There were big plans for Monday...the first thing was my do-over for Hampton Courts. If you don't remember, or maybe I didn't mention, I lost a couple hundred photos from my SD card and one of the things that I had done was go to Hampton Court Palace with Lindsay. So for Monday Emily and I were skipping class and Sara didn't have class, and therefore it worked out that we could all go. Emily and I were skipping class because we had already done the National Gallery...twice, and that was supposed to be our field trip that day. We had seen all of the paintings and were content with not seeing them a third time. We met at Waterloo station again and hopped on the early DLR to go to Hampton Courts. On the way there we were delayed because of a passenger incident...probably someone under the tube. And then we had to wait on the other line because there was a train stuck on the tracks or something. But we made it with a little bit of time to spare. I grabbed a baguette from Upper Crust and we got on our train. It was about a 40 minute ride there and we were there right before it opened which worked out perfectly. We were able to breeze through it all because there was no one there so early. We still spent several hours there but this time we were also able to do the maze and it was sunny (no rain). This time we were able to get some great (and silly) photos too. It hasn't rained since last Friday, so we were feeling the sun in the gardens. It made me think about how I had been spoiled with cool breezy weather and I was suffering haha. That really made me not want to go hoome because I know it is way worse in Michigan right now. uuuugh...
We traveled back to Waterloo station and from there Emily separated ways from Sara and I. We decided to go to St. Paul's Cathedral (or "St. P's" as I've grown to call it) since we hadn't been able to fit that in yet. Once again we were in a building that was just gorgeous. There was so much to take in at St. P's. When you look up, it's like having vertigo...you just get dizzy and overwhelmed, and it is like an optical illusion with the dome and paintings. The biggest highlight for me though is walking up the stairs. The easiest way to describe St. P's is in layers. Below ground there is the crypt, ground levelish is the cathedral floor, then you can walk 257 steps up (30 meters or 90 feet) to the Whispering Gallery, 376 steps up (53 meters or 159 feet) is the Stone Gallery, and 528 steps up (85 meters or 255 feet) is the Golden Gallery. Sara and I went straight to the top! The Whispering Gallery is instead the cathedral and there is a thin wooden plank around and marble inside that...not much space. You can whisper on one side and hear it on the other =) The Stone Gallery is outside and you could take pictures there. A little more walking space and felt much cooler out there. Every stair up to that point was stone, some steep and others not. There were some tight spaces in many sections and you had to mind your head or you would knock yourself out. Going to the Golden Gallery is another story though. That was all steel spiral stair cases. At this point children were crying and terrified but their parents were making them do it because they wanted to. They were currently working on developing their child's fear of heights, so horrible. Because once you start going up, you have to keep going. There is no stopping because you have to get to the top to get over to the staircase that goes down. The kids fear and sadness was getting me upset! All of the sudden I was getting afraid haha. Sara kept saying that she thinks I'm afraid of heights but I'm definitely not; going down was fun! I liked seeing everything and I'm pretty sure people that are afraid of height get more upset when they look down. It was the children getting upset that was making me feel sad and I just wanted to get to the top for them. Anyway it was great at the Golden Gallery. We were so high up! You definitely had to shuffle to get around the top but it was an amazing view! I told Sara there was no way my mom would ever make it to the Whispering Gallery. She hates heights and ledges lol.
From St. P's we went to Wimbledon to see the torch relay. It was quite exciting! I felt all Olympic-y. First we had to go to Starbucks because it was so incredibly hot and we had been running around all day. I enjoyed a venti espresso frappicino and finished it in a matter of minutes. It was what we needed. At the torch relay people were dressed up and I got a promotional Coca Cola Olympic hat. It was a spiral that is flat until you put it on. Awesome. When 5:15 rolled around it was like a parade. People were waving from various sponsered vehicles, other athletes were in there, torch runners resting etc. There was some music and finally the dude with the torch. I honestly have no idea who was holding it or who he was passing it off to. There is no way you could unless it was someone famous (the only famous person I recognize anyway is Rupert Grint) because there are like 8000 people that are torchbearers. But we got to see the torch in person and as it was being passed. It was pretty exciting!
After the excitement we went back to the tube and I had to depart from Sara to go to a show with Lindsay. We were going to see "One Man, Two Guvnors". Let me tell you right now...this is the best show I have ever seen in my entire life. Hands-down greatest comedy. I was laughing the enitre time to the point of tears. I started writing down some of the funny things to remember for my paper that I had to do for class, but I was writing basically everything down. It was hysterical. There was audience interaction, and some tricks in there to fool you but you would never know. I am so glad Tom recommended that one to me because it was the best thing that ever hit the stage. I would see it a million times over. I haven't laughed out loud like that in such a long time. The story is about this man that is employed under two governors and he can't keep his jobs straight. There are other side stories that are about love and whatnot. The whole cast was amazing but expecially the guy that played Francis. I have so much love for that show!!! It can definitely have some inappropriate humor mixed in there so it's probably not the best for the youngsters. Anyway, I love that show with all my heart. If you ever get a chance to see it, it is completely worth it!
Since I forget to eat often, I realized that I should grab something to eat. Lindsay was hungry as well and wanted to go to the sushi place. I LOVE sushi. This was a restaurant that had the revolving plates. We happened to go on a good night because everything was one low price (usually the colored plates vary in price). I tried many different rolls and they were all amazing. It was a good choice! After that it was too late to go to do anything else without risking the tube closing on me, so I went home.
I know how to make the most out of a day, don't I?!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Date Day
For Sunday I would be on my own all day, for all of my friends were off either in Paris or traveling to other parts of the UK. I started my day by heading toward Leicester Square. I wanted to go to the TKTS booth to see if there might be a Sunday show that I could attend later. Unfortunately the shows that were posted for Sunday weren't ones that I really wanted to see, so instead I found a nearby cafe to have some breakfast at and come up with a game plan. I had a toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese along with some tea. I enjoyed my breakfast and made a plan for my day. Plus I paid with some coins so that I could lighten my load...there are so many coins here and they accumulate so fast. 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, 1 pound, 2 pounds...it's hard to think that coins aren't useless like in the US. I always just want to pay with paper money and not worry about change. Plus it takes time to find what you need with 8 different coins.
Back to my day though...I then went to the National Gallery to finish the parts that I didn't get to the other week. I kind of went through it fast because my favorites were in the 20th century section. The previous centuries are boring to me. Sorry about it haha...I can appreciate it but I don't want to stare at it for hours. I ended up in the shop downstairs and found some cool books, one of which was a book on vintage/secondhand shops in London. I'm definitely going to put that to some good use this weekend. After buying several books, I had to make a quite trip home to drop off my purchases.
I felt like being adventurous and walking to one of the shops in that book because it was supposed to be close to where I live. I kind of underestimated the distance, not that I mind walking but by the time I would have gotten there the market would have been closed. So, instead I wandered and stumbled upon a festival. It was the Whitecross Street Party: Rise of the Non Conformists. There was music, food, crafts, and street art going on. I took many pictures of the unique activities and purchased some worry doll earrings for 3 pounds.
I love them.
From there my options were sort of limited due to the shortened hours on Sunday so I went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I had to stand in line for awhile but it was worth it. My favorite part were the letters that kids write to Sherlock. Some were just cute, others were hilarious. One was just honest saying that they were just doing this for an extra credit assignment and they knew he was dead and she felt so stupid and kept apologizing to Sherlock ahahaha. And of course I bought a pipe. That's the most important part. ;)
Afterwards I caved and had a dessert waffle with strawberries and whip cream from a cart by the tube. It was soooo delicious. Once again Batman was sold out so once I had my waffle I went home. I chatted with Sabi on skype and from there decided to go to Byron's by my place at Hoxton Square and get a take away. I had a cheddar burger and a chocolate shake. Best decision! It was fabulous.
That concludes my date day with myself =) I think I treated myself well...I'd go out with me again.
Back to my day though...I then went to the National Gallery to finish the parts that I didn't get to the other week. I kind of went through it fast because my favorites were in the 20th century section. The previous centuries are boring to me. Sorry about it haha...I can appreciate it but I don't want to stare at it for hours. I ended up in the shop downstairs and found some cool books, one of which was a book on vintage/secondhand shops in London. I'm definitely going to put that to some good use this weekend. After buying several books, I had to make a quite trip home to drop off my purchases.
I felt like being adventurous and walking to one of the shops in that book because it was supposed to be close to where I live. I kind of underestimated the distance, not that I mind walking but by the time I would have gotten there the market would have been closed. So, instead I wandered and stumbled upon a festival. It was the Whitecross Street Party: Rise of the Non Conformists. There was music, food, crafts, and street art going on. I took many pictures of the unique activities and purchased some worry doll earrings for 3 pounds.
I love them.
From there my options were sort of limited due to the shortened hours on Sunday so I went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I had to stand in line for awhile but it was worth it. My favorite part were the letters that kids write to Sherlock. Some were just cute, others were hilarious. One was just honest saying that they were just doing this for an extra credit assignment and they knew he was dead and she felt so stupid and kept apologizing to Sherlock ahahaha. And of course I bought a pipe. That's the most important part. ;)
Afterwards I caved and had a dessert waffle with strawberries and whip cream from a cart by the tube. It was soooo delicious. Once again Batman was sold out so once I had my waffle I went home. I chatted with Sabi on skype and from there decided to go to Byron's by my place at Hoxton Square and get a take away. I had a cheddar burger and a chocolate shake. Best decision! It was fabulous.
That concludes my date day with myself =) I think I treated myself well...I'd go out with me again.
Dorset Day
Now that I was staying home for the weekend, this meant that I could go to Dorset (it was a trip that was cancelled and we had gone to Stonehenge and Bath instead). Sara, Emily and I met at the Waterloo station (Em and I were late...due to our sleepiness we hopped on the line going away from Bank...whoops). We made it though and bought our tickets, at a group rated discount at that! It was going to be a two hour ride I believe. I needed some coffee, Sara wanted cards, and Emily wanted a drink. At Starbucks, I grabbed a sandwich and went to the counter. I said I would like a double espresso as well and handed the lady my sandwich. She handed it off to another girl and then I was only charged 1.75. I paid but looked confused. I met Sara at the end of the counter and told her they took my sandwich from me soup nazi style. It was a cold sandwich too so there could be no thought in warming it up. Sara laughed at me and I told her I don't understand why no one seems to understand what I'm saying. Two days in a row...just no good luck. It was fine though because I just got a croissant instead and that tasted splendid.
We chatted and played cards and acted silly on the train. We were going to have to get off at some point to get on the train behind us b/c the one we were on wasn't going to stop at the stop we wanted. The ticket guy didn't really tell us all of the correct info. We also talked about the Paris incident and these girls were flattering me too much haha. I was feeling some serious love from all of my study abroad friends. I have gathered that I am very nice and according to Emily I adapt to who I'm around. I guess that makes me a flexible friend ;) Anyway...
When we made it to Dorset, we had to take a taxi from the train station to Durdle Door/Lulworth Cove area. From there is was just exploring and hiking. It was incredibly beautiful. The water was a majestic blue and green that I don't think I could ever truly capture in a photograph. The beach was made out of stones; every single one was unique and gorgeous (I grabbed a handful). It was a weird contrast from the Great Lake sand. There were little caves along the side and it was a sunny, clear day...perfect for the beach side. There were a good amount of people out sun bathing and having picnics...more than I thought. I can't imagine just coming out to this beautiful area in the same manner that I would go to South Haven back home. After awhile we walked a mile in the other direction to Lulworth Cove. It was a quaint town with a couple of shops and restaurants. Once again it was a beautiful area to explore and we had some food there (it wasn't that good...a bit bland, but my peppermint tea was excellent. Sara had a bad experience with her burger...even after the second time they didn't get it right) and then we wandered some more. There was a helicopter and some emergency vehicles that came, not really sure what happened but obviously something did. We ran into this guy that painted seashells and stones. Everything was so beautiful with color and some had fine print writings on them. We all bought at least a little something and asked to take his picture...once again I wish I could post that right now...I don't want to spoil it! He was very kind and quite funny. He was glad we asked. He said many don't and just take his photo, then he pulls out his camera and takes theirs! He said they usually look quite confused but some just smile, completely oblivious haha.
We weren't able to go to Lulworth castle because they were doing some reconstructing of the sort. So after we had our adventure in the area we took a taxi back to the train station. We slept some on the train and when we got back we tried to see a movie but there wasn't something we could collectively agree on to see, so we went to eat instead. We ate at another Italian restaurant and I had this chicken with mushrooms and onions along with a salad. The girls had dessert but I needed some real food despite how tempting it looked.
Side note, we told a local directions to the tube before this happened. He said this was the most embarrassing day of his life because he lives here and had to ask foreigners for directions. It was funnier than I'm making it sound. He basically was looking for the Waterloo tube which is located under the Waterloo overground but you have to go in the overground and then down to the tube. In short, it's not located like all of the other tubes so I guess I could understand. He also didn't really seem like he would be in the Waterloo area often so it seemed legit. I don't think I have mentioned this in my posts yet but I have chatted with quite a few travelers and helped them with directions. Everyone approaches me because I seem nice and like I know what I'm doing from what I understand haha.
I forgot to mention how I told Sara and Emily all about me and the millions of things that I love. I think I'm pretty cool haha, hopefully they think so too. It started when I was trying to think of things that I love so that I could cheer myself up due to the recent Paris let down. I'm sure I seem really weird between my interests in owls to zombies to ballet. I think in the end I made it clear that I love almost everything and I'm pretty well rounded and open. Enough about me.
Well I think that is all for my Saturday stories. I wish I could describe Dorset more for you but really if you want to know, you should go yourself. =) Soon you will be able to see my photos!
We chatted and played cards and acted silly on the train. We were going to have to get off at some point to get on the train behind us b/c the one we were on wasn't going to stop at the stop we wanted. The ticket guy didn't really tell us all of the correct info. We also talked about the Paris incident and these girls were flattering me too much haha. I was feeling some serious love from all of my study abroad friends. I have gathered that I am very nice and according to Emily I adapt to who I'm around. I guess that makes me a flexible friend ;) Anyway...
When we made it to Dorset, we had to take a taxi from the train station to Durdle Door/Lulworth Cove area. From there is was just exploring and hiking. It was incredibly beautiful. The water was a majestic blue and green that I don't think I could ever truly capture in a photograph. The beach was made out of stones; every single one was unique and gorgeous (I grabbed a handful). It was a weird contrast from the Great Lake sand. There were little caves along the side and it was a sunny, clear day...perfect for the beach side. There were a good amount of people out sun bathing and having picnics...more than I thought. I can't imagine just coming out to this beautiful area in the same manner that I would go to South Haven back home. After awhile we walked a mile in the other direction to Lulworth Cove. It was a quaint town with a couple of shops and restaurants. Once again it was a beautiful area to explore and we had some food there (it wasn't that good...a bit bland, but my peppermint tea was excellent. Sara had a bad experience with her burger...even after the second time they didn't get it right) and then we wandered some more. There was a helicopter and some emergency vehicles that came, not really sure what happened but obviously something did. We ran into this guy that painted seashells and stones. Everything was so beautiful with color and some had fine print writings on them. We all bought at least a little something and asked to take his picture...once again I wish I could post that right now...I don't want to spoil it! He was very kind and quite funny. He was glad we asked. He said many don't and just take his photo, then he pulls out his camera and takes theirs! He said they usually look quite confused but some just smile, completely oblivious haha.
We weren't able to go to Lulworth castle because they were doing some reconstructing of the sort. So after we had our adventure in the area we took a taxi back to the train station. We slept some on the train and when we got back we tried to see a movie but there wasn't something we could collectively agree on to see, so we went to eat instead. We ate at another Italian restaurant and I had this chicken with mushrooms and onions along with a salad. The girls had dessert but I needed some real food despite how tempting it looked.
Side note, we told a local directions to the tube before this happened. He said this was the most embarrassing day of his life because he lives here and had to ask foreigners for directions. It was funnier than I'm making it sound. He basically was looking for the Waterloo tube which is located under the Waterloo overground but you have to go in the overground and then down to the tube. In short, it's not located like all of the other tubes so I guess I could understand. He also didn't really seem like he would be in the Waterloo area often so it seemed legit. I don't think I have mentioned this in my posts yet but I have chatted with quite a few travelers and helped them with directions. Everyone approaches me because I seem nice and like I know what I'm doing from what I understand haha.
I forgot to mention how I told Sara and Emily all about me and the millions of things that I love. I think I'm pretty cool haha, hopefully they think so too. It started when I was trying to think of things that I love so that I could cheer myself up due to the recent Paris let down. I'm sure I seem really weird between my interests in owls to zombies to ballet. I think in the end I made it clear that I love almost everything and I'm pretty well rounded and open. Enough about me.
Well I think that is all for my Saturday stories. I wish I could describe Dorset more for you but really if you want to know, you should go yourself. =) Soon you will be able to see my photos!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
My Boyfriend, Max
To carry on with the gorillas, well I fell in love. It was amazing. Sara knows all kinds of things about me now and I know random facts about her too! To shorten my post up some, the London zoo is great! I fell in love with the gorillas, and some owls (completely geeked out on that! Sara probably thinks I'm crazy) and the butterfly exhibit. My one love was an owl named Max and he is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. He was a cutie! I ran into him a couple of times. There were also a couple of screech owls that I came to know =) And (unfortunately) we didn't even get to make it to the actual Owl exhibit because it closed. But I got to know 3 owls which was very satisfying. The butterfly exhibit was AMAZING because there were so many and I took some really great photos. My favorite is, of course, the one that is camouflaged like an owl. I also say a couple of butterflies mating and some huge, scary, nocturnal moths (they only move at night, which is good b/cc I would be terrified if those were flying around). There was also a penguin exhibit and they were so adorable and once again photogenic.
