Friday (November 16th): I didn't do a whole lot around the college, but that night Amanda had a friend visiting from high school who is currently studying abroad in Vienna and her friend along with the friend she brought, Amanda and Lizzy went around to a couple of the sites around London and had dinner out. Ally and I stayed in because neither of us felt like going out. We ordered chinese and watched "Dances With Wolves" in the Reid Hall reception.

Saturday (November 17th): Another slow day of not doing anything productive, but that night Ally, myself, Kara and Amanda caught a bus to Oxford Street to go to HMV (a music/video chain store here) to get That Thing You Do because Ally and I had en extreme itching to see it. We went to the HMV on Oxford and they didn't have it then walked down to Oxford Circus and looked in Borders and they did not have it either. There was another HMV in Oxford Circus and they had the Tom Hanks Collection (Big, Bachelor Party, The Man with One Red Shoe, Road to Perdition, and That Thing You Do). We went and got Thai and came back to the college and watched That Thing You Do.

Tuesday (November 20th): Amanda and I ordered pizza, while Kara and Ally ordered Chinese and we watched That Thing You Do again because Kara had never seen it.

Thursday (November 22nd - Thanksgiving): I was kind of bummed that I did not get to spend Thanksgiving at home this year, but the refectory was going to try and make us a Thanksgiving dinner - key word there is "try'. I went to my classes, then Amanda and I made a run to the post office and came back for the Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey and pecan pie were good, but they had promised stuffing, rolls, yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce and they did not fulfill any of those promises. We went and took some naps, then Amanda and I headed out around 9:30pm to go to Koko for the Smirnoff Cabaret concert with OK Go. We got there just in time for a mime that was doing a interpretation of the song "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia and a contortionist that was able to fit 2 tennis rackets from his head to his toes. It was awkward and kind of gross. OK Go came on and played for about an hour and a half. We got back and packed for Paris. Amanda did her laundry and we slept for an hour then woke up at 4am because we had to meet to catch the train at 5am.

Friday (November 23rd): We arrived at the train station around 5:30am and our train did not leave until 6:30am. We went through security and a passport check, then waited until we could board the chunnel to head to Paris. We made it to Paris by 10am (their time - Paris is an hour ahead). We walked to our hotel and dropped our bags off then went to go find some lunch. We ate at brasserie and I had a chicken sandwich along with fries and it was really good. We walked around a bit then headed back to the hotel to check into our actual room (we stored our bags in one of the rooms because we could not check in until 1pm). We got our rooms and we all took naps since we had to get up so early and most of us only got an hour to 2 hours of sleep the night before. We went out in the evening and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, then ate dinner over near our hotel at an Italian restaurant. The food was really good, but the bread was of course even better. We went back to the hotel and rested before going out to see all the sites the next day.

Saturday (November 24th): We woke up early and had breakfast (which by the way is amazing because the croissants were pretty much the best things I have ever tasted - well almost the best. we went out and walked to the Sacré-Coeur, then took the underground to Notre-Dame Cathedral, ate lunch (I had a tomato, basil and mozzarella panini), then went on to the Eiffel Tower so we could take photos during the day, walked to the Arc de Triomphe, and took the underground to the Louvre where the Mona Lisa is housed. We got crepes and nutella, looked at souvenirs and decided to go back to the hotel and rest before going to dinner. We rested then walked to a local Chinese place and got take out, then came back and watched BBC special - Is America Ready for a Black President?

Sunday (November 25th): We woke up early enough again to reap the benefits of the delicious french breakfast. We walked back towards the Sacré-Coeur and went to some souvenir shops, then walked back to the hotel and got out bags and headed to the train station. We got to the train station, grabbed some sandwiches, went through passport checks and got on the train to come back to London. We arrived back in London around 4:30 and took the tube back to Regent's.

Monday (November 26th); I went to class and spent the whole day writing my International Law paper that was due the next day. That night Amanda and I went to Dingwall's to see Rooney. Of course, the Roonsters did not disappoint and we made it back to Regent's by midnight. I finished up my paper and then went to bed.

Tuesday (November 27th): I went to class as usual and then worked on my Human Rights paper that was due the next day.

Wednesday (November 28th): Ally and I ate breakfast then left and headed to Union Chapel in Islington to get in line for the Keane show that night. We arrived around 10:15am and sat in line until 6:30pm. They finally let us in and we got 3rd row pew spots. The show was excellent. A surprise guest, The Feeling, opened the show. A newcomer that sounds kind of like Amy Winehouse, but better - Duffy followed and Rilo Kiley was the last act (I was glad to finally see them. I had been wanting to see them for the past 4 years) before Keane went on. The show was really nice because we got to sit the whole time and everyone was really good. As we were getting ready to exit the Chapel, one of the lighting guys asked me if I wanted a Keane setlist and I said OF COURSE! I decided it would be best to give it to Ally because she is the bigger Keane fan. However, I saw another setlist on the other lighting board and I went over to the lighting engineer who had worked that board and asked if I could have the setlist. It took him awhile, but finally he decided it would be okay to take it. After each of us had setlists, we both screamed and hugged each other excessively and he realized how much we liked Keane, so he called us back over and said, "Since you guys are so keen on Keane. I am sure you would like to maybe have these" and he proceeded to give us aftershow wristbands to go and hang out with Keane and a bunch of other "important" people. We exited the Chapel and made our way around the block and to the back of the Chapel where they told us to enter for the after show party. We went in and instantly felt awkward because we didn't know where to stand or what to do, so we went over to the open bar and got a water and saw 2 guys from Keane (Tim and Richard) and went over to talk to them. We talked to Richard, the drummer first, and told him that were from the US and were studying abroad and got photos with him. Then we started talking to Tim from Keane and Jenny Lewis and a Jason from Rilo Kiley came over and started talking to Richard - Jenny apologized for interrupting our conversation. And I talked to Jenny and the Jason, RK guitar player, about one of their shows and Pollstar and Jenny was impressed that I look at Pollstar - she said something along the lines of that is extensive. Ally chimed in and told them that I want to do PR/Music/Promotion/Manager and they all nodded and smiled. It made me feel nice. Finally we got to talk to Tim and got photos with him. We told him to come back to St. Louis and he said he would. We took a couple photos as we were exiting the party. We took the bus back to Regent's and I put the finishing touches on my Human Rights paper then went to bed.

Thursday (November 29th): I went to my International Law and Human Rights classes and felt really crappy because I was getting sick. My spanish class was cancelled, which was nice because I didn't feel like going anyway. I laid around and finally Kara, Amanda and myself walked to Boots to get some medicine since all of knew we were getting sick. We came back and had dinner, then Amanda and I watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, and half of Lake House then went to bed.

