Monday, January 26, 2009
Edinburgh Weekend
My friends Carly, Ashley, Mariel and I went to Edinburgh for the weekend and it was amazing! Overall Edinburgh is pretty small. You definitely don't need to spend more than 2 days there and it is extremely walkable. We had such a great time.
On Friday January 23 we went on a National Express train. I must say that I am very disappointed with the train system on this trip. Our train was already running late, but it became even more delayed due to a fatality on the tracks ahead of us. Obviously, this isn't the train I was on's fault, but their solution and redirected route made us be over an hour late in the end. So we arrived in Edinburgh around 9:30. Carly and Mariel stayed in Castle Rock Hostel while Ashley and I stayed in a Premier Inn which is a UK chain similar to the Holiday Inn. The two places were within walking distance of each other.
That night we went out to a street within walking distance called Grass Market which has several taverns, pubs, cafes and restaurants. We ended up at a pub that has a dance floor and music called "Biddy Mulligans". We had brought clothes as if we were going out to a London pub so we felt really under dressed. In London, people will wear jeans and a T-shirt to a pub (we would be the ones overdressed) but in Edinburgh people, especially girls, really dress up to go out. And we saw all these people dressed up in costumes for no apparent reason. We saw a frog and a banana on Friday in Biddy Mulligans. There were also a lot of older people there mixed in with younger people. Apparently the drinking culture in Scotland is so strong that old and young people all just drink heavily together!
We met several Irish boys (one wearing a Boston Red Sox T-shirt named Allan!!!) and some English boys named Will, Chris, Roko and some others. My friends and I nicknamed Roko Wolverine because of a discussion with him about how he looks like Hugh Jackman (NOT REALLY) and his obnoxious side burns. Will was a personal trainer and him and Ashley got along very well. So we ended up leaving with them and going to a club called Stereo. Stereo was fun and we danced for awhile. But we were all very tired and left around 1:30 am.
Saturday January 24 we woke up early and did the Edinburgh castle right away at 9 am when it opens. It was definitely much colder in Edinburgh than London, I felt like I was back in Boston all morning! We got a free guided tour which was very informational. We went into most of buildings and exhibites. It was very well done and I really enjoyed it. We saw the chapel, the banquet hall, the national war monument, cannons, the govenor's house, the building Mary Queen of Scotts resided in at times, and the Crown Jewels of Scotland.
Then we went down the Royal Mile which is a historical street (tourist trap) that starts at the base of Castle Hill (where the Castle is) and ends at Holyroodhouse Palace. A memorable moment is when Ashley asked me "So how long is the Royal Mile"? We visited a kilt making center, a Scottish Whishky center, St. Giles Cathedrale, and saw several historical buildings from the outside. We stopped for lunch at an Italian restaurant that had good lunch deals. At the end of the Royal Mile Ashley and I went into the Holyroodhouse Palace while Carly and Mariel walked/hiked up the Seat of Arthur which is a mountain right outside Edinburgh (actually a hill haha but Carly and Mariel say its a mountain). The Palace is over 500 years old and is still an official royal residence. It had a free audio guide which was great. It was really well done because the guide would point out things in the rooms but also explained the historial use of the room. There is also an old abbey half destroyed abbey attached to the palace which was really cool. The roof had collapsed hundreds of years ago and the structure had been open to the elements so it was really cool looking.
After meeting back up with Mariel and Carly we walked off the Royal Mile and found the cafe where JK Rowling wrote a lot of the first Harry Potter book. Then we all went back to our hotel/hostels and took naps.
That night we went back to Grass Market and had dinner at the Beehive Inn. I got my first fish and chips here in Britian and it was very good. Ashley and I were craving sweets so we walked around till we found Cafe Lucano. There, I got a latte and a "millionare shortbread" which is short bread with choclate and carmel....it was amazing.
We went back to our hotel/hostels and got ready to go out for the night. First we went back to Biddy Mulligans. But this time there seemed to be a lot of "stag" and "hen" parties going on and men that could have been our father were hitting on us so we left. We had found out that the club we wanted to go to, "Po Na Na" wasn't actually that cool so we walked around for awhile unsure of what to do. We ended up at the "Standing Order" which was a beautiful bar. The building was very ornate and inside was a huge bar that had very high and ornate ceilings.
At the Standing Order we made friends with people from a "hen party" (Scottish bachelorette party that always has a theme. These girls were dressed up as bumble bees and the bride had a tiara and sash). It seemed so fun! I want to do something like that for my bachelorette party! Ashley ended up meeting some boys Scottish named Rob, Iain (Gaelic for Ian), and Darren. We were so happy to meet Scottish boys because the night before we just met Irish and English boys haha! Rob was so fun because his dad lives in Texas and he was really into the Houston Astros and he loved the NFL. Iain and Darren are swimmers for Edinburgh University and they are both trying to be professional swimmers in the near future.
