Spring Break in London 2010

Found my journal reflections from my Study Abroad Trip to London in 2010 for Spring Break. Decided to type them up electronically.

 View from the Airplane 

 Apparently this is what women in London look like

Wow, what an experience this has been so far! My first plane ride went fantastic; it was so much fun. And now I'm in another country overseas! Once we got out of the airport in London we all piled into a van to take us to ISH (International Student Housing). I don't think I could ever drive in London. Not only do they drive on the other side of the road, but their road systems seemed so confusing to me and I was very scared that we were going to get into a car accident; so many turns! ISH is a very nice logging facility, the staff was friendly and helped us get settled with little confusion on our part. Once we got settled into our rooms (which were on the smaller side but still comfortable) we got to meet Malcolm. He is a very classic Englishman, always dressed appropriately and had a very nice accent (right? ... Okay). He gave us a quick overview of how to use the underground system and then sent us on our way to explore on our first day.

Definitely in London!

We crossed the street to the Great Portland Street Station, scanned our Oyster Cards, and walked down to where the trains boarded. This was also my first time on a subway; I found that it was very easy to understand, you just have to know where you're going to.

Station Entrance 

Our first stop as a group was to go to the Tower of London, but first we went to a fish and chips restaurant! The fish was huge and tasted so good with the lemon juice. We also found out that the ketchup that they have in London tasted different than the ketchup in America, but we liked it! Then we made our way over to the Tower of London to get a tour! The tower was huge and just amazing they were able to preserve such a wonderful place even though the modern buildings surrounded it. Also, when were there, we got to see the crown jewels. Holy cow was that a lot of gold! I really wish we were able to take pictures because I don't think I will ever see that much gold or jewels again in my life!

We then walked over to the Tower Bridge, again the architecture of London is breathtaking, and it really makes America look like a baby.

Beautiful Day!

The group then separated (or rather got separated) and the group I went with went over to Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter!). We found it with little trouble and the station looked amazingly close to the movie stage. They even had a fake cart inserted into the stone wall to take free pictures with!

King's Cross Station

Off to the Hogwarts Express! 

After the platform, the group then split again (this time by choice) and I continued with a few others to the Sherlock Holmes Museum. That place was very cool although the statues that depicted the different mysteries were a little freaky. Then we decided to stay on Baker's Street to eat dinner at the Metropolitan Pub, which was delicious and had great service! I noticed on a sign on on of the walls warning people to keep their belongings close to them at all times and that thieves could be there. That was a little unnerving, I had never seen any sign like that before, I wouldn't think twice about where my purse was back home and it was just a reminder to be careful while traveling.

Pondering the case

Looking for clues!

Creepy Statues 

Well, that was enough for our first day in London and Malcolm suggested that we get around 12 hours of sleep to readjust our bodies from the time difference.