Friday (November 30th): We did not do awhole lot. We all ate dinner together (Lizzy, Kara, Ally, Amanda and myself) and then watched a movie. We just sat around in me and Amanda's room all night not doing anything because it was raining and we were gonna go look at/take photos of lights on Marylebone High Street, Oxford Street, and Oxford Circus.

Click here for OK GO concert photos

Click here for Paris photos

Click here for Paris part II photos

Click here for Rooney concert photos

Click here for Keane Union Chapel show photos

Click here for Keane Union Chapel show part II photos




Photo credit to Amanda for these.




Ally, myself, and Kara at the top of the Eiffel Tower.



Amanda, Ally, myself and Kara at the top of the Eiffel Tower.



Just me at the top.




Getting into the elevator in the Eiffel Tower to go up.







Going into the gift shop in the Eiffel Tower.



Amanda really liked this guy's hat.



I was really cold.



Our hotel in Paris.









Us under a really nice fall tree on the way up to the Sacré-Coeur.



Me trying to grab a giant Franco off the wall in the underground in Paris.



Lunch after seeing Notre-Dame Cathedral




This is Kara and I's facial expression when we were packed onto the underground in Paris with Ally and Amanda swishing us.



Us in front of the Eiffel Tower minus Amanda



A french man took this for us so Amanda could get into the picture, but he took it landscape instead of portrait.







Behind the scenes of the shot above. It took us awhile to get that shot right.





Me using the vacuum like hairdryer in our hotel in Paris.



This thing was made in Italy in what I am guessin the 1970s.



Me on the ride back home in the chunnel.



This was at the Keane aftershow - Tim, from Keane, and I.



This is Richard, from Keane, and I.

Wednesday (October 31st): I went to school as usual and we had a field trip to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - which was neat - through our History of England class. It was Halloween, so what else are you suppose to do on Halloween than dress up and go see Rufus Wainwright? Caitlin and I brushed the dust off our lederhosen (borrowed from our school cafeteria - the Refectory as it is cordially known here) and I pretty much fit the part because evidently I look really German and even more so in lederhosen. We had a small photoshoot - there are several photos in one of my facebook albums along with some photos that Amanda and Kara took that I will post below. After Caitlin and I got in our lederhosen and tights we headed to the tube station and caught the Hammersmith and City Line to Hammersmith to go to - Hammersmith Apollo to see Rufus Wainwright. We scored 2nd row center orchestra seats and were pretty excited the whole tube ride over. We got to the venue and found our seats then went and bought t-shirts. Rufus came on around 8:30 and played for an hour then had a 15 minute break and came back dressed in nothing better than.....lederhosen and played for another hour! It was pretty impressive. His definitely beat out ours - he had them custom made in some tiny town in Austria. They even had his initials on the chest plate area thing. And about halfway through Caitlin decided to make Rufus aware that we were also wearing lederhosen. She stood up and screamed, "RUFUS! We are wearing lederhosen just for you!" and he proceeded to make fun of us and making us stand up in the spotlight to compare our outfits. He said, "Oh wow. You definitely didn't get those from the same place I got mine." He also said that we looked fabulous after he said someone should call security. It was a good time. We made it back to the dorms and shared our experience with Amanda, Kara, Lizzy and Ally before going to bed.

Thursday (November 1st): I went to class, took a nap then Amanda, Kara and myself went to Brixton Academy to meet Ally who had been waiting in line since 10am and we went to a War Child Benefit put on my the band - Keane. We ended up scoring 2nd row spots due to Ally's dedication. The line-up included in this order: Teddy Thompson, Findley Brown, The Gillemots, The Magic Numbers, Brendan Brenson, Pet Shop Boys, Lily Allen, and Keane.


Friday (November 2nd): We slept in, then got our stuff ready to head down to the student center to get ready to go to Wales for the weekend to go pony trekking. We took the tube to Paddington station and caught a train at 1:30pm to Swansea in Wales. We arrived in Swansea round 5:00pm and took a bus to the lodge/horse ranch that we were staying on. The name of the lodge was Parc Le Breos and was owned and operated by a family. The favorite family member for the group was definitely Olive, a older lady that was probably in her late 60s possibly early 70s, and she took care of us. I think Olive basically does everything - she helps make our meals (which by the way were really good - the first night we had honeydew with fresh honey, some type of herb chicken and fries along with some ice cream with chocolate sauce and the second and final night we had grapefruit, meat lasange, and some various vegetables along with ice cream and chocolate sauce again. And for breakfast we had eggs, ham, baked beans, toast, and sausage.), served our meals, cleaned the rooms, taught us how to mount and ride our horses, and I am sure anything else that needed to get done she did it. My favorite comment from Olive was, "Ride this horse in this motion - she proceeds to demonstration how to get the rhythm down of the horse - and says it is just like at the disco and does a dance move." The first night the whole group walked down to the beach at night, which was one of the dumbest ideas I think all of us had done. Who goes to the beach at night? You won't be able to see anything and we didn't really.

Saturday (November 3rd): The following morning we had about an hour or so of instruction, were assigned horses/ponies (I got a horse) based on weight, height and level of expertise. My expertise was of course 0, so I was assigned the oldest and therefore slowest horse, but we bonded so that was okay. My horse's name was Smith - I called him Smitty. Amanda's horse's name was William. We were given helmets, saddles with stirrups and proceeded to get on our horses/ponies. I got on my horse the first try - which was surprising since I could barely see over him. We rode 10 miles - 3 miles to the nearest town for lunch then 7 miles back to the ranch. On the way back to the ranch, we went a different trail on a few small cliffs and saw the beach that we had walked to the night before and could not see since it was dark. We got back to the lodge, cleaned up, ate dinner and then caught a bus to go to a neighboring town of Mumbles (yes, almost like the penguin in Happy Feet) . We went to a pub and after about an hour Amanda, myself and a couple other girls were ready to leave. It was boring and we were exhausted from the full day of horseback riding. We left the pub and walked around Mumbles, then finally at 11pm the bus came back to pick us up to go back to the lodge. We came back and watched tv in our room before going to bed.

Sunday (November 4th): We woke up and got ready to go riding. We rode again, but this time for 15 miles. We came back, showered and caught a bus back to the train station. We caught another bus to go to Bridgeton, then catch a train back to London. We got back to London around 9:45 and Jamie, Amanda and I were starving because we had not eaten dinner. The refectory was closed that late on Sunday night, so we ate at the McDonald's in Paddington station. We caught a bus back to Baker Street and walked back to Regent's. We got back around 10:45pm. I worked on a little homework the went to bed.

