Penny Lane is in my ears, and in my eyes

Friday morning at 10:30am me and 5 other girls (Mary, Becca, Jenn, Abby, and Gabriela) began our trip to visit the wonderful city of Liverpool, home of the Beatles. If you've never been to Liverpool, I highly suggest you go! The night life is so much fun with bars, clubs, and pubs everywhere, and the people are so friendly. It was funny though because whenever we told people we were studying in London, everyone said how much they hated the stuck up Londoners, but they were so excited when we told them we were American.

After the 5 1/2 hour bus ride, we decided we'd walk to our hostel since it was only 0.8 miles away...not so bad unless you get lost and can't find street signs and have to walk the whole way uphill with suitcases! Anyways, we finally got to the hostel and I was petrified because all I could think about was the movie where everyone was killed. Great. It turned out being an awesome place though, decked out with Beatles paraphernalia and really interesting people from all over!

So Friday night we went out and the BEST part was the 1 pound/shot tequila bar with about 30 different flavors. Heaven.

Then Saturday we attempted to get up early, went shopping for a bit (of course at Primark...which will be a separate blog in itself) and at 3pm we went over to Albert Dock to meet up for the 2 hour long Magical Mystery Tour to learn all about the Beatles! It was amazing. We learned all about how they met and where they grew up, got to see Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields...it was definitely a memorable trip. At that point, I was absolutely exhausted so we ate out, walked around a little bit and went back to hang out with people at the hostel.

We had to leave Sunday at 5pm so we had a couple hours to do some more site seeing, saw some museums, and went on these really high swings!

Overall, a fabulous weekend! But now, back to reality...well kinda ;)

Mini Trip to Richmond

Took a trip with the roomies today to Richmond, London. It was such a beautiful area. Got a little lost trying to find the the main campus of our school, but I soon found out that getting lost in London isn't such a bad thing. The houses we passsed and people we talked to were awesome. Anywhere you go in London is absolutely amazing. Everything is so adorable and you seriously feel like you're walking in a movie! Once we FINALLY got to Richmond, The American International University in London, it was pushing 4pm and already started getting dark. The campus was small but the architecture was gorgeous. When we got to the tube station to head back to Kensington, something was wrong with the machines we tap our oyster cards on to and I guess the trains were messed up. In the middle of our trip back they said we need to change trains so we got on the other one, but then they said we needed to get on another! Just one stop away from where we needed to be and it was so hectic! Luckily we found our way and made it back safe :-)

For dinner, we went to a little place called FalFala where I got Jacket Potatoes (a popular dish in London). It was basically a baked potato stuffed with cheese and beans. Kind of boring, but it was pretty yummy!!

Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I'm curious to see how it goes...I'll keep you posted!!

Cheers!

A Week To Remember

London is amazing. I arrived here around 7:30am on Tuesday and I have been smiling ever since. At first it was very surreal and I honestly felt like I was living in a dream. I couldn't believe that I was here and that I was going to be here for 4 months!

There were about 15 of us from our group/school on the flight over here out of Boston and as I wiped my tears from my cheeks after saying my goodbyes, I soon met friends and started my adventure. Once we got to Heathrow airport in London, we were all loaded up on to a coach bus that brought us over to where we were staying. The bus had to stop about a 5 minute walk away though because the road was too narrow where we were going! Even the roads have character while much of them are cobblestone and windy.

Later that afternoon, some of us met up to go on a walking tour of Kensington, the area we are staying in, where we got to see Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Kensington palace, etc. This was great because it really enabled me to get a feel for where I was, the history behind it, and where the closest shopping was!! That night we went to an orientation meeting where we were clearly told by a police officer that us Americans don't know how to drink. I'll take that as a challenge.

We went on a bus tour of London on Wednesday, but of course I left my camera in the room but I know I will be taking many trips down there anyways where I will get better pictures than what I would get out of a bus window. There, we got to see Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower Bridge (the draw bridge that the Spice Girls jumped over in their movie...WHICH I found out was a true story about some other bus driver who actually did that in 1952), among other things.

Wednesday night, me and 3 other girls took the tube (kind of like the subway but easier...) to Pickadilly Circus (sort of like our Time Square). It was so easy to get to and only took 10 minutes and we could walk around the beautiful city lit up at night. There's shopping down there, clubs, bars, pubs, casinos, everything! It was so much fun.

Thursday, I saw the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre which was out of this world! I had never seen a show like this before and what better time to do it than when I am in London!? It was definitely a night to remember. Especially because afterwards, a bunch of us found this club called O'neil's which was packed with international people drinking and dancing. I had a blast!

Friday was our last night of orientation extravaganzas. We ended the week with a boat party down the River Thames which was unbelievable. The sites were gorgeous and it was a great way to get to know people from our school.

To think that this much happened in just the first 4 days, I can't wait to see what's in store for the next 4 months!!

Until then,

Cheers!

Let the blogging begin...

In about 34 hours, I will be on my way to London town. It all feels very surreal to me and I honestly cannot believe I am actually doing this! But the time has come and I am about to embark on a new journey 3,372 miles away!

This blogging thing is new to me and I hope I'll keep up with it but I'm thinking it will make it easier for folks back in the states to keep up with my travels and experiences abroad! I know I will be missing each and every one of you but 4 months will come before we know it!

I hope everyone had a happy new year, and I will see you when I get back!!!

In the words of Glozell: Peace and blessings y'all. Peace and blessings...