Just headed to bed so that I can wake up early tomorrow and get ready to go to Dublin.
The last couple days have been nice, aside from my ferocious allergies. I've stopped wearing my contacts all together, and I think some of my neighbors may be able to identify me from my sneezing. Almost nothing is helping this get better, and I'm getting frustrated.
Anyways, yesterday we went to the Tower of London with my architecture class--Norm may be an old guy (who probably needs a hip replacement, he says) but he schooled us walking. Seriously, it was hard to keep up (made harder by the fact that he's deaf in one ear, so when we yell for him to slow down he can't hear us).
The Tower was impressive, to me mostly because I'm amazed that structures like that still even exist. And it's a little weird that it's just in the middle of the City of London, which is mostly modern glass-and-steel office buildings. Did you know that some people live there? The families of the yeoman of the guards apparently have houses within the Tower. I can't imagine anything more surreal than growing up in the Tower of London--asking a classmate to come over after school would be awkward at best.
We all went out to Sports Cafe again last night--pints are only £1.50 and there's no cover charge if you're a student on Tuesday nights. Needless to say, I didn't meet any locals, just more American students. Oh, except for the creepy MUCH older man who accused me of being the kind of girl who hangs around outside the men's bathroom (?), telling me he has a kid, and then trying to compare himself to David Bowie. I had help from my friend Tim, another student on Syracuse's program, to get rid of Mr. Bowie.
The rest of the night was uneventful, except for when BethAnn and I tried to get home on the bus with Tim--he suddenly turned around, made what I still maintain was a very ambiguous hand gesture, took off running down the street and disappeared. We ran after him, only to discover that he was in fact using one of the iconic red telephone booths to discreetly relieve himself. Classy.
Today was spent mainly getting ready for my trip--I bought a goofy looking little backpack because for some reason that seems smarter than my big shiny purse. We leave tomorrow at 9:15pm, so somehow between now and then I need to get my room cleaned and get packed. Oh, and do about a million other things.
I also just booked my flight to Copenhagen. In about a week and a half, I'm going with friends to Denmark and Sweden. Very excited!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Oops
Didn't mean to go so long without updating.
One of the problems with only having class one day a week is that by the time I get to the actual weekend, I've been off so many days I'm just wiped out. So let's see what I can remember.
Friday I think I stuck pretty close to home because I was tired. I finally finished the giant novel about London that mom gave me, which I loved. It's so nice to be able to just sit down and read a book--that hasn't happened in a long time. That evening, I went with Dorothy and Beth Ann to see Stomp, which I loved. I was really surprised at the range of music and numbers the show had--I was sort of just expecting one big noise the whole time. Definitely worth it.
Saturday I went to Camden Town with my roommate and on of the girls downstairs, Emily. Camden is amazing--on the weekends it's full of teenagers looking for scary club wear, and just about everyone has spiked/dreadlocked hair, piercings, and tons of tattoos. Excellent people watching, and really amazing food. I'm definitely planning on going back, because aside from all the Hot Topic type stores, there's an amazing craft/vintage market with all kinds of amazing stuff. After that we went to Green Park (or St. James, I don't really remember) and watched the ducks from a bench. It was relaxing, and fun to watch people wander around by the water.
Sunday we went to Notting Hill to see Portobello Road. We missed the antiques market on Sunday (cry, cry), but there were lots of cool shops and a flea market; my guidebook pretty accurately described that as people selling junk they didn't want in the first place. But the markets are so much fun, and seems so much more unique than some of the high streets in London, so I had a good time. I bought a dress that might be a long, short-sleeved jacket, so I decided it's a coat. Only £5!
Yesterday was similarly low-key. I went with Dorothy and Beth Ann to Hyde Park, and we rented a paddle boat and ate lunch on the pond. Then I saw Buckingham Palace and took the requisite tourist photo in front of the gates, and visited Oxford High Street. I thought for some reason that TopShop was supposed to be semi-affordable--WRONG. There's enough clothing in there to spend about four hours in the place, but it's just too expensive. Maybe I'll go back at the end of the trip, when I don't have anything left to save my money for.
This morning I'm actually having a real breakfast and coffee--more on my sad coffee habits later--because yesterday I bought groceries and now I can eat. Yay!
Off to class soon!
One of the problems with only having class one day a week is that by the time I get to the actual weekend, I've been off so many days I'm just wiped out. So let's see what I can remember.
Friday I think I stuck pretty close to home because I was tired. I finally finished the giant novel about London that mom gave me, which I loved. It's so nice to be able to just sit down and read a book--that hasn't happened in a long time. That evening, I went with Dorothy and Beth Ann to see Stomp, which I loved. I was really surprised at the range of music and numbers the show had--I was sort of just expecting one big noise the whole time. Definitely worth it.
Saturday I went to Camden Town with my roommate and on of the girls downstairs, Emily. Camden is amazing--on the weekends it's full of teenagers looking for scary club wear, and just about everyone has spiked/dreadlocked hair, piercings, and tons of tattoos. Excellent people watching, and really amazing food. I'm definitely planning on going back, because aside from all the Hot Topic type stores, there's an amazing craft/vintage market with all kinds of amazing stuff. After that we went to Green Park (or St. James, I don't really remember) and watched the ducks from a bench. It was relaxing, and fun to watch people wander around by the water.
Sunday we went to Notting Hill to see Portobello Road. We missed the antiques market on Sunday (cry, cry), but there were lots of cool shops and a flea market; my guidebook pretty accurately described that as people selling junk they didn't want in the first place. But the markets are so much fun, and seems so much more unique than some of the high streets in London, so I had a good time. I bought a dress that might be a long, short-sleeved jacket, so I decided it's a coat. Only £5!
Yesterday was similarly low-key. I went with Dorothy and Beth Ann to Hyde Park, and we rented a paddle boat and ate lunch on the pond. Then I saw Buckingham Palace and took the requisite tourist photo in front of the gates, and visited Oxford High Street. I thought for some reason that TopShop was supposed to be semi-affordable--WRONG. There's enough clothing in there to spend about four hours in the place, but it's just too expensive. Maybe I'll go back at the end of the trip, when I don't have anything left to save my money for.
This morning I'm actually having a real breakfast and coffee--more on my sad coffee habits later--because yesterday I bought groceries and now I can eat. Yay!
Off to class soon!
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