Day 3: London

Day 3 of the trip brought the jet lag effects that seemed to be absent yesterday.  That's probably because i didn't sleep very well last night.  Several of the group were at breakfast when I came downstairs.  I didn't even realize any of them were here.  I met Paul at the desk when I was about to leave on my own, and he invited me to take a bus tour with him and his family.  The bus was a traditional double decker bus that gave fantastic views of the city.  London is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited.  The city is clean and has good mix of history alongside that which is modern.  Sometimes, in the case of almost every department store, the two are mixed perfectly together.  The views from the bus were astounding.  I think I could just wander the streets of London for hours just looking at the architecture of the buildings.  London has a very distinct look that reminds me of lots of the movies I saw growing up. Being here almost feels like being in a whole different world.  Our bus tour is a sweet deal because we can get off and on as much as we want as we go around the city.  Paul really wanted to get off and and see Baker Street, the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes.


Our next stop was Trafalgar Square.  They were having a festival called West End Live where all the musicals from the West End were giving a free performance in the park.  The place was packed!  The only musical I got to see was Blood Brothers, something I know little about but that has been playing on the West End for more than 20 years.  There were so many people on the square that it was difficult to see or hear anything.  I decided to go on an adventure and ended up walking across the River Thames to the London Eye.  From there I could see Big Ben and the Parliament Building. This is one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen, with its ornate architecture and breathtaking heights.  I feel as though I have now seen one of the wonders of the world.

Across the street is Westminster Abbey, equally as beautiful.  Outside the Abbey I ran into a group of students from the program.  We caught the Tube to Kings Cross station to go on a Harry Potter hunt for platform 9 and 3/4.  We were so excited (and maybe carried away in the tourist mentality) that we used our Oyster cards to actually enter the train station.  It was not until after we got through that we realized the platform was outside the actual station.  The platform is not actually a platform.  It is a little section of the wall with a sign and a cart sticking out.  I was a little disappointed that we travelled all that way just to see that, but I guess it is all just a part of the adventure.

Next, we met the group in the hotel lobby to walk to dinner at a nearby English pub.  In England, pub is the word for a restaurant and tavern is the word for bar.  This was the official start of the trip.  I initiated my study abroad by eating a British meat pie which I thought was delicious!  Most everyone else was extremely jet lagged but I was able to convince several to come back with me to see some more of the sights.  The only new thing I saw was Buckingham Palace (which was so cool) and Piccadilly Circus (a scaled down version of Times Square).  I think Piccadilly might be one of my new favorite words.  It is a lot of fun to say.  By the time we got back to the hotel I was absolutely exhausted.  I have never been so excited to hit my pillow.  It has been a very long week!