Buckingham Palace

September 27th

       Allie and I woke up and got ready to go to Buckingham Palace. Every year, the Queen goes on Holiday to Scotland leaving the Palace to toured by her subjects and international visitors. It's a little pricey, but we both thought it was worth it since we'll never have this opportunity again. This was the second to last day that we were able to go. We would have gone the day before, but I was tired from sightseeing and needed a day off, (even though we ended up going to Primark on Oxford St later in the day.) So we caught a double-decker bus over to Westminister to see the Queen's famous residence. We promptly bought our tickets to see the State Rooms but the tour wasn't until 1:30 and it was only 11. So we went next door to see what else was available.

Me in front of The Golden State Coach

They offered a tour of the Royal Mews for even cheaper so we decided to do that while we waited. Our eyes beheld beautiful carriages that have carted the royal family from place to place over the many generations. Some even date all the back to Queen Victoria's reign! They even offered us a headset device for a free audio tour that would tell you more information about carriages in front of you. We saw the Diamond Jubilee carriage and the Golden State Coach. The coach weighs about 4 tons!

The Wonder and the Beauty

September 21st

We began the day as new roommates and went out in search of hangers and toiletries. Nothing was open when we went out so we stopped at a little cafe called Leyas. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet so I ordered a cappuccino and eggs benedict. I didn't love the eggs, but it was an experience since I'd never had them before. My coffee, though, was too beautiful to drink. I stared at it for a long time.

Doesn't it look cute? There's a heart!

It was a very hipster looking place. All the tables were old desks and they had mismatched chairs. All the decor was old looking too. I took a picture for my mother, whom I knew would just love it!

After breakfast, we went to a strange place called Argos in which the store was just filled with tablets that you search for your items and then put them in your "cart" and then when you are ready to check out, you go up to the counter and the people will go get your stuff for you. It was weird and they didn't have what we needed so we left. We also went to the 99 pence store where we found a lot of what we needed for less than a pound. We then went and explored in Camden Market since I really wanted to go back but not without someone with me. We found a wonderful shop called The Black Widow. A woman named Reem worked there and she was so nice and helpful. We talked brands for a while which I am normally unable to do with people since I wear such different stuff. I bought a lot of nice clothes and a steel-boned corset from the shop. We were unable to find any hangers though which is why we went out in the first place. We were heading back home when we passed a place with a little basket with two packs of hangers in it. Success! We bought them immediately and hurried home with our prize! The last hangers in all of London.

New Friends & the perils of beauty

September 19th

       I stayed up most of the night and by 8 am I had finished the game OFF that I had been playing for the last few days. I then got dressed and decided to go find breakfast. I stopped at a Starbucks and grabbed a mocha smoothie and a croissant and then took my feast to King's Cross to eat and see people going about their business.

Once I had finished, I decided to go on a free tour that takes place in Westminister everyday at 11 pm. I had never been on the Tube before (London's subway), so with my extra time, I decided to experiment and find my way around more of London. It took me some time but I finally deciphered the route maps of the Tube. When I got to the exit, I walked through the opening and was met with the most picturesque view. There was a stand with British memorabilia on it, palaces in the distance and Big Ben smiling down at me. I was ecstatic.

This is Westminister station.

Lost & Under the Weather

(note: I will add pictures later since I couldn't find my camera and I can't get my pics off my phone. I will also take better pics of some these places later.)


        My second day in London, I had a few main goals: 1) unpack, since I was too tired to do so when I arrived; 2) Buy towels and bathe, because I stank to high heaven after two days of travel and adjustment; and 3) get thoroughly lost in the city and find my way back. And I completed ALL tasks on that list. After finally getting ready for the day, I ventured out into London's crowded streets. I decided to first head in the direction of King's Cross Station, since everyone says it's really close to my dorms. I arrived no more than five minutes later and beheld a grand site of two beautiful stations side by side, one for its fame and one for its architecture. It is truly a site to behold and I will include a picture.

~pic~

Next, I decided to just wonder off in a random direction and hopefully find some shops since I really needed to buy some necessities like a power chord and tissues. Unfortunately, none of the stores I passed were ones that I required, so I kept walking straight ahead. After some time, I came to pass a construction site who's barrier walls were painted to look like bushes which was different and not something we do in America. I continued down a road that was packed with people heading to different destinations but blocked to cars. I crossed a bridge which ran over Regent's Canal and found a strange building. It was a University for Art, I believe dubbed "The House of Illustration" and yet the building looked like it could have been an old factory in another life. Very un-artsy looking. There were these incredible fountains that weren't really fountains by the buildings front entrance. I will post a picture because these are truly difficult to describe. They are flat and spewing straight onto the pavement and then draining again after a certain distance. There is no structure for a fountain there. They were rather bizarre.

~pic~

One of my favorite spots that I found was only a few feet away. Concrete steps covered in turf led down to the Canal's side path. There were many people just lounging about reading, talking, or as one man I saw, napping. It was a little pretty spot in the center of an industrialized city setting. A nice getaway, which led me to my next discovery. The Canal path itself went on for probably a couple of miles, and as I walked I began to see these little boats tethered to the side of the path. The farther I walked, the more their numbers grew. It was astounding to see so many characterized boats. Some were handsomely decorated and others looked dilapidated and old, just as houses. And that's when it occurred to me that these were no ordinary boats but people's floating houses. Again, I was stunned; this seemed like such a lovely place to live in a city like London. It would be a very different lifestyle to try to imitate.


~pic~

Arrival

         Sunday finally came, the day I had awaited and my parents dreaded. The day I would fly to London by myself to study at London Metropolitan. There was no sleep the night before, too much excitement and worry about last minute packing. The moment came and I was sitting in the Dulles airport waiting with my family.

 After an hour, it was time to go. I headed towards the gate where I said goodbye for the last time. My mother cried and whimpered, "text me when you get there. I love you, my baby girl." She would not be shown on camera due to her distressed state.

Upon descending the stairs, I found the line to security. I waited until I got to the front and grabbed three separate trays for all my shit, then had to take off my honking boots. I stepped through the xray machine and low and behold, there was a problem. After two scans, they would not allow me to pass or to take my stuff. I was exasperated. Of course something was wrong with me, the goth girl....after a long wait, a woman finally came over and took me aside into a little room and explained that the "anomaly" was located in the groin area and I would have to be frisked. ("Enough with the anomaly horseshit!") Turns out it was the shiny stuff on my purple plaid skirt. I wore it cause it was one of the few (I thought) that didn't have any metal on it. Now I know not to wear that one home...

 At last, I boarded the plane. It was bigger, yet smaller, than I expected all at the same time. Just as London is clean, yet decrepit looking all at the same time. I don't know. I had an isle seat with the closest window to my right. A girl on my left and I began talking. She was about my age and had a sister that was going to school somewhere in London as well. After getting situated and comfortable (as you can be on such a squashed plan while wearing platform combat boots!) a flight video queued up telling us all the necessary safety information. Each seat had its own personal tv inlaid in the seat in front of it. Very cool. (I did not watch any movies though, I tried to rest for most of the flight but to no avail.)