Heya!
I went for a walk this afternoon to find DDA. It is actually rather easy to get to. I took the district line to Fulham Broadway and then it was about a 20 minute walk from there. It is a really nice area and not dodgey at all. The actual complex is really nice and right along the Thames. There are restuarantes, pubs, cafes, Marks and Spencer, and all kinds of places right there. There is also a really nice walkway all along the bank of the Thames. The Business Exchange is on the ride side of the complex. I couldn't go in since it's a Saturday and they doors are always locked and require a key entry or a pin code. I could see through the doors though and I saw DDA on the board in suite 14 so I know I was in the right place. I still haven't heard back from EUSA as to when my interview will be, but they are trying to get it for sometime this week or Friday, 19 September. I think I'll really like it there. The EUSA woman I spoke with seems to know Spenser, the head of DDA rather well and it sounds like the intern they had over the summer really enjoyed his/her time there. The woman told me Spenser is quite a character and really likes interns that are proactive and step right in and want to help. She seemed rather impressed with me and she seems to think we'll get on great. I asked her what the dress code was like there and she said it is rather casual. She said Spenser is always in jeans except for when there is a client. I asked her what would be appropriate to wear to the interview and she said just a nice pair of slacks and a smart top would be just fine, a business suite isn't necessary, but if I have one feel free to wear it for the one and only time. So, I guess you won't have to worry too much about the blacks matching perfectly or the skirt being 'too tight'. After I found Imperial Wharf I walked back toward the tube station, which is also very nice. (There are a lot of shops and cafes in there too.) I walked past it to see what was further down the road. I tried to follow the majority of people since I figured they would be going to 'the good places'. It is really nice. It's much quieter than Kensington and has a much different feel from the other areas I've been in, but I like it very much. It's been misting most the day but as I was wandering it began to rain quite heavily so I headed back to the tube.
I got back on the district line and headed toward Edgeware to get off at the High Street. From there I walked to Waterstones, which is conviently located across the street from my favourite local Starbucks. They still have a lot of 3 for 2 book tables so I perused the secletion of favourites but, as usual, I couldn't pick a book since they all sound like the same story but with different character names. I finally found the Twilight series and I picked up the third book Eclipse. In the states they only have the first two books in paperback, but they had Eclipse in paperback here and it was much cheaper. I paid 7 pounds for it. It costs around $20 or so in the states. Anyways, I bought the book and headed over to Starbucks. I read the first chapter there and then left so a group of women could all sit together to chat. It was quite crowded in there this afternoon. I walked back to Lexham, dried off a bit, and here I am writing this blog, which actually started out as an email, but has clearly gotten too detailed to just be an email.
After staying in most of yesterday everyone was itching to get out of the flat, despite the bad weather. Lyndsey was having trouble with her mobile so she went to the store to try and have it fixed; Carolyn (girl in the middle in photo) went to Imperial College to join the gym there; Mari (girl on the right in photo) went to Notting Hill and is out for a run; Allie is off wandering aimlessly; Alyson went off exploring; Melissa went on the day trip planned by BU; and Meena is staying with her cousins for the weekend.
Well, I suppose I should try and get some more of my marketing reading done while everyone is away and it is still relativley quiet.
Hope all is well stateside!
6.9.08
5.9.08
London weather
I've been pretty busy trying to get all settled in and adjusted to classes. Thursday morning I had my first class. It was long, four hours, but I like the professor very much. You can tell she really loves her job in marketing. I also had an interview thursday afternoon with EUSA, the company that is in charge of my internship placement. The people there were very friendly and said that this summer's students had an excellent time interning at the company I will be with. I also had to run around and pick up my textbooks and whatnot. Luckily the library owns multiple copies of my book so I didn't need to buy it, seems like it would have been a waste of money to buy a book I'll only use for 5 weeks.
