With midterms coming this week and the halfway mark rapidly
approaching, I think all of us are in denial about the how quickly time is
passing while we are here. With that eternal clock always going in our heads,
we are all trying to make the most of our time here in London/Europe. Although
we didn’t travel abroad this weekend, we made sure to make the most of our time
here in England.
One minor detail seems to be setting all of us back though:
sickness. With all of us living in such close quarters, it was bound to spread
like wildfire once the first person got it. I think it first showed up in my
flat in the second week, and it hit me hard on Monday and Tuesday of this last
week.
With a sore throat in fever, I was left with spending most
of my time during those two days, with the regret of missing out on two London
days looming over me like a rain cloud. I tried my hardest and to check a
couple of items off my London checklist, although I was relatively unsuccessful
in doing anything for those first couple days.
I was able to make it to an awesome art exhibit though at
the Institute of Contemporary Art in central London. For my Fine Arts class, we
are required to find a random art exhibition and write a review on it, and I
was determined to go off the beaten path and find a random art museum to do
mine at. One of the best parts of London, in my opinion is the extent of random
things that you can do on any given day, and this art exhibition is a prime
example of that. The exhibition is called “David Robilliard: The Yes No Quality
of Dreams,” and it really helped to bring me some joy during those couple of
sickly days.
Another positive aspect of spending a lot of time in my flat
during those first couple days after Scotland was that I had the time to cook
myself a delicious dinner. I tried to make enough so I would have leftovers,
but it was too good to not eat it all…
After getting some meds from the local drug store, I finally
started to feel better on Wednesday and I was actually able to make it out and
get some things done. Lauren and I have friends who were here studying for the
spring semester, and during their time here, they met some kids from the
college across the street from ours, Kings College. They put us in contact with
them before we got here, and we finally met up with them on Wednesday. They
were great, and now it is definitely nice to have an inside source of where all
to go and do in London.
Also, because I haven’t given one previously, here is a picture
of my lovely flat from Thursday, even though I didn’t really do much on that
day…
Friday night turned into one of my favorite nights I’ve had
since being in London, as some of us had the fortune of getting tickets to the
World Cup Warm-Up match for the England national team against Peru at Wembley
Stadium. With a sold-out crowd of around 85 thousand people, the game was
absolutely amazing to go to. I loved every minute of it, and England ended up
winning 3-0! Also, Lauren and I met (well, kinda) the love of our lives, aka
Joe Hart, the England goalkeeper.
Although we didn’t make it somewhere abroad this weekend, we
did get to take a day trip to two of my personal favorite places in England:
Bath and Stonehenge. Baths is the location of the Roman Baths and is a
beautiful little town with thousands of local shops and random alleys to
explore. While there, we got to see one of only four bridges in the world that
has shops and restaurants located on it, stroll around the amazing side street
and see beautiful English countryside, we got to eat some of the best
sandwiches and cookies that we’ve ever had, and we got to see the amazing
historic Roman Baths. While we joked that we all forgot our swimsuits and
towels so that we could jump in the baths, I think the water was a little too
sketchy looking for my taste.
After leaving Baths, we made our way through the countryside
to the breathtaking location of Stonehenge, which as most know is one of the
Seven Wonders of the World. After visiting here two years ago, I was determined
to recreate the same shot I got and I think I was pretty successful.
On Sunday, I was determined to check a couple more things
off of my London checklist, so I ventured out on my own to take on a new part
of the city. Starting off, I attended a choral service at St. Paul’s Cathedral,
which was absolutely spectacular. Not only was the choir amazing, the sheer
beauty of St. Paul’s Cathedral alone will knock your socks off.
After the service, I ventured over to one of the more iconic
locations in London, the Tower Bridge, where I actually got to go up into the
bridge and walk across the top, admiring the views along the way. I loved
getting to see the city I am coming to love from so high up and experience it
in a new way.
After this adventure, I met up with a couple others and we
made our way to the Petticoat Lane Market, which if you are looking for some
bargain clothes, this is the place to go. After, Lauren and I went to the Real
Food Street Fair located close to our flat, and I once again ventured to try
something new. This time, I got a Korean BBQ dish that involved a pear-infused
marinated beef that was to die for. I did not want that dish to end.
One advantage to living in London is the immense amount of
locally owned coffee shops that offer a wide array of ambiances and delight.
One of my flat mates, Cat, is determined to go to as many different cafes as
possible while here, so I went to one with her Sunday afternoon. It turned out to
be a much needed, relaxing time with great coffee in this cute little
hole-in-the-wall called Foxcroft and Ginger.
Yesterday, Cat, Meg, and I made our way to one of the London
boroughs where the Wimbledon tennis club is located to take a tour. What was a
last-minute tourist decision turned into an amazing afternoon of getting a
first-hand look at all that Wimbledon has to offer. It was an amazing tour and
something I would suggest for anyone to do. If only I could have been on Centre
Court when an actual match was going on, but we will save that for another
time.
That brings me pretty much up to date with my European
adventure, but I have an excited weekend in store. After finishing midterms on
Thursday, Lauren and I will be jetting off to our Italian adventure, which I
will be sure to update you on next week.
Cheers,
Elyse
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