And I'll End it Here...

  Here I am, on the flight home. It’s almost 11:00am in London, and thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it’s almost 7:00am back home. I can’t believe it’s over. It was an amazing trip. Nikki was a wonderful tour guide, and it was so great to get to see her and spend time with her. I also really appreciate her friends’ willingness to allow me to be a part of the group while I was there. For that, I owe a big thank you to Seal, Norway, Cerys, and Rachel (Perry lol). Now I have about 7 hours of sitting ahead of me before I land in Charlotte, and I think I’ll take this time to sum up my last couple of days in London.

Friday was amazing. If you know me, you are probably aware that I am a big Beatles fan, hence my always attached and cleverly named “Beatles Bag”. I even took a Beatles class last semester. You may be wondering why this is important, so I’ll tell you. On Friday, Nikki and I hunted down Abbey Road. Seeing it was such a neat experience. Even if nothing else had worked out on this trip, I still would have left happy after walking across Abbey Road. I had bought the album earlier in the week, so we brought it with and took some photos. That was actually our second stop of the day, though. Our first was Primrose Hill, from which you can see a huge chunk of London. Nikki and I forgot, though, that it being a “hill” meant we would have to walk up it. We made jokes about being lazy and how there would be an escalator or a moving sidewalk in America. The view was very pretty, and Nikki took the camera at some point, so now there are about 10 pictures of me making stupid faces with all of London behind me. After the hill and the road, we caught the Tube to where we were meeting for our walking tour and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Pret a Manger. The tour was really interesting, and I heard lots of pretty stories about uprisings, executions, and battles. Our tour guide was really good, and the last story she told us, as we sat outside parliament, was about Guy Fawkes and the attempt to blow up parliament. She went on to teach us what was entailed in being drawn and quartered. It was quite lovely. Please do note the sarcasm. It was an intriguing tale, though.

Saturday was our big day trip. We got up really early and made our way to Victoria Station to catch our bus. We were headed to Windsor castle, Stonehenge, and Oxford. There was a lot to see in Windsor castle, and the Queen was there! I didn’t see her, of course, but the flag was there. If you have a thing for doll houses, you’ve got to make this trip, because there is a (still huge) miniature model in this castle with the most incredible detail I’ve ever seen. The highlight of this part of the trip, though, was definitely the chapel. There are tons of famous people buried here, including King George (the tour guide made a joke about Americans being able to dance on his grave, which did make me giggle a bit) and Henry VIII. We walked right over Henry VIII. This blew my mind as well. I definitely walked by a lot of famous dead people while I was here. I was actually really excited about all of them. I packed up most of my stuff when I got home, which is super early for me: I usually do half of my packing the night before and the other half the morning of!

Then we headed off to Stonehenge, which was very...rock-like. You can’t touch the stones, but if you pay about 7 pounds, you can get up a bit closer than if you don’t. Fortunately, you can still get pretty close without paying, so that’s what we did. We took a few pictures from behind the fence, admired it for what it was, then headed to the small deli place for lunch before getting back on the bus. One on the bus, we made our trek out to Oxford. If I do decide to move to England, I will most likely live here. I thought it was spectacular. I loved all the big, old, stone buildings and shops, and the grassy areas were beautiful. Our tour guide gave us a 30 minute walking tour and showed us a lot of the schools that make up Oxford. On this tour was the library that was used for the scene where Harry uses the invisibility cloak (in which they have books and documents that are so old you have to ask a warden to get it for you and turn the pages using white cotton gloves), as well as a few sights that are featured in The Golden Compass. Apparently, one of the school’s here, Christ Church, was used to film some of the Great Hall scenes in the Harry Potter movies (and the steps where the students are welcomed to Hogwarts). To actually go into these Harry Potter places, though, cost money, and we were trying to be careful with out budget at that point, so we didn’t see these parts specifically, but it was still awesome to walk through them, above them, and by them.

After the tour, Nikki was nice enough to do whatever I wanted, so we walked down to the Eagle and Child pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien would meet and discuss their writing. I didn’t feel the need to grab a drink, but I wanted to take in the fact that I was there and snap a few pictures. Then we headed over to a poster shop where I had seen a huge Tintin display earlier. They didn’t have what I was looking for in the end, but it was still a cool place. We got on the bus, then, and headed home. Unfortunately, traffic in London when we got back was awful, so we actually got off a couple of stops early and found a different Tube station. We stopped by McDonald’s for sinner and walked home. Then I talked to Paul on Skype, and the girls came by to visit. Eventually, they moved to Seal’s room. Then we all met up in Seal’s room and hung out and watched a movie. Then it was time to go to bed, and I said good-by as me trip came to a close.

