I spent this past weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland with Christine, Alex, Ramon, Dave L, and his roommate Jake. We had an absolutely fantastic time, and it was great to get out of London for a few days. Here is a run-down of our adventures:
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Departed at 11:15 pm for Edinburgh on a bus. Probably some of the worst nine hours of my life. We started out the night running late because the boys had forgotten to grab snacks for the ride, so we had to wait for them to go to the grocery store. When we finally arrived at the station, it was time to load the bus, and by the time we got on, there weren't any seats left together, so we had to separate. Christine ended up at the front of the bus, while the rest of us ended up at the back of the bus. I lucked out because the man sitting next to me realized I was friends with Jake, who was sitting in front of me, and he offered to switch with Jake, which worked out really well.
Now, I'm going to need to take a minute to share Christine's experiences on the bus ride, because they are so ridiculous that they would only happen to her. Basically, she was sitting across the aisle from a drunken, smelly, homeless man. He began the trip by unzipping his pants, putting both hands down them, and "fondling" himself. Christine, thinking this was really quite lovely, decided to put in her iPod and go to sleep. Unfortunately, she was awoken a little while later to someone groping her face. This "someone" turned out to be the homeless man, and he didn't stop until the guy in front of him turned around and said "Dude, seriously stop it." So Christine is sufficiently freaked out, and the homeless man just can't keep his hands to himself, and finally a nice man decides that he will switch seats with Christine so that she doesn't have to be groped any more. Oh, discount bus companies.
So anyways, we arrive in Newcastle for a scheduled stop around 4 am, when our bus driver decides it will be a cool idea to run into the bus shelter, literally. He cracks the windshield, and makes us all get off of the bus and get on another bus. However, he made us hurry off of the bus just to stand in the cold for half an hour. Super. We finally arrived in Edinburgh at the early hour of 8:25 am, and headed to our hostel.
Friday, 19 February 2010
We got to our hostel a few hours before check-in, so they let us drop our bags in the "wee room off of the kitchen" until we could get into our room. We grabbed some stuff to get us through the day, brushed our teeth and changed, and headed down the street to grab breakfast. We ate at the same place every day, The Royal Mile Pub. They had a create-your-own breakfast for £2.95 every day with a lot of options, and the food was really good and filling.
After we ate breakfast, we headed down the street to where they were giving out free tours. There is a company in Europe called NewEurope that gives free tours in most of the major cities around Europe. The guides work on a tips-only basis, and they ask that you give them as much as you have or as much as you think they deserve, but you are in no way obligated to pay them. This gave us a pretty extensive three-hour tour of the city, which was helpful in the coming days. Some sites we saw included a bunch of random historic landmarks that I can't remember (haha). We also got to see a bunch of landmarks relating to Harry Potter (hooray!). J.K. Rowling wrote the first two Harry Potter books in the Elephant Cafe in Edinburgh when she lived there. She couldn't afford heat for her home, so she would buy a cup of tea and sit in the cafe overlooking the city of Edinburgh all day while she wrote. Some things that are in Edinburgh include a graveyard where she got a bunch of names to use in the books (Tom Riddle and McGonagall were two of them), and the building that was her inspiration for Hogwarts (which is actually a school that her children attended!). There was also an extensive part of the tour based around Greyfriar's Bobby, a dog that used to follow his owner around the graveyard until his owner passed away, and then he sat on his grave for 7 years until he himself passed away. Bittersweet. People loved Bobby so much, however, that they continue to leave presents on his monument in the graveyard (he wasn't allowed to actually be buried there because apparently you have to be baptized to be buried in a graveyard, and he couldn't be baptized because he was a dog. Hm.)
After the tour, we found a really cute thing. On a bench in the park, there was a sign that read "Hi! Please use me to take 1 picture of anything that catches your eye. My owner will be back to collect me later. Thanks. XXX" with a camera attached. We took a few pictures (but not more than one each) and headed away. Hopefully the pictures will be posted soon: www.astrangerview.com
We headed back to the hostel after lunch, and we took a nap since we were all exhausted from not sleeping very well on the bus. We grabbed dinner at the Thai restaurant that was connected to our hostel, and then went out to a pub for a few drinks. We didn't last too late though, since we were still pretty tired. Side note: The Guinness in Scotland tasted like the Guinness in Ireland, which was a pleasant surprise (spoiler alert: Guinness in Ireland is pretty much the most delicious thing ever. Everywhere else in the world [except apparently Scotland] it tastes burnt.)
Edinburgh Days 3&4: Coming Soon!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
London Days 29-31: Alex's Birthday Spectacular!
Tuesday marked my 29th day in London (Wow.) It's mind-blowing that I have been here for this long already. Tuesday was also Shrove Tuesday here in the UK! Shrove Tuesday is just a nickname for... Pancake Day! So, during my class on Tuesday, we were given a break to go downstairs in the lounge and eat pancakes. I think that this might be the best holiday ever created. The pancakes weren't traditional American-style pancakes, though. They were somewhere between a crepe and an American pancake, but they were still delicious (and covered in Nutella. Yum.)
Tuesday also marked the eve of Alex's 23rd birthday. After unsuccessfully trying to attend Trivia Night at a nearby pub, we settled with going to Sports Cafe in Soho for their student night. Really good drink specials coupled with a lot of people made for a really good night. We also managed to get a booth, so we could sit and talk until midnight, when we did a round of tequila shots in Alex's honor. Overall, it was a pretty fun night.
Wednesday morning wasn't quite as fun, as I had to be up early for a meeting at 9:30 am. I was exhausted because I hadn't fallen asleep until almost 3:30 the night before, which is exactly why I never go out on weeknights. Anyways, my meeting was for a conference called Unite the Union, which I am attending next Tuesday-Thursday. I'm not totally sure what it will be about, but I know it has to do with Workers Unions in the UK, and Immigrants' Education reform. It should be really interesting, and it will give me a chance to see another part of England. The conference is in Eastbourne, which is supposed to be a pretty little seaside town. I'll also get to interact with some British people, which will be really cool, because they are surprisingly hard to find.
