Goodbye, England!

I suppose the reason I put off writing this last post was because I didn't want to admit to myself that my trip is over and I have to return to my daily life now. I loved London, and I really hope to go back there someday, whether just to vacation or a more extended stay. Anyway, I'm happy to be home and am managing to avoid jet lag, so hopefully it'll all work out.

Thanks to everyone who read my blog!

Boat Tour

So the boat tour was interesting. To be honest, my friends and I spent a lot of time looking at flats and houses on the shore line, wondering how much they cost and picking out which ones we wanted to live in. We also danced to Journey and Bon Jovi, which is always a good time (the boat had a "disco," which just means dance floor). Here are pictures from the tour:

Yes, yes, things we've all seen before from me, but still, it was cool to see them from the water. The Olympic Rings are on the Tower Bridge and lower like this periodically.

Anyway, I've been thinking about moving here for a little while at some point, probably a few years after I graduate. It would actually make sense, since teachers here make a lot more. Plus I really just love London, and I'd be so close to the rest of Europe. We'll see how it pans out. In any event, I have definitely caught the travel bug from this trip. Hopefully next summer I'll be able to do something equally as awesome!

For My Future Nostalgia

Today was my last day of class, so I had a little free time afterwards to take pictures of the places I walked past every day. I figured I'd like to be able to look back on those places and remember, since I probably won't see them for a while, if ever. Here are a few of the things I see every day of my stay in London:

The building my class was in (above) and "the pointy building" my

friends and I used to figure out which direction to travel in (below)

Regent Street, where we got off the Tube to get to

class (above) and my Tube stop, Lambeth North (below)

Kennington Street, the street I walked down to get to the Tube (above) and

the pub at the corner of my street, which we never actually went into (below)

My dorm building, International House (above)

The buses here have advertisements on them, and whenever we'd see this one (usually in the morning), we'd know it'd be a good day (above)

 So those are some of the things I'd see on a regular basis. Again, this post was more for my own future nostalgia than anything else.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Since yesterday was the Fourth of July, my friends and I went to an "American" diner and got a more familiar meal to celebrate:

The burger was okay (it was a burger), and the shake was good too, but I think the best part was stumbling upon a Cinnabon a couple streets over. I now have a Cinnabon for my breakfast tomorrow (I ate one today, as well).

Later tonight, we're going on a boat cruise on the Thames as a goodbye party for those of us who are leaving, so there should be some good pictures from that. In the meantime, I'm practicing my use of the word "cheers," which is something I really want to pick up from my time here. We'll see how it goes!

Abbey Road

As a Beatles fan, one of the things I really wanted to do when I came to England was mimic the iconic Beatles cover photo in front of Abbey Road Studio. So of course I did it, sans two people, but still.

Being at Abbey Road was really cool. There's a white wall in front of the Abbey Road Studio that fans scribble away on, writing messages and their names and dates and all of that. I, of course, did as well; "Strawberry Fields Forever, Kristy '12."

After that, my friends and I (without Ellen, who was working on a project for class) went on a Jack the Ripper Tour through our program. It was...interesting. Only one of the significant places in the story still exists, so it was a lot of walking to a place near an important place, and while the tour guide was very knowledgeable, some of the descriptions of things were pretty gross. I might pick up a book on the matter when I get home, though.

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, and since my friends and I are obviously American, we're planning to go to a restaurant that has "American" food. We'll see. Anyway, Happy July 4th, everyone! 



Thing I Have Learned About England

I did not do anything interesting today. I woke up, went to class, had lunch, came home, and worked on my final paper for my class. Zero interesting things in there. So instead of rambling on and on about how I have more work to do than all of my friends combined (which is true), I thought I'd make a list of thing I've learned since I've been here. Here we go!