We ended up hanging out with them for awhile and eventually leaving with them to go to the Edinburgh University Student Union pub. We decided to walk there and the walk was so fun. We climbed up this staircase we called Mount Everest and walked by several monuments. At the Union we had so much fun talking to them that we ended up drinking and talking with them till 3 am! The boys of course of were gentlemen and walked us home to make sure we were safe :)
Sunday January 25 (Robert Burns day in Scotland) Ashley and I woke up at 8:30 and took at taxi into the part of Edinburgh called "New Town". Even though it is mostly residential, there were some great parks and beautiful architecture. We got some Starbucks and walked around. We ended up on Prices Street which is the main shopping strip. I got a new coat at Zara which I am very excited about! Then we met up with Carly and Mariel and the Scotland National Gallery. The Gallery was very well done and was the perfect size, not too big and not too small. After that we all walked around Princes Steet for something to do before our train at 4 pm.
Our train ride home ended up being a mess as well. Because our first train was running late we (and basically everyone else) miss our connection. We had to be bused to Darlington where we got on a new train and ended up being over an hour late.
But all the mess with the trains didn't change how great the trip was. Ashley, Mariel, and Carly are just really fun to hang out with. Ashley is very very similar to me and we joke that we are twins :-) She is very bubbly and energetic. Mariel is hilarious. She does great impressions and tells great stories. Carly is very sarcastic and fun and up for anything. Edinburgh will definitely be top London memory for me :-)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
First full week of classes
Everything has calmed down because of classes.
Monday and Tuesday (January 19 and 20) I had my "Current Issues in British Welfare Society" class. It seems really interesting and I will learn a lot about how the British socialist system works. Of course this will give me lots of ammunition when I get in debates with die hard liberals about the United States system haha. Tuesday after class the BU program had TVs and pizza set up for us to watch the inauguration. It was really fun to watch it with a crowd of people and everyone was cheering.
On Wednesday January 21 I had my business class and it seems to have improved since the first class. It became more interesting and the teacher was not as boring. My business class is in the morning so my friend Hillary and I decided to go sightseeing the afternoon. First we went to St. Paul's but it cost 9 pounds to get in and so we decided to skip it. Hillary will go back with her parents and I have already been there technically. Then, we walked to the Museum of London which was very interesting and free! yay! After that we walked across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Art Museum. We both don't really have a complete appreciation for modern art but we wanted to say that we went (and its free). We did some some interesting pieces and some crazy bizarre pieces. Like a giant spider that is the size of a house.
Today, Thursday January 22, I had class and ran a bunch of errands. Tonight I need to prep for my interview tomorrow. I am interviewing with KPMG for an internship. Its part of the BU program to do an internship for credit....I also need to pack for Edinburgh tonight because we are leaving tomorrow afer my interview!! :-)
Monday and Tuesday (January 19 and 20) I had my "Current Issues in British Welfare Society" class. It seems really interesting and I will learn a lot about how the British socialist system works. Of course this will give me lots of ammunition when I get in debates with die hard liberals about the United States system haha. Tuesday after class the BU program had TVs and pizza set up for us to watch the inauguration. It was really fun to watch it with a crowd of people and everyone was cheering.
On Wednesday January 21 I had my business class and it seems to have improved since the first class. It became more interesting and the teacher was not as boring. My business class is in the morning so my friend Hillary and I decided to go sightseeing the afternoon. First we went to St. Paul's but it cost 9 pounds to get in and so we decided to skip it. Hillary will go back with her parents and I have already been there technically. Then, we walked to the Museum of London which was very interesting and free! yay! After that we walked across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Art Museum. We both don't really have a complete appreciation for modern art but we wanted to say that we went (and its free). We did some some interesting pieces and some crazy bizarre pieces. Like a giant spider that is the size of a house.
Today, Thursday January 22, I had class and ran a bunch of errands. Tonight I need to prep for my interview tomorrow. I am interviewing with KPMG for an internship. Its part of the BU program to do an internship for credit....I also need to pack for Edinburgh tonight because we are leaving tomorrow afer my interview!! :-)
Monday, January 19, 2009
First Big Weekend
On Thursday (January 15) the start of semester party was really fun! It was at "The Bunker" which was in an area called Covent Gardens. The Quincy Market area of Boston is actually modeled after Covent Gardens. It was obviously filled with BU kids but we all got three free drinks with our ticket and danced the night away!