After my first class Wednesday I baked Alex's birthday cake, took a nap, and then went to my second class of the day. After class it was a mad dash to get everything ready in time to go out to dinner with Alex. (We had planned a surprise party for him where everyone would hang out at my apartment and then we would move to a karaoke bar from 10pm-12am.) We (Christine & I) managed to get ready just in time so that he wouldn't see anyone coming for the party, and we went out for a nice Italian dinner down the street from our flats. After dinner we brought him back to my flat, where everyone surprised him and then we hung out for a few hours.
At 9:30 we headed to the karaoke bar in Soho, where we had a private room rented out. It was called Lucky Voice, and it was the absolute GREATEST! We had a spectacular time there. They delivered drinks directly to your room, and had a HUGE song selection. We sang for the full two hours until they kicked us out, and then we moved to another bar to finish up the night. The bouncers even let us in without a cover since it was Alex's birthday! Yeehaw!
Lucky for me, my class this morning was cancelled because my professor is out-of-town in Amsterdam for the weekend, so I was able to sleep for a sufficient amount of time. Tonight we (Christine, Alex, Ramon, Dave, Dave's roommate Jake, and I) depart for Edinburgh, Scotland (pronounced "Ed-in-bra") at 11:15pm. We are taking a nine-hour bus ride there. It should prove to be interesting. What will be even more interesting is the return journey, which will get us back to London at 7:30am, just an hour and a half before we all have commitments. I'm not really sure what Edinburgh has to offer, but I'm sure it will be a fun time. More updates to come after the weekend is over!
Tuesday also marked the eve of Alex's 23rd birthday. After unsuccessfully trying to attend Trivia Night at a nearby pub, we settled with going to Sports Cafe in Soho for their student night. Really good drink specials coupled with a lot of people made for a really good night. We also managed to get a booth, so we could sit and talk until midnight, when we did a round of tequila shots in Alex's honor. Overall, it was a pretty fun night.
Wednesday morning wasn't quite as fun, as I had to be up early for a meeting at 9:30 am. I was exhausted because I hadn't fallen asleep until almost 3:30 the night before, which is exactly why I never go out on weeknights. Anyways, my meeting was for a conference called Unite the Union, which I am attending next Tuesday-Thursday. I'm not totally sure what it will be about, but I know it has to do with Workers Unions in the UK, and Immigrants' Education reform. It should be really interesting, and it will give me a chance to see another part of England. The conference is in Eastbourne, which is supposed to be a pretty little seaside town. I'll also get to interact with some British people, which will be really cool, because they are surprisingly hard to find.
After my first class Wednesday I baked Alex's birthday cake, took a nap, and then went to my second class of the day. After class it was a mad dash to get everything ready in time to go out to dinner with Alex. (We had planned a surprise party for him where everyone would hang out at my apartment and then we would move to a karaoke bar from 10pm-12am.) We (Christine & I) managed to get ready just in time so that he wouldn't see anyone coming for the party, and we went out for a nice Italian dinner down the street from our flats. After dinner we brought him back to my flat, where everyone surprised him and then we hung out for a few hours.
At 9:30 we headed to the karaoke bar in Soho, where we had a private room rented out. It was called Lucky Voice, and it was the absolute GREATEST! We had a spectacular time there. They delivered drinks directly to your room, and had a HUGE song selection. We sang for the full two hours until they kicked us out, and then we moved to another bar to finish up the night. The bouncers even let us in without a cover since it was Alex's birthday! Yeehaw!
Lucky for me, my class this morning was cancelled because my professor is out-of-town in Amsterdam for the weekend, so I was able to sleep for a sufficient amount of time. Tonight we (Christine, Alex, Ramon, Dave, Dave's roommate Jake, and I) depart for Edinburgh, Scotland (pronounced "Ed-in-bra") at 11:15pm. We are taking a nine-hour bus ride there. It should prove to be interesting. What will be even more interesting is the return journey, which will get us back to London at 7:30am, just an hour and a half before we all have commitments. I'm not really sure what Edinburgh has to offer, but I'm sure it will be a fun time. More updates to come after the weekend is over!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
London Days 25&26: Hedge Mazes and Primark
Friday was an early day for Christine and I, who decided to have a slumber party out on the couches after going out Thursday night. We caught the bus bright and early for the field trip to Canterbury Cathedral and Leeds Castle. After a roughly two-hour bus ride, we arrived in Canterbury and got to go and see the cathedral. At this point, however, I'm pretty cathedraled out. I feel like they all look pretty similar, so I like to go inside to see the stained glass windows, but that's about it. Christine and I were starving by the time we reached the cathedral, so we only walked around for a bit before retiring to a fish and chips place for lunch. Afterwards, we went shopping and I bought a pair of GREEN PANTS (I'm very excited about them).
We caught the bus a few hours later to go to Leeds Castle. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised. You had to walk about a mile down a long road before getting to the castle, which had been refurbished so that it looked just as it would have in the middle ages. It was supremely interesting. After we toured the castle, we walked a little further down behind the castle, where they had a bird exhibit (random) and a HEDGE MAZE (I was excited about this as well). The goal of the maze was the reach the center, where it was elevated and you could see the entire maze. Christine and I got lost in it for about 30-40 minutes before finally finding the center. It was awesome. After you found the center, you got to take a secret passageway out of the maze (rather than having to try to find your way back to the entrance), which led you through this really crazy/creepy cave thing.
Everyone was pretty tired on Friday night, so after we got back we just made some dinner and watched Notting Hill with the rest of the gang before heading to bed early.