All in all, everything is going quite well here. The weather has been rather nasty. According to the news, we'll have a lot more rain and wind coming this weekend making this past August one of the darkest and wettest on record. I don't mind the cold, wind and rain though, not yet anyways. It's sort of refreshing. I could do without the rain. Actually, my hair could do without the rain, I don't mind it. It's just nice to feel autumn again. It's been about 3 years since I've actually been able to feel and see the seasons change. It's early still but some of the trees are beginning to drop their leaves here.
Last night we had a 'start of semester' party at a nightclub in the area of London I spent most of the summer. It was alright. BU rented out a VIP room which was really nice, but we didn't get to meet any locals that way. We spent a few hours there and then we went to The Court,a pub I went to a lot over the summer. The girls all really liked it there since it's all young local people.
This morning I slept in a little since my class got postponed until next Friday and then I headed down to Starbucks to get some of my marketing reading done. It's been raining all day so we've all been laying kind of low. Most of the girls decided to go out tonight though. They wanted to go back to The Court. It is like a hurricane outside so I opted to stay home. It's realllly windy and POURING rain. They are going to be soaked by the time they get home.
I'm really hoping the weather will at least clear up a little bit this weekend so I can go find my internship place. I was supposed to have the interview this coming Friday, but I had to have them reschedule it since my class got moved to that date. Now I'm not sure when my interview will be, but I think EUSA is trying to make it for some afternoon this week, so I'd really like to know where it is I'm going.
Well, that's pretty much all that's been going on. Even though the weather hasn't been great, I'm still super happy to be back here.
All in all, everything is going quite well here. The weather has been rather nasty. According to the news, we'll have a lot more rain and wind coming this weekend making this past August one of the darkest and wettest on record. I don't mind the cold, wind and rain though, not yet anyways. It's sort of refreshing. I could do without the rain. Actually, my hair could do without the rain, I don't mind it. It's just nice to feel autumn again. It's been about 3 years since I've actually been able to feel and see the seasons change. It's early still but some of the trees are beginning to drop their leaves here.
Last night we had a 'start of semester' party at a nightclub in the area of London I spent most of the summer. It was alright. BU rented out a VIP room which was really nice, but we didn't get to meet any locals that way. We spent a few hours there and then we went to The Court,a pub I went to a lot over the summer. The girls all really liked it there since it's all young local people.
This morning I slept in a little since my class got postponed until next Friday and then I headed down to Starbucks to get some of my marketing reading done. It's been raining all day so we've all been laying kind of low. Most of the girls decided to go out tonight though. They wanted to go back to The Court. It is like a hurricane outside so I opted to stay home. It's realllly windy and POURING rain. They are going to be soaked by the time they get home.
I'm really hoping the weather will at least clear up a little bit this weekend so I can go find my internship place. I was supposed to have the interview this coming Friday, but I had to have them reschedule it since my class got moved to that date. Now I'm not sure when my interview will be, but I think EUSA is trying to make it for some afternoon this week, so I'd really like to know where it is I'm going.
Well, that's pretty much all that's been going on. Even though the weather hasn't been great, I'm still super happy to be back here.
2.9.08
London Part II
Here I am, back in London! :]
I had a very good flight over. We arrived early in London but had to circle for awhile due to really thick fog. Both the bags I checked arrived in London with no problems. I got on the tube and took it to Gloucester Road. When I got on the tube the weather was just a bit grey. By the time I had to get off, however, it was POURING rain. By the time I completed my 15-20 minute walk I was soaked through and my arms felt like rubber from lugging my bags. I think I was the first person to arrive.
My flat is really nice. Much better than the place I stayed this summer. I am, once again, on the top floor, and yet again, there is only a half floor above me which is occupied by guys. Basically the way the building is set up there are about 7 flats. Basically each flat is like a multiple bedroom flat. My flat, for example, is like a 3 bedroom apartment. When you walk in the door there is a 'long' narrow hallway. To the right of the entry is a double room, the living room, and our kitchen. To left, is another double and the quad in which I live. The two double rooms share a bathroom located in the hall, while the girls and I in my quad have a bathroom in our bedroom. We also have a small balcony off our room with a lovely view. I'm really glad I chose the quad. Our room is much larger than the doubles and we have a lot more closet space.