Then there were the otters.
Oh my goodness.
The most adorable things that ever existed. First of all I have to say that Sara and I had great timing for getting to an exhibit and the animals coming right towards us for pictures. There must have been at least 10 otters all together (I have never seen so many together) and then came out together, swam together, cried together, sat on a log together, swam in another pond together...everything was together and they were so cute. I kept saying my sister would flip! My sister is going love this! So I took a bajillion photos of the otters for her...it's one of her favorite animals.
That about sums up the zoo. We saw more animals but those were the highlights. We also wandered around Regent's Park which is beautiful and then we when to an Italian restaurant for pizza. i had something that had artichokes. We also shared garlic bread. Then we went to another restaurant for dessert. We had meringue and I had vanilla gelato with espresso poured on top. SO delicious!!! After that Sara came over and we planned our Saturday. First we went to her place though to get her lap top, so I was able to see Marylebone. They have all these banksy copies up inside, that's why I point it out. Plus she has a great view and her room is small but it's like a spaceship.
That finally concludes my Friday =)
Then there were the otters.
Oh my goodness.
The most adorable things that ever existed. First of all I have to say that Sara and I had great timing for getting to an exhibit and the animals coming right towards us for pictures. There must have been at least 10 otters all together (I have never seen so many together) and then came out together, swam together, cried together, sat on a log together, swam in another pond together...everything was together and they were so cute. I kept saying my sister would flip! My sister is going love this! So I took a bajillion photos of the otters for her...it's one of her favorite animals.
That about sums up the zoo. We saw more animals but those were the highlights. We also wandered around Regent's Park which is beautiful and then we when to an Italian restaurant for pizza. i had something that had artichokes. We also shared garlic bread. Then we went to another restaurant for dessert. We had meringue and I had vanilla gelato with espresso poured on top. SO delicious!!! After that Sara came over and we planned our Saturday. First we went to her place though to get her lap top, so I was able to see Marylebone. They have all these banksy copies up inside, that's why I point it out. Plus she has a great view and her room is small but it's like a spaceship.
That finally concludes my Friday =)
The otters cried too
Friday, oh Friday. Oh, my dear Friday.
I woke up early; I didn't get much sleep. I got ready. I tripled checked everything. I left early to meet Jourdan at Piccadilly station so that we could go together. To the airport that is. For my weekend in Paris that is.
I forgot to note in the last post that before bed I checked my email to find my confirmation email. Instead of finding a confirmation email, I found a cancellation email instead. Supposedly "per my request" on top of that. I'm not quite sure how my phone calls to these people verifying everything about my flight, making sure that there would be no problem for the next morning and being reassured by them that everything for my flight would be fine, turned into a cancellation per my request. I had called Jourdan and Oniwa Thursday night when I got that email to tell them what was going on. I was still going to go along with everything though and figure it out at the airport because ofcourse fly.co.uk was closed and they wouldn't open until 10 am. I called my credit card company again at like 1am to verify everything. They said that they saw the charges and they let it go through, that there was no problem and they weren't holding anything up. I talked to my dad and just decided to go through with everything in the morning and sort it out at the airport since there was nothing else I could do.
So back to Friday morning. I went on the hour long tube ride with Jourdan (once I found her at Piccadilly haha) and then at the airport I, of course, couldn't check in and then the lady at assistance sent me over to another area and there I spoke to Rachel. Rachel was very helpful and kind and tried so hard to help me. I really should send something to British Airways about her. What it came down to is that even though I had the initial confirmation number, a ticket was never actually issued to me. It was still too early to call them even though we both tried. The only other option was to buy another ticket right there but that was $475 and there is just no way ever that I could afford, justify, or spend that amount of money on a weekend trip where I only had one full day in Paris. Plus there wasn't a return flight for me at the time. It was way more expensive than what I originally paid for. Anyway I had to bite my tongue because I was tearing up and about to break down in the airport. Jourdan was so upset too. She was offering to help pay for my ticket, which I wouldn't let her do. Rachel held a sit for me on a later flight so that I could talk to the people that were screwing me over and arrange for a different time. She told me to be firm with them because they are ruining my travel plans. She was really on my side and helped me out the most that she could.
We met up with Lindsey and Oniwa because they came separately. I told them the news. Everyone was really bummed out but very optimistic and hopeful that things would work out. I know that Jourdan and Oniwa reallllly wanted me to go. And I did too obiviously. This was something that I really wanted to do and I organized the group of us to go and I made the meeting so that we could search for tickets and hotels/hostels and now it looked like I wasn't going to be able to go. I was so heartbroken. I left them so they could go through security. I went down to the tube telling myself to not cry and continuing to bite my tongue. When I got down there the one worker asked me if I was okay. I just smiled at him all teary eyed and got on the tube. Then I rode home for the next hour thinking about what I was going to say to this horrible company when I got to my flat.
I got home and made that call. I was so mad! At first I was calm and rational, trying to be polite yet stern. Then when this lady was talking over me and not listening to me and telling me incorrect information, I talked her down. I told her I was upset and disappointed; that I am supposed to be on a flight to Paris right now and I'm not. Instead I am being charged for a flight that I'm not on AND they are charging me a cancellation fee of 100 pounds! (that's like $165 dollars!) I told her they lied to me about everything; that I have done everything in my power to make sure everything was fine for my flight and I was assured that there were no problems. I had made so many phone calls and I want everything refunded to me. I said that I was over it and that I wantt the flight taken off, the cancellation fee taken off, everything. They weren't going to help me get on another flight and I was sick of it. Now I wasn't screaming or anything...I wasn't acting out of control. I was still reasonable and polite because that is just how I am. But I was the most mad I think I have ever been talking to someone and i have never been so stern and demanding of someone in customer service. It was really hard to hold it back. Anyway there is no guarantee of a refund but if I get one itt would be in 28 days. I can assure everyone that there is no way I am paying for anything. I got her name although she tried to avoid that at first. Who knows if I even got the right one. I really hate that lady. I am so sure she is one of the girls I talked to on Thursday that reassured me that everything was fine and now she was trying in all of these different ways to blame me. First she said something about how I was supposed to call the airport. I told her NO ONE told me that. then after a minute she said that Oh, sorry that note says that we needed to call the airport. I could have screamed. She didn't even know what country I was in! She thought I was in Spain until the 30th. Oh my god. If there was a problem on Thursday I was supposed to get a phone call on my cell phone here. I left it with them both times. Guess who called me? NO ONE. They were saying my card was declined. When I talked to the cc company, they said everything was fine and it went through. And I doubled checked with them. I was going to lose it.
So then, I called my dad. I told him that I was staying in London for the weekend and he goes, "You're kidding me." He assured me we would take care of the money thing when I got home and said to not let it spoil my time here. I was so heartbroken. He was talking to me on the phone and I was just crying. Finally I hung up and then I called Sara. I told her what was going on and that we needed to do something so I wasn't sad.
Our solution?
The London Zoo.
Sara said it was going to be a beautiful day. She lied.
ahaha. It wasn't really bad at all. The rain here doesn't last long. It was like maybe 10 minutes at most. But it was funny and I was giving her a hard time because she was like it's not going to rain! Then it did. I really didn't care at all...it didn't bug me. But I did use it to my advantage to be melodramatic. I told her London was crying for me ahaha.
By the time we started getting close to Regent's park, it stopped raining. We weren't quite sure how to get to the entrance but we just started walking. We ended up walking all around the perimeter of the zoo. If we had just gone a little further initially, we would have found it. In our defense, it was not clearly labeled at all on where to go. It was a good walk though! The boys that helped me at the entrance with the ticket and whatnot, were pretty obvious on wanting to keep talking to me. They kept offering me things and wanted to answer any questions I might have, etc. It was kind of funny b/c afterwards Sara was like where did you get that? What, you got that? How come I didn't get one? She was like man my guy sucked hahaa. All that I really had were all these ridiculous pamplets and they showed me what the visitor's guide was so I could buy one if I wanted. Sara was like no one told me about that! It was funny.
S/N: I forgot to mention all the guys the day before whe we were waiting to meet for the Alt. London tour, that offered to buy us drinks. Guys here have no time to waste, I guess. It was one after another! This one guy came up to us with his friend while I was talking to Sara and he interrupted saying, "Would you girls like some drinks?" I said no thank you and he wanted to know why not. I avoided eye contact and said we had somewhere to be. He was like ah Fuck it, we'll go to you then. I was like oh no, no, that's okay and then we left.
Another S/N: Earlier, when I was walking to the tube to meet Sara, this girl approached me and basically she was currently in an interview and she said they through her outside, gave her 10p, and said she had to talk to someone and trade them 10p for something useless they might have. They said it couldd be anything but she couldn't come back in to the interview until she had done that task. They girl was maybe a little younger than me, dressed up, outside with only a coin in her hand. She did seem slightly timid so I could see why they might force her out to talk to strangers. Tom had told me how their interviewing process is different, he didn't say anything like this, but it seemed legit. Plus she was giving me the money. I wanted to help her out, plus it seemed like a game, like where you trade items for other items and see how you end up. I like games. haha. No but really I wanted to help her especially because I had a bad morning, I wanted to do something nice for someone. I told her I would but I didn't know what I had on me. I had my camera, wallet, coins, keys...not giving any of those up! But I found an extra hair tie. It was one of my snazzy ones too but I looked at her doubtfully, like me giving her a hair tie wasn't good enough. Her face lit up though and said, "That's perfect! Thank you!" We traded and then we both went on our way. Good story.
Back to the zoo...
When we walked in the first thing I saw was a drink cart and I got an espresso! I told Sara I was SO happy. It was our goal to find me some coffee b/c the other day I told her how coffee just makes me so happy; that if I have it, it is like nothing can be wrong. So I had my espresso and then we turned around only to see GORILLA KINGDOM! Omg, it turned into the best day ever. I had no idea there were gorillas there! I love gorillas! I geeked out and told her all about how I wrote a report and gave a speech in thee 4th grade about gorillas for A.T. and how I have a giant gorilla
I woke up early; I didn't get much sleep. I got ready. I tripled checked everything. I left early to meet Jourdan at Piccadilly station so that we could go together. To the airport that is. For my weekend in Paris that is.
I forgot to note in the last post that before bed I checked my email to find my confirmation email. Instead of finding a confirmation email, I found a cancellation email instead. Supposedly "per my request" on top of that. I'm not quite sure how my phone calls to these people verifying everything about my flight, making sure that there would be no problem for the next morning and being reassured by them that everything for my flight would be fine, turned into a cancellation per my request. I had called Jourdan and Oniwa Thursday night when I got that email to tell them what was going on. I was still going to go along with everything though and figure it out at the airport because ofcourse fly.co.uk was closed and they wouldn't open until 10 am. I called my credit card company again at like 1am to verify everything. They said that they saw the charges and they let it go through, that there was no problem and they weren't holding anything up. I talked to my dad and just decided to go through with everything in the morning and sort it out at the airport since there was nothing else I could do.
So back to Friday morning. I went on the hour long tube ride with Jourdan (once I found her at Piccadilly haha) and then at the airport I, of course, couldn't check in and then the lady at assistance sent me over to another area and there I spoke to Rachel. Rachel was very helpful and kind and tried so hard to help me. I really should send something to British Airways about her. What it came down to is that even though I had the initial confirmation number, a ticket was never actually issued to me. It was still too early to call them even though we both tried. The only other option was to buy another ticket right there but that was $475 and there is just no way ever that I could afford, justify, or spend that amount of money on a weekend trip where I only had one full day in Paris. Plus there wasn't a return flight for me at the time. It was way more expensive than what I originally paid for. Anyway I had to bite my tongue because I was tearing up and about to break down in the airport. Jourdan was so upset too. She was offering to help pay for my ticket, which I wouldn't let her do. Rachel held a sit for me on a later flight so that I could talk to the people that were screwing me over and arrange for a different time. She told me to be firm with them because they are ruining my travel plans. She was really on my side and helped me out the most that she could.
We met up with Lindsey and Oniwa because they came separately. I told them the news. Everyone was really bummed out but very optimistic and hopeful that things would work out. I know that Jourdan and Oniwa reallllly wanted me to go. And I did too obiviously. This was something that I really wanted to do and I organized the group of us to go and I made the meeting so that we could search for tickets and hotels/hostels and now it looked like I wasn't going to be able to go. I was so heartbroken. I left them so they could go through security. I went down to the tube telling myself to not cry and continuing to bite my tongue. When I got down there the one worker asked me if I was okay. I just smiled at him all teary eyed and got on the tube. Then I rode home for the next hour thinking about what I was going to say to this horrible company when I got to my flat.
I got home and made that call. I was so mad! At first I was calm and rational, trying to be polite yet stern. Then when this lady was talking over me and not listening to me and telling me incorrect information, I talked her down. I told her I was upset and disappointed; that I am supposed to be on a flight to Paris right now and I'm not. Instead I am being charged for a flight that I'm not on AND they are charging me a cancellation fee of 100 pounds! (that's like $165 dollars!) I told her they lied to me about everything; that I have done everything in my power to make sure everything was fine for my flight and I was assured that there were no problems. I had made so many phone calls and I want everything refunded to me. I said that I was over it and that I wantt the flight taken off, the cancellation fee taken off, everything. They weren't going to help me get on another flight and I was sick of it. Now I wasn't screaming or anything...I wasn't acting out of control. I was still reasonable and polite because that is just how I am. But I was the most mad I think I have ever been talking to someone and i have never been so stern and demanding of someone in customer service. It was really hard to hold it back. Anyway there is no guarantee of a refund but if I get one itt would be in 28 days. I can assure everyone that there is no way I am paying for anything. I got her name although she tried to avoid that at first. Who knows if I even got the right one. I really hate that lady. I am so sure she is one of the girls I talked to on Thursday that reassured me that everything was fine and now she was trying in all of these different ways to blame me. First she said something about how I was supposed to call the airport. I told her NO ONE told me that. then after a minute she said that Oh, sorry that note says that we needed to call the airport. I could have screamed. She didn't even know what country I was in! She thought I was in Spain until the 30th. Oh my god. If there was a problem on Thursday I was supposed to get a phone call on my cell phone here. I left it with them both times. Guess who called me? NO ONE. They were saying my card was declined. When I talked to the cc company, they said everything was fine and it went through. And I doubled checked with them. I was going to lose it.
So then, I called my dad. I told him that I was staying in London for the weekend and he goes, "You're kidding me." He assured me we would take care of the money thing when I got home and said to not let it spoil my time here. I was so heartbroken. He was talking to me on the phone and I was just crying. Finally I hung up and then I called Sara. I told her what was going on and that we needed to do something so I wasn't sad.
Our solution?
The London Zoo.
Sara said it was going to be a beautiful day. She lied.
ahaha. It wasn't really bad at all. The rain here doesn't last long. It was like maybe 10 minutes at most. But it was funny and I was giving her a hard time because she was like it's not going to rain! Then it did. I really didn't care at all...it didn't bug me. But I did use it to my advantage to be melodramatic. I told her London was crying for me ahaha.
By the time we started getting close to Regent's park, it stopped raining. We weren't quite sure how to get to the entrance but we just started walking. We ended up walking all around the perimeter of the zoo. If we had just gone a little further initially, we would have found it. In our defense, it was not clearly labeled at all on where to go. It was a good walk though! The boys that helped me at the entrance with the ticket and whatnot, were pretty obvious on wanting to keep talking to me. They kept offering me things and wanted to answer any questions I might have, etc. It was kind of funny b/c afterwards Sara was like where did you get that? What, you got that? How come I didn't get one? She was like man my guy sucked hahaa. All that I really had were all these ridiculous pamplets and they showed me what the visitor's guide was so I could buy one if I wanted. Sara was like no one told me about that! It was funny.
S/N: I forgot to mention all the guys the day before whe we were waiting to meet for the Alt. London tour, that offered to buy us drinks. Guys here have no time to waste, I guess. It was one after another! This one guy came up to us with his friend while I was talking to Sara and he interrupted saying, "Would you girls like some drinks?" I said no thank you and he wanted to know why not. I avoided eye contact and said we had somewhere to be. He was like ah Fuck it, we'll go to you then. I was like oh no, no, that's okay and then we left.
Another S/N: Earlier, when I was walking to the tube to meet Sara, this girl approached me and basically she was currently in an interview and she said they through her outside, gave her 10p, and said she had to talk to someone and trade them 10p for something useless they might have. They said it couldd be anything but she couldn't come back in to the interview until she had done that task. They girl was maybe a little younger than me, dressed up, outside with only a coin in her hand. She did seem slightly timid so I could see why they might force her out to talk to strangers. Tom had told me how their interviewing process is different, he didn't say anything like this, but it seemed legit. Plus she was giving me the money. I wanted to help her out, plus it seemed like a game, like where you trade items for other items and see how you end up. I like games. haha. No but really I wanted to help her especially because I had a bad morning, I wanted to do something nice for someone. I told her I would but I didn't know what I had on me. I had my camera, wallet, coins, keys...not giving any of those up! But I found an extra hair tie. It was one of my snazzy ones too but I looked at her doubtfully, like me giving her a hair tie wasn't good enough. Her face lit up though and said, "That's perfect! Thank you!" We traded and then we both went on our way. Good story.
Back to the zoo...
