Wow.  Things have been so busy.  I keep expecting to crash, but I seem to have an endless supply of energy (hopefully that continues).  I have done so many things in the last week and had so many wonderful experiences.  I think I’m going to make a list of them to keep them straight and to keep myself from rambling on and on in circles.  (Speaking of going in circles:  I do that a lot here.  I get lost on a fairly regular basis and have to consult maps and wander around until I find what I’m looking for.)

1)       Class:  I, of course, have attended my class (it is a study abroad program, after all).  I am really enjoying my class, which is on the Legend of King Arthur.  It is so incredibly amazing to be studying King Arthur in England.  There are some exciting field trips coming up to various Arthurian sites!

2)      Sherlock Holmes:  A couple friends and I had a Sherlock Holmes Day!  We went to Speedy’s Café for lunch one day and then went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street.  It was so much fun and a great day with friends.

The Sherlock Holmes Museum and Gift Shop

3)      The Tower of London, the British Museum, and the British Library:  For our first class field trip last week, we went to these fantastic places.  It was a spectacular day-long trip.  We left at 7:45 in the morning and didn’t get back until 9:00 at night.  The Tower of London was absolutely amazing.  The amount of history in that one location is really astounding.  There are parts of walls still standing that originally from the Roman Britain Era (1^st Century AD – 410AD).  And, of course, the Crown Jewels were lovely!  I really have no words to describe the British Museum and the British Library.  They were really, really amazing places.

A piece of old Roman Wall from the original foundation of The Tower.

The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

4)      Paris:  There was a weekend trip to Paris.  It was a lot of fun.  It was Bastille Day which was kind of good and kind of bad at the same time.  It was really cool to be able to be in France on a National Holiday; there was a parade and a fireworks show.  However, that also meant that about half of the stores were closed, so I wasn’t able to get much shopping done.  It was still a great trip!  I went to the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay.

This was as close as we could get to the Eiffel Tower without actually buying tickets to climb it.

5)      Charing Cross:  Charing Cross is an area of London that is especially known for its bookstores.  It was my birthday on Monday, so as a birthday present to myself, I went to a bunch of bookstores!  (This may not seem like a great present to some of you, but it was the perfect day for me!  I love books!)

The food here is really interesting.  I haven’t decided exactly how I feel about it.  I actually haven’t eaten out very much; I’ve mainly had meals in the Refectory (Cafeteria) on campus.  I don’t really know what I expected from the food before I came here…  Probably the best food that I have had so far was the scone with clotted cream and jam that I had for a midmorning snack at the café in the Tower of London.  I wasn’t expecting to like clotted cream, but on a scone with a bit of jam it is really quite lovely.

My scone with clotted cream and jam. Yummy!

Also, if you go to a café or restaurant that serves chips (fries), you will normally see a bottle of malt vinegar on the table.  Apparently, most British people eat their chips with it.  I was really surprised to hear this because it seems like a strange combination.  I was a bit hesitant to try it, but once I did I discovered that I really liked it!

The Tube is actually a lot easier to use that I had expected.  I was really surprised that it is as easy to use as it is.  Before I came, I thought that the Tube was really scary and that I would get lost.  I had planned to avoid it as much as possible.  However, I use it to get almost everywhere (along with the double-decker busses).  I’m really glad that it is so simple to use.

Cheers,

Emily