Canterbury and Battle

Since today was Thursday the group once again embarked on a day trip. As expected we spent more time on the coach than at the actually sites . . .
The first stop was Canterbury. I liked the cathedral and the story of the martyrdom of Thomas a Becket. The stained glass depicts some pilgrims coming to worship his shrine. We didn't have much time to explore the town, but it seemed cute and quaint. I wish we had learned a little more about Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, just because that's where all of his characters were traveling to.
The next stop was Battle, where we took an audio tour about the Battle of Hastings and wandered the battle grounds. We also looked at the ruins of the Abbey Church. I've learned a lot about English history on this trip and am actually fascinated by it. The other picture is the stone slab that marks the place where King Harold died in the battle, allowing William the Conqueror the opportunity to take his place as ruler of England. After that we had a 3 hour drive home. My i-pod died walking into the flat.

Victoria and Albert Museum

On Wednesday, Cadence, Kirsten, and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, located right near Hyde Park Chapel and our flat. We first wandered the fashion and jewelry exhibits, which were really fun, and sparkly (is that not a word)? I also liked the musical instruments exhibit. There were some crazy flutes and stringed instruments, but of course I liked the pianos/harpsichords/organ boxes the best. It was pretty cool stuff.

After the museum we took another shopping trip up High Street Kensington. I bought some shoes!

Winding Down

On Monday I had a book presentation on "Defining the World: the extraordinary story of Dr. Johnson's dictionary." Later that day we had the opportunity to go to the house that he lived in while he was writing the dictionary. I find the man and his work pretty fascinating, but the place was so dang hot!

Today Kelsey and I made a trip out to the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms. I like World War II history and spent a couple of hours there. Later we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, but opted out of eating there because of the hour and a half wait and instead I just bought a t-shirt. Then we wandered Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square and did some people watching.

Paris

As if I haven't written enough today, I still want to talk a little more about Paris and make a little comparison to London. Maybe I'll just make a list.

• The metro was really stinky, and it felt like an airport whenever we had to change lines. I'm grateful so much more for the London tube and my Oyster card.
• The weather was a lot muggier than I was expecting.
• The city of Paris seems like a tourist attraction in and of itself, whereas London seems more international.
• There are so many cool places to see in Paris!! (which is why it's so touristy!) I wish I had seen the Musee D'Orsay, and gone to the Latin Quarter like Cadence suggested to me. Maybe the Pantheon too, and done a little more shopping. But I think most of the main stuff can be done in just a few days.
• The Museum pass that we bought when we got our chunnel tickets was so great. It was 2-days into everywhere pretty much but the Eiffel Tower.
• They speak Francais! Oui, oui!
• Everything that I ate in Paris was delicious! Pastries and crepes and ice cream . . . yeah, well we did a lot of walking.

And there you go. Paris in 2 and half days. It was a blast.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I was really excited to have my 20th birthday in Paris. This is what I did:

We took the metro down to Notre Dame and I picked up a pain au chocolat for breakfast. The line to get into Notre Dame was kind of long so most of the girls opted to do their own thing. But, while M'kynzi and I waited in the long line there was a Quasimodo-masked guy walking through the crowd scaring people. It was soo funny because most of the girls screamed. We finally got up the spiral staircase and the view was great!! We were both glad that we waited in the line to go up. I've decided that climbing up things is one of my favorite things to do as a tourist.

After taking lots of picture we decided to walk a ways to Saint Chapelle to see the stained glass that Kelsey had talked about. Because we had a museum pass we got in free and skipped the line. At first when we got into the first floor we thought "wow, good thing we didn't wait in that line" - it was just under-whelming. Finally we realized that there were some stairs to the next level and once we climbed them we were amazed. The windows are incredibly beautiful and it was nice to just sit and try to figure out which bibles scenes we were looking at.

We had a plan to meet Kelsey at the Louvre at 2:00 so we wandered along the Seine and looked at all the vendors. I bought myself a small pocket mirror with the Eiffel Tower on it. Anyways, the Louvre was huge! We split up and looked at whatever we wanted to look at. Yes, I saw the Mona Lisa. What is even better is that I actually recognized more than I thought I would, probably because of my Music Civ. class where I had to memorize art like crazy. I wrote down most of the artists I recognized. Anyways, I pretty much just saw the paintings which I was excited about, though I also wandered through some sculptures to find the Venus de Milo. What's funny is that I was most excited to take my picture in front of the pyramid.

