Well, after a slightly uncomfortable flight from Newark to Heathrow (love it when seats don't recline) Delaney and I hopped on the Underground to get to my friend's flat at Gloucester Road. Considering the number of suitcases and the fact that it was rush-hour, I think we did pretty well.
Thursday was very touristy: took Delaney to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace before walking over to my old elementary school in Hans Place. Went to the office and 3 of my old teachers (from 10 years ago!!) were still there AND they recognized me- certainly wasn't expecting that! Miss Makepiece went and got married and had two kids while Miss Wallace and Mme Regelwell haven't changed a bit. Then, we went to Harrods and wandered around- takes a considerable amount of time since about the size of a city block- after I bought 4 clumps of delicious marzipan. At this point we were exhausted since the jet lag finally caught up to us, adding up to about two days with almost no sleep at all. Tina and Robert (Nat's parents) made us dinner before we crashed by 8pm.
After sleeping for 13hours (!!) we headed out to the Tower of London Friday morning and spent about 3 solid hours walking around and seeing all of it in typical English weather- cold, damp and cloudy. The Crown Jewels never cease to amaze me; they're absolutely beautiful. Nat was getting in to London from Bournemouth (where she goes to school) around 4:30pm, so we headed back and met up with her and her friend Lizzie for dinner before heading out to *drumroll* the biggest innercity mall in Europe. They just call it Westfields (same company that constructs most American malls) and it's ginormous- Garden State Plaza pales in comparison. Chilled out there for a bit and then stopped by a pub on the way home where I had my first LEGAL drink!! Haha.
Saturday was fairly relaxing, but it was pouring and we were sopping wet in minutes- even with umbrellas. Nevertheless, we went to Westminster and saw Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey which, just like the Crown Jewels, is always lovely and historic to tour through- the original church was built in the 11th century! By the way, there's a statue of Abe Lincoln at Parliament Square, not sure why? After the Abbey we walked down Whitehall Road to Trafalgar Square, passing by Downing St (where the prime minister lives) and Horseguard Ave (where, you guessed it, there are Horseguards). Saw Nelson in the middle of Trafalgar surrounded by 4 lions for about 5 minutes before we were soaked all over again. Hopped back on the Tube and met the girls outside Primark in Marble Arch which is a big department store (mental note: avoid on Saturdays if at all possible). Saw a girl from my high school at Pret a Manger while waiting for Nat, Kathleen and Lizzie for lunch. Primark was an absolute mad house and, when we finally headed home, I couldn't have been happier to leave it behind. Nat went off to a birthday party while Delaney and I went to Kathleen's dorm to hang out and see what it's like. Came back around 1am and called it a night.
Sunday was very relaxed as well, and we had a late lunch before Johnny (Nat's older brother) and his girlfriend stopped by. Not too long after we said goodbye to Nat as she headed back to Bournemouth and Delaney and I went out to Richmond to see Alice, my old nanny. She has the most adorable baby boy (see my Facebook for pictures) and we hung out at Starbucks for about an hour before heading home for dinner. Afterward we packed up and went out to the Odeon in Kensington to see Up in the Air which, I might add, is a very good movie.
Woke up at 5:15am to make the Eurostar train at 6:55am. Just over two hours later we were in Paris at the Gare du Nord!! Bienvenue a Paris!! Grabbed a cab to our homestay on the other/left side of the river and got all settled.
Our homestay (probably will just call her house mother) is absolutely fantastic. Mme Clement is unbelievably kind and hospitable and she has hosted students from IES for years- even has a little journal that her students have written in for future students to read and appreciate with tips for living in Paris. Del and I each have our own rooms and on a clear day (which unfortunately today is not) we each have a view of the Eiffel Tower from our bedrooms. It doesn't get much better than that!!
Orientation begins tomorrow (19th January)- eek!!
Friday, 15 January 2010
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