So, in a nutshell, I live with 7 other girls. They are all very nice. Allie, a girl in my flat from Duke, is in all the same courses as me. Mari is also in the advertising track, but she is doing different electives. My roomies and I get along really well. Carolyn, Lyndsey, and Alyson are my roomies. Carloyn and Alyson are doing the psychology track and Lyndsey is studying film. Most of the girls I live with are seniors.
So far we really haven't done that much. We had to go on a boat tour yesterday. It was interesting but it's been really cold and rainy. Then last night we had a pub night at the Builder's Arms to meet other people in the programme. Today we had an orientation programme all day. It was rather dry and like all orientation programmes. Tomorrow should be even more dry...we have 5 lectures from 9-4 to sit through. They are interesting but they are all exactly like the courses I took this summer and the course I took with Dr. Piper.
Well, time to go! So happy to be back in London!!!
I had a very good flight over. We arrived early in London but had to circle for awhile due to really thick fog. Both the bags I checked arrived in London with no problems. I got on the tube and took it to Gloucester Road. When I got on the tube the weather was just a bit grey. By the time I had to get off, however, it was POURING rain. By the time I completed my 15-20 minute walk I was soaked through and my arms felt like rubber from lugging my bags. I think I was the first person to arrive.
My flat is really nice. Much better than the place I stayed this summer. I am, once again, on the top floor, and yet again, there is only a half floor above me which is occupied by guys. Basically the way the building is set up there are about 7 flats. Basically each flat is like a multiple bedroom flat. My flat, for example, is like a 3 bedroom apartment. When you walk in the door there is a 'long' narrow hallway. To the right of the entry is a double room, the living room, and our kitchen. To left, is another double and the quad in which I live. The two double rooms share a bathroom located in the hall, while the girls and I in my quad have a bathroom in our bedroom. We also have a small balcony off our room with a lovely view. I'm really glad I chose the quad. Our room is much larger than the doubles and we have a lot more closet space.
So, in a nutshell, I live with 7 other girls. They are all very nice. Allie, a girl in my flat from Duke, is in all the same courses as me. Mari is also in the advertising track, but she is doing different electives. My roomies and I get along really well. Carolyn, Lyndsey, and Alyson are my roomies. Carloyn and Alyson are doing the psychology track and Lyndsey is studying film. Most of the girls I live with are seniors.
So far we really haven't done that much. We had to go on a boat tour yesterday. It was interesting but it's been really cold and rainy. Then last night we had a pub night at the Builder's Arms to meet other people in the programme. Today we had an orientation programme all day. It was rather dry and like all orientation programmes. Tomorrow should be even more dry...we have 5 lectures from 9-4 to sit through. They are interesting but they are all exactly like the courses I took this summer and the course I took with Dr. Piper.
Well, time to go! So happy to be back in London!!!
5.8.08
End of Part I, soon
Hey everyone,
Sorry about the sparcity of these posts. You really have no idea how terrible the internet connection is here. So let me think, I think I left off with Paris. The past week was a rather typical week of classes. It was nice to be able to stay in London for the weekend. A large portion of our group went to Dublin, but I opted to stay a bit closer to home since I've already been to Dublin and didn't want to spend the money to go back for only a few days.
Friday I met up with some of the kids I met last summer in the Czech Republic. Tala, Amy, Adora and I met up outside the Baker Street station and got a bite to eat. It was nice catching up with them. Amy had to leave early for her driving lesson, but Tala, Adora, and I went out shopping for a bit and then we all had to go our separate ways again. I cannot believe how quickly this past year went by! When we met up I felt like it'd only been a few weeks since we'd last been together, not a whole year!!!
Saturday I went out to Richmond to do some research for one of my papers. It was a nice place and I'd like to go back. The weather wasn't very cooperative so I cut my visit a bit shorter than I would have liked. Saturday night I just hung out around the dorm and went to starbucks and out to this really good restaurant called Giraffe where I had an amazing chicken sandwhich.
