Shimps and Mooftards

This weekend I went to Paris with Caleb. We had a fantastic time, but here is what I learned:

1) It really does smell bad, that's not a stereotype

2) I'm really bad at trying to pronounce French

3) When I don't feel like pronouncing French, I make up words (ex. dog in French is chien...but pronounced weird so I just decided to call dogs shimps (like shrimp without the r)

4) Though it may seem easy, the Arc de Triomphe isn't always the easiest thing to say

5) I like London way better

Now, having said all that, Paris was a blast. Though the temperature about about 15 degrees warmer than in London, we walked all over the city. Everything was much more spread out and harder to get to, but that just made the walks along the Seine River that much more beautiful. We stayed less than five minutes from Notre Dame and it was gorgeous, though I did want to yell "SANCTUARY!" when I went inside. Our first day we wandered around and walked from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower which took close to two hours. We had dinner at the great Asian restaurant that Caleb was obsessed with because the food was cheap and delicious.

I was really overwhelmed by the size of the Eiffel Tower. I had assumed it was big, but I just had no idea how impressive it would be. I think I like really tall man-made structures. The Washington Monument, Big Ben, and now the Eiffel Tower. Underneath the tower were dozens of vendors selling replicas and souvenirs. Caleb and I made the haggling dream team when we convince this one guy to sell us the largest statue of the Eiffel Tower for 6 pounds (his original asking price was 20). Being really proud of my purchase, I held on to it for a while. This one lady in line overheard us talking about it and was upset because she had paid a lot more. We ended up going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watched the sunset. It was a gorgeous view, and we were even in the tower when it lit up (which is does every hour after dark). We started around 8:45 p.m. and by the time we got down it was around 12:30 a.m. We haggled some more with the guys down below and got light up Eiffel Towers and key chains (I really think that bargaining is our calling).

The next day we set out to see the city. We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Caleb's back was starting to hurt so we set out to get some lunch and relax. We ate at the great cafe on the top of a department store overlooking the city. After that we crossed the street and went to this free photography exhibit called Paris in Love.

We then made the trek to the Moulin Rouge, which was much too expensive to go into, but really cool to see outside. You literally walk right out of the metro and you're there.

At night we headed back down to the Eiffel Tower area and stood by the river watching it light up. There was a big football game going on at the large outdoor field with a giant screen near us. When the game ended, we decided it was time to head out. For dinner we ate overpriced ice-cream next to the Eiffel Tower. Mine was Citron (lemon), which I thought was Vanilla at the time. Not a good feeling when you take that first bite.

The last day in Paris we traveled to Versailles. It was probably the hottest day of the trip, and we had to wait in line for tickets forever. We actually ran into two girls who went to our high school while in line....that's how long it took. It was definitely worth the wait though. The palace was so ornate and immaculate that I felt like a peasant inside it. We got to see the Hall of Mirrors, Louis XIV's bed chambers and Marie Antoinette's as well. My favorite part of Versailles, however, were the gardens. They were huge and some of the side mazes reminded me of the 4th Harry Potter book. In defiance of the hotel charging us for breakfast, we stole sandwiches to bring to Versailles. It was great to sit in the shade and eat them looking out over the impressive gardens. They really made you feel insignificant. After walking around for a bit, the fountains came on and that really made the gardens spectacular. There were fountains everywhere, each more decorated than the last. We ended up parking ourselves by a big fountain and putting our feet in to relax.

Soon we headed back to get ready for my departure. We treated ourselves to the first sit-down meal we'd really had (besides the awesome Asian), and were forced to listen to some horrible trumpet players looking for money. Sadly, the weekend came to a close, and I headed back on my overnight bus exhausted. I got in at 5:30 a.m. yesterday and proceeded to go to work and class.

Last night we had the fantastic opportunity to go to Wimbledon! I was really excited because I'd always watched Wimbledon on TV with my parents. Rachael, Katie T, Sam and I sat in on a mixed doubles game for a few hours. Andy Roddick and Roger Federer were both playing, but we didn't have the tickets necessary to see those games.

That's pretty much all I have for the weekend. It was amazing, and I know it will be a hard one to top.

Weekdays in the Dulldrums

Let me start off this post by saying that I really love it here. This is a fantastic trip that I would recommend to anyone interested in travel. However, recently the stress of my classes, my internship, our mandatory outings, and our booked weekends has really been getting to me. I feel exhausted all the time probably because I get five to six hours of sleep every night. This is not because I'm out at the pub enjoying the night life. This is because I'm in my common room doing homework for hours after the required outings.

