What adventures have I gone on recently? Just last Saturday, I was over in Canterbury and Dover. Both were beautiful places. In Canterbury, we went into the Canterbury Cathedral. I found the entrance to the Cathedral to be really cool. From the outside, it looks just like a another building lining the side of the street. You walk in and through an archway and BAM there's a wide open area and a towering cathedral in front of you.
The two videos below are of the cathedral. The first is the outside and the second is of the inner cloister.
Entrance to the Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Inside the Cathedral
The Quire, area of worship and prayer
I'm disappointed to say that my Dover pictures are quite rubbish. Also, one of the cooler things I got to do, I wasn't able to take pictures of. During WWII, Dover was used as a military post. They used the old medieval underground tunnels for safety, living quarters and as a hospital. We got to see a recreation of the hospital and learn about Operation Dynamo, bringing Allied soldiers back from Dunkirk after being cornered by the Nazis. The underground tours were pretty fast, but they did them as sort of a full immersion tour with sound effects lighting so that was pretty cool. Sadly, for safety and legal reasons, they didn't allow photography. The castle was really great. I got to walk all over the area, on the battlements and up in the towers. The views were great (the photos however aren't).
Well, I'm unsure if that's all I had to share right now. If other stuff comes to me, I'll be sure to include it in my next post. Till then, later!
No, the title's correct (sort of). Below is the body of Jeremy Bentham. Philosopher, reformer and on display. With great difficulty, you can find him at UCL (University College London). He wanted to donate his body to SCIENCE(!!!) and, so his body is kept on display, dressed in some of his old clothes. The head is actually a wax head. Apparently, they had his actual head, but they replaced it with the wax one because it started to desiccate and freak people out.
Jeremy Bentham Auto-Icon
I did actually do more than just this. I've been busy with classes. I actually had my first mid-term this week. As the weeks go by, so does my time to work on my final papers and projects. I did some research for one of my classes by going to the Science Museum. I'm doing a project on steampunk and looking at the concepts that influence the movement, so I focused on the steam engines and other Industrial Revolution items in the museum.
I've been having a great time walking around London on my own. Riding the tube and walking down streets has been great. I think it'll be hard adjusting back to life in the US when I get back. Tomorrow, I'll be leaving to visit Canterbury and Dover. I'll be sure to take pictures and tell y'all about it. Till then, later!
So a disappointment today. No Stonehenge! With all the sudden snow, London doesn't know what to do (Heathrow has shut down!) and the trip to Stonehenge was cancelled. Therefore, I did the next best thing, post a video of Doctor Who at Stonehenge.
Despite not going to Stonehenge, I DID get to go to Baths. There, we got to tour the Roman Baths. It was great fun to see all of the Latin stuff again. Tasted the Bath water. Tasted like hospital (don't ask). After the baths, I just walked around the town. Went into some shops for gift searching. Went inside the Baths Abby too.
After Baths, and a 2 1/2 hour bus trip, I was back in Kensington and hungry. I decided to spend some pounds on a take away meal. I ate an incredibly delicious £11.20 burger and now I've turned in for the night.
A couple tidbits from the week.
1. I LOVE the Victorian and Albert Museum. It is chockfull of all kinds of things from all around the world. I've been there twice and still haven't seen everything.
2. The Science Museum is also AWESOME! Definitely going back to see the exhibits and for future research projects.
3. Went into Parliament. No pictures were allowed, so I don't have anything to show. It was cool to see the inside of Parliament. Everything looked so ornate. Went into the House of Lords and Commons. You had to watch were you sat, because there were places you couldn't sit unless you were one or the other.
Hope all is well with everyone. It might be awhile until some more stuff happens. I'll be sure to post when I can. Till then, later!
The Great Bath
Layout of the baths. Green represents existing structures
Temple Courtyard
Screenshot of a video that showed where we were in the courtyard and what it used to look like.
