How now?

Oh yes! I remember that I have a blog. So sorry.

It’s been nine days here in foggy London town (I’ll try and keep off the clichés—but foggy it is)and I am having an insanely amazing experience. Our little group does so much in a week’s time. I’m not sure how I’m going to document it all here in one post, but I will try! We’ll do it this way: first day…tour of the center…highlights of our travels.

DAY ONE

I’m awake. I’m packed. I fly from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis (lovely airport) and then to the London Heathrow Airport. The universe smiles on me and I get two adjacent, empty seats.

Touch down after 7 hours or so of sleeping and watching The Artist-- turns out I'd already seen it. (Singing in the Rain, much?) I’m in London. Customs. Passport. Landing card? Didn’t even give that to anyone. Oops. Okay. Keep going. It feels weird— YOU’RE IN LONDON. FEEL IT. You don’t really feel it. Not until you’re out of the airport. So I rendezvoused with my little third of the group in a strange, grey metallic, echoing limbo that was the Heathrow baggage claim. In London. But not yet. You know?

The first little happening that brought us (we were all feeling this way) closer to feeling like we were actually in London was meeting our coach driver Winston. Yes. Winston. Naïve as it may be, I didn’t think it got any more British than that. (writing that is something of a dramatic irony now) We packed up the coach (coach= charter bus, and probably a normal bus as well) and set off for the London Center.

Oh my goodness, I love the London Center. Quaint, Victorian, beautifully carved mahogany everything, slate blue and gold carpets, pale green walls and extremely creaky floors. Also, there are a lot of stairs. 66 up to my room. I just counted. Out—of—breath. Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, I did have to lug my luggage (2 goodly sized suit cases and a backpack) UP said stairs. But hey, I’ll just show ya.

LONDON CENTER

Pics and stuff

HIGHLIGHTS

Sorry if these aren’t necessarily in order, but here’s the cool stuff we’ve done so far.

This is my picture-- not the one on the internet :) 

• Royal Albert Hall. I made it! Oh, people. People, it's beautiful. I had such a moment in the park that first day when a my friend Lauren and I ran to go see it. It was drizzling a little that morning and the chill made your fingers stiff. The park was still and quiet. As we walked, all of a sudden we see the Royal Albert Memorial, which is stinkin' impressive. 
• Running Hyde Park. The first morning (the morning when everyone woke up at the hours of 10pm, 2am, 4am and 6:40am) a few of us went running around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, as I mentioned before. We've done this a few times now and it's been one of the most rewarding experiences of the trip! Hyde Park is a little paradise no matter what the weather is doing. 
• Museum of London
• Gelato Mio, Café Diana, Rose & Crown Pub, TukTuk Thai--these are all the little restraunts I've tried so far. Some twice. The Thai and Indian food scene in London is one of the best-- according to locals and our directors. 
• Borough Market-- 
• Globe Theater
• London Philharmonic Orchestra (4 quid, what what!)

• Tower of London
• Stratford-on-Avon
• Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
• Royal Shakespeare Theater Company’s production of Twelfth Night
• Chipping Norton
• Westminster Abbey
• Parliament and Big Ben
• Les Miserables at Piccadilly Circus