Leaving London...

August 7, 2007

London, England-Phoenix, Arizona

I woke up at 7 AM and went running with Lindsay. walked by Buckingham Palace and thru Green Park one last time, and then started jogging at Hyde Park. We really took it all in today, knowing that every glance we took at the landmarks and trees that had come all too familiar would be our last for far too long. We made a full loop around the Serpentine and through the gardens, and then walked briskly back to our destination. We made it back to the Victoria area 1t about 8:45, and I stopped at Boot’s to pick up some more of these special throat drops that my mom and sister wanted me to bring back.

When I got back to the Wigwam, it was nearly nine AM. I showered, and then had less than a half hour until we were supposed to meet to leave for the airport. I basically just threw everything into my suitcases, and finished just a few minutes late. I caught up with the others at the tube station, and after switching lines at South Kensington, we took the Underground nearly forty minutes to Heathrow (I have never stayed on one subway train for so long). We got off at Heathrow, and I discovered that British Airways only allows one carry on item per passenger on flights out of the UK, even though passengers entering can bring both a carry on bag and a personal item onto the aircraft. I was a bit miffed by this, but decided it would be worth it to pay for a third carry on bag…until the guy gave me my receipt for 120 pounds!! There was no way in heck that I was going to pay two hundred and forty dollars to check my garment bag. But I did need to get my bag back. As I was about to sign the receipt, an idea struck in my head—Leah’s purse would fit inside my garment bag, and then it could serve as her carry on. Luckily, she was willing to comply, and I felt really indebted to her and the others for helping me out. Hopefully I will not get a call from British Airways or anything telling me that I checked three bags and never paid for an extra one, because aside from this ridiculously expense my experience with the airline has been amazing.

We ate at Garfunkel’s, a tasty chain where we ate on our first full day in London, so that was fitting; starting and ending our study abroad experience at the same restaurant.

After this, I spent the rest of my money (pounds and Euros both) on candy to bring back to the family. I went to Starbucks (to really have my last Mango Passion Fruit Frappucino), and then we waited outside the gate until it is boarding time.

This brings me to right now, as I am sitting in an exit row on the airplane, with several feet of leg room in front of me, half-watching my personal television and half-updating my blog journal. What an incredible trip!!!!!!!!

Last Full Day in London

August 6, 2007

London, England

Last day in London. I am not ready to go. This morning I met Julia and Alex at nine to go take a tour of the Parliament Building—which was spectacular. We got our tickets without a problem, and were on our way just fifteen minutes after arriving to the Parliament site. We had a great tour guide, and it was so neat to find out the inner workings of the British government. This was a great tour that I would also recommend to anyone going to London (I should make a list of the musts and must-nots and give it to anyone I know going to London). The tour lasted seventy-five minutes and we seemed to get to see pretty much everything important in the Parliament building, and we got all of our questions answered. The tour ended in the old Parliament Chapel, building the 11^th century, and the only part of the original Parliament building that survived the fire that destroyed the rest of it in 1836 (which also surprisingly survived the blitz bombings of WWII. There was also an exhibition on slavery in Great Britain at the end of the tour, but we had to get going so I only got the chance to glance at it.

We ran straight from Parliament to the London Eye afterwards, where we had to wait in line for only fifteen minutes before taking our half hour loop around the world’s biggest Ferris Wheel. I was glad to do it once, but I would not say it is a must do (there are other great views of the city from St. Paul’s, Westminster Cathedral, and probably other tall buildings). It was fun nonetheless, and afterwards the three of us went to good old Mickey D’s to enjoy the tasty and the food that is much healthier than that that is baked in gallons of grease under the golden arches that line the streets of the States. I tried a Rolo milkshake, and it was grand.

After eating, we went back to the dorm to say our goodbyes to Allie and Freya, which was definitely pretty sad. I am so glad we met them and got to hang out with them as much as we did. After hugging Freya and Allie goodbye, we went to St. James Park to take some pictures in our favorite London place. We walked through the park, and on toward Trafalgar Square where Julia really wanted to take pictures with the giant lions that guard Horatio Nelson’s giant statue. Climbing up on top of those statues was a serious scare.