Oh, but that’s not the end! Would you really expect it to be with Nikki and Bobbie? The two of us woke up at 5:30 this morning, threw on some jackets, and ran out the door. We went to King’s Cross to pick up my train ticket, then we were just going to hop on the Tube, take it to Victoria Station, and I’d be on my way to Gatwick Airport. Unfortunately, though, the Tube has weird Sunday hours, so it wasn’t open, and it wouldn’t be open in time. So Nikki starts trying to flag down a taxi, but they’re all full. Then we walked to the bus stop and looked at the sign. There was a bus option, but it would be late, and it would cost more money. Luckily, Nikki spotted an available cab, and we jumped in a headed for Victoria as fast as we could. We were afraid I’d miss my train, but we didn’t. We actually ended up being right on time, and the conductor was late anyway. We were afraid I was going to miss it, so we didn’t have time for a long goodbye. We waved and yelled “goodbye”s and “thank you”s as I ran to the train. Once on the train, I realized how small it was in comparison to my ginormous suitcase, so instead of making a scene trying to force it through the aisle, I just stood with it in the doorway until I got off at Gatwick. Then it was pretty standard airport things from there (except the England process has some slightly different methods that freaked me out-since I don’t like change-but were also interesting). Now I’m on the plane, like I said. I actually had lunch in the middle of typing this, and I have to say, I feel so sorry for the chickens that die to become airplane food. Actually, though, I would have no trouble believing that absolutely no chickens died to make what I just ate.

So now I’m miles up in the air, and the next time (hopefully!) I’m on the ground, I’ll be back in the United States. I won’t see anyone I know until Paul picks me up in Columbia tonight, but it will be nice to check facebook on my phone for the first time in over a week! I can’t wait to see everyone at USC. I hope you all had amazing breaks, and I can’t wait to hear about all of them. Also, Dad, I hope you had fun with Claire, and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the blog! I love you!

I have now arrived in Charlotte, and I must add that the sandwich was much better than the chicken, and I talked to a very nice man from Cambridge for the last hour of the flight. Unfortunately, I had lost all hearing in the ear facing him, and I had to pee more than I ever have before, so I was a bit off lol. He was still nice, though.

          In closing, THANK YOU, NIKKI! THE TRIP WAS EVEN MORE THAN I COULD HAVE ASKED FOR! And thank you to everyone who helped me get there and read this blog.

Art in All Forms

Yesterday, Nikki and I went to the Globe Theatre. We were going to go on a tour, a tour that Nikki had heard was three hours long. When she looked it up online, though, she realized it was only 40 minutes, so we slept in (a lot). When we got there, though, the guy at the desk told us they weren’t giving tours at that time for some reason or another, so we went to the gift shop, and I went souvenir shopping! I don’t know if you guys realize this, but buying people souvenirs is like my favorite thing. I get a sort of high from it lol. We looked at the outside of the theatre, though, which was cool because it’s actually a replica of the original, rebuilt in the wrong place. Then we had more time to kill, so we headed next door to the Tate, which is a modern art museum. It was pretty neat, a little strange, but neat. It was a rainy day, so we decided to go see a half-price movie (This Means War). It was surprisingly good.

Then we headed over to the m&m store nearby and browsed for a bit. After that, we went to Trafalgar Square. After that, we walked to Pizza Express for dinner with the girls before heading to the theater for Wicked (both of which were wonderful). After the show, we went out and talked for a bit before coming home and going to bed.

Today was beautiful, and we were planning on riding the Eye this morning, but they wouldn’t accept our two for one coupons, so it would have cost us each 18 pounds instead of 9 pounds. We nixed this idea and headed out to get some fish and chips at a really traditional English pub.

Next was the National Gallery, where we saw lots of amazing paintings. They had van Goughs, Renoirs, Raphaels, lots of beautiful works. This gallery is in Trafalgar Square, so it was nice to be in familiar territory. After this, we hopped on the Tube and headed to Kensington Gardens to visit the Peter Pan statue. After we saw it, we walked on to Hyde Park and stopped by the Princess Di memorial fountain.

We took the Tube back and went to dinner. Then, the gang came up to Nikki’s room, and we had some really great chats. Then I had a lovely Skype date with Paul to end my night before writing this update.

Today was also the day I meant to buy a postcard and ended up going hog wild in a nearby souvenir shop. “This for so-and-so, and THIS for what’s-his-face, and that for you-know-who!” I was happy. Tomorrow is ABBEY ROAD! It’s also Primrose Hill and a free walking tour. Then Saturday is Stonehenge and packing! I can’t believe I’ve already been here a week.

