L&P DLC: What I failed to mention (the last days in London + Paris)

Because of of crappy wifi in our old inn, updating the blog was extremely difficult, but now I'm in Paris and at a hotel that has infintely more reliable wifi. This post will be a quick recap of what happened in the last three days of London and what's happened in Paris so far.

The top two things to mention are Stonehenge and the London theatre. As people who read my blog way back when, I never got to see Stonehenge. Everyone told me that Stonehenge was a lot smaller than you think, so when I saw it, I was pleasantly surprised to see it was as big as I thought it was!

       

                                                                  Stonehenge

      

After Stonehenge, we went to Bath (again for me) and saw the Roman Baths (again for me). I spent 55 minutes at the Jane Austin Center but other than that, nothing really else worthy of mention.

Moving on, the group went to the Tower of London and then we all broke off to buy tickets to the London theatre. We were given £50 for tickets to the theatre. 2/3 of the group went to see Wicked (all for the first time), one went to Once, another went to Les Mis and I was going to go to Matilda again. Once, Les Mis and I went on our own to buy our tickets. We went on a rolicking adventure to a coffee shop, clothing stores, Hamley's (super toy store) and to our respective box offices. I changed my mind after having bought my ticket and did a switchero for a drama show, Let the Right One In, which was terrifying! It's a horror play and scared me a couple times (they freaking jump scare you!) I was super close to the stage in seat D13 (fourth row form the stage.)

      

                                   The stage for Let the Right One In from my seat.

I spent my last day in London as a day of contemplation (as you may have read earlier.) Now, it's time to move on to Paris. Our time in Paris was off to a rocky start. Foreign language, new tube system, new map, reaching our hotel was a struggle, especially for those who had big luggage bags that had to be rolled on the uneven streets. Lately, I've been just standing off to the side when it comes to navigating the city. When we were in London, I was trying hard to not be too "I know everything about the city, listen, look, and follow me!" and letting everyone have their own adventure. I also don't know anything about this city, so I can't offer a lot of help anyways.

So far, we've walked along the Pons des Arts, the bridge covered in lovers' locks, we saw Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle and went into the Centre G. Pompidou. We have much more scheduled for our last week of this special Study Abroad Downloadable Content. Stay tuned for more!

   

                               Ponts due Arts, and a wall of locks along the bridge

                                 

       

                                                               Our group lock

        

                                                  Our first look at the Effiel Tower

                                 

                                                               Notre Dame

L&P DLC: Halfway gone

Today is our last day in London.

Right now, I'm sitting in a pub, waiting for fish n chips and typing on my phone. We were given a surprise free day today. Everyone else is off somewhere, Abbey Road, The Globe, Harrod's. Having three early days in a row, I chose to sleep in. I have The Globe, Hyde Park, possibly the Museum of London, possibly a vintage shop, and I'm going to see an old acquaintance later tonight. 

I'm not carrying a backpack with me today. As much as I miss the extra carrying space, there's something liberating about not having to carry it around. 

The city has finally become familiar with me. It's no longer some foreign city that I'm visiting. I know the tube lines, if I were to never look at my map, I'd still probably be able to navigate the streets. To say I've become bored with London isn't right, nor is it to say I've been disenchanted. The city is still a beautiful place and the country has so much to offer (Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, the rest of Great Britain). 

Riding on the tube now. I remember saying the biggest thing I missed last time was the public transportation and the ability to walk everywhere. Maybe that's something I should try when I come back to the states. Going back is such a scary thought to me. Back in the states, I have so much responsibility waiting for me. Working jobs I know nothing about or how to do. A part of me wishes I could stay just stay here where I have no responsibilities to fret about, but another part of me knows I want to leave.  

I'm back on the tube. A different tube this time. I went to see an old acquaintance whom I worked with last time when I was doing my internship. I told her about my apprehensions about my new internships and she told me the same as other people had. That although I may not know what I'm doing in the beginning, I'll learn in time. It was great fun meeting up with her again. I took one last walk about as I made my way back to the inn. I bought a hot chocolate and sipped it as I walked by Trafalgar Square. I reached Buckingham Palace and walked through St. Jame's Park. Originally I had wanted to go around Hyde Park, but this was good all the same. The rest of the night is devoted to packing and relaxing.

We depart from the hotel at 10am for a train to Paris. Paris will be a whole new world. I don't know the language, I don't know the area. It'll be a brand new, scary adventure, but I think I'm up for it. 


Sent from my iPhone

L&P DLC: Riding solo

Yesterday was my solo day to Stratford-upon-Avon. The program was originally set to go there, but due to budgetary restrictions, the trip got cancelled. I asked my program director if I could take a day to still go, since I've been everywhere that the trip is planning on going in London, and she said yes. 

