Blogs from Lee, Greater London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

I just realized today was Halloween when a 13 yr old vampire knocked on the door. As I've been sick, I wasn't planning on going out and inadvertently missed buying candy (they're not getting my 400g chocolate bar). Anyway, I thought it would be a good time to hole up in my room, turn the other lights off, and add a blog entry. Life has been good since my last entry, although what I thought would be a mild cold got out of hand last weekend when I went to Scotland. I think I may have picked up another bug to supplement the one I was recovering from. My cousin Jenny (in whose house I'm staying) is leaving to Bermuda in 2 weeks. It's been great to have her around to help me get settled here, ... read more

I've had a great time so far! I've been in London for 3 and a half weeks now, so I still have loads to figure out but am well on my way. Here's a few highlights of my time around... I spent last weekend with the other general course students at the Cumberland Lodge, which is on the queen's property in the Great Park bordering the royal palace at Windsor. After being gifted to several friends of the royal family for centuries(dukes, war heroes and the like), the lodge was set aside for education and enlightenment. We spent three days attending talks and walking around the grounds. I had great fun meeting new people and exploring. A week ago I got a chance to check out the London Symphony Orchestra. They have a student program which ... read more

Here are some tips for those thinking of coming to the UK to study, especially those from the USA: *Get your passport early. See below for extensive passport info. *Get an international currency account (check out Citibank) before you leave; the banks here are designed to rip off personal banking customers, especially foreigners. I'm also investigating currency exchange through paypal. *Pick up an AZ London book (full map with street index). Most of the maps you'll buy won't cover everywhere you'll end up, this one will. *Bring your walkin' shoes. Plan on walking at least 2 mi per day. *Set up a Skype account before you go (makes it a bit cheaper and less hassle when you get here) *Keep some money in your US account. You may need to pay some bills, buy something online, ... read more

Week in Review I have made it through the first week here without going out of my mind. I've nearly set up a bank account, seen much of London, and gotten a bit of a scare from my academic adviser. First, London. There's quite a bit going on within an easy walk of my house. There's a small park and a few town centers, a grocery, and a train station. Blackheath is a cool area that's the next borough over, and through that is Greenwich (went there yesterday). So plenty to explore around where I am... The train ride to LSE takes just about 20 min and goes right by the London Eye, an enormous Ferris Wheel overlooking London, then crosses the Themes within view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. I have been ... read more

Hi all, Welcome to my travel blog. I'll be updating when I feel appropriate (possibly frequently), and, if I get around to buying a camera, I may add some pictures. I'll also include advice for students thinking of studying in London or the UK as it can be hard to come by. I arrived in London Sunday morning. The flight was easy enough: on both legs I sat by a student (one of whom will be at LSE with me), and both flights were under booked so there was some room. The layover in Iceland was short but interesting. The airport felt very Ikea (I think this was due to the prevalence of glass and concrete in it's construction. Heathrow was not nearly as clean or aesthetically pleasing, and customs was a good half mile walk ... read more

Sugarland made their first ever trip to the UK in March so we were really excited to get tickets since we love their music! We also went to see Taylor Swift in London in May. Enjoy the pics!... read more

Some unexpected news meant that we have had to suddenly cut short our travel plans and return to London. We arrived back a few days ago. We had a great few months on the road and we hope that you have all enjoyed the blogs. We hope to catch up with everyone soon. Cheers Dee and David ... read more

This is essentially a test message to see if two people with really crap IT skills can set up a travelblog. If you get this message we have succeeded. If we havnt, you obviously wont get this message, which means that it doesnt exist (or does it?). Thanks for making it a great night last night and giving us a good send off. The next entry will be from Delhi! ... read more

Dear All, I’m now back in London. I’ve been away for just under 3 months, and have apparently forgotten how to drive (it took me 10 minutes to park today). It’s been an absolutely amazing experience, and I loved every moment of it. It’s far too tricky to pick out my favourite bit, but climbing the waterfall in Thailand, skydiving in Australia, bungy jumping in NZ and the night on Sunset Strip are definite highlights. I’m about to start work back at Sky News, and hopefully doing a course in photography (travelling has given me a new-found passion!) And, fingers crossed, I would like to go to Africa in the summer. Predominantly so I can say I have been in 5 continents in less than a year…now that’s an achievement! It will all depend on money ... read more