The weather today was not as sunny as the past few were, but it was certainly just as warm, if not warmer. After taking these pictures, I sought refuge in the air conditioned National Gallery, which was quite a treat. I saw so many paintings I had studied by artists such as Canaletto, Gauguin, Matisse, Gainsborough, Seurat, Turner, Vermeer, and more. I went through as many rooms as I could in the time I had there, and was fortunate enough to stumble upon Joseph Wright of Derby’s An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump, one of my favorites, which was for some reason not even advertised as one of the Gallery’s highlight paintings (which should tell you just how good the collection there is). I am so glad I made it to the National Gallery, and would honestly put it in the same caliber of art collections as the Louvre.

I left the Gallery to go to Marble Arch and do some last minute London shopping (it is amazing how little I bought in the way of keepsakes, yet how full my bags were for the way back). After Marble Arch, I made a stop at Starbucks to grab what I thought would be one last Mango Passion Fruit Frappucino, since they are not available in the States. It was delicious. Then I went back to the dorm to say goodbye to Julia and Alex, who were heading off to Russia just a few minutes after I left them.

I then went back to St. James Park, where I planned on running after visiting with Lindsay, Rebecca, Leah, and Mia (a girl Leah met who had just arrived in London from a summer in Russia), but we ended up having a full scale picnic, with Pimm’s, wine, and all, so there was no way I was going to run after that. Once it started to cool down, we headed back to the Wigwam House (as we so affectionately call our dorm, Wigram House) to spend the rest of the evening in the 3^rd floor kitchen, which seemed to be our hangout of choice when we weren’t all in my room. We talked for a long time, and I brought all the rest of my crackers and chocolate into the kitchen in hopes that the others would gobble it up for me. After a few hours, the security guard came up to tell us that there were noise complaints (we were being loud and laughing a lot). We obviously did not want to piss anybody off, so we broke up the party and I went into Leah’s room where Mia showed me pictures from her study abroad experiences last fall and this summer. Since the moment she got here, she has been trying to convince me to study for a semester in Copenhagen, and her pictures made it pretty tempting. She also showed us pictures from some place in Italy (cannot remember the name for the life of me) and then some from Pompeii as well. I would like to go to both places.

I had a lot of fun looking at the pictures, but before I knew it the time was already 2 AM. Lindsay and I had agreed to go running at 7 AM, and I still needed to shower and wanted to start packing. I said goodnight to Leah and Mia and went to go shower. I grabbed some clothes and souvenir bags and started spreading them around the room, but did not physically put anything into my suitcases. After showering I went almost immediately to bed, and I fell asleep just about as soon as my head hit my pillow.

A University Rivaled by Almost None

August 5, 2007

Cambridge, England

I woke up exhausted, but was really excited about going to Cambridge. Ali said it was prettier than Oxford, and I would have to concur. There is just something about its setting on the River Cam and the way that each college flows together. Today was sunny and clear again (we are talking Arizona skies here, folks), but It was a tad too warm. By midday the temperature was in the mid-eighties, and that is just far too high for any place in England, as far as I am concerned. It was a gorgeous day though, and after eating an Ostrich Burger (it was quite tasty!!) and exploring for awhile, we decided to go punting on the Backs (the area of the River Cam that many of the colleges’ backs are situated upon. We asked how late they would run the boats, and they said definitely until six or seven because of how nice it was outside, so we decided we would come back and do it. We went to the Fitzwilliam Museum, which had a fantastic collection of art and is home to the Book of the Dead. Because of the damage to the papyrus pages of the book, it will only be displayed to the public until September, and it was really neat, so I was glad that I got to see it.