The next item on our list was to climb up the the Arc de Triomph. All of us finally met up at the Louvre to walk over there. It was about an hour walk down the Champs Elysees, which really does have some cool stores along it. When I compare climbing the Arc and Notre Dame I come to this conclusion: the Arc is more exhausting because of the spiral went forever, but you can see a bigger view of Paris all around. Notre Dame was cooler because of the architecture and the giant bell that we got to stand by.

By this time we were all super hungry. The girls treated me to dinner at a funky French restaurant with fuchsia walls. I had penne aux 4 fromages and ordered in French. It was the best penne I've ever had. Yummmm.

And of course we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower again. M'kynzi, Kelsey, and I were up for climbing it, but the other girls weren't so we again split up. The line actually wasn't too bad. We met a couple from Canada and had a nice conversation going. While talking with them, a lady slipped into line right in front of us. We were a little confused but thought, who cares it's just one person. After a few minutes though she waved to all her friends and they joined her in the line. M'kynzi had the guts to ask her to move, but she claimed she had been standing there forever, and we couldn't do much else but make them stand behind us and the Canadians. We forgot about them as we rode the elevator up to the middle level. But as we stood in the line to take the lift to the top, we see the same lady duck under the rope to cut in front of us once again!! I was astonished! Who does she think she is? She thinks she can "budge" us twice in one night?? I don't think so. We made her and her cutting entourage go to the end of the line, and I was growled and cursed at. haha wow. Some people. But anyways. We made it to the top and, oh my, the view was spectacular. We went at just the right time, because the city lights we just turning on. Then the flashing lights on the tower went off. It looked like a strobe light. I enjoyed the view, a little rain, taking pictures, and soaking in the fact that I was on the Eiffel Tower on my birthday! Since it was such an occasion, I used M'kynzi's sharpie to write "Abby Leigh 20!" on the structure. It was a fun moment. We made it down, after all that, just in time to sit a while on the grass and see the lights go off once more.

We bought some cotton candy on the way to the metro station. and I almost had a man draw a caricature of me for 5 euro. Those guys kept asking me all weekend to draw me; I didn't know if I should really be flattered. We got to the hostel around 12:30 and then Kels and I talked until 3:00 am. A day in Paris was a great way to quit being a teenager!

A night at the tower

After we went to Versailles we had a nice dinner at a French restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. Our waiter was really funny and kept laughing at us when we asked him to please get us some more tap water. He wouldn't even let me pick up a bottle cap when I dropped it on the floor.

Then we met up with the other girls and we each got "une glace" and ate it on the grass under the Eiffel Tower. It was so surreal to actually be there! What a pretty place.

Versailles

I went to Paris this weekend with 5 other girls on the program. We grabbed the chunnel at 5:00 in the morning. After making it to the hostel, 3 of us decided to head over to Versailles.The gate at the front of the Palace. This place was so elaborate. The French really know how to be royal. Compared to Hampton Court Palace, the was phenomenal.Me in the hall of mirrors pretending to be a lady in waiting. Next to the hall of mirrors, my favorite part of Versailles was the Queen's room. The walls were covered in floral designs and the furniture was really cool. Chandeliers galore!
The gardens were really pretty too. It was kind of hot but we made the rounds anyways. I'm really glad I made it out there. It was fun to switch gears and learn a little more about French history.

Les Miserables

Today after class Lillie, Leigh, Kelsey, M'kynzi, and I went to the matinée showing of Les Miserables, at the Palace Theatre. As much as I enjoyed Wicked, this show tremendously outdid it. It was amazing! The set, the songs, the story . . . it nearly made me cry. And we had 9th row seats! I must say it was a very good day.

The past few hours, us girls have been planning our 3-day trip to Paris. Our train leaves tomorrow at 5:30 am, and then the adventure begins. I won't take my computer with me, so until Sunday probably!!

Clocks

Here are some sweet clocks that I've found in and around London.
The oldest clock that is still working. Dating to the 13th c. Located at Salisbury Cathedral.
The Clock Court at Hampton Court Palace.

Big Ben! Okay, I seriously love the houses of parliament here. They are so pretty and the spires are way cool.

Hampton Court Palace

Today we all went to Hampton Court Palace. This was the living space of Henry VIII, who I've discovered to be amazingly intriguing, along with his 6 wives. We toured all of the King's rooms, and the Queen's rooms and also the gardens.
The pictures I wanted to put up from Hampton Court don't want to go up . . .