Monday (November 5th): I went to class, then that night Amanda and I went to night 1 of 2 of The Fray at Hammersmith Apollo. We got front row to the far right of the stage - the new stuff sounds good. I bought a Fray poster from a guy on the street for a £1.

Tuesday (November 6th): I went to class again and this time left by 3:30pm to go down to Hammersmith Apollo for night 2 of The Fray. I was the 5th person in line and ended up getting front row center spots. Amanda brought me hot tea and pringles. It was pretty cold. I bought a Fray European tour t-shirt after the show.

Wednesday (November 7th): I went to class then went to another field trip with my History of England class to the Tower of London.

Thursday (November 8th): I went to my 3 classes for the day (International Law, Human Rights, and Spanish) then came back to my room and packed my bag to go meet my aunt at her hotel. Once I finished packing my bag and getting ready to leave, it started raining really hard and blowing really bad, so I had to wait about a half an hour for it to calm down and gain enough confidence before I walked to the tube station and made my way to her hotel. I took the tube from Baker Street to where her hotel was located in Kensington. I finally made it there around 6pm and my aunt was put in a temporary room until the room she booked was ready. We switched rooms, then went down to a telephone booth because I didn't have the cellphone that Amanda and I share and we needed to call Amanda and see if she wanted to meet us for dinner along with bringing her phone so Natalie could call my grandma and she could spread the word that she arrived safely in London. I got ahold of Amanda and we made plans to meet at a pub for fish and chips. Natalie and I went across the street to the Iranian Mediterranean and Continental market and got some water and some really good pastries (think the taste of a cream horn without the cream horn, Mom). We got on the tube and made it to Silver Cross - Amanda was waiting outside freezing her everything off with my computer and we all had fish and chips for dinner that night. We walked around a Trafalgar Square a tad bit and catch the tube back because it was freezing. Natalie and I made it back to her hotel around 11pm, she talked on the phone a bit and then we went to bed.

Friday (November 9th): We woke up kind of late, but it was justified - Natalie had not gotten hardly any sleep on the plane and I was just plain tired. We got home and made our way to my school to drop off my computer because the internet at the hotel was £15 a day or hour or something ridiculous. We ate at a deli-type place called Eat and then caught the tube to Piccadilly Circus and walked around there some. Natalie bought a few things for people at a couple souvenir shops and we walked around Chinatown a bit. I went in the Virgin Megastore and asked directions to the Hard Rock Cafe because we wanted to eat there for supper. We caught a bus down to the area where Buckingham Palace is - little did either of us know that this Hard Rock was the original and the one that Paul McCartney started first opened. We had a really long wait at Hard Rock, so we went next door to their shop and bought Original t-shirts and went back and sat in the patio area until they buzzed us about 45 minutes early. We ate then caught the tube back to Natalie's hotel.

Saturday (November 10th): We woke up early and catch one of the Beatles "In My Life" walking tours. We went to various Beatles sites - where George and Paul lived and wrote Eleanor Rigby in the basement, where Paul lived with his girlfriend, Jane Asher, and her family and he wrote Yesterday in the basement along with where John and Paul wrote I Want To Hold Your Hand. Richard, our Beatle Brain of Britain tour guide, the building where the Apple Boutique was located and it looked quite different when the Beatles owned it - http://www.strawberrywalrus.com/applestore.html and then headed the tour at Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios. Natalie and I walked across the infamous crosswalk from the Abbey Road album. We went to the Beatles coffeeshop/store and Natalie bought a Beatles postcard with a Beatles stamp to send to her friend Jim that is a Beatles fanatic. We went back to Regent's to get a few things since we were over in the same area and then ate lunch at Pizza Express (which is really good by the way) then went on to Harrod's and sent a few hours there before eating dinner at Ciao Bella that night. Mom, I had the risotto and it was really, really good and pretty much like ours. We went back to the hotel earlier that night because we were both worn out and ready to just rest.


Sunday (November 11th): We slept in, walked down Kensington High Street and looked at all the different shops, drooled over some pastries on the way to find Afternoon High Tea. We finally found the perfect place and had afternoon tea. We were both served our own little pot of water and both of us had some time of jasmine tea (Natalie, what was it called again?), and got the tiered platter with little tiny sandwiches, raisin scones, a couple little squares of some type of date/fruit cake, and we each got a fresh berry tart (mine was blueberry and raspberry and Natalie's was strawberry and blueberry). We walked to the tube station and took it to Green Park to go see Buckingham Palace. We visited a few souvenir stores and then catch a double decker bus to Parliament Square to see Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye. We went on the tube back to Piccadilly Circus, so Natalie could pick up something that she wanted to buy for Bill then we rode in a black English cab back to Natalie's hotel, dropped off our stuff at the hotel then walked to Pizza Express (yes, we ate her the night before, but it was just that good). I spent the night because I did not feel like going back to school that late at night nor did I want to ride the tube that late at night by myself.

Monday (November 12th): I went to classes and then that night Amanda and I had a movie night and watched Love Actually.

Tuesday (November 13th) - Wednesday (November 14th): Nothing to mention.

Thursday (November 15th): I went to my classes, then hung out with Amanda, Kara, and Ally. That night Amanda and I had supper then came back up to the room and watched A Muppet Christmas Carol (we rented from the Reid Hall desk) and I talked on the phone with my aunt, grandparents and brother then Amanda and I watched You've Got Mail.

This weekend we are gonna go and do stuff around London that we have been wanting to do, but have not done yet.

My photos:

Globe Theatre/Halloween/Rufus Wainwright

Click here for Globe Theatre photos

Click here for Halloween/Rufus photos


War Child Benefit

Click here for War Child Benefit photos

Click here for War Child Benefit photos


The Fray Night 1 & 2

Click here for The Fray night 1 photos

Click here for The Fray night 2 photos


Tower of London

Click here for Tower of London photos


Natalie's Visit

Click here for Natalie's visit photos



Photo credit to Amanda for the following:






This is me in the lederhosen right after I discovered that there was a hole in the crotch that had to be sewn before I left.



Me after the hole was fixed!



Yeah!



Myself and Caitlin all decked out.





It looks as though I am about to give a speech or in mid-speech or something.





Us out on one of the trails - if you look at the beginning of the link and see the 2 leaders with their bright yellow vests - I am the one in the grey right behind them.



Horse vs Nissan. This is William - Amanda's horse.



