Patience is a virtue...one that YOU apparently do not have!

Synopsis/Abstract: Irish friend, Grainne, visiting our humble abode here in London; searching for a good club to go to on Friday night and failing miserably I might add; a quest for cupcakes Saturday morning followed by a bit of shopping and some serious nap time; Saturday night yet another search for a club to go to (this time with much more success); sleeping in Sunday morning; going to a movie Sunday afternoon; going to class Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (walking around Piccadilly after Tues’ class); going on a walking tour of Shakespeare’s London Wednesday night (in the rain…) followed by a trip to the Imperial College student union pub; Class Thursday- field trip to Apsley House; All American Rejects Concert Thursday night; tour of Parliament Friday morning; followed by a well deserved nap; and finally…dun dun dun… a shiny new post for the blog! Now that I am fully dedicating the next hour or so of my time to updating you people on the various exciting (and not so exciting) things I did this week… you can all stop complaining about the distinct lack of updating. It’s not my fault if I’m busy! You will just have to wait patiently between each post, which I know can be difficult for those of you living vicariously through my adventures! So, without further ado…here you have it, installment number 19 of Hobbs Goes to London: The Wonderful Exploits of Gabby. Actually, one more thing, just a tiny little ado, I’m going to throw a little disclaimer out here about the length and quality of the following post. It will be long… and it will be amazing. No, that’s not what I meant to say. Well the long part is true…but I’m not too sure about the amazing. That is up to you, dear reader. But what I actually wanted to say is since this is in fact going to be quite lengthy, I can guarantee you that I will not be proofing it. So please disregard any grammatical, informational, and/or contextual inaccuracies or catastrophic blunders you may encounter. They are not my fault; you are just reading things wrong. Okay. That is all I am going to say on the matter. Case closed.


The Things People Do for a Cupcake
and various other tales…

Hokay, so here is the Earth. What? No, wrong topic… my mistake. Lets start with Friday night, shall we? I believe where I last left you, I was writing Friday morning excited about the impending visit of Grainne, a friend from Ireland. She arrived around seven o’clock Friday night. We were originally planning on having her stay in our room with us…but apparently overnight guests are not allowed in this building. We thought about sneaking her up, but the idea of skulking around the building wheedling our way past the front desk worker all weekend was a little but too stressful to handle, so we ended up checking her into a cheap hotel down the street. I have never in my life seen a hotel room that was so minuscule. They do things small here. Real small. All it had room for was a single bed that had walls on three sides of it, a small desk, and sink. It was about the size of a pantry. As I mentioned in my preface to this post, we did attempt to find a club on Friday night that was within walking distance from our rooms. We discovered a place called Opal that is pretty much on the end of our street. It was ten pounds to get in (expensive) but the guy at the front desk assured us that it was a great place to go. It was not. The cheapest drink was five pounds (not worth it), the music was some sort of trance-like techno-y mix, and the actual space we were in looked like a very small cave. Now, ordinarily, the idea of a cave bar could be somewhat intriguing…but it was very small and the crowd was not exactly the kind of people we wanted to be BFF’s with. So we ended up calling it a night early (well, early as in not quite yet the wee hours of the morning).

(Random Tube station...)


Saturday morning, Grainne insisted on waking us all up by 9:30 so we could go on a quest to find these apparently amazing cupcakes that were sold in the Market place at the Duke of York Square. Not entirely sure where this market was, we set out anyways. We ended up, without getting too lost, finding our way to the Crumbs and Doily’s stand where there were cupcakes aplenty! They were worth the trek =) When we got back we discovered that our shower was broken. The nozzle/snake/pipe thing had unglued itself and was whipping around like an uncontrollable hose, until it finally broke off and water was just shooting up from the pipes. Yes, it was not convenient at all. Fortunately there is another bathroom with a shower down the hall, and we all just snuck into that one =) Saturday night, we decided to risk another try at a club. This one was actually quite fun. The music was great for dancing (they played a good mix of oldies, pop, hip-hop, and pretty much anything anyone requested) and it was filled with people our age. Overall, it was a successful night.

(The greatly anticipated cupcakes!!)

(Grainne, Me and Melissa at the club Los Locos)

(All of us!)


