Yesterday me, Jen, Alex and Louise went on an adventure to check out the Spitalfields Market which is supposedly London's oldest market. It was MASSIVE. I could've spent all day there but due to some frustrating financial dilemmas, I didn't have a pound to my name. Which leads me to one of my annoyances about London: it basically shuts down on the weekend. ATMs are not serviced at all. I went to 4 different ATMs yesterday and they were all out of money. Grrr! Maybe it was a blessing in disguise... saving me some money because there were so many things I would've purchased! From jewelry to crafty T-shirts to delicious looking pastries and international food of all sorts, the market has everything. But once again, a place I can always go back to :)

I feel like all me and my girlfriends talk about is food but really, there is some amazing food here. We are all in love with the chocolate au pain pastry (basically a croissant with chocolate in it), we all can't get enough chips (especially from Kennedy's down the road) and we're loving our Cadbury and Milka bars. There's talk of getting English breakfast (toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, hash brown) on Wednesday morning before our walking tour (of the Tower of London!!!). I've been cutting back lately though and am finally cooking the majority of my dinners and lunches. And when I do cook dinner, I cook enough for leftovers the next night. Tonight: leftover meat sauce pasta. yum.

Three more days until Ireland! We're getting our plans together now and it looks like we'll be flying into Dublin and arriving before noon. Then we're hoping to do a Guinness factory tour and look around Dublin. Then we'll take the bus to Galway where we are staying Thursday/Friday night at Katherine's friend's flat (so thankful for that!). On Friday I think we're going on a day trip bus tour to several areas including some caves, a little town on the coast and the Cliffs of Moher. Sunny, dry days when we're in Ireland might be wishful thinking, but I can hope!

And then before I know it, that trip will be over and we'll be off to Munich a few days later. We're still working on April plans because there are 4 of us who want to definitely go to Italy together, but Eastern Europe and Spain plans are still kind of up in the air! But Alex, brought up a good point, even if we don't get to travel as much as we wanted or get to everywhere on our list... we're still in London for 4 months and that's way more than good enough! I'm in London for 4 months. I'm the luckiest girl.

P.S. the sun is out today and there are clear skies... meaning, it's a good day :)

Here's a picture I took at Portobello Market that I submitted to my Visual Journalism class:

Marquette pride in London! Tonight me and the other Marquette students studying at City headed downtown to the Sports Cafe for a get-together and Marquette basketball game viewing with Marquette alumni living in London! First we stopped in Chinatown to take a look around and grab some dinner at this place called "Friendly Inn"... unfortunately they weren't as friendly as their name indicates!

At the Sports Cafe the alumni group reserved a room just for us and they had decorated it with Marquette colors and posters. So cool! It made me a little homesick but it was nice we were all able to get together.

We chatted with several alumni, one guy who also worked for the Marquette Tribune while studying at MU! Him and his wife are ex-Patriots (they were sent by his business to London for two years... I wouldn't complain if my company paid for me to go to London for two years!) so it was interesting to hear their story! She also misses Target as much as we do and is still learning all the different phrases used here. ex. "are you alright?" = "how are you?"

The Marquette group took a picture together, which was then sent back to Milwaukee and put on the Jumbotron at the basketball game! My friends told me they saw the picture on the big screen. How cool. When I'm at the games I can't get onto the jumbotron, but when I go abroad, I'm on it!

On our way back from the game we stopped for a dessert and looked in a giant souvenir shop near Picadilly Circus. Overall, a good night!

I think tomorrow we might try to find a market around here but for the most part, we're wanting to save some money. Headed to Ireland on Thursday morning!!  :)

Toodles! xxx

I love London.

and am the happiest I've been in a long time.

Today was a long, exhausting.. but exciting day!

Started off with our second Historic London walking tour by meeting our professor at the Tower of London tube stop. Next week we'll actually be going to the Tower, so today we just got a quick briefing. We saw the old Port of London Authority building, Tower Hill, the area where public executions were held (versus the private executions on Tower Green behind the Tower walls). We then headed toward some sites involving the Great Fire. Pudding Lane (where the fire originated in a bakery), the monument commemorating the fire, the site of a church that burnt down in the fire.

