Well my friends, today is the final day in London, and may I just say it has been a pleasure writing this blog for your viewing pleasure.
Let me start from where my last post left off...
Wednesday morning, I ventured out to Regents Park, which is a smaller version of Hyde Park/more secret garden-ish. It was well worth it, I got so many great pictures and it was so nice to go and do something on my own in the city. Then I headed to meet my Political Science class at Westminster tube stop, there we all met up and headed over to the houses of Parliament. It was so great, I've been to the House of Commons before, but we also got to go to the House of Lords. Parliament is broken up much like our congress but Commons is elected and Lords is not, and image the capital being an 18th century palace. After our time there, our professor took us to a pub on a boat, which might sound cool, but after about 20 minutes I was feeling sea sick for sure.
Thursday was my last day of work, which was not so bad, it was sad but I was ready to be out of that place! I got my recommendation from my boss and hit the road. That night a bunch of people from our program all went to dinner, it was fun to hang out with all of them one last time in a big group. Unfortunately I had to come back to our house right after that because I still had to finish my final paper for my class, which I'm happy to report is handed in!
Today Callie and I woke up early to hit the stores one last time, which was a good idea because they were not crowded at all! Then we walked back to our house because it was entirely too hot to get on the tube. We had booked an nail appointment earlier in the week at a place right across from our house and so we rushed to that, and made it just in time. Then we dropped our purchases off and headed to borough market one last time with our flatmates. Let me just say borough market never disappoints. I had a seafood paelle curry like dish, it was wonderful! Callie had a veggie burger, which personally I feel was a little bit of a cop-out for the last time at borough but thats just me. We grabbed some sangria and hit our favorite dinning spot. After that we ran to CAPA to hand in papers and print boarding passes and what not. Then we strolled over to Harrods and browsed the mid-season sale they were having. After that CAPA was throwing us a farewell tea and so we jaunted over to that and had a great time talking and laughing with our flatmates and some other friends.
Now we are back for final packing, showering, preparing for tomorrow and we have a taxi that is coming to get us tomorrow at 430 in the morning which will come far to soon I am sure!
It's so crazy that these six weeks are already over! I had so much fun writing this blog and I hope you enjoied reading it as well! Can't wait to see all over you in the land of the free and home of the brave. Happy fourth of july!
Hotty Toddy from London one last time. Cheers!
Friday, 3 July 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Last weekend
This past weekend, was our last in London! How the time flies! Saturday we had a day trip to Wales booked, it was cool but it took a really long time to get there. Once we did get there we walked around Cardiff which is the main city, then we headed out to Caerphilly Castle, it was really old and pretty neat, I would show you pictures but my camera was dead!
Sunday we got up and went to the Smithfield market, which was awesome, I got a new scarf and we walked around and enjoyed all of the booths, most of which were clothing or accessories, but some had pictures, food and other odds and ends. Then we headed to Notting Hill for our 2 our walking tour, it was cool, I'm pretty sure our guide was hung over which was interesting but informative nonetheless. We got to see the bookstore from the movie Notting Hill as well as the blue door, that is actually no longer blue (they sold the door in an auction). We also got to the house where Keria Knightly's character lived in love actually! Those are just some of the cool things we got to see. Then after Notting Hill we walked slowly to the tube, and stopped in some stores, I found a second hand book store and picked up some books for super cheap!
Monday I had class all day, which is such a downer especially because it has been so nice in London. There has been a heatwave warning, with temperatures reaching 33! Which is like 85, it's hilarious to hear Londoners complain about the heat, because we are totally used to it getting that hot!
Yesterday was my second to last day of work, the end of Thursday can't come soon enough (thats my last day)
I'm not sure what the plan is for today and the rest of the week, but I might try to venture to Regent's Park since I haven't made it out there yet!
America bound in 3 days!