We left the museum, explored a bit more, and then headed for the Backs. I am so glad we made the decision to go putting. It was beautiful. Our guide was friendly, and we got the chance to hear all about Cambridge’s lengthy history as we glided through the water, passing weeping willows and traveling beneath bridge after bridge (we passed beneath seven bridges both ways on the trip, and saw the mathematical bridge). We also got to see the area where much of the first Harry Potter movie was filmed (which was really neat to me, because I knew that bits of some of the movies were filmed at Oxford and Arundel Castle, but I never knew that any of the series was filmed at Cambridge.

After punting, we went to Sainsbury’s because we were all in desperate need of water. Then we went looking around in some local shops. After this, we decided that we wanted to try to go to the oldest pub in London, and tried to get on an earlier bus back. We sat in the park by the station, and just reveled in the glory of all that is Cambridge. We people watched, played a game of cards, then the bus came and we were able to board the 7 O’clock and head back to London. Cambridge was INCREDIBLE!!

Back in London, we discovered that those who had not gone to Cambridge did not feel like going out, and it was Allie’s and Freya’s last night in London, so we all just hung out at the dorm instead. We spent awhile in the kitchen, trying our hardest to eat up the rest of the pasta, snacks, and chocolate I had had in my room for so long. We did a pretty good job, and I figured that by the time I left I would not have too much food to leave behind. We stayed up talking and reminiscing over the past four weeks late into the night, and then parted our separate ways for bed. I took a long shower (I am going to miss the water pressure here pretty bad) and then went to bed.

A Castle that is still very much in use

August 4, 2007

London and Windsor, England

Did I say the weather was perfect yesterday, because today’s may have been just a tad bit better. The sky was cloudless again today, but it was a few degrees warmer. I think it probably hit 77 or 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I woke up at 8:30 to try to go get Mary Poppins tickets with Rebecca, and we were successful. We got student tickets, so seats that were usually 42 pounds were only 25. After getting tickets, we went to the British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone. The Museum was really cool, one I will definitely have to go back to.

I went back to the dorm to meet Julia and Alex for Windsor Castle. We took the bus to Windsor, and the ride was really pleasant. Windsor was a nice town, and the Castle was so neat. Once again, we had free audio guides (free after paying a fifteen pound entrance fee), and they were really good. We saw everything except for the Queen’s Dollhouse, because the line was forty-five minutes long, but we were able to sneak a peak at it through a corner of one exhibit anyway. Windsor is a Castle I would definitely recommend, far better than most I have seen (and I have liked them all). The chapel is beautiful as well. The Queen was not at Windsor this weekend so we were able to walk around to see a bit of her private gardens, which are apparently not open much, so that was pretty special.

After touring the castle, we grabbed ice cream at a local sweet shop that looked marvelous, and it was. I ordered Poor Bears’ Delight (which is vanilla and honeycomb), and it is now one of my new favorite flavors. The cone was great as well.

Once we were back in London, I cooked up some pasta with a really hot chili pasta sauce, and then headed off to the Prince Edward Theatre to meet Rebecca…

Unfortunately, my expectations for Mary Poppins were far too high. Not only was it the worst show I saw in London, but one of the worst musicals I have ever seen. Now it wasn’t absolutely horrid, but it was definitely not worth the money. The music wasn’t that great, and some of the characters (including Mary Poppins herself) were really annoying. Bert was good, and the little children were not too bad. Other than that, the show was far less than spectacular. No wonder why it is Mary Poppins’ last summer in London.

After Mary Poppins, I was very tired and planned on going to bed, but was coaxed into going out by Freya and the Ushakova twins. So the three of them, Geiler, and I all went back to Camden Town, where we had celebrated Julia’s 21^st birthday. I am glad I went out because it was really my last chance and I definitely had a good time, but I was pretty tired in the morning.

First Impressions

So here is a short entry I wrote on my plane ride to Europe and also a few notes I jotted down on my laptop JUST after arriving in London on June 18. It is interesting to see how things have changed.

Flying over Greenland, I am beginning to believe I am in the top percentile of the world’s lightest sleepers. Exhausted, I have tried everything I can think of to fall asleep in the past few hours. Nothing has worked. While I am excited, it is not even excitement keeping me up. my mind is overactive, and when I tell it to go on a hiatus, it will not listen. After numbering sheep one to a hundred for the fifth time, my mind was actually MORE alert.