We went to a church where Charles Dickens was known to go (St. Olaves, I think was the name). Lucky us showed up at a time when the musicians were rehearsing! Our professor informed us that many churches offer free concerts around lunchtime... I'll have to go to one sometime! This is inside St. Olaves..

Then there was Minster Court, where part of the newer 101 Dalmations was filmed... saw the Gurkin (bullet-shaped building designed by Norman Foster), and Lloyd's (designed by Richard Rogers) and Leadenhall Market....

We grabbed an inexpensive lunch nearby (2.60 pounds for a sandwich, chips and soda!! We love our deals). I then went on my first solo tube ride to meet Julia at the Victoria & Albert Museum. I even had to change over on the tube! The tube system is really easy... I can't believe I was frightened of it! I'm still proud of myself :)

Walking to the V&A from the tube stop, I ran into Harrod's. It's just as beautiful as I had hoped! I didn't have time to go inside, but I can only imagine what that experience will be like when I finally have the chance to! I heard they have a pet shop?!

The V&A was incredible!

I wasn't sure what to expect seeing as I'm still not museums' number one fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed what we saw of the museum... only about a half of it today! (Guess I'll have to go back... darn!) We went through the fashion/jewelry area, some theatrical rooms (and even got to dress up), and several random Asia, sculpture, tapestry rooms. Can't wait to go back! The Science Museum and Natural History Museum are in the area, too!

After that, me, Julia and her friend, Karen, went off to find some dinner. Ran into a pub near the tube station and got a cheeseburger, chips and cider. Delicious! I had been craving a good burger and am now finally satisfied. I then browsed some shops in the area and caught the tube again to Waterloo area in search of the Old Vic Theatre. It was our first play for Performing Arts class!

Here's more info on the play and theatre: http://www.oldvictheatre.com/

The play was really comical and entertaining. I wish I wasn't so tired.. otherwise I think I would've enjoyed it more (or at least would've been more awake). It was still a great first London theatre experience! I'm hoping to see at least one musical while I'm here in London. Me and some friends are interested in seeing Les Miserables. How wonderful would that be?!

I am exhausted.. time for some sleep. Hopefully a car alarm doesn't go off again like it did last night for half an hour! Ugh! I guess this is a city...

Anyway, goodnight all!

xxx

Jen, Jackie and I booked our tickets to Munich! Leaving Thursday morning, February 10th and coming home Saturday night Feb. 11th. Ireland one weekend, Munich the next. I'm so lucky.

We are hoping to see Dachau (first concentration camp) when we're there, go on a walking tour recommended by Marie, visit Hofbrauhaus (cliche German beer hall) among other sightseeing things. I originally wanted to do a multiple city trip including Krakow and Prague but the budget airlines don't seem to fly between these places. Annoying! I'd prefer to kill a few birds with one stone, but that'll have to wait until April when we have more time to use other forms of transportation.

Tonight I think we're buying our tickets to Paris. Ahhhh! I've heard from some people that Paris wasn't that great but how is that even possible. It's Paris. And we're wanting to do a day trip to Versailles! Cannot wait.

And plans are beginning to come together for Spain and Italy in April. Hopefully jumping from Venice to Florence/Tuscany then down to Rome... then over to Sevilla to see Mel, and doing Barcelona and Madrid with her. So much to see in both countries... Europeans have it so lucky that they're easily able to travel to all these amazing places. That's why I want to do as much as possible when I'm here. Who knows when I'll be back again!

Aside from all these fun things and planning various trips, classes have been ok! Nothing too exciting. Visual photography assignment for next week: take a picture of climate change. Last time I checked, we are in London... where am I supposed to locate climate change weather conditions. There isn't any snow, either. I guess it gives me something semi-challenging to work on! In British Media we had a an editor from the Independent come to speak to us about the new paper (The I) they recently created. It's basically a shorter version of the Independent, costs only 20 pence (theory behind it was that it's only one coin, not much else is as cheap at 20 pence, but because it costs something people aren't going to just throw it away like other free papers). It's a pretty big risk to create another newspaper in a time where many newspapers are losing readership, but I think it's a great idea.