Grainne left Monday afternoon (tear), but Melissa and I will see her soon! We are going to go visit her over spring break. Monday night was my Shakespeare class and Tuesday morning, British Life and Culture. I went shopping for a little while at Piccadilly Circus Tuesday after class. I had to buy two books for my Shakespeare class…and was directed to go to a bookstore that wasn’t even open yet! After walking around for a bit, Mary (one of the other girls from SCU) and I found a Borders and I was able to get my book there. I was a little bit disappointed though, as I had wanted to say I went to an authentic English bookstore!!!

Wednesday morning was class again and then laundry time. I’ve been putting off doing laundry for as long as possible…mostly because it costs four pounds… but also because I didn’t actually know where the laundry room was! Hehe I found it though, without too much trouble and now all my clothes smell nice and clean =)

Wednesday night was the walking tour of Shakespeare-land. Basically we walked around the river Theme’s where the new Globe is (the Globe is the theatre where Shakespeare worked, acted, wrote, and pretty much lived). The old Globe was destroyed by a fire and was never rebuilt, but a few pieces of it remain. It was really cool to see them both! We also walked around the area and saw various authentic (ancient) buildings that where there when Shakespeare was. One interesting, yet slightly creepy site we walked by, was a fenced off area known as Cross Bones Graveyard. It was a very old graveyard where unknown people (paupers, criminals, prostitutes, or simply people know one knew the identity of) were buried without any recognition or marking to show that they were there. Even though not a single identity is known of the hundreds of people buried there, visitors have made a memorial out of the site; putting flowers and original poems on the gate. It is an interesting thing to see. Overall the tour was pretty cool, but it unfortunately started raining while we were walking so it was cut short. Definitely worth the trip though for anyone at all intrigued by Shakespeare and his works.

(The new Globe...please note the rain)

(Prostitute Graveyard....interesting tour choice...)

(This pic was meant to go down at the bottom, it's in Westminster Hall)

Thursday morning I had my History of Modern Design class. It was a field trip day, so we blessedly did not have a three-hour lecture! Instead, we went to the Wellington Museum, or Apsely House, home of the first Duke of Wellington. It is right in the heart of London at Hyde Park Corner. It is an amazing house filled with famous paintings and statues. The Duke of Wellington is famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The whole house is a filled with tributes to this. It was pretty cool.

After that, Melissa and I went to the All American Rejects concert and it was amazing! We had horrible seats…but it was still worth it because the show was so good =) It was pretty funny when the crowd started chanting for an encore, we could totally here the English accent as they all yelled “We want more!” only, they said it as ‘moh’. It was fun.

(Apsley House)

Today, we all (the SCU students) had a scheduled tour of Parliament this morning. It was really really interesting. We weren’t allowed to take pictures once we got inside, but the whole building is massive and ancient and all around spectacular. It was pretty awesome to actually go through each room and see how the British government works. The House of Lords had a giant throne that is gold plated- for the Queen to sit in of course. The House of Commons was less impressive decoratively, but still just as cool to see where all the action happens!

(Big Ben and guess who!)

(Inside Westminster Hall, before going into the House of Parliament)


After the Parliament tour, I took a giant nap, which was splendid and that brings me to right now. I am typing. Yes, we have reached the end of this tale! I didn’t think it would happen…I impress myself sometimes. =)

Soo, I am not too sure what the plan is for tonight. Melissa is going on a date with a very nice English boy she met the other night. He is one of Cameron’s football (soccer…) teammates. She is about to leave right now, so I’ll just have to wait to see how that goes! Jenna, Mary and I have plans to go get Indian food for dinner and then maybe do something afterwards. A pub? Maybe…it's definitely a possibility. Other than that I have made no concrete plans for this weekend. I am running out of ideas of touristy places to go- amazingly enough I think I’ve done all the big ones! If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know and I will take them under consideration =)

Well, I think that this is all for now. I need to go take a shower. But you probably didn’t need to know that. It is supposed to be wickedly cold starting on Sunday; negative degrees at night and only in the 30’s during the day. Snow is a possibility for Tuesday. Hopefully I will not freeze to death! I’ll do what I can to stay warm… Let me know if anything interesting happens at home. I appreciated the long comments and emails people have been sending! Apparently a little complaining can go a long way!!!

xoxo

Here's a link to some pictures that go along with the post below: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077319&l=926d3&id=7102721

"Ladies if you fall, my strong arms will catch you. Gents, the ground is hard."