For example: we returned from Scotland around 9 p.m. Sunday night. I blogged and put up pictures for about two or three hours because our internet is so slow. The next morning I got up, went to my internship, came home and made myself a quick sandwich before going to Theatre class, after class went on a tour of the National Theatre, after that went straight to see Avenue Q grabbing dinner on the way, once I got home I had to watch Pride and Prejudice for my film class (which I couldn't do until after I'd read the book), then I had to journal about it, then I had to do my morning homework, and only THEN did I attempt to go to bed. We have a planned meeting or outing every night this week, and I'm leaving for Paris Thursday night during a Tube strike which will make getting to the bus stop interesting.

Our outing tonight is going to a film as a group. Now people who know me understand that I love movies, but after two classes back to back, the last of which is my film class, I'd really like to come back home and relax a bit or even go out and spend sometime by the Thames. My food consists of Mars bars, pasta, and eggs all of which I'm running low on but can't afford to buy any more if my addiction to the theatre keeps rearing its ugly head.

Sorry for the list of complaints. I have no photos to leave you with since I haven't done anything picture worthy in the last two days.

Scottish Pride

This weekend we went to Edinburgh, Scotland. In my opinion, it's been the best weekend of the trip. I love Edinburgh (pronounced: Ed-In-Bur-Oh not Ed-In-Burg) probably more than I love London. The people were very friendly, the scenery was gorgeous and I sort of met Sean Connery!

What was great was the fact that I came into the trip not expecting anything. We left early Friday morning and took the train from Kings Cross. The ride was about four hours and relatively uneventful until we started getting closer. We rode past the first waterfront I've seen since I've been here and it was beautiful. Slightly delirious, Elizabeth mixed up the words defecation and desecration and, surprisingly, that changed her sentence significantly. However, I think our crazed state cleared up instantly when we arrived in this gorgeous town. I know this sounds stupid, but they actually play the bagpipes here! I always thought it was a big stereotype that they liked to include at Busch Gardens and Epcot, but it's definitely real. After we settled into our hotel, we had a group outing to Scottish Parliament.

The tour was pretty boring and worthless (kind of like Scottish government), but our tour guide lived in my hometown of Richmond, VA for two summers and worked at Kings Dominion! Also, I have now gone to the bathroom in both the Scottish and British Parliament buildings for those of you who were wondering.

Shortly after this I purchased my first cup of Starbucks coffee since I've been overseas. Now, this may sound like a small event, but it was probably what made my day so fantastic. You see, I drink an average of three cups of coffee per day when I'm home, and I haven't had ANY coffee since being here. Basically, coffee makes me the dazzling creature I am, so here I've been a little lack luster. While in the Starbucks line getting that delicious cup of coffee, I began talking to a Scottish native who was in line with me. He asked me to visit his shop across the street. I promised too, but I'll get to that later. After getting coffee, the group went on a freezing yet fun bus tour. We sat on the top of an open air, double decker and got to see some really interesting sites. I'm not sure if we liked this tour more because we didn't want to walk or because Scotland is so beautiful, but it was a good time. We saw the home of Robert Lewis Stevenson and Alexander Graham Bell.

That night I attempted to go out and do some more exploring, but everything closes down around 6 p.m. so I headed back to the pub where some friends were watching the World Cup. England tied the game and it kicked them out of the running so that was a bit of a downer. Outside these two women, who were very dressed up, seemed to be having an intense cat fight so being the obnoxious Americans we were we watched intently. I considered taking a photo of it, but I thought that would be a bit much. I occasionally have class. We moved to this bar called The Outhouse which was just around the corner from our hotel, and it was a pretty good time. There's only about four hours of darkness in Edinburgh during the summer so it didn't even get dark until around eleven.

The next day (yesterday) was without a doubt the best day of the trip thus far. We got up early for breakfast and then went as a group to Edinburgh Castle. It was located at one end of the Royal Mile, high up on a hill. The view was very picturesque and we took tons of pictures. After the castle we stopped for lunch then proceeded to hike up to King Arthur's Seat. It was definitely the best thing I've done since I've been here. The view was breathtaking. I took a ton of pictures, but there's no way to capture it. I love the fact that Edinburgh has gorgeous architecture AND a beautiful landscape. The green rolling hills that you see in commercials are REAL! I was really impressed that almost everyone in our group of 28 hiked to the top and back. It was nice to see everyone in the group want to take part in something to physically taxing.

