking pictures around the fountain. Afterwards, it was time to call it a day, so we went to Piccadilly and got some Cinnabon to enjoy on the way home. I believe tomorrow will be a much more relaxed day!

Some Pictures

This is the canal of Little Venice and the front of our flat.










This is a picture of a part of our Carolina blue kitchen and my side of the room before I unpacked.

A Mixture Between Old and New

Today was such a busy day, but it sure was a great one! I woke up at about 8:00 to take a shower and get ready for our coach tour of the city with a lady named Britt, who was exceptionally cute and funny. She gave us so much information to take in about all these little places around the city that I would never have been able to find by myself. It was so exciting to see the Thames for the first time and I almost cried when I was able to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament! :) We had a great time and were able to get off the bus to see Buckingham Palace. We saw the Horse Guards come right by us, so there were some great pictures. Britt gave many recommendations to eat and visit, including many Harry Potter sights!
After the tour, we went to Cafe Rouge to eat lunch and were immediately intimidated by the menu because it was in French, but I am so glad that we stayed because it was delicious! Then we were able to go on a walking tour of Little Venice, which is our neighborhood. Shawn took us all through the streets to better understand where we are located. Although it was extremely cold, the tour was very helpful and we saw great places to take walks once it gets warm. He is also going with us tomorrow to Bath and Stonehenge. We are just hanging out here tonight and Sam is cooking us dinner because we have a big day tomorrow!

Pictures

And by the way... I am planning to post pictures tomorrow since we are doing those tours so you can see the flat and other things. Thanks!

"1 Can Short of a 6-Pack"

Today was amazing. We went to our orientation this morning where we learned all about getting around the city and how to be street smart. Lisa Thompson is our academic director who is also the art history teacher taught us all the ins and outs of being in London. She said many funny comments throughout the day and I think that it will be a great semester with her. During lunch, we went to this great little place to have lunch called Munchkins. Afterwards, Katie P. and I went into an antique bookstore which seemed incredibly secretive because we had to be buzzed in and out of the store. There were so many great finds in there!

After the orientation, Sam, Katie P, Katie M, and I went to explore Oxford Street. Along the way we got incredibly lost, but it was so much fun! We got through it and figured out a lot of things that we should know anyways, such as the bus system. We went along the street and went into several stores with a few items in mind to buy, but I didn't end up getting anything today. It was so fun to see the stores, but it was so funny that the stores repeated themselves along the street. There were like 3 of everything. After wandering around Oxford Street for a really long time, we went back to the flat and got ready to eat dinner. We went to a great little pub closeby that is called Warwick Castle. Tomorrow will be a great day too because we are going on a coach tour and a walking tour!

After the First Day

It feels like the longest day of my life! After no sleep, a lot of riding and sitting, and many hours of traveling, I am actually starting to feel like I am in London. After unpacking, we decided to go to lunch, which was ultimately a huge disappointment. The area was not what I expected, but after a long while, we wandered in the opposite direction and found a great area. We walked along the canal where there are a lot of houseboats and it was really cute. After our meeting with the Anglo American man who manages our flats, we went to get our month pass for the Tube. After getting our pass, we decided to take a ride and went to the Piccadilly Circus. It was like seeing Times Square, which was awesome. I finally feel like I am actually in London, but I am still not getting used to the time difference or anything. We have a meeting at our school tomorrow morning and then we will have the rest of our day to ourselves, so I will let you know about that then!

Finally in London!

I am so excited to say that I am sitting in my flat right now about to get lunch. We had a great flight that went by surprisingly fast, but I only got 30 minutes of sleep. I need to keep going or else I will just fall out! I am all unpacked and ready to go, so I will post later because I am hungry now! :)

One more night!

I cannot believe that I was completely ready to leave for London and then the flight gets canceled! I made it through saying goodbye to my family and to Art, but I still wasn't able to just get on the plane. Apparently there were technical difficulties, but there was also a huge blizzard in London going on today. We were rescheduled for the same flight tomorrow night, so we got hotel vouchers. The hotels that American Airlines got us are amazing! They are such nice rooms, so we have a huge treat before we leave. It is nice to be together for a night prior to London, just to get the feel of things too. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for our travels and we will be able to start then!

The Night Before...

I am trying to pack and get in the mindset of leaving tomorrow, but it sure is hard to think of everything for the next 3 and 1/2 months!! We fly out at 8:30 pm, so in two days I will be waking up in London! I hope that you enjoy following me through this semester abroad. Thanks for wanting to be apart of it!