Thursday, July 22, 2010
Black bird singing in the dead of night.. ♥ 11:33 AM
The last few days have been pretty chill. Nothing really exciting to blog about. Sports Café is definitely our place to go on Tuesday nights (students get in for free and drinks are £1.50 or £2.50 for a double). Sound is still my second home here and the security guy is a good friend.
Last night we went to The Globe to see Comedy of Errors. The first time I went to The Globe, we saw Henry VIII. While, I really enjoy the story of Henry VIII, Shakespeare did not do the story justice, and in fact made it quite boring. Because of that, I was a bit hesitant to return for another show. Seeing as how it was paid for, though, and I'm somewhat thrifty (somewhat..), I decided to give Shakespeare another chance. Good thing, too! The show was fantastic and so entertaining. Quite the fun time!
After the show, Lacey, Ryan, Alex, Mo, and myself walked along the South Bank. Later, I went out for a drink, then came back and had a good talk with a friend.
Oh London...
**EDIT**
Also, it was brought to my attention that my blog wasn't letting anyone comment on anything. The problem is now fixed, though, so feel free to comment away! =]
COMMENTS
The End.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Museums ♥ 11:32 AM
After my South Bank walk last night, I came back and watched a movie on my laptop. It was the most low-key night I've had in London since being here, but I suppose everyone needs one of those sometime.
This morning I woke up and made my way to the Tate Modern. I think of all the museums I've been to thus far, that has been my favorite, hands down. I think Modern and Post-Modern Art is often over-looked and under-appreciated. I'll be the first to admit that before taking my "Art and Artists in Contemporary Culture" class last quarter, I would go to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago all the time and somewhat scoff at what I was seeing. Today, however... ahhh I was in glory. I saw the works of Hatoum, Mondrian, Pollock, Warhol, Sander, Dali, Matisse, Duchamp, and even more! Really really really...if you find yourself in London, and the museums are still free. Please please please go to the Tate Modern. It's pretty easy to find, and it's time well spent.
After some hours there, I went back to Lambeth North (the tube station nearest my dorm/hostel) and made my way to the Imperial War Museum. Everything was actually really interesting, and they had so many vehicles/aircraft/other things of the sort, from various wars. My dad would've had a field day in there. Most of my time spent there, though, was at the Holocaust Exhibit.
Everyone is still gone on their trip right now, so I'm just chilling in my room right now. Class in the morning..trying to take it easy. You know.
COMMENTS
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Enjoy the next several days! One day I hope to go to London...
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you will. when i'm living here you guys will obviously have to visit
The End.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Strawberry Fields Forever.. ♥ 11:31 AM
Now...I'm sure I'm not the first person to tell you this. But England is not (by any means) known for their food. However! They do have some pretty redeeming crisps (potato chips). Cheddar and Onion? Prawn Cocktail? Sweet Potato and Chipotle Sauce? Can I get a hell yeah? Just saying..
Anyway. After an early (before the sun comes up) night out at TigerTiger, I awoke bright and shiny at 10am Friday, to meet Lacey for our API trip to the Kew Palace and Kew Gardens. This place wasn't much of a palace, when compared to Hampton Court, or any of the others I've been to on this trip. But apparently that is because George III (Revolutionary War, George) wanted to hold a more "normal" life. I suppose this palace would have done the job for holding as normal as a life a king may be able to have. The actual garden is quite huge, and there was no way we could have gotten through the whole thing in a couple of hours. It was nice, and I think if my parents came to London with me, I would take them there, but I'm not sure how often I'd frequent it. Either way, I'm glad I went. Later in the night, Bryan, Danielle, Beth and myself had a low-key evening at O'Neils, an Irish pub near Carnaby Street. They were all waking up early to leave for York and the north of England. While technically, I was apart of that too, I opted out of this trip. There's too much in London for me to still cover and I don't really have time to be going to the north of England when I really want to be in London.
So instead of catching a bus at 7am, this morning, I slept in, took my time getting ready, and made my way out of my dorm/hostel listening to The Beatles on my iPod. It's a little cliché, I know, but c'mon...I was going to Abbey Road! Once out of the tube station, I was a little confused on what direction to go in. Naturally, I scoped everyone out, and saw a girl around my age looking at a map. I asked her if she was looking for Abbey Road too, and it turned out she was. She ended up being from America, just graduated from NYU and her grad present was a month long trip to Europe. Pretty cool, really.. We made our way to the infamous zebra-crossing (you know, I find myself saying "zeh-brah" now, instead of "zee-brah". weird.) and found the studios. I'm not sure it's sunk in yet, that I've now been to the most famous recording studio in the world. The Beatles, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Radiohead...how could I not go there?