Saturday morning I had to wake up to bring my laptop in to the Apple store because the screen was on the fritz and was probably going to break soon. They told me they would have to take it for 2ish weeks to repair it :(. I did, however, get to go to the prettiest mall I've ever been to. It was super upscale and had a store for any designer you can possibly imagine. Crazy. After that I met up with Christine and we went shopping on Oxford Street at Primark (super cheap clothing store - awesome!) even though Primark was like a zoo. It seriously reminded me of Black Friday. After shopping, neither of us were feeling well, so we slept through the afternoon before going out at night. We all ended up going to Shakespeare's Head, along with Ramon's sister who flew in to visit, for drinks and conversation. It was nice because it wasn't too busy, which was odd for a Saturday night, but at least we were able to sit down and talk without it being super crowded and loud.
Today is a lazy day, and I'm probably just going to hang out at my flat and do work, but perhaps an adventure is in store for later this evening... you never know when we're going to go exploring on a random night.
We caught the bus a few hours later to go to Leeds Castle. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised. You had to walk about a mile down a long road before getting to the castle, which had been refurbished so that it looked just as it would have in the middle ages. It was supremely interesting. After we toured the castle, we walked a little further down behind the castle, where they had a bird exhibit (random) and a HEDGE MAZE (I was excited about this as well). The goal of the maze was the reach the center, where it was elevated and you could see the entire maze. Christine and I got lost in it for about 30-40 minutes before finally finding the center. It was awesome. After you found the center, you got to take a secret passageway out of the maze (rather than having to try to find your way back to the entrance), which led you through this really crazy/creepy cave thing.
Everyone was pretty tired on Friday night, so after we got back we just made some dinner and watched Notting Hill with the rest of the gang before heading to bed early.
Saturday morning I had to wake up to bring my laptop in to the Apple store because the screen was on the fritz and was probably going to break soon. They told me they would have to take it for 2ish weeks to repair it :(. I did, however, get to go to the prettiest mall I've ever been to. It was super upscale and had a store for any designer you can possibly imagine. Crazy. After that I met up with Christine and we went shopping on Oxford Street at Primark (super cheap clothing store - awesome!) even though Primark was like a zoo. It seriously reminded me of Black Friday. After shopping, neither of us were feeling well, so we slept through the afternoon before going out at night. We all ended up going to Shakespeare's Head, along with Ramon's sister who flew in to visit, for drinks and conversation. It was nice because it wasn't too busy, which was odd for a Saturday night, but at least we were able to sit down and talk without it being super crowded and loud.
Today is a lazy day, and I'm probably just going to hang out at my flat and do work, but perhaps an adventure is in store for later this evening... you never know when we're going to go exploring on a random night.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
London Days 21-24: Time Flies When You're in London...
So it's Thursday already. Time flies by here, and it's crazy. I've also realized in the past few days that I am finally in my groove here. I know my way around, I understand the currency, I understand most of the customs, and my classes are all underway. My flat is beginning to feel like home, my friends are starting to feel like my family, and London is starting to not feel so scary after all.
I've also come to the revelation that at this point, writing about my daily doings isn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world. I do pretty much the same thing day after day, so I think I am only going to post about exciting adventures or random thoughts that I may have.
A quick recap of life over the past 4 days:
Monday I did nothing but work and procrastination all day. More of the latter, though.
Tuesday Christine and I went to the Tate Modern museum so she could do a project. We went in this really cool sculpture thing that I can't do justice by explaining, but I think it changed my life a little. Afterwards, we tried to catch the sunset over the Thames, but it was difficult to see from our location. Then we decided it would be nice to make ourselves dinner. We bought salmon steaks, corn, and rice and came back to my flat to cook it. We put sweet chili sauce on the salmon before we baked it because we couldn't find teriyaki sauce, and it was delicious. Yum.
Wednesday I had class all day, and then did some work before heading over to Ramon and Alex's to hang out. We just hung out until the 'Cuse game (vs. UConn) and only Alex and I were dedicated enough to stay up until the end. 'Cuse won, but only after scaring the crap out of me. And then when I returned home, I got the crap scared out of me by a mouse that was living under our couch. Katie and I have named him Morton. I don't mind having him around, I just hope he doesn't scare me again. I sat on the counter for a long time while he played peek-a-boo with me behind the couch and I worked the guts up to go get my purse haha.
Thursday I have done nothing but eat, sleep, work, and go to class. However, I think we're going out in a little bit, so that should be nice. I'm such a bum.
On a side note, I'm going to Leeds Castle and Canterbury (like the Canterbury tales) tomorrow. Hooray!
I've also come to the revelation that at this point, writing about my daily doings isn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world. I do pretty much the same thing day after day, so I think I am only going to post about exciting adventures or random thoughts that I may have.
A quick recap of life over the past 4 days:
Monday I did nothing but work and procrastination all day. More of the latter, though.
Tuesday Christine and I went to the Tate Modern museum so she could do a project. We went in this really cool sculpture thing that I can't do justice by explaining, but I think it changed my life a little. Afterwards, we tried to catch the sunset over the Thames, but it was difficult to see from our location. Then we decided it would be nice to make ourselves dinner. We bought salmon steaks, corn, and rice and came back to my flat to cook it. We put sweet chili sauce on the salmon before we baked it because we couldn't find teriyaki sauce, and it was delicious. Yum.
Wednesday I had class all day, and then did some work before heading over to Ramon and Alex's to hang out. We just hung out until the 'Cuse game (vs. UConn) and only Alex and I were dedicated enough to stay up until the end. 'Cuse won, but only after scaring the crap out of me. And then when I returned home, I got the crap scared out of me by a mouse that was living under our couch. Katie and I have named him Morton. I don't mind having him around, I just hope he doesn't scare me again. I sat on the counter for a long time while he played peek-a-boo with me behind the couch and I worked the guts up to go get my purse haha.
Thursday I have done nothing but eat, sleep, work, and go to class. However, I think we're going out in a little bit, so that should be nice. I'm such a bum.
