Day two of an amazing opportunity

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Today started off with a trip to find some delicious English breakfast before we started a mini tour of London and the main areas that we would be going to. We ended up in a french cafe and lemme tell you nothing is cheap here. I decided to go with porridge and mixed fruit in it because I've always heard about it but never had it while another friend got a large latte and wheat toast with jam. That porridge was interesting to say the least. It's bland just like most food here and the fruit was a bit bitter. Instead of having glucose sugar packets on the table like they do in the states they have fructose sugar packets, which was okay. They also had sugar cubes both brown and white sugar. I also added some brown sugar which took awhile to dissolve but once mixed in with the porridge made it taste pretty good. Now the toast and latte was a different story. The toast wasn't exactly like the toast we have here. It's much larger and much more crispy almost to the point of a crouton. The butter was made with vegetable oil and the jam didn't have preservatives and was exactly like mashed berries and was difficult to spread. Overall this made us realize that this country really doesn't use sugar or corn syrup in their food. Also we don't see a lot if any preservatives in the food. Not that it's a bad thing just something else to get used to.

Then we had the tour of the most frequent places we would be going to. For example, our study hall, the lecture hall, the tube (train station), and computer lab. While going to these places our tour guide also told us about some of the history of London and some interesting facts. Her name is Angie and she is quite the character. She told us all about how Kensington and Chelsea used to be a more bohemian area before it became so ritzy and this is where you would first have seen the mini skirt, punk, and any other style that became popular. She told us about several famous people that lived in the area. You can even see signs outside of flats marking where celebrities lived.

The buildings are amazing because of the architecture and detail that goes into building, designing and restoring them. She went into detail about how they were used to live in when they were first built. For example, how the servants weren't allowed to go through the front door and instead had to use the basement door and how they still do. Also how 1/6 of London is used for Gardens and by gardens I mean legit gardens. The backyards are called gardens but instead of just being a lawn there are numerous trees, shrubs, flowers and other scenery. One long building of flats will share a garden that is tucked behind them and one square (or neighborhood) might have a communal garden in which they pay a small annual fee for upkeep. These communal gardens might have a dog park, tennis courts, or pools that everyone can use if you are a resident of that square. They are gated with dark or tall, sometimes both, iron gates. It's really quite beautiful. We were also taken to a rooftop garden that is usually not available because it is rented out quite often for weddings and other elaborate events. It really was a sight to see. There were two sections of this garden. The first that was shown was the Hispanic style in which there were fountains, sepia colors, and stucco architecture. Another place that we visited was the Kensington Palace and the Gardens in front of it. Of course we didn't get to take a tour of the palace at that time but there were plenty of tributes on the gates in front of the Palace to Princess Diana because it is still so close to the anniversary of her death which was August 31. Near there I saw the embassies in the country. Well the buildings at least and they were beautiful, but we weren't allowed to take pictures in that area for security reasons. People spend anywhere from 47 mil pounds- 102 mil pounds or more for one of these houses. They have to be pretty amazing to be that much.

After our tour we found a really cheap deli to have lunch and they make everything with fresh vegetables and meat. If you can say 4.5 pounds is cheap. That was the cheapest we could find. Then we had an orientation for how to get back and forth to school and a little bit of proper etiquette while travelling on the tube. British are very reserved in their manners and don't speak to anyone while on the tube. They are also very short tempered sometimes, but more often than not because they aren't having a good day. Which is the same in any country that you travel to. We also got lost while trying to find the building and showed up 20 minutes late. I have a lot of walking ahead of me while in London and just have to remember to stay healthy while I'm here. Which apparently shouldn't be too hard with a lot of organic food and no preservatives! I also purchased my oyster card today to travel where ever need be, whether it's by bus or the tube I can use it on both. Also found out that things are expensive here partially because all taxes are included in the prices. If I save all of my receipts at the airport they will reimburse me the money lost on the taxes. So that's a plus! At least I learned this on the second day here instead of the second week!

For dinner we went to this pancake house and oh boy was this another experience to say the least. The plate was at least a foot in diameter and the pancake was just as big. Although the texture of the pancake is similar to that of a Swedish pancake just not as sweet. Is was very thin and doughy. Mine was made with apples and cinnamon but they also sprinkled on powdered sugar and served ice cream on top of it. It was delicious! You can also order them with sandwich meat too just like an Italian sub for example. It's just made with that thin doughy pancake instead of bread. Different but not too bad.

These experiences were great but tomorrow we are having a guided bus tour in which I will learn many more great things about this city!

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