A Look into my Life

Like the two past days I traveled to to another destination in England that I wanted to see before I left. I set off one last time to Victoria Train Station. I missed the 10:45 to Canterbury west and ended up having to wait another hour until the next one was ready to disembark. That gave me some time to burn. Luckily there was a pub in the train station I sat down for a full english breakfast. It’s got to be one of the weirdest things I have eaten here. It’s comes with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and get this, baked beans (not so bad), a grilled half tomato (um, no), and a cooked flat mushroom (seriously?). It was very good and very filling although a few things were left sitting on the plate when I was finished!

It neared time for my train to leave so I headed for the platform. I settled in for the hour and forty-five minute trek across the south eastern portion of England. I really enjoyed seeing the country side. It’s so very beautiful. Upon arrival I found Canterbury to be rather boring. I walked through some sections making my way to the centre of the city thinking, did I really just spend £20 and two hours of my time to see this? I made my way to the centre and wow was I surprised. There were small winding streets packed with people and shops. It was amazing! All of these people came out of nowhere. I walked around there for a while and sadly I missed a parade of some sort by just an hour. I meandered through a few more streets, had a gander at the cathedral.

I then made my way back to the train station in time to watch the train to London leaving the platform. Thankfully there was another in fifteen minutes. I jumped on that and head back into the city. Another item crossed off of what is becoming a very short list. Thanks Marian for the recommendation!

Might I also add that I have been very lucky these past three days. The sun has been out in full force and the temperature hasn’t been too bad either. I think it was a proper last weekend here!

Speaking of my list I will be visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum tomorrow morning before class. I’ve been meaning to get there since the beginning of the semester but just haven’t made the time to. Looks like I will have to squeeze it in! I’ll post details of that tomorrow.

Status Update

Five days, sixteen hours to go! Unbelievable! Like I Mentioned above my list has quickly shrunk down to a short list of things to do. There should be at least one update a night! Well, maybe not Thursday because CAPA is throwing us a going away party and we’re all celebrating!

And Brighton got my shoes wet. The past two days I’ve been taking advantage of the rail system within the UK. It’s one aspect that I find truly amazing about this country. You can get from one point to another by train in a very short amount of time and it doesn’t cost a lot. Yesterday I made the journey to Oxford. I was actually very close to it when I went on my road trip. I figured it would be best to tackle the city without having to worry about a vehicle.

It definitely is a unique town. I quite enjoyed walking around it. I made sure to drop by Christchurch. It has some significance to Harry Potter. I’ll have to wait for a resident HP expert to chime in, Kim!! I ended up walking through a park and made it to out skirts of town. It was a long walk back in but I made it! At this point I was starting to really feel the effects of the cold that I was hoping was only a sore throat. Check out the Oxford album, there’s some good photos!

Today I boarded a train to Brighton. It’s on the southern coast of England. It is know for it’s rocky beaches. I didn’t quite know what to expect. The beach is completely covered with what we would call river rock. It’s much smaller, about an inch in diameter. It’s the weirdest thing! So I went down to the waters edge with a goal in mind. I wanted to touch the water!! This is when things went terribly wrong. I studied where the water would come up to and finally felt comfortable going near it. Well, one of those random large waves decided to rear it’s ugly head and before I knew it I was in water up to my ankles. OOPS! So I had some wet feet for the remainder of the day, great for being sick as well. I walked along the edge of the beach. They have a sort of board walk there. There is also Brighton Pier which is like an amusement park suspended over the sea. 

Upon arriving back in London I made my way to Oxford Street. We Americans have Black Friday, Londoners have the first Saturday of December. Oxford Street and Regent Street is closed to traffic and as I found out people swarm the area. It was unbelievable the amount of people that were out. I also made what will probably be my last visit to the Regent Street Apple Store. 

Tomorrow I’m heading to Canterbury. Check back tomorrow evening for those details. I have also dropped below a week remaining in London. I’m still in shock that this is my last Saturday in the city. Quite amazing! I can almost see home from this point!!

I’m now down to only 10 days! I just finished one paper in anticipation for the semester’s end. That just leaves one more to type up and a final to complete.

It’s a very cold day here in London today. It’s a chilly 36ºF. I guess this is preparing me for my return home. I’m ready for it to start snowing here any minute. It looks like I may be attending a comedy show this evening with some friends. I have to figure out how to look as anonymous as possible. I don’t want to be picked on! He He! Take care guys and look out for Christmas Tree pictures tomorrow evening!!

…next to last week. Yes, that is correct. I’m nearing the end of my time in London. Unbelievable! 

Yesterday was the start of Advent. I was recommended  by a wonderful couple that I met over break to view the services at either St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey. It was quite a decision of which to see but the candlelight service at Westminster Abbey won. The service was amazing. I recommend it to anyone who is here during the occasion. There’s nothing like being in Westminster Abbey, at night, only lit by candles. Thanks Bonnie for this wonderful idea!

My last weekend is quickly approaching and I have a few places to still visit. I want to visit Oxford, Brighton and Canterbury. In no specific order these are my last remaining goals while I’m still on this island. It’s rather ambitious but I will prevail! I still want to swing into the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum here in London. After that I will officially completed everything that I wanted to do while abroad. Next Friday, my last will be one last swoop around the city to see the great landmarks one last time. I can’t believe I’m actually thinking about this!!

I took ma and pa back to the airport this morning. Everything went without issue. Mom is quite worn out but she did survive the week, just. And dad did too!!