Quote of the Day

Me: “Hi, pigeon!”

Nikki: “Don’t talk to them!”

You can actually see a lot of the places we've beeb in this video from Harry Potter. We crossed Millennium Bridge, and you can also see Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's, The Globe, and The Tate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo-U5iOinM8

A Demon Barber and a Pint

Today was my chill day, but it was still great. Nikki had class from 11-1 and from 4-6, so I slept in, edited some pictures, and posted some things online before Nikki came back, and we went to Fratelli Cafe for lunch. I had a ham and cheese croissant and a Nutella crepe. Then Nikki showed me this building that looked like Hogwarts. On the way to it, we also passed this little church that still had scars from World War II. It was interesting and a bit strange to see real damage from that war. It made history so much more real. We were walking down a street, and as I looked around, I spotted the name of it. “Hm, that’s so familiar. Why is that so familiar? I’ve heard of this street before. What’s on this street? What is on Fleet Str....OH! Fleet Street!” I got really excited, and once Nikki realized why I was spazzing out, she was like, “Oh yeah, this is Fleet Street. The barber shop’s here somewhere...” I found it funny that she’s so used to it that she totally forgot. She kept apologizing for it being a slower day, but I thought those things were fantastic. Fleet Street made my day.

We stopped by the King’s equivalent of a student union and visited Rachel for a bit. Then Nikki headed to class, and I began my first adventure alone through London. I just needed to find Kingsway, and I would be home free: I knew how to get back from there, but I had to turn around about three times before I finally found it. Then it changes names sometimes, so it would stop looking familiar, and I would freak out until I saw something I recognized. Eventually, I felt like I belonged, and I stopped by a drug store on the way home and got some necessities and cash, then headed back to Commonwealth Hall. One I got back I talked with Paul on Skype, and I even got to IM with Brittnie a little bit. It was a really nice piece of home.

Then Nikki came home, and we went down to get dinner in the hall (Yay free food!). Afterwards, Rachel, Nikki, and I went to a pub called The Rocket, and I ordered a pint of Guinness (because you can’t go to England without getting a pint at a local pub). I had about two thirds of it before I felt a bit queasy. It really wasn’t very good, but it was a fun experience nonetheless. There was also a football/soccer match on at the pub too, so I got to experience the same excitement of drunk American sports fans but over a less exciting sport. Just kidding, Europeans: I like soccer. It was a relaxed day, but I loved it.

Quote of the Day

Me: “I’m glad I didn’t get the curly fries, because I would have asked for ‘fries’ instead of ‘chips.’”

Nikki: “You don’t have to pretend you’re English, Bobbie...”

From the Tower of London to the Prime Meridian

We let ourselves wake up on our own today (Monday, actually), then we headed out to start the day of sightseeing. We walked, and as we crossed Waterloo Bridge, Nikki warned me that I was just about to see like nine famous things at one time. I didn’t believe her, but then I spotted pretty much every recognizable landmark of London in about three seconds. It looked like someone photoshopped everything they knew was here into one picture, but it really is all right there! They sky was astounding too, and with the double decker buses passing every twenty seconds, I just wanted to sit there for hours, proving to myself that I was really in London. We walked to a pier located directly under the London Eye, and bought tickets for a boat tour on the river, which would let us off at the Tower of London. Unfortunately, our boat was cancelled, so we walked to Waterloo Station and took the Tube to Tower Hill. London smacked me in the face again as I saw the Tower Bridge behind this huge castle. The history At the Tower of London just beats you over the head (in a good way). It was so freaking cool. We joined up with a tour group led by a Yeoman Warden, and visited the site where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey were executed, as well as the church they are buried in. The tour guide was hilarious, and the stories were excellent.
          Afterwards, Nikki and I went and saw the Crown Jewels, which look kind of tacky, because you can’t actually wrap your mind around the fact that those humungous stones are real. It was a lot of very shiny things. We also joined up with a tour in the White Tower and saw the armor of lots of kings and a chapel of St. John the Evangelist. This chapel has had many famous things happen in it; one of which was King Henry sitting on a pew in the back, waiting to hear the verdict on Anne Boleyn. This story wasn’t fact, but it seemed to be pretty accepted. Then we took the longest spiral staircase ever. ever. It was like the staircase in the nursing building times ten. We finally got out and went to the fusilier museum. Then, we climbed up some stairs to get some pictures from above, but we had to cross through all of these towers to get down. We couldn’t get out, and we just kept stumbling into these room with people in costumes giving intense monologues. We stopped and listened to some of the first one, but after that, we just ran through these rooms, averting our gaze and searching desperately for an exit. I told Nikki that I now knew how it felt to be a prisoner in the Tower of London.
         Eventually we got out, and we picked up a river tour boat by the tower and went to Greenwich. By that time, though, It was freeeeeaking cold, and there weren’t many boats left that day to get home. So we sped off through Greenwich to get the the observatory on the Prime Meridian. Unfortunately, I costs five pounds to stand on it, so we just watched other people stand on it for a while. Then we headed back to the boat, flailing and whining the whole time about how cold it was. We had eight minutes to kill, so we stopped at the info center and built with the foam blocks they had set up for children to be “architects”. I just stacked a few things and called it a day, but Nikki build this intricate cathedral thing. I have pics lol. This man who worked there came over and asked us if we were architects, then said he would give us a prize, but the blocks were for children between the ages of 5 and 11, so he couldn’t. He was funny, though, and he asked Nikki was denomination her church was He made up some funny name, but I can’t remember it. Then we ran to the boat and saw lots of amazing things (The bridge the dementors destroy in Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe’s school, Big Ben, Helen Mirren’s house....). We took the Tube home, met up with the gang, and bought our tickets for Wicked.

