Top 5 Things (so far) I've Done in London

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I updated- things have been pretty crazy around here!! Orientation was a whirlwind of early mornings, tours, and explanations. I fit a little fun in there somewhere too. They wanted us to get rid of our jet-lag right away so they kept us going from sunrise to sunset and I'm thankful to say that my clock is now running on London time! I started class on Monday and besides the unbelievable amount of homework, it looks as though it will be a fairly good semester. I only have class Monday through Wednesday, leaving me open to travel and get my pile of homework done on a four day weekend. I am taking all my classes through IES (my program provider) and they all focus on London and Great Britain. The list is as follows British Youth Culture, Architecture of London, History of London, 300 years of British Women's Social History, and Literature and Place.

Because I would find it incredibly boring to read everything I've done in the past week I thought I would give you a quick list of my favorite things this past week. In no particular order...

1. Visiting Windsor Castle. To answer your question, no, the queen was not there. But I did take pictures of her private apartments, from the outside that is. We went on a tour of parts of the castle as well as the cities of Windsor and Eton. If any of you are up on your British pop culture you know that Prince William and Prince Harry went to a very posh private school in Eton which we weren't able to tour... for obvious reasons. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and colorful. She continually referenced David Beckham's private area at completely unrelated times which made the tours that much more interesting. Below are two pictures of Windsor Castle. We were lucky enough to visit on a very sunny day!




2. Having a drink at a Pub. Public houses are so much different than bars in the United States but then again, drinking is different in general in the U.K. It is really fun to just go out for a "pint" and relax after a long day.

3. Eating Turkish Food. After a day of orientation a couple of girls and I stopped by a Mediterranean restaurant for dinner and I have never had food so good! It was beautiful and delicious! I'm going to come home with some new favorites!

4. Going to a West End (like Broadway) show. The other night my friend Lauren got it in her head that we were going to go see Avenue Q so she went to Leicester Square and picked up some cheap seat tickets for 12 pounds (about $20). They upgraded our tickets because they hadn't sold out being it was a Tuesday. We got great seats for a great show at a great price! I love how easy it is to find entertainment and things to do!

5. Going grocery shopping. I love grocery shopping here!!! It is so great to take in all the different foods and spices! There are so many things I know I can't eat back in the states so I'm trying to buy, cook, and gooble them up while I can! There's a plethora of Indian food in the markets here as well as some really unique wines. It's also compelling how they sell the food, for instance, eggs aren't refrigerated in the market. Scary!? I think so!!! I don't think I'll be making much food with eggs in it while I'm here...

I better run folks! I am off to see the sights with a group of gals today! We are planning a trip to Paris for next weekend so we want to make sure to get in all the London musts while we can! It's a rainy day here which is no surprise so I better suit up!

Much love from rainy old London!