The past few days have been pretty busy with classes (yes we actually have to go…), sightseeing, and sleeping. Last I spoke to anyone, I believe it was Tuesday. I guess what I should do here is attempt to remember aallll the way back to Wednesday and go from there. It will be difficult, as that really was a long time ago (a whole two days), but I think with the help of the tea I’m drinking, conveniently provided by my mommy or I guess I should say mum while I’m here, you know, to try and fit it…wow I just went way off topic there…. What was I saying? Oh yes, with the help of my nice warm cup of tea, I think I might be able to remember some of the details of the past few days…

So, Wednesday. I unfortunately had class at nine, where as my roommates did not. It’s very depressing. I had my Shakespeare class where I was apologized to profusely by the professor who apparently was somewhat stricken to find that he had actually left a student behind! It made me feel better =) Anyways, apparently I am going to go on the tour with a different class, and we are going to meet in a pub first and he is going to count how many people he has before he leaves, in honor of me. That was pretty much the only interesting thing class-related. After class, I went back to my room (where the roommates were only just waking up) and ate lunch. I don’t remember what I ate so don’t ask. After eating, we (Melissa, Jenna, Mary, and I) headed down to the tube to make our way to Her Majesties Royal Palace and Fortress, or more commonly known as The Tower of London. The Tower of London is a very cool place where you can see all the cells and towers where old famous prisoners were kept and where they were beheaded and what not. Some examples of famous decapatees are Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Thomas More. When we got there we tagged along the end of a tour, which was very entertaining and informational. Apparently there are about thirty guards who actually live in the Tower with their families. I feel bad for those kids… think of how hard it would be to sneak in or out at night when you LIVE in an ancient fortress…yeah, not gonna happen. Another cool thing to see at the Tower, are the Crown Jewels, which is where one can find the largest natural diamond in the world. Yes, The Crown Jewels were quite impressive, although whyy they really needed a pure gold wine bowl the size of a bathtub baffles me just a bit.

After walking around the towers for about 2 hours or so, it got really really really cold. And yes, the use of three really’s was necessary to prove my point of the coldness. We headed back home where we lounged for a little bit, ate dinner and then got ready to go out again. Melissa and I headed over to the pub at Imperial College to check things out. One of the guys from SCU is playing on the Imperial soccer team, and apparently all of the sports teams’ head over to the pub after practice. We went in and it was very entertaining; lots of screaming and chanting and loud boisterous games being played.



Inside The Tower of London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tower_Of_London#Executions

The poor dog was very sacred...espicially since its neck is already broken, it is a perfect candidate to in the tower!

Waving hello! from Tower Bridge.

Me, attempting to take a picture with a bridge in the background. FAIL.