Sunday we got up and went to the Smithfield market, which was awesome, I got a new scarf and we walked around and enjoyed all of the booths, most of which were clothing or accessories, but some had pictures, food and other odds and ends. Then we headed to Notting Hill for our 2 our walking tour, it was cool, I'm pretty sure our guide was hung over which was interesting but informative nonetheless. We got to see the bookstore from the movie Notting Hill as well as the blue door, that is actually no longer blue (they sold the door in an auction). We also got to the house where Keria Knightly's character lived in love actually! Those are just some of the cool things we got to see. Then after Notting Hill we walked slowly to the tube, and stopped in some stores, I found a second hand book store and picked up some books for super cheap!
Monday I had class all day, which is such a downer especially because it has been so nice in London. There has been a heatwave warning, with temperatures reaching 33! Which is like 85, it's hilarious to hear Londoners complain about the heat, because we are totally used to it getting that hot!
Yesterday was my second to last day of work, the end of Thursday can't come soon enough (thats my last day)
I'm not sure what the plan is for today and the rest of the week, but I might try to venture to Regent's Park since I haven't made it out there yet!
America bound in 3 days!
Friday, 26 June 2009
Some random things I left out
I have noticed that Ive forgotten to mention some fun/funny things that have happened over our time here.
A couple weeks ago Callie and I went on a walking tour of Brick Lane which is the Pakistani area of London, and our tour ended in a free 5 course meal, paid for by our program! This was during the tube strike so it took me a considerable amount of time to get there and I was late, but it was totally worth it!
Just this past weekend, our whole flat was woken up (around 445am) to a banging on the door and the fire alarm going off, we gather the essentials and booked it outside where only a handful of students and residents had gathered. Apparently someone in had the marvelous idea of pulling the alarm to get one of the residents to come out...who didn't even ended up waking up to hear the alarm! It took the fire department ages to get there and when they finally did they were clueless, which is just one more reason to appreciate America.
Lastly, last night as Callie and I were falling asleep our flatmate's friend who is also in the program decided it would be a good idea to fix our running toilet....after he had spent a night at the pub. Needless to say he didn't fix it and ended up creating a toilet water fountain in our bathroom resulting in an inch of water on the floor and our toilet broken (not to worry though because we have two in our flat). Luckily his roommate and much more sober friend came and fixed the problem temporarily...I'm going to leave it to our flatmates to explain what happened.
Just some stories from a day in the life of a Londoner
A couple weeks ago Callie and I went on a walking tour of Brick Lane which is the Pakistani area of London, and our tour ended in a free 5 course meal, paid for by our program! This was during the tube strike so it took me a considerable amount of time to get there and I was late, but it was totally worth it!
Just this past weekend, our whole flat was woken up (around 445am) to a banging on the door and the fire alarm going off, we gather the essentials and booked it outside where only a handful of students and residents had gathered. Apparently someone in had the marvelous idea of pulling the alarm to get one of the residents to come out...who didn't even ended up waking up to hear the alarm! It took the fire department ages to get there and when they finally did they were clueless, which is just one more reason to appreciate America.
Lastly, last night as Callie and I were falling asleep our flatmate's friend who is also in the program decided it would be a good idea to fix our running toilet....after he had spent a night at the pub. Needless to say he didn't fix it and ended up creating a toilet water fountain in our bathroom resulting in an inch of water on the floor and our toilet broken (not to worry though because we have two in our flat). Luckily his roommate and much more sober friend came and fixed the problem temporarily...I'm going to leave it to our flatmates to explain what happened.
Just some stories from a day in the life of a Londoner
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Beautiful Weather
The whole time we have been here it has rain only a total of 5 days maybe! Which is highly unlikely for London. I thought this was funny because last year in Italy it was pretty cool, which is also highly unlikely for Rome, it is usually in the 80s or 90s, so thank the Lord that the nice weather has followed me around the globe!