On a side note, I'm going to Leeds Castle and Canterbury (like the Canterbury tales) tomorrow. Hooray!
Monday, February 8, 2010
London Day 20: Old City Walking Tour & Bowling
Sunday morning was the Old City London walking tour. Claire decided not to go, so it was Christine, Alex, and I, along with about seven or eight other people. The tour guide was pretty interesting, and he kept the tour moving which was nice. He was also knowledgeable on the subject without giving us too much information, which I've noticed tour guides tend to do. We went to a ton of different sites in London, ranging from old to new. My favorite site was probably the Tower Bridge and the Knight's Templar. We didn't get very close to Tower Bridge, but it was really pretty - I'll definitely have to go back. We were also lucky enough to go inside the Knight's Templar, which our tour guide says rarely ever happens because it is not usually open to the public. Some other sights that we saw were the Millenium Bridge, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Fleet Street, an old church that had been bombed during WWII, the London Stock Exchange,the London courthouses, and a bunch of other places that I can't remember.
After the walking tour, we stopped at a Pub to grab some fish n' chips (it was a craving I was having this weekend) before heading back to our flats. At 5:30 we headed out to go to 'Bowling with Brian', which was really fun. We went to a really retro bowling alley with a bunch of people and it was fantastic. Brian had made up names for all of us ahead of time to use as we bowled (I was 'Nugget', Christine was 'Pink', Ramon was 'Beans', Dave was 'Sausage', Claire was 'Rocket', and Alex was 'Thunder'). I had been complaining all day about what a terrible bowler I was, but as it turns out, I was one of the best! I ended up winning the first game with a whopping 84, and coming in second in the second game with a 100! This was amazing for me, because I rarely break 100, and I usually average 65-75, so I was really happy. My friends, on the other hand, weren't so happy with my success haha, but it was fun nonetheless.
After bowling, we went home for a few hours before re-commencing at Alex/Ramon's flat for the Superbowl. I didn't have a big investment in any of the teams that were playing, but I really wanted to see The Who play the halftime show. Kick-off here was at 11:30 pm, so it was a very late night, especially for a Sunday. It was also disappointing because the Superbowl was aired on BBC, which is a publicly funded station, so they weren't allowed to show any commercials, and instead showed extra commentary during the American commercial breaks. So, that means that YouTube and I have a date tonight because, being an Advertising major, I need to watch all of the commercials.
I was horribly, horribly disappointed by The Who's performance, and ended up going to bed right afterwards. I cannot believe that the Superbowl actually booked them if that is what they look/sound like now. (I will stop ranting now). So, I was pretty upset that I stayed up for it, since they didn't play until about 2:00 am here, but at least I got to spend some quality time with friends, so it wasn't a completely lost cause. :)
After the walking tour, we stopped at a Pub to grab some fish n' chips (it was a craving I was having this weekend) before heading back to our flats. At 5:30 we headed out to go to 'Bowling with Brian', which was really fun. We went to a really retro bowling alley with a bunch of people and it was fantastic. Brian had made up names for all of us ahead of time to use as we bowled (I was 'Nugget', Christine was 'Pink', Ramon was 'Beans', Dave was 'Sausage', Claire was 'Rocket', and Alex was 'Thunder'). I had been complaining all day about what a terrible bowler I was, but as it turns out, I was one of the best! I ended up winning the first game with a whopping 84, and coming in second in the second game with a 100! This was amazing for me, because I rarely break 100, and I usually average 65-75, so I was really happy. My friends, on the other hand, weren't so happy with my success haha, but it was fun nonetheless.
After bowling, we went home for a few hours before re-commencing at Alex/Ramon's flat for the Superbowl. I didn't have a big investment in any of the teams that were playing, but I really wanted to see The Who play the halftime show. Kick-off here was at 11:30 pm, so it was a very late night, especially for a Sunday. It was also disappointing because the Superbowl was aired on BBC, which is a publicly funded station, so they weren't allowed to show any commercials, and instead showed extra commentary during the American commercial breaks. So, that means that YouTube and I have a date tonight because, being an Advertising major, I need to watch all of the commercials.
I was horribly, horribly disappointed by The Who's performance, and ended up going to bed right afterwards. I cannot believe that the Superbowl actually booked them if that is what they look/sound like now. (I will stop ranting now). So, I was pretty upset that I stayed up for it, since they didn't play until about 2:00 am here, but at least I got to spend some quality time with friends, so it wasn't a completely lost cause. :)
London Day 19: Abbey Road
We ventured to the Maryleborne Tube station early on Saturday morning for the Beatles walking tour. The tour was relatively interesting. We saw places where scenes of 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Help!' were filmed. Some other memorable landmarks included the courthouse where Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had both gotten married, the original site of the Apple store, a flat where Ringo Starr, Jimi Hendrix, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono had all lived (at separate times), and a flat where Paul McCartney had composed many memorable songs including 'Yesterday', 'Yellow Submarine', and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'. The best part, however, was going to see Abbey Road studios and the Abbey Road crosswalk. Luckily (for us, not for the traffic), the crosswalk is a pedestrian right-of-way crosswalk (not many in London are), so we were able to take some pictures crossing the crosswalk just like the Beatles did over 40 years ago. Yippee! We were even lucky enough to get an old VW Beetle in the background of one of our pictures as we crossed, which was a weird coincidence.
After the walking tour, Dave L, Claire, and I took the Tube to the Bond Street station, where we got out in search of some good (and cheap) fish n' chips. We found a little pub that had an available table and sat down for a long time, talking and enjoying our lunch. After lunch, I took a "power nap" (which actually turned into an all-afternoon nap) before waking up to Christine and Ramon sitting in my living room watching TV. Alex and Claire came over soon afterwards, and we all decided to go out in Covent Garden with my roommate Sam as well. Unfortunately, everywhere in Covent Garden was packed, and we weren't dressed well-enough to go to a club, so we ended up heading back towards Holborn and going to a pub called the White Hart. The night was fun for the most part, but Alex went to the ATM at one point and got his debit card stolen, which really sucked. Luckily he has gotten it all figured out, but it definitely put a damper on the night for a little bit.