In International News we had an international freelancer speak to us. She currently works for a paper in Yemen but freelances her articles for other global papers. Props to her for living and working in Yemen... but you won't catch me there!

Tomorrow, we'll go on another walking tour for Historic London, and then at night I'm headed downtown to a play for my Performing Arts class. Should be a busy and interesting day.

...3 weeks since I've been in London. I can hardly believe it! But I'm so happy to be here. Loving this city :)

xxx

Another great weekend in London!

Had a blast with Julia on Friday night.. it was so good to see her! I'm used to being half way across the country from her for the majority of the year because of university, but now we're in the same city for a semester.. and London of all cities.

On Saturday me and the girls went to Portobello Market and Notting Hill to check out what is supposedly London's largest antiques market.

The streets were lined with vendors, musicians, cafes, vintage clothing stores, antique stores, etc. So many people! There was a lot to look at and even though I wanted to buy some things here and there, I reminded myself that I could always come back. It's weird but awesome that I'm not just visiting... I'm living here and I can go back to these places time and time again. 

For lunch I had to decided between the vendor that was cooking bratwurst (smelled amazing) and the Ghanaian vendor. Even though the Milwaukee in me wanted a brat, I figured I wouldn't have many future chances to eat Ghanaian food... so I went with that. Peanut chicken and rice. So spicy, but so yummy. The brats can wait until I get to Germany!

On our way out of the market we stopped at the famous Hummingbird Bakery. Not sure why it's famous but there was a line out the door, so it seemed like a safe bet. 

Best cupcake I've ever had. 

Today me, Liz and Jackie went on the Beatles Magical Mystery tour which brought us to the likes of Paul McCartney's studio, the studio where the Beatles recorded Hey Jude, the site of the infamous rooftop concert, the art studio and club where John Lennon met Yoko Ono, Abbey Road Studios and the Abbey Road crosswalk.

There I am crossing Abbey Road! I wish the road wasn't so busy... I had to rush to get across it! Oh well, it was still cool :)

In other news, me and the girls are trying to plan a multiple-city trip to Prague, Krakow and Munich. We thought about Berlin instead of Munich but I think Berlin is going to have to be a bigger trip... too much to do there!

And now.. I am streaming the Packers/Bears game. Not sure who I'm rooting for and I'd be reluctant to say the Bears because I know several of my blog readers are Packers fans, and I don't want to lose their readership! I do go to school in Wisconsin... maybe I'm a Packers fan. Ah well, it's still nice to watch some American football.

xxx

Today was a good day. I found my favorite two spots in London: St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern Museum.

Me and the girls took a walk down to the Thames River, which I didn't realize was about a 20 minute walk from my dorm. Awesome. On our side of the Thames was St. Paul's Cathedral.

I wish the picture did it justice. What a beautiful cathedral... I couldn't stop taking pictures of it! We didn't go inside it today but hopefully soon I'll get a chance to.

We then crossed the Millenium Bridge over the Thames River to get to the Tate Modern Museum on the other side. On our way across the bridge, off to the left was this familiar bridge..

London Bridge! One of these days we'll be going over closer to it, where the Tower of London is, too!

Next up was the Tate. I'm usually not a big fan of museums, but hey, when it's free, you might as well check it out. And I'm sooo glad we did. Modern art is pretty wacky I have to admit, but I found it absolutely intriguing. Most of the time you wonder how the heck the artist came up with whatever the art was.. whether it was a random splatter of paint or a blank canvas with one line through it. The Tate put me face to face with Picasso paintings, Jackson Pollock paintings, Andy Warhol artwork, etc. But the Picasso paintings were what really blew my mind. There I was just feet from a Picasso painting. Incredible.

After a few postcard purchases from the gift shop we headed back to the dorms for some supper. And now, Julia (a best friend since middle school who is studying in London) is headed my direction and were going out on the town tonight! Can't wait. 

Today was awesome.

