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.