After many pictures, Jesse and I made our way to Camden Market. We walked around for a bit, but neither of us bought anything. (Mind you, that is terribly difficult to do there..) Later, the people she was staying with got ahold of her, and she invited me to Greenwich with them. I opted out, but we exchanged contact info, and maybe we'll get together another time.
I came back, chilled, had dinner, and am soon going down to the South Bank to take some shots of Big Ben at night. We'll see how it goes..
The End.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Oxford Circus ♥ 11:31 AM
Well hello, blog. Long time no see?
Now, because it's been so long since I've actually written anything down in here, I could either try my hardest to go back and tell you about every detail (I remember) about every day I missed...or, I could just start again with today.
I think London has stopped trying to woo me with its fantastic, sunny, 70/80 degree weather, and has decided that we are now close enough for it to piss on me 24/7. I realise (not 'realize'. they don't believe in the letter "z" here) I've been quite spoiled with this typical summer weather. But London, must you really downpour on me, as I'm making my mile+ walk back with groceries? Not only that, but you had to wait until I was wearing a light shirt, and colored bra. For a minute, I was thinking I might actually drown on my way back. When you rain, London, you really don't play.
Anyway. I went to class this morning, and alas, it was raining again. However this time I not only had a tank top under my shirt, but a jacket on top, as well. Last night, I took time to plan out what I'll be doing for my last couple weeks here. Today's activity was shopping in Oxford Circus (the biggest shopping street in Europe). Since I've been here, I've been quite good with buying myself things, so today I treated myself a bit. I didn't spend as much as I thought I might, but that's because I'm fantastic at getting deals. I mean, not everyone can get a pair of French Connection shoes (originally £110) for £27.50.
Anytawho...I've shopped myself out for the day, so I do believe it's time for a bit of a nap. And because it's Thursday (and therefore my weekend), I need to be well rested before we go out tonight.
Cheers!
The End.
Friday, June 25, 2010
So let's talk about Anne.. ♥ 11:30 AM
I should really update this more often.
So as I was saying, Tuesday after I blogged, a group of us from the International House walked over to the London Eye to meet for our event. It was really neat going on, and you get a view of the city that you can't really get from anywhere else, unless you're in an airplane. The ride itself takes roughly half an hour, and the pods are quite huge to walk around in. When our ride was finished, we walked along the South Bank, as our guide told us of many stories and histories. We saw the Wibbly Wobbly bridge (as Londoners call it), or to most of us, the Millennium Bridge. Not only that, but we went to a couple pubs along the way. (Hence "pub walk".)
Now, I must say, the beer here is much much better than the beer back in the states. My tolerance isn't what it once was, but after one beer in a 20-minute setting a buzz was definitely coming on. So naturally, we went to the next pub. We had dinner there, and to be honest, I wasn't that impressed. The male bartender was really nice to me, but the two females behind the bar had quite an attitude toward my friends. Not only that, but an entire dinner order was "forgotten". Now, if only I could remember the name of the pub...
In class Wednesday, we met outside of the Waterloo tube station, and our lecturer, Andy, took us around to work on our photo projects. Once again, we found ourselves at the South Bank. Because my project needed a specific location, Andy told me to go off on my own to go shoot, and to meet back in an hour. I was slightly nervous about this, as it was my first time wandering around alone since I've been here, but it wasn't bad.
Outside the House of Parliament, there are protesters on the lawn. This is what I wanted to focus on for my first project. However, I'm not so sure anymore. During class, I made my way over there and took pictures from afar, trying to get some decent establishing shots and everything. But it was clear by looking at my pictures, that I still had quite a barrier between myself and the people camping out. Finally, I realized that I didn't have much time left, so I made my way to talk to some people. The first guys I talked to were very understanding and helpful. They responded well to me, regardless of me being from the U.S. However, that couldn't be said for all the people I spoke to that day. What are you supposed to say to someone who tells you that your country is full of ignorant fools, who only learn geography by bombing places? Needless to say, I think I was slightly in over my head with that project..
After class, I met up with Shannon and Michael and took them to Soho. I really do enjoy that part of town..it's fun. We made our way around some other main streets and back to Oxford, where we went on a hunt to find Primark. For those of you who don't know, Primark is a very large clothing store full of cheap, decent, clothes. So, if you ever find yourself in London, that's a must-stop on Oxford street.
Later that night, a bunch of us just chilled down in our common area, which was cool and low-key. Exactly what we all needed after this crazy week.
On Thursday, my class got out early, so Michael, Alison, Lindsay, and myself went to the Roman street Market. They had a bunch of cute things for cheap, but to be honest, I wasn't much in the mood to shop. I'm glad I know where it's at now, though, so I can always come back. Not long after, we took a bus back, to meet Alex, Shannon, Madison, and Lucy at the British Museum. Admission is free in most museums around here, so we try to take advantage of it. It was really neat inside and full of things the British basically stole from whoever they wanted..hah.