The sun is out in London and I felt so much healthier when I woke up... it's going to be a good day :)

but of course the day it's sunny is the day I get my new wellies in the mail!

off to the Thames River and the Tate Museum.

This may be a bunch of ramblings but seeing as I'm still sick (sad face), I haven't really been up to much lately.

I hate being sick.. especially when I'm in London. I have every excuse to lay around and be a lazy bum until I feel better, but I still feel like I'm wasting precious time I could be using to explore. Ugh. But walking around in the cold is going to do more harm than good.

A comfortable bed would help, too. Wanted: foam mattress pad. My bed is literally the most uncomfortable bed ever. I might as well be sleeping on the floor.

Which brings me to what I miss the most about the states: Target. I could count on Target to provide me with a mattress pad. But for now, I'm fresh out of luck. The Argos I mentioned in an earlier blog has mattress covers but they also go for around 100 pounds. No thanks.

Enough of being a Debbie Downer..

Last night I went to the student union with Vittorio, Alex, Sam and Algarus for the 1 pound Guinness specials... and even though it was a super casual evening (followed by football/soccer in the street and a semi- food fight of grapes), I had a lot of fun. I'm learning to enjoy the little things, like a night with the guys or a walk around the city with some friends.

It would be so much more fun if I didn't have a throbbing head cold!

Yesterday for our Historic London class we took a tour of  the City of London, which is a separate part of London and is actually the oldest and original part of London. Our professor/tour guide knows absolutely everything there is to know about London, and tells the stories to us in a narrative/interesting way. Today the City of London is the chief financial and business district, so as you can imagine there were businessmen galore in that area. We saw the Royal Exchange (where all the wealthy businessmen eat lunch surrounded by high-end jewelry stores), an old church, the Mansion House (where the mayor of the City of London lives), Guildhall (hosts large banquets for the Corporation of London, which is the City of London's separate government), the first coffee shop in London and a cafe where Charles Dickens ate at. It's strange to me that the City of London is a separate entity of London, with its own governing body.

I think it's pretty awesome that I'm getting class credit for going on walking tours... and for another class I'm getting credit for going to plays and musicals. But I kind of wish I had homework... thus far I've only had to take a few pictures for Visual Photography, and pick up a copy of The I (local newspaper) each day for a week for my British Media class. It's kind of strange to go from being the busiest person ever last semester (classes, Tribune, Journal, internship) to having class three days a week, almost no homework, and no extra-curricular responsibilities. I want to join a club but there's nothing that suits my interests. I might try volunteering? Even if it's after-school help at an elementary school or tutoring, I just need something to do. I haven't had a chance to volunteer in awhile... I miss it!

Some good news: Katherine has a friend in Galway who says we can stay with her when we visit in two weeks, so we don't have to pay for the hostel!! Woooo! That's 30 pounds we don't have to spend. :)

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully I'm feeling better.. we have an eventful weekend coming up. Portobello Market on Saturday, Beatles walking tour on Sunday!

Am I really studying in London? Or just on vacation?

Top of the mornin'? We're going to Ireland!

Alex, Jen and I just bought our plane tickets to Dublin.. and from Dublin we're going to Galway for a few days! Alex has a friend there so that will be great to have someone who can show us around. Roundtrip plane tickets (Ryan air) and two nights in a hostel cost us a total of near 70 pounds ($120?)... not bad!! We'll be there Feb. 3 through Feb. 5.. so two days in Galway and a bit of time in Dublin. Guinness Factory perhaps? In Galway I'm hoping to do the Cliffs of Moher tour...

^beautiful, huh?

I'm so excited to start traveling and I think Ireland will be a great start to a series of trips. Next place we're talking about is Paris.. and then a week in Italy sometime in February or March? Jackie has friends in Florence and Tuscany, and we of course have to visit Rome. Not sure if a week in Italy is enough.. might have to go back :)

I feel so lucky to have all these opportunities right at my fingertips. This really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I wish I could just be on the move and exploring all day every day, but my first week or so really took a toll on me. I have a head cold and NyQuil and DayQuil are my best friends right now. The guys down the hall told me to "drink through it" (British culture right there haha) but I think I have to sleep through it this time.