When we walked in the first thing I saw was a drink cart and I got an espresso! I told Sara I was SO happy. It was our goal to find me some coffee b/c the other day I told her how coffee just makes me so happy; that if I have it, it is like nothing can be wrong. So I had my espresso and then we turned around only to see GORILLA KINGDOM! Omg, it turned into the best day ever. I had no idea there were gorillas there! I love gorillas! I geeked out and told her all about how I wrote a report and gave a speech in thee 4th grade about gorillas for A.T. and how I have a giant gorilla
Alternative London
Thursday was the most fun. At least for me.
That's actually a complete lie. Thursday night was the most fun. Thursday day sucked.
I stayed home aka skipped class so that I could write my two papers that were due by midnight. I had started them the night before but Ii didn't get far because I was mainly reading articles and trying to find quotes on or about Joseph Gordon-Levitt so I could write my profile. So I had started but not much towards my 600 words per paper. And during the whole process of writing my papers, I was having trouble with my tablet/keyboard and couldn't find an effective way to type other than to start an email to myself. Plus I was going back and forth between calling my credit card company and the fly.co.uk regarding my plane ticket to France. My cc company flagged it as possible fraud even though I told them I would be out of the country between such and such dates and that I was planning on going to France sometime in between. I verified information with the automated system and another time with an actual human being. Everything was supposed to be fine. I also talked to the people that booked my ticket several times because I wasn't receiving a confirmation email so I could view my boarding pass. First I was told that everything was fine and that they were reprocessing it and I would receive an email in a couple of hours. If I didn't, then I was supposed to call back. I never got one so I called back. Once again, with Sara in the room hearing this, I was told again that there were no problems and that I would be getting an email in a few hours. Anyway there is even more to it but that is the gist of it for now. So yea, Thursday day sucked...just me writing papers and making a million of phone calls.
I finished my papers tho ( my JGL paper was nearly 1000 words...whoops! I guess I got carried away) and sent those to my professor. Then Sara and I went to Spitalfields Market area to meet up for our Alternative London Tour. We were there early so we were wandering around looking for a good place for a drink. We ended up stopping in this one place to have a espresso milkshake and we drank those outside where some sort of dancing lesson thing was going on. We chatted for awhile and discovered how much we had in common which was great! It's funny how we were drawn towards each other and have been doing all of these London things without actually knowing more about our lives. Anyway, I adore Sara.
When it was time, we walked over to the white goat statue to meet our guide. He was awesome. First he asked for my name and I told him Ashlee. He asked, "Is it spelled differently like leigh?" I was kind of surprised he even asked, b/c no one ever does. Either I specify or I just let them spell it ley. I said it was different but it was actually -lee. He was super excited about that and found that cool. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. He was hilarious from the start so I was in love lol. Sara was cracking up at me because everytime I really like something or get super excited I tell her I'm in love. She has heard it so much now I told her I basically fall in love with everything. I'll tell you later about my boyfriend Max, an owl that lives in London Zoo. ;)
It is true though, I was completely in love with this tour. Our guide was awesome and made it entertaining. He also knew a lot, from the history of the city to the artists, from the techniques to politics and current events. A real cool dude. And the art that we saw was fantastic. There is so much around Shoreditch, Spitalfield, and Brick lane, plus it is always changing. I wish I could put up my pictures!!!
I need to remember to look up this one artist that does exploding art...I feel like I have heard of him before but I need to refresh my memory. I did see a Bansky which was sweet. ;) During this tour, for the first time since I've been here (which I'm surprised about), I heard a Brit say smoking fags. I was so stoked when our guide was pointing out a gallery and said, "See that group over there, outside, smoking fags?" It was great. That was just my own personal excitement...anyway....
Another funny thing I should point out is that he was differentiating Permission, Comission, and Vandalism. Some artists are hired to do their art on walls/doors of buildings, others are given permission but not paid to do it, and others just straight up do it illegally. He was saying if it looks like it took more than ten minutes it was approved and if not then it was probably illegal. Then he added something along the lines of "unless they just have some huge balls and just don't give a ____" It was hilarious.
We talked about tags, cravings, stencils, spraypaint techniques, plaster, posters, statues...you name it. It was so good! Anyway, Sara and I had a blast =)
Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant around there. I had a curried chicken pie with mashed potato and something else...I forgot to take a picture so I don't remember! I do remember that I had fresh mint tea and it was so delicious! mmm...=) Sara and I chatted for quite some time until we finally needed to get home before the tube closed. (I don't know if I have mentioned it or not but they close around midnight and open up again around 530am. Buses go all night, but tubes don't. And on Sunday they close earlier and open later.)
I went home and chatted with Emily for a bit. I had to give her back her computer...I forgot to mention that she lent me hers to type my papers earlier. So then I went to my room to pack for France and finish all my loose ends. I got to bed at about 230 that night...
Only if I knew what was to come...
That's actually a complete lie. Thursday night was the most fun. Thursday day sucked.
I stayed home aka skipped class so that I could write my two papers that were due by midnight. I had started them the night before but Ii didn't get far because I was mainly reading articles and trying to find quotes on or about Joseph Gordon-Levitt so I could write my profile. So I had started but not much towards my 600 words per paper. And during the whole process of writing my papers, I was having trouble with my tablet/keyboard and couldn't find an effective way to type other than to start an email to myself. Plus I was going back and forth between calling my credit card company and the fly.co.uk regarding my plane ticket to France. My cc company flagged it as possible fraud even though I told them I would be out of the country between such and such dates and that I was planning on going to France sometime in between. I verified information with the automated system and another time with an actual human being. Everything was supposed to be fine. I also talked to the people that booked my ticket several times because I wasn't receiving a confirmation email so I could view my boarding pass. First I was told that everything was fine and that they were reprocessing it and I would receive an email in a couple of hours. If I didn't, then I was supposed to call back. I never got one so I called back. Once again, with Sara in the room hearing this, I was told again that there were no problems and that I would be getting an email in a few hours. Anyway there is even more to it but that is the gist of it for now. So yea, Thursday day sucked...just me writing papers and making a million of phone calls.
I finished my papers tho ( my JGL paper was nearly 1000 words...whoops! I guess I got carried away) and sent those to my professor. Then Sara and I went to Spitalfields Market area to meet up for our Alternative London Tour. We were there early so we were wandering around looking for a good place for a drink. We ended up stopping in this one place to have a espresso milkshake and we drank those outside where some sort of dancing lesson thing was going on. We chatted for awhile and discovered how much we had in common which was great! It's funny how we were drawn towards each other and have been doing all of these London things without actually knowing more about our lives. Anyway, I adore Sara.
When it was time, we walked over to the white goat statue to meet our guide. He was awesome. First he asked for my name and I told him Ashlee. He asked, "Is it spelled differently like leigh?" I was kind of surprised he even asked, b/c no one ever does. Either I specify or I just let them spell it ley. I said it was different but it was actually -lee. He was super excited about that and found that cool. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. He was hilarious from the start so I was in love lol. Sara was cracking up at me because everytime I really like something or get super excited I tell her I'm in love. She has heard it so much now I told her I basically fall in love with everything. I'll tell you later about my boyfriend Max, an owl that lives in London Zoo. ;)
It is true though, I was completely in love with this tour. Our guide was awesome and made it entertaining. He also knew a lot, from the history of the city to the artists, from the techniques to politics and current events. A real cool dude. And the art that we saw was fantastic. There is so much around Shoreditch, Spitalfield, and Brick lane, plus it is always changing. I wish I could put up my pictures!!!
I need to remember to look up this one artist that does exploding art...I feel like I have heard of him before but I need to refresh my memory. I did see a Bansky which was sweet. ;) During this tour, for the first time since I've been here (which I'm surprised about), I heard a Brit say smoking fags. I was so stoked when our guide was pointing out a gallery and said, "See that group over there, outside, smoking fags?" It was great. That was just my own personal excitement...anyway....
Another funny thing I should point out is that he was differentiating Permission, Comission, and Vandalism. Some artists are hired to do their art on walls/doors of buildings, others are given permission but not paid to do it, and others just straight up do it illegally. He was saying if it looks like it took more than ten minutes it was approved and if not then it was probably illegal. Then he added something along the lines of "unless they just have some huge balls and just don't give a ____" It was hilarious.
We talked about tags, cravings, stencils, spraypaint techniques, plaster, posters, statues...you name it. It was so good! Anyway, Sara and I had a blast =)
Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant around there. I had a curried chicken pie with mashed potato and something else...I forgot to take a picture so I don't remember! I do remember that I had fresh mint tea and it was so delicious! mmm...=) Sara and I chatted for quite some time until we finally needed to get home before the tube closed. (I don't know if I have mentioned it or not but they close around midnight and open up again around 530am. Buses go all night, but tubes don't. And on Sunday they close earlier and open later.)
I went home and chatted with Emily for a bit. I had to give her back her computer...I forgot to mention that she lent me hers to type my papers earlier. So then I went to my room to pack for France and finish all my loose ends. I got to bed at about 230 that night...
Only if I knew what was to come...
The Legend Ends
Everything was happening on Wednesday so some choices had to be made! I knew I wasn't going to be able to go on the ISA excursion with Tom to Camden Markets because our teacher had bought us tickets to go see Richard III at the Globe. The other thing that was happening was the Dark Knight Rises premiere. But I really didn't want to pass up a free show at the Globe or my Dark Knight opportunity.
First we went to class, talked about theater, and I had a coffee break. Then we had time to take a lunch break before the show, so Lindsey, Emily and I went to Make Mine (delicious) for some sandwiches. I had the Tricolor again but this time in a wrap. During this time, this guy that worked there was eating and trying to talk with us. He wanted to know where we were from, apparently he was from Texas (I highly doubt that). We tried to ignore him and eat but then he wanted to know why we were here, then he wanted to know what political party we were with to which I responded neither because I wanted him to shut up but then he thought that was hilarious. I was like oh my god...shoveled my food down and then we left for the post office. As we were leaving he was putting on his coat. I told tthe other girls to hurry b/c I was not having this guy following us lol. It's too bad because that place was delicious but I won't be going back now. Anyway we went to the post office so I could mail out postcards and then we went back to campus to go to Richard III.
South Bank is a great area to walk and the Queen's Walk is photogenic. It was great to see the Globe and see a performance but we left after Act 1. We had yard tickets we meant we had to stand and I was in wellies because it was supposed to rain, so it wasn't very comfortable. Then it did start to rain so I had to get out my coat in a small space where everyone was doing the same thing. Everyone kept moving and standing in front of me and it was just hard to pay attention to the show. From what I was seeing, the show was great. There were just too many distractions andd occurances that happened that would make you lose focus on the performance. If we were sitting, it would have been amazing; I really like Richard III. So yes, after a little over an hour we left at intermission and made our way towards Leicester Square so that we could see the Batman premiere.
Once we were there it was crazy, I know that some people had camped out over night. We moved around a few times and finally we managed to get a pretty good spot where I could see the red carpet. I still had to deal with screaming girls and people pushing but in the end it was SO worth it. There was a giant batman mask that was crumbled and coming out of the ground. The Batman symbol was in an arch on fire, actually there was a lot of fire. They kept shooting off cannons of fire throughout the night. The tumbler came and drove down the red carpet and revved its engine more than once. Then of course there were all of the celebrities.
I saw Christian Bale, Christoper Nolan, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, and my love JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT (I work my profile on him for class hahah). Then of course The Wanted was there (they sing the song I'm Glad You Came), Prince Harry, and Matthew Lewis (Neville from Harry Potter). There were a lot of British Celebrities there that I didn't know, but I took some pictures anyway. I feel like I'm forgetting someone else that showed up....hmmm. The most and best pictures that I got though were of Anne Hathaway. It was so cool though and I am glad that we went to have that experience. There were interviews going on and we could see everything on the screen whereas some people only had the screen that kept showing the trailer. It was great and I was on a JGL high for the tube ride home with Emily. It was so weird to think that all of those people were right there just hanging out in London watching a movie haha.
Emily andd I went out to Byron's right around the corner by us and it was delicious and flavorful. I had ginger beer and a cheddar burger and for dessert I had a brownie with vanilla gelato. Ah-mazing. Then after that I had to write two of my papers for class. That was a downer!
First we went to class, talked about theater, and I had a coffee break. Then we had time to take a lunch break before the show, so Lindsey, Emily and I went to Make Mine (delicious) for some sandwiches. I had the Tricolor again but this time in a wrap. During this time, this guy that worked there was eating and trying to talk with us. He wanted to know where we were from, apparently he was from Texas (I highly doubt that). We tried to ignore him and eat but then he wanted to know why we were here, then he wanted to know what political party we were with to which I responded neither because I wanted him to shut up but then he thought that was hilarious. I was like oh my god...shoveled my food down and then we left for the post office. As we were leaving he was putting on his coat. I told tthe other girls to hurry b/c I was not having this guy following us lol. It's too bad because that place was delicious but I won't be going back now. Anyway we went to the post office so I could mail out postcards and then we went back to campus to go to Richard III.
South Bank is a great area to walk and the Queen's Walk is photogenic. It was great to see the Globe and see a performance but we left after Act 1. We had yard tickets we meant we had to stand and I was in wellies because it was supposed to rain, so it wasn't very comfortable. Then it did start to rain so I had to get out my coat in a small space where everyone was doing the same thing. Everyone kept moving and standing in front of me and it was just hard to pay attention to the show. From what I was seeing, the show was great. There were just too many distractions andd occurances that happened that would make you lose focus on the performance. If we were sitting, it would have been amazing; I really like Richard III. So yes, after a little over an hour we left at intermission and made our way towards Leicester Square so that we could see the Batman premiere.
Once we were there it was crazy, I know that some people had camped out over night. We moved around a few times and finally we managed to get a pretty good spot where I could see the red carpet. I still had to deal with screaming girls and people pushing but in the end it was SO worth it. There was a giant batman mask that was crumbled and coming out of the ground. The Batman symbol was in an arch on fire, actually there was a lot of fire. They kept shooting off cannons of fire throughout the night. The tumbler came and drove down the red carpet and revved its engine more than once. Then of course there were all of the celebrities.
I saw Christian Bale, Christoper Nolan, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, and my love JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT (I work my profile on him for class hahah). Then of course The Wanted was there (they sing the song I'm Glad You Came), Prince Harry, and Matthew Lewis (Neville from Harry Potter). There were a lot of British Celebrities there that I didn't know, but I took some pictures anyway. I feel like I'm forgetting someone else that showed up....hmmm. The most and best pictures that I got though were of Anne Hathaway. It was so cool though and I am glad that we went to have that experience. There were interviews going on and we could see everything on the screen whereas some people only had the screen that kept showing the trailer. It was great and I was on a JGL high for the tube ride home with Emily. It was so weird to think that all of those people were right there just hanging out in London watching a movie haha.
Emily andd I went out to Byron's right around the corner by us and it was delicious and flavorful. I had ginger beer and a cheddar burger and for dessert I had a brownie with vanilla gelato. Ah-mazing. Then after that I had to write two of my papers for class. That was a downer!
RAYBEE'S vs. Coke Zero, Great Taste
On Tuesday we talked about film and it was a beautiful day so he let us out early. I had espresso on our break and I think this was the day that Emily dumped it on the floor, but it was enough to keep me going anyway. Lindsey and I went to Primart after class for my first experience. Primart is a store that is described as Walmart prices with Target quality. Anyway, even in the middle of the day that store is crazy. There are so many people and when we tried on clothes, we waited for 1/2 hour before we could get in and apparently that is good time. It was another 15 to checkout. Despite that, I got two dresses, two cardigans, and two pairs of shoes.
Afterwards we went to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show that night. We ended up getting tickets for Chicago. I didn't even realize this at the time but it is leaving West End in September after being here for 15 years with over 6000 performances. And we scored some good seats for a good price.
Once we had tickets we separated and I went back home. Sara met me there in my borough which is Shoreditch. I hadn't explored my area yet because most people live else where and they outnumber me, but Sara was all for exploring with me. My area is artsy with a happening nightlife according to Tom and I have heard that nightlife out of my window many nights. (In fact they are cleaning up the streets right now! It happens a little later on Sundays than other days of the week.)
Anyway Sara and I went exploring for street art and other graffiti in the Shoreditch/Hoxton area. It was so much fun. There were so many beautiful areas and we did find a good amount of street art. We ended up walking so far we went to Angel. Eventually we had to find the Tube so thatt we could make it to ISA's pizza party. In order to do that we had to hop on the bus first to get us closer to the Tube. We did find it and on the way there was a promotion for Coke Zero..."Coke Zero. Great Taste. Coke Zero. No Sugar. Great Taste." So I enjoyed my free baby can and Sara longed for a real Coke at ISA lol. We made it to the pizza party fashionably late but enjoyed a couple slices of pizza and coke. We did that in 10 minutes and we didn't want to stay, so we sorta dined and dashed (we didn't stay for the movie or to hangout). Instead we went down Oxford street and I finally was able to purchase Harry Potter and the PHILOSOPHER'S Stone =)
Lindsey met up with us when it was time to go to the show. CHICAGO was great and the theater was adorable. There were wooden chairs and binoculars for hire. I really enjoyed the show; it was done well. My only complaint is the drunk girl that sat in front of us. Oh and for once it actually mattered when there was no A/C. It was HOT by the time the show ended. After the show we went and had some gelato (I had espresso) and then Lindsey wanted some nachos at another restuarant. At the same time in Leicester Square they were building the props for the Batman premiere for Wednesday, so we watched that for a little bit.