Sunday I hung pretty low. I slept in for once and it was great! After I got up I went to Starbucks to get some work done. It's too hard for me to get work done in my room. We have one desk for 3 people and there are just too many distractions. Needless to say, Starbucks and I have become good friends. So yeah, I spent about 4 hours writing papers and relaxing before heading back to Byng. That night a bunch of us went out to our favourite pub, The Rocket, to celebrate Melinda's birthday. It was a lot of fun.
Yesterday I went to class and was rather amused to find only 4 people were there. Since there were so few of us, my professor decided to cancel class and let us leave early to go work on our final papers. So, once again, I headed down to good ol' starbucks where I spent between 6-8 hours writing more papers. You know you spend too much time somewhere when you're walking around town and recognizing people as "that guy from starbucks" or "that girl from starbucks studying for her psych exam". haha. I got a lot of work done and hopefully I'll have everything completely done by later this afternoon so I can enjoy my last few days here.
Last night a bunch of us went to go see probably one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It is a movie based off the popular book series and it is directed by the same lady that did Bend It like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. To sum it all up, it is a typical teen movie about the confessions of a 14 year-old girl. Basically the movie follows the girland her friends through all the difficulties of growing up and starting to get involved with boys. It is just a sweet, light, funny movie with a good message that leaves you happy and just yeah...it was great. I don't know if it's out in the states, but if it is you should definitely go see it. Everyone in the audience was laughing for virutally the entire movie. Angus, the cat in the film is absolutly hilarious. I don't know where they found this creature, but he is awesome.
So yeah, that is basically what I've been up to lately. Today is a rather rainy cold day so I think I'll probably spend most the day indoors. Maybe I will venture down to starbucks to finish up a few things, but other than that, it's a great day to lay in bed and read, listen to music, and just take it easy. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.
I have a feeling this year is going to go by way faster than I would like it to. I'm ready to graduate, I just don't really know what I want to do with my life exactly. I'll tell you one thing, I am definitely done with Florida. It was a great place to visit and go to school, and I've had a wonderful time at UT, but I am REALLY starting to miss my four seasons. I feel like it's been an eternity since I last experienced autumn. Despite always being cold, I do miss having four seasons, and I am definitely done living in the city. I miss my trees, lake, hills, and fields. I'm tired of loud craziness 24/7, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see where life is going to take me. The ride so far sure has been nice.
Sorry about the sparcity of these posts. You really have no idea how terrible the internet connection is here. So let me think, I think I left off with Paris. The past week was a rather typical week of classes. It was nice to be able to stay in London for the weekend. A large portion of our group went to Dublin, but I opted to stay a bit closer to home since I've already been to Dublin and didn't want to spend the money to go back for only a few days.
Friday I met up with some of the kids I met last summer in the Czech Republic. Tala, Amy, Adora and I met up outside the Baker Street station and got a bite to eat. It was nice catching up with them. Amy had to leave early for her driving lesson, but Tala, Adora, and I went out shopping for a bit and then we all had to go our separate ways again. I cannot believe how quickly this past year went by! When we met up I felt like it'd only been a few weeks since we'd last been together, not a whole year!!!
Saturday I went out to Richmond to do some research for one of my papers. It was a nice place and I'd like to go back. The weather wasn't very cooperative so I cut my visit a bit shorter than I would have liked. Saturday night I just hung out around the dorm and went to starbucks and out to this really good restaurant called Giraffe where I had an amazing chicken sandwhich.
Sunday I hung pretty low. I slept in for once and it was great! After I got up I went to Starbucks to get some work done. It's too hard for me to get work done in my room. We have one desk for 3 people and there are just too many distractions. Needless to say, Starbucks and I have become good friends. So yeah, I spent about 4 hours writing papers and relaxing before heading back to Byng. That night a bunch of us went out to our favourite pub, The Rocket, to celebrate Melinda's birthday. It was a lot of fun.