There seems to be an intense focus in The U.K. on not tripping. The Tube always reminds you to “mind the gap,” and every tour guide we had warned us about some step or gap that may trip us. There are also signs everywhere warning about tripping hazards. Actually, they may not be more concerned about tripping in general: they may just have more things to trip over. Anyway Nikki tripped over a stone as we were heading back to the boat, and I decided it must have been because there was no huge sign warning her about it.

We also were talking as we trekked up this huge ramp to the observatory at Greenwich about them eventually having to change the monarch on the currency. Then we were talking about succession and when the monarchs may die. We were joking around, and Nikki said something about Charles dying by lance blow, and I just doubled over laughing and asked her if that’s how people die here. We were so slap happy from the cold, but it was so much fun.

Nikki’s in class right now, but I’m about to go shower, then meet her at King’s College to grab a late lunch (wish me luck maneuvering on my own lol). We’re supposed to ride The Eye, tour the Glob Theatre, and see Wicked tomorrow, so I’m beyond excited! Other events we’re trying to fit in include St. Paul’s Cathedral, Kensington Gardens (Peter Pan statue), Harrods, changing of the guard, Abbey Road, Primrose Hill, the National Portrait Gallery, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Oxford.

Pictures

It's All Moving So Fast!

         I can’t travel anymore. It’s just not allowed. There are nice people, pretty places, and fun things to do everywhere I go. So when I go from point A to point B, I miss the nice, pretty, and fun parts of point A, but I also adore the nice, pretty, and fun parts of point B. Then I’m just frustrated because everything is too awesome, and I want all of it in one place. I want the excitement of a European lifestyle with the weather of Columbia and the familiarity of Chicago, and with all of this, I want all of the amazing people I’ve met to be there with me. Can someone get on this? I need it like stat. If you couldn’t tell, I’m really enjoying London. 

At first, I just felt completely inept and out of place. I didn’t realize that a place that spoke the same language (and birthed our nation in a way) could be so noticeably different. I didn’t have the right money or look the right way when I crossed the streets. I couldn’t maneuver around the huge throngs of people in minuscule places, and I just kept apologizing like a moron, hearing the crassness of my own accent magnified against the backdrop of the smooth European accents around me. I was beginning to think I had not prepared enough. I have this horrible tendency to misjudge my own personality and to not realize how scary, new, difficult, or involved some things I want to do are actually going to be. For example, when my parents and uncle left USC after moving me in my freshman year, I barely said good-bye to them. I was just so excited to be at COLLEGE, which was this thing everyone had been talking about for years. But no one told us that starting a new life in a completely unknown place is rather frightening, and I quickly found myself regretting my decision to go to school so far away and wishing every day that I could see my family again. Thankfully, though, these seemingly unfortunate tendencies are actually a blessing. If I knew how terrified I would be of these adventures, I would never plan them. My ignorance of my own anxiety constantly throws me into new experiences that turn out to be the best moments of my life. I can’t imagine my life without USC. I was the right choice, and I wouldn’t change my decision for anything. This trip has been the same way: When I got on that first train with Nikki, I couldn’t believe what I had gotten myself into. I had shipped myself off to another country without even really a second thought. A different country. A different continent. I was a moron. But I’m already glad I did it.