Then it was time for bed! =)
Afterwards we went to the TKTS booth to get tickets for a show that night. We ended up getting tickets for Chicago. I didn't even realize this at the time but it is leaving West End in September after being here for 15 years with over 6000 performances. And we scored some good seats for a good price.
Once we had tickets we separated and I went back home. Sara met me there in my borough which is Shoreditch. I hadn't explored my area yet because most people live else where and they outnumber me, but Sara was all for exploring with me. My area is artsy with a happening nightlife according to Tom and I have heard that nightlife out of my window many nights. (In fact they are cleaning up the streets right now! It happens a little later on Sundays than other days of the week.)
Anyway Sara and I went exploring for street art and other graffiti in the Shoreditch/Hoxton area. It was so much fun. There were so many beautiful areas and we did find a good amount of street art. We ended up walking so far we went to Angel. Eventually we had to find the Tube so thatt we could make it to ISA's pizza party. In order to do that we had to hop on the bus first to get us closer to the Tube. We did find it and on the way there was a promotion for Coke Zero..."Coke Zero. Great Taste. Coke Zero. No Sugar. Great Taste." So I enjoyed my free baby can and Sara longed for a real Coke at ISA lol. We made it to the pizza party fashionably late but enjoyed a couple slices of pizza and coke. We did that in 10 minutes and we didn't want to stay, so we sorta dined and dashed (we didn't stay for the movie or to hangout). Instead we went down Oxford street and I finally was able to purchase Harry Potter and the PHILOSOPHER'S Stone =)
Lindsey met up with us when it was time to go to the show. CHICAGO was great and the theater was adorable. There were wooden chairs and binoculars for hire. I really enjoyed the show; it was done well. My only complaint is the drunk girl that sat in front of us. Oh and for once it actually mattered when there was no A/C. It was HOT by the time the show ended. After the show we went and had some gelato (I had espresso) and then Lindsey wanted some nachos at another restuarant. At the same time in Leicester Square they were building the props for the Batman premiere for Wednesday, so we watched that for a little bit.
Then it was time for bed! =)
Monday, July 16, 2012
"It's quite good!...Oh, well I've never gone myself."
Today was a pretty simple day. We had class...Fashion was the subject and we had a guest speaker. She had many technical difficulties to say the least. Between her getting someone 4 times to help her, starting class 1/2 hour late, and us helping her work the computer, well it was interesting. I'm very open and have many interests and just love learning about all kinds of things so I enjoyed it. Especially when Alexander McQueen was brought up. It was a good class despite the struggles she had with technology. I probably only think that though because I like the subject, photography, and videos. I like weirdness, quirky things, and art. There probably is a better presenter out there for this topic but I liked it anyway.
Lindsey and I had lunch at Make Mine and it was very flavorful. I will be returning! It's right across from campus. I had a bagel sandwich with fresh mozzarella, basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and avocado. Yum.
We then went to the ISA office to meet up with Oniwa and Jourdan so that we can plan our trip to Paris. We succeeded and we will be there from Friday-Sunday. That will definitely be an adventure. We will get to knowing some French this week! Tom helped us with some hostel suggestions and later helped me with some tours and whatnot that I want to go on.
I then met up with Sara and Eryn to have some Starbucks before our Jack the Ripper tour. The tour was splendid. It was about 2 hours long and we went around to all the murder sites and other important areas. Along the way there was some amazing graffiti and our guide was knowledgeable and quite hilarious.
And that was my day today! Very simple and short as far as events go =)
Cheers!
Lindsey and I had lunch at Make Mine and it was very flavorful. I will be returning! It's right across from campus. I had a bagel sandwich with fresh mozzarella, basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and avocado. Yum.
We then went to the ISA office to meet up with Oniwa and Jourdan so that we can plan our trip to Paris. We succeeded and we will be there from Friday-Sunday. That will definitely be an adventure. We will get to knowing some French this week! Tom helped us with some hostel suggestions and later helped me with some tours and whatnot that I want to go on.
I then met up with Sara and Eryn to have some Starbucks before our Jack the Ripper tour. The tour was splendid. It was about 2 hours long and we went around to all the murder sites and other important areas. Along the way there was some amazing graffiti and our guide was knowledgeable and quite hilarious.
And that was my day today! Very simple and short as far as events go =)
Cheers!
"It makes me sad to think that you probably can't sit on clouds..."
Let me set the mood for you right now. I'm hyped up on espresso, eating Tyrrell's hand cooked English Crisps (sea salt and cider vinegar) which is advertised to be perfect with a bit of battered cod, but instead I am enjoying it with some red pepper hummus and listening to the Arctic Monkeys.
Now let me tell you about Sunday. We met at Starbucks, where I naturally ordered a doppio espresso (2 shots) and we waited to get on the Coach. We rode to Stonehenge first and that was a bit of a ride, but it was worth it. I think I captured it from every possible angle and I will be able to say the same thing about Big Ben after I do the London Eye haha. There isn't too much to say about Stonehenge really, there is a parameter that you are allowed to walk around and you take photos. I did something special for my sister but I can't say yet!
BTW I love Fluorescent Adolescent! It's playing on my ipod right now! just a tidbit of my life right now haha (I'm telling I'm super happy today!)
Okay so then we traveled to Salisbury which is a beautiful, old town. There we had lunch and Sara, Emily, Jourdan, and I went to the Tea Room. Our guide pointed out McDonald's and KFC and I scrunched up my nose. I am not sure if he pointed it out because we were American and he thinks that is what we eat or if he was trying to point out something fast since we were short on time. Either way I had my own plan. Jourdan and I did the tea for two which was only 7 pounds or 3 pounds 50 apiece. In that we got a sandwich each, salad, crisps, and 3 cakes each- chocolate, lemon, and cherry. It was SO delicious and cheap as well as filling. I had the egg salad with crispy bacon sandwich. Oh and of course we had tea. We had to eat fast because of the time but it was worth it! I talked to Maria about it once we met up with everyone and that was awesome to give her a recommendation that was a good deal. Maria Approved!
From there we went over to the Cathedral to see the Magna Carta, one of the four that exist. The was pretty cool. Afterwards I was heading back to the chapel to wander around but Tom came up behind me and said, "Hello!...I'm looking for the first and oldest mechanical clock. Apparetly it's here." So from there Tom and I went on an adventure to find the clock. He almost gave up and thought the internet lied to him. But as we were at this fountain, he spotted it. He exclaimed, "Oh I think that's it!" Maybe this isn't an interesting story to anyone else but it was an adventure and it was pretty cool. It is this giant contraption of gears and pulleys that would act as a clock to ring the bells.
Then it was time to go and Tom went back to his counting. I asked him earlier how many times a day he thinks he counts us all. He said probably ten but I think it is much more than that. Tom's the counter and Maria is the ticket holder and accessorizer. Maria always says, "Okay guys! I got the tickets! Follow me!" I absolutely adore the both of them.
Anyway our next adventure was to Bath. Bath is another beautiful old town that is so photogenic. Of course we saw the Roman Baths and spent a majority of the time exploring that. I purchased a miniature owl there to go with my others ;) It's the Minerva owl, her symbol of wisdom. After exploring, Jourdan and I went to get some Gelato. I had coconut and it was delicious and luckily cheap!
We helped a foreigner get back to central London. He only spoke Russian and his group had left and he was stranded. Out there, there is no bus system or easy way to get home and our Coordinator had some compassion for him because the same thing happened to her father but no one helped him. She understands Russian better than she can speak it but he traveled back with us. Maria sat back with us and the gentleman sat up front with Tom. I talked to Maria for a good chunk of the ride back swapping stories and talking about each other's countries, our love for our own but also each other's. We talked about laws and holidays, lifestyles, family, and background randoms. It was quite fun. We are pretty close in age, within a year (she's 24 and in two months I will be too). Tom came back and talked when we had a pit stop too (He is going to be 22 next month). It was a fun day not only for what we did but also because I was able to talk to Maria and Tom a lot and get to know them better.
I forgot to mention that Nicholas Cage (who I don't like at all but pish posh) owns an apartment in Bath. The price range for owning an apartment in Bath is 600,000 to 4 million pounds. It is INSANE.
Also Maria told us girls about how she loves dipping he Twix into a hot drink. "It doesn't matter what it is...coffee, tea...it's incredibly delicious!" We were reluctant to the idea and wondered where she came up with that idea. She said, "About once every four weeks I like to experiment with my chocolate." ahahaha...
I also joke with Tom and asked him where his name was at Eton College and said he forgot to point it out. He said, "Oh well that is in a special room that is locked up. No one can see it. It requires more security than the Princes."
And my favorite story from the day is Oniwa saying, "It makes me sad to think that you probably can't sit on clouds." I responded with, " I like that you said probably..." and CJ added, "as if it's still a possibility." Oniwa said, "Well can you name a person that had tried and failed? I didn't think so, so it is still a possibility."
Great end to the weekend =)
Now let me tell you about Sunday. We met at Starbucks, where I naturally ordered a doppio espresso (2 shots) and we waited to get on the Coach. We rode to Stonehenge first and that was a bit of a ride, but it was worth it. I think I captured it from every possible angle and I will be able to say the same thing about Big Ben after I do the London Eye haha. There isn't too much to say about Stonehenge really, there is a parameter that you are allowed to walk around and you take photos. I did something special for my sister but I can't say yet!
BTW I love Fluorescent Adolescent! It's playing on my ipod right now! just a tidbit of my life right now haha (I'm telling I'm super happy today!)
Okay so then we traveled to Salisbury which is a beautiful, old town. There we had lunch and Sara, Emily, Jourdan, and I went to the Tea Room. Our guide pointed out McDonald's and KFC and I scrunched up my nose. I am not sure if he pointed it out because we were American and he thinks that is what we eat or if he was trying to point out something fast since we were short on time. Either way I had my own plan. Jourdan and I did the tea for two which was only 7 pounds or 3 pounds 50 apiece. In that we got a sandwich each, salad, crisps, and 3 cakes each- chocolate, lemon, and cherry. It was SO delicious and cheap as well as filling. I had the egg salad with crispy bacon sandwich. Oh and of course we had tea. We had to eat fast because of the time but it was worth it! I talked to Maria about it once we met up with everyone and that was awesome to give her a recommendation that was a good deal. Maria Approved!
From there we went over to the Cathedral to see the Magna Carta, one of the four that exist. The was pretty cool. Afterwards I was heading back to the chapel to wander around but Tom came up behind me and said, "Hello!...I'm looking for the first and oldest mechanical clock. Apparetly it's here." So from there Tom and I went on an adventure to find the clock. He almost gave up and thought the internet lied to him. But as we were at this fountain, he spotted it. He exclaimed, "Oh I think that's it!" Maybe this isn't an interesting story to anyone else but it was an adventure and it was pretty cool. It is this giant contraption of gears and pulleys that would act as a clock to ring the bells.
Then it was time to go and Tom went back to his counting. I asked him earlier how many times a day he thinks he counts us all. He said probably ten but I think it is much more than that. Tom's the counter and Maria is the ticket holder and accessorizer. Maria always says, "Okay guys! I got the tickets! Follow me!" I absolutely adore the both of them.
Anyway our next adventure was to Bath. Bath is another beautiful old town that is so photogenic. Of course we saw the Roman Baths and spent a majority of the time exploring that. I purchased a miniature owl there to go with my others ;) It's the Minerva owl, her symbol of wisdom. After exploring, Jourdan and I went to get some Gelato. I had coconut and it was delicious and luckily cheap!
We helped a foreigner get back to central London. He only spoke Russian and his group had left and he was stranded. Out there, there is no bus system or easy way to get home and our Coordinator had some compassion for him because the same thing happened to her father but no one helped him. She understands Russian better than she can speak it but he traveled back with us. Maria sat back with us and the gentleman sat up front with Tom. I talked to Maria for a good chunk of the ride back swapping stories and talking about each other's countries, our love for our own but also each other's. We talked about laws and holidays, lifestyles, family, and background randoms. It was quite fun. We are pretty close in age, within a year (she's 24 and in two months I will be too). Tom came back and talked when we had a pit stop too (He is going to be 22 next month). It was a fun day not only for what we did but also because I was able to talk to Maria and Tom a lot and get to know them better.
I forgot to mention that Nicholas Cage (who I don't like at all but pish posh) owns an apartment in Bath. The price range for owning an apartment in Bath is 600,000 to 4 million pounds. It is INSANE.
Also Maria told us girls about how she loves dipping he Twix into a hot drink. "It doesn't matter what it is...coffee, tea...it's incredibly delicious!" We were reluctant to the idea and wondered where she came up with that idea. She said, "About once every four weeks I like to experiment with my chocolate." ahahaha...
I also joke with Tom and asked him where his name was at Eton College and said he forgot to point it out. He said, "Oh well that is in a special room that is locked up. No one can see it. It requires more security than the Princes."
And my favorite story from the day is Oniwa saying, "It makes me sad to think that you probably can't sit on clouds." I responded with, " I like that you said probably..." and CJ added, "as if it's still a possibility." Oniwa said, "Well can you name a person that had tried and failed? I didn't think so, so it is still a possibility."
Great end to the weekend =)
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Still breathing heavily...
Okay, so we are waiting to get on the boat for our river cruise and I definitely jinxed us and said, "Oh, well at least it's not pouring on us now like it was earlier!"
It started raining as we were getting on the boat.
I wanted to sit on the top and Tom agreed saying that if you can sit on the top you should because it is the best view. So we went up on top but once it was raining Sara wanted to leave to go underneath and I told her no and that she had to stay! Then Tom got up and I said, "Tom, you sit down!" He assured me that he was staying but that he was just getting up so Sara could get out but with my convincing Sara stayed haha. Tom commented on the rain saying, "Isn't it lovely" lol. So we went down River Thames and our "guide" pointed out various things like the Globe, a pirate ship, the bridges, St. Paul's, different statues, and other notable places along the river. We even saw the sauna that has one way mirrors and saw some people without their clothes on and they have no idea that we can see. Our guide was hilarious; I enjoyed it a lot. We stopped at Westminster bridge because we were going to see the Houses of Parliament. So for those of you that remember my earlier post on H of P, I was misinformed about being allowed to go in. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. Inside was gorgeous as are all of the other places we go to. You have to look up no matter where you go because the ceilings are fine art themselves and all of the rooms are magnificent and grand. I had a better word but I lost it. They are alluring for sure is the point. We walked through all of the rooms as if we were entering like the Queen. We learned all about their common law and system. It was a treat to be able to go in and see the rooms, and admire the artwork whether it be the paintings, sculptures or architecture.
After the tour we all departed. Emily, Sara, and I went to Cafe Nero and I had a double espresso. Then it was home because we had to get up early for our Sunday excursion and it had already been a long, but brilliant, two days.
It started raining as we were getting on the boat.
I wanted to sit on the top and Tom agreed saying that if you can sit on the top you should because it is the best view. So we went up on top but once it was raining Sara wanted to leave to go underneath and I told her no and that she had to stay! Then Tom got up and I said, "Tom, you sit down!" He assured me that he was staying but that he was just getting up so Sara could get out but with my convincing Sara stayed haha. Tom commented on the rain saying, "Isn't it lovely" lol. So we went down River Thames and our "guide" pointed out various things like the Globe, a pirate ship, the bridges, St. Paul's, different statues, and other notable places along the river. We even saw the sauna that has one way mirrors and saw some people without their clothes on and they have no idea that we can see. Our guide was hilarious; I enjoyed it a lot. We stopped at Westminster bridge because we were going to see the Houses of Parliament. So for those of you that remember my earlier post on H of P, I was misinformed about being allowed to go in. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. Inside was gorgeous as are all of the other places we go to. You have to look up no matter where you go because the ceilings are fine art themselves and all of the rooms are magnificent and grand. I had a better word but I lost it. They are alluring for sure is the point. We walked through all of the rooms as if we were entering like the Queen. We learned all about their common law and system. It was a treat to be able to go in and see the rooms, and admire the artwork whether it be the paintings, sculptures or architecture.
After the tour we all departed. Emily, Sara, and I went to Cafe Nero and I had a double espresso. Then it was home because we had to get up early for our Sunday excursion and it had already been a long, but brilliant, two days.
"Sometimes I like to breath in heavily."
Saturday we were able to sleep in a little bit because we weren't meeting Maria and Tom until 11am. Once the whole group was together our blue badge guide took us to Hanger Hill where they used to hang people. From there we went to the Tower of London. When you go into all of these important places there is usually a security check of some sort, so we have already expected that but our tour guide warned us of it and said something about making sure we had no bombs or weapons. At that point I looked at Tom, who was standing next to me and I gave him my uneasy (sarcastic) face. He said, " I hope you left your weapons at home today." I responded, "I did but I forgot to leave the bombs." It was funny, I promise.
I forgot to set the story. It was raining pretty intensely during the whole outdoor tour and of course by the time we were set free to go inside, it had stopped. I believe Tom put it as "Ah, another beautiful day." haha.
While at the Tower of London we saw the Crown Jewels. There were so many beautiful crowns including Her Majesty The Queen's that were used at her coronation in 1953. We saw the Medieval Palace and did the wall walks (we meaning me and Sara). We heard the stories on our tour about prisoners at the Tower including Lady Jane who was sent to death. The instruments of torture were on display and we could see Bloody Tower.