***

Thursday, we had class at 1, in which we had a test. I swear that class is the most painfully boring class I have ever experienced; it pretty much sucks the life out of you one picture at a time. The class, The History of Modern Design, so far has been focused on architecture and styles…which is interesting, but not when it is beat into your brain in three hour segments. The only good thing I can say about the repetitiveness of the class is that it is not really necessary to study because we’ve seen and heard each picture and description ten million times. The professor somehow seems to expect us all to be extremely mentally incompetent… Anyways, the test was not the bad and I think I did well. After class we all went back to shower and get ready to go out to dinner. Melissa’s uncle, Mike, was in town on business and offered to treat the three of us to a swanky dinner. Before I mention the amazing-ness which was dinner, I just want to say that if you ever find yourself at the Covent Garden tube stop, DO NOT TAKE THE STAIRS. Yes, we made that mistake, and after 193 windy spirally steps I thought I was going to lose a lung. There were actually people sitting on the floor when we got to the top attempting to begin breathing again. Hahaha anyways, now to talk about dinner. We went to this bizarrely awesome place called “Sketch”. It was really unlike any restaurant I have ever been to. The food was amazing! I’m not really quite sure what exactly it was that I was eating, but it was delicious. I know for the main course I had lamb. It was teeny tiny, but extremely tasty. Aside from the food and the drinks (which were also on the ten and above scale of ratings), the atmosphere was just plain interesting. I really don’t know how to describe it other than slightly bizarre but fancy and super cool. The tables had couches on one side of them for chairs, the ceiling was gold with giant chandeliers, the walls were plain white with sparkles and designs projecting across them the entire time, but most impressive of all were the bathrooms. Really these bathrooms are worth a visit whether you had to go or not, and this is coming from a person who is normally not a fan of public restrooms. To find the bathroom you walk up a spiral staircase, which on one side had blue light and the other had pink, boys and girls. When you get to the top, all you can see are about twenty giant white pods. Yes, pods, as in space pods that slightly resemble giant boiled eggs. It was very entertaining. Inside the pods, there was music that would cheer and clap for you while in there, which was slightly disturbing in a funny sort of way. I think it was the most entertaining trip to the bathroom I’ve ever taken. And underneath, right at the bottom of the staircase, was this cozy little bar tucked inside with a little half-circle opening. It was cool. Anyways, I think I’ve gone on about bathrooms for long enough. I actually took a picture in there so I’ll try and post it if it turned out. So yes, dinner was great; probably the fanciest meal I’ve ever had.

So there you have it, Wednesday and Thursday. Today I slept in which was amaaaazing. I’m not sure exactly what the plan is for this weekend, but I’m pretty sure little to no sleeping is going to be involved so I was really attempting to cherish my moments of lazy-sleep time this morning. Melissa’s friend Grainne from Ireland is coming to visit and I’m sure we are going to try to do something fun!

That’s all for now folks. I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens this weekend. Apparently it is supposed to be really rainy and cold which I am not looking forward to, but I’m sure I will survive! I miss you people… it’s annoying =( Week three is supposed to be the hardest so if I call home sounding miserable, just know that that you were warned! Let me know how everything is going at home. There has been a distinct lack of emailing going on from your end; I am very disappointed in you! I’m supposed to be the one too busy to write home, and look what I’m posting for you today! I’m practically writing a little novella here!!!

The very special bathroom facilities at the "Sketch".

It was very interesting in there.... I normally do not condone taking bathroom pictures, but I had to make and exception for this.

So, I guess its about time I actually wrote something of substance on here that’s more than a line or two long! I apologize for the ranty-rant post yesterday. I was not having a good day and I felt it was only fair that everyone realized that. Things ended up getting a little bit better after my initial feelings of … well … general unhappiness. My professor emailed me back (I had written to him telling him that I did not ditch class…) and he said that it was his fault; he thought the whole group was there so they left at 6. I must have walked up right as they were all walking out. Stupid Shakespeare; I don’t even like him that much! Haha anyways, after that fiasco, when I got back to Metrogate, we all (the SCU people) went to a pub that is literally across the street from our dorm. You can see it from my window. It’s called the Queen’s Arms and it’s kind of cool; just a little hole in the wall place that’s not tooo shabby.

Today, I had class at 9, which is always nice. Waking up at 7:30 and going outside into freezing cold air is definitely something to look forward to! On my way to class I had a slightly disastrous encounter with a water bottle. While I was walking I noticed that my bag seemed to be leaking. As leaking is not something backpacks are generally supposed to do, I immediately stopped to check it out. What I found was really not pleasant. Apparently my (full and large) water bottle had broken open and dumped out completely into my semi-waterproof bag. I mention that the bag was semi-water proof for a reason. When I looked in the bag, I literally found my book and pens FLOATING in about three inches of water. So now, I have to deal with a drowned looking book and water rumpled binder paper for the rest of the quarter. Perfect.

Up until about 2 o’clock, today was shaping up to be about as bad as yesterday. However things did turn around to a more upward direction. I got my hair cut and I actually think that I like it! Its short…and I feel like a piece of my head is missing… but its new and light and bouncy! We’ll see if I still like it after I wash and style it myself. That’s the real test.

After getting my hair cut I walked back to the dorm and found a box waiting for me!!! It was very exciting =) Thank you mommy!

