Epic Update

This posting is evidence of two things:
1) I must stop trying to cram all of London into a short period of time...I will be here for months
2) I must update my blog more often so that I do not give my followers a headache. I apologize in advance!

Thursday 14th January 2010
On Thursdays we have two classes. First is Art in London, The Global City with Kathy Adler. the class is fantastic! Every weel we hold class in a different gallery around London. We keep a journal of all that we see and talk aboutwhice we will turn in at the end of the term and get to keep it as a memory of all the beautiful art we saw while in London. Our first trip was to the National Portrait Gallery which is in Trafalgar Square. Before we went into the gallery, we walked around for a bit in the square, which is amazing! We went inside the curch called St. Martin's In the Field. The Church is beautiful with grand ceilings, statues...the architecture is jaw-dropping. The church has a very impressive history. There is one balcony for admiralty and another for royalty. A king was once a warden of this church, but he rarely fulfilled his duties (I guess he was a little busy). The church is named "in the fields" because it literally used to be in the middle of the country side. This is hard to believe because it is such a bustling place now in the center of London.

Outside the church is Trafalgar Square with a large statue of Nelson and many other war heroes. Nelson's statue is so high up that he looks tiny. In actuality, he is seven times the size of a real man! On one side of the square is the National Gallery (different from the National Portrait Gallery). We didn't go inside, but we soon will I am sure. Outside of the National to the right is a small statue of George Washington donated to England by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Because the British did not wish to put our good ole' George on their soil, they had Virgnian soil shipped over and put him on that instead! A truly British thing to do.

Inside the Protrait Gallery we got to see the newest portrait of Prince Harry and Prince Edward in their military uniforms. I love all the references to kings, queens, princes, princesses, lords, ladies...it makes me feel like I am living in a land of fairy tales. For class we looked at an exhibition of a competition of modern portrait photography. It was pretty good, but I look forward to going back and taking a look at some of the other exhibits inside.

After the art class, we have British Imperial Worlds, a history class with Professor Fae Dussart. Her focus of studies is the 19th Ce, which is good for me because it is my favorite time period of British history (largely because of my love for Jane Austen, Doyle, Dickens, Bronte, and other Victorian writers). It should be a great class!

On Thursday evening, we had a private tour of the British Museum as part of our London Experience class (which is a series of field trips for one credit hour). Our tour guide was Sam Moorhead, a UNC alum and top historian at the museum. I felt very privileged to have such a prestigious guide! He loves UNC and says that going there is the best decision that he has ever made...Sam and I have a lot in common ;) He loves to help out and get to know as many Tar Heels as possible. He wants to give us another tour and has arranged for us to be allowed inside the ropes at Stonehenge!

Friday 15 January 2010
Another eventful day! In the morning, we had a walking tour of Wesminister. We started in Bedford Place and walked back down through Trafalgar Square, to the Horse Guard, through Green Park and St. James' Park, to Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey, Parliament, and ending at Big Ben. Needless to say, my feet were very sore. However, I hardly noticed because I was constantly walking around with my mouth open in awe. I actually walked into a lamp post because I was so busy looking up that it sneaked up on me. Don't worry, no bruises! The tour was great for getting a taste of some of the amazing sites and figuring out where I would like to return (which is everywhere). I enjoyed a lot of the info that the guide gave us about King Charles. When he was beheaded after the British Civil war, his head was sewn back on so that he could be buried at I think it was St. Paul's Cathedral. Another very British thing to do. In front of Parliament is a statue of Cromwell who lead the revolution and ruled in between Charles I and Charles II. Directly across from this statue is a bust of Charles I mounted on the side of the building. The two of them are literally staring each other down. Very tongue and cheek.

Later that day, I met up with my friend Erin who was visiting London on a few days lay over before she headed to Eastern Europe for her study abroad program. It was nice to see a familiar face over here where everything else is so new! We ended up walking the exact same route that I had earlier that day and I felt like a pro spouting out all of my tour guide information as we walked around. I am starting to get the hang of things down here and can get around pretty well. The more touring that we do the less I feel like I am in a maze. Which is why on Saturday we took a bus tour....

