Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath: Week One

So, it's been awhile and a lot has happened. I thought I would have a lot more time to not only blog, but see London.  Unfortunately, the classes take up more of my time between lectures and homework than I was anticipating.  But it will be okay- I can sleep when I get back to Dallas.  Monday was the first day of class followed by a traditional English afternoon tea! I don't really care for hot tea, but the finger sandwiches and cakes were delicious.  After tea, I ended up on an adventure in search for tennis shoes (for someone else) and ended up at the second largest shopping center in Europe. It was huge! I'm pretty sure it gave the Mall of America a run for its money.

Tuesday we went to Brick Lane.  For class, we read a novel titled Brick Lane that was centered around the Bangladeshi community that lived on Brick Lane in East London.  It is an interesting part of town because it was the place immigrant communities settled and then eventually moved out of in phases.  There is a building on the corner of the main streets that has been a church, a synagogue, and is now a mosque. The only other place in the world where this may be found is Jerusalem. It was very interesting.  Currently, it is becoming more hip and trendy and more expensive to live there.  The Spitalfields Market is there and we did some shopping and had lunch before returning to the central city.

Wednesday was a full day of classes with not a lot of time for exploring.  We had dinner at a pub off Piccadilly Circus and I am scrutinized even more here in regards to my age than at home! You must be over 18 to even eat dinner in the pub in the evening and the waiter told me I had to leave at first! Until I showed him my ID and he apologized.

Thursday started with class, then we took the train up north to Salisbury, a town best known for its Medieval cathedral, finished around 1250, the Salisbury Cathedral.  The architecture and stained glass was incredible.

Friday morning at 4:00 AM we took a coach bus to Stonehenge to be there before the public and to have special access to actually go in the middle of the stones.  Unfortunately, it was a cloudy morning so we missed seeing the sun rise but it was still amazing.  The rocks are giant and have a weird magnetic force linked to them.  I didn't get to enjoy the experience as much as I hoped due to a horrible bout of car sickness from the European bus driver.

Once I recovered we took the train to Bath Spa, where the ancient Roman Baths were found under the city.  They were a spot of healing and worship for the Romans and were preserved remarkably well.  The water was steaming and you could smell the sulfur.

Here are some pictures from the past week!

The Tower Bridge

The Horse Guards (what Princes Will and Harry would do)

Salisbury Cathedral

Front Entrance to Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral

Stonehenge

Inside Stonehenge

Stonehenge at 5 AM

Roman Baths

Ancient Roman Bath below Medieval Cathedral

Next to the main hot spring bath

Ashlee, Me, and Brianna

I've Arrived!

Hello Everyone!

I’m officially here in London and have been for about 2 whole days.  I am writing this entry at 2 AM on Monday morning because I cannot sleep.  Last night I went to sleep at 9:30 pm after traveling and now today my body seems to be still experiencing symptoms of jetlag.  It has been very busy since we landed so I am surprised I am not more tired. 

After a LONG 8 ½ hour flight, which was made even longer by the fact that the entertainment system was broken (meaning no little TVs at all), we arrived at London Heathrow Airport on Saturday morning.  Then we took the BritRail (like a train or subway type deal) to Paddington Station near central London.  At Paddington we took taxis to our flat, which by the way looks exactly like the picture I posted! This all proved to be extremely tiring because I was making all these changes in transportation with a very large, full rolling suitcase, duffel bag, and backpack. 

We arrived and were pleasantly surprised with the conditions of our flat.  It is a two-bedroom and one-bathroom with a great sized kitchen and sitting area considering the part of London we are in.  I am sleeping on the top of a bunk bed, but it brings back memories of freshman dorm life! I’m very thankful to have a fridge, freezer, microwave, and stove.  We went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruit, granola bars, and cereal.  I also got a British cell phone (or mobile if you wish to use the proper English word).  It is taking some getting used to but is awesomely equipped with unlimited (or “all you can eat”) data, meaning emails home, Facebook, GPS, and Internet is always available!

The next day, Sunday, we had an orientation for the college that is housing the SMU program.  It was lengthy, but useful.  The building where my classes are is only about a 10-minute walk down the street! That’s very lucky.  The rest of the day we went on a coach tour of the entire city with a tour guide, named Joel.  He was incredible! He shared so much information, history, advice, and was entertaining as well.  I saw all the landmarks: Big Ben (which isn’t really the clock tower, but the bell that is named Big Ben!), the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, the Gherkin, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament, and even places where Harry Potter was filmed, like Gringotts Bank which is actually called the Australia House.  When the tour ended we were in the middle of the city and decided to keep exploring.  We walked around Piccadilly Circus and found a pretty inexpensive place to get some dinner with a very funny name- The Slug and Lettuce.  There was a large group watching a football (soccer in American) match, and lots of younger Londoners having a drink.  After dinner, we walked upon Covent Garden on accident and watched some street performers before heading home on the Tube (subway).  It is much easier than the New York version and extremely reliable so far.  I have a little card that lets me on and off anytime! Once home, I had to do lots of reading assignments for the first day of classes tomorrow.  It is going to be hard to focus on schoolwork here! Hopefully it won’t take up too much time and I’ll be out and about more than in my room studying.  This was a long post, but like I said, it’s been a busy first couple of days! Pictures will come soon; I just haven’t had a chance to get good ones yet! I already think the city is fascinating and I have a lot to do before I leave to make sure I get the full London experience!

Cheers!

I'm Not In Kansas Anymore

Well, I do happen to be in the Sunflower State as I write this first post.  I am here for a week to see my brother graduate high school. Then I head back to Texas to pack as much as I can into two suitcases for an adventure in London, England.  After having gone to Europe twice already and not journaling or anything of the sort I decided to record my experiences this time.  I also wanted my family and friends to be able to follow what I am doing! So, my hope is that I keep this updated at least every other day I'm in London (with pictures and all). I'm incredibly excited to see where my yellow brick road takes me.

I received my housing assignment just the other day and had to look it up on Google Maps.  It looks like the London residence in the Lindsay Lohan version of The Parent Trap (one of my all time favorites). Okay, so obviously it is not as nice and luxurious, but it beats living in a dorm room!

There's my first picture of many. I'll see what it looks like in real life in only 9 days! I can't wait to get there.  Look out for my next post!