Last night we went to Haymarket Square to watch the American football games at a sports cafe... they charged us 5 pounds to get in. Blokes! And after all that, I had to watch my dear Patriots lose to the Jets... the Jets fans around me didn't make it much better. But, I must say that it was awesome to see so many American college students flock to the same London bar from all over the city.

That's it for now, long day of classes tomorrow then me and Jackie are going on a walk to see St. Paul's Cathedral. And on Wednesday night we're all going on a Jack the Ripper tour!! Should be a good week :)

I love you London

xx

oh! music recommendations

Artist/Song

Jamie T/If You Got The Money
Feeder/Love Pollution
Example/Won't Go Quietly & Watch The Sun Come Up
Miike Snow/Black and Blue & Animal
Collie Buddz ft. Paul Wall/ What A Feeling
Boy Kill Boy/Maneater cover (BBC Live sessions)
Swedish House Mafia vs. Tinie Tempah/ Miami 2 Ibiza
Tinie Tempah/Pass Out
Edward Mika/Stereo Love
Steve Angello/Show Me Love
The Wombats
Natasha Bedingfield/The Scientist cover (BBC Live sessions)
N-Dubz/We Dance On
Master Shortie/London Town

What a lovely day in Oxford! We had no trouble getting to and from Oxford, and the bus trip was only an hour or so. We all slept on the way there.. late night last night! It was "indie night" at the 02 Academy club up the street about 15 minutes... a different scene than we were used to but still fun.

When we arrived in Oxford we headed to the Christ Church. So beautiful. I'd been there before but it doesn't get old.

After that we walked around the city of Oxford and in a park on the Thames River. I have to admit, the gloomy/cold weather is a bit miserable, and I'm forgetting what the sun looks like... but the scenery is gorgeous nonetheless. I absolutely love Oxford and it was so nice to be back there after a few years... I wish Marquette hadn't cancelled its program at one of the smaller colleges in Oxford (St. Clare's?) because I would've loved to study in that city. It's the perfect size.. maintains its country-ish feel but isn't lacking in things to see and do.

We had some delicious food today, too. For lunch: yummy Italian food (I got penne, sun dried tomato pesto, pancetta). For a snack: home-made, warm cookie from Ben's Cookies in the Covered Market. For dinner: a Cornish pasty as its called... basically a pot pie sandwich, crust stuffed with beef, onions, potatoes, turnip. YUM.

Purchases of the day: two postcards, an Oxford U. tea towel, a ring from Top Shop, a British flag mug (touristy of me I know, but I'm drinking tea from it right now), and two books from an Oxford bookstore. Every book in the store was only 2 pounds! Now that's a deal.

Overall, successful day and successful first adventure for us. Next up on the list: Galway/Dublin. We're going to start looking into tickets within the next few days!

xxxx

"If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."

There is in London all that life can afford

It's Wednesday at 2:30 and I'm already done classes for the week... weird. Yesterday I had British Media, Performing Arts and International News. British Media seems fairly interesting, but I felt a little lost seeing as I don't know anything about the media in London, but most of the British or full year kids in my class do. For example, just like I know the major magazines, newspapers, television stations in America, they know the major forms of media in London. Performing Arts is going to be a great class because most of the time we'll just be going to plays, musicals, operas, etc. Even though its 60 quid, it will be worth it! And the professor is this quirky theater connoisseur and actress with maroon-ish hair and lots of enthusiasm... aka who you would want to teach you about British theater. And thankfully, its also the same professor I have for my Wednesday Historic London class, which is basically all about London. Each class we'll have to meet her at a different spot around London and from there we go on historic walking tours. For example, we'll be at Westminister, Tower of London and The City (financial district about 10 minutes from where my dorm is).

Also on Tuesdays I have International News, and while it should be an interesting lecture... the professor put me to sleep. Lots of pausing, talking in circles, no real focus, always looking at his notes... Ayyy caramba. But next week we have the senior editor of Reuters (international news agency) coming to speak to us, so that should be really interesting!