We didn't stay at the pub too late because we were all pretty tired, and Claire, Christine, Alex, and I were all going on a walking tour the next morning.
After the walking tour, Dave L, Claire, and I took the Tube to the Bond Street station, where we got out in search of some good (and cheap) fish n' chips. We found a little pub that had an available table and sat down for a long time, talking and enjoying our lunch. After lunch, I took a "power nap" (which actually turned into an all-afternoon nap) before waking up to Christine and Ramon sitting in my living room watching TV. Alex and Claire came over soon afterwards, and we all decided to go out in Covent Garden with my roommate Sam as well. Unfortunately, everywhere in Covent Garden was packed, and we weren't dressed well-enough to go to a club, so we ended up heading back towards Holborn and going to a pub called the White Hart. The night was fun for the most part, but Alex went to the ATM at one point and got his debit card stolen, which really sucked. Luckily he has gotten it all figured out, but it definitely put a damper on the night for a little bit.
We didn't stay at the pub too late because we were all pretty tired, and Claire, Christine, Alex, and I were all going on a walking tour the next morning.
Friday, February 5, 2010
London Day 18: Buckingham Palace & Fuller's Brewery
I woke up this morning around 10:00 to get ready to go on the Royal London walking tour. A side note: this weekend is referred to as "Love London Weekend" at Faraday House, which basically means that they have planned 20+ events throughout the weekend so that we can get to know London better. Billy Elliot last night was the kick-off, and the activities continue throughout the weekend. So basically, I'm going to do a lot of sight-seeing this weekend.
Anyways, we met at Faraday for the tour at 10:45 and took the Tube to Buckingham Palace. We lucked out and arrived during the changing of the guards, so we were able to watch that for about two minutes before everyone got bored and we headed on to something else. We also saw the parade after the changing of the guards once we were a little farther away from the palace, complete with a marching band. (I have to mention that the band had a bassoonist and two french hornists, but no mellophones. I thought this was odd.)
We learned a lot of random/interesting facts about the Palace. My favorite stories were about how Buckingham Palace apparently gets broken into rather frequently. In one story, three Germans came to London and were planning on camping in Hyde Park for the night. They got really lost, and eventually thought they had found the park. There was a fence in the way, so they decided to jump the fence and set-up camp for the night. They slept, woke up in the morning, started a fire and cooked some beans for breakfast, and then packed up and got ready to leave. It wasn't until they asked a nearby security guard where the nearest Tube station was that they (and Buckingham Palace's security) realized they were on the Buckingham Palace lawn, and had been all night. The second one was by far my favorite. This time a drunken Irishman just walked right in the front doors. Apparently he was so drunk he was stumbling all over the place and managed to set off so many alarms at once that the guard on duty assumed the system was malfunctioning and turned everything off. So, this drunken man walks around the Palace for a few hours, going into the rooms, sitting in the throne, etc. when he reaches a room and opens the door. As it turns out, this particular room is the Queen's bedroom, and she is there sleeping. He gets on her bed (seductively, I might add) and awakens her. Apparently she kept very calm and tried to reach for her panic button by giving him a hug, but she couldn't reach. So, she engaged him in small talk for about 10 minutes before he asked her if he could bum a smoke. She said she didn't smoke, but her doorman downstairs did, and would he mind if she called the doorman to ask him to bring a pack of cigarettes upstairs. When she got on the phone she said something along the lines of, "Hi. It's the Queen. I was wondering if you could please bring up a pack of cigarettes for the DRUNK IRISHMAN THAT IS SITTING IN MY BED!" and in 30 seconds the man was surrounded by guards escorting him off the premises. I think that is a great story he'll be able to tell his grandchildren. (On a side note, he was never punished because there are no laws forbidding you to break into Buckingham Palace. Haha.)
Part of the way through the tour we had to leave so that we could grab a bite to eat and then catch the Tube to the brewery tour. The Tube ride was about 45 minutes long, but we really enjoyed it because a lot of it was above-ground, which was a nice change. It also happened to be a beautiful day in London today (about 45-50 degrees and sunny) so we tried to be outside as much as possible. Once we reached our group, we all got together and made the 15-ish minute walk to the brewery.
Fuller's Brewery was a really cute, small brewery. We got to see actual workers and actual beer being brewed. The tour guides were all very knowledgeable, and at the end we were able to sample all of the different brews that Fuller's makes. They have a wide variety of beers, including one called HoneyBee, which is brewed using actual honey! (And it tastes just like honey as well)
After the Brewery tour, we took a long walk along the river to get back to the Tube, which was really pretty because it was at sunset. We took the Tube home, Christine and I stopped at McDonald's because we were having a craving, and then we headed back to my flat to hang out. I would like to mention that the McDonald's here are very different from the ones in the States. They have a different menu (a lot healthier) with only a few of the same sandwiches, and the burgers taste a lot different, or at least I thought so. When we got back to my flat we ate dinner and then watched Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist with Katie and Sam (roommates) before everyone (roommates and company) headed out for the night and Claire, Alex, and Ramon joined Christine and I for a night in. We ended up watching a bunch of YouTube videos, listening to 90's music, and playing cards. It was nice to stay in since we were all exhausted from being out so late last night.
And now it is bedtime, and I have another long day of tours ahead of me. Hopefully tomorrow's tour (a Beatles walking tour!) will be more exciting than the past few that I have been on. Goodnight.
Anyways, we met at Faraday for the tour at 10:45 and took the Tube to Buckingham Palace. We lucked out and arrived during the changing of the guards, so we were able to watch that for about two minutes before everyone got bored and we headed on to something else. We also saw the parade after the changing of the guards once we were a little farther away from the palace, complete with a marching band. (I have to mention that the band had a bassoonist and two french hornists, but no mellophones. I thought this was odd.)