Looks like I will be starting off my journey on two full days with no shut eye, yay!

Anyway, I am super excited about the journey that lies ahead. Maybe staying in hostels will force me to learn how to sleep normally.

June 19, 2007

15:44

I am sitting on a bus right now, riding across the incredible city of London. We are cruising on the left side of the road, and the driver is seated on the right side of the car. It is so strange!! We have been driving by row after row of brownstones and townhouses that all look like they have been around for centuries.

This city reminds me of Boston, except I think that Boston was modeled after London, and London is a lot older…so I think by the time I leave I might like it even more… It is just incredible. And oh, so green!! I see signs for the grocery store Tesco, and old churches. Everything is incredible.

The flight went very well, save for the fact that there was a medical emergency while we were flying over Greenland. I saw this guy on the ground when I excused myself to use the toilet, and I thought we might have to make an emergency landing. Thankfully, we did not. And even more thankfully, he seemed to be alright. Immediately upon landing, some paramedics boarded the plane and took him off. We had to sit on the ground for quite awhile, and then we were shuttled to the main terminal.

So far the greatest similarity between London and the United States is that there are Starbucks and McDonald’s everywhere…but especially Starbucks. Yumm. I could really use one right now, considering I have been up for twenty-four hours and will be for quite possibly another thirty, unless I can manage to somehow slip out of a state of full consciousness on the bus to Edinburgh tonight.

Right now we are driving through what must be an incredibly nice part of London. These places of residence are extravagant, and it feels very safe.

Oh, and I can also already tell what a diverse city London is—something that definitely excites me!!

Haha, I just saw a porky little fellow (probably about 14), walking in a prep school uniform, looking like he was about to pass out from the heat, on the street outside. Okay, this must be an expensive neighborhood.

When we landed it was about 75. It feels like it’s in the 100s. The humidity is extreme, but the clouds do not look too threatening right now. According to the ten-day forecast, my plane decided to fly in on the warmest day of the next ten. I really hope that the weather will be in the forties and fifties in Scotland, like the meteorologists from both weather.com and weather.msn.com have predicted.

Well, I am now riding alongside the River Thames, and some incredibly modern looking structure (I think it is residential, but I am not sure). I better go soak up these views. I will try to right before too long, although these posts will not be up until my return to London. I feel like I should be taking pictures. It is so beautiful. But my camera is under the bus and I will have several more days here to take pictures in July and August.

I am leaving my laptop at the Wigram House, where I will be staying for the four weeks I am in London, and I will only be able to update my blog at internet cafes, Julia’s student apartment, and the like. I am STOKED right now!!!!!!!!

After writing this, I looked to a park in the right and saw many young men immersed in some sport that is definitely not popular in America.

Next thing I knew we turned onto Buckingham Palace Road, and I thought that was just about the coolest thing ever!!

British Seaside

August 3, 2007

Brighton, England

I woke up today after roughly three hours of sleep, and really did not feel like doing anything. Brighton had been the perfect destination to pick for that day. After the two-hour bus ride (which Freya and I spent sharing new music with each other) , we hopped off the bus and headed straight for the beach, just a few hundred metres away. It was absolutely breathtaking. I know that I have used that word a lot as of late, but it truly was not what I expected. The water was not dirty at all, but actually reminded me faintly of the crystal clear water one would find in the Caribbean, the pier had so much character, and the town just screamed “charming.” Freya, Julia, Alex, and I started walking along the pebble beach until we found the other girls, who had gotten there earlier. We just sat on the beach and took it all in until Geiler’s arrival. Lindsay had invented this game with the pebbles. Basically you take a pebble and chuck it at the rocks, and then watch the path it chooses to take. Personally, I found it more engaging than rock skipping. It was really interesting. We hung out on the beach for awhile, took several pictures, and then decided to get lunch (fish and chips for most, chicken and chips for me), which we took back to the beach to eat. After devouring a truly delicious seaside meal, we made our way to the Royal Pavilion and its surrounding area. The parks were extremely picturesque, and there was a museum there that was pretty neat. I was the only one who wanted to pay to go into the Pavilion (it’s written about very highly in 1,000 Places to See Before you Die), so I went in alone and the others waited for me. I am so glad I did. Of all the palaces, castles, churches, etc. that I have been in on this trip, it had my favorite interior. It was so unique in comparison with the rest. Most of the rooms had an Asian or Middle Eastern theme, and there was bamboo everywhere. The palace was still glitzy and the walls were still covered in gold, but it had an extraordinarily different air to it. I really enjoyed it, and the audio tour was a great way to learn all about George IV and his many wives and mistresses, as well as his family relations. It was also neat to hear what Queen Victoria thought about the palace (she was not a fan).

