Brilliantly British: London Adventures
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Week 1
Our flight was delayed (miserable) after we sat on it for 4 hours and then in the lobby for another, but thankfully we got onto a flight at 8 the next morning and arrived at Heathrow Thursday night. After finding our way to our rooms and then doing a bit of unpacking, we collapsed in our beds because we knew we’d have a long day ahead of us.
On Friday, we woke up and went to Orientation meetings which were… interested *yawn* and that night on a Jack the Ripper tour where we saw various churches and buildings where “Jack” was supposed to have gone and where many of the murders took place. We Also walked down numerous streets in the East End and saw the Roman Wall, pretty exciting stuff!
The Roman Wall
The Gherkin and our first London Bus
Our Tour Guide (we thought he was kind of cute)
The church one of the women (Catherine, I believe) he murdered used to stand near (she was a prostitute)Spoiler Alert: Did you know that they never actually caught Jack the Ripper, or even found out who he was!?After the tour we went to a local pub near our school, The Metropolitan Bar, it was a lot of fun, I had Strongbow, a new favorite cider, and we met 2 other girls! New friends, yay!Saturday we slept in and then went to run various errands. We needed to go to a pharmacy (Boots) and get shampoo, soap, etc., and we also went to Prymark which is this huge Forever 21/Macy’s/TJ Maxx store which literally anything you might need (besides food) where we picked up extra pillows, towels, and shower caddy’s. Then we went to dinner at Pizza Express, where, we, noticed, everyone ate their pizza with a knife and fork, so we did too (not a fan). Luckily, we later learned that Pizza Express is “a knife and fork kind of place” but at most restaurants you just use your hands, few!That night, we got all dressed up and went on the Boat Cruise on the River Thames that Regent’s had put on for us. We got to meet some new people, dance, and see lots of the cities sites from the water! Here’s some of what we saw:
Big Ben
London Eye
ParliamentAfter the cruise, we had our first test from Regent’s (yeah, 2 days in, harsh). They didn’t supply us with transportation back to the school! And it was after midnight so the Tube wasn’t running (one of the ridiculous parts of London transportation), so we needed to find a bus. After searching for a while, we finally found the spot where Bus 139, our new best friend, would pick us up, so we waited… and waited… and waited until finally, it arrived. On the plus side, we made 2 new friends, Mike and Jake, so that was good! We also had our first Double Decker bus experience. When we finally got back to our rooms, after about 2 hours to get back to school, which is only 20 minutes from the Thames, we could sleep.Sunday we went to Camden Market
One of our new favorite places to go, both day and night! There were lots of touristy things, and even a man singing and playing the piano, he was actually really good!
The street has lots of different things on it
and so much to do!To get back, we walked through the park, the gates at the entrance are beautiful, and it was nice to see lots of families, couples, and people with their dogs walking around!
That night we went to Piccadilly Circus to the Sports Cafe (a place we have visited many times since) with our friend Mikaelah to watch the Patriots vs. Ravens game. We met a man named Robert Craft who happens to be (no, not the Patriots owner) the President of Fox Music! He’s won Grammy’s AND he co-produced the song “Under the Sea” from the Little Mermaid! Click here to see what else he’s done!Monday we started classes. I have Visual Communications, Marketing, International Theatre (notice the spelling), and Writing for Public Relations. My professors seem nice and I’m excited to listen to their accents all day! 3 of my classes are 3-hour blocks, should be interesting to get used to that!Tuesday night we went to The Sports Cafe again. It was fun because there were lots of Regent’s kids there, and we spent a lot of time just hanging out with each other, recapping our time so far!Thursday we went to O’Neills, a bar with 3 floors and lots of people. We definitely danced the night away, and were exhausted once we finally got home. It’s in a cool area too!
Friday we planned on going to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards, unfortuantely that meant waking up at 8, which was just not going to happen, so instead we waited and later in the day went to ride the London Eye! An experience I think anyone staying in London should have.
After our ride, we went over to see Big Ben (because there aren’t enough pictures of it already) and Westminster Abbey! Unfortunately the tours of the Abbey were done for the day, but we still got to take some cool pictures!
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
London Eye, Big Ben, and a Double Decker Bus!!
