The British Library

Today we visited the British Library. The British hate the exterior of the library, they consider it a blemish on the face of London. Although I think it looks fine, it does not compare to the train station next to it, yes the building that looks like a crazy cathedral. We did not go too far into the library but we did explore their collection of original manuscripts. 

On display are: Alice in Wonderland notes, Shakespeare drafts, Virginia Woolf drafts, Beatles handwritten copies of song lyrics, Buddhist scrolls and manuscripts, Sacred Judaism and Hinduism texts, the original hand painted copy of "The Birds of America" by Audubond, and the Magna Carta alongside the articles of the Barons. 

PS: I got a wardrobe today!!!

Notting Hill Festival

The Notting Hill Festival is the largest festival in Europe and it took place yesterday. Some of my classmates and I went to check it out expecting it to be some sort of street fair. We had heard that it was Jamaican themed and had a parade worth seeing. 

It turns out that the Notting Hill festival is like a gross college party that has thrown up onto the streets. It was held in a, normally, nice section of London but all of the storefronts had boards over their windows. We found out later that there were 107 arrests before early afternoon. Definitely not a place we wanted to be. 

(that is in fact the crowd stretching to the horizon)

We took off pretty quickly after realizing that no matter where we went, the whole festival was like this. Luckily on our way back to the flat we found a beautiful church...

(St. John's)

and park. 

(a small corner of Hyde Park)

Now that that's over...

I'm here! After an 8 hour flight plus an hour long tube ride and some confusion plus a little assistance from a friendly old man, I arrived at my flat (as they're called in London). As you can see from my previous post, I'm less than impressed with my accommodations but that is ok. The point is, I'M IN LONDON!!! 

Now, I've only been here for two days, one of which was taken up a bit with traveling and unpacking but I have done a few things. 

Last night, my flat mates and I went out to a pub to grab dinner and celebrate our arrival. It's a neat place, it looks like a pub that one would imagine if they were to picture an English pub. It is located just a few blocks from our flat and is popular with the local university students. 

(pardon the less than fantastic quality of this photo, nighttime is not the best for taking outdoor shots with my camera)

They serve enormous burgers and fries there as I found out. I think next time I will try one of their traditional English meat pies. They looked really good. 

Today we all accidentally slept until noon, seriously, my alarm didn't go off, so we got a late start. After stocking up our kitchen at the local grocery store (pictures to come later) we decided to head to a market near Regents Park. It was a long walk but there is a festival going on this weekend that has caused long delays in the tube lines so we chose to just make the trek on foot. The market was pretty neat but full of mostly cheap items. I took the time to enjoy my surroundings instead of shopping. 

That's all for now. Cheerio! 

First a Brief Rant

So, although London is a fabulous place and I'm grateful that I'm here, I have to rant a bit about my flat. It's awful.

My only drawer space is this tiny nightstand.

The room itself is completely bare, and we're not allowed to hang anything.

The noise from the street, although not a lot, sounds as though the windows are open.
I have to use a key to get to the hall with my bathroom, which is stained quite yellow.
My bed is the most uncomfortable place I've ever slept.


Some optimism:
My roommates are great.
My flat mates are great.
The kitchen is cute.
I have two good size windows that look up at the street.
I can buy a new pillow and a mattress topper for my bed.
There is a shelf to put my things on in the bathroom.
The room came with a bedside lamp.
I get to shop at an adorable little grocery store.
The British Museum is 2 blocks away.
I'M IN LONDON.

Here we go!

Hello everyone!
I haven't left yet but I wanted to get this blog set up and running so that everyone can find me before I take off. I will be leaving on August 27th for London and will begin posting regularly once I arrive. My plan is to post at least once a week but feel free to check in a bit more often because I'm sure there will be times where something wonderful has happened that I will have to share with you right away. I'm looking forward to my trip and sharing it with you.