Gonna make this a quick one. Pretty much the entire group went up to King's Cross to have our pictures taken at the Platform 9 3/4 photo area. After that, we took the tubes to Camden, a HUGE shopping area. Clothes, souvenirs, all sorts of things. There were some rather persistent shop vendors, you gotta be able to say 'no' or you'll end up just throwing your money away.
Like I said, just a quick update. I'm heading off to Parliament and Stonehenge later this week. I'll give updates on those when they happen. Till then, later!
So starting yesterday, I returned to Trafalgar Square to complete an assignment for my history class. I have a research project that I have to do on a +1800 subject in the National Portrait Gallery. What I didn't plan on was there being some sort of art function in the Victorian wing, which is exactly the era that I need to go to. Asking one of the museum curators about how long the function went, I decided to wait it out and go to the National Gallery just next door. Pictures are not allowed in the Galleries, so I decided to provide a list of some paintings that I found interesting. Something that I noticed was there were a LOT of artists there, sitting on stools that they'd brought painting some of art. I thought it was cool that they could do that. After completing my rounds in the National Gallery, I returned to the National Portrait Gallery again and headed to the previously closed off area. After that, I went over to the church, St. Martin in the Fields, which a friend suggested I go visit.
With all of my sightseeing done for the day and the sun setting, I made my way back to my flat, but not before running by to pick up a textbook, walk down a couple unknown streets and pick up some groceries.
Today, everyone in my flat left for an 8AM bus to Stonehenge and Baths (I'm in the group going next week). With piece and quiet at my disposal, I ate a quiet breakfast, worked on homework, spent about an hour trying to figure out how to print off a paper I'd written and now I'm here. Still quiet, still peaceful.
Nothing will be happening tomorrow either, just studying. I'll be back when more fun stuff happens. Till then, later!
Paintings
Sunflowers-Vincent Van Gogh
The Morning Walk-George Seurat
Venice: the Doge's Palace and the Molo from the Basin of San Marco-Francesco Guardi
Venice: the Doge's Palace and the Riva degli Schiavoni-Canaletto
The Water-Lily Pond-Claude-Oscar Monet
The London Eye during the day
National Gallery in Trafalgar Square during the day
Classes have begun, and with that, a lot of my free time has gone away. Still, I've been lucky enough to still be going out to visit sites. Monday, we went out to the Olde Operating Theatre, an old hospital and operating theatre where surgeons used to perform surgeries such as amputations. Now it is a museum with all of the tools of the craft. Day after that, we went to the Tate Museum to see some paintings. We went into an exhibit called Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde. I arrived at the museum early, with a group, so we got to check out some of the other art. I was surprised by how small the museum actually was, and I'm under the impression that I actually saw everything in the museum that day.
Something amazing happened today, the sun came out! As far as I've noticed, this is the first time the sun has come out since I've been here. I've been really busy with all of the class readings that've been assigned, so I probably won't be on again for a while until maybe the weekend when I have more of a chance to go out exploring. Till then, later!
Random thoughts on London. I find myself going out to buy food everyday. Whether it's pre-made or groceries.
The street signage here is driving me bonkers! They aren't high on street signs like in America or in the walls like Europe. There aren't many of them at all, and they're all at waist/leg level, so if a big crowd of people are standing in front of it, you can't see it. Makes it hard to navigate. Grah!
We all started the day with a bus tour around London. Today marks the first day I actually made my food. I had orange marmalade on toast for breakfast with some apple juice. On the bus tour, we got to see all over London, Royal Albert Hall, drove by the London Eye and Big Ben. We also got to see the changing of the guard! I took videos of the procession. The first is of the old guards and the second is the new guards approaching Buckingham Palace. After the bus tour, we came back to the flat for lunch. I made a myself another meal (turkey sandwich!) and then we all went on a walking tour around Kensington. We went by Royal Albert Hall again, Kensington Park, Kensington Palace and some of the smaller, not main streets. Went out to eat for dinner. Ate fish and chips. Pretty good. I'll see if I order them again.
