Meandering

Kaitlin concentrating for the perfect angle
Today was a nice, slow day. Which was great after all the excitement of seeing old friends and watching new ones learn to play pool. Elana, Kaitlin, Alesha and I found this great local pub not far from the center. While we went in for a pint, Elana and Kaitlin got pulled into a friendly game of pool. Elana and her British teammate unfortunately beat Kaitlin and her Welsh partner. Elana's shot was pretty astounding but Kaitlin was good competition.

Ellie admiring St. Paul's Cathedral.
16th/17th century; it's been rebuilt 4 or 5 times.

After all the excitement, I was completely exhausted. I'm still coming off of jetlag so at night, around 11 and later, I still feel pretty awake because back home in the Midwest, its only about 5. I think I'm finally starting to get into London time, so hopefully last night will have been my last strange sleep.
Luckily, we went on a couch tour this morning, so great bursts of energy were not necessary. It was a great tour; we had a very nice and helpful tour guide name Liz. We basically saw the historical parts of London, namely the Village of Westminster and the Village of London. These villages represent two of the oldest parts of London: roman ruins and 16th/17th foundations. I can't describe the amount of stuff we saw; it was overwhelming. I do know that I want to go back to the Parliament next weekend and get proper tour of the buildings, a suggestion from Liz.

Ellie gazing over the very large crowd
in front of Buckingham Palace this morning.
My favorite part, and very stereotypically American tourist, was seeing the changing of the guards. We don't really have anything quite the ceremonial in the United States so it was really interesting to watch. The palace guards, who stand guard in front of Buckingham Palace, St James's and the residence of the Queen Mother's which is now offices for the princes, are true soldiers. They will eventually go to fight in any of the countries that Britain currently has companies stationed. Liz told us that these soldiers who have to participate in the changing of the guard are not very happy being a tourist magnet. That's completely understandable; its hard to be gawked for no other reason than marching. As much as I sympathize, it was really awesome to such a great display.

Under the Sphnix on the ThamesWe had the rest of the day free and I took it easy. I finished up some homework for another class and just relaxed. Around 4, Kaitlin and I went to shoe shopping and then headed for the Thames with Elana. It was nice to meander along the streets and next to the Thames. We mostly just chatted and strolled. It was such a beautiful day and we weren't in any hurry. For me, that's a great afternoon.

Ellie saying hi to Big Ben

Loving London

Well, third time really is the charm. Today was a fantastic day despite the little rest and sleepwalking. As a group, we started with a historical tour of Bloomsbury. My favorite part was the Bloomsbury group's homes and the area surrounding it. We saw Virgina Woolf's flat, Christina Rossiti's flat and where T.S. Eliot worked for Faber and Faber.

While the morning started out pretty calm the afternoon was really busy! I walked to the London Eye to meet my Spanish friend, Pedro, and his family. Pedro was my “intercambio” (exchange) partner while I was Spain and we still speak once a week. An “intercambio” is someone with whom you practice the language you're learning with someone who is a native and viceversa. So we speak part of the time in English and part of the time in Spanish. It was really great to see his wife and kids again. Mimi, his wife, is so very nice and sweet and his kids are awesome. Both his sons can already speak English; the eldest is pretty much bilingual. Sometimes when I'm speaking to Pedro, Pedro jr (the son, even though they don't usually use suffixes like that) comes in and we talk as well. It's like I've adopted a family. I won't be putting pictures up, however, because the boys are both still very young and I don't feel right about putting pictures of them up.

We stopped at Harrods, which is like a art museum where the art is clothes and shoes, but ultimately ended at the London and Tower Bridges. I loved the Tower Bridge, which is the famous one close to where Sir Walter Scott was executed. Last time I was in London, the bridge was under construction and we were there at dusk so the view wasn't nearly as wonderful. It was a really lovely afternoon.

It's hard to end an night in London without a pint and during this search I've noticed a few things that are important to note if you want food and/or a pint in the evening. The big thing is start early, both eating and drinking. Tonight Kaitlin, Elana, Alesha and I tried to get food around 7:30 at a pub and the kitchen was already closed. Last night we wanted to find a pub later in the evening and we discovered that everything was closed by 11 pm. It's very different from the US where drinking early is generally frowned upon so it will be a bit an adjustment. Regardless, walking around and looking for pubs and restaurants in the evening is a great way to learn about a city at a different time day. London doesn't look the same at night as it does during the day. Even the phone boxes seem to take on a new personality.

Getting to know London

Living in any city is about getting to know the city and today was definitely all about getting comfortable. We started out with a security meeting and practical walking tour which gave us feeling for our neighborhood and its name. We're close to Soho, China Town, the theater district, Convent Gardens, and Westminster. So after lunch and study/email break, we went exploring. After a slight diversion to gelato (chocolate and triple berry, yum) and shoes, we headed toward the Thames. We're very centrally located; the Thames is maybe 20 minutes away.

I really liked visiting the Thames and it was really windy today, but it was really nice to see the waves. Since a lot of fun places in London are on the Thames, I'm pretty happy that I managed to get there and back two different ways. I feel really comfortable traveling in at least part of London now. It was a real adventure to make our way back because we decided to take Charring Cross instead of going back the way we came, via Convent Garden. While we never lost, we did get a bit turned around and ended up passing our chosen road. But we did get to see the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square and the edge of Piccadilly Circus (one of my favorite detectives has an office on Piccadilly).