Yesterday I went to class and was rather amused to find only 4 people were there. Since there were so few of us, my professor decided to cancel class and let us leave early to go work on our final papers. So, once again, I headed down to good ol' starbucks where I spent between 6-8 hours writing more papers. You know you spend too much time somewhere when you're walking around town and recognizing people as "that guy from starbucks" or "that girl from starbucks studying for her psych exam". haha. I got a lot of work done and hopefully I'll have everything completely done by later this afternoon so I can enjoy my last few days here.
Last night a bunch of us went to go see probably one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It is a movie based off the popular book series and it is directed by the same lady that did Bend It like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. To sum it all up, it is a typical teen movie about the confessions of a 14 year-old girl. Basically the movie follows the girland her friends through all the difficulties of growing up and starting to get involved with boys. It is just a sweet, light, funny movie with a good message that leaves you happy and just yeah...it was great. I don't know if it's out in the states, but if it is you should definitely go see it. Everyone in the audience was laughing for virutally the entire movie. Angus, the cat in the film is absolutly hilarious. I don't know where they found this creature, but he is awesome.
So yeah, that is basically what I've been up to lately. Today is a rather rainy cold day so I think I'll probably spend most the day indoors. Maybe I will venture down to starbucks to finish up a few things, but other than that, it's a great day to lay in bed and read, listen to music, and just take it easy. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by.
I have a feeling this year is going to go by way faster than I would like it to. I'm ready to graduate, I just don't really know what I want to do with my life exactly. I'll tell you one thing, I am definitely done with Florida. It was a great place to visit and go to school, and I've had a wonderful time at UT, but I am REALLY starting to miss my four seasons. I feel like it's been an eternity since I last experienced autumn. Despite always being cold, I do miss having four seasons, and I am definitely done living in the city. I miss my trees, lake, hills, and fields. I'm tired of loud craziness 24/7, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see where life is going to take me. The ride so far sure has been nice.
29.7.08
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
This weekend I went to Paris and had a great time. We left early Friday morning on the 6:55 a.m. Eurotrain from St. Pancras to Paris. I will start off by saying that most of the 2 hour ride is above ground and only about 20 minutes or so is it dark as we cross under the water. When we got to Paris we took about a 20 minute walk from the station to our hotel, The Carlton. The two closest metro stations were Anvers and Pigalle (Pigalle being the sex district...needless to say we had a 12 p.m. curfew). The hotel was very nice. Our beds were so comfortable and the shower was amazing. We also had a rooftop terrace that looks out over the whole city. From there you could see the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, etc. When we arrived not all our rooms were prepared so we dropped off our bags and then went out to grab a bite to eat. Around 12:30 we all got checked in and then took the metro from Anvers to Charles de Gaulle where we connected to Bir-Hakeim, near the Eiffel Tower. We snapped a few pics and then got on one of the red tour buses. We did the full loop around Paris which took between 2 and 3 hours and then we got off and wandered around Notre Dame. Then we all met up for dinner. We were allowed to select a starter, entre, and dessert. I had the French onion soup, a vegetarian dish with potatos, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese, and then chocolate mousse for dessert. It was pretty good. After dinner we went back to the hotel where we relaxed on the rooftop terrace.
Saturday morning we all met in the lobby after a breakfast of bread and cheese to go to the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the second level, snapped some pictures, and then headed out to explore the rest of Paris. Krysta, Nate, Gina, and I went to the Musee d’Orsay which was absolutly wonderful. It is a museum of mostly impressionist art, but I got to see all kinds of famous paintings by Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, etc. It was a good size museum and had really interesting architecture since it used to be a rail station. After wandering through the museum for a few hours we took the bus to the Champs Elysees where we walked around and window shopped. We got some ice cream and continued our walk. Nate and Gina split off to go to the Louvre and Krysta and I went and laid down in a park for about an hour. (Turns out it was a good decision to go rest in the park because by the time Nate and Gina got to the Louvre it was closed). After our break we went on a mission to find dinner. Everything was so expensive (15-30 euro plates). We finally found this little pub/restaurant place with reasonable prices. The food really wasn’t that good, but at least it wasn’t any more bread and cheese. (We had been stocking up on the bread and cheese we got for free for breakfast from the hotel. It tasted really good, but I think I’m all bread and cheesed out.) The guy who owned the restaurant was really nice, but very flirtatious which made us rather uncomfortable. After we gobbled down our food we went to go take the bus back to the Eiffel Tower to meet up for the night cruise but they said the bus wasn’t running anymore. So we basically ran back to the tower to meet up with the group. We took a night cruise down the Seine which was really nice. We got to see a lot of places that we’d seen during the day on the bus but it was really pretty to watch the sun set and the Eiffel Tower light up. After the boat cruise our guide, Michelle, took us on a walk past the Moulin Rouge where we stopped to take a few pictures and dance around a little. Then we walked back to the hotel and waited until midnight to wish Dr. Harf a happy birthday. We all stayed up pretty late celebrating.