Let’s start the tale in Columbia. After Paul dropped me off, I passed through security quite easily, per usual in Columbia Metropolitan Airport. There are about six TSA people all centered around the airport’s one body scanner/metal detector, so you are the sole focus of all six of these men and women. It’s like being a bride on her wedding day: people are pulling you, prodding you, pointing you, basically taking off your shoes for you...It’s incredible....and unnecessary. The airport’s about four square feet, so I found my terminal within a minute and hunkered down for ninety minute wait to board. I call it setting up base camp. I pulled out my laptop, opened my homework, and heard my phone ring. It was the airline telling me my flight was delayed. I was convinced, based on my previous flight experiences, that this would just be the first of many delays, and I would miss my connection and have to figure something out in Charlotte. I was mortified already. Eventually, though, I got on every plane as expected and actually got into Gatwick quite a bit early. Gatwick, by the way, looks just like and IKEA, and customs is about as much fun as an IKEA warehouse. After about an hour in line, stressing about the fact that I didn’t know the address I’d be staying at and figuring out how I would explain it to the customs man, I finally made it to baggage claim, picked up my bag and headed out. As I got to the front of the airport, though, I realized Nikki and I had never agreed where to meet, and I no longer had a working cell phone. I stepped to the side and pulled out my computer to check facebook. There was nothing form Nikki, so I just waited a while (since my flight was very early). Eventually I headed back towards where I had come in and found her.

We hopped on a train and stood awkwardly in the doorway of one of the cars, catching up on everything we could think of for about an hour. It was really great. I felt super out of place and scared, but I was so happy to see Nikki. We arrived at the St. Pancras station, then after we wove our way out, the first thing Nikki points out is King’s Cross just across the way. BAM! If I hadn’t realized where I was before, I sure did at this point. We walked to Commonwealth Hall and dropped off my stuff, then we headed down the street to pick up some food at this neat little pasta-y place called Fastoche. It was delicious. Then we came home and started working on our respective papers. Colleen couldn’t sleep, so we Skyped with her for a while, then went back to the papers:  mine was due by about 5:00pm (12:00pm eastern). I met some of Nikki’s friends that night, and they’re really great. We went out that night, and Nikki and I ended up eating a pizza from a vending machine in the lobby of her hall (Yes, there is a pizza vending machine downstairs that makes a pizza for you!).

Saturday, we got up and went shopping for the day. Nikki gave me an Oyster card to borrow for the Tube, and I’m getting really comfortable with using it now (Yay!). We headed to Oxford Sreet, and our first stop was Primark. Primark is like a combination of Wal-Mart and Forever 21: cute clothes, low prices, mislabeled hangers...etc. I did some serious shopping there. Unfortunately, I didn’t know my European sizes, so I had about a bajillion things to try on, but the limit for the dressing room was 8. Which isn’t so bad if you can swap out items you don’t want for other things to try, but you can’t there. You have to go to the end of the line.....which is insanely hunormous! We’re talking Macy’s on Christmas Eve crazy. After some more shopping fun, we headed over to Ben’s Cookies for a midday snack, then we continued on to Carnaby St./Soho. It was a really neat place, and we had some more shopping fun. After that we headed over to Neal St. for some more browsing, then we walked home. We met up with her friends again and hung out and watch PIneapple Express.

Sunday was really neat. Our whole group headed to Brick Lane for the day, which is a marketplace of sorts (It is wonderful!). Our original purpose in going there was the get Bagels, because Nikki has been craving a bagel since she got here. She couldn’t find a bagel place, though, because the few ones here are actually called “Biegel” places. A bagel with cream cheese for a pound= a great start to the day. It got frigid and started pouring, so we stopped in this homemade ice cream place and got coffee/hot chocolate and ate our bagels. The we ventured out into the rain. We stopped in all these amazing vintage stores and incredible food markets and bakeries. Towards the end of the trip, we went to a record store I had been dying to visit, and I bought Abbey Road on vinyl. We decided to grab some food at the market and bring it home for dinner. We changed into warm comfy clothes, gathered blankets, and piled in a friend’s room to watch Gavin and Stacey. To end the night, we went to a quiz night of sorts that her hall holds every Sunday night, and I was adopted by Team Shoe. We were at a great disadvantage, but it was a really good time.

Today is Monday, but I’ve been trying to sum up these past few days for a while now, so I won’t start in on today’s adventures just yet. I’ll probably have a pretty chill day tomorrow, so I’ll post about it then (with pictures, hopefully). That’s when all the touristy stuff starts :) I love you guys, and I miss you a ton! I’m glad I can share all of this with you.

Is This Real Life?

Holy cow! I'm finally here! I get to see a wonderful old friend in a fantastic new place, and I am so excited. I miss everyone back home so much already, but hopefully, you can all share this experience with me through this blog. It's almost 3:00 am, so I'm going to head to bed instead of summing up my past couple of days, but my next post will start the tales :) Love you all!