Me on my horse - I just realized Smitty looks like he as a tupay or a mop top haircut - maybe he is a lost Beatle?



Me all decked out in my helmet and wellies (rainboot wellingtons - they call them wellies in England) and ready to ride a horse.



Me laughing at something Billy (the Canadian that goes to Regent's and was on the trip with us) when we were at the beach...at night...yeah.



This is Javier - an RA in Reid Hall and our leader for the trip. He took charge and made sure everyone could see because he had a majorly powerful flashlight. We like to call him Java.



The house dog of the lodge.



This is William again - Amanda's horse.



This is Java posing and Amanda taking a photo - I am standing in front of him and taking his photo. He wanted me to get the horses in the background - we asked if he was going for the cover of Equestrian Monthly.



Me on Smitty - he really looks lik he has a mop top in this one.



Wales countryside.



Three Cliffs Bay



Three Cliffs Bay again



Amanda and I at the pub being bored in Mumbles.



Me trying to sleep in our room at the lodge and Amanda taking photos with her freaking flash.



Our room.



The tv room.



The dining room where we ate breakfast and dinner.



The game room.



Front of the house

Alright. So, it has almost been a month since I have updated this, but I have been super busy with school and knew that after fall break I would be posting a really large entry. So, here it goes and I will try to describe in full detail in an effort to accurately describe my experiences.

Thursday (October 11): I went to school and then headed to take the tube to my mom's hotel in Regent's Park. I got to her hotel and we ran back to Regent's to get a few things, then ate dinner that night at the Texas Embassy near Trafalgar Square. We went back to our hotel that night and watched some british game show.

Friday (October 12): We slept in since mom had not basically missed an entire day's sleep and went souvenir shopping on Oxford street the whole day. We came back to Regent's and told Amanda the plans for the next day. We ate at the Silver Cross and had fish and chips that were freaking to die for! That night mom and I went back to the hotel again to chill out and watched some American tv shows and then that british game show again before going to bed.

Saturday (October 13): We woke up earlier and went and met Amanda at the London Eye. After we rode in the London Eye, we walked back to Trafalgar Square and did some more souvenior shopping, then headed to the London Bridge and Tower Bridge. We went to Harrod's and had gelato, then went to Piccadilly Circus and looked around before heading to Ciao Bella that night for dinner. That night mom and I went back to the hotel pretty early and I worked on my biology paper and we watched some more American tv shows.

Sunday (October 14): Mom and I woke up early and ate breakfast at Regent's then headed to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guards. After that we went back to Oxford street to finish up some shopping. We picked up some sandwiches, chips and drinks at Tesco and ate lunch in Regent's Park. We came back to the college before I took my mom back to the tube station so she could rest up before her flight in the morning and I could finish a paper that was due the next day along with study for my biology midterm.


Fall break trip

Thursday (October 18): I took my last 2 midterms and they weren’t that bad. We left immediately after my Spanish midterm and took the tube to Victoria Coach station to catch our coach to Stansted airport to fly to Milan. We were delayed over an hour on the runway and finally we arrived in Milan around 11:30pm although we were suppose to arrive around 9:45pm. The airport was rather tiny. We had our passports checked, then went to try and figure out how we were gonna get to our hostel. We ended up taking a bus instead of a cab, which was definitely a good idea because we were about 45 minutes outside of Milan (Milano). We went out to the bus stop and there was a short, pudgy Italian man peeling an orange who later made us hold his orange peel bag so he could throw our bags into the bus. We got to our hostel and made it to our room where our 3 other roommates were already asleep. We ended up going to bed by around 2:30am and had to get up and checked out by 10am.

Friday (October 19): They fed us some pretty good rolls with jam. They also gave us a piece of ham and cheese, but I did not eat it because lunchmeat that early didn’t sound very good. We walked around one part of Milan and had some delicious salami and mozzarella sandwiches, then caught the train to Venice. We arrived in Venice in the late afternoon and took the subway to Dolo (24 kilometres west of Venezia aka Venice) where in our hotel was located. We had a major dilemma since Dolo is a tiny Italian town where no one spoke any English. I mean no one and there was a major dangerous intersection without a sidewalk and we really needed a phone, yet none of our cellphones worked. Finally, we found a lady at a magazine store that could somewhat understand our situation and called a cab for us, so we could go to our hotel. We finally made it to our hotel and sat around watching BBC news, since that was the only station that was in English. Around 8pm, we walked to the restaurant across the parking lot and had pizza. After pizza, we had a major itching for some ice cream, even though it was pretty chilly, but we ended up stopping at a coffee shop and had some coffee before heading back to our hotel for the night.


Saturday (October 20): We woke up pretty early and walked through Dolo to the bus station and took a 45 minute bus ride into Venezia (Venice). We walked around the city and looked at all the Italian pastry shops, gelato places, little stores and ristorantes. We finally decided on a place to eat and it was amazing. I think I am bit of pasta snob now after eating homemade pasta everywhere we ate. Kara had ravoli, Amanda had gnocchi and I had lasange (they spell it with an “e” on the end instead of an “a” – who would have thought that we were spelling it wrong the whole time). We walked around some more around Venezia and had some gelato at a fancy looking café (I had a scoop of tiramisu and a scoop of chocolate). We walked towards the water and had some Italian pastries – Kara had some type of chocolate square thing and Amanda and I both had cannolis. After eating our pastries, we decided that it was a the right time to take a gondola ride since that is basically what Venezia is known for. We talked politics with our gondola driver – he asked us if we thought Hilary was gonna win – and I chimed in that I think Obama will win. He took us on the gondola tour throughout the city and explained some of the history. It was quite interesting to see boats parked in front of apartment buildings instead of cars since that is basically the only way to get to the doorstep. He told us that after the flood in 1966 that no one no longer lives on the bottom floor due to the level of water that the canals got to. We walked to San Marcos – a certain section of Venezia – and saw the pier and San Marcos Square (parts of the cooper mini car chases were shot there for The Italian Job). We walked back and ate at Gino’s Pizzeria. Amanda and I had spaghetti and Kara had pizza. We had some more gelato before we headed back to the bus stop and back to Dolo for the night. I had a scoop of nutella and a scoop of chocolate. On the way back to Dolo, we made the tiny mistake of getting off a couple stops too early and we were still about 2 miles from the road that led us back to our hotel. We walked to a nearby restaurant and asked if they could call us a cab. The only guy that spoke English told us to go to the bus stop right in front of the restaurant and catch the bus back to Dolo – but our tickets were already validated, however he said we should be alright and we were. We made it back to Dolo and walked back to our hotel after stealing a Harry Potter poster that was in Italian for Kara. We relaxed and watched some more BBC news before going to bed.

