London Day 2 with Pictures

Okay, I am so sorry that this post took so long to be posted. While yes, I have been pretty busy, I have also wasted a lot of time on Netflix. Oops. Anyhow, instead of Netflix tonight, I am going to get this done!

 

We left the hostel around 9:30, grabbed breakfast at Sainsbury's then hopped on the tube to head to Big Ben to take pictures in the sun! We weren't sure how long it was going to last, it ended up lasting all day!! Just one or two quick showers around lunch time. When we got to the right tube station we went to Exit 3 which was labeled "Big Ben," when we made it back above ground we looked around and didn't see it. Then I looked up.

 

 

The exit wasn't lying. We were AT Big Ben!

 

After backing up quite a bit, I could actually get a picture of the whole clock tower!

 

Such a beautiful day!

 

Across the river from Big Ben is the London Eye. Its pretty expensive, so we decided to skip that.

 

Then we went to Westminster Abbey.

 

The old churches are so elaborate and beautiful!

 

And I must say it was neat to see where Will and Kate got married! Yes, I watched the Royal Wedding as well as when Kate left the hospital with baby George. I have no shame:)

 

You can't go to London and not take a picture in a phone booth!

 

 

After Westminster we walked through some gardens to go take pictures at Buckingham Palace. Honestly, the park was more fun than the Palace. There were a ton of ducks and geese to make funny faces at and talk to in the park. The Palace just stood there with people shoving their faces in the fence.

 

Zoe and I.

 

I have no idea who these guys are or what they are doing, but they came by as we were leaving Buckingham, so I did what any other tourist would do. Take pictures!

 

At this point we went to Picadilly (that's just fun to say!) and found lunch then we went to Trafalgar Square.

 

A monument in Trafalgar.

 

After that we weren't sure where to go next so I opened up the guide book I had to see if I could find anything interesting. We ended up going to Camden Road Market to have a look around. I loved it! There were so many vendors from clothes to jewelry to crafts to food and much more. We had plans for dinner so I didn't get anything from the food vendors, but when I go to London again I know where I'm eating lunch!

 

We ate dinner at the oldest pub in London.

 

 

 I can't say that it was spectacular, but my food was good. I think pubs just aren't for me. The ones I have been in so far have all been too dark and too loud for me to fully enjoy my meal.

 

After dinner we had tickets to see a dance performance choreographed by Pina Bausch. It was a very modern piece and I wasn't sure what I would think of it, but I actually really enjoyed it!

 

After the show when we were getting on the tube, I jumped on and the others didn't make it before the doors shut so I rode back to the hostel on my own.

 

There's day two for you and hopefully I'll get day three up sooner than this one.  

 

London Day 1 with Pictures!

London was crazy busy and lots of fun! If I put it all in one post you'd be sitting here for days, so I'm going to break it up by day and actually add pictures within the post.

On Friday morning I got up super early (3:45) so I could be ready to be out the door by 4:45 so we could catch a taxi to the coach station. Our coach was supposed to leave at 5:45 but didn't end up leaving until a little after 6. We transferred busses in Birmingham then went on to London. We arrived in London around 10:15 and made it to our hostel about 10:45.

 

 

The road our hostel was on.
Our hostel was very reasonably priced and the staff was very nice. It was in a great part of town and very close to a tube station. We were also close to the grocery store Sainsbury's and we ended up getting breakfast from their bakery every morning. Oh how I love danishes.

After checking into the hostel we went out to explore the city! Our original plan was to go to the Tower of London first, but in the pouring rain and with a faulty map we got turned around and ended up by St. Paul's Cathedral. Since we were in the area we figured we would go in.

 

 

St. Paul's exterior.
Once we made it inside the Cathedral we weren't allowed to take pictures because it is also a house of prayer. As we explored we realized you could climb up to the top of the dome and look out into the city. Zoe and I were ready to go and Celina decided to come along as well. In total it was 528 steps up to the top, which was brutal on our legs, but wow, what a view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some pictures from the top.
It was very rainy so the view wasn't perfect, but it still was pretty awesome. I would do it again any day. By the time we made it down all three of us had very jittery legs. Like if you ride your bike for a log distance your legs feel funny when you get off. That's what 1000+ stairs will do to you! 

After St. Paul's we began to walk to the Tower of London in the right direction. It was pouring rain so we hopped on one of the iconic red busses to finish the journey.  Once we made it to the Tower of London we realized it would be a much more enjoyable attraction if it wasn't raining. You'll see that most of my pictures are a little blurry from water droplets getting on my camera lens. We did go see the Crown Jewels which were really neat (and very shiny!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we cut our losses and went off in search of a more indoor attraction. We ended up walking across London Bridge and towards the London Bridge Experience per request of Celina. Little did Zoe and I know that it was a horror attraction! That certainly isn't my cup of tea, but since Celina went up the stairs with us, we would go to the haunted house with her. Zoe and I clung to each other for most of the time but we made it out alive.

After that we decided to find a place to eat dinner. We ended up choosing Nando's. My dinner was super yummy! I would love to go there again if I have the chance.

 

Me and my dinner. Plus my first soda since arriving in England!

After dinner we went to the Tate Modern museum. I always love a good art museum:)

After we left the museum we went to King's Cross Station to get pictures at Platform 9 3/4!

 

 

So fun!

At this point it was about 9:00 and we decided to head back towards our hostel. Since it was valentines day we tried to find a bakery to get some treats but we ended up at Sainsbury's and got little chocolate pudding things. Not quite what we wanted, but close enough!