Yesterday Callie and I ventured over to Westminster because it was one day out of the week that it didn't close at 4 (don't even get me started on closing times of things here) It was so awesome, I had been there before but didn't really get a chance to take it all in and spend some serious time there like we did this time. Unfortunately there is no picture-taking allowed so I don't have any to share but if you get the chance to come to London I highly recommend it. Callie and I met there paid to get in and picked up our audio guide, the guided tours were all over (sad!) I was also really able to enjoy it because of the early modern history class I took this semester. In Westminster, among other things, was Elizabeth's coronation, Princess Diana's funeral, and loads of graves and memorials of famous poets, kings and queens (Shakespeare, Chaucer, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary, King Henry VII just to name a few)
After Westminster Callie and I ventured to a favorite Italian spot right down the road from our house and enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal, almost as good as The four lions in Florence!
Now Callie and I are off to the British museum and then some dinner, so until next time!
Christie
Yesterday Callie and I ventured over to Westminster because it was one day out of the week that it didn't close at 4 (don't even get me started on closing times of things here) It was so awesome, I had been there before but didn't really get a chance to take it all in and spend some serious time there like we did this time. Unfortunately there is no picture-taking allowed so I don't have any to share but if you get the chance to come to London I highly recommend it. Callie and I met there paid to get in and picked up our audio guide, the guided tours were all over (sad!) I was also really able to enjoy it because of the early modern history class I took this semester. In Westminster, among other things, was Elizabeth's coronation, Princess Diana's funeral, and loads of graves and memorials of famous poets, kings and queens (Shakespeare, Chaucer, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary, King Henry VII just to name a few)
After Westminster Callie and I ventured to a favorite Italian spot right down the road from our house and enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal, almost as good as The four lions in Florence!
Now Callie and I are off to the British museum and then some dinner, so until next time!
Christie
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Sorry for my slack
Well, I do apologize for my lack of posting.
Not much to report from last week, loads of work and school, but Callie and I did manage to squeeze in the London Eye which is always a fun thing to do! The Eye is like a giant ferris wheel where you can see the whole city of London and it over looks Parlimena and Westminster amound other things, we could also see where we lived from the top which was cool!
(Callie and I after the Eye)
But the weekend, we had some long-over due time in London for a change, which we took full advantage of. We got up bright and early on Saturday and headed for the undiscovered market of Notting Hill called the Portobello Market, it was full of antiques but even more full of people, almost overwhelmingly so. But I managed to snag a wonderful picture of some houses near were our school is located and Callie found a gorgeous Victorian ring! On our way out we saw a street band which wasn't that good but had a huge crowd around it, this was why...
This guy had his dog sitting on his shoulder and every now and again he would give him a little snack, this is my kind of guy!
After that we headed back to the Borough Market because once is never enough. This time I got a kangaroo burger, yes you heard right! It was awesome, washed that down with some beautiful homemade sangria and then we headed for Green Park, Buckingham Palace and St. James Park, all of which were awesome!
(Looking down away from Buckingham Palace with flag lining the streets, it was just the Queens offical birthday celebration last weekend so I think that might be why they were up and the streets were still closed)
We took a stroll through up to Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly Circus then up Regents St to Oxford St all of which have some great shopping but we mainly window shopped.
We came home had a breather and then headed out to see a movie, the hangover and it was hilarious!
Then Sunday we over slept a tad, till around 1130, then got up got ready and headed to the tower of London which was so much fun, we took the free one hour tour and it was totally worth it our tour guide was hilarious and had some really cool facts too.
(Our tour guy, one of 37 Yeoman Warders, or people who gaurd the tower and also get to live there)
After that we headed to St Paul's church were Diana and Charles were married. When we got there it was time for a service and they had the choir singing, it was so amazing to be in that church hearing those people sing, just amazing!
(Front of St. Paul's)
This week work and school have been work and school like. But my boss being the special man that he is has continued to get more and more causal as the weeks have progressed, just the other day he wore sandals (which I mean is fine it is his house) but this joker has some of the nastiest feet I've ever seen, needless to say I didn't eat my lunch that day... He also has the habit of smelling like stale BO which is always appealing, but to somewhat make up for this his grandmother lives next door and every couple of days she comes over with some homemade cake for us so that always takes my mind off the nastiness of the work environment.