Tomorrow, we start classes. This will be the true test of whether or not I can keep this blog up. If you don't hear from me in a while, it's because I'm putting my academics first and expanding my mind. I'll post again at some point. Till then, later!
Well to start off, the first pictures you're gonna see are of FIE buildings. The first is the main Foundation for International Education building that all my classes will take place in. The next is Manson Place, where I'm living. I've also included a picture of my room. If I get around to it, I'll take pictures of other places like the kitchen and common areas, etc.
Foundation House
13-14 Manson Place
My room (my bed's on the right)
So for today, a couple of us went to see some museums. We hit the Natural History Museum first, and got our fill of giant animals and giant fire-resistant sequoias (fire-resistant trees. Now THAT is evolution). Next stop was the Victoria Albert Museum, which was a collection of everything from Medieval Renaissance to Japan. I'm definitely planning on going back to both places at some point (I didn't get to see the DINOSAURS). After the museums, we headed back to the flat for lunch and then set out to find some outlet adaptors, cheap phones and groceries. Had my first British style meal of bangers and mash, albiet it was a microwave ready meal, it still counts. Tomorrow, we have a bus tour of London and a walking tour of the Kensington area we live in. Till then, later!
So today, I woke up at 7:45ish, heated up a frozen dinner frozen breakfast meal, and we all headed to the Imperial College for FIE orientation. We went over all of the basics about academics and student life, etc. After that I headed out shopping. As great as our flat is, which y'all will eventually see, it was lacking in a couple things: soap; dish soap; sponges; paper towels; even scissors, which we still don't have. So after orientation, I headed to the London equivalent of Target, a place called Sainsbury's. We bought the cheapest food and cleaning supplies we could find. After walking back to our flat, I realized that I forgot SPONGES! After running to the nearest shop that sold them, I went on an unexpected trip on the tubes with a group of CSB/SJU Londoners who were headed to Trafalgar Square. The group, myself and the sponges rode the tubes and visited some fantastic sites. A friend of mine, who was in London not so long ago, said, "Go out and do something every night." and they were so right. We saw The London Eye along the Thames River, saw Big Ben and just got lost in London. Supposedly there are walking and bus tours this weekend. I'm checking out the guide books about going to the museums this weekend. Till then, later!
After a long plane ride and a double decker bus, I'm here in Central London! Right off the bat, we all had business to take care of. We had to get our passports copied and buy texts for classes. On our way to the FIE (Foundation for International Education) building, I was called upon to be "The Map"(aka the guy who knows where we're going). It's still too early, but we'll see if this becomes my thing, being the map guy. We all went on a walking tour around our area and the FIE housing buildings.
I had my first on my own experience tonight. After the walking tour, I broke off from the group to head back to the main FIE building to see about a SIM card for a phone. After that was done, I headed to a grocery store to buy dinner and something for breakfast. I bought two frozen dinners a frozen dinner and a frozen breakfast meal (mac n cheese for breakfast, yum!) and a bottle of water. After paying for my first British groceries, I headed back to my building, Manson Place, and began settling down for the night, sorting clothes and eating my frozen Waitrose creamy and succulent tagliatelle with ham dinner.
One thing I've found surprising is the amount of communication that I still have. Past trips across the pond have resulted in little to no Wi-Fi, no phone, thus no communication, and yet, I'm sitting in my room right now, checking Facebook and writing my blog. Looks as if I'm not so cut off after all.
I took little to no pictures today, but I'll hopefully be posting them tomorrow when I've taken more. Till then, later!
Holy snaps! I created a blog! Never thought I'd create a blog. Hopefully I'll keep it updated with stuff. Anyways, hello, person! Welcome to London (with captions)! This is my blog to detail my Spring semester in London! Thought it'd be smart to create it before I leave. So, here it is. Not much to say right now seeing that I'm still in MN, BUT hopefully I'll be on this thing a couple times with news and pictures, maybe videos. Hope you're having a great day, and if you aren't that the next be good. Actually, just good life in general. That's probably the better thing to say...Hope you're having a good life in general! I'll be back...at some point!