• Bus rides are narcotic. Bring a neck pillow.
• England may be part of Europe, but people here describe their height in feet and inches and speed limit signs are in miles, not kilometers. Do not try to learn the metric system before arriving.
• Always carry an umbrella. Always.
• There is no such thing as plain sour cream.
• If you want to see the Changing of the Gaurd at Buckingham Palace, get there early. And not half an hour early, but maybe two hours early.
• No one eats real food between the hours of 2:00pm and 6:00pm. All of the restraunts close.
•  Very few people in London are actually from England.
• A really good way to not spend money is to mentally convert pounds to dollars. It's a very good deterant.
• It is a commonly believed notion that the little purse the Queen always carries around with her (even in her own home) is actually full of gin (but not crack).
• Avoid tourists like the plague, even if you are also a tourist.
• Do not bother bringing small appliances like hair dryers or flat irons. Even if you have a voltage and plug converter, they will not work.
• Always do your research and have a plan. Chances are, you won't magically stumble upon the place you're looking for (although it did happen to us once).
• Be At One is the best bar in the London area. They also really like cool Americans.
• The National Museum is interesting, but do not go in on a whim. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
• You will always be able to find a souviner shop, so don't panic. 

If I think of any more, I'll continue the list, but that's it for now.

Also, I have an update on The Globe Theatre incident. I emailed the director with a complaint about the way the staff treated my professor and she got back to me. She was very apologetic and was adement about taking action against a similiar incident ever happening again. So if you're interested in The Globe, rejoice in the fact that someone there cares about their guests.

Hopefully I'll be taking more pictures this week since it is my last one, but chances are that they'll be pictures of my dorm building, the street my classes are on, and things like that. We might be doing something cool tomorrow, but we'll see.

Stonehenge, Bath, and Hyde Park

Yesterday was our second program excursion, and we went to Stonehenge and Bath, the site of the Roman Baths. Stonehenge was pretty cool; it's interesting that we just have no idea why it was created or who created it. There were a lot of tourists there, though, so it wasn't exactly the ethereal experience I was hoping for.



 Bath actually surprised me. I thought it would be a quaint little town situated in the middle of the countryside, but it is not. It's actaully a good-sized city with a really great shopping district that also happens to house the Roman Baths. It was different to see such a historic site practically next door to a place that looks like Partridge Creek, but there you go.

Today, my friends and I went to mass at Westminster Abbey because they charge you to take a tour but Sunday service is free. We still got to marvel at the beautiful stained-glass windows and read the different memorial markers, so it was a decent time. Pictures aren't allowed inside, though, so not photos.

After that, my friends Tess, Ellen, and I went to Hyde Park to take a leisurely stroll. It was really pretty, even though it kept trying to rain on us. We saw some pretty cool statues, like this one of Peter Pan:

Tomorrow is the start of my last week here in England, and I'm already dreading leaving. I've fallen in love with the city and the way of life here, and I've definitely caught the travel bug! Hopefully I'll still be able to squeeze a few more touristy things into my trip before I return home.

Harry Potter Studio Tour

So I may have just had the best experience of my life here. I went to see the Harry Potter Studio Tour and oh my God, it was A-mazing. I went by myself because at first there were no tickets available until after I'm scheduled to leave, but I managed to snag one for today. Anyway, I'm not to bent up about it, because I got to explore and marvel at things alone, and that helped make the experience even better. Here are some of the pictures:

It's going to sound very cliched, but there was something so magical about this whole day. To be honest, when I saw the big model of Hogwarts (last picture), I cried. I walked into the room, saw the castle, and was swept away by emotion. I think it's because Harry Potter has been a part of my life for so long that it's sad to think it's over. The conclusion of the HP series means the end of an era and the end of my childhood. Seeing the castle was like seeing a long-lost friend, someone you love and will miss dearly. And, too, I think every HP fan wishes Hogwarts and magic was real, and this got me a little closer to that dream. I know it sounds stupid and dorky, but it really was a moving experience.

Obviously there are a ton of additional pictures on Facebook. To anyone considering travelling to England in the near future, I would definitely suggest this tour.