In the Historic London class (all American students except one from Hong Kong, two from Brazil) today we had to group into "places we're from" and then present our states/cities to the class and why they should visit. There were about 7 of us from Massachusetts, one is actually from Westborough (town right next to me back home!). Basically Boston is the best city ever and telling everyone about the sports teams, shopping, Cape Cod, North End, central location, etc.... really made me miss it! There's no place like home! And now... London is becoming a home away from home (yes, after a little over a week!).

Last night me and some friends went back to that blues bar ('Round Midnight) because Alex and Vittorio (new friends at City) were playing at the open mic night. I love the atmosphere of the place, everyone is so laid-back and local... it's a good change of scenery if you want to get out of the clubs or average pubs. But then again, there are no average pubs here. I love being able to go to a pub on any given night and just have a pint with friends. It's so simple but so fun.

Alex, Jackie, Liz, Jen, Andrei, Betsy, Katherine, Jordan and I are all going to Oxford on Saturday! I haven't been there since senior year of high school with Cate and her aunt/uncle so I am SO excited to go back. I wish I could've studied in Oxford, I love it that much! This will be the first of our out of London adventures... can't wait!

Here's a quote that was on Vittorio's facebook the other day:

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford -Samuel Johnson

xxx 

A lesson in Rugby

Yesterday our new friend Teddy took me, Alex, Jackie, Katherine and Liz to see a Rugby game about an hour train ride outside of London. I guess London has 5 teams so we saw the Saracens play the London Irish. Rugby is very similar to our American football, except there's a lot less padding (and therefore, a lot more medical team assistants on watch, observing possible injuries to players.), a lot more tackling and throwing people on the ground, less stop and go stop and go, and better looking players.. Take a look for yourself.

We were freeeeezing, but otherwise it was a bloody good time! Later that night we went to a local pub and watched the Packers/Eagles game.. can't say I'm a fan of either team but it was nice to get my American football fill. We brought Teddy along and taught him about our football... it's only fair we both introduced each other to new sports!

Today I had my first class: Visual Journalism. I thought having a 11-12:50 class would be hell but it actually flew by! Everyone is from different countries, two girls from Spain, two from France, one from Switzerland, one from Germany, one from Poland (woot woot!), one from Indonesia, one was English and the other was also from an Asian country. I LOVE having all this diversity... it is exactly what I came here for. And everyone is super nice and welcoming. The class is a full year course so me and Andrei (fellow Marquette journalism major) were thrown into the middle of things but it shouldn't be too difficult to catch up. Everyone seems to be at about the same level of skills. First assignment: take a picture of news. Ahhhh! Must. find. news. But still.. I can't wait to get started with photography. Tomorrow I have British Media, International News and Performing Arts in London. Can't wait!

Now.. off to do some cheap grocery shopping and signing up for a gym membership.

Cheers.

Out on the town

Hello friends!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, it's been busy and exciting to say the least! But I am feeling so comfortable with my new home already and it hasn't even been a week. My dorm is a 2 minute walk from various pubs, a Pret a Manger (best place ever.. sandwiches for 2 pounds 50), a Starbucks (!)...though I have yet to go! A 5 minute walk another direction takes me to some grocery stores, the postal office, the tube, and a really cool store Argos (basically, there are huge enormous catalogs with every item you could ever want, you write down the number, pay for it, then they fetch it in the back for you). I still miss my Target though. About 15 minutes down the road is another tube station is the "Angel" area, 5 minutes down another direction is yet another tube station and the Museum of London. We went there today and it was awesome... but by the time we got there we were so exhausted that we didn't even finish getting through all of it! But I have 4 months so I'm not too worried. We all have to keep reminding ourselves that we don't need to rush to see everything, we enough time to do it all (maybe!).

On Tuesday we chose our classes for the semester.. I'm taking Visual Journalism, Performing Arts in London, International News and British Media.. and the classes are only on Monday and Tuesday. Awesome? Yes. Except, not sure what I'll end up doing on Wed-Friday... maybe this calls for joining the gym next door so I can stay in shape. And there is way more exploring to do! When I do end up exploring, it'll be nice to have more than the weekend.

