So I’ve not really updated this a whole lot. So my life here is definitely a bit strange, just in that I spend nearly all my time planning to do something fun (or you know doing it). My school work isn’t hard and doesn’t take up very much time, so it’s all like…what are we going to do this weekend, what sort of food are we going to get, etc. I think I’ve gotten so used to never having anything to do at home, that it’s a tad overwhelming to constantly have somewhere to go and something to do. I’ve visited the Tower of London, the British Museum, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, and various other places around London. I saw a musical, Spring Awakening (quite excellent). I’m planning trips to Canterbury, Dublin, Edinburgh, Santiago de Compostela (Spain), and Paris. I’m going to see the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and the Maccabees. And yet I still feel like I need to go to great pains to be doing stuff...just because there's so much to do. I don't want to miss anything. And it's terribly embarressing to admit this...but I still haven't seen the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben or Buckingham Palace yet. Seriously Lanette, what is wrong with you? Those are like the two big sites everyone visits, probably the second day. I need to get on that.
So I feel a bit bad about gloating how awesome London is. But it sort of is. Especially Primark. Primark is a store. Of unbelieveable cheapness. I bought a dress, and three shirts for under 25 pounds. I kind of can't wait to go back. Keep checking my photobucket for pictures!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Visitors
So it's been several days since my last update but I'll try not to let this post drag on for too long.
Anitra's friend Hannah came to visit for a few days, and had some fun trying to get us out doing crazy things this week. One evening we went out to dinner and then to Camden to a club to meet up with Caroline and some of her friends, where some band was playing. Unfortuantely, we got there a little late and missed most of it. We visited the British Museum which was quite fun but utterly huge, so we only saw only a very little of it in the grand scheme of things. However, we got to see the mummys, the rosetta stone, and some stuff from the Parthenon so I was all in all quite pleased with the outing.
Everyone else went out that night to a club, but I was rather tired from the museum so I rather lamely stayed in. But I had fun anyway. Today we went down to St. Paul's Cathedral and walked around. We stepped inside but it was a bit late so we didn't pay to go the whole way inside. I'm trying to get the photos up now. So check out my new pictures!
http://s553.photobucket.com/albums/jj366/lhushon/
Anitra's friend Hannah came to visit for a few days, and had some fun trying to get us out doing crazy things this week. One evening we went out to dinner and then to Camden to a club to meet up with Caroline and some of her friends, where some band was playing. Unfortuantely, we got there a little late and missed most of it. We visited the British Museum which was quite fun but utterly huge, so we only saw only a very little of it in the grand scheme of things. However, we got to see the mummys, the rosetta stone, and some stuff from the Parthenon so I was all in all quite pleased with the outing.
Everyone else went out that night to a club, but I was rather tired from the museum so I rather lamely stayed in. But I had fun anyway. Today we went down to St. Paul's Cathedral and walked around. We stepped inside but it was a bit late so we didn't pay to go the whole way inside. I'm trying to get the photos up now. So check out my new pictures!
http://s553.photobucket.com/albums/jj366/lhushon/
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday doledrums and Tuesday fun
I have so many lovely pictures, but sadly I can't actually post them because my laptop is still not getting internet. However, I can fill you in on what I've been up to (aside from being driven slowly mad by lack of internet access).
Monday we started classes, and generally not a whole lot happened. It was a particularly low day for me on the interwebs front ending in a bit of a temper tantrum that sent me to bed at like 9:30. Sorry about that roomie!
Tuesday was much better. Well...I mean I thought I'd be cool and use the big private bathroom to shower. But after I was done I couldn't get the shower to turn off. It was quite embaresssing. After fiddling with it for several minutes (and growing increasingly alarmed as the tub started to fill up with water) I retreated to my room to enlist Anitra to help. Unfortunately, she was also unable to figure out the magic faucet. At this point I began to believe that I was going to overflow the tub/cause serious water damage and be responsible for a flood in Reid Hall. So I ran down to Bridget and Tammy's room to explain my dilemma and enlist more help. After laughing at me for a little bit they came down. Luckily, Tammy has super powers and shut the cursed thing down after only a few seconds twiddling. Then all four of us exited the private bathroom and probably looked a bit odd doing so.
Just afterwards I went searching for my grey skinny jeans, to realize they were no where to be found. I was feeling extra harassed and opted to wear something else. I still haven't found them actually... I should probably put more effort into this. There's no way I could lose a pair of pants. *headdesk*
The day did take an upturn. Caroline and Sam came over to grab some coffee. We went to this little cafe whose best feature was the fact that they had indoor seating. The hot chocolate was rather terrible I must admit, but the company made up for it. Then we headed back to Regents, to hang out. I had class at 11 and came back in time to see Sam off. Then Caroline, Anitra, and I went to Madame Tussauds. It was free for Americans because of the inauguration, which was good because while it was really cool the regular admission price was too steep. I took many fun pictures which I hope to put up later.