Sunday (October 21): We woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel (croissant with an apricot stuffed in the middle and some hot chocolate), then we headed to the bus stop in downtown Dolo and took the bus back to Venezia. We grabbed some pizzas for lunch (I had a prosciutto pizza) and we sat on the steps in front of the train station in front of the water and had lunch. Amanda and I went and got the train tickets, while Kara finished her pizza and then we caught a train. Little did we know that this train would be the train to hell. We got on the train and Amanda asked if there were certain cars that we were allowed to sit in and one of the train workers said that we could sit anywhere. So, we ended up sitting in first class and not even realizing it. We got free drinks and peanuts and 2 hours into the 6 hour trek from Venezia to Rome (Roma) we were kicked out of our seats because we were sitting in reserved seats and the people that had tickets for the seats got on somewhere 2 hours outside of Venezia. We wandered around the train confused and I finally found a group that spoke English (a group comprised of an elderly woman that looked like a nun that spoke no English, her daughter that I believe was born in Italy and spoke Italian but grew up in the US and her two sons – one was around 10 and the other was probably in his mid-20s) and the daughter of the Italian elderly woman explained that people have reserved seats and that we basically had seat hopper tickets to where we had to constantly hop around the whole journey. So, instead of sitting apart all over the train, we sat on the metal steps inbetween the cars near the bathrooms. It pretty much sucked, but I got a few good photos of Tuscany. We finally arrived in Roma around 7:00 and got in the long line outside the train station to take a cab to our hostel. We arrived at our hostel around 8:00 and we were suppose to have a private room, but the only private room that was left had a non-functioning bathroom. So, we were stuck in a room with 3 other people (polish individuals) and it wasn’t terrible, but the building did not have any form of heat and it was really cold at night – so cold that we had to wear layers and gloves to bed. Plus, it took forever for warm water and the first morning in Rome there wasn’t anymore hot water once we woke up, so I washed my hair in the sink and so did Kara. That night we had some really interesting pasta on the roof of the hostel that they provided – it had A LOT of wine and some type of funky cheese.

Monday (October 22): We woke up that morning and had a breakfast pack from the hostel (that consisted the same type of croissant with an apricot in the middle, banana yogurt, apricot juice box, a banana, a bottle of water, some type of chocolate cake – think Little Debbie or in Italian form – let’s just call them Little Louisa cakes) and ate it on the roof. We headed out into Roma and went to a Time Machine ride that was interactive and explained the history of the city. After the Time Machine, we headed to the Trevi Fountain and threw in some cents (if you throw in money, you will be guaranteed to come back to Rome). From there we ate some lunch that gave me really bad heartburn. We all had lasange. After lunch we went to the Pantheon where Raphael’s tomb is located. We also went and saw Piazza de Navona and a sacred area. We went to Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele the Second, the Roman Forum, Paletine Hill, the Sacred area, Arch of Constantine, and Arch of Titus. On the way back towards the hostel, we stopped and got some gelato. I had chocolate and strawberry and it was pretty much amazing. We ate dinner with a lady from California – she was walking into the restaurant and we ran into her. She asked if she could sit and eat with us. We had a pretty good conversation about what we all want to do with our lives and bashed George Bush. Kara and I had tortellini and Amanda had spaghetti. That night we went back to the hostel and didn’t do much.

Tuesday (October 23): We woke up a little earlier to make sure we had enough time to get to all of the things we wanted to see since it was our last day in Rome. We grabbed breakfast at a place in front of the Colosseum and then headed inside. The line was of course really long. We walked around the inside of the Colosseum and saw where the animals and various performers were kept under the floor before they went out and provided entertainment for the people. We also saw some a holding cell that was still completely intact. After the Coliseum, we saw the training field for the old Roman Olympics – Circo Masimo. From there we walked to the isola aka the island, which was just a pretty thing to look at on the way to the Vatican. We finally arrived near Vatican City and walked across the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II bridge and saw the Pope’s fort then walked to the Vatican and waited in a really long line to get into Saint Peter’s Basilica. We unfortunately with having to wait so long to get into the Basilica missed going into the Sistine Chapel. Kara and I got hocked designer purses. I got a red Prada handbag for 20 euro and she got a Chanel handbag for 30 euro. That day we also saw – Plaza del Popolo, Villa de Medici, and Santa Maria Basilica. That night we had our last dinner in Italy and I had cannelloni, Amanda had spaghetti and French fries and Kara had pizza. We went back to the hostel then back out one more time so we could finish up our souvenir shopping. We packed up that night and went to bed early.

Wednesday (October 24): We had to get up at 5:45am to make sure that we were ready and out of the hostel by 6:30am. We walked to the metro station and on the way, the wheels on our cheap luggage that we had all pooled our money to buy since our bags didn’t hold our souveniors and they were already filled to the brim before we left popped off a block from our hostel. So, Amanda and I are gonna try and scheme a plan to try and save the last 2 wheels that are still attached and make it more than just a half moveable lopsided bag. We rode the subway to a bus station and crammed on the bus to the Ciampino airport. We got through the airport and made it to the gate then took a bus to our plane on the runway and got back to London around 12:15. We got our luggage and just got on the National Express bus about 10 minutes before it was about it leave. We arrived back on Baker Street around 2:30 and made our way back to the college. Amanda and I sat around the most of the day and caught up on stuff on our computers then went to bed around 9:30pm.


Thursday (October 25): The main intent was to go to bed at 9:30pm the night before and wake up just a little before midnight to go and wait out over night at Camden Roundhouse for Paul McCartney for the BBC Electric Proms. But, we were way too tired and I ended up hitting the snooze several times and finally getting up around 6am. I got Amanda up and we got ready and made it to Camden Roundhouse around 9am – right when they were suppose to allow people to go and exchange their tickets in for wristbands. We got our wristbands and were about the 30th and 31st persons in line. We ended up bringing some food from Regent’s and had that to snack on and for lunch. It was really cold and at one point the rainy turned into a slush mix, but it was worth it. Around 4pm, Amanda ran to Subway and got us subs and some hot chocolate and about an hour before they were gonna let us in I went and took a potty break. Collectively we waited outside for 10 hours and were finally let in around 7:15pm. We ended up scoring 2nd row spots. The show started at 8pm and he did not have an opener. Paul McCartney was freaking amazing. One of the best live performers I have ever seen and the Camden Roundhouse only held around 2,000 people. The setlist was as follows:

Magical Mystery Tour
Flaming Pie
Got to get you into my life
Dance Tonight
Only Mama Knows
C’Moon
The Long and Winding road
I’ll Follow The Sun
That Was Me
Here Today
Blackbird
Calico Skies
Eleanor Rigby
Band On The Run
Back in the USSR
House of Wax
I got a Feeling
Live and Let Die
Hey Jude
Let It Be
Lady Madonna
I saw Her Standing There


Friday (October 26): We slept in and didn’t do awhole lot because we were trying to fight off potential colds and exhaustion. That night one of our friends from Webster had a birthday dinner and her mom was her visiting for fall break, so a group of about 10 of us got together and went and ate some Mexican food at a Mexican food market place that kind of reminded me of Chipotle. It was a good time and little did I know that John Cusack was in London earlier in the day at a movie screening/premire and a kid from Regent’s went and took photos. I was super jealous and basically drooled as he showed me the photos and told me some stories about it.