Today me and Callie met in Leicester Square to get some discounted theater tickets and some dinner at Wagamamas, which is a great noodle chain here. We got tickets to Jersey Boys which was so entertaining, but I not sure it was more entertaining watching the actors or the audience all of whom where at least 20 years older than Callie and I. Nonetheless it was a great time.
Tomorrow we are going to try to go to Westminster and Parliament, that should be fun! Especially since I love all that early modern English history.
Promise to write more!
Not much to report from last week, loads of work and school, but Callie and I did manage to squeeze in the London Eye which is always a fun thing to do! The Eye is like a giant ferris wheel where you can see the whole city of London and it over looks Parlimena and Westminster amound other things, we could also see where we lived from the top which was cool!
(Callie and I after the Eye)
But the weekend, we had some long-over due time in London for a change, which we took full advantage of. We got up bright and early on Saturday and headed for the undiscovered market of Notting Hill called the Portobello Market, it was full of antiques but even more full of people, almost overwhelmingly so. But I managed to snag a wonderful picture of some houses near were our school is located and Callie found a gorgeous Victorian ring! On our way out we saw a street band which wasn't that good but had a huge crowd around it, this was why...
This guy had his dog sitting on his shoulder and every now and again he would give him a little snack, this is my kind of guy!
After that we headed back to the Borough Market because once is never enough. This time I got a kangaroo burger, yes you heard right! It was awesome, washed that down with some beautiful homemade sangria and then we headed for Green Park, Buckingham Palace and St. James Park, all of which were awesome!
(Looking down away from Buckingham Palace with flag lining the streets, it was just the Queens offical birthday celebration last weekend so I think that might be why they were up and the streets were still closed)
We took a stroll through up to Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly Circus then up Regents St to Oxford St all of which have some great shopping but we mainly window shopped.
We came home had a breather and then headed out to see a movie, the hangover and it was hilarious!
Then Sunday we over slept a tad, till around 1130, then got up got ready and headed to the tower of London which was so much fun, we took the free one hour tour and it was totally worth it our tour guide was hilarious and had some really cool facts too.
(Our tour guy, one of 37 Yeoman Warders, or people who gaurd the tower and also get to live there)
After that we headed to St Paul's church were Diana and Charles were married. When we got there it was time for a service and they had the choir singing, it was so amazing to be in that church hearing those people sing, just amazing!
(Front of St. Paul's)
This week work and school have been work and school like. But my boss being the special man that he is has continued to get more and more causal as the weeks have progressed, just the other day he wore sandals (which I mean is fine it is his house) but this joker has some of the nastiest feet I've ever seen, needless to say I didn't eat my lunch that day... He also has the habit of smelling like stale BO which is always appealing, but to somewhat make up for this his grandmother lives next door and every couple of days she comes over with some homemade cake for us so that always takes my mind off the nastiness of the work environment.
Today me and Callie met in Leicester Square to get some discounted theater tickets and some dinner at Wagamamas, which is a great noodle chain here. We got tickets to Jersey Boys which was so entertaining, but I not sure it was more entertaining watching the actors or the audience all of whom where at least 20 years older than Callie and I. Nonetheless it was a great time.
Tomorrow we are going to try to go to Westminster and Parliament, that should be fun! Especially since I love all that early modern English history.
Promise to write more!
Monday, 15 June 2009
Rest and Relaxation
Ah well friends and loyal readers, I apologize for the long break in writing. This past Friday Callie and I took the train to Derbyshire to a little town called Baslow. Callie's boyfriend Cason's mother Susan ( confusing I know) has some old friends who live there and Susan told them we were coming and they invited us to stay with them for a weekend!
Marian and Martin, picked us up from the train station with their miniature schnauzer Dusty in toe. We hopped into their Mercedes and off we went to Baslow. We rode through the country side and arrived at their home which used to be an old pub!
We got their unloaded our stuff into our adorable room,
got the tour of the house and sat down to some proper English tea with buscuits (cookies) and fruit cake. After that we took a walk with everyone and dusty. It was so beautiful and green there, not to mention all the sheep!! After our walk we headed to the house were Marian had made us a wonderful English lamb roast!! I don't think I need to explain how delicious that was. After which we watched the new and like the old people Callie and I are headed to bed (no shame).