We went to the Metropolitan again Friday night, and Cassie and Kristen, who were starving, went to get McDonalds where they got Jiggy the sheep dog! We’re going to take pictures of him wherever we go (or at least try to) so Jiggy can go on adventures in London! After the Metropolitan we got some rest :) And that was Week 1!! Unfortunately, I have classes tomorrow (we’re only on Friday on the blog) so I must get some sleep, goodnight!! And remember…
Don’t forget to smile!! :) -
Hm… Sorry
Remember that one time when I’m literally terrible at blogging? Not to worry though! We’re all settled in and I’m finally going to sit down and write about everything that’s happened… mostly because I’m doing laundry and finished my work for the beginning half of this week… well… almost finished anyway. So here goes nothing…
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Making a new tomorrow - Moving across the Pond
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending - Maria Robinson
I’m new at this whole bloggingthing, so bear with me. I’m 21, a junior in college, and studying abroad in London, England for the semester. Coming from a small town (less than 4000 people) and a small college (less than 5000 people), living in London is quite the change. I’ve always wanted to live in the city, though, so being here with 3 of my best friends is going to be an amazing experience. Of course, this also means I want to write it all down!
Naturally, I’m running late on starting this, as we’ve already been here since the 19th of January, but better late than never, right?
I guess I should start from the beginning, which was not a great omen for the trip. Amanda, Cassie, and I arrived at the airport to catch the 7:45 p.m. plane. Things were mostly going smoothly. Of course a few tears were shed, as expected, but we made it through security without a hitch and were loaded onto the plane at 6:50. Of course, after taxiing down the runway, we noticed that the plane had stopped. The captain soon informed us that there was a temperature problem in the cabin, and we would have to go to have electricians look at it. After about an hour and a half, we were off again, only to have the same situation happen once again. Due to USA laws, passengers are not allowed to sit on a plane for more than 4 hours, so at 11:30 we were asked to leave the plane where we would sit in the terminal and wait for the news about our flight. After another hour, we learned that the plane would be canceled and rescheduled for 24 hours later, because a part needed to be flown in from the UK. We were instructed to get in line to receive a new ticket or a hotel accommodation. Lucky for us, Cassie’s grandfather came to get Cassie and tactfully cut the line, so we got onto a new flight for 8:15 the next morning, meaning we would be scheduled to arrive in London 12 hours behind schedule, at 7 on Thursday evening, the 19th. After getting our bags (of course the luggage belt broke and needed to be fixed) we were finally back at Cassie’s grandparents’ house at 2, and we slept until 5:45 the next morning before getting up to do it all again.
Good news! We finally arrived in London on Thursday night, the 19th, and Amanda’s grandmothers friend (a Londoner!… from Ireland) picked us up. We made it through customs no problem and, after stuffing 6 big bags, 6 carry-ons, and 5 people (including the woman and her husband) into 2 tiny cars we were off to the university! Driving through London that night reminded me of two of my favorite cities, Boston and New York (ironic, isn’t it?), and I soon realized that I could definitely learn to love this city as well. Just big enough to make you in awe of your surroundings, but still find it manageable, this would be my new home for 3 and a half months, and the emotions going on in my brain flip flopped from nervous, to scared, to downright terrified, to ecstatic for what was to come.
After a bit of trouble getting into the college, we finally lugged our bags up 4 (yes, FOUR) flights of stairs and began the unpacking process. We met our friend Kristen in the hallway and the four of us have been inseparable ever since.
On Friday, we went to orientation and met a number of people on campus. After that I went to a mandatory meeting for students in theatre classes which consisted of the professors telling us what each class entailed and then saying we were essentially stuck with those classes as the good ones werefilled up. We then had lunch (or final free meal from the university, so they told us) and met with our advisor who helped us to finalize our schedules so we would be ready for Monday’s classes. After this we finished unpacking, had dinner in the refectory (cafeteria) and went on a Jack the Ripper tour, which took us all around East London as we learned about the murders that took place there in the 1800s. After this we met up with a friend we’d made, Mikaela, and her friends Allyson and Kathleen. After attempts to get to various clubs in London, which were hindered by the busses, we went to the Metropolitan Bar, a classy place with lots of seating and where the attendees seem to be young London professionals. We all had a beer and were excited to talk about where we’re from and what we expected out of our trip.
I don’t want to overwhelm with information, so I’m going to stop here for the night and get some sleep, it is almost midnight after all! And if I want to get breakfast before my 10:30 module (class) I’d better get some sleep.