Saturday 16 January
Our bus tour was called "The Original London Tour" and covers all of the major sites. You can hop off the bus whenever you like and hop back on when you are done exploring that area. In the winter they give you a deal and you can use your ticket for 48 hours and get free cruise down the Thames. The bus is double decker, which is fun and terrifying at the same time. We definitely did a lot more walking than riding! Another example of my overly-ambitious site-seeing goals. I have calmed down a bit since this weekend so that I won't burn out before we even get started! Our first hop off was at Covent Gardens. We saw the market there and a street performer who rode a unicycle while juggling and telling jokes. It was a quality show! Very funny. I have many pictures and a video or two that I will be happy to share as soon as I get around to uploading the 250 pictures that I have already taken to my computer.

Our next stop was at St. Paul's Cathedral. One thing I find quite odd is that most museums are free but several churches charge for admission. A bit backwards if you ask me...However, St. Paul's is definitely worth going back to and paying for a tour. It is breathtakingly beautiful. I literally gasped when I walked inside. It has so much history too! I love home, but the United States seems like an infant compared to all I have seen here. From there we walked across the Millenium Bridge and saw Shakespeare's Globe Theater. I got a bit lost on our searc for the bus stop, but when I finally made it there the rest of the group and I were glad to be sitting down. We rode the bus across the Gate Bridge and the London Tower and back up to Trafalgar Square. It was great to get out and around and again I found about a MILLION more things that I want to do. I am glad that I have so much time to spend here!

Sunday was Jessica's birthday, but we decided to celebrate on Saturday. We went to Sports Cafe (which is quickly becoming a favorite!) and watched the Tar Heel basketball game versus Georgia Tech. Talk about absolute nail biter and disappointment. Though those baby heels will grow up soon, I am sure! They probably just miss me being in the stands ;) Erin was with us watching the game, so the loss definitely lost some of its sting. Im hoping things will turn around soon so staying up to strange hours in the evening doesn't exhaust AND depress me. Though I find it hard to be too sad in the lovely city with such great friends. My roommates and I get along so well and I am incredibly grateful to be in such a great living situation. Couldn't have worked out better! Katherine and Mary Katherine are great! We giggle all the time and are constantly having sing alongs...we already have so many inside jokes with each other and the rest of our program that I feel like we have known each other forever!

Sunday 17 January 2010
When I woke up on Sunday I literally jumped out of bed and ran to the window. The sun was shining and the sky was beautiful Carolina blue! Sunday was the first and only time that I have seen the sun and blue sky since we arrived over a week ago. It put me in a good mood all day and I used it to the best of my advantage.

I hopped back on the bus with my friends and rode around different parts of London. I made it over to Hyde Park, Harrod's, Kensington Gardens and Palace, and much more...Today we stayed on the bus (I don't think our feet could have handled it any other way) but it was worth it because we got to sit at the top of the open air bus and take everything in. It felt like a gray lid had been lifted from on top of the city and fresh air and energy could come in and finally get us some vitamin d!

We used up every part of the sunny day that we could. Around sunset, we all got on a boat for a cruise down the Thames. We started at Parliament and ended at Tower Bridge. Its a short cruise, but definitely worth it. You get a new view point of some of the most fantastic sites in London and our guide was hilarious.

Monday18 January 2010
On Monday, I finally slowed down a bit. In the morning, we had a tour of BBC's historical Bush House as part of our London Experience class. It's not open to the public, so it was special to go inside. It was pretty neat to get to see how the radio station works from an insider's view. We saw a live studio, the work room, and recorded our own little bit via a mobile phone and edited it for the radio. BBC is massive, with several buildings in the city. The Bush House holds the World Service, so the range of news is gigantic and very impressive.

The rest of the day was full of rest and relaxation, which is a definite change of pace. It felt good to finally chill out for a bit. Katherine, Mary Katherine, and I cooked dinner for each other and Doug. We made a delicious chicken and pasta dish and it tasted even better because we knew that we had made it! There are several pictures documenting the process which I hope to share soon.

Stay tuned for further adventures!!