The next day we got up went for another walk with Dusty and Marian around a farm, with pigs cows and horses. After that we went to the Chastworth House which is where the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live and it is also a museum and the movies Pride and Prejudice and the Dutches were filmed there!!
(Martian in Costume at Chatsworth House)
There were also beautiful gardens in the back that we explored, which reminded me a lot of secret garden! After that we went back to the house ate a quick lunch and headed out to a town called Eyam which is where the black plague started it was a small town but crazy to see. Then we headed back and got changed and headed out to an Italian dinner which was divine! Almost as good as Italy. After dinner we took Dusty for another walk around a little creek which had all sorts of ducks and geese in it, really quaint.
(Chatsworth House)
The next day we woke up and headed out to a town called Castleton where there is some caves, which are the only caves in the world that mine a stone called Bluejohn, it is quite rare and very pretty. We went in the cave and saw some great stalagtights and stalagmights, as well as some raw blujohn stone. After the cave we went back to the town and walked around and looked in some shops and just ejoyed the small village.
(The View from the caves of Castleton)
Then Marian and Martian took us to get a proper English roast at a pub which apperentally you can't get in London, it was amazing, and I ate far too much! After that we headed back to the house and lounged and packed up, sadly the time rolled around and it was time to go. We didn't want to leave at all, it was like staying with your English grandparents, they were so gracious, paid for EVERYTHING and never stopped asking us if we needed anything. Although we just had met them I felt like we had known them for years. The fresh country air and a break from London is just what we needed!
Marian and Martin, picked us up from the train station with their miniature schnauzer Dusty in toe. We hopped into their Mercedes and off we went to Baslow. We rode through the country side and arrived at their home which used to be an old pub!
We got their unloaded our stuff into our adorable room,
got the tour of the house and sat down to some proper English tea with buscuits (cookies) and fruit cake. After that we took a walk with everyone and dusty. It was so beautiful and green there, not to mention all the sheep!! After our walk we headed to the house were Marian had made us a wonderful English lamb roast!! I don't think I need to explain how delicious that was. After which we watched the new and like the old people Callie and I are headed to bed (no shame).
The next day we got up went for another walk with Dusty and Marian around a farm, with pigs cows and horses. After that we went to the Chastworth House which is where the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live and it is also a museum and the movies Pride and Prejudice and the Dutches were filmed there!!
(Martian in Costume at Chatsworth House)
There were also beautiful gardens in the back that we explored, which reminded me a lot of secret garden! After that we went back to the house ate a quick lunch and headed out to a town called Eyam which is where the black plague started it was a small town but crazy to see. Then we headed back and got changed and headed out to an Italian dinner which was divine! Almost as good as Italy. After dinner we took Dusty for another walk around a little creek which had all sorts of ducks and geese in it, really quaint.
(Chatsworth House)
The next day we woke up and headed out to a town called Castleton where there is some caves, which are the only caves in the world that mine a stone called Bluejohn, it is quite rare and very pretty. We went in the cave and saw some great stalagtights and stalagmights, as well as some raw blujohn stone. After the cave we went back to the town and walked around and looked in some shops and just ejoyed the small village.
(The View from the caves of Castleton)
Then Marian and Martian took us to get a proper English roast at a pub which apperentally you can't get in London, it was amazing, and I ate far too much! After that we headed back to the house and lounged and packed up, sadly the time rolled around and it was time to go. We didn't want to leave at all, it was like staying with your English grandparents, they were so gracious, paid for EVERYTHING and never stopped asking us if we needed anything. Although we just had met them I felt like we had known them for years. The fresh country air and a break from London is just what we needed!
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Jude Law and other celebs
So as promised this is the Jude Law post!