Yesterday I once again hired a car, just for the day this time. Mom wanted to see the prime meridian at Greenwich and Hampton Court Palace. So we took off early in the morning in our Vauxhall Astra heading for Greenwich Park. There we wandered around the Royal Observatory in the drizzle that would accompany us all day.

After our visit there we headed across the south of London through terrible Friday afternoon traffic. This is when I really wished I’d opted for an automatic transmission. Regardless I now have a stronger left leg. We arrived at Hampton Court with only a little time to actually go through. We did hit all the major areas however, minus the gardens. But it was raining and despite the current situation, would have been miserable to go through. The rooms within were beautifully decorated and were massive. It must have been quite extraordinary to live in there in the 1700s. There had been a fire in the King’s portion of the state rooms. It was repaired and refurbished and looks fantastic. 

We then departed Hampton Court with the Satnav set for Piccadilly Circus in the centre of London. I want mom and dad to see the lights there as well as the Christmas lights of Regent Street and Oxford Street. We looped up through there seeing everything and being one of the few cars on Oxford Street mixed amongst the busses. Quite intimidating! We stopped off at a few shops and got them some souvenirs, dropped them off back at the hotel, returned the car, and dined on some pub food before calling it an evening!

I’ll put of pictures of yesterday as well as pictures from their trips to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Paris. 

Status Update

In two week time I should be landing, or near landing at Philadelphia International. 

I have a little bit of a dilemma on my hands. After I return home, finish up covering my experience here and write about re-culturing myself the the way of the United States I don’t really know what to do with my blog. I will keep it up for quite a while. I hope to go back through and do a lot of proofing and minor tweaks to the posts, but once that is done I have no idea what else to write about. So for the next couple weeks I’d like to hear from everyone who has been viewing and ready for the past 3 months to leave some feedback on where and what you’d like to see from my site. I’d love to post about my last semester at school but it would all be the same; cold, it snowed, and class sucked. So I’m open for ideas!!

Today was quite a chilly one! I threw on my coat and out the door I went with some friends to Borough Market. It’s just south of the city buried within the track of London Bridge train station. This is mainly a food market that offers everything from cheese, fruit and veg, meat, and fish. There are free samples there so go on an empty stomach! While there I picked up an ostrich sandwich. I found it quite good and would definitely eat it again!!

The group was then heading to Greenwich which I passed on. I wanted to check out Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, and Hyde Park. I took a nice stroll through there stumbling across the Princess Diana fountain. Its quite an odd one and not what I expected. It’s very simple and modern in design. Quite a difference from the Royal Albert memorial just a short walk away. Never the less there are a few pictures of that and the Serpentine which runs through the center of Hyde Park. Have a look around.

Good news, Mom and Dad will be here in less than two days. I’m excited!!

Seems to be just as many times as my mom does! NONE! Just wanted to say that I hope you start to feel better soon mom! Love you!

The iPhone survived as well, a new case and all is fine.

Last evening there was a celebration on Oxford Street to turn on the Christmas lights. Performers from X-Factor (not sure what that is) were there to sing, the Sugarbabes were there to sing as well (still clueless). At 6:15 they flipped a switched and the entire street lit up and fireworks went off! I have a few pictures to upload in a bit, so check them out!

This will be my last post until I return from my road trip. I should have my car around 8am my time. This should be interesting!!

I got the urge to explore a little today. I went to Kensington High Street to PC World. I needed some blank CDs for my road trip. Need some tunes! That was quite an adventure since the train running there is soo slow. I could almost walk to it faster! I then went to the oldest Harley Davidson dealer in the whole or Europe. I immediately switched back into American mode. It was quite weird. It was a nice place and they had a huge amount of bikes.

I then met a friend at Harrod’s. In the center of the store there are several bars which serve different types of food. We both got ice cream which was quite expensive but very good. Definitely worth the experience. We then took a stroll through Christmas World and attempted to see Santa. They have him rather locked away. Quite sad they do such a thing. I guess I’ll have to wait until I get home to see him.

They also had an Aston Martin DBS in the one front display window. This was of course, James Bond’s car in the latest movie, Quantum of Solace. I think it’s the best window display I’ve ever seen!

I’m getting quite excited for this weekend. I have my hotel booked, my routes planned, and I think I’m ready to drive!

More pictures can be seen in the London Randoms album. You can also click on the pictures above to enlarge them.

First off, I seem to have screwed something up a bit. I put up some pictures with absolutely nothing about written. This past Thursday massive stars and some store fronts turned on their Christmas lights for the first time. For right now it is only along Regent Street but others will be following from mid-November to early December. The Christmas lights maybe coming on, but it’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit right now.

Today is Remembrance Day here in the UK. A little of what it is about:

“Remembrance Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war.”

I believe this was my last chance to catch a glimpse of the Queen out in public. I do believe that I have a picture of her! So I went out early today, 9 30am to head down to the memorial. When I arrived security was strict as an airport and the place was packed! I did manage to get a decent spot to see everything and was promptly sealed off by the London Police. Trapped! So Big Ben struck 11:00 and there was two minutes of silence to mark the beginning of the ceremony. The marching band played quite a few songs and sounded brilliant! Next certain important people, such as the Queen, placed wreaths on the memorial and then the parade of veterans began. My there were quite a few of them! The parade seemed to last forever while we were barricaded in along the streets. Finally the last of the parade passed and we were released into the streets and made a mad dash for the tube stations. It truly was a great ceremony to witness and I’m glad I braved the cold for 4 hours for a small glimpse of the queen!

Enjoy what is left of your weekend! Mine is pretty much over as it is 5pm and it’s very, very dark out.