We climbed back down and rewarded ourselves with ice-cream cones and flake. Then a group of us went to buy Scottish rugby shirts and other gifts at the shop of the man I met at Starbucks. He was really excited to have us all in the shop and gave us free key chains. He and I exchanged e-mail addresses, and then he gave me some free shortbread cookies.

After that I rushed back to the hotel to shower and met up with Judson and Mary for the Edinburgh Film Festival. On the way to the theater I discovered that Judson went to my high school, Godwin, and was in the class above mine! It's crazy how often stuff like that happens. We went to see Toy Story 3, which was fantastic (to read my blog visit: http://racheldozier.blogspot.com/).

When we arrived at the theater there was a red carpet, and we were informed that Sean Connery would be pulling up any minute. We waited and he got out of his car right next to us! However, no amount of obnoxious American screaming (from me) could bring him over to take a picture with us. He ended up being in our theatre, which was the first group of people in the UK to view the film!

Two of the men who worked on the animation for the movie came down and talked to the audience in advance and told us about some other projects they're working on. After the movie let out, I rushed to get close to Sean Connery. While exiting the theater our hands brushed. For you environmental-friendly folks out there, you'll be happy to know that he recycled his 3D glasses. I then followed him and the people with him into the hallway.

I tried to act discrete and to build up the courage to ask for his photograph. I ended up failing. However, here is my reasoning: 1) No one was asking for his autograph or photograph or acting like it was a big deal. 2) I didn't want to be the American tourist. 3) He was surrounded by some of "his people" talking about the movie (his accent is real!). 4) The thought of rejection was too much to handle.

Still reeling from my failure, I left the theater a broken woman. I quickly perked up when the three of us went to Illegal Jacks for dinner. It was this fantastic Mexican place (like Chipotle but better) where I attempted to consume a burrito which was about half my body wait. Once again I failed, but this time it was probably for the best. We called it an early night, exhausted from hiking and from being in the presence of Sean.

Today a group of us went on a whiskey tour where they show you how whiskey is made and have a tasting at the end. It was actually really interesting, but the whiskey was disgusting. Whiskey is a big part of Scottish culture here. I've heard it mentioned on every single tour I took. Our tour guide at the whiskey place said she wouldn't be drinking any because she was still pretty rough from the night before. I guess I'm just not woman enough to drink it.

After the tour, we went to the Elephant House Cafe where JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. I liked the fact that it was an actual cafe and not a Harry Potter tourist trap. It made the feel more authentic. Then in my last hour I went on my own and visited Mary King's Close, which are a serious of secret streets located under the Royal Mile. This was recommended by my mom (who has been to Edinburgh several times), and was a great tour! Our guide was dressed up in period clothes and was very funny. It was probably the most interesting tour I've taken thus far. Directly after I rushed to the hotel, grabbed my bags and headed to the train station. Our train was cancelled so now I'm sitting in first class of a different train. First class equals WiFi so here we are. If you got through this entire thing, I'm either impressed or feel a little sorry for you, but thanks for reading!

Paddleboats and Peter Pan

Sunday we had a group outing to the Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. Basically anyone can get up and say whatever they want to Brother Micah style. I'm not a big fan of these events, so Caleb and I went exploring in Hyde Park. We came across the Serpentine Lake and decided to rent a paddleboat for half an hour. It was a really pretty day, and we had a fun time. Afterward, we met up with Sarah and Jackson and hiked to the Peter Pan statue and back. These two cute little girls were climbing the statue, and it took a long time for us to get the picture.

We booked it back singing "We're Following the Leader" from Peter Pan. Caleb somehow walked ahead at double the speed of our group. We met up with the rest of the group and then took a canal ride to Camden Market. The canal ride was not very exciting or pretty. The market however, was really cool. They had a bunch of delicious food and cheap jewellery. I bought a necklace, and we wandered around the market for a few hours. The group met at Dietrich's house for a yummy catered meal. We sat out on the grass and Gretchen tricked Rachael B. with some magic tricks. The afternoon was beautiful, and everyone seemed to have a really good time.

After dinner, Caleb and I headed back to the flat to make sure he had all of his stuff ready to go. I saw him off at the coach station later that night. We had an amazing weekend!

