Cathedral, Tower, Museum, Candy, GELATO

Blogging is starting to be put a on the back-burner a little bit, but I WILL PREVAIL and endure and press forward. You will stay informed! We started our classes and have an unreal amount of reading- read entire local newspaper for 8 days straight, read a few other newspapers (tabloid/magazine type), history book(s) readings, novel readings, packet readings. It's pretty intense and starting to be in the back of my mind. Not saying it necessarily gets done...still living the YOLO motto. No regrets, right?

The last two days we hit up:
St. Paul's Cathedral: We met outside this huge cathedral and had a guided tour inside (no pictures allowed). It was crazy to walk over the real graves of people on the bottom level. Contrast that with a 500+ stairs hike to the very very tip top of the cathedral- a special feature of our tour group- and you get the most gorgeous pictures of the entire city, plus a huge, losing battle with the wind.

Our cute group- Mallory (laying down in the front) looks wayy happy.

 View from the top. Can't wait to see the London Eye up close!

 Later that night, we went exploring again. We didn't get lost, but we did have quite the experience trying different candies at a little candy vendor in Whiteley's Mall. Among them: Turkish Delight (like Edmund's favorite in Lion, Witch & Wardrobe). Nastiest candy. Texture, taste, all sick.

 Later, later that night, a group of girls went to a pub nearby and tried the sticky toffee pudding that was recommended to us by Professor Nick's 12 year old daughter, Anna. She said it was her fav so we gave it a try! It tasted way better than it looks, especially with the side of ice cream. I'm not a huge fan of the dates that were embedded in the cake..but we loved the pub. My bunk mate, Mackenzie (far right) and I were obsessed with the live entertainment. We hardcore creeped on the English guy playing covers on his guitar. He loved us, no doubt.

London Tower: It has been raining like crazy here. I would upload more pictures, but our internet connection isn't very fast, to say the least. We went to the London Tower, but saw the London Bridge pretty clearly from where we were! The London Tower was an unguided tour and we saw the Queen's crown along with the sceptres and lots of really expensive stuff- solid gold, real jewels...

Then we went on a London Walk of around the walls of Old London. Honestly, I didn't really pay much attention, but I did learn that there is a Cheshire Cheese pub, Erin Garfield likes wearing Nike's, Mallory Hutchings owns the Disney World scene, and so on.

The London Museum was actually way interesting too! I've never been a huge history buff, but everything was so well done that made me want to know more. The exhibits about the Black Death and the Great Fire were fascinating, especially how quickly London was able to recover and how much religion had to do with these two tragedies. See? I'm learning stuff! How bout that.

And we saw this bowl in the gift shop. It had nothing to do with anything, except for how it reminded me of Paul Wagner. "Please Sir, I want some more."

Yes. I have started thinking at least 80% of my thoughts in a British accent. Actually, let's be real here, probably more like 95%. We're all just trying to be socially accepted in this new culture. I have been on dish duty with a few other students for the past few days..we rotate..and it's been quite the bonding experience! I am obsessed with our London Centre group. We are sassy, sarcastic, LOUD, hilarious, passionate, and completely driven in our own ways. It is truly a blessing to be a part of this 40+ member family. Tonight, jet lag did not prevail, and we all congregated outside, in the living room, the kitchen, etc. just kickin it with each other.

I think it's safe to say that we are insane. It's true love.

Be Careful What You Wish For...

This morning I woke up bright and early around 5:00. I felt ambitious so I went for a little run in Regent's Park. I hadn't gone running in a while and was definitely feeling it after the first two songs on my ipod, but I pressed forward! The park was absolutely beautiful and it was just a little misty. Turns out, Queen Mary's Gardens was embedded in the park where I was jogging. I got so distracted by the gorgeous fountains and flowers, willow trees and cute ponds, that I just kept going and going! The best part was that there was virtually no one in sight, so I felt like it was my secret discovery. My whole "theme" I guess you could say is to GET LOST IN LONDON. It seems like that would be the best adventure for someone who has six weeks of just living here! Yet as I kept running and kept discovering, I was happy, but when I started to get tired and wanting to go back, I didn't know where I was! Luckily there were many maps around, but it ended up being quite the jogging expedition that took about an hour. Yeahh man just getting a hot bod.. no big deal!

Then I went to delicious Caffe Nero for breakfast, pretty much like the London version of Starbucks, and read the local London Times newspaper. Quite a lovely morning!