After putting my wonderfully comfy mattress pad on my rock bed, we all want down to Piccadilly to find a place to watch the inauguration. We ended up going to a sports bar that was all decked out in red white and blue and American flags- it was pretty cool! I swear people here are more excited for American events that Americans actually are!

That’s about it for now. I have class at 9 tomorrow morning so I am going to try to go to bed early!

So, in order to cheer myself up in the wake of yesterdays disaster, I have decided to chop off my hair. If it doesn't turn out too horrible, I will post a picture when I get back! I am slightly terrified.

I am so MAD right now. I guess mad is bit strong of word choice…but unhappy doesn’t really seem to cover the negative emotions I'm feeling at the moment. So I was supposed to go on a walking tour with my Lit class tonight. Please note how I used the words supposed to go instead of went. We were planning on touring Shakespeare’s London- where he lived, worked, wrote, acted, etc and I was really excited about this in a dorky I’m-an-English-major-about-to-see-a-piece-of-history kind of way. However when I got to the tube stop where we were to meet NO ONE WAS THERE. Technically, I did not get there until about 6:04, because I missed the first train, but I really didn’t think it would be a problem. I waited around for about 25 mins thinking maybe I got the time wrong, but no one ever showed. I was very put out. So either the class must have left at exactly 6 or I got the time and place wrong. Either way, I missed the field trip and in the process gave myself a giant headache stressing over it. Today has not been a good day.

So we went to Bath and Stonehenge today and it was pretty cool. I'm about to go out right now...we are gonna try to find us some British boys =) I promise to update tomorrow on the happenings of earlier today! In the mean time... if you can get it to work... here is a link to a few pics I posted on Facebook. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076684&l=a48b0&id=7102721

Hola! So I am going to do this as quickly as possibly because I need to go to bed…. ten minutes ago.

Yesterday was the FIE student welcome thing. It was entertaining to a certain extent. We got a free T-shirt and two free drinks. However, they didn’t just give you the drinks. You had to work for them. Each person walking in was given a card that was either yellow with a question on it or pink with an answer. In order to get your drink you had to “mingle” and find the person who had your answer/question. Jenna and I found ours right away without really trying at all- we were sitting on beanbag chairs in the corner and two different people walked up to our group asking what questions we had, and they matched! Melissa on the other hand, was not so lucky. She walked around the entire night and never found her match. After that we were going to go out to a club or pub or something…. but ended up getting too tired and went back to the room.

Today, no class, we lounged around until about 12 and then headed out. We went to Camden Town to check out the market-style shopping there. It was pretty cool. It’s the kind of place where you could find some really cool stuff for cheap if you took the time to look. We were there for a few hours until it started raining and then headed back. One highlight of Camden was their freshly made waffles with fondue chocolate drizzled over them. Mmm they were good- we all got one… but pretty much wanted to puke when we were done. It was definitely worth it though =)

After that, we went to dinner at Leicester Square and then came back again. The internet didn’t work all day, which was really annoying, but it seems to be limping along a little bit right now.

Tomorrow is the free trip/tour to Stonehenge and Bath. I’ll be sure to take pictures- this way dad, when you put up a Stonehenge picture as your computer background you can say that someone you know actually took it! Hopefully my photography skills will match up to those of the windows screensaver man.

That’s it for now. I will try to post pictures tomorrow when I get back!!! I am very excited to go see Stonehenge and Bath, but very UN-excited to be getting up at 7am to do so. I will most likely be up tomorrow morning before you people even go to bed! Just think of me when you are snuggling all warm and comfy in your beds- I will most likely be tired, cold, and cranky!



PS- I just tried for the past half hour to post pictures but its not working =( Probably because the stupid internet is dying. Oh well...I'll try tomorrow!