Friday January 16 - I don't have class on Friday so I tried to sleep in. I did organizational things around my room. I went running in Hyde park again also. At night we met up with some British boys we know. We went to three different pubs with them: Imperial Pub, Queens Arms, and Builders Arms. Then we went to a flat party which was really fun and we met lots of British people! I got home really late at night...
Saturday January 17 - On Saturday I slept in really late and even took some naps. After a nice long nap my friend Ashley and I went to Kensington Palace which is right a 10 minute walk from our dorm. They had some of the rooms set up like the 1700s, a Diana fashion exhibit, and and an exhibit about being a debutante which was still a traditional activity until the 1950s.
Saturday evening my friend Ashley and I booked our trip to Paris!
That night my friends Hillary, Carly, Ashley, and I wanted to get into a gay club in Soho called "Heaven' because the pop singer Lady Gaga was singing. We really dressed up and went out at like 8 to try to get tickets even though she didn't go on till 1:30 a.m. We took the tube down to Soho which is the gay community of London and wasted time in a pub there. We left the pub at 10:30 to try to get into the club. Unfortunately the process of getting into the club was complicated and hard. We had to get tickets at the club G.A.Y. and then walk 15 minutes to Heaven where we would wait in line for awhile and probably not get in. These gay clubs have a strict majority gay/lesbian policy and reject straight people. While we were traveling between the two clubs its started raining. We didn't have an umbrella and were all wearing tall heels and dresses. We eventually decided it wasn't worth it anymore and gave up. We went home just as it started terenchal down pouring. We nicknamed the night "Epic Failure" haha. Most people had similar luck trying to get into that club or doing anything especially because the rain just ruined the night.
Sunday January 18 - I had tickets for a "Panoramic Tour of London and Tower of London" on Sunday which was set up through BU. My friends and I went together. First we were driven around London on a coach bus to look at different sites. We drove through Trafalgar Sqaure and several neighborhoods. We stopped at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's just to walk around the areas. My friends and I have to go back to Westminster and St. Paul's to explore some more though. My friends and I got lunch at "Gourmet Burger Kitchen" because we were all craving burgers. In the afternoon we went to the Tower of London which was very informational and fun. Overall it was a great day! :-)
Friday January 16 - I don't have class on Friday so I tried to sleep in. I did organizational things around my room. I went running in Hyde park again also. At night we met up with some British boys we know. We went to three different pubs with them: Imperial Pub, Queens Arms, and Builders Arms. Then we went to a flat party which was really fun and we met lots of British people! I got home really late at night...
Saturday January 17 - On Saturday I slept in really late and even took some naps. After a nice long nap my friend Ashley and I went to Kensington Palace which is right a 10 minute walk from our dorm. They had some of the rooms set up like the 1700s, a Diana fashion exhibit, and and an exhibit about being a debutante which was still a traditional activity until the 1950s.
Saturday evening my friend Ashley and I booked our trip to Paris!
That night my friends Hillary, Carly, Ashley, and I wanted to get into a gay club in Soho called "Heaven' because the pop singer Lady Gaga was singing. We really dressed up and went out at like 8 to try to get tickets even though she didn't go on till 1:30 a.m. We took the tube down to Soho which is the gay community of London and wasted time in a pub there. We left the pub at 10:30 to try to get into the club. Unfortunately the process of getting into the club was complicated and hard. We had to get tickets at the club G.A.Y. and then walk 15 minutes to Heaven where we would wait in line for awhile and probably not get in. These gay clubs have a strict majority gay/lesbian policy and reject straight people. While we were traveling between the two clubs its started raining. We didn't have an umbrella and were all wearing tall heels and dresses. We eventually decided it wasn't worth it anymore and gave up. We went home just as it started terenchal down pouring. We nicknamed the night "Epic Failure" haha. Most people had similar luck trying to get into that club or doing anything especially because the rain just ruined the night.
Sunday January 18 - I had tickets for a "Panoramic Tour of London and Tower of London" on Sunday which was set up through BU. My friends and I went together. First we were driven around London on a coach bus to look at different sites. We drove through Trafalgar Sqaure and several neighborhoods. We stopped at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's just to walk around the areas. My friends and I have to go back to Westminster and St. Paul's to explore some more though. My friends and I got lunch at "Gourmet Burger Kitchen" because we were all craving burgers. In the afternoon we went to the Tower of London which was very informational and fun. Overall it was a great day! :-)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
First day of classes
Today I had my first day of classes. The semester is divided into two parts. The first half I have two classes, one about European Business and one about British Welfare. The second half, which starts in late February, involves my internship and a Shakespeare class.