There are also wire sculptures of all the Royal Beasts. Since King John, the Tower housed lions, tigers, eagles, owls, elephants, kangaroos, zebras, snakes, and a polar bear. The mindset was, what do you give someone that has everything? Well, royal, exotic animals. They were quite proud of their lions, especially when they had cubs. Their polar bear was walked on a leash out to the river so it could hunt it's own fish. Snakes were wrapped in blankets and kept on a stove to keep warm. Uncaged monkeys lived in a room where visitors could walk among them but it was shut down after a monkey attacked a boy. A tower ostrich died after someone fed it a nail but it was done because they thought ostriches ate iron. There were royal beasts at the Tower for over 600 years but they left in 1832 to start the London zoo. I obviously found this section to be particularly interesting. Something else to add are the Ravens. Legend has it that Charles II was told that if the ravens ever left the Tower, the kingdom and the fortress would colllapse. Just to be safe they have some of the wings clipped and they feed them dry biscuits and live mice. They are treated really well! One lived to be 42 years old.
The tower is full of stories. It was a prison, a torture chamber, a kingdom where royalty lived...and the stories are endless. Something I forgot to add is that they also had armor on display and Henry VIII was obnoxious and tried to make up for an area in which he was lacking. And let's just say that area is incredibly large and unneccessary.
Sara and I went to the cafe and I had this delicious sandwich with cream cheese, cucumber, red pepper and some other whatnots for only 2 pounds 50. There were these waffle sticks outside that were teasing us and looked amazing but those alone were like 3 opunds 50 once you added a topping and we couldn't justify that. Oh, another thing I forgot to mention is that only one person ever has tried to steal the Crown Jewels and do you know what his punishment was? A pension and some land. No one knows why and it was all kept hush hush but it is official that the only person that tried to steal them was in fact rewarded.
We met back up with our group for our boat ride down River Thames.
I forgot to set the story. It was raining pretty intensely during the whole outdoor tour and of course by the time we were set free to go inside, it had stopped. I believe Tom put it as "Ah, another beautiful day." haha.
While at the Tower of London we saw the Crown Jewels. There were so many beautiful crowns including Her Majesty The Queen's that were used at her coronation in 1953. We saw the Medieval Palace and did the wall walks (we meaning me and Sara). We heard the stories on our tour about prisoners at the Tower including Lady Jane who was sent to death. The instruments of torture were on display and we could see Bloody Tower.
There are also wire sculptures of all the Royal Beasts. Since King John, the Tower housed lions, tigers, eagles, owls, elephants, kangaroos, zebras, snakes, and a polar bear. The mindset was, what do you give someone that has everything? Well, royal, exotic animals. They were quite proud of their lions, especially when they had cubs. Their polar bear was walked on a leash out to the river so it could hunt it's own fish. Snakes were wrapped in blankets and kept on a stove to keep warm. Uncaged monkeys lived in a room where visitors could walk among them but it was shut down after a monkey attacked a boy. A tower ostrich died after someone fed it a nail but it was done because they thought ostriches ate iron. There were royal beasts at the Tower for over 600 years but they left in 1832 to start the London zoo. I obviously found this section to be particularly interesting. Something else to add are the Ravens. Legend has it that Charles II was told that if the ravens ever left the Tower, the kingdom and the fortress would colllapse. Just to be safe they have some of the wings clipped and they feed them dry biscuits and live mice. They are treated really well! One lived to be 42 years old.
The tower is full of stories. It was a prison, a torture chamber, a kingdom where royalty lived...and the stories are endless. Something I forgot to add is that they also had armor on display and Henry VIII was obnoxious and tried to make up for an area in which he was lacking. And let's just say that area is incredibly large and unneccessary.
Sara and I went to the cafe and I had this delicious sandwich with cream cheese, cucumber, red pepper and some other whatnots for only 2 pounds 50. There were these waffle sticks outside that were teasing us and looked amazing but those alone were like 3 opunds 50 once you added a topping and we couldn't justify that. Oh, another thing I forgot to mention is that only one person ever has tried to steal the Crown Jewels and do you know what his punishment was? A pension and some land. No one knows why and it was all kept hush hush but it is official that the only person that tried to steal them was in fact rewarded.
We met back up with our group for our boat ride down River Thames.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
"The Queen will chop off your head!"
Friday started the first of our ISA weekend excursions. There had been some rearranging because we could no longer go to Dorset. So our first excursion would be to Windsor Castle and Eton College.
Windsor castle is what the Queen considers her home and this is where she is on the weekends and holidays, I believe. There is the upper ward and the lower ward at Windsor and the upper is the area where the Queen is and the majority of the castle is located. There is the Round Tower, the State Apartments, The Drawings Gallery (there is an exhibition of photos of the Queen here...60 photographs I believe), and Queen Mary's Dolls' House. In the lower ward there is St. George's Chapel.
The doll house belonged to Queen Mary and it started with her fascination on making real life objects, that she adored, into miniatures because she loved small things. Everything in this doll house (which is huge) is completely functional. There are a few things I'm not sure of like there is electricity and a vacuum cleaner that looks like it's from the 60 or 70's and I know Queen Mary wasn't alive for those things to have been invented, so I'm not sure if this was a tradition that kept going or what. I'll have to look into that. The porcelain dolls that she had were huge. I can't imagine a Young girl playing with them because they would be as big as the child and probably weigh just as much! But the dresses for the dolls were gorgeous and had so much detail. By the way no photography was allowed in any of the indoor sections, so I will have nothing to show you.
In one of the rooms there were shields all over the walls and ceilings and these are the shields of knights. There are a few plaques that are blank and those are for the knights that committed a crime and instead of simply pretending that they never existed and stripping them of their honor, the keep them listed and represented with the blank plaque for embarrassment. It is so humiliate them for their disgrace and so that it will be remembered past their lifetime.
Of course like any other place that I have been to, you must look up at all of the ceilings and look at the walls and statues and cravings...the decoration is so extravagant and detailed. It is just indescribable unless you see it for yourself. You can only marvel at the craftsmanship and beauty. There were many music boxes and clocks as well that were extraordinary. One of which was probably 3 feet high and had a glass center in which it holds one of the oldest bibles.
In St. George's Chapel, Kings and Queens past rest in tombs and various side rooms and throughout the chapel. The top is a craved replica of them and once again quite detailed.
Throughout the Castle there are Beef Eaters and this is where I had a picture taken with one! You just have to do it once when you're here. I watched him elbow some tourists when they touched him (They are allowed to hurt you once you touch them) and I watched many people jump and get startled when he stomped and began to do his walk down the line.
After this Jourdan and I went to a place across the street for lunch and I ate the lamb curry with mashed potato and salad. It was delicious. Curry is their national dish here and it is done perfectly with the meals. I have never had it be overbearing; it's always just right.
Afterwards we met back up with our group and we went to Eton College. This is an all boys' school for the extremely wealthy. It costs about 31,000 pounds per year to attend (right now with our exchange that would be a little over $46,000 a year for boarding school). It started off as a small school with about 16 boys, I believe, and almost just as many ministers and some other religious figures because the King wanted to create a stairway to Heaven. So all of these people were praying for the King. It has changed over the years but the British like their traditions so it has remained an all boys' school (college here means high school in the US). Back in the day they brewed their own beer and that was served to the boys for free because that was the only thing sterile. They also were encouraged to smoke and could be punished if they didn't smoke enough because they believed that filling the room with smoke would prevent them from getting ill (there was something in particular that they were trying to prevent from breathing in but it's escaping me right now...too much info in my brain right now). Nowadays both are prohibited.
Upon graduation the boys are allowed to take their sharpening tool and find a place in the building to carve their name. So there are name EVERYWHERE. The poet Shelley went here, Hugh Laurie, Captain Hook and the Princes, William and Harry, are all among the famous people to attend, plus MANY more. The Princes' names are carved on the door between to old classroom and the chapel by themselves.
After we took the train back, Jourdan, Emily, and I went to the store and then met up with Sara at the National Gallery. I want to go back because I didn't see everything, but I did see Velazquez, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh. I still want to see Bellini, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael for sure. Where's Donatello? I need all the TMNTs ;) I did get some postcards of my favorites which are: Monet's "The Thames below Westminster" and " The Water-Lily Pond", Pissarro's "The Boulevard Montmartre at Night", van Gogh's "Sunflowers", and Rosa's "Witches at their Incantations". I'm not a huge fan of all the portraits and whatnot, I can appreciate it but it just doesn't interest me too much. But I did like all the ones where there is death and heads on a plate that look like zombies haha. Pretty much anything that is weird or zombie related, I'm a fan. I don't know what that really says about me but these are all the ones that I was reading about and admiring.
Afterwards Emily, Sara, Jourdan, and I went to Garfunkel's and I had Beef and Ale pie with mashed potato and a pastry puff (basically a croissant) along with a Stella A-something beer (sorry I'm getting lazy on my details). It was all delicious. I'm trying to eat all of the British meals that I can and not just typical foods that I can get back home.
Well that was all for Friday. I will tell you about Saturday tomorrow =)
Windsor castle is what the Queen considers her home and this is where she is on the weekends and holidays, I believe. There is the upper ward and the lower ward at Windsor and the upper is the area where the Queen is and the majority of the castle is located. There is the Round Tower, the State Apartments, The Drawings Gallery (there is an exhibition of photos of the Queen here...60 photographs I believe), and Queen Mary's Dolls' House. In the lower ward there is St. George's Chapel.
The doll house belonged to Queen Mary and it started with her fascination on making real life objects, that she adored, into miniatures because she loved small things. Everything in this doll house (which is huge) is completely functional. There are a few things I'm not sure of like there is electricity and a vacuum cleaner that looks like it's from the 60 or 70's and I know Queen Mary wasn't alive for those things to have been invented, so I'm not sure if this was a tradition that kept going or what. I'll have to look into that. The porcelain dolls that she had were huge. I can't imagine a Young girl playing with them because they would be as big as the child and probably weigh just as much! But the dresses for the dolls were gorgeous and had so much detail. By the way no photography was allowed in any of the indoor sections, so I will have nothing to show you.
In one of the rooms there were shields all over the walls and ceilings and these are the shields of knights. There are a few plaques that are blank and those are for the knights that committed a crime and instead of simply pretending that they never existed and stripping them of their honor, the keep them listed and represented with the blank plaque for embarrassment. It is so humiliate them for their disgrace and so that it will be remembered past their lifetime.
Of course like any other place that I have been to, you must look up at all of the ceilings and look at the walls and statues and cravings...the decoration is so extravagant and detailed. It is just indescribable unless you see it for yourself. You can only marvel at the craftsmanship and beauty. There were many music boxes and clocks as well that were extraordinary. One of which was probably 3 feet high and had a glass center in which it holds one of the oldest bibles.
In St. George's Chapel, Kings and Queens past rest in tombs and various side rooms and throughout the chapel. The top is a craved replica of them and once again quite detailed.
Throughout the Castle there are Beef Eaters and this is where I had a picture taken with one! You just have to do it once when you're here. I watched him elbow some tourists when they touched him (They are allowed to hurt you once you touch them) and I watched many people jump and get startled when he stomped and began to do his walk down the line.
After this Jourdan and I went to a place across the street for lunch and I ate the lamb curry with mashed potato and salad. It was delicious. Curry is their national dish here and it is done perfectly with the meals. I have never had it be overbearing; it's always just right.
Afterwards we met back up with our group and we went to Eton College. This is an all boys' school for the extremely wealthy. It costs about 31,000 pounds per year to attend (right now with our exchange that would be a little over $46,000 a year for boarding school). It started off as a small school with about 16 boys, I believe, and almost just as many ministers and some other religious figures because the King wanted to create a stairway to Heaven. So all of these people were praying for the King. It has changed over the years but the British like their traditions so it has remained an all boys' school (college here means high school in the US). Back in the day they brewed their own beer and that was served to the boys for free because that was the only thing sterile. They also were encouraged to smoke and could be punished if they didn't smoke enough because they believed that filling the room with smoke would prevent them from getting ill (there was something in particular that they were trying to prevent from breathing in but it's escaping me right now...too much info in my brain right now). Nowadays both are prohibited.
Upon graduation the boys are allowed to take their sharpening tool and find a place in the building to carve their name. So there are name EVERYWHERE. The poet Shelley went here, Hugh Laurie, Captain Hook and the Princes, William and Harry, are all among the famous people to attend, plus MANY more. The Princes' names are carved on the door between to old classroom and the chapel by themselves.
After we took the train back, Jourdan, Emily, and I went to the store and then met up with Sara at the National Gallery. I want to go back because I didn't see everything, but I did see Velazquez, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh. I still want to see Bellini, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael for sure. Where's Donatello? I need all the TMNTs ;) I did get some postcards of my favorites which are: Monet's "The Thames below Westminster" and " The Water-Lily Pond", Pissarro's "The Boulevard Montmartre at Night", van Gogh's "Sunflowers", and Rosa's "Witches at their Incantations". I'm not a huge fan of all the portraits and whatnot, I can appreciate it but it just doesn't interest me too much. But I did like all the ones where there is death and heads on a plate that look like zombies haha. Pretty much anything that is weird or zombie related, I'm a fan. I don't know what that really says about me but these are all the ones that I was reading about and admiring.
Afterwards Emily, Sara, Jourdan, and I went to Garfunkel's and I had Beef and Ale pie with mashed potato and a pastry puff (basically a croissant) along with a Stella A-something beer (sorry I'm getting lazy on my details). It was all delicious. I'm trying to eat all of the British meals that I can and not just typical foods that I can get back home.
Well that was all for Friday. I will tell you about Saturday tomorrow =)
Beheaded, Divorced, or Died, oh my!
Our class for Thursday was on Rock N Roll bragging rights between the US and UK. Basically we watched a lot of great music videos on Youtube for a couple of hours. It was awesome.
On our coffee break, I skipped out on the coffee to go talk to ISA because I have had trouble using my card to withdraw money. Nothing really got resolved at that point. Anyway, our teacher let us out early because it was sunny and beautiful out so Lindsey and I went to a few shops and then stopped at The George for lunch. I had the chicken and bacon club with salad and I ordered a coffee there. We thought it was a good sign because there were a lot of people there and we were right. It was the best sandwich I've had so far!
After lunch we headed out to where the Tudors lived, Hampton Court Palace. The palace is beautiful and incredible in size. While there Lindsey and I toured Henry VIII's apartments, his kitchens, Williams III's apartments, Mary II's Apartments and the Georgian Private apartments. Everything was endless in size and furnished with their belongings and artifacts. The best part was the gardens though. They were GORGEOUS. My favorites were the rose garden and the pond gardens because of their beauty and smell. We also ventured out into the Great Fountain Garden and the Privy Garden. At the palace I found my first London penny machine so I had to get one! It is much more expensive though, so it will probably be the only one I get. Instead of 50 cents it is 1 pound and witth the exchange rate right now that's about $1.50. Ouch.
On our way back we had to top up our oyster cards because we were out in zone 5 and our cards are unlimited only for zones 1 and 2. We figured it out though and didn't have to pay an 80 pound fine lol.
We detoured on our way home and stopped at King's Cross to check out Platform 9 3/4. It has been moved from its original location between 9 and 10 because it was causing a commotion and people that were actually trying to get on the trains at 9 and 10 weren't able to. It is still cool even though it is outside the platforms now. Here we met up with Oniwa and CJ and we went back to their apartment so that I could get Oniwa's cord for transferring my photos to my tablet.
I picked up two papers today, City A.M. and the Evening Standard. They are free papers that they hand out to people riding the tube =)
Friday is an ISA excursion to Windsor Castle! I'll write another post other the weekend with some funny differences and stories. Cheers!
On our coffee break, I skipped out on the coffee to go talk to ISA because I have had trouble using my card to withdraw money. Nothing really got resolved at that point. Anyway, our teacher let us out early because it was sunny and beautiful out so Lindsey and I went to a few shops and then stopped at The George for lunch. I had the chicken and bacon club with salad and I ordered a coffee there. We thought it was a good sign because there were a lot of people there and we were right. It was the best sandwich I've had so far!
After lunch we headed out to where the Tudors lived, Hampton Court Palace. The palace is beautiful and incredible in size. While there Lindsey and I toured Henry VIII's apartments, his kitchens, Williams III's apartments, Mary II's Apartments and the Georgian Private apartments. Everything was endless in size and furnished with their belongings and artifacts. The best part was the gardens though. They were GORGEOUS. My favorites were the rose garden and the pond gardens because of their beauty and smell. We also ventured out into the Great Fountain Garden and the Privy Garden. At the palace I found my first London penny machine so I had to get one! It is much more expensive though, so it will probably be the only one I get. Instead of 50 cents it is 1 pound and witth the exchange rate right now that's about $1.50. Ouch.
On our way back we had to top up our oyster cards because we were out in zone 5 and our cards are unlimited only for zones 1 and 2. We figured it out though and didn't have to pay an 80 pound fine lol.
We detoured on our way home and stopped at King's Cross to check out Platform 9 3/4. It has been moved from its original location between 9 and 10 because it was causing a commotion and people that were actually trying to get on the trains at 9 and 10 weren't able to. It is still cool even though it is outside the platforms now. Here we met up with Oniwa and CJ and we went back to their apartment so that I could get Oniwa's cord for transferring my photos to my tablet.
I picked up two papers today, City A.M. and the Evening Standard. They are free papers that they hand out to people riding the tube =)
Friday is an ISA excursion to Windsor Castle! I'll write another post other the weekend with some funny differences and stories. Cheers!
Friday, July 13, 2012
"The first pint's on me!"
Wednesdays are the days we have our class excursions soo we had lecture until 10:50 and then we broke for lunch. Lindsey, Emily, and I went a place down a block or two and I had the Moroccan Chicken Curry with slaw and an Americano. It was absolutely delicious. They also had the coolest stickers on their take aways so we kept those.
