Spring Break London: Part 4

So I'm going to combine Friday and Saturday into one. Friday, we visited the Peter Pan statue! I really like Peter Pan so I was excited (it was my top to-do in London). Then we took a bus to the Tower of London, got a tour from one of the beefeater guards, and saw the crown jewels. It was kind of miserable out--much colder than the other days. Then we walked along the river to the Millenium Bridge where we crossed to see the Globe. It was thankfully closed so we just snapped a few pictures and hurried back. Back on the bus, we headed to King's Cross. I went to Platform 9 and 3/4--I made it to Hogwarts! Just kidding. After that, we walked to Camden Market. So many shops and stalls. I bought myself two tank tops. Then it was another bus to meet Katie's friend for dinner. Sal and I "offered" to look for him in the underground station and we actually found him. It's a funny story. Ask me to tell you sometime. My burger at dinner wasn't to my liking but I'm glad I tried something new.

Saturday (my birthday!) we decided to split up to do whatever we didn't have time for during the week. I went to Portobello Road Market. So cool. I didn't have much pounds left so I just got two  Notting Hill Shopping Bags--hand drawn designs. I also got hot chocolate for a few reasons: I was cold, it was snowing, and it was my birthday. We all met back up at the hostel to head to the airport. Overall, it was a great week and I hope to go back to London soon!

Peter Pan!

tour guide

Tower Bridge

Globe

going to Hogwarts

Portobello Road

Spring Break London: Part 3

So Thursday of Spring Break, I actually got to see London. We ate our hearty breakfast of chocolate rice krispies and wheat toast (I ate so much). Then, we headed toward Buckingham Palace and then on to Westminster Abbey. It was interesting to see everyone who was buried there. The Lady Chapel in the back was one of my favorite parts. There was a poet's corner--I recognized many names, especially WWI poets that we learned about in Dr. Smith's class last spring. Afterwards, we headed across the Thames to find the Southbank book market. We hyped it up so much, but it turned out to be four tables and not that many books. We saw the London Eye (looks like a big bike wheel) and got lunch near Covent Garden. I had a very good chicken club. Our next stop was the British Museum. Holy cow. So much stuff that the British took from people they suppressed was on display. But we were all tired so we left to see Piccadilly Circus (kind of like Times Square). We finally headed back to our hostel, after making quick stops at Harrods and the grocery store (personal pizzas for dinner). We did a lot of walking so naturally we all fell asleep really early.

Buckingham

Big Ben

sometimes I forget I'm 19 20

London Eye and Aquarium

Benny and Parliament

didn't find the muffin man though...

British Museum

two-headed snake

Harrods

London Spring Break: Part 2

The second day, we took a bus tour. It took us to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath. It was well worth the price. The tour guide was very good and we got a sampling of different English places. Stonehenge was eerie and puzzling. Why was it there? Why do people visit it? But it was definitely cool to see. Next up was Salisbury and its cathedral. Lunch was provided and we could see the spire from our table. I saw the Magna Carta and the oldest working clock. Then, we headed to Bath. We drove by Jane Austen's house and went into an museum about the Roman baths in Bath. We had a little time to wander the streets and take it all in. My only complaint is that I could have spent a lot more time in Salisbury and Bath. I wanted to explore more. For dinner that night, we went to the grocery store and bought pre-made meals that we just stuck in the oven. So good for less than 3 pounds a person.(Our hostel had a full kitchen and provided us breakfast: toast and cereal. Yum.)

Stonehenge

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury

inside the cathedral

Salisbury

Bath

bath on Bath

Bath

tea pots!

London Spring Break: Part 1

Well, that was a good spring break. It was nice being in a place where I could read all the signs and could ask for help. The only negatives were the cold weather (and a little snow!) and my confusion over which ways cars were coming. I took so many pictures and we saw many, many things so I won't be able to recap them all. But after visiting London, I would love to go back.

We flew out Monday afternoon. Our flight was delayed leaving Rome so we missed our connection in Paris so we got into London about 3 hours later than we were supposed to. But the nice Tube ride made everything better. We got dinner and headed to bed relatively early. We had a full day planned for Oxford on Tuesday. Oxford was beautiful. Getting there was super easy and I'm glad we went. In the morning, we went to the Museum of the History of Science and an exhibit on Persian love and devotion. We had a tour of the town and got to go into one of the colleges. I'm still not 100% sure how the university works, but  we got to see Lincoln College. I would love to study at Oxford. The town had many little shops and taverns. We went to the oldest tavern in Oxford for a late lunch. Afterwards, we went to the Ashmolean Museum. There was so much stuff that it was be impossible to see it all. It was very overwhelming.  It's an art and archeology museum and amazing that Oxford students can just roll right in whenever they want.

cake shop in the market

Einstein wrote that!

BIKES!

C.S. Lewis' inspiration: Mr. Tumnus and the lightpost

Lincoln College

oldest in Oxford

Ashmolean Museum

Birthday

Happy Birthday to me!!!

20!!!!

I don't think I've changed one bit

London Soundtrack

In London right now. Probably having a jolly good time. Here are some songs to pretend like you are there. Enjoy!

Techno Fan by the Wombats
Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins
You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly! from Peter Pan
Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
Winter Winds by Mumford & Sons
Three Lions '98 by Baddiel, Skinner &The Lightning Seeds
Portobello Road from Bedknobs and Broomsticks
London Calling by the Clash
There She Goes by the La's



I didn't really have enough time to compile a good list, but whatever. Tomorrow's my birthday, by the way. Super excited. 20!!!

Signs In Roma

Here are some of my favorite traffic signs/writings in Rome. It is always interesting to see what stickers will adorn the signs. The people on the signs are more animated here than in the US. I like it.