So as I mentioned a few days ago, this week has been busy! I have class Mon-Thurs at various times. Basically I am up by 7:30 almost everyday… its really that much fun. The classes themselves seem like they won’t be too hard. The professor for my Shakespeare class is really funny- he cracks jokes and tells stories throughout the entire class. On Monday the class is going on a walking tour of where Shakespeare lived and wrote which should be interesting. It will be cold though, as it is by the Themes (river) and we are not leaving until 6. Apparently we will make frequent pub stops to get warm though =)

The design class is much less entertaining. The professor is very into talking about columns and teaches us as if we are five years old… so it gets a bit boring. Oh well…

Tuesday after class we ended up going to the Imperial College pub after dinner. This was meant to be an attempt to meet British people… however, apparently every other American in the area had the same idea- it was probably 80% FIE kids there… Melissa and I however did end up meeting to Londoners. We were on our way back from getting a beer when we were accosted by an English guy attempting (quite badly I might add) to speak as if he were from Alabama. It was definitely entertaining. He and his friend, Joe and John apparently, bought us a drink and invited us to sit at their table. Over the hour we were there, I’m pretty sure they insulted America every way possible- in a stereotypical (yet really funny) way. Everything from politics (they wanted to talk about the Govenator…), accent (harsh, yet endearing…however that works), to rules (they did not understand whyy you could get a ticket for jay-walking if we lived in a supposedly free country)- it was all discussed, sometimes with a very bad Alabama accent. It was an entertaining night. Unfortunately, all they had going for them was their accents. One was tall and balding, the other cute, but hairy to a wolf man status.

Yesterday, I had class at 9. After class, and a failed attempt at a nap (for various reasons…), Melissa, Jenna, and I decided to roam London. We went to Piccadilly Circus (a shopping area of sorts), Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, and back again. We pretty much just walked and hit things as we went- ending up going in a giant circle. After, that we went to get dinner and them home. Then showered and went out again. FIE got us free tickets to a show class “We Will Rock You” which is a musical featuring all of the music from queen. It was actually pretty cool- the plot line could have used a little work maybe, but I knew most of the music so it was fun. After that we took the tube home, and finally went to bed. It was a very very long day. I think I might be getting sick =( I’m not sure though, it could just be that I’m tired…I guess I’ll find out.

Today, we all have class at 1-4. Tonight is the official welcome event from FIE so we are going tp go to that- it should be fun! I’ll let you know how it all turns out. Right now, I need to go eat and get ready for class. I’ll talk to you all later! I hope everything is going good. I miss yoU!!!!!

View from Westminster Bridge

Wild Horse statue in Piccadilly Circus

My new house!

Big Ben and House of Parliament.

One of the four giant lions in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

The Queen musical... I don't know why the picture came out so small...

The frequency of Blog Updates (or Lackthereof in somepeoples opinions...)

To Whom It May Concern,

The frequency of which this blog is updated is directly related a) how much I've done, b) how much free time I have, and c) how fast the internet decides to work. I must actually do something before I can post something! So, not to worry, I am going to fill you impatient people in on my life-adventures as soon as I can. I was originally planning on posting a big one right now...but I'm tired and have decided that it is bedtime. Sooo, you will just have to wait a little bit longer. Although chances are you won't have even woke up yet when I actually do end up post something. So there you have it. Goodnight!

Note to self: when sleeping in a bed that is not large (i.e. a queen) or in a bed that has a wall next to it, one must remember to be careful when rolling over. If care is not taken, one of two things can happen, a) you fall off said bed and onto the floor or b) you hit your face and forehead on the wall, waking up in a horribly unpleasant (and slightly painful way). I personally experienced option b. It was wonderful.

Anyways, aside from injuring myself whilst sleeping things have been good. Yesterday classes started (crap! This really isn’t a vacation… I was really hoping all this time…). I am taking three classes: the History of Modern Design, Shakespeare and Elizabethan Lit, and British Life and Culture. All of the professors seem really nice. Each class is three hours long and twice a week… so by the end of the day, most people feel a trip to the pub is quite necessary! All of the classes are going to include various field trips (done on class time) to historic places around London. It will be a great way to learn more about the city while getting class credit for it in the process!

I wasn’t able to do much yesterday besides class, as I was not done until 8. I do believe we are going to attempt to make a visit to the Imperial College student pub tonight to see if we can meet some of the locals. It should be interesting…

I haven’t taken any pictures since Sunday, so nothing new to post… I’m sure more will be coming. After tonight, almost everyday this week is booked. Tomorrow is some sort of concert that FIE got everyone free tickets to, Thursday night is an official welcome event, and Saturday we are signed up for a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath!