That evening we went down to Oxford St. to the HMV to see the White Lies. Although, I hadn't been too impressed by the music video I heard, they were actually quite excellent live. Even better the gig was only 30 minutes long: no openers, no endless waiting, out by 6:30 with time to browse the awesome stores in the area before we headed back to school. Awesome stores here meaning Topshop and a ginormous H&M.
So there you go! Fun times with Lanette and Pinkie! Anitra's friend Hannah comes by today so that's a bit exciting. Stay tuned for the next installment of my trip in London!
Love and Glitter,
Pinkie & Lanette
Monday we started classes, and generally not a whole lot happened. It was a particularly low day for me on the interwebs front ending in a bit of a temper tantrum that sent me to bed at like 9:30. Sorry about that roomie!
Tuesday was much better. Well...I mean I thought I'd be cool and use the big private bathroom to shower. But after I was done I couldn't get the shower to turn off. It was quite embaresssing. After fiddling with it for several minutes (and growing increasingly alarmed as the tub started to fill up with water) I retreated to my room to enlist Anitra to help. Unfortunately, she was also unable to figure out the magic faucet. At this point I began to believe that I was going to overflow the tub/cause serious water damage and be responsible for a flood in Reid Hall. So I ran down to Bridget and Tammy's room to explain my dilemma and enlist more help. After laughing at me for a little bit they came down. Luckily, Tammy has super powers and shut the cursed thing down after only a few seconds twiddling. Then all four of us exited the private bathroom and probably looked a bit odd doing so.
Just afterwards I went searching for my grey skinny jeans, to realize they were no where to be found. I was feeling extra harassed and opted to wear something else. I still haven't found them actually... I should probably put more effort into this. There's no way I could lose a pair of pants. *headdesk*
The day did take an upturn. Caroline and Sam came over to grab some coffee. We went to this little cafe whose best feature was the fact that they had indoor seating. The hot chocolate was rather terrible I must admit, but the company made up for it. Then we headed back to Regents, to hang out. I had class at 11 and came back in time to see Sam off. Then Caroline, Anitra, and I went to Madame Tussauds. It was free for Americans because of the inauguration, which was good because while it was really cool the regular admission price was too steep. I took many fun pictures which I hope to put up later.
That evening we went down to Oxford St. to the HMV to see the White Lies. Although, I hadn't been too impressed by the music video I heard, they were actually quite excellent live. Even better the gig was only 30 minutes long: no openers, no endless waiting, out by 6:30 with time to browse the awesome stores in the area before we headed back to school. Awesome stores here meaning Topshop and a ginormous H&M.
So there you go! Fun times with Lanette and Pinkie! Anitra's friend Hannah comes by today so that's a bit exciting. Stay tuned for the next installment of my trip in London!
Love and Glitter,
Pinkie & Lanette
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Short on time and Listing!
So today I:
Got a phone.
Went to Camden (searching for this random store that was unhelpful anyway- but we did get an alarm clock!)
Realized that dinner on Saturday ends at...4:oo (lame!) and I missed it.
So instead we ended up going out to eat at this place called the Crypt. Which was in a crypt under this church in Trafalger's square. We walked around a bit then came back.
Now I'm cursing out the wireless that won't let me log on to the internet and sitting in the common area on the computers, so I can check my email and update this little blog.
Got a phone.
Went to Camden (searching for this random store that was unhelpful anyway- but we did get an alarm clock!)
Realized that dinner on Saturday ends at...4:oo (lame!) and I missed it.
So instead we ended up going out to eat at this place called the Crypt. Which was in a crypt under this church in Trafalger's square. We walked around a bit then came back.
Now I'm cursing out the wireless that won't let me log on to the internet and sitting in the common area on the computers, so I can check my email and update this little blog.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Pony Has Landed (oh...and me too!)
Greetings from London!
I got here yesterday...well it's past midnight now, so two days ago. After a seemingly neverending journey (I was in Bradford, PA so it was a six hour drive to the airport followed by an equally long flight!), we finally arrived. The lodgings are decent though the yellow paint and bright green carpet makes me gag just a little. The food has been pretty hit or miss. My croissant for breakfast this morning was quite delicious, and my dinner last night was quite good too. But lunchtime has left me hungry and unhappy for two days in a row. I'm hoping that as I get more comfortable with the facilities, I'll be less overwhelmed and be able to find something I like.
Orientation was mercifully short (I mean no one actually enjoys orientation do they?). And classes don't start until Monday, so I have the weekend to settle in and tour a bit before they decide to do something silly like give me work!
Our school had its first outing this evening to a Jack the Ripper walking tour! It was pretty amazing, we started it off by the Tower Hill tube station (across the way from the Tower of London!) and walked around in the dark and chilly London streets and alleyways (fairly creepy ones that were there during good old Jack's time), seeing some of the places the prostitutes lived, visited, and where their remains were discovered and hearing about his murders/possible identities. It finished off at The Ten Bells (the pub where Jack the Ripper supposedly picked up some of his victims). Sadly, it was waaay too crowded inside for us to venture in for drink. So we decided to grab some food and head back to the college.