Sunday morning we got up about 8:30 and went down for breakfast about 9. After breakfast we checked out, stored our bags, and then hiked up to the Sacre Coeur. We can see the church from our hotel and it is absolutely beautiful. Dr. Harf told us not to go up there at night though because the gypsies and thieves are particularly aggressive. So, we went early in the morning and were still haggled quite a bit, but nothing bad happened. The hike up was hot, but it was beautiful inside. Around 11:00 we took the metro to the Champs Elysee to get a good spot for the Tour de France. We all bought t-shirts and other souvenirs and then we found our place to watch. We were right up front and we sat there until about 4:15 when the cyclists came flying by. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The people standing near us were really nice and they had been there before so they kind of filled us in on what was going on. They had huge screens set up by the side of the road so you could watch the race as it was coming. Then there was a parade of floats from all the different sponsors. Last came the cyclists. It was really cool because the anticipation grew so much. First you would see the cars come flying down the road with the extra bikes on top, then some police motorcycles, then you hear the screams of people further down the road and then the cyclists literally go flying past. They were going SO unbelievably fast. The videos I have of it look like I sped everything up. It is literally a blur. You can’t even see them peddling. They circled around 10 times, but we left after 4 since we had to leave for the train station. It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went.
So, after all that excitement we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and use the toiletts one last time before heading to the train station. The ride back seemed to take forever for some reason, even though it was only 2 hours. After that, we walked back to Byng and I went right to bed.
All in all, it was a great trip. I definitely do prefer London to Paris. There is a lot more to do in London and I feel 100 times safer in London. I did enjoy Paris but I felt like I always had to be on my guard. There were always people coming up to try to trick you to pick your pocket and there were gypsies everywhere. I don’t think I’d like to spend much more than a weekend in Paris, but I would definitely like to go back to France and check out some of the other cities and the countryside a bit more.
I’ve been trying to upload my pictures from Paris, but the internet here is REALLY slow and it hasn’t been cooperating. I did, however, manage to get up an album of just some random pictures from the trip of me and my friends in various places. So, definitely check that out until I can get all my other pics up.
This weekend I went to Paris and had a great time. We left early Friday morning on the 6:55 a.m. Eurotrain from St. Pancras to Paris. I will start off by saying that most of the 2 hour ride is above ground and only about 20 minutes or so is it dark as we cross under the water. When we got to Paris we took about a 20 minute walk from the station to our hotel, The Carlton. The two closest metro stations were Anvers and Pigalle (Pigalle being the sex district...needless to say we had a 12 p.m. curfew). The hotel was very nice. Our beds were so comfortable and the shower was amazing. We also had a rooftop terrace that looks out over the whole city. From there you could see the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, etc. When we arrived not all our rooms were prepared so we dropped off our bags and then went out to grab a bite to eat. Around 12:30 we all got checked in and then took the metro from Anvers to Charles de Gaulle where we connected to Bir-Hakeim, near the Eiffel Tower. We snapped a few pics and then got on one of the red tour buses. We did the full loop around Paris which took between 2 and 3 hours and then we got off and wandered around Notre Dame. Then we all met up for dinner. We were allowed to select a starter, entre, and dessert. I had the French onion soup, a vegetarian dish with potatos, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese, and then chocolate mousse for dessert. It was pretty good. After dinner we went back to the hotel where we relaxed on the rooftop terrace.
