Entry 3: July 19, 2010

This weekend I visited my family up in the Lincolnshire Area of England. Oh my goodness, it was so beautiful! While I love London a lot, being able to truly get a feel of what the life of England is like outside of the city was an amazing experience. We took a couple trains out there and almost didn’t catch some of them because we had to run across the platforms and find them. It was interesting to navigate the train system compared to the tube system. With the tube system, if you look at the map it’s almost impossible to go wrong. (Unless you’re tired and it’s in another language, then you may have some problems. Haha) However, with trains you have to wait for the name to flash up on the board, read all the information and figure out what platform it is before it changes on you again. There were several close calls, but finally we arrived at Heckington.

The village is beautiful!! Many of the people own a little plot of land that they grow their own vegetables, fruit, and spices on. They also keep chickens to have fresh eggs daily. I think that this would be harder to do in America – there is a serious lack of countryside where people live…unless we all moved to Montana - but it was amazing to see people who were almost completely self-reliant. The only food that my family has to buy is meat and bread. I don’t know if it was because of the fact this was our first, true home cooked meal, but all of the natural foods were amazing! I could have eaten forever.

Besides the difference in healthy food, the feeling of life was different. London already seems more laid back than Raleigh, but Heckington was even more laid back! You could walk everywhere in the village you needed to go and the neighborhoods were quiet and serene. Then there were the views! For miles and miles around it’s just rolling hills spotted with cathedral’s sticking up where the other villages are. I included a picture of a place we visited, Foggart’s Edge. Some of the other interesting sites we visited were Boston (where the Mayflower sailed from), Maplethorp (amazing beach!), and Sherwood Forest.

Staying with family was wonderful because not only did I get to experience what the daily life would be like in Britain, but I also got to experience new things that would never happen in London. I was sad to say goodbye and come back to the city, but happy to be back so that I could enjoy London before we have to depart. I’m sad to have to say bye so soon, but I am determined to enjoy it all while it lasts!

Entry 2: July 12, 2010
Hello again!

I have seen several plays so far, three in total, and they are all wonderful. If you come to London, you must go see a play! The theatre here is so amazing and worth every pound you will spend. There are even cheaper tickets you can get too if you are travelling on a student/backpacker’s budget.

I spent my first travel break in Paris this last weekend (the 8th -11th) and it was not too bad. The first instant I got off the train I was in a little bit of a culture shock because I did not understand anything that was happening! If you’re planning on going to France, make sure you either speak French or have someone with you who does otherwise you’ll be so overwhelmed! While Paris reminded me of New York City, it still possessed its own personality. If you’re only there for a couple days, make sure you don’t try to do too many things at once! Here are some of the must-sees:

1. Obviously the Eiffel Tower! If you get there early enough in the day, the lines are not too long. If you know exactly what day you’re going to go, you can pre-book tickets. Some stop at just the second level, but trust me you’ll want to keep going all the way to the top! The view is incredible and it is one of those things where if you don’t go to the top while you’re in Paris sight-seeing, it’s something you’ll regret later. And walking down from the second level is not a bad experience, but it was a bad time for me to discover my fear of heights! So if you don’t like heights, I recommend taking the elevators all the way up and all the way down. The first picture I included is of me and Jordan at the top of the Eiffel Tour.

2. Sacre-Coeur! It’s *so*beautiful. The church is a mix of Byzantine and Romanesque styles, but that only makes it even more beautiful. The best plan is to find out when the sun sets and get there at least 30 minutes before then. (Leave plenty of time to travel up the hill to the top, Jordan and I had to run up the hill and then up at least 100 steps in order to get there for the sunset. Trust me, it’s not fun. Haha) Make sure you’re camera is charged and you have lots of space on your memory card. As you watch the sun set, slowly the lights all over the city begin to turn on and twinkle in the night. We did this our last night in Paris, and it’s well worth it. I would even return multiple nights to see it. Also, if you stay for the night to fall, then street performers will come. We got lucky enough to see some fire performers and the backdrop of the church provided a beautiful scene for photographs. The second picture is of the Sacre-Coeur at night, so gorgeous!

3. The Louvre. However, we tried to conquer it in just a couple hours. I wouldn’t suggest that. Instead, leave yourself a day to do this visit. Otherwise you’ll have to run through everything and not remember what all you saw or even get pictures of the famous paintings and statues. I will give one warning: the Mona Lisa will be overly crowded. It’s smaller than you expect after hearing so much about it, but it was still worth it. Just be prepared – if you really want to study it closely – to wait in line and fight through the school and tour groups to get to the front. And the last picture is of the Mona Lisa, however I took it from outside of the group so I wasn’t too close to it.

While Paris is vastly different from London, the overall experience was not too bad. However, I am still in love with London and returning to the college after my travel break, it was like coming home. I’m sad to think I only have 17 more days in this magical place. However, they are packed with amazing things like seeing plays at the Globe, the London Eye, and other fun treats.

Until next time!

Entry 1: July 2, 2010

We’re in London!

It’s so fabulous here. Much cleaner, wonderful weather and beautiful gardens everywhere you go. I’ve already started to tour London and see what I can while I’m here. A group of four of us Meredith girls wandered over to the Victoria & Albert museum the other day, and it was so worth the trip. They have gorgeous exhibits on art, architecture, and fashion. They also have a special exhibit right now, with your concession (student) tickets you can get in for £4, on Grace Kelly and her fashion. Oh. My. Goodness. It was *so* beautiful! All of the dresses from her times in movies as an actress here in America were gorgeous and I could not help but want to take them and wear them now! Her outfits as a princess were gorgeous as well, and it was interesting to learn that she did her own hair and nails. For someone who had such a high celebrity status, I expected her to be someone who had others get her ready than to do her own things. The more I read about her the more I realized how “common” a woman Grace Kelly was.

Speaking of fashion, the people of London dress so interestingly. I’ve seen everything from professional to the experimental side of clothing. It is a lot of fun to people watch here because you learn so many new habits and see the new culture you’re in. The tube is the best place to people watch. When you get on, just stand there and don’t speak but watch. I know that sounds weird, but over here people are not loud and obnoxious when on public transportation. I’ve really only seen one or two conversations happening on the tube, and that was so quiet no one else could hear them. We definitely stand out because if someone chooses to talk, the whole tube can hear us. I’ve started to just stand there quietly and not say anything and just adopt the demeanor of the experts of the tube so that I don’t stand out too far. However, it is on the tube that you see a lot of interesting characters and where I am learning how to blend in more.

We have explored St. James Park and Kensington Park so far, and we’re getting ready to head off to Covent Garden for a show. All the gardens are beautiful and it’s like a scene out of a movie! Everything you’d expect to see in a movie – the couples, the people working out, the pigeon lady, everything! – are in those gardens. I’m excited to see and learn more as we continue our London journey. I attached a picture from one of our adventures so far, I hope you enjoy! :)