2 Days In London

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1/7/11

In London! After nearly 24 hours of traveling- left my house at 9am to drive 1 1/2 hours to Cincinnati, then had to wait for my delayed plane to board at 1:30, flew 2 hours to New York, had about a 2 hour layover, then a 6 1/2 hour flight to London getting here around 7 am (2 am in the States), where my hotel room wasn’t ready until 12pm- you could say I’m a little tired. I walked around near the hotel with some of the other students traveling with AIFS (American Institute of Foreign Study), and we found a place to exchange money and eat breakfast. Once we were finally given our room keys I immediately took a hot shower to cleanse myself of travel grime, then took a nice nap! Feeling refreshed, my roommate Samantha and I (a sweet, albeit overly talkative and under-traveled girl from Connecticut) wandered back out into the the gray drizzle in search of an internet cafe. I felt much more comfortable once I got was able to get on Facebook (I’m an addict, I admit). I also got in touch with my friend and past co-worker Souriya, and we planned to meet up that night to go out for drinks. (It’s exciting being able to legally drink! In moderation of course...)


12:32 am: My ears are ringing and my feet are throbbing- the mark of a good night out! The six of us AIFS members met up with Saz and her boyfriend Sam for a night on the town. We rode the tube to Liester (spell check) Square and hit up club Yates’s. It had a modern vibe with an abundance of pop and dance music. We drank, (not too much) and danced, and basically soaked up the scene for a few hours before heading back the way we came and turning in early in preparation for tomorrow’s sightseeing. It was so nice seeing Saz and catching up a bit!! I might see her tomorrow as well with Verity, or if not, then back at camp this summer! I’m tired and ready for some more sleep...what started out as a gloomy, jet-lagged day lacking the promise of fun turned out to be just that- fun! Night night e’rbody.


11/8/11

Nobody knows tired like a traveler. It’s one thing to exercise by running a few miles, it’s something completely different to discover a whole city by foot! Well, not completely. I’ve just become acquainted with the subway system, or “Tube” as Londoners call it, as a very fast and easy way to get around. Just be sure to “mind the gap!”

This morning we went on a bus tour of London hitting all the hot spots: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, a few other monuments I took pictures of but can’t remember the name, and ending at the Covent Garden. The day started out gloomy and drizzly, then progressively became less rainy but colder and windier. But nothing stops an eager tourist right?! One of the main things I love about London is the architecture. There is an abundance of beautiful buildings and cathedrals that demand you look up at them in well-earned respect and awe. Another BIG highlight of the day was walking across the New Pedestrian Bridge. Now what is so exciting about a normal walking bridge? Well, it just so happens that in the beginning of a certain 6th movie about a certain boy wizard by the name of HARRY POTTER, this bridge is attacked by Death Eaters. I tried to stage a reenactment by running across the bridge yelling “Dementor! Dementor! Run for your lives!” but no one really responded...silly Muggles.

A slightly less, although more refined activity following this magical display was popping into the National Gallery and later the Tate Modern Art Museum (Shh... don’t tell my Dad I went into a museum voluntarily!). I have now stood before masterpieces by Van Gough, Picaso, Monet, Cezanne, Liechenstein, Warhol, and one of my personal favorites, Jackson Pollock. Art rocks. After THAT goodness, we (two other girls going to Salamanca and I) took the tube back to the hotel to rest our weary legs. However, I hopped back on it soon enough to meet up with my friend Verity for dinner. Nothing says authentic London like cheese pizza! (Her choice, not mine!) Oh the irony. Now I have to tidy up my suitcase again before the morning departure for Spain. Actually, it’ll hardly be the morning, it will be 4am! It’s not even “bright and early,” it’s just early. Too early. Argh. Let the real adventure begin!

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Photos

Buckingham Palace
Do send the Queen my apologies, but I simply cannot make it for tea today