Shotty WIFI

Sorry that I haven't been able to post a lot but I have not had a decent WIFI connection up until now. But here's everything :) Also with being so busy I haven't had time to download my pictures but once I do expect to see them here!

June 9, 2012

Our chance to see everything left on the list!

Out list consisted of Trafalger Square, Shakespeare Globe Theater, British Museum, Covent Garden, Kensington Garden, Hyde Park, Harrods, & Leceister Square…. However, we ended up doing Leceister Square, Trafalger Square, The National Gallery, Covent Garden (we ate lunch near here), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Millenium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe, PUB!, Bourough Market, Harrods, and then Caligula (an Opera) 

In the last two days, we have seen and done so much! I honestly cannot leave London thinking there was something that I REALLY wanted to see and didn’t get to see it. This is why we made a list of things we wanted to see before we left Sunday. 

We started out our day going to Leceister Square and went to the TKTS booth because they have discounted show tickets. We knew it was a good deal when we saw a long line. We ended up getting Opera tickets (oh just wait ‘til you here this) for about 20 pounds each. There was a gorgeous fountain and statue in the center. Then we wandered on over towards Trafalger Square. It was beautiful! We got a picture in front of the lions and also went inside the National Gallery. However, the National Gallery was so big we were only able to see a few rooms of artwork. We did get to see pieces by Monet and Van Gogh. Then we went to Covent Garden to meet up with a few locals one of my friends knew and they took us to this great Italian restaurant and answered so many of our questions. They then took us on a wonderful walk towards St. Paul’s Cathedral; we went part of the way in and saw amazing architecture and details everywhere. Then we headed towards Millenium Bridge and walked across that to Shakespeare’s Globe. It looked cool and interesting but instead of going in we went to a nearby pub to have a drink and plan where we wanted to go next. We chose Harrods! On the way we passed through Bourough market but it was shutting down and looked really cool. The food there smelled delicious and I would recommend at least trying it or wandering over there for lunch or a meal. We finally arrived at Harrod’s which they appeared to still be in the Queens Jubilee mode and there were gorgeous crowns made out of cake, food, sprinkles, chocolate and more. Harrod’s was huge! You could absolutely get lost and then spend all day in there! Afterwards we headed to the Opera… Oh the opera. I thought this would be a cool experience because I have never been to any type of show like this, Broadway, opera, nothing.  But it was weird… haha.

                  A funny piece of art we saw on our way from Leicester Square to Trafalger Square

                                                                  Trafalger Square

                                                      The market within Covent Garden

                                                                St. Paul's Cathedral

                                                           More of St. Paul's Cathedral

                                     Shakespeare's Globe in the distance from Millenium Bridge

                                                  Millenium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral

                                         A delicious cider in a pub near Shakespeare's Globe

                                            A memorial for Princess Diana inside of Harrods

                                                                   Inside the Opera

So to avoid lugging those 50 lb suitcases back up and down multiple flights of stairs, we found an awesome route to King’s Cross Station, which has a lift (elevator). We are really hoping this works out a lot better than when we arrived in London.

June 10, 2012

We have arrived…

 

We woke up and had our American/English buffet breakfast. I find this funny because tomorrow we will be having a traditional English breakfast at the Warkworth house and I am expecting it to be completely different. We made our way to King’s Cross by cab, we were talking to a bell man at the hotel and he suggested a cab instead of the underground and said it would be much. This man saved our sanity! All 5 of us paid 20 pounds so this was by far the easiest mode of transport (especially with 9 suitcases). We arrived at King’s Cross and bought our tickets and you get a better deal for 4 people so we paid like 13 pounds each rather than 23 pounds. Then we headed straight over for a great photo opportunity!

Once we arrived in Cambridge we had about a mile walk from the train station to the Warkworth house… it was so long. But we finally arrived! A few others were heading out to grab a bite to eat so we quickly went with them and found this cute little pub down an ally. We had Sunday roast which two other girls and I split and am so glad we did, it was so much! But delicious. Then we had a bit to unpack and settle into our rooms and everyone met for pizza at a local restaurant in which we were then given a scavenger hunt. A few of the things we looked for were where DNA was first announced, a punting boat, King’s College, a football jersey and a bunch of other things. It was a lot of fun and great way for us to start to meet the locals and explore. The ending point was the free press pub (a place I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of) where we had the option of staying or finding something else to do. I chose to go with two others to a local Irish pub and watch the Ireland and Croatia game. I drank a cider but it just made me super tired.

I am rooming with another girl and we get along great, the room is a bit small but what place in England isn’t. Tomorrow we are having a seminar and then are free to explore the town.