Today I had my business class and unfortunately it was pretty boring. The professor is an old Scottish man who speaks very slowly and takes awhile to make a point. But I know a lot of people in the class and we have a couple group projects which will be fun.
I also went for a run today in Hyde Park which is right across from my dorm. It felt really good to run again!
My friends and I just booked a trip to Edinburgh for next weekend! We will arrive Friday night by train and come back Sunday night.
Tonight we have the "Start of Semester" party for BU. It is at a pub somewhere not within walking distance. My friends and I plan to go but not stay out late because we need to rest of up for the weekend! :)
Today I had my business class and unfortunately it was pretty boring. The professor is an old Scottish man who speaks very slowly and takes awhile to make a point. But I know a lot of people in the class and we have a couple group projects which will be fun.
I also went for a run today in Hyde Park which is right across from my dorm. It felt really good to run again!
My friends and I just booked a trip to Edinburgh for next weekend! We will arrive Friday night by train and come back Sunday night.
Tonight we have the "Start of Semester" party for BU. It is at a pub somewhere not within walking distance. My friends and I plan to go but not stay out late because we need to rest of up for the weekend! :)
First few days
I have decided to set up this blog to easily share my London experiences with others as well as help me remember them. I have been in London for four days now so I will need to start at the beginning...
Saturday January 10 - On the plane ride over from Charlotte to London I sat next to a British teenager name Ashley. He was very nice and even gave me the window seat to sleep against. We talked a lot about America and Britain. We discussed schooling, music, driving, and traveling. He had been to America a handful of times but always went to Disney World with his family. He helped me find my luggage easily and we are now facebook friends!
Sunday January 11 - At the airport I met up with a BU girl named Katherine. We took the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station where we took a cab to our dorm, "The Crofton". Which is on Queen's Gate Road. Before even unpacking I went out and walked around the neighborhood with my BU friends Matt and Alex. When I got back I met my room mate Carly who is very nice and is a journalism major. Then BU gave us an offical walking tour of our neighborhood. And we had meetings about dorm rules and such. That night no one really went out because everyone was so tired.
Monday January 12 - On Monday we had a boat trip down the Thames. It was kind of foggy and rainy but we saw most of the big sites and I took lots of photos. I started to make really good friends with some of the girls on the floor: Carly, Hillary, Ashley, and Jackie.
That night there was a BU hosted pub night at a pub "Builders Arms". We made teams and had a British quiz which my team did horribly at. My team got a pitcher of "Pimms and Lemonade" and I am not quite sure what it is but it tasted good :-)
The pub got crowded because there were about 50 or 60 BU kids there. So Hillary, Jen, and I decided to head over to Imperial College which has its own pub. There we sat with three British boys Alex, Nick, and Andy. We talked with them for awhile about sports, tea, and schools. (They basically think the NFL is a joke and is nothing compared to the effort needed to play rugby) They all take "maths" and were really fun. We drank these things called "snake bites" that are a mixture of bear, cider and some type of syrup. We all really liked it but the boys though it was gross because I think it is a chick drink.
Its very interesting that people don't seem to tip here. I accidentally tipped the bartender and he looked like I had made his day. I keep accidently tipping people.
Tuesday January 14 - From 9:45 till 3:15 we had "academic lecutres" from BU faculty that they called a "Britain 101" in the Royale Geographic Society auditorium. We had an academic orientation, a student life orientation, an internship orientation, a speach from the chairman. Then the more historical lectures included a lecture entitled "Britain" and a second lecture entitled "Empire/Europe". The lectures were very interesting and I learned a lot. For lunch Hillary, Ashkey, Anna, Carrie and I went to a place called "Kensinghton Creperie" which basically served all kinds of crepes and I thought was very good.
After the orientation Carly and I went on a really big grocercy store run to a place called "Sainsbury". We have to taxi it back because its a 20 minute walk back. It was very interesting to shop here in London because most of the brands are different and some of the basic food is different. We have American style dorms with kitchens that about 10 people share so I am going to have to learn to cook!
That night Ashley, Carly, Carrie, Dara, Sarah, and I went took the tube down to Soho took look around. We walked from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus. There was lots of shopping, nice stores, and bright lights. We want to go to some clubs/bars in that area this weekend.
Wednesday January 14 - We had more lectures from 9 am to 4 pm. These were entitled
"London History", "Economics of Britain" (which was very boring and poorly done), "British Goverment", "The Grand Tour", and "British Culture". I learned that people had been studying abroad for hundreds of years. However, back in those days they would be away for 2 or 3 years at a time and it would be very dangerous and risky.
