Well I am finally in London, living in Hogworth (but I will be referring to it as Hogwarts for the duration of this trip), and finally sitting down for the first time since the exciting 8 hour plane ride over. Air India was not as bad as I was expecting...however I was definitely ready to exit the plane by the time we landed. The airline was definitely different than any other airline I have taken before. It's mascot is this little Indian man with a turban on, wearing red and yellow clothes and happily bowing in our direction. He is printed on all of the doors of the plane and conducts the airplane introductions. I had no clue what any of the food was that we were served, and the stewardesses, who were wearing their ceremonial dress/wrap things, were not enthused that I was asking them over and over what was in front of me. I was hoping to be able to sleep, but that wasn't about to happen. I did attempt it, but it was nearly impossible to lie down, and the slight recline wasn't quite enough. The TV show we were being shown was an interesting mix of an indian circus and cirque de soleil (very strange). They also played some sort of "celebration" music upon landing which was very funny. Needless to say, I am very happy I don't have to fly Air India again for a few months. At least they didn't lose my luggage! They did break my handle though :(
We got picked up from the airport by International Enrichment and were taken to our residences. We live in the cuuuuuuutest area of town called South Kensington (said with a British accent), which is a ROYAL burrough of London because the Queen was born here (I could possibly be living in the flat where she was born, tough to say). I live in a room with 3 other girls (Halli, Julia, Marylyn), but total in my flat there are 6 people(+ Lauren and Caroline). In order to not add more to that number (rats, other pests...) we need to make sure to keep our flat immaculate. After being dropped off at our flats, we had about 45 minutes before we were bussed to Imperial College where we were served a Massive and Gigantic helping of fish and chips. No kidding-the fish was probably 16 inches long. We then unpacked and were hoping to take showers, but thanks to me and my American phone recharger, I blew out the electricity and we had no hot water. Consequently my recharger is shot. Feeling gross from all the traveling, we all were taken out on a pub crawl. We went to about 4 different pubs and heels were definitely a bad choice. We probably walked a total of 600 miles last night.
My sweet new european cell phone alarm went off at 7:10 this morning so that I could get a shower. The pressure is better than Columbia's at least. Then we were bussed around the city by a Blue-Badge tour guide (they're the best) and saw the changing of the guards (not as impressive as I was expecting, but they have very cool hats and Buckingham Palace is breath-taking). After that we were free to roam and had to find our way home (via the tube). Some of the girls and I went to the tube station and bought Oyster cards so that we can ride the tube whenever we want (it is pretty cheap and very easy).
Basically the rest of the day we have just been relaxing in our adorable little flat (oh wait, Halli and I tried to find the grocery store, Sailsbury, and that took longer than it should). I bought a bath mat, hair dryer, hand soap, trash bags, and cereal and it cost about 40 pounds I think. And that was bargain shopping! Other than that, I am sitting in our living room with my other roommates and we are all so excited because we just bought tickets to the John Mayer/Sheryl Crow/Eric Clapton/Jason Mraz concert on June 28th in HYDE PARK! A big group of us are planning a a trip to Barcelona too the weekend after this coming one for 3 days which should be a blast.
Other than that, let's recap:
-Things that are broken: Luggage handle and Sprint phone recharger
-For mom-I just want to clear up that at no point have I walked anywhere by myself, nor do I plan to :)
-Stay tuned for PICTURES!
-London is AMAZING and I am so excited so get more acquainted and find out my internship! I also want to find Abbey Road and take a picture on it :)
EDIT: no more Barcelona trip for right now....that's gonna be about $450 for a plane ticket.
Cheers!
-Christy
1 comment:
Oh Christy! I was laughing while I read your blog, I can just picture you saying all this stuff to me in person... Even with the mistakes happening, it sounds so much fun! I can just picture you on the plane asking the stewardess' what they are serving you. I only wished you asked for a PLAIN hamburger! haha I am sorry to hear about the phone charger and the luggage bag handle. But I can't wait to see pictures of your flat and your travels! Take care and wear tennis shoes more often, you will feel better! ha Love you bye!!
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