Our class met in the lobby at 12 and we headed out to the Museum of London. We were able to see the London wall that still remains outside and we were able to walk the "streets" inside on how it used to be. There were all kinds of artifacts that have been found from way back in the day and there also was a well done section on the Great Fire.
We did the museum in a little over an hour and then headed to Greenwich. This was the first time I rode the DLR which is the train above ground. It was lovely to see the city and I could also see the Shard which is the newest, tallest building in London right now.
At Greenwich we saw the gates, the beach, and Olympic Stadium in the distance. Lindsey, Emily and I toured the Painted Hall and the Church next door. Everything was just gorgeous. Once we had done that, we went through a shop and wondered around the area. At 4:15 we went to the pub, Admiral Hardy, because our professor said he would be there and "the first pint's on me!" I really wanted to get a pint so I could say that but instead I ordered a Jack and Ginger. It was amazingly delicious because it was a ginger ale/beer from the UK. Our whole class sat at this table enjoying our pints and having a good time. If only classes back home could be like this! School is way better here haha.
For dinner I had a British Roast sandwich at another pub. It was okay except they literally put a pea size amount of spiced mustard on each side of the bread so it was really dry. I put my salad and dressing on it and a touch of ketchup and then it was fine.
We headed back to London to go to Trafalgar Square because it was SO beautiful out (I forgot to mention that!) But of course by the time we get there it is a down pour. We thought of going into the National Gallery and wait but they changed their late night to Friday instead of Wednesday. So Lindsey departed from us and went home and Emily and I decided to have a rainy day adventure. After about 10 minutes it cleared up and was beautiful again so I am glad we stayed. We saw the statues and fountains and the Olympic countdown clock and from there we adventured out and I took a bajillion pictures. We went to Piccadilly circus which they call their Time's Square and I can see it...on a very small version of course. I saw an electronic billboard (literally one) and thought oh it's a little piece of New York.
Our adventure led us to Baker Street and we saw were Sherlock Holmes "lives". I want to go back again in the daytime to see the museum and eat next door haha.
Cheers!
Our class met in the lobby at 12 and we headed out to the Museum of London. We were able to see the London wall that still remains outside and we were able to walk the "streets" inside on how it used to be. There were all kinds of artifacts that have been found from way back in the day and there also was a well done section on the Great Fire.
We did the museum in a little over an hour and then headed to Greenwich. This was the first time I rode the DLR which is the train above ground. It was lovely to see the city and I could also see the Shard which is the newest, tallest building in London right now.
At Greenwich we saw the gates, the beach, and Olympic Stadium in the distance. Lindsey, Emily and I toured the Painted Hall and the Church next door. Everything was just gorgeous. Once we had done that, we went through a shop and wondered around the area. At 4:15 we went to the pub, Admiral Hardy, because our professor said he would be there and "the first pint's on me!" I really wanted to get a pint so I could say that but instead I ordered a Jack and Ginger. It was amazingly delicious because it was a ginger ale/beer from the UK. Our whole class sat at this table enjoying our pints and having a good time. If only classes back home could be like this! School is way better here haha.
For dinner I had a British Roast sandwich at another pub. It was okay except they literally put a pea size amount of spiced mustard on each side of the bread so it was really dry. I put my salad and dressing on it and a touch of ketchup and then it was fine.
We headed back to London to go to Trafalgar Square because it was SO beautiful out (I forgot to mention that!) But of course by the time we get there it is a down pour. We thought of going into the National Gallery and wait but they changed their late night to Friday instead of Wednesday. So Lindsey departed from us and went home and Emily and I decided to have a rainy day adventure. After about 10 minutes it cleared up and was beautiful again so I am glad we stayed. We saw the statues and fountains and the Olympic countdown clock and from there we adventured out and I took a bajillion pictures. We went to Piccadilly circus which they call their Time's Square and I can see it...on a very small version of course. I saw an electronic billboard (literally one) and thought oh it's a little piece of New York.
Our adventure led us to Baker Street and we saw were Sherlock Holmes "lives". I want to go back again in the daytime to see the museum and eat next door haha.
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Would You Care For a Spot of Tea?
Tuesday's class was dedicated to showing us examples of and explanations of our assignments for Patrick (our teacher). He also talked a little about BBC and went on a cyclist rant. He says that they think they are "masters of the universe with their spandex bottoms". He doesn't like them because they don't follow traffic rules and do whatever they want on the road. Anyway for our first assignment we have to write a profile for someone that is current in the news. I think I have an idea of who I want to write about but I'm still thinking of other ideas. I'm not sure exactly what is going on in celebrity world so I need to talk to Google and find out. A funny story that he shared with us is how he met his wife back in their teens. He said, "She told me to go away. I was drunk. But I didn't and now we've been married for 32 (I think) years. She still tells me to go away when I'm drunk." He was a journalist so he talked about that for a bit and left us with "it's easier to search and destroy rather than promote and praise".
Yesterday we also had our first coffee break! I'm telling you, this is the best place. For our 1/2 hour we went to Cafe Nero and I enjoyed a nice Caffe Latte for take away (to go/take out). I can't just order my usual black coffee here so instead of espresso, I ventured for that latte. It was fantastic.
After class we went to the ISA office to grab some free cokes and I had a couple questions involving some of our excursions, particularly what they are doing next Wednesday because I have an excursion with the school so I cannot go to Camden Market. So I got my answers, grabbed a few pamphlets and left Emily to go meet up with Lindsey. Oniwa and CJ also met up with us and we all went to grab some lunch. We stumbled upon a crepe restaurant and decided on that. I had the hazelnut and dark Belgium chocolate one and it was loaded with hazelnuts. It was so delicious and I definitely want to go back to try others.
After lunch it was off to the Victoria and Albert Museum which is unbelievable in size. You could spend 5 days alone in there if you wanted to see everything. Lindsey's mom had made her a cheat card of the rooms that were a must so we followed that and looked at a few others that peaked our interest. Some of the rooms were: Ballgowns, Jewelry, Architecture, Iron casting, carvings, photography, a library, 20th century, Roman Art, Renaissance, and other paintings, sculptures. Everything was beautiful and simply amazing and the museums are completely free to get in.
We finished the list in time to get over to Harrod's for afternoon tea. Harrod's is HUGE. I don't even know what is all in there because it's almost impossible to know. I saw Prada downstairs so I know that is there lol. They have a toy kingdom, a pet kingdom, a gift store (which is like the size of JC Penney itself), and of course floors worth of appareal and housewares and decor. It just goes on and on. Tea is only part of the floor and that is a whole restaurant itself. To find the bathroom you have to hike to it. It was crazy. Anyway for tea, I had the afternoon special which was similar to English Breakfast. There were 4 sandwiches- egg, salmon, apple and something that I didn't know. There were raisin and plain scones and for dessert there were two tarts, a fruit cake, macaroons, and something with a mousse in the middle. I loved everything except some of the desserts. I enjoyed the tarts but I'm not a fruit cake person and the other two had a really rich chocolate part that was just two sweet for my liking. I think I'm really losing my sweet tooth. Maria was the one that went with us and it was quite fun with all the girls. I bought some gifts there but I cannot share my purchases on here obviously!
Afterwords I was separated from Jourdan and Jen so after some confusion on where we were meeting, I just rode the tube on my own and meet up with Jourdan at the Apple store. Jen left because she didn't want to wait among all of the people in the store. They were all waiting to see Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey. They were there for an interview about Magic Mike and I know that can be found on itunes. I took a bunch of pictures and I know that I have a few that turned out so as soon as I can post them on facebook, I will! I didn't go because I am a super fan or anything (I only just learned the correct order for Channing Tatum) but it was pretty cool and now that I have seen him in person, I can see why girls think he is cute haha. After the interview we walked around the building to find them and stumbled upon their car. Nothing too exciting happened but their were flocks of girls running down the street after them. Oh and we saw some paparazzi.
Then we went out to a pub called O'neils and I had Magner's original which is an Irish hard cider made out of 17 different apples. It was delicious. DAD- there was a drink called Black Beard and the description was "spice up the black stuff- Morgan's Spiced rum, PEPSI, and a Guiness head". So that was my first encounter with Pepsi here! and I think it's funny that instead of Captain and Coke, it's Morgan's and Pepsi.
Music- We started off with Katy Perry "I kissed a girl" went to AC/DC then Michael Jackson. Just sayin'. That is a pretty mild list though, so I'll keep listening for nonsensical list!
After that I rode the tube home and now I'm up again for another day!
Yesterday we also had our first coffee break! I'm telling you, this is the best place. For our 1/2 hour we went to Cafe Nero and I enjoyed a nice Caffe Latte for take away (to go/take out). I can't just order my usual black coffee here so instead of espresso, I ventured for that latte. It was fantastic.
After class we went to the ISA office to grab some free cokes and I had a couple questions involving some of our excursions, particularly what they are doing next Wednesday because I have an excursion with the school so I cannot go to Camden Market. So I got my answers, grabbed a few pamphlets and left Emily to go meet up with Lindsey. Oniwa and CJ also met up with us and we all went to grab some lunch. We stumbled upon a crepe restaurant and decided on that. I had the hazelnut and dark Belgium chocolate one and it was loaded with hazelnuts. It was so delicious and I definitely want to go back to try others.
After lunch it was off to the Victoria and Albert Museum which is unbelievable in size. You could spend 5 days alone in there if you wanted to see everything. Lindsey's mom had made her a cheat card of the rooms that were a must so we followed that and looked at a few others that peaked our interest. Some of the rooms were: Ballgowns, Jewelry, Architecture, Iron casting, carvings, photography, a library, 20th century, Roman Art, Renaissance, and other paintings, sculptures. Everything was beautiful and simply amazing and the museums are completely free to get in.
We finished the list in time to get over to Harrod's for afternoon tea. Harrod's is HUGE. I don't even know what is all in there because it's almost impossible to know. I saw Prada downstairs so I know that is there lol. They have a toy kingdom, a pet kingdom, a gift store (which is like the size of JC Penney itself), and of course floors worth of appareal and housewares and decor. It just goes on and on. Tea is only part of the floor and that is a whole restaurant itself. To find the bathroom you have to hike to it. It was crazy. Anyway for tea, I had the afternoon special which was similar to English Breakfast. There were 4 sandwiches- egg, salmon, apple and something that I didn't know. There were raisin and plain scones and for dessert there were two tarts, a fruit cake, macaroons, and something with a mousse in the middle. I loved everything except some of the desserts. I enjoyed the tarts but I'm not a fruit cake person and the other two had a really rich chocolate part that was just two sweet for my liking. I think I'm really losing my sweet tooth. Maria was the one that went with us and it was quite fun with all the girls. I bought some gifts there but I cannot share my purchases on here obviously!
Afterwords I was separated from Jourdan and Jen so after some confusion on where we were meeting, I just rode the tube on my own and meet up with Jourdan at the Apple store. Jen left because she didn't want to wait among all of the people in the store. They were all waiting to see Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey. They were there for an interview about Magic Mike and I know that can be found on itunes. I took a bunch of pictures and I know that I have a few that turned out so as soon as I can post them on facebook, I will! I didn't go because I am a super fan or anything (I only just learned the correct order for Channing Tatum) but it was pretty cool and now that I have seen him in person, I can see why girls think he is cute haha. After the interview we walked around the building to find them and stumbled upon their car. Nothing too exciting happened but their were flocks of girls running down the street after them. Oh and we saw some paparazzi.
Then we went out to a pub called O'neils and I had Magner's original which is an Irish hard cider made out of 17 different apples. It was delicious. DAD- there was a drink called Black Beard and the description was "spice up the black stuff- Morgan's Spiced rum, PEPSI, and a Guiness head". So that was my first encounter with Pepsi here! and I think it's funny that instead of Captain and Coke, it's Morgan's and Pepsi.
Music- We started off with Katy Perry "I kissed a girl" went to AC/DC then Michael Jackson. Just sayin'. That is a pretty mild list though, so I'll keep listening for nonsensical list!
After that I rode the tube home and now I'm up again for another day!
Monday, July 9, 2012
First Day of School
Today Emily and I went off to experience the Monday rush on the tube. The Northern Line wasn't bad; we were able to have seats. The Victoria line was packed though so we were squashed like sausages just like they said we would be.
It only took 1/2 hour which was good timing, so we were early. We hung out in the lobby of the University of Westminster, which looks like a museum inside...it's beautiful. Then they gathered us and we had our orientation. Plastic envelopes with snaps are a thing here. Every time I get something it comes in one of those! Anyway we all received a packet which included Westminster information, transport info, an A-Z London guide (which is awesome), some papers, and our ID cards. We also were given a Study Abroad t-shirt =)
After orientation we went to the Cavendish campus (we were at Regeants) and had a complimentary lunch. There were sandwiches, chips, and fruit along with water, OJ, cranberry juice, and apple juice. The sandwiches were broken up into Vegetable, Fish, and Meat. The thing was that they listed everything out on the menu stands and there were 6-8 sandwiches per menu. So it was a lot to read but it didn't even matter because everything was cut up and mixed together so you had no idea what you were grabbing exactly. In my opinion, I enjoyed everything I tried, but then again I'm not picky. I tried the OJ and cranberry juice too and they were good but not strong.
Another British local also complimented me on my wellies today. I must be doing something right!!
Then it was time for class, so some of us headed back to Regeant's. By the way, this campus was more modern but it still looked like a museum. Everything is fancy.
When we got to campus, we were early so we wandered around to kill some time. We then went to class and our professor came in one minute before 1 and said, "Oh, there you are! I found you!" Apparently he went to Cavendish to meet us and take us over so we wouldn't be lost and was told to wait for us there, but we were told at the same time to come over so we left and he was waiting. He was like well we are off to a good start, aren't we? haha
I am just going to share a couple of things that he said, because let's face it I think he is hilarious. One of which is when he said we should bring drinks if we want for the Globe (oh yea we are taking a field trip to see Richard III at the Globe, tickets paid for, which is great b/c that was on my to-do list!), because they charge 5 pound 50 for hardly any wine. And that is when he said we should brown bag it lol.
Another funny is when we talked about music for a second and he asked us if we were all Americans or if we had students from other countries...turns out my class there are only Americans. So he said, "Great I don't have to watch what I say about music because we both have good music. Have you heard Italian Pop? It's terrible, just terrible! French Rock n Roll? It makes you want to puke!"
I think he is great and I just love the humor. For those of you that forgot, I'm in the course, London: Culture Capital of the World, which he wanted to clarify something about that title. He mentioned that when they came to him a few years ago asking about what the course title should be he said that as a joke. But then a few weeks later he received some info for the class, saw that title, and laughed. He was like "It was merely a joke! And they took it seriously!"
Today we went over the schedule and chatted about who we were. We went over and introduction to Britain and talked about the history of politics to get us started. It's very interesting to think of what we learn vs. other cultures. Like we learn a certain history and focus on our important stuff, but today we had a view of what Britains cover in their courses.
Anywho, we were let out a 1/2 hour early which put us at 3:30 and I was exhausted. BTW for his class we are actually 9:30 to 1 which means it starts 1/2 hour before what other classes are, but he said at 10:30 will have 1/2 hour coffee breaks and continue at 11. I love this place. And then on Wednesdays we have our field trips and so class is actually 9:30-5. That's kind of crazy but at the same time I like that these things fit in so I don't have to worry about it myself.
So after class, Sara, Emily, and I headed home. Emily and I stopped at the grocery store again. I really didn't buy much except 5 litres of water and a Coca-cola. I don't really drink soda but I wanted to taste it and see if there was a difference. It is slightly different. It doesn't make your teeth feel sticky and it is almost a little spicier like China Cola but not spicy. It's a skinny bottle too, like a mini but the cap is still big.
Then I showered, took a nice nap, skyped and wrote my posts. I wanted a day to relax though because I was beat. Plus I needed a plan of action for my excursions before I set off again. But for now, it's off to bed and start again tomorrow!
It only took 1/2 hour which was good timing, so we were early. We hung out in the lobby of the University of Westminster, which looks like a museum inside...it's beautiful. Then they gathered us and we had our orientation. Plastic envelopes with snaps are a thing here. Every time I get something it comes in one of those! Anyway we all received a packet which included Westminster information, transport info, an A-Z London guide (which is awesome), some papers, and our ID cards. We also were given a Study Abroad t-shirt =)
After orientation we went to the Cavendish campus (we were at Regeants) and had a complimentary lunch. There were sandwiches, chips, and fruit along with water, OJ, cranberry juice, and apple juice. The sandwiches were broken up into Vegetable, Fish, and Meat. The thing was that they listed everything out on the menu stands and there were 6-8 sandwiches per menu. So it was a lot to read but it didn't even matter because everything was cut up and mixed together so you had no idea what you were grabbing exactly. In my opinion, I enjoyed everything I tried, but then again I'm not picky. I tried the OJ and cranberry juice too and they were good but not strong.
Another British local also complimented me on my wellies today. I must be doing something right!!
Then it was time for class, so some of us headed back to Regeant's. By the way, this campus was more modern but it still looked like a museum. Everything is fancy.
When we got to campus, we were early so we wandered around to kill some time. We then went to class and our professor came in one minute before 1 and said, "Oh, there you are! I found you!" Apparently he went to Cavendish to meet us and take us over so we wouldn't be lost and was told to wait for us there, but we were told at the same time to come over so we left and he was waiting. He was like well we are off to a good start, aren't we? haha
I am just going to share a couple of things that he said, because let's face it I think he is hilarious. One of which is when he said we should bring drinks if we want for the Globe (oh yea we are taking a field trip to see Richard III at the Globe, tickets paid for, which is great b/c that was on my to-do list!), because they charge 5 pound 50 for hardly any wine. And that is when he said we should brown bag it lol.