Saturday morning we all met in the lobby after a breakfast of bread and cheese to go to the Eiffel Tower. We went up to the second level, snapped some pictures, and then headed out to explore the rest of Paris. Krysta, Nate, Gina, and I went to the Musee d’Orsay which was absolutly wonderful. It is a museum of mostly impressionist art, but I got to see all kinds of famous paintings by Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, etc. It was a good size museum and had really interesting architecture since it used to be a rail station. After wandering through the museum for a few hours we took the bus to the Champs Elysees where we walked around and window shopped. We got some ice cream and continued our walk. Nate and Gina split off to go to the Louvre and Krysta and I went and laid down in a park for about an hour. (Turns out it was a good decision to go rest in the park because by the time Nate and Gina got to the Louvre it was closed). After our break we went on a mission to find dinner. Everything was so expensive (15-30 euro plates). We finally found this little pub/restaurant place with reasonable prices. The food really wasn’t that good, but at least it wasn’t any more bread and cheese. (We had been stocking up on the bread and cheese we got for free for breakfast from the hotel. It tasted really good, but I think I’m all bread and cheesed out.) The guy who owned the restaurant was really nice, but very flirtatious which made us rather uncomfortable. After we gobbled down our food we went to go take the bus back to the Eiffel Tower to meet up for the night cruise but they said the bus wasn’t running anymore. So we basically ran back to the tower to meet up with the group. We took a night cruise down the Seine which was really nice. We got to see a lot of places that we’d seen during the day on the bus but it was really pretty to watch the sun set and the Eiffel Tower light up. After the boat cruise our guide, Michelle, took us on a walk past the Moulin Rouge where we stopped to take a few pictures and dance around a little. Then we walked back to the hotel and waited until midnight to wish Dr. Harf a happy birthday. We all stayed up pretty late celebrating.
Sunday morning we got up about 8:30 and went down for breakfast about 9. After breakfast we checked out, stored our bags, and then hiked up to the Sacre Coeur. We can see the church from our hotel and it is absolutely beautiful. Dr. Harf told us not to go up there at night though because the gypsies and thieves are particularly aggressive. So, we went early in the morning and were still haggled quite a bit, but nothing bad happened. The hike up was hot, but it was beautiful inside. Around 11:00 we took the metro to the Champs Elysee to get a good spot for the Tour de France. We all bought t-shirts and other souvenirs and then we found our place to watch. We were right up front and we sat there until about 4:15 when the cyclists came flying by. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The people standing near us were really nice and they had been there before so they kind of filled us in on what was going on. They had huge screens set up by the side of the road so you could watch the race as it was coming. Then there was a parade of floats from all the different sponsors. Last came the cyclists. It was really cool because the anticipation grew so much. First you would see the cars come flying down the road with the extra bikes on top, then some police motorcycles, then you hear the screams of people further down the road and then the cyclists literally go flying past. They were going SO unbelievably fast. The videos I have of it look like I sped everything up. It is literally a blur. You can’t even see them peddling. They circled around 10 times, but we left after 4 since we had to leave for the train station. It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went.
So, after all that excitement we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and use the toiletts one last time before heading to the train station. The ride back seemed to take forever for some reason, even though it was only 2 hours. After that, we walked back to Byng and I went right to bed.
All in all, it was a great trip. I definitely do prefer London to Paris. There is a lot more to do in London and I feel 100 times safer in London. I did enjoy Paris but I felt like I always had to be on my guard. There were always people coming up to try to trick you to pick your pocket and there were gypsies everywhere. I don’t think I’d like to spend much more than a weekend in Paris, but I would definitely like to go back to France and check out some of the other cities and the countryside a bit more.
I’ve been trying to upload my pictures from Paris, but the internet here is REALLY slow and it hasn’t been cooperating. I did, however, manage to get up an album of just some random pictures from the trip of me and my friends in various places. So, definitely check that out until I can get all my other pics up.