Saturday (October 27): Sat around and that night we had a pajama/order in/movie night party in the Reid Hall lounge. Amanda, Kara, Ally, Larana and I ordered Chinese and watched The Italian Job and Miss Potter. By the middle of The Italian Job, we had accumulated about 10 more people and the lounge was full. It was good times.



Mom's Visit in Photo form:

Click here for Mom's Visit in Photo form photos

Click here for Mom's Visit in Photo form photos




Photos from Italy trip:

Milan:

Click here for Mom's Visit in Photo form photos



Venice

Click here for Venice photos

Click here for Venice II photos

Click here for Venice III photos


Click here for Venice IV photos


Click here for Venice V photos




Rome

Click here for Rome I photos

Click here for Rome II photos

Click here for Rome III photos


Paul McCartney - BBC Electric Proms - London, England UK October 25, 2007

Click here for PAUL MCCARTNEY photos









Me in Milan.



Us eating salami and mozzarella sandwiches.



Me striking a pose in Milan - the homeland....sort of.



Us in Milan.



Kara and I on the train from Milan to Venice. This was a decent and peaceful train ride.





Me in the gondola.



Me in the gondola in again.




Us being pissed that we didn't have seats on the way to Rome on the train.



Us being in front of the Colosseum.





Kara and I hanging in our hotel in Dolo - near Venice.












Me in front of the Vatican.





A few videos that I took at the Paul concert. I will add more later, right now youtube is being a piece of crap.

Friday (September 21): Just sat around on a Friday night.

Saturday (September 22): Slept in super late, ordered in some really good spaghetti and watched a movie downstairs in the reception lounge of Reid Hall. I procrastinated starting some papers for my International Law and Human Rights courses.

Sunday (September 23): Nothing of sheer interest to mention here.....

Monday (September 24): I went to class, then Amanda and I ran some errands - going to the postal office, checking out some books so I could research the 2 papers mentioned above, did my Spanish audio homework, then headed over to Shepherd's Bush Empire to see Feist that night. We got there around 6:15pm and I picked up the tickets at will call around 6:30pm. The doors opened at 7:15 and we ended up with front row spots, which I kind of wish we didn't snag because Feist didn't want people in the front row using a flash because it is distracting. I agree, but blah - my photos weren't as good. Plus, we weren't allowed to video - I mean yes it is implied that you should not video, but they said if they caught anyone then they would be kicked out. So, basically there was no way of being sneaky where we were. So, I kind of wish we were at least a row back so I could have used a flash and videoed. Oh well....next time. We got back around midnight and ordered a pizza.

Tuesday (September 25) - Wednesday (September 26): Nothing exciting to mention. Just school.

Thursday (September 27): Kara, Amanda and I booked our fall break trip to Italy. We are flying into Milan and staying the night. We will spend a half a day in Milan, move on to Venice for 2 days, 1 day in Florence, then 3 days in Rome.

Friday (September 28): Nothing too exciting. We ate at KFC because we really wanted fried chicken.....and somehow the good ole Brits have ruined our greasy, aurtery clogging chicken. It is not the same and they have gravy, but do not have mashed instant potatoes. WHY?

Saturday (September 29): We went to Stonehenge and Salisbury with the school and that night we had some really, really good mexican at The Texas Embassy where Garth Brooks is king - no seriously, I think they had the box set and they have a goal every night to see how many discs they can make it through.

Today I finished my International Law paper that is due Tuesday. All I have left to do is revise and do a reference page along with in line referencing.


Feist - Shepherd's Bush Empire 9-24-07 London, UK
Click here Feist photos

Stonehenge and around Salisbury (steak)

Click here for Stonehenge/Salisbury photos

Click here more for Stonehenge/Salisbury
photos





On the way to Stonehenge on the coach.



In front of Stonehenge - minus the whole Stonehenge in the back. Good job, Ally.



Us actually in front of Stonehenge.



Walking around Stonehenge



Walking around Salisbury looking for food.



Waiting for our lunch at The Mill.



We got bored while waiting for our lunch to be served, so we took several photo attempts at trying to get everyone clearly in the shot.



Another attempt



Me, Kara, and Caitlin ...... still waiting on our food.



Different photo angle idea - attempt number 1.



Attempt number 2.



Another photo idea - where is Caitlin?



Ah! There she is!



Don't ask.



This was the delicious lasange (that is how they spell it) that Kara, Amanda and I had. Caitlin had fish and chips.





Amanda's idea to take a photo through the eyes of an onion. Yeah.



Yes. You see a lot of these in England - especially London.



Me "licking" a giant ice cream cone.



Me knocking on heaven's door or rather the side door to Salisbury Catherdral.
















And some random photos from other people's facebook pages - I think these are from Kara.

Sunday (September 16): Nothing worthy enough to mention took place.

Monday (September 17): I went to my classes, then that night Amanda and I went to Royal Albert Hall near Hyde Park - in a fancy part of town where Harrods is located (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrods) and saw John Mayer. We took the wrong line and we were running late, so I was freaking out thinking that we were gonna miss a half an hour to 45 minutes of the show and that there wouldn't be an opening act - so that we would miss 30-45 minutes of John. It ended up that there was an opening act and we got there for the last 5 minutes of his set. We had pretty good seats that I got from the fanclub - Arena A Row 4, which was the section closet to the stage on the floor. We walked to a different tube station on the way back because it was closer than the one the venue mentioned to take.

Tuesday (September 18): Classes as usual. I scored 2 free 3rd row tickets to night 2 of John's 2 SOLD OUT Royal Albert Hall shows. Everyone bum rushed the stage before the encore and Amanda and I got front row spots for the last 3 songs. She also grabbed John's setlist for me and got a horrendous bruise for it. Thanks Amanda.

