Of Dead Mice and Strange Men

So I have officially completed my first week of classes, which was interesting to say the least. I really do enjoy all my classes and like all of my professors. I have made it a habit to go to Hyde Park as often as possible for daily walks, and I seem to take at least one picture per visit, without fail.

Here was our squirrel friend we made at the park. You can basically call over a squirrel the way you call over a cat in these London parks.

There are so many swans at the park. I usually make a reference to Natalie Portman or Swan Lake each time I see one.

What I love about the park is that I seem to stumble upon a new treasure with each and every path I take. The other day I found these "Italian Gardens" which were simply lovely.

In other news, one of the showers in our flat ended up leaking down to the floor below us (sucks for them). So currently, our situation is 13 girls to two bathrooms. Yesterday they literally took out our shower, which was definitely a new sight.

Upon further inspection of the work they were doing, I stumbled upon a slightly disturbing artifact....

Yup, that is indeed the remains of a poor little mouse friend that must have gotten trapped under our shower, most likely years ago. Rest easy.

On a brighter note, my flatmates and myself took an alternate route from the regular study abroad biddies and decided to go out for dessert. We went to a little shop that sells waffles called Wafflemeister, which was PHENOMENAL.

Fresh waffles with a bunch of different topping options...enough said.

Such delicacies were devoured in a matter of minutes.

A highlight to our night would be this intoxicated, yet pleasant English man who came over to us and complimented those of use with luscious, lion's mane-esque hair. He proceeded to walk away, only to come back five minutes later and take a seat. We nicknamed him Wafflemister.

His friend came soon after to sweep him away, joking (I hope) that he was breaking his probation of staying away from American girls. The experience was entertaining to say the least.

Well that's all for now; tomorrow morning I'll be exploring some of the markets, so I will be posting again shortly.

Sweet Dreams,

The Journey Begins

So this past Wednesday I finally moved into my residence hall, which happens to be a flat in South Kensington (right around the corner from Will and Kate) with 12 other lovely ladies. The past few days we have all been running around like crazy with orientations, tours, and just exploring our new home. 

I won't bore you with all the details of my orientations, but we can just leave it at how they threw a hell of a lot of information at us in a short period of time.

Here's a glimpse of our flat; I'm residing in a quad that is currently a bit dull in appearance, but that will likely change soon. It also happens to be the coolest (temperature wise) room in the whole flat, which I am certainly happy about, especially during the ends of the heat wave in England.

Our kitchen is rather nice and fully equipped, but it can get a tad cramped when being in a home with 12 other girls.

On Saturday, we were lucky enough to receive a Parliament tour, which was absolutely spectacular. Sadly, photographs could not be taken inside, but the architecture and decor was breathtaking. 

For one of our first evenings out, we paid a visit to a traditional pub for dinner called the Silver Cross nearby Trafalgar Square, which was a really nice change of environment to what I'm used to in the States.

On another night out, we happened to find Daniel Radcliffe exiting a show he was just in. 1000 points to Gryffindor.

To make that same night even better, we ended up getting gelato from a local shop called Scoops. It was to die for.

One last highlight would be visiting Kensington Gardens, which was really grand and relaxing. Here we are casually hanging out in front of Kensington Palace - the soon to be home of Prince William, Princess Catherine, and baby George.

I am truly having the time of my life here. This city is so beautiful and so rich in history and culture, and I am extremely proud to call it my home for these next four months. I'll be starting class tomorrow morning, so it's about time I headed to bed.

Cheers,

Dem Double D's.....as in Double Deckers

So today I went on one of those infamous double-decker, red buses throughout London. Though they are corny, I definitely would recommend taking one around because they give you a great overview of most of the city. Everything was beautiful and the weather was surprisingly gorgeous once again. Here are some of the highlights:

The infamous Tower of London where many have gotten executed. The Brits seemed to be wary of glorifying of such a place.

This is a photo of the Tower Bridge, which many mistake to be the London Bridge due to its grandeur appearance. Unfortunately, the London Bridge is quite bland and not exactly aesthetically pleasing. 

Me and my lovely mother at the St. Paul Cathedral.

An evening shot of Big Ben.

And finally, a favorite of mine, a shot of the River Thames and The Eye at dusk.

Cheers,

First Day: London Town

So today I arrived to London at 6:30 AM (UK time)! Other than the fact that I've only slept about 3 hours in the past 35 or so, I am having a blast and am so excited to spend the next four months here. I'm temporarily residing at a hotel in the heart of London, so today I was able to do a lot of walking and exploring the territory. 

For starters, the architecture is just stunning. I've been to London once before about 7 years ago, but I had not truly appreciated everything as much as I donow.

Fun fact: I actually caught this lovely photo of Big Ben by sticking my phone out the taxi window while passing by....probably not the most advisable move but it turned out to be a great shot.

Here I am with my friend, River Thames and good ol' Ben. Just so everyone knows, Ben is a fan of selfies.

I don't know if anyone will agree with me, but I feel like this photo of the Victoria Memorial in front of the Buckingham Palace is almost magical with how the lighting and clouds turned out. 

I took this gem when walking through St. James Park. I was enjoying the lovely weather and unexpected sun when I realized the entire park was literally FULL of couples. They were everywhere. And then there was me. So what, I'm bitter, deal with it.

Here's a lovely shot of just a small part of St. James Park. 

And my first celebrity sighting! I was lucky enough to see Natalie Portman portraying BOTH the white and black swan!!!! Nailed it!

And finally, a panorama of the view from the bridge over the River Thames. I'm really mad that I cut off the tip of Big Ben and didn't realize, but I'm sure I'll have another chance to retake this photo. 

Let's not forget the other side, featuring the lovely London Eye.

I am so beyond excited to be spending the semester in such a BEAUTIFUL city with such an amazing history. I will definitely be posting about any adventures I embark on.

Carpe Diem,