24.7.08
A Day in the Royal Borough of Kensington
Today I spent most of the day in Kensington. We went to the science museum this morning for class. I didn't particularly care for it. I liked the Natural History Museum much better. I thought the Natural History Museum had a much more interesting and scientific collection than the Science Museum, which basically had a lot of gadgets. After the museum my roomie and I ate at the crepe place I love and then we walked to Kensington Park and visited the palace. I really liked Kensington Palace. It was really interesting and reminded me a lot of Kew. There was an interesting display about the deputantes and I loved the paintings and clothing they showed throughout the palace. After the palace we walked down toward the high street and I found my flat in Lexham Gardens. It is so nice and the neighbourhood is cute and quiet, unlike my current location. I LOVE IT! We hung around there for awhile but there didn't seem to be anyone coming or going so I could sneak in. I hope the inside is as nice as the outside. We could kind of see in some of the lower windows. I think I'll really like it there. Compared to Byng, it will be a palace! It will definitely be easier for me to come into High Street Kensington. Lexham Gardens is literally just around the corner...I walked right past the hotel I stayed at with Dr. Piper. It would be a realllly long walk, especially with luggage from S. Kensington. After we checked out my flat we went to H&M where we did some speed shopping for cheap dresses for Paris. It was SO hot here today and it is supposed to be really hot while we're in Paris. I just finished washing a bunch of stuff and packing and I really need to get to bed since we have to leave to catch the train at 5:15 a.m. I can't wait! It should be fun. Nighty night
22.7.08
Takin it easy
The past few days have been nice. I've gone to class in the morning, grabbed lunch, and then relaxed in the park. It's so interesting to go people watch there and just have some time to myself. This afternoon I ate in the park and then wrote some of my papers. It was good to get away from the computer and the craziness of being in such a large group. I have definitely realized my need for independence and quiet on this trip. It is sometimes frustrating being in such a large group because everything takes 10x longer and ends up being more complicated and rushed than necessary. I love the people on the trip. I just need a little break from them. We're always all together 24/7 and I just need some space.
It is really loud living in central London. My bedroom faces out to the street and it is REALLY loud at ALL hours of the day. At night there are loud drunks stumbling in and in the morning the traffic is crazy loud and the cyclists are swearing and garbage trucks are dumping glass bottles. haha It certainly is always an interesting way to wake up in the morning. I loved going to Oxford and out into the Scottish highlands. It was so nice and quiet. I am having a great time here. The parks, even though they are right next to the road, are still somehow a bit quieter and provide me with some sanity. Tonight Krysta and I were craving chocolate cake so we bought a bunch of cakes from Waitrose and brought them back for people at Byng. It made everyone really happy.
I am really tired, so I think I'm going to head to bed early. I'm still trying to get over whatever bug I had. I think I'm getting better, but I'm still not feeling 100% and I still have a nasty sounding cough. I'm feeling a bit less congested though and my ears don't hurt as much. I have had a stomach ache all day today though. Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning and I'll be completely better by this weekend when we're off to Paris!
It is really loud living in central London. My bedroom faces out to the street and it is REALLY loud at ALL hours of the day. At night there are loud drunks stumbling in and in the morning the traffic is crazy loud and the cyclists are swearing and garbage trucks are dumping glass bottles. haha It certainly is always an interesting way to wake up in the morning. I loved going to Oxford and out into the Scottish highlands. It was so nice and quiet. I am having a great time here. The parks, even though they are right next to the road, are still somehow a bit quieter and provide me with some sanity. Tonight Krysta and I were craving chocolate cake so we bought a bunch of cakes from Waitrose and brought them back for people at Byng. It made everyone really happy.
I am really tired, so I think I'm going to head to bed early. I'm still trying to get over whatever bug I had. I think I'm getting better, but I'm still not feeling 100% and I still have a nasty sounding cough. I'm feeling a bit less congested though and my ears don't hurt as much. I have had a stomach ache all day today though. Hopefully I'll feel better in the morning and I'll be completely better by this weekend when we're off to Paris!
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