On Wednesday night we went to this club downtown called The Penthouse. Holy club. We took an elevator to the top floor, it was all windows and had a perfect view of Big Ben and the London Eye. It was absolutely breathtaking.

I've been spending way too much this week, trying to experience everything and do as much as I can...  but starting now (or tomorrow after the Rugby match), I need to set myself a budget and stick to it or else I'm going to run out of money real fast. London really is one of the most expensive cities in the world.. and converting pounds to dollars in my head isn't helping!

On Friday me and Alex went out sightseeing, and even though we meant to just go to Picadilly Circus area, we kept on walking and ended up running into St. James Park, Big Ben, London Eye, Parliament, etc.

^ Westminister Abbey! Beautiful isn't it? We walked our tootsies off to say the least.. and took many touristy photos, such as us in the red phonebooths. We had to do it! It has been pretty chilly out recently and it's even worse when it rains... pretty miserable. Oh well, can't say I wasn't warned it would be rainy in London!

Last night we went out with Alex's floor and it was so so fun! They're a great bunch of people, mostly from England, some from Ireland and Scotland. I love new friends! I wish I could just meet everyone.

Today we did some more sightseeing with Andrei, Jen, Betsy, Liz and Jackie... made our way to Covent Garden (pretty similar to Quincy Market in Boston actually) where we saw a street performer solve a rubix cube in a minute, take off basically all of his clothes while balancing on top of a ladder and juggling machetes... you know, completely normal day to day activities. 

We then went over to Buckingham Palace, grabbed a really over-charged meal by Big Ben (we ordered a sandwich and were literally charged for the bread. say what??!). Then we headed back to campus and went to the Museum of London. and THEN! I met up with Julia (a best friend from high school back home!!) for dinner with several of her friends (one goes to King's in London, the other two go to Queen Mary with her). We grabbed the 5 pound burger and beer special down the street from me (I can tell I'm going to take advantage of that deal a lot). It was so good to see her because I hadn't seen her since the summer in NYC for my birthday! So exciting.

And now I'm organizing my bloody room since I haven't had much time.. staying in tonight to give my wallet a rest. Tomorrow is the rugby game.. this should be interesting!

I love the various phrases the British use. For example, to ask how you are, you say "are you alright?" so these past few days when the guys on my floor have asked "are you alright?" I was like uhh yeah why wouldn't I be.. haha.. oh culture differences.. gotta love it. 

that's all for now mates

xxx

I love London

I've been here for almost 4 days and I am already having the time of my life!

I got to my dormitory Monday, moved in without any problems. Courtney you were right, it looks like a jail cell of a room! But I put photos up and a few pieces of artwork (same Andy Warhol posters I've had in my dorm/apartment bedroom for the past few years. It's starting to feel a bit more comfortable! I'm on the third floor of Finsbury Hall, on my side of the floor there are two wings, one end is for girls, the other end is guys. I met a few guys the first day, Alex (British, fellow ginger), Sam (British), Vittorio (Italian) and Algie (Lithuanian) and two girls, Louise (Belgian) and Luda (British). They were all super nice and welcoming... so thankful for that! Two other Americans (one from Marquette!!!) just moved in yesterday.

After unpacking I headed down the road about 10 minutes to an area called "Angel" which is where the tube is. There are a bunch of shops and grocery stores in that area so I was able to pick up some random essentials, hangers, a few plates, silverware, etc. When I got back I ran directly into this girl Jen, who is also from Marquette! She was headed out to Angel so I literally dropped off my stuff in my room and headed back to Angel again. We grocery shopped and picked up some extra pillows, got lost walking back to campus with our many bags. Not cool.

We've been out the past few nights, to a club on Monday night (so fun but very expensive and very far away!) It was in Leicester Square so as we were leaving the club all I had to do was look up and there was Big Ben and the London Eye. Beautiful. To save some money last night a group of us went to a live jazz club up the road... it was awesome. Cozy, a bunch of locals, great live music. Then we wandered and ended up a pub. We were the only ones there because it was past 12 and pubs aren't allowed to serve alcohol past 12 here. It was still a lot of fun! We played darts... I gave it a good effort but darts just aren't my thing I guess. It's great having the first year City students show us around because they've been here and know the best places to go. They've all been really helpful!