Since I didn't take too many pictures today I'll go ahead and talk about it here. For our Media and Society outing, we went to SOHO and visited a Hare Krishna temple. Our professor also showed us a bunch of concert halls and jazz clubs. I think the content is very interesting, but I'm really struggling to make the connection between what we discuss in class and actual media.

On my way to my next class I was reading Atonement and walking with my head down. Suddenly, someone says, "Hey!" I looked up and it was my history professor from freshman year, Prof. Gubser! It was wild to see someone from home not associated with the trip in London. He was carrying his baby, and it was adorable.

In film class we ended up going to a cinema. Movie theaters have always made me feel at home and comfortable, so it was like a treat to go see a movie. The film we saw: The Killer Inside Me, was horrible, but our group enjoyed complaining about it afterward. I blogged about the movie in my film blog (http://racheldozier.blogspot.com/2010/06/killer-inside-me.html).

We then headed for another group outing to Parliament. It was so cool to see how they debate the different issues. Rachael B. and I imitated some of our favorite members of Parliament and marveled at the detailed structure of the building.

Now I must get ready for a full day of work tomorrow. Cheerio !

What Do They Do for the Fourth of July Here?

Saturday was the celebration of the Queen's Birthday! Though her actual birthday is in April, she considers June to be a nicer month. Being someone with my own birthday month (July), I respect that decision. We waited outside Buckingham Palace and saw Prince William, Camilla (second photo), Princess Anne, the Queen (top photo) and more! Luckily we stood with some British natives and they made sure we knew everything that was happening.

After that Caleb and I split off from the group and walked across the bridge to this cool vintage shop: Radio Days. We looked around for a bit then took a coach to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street. The museum wasn't that exciting, but Caleb really enjoyed seeing the flat. Before we went to the museum, we took a pit stop at Platform 9 3/4!

I was surprised at how un-touristy it was.

We then walked back to Covent Garden. We browsed in SOHO, moved to Leicester Square, then to Trifalgar Square, and then went shopping in Oxford and Picadilly Circus. Basically, we walked all over the entire city. That being said, I definitely wore the wrong shoes. By the end of the day my feet were hurting so badly that I stopped in Topshop to buy some new shoes.

The excitement of the USA v. England game was going on and we heard some crazy chanting in the streets. Unfortunately the game tied 1 to 1 so everyone was really upset. Too tired to head out to the overflowing pubs, we headed back early to get ready for more group outings the next day!

I'll leave you with the National Pride Photo of the Day! We saw this car on Regent Street.

Off With Your Head!

I know it's been a while since my last post, so I'll do my best to give a detailed, but brief account of my weekend. We'll start with Friday. I picked up my boyfriend Caleb from the Victoria Coach Station at 6 a.m. On my way I was really paranoid because we'd just had a safety talk with a police officer here, and I crossed the street about 20 times before I got to my tube station.

Finally I picked up Caleb who was exhausted from the overnight couch ride and we headed back to the flat to get ready for our group outing to the Tower of London. The Tower of London was probably the biggest disappointment of my trip so far. Not only was the tower lacking in the size I believed it to have, but our tour guide had this lovely habit of talking for a very long time, moving a few feet over and then talking for an even longer time. It got old.

My favorite part of this outing was getting to see the crown jewels. It amazes me that royalty and monarchs are still around today. Though photography was forbidden, I snapped some illegal shots.

Caleb and I found this great fish and chips deal that included a drink, and we sat outside and enjoyed the religious nut reading the Bible right next to our table. Ah the sights. After lunch we headed to Westminster Abbey and got the self-guided tour. Again I took some illegal shots with the Shakespeare statue and some of the interior. It's such a gorgeous church both inside and out.

After the Abbey, Caleb and I walked along the Thames and saw Big Ben, The Globe Theatre, Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral and the London Eye. We then walked back home exhausted from a long day and running off little sleep. He stayed in a hostel only seven flats down from me that was really nice.

I'll leave this day with the Meaty Picture of the Day! Here's a picture of us with a Beef Eater Guard!

The Devil Wears...Gemstones

So day three of my internship, and what a long day it was. I feel like I've called and e-mailed more people today than I have in my whole life, and that's saying something. Forcing myself to complete a blog post was a feat. I had my first crumpet ever this morning! It was really good, like a thick English muffin....which makes me think maybe that's why they're called English muffins.... I'm deep in London.