 My train to Stratford-upon-Avon left Marylebone station at 8:00 AM. I got up at 6, expecting heavy traffic from a morning rush. There was none. So arriving a little over an hour before my train left, I sat at the station, killing time eating a panini.

Fast-forward three hours and I'm getting off the train at Stratford-upon-Avon. My first reaction to the area was kind of disenchanting. The parking lot was under construction with the ground turned up and ugly chain-link fences all over. Even further along I saw closed and poorly kept shops along both sides of the street. It didn't help when I felt a drop of rain hit my face and I hadn't even been here for three minutes! But as I kept going I started to see what I had originally expected. I began to see more of the old looking, tan colored houses with the brown trim around it. The streets and shops a lot cleaner and more touristy. 

My first stop was to the Shakespeare Center. I bought the Birthplace Pass, which allowed me access to 4 different Shakespeare-related buildings (and apparently it's valid for a whole year!) I started at the house that Shakespeare was born and grew up in. Then New Place and Nash's House, the place grown up Shakespeare lived. Third was Hall's Croft, home of Shakespeare's eldest daughter, Susanna(?), and finally his grave in Holy Trinity Church.

   

                                               Shakespeare's Birthplace

   

                                                     Nash House and New Place

     

                                                              Hall's Croft

                                  

                                          Shakespeare's grave at Holy Trinity Church

I learned a lot about Shakespeare while I was there. I learned his father was a glove maker and that Shakespeare makes many specific references to the profession. One of the reenactors said there was an example in the Merry wives of Windsor, but I can't remember. I also learned about the buildings themselves. Apparently, it was common for visitors to carve their names in the glass of the windows in Shakespeare's Birthplace. The caretakers of the building had to replace the windows but have kept some on display for people to see. When I was at New Place, I learned that it is no longer a place. Putting it simply (there is definitely room for error) the new tenants of the house were tired of visitors coming to see the famous house of Shakespeare that they tore it down. Now it's a garden area. It's quite beautiful with abstract statues that have quotes from some of Shakespeare's various plays. 

                                       

                                                 Royal Shakespeare Company building

Other places I went to see where the Royal Shakespeare Company building I bought two DVDs while there. There was also a market going on with vendors selling jewelry, food, bags, etc. Besides that, it was a lot of sitting. I'd walked a lot the day before and was definitely feeling it before I even arrived at Stratford-upon-Avon. 

It kept raining on and off throughout the day, but it was never a downpour. Once I arrived back, I spent maybe over a half hour trying to upload a video on a smart phone that only had 10% battery left. After that, I went in search for food. I ended up eating at Gourmet Burger Kitchen (next time I'll go to the pub for fish n chips) and got what else, a burger. Back in the room and sorting through all of my stuff. Getting things organzied in my bag. Tomorrow is Stonehenge and Baths. I'll finally be able to see Stonehenge after being shafted by the weather last time!

UPDATE: Due to slow wifi, posts will be going on a hiatus. I don't know when I'll be able to post new updates. 

L&P DLC: A little bit of old and a little bit of new (and a message addressed to sleep and wifi)

It's official. I have a terrible relationship with sleep. Consistently, I've never been able to sleep well in a different bed I've never slept in. I'm always one of the first to go to bed, but the last to actually go to sleep. Why are you so vindictive to me?!??!?!?!

AND WIFI! I'M TRYING TO DO A BLOG! Stop being slow! The inn only have 30 free minutes to use you and you're cripplingly slow!

Sorry about that. I needed to release some angsty sleep-related feelings.

Moving on, I walked A LOT on Sunday! The majority of the group walked to a Starbucks to get coffee and breakfast, then we wandered to a giant Tesco I'd never seen before. After, we were given 3 1/2 hours to explore the Victoria & Albert Museum, my favorite museum in London. Once our time was up, we got to go about the city on our own. Everyone (sans me and another) went to go get food. Having already eat earlier, I took the tube and did some wandering. I went down Leake Street, the graffiti tunnel, with the intention of going to a vintage shop I went to last time, but it was closed sadly. Not wanting the trip to be a waste, I went to a nearby park and did some journal writing for awhile and then took the long way back to the inn, taking a route I never traveled before.

      

                                               Outside the Victoria & Albert Museum

     

                                 Waterloo Millenium Green (I sat under those trees to the right.