We were told repetitively throughout all the lectures about Britain's skepticism with the EU and its identity crisis since losing its empire and world power status.
Wednesday night is the "big pub night" at Imperial collge so my friends and I thought would go early at 8 but it was already packed. And we saw our British friends Andy and Nick doing a "power 200 minutes" which means they take a shot of bear every minute for 200 minutes. We have the power HOUR in America but not power 200 minutes. The British seem to drink A LOT. And they drink a lot of beer. I had soo much fun as my friend, Ashley, and I made friends with 4 new British guys, Tom, Edwin, Aiden and Brodge (nickname?). We might hang out with them this upcoming weekend!
Saturday January 10 - On the plane ride over from Charlotte to London I sat next to a British teenager name Ashley. He was very nice and even gave me the window seat to sleep against. We talked a lot about America and Britain. We discussed schooling, music, driving, and traveling. He had been to America a handful of times but always went to Disney World with his family. He helped me find my luggage easily and we are now facebook friends!
Sunday January 11 - At the airport I met up with a BU girl named Katherine. We took the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station where we took a cab to our dorm, "The Crofton". Which is on Queen's Gate Road. Before even unpacking I went out and walked around the neighborhood with my BU friends Matt and Alex. When I got back I met my room mate Carly who is very nice and is a journalism major. Then BU gave us an offical walking tour of our neighborhood. And we had meetings about dorm rules and such. That night no one really went out because everyone was so tired.
Monday January 12 - On Monday we had a boat trip down the Thames. It was kind of foggy and rainy but we saw most of the big sites and I took lots of photos. I started to make really good friends with some of the girls on the floor: Carly, Hillary, Ashley, and Jackie.
That night there was a BU hosted pub night at a pub "Builders Arms". We made teams and had a British quiz which my team did horribly at. My team got a pitcher of "Pimms and Lemonade" and I am not quite sure what it is but it tasted good :-)
The pub got crowded because there were about 50 or 60 BU kids there. So Hillary, Jen, and I decided to head over to Imperial College which has its own pub. There we sat with three British boys Alex, Nick, and Andy. We talked with them for awhile about sports, tea, and schools. (They basically think the NFL is a joke and is nothing compared to the effort needed to play rugby) They all take "maths" and were really fun. We drank these things called "snake bites" that are a mixture of bear, cider and some type of syrup. We all really liked it but the boys though it was gross because I think it is a chick drink.
Its very interesting that people don't seem to tip here. I accidentally tipped the bartender and he looked like I had made his day. I keep accidently tipping people.
Tuesday January 14 - From 9:45 till 3:15 we had "academic lecutres" from BU faculty that they called a "Britain 101" in the Royale Geographic Society auditorium. We had an academic orientation, a student life orientation, an internship orientation, a speach from the chairman. Then the more historical lectures included a lecture entitled "Britain" and a second lecture entitled "Empire/Europe". The lectures were very interesting and I learned a lot. For lunch Hillary, Ashkey, Anna, Carrie and I went to a place called "Kensinghton Creperie" which basically served all kinds of crepes and I thought was very good.
After the orientation Carly and I went on a really big grocercy store run to a place called "Sainsbury". We have to taxi it back because its a 20 minute walk back. It was very interesting to shop here in London because most of the brands are different and some of the basic food is different. We have American style dorms with kitchens that about 10 people share so I am going to have to learn to cook!
That night Ashley, Carly, Carrie, Dara, Sarah, and I went took the tube down to Soho took look around. We walked from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly Circus. There was lots of shopping, nice stores, and bright lights. We want to go to some clubs/bars in that area this weekend.
Wednesday January 14 - We had more lectures from 9 am to 4 pm. These were entitled
"London History", "Economics of Britain" (which was very boring and poorly done), "British Goverment", "The Grand Tour", and "British Culture". I learned that people had been studying abroad for hundreds of years. However, back in those days they would be away for 2 or 3 years at a time and it would be very dangerous and risky.
We were told repetitively throughout all the lectures about Britain's skepticism with the EU and its identity crisis since losing its empire and world power status.
Wednesday night is the "big pub night" at Imperial collge so my friends and I thought would go early at 8 but it was already packed. And we saw our British friends Andy and Nick doing a "power 200 minutes" which means they take a shot of bear every minute for 200 minutes. We have the power HOUR in America but not power 200 minutes. The British seem to drink A LOT. And they drink a lot of beer. I had soo much fun as my friend, Ashley, and I made friends with 4 new British guys, Tom, Edwin, Aiden and Brodge (nickname?). We might hang out with them this upcoming weekend!
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