Excitingly, on the way home there was some sort of mysterious "incident" at the tube station by our school so we had to take a couple different lines getting home. By the time we got back around it had been apparently cleared up, so I guess it just ended up being good practice for us navigating the tube.
There's so much we want to do in London it's a bit overwhelming deciding what to do first. We plan on going to Madame Tussauds wax museum on Tuesday. It's free for Americans because of the inauguration, so I guess I'll be getting my picture taken with the new president (well...his wax self at any rate)!
Pinkie Pie has not yet ventured out, she's currently on my windowsill serving as our draft indicator. Our window doesn't shut very tightly so the cold air gets in making our room quite chilly. We've tried blocking it up with a towel...it sort of helps. Hopefully, we'll get some duct tape. Until then, if her sparkly mane blows in the breeze we know we need to shove something else into the cracks.
So...this was kind of long. I'll leave off with a link to my photobucket with some early pictures.
http://s553.photobucket.com/albums/jj366/lhushon/
Love and Glitter,
Pinkie Pie & Lanette
I got here yesterday...well it's past midnight now, so two days ago. After a seemingly neverending journey (I was in Bradford, PA so it was a six hour drive to the airport followed by an equally long flight!), we finally arrived. The lodgings are decent though the yellow paint and bright green carpet makes me gag just a little. The food has been pretty hit or miss. My croissant for breakfast this morning was quite delicious, and my dinner last night was quite good too. But lunchtime has left me hungry and unhappy for two days in a row. I'm hoping that as I get more comfortable with the facilities, I'll be less overwhelmed and be able to find something I like.
Orientation was mercifully short (I mean no one actually enjoys orientation do they?). And classes don't start until Monday, so I have the weekend to settle in and tour a bit before they decide to do something silly like give me work!
Our school had its first outing this evening to a Jack the Ripper walking tour! It was pretty amazing, we started it off by the Tower Hill tube station (across the way from the Tower of London!) and walked around in the dark and chilly London streets and alleyways (fairly creepy ones that were there during good old Jack's time), seeing some of the places the prostitutes lived, visited, and where their remains were discovered and hearing about his murders/possible identities. It finished off at The Ten Bells (the pub where Jack the Ripper supposedly picked up some of his victims). Sadly, it was waaay too crowded inside for us to venture in for drink. So we decided to grab some food and head back to the college.
Excitingly, on the way home there was some sort of mysterious "incident" at the tube station by our school so we had to take a couple different lines getting home. By the time we got back around it had been apparently cleared up, so I guess it just ended up being good practice for us navigating the tube.
There's so much we want to do in London it's a bit overwhelming deciding what to do first. We plan on going to Madame Tussauds wax museum on Tuesday. It's free for Americans because of the inauguration, so I guess I'll be getting my picture taken with the new president (well...his wax self at any rate)!
Pinkie Pie has not yet ventured out, she's currently on my windowsill serving as our draft indicator. Our window doesn't shut very tightly so the cold air gets in making our room quite chilly. We've tried blocking it up with a towel...it sort of helps. Hopefully, we'll get some duct tape. Until then, if her sparkly mane blows in the breeze we know we need to shove something else into the cracks.
So...this was kind of long. I'll leave off with a link to my photobucket with some early pictures.
http://s553.photobucket.com/albums/jj366/lhushon/
Love and Glitter,
Pinkie Pie & Lanette
Friday, December 26, 2008
Bon Voyage
Hiya!
Welcome to my London* Adventures Blog! Here I will post all about my semester abroad! So be prepared to hear all about the crazy escapades that I will be getting up to.
Welcome to my London* Adventures Blog! Here I will post all about my semester abroad! So be prepared to hear all about the crazy escapades that I will be getting up to.
My companion for the journey (in addition to several of my friends) is a bright pink pony lovingly referred to as Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie will accompany me on my travels in order to give you your very own pony-eye view of jolly old England. So keep an eye out for plenty of fun pony tales!I've named the blog "The Hungry Traveler" (at least until I remember the cool title that I came up with for it and then forgot). It's in reference to the fact that I'm usually the hungry one, and whenever I discuss the trip with people they give me a lecture on how bad the food will be in England. Although, I doubt that I can have significantly more trouble finding food I like in England than I do in the USA (I'm a notoriously picky eater!), I'll still probably end up being a seriously hungry traveler!
Anyway, right now I am busy getting ready for the trip (which primarily consists of worrying about currency exchange rates). I leave on January 14th so check back after that for more updates!
~~~~~~~~~~~
* They will of course take place primarily in London, but that is not to say that they will not occur in other places both in England and in the surrounding nations!
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