Mind the Gap!

This is the first time that I’ve flown in my entire life. I found it was quite exciting being on the plane, especially the second jet. The first was tiny and cramped, while the second was a massive carrier. My plane was extremely empty - everyone got at least 2-4 seats to themselves. During landing and taxiing, I couldn’t resist playing music from the Harry Potter soundtrack. In fact, after collecting my baggage, I boarded the Hog- --whoops-- Gatwick Express. For the duration of my stay in London, I’ll be at the Regency Hotel. It’s quite lovely, albeit with strange bathrooms (and no, I’m not talking about a bidet).

We’ve found that you get to know your fellow students quite quickly when you’re sharing rooms and intimate details of your life every day. We have an extraordinary amount of freedom to wander the city to our heart’s content, arriving and departing whenever the fancy strikes us. In St. Pete it’ll be more structured, but I think the whole point of studying abroad is lowering boundaries, not putting more up; therefore, I should have plenty of interesting stories to relay. Hopefully none of them involve me getting stuck on the wrong side of the city when the bridges go up! I’m going to be in Russia tomorrow, but for now I’ll give you guys a quick summary of what’s been happening in London:

Day 1
For my first day in London, I managed to completely explore the Tower of London; find King’s Cross station, platforms 9 and 10, but not 9 ¾; traipse through the Kensington gardens; and become completely and utterly lost dozens of times. I was extremely surprised to find Londoners volunteering to help us find the correct street or tube line to take. I never expected such outward kindness and helpfulness when I came here, and I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised.

My favorite moment of the day was when we went out to the local pub. Now, the drinking age is 18 in London, and they don’t exactly card you when you buy a drink. However, I’m not of age, and I have no desire whatsoever to drink - especially in a foreign country. What I like about pubs here is that they’re like hang out spots. You eat, perhaps get something to drink, and sit around and chat for a few hours. It’s laid back and lively all at the same time.

The lovely group of people I shared chips and many laughs with.

Day 2
So this morning we took a 3 hour bus tour to see the main sights of the city. The major stops that we took were at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and Covent Garden. Our tour guide was the jolliest person I’ve met in London - she was brilliant!

London is quite expensive, so I didn't go to the London Eye today - I’ll save that for my next trip here. I got to go to the Millennium Bridge, which is where the first scene in HPOotP is shot (noticing a theme here?), and then St. Paul’s.

My first “independent” stop was at Westminster Abbey, and that took up a good part of the day. The Abbey’s Lady Chapel was breathtakingly gorgeous. I understand why they don’t allow visitors to take photos, but I truly wish I could have taken some of the ceiling and stained glass. Words just cannot explain the majestic nature of that chapel. I took some photos of the cloisters and gardens, though

One of  the strangest parts of being in London (and Europe in general, really), is walking past famous monuments, palaces, and other sights and it’s ‘just another walk.’ So it’s just like… “Oh hello there, Big Ben... hello Buckingham Palace… Scotland Yard.. I’ll be on my way now.” I think even if I lived all my life in a city like London, I couldn’t ever get tired of seeing such amazing buildings. One of the people I met here just said, “Once we get independently wealthy, I am going to buy the British Museum… and live there.” I heartily support that plan!

After Westminster, my friends and I traveled up to Tottenham Court Road, which is where a lot of computer shops are and cafes. It was pretty close to the British Museum, so that’s where we ended our night. The museum is something that takes weeks to see properly - we only had an hour. I got the Rosetta Stone in, Egyptian mummies and sarcophaguses, Assyrian artwork, and some Roman sculpture.

It was an excellent day, and what made everything better was lively friends and odd occurrences. At one point, we couldn’t find each other at an exit in a building has only one way out. I still don't understand how that happened.

One last thing: we finally found Platform 9 ¾! There’s plenty of construction and remodeling going on at King’s Cross, so they’ve moved it to a white hallway. They placed a sticker of a fake brick wall, and it really does away with any sort of charm that it previously had. I hope that the next time I’m in London, it’s put back properly and I can take a picture that doesn’t look like I’m standing next to an ad for brick designs, and have sawed through a small trolley. All of this, and the fact that it was actually in Platform 8, was sad.

I’m typing this last bit on the plane to St. Petersburg; next time I post, I’ll be telling you about my first days in Russia. More pictures are going to be up in the 'Pictures' tab. Cheers!