Another funny is when we talked about music for a second and he asked us if we were all Americans or if we had students from other countries...turns out my class there are only Americans. So he said, "Great I don't have to watch what I say about music because we both have good music. Have you heard Italian Pop? It's terrible, just terrible! French Rock n Roll? It makes you want to puke!"
I think he is great and I just love the humor. For those of you that forgot, I'm in the course, London: Culture Capital of the World, which he wanted to clarify something about that title. He mentioned that when they came to him a few years ago asking about what the course title should be he said that as a joke. But then a few weeks later he received some info for the class, saw that title, and laughed. He was like "It was merely a joke! And they took it seriously!"
Today we went over the schedule and chatted about who we were. We went over and introduction to Britain and talked about the history of politics to get us started. It's very interesting to think of what we learn vs. other cultures. Like we learn a certain history and focus on our important stuff, but today we had a view of what Britains cover in their courses.
Anywho, we were let out a 1/2 hour early which put us at 3:30 and I was exhausted. BTW for his class we are actually 9:30 to 1 which means it starts 1/2 hour before what other classes are, but he said at 10:30 will have 1/2 hour coffee breaks and continue at 11. I love this place. And then on Wednesdays we have our field trips and so class is actually 9:30-5. That's kind of crazy but at the same time I like that these things fit in so I don't have to worry about it myself.
So after class, Sara, Emily, and I headed home. Emily and I stopped at the grocery store again. I really didn't buy much except 5 litres of water and a Coca-cola. I don't really drink soda but I wanted to taste it and see if there was a difference. It is slightly different. It doesn't make your teeth feel sticky and it is almost a little spicier like China Cola but not spicy. It's a skinny bottle too, like a mini but the cap is still big.
Then I showered, took a nice nap, skyped and wrote my posts. I wanted a day to relax though because I was beat. Plus I needed a plan of action for my excursions before I set off again. But for now, it's off to bed and start again tomorrow!
Sunday, Funday
After almost 11 hours of sleep I woke up at 7:05 am. It had rained throughout the night and it was stilling raining when I got up. I showered, ate some Rice Krispies and some peanut butter on bread, and then typed up a post for my blog. We had to meet Tom outside at 9:45 because he was taking us to our ISA orientation and showing us how to ride the Tube and where classes would be as well as the ISA office. I was excited to wear my wellies aka rain boots since it was going to be a rainy day and I knew we would be walking around a lot. When I went outside the first thing Tom said was, "I like your wellies!" I was super excited about that haha. British approval.
I told them on the way to the tube how I had some trouble setting up my internet the night before because it required basic fields to set up but then when I submitted it, it flagged me saying that my first name field, address, and town/city were all incorrect. So from there I had to play the guessing game. I discovered they had my first name as Ashlee Marie, in my address it was BLD (no period, no V), and in the town/city you were also supposed to add the state, so not just the city. After some trial and error though I figured it out.
So we rode the tube for the first time which was fantastic. Everything is so clean and it isn't smelly at all like it is in NYC. And everything looks like a tube...there are no flat walls. There are some great ads in the underground. One I saw was an ad for eating organic (they are all about healthy eating and recycling here; very green) and it was a picture of some carrots. I forget the copy on it though! I need to look it up and post it on facebook for everyone! Something else I noticed is that there are many book ads here. You hardly ever see that in the US. They have movie and music ads as well but equal amounts of book ads which I found very interesting.
Anyway, after Tom showed us our various offices and campuses we went to ISA orientation. There were beverages and chocolate pastries and there was a music channel on the tele. When we first arrived Backstreet Boys "As Long As You Love Me" was playing. I thought that was HILARIOUS. After orientation we were free to explore so Maria walked us to Oxford street. She should us some cash points along the way (ATMs) and pointed us in different directions for some shops. There is Primart here which is Walmart prices but Target quality. I didn't end up going but I am curious to check it out! We ended up first going to a cash point and then to Top Shop which is like a Forever 21 but a little better and you can multiply the size by a thousand. There is a whole floor for shoes and it's HUGE. The middle floor has more purses and wallet than I have seen in my entire life. It's crazy. AND in this store there is a place to buy cupcakes, candy, and frozen yogurt. It's ridiculous. I found the most London umbrella there and bought it for 15 pounds.
Then Sara, Emily, CJ, Oniwa, and I went to H&M for a second to look around. There was another girl with us, Jourdan, but we got separated in the ginormous store. Anyway we weren't there for long because we had to make it back for our Double Decker London Tour. We were lucky to be able to have a historic double decker and it was fantastic. Apparently the new models of buses will be designed like the older ones so there will be more around with the retro look.
Our tour was two hours long which was great but unfortunately it was so much to pack in that I cannot recall everything we saw. And it definitely got to a point where I just wanted to have it done so I see all the places on foot! There is just SO much here to see and do. I loved the tour though because you were getting an introductory to London and main attractions in 2 hours. Plus she was very knowledgeable on everything haha. We went down many streets like Baker street where Sherlock Holmes "lived" and around Piccadilly circus. We saw the House of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and many gardens. We drove on the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge. We saw the London Eye and where Gringott's "was". We actually stopped at Buckingham Palace because it was closing down the next day until July 31st in order to prepare for the Olympics. They need to repaint the pavement red and decorate because the Queen will be doing something there to start the games (I couldn't hear all the details that she was saying). So that is the reason we got out so that we could take pictures. The Queen was not in that day and we knew this because there are three different flags that sit out to let everyone know. I don't remember what the third one is...sorry! I'll have to look this up. So we won't be able to see the changing of the guard but a couple of streets over apparently the trainees do it on the weekend outside of their quarters and they will do it unless it is raining. If it is (not just a sprinkle but rain) then they won't because it would damage their 1000 pound bear hat that is imported from Canada lol. So I might try and do that on a weekend morning if it doesn't interfere with an excursion. I also was hoping after the tour I could come back and buy a ticket to go inside but as I walked by I heard the gentleman say they were sold out for today. So that was a shame! Buckingham Palace will have to be for the next trip ;)
After the tour Jourdan, Emily, Sara, and I went to the market which was a "designer" market and that meant that people crafted and designed their own items. So it's like our Art hop or arts and craft shows but with a lot more clothing involved. I was really tempted to buy some London pins because they were so cute and I love pins and London obv, but I resisted because it was a little pricey. Way more than our 50 cent exquisite pins back home. We looked only briefly because we were hungry so we went to the place (I forget the name) and had burgers. I had a cheddar cheese burger with salad (lettuce), relish, mayo, and red onion. We also had water with lemon, lime, and mint. It was delicious. I tried some fries too which we like Steak and Shake fries in the sense they were straw like but they tasted better (there was rosemary on them). There was also a barrel of peanuts that you could eat while you waited and it had a sign on it that said MAY CONTAIN NUTS. lol...I should also note that at the restaurants/pubs here you go to the counter to order and pay first. You aren't really waited on and you don't tip unless you go to a really nice place and then you tip 0-10%. They don't wait on you except to bring you your food for the most part plus they actually get paid and a form of a tip is already included in the price. I'm trying to think of some differences for you all, but I think that is all I can think of now. Oh one more, you don't get water like you do back home. If you want water, you ask and if you want free water you specify that you want tap water. At this place they gave you a pitcher of water and you poured it yourself at the table. And the ketchup is close to ours but a bit sweeter actually.
So after our lunch we talked with some bobbies (police officers) in order to find our way to the nearest tube. After staring at the Underground map we planned out a route to the Tower Bridge. We went there and took pictures of the tower bridge and the London bridge (aka one photo for me bc it isn't very picturesque; just famous and important not really extravagant). We then tried to watch a free, outdoor theatre show at the Scoop. We were waiting and ended up talking to the actors before the show started however, right when the show was about to begin, it started to pour. At first we just pulled on our rain coats and pulled out umbrellas but it was pouring and I was wearing a knit dress so as soon as the water touched me, my dress absorbed it and my bottom was soaked. The three of us except Emily got up to take some cover, but she was determined and was going to wait in hopes that it would stop. They did cancel it because even though it stopped, it was outdoors and it needed to dry. We ended up leaving to head over to see Big Ben instead. Even though I got wet the fastest, I dried the quickest. Other girls had jeans on so they stayed wet for quite some time.
We made it over to Westminster bridge and saw the London Eye (I haven't ridden it yet, but I will), Big Ben, House of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. I forget the name of the building next to the London Eye at this second but there are two Lions on them and there is a saying that "If the Lion drinks, London sinks." I should mention that for those that don't know the River Thames runs through this part. The lions are pretty high up but I wonder if it has ever happened or been close. I don't know all the details or history behind that. So yes, we wondered around and took lots of pictures. We have an excursion to do the Tower of London, see the Crown Jewels, White Tower and Tower Bridge so I am not worried about that. I know I am going to do the London Eye, hopefully a day and night pass, and I want to try to go to a service at Westminster Abbey. You can't go in the Houses of Parliament, so for Sunday I think we did pretty good on seeing some sites!
For dinner we went out to a pub called Princess of Wales and I ordered my first fish and chips with a strawberry and lime hard cider. Everything was delicious. The fish was seriously an enormous fish, not like getting a few small ones back home, just one giant piece served over pub fries. It also came with "mushy peas" which were yummy. In the end our checks were all on one and it was up to us to figure out have much each of us owed, which was kind of comical. We figured it out though and headed home. We were exhausted. BTW on the menu they had Blue Moon! I was so excited b/c I love Blue Moon and it said Nebraska, USA next to it. I didn't order it, but still!
So yes, we headed home and for Emily and I, part of our line was closed for maintenance so we had to come up with another plan along the way. For the most part the lines and stops are really easy to figure out once you've been through it a couple of times.
I came home and skyped with the family for awhile and then went to bed around 1am and had to wake up at 7 to start my day.
I'll right a new post for today since this one is so long! I hope you lovely people are enjoying my posts despite the length!
Cheers!
I told them on the way to the tube how I had some trouble setting up my internet the night before because it required basic fields to set up but then when I submitted it, it flagged me saying that my first name field, address, and town/city were all incorrect. So from there I had to play the guessing game. I discovered they had my first name as Ashlee Marie, in my address it was BLD (no period, no V), and in the town/city you were also supposed to add the state, so not just the city. After some trial and error though I figured it out.
So we rode the tube for the first time which was fantastic. Everything is so clean and it isn't smelly at all like it is in NYC. And everything looks like a tube...there are no flat walls. There are some great ads in the underground. One I saw was an ad for eating organic (they are all about healthy eating and recycling here; very green) and it was a picture of some carrots. I forget the copy on it though! I need to look it up and post it on facebook for everyone! Something else I noticed is that there are many book ads here. You hardly ever see that in the US. They have movie and music ads as well but equal amounts of book ads which I found very interesting.
Anyway, after Tom showed us our various offices and campuses we went to ISA orientation. There were beverages and chocolate pastries and there was a music channel on the tele. When we first arrived Backstreet Boys "As Long As You Love Me" was playing. I thought that was HILARIOUS. After orientation we were free to explore so Maria walked us to Oxford street. She should us some cash points along the way (ATMs) and pointed us in different directions for some shops. There is Primart here which is Walmart prices but Target quality. I didn't end up going but I am curious to check it out! We ended up first going to a cash point and then to Top Shop which is like a Forever 21 but a little better and you can multiply the size by a thousand. There is a whole floor for shoes and it's HUGE. The middle floor has more purses and wallet than I have seen in my entire life. It's crazy. AND in this store there is a place to buy cupcakes, candy, and frozen yogurt. It's ridiculous. I found the most London umbrella there and bought it for 15 pounds.
Then Sara, Emily, CJ, Oniwa, and I went to H&M for a second to look around. There was another girl with us, Jourdan, but we got separated in the ginormous store. Anyway we weren't there for long because we had to make it back for our Double Decker London Tour. We were lucky to be able to have a historic double decker and it was fantastic. Apparently the new models of buses will be designed like the older ones so there will be more around with the retro look.
Our tour was two hours long which was great but unfortunately it was so much to pack in that I cannot recall everything we saw. And it definitely got to a point where I just wanted to have it done so I see all the places on foot! There is just SO much here to see and do. I loved the tour though because you were getting an introductory to London and main attractions in 2 hours. Plus she was very knowledgeable on everything haha. We went down many streets like Baker street where Sherlock Holmes "lived" and around Piccadilly circus. We saw the House of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and many gardens. We drove on the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge. We saw the London Eye and where Gringott's "was". We actually stopped at Buckingham Palace because it was closing down the next day until July 31st in order to prepare for the Olympics. They need to repaint the pavement red and decorate because the Queen will be doing something there to start the games (I couldn't hear all the details that she was saying). So that is the reason we got out so that we could take pictures. The Queen was not in that day and we knew this because there are three different flags that sit out to let everyone know. I don't remember what the third one is...sorry! I'll have to look this up. So we won't be able to see the changing of the guard but a couple of streets over apparently the trainees do it on the weekend outside of their quarters and they will do it unless it is raining. If it is (not just a sprinkle but rain) then they won't because it would damage their 1000 pound bear hat that is imported from Canada lol. So I might try and do that on a weekend morning if it doesn't interfere with an excursion. I also was hoping after the tour I could come back and buy a ticket to go inside but as I walked by I heard the gentleman say they were sold out for today. So that was a shame! Buckingham Palace will have to be for the next trip ;)
After the tour Jourdan, Emily, Sara, and I went to the market which was a "designer" market and that meant that people crafted and designed their own items. So it's like our Art hop or arts and craft shows but with a lot more clothing involved. I was really tempted to buy some London pins because they were so cute and I love pins and London obv, but I resisted because it was a little pricey. Way more than our 50 cent exquisite pins back home. We looked only briefly because we were hungry so we went to the place (I forget the name) and had burgers. I had a cheddar cheese burger with salad (lettuce), relish, mayo, and red onion. We also had water with lemon, lime, and mint. It was delicious. I tried some fries too which we like Steak and Shake fries in the sense they were straw like but they tasted better (there was rosemary on them). There was also a barrel of peanuts that you could eat while you waited and it had a sign on it that said MAY CONTAIN NUTS. lol...I should also note that at the restaurants/pubs here you go to the counter to order and pay first. You aren't really waited on and you don't tip unless you go to a really nice place and then you tip 0-10%. They don't wait on you except to bring you your food for the most part plus they actually get paid and a form of a tip is already included in the price. I'm trying to think of some differences for you all, but I think that is all I can think of now. Oh one more, you don't get water like you do back home. If you want water, you ask and if you want free water you specify that you want tap water. At this place they gave you a pitcher of water and you poured it yourself at the table. And the ketchup is close to ours but a bit sweeter actually.
So after our lunch we talked with some bobbies (police officers) in order to find our way to the nearest tube. After staring at the Underground map we planned out a route to the Tower Bridge. We went there and took pictures of the tower bridge and the London bridge (aka one photo for me bc it isn't very picturesque; just famous and important not really extravagant). We then tried to watch a free, outdoor theatre show at the Scoop. We were waiting and ended up talking to the actors before the show started however, right when the show was about to begin, it started to pour. At first we just pulled on our rain coats and pulled out umbrellas but it was pouring and I was wearing a knit dress so as soon as the water touched me, my dress absorbed it and my bottom was soaked. The three of us except Emily got up to take some cover, but she was determined and was going to wait in hopes that it would stop. They did cancel it because even though it stopped, it was outdoors and it needed to dry. We ended up leaving to head over to see Big Ben instead. Even though I got wet the fastest, I dried the quickest. Other girls had jeans on so they stayed wet for quite some time.
We made it over to Westminster bridge and saw the London Eye (I haven't ridden it yet, but I will), Big Ben, House of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. I forget the name of the building next to the London Eye at this second but there are two Lions on them and there is a saying that "If the Lion drinks, London sinks." I should mention that for those that don't know the River Thames runs through this part. The lions are pretty high up but I wonder if it has ever happened or been close. I don't know all the details or history behind that. So yes, we wondered around and took lots of pictures. We have an excursion to do the Tower of London, see the Crown Jewels, White Tower and Tower Bridge so I am not worried about that. I know I am going to do the London Eye, hopefully a day and night pass, and I want to try to go to a service at Westminster Abbey. You can't go in the Houses of Parliament, so for Sunday I think we did pretty good on seeing some sites!
For dinner we went out to a pub called Princess of Wales and I ordered my first fish and chips with a strawberry and lime hard cider. Everything was delicious. The fish was seriously an enormous fish, not like getting a few small ones back home, just one giant piece served over pub fries. It also came with "mushy peas" which were yummy. In the end our checks were all on one and it was up to us to figure out have much each of us owed, which was kind of comical. We figured it out though and headed home. We were exhausted. BTW on the menu they had Blue Moon! I was so excited b/c I love Blue Moon and it said Nebraska, USA next to it. I didn't order it, but still!
So yes, we headed home and for Emily and I, part of our line was closed for maintenance so we had to come up with another plan along the way. For the most part the lines and stops are really easy to figure out once you've been through it a couple of times.
I came home and skyped with the family for awhile and then went to bed around 1am and had to wake up at 7 to start my day.
I'll right a new post for today since this one is so long! I hope you lovely people are enjoying my posts despite the length!
Cheers!