Few other errands have happened here and there, we bought cell phones, got our student cards at the student center, did some orientation things today (rather boring and we were exhausted!)... also, found out the university's mascot is the carrot. Say what?? Since when did vegetables become mascots. I feel like there are better options. Oh well!

p.s. just got invited to a rugby match on Sunday by my British friend Teddy. This is so British and so awesome. I'm in love with being here!

I'll update more soon! This was already a long enough blog post... pictures to come soon too! :)

Cheers!

Day 1

I'm here!

Yesterday (Jan. 1) I left Boston via American Airlines at around 7:30 p.m. Business class is quite spectacular... they didn't stop feeding me, roasted nuts, fruits, cheese, bread, an Indian cuisine for dinner and hot fudge sundaes for dessert...! I'll take it. Thank you dad's plane mileage. Unfortunately, I only got 2 hours of sleep (more or less.. probably less). Sooo I'm basically exhausted right now. Must. Fight. Jet. Lag. Its 9:30 p.m. over here in London so if I can get to bed soon and wake up at a reasonable hour, I should be back on track.

Anyway! Once I landed I maneuvered through Heathrow's Terminal 3... from the countless numbers of international travelers to the remains (unclaimed luggage) of Heathrow's snow storm catastrophe last week. Grabbed a cart, threw my over 100 lbs. of luggage on it and went to the shuttle station that would bring me to my hotel in Bloomsbury (semi-near City University). When I got on the shuttle, I was greeted by the song "Like a G6." And even though I hate that song in the U.S., I had to laugh when I heard it on British radio. Comforting in a way!

It was 10 a.m. when I got to the hotel, but because I couldn't check in until 2 p.m., I had to leave my bags and find something to do for 4 hours. Definitely didn't have a problem with that. First I started at the British Museum which was right next door.

Even though I wasn't interested in half of what the museum had to offer... I saw the Rosetta Stone, took a picture, browsed the gift shop, sat in the great hall and people watched (and was approached by a man with a little boy clearly about to go #2 in his pants, looking for the bathroom. I couldn't be of much help.) Then I went across the way to Starbucks where I paid an arm and a leg for a chai tea and sat people watching everyone entering and leaving the museum. Interesting to say the least. I saw a lot of females wearing Timberland boots... I didn't know those were "in."

After sitting there for a while, I started walking without really knowing where I was going. Sure enough, I end up on Oxford Street (aka one of the best shopping districts). Just what I needed... amazing shopping and not much else to do besides... shop. London is taking advantage of me already. I went to a cute store, Dorothy Perkins, in search of a casual boot... so I asked the young female workers for their advice, what the latest trends were, what girls are wearing, etc. In case any of you are wondering, a heeled or wedge boot that cuts off at the ankle is "in."

I kept wandering and then headed back to the hotel, checked in, and then headed back out again. More shopping and browsing and people watching... a lot more walking.. and I ended up in Covent Garden (another huge shopping, dining district). More walking led me to SoHo and ChinaTown... then to Picadilly Circus where all the broadway shows are and big Times Square-like signs.

After that I made my way back to my hotel, stopping to get some Thai Food (yum!) for dinner. Pricey but delicious. All of the shops closed at 6 p.m. because it's Sunday but the restaurants and pubs stayed opened. There are so many people out and about! And they're from all over the world. It's so interesting just to observe everything. I think people think I'm a Brit... I've been asked for directions 3 times today. And 2 out of 3 times I knew the right directions. Go me! 

It's been a busy 24 hours and I can't wait to get some much needed sleep tonight! I love being in London and it's all finally hitting me. This is my home for the next four months and I could not be more happy or thankful to be here. I love the people, I love the culture and atmosphere... I feel so safe and comfortable walking around. It's great!

Tomorrow is move-in day. Can't wait to meet some fellow study abroad students!

Cheers