We spent a few hours in there taking everything in, then after, Alex took us to a nearby pub, where a lot of university students go and hang out. We had a beer, then wandered around London some more. There's so much to do here, and never enough time to do it in. We had dinner at a noodle bar, visited a couple stores, then made our way home.
A few hours later, we decided to go out, because it was Thursday (the only night this week we're able to go out and actually enjoy ourselves). We met some people at the Alexander Fleming house, then went to Cargo and Mother. We got home pretty late, and passed out almost instantly.
Not long ago, Madison, Shannon, Michael, and myself got back from the Hampton Court Palace. Henry VIII's favorite home. It's crazy to me, to think about all the things that went on in that place. Not only is it huge, but if you know anything about the Tudors, then you know there's some pretty crazy history in the place. Ultra exciting! Also, while we were there, we took a stroll around the Royal Gardens and went through the very famous maze.
Ahh..by the end of these six weeks, my feet will be permanently out of commission, however. We've literally walked a minimum of 5 miles a day, since we've gotten here, and I greatly underestimated that. Oh well, though.. Each day I'm here, I love this place more and more, I know it's going to be very difficult to leave. Coming back would be great, but I know I wouldn't want to come back as a tourist, rather, someone who plans to stay for a while.
We'll see though...
Tomorrow, we meet at 7am to go to Wales. Hopefully it will be a good time!
The End.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Non-stop ♥ 11:30 AM
Well what a busy couple of days it has been!
Yesterday, we had orientation, and our first day of class. The university ran us through some things we should know about city life, and London in specific. We were given our ID's, along with a number of other helpful items. After, we were sent to "lunch". I'm not entirely sure what the goal was, but the luncheon was free, even though it was kind of lacking. Ah well.
After lunch, everyone was sent to their classroom for the first day. My lecturers are awesome. Andy has a fantastic background in photography and a wonderful, dry, sense of humor. Eileen is so helpful and makes sure everyone is on the same page. They compliment each other beautifully. Not only that, but Westminster apparently has been teaching photography since it's beginning. This makes DePaul look like the pits..
So far, classes are going well, and I'm pretty excited (yet slightly nervous) about our first project. My proposal is to photo the people camping outside the House of Parliament. In order to do this, though, I'd like to actually sit and talk with some of them and get to know them. Hopefully I'll get a good response.
Soon, we're leaving to go to the London Eye. After, we're off to a pub walk. I'm quite excited for both! Hopefully you'll hear about it more later.
The End.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
'ello! ♥ 11:29 AM
Hello again, from across the pond!
It's nearing midnight here in London, and I'm quite sleepy. In fact, I'm running on three hours of sleep. I really don't know why I do this to myself. When you're in London, though, sleep is overrated. Last night, some of us went out to brush the surface of the scene around here. All the pubs close around 10, so when those are done, people move on to the clubs. It was almost 10:30 by the time we were ready to go out. We went to Ministry of Sound, which is actually a pretty big deal. Not to mention, it's pretty close to our dorm. The club was definitely a good time, and I'm sure we'll be going out much more often. But of course, school comes first...right? hah
Yesterday we took a tour of Westminster Abbey. That building is crazy rich with history. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take photos inside (it might damage things). However, I had no idea all the people buried inside. Kings, Queens, Dickens, Chaucer, composers, poets, writers, etc etc. Not only that, but that's where the coronations of the monarchs are held.
Later, we went on a walking tour of the city, then had quite a bit of time to kill. Five hours, in fact. We explored Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Circus, mostly. However, we only lasted four hours, so we hopped a bus back to our hotel to wait for our meeting.
Today we met up with Alex (our resident director helper) to go to the London Tower. It's wild to imagine all the history inside that place. The Tower of London was used for a great number of things, and while we only had 2 hours in the place, we tried to see everything. From the torture tower, to the ravens, to the Crown Jewels.
Once we were finished with that, we had some more time to kill before gathering with the other students at the university for a treasure hunt. Most of them, we had not met before, so it wasn't much of an activity for meeting new people - considering how competitive we are. The hunt literally took us all around the city, which was crazy. Especially for me, because I was surprised with uncomfortable shoes and unhappy feet. However! It was all worth it. We got back to the pub on time! (We were deducted 6 points for every 10 minutes we were late.) Got our free pint (which never tasted so good). Then the winners were announced. Third place were travel guides to London, Second place were tickets to the Tower of London (what we did that morning), and First place were tickets to Wicked. When third and second places were announced and we weren't either, we were sure we had no chance at winning the thing, considering we skipped an entire part of London. However, much to our surprise, our group got first place, and thus tickets to see Wicked!
All in all, it's been an exciting, busy couple of days.
Tomorrow is the first day of class...ahhhh!!
I'm off to soak my feets now..
The End.
July 22, 2010 8:24 PM
July 23, 2010 10:49 PM