We learned a lot of random/interesting facts about the Palace. My favorite stories were about how Buckingham Palace apparently gets broken into rather frequently. In one story, three Germans came to London and were planning on camping in Hyde Park for the night. They got really lost, and eventually thought they had found the park. There was a fence in the way, so they decided to jump the fence and set-up camp for the night. They slept, woke up in the morning, started a fire and cooked some beans for breakfast, and then packed up and got ready to leave. It wasn't until they asked a nearby security guard where the nearest Tube station was that they (and Buckingham Palace's security) realized they were on the Buckingham Palace lawn, and had been all night. The second one was by far my favorite. This time a drunken Irishman just walked right in the front doors. Apparently he was so drunk he was stumbling all over the place and managed to set off so many alarms at once that the guard on duty assumed the system was malfunctioning and turned everything off. So, this drunken man walks around the Palace for a few hours, going into the rooms, sitting in the throne, etc. when he reaches a room and opens the door. As it turns out, this particular room is the Queen's bedroom, and she is there sleeping. He gets on her bed (seductively, I might add) and awakens her. Apparently she kept very calm and tried to reach for her panic button by giving him a hug, but she couldn't reach. So, she engaged him in small talk for about 10 minutes before he asked her if he could bum a smoke. She said she didn't smoke, but her doorman downstairs did, and would he mind if she called the doorman to ask him to bring a pack of cigarettes upstairs. When she got on the phone she said something along the lines of, "Hi. It's the Queen. I was wondering if you could please bring up a pack of cigarettes for the DRUNK IRISHMAN THAT IS SITTING IN MY BED!" and in 30 seconds the man was surrounded by guards escorting him off the premises. I think that is a great story he'll be able to tell his grandchildren. (On a side note, he was never punished because there are no laws forbidding you to break into Buckingham Palace. Haha.)
Part of the way through the tour we had to leave so that we could grab a bite to eat and then catch the Tube to the brewery tour. The Tube ride was about 45 minutes long, but we really enjoyed it because a lot of it was above-ground, which was a nice change. It also happened to be a beautiful day in London today (about 45-50 degrees and sunny) so we tried to be outside as much as possible. Once we reached our group, we all got together and made the 15-ish minute walk to the brewery.
Fuller's Brewery was a really cute, small brewery. We got to see actual workers and actual beer being brewed. The tour guides were all very knowledgeable, and at the end we were able to sample all of the different brews that Fuller's makes. They have a wide variety of beers, including one called HoneyBee, which is brewed using actual honey! (And it tastes just like honey as well)
After the Brewery tour, we took a long walk along the river to get back to the Tube, which was really pretty because it was at sunset. We took the Tube home, Christine and I stopped at McDonald's because we were having a craving, and then we headed back to my flat to hang out. I would like to mention that the McDonald's here are very different from the ones in the States. They have a different menu (a lot healthier) with only a few of the same sandwiches, and the burgers taste a lot different, or at least I thought so. When we got back to my flat we ate dinner and then watched Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist with Katie and Sam (roommates) before everyone (roommates and company) headed out for the night and Claire, Alex, and Ramon joined Christine and I for a night in. We ended up watching a bunch of YouTube videos, listening to 90's music, and playing cards. It was nice to stay in since we were all exhausted from being out so late last night.
And now it is bedtime, and I have another long day of tours ahead of me. Hopefully tomorrow's tour (a Beatles walking tour!) will be more exciting than the past few that I have been on. Goodnight.
London Day 17: Billy Elliot
Thursday morning I rolled out of bed and threw on a sweatshirt before quickly brushing my teeth and heading to class. 9 a.m. is my earliest class, and it is on Thursday morning, which is really inconvenient (since we don't have classes on Fridays, Thursdays feel like Fridays here).
This class was Culture, Subculture, and Style, which I can tell already is going to be my favorite class (excluding the Ireland prequel). The professor, Matthew (he refuses to go by anything else), is a hip early 30's Australian who is in a band. Awesome. He was in Brussels this past week for something, so he knew he was going to be late to class, so he got us a guest lecturer for the first half of class. This particular man is an expert on Burning Man festival, and another overall really cool guy. The topic was fascinating, and I think that Burning Man is something I would like to attend one day. Basically it is an 8-day festival where there is no currency and everyone just gives each other the things that they need. There are a lot of displays of art and music, and it is supposed to be a time when you can break down all social barriers and live in a "natural" society. I'm not sure how well it works, but either way, it sounds like a really cool experience.
After class, I slept for an unnecessarily long time before heading to work for 3 hours. Work was good, I was in the Academic Affairs office this time, and I got to do a little bit of work before beginning to create pictorial class rosters for the majority of my time there.
After work, I got home, showered and got ready for Billy Elliot! We got all dolled-up, and headed to the theatre just in time for the curtain. The musical was absolutely AMAZING! The set was spectacularly created and utilized, and the dancing was even better. The little boy who played Billy was especially talented, but so was the entirety of the cast. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me really excited to see more musicals while I am here (Lion King, anyone?)
After the musical, we headed back to our flat for a few minutes, and then met up with the boys at a pub called O'Neill's that has live music and a dance club on Thursday nights. It was really fun, and I hope we go back every week. They also played a lot of Lady Gaga (this is without my requesting it every five minutes until they finally cave in) which is a definite plus. Around 2:30 it started to clear out, so we hailed a cab back to pre-arranged housing (it was raining, and the Tube closes around midnight) and headed to bed. Christine slept over, so we stayed up and talked for awhile which was fun :) Hooray!