Wednesday (September 19): I went to my morning Biology class, ate lunch, then Amanda and I caught the tube to Westminister Abbey for a class trip with our History of England class. Eleanor (our professor/lecturer) gave us a very informative tour of the Abbey where Princess Diana's funeral took place and where several famous people throughout history are buried under the floor (i.e. William the Confessor, Henry VI, VII, VIII, Queen Elizabeth I, Edward the Confessor, Edward I, and poets such as Tennison, Sir Issac Newton, William Chaucer (this stupid Canterbury Tales that I had to read in British Writers I Freshman year first semester), Charles Darwin). Amanda and I stuck around and took some more photos after Eleanor and most of the class left.

Today we didn't do anything, but laundry. And it rained, plus it is cold here and I believe officially fall, but do not quote me on that one.


Interesting facts I have observed thus far in London, UK:

-Not only do they drive on the left side of the road, but the steering wheels are on the other side in the car - on the right instead of the left.

-They love cucumbers here and put them on everything.

-The ketchup is called tomato sauce is more vinegar-y than ours; therefore, runny and they do not put sugar in it either.

-The food sucks - even the American candy that is manufactured here tastes weird. Starbursts taste like plastic and lipstick.

-They really like fish and when I say really, I mean REALLY.

-Instead of saying "I am going to mail this letter", they instead say, "I am going to post this letter" and their shipping is super cheap here if you are mailing within the country.

-The water smells weird - I think they don't put as much chlorine in the water and everytime I get out of the shower my hair smells like it has just been permed.

-The Coke doesn't even taste the same.



Also, I am thinking of selling a kidney or possibly taking up the skill of pick pocketing to fund a Paul McCartney ticket in a 2000 seat, tiny venue towards the end of October. Anyone willing to contribute to the "Andrea wants to see Paul McCartney before he croaks in a extremely small venue in a city where the Beatles originated" fund, I would be forever in your debt. Make international money orders, checks, and western union payments out to Andrea Hale. I also accept paypal. Thanks!

Now for the butt load of photos.

Westminister Abbey photos:

Click here for Westminister photos

Click here more for Westminister photos




John Mayer - Royal Albert Hall photos

Click here JM photos for Night 1

Click here JM photos for Night 2

Click here more for JM photos for Night 2 Part 2


Some of Amanda's photos:



Before the John Mayer show











Westminister and surrounding areas.



Owen and myself.



Eleanor! aka our professor

And a video of her telling us about something important....






First attempt to try and get Big Ben in the photograph.



WOO! We finally did it! It worked!




Waiting for Amanda to stop taking photos, so we could get back on the tube and go back to Regent's.




Me being dumb.

Me smiling in the city of Bath. We had just arrived.




I was exploring and Amanda was bringing up the rear.



Amanda and I on the balcony above the Roman Bath. She had her kickin' audio guide-phone-esque-thing - that later I tried to steal, but the alarm went off.




Me enjoying an ice cream cone to its fullest.




Us being silly in front of the Roman Bath.



Me with the silly phone-looking audio device.



Jane Austen and myself.



SHEEP! (Side note: Natalie, I am not a glove.)



On the coach.



My shoes.






Some random photos of stuff:

Click here more for photos for album 1

Sunday (September 9th): I slept in then ate some lupper (lunch-supper) and watched A Few Good Men that night. Nothing too excited or notable to mention.

Monday (September 10th) - Wednesday (September 12th): Nothing too exciting to mention.

Thursday (September 13th): When we got out of class we walked up to Baker Street, topped up our Oyster cards and that night Caitlin, Kara, Amanda and myself just sat in Amanda and mine's room on our laptops the whole night.

Friday (September 14th): That evening we went into Covent Garden and we were gonna eat Mexican, but the wait was too long. So we walked across the street and ate at TGIFriday's. We walked around and saw Parliament, the London Eye, and Big Ben lit up. We came back to the college and sat around and stayed up too late.

Saturday (September 15th): Amanda and I had to wake up early to catch the coach to go to Bath, England to see the Roman Baths. We got to the Roman Bath around 12:30 and took an audio tour then the groups disbanded and Amanda and I went wandering around Bath. We stopped and I got some ice cream and she got a milkshake, then we stopped in a old-fashion looking candy store and got some candy before going to a sandwich shop and getting some really cheap, but super delicious sandwiches. We walked around Bath and went to the Jane Austen Museum (she is originally from Bath) - well, we went in the gift shop and bought old fashion stamp and wax letter seals, then walked up a steep hill to a colisum-esque circle/round-a-bout to where masonic symbols were etched. It was interesting. We walked back down to the coach park and came back to Regent's around 8pm.

That night Amanda and I had McDonald's again since the Refectory closes at 4pm on Saturdays and ran to Tesco for some snacks. We both bought cookies called Digestives - they sound disgusting, but they are delicious and high in fiber (or fibre as they spell it here). I guess that is where the name comes from.

Photos:

Album 1

Click here more for photos for album 1

Album 2

Click here more for photos for album 2

Album 3

Click here more for photos for album 3

More photos via Amanda tomorrow.

Tuesday (September 4th): I went to my classes for the day - Introduction to International Law and Introduction to Human Rights. Both of these courses are taught by Catharina Harby (a Swedish lawyer that now works for a non-profit organization dealing with Human Rights. If you are interested in finding out about the organization - it seems to be an interesting and insightful one - Click here more for info). I have a break for lunch and then I head to my Spanish I course where I find myself refreshing the dormant 2 years of high school Spanish I have since misplaced. The professor is super nice, his name is Carlos and he is from Argentina. That afternoon, Amanda, Kara, Caitlin, and myself walked to Tesco - the grocery store here - and bought some pastries. We also witnessed the tube maintenance workers closing the tube station on Baker Street. There was an indefinite amount of time that they would be closed for, but we were told that they usually don't last for more than a few days according to strikes that took place in April and May.

Wednesday (September 5th): I went to my classes (Biology class and History of England class), then we rented from the downstairs desk, "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead", then went to a welcome new students party in the Refectory and it kind of sucked. The food was of course weird - Amanda, Lizzy and Caitlin had some type of sausages in gravy and mashed potatoes. Kara and I opted for the vegetarian option and had some type of vegetable Shepard's pie, which basically consisted of mashed potatoes in a tomato soup (think tomato rice soup) with various vegetables thrown in. It wasn't half bad and we also had a mixed vegetable medley of fresh green beans and carrots. We left after we ate and did not stay for the dance.