Now. My adventure to the actual London Centre. The Tube traveling went fine, only messed up on one little stop- not that big of a deal. By that time, though, it had started raining pretty steadily, and I was carrying all my stuff (50 lb. suitcase, violin, large touristy backpack). I realized once I got off the Tube that I had no idea how to get to the Centre from the station. So, I bought a map of London.
This was what I looked at for a good...hour? Two hours? Oh but don't worry, I was hauling my suitcase and attempting to walk the entire time. Mama, my raincoat is a blessing sent from heaven above. This is the corner of the map I thought Palace Ct. was. I failed to see that the W8 postal code shown is not the same as the W2 postal code of the Centre. I walked and walked and walked, pushing my suitcase the whole way. I said many prayers of thanks that my suitcase wasn't broken, that my violin case wasn't leaking, and that my legs weren't broken. When I arrived at the London Centre, after asking many strangers for directions and receiving all different answers, I was VERY grateful to be there.

We went on our first walk, then a small group of us went to the Camden Town Market to explore for a bit. Another theme: YOLO. you only live once!
Since I am in the group that does dishes this first week (kinda like Girls Camp), we took a little longer and missed out on a huge group that went to get gelato after dinner. We decided to show them up, and with our "clique", we ventured out to get our own gelato...at the same place of course. But we weren't quite exactly sure where it was. We wandered, became a little delirious, and found it after..an hour and a half?..when it's less than 15 minutes away. SO SO worth it though. Gelato Mio will be a place I will go quite frequently.

Lessons learned: 1. Admit you don't know where something is. 2. It's okay to take a long time to read the map. 3. Don't go somewhere you think might be the right direction. 4. Laughing about getting lost is hands down the only way to have fun and stay sane. 5. Don't ask Brits for directions.


Confession: I got lost in London today. Not only once- three times. But did I lose? nah... epic. win.
 

Day 2: Zoo

I arrived in London safely! and survived the Tube without getting lost! Since I got here a whole day before the program technically starts, I have had all day to myself. I am so grateful for Melissa Stevenson who introduced me to Chelsea Smart, my new friend who is letting me crash her flat tonight. She is adorable and I want to grow up to be like her. Really though.

After I dropped off all of my stuff, I explored. Chelsea told me about markets just down the street so I ventured out and saw the cutest shopping places with cheap prices and all clothes I wanted. I limited myself to two pairs of earrings for 5 pounds. Not bad, right?

I allowed myself to wander around the area near Chelsea's flat and walked past quaint little flats that I would love to call my own! The little girls and boys who had just gotten out of school were all dressed up in uniform with their British accents...perfection. I came to a random park and sat down for a bit. Then this little guy came running up and all I felt was pure joy:

A visit from puppy Fred!

 I still felt ambitious, so I kept walking. There were signs everywhere for the London Zoo, and after finding a map, I realized it was SUPER close to where I was. So I went...with myself...and we had a great time!

 After I got home, Chelsea took me to her favorite place to get fish and chips. If I'm gonna be a Brit, I'd better start acting (eating) like one! They weren't even bad. I just don't think it will be necessary for me to have that much fried fish too often on this trip.
It's 8:47 pm and I am exhausted.

Goodnight all.

Day 1

Today began with procrastination at its finest. I realized that I still had three books to pick up from the Bookstore, so after packing the car, I headed down right as it opened and snagged my Sense and Sensibility and A Tale of Two Cities. So English.

My angel roommate Megan drove me to the airport after picking up a sweet breakfast treat at Einstein's Bagels...delish. It's become our tradition to go there when we part. We're kind of attached to each other.

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time, checked my bag- exactly 50 pounds. I felt accomplished. My first flight to Houston left at 12:02 pm and arrived around 3:50. With about a 2 hour layover, I will be boarding for London verrry shortly! I've already bonded with my fellow travelers and I am always reminded why I have fallen in love with traveling each time I go to an airport. I am obsessed with how kind random strangers are to each other, and how willing people are to help.

Reminiscing from Germany: It reminds me that "We are all human!"

Love it.

Hello World.

So it begins! My journey to the UK is a mere 4 days away. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to experience London for myself through this study abroad. Though I'm only one in a group of 41 other students, the places I go and the things I feel will be very individual to me. It is an exhilarating thought and I couldn't be more excited.

Stay tuned...

BYU London Centre

27 Palace Ct

London W2 4LP, United Kingdom