         

               A picture I took while wandering. It has Parliament, Big Ben and the London Eye

When I got back to the inn, the rest of the group was going to head out to Kings Cross for the obligatory Platform 9 3/4 photo. I helped guide them to the station and to the place where you can get your picture at the Platform 9 3/4 place. I was starving by then and ran off to grab a pastry and then sat on the floor eating my food like a homeless person waiting for them (I wonder if I'd get any coins if I laid down a a coin catcher?). They finished their photos before I was done with my food, so I burned my mouth stuffing hot pasty into it, and we were then off to Piccadilly Circus. I wanted to take them there because it was remeniscent of my first night in London. Nobody wanted to waste their time indoor, so we went out and went to Piccadilly Circus at night. The place looked similar to Times Square in New York. Last night, it wasn't dark enough to get the full effect but it was still cool. They went shopping at Great Britannica for souvenirs. One of the girls needed to get a picture of Baker Street for her grandfather, but everyone one else was tired and ready to relax back at the inn, so with me in the lead, the two of us navigated the tubes to Baker Street while the others went back. 

     

                Eating on the ground while burning my mouth on a hot pasty and fries(chips.)

      

                                  Attempt at a panorama shot of Piccadilly Circus

      

                                          Everyone' taking pictures at Piccadilly Circus!

The problem with Baker Street and it's Sherlock Holmes related places is that there are two spots on the map that say "Sherlock Holmes and only one of them is an actual Sherlock Holmes related thing. The original plan was to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum (the ACTUAL Sherlock place), but I got the place wrong, exactly what happened last time I tried to go and see the Sherlock Holmes museum! Ugh, I was disappointed in myself I got the place wrong again (this time girls were watching, so I was super unimpressive), but she took a picture of the street signs and she said that was enough.

It's time for bed now. I have a solo journey to Stratford-upon-Avon tomorrow and an 8:00 train to catch. I'll try and send an update tomorrow, but again, the wifi sitch is bad with the 30 free minutes a day. 

L&P DLC: Arriving Back

I'm back in London! It took a while getting back. Got to the airport three hours before my arrival time. Accidentally ate the on-flight meal instead of trying to sleep and that kept me up for awhile. I was interrogated by the Border Patrol on why I was coming to London, and we had to regroup with other members of our company who had taken separate flights. We rode the Piccadilly line to Earl's Court from the terminals and found our way to our inn.

For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant. The original plan was for everyone to get curry, but when the numbers added up, we all had to get individual appetizers to eat. There was the promise of ice cream afterwards, but there wasn't a single ice cream shop around. That's when I remembered where there was a gelato shop I stopped by one time near South Kensington station. It was surreal walking back there. The same street that I'd walked for weeks going from our flat to the tube station. Once again, As is normal for me, I took on the role of "The Map" (the guy who has the map and takes the lead in the group) and guided us to gelato and fresh baked cookies and then back to the inn.

     

                                                       Getting gelato at the gelato shop

     

                 Outside the gelato shop and looking out at the familiar South Kensington Station. 

Being back in London feels so weird. It all feels so familiar, but I'm here under different circumstances and a different premise. Three weeks has become 6 1/2 days. I'm living in a hotel and not some apartment complex. I'm a part of a smaller group of people, all of whom I don't really know. I don't have classes but group excursions. I'm reliving the same adventure but with different party members and going about it all in a different way. Even writing on this blog again is kinda weird. There are times I when this all doesn't even feel real. 

But despite all of this, I'm seeing all the things I remember from last time.  The crosswalks, cars, the streets, and the tube. Even the not so big things. Channel 4 endlessly plays The Big Bang Theory on TV. Walking by the Earl's Court "TARDIS." The torrential rain. 

I have to pay for wifi at the inn, so I'm needing to figure out how to ration the 30 minutes I have free. This means updates will probably be off and on, a few multi-day posts. I'm excited to be back and sharing my adventures again. 

Study Abroad DLC Pack: London & Paris

Video game companies have made the monetary move of offering Downloadable Content (DLC) for their games. By paying just those few dollars more, you can download secret characters, extra levels to play or just a really cool hat for your character to wear. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a DLC pack of my own, but instead of a hat, I got something on a much larger scale in return.

A few months ago, my university sent out an email asking if students wanted to fill up a few more slots on a summer study abroad trip. It would be a two week excursion to London and Paris with a concentration in creative writing. As is common for study abroaders to say, "I wish I could go back." I lept at the chance to return to the city I loved and visit a brand new country I know nothing about. Despite having performed "The Walk" this Spring, the university still allowed me to go on this trip. So I'm booting up the old blog once more in order to share this new addition to my time studying abroad in London (with the added bonus of travelling to Paris.)

As of right now, I'm two days away from departure. I'm packing my bag and rummaging through my stuff from last year trying to find my maps of the city, doing research on whether my Oyster card from 16 months ago will still work or not. I'm packing my bag smarter and lighter this time. I'll only be away for two weeks this time around, so I don't need as much stuff, and I need to save space for souvenirs. I'm trading my laptop out for a spiffy new tablet and wireless keyboard, but it has nothing compared to good old pen/pencil and paper. 

                                   Pretty much all I'm bringing this time around.

I'll have more to post as the days go by. I'm ready and raring to go on one more adventure. Game Start!