I've been trying to read Atonement, the first book on my reading list for Film Adaptations, and I'm struggling. It's interesting, but I'm just so busy that I don't have the energy. Tonight I went to this big jewellery exhibition called Treasure. It was crazy! They had a free sushi and drink bar and collections from jewellers all over the UK. I had a great time, but I felt really under dressed which always makes me uncomfortable. I felt like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada when Meryl Streep insults her blue sweater. I was wearing Sperry's, and I saw one girl with diamond encrusted stilettos. Word to the wise, if you get a VIP ticket anywhere...at least wear a skirt.

It was located in the basement of this huge building, and they did not have air conditioning. So not only did I look like a bum, but I'm sweating my "arse" off while interviewing designers. The party was really cool, but after the longest day ever at work, it was nice to come home.

Now, tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. I'm going to the Victoria Couch Station to pick up my boyfriend Caleb! I'm super excited :) We're going to have a very full weekend so my next blog post probably won't be until Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

I'll leave you with the Horrible Moment of the Day Photo! I was walking down the street happened to notice a very unfortunate jean fit in front of me. Enjoy! Well...that word doesn't necessarily apply here.

Princess Rings and Coffee Things

So day two of my internship, and today I got to visit Lesley Craze's Gallery. Most of the jewellery in that store closely resembles modern art. I really liked the designs and the overall feel of the shop. My favorite designer was Maud Traon whose rings are incredible! They remind me of really expensive versions of the costume jewellery I wore as a little girl. Here are some examples.

I know it's weird, but I really enjoy doing small tasks like getting mail from the post room and making tea. I don't have to do it often, but it reminds me of the interns in movies. Though I'm trying to channel Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada, the people here are just too nice for me to even pretend.

One thing I will say though, tea is NOT the same thing as coffee. Unfortunately, I'm a big coffee snob so I won't do instant, and I can't afford anything else. We don't have a coffee maker in our flat, so I'm left to drink tea. Tea is great on a rainy afternoon while you're reading a book...but well, coffee is better, always. Apart from my friends and family and the TV show Glee, I think I miss coffee the most. Tea just doesn't give you that extra push I need every morning! Having this internship plus three (technically 4) classes is very trying. We're doing something practically every weekend, and I have work or class all day every day Monday through Thursday. On top of that we had a mandatory meeting tonight, and I'm going to an event for

work tomorrow. Yet somehow I'm supposed to read 170 pages of Atonement, write a review of my trip to the British Museum (with four sources) and make a presentation for the play War Horse by next Monday and Tuesday. This with Caleb coming to visit this weekend. London is NOT all fun and games my friends.

Tonight I worked out at the Central London YMCA for the first time. This is the first YMCA ever! I learned that in Leaders Club...represent. It was really cool and has a cafe, lounge and even library. It felt good to work out. It was something I'm used and it felt like I was at home.

Well I can't say much more, I have way too much to do as you can see haha. But I'll leave you with the Illegal Photo of the Day! This is the shot I took of the War Horse stage Monday night. I got yelled at, but I kept the photo! The white "torn bit of parchment" across the top would change drawings and sometimes establish the settling. I know I already said this, but it was a fantastic show! Enjoy!

Look-Alikes and Movie Sets

Ok so today I had my British Media and Society class and my professor was a combination of my dad,

this really weird warlock named Rack from Buffy, and Prince Humperdink from The Princess Bride. He brought a wine glass into the room with a mysterious yellow liquid. I'm guessing it was Fanta and he was just messing with us...but he never acknowledged it so I have no idea. Things tend to be more casual in London. He was crazy and rambled about all of these slang sayings like: fanny means a certain female body part apparently. Then we scrambled to the British Museum and explored the history of language from oral communication to written tablets. The coolest part was when he talked about how the Greek's invented Hollywood. He said that Greek demigods could be compared to today's celebrities. They were this unattainable goal that everyone secretly worships just like celebrities. I found the comparison to be one of the most interesting concepts I'd heard in a while.

Overall he was really very intelligent, though slightly "out there," and I think the class is going to teach me a lot...just maybe not about the media.

