Another day out with Mama Sosh and it was a long one—8am-11pm. Itinerary: tour of Tower of London, checking out the largest diamond cut from the original Cullinan & placed into the crown jewels throughout the centuries, and climbing 528 steps to the top of the dome in St. Paul’s Cathedral to see the beautiful skyline violated by construction cranes everywhere. Then for dinner we wanted to find delicious Indian food (Mom’s first time!) but had to pass by 2 closed restaurants and one that said open but the mean owner decided to lock the door and be rude to us when we knocked, before finally finding a place that would serve us. Then we finished off the night enjoying the Mamma Mia musical in the West End. It was an absolutely packed day and I ... read more

Today we took another half-day trip to Hampton Court to check out the palace. We should have gone to this castle before Windsor because the state rooms and king's apartments were not very impressive. The rooms were completely barren less the art on the walls. It gave the feeling of an art museum rather than a royal palace. The kitchen was the highlight of the audio tour--I learned that the wealthier you were, the more meat you ate. Apparently, the King's diet consisted of 75% meat--clearly old school Atkins. The gardens and lawns surrounding the palace were definitely more awe-inspiring than the inside, but if it had been a cloudy/rainy day then I probably would not have been impressed. The Maze, apparently the oldest in Britain, was also fun--we got to the center and out alive! ... read more

Today we journeyed 90 minutes west of London to Bath Spa to see the waters that the Romans bathed in. It was another gorgeous day and another gorgeous city. We did the free city tour and then checked out the Fashion Museum, which had outfits representing the style of all the periods dating back to the 19th century. It was really wild to see the progression of all the fashion through underwear to bathing suites to ball gowns. We even got to see what it was like to wear a corset and those big poofy underskirts (pictures coming soon!) We also took a peek into the Jane Austen Center, where she used to live and write. Everything in there reminded me of Vanessa-she would have loved it. We also crossed the Pentley Bridge, which has shops ... read more

So I’m down to 5 days until lift off and I am extremely excited. On the other hand, I feel kind of funny because classes started last Tuesday at Rutgers and I’m just hanging out waiting for my departure next week. Granted I have not been just sitting around doing nothing, but I’m not used to having a different schedule from my friends…or no schedule at all really. The weirdest feeling has been walking around campus and being the oldest one, knowing I’m in my last year and will really only have one semester left at Rutgers after I return from London. I finally feel a sense of connection, pride, and comfort with Rutgers since I finally know how everything works now and have mastered the bus routes, but the year is going to fly by ... read more