This class was Culture, Subculture, and Style, which I can tell already is going to be my favorite class (excluding the Ireland prequel). The professor, Matthew (he refuses to go by anything else), is a hip early 30's Australian who is in a band. Awesome. He was in Brussels this past week for something, so he knew he was going to be late to class, so he got us a guest lecturer for the first half of class. This particular man is an expert on Burning Man festival, and another overall really cool guy. The topic was fascinating, and I think that Burning Man is something I would like to attend one day. Basically it is an 8-day festival where there is no currency and everyone just gives each other the things that they need. There are a lot of displays of art and music, and it is supposed to be a time when you can break down all social barriers and live in a "natural" society. I'm not sure how well it works, but either way, it sounds like a really cool experience.
After class, I slept for an unnecessarily long time before heading to work for 3 hours. Work was good, I was in the Academic Affairs office this time, and I got to do a little bit of work before beginning to create pictorial class rosters for the majority of my time there.
After work, I got home, showered and got ready for Billy Elliot! We got all dolled-up, and headed to the theatre just in time for the curtain. The musical was absolutely AMAZING! The set was spectacularly created and utilized, and the dancing was even better. The little boy who played Billy was especially talented, but so was the entirety of the cast. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me really excited to see more musicals while I am here (Lion King, anyone?)
After the musical, we headed back to our flat for a few minutes, and then met up with the boys at a pub called O'Neill's that has live music and a dance club on Thursday nights. It was really fun, and I hope we go back every week. They also played a lot of Lady Gaga (this is without my requesting it every five minutes until they finally cave in) which is a definite plus. Around 2:30 it started to clear out, so we hailed a cab back to pre-arranged housing (it was raining, and the Tube closes around midnight) and headed to bed. Christine slept over, so we stayed up and talked for awhile which was fun :) Hooray!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
London Day 16: Soho & Covent Garden
Wednesdays are my "boring" days because I have class most of the day with only a two hour break. I know that this doesn't sound like too much torture, because usually I would have class all day if I were at SU's home campus, but it feels like a lot since I've gotten into the groove of only having one class per day.
I started the day off in my Food, Culture, and Identity class, where we had some discussions. After our discussion, we went on a walk down to Soho and Covent Garden. It was really cute over there, and I can't wait to go back with some friends. There were a lot of shops and food places, and it reminded me a little bit of Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall in Boston. There was also a cozy little alleyway called "Neal's Yard" which was a restored warehouse district full of bright colors and little shops.
After we finished in Covent Garden (and after I had the inspiration for what to buy Katie for her birthday), I caught the Tube back to my flat to eat lunch and do some reading. Once I completed that, I returned to Faraday House for my Communications Law class, which was just as monotonous as always. However, we did learn about a Supreme Court Case (sometimes it boggles my mind how these cases even make it to the Supreme Court) where a man in New Hampshire decided he wanted to cover up the state's motto ("Live Free or Die") on his liscense plate because it was against his religious and moral values. He was arrested three times for doing so, and eventually went to jail for 15 days because he refused to pay the fines. The Supreme Court ruled that the state of New Hampshire could not force him to bear the slogan, because it violated his First Amendment freedom of speech rights. Interesting, eh?
After class I headed back to my flat for a bit before joining Claire and Christine at Faraday to watch the movie Billy Elliot. Every Wednesday Faraday House has a film night in the lounge where students can come watch a particular film for free. This week it was Billy Elliot in preparation for those students who are going to see the musical (that's me!) tonight (Thursday)! It was a really good movie, I highly recommend it, although the accents are a little bit difficult to understand because they are so thick.
After the movie concluded, we went to invade Alex/Ramon/Chris/Tom's flat for a bit, but they didn't seem to be too amused by it, so we quickly left. We had originally planned on planning our Amsterdam trip with a whole bunch of people that night, but we decided to break off and plan it for a different weekend when less people would be going and when it would be significantly cheaper. So instead we hung out in my room for a little bit and watched old school Hanson videos until Alex came over. We managed to convince him to go out with us (even though Claire bailed because she had work to do) so Christine, Alex, and I headed over to Shakespeare's Head for a drink before going to bed for the night.
I started the day off in my Food, Culture, and Identity class, where we had some discussions. After our discussion, we went on a walk down to Soho and Covent Garden. It was really cute over there, and I can't wait to go back with some friends. There were a lot of shops and food places, and it reminded me a little bit of Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall in Boston. There was also a cozy little alleyway called "Neal's Yard" which was a restored warehouse district full of bright colors and little shops.
After we finished in Covent Garden (and after I had the inspiration for what to buy Katie for her birthday), I caught the Tube back to my flat to eat lunch and do some reading. Once I completed that, I returned to Faraday House for my Communications Law class, which was just as monotonous as always. However, we did learn about a Supreme Court Case (sometimes it boggles my mind how these cases even make it to the Supreme Court) where a man in New Hampshire decided he wanted to cover up the state's motto ("Live Free or Die") on his liscense plate because it was against his religious and moral values. He was arrested three times for doing so, and eventually went to jail for 15 days because he refused to pay the fines. The Supreme Court ruled that the state of New Hampshire could not force him to bear the slogan, because it violated his First Amendment freedom of speech rights. Interesting, eh?
After class I headed back to my flat for a bit before joining Claire and Christine at Faraday to watch the movie Billy Elliot. Every Wednesday Faraday House has a film night in the lounge where students can come watch a particular film for free. This week it was Billy Elliot in preparation for those students who are going to see the musical (that's me!) tonight (Thursday)! It was a really good movie, I highly recommend it, although the accents are a little bit difficult to understand because they are so thick.
After the movie concluded, we went to invade Alex/Ramon/Chris/Tom's flat for a bit, but they didn't seem to be too amused by it, so we quickly left. We had originally planned on planning our Amsterdam trip with a whole bunch of people that night, but we decided to break off and plan it for a different weekend when less people would be going and when it would be significantly cheaper. So instead we hung out in my room for a little bit and watched old school Hanson videos until Alex came over. We managed to convince him to go out with us (even though Claire bailed because she had work to do) so Christine, Alex, and I headed over to Shakespeare's Head for a drink before going to bed for the night.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
London Days 14&15: Spring Break = Officially Planned!