London's Calling
Alright, so I left you all off at the airport where we about to start our journey to the housing. Maria welcomed us again on the bus and said we were about to go on a 45 minute ride. The bus driver mumbled something and she chatted with him for a brief second. She turned back to us and said, "Scratch the first 45 minute quote. Our chaffeur just informed me the motorway is closed...we'll be here awhile." Then she made a comment along the lines of, "Well thank goodness we gave you all chocolate! At least we won't be starving you!" And after that we embarked on our 2 hour journey to our new home.
I was trying to take everything in as we were driving through the side roads. The arrows for no right turns or U turns in certain areas were not like the arrow back home but instead a skinny pointed line. I saw the double deckers which is their metro bus system (can you imagine riding that everyday back home as the norm?) and the roads are very curvy with many "round-abouts" (there are some much larger like Oxford Circus, circus meaning circle). Basically you cannot grid London like you could for the cities back home. Its curvy with MANY different streets. Obviously here they drive on the left side of the road which doesn't seem weird when you are driving, it's much harder as a pedestrian but I'll get to that later. As I was watching the opposing traffic however, I should note that it was hilarious looking at all the cars. The queue of cars would be Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Ford, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Toyota, VW, VW, VW, VW, etc. I've never seen so many VW's in my life at once =) I also was admiring all of the adorable houses that we passed. They seem so cozy and they entry ways to the front door seem so inviting and quaint. I also saw the laundry on many clothes lines and I've been told that that is more of the norm here. They are much more conscience of the environment here and I've heard that many dryers don't give the drying affect that we have, that if you put in one shirt then after awhile it will have that air drying affect. I have tried anything for myself yet so I don't have any experience as far as that goes. On the way we were also listening to the radio and heard Artic Monkeys, the Muse, and this band called Dog is Dead, which I had never heard before but I really enjoyed the song. Sidenote: I have noticed while I've been here that places play a weird array or at least not mood fitting songs ie. at pubs. I can't think of some song examples right now but I will pay attention next time and jot some down. Also it was interesting listening to Maria and Tom talk about the radio...for instance, Maria would say, "Oh, I really enjoy this one!" or "That was a good song, it was really dramatic and orchestrated." I just thought it was interesting how they were really listening and experiencing each song and would critique it. They didn't have to agree either but they would listen to their opinions and stil stand behind what they felt. I'm sure this happens at home and I know I talk about music but watching them it just seemed way more in the moment and more than "I love that song!".
Anyway, Alexander Fleming House was the third stop. Tom took us to our hall and we had to check-in and sign for a key. There is a FOB to open the main door to our building and then an actual key to our flat and bedroom. We then went to our own buildings (sadly Emily and I are not in the same flat and her main door is like doors down) and Tom gave us 15 minutes to get upstairs and put down our belongings. We were to meet him downstairs again so he could take us to get Oyster Cards and to show us some main points of interest like the grocery and the post office. I went upstairs and thank goodness I was by myself because I didn't want anyone to see my weakling status and slight struggle carrying everything up the stairs (I'm on the second floor so it's not bad at all). Then once I was in my room I called my parents and talked with them briefly. I met up againd with Tom and Emily and then we went headed over to the Old Street station to get our Oyster cards. You pay 5 pounds as a deposit for the card and then you load money onto it. I'm doing the weekly unlimited pass for 29.50 pounds. I did this as opposed to buying more up front just in case something were to happen and I lose my card, that way I'm out less than 30 rather than 100. Then on my last day I will just add a ride's worth to get to the airport.
After the purchasing of the cards we went across or I should say under, the street and Tom pointed out the pharmacy, er chemist, and that is called Superdrug. I thought that was amusing since I work in a pharmacy. Then we saw the store, I forget the name, but it's where you look at these catalogs, find what you want, go to a computer and type in the codes and then a person brings it to you or it comes on a conveyor belt. Tom said that is more of a place to go to if you needed to buy something for an apartment like a lamp. Then we went next door to the Co-operative which is a grocery. Tom pointed out the reduced carts where items that have an expiry date for that day are out for much lower prices. He showed us around the store and asked if we wanted to buy anything for dinner or whatnot but for me, I wasn't prepared and I wanted to take my time and not feel like I was not making Tom wait. Especially because there are hardly any brands that I would recognize and items come in different containers, so I would need to spend time going through everything. We also say were the post office was and some pubs and shops. Initially Tom couldn't find the post office. I guess he normally shows everyone something else but he learned there was one closer so he was trying to find it on his phone. He kept apologizing and was giving up but then on the way back we stumpled upon it. It was quite funny at the time. Also we were waiting at the crosswalks for the green man to appear (it doesn't say walk here or have a clear man) because he wasn't supposed to encourage jay walking. It's not illegal, it's just they don't want anyone to die, which apparently had happened and on the street it is painted for which way to look (ie. look right, look left with arrows). Anyway at one point he just crossed in the middle of the street and Emily said, "So you won't jay walk at the cross walk, but you will in the middle of the street?" He laughed and debated, "Well that one's busy!"
Tom took us home and Emily and I decided to go out to the grocery store on our own.
Our first shopping adventure!
I forgot to mention that on Sunday places don't open until 11:00 or 12:00 and they are only allowed to stay open a maximum of 6 hours. It's the law so everyone can attend services and be with their family.
Back to the shopping extravangza! I ended up purchasing some items on the reduced carts, one of which was Walkers crisps with worcester sauce. They so good and only 83p for 6 packs! Normally it is 1.66. I tried them out simply because of the name haha. I also bought a 2 litre bottle of water (yay metric system!), 2 pints of milk, strawberries, yogurt, doorstep bread (which I've discovered is like our Texas bread), and rice krispies. It is so funny to actually see and experience the brand and advertising differences as well as the international modifications in real life and not just talking about it in classes back home. Their Kelloggs cereal is very simply designed. No 3D cartoon characters, just 2D and some are the vintage style characters like the corn flakes rooster. Oh, and Frosted Flakes are called Frosties! But there isn't all this busy copy on their boxes here. It is just the character, a picture of the cereal, the name, and maybe a description or a line of some info. Some of the items I bought had the british flag incorporated on it, so I have noticed a great amound of British pride and some items like the chips, er crisps, say 100% British Potatoes on the package. My first shopping trip cost me just over 7 pounds. I didn't want to buy too much because it is just me eating plus I don't know my plans eat for the week. For dinner I ate my new version of a PB&J which consisted of a thin layer of natural peanut butter (I brought that in my suitcase) and then my fresh strawberries. It is a much healthier version and it was quite tasty.
The summer I people invited us out to the Globe pub to meet everyone and I flip flopped between going and not. I really wanted to go out and do something and meet people but there were some factors that stopped me from going.
1. I was exhausted. I didn't really sleep the night before leaving and then I only had like an hour nap on the plane. I had been running around all day and frankly haven't really slept in months now, so I was tuckered out to say the least.
2. My oyster card wasn't activated until Sunday so if I wanted to go out I would have to buy a ticket to meet up with people.
3. Emily wasn't going to go and I didn't want to be figuring out London by myself. Just not a smart choice, obviously.
So despite how much I wanted to go out it just wasn't realistic so I would have to be adventurous another night. Instead I unpack and read my sister's letter that she wrote to me that was soooo cute! Hopefully she won't be upset that I posted this but I want to share with you the lovely letter she wrote!
"I miss you because London is really far away and it's out of the United States. But at least I can talk to you on Skype and see you and you can tell me if it's sunny or rainy. and tell me when you get back is the "Ifulltower" in London or France?
I hope you had a nice airplane trip to London. Hope you like it there, it must be nice. Try and get some stuff for me. Is it big? must be. That's a big suitcase you must have. It must be lot's to unpack. Sincerely your lovely sister, Bre"
Then there is a picture of "Ashlee in London" with a tree, an owl, a bird, a sun with sunglasses, the "Ifulltower", me in a dress and a dog that I am walking. It's so cute! I love it! I have it next to my pictures of her on my shelf =)
Oh, yeah! My room! I forgot to describe it to you all. Well first of all I live on a flat which consists of 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and 1 kitchen/eating area. The rooms are pretty spacious and I have many items in here. I have a desk with drawers and two shelves above that, a bulletin board and 4 drawers below that, a window and a nightstand, a twin bed with linens and a pillow and a super warm comforter, a wardrobe with shelves and hangers, and finally my own wash basin aka a sink with a mirror and a cabinet below and this is for brushing teeth, washing face, getting ready etc. Every bedroom should have one! It's so convenient!
Anyway, that takes you through my first full day! I will start another post that will consist of my London adventures since and my orientations =)
PS my sister apparently said that other day, "I miss sissy. I bet she misses me too even though I'm not in her life right now." (Heartbreaking!) and I guess she also has broken out some Charlie and Lola DVDs (which she hasn't watched for probably a year at least) and for those of you that don't know, that is a BBC cartoon about a British brother and sister aimed for the younger kids. It's an adorable show and another thing that proves that everything awesome involves Charlie (That's what I call my sister). My mom hypothesized that she feels closer to me by watching Charlie and Lola and probably the closest thing she has to something British =) It will be a long 3 weeks for her!
<3
I was trying to take everything in as we were driving through the side roads. The arrows for no right turns or U turns in certain areas were not like the arrow back home but instead a skinny pointed line. I saw the double deckers which is their metro bus system (can you imagine riding that everyday back home as the norm?) and the roads are very curvy with many "round-abouts" (there are some much larger like Oxford Circus, circus meaning circle). Basically you cannot grid London like you could for the cities back home. Its curvy with MANY different streets. Obviously here they drive on the left side of the road which doesn't seem weird when you are driving, it's much harder as a pedestrian but I'll get to that later. As I was watching the opposing traffic however, I should note that it was hilarious looking at all the cars. The queue of cars would be Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Ford, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Volkswagon, Toyota, VW, VW, VW, VW, etc. I've never seen so many VW's in my life at once =) I also was admiring all of the adorable houses that we passed. They seem so cozy and they entry ways to the front door seem so inviting and quaint. I also saw the laundry on many clothes lines and I've been told that that is more of the norm here. They are much more conscience of the environment here and I've heard that many dryers don't give the drying affect that we have, that if you put in one shirt then after awhile it will have that air drying affect. I have tried anything for myself yet so I don't have any experience as far as that goes. On the way we were also listening to the radio and heard Artic Monkeys, the Muse, and this band called Dog is Dead, which I had never heard before but I really enjoyed the song. Sidenote: I have noticed while I've been here that places play a weird array or at least not mood fitting songs ie. at pubs. I can't think of some song examples right now but I will pay attention next time and jot some down. Also it was interesting listening to Maria and Tom talk about the radio...for instance, Maria would say, "Oh, I really enjoy this one!" or "That was a good song, it was really dramatic and orchestrated." I just thought it was interesting how they were really listening and experiencing each song and would critique it. They didn't have to agree either but they would listen to their opinions and stil stand behind what they felt. I'm sure this happens at home and I know I talk about music but watching them it just seemed way more in the moment and more than "I love that song!".
Anyway, Alexander Fleming House was the third stop. Tom took us to our hall and we had to check-in and sign for a key. There is a FOB to open the main door to our building and then an actual key to our flat and bedroom. We then went to our own buildings (sadly Emily and I are not in the same flat and her main door is like doors down) and Tom gave us 15 minutes to get upstairs and put down our belongings. We were to meet him downstairs again so he could take us to get Oyster Cards and to show us some main points of interest like the grocery and the post office. I went upstairs and thank goodness I was by myself because I didn't want anyone to see my weakling status and slight struggle carrying everything up the stairs (I'm on the second floor so it's not bad at all). Then once I was in my room I called my parents and talked with them briefly. I met up againd with Tom and Emily and then we went headed over to the Old Street station to get our Oyster cards. You pay 5 pounds as a deposit for the card and then you load money onto it. I'm doing the weekly unlimited pass for 29.50 pounds. I did this as opposed to buying more up front just in case something were to happen and I lose my card, that way I'm out less than 30 rather than 100. Then on my last day I will just add a ride's worth to get to the airport.
After the purchasing of the cards we went across or I should say under, the street and Tom pointed out the pharmacy, er chemist, and that is called Superdrug. I thought that was amusing since I work in a pharmacy. Then we saw the store, I forget the name, but it's where you look at these catalogs, find what you want, go to a computer and type in the codes and then a person brings it to you or it comes on a conveyor belt. Tom said that is more of a place to go to if you needed to buy something for an apartment like a lamp. Then we went next door to the Co-operative which is a grocery. Tom pointed out the reduced carts where items that have an expiry date for that day are out for much lower prices. He showed us around the store and asked if we wanted to buy anything for dinner or whatnot but for me, I wasn't prepared and I wanted to take my time and not feel like I was not making Tom wait. Especially because there are hardly any brands that I would recognize and items come in different containers, so I would need to spend time going through everything. We also say were the post office was and some pubs and shops. Initially Tom couldn't find the post office. I guess he normally shows everyone something else but he learned there was one closer so he was trying to find it on his phone. He kept apologizing and was giving up but then on the way back we stumpled upon it. It was quite funny at the time. Also we were waiting at the crosswalks for the green man to appear (it doesn't say walk here or have a clear man) because he wasn't supposed to encourage jay walking. It's not illegal, it's just they don't want anyone to die, which apparently had happened and on the street it is painted for which way to look (ie. look right, look left with arrows). Anyway at one point he just crossed in the middle of the street and Emily said, "So you won't jay walk at the cross walk, but you will in the middle of the street?" He laughed and debated, "Well that one's busy!"
Tom took us home and Emily and I decided to go out to the grocery store on our own.
Our first shopping adventure!
I forgot to mention that on Sunday places don't open until 11:00 or 12:00 and they are only allowed to stay open a maximum of 6 hours. It's the law so everyone can attend services and be with their family.
Back to the shopping extravangza! I ended up purchasing some items on the reduced carts, one of which was Walkers crisps with worcester sauce. They so good and only 83p for 6 packs! Normally it is 1.66. I tried them out simply because of the name haha. I also bought a 2 litre bottle of water (yay metric system!), 2 pints of milk, strawberries, yogurt, doorstep bread (which I've discovered is like our Texas bread), and rice krispies. It is so funny to actually see and experience the brand and advertising differences as well as the international modifications in real life and not just talking about it in classes back home. Their Kelloggs cereal is very simply designed. No 3D cartoon characters, just 2D and some are the vintage style characters like the corn flakes rooster. Oh, and Frosted Flakes are called Frosties! But there isn't all this busy copy on their boxes here. It is just the character, a picture of the cereal, the name, and maybe a description or a line of some info. Some of the items I bought had the british flag incorporated on it, so I have noticed a great amound of British pride and some items like the chips, er crisps, say 100% British Potatoes on the package. My first shopping trip cost me just over 7 pounds. I didn't want to buy too much because it is just me eating plus I don't know my plans eat for the week. For dinner I ate my new version of a PB&J which consisted of a thin layer of natural peanut butter (I brought that in my suitcase) and then my fresh strawberries. It is a much healthier version and it was quite tasty.
The summer I people invited us out to the Globe pub to meet everyone and I flip flopped between going and not. I really wanted to go out and do something and meet people but there were some factors that stopped me from going.
1. I was exhausted. I didn't really sleep the night before leaving and then I only had like an hour nap on the plane. I had been running around all day and frankly haven't really slept in months now, so I was tuckered out to say the least.
2. My oyster card wasn't activated until Sunday so if I wanted to go out I would have to buy a ticket to meet up with people.
3. Emily wasn't going to go and I didn't want to be figuring out London by myself. Just not a smart choice, obviously.
So despite how much I wanted to go out it just wasn't realistic so I would have to be adventurous another night. Instead I unpack and read my sister's letter that she wrote to me that was soooo cute! Hopefully she won't be upset that I posted this but I want to share with you the lovely letter she wrote!
"I miss you because London is really far away and it's out of the United States. But at least I can talk to you on Skype and see you and you can tell me if it's sunny or rainy. and tell me when you get back is the "Ifulltower" in London or France?
I hope you had a nice airplane trip to London. Hope you like it there, it must be nice. Try and get some stuff for me. Is it big? must be. That's a big suitcase you must have. It must be lot's to unpack. Sincerely your lovely sister, Bre"
Then there is a picture of "Ashlee in London" with a tree, an owl, a bird, a sun with sunglasses, the "Ifulltower", me in a dress and a dog that I am walking. It's so cute! I love it! I have it next to my pictures of her on my shelf =)
Oh, yeah! My room! I forgot to describe it to you all. Well first of all I live on a flat which consists of 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and 1 kitchen/eating area. The rooms are pretty spacious and I have many items in here. I have a desk with drawers and two shelves above that, a bulletin board and 4 drawers below that, a window and a nightstand, a twin bed with linens and a pillow and a super warm comforter, a wardrobe with shelves and hangers, and finally my own wash basin aka a sink with a mirror and a cabinet below and this is for brushing teeth, washing face, getting ready etc. Every bedroom should have one! It's so convenient!
Anyway, that takes you through my first full day! I will start another post that will consist of my London adventures since and my orientations =)
PS my sister apparently said that other day, "I miss sissy. I bet she misses me too even though I'm not in her life right now." (Heartbreaking!) and I guess she also has broken out some Charlie and Lola DVDs (which she hasn't watched for probably a year at least) and for those of you that don't know, that is a BBC cartoon about a British brother and sister aimed for the younger kids. It's an adorable show and another thing that proves that everything awesome involves Charlie (That's what I call my sister). My mom hypothesized that she feels closer to me by watching Charlie and Lola and probably the closest thing she has to something British =) It will be a long 3 weeks for her!
<3
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