Study Abroad London 2014: End of the First Week!

I can't believe I've been here for almost a week! We have seen so much, but we still have so many more things to see!

Wednesday:
We had an excursion for one of our classes, where we went to Brick Lane to have a tour of that side of London. It was pretty cool because we learned about a lot of the history, mostly about what happened to the area during/after World War 2, but the only pictures I got of it were pretty much just buildings. We got bagels (spelled beigel here for some reason?) afterwards and it was the most delicious thing ever--with smoked salmon and cream cheese! I might have to go back just for the bagel :) It was pretty interesting for a first excursion! We didn't do much on Wednesday because we also had to finish up a video for one of our classes, but it still feels like we did so much!

A warehouse where bells are made (including the Liberty Bell!)

Thursday:

Yesterday the weather was absolutely beautiful--it was actually warm enough to wear shorts! And it never rained! So, after class, my friends and I decided to walk through Camden market and see the little shops that were there. I didn't buy anything, but it was nice to see what was available (after all, I do need to get some souvenirs...). A lot of the little shops sold things like dresses, paintings, jackets, purses, and just typical London souvenirs like keychains and postcards. There was also a nice inside area of the market where they were selling a lot of vintage items. We spent a veeery long time in the market, and that was pretty much the main thing that we did all day. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the market but I am sure that I will at some point this trip!

And today was my friend's birthday, so last night a big group of us went out to celebrate her birthday at midnight! It was kind of weird though because apparently going out on Thursday nights isn't as big here as it is back home... There were a lot of older people out at the places we went haha

Friday (Today):

To start, we went on an excursion to Age UK (a charity) for one of our classes, where we learned about what they do and other various aspects of the aging population in Great Britain. Afterwards, we went to get fish and chips--an obvious classic for going to England. To be fair, I probably will not eat it again this trip because I felt kind of gross afterward, but I definitely had to at some point while I was here! Despite this, it was actually delicious! Apparently the place we went had very high ratings on their fish and chips :P

We also went to see the London (Tower) Bridge! We went in a large group, and although it sometimes was difficult to navigate with so many people, we had a lot of fun! We went up in the bridge and got some great photos looking over the river. There were also a lot of random informative posters up there about various aspects of London and different things that originated there like bands, fashion styles, etc. After, we walked past the London Tower but didn't actually go up in it, but we did go to the Monument and walk to the top. Walking to the top was awful! My friend Katie and I had to keep stopping to take breaks because we were out of breath (for the record, it was 311 very steep steps in a spiral staircase). But once we got up there, it was very similar to looking out at the top of the Eiffel Tower, though it wasn't as tall, obviously. There was also not a whole lot of space up there so we didn't stay there for too long. Walking back down those stairs was a lot freakier because the stairs also were a little slippery and sometimes you'd have to pass other people who were coming up. I think it was one of those things that I did once but will probably not do again hahaha

Finally, we walked over to St. Paul's Cathedral (which is in Mary Poppins), but by the time we got over there, they were no longer allowing visitors inside. So, we decided that we will also need to go there for Church one Sunday in addition to Westminster Abbey! The outside of the church was absolutely beautiful though.