Friday, June 25, 2010
I arrived in London around 10am and shlepped by all but broken luggage to one of the other terminals in an attempt to meet up with another girl on my study abroad program whose plane was supposed to land the same time as mine. We had emailed and decided to meet up and take a taxi together to the BYU Centre but without the luxury of cell phones that worked in my newfound country, the plan fell through and by the time noon had rolled around and I had still been unsuccessful in my quest to find Taylor (my classmate) I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to find my way to the center by myself and I headed back to the train station where I decided to take a train from Heathrow to the Paddington tube station and hire a cab to take me the rest of the way. When I stepped of the train at Paddington, I noticed a large blue suitcase with yellow Hawaiian flowers in front of me, which looked as though it must be the suitcase Taylor described to me that she would have with her. So to test my theory, I called out her name to see if she would turn around and miraculously, she did. We had found each other at last, and had ironically been on the same train from Heathrow. We took a cab together back to the center where we then got our separate room assignments and I started to unpack. I choose the last open bottom bunk inside room 3B and all the rest of my roommates were mostly finished unpacking and little did I know then that I would have some of the most fun in that room with those 4 girls. I spent the remainder of my day unpacking, napping, and shopping for some of the essentials I would need while in London like shampoo and galaxy bars.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Since we didn't have any class or looming homework assignments, we spent the day in a mad rush to see as much of London as we possibly good in one afternoon. It was like drinking from a fire hydrant. In the morning, our professors gave us money to go purchase our oyster cards, which were are pass to ride the London Underground (tube) as well as the buses for the next month. We were then sent on scavenger hunt to get us used to using the public transportation and start to orientate ourselves around the city. We started with Buckingham Palace where we watched the changing of the guard at 11:30. It was amazing and the crowd was incredible. I managed to get a few pictures, which was a real feat, and a short video. Afterwards, we went to the National Gallery in the magnificent Trafalgar Square where, when you stand on the top of the steps by the gallery entrance, you can see all the way down to Big Ben along the Thames river. Inside the gallery, I saw Van Gogh's original Sunflowers. It was beautiful. Among his paintings were those of Gaugain, Degas, and countless others. And that was only a few rooms on the first floor. I want to go back and explore the museum more- it could literally take days. We then had lunch in Trafalgar Square and headed down to the river, where we saw the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. By then our feet were very sore so we sat on a bench along the river in the small garden next the Parliament for at least a half hour. Even though the Thames isn't exactly beautiful (or clean), there is still something soothing about sitting by the water, and you can just feel all of the history that those banks have seen. Next we hopped on a random bus and let it take us wherever it was going. As luck would have it, the bus dumped us in the theatre district and then we wandered over to Covent Garden where there is a large outdoor market. So far, the market was my favorite part of London. There were shops, street performers, and local vendors, selling everything from pastries and bread to fancy perfumes. I plan to spend a lot more time exploring there. Afterwards we meet up with others from our group and ate dinner across the river at a Japanese restaurant called Wagamamas where I had no idea what half of the ingredients on the menu were and where they also did not believe in forks. Luckily I ordered to the udon noodles which were as thick as caterpillars and I was able to somehow get to my mouth (with much time, effort, and determination) using my chopsticks. Afterwards I returned to the center and then went to read in Kensington Gardens. The reading, however, did not last long as we heard music coming from nearby Hyde Park so we decided to follow it and stumbled upon an outdoor Stevie Wonder concert! We listened to the music from outside the perimeter of the concert grounds for a little while. It was nearly 10pm and the concert was almost finished so the guards let us into the concert for the last 15-20 minutes! So I got to see Stevie Wonder in person. It doesn't get a whole lot cooler than that.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
On Sunday we walked all the way across Kensington and Hyde Park to attend church at the Hyde Park ward. It was a really great experience and the congregation was so diverse! It was incredible. Afterwards I took a nice Sunday nap and enjoyed the rest of my leisurely Sunday and started my reading for class on Monday.
Monday, June 28, 2010
I started my day with a morning run in Kensington Gardens. It was fabulous! There are dogs everywhere, running about, and it is so green and beautiful. Monday was also ironically the first day of classes and the anniversary of the day Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated which sparked the First World War. The first class of the day was "Jane Austen in Context" where we got an introduction to Austen's works and then started our preliminary discussion of Pride and Prejudice. And then afterwards we had our classes interrupted by a guest speaker, Mr. Gibson, who was a big-time businessman and LDS convert. He talked to us about the history of the LDS Church in England and it was amazingly powerful. He single-handedly purchased and restored the building which was the first LDS chapel, and is located in England. It was amazing story. Afterwards I had my "Great War and Modernism" class where were dove right into our study of WWI. After class I went with a group to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Horace Walpole exhibit on a field study assignment for my Jane Austen class. It was magnificent. The exhibit was extremely interesting and I also saw one of Botticelli's sculptures. Ahhh sweet history. It is just the spirit that illuminates this magnificent city. After the museum we had dinner and another guest speaker who came to distribute our Ward assignments and then gave a lecture on living in London during the Blitz. His was a first-hand account, and he had been 3 years old during the Blitz and was shipped off to the country as part of a city-wide evacuation to get the children out of the city in anticipation for an air-raid. It was so interesting. All in all, it was an enlightening day.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
On Tuesday morning, I started my day with another run in Kensington Gardens, this time in the rain. So far we had had sunny beautiful weather but the minute I stepped out of the front door, it started sprinkling. I looked around and noticed that no one else seemed to be deterred by the precipitation, so I followed suit and continued on with my original plan to go running. By the time Kensington Palace was again in view at the end of my run, the rain was really starting to come down. I have never run so fast, in an attempt to finish my run before the rain picked up. It was good fun, though. Again, we had classes, minus the interruption of guest speakers. I then took a trip to H&M and visited the National Portrait Gallery on another field study assignment where I saw the only portrait of Jane Austen to be completed during her lifetime. It was done by her sister Cassandra and it was very tiny. I almost couldn't find it. I went back for dinner and then spent the night working on homework.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
An epic day. I slept in and then our group went on our first London Study. At 10:30 we arrived at St. Paul's Cathedral for our guided tour and I was so excited. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours exploring the many wonders of one of the greatest architectural feats in the world. It was magnificent. It was completed in 1710 (exactly 300 years ago) after being reconstructed on the same spot where the original St. Paul's stood, which was built in 1300 and then destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. There was one statue inside that was the only one to survive the fire intact and I got to touch it. 700 years old. AMAZING. We also got to see the stairs in one of the clock towers where the Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter movies were filmed! After our tour of the Nave, I got to climb all 500 steps to the top of St. Paul's dome where we were able to look out over the whole city and let me tell you, it was worth all 500 steps. It was absolutely breathtaking. And then we had to walk DOWN all 500 steps... And they were all circular staircases. We also visited the crypt where the great Christopher Wren himself (the cathedral's architect) and Samuel Johnson are buried. After St. Paul's we went to the London Museum which chronicles the history of the city of London from the Romans to the present day. I got to see the death mask of Oliver Cromwell and a leather Roman bikini, so it was worth it for me. Then my roommates and I journeyed to Leicester Square and bought tickets to see Les Miserables starring NICK JONAS as Marius, on Saturday afternoon! I just can't wait. After dinner, my roommates and I got gelato and I got to Skype with mom for the first time since I've been in London. A very epic day.
No comments:
Post a Comment