After the Pavilion, we walked around town a bit, through street markets and other shops. Most of the girls decided to get their palms read, while Geiler and I watched for awhile with boredom before wandering around. They all had fun, and for the most part they seemed to happily embrace the prophesies the palm reader had predicted for them. There was also a lady on the street giving holistic massages, and observing her give one had to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen (she reminded me of Phoebe because she cleansed this guy’s aura—she actually said that). She would massage him for a bit, then make him stand up and do some yoga-like stuff, and then she started to sing and dance in some unintelligible tongue while he just watched and let his body and mid be invigorated. This massage had to last a good half hour or so, because I went in a number of stores after watching for awhile and she still had the same patron when I was done with all of them.

Did I mention the weather was perfect this day? There was not a cloud in the sky, and the high was 70 while the low was 64. There was a light breeze off the Channel (I think it was the Channel), and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. While Brighton reminded me A LOT of San Diego (the weather and the feel of the town), I am sure in all actuality it was much more like Newport, Nantucket, or the Hamptons.

After wandering around for awhile, we went back to the beach for a bit before walking the pier and the boardwalk. The pier was sooo cool. It is extremely large and filled with rides that looked like a lot of fun, but were far too expensive to be justifiably enjoyable. After walking down the pier, Alex and I went to relax on the beach while the others explored so much. We lay down on the pebbles, soaking in their heat while enjoying the cool air emanating from the sea. We were deep in conversation when I heard a sputtering, spit noise. I turned and all of a sudden I see this nasty green and white stuff all around Alex’s mouth. She spits it out, and instinctively wipes her mouth on my jeans, and then my arm. A seagull decided to relieve itself while flying above her, and it was duly disgusting. After she fully realized what had actually happened, she ran down to the sea to wash off. I followed suit, since I now had bird doo on both my arm and my finger. My jeans, I decided, could wait until later.

After a bit more time on the beach, we gathered up some bread and cheese and had a picnic on the beach in front of the pier, while playing a new rock game—actually two. The first one I started, and it was throwing rocks at this plastic cup to see how far down the hill of pebbles you could make it go. Geiler decided to change the game to “fill up the cup with pebbles.” They were both a ton of fun. Then, at around 7, it started getting a bit chilly. Sometime around 7:P30, most of our group was too cold to stay on the beach, because of the wind and almost nobody (myself included) had brought a jacket or sweater. We walked back to the station, and waited for the bus to London. The ride home was a ton of fun, as Freya and I spent it exchanging riddles and playing “Twenty Questions.” Once back in London, we snacked for awhile in the kitchen and then I crashed.