So Monday morning I started my work-study job in the Office of Student Life. I can already that I'm going to really like it there. All of the ladies in the office are really nice, and I have my own desk and computer. If they don't have any jobs for me, I get to do homework or play on the computer. Best job ever.
After work I grabbed lunch and did some reading before my class. After class I had a work meeting (free pizza!) where they talked about all the responsibilities of the job, and I also picked up an additional three hours a week - hooray!
Once I got out of the meeting, Christine and Claire came over and we started planning Spring Break. Alex came over after his group meeting, and we managed to book all of our flights, ferries, and hostels for the week! Here is the itinerary:
March 12 - fly from London to Athens, Greece
March 12, 13, 14 - Athens, Greece
March 14 - catch the ferry from Athens to Santorini, Greece
March 14, 15, 16, 17 - Santorini!!
March 17 - ferry from Santorini to Kos, Greece
March 17, 18, 19, 20 - Kos!
March 20 - ferry from Kos to Athens
March 20, 21 - Athens
March 21 - fly from Athens back to London
The ferry rides are going to be excruciatingly long (9 hours to Santorini, 4 to Kos, 13 back to Athens), but I know we'll make the best of it. Also, some of the hostels that we are staying in sound so cute. I'm really really excited.
By the time we planned Spring Break, it was almost midnight (it took about 3 hours to plan) so we parted ways. Tuesday morning I had class early, and afterwards I went out to lunch with Christine at Caffe Nero. We planned out some stuff for upcoming birthdays and then went home to do work. I ended up mostly doing reading all day, and I also went grocery shopping with Claire later in the day to break up the monotony. I managed to get to bed relatively early, which was nice too.
After work I grabbed lunch and did some reading before my class. After class I had a work meeting (free pizza!) where they talked about all the responsibilities of the job, and I also picked up an additional three hours a week - hooray!
Once I got out of the meeting, Christine and Claire came over and we started planning Spring Break. Alex came over after his group meeting, and we managed to book all of our flights, ferries, and hostels for the week! Here is the itinerary:
March 12 - fly from London to Athens, Greece
March 12, 13, 14 - Athens, Greece
March 14 - catch the ferry from Athens to Santorini, Greece
March 14, 15, 16, 17 - Santorini!!
March 17 - ferry from Santorini to Kos, Greece
March 17, 18, 19, 20 - Kos!
March 20 - ferry from Kos to Athens
March 20, 21 - Athens
March 21 - fly from Athens back to London
The ferry rides are going to be excruciatingly long (9 hours to Santorini, 4 to Kos, 13 back to Athens), but I know we'll make the best of it. Also, some of the hostels that we are staying in sound so cute. I'm really really excited.
By the time we planned Spring Break, it was almost midnight (it took about 3 hours to plan) so we parted ways. Tuesday morning I had class early, and afterwards I went out to lunch with Christine at Caffe Nero. We planned out some stuff for upcoming birthdays and then went home to do work. I ended up mostly doing reading all day, and I also went grocery shopping with Claire later in the day to break up the monotony. I managed to get to bed relatively early, which was nice too.
Monday, February 1, 2010
London Day 13: Procrastination at its Finest
Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early to head to the East End Market for a tour and some shopping. I was grumpy and freezing, which was a bad combination. We were supposed to take the Tube to Liverpool St. and meet outside of McDonald's, so we did. When I got there, Christine was there as well, and we both decided we had too much to do and were too cold to actually go on the tour, so we skipped off early and explored on our own for a bit. It also gets frustrating traveling in large groups because you can't hear what is going on, so I enjoy exploring on my own anyways.
After exploring for a bit, we caught the Tube home, and I "worked on my papers" (aka played on Facebook) for an obscene amount of time, before taking a nap and then actually working on my papers for about two hours. After I finished them, Claire, Christine, Alex, Ramon, and Dave came over and we all hung out for awhile before deciding to watch '10 Things I Hate About You' on YouTube (the whole movie's on there - can you believe it?) Once we finished that, we talked for awhile (although there was a lot of talking during the movie, too) and then decided to watch 'A Very Sunny Christmas' before everyone retired for the night. It was nice just hanging out on the couch with everyone for a relaxing night. That's something that I've been missing from home, so it makes me happy that I feel comfortable enough with these people that I can do nothing with them and we can still all enjoy ourselves. :)
On a side note, I'm getting frustrated with the fact that Southampton Row is closed down due to a water main break, because that means that all the traffic has been detoured down my normally pretty quiet street. (Southampton Row is a HUGE street with a lot of traffic). Therefore, sleeping has been difficult for the past few nights because of all the noise/headlights going on outside my window. Annoying.
After exploring for a bit, we caught the Tube home, and I "worked on my papers" (aka played on Facebook) for an obscene amount of time, before taking a nap and then actually working on my papers for about two hours. After I finished them, Claire, Christine, Alex, Ramon, and Dave came over and we all hung out for awhile before deciding to watch '10 Things I Hate About You' on YouTube (the whole movie's on there - can you believe it?) Once we finished that, we talked for awhile (although there was a lot of talking during the movie, too) and then decided to watch 'A Very Sunny Christmas' before everyone retired for the night. It was nice just hanging out on the couch with everyone for a relaxing night. That's something that I've been missing from home, so it makes me happy that I feel comfortable enough with these people that I can do nothing with them and we can still all enjoy ourselves. :)
On a side note, I'm getting frustrated with the fact that Southampton Row is closed down due to a water main break, because that means that all the traffic has been detoured down my normally pretty quiet street. (Southampton Row is a HUGE street with a lot of traffic). Therefore, sleeping has been difficult for the past few nights because of all the noise/headlights going on outside my window. Annoying.
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