So, incase you missed it, yes I did say Hamlet, and furthermore yes I did saw Jude Law!! We woke up to a stormy morning perfect for beating to crowds to queue for tickets. Ok if your lost hold on... Jude Law (aka hottest man I've ever seen) is playing the role of Hamlet in the west end production of it this summer. So obviously the tickets sold out immediately, but the theater people who are so smart and cunning set aside 33ish tickets for sale on the day of the show, for each showing. So for those brave and dedicated souls who so choose, you can queue (line up and wait) for those 33ish tickets on the morning of the show.
Alright so back to Jude, Callie and I woke up Sunday morning entirely too early, put on our game face and headed to the theater. When we got there (around 745ish) there were already some people there but we were definitely getting a ticket. So we had to wait until the box office opened (11am) to get our tickets, we didn't know were they would be or how good or bad the would be.
11 am rolled around and we were the 3rd group to buy tickets...when the lady told us what seats they had available in twos (Callie and I) I died. We were middle left 5 ROWS BACK!!!
This is the view from our seats! However unfortunately the camera nazis where out in full force so I didn't get a picture of Jude. The play it self was amazing, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it, aside from the fact that Jude Law was 10 feet in front of me! So after the play we tried to go wait and get an autograph/picture but Jude had to go to a memorial service for a friend, so we didn't see him, but there is a good chance that we will just happen to be in the area around the same time another show lets out and snag one then! Oh and don't worry I bought a program for him to sign!
In other celebrity new from London, B-Spears has had her series of concerts in town and has been spotted out, Lindsay Lohan and her on again off again girl friend have been here and Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted taking a jog outside of the CAPA offices! How crazy is that?!?
Last night I had my black tie event for my internship, which the former president of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, spoke. It was very cool, and I actually got to shake his hand! There were also some members of Parliament there, I got to speak with Geoffrey Clifton Brown who is an MP (Member of Parliament) and sat with some very interesting people who knew all sorts of behind the scenes drama about the Royal family! But I was sworn to secrecy, sorry!
Starting tonight and lasting until Thursday night there is going to be a tube strike so wish me luck as I venture out on the bus system!
So, incase you missed it, yes I did say Hamlet, and furthermore yes I did saw Jude Law!! We woke up to a stormy morning perfect for beating to crowds to queue for tickets. Ok if your lost hold on... Jude Law (aka hottest man I've ever seen) is playing the role of Hamlet in the west end production of it this summer. So obviously the tickets sold out immediately, but the theater people who are so smart and cunning set aside 33ish tickets for sale on the day of the show, for each showing. So for those brave and dedicated souls who so choose, you can queue (line up and wait) for those 33ish tickets on the morning of the show.
Alright so back to Jude, Callie and I woke up Sunday morning entirely too early, put on our game face and headed to the theater. When we got there (around 745ish) there were already some people there but we were definitely getting a ticket. So we had to wait until the box office opened (11am) to get our tickets, we didn't know were they would be or how good or bad the would be.
11 am rolled around and we were the 3rd group to buy tickets...when the lady told us what seats they had available in twos (Callie and I) I died. We were middle left 5 ROWS BACK!!!
This is the view from our seats! However unfortunately the camera nazis where out in full force so I didn't get a picture of Jude. The play it self was amazing, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it, aside from the fact that Jude Law was 10 feet in front of me! So after the play we tried to go wait and get an autograph/picture but Jude had to go to a memorial service for a friend, so we didn't see him, but there is a good chance that we will just happen to be in the area around the same time another show lets out and snag one then! Oh and don't worry I bought a program for him to sign!
In other celebrity new from London, B-Spears has had her series of concerts in town and has been spotted out, Lindsay Lohan and her on again off again girl friend have been here and Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted taking a jog outside of the CAPA offices! How crazy is that?!?
Last night I had my black tie event for my internship, which the former president of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, spoke. It was very cool, and I actually got to shake his hand! There were also some members of Parliament there, I got to speak with Geoffrey Clifton Brown who is an MP (Member of Parliament) and sat with some very interesting people who knew all sorts of behind the scenes drama about the Royal family! But I was sworn to secrecy, sorry!
Starting tonight and lasting until Thursday night there is going to be a tube strike so wish me luck as I venture out on the bus system!
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