Thursday (September 6th): Classes, then Amanda and I went to Piccadilly Circus so I could buy my textbooks, but I am an idiot and forgot my list, so we just walked around. It is basically the Times Square of London. We headed back to Regent's and ate supper, that night we stayed in and rested.

Friday (September 7th): No classes on Fridays, so as Kara has so intelligently named Thursday as the new Friday. Amanda and I went back to Piccadilly and I got all my books except for one that is hard to find because he wants an older edition. We each had a 99 pence ice cream from Burger King then headed back to Regent's. We hung out in Kara, Caitlin and Lizzy's room then made a late night run to Tesco because the Refectory closed early without warning. We were walking back and a traffic light was just laying on the sidewalk and Caitlin and Amanda were gonna take it back to the dorms and use it as a decoration in one of the rooms - it was that light where they picked it up and moved it to the road, but I questioned how they would get it through the turnstiles at the front desk and how they would hide it from security also at the front desk, so they put it back down. It was interesting and we all wondered how it got there.

Saturday (September 8th): We had to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn to go to Leeds Castle in Kent, England (about an hour and a half from London) along with the city of Canterbury (think Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales - if anyone knows British Literature). We visited Leeds Castle and on the way out of the city of London there were several open fields and come to find out it is where mass graves were for those who obtained the bubonic plague. They didn't want anything to be built on any of the land and nothing stands still today. People use it as a soccer/football field and a semi-park. We all found it really interesting and creepy. We made it to Leeds Castle and went through the Castle, along with a really, really hard maze they had set up. After Leeds, we rode our coach to Canterbury (about a half an hour away from Leeds) and walked around the quint and CHEAP town (compared to London). They even accepted euros (where our money is worth $1 = approx 1.34 EURO and $1 = 2.12 GBP) and we all got some cheap and amazing gelato (Italian ice cream). We bought some postcards then headed back to the coach. We got back to Regent's around 7:30 and since the Refectory closes at 4pm on Saturdays we ordered food in. Kara, Amanda, Lizzy, Caitlin, and myself ordered pizzas and garlic bread for a reasonable price for dinner. Amanda and I just did our laundry and the dryers are just like Webster - they don't dry things worth a crap! Looks like we will be putting our clothes up for air dry over night before bed.


Things will slowly get more interesting in the coming blog. Next weekend, Amanda and I believe we are going to Bath, England (think Jane Austen and where one of the first natural "hot tubs" or rather hot springs is/was) and at the end of the month the school has planned a trip to Stonehenge. We also might go to Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare), but that one is up in the air.

I stole the following photos from Amanda's facebook page - at the bottom after all the photos, there is a click link that will lead you to my facebook photos. Just click where it says to click here.




Not a pretty site.



Going through the castle.





The library



Group shot right after we were done looking at Leeds Castle.





Webster kids in front of Leeds.



Me wondering around aimlessly.



Going through the incredibly hard maze that we evidentially had to have some cheating help to get through alive.



Owen (from Webster) and Sebastian (not from Webster) thought it was crap that we had help. ZIP IT!



A triumpant finale in the center and top of the maze.



Walking the streets of Canterbury.



Alright. So not the correct road for the Beatles impression, but when I get to Abbey Road, then I will recreate it properly.




Click here more for photos

Wednesday (August 29th): I left St. Louis at 1:41 pm and arrived on time in Chicago a little before 3pm. We sat around the airport until our plane left at 6:44pm to Heathrow in London. Our flight was originally suppose to take 8 hours, but rather it was a little over 7 and a half hours. We arrived in London around 8am and I did not sleep a wink on the plane. Instead we had our own tvs and I watched In the Land of Women and parts of Blades of Glory while eating some type of pasta, salad, nasty roll and carrot cake supper.

Thursday (August 30th): We arrived at Heathrow at 8am and proceeded to find our way to the baggage claim then found free luggage carts and each of us took one to carry all of our junk. I had a little difficulty maneuvering my cart down the treaded ramps and my brakes got stuck - so let's just say I had to push against some strong resistance on the way down. We finally made it to the bus centre, got our tickets and pushed our luggage carts out to  bus stop number 10 and the little ole brit driver loaded all of our bags on the bottom of the bus. We took the 20 - 30 ride to Victoria Station then caught a cab to the college in Regent's Park. We checked in and Amanda and I found our room. It isn't that terrible, but is definitely square out of the 60s. Photo link is featured below with a handful of photos. We walked around Baker Street - a busy street that runs perpendicular to the college. We stopped at a food store and bought drinks then went on and bought mobile phones, so it would be easier to call back home then having to use a phone card. We walked back  the college, went on a campus tour then spent the rest of the night in our rooms.

Friday (August 31st): We woke up early to go to orientation, which lasted from 10am to noon. They fed us a free and interesting lunch. I had some type of wrap that had shrimp, noodles in a green sauce. It sounds gross, but it was quite delicious. That afternoon we met with our advisor from Webster and then walked back into town and bought Oyster cards (tube - public transit cards). That night we went on a Jack the Ripper tour of East London where Jack the Ripper killed several women throughout the late 1800s. It was interesting and kind of creepy. We came back to Regent's and just hung out.

Saturday (September 1st): We slept in then walked down to Oxford Circus to a John Lewis (the British version of Macy's), so some of the girls living next to us could buy pillows and so Amanda could buy a fan. The only thing I bought was a muffin and a cookie from Tesco - a small grocery market. That night we went out then walked to McDonald's for supper because we wanted something familiar - but even the McDonald's in Great Britain isn't as good as the US. I guess just not as greasy and artery clogging.

Sunday (September 2nd): We slept in again until 2pm because we stayed up the night before until 5am. Amanda and I walked around Regent's Park after having a somewhat sucky lunch (the food pretty much sucks). That night Kera, Caitlin, Amanda and myself made a late night snack run to town and then finally went to bed.

Monday (September 3rd): Yes. Good ole Labor Day, but not in the UK. Our first official day of classes. And they went pretty well. I think I will find my Issues in Biology - The State of Our Planet: Is It the End? interesting along with my History of England class. The history of England class has several field trips built into the schedule -  we are going to the Globe Theatre, St. Paul's Catherdral, Parliament while it is in session, Westminister Abby, and London Museum. After class, Amanda and I took our laptops down to the IT centre so they could configure them for wireless. After that we took a trip down Baker Street and bought a few things then headed back to the Refectory (cafetria) for supper. Amanda and I made another late night run down to the Refectory for some drinks and snacks.

My photos so far:


http://webster.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019746&l=a901e&id=66700802 - copy and paste into your address bar.