Finally not feeling like a tourist anymore!
So all of this trip I have had issues with being a tourist. Eight weeks of dealing with people who take
pictures of every rock/tree/statue/building that looks important, buy ridiculous souveneirs from places like shamrock coasters, and who are continually so loud and obnoxious that you feel like you should just buy a bullseye with "stupid American" put on it can really take it's toll. And I try to deal, but it gets really old.
So I decided that while I was here I would spend at least one day in London by myself. I have this theory that you can't really EXPERIENCE a place until you have to figure it out for yourself. So on Monday I went into London taking the dreaded Megabus (yes, I know I'm a fool for still going on it, but this one wasn't bad and it did only cost £6 for the whole trip). First thing I did when I got into London was buy an all day Once I got in, I went to the nearest underground station and bought myself an all day tube pass to use the underground for the day. After several false starts (if you ever use the tube, it is good to know the direction that you want to take on the line AND know which train to take if the line you are on branches off in different directions), I got to High Kensington station and toured Kensington Palace. The palace was okay, but they had a cool exhibit on the various dresses of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana. Then I wandered through Kensington Park, which is gorgeous, and got hit on by THREE random men (the last one asked me for directions, so I pulled out my map and helped him figure out where he wanted to go. Then as he was walking away, he stopped, turned around, and asked me "so what are YOU doing?"). Back to the underground to Notting Hill, which looked NOTHING like the movie (yeah, I know it is sad that I thought it might), but I walked down to the Portabello Market, which is this famous open road market and had to resist the urge to buy random souveneirs and crap. Then, continuing my obsession with the British Royal Family, I walked to Clarence House, where I had bought tickets to tour the official residence of Charles and Camilla AND (you guessed it) William and Harry. I barely made it to the place on time and I was the only person in the tour group that was under 30, but it was totally worth it. It was the only place out of everywhere we have visited that seemed like an actual house-there were baby pictures of William and Harry in the rooms and books on the shelves! So yes, it was a WONDERFUL day and I came back content and unscathed.
Tuesday was relatively low key, aside from that night we made special cookies for the rest of our hallmates. I know I have occasionally mentioned that I live with a bunch of douche bags (I also live with amazing people like Kendra and Marina, but most of the others are douche bags), and the idiots think that it is okay to eat everyone else's food and be obnoxious. So, we decided to bake a batch of cookies with A WHOLE BOTTLE OF EX-LAX baked in. Then we left the cookies out. We didn't offer them to anyone, but we knew that they would probably eat a bunch when they came in that night plastered, which of course they did because a big bunch were missing when I woke up in the morning. AHH, SWEET REVENGE.
Then yesterday I went back to London because my class was going to see the Churchill Museum/Cabinet War Rooms (I LOVE class field trips). My friend Jen and I went early on the train. First we went to the British Museum, which was too crowded and too vast to be an effective day trip, but had amazing historical objects including the rosetta stone. Seeing that was exciting. However, it was filled with annoying people taking pictures and even VIDEOTAPING (who is seriously going to watch that?) the stone, so I was happy to move on. Afterwards, we went to the Churchill Musuem/Cabinet War Rooms, which were VERY cool. Jen and I were the last ones there in our class, leaving only when the museum closed because there was so much information. AND LASTLY: that night we went to see PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!! Seriously, an amazing musical, it was SO GOOD!!!
Yes, I have the best life. Sorry if that was long and boring, I felt like sharing.
pictures of every rock/tree/statue/building that looks important, buy ridiculous souveneirs from places like shamrock coasters, and who are continually so loud and obnoxious that you feel like you should just buy a bullseye with "stupid American" put on it can really take it's toll. And I try to deal, but it gets really old.
So I decided that while I was here I would spend at least one day in London by myself. I have this theory that you can't really EXPERIENCE a place until you have to figure it out for yourself. So on Monday I went into London taking the dreaded Megabus (yes, I know I'm a fool for still going on it, but this one wasn't bad and it did only cost £6 for the whole trip). First thing I did when I got into London was buy an all day Once I got in, I went to the nearest underground station and bought myself an all day tube pass to use the underground for the day. After several false starts (if you ever use the tube, it is good to know the direction that you want to take on the line AND know which train to take if the line you are on branches off in different directions), I got to High Kensington station and toured Kensington Palace. The palace was okay, but they had a cool exhibit on the various dresses of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana. Then I wandered through Kensington Park, which is gorgeous, and got hit on by THREE random men (the last one asked me for directions, so I pulled out my map and helped him figure out where he wanted to go. Then as he was walking away, he stopped, turned around, and asked me "so what are YOU doing?"). Back to the underground to Notting Hill, which looked NOTHING like the movie (yeah, I know it is sad that I thought it might), but I walked down to the Portabello Market, which is this famous open road market and had to resist the urge to buy random souveneirs and crap. Then, continuing my obsession with the British Royal Family, I walked to Clarence House, where I had bought tickets to tour the official residence of Charles and Camilla AND (you guessed it) William and Harry. I barely made it to the place on time and I was the only person in the tour group that was under 30, but it was totally worth it. It was the only place out of everywhere we have visited that seemed like an actual house-there were baby pictures of William and Harry in the rooms and books on the shelves! So yes, it was a WONDERFUL day and I came back content and unscathed.
Tuesday was relatively low key, aside from that night we made special cookies for the rest of our hallmates. I know I have occasionally mentioned that I live with a bunch of douche bags (I also live with amazing people like Kendra and Marina, but most of the others are douche bags), and the idiots think that it is okay to eat everyone else's food and be obnoxious. So, we decided to bake a batch of cookies with A WHOLE BOTTLE OF EX-LAX baked in. Then we left the cookies out. We didn't offer them to anyone, but we knew that they would probably eat a bunch when they came in that night plastered, which of course they did because a big bunch were missing when I woke up in the morning. AHH, SWEET REVENGE.
Then yesterday I went back to London because my class was going to see the Churchill Museum/Cabinet War Rooms (I LOVE class field trips). My friend Jen and I went early on the train. First we went to the British Museum, which was too crowded and too vast to be an effective day trip, but had amazing historical objects including the rosetta stone. Seeing that was exciting. However, it was filled with annoying people taking pictures and even VIDEOTAPING (who is seriously going to watch that?) the stone, so I was happy to move on. Afterwards, we went to the Churchill Musuem/Cabinet War Rooms, which were VERY cool. Jen and I were the last ones there in our class, leaving only when the museum closed because there was so much information. AND LASTLY: that night we went to see PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!! Seriously, an amazing musical, it was SO GOOD!!!
Yes, I have the best life. Sorry if that was long and boring, I felt like sharing.