Westminster Abbey

On Monday I went to Westminster Abbey for the first time. I was really excited to see all the famous dead people! However, my favorite thing ended up being Henry VII's Lady Chapel because the ceiling was so beautiful. I also liked the old wooden chair. It took me about an hour and a half to get around the whole building listening to the audio tour. I took a break to write down this poem that I found on one of the tombs:

What so thou hast of nature, or of arts,

youth, beauty, strength, or what excelling parts
of mind and body, letter, arms, and worth,
his eighteen years, beyond his years, brought forth,
then stand and read thyself within this glass,
how soon these perish, and thyself may pass.
man's life is measured by the work, not days,
no aged sloth, but active youth has praise.

Westminster has made the top 3 now on my favorites list. Definitely a must-see!!

Weekend Shots

Jumping shots at the Bury St. Edmunds ruins. We got some air. (oh, and this was taken with Amy's camera, she's so good to let me steal the good ones).
Cadence, Kelsey, Me, and Kirsten chillin at King's College.

My two favorite parts of most buildings: the organ and the ceiling.

Cambridge

This weekend Amy, Kirsten, Kelsey, Cadence, and I went to Suffolk to visit Cadence's family on the air force base. On our way down we stopped at Bury St. Edmunds, walked around the Cathedral, and had some McD's. On Saturday we toured Cambridge University a bit and wandered through King's College, which is now at the top of my list. We wandered down to the River Cam and grabbed the handsomest young man to take us punting on the river! The rest of the weekend was filled with free food and dessert, squeaky air mattresses, jumping on the trampoline, dying hair, and watching Persuasion and Jane Eyre. It was a really great time.

Adventures

Here are a few more pictures from my adventures.Here's Lily, Kelsey, and I in front of the British Museum. We liked the Lion, but the "museum shuffle" gets old after you've been to so many.
There goes Todd, Rachel, Kelsey, Lily, Cathy, Leigh, and M'kynzi through Hyde Park. It's right across the street from our building! So pretty. We were on our way to Nando's for dinner. mmm, so good.
That's me straddling the prime meridian in Greenwich. It took us two hours to get there when it shouldn't have taken one. Had we had a better traveling experience, I'm sure it would have been more enjoyable. But hey, when do you get to be in both hemispheres at the same time?
That's me at the Tower of London in front of the "traitors gate". I'm trying to look like a traitor . . . the tower was great fun because we got to see where people were executed, got to see the crowned jewels, and here stories of the kings and queens of England. yay.
And finally Kelsey and I are in front of Tower Bridge. Fun fun fun.

Trafalgar Square

Something I've realized while I've been here in London is how much an experience can be affected based on your relationships with the people you experience it with. For example, if you go at something with your brother, you're going to have a different experience then if you did it with your sister. Anyways, I've made great friends here, and just last night we turned a would-be-slow walk through Trafalgar Square into an ab-workout night of laughter. Here are some pictures of me and Amy, curtsying and taking more glamor shots.

Day Trip

Today I woke up at 7:30 and was on the bus at 7:45. The whole group was going on a day trip today. We rented another coach (although I don't think the coach is ever going to be the same without Rob) and drove for about 4-5 hours and went site-seeing for about 4-5 hours.

First stop Jane Austen's house in Chawton.
Some of the flowers in her beautiful garden! The countryside was also really pretty and we walked down to the church where her sister and mother are buried.One of Jane's writing tables.

Then we went on to Salisbury Cathedral and then Stonehenge. The cathedral was built in the 13th century and Stonehenge of course is, well, really old. Big rocks arranged mysteriously . . . oooooo awwww

Now the day is over and I'm doing my laundry a few blocks from my flat. I actually walked all the way down here with my laundry and laptop and then realized I had forgot my detergent and then walked all the way back to my flat and all the way back here again. It was quite an adventure today.

I'm Blogging!

Yes I do realize that I am already more than 2 weeks into the study abroad in London, but everyone else is blogging, so why can't I?



On Monday night most of our group made it out to the Apollo Victoria to see Wicked! I was so excited and our seats were great! The show was awesome and the songs are still in my head. I sang "For Good" in my head for Riena and gave a well-deserved standing ovation. Fabulous and funny, it was an unforgettable performance.


On Tuesday, Kelsey, my flatmate, and I decided to hit up St. Paul's Cathedral. The ceilings were amazingly detailed and the paintings were beautiful; we sat and stared up for a long time. Then I found out you could go to the top, so I dragged Kelsey up the 500 plus stairs. When we got there we found this fantastic view of the city of London! It was so gorgeous and windy! Highly recommend it, unless you get dizzy on spiral staircases!