But the best thing about London, so far, is the beer. I'm traveling London by pub! Kind of the way some people travel by food, I plan on trying lots of different beer. Last night I had a larger and tonight I had a pint of London Pride. I'm pretty sure it was an amber ale, but don't quote me on that. It was very very good. Not too bitter and just the right amount of flavor.

p.s. We have hot water. YES!

Fantastic Flatmates but no hot water

The previous tenants left us this nice note that definitely bodes well for our apartment. It's going to be great. There are four of us: Tara, Alesha, Katie and me. So far, its started off awesome... with the exception of the no hot water. We're not really sure how this came about, but here it is. Hopefully everything will be fixed tomorrow.
We live in the "attic." It's awesome to be able to see across the street and down to the sidewalk but its a ridiculous long walk up the stairs. They're winding and very narrow; it was a bit of challenge with the luggage. We're all gonna be in great shape when we leave.

From our street we managed to get grocery, find dinner and get to a great pub. It was definitely an exhausting day; jet lag has a tendency to roll over you like waves. Some times I felt really energetic and ready to go and other times all I wanted to do was sleep. The center is in a great location; so much is easily accessible, which will be apparent in the days to come.

The group has been so helpful. Since our hot water disappeared, neighbors below and next store were offered up theirs. We have a wonderfully sweet group and I'm indebted to my awesome downstairs neighbors for letting me take a shower. THANKS!

Mobile Success?

Recently I became a proud owner of an iPod touch. What happened was my sister's iPod died and she went out and bought a new one. Her prevoius one was really old so it was nice she got a nice new one. Unfortunately she found out almost immediately that she would be getting one with her new Mac which is required for school. By that point she had already used her new touch so the one coming with the Mac was offered to me at a discounted price.

So now I'm trying to see if I can blog from this mobile device can aid me in my web 2.0 adventures. It does seem appropriate since more and more these days mobile devices are an important way to access the net. I'm going to try again at the airport while I wait to get on the plane. If this posts, I think it would be success.

Nearly Ready

Tomorrow I fly to London late in the evening. I fly out of O'Hare in Chicago which is unfortunately infamously well-known among fliers as a terrible airport despite its vast and amazing city. A city with a giant sculpture dubbed "the Bean" is awesome by default, right? It's here, pictured to the right. It even looks awesome on a freezing February evening.

I chatted with a friend from undergrad today and got some great ideas for places to visit and things to do while in London (Thanks Brooks!) This chat made everything seem a bit more realistic and realism feels essential at the moment. Not only did we get to catch up, which I've been failing at miserably ALL summer along, but it was nice to get some advice from an American who lived in London. He studied in London for year during the same year I was in Spain, though we weren't friends at the point. Brooks's advice includes:

• Take buses. You see so much more of London on a double-decker than the Tube. (I agree. For my brief visit I took a bus and it was really fun.) 
• Check out Camden's market on the weekends. It's huge marketing on north side. Lots of food, merchandise and lots of fun. 
• Walk as much as you can. London is a great walking city (like lots of Europe I think.)

We talked about a few other things but those were a few bits that I thought were particularly helpful. Living abroad in a city is different than just being a tourist. You actually get a chance to make your own routine/home. Therefore his advice definitely pushes me in the right direction at feeling comfortable and at-home in London. I know that's not really the point of the trip and we are going to be there for such a short time, but why not? The best part about going anywhere is settling in, finding your groove and discovery another country/culture.

3 in 5

It's only a quarter to midnight here in IL so technically its July 12th and technically I am not late. I hope this late night posting will not become my habit but I have a sneaking suspicion it might. I seem to be running that way at the moment.

I am almost ready to leave and feeling pretty good about it. I think I'll be nervous Wednesday, but for now, I have too much to think about to be very nervy. The heaviest thing way on my mind at the moment is an HTML class I am taking online. Now I knew when I signed up that it would be ending while I was abroad. I didn't think it was going to be too much of a problem; we're done with most of our coding at this point. However, my teacher posted the next three weeks of content online already: five labs, a project, three quizzes and a final. My goal is to get them all done before I leave on Wednesday since I don't have to work about; basically three weeks of information in five days. It's possible I have lost a few of my marbles but I figured why not give it a try.

I'm actually doing pretty well. I read an entire textbook last Thursday/Friday. I did all five labs on Friday night. I did a quiz yesterday, two today and I'll take the final tomorrow. The project is turning out to be a bit more time-consuming that I thought but if I get everything else done, I can work on that somewhat leisurely.

It's a bit of a stressful way to prepare to leave and its not obligatory but it actually makes me feel more prepared. It means I can now concentrate on London: having a great time, seeing some wonderful places, drinking awesome beer, posting on this blog on time (hopefully), etc. The bit of stress will pay off on Wed when I get on the plane.

Speaking of London, Ellie is extremely excited as well. The Door County travels last weekend seemed to put her right in the mood.
See how she dreams of beautiful places?