British Seaside

August 3, 2007

Brighton, England

I woke up today after roughly three hours of sleep, and really did not feel like doing anything. Brighton had been the perfect destination to pick for that day. After the two-hour bus ride (which Freya and I spent sharing new music with each other) , we hopped off the bus and headed straight for the beach, just a few hundred metres away. It was absolutely breathtaking. I know that I have used that word a lot as of late, but it truly was not what I expected. The water was not dirty at all, but actually reminded me faintly of the crystal clear water one would find in the Caribbean, the pier had so much character, and the town just screamed “charming.” Freya, Julia, Alex, and I started walking along the pebble beach until we found the other girls, who had gotten there earlier. We just sat on the beach and took it all in until Geiler’s arrival. Lindsay had invented this game with the pebbles. Basically you take a pebble and chuck it at the rocks, and then watch the path it chooses to take. Personally, I found it more engaging than rock skipping. It was really interesting. We hung out on the beach for awhile, took several pictures, and then decided to get lunch (fish and chips for most, chicken and chips for me), which we took back to the beach to eat. After devouring a truly delicious seaside meal, we made our way to the Royal Pavilion and its surrounding area. The parks were extremely picturesque, and there was a museum there that was pretty neat. I was the only one who wanted to pay to go into the Pavilion (it’s written about very highly in 1,000 Places to See Before you Die), so I went in alone and the others waited for me. I am so glad I did. Of all the palaces, castles, churches, etc. that I have been in on this trip, it had my favorite interior. It was so unique in comparison with the rest. Most of the rooms had an Asian or Middle Eastern theme, and there was bamboo everywhere. The palace was still glitzy and the walls were still covered in gold, but it had an extraordinarily different air to it. I really enjoyed it, and the audio tour was a great way to learn all about George IV and his many wives and mistresses, as well as his family relations. It was also neat to hear what Queen Victoria thought about the palace (she was not a fan).

After the Pavilion, we walked around town a bit, through street markets and other shops. Most of the girls decided to get their palms read, while Geiler and I watched for awhile with boredom before wandering around. They all had fun, and for the most part they seemed to happily embrace the prophesies the palm reader had predicted for them. There was also a lady on the street giving holistic massages, and observing her give one had to be one of the strangest things I have ever seen (she reminded me of Phoebe because she cleansed this guy’s aura—she actually said that). She would massage him for a bit, then make him stand up and do some yoga-like stuff, and then she started to sing and dance in some unintelligible tongue while he just watched and let his body and mid be invigorated. This massage had to last a good half hour or so, because I went in a number of stores after watching for awhile and she still had the same patron when I was done with all of them.

Did I mention the weather was perfect this day? There was not a cloud in the sky, and the high was 70 while the low was 64. There was a light breeze off the Channel (I think it was the Channel), and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. While Brighton reminded me A LOT of San Diego (the weather and the feel of the town), I am sure in all actuality it was much more like Newport, Nantucket, or the Hamptons.

After wandering around for awhile, we went back to the beach for a bit before walking the pier and the boardwalk. The pier was sooo cool. It is extremely large and filled with rides that looked like a lot of fun, but were far too expensive to be justifiably enjoyable. After walking down the pier, Alex and I went to relax on the beach while the others explored so much. We lay down on the pebbles, soaking in their heat while enjoying the cool air emanating from the sea. We were deep in conversation when I heard a sputtering, spit noise. I turned and all of a sudden I see this nasty green and white stuff all around Alex’s mouth. She spits it out, and instinctively wipes her mouth on my jeans, and then my arm. A seagull decided to relieve itself while flying above her, and it was duly disgusting. After she fully realized what had actually happened, she ran down to the sea to wash off. I followed suit, since I now had bird doo on both my arm and my finger. My jeans, I decided, could wait until later.

After a bit more time on the beach, we gathered up some bread and cheese and had a picnic on the beach in front of the pier, while playing a new rock game—actually two. The first one I started, and it was throwing rocks at this plastic cup to see how far down the hill of pebbles you could make it go. Geiler decided to change the game to “fill up the cup with pebbles.” They were both a ton of fun. Then, at around 7, it started getting a bit chilly. Sometime around 7:P30, most of our group was too cold to stay on the beach, because of the wind and almost nobody (myself included) had brought a jacket or sweater. We walked back to the station, and waited for the bus to London. The ride home was a ton of fun, as Freya and I spent it exchanging riddles and playing “Twenty Questions.” Once back in London, we snacked for awhile in the kitchen and then I crashed.