Then after frantically running around Bedford Place to try to find my boyfriend Caleb a place to stay when he visits this weekend, I rushed to my Film Adaptations class. Basically we read a British novel or play and watch the film adaptation of it. Today we went on a movie tour of the financial district of London. (Pictured below: The purple door was filmed as the entrance of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, the black door I'm standing in front of is the door to Bridget Jones' apartment and the blue door is the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron from Harry Potter!). Our tour guide was really cool and an actor. He's been the extra in Spiceworld, the Parent Trap, 102 Dalmatians, and more! It was a really neat area of town with some cool pubs and markets. Also, at the very bottom is the Contrast Photo of the Day. The egg-shaped building, known as the Gurken is a German insurance building that has caused a lot of controversy with those who don't like it. In the foreground is an ancient church.

Internships, Jewellery, Horses Galore!

So today was my first day at Retail Jeweller and Professional Beauty Magazines (building shown above)! Right off the bat I was asked to cover an exhibition for London Jewellery Week. As I tried to locate the retailer I needed to interview on the tube, I stuffed a nutella and jelly sandwich down. After getting a little lost, I finally found the shop, interviewed the retailer and returned to EMAP to research the jewellery designer. I wrote my first blog entry for the site and here it is: http://www.retail-jeweller.com/forum/blog/paris-designs-at-london-jewellery-week/5013749.blog.

I then rushed back to my flat to try to read the play War Horse before my Theatre class with a Ms. Sheila Fox. Fortunately I didn't finish because apparently she didn't want us to read it beforehand. And I'm really glad I didn't! The play was the best drama I've ever seen. It follows the horse Joey and his owner Albert during WWI and though it's based off a children's book, it's very emotional and moving play. The way they maneuvered the horse puppets was phenomenal. Overall a fantastic evening. And surprisingly it was the first time it's rained on me since I've been here. Still on a theatre high! Until tomorrow!

The Changing of the Guard

Today we had the privilege of seeing a very traditional and ceremonial event, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. And of course, like the obnoxious Americans we are, we threw some jokes in while the members of the guard were sporting their most serious of faces. My lovely boyfriend called my mobile during the event (at a very quiet point) and of course it had randomly changed to ringer. There's nothing like a cell phone ringer to ruin a perfectly serious moment.

Once the guard began marching and the guard's band began playing, our tour group booked it to Buckingham Palace. We sprinted through heavily pollen-infested gardens to reach the masses of people waiting outside. The changing of the guard happens once a day in the summertime and every other day in the winter. After seeing that, our group walked up where I walked yesterday on my own. We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Big and the site of the first United Nations. Eventful day! Classes and internships start tomorrow!

I'll leave you with the Celebrity Photo of the Day! We saw Prince Harry outside of Buckingham! Well...not really.

My First Few Days

Ok ok ok so my first blog post and my fourth day in London, England! Don't worry I won't put on any fake accents or start drinking a lot of tea like many of the members of my group, and I'll try to provide as many photos and facts as possible.

The last time I visited London I was two, so basically this is all completely new to me. It took two days and some serious sleep to get adjusted, but I'm here now and couldn't be more thrilled! London is fantastic! Around the corner from my location on Bedford Place is the British Museum which houses the Rosetta Stone along with many other treasures. They also have one of the Easter Island statutes.

We have a great location near Oxford Circus (a very touristy, shopping area) and a 30 minute walk from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. I visited that area today along with Trafalgar Square.

Today we

explored the East End of London, which in my opinion was a lot less inviting and pretty than the West End. We had a tour guide named Harry who showed us some historical landmarks such as the site where the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks first divided parties and where Jack the Ripper's first victim was left. We also saw the Royal Hospital of London where the Elephant Man was treated.

After our tour I split off from the group and walked down through Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and then walked right up to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. The weather was hot but gorgeous and it was a great day to see everything! Last night was the second half (the non-interns) of the group's first night in London. We walked along the Thames and saw the Globe Theatre, St. Paul's Cathedral and the National Theatre. We had dinner at this place called Tas which had great food, but a long wait. After dinner in line for the restroom with some other girls in the group, I decided to use the unoccupied men's room to speed up the process. There were two parts: the regular toilet which was closed off by a door and the urinals. After I went into the regular toilet and closed the doors, men immediately began filing in. I was horrified. I ended up having to stay in the restroom for about ten minutes until my professor could come get me out. Things get crazy in London.

Tomorrow we're taking the "Royal Walk" which I assume includes Buckingham Palace. More details and pictures when I can actually get the Internet to load a picture in less than 10 minutes!

I'll leave you with the Artsy Photo of the Day! In Leicester Square there were these two precious girls entranced with the painted elephant. Enjoy.