That wraps up day one! I'll post day two soon, keep checking back:)

 

Fitting In & Having Fun

This past week has been good, I certainly have settled in well. I didn't do anything super exciting, but I had a good time.
At the beginning of the week I spent quite a bit of time with some of the girls on my hall and we even did a workout video together a few times. Its awesome to get to know the people that have grown up here in England!
On Tuesday Montana (from Tennessee) and I went to Morrisons to get groceries and her friend Matt came along and helped us understand all the different British food. I bought canned Mac and Cheese, because I missed Kraft so much. Well I tried that tonight. NEVER AGAIN. I'll stick with Kraft. I also bought a lot of other food and I have been making some very tasty dinners! Chicken and french fries, Spaghetti and roasted zucchini, pork chops, mashed potatoes and bell peppers are just a few of the meals I have made. Having never cooked for myself on this scale before I am pretty proud of myself. I normally end up texting mom or Michaela like 20 times each night asking questions, but I haven't made any disasters yet!
Also, every Tuesday the farmers market comes to campus and you can get fruits and vegetables for much cheaper than the grocery store. Six eggs at Morrisons is £1.99 and at the market, a dozen eggs is £1.80. Yeah, way cheaper. This past week I also bought a pineapple for .80p with the expectation it would be an adventure and I would fail at cutting it. Well, not at all! It was actually surprisingly easy and the pineapple was great!
This week we have had some great weather, minus Wednesday - it rained and hailed and was particularly windy all day. And by windy I mean gusts upwards of 25 mph. Wednesday evening was the Christian Union meeting and it was ARK (acts of random kindness) week. This week we went around to kitchens on campus and did people's washing up (aka washed their dishes) and we got an awesome response! The boys in my building have continually thanked me all week and I got a pretty big hug from Ella. Something like that is so easy and it really makes a difference!
Thursday night Sophia and I ordered Indian Curry, which is really popular in England. It was pretty good, but honestly, I think I prefer cooking my own food! I never thought I would say that!
Friday was pretty busy! Montana and I went into Hanley and went to Primark to look around and pick a few things up. I don't think I ever described Primark - its a HUGE (3 stories) clothing store that is very reasonably priced. I don't think I saw anything over  £20 and most items are under £10. After spending most of the afternoon there, we came back to campus and went to the Jazz Cafe that the CU was hosting. There was some live music played by students, nibbles and drinks, and a talk about Christ. It was really nice to spend time with all the people from CU in a casual setting. Once I got back from there, the girls on my hall convinced me to go dancing with them at the Student Union. I said yes, got changed and was out the door in five minutes. That's what this trip is about - saying yes to opportunities that pop up even if it means a little less sleep. I can sleep when I'm back in America. I can't go to the SU with my British friends once I head home.
Saturday was very relaxing. I spent some time with Montana, then I ended up watching a movie with some of the girls on my floor and some of the 2nd floor boys.
This morning I went to Church at Breathe City Church in Hanley, and oh my goodness, it was great. It was such a great atmosphere, I can't wait to go again! I already know I'm going to miss it when I head home!
Wow! Now that I have typed out my week I realize how busy and full of exciting things it was! Reflection really makes me feel so grateful and this is another one of those instances.
But what is even more exciting is the fact that I'm going to London this weekend!! This will be my first big trip since arriving here in England and I am so excited! There is so much to see and do! I will definitely be writing a post or two about what we get up to! I hope everybody is doing well! I'll post again soon.

"Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe." -Proverbs 28:26

Pictures Round 4: My Room

I've been here in England for two weeks now (it's already going to quickly!) and I am pretty settled into my room, so I thought I would share some pictures.

 

 

My desk+dresser. Yes, it's all one unit.

 

My shelves where I keep all my food that doesn't need to be kept cold. I went to the grocery store and bought lots of things, so now I am excited to cook for once in my life!

 

This is my bulliten board and little shelf where I keep my dished and pans. I brought some pictures from home, but I've also put up things since I got here like my movie ticket and my ticket to Edinburgh! My wardrobe doors are to the left. I didn't photograph that though. White doors are pretty boring.

 

Here is my bed. Originally I just had the blue duvet on the bed, but I went to Primark to pick up some jeans, and found the floral duvet cover on sale for £5! Its much softer than the blue one and I love it! The housekeeper was really nice and brought be another duvet insert so I can stay nice and warm at night.

 

My sink. So thrilling.

 

And lastly, a wide overview of my room. At first I was confused as what to do with my towels because there were no hooks or bars to hang them on. Then Sophie told me of these wire things that hook onto the radiator that you can get for cheap at the grocery store, and look at that! My towels now have a place to hang and they get nice and warm.

Amazed...

Just a quick post this morning while I have 10 minutes before I have to go to class.

At any given point in the day I will be on the internet and see a picture of a beautiful landscape or church or piece of art and the thought "man I wish I could see something that awesome in real life." then immediately after I realize "I'm in England. I'm in Europe. I do get to see those awesome things in real life!" And then the tears make their way into my eyes. Another time I realize how lucky I am is when I'm on the bus and I look out over the hills and fields, or going down a road with beautiful old buildings, or when I walk around Keele Hall. I am seeing these awesome things. I am experiencing them in real life. And it makes me remember what a huge privilege and opportunity this is for me. I am so lucky. And it brings me to tears. I know that I will be able to look back at this time in my life and remember nothing but wonderful memories and experiences.

Thank you to everybody and anybody who helped me get here. I really appreciate it.

Pictures Round 3: Keele Hall

 

These are some of the girls I went to Keele Hall with. From left to right: Me, Zoe, Celina and Lindsay.