That’s it for now! Talk to you all soon =)



PS- I hate all of you people and your stupid 70 degree weather.

PPS- When I said update me on what is going on, I meant update me with stories of interesting things that you are doing and what not. As much as I appreciate hearing about your eating schedule, I was actually hoping for something slightly more riveting!

I hope you all are enjoying your 70 degree weather… think of me when you are sitting out in the sun and how I am wearing 18 layers of clothing.

The first half of today was pretty busy. Melissa and I got up at nine and took the tube to South Kensington (not too far…) to go to church at the Brompton Oratory. The Oratory is huge! We almost got lost on our way there, but a very nice old gentleman asked us where we were going, told us that’s where he was going too, and then gave us direction! We were only a block away from it. The church is right next door to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Museum of Natural history. We went into the Natural History first. It was quite crowded outside, probably because there was an ice rink set up. We got a little bit bored fairly quickly with all the dinosaurs once we were in the museum… so we walked to the V&A Museum. The museums are reeeally big, so there wasn’t any chance of seeing it all in one day. But they are also conveniently free, so no worries!

After the museum, we walked down the street to Harrod’s. I can’t really think of an American equivalent to this store… maybe Bloomingdale’s, meets Neiman Marcus, meets Tiffany’s? It seriously has EVERYTHING. Of course, most of it cost more than small house…but it was still fun to look at!

By the time we finished there, it was about 3. We headed back to Gloucester Road to hit up Sainsbury’s on the way home to get some food for the week. When we actually made it back to the room, we were all so exhausted from all the walking that a nap was in order. The plan was to take a short nap, then go to the Gloucester Arms pub for dinner. We realized that plan was void when we woke up from our nap a short…. FIVE hours after we had gone to bed. Yes, it is now ten o’clock, I just woke up from a nights sleep basically, and missed dinner! Hahah we really need to get on a better sleeping schedule…this happened on a smaller scale yesterday as well. We are never going to meet any English boys if all we do is sleep!

Anyways, I don’t think anything else exciting is going to happen tonight. Classes start tomorrow (yes, I am actually going to school, not just taking an extended vacation!) so I am going to try to go to bed early. We’ll see how that goes…

Here are a few pictures from today and yesterday:

Melissa in front of the Brompton Oratory.

Ceiling in the Victoria and Albert museum.

The cafeteria at Harrod's. Pretty ordinary, really.

My shiny new PHONE! Skype anytime you want, and it will ring on there!!!

Snow on my jacket yesterday...not too much, but just enough to make things quite chilly.

Protesters beginning to march past Hyde Park. Things looked like they were gonna get craazy so we left in a hurry.

Birds sitting on a sign...

Swans in the park sitting in the frozen grass. They pretty, but slightly intimidating...

Our sorry looking group trying to act interested in what the tour guide was saying even though we were mainly focused on the fact that it was SNOWING. yes, snowing.

I'm c-c-c-cold!!!

The park looks completely different when the suns not out. Pretty in an eerie sort of way.

Snow on my jacket! It was only 26 degrees out... and we were on a walking tour. It was actually kind of fun =) Mostly because us SCU kiddies don't often go for walks where it randomly starts to snow.

Jenna and Melissa showing me their "it's really cold" faces.

The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

All bundled up during the tour this morning- Melissa, me, and Jenna.

Trying Not to Freeze While Walking Through the Park

As I mentioned earlier, we did in fact end up going for a stroll. We walked down Queens Gate Terrace (our street) to Gloucester Road to Hyde Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Park,_London), stopping frequently and extremely tourist-like to take pictures. It was actually pretty sunny out so everything was very scenic looking and picturesque. Here are a few of the better shots I got. Enjoy yourself while I go attempt to thaw my frozen frozen face and ears...

(The streets conveniently tell you which way to look. Very helpful for not dying...)




(Looking through the gate of Kensington Palace)


(It is very verry cold out. So cold the pond is frozen!)


(Pictures from inside Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park)





(What you see from the front door of Metrogate (the dorm))


(Self explanatory...)


(View from out the window)

(My Bed!)

(All three beds- Melissa, Jenna, Me)